The Pillar of Fire; or, Israel in Bondage

by J. H. Ingraham

LETTER XXIV.

Palace of Remeses, City of On.

My dearest Mother:

I commence this letter, as I did one written and addressed to you two days ago, with the probability, that circumstances may yet render the seal of secrecy, now placed upon it, unnecessary; at least I shall detain both this one and that, for a time, if not finally destroy them. But I have a feeling that you will yet read what I write.

If the incidents and scenes recorded, in the preceding letter, were of an extraordinary kind, you must be prepared to read in this, of events still more strange, and painfully interesting. It is with an effort that I calm my pulse, and subdue my emotions sufficiently, to narrate equably what I desire to make known to you.

The morning after my interview with the queen, I arose early from a sleepless couch; for the events of the preceding evening, recalled by an excited mind, kept me awake with reflections of the most anxious and distressing nature. I mourned for Remeses, my noble, wise, and great friend and counsellor,—a prince by nature, and by the seal of all the gods, if not by inheritance from the Pharaohs. Not regarding the Hebrew race with the disdainful eye of those who have been masters over them, like the Egyptians, but looking upon them only as an unfortunate nation, descendants of the three patriarchal princes of Palestine, I, dear mother, felt no contempt for Remeses on account of his lineage and blood: To me, he was still as dear and as much honored. It was not the "prince" I loved from the first, but the "man" and he remains. I tossed my head on my pillow, grieving for him; as I knew, should the tidings ever come to his ears, and be confirmed as a truth, that it would break his great heart—crush his mighty soul to the earth; for, educated as an Egyptian prince, he entertains towards the Hebrews, the haughty contempt (so far as this sentiment can repose in such a benevolent bosom), which characterizes the Egyptian nation. How will he be humbled, overwhelmed, confounded, dismayed!

Such were my wakeful reflections, when at length the morning dawned; and I arose, bathed, and prepared to obey the command of the queen to breakfast with her. Believing that she must have passed a sorrowful night, and would not awake early, I sat down to read in a roll of papyrus which lay upon my table, among other books that belonged to Remeses; for I was occupying his own suite of rooms during his absence, amid the sacred mysteries of his kingly initiation. It proved to be written in the Theban running character, which I am not familiar with, and laying it down, I took up a leaf of new papyrus, on which I recognized the bold and elegant script of Remeses. As he had given me free access to all upon the table, I examined the subject, and finding that it was a sacred poem, I read therein a few sentences, when I perceived that it was the history of a remarkable era in the life of the venerable Lord of Uz, to whom I have alluded. This aged and interesting Syrian has already taken his departure, but previously made known to Remeses, as he told me, all the events connected with an extraordinary period of his middle life.

I read, therefore, with interest what Remeses had commenced: for it was only a beginning. After giving the name of the Lord of Uz, and that of the land in which he dwelt, he spoke of his uprightness, his holiness, his riches, and his pious care over his children—who were seven sons and three daughters; and also of their happiness, festivities, and prosperity; and how, by the permission of the One God, Typhon, or the Spirit of Evil, tempted him.

Thus far had my friend got in the history, and I was about to replace the scroll, when the door opened, and lo! Prince Remeses himself stood before me! I started with an exclamation of joyful astonishment; but seeing his visage haggard and pallid with woe, I was alarmed. I approached him to embrace him, as he stood just within the door, regarding me with looks of doubt and solicitude.

"Wilt thou, O Prince of Tyre, embrace a Hebrew?" he surprised me by asking, in a voice deep and tremulous.

"Then thou knowest it all," I cried, "O my friend!" as I threw myself into his embrace.

For a few minutes we wept in each other's arms. At length he spoke and said—

"Yes, Sesostris, I have heard it all! Thou knowest the secret also, says my moth——nay—I forgot—I should have said—the queen!" Here his emotion overcame him. He leaned his noble head upon my shoulder and continued: "Yet she is my mother, prince! She has ever been a mother to me! I have known no other! I shall love her, while my life lasts, above all earthly things. Pardon my grief, Sesostris! Nature is mighty in sorrow, and will have her way! The heart, like our Nile, will sometimes overflow, if full."

In a few moments he was composed, and said sadly—

"Knowing my history, can you regard me as before?"

"I love thee as ever, O prince—"

He interrupted me—"Call me not 'prince,' call me by my name—that, at least, is left me! But I am a slave!"

"No—not to me! You are a descendant of kings! Are not Prince Abraham, Isaac, and the great Prince Jacob your ancestors? I am not an Egyptian any more than thyself," I answered him.

