The Pillar of Fire; or, Israel in Bondage

by J. H. Ingraham

LETTER XXI.

Palace of Amense, Island of Rhoda.

My dear Mother:

It is with emotions I am unable to command, that I commence, after a silence of several weeks, another letter to you. I know not how, properly to unfold and rightly to present before you the extraordinary events which have transpired since I last wrote to you. But I will endeavor to give a narrative of the unparalleled circumstances, in the order of their occurrence up to the present time, and will keep you advised of the progress of this remarkable and mysterious matter, as each day it develops itself.

I believe, in one of my letters to the Princess Thamonda, I spoke of the approaching birthday of Remeses—his thirty-fifth—and that the queen had resolved, on that day, to confer upon him the crowns of Egypt, and resigning, with the sceptre, all dominion into his hand, retire to a beautiful palace, which she has recently completed on the eastern slope of the Libyan hills, west of the pyramids, and overlooking a charming lake, which, begun by former rulers, has been enlarged and beautified by each, and by none more than by herself.

This purpose of the queen was made known to Remeses, about three weeks after his return from Thebes with his victorious army. I was not present at the interview, but will repeat to you the conversation that passed, as it was made known to me by the prince, who extends towards me all the confidence of one beloved brother to another; and, indeed, keeps no secrets from me. This pleasing confidence is fully reciprocated on my part, and we are in all things as one.

I had been, that morning, on a visit to that part of Memphis which stretches away westward from the Nile in a succession of gardens, squares, palaces, and monuments, girdling the Lake of Amense with beautiful villas, and climbing with its terraces, grottoes, shrines, and marble pavilions, the very sides of the cliffs of Libya, two leagues from the river; for to the extent of Memphis there seems to be no limit measurable by the eye. Even the three great pyramids are almost central in the mighty embrace of the sacred city.

Upon landing from my galley upon the Island of Rhoda, my Hebrew page Israel, now become a bright and blooming youth, with a face always enriched by the light of gratitude, met me, and said:

"The prince, my lord, desires to see you in his private chamber. He bade me ask you not to delay."

I found Remeses walking to and fro in the apartment, with a pale face and troubled brow. As soon as I entered, he approached me, and taking my hand between his, pressed it to his heart affectionately, and said:

"I am glad you have returned, Sesostris, my friend and brother! Come and sit by me on this seat by the window. I have much to say—much! I need your counsel."

"My noble friend," I answered, moved by his unusual emotion, "I am not able to counsel one so wise and great as you are."

"Nay, you are too modest, prince. I must tell you all. Strange events have occurred. Hear me, and you will then be able to strengthen my soul! You know that of late my dear mother has been given to melancholy; that she has appeared absent in thought, abrupt in speech, and ill at ease. Thou hast observed this; for we have spoken of it together, and marvelled at her mood, which neither the memory of our victories in Ethiopia, the prosperity of her kingdom, the peace in her borders, the love of her subjects, nor my own devotion could remove; nor the music of the harp, nor the happy songs of the chanters dissipate."

"Do you not think," I said, "that this state of mind is connected with her illness before you left, when the viceroy Mœris dined with us?"

Remeses started, and fixed upon me his full gaze.

"Sesostris, what led you to connect the present with that event?"

"Because the queen has never been wholly well and cheerful since that day."

"What think you of Prince Mœris? Speak freely."

"He is a proud, ambitious, and unprincipled man."

"Do you think he loves me?"

"I fear not."

"You are right. But you shall hear what I have to relate. Three hours since my mother sent for me. I found her in the chapel where the shrine of Osiris receives her most private prayers. She was kneeling when I entered, her face towards the god; but her eyes, wet with tears, penetrated the heavens, and seemed to seek a living Power that could hear and answer prayer, Sesostris. She did not see me, and her voice was audible:

"'Protect him! Guard him from his foe! Spare me the discovery of the secret, and place him upon the throne of Egypt, O immortal and pitying Osiris! O Isis, hear! O goddess of the sacred bow, and mother of Horus, hear! Give me strength to act, and wisdom in this my great perplexity!'

"I drew near, and kneeling by my mother's side, laid her head against my heart, and said—

"'The God of all gods, the Father Infinite hear thee, O mother! What is it thou prayest for with such strong woe and fear?'

"'Hast thou heard me?' she exclaimed, rising and speaking wildly. 'What didst thou hear? Nay, I have betrayed no secret?'

