"Impossible!" said he. "Impossible! Has any one cast a spell over that young man? Perhaps the Phnician priestess, whom he stole from the temple."

This consideration seemed to Mentezufis so apposite that he looked at Mefres. But the angry high priest would not be turned aside for an instant.

"Let us see," said he. "But first we must investigate and learn what the prince was doing day by day, after his return from the temple of Hator. He had too much freedom, too many relations with unbelievers and with enemies of Egypt. But thou wilt help us, worthy Sem."

Because of this decision, the high priest Sem ordered to summon for the following day a solemn service at the temple of Ptah.

So they stationed on squares and at street corners, even in the fields, heralds of the priests, and called all the people with flutes and trumpets.

And when a sufficient number of hearers had a.s.sembled, they informed them that in the temple of Ptah there would be prayers and processions during three days, to the intent that the good G.o.d would bless Egyptian arms and crush Libyans; that he would send down on their leader, Musawasa, leprosy, insanity, and blindness.

As the priests wished, so was it done. From morning till late at night common people of every occupation crowded around the temple; the aristocracy and the wealthy citizens a.s.sembled in the forecourt; while the priests of the city and of the neighboring provinces made sacrifices to Ptah and repeated prayers in the most holy chapel.

Thrice daily did a solemn procession issue forth, carrying in a golden boat, concealed by curtains, the revered statue of the divinity; whereat the people prostrated themselves and confessed their faults loudly, while prophets disposed in the crowd numerously helped them to penitence by appropriate questions. A similar thing was done in the forecourt of the temple. But since officials and rich people did not like to accuse themselves openly, the holy fathers took them aside, and gave advice and exhortation in whispers.

In the afternoon the service was most solemn, for at that time the troops marching westward came to receive the blessing of the high priest, and strengthen the power of amulets which had the quality of weakening blows from the enemy.

Sometimes thunder was heard in the temple, and at night, above the pylons, there was lightning. This was a sign that the G.o.d had heard some one's prayers, or was conversing with the priesthood.

When, after the ending of the solemnity, the three dignitaries--Sem, Mefres, and Mentezufis--met for consultation, the position had become clearer.

The solemnity had brought the temple about forty talents, but sixty talents had been given out in presents or in paying the debts of various persons of the aristocracy as well as of the highest military circles.

They had collected the following information:--

A report was current in the army, that when Prince Rameses mounted the throne, he would begin a war with a.s.syria, which would a.s.sure great profit to those taking part in it. The lowest soldier, they said, would not return without a thousand drachmas, or perhaps a still larger sum.

It was whispered among people that when the pharaoh returned with victory from Nineveh, he would give slaves to the earth-tillers, and remit for a number of years all taxes.

The aristocracy, on its part, judged that the new pharaoh would, first of all, take from priests and return to n.o.bles all lands which had become temple property, and would pay also the debts of n.o.bles. It was said, too, that the coming pharaoh would govern independently, without a supreme priestly council.

Finally, in all social circles there reigned a conviction that Rameses, to secure the aid of Phnicia, had had recourse to the G.o.ddess Istar,[18] to whom he showed marked devotion. In every case it was certain that the heir had once visited the temple of Istar, and had seen, in the night, certain miracles. Finally, rumors were current among Asiatics that Rameses had made immense presents to the temple, and in return had taken thence a priestess to confirm him in the faith of the G.o.ddess.

[18] Another form of Astarte.

All these tidings were collected by the most worthy Sem and his a.s.sistants. The holy fathers, Mefres and Mentezufis, communicated to him other information which had come to them from Memphis:--

The Chaldean priest and miracle-worker, Beroes, was received in the subterranean parts of the temple of Set by the priest Osochar, who, when giving his daughter in marriage two months later, had presented her with rich jewels and bought a good estate for her and her husband.

And since Osochar had no considerable income, a suspicion rose that that priest had overheard the conversation of Beroes with the Egyptian priests, and had sold to Phnicians, criminally, the secret of the treaty, and received a great estate from them.

When he heard this, the high priest Sem added,--

"If the holy Beroes does, indeed, perform miracles, then ask him, first of all, if Osochar has betrayed the secret."

"They inquired of Beroes," said Mefres, "but the holy man answered that in that affair he preferred to be silent. He added, also, that even if some one had heard their conversation, and reported to Phnicians, neither Egypt nor Chaldea would suffer any injury; and if they should find the guilty person, it would be proper to show him mercy."

