After remaining two days at Pelusium to recruit ourselves after our fatigues, having fortunately some money left we engaged an Egyptian vessel, and proceeded by way of the Nile to Alexandria, with the intention of making some stay there, thinking likewise that we might find in that city some of our shipwrecked friends. Upon nearing a certain town, not far from the river, we suddenly heard a loud shout; upon which the master exclaiming, "The buccaneers are upon us!" endeavoured to put about his vessel, and to sail back, when in a moment the bark was thronged with men of formidable and savage mien. They were all tall and stout; their complexion was black,—not the jet black of the Indians, but that of a mongrel Ethiopian; they had shaven heads and very small feet, and spoke a barbarous dialect.[19] As this was the narrowest part of the river, escape was impossible; so the master exclaiming, "We are all lost!" brought the vessel to. Four of the buccaneers came on board and carried off everything which they could lay hands on, not forgetting our stock of money; we were then taken on shore, bound and shut up in a hut, when the greater part of them rode away, leaving guards, who were to conduct us next day to the king, as their chief is styled, who, as we learnt from our fellow captives, was about two days' journey distant.
When night came on, and we were lying there bound and our guards were asleep, I found leisure to bewail Leucippe, reflecting how many calamities I had brought upon her. Deeply groaning in soul, and carefully suppressing any outward sound of grief, "Oh, ye gods and genii!" I said within myself, "if ye really exist and hear me, what heinous crimes have we committed, that in a few short days we should be plunged into such a depth of misery? And now, to crown all, ye have delivered us into the hands of Egyptian buccaneers, cutting us off from any chance of pity. Our voice and our entreaties might mollify the heart of a Grecian pirate; for words oftentimes beget compassion, and the tongue ministering to the necessities of the soul, subdues the angry feeling of the hearer; but in our present case, what language can we employ, what oaths of submission can we take? Had I tones more persuasive than the Syrens', these barbarian homicides would neither understand nor listen to me; I must then be content to supplicate with signs and gestures, and pantomimic[20] show; it is not so much for my own misfortunes, severe as they are, which I lament, but how shall I sufficiently bewail, how sufficiently weep for thine, Leucippe, thou who hast shown thyself so faithful in all the straits of love, so tender towards thy unhappy lover! Behold, the splendid preparation for thy marriage; a prison for thy bridal chamber, earth for thy couch, the noose and the rope for thy necklaces and bracelets, a pirate for thy bridesman,[21] a dirge for thy nuptial hymn. Ο Sea! I have thanked thee without reason; rather should I upbraid thee for thy mercy; greater in reality has been thy kindness to those whom thou hast drowned; our preservation deserves rather to be called destruction, for thou hast grudged us death except by the hands of buccaneers." In this manner did I inwardly lament, but no tears came to my relief; this is indeed peculiar to the eyes in all great misfortunes; in the season of any ordinary grief, they flow readily enough,[22] and then they not only serve as intercessors between the sufferer and the cause of his sufferings, but they also diminish the inward swelling of the heart; but in the time of excessive sorrow, tears take to flight and are traitors to the eyes; sorrow encounters them as they are springing from their fountain, arrests their progress and compels them to retrace their way; accordingly, turned from the direction of the eyes they flow back upon the soul and exasperate its inward wounds.
Turning to Leucippe, who had not spoken a word, I said, "Why are you silent, dearest? Why do you not speak to me?" "Because," she replied, "though my soul still lives, my voice is already dead." The dawn imperceptibly overtook us while we were engaged in conversation, when a horseman suddenly rode up with a profusion of long matted hair;[23] his horse was as shaggy as himself and bare-backed, without housings of any kind, as is customary with the horses of these buccaneers. He came it appeared from their captain, with orders to bring away any maiden whom he might find to be an expiatory offering on behalf of the pirates, to their god. The guards immediately seized Leucippe, who clung to me with shrieks, but while some of them struck me, others tore her away, placed her on horseback and rode away, leaving us who were still bound to follow at greater leisure. We had scarcely proceeded two furlongs from the village when we heard a loud shouting mingled with the sounds of a trumpet, and presently a body of heavy armed soldiers appeared in view, upon which the pirates, placing us in the centre, stood their ground and prepared for resistance. The soldiers were about fifty in number, some bearing long shields reaching to the feet, others having only bucklers. The buccaneers, who were far superior in numbers, began to pelt the military with clods of earth:[24] now, an Egyptian clod can do more execution than any other, for being of stony earth, it is at the same time heavy, rough, and jagged, can raise a swelling and inflict a wound. The soldiers relying upon the protection of their shields cared little for these missiles, and waiting till the buccaneers were tired with their exertions, they suddenly opened their ranks, when the light-armed darted out, each armed with a javelin and a sword, and so skilful was the aim that no one missed his mark; the heavy-armed proceeded to support them and a stubborn fight took place, in which abundance of blows and wounds were exchanged on either side. Military discipline made up for deficiency of numbers, the pirates began to give ground, which, when we observed, I and the other prisoners bursting through their ranks went over to the enemy; ignorant of our real condition the soldiers were about to kill us, when perceiving us to be naked and bound with cords, they received us into their ranks and sent us for safety to the rear; meanwhile a body of cavalry came up and extending their flanks they surrounded the buccaneers, got them into a narrow space and cut them down; the greater part were soon dispatched, some though severely wounded still resisted, the rest were taken prisoners. It was now about evening; the commander of the forces, Charmides by name, interrogated us severally, asking who we were, and how we had been captured. The others told their stories and I related my own adventures; after hearing every particular he desired us to follow him, promising to supply us with arms; it being his intention, as soon as the rest of his troops came up, to attack the chief haunt of the pirates, where it was said there were ten thousand men. Being a good rider I requested the favour of a horse, and no sooner was my wish complied with, than mounting I went through the different evolutions of a cavalry soldier, to the great delight of the commander. He insisted on having me as a guest at his own table, and after hearing my history at supper time, expressed his commiseration of my misfortunes.
