where numerous fires burned, round which crowded the resting warriors.
Here a wine-skin was passed from hand to hand, there a joint was
roasting on a wooden spit; farther on a party were throwing dice for the
booty they had won, or playing at morra. All was in eager activity,
and many a scuffle occurred amoung the excited soldiers, and had to be
settled by the camp-watch.
Near the enclosed plots, where the horses were tethered, the smiths were
busily engaged in shoeing the beasts which needed it, and in sharpening
the points of the lances; the servants of the chariot-guard were also
fully occupied, as the chariots had for the most part been brought over
the mountains in detached pieces on the backs of pack-horses and asses,
and now had to be put together again, and to have their wheels greased.
On the eastern side of the camp stood a canopy, under which the
standards were kept, and there numbers of priests were occupied in their
office of blessing the warriors, offering sacrifices, and singing hymns
and litanies. But these pious sounds were frequently overpowered by the
loud voices of the gamblers and revellers, by the blows of the hammers,
the hoarse braying of the asses, and the neighing of the horses. From
time to time also the deep roar of the king's war-lions
[See Diodorus, 1. 47. Also the pictures of the king rushing to the
fight.]
might be heard; these beasts followed him into the fight, and were now
howling for food, as they had been kept fasting to excite their fury.
In the midst of the camp stood the king's tent, surrounded by foot
and chariot-guards. The auxiliary troops were encamped in divisions
according to their nationality, and between them the Egyptian legions of
heavy-armed soldiers and archers. Here might be seen the black Ethiopian
with wooly matted hair, in which a few feathers were stuck--the
handsome, well proportioned "Son of the desert" from the sandy Arabian
shore of the Red Sea, who performed his wild war-dance flourishing his
lance, with a peculiar wriggle of his--hips pale Sardinians, with metal
helmets and heavy swords--light colored Libyans, with tattooed arms and
ostrich-feathers on their heads-brown, bearded Arabs, worshippers of the
stars, inseparable from their horses, and armed, some with lances, and
some with bows and arrows. And not less various than their aspect were
the tongues of the allied troops--but all obedient to the king's word of
command.
In the midst of the royal tents was a lightly constructed temple with
the statues of the Gods of Thebes, and of the king's forefathers; clouds
of incense rose in front of it, for the priests were engaged from the
eve of the battle until it was over, in prayers, and offerings to Amon,
the king of the Gods, to Necheb, the Goddess of victory, and to Menth,
the God of war.
The keeper of the lions stood by the Pharaoh's sleeping-tent, and
the tent, which served as a council chamber, was distinguished by the
standards in front of it; but the council-tent was empty and still,
while in the kitchen-tent, as well as in the wine-store close by, all
was in a bustle. The large pavilion, in which Rameses and his suite were
taking their evening meal, was more brilliantly lighted than all the
others; it was a covered tent, a long square in shape, and all round
it were colored lamps, which made it as light as day; a body-guard of
Sardinians, Libyans, and Egyptians guarded it with drawn swords, and
seemed too wholly absorbed with the importance of their office even to
notice the dishes and wine-jars, which the king's pages--the sons of
the highest families in Egypt--took at the tent-door from the cooks and
butlers.
The walls and slanting roof of this quickly-built and movable
banqueting-hall, consisted of a strong, impenetrable carpet-stuff,
woven at Thebes, and afterwards dyed purple at Tanis by the Phoenicians.
Saitic artists had embroidered the vulture, one of the forms in which
Necheb appears, a hundred times on the costly material with threads of
silver. The cedar-wood pillars of the tent were covered with gold,
and the ropes, which secured the light erection to the tent-pegs, were
twisted of silk, and thin threads of silver. Seated round four tables,
more than a hundred men were taking their evening meal; at three of them
the generals of the army, the chief priests, and councillors, sat on
light stools; at the fourth, and at some distance from the others,
were the princes of the blood; and the king himself sat apart at a high
table, on a throne supported by gilt figures of Asiatic prisoners
in chains. His table and throne stood on a low dais covered with
panther-skin; but even without that Rameses would have towered above his
companions. His form was powerful, and there was a commanding aspect
in his bearded face, and in the high brow, crowned with a golden diadem
adorned with the heads of two Uraeus-snakes, wearing the crowns of Upper
and Lower Egypt. A broad collar of precious stones covered half his
breast, the lower half was concealed by a scarf or belt, and his bare
arms were adorned with bracelets. His finely-proportioned limbs looked
as if moulded in bronze, so smoothly were the powerful muscles covered
with the shining copper-colored skin. Sitting here among those who were
devoted to him, he looked with kind and fatherly pride at his blooming
sons.
