by Lew Wallace
CHAPTER IV
The caravan, stretched out upon the Desert, was very picturesque;in motion, however, it was like a lazy serpent. By-and-by itsstubborn dragging became intolerably irksome to Balthasar,patient as he was; so, at his suggestion, the party determinedto go on by themselves.
If the reader be young, or if he has yet a sympathetic recollectionof the romanticisms of his youth, he will relish the pleasure withwhich Ben-Hur, riding near the camel of the Egyptians, gave a lastlook at the head of the straggling column almost out of sight onthe shimmering plain.
To be definite as may be, and perfectly confidential, Ben-Hur founda certain charm in Iras's presence. If she looked down upon him fromher high place, he made haste to get near her; if she spoke to him,his heart beat out of its usual time. The desire to be agreeableto her was a constant impulse. Objects on the way, though everso common, became interesting the moment she called attention tothem; a black swallow in the air pursued by her pointing fingerwent off in a halo; if a bit of quartz or a flake of mica wasseen to sparkle in the drab sand under kissing of the sun, at aword he turned aside and brought it to her; and if she threw itaway in disappointment, far from thinking of the trouble he hadbeen put to, he was sorry it proved so worthless, and kept alookout for something better--a ruby, perchance a diamond. So thepurple of the far mountains became intensely deep and rich if shedistinguished it with an exclamation of praise; and when, now andthen, the curtain of the houdah fell down, it seemed a suddendulness had dropped from the sky bedraggling all the landscape.Thus disposed, yielding to the sweet influence, what shall savehim from the dangers there are in days of the close companionshipwith the fair Egyptian incident to the solitary journey they wereentered upon?
For that there is no logic in love, nor the least mathematicalelement, it is simply natural that she shall fashion the resultwho has the wielding of the influence.
To quicken the conclusion, there were signs, too, that she wellknew the influence she was exercising over him. From some placeunder hand she had since morning drawn a caul of golden coins,and adjusted it so the gleaming strings fell over her foreheadand upon her cheeks, blending lustrously with the flowing ofher blue-black hair. From the same safe deposit she had alsoproduced articles of jewelry--rings for finger and ear, bracelets,a necklace of pearls--also, a shawl embroidered with threads offine gold--the effect of all which she softened with a scarf ofIndian lace skillfully folded about her throat and shoulders.And so arrayed, she plied Ben-Hur with countless coquetriesof speech and manner; showering him with smiles; laughing influte-like tremolo--and all the while following him with glances,now melting-tender, now sparkling-bright. By such play Antony wasweaned from his glory; yet she who wrought his ruin was really nothalf so beautiful as this her countrywoman.
And so to them the nooning came, and the evening.
The sun at its going down behind a spur of the old Bashan, left theparty halted by a pool of clear water of the rains out in theAbilene Desert. There the tent was pitched, the supper eaten,and preparations made for the night.
The second watch was Ben-Hur's; and he was standing, spear in hand,within arm-reach of the dozing camel, looking awhile at the stars,then over the veiled land. The stillness was intense; only afterlong spells a warm breath of wind would sough past, but withoutdisturbing him, for yet in thought he entertained the Egyptian,recounting her charms, and sometimes debating how she came byhis secrets, the uses she might make of them, and the course heshould pursue with her. And through all the debate Love stood offbut a little way--a strong temptation, the stronger of a gleam ofpolicy behind. At the very moment he was most inclined to yield tothe allurement, a hand very fair even in the moonless gloaming waslaid softly upon his shoulder. The touch thrilled him; he started,turned--and she was there.
"I thought you asleep," he said, presently.
"Sleep is for old people and little children, and I came out tolook at my friends, the stars in the south--those now holding thecurtains of midnight over the Nile. But confess yourself surprised!"
He took the hand which had fallen from his shoulder, and said,"Well, was it by an enemy?"
"Oh no! To be an enemy is to hate, and hating is a sickness whichIsis will not suffer to come near me. She kissed me, you shouldknow, on the heart when I was a child."
"Your speech does not sound in the least like your father's.Are you not of his faith?"
"I might have been"--and she laughed low--"I might have been hadI seen what he has. I may be when I get old like him. There shouldbe no religion for youth, only poetry and philosophy; and no poetryexcept such as is the inspiration of wine and mirth and love, and nophilosophy that does not nod excuse for follies which cannot outlivea season. My father's God is too awful for me. I failed to findhim in the Grove of Daphne. He was never heard of as present inthe atria of Rome. But, son of Hur, I have a wish."
