Cleopatra
Page 53
CHAPTER VIII
OF THE LAST SUPPER OF CLEOPATRA; OF THE SONG OF CHARMION; OF THEDRINKING OF THE DRAUGHT OF DEATH; OF THE REVEALING OF HARMACHIS; OF THESUMMONING OF THE SPIRITS BY HARMACHIS; AND OF THE DEATH OF CLEOPATRA
On the morrow Cleopatra, having sought leave of Caesar, visited the tombof Antony, crying that the Gods of Egypt had deserted her. And when shehad kissed the coffin and covered it with lotus-flowers she came back,bathed, anointed herself, put on her most splendid robes, and, togetherwith Iras, Charmion, and myself, she supped. Now as she supped herspirit flared up wildly, even as the sky lights up at sunset; and oncemore she laughed and sparkled as in bygone years, telling us tales offeasts which she and Antony had eaten of. Never, indeed, did I see herlook more beauteous than on that last fatal night of vengeance. And thusher mind drew on to that supper at Tarsus when she drank the pearl.
"Strange," she said; "strange that at the last the mind of Antony shouldhave turned back to that night among all the nights and to the saying ofHarmachis. Charmion, dost thou remember Harmachis the Egyptian?"
"Surely, O Queen," she answered slowly.
"And who, then, was Harmachis?" I asked; for I would learn if shesorrowed o'er my memory.
"I will tell thee. It is a strange tale, and now that all is done it maywell be told. This Harmachis was of the ancient race of the Pharaohs,and, having, indeed, been crowned in secret at Abydus, was sent hitherto Alexandria to carry out a great plot that had been formed against therule of us royal Lagidae. He came and gained entry to the palace as myastrologer, for he was very learned in all magic--much as thou art,Olympus--and a man beautiful to see. Now this was his plot--that heshould slay me and be named Pharaoh. In truth it was a strong one, forhe had many friends in Egypt, and I had few. And on that very night whenhe should carry out his purpose, yea, at the very hour, came Charmionyonder, and told the plot to me; saying that she had chanced upon itsclue. But, in after days--though I have said little thereon to thee,Charmion--I misdoubted me much of that tale of thine; for, by the Gods!to this hour I believe that thou didst love Harmachis, and because hescorned thee thou didst betray him; and for that cause also hast all thydays remained a maid, which is a thing unnatural. Come, Charmion, tellus; for naught matters now at the end."
Charmion shivered and made answer: "It is true, O Queen; I also was ofthe plot, and because Harmachis scorned me I betrayed him; and becauseof my great love for him I have remained unwed." And she glanced up atme and caught my eyes, then let the modest lashes veil her own.
"So! I thought it. Strange are the ways of women! But little cause,methinks, had that Harmachis to thank thee for thy love. What sayestthou, Olympus? Ah, and so thou also wast a traitor, Charmion? Howdangerous are the paths which Monarchs tread! Well, I forgive thee, forthou hast served me faithfully since that hour.
"But to my tale. Harmachis I dared not slay, lest his great party shouldrise in fury and cast me from the throne. And now mark the issue. Thoughhe must murder me, in secret this Harmachis loved me, and somethingthereof I guessed. I had striven a little to draw him to me, for thesake of his beauty and his wit; and for the love of man Cleopatra neverstrove in vain. Therefore when, with the dagger in his robe, he cameto slay me, I matched my charms against his will, and need I tell you,being man and woman, how I won? Oh, never can I forget the look inthe eyes of that fallen prince, that forsworn priest, that discrownedPharaoh, when, lost in the poppied draught, I saw him sink intoa shameful sleep whence he might no more wake with honour! And,thereafter--till, in the end, I wearied of him, and his sad learnedmind, for his guilty soul forbade him to be gay--a little I came to carefor him, though not to love. But he--he who loved me--clung to me as adrunkard to the cup which ruins him. Deeming that I should wed him,he betrayed to me the secret of the hidden wealth of the pyramid of_Her_--for at the time I much needed treasure--and together we dared theterrors of the tomb and drew it forth, even from dead Pharaoh's breast.See, this emerald was a part thereof!"--and she pointed to the greatscarabaeus that she had drawn from the holy heart of Menkau-ra.
"And because of what was written in the tomb, and of that Thing whichwe saw in the tomb--ah, pest upon it! why does its memory haunt menow?--and also because of policy, for I would fain have won the loveof the Egyptians, I was minded to marry this Harmachis and declare hisplace and lineage to the world--ay, and by his aid hold Egypt from theRoman. For Dellius had then come to call me to Antony, and after muchthought I determined to send him back with sharp words. But on that verymorning, as I tired me for the Court, came Charmion yonder, and I toldher this, for I would see how the matter fell upon her mind. Now mark,Olympus, the power of jealousy, that little wedge which yet has strengthto rend the tree of Empire, that secret sword which can carve the fateof Kings! This she could in no wise bear--deny it, Charmion, if thoucanst, for now it is clear to me!--that the man she loved should begiven to me as husband--me, whom _he_ loved! And therefore, with moreskill and wit than I can tell, she reasoned with me, showing that Ishould by no means do this thing, but journey to Antony; and for that,Charmion, I thank thee, now that all is come and gone. And by a verylittle, her words weighed down my scale of judgment against Harmachis,and I went to Antony. Thus it is through the jealous spleen of yonderfair Charmion and the passion of a man on which I played as on a lyre,that all these things have come to pass. For this cause Octavian sitsa King in Alexandria; for this cause Antony is discrowned and dead; andfor this cause I, too, must die to-night! Ah! Charmion! Charmion! thouhast much to answer, for thou hast changed the story of the world; andyet, even now--I would not have it otherwise!"
She paused awhile, covering her eyes with her hand; and, looking, I sawgreat tears upon the cheek of Charmion.
"And of this Harmachis," I asked; "where is he now, O Queen?"
"Where is he? In Amenti, forsooth--making his peace with Isis,perchance. At Tarsus I saw Antony, and loved him; and from that moment Iloathed the sight of the Egyptian, and swore to make an end of him; fora lover done with should be a lover dead. And, being jealous, he spokesome words of evil omen, even at that Feast of the Pearl; and on thesame night I would have slain him, but before the deed was done, he wasgone."
"And whither was he gone?"
"Nay; that know not I. Brennus--he who led my guard, and last yearsailed North to join his own people--Brennus swore he saw him float tothe skies; but in this matter I misdoubted me of Brennus, for methinkshe loved the man. Nay, he sank off Cyprus, and was drowned; perchanceCharmion can tell us how?"
"I can tell thee nothing, O Queen; Harmachis is lost."
"And well lost, Charmion, for he was an evil man to play with--ay,although I bettered him I say it! Well he served my purpose; but I lovedhim not, and even now I fear him; for it seemed to me that I heardhis voice summoning me to fly, through the din of the fight at Actium.Thanks be to the Gods, as thou sayest, he is lost, and can no more befound."