 | LETTER XXIV. The pillar of fire, or, Israel in bondage |  |
24. LETTER XXIV.
I commence this letter, as I did one written and
addressed to you two days ago, with the probability, that
circumstances may yet render the seal of secrecy, now
placed upon it, unnecessary; at least I shall detain both
this one and that, for a time, if not finally destroy them.
But I have a feeling that you will yet read what I write.
If the incidents and scenes recorded, in the preceding
letter, were of an extraordinary kind, you must be prepared
to read in this, of events still more strange, and
painfully interesting. It is with an effort that I calm
my pulse, and subdue my emotions sufficiently, to narrate
equably what I desire to make known to you.
The morning after my interview with the queen, I
arose early from a sleepless couch; for the events of the
preceding evening, recalled by an excited mind, kept
me awake with reflections of the most anxious and distressing
nature. I mourned for Remeses, my noble,
wise, and great friend and counsellor,—a prince by nature,
and by the seal of all the gods, if not by inheritance
from the Pharaohs. Not regarding the Hebrew
race with the disdainful eye of those who have been
masters over them, like the Egyptians, but looking upon
three patriarchal princes of Palestine, I, dear mother,
felt no contempt for Remeses on account of his lineage
and blood. To me, he was still as dear and as much
honored. It was not the “prince” I loved from the first,
but the “man,” and he remains. I tossed my head
on my pillow, grieving for him; as I knew, should the
tidings ever come to his ears, and be confirmed as a truth,
that it would break his great heart—crush his mighty
soul to the earth; for, educated as an Egyptian prince,
he entertains towards the Hebrews, the haughty contempt
(so far as this sentiment can repose in such a
benevolent bosom), which characterizes the Egyptian
nation. How will he be humbled, overwhelmed, confounded,
dismayed!
Such were my wakeful reflections, when at length the
morning dawned; and I arose, bathed, and prepared to
obey the command of the queen to breakfast with her.
Believing that she must have passed a sorrowful night,
and would not awake early, I sat down to read in a roll
of papyrus which lay upon my table, among other books
that belonged to Remeses; for I was occupying his own
suite of rooms during his absence, amid the sacred mysteries
of his kingly initiation. It proved to be written
in the Theban running character, which I am not familiar
with, and laying it down, I took up a leaf of new
papyrus, on which I recognized the bold and elegant
script of Remeses. As he had given me free access to
all upon the table, I examined the subject, and finding
that it was a sacred poem, I read therein a few sentences,
when I perceived that it was the history of a remarkable
era in the life of the venerable Lord of Uz, to whom
already taken his departure, but previously made
known to Remeses, as he told me, all the events connected
with an extraordinary period of his middle life.
I read, therefore, with interest what Remeses had
commenced; for it was only a beginning. After giving
the name of the Lord of Uz, and that of the land in
which he dwelt, he spoke of his uprightness, his holiness,
his riches, and his pious care over his children—who
were seven sons and three daughters; and also of their
happiness, festivities, and prosperity; and how, by the
permission of the One God, Typhon, or the Spirit of
Evil, tempted him.
Thus far had my friend got in the history, and I was
about to replace the scroll, when the door opened,
and lo! Prince Remeses himself stood before me! I
started with an exclamation of joyful astonishment; but
seeing his visage haggard and pallid with woe, I was
alarmed. I approached him to embrace him, as he
stood just within the door, regarding me with looks of
doubt and solicitude.
“Wilt thou, O Prince of Tyre, embrace a Hebrew?”
he surprised me by asking, in a voice deep and tremulous.
“Then thou knowest it all,” I cried, “O my friend!”
as I threw myself into his embrace.
For a few minutes we wept in each other's arms. At
length he spoke and said—
“Yes, Sesostris, I have heard it all! Thou knowest the
secret also, says my moth—nay—I forgot—I should
have said—the queen!” Here his emotion overcame
him. He leaned his noble head upon my shoulder and
continued: “Yet she is my mother, prince! She has
shall love her, while my life lasts, above all earthly things.
Pardon my grief, Sesostris! Nature is mighty in sorrow,
and will have her way! The heart, like our Nile, will
sometimes overflow, if full.”
In a few moments he was composed, and said sadly—
“Knowing my history, can you regard me as before?”
“I love thee as ever, O prince—”
He interrupted me—“Call me not `prince,' call me by
my name—that, at least, is left me! But I am a slave!”
“No—not to me! You are a descendant of kings!
Are not Prince Abraham, Isaac, and the great Prince
Jacob your ancestors? I am not an Egyptian any more
than thyself,” I answered him.
