[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of thefile for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making anentire meal of them. D. W. ]

AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS, Part 1. 

By Georg Ebers

Volume 2. 

CHAPTER III. 

The guests were all gone. Their departing mirth and joy had been smittendown by the drunkard's abusive words, like fresh young corn beneath ahail storm. Rhodopis was left standing alone in the empty, brightlydecorated (supper-room). Knakias extinguished the colored lamps on thewalls, and a dull, mysterious half-light took the place of theirbrilliant rays, falling scantily and gloomily on the piled-up plates anddishes, the remnants of the meal, and the seats and cushions, pushed outof their places by the retiring guests. A cold breeze came through theopen door, for the dawn was at hand, and just before sunrise, the air isgenerally unpleasantly cool in Egypt. A cold chill struck the limbs ofthe aged woman through her light garments. She stood gazing tearlesslyand fixedly into the desolate room, whose walls but a few minutes beforehad been echoing with joy and gladness, and it seemed to her that thedeserted guest-chamber must be like her own heart. She felt as if a wormwere gnawing there, and the warm blood congealing into ice. 

Lost in these thoughts, she remained standing till at last her old femaleslave appeared to light her to her sleeping apartment. 

Silently Rhodopis allowed herself to be undressed, and then, as silently, lifted the curtain which separated a second sleeping apartment from herown. In the middle of this second room stood a bedstead of maplewood, and there, on white sheets spread over a mattress of fine sheep's wool, and protected from the cold by bright blue coverlets's, lay a graceful, lovely girl asleep; this was Rhodopis' granddaughter, Sappho. Therounded form and delicate figure seemed to denote one already in openingmaidenhood, but the peaceful, blissful smile could only belong to aharmless, happy child. 

One hand lay under her head, hidden among the thick dark brown hair, theother clasped unconsciously a little amulet of green stone, which hunground her neck. Over her closed eyes the long lashes trembled almostimperceptibly, and a delicate pink flush came and went on the cheek ofthe slumberer. The finely-cut nostrils rose and fell with her regularbreathing, and she lay there, a picture of innocence, of peace, smilingin dreams, and of the slumber that the gods bestow on early youth, whencare has not yet come. 

Softly and carefully, crossing the thick carpets on tiptoe, the grey-haired woman approached, looked with unutterable tenderness into thesmiling, childish face, and, kneeling down silently by the side of thebed, buried her face in its soft coverings, so that the girl's hand justcame in contact with her hair. Then she wept, and without intermission;as though she hoped with this flood of tears to wash away not only herrecent humiliation, but with it all other sorrow from her mind. 

At length she rose, breathed a light kiss on the sleeping girl'sforehead, raised her hands in prayer towards heaven, and returned to herown room, gently and carefully as she had come. 

At her own bedside she found the old slave-woman, still waiting for her. 

"What do you want so late, Melitta?" said Rhodopis, kindly, under herbreath. "Go to bed; at your age it is not good to remain up late, andyou know that I do not require you any longer. Good night! and do notcome to-morrow until I send for you. I shall not be able to sleep muchto-night, and shall be thankful if the morning brings me a short repose. "

The woman hesitated; it seemed that she had some thing on her mind whichshe feared to utter. 

"There is something you want to ask me?" said Rhodopis. 

Still the old slave hesitated. 

"Speak!" said Rhodopis, "speak at once, and quickly. "

"I saw you weeping, " said the slave-woman, "you seem ill or sad; let mewatch this night by your bedside. Will you not tell me what ails you?You have often found that to tell a sorrow lightens the heart and lessensthe pain. Then tell me your grief to-day too; it will do you good, itwill bring back peace to your mind. "

"No, " answered the other, "I cannot utter it. " And then she continued, smiling bitterly: "I have once more experienced that no one, not even agod, has power to cancel the past of any human being, and that, in thisworld, misfortune and disgrace are one and the same. Good night, leaveme; Melitta!"

At noon on the following day, the same boat, which, the evening before, had carried the Athenian and the Spartan, stopped once more beforeRhodopis' garden. 

The sun was shining so brightly, so warmly and genially in the dark blueEgyptian sky, the air was so pure and light, the beetles were humming somerrily, the boatmen singing so lustily and happily, the shores of theNile bloomed in such gay, variegated beauty, and were so thickly peopled, the palm-trees, sycamores, bananas and acacias were so luxuriant infoliage and blossom, and over the whole landscape the rarest and mostglorious gifts seemed to have been poured out with such divinemunificence, that a passer-by must have pronounced it the very home ofjoy and gladness, a place from which sadness and sorrow had been foreverbanished. 

How often we fancy, in passing a quiet village hidden among its orchards, that this at least must be the abode of peace, and unambitiouscontentment! But alas! when we enter the cottages, what do we find?there, as everywhere else, distress and need, passion and unsatisfiedlonging, fear and remorse, pain and misery; and by the side of these, Ah!how few joys! Who would have imagined on coming to Egypt, that thisluxuriant, laughing sunny land, whose sky is always unclouded, couldpossibly produce and nourish men given to bitterness and severity? thatwithin the charming, hospitable house of the fortunate Rhodopis, coveredand surrounded, as it was, with sweet flowers, a heart could have beenbeating in the deepest sadness? And, still more, who among all theguests of that honored, admired Thracian woman, would have believed thatthis sad heart belonged to her? to the gracious, smiling matron, Rhodopisherself?

She was sitting with Phanes in a shady arbor near the cooling spray of afountain. One could see that she had been weeping again, but her facewas beautiful and kind as ever. The Athenian was holding her hand andtrying to comfort her. 

Rhodopis listened patiently, and smiled the while; at times her smile wasbitter, at others it gave assent to his words. At last however sheinterrupted her well-intentioned friend, by saying:

"Phanes, I thank you. Sooner or later this last disgrace must beforgotten too. Time is clever in the healing art. If I were weak Ishould leave Naukratis and live in retirement for my grandchild alone; awhole world, believe me, lies slumbering in that young creature. Manyand many a time already I have longed to leave Egypt, and as often haveconquered the wish. Not because I cannot live without the homage of yoursex; of that I have already had more than enough in my life, but becauseI feel that I, the slave-girl and the despised woman once, am now useful, necessary, almost indispensable indeed, to many free and noble men. Accustomed as I am, to an extended sphere of work, in its natureresembling a man's, I could not content myself in living for one beingalone, however dear. I should dry up like a plant removed from a richsoil into the desert, and should leave my grandchild desolate indeed, three times orphaned, and alone in the world. No! I shall remain inEgypt. 

"Now that you are leaving, I shall be really indispensable to our friendshere. Amasis is old; when Psamtik comes to the throne we shall haveinfinitely greater difficulties to contend with than heretofore. I mustremain and fight on in the fore-front of our battle for the freedom andwelfare of the Hellenic race. Let them call my efforts unwomanly if theywill. This is, and shall be, the purpose of my life, a purpose to whichI will remain all the more faithful, because it is one of those to whicha woman rarely dares devote her life. During this last night of tears Ihave felt that much, very much of that womanly weakness still lingers inme which forms at once the happiness and misery of our sex. To preservethis feminine weakness in my granddaughter, united with perfect womanlydelicacy, has been my first duty; my second to free myself entirely fromit. But a war against one's own nature cannot be carried on withoutoccasional defeat, even if ultimately successful. When grief and painare gaining the upperhand and I am well nigh in despair, my only helplies in remembering my friend Pythagoras, that noblest among men, and hiswords: 'Observe a due proportion in all things, avoid excessive joy aswell as complaining grief, and seek to keep thy soul in tune and harmonylike a well-toned harp. '"

 [There is no question that Pythagoras visited Egypt during the reign of Amasis, probably towards the middle of the 6th century (according to our reckoning, about 536 B. C. ) Herod. II. 81-123. Diod. I. 98. Rich information about Pythagoras is to be found in the works of the very learned scholar Roeth, who is however occasionally much too bold in his conjectures. Pythagoras was the first among Greek thinkers (speculators). He would not take the name of a wise man or "sage, " but called himself "Philosophos, " or a "friend of wisdom. "]

"This Pythagorean inward peace, this deep, untroubled calm, I see dailybefore me in my Sappho; and struggle to attain it myself, though many astroke of fate untunes the chords of my poor heart. I am calm now! Youwould hardly believe what power the mere thought of that first of allthinkers, that calm, deliberate man, whose life acted on mine like sweet, soft music, has over me. You knew him, you can understand what I mean. Now, mention your wish; my heart is as calmly quiet as the Nile waterswhich are flowing by so quietly, and I am ready to hear it, be it good orevil. "

"I am glad to see you thus, " said the Athenian. "If you had rememberedthe noble friend of wisdom, as Pythagoras was wont to call himself alittle sooner, your soul would have regained its balance yesterday. Themaster enjoins us to look back every evening on the events, feelings andactions of the day just past. 

"Now had you done this, you would have felt that the unfeigned admirationof all your guests, among whom were men of distinguished merit, outweighed a thousandfold the injurious words of a drunken libertine;you would have felt too that you were a friend of the gods, for was itnot in your house that the immortals gave that noble old man at last, after his long years of misfortune, the greatest joy that can fall to thelot of any human being? and did they not take from you one friend only inorder to replace him in the same moment, by another and a better? Come, I will hear no contradiction. Now for my request. 

"You know that people sometimes call me an Athenian, sometimes aHalikarnassian. Now, as the Ionian, AEolian and Dorian mercenaries havenever been on good terms with the Karians, my almost triple descent (if Imay call it so) has proved very useful to me as commander of both thesedivisions. Well qualified as Aristomachus may be for the command, yetin this one point Amasis will miss me; for I found it an easy matter tosettle the differences among the troops and keep them at peace, while he, as a Spartan, will find it very difficult to keep right with the Kariansoldiers. 

