I was glad to leave it; the gilded cage had somehow become an intolerable prison, but… it was a parting, and all partings are sad. The people of Men-ne-fer did not know that their idol was leaving them; though the death of the Pharaoh had thrown outward gloom over the city, they made no attempt to restrain their enthusiasm, their delight in having him in their midst again, who was beloved of the gods.
The picture of that day in Kamt is one of the most vivid in my memory. The sun was dazzlingly bright, and Men-ne-fer—gorgeous Men-ne-fer with its rose-tinted palaces, its temples and gardens and market squares—displayed before our saddened eyes all the splendours of its beauty. The royal palace, on the steps of which the pale pink flamingoes stalked lazily in the heat of the mid-day sun, the broad canal, each side of which the marble palaces rose in a gorgeous line, the market, where gigantic piles of pomegranates threw a brilliant note of vivid orange and red against the blue and the green of water and foliage, and above all the silent and immense judgment hall, with its great marble throne, from whence it seemed to me that I could still hear the harsh, sarcastic laughter of the dead Pharaoh and the screeching of his apes.
Once or twice during that day I saw Hugh’s eyes turned with unutterable longing towards the East, beyond the great canal where, in the midst of fuchsia groves, stood that white palace, the terrace with its turquoise blue canopy and its marble floors, on which Sen-tur lazily chased the ibis up and down.
He had made up his mind that he would not see her again.… The parting perhaps would be easier to bear.… There was no doubt that it was all for the best.… She would be happy again when she knew that he had gone away for ever into the land of dreams.
CHAPTER XXX.
ROSEMARY FOR REMEMBRANCE
One more picture—the last—in the gorgeous panorama which had so uninterruptedly passed before our eyes ever since we had as it were taken possession of this beautiful land—the picture of Kamt in mourning, bidding farewell to him who was beloved of the gods.
Hugh had made hard conditions with the high priest of Ra. He had demanded beasts, provisions for the journey across the desert, and Ur-tasen’s own person as hostage for his good faith. The high priest, humbly, without question, had agreed to all, and now two days later at even, while we, wrapped in our dark mantles ready for our great homeward journey across the desert, stood behind that heavy black curtain on the very spot at the rear of the sanctuary of Ra from whence we had first caught a glimpse of the glories of Kamt, Ur-tasen prepared himself to obey Hugh’s final commands.
The oxen had been chosen, we had inspected the carts and provisions, all of which stood ready in the vast corridors which led to the great copper gate, and now, from where we stood, we watched the high priest as he went up to the mighty gong and, taking the clapper, beat the metal, so that its volume of sound went echoing far beyond the gateway of the temple. Thrice he struck the gong, then there was silence in the sacred edifice: but only for a while, for, very soon, from the city which was preparing for its evening rest, after the toil of day, sounds of fast approaching footsteps, of hurried whispers, penetrated to our ears. The people of Men-ne-fer heard the summons which bade them come to the temple of Ra, and obedient, half-frightened, lest they were being called to hear some tidings of evil, they hurriedly left their homes and flocked to the sanctuary of the god.
Ur-tasen had withdrawn to the foot of the statue of Ra; there he waited until the vast edifice was full of people; the lights glimmered low, only bringing out here and there into brilliant relief some blue or green iridescent enamel upon a pillar. Men, women and children were lying prostrate upon the floor waiting for the high priest to speak. The gossamer veil had been drawn aside so that all might look upon the majesty of the god, and at the foot of the sanctuary steps the blind priestesses intoned their monotonous, lugubrious chant.
Then, when from end to end the gigantic building was filled with prostrate figures, Ur-tasen began to speak: