Hanit Enchantress

READ Y ER. Perhaps you have had the M good fortune to visit Egypt ! If such l be the case , you have undoubted y stood among the giant columns of the Temple to the

- Sun god Amen in the Northern Apt ! Karnak). You have marveled at the ever changing colors which light up the walls and columns of the

of t so Temple the Southern Ap ! Luxor), that at one moment they seem to have been car ved

of from blocks amber, at another from coral , or jasper, amethyst , a s the last bright rays of

u the sinking s n fall full upon them , from colos sal o bars f red Nubian gold . You have gazed in awe a nd reverence at the f i mummy o King Amenhotep , ly ng in his granite sarcophagus , peacefully asleep he seemed, deep

of down in the very heart the Theban Hills . In an alcove nearby you may recall the three

uncoﬁined bodies lying, , upon the bare rock of

Yo the tomb chamber . u were informed that the v1 Forew ord bodi es had been removed from their own tombs f to this secret chamber o a dead Pharaoh , that they might be saved from the hands of tomb

robbers . “ The mummies of unknown royal person ” a ges , your Arab guide informed you . Perhaps the guide permitted you to touch the long black tresses of one of the three . He pointed out what he called the mark of an arrow, f which caused the death o another . He told you that the boy had undoubtedly met his death at the hands of a strangler. He hinted at foul murder !

ru h e If what he said of the three was t e, might well have attempte d to identify the

di Wa zm es bo es . They are, perhaps, those of ,

’ H anit son Queen s murdered , the beautiful

one- slave girl Bhanar, and her time mistress ,

S esen a the Princess , whose wavy black hair p pears as soft to- day as when Ramses and Menna

f r wooed her, a s when Renny the Syrian died o her .

All hi . t s, and more, you have doubtless seen Forew ord vii

sa ou so Yet, it is safe to y, y have never much as heard of the mystery surrounding the tomb f f fﬂ o Menna, son o Menna, that most ba ing among the many mysterious tombs in and about the gre at Theban cemeteries .

a on n h Undoubtedly, Menn , s of Me na, ad in i life an enemy, a most vind ctive enemy ; one whose malignant hatred followed Menna into his very tomb .

o a nd ee Enter that tomb t day, you s a t a glance that thi s enemy sought to nullify and make ineff ectual the entire series of engraved prayers and magic formq which witness to

’ Menna s hopes for an eternity of bliss upon the Y ’ banks of the Celestial Nile . es, Menna s im him placable foe sought to destroy , both body and soul !

’ Menn a s w a s c body not found when, re ently, his w a s tomb discovered and opened . We may

’ thus infer that Menna s arch-enemy aecom

’ plished the destruction of Menna s body a s suc ce ssf ull as ﬁen dishl y, y we may suppose, as he ’ f Menna did that o s soul. viii Forew ord

‘ E xamine the sculptures upon the walls of his

’ Y Menna tomb . ou will ﬁnd that s eyes have been cut out ;that the lips of hi s servants and ﬁeld hands are mi ssing ; that the tips of his hunting arrows have been blunted ; that the “ ” knots in his mea suring-rope ha ve been de f stroyed . Yet, worse than all, the plumb o the

’ Me n r scales , upon which n a s hea t will be

h e weighed at the Judgment, as vanish d .

’ Let us suppose that Menna s mummy ha d t been found, found in act,at the opening of i h s tomb . That empty shell would have

of been little use to Menna . Since, follow ’ ing hi s enemy s work of desecration upon the ordered prayers, incantations and scenes

r f hi painted o engraved upon the walls o s tomb , ’ Menn a s body w a s d oomed to inevitable de hi struction, and with it, that of s k a or “ ” double, that other self which, from the day of his birth , awaited him in the heavens . Without eyes Menna could not ﬁnd his way among the ﬂint - strewn valleys and precipitous

of heights the Underworld. Without arrows Forew ord ix

’ Menna s Menna would be una ble to obtain food . servants had all perished, as without mouths they could neither eat nor drink: An d Menna might never measure off an allotted acreage

of among the ever fertile ﬁelds Heaven if, in

a ll spite of , he somehow managed to win through to the Celestial Nile . Alas ! this success Menna could never hope to f l achieve . The breaking o the p umb of the

’ scales rendered it impossible that Menna s trembling soul could pass Osiris , Judge of the

d or Am emet Dea , the ﬁerce hound , which, with open mouth, awaited his victims beside that

’ great god s throne . No ! Menna could never hope to feast at the

Table of the Gods . Menna could never enjoy that eternity of bliss among the Blessed Fields of Aaru which a beneﬁcent Sun -god had prom ised to the faithf ul . ’ Men n o But, na s body was t found at the time

f of hi s o hi o the discovery tomb, th ugh s body had evidently been placed in the white sarcoph agus prepared for it by royal command . x Forew ord

’ h so W o bitterly hated Menna, the King s Overseer ? Wh o so relentlessly sought not alone the destruction of his mortal body but the very annihilation of hi s soul ? CONTENTS

CHA PTE R FOREWORD

TELLS or HOW PROFESSOR RANNEY PURCHASED AN ANCIENT MAN USCRIPT AND O F WHAT HE FOUND THEREIN A FALL DOWN THIRTY CENTURI ES

E M ICI L P V NANA THE AG AN , WOU D RO E THAT A RES EMB LAN CE B ETWEEN A QUEEN AND A PRIESTESS MAY B E TURNED TO HIS ADV ANTAGE

How BBAN AB CAME To THEB ES

T PL B O F T I HE EASURE ARGE H , THE QUEEN-MOTHER B F M I E How HANAR OUND A HO E N GYPT . . How RENNY THE SYRIAN ESCAPED THE CROCODILES

NO FE RT -ARI DANCES B EFORE PHA RAOH THE LUMINOUS BOOK

PRARAO H S EEKS T O EXAIJI‘ A FORE IGN G OD

THE STATUE O F AMEN DISAPPEARS xi Contents

C HA PTE R PA GE ENANA CALLS T o HI S AID THE GODS JUSTICE AND V ENGEANCE RAMSES AND SESEN A RASH PROMISE

S O F G O F A TATUE HATHOR , ODDESS LO V E

T C O F G I HE URSE HUY , REAT H GH PRIEST O F AM EN

’ M EN A S HA I RB EA RE R K XVII . WHY N C STA ED HI S ALL

X M SON VIII . WHAT HAPPENED WHEN ENNA , O F M A- I ENNA , WENT WOO NG THE HITT ITES ADV ANCE

How BAR AND RENNY M EET FO R THE LAST TIME

O F O F B L THE HIT THE CAPTURE E UR, TITE “ T D B L O R B I XXII . OU E AN T H A N I T THE ENCHANTRE S S

HANIT : THE ENGH ANTRESS

CHAPTER I

TELLS OF How PROFE SSOR RANNEY PURCHASED AN ANCIE N T MANUSCRIPT AN D OF WHAT HE HERE FOUND T I N .

“ of D HE shop Tanos the Greek, ealer in ” i A a s n T Genu ne ntiques, the sig above the

door advised , might well have been

of named a museum ancient art and curiosities . f Entered from the front o the Sharia Kamel, one of of o o the main thoroughfares Cair , the sh p appeared a t ﬁrst glance to consist of but tw o

ne m long narrow rooms , the o im ediately behind the other. Both rooms were ﬁlled to the very

of ceiling with curios all sorts , from little agate beads to vast and shapeless mummie s of Sacred 2 H anit : the Enchant ress

of Bulls . A half dozen bodies Egyptian priests, unwrapped and black with natron, stood propped against the walls of the upper room .

n The odor of cin amon, myrrh and other em balming essences ﬁlled the rooms and drifted out thr ough the open door to blend with the in de n ble of ﬁ a , but never forgettable , Odor the

Cairene streets . A nearer view of the upper room di sclosed “ the approach to what Tanos called the holy of li ” i ho es . Th s third, or innermost chamber, was screened from the eyes of the ordinary souvenir hunter by an ivory-inlaid door of ancient Coptic woodwork . Connoisseurs generally knew that here were

x el e n kept the treasures pa r e c l nce. Here Ta os i t t would d splay rare s atuet es , bronzes , ivories and richly glazed potteries f or the archaeol ogist ;inscriptions on stone or papyrus for the philologist ;dia'dems or pendants in the precious

of metals , necklaces , bracelets and bangles vari — colored gems , all such rich treasure from the seemingly inexhaustible storehouse of antiquity ’ Prof essor Ranneys Manu script 3 a s would be most likely to tempt the antiqua

of k rian, or dazzle the mere man millions see ing t o enrich hi s curio cabinet or the shelves of his pet museum or institution . Durin g the course of an unusually hot after noon in late March three Europ eans paused at f ’ the threshold o Tanos shop . Following their exit from the E zbekiyeh Gar dens their footsteps had been dogged by that

n Ali f to ge ial soul , Nubi , whose e forts dispose of ﬁy-whisks and sunshades were in no wise

ﬁ ect s a ed by the tempera ture . He was oon joined by a troupe of exceedingly dirty Arab children . These turned handsprings along the gutter in hopes of some small coin with which

o kum t o buy l u .

f hr Finally, the nerves o the t ee Europeans had been set on edge by the insistent whine of a deformed Egyptian, whose ceaseless cry f or “ ” baksheesh bakshee h a khaw a eh dole, , s , y g , ﬁnally caused one of the trio to turn upon him

n Alla h a lik k elb ibn k l with an impatie t, y , e b. i Th s , in plain English , might be rendered, ‘ 4 H anit : the Enchantress

” od son of May G give to thee, dog, a dog, at

once a pious wish and a curse . The soun d of the guttural Arabic suﬁiced to scatter a t one and the same in stant all three i disturb ng elements .

ﬁed Ali off The ragged boys . Nubi sauntered to display his merchandise and hi s famous smile

elsewhere , whilst the cripple, with a frightened

of f glance up and down the street, made as fast

as his deformities would a llow. The white man

asha be . A was doubtless a p , a g but Talib felt the sting of the bastinado upon hi s withered limbs ! “ ” With a laugh the bey turn ed to hi s com pani ons “ E nter, Mrs . Gardiner ! After you, Clem ! I ” ﬁnd want you to see my latest . Professor Rann ey followed his companions

n i to the shop . In answer to his call Tanos him f self appeared at the door o the sanctum . His face lit up with a smile of genuine pleasure when he recognized his visitors . He crossed the room with that peculiar crook

6 H anit : the Enéhantress had recognized the true authorship of the t Mr s. s u verses . Gardiner had been a former dent Of her husband at the University of Lon don , where he taught Semitics .

These small social amenities attended to, Tanos ushered his visitors into the inn ermost room . In another moment all four were seated about a low Turkish table . Upon this reposed

- l of two Objects, a turquoise b ue goblet ancient

r Egyptian potte y and a linen roll, seemingly of

i one great antiqu ty, if might judge by its con dition .

Meeting the Gardiners in the tea-house of the

Gardens , Professor Ranney had urged them to walk over to the shop , in order that they might

of i see the contents th s linen roll, a papyrus s o of cr ll greatest importance , not alone on its o r wn account, but, more especially, for the e m markable docu ent which it contained .

n Professor Ran ey carefully unrolled the frail, di hi scolored linen in w ch, three thousand years

r before, the scroll had been w apped . At once ’ Professor Rann eys Manu script 7

the air was ﬁlled with a strange, aromatic per fume . At sight of the brightly painted vignettes which ornamented each and every page of the

Mrs closely written sheets, . Gardiner burst into repeated exclamations of rapture . Even Dr . Gar diner, her husband, who may be said to have lived in an atmosphere charged with the odor of ancient parchments , could not repress his interest .

w as This interest intensiﬁed when he read, on

of the front page the manuscript , the names of “ an ancient E gyptian monarch Nibma ra A men h c te Kin o U er a nd Low er E t Tri p, g f pp gyp , ” m han t u p . “ This is indeed a treasure, Steven ! A perfect

o copy of the B ok of the Dead . You did well to

of purchase it before I got wind it . By Jove !

It is in better condition than the Papyrus of An i in the British Museum ! ” Without replying Steven Ranney turned to l the last two pages of the scro l . Inserted be 8 H anit : the Enchant ress tw een them was a brown stained sheet of hiero l hi g yp cs written in red ink . “ Read this , Clem . To me it appears to be a ﬁnd of far more importance than the Ritual ” itself . Gardiner translated aloud the lines of some what tremblin gly written hi eroglyphics “ A Contra ct w hich th H eredita r P rince e y ,

he ownt l om anion o the Kin I n t C , S o e C p f g, stru tor o th Ro a lP rincess a nd Chie Ro a l c f e y , f y

A rchitect Amenhote son o H a ma de w ith , p, f p,

H ot e ra Gr e t i h P riest o Amen p , a H g f . “ I t is ordain ed tha t ther e be given t o the statue of Amenhotep which is in his t omb on the w estern shor e loaves o br ea d t , f , f a t ed eese a rs o wine a nd 1 00 bulls u on g , j f , p th l st da o the l st month o th ea r a t e y f f e y , wh

ime h rv n t brin re en ts to their lord t t e se a s g p s ,

nd i h r lit in house in t om and in t m a l g ts a e , b e ple ! “ I n a ment o this endowment o is tom p y f f h b,

A menhote s on o H a en a es to r eve l o p, f p, g g a t

H ote a Gr ea t Hi h Priest o A men the secret p , g f , ’ Professor Ranneys Manu script 9

hidin - lace o th Lumin us B ok Thoth g p f e o o of , S cribe of the Gods ! “ B ehold ! A menhote on o H a he sa ith p, s f p,

‘ By the magic inc antation con tained within this book the Gods a re compelled! By its heha u cha rms the B oa t 0 the Sun i to ed the Moon f s s pp , is da rk ened!

Lo he tha t reciteth t ormu nt in , he f lce co a ed therein ma descend into th nd r r n , y e U e w o ld a d r etu rn t o min le a ain ith m or t l m n g g w a e . “ Lo the ossessor o thi B o k b , p f s o ecomes a s the Scribe o the Gods Thoth himsel F or Ra f , f! ha th brea the d upon it;Shu ha th entered it!

“ ‘ S a ith A menhote son o H a : B ehold a s p, f p ,

Ra the S un od liveth the Ma ic B ook ma e g , g y b foun d in a box behind the w a ll of the fa lse door built within the w estern end of my t omb cham ’ ber ! “ N ow H ote ra he a rd the oa t A n , p h of me hotep a nd the sa in h h i y g w ic h e sa d. “ Lo H ote ra Gr ea t Hi h P riest o A n , p , g f me , believed the w ords o the son o H a i f f p . I O H anit : the Enchant ress

H ot e ra Grea t Hi h P riest o A m en si n ed p , g f , g

n ra ct ta kin the Grea t Gods Osiris the co t , g , ,

P tah a nd Ra a s witn esses .

! of There , Clem In all your years research among an cient documents have you ever run B across the Luminous Book, the ook of Thoth ?

Could it, by any chance, be that mysterious book made use of long ago by the sorcerers and magician attached to the great Temple of Amen at Thebes ? If such be the case , it is an un doubted reference to the book from whi ch Moses di A ’ t stu ed, the source of aron s successful a tempt to confound the magicians of Pharaoh .

ou l At any rate , Clem , y wil agree with me i that this faded sheet, th s last will and testa

of old out to f ment the architect, may turn be o far greater interest than even this splendi d w copy of the Ritual . I wonder if the ill was placed in the Ritual on purpose or through the

H ote ra i i carelessness of someone . p h mself t ” a o ! may have been, three thousand years g ’ Prof essor Ranneys Manu script I I

’ D i hi nthu r . Gardiner sm led at s friend s e “ siasm : i ! One th ng at a time, Steven Yes , I

f An d have met with the Book o Thoth before . in each and every case it was referred to as a book containing magical incantations of great

ne k i power. In o case an un nown arch tect states

‘ that he raised this monument whose pylons r each the dom e of heaven bym ea ns of the m agic ’

B ook o T oth . Am nh f h Your man , e otep, son of Hap , has left an inscription, now in the Lei

‘ fﬁr o den Museum , in which he a ms that he p s ’— sessed the E ye of H orus whatever that may — ‘ mean and further that he w a s on e who knew a ll the Wisdom conta in ed in the B ook o Th th f o ,

’ scribe of the Gods. That this was no empty boast we may sight the stupendous temples

‘ raised by him at Thebes , not forgetting the

’ Colossi, which alone would have assured him i d undy ng fame, if in eed he erected them . The tomb to which he refers in this testa ment is thought to be beneath the Temple of Der el

Medinet . Possibly it is included in your con 1 2 H anit : the Enchantress

t m cession, Steven . Your men may s u ble upon

of B the mummy Amenhotep, Magic ook and all ! ” “ . ! Dr Gardiner turned to his wife Well , Dear ff o . We must be , to help Ali with the packing I hope you have a successful winding up of the i ! ” digg ngs , Steven “ ” “ And Steven, broke in his wife , do let those abominable Old brick ruins alone and hunt

B w a su for the ook instead. By the y, do you p pose H ot epr a had a wife ? The name is similar to that of Potiphar ? ” ” My dear, interposed Gardiner, as he

of assumed an expression shocked delicacy, “ e the subject is hardly on for a bride to discuss ,

of Am especially as Great High Priests en, by resumed the uninitiated at least, are p to have h ad no wives . “ n h O e He turned to Ran ey : Steven, we both p that you can stop over at ‘ Sevenoaks ’ as

w a usual , for a few days at least, on your y f through to Liverpool . Whew ! It is dificult to realize that we shall be enjoying the Me diter

- ran ean breeze s t o morrow. Which reminds me .

1 4 H anit : the Enchantress

With a friendly nod the young Am erican again braved the heat of the unprotected side

walk .

Ranney took his way northward, along the

Sharia Kamel , in the direction of Doctor Brain

’ - tree s tree embowered V illa .

’ During hi s three days relaxation from th e — strain of acting as chi ef- of excavations amid the

heat and dust of work in Upper Egypt, Ranney had contrived to see more of Susan Braintree

than usually fell to his lot . Ranney had loved

her from the very ﬁrst moment he had seen her,

r and that was as far back as Februa y, nearly two months !

a It is unnecessary to describe Sus n . Ranney did that in every letter he wrote home to hi s

w n mother and sister in beautiful Green ich, Co i nect cut . Susan was there described a s a para

gon of beauty and sweetness . Yet, there seemed “ to be a ﬂy in the ointment . A tall and not a ” n bad looking sort of chap , so Ra ney described

of him, a lieutenant the Seaforth Highlanders ,

apparently caused Steven not a little worry . It seemed that back in their Highland home h e ’ Prof essor Ranneys Manu script 1 5

lived in the same Scottish village as the Brain

trees , brother and sister. “ ’ l h ’ By George , I ll take o d Amen otep s will

’ ’ - to Braintree s dinner to night . I m sure Susan

’ will be interested ;at any rate , she ll pretend to

’ ﬁnd be , bless her . Perhaps she ll it more to her taste tha n that Egyptian ﬂint knife I showed

s r her yesterday. Yet , I am surprised that a u

’ - geon s Sister, and a head nurse at that, should

evince such horror of a knife, even though that a ncient instrument had served the embalmer to ” make the last great incision .

Late that evening, after a few short but bliss ’ — f ul hours spent by Susan s side Lieutenant Angus Hector McPher son being then on duty at the Garrison—Ranney threw his kitbag into a

s of leeper the night train to Upper Egypt . After some ten hours of fitf ul sleep amidst the chokin g dust and fin e sand which would per i sist in float ng into the compartment , Steven Ranney found himself once again upon the very

o ’ m dern station platform of Thebes , the world s most ancient city. CHAPTER II

A FALL DOWN TH IRTY CEN T URIES

HE research work conducted by Professor f i Ranney, as chief o the Yale exped tion to

of Egypt, had lain in and about the site the Mortuary Temple of King Amenh otep the “ ” - n low Third, well named Mag iﬁcent . The depression whi ch tod ay marks the site of this once gorgeous ediﬁce lie s well down upon the

n n broad Theban Plai , a d immediately fronts

o that long line f rocky mounds , refuse heaps and ruined tombs which rises , tier upon tier, along the lower slopes of the towering Libyan

Hills . It had been a site of rare possibilities from an

’ i n Egyptologist s point of view. On th s accou t excavation privileges hereabouts had been sought by representatives of every great mu seum or se at-of -learning both in the Old World and the New. A Fall D ow n Thirty Centuries I 7

ﬁ When, nally, the news was telegraphed from Cairo that thi s most coveted concession had th fallen to e Yale Expedition, and that together with a substantial area of the unexplored mounds to the north and south of the temple

’ Rann e . Site , great had been Professor y s joy The recent unearthing of the body and rich

e s f t n t n son tr a ure o Pharaoh Akh e a o , to that l th Pharaoh by whom the temple was bui t, and e discovery of the rich and comprehensive tomb

’ equipment of Akhtenaton s father and mother in - law, together with the marvelously preserved

of mummies those ancient worthies , had ﬁred the dampened ardor both of the workers in the ﬁ h f eld, and, more important still, per aps, o

ho of - those lders the purse strings, the sponsors f or i the exped tion at home .

A s I have said above , the site of King Am en ’ hotep s Mortuary Temple had been freely ae

to a knowledged be very promising one, and so s far the e hopes had been entirely justified . Many and rare had been the finds during the ’ s o eas n s work now drawing to a close . An d it 1 8 H anit : the Enchantress was not improbable that some other fin d of the first importance might still fall to the spades of the excavators during the next few weeks of work upon the site . Thin k what the nearby Temple of Medinet might at this very moment hold f or Pro f e ssor n ! f son Ra ney The tomb o Amenhotep , of Hap ;the Magic Book of the Sorcerers of B f Pharaoh , the Luminous ook o Thoth ! Had they had the least suspicion of Professor

’ Rann ey s secret it is safe to say that many of hi s brother scientists would gladly have bar t ered ﬁve years of their lives f or a chance at the

An d f site . yet, could any one o those enthusiasts have foreseen the disaster that would here befall l him, not a man among them wou d have ap

oa ch ed pr it .

But let us take up the tale, as long a s we may, ’ s Ranne in Profes or y s own words . I had recently completed my work in and about the site of the Mortuary Temple of the illustrious Pharoah Amenhotep the Third and had already promised myself a trial excavation A Fall D ow n Thirty Centu ries 1 9 at the nearby tomb of Pharaoh ’s famous archi

e Am te t and namesake , enhotep , when something unexpected occurred to eﬁ e ctuallyput an end to a ll h ou my plans . W at that something was y shall now hear ! A s near as I can piece together the amazing

of threads my story, thi s is what happened t o

l n ul me that ast eve tf evening in Thebe s. My diary, in part, supplies the clue .

of A 28 1913 i Under date pril , , and mmediately following the rough translation of a great memorial tablet whi ch had been found the pre “ : a nd orm vions day, I note this entry S st just blown over H eadache everish F n . , f . i ished ” makin lan o a l t c le g p f p ace o s a .

of Now, in spite the temperature and head a che to which I here refer, and which , had I not

so on been keen my work, I should most cer t ainly have recognized as a sym ptom of trouble d to come, I had evi ently sought to catch up with a somewhat neglected report of the sea ’ son s work.

This occupation had apparently kept me at my 2 0 H anit : the En chant ress

h desk well on towards dawn . I deduce t is from the fact that immediately followi ng the above f short entry, I ﬁnd a number o fragmentary hieroglyphi c inscriptions having to do with the hi story of the foundation and erection of ’ t h d Pharaoh s Mor uary Temple, upon which I a

so been long at work . One of these entries is of special interest in hi n t s con ection, since, after a lapse of some three thousand years, the two colossal statues of n Am t Ki g enhotep III, o whom it refers, may still be seen gazing stolidly and immutably east ward across the broad reaches of the Theban

Plain . The following graphic description of the now vanished building itself, a literal translation

hi i l s from the original hieroglyp c, s the a t entry

i l f or in my d ary, the ast many a long day, I may

f or add . Further, and an excellent reason, this

r last entry was never completed. The t an sla tion runs in the following somewhat grandilo “ quent and semi -poetic vein : It hath been given me to set up in a holy place two great statues

2 2 H anit : the E nchant ress gleaming walls are engraved with design s rep

’ resenting the New Year s procession of the Sun B arque , from the Northern to the Southern Al l Apt . Beside the High tar stands a tab et

n in thirty feet in height, covered with gold a d laid with sard and emerald . Thus is marked

The - Place -Where -His-Majesty Stands - a t - the

’ B e son of Sacriﬁcing . q, Beq, carved the stat

e ues and erect d the obelisks . Renney, the ” e Syrian, overlaid and nriched the tablet . Inserted here w a s a drawing of the above

and l mentioned tablet, , upon it, the fo lowing “ additional fragment : Memorial-tablet found

n face dow wards . I enclose drawings and trans lation s mine i r . Evidently s a ve y ancient name? All trace s of Here the diary abruptly stops ! w di No , I rectly trace the mishap which there a fter befell me to the di scovery of this same tablet . A hot day spen t in transcribing to paper its

- ﬁlled ni mud inscriptions, and a ght devoted to their decipherment , might well have driven me A Fall D ow n Thi rty Centu ries 2 3 forth in search of the cool breezes to be found along the higher Slopes of the nearby Libyan

Hills .

not Yet, in this connection , I must forget to mention the contents of a newspaper-clipping sent me by Gardiner just before he left Alex

n n andria, a clippi g which seems to have a pee

i of liar meaning, especially n the light the curiou s experiences whi ch I Shall presently relate . This clipping was found folded carefully in the page of my Diary opposite that last incom l t p e e entry to which I have referred . “ n Beneath a date and the words Sphi x , ” ’ Cairo , the latter added in Gardiner s spidery

o script, there appear the following extra rdinary “ paragraphs : In the Museum of the Louvre 49 there is a mummy, Catalogue No . . It is the mummy of a woman , and is said to have been

one of found in the Tombs of the Queens, south west of the Theban acropolis . The man wh o found it was crushed to death within twenty four hours after he had touched it , and his as 2 4 H anit : the E nchantress sistants who hauled it up from the tombshaf t

r died within a few weeks . Th ee of the carriers wh o handled it on the Nile boat died within a

of one of wh o short space time, and the men unpacked it at Paris di ed in great agony within less than a week after he had played hi s part in

of the work getting it to its destination . All these were seemingly natural deaths, but it is odd that all the men whose ﬁngers touched the mummy should have died so soon after the i k handl ng . The body of the un nown appears to have been interred with all the elaboration pre scribed f or Queens of the Royal-B lood! Th e work of the casemaker w a s careful in the ex

o i - treme . Both granite c ﬂ n and gold covered f casing were o unusual quality and richness .