"This double nationality of mine arises from the fact that my fathermarried a Halikarnassian wife out of a noble Dorian family, and, at thetime of my birth, was staying with her in Halikarnassus, having comethither in order to take possession of her parental inheritance. So, though I was taken back to Athens before I was three months old, I muststill be called a Karian, as a man's native land is decided by hisbirthplace. 

"In Athens, as a young nobleman, belonging to that most aristocratic andancient family, the Philaidae, I was reared and educated in all the prideof an Attic noble. Pisistratus, brave and clever, and though of equal, yet by no means of higher birth, than ourselves, for there exists nofamily more aristocratic than my father's, gained possession of thesupreme authority. Twice, the nobles, by uniting all their strength, succeeded in overthrowing him, and when, the third time, assisted byLygdamis of Naxos, the Argives and Eretrians, he attempted to return, weopposed him again. We had encamped by the temple of Minerva at Pallene, and were engaged in sacrificing to the goddess, early, before our firstmeal, when we were suddenly surprised by the clever tyrant, who gained aneasy, bloodless victory over our unarmed troops. As half of the entirearmy opposed to the tyrant was under my command, I determined rather todie than yield, fought with my whole strength, implored the soldiers toremain steadfast, resisted without yielding a point, but fell at lastwith a spear in my shoulder. 

"The Pisistratidae became lords of Athens. I fled to Halikarnassus, mysecond home, accompanied by my wife and children. There, my name beingknown through some daring military exploits, and, through my having onceconquered in the Pythian games, I was appointed to a command in themercenary troops of the King of Egypt; accompanied the expedition toCyprus, shared with Aristomachus the renown of having conquered thebirthplace of Aphrodite for Amasis, and finally was named commander-in-chief of all the mercenaries in Egypt. 

"Last summer my wife died; our children, a boy of eleven and a girl often years, remained with an aunt in Halikarnassus. But she too hasfollowed to the inexorable Hades, and so, only a few days ago I sent forthe little ones here. They cannot, however, possibly reach Naukratis inless than three weeks, and yet they will already have set out on theirjourney before a letter to countermand my first order could reach them. 

"I must leave Egypt in fourteen days, and cannot therefore receive themmyself. 

"My own intentions are to go to the Thracian Chersonese, where my uncle, as you know, has been called to fill a high office among the Dolonki. The children shall follow me thither; my faithful old slave Korax willremain in Naukratis on purpose to bring them to me. 

"Now, if you will show to me that you are in deed and truth my friend, will you receive the little ones and take care of them till the next shipsails for Thrace? But above all, will you carefully conceal them fromthe eyes of the crown-prince's spies? You know that Psamtik hates memortally, and he could easily revenge himself on the father through thechildren. I ask you for this great favor, first, because I know yourkindness by experience; and secondly, because your house has been madesecure by the king's letter of guarantee, and they will therefore be safehere from the inquiries of the police; notwithstanding that, by the lawsof this most formal country, all strangers, children not excepted, mustgive up their names to the officer of the district. 

"You can now judge of the depth of my esteem, Rhodopis; I am committinginto your hands all that makes life precious to me; for even my nativeland has ceased to be dear while she submits so ignominiously to hertyrants. Will you then restore tranquillity to an anxious father'sheart, will you--?"

"I will, Phanes, I will!" cried the aged woman in undisguised delight. "You are not asking me for any thing, you are presenting me with a gift. Oh, how I look forward already to their arrival! And how glad Sapphowill be, when the little creatures come and enliven her solitude! Butthis I can assure you, Phanes, I shall not let my little guests departwith the first Thracian ship. You can surely afford to be separated fromthem one short half-year longer, and I promise you they shall receive thebest lessons, and be guided to all that is good and beautiful. "

"On that head I have no fear, " answered Phanes, with a thankful smile. "But still you must send off the two little plagues by the first ship; myanxiety as to Psamtik's revenge is only too well grounded. Take my mostheartfelt thanks beforehand for all the love and kindness which you willshow to my children. I too hope and believe, that the merry littlecreatures will be an amusement and pleasure to Sappho in her lonelylife. "

"And more, " interrupted Rhodopis looking down; "this proof of confidencerepays a thousand-fold the disgrace inflicted on me last night in amoment of intoxication. --But here comes Sappho!"

CHAPTER IV. 

Five days after the evening we have just described at Rhodopis' house, animmense multitude was to be seen assembled at the harbor of Sais. 

Egyptians of both sexes, and of every age and class were thronging to thewater's edge. 

Soldiers and merchants, whose various ranks in society were betokened bythe length of their white garments, bordered with colored fringes, wereinterspersed among the crowd of half-naked, sinewy men, whose onlyclothing consisted of an apron, the costume of the lower classes. Nakedchildren crowded, pushed and fought to get the best places. Mothers inshort cloaks were holding their little ones up to see the sight, which bythis means they entirely lost themselves; and a troop of dogs and catswere playing and fighting at the feet of these eager sight-seers, whotook the greatest pains not to tread on, or in any way injure the sacredanimals. 

 [According to various pictures on the Egyptian monuments. The mothers are from Wilkinson III. 363. Isis and Hathor, with the child Horus in her lap or at her breast, are found in a thousand representations, dating both from more modern times and in the Greek style. The latter seem to have served as a model for the earliest pictures of the Madonna holding the infant Christ. ]

The police kept order among this huge crowd with long staves, on themetal heads of which the king's name was inscribed. Their care wasespecially needed to prevent any of the people from being pushed into theswollen Nile, an arm of which, in the season of the inundations, washesthe walls of Sais. 

On the broad flight of steps which led between two rows of sphinxes downto the landing-place of the royal boats, was a very different kind ofassembly. 

The priests of the highest rank were seated there on stone benches. Manywore long, white robes, others were clad in aprons, broad jewelledcollars, and garments of panther skins. Some had fillets adorned withplumes that waved around brows, temples, and the stiff structures offalse curls that floated over their shoulders; others displayed theglistening bareness of their smoothly-shaven skulls. The supreme judgewas distinguished by the possession of the longest and handsomest plumein his head-dress, and a costly sapphire amulet, which, suspended by agold chain, hung on his breast. 

The highest officers of the Egyptian army wore uniforms of gay colors, 97and carried short swords in their girdles. On the right side of thesteps a division of the body-guard was stationed, armed with battleaxes, daggers, bows, and large shields; on the left, were the Greekmercenaries, armed in Ionian fashion. Their new leader, our friendAristomachus, stood with a few of his own officers apart from theEgyptians, by the colossal statues of Psamtik I. , which had been erectedon the space above the steps, their faces towards the river. 

In front of these statues, on a silver chair, sat Psamtik, the heir tothe throne: He wore a close-fitting garment of many colors, interwovenwith gold, and was surrounded by the most distinguished among the king'scourtiers, chamberlains, counsellors, and friends, all bearing staveswith ostrich feathers and lotus-flowers. 

The multitude gave vent to their impatience by shouting, singing, andquarrelling; but the priests and magnates on the steps preserved adignified and solemn silence. Each, with his steady, unmoved gaze, hisstiffly-curled false wig and beard, and his solemn, deliberate manner, resembled the two huge statues, which, the one precisely similar to theother, stood also motionless in their respective places, gazing calmlyinto the stream. 

At last silken sails, chequered with purple and blue, appeared in sight. 

The crowd shouted with delight. Cries of, "They are coming! Here theyare!" "Take care, or you'll tread on that kitten, " "Nurse, hold thechild higher that she may see something of the sight. " "You are pushingme into the water, Sebak!" "Have a care Phoenician, the boys arethrowing burs into your long beard. " "Now, now, you Greek fellow, don'tfancy that all Egypt belongs to you, because Amasis allows you to live onthe shores of the sacred river!" "Shameless set, these Greeks, down withthem!" shouted a priest, and the cry was at once echoed from many mouths. "Down with the eaters of swine's flesh and despisers of the gods!"

 [The Egyptians, like the Jews, were forbidden to eat swine's flesh. This prohibition is mentioned in the Ritual of the Dead, found in a grave in Abd-el-Qurnah, and also in other places. Porphyr. De Abstin. IV. The swine was considered an especially unclean animal pertaining to Typhon (Egyptian, Set) as the boar to Ares, and swineherds were an especially despised race. Animals with bristles were only sacrificed at the feasts of Osiris and Eileithyia. Herod. I. 2. 47. It is probable that Moses borrowed his prohibition of swine's flesh from the Egyptian laws with regard to unclean animals. ]

From words they were proceeding to deeds, but the police were not to betrifled with, and by a vigorous use of their staves, the tumult was soonstilled. The large, gay sails, easily to be distinguished among thebrown, white and blue ones of the smaller Nile-boats which swarmed aroundthem, came nearer and nearer to the expectant throng. Then at last thecrown-prince and the dignitaries arose from their seats. The royal bandof trumpeters blew a shrill and piercing blast of welcome, and the firstof the expected boats stopped at the landing-place. 

It was a rather long, richly-gilded vessel, and bore a silver sparrow-hawk as figure-head. In its midst rose a golden canopy with a purplecovering, beneath which cushions were conveniently arranged. On eachdeck in the forepart of the ship sat twelve rowers, their aprons attachedby costly fastenings. 

 [Splendid Nile-boats were possessed, in greater or less numbers, by all the men of high rank. Even in the tomb of Ti at Sakkara, which dates from the time of the Pyramids, we meet with a chief overseer of the vessels belonging to a wealthy Egyptian. ]

Beneath the canopy lay six fine-looking men in glorious apparel; andbefore the ship had touched the shore the youngest of these, a beautifulfair-haired youth, sprang on to the steps. 

