CHAPTER III
The tent was
cosily pitched beneath a tree where the gurgle of the stream was constantly in
ear. Overhead the broad leaves hung motionless on their stems; the delicate
reed-stalks off in the pearly haze stood up arrowy-straight; occasionally a
home-returning bee shot humming athwart the shade, and a partridge creeping
from the sedge drank, whistled to his mate, and ran away. The restfulness of
the vale, the freshness of the air, the garden beauty, the Sabbath stillness,
seemed to have affected the spirits of the elder Egyptian; his voice, gestures,
and whole manner were unusually gentle; and often as he bent his eyes upon
Ben-Hur conversing with Iras, they softened with pity.
"When we
overtook you, son of Hur," he said, at the conclusion of the repast,
"it seemed your face was also turned towards Jerusalem. May I ask, without
offence, if you are going so far?"
"I am going
to the Holy City."
"For the
great need I have to spare myself prolonged toil, I will further ask you, Is
there a shorter road than that by Rabbath-Ammon?"
"A rougher
route, but shorter, lies by Gerasa and Rabbath-Gilead. It is the one I design
taking."
"I am
impatient," said Balthasar. "Latterly my sleep has been visited by
dreams - or rather by the same dream in repetition. A voice - it is nothing
more - comes and tells me, 'Haste - arise! He whom thou hast so long awaited is
at hand.'"
"You mean he
that is to be King of the Jews?" Ben-Hur asked, gazing at the Egyptian in
wonder.
"Even
so."
"Then you
have heard nothing of him?"
"Nothing,
except the words of the voice in the dream."
"Here, then,
are tidings to make you glad as they made me."
From his gown
Ben-Hur drew the letter received from Malluch. The hand the Egyptian held out
trembled violently. He read aloud, and as he read his feelings increased; the
limp veins in his neck swelled and throbbed. At the conclusion he raised his
suffused eyes in thanksgiving and prayer. He asked no questions, yet had no
doubts.
"Thou hast
been very good to me, O God," he said. "Give me, I pray thee, to see
the Saviour again, and worship him, and thy servant will be ready to go in
peace."
The words, the
manner, the singular personality of the simple prayer, touched Ben-Hur with a
sensation new and abiding. God never seemed so actual and so near by; it was as
if he were there bending over them or sitting at their side - a Friend whose
favors were to be had by the most unceremonious asking - a Father to whom all
his children were alike in love - Father, not more of the Jew than of the
Gentile - the Universal Father, who needed no intermediates, no rabbis, no
priests, no teachers. The idea that such a God might send mankind a Saviour
instead of a king appeared to Ben-Hur in a light not merely new, but so plain
that he could almost discern both the greater want of such a gift and its
greater consistency with the nature of such a Deity. So he could not resist
asking,
"Now that he
has come, O Balthasar, you still think he is to be a Saviour, and not a
king?"
Balthasar gave
him a look thoughtful as it was tender.
"How shall I
understand you?" he asked, in return. "The Spirit, which was the Star
that was my guide of old, has not appeared to me since I met you in the tent of
the good sheik; that is to say, I have not seen or heard it as formerly. I
believe the voice that spoke to me in my dreams was it; but other than that I
have no revelation."
"I will
recall the difference between us," said Ben-Hur, with deference. "You
were of opinion that he would be a king, but not as Caesar is; you thought his
sovereignty would be spiritual, not of the world."
"Oh
yes," the Egyptian answered; "and I am of the same opinion now. I see
the divergence in our faith. You are going to meet a king of men, I a Saviour
of souls."
He paused with
the look often seen when people are struggling, with introverted effort, to
disentangle a thought which is either too high for quick discernment or too
subtle for simple expression.
"Let me try,
O son of Hur," he said, directly, "and help you to a clear
understanding of my belief; then it may be, seeing how the spiritual kingdom I
expect him to set up can be more excellent in every sense than anything of mere
Caesarean splendor, you will better understand the reason of the interest I
take in the mysterious person we are going to welcome.
"I cannot
tell you when the idea of a Soul in every man had its origin. Most likely the
first parents brought it with them out of the garden in which they had their
first dwelling. We all do know, however, that it has never perished entirely
out of mind. By some peoples it was lost, but not by all; in some ages it
dulled and faded, in others it was overwhelmed with doubts; but, in great
goodness, God kept sending us at intervals mighty intellects to argue it back
to faith and hope.