The listening to others' grief often times begets sympathy in the hearers, and this sympathy leads to friendship, the soul affected by the relation of woe, passing from feelings of pity to sensations of a tenderer kind.[25] Charmides, at any rate, was so much moved, that he could not refrain from tears; more than this he could not do, as Leucippe was in the power of the pirates. I may also mention that he kindly gave me an Egyptian as my servant. The next day he prepared to advance against the buccaneers, who were seen in great force on the other side of a trench which it was his object to fill up. They had constructed a rude altar of earth, and near it lay a coffin; two men were seen conducting the maiden, whose hands were bound behind her back.
I could not distinguish who they were, because their armour concealed them, but I easily recognized Leucippe. After pouring a libation upon her head, they led her round the altar, an Egyptian priest all the while chanting a hymn as was evident from the motion of his lips and the muscles of his face;[26] when this was ended, all at a signal being given retired to a considerable distance, when one of the young men who had conducted the maiden placed her upon the ground, bound her to four wooden pegs—-just as image makers represent Marsyas bound to the tree—and then drawing a sword plunged it into her heart, and drawing the weapon downwards laid open all her belly so that the intestines immediately protruded; then they removed and laid them upon the altar, and when roasted they were cut into portions and partaken of by the pirates. The soldiers and their commander upon witnessing these proceedings cried out and averted their faces in disgust; strange to say, I continued to gaze in stupid astonishment, as if thunderstruck by the surpassing horror of the spectacle. There may really have been some truth in the legend of Niobe, and from being affected by the loss of her children, in the same way in which I was now, her motionless appearance may have given her the appearance of being turned to stone. When the horrible business was, as I supposed ended, the young men placed the body in the coffin, covering it with a lid, and after throwing down the altar, hurried back to their companions, not once looking behind them, for such had been the injunction of the priest.
By evening the trench was filled up and the soldiers after crossing it, encamped for the night and prepared their supper. Charmides seeing my distress, did all in his power to console me, but to no purpose; for about the first watch of the night, when all were asleep, I took my sword, proceeded to the spot and prepared to stab myself upon the coffin.—"Wretched Leucippe," I exclaimed, "thou most ill-fated of human kind, I lament not so much thy death, nor thy dying in a foreign land, nor that it has been a death of violence; but that such insults have been heaped upon thy misfortunes—that thou hast been made a victim to purify the most polluted of their kind—that thou hast been ripped up while yet alive, and able to gaze upon the horrid process—that thou hast had an accursed altar and coffin for thy joint grave, the former for thy bowels, the latter for thy body. Had the fire consumed thy entrails, there would be less cause to grieve; but now, most horrible, they have been made to furnish forth food to a pirate band! Ο accursed altar-torch, Ο unheard of banquet! and yet the gods looked quietly down upon such proceedings,[27] and yet the fire was not extinguished, but polluted as it was sent up its odour with acceptance to the deities! Leucippe, thou shalt now receive from me the offering which befits thee." After uttering these words, I raised the sword and was on the point of stabbing myself, when by the light of the moon I perceived two men hastily running towards me; supposing them to be buccaneers, I paused in the expectation of being put to death by them; they soon reached the spot where I was standing and both called aloud to me, and who should they prove to be, but Satyrus and Menelaus. So profound was my grief at what had taken place, that though I saw before me two of my friends unexpectedly alive and well, I neither embraced them nor felt any emotion of joy.
