 | LETTER XXI. The pillar of fire, or, Israel in bondage |  |
21. LETTER XXI.
It is with emotions I am unable to command, that
I commence, after a silence of several weeks, another
letter to you. I know not how, properly to unfold and
rightly to present before you the extraordinary events
which have transpired since I last wrote to you. But I
will endeavor to give a narrative of the unparalleled
circumstances, in the order of their occurrence up to the
present time, and will keep you advised of the progress
of this remarkable and mysterious matter, as each day
it develops itself.
I believe, in one of my letters to the Princess Thamonda,
I spoke of the approaching birthday of Remeses—his
thirty-fifth—and that the queen had resolved, on
that day, to confer upon him the crowns of Egypt, and
resigning, with the sceptre, all dominion into his hand,
retire to a beautiful palace, which she has recently completed
on the eastern slope of the Libyan hills, west of
the pyramids, and overlooking a charming lake, which,
begun by former rulers, has been enlarged and beautified
by each, and by none more than by herself.
This purpose of the queen was made known to Remeses,
about three weeks after his return from Thebes with
but will repeat to you the conversation that passed, as
it was made known to me by the prince, who extends
towards me all the confidence of one beloved brother to
another; and, indeed, keeps no secrets from me. This
pleasing confidence is fully reciprocated on my part, and
we are in all things as one.
I had been, that morning, on a visit to that part of
Memphis which stretches away westward from the Nile
in a succession of gardens, squares, palaces, and monuments,
girdling the Lake of Amense with beautiful villas,
and climbing with its terraces, grottoes, shrines, and
marble pavilions, the very sides of the cliffs of Libya,
two leagues from the river; for to the extent of Memphis
there seems to be no limit measurable by the eye.
Even the three great pyramids are almost central in the
mighty embrace of the sacred city.
Upon landing from my galley upon the Island of
Rhoda, my Hebrew page Israel, now become a bright
and blooming youth, with a face always enriched by the
light of gratitude, met me, and said:
“The prince, my lord, desires to see you in his private
chamber. He bade me ask you not to delay.”
I found Remeses walking to and fro in the apartment,
with a pale face and troubled brow. As soon as
I entered, he approached me, and taking my hand between
his, pressed it to his heart affectionately, and said:
“I am glad you have returned, Sesostris, my friend
and brother! Come and sit by me on this seat by the
window. I have much to say—much! I need your
counsel.”
“My noble friend,” I answered, moved by his unusual
great as you are.”
“Nay, you are too modest, prince. I must tell you
all. Strange events have occurred. Hear me, and you
will then be able to strengthen my soul! You know
that of late my dear mother has been given to melancholy;
that she has appeared absent in thought, abrupt
in speech, and ill at ease. Thou hast observed this; for
we have spoken of it together, and marvelled at her
mood, which neither the memory of our victories in Ethiopia,
the prosperity of her kingdom, the peace in her
borders, the love of her subjects, nor my own devotion
could remove; nor the music of the harp, nor the happy
songs of the chanters dissipate.”
“Do you not think,” I said, “that this state of mind
is connected with her illness before you left, when the
viceroy Mœris dined with us?”
Remeses started, and fixed upon me his full gaze.
“Sesostris, what led you to connect the present with
that event?”
“Because the queen has never been wholly well and
cheerful since that day.”
“What think you of Prince Mœris? Speak freely.”
“He is a proud, ambitious, and unprincipled man.”
“Do you think he loves me?”
“I fear not.”
“You are right. But you shall hear what I have to relate.
Three hours since my mother sent for me. I found
her in the chapel where the shrine of Osiris receives her
most private prayers. She was kneeling when I entered,
her face towards the god; but her eyes, wet with tears,
penetrated the heavens, and seemed to seek a living
She did not see me, and her voice was audible:
“`Protect him! Guard him from his foe! Spare me
the discovery of the secret, and place him upon the
throne of Egypt, O immortal and pitying Osiris! O
Isis, hear! O goddess of the sacred bow, and mother of
Horus, hear! Give me strength to act, and wisdom in
this my great perplexity!'
“I drew near, and kneeling by my mother's side, laid
her head against my heart, and said—
“`The God of all gods, the Father Infinite hear thee,
O mother! What is it thou prayest for with such strong
woe and fear?'
“`Hast thou heard me?' she exclaimed, rising and
speaking wildly. `What didst thou hear? Nay, I have
betrayed no secret?'