"A wish! Where is he who could say it no?"
"I will try you."
"Tell it then."
"It is very simple. I wish to help you."
She drew closer as she spoke.
He laughed, and replied, lightly, "O Egypt!--I came near saying dearEgypt!--does not the sphinx abide in your country?"
"Well?"
"You are one of its riddles. Be merciful, and give me a littleclew to help me understand you. In what do I need help? And howcan you help me?"
She took her hand from him, and, turning to the camel, spoke toit endearingly, and patted its monstrous head as it were a thingof beauty.
"O thou last and swiftest and stateliest of the herds of Job!Sometimes thou, too, goest stumbling, because the way is roughand stony and the burden grievous. How is it thou knowest thekind intent by a word; and always makest answer gratefully,though the help offered is from a woman? I will kiss thee,thou royal brute!"--she stooped and touched its broad foreheadwith her lips, saying immediately, "because in thy intelligencethere is no suspicion!"
And Ben-Hur, restraining himself, said calmly, "The reproach hasnot failed its mark, O Egypt! I seem to say thee no; may it notbe because I am under seal of honor, and by my silence cover thelives and fortunes of others?"
"May be!" she said, quickly. "It is so."
He shrank a step, and asked, his voice sharp with amazement,"What all knowest thou?"
She answered, after a laugh,
"Why do men deny that the senses of women are sharper than theirs?Your face has been under my eyes all day. I had but to look at it tosee you bore some weight in mind; and to find the weight, what had Ito do more than recall your debates with my father? Son of Hur!"--shelowered her voice with singular dexterity, and, going nearer, spoke soher breath was warm upon his cheek--"son of Hur! he thou art going tofind is to be King of the Jews, is he not?"
His heart beat fast and hard.
"A King of the Jews like Herod, only greater," she continued.
He looked away--into the night, up to the stars; then his eyesmet hers, and lingered there; and her breath was on his lips,so near was she.
"Since morning," she said, further, "we have been having visions.Now if I tell you mine, will you serve me as well? What! silentstill?"
She pushed his hand away, and turned as if to go; but he caughther, and said, eagerly, "Stay--stay and speak!"
She went back, and with her hand upon his shoulder, leaned againsthim; and he put his arm around her, and drew her close, very close;and in the caress was the promise she asked.
"Speak, and tell me thy visions, O Egypt, dear Egypt! A prophet--nay,not the Tishbite, not even the Lawgiver--could have refused anasking of thine. I am at thy will. Be merciful--merciful, I pray."
The entreaty passed apparently unheard, for looking up and nestlingin his embrace, she said, slowly, "The vision which followed me wasof magnificent war--war on land and sea--with clashing of armsand rush of armies, as if Caesar and Pompey were come again,and Octavius and Antony. A cloud of dust and ashes arose andcovered the world, and Rome was not any more; all dominionreturned to the East; out of the
cloud issued another raceof heroes; and there were vaster satrapies and brighter crownsfor giving away than were ever known. And, son of Hur, while thevision was passing, and after it was gone, I kept asking myself,'What shall he not have who served the King earliest and best?'"
Again Ben-Hur recoiled. The question was the very question whichhad been with him all day. Presently he fancied he had the clewhe wanted.
"So," he said, "I have you now. The satrapies and crowns arethe things to which you would help me. I see, I see! And therenever was such queen as you would be, so shrewd, so beautiful,so royal--never! But, alas, dear Egypt! by the vision as you show itme the prizes are all of war, and you are but a woman, though Isisdid kiss you on the heart. And crowns are starry gifts beyond yourpower of help, unless, indeed, you have a way to them more certainthan that of the sword. If so, O Egypt, Egypt, show it me, and Iwill walk in it, if only for your sake."
She removed his arm, and said, "Spread your cloak upon the sand--here,so I can rest against the camel. I will sit, and tell you a story whichcame down the Nile to Alexandria, where I had it."
He did as she said, first planting the spear in the ground near by.
"And what shall I do?" he said, ruefully, when she was seated."In Alexandria is it customary for the listeners to sit or stand?"
From the comfortable place against the old domestic she answered,laughing, "The audiences of story-tellers are wilful, and sometimesthey do as they please."
Without more ado he stretched himself upon the sand, and put herarm about his neck.
"I am ready," he said.
And directly she began:
HOW THE BEAUTIFUL CAME TO THE EARTH.