The lion was at rest--but nevertheless he was a lion, and terrible
things might be looked for when he should rouse himself, and when the
mighty hand, which now dispensed bread, should be clenched for the
fight. There was nothing mean in this man, and yet nothing alarming;
for, if his eye had a commanding sparkle, the expression of his mouth
was particularly gentle; and the deep voice which could make itself
heard above the clash of fighting men, could also assume the sweetest
and most winning tones. His education had not only made him well aware
of his greatness and power, but had left him also a genuine man, a
stranger to none of the emotions of the human soul.
Behind Pharaoh stood a man, younger than himself, who gave him his
wine-cup after first touching it with his own lips; this was Mena, the
king's charioteer and favorite companion. His figure was slight and yet
vigorous, supple and yet dignified, and his finely-formed features and
frank bright eyes were full at once of self-respect and of benevolence.
Such a man might fail in reflection and counsel, but would be admirable
as an honorable, staunch, and faithful friend.
Among the princes, Chamus sat nearest to the king;
[He is named Cha-em-Us on the monuments, i. e., 'splendor in
Thebes.' He became the Sam, or high-priest of Memphis. His mummy
was discovered by Mariette in the tomb of Apis at Saqqarah during ha
excavations of the Serapeum at Memphis.]
he was the eldest of his sons, and while still young had been invested
with the dignity of high-priest of Memphis. The curly-haired Rameri,
who had been rescued from imprisonment--into which he had fallen on his
journey from Egypt--had been assigned a place with the younger princes
at the lowest end of the table.
"It all sounds very threatening!" said the king. "But though each of you
croakers speaks the truth, your love for me dims your sight. In
fact, all that Rameri has told me, that Bent-Anat writes, that Mena's
stud-keeper says of Ani, and that comes through other channels--amounts
to nothing that need disturb us. I know your uncle--I know that he will
make his borrowed throne as wide as he possibly can; but when we return
home he will be quite content to sit on a narrow seat again. Great
enterprises and daring deeds are not what he excels in; but he is very
apt at carrying out a ready-made system, and therefore I choose him to
be my Regent."
"But Ameni," said Chamus, bowing respectfully to his father, "seems to
have stirred up his ambition, and to support him with his advice. The
chief of the House of Seti is a man of great ability, and at least half
of the priesthood are his adherents."
"I know it," replied the king. "Their lordships owe me a grudge because
I have called their serfs to arms, and they want them to till their
acres. A pretty sort of people they have sent me! their courage flies
with the first arrow. They shall guard the camp tomorrow; they will be
equal to that when it is made clear to their understanding that, if they
let the tents be taken, the bread, meat and wines-skins will also fall
into the hands of the enemy. If Kadesh is taken by storm, the temples of
the Nile shall have the greater part of the spoil, and you yourself, my
young high-priest of Memphis, shall show your colleagues that Rameses
repays in bushels that which he has taken in handfuls from the ministers
of the Gods."
"Ameni's disaffection," replied Chamus, "has a deeper root; thy mighty
spirit seeks and finds its own way--"
"But their lordships," interrupted Rameses, "are accustomed to govern
the king too, and I--I do not do them credit. I rule as vicar of the
Lord of the Gods, but--I myself am no God, though they attribute to me
the honors of a divinity; and in all humility of heart I willingly
leave it to them to be the mediators between the Immortals and me or my
people. Human affairs certainly I choose to manage in my own way. And
now no more of them. I cannot bear to doubt my friends, and trustfulness
is so dear, so essential to me, that I must indulge in it even if my
confidence results in my being deceived."
The king glanced at Mena, who handed him a golden cup--which he emptied.
He looked at the glittering beaker, and then, with a flash of his grave,
bright eyes, he added:
"And if I am betrayed--if ten such as Ameni and Ani entice my people
into a snare--I shall return home, and will tread the reptiles into
dust."
His deep voice rang out the words, as if he were a herald proclaiming a
victorious deed of arms. Not a word was spoken, not a hand moved, when
he ceased speaking. Then he raised his cup, and said:
"It is well before the battle to uplift our hearts! We have done great
deeds; distant nations have felt our hand; we have planted our pillars
of conquest by their rivers, and graven the record of our deeds on their
rocks.
[Herodotus speaks of the pictures graven on the rocks in the
provinces conquered by Rameses II., in memory of his achievements.
He saw two, one of which remains on a rock near Beyrut.]
Your king is great above all kings, and it is through the might of the
Gods, and your valor my brave comrades. May to-morrow's fight bring us
new glory! May the Immortals soon bring this war to a close! Empty your
wine cups with me--To victory and a speedy return home in peace!"
"Victory! Victory! Long life to the Pharaoh! Strength and health!" cried
the guests of the king, who, as he descended from his throne, cried to
the drinkers:
"Now, rest till the star of Isis sets. Then follow me to prayer at the
altar of Amon, and then-to battle."
