Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy

by Margaret Horton Potter

  XIII

  THE RAB-MAG

  Through the whole of the day following her expulsion from the temple,Istar, wife of Belshazzar the prince royal, lay in her newly assignedbedroom in the far wing of the palace, in a profound stupor. She wasunconscious, apparently, of everything around her--of Belshazzar,sitting at her bedside; of the child that lay wailing on her arm; of thepeace and the orderly quiet of this new home. The spell of her mightyshame and woe was over her. She had broken under it like the reed in thestorm. Everything that had passed since she was driven by the blows ofthe ox-goad out into the day-glare on top of the ziggurat, had been buta dim vision to her. Physically, she was very ill. This was notwonderful. But Belshazzar, mad with rage at the whole of the priesthood,and overwhelmed with pity for the woman he loved as only he would havedared to love, was beside himself with anxiety. All night the rab-mag ofhis father's household, the most renowned charm-doctor in Babylonia, hadwatched beside him in her room; had repeated prayers and formulaewithout number; and had burned beans, leeks, barley, cakes, butter,frankincense, and liquor, till the room smelled indescribably, andBelshazzar himself, resorting to common-sense, ordered a dozen slaves toclear the atmosphere with fans and with pungent strong-waters. In thenew air Istar seemed to breathe more easily, and had even moved herlips, though no sound issued from them. Then Belshazzar commanded therab-mag to depart until daylight, when he should return with new wisdom.

  Thereupon Nergal-Yukin, half angry, half ashamed, wholly chagrined, wentforth through the silent streets to the house of Amraphel. Here he wasmade to undergo a change of feeling. The priest recognized anopportunity in the first three sentences that the doctor spoke, andinstantly took advantage of it. He set to work to play upon thealchemist's feelings, and such was his success that presently, by meansof sympathy for the insults he had endured and promises of dazzlingwealth, coupled with righteous denunciations of Istar as the queen ofdarkness, of wickedness, of all the vices, the learned man found hisprice, bent the knee before his preceptor, and hied him back to his denof charms, where, kept in a convenient cage, was an adder, dwellingeffectively among the other insignia of this awe-inspiring profession.

  Nergal-Yukin did not re-enter Belshazzar's presence that morning; but hesent a slave to say that he was preparing a new and infallible charm,that could not, to be most efficacious, be applied before the hour ofsunset. Belshazzar was pleased with the message; perhaps not lesspleased because it gave him the chance of being alone at Istar's sideall through the day. Not for one moment did he leave or even turn histhoughts from her. Councillors and courtiers, officials and judges,tax-collectors, officers of his regiment, treasurer and usurers, werekept from his presence by peremptory command. He refused food forhimself; but he made an effort to force something between Istar's pallidlips--and in the attempt succeeded in rousing her for a moment from herstupor. As he knelt by her side, supporting her head upon his arm, hishand, unsteady with an emotion that none would have believed possible tohim, holding the cup of warm milk to her mouth, Istar's great eyesopened and she looked at him. There was a fulness in Belshazzar's throatthat presently broke into a sob. Blindly he groped in the realm ofprayer for some words into which he could put his heart. And his willrose up in him, till he would have pitted himself against all the powersof hell for the sake of saving the life of this woman who was lawfullyand spiritually his own.

  "You shall not die--you shall not die--not die!" he muttered, over andover again.

  Then Istar sank back upon her many pillows. The heavy lids once moreshut off her wonderful eyes from his sight. Her face was colorless anddrawn. He could trace with ease the course of each tiny blue vein in herfair temples. He looked at her hands--so white, so transparent, sofrailly beautiful; and over them he bent his head, touching them withhis lips. As he kissed them there came a wail from the baby.Instinctively, half conscious as she was, Istar gathered the child toher side, while he, the man, looked on, wondering and helpless.

  Noon, with its breathless, stifling heat, came and went again. An hourafter it a slave tiptoed into the room and whispered a name toBelshazzar. The prince's expression brightened a little. "Let him comein to me," he said, softly.

  A moment or two afterwards Ribata noiselessly entered the room.

  Belshazzar held out both hands, greeting his friend with such an air ofweary helplessness that Ribata stared at him uncomfortably.

  "Name of the great Marduk, Belshazzar, what is come to thee?" he asked,holding his friend at arm's-length and looking into his face with amixture of sympathy and perplexity.

  "Hush! Curb thy voice! She will be disturbed."

