Uarda : a Romance of Ancient Egypt — Complete

by Georg Ebers

  CHAPTER XVI.

  The sun had set, and darkness covered the City of the Dead, but the moonshone above the valley of the kings' tombs, and the projecting massesof the rocky walls of the chasm threw sharply-defined shadows. A weirdsilence lay upon the desert, where yet far more life was stirring thanin the noonday hour, for now bats darted like black silken threadsthrough the night air, owls hovered aloft on wide-spread wings, smalltroops of jackals slipped by, one following the other up the mountainslopes. From time to time their hideous yell, or the whining laugh ofthe hyena, broke the stillness of the night.

  Nor was human life yet at rest in the valley of tombs. A faint lightglimmered in the cave of the sorceress Hekt, and in front of theparaschites' but a fire was burning, which the grandmother of the sickUarda now and then fed with pieces of dry manure. Two men were seated infront of the hut, and gazed in silence on the thin flame, whose impurelight was almost quenched by the clearer glow of the moon; whilst thethird, Uarda's father, disembowelled a large ram, whose head he hadalready cut off.

  "How the jackals howl!" said the old paraschites, drawing as he spokethe torn brown cotton cloth, which he had put on as a protection againstthe night air and the dew, closer round his bare shoulders.

  "They scent the fresh meat," answered the physician, Nebsecht. "Throwthem the entrails, when you have done; the legs and back you can roast.Be careful how you cut out the heart--the heart, soldier. There it is!What a great beast."

  Nebsecht took the ram's heart in his hand, and gazed at it with thedeepest attention, whilst the old paraschites watched him anxiously. Atlength:

  "I promised," he said, "to do for you what you wish, if you restore thelittle one to health; but you ask for what is impossible."

  "Impossible?" said the physician, "why, impossible? You open thecorpses, you go in and out of the house of the embalmer. Get possessionof one of the canopi,

  [Vases of clay, limestone, or alabaster, which were used for the preservation of the intestines of the embalmed Egyptians, and represented the four genii of death, Amset, Hapi, Tuamutef, and Khebsennuf. Instead of the cover, the head of the genius to which it was dedicated, was placed on each kanopus. Amset (tinder the protection of Isis) has a human head, Hapi (protected by Nephthys) an ape's head, Tuamutef (protected by Neith) a jackal's head, and Khebsennuf (protected by Selk) a sparrow-hawk's head. In one of the Christian Coptic Manuscripts, the four archangels are invoked in the place of these genii.]

  lay this heart in it, and take out in its stead the heart of a humanbeing. No one--no one will notice it. Nor need you do it to-morrow, orthe day after tomorrow even. Your son can buy a ram to kill every daywith my money till the right moment comes. Your granddaughter will soongrow strong on a good meat-diet. Take courage!"

  "I am not afraid of the danger," said the old man, "but how can Iventure to steal from a dead man his life in the other world? Andthen--in shame and misery have I lived, and for many a year--no manhas numbered them for me--have I obeyed the commandments, that I may befound righteous in that world to come, and in the fields of Aalu, andin the Sun-bark find compensation for all that I have suffered here. Youare good and friendly. Why, for the sake of a whim, should you sacrificethe future bliss of a man, who in all his long life has never knownhappiness, and who has never done you any harm?"

  "What I want with the heart," replied the physician, "you cannotunderstand, but in procuring it for me, you will be furthering a greatand useful purpose. I have no whims, for I am no idler. And as to whatconcerns your salvation, have no anxiety. I am a priest, and take yourdeed and its consequences upon myself; upon myself, do you understand?I tell you, as a priest, that what I demand of you is right, and if thejudge of the dead shall enquire, 'Why didst thou take the heart of ahuman being out of the Kanopus?' then reply--reply to him thus, 'BecauseNebsecht, the priest, commanded me, and promised himself to answer forthe deed.'"

  The old man gazed thoughtfully on the ground, and the physiciancontinued still more urgently:

  "If you fulfil my wish, then--then I swear to you that, when you die, Iwill take care that your mummy is provided with all the amulets, and Imyself will write you a book of the Entrance into Day, and have it woundwithin your mummy-cloth, as is done with the great.