"You must know, in the first place, that Isis was--and, for thatmatter, she may yet be--the most beautiful of deities; and Osiris,her husband, though wise and powerful, was sometimes stung withjealousy of her, for only in their loves are the gods like mortals.
"The palace of the Divine Wife was of silver, crowning the tallestmountain in the moon, and thence she passed often to the sun, in theheart of which, a source of eternal light, Osiris kept his palace ofgold too shining for men to look at.
"One time--there are no days with the gods--while she was fullpleasantly with him on the roof of the golden palace, she chancedto look, and afar, just on the line of the universe, saw Indrapassing with an army of simians, all borne upon the backs offlying eagles. He, the Friend of Living Things--so with muchlove is Indra called--was returning from his final war with thehideous Rakshakas--returning victorious; and in his suite wereRama, the hero, and Sita, his bride, who, next to Isis herself,was the very most beautiful. And Isis arose, and took off her girdleof stars, and waved it to Sita--to Sita, mind you--waved it in gladsalute. And instantly, between the marching host and the two on thegolden roof, a something as of night fell, and shut out the view;but it was not night--only the frown of Osiris.
"It happened the subject of his speech that moment was such as noneelse than they could think of; and he arose, and said, majestically,'Get thee home. I will do the work myself. To make a perfectly happybeing I do not need thy help. Get thee gone.'
"Now Isis had eyes large as those of the white cow which in thetemple eats sweet grasses from the hands of the faithful evenwhile they say their prayers; and her eyes were the color of thecows, and quite as tender. And she too arose and said, smiling asshe spoke, so her look was little more than the glow of the moonin the hazy harvest-month, 'Farewell, good my lord. You will callme presently, I know; for without me you cannot make the perfectlyhappy creature of which you were thinking, any more'--and she stoppedto laugh, knowing well the truth of the saying--'any more, my lord,than you yourself can be perfectly happy without me.'
"'We will see,' he said.
"And she went her way, and took her needles and her chair, and on theroof of the silver palace sat watching and knitting.
"And the will of Osiris, at labor in his mighty breast, was as thesound of the mills of all the other gods grinding at once, so loudthat the near stars rattled like seeds in a parched pod; and somedropped out and were lost. And while the sound kept on she waitedand knit; nor lost she ever a stitch the while.
"Soon a spot appeared in the space over towards the sun; and itgrew until it was great as the moon, and then she knew a worldwas intended; but when, growing and growing, at last it casther planet in the shade, all save the little point lighted byher presence, she knew how very angry he was; yet she knit away,assured that the end would be as she had said.
"And so came the earth, at first but a cold gray mass hanging listlessin the hollow void. Later she saw it separate into divisions; here aplain, there a mountain, yonder a sea, all as yet without a sparkle.And then, by a river-bank, something moved; and she stopped herknitting for wonder. The something arose, and lifted its handsto the sun in sign of knowledge whence it had its being. And thisFirst Man was beautiful to see. And about him were the creationswe call nature--the grass, the trees, birds, beasts, even theinsects and reptiles.
"And for a time the man went about happy in his life: it waseasy to see how happy he was. And in the lull of the sound ofthe laboring will Isis heard a scornful laugh, and presentlythe words, blown across from the sun,
"'Thy help, indeed! Behold a creature perfectly happy!'
"And Isis fell to knitting again, for she was patient as Osiriswas strong; and if he could work, she could wait; and wait shedid, knowing that mere life is not enough to keep anything content.
"And sure enough. Not long until the Divine Wife could seea change in the man. He grew listless, and kept to one placeprone by the river, and looked up but seldom, and then alwayswith a moody face. Interest was dying in him. And when she madesure of it, even while she was saying to herself, 'The creatureis sick of his being,' there was a roar of the creative will atwork again, and in a twinkling the earth, theretofore all a thingof coldest gray, flamed with colors; the mountains swam in purple,the plains bearing grass and trees turned green, the sea blue,and the clouds varied infinitely."
And the man sprang up and clapped his hands, for he was cured andhappy again.
"And Isis smiled, and knit away, saying to herself, 'It was wellthought, and will do a little while; but mere beauty in a world isnot enough for such a being. My lord must try again.'
