CHAPTER XIV.
The next day Nitetis removed to the country-house in thehanging-gardens, and began a monotonous, but happy and industrious lifethere, according to the rules laid down by Croesus. Every day she wascarried to Kassandane and Atossa in a closely shut-up litter. Nitetissoon began to look upon the blind queen as a beloved and loving mother,and the merry, spirited Atossa nearly made up to her for the loss ofher sister Tachot, so far away on the distant Nile. She could not havedesired a better companion than this gay, cheerful girl, whose wit andmerriment effectually prevented homesickness or discontent from settlingin her friend's heart. The gravity and earnestness of Nitetis' characterwere brightened by Atossa's gaiety, and Atossa's exuberant spiritscalmed and regulated by the thoughtful nature of Nitetis.
Both Croesus and Kassandane were pleased and satisfied with their newdaughter and pupil, and Oropastes extolled her talents and industrydaily to Cambyses. She learnt the Persian language unusually well andquickly; Cambyses only visited his mother when he hoped to find Nitetisthere, and presented her continually with rich dresses and costlyjewels. But the highest proof of his favor consisted in his abstainingfrom visiting her at her house in the hanging-gardens, a line of conductwhich proved that he meant to include Nitetis in the small number of hisreal and lawful wives, a privilege of which many a princess in his haremcould not boast.
The grave, beautiful girl threw a strange spell over this strong,turbulent man. Her presence alone seemed enough to soften his stubbornwill, and he would watch their games for hours, his eyes fixed on hergraceful movements. Once, when the ball had fallen into the water,the king sprang in after it, regardless of his costly apparel. Nitetisscreamed on seeing his intention, but Cambyses handed her the drippingtoy with the words: "Take care or I shall be obliged to frighten youagain." At the same time he drew from his neck a gold chain set withjewels and gave it to the blushing girl, who thanked him with a lookwhich fully revealed her feelings for her future husband.
Croesus, Kassandane and Atossa soon noticed that Nitetis loved the king.Her former fear of this proud and powerful being had indeed changed intoa passionate admiration. She felt as if she must die if deprived of hispresence. He seemed to her like a glorious and omnipotent divinity,and her wish to possess him presumptuous and sacrilegious; but itsfulfilment shone before her as an idea more beautiful even than returnto her native land and reunion with those who, till now, had been heronly loved ones.
Nitetis herself was hardly conscious of the strength of her feelings,and believed that when she trembled before the king's arrival it wasfrom fear, and not from her longing to behold him once more. Croesus,however, had soon discovered the truth, and brought a deep blush to hisfavorite's cheek by singing to her, old as he was, Anacreon's newestsong, which he had learnt at Sais from Ibykus
"We read the flying courser's name Upon his side in marks of flame; And by their turban'd brows alone The warriors of the East are known. But in the lover's glowing eyes, The inlet to his bosom lies; Through them we see the tiny mark, Where Love has dropp'd his burning spark" --Paegnion 15
And thus, in work and amusement, jest, earnest, and mutual love, theweeks and months passed with Nitetis. Cambyses' command that she wasto be happy in his land had fulfilled itself, and by the time theMesopotamian spring-tide (January, February and March), which succeedsthe rainy month of December, was over, and the principal festival of theAsiatics, the New Year, had been solemnized at the equinox, and theMay sun had begun to glow in the heavens, Nitetis felt quite at home inBabylon, and all the Persians knew that the young Egyptian princess hadquite displaced Phaedime, the daughter of Otanes, in the king's favor,and would certainly become his first and favorite wife.
Boges sank considerably in public estimation, for it was known thatCambyses had ceased to visit the harem, and the chief of the eunuchs hadowed all his importance to the women, who were compelled to coax fromCambyses whatever Boges desired for himself or others. Not a day passedon which the mortified official did not consult with the supplantedfavorite Phaedime, as to the best means of ruining Nitetis, but theirmost finely spun intrigues and artifices were baffled by the strength ofking's love and the blameless life of his royal bride.
Phaedime, impatient, mortified, and thirsting for vengeance, wasperpetually urging Boges to some decided act; he, on the contrary,advised patience.
At last, however, after many weeks, he came to her full of joy,exclaiming: "I have devised a little plan which must ruin the Egyptianwoman as surely as my name is Boges. When Bartja comes back, mytreasure, our hour will have arrived."