Seizing my hand they endeavoured to wrest the sword from me. "In the name of the gods," said I, "grudge me not a welcome death, or rather, I should say, a medicine for all my ills. Do what you please; I will no longer remain in life, now that Leucippe is gone. You may indeed deprive me of this weapon, but there will remain a sword of grief within which slowly kills and drinks my blood; do you wish that I should die by this slow and lingering death?" Upon this, interrupting me, Menelaus said, "If this be your only reason for dying, you may put up your sword; Leucippe shall soon come to life again." I looked steadfastly at him, and exclaimed, "Can you insult me in the midst of such calamities?—have some regard for hospitable Jove." Without farther delay he tapped upon the coffin several times, calling out, "Leucippe, since Clitopho is incredulous, do you bear witness to the truth of what I say;" and almost immediately a faint voice was heard proceeding from the interior. A sudden trembling seized me, and I gazed upon Menelaus, half believing him to be a sorcerer; he proceeded to remove the lid, when Leucippe slowly rose and came forth, presenting the most fearful spectacle which can be imagined; the lower part of her person was entirely laid open and all her bowels had been removed; we rushed into each other's embrace and both fell to the ground. When I had recovered myself a little, I said to Menelaus, "Will you not explain the meaning of all this? Is not this Leucippe whose face I behold, whose form I press, and whose voice I hear? What was it which I witnessed yesterday? Either it was an idle dream, or what I now see is an unreality; and yet this kiss is warm, loving, and sweet, as Leucippe's was wont to be."—"Her bowels shall soon be restored," was his reply; "the wound on her breast shall be healed, and you shall behold her sound as ever, but be so good as to cover your eyes, for I must call Hecate to lend us her assistance."
Believing him in earnest I followed his directions, and he began to practise his juggling tricks and to mutter certain sounds, at the same time removing the contrivances from Leucippe's body and restoring her to her usual appearance. "Uncover your face," he at length exclaimed. Slowly and with great trepidation—for I really believed that Hecate was there—I removed my hands from my eyes, and beheld Leucippe's own sweet self, unharmed in any way: more astonished than ever, "My dear Menelaus," said I, "if you are the minister of any god, tell me where we are, and what all these things mean."—"Do not frighten him any more," interrupted Leucippe, "but at once tell him how you contrived to outwit the buccaneers."—"You may remember my telling you on board ship," said Menelaus, "that I am by birth an Egyptian; my property lies chiefly about this village, and I am consequently well acquainted with the principal persons in it; when I and Satyrus after being shipwrecked were thrown on shore we were conducted into the presence of the pirate chief; some of his people soon recognized me, upon which my chains were taken off, and after assuring me of safety I was strongly urged to join their company as being in some degree already known to them. Upon this I required that Satyrus should be delivered up to me, declaring him to be a slave of mine: 'Your wish shall be complied with,' they replied, 'provided you first give some proof of courage in our cause.' Fortunately they had just then been commanded by an oracle to offer up a virgin as an expiation for their robber band, and after tasting the victim's entrails they were to place the body in a coffin and to retire from the scene of sacrifice. The object of this was to strike terror into the minds of the hostile force; but," continued he, addressing Satyrus, "the rest of the story belongs more properly to you."
"Upon learning that Leucippe was taken captive," said Satyrus, taking up the narrative, "I felt sincere regret on her behalf, and urged Menelaus by all means to save her; some good genius came to our assistance; the day before the sacrifice we were sitting by the sea-shore, overcome with grief and considering what steps were to be taken. Some of the buccaneers espying a vessel which had got out of her course from ignorance of the coast, hurried down to attack her; the crew endeavoured to put out to sea, but being too late they prepared for resistance.
"There happened to be among them a stage-player or reciter of Homeric poetry.[28] Arming himself and the rest after the manner of the heroes of the Iliad, they offered a brave resistance, but being at last overpowered by a number of the pirate boats, their vessel was sunk and themselves were slaughtered. It chanced that after this a chest floated on shore unperceived by the buccaneers; Menelaus getting it into a retired spot opened it, supposing it might contain something valuable; among the contents were a cloak and a sword with a hilt five palms in length, the blade of which was not so long: while Menelaus was carelessly handling it, the blade flew out and became equal to the hilt in length, and a different movement reduced it, to its former dimensions; the ill-fated owner had no doubt been accustomed to use it upon the stage for the infliction of mimic wounds. I immediately said to Menelaus, 'if only you will now give proof of your courage, the deity will second us, and we shall be able to preserve the maiden without being discovered by the buccaneers. We will get a sheepskin, one of the softest and most flexible which can be procured, this we will sew into the shape of a bag, corresponding in size with the human stomach, and after filling it with entrails and blood, we will secure the opening; having done this, we will fasten it upon the maiden's body, and by throwing over her a robe bound by a girdle and other fastenings we can easily conceal the artifice. The nature of the oracle given to the pirates and the construction of the sword, are both strongly in our favour: the oracle commands that the maiden when adorned for sacrifice is to be ripped open through her dress; and as for the sword, you see how artfully it is contrived; if you press it against the human body, the blade flies into the hilt as into a scabbard, while all the time it will appear to the beholders to have been run into the body; on the present occasion just enough of the blade will remain out to cut open the false stomach as soon as the hilt reaches the sheepskin, and when withdrawn from the wound, the portion of the sword contained within the hilt will immediately fly out, so that it will appear to the spectator that the whole of the weapon was really plunged into the maiden. The pirates will not discover the deceit, for as I before said, the skin will be concealed by the dress put over it, and the entrails will immediately protrude from the gash which it has made; these we shall place upon the altar, and as no one is to approach the body, we shall be able to place it in the coffin. You remember the pirate-captain telling you that you were expected to display some proof of courage; now is the time to go to him and to make the offer.'