  [The Books of the Dead are often found amongst the cloths, (by the leg or under the arm), or else in the coffin trader, or near, the mummy.]

  That will give you power over all demons, and you will be admitted tothe hall of the twofold justice, which punishes and rewards, and youraward will be bliss."

  "But the theft of a heart will make the weight of my sins heavy, when myown heart is weighed," sighed the old man.

  Nebsecht considered for a moment, and then said: "I will give you awritten paper, in which I will certify that it was I who commanded thetheft. You will sew it up in a little bag, carry it on your breast, andhave it laid with you in the grave. Then when Techuti, the agent of thesoul, receives your justification before Osiris and the judges of thedead, give him the writing. He will read it aloud, and you will beaccounted just."

  [The vignettes of Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead represent the Last Judgment of the Egyptians. Under a canopy Osiris sits enthroned as Chief Judge, 42 assessors assist him. In the hall stand the scales; the dog headed ape, the animal sacred to Toth, guides the balance. In one scale lies the heart of the dead man, in the other the image of the goddess of Truth, who introduces the soul into the hall of justice Toth writs the record. The soul affirms that it has not committed 42 deadly sins, and if it obtains credit, it is named "maa cheru," i.e. "the truth-speaker," and is therewith declared blessed. It now receives its heart back, and grows into a new and divine life.]

  "I am not learned in writing," muttered the paraschites with a slightmistrust that made itself felt in his voice.

  "But I swear to you by the nine great Gods, that I will write nothingon the paper but what I have promised you. I will confess that I, thepriest Nebsecht, commanded you to take the heart, and that your guilt ismine."

  "Let me have the writing then," murmured the old man.

  The physician wiped the perspiration from his forehead, and gave theparaschites his hand. "To-morrow you shall have it," he said, "and Iwill not leave your granddaughter till she is well again."

  The soldier engaged in cutting up the ram, had heard nothing of thisconversation. Now he ran a wooden spit through the legs, and held themover the fire to roast them. The jackals howled louder as the smell ofthe melting fat filled the air, and the old man, as he looked on, forgotthe terrible task he had undertaken. For a year past, no meat had beentasted in his house.

  The physician Nebsecht, himself eating nothing but a piece of bread,looked on at the feasters. They tore the meat from the bones, and thesoldier, especially, devoured the costly and unwonted meal like someravenous animal. He could be heard chewing like a horse in the manger,and a feeling of disgust filled the physician's soul.

  "Sensual beings," he murmured to himself, "animals with consciousness!And yet human beings. Strange! They languish bound in the fetters of theworld of sense, and yet how much more ardently they desire that whichtranscends sense than we--how much more real it is to them than to us!"

  "Will you have some meat?" cried the soldier, who had remarked thatNebsecht's lips moved, and tearing a piece of meat from the bone of thejoint he was devouring, he held it out to the physician. Nebsecht shrankback; the greedy look, the glistening teeth, the dark, rough features ofthe man terrified him. And he thought of the white and fragile form ofthe sick girl lying within on the mat, and a question escaped his lips.

  "Is the maiden, is Uarda, your own child?" he said.

  The soldier struck himself on the breast. "So sure as the king Ramesesis the son of Seti," he answered. The men had finished their meal, andthe flat cakes of bread which the wife of the paraschites gave them, andon which they had wiped their hands from the fat, were consumed,when the soldier, in whose slow brain the phys
ician's question stilllingered, said, sighing deeply:

  "Her mother was a stranger; she laid the white dove in the raven'snest."

  "Of what country was your wife a native?" asked the physician.

  "That I do not know," replied the soldier.

  "Did you never enquire about the family of your own wife?"

  "Certainly I did: but how could she have answered me? But it is a longand strange story."

  "Relate it to me," said Nebsecht, "the night is long, and I likelistening better than talking. But first I will see after our patient."

  When the physician had satisfied himself that Uarda was sleeping quietlyand breathing regularly, he seated himself again by the paraschites andhis son, and the soldier began:

  "It all happened long ago. King Seti still lived, but Rameses alreadyreigned in his stead, when I came home from the north. They had sent meto the workmen, who were building the fortifications in Zoan, the townof Rameses.--[The Rameses of the Bible. Exodus i. ii.]--I was set oversix men, Amus,--[Semites]--of the Hebrew race, over whom Rameses keptsuch a tight hand.