  Ribata looked about him with intense curiosity. "Belshazzar, art thougone mad? What is this thing that absents thee from thy duties? Thou artneeded to-day--in council--at the review--"

  "Nay--let others look to these things; let my father look to his own,"whispered Belshazzar, in reply, drawing his friend down on the cushionsbeside him.

  Ribata found no answer to the words. Here was a Belshazzar whom he didnot know. He ventured no further remarks, but remained sitting quietlybeside his friend--waiting. By degrees, as the silence continued withoutmuch prospect of abating, Bit-Shumukin's eyes began to study the passiveface of Istar. The nobleman had never before been so near her; and neverbefore, even in the old days when he had seen her, towering in a cloudof silver above the multitude in her triumphal car, had he been soimpressed with her divine purity. There was that in her face, marked andmortalized by suffering as it was, that put mortal things far away fromher. His wonder at Belshazzar's boldness grew greater. The spirit whichcould have moved any man to look upon that face with a feeling ofequality, daring the hope of making her his own, was enough, in Ribata'seyes, to raise that man above the level of humanity. He turned to lookupon the prince. Belshazzar lay back on the divan, lost in someunfathomable reverie. Ribata hesitated to bring him back into thepresent, yet felt a kind of discomfort in the presence of these twostrange beings. Unable to contain himself, he suddenly started up, withthe idea of leaving the apartment. Belshazzar, however, was instantlyroused by his move.

  "Ribata," he said, quietly, "do not go from us."

  The friend turned to him, answering: "My lord knows there is much to bedone. I go to thy work."

  Belshazzar rose and laid both hands tenderly on the shoulders of hisfriend. "My brother," he said, "for my father, and for the sake of thecrown that will one day be mine, I have labored long; and for them Iwill labor again, even unto the end. But now, for a little while, Itarry here, beside the bed of my beloved, for whose coming I have waitedmany weary months. Then wilt thou not watch here with me through onelittle hour? I ask it for the love I bear thee, Bit-Shumukin; and besure that there is no other in Babylon, nay, or in all the world, thatcould hold thy place in my heart."

  A wave of emotion that was half wonder swept over Ribata. Never beforehad Belshazzar spoken like this to him--never before like it to any manor to any woman. Bit-Shumukin made no reply in words, but he yieldedinstantly to the gentle pressure of the prince's hand and sank backagain on the cushions. Once more he turned his gaze upon the white,passive features of Istar, and, without looking away from her, he asked:

  "Dost thou leave her like this, with neither medicines nor prayers?Where is the rab-mag, that he attends not on her sickness?"

  "All through the night he has worked over her with charms andincantations. At sunset to-day he will come again, bringing with him anew charm more powerful than any ever used before. The hour of sunset isnot far away. Then if she--"

  The speech was interrupted by the appearance of a eunuch, who, makinghis prostration in the door-way, stood silently waiting permission tospeak.

  "What is thy business? Say it softly," whispered the prince, with afrown.

  "May the ears of my lord incline themselves kindly! There is at the gatea letter-carrier that bears a message for the Lady Istar. He bade meseek thee, saying: 'For divine Istar my word bears life. If she heed menot, death seizes her in his arms.'"
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  "Bring the fellow here, guarded by two eunuchs and bound about the armsthat he may make no dangerous move."

  The slave bowed and disappeared. When he was gone, Ribata observed,thoughtfully: "It is well that he be bound. Day by day thy life isgrowing more precious to Babylon, more desired by the priesthood. By dayand night, if thou wert mine to care for, I would have thee guarded."

  Belshazzar smiled a little, shaking his head; and they spoke no moretill Baba, fast bound and also gagged, was thrust into the room by twosoldiers that moved behind her. The little creature was dizzy with theheat, covered from head to foot with dust, and half fainting fromweariness. At sight of Ribata she gave a gurgling, choked cry behind hergag, and, twisting herself suddenly from the soldiers' grasp, fell in alittle heap at the feet of her lord.

  "Baba!" he cried, gazing in bewilderment at the unrecognizable figure,but knowing her posture and her smothered voice.

  "Thou knowest this fellow, Ribata?" queried Belshazzar, curiously.

  "'Tis a woman, lord prince, though her name is a man's. I will answerwith my life for her fidelity to thee and to the Lady Istar. Let thysoldiers depart--then she will speak," he said, imperatively, beginningto unloose the rope that bound her arms.

  Belshazzar, as always, accepted his friend's word, dismissed theguardsmen with a nod, and turned to examine, with some interest, thepanting heap of humanity at Ribata's feet. Bit-Shumukin had removed thegag, and was still struggling with the stiff knots in the cactus-rope.Belshazzar finally cut them with his knife and set Baba free. She roseuncertainly to her feet, stretching her arms above her head. Then,suddenly, she grasped her hair, gave a great tug, and pulled the wigfrom her head, leaving her own long, black locks to float freely aroundher shoulders.