"A holy man! Indeed, a holy man!" whispered Sem.

"And what wilt thou say, worthiness," asked Mefres, "of the prince and the disturbances which his conduct has caused in the country?"

"I will say the same as Beroes: 'The heir does not cause harm to Egypt, so we should show him indulgence.'"

"This young man reviles the G.o.ds and miracles; he enters foreign temples, he excites the men to rebellion. These are no small matters,"

said Mefres, bitterly. This priest could not pardon Rameses for having jeered at his devotion so rudely.

The high priest Sem loved Rameses; so he answered with a kindly smile,--

"What laborer is there in Egypt who would not like to have a slave, and abandon hard labor for sweet idleness? Or what man is there on earth who is without the dream of not paying taxes, since with that which he pays the treasury, his wife, he himself, and his children might buy showy clothes and use various dainties?"

"Idleness and excessive outlay spoil a man," said Mentezufis.

"What warrior," continued Sem, "would not desire war and covet a thousand drachmas, or even a greater sum? Further, I ask you, O fathers, what pharaoh, what nomarch, what n.o.ble pays old debts with alacrity, and does not look askance at the wealth of temples?"

"That is vile greed," whispered Mefres.

"And, finally," said Sem, "what heir to the throne has not dreamed of decreasing the importance of the priesthood? What pharaoh at the beginning of his reign has not tried to shake off the supreme council's influence?"

"Thy words are full of wisdom," said Mefres, "but to what may they lead us?"

"To this, not to accuse the heir before the supreme council, for there is no court that would condemn the prince for this, that earth-workers would be glad not to pay taxes, or that soldiers want war if they can have it. Nay, ye may receive a reprimand. For if ye had followed the prince day by day and restrained his minor excesses, we should not have at present that pyramid of complaints founded, moreover, on nothing. In such affairs the evil is not in this, that people are inclined to sin, for they have been so at all times. But the danger is here, that we have not guarded them. Our sacred river, the mother of Egypt, would very soon fill all ca.n.a.ls with mud, if engineers ceased to watch it."

"And what wilt thou say, worthiness, of the fictions which the prince permitted himself in speaking with us? Wilt thou forgive his foul reviling of miracles?" inquired Mefres. "Moreover this stripling has insulted me grievously in my religious practices."

"Whoso speaks with a drunken man is himself an offender," said Sena.

"To tell the truth, ye had no right, worthy fathers, to speak with a man who was not sober about important state questions. Ye committed a fault in making a drunken man commander of an army. A leader must be sober."

"I bow down before thy wisdom," said Mefres; "still I vote to lay a complaint against the heir before the supreme council."

"But I vote against a complaint," answered Sem, energetically. "The council must learn of all acts of the viceroy, not through a complaint, but through an ordinary report to it."

"I too am opposed to a complaint," said Mentezufis.

The high priest, Mefres, seeing that he had two votes against him, yielded in the matter of a complaint. But he remembered the insult from the prince and hid ill-will in his bosom.

CHAPTER XLI

By advice of astrologers the headquarters were to move from Pi-Bast on the seventh day of Hator. For that day was "good, good, good." G.o.ds in heaven and men on earth rejoiced at the victory of Ra over his enemies; whoever came into the world on that day was destined to die at an advanced age surrounded by reverence.

That was a favorable day for pregnant women, and people trading in woven stuffs, but for toads and mice it was evil.

From the moment that he was appointed commander Rameses rushed to work feverishly. He received each regiment as it arrived; he inspected its weapons, its train, and its clothing. He greeted the recruits, and encouraged them to diligent exercise at drilling, to the destruction of their enemies and the glory of the pharaoh. He presided at every military council, he was present at the examination of every spy, and in proportion as tidings were brought in, he indicated on the map with his own hand the movement of Egyptian armies and the positions of the enemy.

He pa.s.sed so swiftly from place to place that they looked for him everywhere, and still he swooped on them suddenly like a falcon. In the morning he was on the south of Pi-Bast and verified the list of provisions; an hour later he was north of the city, and discovered that a hundred and fifty men were lacking in the Ieb regiment. In the evening he overtook the advance guard, was at the crossing of an arm of the Nile, and pa.s.sed in review two hundred war chariots.

The holy Mentezufis, who, as a representative of Herhor, understood the military art well, was overcome by astonishment.