Many an Egyptian girl's mouth uttered a lengthened "Ah" at this glorioussight, and even the grave faces of some of the dignitaries brightenedinto a friendly smile. 

The name of this much-admired youth was Bartja. 

 [This Bartja is better known under the name of Smerdis, but on what account the Greeks gave him this name is not clear. In the cuneiform inscriptions of Bisitun or Behistun, he is called Bartja, or, according to Spiegel, Bardiya. We have chosen, for the sake of the easy pronunciation, the former, which is Rawlinson's simplified reading of the name. ]

He was the son of the late, and brother of the reigning king of Persia, and had been endowed by nature with every gift that a youth of twentyyears could desire for himself. 

Around his tiara was wound a blue and white turban, beneath which hungfair, golden curls of beautiful, abundant hair; his blue eyes sparkledwith life and joy, kindness and high spirits, almost with sauciness; hisnoble features, around which the down of a manly beard was alreadyvisible, were worthy of a Grecian sculptor's chisel, and his slender butmuscular figure told of strength and activity. The splendor of hisapparel was proportioned to his personal beauty. A brilliant star ofdiamonds and turquoises glittered in the front of his tiara. An uppergarment of rich white and gold brocade reaching just below the knees, wasfastened round the waist with a girdle of blue and white, the royalcolors of Persia. In this girdle gleamed a short, golden sword, its hiltand scabbard thickly studded with opals and sky-blue turquoises. Thetrousers were of the same rich material as the robe, fitting closely atthe ankle, and ending within a pair of short boots of light-blue leather. 

The long, wide sleeves of his robe displayed a pair of vigorous arms, adorned with many costly bracelets of gold and jewels; round his slenderneck and on his broad chest lay a golden chain. 

Such was the youth who first sprang on shore. He was followed by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, a young Persian of the blood royal, similar inperson to Bartja, and scarcely less gorgeously apparelled than he. Thethird to disembark was an aged man with snow-white hair, in whose facethe gentle and kind expression of childhood was united, with theintellect of a man, and the experience of old age. His dress consistedof a long purple robe with sleeves, and the yellow boots worn by theLydians;--his whole appearance produced an impression of the greatestmodesty and a total absence of pretension. 

 [On account of these boots, which are constantly mentioned, Croesus was named by the oracle "soft-footed. "]

Yet this simple old man had been, but a few years before, the most enviedof his race and age; and even in our day at two thousand years' interval, his name is used as a synonyme for the highest point of worldly richesattainable by mankind. The old man to whom we are now introduced is noother than Croesus, the dethroned king of Lydia, who was then living atthe court of Cambyses, as his friend and counsellor, and had accompaniedthe young Bartja to Egypt, in the capacity of Mentor. 

Croesus was followed by Prexaspes, the king's Ambassador, Zopyrus, theson of Megabyzus, a Persian noble, the friend of Bartja and Darius; and, lastly, by his own son, the slender, pale Gyges, who after having becomedumb in his fourth year through the fearful anguish he had suffered onhis father's account at the taking of Sardis, had now recovered the powerof speech. 

Psamtik descended the steps to welcome the strangers. His austere, sallow face endeavored to assume a smile. The high officials in histrain bowed down nearly to the ground, allowing their arms to hangloosely at their sides. The Persians, crossing their hands on theirbreasts, cast themselves on the earth before the heir to the Egyptianthrone. When the first formalities were over, Bartja, according to thecustom of his native country, but greatly to the astonishment of thepopulace, who were totally unaccustomed to such a sight, kissed thesallow cheek of the Egyptian prince; who shuddered at the touch of astranger's unclean lips, then took his way to the litters waiting toconvey him and his escort to the dwelling designed for them by the king, in the palace at Sais. 

A portion of the crowd streamed after the strangers, but the largernumber remained at their places, knowing that many a new and wonderfulsight yet awaited them. 

"Are you going to run after those dressed-up monkeys and children ofTyphon, too?" asked an angry priest of his neighbor, a respectabletailor of Sais. "I tell you, Puhor, and the high-priest says so too, that these strangers can bring no good to the black land! I am for thegood old times, when no one who cared for his life dared set foot onEgyptian soil. Now our streets are literally swarming with cheatingHebrews, and above all with those insolent Greeks whom may the godsdestroy!

 [The Jews were called Hebrews (Apuriu) by the Egyptians; as brought to light by Chabas. See Ebers, Aegypten I. P. 316. H. Brugsch opposes this opinion. ]

"Only look, there is the third boat full of strangers! And do you knowwhat kind of people these Persians are? The high-priest says that in thewhole of their kingdom, which is as large as half the world, there is nota single temple to the gods; and that instead of giving decent burial tothe dead, they leave them to be torn in pieces by dogs and vultures. "

 [These statements are correct, as the Persians, at the time of the dynasty of the Achaemenidae, had no temples, but used fire-altars and exposed their dead to the dogs and vultures. An impure corpse was not permitted to defile the pure earth by its decay; nor might it be committed to the fire or water for destruction, as their purity would be equally polluted by such an act. But as it was impossible to cause the dead bodies to vanish, Dakhmas or burying- places were laid out, which had to be covered with pavement and cement not less than four inches thick, and surrounded by cords to denote that the whole structure was as it were suspended in the air, and did not come in contact with the pure earth. Spiegel, Avesta II. ]

"The tailor's indignation at hearing this was even greater than hisastonishment, and pointing to the landing-steps, he cried:

"It is really too bad; see, there is the sixth boat full of theseforeigners!"

"Yes, it is hard indeed!" sighed the priest, "one might fancy a wholearmy arriving. Amasis will go on in this manner until the strangersdrive him from his throne and country, and plunder and make slaves of uspoor creatures, as the evil Hyksos, those scourges of Egypt, and theblack Ethiopians did, in the days of old. "

"The seventh boat!" shouted the tailor. 

"May my protectress Neith, the great goddess of Sais, destroy me, if Ican understand the king, " complained the priest. "He sent three barks toNaukratis, that poisonous nest hated of the gods, to fetch the servantsand baggage of these Persians; but instead of three, eight had to beprocured, for these despisers of the gods and profaners of dead bodieshave not only brought kitchen utensils, dogs, horses, carriages, chests, baskets and bales, but have dragged with them, thousands of miles, awhole host of servants. They tell me that some of them have no otherwork than twining of garlands and preparing ointments. Their prieststoo, whom they call Magi, are here with them. I should like to know whatthey are for? of what use is a priest where there is no temple?"

The old King Amasis received the Persian embassy shortly after theirarrival with all the amiability and kindness peculiar to him. 

Four days later, after having attended to the affairs of state, a dutypunctually fulfilled by him every morning without exception, he wentforth to walk with Croesus in the royal gardens. The remaining membersof the embassy, accompanied by the crown-prince, were engaged in anexcursion up the Nile to the city of Memphis. 

The palace-gardens, of a royal magnificence, yet similar in theirarrangement to those of Rhodopis, lay in the north-west part of Sais, near the royal citadel. 

Here, under the shadow of a spreading plane-tree, and near a giganticbasin of red granite, into which an abundance of clear water flowedperpetually through the jaws of black basalt crocodiles, the two old menseated themselves. 

The dethroned king, though in reality some years the elder of the two, looked far fresher and more vigorous than the powerful monarch at hisside. Amasis was tall, but his neck was bent; his corpulent body wassupported by weak and slender legs: and his face, though well-formed, waslined and furrowed. But a vigorous spirit sparkled in the small, flashing eyes, and an expression of raillery, sly banter, and at times, even of irony, played around his remarkably full lips. The low, broadbrow, the large and beautifully-arched head bespoke great mental power, and in the changing color of his eyes one seemed to read that neither witnor passion were wanting in the man, who, from his simple place assoldier in the ranks, had worked his way up to the throne of thePharaohs. His voice was sharp and hard, and his movements, in comparisonwith the deliberation of the other members of the Egyptian court, appeared almost morbidly active. 

The attitude and bearing of his neighbor Croesus were graceful, and inevery way worthy of a king. His whole manner showed that he had lived infrequent intercourse with the highest and noblest minds of Greece. Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes of Miletus, Bias of Priene, Solon ofAthens, Pittakus of Lesbos, the most celebrated Hellenic philosophers, had in former and happier days been guests at the court of Croesus inSardis. His full clear voice sounded like pure song when compared withthe shrill tones of Amasis. 

 [Bias, a philosopher of Ionian origin, flourished about 560 B. C. And was especially celebrated for his wise maxims on morals and law. After his death, which took place during his defence of a friend in the public court, a temple was erected to him by his countrymen. Laert. Diog. I. 88. ]

"Now tell me openly, " began king Pharaoh--[In English "great house, " thehigh gate or "sublime porte. ']--in tolerably fluent Greek, "what opinionhast thou formed of Egypt? Thy judgment possesses for me more worth thanthat of any other man, for three reasons: thou art better acquainted withmost of the countries and nations of this earth; the gods have not onlyallowed thee to ascend the ladder of fortune to its utmost summit, butalso to descend it, and thirdly, thou hast long been the first counsellorto the mightiest of kings. Would that my kingdom might please thee sowell that thou wouldst remain here and become to me a brother. Verily, Croesus, my friend hast thou long been, though my eyes beheld theeyesterday for the first time!"

"And thou mine, " interrupted the Lydian. "I admire the courage withwhich thou hast accomplished that which seemed right and good in thineeyes, in spite of opposition near and around thee. I am thankful for thefavor shown to the Hellenes, my friends, and I regard thee as related tome by fortune, for hast thou not also passed through all the extremes ofgood and evil that this life can offer?"