Fresh cries of triumph sounded through the room, while Rameses gave his
hand with a few words of encouragement to each of his sons in turn.
He desired the two youngest, Mernephtah and Rameri to follow him, and
quitting the banquet with them and Mena, he proceeded, under the escort
of his officers and guards, who bore staves before him with golden
lilies and ostrich-feathers, to his sleeping-tent, which was surrounded
by a corps d'elite under the command of his sons. Before entering the
tent he asked for some pieces of meat, and gave them with his own hand
to his lions, who let him stroke them like tame cats.
Then he glanced round the stable, patted the sleek necks and shoulders
of his favorite horses, and decided that 'Nura' and 'Victory to Thebes'
should bear him into the battle on the morrow.
[The horses driven by Rameses at the battle of Kadesh were in fact
thus named.]
When he had gone into the sleeping-tent, he desired his attendants to
leave him; he signed Mena to divest him of his ornaments and his arms,
and called to him his youngest sons, who were waiting respectfully at
the door of the tent.
"Why did I desire you to accompany me?" he asked them gravely. Both were
silent, and he repeated his question.
"Because," said Rameri at length, "you observed that all was not quite
right between us two."
"And because," continued the king, "I desire that unity should exist
between my children. You will have enemies enough to fight with
to-morrow, but friends are not often to be found, and are too often
taken from us by the fortune of war. We ought to feel no anger towards
the friend we may lose, but expect to meet him lovingly in the other
world. Speak, Rameri, what has caused a division between you?"
"I bear him no ill-will," answered Rameri. "You lately gave me the sword
which Mernephtah has there stuck in his belt, because I did my duty well
in the last skirmish with the enemy. You know we both sleep in the same
tent, and yesterday, when I drew my sword out of its sheath to admire
the fine work of the blade, I found that another, not so sharp, had been
put in its place."
"I had only exchanged my sword for his in fun," interrupted Mernephtah.
"But he can never take a joke, and declared I want to wear a prize that
I had not earned; he would try, he said, to win another and then--"
"I have heard enough; you have both done wrong," said the King. "Even in
fun, Mernephtah, you should never cheat or deceive. I did so once, and I
will tell you what happened, as a warning.
"My noble mother, Tuaa, desired me, the first time I went into
Fenchu--[Phoenicia: on monuments of the 18th dynasty.]--to bring her a
pebble from the shore near Byblos, where the body of Osiris was washed.
As we returned to Thebes, my mother's request returned to my mind; I was
young and thoughtless--I picked up a stone by the way-side, took it with
me, and when she asked me for the remembrance from Byblos I silently
gave her the pebble from Thebes. She was delighted, she showed it to her
brothers and sisters, and laid it by the statues of her ancestors; but I
was miserable with shame and penitence, and at last I secretly took away
the stone, and threw it into the water. All the servants were called
together, and strict enquiry was made as to the theft of the stone; then
I could hold out no longer, and confessed everything. No one punished
me, and yet I never suffered more severely; from that time I have never
deviated from the exact truth even in jest. Take the lesson to heart,
Mernephtah--you, Rameri, take back your sword, and, believe me, life
brings us so many real causes of vexation, that it is well to learn
early to pass lightly over little things if you do not wish to become
a surly fellow like the pioneer Paaker; and that seems far from likely
with a gay, reckless temper like yours. Now shake hands with each
other."
The young princes went up to each other, and Rameri fell on his
brother's neck and kissed him. The king stroked their heads. "Now go
in peace," he said, "and to-morrow you shall both strive to win a fresh
mark of honor."
When his sons had left the tent, Rameses turned to his charioteer and
said: "I have to speak to you too before the battle. I can read your
soul through your eyes, and it seems to me that things have gone wrong
with you since the keeper of your stud arrived here. What has happened
in Thebes?" Mena looked frankly, but sadly at the king:
"My mother-in-law Katuti," he said, "is managing my estate very badly,
pledging the land, and selling the cattle."
"That can be remedied," said Rameses kindly. "You know I promised to
grant you the fulfilment of a wish, if Nefert trusted you as perfectly
as you believe. But it appears to me as if something more nearly
concerning you than this were wrong, for I never knew you anxious about
money and lands. Speak openly! you know I am your father, and the heart
and the eye of the man who guides my horses in battle, must be open
without reserve to my gaze."
Mena kissed the king's robe; then he said:
"Nefert has left Katuti's house, and as thou knowest has followed thy
daughter, Bent-Anat, to the sacred mountain, and to Megiddo."
"I thought the change was a good one," replied Rameses. "I leave
Bent-Anat in the care of Bent-Anat, for she needs no other guardianship,
and your wife can have no better protector than Bent-Anat."