While saying this the creature rubbed his fat, soft hands, and, with hisperpetual fulsome smile, looked as if he were feasting on some good deedperformed. He did not, however, give Phaedime the faintest idea of thenature of his "little plan," and only answered her pressing questionswith the words: "Better lay your head in a lion's jaws, than your secretin the ears of a woman. I fully acknowledge your courage, but at thesame time advise you to remember that, though a man proves his couragein action, a woman's is shown in obedience. Obey my words and await theissue in patience." Nebenchari, the oculist, continued to attendthe queen, but so carefully abstained from all intercourse with thePersians, that he became a proverb among them for his gloomy, silentways. During the day he was to be found in the queen's apartments,silently examining large rolls of papyri, which he called the book ofAthotes and the sacred Ambres; at night, by permission of the king andthe satraps of Babylon, he often ascended one of the high towers on thewalls, called Tritantaechmes, in order to observe the stars.
The Chaldaean priests, the earliest astronomers, would have allowed himto take his observations from the summit of the great temple ofBel, their own observatory, but he refused this offer decidedly, andpersisted in his haughty reserve. When Oropastes attempted to explainto him the celebrated Babylonian sun-dial, introduced by Anaximander ofMiletus into Greece, he turned from the Magian with a scornful laugh,saying: "We knew all this, before you knew the meaning of an hour."
Nitetis had shown Nebenchari much kindness, yet he took no interest inher, seemed indeed to avoid her purposely, and on her asking whether shehad displeased or offended him, answered: "For me you are a stranger.How can I reckon those my friends, who can so gladly and so quicklyforget those they loved best, their gods, and the customs of theirnative land?"
Boges quickly discovered this state of feeling on the part ofNebenchari, and took much pains to secure him as an ally, but thephysician rejected the eunuch's flatteries, gifts, and attentions withdignity.
No sooner did an Angare appear in the court of the palace withdespatches for the king, than Boges hastened to enquire whether newsfrom the Tapuri had arrived.
At length the desired messenger appeared, bringing word that the rebelswere subdued, and Bartja on the point of returning.
Three weeks passed--fresh messengers arrived from day to day announcingthe approach of the victorious prince; the streets glittered once morein festal array, the army entered the gates of Babylon, Bartja thankedthe rejoicing multitude, and a short time after was in the arms of hisblind mother.
Cambyses received his brother with undisguised warmth, and took him tothe queen's apartments, when he knew that Nitetis would be there.
For he was sure the Egyptian girl loved him; his previous jealousyseemed a silly fancy now, and he wished to give Bartja an opportunity ofseeing how entirely he trusted his bride.
Cambyses' love had made him mild and gentle, unwearied in giving and indoing good. His wrath slumbered for a season, and around the spot wherethe heads of those who had suffered capital punishment were exhibited asa warning to their fellow-men, the hungry, screeching crows now wheeled,in vain.
The influence of the insinuating eunuchs (a race who had never been seenwithin the gates of Cyrus until the incorporation of Media, Lydia andBabylon, in which countries they had filled many of the highest officesat court and in the state), was now
waning, and the importance ofthe noble Achaemenidae increasing in proportion; for Cambyses appliedoftener to the latter than to the former for advice in matters relatingto the welfare of the country.
The aged Hystaspes, father of Darius, governor of Persia proper andcousin to the king; Pharnaspes, Cambyses' grandfather on the mother'sside; Otanes, his uncle and father-in-law. Intaphernes, Aspathines,Gobryas, Hydarnes, the general Megabyzus, father of Zopyrus, the envoyPrexaspes, the noble Croesus, and the old warrior Araspes; in short,the flower of the ancient Persian aristocracy, were now at the court ofCambyses.
To this must be added that the entire nobility of the realm, the satrapsor governors of the provinces, and the chief priests from every townwere also assembled at Babylon to celebrate the king's birthday.
[The king's birthday was the principal feast among the Persians, and called "the perfect feast." Herod. I. 133. Birthdays were held in much honor by the ancients, and more especially those of their kings. Both the great bilingual Egyptian tablets, which we possess (the Rosetta stone, line 10 of hieroglyphic text; Gr. text, line 46. and the edict of Canopus ed. Lepsius, hieroglyphic text 1. 3. Gr. text 1. 5.) mention the celebration of the birthday of one of the Ptolemies; and even of Rameses II., so early as the 14th century B. C. we read: "There was joy in heaven on his birthday."]
The entire body of officials and deputies streamed from the provincesup to the royal city, bringing presents to their ruler and good wishes;they came also to take part in the great sacrifices at which horses,stags, bulls and asses were slaughtered in thousands as offerings to thegods.
At this festival all the Persians received gifts, every man was allowedto ask a petition of the king, which seldom remained unfulfilled, andin every city the people were feasted at the royal expense. Cambyses hadcommanded that his marriage with Nitetis should be celebrated eight daysafter the birthday, and all the magnates of the realms should be invitedto the ceremony.
The streets of Babylon swarmed with strangers, the colossal palaces onboth shores of the Euphrates were overfilled, and all the houses stoodadorned in festal brightness.
