LETTER XIX.
City of On.
My dearest Mother:
It is many weeks since my last letter was written. The interval has been occupied by me, in visiting all places of interest in Lower Egypt, previous to my voyage up the Nile, to the kingdom of the Thebaïd. But the intelligence that your last letter contains, of the misunderstanding arising between you and the King of Cyprus, and your fear that war may ensue, will compel me to abandon my tour to the Cataracts, and return to Tyre, unless the next courier brings more pacific news. But I trust that the wisdom and personal influence of your ambassador, Isaphris, will result in an amicable termination of the difficulty. I have no doubt, that the haughty King of the Isle will make due concessions, for his treatment of your shipwrecked merchantmen, when your ambassador disclaims all intention, on the part of your majesty, of planting an invading colony in any part of his shores, and assures him that the vessels, which he supposed brought a company of Phœnicians to occupy his soil, were driven thither when bound for Carthage and distant Gades. But should he refuse to release your subjects and to restore their vessels and goods, war would inevitably ensue, and I will hasten home to conduct it in person. Do not delay sending me the earliest intelligence by a special galley. Until I hear from you, I shall linger in Lower Egypt.
Since writing the foregoing, dear mother, I have heard the most important intelligence from the seat of war in Ethiopia; and what is more, that the Prince Remeses is even now on his return to Memphis, a conqueror! The dispatches brought by the courier state, that four weeks ago the army of Egypt engaged Occhoris, beyond the gates of Thebes, and after a severe battle, in which the chariots and horse were engaged, he was forced to retreat; that he gained a new position, and fortified himself, but was dislodged from it, and finally routed in the open plain, he himself being taken prisoner, with most of his chief captains; while a great spoil in treasures, camp-equipage, elephants, camels, and horses, besides captives innumerable, enriched the victors. This news has gladdened the heart of Queen Amense, and relieved her mind from the great anxiety that has oppressed it ever since the departure of Remeses, lest he should lose his life in the campaign, as his father had done before him. But, without a wound, he returns triumphant, leading his enemy captive at the wheels of his war-chariot. The city is excited with joy, and in all the temples, ascending incense and bleeding sacrifices, together with libations and oblations, bear testimony to the universal gratitude of the nation, at the defeat of the hereditary foe of the kingdom.
I will for a time delay this letter, that I may witness the scenes in the city and behold the rites for victory, which, I am told, will be most imposing, especially in the temples of Apis and of Vulcan.
Two weeks have elapsed since I laid down my pen, dearest mother. In the interval I have been too much occupied to resume it, but do so now with matter of the deepest interest to communicate. Remeses has returned. Two days ago he entered Memphis in warlike triumph. On hearing of his approach, I hastened to meet him three days' journey up the Nile. When we met, he embraced me as a brother, with expressions of joy; but the first question he put to me was:
"The queen—my mother, Sesostris, is she well?"
"Well, and happy at your victories," I answered.
"And your royal mother also, the Queen Epiphia, how fared she when last you heard from her?"
"In good health, save her wish to see me," I answered.
Thus, dear mother, did this noble prince, amid all the splendor of his victories, first think of his mother and mine! It is this filial piety, which is one of the most eminent traits of his lofty and pure character; and where love for a mother reigns supremely in the heart, all other virtues will cluster around it.
I found Remeses descending the river in a hundred-oared galley, to which I was conveyed by a barge which he sent for me, on recognizing me. It was decorated with the insignia of all the divisions of his army. Behind it came two galleys containing the prisoners of rank, who were bound in chains upon the deck. The Ethiopian king was in the galley with Remeses, who courteously let him go free in the cabin, where he was served by his conqueror's own cup-bearer. Further in the rear came the fleet, their parti-colored green, orange, blue, and scarlet sails, and the bronzed and gilded heads of hawks, eagles, wolves, lions, and ibises upon the topmasts, presenting a grand and brilliant spectacle. Ever and anon, a loud, wild shout would swell along the water, from the victorious troops. One half of the fleet had been left in the Thebaïd country with Prince Mœris, who intended to invade the interior of Ethiopia and menace its capital.