"Certainly not!" exclaimed Mena with sincere emphasis. "But before they
started, miserable things occurred. Thou knowest that before she married
me she was betrothed to her cousin, the pioneer Paaker, and he, during
his stay in Thebes, has gone in and out of my house, has helped Katuti
with an enormous sum to pay the debts of my wild brother-in-law, and-as
my stud-keeper saw with his own eyes-has made presents of flowers to
Nefert."
The king smiled, laid his hand on Mena's shoulder, and said, as he
looked in his face: "Your wife will trust you, although you take a
strange woman into your tent, and you allow yourself to doubt her
because her cousin gives her some flowers! Is that wise or just? I
believe you are jealous of the broad-shouldered ruffian that some
spiteful Wight laid in the nest of the noble Mohar, his father."
"No, that I am not," replied Mena, "nor does any doubt of Nefert disturb
my soul; but it torments me, it nettles me, it disgusts me, that Paaker
of all men, whom I loathe as a venomous spider, should look at her and
make her presents under my very roof."
"He who looks for faith must give faith," said the king. "And must not
I myself submit to accept songs of praise from the most contemptible
wretches? Come--smooth your brow; think of the approaching victory, of
our return home, and remember that you have less to forgive Paaker than
he to forgive you. Now, pray go and see to the horses, and to-morrow
morning let me see you on my chariot full of cheerful courage--as I love
to see you."
Mena left the tent, and went to the stables; there he met Rameri, who
was waiting to speak to him. The eager boy said that he had always
looked up to him and loved him as a brilliant example, but that lately
he had been perplexed as to his virtuous fidelity, for he had been
informed that Mena had taken a strange woman into his tent--he who was
married to the fairest and sweetest woman in Thebes.
"I have known her," he concluded, "as well as if I were her brother;
and I know that she would die if she heard that you had insulted and
disgraced her. Yes, insulted her; for such a public breach of faith is
an insult to the wife of an Egyptian. Forgive my freedom of speech, but
who knows what to-morrow may bring forth--and I would not for worlds go
out to battle, thinking evil of you."
Mena let Rameri speak without interruption, and then answered:
"You are as frank as your father, and have learned from him to hear the
defendant before you condemn him. A strange maiden, the daughter of the
king of the Danaids,
[A people of the Greeks at the time of the Trojan war. They are
mentioned among the nations of the Mediterranean allied against
Rameses III. The Dardaneans were inhabitants of the Trojan
provinces of Dardanin, and whose name was used for the Trojans
generally.]
lives in my tent, but I for months have slept at the door of your
father's, and I have not once entered my own since she has been there.
Now sit down by me, and let me tell you how it all happened. We had
pitched the camp before Kadesh, and there was very little for me to do,
as Rameses was still laid up with his wound, so I often passed my time
in hunting on the shores of the lake. One day I went as usual, armed
only with my bow and arrow, and, accompanied by my grey-hounds,
heedlessly followed a hare; a troop of Danaids fell upon me, bound me
with cords, and led me into their camp.
[Grey-hounds, trained to hunt hares, are represented in the most
ancient tombs, for instance, the Mastaba at Meydum, belonging to the
time of Snefru (four centuries B. C.).]
There I was led before the judges as a spy, and they had actually
condemned me, and the rope was round my neck, when their king came up,
saw me, and subjected me to a fresh examination. I told him the facts
at full length--how I had fallen into the hands of his people while
following up my game, and not as an enemy, and he heard me favorably,
and granted me not only life but freedom. He knew me for a noble, and
treated me as one, inviting me to feed at his own table, and I swore in
my heart, when he let me go, that I would make him some return for his
generous conduct.
"About a month after, we succeeded in surprising the Cheta position, and
the Libyan soldiers, among other spoil, brought away the Danaid king's
only daughter. I had behaved valiantly, and when we came to the division
of the spoils Rameses allowed me to choose first. I laid my hand on the
maid, the daughter of my deliverer and host, I led her to my tent, and
left her there with her waiting-women till peace is concluded, and I can
restore her to her father."
"Forgive my doubts!" cried Rameri holding out his hand. "Now I
understand why the king so particularly enquired whether Nefert believed
in your constancy to her."
"And what was your answer?" asked Mena.
"That she thinks of you day and night, and never for an instant doubted
you. My father seemed delighted too, and he said to Chamus: 'He has won
there!"
"He will grant me some great favor," said Mena in explanation, "if, when
she hears I have taken a strange maiden to my tent her confidence in me
is not shaken, Rameses considers it simply impossible, but I know that I
shall win. Why! she must trust me."
