The Pharaoh and the Priest: An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XXXVI

  After his reception by the viceroy, Sargon delayed at Pi-Bast, waitingfor letters from the pharaoh at Memphis. Meanwhile strange reportsbegan to circulate among officers and nobles.

  The Phoenicians told, of course as the greatest secret, that thepriests, it was unknown for what reason, not only forgave theAssyrians the unpaid tribute, not only freed them once and for alltime from paying it, but, besides, to facilitate some northern war forthe Assyrians, had concluded a treaty of peace for many years withthem.

  "The pharaoh," said the Phoenicians, "on learning of these concessionsto Assyria fell very ill. Prince Rameses is troubled, and goes aroundgrief-stricken. But both must give way to the priests, for they arenot sure of the nobles and the army."

  This enraged the Egyptian aristocracy.

  "Is it possible?" whispered magnates who were in debt. "Does thedynasty not trust us? Have the priests undertaken to disgrace and ruinEgypt? For it is clear that if Assyria has a war in the distant northsomewhere, now is just the time to attack her and fill the reducedtreasury of the pharaoh and the aristocracy with plunder."

  One and another of the young lords made bold to ask the prince what hethought of Assyrians. Rameses was silent, but the gleam in his eyesand his fixed lips expressed his feelings sufficiently.

  "It is clear," whispered the lords, later on, "that this dynasty isbound by the priesthood. It yields not its confidence to nobles; greatmisfortunes are threatening Egypt."

  Silent anger was soon turned into secret councils, which had even thesemblance of conspiracy. Though many persons took part in this action,the priests were self-confident, or knew nothing of this in theirblindness; and Sargon, though he felt the existing hatred, did notattach to it importance. He learned that Prince Rameses disliked him,but that he attributed to the event in the arena, and to his jealousyin the affair of the priestess. Confident, however, in his position asambassador, he drank, feasted, and slipped away almost every eveningto Kama, who received with increasing favor his courting and hispresents.

  Such was the condition of mind in the higher circles, when on acertain night the holy Mentezufis rushed to the prince's dwelling, anddeclared that he must see the viceroy immediately.

  The courtiers answered that one of his women was visiting their lord,and that they would not disturb him. But when Mentezufis insisted withincreasing emphasis, they called out Rameses.

  The prince appeared after a time, and was not even angry.

  "What is this?" asked he of the priest. "Are we at war, that thoutakest the trouble to visit me at an hour like the present?"

  Mentezufis looked diligently at the prince, and sighed deeply.

  "Has the prince not gone out all the evening?" inquired he.

  "Not a step."

  "Can I give a priest's word for this?"

  The heir was astonished.

  "It seems to me," answered he, haughtily, "that thy word is notneeded, since I have given mine. What does this mean?"

  They withdrew to a special chamber.

  "Dost thou know, lord," asked the excited priest, "what has happened,perhaps an hour since? Some young men attacked the worthy Sargon andclubbed him."

  "Who were they? Where did this happen?"

  "At the villa of a Phoenician priestess named Kama," answeredMentezufis, watching the face of the heir sharply.

  "Daring fellows," said the prince, shrugging his shoulders, "to attacksuch a stalwart man! I suppose that more than one bone was broken inthat struggle."

  "But to attack an ambassador! Consider, worthy lord,--an ambassadorprotected by the majesty of Assyria and Egypt," said the priest.

  "Ho! ho!" laughed the prince. "Then King Assar sends ambassadors evento Phoenician dancers?"

  Mentezufis was confused. All at once he tapped his forehead, and criedout also, with laughter,--

  "See, prince, what a simple man I am, unfamiliar with ceremonies. Iforgot that Sargon, strolling about in the night near the house of asuspected woman, is not an ambassador, but an ordinary person."

  After a while he added,--

  "In every case something evil has happened. Sargon may conceive adislike for us."

  "Priest! O priest!" cried Rameses, shaking his head. "Thou hastforgotten this,--a thing of much more importance,--that Egypt has noneed to fear or even care for the good or bad feeling toward her, notmerely of Sargon, but King Assar."

  Mentezufis was so confused by the appositeness of the remark, that,instead of an answer, he bowed, muttering,--

  "Prince, the gods have given thee the wisdom of high priests,--maytheir names be blessed! I wanted to issue an order to search forthese insolents, but now I prefer to follow thy advice, for thou art asage above sages. Tell me, therefore, lord, what I am to do withSargon and those turbulent young people."

  "First of all, wait till morning. As a priest, thou knowest best thatdivine sleep often brings good counsel."

  "But if before morning I think out nothing?"

  "I will visit Sargon in every case, and try to efface that littleaccident from his memory."

  The priest took farewell of Rameses with marks of respect. On the wayhome, he pondered.

  "I will let the heart be torn out of my breast," thought he, "if theprince had to do with that business. He neither beat Sargon, norpersuaded another to beat him; he did not even know of the incident.Whoso judges an affair with such coolness and so pointedly cannot be aconfederate. In that case I can begin an investigation, and if we donot mollify the shaggy barbarian I will deliver the disturbers tojustice. Beautiful treaty of friendship between two states, whichbegins by insulting the ambassador!"