You may imagine, dear mother, that Remeses had many questions to ask and answer, as well as I. I drew from him a modest narrative of his battles; but he spoke more freely of the brilliant courage of Prince Mœris than of his own acts. After we had sat in the moonlight, upon the poop of his galley, conversing for several hours, I asked permission to see his royal captive, who I fancied was some wild savage chief, with the hairy head and neck of a lion, and the glaring eyes of a wolf. When I expressed my opinion to Remeses, he smiled and said:
"I will send to him and ask if he will receive me and the Prince of Tyre; for he has heard me make mention of you."
"You Egyptians treat your captives with delicate courtesy," I said, "to send to know if they will receive you."
"I fear such is not our custom. Captives taken in war by our soldiers, are, I fear, but little better off than those of other conquering armies; yet I have done all that is possible to alleviate their condition, and have forbidden unnecessary cruelty, such as tying their arms in unnatural positions and dragging them in long lines at the rear of running chariots! If you see the army on shore, you will find that it is hard to teach the Egyptian soldier mercy towards a captive foe."
I regarded the prince with silent admiration. "How is it," I asked of myself, "that this man is in advance of all his predecessors and before his age in virtue?"
"His majesty will see the Prince of Tyre and also his conqueror," were the words which the messenger brought to Remeses.
Descending a flight of steps, we advanced along a second deck, and then passing the door leading to the state-cabins, we descended again, and came to the range of apartments occupied by the governor of the rowers and the chief pilot. The latter had vacated his room to the royal captive. Upon entering, reclining on a couch of leopard's skins spread in the moonlight, which shone broadly in upon the floor through the columns that supported the deck, I beheld a young man, not more than my own age. His features were remarkable. His nose was slightly aquiline, his forehead high and commanding, his brows arched and delicate as a woman's, beneath which were the blackest and largest eyes I ever beheld, and which seemed to emit a burning splendor. His finely formed mouth was almost voluptuous in its fulness and expression; yet I could perceive a slight nervous contraction of the underlip, as if he were struggling between shame and haughty indifference, when he beheld us. His chin was without beard. His black locks were braided and bound up by a fillet of gold, studded with jewels. His helmet, which was of beaten gold, lay by his side dented with many a stroke of sword and battle-axe; and I saw that a wound upon his left temple corresponded to one of these indentations. His hands were very small, and of a nut-brown color (as was his complexion), and covered with massive rings. A collar, rich with emeralds, encircled his neck, from which was suspended an amulet of agate, and a little silver box containing a royal charm. He was dressed in a gaudy but rich robe of needle-work, which was open in front, and displayed a corselet and breastplate of the finest steel, inlaid with gold. His small feet were bare, save a light sandal of gilded gazelle-leather. Altogether he was as elegant and fine-looking a barbaric prince as one would care to behold, dear mother, and not at all the monster in aspect I had pictured him: yet I am well convinced, that in that splendid form lie powers of endurance which make him respected, by the barbarians he commands; and that within those fierce eyes blazes a soul, as fiery as any barbaric prince requires; while the firm expression of his mouth, at times, betrayed a resolved and iron will, with which no one of his subjects would willingly come into antagonism.
He half-rose gracefully from his recumbent attitude, and said, with an indolent yet not undignified air, and in good Koptic, as it is spoken in the Thebaïd:
"Welcome, Prince of Tyre! I am sorry I cannot extend to you the hospitality you merit. You see my kingdom is somewhat limited! As for you, O Prince of Egypt, who have a right to command, I need not ask you to be seated or recline." Then turning to me again, "I have heard of Tyre. You are a nation of merchants who cover the great sea with caravans of galleys, and plant your sandals in all lands. But you have not yet had Ethiopia beneath them."
"Our commerce embraces even your own country's productions, O king!" I answered. "I have seen in the mart of Tyre chœnixes of gold-dust, ostrich-feathers, dried fruits and skins, vermilion, ebony, ivory, and even baboons, apes, and leopards. In return we send you our purples."
"That is the name of Tyre, is it not,—the city of purple-cloth?" he said interrogatively, and with a pointed sneer. "Ethiopia signifies the land of warriors—children of the sun."
I could not help smiling at his vanity. Remeses did not say any thing. The king then added, pleasantly:
"I have no quarrel with thee, O Tyre! Receive this ring—that is, if the great Remeses do not regard all I possess, as well as myself, his spoil—receive it in token that we are at peace."
As he spoke, he drew from his thumb a jewel of great price, and, taking my hand, placed it upon my thumb, without looking to see whether Remeses approved or no.