"With this difference, " said Amasis smiling, "that we started fromopposite points; in thy lot the good came first, the evil later; whereasin my own this order has been reversed. In saying this, however, " headded, "I am supposing that my present fortune is a good for me, and thatI enjoy it. "

"And I, in that case, " answered Croesus, "must be assuming that I amunhappy in what men call my present ill-fortune. "

"How can it possibly be otherwise after the loss of such enormouspossessions?"

"Does happiness consist then in possession?" asked Croesus. "Ishappiness itself a thing to be possessed? Nay, by no means! It isnothing but a feeling, a sensation, which the envious gods vouchsafe moreoften to the needy than to the mighty. The clear sight of the latterbecomes dazzled by the glittering treasure, and they cannot but suffercontinual humiliation, because, conscious of possessing power to obtainmuch, they wage an eager war for all, and therein are continuallydefeated. "

Amasis sighed, and answered: "I would I could prove thee in the wrong;but in looking back on my past life I am fain to confess that its caresbegan with that very hour which brought me what men call my goodfortune. "--"And I, " interrupted Croesus, "can assure thee that I amthankful thou delayedst to come to my help, inasmuch as the hour of myoverthrow was the beginning of true, unsullied happiness. When I beheldthe first Persians scale the walls of Sardis, I execrated myself and thegods, life appeared odious to me, existence a curse. Fighting on, but inheart despairing, I and my people were forced to yield. A Persian raisedhis sword to cleave my skull--in an instant my poor dumb son had thrownhimself between his father and the murderer, and for the first time afterlong years of silence, I heard him speak. Terror had loosened histongue; in that dreadful hour Gyges learnt once more to speak, and I, whobut the moment before had been cursing the gods, bowed down before theirpower. I had commanded a slave to kill me the moment I should be takenprisoner by the Persians, but now I deprived him of his sword. I was achanged man, and by degrees learnt ever more and more to subdue the rageand indignation which yet from time to time would boil up again within mysoul, rebellious against my fate and my noble enemies. Thou knowest thatat last I became the friend of Cyrus, and that my son grew up at hiscourt, a free man at my side, having entirely regained the use of hisspeech. Everything beautiful and good that I had heard, seen or thoughtduring my long life I treasured up now for him; he was my kingdom, mycrown, my treasure. Cyrus's days of care, his nights so reft of sleep, reminded me with horror of my own former greatness, and from day to dayit became more evident to me that happiness has nothing to do withour outward circumstances. Each man possesses the hidden germ in his ownheart. A contented, patient mind, rejoicing much in all that is greatand beautiful and yet despising not the day of small things; bearingsorrow without a murmur and sweetening it by calling to remembranceformer joy; moderation in all things; a firm trust in the favor of thegods and a conviction that, all things being subject to change, so withus too the worst must pass in due season; all this helps to mature thegerm of happiness, and gives us power to smile, where the manundisciplined by fate might yield to despair and fear. "

Amasis listened attentively, drawing figures the while in the sand withthe golden flower on his staff. At last he spoke:

"Verily, Croesus, I the great god, the 'sun of righteousness, ' 'the sonof Neith, ' 'the lord of warlike glory, ' as the Egyptians call me, amtempted to envy thee, dethroned and plundered as thou art. I have beenas happy as thou art now. Once I was known through all Egypt, thoughonly the poor son of a captain, for my light heart, happy temper, fun andhigh spirits. The common soldiers would do anything for me, my superiorofficers could have found much fault, but in the mad Amasis, as theycalled me, all was overlooked, and among my equals, (the other under-officers) there could be no fun or merry-making unless I took a share init. My predecessor king Hophra sent us against Cyrene. Seized withthirst in the desert, we refused to go on; and a suspicion that the kingintended to sacrifice us to the Greek mercenaries drove the army to openmutiny. In my usual joking manner I called out to my friends: 'You cannever get on without a king, take me for your ruler; a merrier you willnever find!' The soldiers caught the words. 'Amasis will be our king, 'ran through the ranks from man to man, and, in a few hours more, theycame to me with shouts, and acclamations of 'The good, jovial Amasis forour King!' One of my boon companions set a field-marshal's helmet on myhead: I made the joke earnest, and we defeated Hophra at Momempliis. The people joined in the conspiracy, I ascended the throne, and menpronounced me fortunate. Up to that time I had been every Egyptian'sfriend, and now I was the enemy of the best men in the nation. 

"The priests swore allegiance to me, and accepted me as a member of theircaste, but only in the hope of guiding me at their will. My formersuperiors in command either envied me, or wished to remain on the sameterms of intercourse as formerly. But this would have been inconsistentwith my new position, and have undermined my authority. One day, therefore, when the officers of the host were at one of my banquets andattempting, as usual, to maintain their old convivial footing, I showedthem the golden basin in which their feet had been washed before sittingdown to meat; five days later, as they were again drinking at one of myrevels, I caused a golden image of the great god Ra be placed upon therichly-ornamented banqueting-table. 

 [Ra, with the masculine article Phra, must be regarded as the central point of the sun-worship of the Egyptians, which we consider to have been the foundation of their entire religion. He was more especially worshipped at Heliopolis. Plato, Eudoxus, and probably Pythagoras also, profited by the teaching of his priests. The obelisks, serving also as memorial monuments on which the names and deeds of great kings were recorded, were sacred to him, and Pliny remarks of them that they represented the rays of the sun. He was regarded as the god of light, the director of the entire visible creation, over which he reigned, as Osiris over the world of spirits. ]

"On perceiving it, they fell down to worship. As they rose from theirknees, I took the sceptre, and holding it up on high with much solemnity, exclaimed: 'In five days an artificer has transformed the despised vesselinto which ye spat and in which men washed your feet, into this divineimage. Such a vessel was I, but the Deity, which can fashion better andmore quickly than a goldsmith, has made me your king. Bow down thenbefore me and worship. He who henceforth refuses to obey, or isunmindful of the reverence due to the king, is guilty of death!'

"They fell down before me, every one, and I saved my authority, but lostmy friends. As I now stood in need of some other prop, I fixed on theHellenes, knowing that in all military qualifications one Greek is worthmore than five Egyptians, and that with this assistance I should be ableto carry out those measures which I thought beneficial. 

"I kept the Greek mercenaries always round me, I learnt their language, and it was they who brought to me the noblest human being I ever met, Pythagoras. I endeavored to introduce Greek art and manners amongourselves, seeing what folly lay in a self-willed adherence to that whichhas been handed down to us, when it is in itself bad and unworthy, whilethe good seed lay on our Egyptian soil, only waiting to be sown. 

"I portioned out the whole land to suit my purposes, appointed the bestpolice in the world, and accomplished much; but my highest aim, namely:to infuse into this country, at once so gay and so gloomy, the spirit andintellect of the Greeks, their sense of beauty in form, their love oflife and joy in it, this all was shivered on the same rock whichthreatens me with overthrow and ruin whenever I attempt to accomplishanything new. The priests are my opponents, my masters, they hang like adead weight upon me. Clinging with superstitious awe to all that is oldand traditionary, abominating everything foreign, and regarding everystranger as the natural enemy of their authority and their teaching, theycan lead the most devout and religious of all nations with a power thathas scarcely any limits. For this I am forced to sacrifice all my plans, for this I see my life passing away in bondage to their severeordinances, this will rob my death-bed of peace, and I cannot be securethat this host of proud mediators between god and man will allow me torest even in my grave!"

"By Zeus our saviour, with all thy good fortune, thou art to be pitied!"interrupted Croesus sympathetically, "I understand thy misery; for thoughI have met with many an individual who passed through life darkly andgloomily, I could not have believed that an entire race of human beingsexisted, to whom a gloomy, sullen heart was as natural as a poisonoustooth to the serpent. Yet it is true, that on my journey hither andduring my residence at this court I have seen none but morose and gloomycountenances among the priesthood. Even the youths, thy immediateattendants, are never seen to smile; though cheerfulness, that sweet giftof the gods, usually belongs to the young, as flowers to spring. "

"Thou errest, " answered Amasis, "in believing this gloom to be auniversal characteristic of the Egyptians. It is true that our religionrequires much serious thought. There are few nations, however, who haveso largely the gift of bantering fun and joke: or who on the occasion ofa festival, can so entirely forget themselves and everything else but theenjoyments of the moment; but the very sight of a stranger is odious tothe priests, and the moroseness which thou observest is intended asretaliation on me for my alliance with the strangers. Those very boys, of whom thou spakest, are the greatest torment of my life. They performfor me the service of slaves, and obey my slightest nod. One mightimagine that the parents who devote their children to this service, andwho are the highest in rank among the priesthood, would be the mostobedient and reverential servants of the king whom they profess to honoras divine; but believe me, Croesus, just in this very act of devotion, which no ruler can refuse to accept without giving offence, lies the mostcrafty, scandalous calculation. Each of these youths is my keeper, myspy. They watch my smallest actions and report them at once to thepriests. "

"But how canst thou endure such an existence? Why not banish these spiesand select servants from the military caste, for instance? They would bequite as useful as the priests. "

"Ah! if I only could, if I dared!" exclaimed Amasis loudly. And then, as if frightened at his own rashness, he continued in a low voice, "Ibelieve that even here I am being watched. To-morrow I will have thatgrove of fig-trees yonder uprooted. The young priest there, who seems sofond of gardening, has other fruit in his mind besides the half-ripe figsthat he is so slowly dropping into his basket. While his hand isplucking the figs, his ear gathers the words that fall from the mouth ofhis king. "

"But, by our father Zeus, and by Apollo--"

"Yes, I understand thy indignation and I share it; but every position hasits duties, and as a king of a people who venerate tradition as thehighest divinity, I must submit, at least in the main, to the ceremonieshanded down through thousands of years. Were I to burst these fetters, I know positively that at my death my body would remain unburied; for, know that the priests sit in judgment over every corpse, and deprive thecondemned of rest, even in the grave. "

 [This well-known custom among the ancient Egyptians is confirmed, not only by many Greek narrators, but by the laboriously erased inscriptions discovered in the chambers of some tombs. ]

"Why care about the grave?" cried Croesus, becoming angry. "We live forlife, not for death!"