"Why should
there be a Soul in every man? Look, O son of Hur - for one moment look at the
necessity of such a device. To lie down and die, and be no more - no more
forever - time never was when man wished for such an end; nor has the man ever
been who did not in his heart promise himself something better. The monuments
of the nations are all protests against nothingness after death; so are statues
and inscriptions; so is history. The greatest of our Egyptian kings had his
effigy cut-out of a hill of solid rock. Day after day he went with a host in
chariots to see the work; at last it was finished, never effigy so grand, so
enduring: it looked like him - the features were his, faithful even in
expression. Now may we not think of him saying in that moment of pride, 'Let
Death come; there is an after-life for me!' He had his wish. The statue is
there yet.
"But what is
the after-life he thus secured? Only a recollection by men - a glory
unsubstantial as moonshine on the brow of the great bust; a story in stone -
nothing more. Meantime what has become of the king? There is an embalmed body
up in the royal tombs which once was his - an effigy not so fair to look at as
the other out in the Desert. But where, O son of Hur, where is the king himself?
Is he fallen into nothingness? Two thousand years have gone since he was a man
alive as you and I are. Was his last breath the end of him?
"To say yes
would be to accuse God; let us rather accept his better plan of attaining life
after death for us - actual life, I mean - the something more than a place in
mortal memory; life with going and coming, with sensation, with knowledge, with
power and all appreciation; life eternal in term though it may be with changes
of condition.
"Ask you
what God's plan is? The gift of a Soul to each of us at birth, with this simple
law - there shall be no immortality except through the Soul. In that law see
the necessity of which I spoke.
"Let us turn
from the necessity now. A word as to the pleasure there is in the thought of a
Soul in each of us. In the first place, it robs death of its terrors by making
dying a change for the better, and burial but the planting of a seed from which
there will spring a new life. In the next place, behold me as I am - weak,
weary, old, shrunken in body, and graceless; look at my wrinkled face, think of
my failing senses, listen to my shrilled voice. Ah! what happiness to me in the
promise that when the tomb opens, as soon it will, to receive the worn-out husk
I call myself, the now viewless doors of the universe, which is but the palace
of God, will swing wide ajar to receive me, a liberated immortal Soul!
"I would I
could tell the ecstasy there must be in that life to come! Do not say I know
nothing about it. This much I know, and it is enough for me - the being a Soul
implies conditions of divine superiority. In such a being there is no dust, nor
any gross thing; it must be finer than air, more impalpable than light, purer
than essence - it is life in absolute purity.
"What now, O
son of Hur? Knowing so much, shall I dispute with myself or you about the
unnecessaries - about the form of my soul? Or where it is to abide? Or whether
it eats and drinks? Or is winged, or wears this or that? No. It is more
becoming to trust in God. The beautiful in this world is all from his hand
declaring the perfection of taste; he is the author of all form; he clothes the
lily, he colors the rose, he distils the dew-drop, he makes the music of
nature; in a word, he organized us for this life, and imposed its conditions;
and they are such guaranty to me that, trustful as a little child, I leave to
him the organization of my Soul, and every arrangement for the life after
death. I know he loves me."
The good man
stopped and drank, and the hand carrying the cup to his lips trembled; and both
Iras and Ben-Hur shared his emotion and remained silent. Upon the latter a
light was breaking. He was beginning to see, as never before, that there might
be a spiritual kingdom of more import to men than any earthly empire; and that
after all a Saviour would indeed be a more godly gift than the greatest king.
"I might ask
you now," said Balthasar, continuing, "whether this human life, so
troubled and brief, is preferable to the perfect and everlasting life designed
for the Soul? But take the question, and think of it for yourself, formulating
thus: Supposing both to be equally happy, is one hour more desirable than one
year? From that then advance to the final inquiry, what are threescore and ten
years on earth to all eternity with God? By-and-by, son of Hur, thinking in
such manner, you will be filled with the meaning of the fact I present you
next, to me the most amazing of all events, and in its effects the most
sorrowful; it is that the very idea of life as a Soul is a light almost gone
out in the world. Here and there, to be sure, a philosopher may be found who
will talk to you of a Soul, likening it to a principle; but because
philosophers take nothing upon faith, they will not go the length of admitting
a Soul to be a being, and on that account its purpose is compressed darkness to
them.