"'None, mother, none! Thou didst only speak of one which distressed thee,' I said soothingly; for, my dear Sesostris, I was inexpressibly moved by her agitated manner, unlike any thing I have ever before witnessed in her usually calm, serene, and majestic demeanor.

"She leaned heavily upon me, and I led her to an alcove in which was the shrine of Athor.

"'Sit down, Remeses—my son Remeses,' she repeated, with a singular emphasis upon the words 'my son.' 'Hear what I wish to reveal to thee! I am now more composed. There is in my heart a great and ceaseless anxiety. Do not ask me what it is! The secret, I trust, will remain sealed forever from thy ears! Ask not—seek not to know it. You may as successfully obtain an answer from the heart of the great pyramid, revealing what is buried there from human eyes, as obtain an answer from me of the mystery lying at my heart. It will be embalmed with me, and go with me to the lower world!'

"'Mother,' I said, alarmed at her depressed manner, 'thou art ill—let me send for thy physician—'

"'Nay, nay—I am not ill! I shall be better soon! You, Remeses, have the key to my happiness and health,' she said tenderly, yet seriously.

"'Then I will yield it up to thee!' I answered pleasantly.

"'Hear my words, my son, for art thou not my son, my noble Remeses?' she asked, taking both my hands and holding them to her heart, and then pressing her lips upon them almost passionately; for I felt tears flow upon my hands.

"'Thy son, with undying love, my mother,' I answered, wondering in my heart, and deeply affected. She remained a few moments silent, and at length said—

"'Remeses, hast thou ever doubted my love?'

"'Never, no never, my mother!' I replied, moved.

"'Have I not been a true and fond mother to thee?'

"'Why distress yourself, dear mother, with such useless interrogatories?' I asked. No longer agitated, and her nervous air having quite disappeared, she spoke calmly but earnestly:

"'Have I neglected, in any way, a mother's duty to thee, O Remeses?'

"'Thou hast ever been all that a mother could be,' I answered her.

"'Do you think a mother could love a son more than I love thee?' she repeated.

"'No, O my mother!'

"'And thou, Remeses, dost thou love me?' she continued, with the same fixed, solemn, and painful earnestness.

"'Why shouldst thou doubt?' I asked.

"'I have no reason to doubt,' she replied; 'yet I would hear thee say, 'Mother, I love thee above all things beneath the sun!'

"I smiled, and repeated the words, distressed to perceive that something had taken hold upon her noble and strong mind, and was shaking it to its centre.

"'Remeses, my son,' she said, answering my smile, and then immediately assuming an expression of singular majesty, 'I am now advancing in life. I have passed my fifty-first year, and am weary of the sceptre. I wish to see you king of Egypt while I live. I wish to see the grandeur and wisdom of your reign, and to rejoice in your power and glory. When I am laid in the sarcophagus, which I have caused to be hewn out in the chamber beneath the pyramidion of my obelisk, I shall know and behold nothing of thy dominion. It is my desire, therefore, to invest you with the sovereignty of Egypt; and after I see you crowned, robed, and sceptred as her king, I will retire to my Libyan palace and there contemplate thy greatness, and reign again in thee!'

"'I rose to my feet in surprise, dear Sesostris, at this announcement from the lips of my mother, but listened with deference until she had concluded, and I then said,—

"'This intent and purpose be far from thee, O my mother and queen! Thou art in the meridian of life, and still in the possession of thy wonderful beauty. Scarcely a silver thread has stolen amid thy soft, dark hair; thou art yet young; and may the Lord of the kings of the earth long preserve thee upon thy throne, and lend thee strength and wisdom to wield thy sceptre. Far be it from me, therefore, my mother, to accept the crown, until Osiris himself transfers it from thy majestic brow to mine!'

"'Nay, Remeses,' she said firmly, yet sadly, 'my will is the law of Egypt. Thou hast never opposed it.'

"'But this is where my own elevation involves your depression,' I answered. 'It cannot be!'

"'I am firm and immovable, my son, in my purpose,' she replied. 'Your thirty-fifth birthday will soon arrive. That is the age at which Horus, the son of Isis, was crowned. It is a number of good omen, and I wish you to prepare for your coronation, by performing all the rites and sacrifices, that the religion and laws of Egypt require of a prince who is about to ascend the throne of the Pharaohs.'

"'Mother, my dearly honored mother!' I said, kneeling to her, 'forgive me, but I must firmly decline the throne while you sit thereon. You are ill at ease in your mind to-day. Some deep grief, which you conceal from me, preys upon you. It is not because you are old that you would abdicate the throne to me, who am not yet old or wise enough to rule this mighty nation; but you have some secret, painful reason, which I beg you to reveal to me.'