The zeal thus displayed by his people, this vast throng of humanbeings,--representing and bringing around him, as it were, his entirekingdom, contributed not a little to raise the king's spirits.
His pride was gratified; and the only longing left in his heart had beenstilled by Nitetis' love. For the first time in his life he believedhimself completely happy, and bestowed his gifts, not only from a senseof his duty as king of Persia, but because the act of giving was initself a pleasure.
Megabyzus could not extol the deeds of Bartja and his friends toohighly. Cambyses embraced the young warriors, gave them horses and goldchains, called them "brothers" and reminded Bartja, that he had promisedto grant him a petition if he returned victorious.
At this Bartja cast down his eyes, not knowing at first in what form tobegin his request, and the king answered laughing: "Look, my friends;our young hero is blushing like a girl! It seems I shall have to grantsomething important; so he had better wait until my birthday, and then,at supper, when the wine has given him courage, he shall whisper in myear what he is now afraid to utter. Ask much, Bartja, I am happy myself,and wish all my friends to be happy too." Bartja only smiled in answerand went to his mother; for he had not yet opened his heart to her onthe matter which lay so near it.
He was afraid of meeting with decided opposition; but Croesus hadcleared the way far him by telling Kassandane so much in praise ofSappho, her virtues and her graces, her talents and skill, that Nitetisand Atossa maintained she must have given the old man a magic potion,and Kassandane, after a short resistance, yielded to her darling'sentreaties.
"A Greek woman the lawful wife of a Persian prince of the blood!" criedthe blind woman. "Unheard of! What will Cambyses say? How can we gainhis consent?"
"On that matter you may be at ease, my mother," answered Bartja, "I amas certain that my brother will give his consent, as I am that Sapphowill prove an ornament and honor to our house."
"Croesus has already told me much in favor of this maiden," answeredKassandane, "and it pleases me that thou hast at last resolved to marry;but never-the-less this alliance does not seem suitable for a son ofCyrus. And have you forgotten that the Achaemenidae; will probablyrefuse to recognize the child of a Greek mother as their future king, ifCambyses should remain childless?"
"Mother, I fear nothing; for my heart is not set upon the crown. Andindeed many a king of Persia has had a mother of far lower parentagethan my Sappho. I feel persuaded that when my relations see the preciousjewel I have won on the Nile, not one of them will chide me."
"The gods grant that Sappho may be equal to our Nitetis!" answeredKassandane, "I love her as if she were my own child, and bless the daywhich brought her to Persia. The warm light of her eyes has melted yourbrother's hard heart; her kindness and gentleness bring beauty into thenight of my blind old age, and her sweet earnestness and gravity havechanged your sister Atossa from an unruly child into a gentle maiden.But now call them, (they are playing in the garden), and we will tellthem of the new friend they are to gain through you."
"Pardon me, my mother," answered Bartja, "but I must beg you not to tellmy sister until we are sure of the king's consent."
"You are right, my son. We must conceal your wish, to save Nitetis andAtossa from a possible disappointment. A bright hope unfulfilled isharder to bear than an unexpected sorrow. So let us wait for yourbrother's consent, and may the gods give their blessing!" Early in themorning of the king's birthday the Persians offered their sacrifices onthe shores of the Euphrates. A huge altar of silver had been raised onan artificial hill. On this a mighty fire had been kindled, from whichflames and sweet odors rose towards heaven. White-robed magi fed thefire with pieces of daintily-cut sandal-wood, and stirred it withbundles of rods.
A cloth, the Paiti-dhana, was bound round the heads of the priests, theends of which covered the mouth, and thus preserved the pure fire frompollution by human breath.
[The Persians were ordered to hold this little square piece of cloth before their mouths when they prayed. It was from 2 to 7 fingers broad. Anquetil gives a drawing of it in his Zend-Avesia. Strabo speaks of the Paiti-dhana p. 733. He says the ends of the cloth used as a covering for the head hung down over the mouth.]
The victims had been slaughtered in a meadow near the river, the fleshcut into pieces, sprinkled with salt, and laid out on tender grasses,sprouts of clover, myrtle-blossoms, and laurel-leaves, that thebeautiful daughter of Ormuzd, the patient, sacred Earth, might not betouched by aught that was dead or bleeding.
Oropastes, the chief Destur,--[Priest]--now drew near the fire andcast fresh butter into it. The flames leapt up into the air and all thePersians fell on their knees and hid their faces, in the belief that thefire was now ascending to their great god and father. The Magian thentook a mortar, laid some leaves and stalks of the sacred herb Haomaswithin it, crushed them and poured the ruddy juice, the food of thegods, into the flames.