  "Where didst thou get the stain for thy skin? Thou'rt black as aNubian," said her lord, smiling at her uncouth appearance. Then headded, hastily: "Nay, child, let us not play. What hast thou learned inthe house of Egibi; and what is thy matter of life or death with thedivine Istar?"

  Before she had uttered the first word of her answer, Baba's eyes fell onthe form that lay stretched out on the bed. She gave a little cry ofastonishment and reverent admiration. Then she cast herself on her kneesbefore Belshazzar.

  "May it please the prince my lord to heed my words, for I speak thosethat fell an hour agone from the lips of Amraphel of Bel. At sunset ofthis day will come Nergal-Yukin, rab-mag of the great king, to the sideof the Lady Istar. He will bring with him a new charm that shall purportto be for Istar to make her well, and that will bring her to her death.Amraphel hath promised the man honor and riches when he shall make a cutupon the Lady Istar's wrist, rubbing into it ten drops of the poisondrawn from an adder's fangs."

  "By all the gods--!" Belshazzar leaped to his feet. "Nergal-Yukin diesthis day!"

  "Where hast thou heard this story, Baba?"

  "At the council of priests, in the house of Egibi."

  "Say on--all thou hast heard!" commanded Belshazzar, sharply.

  Thereupon Baba, seating herself on the floor, recounted to the two menher adventure of the afternoon. The whole council, as she had overheardit, the names or the faces of the men that took part in it, and theletter from Cyrus the Elamite, word for word, she unravelled from thewarp and woof of her memory. Her auditors listened in silence, staringinto each other's faces, neither of them wholly amazed, yet bothstrongly moved by this confirmation of their worst suspicions--thesuspicions that Nabonidus would not entertain. Baba gave the story indetail, and took some time over it. She had barely finished, and therehad been no time for question or comment, when the attendant eunuchreappeared at the door, saying:

  "It is the hour of sunset. Nergal-Yukin craves admittance to my lord andto the divine Lady Istar."

  "Come thou hither," said Belshazzar, beckoning the eunuch to his side."Let Nergal-Yukin come hither to this room," he said, softly, "and assoon as he shall be within, summon thou six soldiers of the guard andcommand them to wait my call outside in the hall. Let them bring ropesof stout cactus and a gag of wood, and cause them to keep silence therewithout until I shall summon them. Now, behold, I have spoken. Go thyway and obey my word."

  The eunuch departed obediently, and a moment later Nergal-Yukin enteredthe bedchamber of the lady of Babylon. He was a tall fellow, thisrab-mag of the king; lean and withered in body, black-robed, and wearingthe peaked hat that belonged to the livery of the royal household.Around his waist was a golden cord, at the end of which dangled anarrow-bladed knife of Indian steel, its handle inlaid with lapis-lazuliand gold. In his hand he bore a golden phial of rare workmanship. Hissalute to the prince was markedly obsequious, but he regarded the twoothers in the room with great disfavor.

  "Let the prince my lord command every one to be dismissed from hispresence. Otherwise my spell must lose its potency."

  "These are my friends. Let them remain here," returned Belshazzar,shortly.

  "Then let my lord give me leave to depart out of his presence. The workwill be useless," said the old man, with something like a sneer,beginning to back towards the door.

  But Belshazzar was master of himself and of the situation. He lifted hishand, and the physician halted. "Nergal-Yukin, on pain of death, getthee to thy work. Pronounce the spell; and may the gods take heed ofit."

  The words were spoken quietly enough; and yet there could be nodisobeying that tone. Nergal-Yukin's face darkened; but, howeverunwillingly, he advanced to Istar's side. Lifting over her both hislong, withered hands, he began to pray in the Accadian tongue to Nergal,the god of health. Belshazzar, Ribata, and Baba stood listeningstolidly, while the high-pitched voice went on and on, from prayers toexorcisms, and finally into mystic exclamations and phrases. Here theman's manner changed, and he gave symptoms of a working into religiousfrenzy. His auditors, however, remained painfully unresponsive, and thefinal "Amanu" was succeeded by a biting silence. It was then, with aresentful satisfaction, that the rab-mag began the consummation of hiswork. He commanded a basin of water and a fine towel. These provided, helifted Istar's right hand from the coverlet, and proceeded to wash anddry it during the repetition of further prayers. Then he turned toBelshazzar.