"Say rather, " answered Amasis rising from his seat, "we, with our Greekminds, believe a beautiful life to be the highest good. But Croesus, Iwas begotten and nursed by Egyptian parents, nourished on Egyptian food, and though I have accepted much that is Greek, am still, in my innermostbeing, an Egyptian. What has been sung to us in our childhood, andpraised as sacred in our youth, lingers on in the heart until the daywhich sees us embalmed as mummies. I am an old man and have but a shortspan yet to run, before I reach the landmark which separates us from thatfarther country. For the sake of life's few remaining days, shall Iwillingly mar Death's thousands of years? No, my friend, in this pointat least I have remained an Egyptian, in believing, like the rest of mycountrymen, that the happiness of a future life in the kingdom ofOsiris, depends on the preservation of my body, the habitation of thesoul. 

 [Each human soul was considered as a part of the world-soul Osiris, was united to him after the death of the body, and thenceforth took the name of Osiris. The Egyptian Cosmos consisted of the three great realms, the Heavens, the Earth and the Depths. Over the vast ocean which girdles the vault of heaven, the sun moves in a boat or car drawn by the planets and fixed stars. On this ocean too the great constellations circle in their ships, and there is the kingdom of the blissful gods, who sit enthroned above this heavenly ocean under a canopy of stars. The mouth of this great stream is in the East, where the sun-god rises from the mists and is born again as a child every morning. The surface of the earth is inhabited by human beings having a share in the three great cosmic kingdoms. They receive their soul from the heights of heaven, the seat and source of light; their material body is of the earth; and the appearance or outward form by which one human being is distinguished from another at sight--his phantom or shadow--belongs to the depths. At death, soul, body, and shadow separate from one another. The soul to return to the place from whence it came, to Heaven, for it is a part of God (of Osiris); the body, to be committed to the earth from which it was formed in the image of its creator; the phantom or shadow, to descend into the depths, the kingdom of shadows. The gate to this kingdom was placed in the West among the sunset hills, where the sun goes down daily, --where he dies. Thence arise the changeful and corresponding conceptions connected with rising and setting, arriving and departing, being born and dying. The careful preservation of the body after death from destruction, not only through the process of inward decay, but also through violence or accident, was in the religion of ancient Egypt a principal condition (perhaps introduced by the priests on sanitary grounds) on which depended the speedy deliverance of the soul, and with this her early, appointed union with the source of Light and Good, which two properties were, in idea, one and indivisible. In the Egyptian conceptions the soul was supposed to remain, in a certain sense, connected with the body during a long cycle of solar years. She could, however, quit the body from time to time at will, and could appear to mortals in various forms and places; these appearances differed according to the hour, and were prescribed in exact words and delineations. ]

"But enough of these matters; thou wilt find it difficult to enter intosuch thoughts. Tell me rather what thou thinkest of our temples andpyramids. "

Croesus, after reflecting a moment, answered with a smile: "Those hugepyramidal masses of stone seem to me creations of the boundless desert, the gaily painted temple colonnades to be the children of the Spring; butthough the sphinxes lead up to your temple gates, and seem to point theway into the very shrines themselves, the sloping fortress-like walls ofthe Pylons, those huge isolated portals, appear as if placed there torepel entrance. Your many-colored hieroglyphics likewise attract thegaze, but baffle the inquiring spirit by the mystery that lies withintheir characters. The images of your manifold gods are everywhere to beseen; they crowd on our gaze, and yet who knows not that their real isnot their apparent significance? that they are mere outward images ofthoughts accessible only to the few, and, as I have heard, almostincomprehensible in their depth? My curiosity is excited everywhere, and my interest awakened, but my warm love of the beautiful feels itselfin no way attracted. My intellect might strain to penetrate the secretsof your sages, but my heart and mind can never be at home in a creedwhich views life as a short pilgrimage to the grave, and death as theonly true life!"

"And yet, " said Amasis, "Death has for us too his terrors, and we do allin our power to evade his grasp. Our physicians would not be celebratedand esteemed as they are, if we did not believe that their skill couldprolong our earthly existence. This reminds me of the oculist Nebenchariwhom I sent to Susa, to the king. Does he maintain his reputation? isthe king content with him?"

"Very much so, " answered Croesus. "He has been of use to many of theblind; but the king's mother is alas! still sightless. It was Nebenchariwho first spoke to Cambyses of the charms of thy daughter Tachot. But wedeplore that he understands diseases of the eye alone. When the PrincessAtossa lay ill of fever, he was not to be induced to bestow a word ofcounsel. "

"That is very natural; our physicians are only permitted to treat onepart of the body. We have aurists, dentists and oculists, surgeons forfractures of the bone, and others for internal diseases. By the ancientpriestly law a dentist is not allowed to treat a deaf man, nor a surgeonfor broken bones a patient who is suffering from a disease of the bowels, even though he should have a first rate knowledge of internal complaints. This law aims at securing a great degree of real and thorough knowledge;an aim indeed, pursued by the priests (to whose caste the physiciansbelong) with a most praiseworthy earnestness in all branches of science. Yonder lies the house of the high-priest Neithotep, whose knowledge ofastronomy and geometry was so highly praised, even by Pythagoras. Itlies next to the porch leading into the temple of the goddess Neith, theprotectress of Sais. Would I could show thee the sacred grove with itsmagnificent trees, the splendid pillars of the temple with capitalsmodelled from the lotus-flower, and the colossal chapel which I caused tobe wrought from a single piece of granite, as an offering to the goddess;but alas! entrance is strictly refused to strangers by the priests. Come, let us seek my wife and daughter; they have conceived an affectionfor thee, and indeed it is my wish that thou shouldst gain a friendlyfeeling towards this poor maiden before she goes forth with thee to thestrange land, and to the strange nation whose princess she is to become. Wilt thou not adopt and take her under thy care?"

"On that thou may'st with fullest confidence rely, " replied Croesus withwarmth, returning the pressure of Amasis' hand. "I will protect thyNitetis as if I were her father; and she will need my help, for theapartments of the women in the Persian palaces are dangerous ground. But she will meet with great consideration. Cambyses may be contentedwith his choice, and will be highly gratified that thou hast entrustedhim with thy fairest child. Nebenchari had only spoken of Tachot, thysecond daughter. "

"Nevertheless I will send my beautiful Nitetis. Tachot is so tender, that she could scarcely endure the fatigues of the journey and the painof separation. Indeed were I to follow the dictates of my own heart, Nitetis should never leave us for Persia. But Egypt stands in need ofpeace, and I was a king before I became a father!"

CHAPTER V. 

The other members of the Persian embassy had returned to Sais from theirexcursion up the Nile to the pyramids. Prexaspes alone, the ambassadorfrom Cambyses, had already set out for Persia, in order to inform theking of the successful issue of his suit. 

The palace of Amasis was full of life and stir. The huge building wasfilled in all parts by the followers of the embassy, nearly three hundredin number, and by the high guests themselves, to whom every possibleattention was paid. The courts of the palace swarmed with guards andofficials, with young priests and slaves, all in splendid festal raiment. 

On this day it was the king's intention to make an especial display ofthe wealth and splendor of his court, at a festival arranged in honor ofhis daughter's betrothal. 

The lofty reception-hall opening on to the gardens, with its ceiling sownwith thousands of golden stars and supported by gaily-painted columns, presented a magic appearance. Lamps of colored papyrus hung against thewalls and threw a strange light on the scene, something like that whenthe sun's rays strike through colored glass. The space between thecolumns and the walls was filled with choice plants, palms, oleanders, pomegranates, oranges and roses, behind which an invisible band of harpand flute-players was stationed, who received the guests with strains ofmonotonous, solemn music. 

The floor of this hall was paved in black and white, and in the middlestood elegant tables covered with dishes of all kinds, cold roast meats, sweets, well-arranged baskets of fruit and cake, golden jugs of wine, glass drinking-cups and artistic flower-vases. 

A multitude of richly-dressed slaves under direction of the high-steward, busied themselves in handing these dishes to the guests, who, eitherstanding around, or reclining on sumptuous seats, entertained themselvesin conversation with their friends. 

Both sexes and all ages were to be found in this assembly. As the womenentered, they received charming little nosegays from the young priestsin the personal service of the king, and many a youth of high degreeappeared in the hall with flowers, which he not only offered to her heloved best, but held up for her to smell. 

The Egyptian men, who were dressed as we have already seen them at thereception of the Persian embassy, behaved towards the women with apoliteness that might almost be termed submissive. Among the latter fewcould pretend to remarkable beauty, though there were many bewitchingalmond-shaped eyes, whose loveliness was heightened by having their lidsdyed with the eye-paint called "mestem. " The majority wore their hairarranged in the same manner; the wealth of waving brown locks floatedback over the shoulders and was brushed behind the ears, one braid beingleft on each side to hang over the temples to the breast. A broad diademconfined these locks, which as the maids knew, were quite as often thewig-maker's work as Nature's. Many ladies of the court wore above theirforeheads a lotus-flower, whose stem drooped on the hair at the back. 

They carried fans of bright feathers in their delicate hands. These wereloaded with rings; the finger-nails were stained red, according toEgyptian custom, and gold or silver bands were worn above the elbow, andat the wrists and ankles. 