“`None, mother, none! Thou didst only speak of
one which distressed thee,' I said soothingly; for, my
dear Sesostris, I was inexpressibly moved by her agitated
manner, unlike any thing I have ever before witnessed
in her usually calm, serene, and majestic demeanor.
“She leaned heavily upon me, and I led her to an
alcove in which was the shrine of Athor.
“`Sit down, Remeses—my son Remeses,' she repeated,
with a singular emphasis upon the words `my son.'
`Hear what I wish to reveal to thee! I am now more
composed. There is in my heart a great and ceaseless
anxiety. Do not ask me what it is! The secret, I trust,
will remain sealed forever from thy ears! Ask not—
seek not to know it. You may as successfully obtain
an answer from the heart of the great pyramid, revealing
what is buried there from human eyes, as obtain an
will be embalmed with me, and go with me to the lower
world!'
“`Mother,' I said, alarmed at her depressed manner,
`thou art ill—let me send for thy physician—'
“`Nay, nay—I am not ill! I shall be better soon!
You, Remeses, have the key to my happiness and
health,' she said tenderly, yet seriously.
“`Then I will yield it up to thee!' I answered pleasantly.
“`Hear my words, my son, for art thou not my son,
my noble Remeses?' she asked, taking both my hands
and holding them to her heart, and then pressing her
lips upon them almost passionately; for I felt tears flow
upon my hands.
“`Thy son, with undying love, my mother,' I answered,
wondering in my heart, and deeply affected.
She remained a few moments silent, and at length said—
“`Remeses, hast thou ever doubted my love?'
“`Never, no never, my mother!' I replied, moved.
“`Have I not been a true and fond mother to thee?'
“`Why distress yourself, dear mother, with such
useless interrogatories?' I asked. No longer agitated,
and her nervous air having quite disappeared, she spoke
calmly but earnestly:
“`Have I neglected, in any way, a mother's duty to
thee, O Remeses?'
“`Thou hast ever been all that a mother could be,' I
answered her.
“`Do you think a mother could love a son more than
I love thee?' she repeated.
“`No, O my mother!'
“`And thou, Remeses, dost thou love me?' she continued,
with the same fixed, solemn, and painful earnestness.
“`Why shouldst thou doubt?' I asked.
“`I have no reason to doubt,' she replied; `yet I
would hear thee say, `Mother, I love thee above all
things beneath the sun!'
“I smiled, and repeated the words, distressed to perceive
that something had taken hold upon her noble and
strong mind, and was shaking it to its centre.
“`Remeses, my son,' she said, answering my smile,
and then immediately assuming an expression of singular
majesty, `I am now advancing in life. I have passed
my fifty-first year, and am weary of the sceptre. I
wish to see you king of Egypt while I live. I wish to
see the grandeur and wisdom of your reign, and to rejoice
in your power and glory. When I am laid in the
sarcophagus, which I have caused to be hewn out in the
chamber beneath the pyramidion of my obelisk, I shall
know and behold nothing of thy dominion. It is my
desire, therefore, to invest you with the sovereignty of
Egypt; and after I see you crowned, robed, and sceptred
as her king, I will retire to my Libyan palace and
there contemplate thy greatness, and reign again in
thee!'
“I rose to my feet in surprise, dear Sesostris, at this
announcement from the lips of my mother, but listened
with deference until she had concluded, and I then
said,—
“`This intent and purpose be far from thee, O my
mother and queen! Thou art in the meridian of life,
and still in the possession of thy wonderful beauty
hair; thou art yet young; and may the Lord of the
kings of the earth long preserve thee upon thy throne,
and lend thee strength and wisdom to wield thy sceptre.
Far be it from me, therefore, my mother, to accept the
crown, until Osiris himself transfers it from thy majestic
brow to mine!'
“`Nay, Remeses,' she said firmly, yet sadly, `my will
is the law of Egypt. Thou hast never opposed it.'
“`But this is where my own elevation involves your
depression,' I answered. `It cannot be!'
“`I am firm and immovable, my son, in my purpose,'
she replied. `Your thirty-fifth birthday will soon arrive.
That is the age at which Horus, the son of Isis,
was crowned. It is a number of good omen, and I wish
you to prepare for your coronation, by performing all
the rites and sacrifices, that the religion and laws of
Egypt require of a prince who is about to ascend the
throne of the Pharaohs.'
“`Mother, my dearly honored mother!' I said, kneeling
to her, `forgive me, but I must firmly decline the
throne while you sit thereon. You are ill at ease in
your mind to-day. Some deep grief, which you conceal
from me, preys upon you. It is not because you are
old that you would abdicate the throne to me, who am
not yet old or wise enough to rule this mighty nation;
but you have some secret, painful reason, which I beg
you to reveal to me.'
