CHAPTER IV.
The innocent originator of all this complicated misery had passed manya wretched hour since the birthday banquet. Since those harsh words withwhich Cambyses had sent her from the hall, not the smallest fragment ofnews had reached her concerning either her angry lover, or his motherand sister. Not a day had passed since her arrival in Babylon, that hadnot been spent with Kassandane and Atossa; but now, on her desiring tobe carried to them, that she might explain her strange conduct, hernew guard, Kandaules, forbade her abruptly to leave the house. She hadthought that a free and full account of the contents of her letter fromhome, would clear up all these misunderstandings. She fancied she sawCambyses holding out his hand as if to ask forgiveness for his hastinessand foolish jealousy. And then a joyful feeling stole into her mindas she remembered a sentence she had once heard Ibykus say: "As feverattacks a strong man more violently than one of weaker constitution; soa heart that loves strongly and deeply can be far more awfully tormentedby jealousy, than one which has been only superficially seized bypassion."
If this great connoisseur in love were right, Cambyses must love herpassionately, or his jealousy could not have caught fire so quickly andfearfully. Sad thoughts about her home, however, and dark forebodingsof the future would mix with this confidence in Cambyses' love, and shecould not shut them out. Mid-day came, the sun stood high and burning inthe sky, but no news came from those she loved so well; and a feverishrestlessness seized her which increased as night came on. In thetwilight Boges came to her, and told her, with bitter scorn, that herletter to Bartja had come into the king's hands, and that the gardener'sboy who brought it had been executed. The tortured nerves of theprincess could not resist this fresh blow, and before Boges left, hecarried the poor girl senseless into her sleeping-room, the door ofwhich he barred carefully.
A few minutes later, two men, one old, the other young, came up throughthe trap-door which Boges had examined so carefully two days before. Theold man remained outside, crouching against the palace, wall; a handwas seen to beckon from the window: the youth obeyed the signal, swunghimself over the ledge and into the room at a bound. Then words of lovewere exchanged, the names Gaumata and Mandane whispered softly, kissesand vows given and received. At last the old man clapped his hands.The youth obeyed, kissed and embraced Nitetis' waiting-maid once more,jumped out of the window into the garden, hurried past the admirers ofthe blue lily who were just coming up, slipped with his companioninto the trap-door which had been kept open, closed it carefully, andvanished.
Mandane hurried to the room in which her mistress generally spent theevening. She was well acquainted with her habits and knew that everyevening, when the stars had risen, Nitetis was accustomed to go to thewindow looking towards the Euphrates, and spend hours gazing into theriver and over the plain; and that at that time she never needed herattendance. So she felt quite safe from fear of discovery in thisquarter, and knowing she was under the protection of the chief of theeunuchs himself, could wait for her lover calmly.
But scarcely had she discovered that her mistress had fainted, whenshe heard the garden filling with people, a confused sound of men'sand eunuchs' voices, and the notes of the trumpet used to summon thesentries. At first she was frightened and fancied her lover had beendiscovered, but Boges appearing and whispering: "He has escaped safely,"she at once ordered the other attendants, whom she had banished to thewomen's apartments during her rendezvous, and who now came flockingback, to carry their mistress into her sleeping-room, and then beganusing all the remedies she knew of, to restore her to consciousness.Nitetis had scarcely opened her eyes when Boges came in, followed by twoeunuchs, whom he ordered to load her delicate arms with fetters.
Nitetis submitted; she could not utter one word, not even when Bogescalled out as he was leaving the room: "Make yourself happy in yourcage, my little imprisoned bird. They've just been telling your lordthat a royal marten has been making merry in your dove-cote. Farewell,and think of the poor tormented Boges in this tremendous heat, when youfeel the cool damp earth. Yes, my little bird, death teaches us to knowour real friends, and so I won't have you buried in a coarse linen sack,but in a soft silk shawl. Farewell, my darling!"
The poor, heavily-afflicted girl trembled at these words, and when theeunuch was gone, begged Mandane to tell her what it all meant. Thegirl, instructed by Boges, said that Bartja had stolen secretly into thehanging-gardens, and had been seen by several of the Achaemenidae as hewas on the point of getting in at one of the windows. The king had beentold of his brother's treachery, and people were afraid his jealousymight have fearful consequences. The frivolous girl shed abundant tearsof penitence while she was telling the story, and Nitetis, fancying thisa proof of sincere love and sympathy, felt cheered.