 [This custom (of staining finger-nails) is still prevalent in the East; the plant Shenna, Laosonia spinosa, called by Pliny XIII. Cyprus, being used for the purpose. The Egyptian government has prohibited the dye, but it will be difficult to uproot the ancient custom. The pigment for coloring the eyelids, mentioned in the text, is also still employed. The Papyrus Ebers alludes to the Arabian kohl or antimony, which is frequently mentioned under the name of "mestem" on monuments belonging to the time of the Pharaohs. ]

Their robes were beautiful and costly, and in many cases so cut as toleave the right breast uncovered. Bartja, the young Persian prince, among the men, and Nitetis, the Pharaoh's daughter, among the women, wereequally conspicuous for their superior beauty, grace and charms. Theroyal maiden wore a transparent rose-colored robe, in her black hair werefresh roses, she walked by the side of her sister, the two robed alike, but Nitetis pale as the lotus-flower in her mother's hair. 

Ladice, the queen, by birth a Greek, and daughter of Battus of Cyrene, walked by the side of Amasis and presented the young Persians to herchildren. A light lace robe was thrown over her garment of purple, embroidered with gold; and on her beautiful Grecian head she wore theUrmus serpent, the ornament peculiar to Egyptian queens. 

Her countenance was noble yet charming, and every movement betrayed thegrace only to be imparted by a Greek education. 

Amasis, in making choice of this queen, after the death of his secondwife, (the Egyptian Tentcheta, mother of Psamtik the heir to the throne, )had followed his prepossession in favor of the Greek nation and defiedthe wrath of the priests. 

The two girls at Ladice's side, Tachot and Nitetis, were called twin-sisters, but showed no signs of that resemblance usually to be found intwins. 

Tachot was a fair, blue-eyed girl, small, and delicately built; Nitetis, on the other hand, tall and majestic, with black hair and eyes, evincedin every action that she was of royal blood. 

"How pale thou look'st, my child!" said Ladice, kissing Nitetis' cheek. "Be of good courage, and meet thy future bravely. Here is the nobleBartja, the brother of thy future husband. "

Nitetis raised her dark, thoughtful eyes and fixed them long andenquiringly on the beautiful youth. He bowed low before the blushingmaiden, kissed her garment, and said:

"I salute thee, as my future queen and sister! I can believe that thyheart is sore at parting from thy home, thy parents, brethren andsisters; but be of good courage; thy husband is a great hero, and apowerful king; our mother is the noblest of women, and among the Persiansthe beauty and virtue of woman is as much revered as the life-givinglight of the sun. Of thee, thou sister of the lily Nitetis, whom, by herside I might venture to call the rose, I beg forgiveness, for robbingthee of thy dearest friend. "

As he said these words he looked eagerly into Tachot's beautiful blueeyes; she bent low, pressing her hand upon her heart, and gazed on himlong after Amasis had drawn him away to a seat immediately opposite thedancing-girls, who were just about to display their skill for theentertainment of the guests. A thin petticoat was the only clothing ofthese girls, who threw and wound their flexible limbs to a measure playedon harp and tambourine. After the dance appeared Egyptian singers andbuffoons for the further amusement of the company. 

At length some of the courtiers forsook the hall, their grave demeanorbeing somewhat overcome by intoxication. 

 [Unfortunately women, as well as men, are to be seen depicted on the monuments in an intoxicated condition. One man is being carried home, like a log of wood, on the heads of his servants. Wilkinson II. 168. Another is standing on his head II. 169. And several ladies are in the act of returning the excessive quantity which they have drunk. Wilkinson II. 167. At the great Techu-festival at Dendera intoxication seems to have been as much commanded as at the festivals of Dionysus under the Ptolemies, one of whom (Ptolemy Dionysus) threatened those who remained sober with the punishment of death. But intoxication was in general looked upon by the Egyptians as a forbidden and despicable vice. In the Papyrus Anastasi IV. , for instance, we read these words on a drunkard: "Thou art as a sanctuary without a divinity, as a house without bread, " and further: "How careftilly should men avoid beer (hek). " A number of passages in the Papyrus denounce drunkards. ]

The women were carried home in gay litters by slaves with torches; andonly the highest military commanders, the Persian ambassadors and a fewofficials, especial friends of Amasis, remained behind. These wereretained by the master of the ceremonies, and conducted to a richly-ornamented saloon, where a gigantic wine-bowl standing on a table adornedin the Greek fashion, invited to a drinking-bout. 

Amasis was seated on a high arm-chair at the head of the table; at hisleft the youthful Bartja, at his right the aged Croesus. Besides theseand the other Persians, Theodorus and Ibykus, the friends of Polykrates, already known to us, and Aristomachus, now commander of the Greek body-guard, were among the king's guests. 

Amasis, whom we have just heard in such grave discourse with Croesus, nowindulged in jest and satire. He seemed once more the wild officer, thebold reveller of the olden days. 

His sparkling, clever jokes, at times playful, at times scornful, flewround among the revellers. The guests responded in loud, perhaps oftenartificial laughter, to their king's jokes, goblet after goblet wasemptied, and the rejoicings had reached their highest point, whensuddenly the master of the ceremonies appeared, bearing a small gildedmummy; and displaying it to the gaze of the assembly, exclaimed. "Drink, jest, and be merry, for all too soon ye shall become like unto this!"

 [Wilkinson gives drawings of these mummies (II. 410. ) hundreds of which were placed in the tombs, and have been preserved to us. Lucian was present at a banquet, when they were handed round. The Greeks seem to have adopted this custom, but with their usual talent for beautifying all they touched, substituted a winged figure of death for the mummy. Maxims similar to the following one are by no means rare. "Cast off all care; be mindful only of pleasure until the day cometh when then must depart on the journey, whose goal is the realm of silence!" Copied from the tomb of Neferhotep to Abd- el-Qurnah. ]

"Is it your custom thus to introduce death at all your banquets?" saidBartja, becoming serious, "or is this only a jest devised for to-day byyour master of the ceremonies?"

"Since the earliest ages, " answered Amasis, "it has been our custom todisplay these mummies at banquets, in order to increase the mirth of therevellers, by reminding them that one must enjoy the time while it ishere. Thou, young butterfly, hast still many a long and joyful yearbefore thee; but we, Croesus, we old men, must hold by this firmly. Fillthe goblets, cup-bearer, let not one moment of our lives be wasted! Thoucanst drink well, thou golden-haired Persian! Truly the great gods haveendowed thee not only with beautiful eyes, and blooming beauty, but witha good throat! Let me embrace thee, thou glorious youth, thou rogue!What thinkest thou Croesus? my daughter Tachot can speak of nothing elsethan of this beardless youth, who seems to have quite turned her littlehead with his sweet looks and words. Thou needest not to blush, youngmadcap! A man such as thou art, may well look at king's daughters; butwert thou thy father Cyrus himself, I could not allow my Tachot to leaveme for Persia!"

"Father!" whispered the crown-prince Psamtik, interrupting thisconversation. "Father, take care what you say, and remember Phanes. "The king turned a frowning glance on his son; but following his advice, took much less part in the conversation, which now became more general. 

The seat at the banquet-table, occupied by Aristomachus, placed himnearly opposite to Croesus, on whom, in total silence and without onceindulging in a smile at the king's jests, his eyes had been fixed fromthe beginning of the revel. When the Pharaoh ceased to speak, heaccosted Croesus suddenly with the following question: "I would know, Lydian, whether the snow still covered the mountains, when ye leftPersia. "

Smiling, and a little surprised at this strange speech, Croesus answered:"Most of the Persian mountains were green when we started for Egypt fourmonths ago; but there are heights in the land of Cambyses on which, evenin the hottest seasons, the snow never melts, and the glimmer of theirwhite crests we could still perceive, as we descended into the plains. "

The Spartan's face brightened visibly, and Croesus, attracted by thisserious, earnest man, asked his name. "My name is Aristomachus. "

"That name seems known to me. "

"You were acquainted with many Hellenes, and my name is common amongthem. "

"Your dialect would bespeak you my opinion a Spartan. "

"I was one once. "

"And now no more?"

"He who forsakes his native land without permission, is worthy of death. "

"Have you forsaken it with your own free-will?"

"Yes. "

"For what reason?"

"To escape dishonor. "

"What was your crime?"

"I had committed none. "

"You were accused unjustly?"

"Yes. "

"Who was the author of your ill-fortune?"

"Yourself. "

Croesus started from his seat. The serious tone and gloomy face ofthe Spartan proved that this was no jest, and those who sat near thespeakers, and had been following this strange dialogue, were alarmed andbegged Aristomachus to explain his words. 

He hesitated and seemed unwilling to speak; at last, however, at theking's summons, he began thus:

"In obedience to the oracle, you, Croesus, had chosen us Lacedaemonians, as the most powerful among the Hellenes, to be your allies against themight of Persia; and you gave us gold for the statue of Apollo on MountThornax. The ephori, on this, resolved to present you with a giganticbronze wine-bowl, richly wrought. I was chosen as bearer of this gift. Before reaching Sardis our ship was wrecked in a storm. The wine-cupsank with it, and we reached Samos with nothing but our lives. Onreturning home I was accused by enemies, and those who grudged my goodfortune, of having sold both ship and wine-vessel to the Samians. Asthey could not convict me of the crime, and had yet determined on myruin, I was sentenced to two days' and nights' exposure on the pillory. My foot was chained to it during the night; but before the morning ofdisgrace dawned, my brother brought me secretly a sword, that my honormight he saved, though at the expense of my life. But I could not diebefore revenging myself on the men who had worked my ruin; and therefore, cutting the manacled foot from my leg, I escaped, and hid in the rusheson the banks of the Furotas. My brother brought me food and drink insecret; and after two months I was able to walk on the wooden leg you nowsee. Apollo undertook my revenge; he never misses his mark, and my twoworst opponents died of the plague. Still I durst not return home, andat length took ship from Gythium to fight against the Persians under you, Croesus. On landing at Teos, I heard that you were king no longer, thatthe mighty Cyrus, the father of yonder beautiful youth, had conquered thepowerful province of Lydia in a few weeks, and reduced the richest ofkings to beggary. "

Every guest gazed at Aristomachus in admiration. Croesus shook his hardhand; and Bartja exclaimed: "Spartan, I would I could take you back withme to Susa, that my friends there might see what I have seen myself, themost courageous, the most honorable of men!"

