Captivity and war, absence from friends, and a
wandering life, furnish an excuse for guilt, particularly in her,
whose transcendent beauty must have exposed her to more than common
temptations.
wandering life, furnish an excuse for guilt, particularly in her,
whose transcendent beauty must have exposed her to more than common
temptations.
Scriptori Erotici Graeci
" And with this he shewed a sword belt, a
scimitar richly jewelled of great value, and worth many talents; so
that many cried out, it was a gift too precious for a private man, a
treasure worthy of a monarch's acceptance. Hydaspes smilingly replied--
"What can be more kingly than that my magnanimity should be superior
to this man's avarice? Besides, the captor has a right to the personal
spoils of his prisoner. Let him then, receive as a gift from me, what
he might easily have taken to himself, without my knowledge. "
Presently those who had taken Theagenes and Chariclea appeared. "Our
spoil, Ο king! " said they, "is not gold and jewels, things of little
estimation among the Ethiopians, and which lie in heaps in the royal
treasures; but we bring you a youth and a maiden, a Grecian pair,
excelling all mortals in grace and beauty, except yourself, and we
expect from your liberality a proportionate reward. "--"You recall them
seasonably to my memory," replied Hydaspes. "When I first saw them, in
the hurry and confusion in which I was engaged, I took but a cursory
view of them. Let some one bring them now before me, together with the
rest of the captives. "
An officer was immediately despatched for them to the place of their
confinement, which was among the baggage, at some distance from the
town. They inquired, in their way to the city, of one of their guards,
whither they were being conducted. They were told that the king
Hydaspes desired to see the prisoners. On hearing the name, they cried
out together, with one voice--"Ο ye gods! " fearing till that hour lest
some other might be the reigning king; and Theagenes said softly to
Chariclea--"You will surely now discover to the king everything which
relates to us, since you have frequently told me that Hydaspes was your
father. "
"Important matters," replied Chariclea, "require great preparation.
Where the deity has caused intricate beginnings, there must needs be
intricate unravellings. Besides, a tale like ours is not to be told in
a moment; nor do I think it advisable to enter upon it in the absence
of my mother Persina, upon whose support, and testimony, the foundation
of our story, and the whole of our credit, must depend; and she, thanks
to the gods I hear, is yet alive. "
"What if we should be sacrificed," returned Theagenes; "or, presented
to some one as a gift, how shall we ever get into Ethiopia? "--"Nothing
is less likely," said Chariclea. "Our guards have told us that we are
to be reserved as victims, to be offered to the deities of Meröe.
There is no likelihood that we, who are solemnly devoted to the gods,
should be destroyed, or otherwise disposed of; such a vow no religious
mind would break. Were we to give way to the incautious joy with which
this sudden gleam of good fortune transports us, and discover our
condition, and relate our adventures, in the absence of those who
alone can acknowledge us, and confirm what we say, we run the greatest
risk of raising the indignation of the king; who would regard it as
a mockery and insult, that we, captives and slaves as we are, should
endeavour to pass ourselves off upon him, as his children. "
"But the tokens," said Theagenes, "which I know you always carry
about you, will give credit to our relation, and shew that we are not
impostors. "--"These things," replied Chariclea, "are real tokens to
those who know them, and who exposed them with me; but to those who
are ignorant of this, they are nothing but bracelets, and precious
stones; and may possibly induce a suspicion of our having stolen them.
Supposing even that Hydaspes should recollect any of these trinkets,
who shall persuade him that they were presented to me by Persina, and
still more, that they were the gifts of a mother to her daughter? The
most incontrovertible token, my dear Theagenes, is a mother's nature,
through which the parent at first sight feels affection towards her
offspring,--an affection stirred up by secret sympathy. Shall we
deprive ourselves, then, by our precipitation, of this most favourable
opening, upon which depends the credit of all we have to say? "
Discoursing in this manner, they arrived near the tribunal of the king.
Bagoas was led after them. When Hydaspes saw them, rising suddenly from
his throne--"May the gods be propitious to me! " he exclaimed, and sat
down again, lost in thought. They who were near him inquired the reason
of this sudden emotion. Recollecting himself, he said--"Methought that
I had a daughter born to me this day, who at once reached her prime,
and perfectly resembled this young maiden, whom I see before me. I
disregarded, and had almost forgotten my dream, when this remarkable
resemblance recalled it to my memory. "
His officers replied--"That it was some fancy of the mind bodying forth
future events;" upon which the king, laying aside for the present any
farther thought upon the subject, proceeded to examine his prisoners.
He asked them--"Who, and from whence, they were? " Chariclea was silent.
Theagenes replied, "That they were Grecians, and that the maiden was
his sister. "
"All honour to Greece," said Hydaspes--"the mother of brave and
beautiful mortals, for affording us such noble victims for the
celebration of our triumphal sacrifices. " And turning to his
attendants, he said--"Why had I not a son as well as a daughter born
to me in my dream, since this youth, being the maiden's brother, ought
according to your observation, to have been shadowed forth to me in my
vision? "
He then directed his discourse to Chariclea, speaking in Greek;
a language known and studied by the Gymnosophists, and kings of
Ethiopia--"And you, Ο maiden," said he, "why do you make no answer to
my questions? "--"At the altars of the gods," replied she, "to whom
we are destined as victims, you shall know who I am, and who are my
parents. "
"And what part of the world do they inhabit? " said the king. --"They
are present now," said she, "and will assuredly be present, when we
are sacrificed. " Again Hydaspes smiled. --"This dream-born daughter of
mine," he observed, "is certainly herself dreaming, when she imagines
that her parents are to be brought from the middle of Greece into
Meröe. Let them be taken away and served with the usual care and
abundance, to fit them for the sacrifices. But who is this standing
near, and in person like an eunuch? "[21]--"He is an eunuch," replied
one of the bystanders; "his name is Bagoas; he was in great favour with
Oroondates. "
"Let him too," said the king, "follow and be kept with the Grecian
pair; not as a future victim, but that he may attend upon, and watch
over the virgin victim, whom it is necessary to preserve in the utmost
purity for the sacrifice; and whose beauty is such, that her virtue,
unguarded, may be exposed to much danger and temptation. Eunuchs are
a jealous race; and fitly employed for debarring others from the
enjoyments of which they are themselves deprived. " He then proceeded to
examine and decide the fate of the remaining prisoners, who appeared in
order; distributing among his followers those who were slaves before;
dismissing with liberty those who were free and noble: but he selected
ten young men, and as many virgins, in the bloom of youth and beauty,
whom he ordered to be preserved for the same purpose to which he had
destined Theagenes and Chariclea. And having answered every complaint
and application, at last he sent for Oroondates, who was brought in
lying on a litter.
"I," said he to him, "now that I have obtained the object of my going
to war, feel not the common passion of ambitious minds. I am not going
to make my good fortune the minister of covetousness; my victory
creates in me no wish to extend my empire. I am content with the limits
which nature seems to have placed between Egypt and Ethiopia--the
cataracts. Having recovered then what I think my right, I revere what
is just and equitable, and shall return peacefully to my own dominions.
Do you, if your life be spared, remain viceroy of the same province as
before: and write to your master, the Persian king, to this effect,
'Thy brother Hydaspes has conquered by might of hand; but restores
all through moderation of mind; he wishes to preserve thy friendship,
esteeming it the most valuable of all possessions: at the same time,
if desirous of renewing the contest, thou wilt not find him backward. '
As to the Syenæans I remit their tribute for ten years; and command
thee to do the same. " Loud acclamations, both from the soldiers and
citizens, followed his last words.
Oroondates crossing his hands, and inclining his body, adored him; a
compliment not usual for a Persian to pay to any prince, except his
own. --"Ο ye who hear me," said he, "I do not think that I violate the
customs of my country, as to my own sovereign, in adoring the most just
of kings, who has restored to me my government; who instead of putting
me to death has granted me my life; who, able to act as a despotic
lord, permits me to remain a viceroy. Should I recover, I pledge myself
to promote a solid peace and lasting friendship between the Persians
and Ethiopians, and to procure for the Syenæans that remission of
tribute which has been enjoined; but should I not survive, may the gods
recompense Hydaspes, his family, and remotest descendants, for all the
benefits which he has conferred upon me! "
[Footnote 1: "πᾶν μοι φοβερὸν ὸ προσέρπον. "--Æsch. P. V. 127. ]
[Footnote 2: See note to vol. i. , p. 265, of Blakesley's Herodotus. ]
[Footnote 3: The brother and murderer of Osiris, whose death was
avenged by his son Horus. ]
[Footnote 4: Literally--"more clearly initiating them with the fiery
torch of realities. "--Tῇ πυρφόρῳ τῶν ὂντων λαμπάδι φaνότερoν τελoύντων. ]
[Footnote 5: Δεκαδάρχος. ]
[Footnote 6: The following passage in Ammianus Marcellinus illustrates
the account here given of the Καταφράκτοι ἳπποι--or barbed cavalry of
the Persians.
"Erant autem omnes catervæ ferratæ, ita per singula membra densis
laminis tectæ, ut juncturæ rigentes compagibus artuum convenirent:
humanorumque vultuum sumulacra ita capitibus diligenter aptata, ut
imbracteatis corporibus solidis, ibi tantum incidentia tela possint
hærere, quà per cavernas minutas et orbibus oculorum affixas, parcius
visitur, vel per supremitates narium angusti spiritus emittuntur.
Quorum pars contis dimicatura, stabat immobilis, ut retinaculis æreis
fixam existimares. "--Book xxv.
Thus, by an anticipation of 600 years, we have brought before us a
picture of the times, when,
"_Their limbs all iron_, and their souls all flame,
A countless host, the red-cross warriors came. "
]
[Footnote 7: Herod. B. vii. 61. thus speaks of these
tunics:--"Κιθῶινας-Ιωτοΰς χειριδoτoὺς ποικίλους λεπίδος σιδηρέης όψιν
ἰχθυoειδέος. "]
[Footnote 8: τὴν κεφαλὴν δι' ὃλου σφηκοῦντες--literally pinching in
like a wasp; the frontal fitting closely to the shape of the horse's
head and face. ]
[Footnote 9: oἷον ἐμβεβλημένος. ]
[Footnote 10: See Herod. B. iii. 111. ]
[Footnote 11: See the previous description of the Persian amour. ]
[Footnote 12: See note in Blakesley's Herod. vii. 40. ]
[Footnote 13: Like the Parthians--
". . . versis animosum equis
Parthum. "--Hor. I Od. xix 10.
]
[Footnote 14: Arrows somewhat resembling these are used by the wild
Bushmen of Africa for destroying the ostrich and other kinds of
game. "These insignificant looking arrows are about two feet six
inches in length; they consist of a slender reed, with a sharp bone
head, thoroughly poisoned with a composition of which the principal
ingredients are obtained, sometimes from a succulent herb, having thick
leaves, yielding a poisonous milky juice, and sometimes from the jaws
of snakes. "--Wood's Nat. Hist. ]
[Footnote 15: Όστέον, a bone; Όΐστός, an arrow. ]
[Footnote 16: χεῖρα. ]·
[Footnote 17: Ανθεσιν Νειλώοις. --The water lily of the Nile. ]
[Footnote 18: "At Syene there was, in later times a well, the bottom of
which, the sun was believed to illuminate at one time of the year, it
being supposed that Syene was under the Tropic. "--Blackesley's Herod. ,
vol. 1. p. 187. ]
[Footnote 19: Nἕιλος, from νέη ἰλύς, new soil. ]
[Footnote 20: ν = 50; ε = 5; ι: = 10; λ = 30; o = 70; σ = 200; total,
365. ]
[Footnote 21:
. . . "vetus, vietus, veternosus, senex
Colore mustellino. "--Terence.
