"When I read this, Cnemon, I acknowledged and wondered at the dispensations of the deities. I felt both pleasure and pain by a new kind of sensation; I rejoiced and wept at the same time. I was glad to have discovered what I was before ignorant of, together with the meaning of the oracle: but I was apprehensive for the event of the design I was engaged in; and lamented the instability and uncertainty, the changes and the chances of human life, of which the fortunes of Chariclea afforded so remarkable an instance. I recollected that, with her high birth, heiress of the royal family of Ethiopia, she was now banished to a vast distance from her native country, and reputed as a bastard. I continued a considerable time in these contemplations, deploring her present situation, and hardly daring to flatter myself with better hopes for the future. At length I collected my scattered spirits, and determined that something must be done, and that quickly. I went, therefore, to Chariclea; I found her alone, almost overcome by what she suffered: her mind willing to bear up against her malady; but her body labouring, yielding, and unable to resist its attacks. When I had sent out her attendants, and given orders that no one should disturb us, on pretence that I had some prayers and invocations to make use of over her, I thus addressed her:
"'It is now time, my dear Chariclea, to disclose to me (as you promised yesterday) the cause of your sufferings. Hide nothing, I beseech you, from a man who has the greatest regard for you; and whose art is besides able to discover whatever you may obstinately endeavour to conceal.'—She took my hand, kissed it and wept. 'Sage Calasiris,' said she, 'permit me, I beg of you, to suffer in silence; and do you, as you have it in your power, discover of yourself the cause of my disease. Spare me the ignominy of confessing that which it is shameful to feel, and still more shameful to avow. Whatever I undergo from my disorder, I suffer more from the thought of my own weakness, in permitting myself to be overcome by it, and not resisting it at the beginning. It was always odious to me; the very mention of it contaminates the chaste ears of a virgin.'
"'I acquiesce, my daughter,' I replied, 'in your silence. I do not blame your reserve, and that for two reasons. In the first place, I have no need to be told that which I have before discovered by my art; and then an unwillingness to speak of a matter of this nature, becomes well the modesty of your sex. But since you have at last felt love, and are manifestly smitten by Theagenes (for this the gods have disclosed to me), know that you are not the first, or the only one, who has succumbed under this passion. It is common to you with many celebrated women, and many maidens in other respects most irreproachable; for love is a very powerful deity, and is said to subdue even the gods[10] themselves. Consider then what is best to be done in your present circumstances. If it be the greatest happiness to be free from love, the next is, when one is taken captive, to regulate it properly: this you have in your power to do; you can repel the imputation of mere sensual love, and sanctify it with the honourable and sacred name of wedlock.'
"When I said this, Cnemon, she showed much agitation, and great drops of sweat stood on her forehead. It was plain that she rejoiced at what she heard, but was anxious about the success of her hopes; and ashamed and blushing at the discovery of her weakness. After a considerable pause she said,
"'You talk of wedlock, and recommend that, as if it were evident that my father would agree to it, or the author of my sufferings desire it.'—'As to the young man, I have not the least doubt; he is more deeply smitten than yourself, and suffers full as much on your account as you can do on his. For, as it seems, your souls at their first encountering knew that they were worthy of each other, and felt a mutual passion; this passion, out of regard to you, I have heightened by my art in Theagenes. But he whom you suppose your father, proposes to give you another husband, Alcamenes, whom you well know.'—'He shall sooner find Alcamenes a grave, than find him a wife in me,' said she; 'either Theagenes shall be my husband, or I will yield to the fate which presses upon me. But why do you hint that Charicles is not really my father?'
"'It is from this that I have my information,' I replied, shewing her the fillet.—'Where did you get this?' said she, 'or how? for since I was brought, I hardly know how, from Egypt, Charicles has kept it safely locked up in a chest lest any accident should happen to it.'—'How I got it,' I returned, 'you shall hear another time; at present tell me if you know what is written on it.'—She owned that she was entirely ignorant of its contents.—'It discovers,' said I, 'your family, your country, and your fortunes.'—She besought me to disclose the purport of it; and I interpreted the whole writing to her, word for word. When she came to know who she was, her spirit seemed to rise, in conformity to her noble race. She asked me what was to be done at this conjuncture. I then became more unreserved and explicit in my advice to her.