  [For an account of the traces of the Jews in Egypt, see Chabas, Melanges, and Ebers, AEgypten und die Bucher Moses]

  Amongst the workmen there were sons of rich cattle-holders, for inlevying the people it was never: 'What have you?' but 'Of what race areyou?' The fortifications and the canal which was to join the Nile andthe Red Sea had to be completed, and the king, to whom be long life,health, and prosperity, took the youth of Egypt with him to the wars,and left the work to the Amus, who are connected by race with hisenemies in the east. One lives well in Goshen, for it is a fine country,with more than enough of corn and grass and vegetables and fish andfowls, and I always had of the best, for amongst my six people were twomother's darlings, whose parents sent me many a piece of silver. Everyone loves his children, but the Hebrews love them more tenderly thanother people. We had daily our appointed tale of bricks to deliver, andwhen the sun burnt hot, I used to help the lads, and I did more in anhour than they did in three, for I am strong and was still stronger thenthan I am now.

  "Then came the time when I was relieved. I was ordered to return toThebes, to the prisoners of war who were building the great temple ofAmon over yonder, and as I had brought home some money, and it wouldtake a good while to finish the great dwelling of the king of the Gods,I thought of taking a wife; but no Egyptian. Of daughters of paraschitesthere were plenty; but I wanted to get away out of my father'saccursed caste, and the other girls here, as I knew, were afraid of ouruncleanness. In the low country I had done better, and many an Amu andSchasu woman had gladly come to my tent. From the beginning I had set mymind on an Asiatic.

  "Many a time maidens taken prisoners in war were brought to be sold, buteither they did not please me, or they were too dear. Meantime my moneymelted away, for we enjoyed life in the time of rest which followed theworking hours. There were dancers too in plenty, in the foreign quarter.

  "Well, it was just at the time of the holy feast of Amon-Chem, that anew transport of prisoners of war arrived, and amongst them many women,who were sold publicly to the highest bidder. The young and beautifulones were paid for high, but even the older ones were too dear for me.

  "Quite at the last a blind woman was led forward, and a withered-lookingwoman who was dumb, as the auctioneer, who generally praised up themerits of the prisoners, informed the buyers. The blind woman hadstrong hands, and was bought by a tavern-keeper, for whom she turns thehandmill to this day; the dumb woman held a child in her arms, and noone could tell whether she was young or old. She looked as though shealready lay in her coffin, and the little one as though he would gounder the grass before her. And her hair was red, burning red, the verycolor of Typhon. Her white pale face looked neither bad nor good, onlyweary, weary to death. On her withered white arms blue veins ran likedark cords, her hands hung feebly down, and in them hung the child. If awind were to rise, I thought to myself, it would blow her away, and thelittle one with her.

  "The auctioneer asked for a bid. All were silent, for the dumb shadowwas of no use for work; she was half-dead, and a burial costs money.

  "So passed several minutes. Then the auctioneer stepped up to her, andgave her a blow with his whip, that she might rouse herself up, andappear less miserable to the buyers. She shivered like a person in afever, pressed the child closer to her, and looked round at every one asthough seeking for help--and me full in the face. What happened now wasa real wonder, for her eyes were bigger than any that I ever saw, and ademon dwelt in them that had power over me and ruled me to the end, andthat day it bewitched me for the first time.

  "It was not hot and I had drunk nothing, and yet I acted against my ownwill and better judgment when, as her eyes fell upon me, I bid allthat I possessed in order to buy her. I might have had her cheaper! Mycompanions laughed at me, the auctioneer shrugged his shoulders as hetook my money, but I took the child on my arm, helped the woman up,carried her in a boat over the Nile, loaded a stone-cart with mymiserable property, and drove her like a block of lime home to the oldpeople.

  "My mother shook her head, and my father looked as if he thought me mad;but neither of them said a word. They made up a bed for her, and on myspare nights I built that ruined thing hard by--it was a tidy hut once.Soon my mother grew fond of the child. It was quite small, and we calledit Pennu--[Pennu is the name for the mouse in old Egyptian]--becauseit was so pretty, like a little mouse. I kept away from the foreignquarter, and saved my wages, and bought a goat, which lived in front ofour door when I took the woman to her own hut.