"With the last word, the thunder of the will at work shookthe moon, and, looking, Isis dropped her knitting and clappedher hands; for theretofore everything on the earth but the manhad been fixed to a given place; now all living, and much thatwas not living, received the gift of Motion. The birds took towing joyously; beasts great and small went about, each in itsway; the trees shook their verdurous branches, nodding to theenamoured winds; the rivers ran to the seas, and the seas tossedin their beds and rolled in crested waves, and with surging andebbing painted the shores with glistening foam; and over all theclouds floated like sailed ships unanchored.
"And the man rose up happy as a child; whereat Osiris was pleased,so that he shouted, 'Ha, ha! See how well I am doing without thee!'
"The good wife took up her work, and answered ever so quietly,'It was well thought, my lord--ever so well thought--and willserve awhile.'
"And as before, so again. The sight of things in motion became tothe man as of course. The birds in flight, the rivers running,the seas in tumult of action, ceased to amuse him, and he pinedagain even worse.
"And Isis waited, saying to herself, 'Poor creature! He is morewretched than ever.'
"And, as if he heard the thought, Osiris stirred, and the noiseof his will shook the universe; the sun in its central seat alonestood firm. And Isis looked, but saw no change; then while she wassmiling, assured that her lord's last invention was sped, suddenly thecreature arose, and seemed to listen; and his face brightened, and heclapped his hands for joy, for Sounds were heard the first time onearth--sounds dissonant, sounds harmonious. The winds murmured inthe trees; the birds sang, each kind a song of its own, or chatteredin speech; the rivulets running to the rivers became so many ha
rperswith harps of silver strings all tinkling together; and the riversrunning to the seas surged on in solemn accord, while the seas beatthe land to a tune of thunder. There was music, music everywhere,and all the time; so the man could not but be happy.
"Then Isis mused, thinking how well, how wondrous well, her lordwas doing; but presently she shook her head: Color, Motion,Sound--and she repeated them slowly--there was no element elseof beauty except Form and Light, and to them the earth had beenborn. Now, indeed, Osiris was done; and if the creature shouldagain fall off into wretchedness, her help must be asked; and herfingers flew--two, three, five, even ten stitches she took at once.
"And the man was happy a long time--longer than ever before; itseemed, indeed, he would never tire again. But Isis knew better;and she waited and waited, nor minded the many laughs flung ather from the sun; she waited and waited, and at last saw signsof the end. Sounds became familiar to him, and in their range,from the chirruping of the cricket under the roses to the roarof the seas and the bellow of the clouds in storm, there was notanything unusual. And he pined and sickened, and sought his place ofmoping by the river, and at last fell down motionless.
"Then Isis in pity spoke.
"'My lord,' she said, 'the creature is dying.'
"But Osiris, though seeing it all, held his peace; he could dono more.
"'Shall I help him?' she asked.
"Osiris was too proud to speak.
"Then Isis took the last stitch in her knitting, and gatheringher work in a roll of brilliance flung it off--flung it so itfell close to the man. And he, hearing the sound of the fall sonear by, looked up, and lo! a Woman--the First Woman--was stoopingto help him! She reached a hand to him; he caught it and arose;and nevermore was miserable, but evermore happy."
"Such, O son of Hur! is the genesis of the beautiful, as they tellit on the Nile."
She paused.
"A pretty invention, and cunning," he said, directly; "but it isimperfect. What did Osiris afterwards?"
"Oh yes," she replied. "He called the Divine Wife back to the sun,and they went on all pleasantly together, each helping the other."
"And shall I not do as the first man?"
He carried the hand resting upon his neck to his lips. "In love--inlove!" he said.
His head dropped softly into her lap.
"You will find the King," she said, placing her other handcaressingly upon his head. "You will go on and find the Kingand serve him. With your sword you will earn his richest gifts;and his best soldier will be my hero."
He turned his face, and saw hers close above. In all the skythere was that moment nothing so bright to him as her eyes,enshadowed though they were. Presently he sat up, and put hisarms about her, and kissed her passionately, saying, "O Egypt,Egypt! If the King has crowns in gift, one shall be mine; and Iwill bring it and put it here over the place my lips have marked.You shall be a queen--my queen--no one more beautiful! And we willbe ever, ever so happy!"
"And you will tell me everything, and let me help you in all?"she said, kissing him in return.
The question chilled his fervor.
"Is it not enough that I love you?" he asked.
"Perfect love means perfect faith," she replied. "But nevermind--you will know me better."
She took her hand from him and arose.
"You are cruel," he said.
Moving away, she stopped by the camel, and touched its front facewith her lips.
"O thou noblest of thy kind!--that, because there is no suspicionin thy love."
An instant, and she was gone.