"Everything
animate has a mind measurable by its wants. Is there to you no meaning in the
singularity that power in full degree to speculate upon the future was given to
man alone? By the sign as I see it, God meant to make us know ourselves created
for another and a better life, such being in fact the greatest need of our
nature. But, alas! into what a habit the nations have fallen! They live for the
day, as if the present were the all in all, and go about saying, 'There is no
to-morrow after death; or if there be, since we know nothing about it, be it a
care unto itself.' So when Death calls them, 'Come,' they may not enter into
enjoyment of the glorious after-life because of their unfitness. That is to
say, the ultimate happiness of man was everlasting life in the society of God.
Alas, O son of Hur, that I should say it! but as well yon sleeping camel
constant in such society as the holiest priests this day serving the highest altars
in the most renowned temples. So much are men given to this lower earthly life!
So nearly have they forgotten that other which is to come!
"See now, I
pray you, that which is to be saved to us.
"For my
part, speaking with the holiness of truth, I would not give one hour of life as
a Soul for a thousand years of life as a man."
Here the Egyptian
seemed to become unconscious of companionship and fall away into abstraction.
"This life
has its problems," he said, "and there are men who spend their days trying
to solve them; but what are they to the problems of the hereafter? What is
there like knowing God? Not a scroll of the mysteries, but the mysteries
themselves would for that hour at least lie before me revealed; even the
innermost and most awful - the power which now we shrink from thought of -
which rimmed the void with shores, and lighted the darkness, and out of nothing
appointed the universe. All places would be opened. I would be filled with
divine knowledge; I would see all glories, taste all delights; I would revel in
being. And if, at the end of the hour, it should please God to tell me, 'I take
thee into my service forever,' the furthest limit of desire would be passed;
after which the attainable ambitions of life, and its joys of whatever kind,
would not be so much as the tinkling of little bells."
Balthasar paused
as if to recover from very ecstasy of feeling; and to Ben-Hur it seemed the
speech had been the delivery of a Soul speaking for itself.
"I pray
pardon, son of Hur," the good man continued, with a bow the gravity of
which was relieved by the tender look that followed it, "I meant to leave
the life of a Soul, its conditions, pleasures, superiority, to your own
reflection and finding out. The joy of the thought has betrayed me into much
speech. I set out to show, though ever so faintly, the reason of my faith. It
grieves me that words are so weak. But help yourself to truth. Consider first
the excellence of the existence which was reserved for us after death, and give
heed to the feelings and impulses the thought is sure to awaken in you - heed
them, I say, because they are your own Soul astir, doing what it can to urge
you in the right way. Consider next that the afterlife has become so obscured
as to justify calling it a lost light. If you find it, rejoice, O son of Hur -
rejoice as I do, though in beggary of words. For then, besides the great gift
which is to be saved to us, you will have found the need of a Saviour so
infinitely greater than the need of a king; and he we are going to meet will
not longer hold place in your hope a warrior with a sword or a monarch with a
crown.
"A practical
question presents itself - How shall we know him at sight? If you continue in
your belief as to his character - that he is to be a king as Herod was - of
course you will keep on until you meet a man clothed in purple and with a
sceptre. On the other hand, he I look for will be one poor, humble,
undistinguished - a man in appearance as other men; and the sign by which I
will know him will be never so simple. He will offer to show me and all mankind
the way to the eternal life; the beautiful pure Life of the Soul."
The company sat a
moment in silence which was broken by Balthasar.
"Let us
arise now," he said -”let us arise and set forward again. What I have said
has caused a return of impatience to see him who is ever in my thought; and if
I seem to hurry you, O son of Hur - and you, my daughter - be that my
excuse."
At his signal the
slave brought them wine in a skin bottle; and they poured and drank, and
shaking the lap-cloths out arose.
While the slave
restored the tent and wares to the box under the houdah, and the Arab brought
up the horses, the three principals laved themselves in the pool.
In a little while
they were retracing their steps back through the wady, intending to overtake
the caravan if it had passed them by.
CHAPTER IV
The caravan,
stretched out upon the Desert, was very picturesque; in motion, however, it was
like a lazy serpent. By-and-by its stubborn dragging became intolerably irksome
to Balthasar, patient as he was; so, at his suggestion, the party determined to
go on by themselves.
If the reader be
young, or if he has yet a sympathetic recollection of the romanticisms of his
youth, he will relish the pleasure with which Ben-Hur, riding near the camel of
the Egyptians, gave a last look at the head of the straggling column almost out
of sight on the shimmering plain.