After a brief interview I left his presence, and soon retired to my state-room. Remeses insists upon my retaining the ring, which, in truth, the Ethiopian king, being a captive, had no right to dispose of. Remeses says that he displayed the most daring courage and marvellous generalship in battle; and that, though young, and apparently effeminate, he inherits all the fierce, barbaric spirit of his ancestor, Sabaco I., and of his uncle, Bocchiris the Great, and third of the name.
At length arrived at the island of Rhoda, Remeses hastened to embrace his mother, and to render to her an account of his expedition. The next day, preparations were made to receive the vast and victorious army, which had been slowly marching towards the capital, along the western bank of the river. They entered the plain of the pyramids on the same night, column succeeding column in a long line, attended by an interminable train of captives, and by wagons, cars, and chariots laden with spoils of arms, treasures, goods, and military stores. Having encamped on their former ground, they awaited the signal to move towards the city in triumphal procession.
The following morning the queen made her appearance at the head of the great square, in front of the temple of Apis. She was arrayed in her royal robes, and seated in a state-chariot of ivory, inlaid with gold, drawn by four white horses driven abreast, richly caparisoned, and with ostrich-plumes nodding on their heads. Attended by a splendid retinue of the lords of her palace, she took a position near the pylon, surrounded by her body-guard, in their glittering cuirasses of silver, and bearing slender lances in their right hands. The lords of the realm were ranged, in extended wings, on either side of her chariot; the whole presenting a strikingly beautiful spectacle.
When all was arranged, from the portals of the vast temple, headed by the hierarch in full dress, issued a procession of four hundred priests, a shining host, with golden tiaras, and censers of gold, and crimson vestments. Other sacred processions came advancing along all the streets, headed by their chiefs, each escorting the god of their temple in a gorgeous shrine, blazing with the radiance of precious stones.
Prince Remeses, attended by the governor of the city, the twenty-one rulers of the departments thereof, and by all dignitaries, of whatever office, in their sumptuous robes and badges of rank, had already departed from the city to meet the army, which, headed by its generals, was in full motion. They came on in columns of battalions, as if marching through an enemy's country, and with all the pomp of war—their battle-banners waving, and their bands of music sounding. Instead of accompanying Remeses, I remained, by her request, near the queen. The towers of the pylones, the roofs of temples, the colonnades of palaces, terraces, house-tops—every vantage-point—were crowded thickly with spectators.
At length the voice of trumpets, faint and far off, broke the silence of expectation. Nearer and louder it was heard, now rising on the breeze, now gradually dying away; but soon other instruments were heard: the cymbals, the drum, the pipe and the cornet from a hundred bands poured upon the air a martial uproar of instruments, which made the blood bound quicker in every pulse. All eyes were now turned in the direction of the entrance to the grand causeway of the pyramids, and in a few moments, amid the answering clangor of the brazen trumpets of the queen's guards, a party of cavalry, shining like the sun, dashed into sight.
Their appearance was hailed by the vast assemblage of spectators with acclamations. Then came one hundred and seventy priests abreast, representing the male deities of Memphis, each attired like the image of his god—an imposing and wonderful spectacle; as in it Horus was not without his hawk-head, nor Thoth his horns and globe. Anubis displayed the head of a jackal, and Osiris held the emblems of his rank. These were followed by the high-priest of On, before whom was borne the shield of the sun, resting upon a car carried by twenty-four men, representing the hours. Following these were one thousand priests—a hundred in line—chanting, with mighty voice, the song of victory to the gods. They were succeeded by a battalion of cavalry, the front of which filled the whole breadth of the avenue. It advanced in solid column, till four thousand horsemen, in varied armor and arms, had entered the immense quadrangle. Now burst out afresh the clang of martial bands, and alone in his state-chariot, drawn by three black steeds, appeared the Prince of Egypt, standing erect upon the floor of his car. He was in full armor, and so splendid was his appearance, so majestic his aspect, that he was hailed with a thunder of voices, as conqueror! Leaving the golden-hued reins loosely attached to the hilt of his sword, he suffered his proudly stepping horses freely to prance and curvet, yet held them obedient to the slightest gesture of his hand. On each side of their heads walked three footmen. Behind him came his war-chariot of iron, from which he had fought in battle on the Theban plains. The horses were led by two lords of Egypt, and it was empty, save that it held his battered shield, emptied quiver, broken lances, the hilt of his sword, and his dented helmet—mute witnesses of his presence in the heat of battle. Behind the chariot was a guard of honor, consisting of a brave soldier out of every company in the army. But close to it, his wrists locked together with a massive chain of gold, which was attached to the axle of the war-chariot, walked the captive King of Ethiopia. His step was proud and defiant, and a constant smile of contempt curled his lip, as he saw the eyes of the spectators bent upon him, and heard their shouts of hostile joy on beholding him. He moved, the king in heart, though bound in hand. Over his shoulders hung a lion's skin as a royal mantle, but his feet were bare. Behind him came a solid front of chariots, which, line behind line, rolled into the square, until nearly three thousand war-cars had entered, and moved, with all the van of the vast warlike procession, towards the great pylon, before which, in her chariot, stood the Queen of Egypt; for, as soon as the head of the column came in sight, she had risen to her feet to receive her returning army.