"Believe me, boy, " returned Aristomachus smiling, every Spartan wouldhave done the same. In our country it needs more courage to be a cowardthan a brave man. "

"And you, Bartja, " cried Darius, the Persian king's cousin, "could youhave borne to stand at the pillory?" Bartja reddened, but it was easy tosee that he too preferred death to disgrace. 

"Zopyrus, what say you?" asked Darius of the third young Persian. 

"I could mutilate my own limbs for love of you two, " answered he, grasping unobserved the hands of his two friends. 

With an ironical smile Psamtik sat watching this scene--the pleased facesof Amasis, Croesus and Gyges, the meaning glances of the Egyptians, andthe contented looks with which Aristomachus gazed on the young heroes. 

Ibykus now told of the oracle which had promised Aristomachus a return tohis native land, on the approach of the men from the snowy mountains, andat the same time, mentioned the hospitable house of Rhodopis. 

On hearing this name Psamtik grew restless; Croesus expressed a wish toform the acquaintance of the Thracian matron, of whom AEsop had relatedso much that was praiseworthy; and, as the other guests, many of whom hadlost consciousness through excessive drinking, were leaving the hall, thedethroned monarch, the poet, the sculptor and the Spartan hero made anagreement to go to Naukratis the next day, and there enjoy theconversation of Rhodopis. 

CHAPTER VI. 

On the night following the banquet just described, Amasis allowed himselfonly three hours' rest. On this, as on every other morning, the youngpriests wakened him at the first cock-crow, conducted him as usual to thebath, arrayed him in the royal vestments and led him to the altar in thecourt of the palace, where in presence of the populace he offeredsacrifice. During the offering the priests sang prayers in a loud voice, enumerated the virtues of their king, and, that blame might in no caselight on the head of their ruler, made his bad advisers responsible forevery deadly sin committed in ignorance. 

They exhorted him to the performance of good deeds, while extolling hisvirtues; read aloud profitable portions of the holy writings, containingthe deeds and sayings of great men, and then conducted him to hisapartments, where letters and information from all parts of the kingdomawaited him. 

Amasis was in the habit of observing most faithfully these daily-repeatedceremonies and hours of work; the remaining portion of the day he spentas it pleased him, and generally in cheerful society. 

The priests reproached him with this, alleging that such a life was notsuited to a monarch; and on one occasion he had thus replied to theindignant high-priest: "Look at this bow! if always bent it must lose itspower, but, if used for half of each day and then allowed to rest, itwill remain strong and useful till the string breaks. "

Amasis had just signed his name to the last letter, granting the petitionof a Nornarch--[Administrator of a Province]--for money to carry ondifferent embankments rendered necessary by the last inundation, when aservant entered, bringing a request from the crown-prince Psamtik for anaudience of a few minutes. 

Amasis, who till this moment had been smiling cheerfully at the cheeringreports from all parts of the country, now became suddenly serious andthoughtful. After long delay he answered: "Go and inform the prince thathe may appear. "

Psamtik appeared, pale and gloomy as ever; he bowed low andreverentially, on entering his father's presence. 

Amasis nodded silently in return, and then asked abruptly and sternly:"What is thy desire? my time is limited. "

"For your son, more than for others, " replied the prince with quiveringlips. "Seven times have I petitioned for the great favor, which thougrantest for the first time to-day. "

"No reproaches! I suspect the reason of thy visit. Thou desirest ananswer to thy doubts as to the birth of thy sister Nitetis. "

"I have no curiosity; I come rather to warn thee, and to remind thee thatI am not the only one who is acquainted with this mystery. "

"Speakest thou of Phanes?"

"Of whom else should I speak? He is banished from Egypt and from his owncountry, and must leave Naukratis in a few days. What guarantee hastthou, that he will not betray us to the Persians?"

"The friendship and kindness which I have always shown him. "

"Dost thou believe in the gratitude of men?"

"No! but I rely on my own discernment of character. Phanes will notbetray us! he is my friend, I repeat it!"

"Thy friend perhaps, but my mortal enemy!"

"Then stand on thy guard! I have nothing to fear from him. "

"For thyself perhaps nought, but for our country! O father, reflect thatthough as thy son I may be hateful in thine eyes, yet as Egypt's future Iought to be near thy heart. Remember, that at thy death, which may thegods long avert, I shall represent the existence of this glorious land asthou dost now; my fall will be the ruin of thine house, of Egypt!"

Amasis became more and more serious, and Psamtik went on eagerly: "Thouknowest that I am right! Phanes can betray our land to any foreignenemy; he is as intimately acquainted with it as we are; and beside this, he possesses a secret, the knowledge of which would convert our mostpowerful ally into a most formidable enemy. "

"There thou art in error. Though not mine, Nitetis is a king's daughterand will know how to win the love of her husband. "

"Were she the daughter of a god, she could not save thee from Cambyses'wrath, if he discovers the treachery; lying is to a Persian the worst ofcrimes, to be deceived the greatest disgrace; thou hast deceived thehighest and proudest of the nation, and what can one inexperienced girlavail, when hundreds of women, deeply versed in intrigue and artifice, are striving for the favor of their lord?"

"Hatred and revenge are good masters in the art of rhetoric, " said Amasisin a cutting tone. "And think'st thou then, oh, foolish son, that Ishould have undertaken such a dangerous game without due consideration?Phanes may tell the Persians what he likes, he can never prove his point. I, the father, Ladice the mother must know best whether Nitetis is ourchild or not. We call her so, who dare aver the contrary? If it pleasePhanes to betray our land to any other enemy beside the Persians, lethim; I fear nothing! Thou wouldst have me ruin a man who has been myfriend, to whom I owe much gratitude, who has served me long andfaithfully; and this without offence from his side. Rather will Ishelter him from thy revenge, knowing as I do the impure source fromwhich it springs. "

"My father!"

"Thou desirest the ruin of this man, because he hindered thee from takingforcible possession of the granddaughter of Rhodopis, and because thineown incapacity moved me to place him in thy room as commander of thetroops. Ah! thou growest pale! Verily, I owe Phanes thanks forconfiding to me your vile intentions, and so enabling me to bind myfriends and supporters, to whom Rhodopis is precious, more firmly to mythrone. "

"And is it thus thou speakest of these strangers, my father? dost thouthus forget the ancient glory of Egypt? Despise me, if thou wilt; I knowthou lovest me not; but say not that to be great we need the help ofstrangers! Look back on our history! Were we not greatest when ourgates were closed to the stranger, when we depended on ourselves and ourown strength, and lived according to the ancient laws of our ancestorsand our gods? Those days beheld the most distant lands subjugated byRameses, and heard Egypt celebrated in the whole world as its first andgreatest nation. What are we now? The king himself calls beggars andforeigners the supporters of his throne, and devises a petty stratagem tosecure the friendship of a power over whom we were victorious before theNile was infested by these strangers. Egypt was then a mighty Queen inglorious apparel; she is now a painted woman decked out in tinsel!"

 [Rameses the Great, son of Sethos, reigned over Egypt 1394-1328 B. C. He was called Sesostris by the Greeks; see Lepsius (Chron. D. Aegypter, p. 538. ) on the manner in which this confusion of names arose. Egypt attained the zenith of her power under this king, whose army, according to Diodorus (I. 53-58). Consisted of 600, 000 foot and 24, 000 horsemen, 27, 000 chariots and 400 ships of war. With these hosts he subdued many of the Asiatic and African nations, carving his name and likeness, as trophies of victory, on the rocks of the conquered countries. Herodotus speaks of having seen two of these inscriptions himself (II. 102-106. ) and two are still to be found not far from Bairut. His conquests brought vast sums of tribute into Egypt. Tacitus annal. II. 60. And these enabled him to erect magnificent buildings in the whole length of his land from Nubia to Tanis, but more especially in Thebes, the city in which he resided. One of the obelisks erected by Rameses at Heliopolis is now standing in the Place de la Concorde at Paris, and has been lately translated by E. Chabas. On the walls of the yet remaining palaces and temples, built under this mighty king, we find, even to this day, thousands of pictures representing himself, his armed hosts, the many nations subdued by the power of his arms, and the divinities to whose favor he believed these victories were owing. Among the latter Ammon and Bast seem to have received his especial veneration, and, on the other hand, we read in these inscriptions that the gods were very willing to grant the wishes of their favorite. A poetical description of the wars he waged with the Cheta is to be found in long lines of hieroglyphics on the south wall of the hall of columns of Rameses II. At Karnal, also at Luxor and in the Sallier Papyrus, and an epic poem referring to his mighty deeds in no less than six different places. ]

"Have a care what thou sayest!" shouted Amasis stamping on the floor. "Egypt was never so great, so flourishing as now! Rameses carried ourarms into distant lands and earned blood; through my labors the productsof our industry have been carried to all parts of the world and insteadof blood, have brought us treasure and blessing. Rameses caused theblood and sweat of his subjects to flow in streams for the honor of hisown great name; under my rule their blood flows rarely, and the sweat oftheir brow only in works of usefulness. Every citizen can now end hisdays in prosperity and comfort. Ten thousand populous cities rise on theshores of the Nile, not a foot of the soil lies untilled, every childenjoys the protection of law and justice, and every ill-doer shuns thewatchful eye of the authorities. 