When it was over, however, she looked down at her fetters in despair,and it was long before she could think of her dreadful position quietly.Then she read her letter from home again, wrote the words, "I aminnocent," and told the sobbing girl to give the little note containingthem to the king's mother after her own death, together with her letterfrom home. After doing this she passed a wakeful night which seemed asif it would never end. She remembered that in her box of ointments therewas a specific for improving the complexion, which, if swallowed ina sufficiently large quantity, would cause death. She had this poisonbrought to her, and resolved calmly and deliberately, to take her ownlife directly the executioner should draw near. From that moment shetook pleasure in thinking of her last hour, and said to herself: "It istrue he causes my death; but he does it out of love." Then she thoughtshe would write to him, and confess all her love. He should not receivethe letter until she was dead, that he might not think she had writtenit to save her life. The hope that this strong, inflexible man mightperhaps shed tears over her last words of love filled her with intensepleasure.
In spite of her heavy fetters, she managed to write the following words:"Cambyses will not receive this letter until I am dead. It is to tellhim that I love him more than the gods, the world, yes, more than my ownyoung life. Kassandane and Atossa must think of me kindly. They will seefrom my mother's letter that I am innocent, and that it was only for mypoor sister's sake that I asked to see Bartja. Boges has told me that mydeath has been resolved upon. When the executioner approaches, I shallkill myself. I commit this crime against myself, Cambyses, to save youfrom doing a disgraceful deed."
This note and her mother's she gave to the weeping Mandane, and beggedher to give both to Cambyses when she was gone. She then fell on herknees and prayed to the gods of her fathers to forgive her for herapostasy from them.
Mandane begged her to remember her weakness and take some rest, butshe answered: "I do not need any sleep, because, you know, I have suchlittle waking-time still left me."
As she went on praying and singing her old Egyptian hymns, her heartreturned more and more to the gods of her fathers, whom she had deniedafter such a short struggle. In almost all the prayers with which shewas acquainted, there was a reference to the life after death. In thenether world, the kingdom of Osiris, where the forty-two judges ofthe dead pronounce sentence on the worth of the soul after it has beenweighed by the goddess of truth and Thoth, who holds the office ofwriter in heaven, she could hope to meet her dear ones again, but onlyin case her unjustified soul were not obliged to enter on the career oftransmigration through the bodies of different animals, and her body, towhom the soul had been entrusted, remained in a state of preservation.This, "if" filled her with a feverish restlessness. The doctrine thatthe well-being of the soul depended on the preservation of the earthlypart of every human being left behind at death, had been impressed onher from childhood. She believed in this error, which had built pyramidsand excavated rocks, and trembled at the thought that, according to thePersian custom, her body would be thrown to the dogs and birds of prey,and so given up to the powers of destruction, that her soul must bedeprived of every hope of eternal life. Then the thought came to her,should she prove unfaithful to the gods of her father
s again, and oncemore fall down before these new spirits of light, who gave the dead bodyover to the elements and only judged the soul? And so she raised herhands to the great and glorious sun, who with his golden sword-like rayswas just dispersing the mists that hung over the Euphrates, and openedher lips to sing her newly-learnt hymns in praise of Mithras; but hervoice failed her, instead of Mithras she could only see her own greatRa, the god she had so often worshipped in Egypt, and instead of aMagian hymn could only sing the one with which the Egyptian priests areaccustomed to greet the rising sun.
This hymn brought comfort with it, and as she gazed on the young light,the rays of which were not yet strong enough to dazzle her, she thoughtof her childhood, and the tears gathered in her eyes. Then she lookeddown over the broad plain. There was the Euphrates with his yellow waveslooking so like the Nile; the many villages, just as in her ownhome, peeping out from among luxuriant cornfields and plantations offig-trees. To the west lay the royal hunting-park; she could see itstall cypresses and nut-trees miles away in the distance. The dew wasglistening on every little leaf and blade of grass, and the birds sangdeliciously in the shrubberies round her dwelling. Now and then a gentlebreath of wind arose, carrying the sweet scent of the roses across toher, and playing in the tops of the slender, graceful palms which grewin numbers on the banks of the river and in the fields around.