“True, true! I must not forget that! I thank thee,
O prince, for reminding me of this. A slave in Egypt
may be a freeman in Tyre!”
“That is true also,” I said. “May I ask, O Remeses,
why you have left the temples and are here; and how
you heard this intelligence, which you bear up under
like a god?”
“I am calm now; but, Sesostris, I have passed through
a sirocco of the soul! You shall hear all. Come and
sit here.”
I placed myself by the table opposite to him. He
then began as follows:
“I need not describe to you, O my friend, the nature
of the rites and ceremonies, nor the character of the
mysteries which I have been in contact with, for five-and-thirty
days; let it be enough for your curiosity to
know, that beneath all the splendor of our polytheism is
hidden the mystery, known to the `sons of the Lord of
mystics, as a mystery, not as a doctrine; and is of no
value to them nor to the world: it is as if the sun
were forever shrouded in impenetrable clouds. I have
learned it only darkly; but this is not to my purpose now,
my friend: perhaps at another time we will discourse
of these things. I had passed my decreed days and
nights, at all the shrines which the laws for kings direct,
when, last night, I was borne across the Nile by a
company of the mystics, who left me at the entrance of
the avenue leading to the sphinx that is before Cheops
and Chephres. There twelve other ecclesiastical mystics
took me in charge. We marched together, six on each
side of me, in profound silence; till, on passing the lion
facing the sphinx, their leader cried—
“`Let the king be as a lion in strength and majesty!'
“The rest answered with one voice—
“`And may his enemies be as lambs beneath his
paws!”
“At the small temple, between the feet of the sphinx,
three priests stood, one of whom sprinkled my head
with sacred water; the second, with his little finger
that had been dipped in the blood of a cock which he
had sacrificed, touched my forehead; and the third
waved incense before me;—while from within came
a low, plaintive chant of voices and instruments, invoking
the gods in a hymn on my behalf. The whole
scene was solemn and impressive.
“I was then conducted to the pylon of the great
temple before the pyramids. As I passed beneath the
gate, the twelve priests left me; and twenty-four others,
dressed in white robes and bearing torches, took me in
great quadrangle, leading me to a dark portal which
descended, as I was told, to the base of the pyramid,
down to the `hall of all the mysteries of the
earth.”'
“Is not this the temple of the magicians?” I asked,
gratified to see, that Remeses could for a moment so far
forget his great sorrow, as to enter into these details, for
my gratification.
“Yes, the place where the sorcerers and soothsayers
hold their mystic and fearful rites. For ages, this subterranean
temple, under the earth between the two
pyramids, but no part of the pyramidal structure itself,
has been their place of solemn assembly. Into this
region I descended, led by only two men, who received
me at the head of the stairs of stone.
“But I may not describe, more particularly, the progress
of my mysterious journey through subterranean
passages, which I had no conception existed beneath the
space between the two pyramids; although tradition has
it, that the whole territory underneath both is a labyrinthine
catacomb, which assertion I have now no reason
to doubt. After traversing vast gloomy corridors of
pillars hewn from the solid rock, and a succession of
chambers dedicated to mysteries, I was ushered, by the
sound of awful music, from an unseen source, into a great
central temple, so large that the torches borne by my
guides, could not penetrate its outer blackness. In the
centre of this solemn hall stood an altar of black marble.
We approached it, when suddenly from it soared aloft a
bright flame which illumined the temple, to its remotest
obscurities, with a light like the moon when it is full,
stars reflecting the light. I had already, my Sesostris,
passed through such varied and surprising scenes,
in the progress of my initiation, that I was not surprised
at this, for the arts of the priestly magicians seem to embrace
a knowledge of all the secret alchemy of nature;
and they possess wisdom and skill to control her wonderful
powers. While this brilliant flame burned from
a brazen vase which stood upon the altar, a procession
of figures entered by a distant door, and slowly made
the circuit of the massive corridor. I perceived at once
that they were attired symbolically, representing the
powers of nature, and were preceded by five stately and
imposing forms standing for fire, water, earth, air, and
the Nile; symbols of which were worn upon their heads,
and carried in their hands. Behind these came seven
persons, each crowned with a star, the whole representing
the seven stars. Then advanced Orion, belted and
armed; Arcturus, Aldebaran, Procyon, Rigel, and Antares,
each with a blazing coronet above his brow, and
carrying the symbols and wearing the dress of the god.
These, with an interval of space between, were followed
by the twelve constellations of the zodiac; each zodiac
consisting of twelve bands of men, subdivided into
twenty-four smaller companies, and so moving, each in
a place assigned him, as to show the position of every
star of the constellation, which he was appointed to aid
in illustrating. Each individual carried above his head
a starry light, inclosed in a crystal cup.