"My words seemed to inflict pain upon her. She rose to her feet, and paced the apartment twice across in troubled reflection. Then she came to my side, and said impressively, placing her trembling grasp upon my arm:

"'Remeses, if I reveal to thee the secret of my heart, wilt thou then consent to be king?'

"'If I perceive, my mother,' I answered, 'that necessity demands my acceptance of the crown before my time, I will not refuse it.'

"'If your views of necessity do not influence you, O my son,' she said earnestly, and with a sudden gush of tears, 'let my affection, my happiness, my peace of mind, plead with you!'

"'Please, my beloved mother, to make known to me the circumstances under which you are moved to this unusual step,' I said.

"'Not unusual,' she replied. 'I have consulted the book of the reigns of the Pharaohs, in the hall of Books, in the temple of Thoth. Within two thousand years, not less than seven kings and three queens have resigned the sceptre of Egypt to children or adopted heirs. The Queen Nitocris resigned to her adopted son, Myrtæus; Chomæphtha, after reigning eleven years, weary with the weight of the crown, resigned it to her nephew, Sœconiosochus. Did not Phruron-Nilus, the great monarch, decide to abdicate in favor of Amuthantæus, his son, when sudden death only prevented his retirement? The crowns of Egypt are mine, my son, by the laws of the gods, and of the ancestral kings from whom I have inherited them. I will not wait for the god of death to remove them from my head; but with my own hands I would put them upon thy brow! It must be done soon,—now! or neither thou nor I will hold rule long in Egypt!'

"I begged my mother to explain her mysterious words.

"'Come, sit by me. Be calm, Remeses! Listen with your usual meekness and reverence to me when I speak.' I obeyed her, and she thus began:

"'Thou knowest thy cousin Mœris;—his lofty ambition; his impatience; his spirit of pride; his lust for dominion, which his viceroyship in the Thebaïd has only given him an unlimited thirst for;—his jealousy and hatred of you, Remeses! None of these things are concealed from you, my son.' My mother paused as if for my assent, which I signified by a respectful bow. She continued:

"'This Prince Mœris, for whom I have done all in my power—whom I have made second only to me in the Thebaïd, I have reason to know seeks your ruin and my throne!'

"'What proof hast thou of this?' I cried, deeply moved.

"'Remeses,' said my mother, in ringing tones, 'I must unfold to thee all! I know how slow thou art to suspect or believe evil of any one; and that you fancy Mœris an honorable prince, overlooking his jealousy of you. You have confidence in my judgment and truth?'

"'I have, the most undoubted and deferential,' I answered the queen.

"'Then, my son, hear me!' she said, with a face as pale as the fine linen of her vesture. 'Prince Mœris possesses a secret (ask me not what it is) which gives him a dangerous power over me. He obtained possession of it years ago, how I know not; but it has placed in his hands a power that I tremble beneath. Nay, ask not! My heart itself would as soon open to thine eyes, under the shield of my bosom, as reveal its secret! It will die with me! Yet Mœris, my nephew—a man of talents and ambition, in morals most unprincipled, and in disposition cruel and unjust—holds my happiness in his hand!'

"'My mother,' I cried, 'why then didst thou confer on him the principality of the Thebaïd and its enormous military power?'

"'To bribe him, when he menaced me with the betrayal of what he knew!' was the queen's almost fierce rejoinder.

"'But why make him the admiral of your fleet of the Nile?'

"'Another bribe when he renewed his threats to inform you—'

"'Me!' I exclaimed.

"'Did I say you? No! no!' she cried, checking herself; 'when he menaced me with the betrayal of the dreadful secret.'

"'And, my dear mother, who was interested to know it, whom would it benefit or injure?' I asked, lost in amazement.

"'Injure one whom—whom I love—destroy my happiness and hopes—benefit Mœris himself!' she answered coloring with deepest confusion and alarm.

"'Why not crush such a dangerous subject when he menaces your peace?' I demanded, my whole spirit roused for my mother, and my indignation excited against this wicked man. 'If thy happiness is thus menaced, O my mother, if this prince is the cause of all your sorrow, say the word, and in thirty days hence, he shall be brought bound in chains to your feet.'

"'Nay, Remeses, I dare not. One word from his lips, though he were in chains, would reveal all it has been the study of my life to conceal, and give him all the revenge his bitter spirit would ask. No, no! Mœris must not be made angry. It is only his ambitious hopes that keep him quiet.'