"True, true! I must not forget that! I thank thee, O prince, for reminding me of this. A slave in Egypt may be a freeman in Tyre!"

"That is true also," I said. "May I ask, O Remeses, why you have left the temples and are here; and how you heard this intelligence, which you bear up under like a god?"

"I am calm now; but, Sesostris, I have passed through a sirocco of the soul! You shall hear all. Come and sit here."

I placed myself by the table opposite to him. He then began as follows:

"I need not describe to you, O my friend, the nature of the rites and ceremonies, nor the character of the mysteries which I have been in contact with, for five-and-thirty days; let it be enough for your curiosity to know, that beneath all the splendor of our polytheism is hidden the mystery, known to the 'sons of the Lord of heaven, of One God. This truth is guarded by the mystics, as a mystery, not as a doctrine; and is of no value to them nor to the world: it is as if the sun were forever shrouded in impenetrable clouds. I have learned it only darkly; but this is not to my purpose now, my friend: perhaps at another time we will discourse of these things. I had passed my decreed days and nights, at all the shrines which the laws for kings direct when, last night, I was borne across the Nile by a company of the mystics, who left me at the entrance of the avenue leading to the sphinx that is before Cheops and Chephres. There twelve other ecclesiastical mystics took me in charge. We marched together, six on each side of me, in profound silence; till, on passing the lion facing the sphinx, their leader cried—

"'Let the king be as a lion in strength and majesty!'

"The rest answered with one voice—

"'And may his enemies be as lambs beneath his paws!'

"At the small temple, between the feet of the sphinx, three priests stood, one of whom sprinkled my head with sacred water; the second, with his little finger that had been dipped in the blood of a cock which he had sacrificed, touched my forehead; and the third waved incense before me;—while from within came a low, plaintive chant of voices and instruments, invoking the gods in a hymn on my behalf. The whole scene was solemn and impressive.

"I was then conducted to the pylon of the great temple before the pyramids. As I passed beneath the gate, the twelve priests left me; and twenty-four others, dressed in white robes and bearing torches, took me in charge, and conducted me at a slow march across the great quadrangle, leading me to a dark portal which descended, as I was told, to the base of the pyramid, down to the 'hall of all the mysteries of the earth.'"

"Is not this the temple of the magicians?" I asked, gratified to see, that Remeses could for a moment so far forget his great sorrow, as to enter into these details, for my gratification.

"Yes, the place where the sorcerers and soothsayers hold their mystic and fearful rites. For ages, this subterranean temple, under the earth between the two pyramids, but no part of the pyramidal structure itself, has been their place of solemn assembly. Into this region I descended, led by only two men, who received me at the head of the stairs of stone.

"But I may not describe, more particularly, the progress of my mysterious journey through subterranean passages, which I had no conception existed beneath the space between the two pyramids; although tradition has it, that the whole territory underneath both is a labyrinthine catacomb, which assertion I have now no reason to doubt. After traversing vast gloomy corridors of pillars hewn from the solid rock, and a succession of chambers dedicated to mysteries, I was ushered, by the sound of awful music, from an unseen source, into a great central temple, so large that the torches borne by my guides, could not penetrate its outer blackness. In the centre of this solemn hall stood an altar of black marble. We approached it, when suddenly from it soared aloft a bright flame which illumined the temple, to its remotest obscurities, with a light like the moon when it is full. revealing in the height above, a firmament with its thousand stars reflecting the light. I had already, my Sesostris, passed through such varied and surprising scenes, in the progress of my initiation, that I was not surprised at this, for the arts of the priestly magicians seem to embrace a knowledge of all the secret alchemy of nature; and they possess wisdom and skill to control her wonderful powers. While this brilliant flame burned from a brazen vase which stood upon the altar, a procession of figures entered by a distant door, and slowly made the circuit of the massive corridor. I perceived at once that they were attired symbolically, representing the powers of nature, and were preceded by five stately and imposing forms standing for fire, water, earth, air, and the Nile; symbols of which were worn upon their heads, and carried in their hands. Behind these came seven persons, each crowned with a star, the whole representing the seven stars. Then advanced Orion, belted and armed; Arcturus, Aldebaran, Procyon, Rigel, and Antares, each with a blazing coronet above his brow, and carrying the symbols and wearing the dress of the god. These, with an interval of space between, were followed by the twelve constellations of the zodiac; each zodiac consisting of twelve bands of men, subdivided into twenty-four smaller companies, and so moving, each in a place assigned him, as to show the position of every star of the constellation, which he was appointed to aid in illustrating. Each individual carried above his head a starry light, inclosed in a crystal cup.