- hi The many gem incrustations , with w ch the

nl f gold cases were i aid, were similarly o the f richest and rare st materials . Yet, the name o

Mer t f i y , that o a m nor priestess of the Temple, found beneath the pitch which had been smeared

to n upon the outer casings, seemed prove co elusively that the body was that of one of the A Fall D ow n Thirty Centuries 2 5 chantresses of the Temple of Sekhmet at Ka r k na . ‘ i But, following the unwind ng of the aromatic i wrappings wh ch swathed the body, the curator in charge w a s surprised t o ﬁnd a second in scription . This indicated that the mummy was

H anit of that of Queen , the ﬁrst wife Amen hote o i p the Third, wh m the King put aside n

f Thi . favor o , a beautiful Syrian You may recall

’ h w w n H anit n o Queen Thi , follo i g s i carceration f in the great Temple o Sekhmet, is supposed to

’ H anit s son have instigated the death of , the true heir to the throne, at the hands of Menna,

of a favorite hers . Of the further history of ” Hanit so n Lady I per nally know othing . “ Along the margin Gardin er had added : I

n kn owin send this to you, Ra ney, gyou r interest

i of H ani in the period wh ch the name t suggests . Can you unravel the mystery surrounding the mummy of this Queen who is not a Queen ? “ In regard to the sudden taking off of the s even workmen, and, by the way, the curator is now dead, I can hear you expatiate at length 2 6 H anit : the En chantress

‘ ’ ‘ upon the fearful hekan-spells and magic in

’ ca n ta tions Of the ancients ! “ Once more I ask you to prove to me that your ancients ever possessed such powers, or if they did , that they could by any possible chance have survived the wear and tear of three thousand

! An d years , meanwhile, allow me to submit ! ” myself, your unbelieving friend

r I smile even now, as I shake my head at Ga

’ diner s careless words .

hi k hi o What can I but t n ? C ldish, y u say! A series of remarkable coincidences ! Wait ! It was from Burt on that I ﬁrst heard an ao count of what he and the other members of the expedition supposed, and rightly, had happened to me . It seemed that I left my tent about dawn and

one d started for of my favorite walks westwar , taking the general direction of a certain lofty hi spur of the deep red Libyan Hills . T s jutting ledge immediately overhung the ruins of King

’ - S O Mentu h otep s temple . close a part Of the towering cliff is this sadly mutilated structure A Fall D ow n Thirty Centuries 2 7 that one might easily Slip from the shelf above and fall directly upon the great stone passage i way which conducts to the nner chamber .

- To this somewhat dangerous vantage point, I had sometimes taken distinguished visitors to o wh o ur camp , people had come with letters wh from friends at home, or those o I felt sure would be willin g to put up with th e discomforts of a night spent beyond the walls of the luxuri ous Winter Palace Hotel .

sa f I think I may y truthfully, that not one o my visitors failed of being more than repaid for i any triﬂing d scomfort which was theirs , since s few cenes can equal, certainly none surpass, the

e v view presented by the extend d ista north, south and eastward across the winding Nile

Valley towards Karnak, Luxor, and the deep i blue Eastern H lls .

But to return to my story. That memorable morning the fever mus t assuredly have had me in . of well with its clutches Since, that early morning walk, I remember but a single incident

Heaven knows , I am never likely to forget it 2 8 H anit : the En chant ress

l a great black void into which I sudden y pitched, a horrible tingling in all my veins , a Shock and a myriad of little ﬂames that seemed to burst from my very eyeballs !

Was I conscious , I asked mys elf ? I must be , f or I seemed to realize at once what a dreadful

to thing had happened me . k Of course, I new I had pitched headlong into the open mouth of on e of those rock- hewn tombs

‘ with which the tumbled slopes below th e Libyan

Hills are perforated . Well might those crum bling hills been named a honey-comb of death ! I could not move ; my whole body seemed B numb . y gazing upward I found that I could

ee s ! Y es s the tars , I recognized the star of

Hathor, in all her radiant beauty. H ow my head ached ! How my ears roared ! Worse than a ll was the a gony of a ceaseless

- - of throb throb , beat beat, at the back my head. It was as though someone were hitting m e

e with a hammer, rhythmically, rel ntlessly. Perhaps after all I w as dead ?

30 H anit : thé Enchant ress

e o ! But what featur s , what an expressi n

Never shall I forget it . A face of the most exotic beauty ;of a type I knew instantly. It could only have belonged to one of the ladies of the house of Amenhotep the Magniﬁcent !

B e Such a face the Royal Sculptor q might carve , or of R Amenhotep , Superintendent the oyal

Craftsmen . The beautiful apparition address ed me in the E soft tones of the educated gyptian . I found that I could rise without di fﬁculty at d her bi ding . Struggling to my feet I pushed a stone at the side of the tomb chamber and passed through a narrow false door which

opened as my hand pressed the secret block . I foun d myself once more out under the sunset glow. All this seemed perfectly natural to me . But , I remember thinking how strange it was that I should ﬁnd the pyramids of the An tef s a nd

M entuh ote s - i p , the sphinx l ned Causeways , and

the many Mortuary Temples hereabouts , stand

n ing clearly deﬁ ed against the hills , and seem A Fall D own Thirty Centu ries 31

i inglyin all their orig nal beauty . Nay, the very

l k a rob s i cypresses , pa ms, and myrrh trees wh ch ﬂank ed the ivory-toned Causeway leading to

’ H tshe -su Queen a p t s Temple, were to be seen nodding gracefully in the evening breeze . My gaze fell questionably upon the smiling

of face my adorable savior . l She must have remarked my bewi derment .

he Yet, without a word s turned and started swiftly toward a small white house half-con c ealed in a dense grove of feathery acacias . In res ponse to a quick gesture on the part of my guide, I pulled back the wooden bolt and opened the door . A tall and strikingly hand some Eygptian arose from an ivory-inlaid stool as I entered . Carefully rolling up a manuscript which he had been reading by the light of an oil lamp , and without otherwise appearing to notice me , he took from the table nearby a blue glazed

to r - goblet, handed it my rescuer, and e seated himself. Once again he picked up the discarded manu script and continued his reading as though 32 H anit : the Enchant ress

I nothing had happened to interrupt hi s traiD Of thought .

Perhaps , after all, I had been expected ! I heard my charming guide utter the one softly sibilant Egyptian word : Drink ! I lifted the bright blue goblet to my lips and d rank deeply, thirstily . CHAPTER III

T HE GICI LD R V E ENANA, MA AN , WOU P O THAT A RESEMB LANCE BETWEEN A QUEEN AND A PRI E STEss MAY BE TURNED To Hrs ADVAN

HE sloping walls of the Temple of Am enra loomed black and forbiddin g

against the palli d light of early morning.

Th e tall cedar ﬂa g-poles fronting the entrance pylons and the gold-capped shafts of the four granite obelisks seemed carved in ebony, so ﬁ sharply were their dark lines de ned .

No sound came from within ;no life w as ap parent in the wide domain of cultivated ﬁelds which surrounded the temple on three sides . There w a s n o sign of life upon the temple barges moored to the sandstone lan ding at the temple front .

of A long line cranes ﬂew slowly, noiselessly,

n across the moon , ow rapidly sinkin g in to the

33 34 H anit : the Enchant ress

blue haze whi ch ﬂoated above the Western Hills .

Within the temple precinct, in a small cham ber lit by the ﬁtf ul light of a six-wicked lamp which swung out from the wall at the end of a pole, a restless ﬁgure bent from time to time above a form stretched at length upon a high couch.

fi of The gure was that a woman, a woman dead and to a certain extent disfigured by the scalpel and fat- extracting implemen ts of the em l wh ba mer o now bent over her . On a low bench beside him were spread out the many bronze and flint utensils of his craft .

l in Kathi , the Emba mer, made the last great

i i n c s o . n With a lo g, ﬂat and minutely serrated

ix ﬂint knife , he la id open a good s inches of the

ﬂesh immediately above the heart . Having ex tracted that organ he carefully placed it in an alabaster jar ﬁlled almost to the brim with aro

. set matic spirits On top of the jar he the cover, a cover crowned with a tinted portra it- head of the deceased . Three similar jars containing the nana the a an E , M gici 35

viscera , brains and other organs liable to rapid

al . decay, had ready been hermetically sealed

wn So quickly comes the da in Egypt that, by

i one o a in th s time, c uld re dily distinguish the scription in letters of dark blue which sym metrically ﬁlled a square at the shoulder of each vase : “ An oblation which the Kin g bestows t o the

m . Royal Spouse , His Beloved, Ha it, Triumphant

o Ten thousand xen and fowl , ten thousand jars of f Wine, ten thousand loaves o bread , funerary

i f or a ll ra ment the rewrapping of this body, things pure and good for the soul of the de

e H ceas d Queen , His Beloved, the Lady anit, ” Justiﬁed of God. Being at one and the same time Embalmer to

e the King, Chief Surg on and Magician, as he macerated the shriveled ﬂesh, Kathi recited the prescribed Ritual from the Book of the Dead and consecrated the many amuletic jewels and pendants with which he now proceeded to

decorate the body. 36 H anit : the Enchant ress

Each limb received at his hand the anointing that rendered it incorruptible and the magical charms and incantations that should sustain the spark of life .

l a This done, Kathi p aced a he vy amulet in the cavity whence he had extracted the heart, a great emerald beetle, inscribed beneath with a prayer for justiﬁcation and ab solution ad f dressed to the Judge o the Dead, Osiris .

’ It did not enter Kath i s head that he w as trying to dupe Osiris by thus inserting a heavy stone heart in place of the real organ . Kathi merely wished t o be sure that the heart would

’ “ tip the sca les against the great God s Fe ather ” of Truth, when the deceased was led into the

of n Hall the U derworld for Judgment .

a Having placed the emer ld heart in position , the Embalmer set a long oval plaque of gold l immediately above it, drew together the c ean cut ﬂesh and sewed up the wound. f A small iron a mulet, the Two Fingers o

Horus , he placed in the hand, and the deli

o of cate jewels f the deceased, chains minute

38 H anit : the En chant ress

At - his repressed but high pitched voice,

on Kathi , s of Kathi , swung about, startled f or a n instant out of his wonted calm and im mobility . He turned to close the door before replying . As thou sayest, Holiness , I have

’ succeeded . Tis but a few short minutes since Thi and Menna stood where thou standest at this very moment . The Syrian shed real tears above

of the body that poor wench there . To her

’ ” Hani twas t, doubt not . Kathi smiled some what sadly as he gazed down upon the ﬁgure at

“ ’ hi s feet : In death the Lady Meryt s striking

H anit our u resemblance to , beloved Q een, wa s most pronounced . And, following my work ’ a Mer t wn upon the he d, the Lady y s o mother could hardly have chosen between them . “ ’ I noted a hint of suspicion in Menna s eyes h e o . t moment he entered the ro m Yet, thi s instantly vanished, when once he had looked upon the body . He smiled . Menna no longer fears that H anit will take vengeance f or the

of son . To a s Thi murder her Menna, to , the

n body is that of H a it . Their triumph seems to nana the a an E , M gici 39

Hanit azm es son them assured . and W , her , are

’ r - dead . Thi s son reigns ! The Sy ian sun god triumphs over Amen l ”

of Enana, Chief Magician the Temple of A men , rubbed together his lean and shriveled

d n han s . His experiment seemed well o the road to success . A Pharaoh might set aside on e queen for a nother ;the late Pharoah had done that . He might depose a queen of the line of the sun-god

of Thi B e Ra in favor , a Syrian, a commoner . guiled by the latter ’s crafty wiles he might close his eyes to the murder of an inconvenient son or ’ s ! t o o. Twas harem work that But , strike at the great God Amenra whom Enana served that was a diﬂ erent matter !

- Thi , the Queen Mother , was a foreigner, an idolator . The present Chancellor was al so a

Syrian, Yakab of Rabbath. Was it to be wondered at that the present ’ on Pharaoh, Thi s s , was da ily urged to over throw the gods Whom Egypt worshiped in

S ria n favor of Aton , the y god ? 40 H anit : the Enchantress

But what then would be come of the great gods

Khonsu f H or s Amen , Ptah and ;o Osiris, Isis , n , and a host of deities worshiped through count f less ages along the valley o the Nile ? And last,

’ but well to the fore in Enana s vision, What

of e would become th innumerable priests , him wh self included, o served those powerful gods ?

’ Yes ! H n Menna could strangle anit s only so , the lawful heir ;Thi could seek t o poison B e nit !

u f of But, touch the c lt o Amen Thebes and, at a word, the great priestly hi erarchy throughout

one Egypt would rise as man .

S O . O , at least, thought Enana S too Huy, First

of m hi s Prophet A en, broth er, and so Kathi, the

Embalmer, their hi reling . If it was to resolve Itself into a clash between

Court and Temple ! and, certainly, recent events had pointed to a rupture) Enana and the

Prophets of Amen were ready. Enana ’s small black eyes ﬁxed themselves upon those of the Embalmer wh o perceptibly

’ cringed . He laid one thin hand upon Kathi s “ : i Shoulder Son of Kath , thy skill is that of thy he a ian 1 Enana, t M gic 4

revered father ! peace in Aaru be his), nay, more excellent ! For what man w a s ever called upon to do the work that thou hast done ? ”

Enana pointed to the ﬁgu re lying half- concealed f “ in the shadows o the room . Verily in thee l hath Amen a faithful fol ower, one whose reward shall surely ﬁnd him . “ - n . Listen, so of Kathi The long expected hour has come . Pharaoh , Thi and the Syrians about them can no longer conceal their plan to bring about a civil war . Jealous of our power, Thi and Yakab have decided to challenge the supremacy

- f of all mighty Amen . The priesthood o Egypt

- is to be overthrown . Hook nosed Syrians and

our Canaanites are to be installed in stead, and our beloved banks of Hapi are to be overrun

of with the kinsmen Yakab, the Chancellor, may the twenty- four demigods blast him ! “ of Yet, mark my words , son Kathi . Though A l ton seem to triumph yet, in the end, shal Am hi en ﬁnd s own . Though all the powers of

of the conjurers Amen be counted in vain, yet

l A i hi r sha l men tr umph through Enana, s se 42 H anit : the Enchant ress

ll . vant . More I cannot te thee at this time

Yet, through troublous days to come, remember my words . With a muttered farewell the aged Magician shuf fled ofi down the narrow acacia-bordered path whi ch led to the landing - stage by the side of the river . Kathi stood watching Enana ’s bent figure until it disappeared down the san dstone steps which led to the ferry .

Like Enana, his master, Kathi was above all f a devoted follower o the great god Amen , whose worship the Queen -Mother now sought to destroy.

of Yet, late, there had been many moments such as thi s when Kathi had felt the bow- string

of at his throat, the arms the Strangler about his neck . Kings deal harshly with conspirators

nd hi a Kat , the Embalmer, whose horizon might well be said to have been circumscribed by death, feared to die . Kathi ’s fears were somewhat di ssipated at

i - sight of the onrush ng sun god, now vaulting nana the a an E , M gici 43

higher and higher above the rosy Eastern Hills . in He stretched forth his hands, palms upward, that appealing attitude of prayer so suggestive ff of a spiritual o ering . On the river below him the boatmen burst into the Hymn to Ra at his Rising, which had been ﬁrst sung by the Sage and Prophet Im hot e p, two thousand years before their time !

Nature, too , added her welcome to the nurtur

- ing sun god . The falcons sailed in great circles

i of above the ﬂash ng waters the river . To their shrill and quavering notes , intermingled with the joyous twitterings and ﬂitterings back and

of forth other birds , there was added the soft low n of the sacred cows and the shrill chatter ing of the apes belonging to the Temple of Mut in Asheru . Beams of light seemed to dance upon the gold caps of the lofty obelisks . Huge streamers rose upon the ﬂag-poles which fronted the great

’ sun - portal of the god s mightiest temple . Along the walls of the temple of the deiﬁed

King Thomes , a phyle of chanting priests ' 44 H anit : the E n chantress

o h ri he hi s - moved sl wly, the e b with tube like censer at their head . Kathi found it next to impossible to believe that a hideous civil war w a s a s i about to burst upon such peace th s . i Kath shook hi s head . He turned once more t ﬁ o hi s un nished task within .

46 H anit : the E nchant ress

’ the vessel s sides . It was often a dangerous matt er to pick a path through the many barges ,

- - war galleys , sea going vessels and lesser river craft which were strung out as far as the eye

ee of could s along the western bank the Nile . “ ” B ﬁeldhand y Hathor, said Nakht, a , as he ﬁ i xed his tired eyes upon the oncom ng galley, “ a man who can scull , row, and swim as can I, should have a place upon some such vessel . ” Thi nk of the life those dirty Amu lead ! All

t - foreigners were Amu o Nakht , sand dwellers a nd loathed for their ﬁlthy habits and the lice that covered them . “ Aye , Nakht ! Thou mayest well envy them .

f nd Think o the days a nights in port , ever with

’ u e he hi i gold t n to spend. Think of T t s w ne ,

’ Aua s dancing girls , a brawl with the city watch men—more damned foreigners ! “ Ai ! , ai Once I knew it well ! See this scar . ’ Twas Thethi himself gave it me . We were

n young men the , both as quick as southern panthers . “ Breath of Ra ! How many maidens and H ow Bhanar Came to Thebes 47 hapless youths think you Baltu brings to Thebes this trip ? ” A sharp blow from the sta ﬁ of the overseer

cut short this soliloquy. Once again began the splashing of waters mingled with the droning “ song of the irrigation worker : Life to this B ! seed, O Waters , Breath of Osiris , lood of Isis Life to these our seedlings that we may eat and ” live to sing thy praises .

The galley drifted slowly to the bank . The

oars were draw n in ; the great steering-oars

alone guided her . The emblem at the prow of the vessel showed

her to hail from Tyre . Her freight , as Nakht f had hinted, consisted in the main o hapless youths and maidens torn from the arms of their

murdered parents , enveigled from their homes by false promises or bought outright in foreign

- slave marts . Among the jostling crowds gathered upon the

embankment and overlooking the clustered ves!

oo sels , st d Renny, the Syrian . His gaze w a s

ﬁxed upon the forms of two little children busily 48 H anit : the E nchantress occupied in modeling dolls from the plastic Nile i ’ mud of the river bank. The ch ldren s occupa tion had interested him since Renny, the Syrian , was a sculptor . Renny w a s startled out of his state of artistic introspection by the harsh voices of a number of the foreign sailors . They had jumped ashore from the Tyrian galley and now sought to jostle their way up the steep and crowded bank . While these swarthy adventurers drove in the

’ - mooring stake , Renny s eyes roamed along the

of deck the galley itself . As he gazed at the ordered cases of merchandise, which had but recently been brought up on deck preparatory i to their unload ng, three ﬁgures emerged from a cabin door placed toward the stern of the ves sel . Renny instantly decided that the ﬁrst of the three , a huge man heavily bearded and with a

f w a s commanding eye and voice o thunder, the master and probable owner of the vessel . The

w a f second s a dainty youth , o a nation unknown

o t Renny ;the third a woman, by her robes a i i Syrian l ke h mself. H ow Bhana r Came to Thebes 49

The merchant made some remark in a tongue

a unknown to Renny and, t the same time ,

t e pointed shoreward . The trembling youth

' plied by throwing the long sleeve of his rich robe over his head, a gesture indicative of grief or despair. But Renny was far more interested in the

f o . figure o the Syrian, his countryw man What heartless parent had sold that droopin g figure into harsh captivity ? What disastrous war had resulted in her present plight ? Or had this hook- nosed Semite filch ed her from her nest high up above some gentle Syrian valley ? ’ s The sculptor heart ached for her . Thoughts of his own beloved vineyard flashed through his F mind . or an instant he visualized the purple i hi h lls which encircled Ribba , s native village ,

sk his the clear blue y, the sparkling stream , ’ father s white-walled house and the little temple

hi o hi f w ch st od, well nigh dden, near the edge o an ancient grove . Poor little exile ! Never had Renny so longed f or n uten power, for heavy golde , as he did at 50 H anit : the Enchant ress

that moment . Instinctively he gripp ed the single bar that encircled his left wrist . He smiled sadly. Fifty, nay, a hundred such , might not hi buy her freedom , and t s single golden bar

’ r epresented the fruits of tw o years untiring

n of labor u der the patronage a great, if capricious , noble . Suddenly hi s gaze riveted itself more intently upon the drooping ﬁgure of the Syrian woman . It could not be ! Yes ! He knew her ! ’ Twas

of of his Bhanar, a maid Ribba, Ribba itself, dear Syrian village ! Could hi s eyes have played him false ? He sauntered carelessly toward the Phoenician ves

el f s . w n Yes ! It as Bha ar, playmate o his boy hood, Bhanar whom his dead sister had loved so devotedly.

a In vain he sought to ttract her attention . t Finally, through an inspiration , Renny urned towards the east and gave the shrill cry of the

Syrian hillmen when danger threatened .

eﬁ ect Bh ’ The was instantaneous . anar s

r o d o ping form slowly raised itself . Astonish H O W Bhanar Came to Thebes 5 1

ment, joy and instant recognition passed rapidly over her beautiful face .

She had seen him ; she knew him ! With a warning gesture Renny slowly reclimbed the embankment . How to save her ? To whom could he turn f or help ? — His master the noble Menn a ? Small hope

- there ! The Queen Mother, herself a Syrian ?

Y es , he would attempt to reach the ear of the powerful Queen- Mother herself !

so To do , he must act quickly. Yakab , her u Syrian chancellor , sho ld be seen and quickly .

w a s - Yakab an importation of the Queen Mother,

o and a favorite f hers . Renny found Yakab seated beside the pool in f his garden . He a fected to be absorbed in a game of draughts with his youngest daughter . In a few hurried words Renny acquainted him with the plight of their countrywoman and begged his instant help . He drew the golden bracelet from his wrist but Yakab, smiling, stopped him . 52 H anit : the E n chant ress

The latter rose and in a few short words set

B enn ’ y s mind at rest . i mi In fact, with n the nute , they had parted at b ’ Yaka s stucco gate , Yakab to take a short cut hi to the palace, Renny to take s way along the r f iver bank toward the vast estates o Menna, hi the Royal Superintendent, s exalted protector.

54 H anit : the Enchant ress vi lla was now occupied by Thi and the new

son Pharaoh, her . About the banks of the broad lake waved mi feathery acacia, sweet scented mosa, marsh

ﬂowers, and tall papyrus plants . Upon its pel lucid waters rested white and blue lotus ﬂowers .

n Great cranes, pi k and white ﬂamingos and pure white ibises pecked leisurely among the lily pads or spread their wings to dry in the f rays o the late afternoon sun .

A sheltered landing- stag e opened on a cause way whose granite ﬂa gging led up to the door of “ ” - r the palace, the Per aoh o Great House as both the p alace and its august master were called . To the left of this causeway stood a small building set apart by the art-loving

f or Pharaoh experiments in glass and fayence . To th e right lay the series of rooms reserved t o Auta, the Royal Sculptor, and hi s pupils . Coun ted among the latter were the then reign

o Akhten- n n f erith ing Phara h, ato , a d No , his wife . Akhten-aton has a great admiration f or his The Pleasu re B a rge O f Thi 55

h h T ot me s . valiant ancestor , third of the name He counted among his most prized possessions a gold goblet said to have been designed and fashioned by the hand of that gifted Pharaoh . All E gyptians knew how well the hand of the “ ” great Conqueror of Asia had wielded the

curved sword of Amen , and with what marvel ous results alike for the enrichmen t of Egypt and for the prestige of her name . Few had ever

’ guessed that Th othm es rare moments of relax ation had been spent in the studi o of hi s Chief o d G l smith .

‘ “ To-da Akhten -no er y, f u, the pleasure barge of the Queen , was drawn up beside the landing f ’ stage in anticipation o Thi s arrival.

Less than a hundred cubits in length , its cedar beams were covered throughout with thi n plates

of pure gold. Its linen sail was ornamented

of with squares blue and red . The blades of the

light cedar c ars were tipped with silver ;the two great steering- oars were entirely sheathed in

the same bright metal . A portrait head of the

late Pharaoh was carved upon the handle of 56 H anit : the Enchant ress

of - each the steering oars . Two elongated eyes at the prow of the barge were inlaid with alabaster

of and deep Babyloni an lazuli . The name the

. vessel appeared inlaid in pale green emerald

of from Suan in the south . In the after part the vessel a low dais was covered with red and

e . blue checkered tapestry, to match the gr at sail With half- suppressed giggles of excitement “ ” l now a and whispered jests , the sai ors p peared. Noisily trooping down the causeway they took their places at the oar benches , as their leader indicated . Their leader, Princess

esen S , was as a musingly disguised as her il ” sa ors , the handmaidens of the Queen h Mother erself. ﬁ Queen Thi now appeared . A s her short gure passed from the d ark shadows of the passage

o of tw o int the glare day, ebony black Nubians dropped in an arch above her large and pro f usel - y curled wig, a pair of ostrich feather sun

in f shades dyed brilliant tones o red and blue . The servan ts fell prostrate at sight of her and “ in f so rema ed, muttering wishes or long life The Pleasure B arge O f Thi 57

” and health, until She was safely seated upon her gilded cedar chair, and a cushion placed at her feet by little Ata, youngest of her maidens . At her approach the “ sailors ” had been silenced by a warning gesture from the Prin cess . Suddenly the momenta ry decorum of these little maids was interrupted by a wailing cry

one of who from their number, , without ap

e s n ﬁt of parent r a on, burst i to a violent weep in g. F or a few moments sh e w as unable to explain

e f B i the r ason o her distress . ut ﬁnally, her S s ters gathered that her turquoise pendant had slipped from her neck and fallen into the water . i This pendant, a g ft from the Princess herself,

t she the tearful lit le maiden vowed must have .

r ow sh e l not r w She could not , wou d o , until it wa s found . After much delay her fears were somewhat i allayed by the Ch ef Eunuch, who promi sed to

’ f or th e a send Enana, Magici n . Enana s in cantations would soon bring to the surface her 58 H anit : the E nchantress

Sh e missing jewel . He promised that would ﬁnd it awaiting her when the barge returned to the

- landing stage . Thus , in part reassured, little Thutu dried her eyes and again bent over her ca r in anticipation of the signal to start . A trumpeter in the prow blew a shrill note upon his long instrument ! a new importation f i from Syria), a group o sing ng women from the temple of Sekhmet burst into song ; Ra h ote e p, the Chief Eunuch, clapp d his fat hands ; ff the ropes were cast o , and the forty maidens dipped their light cedar oars in the placid t “ f ” wa ers . The barge Beauties o the Sun Disc drew out slowly into the dancing waters of th e

lake . Seated in the shadow of the great checkered

sail , Queen Thi smiled her appreciation of the novel surprise which her maidens had prepared

for her . As the vessel drew out through the

’ nodding lotus ﬂowers Kema s ﬂute made soft music which seemed to min gle with the pearlin g

ripples of the waters . Kema, it seems , played

the ﬂute so well that the cranes and water- fowl The Pleasu re B a rge of Thi 59

him Often lit upon the sides of the barge to hear . Queen Thi was not aware that novel entertain ments such as this h ad been customary with the

E gyptian court from days immemorial . She was n ow to hear of just such a method of dis traction as had been practiced under the great

en f ru Egyptian monarch S e , who had lived, died

and been laid to rest , high up in his colossal

t . pyramid, some twenty cen uries before her time

ianekh - a For S , the story teller, suddenly p pea red and seated herself upon the deck in front f ’ o the Queen s chair . A S was her custom, she neglected both the prostration and the formulae

ianekh of greeting . S was a privileged char

acter at Court, a favorite with the late King, both on account of her inexhaustible fund of

of stories and because the fact that Pepi, her hi husband, had lost s life while defending hi s

royal master from the attack of a wounded lion .