]
BOOK X.
We have now said sufficient about Syene, which, from the brink of
danger, was at once restored to security and happiness, by one man's
clemency.
Hydaspes, having sent the greater part of his army forward, proceeded
in person towards Ethiopia, followed by the applauses and blessings
both of Persians and Syenæans. At first he marched along the Nile, or
the parts bordering upon that river; but when he reached the cataracts,
having sacrificed to the river, and to the gods of the boundaries, he
turned aside, and travelled through the inland country.
When he arrived at Philœ, he rested, and refreshed his army there for
two days; and then as before, sending part of it forward, together with
the captives, he stayed some little time behind them, to direct the
repair of the walls, and to place a garrison, and soon afterwards set
out himself. He dispatched an express consisting of two troopers, who
changing their horses at every station, and using all speed, were to
announce his victory at Meröe. [1]
He sent the following message to the wise men of his country, who are
called Gymnosophists, and who are the assessors and privy councillors
of the Ethiopian kings in affairs of moment.
"Hydaspes to the most holy Council.
"I acquaint you with my victory over the Persians. I do not boast of
my success, for I know and fear the mutability of fortune; but I would
greet your holy order, which I have always found wise and faithful. I
invite and command your attendance at the usual place, in order that
the thanksgiving sacrifices for victory, may, by your presence, be
rendered more august and solemn in the sight of the Ethiopian people. "
To his consort, Persina, he wrote as follows:--
"Know that I am returning a conqueror, and, what you will still
more rejoice at, unhurt. Make therefore preparations for the most
sumptuous processions and sacrifices, that we may give thanks to the
gods, for the blessings which they have bestowed. In accordance with
my letters, assist in summoning the Gymnosophists; and hasten to
attend, with them, in the consecrated field before the city, which is
dedicated to our country's gods--the Sun, the Moon, and Bacchus. "
When this letter was delivered to Persina--"I now see," said she,
"the interpretation of a dream which I had last night. Methought I
was pregnant, and in labour, and that I brought forth a daughter in
the full bloom of youth and beauty. I see, that by my throes, were
signified the travails of war; and by my daughter, this victory. "
"Go," continued she, "and fill the city with these joyful tidings. "
The expresses obeyed her commands; and mounting their horses, having
crowned their heads with the lotus of the Nile, and waving branches
of palm in their hands, rode through the principal parts of the city,
disclosing by their very appearance, the joyous news.
Meröe resounded with rejoicings; night and day the inhabitants,
in every family, and street, and tribe, made processions, offered
sacrifices, and suspended garlands in the temples; not more out of
gratitude for the victory, than for the safety of Hydaspes; whose
justice and clemency, mildness and affability, had made him beloved,
like a father, by his subjects. The queen, on her side, collected
together from all parts, quantities of sheep and oxen, of horses and
wild asses, of hippogriffs,[2] and all sorts of animals, and sent
them into the sacred field, partly to furnish a hecatomb of each, for
sacrifice, partly to provide from the remainder, an entertainment for
all the people.
She next visited the Gymnosophists, who inhabit the grove of Pan, and
exhorted them to obey the summons of their king, as also to gratify her
by adorning and sanctifying the solemnity with their presence. They,
entreating her to wait a few moments, while they consulted the gods, as
they are used to do on any new undertaking, entered their temple, and
after a short time returned, when Sisimithres, their president, thus
addressed her:--"Ο queen! we will attend you, the gods order us to do
so; but, at the same time, they signify to us, that this sacrifice
will be attended with much disturbance and tumult, which, however, will
have an agreeable and happy end. A limb of your body, or a member of
the state, seems to have been lost; which will be restored by fate. "
"Your presence," said Persina, "will avert every threatening presage,
and change it into good; I will take care to inform you when Hydaspes
arrives. "
"You will have no occasion to do that," replied Sisimithres: "he will
arrive to-morrow, and you will presently receive letters to that
effect. " His prediction was fulfilled. Persina, on her return to the
palace, found a messenger with letters from the king, announcing his
intended arrival for the following day.
The heralds dispersed the news through the city, and at the same time,
made proclamation, that the men alone should be suffered to go out
and meet him, but that the women should keep within their houses;
for, as the sacrifice was destined to be offered to the purest of all
deities--the Sun and Moon--the presence of females was forbidden, lest
the victims should acquire even an involuntary contamination.
The priestess of the Moon was the only woman suffered to attend
the ceremony, and she was Persina; for by the law and custom of
the country, the queens of Ethiopia are always priestesses of that
divinity, as the kings are of the Sun. Chariclea, also was to be
present at the ceremonial, not as a spectatress, but as a victim to the
Moon.
The eagerness and curiosity of the citizens was incredible. Before they
knew the appointed day, they poured in multitudes out of the city,
crossed the river Astabora, some over the bridge; some who dwelt at a
distance from it, in boats made of canes, many of which lay near the
banks, affording an expeditious means of passage.
These little skiffs are very swift, both on account of the materials of
which they are composed, and the slight burden which they carry, which
never exceeds two or three men: for one cane is split in two, and each
section forms a boat. [3]
Meröe, the metropolis of Ethiopia, is situated in a sort of triangular
island, formed by the confluence of three navigable rivers; the Nile,
the Astabora, and the Asasoba. The former flows towards it from above,
where it forms two branches; the others, flowing round it on either
side, unite their waters, and hasten to mingle their stream, and lose
their names, in the channel of the Nile.
This island, which is almost a continent, (being in length three
thousand furlongs, in width one thousand), abounds in animals of every
kind, and, among the rest, with elephants. It is especially fertile
in producing trees. The palm trees rise to an unusual height, bearing
dates of large size and delicious flavour. The stalks of wheat and
barley are so tall, as to cover and conceal a man when mounted on a
horse or camel, and they multiply their fruit three hundred fold. The
canes are of the size which I have before mentioned.
All the night were the inhabitants employed in crossing the river; they
met, received, and congratulated Hydaspes, extolling him as a god. They
had gone a considerable way to meet him. The Gymnosophists went only a
little beyond the sacred field, when, taking his hand, they kissed him.
Next appeared Persina at the vestibule, and within the precincts of the
temple.
After worshipping the gods, and returning thanks for his victory and
safety, they left the precincts, and prepared to attend the approaching
sacrifice, repairing for that purpose to a tent, which had been erected
for them on the plain. Four canes, newly cut down, were fixed in the
ground, one at each corner, serving as a pillar, supported the vaulted
roof, which was covered with the branches of palm and other trees. Near
this another tent was erected, raised considerably from the ground,
in which were placed the images of the gods of the country--Memnon,
Perseus, and Andromeda--whom the kings of Ethiopia boasted to be
the founders of their race: under these, on a lower story, having
their gods above them, sat the Gymnosophists. A large portion of the
ground was surrounded by the soldiers; who in close order, and with
their shields joined, kept off the multitude, and afforded a clear
space sufficient for the priests to perform their sacrifice, without
confusion or disturbance.
Hydaspes, after speaking briefly upon the victory which he had gained,
and the advantages obtained by it to the state, commanded the sacred
ministers to begin their rites.
Three lofty altars were erected, two in close proximity to the Sun and
Moon; a third, at some distance, to Bacchus: to him they sacrificed
animals of every kind, as being a common deity, gracious and bountiful
to all. To the Sun they offered four white horses, the swiftest of
animals to the swiftest of the gods;[4] to the Moon, a yoke of oxen,
consecrating to her, as being nearest the earth, their assistants in
agriculture.
While these things were transacting, a loud confused murmur began to
rise as among a promiscuous multitude; "Let our country's rites be
performed--let the appointed sacrifice be made--let the first-fruits of
war be offered to our gods. "
Hydaspes understood that it was a human victim whom they demanded,
which it was customary to offer from among the prisoners taken only in
a foreign war. Making a motion for silence, with his hand, he intimated
to them, by gestures, that they should soon have what they required,
and ordered those who had the charge of the captives to bring them
forward. They obeyed, and led them forth, guarded, but freed from their
chains.
The generality were, as may be imagined, dejected and sorrowful.
Theagenes, however, appeared much less so than the others; but the
countenance of Chariclea was cheerful and elate. She fixed her eyes
upon Persina with a fixed and steady glance, so as to cause in her
considerable emotion; she could not help sighing, as she said--"Ο
husband! what a maiden have you destined for sacrifice! I never
remember to have seen such beauty. How noble is her presence! with what
spirit and fortitude does she seem to meet her impending fate! How
worthy is she of compassion, owing to the flower of her age. If my only
and unfortunately lost daughter were living, she would be about the
same age. Ο that it were possible to save this maiden from destruction;
it would be a great satisfaction to me to have her in my service. She
is probably Grecian, for she has not at all the air of an Egyptian. "
"She is from Greece," replied Hydaspes: "who are her parents she will
presently declare; shew them she cannot, though such has been her
promise. To deliver her from sacrifice is impossible: were it in my
power, I should be very glad to do so; for I feel, I know not why,
great compassion and affection for her. But you are aware that the law
requires a male to be offered to the Sun, and a female to the Moon; and
she being the first captive presented to me, and having been allotted
for the sacrifice, the disappointment of the people's wishes would
admit of no excuse. One only chance can favour her escape, and that is,
if she should be found when she ascends the pile, not to have preserved
her chastity inviolate; for the law demands a pure victim to be offered
to the goddess as well as to the god--the condition of those offered on
the altar of Bacchus is indifferent. But should she be found unchaste,
reflect whether it would be proper that she should be received into
your family. "
"Let her," replied Persina, "be found unchaste, provided only
she be preserved.
Captivity and war, absence from friends, and a
wandering life, furnish an excuse for guilt, particularly in her,
whose transcendent beauty must have exposed her to more than common
temptations. "
While she was weeping and striving to conceal her weakness from the
people, Hydaspes ordered the fire-altar[5] to be prepared, and brought
out. A number of young children, collected by the officials from among
the multitude, brought it from the temple (they alone being permitted
to touch it), and placed it in the midst. Each of the captives was then
ordered to ascend it. It was furnished with golden bars of such mystic
virtue, that whenever any unchaste or perjured person placed his foot
upon it, it burnt him immediately, and he was obliged to retire: the
pure, on the contrary, and the uncontaminated, could mount it uninjured.
The greatest part of the prisoners failed in the trial, and were
destined as victims to Bacchus, and the other gods--save two or three
Grecian maidens whose virginity was found intact. Theagenes at length
ascended it, and was found pure. It raised great admiration in the
assembly, that with his beauty, stature, and in the flower of youth, he
should be a stranger to the power of love--accordingly he was destined
as an offering to the Sun. He said softly to Chariclea--"Is death then,
and sacrifice, the reward which the Ethiopians bestow upon purity and
integrity? But why, my dearest life, do you not discover yourself? How
long will you delay? Until the sacrificer's knife is at your throat?
Speak, I beseech you, and disclose your condition. Perhaps when you
are known, your intercession may preserve me; but if that should
not happen, you will be safe, and then I shall die with comfort and
satisfaction. "
"Our trial," said Chariclea, "now approaches--our fate trembles in the
balance. "[6]--So saying, and without awaiting any command, she drew
from out of a scrip which she had with her, and put on, her sacred
Delphic robe, interwoven and glittering with rays of light. She let her
hair fall dishevelled upon her shoulders, and as under the influence
of inspiration, leaped upon the altar, and remained there a long time,
unhurt.