  "May it please the prince my lord to learn that this remedy which I amabout to apply to the lady of Babylon is the most powerful and the mostdangerous of any known to mankind, or to the gods above. To them thatare pure in heart it cannot fail to restore perfect health. By it,indeed, the very dead may sometimes be lifted up from Ninkigal and givenonce more to the light of Shamash. But if the person to whom the magicliquid be applied is guilty of great sin, then is it true that death mayperhaps come upon that one. Now wills the prince my lord that I finishthe spell?"

  "How shall it be finished?" inquired Belshazzar, phlegmatically.

  Nergal-Yukin grinned with displeasure and disappointment at havingfailed to arouse any feeling by his words. "O high and powerful one,with this knife that hangs at my girdle I cut the flesh of the rightwrist till a drop of red blood flows therefrom. Then into the wound Ipour the dazzling stream from this precious phial; and when they havemingled well with the blood of the lady, you shall behold her rise upand call thee to her arms." He concluded this explanatory speech with anobeisance, and had already turned to the couch again when Belshazzargave a low call.

  Instantly there was an influx of armed men into the apartment.Nergal-Yukin turned in time to see the entrance of the last one. Thenext instant he was violently seized by two stalwart men. His cries ofamazement were stifled with a gag; he was bound about from head to footwith the unbreakable cactus-rope, and then, at a nod from Belshazzar,borne out of the unconscious presence of Istar into the hall beyond.Thither Belshazzar and Ribata followed him; but Baba, at a sign from herlord, remained where she was.

  Belshazzar's face was a thing to fear as he bade the guardsmen stand therab-mag up before him. Nergal-Yukin could speak only with his eyes, butthese were eloquent indeed. Terror and agonized pleading were thedominant expressions on the face of the wretched cre
ature. Belshazzarheeded neither one. In three words he commanded his men to free theright arm of the magician. Then, while Ribata and the soldiers wereclustered round, watching the scene in silent fascination, and a screamof terror was about to break through the gag, Belshazzar took thedoctor's right hand in his own, holding it in an iron grasp; and withthe other he seized the knife that still hung at Nergal-Yukin's side.The eyes of the doomed man were starting from their sockets. Ribata cameforward a little, that he might obtain a better view of the affair. Thesoldiers crowded close around. Belshazzar lifted the knife and made along, delicate slit in the back of the physician's wrist. Then, when theblood had begun to flow thinly forth, Ribata handed his master thegolden bottle that had been left on the foot of Istar's couch.Belshazzar nodded his thanks, and, without a second's hesitation, openedit. The liquid that rolled out was thick and rather brown in color. Theprince did his work deftly. With one finger he rubbed the stuff allabout and around the wound, mixing it with the fresh blood, and allowingnone of it to drip off the wrist. With the other hand he helped two ofhis soldiers to hold the rab-mag still; for the fellow was nowstruggling so violently that this was not a task for a single arm. Therewas no escape, however. When the poison had been made to enter the woundthoroughly, Belshazzar tore a strip of embroidered linen from the bottomof his tunic and bound it round the arm, fastening it with a pin fromRibata's apparel. Then he stood back from his victim.

  "Take this man away, and bring me only the message of his death."

  Obediently the soldiers lifted their burden, now rigid and stiff withterror, and bore him like a log of wood out of the presence of theprince and across the court-yard, back into some little-known rooms usedonly for the most obscure servants of the palace.

  Belshazzar drew a long breath of relief. His rage had passed. Only, ashe turned to smile at Ribata, he was slightly pale. Ribata nodded at himin approval.

  "That was well done," he said. "Those that live like dogs, like dogs letthem die."

  "And now, Ribata--"

  "Now, O prince, I return with Baba to my house. Thou hast heard all thatmy slave learned of the treachery lurking in the Great City. It is toyou that Babylon looks for her defence. Her people are yours. Do with usall as you will. We are in your hands." Ribata made the lowestobeisance, something not due from his rank to any one except a god; andBelshazzar hastily raised him up.

  "It is to thy loyalty, O faithful one, that Babylon will owe herfreedom. Baba likewise shall receive her reward. She hath saved Istar'slife--that is more to me than Babylon, than myself, than all the earth.Command a litter for her now, and take thou my chariot for thy return.The council of lords sits to-morrow after sacrifice. Then we will speakof the invader. Till then--Bel keep you safely!"