To be definite as
may be, and perfectly confidential, Ben-Hur found a certain charm in Iras's
presence. If she looked down upon him from her high place, he made haste to get
near her; if she spoke to him, his heart beat out of its usual time. The desire
to be agreeable to her was a constant impulse. Objects on the way, though ever
so common, became interesting the moment she called attention to them; a black
swallow in the air pursued by her pointing finger went off in a halo; if a bit
of quartz or a flake of mica was seen to sparkle in the drab sand under kissing
of the sun, at a word he turned aside and brought it to her; and if she threw
it away in disappointment, far from thinking of the trouble he had been put to,
he was sorry it proved so worthless, and kept a lookout for something better -
a ruby, perchance a diamond. So the purple of the far mountains became
intensely deep and rich if she distinguished it with an exclamation of praise;
and when, now and then, the curtain of the houdah fell down, it seemed a sudden
dulness had dropped from the sky bedraggling all the landscape. Thus disposed,
yielding to the sweet influence, what shall save him from the dangers there are
in days of the close companionship with the fair Egyptian incident to the
solitary journey they were entered upon?
For that there is
no logic in love, nor the least mathematical element, it is simply natural that
she shall fashion the result who has the wielding of the influence.
To quicken the
conclusion, there were signs, too, that she well knew the influence she was
exercising over him. From some place under hand she had since morning drawn a
caul of golden coins, and adjusted it so the gleaming strings fell over her
forehead and upon her cheeks, blending lustrously with the flowing of her
blue-black hair. From the same safe deposit she had also produced articles of
jewelry - rings for finger and ear, bracelets, a necklace of pearls - also, a
shawl embroidered with threads of fine gold - the effect of all which she
softened with a scarf of Indian lace skillfully folded about her throat and
shoulders. And so arrayed, she plied Ben-Hur with countless coquetries of
speech and manner; showering him with smiles; laughing in flute-like tremolo -
and all the while following him with glances, now melting-tender, now
sparkling-bright. By such play Antony was weaned from his glory; yet she who
wrought his ruin was really not half so beautiful as this her countrywoman.
And so to them
the nooning came, and the evening.
The sun at its
going down behind a spur of the old Bashan, left the party halted by a pool of
clear water of the rains out in the Abilene Desert. There the tent was pitched,
the supper eaten, and preparations made for the night.
The second watch
was Ben-Hur's; and he was standing, spear in hand, within arm-reach of the
dozing camel, looking awhile at the stars, then over the veiled land. The
stillness was intense; only after long spells a warm breath of wind would sough
past, but without disturbing him, for yet in thought he entertained the
Egyptian, recounting her charms, and sometimes debating how she came by his
secrets, the uses she might make of them, and the course he should pursue with
her. And through all the debate Love stood off but a little way - a strong
temptation, the stronger of a gleam of policy behind. At the very moment he was
most inclined to yield to the allurement, a hand very fair even in the moonless
gloaming was laid softly upon his shoulder. The touch thrilled him; he started,
turned - and she was there.
"I thought
you asleep," he said, presently.
"Sleep is
for old people and little children, and I came out to look at my friends, the
stars in the south - those now holding the curtains of midnight over the Nile.
But confess yourself surprised!"
He took the hand
which had fallen from his shoulder, and said, "Well, was it by an
enemy?"
"Oh no! To
be an enemy is to hate, and hating is a sickness which Isis will not suffer to
come near me. She kissed me, you should know, on the heart when I was a
child."
"Your speech
does not sound in the least like your father's. Are you not of his faith?"
"I might
have been" - and she laughed low -”I might have been had I seen what he
has. I may be when I get old like him. There should be no religion for youth,
only poetry and philosophy; and no poetry except such as is the inspiration of
wine and mirth and love, and no philosophy that does not nod excuse for follies
which cannot outlive a season. My father's God is too awful for me. I failed to
find him in the Grove of Daphne. He was never heard of as present in the atria
of Rome. But, son of Hur, I have a wish."
"A wish!
Where is he who could say it no?"
"I will try
you."
"Tell it
then."
"It is very
simple. I wish to help you."
She drew closer
as she spoke.
He laughed, and
replied, lightly, "O Egypt! - I came near saying dear Egypt! - does not
the sphinx abide in your country?"
"Well?"
"You are one
of its riddles. Be merciful, and give me a little clew to help me understand
you. In what do I need help? And how can you help me?"