’ Y e s ! Thi s Obese and indolent husband, the

late Pharaoh , had once been inordinately fond

f - o lion hunting. One hundred and two lions he

own had killed with his arrows . One had gone 60 H anit : the E nchant ress down upon the very expedition so fatal to hi s

- chariot driver, Pepi . But it was the last animal

’ of that great hunt whi ch had sent Sianekh s husband to the V alley of Shadows . Pharaoh

’ ’ never forgot Pepi s sacriﬁce . Pepi s tomb

i ff i of il never lacked ts o er ngs beer, wine and m k, ﬂesh and fowl or of fresh white linens for the hi rewrapping of s mummy.

i n ekh - i S a , the story teller, sl pped from the sleeve of her loose white mantle a small ebony wand tipped with electrum . Without preamble she commenced a tale of

’ S enef ru s of King days , a tale of the epoch

- those gods of old, the pyramid builders . In her monotonous singsong sh e told h ow the good king, tired with the cares of state and 0 p pressed by the great heat of noonday, sought a

n n t cool spot in which to rest, and fou d it o . H ow his son ﬂew upstream in the ﬂeete st royal

in f barge search o a famous magician . How

him ﬁ sh ln In he found g the Nile without a hook, and ﬁn ally persuade d him to come to his ’ t father s cour .

62 H anit : the Enchantress

o overﬂowing with the waters f the inundation .

son But Nakht , of Nakht, rather than abandon his tryst, let the swirling waters of the inunda tion ﬂow over his devoted head . Isis threw her hi self into the waters with him . To t s date lovers hang garlands about the shaft and breathe a prayer to Hathor f or sons and ” daughters like Nakht and Isis . A s Sianekh rose to her feet the Queen thanked her and presented her with a pair of gold ear

h e rings which s unfastened from her own ears ,

of one an unheard honor, and which even the

- story teller appreciated . The E unuchs showed their approbation by f loud cries of a fected astonishment, for the stories were not new to them . But the little

n r maidens , who had rested o their c a s during the recital, showed their keen delight in the tales “ ’ ” “ ’ ” by frequent oh s and ah s of astonish ment and approval scattered throughout the telling.

On the barge the hours slipped by unnoted .

To Yakab the Chancellor, who now anxiously The Pleasure B arge O f Thi 63

awaited the return of the Queen, each minute

seemed an hour. Yakab had hurried off to acquain t the Queen

’ to of Bhanar s plight, and to beg her come to the assistance of one of her unfortunate coun

r - t y women . Hour after hour Yaka b w a s compelled to Sit beneath the striped awning which fronted the H palace door . our after hour he pretended to

’ listen to the doorkeeper s accoun t of his exploits

i oldﬁelds am dst the Nubian g , in the arid Tur

uoise u of r q Co ntry, among the hills Mitanni o d beyon the Great Bend of the Euphrates . D Pentaur, the oorkeeper, had served three

c l su cessive Pharaohs . A ready was he popularly supposed to have exceeded the one hundred and ten years customarily prayed for by a ll pious

Egyptians . Yet, Pentaur seemed to have the

hek an- key to some mysterious charm, which

- e - kept his well worn teeth in his h ad , his deep set

eyes clear and his head erect . Though Pentaur

- d walked with a jackal hea ed cane, it w as from

o a nd n ot ch ice, necessity. 64 H anit : the En chant ress

h li Like all men, Pentaur ad his fai ngs . Next to the somewhat colored recital of hi s own

a n travels d successes , Pentaur loved to recount the exploits, narrow escapes and journeyings of his famous ancestor and namesake, Pentaur, companion and histographer of that greatest of

Th othm e li all Pharaohs , s the Great . As he s tened, perforce , to this garrulous descendant of

Pentaur, Yakab wondered if it had indeed been the ﬁery Th othm es who had crushed Nubia and

of or the whole Asia , whether the ﬁrst Pentaur had not in point of fact been the true instru

’ ment of Pharaoh s worldwide successes .

of Yet, much what the Doorkeeper said of hi s

n ancestor was true . Was ot Pentaur the His

’ ’ t orian s accoun t of Pharaoh s exploits written in good hieroglyphic and graphi cally pictured

’ upon the walls of Am en s temple nearby ? In deed, Pentaur, the Doorkeeper, had good ca use

hi s of for pride ancestry . The weary Yakab was on the point of re linquishing hi s long vigil when the notes of a trumpet announced the return of the royal

’ S on a e e a s e in Y a k a h s bar e . o ft r P nt ur nt The Pleasure B arge O f Thi 65

’ crumpled note to the Queen-Mother s apart

ment .

Once the ack nowledgment w as in his hands , Yakab picked up his long staff and rose to de A hi ‘ part. S s gaunt form passed beneath the

outer pylon , Pentaur motioned him back to the

c d ebony stool . Pentaur onsi ered Yakab an ex

ell c ent conversationalist , for the reason , per

’ en ur of not haps, that P ta s ﬂow anecdote had

once been interrupted .

But Yakab smilingly Shook his head . He

could not resist following up hi s heart-felt ex pressions of farewell with a sarcastic prayer

’ f or the repose of the souls of Pentaur s auces

try, as far as he could recall it , commencing with “ ” one of i f Den , the val ant Followers o Horus

of of the days the gods . Yakab feared that he had failed a member f hi o s . race He had been too late . Yakab loved

. But riches ;Yakab loved power , above all else,

hi s Yakab loved home , his family, his people .

' And was not Bhanar one of his people ?

That night Yakab could not sleep . CHAPTER VI

How BHANAR FOUND A HOM E IN EGYPT

ALTU the Phoenician left his bales of merchandise and returned to the side of

the trembling Bhanar . Erdu, his steers man could count the bales as well as he . As

’ each tenth bale passed over the vessel s side, i E rdu sang out the tally. He checked it w th a mark upon a piece of potsherd which he held in his hand . Misunderstanding the signs of excitement which appeared in the face of the trembling

’ n Ph oeni Bhanar, following Re ny s signal , the cian merchant sought to interest her in the sights about her. In a few moments She would l be of f his hands forever . She must not be a i lowe d to break down at th s juncture . In a voice which he sought to make sym pathetic Baltu pointed out the wonders of the

Western Bank. Bhanar Fou nd a H ome in E gypt 67

He named the builders of the various temples , shrines and gold-capped obelisks ;the owners of the more important villas whose gardens lined

nk the river ba . He even attempted to give some chronologi cal sequence to the intricate maze of rockh ewn i tombs wh ch rose , vast and imposing, from the edge of the Theban Plain to a point high up beneath the crumbling cliff s of the

western hills .

Yet, Bhanar found little of interest in her

n surroundi gs . Her eyes dwelt fearfully upon

i - the treeless h lls , upon the mud walled villages a nd gloomy temples . She noted that each and all of the Theban temples were guarded from th e eyes of mortals by high and forbidding walls

of solid masonry.

H ow diff erent was thi s t o the hospitality of

own her little temple , whose snowy colonnades

were open to every passerby ;its great wooden doors thrown Open from sunrise to sunset !

' i - Again, in contrad stinction to these sun baked hi lls her native village nestled in an olive grove, its encircling hills were green with pastures and 68 H anit : the E n chant ress

k At hi crowned with thic ly growing trees . t s very season its ﬁelds were yellow with the fra

all grant Syrian crocus . Over was a sky blue as

t . a turquoise, an a mosphere pure and limpid How dif ferent from the blazing heat of Egypt a nd that gr eat throbbing cauldron of molten brass which the Egyptians called their sky! Presently she would be swallowed up in one of l those forbidding temples , palaces or vi las ! f She thought that the well o her tears had dried, yet now the tears sprang hot and blinding to her eyes . Fearing that she might ruin hi s chances if she

a z lost th t soft rose coloring he so pri ed, to divert her Baltu led her to the cabin door and

o bade her robe herself to go ashore . Baltu t ok from his long fringed gown two small gold capp ed jars of obsidian and placed them in her “ - s : n . hand Descend to thy cabi , my Rose bud

Bid Darman let down that glossy hair of thine . Let her sprinkle a little of thi s perfumed oil and il gold dust upon it . The o is more precious

n t than the gold. Let her o waste a drop . Now

70 H anit : the E nchant ress pared hundreds of timorous maidens f or their

ﬁrst, and last, appearance upon the Slave

’ traders dais . When the owner grew tired of

i in his new plaything, like the playth ngs of

n i di . ne fa cy, t sappeared No o knew whither,

one no cared . Bhanar reappeared on deck to ﬁnd Baltu in

of n the act teasing the u fortunate youth , who now lay prostrate at his feet in an agony of fear and apprehension .

“ ’ ! o Up Dry those w man s tears , Page of Pharaoh ! Dost wish a tombk eeper to purchase ’ thee ? Queen Atah o s page servitor to a ! l mummy Pu l thyself together, boy ! Other ” — e wise Baltu clos d his eyes, folded his hands across his chest and assumed the rigi d pose of

a mummy.

A s his eyes opened he caught sight of the ad “ ’ va ncing Bhanar : A star s doves ! Did I not

‘ A o of tell thee Darman, r be cream , trans

parent, bordered with green and gold, dainty of sandals pink and gold, a simple gold diadem — ’ and the hair parted in the center so ! Seen Bhana r Fou nd a H ome in E gypt 7 1 through such Syrian byssus that rosy form pro

’ r Neb am on claims thee A sta s daughter . Ah , , what a treat for thine eyes ! ” Hardly waiting f or the unfortunate Hittite t youth to gather himself together, Bal u, trem bling with excitement an d cupidity, led his two victims to the long cedar gangplank . Once on shore he pushed aside the sweating carriers , and hi pulling along s two charges with him , started oﬁ down the street . Presently they passed the common slaver ’ s block . Two brilliantly palnted booths were at

' se e the moment in u . Upon on stood a stolid

Nubian woman and two weeping children ;upon

of - the other a troop half starved Amu, whom of l the priests Karnak, their origina owners , now were selling .

’ Baltu s great ﬁst thundered at the door of

the last house southward along the waterfront .

He slid back the bolt and threw open the door,

waving his two charges into a narrow corridor .

In a stentorian voice he shouted a command or greeting to the unseen inhabitants of the dwell 72 H anit : the Enchantress

ing and stalked of f down the corridor, and then up a short ﬂight of stairs to a room in the harem or second story . This room turned a blank wall to the river — front as indeed did all three stories of the — house but it overlooked a broad and well- kept

I t s garden . painted cedar door gave upon an awning-covered balcony which immediately

- overlooked the customary lotus pool . A giant sycamore spread its shady branches far and

ﬂ w e r - wide above the o dotted water .

’ In the shade of this aged tree Baltu s E gyp tian wife , an enormously fat but strikingly

s su hand ome Theban , was taking a short walk p

ou ported the arms of two Nubian women . Her

n pet gosli g rested upon her capacious bosom . At the sudden appearance of their lord and

’ master the latter dropped B entam en s arms and commenced dancing, clapping their hands , and sending out upon the quiet morning air the “ ” shrill welcome cry of their race , in which the

’ B entam en beaming , Baltu s spouse, attempted to join . Tears of joy the while dropped in a

Shower upon the head of her devoted pet . i However, Baltu had no time for greet ngs .

B entamen su In response to his directions , p ported by her maids , waddled slowly toward a

of little kiosk in the rear the garden , a summer house almost buried in a circle of ragged date dOm t and palm . Though in his rough way, Bal u devotedly loved his fat wife , business always consigned her to second place in her lord ’ s heart . Durin g this little scene Bhanar had had tim e to gaze about her . The room in which they stood w a s decorated with painted designs of

- hunting scenes , boomerang hunting amidst the marshes , a common pastime with the wealthier

Egyptians . The ceiling decoration consisted of a painted band of spiral grape vines , whose dainty tendrils met and intertwined imm edi a tely above her head . In one corner the artist had introduced a cat crouching to spring upon an unsuspecting ﬁeld mouse . The latter was busily engaged in eating its w ay into a fat bunch of luscious purple grapes .

’ s i Puns being the Egyptian stock in trade, h s 74 H anit : the E nchant ress

w i comm on form of t, the artist had scrawled in “ : wh minute hieroglyphics below Oh, guest, o

i f f r soever thou art , what do you th nk o this o a vignette ? ”

n ot in s ri Bhanar, it is true, could read the c p

ul of tion, but she co d appreciate the charm the little apartment, its brilliant frescoes and its

ﬁn ﬂoors powdered with est white sand, gold l dust, lapis lazu i and turquoise . A scent as of some sweet pungent incense

ir I n ﬂoated in the a . Scented woods from the cense Country had been stocked in the center of the little brazier which glowed ﬁtf ully at the edge of a low dais hung with richly embroidered linen . This dais stood well back against the eastern wall of the room . Upon it stood a light wicker work couch, its head and back of ebony, its four high feet of ivory carved to represent panther ’ s

hi ‘ Clapping s hands , Baltu gave certain sharp

a n directions to obsequious Nubian, who ap

ea red p as if by magic at his summons . There Bhana r Fou nd a H ome in E gypt 75

o after Baltu smiled, str ked his long beard and, taking a small bottle of w ine from a niche in

f ew . the wall, shook a drops into the brazier

He muttered a prayer to Bar, Baal and Isis as

u hi tw o he poured o t the wine . Could s hearers ha ve understood his words , they would have heard the old slaver bribe his gods , foreign and l Egyptian a ike, with promises of rich libations ,

of oxen and geese, should his bait be taken at the ﬁgure h e had ﬁx ed .

B o altu in this , did but foll w the lead of

in r Pharaoh himself, though Pharaoh , god ca nate , had he but paused to consider it , did but

o seek to bribe himself, in the person f his celes tial counterpart . Word soon spread through the mart that B Baltu the Phoenician was selling, and altu w a s known as a merchant who sold nothing but

the best and rarest , whether that best consisted

of spices , perfumes , wines , jewels, Babylonian

glass or slaves . Baltu the Phoen ician lifted a jewele d hand ! Listen, Thebans Four months have passed 76 H anit : the Enchant ress

since I have gazed upon the Queen of Cities, Thebes the Glorious ! During these four months

Me ido I have visited gg , Charchemish , Tyre and ' hi A skelon . My last voyage ther brought ye true f B lazuli o abylon, and precious incense from the Incense Land, the waterless land of the East ! “ This time we bring ye amethysts and tur

u ise f or hi q o your beads and bangles , malac te for the healing of your eyes, incense for your nostrils , precious oils for your anointing, or to mix with those ceremonial cones that custom ” l w bids ye place upon your gracefu igs, also suddenly his eyes catch the sight of the one man ff above all others he wished to see . He broke o “ e F r and address d the newcomer directly. o thee, my lord Nebamou, a rose ;nay, a human

o of Naha rin ! rose , softly pink as a r se Step up , ” s or th sel great lord, ee f y f! With a quick movement Baltu unloosed th e gold girdle that supported the heavy robe so gracef ully draped i about the shrink ng Bhanar .

“ ’ N b amon A rose indeed, e ? Do my lord s

78 H anit : the E n chantress

o shrew. Remember, m re than three months I had her on my book. With me , as with Darman, sh e w as a very dove, as soft and cooing as the

’ H h r sacred doves of at o s temple yonder ! Nay, have d one with Ge diya ; we will Speak of her

of anon . Thou wouldst know the price Bhanar

— of ? the Beautiful , of Bhanar a daughter Kings There are perhaps four whose names allow

h e the purchase of the maid, and these Pharaoh himself, Rames , your good Vizier, Menna, the

’ n Ki g s Overseer, and, perhaps , thyself ! One thousand gold uten and ﬁve hundred bags of

ll eb am on ! northern Wheat wi buy the maid, N

ee Make up thy mind, and quickly. Yonder I s approaching the carrying chair of thy most

n s n of dreaded rival , Me na, o Menna . What says ” my lord Nebam on ?

ut en Five hundred , Baltu ;all I have is thin e ” for the maid ! The handsome noble shot a hasty glance in the direction of the oncoming

’ chair of Menna, the King s Overseer . It was

o plainly visible t all present, as it swung up the Bhanar Fou nd a H ome in E gypt 79

w n garden path, t o outrun ers with slaves going im before , a foreign conceit which Menna had

aharin ported from N . Nebamon drew from hi s jeweled girdle his ff t writing set. He a ected to write ou a mem m orandu . “ One thousand uten and ﬁve hundred bags of wheat will buy the maid, Nebamou, nothing ” less . A rriving just in time to hear the repetition of

na hi the price Men descended from s chair, crossed the room and stood before the shrinking

Bhanar . Menna never haggled . He bought outright or he signaled his bearers and w a s borne away without a word . On this occasion Menna took a hasty look at “ to B l Bhanar, turned a tu and cried : Done , the girl is mine ! ” With a scowl upon his handsome face Neba mon haughtily withdrew, followed by a half score of excited Th eban nobles and the usual ” “ ” of on os ﬂi group hangers , th e es on meat who 8O H anit : the E nchant ress customarily attached themselves to the more reckless nobles of the resident city. Withi n the hour the delighted Bhanar foun d herself atta ched as maid to the person of the

es n of erith Princess S e , attendan t of N , the hi young Queen . All her fears in t s direction were instantly dispelled when the Princess a d vised her of her Simple duties in Syrian as pure

wn as her o . From that hour Bhanar adored the

n very ground her beautiful mistress walked o . From that day Bhanar became the very shadow of the little Princess .

’ The secret of Bh anar s present good fortune

to on of was due the fact that Menna, s Menna,

i se loved the Pr ncess Se n . Menna felt that such a gift as that of the beautiful slave -girl would go far to impress the haughty little maiden with

c f hi the sin erity o s suit . Possibly this lavish e di xpen ture would touch her hard little heart.

on f The price was indeed a high e, even or a w Royal Overseer . But it a s the ﬁrst time in all ’ Menna s thirty- odd years that a woman had not smiled upon his suit . Bhana r Fou nd a H ome in E gypt 81

Stranger still, perhaps, for the ﬁrst time, ’ Menn a s Menna truly loved a woman . True , love by now was closely akin to madness , since the little maid continually frowned upon his suit .

The youthful general , Ramses, he knew, was ever in her thoughts .

Yet, Menna never despaired. In earlier years he had often been on the point of relin quishing some tirelessly pursued quarry, of a similarly

unruﬂled 10 serenely type, when , the pome

hi s granate had suddenly fallen into hands . ’ B Bhanar ul -be ut what of Renny, s wo d res cuer ? Returning overjoyed from his visit to l Yakab, the Chancel or, Renny had reached the

’ acacia grove fronting Thethi s Tavern when something suddenly descended upon his head and the last thing he remembered was a stun — ning blow and then oblivion . Could Renny the Syrian but have had some slight premonition of what next would happen

hi s to poor unconscious body, he would certainly have rubbed that small green crocodile penda nt

of n at his neck, the gift an Egyptian friend, a d 82 H anit : the Enchantress uttered the formula which drives that voracious i creature from ts prey.

But Renny was a Syrian. He wore that little

a green charm merely to ple se his friend . Renny put no trust in feathers of ibis or blood of lizard ;he smiled at charms and magic incanta ’ tions . Renny s own simple religion was a re

n of . ligio of love , not fear

o w s Yet , who kn ws , perhaps the little charm a

him of to assist , and this in spite himself. CHAPTER V II

How BEN N Y THE SYRIAN ESCAPED T HE CROCODILES

E have already alluded to the violent

sandstorm which had raged over Thebes .

- As Kham hat had truthfully said , such a st orm had not been known since that memorable

ul h day when Thi the Beautif , ad been brought

’ u - to p river to Egypt s capital , there become the f favorite wife o the late Pharaoh . The storm had been especially severe in the

of or immediate vicinity the capital , so at least , i it had seemed to the d sgusted Thebans . Their loud complaints as to the hide ous damage done

no were t unduly emphasized, since the baleful

ff of e ects this storm, both in and about the resi

ou dent city, were apparent every hand . Many of the famous palms and giant syca ’ mores in Pharaoh s palace garden had been up

o or of r oted despoiled their ﬁnest branches . Many of the Abyssinian trees a nd Lebanus

83 84 H anit : the E n chantress

l cedars , that ined the causeway leading to Hat

’ Sh e sut - p s ivory toned chapel , now lay prone

- across its well paved incline, or , loosened at the roots , hung shriveled, torn and dejected, far out across its brightly painted parapets .

Dust, a foot or more in depth, had drifted a e f of gainst the gat s o the villas, many which seemed as if they might rather have opened upon some gloomy mortuary- garden than upon the dainty gardens of exalted nobles , with their wealth of tamarisks , acacias , myrrh, sandal wood and stately Lebanus cedars . Not a Sign of life was visible along the sloping

of hi its walls the city, not a living t ng stirred in dark and narrow streets . Covered by the same

a ! gray p l of dust, Thebes had seemingly united herself with her immense burial- ground to the westward . Thebes appeared to have become one vast city Of the dead ! A swirl of the ﬁn e impalpable Egyptian dust i rose into the Sh mmering air, a whirling and — - - ever widening cone part sand, part river silt,

human Y . es part ashes , throughout the Nile

- den sand bar . For a time it seemed that the stifﬂy swaying forms of the wretched foreign Chieftains lashed to the prow would break the

thongs which held them in place . It availed

Ranuf n nothing that , the captai , cursed the look

- hi s out man, his father and forebears since E gypt emerged from the primordial Nu ! And the unhappy Ameni suf fered the irate captain ’ s

the of curses in silence, as it was sixth mishap the kind since leaving the sandstone quays of

E . net, sacred to the Goddess Hathor As Ranuf hurled at the bent head of his look

out - hek an man a last fearful , a potent spell intended to consign the soul of his discomﬁted ’ assistant to the voracious maw of Osiris s

hound , he noticed a dark patch ﬂoating upon

the water below. A white face gazed up into

! n Abdi, quick A drowni g man ;a country ” of man thine ;if I mistake not . The Syrian addressed strode quickly to the

’ captain s Side, took one look at the slowly drift

ing body and, casting aside his sandals and

- a loin cloth , dis ppeared headlong into the river. Renny E scaped the Crocodiles 87

Cautiously the captain extended a long pole in

n an the direction of the swimmi g sailor . In other moment, Abdi was drawn safely to the deck, and, with him , the apparently lifeless

ﬁgure of the man he had attempted to save .

Abdi rose to his feet , seemingly none the worse for his adventure . He clasped the cap

’ “ tain s hand : Adon ! I thought a devil had me by the heels ! Truly the eddies hereabouts have a deadly grip ! Dost kn ow the lad ? A fellow ! countryman by those blue eyes of his See , they

’ open ! Breath of Adon, tis an ugly crack he ! ! hath Cut the thongs that bind him Verily, ’ti s dangerous work to meddle with Syrians , as they wh o planned this treacherous attack will

ﬁn d of ! , should Thi get wind it Thou knowest in

‘ such a case, even the tried, judged, found his ! ’ bitter doom is omitted from the records , since

‘ ’ ’ thus we save the government s ink, says that wag Thethi ! ” The captain bent over the still motionless

form of the unknown . He tried to recall the

but face failed . At this moment the Syrian presented a most 88 H anit : the E nchantress

woeful appearance . The long, slim form lay inert ;the eyes from time to time opened and closed wearily . Blood still trickled slowly from

of a slight out along one side his forehead . By now he was surrounded by half a score of

l . u curious , yet sympa thetic sai ors One bo nd up

n his wou d, another provided him with a striped

- a his head cloth , another placed a dry robe bout shoulders . A s he once more ﬂuttered back to conscious ness , a sailor addressed him in the Egyptian tongue : “ Stranger , how comest thou in such a strait ?

Verily had it not been for that patch of reeds, the crocodiles that swarm about the temple quay

e had sight d thy bobbing form, or the gripping Whirlpools around the Southern Bend had drawn thee to the river ’s slimiest depths ? Breath of Sebek ! Thy pendant did indeed pro ” t ect thee ! t The question was unders ood, as was evident from the color that rushed to the pale face , and the intelligence that lit up the bright blue eyes .

H anit : the E nchant ress

of stage , Renny leaped ashore . With a wave the hand to his rescuers , he abruptly disappeared among the bales of hides and serried ranks of great empty water jars , which were piled up

o high along the sh re, awaiting shipment to the north . Renny had seen a company of Royal Guards men drawn up before the colonnaded portico of

- the royal lan ding stage . i He had noth ng to fear from the soldiers .

These, he well knew, waited to escort the vic

’ t orious General Ramses into Pharaoh s pres ence .

Yet, at their head, idly swinging a jeweled h scarab which ung upon a long gold chain, stood

’ B a r , a spy in the service of Menna, the King s ’ n Overseer, Ren y s powerful patron . Renny had his reasons for seeking to avoid

’ the Prince s servant at this juncture . He could

oﬁ s not shake the feeling that Bar, the py, was wi concerned, in some way, th the attack that h a d so nearly cost him his life . CHAPTER VIII

NOFERT -ARI DANCES BEFORE PHARAOH

N chariots or carrying- chairs members of the

r Court were hur ying t o the Palace , to assist

n ne at the feast pla ned to honor, at o and i B the same t me , elur , the newly arrived Hittite

o Ambassad r, and the victorious Egyptian gen

t u . eral , Ramses , but now re rned from Nubia According t o precedent Ramses would pre sent himself before Pharaoh and the Court in order to receive th e customary favors b e

‘ o stowed upon a victorious Egyptian leader , th se “ favors which the King bestows ” and “ the f ” gold order o valor. Throughout the long day the excitable Theban populace had yelled itself hoarse , as one after another the war-barges swung around the great

of s bend the river , outh of Thebes .

Each boat was marked by its standard- of

- cognizance , and no sooner was its moorin g stake 92 H anit : the En chant ress

driven into the bank than a yelling, ges ticula ting and joyfully-weeping hoard of rela tive s and friends of the crew burst upon its

decks .

of From that moment, all signs discipline

en utterly vanished. Men, women and children t ered upon one of those inevitable carouses

which , in Egypt, ever followed such a home

coming . Everyone was coming up to Thebes in order to witness the great celebration in honor of v io i tory. It being festival time even the ind gent

passengers at the western bank were to - day allowed to work their way across the river by li bai ng the leaky ferryboats .

Thi - , the Queen Mother, in company with the

’ weak but pretty young queen, left the Women s

w ! Apartments early, on her ay to the Banquet

hall . As She passed the various courts and

columned porticos the watchful eunuchs, guards

and servants, hurled themselves prostrate at

of sight her . On knees and elbows they grov “ ” “ ” eled f or , prayers health and long life

upon their trembling lips .