  Smiling, Ribata turned back into the other apartment. He found Baba onher knees, beside Istar's couch, gazing in ecstasy into Istar's openeyes. On the other side the baby, haloed round with a soft and luminouslight, slept quietly. Ribata was reluctant to draw Baba from the scene;but the child was faint with fatigue, and so, leading her gently away,he lifted her, when they were outside the door, in both his arms, andcarried her, all black and dishevelled as she was, out to the gate,where, in the face of a dozen astonished men, he placed her in a litter,himself mounted Belshazzar's chariot, and drove away in it in thedirection of the canal of the Four Seasons.

  If Baba's day of labor had just ended, that of Belshazzar only nowbegan. The affair of the rab-mag had left him intensely uneasy, andthis, coupled with his great anxiety over the sedition in the city,promised a sleepless night. Still, till further news of Nergal-Yukin'sstate should be brought him, he was powerless to act, and therefore hereturned to Istar's room and seated himself there, with his head restingon his hands. The minutes passed unheeded, for his mind was full. Heknew that his wife lay near him, and, though her eyes had been open whenhe entered the room, he believed her still incapable of sight orhearing. Presently, when his head had sunk lower still, he felt thelightest touch on his arm, and he started to his feet, to cry out inamazement as he beheld Istar, tall and white, swaying beside him.

  "_Thou!_" he said, gasping.

  "The heart of Belshazzar is troubled. From far away come I to bring theeconsolation in thine hours of woe," she said, quietly, as one speakingfrom a great distance. "Be comforted, O my lord! That that is ordainedfor the Great City must come to pass. Neither thou nor any other canprevent it. But be not troubled in thy heart, my prince. In the end thisworld shall grow dim before thine eyes, for there will be opened beforethem another kingdom where there shall be no time, neither anyevil-doing. Until the coming of that day, my lord, be comforted--takeheart--and be comforted!"

  In that one moment Istar shone forth in all her radiant glory, like somespirit from a divine sunset. And the prince fell down before her on hisknees, worshipping silently. But after she ceased to speak the radiancewent, and she fainted before him in her weakness of the flesh. So hecaught her in his arms and brought her once more to her couch. When shewoke again, only Belshazzar remembered the words that she had spoken tohim. Yet he knew that the message had come from out of the silver sky,and with this knowledge peace came to him, and he went and lay down uponthe divan in the room.

  He had lain there for some minutes, his mind filled less with forebodingthan with wonder, when, for the third time, the eunuch appeared at thedoor, this time wearing on his carefully trained face an untowardexpression of interest.

  "Speak, Apla," whispered Belshazzar, anxiously.

  "May it please my lord--Nergal-Yukin is dead."

  "How? How?"

  "In great anguish. Being ungagged, he cried mightily, and screamed aloudto the gods and demons, uttering curses on Amraphel the priest of Bel,and upon Belshazzar my lord, and upon the king Nabu-Nahid. Thus isNergal-Yukin dead."

  "It is well that all dogs should die. Listen, then, Apla, and do mybidding. Let forty of my runners, attired in their liveries, go forthinto the city with trumpets and cymbals, and let them cry aloud throughall Babylon the story of the rab-mag's treachery and his end. The nameof Amraphel must not be spoken; but the criers shall so word their storythat no man can be ignorant of the fact that Amraphel himself promptedthis deed out of hatred to me. Listen, then, while I tell thee the storyof the sin of the rab-mag, and thou must repeat it as I say it to you,to all my criers."

  Then Belshazzar proceeded to recount, tersely and truthfully, the taleof the attempted assassination of Istar. When he had finished, and Apla,big-eyed and eager, had repeated the words after him, he dismissed theeunuch to assemble the runners, and then the prince, his work beginningto assume definite proportions in his mind, summoned two women to watchover the goddess, and, leaving them with her, went his way to theapartments of the king his father.

  Nabonidus sat in his coolest room, comfortably partaking of his supper.A dancing-girl had just finished her postures before him, and he haddismissed her, while his favorite poet was summoned to take her place.Nabonidus' gentle, sheep-like face wore an air of benign content as hishand moved regularly from mouth to plate, and his head swayed to therhythm of the tune that had been played. The poet was just mounting hisdais and unrolling his strip of Egyptian papyrus when the prince reachedthe door of his father's apartment. It was really pitiable that all thispleasant twilight delight should be so roughly disturbed. But disturbedit was, as a lake's calm by the east wind, as soon as Belshazzar enteredhis father's presence and made his obeisance. Nabonidus' expression wasmore that of resignation than of displeasure as he said, courteously:

  "Let there be a couch brought in for thee, Bel-shar-utsur, and partakewith me of this flesh of the whirring-bird, and barley, while Kibarecites to us the tale of Izdubar and Ea-bani full of wisdom." Nabonidusmade his suggestion with an air of hopefulness that belied his realfeeling; and he was not surprised, however much disappointed, whenBelshazzar replied:

  "May it please the king my lord to grant me a private audience. Thereare matters of great import to be laid before him. I beg that my lord bemoved
to grant this wish."