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Before the battle,
[The battle about to be described is taken entirely from the epos of
Pentaur.]
prayers were offered and victims sacrificed for each division of the
army. Images of the Gods were borne through the ranks in their festal
barks, and miraculous relics were exhibited to the soldiers; heralds
announced that the high-priest had found favorable omens in the victims
offered by the king, and that the haruspices foretold a glorious
victory. Each Egyptian legion turned with particular faith to the
standard which bore the image of the sacred animal or symbol of the
province where it had been levied, but each soldier was also provided
with charms and amulets of various kinds; one had tied to his neck or
arm a magical text in a little bag, another the mystic preservative
eye, and most of them wore a scarabaeus in a finger ring. Many believed
themselves protected by having a few hairs or feathers of some sacred
animal, and not a few put themselves under the protection of a living
snake or beetle carefully concealed in a pocket of their apron or in
their little provision-sack.
When the king, before whom were carried the images of the divine Triad
of Thebes, of Menth, the God of War and of Necheb, the Goddess of
Victory, reviewed the ranks, he was borne in a litter on the shoulders
of twenty-four noble youths; at his approach the whole host fell
on their knees, and did not rise till Rameses, descending from his
position, had, in the presence of them all, burned incense, and made a
libation to the Gods, and his son Chamus had delivered to him, in the
name of the Immortals, the symbols of life and power. Finally, the
priests sang a choral hymn to the Sun-god Ra, and to his son and vicar
on earth, the king.
Just as the troops were put in motion, the paling stars appeared in
the sky, which had hitherto been covered with thick clouds; and this
occurrence was regarded as a favorable omen, the priests declaring to
the army that, as the coming Ra had dispersed the clouds, so the Pharaoh
would scatter his enemies.
With no sound of trumpet or drum, so as not to arouse the enemy, the
foot-soldiers went forward in close order, the chariot-warriors, each in
his light two-wheeled chariot drawn by two horses, formed their ranks,
and the king placed himself at their head. On each side of the gilt
chariot in which he stood, a case was fixed, glittering with precious
stones, in which were his bows and arrows. His noble horses were richly
caparisoned; purple housings, embroidered with turquoise beads, covered
their backs and necks, and a crown-shaped ornament was fixed on their
heads, from which fluttered a bunch of white ostrich-feathers. At the
end of the ebony pole of the chariot, were two small padded yokes, which
rested on the necks of the horses, who pranced in front as if playing
with the light vehicle, pawed the earth with their small hoofs, and
tossed and curved their slender necks.
The king wore a shirt of mail,
[The remains of a shirt of mail, dating from the time of Scheschenk
I. (Sesonchis), who belonged to the 22d dynasty, is in the British
Museum. It is made of leather, on which bronze scales are
fastened.]
over which lay the broad purple girdle of his apron, and on his head was
the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt; behind him stood Mena, who, with his
left hand, tightly held the reins, and with his right the shield which
was to protect his sovereign in the fight.
The king stood like a storm-proof oak, and Mena by his side like a
sapling ash.
The eastern horizon was rosy with the approaching sun-rise when they
quitted the precincts of the camp; at this moment the pioneer Paaker
advanced to meet the king, threw himself on the ground before him,
kissed the earth, and, in answer to the king's question as to why he had
come without his brother, told him that Horus was taken suddenly ill.
The shades of dawn concealed from the king the guilty color, which
changed to sallow paleness, on the face of the pioneer--unaccustomed
hitherto to lying and treason.
"How is it with the enemy?" asked Rameses.
"He is aware," replied Paaker, "that a fight is impending, and is
collecting numberless hosts in the camps to the south and east of the
city. If thou could'st succeed in falling on the rear from the north of
Kadesh, while the foot soldiers seize the camp of the Asiatics from the
south, the fortress will be thine before night. The mountain path that
thou must follow, so as not to be discovered, is not a bad one."
"Are you ill as well as your brother, man?" asked the king. "Your voice
trembles."
"I was never better," answered the Mohar.
"Lead the way," commanded the king, and Paaker obeyed. They went on in
silence, followed by the vast troop of chariots through the dewy morning
air, first across the plain, and then into the mountain range. The corps
of Ra, armed with bows and arrows, preceeded them to clear the way; they
crossed the narrow bed of a dry torrent, and then a broad valley opened
before them, extending to the right and left and enclosed by ranges of
mountains.
"The road is good," said Rameses, turning to Mena. "The Mohar has
learned his duties from his father, and his horses are capital. Now he
leads the way, and points it out to the guards, and then in a moment he
is close to us again."
"They are the golden-bays of my breed," said Mena, and the veins started
angrily in his forehead. "My stud-master tells me that Katuti sent them
to him before his departure. They were intended for Nefert's chariot,
and he drives them to-day to defy and spite me."
"You have the wife--let the horses go," said Rameses soothingly.
Suddenly a blast of trumpets rang through the morning air; whence it
came could not be seen, and yet it sounded close at hand.
Rameses started up and took his battle-axe from his girdle, the horses
pricked their ears, and Mena exclaimed:
"Those are the trumpets of the Cheta! I know the sound."