She took her hand
from him, and, turning to the camel, spoke to it endearingly, and patted its
monstrous head as it were a thing of beauty.
"O thou last
and swiftest and stateliest of the herds of Job! Sometimes thou, too, goest
stumbling, because the way is rough and stony and the burden grievous. How is
it thou knowest the kind intent by a word; and always makest answer gratefully,
though the help offered is from a woman? I will kiss thee, thou royal
brute!" - she stooped and touched its broad forehead with her lips, saying
immediately, "because in thy intelligence there is no suspicion!"
And Ben-Hur,
restraining himself, said calmly, "The reproach has not failed its mark, O
Egypt! I seem to say thee no; may it not be because I am under seal of honor,
and by my silence cover the lives and fortunes of others?"
"May
be!" she said, quickly. "It is so."
He shrank a step,
and asked, his voice sharp with amazement, "What all knowest thou?"
She answered,
after a laugh,
"Why do men
deny that the senses of women are sharper than theirs? Your face has been under
my eyes all day. I had but to look at it to see you bore some weight in mind;
and to find the weight, what had I to do more than recall your debates with my
father? Son of Hur!" - she lowered her voice with singular dexterity, and,
going nearer, spoke so her breath was warm upon his cheek -”son of Hur! he thou
art going to find is to be King of the Jews, is he not?"
His heart beat
fast and hard.
"A King of
the Jews like Herod, only greater," she continued.
He looked away -
into the night, up to the stars; then his eyes met hers, and lingered there;
and her breath was on his lips, so near was she.
"Since
morning," she said, further, "we have been having visions. Now if I
tell you mine, will you serve me as well? What! silent still?"
She pushed his
hand away, and turned as if to go; but he caught her, and said, eagerly,
"Stay - stay and speak!"
She went back,
and with her hand upon his shoulder, leaned against him; and he put his arm
around her, and drew her close, very close; and in the caress was the promise
she asked.
"Speak, and
tell me thy visions, O Egypt, dear Egypt! A prophet - nay, not the Tishbite,
not even the Lawgiver - could have refused an asking of thine. I am at thy
will. Be merciful - merciful, I pray."
The entreaty
passed apparently unheard, for looking up and nestling in his embrace, she
said, slowly, "The vision which followed me was of magnificent war - war
on land and sea - with clashing of arms and rush of armies, as if Caesar and
Pompey were come again, and Octavius and Antony. A cloud of dust and ashes
arose and covered the world, and Rome was not any more; all dominion returned
to the East; out of the cloud issued another race of heroes; and there were
vaster satrapies and brighter crowns for giving away than were ever known. And,
son of Hur, while the vision was passing, and after it was gone, I kept asking
myself, 'What shall he not have who served the King earliest and best?'"
Again Ben-Hur
recoiled. The question was the very question which had been with him all day.
Presently he fancied he had the clew he wanted.
"So,"
he said, "I have you now. The satrapies and crowns are the things to which
you would help me. I see, I see! And there never was such queen as you would
be, so shrewd, so beautiful, so royal - never! But, alas, dear Egypt! by the
vision as you show it me the prizes are all of war, and you are but a woman,
though Isis did kiss you on the heart. And crowns are starry gifts beyond your
power of help, unless, indeed, you have a way to them more certain than that of
the sword. If so, O Egypt, Egypt, show it me, and I will walk in it, if only
for your sake."
She removed his
arm, and said, "Spread your cloak upon the sand - here, so I can rest
against the camel. I will sit, and tell you a story which came down the Nile to
Alexandria, where I had it."
He did as she
said, first planting the spear in the ground near by.
"And what
shall I do?" he said, ruefully, when she was seated. "In Alexandria
is it customary for the listeners to sit or stand?"
From the
comfortable place against the old domestic she answered, laughing, "The
audiences of story-tellers are wilful, and sometimes they do as they
please."
Without more ado
he stretched himself upon the sand, and put her arm about his neck.
"I am
ready," he said.
And directly she
began:
HOW
THE BEAUTIFUL CAME TO THE EARTH.
"You must know, in the first place, that Isis
was - and, for that matter, she may yet be - the most beautiful of deities; and
Osiris, her husband, though wise and powerful, was sometimes stung with
jealousy of her, for only in their loves are the gods like mortals.