  Next morning the lordly Sargon lay on his felt couch till midday. Helay thus rather frequently, however, that is, after eachdrinking-feast. Near him, on a low divan, sat the devout Istubar, witheyes fixed on the ceiling, while muttering a prayer.

  "Istubar," sighed the dignitary, "art thou sure that no man of ourcourt knows of my misfortune?"

  "Who could know, if thou hast seen no one?"

  "But the Egyptians!" groaned Sargon.

  "Of the Egyptians Mentezufis and the prince know, yes, and thosemadmen who surely will remember thy fists for a long time."

  "They may--they may; but it seems to me that the heir was among them,and that his nose is crushed, if not broken."

  "The heir has a sound nose, and he was not there, I assure thee."

  "In that case," sighed Sargon, "the prince should impale a good numberof those rioters on stakes. I am an ambassador; my person is sacred."

  "But I tell thee," counselled Istubar, "to cast anger from thy heart,and not to complain even; for if those rioters are arraigned before acourt, the whole world will learn that the ambassador of the mostworthy King Assar goes about among Phoenicians, and, what is worse,visits them alone during night hours. What wilt thou answer if thymortal enemy, the chancellor Lik-Bagus, asks thee, 'Sargon, whatPhoenicians didst thou see, and of what was thy discourse with them atnight, outside their temple?'"

  Sargon sighed, if sounds like the growling of a lion are to be calledsighs.

  That moment one of the Assyrian officers rushed in. He knelt down,struck the pavement with his forehead, and said to Sargon,--

  "Light of our lord's eyes! There is a crowd of magnates anddignitaries of Egypt before the entrance, and at the head of them theheir himself, with the evident intention of giving thee homage."

  But before Sargon could utter a command, the prince was in the door ofthe chamber. He pushed the gigantic watch aside, and approached thefelts quickly, while the confused ambassador, with widely opened eyes,knew not what to do,--to flee naked to another chamber, or hidebeneath the covers.

  On the threshold stood a number of Assyrian officers, astonished atthe invasion of the heir in opposition to every etiquette. But Istubarmade a sign to them, and they vanished.

  The prince was alone; he had left his suite in the courtyard.

  "Be greeted, O ambassador of a great king, and guest of the phar
aoh. Ihave come to visit thee and inquire if thou hast need of anything,also to learn if time and desire will permit thee to ride in mycompany on a horse from my father's stables, surrounded by our suitesin a manner becoming an ambassador of the mighty Assar,--may he livethrough eternity!"

  Sargon listened as he lay there, without understanding a syllable. Butwhen Istubar interpreted the words of the Egyptian viceroy, theambassador felt such delight that he beat his head against the couch,repeating the names Rameses and Assar.

  When he had calmed himself, and made excuses for the wretched state inwhich so worthy and famous a guest had found him, he added,--

  "Do not take it ill, O lord, that an earthworm and a support of thethrone, as I am, show delight in a manner so unusual. But I am doublypleased at thy coming; first, because such a superterrestrial honorhas come to me; second, because in my dull and worthless heart Ithought that thou, O lord, wert the author of my misfortune. It seemedto me that among the sticks which fell on my shoulders I felt thine,which struck, indeed, vigorously."

  The calm Istubar interpreted phrase after phrase to the prince. Tothis the heir, with genuine kingly dignity, answered,--

  "Thou wert mistaken, O Sargon. If thou thyself hadst not confessed theerror, I should command to count out fifty blows of a stick to thee,so that thou shouldst remember that persons like me do not attack oneman with a crowd, or in the night-time."

  Before the serene Istubar could finish the interpretation of thisspeech, Sargon had crawled up to the prince and embraced his legsearnestly.

  "A great lord! a great king!" cried he. "Glory to Egypt, that has sucha ruler."

  To this the prince answered,--

  "I will say more, Sargon. If an attack was made on thee yesterday, Iassure thee that no one of my courtiers made it. For I judge that aman of such strength as thou art must have broken more than one skull.But my attendants are unharmed, every man of them."

  "He has told truth, and spoken wisely," whispered Sargon to Istubar.

  "But though," continued the prince, "this evil deed has happened, notthrough my fault, or through that of my attendants, I feel bound todecrease thy dissatisfaction with a city in which thou wert met sounworthily; hence I have visited thy bedchamber; hence I open to theemy house at all times, as often as thou mayst wish to visit it, and Ibeg thee to accept this small gift from me."

  The prince drew forth from his tunic a chain set with rubies andsapphires.

  The gigantic Sargon shed tears; this moved the prince but did notaffect the indifference of Istubar. The priest saw that Sargon hadtears, joy, or anger, at call, as befitted the ambassador of a kingfull of wisdom.

  The viceroy sat a moment longer, and then took farewell of Sargon.While going out, he thought that the Assyrians, though barbarians,were not evil minded, since they knew how to respond to magnanimity.