After this he raised his hands to heaven, and, while the other priestscontinually fed the flames into a wilder blaze by casting in freshbutter, sang a long prayer out of the sacred books. In this prayer theblessing of the gods was called down on everything pure and good, butprincipally on the king and his entire realm. The good spirits of light,life and truth; of all noble deeds; of the Earth, the universal giver;of the refreshing waters, the shining metals, the pastures, trees andinnocent creatures, were praised: the evil spirits of darkness; oflying, the deceiver of mankind; of disease, death and sin; of the rigidcold; the desolating heat; of all odious dirt and vermin, were cursed,together with their father the malignant Ahriman. At the end all presentjoined in singing the festival prayer: "Purity and glory are sown forthem that are pure and upright in heart."
The sacrificial ceremony was concluded with the king's prayer, and thenCambyses, arrayed in his richest robes, ascended a splendid chariotdrawn by four snow-white Nico
ean horses, and studded with topazes,cornelian and amber, and was conveyed to the great reception-hall, wherethe deputies and officers from the provinces awaited him.
As soon as the king and his retinue had departed, the priests selected,for themselves, the best pieces of the flesh which had been offered insacrifice, and allowed the thronging crowd to take the rest.
The Persian divinities disdained sacrifices in the light of food,requiring only the souls of the slaughtered animals, and many a poorman, especially among the priests, subsisted on the flesh of theabundant royal sacrifices.
The prayer offered up by the Magian was a model for those of the Persianpeople. No man was allowed to ask anything of the gods for himselfalone. Every pious soul was rather to implore blessings for his nation;for was not each only a part of the whole? and did not each man sharein the blessings granted to the whole kingdom? But especially theywere commanded to pray for the king, in whom the realm was embodied andshadowed forth. It was this beautiful surrender of self for the publicweal, that had made the Persians great. The doctrines of the Egyptianpriesthood represented the Pharaohs as actual divinities, while thePersian monarchs were only called "sons of the gods;" yet the power ofthe latter was far more absolute and unfettered than that of the former;the reason for this being that the Persians had been wise enough tofree themselves from priestly domination, while the Pharaohs, as we haveseen, if not entirely under the dominion of the priestly caste, were yetunder its influence in the most important matters.
The Egyptian intolerance of all strange religions was unknown in Asia.The conquered Babylonians were allowed by Cyrus to retain their owngods, after their incorporation in the great Asiatic kingdom. The Jews,Ionians and inhabitants of Asia Minor, in short, the entire mass ofnations subject to Cambyses remained unmolested in possession of theirhereditary religions and customs.
Beside the great altar, therefore, might be seen many a smallersacrificial flame, kindled in honor of their own divinities, by theenvoys from the conquered provinces to this great birthday feast.
Viewed from a distance, the immense city looked like a gigantic furnace.Thick clouds of smoke hovered over its towers, obscuring the light ofthe burning May sun.
By the time the king had reached the palace, the multitude who had cometo take part in the festival had formed themselves into a procession ofinterminable length, which wandered on through the straight streets ofBabylon towards the royal palace.
Their road was strewn with myrtle and palm-branches, roses, poppyand oleander-blossoms, and with leaves of the silver poplar, palm andlaurel; the air perfumed with incense, myrrh, and a thousand other sweetodors. Carpets and flags waved and fluttered from the houses.
Music too was there; the shrill peal of the Median trumpet, and softtone of the Phrygian flute; the Jewish cymbal and harp, Paphlagoniantambourines and the stringed instruments of Ionia; Syrian kettle-drumsand cymbals, the shells and drums of the Arians from the mouth of theIndus, and the loud notes of the Bactrian battle-trumpets. But aboveall these resounded the rejoicing shouts of the Babylonian multitude,subjugated by the Persians only a few short years before, and yet, likeall Asiatics, wearing their fetters with an air of gladness so long asthe fear of their tyrant was before their eyes.
The fragrant odors, the blaze of color and sparkling of gold and jewels,the neighing of the horses, and shouts and songs of human beings, allunited to produce a whole, at once bewildering and intoxicating to thesenses and the feelings.
The messengers had not been sent up to Babylon empty-handed. Beautifulhorses, huge elephants and comical monkeys; rhinoceroses and buffaloesadorned with housings and tassels; double-humped Bactrian camels withgold collars on their shaggy necks; waggon-loads of rare woods andivory, woven goods of exquisite texture, casks of ingots and gold-dust,gold and silver vessels, rare plants for the royal gardens, and foreignanimals for the preserves, the most remarkable of which were antelopes,zebras, and rare monkeys and birds, these last being tethered to a treein full leaf and fluttering among the branches. Such were the offeringssent to the great king of Persia.