"This imposing and magnificent representation and illustration of the march of Time through the heavens, with all the movements of the heavenly orbs, presented a spectacle of splendor unsurpassed by any human display. Solemn as the march of the stars themselves, this procession of constellations moved once around the grand circuit of the temple, and then the five leaders advanced towards the altar, by which I stood alone, deserted by those who had led me thither. Every one of these symbolic persons in succession bent the knee before me, in token that the powers of the earth, air, fire, and water, with the great Nile itself, were submissive to my will. Ah, Sesostris," interspoke Remeses here, "how little did they suspect, when paying me this customary homage, that I was a mere Hebrew slave, who could make use of the air, of fire, of water, of the earth, or of the Nile, only by the permission of my Egyptian masters!

"Other striking ceremonies passed thereafter, and by and by I was left alone beside the altar, the flame of which it was my duty to feed with naphtha until morning, this being the first vigil of the last five nights. I was not, however, long left alone. Seven magicians, in their gorgeous apparel, came from a door that seemed to be an outlet from beneath the second pyramid, and approached me, chanting a war-song. Each bore a piece of royal armor,—one a helmet, one a cuirass, one a spear, another a shield. As they passed me they presented, and I received from each, a piece of the armor, and invested myself therewith. I was told by the leader to be strong and fight valiantly, for I should be assailed by powers of evil. They then left me, and again I was alone, yet on my guard. Feeding the flame till it burned high, I sought to penetrate the gloom, at least expecting to behold a lion let into the temple for me to combat with, that I might prove my right to the sword of the Pharaohs which I held in my grasp.

"I know not, Sesostris, who or what would have been my assailant, if due time had elapsed for his coming; but I suddenly heard a step behind me, and behold, instead of a fierce beast or a warrior, a single magician, tall and commanding, who bore in one hand merely the sacred crux or emblem of life, and in the other his black wand tipped with an emerald. I challenged him, as I was directed to do by my instructors, and demanded whether he came for good or evil, with war or peace in his heart.

"He made no other reply than—

"'Follow me!'

"I obeyed. Ah, how little did I suspect, O Sesostris, that I was about to encounter what was more fearful than a roaring lion,—more terrible than an armed host! But you shall hear.

"I crossed the echoing temple-floor to a small portal, which at first did not reveal its presence, being a slab in the wall, but which, at a slight pressure of the magician's wand, betrayed an opening through which we passed,—I, with my sword held in my hand to defend or attack. The stone door closed behind me, and I was conducted through a beautiful chamber, adorned with marbles, and sparkling with precious stones, that seemed to shine by a light of their own, as I could discover no source of reflection; though doubtless, however, that was, in some part, concealed by the art of these ingenious and wise magicians.

"There was an inner chamber, or adytum, entirely encased with panels of black marble, polished like a mirror. I was conducted into this room, and commanded, by a voice unknown, and from an invisible person, to seat myself upon a stone chair in the centre of the floor. I obeyed; for princes, during their initiation, are taught constantly, that 'he who would know how to command must learn how to obey;' and thus, in these rites, submission and obedience are inculcated, as necessary elements in the character of one who wishes to exact them from others. Indeed, Sesostris, the whole routine of the ceremonies, though sometimes vain and frivolous, sometimes extravagant, is calculated to impress upon the heart of a prince the wisest lessons in self government, and the profoundest knowledge of himself. Every temptation is offered him, that he may resist it. Every condition of life, from hunger and thirst upward, he passes through in his progress. Three nights and days I fasted in the temple of Pthah, that I might pity the hungry: two days I suffered thirst, that I might feel for the thirsty: six hours I toiled with burdens, that I might know how my poorer subjects toiled: one hour I was a servant, another a prisoner, a third cup-bearer to the high-priest. Every rite is a link in the practical education of a prince; and he who comes to the throne, has reached it through every grade of society, and through every condition of humanity; and thus the king centres and unites within his own person, from having been engaged in each, the pursuits of all his people, and knows by experience their joys and sorrows, toils and pleasures; and can say to every class of Egyptians, 'there is nothing which appertains to you that is foreign to me. The people of Egypt are represented in their king.'