94 H anit : the E n chant ress

’ b r A out the great Queen s th oat, wrist and ankles were broad bands of alternate gold bars f and minute cylinders o beryl and amethyst .

un - The names of Aton, the Syrian s god,

u stamped in rich blue fayence, h ng from a long chain well down upon her high bosom . Though now no longer in the dazzling beauty of her youth , Thi still possessed m any a charm

of . face and form Yet, had she been devoid of such , her voice had served to win for her the l great and powerfu empire that was hers . At

one the sound of it, knew at once why in Akh mi n , where ﬁrst her parents had settled, men had called her Nightingale ;why, at a later date , poets and singers of the Theban court had vied

e with on another to do her honor . No mere doll -faced beauty had caused the

set H ni former monarch to aside Queen a t, an

’ exalted lady of the line of E gypt s royal house a nd of - es a lineal descendant Ra the sun god, y , a n d to cause the death of the unhappy Prince h Wa zmes whom s e had borne him .

’ Th i s face and form h ad been enough to set kings and princes warring . Yet , to those prized N Of ert-ari D ances Bef ore Pha roah 95

’ of gifts of Hathor, Beauty s Goddess , had Ptah

f - Memphis added the voice o a ten stringed lute,

f k c and Khnum , Fashioner o Man ind, an intelle t that had quickly w on t o her by far the greater f number of the nobles o the court .

Thus had Thi , a foreigner, a woman sprung, by descent at least, from common Syrian stock, usurped the rightful place of the great Queen

’ H anit d f k n , descen ant o kings and a i g s wife . At the foot of a short ﬂight of steps leading to l the festival ha l , Thi and Menna met . They ex changed the customary string of ef fusive greet

h noriﬁc ings and o s.

As the Queen - Mother Swept on sh e found her

way blocked by the crooked form of Enana . The wizened old Magician stood leaning upon hi s jackal -headed staff immediately in the cen ter of the narrow passage .

’ Enana s sole garment consisted of a long kilt or tunic fastened at the waist by a jeweled belt,

and faced in front with squares of ﬁne gold . This was an affectation of a fashion long since forgotten .

’ At Thi s cold greeting the puckered and 96 H anit : the E nchantress

heavily-lined face of this animated mummy trembled with what might equally well have

b e a nswered for a smile or a grimace . Yet,

hi - neath his shaven eyebrows , s half veiled eyes glittered ominously, as they lifted for a second to those of the frowning queen . Enana ignored her greeting .

n l u Involu tari y Thi sh ddered, yet inwardly cursed herself for a fool . It was only Enana, a

w h o li f or fellow ved, nay, had lived centuries ,

’ twas said, upon the credulity and superstition of the Thebans ! Thi swept past him and out upon the balcony overlooking the long hall . There she found

’ Nof e rith e sen , her son s wife , the Princess S , f and others of the maids o honor, awaiting her.

Thi e As s ated herself, Menna passed below her balcony . He bowed to the two queens, yet his o eyes sought those of the Princess S sen .

’ n Men a, the King s Overseer, had again yielded himself to the spell of a pair of lustrous e di yes and mpled cheeks . He loved the little

Princess , as he had never loved before .

98 H anit : the E nchant ress from which drooped fragrant white lotus

ﬂow er s - ; the huge circular gold ear rings , and — the ﬂashing pectoral ornament a glitter of jeweled inlays—whi ch rose and fell at every breath .

’ S esen s cheeks and lips were artiﬁcially red dened , her eyebrows shaved and lightly penciled

hl of with ko , like those the Queen and Queen

w a s Mother . Yet, unlike them, her tongue

’ i e en s Silent, her sm les had vanished . S s somber eyes evinced little interest in the bustle and joy

b Nof erith ful preparations a out her . Twice did the Queen , touch her with the dainty little scent

sh e f t o tube carried, in an e fort recall her to her

- laughter loving self .

a - Finally, fter the sweet scented lotus which

each lady carried had been changed but once,

esen the Princess S rose , pleading faintness .

m al The sy pathetic Queen whom she served, lowed her to retire without exacting the formal

prostration .

’ At her withdrawal Menna s disappointment

w a s intense . He sank back deep into his painted N Of ert-ari D ances Bef ore Pharoah 99

cedar chair . For Menna the feast was at an end . m But not for the noisy revelers about hi . Even the haughty members of the Hittite e m

’ ba ssador s suite forgot for a moment their lofty attitude of detachment .

son of For the corpulent Mentu, the Vizier

Kena, had whetted the appetites of these

Asiatics . Through the somewhat hesitating

of medium a sibilant Canaanitic dialect, the gar r ulous Mentu had somehow managed to make them understand that the entire kitchen forces

Thini H ote ra of the governor Of s and of p ,

Prince of On, had been brought upstream to as sist the royal cooks . “ ” “ l Indeed, said Mentu, though whir ing sandstorms bury us ;though drought and pes tilence of stalk the blistered banks Hapi, yet shall we enjoy the choicest viands , the rarest ” “ wines, he clicked his purple tongue ; wines whose seals have stood intact since good King

’ Ahm es ! B ut time , wait until thou seest

NOf ert-ari ! Breath of Ra ! Then shalt thou say: I OO H anit : the Enchant ress

‘ Baal forgive me ! Our coun try is afar oﬁ ! Between us lies the raging sea ! Egypt is a land

’ of pleasure and delight ! Here let us tar ry !

so F or l And it proved . marvel fo lowed mar

al l vel with mo st bewi dering rapidity. A di sh that won the plaudits of all w a s an

enormous platter of Syrian craftsmanship . hi Upon t s gold dish, in the midst of gold reeds a n d papyrus , swam ducks , plover, and other S f diminu aquatic birds . In a miniature ki f, a tive Egyptian boatman propelled his silver E craft over perfumed water . An gyptian noble, standin g upright in the bow, aimed a jeweled

- i throw stick at a ﬂock of egrets wh ch , with wings outspread, quivered upon gold wires high hi above a t cket of feathery papyrus .

r The realistic little ﬁgures were of past y, the birds cooked with all their feathers on !

Dishes of this sort were countless in number, the design of the last more astonishing than that f o the ﬁrst, since each jealous cook had sought

n t of t o outshine hi s rival, both in origi ali y de f sign and richness o material .

1 0 2 H anit : the Enchant ress

re orders about thy throat . From this day thy nown is fragrant as the perfume of the Incense

! u s Country. Arise Take thy place beside

‘ - - f - as Fan bearer ou the right o Pharaoh, thy Lord ! ’

re At his elevation to this coveted position, newed a pplause s eemed to shake the painted

roof. Friends pressed forward to kiss the jeweled chains and ornaments that had but n ow left the

- hand of the god king . Some hurled themselves prostrate before these rewards whi ch only Pha r h ao s might bestow. The King shot a covert glance in the direction

f r o the Balcony rese ved for the royal harem .

The Queen - Mother shook her jeweled menat in

’ company with the other ladies . Yet, in Thi s

a case, the ction represented far more than mere

r applause o acclamation .

l of The tactful Be ur , Prince the Hittites, in

turn , rose and added a few well chosen words of praise for a difficult task so promptly and blood lessly accomplished. N Of ert-ari D ances Bef ore Pha roah 1 0 3

him his Pharaoh, watching from beneath

of richly painted canopy, doubted the sincerity the smile that played about the handsome lips of i the Hittite . Again he resolved in his m nd the

’ probable cause of the Hittite s inopportune visit. f A space was cleared in the center o the hall .

a The t bles , still groaning under the burden of their barely glanced at dainties , disappeared a s

- if by magic . The well woven mats and glossy

n - pa ther skins were lifted from the stucco ﬂoor, a nd out upon the space so made sprang a troupe

f - o lotus wreathed girls , naked save for the be aded cincture of maidenhood which encircled their slender hips . Scattering Syrian crocuses and the pure white

ﬁ - petals of the lotus , these co ee colored little

a of m ids , the very embodiment childish grace, pelted one another with the perf umed shower

- until their little ankles were well nigh hidden .

As if this had been a signal, the bright blue warbonnet of Pharaoh was lifted from his head ; an Asiatic Slave-boy bathed the royal ﬁngers 1 0 4 H anit : the E n chant ress

and Pharaoh , with a nervous twitch to his long,

hi e t n f atures, leaned back wearily against the embroidered cushi ons placed at hi s back by the attentive Dedu . The last scene of what had proved a veritable f feast o marvels was about to commence . The sudden entrance of the merry little chil

“ ’ dren had been the prelude to the King s dance . This dance was a far diff erent performance from that series of posturing and tumbling com m nl l o y provided by the acrobats of o d. And it was thought that “ the King ’s dance

Of ert -ari could only be performed by N , claimed i a s daughter by the blind Tut ya, though known to the irreverent youth of Thebes as the child of f of B Hathor, o the Goddess eauty, sprung

of from the head Ra . At on e end of the ﬂowery carpet left by the little children knelt three heavily- cloaked i women . Beh nd them squatted eight shaven hi headed harpers, clutc ng to their naked breasts the gilded frames of their ten- stringed instru

1 0 6 H anit : the En chantress

-ﬂow er s tesy, until the nodding lotus that wreathed their curlin g wigs swept the ﬂow er

strewn ﬂoor below him .

’ Then, in answer to Pharaoh s scarcely per i cept ble acknowledgment , slowly they rose upon “ their slender feet and, with a life and health , lords ” placed themselves once more beside the still motionless central ﬁgure .

All eyes were centered upon thi s well-cloaked

now . ﬁgure . It , too, rose Was it motionless ? It called to mind the birth of some glorious butterﬂy or moth . The undulating movement that one sees in the soon to be discarded shell best described the bursting of NOf ert -ari upon the delighted vision of w l her audience as , shivering ith the pecu iar f motion seen but in those creatures o a day, she suddenly dropped the dull -brown cloak that en v el ope d her, and appeared fresh and smiling to their view.

ef er - ari e m In the dancer N t we s e a sli , though willbw r n y fo m , a form a d countenance that rep resented the very arch-type of all that an Egyp N Of e rt-ari D ances Bef ore Pha roah 1 0 7

tian held beautiful in women . A pair of spark

set ling eyes , elongated, obliquely , gleamed in

- frames of blue black a ntimony, which served to accentuate the strikin g whiteness in which swam their fathomless pupils .

’ On Nof ert-ari s head w as set a dark brown wig which, covered thickly as it was with a myriad

' - little knots and curls , dropped in well regulated layers until it grazed the tips of her thi n and

- i set . u high shoulders Th s dainty perr que , fringing with its line of dancing curls a fore head that rivaled polished jasper, and touching as it did at every move and gesture the outer pencilings of her shaven and thi ckly kohl stained eyebrows , seemed to soften the rather prominent cheekbones and perhaps too pointed

i of ch n . The quiver her wide though delicate nostrils , bespoke a passionate nature, which the faintest of dimples and the ivory ﬂash of small though regular teeth, did their best to contra

’ . u dict The dancer s f ll round throat, her arms ,

- wrists , and well formed bust, were ablaze with

- jewels , amid which pale green beryl, dew like 1 0 8 H anit : the Enchantress

r crystal , rose carnelian , gold, elect um and sil ver , gleamed in opulent splendor, as her bosom rose and fell .

As she stood, a pale blue lotus drooping above

mena t in each hidden ear , a jeweled one hand, her coff ee - colored and well oiled skin agleam with the reﬂected light of innumerable prismatic

anim Med r colors , she seemed less an human fo m

od than a ﬁgure carved, by Ptah the g of sculp

of . tors himself, from a block glowing opal With her ﬁrst perceptible motions the music

- o a o rose to the major key. The time b aters centuate d the broken rhythm more and more, i while Tut ya, her heavy though sightless eyes — glowin g in their painted depths she too had once been hailed a Theban favorite—burst ever “ ” a n d anon into the Nubian cry, that blood stirring cry which acted as an incentive to her now posturing daughter . In the center of the ﬂowery carpet stood

NOf ert -ari l n , languid y shaking her jeweled m e a t .

sh e Slowly turned upon herself, the muscles of

1 1 0 H anit : the Enchantress

NOf ert - ari e shoulder, advanced to the very dge of the royal dais and comm enced that portion of the dance for whi ch she was so famed . Into this every muscle of her supple body w a s forced to move in unison or singly as she willed . Her lustrous eyes gleamed beneath their dark ened eyebrows , her expanded nostrils quivered , l her fu l vermilioned lips were parted, the very veins in her forehead throbbed in measure with

a A S the refr in . her supple arms, wrists, and hands played about her body with a wavelike — an indescribable motion her jeweled bust and

ﬁrm , yet ﬂexible hips , swayed to the spasmodic movements natural to the dance .

The music ever increased in volume and, as if to add contrast to the grace and beauty of the peerless dancer, a hideous naked pigmy,

ono a - o beating a tiny g skin drum , leaped ut upon i the ﬂoor beside her, and grotesquely mitate d

her every move and gesture .

Thus , to a chorus of wild staccato yells from

i -h O er - ri Tut ya and the excited time eaters , N f t a , her form seeming to undulate in ﬁerce spas N Of e rt-ari D ances Bef ore Pha roah 1 1 1

modic waves from breast to hip , with arms thrown high above her head, ﬁngers clenched and eyes fast closed, sank slowly to the stucco

ﬂoor .

she l Presently, as rose , stil trembling, and while the echoes of that clamorous applause still

u - reverberated amid the ﬂaring lot s capitals , a

r royal usher hur ied to her side, and in the name of Pharaoh , presented her with a blue fayence f goblet o lotiform design . Inlaid in green, white and red about the foot was an inscription revealing her euphoni ous and happily-chosen “ ” - i f Nof ert ar ho o . name , , She w is made beauty

a Following the d nce , Pharaoh had retired within himself . He had assumed an air of studied abstraction and aloofness .

Yet, Dedu remarked signs of nervousness in the twitching of the jaw. Dedu had been born

- in the palace , in the self same year as his ex alted master . Dedu might well have been

’ e called, as inde d at times he was , his master s “ ” double , his other self. In Pharaoh ’ s slightly twitching hands and in 1 1 2 H anit : the Enchant ress the covert glances which from tim e to time he directed toward the haughty leader of th e t Hittites, Dedu spelled expectancy and, wi hal, a nameless fear.

n the Then it was the Hi ttite, not Ena a Ma

ician ! D k n g , his royal master feared edu ew there had been much speculation a s to the true

’ meaning of B elur s sudden and quite nnex

e p ct ed visit to the Egyptian capital . — So far, oriental courtesy coupled with the

’ Egyptian s inherent regard for the rights of — hospitality had forbidden any outward evi dences of impatience on the part of Pharaoh

’ o r his august Mother . And Pharaoh did well to distrust the wily

Hittite . With the pause that had followed the

of Of r - ri s e withdrawal N e t a and her assistant , th i Asiat c prince rose to his feet, slowly lifting his Hi jeweled hand to command attention . s keen glance swept the heads of the swaying crowd which craned its neck the better to see him and hi to hear s words . The Prince of Charchemish bowed to Pha

1 1 4 H anit : the Enchantress

him brother, had sent down into Egypt, that he might cﬁ ect an alli ance with the throne of

. l Egypt, an a li ance whi ch he w as sure would eventually prove of mutual beneﬁt to Thebes

n a d Charchemish alike . In token of his fraternal esteem Rimur had sent to Egypt a full shipload of the treasure of his country and of the countries adjacent

ﬁll wi a nd thereto . Its hold was ed th the gold f Z silver ve ssels o ahi, with swords and daggers f cunningly damascened with gold, the work o

Me iddan g craftsmen . Inlaid corselets were

there, jeweled quivers , gauntlets worked with l gold and si ver threads , and shawls for the

i of o lad es the courts , s ﬁnely woven that they might be passed with ease through Pharaoh ’ s

o - i g lden Signet r ng . To the Queen , the Hittite

ha d - King sent a covered carrying chair, of

stamped leather richly gilded ; to the august

- Queen Mother, a golden goblet from the hand s of Il of g Kadesh ; and lastly, to Pharaoh, his kingly brother, three fully equipped chariots ,

o t gether with nine Syrian horses, swifter than N Of ert-ari Dances Bef ore Pharoah 1 1 5

- of the north wind, to draw them ! In the name

n Ri r hi f or n Ki g mu , s brother, he asked the ha d of the eldest daughter of Pharaoh his brother,

n - ! the Pri cess Aten merit, in marriage ’ During this speech Pharaoh s nervous fears had gradually given place to astonishment and

i - finally to anger. Th s new found arrogance and “ ” assurance among the little people w as an entirely new departure . ! As he rose to hi s fee t to reply there was a look upon hi s face which neither Belur nor hi s o e wn courtiers had expected to s e . Before that ’ look even Belur s assumed efi rontery slowly di ssolved . “ of Son Rabatta, it is now less than a year since a Hittite embassy stood within thi s very ll k ha ! Li e thee, it came freighted with the rarest and richest products of the Asiatics ! If w e remember rightly its ofi erings included one hundred logs of Lebanus cedar, five hundred

of pounds Cilician Silver, three hundred pounds

f -l f o the true lapis azuli o Babylon, two hun d red gold and electrum goblets , with choice 1 1 6 H anit : the E nchant ress silver vases of the workmanship of Zahi ! In ff comparison with this , thy meager o erings seem to prove that Charchemish hath lost it s hold upon the Lebanus , upon the Cilician mines ,

Z hi of upon the princes of a , Kadesh and Megiddo ? Or perhaps thy brother hath for gotten the circum stances which prompted hi s ’ father s princely gift ? Not with gifts for favors to be received came Rabatta thy father !

h tribute of vassa l Nay, wit , with the tribute a did he come ! With tribute exacted through fear f ’ o Egypt s might. “ Take back thi s message t o Rimur thy ’ brother ! Thus s aith Pharaoh of Egypt : Tis but a breath of time since Rabatta knelt a t

’ n ! Pharaoh s knee , sweari g fealty Wherefore

’ h Rimur hi e l ath , s son, fail d to do the ike ? “ A S s to thy insolent propo al, when hath a Daughter of the Sun left the land of Egypt at

’ the beck and call of rebel princelings ? Tis in

’ our mind to hold thee hostage for thy brother s

u quick ret rn to reason. Yet, go ! And with

1 1 8 H anit : the Enchantress

in thy Asiatic possessions to the north , thy vassal -states have risen in revolt against thee !

of Rimur Nay, Pharaoh, heed the words my

r a r e brother, o thy Asiatic possessions lost to

r f thee ! Great Kheta, the combined a mies o all

the Asiatic principalities , stand at thy very

! Rim r gates ready to devour thee Thus saith u ,

of Lord of lords, King kings, Lion tha t Devour eth Lions ! ” ’ w a l e Pharaoh s face s terrib e to s e . His j aws

worked, the veins upon his forehead stood out like knotted ropes , his large eyes ﬂashed with w ﬁres of rath . He qui ckly raised his golden scepter as if he would have felled the audacious

Hittite at hi s feet . The wand of sard and gold

s ﬁ napped between his clenched ngers. Controlling himself by a mighty eff ort Pha raoh poin ted to the door and somehow managed “ ” t o articulate the one word : Begone ! CHAPTER IX

TH E LUM INOUS BOOK

I GH up among the tombs lived Unis, f neophyte of the Temple o Amen . The

abandoned tomb- chapel which served to shelter him immediately overlooked the tree . embowered villa of Enana the Magician, for whom, at times , the youthful prophet worked .

nl a e E thio His o y attendant was Bata, an g d

so pian, not long ago his nurse . Bata wa s seen almost daily in the market h place . Here s e not only collected the various oﬁ e rin of sirn le gs the p herdsmen and peasants , but acted as go-between in the af f airs of the s uperstitious farmers, herdsmen and petty officials who were in the habit of consulting her

on master . For Unis carried a desultory prac

an d tice in necromancy, astrology divination .

Bata collected the fees, which were generally paid in kind . 1 2 0 H anit : the Enchantress

Unis spent the few auspicious days ” which the Egyptian calenda r allowed to each month, seated upon a low bench beneath a sycamore

imme di tree on the border of a narrow canal,

’ ately opposite Enana s island home . Here he listened to those wh o came to consult him or wrote letters f or those who required it .

In his character of seer, Unis had found it necessary to a ct in many varied capacities .

During the course of a single day, he was often called upon to act as scribe, physician, exorcist, di - viner, faith healer and farmer. Unis w as supposed to know the past ;he could “ ” l see one w h o foretel the future . He could

’ had tampered with hi s neighbor s landmarks or

’ a ltered the ﬂow of water in his neighbor s dykes . He could forewarn of an approaching sand — ’ storm that nine days terror of the traveler . He could provide the neces sary amulets against

of o the bite snake r scorpion . He could tell the whereabouts of lost cattle or name that man or woman who had made off with the off erings to the dead .

of Thus , a timid maiden , desirous a love

1 2 2 H anit : the Enchantress burnishing had the persevering Auta lavished upon his masterpiece , and, throughout those weary months , but three simple implements had — served him for his diff icult task a wooden mal

let . , a bronze chisel and a ﬂint burnisher Apart

- from this , sand, water and emery dust were ’ Anta s only helpers . Though Unis was consulted by peasant and ffi ffi l petty o cial, peasant and o cia alike con sidere m d him ad. As such he became a person ffl to be pitied and cared for , as one a icted by the gods, yet one through whom the gods spoke .

Thus , Unis could come and go wheresoever and whensoever he pleased .

Except for his periodic visits to the sycamore, l Unis was rarely seen . Al his time was spent in the great temple librar y or amidst the crum blin g shrines and half - choked tombs of the

necropolis . To the guards of the cemetery he was some ’ ’ one s i ha k an mated , a restless soul see ing, per

or haps , to identify his ruined tomb to ﬁn d and

‘ ’ become reunited to the lost souls of hi s wife a nd children . He was constantly on the lips The Luminou s B ook 1 2 3

of the public-storytellers as an ever-present example of the truth of on e of the Oldest and

w ondertal s most familiar of Egyptian e , the

Adventures of Menti .

' In point of fact, Unis was as much ﬂesh and

blood as anyone . Yet none, whether courtier, priest or peasant, could have guessed the reason of his tireless researches among the open shafts and ruined chapels of the older part of the great

Theban cemetery.

However, the very fact that the Thebans were so frequently regaled with the story of Menti might well have given them a clue as to the true

’ reason of Unis occupation in that haunted spot . It seems that Menti ’s “ spirit ” returned from enjoying a f ew hours among living men and re entered hi s mummy to ﬁnd that the bodies of his wife and child were missing from their

ﬂin r co s. Menti at once compelled their e stora

of k tion by means his nowledge of the names , charms and talismans contained in ‘ the magic

Book of Thoth .

’ Written, twas said, by the God Thoth him

- n self, this wonder worki g Book had once be 1 2 4 H anit : the Enchantress

A of Im longed to that rchitect and Seer old,

’ h te m I n o p. It was a com on saying Unis day that the Great Step Pyramid west of white walled Memphis , could never have been raised had it not been for the compelling incantations —recited in the prescribed attitude and with the — proper tone of voice by that now deiﬁed archi

t e f o n . ct o the g dk i gs of old, Imhotep f Before the death o Imhotep , it was said that he had hidden the Magic Book behind the sar co h u Zoz r p ag s in which lay King e , his master, deep within his stupe ndous pyramid . A thou sand years later its hi ding pla ce had been re

Am son of . vealed to enhotep, Hap, in a dream

’ Amenh otep s possession of the Book must

! have been a fact . How else could he have “ ” erected the colossal Temple to the spirit of the late Pharaoh ;how otherwise could he have

- eu - built the Temple at Kha Mat, the beautiful Temple on the Island and the great colonnaded m Temple of Amen , upon which , at the com and

f Akhten - o Pharaoh aton, work had but recently been relinquished .

1 2 6 H anit : the Enchant ress these compelling “ utterances ” which could thus drag the very gods from heaven, were all con “ ” ine t a d in the Luminous Book of Thoth . Herein were inscribed the Hidden Names of all the Gods , the Triads , the Enneads of the Sk f y. Herein were the Mysterious Name s o the Keepers of the Double Gates of Heaven ;of the

of of Serpents that guard the approaches Duat,

of ri on hi s Ra in his Boat , Osi s Throne !

S 0 awe -inspiring a hold upon the imagina tion of the Thebans had the legend of thi s mys t erious Book that its name w as never men i n t o ed. Rarely, indeed, was it alluded to by the priests .

- of Pharaoh . the Like that , sun god manifest in the ﬂesh , like that of the Unseen Statue of the

of m of ab Great Temple A en, like that the

God of horred Crocodile Ombos , its name w as i never taken upon the l ps .

hi Am son of When the arc tect enhotep , Hap, was gathered to his fathers , Pharaoh com m anded that he should be buried beneath a The Luminou s B ook 1 2 7 little temple which stood somewhat to the south

wn r of his o stupendous mortua y temple . t Here, for a time, Unis had acted as lec or, intoning the prayers and of fering to the hidden ha status Of the dead architect the various por f tions o meat, bread and wine with which Pha

out f raoh had endowed the tomb, o taxes

n f nit received from the nearby tow o O . In so b doing, Unis stood immediately above the su terranean chamber in which the mummy of

e Amenhot p lay. Unis had been call ed from hi s duties at the ’ set son of Hap s tomb by Enana, and to work among the ancient manuscripts of the great

library of Amen . Enana would have him ﬁnd some clue to the

present whereabouts of the Book of Thoth . A S he loved life and feared death he was told to ’ keep f or his master s ears alone any news to i f th s e fect . Uni s soon became an initiate of the Sorcerers

of A mi f men, then nor prophet o Am en . With 1 2 8 H anit : the Enchant ress

such a powerful master as Enana, First Magi

i n of o c a the Temple, Unis felt that he should g l far. He gave himself up whol y to the work in

in th e hand . Certain h ts gleaned from docu

of ments led him to believe that the Book had, as l hi un o d, been secreted in a tomb, in t s case an named tomb on the western shore . Uni s took up his residence in one of the aban

n doued tombs. With unremitti g a ssiduity and stoical fortitude he spent day after day among

ul the excoriated bo ders, the dusty mounds , the bat- infested shafts and tumble d-in shrin es which constituted the older corner of the The ban necropolis . In thi s fruitless s earch the Gods Hunger and Thirst were his only compani ons

to l h Unis t urned once more the ibrary . Wit indomitable patience he continued hi s re searches a mong its un ending shelves of musty documents . f nh Soon he noticed that the name o Ame otep,

on of w a le the s Hap, s very frequently coup d

of ﬁn ll with that the lost Book. In fact, Unis a y

1 30 H anit : the Enchantress

o the heart of the reckless priest . There sto d the alabaster sarcophagus which held the body of n the sage . Unis read the i scription engraved “ f a hi s upon the side : Amenhotep, born o Y tu ; ” son of e of O s. father Hap, Hap, Justiﬁ d siri

la A an d him o . There y menhotep , with , the Bo k ’ f e r n The Book ! Uni s a s vanished. Trembli g with excitement and high hopes the young priest

- set himself to his self imposed task . It was an auspicious night in the calendar of the prophets of Am en ! Th e Star of Thoth w as in the ascendent !

e Unis s t to work with a short, stout bronze bar. Hour a fter hour went by unnoted by the l feverish y excited youth.

eﬁ or s At last the stone cover yielded to his t . ’ Unis eyes gleamed with joy and anticipation .

oul n Enana, his master, w d be hailed as o e with

of Imhotep , builder the pyramids , with Ptah h e e ot p the Philosopher, with Am nhotep, son of

l ! too Hap , himse f Perhaps he would compel the gods to do hi s bidding !

