"'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?'