She had so often admired these beautiful trees, and compared them todancing-girls, as she watched the wind seizing their heavy tops andswaying the slender stems backwards and forwards. And she had often saidto herself that here must be the home of the Phoenix, that wonderfulbird from the land of palms, who, the priests said, came once in everyfive hundred years to the temple of Ra in Heliopolis and burnt himselfin the sacred incense-flames, only to rise again from his own ashes morebeautiful than before, and, after three days, to fly back again to hishome in the East. While she was thinking of this bird, and wishing thatshe too might rise again from the ashes of her unhappiness to a new andstill more glorious joy, a large bird with brilliant plumage rose out ofthe dark cypresses, which concealed the palace of the man she loved andwho had made her so miserable, and flew towards her. It rose higher andhigher, and at last settled on a palmtree close to her window. She hadnever seen such a bird before, and thought it could not possibly be ausual one, for a little gold chain was fastened to its foot, and itstail seemed made of sunbeams instead of feathers. It must be Benno, thebird of Ra! She fell on her knees again and sang with deep reverencethe ancient hymn to the Phoenix, never once turning her eyes from thebrilliant bird.
The bird listened to her singing, bending his little head with itswaving plumes, wisely and inquisitively from side to side, and flewaway directly she ceased. Nitetis looked after him with a smile. It wasreally only a bird of paradise that had broken the chain by which he hadbeen fastened to a tree in the park, but to her he was the Phoenix. Astrange certainty of deliverance filled her heart; she thought the godRa had sent the bird to her, and that as a happy spirit she should takethat form. So long as we are able to hope and wish, we can bear a greatdeal of sorrow; if the wished-for happiness does not come, anticipationis at least prolonged and has its own peculiar sweetness. This feelingis of itself enough, and contains a kind of enjoyment which can take theplace of reality. Though she was so weary, yet she lay down on her couchwith fresh hopes, and fell into a dreamless sleep almost against herwill, without having touched the poison.
The rising sun generally gives comfort to sad hearts who have passed thenight in weeping, but to a guilty conscience, which longs for darkness,his pure light is an unwelcome guest. While Nitetis slept, Mandane layawake, tormented by fearful remorse. How gladly she would have heldback the sun which was bringing on the day of death to this kindest ofmistresses, and have spent the rest of her own life in perpetual night,if only her yesterday's deed could but have been undone!
The good-natured, thoughtless girl called herself a wretched murderessunceasingly, resolved again and again to confess the whole truth and soto save Nitetis; but love of life and fear of death gained the victoryover her weak heart every time. To confess was certain death, and shefelt as if she had been made for life; she had so many hopes for thefuture, and the grave seemed so dreadful. She thought she could perhapshave confessed the whole truth, if perpetual imprisonment had beenall she had to fear; but death! no, she could not resolve on that. Andbesides, would her confession really save the already condemned Nitetis?
Had she not sent a message to Bartja herself by that unfortunategardener's boy? This secret correspondence had been discovered, and thatwas enough of itself to ruin Nitetis, even if she, Mandane, had donenothing in the matter. We are never so clever as when we have to findexcuses for our own sins.
At sunrise, Mandane was kneeling by her mistress's couch, weepingbitterly and wondering that Nitetis could sleep so calmly.
Boges, the eunuch, had passed a sleepless night too, but a very happyone. His hated colleague, Kandaules, whom he had used as a substitutefor himself, had been already executed, by the king's command, fornegligence, and on the supposition that he had accepted a bribe; Nitetiswas not only ruined, but certain to die a shameful death. The influenceof the king's mother had suffered a severe shock; and lastly, he hadthe pleasure of knowing, not only that he had outwitted every one andsucceeded in all his plans, but that through his favorite Phaedime hemight hope once more to become the all-powerful favorite of former days.That sentence of death had been pronounced on Croesus and the youngheroes, was by no means an unwelcome thought either, as they might havebeen instrumental in bringing his intrigues to light.
