The Pillar of Fire; or, Israel in Bondage

by J. H. Ingraham

LETTER XVIII.

City of Memphis, Palace of the Hierarch.

My dear Mother:

I have received from the Prince Remeses a letter informing me of the arrival of each division of his army, chariots, horse, and footmen, with the fleets under the viceroy Mœris, at the city of the Thebaïd. They entered it, however, as conquerors, for the Ethiopian king had already taken possession of it with his advanced guard.

I will quote to you from the letter of the prince:

"I trust, my dear Sesostris," he writes, "that you are passing your time both with pleasure and profit, in visiting places of interest in the valley of the Lower Nile, and in studying the manners and usages of the people. You will find the pyramids an exhaustless source of attraction. From the priests, who are the most intelligent and learned class in Egypt, you will obtain all the information respecting those mysterious monuments of the past, which is known, besides many legends.

"The idea of their antediluvian origin is by no means an unlikely one. As we travel down the past, at every epoch we find the pyramids uplifting their lofty heads into the skies! Still we move down the path of ages, and see the throne of the first mortal king overshadowed by their hoary tops! Farther back, against their bases, beat the receding waves of the deluge; for between the king of the first dynasty and the flood, there seems to be no interval in which they could have been upreared, even if there were time for a nation to rise and advance in power, civilization, art, and wealth, adequate to the product of such gigantic geometric works. Either our chronology is at fault, or the pyramids must have been constructed by the antediluvian demigods, and have outstood the strength of the surging seas which rolled over the earth. You will, however, no doubt, hear all that is to be said, and judge for yourself.

"My army is in fine order. You already have learned, by my courier to the queen, how the dark-visaged, barbaric King Occhoris entered Thebes the day of our arrival in the suburbs. Upon receiving intelligence that the van of my forces, which was cavalry, had just reached the sepulchres of the Pharaohs below the city, I pushed forward, joined them, and, at their head, entered the city; while the main body of the troops of the Ethiopian king was moving on from Edfu. But Occhoris had already been driven from his position in the palace of the Pharaohs, by an infuriated and insulted populace. The barbarian monarch, after entering the city without opposition, at the head of two hundred chariots, six hundred horse, and his gigantic body-guard of Bellardines, consisting of a thousand men in iron helmets, round shields, and heavy short-swords, in order to show his contempt of our national religion, here in what has been called both its cradle and its throne, commanded to be led into the temple of the sacred Bull, a wild African buffalo,—a bull of a species as ferocious as the lion,—and ordered him to be let loose against the god. The fierce animal charged upon him as he stood in the holy adytum with his curators, and, overthrowing him, gored him to death in a few moments. Thereupon the priests raised the wild cry of vengeance for sacrilege. It was caught up by the people, and borne from tongue to tongue through the city in a few moments of time. Fearless, indifferent to the arms of the soldiers, the three hundred and seventy priests of the temple, armed only with their sacrificial knives, rushed upon the barbarian and his guard. The Ethiopians rallied about their monarch, and for ten priests they slew, ten-score filled their places. The floor of the temple became a battle-field. Occhoris, and the sixty men who entered the temple with him, formed themselves into a solid phalanx, facing their furious assailants, who seemed to think they could not die. Gaining at length the door, the king received reinforcements. But by this time the whole city was in an uproar and under arms, and the people, who feared Occhoris in the morning, and refused to oppose him, now knew no fear. The issue of this fearful combat was, that the sacrilegious king was forced to retire with the loss of two thirds of his body-guard, and nearly every chariot and rider; for the avenging people with knives crept beneath the horses and stabbed them to death; while others, leaping upon horsemen and chariots, dragged them to the ground, and put them to death. Not less than four thousand of the citizens of Thebes perished in the act of pious vengeance. Before I entered the city I heard the cries, the shouts, the ringing of weapons, and the whole tumult of war; and, making my way over heaps of slain that lay in the great 'avenue of the gods,' I pursued the retiring monarch beyond the gates. He regained the head of his army, and came to a halt near the ancient temple of Amun on the Nile. My whole army are now in advance of Thebes, in order of battle, awaiting a threatened attack from the Ethiopian king. My headquarters are at the palace of Amunophis I., from which he departed nearly a century ago to drive the foreign kings from Memphis. I felt a deep interest in being in the house of my great ancestor. I have also visited the palace of my father, the Prince of Thebes, who was slain, not long before my birth, in battle with the Ethiopians. I have paid a visit to his tomb; and as I stood gazing upon the reposing dead in the royal mausoleum hewn from the solid mountain, I wondered if his soul were cognizant that a son, whom he had never seen to bless with a father's benediction, was bending sorrowfully over the stone sarcophagus that held his remains.