“This imposing and magnificent representation and
illustration of the march of Time through the heavens,
with all the movements of the heavenly orbs, presented
Solemn as the march of the stars themselves, this
procession of constellations moved once around the
grand circuit of the temple, and then the five leaders
advanced towards the altar, by which I stood alone, deserted
by those who had led me thither. Every one of
these symbolic persons in succession bent the knee before
me, in token that the powers of the earth, air, fire,
and water, with the great Nile itself, were submissive
to my will. Ah, Sesostris,” interspoke Remeses here,
“how little did they suspect, when paying me this customary
homage, that I was a mere Hebrew slave, who
could make use of the air, of fire, of water, of the earth,
or of the Nile, only by the permission of my Egyptian
masters!
“Other striking ceremonies passed thereafter, and by
and by I was left alone beside the altar, the flame of
which it was my duty to feed with naphtha until morning,
this being the first vigil of the last five nights. I
was not, however, long left alone. Seven magicians, in
their gorgeous apparel, came from a door that seemed
to be an outlet from beneath the second pyramid, and
approached me, chanting a war-song. Each bore a piece
of royal armor,—one a helmet, one a cuirass, one a spear,
another a shield. As they passed me they presented,
and I received from each, a piece of the armor, and invested
myself therewith. I was told by the leader to
be strong and fight valiantly, for I should be assailed
by powers of evil. They then left me, and again I
was alone, yet on my guard. Feeding the flame till
it burned high, I sought to penetrate the gloom, at least
expecting to behold a lion let into the temple for me
sword of the Pharaohs which I held in my grasp.
“I know not, Sesostris, who or what would have been
my assailant, if due time had elapsed for his coming;
but I suddenly heard a step behind me, and behold, instead
of a fierce beast or a warrior, a single magician,
tall and commanding, who bore in one hand merely the
sacred crux or emblem of life, and in the other his black
wand tipped with an emerald. I challenged him, as I
was directed to do by my instructors, and demanded
whether he came for good or evil, with war or peace in
his heart.
“He made no other reply than—
“`Follow me!'
“I obeyed. Ah, how little did I suspect, O Sesostris,
that I was about to encounter what was more fearful
than a roaring lion,—more terrible than an armed host!
But you shall hear.
“I crossed the echoing temple-floor to a small portal,
which at first did not reveal its presence, being a slab
in the wall, but which, at a slight pressure of the
magician's wand, betrayed an opening through which
we passed,—I, with my sword held in my hand to defend
or attack. The stone door closed behind me, and
I was conducted through a beautiful chamber, adorned
with marbles, and sparkling with precious stones, that
seemed to shine by a light of their own, as I could discover
no source of reflection; though doubtless, however,
that was, in some part, concealed by the art of
these ingenious and wise magicians.
“There was an inner chamber, or adytum, entirely
encased with panels of black marble, polished like a
by a voice unknown, and from an invisible person,
to seat myself upon a stone chair in the centre of the
floor. I obeyed; for princes, during their initiation, are
taught constantly, that `he who would know how to
command must learn how to obey;' and thus, in these
rites, submission and obedience are inculcated, as necessary
elements in the character of one who wishes to
exact them from others. Indeed, Sesostris, the whole
routine of the ceremonies, though sometimes vain and
frivolous, sometimes extravagant, is calculated to impress
upon the heart of a prince the wisest lessons in self-government,
and the profoundest knowledge of himself.
Every temptation is offered him, that he may resist it.
Every condition of life, from hunger and thirst upward,
he passes through in his progress. Three nights and
days I fasted in the temple of Pthah, that I might pity
the hungry: two days I suffered thirst, that I might feel
for the thirsty: six hours I toiled with burdens, that I
might know how my poorer subjects toiled: one hour I
was a servant, another a prisoner, a third cup-bearer to
the high-priest. Every rite is a link in the practical
education of a prince; and he who comes to the throne,
has reached it through every grade of society, and
through every condition of humanity; and thus the
king centres and unites within his own person, from
having been engaged in each, the pursuits of all his
people, and knows by experience their joys and sorrows,
toils and pleasures; and can say to every class of
Egyptians, `there is nothing which appertains to you that
is foreign to me. The people of Egypt are represented
in their king.'