They were the tribute of the conquered nations and, after havingbeen shown to the king, were weighed and tested by treasurers andsecretaries, either declared satisfactory, or found wanting andreturned, in which case the niggardly givers were condemned to bring adouble tribute later.
[At the time of which we are writing, the kings of Persia taxed their kingdom at whatever time and to whatever extent seemed good in their own eyes. Cambyses' successor, Darius, was the first to introduce a regular system of taxation, in consequence of which he was nicknamed "the shopkeeper." Up to a much later period it still remained the duty of certain districts to send natural products to the court Herod. I. 192. Xenoph. Anab. IV. 5.]
The palace-gates were reached without hindrance, the way being keptclear by lines of soldiers and whipbearers stationed on either side ofthe street.
If the royal progress to the place of sacrifice, when five hundredrichly-caprisoned horses had been led behind the king's chariot,could be called magnificent, and the march of the envoys a brilliantspectacle, the great throne-room presented a vision of dazzling andmagic beauty.
In the background, raised on six steps, each of which was guarded, as itwere, by two golden clogs, stood the throne of gold; above it, supportedby four golden pillars studded with precious stones, was a purplecanopy, on which appeared two winged discs, the king's Feruer.
[The Feruer or Ferwer is the spiritual part of every man-his soul and reason. It was in existence before the man was horn, joins him at his birth and departs at his death. The Ferwer keeps up a war with the Diws or evil spirits, and is the element of man's preservation in life. The moment he departs, the body returns to its original elements. After death he becomes immortal if he has done well, but if his deeds have been evil he is cast into hell. It is right to call upon the Ferwer and entreat his help. He will bring the prayer before God and on this account is represented as a winged disc.]
Fan-bearers, high in office at the court, stood behind the throne, and,on either side, those who sat at the king's table, his relationsand friends, and the most important among the officers of state, thepriestly caste and the eunuchs.
The walls and ceiling of the entire hall were covered with plates ofburnished gold, and the floor with purple carpets.
Before the silver gates lay winged bulls, and the king'sbody-guard-their dress consisting of a gold cuirass under a purpleovercoat, and the high Persian cap, their swords in golden scabbardsglittering with jewels, and their lances ornamented with gold and silverapples, were stationed in the court of the palace. Among them the bandof the "Immortals" was easily to be distinguished by their stately formsand dauntless bearing.
Officers, whose duty consisted in announcing and presenting strangers,and who carried short ivory staves, led the deputies into the hall, andup to the throne, where they cast themselves on the ground as thoughthey would kiss the earth, concealing their hands in the sleeves oftheir robes. A cloth was bound over the mouth of every man before he wasallowed to answer the king's questions, lest the pure person of the kingshould be polluted by the breath of common men.
Cambyses' severity or mildness towards the deputations with whose chiefshe spoke, was proportioned to the obedience of their province andthe munificence of their tribute-offerings. Near the end of the trainappeared an embassy from the Jews, led by two grave men with sharply-cutfeatures and long beards. Cambyses called on them in a friendly tone tostop.
The first of these men was dressed in the fashion of the Babylonianaristocracy. The other wore a purple robe woven without seam, trimmedwith bells and tassels, and held in at the waist by a girdle of blue,red and white. A blue garment was thrown over his shoulders and a littlebag suspended around his neck containing the sacred lots, the Urim andThummin, adorned with twelve precious stones set in gold, and bearingthe names of the tribes of Israel. The high-priest's brow was grave andthoughtful. A white cloth was wound rou
nd his head, the ends of whichhung down to the shoulders.
"I rejoice to behold you once more, Belteshazzar," exclaimed the kingto the former of the two men. "Since the death of my father you have notbeen seen at my gate."
The man thus addressed bowed humbly and answered: "The favor of the kingrejoices his servant! If it seem good unto thee, to cause the sun ofthy favor to shine on me, thine unworthy servant, so hearken unto mypetition for my nation, which thy great father caused to return unto theland of their fathers' sepulchres. This old man at my side, Joshua, thehigh-priest of our God, hath not feared the long journey to Babylon,that he might bring his request before thy face. Let his speech bepleasing in thine ears and his words bring forth fruit in thine heart."
"I foresee what ye desire of me," cried the king. "Am I wrong, priest,in supposing that your petition refers to the building of the temple inyour native land?"
"Nothing can be hidden from the eyes of my lord," answered the priest,bowing low. "Thy servants in Jerusalem desire to behold the face oftheir ruler, and beseech thee by my mouth to visit the land of theirfathers, and to grant them permission to set forward the work of thetemple, concerning which thine illustrious father (the favor of our Godrest upon him), made a decree."