When Remeses came before her, he turned his horses towards her and remained at her side. Past them marched first the foot-soldiers. To the sound of drums and the tramp of ten thousand sandals, they wheeled into the arena of temples, elevating their war-hacked symbols, each man laden with his spoil. Then it was, that a company of sacred virgins, issuing from the temple of Athor, each with a silver star upon her brow, all clad in white, and bearing branches of flowers, green palm-branches, ivy and lotus leaves, cast them before the army, and sang with beautiful voices the hymn of the Conqueror. As they passed, the priests, with censers, waved incense towards them, and others sprinkled sacred water in the path of the battle-worn warriors. The soldiers responded to the hymn of the maidens with a loud chorus, that rent the skies as they marched and sang.
When half the army had defiled, there came a procession of Ethiopian cars and wagons, drawn by captured oxen, and laden with trophies. Upon one was piled scores of shields, another was filled with helmets, a third bristled with spears, and a fourth was weighed down by cuirasses and swords. After many hundreds of these had passed—for the whole Ethiopian army was destroyed and their possessions captured—came chariots, heavy with chests containing gold, and silver, and bronze vessels; others glaring with ivory tusks; others full of blocks of ebony. Five royal elephants, with their castles and keepers, and a troop of camels, laden with treasures and mounted by their wild-looking guides, preceded a body of horse escorting the purple pavilion of the captive king—a gorgeous yet barbaric edifice of ivory frames, covered with silk and fringed with gold. Next came a painted car containing his wives, all of whom were closely veiled, and followed by a train of royal servants and slaves.
Bringing up the rear of the immense procession was another large body of horse, at the head of a long column of captives, twelve thousand in number—the disarmed and chained soldiers of the defeated monarch. Such a spectacle of human misery, such an embodiment of human woe!—how can I depict the scene, my mother! Perhaps when I am older, and have seen more of war than I have, I may feel less sympathy at a sight so painful, and be more indifferent to the necessary horrors of this dread evil.
Their features denoted them to be of a race very different from the Egyptian. They were slender and tall, with swarthy, but not black, faces like the Nubians—showing more of the Oriental than the African in their physiognomy. Their long hair hung half-way down the back, and they were dressed in costumes as various as the tribes which composed the army of Occhoris.
These captives marched in parties of from one to two hundred each—some linked by the wrists to a long connecting chain passing along the line; others, chained two and two by the hands, and with shackled feet, were led by their captors. Many of them were confined to a long iron bar, by neck-collars, eight and ten abreast, each compelled to step together, and sit or rise at the same moment, or be subjected to dislocation of the neck. Several, of the most unmanageable, were tied with their hands high above their heads, in the most painful positions; while other wretches were so cruelly bound, that their arms met behind in the most unnatural manner. There was a long chain of Nubian and Southern Arabian soldiers so bound, who writhed in agony as they were forced onward in the march. After these came hundreds of women and children, the latter naked, and led by the hand, or carried by their mothers in baskets, slung behind by a belt carried across the forehead. Finally, when these had passed the queen, who humanely ordered those so unnaturally bound to be relieved, the rear division of the army came tramping on, with symbols aloft, and drums beating, and trumpets blowing.
At length, this vast army of nearly one hundred thousand men, including chariots, horsemen, and foot-soldiers, had marched past before the queen, receiving her thanks and smiles, and the flowers that were showered upon them from thousands of fair hands. As they moved on, they wheeled in column, and gradually filled up the whole area of the vast quadrangle, save the space in front of the pyramidal gateway, where the queen and Remeses stood in their chariots.