Unis gave a last push to the great cover. It

ll - o u l fe to the sand covered ﬂo r with a d l thud. The Luminou s B ook 1 3 1

him w a s He lowered the lamp . There before

e i the out r coffin of the old sage . Th s, in turn, n Unis lif ted a d found, beneath, the gem — — crusted cofﬁn solid gold it seemed in which ’ Amenh otep s royal master ha d caused the son t of Hap o be placed.

l n The heat in the litt e chamber was i tense .

’ The blood in Unis temples throbbed with his

exertions . His body gleamed in the ﬂickering

F r light ;perspiration ran from every pore . o a time the youth returned to the upper chamber where he could ﬁll his lungs with the purer and

o i c oler a r .

not f or r But long. I n a few moments he e

u o i t rned t the tomb chamber . He l fted the gor geons coffin -lid from the lin en-swathed form it

c At th e iﬂ o of oncealed. once st ing dor myrrh,

li ui an h q dambar, cinnamon, d ot er strong es

ences al s c im s again mo t over ame h .

Unis bent down. With an eff ort he lifted the ﬁ mummiﬁed gure . He felt about underneath hi ! the head . Not ng Unis tried the feet of the

i - t ghtly draped ﬁgure . No book ! Then Unis did somethin g for which he knew 1 32 H anit : the Enchantress

on i punishment earth was severe . What m ght be his fate in the hereafter Unis di d n ot dare to think ! Lifting the body from the coff in alto gether, he comm enced slowly and methodically

i of to unwrap t. Yard upon yard aromatic l l ﬁ inens he loosened, unti nally nothing but the blackened form of Amenhotep lay before him . N0 eyes had Unis for the jewels with which Amenhotep ’s sorrowing master had covered the d hi Th e of ead arc tect . throbbing brain Unis

ne was concentrated upon but o thin g, the Magic

Book.

w s not e It was not in the wrappings . It a b tw of n een the knees the deceased, where, as U is

so o . knew, ften documents are placed It was

of not between the folded hands Amenhotep . It t i was nei her at his head nor at h s feet . it ff Unis replaced the body in s co in, throwing the linens in upon it pellmell . He covered it

it two with s wooden covers . The great stone outer cover he knew must stay where it had

l . fa len He could have that replaced by others , following his report on the present condition of

1 34 H anit : the Enchantress

of hours among the tombs the Theban cemetery. He systematically covered every foot of the hill

n side, enteri g both the ancient tombs, and the

l . modern, as far as he was a lowed At night he delved among the ancient scrolls of the library f Am o en . Each night upon his return he had been met

by the impatient Enana . Every night, week in ,

hi s week out, he had perforce to shake head, to spread his scratched and often ble edin g hands

deprecatingly. i ’ l t Of late Un s step had ost its elastici y. An unnatural brightness glistened in his sunken ’ T - i eyes . o n ght, espe cially, Enana s mind had

hi s been ﬁlled with anxiety for s afety. Unis should have rounded the point by the

’ tamarisk grove hours ago . Enana s anxiety

Hi one w a s not f or Unis . s thought was of the l Book. The Book he must have, if he wou d put ff hi s present plan s in to e ect .

Had the young priest but known it, he was the third person sacriﬁced by Enana, the Magi

of B . oian , to the ﬁnding the ook

’ A s Enana turned to enter the low doorway The Luminou s B ook 1 35 of the tomb in which Unis had recently taken up his quarters , an unusual light in the valley At below caught his attention . He paused . the foot of the steep incline, at the upper f d nn reaches o which he stoo , moved an u atural k pin ish ﬂame . It seemed to palpitate, to wax

f or and wane as it moved, move it did .

Nearer, ever nearer, it came , constantly grow ing larger and brighter, until suddenly by its

of light Enana recognized the pallid face Unis , his assistant . A s Unis came towards him the overjoyed Enana noticed that his long thin arms were held

out him straight before , that there , upon his up — turned palms lay the Luminous Book ! It needed no word of Unis to tell him what it was . The light that glowed about its pure white

of leather cover proved it the Book Books . The overjoyed Magician advanced toward the young priest, but suddenly halted, as he caught the horri ble expression which distorted the lat

’ ter s livid face . It was as if Unis was being

compelled against his will to hold the Book .

’ Unis eyes were open , but they did not seem 1 36 H anit : the Enchantress

ee Hi him o to s . s feet carried al ng, whither he

n ﬂeck e hi seemed ot to care . Foam d s black ened lips ;beads of perspiration sto od out upon his forehead .

a d Gazing straight before him , slowly Unis vanced . Hesitating for a bare second at the — threshold of the doorway on e might have sup — posed that he was unfamiliar with it h e

se slowly entered the chamber, t the Book care fully down upon a cedar table near the upper

en wall, turned and left as silently as he had

t ered.

The hi t otal room, w ch had formerlybeen in n l darkn ess, was ow il umined as though by a temple lamp . For a moment Unis paused,

‘ turned his unseeing eyes full upon his master, the next he had vani shed behind a great stone stela which stood beside the ancient tomb which had been his dwelling place . Far better it had been for Unis had he con tinned to fear the pursuing fury of the lea- statue of the son of Hap ! Alas f or Unis ! Searching one d ay through

CHAPTER X

PHARAOH SEEKS T o EXAL T A FOREIG N GOD

HARA H O stirred . At once two ebony black Nubians r ecom

menced to wave their ostrich-feather fans above his restless head .

Again did Shamash , an Asiatic eunuch , hold

’ to his master s nose a small glass phial of som niﬁ -O il c poppy .

a di d Once gain Bekit, his little daughter, chafe with fragrant sandal Oil his ﬂeshless ankles . ’ All ! a in vain Ph raoh s frame failed to relax . i Suddenly, with an mpatient gesture , Pharaoh pushed aside the ivory head-rest and summoned

of . Dedu, Keeper the Royal Linen ff The rebu ed, but smiling Bekit, held to her father ’ s lips a blue glazed goblet ﬁlled to its

' Thinite lotiform brim with sparkling wine . A s

n of A he dra k, the swaying forms ta and Mai ,

1 38 Pha raoh Exalts a Foreign G od 1 39

youngest of the court dancers , rose from the

ﬂoor beyond him . Barely had they assumed a single graceful posture before the gold seal- rin g ’ - upon Pharaoh s hand ﬂashed in the semi gloom .

He waved them impatiently aside . f Entering softly, Dedu, Keeper o the Royal

Linen, carefully drew back the curtains from the windows . These green byssus draperies had served to keep out the brilliant rays of the

’ “ un s , as reﬂected from Queen Thi s pleasure ” on hi Pera o lake , the northern shore of w ch , the royal palace, stood .

one Thus , might admire the charming decora

of tion the room, with its green tiled walls , its cedar columns, its elaborately designed ceiling, a nd its painted stucco ﬂoor covered with pow dered lazuli and gold dust .

I n answer to a hasty motion on the part of

a his silent m ster, Dedu commenced to bind him

ﬂarin - in the long, g skirted gala robes of the da y, things of wonder f or the seemingly in numerable ramiﬁcations of their softly rippling

m - white pleats . A ge encrusted belt of ruddy 1 40 H anit : the Enchantress

Nubian gold was clasped about his Slender i waist, a girdle broad in the back and taper ng towards the front, where a ﬁercely charging

of B oryx , carved from a solid block abylonian

ni lazuli , served to conceal the mecha sm of the

’ clasp . The restless monarch s feet were bound

-hi in soft gazelle de sandals , sandals dyed a

- rich rose pink, gilded and turned up at the toe .

Over a pa dded linen sk ull- cap was set the royal

ﬁ - warbonnet, a magni cent dome shaped head dress of a brilliant sky blue . From the center

f - mm o thi s regal he ad covering, and i ediately ’ above the m ona rch s ’ low and unnaturally re

a tw o treating forehe d, the red jasper eyes of f golden a sps glittered like spots o hidden ﬁre, as they quivered upon ﬂexible wires with every movement of the impatient monarch .

In public, the vain and indolent monarchs wh o Th othm es of A had followed , Conqueror sia, had ever aﬁ ected the Warbonnet above all other headdresses . At sight of its bright blue inlays the discreet and sycophantic courtiers invari ably burst into vociferous appla use ; the sol

1 42 H anit : the E nchantress

r r f huﬂled o o Asia, s to the door, where his

- ivory carrying chair, his sixteen priestly bear er - - hi s, hi s sun shade and fan bearers, and s pet him lion, awaited . “ With the inevitable prayer f or health a nd ” i on long l fe upon their lips , e and all saluted the god-king by raising their right hands and crooking their lean backs in the obsequious

Syrian mode, but recently introduced .

In the columned forecourt of the Great Hall , the stentorian voice of the Court Herald ’ warned of Pharaoh s approach and Akhten

f - of aton, Son o the Sun god, Lord the Two

of R B Goreth Lands, Ruler ulers , ull that Bulls, gave th e looked - for signal that should start the forward movement of that great procession which would usher him into the Double Audi f ence Hall with a ll the dignity o a ruler, whose sway, nominally at least, extended from the further conﬁnes of Nubia to the Great River of

Mitanni .

one ozer of Soon, no but W , Keeper the Gates,

- a n hi s spear men d the cooks and butlers, re Pharaoh Exalts a Foreign G od 1 43

mained within the palace walls . It was with a sigh of satisfaction that Wozer heard the ever receding tones of the chanting prophets and priestesses of the temple who headed the pro cession .

A ll ll h il oze S Ptah the Ce arer ro ed eav y by, W r made a gesture expressive at once of thirst a nd

e a good game . Ther after, Ptah and he forgot, f r m r o a ti e , that there was a gate to watch o

- fragrant jars of win e to seal . Skull cap to

- headcloth , both lost themselves in a high staked game of draughts ! The Great Double Hall to which Pharaoh had

f . been conducted consisted o a long, high nave

On either side this gigan tic lotus - columned nave stood smaller aisles . Both nave and aisles were bathed in the subdued light which ﬁltered

a through pierced al baster gratings . The dimly seen roof was composed of huge

of ﬂat slabs sandstone painted blue, an d dotted

of with myriads little gold stars . The bulging shafts of the column s whi ch supported it giga ntic pillars covered from capital to base 1 44 H anit : the Enchant ress with brilliantly colored representations of Egypt ’s host of deities —glowed in the shim mering light with a thousand prismatic colors .

The ﬂoor was of beaten gold, its high walls a glitter Of yellow tiles inlaid with varicolored paste hieroglyphs . These seemingly unending lin es of inscription extolled the late Pharaoh for gifts which he had given , perforce , to the tem

l e i ples, or and d him for certain maginary deeds of prowess performed in unk nown campaigns

n in Nubia a d Asia . n At the upper end of the hall, raised upo a l o of ow dais, sto d the throne Egypt, the “ ” f r A ﬁ golden throne o Ho us . s was tting, its curved arms were supported by the bent backs

f bi ns A o pinioned Nu a and siatics .

To the right, and immediately overlooking the

of erith royal dais , was a balcony reserved for N ,

l- the Queen ; for Thi, the al powerful Queen f f Mother, and or a few favored ladies o their suites . This balcony, at the moment, was hung with rich embroideries .

’ In front of Pharaoh s throne stood painted

1 46 H anit : the E nchant ress an usher threw wide the cedar doors at the end of n the hall a d, standing upon its granite

of s threshold, cried to the vast concourse restles ﬁgures now visible in the court :

ur Long live Pharaoh, o Lord !

f o Millions of millions o years to him, even s long as the sun endureth ! With a roar the accustomed royal salutation was taken up “ of Life, health , abundance and fullness joy ” our a nd ! be to Pharaoh, Lord, forever forever

of The crowd petty nobles , counts , monarchs

now and captains pressed forward . With heads l bent, spines arched, right hands raised, s owly a nd reverently they ranged themselves about

of the lower end the hall . Were it possible, the forms of these white- robed newcomers ﬂashed with the glitter of well -nigh as many jewels and gold or silver orders as did those of the more ’ exalted n obles gathered a bout Pharaoh s throne .

of Those who were unable, for lack space, to

to d gain access the hall, had perforce, to stan Pha raoh Exalts a Foreign G od 1 47 outside in the unprotected court and exposed to

n the blin ding shafts of the vaulting su .

so Yet, few complained, momentous was the step now contemplated by the fanatical young

Pharaoh . l Anticipation and, it may we l have been fear of l n the resu t, explained the unusual stern ess of expression visible upon the faces of all pres f ent, a tension seldom seen upon the faces o this

- pleasure loving people .

F or weeks past the Theban capital , nay,

Egypt itself, had been a seething maelstrom of riotous priests , mutinous soldiery, and pit e ousl y clamorous slaves and petty farmers . With the speed of a hungry jackal the news had spread that Pharaoh had at last determined upon the ﬁnal break with the priests of Amen in

Karnak . Pharaoh ’ s keen interest in the Syrian cult of

hi s n Thi , mother, was well k own . The new Sun

a a i cult lre dy had a certain follow ng, at least

among the nobles of the court . At thi s very moment many members of the nobility had 1 48 H anit : the Enchantress

recently bound themselves to support their royal master in the revolutionary step he now

contemplated . It is true that t he more exalted members of

’ Pha raoh s court still continued their visits to

the great temple of Amen in Karnak . But the

- nasal intonation of Ameni, the ibis nosed lector,

had of late merely served to amuse them . As to

h - Pharaoh , imself, the over powering reek of

i - ncense, ﬂowers , fresh baked bread, and blood,

did but sicken him . The glitter in the silver eyes

of of his a host of granite stat ues , ancestors ,

Ira -ﬁgur e s of a long line of loyal and devout fol

fu a nd . lowers of A en, both unnerved repelled him From his golden throne Pharaoh ’ s prominent

- eyes swept the oil coned heads of his subjects .

ll be - One and a were dressed, jeweled and

anointed as for a gala day. Their loyal shouts

of welcome had warmed his heart . At the same him time , their enthusiasm seemed to give the necessary strength f or his momentous task.

No sooner was he seated, and the jeweled i scepter placed upon a sta nd at h s side, than the

1 50 H anit : the Enchant ress

Then again the same expectant hush fell upon l that shimmering hal . Pharaoh raised his hand . ﬁ His soft, but resonant voice lled the long hall “ My children ! We have summoned you be fore u s that you may hear the words of Pha

! F or raoh, which change not centuries past hath Egypt been a jest in the mouths of strangers who cried “ These be the sons of the Egyptians that have raised t o themselves more gods than they ’ have days in which to worship them . Had we not been hindered by the priests of Amen yon

our der, long ago , yea, even in fathers time, this reproach had been removed from amongst us !

Henceforth, my children , cease to cry upon the Kh Triads ; upon Amen, Mut, and onsu ;upon ! Horus , Set and Ausar “ A s of you all know, the gods of Thebes, On,

- i of white walled Memph s , are but attributes of

n- f the on e b eneﬁcent su god, o Aton the Glori

- who ous, the Life giver, dwelleth within the Sun ! “ A o A Henceforth, let t n, not men, be upon Pha raoh Exalts a Foreign G od 1 5 1

Am en b e your lips ! Let Aton , not , upon the lips of ! your children Thus , as in times past, Egypt shall worship one god from Nubia to Suan of ’ ton s the North . May A bright beams embrace ’ ” you ! May Atom s rays forever enfold you !

n f Across the ﬂashi g waters o the Nile , where the great temple of Karnak raised its giant pylons high above the palm groves which f Am fronted it, Huy, Great High Priest o en, frowned darkly as the sound of the loud a p

lau se ’ p which followed Pharaoh s speech , reached his ears . To Huy and the prophets of Amen that sound

heralded the beginning of a war to the death .

But Enana, the Magician, did but smile . CHAPTER XI

THE STAT UE OF AM EN DISAP PEARS

N Thebes a religious drama w a s enacted i annually, a drama in wh ch was portrayed

the eternal conﬂict waged between Amen,

- t he sun A e of . god, and p p, Prince Darkness

n Unk own to the peasant, as indeed to many

t of a priestly par icipant, the story the drama, in

of truth, perpetuated the prehistoric invasion “ ” Egypt by those Followers of Horus who had subdued, and, eventually, become absorbed by the original inhabitants of the Nile Valley .

At that early date, Thebes had been but a l small vi lage, a cluster of mud huts and a small

ri f sh ne, over whose walls rose the emblem o the primitive cult .

Since that time, three thousand years had come and gone , and Thebes had become the richest and most powerful city of the ancient world.

1 54 H anit : the Enchantress

“ The Followers of Horus were personiﬁed by

Theban priests , local notables and others . “ ” A of m s to the Followers Set, the ene ies in the drama, such miscreants were portrayed by

nh u appy foreign slaves , criminals and the like , many of whom were sacriﬁced before the alta r

sun- of of the god, following the conclusion the customary mimic battle and mock attempt to ff f carry o the holy statue o Amen . The great Theban festival called f or a full

in li week of continued merrymak g . Mi tary tournaments were instituted, athletic contests took place ;boat races were a daily occurrence along the river front . In the palace magical

the of contests were held, wisdom ancient sages

or of was discussed, great prophets the day ’ were brought before Pharaoh s throne .

In the latter ca se Pharaoh heard, at ﬁrst hand, of the marvelous deeds of magic under the eu ce stors of the Pyramid Age , or was admonished to give more thought to his oppressed and hun gry people . One stalwart hermit had ha d the temerity t o The Statue O f Amen Disappears 1 55

prophesy the overthrow of Pharaoh and the “ ” coming of a righteous king, under whom Egypt would return to the blissf ul state of long “ ” n ago , before death was , a d mankind, both

an native and foreign, would become united in international brotherhood which would make one the lands of men and the Blessed Fields of

Aaru , the abode of the gods ! The rash prophet w a s not handed to the s trangler, but led courteously from the Pres

. An f or ence order a tomb, a ﬁne limestone

’ c h - s o in, and a tomb s tatue, followed him to hi

di . f stant home During the Feast o the Apts , ’ one might speak one s true mind, even before

Majesty. “ d of ri n n To ay, the day b gi g in the god, crowds jostled and pushed along every Theban lane and alley. Everyone sought the Avenue of

n or Sphi xes , the River Road. The latter route, which extended from the main pylon of the

Temple to the Sacred Quay, was policed along its short extent by a double line of foreign

spearmen , 1 56 B enit z the Enchant ress

The two -horse chariot of the chief of these mercenaries dashed madly up the well guarded

course, turned and disappeared down the long Avenue of Sphinxes which led t o the Southern

hi one Temple . The C ef would take last survey “ of the ﬂow er- strewn route before the Appear ” of n- ul ance the su god sho d commence .

of A The gold statue men the Hidden One, would presently be taken from the Holy of dim Holies in the shrine of the Northern Apt,

and escorted upstream on the Sacred Barge to the jeweled sanctuary of the Temple of the

Southern Apt . Before the open cedar doors of the temple Pharaoh himself might be seen upon hi s port

of able throne gold and ivory, high above the

t - As shoulders of twen y four priestly bearers . usual , his tame lion stood upon the dais at its

’ royal master s side .

The grand procession now moved forward.

e It was head d by a priest , wh o solemnly burned

- incense in a long hawk headed bronze censer . All about him musicians played and women-of

1 58 H anit : the Enchant ress

of but thick necklaces beryl , amethyst and car nelian beads . With much beating of drums and clicking of castanets a group of feathered negroes pressed close after the singers . l There fol owed another long line of soldiers , A Egyptian, siatic, Nubian, Libyan , and, ﬁnally,

of so a little group Cretans , remarkable not much f or the breadth of their shoulders as for l m f “ ” the s i nes s o their waists , hornet waisted

ni they had been ckn amed by the Thebans . These latter were almost lost behind their enormous ox- i hide sh elds . Each group carried its own special type of weapon , since there were deﬁnite regiments of archers , axemen , spearmen and slingers , and each company was headed by its own device or standard bearer . At last the heavy bronze doors of the Temple of Amen slowly opened and a seemingly unend ing line of white - robed priests issued from the deep shadows of the stupendous pylons . High upon their gleaming shoulders rested portable barques containing the various sacred The Statue of Amen Disappears 1 59 deities belonging to the various temples which were well -nigh hidden by the lofty enclosure

ff e walls . Certain priests o er d incense to these l f gods, at intervals , along the who e extent o the route . In the midst of one group might be seen a m f nu ber o spirited bulls , with horns decorated

of in gold . Great yokes ﬂowers and sweet smellin g leaves were hung about their throats .

‘ Trailing out behind these last followed a long line of priests carrying the standards of the f gods , since the whole company o the Blessed

Gods marched , unseen, in this great procession. A renewed wave of cheering went up as the i - in of l nen draped shr e Amen appeared . A vacant place was kept clear behind it, in which “ ” marched the souls of dead kings ! Thirty- six tall priests carried this Holy of Holies towards

’ a gleaming barge , moored to the water s edge w at the Sacred Quay. Over t o hundred feet b long , this barge was uilt throughout its entire

of c extent edar from the Lebanus Terraces . Its sides were covered to the water ’s edge with 1 60 H anit : the E nchant ress

of pure Nubian gold . Enormous necklaces gold “ were hung at prow and stern. The Two eyes f i o Horus , at the prow, were nlaid in brilliant

blue lazuli from Babylon . The great checkered

e linen sail, which lay furl d upon the silver deck,

was of the square Egyptian type . It was dec

orated with squares of red and blue embroidery . There was now as much noise and excitement

on the river as on shore . The captains of ﬁfty great painted barges awaited the signal to pull up their mooring- stakes as soon as th e Sacred l l Barge shou d be we l under way . Were it pos

t r ,sible, the s artled air t embled to still louder

shouts as excited overseers , taskmasters and men commenced to pull at the great towing

ropes . The swift Nile current made it neces

sary that the barge be dragged upstream by a

of u whole army yo ng and lusty Egyptians . Along the line of route people began to di s

appear from the gayly decorated windows . The

’ last scene of the day s ceremony was about to take place within the still unﬁnished forecourt f f o the Southern Temple o Am en .

1 62 H anit : the Enchant ress

” of position, a spot marked by a huge block

set turquoise from the Sinaitic mines , in the richly painted wall of the upper temple .

Around the great forecourt, the nobles knelt or tw o stood, according as they belonged to the

f Am or rival factions o en Aton .

hi e no To the latter group, t s mark d what was doubt the very last procession of its kind . Hence

r these adherents of Aton, the Sy ian God, stood iff st ly in the background . A covert smile might have been noted on many a swarthy face among them .

’ Pharaoh s expression was one of cold in ff di erence . Throughout the whole scene the apathetic monarch seemed not to be conscious of where

or of he was what he was doing . It is true , he successfully ﬁnished each and every detail of A B t the exacting ritual of men . u , what he did, di d l he mechanical y .

- The last mock reverence ﬁnished, Pharaoh retired. The Statue O f Amen Disappears 1 63

As his throne was borne swiftly toward the

hi o . royal barge, s mask f impassibility vanished He sank back and allowed his gaz e to travel

on from e side t o the other . There was an air hi of expectancy in each turn of s head . He even went so far as to bow to the acclamations of hi l n little t s peop e , a d this not a o their bewilder ment, since Pharaohs, in public, were custom a ril y, at best, but breathing statues . Scarcely had the king set foot upon the deck “ ” of his t of beautiful barge, S ar the Gods, when a frightful tumult broke out along the bank, immediately fronting the gr eat barge of

n l - — M e . Wi d shrieks from the women of the temple, hoarse and angry cries from the men, intermingled with mocking laughter and shouts of derision . A great crowd of angry priests of Amen might be seen pushing their way through the dense crowd which was massed in front of th e

of Thothm es gia nt statues , whose temple Stood

near by . Frantic a ttempts were being made by 1 64 H anit : the Enchantress

f hi the priests o Amen to burst through t s crowd .

Yet each insistent attempt ended in failure , as

C one did a last harge in serried block. The crowd itself was by now so divided into factions that blows were falling right and left, and hapless people were constantly being trampled un der foot . “ ” Shriekin g : Sacrilege ! Sacrilege ! the priests turned and rushed headlong to their boats .

ur The Holy Fig e of the Hidden One, the s t t of A n th e sun - di s acred S a ue me , god, had appeared. The followers of Aton had scored their ﬁrst

one f success , and that success o tremendous im port !

1 66 H anit : the Enchantress

of sca first, but with a flow words that rcely waited for breath . “ What saith the son of Hap ? Seek the Book f o Thoth . Eat not, drink not, sleep not, until the Book is found ! Tw o magic formulae hath the Book ! Recite the first and thou shalt charm

sk th the y, the earth , the moon, the heights, e ! depths Thou shalt converse with the birds . Thou shalt understand the sayings of the ﬁsh and reptiles ! “ and Recite the second , even though thy desire be among the Silent Ones, the Dead, yet shall thou have power to raise them upon their feet in the forms and with the hearts their mothers gave them . “ By the Double Spell thou shalt produce a

Rising of the Moon at will . Thou shalt be en

’ abled to stop the Sun s Ascension . Yea, thou

of shalt darken the faces both Sun and Moon . By the Double Spell thou shalt see the A scen

of sion Ra and the Cycle of the Gods . “ of Recited at the full the Moon, thou shalt

of master the Hidden Names the Gods, whereby ’ Enana Seeks the G ods Aid 1 67 thou shalt become possessed of their amulets i and tal smans . Yea, thou shalt become greater than Ra himself ! ”

Slowly Enana the Magician opened the Book . In characters of gold the secret incantations of the gods were spread before him . Here ap peared the Secret Names of the Six White Gods of of Day and the Six Black Gods Night . Here were the irresistible words of power that could stop the planets in their courses and Ra in his passage of the sky . Here again were the Mys

of tic Names Thoth and Set . Here were the dread heka u- spells that could revivify the dead or consign the livin g t o annihilation and their

doubles t o extinction .

Enana closed the magic book. Carefully he

hi s ff placed it in bosom . The soft e ulgence at

d e once i sapp ared.

a Le ving the little chamber, Enana stood upon B the terrace . elow and about him stretched the t of . A o city , the ci y the dead rift f dully gleam in g waters and, beyond it, lay another city, the city of the living. 1 68 H anit : the E nchantress

A r of dull roar, a deep mu mur, as many voices, came up to him where he stood . In f honor o the annual Feast of the Apts, lights ki were brea ng out alike in temple , palace and peasant hut .