"When I had taken my seat in this chamber of black marble, which was dimly lighted by a misty radiance before me, I saw that I was alone. Now, O Sesostris, came my trial!—such an one as no prince of the house of Pharaoh had ever passed through. It is said that Osirtasen, when he was brought to this chamber, had it revealed to him that he was the son of the god Hercules but to me was revealed, alas! thou knowest what, and shalt hear how!

"'Remeses-Moses,' said a deep and stern voice from what, in the obscurity, seemed to me a shrine, 'thou art wise, and virtuous, and strong of heart! Gird thyself with courage, and hear what is to be revealed to thee! Know that thou art not the son of Amense, queen of Egypt, as thou believest. She was never a mother!'

"'It is false, thou wicked magician!' I cried, starting to my feet. 'Art thou, then, the foe I am to meet and destroy?'

"'Silence, young man!' cried another voice, with a tone of power. 'What the mysterious oracle utters is true. Thou art not the son of Pharaoh's daughter! Thou hast no title to the throne of Egypt!'

"'Who am I, then?' I cried, impressed and awed, yet full of anger at the words.

"'Thou art the son of a Hebrew mother and a Hebrew father!' said the voice.

"I advanced sword in hand to meet these invisible persons, believing that the insult was but another of the series of tests, and this one in particular, of my patience and temper; for, O Sesostris," added Remeses to me, bitterly, "what greater insult could have been put upon a prince of Egypt than this! When I came forward, I saw the wall, as it were, open before me; and I beheld the Nile in bright sunshine; the Island of Rhoda, with its palaces and gardens; the distant towers and obelisks of On, and all the scenery adjacent, but seemingly so near, that I could lay my hand upon it all.

"At this surprising spectacle manifesting itself in the dark chambers of the pyramids, I stood amazed and arrested! I felt that it was supernatural, or produced by magic. As I gazed, perplexed, a third voice said—

"'Behold! Thou seest that the obelisk of Amense is wanting; that the palace of the governor of the Nile has only its foundations laid. The scene is, as Egypt was thirty-five years ago.'

"I looked again, and recognized the truth. I saw it was not the Nile of to-day. I saw, also, that its stream was at a height, different from its present mark upon the nilometer. I was amazed, and awaited with intense expectation. Suddenly I saw a party of spearmen enter a hut, which I perceived was one of a group that was occupied by Hebrew workmen, who were engaged upon the governor's palace. Presently they came forth, two of them, each bearing an infant aloft upon a spear, which was thrust through it, and followed by shrieking women. I could hear and see all as if I were on the spot. I impulsively advanced to slay the men, for all seemed so real, but as I did so, saw at my feet a yawning gulf. Then the men cast the infants into the Nile. I saw three others go into another hut, whence they were driven forth by two desperate Hebrews, who, armed with straw-cutters, slew two of them; but the other fled, and returning with his comrades, they set fire to the hut of rushes, and consumed the inmates within it. I now perceived that it seemed drawing towards the close of day. From a hut, near the water, a man and a young girl, both Hebrews, stole forth, and collecting bulrushes in their arms, returned to the hut. It was now night. I had seen the shades of evening fall over the scenery, and the stars come out. Yet, by a power incomprehensible to me, I could look into the closed and barred hut, and see that, by the light of a rush dipped in bitumen, three of its inmates were making, in secret haste, a large basket. I saw them finish it, and then beheld the man smear it within and without with pitch. From their conversation, I learned that they wished it to resist water, and that they were to commit some precious freight to its frail protection; what, I could not learn; as, when they spoke of it, their colloquy was in low hushed tones, and with looks of fear, especially the two females, who wept very much. One of them, I learned by their words, was the daughter of the man by a former wife. There was another child, a boy apparently of the age of three years, lying in sweet sleep upon a bed of rushes, made up in a corner of the hut. When the little ark was done, I watched with the deepest interest their further proceedings. At length the three went out together, and to my surprise I saw, by the setting moon, that it was near dawn. They bent their steps, swiftly and silently, towards the ancient temple of Isis, which was then, as now, in ruins, and deserted by every Egyptian, for the sacrilege done therein under the reign of Bnon, the Phœnician Pharaoh. I could see them steal along the tangled avenue beneath the palm-trees, and through that of the broken sphinxes, until they came to the pyramidion of the obelisk of Sesostris I. Here a deep, ancient excavation, covered with vines and rushes, showed a flight of broken steps. After carefully looking all about, to see if they were observed, they descended. In a few minutes the three came forth, the elderly woman holding in her arms an infant, upon the beautiful face of which the waning moon shone for a moment, but instantly she hid it with her mantle, and hurried to the river-side. Here the man put the basket upon the shore, and extended his arms for the child. The poor mother, as I now perceived she must be, burst into tears, and clasped it closer and closer to her heart.