In the grey of the morning he left the king's apartment and went toPhaedime. The proud Persian had taken no rest. She was waiting for himwith feverish anxiety, as a rumor of all that had happened had alreadyreached the harem and penetrated to her apartments. She was lying ona purple couch in her dressing-room; a thin silken chemise and yellowslippers thickly sown with turquoises and pearls composed her entiredress. Twenty attendants were standing round her, but the momentshe heard Boges she sent her slaves away, sprang up to meet him, andoverwhelmed him with a stream of incoherent questions, all referring toher enemy Nitetis.
"Gently, gently, my little bird," said Boges, laying his hand on hershoulder. "If you can't make up your mind to be as quiet as a littlemouse while I tell my story, and not to ask one question, you won't heara syllable of it to-day. Yes, indeed, my golden queen, I've so muchto tell that I shall not have finished till to-morrow, if you are tointerrupt me as often as you like. Ah, my little lamb, and I've still somuch to do to-day. First I must be present at an Egyptian donkey-ride;secondly, I must witness an Egyptian execution... but I see I amanticipating my story; I must begin at the beginning. I'll allow you tocry, laugh and scream for joy as much as you will, but you're forbiddento ask a single question until I have finished. I think really I havedeserved these caresses. There, now I am quite at my ease, and canbegin. Once upon a time there was a great king in Persia, who had manywives, but he loved Phaedime better than the rest, and set her aboveall the others. One day the thought struck him that he would ask for thehand of the King of Egypt's daughter in marriage, and he sent a greatembassy to Sais, with his own brother to do the wooing for him--"
"What nonsense!" cried Phaedime impatiently; "I want to know what hashappened now."
"Patience, patience, my impetuous March wind. If you interrupt me again,I shall go away and tell my story to the trees. You really need notgrudge me the pleasure of living my successes over again. While I tellthis story, I feel as happy as a sculptor when he puts down his hammerand gazes at his finished work."
"No, no!" said Phaedime, interrupting him again. "I cannot listen nowto what I know quite well already. I am dying of impatience, and everyfresh report that the eunuchs and slave-girls bring makes it worse. Iam in a perfect fever--I cannot wait. Ask whatever else you like, onlydeliver me from this awful suspense. Afterwards I will listen to you fordays, if you wish."
Boges' smile at th
ese words was one of great satisfaction; he rubbed hishands and answered: "When I was a child I had no greater pleasure thanto watch a fish writhing on the hook; now I have got you, my splendidgolden carp, at the end of my line, and I can't let you go until I havesated myself on your impatience."
Phaedime sprang up from the couch which she had shared with Boges,stamping her foot and behaving like a naughty child. This seemed toamuse the eunuch immensely; he rubbed his hands again and again, laughedtill the tears ran down over his fat cheeks, emptied many a goblet ofwine to the health of the tortured beauty, and then went on with histale: "It had not escaped me that Cambyses sent his brother (who hadbrought Nitetis from Egypt), out to the war with the Tapuri purely fromjealousy. That proud woman, who was to take no orders from me, seemed tocare as little for the handsome, fair-haired boy as a Jew for pork, oran Egyptian for white beans. But still I resolved to nourish the king'sjealousy, and use it as a means of rendering this impudent creatureharmless, as she seemed likely to succeed in supplanting us both in hisfavor. It was long, however, before I could hit on a feasible plan.