To- night the doors would be left open . Thus “ ” would the living welcome the souls of their dead . Alrea dy lines of ﬂickering torches showed

Ir - where many a devout a servant, together with him i priests to assist , could be seen wind ng along the well-beaten paths or marching up the in clined planes of the sphinx or tree-bordered avenues by which the royal mortuary-temples were approached .

f A a s was The Feast o the pts was indeed, it “ f ” often styled, a veritable Feast o Lights .

e Enana gaz d northward. Across the river, a bright circle of lights showed where his brother priests of Amen had commenced the encircling

’ of f B u his the walls o Amen s temple . y and

- brother priests still put on a bold front . Fires were lit at intervals along the Nile em

1 70 H anit : the Enchantress

Y sha not cross the L l Lake of the Sk e ll i y y, Ye sha ll n ot sail up on the B oat with Ra ! The Magi c V estments sh all not be spread f or ye ! The Whit e Sa n da ls Sha ll be hidden from ye ! Yea b the Se ret Names I k no b the , y c w, y en Talsma ns I ossess our bo es Hidd i p , y di Shall be destroyed ;your t ombs shall k now Them not ! Your has sha ll not stan d behind ye ! Y our bas Shall not sit upon your tombs ! A n nihilation is your p ortion ; obliteration Your destiny !

’ Enana s voice rose to a shrill falsetto ;his whole form seemed to tremble as he cried aloud the ﬁrst drea d incantation :

Thoth ! Thoth ! Thoth ! o aid in th am Come t my y n e of . WiSdOIn! Set ! Set ! Set ! Desc end to me in thy name of Evil ! Tu th a e ear th ar Thoth ! rn y f c w d, O T rn th a e earth ar 0 Set ! u y f c w d , Enter heart Ye Go s let th my , d ; y Hearts become my heart ;thy wisdom

My Wisdom . I kno th en Names 0 Thoth ! w y Hidd , Th T a s ans a re b e or e me 0 Set ! y li m f , Th h ho r o e ho ot t u a t c mpelled, S t t u art

Co e ed. ther to me O sdom ! h mp ll Hi , Wi Hit er To me 0 Ev l! , i S en ns r a on 0 Thoth ! Gran o ortun 0 et ! d i pi ti , t pp ity, S ’ E nana Seeks the G ods Aid 1 71

’ A s the aged Magician s voice shrilled out ’ ni n upon the ght air Bata, the u happy Unis aged nurse, suddenly awoke . Softly she stole down the corridor from a

of he chamber at the rear the tomb , where s usually slept . Bata reached the open door just in time to hear Enana command the very gods

he t o descend to earth . T horriﬁed B ata fell in a faint across the threshold . When at length Bata returned to conscious

she ness, somehow managed to crawl back to her d room, dumb with terror . Bata had seen the ol ’ Magician s tremblin g form aglow with a mystic l hi s t u n ight, up rned face shini g with some inward ﬂame . Before him, out of the gloom there had suddenly appeared two heavily ﬁ cloaked gures . Bata never doubted but that the tall forms were those of the great gods

Thoth and Set. CHAPTER XIII

RAM SES AN D SE SE N

l am of HE youthfu R ses, leader the recent

u successf l expedition against the Nubians , had w on for himself many titles of di s tinction . Yet, chief among these undoubtedly, was hi s new appointm ent to the rank of Fan

B - n - - - f - earer o the Right o Pharaoh . The post of Fan-Bearer was an ofﬁce eagerly sought by the more exalted nobles , since it gave one the of a ear Pharaoh , s did perhaps no other

one position at Court . The possible exception w a s o f the post held by Dedu, s n o Den, through th f four generations at least, e coveted post o ’ - of - - - Keeper the King s Robes . The title of Fan-Bearer had been given ’ a hi Ramses by Phar oh at T s earnest solicitation .

The Queen- Mother had been prompted to this step through no love she bore the youthful sol

of dier, but as part a plan which w a s intended

1 72

‘ 1 74 H anit : the Enchantress been qui etly spreading broadcast palace secrets of r a most ter ifying nature . One report had it that the present Pharaoh i ’ was a Syrian , born before Th s parents came down into Egypt . It was hinted that Yakab the Chancellor was hi s t rue father . Had they not both the same extraordinarily a ttenuated ﬁgure ? Did not both suf f er from the same racking cough ? Did

a e ? not both spe k with a mark d lisp Thi , the

- Queen Mother, was almost stout ;the late Pha hi raoh had been a corpulent man, in s youth

of w a s possessed unusual strength. The face

of that Thi, perhaps, but the body that of Yakab the Cha ncellor !

Ye s w s Thi , it a plain that had done away with

’ H anit Pharaoh s former wife, the Lady ; that Menna and Thi had planned the murder of the

’ H anit s son true heir to the throne, the Lady , ’ ha Yak ab s on d in order t t s , by Thi , might ascen i the Egypt an throne , Finally it w a s whi spered that the murdered

Prince still lived ; that he had escaped from Ramses and Sesen 1 75

n a ul Me na, son of Menna, into whose b lef charge he had been placed . All u h nwittingly, Ramses ad been drawn into f this maelstrom o palace intrigue . His name w as frequently mentioned in connection with the probable succession to the throne . The subject of a successor to the Horus Throne was one of great importance a t this

r moment . Queen Nof e ith had borne the king —“ but girls ﬁve little beams of Shu the sun ” god their royal father ha d play q y called

An one them . d of these had recently become the perfume of the heavenly lotus which the sun -god holds to hi s august face ! Pharaoh felt sure that Ramses himself knew hi f not ng o these rumors. In many a bitter dis cussi e n with his mother and Menna the Over

seer Pharaoh had frequently stated his convic tion that Ramses would utterly condemn such traitorous thoughts should they ever come to his

ears . l Pharaoh had loved Ramses ike a brother . him He had admired as some superior being. 1 76 H anit : the Enchantress

’ For a time neither Menna s craftily embellished

’ reports nor Thi s openly avowed hatred of

’ Enana s grandson could turn Pharaoh from hi s

’ blind trust in the good faith of his boyhood s hero .

a a o Himself ever a sickly child , Ph r h had f sighed for his coming o age , that he might take

w e the ﬁeld ith Ramses , and h himself a witness

’ f of o the latter s many deeds valor . F or years had Pharaoh pictured himself in

n o the famous Warbo net f the Pharaohs , that bright blue headdress which Th othme s and a long line of heroic forebears had carried far

of into the ranks their stricken foes and, with one ao exception, returned in safety to their ’ l e uenen s claiming peop e . Yes , even King S q in horrible death, at the hands of the Hyksos

a t v ders , was bet er far than his present life of l inaction, a life varied on y by tiresome harem

u of plots , co nterplots and the probab ilities a

r general religious o civil upheaval.

’ But Pharaoh, under Thi s baleful inﬂuence, was as pliable a s the clay in the deft ﬁngers of

1 78 H anit : the Enchantress

di s a the Nile . Seen from a stance, thi island p

r pea ed to ﬂoat upon the quiet waters . The

o hi its l w w te walls whi ch surrounded its garden,

hi c e branc ng edars , full crest d palms and feathery mimosa trees, were mirrored in the

of waters the inundation . Enana the Magician had felt called upon t o ’ un live comparatively near t o Semet, Thebes

n ending burial ground, since, duri g the former ’ monarch s lifetime he had been appointed “ ” Guardian of the Royal Tombs .

Enana was proud of hi s skill in necromancy ; Enana w as even more proud of his knowledge of a o an of hi s str logy, bot y, medicine and intimate acquainta nce with the Magic Scrolls of the Con

ur er of j s and Sorcerers Amen . But, above all e hi lse , Enana enjoyed hearing mself addressed a a of An s Guardi n the cestors , whenever a sum mons from Majesty or a Court Function had

a his l . A necessit ted presence at the Pa ace las, a s far as Enana and Renet, his wife, were con cerned, such functions had long since ceased !

o Nevertheless, t day was a gala day with Ram ses and Sesen 1 79

Enana, a day of rejoicing to his entire house

- E of E hold. For to day nana, son nana , had

arrived at the ever-prayed for one hundred and ten years ! One other living person alone could boast of

such a record and that was the father of Thi , the

- But I u a Queen Mother . y was only a nobleman by courtesy, an Asiatic, an heretical believer in

' o A t n . Enana scorned Iuya as a pretentious old wh scoundrel, o spent the major part of his time decrying everything Egyptian and landing

Syria, and all things Syrian .

in All morn g had the aged Magician, and the

Lady Renet, his wife , sat beside the garden pool listening to the eff usive congratulations of his friends , his neighbors , and the many members

f hi s o house and wide domain . All that morning his bustling servants had been busy arranging the various presents along the awning- shaded corridor which faced the

-se tree t garden .

r Bars and collarettes of gold, elect um and

of i silver ;bead stands lazuli, malach te, crystal, 1 80 H anit : the En chant ress

carnelian, amethyst, beryl, jasper ;great pend ants in gold, silver or bright blue fayence ;

ﬁnger - rings of gold encrusted with colored

r pastes o set with little green glazed beetles , carved in stone and engraved below with felici ! tous expressions ;treasures big and little were piled high in seemingly innumerable vessels and exposed on brightly painted wooden tables or stands along the halls and corridors .

l of hi r C usters w te, soft pink o pale blue lotus

’ ﬂowers were bound about frames bent to repre “ ” a n ek sent the h or sign of longevity . The “ ” n o er r f of f o sign o happiness , in the shape little lutes , hung from every branch in the gar den . There had been but one thing lacking in a

- -be - A s morning of never to forgotten successes .

Khufu the Butler had remarked, not a single member of the Royal House had V isited their honored master ; not even a Royal Usher had come with the customary messages of felicita “ ” or tion with the usual gold of honor . To

h r K ufu, as to the other devoted se vants of the

1 82 H anit : the Enchantress his present enjoyment was centered in the scheme next his heart and in his anticipation of seeing Ramses , his grandson, whom it mostly concerned . At any moment the young soldier might dash through the gate in that impetuous way so dear

old to the frail man . Enana sat with his wrinkled hands resting upon the squares of gold leaf with which his tunic was faced . His beady black eyes were

ﬁxed upon the open door, his ears alert to catch

’ of the ﬁrst shout Ramses bearers , as they rounded the great Mortuary Temple near by. From time to time his hand went to hi s bosom m i where rested the ag c book.

But the sun -god began his descent into th e

m of real s darkness, lights broke out in the dis tant city, a line of chanting priests bearing torches appeared upon the walls of Amen

’ e i h ot p s temple , the l ght upon the high stand at

’ Enana s elbow was lit . Yet Ramses did not come . h ! A , Enana, but a little patience Magician Ramses and Sesen 1 83

though thou art, the Goddess Hathor is more powerful than thou ! E ven as Ramses had ﬁnished reading the royal command and set his hand to the arm of

- his carrying chair, Senah the Usher advanced h bowing and handed im a second note . Joy lit up the stern face of the young soldier as he read ;a sudden animMion seemed to ﬁll hi s whole being . Bidding his chairmen await him in the outer court , he turned and followed

S eneb , the Usher, through the columned aisles of i the Aud ence Hall . Arrived before the line of granite Sphi nxes which fronted the Treasury of Silver, Seneb

on his bowed again , turned heel and left him . Three women stood beneath a doo rway which E fronted the innermost court . agerly Ramses advanced as the form of the Princess Sesen stepped out from its shadows : “ e sen S , they told me thou wert with thy

Thin is ! Father in Had I known , in truth , that the Palace held thee, I would have come to claim thy promised reward . ' 1 84 H anit : the En chant ress

By Hathor ! Thou are more radiantly beau tiful than when I left thee last ! How often have

I lain awake at night thinking of thee . The hot nights upon the desert sand passed quickly, restfully, f or dreams of thee !

' 4 “ e en love all S s , thou knowest all my f my hopes are centered in thee . What are the rewards of Majesty to the reward that thou hast — ! promised me thyself. Look I have kept my hi word . I found the famous jewel w ch Enana — ” told thee of and it is thine ! Slowly Ramses drew from his girdle a great

et - of emerald s in gold . A rose colored band ﬁn e gazelle hide showed it to have been worn a bout the forehead of its former owner, the

Nubian King.

“ ’ Kin g Shaba will need the panther s eye no more . His ashes lie beneath the smouldering ruins of his palace . Vultures hover above the

o Na t a f a . demolished houses p , his Capital S e sen clasped her hands upon her bosom with

sh e delight . Without replying took the jewel

’ from Ramses hand and bound it about her

1 86 H anit : the En chant ress

of n man, grows weary the task of waiti g, with nothi ng but patrol work at best to break

e the monotony of his y ars of frontier life . Fear

e sen ! not for me . I have thy love , my S If wi need be , I could cut my way through Asia , th

- - thy name my battle cry . To morrow I will see thee after the morning service . The Lady Renet and her maids will come to escort thee B to our house for the betrothal . reath

f sh e sh e o Ra , how happy will be , and

Enana , my grandsire . Now must I hurry to

’ them . As thou knowest, tis a gala day with my

e en grandsire . May Hathor bless thee , my S s ;

may Aah cast her protecting beams about thee . F or an instant the lovers held one another in a close embrace . The next , Ramses had mounted his chair . As he did so , twinkling lights broke out among the dark patch of trees in which

’ stood Enana s distant villa . CHAPTE R XIV

A RAS H PROM ISE

h son N his wooing of the Lady Sese , Menna

of Menna, worked tirelessly . Menna had

Pa o hi wh o been, born upon the ﬁfth of p , and does not know that a child born upon that auspicious day is ever successful in af fairs of the heart ! f B Following his gift to her o hanar, the

en beautiful Syrian , each day brought to Ses bunches of grapes , bursting pomegranates or

’ Menn a s succulent dates from famous gardens . Frequently there were left at her door bags of powdered gold or lazuli for the ﬂoor of her

or of rooms , the choicest fragrant oils and per l fumes for her toi et . These last were sealed in little jars of rich blue glass or in black obsidian vases capped with gold .

' To -day Se sen opened an ebony coﬁ er richly inlaid with ivory and gold . Enclosed within sh e

1 87 1 88 H anit : the E nchantress

n fou d a frail wooden spoon, an incense spoon, carved to represent a little mai den stretched at

u f ll length in the attitude of a swimmer . The

f a names and titles o Menna, the Overseer, p

e r hi p a ed upon t s exquisite work of art , yet, if

had truth be told, Renny the Syrian fash i n o ed it . ’ Menn t As with a s other gifts , a closely writ en

e sheet of ﬁn papyrus accompanied the gift,

’ whereon S esen read of Menna s passionate

desire for a meeting . Enana had advised her to

’ fan the ﬂame of Menn a s passion for reasons he

i a kept to h mself. What would he s y to this eff usion ? The lines were written alternately in letters of red and black :

The cool z ephyrs of the Northl an d can alone extinguish th e ﬂame of my love ! ’ I am be o e k e the r e mosa r e f or the bak er s c m li d i d mi , ip

r r it The ﬁ e of her eyes hath withe ed . When th ove o rs orth its a nt ve son Sesen a e d p u f pl i i g, p r b e h h a or pea s en at t e syc m e . i h r n Her slender form s mirrored in t e ga de pool.

1 90 H anit : the Enchantress

Syrian, hawking his despised ﬁgurines in the

h hini in ospitable streets of T s, Beq, an Egyptian

sculptor attached to his house, had served

Menna the Overseer as messenger .

F or Menna, when not on duty at the Palace ,

’ Menn s n was accustomed to rise late . a morni gs

inf re were spent at the bath . Indeed, it not frequently happened that the sun had begun his downward ﬂight across the heavens before the lordly Overseer had succeeded in escaping

mi n rati n f from the st o s o his slaves . F or several hours he must perforce suﬂ er

- i the attentions of his body servants , his w g

- keeper, sandal bearer, perfumer , and the keeper

of his jewels .

Thus , one stalwart Ethiopian , having ﬁnished

rubbing his handsome frame with aromatic oils , another slipped about him the tunic and over

f An d dress o the day. what to an ordin ary mortal constituted a tight tunic, appeared to

’ B enkh - u, the Prince s body servant, positively

-ﬁttin loose and ill g . ’ a ﬂ ected And since Menna extremes, his tunic A Rash Promise 1 9 1

hi ﬁtted far more closely, s voluminous and richly plaited over-dress swung out in far more

f of f ample folds, than those o any other the op

pish members of the Theban Court .

’ B enkhu s i Indeed , Menna left n mble ﬁngers dressed as few others of the courtiers could be

dressed . n His costuming completed, Men a listened to

his the reports of farm overseers , and to those

of hi s of spies both court, bazaar and temple . t w f For Menna , though ou ardly faith ul to Aton, still continued to hold the h onoriﬁc post of

of of A Scribe the Estates men .

His business attended to, Menna essayed a

“ of one of hi s game draughts with friends , or ’ l in - rowed about the ake Thi s pleasure barge . It w a s the policy of Menna never to be far from

- Thi , the Queen Mother .

a When Renny, the Syri n , had been enrolled

of n among the retainers Men a, the Overseer

ff see of had a ected to much him . He went to the length of separating Renny from Beq and the native E gyptian craftsmen attached to hi s 1 92 H anit : the E nchant ress

o house . He even provided Renny with a studi im to h self. To this workshop Menna himself would come t at times , ostensibly o seek instruction in model

- ing, sculpture and wood carving . As a matter of fa ct his visits were prompted by the desire to use Renny and his art as in former times he had that of Beq and the native craftsmen . Renny fell in with this whim of hi s powerful

n patron . Many a minor or ament, such as a

‘ - small lotus bowl , incense spoon or sacred image,

a h d Renny produced, without neglecting to leave some slight detail f or the handsome Overseer to ’ in ﬁnish . Renny s artistic productions Menna

hi s own hi continently made , adding s name and titles together with the date of its completion . Coming from the hand of such a critical

o e student of the arts , these small, but ever ch ic mementoes were eagerly sought at Court . No one doubted but that they were the work of the gifted Overseer himself . Of late gifts and mementoes of this sort had suddenly ceased to materialize, and Menna,

1 94 H anit : the Enchant ress

Knowing too well the hopelessness of hi s

i hi s present position, Renny sought to h de pas sion .

ul Unluckily for the distracted sc ptor, his burning hand had come in contact with the tapering ﬁngers of the Princess . Straightway Renny had thrown himself upon his knees and poured out to her startled ears the torrent of passionate words which h ad so

his long trembled upon hi s lips . Renny lost head ;hi s discretion vanished to the four winds of Heaven . S esen gazed down at the bowed head of the young sculptor in utter bewilderment . She could not have said whether she was more sur

r prised, angered o amused . She clapped her

he hands twice ;s would hand him to the guards .

Yet , as the archers appeared from behind the

of he columns the courtyard, s changed her mind . A sudden wave of tenderest sympathy for

Bhanar swept over the Princess . So it was not

Bhanar he had sought so eagerly . Her heart ached f or the quiet little maid standing so still

to and mute behind her . She turned Bhanar A Rash Promise 1 95

of So this is that Renny, the Incomparable , ! whom thou hast so often spoken, my Bhanar Dare men so address a Princess of the Blood in w thine o n country and live ? Like master, like man ! ”

l i hi aﬂame Renny eaped to h s feet, s face with various emotions , amongst which wounded w pride, perhaps a s not the least . “ La dy ! Since when is it considered a deed ill-done that a man should Speak the love and reverence which he bears a maid ? The mirror in thy hand should tell thee that few could look ’ upon a face so fair;a form that B athe r s self must envy, and not be stricken with that malady which not even the King ’ s physician hath power t o ! cure That I love thee I cannot help . My heart beats to thoughts of thee ;thy image is stamped upon my very eyes ! “ to n As my master, the Lord Me na, I serve the Prince from gratitude . He found me well nigh starving in the streets of Thini s and gave h All me food and s elter . my work he purchased

B e and put me in the place of q, a sculptor whose

is l work excel ent, according to your Egyptian 1 96 H anit : the E nchantress

d His of stan ard . portrait thee I myself have mi much ad red .

“ ’ ’ ! ul Yet, Most Beautiful, tis not thee Two d

’ answer as well for any Lady of the Court . Were

I of to model thee, Fragrance the Gods, thou ‘ ’ see hi of shouldst a living, breat ng double

’ i ul thyself, thy very ha in stone . Th s I co d

prove to thee as could no other . During thi s conversation Bhanar had con

tinned to ply the ostrich-feather fan above her

’ A f or f or mistress s head . nguish Renny, pity

t ul . herself, showed in her beau if eyes ’ esen r esen S s heart bled f o her . S knew

’ Bh n r of a a s history well . Bhanar never tired

k n of tal i g about her beloved village, her dear i R a . pp , nestled among the distant Syrian hills The little Princess had se en perceived that

’ ’ Bh ana r s girlish love f or her childhood s com

panion had ripened into something stronger . She had se en noticed h ow artfully Bhanar

’ managed to forestall Sesen s other maids when

’ ever Renny s name was announced by the usher . Renny ’s joy and relief at ﬁnding her in the

1 98 H anit : the E nchantress

h out whic he talked, Renny held still further i hopes of diversion . From her frequent v sits to

’ Enana s villa, Bhanar knew that the absent

’ e e Ramses w a s ever in S s n s mind, though never once had the little maid referred to him . In vain had sh e conﬁ ded her knowledge of the mutual love of Sesen and Ramses to the unh eed ing Renny.

e sen ul S turned from the sc ptor as if to leave . At the threshold of the steps sh e paused for a moment “ r Sy ian, if you can indeed model such a pe r

of trait as that which you speak, gladly will I

of purchase it thee, and with it thy freedom . The overjoyed Renny kissed the hand she gave him : “ h Within the mont , Most Beauteous One !

Give me but four short weeks an d thou shalt se e thyself a s no one within the conﬁnes of the four

iron pillars could ever hope to model thee . As to payment, I seek it not . Freedom might lead me away from thee ! Renny again passionately kissed the jeweled A Rash Promise 1 99

ﬁngers of the little Princess and dashed from

the Court . How he ﬁnally managed to reach his

i n stud o door, he never k ew.

Alas , for Renny and his promise . Even as he

’ left the outer corridor, Bar, chief of his master s

ne f spies , glided noiselessly from behind o o the great painted column s nearby.

aw Thereafter, Menna the Overseer s to it

' that Renny sped upon no more missions to the

Palace . On the contrary he was sternly warned ’ hi - to keep within s master s villa garden , and the little workshop which had been provided for

ul Yet, as luck wo d have it, in order to keep him busily occupied, Menna commanded him to

of model a statue of Hathor, Goddess Beauty .

This statue, when completed, Menna intended to present to the late Pharaoh ’s shrine at Amada to the south . But to Renny b e omitted to men tion that his name and his alone would appear upon its ivory pedestal ! CHAPTER XV

A T T E OF A TH R D E F E S A U H O . GO D SS O LOV

ENNA the Overseer had little conception Of the torture he had inﬂicted upon the mind of the youthful Renny when he

e l - forbade him his lib rty. Ho low cheeked and well nigh mad, Renny SO far disobeyed his

’ pa tron s orders that he sat for hours , nay, for

days at a time , huddled like a beggar at the

Palace gate . ‘ Not even the gentle Bhanar could console him

S whenever, as O frequently happened, a day went by without its being possible f or the dis f hi tracted youth to catch a glimpse o s idol .

Then , suddenly, he remembered his promise

t o . out the Princess He sought Khnum , the r w h o h oyal quarryman, ad but now moored t o the western bank with a cargo consisting in the

of H n b main Of the precious alabaster at u . He bribed Khn um to procure him a giant block Of

2 0 2 H anit : the E n ch ant ress

more , tamarisks and palms , nay, the very capi

ﬁn un tal itself, seemed to be con ed within the s

’ god s ﬁery furnace .

ou - Day in, day t, those death dealing rays shot f from a changeless vault o steely blue . Down sank the tortured cattle ; the birds gasped

Of among the shriveled leaves the trees . The very soil , by now as hard as any southern gran

- ite , yawned with wide thrown crevices many

- cubits deep . Far to the south the broad winged vultures circled slowly earthward from their

too of lofty posts , as if they feared the darts the outraged Am en . It was a sudden and appalling visitation which luckily blew itself out within but four Of the customary nine days of blinding wind and sand .

th e se Yet, throughout four memorable days a nd thereafter Renny worked as he had never worked before .

Now, there came a day when Menna ordered

- b set his carrying chair and ade his bearers . him

’ o Of down before the do r Renny s workshop . A Statue O f H athor 2 0 3

’ At the Overseer s repeated knocks the bolts

were slowly drawn . Through the barely opened

door Renny, blinded by the glare, gazed unsee ingly toward the extended hand Of his smiling patron “ ? ? How now, Syrian Hast turned magician Bar tells me thou must needs have conned the

hek an- i Spell that bringeth food and drink, s nce

all the food that is brought thee stands untasted . B reath of the Goddess ! Why hast sulked be hind barred doors these weeks and more ?” if Menna made as to step within . “ Ah , master , most noble lord, I do beseech ! n thee , go not within Bethi k thee , Splendor of e Thebes , when ﬁrst I came to th e, thou didst a ssure to me that privacy which , far more than

uten of thy golden , I did ask thee ! Continue i now thy favor some little t me, I pray. Thy statue of the Goddess Hathor is “ Am em et ! eat me Days , nay weeks , have we

waited f or a Sight of it ! Now is our sore-tried ” patience at an end .

With a ﬁrmness unexpected in the cus 2 0 4 H anit : the Enchantress

t omaril y indolent Menna , the Overseer pushed the trembling Renny aside and entered the workshop .

o At ﬁrst, s sudden was the change from the glare of noonday to the murky shadows of the hi room , that Menna could distinguish not ng . When at last his eyes grew somewhat accus t me o d to the gloom , he found himself staring t at the tinted s atue of a regally robed woman, a life - sized ﬁgure so startlingly realistic that for a moment he instinctively drew back . Upon a pedestal festooned with drooping lotus a n d fragrant mimosa stood the smiling

of e sen O ﬁgure the Princess S . S lifelike did the statue appear to the bewildered noble, that for a space Of a full minute , he waited, expecting

! her lips to part, her tongue to utter the cus

r t om a y greetings . Once his jeweled ﬁngers had assured him that the ﬁgure was but tinted stone , Menna burst into voluble exclamations Of wonder and delight . “ V n erily, said I ot that thou hadst learned

2 0 6 H anit : the E nchant ress

the Princess . He ﬁngered a scented note tucked in his jeweled belt . But Renny

hi s i Menna Shook perfumed wig, and turn ng,

’ spoke the young man s name . Thrice he called, then strode to the half opened door.

Renny had vanished . With a threatening imprecation the irate

Overseer turned once more to the statue .

Yes, here was Hathor, Goddess Of Beauty,

of r Goddess Love, as none in Egypt had eve con ceive d her !

’ Menn a s brain worked fast . The statue he

B r hi vowed to make his own . a and s minions were despatched to do away with Renny ! What a sensation would this work produce at

Court, and especially upon the mind of the art loving Pharaoh ! Menna allowed himself visions Of a naturalistic school modeled upon the Syrian, an essentially realistic school which should utterly banish the hieratic canons im posed upon the Egyptian craftsmen by the A Statue O f H athor 2 0 7

dictates Of precedent and the will of an all powerful priesthood .