A closed wagon with four wheels in which the king's lions were conveyed,
followed the royal chariot. "Let loose the lions!" cried the king, who
heard an echoing war cry, and soon after saw the vanguard which had
preceded him, and which was broken up by the chariots of the enemy,
flying towards him down the valley again.
The wild beasts shook their manes and sprang in front of their master's
chariot with loud roars. Mena lashed his whip, the horses started
forward and rushed with frantic plunges towards the fugitives, who
however could not be brought to a standstill, or rallied by the king's
voice--the enemy were close upon them, cutting them down.
"Where is Paaker?" asked the king. But the pioneer had vanished as
completely as if the earth had swallowed him and his chariot.
The flying Egyptians and the death-dealing chariots of the enemy came
nearer and nearer, the ground trembled, the tramp of hoofs and the
roar of wheels sounded louder and louder, like the roll of a rapidly
approaching storm.
Then Rameses gave out a war cry, that rang back from the cliffs on
the right hand and on the left like the blast of a trumpet; his
chariot-guard joined in the shout--for an instant the flying Egyptians
paused, but only to rush on again with double haste, in hope of escape
and safety: suddenly the war-cry of the enemy was heard behind the
king, mingling with the trumpet-call of the Cheta, and out from a cross
valley, which the king had passed unheeded by--and into which Paaker had
disappeared--came an innumerable host of chariots which, before the king
could retreat, had broken through the Egyptian ranks, and cut him off
from the body of his army. Behind him he could hear the roar and shock
of the battle, in front of him he saw the fugitives, the fallen, and the
enemy growing each instant in numbers and fury. He saw the whole danger,
and drew up his powerful form as if to prove whether it were an equal
match for such a foe. Then, raising his voice to such a pitch, that it
sounded above the cries and groans of the fighting men, the words of
command, the neighing of the horses, the crash of overthrown chariots,
the dull whirr of lances and swords, their heavy blows on shields and
helmets, and the whole bewildering tumult of the battle--with a loud
shout he drew his bow, and his first arrow pierced a Cheta chief.
His lions sprang forward, and carried confusion into the hosts that were
crowding down upon him, for many of their horses became unmanageable at
the roar of the furious brutes, overthrew the chariots, and so hemmed
the advance of the troops in the rear. Rameses sent arrow after arrow,
while Mena covered him with the shield from the shots of the enemy. His
horses meanwhile had carried him forward, and he could fell the foremost
of the Asiatics with his battle-axe; close by his side fought Rameri and
three other princes; in front of him were the lions.
The press was fearful, and the raging of the battle wild and deafening,
like the roar of the surging ocean when it is hurled by a hurricane
against a rocky coast.
Mena seemed to be in two places at once, for, while he guided the horses
forwards, backwards, or to either hand, as the exigences of the position
demanded, not one of the arrows shot at the king touched him. His eye
was everywhere, the shield always ready, and not an eyelash of the young
hero trembled, while Rameses, each moment more infuriated, incited his
lions with wild war-cries, and with flashing eyes advanced farther and
farther into the enemy's ranks.
Three arrows aimed, not at the king but at Mena himself, were sticking
in the charioteer's shield, and by chance he saw written on the shaft of
one of them the words "Death to Mena."
A fourth arrow whizzed past him. His eye followed its flight, and as he
marked the spot whence it had come, a fifth wounded his shoulder, and he
cried out to the king:
"We are betrayed! Look over there! Paaker is fighting with the Cheta."
Once more the Mohar had bent his bow, and came so near to the king's
chariot that he could be heard exclaiming in a hoarse voice, as he let
the bowstring snap, "Now I will reckon with you--thief! robber! My bride
is your wife, but with this arrow I will win Mena's widow."
The arrow cut through the air, and fell with fearful force on the
charioteer's helmet; the shield fell from his grasp, and he put his hand
to his head, feeling stunned; he heard Paaker's laugh of triumph, he
felt another of his enemy's arrows cut his wrist, and, beside himself
with rage, he flung away the reins, brandished his battle-axe, and
forgetting himself and his duty, sprang from the chariot and rushed upon
Paaker. The Mohar awaited him with uplifted sword; his lips were
white, his eyes bloodshot, his wide nostrils trembled like those of an
over-driven horse, and foaming and hissing he flew at his mortal foe.
The king saw the two engaged in a struggle, but he could not interfere,
for the reins which Mena had dropped were dragging on the ground, and
his ungoverned horses, following the lions, carried him madly onwards.
Most of his comrades had fallen, the battle raged all round him, but
Rameses stood as firm as a rock, held the shield in front of him, and
swung the deadly battle-axe; he saw Rameri hastening towards him with
his horses, the youth was fighting like a hero, and Rameses called out
to encourage him: "Well done! a worthy grandson of Seti!"