"In case of attack from without, have we not, as defenders of those god-given bulwarks, our cataracts, our sea and our deserts, the finest armythat ever bore arms? Thirty thousand Hellenes beside our entire Egyptianmilitary caste? such is the present condition of Egypt! Ramesespurchased the bright tinsel of empty fame with the blood and tears of hispeople. To me they are indebted for the pure gold of a peaceful welfareas citizens--to me and to my predecessors, the Saitic kings!"

 [The science of fortification was very fairly understood by the ancient Egyptians. Walled and battlemented forts are to be seen depicted on their monuments. We have already endeavored to show (see our work on Egypt. I. 78 and following) that, on the northeast, Egypt defended from Asiatic invasion by a line of forts extending from Pelusium to the Red Sea. ]

"And yet I tell thee, " cried the prince, "that a worm is gnawing at theroot of Egypt's greatness and her life. This struggle for riches andsplendor corrupts the hearts of the people, foreign luxury has given adeadly blow to the simple manners of our citizens, and many an Egyptianhas been taught by the Greeks to scoff at the gods of his fathers. Everyday brings news of bloody strife between the Greek mercenaries and ournative soldiery, between our own people and the strangers. The shepherdand his flock are at variance; the wheels of the state machinery aregrinding one another and thus the state itself, into total ruin. Thisonce, father, though never again, I must speak out clearly what isweighing on my heart. While engaged in contending with the priests, thouhast seen with calmness the young might of Persia roll on from the East, consuming the nations on its way, and, like a devouring monster, growingmore and more formidable from every fresh prey. Thine aid was not, asthou hadst intended, given to the Lydians and Babylonians against theenemy, but to the Greeks in the building of temples to their false gods. At last resistance seemed hopeless; a whole hemisphere with its rulerslay in submission at the feet of Persia; but even then the gods willedEgypt a chance of deliverance. Cambyses desired thy daughter inmarriage. Thou, however, too weak to sacrifice thine own flesh and bloodfor the good of all, hast substituted another maiden, not thine ownchild, as an offering to the mighty monarch; and at the same time, in thysoft-heartedness, wilt spare the life of a stranger in whose hand he thefortunes of this realm, and who will assuredly work its ruin; unlessindeed, worn out by internal dissension, it perish even sooner from itsown weakness!"

Thus far Amasis had listened to these revilings of all he held dearest insilence, though pale, and trembling with rage; but now he broke forth ina voice, the trumpet-like sound of which pealed through the wide hall:"Know'st thou not then, thou boasting and revengeful son of evil, thoufuture destroyer of this ancient and glorious kingdom, know'st thou notwhose life must be the sacrifice, were not my children, and the dynastywhich I have founded, dearer to me than the welfare of the whole realm?Thou, Psamtik, thou art the man, branded by the gods, feared by men--theman to whose heart love and friendship are strangers, whose face is neverseen to smile, nor his soul known to feel compassion! It is not, however, through thine own sin that thy nature is thus unblessed, thatall thine undertakings end unhappily. Give heed, for now I am forced torelate what I had hoped long to keep secret from thine ears. Afterdethroning my predecessor, I forced him to give me his sister Tentchetain marriage. She loved me; a year after marriage there was promise of achild. During the night preceding thy birth I fell asleep at the bedsideof my wife. I dreamed that she was lying on the shores of the Nile, andcomplained to me of pain in the breast. Bending down, I beheld acypress-tree springing from her heart. It grew larger and larger, blackand spreading, twined its roots around thy mother and strangled her. Acold shiver seized me, and I was on the point of flying from the spot, when a fierce hurricane came from the East, struck the tree and overthrewit, so that its spreading branches were cast into the Nile. Then thewaters ceased to flow; they congealed, and, in place of the river, agigantic mummy lay before me. The towns on its banks dwindled into hugefunereal urns, surrounding the vast corpse of the Nile as in a tomb. Atthis I awoke and caused the interpreters of dreams to be summoned. Nonecould explain the vision, till at last the priests of the Libyan Ammongave me the following interpretation 'Tentcheta will die in giving birthto a son. The cypress, which strangled its mother, is this gloomy, unhappy man. In his days a people shall come from the East and shallmake of the Nile, that is of the Egyptians, dead bodies, and of theircities ruinous heaps; these are the urns for the dead, which thousawest. "

Psamtik listened as if turned into stone; his father continued; "Thymother died in giving birth to thee; fiery-red hair, the mark of the sonsof Typhon, grew around thy brow; thou becam'st a gloomy man. Misfortunepursued thee and robbed thee of a beloved wife and four of thy children. The astrologers computed that even as I had been born under the fortunatesign of Amman, so thy birth had been watched over by the rise of theawful planet Seb. Thou . . . " But here Amasis broke off, for Psamtik, in the anguish produced by these fearful disclosures had given way, andwith sobs and groans, cried:

"Cease, cruel father! spare me at least the bitter words, that I am theonly son in Egypt who is hated by his father without cause!"

Amasis looked down on the wretched man who had sunk to the earth beforehim, his face hidden in the folds of his robe, and the father's wrath waschanged to compassion. He thought of Psamtik's mother, dead forty yearsbefore, and felt he had been cruel in inflicting this poisonous wound onher son's soul. It was the first time for years, that he had been ableto feel towards this cold strange man, as a father and a comforter. Forthe first time he saw tears in the cold eyes of his son, and could feelthe joy of wiping them away. He seized the opportunity at once, andbending clown over the groaning form, kissed his forehead, raised himfrom the ground and said gently:

"Forgive my anger, my son! the words that have grieved thee came not frommy heart, but were spoken in the haste of wrath. Many years hast thouangered me by thy coldness, hardness and obstinacy; to-day thou hastwounded me again in my most sacred feelings; this hurried me into anexcess of wrath. But now all is right between us. Our natures are sodiverse that our innermost feelings will never be one, but at least wecan act in concert for the future, and show forbearance one towards theother. "

In silence Psamtik bowed down and kissed his father's robe "Not so, "exclaimed the latter; "rather let my lips receive thy kiss, as is meetand fitting between father and son! Thou needest not to think again ofthe evil dream I have related. Dreams are phantoms, and even if sent bythe gods, the interpreters thereof are human and erring. Thy handtrembles still, thy cheeks are white as thy robe. I was hard towardsthee, harder than a father. . . . "

"Harder than a stranger to strangers, " interrupted his son. "Thou hastcrushed and broken me, and if till now my face has seldom worn a smile, from this day forward it can be naught but a mirror of my inward misery. "

"Not so, " said Amasis, laying his hand on his son's shoulder. "If Iwound, I can also heal. Tell me the dearest wish of thy heart, it shallbe granted thee!"

Psamtik's eyes flashed, his sallow cheeks glowed for a moment, and heanswered without consideration, though in a voice still trembling fromthe shock he had just received: "Deliver Phanes, my enemy, into mypower!"

The king remained a few moments in deep thought, then answered: "I knewwhat thou wouldst ask, and will fulfil thy desire: but I would ratherthou hadst asked the half of my treasures. A thousand voices within warnme that I am about to do an unworthy deed and a ruinous--ruinous formyself, for thee, the kingdom and our house. Reflect before acting, andremember, whatever thou mayst meditate against Phanes, not a hair ofRhodopis' head shall be touched. Also, that the persecution of my poorfriend is to remain a secret from the Greeks. Where shall I find hisequal as a commander, an adviser and a companion? He is not yet in thypower, however, and I advise thee to remember, that though thou mayst beclever for an Egyptian, Phanes is a clever Greek. I will remind theetoo of thy solemn oath to renounce the grandchild of Rhodopis. Methinksvengeance is dearer to thee than love, and the amends I offer willtherefore be acceptable! As to Egypt, I repeat once again, she was nevermore flourishing than now; a fact which none dream of disputing, exceptthe priests, and those who retail their foolish words. And now give ear, if thou wouldst know the origin of Nitetis. Self-interest will enjoinsecrecy. "

Psamtik listened eagerly to his father's communication, indicating hisgratitude at the conclusion by a warm pressure of the hand. 

"Now farewell, " said Amasis. "Forget not my words, and above all shedno blood! I will know nothing of what happens to Phanes, for I hatecruelty and would not be forced to stand in horror of my own son. Butthou, thou rejoicest! My poor Athenian, better were it for thee, hadstthou never entered Egypt!"

Long after Psamtik had left, his father continued to pace the hall indeep thought. He was sorry he had yielded; it already seemed as if hesaw the bleeding Phanes lying massacred by the side of the dethronedHophra. "It is true, he could have worked our ruin, " was the plea heoffered to the accuser within his own breast, and with these words, heraised his head, called his servants and left the apartment with asmiling countenance. 

Had this sanguine man, this favorite of fortune, thus speedily quietedthe warning voice within, or was he strong enough to cloak his torturewith a smile?

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

Avoid excessive joy as well as complaining griefCast off all care; be mindful only of pleasureCreed which views life as a short pilgrimage to the graveDoes happiness consist then in possessionHappiness has nothing to do with our outward circumstancesIn our country it needs more courage to be a cowardObserve a due proportion in all thingsOne must enjoy the time while it is herePilgrimage to the grave, and death as the only true lifeRobes cut as to leave the right breast uncoveredThe priests are my opponents, my mastersTime is clever in the healing artWe live for life, not for death