“My words seemed to inflict pain upon her. She
rose to her feet, and paced the apartment twice across in
troubled reflection. Then she came to my side, and said
impressively, placing her trembling grasp upon my arm:
“`Remeses, if I reveal to thee the secret of my heart,
wilt thou then consent to be king?'
“`If I perceive, my mother,' I answered, `that necessity
demands my acceptance of the crown before my
time, I will not refuse it.'
“`If your views of necessity do not influence you, O
my son,' she said earnestly, and with a sudden gush of
tears, `let my affection, my happiness, my peace of
mind, plead with you!'
“`Please, my beloved mother, to make known to me
the circumstances under which you are moved to this
unusual step,' I said.
“`Not unusual,' she replied. `I have consulted the
book of the reigns of the Pharaohs, in the hall of Books,
in the temple of Thoth. Within two thousand years,
not less than seven kings and three queens have resigned
the sceptre of Egypt to children or adopted heirs. The
Queen Nitocris resigned to her adopted son, Myrtæus;
Chomæphtha, after reigning eleven years, weary with
the weight of the crown, resigned it to her nephew,
Sœconiosochus. Did not Phruron-Nilus, the great monarch,
decide to abdicate in favor of Amuthantæus, his
son, when sudden death only prevented his retirement?
The crowns of Egypt are mine, my son, by the laws of
the gods, and of the ancestral kings from whom I have
inherited them. I will not wait for the god of death to
remove them from my head; but with my own hands I
would put them upon thy brow! It must be done soon,
—now! or neither thou nor I will hold rule long in
Egypt!'
“I begged my mother to explain her mysterious
words.
“`Come, sit by me. Be calm, Remeses! Listen with
your usual meekness and reverence to me when I speak.'
I obeyed her, and she thus began:
“`Thou knowest thy cousin Mœris;—his lofty ambition;
his impatience; his spirit of pride; his lust for dominion,
which his viceroyship in the Thebaïd has only
given him an unlimited thirst for;—his jealousy and hatred
of you, Remeses! None of these things are concealed
from you, my son.' My mother paused as if for
my assent, which I signified by a respectful bow. She
continued:
“`This Prince Mœris, for whom I have done all in
my power—whom I have made second only to me in
the Thebaïd, I have reason to know seeks your ruin and
my throne!'
“`What proof hast thou of this?' I cried, deeply moved.
“`Remeses,' said my mother, in ringing tones, `I must
unfold to thee all! I know how slow thou art to suspect
or believe evil of any one; and that you fancy Mœris
an honorable prince, overlooking his jealousy of you.
You have confidence in my judgment and truth?'
“`I have, the most undoubted and deferential,' I answered
the queen.
“`Then, my son, hear me!' she said, with a face as
pale as the fine linen of her vesture. `Prince Mœris possesses
a secret (ask me not what it is) which gives him a
dangerous power over me. He obtained possession of
it years ago, how I know not; but it has placed in his
hands a power that I tremble beneath. Nay, ask not!
My heart itself would as soon open to thine eyes,
under the shield of my bosom, as reveal its secret! It
will die with me! Yet Mœris, my nephew—a man of
in disposition cruel and unjust—holds my happiness in
his hand!'
“`My mother,' I cried, `why then didst thou confer
on him the principality of the Thebaïd and its enormous
military power?'
“`To bribe him, when he menaced me with the betrayal
of what he knew!' was the queen's almost fierce
rejoinder.
“`But why make him the admiral of your fleet of
the Nile?'
“`Another bribe when he renewed his threats to inform
you—'
“`Me!' I exclaimed.
“`Did I say you? No! no!' she cried, checking herself;
`when he menaced me with the betrayal of the
dreadful secret.'
“`And, my dear mother, who was interested to know
it, whom would it benefit or injure?' I asked, lost in
amazement.
“`Injure one whom—whom I love—destroy my happiness
and hopes—benefit Mœris himself!' she answered,
coloring with deepest confusion and alarm.
“`Why not crush such a dangerous subject when
he menaces your peace?' I demanded, my whole
spirit roused for my mother, and my indignation excited
against this wicked man. `If thy happiness is
thus menaced, O my mother, if this prince is the cause
of all your sorrow, say the word, and in thirty days
hence, he shall be brought bound in chains to your
feet.'
“`Nay, Remeses, I dare not. One word from his lips,
the study of my life to conceal, and give him all the
revenge his bitter spirit would ask. No, no! Mœris
must not be made angry. It is only his ambitious
hopes that keep him quiet.'