“When I had taken my seat in this chamber of black
marble, which was dimly lighted by a misty radiance
before me, I saw that I was alone. Now, O Sesostris,
came my trial!—such an one as no prince of the house
of Pharaoh had ever passed through. It is said that
Osirtasen, when he was brought to this chamber, had it
revealed to him that he was the son of the god Hercules;
but to me was revealed, alas! thou knowest what, and
shalt hear how!
“`Remeses-Moses,' said a deep and stern voice from
what, in the obscurity, seemed to me a shrine, `thou art
wise, and virtuous, and strong of heart! Gird thyself
with courage, and hear what is to be revealed to thee!
Know that thou art not the son of Amense, queen of
Egypt, as thou believest. She was never a mother!'
“`It is false, thou wicked magician!' I cried, starting
to my feet. `Art thou, then, the foe I am to meet and
destroy?'
“`Silence, young man!' cried another voice, with a
tone of power. `What the mysterious oracle utters is
true. Thou art not the son of Pharaoh's daughter!
Thou hast no title to the throne of Egypt!'
“`Who am I, then?' I cried, impressed and awed, yet
full of anger at the words.
“`Thou art the son of a Hebrew mother and a Hebrew
father!' said the voice.
“I advanced sword in hand to meet these invisible
persons, believing that the insult was but another of the
series of tests, and this one in particular, of my patience
and temper; for, O Sesostris,” added Remeses to me,
bitterly, “what greater insult could have been put upon
a prince of Egypt than this! When I came forward, I
the Nile in bright sunshine; the Island of Rhoda, with
its palaces and gardens; the distant towers and obelisks
of On, and all the scenery adjacent, but seemingly so
near, that I could lay my hand upon it all.
“At this surprising spectacle manifesting itself in
the dark chambers of the pyramids, I stood amazed
and arrested!—I felt that it was supernatural, or produced
by magic. As I gazed, perplexed, a third voice
said—
“`Behold! Thou seest that the obelisk of Amense is
wanting; that the palace of the governor of the Nile
has only its foundations laid. The scene is, as Egypt was
thirty-five years ago.'
“I looked again, and recognized the truth. I saw it
was not the Nile of to-day. I saw, also, that its stream
was at a height, different from its present mark upon the
nilometer. I was amazed, and awaited with intense expectation.
Suddenly I saw a party of spearmen enter
a hut, which I perceived was one of a group that was
occupied by Hebrew workmen, who were engaged upon
the governor's palace. Presently they came forth, two
of them, each bearing an infant aloft upon a spear,
which was thrust through it, and followed by shrieking
women. I could hear and see all as if I were on the spot.
I impulsively advanced to slay the men, for all seemed
so real, but as I did so, saw at my feet a yawning gulf.
Then the men cast the infants into the Nile. I saw three
others go into another hut, whence they were driven
forth by two desperate Hebrews, who, armed with
straw-cutters, slew two of them; but the other fled, and
returning with his comrades, they set fire to the hut of
that it seemed drawing towards the close of day.
From a hut, near the water, a man and a young girl,
both Hebrews, stole forth, and collecting bulrushes in
their arms, returned to the hut. It was now night. I
had seen the shades of evening fall over the scenery,
and the stars come out. Yet, by a power incomprehensible
to me, I could look into the closed and barred
hut, and see that, by the light of a rush dipped in bitumen,
three of its inmates were making, in secret haste, a
large basket. I saw them finish it, and then beheld the
man smear it within and without with pitch. From
their conversation, I learned that they wished it to resist
water, and that they were to commit some precious
freight to its frail protection; what, I could not learn;
as, when they spoke of it, their colloquy was in low,
hushed tones, and with looks of fear, especially the two
females, who wept very much. One of them, I learned
by their words, was the daughter of the man by a
former wife. There was another child, a boy apparently
of the age of three years, lying in sweet sleep upon a bed
of rushes, made up in a corner of the hut. When the
little ark was done, I watched with the deepest interest
their further proceedings. At length the three went out
together, and to my surprise I saw, by the setting moon,
that it was near dawn. They bent their steps, swiftly
and silently, towards the ancient temple of Isis, which
was then, as now, in ruins, and deserted by every Egyptian,
for the sacrilege done therein under the reign of
Bnon, the Phœnician Pharaoh. I could see them steal
along the tangled avenue beneath the palm-trees, and
through that of the broken sphinxes, until they came
a deep, ancient excavation, covered with vines and
rushes, showed a flight of broken steps. After carefully
looking all about, to see if they were observed,
they descended. In a few minutes the three came
forth, the elderly woman holding in her arms an infant,
upon the beautiful face of which the waning moon
shone for a moment, but instantly she hid it with her
mantle, and hurried to the river-side. Here the man
put the basket upon the shore, and extended his arms
for the child. The poor mother, as I now perceived she
must be, burst into tears, and clasped it closer and
closer to her heart.