  "She was dumb, but not deaf, only she did not understand our language;but the demon in her eyes spoke for her and understood what I said. Shecomprehended everything, and could say everything with her eyes; butbest of all she knew how to thank one. No high-priest who at the greathill festival praises the Gods in long hymns for their gifts can returnthanks so earnestly with his lips as she with her dumb eyes. And whenshe wished to pray, then it seemed as though the demon in her look wasmightier than ever.

  "At first I used to be impatient enough when she leaned so feeblyagainst the wall, or when the child cried and disturbed my sleep; butshe had only to look up, and the demon pressed my heart together andpersuaded me that the crying was really a song. Pennu cried more sweetlytoo than other children, and he had such soft, white, pretty littlefingers.

  "One day he had been crying for a long time, At last I bent down overhim, and was going to scold him, but he seized me by the beard. It waspretty to see! Afterwards he was for ever wanting to pull me about,and his mother noticed that that pleased me, for when I brought homeanything good, an egg or a flower or a cake, she used to hold him up andplace his little hands on my beard.

  "Yes, in a few months the woman had learnt to hold him up high in herarms, for with care and quiet she had grown stronger. White she alwaysremained and delicate, but she grew younger and more beautiful from dayto day; she can hardly have numbered twenty years when I bought her.What she was called I never heard; nor did we give her any name. She was'the woman,' and so we called her.

  "Eight moons passed by, and then the little Mouse died. I wept as shedid, and as I bent over the little corpse and let my tears have freecourse, and thought--now he can never lift up his pretty little fingerto you again; then I felt for the first time the woman's soft hand on mycheek. She stroked my rough beard as a child might, and with that lookedat me so gratefully that I felt as though king Pharaoh had all at oncemade me a present of both Upper and Lower Egypt.

  "When the Mouse was buried she got weaker again, but my mother took goodcare of her. I lived with her, like a father with his child. She wasalways friendly, but if I approached her, and tried to show her anyfondness, she would look at me, and the demon in her eyes drove me back,and I let her alone.

  "She grew healthier and stronger and more and more beautiful, sobeautiful that I kept her hidden, and was consumed by the longing tomake her my wife. A good housewife she never became, to be sure; herhands
were so tender, and she did not even know how to milk the goat. Mymother did that and everything else for her.

  "In the daytime she stayed in her hut and worked, for she was veryskillful at woman's work, and wove lace as fine as cobwebs, which mymother sold that she might bring home perfumes with the proceeds. Shewas very fond of them, and of flowers too; and Uarda in there takesafter her.

  "In the evening, when the folk from the other side had left the Cityof the Dead, she would often walk down the valley here, thoughtful andoften looking up at the moon, which she was especially fond of.

  "One evening in the winter-time I came home. It was already dark, and Iexpected to find her in front of the door. All at once, about a hundredsteps behind old Hekt's cave, I heard a troop of jackals barking sofuriously that I said to myself directly they had attacked a humanbeing, and I knew too who it was, though no one had told me, and thewoman could not call or cry out. Frantic with terror, I tore a firebrandfrom the hearth and the stake to which the goat was fastened out of theground, rushed to her help, drove away the beasts, and carried her backsenseless to the hut. My mother helped me, and we called her back tolife. When we were alone, I wept like a child for joy at her escape, andshe let me kiss her, and then she became my wife, three years after Ihad bought her.

  "She bore me a little maid, that she herself named Uarda; for she showedus a rose, and then pointed to the child, and we understood her withoutwords.

  "Soon afterwards she died.

  "You are a priest, but I tell you that when I am summoned before Osiris,if I am admitted amongst the blessed, I will ask whether I shall meet mywife, and if the doorkeeper says no, he may thrust me back, and I willgo down cheerfully to the damned, if I find her again there."

  "And did no sign ever betray her origin?" asked the physician.

  The soldier had hidden his face in his hand; he was weeping aloud, anddid not hear the question. But, the paraschites answered:

  "She was the child of some great personage, for in her clothes we founda golden jewel with a precious stone inscribed with strange characters.It is very costly, and my wife is keeping it for the little one."