  Sargon was so touched that he gave order immediately to bring wine,and he drank from midday till evening.

  Some time after sunset the priest, Istubar, left Sargon's chamber fora while; he returned soon, but through a concealed doorway. Behind himappeared two men in dark mantles. When they had pushed their cowlsaside, Sargon recognized in one the high priest Mefres, in the otherMentezufis the prophet.

  "We bring thee, worthy ambassador, good news," said Mefres.

  "May I be able to give you the like," cried the ambassador. "Beseated, holy and worthy fathers. And though I have reddened eyes,speak to me as if I were in perfect soberness; for when I am drunk mymind is improved even. Is this not true, Istubar?"

  "Speak on," said the Chaldean.

  "To-day," began Mentezufis, "I have received a letter from the mostworthy minister Herhor. He writes that his holiness--may he livethrough eternity!--awaits thy embassy at Memphis in his wonderfulpalace, and that his holiness--may he live through eternity!--is welldisposed to make a treaty with Assyria."

  Sargon tottered on his feet, but his eyes showed clear mental action.

  "I will go," said he, "to his holiness the pharaoh,--may he livethrough eternity! In the name of my lord I will put my seal on thetreaty, if it be written on bricks in cuneiform letters, for I do notunderstand your writing. I will lie even all day on my belly beforehis holiness, and will sign the treaty. But how will ye carry itout,--ha! ha! ha! that I know not," concluded he, with rude laughter.

  "How darest thou, O servant of the great Assar, doubt the good-willand faith of our ruler?" inquired Mentezufis.

  Sargon grew a little sobered.

  "I do not speak of his holiness," replied he, "but of the heir to thethrone of Egypt."

  "He is a young man full of wisdom, who will carry out the will of hisfather and the supreme council without hesitation," answered Mefres.

  "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the drunken barbarian again. "Your prince-- Ogods, put my joints out if I speak an untruth, when I say that Ishould wish Assyria to have such an heir as he is. Our Assyrian heiris a sage, a priest. He, before going to war, looks first at the starsin the sky; afterward he looks under hens' tails. But yours wouldexamine to see how many troops he had; he would learn where the enemywas camping, and fall on him as an eagle on a lamb. He is a leader, heis a king! He is not of those who obey priestly counsels. He will takecounsel with his own sword, and ye will have to carry out what heorders. Therefore, though I sign a treaty, I shall tell my lord thatbehind the sick pharaoh and the wise priests there is in Egypt a youngheir to the throne who is a lion and a bull in one person,--a man onwhose lips there is honey, but in whose heart lies a thunderbolt."

  "And thou wilt tell an untruth," interrupted Mentezufis. "For ourprince, though impulsive and riotous somewhat, as is usual with youngpeople, knows how to respect both the counsel of sages and the highestinstitutions of the country."

  "O ye sages learned in letters, ye who know the circuits of thestars!" said Sargon, jeering. "I am a simple commander of troops, whowithout my seal would not always be able to scratch off my signature.Ye are sages, I am unlearned; but by the beard of my king, I would notchange what I know for your wisdom. Ye are men to whom the world ofpapyrus and brick is laid bare; but the real world in which men liveis closed to you. I am unlearned, but I have the sniff of a dog; and,as a dog sniffs a bear from a distance; so I with reddened nose sniffa hero.

  "Ye will give counsel to the prince! But ye are charmed by himalready, as a dove is by a serpent. I, at least, do not deceivemyself; and, though the prince is as kind to me as my own father, Ifeel through my skin that he hates me and my Assyrians as a tigerhates an elephant. Ha! ha! Only give him an army, and in three monthshe would be at Nineveh, if soldiers would rise up to him in the desertinstead of falling down and dying--"

  "Even though thou wert speaking truth," interrupted Mentezufis, "evenif the prince wished to go to Nineveh, he will not go."

  "But who will detain him when he is the pharaoh?"

  "We."

  "Ye? ye? Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Sargon. "Ye think always that that youngman does not feel this treaty. But I--but I--ha! ha! ha! I will letthe skin be torn from me, and my body be impaled if he does not knoweverything."

  "Would the Phoenicians be so quiet if they possessed not the certaintythat your young lion of Egypt would shield them before the bull ofAssyria?"

  Mentezufis and Mefres looked at each other stealthily. The genius ofthe barbarian almost terrified them; he had given bold utterance tothat which they had not thought of. What would the result be, indeed,if the heir had divined their plans and wished to cross them?

  But Istubar, silent thus far, rescued them from momentary trouble.

  "Sargon," said he, "thou art interfering in affairs not thy own. Thyduty is to conclude with Egypt a treaty of the kind that our lordwishes. But what the heir knows or does not know, what he will do orwill not do, is not thy affair, since the supreme, eternally existentpriestly council assures us that the treaty will be executed. In whatway it will be executed is not a question for our heads."

  The dry tone with which Istubar declared this calmed the riotous joyof
the ambassador. He nodded and muttered,--

  "A pity for the man in that case! He is a grand warrior, andmagnanimous."