The king answered with a smile: "You have the craft of your nation, andunderstand how to choose the right time and words for your petition. Onmy birthday it is difficult for me to refuse my faithful people evenone request. I promise you, therefore, so soon as possible to visitJerusalem and the land of your fathers."
"By so doing thou wilt make glad the hearts of thy servants," answeredthe priest; "our vines and olives will bear more fruit at thineapproach, our gates will lift up their heads to receive thee, and Israelrejoice with shouts to meet his lord doubly blessed if as lord of thebuilding--"
"Enough, priest, enough!" cried Cambyses. "Your first petition, I havesaid it, shall not remain unfulfilled; for I have long desired to visitthe wealthy city of Tyre, the golden Sidon, and Jerusalem with itsstrange superstitions; but were I to give permission for the buildingnow, what would remain for me to grant you in the coming year?"
"Thy servants will no more molest thee by their petitions, if thougrant unto them this one, to finish the temple of the Lord their God,"answered the priest.
"Strange beings, these men of Palestine!" exclaimed Cambyses. "I haveheard it said that ye believe in one God alone, who can be representedby no likeness, and is a spirit. Think ye then that this omnipresentBeing requires a house? Verily, your great spirit can be but a weak andmiserable creature, if he need a covering from the wind and rain, and ashelter from the heat which he himself has created. If your God be likeours, omnipresent, fall down before him and worship as we do, in everyplace, and feel certain that everywhere ye will be heard of him!"
"The God of Israel hears his people in every place," exclaimed thehigh-priest. "He heard us when we pined in captivity under the Pharaohsfar from our land; he heard us weeping by the rivers of Babylon. Hechose thy father to be the instrument of our deliverance, and will hearmy prayer this day and soften thine heart like wise. O mighty king,grant unto thy servants a common place of sacrifice, whither ourtwelve tribes may repair, an altar on the steps of which they canpray together, a house in which to keep their holy feasts! For thispermission we will call down the blessing of God upon thine head and hiscurse upon thine enemies."
"Grant unto my brethren the permission to build their temple!" addedBelteshazzar, who was the richest and most honorable and respected ofthe Jews yet remaining in Babylon; a man whom Cyrus had treated withmuch consideration, and of whom he had even taken counsel from time totime.
"Will ye then be peaceable, if I grant your petition?" asked the king."My father allowed you to begin the work and granted the means for itscompletion. Of one mind, happy and content, ye returned to your nativeland, but while pursuing your work strife and contention entered amongyou. Cyrus was assailed by repeated letters, signed by the chief men ofSyria, entreating him to forbid the work, and I also have been latelybesought to do the same. Worship your God when and where ye will, butjust because I desire your welfare, I cannot consent to the prosecutionof a work which kindles discord among you."
"And is it then thy pleasure on this day to take back a favor, which thyfather made sure unto us by a written decree?" asked Belteshazzar.
"A written decree?"
"Which will surely be found even to this day laid up in the archives ofthy kingdom."
"Find this decree and show it me, and I will not only allow the buildingto be continued, but will promote the same," answered the king; "for myfather's will is as sacred to me as the commands of the gods."
"Wilt thou allow search to be made in the house of the rolls atEcbatana?" asked Belteshazzar. "The decree will surely be found there."
"I consent, but I fear ye will find none. Tell thy nation, priest, thatI am content with the equipment of the men of war they have sent to takethe field against the Massagetae. My general Megabyzus commends theirlooks and bearing. May thy people prove as valiant now as in the wars ofmy father! You, Belteshazzar, I bid to my marriage feast, and charge youto tell your fellows, Meshach and Abednego, next unto you the highest inthe city of Babylon, that I expect them this evening at my table."
"The God of my people Israel grant thee blessing and happiness,"answered Belteshazzar bowing low before the king.
"A wish which I accept!" answered the king, "for I do not despisethe power of your wonder-working great Spirit. But one word more,Belteshazzar. Many Jews have lately been punished for reviling thegods of the Babylonians. Warn your people! They bring down hatred onthemselves by their stiff-necked superstition, and the pride withwhich they declare their own great spirit to be the only true God. Takeexample by us; we are content with our own faith and leave others toenjoy theirs in peace. Cease to look upon yourselves as better than therest of the world. I wish you well, for a pride founded on self-respectis pleasing in mine eyes; but take heed lest pride degenerate intovainglory. Farewell! rest assured of my favor."
The Jews then departed. They were disappointed, but not hopeless; forBelteshazzar knew well that the decree, relative to the building of thetemple, must be in the archives at Ecbatana.