"I will win a new sword!" cried the boy, and he cleft the skull of one
of his antagonists. But he was soon surrounded by the chariots of the
enemy; the king saw the enemy pull down the young prince's horses, and
all his comrades--among whom were many of the best warriors--turn their
horses in flight.
Then one of the lions was pierced by a lance, and sank with a dying roar
of rage and pain that was heard above all the tumult. The king himself
had been grazed by an arrow, a sword stroke had shivered his shield, and
his last arrow had been shot away.
Still spreading death around him, he saw death closing in upon him,
and, without giving up the struggle, he lifted up his voice in fervent
prayer, calling on Amon for support and rescue.
While thus in the sorest need he was addressing himself to the Lords of
Heaven, a tall Egyptian suddenly appeared in the midst of the struggle
and turmoil of the battle, seized the reins, and sprang into the chariot
behind the king, to whom he bowed respectfully. For the first time
Rameses felt a thrill of fear. Was this a miracle? Had Amon heard his
prayer?
He looked half fearfully round at his new charioteer, and when he
fancied he recognized the features of the deceased Mohar, the father of
the traitor Paaker, he believed that Amon had assumed this aspect, and
had come himself to save him.
"Help is at hand!" cried his new companion. "If we hold our own for only
a short time longer, thou art saved, and victory is ours."
Then once more Rameses raised his war-cry, felled a Cheta, who was
standing close to him to the ground, with a blow on his skull, while the
mysterious supporter by his side, who covered him with the shield, on
his part also dealt many terrible strokes.
Thus some long minutes passed in renewed strife; then a trumpet sounded
above the roar of the battle, and this time Rameses recognized the
call of the Egyptians; from behind a low ridge on his right rushed some
thousands of men of the foot-legion of Ptah who, under the command of
Horus, fell upon the enemy's flank. They saw their king, and the danger
he was in. They flung themselves with fury on the foes that surrounded
him, dealing death as they advanced, and putting the Cheta to flight,
and soon Rameses saw himself safe, and protected by his followers.
But his mysterious friend in need had vanished. He had been hit by an
arrow, and had fallen to the earth--a quite mortal catastrophe; but
Rameses still believed that one of the Immortals had come to his rescue.
But the king granted no long respite to his horses and his fighting-men;
he turned to go back by the way by which he had come, fell upon the
forces which divided him from the main army, took them in the rear while
they were still occupied with his chariot-brigade which was already
giving way, and took most of the Asiatics prisoners who escaped the
arrows and swords of the Egyptians. Having rejoined the main body of the
troops, he pushed forwards across the plain where the Asiatic horse and
chariot-legions were engaged with the Egyptian swordsmen, and forced the
enemy back upon the river Orontes and the lake of Kadesh. Night-fall
put an end to the battle, though early next morning the struggle was
renewed.
Utter discouragement had fallen upon the Asiatic allies, who had gone
into battle in full security of victory; for the pioneer Paaker had
betrayed his king into their hands.
When the Pharaoh had set out, the best chariot-warriors of the Cheta
were drawn up in a spot concealed by the city, and sent forward against
Rameses through the northern opening of the valley by which he was to
pass, while other troops of approved valor, in all two thousand five
hundred chariots, were to fall upon him from a cross valley where they
took up their position during the night.
These tactics had been successfully carried out, and notwithstanding
the Asiatics had suffered a severe defeat--besides losing some of their
noblest heroes, among them Titure their Chancellor, and Chiropasar, the
chronicler of the Cheta king, who could wield the sword as effectively
as the pen, and who, it was intended, should celebrate the victory of
the allies, and perpetuate its glory to succeeding generations. Rameses
had killed one of these with his own hands, and his unknown companion
the other, and besides these many other brave captains of the enemy's
troops. The king was greeted as a god, when he returned to the camp,
with shouts of triumph and hymns of praise.
Even the temple-servants, and the miserable troops from Upper
Egypt-ground down by the long war, and bought over by Ani--were carried
away by the universal enthusiasm, and joyfully hailed the hero and king
who had successfully broken the stiff necks of his enemies.
The next duty was to seek out the dead and wounded; among the latter was
Mena; Rameri also was missing, but news was brought next day that he had
fallen into the hands of the enemy, and he was immediately exchanged for
the princess who had been sheltered in Mena's tent.
Paaker had disappeared; but the bays which he had driven into the battle
were found unhurt in front of his ruined and blood-sprinkled chariot.
The Egyptians were masters of Kadesh, and Chetasar, the king of the
Cheta, sued to be allowed to treat for peace, in his own name and in
that of his allies; but Rameses refused to grant any terms till he had
returned to the frontier of Egypt. The conquered peoples had no choice,
and the representative of the Cheta king--who himself was wounded--and
twelve princes of the principal nations who had fought against Rameses,
were forced to follow his victorious train. Every respect was shown
them, and they were treated as the king himself, but they were none
the less his prisoners. The king was anxious to lose no time, for sad
suspicion filled his heart; a shadow hitherto unknown to his bright and
genial nature had fallen upon his spirit.