Dazzling every beholder with more than ever resplendent beauty; visible
to all from this elevated place, and with her peculiar dress, she
resembled an image of the goddess, more than a mere mortal maiden. An
inarticulate murmur of applause ran through the multitude, expressive
of their surprise and admiration, that with charms so superhuman,
she should have preserved her honour, enhancing her beauty by her
chastity. [7] Yet they were almost sorry that she was found a pure
and fitting victim for the goddess. Notwithstanding their religious
reverence they would have been glad could she by any means escape. But
Persina felt more for her than all the rest. She could not help saying
to Hydaspes--"How miserable and ill-fated is this poor maiden! To no
purpose giving token of her purity! Receiving for her many virtues only
an untimely death! Can nothing be done to save her? "
"Nothing, I fear," replied the king: "your wishes and pity are
unavailable. It seems that the gods have from the beginning selected
by reason of her very excellence this perfect victim for themselves. "
And then directing his discourse to the Gymnosophists: "Sages,"
said he, "since every thing is ready, why do you not begin the
sacrifice? "--"Far be it from us," said Sisimithres (speaking in
Greek, that the multitude might not understand him) "to assist at such
rites; our eyes and ears have already been sufficiently wounded by the
preparations. We will retire into the temple, abhorring ourselves the
detestable offering of a human victim, and believing too that the gods
do not approve it. Would that the sacrifices even of brute animals
might cease; those consisting of prayers and incense being, to our
mind, sufficient. [8] Do you, however, remain; for the presence of a
ruler is sometimes necessary to stay the turbulence of the multitude.
Go on with this unhallowed sacrifice, since the inveterate custom
of the people has made it unavoidable; remembering that when it is
performed, yourself will stand in need of expiation, though perhaps,
you will not need it, for I think this rite will never be brought to
consummation. I judge from various divine tokens, and particularly
from a kind of glory shed around these strangers, signifying that they
are under the peculiar protection of the gods;"--having said this, he
arose, and was about to retire with his brethren.
At this instant Chariclea leapt down from the altar; rushed towards
Sisimithres, and fell at his feet. The officials would have hindered
her, supposing that she was deprecating death, but she exclaimed "Stay,
Sages, I beseech you! I have a cause to plead before the king and
queen; you are the only judges, in such a presence; you must decide in
this, the trial for my life. You will find that it is neither possible
nor just that I should be sacrificed to the gods. " They listened to
her readily, and addressing the king, said,--"Do you hear, Ο king, the
challenge and averment of this foreign maiden. "
Hydaspes smiling, replied, "What controversy can she have with me?
From what pretext, or from what right, can it arise? "--"That, her
own relation will discover," said Sisimithres. --"But will it not be
an indignity, rather than an act of justice," rejoined the monarch,
"for a king to enter into a judicial dispute with a slave? "--"Equity
regards not lofty rank," said the sage. "He is king in judgment
who prevails by strength of arguments. "--"But," returned Hydaspes,
"your office gives you a right of deciding only when a controversy
arises between the king and his own subjects, not between him and
foreigners. "--"Justice," said Sisimithres, "is weighed among the wise,
not by mere appearances, but by facts. "--"It is clear that she can have
nothing serious to advance," said the king, "but some mere idle pretext
to delay her fate, as is the case with those who are in fear of their
lives. Let her, however, speak, since Sisimithres would have it so. "
Chariclea, who had always been sanguine, in expecting her deliverance,
was now inspired with additional confidence when she heard the name of
Sisimithres. He was the person to whose care she had been committed
ten years before, and who delivered her to Charicles at Catadupa, when
he was sent ambassador to Oroondates in the matter of the emerald
mines--he was then one of the ordinary Gymnosophists: but now, he
was their president. Chariclea did not call to mind his face (having
been parted from him when only seven years' old), but recollected and
rejoiced at hearing his name, trusting that she should find in him a
support and an advocate. Stretching out then her hands towards heaven,
and speaking audibly,--"O Sun! " she exclaimed, "author of my family;
and you, ye gods and heroes who adorn my race! I call you to witness
the truth of what I say. Be you my supporters and assistants in the
trial which I am about to undergo--my cause is just, and thus I enter
upon it:--Does the law, Ο king, command you to sacrifice natives or
foreigners? "
"Foreigners only," replied Hydaspes. --"You must then seek another
victim," said she, "for you will find me a native. " The king seemed
surprised, declaring it to be a figment. "Do you wonder at this? " said
she; "you will hear much stranger things. I am not only a native, but
closely allied to the royal family. " This assertion was received with
contempt, as so much idle speech: when she added--"Cease, my father, to
despise and reject your daughter! "
By this time the king began to appear not only contemptuous, but
indignant, taking the matter as a personal insult to himself. He said,
therefore, to Sisimithres,--"Behold the reward of my endurance! Is
not the maiden downright mad! Endeavouring with wild and incredible
fictions to escape the fate awaiting her! desperately feigning herself
to be my daughter, as in some sudden appearance and discovery upon
the stage--mine, who was never so fortunate as to have any offspring.
Once, indeed, I heard of a daughter's birth, only, however, to learn
her death. Let then some one lead her away, that the sacrifice may be
no longer deferred. "--"No one shall lead me away," cried out Chariclea,
"till the judges have given sentence. You are in this affair a party,
not a judge; the law perhaps permits you to sacrifice foreigners, but
to sacrifice your children, neither law nor nature allows; and the
gods shall this day declare you to be my father, however unwilling
you appear to own me. Every cause, Ο king, which comes for judgment,
leans principally upon two kinds of proof, written evidence, and that
of living witnesses: both these will I bring forward to prove myself
your child. I shall appeal to no common witness, but to my judge
himself (the consciousness of the judge is the prisoner's best ground
of confidence); as to my written evidence it shall be a history of my
own and your misfortunes. " So saying, she loosened from her waist the
fillet[9] which had been exposed with her, unrolled, and presented it
to Persina. She, as soon as it met her sight, appeared struck dumb with
astonishment; she continued a considerable time casting her eyes first
on the writing, then again on the maiden. A cold sweat bedewed her
limbs, and convulsive tremblings shook her frame.
Her first emotions were those of joy and hope; but anxiety and doubt
succeeded. Dread of the suspicions of Hydaspes followed; of his
incredulity, and perhaps of his anger and vengeance.
The king observing her agitation and astonishment, said to her,
"Persina! what is it which ails you? from what cause has this writing
such effect upon you? "--"My king, my lord, and my husband! " she
replied, "I know not what to answer you: take and read it yourself:
let this fillet explain everything. " She gave it him, and remained
trembling, in anxious silence.
He took the fillet, and began to read it, calling to the Gymnosophists
to read it with him. As he proceeded, he was struck with doubt
and amazement; but Sisimithres was still more astonished: his
ever-changing colour betrayed the various emotions of his mind: he
fixed his eyes now on the fillet, and now on Chariclea.
At length Hydaspes, when he came to the account of the exposing of the
infant, and the cause of it, broke silence, and said, "I know that I
had once a daughter born to me, having been told that it died almost as
soon as it was born. This writing now informs me that it was exposed:
but who took it up, who preserved, who educated it? who brought it into
Egypt? Was that person, whoever he were, taken captive at the same
time with her? How shall I be satisfied that this is the real child
that was exposed? May she not have perished? May not these tokens have
fallen into the hands of some one, who takes advantage of this chance?
May not some evil genius be paltering with my desire of offspring, and
clothed with the person of this maiden, be endeavouring to pass off a
supposititious birth as my successor,--overshadowing the truth with
this fillet, as with a cloud? "
But now Sisimithres replied, "I can clear up some of your doubts; for I
am the person who took her up, who educated and carried her into Egypt,
when you sent me thither on an embassy. You know me too well to suspect
me of asserting what is untrue. I perfectly recollect the fillet,
which is inscribed with the royal characters of the kings of Ethiopia,
which you cannot suspect to have been counterfeited elsewhere; for you
yourself must recognize the handwriting of Persina. But there were
other tokens exposed with her, which I delivered at the same time
to him who received the damsel from me, who was a Grecian, and, in
appearance, an honest and worthy man. "
"I have preserved them likewise," said Chariclea, and immediately
shewed the necklace and the bracelet. Persina was yet more affected
when she saw these.
Hydaspes still inquiring what all this agitation could mean, and
whether she had anything to discover which might throw light upon
this matter; she answered, "that she certainly had, but it was an
examination more proper to be made in private than in public. "
Hydaspes was more than ever perplexed, and Chariclea proceeded--"These
are the tokens of my mother; but this ring is a present of your own;"
and produced the stone Pantarbè.
The king instantly recollected it as a present which he had made to his
wife during the time of their betrothment; and he said, "Maiden, these
tokens were certainly mine; but how does it appear that you possess
them as my child, and have not obtained them by some other means?
Besides, in addition to my other doubts, your complexion is totally
different from that of an Ethiopian. "
Here Sisimithres interposed, and said, "The child whom I took up
was perfectly white: and farther, the time when I found her seems
very closely to coincide with the age of the maiden, for it is just
seventeen years since this happened. The colour of her eyes too
occurred to me as being the same; in short, I recognize in her the
general expression of her features, and in her surpassing beauty a
resemblance with what I recollect of the child then exposed. "
"This is all very well," replied Hydaspes, "you speak with the fervour
of the advocate more than as the judge; but take care lest while you
are clearing up one doubt, you do not raise another, and that a more
serious one; throwing suspicions upon the virtue of my consort; as we
are both Ethiopians, how could we for our offspring have a white child? "
Sisimithres, with rather a sarcastic smile, replied, "I know not why
you should object to me, that I am an advocate for this maiden. He is
the best judge who inclines to the side of right: may I not rather
be called an advocate for you, while I am endeavouring, with the
assistance of the gods, to establish your right to be called a father;
and neglecting no means to restore to you, in the bloom of her youth,
that daughter whom I preserved in swathing bands? However, deem of me
as you please, I do not esteem it necessary to make any apology; we do
not shape our lives so as to please others: we endeavour to follow the
dictates of truth and virtue, and think it sufficient if we can approve
our conduct to ourselves: yet, as to the doubt which you entertain
concerning her complexion, the writing clears this up, explaining how
Persina, from her contemplation of Andromeda, might have received an
impression upon her mind agreeing with the subject of the picture.
If you wish for farther proof, the original is at hand; examine the
Andromeda, the likeness between the picture and the maiden will be
found unmistakeably exact. "
The king complied: and had the picture brought; when being placed near
Chariclea, an instant cry of surprise, admiration, and joy, was raised
throughout the assembly, at the striking likeness; those who were near
enough to understand what was passing, spreading the intelligence among
the rest.
Hydaspes could no longer doubt, and he stood for some time motionless,
between wonder and pleasure. But Sisimithres added, "One thing is
still necessary to complete the proof; for recollect the succession to
the kingdom, and the truth itself is now in question. Bare your arm,
my child; there was a black mark upon it, a little above the elbow.
There is nothing unseemly in doing this, in order to establish the
evidence of your birth and family. " Chariclea obeyed, and uncovered her
left arm, when there appeared, as it were, an ebon ring, staining the
ivory[10] of her arm.
But Persina could now no longer contain herself--she leapt from her
throne, burst into tears, rushed into her daughter's embrace, and could
express her transports only by an inarticulate murmur. For excess of
joy will sometimes beget grief. They had nearly fainted and fallen on
the ground.