They were followed by a deputation from Syria, and by the Greeksof Ionia; and then, winding up the long train, appeared a band ofwild-looking men, dressed in the skins of animals, whose featuresbespoke them foreigners in Babylon. They wore girdles and shoulderbandsof solid, unwrought gold; and of the same precious metal were theirbow-cases, axes, lance-points, and the ornaments on their high fur caps.They were preceded by a man in Persian dress, whose features proved him,however, to be of the same race as his followers.
The king gazed at first on these envoys with wonder; then his browdarkened, and beckoning the officer whose duty it was to presentstrangers, he exclaimed "What can these men have to crave of me? If Imistake not they belong to the Massagetae, to that people who are sosoon to tremble before my vengeance. Tell them, Gobryas, that an armedhost is standing on the Median plains ready to answer their demands withthe sword."
Gobryas answered, bowing low: "These men arrived this morning duringthe sacrifice bringing huge burdens of the purest gold to purchase yourforbearance. When they heard that a great festival was being celebratedin your honor, they urgently besought to be admitted into your presence,that they might declare the message entrusted to them by their country."
The king's brow cleared and, after sharply scrutinizing the tall,bearded Massageta, he said: "Let them come nearer. I am curious to knowwhat proposals my father's murderers are about to make me."
Gobryas made a sign, and the tallest and eldest of the Massagetae cameup close to the throne and began to speak loudly in his native tongue.He was accompanied by the man in a Persian dress, who, as one of Cyrus'prisoners of war, had learnt the Persian language, and now interpretedone by one the sentences uttered by the spokesman of this wanderingtribe.
"We know," began the latter, "that th
ou, great king, art wroth with theMassagetae because thy father fell in war with our tribe--a war which healone had provoked with a people who had done naught to offend him."
"My father was justified in punishing your nation," interrupted theking. "Your Queen Tomyris had dared to refuse him her hand in marriage."
"Be not wroth, O King," answered the Massagetan, "when I tell thee thatour entire nation approved of that act. Even a child could see that thegreat Cyrus only desired to add our queen to the number of his wives,hoping, in his insatiable thirst for more territories, to gain our landwith her."
Cambyses was silent and the envoy went on. "Cyrus caused a bridge to bemade over our boundary river, the Araxes. We were not dismayed at this,and Tomyris sent word that he might save himself this trouble, for thatthe Massagetae were willing either to await him quietly in their ownland, leaving the passage of the river free, or to meet him in his.Cyrus decided, by the advice of the dethroned king of Lydia, (as welearnt afterwards, through some prisoners of war) on meeting us in ourown land and defeating us by a stratagem. With this intention he sent atfirst only a small body of troops, which could be easily dispersed anddestroyed by our arrows and lances, and allowed us to seize his campwithout striking a blow. Believing we had defeated this insatiableconqueror, we feasted on his abundant stores, and, poisoned by the sweetunknown drink which you call wine, fell into a stupefied slumber, duringwhich his soldiers fell upon us, murdered the greater number of ourwarriors and took many captives. Among the latter was the brave, youngSpargapises, our queen's son.
"Hearing in his captivity, that his mother was willing to concludepeace with your nation as the price of his liberty, he asked to have hischains taken off. The request was granted, and on obtaining the useof his hands he seized a sword and stabbed himself, exclaiming: 'Isacrifice my life for the freedom of my nation.'"
"No sooner did we hear the news that the young prince we loved so wellhad died thus, than we assembled all the forces yet left to us from yourswords and fetters. Even old men and boys flew to arms to revenge ournoble Spargapises, and sacrifice themselves, after his example, forMassagetaen freedom. Our armies met; ye were worsted and Cyrus fell.When Tomyris found his body lying in a pool of human blood, she cried:'Methinks, insatiable conqueror, thou art at last sated with blood!'The troop, composed of the flower of your nobility, which you call theImmortals, drove us back and carried your father's dead body forth fromour closest ranks. You led them on, fighting like a lion. I know youwell, and that wound across your manly face, which adorns it like apurple badge of honor, was made by the sword now hanging at my side."
A movement passed through the listening crowd; they trembled forthe bold speaker's life. Cambyses, however, looked pleased, noddedapprovingly to the man and answered: "Yes, I recognize you too now; yourode a red horse with golden trappings. You shall see that the Persiansknow how to honor courage. Bow down before this man, my friends, fornever did I see a sharper sword nor a more unwearied arm than his; andsuch heroic courage deserves honor from the brave, whether shown byfriend or foe. As for you, Massagetae, I would advise you to go homequickly and prepare for war; the mere recollection of your strengthand courage increases my longing to test it once more. A brave foe, byMithras, is far better than a feeble friend. You shall be allowed toreturn home in peace; but beware of remaining too long within my reach,lest the thought of the vengeance I owe my father's soul should rouse myanger, and your end draw suddenly nigh."