"To-morrow we join battle with the barbaric king. From the tower of the pylon which looks towards the south, I see his vast army, with its battalion of elephants, its host of brazen chariots, its horsemen and footmen as numerous as the leaves. But I feel confident of victory. Prince Mœris has moved his galleys on the opposite side, in order to ascend secretly by night and gain the rear of the enemy, who are without boats. My chariots, some five hundred in number, have been crossed over in safety to this side, to co-operate with the Prince of Thebes. They are now drawn up in the wide, superb serpentine avenue the 'sacred way' of Thebes, lined with sphinxes and statues which adorn this vast circle of temples to the gods.

"You shall hear from me after the battle. If we defeat and pursue Occhoris, we shall return to Memphis soon. If we are defeated and driven back upon Thebes—which the great God of battles forbid!—I know not how long the campaign will continue. I hope my mother, the queen, is well. Convey to her my most respectful and tender remembrances, and receive from me, beloved prince, the assurances of my personal regard and friendship.

Remeses."

In the mean while, my dear mother, until I have further news from Prince Remeses, I will give you an account of the conversation I held with the papyrus-copier and decorator, Miriam, the Hebrewess.

"You are wonderfully skilled in the art," I said to her, as I surveyed the piece before her, which she said was the commencement of a copy of a funeral ritual for the priests of Athor.

"I have been many years engaged in transcribing," she answered with modest dignity, without raising her eyes to my face.

"I have not seen you before in the palace, though I have often been in this hall," I said, feeling awakened in me an interest to learn more of the extraordinary people who toil for the crown of Egypt, and whose ancestors have been princes.

"I have been at Raamses for a few days. My mother was ill, and I hastened to her."

"I hope your return is a proof of her recovery," I said kindly.

She raised her splendid eyes to my face, with a look in them of surprise. If I interpreted aright their meaning, it was, "Can this prince take any interest in the welfare of a Hebrew woman?" Seeing that my own eyes encountered hers with a look of friendly concern, she spoke, and said:

"She is better."

Her voice had a mellow and rich cadence in it, wholly different from the low, silvery tones with which the Egyptian ladies speak.

"I rejoice with you," I said.

She slowly shook her superb head, about which the jet-black hair was bound in a profusion of braids. There were tones in her voice, too, that again recalled Prince Remeses. Hence the secret of the interest that I took in conversing with her.

"Why do you shake your head?" I asked.

"Why should the Hebrew wish to prolong life?"

She said this in a tone of deep emotion, but continued her occupation, which was now copying a leaf of brilliantly colored hieroglyphic inscriptions into the sort of running-hand the Egyptians make use of in ordinary intercourse. There are three modes of tracing the characters of this system of writing; and scribes adopt one, which, while it takes the hieroglyph for its copy, represents it by a few strokes that often bear, to the uninitiated eye, no resemblance to the model. This mode the Hebrewess was making use of, writing it with ease and elegance.

"Life to you, in this palace, under such a gentle mistress as Osiria, cannot be bitter."

"I have no want. I am treated here as if I were not of the race of the Hebrews. But, my lord," she said, elevating slightly her noble-toned voice, though not raising her eyes, "I am not so selfish, believe me, as to have no thought beyond my own personal comfort. How can I be happy, even amid all the kindness I experience in this virtuous family, when my heart is oppressed with the bondage of my people? Thou art but a stranger in Egypt, O prince,—for I have heard of thee, and who thou art,—and yet thou hast seen and felt for my people!"

"I have, indeed, seen their misery and toil; but how didst thou know it?"

"From the venerable Ben Isaac, whose son Israel thou didst pity and relieve at the fountain of the shepherds." She said this gratefully and with feeling.

"Thou didst hear of this?"

"He was of my kinsfolk. They told me of your kindness with tears and blessings; for it is so unusual with our people to hear in Egypt the voice of pity, or behold a look of sympathy!"

