The Pillar of Fire; or, Israel in Bondage

by J. H. Ingraham

The great invocatory prayer ended, the high-priest received from Remeses a votive crystal box of the fragrant Ameracine ointment—a gift so costly and precious that only the princes and the priests are permitted to possess it—and broke it upon the breast of the god, anointing him in the name of the people of Egypt. The odor filled all the air. A priest then handed to him a golden cup richly chased with sacred symbols, and another, filling it from a vase of wine, the offering of the chief Archencherses, who is next in military rank to Remeses, he elevated it a moment, and poured it out at the feet of the god as a libation for the hosts. Some other interesting ceremonies followed, such as consecrating and presenting a sword to the prince, and the touching of the altar by all the chiefs with the points of their weapons as they passed it in descending to the field, the high-priest sprinkling each one of them with sacred water from the Nile. The last act of sacrifice—for, though bloodless, the Egyptians term the whole rite a sacrifice to the god—was by Remeses. The high-priest placed in his hands a censer—for the prince, by virtue of his rank, is a royal priest; and Remeses, accepting it with reverence, cast upon the live coals of palm-wood a quantity of incense. Then approaching the altar, he waved it before it until clouds of smoke rose into the air and enveloped his head.

At this moment, the most sacred one of the whole scene, there appeared advancing from the pavilion-temple a beautiful maiden, the daughter of the high-priest. She was arrayed in a pure white robe, which floated about her in the wind like a cloud. Over her shoulders was thrown a crimson scarf, on which was embroidered the cartouch of the god. Her rich, flowing hair was bound about her stately brow by a crown of flowers, above which rose a silver helm with a crest of emeralds and sapphires, in imitation of the feathery coronet of the bird-of-paradise. Her face was wonderfully beautiful, her dark eyes beamed with love and joy, and her form was the impersonation of grace.

As she advanced, the priests on either side drew back with their hands crossed upon their foreheads, and their heads bent lowly before her presence. Coming forward between the two rows of officials, she shook in the air above her head a small temple bell called the sistrum, which emitted the sweetest and clearest melody. This little musical instrument is sacred to the services of the temples, and the sound of it is the signal for the beginning or ending of every rite. That which was now borne by the high-priest's daughter consisted of a cylindrical handle of pearl, surmounted by a double-faced head of ivory, one side being that of Isis, the other of Nephthys. From this twofold head rose a silver almond-shaped bow about five inches high, inlaid with gold and precious stones. In this bended loop of metal were inserted four metallic bars in the shape of asps, upon the body of which were loosely strung several silver rings, As the maiden held this beautiful instrument in the air, and shook it, the rings, moving to and fro upon the bars, produced the clear bell-like sounds I have mentioned. In ancient times so great was the privilege of holding the sacred sistrum in the temple, it was given to the queens; and on great occasions Amense has performed this high office. On an obelisk, now old, the daughter of Cheops is represented holding the sistrum while the king is sacrificing to Thoth. Though I have said little about the Egyptian females, as in truth I have seen but little of them, yet I ought not to omit to tell you that some of the most sacred offices are intrusted to distinguished women, in the services of temples. I have seen not only priests' daughters, but ladies of rank and eminent beauty, holding these places; and in On there is a band of noble young ladies having the distinguished title of "Virgins of the Sun," who devote their lives until they are thirty years of age, to certain principal services of the temples of Osiris and Isis. Indeed, my dear mother, in Egypt woman is singularly free, and regarded as man's companion and equal. She is respected and honored, both as wife and mother, and her social relations are of the most unrestrained and agreeable kind. In all houses, she is prepared gracefully to do honor to her lord's guests; and while she is devoted to domestic duties, prides herself upon her skill and taste at home; abroad, at banquets and evening festivals, which are frequent, and where there is music and dancing, she shines with all the charms she can borrow from splendor of attire, or derive from inherent loveliness of person; while a profusion of jewels upon her hands and neck reveal her wealth and rank.

When the prince saw her advancing, he approached the statue with his censer, and waving it once in the sight of the army, hung it upon the spear of the god. The sistrum sounded as the incense rose, and every man of that vast host bent his knee for a moment! Then the high-priest commenced a verse of a loud chant in a sonorous voice. The one hundred priests marching, in procession around the god, answered antiphonally with one voice in a part; and, the whole army catching up the hymn, the very pyramids seemed to tremble at the thunder of eighty thousand deep voices of men rolling along the air. Then Remeses chanted a few stirring words of this national and sacred war-hymn, the high-priest answered, the maiden's clear voice rose in a melodious solo, the hundred priests caught up the ravishing strain as it melted from her lips in the skies, and again the great army uttered its voice! My heart was oppressed by the sublimity. Tears of emotion filled my eyes. I never was more deeply impressed with the majesty of the human voice, united in a vast multitude, uttered as the voice of one man. The combined voice of the human race—if such a thing could be—must be like the voice of God when He speaks!