"'I have been, my daughter,' said I, 'in Ethiopia; led by the desire of making myself acquainted with their wisdom. I was known to your mother Persina, for the royal palace was always open to the learned. I acquired some reputation there, as I increased my own stock of Egyptian knowledge by joining it to that of Ethiopia: and when I was preparing to return home, the queen unbosomed herself to me, and disclosed everything she knew relative to you, and your birth, exacting from me first an oath of secrecy. She said she was afraid to confide in any of the Ethiopian sages; and she earnestly besought me to consult the gods as to whether you had been fortunately preserved; and if so, into what part of the world you were: for she could hear no tidings of you in Ethiopia, after a most diligent inquiry. The goodness of the gods discovered by their oracles everything to me: and when I told her you were still alive, and where you were, she was very earnest with me to seek you out, and induce you to return to your native land; for she had continued sorrowful and childless ever since you were exposed; and was ready, if you should appear, to confess to her husband everything which had happened. And she was inclined to hope that he would now acknowledge you; having had so long experience of her virtue and good conduct, and seeing an unexpected prospect arise of a successor to his family. This she said, and besought me earnestly by the Sun, an adjuration which no sage dare violate, to do what she desired of me. I am now here, desirous to execute what I have been so strongly conjured to do: and though another cause brought me into this country, I esteem the pains of my wandering well repaid; and give thanks to the gods that I have found you here, whom I have long been desirous of meeting with. You know with what care I have cultivated your friendship—that I concealed whatever I knew concerning you, till I could obtain possession of this fillet, as a pledge of the truth of my relation. You may now, if you will be persuaded, leave this country with me, before you are obliged, by force, to do anything against your inclinations; for I know that Charicles is taking every measure to bring about your marriage with Alcamenes. You may return to your country, revisit your family, and be restored to your parents accompanied by Theagenes, your intended husband; and you may change your life of exile and uncertainty for that of a princess, who shall hereafter reign with him whom she most loves, if we may place confidence in the predictions of the gods.' I then put her in mind of the oracle of Apollo, and gave her my explanation of it. She had heard of it before, for it was much talked of, and its meaning inquired into. She paused at this: at last she said, 'Since such, you think, is the will of the gods, and I am inclined to believe your interpretation, what, Father, will be best for me to do?'—'You must pretend,' said I, 'that you are willing to marry Alcamenes.'—'But this is odious to me,' she replied; 'it is disgraceful to give even a feigned promise to any but Theagenes: but since I have given myself up to your direction, and that of the gods, how far will this dissimulation lead me, so that I be not entangled in any disagreeable circumstances by it?'—'The event will show you,' said I; 'to tell you beforehand might cause some hesitation upon your part, whereas suddenness in action will bring with it confidence and boldness. Only follow my advice: seem, for the present, to agree to the marriage which Charicles has so much at heart; he will not proceed in it without my knowledge and direction.' She wept, yet promised to be guided by me, and I took my leave of her.
"I had scarcely got out of the chamber when I met Charicles, with a very downcast and sorrowful air.—'You are a strange man,' said I: 'when you ought to rejoice, sacrifice, and give thanks to the gods, for having obtained what you so long have wished for; when Chariclea at last, with great difficulty, and the utmost exertions of my art and wisdom, has been brought to yield to love, and to desire marriage; you go about sad and drooping, and are ready to shed tears. What can be the matter with you?'—'I have but too much reason for sorrow,' he replied, 'when the delight of my eyes, before she can be married, as you say she is inclined to be, is threatened to be hurried away from me, if any faith is to be given to dreams, which on several nights, and particularly on the last, have tormented me. Methought I saw an eagle take his flight from the hand of Apollo, and stooping down suddenly upon me, snatch my daughter, alas! out of my very bosom, and bear her away to some extreme corner of the earth, full of dusky and shadowy forms. I could not discover what became of them; for soon the vast intermediate interval hid them from my sight.' I instantly conjectured what this dream portended; but I endeavoured to comfort him, and to prevent his having the smallest suspicion of the real truth. 'Considering that you are a priest,' I said, 'and are dedicated to that deity who is most famous for oracles, you seem to me not to have much skill in the interpretation of dreams. This darkly signifies the approaching marriage of your child, and the eagle represents her intended spouse: and when Apollo intimates this to you, and that it is from his hands that your daughter is to receive a husband, you seem displeased, and wrest the dream to an ominous interpretation. Wherefore, my dear Charicles, let us be cautious what we say; let us accommodate ourselves to the will of the gods, and use our utmost endeavours to persuade the maiden.'