“`Nay, Jochebeda,' he said, with gentle firmness,
`thy cries will attract notice. The child cannot live if
we delay. Hast thou not had warning from the kind
Egyptian woman, who was with thee when it was born,
and who aided thee in concealing it, that its hiding-place
is known, and that in the morning soldiers will be
there? Bear up, heart! If we commit it to the Nile,
the God of our fathers, in whom we trust, and who will
yet return, to redeem us, according to His promise to
our father Abraham, may guide the frail baris to some
secure haven, and provide for the child a pitiful heart
to save it.'
“I saw the mother give it its last nourishment at her
breast, and then, with tears, lay it softly, sweetly sleeping
the while, within the basket of bulrushes,—pillowing
its head first upon her hand, until the daughter had
placed beneath it a pillow of wild-flowers and lotus-leaves,
gathered on the spot in the dawning light. The
father then covered it carefully over, and kissing it, with
frail boat to the water, when the poor mother arrested
his arm, implored one more look, one more embrace of
her child! She was a young and beautiful woman;
and, the last kiss given, kneeled by the shore praying to
her God, as the father launched the ark into the stream.
At this moment, I beheld, straying upon the bank, as if
seeking its parents, the other child that I had seen in the
house. I now saw the current take to its embrace the
little ark, and upon its bosom bear it downward. In a
few moments it lodged amid some rushes, which the
mother seeing, she ran hastily, entered the water, passionately
kissed her child, and would have offered it
the breast again, but the more resolute father sent it
once more upon its way. In the vision, I now saw that
day had dawned, and that the stir of life on land and
water was everywhere visible. The father watched the
bark, until it could be no longer seen for the curve of
the shore, and then drew near to his wife, and gently
led her away to the hut,—her lingering looks ceaselessly
stretched towards the Nile. The little maid, who was
not more than twelve or thirteen years of age, having
been previously instructed by her mother, followed
along the shore to see what would become of the ark.
But I weary you, Sesostris, with details, which to me
had a sort of fascination, as they were enacted before
me in the scenes I beheld.”
“And they are deeply interesting to me, my dear
Remeses,” I said with emotion.
“I followed the bark also,” continued Remeses, “until,
after several escapes from imminent peril, it lodged
against a group of flags, at the moment that a beautiful
foot of the garden of Pharaoh's palace. At a glance,
Sesostris, I recognized, as she was in her youth, my
mother—I mean to say, the Queen Amense. I saw her
attention drawn to the little ark, in the fate of which I
had become intensely interested, little dreaming how
much and intimately it concerned me! I heard her
bid the maids take the basket out of the river, and
her cry of surprise, on opening it and seeing the babe,
which answered her with a sorrowful wail, as it were,
of appeal. I saw her offer it to the bosoms of three
Egyptian nurses in vain, when the little maid, its half-sister,
drew near with mingled curiosity and fear, and
said—
“`O princess, shall I call one of the Hebrew women,
that she may nurse the child for thee?'
“The princess said, `Go!'
“Immediately the maiden ran with the swiftness of a
gazelle, until she came at length to her mother's house.
The poor Hebrew woman was at her task, combing flax
and weeping as she toiled, feeling that she had parted
with her child forever. At the height of her grief, the
young maid flew in at the door, crying with a voice
choked with joy—
“`Mother, run quickly! make no stay! Pharaoh's
daughter has found my little brother, taken it from the
ark, and sent me for a Hebrew nurse! Come quickly,
before any other is found!'
“With a cry of joy, and with hands clasped to heaven
in gratitude, I saw the mother about to rush out, wild
with happiness, when her daughter said, `Be calm,
mother, or the princess will suspect. Put on your coif!
mother!'
“`I will try to do so—oh, I will try to do so!' she
said touchingly. I saw that, in her emotion, she did
not think of her other boy, who, though hardly four years
old, had followed the stream, as if he understood what
the ark contained. Him I saw kindly taken pity upon
by an Egyptian priest, who carried him away to his
house.”
Here I uttered an exclamation which attracted the
notice of Remeses; for I recollected the story of the
young Hebrew ecclesiastic and gold image-caster, dear
mother, and saw now that he was this brother of Remeses,
and the mystery of the resemblance was solved.
I did not make any remark to Remeses, however, in
reply to his inquiring look, and he resumed his wonderful
narrative.
But I will continue the subject, dear mother, in a
subsequent letter.
| LETTER XXIV. The pillar of fire, or, Israel in bondage | |