Hydaspes felt for his consort, affected as she was, and a kindred
emotion was gaining possession of himself; yet he gazed upon the
spectacle with eyes as unmoved[11] as though they were of iron,
struggling against his tears, his mind contending between fatherly
feeling and manly fortitude, and tossed to and fro as by opposing
tides. At last he was overpowered by all conquering nature; he not
only believed himself to be a father, but was sensible of a father's
feelings. Raising Persina, he was seen to embrace his daughter, pouring
over her the paternal libation of his tears.
He was not, however, driven from that propriety which the circumstances
demanded. Recollecting himself a little, and observing the multitude
equally affected, shedding tears of pleasure and compassion at the
wonderful events which had taken place, and not heeding the voices
of the heralds, who were enjoining silence, he waved his hand, and
stilling the tumult, thus addressed them:--"You see me, by the favour
of the gods, and beyond all my expectations, entitled at length to the
name of a father. This maiden is shewn to be my daughter by proofs
which are infallible: but[12] my love for you, and for my country,
is so great, that disregarding the continuance of my race, and the
succession to my throne, and the new and dear appellation which I
have just acquired, I am ready to sacrifice her to the gods for your
advantage. I see you weep; I see you moved by the feelings of humanity;
you pity the age of this maiden, immature for death; you pity my
vainly cherished hope of a successor, yet even against your wills, I
must obey the customs of my country, and prefer the public weal to any
private feelings of my own. Whether it be the will of the gods just
to shew me a daughter, and then take her away again (shewing her to
me at her birth, taking her away now that she is found),[13] I leave
you to judge: I am unable to determine. As little can I decide whether
they will permit her to be sacrificed, when, after driving her from
her native land to the extremest ends of the earth, they have, as by a
miracle, brought her back again a captive; but if it be expedient that
I sacrifice her whom I slew not as an enemy, nor injured as a prisoner,
at the instant when she is recognized to be my daughter I will not
hesitate, nor yield to affections which might be pardonable in any
other father. I will not falter nor implore your compassion to acquit
me of obedience to the law, out of regard to the feelings of nature
and affection, nor even suggest that it is possible the deity may be
appeased and satisfied by another victim; but as I see you sympathize
with me, and feel my misfortunes as your own, even so much more does
it become me to prefer your good to every other consideration, little
regarding this sore grief, little regarding the distress of my poor
Queen, made a mother and at the same moment rendered childless. Dry
then your tears, repress your ineffectual grief for ever, and prepare
for this necessary sacrifice: and, thou, my daughter! (now first and
now last do I address thee by this longed-for name,) beauty is to no
purpose, and in vain discovered to thy parents! thou who hast found
thy native land more cruel than any foreign region! who hast found
a strange land thy preserver, but wilt find thy native country thy
destroyer! do not thou break my heart, by mournful tears; if ever thou
hast shewed a high and royal spirit, shew it now. Follow thy father,
who is unable to adorn thee as a bride; who leads thee to no nuptial
chamber; but who decks thee for a sacrifice; who kindles, not torch of
marriage, but the altar torch, and now offers as a victim this thine
unrivalled loveliness. Do you too, Ο ye gods! be propitious, even if
anything unbecoming or disrespectful has escaped me, overcome as I am,
by grief, at calling this maiden daughter, and at the same time being
her destroyer! " So saying, he made a show of leading Chariclea to
the pyre, with palpitating heart, and deprecating the success of the
speech, which he had made in order to steal away the people's wills.
The whole multitude was strongly excited by these words--they would not
suffer her to be led a step towards the altar; but loudly and with one
voice cried out---"Save the maiden! Preserve the royal blood! Deliver
her whom the gods evidently protect! We are satisfied; the custom has
been sufficiently complied with. We acknowledge thee our king: do
thou acknowledge thyself a father; may the gods pardon the seeming
disobedience; we shall be much more disobedient by thwarting their
will; let no one slay her who has been preserved by them. Thou who art
the father of thy country, be also the father of thy family! " These,
and a thousand such like exclamations, were heard from every side. At
length they prepared to prevent by force the sacrifice of Chariclea,
and demanded steadily that the other victims alone should be offered to
the gods.
Gladly and readily did Hydaspes suffer himself to be persuaded, and to
submit to this seeming violence: he heard with pleasure the cries and
congratulations of the assembly, and allowed them the indulgence of
their wills, waiting till the tumult should spontaneously subside.
Finding himself near Chariclea, he said:--"My dear daughter (for the
tokens you have produced, the wise Sisimithres, and the benevolence of
the gods declare you to be such), who is this stranger who was taken
with you, and is now led out to be sacrificed? How came you to call him
your brother, when you were first brought into my presence at Syene?
He is not likely to be found my son, for Persina had only one child,
yourself. "
Chariclea, casting her eyes on the ground, blushed, and said:--"He is
not, I confess, my brother: necessity extorted that fiction from me.
Who he is, he will better explain than I can. "
Hydaspes not readily comprehending what she meant, replied:--"Forgive
me, my child, if I have asked a question concerning this young man
which it seems to hurt your maiden modesty to answer. Go into the tent
to your mother, cause her more rejoicing now, than you caused her pain
when she gave you birth; add to her present enjoyment, by relating
every particular about yourself. Meanwhile, we will proceed with the
sacrifice, selecting, if possible, a victim worthy to be offered with
this youth instead of you. "
Chariclea was nearly shrieking at mention of sacrificing the young man;
hardly could she for ultimate advantage, check her frenzied feelings,
so as to wind her way covertly towards the end she had in view. "Sire,"
said she, "perhaps there needs not to seek out another maiden, since
the people remitted in my person the sacrifice of any female victim?
But if they insist that a pair of either sex should be sacrified, see
if it be not necessary for you to find out another youth, as well as
another maiden; or, if that be not done, whether I must not still be
offered. "
"The gods forbid! " replied Hydaspes; "but why should you say this? "
"Because," said she, "the gods have decreed that he is to live with me,
or die with me. "
"I commend your humanity," replied the king, "in that having so hardly
escaped yourself, you are desirous of saving a foreigner, a Greek, a
fellow-prisoner, and of the same age, with whom, from a communion in
misfortunes, you must have contracted some degree of familiarity and
friendship: but he cannot be exempted from the sacrifice; religion will
not permit our country's custom to be in everything curtailed, neither
would the people suffer it, who have with difficulty been persuaded by
the goodness of the deities to spare you. "
"Ο king! " said Chariclea, "for perhaps I may not presume to call you
father, since the mercy of the gods has saved my body, let me implore
their and your clemency to preserve my soul:[14] they know with how
much justice I call him so, since they have so closely interwoven
the web of my destiny with his. But if his fate is irretrievably
determined; as if a foreigner he must necessarily suffer, I ask only
one favour---Let me with my own hand perform the sacrifice; let me
grasp the sword--even like a precious treasure--and signalize my
fortitude before the Ethiopians. "
Hydaspes was astonished and confounded at this strange request. "I know
not what to make," said he, "of this sudden change in your disposition:
but a moment ago you were anxious to save this stranger, and now you
desire permission to destroy him as an enemy with your own hands; but
there is nothing either honourable or becoming your sex or age in such
a deed: granting that there were, it is impossible; it is an office
exclusively belonging to the priests and priestesses of the Sun and
Moon, the one must be a husband; the other is required to be a wife; so
that even the fact of your virginity would be sufficient to preclude
this unaccountable request. "
"There need be no obstacle here," rejoined Chariclea, blushing, and
whispering her mother, she said, "give but your consent and I already
have one who answers to the name of husband. "--"We will consent,"
replied Persina, smiling, "and will bestow your hand at once, if we
can find a match worthy of yourself and us. "--"Then," said Chariclea,
raising her voice, "your search need not be long, it is already found. "
She was proceeding (for the imminent danger of Theagenes made her bold,
and caused her to break through the restraints of maiden modesty),
when Hydaspes, becoming impatient, said--"How do ye, Ο gods, mingle
blessings and misfortunes! and mar the happiness ye have bestowed
upon me! ye restore, beyond all my hopes, a daughter, but ye restore
her frenzy-stricken! for is not her mind frenzied when she utters
such inconsistencies? She first calls this stranger her brother, who
is no such thing; next, when asked who the stranger is, she says she
knows not; then she is very anxious to preserve him, as a friend,
from suffering; and, failing in this, appears desirous of sacrificing
him with her own hands; and when we tell her that none but one who is
wedded can lawfully perform this office, then she declares herself
a wife but does not name her husband. How can she indeed? She whom
the altar proves never to have had a husband; unless the unfailing
ordeal of chastity among the Ethiopians has, in her case only, proved
fallacious, dismissing her unscathed, and bestowing upon her the
spurious reputation of virginity; upon her, who with one breath calls
the same person her friend and enemy, and invents a brother and a
husband who have no existence? Do you, then, my Queen, retire into your
tent, and endeavour to recall this maiden to her senses: for either
she is frenzied by the deity, who is approaching the sacrifices, or
else she is distraught through her unexpected preservation. I will
have search made for the victim, due to the gods, as an offering
in her stead; meanwhile I will give audience to the ambassadors of
the different nations, and will receive the presents brought in
congratulation of my victory. " So saying, he seated himself in a
conspicuous place near the tent, and commanded the ambassadors to be
introduced, and to bring what gifts they had to offer.
Harmonias, the lord in waiting,[15] inquired whether they should all
approach without distinction, or a few selected from every nation; or
whether he should introduce each separately.
"Let them come separately in turn," said the king, "that each may be
questioned according to his deserts. "
"Your nephew, then, Merœbus," said Harmonias, "must first appear; he is
just arrived, and is waiting outside the troops for his introduction. "
"You silly, stupid fellow," replied Hydaspes, "why did you not announce
him instantly? Do you not know that he is not a mere ambassador, but a
king, the son of my own brother (not long deceased), placed by me on
his father's throne, and adopted by me as my own son? "
"I was aware of it, my lord," replied Harmonias; "but I considered that
the duty of a lord in waiting required him above all things, to observe
a proper time and season. Pardon me, therefore, if when I saw you
speaking with the royal ladies, I felt averse to drawing your attention
from matters of such delight. "
"Let him enter now, then," replied the king. The master of the
ceremonies hastened out, and soon returned with him.
Merœbus was a handsome youth, just past the season of boyhood, his age
being about seventeen; but he exceeded in stature almost all those who
surrounded him, and his suite was splendid and numerous. The Ethiopian
guards opened on either side to let him pass, and regarded him with
wonder and respect.
Hydaspes himself rose from his throne to meet him, embraced him with
fatherly affection, placed him by his side, and taking him by the
hand said, "Nephew, you are come very seasonably both to assist at a
triumphal sacrifice, and a nuptial ceremony; for the gods, the authors
and protectors of our family, have restored to me a daughter, and
provided, as it seems, for you a wife. The particulars you shall hear
hereafter; at present if you have any business relating to the nation
which you govern, make me acquainted with it. "
The youth,[16] at the mention of a wife, was seen to blush through his
dark complexion from mingled pleasure and modesty (the red rushing,
as it were, to the surface of the black). After an interval he said,
"The other ambassadors, my Father, in honour of your splendid victory,
bring you the choicest productions of their several countries: I, as
a suitable compliment to a brave and first-rate warrior, make you an
offering after your own heart, a champion who is invincible; not to
be matched either in wrestling, or boxing, or in the race;" and so,
saying, he motioned to the man alluded to, to advance.