"I hope the lad recovered," I said, feeling that her knowledge of that little incident had removed from between us the barrier which separates entire strangers. Besides, dear mother, it is impossible for me, a Syrian, to look upon the Hebrew people, who are also Syrians by descent from Abram, the Syrian prince, with Egyptian eyes and prejudices. They regard them as slaves, and look upon them from the position of the master. I never have known them as slaves, I am not their master, and I regard them, therefore, with interest and sympathy, as an unhappy Syrian people, who deserve a better fate, which I trust their gods have in store for them. Therefore, while an Egyptian would feel it a degradation, or at least infinite condescension, to converse familiarly with a Hebrew of either sex, I have no such inborn and inbred ideas. Miriam was in my eyes only a beautiful and dignified Syrian woman, in bondage. No doubt, if the proud and queenly Luxora had passed by, and discovered me in conversation with her, she would have marvelled at my taste; or have been displeased at an impropriety so unworthy of my position; for though, wheresoever I have seen Hebrews domesticated in families, I have observed the affability and kindness with which their faithful services are usually rewarded by those they serve, yet there cannot be a wider gulf between the realms of Osiris and Typhon, than between the Egyptian of rank and the Hebrew. The few thousand of the more refined and attractive of both sexes, who are to be found in palaces and the houses of nobles, are too limited in number to qualify the feeling of contempt with which the miserable millions of their brethren, who toil in the brick-fields south of On, between the Nile and the desert, and in other parts of Egypt, are universally regarded. Even the lowest Egyptian is deemed by himself above the best of the Ben Israels. What marvel, therefore, that the handsome, dark-eyed youths who serve as pages, and the beautiful brunettes who wait upon mistresses, have a sad and timid air, and wear a gentle, deprecating look, as if they were fully conscious of their degradation!

"He is well," Miriam answered, "and desires me to ask you (I pray you pardon the presumption!) if he may serve you?"

"I learn that a stranger cannot take a Hebrew into service," I answered.

"True. We are the servants of the Egyptians," she said, sadly. "But the great Prince Remeses, son of Pharaoh's daughter, will suffer it if you ask him. Will you do this for the lad? Otherwise he will perish in the field, for his spirit and strength are not equal to his tasks."

"The prince is absent, but I will ask the queen," I answered, happy to do so great a favor to the youthful Hebrew, in whom I felt a deep interest, inasmuch as it is our nature to feel kindly towards those for whom we have done offices of kindness.

"I thank you, and his father and he will bless you, O Prince of Tyre," she said, taking my hand and carrying it to her forehead, and then respectfully kissing it; and as she did so, I saw a tear fall upon my signet finger.

"I feel much for your people," I said.

She continued her task in silence; but tears began so rapidly to rain down upon the papyrus, over which her head was bent, that she was compelled to turn her face away, lest she should spoil her work. After a few moments she raised her face, and said, with shining eyes—

"Pardon me, my lord prince, but your few kind words, to which my ears are all unused, have broken up the sealed fountains of my heart. It is seldom that we children of Jacob hear the accents of sympathy, or find any one to manifest concern for us, when not personally interested in doing so."

At this moment, the sound of the sistrum before the sacred altar of the temple, fell upon my ears; and, turning round to the east, I laid my hands across my breast, and bowed my head low in worship, it being the signal that the hierarch was offering incense and libations.

To my surprise, the Hebrew woman pursued her work, and remained with her head, as I thought, more proudly elevated than before.

"Do you not worship?" I asked, with surprise.

"Yes, the One God," she answered, with dignity.

I started with surprise, that a bondwoman should declare, so openly and familiarly, the mystery which even Remeses scarcely dared to receive, and which I had accepted with hesitation and awe.

"How knowest thou there is One God?" I said, regarding her with deepening interest.

"From our fathers."

"Do all your people worship the One Unity?"

"Not all," she answered, a shadow passing across her queenly brow. "The masses of our enslaved nation know only the gods of Egypt. They adore Apis with servility. They are the first to hail the new-found calf-god, if, by chance, he be found in the nome where they toil. They are ignorant of the true God, and degraded by their long servitude (for we are all born in bondage—all!); they worship the gods of their masters; and pots of flesh which are sent from the sacrifices by the proselyting priests, as bribes to make our chief men bow down to Osiris and Apis, are temptations enough to cause these elders daily to deny the God of their father Abraham. Jacob and Joseph are become Egyptians, and the knowledge of the undivided God is preserved only by a few, who have kept sacred the traditions of our fathers."