"The palace
of the Divine Wife was of silver, crowning the tallest mountain in the moon,
and thence she passed often to the sun, in the heart of which, a source of
eternal light, Osiris kept his palace of gold too shining for men to look at.
"One time -
there are no days with the gods - while she was full pleasantly with him on the
roof of the golden palace, she chanced to look, and afar, just on the line of
the universe, saw Indra passing with an army of simians, all borne upon the
backs of flying eagles. He, the Friend of Living Things - so with much love is
Indra called - was returning from his final war with the hideous Rakshakas -
returning victorious; and in his suite were Rama, the hero, and Sita, his
bride, who, next to Isis herself, was the very most beautiful. And Isis arose,
and took off her girdle of stars, and waved it to Sita - to Sita, mind you -
waved it in glad salute. And instantly, between the marching host and the two
on the golden roof, a something as of night fell, and shut out the view; but it
was not night - only the frown of Osiris.
"It happened
the subject of his speech that moment was such as none else than they could
think of; and he arose, and said, majestically, 'Get thee home. I will do the
work myself. To make a perfectly happy being I do not need thy help. Get thee
gone.'
"Now Isis
had eyes large as those of the white cow which in the temple eats sweet grasses
from the hands of the faithful even while they say their prayers; and her eyes
were the color of the cows, and quite as tender. And she too arose and said,
smiling as she spoke, so her look was little more than the glow of the moon in
the hazy harvest-month, 'Farewell, good my lord. You will call me presently, I
know; for without me you cannot make the perfectly happy creature of which you
were thinking, any more' - and she stopped to laugh, knowing well the truth of
the saying - 'any more, my lord, than you yourself can be perfectly happy
without me.'
"'We will
see,' he said.
"And she
went her way, and took her needles and her chair, and on the roof of the silver
palace sat watching and knitting.
"And the
will of Osiris, at labor in his mighty breast, was as the sound of the mills of
all the other gods grinding at once, so loud that the near stars rattled like
seeds in a parched pod; and some dropped out and were lost. And while the sound
kept on she waited and knit; nor lost she ever a stitch the while.
"Soon a spot
appeared in the space over towards the sun; and it grew until it was great as
the moon, and then she knew a world was intended; but when, growing and
growing, at last it cast her planet in the shade, all save the little point
lighted by her presence, she knew how very angry he was; yet she knit away,
assured that the end would be as she had said.
"And so came
the earth, at first but a cold gray mass hanging listless in the hollow void.
Later she saw it separate into divisions; here a plain, there a mountain,
yonder a sea, all as yet without a sparkle. And then, by a river-bank, something
moved; and she stopped her knitting for wonder. The something arose, and lifted
its hands to the sun in sign of knowledge whence it had its being. And this
First Man was beautiful to see. And about him were the creations we call nature
- the grass, the trees, birds, beasts, even the insects and reptiles.
"And for a
time the man went about happy in his life: it was easy to see how happy he was.
And in the lull of the sound of the laboring will Isis heard a scornful laugh,
and presently the words, blown across from the sun,
"'Thy help,
indeed! Behold a creature perfectly happy!'
"And Isis
fell to knitting again, for she was patient as Osiris was strong; and if he
could work, she could wait; and wait she did, knowing that mere life is not
enough to keep anything content.
"And sure
enough. Not long until the Divine Wife could see a change in the man. He grew
listless, and kept to one place prone by the river, and looked up but seldom,
and then always with a moody face. Interest was dying in him. And when she made
sure of it, even while she was saying to herself, 'The creature is sick of his
being,' there was a roar of the creative will at work again, and in a twinkling
the earth, theretofore all a thing of coldest gray, flamed with colors; the
mountains swam in purple, the plains bearing grass and trees turned green, the
sea blue, and the clouds varied infinitely."
And the man
sprang up and clapped his hands, for he was cured and happy again.
"And Isis
smiled, and knit away, saying to herself, 'It was well thought, and will do a
little while; but mere beauty in a world is not enough for such a being. My
lord must try again.'
"With the
last word, the thunder of the will at work shook the moon, and, looking, Isis
dropped her knitting and clapped her hands; for theretofore everything on the
earth but the man had been fixed to a given place; now all living, and much
that was not living, received the gift of Motion. The birds took to wing
joyously; beasts great and small went about, each in its way; the trees shook
their verdurous branches, nodding to the enamoured winds; the rivers ran to the
seas, and the seas tossed in their beds and rolled in crested waves, and with
surging and ebbing painted the shores with glistening foam; and over all the
clouds floated like sailed ships unanchored.