Meantime, thought the Overseer, the statue must be kept from Sight, at least, until Renny

was safely out Of the way. ﬁ He sent o a chairman to bring clay, string

hi own and his Signet ring . With s hands he

’ c overed the statue with the quarryman s mats which still clustered in one co rner Of t h e little chamber. In less time than it takes to tell it the tinted ﬁgure of the little Princess di sappeared from sight . Menna closed the door and, slipping to the bronze bolt, bound it with cord and set his scarab - seal upon a clay pellet which he fastened thereto . This done , he hurried home . Tod ay was a momentous day with Menna, Overseer Of ’ the King s Estates . CHAPTER XV I

H R E OF H U Y T IGH RIE T OF T E CU S , GREA H P S AMEN

HAT Belur the Hittite Am bassador had

n ea said , concerni g the expected outbr k

of w ar a religious throughout Egypt,

w . one sur as true Moreover, no was greatly prised a t his report of the disaffection of ’ Egypt s Asiatic vassals . In his eﬁ or ts to establish the cult Of the Syr

un- od Of of ian s g , in place that the various

at Egyptian deities , Pharaoh had little time to

’ tend to the exacting aff airs of hi s country s vast

empire abroad. ’ B elur a However, s words c nnot have taken

him altogether by surprise , Since runners had brought letters daily from the few faithful

- hi s vassal kings along Syrian border, letters

begging help from Egypt .

n Indeed, Of late , these hi ts Of troubles to come

2 0 8

2 1 0 H anit : the Enchant ress

chemish , or Of the kings Of Kadesh and

Megiddo , Pharaoh again took up the work so

All eﬁ or ts near his heart . his best were now centered upon the establishment Of the Syrian

- solar cult throughout Egypt . T O this drastic move Pharaoh was incited by

o Yakab and by his mother, Thi , not s much on account of any real love they had for Aton, the

of Syrian deity, but mainly as a means ridding

of of themselves the obstructive inﬂuence Huy, E nana and the powerful priesthood of Am en in Karnak .

’ Realizing that the vast buildings of Amen s temples in Karnak could never be moved, Thi pointed out to Pharaoh how comparatively easy it would be for him to forsake Thebes and the

nh Palace of Ame otep , his father, and to erect a new palace , a new city, elsewhere . T O thi s end Thi had urged Pharaoh to aban don Thebes and had prevailed upon him to erect

of a new capital, the City the Sun, far to the north .

It was to raise this new capital, together with The Curse O f H uy 2 1 1

all the houses and villas surrounding it, that thousands Of captive slaves were now put to

Of H atnu work deep within the quarries b, quar ries famed alike on account Of the superb quality O f their ﬁne white limestone and the translucency Of their striated alabasters . In building Pharaoh ’s new city gigantic blocks in both Of these rich materials were brought down from the hills along a specially ! leveled causeway . Each giant block had been secured upon great wooden sleds Of hardened sycamore , and hauled to the new site by the con certed ef forts Of sweating oxen and groaning sleds .

Ov erseers were told Of f tO prod the oxen ; others to lash the scarred backs of the unhappy A h siatic Slaves . The c i ef Of each section occu pied himself in pouring water upon the ground

k ﬁre to prevent the sled from ta ing by friction, or li th e of Oil to faci tate movement the sled . When not so engaged the chief sang a love song in time to the thwack of the overseers ’

a staves, s they further lacerated the blo ody 2 1 2 H anit : the E nchantress

of backs the staggering captives . It w a s com mouly said of a chief Of a quarry-gang that he needed but three canopic jars at his entomb — ment, since he lacked a heart. At the site Of the new city other dull-eyed

Asiatics , Similarly ﬂogged into line, worked

- waist deep in sandy pits or muddy ditches . Day

o -c in, day out, the heavy wo den brick arriers bit into the cracked and blistered shoulders Of i emasculated An u .

n of Indeed, long before the quicke ing rays Aton had mounted above the low hills which shut in the City of the Sun to the east, sweat, mud and blood had baked upon the naked backs of i n Kh ef tiu Eth opia , Libyan, Canaanite and al ike . Nay, Egyptians themselves, the down ik trodden herdsmen, were as l e as not torn from their ripening ﬁelds to toil perhaps at pressing ’ ll bricks for Pharaoh s p alace, library and vi a, or ﬁ e , cursed, cu d and beaten by the shrieking taskmasters , to crack their thews at the well nigh smoking ropes which encircle some colossal f sha t, Shrine or statue intended for the great

- temple Of the sun god Aton .

2 1 4 H anit : the Enchant ress

F or their part the peasants well knew that no matter which of the opposing factions gained

the r f the upper hand, i present state o utter wretchedness would remain unchanged .

A or What cared they for men, Ptah Aton,

- when the Nile god failed them, when Hapi neglected to pour his life - giving waters over their parched and stricken ﬁelds !

A r What was men o Aton to them, as they

- watched their ashen, granite hard soil crack beneath the pitiless shafts Of a ruthless sun god ! ’ Twas an ill time to pray to him under f any one o his three hundred names .

’ And SO it happened that , at Pharaoh s com

At te mand , an oni force attacked the battle

’ m en ted walls of Amen s temple in Karnak .

Of As a result, the ancient temple Sesostris was utterly destroyed . Oldest of all the temples within the encircling walls , its cedar columns ,

ai its silver ﬂoors, its walls Of gold inl d with malachite and lazuli , together with its hundreds i f ld of gold a nd s lver statues of the kings O O , all were lost in a conﬂagr ation started by the The Curse of H uy 2 1 5 overturning Of a colossal incense -bowl which stood in front Of the Shadow Of the god Min , outlined in silver in the panels Of the sanctuary door.

-Of That night Huy, great High Priest Amen , lay dead, the poisoned cup clenched in his hand .

Yet, before he went forth upon his last long journey across the rocky heights Of Duat and

- the demon haunted valleys Of the Underworld, Huy had arrayed himself in full regalia and taken his stand before the yellow curtain whi ch screened the new empty Shrine of the great god Am en “ 0 A Aloud he cried, ncient One, Primordial

God ! B y the power Of thy Hidden Name , by

Of the Heads the Demigods that surround thee, hear the prayer Of Huy, thy servant ! “ Grant that the line of Ahme s be broken ! Grant that no child of Pharaoh sit upon thy golden throne ! “ Let Pharaoh ’ s name be blotted from remem

’ brance ! Let Pharaoh s k a be forced to wander ” among the dunghills Of forgotten cities ! 2 1 6 H anit : the Enchantress

“ Slowly Huy raised the poisoned cup : And

0 o now, nameless One, before I g forth upon the way Of trial, a token that thou dost grant my prayer . Give me a Sign , O Holy One, a sign, ” 0 of ! Amen, Lord Lords ’ As if in answer to the High Priest s cry, there came a sound as Of the shaking Of di stant sistra and silver cymbals . There followed the thrumming Of many harps and the sound of reed pipes . Suddenly, through the yellow curtain, there was seen a light which slowly increased in brightness .

In terror the awe- struck priests surrounding hid Huy their eyes . When again they dared to open them, they saw that the great curtain had been rent in two and, below it, stretched at full

i - h length, lay the wh te robed ﬁgure Of Huy, t eir leader . e

Antef In sorrow, y, his successor, commanded his bearers to carry him to the chariot Of Mei,

Atonite the , where seven and seventy times

’ seven at the feet Of Pharaoh s victorious r epre sentative , in words at least, he fell .

CHAPTER XVII

’ WHY ME N N A S CH AIRBEARER STAKED H I S ALL

’ of ENNA, Overseer the King s Estates , was k nown to the Court as a hard and

- self seeking man , and this in Spite Of f his sleekness O skin, his luxurious habits and “ his unt iring ef forts to outshine the other f ol ” lowers Of the king both in beauty Of person, knowledge Of literature and the arts , indeed, in all those visible evidences of culture which dis tin uish e g d the Egyptian court . In spite Of this outward display and ostenta tion Menna, son of Menna, was appreciated at his full value by courtier, priest and peasant

alike . Well they knew that but a tithe Of the fat revenues which Menn a collected for the king

or had formerly collected for the unhappy Huy,

Great High Priest Of Amen . went to swell the

2 1 8 The Chairbearer Stakes H is All 2 1 9

“ ” royal treasuries of gold and Silver or the “ A s treasure Of the god . yet, however,

’ “ ” through fear O f the Overseer s eyes and ears

— — n spies , native and foreign no o e had dared

n to i form upon him at the Palace . In spite Of all Menna could do to ingratiate

i e en h mself with her, the Lady S s ever sought to avoid him . Yet Menna never despaired . His attentions were pressed upon her, in spite Of all sh e could do to prevent . Recently the fringed ’ r of hi s a ﬁ e i Asiatic ga ments servants , an ctat on of - the much traveled Prince, were seldom ah sent from her sight. Yet to -day something had happened which might bring it well within the realms Of possi bility that sh e might break with the persistent

f r Overseer once and o all . During the course Of one Of her visits to the home Of Ramses ’ grandparents Enana had con ﬁded to her a secret which appeared to her

e - astonish d ears well nigh incredible . F or from him she learned the astounding news that Hanit ,

her former beloved mistress , Queen Hani t 2 2 0 H anit : the E n chantress

whom sh e had but yesterday it seemed, seen m laid to rest yonder in the Valley Of the To bs , l ! was alive, a ive Rendered fairly dumb at once with amaze

’ esen a ment and joy, S s t at Enana s knees as if fascinated, her cheeks aglow, her eyes dancing

sh e with excitement, her lips parted as if would drink in his every word.

’ This , then, was the reason Of Enana s fever ish restlessness Of late . Queen Thi herself, whom nothing escaped, had remarked it , had

esen even commented upon it to S .

e en Naturally, S s at the time could give no

: adequate explanation Of the unusual behavior ,

- the ill restrained excitement, which seemed to agitate the wizened body Of the Old magician . An d Queen Thi ﬁnally set it down as being due t o loss Of favor at court .

w eu In fact, Enana had suddenly ithdrawn tirel a d y from all court functions . A faithful

m of herent Of the great god, A en Thebes , and m a brother Of Huy, late High Priest Of A en , Enana could not but see in Thi and Pharaoh the

2 2 2 H anit : the E nchantress

’ E own had been nana s , though its successful a ccomplishment had been due to the faithful

Kathi .

S e sen Hanit begged to be a llowed to visit , but Enana restrained her . He spoke of the terrible change in the demeanor of the once gentle and studious Queen . He spoke of her f vindictive hatred of Pharaoh , O Thi and, more

Of n than these perhaps, Menna , son of Men a, whom she considered the murderer Of the

on prince, her s . Since her escape from the Temple all her time had been spent in study, and that with but on e end in view . Vengeance upon the trio whom she had such cause to hate had become with her an Obsession . It appeared that in the realms Of black art

H nit a had become the equal of Enana himself . Day and night had she pored over the lector ’s

f of rolls O papyrus , until each and every one k their incantations had become hers . She new

of m all the hidden spells the Conjurers of A en .

She could part the waters at a word . Her The Chairbeare r Stakes His All 2 2 3 ebony wand could cause grass to grow where no

or vegetation had lived before . Behead a bird

i H anit an mal and, at a word from , it would spring to its feet alive and whole . Even the secrets Of the masons and royal architects were hers . She knew the secret blocks Of stone which, touched by even the weakest hand, opened or closed many a ponderous granite

of or door tomb Shrine . Y es ! She would have vengeance upon Pha

n raoh, upon Thi , upon Me na ’ At the mention of Menna s name Se sen thoughtfully drew from the folds Of her robe a

of small roll papyrus, delicately scented and inscribed in black and red with another eﬁ usive expression of the Overseer ’s undying passion

. i and his plea for a tryst Enana read it tw ce , then carefully rolled it up and placed it se curely beneath his leather girdle, saving as he did so

Here may be found the bait to lure Prince

’ Menn a to his bitter doom ! It reaches H anit s

r ! hands this ve y night Verily, what said that 2 2 4 H anit : the E n chant ress

ld ‘ sage Of O , Imhotep ? Love is the greatest ally

’ of the gods ! Trembling with suppressed excitement the

Old magician rose . He placed a caressing hand upon the head Of the little Princess and de

parted somewhat abruptly, leaving her to marvel at the miraculous escape of her former mistress and to speculate as to the nature Of

’ H anit n s vengeance upon Men a . An d Menna ? Not long after Enana had left the little Princes s the overjoyed Menna felt ff that he could, at last, a ord to ignore the reports i brought in by Bar and h s other spies . Menna no longer feared the existence of an understand i ing between Renny and the little Pr ncess . A

h note from Sese , a note most tenderly inscribed,

’ rested at the moment between Menn a s thumb a nd foreﬁnger. He smiled as he placed the note f to hi s lips . He inhaled the perfume o myrrh

’ e paste, where Ses n s ﬁngers had touched the

e e esen smooth papyrus . S s n the Haughty, S the

esen Unapproachable, S whom the great Ram ses

l i ! loved, had yie ded to h s attentions and passion

2 2 6 H anit : the E nchant ress

of immediately appeared, that Bentu, chief his

ch airbe a re r e . s, be sent to him imm diately B ’ Soon after, entu left his master s presence ,

e his face , wreath d in smiles , his ivory teeth , l ﬂashing . Bentu walked on air, he cou d hardly refrain from snapping his ﬁngers and dancing “ - his joy like the curly headed ones , as he

e An hurri d down the quiet corridors . excur sion such as his master planned for the morrow

of customarily ended well for Bentu , chief the carriers . i Throughout the long night follow ng, while

- Menna tossed upon his ivory footed couch , Bentu gambled away his last worldly posses

Sions .

At ﬁrst Bentu lost three heifers at a throw.

Then seven sheep went to Beq, the sculptor.

Of t Quickly followed the loss thir y geese, the

uten . two gold which encircled his wrist, his

ef z hound An t , and ﬁnally, most pri ed posses

l - sion Of all , his bright b ue scarab seal . All passed to Beq, the sculptor.

But what cared Bentu, the Carrier ! In his The Chairbeare r Stakes H is All 2 2 7

’ master s explicit directions as t O clothes f or the carriers, as to food and drink, Bentu

to scented an assignation . The new hood was

n - w a s be put o the carrying chair . It a beautiful

of ﬁ hood, made the nest linen, in stripes Of

a ﬁ air ! green and gold . A love without a doubt

w —a B There as a woman in it, and women s entu — knew full well women paid well f or messen gers and—carriers !

’ Bentu curled himmlf up in a corner Of Beq s

di n t stu o a d went promptly o sleep . He feared t o o g home ;his wife might ask questions , and Bentu w a s in mortal dread Of S ebekm eryt his

Nubian wife . CHAPTER XV II I

H T PP E HE E ON OF A W A HA EN D W N M NNA, S MENN ,

WEN T A -WOOIN G

HE ruined Shrine of Mentuh otep lay somewhat to the north Of the great san d

- stone mortuary temple of Am enhotep III . Fronting it stood a dwarf pyramid sur

- rounded by brightly painted columned porticos . ’ F air to the south stretched Queen Thi s beauti “ ” e ful pl asure lake, which seemed, at this dis f tance, a veritable bowl o gold rimmed with emeralds . The glowing walls and avenues of

’ stately trees which marked Queen H atsh epsut s terraced temple , shut it in toward the north .

Of High above, and seemingly ever in danger

n crashi g down upon it, towered the precipitous and ever crumbling masse s Of the purple Lib yan Hills . The way thither led along the Necropolis

hi - Route, a gh banked road which passed im

2 2 8

2 30 H anit : the E nchantress

Most welcome to the eye were the villa gardens Of the nobles, with their deep green

Of — groves date palm , sycamore and acacia . Many resembled little islands that seemed to

float upon the flashing waters . But neither desert glare nor flashing water could detain Prince Menna . Within the hour

ni s n Atum , the eve ng u , would sink below the southern hills ; the cool north breeze would

wa om spring up, as s its cust .

’ Menna s chai r-bearers had stood before his ll i vi a door an hour ahead Of t me . Bentu, their hi hi chief, placed s hands upon s heart and gazed heavenward, Simulating the ardent lover.

n - f A other love a fair, without a doubt .

i uten Such m ssions meant , necklaces or ’ H entiu s at rings ; a spree at any rate, and Bentu loved the very Sight Of a bursting wine skin ! ’ Bent a s speculations were in terrupted by the

- sudden appearance of the door keeper. With a knowing win k at Bentu the latter obsequiously bowed, as Menna strode through the curtained door . Menna Goes A -w oom g 2 31

An o other m ment and Menna, Superintendent ’ of the King s estates, high above the shoulders

ix Of s stalwart Nubians, was borne swiftly along the highway which led to the northern

end Of the curving Theban Plain. Taking hi s cue from the gorgeous costume ’ scarcely concealed beneath his master s fringed a nd brightly colored Syrian cloak, Bentu ’ a n - l unched into o e Of Ata s love songs . His grinning comrades punctuated each verse with “ ” s ha -ha - a taccato , O ay l Menna sank back against his cushions ; he s hi l miled . It pleased him that t s b ack shadow

his had e mi on. Of divin d his s si Nay, Menna felt himself S O at peace with the world that he ’ gave command to allow a peasant s all too heavily laden donkey to pass uncha llenged, an unh eard Of proceeding on the part of a Theban noble !

’ ta s h s Ben ope rose . Under such circum

all stances things were possible . He might r e ceive l l a jewe ed neck ace, golden bars ;a small farm , perhaps . ’ B entu s Indeed, expectations assumed so 2 32 H anit : the Enchant ress

n rosy an aspect, that he broke into a da ce , clapping his hands or snapping his ﬁngers in

hi lea in a n i time to s p gs d posturings , qu te in

f - the manner o the Nubians, the curly headed th people to e south . With the sudden disappearance of the sw ol len sun- disk behind the deep blue hills Of

E rmen . t, s ong and dance abruptly ceased Menna indicated that he would descend from his chair, and all , master and men together, addressed a short prayer f or the success Of the

- e Sun god in his ceaseles s conﬂict with Ap p, f Fiend o Darkness .

Piety was a habit with Menna, as with Bentu a nd the rest .

’ i en Th s done , once more M na s chair swung along the high embankment . Once again the warning shouts or blows from the forked staf f

Of Bentu kept the narrow way free .

Arrived before the tree - set entrance t o the

of Th othm e Temple s, Menna left his servants and Am continued westward, past enhotep the ’ hi n . s ﬁ Second s temple, o foot Soon tall gure

2 34 H anit : the E n chantress

- himself descending a long, narrow passage way pitched at a very steep incline . He must have gone some two hundred paces when h e felt, w rather than sa the glow of a light . Soon he could distin guish the polished surface Of the granite slabs with whi ch the narrow walls were faced . All was well ! The Princess awaited him !

Standing in the opening Of the doorway,

n Men a softly spoke her name . The Princess did not answer, but stood well back within the shadows of an alabaster naos , a shrine which ,

Of centuries before, had held a statue the deiﬁed

M ntuh t e e o . king, p At the right he saw a dark and narrow doorway in which were visible a

s u few ascending teps o t in the rock. The slim ﬁgure Of the Princess was concealed beneath a long Memphite cloak . She appeared not to have heard his greeting . Again Menna softly called her name

Se sen ! My Lily, My Lotus ! Behold thy ! ” lover, O Daughter of Hathor

Still the ﬁgure was silent . Smilingly Menna Menna Goes A -w ooing 2 35

h of drew near ;he understood . With a wealt

n hi ﬂattering phrases o s lips , he sought to catch

r e her to him . As he did so, the ﬁgure tu n d, and revealed to his astounded gaze the burning eyes

H nit ni ! of a , Of Ha t the former Queen

Yet, B anit was dead ! He had seen her em balmed body laid away in her rock- hewn tomb ! With a hoarse and inarticulate cry Menna ’ h f turned and ﬂed . Twas the visible a o the

’ ’ Hanit s in i outraged queen, twas v d ctive ’ double Hanit ! Nay, it twas herself, whose

ha mummiﬁed form he himself d seen, what time

B u y, the Great High Priest, had performed the l last rites , with the ceremonia Opening Of the H eyes , the ears, the mouth ! ad not he himself

- placed a wreath upon her well swathed form , and thereafter seen the cofﬁn lowered in her rock-hewn tomb ? A s Menna stumbled up the steep incline Of

- the rock hewn passage, black horror seized upon him ; a paralyzing terror rose from his throbbing heart and mounted to his numbed

e e brain . H tore th heavy gold chains and the 2 36 H anit : the En chant ress

ek jeweled w es h from hi s throat . He felt that he was choking . “ ! Breath Of Ra The doorway, air, light. the blessed daylight ! As Menna groped his way up the passage he him l heard in front Of , a du l thud as of some hi heavy falling body. For a moment s head

b e long ﬂight was arrested . The solid rock hi neath s feet seemed to tremble . He rushed up the last few yards Of the narrow corridor an d came suddenly in violent contact with an im

ni movable block of polished gra te . A cold perspiration burst out upon his fore

w a head ;his knees trembled beneath him . He s trapped . The overseer made a last attempt to think clearly. For a few moments he succeeded in stiﬂing the terror that gripped his heart . Menn a carefully felt the walls over and over

n ! agai to left , to right, in front Not a crack

r Al n o a crevice . ways that granite door ! In an agony Of fear Menna hurled himself against it .

e H Shrieked, he raved, he cursed .

2 38 H anit : the Enchantress for by now Menna was long past fear of has “ ” ” or ha s hosts or doubles ! , Of g He called w ff her name as, ith outstretched hands he shu led hesitatingly towards the shrine . H anit had vanished ! With a low moan Menna crumpled up and pitched headlong at the foot Of the Shrine . Above his head the light brightened for an in

n . stant, then slowly sank and, suddenly, va ished Once again the pain ted forms of gods and demons alone reigned supreme amidst the fetid

n heat and dark ess . CHAPTER XIX

THE HITTITES ADV ANCE

HARAOH ’S recently completed City Of the Sun stretched at some length along

o both sides f the Nile , about sixty miles

‘ the of north Of ancient city Siut, sacred to the

- Wolf god.

- of TO day, fronting its white quay, a ﬂeet i barges swung idly at anchor . From the h gh

one - poop of , a large temple barge by its decora

Mer r tion, i a , High Priest of Aton, was about to disembark . At the landward end Of its gang

l - plank, which had been stretched to the we l built

- limestone wall Of the quay, a knot of white robed priests of Aton bowed a fawning welcome to their portly brother hierophant . Sixteen

stalwart lay-brothers stood expectantly beside ’ - M . erira the dignitary s hooded chair Soon , ,

High Priest Of Aton, high above the gleaming

2 39 2 40 H anit : the Ench antress

n oll head s Of his chanti g f owers, vani shed down the avenue Of criosphinxes which led toward the

of i A massive pylons the mposing ton Temple . Parallel with the well-planted gardens and vineyards Of the Temple Of the Sun ran the ’ northern wall Of Pharaoh s new palace . The southern wall divided it from the gardens which

hedged in the home of the General Mei, a

favorite Of Pharaoh . Both the grounds about

the Aton Temple, the palace , villa, and library

of Pharaoh and the house Of Mei, ran backward from the Nile b ank to the ﬁrst rise Of the low

hills to the east . ’ l Pharaoh s gardens , both Of villa, ibrary and

al palace, were ready thickly planted with the

an rarest Of native trees d vines , but myrrh,

Om - sandalwood, d palm and youn g Lebanus cedar from the terraces , might be seen both in the gardens of the monarch and in those of his

favorites . At thi s moment the huge M estone palace glowed in the heat Of midafternoon like a piece

’ of painted ivory . The sun s rays turned t o ﬁre

2 42 H anit : the Enchantress

the room . Upon his kilted knees lay the open

Sheet of a long leather- roll already closely written in red and black with lines of deftly in

scribed hieratic . Enei held a long reed pen in one hand ;tw o

others stuck Out behind his elephantine ears . He had been occupied all morning transcribing ’ “ ” own m from Pharaoh s lips the Hy n to Aton, which for weeks had engrossed his fanatical

master.

in Famine and pestilence at home , revolt

Nubia, new mutterings of trouble along the

A siatic frontier, one and all had to give place

o of - now to the c mpletion this Sun hymn, and

the ritual Of the Aton cult . The ritual had already been chanted in the

o Temple f the Sun . Indeed, it had been intoned for the ﬁrst time in a little chapel erected

among the now well- nigh deserted temples of

Amen at Karnak . Here was bitter hearing f or the exiled priest Of Amen ! Pharaoh was extremely anxious to hear the “ High Priest Merira chant his Hymn to the ” s Sun, a compo ition which Pharaoh had writ The H ittites Advance 2 43 ten for the express use Of the Priests Of the

Temple of Aton . In order to ﬁnish the hymn Pharaoh had shut himself up in his library with orders that on no accoun t should he be

. h e disturbed Ambassadors , envoys , nobles Of t

empire , spies and messengers , all must wait who sought an audience of the engrossed m on arch .

But a few moments before , Pentu , Chief

’ Court Physician , had backed from his master s w presence , loaded do n with chains and brace

Of lets gold . Pentu had gained some real or fancied as cendancy over Enei the Scribe in a heated argument as to a probable connection between

- od O f the sun g Ra Heliopolis , Aton, and Adon ,

’ the Syrian God of Fertility. Pentu s bald head glistened like the mi rror clasped in the hand

n ’ Of his waiti g daughter . Pentu s broad smile wi dened, if indeed that might be , as his waitin g servants hurled themselves into the dust at “ of sight his gleaming decorations , those gifts ” which the king bestows . “ Wh at stif f campaign hath earned such rich 2 44 H anit : the En chantress

” - Rabba m ssen rewards ? asks the travel worn , e

’ Rib ddi one E ger Of a , Of gypt s vassals in Asia . “ i ! Peace, peace, sold er Hold thy tongue, ﬁt

but to frighten lousy Sand- dwellers ! Hast th e n not heard ? Egypt hath done with war !

' Corn r ow s our e r sh af ts g upon sp a , boys swim in our shields ;our curved swords cut wheat and

‘ our l - spelt, slings ki l reed birds . The gifts Of ’ Majesty now reach priests , poets and potters .

of R — — Breath a ahem Aton, I should have said, a soldier now must stand aside that shaven headed sucklings from the new religious school ’ may pass ! Am emet seize me ! Five hours

’ waitin g is enough for me ! Honors to thy son s son fﬁ , and the O cer passes out .