"At last the new-year's festival arrived and all the priests in thekingdom assembled at Babylon. For eight days the city was full ofrejoicing, feasting and merry-making. At court it was just the same, andso I had very little time to think of my plans. But just then, when Ihad hardly any hope of succeeding, the gracious Amescha cpenta sent ayouth across my path, who seemed created by Angramainjus himself tosuit my plan. Gaumata, the brother of Oropastes, came to Babylon tobe present at the great new-year's sacrifice. I saw him first in hisbrother's house, whither I had been sent on a message from the king,and his likeness to Bartja was so wonderful, that I almost fancied I waslooking at an apparition. When I had finished my business withOropastes the youth accompanied me to my carriage. I showed no signsof astonishment at this remarkable likeness, treated him however, withimmense civility, and begged him to pay me a visit. He came the verysame evening. I sent for my best wine, pressed him to drink, andexperienced, not for the first time, that the juice of the vine has onequality which outweighs all the rest: it can turn even a silent man intoa chatter-box. The youth confessed that the great attraction which hadbrought him to Babylon was, not the sacrifice, but a girl who held theoffice of upper attendant to the Egyptian Princess. He said he had lovedher since he was a child; but his ambitious brother had higher views forhim, and in order to get the lovely Mandane out of his way, had procuredher this situation. At last he begged me to arrange an interview withher. I listened good-naturedly, made a few difficulties, and at lastasked him to come the next day and see how matters were going on. Hecame, and I told him that it might be possible to manage it, but only ifhe would promise to do what I told him without a question. He agreed toeverything, returned to Rhagae at my wish, and did not come to Babylonagain until yesterday, when he arrived secretly at my house, where Iconcealed him. Meanwhile Bartja had returned from the war. The greatpoint now was to excite the king's jealousy again, and ruin the Egyptianat one blow. I roused the indignation of your relations through yourpublic humiliation, and so prepared the way for my plan. Events werewonderfully in my favor. You know how Nitetis behaved at the birthdaybanquet, but you do not know that that very evening she sent agardener's boy to the palace with a note for Bartja. The silly fellowmanaged to get caught and was executed that very night, by command ofthe king, who was almost mad with rage; and I took care that Nitetisshould be as entirely cut off from all communication with her friends,as if she lived in the nest of the Simurg. You know the rest."
"But how did Gaumata escape?"
"Through a trap-door, of which nobody knows but myself, and which stoodwide open waiting for him. Everything turned out marvellously; I evensucceeded in getting hold of a dagger which Bartja had lost whilehunting, and in laying it under Nitetis' window. In order to get rid ofthe prince during these occurrences, and prevent him from meeting theking or any one else who might be important as a witness, I asked theGreek merchant Kolxus, who was then at Babylon with a cargo of Milesiancloth, and who is always willing to do me a favor, because I buy all thewoollen stuffs required for the harem of him, to write a Greek letter,begging Bartja, in the name of her he loved best, to come alone tothe first station outside the Euphrates gate at the rising of theTistar-star. But I had a misfortune with this letter, for the messengermanaged the matter clumsily. He declares that he delivered the letterto Bartja; but there can be no doubt that he gave it to some one else,probably to Gaumata, and I was not a little dismayed to hear that Bartjawas sitting over the wine with his friends on that very evening. Stillwhat had been done could not be undone, and I knew that the witness ofmen like your father, Hystaslies, Croesus and Intaphernes, would faroutweigh anything that Darius, Gyges and Araspes could say. The formerwould testify against their friend, the latter for him. And so atlast everything went as I would have had it. The young gentlemenare sentenced to death and Croesus, who as usual, presumed to speakimpertinently to the king, will have lived his last hour by this time.As to the Egyptian Princess, the secretary in chief has just beencommanded to draw up the following order. Now listen and rejoice, mylittle dove! "'Nitetis, the adulterous daughter of the King of Egypt,shall be punished for her hideous crimes according to the extreme rigorof the law, thus: She shall be set astride upon an ass and led throughthe streets of Babylon; and all men shall see that Cambyses knows howto punish a king's daughter, as severely as his magistrates would punishthe meanest beggar. --To Boges, chief of the eunuchs, is entrusted theexecution of this order.
By command of King Cambyses. Ariabignes, chief of the Secretaries'
"I had scarcely placed these lines in the sleeve of my robe, whenthe king's mother, with her garments rent, and led by Atossa, pressedhastily into the hall. Weeping and lamentation followed; cries,reproaches, curses, entreaties and prayers; but the king remained firm,and I verily believe Kassandane and Atossa would have been sent afterCroesus and Bartja into the other world, if fear of Cyrus's spirit hadnot prevented the son, even in this furious rage, from laying handson his father's widow. Kassandane, however, did not say one word forNitetis. She seems as fully convinced of her guilt as you and I can be.Neither have we anything to fear from the enamored Gaumata. I have hiredthree men to give him a cool bath in the Euphrates, before he gets backto Rhagae. Ah, ha! the fishes and worms will have a jolly time!"
Phaedime joined in Boges' laughter, bestowed on him all the flatteringnames which she had caught from his own smooth tongue, and in token ofher gratitude, hung a heavy chain studded with jewels round his neckwith her own beautiful arms.