This was the first occasion on which one of his own people had betrayed
him to the enemy. Paaker's deed had shaken his friendly confidence, and
in his petition for peace the Cheta prince had intimated that Rameses
might find much in his household to be set to rights--perhaps with a
strong hand.
The king felt himself more than equal to cope with Ani, the priests, and
all whom he had left in Egypt; but it grieved him to be obliged to
feel any loss of confidence, and it was harder to him to bear than any
reverse of fortune. It urged him to hasten his return to Egypt.
There was another thing which embittered his victory. Mena, whom he
loved as his own son, who understood his lightest sign, who, as soon
as he mounted his chariot, was there by his side like a part of
himself--had been dismissed from his office by the judgment of the
commander-in-chief, and no longer drove his horses. He himself had been
obliged to confirm this decision as just and even mild, for that man was
worthy of death who exposed his king to danger for the gratification of
his own revenge.
Rameses had not seen Mena since his struggle with Paaker, but he
listened anxiously to the news which was brought him of the progress of
his sorely wounded officer.
The cheerful, decided, and practical nature of Rameses was averse to
every kind of dreaminess or self-absorption, and no one had ever seen
him, even in hours of extreme weariness, give himself up to vague and
melancholy brooding; but now he would often sit gazing at the ground in
wrapt meditation, and start like an awakened sleeper when his reverie
was disturbed by the requirements of the outer world around him. A
hundred times before he had looked death in the face, and defied it as
he would any other enemy, but now it seemed as though he felt the cold
hand of the mighty adversary on his heart. He could not forget the
oppressive sense of helplessness which had seized him when he had felt
himself at the mercy of the unrestrained horses, like a leaf driven by
the wind, and then suddenly saved by a miracle.
A miracle? Was it really Amon who had appeared in human form at his
call? Was he indeed a son of the Gods, and did their blood flow in his
veins?
The Immortals had shown him peculiar favor, but still he was but a man;
that he realized from the pain in his wound, and the treason to which
he had been a victim. He felt as if he had been respited on the very
scaffold. Yes; he was a man like all other men, and so he would still
be. He rejoiced in the obscurity that veiled his future, in the many
weaknesses which he had in common with those whom he loved, and even
in the feeling that he, under the same conditions of life as his
contemporaries, had more responsibilities than they.
Shortly after his victory, after all the important passes and
strongholds had been conquered by his troops, he set out for Egypt
with his train and the vanquished princes. He sent two of his sons to
Bent-Anat at Megiddo, to escort her by sea to Pelusium; he knew that the
commandant of the harbor of that frontier fortress, at the easternmost
limit of his kingdom, was faithful to him, and he ordered that his
daughter should not quit the ship till he arrived, to secure her against
any attempt on the part of the Regent. A large part of the material of
war, and most of the wounded, were also sent to Egypt by sea.
CHAPTER XL.
Nearly three months had passed since the battle of Kadesh, and to-day
the king was expected, on his way home with his victorious army, at
Pelusium, the strong hold and key of Egyptian dominion in the east.
Splendid preparations had been made for his reception, and the man who
took the lead in the festive arrangements with a zeal that was doubly
effective from his composed demeanor was no less a person than the
Regent Ani.
His chariot was to be seen everywhere: now he was with the workmen,
who were to decorate triumphal arches with fresh flowers; now with the
slaves, who were hanging garlands on the wooden lions erected on the
road for this great occasion; now--and this detained him longest--he
watched the progress of the immense palace which was being rapidly
constructed of wood on the site where formerly the camp of the Hyksos
had stood, in which the actual ceremony of receiving the king was to
take place, and where the Pharaoh and his immediate followers were
to reside. It had been found possible, by employing several thousand
laborers, to erect this magnificent structure, in a few weeks, and
nothing was lacking to it that could be desired, even by a king so
accustomed as Rameses to luxury and splendor. A high exterior flight of
steps led from the garden--which had been created out of a waste--to the
vestibule, out of which the banqueting hall opened.
This was of unusual height, and had a vaulted wooden ceiling, which was
painted blue and sprinkled with stars, to represent the night heavens,
and which was supported on pillars carved, some in the form of
date-palms, and some like cedars of Lebanon; the leaves and twigs
consisted of artfully fastened and colored tissue; elegant festoons of
bluish gauze were stretched from pillar to pillar across the hall,
and in the centre of the eastern wall they were attached to a large
shell-shaped canopy extending over the throne of the king, which was
decorated with pieces of green and blue glass, of mother of pearl, of
shining plates of mica, and other sparkling objects. |
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