“`What are these hopes?' I inquired, feeling that
henceforth Mœris and I were mortal foes.
“Didst thou, O prince,” said I, as he returned to his
seat by me, which he had left, in the excitement of his
narrative, to pace the floor, “suspect the secret?”
“No,” he answered gloomily; “no, Sesostris; nor do
I now know what it can be; neither have I the least
idea, unless—” Here he colored, and looked confused.
“Unless what?” I asked, painfully interested.
“Unless Mœris be the son of the Prince of the Thebaïd,
and I the son of the brother of Pharaoh. In other
words, that Mœris and Remeses have changed places,
and that Mœris knows or suspects the fact.”
“A most extraordinary idea!” I exclaimed; yet at the
same time, I must confess that I was forcibly reminded
of what I have before alluded to, dear mother, the total
absence of all likeness between Remeses and his mother,
Amense.
“What can possibly have suggested to your mind
such a strange conjecture?” I added.
“A mystery, my dear Sesostris,” he said, “calls into
exercise the whole machinery of suspicion, and all the
talent of investigation; and a hundred things, which
before had only an ordinary signification, under its
wand, take an importance and meaning wholly new.
Irresistibly, my mother's anxiety to impress upon me that
with her whole manner, and especially her uncalled
for reiterations of affection for me, and of appeals
to my devotion to her;—all this rushed upon my memory,
and with a dizzy brain, and a heart full of anguish,
under the dreadful suspicion, I cried, `Why must not
Prince Mœris be made angry? Why may he not be
prevented from doing thee harm?'
“`I have told you,' she replied, with a deadly pallor.
`Remeses, your roused spirit alarms me for us three.'
“`But I must oppose, and if necessary destroy him,'
I said, in my emotion, `who destroys my mother's
peace.'
“`Yes, I am thy mother. Thou art a son to me. I
know thou wilt protect me from this prince-nephew,'
she said, in broken sentences. `He shall not come between
me and thee, and the throne.'
“`He has no claim to the throne. He does not aspire
to it in your lifetime,' I said; `and if I hold it after, I
will take care of my own crown. My mother, fear not
Prince Mœris. Let his secret perish with him.'
“`And thou, also, Remeses!' she said, passionately.
“`I, my mother?' I repeated. A spirit of severe investigation
then came upon me, strengthened by my
suspicion.
“`My mother, Queen Amense,' I said, with the deepest
emotion, and, O Sesostris, with fear and dread, `a
fearful suspicion has taken hold upon me! Am I thy
SON?'
“No sooner had I given utterance to this interrogative
doubt, which was wrung from my tortured heart, than
shrieking aloud, she fell forward, and but for my intervening
feet. I caught her in my arms; I kissed her marble
brow; I chafed her cold pulses; and breathed words of
comfort, words praying her forgiveness, into her ears.
At length she revived, as I supported her against my
wildly beating heart; and, with stony eyes staring me
in the face, gasped—
“`Remeses! Who hath—who—who hath said this?'
“`No one, no one, my dearly loved mother,' I answered,
tenderly. And when I saw that she was more composed,
I said, `It was only a conjecture—a wild suspicion—for
I could not comprehend the mystery between
you and my cousin Mœris, except that (as has been done
in former dynasties) he and I are in each other's places.
Is Mœris thy son, and am I the son of the brother of
Amunophis?'
“I had no sooner said this, than she raised her head
from the gold-embroidered purple cushion of the ivory
couch, on which she lay reclining against my arm, and
with a strange laugh of joy and surprise, said,—
“`So this is all, Remeses! Then thou needest not
fear. Mœris is not my son. He is nothing to me but
my kinsman. Canst thou believe that that wicked
prince is my offspring? I forgive thee, Remeses, because,
perhaps, my words, and the necessity of guarding
my secret, may have forced thee to this conclusion.'
This she spoke with a mind evidently greatly relieved.
“`Then, dear mother, I am thy son in spite of Prince
Mœris?'
“`In spite of Mœris,' she answered. `Hast thou ever
known any other mother? Remeses, let thy heart be
at peace! Mœris is not my son! On that he does not
me, my son,' she said, solemnly. `That prince once
sought my life. When I was taken ill on the day that
he dined with me, he had bribed my cup-bearer to drop
a subtle poison in my cup. Dread of the prince forced
him, under his eyes, to do it; but, as the cup-bearer
handed me the wine, he pressed my little finger, where
it clasped the cup, so significantly, that I looked in his
eyes, and saw them full of warning. I did not drink,
but pleaded illness, and left the banquet-room. I sent
for the cup-bearer, and he confessed what he had done.