  These words, couched as they were in the form of supplication, werespoken in such a tone of command as Nabu-Nahid dared not refuse. But injustice to the son be it said that this manner only ever gained for anyone, save poets and architects, a moment's consideration with the king.By this method, however, Belshazzar succeeded; and presently he and hisfather were alone.

  Nabu-Nahid had ceased to eat, and sat regarding his son with an air ofpetulant displeasure. "Now speak to me quickly," he said, in his mildlyinjured fashion. "The season is too late for lion-hunting; your commandover the treasury equals mine; I have at present not one dancer thatwould please you; and for the matter of soldiers--go to Nana-Babilu atSippar. I am not the commanding general. What, then, seeing thesethings, canst thou ask of me?"

  Belshazzar snapped his fingers and frowned mightily. The fears in hismind might be vague and ill-defined as yet; but when he did consider, insome presentient fashion, the scenes of terror that were soon to beenacted in the Great City, and when he imagined his father, weak,gentle, yielding as he was, swept into that furious vortex of blood andof death, what could there be but pity for the old man and dread for hisinevitable end? Now, for a moment, indeed, Belshazzar wondered how itwas that his father had held his throne even one little twelvemonth,after the strife that had preceded his coronation. Yet for seventeenprosperous years this one ruler had held city and state togetherpeaceably; and there were few Chaldean kings that had done as much.

  "My father," said Bit-Shamash at last, "it is for no matter of pleasureor mine own affluence that I seek thee to-night. It is for thee, for thythrone, for the sake of thy kingdom, of ancient Babylonia, that I wouldtake council with thee here."

  Hearing these words, Nabu-Nahid's face assumed an expression that wasunexpectedly complex--a little inscrutable, indeed. "Since what time, Omy son, have thy thoughts turned towards the welfare of the throne?Since when hath thy mind been more engaged with affairs of the statethan with wines and with feasting, dancing-girls and hunters--thou andthy companion, Ribata of Shumukin?"

  Belshazzar flushed slightly. "My father hath judged me," was his onlyanswer.

  Nabu-Nahid merely nodded his head a trifle, and then sat looking at hisson with a stupid expression, waiting for him to depart, as at thisstage he usually did. In point of fact, Belshazzar had a strong impulseto turn on the instant and leave his father to his supper and hispoetry. But for once his anxiety was stronger than his pride, and hefought back the angry taunt that had risen to his lips, and asked,bluntly:

  "Know you, O king, that letters of invitation pass from our city toKurush, king of Elam, to come and take his place on the throne ofBabylon?"

  "Letters from the hands of Amraphel of Bel and Beltishazzar the Jew? Ay,Bit-Shamash. Think you I do not know my city?"

  Belshazzar was first astonished, then inexpressibly relieved. Was itpossible that he had so long misjudged his father? Was it possible thatthis shambling and vacant manner concealed a sound mind and a greatunderstanding? Had he for so long kept his own best self from the kingto find out his grave mistake when it was almost too late? He bent hishead more humbly than he had ever bent it before to any man. "I cravepardon of my lord," he said. "Behold, I go my way."

  But Belshazzar had not all the magnanimity of the family. Nabu-Nahidsuddenly straightened up, and commanded a couch to be moved to thetable. Wines of Lebanon and Helbon were brought from the cellars, andBelshazzar was waved into his place with a gesture that admitted of norefusal. The prince obeyed the invitation rather reluctantly. He dreadedthe return of the poet, and had no desire now to discuss affairs ofstate with his father. However, Nabonidus opened such a discussion in avery tactful way.

  "Tell me, Belshazzar, how many days is it since this conspiracy of thepriests hath been known to you?"

  "For more than three months I have suspected it. It is but to-day thatit hath become a certainty."

  "And the matter frightens thee?"

  "Yea, truly, my father. When I came to thee to-night my heart was sickwith the thought of Babylon's great danger. But since thou, the king,knowest all and fearest naught, my fears are also laid at rest. The kingmy father is very great. May he live forever!" and Belshazzar smiledfilially into his father's eyes.