This was said with deep feeling, and with an expression of anger mingled with sorrow.

"What do you worship?" I asked.

"The God of Abraham."

"Abram was a Syrian prince," I said. "He must have worshipped fire, and the sun."

"In his youth he did. But the great Lord of heaven revealed Himself to him as One God, and thenceforth he knew and worshipped only the Lord of heaven and earth."

"How knowest thou mysteries which are approached with the greatest awe by the most sacred priests?"

"Abraham, our father, gave to Isaac, his son, the knowledge of One God, God of gods!—above, beyond, higher, and over the fabulous Osiris, Apis, Thoth, Horus, and all other so-called deities. Isaac left the knowledge with his son Jacob. From Jacob it descended to his twelve sons, princes by birth; and we are their progeny; and though in bondage, and tempted to bow down ourselves to the gods of Egypt, yet there remain a few in Israel who have never bowed the knee to the black statue of Apis, or crossed the breast before the golden image of Osiris."

"What is the name of the One God you, and minds like yours, worship?" I asked.

"He is called the One Lord; not only Lord of the sun, but Lord of the lords of the sun. He is One in His being, One in power, and yields not His glory and dominion to others. Such is the tradition of our faith."

"How hast thou resisted the worship of Egypt?" I asked. "Hast thou not from a child been an inmate of this palace?"

"Yes, my lord prince. But my mother taught me early the truths of the faith of Abraham, and I have held firmly to the worship of my fathers, amid temptations, trials, and menaces. But all the gods of Egypt have not turned me aside from the One God; and my heart tells me that in Him, and Him alone, I live, and move, and have my being!"

I regarded this noble-looking bondwoman with surprise and profound respect. Here, from the lips of a female, a slave, had I heard the mystery of God made known, by one who worshipped boldly the Divine Unity, which the wisdom of Remeses shrunk from certainly acknowledging; but felt after only with hope and desire.

"Prince," she said, looking up into my face, and speaking with feeling, "dost thou believe in these gods of Egypt?"

I confess, dear mother, I was startled by the question. But I replied, smiling—

"I worship the gods of my own land, Miriam."

"Are they idols?"

"What is an idol?"

"An image or figure in stone, or wood, or metal, or even painted with colors, to which divine homage is paid,—visible representations of the invisible."

"In Phœnicia we worship the sun, and also honor certain gods."

"Then thou art not above the Egyptians. I saw thee bend in attitude of prayer at the sound of the sistrum. Dost thou believe that the sacred bull is God,—who made thee, and me, and nature, and the sun, and stars, and upholds the universe? Dost thou believe Apis or Mnevis at On, or Amun at Thebes, either or all of them, God?"

"Thou art a wonderful woman!" I exclaimed. "Art thou not a priestess of the Hebrew people?"

"Not a priestess. I simply believe in the unity of God, which you ought to believe in; for thou art open and ingenuous, and not afraid of truth. A priestess I am not, yet in my family and tribe is preserved sacredly the knowledge of the God who spake from heaven to our ancestor, the Syrian. Canst thou believe, O prince, that a bull is God?" she asked again, almost authoritatively.

"No, I do not," I answered, without disguise.

"Dost thou believe that all minor deities will ultimately be lost in one God?"

"I do, most certainly."

"Then worship Him! Thou art a prince. I hear thou wilt become a king. What would be your opinion of your subjects, and ambassadors of other lands, also, if, instead of presenting petitions to you, they should offer them to your grand-chamberlain, your royal scribe, your chief butler, or chief baker,—mistaking them ignorantly for you?"

I made no reply, dear mother. The argument was irresistible. It will be long, I feel, before I recognize in Apis, or in any statue of stone, or any figure of a god, the One God, whose existence Remeses first hinted at to me, and which the Hebrew has made me believe in; for my own reason responds to the mighty truth! Do not fear, my dear mother, that I shall return to Tyre an iconoclast; for I cannot set up a faith in the One God in my realm, until I have His existence established by infallible proofs. In my own heart I may believe in Him and adore Him, whom my reason sees through and beyond all material images of Himself; but, with Remeses, I must secure a foundation for this new faith, before I overturn the ancient fabric of our mythology of many gods.