A bitter smile played round the bearded mouth of the warrior as he madeanswer to this speech. "The Massagetae deem your father's soul too wellavenged already. The only son of our queen, his people's pride, and inno way inferior to Cyrus, has bled for him. The shores of the Araxeshave been fertilized by the bodies of fifty thousand of my countrymen,slain as offerings for your dead king, while only thirty thousand fellthere on your own side. We fought as bravely as you, but your armor isbetter able to resist the arrows which pierce our clothing of skins. Andlastly, as the most cruel blow of all, ye slew our queen."
"Tomyris is dead?" exclaimed Cambyses interrupting him. "You mean totell me that the Persians have killed a woman? Answer at once, what hashappened to your queen?"
"Tomyris died ten months ago of grief for the loss of her only son, andI have therefore a right to say that she too fell a sacrifice to the warwith Persia and to your father's spirit."
"She was a great woman," murmured Cambyses, his voice unsteady fromemotion. "Verily, I begin to think that the gods themselves haveundertaken to revenge my father's blood on your nation. Yet I tell youthat, heavy as your losses may seem, Spargapises, Tomyris and fiftythousand Massagetae can never outweigh the spirit of one king of Persia,least of all of a Cyrus."
"In our country," answered the envoy, "death makes all men equal. Thespirits of the king and the slave are of equal worth. Your father was agreat man, but we have undergone awful sufferings for his sake. My taleis not yet ended. After the death of Tomyris discord broke out among theMassagetae. Two claimants for the crown appeared; half our nation foughtfor the one, half for the other, and our hosts were thinned, first bythis fearful civil war and then by the pestilence which followed in itstrack. We can no longer resist your power, and therefore come with heavyloads of pure gold as the price of peace."
"Ye submit then without striking a blow?" asked Cambyses. "Verily, I hadexpected something else from such heroes; the numbers of my host, whichwaits assembled on the plains of Media, will prove that. We cannot go tobattle without an enemy. I will dismiss my troops and send a satrap. Bewelcome as new subjects of my realm."
The red blood mounted into the cheeks of the Massagetan warrioron hearing these words, and he answered in a voice trembling withexcitement: "You err, O King, if you imagine that we have lost our oldcourage, or learnt to long for slavery. But we know your strength; weknow that the small remnant of our nation, which war and pestilence havespared, cannot resist your vast and well-armed hosts. This we admit,freely and honestly as is the manner of the Massagetae, declaringhowever at the same time, that we are determined to govern ourselvesas of yore, and will never receive laws or ordinances from a Persiansatrap. You are wroth, but I can bear your angry gaze and yet repeat mydeclaration."
"And my answer," cried Cambyses, "is this: Ye have but one choice:either to submit to my sceptre, become united to the kingdom of Persiaunder the name of the Massagetan province, and receive a satrap as myrepresentative with due reverence, or to look upon yourselves as myenemies, in which case you will be forced by arms to conform to thoseconditions which I now offer you in good part. To-day you could securea ruler well-affected to your cause, later you will find in me only aconqueror and avenger. Consider well before you answer."
"We have already weighed and considered all," answered the warrior,"and, as free sons of the desert, prefer death to bondage. Hear what thecouncil of our old men has sent me to declare to you:--The Massageta;have become too weak to oppose the Persians, not through their ownfault, but through the heavy visitation of our god, the sun. We knowthat you have armed a vast host against us, and we are ready to buypeace and liberty by a yearly tribute. But if you persist in compellingus to submit by force of arms, you can only bring great damage onyourselves. The moment your army nears the Araxes, we shall departwith our wives and children and seek another home, for we have no fixeddwellings like yours, but are accustomed to rove at will on our swifthorses, and to rest in tents. Our gold we shall take with us, and shallfill up, destroy, and conceal the pits in which you could find newtreasures. We know every spot where gold is to be found, and can giveit in abundance, if you grant us peace and leave us our liberty; but, ifyou venture to invade our territory, you win nothing but an emptydesert and an enemy always beyond your reach,--an enemy who may becomeformidable, when he has had time to recover from the heavy losses whichhave thinned his ranks. Leave us in peace and freedom and we are readyto give every year five thousand swift horses of the desert, besidesthe yearly tribute of gold; we will also come to the help of the Persiannatio
n when threatened by any serious danger."
The envoy ceased speaking. Cambyses did not answer at once; his eyeswere fixed on the ground in deep thought. At last he said, rising at thesame time from his throne: "We will take counsel on this matter over thewine to-night, and to-morrow you shall hear what answer you can bringto your people. Gobryas, see that these men are well cared for, and sendthe Massagetan, who wounded me in battle, a portion of the best dishesfrom my own table."