The invocation and sacrifice were over. Remeses embraced the priest, and receiving his blessing, in a few minutes every chief captain had joined his battalion, and at the cry of trumpets and cornets, sounded all over the plain, and echoed back from Cheops, the whole host formed in columns of march. Remeses, I being in his company, galloped forward and took a position on an elevation, from which he reviewed the whole army as it tramped by. The fleet was in parallel motion at the same time, and I saw the splendid galley of the Prince Mœris, with its colored silken sails, and golden beak, gallantly ascending the river. He stood upon the poop; a tame lion crouched by his side, on the tawny shoulders of which he rested one foot as he gazed at us. The division of cavalry was the last in moving, and trotted past us in splendid array. This arm of the service is not large, nor much relied on in Egypt. The chariots of iron, to the hubs of which terrible scythes are sometimes fastened on the eve of battle, and the bowmen and spearmen, have always been the main dependence of the kings in their wars.

Ethiopia, against which this great army is moving by water and land, is in a state of civilization and political power not greatly inferior to Egypt. It has vast cities, noble temples, extensive cultivated regions, adorned with palaces and villas; it has a gorgeous but semi-barbaric court, a well-disciplined army, and skilful generals. It is a race allied by blood and lineage to that of Egypt, and is not to be confounded with Nubia and the pure Africanic kingdoms. In religion it is idolatrous, and hostile to the worship of Egypt. A supposed title, by a former conquest, to the crown of Thebes, has made Ethiopia for three centuries the hereditary foe of Egypt.

The Egyptian army is divided into sections, formed and distinguished according to the arms they bear. They consist, like ours, of bowmen, spearmen, swordsmen, macemen, slingers, and other corps. There are captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, fifties, and tens. When in battle-array, the heavy foot-soldiers, or infantry armed with spears, and a falchion, or other similar weapon, are drawn up in the form of an impenetrable phalanx; and once this massive wall of ten thousand men formed, it is fixed and unchangeable; and such is its strength, one hundred men on each front, and one hundred deep, no efforts of any of the enemies of Egypt have been able to break it. Presenting a wall of huge shields lapping and interlocked, resting on the ground, and reaching to their heads, the missiles of the foe rattle against it as against the steel-sheathed side of one of their battle-ships. The bowmen, slingers, javelin-men, and lighter troops act in line, or dispose themselves according to the nature of the ground, or the exigency of the moment. There is a corps armed with battle-axes and pole-axes, having bronze blades ornamented with heads of animals. These wear quilted helmets, without crests, which effectually protect the head. The chariot battalions are drawn up to charge and rout the enemy's line, and the cavalry follow to slay the resisting, and pursue the flying. Each battalion has its particular standard, which represents a sacred subject—either a king's name on his cartouch or painted shield, a sacred baris, a hawk, or a feather. The chief standard-bearer is a man of approved valor, and an officer of the greatest dignity, and stands next to the chief in rank. He is distinguished by a gold necklace collar, on which are represented two lions and an eagle—emblems of courage. The troops are summoned to all movements by the sound of the trumpet and the long drum, with other instruments.

The offensive weapons of the army are the bow, spear, javelin, sling, a short, straight sword, a dagger, broad knife, falchion, battle-axe, spear-axe, iron-headed mace, and a curved club adopted from the Ethiopians. Their defensive arms consist of the helmet, either of iron, bronze, brass, silver, or plaited gold, according to the rank of the wearer; usually without a crest, and extending to the shoulders, in a collar or hood of chain-mail, protecting the neck; they wear also a cuirass of metal plates, or quilted with bands of polished iron, and an ample shield, of various forms, but usually that of a funeral tablet, or a long and narrow horseshoe. This piece of armor is the chief defence. It is a frame covered with bull's or lion's hide, bound with a rim of metal, and studded with iron pins. The archers wear no bucklers, but corselets of scale-armor.

I will now end this long letter, my dear mother, and my description of Egyptian armies, by naming the nations of which it was made up. As I sat upon my horse by the side of the prince, surveying the marching columns as they moved southward, I distinguished the tall, Asiatic-looking Sharetanian by his helmet ornamented with bull's horns, and a red ball for a crest, his round shield, and large ear-rings—a fierce race, once the foes but now the allies of Egypt; the bearded Tokkari from beyond the horns of the Arabian Sea, armed with a pointed knife, and short, straight sword, with arched noses and eagle eyes,—also once enemies of the queen, but now added to her armies; an unknown people, with tall caps, short kilt and knife-girdle of lion's hide, an amulet of agate on the neck of every man—strangers, with wild, restless eyes, and fierce looks; the swarthy Rebos, with his naked breast and shoulders, and long two-headed javelin; the Pouonti, with faces painted with vermilion, and cross-bows with iron-headed arrows, archers that never miss their mark. There marched by, also, the relentless Shari, who neither ask nor give quarter to their enemies, their masses of black hair bound up in fillets of leather, and skull-caps of bull's hide on their heads, whose weapons are clubs and short daggers. Other bands, differing in costume and appearance, continued to pass, until it seemed that the queen's army had in it representatives of all nations tributary to Egypt.

Continuing with Remeses a day's march, I then parted from him to return to the palace, promising, as soon as I had seen Lower Egypt, I would ascend the Nile and meet him at Thebes.