  "You do me honor to trust in me, Belshazzar," said the king, gently."Yet do you well, also; for to whom save their king can a people lookfor their safety? I will tell you how the Great City is to be protectedagainst the plots of her enemies. Priest and lord alike may prove false,and men and soldiers turn against me. I have put my strength and mytrust in those that are above princes. Hark you, Belshazzar. When, amonth past, I learned from certain watchers whom I employ, of the greatplot against the crown, I bethought me long and earnestly of my course.Finally I sent out secret messengers to every temple-city in Babylonia,and from every heavenly house that my hand hath restored from ancientdecay I caused to be sent hither to me the oldest and holiest god-image.These, to the number of twenty-one, are now in a little temple by theriver-bank, where I daily visit them and perform sacrifice before themtill the time when they shall move in procession through the city, andgo each to his special shrine. And that day approaches; for the citygrows uneasy under the seditions of the priests and their oracles. Butwhen my new gods are set up in their golden houses to be worshipped bythe multitude in the city, think you not that the first care of theseheavenly ones will be the safety and preservation of me and of my line?"

  Belshazzar said nothing for some time. It seemed impossible for him tospeak. This sudden revelation of his father's incomprehensiblechildishness, following, as it did, the equally unexpected evidence ofhis understanding of the situation of the state, had completely overcomehim. It was well that the dim, bluish lamp-light made all faces lookpale; for at this moment the prince's skin was destitute of color. Allhis first fears came back to him, added to a new one, that increased thehorror of the first a thousandfold. With what frightful disaster wasBabylon not threatened? And what hope had she of fighting againstdevastation under the leadership of a half-crazy old man that had placedan unalterable and inhuman faith in the power of certain blocks of grayand crumbling stone, shaped into images that a child would hardlybelieve in? Faugh! Belshazzar turned sick with disgust.

  "Speak, Belshazzar! What think you of this hope of mine?"

  "The king is great. May he live forever!" was the response, given in atone of soothing calmness. With the words the prince royal also rosefrom his couch. "Now, father, I go. I must depart from thee," he said,hurriedly. "There is a matter to be attended to. Give me leave to quitthy presence."

  "As you entered it of your own will, so depart," returned his father, ina subdued and disappointed manner.

  But Belshazzar, whose feeling was more of grief and pity than anythingelse, went to his father, took his hand, and laid it upon his brow intoken of devotion and obedience.

  "Thy head is hot," observed the king.

  Belshazzar smiled faintly. "Grant me leave to depart," he urged again.

  "Yea, in peace depart!"

  Somewhat relieved at the old man's tone, a little quieted by the silenceand the dim light around him, the prince moved to the door and was allbut gone when the king turned and spoke to him again in a way thatrevealed another phase of his curious character. "Belshazzar," he said,"look well to this Jew, Daniel. He was a member of the court of themighty Nebuchadrezzar, thy grandfather. A traitor and a dangerous man ishe; but he is a prophet also; and gold will buy him. If, after my death,the city should be threatened with destruction, look to him, if it ispossible, for help."

  Belshazzar, dully amazed again, yet too weary of the changes of hisfather's moods to pay very much attention to him, answered this advicewith an obeisance only, and then went his way towards his own rooms.But, even as he went, his father's last words rang again through hisears. "A traitor and a dangerous man, but a prophet also; and gold willbuy him--gold will buy him!" Thus Belshazzar pondered still.

  In his private room the prince found his eve
ning meal laid out andwaiting his coming. Food, however, was not his desire; and, letting itremain where it stood, he began slowly to pace his room, up and down, upand down the cool, tiled floor. His fan-slaves watched him curiously.They had never seen quite such an expression on their lord's face. Intruth, Belshazzar's brain throbbed when he thought of what a way laybefore him to be traversed. Babylon tottered before his weary mentalvision; and finally, inexpressibly heavy-hearted with it all, he satdown to eat his chilled supper, at the same time despatching a slave forKhamma.

  The dancing-girl, with her gauze draperies and tinkling ankle-bells,came in to him, followed by her fellow-slaves with drum and lute. Themaid had lost neither her grace of movement nor her love for her Lord,and therefore Belshazzar, successfully diverted for the moment, finishedhis meal more pleasantly than he had begun it. When finally he rose fromhis couch it was late. The moon hung in the heavens, and the court-yardwas flooded with silver light. A group of guardsmen, clustering round afire, sat chanting charms in chorus. Belshazzar heard their voices witha vague longing for shouts of men, for the shrill neighs of horses, forthe rattle of chariot wheels, the clash of arms, the thunderous murmurof battle as he had known it in his youth. If only war, open andhonorable, lay between him and Kurush of Elam--well enough. In that hestood his fair chance of winning; and if he lost, it was death at hisown hands. The game that he feared and that he hated was the one ofunderhandedness, of lies, of treachery, of bribery. When a man could bebought for gold there was none to trust, none to feel sure of. And uponthese things the prince wearily pondered as he gazed out into the night,wondering, half consciously, whether to go to Ribata or to seek restfrom his mental burden in sleep.