When I heard his confession, and was thereby acquainted
with the purpose of Prince Mœris against my life, I
was overwhelmed with despair. My future safety lay
in sending for him the next day. He came. It was a
brief but dreadful interview. He acknowledged that
he sought my life, because I had the day before refused
him the crown of Upper Egypt, declining to give him
the half of my empire. He threatened to betray my
secret, and I pleaded for silence. He demanded the
white crown of the Thebaïd as his reward, but I put
him off with evasions. He had command of the fleet,
and I dared not anger him. I shrunk from making
known to you his demand, and the terror with which he
inspired me. I promised that if he entered the Ethiopian
capital within six months, he should reign in
Thebes.'
“`My mother,' I cried, `gave you such a promise to
him? He is already marshalling his forces!'
“`And in order not so much to conquer Ethiopia, as
to usurp one of the thrones of Egypt,' she answered.
“`And are you bound by this promise to him?' I demanded,
audacity of Mœris, and the power he held over my
mother by means of this secret.
“`By all the vows that a mortal can make to the gods!
Here, in this sacred chapel, before these shrines, he
made me swear that in consideration he subdued the
central capital of Ethiopia, and preserved my secret, I
would transfer from my head to his the white-gold
crown of Upper Egypt, the most ancient kingdom mortal
ever ruled over on earth, after the demigods.'
“When, my dear Sesostris,” said Remeses, after having
related to me, with a dark countenance, the foregoing
conversation, “I heard this, I was for some time
confounded, and could not speak. At length I cried
out—
“`That mystery—that secret, known only to you and
Mœris, and for the safe-keeping of which you part with
one of your crowns, what is it! divulge it! Am I not
worthy, O my mother, of the confidence which Prince
Mœris, by foul means, shares with you? Will you not
intrust me with the secret which he can extort by
bribery?'
“The queen looked deadly pale, and her whole frame
trembled. She essayed to reply, and then said, with an
effort, as if a corpse had become vocal—
“`Remeses—you must—must not know it! Do not
ask—do not suspect evil. Do not doubt me, or you will
kill me! Kiss me, Remeses! Kiss me, my son! Are
you not my son? I love you, and know you love me.
Let all else pass by. You shall be king! You shall
wear the double tiara! You shall grasp both sceptres!
Therefore is it, I would now make you king. Dost thou
That evil man must have a master. My power is failing!
I would surrender it to thee. The only safety of Egypt,
the only security for thy crown and dominion, is in
taking the throne, and ruling all Egypt in thine own
right.'
“`Is this so, my mother?' I demanded. `Does Prince
Mœris not only torture thy soul with a secret, which, as
a just prince, he ought forever to forget, if thou desirest
it, but does he also aspire to sever Egypt, and rule in
the Thebaïd, on the ancient throne of my ancestors, as
the price of a secret held over thee with an unmanly
advantage?'
“`He does, my son,' she answered. `The only safety
of the empire depends on my resignation of the crowns
into your hands. Once Pharaoh, you have Mœris at
your feet, and if he prate his secret, you will then be
able to despise it, and put to silence his tongue.'
“`Mother, my dear mother,' I answered, after long
reflection, `what you have told me has brought me to
a decision. I shall act blindly—not knowing the nature
of the power of the prince over you; but I shall act
from affection and sympathy for you, in obedience to
your wishes, and for the preservation of the integrity of
the united kingdom. I am ready to obey you. In order
to defeat Prince Mœris, and relieve your mind, I
will accept the sceptre which you are desirous of placing
in my feeble and inexperienced hand. I am ready
to enter upon the sacred rites of initiation, and in all things
will be your dutiful and obedient son. The wickedness
and ambition of Mœris must be crushed.'
“When I had thus said, my mother, with a cry of joy,
with happiness realized, to the apartments of her women,
and again assuring her of my full compliance with her
wishes, I took tender leave of her, and hastened to my
room to reflect upon all that had passed in that extraordinary
interview; and then I sought you.”
Thus the Prince Remeses ended his interesting and
singular statement. I knew not what to respond to him
when he had done. But be sure, dear mother, there
must something grow out of this, of the greatest importance
to this dynasty. Who can divine the secret?
But I must here close my letter, with assurances of
my fondest attachment to you, my dear mother, whom
the gods guard from all mysteries and secrets, and from
ambitious princes like the lord Mœris.
| LETTER XXI. The pillar of fire, or, Israel in bondage | |