"'Nay, Jochebeda,' he said, with gentle firmness, 'thy cries will attract notice. The child cannot live if we delay. Hast thou not had warning from the kind Egyptian woman, who was with thee when it was born, and who aided thee in concealing it, that its hiding-place is known, and that in the morning soldiers will be there? Bear up, heart! If we commit it to the Nile, the God of our fathers, in whom we trust, and who will yet return, to redeem us, according to His promise to our father Abraham, may guide the frail baris to some secure haven, and provide for the child a pitiful heart to save it.'

"I saw the mother give it its last nourishment at her breast, and then, with tears, lay it softly, sweetly sleeping the while, within the basket of bulrushes,—pillowing its head first upon her hand, until the daughter had placed beneath it a pillow of wild-flowers and lotus-leaves, gathered on the spot in the dawning light. The father then covered it carefully over, and kissing it, with grief shaking his strong frame, was about to commit the frail boat to the water, when the poor mother arrested his arm, implored one more look, one more embrace of her child! She was a young and beautiful woman; and, the last kiss given, kneeled by the shore praying to her God, as the father launched the ark into the stream. At this moment, I beheld, straying upon the bank, as if seeking its parents, the other child that I had seen in the house. I now saw the current take to its embrace the little ark, and upon its bosom bear it downward. In a few moments it lodged amid some rushes, which the mother seeing, she ran hastily, entered the water, passionately kissed her child, and would have offered it the breast again, but the more resolute father sent it once more upon its way. In the vision, I now saw that day had dawned, and that the stir of life on land and water was everywhere visible. The father watched the bark, until it could be no longer seen for the curve of the shore, and then drew near to his wife, and gently led her away to the hut,—her lingering looks ceaselessly stretched towards the Nile. The little maid, who was not more than twelve or thirteen years of age, having been previously instructed by her mother, followed along the shore to see what would become of the ark. But I weary you, Sesostris, with details, which to me had a sort of fascination, as they were enacted before me in the scenes I beheld."

"And they are deeply interesting to me, my dear Remeses," I said with emotion.

"I followed the bark also," continued Remeses, "until, after several escapes from imminent peril, it lodged against a group of flags, at the moment that a beautiful lady, accompanied by her maids, came to bathe, at the foot of the garden of Pharaoh's palace. At a glance, Sesostris, I recognized, as she was in her youth, my mother—I mean to say, the Queen Amense. I saw her attention drawn to the little ark, in the fate of which I had become intensely interested, little dreaming how much and intimately it concerned me! I heard her bid the maids take the basket out of the river, and her cry of surprise, on opening it and seeing the babe, which answered her with a sorrowful wail, as it were, of appeal. I saw her offer it to the bosoms of three Egyptian nurses in vain, when the little maid, its half-sister, drew near with mingled curiosity and fear and said—

"'O princess, shall I call one of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?'

"The princess said, 'Go!'

"Immediately the maiden ran with the swiftness of a gazelle, until she came at length to her mother's house. The poor Hebrew woman was at her task, combing flax and weeping as she toiled, feeling that she had parted with her child forever. At the height of her grief, the young maid flew in at the door, crying with a voice choked with joy—

"'Mother, run quickly! make no stay! Pharaoh's daughter has found my little brother, taken it from the ark, and sent me for a Hebrew nurse! Come quickly, before any other is found!'

"With a cry of joy, and with hands clasped to heaven in gratitude, I saw the mother about to rush out, wild with happiness, when her daughter said, 'Be calm, mother, or the princess will suspect. Put on your coif! Arrange your dress! Seem quiet, as if you were not its mother!'

"'I will try to do so—oh, I will try to do so!' she said touchingly. I saw that, in her emotion, she did not think of her other boy, who, though hardly four years old, had followed the stream, as if he understood what the ark contained. Him I saw kindly taken pity upon by an Egyptian priest, who carried him away to his house."

Here I uttered an exclamation which attracted the notice of Remeses; for I recollected the story of the young Hebrew ecclesiastic and gold image-caster, dear mother, and saw now that he was this brother of Remeses, and the mystery of the resemblance was solved. I did not make any remark to Remeses, however, in reply to his inquiring look, and he resumed his wonderful narrative.

But I will continue the subject, dear mother, in a subsequent letter.

Sesostris