He came forward and made his adoration to Hydaspes. So vast and "old
world[17]" was his stature, that when kissing the king's knees, his
head nearly equalled those who sat on raised seats above him; and,
without waiting for any orders, he stripped and challenged any one
to engage with him, either with skill of arms, or with strength of
hands. And when, after many proclamations made, no antagonist appeared
to oppose him--"You shall have," said Hydaspes, "a reward quite in
character;" and he ordered an old and very bulky elephant to be brought
out and given to him.
scimitar richly jewelled of great value, and worth many talents; so
that many cried out, it was a gift too precious for a private man, a
treasure worthy of a monarch's acceptance. Hydaspes smilingly replied--
"What can be more kingly than that my magnanimity should be superior
to this man's avarice? Besides, the captor has a right to the personal
spoils of his prisoner. Let him then, receive as a gift from me, what
he might easily have taken to himself, without my knowledge. "
Presently those who had taken Theagenes and Chariclea appeared. "Our
spoil, Ο king! " said they, "is not gold and jewels, things of little
estimation among the Ethiopians, and which lie in heaps in the royal
treasures; but we bring you a youth and a maiden, a Grecian pair,
excelling all mortals in grace and beauty, except yourself, and we
expect from your liberality a proportionate reward. "--"You recall them
seasonably to my memory," replied Hydaspes. "When I first saw them, in
the hurry and confusion in which I was engaged, I took but a cursory
view of them. Let some one bring them now before me, together with the
rest of the captives. "
An officer was immediately despatched for them to the place of their
confinement, which was among the baggage, at some distance from the
town. They inquired, in their way to the city, of one of their guards,
whither they were being conducted. They were told that the king
Hydaspes desired to see the prisoners. On hearing the name, they cried
out together, with one voice--"Ο ye gods! " fearing till that hour lest
some other might be the reigning king; and Theagenes said softly to
Chariclea--"You will surely now discover to the king everything which
relates to us, since you have frequently told me that Hydaspes was your
father. "
"Important matters," replied Chariclea, "require great preparation.
Where the deity has caused intricate beginnings, there must needs be
intricate unravellings. Besides, a tale like ours is not to be told in
a moment; nor do I think it advisable to enter upon it in the absence
of my mother Persina, upon whose support, and testimony, the foundation
of our story, and the whole of our credit, must depend; and she, thanks
to the gods I hear, is yet alive. "
"What if we should be sacrificed," returned Theagenes; "or, presented
to some one as a gift, how shall we ever get into Ethiopia? "--"Nothing
is less likely," said Chariclea. "Our guards have told us that we are
to be reserved as victims, to be offered to the deities of Meröe.
There is no likelihood that we, who are solemnly devoted to the gods,
should be destroyed, or otherwise disposed of; such a vow no religious
mind would break. Were we to give way to the incautious joy with which
this sudden gleam of good fortune transports us, and discover our
condition, and relate our adventures, in the absence of those who
alone can acknowledge us, and confirm what we say, we run the greatest
risk of raising the indignation of the king; who would regard it as
a mockery and insult, that we, captives and slaves as we are, should
endeavour to pass ourselves off upon him, as his children. "
"But the tokens," said Theagenes, "which I know you always carry
about you, will give credit to our relation, and shew that we are not
impostors. "--"These things," replied Chariclea, "are real tokens to
those who know them, and who exposed them with me; but to those who
are ignorant of this, they are nothing but bracelets, and precious
stones; and may possibly induce a suspicion of our having stolen them.
Supposing even that Hydaspes should recollect any of these trinkets,
who shall persuade him that they were presented to me by Persina, and
still more, that they were the gifts of a mother to her daughter? The
most incontrovertible token, my dear Theagenes, is a mother's nature,
through which the parent at first sight feels affection towards her
offspring,--an affection stirred up by secret sympathy. Shall we
deprive ourselves, then, by our precipitation, of this most favourable
opening, upon which depends the credit of all we have to say? "
Discoursing in this manner, they arrived near the tribunal of the king.
Bagoas was led after them. When Hydaspes saw them, rising suddenly from
his throne--"May the gods be propitious to me! " he exclaimed, and sat
down again, lost in thought. They who were near him inquired the reason
of this sudden emotion. Recollecting himself, he said--"Methought that
I had a daughter born to me this day, who at once reached her prime,
and perfectly resembled this young maiden, whom I see before me. I
disregarded, and had almost forgotten my dream, when this remarkable
resemblance recalled it to my memory. "
His officers replied--"That it was some fancy of the mind bodying forth
future events;" upon which the king, laying aside for the present any
farther thought upon the subject, proceeded to examine his prisoners.
He asked them--"Who, and from whence, they were? " Chariclea was silent.
Theagenes replied, "That they were Grecians, and that the maiden was
his sister. "
"All honour to Greece," said Hydaspes--"the mother of brave and
beautiful mortals, for affording us such noble victims for the
celebration of our triumphal sacrifices. " And turning to his
attendants, he said--"Why had I not a son as well as a daughter born
to me in my dream, since this youth, being the maiden's brother, ought
according to your observation, to have been shadowed forth to me in my
vision? "
He then directed his discourse to Chariclea, speaking in Greek;
a language known and studied by the Gymnosophists, and kings of
Ethiopia--"And you, Ο maiden," said he, "why do you make no answer to
my questions? "--"At the altars of the gods," replied she, "to whom
we are destined as victims, you shall know who I am, and who are my
parents. "
"And what part of the world do they inhabit? " said the king. --"They
are present now," said she, "and will assuredly be present, when we
are sacrificed. " Again Hydaspes smiled. --"This dream-born daughter of
mine," he observed, "is certainly herself dreaming, when she imagines
that her parents are to be brought from the middle of Greece into
Meröe. Let them be taken away and served with the usual care and
abundance, to fit them for the sacrifices. But who is this standing
near, and in person like an eunuch? "[21]--"He is an eunuch," replied
one of the bystanders; "his name is Bagoas; he was in great favour with
Oroondates. "
"Let him too," said the king, "follow and be kept with the Grecian
pair; not as a future victim, but that he may attend upon, and watch
over the virgin victim, whom it is necessary to preserve in the utmost
purity for the sacrifice; and whose beauty is such, that her virtue,
unguarded, may be exposed to much danger and temptation. Eunuchs are
a jealous race; and fitly employed for debarring others from the
enjoyments of which they are themselves deprived. " He then proceeded to
examine and decide the fate of the remaining prisoners, who appeared in
order; distributing among his followers those who were slaves before;
dismissing with liberty those who were free and noble: but he selected
ten young men, and as many virgins, in the bloom of youth and beauty,
whom he ordered to be preserved for the same purpose to which he had
destined Theagenes and Chariclea. And having answered every complaint
and application, at last he sent for Oroondates, who was brought in
lying on a litter.
"I," said he to him, "now that I have obtained the object of my going
to war, feel not the common passion of ambitious minds. I am not going
to make my good fortune the minister of covetousness; my victory
creates in me no wish to extend my empire. I am content with the limits
which nature seems to have placed between Egypt and Ethiopia--the
cataracts. Having recovered then what I think my right, I revere what
is just and equitable, and shall return peacefully to my own dominions.
Do you, if your life be spared, remain viceroy of the same province as
before: and write to your master, the Persian king, to this effect,
'Thy brother Hydaspes has conquered by might of hand; but restores
all through moderation of mind; he wishes to preserve thy friendship,
esteeming it the most valuable of all possessions: at the same time,
if desirous of renewing the contest, thou wilt not find him backward. '
As to the Syenæans I remit their tribute for ten years; and command
thee to do the same. " Loud acclamations, both from the soldiers and
citizens, followed his last words.
Oroondates crossing his hands, and inclining his body, adored him; a
compliment not usual for a Persian to pay to any prince, except his
own. --"Ο ye who hear me," said he, "I do not think that I violate the
customs of my country, as to my own sovereign, in adoring the most just
of kings, who has restored to me my government; who instead of putting
me to death has granted me my life; who, able to act as a despotic
lord, permits me to remain a viceroy. Should I recover, I pledge myself
to promote a solid peace and lasting friendship between the Persians
and Ethiopians, and to procure for the Syenæans that remission of
tribute which has been enjoined; but should I not survive, may the gods
recompense Hydaspes, his family, and remotest descendants, for all the
benefits which he has conferred upon me! "
[Footnote 1: "πᾶν μοι φοβερὸν ὸ προσέρπον. "--Æsch. P. V. 127. ]
[Footnote 2: See note to vol. i. , p. 265, of Blakesley's Herodotus. ]
[Footnote 3: The brother and murderer of Osiris, whose death was
avenged by his son Horus. ]
[Footnote 4: Literally--"more clearly initiating them with the fiery
torch of realities. "--Tῇ πυρφόρῳ τῶν ὂντων λαμπάδι φaνότερoν τελoύντων. ]
[Footnote 5: Δεκαδάρχος. ]
[Footnote 6: The following passage in Ammianus Marcellinus illustrates
the account here given of the Καταφράκτοι ἳπποι--or barbed cavalry of
the Persians.
"Erant autem omnes catervæ ferratæ, ita per singula membra densis
laminis tectæ, ut juncturæ rigentes compagibus artuum convenirent:
humanorumque vultuum sumulacra ita capitibus diligenter aptata, ut
imbracteatis corporibus solidis, ibi tantum incidentia tela possint
hærere, quà per cavernas minutas et orbibus oculorum affixas, parcius
visitur, vel per supremitates narium angusti spiritus emittuntur.
Quorum pars contis dimicatura, stabat immobilis, ut retinaculis æreis
fixam existimares. "--Book xxv.
Thus, by an anticipation of 600 years, we have brought before us a
picture of the times, when,
"_Their limbs all iron_, and their souls all flame,
A countless host, the red-cross warriors came. "
]
[Footnote 7: Herod. B. vii. 61. thus speaks of these
tunics:--"Κιθῶινας-Ιωτοΰς χειριδoτoὺς ποικίλους λεπίδος σιδηρέης όψιν
ἰχθυoειδέος. "]
[Footnote 8: τὴν κεφαλὴν δι' ὃλου σφηκοῦντες--literally pinching in
like a wasp; the frontal fitting closely to the shape of the horse's
head and face. ]
[Footnote 9: oἷον ἐμβεβλημένος. ]
[Footnote 10: See Herod. B. iii. 111. ]
[Footnote 11: See the previous description of the Persian amour. ]
[Footnote 12: See note in Blakesley's Herod. vii. 40. ]
[Footnote 13: Like the Parthians--
". . . versis animosum equis
Parthum. "--Hor. I Od. xix 10.
]
[Footnote 14: Arrows somewhat resembling these are used by the wild
Bushmen of Africa for destroying the ostrich and other kinds of
game. "These insignificant looking arrows are about two feet six
inches in length; they consist of a slender reed, with a sharp bone
head, thoroughly poisoned with a composition of which the principal
ingredients are obtained, sometimes from a succulent herb, having thick
leaves, yielding a poisonous milky juice, and sometimes from the jaws
of snakes. "--Wood's Nat. Hist. ]
[Footnote 15: Όστέον, a bone; Όΐστός, an arrow. ]
[Footnote 16: χεῖρα. ]·
[Footnote 17: Ανθεσιν Νειλώοις. --The water lily of the Nile. ]
[Footnote 18: "At Syene there was, in later times a well, the bottom of
which, the sun was believed to illuminate at one time of the year, it
being supposed that Syene was under the Tropic. "--Blackesley's Herod. ,
vol. 1. p. 187. ]
[Footnote 19: Nἕιλος, from νέη ἰλύς, new soil. ]
[Footnote 20: ν = 50; ε = 5; ι: = 10; λ = 30; o = 70; σ = 200; total,
365. ]
[Footnote 21:
. . . "vetus, vietus, veternosus, senex
Colore mustellino. "--Terence.