At this juncture, the high-priest of On—a man of venerable aspect—amid the profoundest silence, advanced before them, and thus addressed Prince Remeses:
"Mighty and excellent prince, and lord of worlds, son of the queen, and upholder of the kingdoms of the earth, may the gods bless thee and grant thee honor and prosperity! Thou hast led the armies of Misr to battle, and conquered. Thou hast brought down the pride of Ethiopia, and placed the crown of the South underneath thy foot. Thou hast fought, and overthrown, and taken captive the enemy of Egypt, and the scourge of the world. Lo, chained he walks at thy chariot-wheels! his soldiers are captives to thy sword, and his spoil is in thy hand! By thy courage in battle, thou hast saved Egypt from desolation, filled her borders with peace, and covered her name with glory. Let thy power, henceforth, be exalted in the world like the sun in the heavens, and thy glory and virtues only be equalled by those of the sacred deities themselves!"
Remeses, with the gentle dignity and modesty which characterize him, replied to this eulogistic address of the Egyptian pontiff. The queen then embraced him before the whole army, which cried, "Long live our queen! Long live Remeses our general!" All the while Occhoris stood by the wheel of the chariot to which he was chained, his arms folded, and his bearing as proud as that of a caged lion. He did not even deign to look upon the queen, whom he had never before beheld; and seemed to be above, or below, all manifestation of curiosity. Self-reliance, fearlessness, immobility, characterized him.
Preparations having already been made for a national thanksgiving, the queen and Remeses descended from their chariots, and led a procession consisting of the priest of On, the high-priest of Apis, the priest of Memphis, hierophants and chief priests from each of the thirty-eight or forty nomes, and several hundreds of ecclesiastics in magnificent dresses. This august procession entered the great temple of Pthah. Here, after an imposing invocation, offerings from the queen to the presiding deity, and also to Mars—whose statue was present,—were made in recognition of their presence with the victorious army, and as an acknowledgment that it was by their special favor and intercession that the victory had been obtained.
This done, Remeses, in a formal manner, addressed the priest of the temple, presenting to the deity all the prisoners, and the spoil taken with them. As the vast army could not enter the temple, each captain of fifty and of a hundred was present for his own men. The high-priest then went forth upon the portico of the temple, and on an altar there, in the presence of the whole army, offered incense, meat-offerings, and libations.
All these customs and rites being ended, the army once more commenced its march, and passed through the city, and beyond the pyramid of Cheops' daughter to the plain of Libya, where Osirtasen used to review his armies. There they pitched their camp, prior to being posted and garrisoned in different parts of Egypt,—ready again to be summoned, at three days' notice, to go forth to war.
The captives, being delivered up to the authorities, were at once put to labor in the service of the queen, and are already engaged in building temples, cutting canals, raising dykes and embankments, and other public and state works. Some were purchased by the nobles; and the women, both Nubian and white, were distributed among the wealthy and noble families in the city. The Hebrew is the only captive or servant in Egypt who cannot be bought and sold. Those who have them in their houses do not own them, for, as a nation, they belong to the crown; but the queen's treasurer is paid a certain tribute or tax for their service, and must restore them whenever the queen commands them to do so.
The King of Ethiopia, himself, after having been led through the city at the chariot-wheel of his conqueror, was sent to the royal prison, there to await his fate, which hangs upon the word of the queen.
It is possible he may be redeemed by his own nation with a vast ransom-price; but if not, he will probably pass his days a captive, unless he consents to a proposition, which will be made to him by the prince, for recovering his liberty—namely, the surrender of the northern half of his kingdom to Egypt, in order that he may be permitted to reign over the remainder. As half a kingdom is far better than none, any other monarch would probably acquiesce; but the spirit of this king (whose looks and movements irresistibly make me think of a Nubian leopard) is so indomitable and proud, that I believe be would rather die a prisoner in a dungeon than live a king with half a sceptre.
This letter, dear mother, has been written at three or four different sittings, with a greater or less interval of time between them. It was my intention to have given you, before closing it, some account of a meeting which I had with a remarkable Hebrew, whose resemblance to Remeses, is, if possible, more striking than that of Miriam the papyrus writer, or of Amram the royal gardener. But having quite filled it with a description of the triumphal entry of Remeses into the capital, I must defer doing so till another occasion.
With my most affectionate wishes for your happiness, I am, my beloved mother,
Your faithful son,
Sesostris