"What are these hopes?" I inquired, feeling that henceforth Mœris and I were mortal foes.

"Didst thou, O prince," said I, as he returned to his seat by me, which he had left, in the excitement of his narrative, to pace the floor, "suspect the secret?"

"No," he answered gloomily; "no, Sesostris; nor do I now know what it can be; neither have I the least idea, unless—" Here he colored, and looked confused.

"Unless what?" I asked, painfully interested.

"Unless Mœris be the son of the Prince of the Thebaïd, and I the son of the brother of Pharaoh. In other words, that Mœris and Remeses have changed places, and that Mœris knows or suspects the fact."

"A most extraordinary idea!" I exclaimed; yet at the same time, I must confess that I was forcibly reminded of what I have before alluded to, dear mother, the total absence of all likeness between Remeses and his mother, Amense.

"What can possibly have suggested to your mind such a strange conjecture?" I added.

"A mystery, my dear Sesostris," he said, "calls into exercise the whole machinery of suspicion, and all the talent of investigation; and a hundred things, which before had only an ordinary signification, under its wand, take an importance and meaning wholly new. Irresistibly, my mother's anxiety to impress upon me that she had been 'all a mother could be to a son,' in connection with her whole manner, and especially her uncalled for reiterations of affection for me, and of appeals to my devotion to her;—all this rushed upon my memory, and with a dizzy brain, and a heart full of anguish, under the dreadful suspicion, I cried, 'Why must not Prince Mœris be made angry? Why may he not be prevented from doing thee harm?'

"'I have told you,' she replied, with a deadly pallor. 'Remeses, your roused spirit alarms me for us three.'

"'But I must oppose, and if necessary destroy him,' I said, in my emotion, 'who destroys my mother's peace.'

"'Yes, I am thy mother. Thou art a son to me. I know thou wilt protect me from this prince-nephew,' she said, in broken sentences. 'He shall not come between me and thee, and the throne.'

"'He has no claim to the throne. He does not aspire to it in your lifetime,' I said; 'and if I hold it after, I will take care of my own crown. My mother, fear not Prince Mœris. Let his secret perish with him.'

"'And thou, also, Remeses!' she said, passionately.

"'I, my mother?' I repeated. A spirit of severe investigation then came upon me, strengthened by my suspicion.

"'My mother, Queen Amense,' I said, with the deepest emotion, and, O Sesostris, with fear and dread, 'a fearful suspicion has taken hold upon me! Am I thy SON?'

"No sooner had I given utterance to this interrogative doubt, which was wrung from my tortured heart, than shrieking aloud, she fell forward, and but for my intervening arm, her form would have been prostrate at my feet. I caught her in my arms; I kissed her marble brow; I chafed her cold pulses; and breathed words of comfort, words praying her forgiveness, into her ears. At length she revived, as I supported her against my wildly beating heart; and, with stony eyes staring me in the face, gasped—

"'Remeses! Who hath—who—who hath said this?'

"'No one, no one, my dearly loved mother,' I answered, tenderly. And when I saw that she was more composed, I said, 'It was only a conjecture—a wild suspicion—for I could not comprehend the mystery between you and my cousin Mœris, except that (as has been done in former dynasties) he and I are in each other's places. Is Mœris thy son, and am I the son of the brother of Amunophis?'

"I had no sooner said this, than she raised her head from the gold-embroidered purple cushion of the ivory couch, on which she lay reclining against my arm, and with a strange laugh of joy and surprise, said,—

"'So this is all, Remeses! Then thou needest not fear. Mœris is not my son. He is nothing to me but my kinsman. Canst thou believe that that wicked prince is my offspring? I forgive thee, Remeses, because, perhaps, my words, and the necessity of guarding my secret, may have forced thee to this conclusion.' This she spoke with a mind evidently greatly relieved.

"'Then, dear mother, I am thy son in spite of Prince Mœris?'