]
BOOK X.
We have now said sufficient about Syene, which, from the brink of
danger, was at once restored to security and happiness, by one man's
clemency.
Hydaspes, having sent the greater part of his army forward, proceeded
in person towards Ethiopia, followed by the applauses and blessings
both of Persians and Syenæans. At first he marched along the Nile, or
the parts bordering upon that river; but when he reached the cataracts,
having sacrificed to the river, and to the gods of the boundaries, he
turned aside, and travelled through the inland country.
When he arrived at Philœ, he rested, and refreshed his army there for
two days; and then as before, sending part of it forward, together with
the captives, he stayed some little time behind them, to direct the
repair of the walls, and to place a garrison, and soon afterwards set
out himself. He dispatched an express consisting of two troopers, who
changing their horses at every station, and using all speed, were to
announce his victory at Meröe. [1]
He sent the following message to the wise men of his country, who are
called Gymnosophists, and who are the assessors and privy councillors
of the Ethiopian kings in affairs of moment.
"Hydaspes to the most holy Council.
"I acquaint you with my victory over the Persians. I do not boast of
my success, for I know and fear the mutability of fortune; but I would
greet your holy order, which I have always found wise and faithful. I
invite and command your attendance at the usual place, in order that
the thanksgiving sacrifices for victory, may, by your presence, be
rendered more august and solemn in the sight of the Ethiopian people. "
To his consort, Persina, he wrote as follows:--
"Know that I am returning a conqueror, and, what you will still
more rejoice at, unhurt. Make therefore preparations for the most
sumptuous processions and sacrifices, that we may give thanks to the
gods, for the blessings which they have bestowed. In accordance with
my letters, assist in summoning the Gymnosophists; and hasten to
attend, with them, in the consecrated field before the city, which is
dedicated to our country's gods--the Sun, the Moon, and Bacchus. "
When this letter was delivered to Persina--"I now see," said she,
"the interpretation of a dream which I had last night. Methought I
was pregnant, and in labour, and that I brought forth a daughter in
the full bloom of youth and beauty. I see, that by my throes, were
signified the travails of war; and by my daughter, this victory. "
"Go," continued she, "and fill the city with these joyful tidings. "
The expresses obeyed her commands; and mounting their horses, having
crowned their heads with the lotus of the Nile, and waving branches
of palm in their hands, rode through the principal parts of the city,
disclosing by their very appearance, the joyous news.
Meröe resounded with rejoicings; night and day the inhabitants,
in every family, and street, and tribe, made processions, offered
sacrifices, and suspended garlands in the temples; not more out of
gratitude for the victory, than for the safety of Hydaspes; whose
justice and clemency, mildness and affability, had made him beloved,
like a father, by his subjects. The queen, on her side, collected
together from all parts, quantities of sheep and oxen, of horses and
wild asses, of hippogriffs,[2] and all sorts of animals, and sent
them into the sacred field, partly to furnish a hecatomb of each, for
sacrifice, partly to provide from the remainder, an entertainment for
all the people.
She next visited the Gymnosophists, who inhabit the grove of Pan, and
exhorted them to obey the summons of their king, as also to gratify her
by adorning and sanctifying the solemnity with their presence. They,
entreating her to wait a few moments, while they consulted the gods, as
they are used to do on any new undertaking, entered their temple, and
after a short time returned, when Sisimithres, their president, thus
addressed her:--"Ο queen! we will attend you, the gods order us to do
so; but, at the same time, they signify to us, that this sacrifice
will be attended with much disturbance and tumult, which, however, will
have an agreeable and happy end. A limb of your body, or a member of
the state, seems to have been lost; which will be restored by fate. "
"Your presence," said Persina, "will avert every threatening presage,
and change it into good; I will take care to inform you when Hydaspes
arrives. "
"You will have no occasion to do that," replied Sisimithres: "he will
arrive to-morrow, and you will presently receive letters to that
effect. " His prediction was fulfilled. Persina, on her return to the
palace, found a messenger with letters from the king, announcing his
intended arrival for the following day.
The heralds dispersed the news through the city, and at the same time,
made proclamation, that the men alone should be suffered to go out
and meet him, but that the women should keep within their houses;
for, as the sacrifice was destined to be offered to the purest of all
deities--the Sun and Moon--the presence of females was forbidden, lest
the victims should acquire even an involuntary contamination.
The priestess of the Moon was the only woman suffered to attend
the ceremony, and she was Persina; for by the law and custom of
the country, the queens of Ethiopia are always priestesses of that
divinity, as the kings are of the Sun. Chariclea, also was to be
present at the ceremonial, not as a spectatress, but as a victim to the
Moon.
The eagerness and curiosity of the citizens was incredible. Before they
knew the appointed day, they poured in multitudes out of the city,
crossed the river Astabora, some over the bridge; some who dwelt at a
distance from it, in boats made of canes, many of which lay near the
banks, affording an expeditious means of passage.
These little skiffs are very swift, both on account of the materials of
which they are composed, and the slight burden which they carry, which
never exceeds two or three men: for one cane is split in two, and each
section forms a boat. [3]
Meröe, the metropolis of Ethiopia, is situated in a sort of triangular
island, formed by the confluence of three navigable rivers; the Nile,
the Astabora, and the Asasoba. The former flows towards it from above,
where it forms two branches; the others, flowing round it on either
side, unite their waters, and hasten to mingle their stream, and lose
their names, in the channel of the Nile.
This island, which is almost a continent, (being in length three
thousand furlongs, in width one thousand), abounds in animals of every
kind, and, among the rest, with elephants. It is especially fertile
in producing trees. The palm trees rise to an unusual height, bearing
dates of large size and delicious flavour. The stalks of wheat and
barley are so tall, as to cover and conceal a man when mounted on a
horse or camel, and they multiply their fruit three hundred fold. The
canes are of the size which I have before mentioned.
All the night were the inhabitants employed in crossing the river; they
met, received, and congratulated Hydaspes, extolling him as a god. They
had gone a considerable way to meet him. The Gymnosophists went only a
little beyond the sacred field, when, taking his hand, they kissed him.
Next appeared Persina at the vestibule, and within the precincts of the
temple.
After worshipping the gods, and returning thanks for his victory and
safety, they left the precincts, and prepared to attend the approaching
sacrifice, repairing for that purpose to a tent, which had been erected
for them on the plain. Four canes, newly cut down, were fixed in the
ground, one at each corner, serving as a pillar, supported the vaulted
roof, which was covered with the branches of palm and other trees. Near
this another tent was erected, raised considerably from the ground,
in which were placed the images of the gods of the country--Memnon,
Perseus, and Andromeda--whom the kings of Ethiopia boasted to be
the founders of their race: under these, on a lower story, having
their gods above them, sat the Gymnosophists. A large portion of the
ground was surrounded by the soldiers; who in close order, and with
their shields joined, kept off the multitude, and afforded a clear
space sufficient for the priests to perform their sacrifice, without
confusion or disturbance.
Hydaspes, after speaking briefly upon the victory which he had gained,
and the advantages obtained by it to the state, commanded the sacred
ministers to begin their rites.
Three lofty altars were erected, two in close proximity to the Sun and
Moon; a third, at some distance, to Bacchus: to him they sacrificed
animals of every kind, as being a common deity, gracious and bountiful
to all. To the Sun they offered four white horses, the swiftest of
animals to the swiftest of the gods;[4] to the Moon, a yoke of oxen,
consecrating to her, as being nearest the earth, their assistants in
agriculture.
While these things were transacting, a loud confused murmur began to
rise as among a promiscuous multitude; "Let our country's rites be
performed--let the appointed sacrifice be made--let the first-fruits of
war be offered to our gods. "
Hydaspes understood that it was a human victim whom they demanded,
which it was customary to offer from among the prisoners taken only in
a foreign war. Making a motion for silence, with his hand, he intimated
to them, by gestures, that they should soon have what they required,
and ordered those who had the charge of the captives to bring them
forward. They obeyed, and led them forth, guarded, but freed from their
chains.
The generality were, as may be imagined, dejected and sorrowful.
Theagenes, however, appeared much less so than the others; but the
countenance of Chariclea was cheerful and elate. She fixed her eyes
upon Persina with a fixed and steady glance, so as to cause in her
considerable emotion; she could not help sighing, as she said--"Ο
husband! what a maiden have you destined for sacrifice! I never
remember to have seen such beauty. How noble is her presence! with what
spirit and fortitude does she seem to meet her impending fate! How
worthy is she of compassion, owing to the flower of her age. If my only
and unfortunately lost daughter were living, she would be about the
same age. Ο that it were possible to save this maiden from destruction;
it would be a great satisfaction to me to have her in my service. She
is probably Grecian, for she has not at all the air of an Egyptian. "
"She is from Greece," replied Hydaspes: "who are her parents she will
presently declare; shew them she cannot, though such has been her
promise. To deliver her from sacrifice is impossible: were it in my
power, I should be very glad to do so; for I feel, I know not why,
great compassion and affection for her. But you are aware that the law
requires a male to be offered to the Sun, and a female to the Moon; and
she being the first captive presented to me, and having been allotted
for the sacrifice, the disappointment of the people's wishes would
admit of no excuse. One only chance can favour her escape, and that is,
if she should be found when she ascends the pile, not to have preserved
her chastity inviolate; for the law demands a pure victim to be offered
to the goddess as well as to the god--the condition of those offered on
the altar of Bacchus is indifferent. But should she be found unchaste,
reflect whether it would be proper that she should be received into
your family. "
"Let her," replied Persina, "be found unchaste, provided only
she be preserved.
Captivity and war, absence from friends, and a
wandering life, furnish an excuse for guilt, particularly in her,
whose transcendent beauty must have exposed her to more than common
temptations. "
While she was weeping and striving to conceal her weakness from the
people, Hydaspes ordered the fire-altar[5] to be prepared, and brought
out. A number of young children, collected by the officials from among
the multitude, brought it from the temple (they alone being permitted
to touch it), and placed it in the midst. Each of the captives was then
ordered to ascend it. It was furnished with golden bars of such mystic
virtue, that whenever any unchaste or perjured person placed his foot
upon it, it burnt him immediately, and he was obliged to retire: the
pure, on the contrary, and the uncontaminated, could mount it uninjured.
The greatest part of the prisoners failed in the trial, and were
destined as victims to Bacchus, and the other gods--save two or three
Grecian maidens whose virginity was found intact. Theagenes at length
ascended it, and was found pure. It raised great admiration in the
assembly, that with his beauty, stature, and in the flower of youth, he
should be a stranger to the power of love--accordingly he was destined
as an offering to the Sun. He said softly to Chariclea--"Is death then,
and sacrifice, the reward which the Ethiopians bestow upon purity and
integrity? But why, my dearest life, do you not discover yourself? How
long will you delay? Until the sacrificer's knife is at your throat?
Speak, I beseech you, and disclose your condition. Perhaps when you
are known, your intercession may preserve me; but if that should
not happen, you will be safe, and then I shall die with comfort and
satisfaction. "
"Our trial," said Chariclea, "now approaches--our fate trembles in the
balance. "[6]--So saying, and without awaiting any command, she drew
from out of a scrip which she had with her, and put on, her sacred
Delphic robe, interwoven and glittering with rays of light. She let her
hair fall dishevelled upon her shoulders, and as under the influence
of inspiration, leaped upon the altar, and remained there a long time,
unhurt.