She resumed her work. It was coloring the wings of an image of the sun, which, encircled by an asp, his head projected, and with extended wings, adorned the beginning of one of the leaves. The sun was overlaid with gold; the asps were painted green, and brown, and gold, while the feathers of the wide wings were blue, orange, purple, silver, and gilt. It was an exquisitely beautiful picture.

"That is a god," I said, after watching for a time her skilful pencil; "and yet you design and color it."

"The potter is not responsible for the use that his vases are put to. The slave must do her mistress's work. I fulfil my task and duty by obedience to the lords who are over me. Yet this is not a god. It is the emblem of Egypt. The eternal sunshine is symboled in this golden disk. The entwining asp is the winding Nile, and the two wings represent Upper and Lower Egypt, extending along the river. It is an emblem, not a god. In Egypt, no temple is erected to it. It is used only in sculpture and over pylones of temples. Yet," she added, "were it a god, I could not refuse to depict it. Commanded to do, I obey. The condition of my people is one of submission: if a king rules well, he is approved; if a slave obeys well, he also is approved."

At this point of our interesting conversation, I saw the noble-looking, gray-bearded Prince of Uz pass along the corridor, preceded by the page of the reception-room. Seeing me, he stopped and said with benignity and courtesy:

"Prince of Tyre, it is a pleasure for me to meet with you here! I am about to leave Egypt for Damascus, and learn from her majesty, the good queen, that you have a galley which goes in a few days from Pelusium to Tyre. I have come hither, knowing you to be a guest of my friend the high-priest, to ask permission to sail in her. I have but a small retinue, as my caravan has already gone through Arabia Deserta, on its way to Upper Syria. I take with me but my secretary, scribe, cup-bearer, armor-bearer, courier, and ten servants."

I assured the venerable prince that it would give me the greatest pleasure to surrender to him the cabin and state-chamber of your galley, my dear mother. And he will be the bearer of a letter from me presenting him to you. I have already spoken of him in my account of my first banquet with the queen. He is a prince, wise, good, virtuous, and greatly honored, not only for his wisdom, but for the patience, like a god's, with which he has endured the most wonderful sufferings. At one time he lost sons, daughters, servants, flocks, herds, houses, treasures, and health: yet he neither cursed the gods nor sought escape in death. In reward for his patience and endurance, the heavenly powers restored to him all things; and his name is now but another term for sacred submission to the divine decrees.

Having courteously thanked me for granting his wish, he looked closely at the Hebrew woman, and then said to her—

"Is it true that thy people worship the One God?"

"It is true, O prince!" she answered modestly.

"This is the true wisdom of life, to know the Almighty, and be admitted into the secrets of the Holy One! Behold! happy is the man who attaineth to this knowledge. The world gropes in darkness in the daytime, and stumbles in the noon-day as in the night, not seeing the pathway to God. Blessed art thou, O daughter of the wise Abram, the princely Isaac, the good Jacob—the three great Syrian princes of the East—in that thou knowest, thou and thy people, the traditions of thy fathers! Can a man by searching find out God? Can the priests by their wisdom find out the Almighty to perfection? Their light is darkness! but the sons of Israel Ben Abram have the knowledge of the Most High, and are wiser than Egypt!"

Miriam regarded the majestic old man with eyes expressive of wonder and joy. They seemed to ask: "Who art thou?" He understood their interrogating expression, and said:

"Daughter of Abram, offspring of wise kings, who walked with the One God, who found Him and came even unto His seat, when darkness covered the hearts of all men, I also worship GOD! I am of the family of the King Melchisedec, who knew Abram thy father! They both had knowledge of the mystery of the Divine Unity! They were friends, and worshipped God, the Almighty, when the understanding of men knew Him not and denied the God that is above, and the spirit of God who made them, and the breath of the Almighty that gave them life. Our God speaketh everywhere, yet man perceiveth it not, neither doth he know His voice! Touching the Almighty—who can find him out? The world lacketh wisdom, and is devoid of understanding, to bow down to the work of their own hands, and see not Him who laid the foundations of the earth, who hath stretched His line upon the heavens, and to whom all the morning stars sang together at their creation, and all the sons of God shouted for joy!"