"'In spite of Mœris,' she answered. 'Hast thou ever known any other mother? Remeses, let thy heart be at peace! Mœris is not my son! On that he does not found his hopes to grasp the reins of Egypt. Now hear me, my son,' she said, solemnly. 'That prince once sought my life. When I was taken ill on the day that he dined with me, he had bribed my cup-bearer to drop a subtle poison in my cup. Dread of the prince forced him, under his eyes, to do it; but, as the cup-bearer handed me the wine, he pressed my little finger, where it clasped the cup, so significantly, that I looked in his eyes, and saw them full of warning. I did not drink, but pleaded illness, and left the banquet-room. I sent for the cup-bearer, and he confessed what he had done. When I heard his confession, and was thereby acquainted with the purpose of Prince Mœris against my life, I was overwhelmed with despair. My future safety lay in sending for him the next day. He came. It was a brief but dreadful interview. He acknowledged that he sought my life, because I had the day before refused him the crown of Upper Egypt, declining to give him the half of my empire. He threatened to betray my secret, and I pleaded for silence. He demanded the white crown of the Thebaïd as his reward, but I put him off with evasions. He had command of the fleet, and I dared not anger him. I shrunk from making known to you his demand, and the terror with which he inspired me. I promised that if he entered the Ethiopian capital within six months, he should reign in Thebes.'

"'My mother,' I cried, 'gave you such a promise to him? He is already marshalling his forces!'

"'And in order not so much to conquer Ethiopia, as to usurp one of the thrones of Egypt,' she answered.

"'And are you bound by this promise to him?' I demanded, overwhelmed with amazement, both at the audacity of Mœris, and the power he held over my mother by means of this secret.

"'By all the vows that a mortal can make to the gods! Here, in this sacred chapel, before these shrines, he made me swear that in consideration he subdued the central capital of Ethiopia, and preserved my secret, I would transfer from my head to his the white-gold crown of Upper Egypt, the most ancient kingdom mortal ever ruled over on earth, after the demigods.'

"When, my dear Sesostris," said Remeses, after having related to me, with a dark countenance, the foregoing conversation, "I heard this, I was for some time confounded, and could not speak. At length I cried out—

"'That mystery—that secret, known only to you and Mœris, and for the safe-keeping of which you part with one of your crowns, what is it! divulge it! Am I not worthy, O my mother, of the confidence which Prince Mœris, by foul means, shares with you? Will you not intrust me with the secret which he can extort by bribery?'

"The queen looked deadly pale, and her whole frame trembled. She essayed to reply, and then said, with an effort, as if a corpse had become vocal—

"'Remeses—you must—must not know it! Do not ask—do not suspect evil. Do not doubt me, or you will kill me! Kiss me, Remeses! Kiss me, my son! Are you not my son? I love you, and know you love me. Let all else pass by. You shall be king! You shall wear the double tiara! You shall grasp both sceptres! Therefore is it, I would now make you king. Dost thou understand me? Mœris must not march into Ethiopia. That evil man must have a master. My power is failing! I would surrender it to thee. The only safety of Egypt, the only security for thy crown and dominion, is in taking the throne, and ruling all Egypt in thine own right.'

"'Is this so, my mother?' I demanded. 'Does Prince Mœris not only torture thy soul with a secret, which, as a just prince, he ought forever to forget, if thou desirest it, but does he also aspire to sever Egypt, and rule in the Thebaïd, on the ancient throne of my ancestors, as the price of a secret held over thee with an unmanly advantage?'

"'He does, my son,' she answered. 'The only safety of the empire depends on my resignation of the crowns into your hands. Once Pharaoh, you have Mœris at your feet, and if he prate his secret, you will then be able to despise it, and put to silence his tongue.'

"'Mother, my dear mother,' I answered, after long reflection, 'what you have told me has brought me to a decision. I shall act blindly—not knowing the nature of the power of the prince over you; but I shall act from affection and sympathy for you, in obedience to your wishes, and for the preservation of the integrity of the united kingdom. I am ready to obey you. In order to defeat Prince Mœris, and relieve your mind, I will accept the sceptre which you are desirous of placing in my feeble and inexperienced hand. I am ready to enter upon the sacred rites of initiation, and in all things will be your dutiful and obedient son. The wickedness and ambition of Mœris must be crushed.'

"When I had thus said, my mother, with a cry of joy cast herself into my arms. I bore her, almost fainting with happiness realized, to the apartments of her women, and again assuring her of my full compliance with her wishes, I took tender leave of her, and hastened to my room to reflect upon all that had passed in that extraordinary interview; and then I sought you."

Thus the Prince Remeses ended his interesting and singular statement. I knew not what to respond to him when he had done. But be sure, dear mother, there must something grow out of this, of the greatest importance to this dynasty. Who can divine the secret?

But I must here close my letter, with assurances of my fondest attachment to you, my dear mother, whom the gods guard from all mysteries and secrets, and from ambitious princes like the lord Mœris.

Your ever faithful,

Sesostris