Dazzling every beholder with more than ever resplendent beauty; visible
to all from this elevated place, and with her peculiar dress, she
resembled an image of the goddess, more than a mere mortal maiden. An
inarticulate murmur of applause ran through the multitude, expressive
of their surprise and admiration, that with charms so superhuman,
she should have preserved her honour, enhancing her beauty by her
chastity. [7] Yet they were almost sorry that she was found a pure
and fitting victim for the goddess. Notwithstanding their religious
reverence they would have been glad could she by any means escape. But
Persina felt more for her than all the rest. She could not help saying
to Hydaspes--"How miserable and ill-fated is this poor maiden! To no
purpose giving token of her purity! Receiving for her many virtues only
an untimely death! Can nothing be done to save her? "
"Nothing, I fear," replied the king: "your wishes and pity are
unavailable. It seems that the gods have from the beginning selected
by reason of her very excellence this perfect victim for themselves. "
And then directing his discourse to the Gymnosophists: "Sages,"
said he, "since every thing is ready, why do you not begin the
sacrifice? "--"Far be it from us," said Sisimithres (speaking in
Greek, that the multitude might not understand him) "to assist at such
rites; our eyes and ears have already been sufficiently wounded by the
preparations. We will retire into the temple, abhorring ourselves the
detestable offering of a human victim, and believing too that the gods
do not approve it. Would that the sacrifices even of brute animals
might cease; those consisting of prayers and incense being, to our
mind, sufficient. [8] Do you, however, remain; for the presence of a
ruler is sometimes necessary to stay the turbulence of the multitude.
Go on with this unhallowed sacrifice, since the inveterate custom
of the people has made it unavoidable; remembering that when it is
performed, yourself will stand in need of expiation, though perhaps,
you will not need it, for I think this rite will never be brought to
consummation. I judge from various divine tokens, and particularly
from a kind of glory shed around these strangers, signifying that they
are under the peculiar protection of the gods;"--having said this, he
arose, and was about to retire with his brethren.
At this instant Chariclea leapt down from the altar; rushed towards
Sisimithres, and fell at his feet. The officials would have hindered
her, supposing that she was deprecating death, but she exclaimed "Stay,
Sages, I beseech you! I have a cause to plead before the king and
queen; you are the only judges, in such a presence; you must decide in
this, the trial for my life. You will find that it is neither possible
nor just that I should be sacrificed to the gods. " They listened to
her readily, and addressing the king, said,--"Do you hear, Ο king, the
challenge and averment of this foreign maiden. "
Hydaspes smiling, replied, "What controversy can she have with me?
From what pretext, or from what right, can it arise? "--"That, her
own relation will discover," said Sisimithres. --"But will it not be
an indignity, rather than an act of justice," rejoined the monarch,
"for a king to enter into a judicial dispute with a slave? "--"Equity
regards not lofty rank," said the sage. "He is king in judgment
who prevails by strength of arguments. "--"But," returned Hydaspes,
"your office gives you a right of deciding only when a controversy
arises between the king and his own subjects, not between him and
foreigners. "--"Justice," said Sisimithres, "is weighed among the wise,
not by mere appearances, but by facts. "--"It is clear that she can have
nothing serious to advance," said the king, "but some mere idle pretext
to delay her fate, as is the case with those who are in fear of their
lives. Let her, however, speak, since Sisimithres would have it so. "
Chariclea, who had always been sanguine, in expecting her deliverance,
was now inspired with additional confidence when she heard the name of
Sisimithres. He was the person to whose care she had been committed
ten years before, and who delivered her to Charicles at Catadupa, when
he was sent ambassador to Oroondates in the matter of the emerald
mines--he was then one of the ordinary Gymnosophists: but now, he
was their president. Chariclea did not call to mind his face (having
been parted from him when only seven years' old), but recollected and
rejoiced at hearing his name, trusting that she should find in him a
support and an advocate. Stretching out then her hands towards heaven,
and speaking audibly,--"O Sun! " she exclaimed, "author of my family;
and you, ye gods and heroes who adorn my race! I call you to witness
the truth of what I say. Be you my supporters and assistants in the
trial which I am about to undergo--my cause is just, and thus I enter
upon it:--Does the law, Ο king, command you to sacrifice natives or
foreigners? "
"Foreigners only," replied Hydaspes. --"You must then seek another
victim," said she, "for you will find me a native. " The king seemed
surprised, declaring it to be a figment. "Do you wonder at this? " said
she; "you will hear much stranger things. I am not only a native, but
closely allied to the royal family. " This assertion was received with
contempt, as so much idle speech: when she added--"Cease, my father, to
despise and reject your daughter! "
By this time the king began to appear not only contemptuous, but
indignant, taking the matter as a personal insult to himself. He said,
therefore, to Sisimithres,--"Behold the reward of my endurance! Is
not the maiden downright mad! Endeavouring with wild and incredible
fictions to escape the fate awaiting her! desperately feigning herself
to be my daughter, as in some sudden appearance and discovery upon
the stage--mine, who was never so fortunate as to have any offspring.
Once, indeed, I heard of a daughter's birth, only, however, to learn
her death. Let then some one lead her away, that the sacrifice may be
no longer deferred. "--"No one shall lead me away," cried out Chariclea,
"till the judges have given sentence. You are in this affair a party,
not a judge; the law perhaps permits you to sacrifice foreigners, but
to sacrifice your children, neither law nor nature allows; and the
gods shall this day declare you to be my father, however unwilling
you appear to own me. Every cause, Ο king, which comes for judgment,
leans principally upon two kinds of proof, written evidence, and that
of living witnesses: both these will I bring forward to prove myself
your child. I shall appeal to no common witness, but to my judge
himself (the consciousness of the judge is the prisoner's best ground
of confidence); as to my written evidence it shall be a history of my
own and your misfortunes. " So saying, she loosened from her waist the
fillet[9] which had been exposed with her, unrolled, and presented it
to Persina. She, as soon as it met her sight, appeared struck dumb with
astonishment; she continued a considerable time casting her eyes first
on the writing, then again on the maiden. A cold sweat bedewed her
limbs, and convulsive tremblings shook her frame.
Her first emotions were those of joy and hope; but anxiety and doubt
succeeded. Dread of the suspicions of Hydaspes followed; of his
incredulity, and perhaps of his anger and vengeance.
The king observing her agitation and astonishment, said to her,
"Persina! what is it which ails you? from what cause has this writing
such effect upon you? "--"My king, my lord, and my husband! " she
replied, "I know not what to answer you: take and read it yourself:
let this fillet explain everything. " She gave it him, and remained
trembling, in anxious silence.
He took the fillet, and began to read it, calling to the Gymnosophists
to read it with him. As he proceeded, he was struck with doubt
and amazement; but Sisimithres was still more astonished: his
ever-changing colour betrayed the various emotions of his mind: he
fixed his eyes now on the fillet, and now on Chariclea.
At length Hydaspes, when he came to the account of the exposing of the
infant, and the cause of it, broke silence, and said, "I know that I
had once a daughter born to me, having been told that it died almost as
soon as it was born. This writing now informs me that it was exposed:
but who took it up, who preserved, who educated it? who brought it into
Egypt? Was that person, whoever he were, taken captive at the same
time with her? How shall I be satisfied that this is the real child
that was exposed? May she not have perished? May not these tokens have
fallen into the hands of some one, who takes advantage of this chance?
May not some evil genius be paltering with my desire of offspring, and
clothed with the person of this maiden, be endeavouring to pass off a
supposititious birth as my successor,--overshadowing the truth with
this fillet, as with a cloud? "
But now Sisimithres replied, "I can clear up some of your doubts; for I
am the person who took her up, who educated and carried her into Egypt,
when you sent me thither on an embassy. You know me too well to suspect
me of asserting what is untrue. I perfectly recollect the fillet,
which is inscribed with the royal characters of the kings of Ethiopia,
which you cannot suspect to have been counterfeited elsewhere; for you
yourself must recognize the handwriting of Persina. But there were
other tokens exposed with her, which I delivered at the same time
to him who received the damsel from me, who was a Grecian, and, in
appearance, an honest and worthy man. "
"I have preserved them likewise," said Chariclea, and immediately
shewed the necklace and the bracelet. Persina was yet more affected
when she saw these.
Hydaspes still inquiring what all this agitation could mean, and
whether she had anything to discover which might throw light upon
this matter; she answered, "that she certainly had, but it was an
examination more proper to be made in private than in public. "
Hydaspes was more than ever perplexed, and Chariclea proceeded--"These
are the tokens of my mother; but this ring is a present of your own;"
and produced the stone Pantarbè.
The king instantly recollected it as a present which he had made to his
wife during the time of their betrothment; and he said, "Maiden, these
tokens were certainly mine; but how does it appear that you possess
them as my child, and have not obtained them by some other means?
Besides, in addition to my other doubts, your complexion is totally
different from that of an Ethiopian. "
Here Sisimithres interposed, and said, "The child whom I took up
was perfectly white: and farther, the time when I found her seems
very closely to coincide with the age of the maiden, for it is just
seventeen years since this happened. The colour of her eyes too
occurred to me as being the same; in short, I recognize in her the
general expression of her features, and in her surpassing beauty a
resemblance with what I recollect of the child then exposed. "
"This is all very well," replied Hydaspes, "you speak with the fervour
of the advocate more than as the judge; but take care lest while you
are clearing up one doubt, you do not raise another, and that a more
serious one; throwing suspicions upon the virtue of my consort; as we
are both Ethiopians, how could we for our offspring have a white child? "
Sisimithres, with rather a sarcastic smile, replied, "I know not why
you should object to me, that I am an advocate for this maiden. He is
the best judge who inclines to the side of right: may I not rather
be called an advocate for you, while I am endeavouring, with the
assistance of the gods, to establish your right to be called a father;
and neglecting no means to restore to you, in the bloom of her youth,
that daughter whom I preserved in swathing bands? However, deem of me
as you please, I do not esteem it necessary to make any apology; we do
not shape our lives so as to please others: we endeavour to follow the
dictates of truth and virtue, and think it sufficient if we can approve
our conduct to ourselves: yet, as to the doubt which you entertain
concerning her complexion, the writing clears this up, explaining how
Persina, from her contemplation of Andromeda, might have received an
impression upon her mind agreeing with the subject of the picture.
If you wish for farther proof, the original is at hand; examine the
Andromeda, the likeness between the picture and the maiden will be
found unmistakeably exact. "
The king complied: and had the picture brought; when being placed near
Chariclea, an instant cry of surprise, admiration, and joy, was raised
throughout the assembly, at the striking likeness; those who were near
enough to understand what was passing, spreading the intelligence among
the rest.
Hydaspes could no longer doubt, and he stood for some time motionless,
between wonder and pleasure. But Sisimithres added, "One thing is
still necessary to complete the proof; for recollect the succession to
the kingdom, and the truth itself is now in question. Bare your arm,
my child; there was a black mark upon it, a little above the elbow.
There is nothing unseemly in doing this, in order to establish the
evidence of your birth and family. " Chariclea obeyed, and uncovered her
left arm, when there appeared, as it were, an ebon ring, staining the
ivory[10] of her arm.