The venerable Syrian uttered these words with an air of inspiration. His eyes were fixed inquiringly upon my face, as if he directed his speech to me alone.

"I would know the God that you and the Hebrews know and worship," I said, with emotion. "I no longer recognize Deity in stone and metal, nor God in Osiris and Apis, nor the Creator of all in the sun—who is but a servant to light the world."

When I had thus spoken, the eyes of the Hebrew woman beamed with pleasure, and the Prince of Uz, whose name is Ra-Iub, or Job, took my hand in his and said, with a smile of benignity—

"Thou art not far from the house of Truth, O Prince of Tyre! May the Almighty instruct thee, and He who ordained the ordinances of heaven enlighten thee! He alone is the Almighty! Can Apis, or Io, or Adonis, the gods in whom you believe, give rain and dew, the ice and the hoary frost? Can they bind up the wintry seas of Colchis, so that men may walk upon the frozen face of the deep, as upon marble? Can Apis or Bel-Phegor bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Can they bring forth Mazzaroth in his season, guide Arcturus with his sons, and hang Aldebaran and Sirius in the firmament? Can they send forth the lightning, and give to thunder its voice? My son, there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding to them that seek it. Behold, God is great, and we know Him not, neither can the number of His years be searched out; yet whosoever prayeth unto Him, He will be favorable unto, and will deliver his soul, and his life shall see the light of the living! Deny not, my son, the God that is above!"

"But where, O wise man of God, is the Almighty to be found, and whither shall my understanding go out to find the place of His throne?" I asked, feeling like a child at his feet, under the power of his words. "I am weary of idols," I continued, catching the spirit of his speech, "and with worshipping myths born of the ignorance of man. Where shall the Maker be found? Show me His seat, O man of God, that I may fall down before His footstool!"

"God is everywhere, but His throne is in thy heart. His wisdom has no price, neither can it be gotten for gold. The depth says, It is not in me! The sea saith, It is not with me! It cannot be weighed in the balance; nor can it be valued with the gold of Ophir; and the exchange of it shall not be jewels of fine gold. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not purchase it, nor shall the coral and pearls of the isles of the sea equal it; for the price of the wisdom of God is above rubies! The fear of the Lord that is wisdom, and lo the Almighty is found of them who humbly seek Him. An idol, my son, is a snare, and the false gods of the world lead to destruction; they have eyes but see not, ears but hear not, feet but walk not, hands which bless not, mouths that speak no wisdom! But God is the Maker and Father of His creatures, and concealeth His glory in the secret places of His heaven; yet the pure in heart shall find Him, and they that plead with Him shall not be mocked. He will come unto thee, and abide with thee, and thou shalt know the Almighty as a father. I have tried Him and He has proved me, and though He sorely afflicted me He did not forsake me, and in the end came to me with more abundant honor and blessing."

"Will God pardon transgression?" I asked, giving utterance in this brief question to a thought of my heart that no mythology could answer.

"There is no promise to man, that transgression against a sacred and sinless God can be forgiven. We must hope in His mercy at the end! I have prayed, in my affliction, O prince, for a Day's man—one to stand between me and the Almighty, to plead for me! My heart hath yearned for One; and I feel that the yearning of my heart is a prophecy."

"Dost thou believe a Day's man, or mediator, will be given by the great God to man, to intercede for transgressors against His holiness?" I asked, between sweet hope and trembling fear.

"We have a tradition that has overleaped the flood and come down to us, that One will yet stand between earth and heaven to plead with the Creator for His creatures, and that the Almighty will hear His voice."

"Is not this feebly typified in Horus, the son of Osiris, who presents the souls of the dead and acts as their friend?" I asked.

"Without doubt," answered the Prince of Uz. "This belief is found shadowed forth in all faiths of every land. But I must not detain you, my lord prince."

I then accompanied the white-haired Prince of Uz to the galley in which he had crossed the Nile, and taking leave of him, promised to see him ere he sailed.

Believe me, dear mother, there is but One God, and that an idol is nothing on earth, not even the god-created sun. I have since had another long conversation with the Prince of Uz, and he has convinced me that in worshipping images and attributes we offend the High God, and degrade our own natures.

Farewell, dear mother.

Your devoted son,

Sesostris