"And the man
rose up happy as a child; whereat Osiris was pleased, so that he shouted, 'Ha,
ha! See how well I am doing without thee!'
"The good
wife took up her work, and answered ever so quietly, 'It was well thought, my
lord - ever so well thought - and will serve awhile.'
"And as
before, so again. The sight of things in motion became to the man as of course.
The birds in flight, the rivers running, the seas in tumult of action, ceased
to amuse him, and he pined again even worse.
"And Isis
waited, saying to herself, 'Poor creature! He is more wretched than ever.'
"And, as if
he heard the thought, Osiris stirred, and the noise of his will shook the
universe; the sun in its central seat alone stood firm. And Isis looked, but
saw no change; then while she was smiling, assured that her lord's last
invention was sped, suddenly the creature arose, and seemed to listen; and his
face brightened, and he clapped his hands for joy, for Sounds were heard the
first time on earth - sounds dissonant, sounds harmonious. The winds murmured
in the trees; the birds sang, each kind a song of its own, or chattered in
speech; the rivulets running to the rivers became so many harpers with harps of
silver strings all tinkling together; and the rivers running to the seas surged
on in solemn accord, while the seas beat the land to a tune of thunder. There
was music, music everywhere, and all the time; so the man could not but be
happy.
"Then Isis
mused, thinking how well, how wondrous well, her lord was doing; but presently
she shook her head: Color, Motion, Sound - and she repeated them slowly - there
was no element else of beauty except Form and Light, and to them the earth had
been born. Now, indeed, Osiris was done; and if the creature should again fall
off into wretchedness, her help must be asked; and her fingers flew - two,
three, five, even ten stitches she took at once.
"And the man
was happy a long time - longer than ever before; it seemed, indeed, he would
never tire again. But Isis knew better; and she waited and waited, nor minded
the many laughs flung at her from the sun; she waited and waited, and at last
saw signs of the end. Sounds became familiar to him, and in their range, from
the chirruping of the cricket under the roses to the roar of the seas and the
bellow of the clouds in storm, there was not anything unusual. And he pined and
sickened, and sought his place of moping by the river, and at last fell down
motionless.
"Then Isis
in pity spoke.
"'My lord,'
she said, 'the creature is dying.'
"But Osiris,
though seeing it all, held his peace; he could do no more.
"'Shall I
help him?' she asked.
"Osiris was
too proud to speak.
"Then Isis
took the last stitch in her knitting, and gathering her work in a roll of
brilliance flung it off - flung it so it fell close to the man. And he, hearing
the sound of the fall so near by, looked up, and lo! a Woman - the First Woman
- was stooping to help him! She reached a hand to him; he caught it and arose;
and nevermore was miserable, but evermore happy."
"Such, O son
of Hur! is the genesis of the beautiful, as they tell it on the Nile."
She paused.
"A pretty
invention, and cunning," he said, directly; "but it is imperfect.
What did Osiris afterwards?"
"Oh
yes," she replied. "He called the Divine Wife back to the sun, and
they went on all pleasantly together, each helping the other."
"And shall I
not do as the first man?"
He carried the
hand resting upon his neck to his lips. "In love - in love!" he said.
His head dropped
softly into her lap.
"You will
find the King," she said, placing her other hand caressingly upon his
head. "You will go on and find the King and serve him. With your sword you
will earn his richest gifts; and his best soldier will be my hero."
He turned his
face, and saw hers close above. In all the sky there was that moment nothing so
bright to him as her eyes, enshadowed though they were. Presently he sat up,
and put his arms about her, and kissed her passionately, saying, "O Egypt,
Egypt! If the King has crowns in gift, one shall be mine; and I will bring it
and put it here over the place my lips have marked. You shall be a queen - my
queen - no one more beautiful! And we will be ever, ever so happy!"
"And you
will tell me everything, and let me help you in all?" she said, kissing
him in return.
The question
chilled his fervor.
"Is it not
enough that I love you?" he asked.
"Perfect
love means perfect faith," she replied. "But never mind - you will
know me better."
She took her hand
from him and arose.
"You are
cruel," he said.
Moving away, she
stopped by the camel, and touched its front face with her lips.
"O thou
noblest of thy kind! - that, because there is no suspicion in thy love."
An instant, and
she was gone.
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