"'But how shall we manage,' he replied, 'to render her more compliant?'—'Have you,' said I, 'any valuables laid up in store, garments, or gold, or necklace? if you have, produce them, give them to her as a marriage present, and propitiate her by gifts. Precious stones and ornaments have a magic[11] influence upon a female mind. You must proceed too, as fast as you can, in all your preparations for the nuptials; there must be no delay in hastening them forward, while that inclination, forced upon her mind by art, remains yet undiminished.'—'Nothing shall be wanting which depends upon me,' replied Charicles; and immediately he ran out, with alacrity and joy, to put his words in execution. I soon found that he lost no time in doing what I had suggested; and that he had offered to Chariclea dresses of great price, and the Ethiopian necklace which had been exposed with her as tokens by Persina, as if they were marriage presents from Alcamenes.—Soon after I met Theagenes, and asked him what was become of all those who had composed his train in the procession.—He said the maidens had already set forward on their journey, as they travelled slowly; and that the youths, impatient of delay, were becoming clamorous, and pressing him to return home. When I heard this, I instructed him what to say to them, and what he should do himself; and bidding him observe the signals that I should give him, both of time and opportunity, I left him.
"I bent my course towards the temple of Apollo, intending to implore him to instruct me, by some oracle, in what manner I was to direct my flight with my young friends. But the divinity was quicker than any thought of mine—he assists those who act in conformity to his will, and with unasked benevolence anticipates their prayers; as he here anticipated my question by a voluntary oracle, and in a very evident manner manifested his superintendence over us. For as I was hastening, full of anxiety, to his shrine, a sudden voice stopped me—'Make what speed you can,' it said; 'the strangers call upon you.'—A company of people were at that time celebrating, to the sound of flutes, a festival in honour of Hercules. I obeyed, and turned towards them, as soon as I heard this warning, careful not to neglect the divine call. I joined the assembly, I threw incense on the altar, and made my libations of water. They ironically expressed their admiration at the cost and profusion of my offerings, and invited me to partake of the feast with them. I accepted the invitation, and having reclined on a couch adorned with myrtle and laurel, and tasted something of what was set before me, I said to them, 'My friends, I have partaken of a very pleasant entertainment with you, but I am ignorant whom I am among; wherefore it is time now for you to tell me who you are, and from whence: for it is rude and unbecoming for those who have begun a kind of friendship, by being partakers of the same table and sacrifice, and of the same sacred salt, to separate without knowing at least something of each other.'—They readily replied that they were Phœnician merchants from Tyre—that they were sailing to Carthage with a cargo of Ethiopian, Indian, and Phœnician merchandize—that they were at that instant celebrating a sacrifice to the Tyrian Hercules, on account of a victory which that young man (showing one of their company) had gained at the Pythian games; esteeming it a great honour that a Phœnecian should be declared a conqueror in Greece. 'This youth,' said they, 'after we had passed the Malian promontory, and were driven by contrary winds to Cephallene, affirmed to us, swearing by this our country's god, that it was revealed to him in a dream that he should obtain a prize at the Pythian games; and persuaded us to turn out of our course, and touch here. In effect, his presages have been fulfilled; and the head of a merchant is now encircled with a victor's crown. He offers therefore this sacrifice to the god who foretold his success, both as a thanksgiving for the victory, and to implore his protection in the voyage which we are about to undertake; for we propose to set sail early to-morrow morning, if the winds favour our wishes.'