  While he debated this point with himself there came a commotion at thepalace gate, the arrival of a fast chariot, a peremptory call foradmittance, and his own name spoken in a familiar voice. An instantlater a slave ran to him with the word:

  "May it be pleasing to the prince my lord, Lord Amraphel, thehigh-priest of Bel, asks conduct to the presence of the PrinceBelshazzar."

  "Bring him here to my side," was the quick reply.

  The slave left him obediently, and Belshazzar prepared to receive hisvisitor. Retreating a little towards the centre of his dining-room, hestood with the torch-light at his back and the glow of the lamp too farin front to shine upon his face. Here he awaited the coming of hisfather's enemy.

  Amraphel entered the presence of the prince royal with his usualunruffled dignity. He was followed by two slaves, who stood behind himduring the performance of the elaborate salutations. Then they weredismissed, and bidden to await the return of their master to hischariot.

  Belshazzar was unattended. Thus the departure of these slaves left thetwo men quite alone, out of the sight and out of the hearing of the restof the world. However much the prince was on his guard, his mannerbetrayed nothing but cold courtesy. This sudden incident had come as arelief to him. Action of any sort was welcome. He was perfectly at hisease, barely polite, little respectful of the age and station of thepriest.

  With Amraphel it was different. The instant that his attendants departedhis air of unbending dignity dropped off him like a cloak, and into hisface there came so marked an expression of hatred and of suppressed furythat Belshazzar's eyes, meeting by chance those of his adversary, forgottheir course, and remained fascinated and fixed on that other gaze.Simultaneously both stepped forward.

  "My lord Amraphel honors me unexpectedly," said the prince, giving theother a free opening.

  "It is not to thy honor, but rather on account of thy infamy, that Icome," was the reply.

  Belshazzar's lips straightened themselves out haughtily. "Let me summona seer to interpret thy words," he said.

  "My words shall interpret themselves to you. What answer make you to thecharge of murdering Nergal-Yukin?"

  For a moment Belshazzar was silent. Then he laughed--a clear, ringinglaugh.

  Instantly Amraphel lost his self-control. Reaching Belshazzar's side intwo strides, he lifted his right hand in the face of the prince. Beforethe blow fell Belshazzar had seized the priest's arm fast in his grip,and with all his giant strength thrust from him the figure of the oldman.

  "Beware, Amraphel," he said, so softly that the priest just caught thewords.

  "Hark you, son of the sheep-king, hark you! If within the hour yourslaves, the criers of Nergal-Yukin's death, be not recalled from thecity streets, not one of them shall be left alive by morning."

  "If that is thy thought, Amraphel of Bel, at daybreak to-morrow not apriest in the city shall dare openly to wear the goat-skin and stilllive."

  "You defy the gods?"

  "I defy their ministers."

  "Then, by all that is holy in heaven and earth, be thou and thine foullycursed forevermore!"

  Belshazzar's lips curled again; and again, desecrating all thetraditions of his race, he laughed--loud, and long, but not mirthfully.

  Amraphel, as he gathered his scarlet robe close about his meagre frame,grew white--very white. His head was held high, and his eyes flashedwith a fire that age could not quell, as he spoke his final word: "Be_thou_ ware, Belshazzar of Babylon, lest the curse of the gods be givenfor fulfilment into the hands of men!"

  As he turned on his heel Belshazzar's answer came, and by it the priestlearned how surely the governor of the city was of his mother's loins,and not of his father's blood. "Thy hand and that of Daniel the Jew,yea, and of him ye call the Achaemenian, will find space enough on mybody whereon to strike and strike again, O Amraphel. But see that yefight as men, and not as dogs. Else, by my faith, as dogs ye shallsurely die!"

  Belshazzar hurled the last word after the priest into the court-yard,for Amraphel was now well on his way back to his chariot. The echo ofthe prince's voice rolled off into silence; and after a little timeBelshazzar found himself still standing beside the table, his head bent,his eyes moving vacantly over the floor, while his thoughts were asempty as he felt his words to have been. A little after the interview hesought his rest. And when morning dawned again and he called his slavesto his side, the criers of Nergal-Yukin's death had not been slain;though perhaps in the end that consummation had been better for theroyal house of Babylon.