’ Rib a di Some three hours later, b s urgent call f or a ssistance, that small clay tablet upon whose safe and speedy deliverance into the hands Of the Egyptian king hung the fate of

’ Rib a ddi s Syria, last despairing cry for help, still rested in its metal tube about the impatient

’ Rabba s neck .

of Tired hi s long vigil, Rabba had addressed

2 46 H anit : the E n chantress

’ and master s message , his credentials his ’ master s seal, all had vanished with that velvet eyed traitress . Ten days ago should the precious letter have been added to the thousands Of clay tablets

’ which lined the alcoves Of Pharaoh s library and registry . Ten days ago , Rabba the Mes senger should have been well on his way back

’ hi s hillse to Gebal , t station, with Pharaoh s reply. A ! Rib ddi ’ las At the moment, a s devoted city lay a mass Of smouldering ruins , in the midst Of which were scattered the ashes Of ’ Ribaddi , Pharaoh s most loyal vassal, his fam

Of ily, and those of the entire squadron Baal, to which the unhappy Rabba himself belonged . Feeling that the Egyptian monarch had lulled himself into a sense Of security, the hosts of the

Rim r f Khabiri and Hittites , headed by u O Char

in of chemish and the k gs Kadesh and Megiddo , had suddenly Swooped upon the territory Of

’ Ribaddi Pharaoh s Syrian vassal, the Loyal. CHAPTER XX

How BAR AN D RENNY MEET F OR THE LAST TIM E

E FLE CTE D in the quiet reaches Of the

Nile , a brilliant planet hung , like a silver ’ a Of E b ll , in the green and gold gypt s l - B ong continued afterglow . elow it Aah , the m pale young oon, seemed as if it sought to catch that scintillating jewel in the hollow of its cres cent cup . The evening ’ s stilln ess was broken at inter f vals by the snarls O marauding hyenas , the barks Of jackals and the hooting Of the little golden-brown owls which haunted the over hanging eaves Of the massive Temple Of

Kh ons u . Dusky forms stole stealthily along the nar

Of - row alleys the half deserted city Of Thebes .

s A they hurried past , the paling afterglow r e ﬂected upon the low white walls caused their

2 47 2 48 H anit : the En chantress

nodding shadows to appear unn aturally en

la r ed n in . g , menaci g, terrify g ’ Within Renn y s workshop the more im mediate shadows were at times revealed by the

light from a deep bronze bowl, a brazier ﬁlled

- with glowin g incense wood. The bowl stood upon a low stand immedi ately in front Of

’ Renny s statue of the Princess Seseh . Once again relieved of its encircling ropes f and mattings , the beautiful statue o the Prin

cess stood revealed in all its grace and freedom .

’ Following Menn a s sudden and mysterious di s appe arance Renny had come again to hi s work hi hi shop to claim the statue w ch was s. The

u little crocodile am let at his throat had, indeed,

’ saved him from Bar s murderous attack . Bar

himself felt this to be a fact . f In the center . O the room stood the Princess w herself. Her gaze as ﬁxed upon the statue with a mingled expression Of awe , pride and de light . At her feet knelt Renny the sculptor,

r n ﬁ u r his upturned face t a s g e d.

Bhanar, trembling with fear, frequently

2 50 H anit : the En chant ress

tempt , had managed to abstract it from her

’ - mistress s ebony jewel box . i In return for th s , the overjoyed Bar had promised her that this very night should see

e en S s and Renny parted forever .

sun Thus it happened, that when, towards

e e down , S s n commanded Bhanar to get her long

Memphite cloak for an outing in the gardens , wi Bhanar trembled th anticipation . She barely

’ glanced at the ducks, the gazelle s hearts, the

- d Delta wine and the lotus see bread, which composed the evening meal . The meal being over and the low tabourets removed, Prince ’ Woz er esen s , S father, was carried O ff upon the shoulders of six chair-bearers in the direc tion of the Theban cemetery . It was the an n iv e rsa r of - y the death Of a life long friend and,

hi s i as had been habit, he h mself would light the ﬁrst torch preparatory to the service held in the

’ dead man s honor, he with his own hands would place the gifts Of food and drink upon the ’ Oﬁ e rin - Of g table the dead noble s tomb . For the last ﬁve years Prince Woz er had thus acted

of lea- Surera the part servant to the Justiﬁed. When once the long procession of Of f ering bearers which regularly accompanied her

n w a father o such occasions was well on its y, S esen and Bhanar descended into the palace gardens . Arrived at a little postern gate which con

’ nected - with the villa garden Of Thi s favorite, the unhappy Menna, the Princess pushed back A the barlock, and both passed through . nother moment and they had entered the dimly-lit

’ room Of Renny s former workshop .

’ All of Bh a n r unsuspecting a s treachery, Sesen had placed the little slave at the door to ’ Bh an a r s watch . heart beat so violently that it

- ﬁ ocat e well nigh su d her . A glimpse Of her mis

out tress reaching her ﬁngers toward the statue ,

’ o her mistress ther self, struck suddenly a tardy repentance into the very soul Of th e

- despairing slave girl . B Suddenly hanar start ed . Three ﬁgures had turned into the narrow garden - path and were rapidly approaching . In the foremost of the

B a r three Bhanar recognized the Memphite .

’ Menna s former spywas speaking in loud tone s 2 52 H anit : the E n chantress and violently gesticulating as he hurried the f others up the path . Two archers o Prince

’ z r hi Wo e s guard strode be nd him .

ul of treach Forgetf herself, her jealousy and “ ! ery, Bhanar shrieked aloud ; Renny My ’ B a Menna s s ! il Renny ! r is here, py Fly, wh e there is yet time ! ”

e At her ﬁrst words , Renny leap d to the door.

hi s A glance showed him Old enemy. Who could have betrayed them ?

Hardly knowing what he would do, he drew the Princess down behind the festooned pedes i tal , covering her at the same t me with its heavy wreaths and ﬂowers . l i Even a s he paused, rapid y scann ng the f e fect , the outer door was burst violently Open and the giant Bar pushed headlong into the room .

In the doorway, looming large against the a fterglow, Renny beheld the sturdy forms Of the two archers .

o t Bar sh t a hasty glance at the sta ue, then “ out : son Of ripped an oath Dog, a dog, the ” is h e Prince ss . Where s ?

2 54 H anit : the Enchantress

A few red feathers and an inch of reed showed just above the whi te robe Of his little country

Of woman . The rest the long shaft was buried in her breast .

Renny rose slowly to his feet . His gaze swept the terriﬁed archers to the threshold of

re a r l the door . With a ike that Of some south ern panther maddened with its wounds , once more he hurled himself upon the treacherous

Bar. His onslaught hurled the dagger from the

Of - hi nerveless hand the horror struck Memp te .

F or that worthy stood gazing, as if fascinated,

t u O f at the up rned face the dead Bhanar .

They grappled, tripped and fell , rolling over an n ow mi d over, one see ng to gain the mastery, now the other . Above their writhing forms the a rchers awaited their opportunity . Kneelin g at the base Of the pedestal the terri

ﬁed n little Pri cess alone made outcry, sending out upon the still evening air shriek upon

e shriek, intermingl d with peals Of frenzied laughter. Last Meeting of Bar and Renny 2 55

A slight lessening Of the grip and Renny ’ s powerful hand stole towards Bar ’ s jeweled throat . A snap, a quiver Of the big limbs and the Memphite lay motionless . Renn y staggered like a drunken man to his

enamon a feet . Stealthily W the archer p

r a ch ed p o , with somewhat Of the caution with which one might beard a wounded lion in its

ha den . His bow d been cast aside . A dagger

his gleamed in raised hand .

’ Renny s swaying ﬁgure lurched heavily

Of e towards the statue the Princess , to the bas l A of which the Princess herself sti l clung . s

flow er- his fingers gripped its festooned base , ’ Wenamon s dagger flashed .

Renny suddenly straightened himself . His

e of bloodshot eyes sought thos the Princess, w h o stood rooted to the spot . ” S e sen ! Sesen , he cried, and fell dead at her CHAPTER XXI

F THE PT R OF BEL UB THE ITTITE O CA U E , H

HE city Of Kadesh lay gleaming in th e evening sunlight at the upper end O f that vast plain which stretched northward to

h abtuna the Lake Country . As viewed from S , where the Egyptian army was now encamped, it seemed a veritable city Of towers . Along the eastern front Of this Asiatic city the waters Of the Orontes glittered like a straight Hittite sword . The high, machicolated

- on a gate towers, the eastern side, were p pr oach ed by a causeway and a broad ﬂight Of stone steps . Protected by a white wall on either side , these steps rose from the very f waters o the turgid Orontes itself .

The city towers were black with people ,

ierc frenzied women for the most part . Their p

of Of ing shrieks , now exultation , now despair, ﬂoated out upon the ﬂashing waters of the broad

2 56

2 58 H anit : the En chantress

f utekh Egyptians . The Division O S , led by Old

Of erh ot e N p, had been surprised at the ford

h Nof erh ote S abtun a . near , and cut to pieces p himself had been drowned in the blood- red waters and his body had not been recovered .

N of erh o e Alas , O t p, the harpers will not sing “ ” before thy silent form ; the feathered dancers will not join thy funeral dance ! It appeared that the spies sent out by the E gyptians had been deceived as to the numerical

An superiority Of the Hittite host . unknown force Of the enemy had been enabled to steal up

’ n f erh e s o No ot p infantry as it crossed the ford . A few wounded stragglers from this unequal action had managed to reach the main E gyptian

camp, where their distorted accounts of the

- ni i H ow recent disaster well gh caused a pan c .

Y ankh amu ever, at this juncture the arrival Of E i with a division of th opian troops, had put

new heart into the Egyptian host .

Thus , then , it had been Since daybreak . The tide of battle had leaned now toward the Hit

n ow . tite, toward Egypt O f the Capture O f Belur 2 59

The main aff ray had resolved itself into a i frontal attack, wh ch extended right across the plain to the very foothills . The Egyptian chariots had endeavored to cut around the right ﬂank of the enemy, hoping to d rive them into a swamp which lay to the south

t vest .

Across the broad plains serried ranks of in f t r an y pressed to the attack . The reserves of both armies were now brought into action .

of Thus commenced the ﬁnal stage the conﬂict,

a last desperate onslaught which should, once

of one tw o and for all, decide the fate Of the m opposing ar ies .

The n on - combatants high upon the battle mente d walls Of Kadesh broke into wild shouts

of u tri mph , as the right wing of the Egyptian

army was seen to bend, to break and, ﬁnally, to

rush, in wildest disorder, towards a slight curve d in the Orontes river eastwar . A mass of the howling sons of Kh eta pressed hard upon its

heels . The people Of the city could contain them 2 60 H anit : the E nchant ress

F or selves no longer. them the battle w as as

w n good as o . The youths ﬂew down to the

a great g tes which opened as if by magic, and in

a - nother moment hot footed youth, halting Old

a e s g , women and little children could be een

Spreading in a fan- shaped wave acr oss the dusty expanse whi ch separated the contending

forces from the city walls . d t Sud enly, from behind a low ridge o the f westward, there appeared a long line o two i horse chariots . In the center, easily recogn zed by hi s bright red leather doublet and gilded

- war bonnet, stood the young Egyptian general,

a t n Ramses . A huge Ethiopian k a a , leaning l f we l out over the leather body O the chariot,

’ urged on Ramses horses by word Of mouth

f At of and lash O whip . the right the chariot bounded a lean Nubian panther . The onrushing chariots aligned themselves upon that of their young and impetuous leader . With ever quickening pace the long line swept a cross the well-nigh deserted right ﬂank; turned, and hurled a devastating avalanche Of

2 62 H anit : the E nchant ress

m master as fa st a s chariot, horse or li bs could carry them . In a moment the ﬂeeing soldiers had burst into the densely-massed body composed Of their distracted wives , mothers , grandsires and wail

now ing children . These likewise attempted to turn and again to seek shelter within the city walls . There ensued a state of indescribable con fusion in which terror reigned supreme . And this state of utter panic was not conﬁned to those unfortunates upon the plain, but com municated itself to the few people who still re

a r m ined within the city . Fearing the fu y Of the

Egyptian soldiers , these now shut and barred the ponderous city gates . There followed such a slaughter Of the miser able sons Of Kheta as had not been witnessed in the Orontes Valley since the da y Great

h othme T s had ﬁrst taken Kadesh by assault . Fifteen full days was Pahura the Scribe occu pied in listing the spoils Of gilded chariots ,

s - jeweled brea t plates , gold and silver temple O f the Captu re O f Belu r 2 63

l of vessels, and the treasure Of Beli , King

Kadesh .

l r w a s i no A S to Be il himself, his Obese fo m g mini usl o ypierced by an arrow, as he dangled at

- l the end Of a rope half way up the city wal s . Once the Ethiopian division had burst in the

city gate , those who had attempted to save their

who e King, and others had be n driven to the

e t s n battl men s urroundi g the palace, were hurled over its parapet and met their death either upon the ﬂagging Of the court or in the

Of waters the moat which surround it .

Rimur i , K ng Of Charchemish , ﬂed night and

day by means of relays . Not a night did he rest until he found himself once again behind the hi giant walls Of s capital .

Belur, his brother, badly wounded on the

ﬁ w a s eld, brought, a pale and sullen captive , to

the chariot of the victorious Ramses . At the present plight of the once haughty ambassador to Egypt Ramses allowed the fainte st indica

tion of a sneer to break the stony indiﬁ erence f o his glance . 2 64 H anit : the E n chantress l

Followin g his commands the Prince O f Kh eta w a s led away that his woun ds might be at

tended to . Belur was reserved for a fate far

ul worse than death. Indeed, death wo d come as a welcome relief to the indignities and tortures

that would presently be meted out to him . He w a s destined to swing from the prow of ’ Ramses galley hea d down , where he would be

lightly fed, yet, were it possible , not allowed to di m e, until Pharaoh himself should despatch hi .

A c cording to custom, a captive chief must Am f be presented to the great god en o Thebes . Established precedent required that he be killed

before the temple portals Of the god himself .

Whether Aton would scorn such a blood-thirsty ﬁ o erin nk . g, Ramses did not pause to thi The irruption of the victorious Egyptian army into Kadesh was followed by wholesale

loot, division of the women among the soldiery,

- riotous drunkenness , child murder and the ap portioning Of the manh o od of the vanquished f l among the temples O Egypt . There fol owed the utter oblitera tion of the conquered city in a

holocaust Of ﬁre .

CHAPTER XXH

“ TH E DOUBLE OF B ANIT

set FEELING, closely akin to panic , had

tled upon the Egyptian Court . Its mem

bers , Of whom by far the greater number

t ﬁrm of were , outwardly a least , adherents

Aton, had now received a second violent Shock to their already perplexed minds . F ollowing her safe return from one Of her

’ periodic vi sits to Pharaoh s new capital t o the

- h north , Thi the Queen Mother, ad suddenly and most mysteriously vanished .

’ The Women s Quarter of the palace w as in an uproar . Consternation and, withal a name less dread , was stamped upon the faces of courtier and servant alike . The remembrance

’ f Menn a s O unaccountable , and still unsolved disappearance , was still fresh in their minds . Upon the evening in which the Queen-Mother

2 66 “ ” The Double of H amit 2 67

n had SO suddenly va ished, the Princess Beki taton had left her side for a few moments in

Own order to warm , with her hands , a cup Of Old

Thini te wine . When the little Princess retu rned

w a s t o - it ﬁnd the Queen Mother gone . She chanced to look out of the window and

w a e s astonished to se Queen Thi, in com

Of pany with another lady the court , the Lady

Renenet she thought, about to round the bend Of the road which led to the Temple of Sekh I met . t was the ﬁrst time in her experience that the Queen -Mother had gone out so little

e attend d.

B ekitaton t to re urned the harem . She did not suspect that a nything w a s amiss until dark

ness descended upon the palace . Then and n ot i until then, accord ng to the rigid court eti

’ uette she - q , again entered the Queen Mother s room—upon this occasion accompanied by the — other ladies -in-waiting in order to assist the

- th e Queen Mother to Banquet Hall . Among

the ladies she w a s surprised to see the Lady

Renenet . Upon inquiry she found tha t Renenet 2 68 H anit : the E n chant ress

’ had not left the Women s Quarters that day. And it was the same with respect to the other

one ladies . Not had left the Palace walls dur ing the entire day.

sh e Yet, one lady asserted that had seen

Queen Thi enter the pala ce within the hour .

Somewhat relieved by this , the Princess Beki taton sought the Queen- Mother in each and

’ every room Of the Women s Quarter . Yet this l search, similarly, proved unsuccessfu . ’ Once again sh e entered the Queen s robing room . She found no Sign Of disorder . Queen

Thi had apparently left Of her own free will. The mystiﬁed little Princess called to her assist ance Queen Nof erit and other ladies Of the harem .

the Again the rooms were searched . Led by Princess the searchers descended into the gar

s dens . They entered the quarter Of the cooks and butlers . They explored the dark shadows Of the various columned courts and the murk w ier gloom Of the side aisles, together ith their innumerable storerooms .

2 70 H anit : the Enchant ress

through palace and countryside alike . It w a s inexplicable .

of The Temple Sekhmet, the lake , the palace a nd - re the palace gardens , were searched and

w as searched a gain and again . Not a spot overlooked . When at last it became necessary to send the evil tidings to the new capital, the

of un s City the S , Pharaoh him elf came hur riedl y back to Thebes .

As , day after day, the searching parties re

- turned empty handed, Pharaoh lost patience .

Hundreds were slain . Soken and many Of the palace eunuchs met their death at the ’ strangler s hands . Men soon went to the task Of searching f or the lost Queen a s criminals already condemned to death .

F or w s a full week the search a renewed . ll . ll Fresh men were ca ed up for the task Fina y,

Khon s the soldiers Of the Divisions Of u, Ptah

n utekh w ei' e s a d S pre sed into service . All in vain .

One remarkable circumstance w as discov i ered, following the d sappearance Of the Queen “ ” The D ouble of H amit 2 71

B ekitaton . Mother, and that by the Princess

- H anit The portrait Of the Ex Queen , which had been painted on a column in the Audience Hall of h l the late Pharao , had been carefu ly and

i had completely obliterated . Th s been done just prior to or immediately following the

’ - re Queen Mother s disappearance . Nothing

six mained, where once the portrait stood, but words written in red in roughly drawn hieratic : “ f ” By the Power o the Book Of Thoth . No one could explain this desecration Of the ’ former Queen s portrait . Mention of the magic

B Of ook Thoth struck terror into every heart, m not excepting that Of Pharaoh hi self.

’ Thenceforth Pharaoh s fanatical zeal in th e

A hi s sun- l interest Of ton, Syrian cu t, slowly waned and ﬁnally ceased . The innumerable gif ts to the many new Aton shrines throughout — Egypt one had been set up against the very walls of the Temple of Am en in the Apt—the

s gorgeous religiou processions , the ceaseless

t and theological s udies debates , all were sud

enl d y abandoned . 2 72 H anit : the E nchant ress

With the change Pharaoh himself seemed to fade . Little nourishment passed his lips . f Within the dim shadows o his private chapel, hour after hour the hollow- eyed monarch stood in prayer before the gold and gem -encrusted

- statue of Aton, the sun god . At times the statue appeared t o his distracted mind to mock

l - - him with a smile ha f pitying, half contemp tu ous !

of Verily, the curse Huy, High Priest Of

f eri h hi s Amen was upon him ! No t , wife , had

him o borne no heir, no s n to follow him upon the gold Horus Throne Of Egypt ! The scepter

o Of hi must g to others , to that hollow cousin s,

t mira e whom Thi h ad been wont to call he g .

f or Old A d As y, another istant relative and possible claimant to the Throne, Pharaoh sus pected that Ay was even now in secret corre s ondence f ! p with the exiled priests O Amen, i whose inﬂuence was again mak ng itself felt, not a lone in Thebes , but as far north as the new capital, the City of the Sun itself. To whom then could he turn ? Among the courtiers about him there w a s not one in whom

2 74 H anit : the E nchant ress

guards drive all visitors , petitioners and beg gars from the palace gates . Pharaoh shut him self up within its brightly painted courts and allowed things without to take their course . The silver - embossed doors remained fast

O closed . N watchman paced the battlemented

O walls and pylons . N plumed Syrian horses pawed the ﬂagging before the outer gates . The gay bann erettes no longer rose upon the gold tipped poles fronting the main entrance to the

palace forecourt . Hushed were the voices of

the guards and other palace servants . Even the birds which ﬂitted back and forth among the trees seemed to have forgotten their cheerful

songs . l Final y, one memorable evening, when the dying Pharaoh lay propped up high upon his

A ntef O f couch , he beckoned to Prince , Lord

I n Thebes , who stood the center Of the awe him struck group before . Dropping the ha irless lids Of a pair Of

- vulture like eyes , eyes ﬁlled at the moment with

a joy which the Prince tried in vain to conceal , “ ” The D ouble O f H amit 2 75

Antef fell upon hi s knees beside the dyin g

’ Pharaoh s couch . He already felt the gold

di Of o adem kings about his wig, the r yal asps

about his forehead .

Silence descended upon the little room . i Silence seemed to fall upon the entire build ng,

t Of both within and wi hout . The wails the i women ceased, the chant ng of the priests and

the sobs and cries Of the palace servants , all

e d abruptly st epp . S O long continued was the sudden hush that

n ef the expectant A t slowly raised his head . As his questioning eyes met those of his

nt ef royal master, A there beheld such a look Of

terror, a look reﬂected he saw upon the faces

of hi the nobles be nd the dying monarch , that the astounded Theban himself felt somewhat Of the chill that seemed to have changed his

master and his friends to stone . He caught the whispered sound Of a once

’ familiar name . It seemed to be on everyone s lips : H anit ! Han it ! H an it !

A nte f turned himself about . At once that 2 76 H anit : the E nchantress

s hi ame nameless terror held m also in its grip .

d H anit H anit In the doorway stoo Queen , upon whose mummiﬁed form he him self had placed a wreath Of ﬂowers ! Antef stumbled to

hi s his feet and there remained, eyes ﬁxed upon

f - i this apparition o the Ex Queen, as if he l ke

wise had been turned t o stone .

’ A richly plaited robe covered Queen Hanit s

form . About her head was set the vulture dia f dem , that circlet Of gold which queens o the

thr ea t w a s royal blood alone may wear . Her d hid en by a necklace of bright blue beads .

on e Upon ﬁn ger she wore a blue glazed ring, a ring such as is worn by the dead alone ? B e

fore her She held a B ook which seemed to glow, as if by some preternatural light . By now Antef and the horriﬁed nobles had backed to the furthest corner of the room, whence they continued to gaze at thi s ap

a rition p Of the former Queen, believing it to be in very fact the visible “ double ” of Thi ’ s mur dered rival .

’ Hanit s black eyes glittered like those of

2 78 H anit : the E nchantress

A ! Stand forth, Son of men Receive the Scepter of Amen which is thine !

With this the apparition slowly moved back, a n re d there before them , arrayed in the full k galia of ings , the curv ed sword Of Amen

c n clasped in his hand, stood Ramses , the o

u eror of Rimur q and the Hittites . The seeming “ double ” Of the dead Queen raised the Luminous B ook high above her head : “ ! Hearken, Egyptians Hearken to the words of Amen, king Of gods ! With this sword

on divine hath Ramses , my s , hurled back the Hittites from your borders ! With this sword divine hath he won a glorious victory ! Rimur grovels in the dust before him ;Belur awaits

i ! is s n h s bitter doom Of a truth this my o , born f o my will , essence Of my essence, saith Amen, f ! ! t king O gods Salute your king Salu e him ,

' ” i of a ! Electrum of K ngs , Essence God

e She ceased, and vanish d as abruptly as she had appeared . In her place stood a ﬁgure arrayed in the regalia Of the great god Amen .

D O f In his hand he held the ouble Crown Egypt . “ ” The D ouble O f H anit 2 79

As if overcome at thi s manifestation Of the

m - a power Of the great God A en, Mei men, new f leader o the Prophets Of Amen, slowly and ’ reverently advanced and, falling at Ramses

hi A s knees , kissed the hem Of s garment . he

e Ok ros , few noted the lO that passed between

them . w Thereafter, the dead Pharaoh as forgotten .

Of - Indeed, as the cries the palace women broke

ou t once more, the assembled nobles burst into

a shout, new to those resplendent walls , a Shout which brought the terriﬁ ed servants to the door : “ to Hail thee, Ramses , chosen Of Amen !

Life , Satisfaction and Health to Phara oh, our

lord, forever and ever ! Q t

see O Let me , how d the Egyptians express

? ow it 0 , I remember ! N Of the coming to the

of throne of Ramses , his marriage t o the Prin c esen ess S , Of the cutting out Of the hated name

Of Aton from temple, tomb and dwelling, is it not written in letters Of red and black upon a 2 80 H anit : the En chant ress leather scroll and stored within the Temple Of Amen in the Apt unto this day ?

You know this to be true, Clem ! But do

ou ene y know that S b , the mason, was sent to cut out all mention Of Menna upon the walls Of his

n son tomb ? Men a, of Menna, never reached the

Blessed Fields Of A aru, Of that you may be sure . “ Y es , I know what your next question will be ! The Luminous Book ? Listen ! What I am going to tell you is in t erestin g and true . I can vouch for the story, a s f I had it from the lips o Enana himself. “ Enana placed the Magic Book in a cauldron of boiling water drawn from the Sacred Lake by a virgin Of the Temple of the Mother-god hi dess . Thus the mystic powers with w ch the Book had been imbued became in corporated in the holy water . “ A draught Of this enchanted water Queen B anit drank and, drinking, died. The remain

nkl der, according to her wish, w a s Spri ed over

edi l her body, imm ately fol owing the placing Of h e r m u m m in t h e t nm h

2 82 H anit : the E nchantress

A which gently pressed my throbbing head . smiling face bent over me . My bewildered eyes wandered from a trim little white cap to a spotless white dress and hi ! shoes , w te canvas shoes “ t ” Where are her pret y gilded sandals, thought I .

her ff I tried to speak to . I even made an e ort to catch the soothing hand at my forehead .

e At this the white ﬁgure vanish d, and in its B ’ place, stood raintree, the Seaforth s doctor . “ Great Scott, I have it . I am in the hospital ! That was Susan

“ ’ That s just where you are , Steven . And

ou a I must ask y not to excite yourself bout it . Here you are and here you have been f or some time . Tribe , Dunn and I have slaved over you a nd won out, at last . “ B ut a sk ? N who, may I , is Menna O friend

’ of ! yours , I d swear Susan is equally inter e sted in some ladyfriend of your acquaintance, hi S esen I t nk her name was ! Well, never mind ” T . that now . urn over and rest “ ” The Double O f H anit 2 83

Then it was a dream ;the vision of a fevered

! H anit esen brain Enana , , S , Menna, and Renny—could I have been Renny—all were dreams ! B anit ! Why such a person never ' ’ An d ' ! existed . Ramses ! A s yet he wasn t born I tried to smile at the busy little ﬁgure in white . I recognized her now. It was Susan

Braintree, my Susan ! I caught myself repeatedly murmuring

S esen Susan the Lily, the Lotus , one and the

one same name, and the same person perhaps .

Ah , my Beautiful Princess ! I can smell the sweet unguents which Bhanar has sprinkled upon your dainty wig, the myrrh upon your supple hands

Susan presses a little phial to my nostrils . A —I few short breaths and Sleep .

T H E E N D