But Persina could now no longer contain herself--she leapt from her
throne, burst into tears, rushed into her daughter's embrace, and could
express her transports only by an inarticulate murmur. For excess of
joy will sometimes beget grief. They had nearly fainted and fallen on
the ground.
Hydaspes felt for his consort, affected as she was, and a kindred
emotion was gaining possession of himself; yet he gazed upon the
spectacle with eyes as unmoved[11] as though they were of iron,
struggling against his tears, his mind contending between fatherly
feeling and manly fortitude, and tossed to and fro as by opposing
tides. At last he was overpowered by all conquering nature; he not
only believed himself to be a father, but was sensible of a father's
feelings. Raising Persina, he was seen to embrace his daughter, pouring
over her the paternal libation of his tears.
He was not, however, driven from that propriety which the circumstances
demanded. Recollecting himself a little, and observing the multitude
equally affected, shedding tears of pleasure and compassion at the
wonderful events which had taken place, and not heeding the voices
of the heralds, who were enjoining silence, he waved his hand, and
stilling the tumult, thus addressed them:--"You see me, by the favour
of the gods, and beyond all my expectations, entitled at length to the
name of a father. This maiden is shewn to be my daughter by proofs
which are infallible: but[12] my love for you, and for my country,
is so great, that disregarding the continuance of my race, and the
succession to my throne, and the new and dear appellation which I
have just acquired, I am ready to sacrifice her to the gods for your
advantage. I see you weep; I see you moved by the feelings of humanity;
you pity the age of this maiden, immature for death; you pity my
vainly cherished hope of a successor, yet even against your wills, I
must obey the customs of my country, and prefer the public weal to any
private feelings of my own. Whether it be the will of the gods just
to shew me a daughter, and then take her away again (shewing her to
me at her birth, taking her away now that she is found),[13] I leave
you to judge: I am unable to determine. As little can I decide whether
they will permit her to be sacrificed, when, after driving her from
her native land to the extremest ends of the earth, they have, as by a
miracle, brought her back again a captive; but if it be expedient that
I sacrifice her whom I slew not as an enemy, nor injured as a prisoner,
at the instant when she is recognized to be my daughter I will not
hesitate, nor yield to affections which might be pardonable in any
other father. I will not falter nor implore your compassion to acquit
me of obedience to the law, out of regard to the feelings of nature
and affection, nor even suggest that it is possible the deity may be
appeased and satisfied by another victim; but as I see you sympathize
with me, and feel my misfortunes as your own, even so much more does
it become me to prefer your good to every other consideration, little
regarding this sore grief, little regarding the distress of my poor
Queen, made a mother and at the same moment rendered childless. Dry
then your tears, repress your ineffectual grief for ever, and prepare
for this necessary sacrifice: and, thou, my daughter! (now first and
now last do I address thee by this longed-for name,) beauty is to no
purpose, and in vain discovered to thy parents! thou who hast found
thy native land more cruel than any foreign region! who hast found
a strange land thy preserver, but wilt find thy native country thy
destroyer! do not thou break my heart, by mournful tears; if ever thou
hast shewed a high and royal spirit, shew it now. Follow thy father,
who is unable to adorn thee as a bride; who leads thee to no nuptial
chamber; but who decks thee for a sacrifice; who kindles, not torch of
marriage, but the altar torch, and now offers as a victim this thine
unrivalled loveliness. Do you too, Ο ye gods! be propitious, even if
anything unbecoming or disrespectful has escaped me, overcome as I am,
by grief, at calling this maiden daughter, and at the same time being
her destroyer! " So saying, he made a show of leading Chariclea to
the pyre, with palpitating heart, and deprecating the success of the
speech, which he had made in order to steal away the people's wills.
The whole multitude was strongly excited by these words--they would not
suffer her to be led a step towards the altar; but loudly and with one
voice cried out---"Save the maiden! Preserve the royal blood! Deliver
her whom the gods evidently protect! We are satisfied; the custom has
been sufficiently complied with. We acknowledge thee our king: do
thou acknowledge thyself a father; may the gods pardon the seeming
disobedience; we shall be much more disobedient by thwarting their
will; let no one slay her who has been preserved by them. Thou who art
the father of thy country, be also the father of thy family! " These,
and a thousand such like exclamations, were heard from every side. At
length they prepared to prevent by force the sacrifice of Chariclea,
and demanded steadily that the other victims alone should be offered to
the gods.
Gladly and readily did Hydaspes suffer himself to be persuaded, and to
submit to this seeming violence: he heard with pleasure the cries and
congratulations of the assembly, and allowed them the indulgence of
their wills, waiting till the tumult should spontaneously subside.
Finding himself near Chariclea, he said:--"My dear daughter (for the
tokens you have produced, the wise Sisimithres, and the benevolence of
the gods declare you to be such), who is this stranger who was taken
with you, and is now led out to be sacrificed? How came you to call him
your brother, when you were first brought into my presence at Syene?
He is not likely to be found my son, for Persina had only one child,
yourself. "
Chariclea, casting her eyes on the ground, blushed, and said:--"He is
not, I confess, my brother: necessity extorted that fiction from me.
Who he is, he will better explain than I can. "
Hydaspes not readily comprehending what she meant, replied:--"Forgive
me, my child, if I have asked a question concerning this young man
which it seems to hurt your maiden modesty to answer. Go into the tent
to your mother, cause her more rejoicing now, than you caused her pain
when she gave you birth; add to her present enjoyment, by relating
every particular about yourself. Meanwhile, we will proceed with the
sacrifice, selecting, if possible, a victim worthy to be offered with
this youth instead of you. "
Chariclea was nearly shrieking at mention of sacrificing the young man;
hardly could she for ultimate advantage, check her frenzied feelings,
so as to wind her way covertly towards the end she had in view. "Sire,"
said she, "perhaps there needs not to seek out another maiden, since
the people remitted in my person the sacrifice of any female victim?
But if they insist that a pair of either sex should be sacrified, see
if it be not necessary for you to find out another youth, as well as
another maiden; or, if that be not done, whether I must not still be
offered. "
"The gods forbid! " replied Hydaspes; "but why should you say this? "
"Because," said she, "the gods have decreed that he is to live with me,
or die with me. "
"I commend your humanity," replied the king, "in that having so hardly
escaped yourself, you are desirous of saving a foreigner, a Greek, a
fellow-prisoner, and of the same age, with whom, from a communion in
misfortunes, you must have contracted some degree of familiarity and
friendship: but he cannot be exempted from the sacrifice; religion will
not permit our country's custom to be in everything curtailed, neither
would the people suffer it, who have with difficulty been persuaded by
the goodness of the deities to spare you. "
"Ο king! " said Chariclea, "for perhaps I may not presume to call you
father, since the mercy of the gods has saved my body, let me implore
their and your clemency to preserve my soul:[14] they know with how
much justice I call him so, since they have so closely interwoven
the web of my destiny with his. But if his fate is irretrievably
determined; as if a foreigner he must necessarily suffer, I ask only
one favour---Let me with my own hand perform the sacrifice; let me
grasp the sword--even like a precious treasure--and signalize my
fortitude before the Ethiopians. "
Hydaspes was astonished and confounded at this strange request. "I know
not what to make," said he, "of this sudden change in your disposition:
but a moment ago you were anxious to save this stranger, and now you
desire permission to destroy him as an enemy with your own hands; but
there is nothing either honourable or becoming your sex or age in such
a deed: granting that there were, it is impossible; it is an office
exclusively belonging to the priests and priestesses of the Sun and
Moon, the one must be a husband; the other is required to be a wife; so
that even the fact of your virginity would be sufficient to preclude
this unaccountable request. "
"There need be no obstacle here," rejoined Chariclea, blushing, and
whispering her mother, she said, "give but your consent and I already
have one who answers to the name of husband. "--"We will consent,"
replied Persina, smiling, "and will bestow your hand at once, if we
can find a match worthy of yourself and us. "--"Then," said Chariclea,
raising her voice, "your search need not be long, it is already found. "
She was proceeding (for the imminent danger of Theagenes made her bold,
and caused her to break through the restraints of maiden modesty),
when Hydaspes, becoming impatient, said--"How do ye, Ο gods, mingle
blessings and misfortunes! and mar the happiness ye have bestowed
upon me! ye restore, beyond all my hopes, a daughter, but ye restore
her frenzy-stricken! for is not her mind frenzied when she utters
such inconsistencies? She first calls this stranger her brother, who
is no such thing; next, when asked who the stranger is, she says she
knows not; then she is very anxious to preserve him, as a friend,
from suffering; and, failing in this, appears desirous of sacrificing
him with her own hands; and when we tell her that none but one who is
wedded can lawfully perform this office, then she declares herself
a wife but does not name her husband. How can she indeed? She whom
the altar proves never to have had a husband; unless the unfailing
ordeal of chastity among the Ethiopians has, in her case only, proved
fallacious, dismissing her unscathed, and bestowing upon her the
spurious reputation of virginity; upon her, who with one breath calls
the same person her friend and enemy, and invents a brother and a
husband who have no existence? Do you, then, my Queen, retire into your
tent, and endeavour to recall this maiden to her senses: for either
she is frenzied by the deity, who is approaching the sacrifices, or
else she is distraught through her unexpected preservation. I will
have search made for the victim, due to the gods, as an offering
in her stead; meanwhile I will give audience to the ambassadors of
the different nations, and will receive the presents brought in
congratulation of my victory. " So saying, he seated himself in a
conspicuous place near the tent, and commanded the ambassadors to be
introduced, and to bring what gifts they had to offer.
Harmonias, the lord in waiting,[15] inquired whether they should all
approach without distinction, or a few selected from every nation; or
whether he should introduce each separately.
"Let them come separately in turn," said the king, "that each may be
questioned according to his deserts. "
"Your nephew, then, Merœbus," said Harmonias, "must first appear; he is
just arrived, and is waiting outside the troops for his introduction. "
"You silly, stupid fellow," replied Hydaspes, "why did you not announce
him instantly? Do you not know that he is not a mere ambassador, but a
king, the son of my own brother (not long deceased), placed by me on
his father's throne, and adopted by me as my own son? "
"I was aware of it, my lord," replied Harmonias; "but I considered that
the duty of a lord in waiting required him above all things, to observe
a proper time and season. Pardon me, therefore, if when I saw you
speaking with the royal ladies, I felt averse to drawing your attention
from matters of such delight. "
"Let him enter now, then," replied the king. The master of the
ceremonies hastened out, and soon returned with him.
Merœbus was a handsome youth, just past the season of boyhood, his age
being about seventeen; but he exceeded in stature almost all those who
surrounded him, and his suite was splendid and numerous. The Ethiopian
guards opened on either side to let him pass, and regarded him with
wonder and respect.
Hydaspes himself rose from his throne to meet him, embraced him with
fatherly affection, placed him by his side, and taking him by the
hand said, "Nephew, you are come very seasonably both to assist at a
triumphal sacrifice, and a nuptial ceremony; for the gods, the authors
and protectors of our family, have restored to me a daughter, and
provided, as it seems, for you a wife. The particulars you shall hear
hereafter; at present if you have any business relating to the nation
which you govern, make me acquainted with it. "
The youth,[16] at the mention of a wife, was seen to blush through his
dark complexion from mingled pleasure and modesty (the red rushing,
as it were, to the surface of the black). After an interval he said,
"The other ambassadors, my Father, in honour of your splendid victory,
bring you the choicest productions of their several countries: I, as
a suitable compliment to a brave and first-rate warrior, make you an
offering after your own heart, a champion who is invincible; not to
be matched either in wrestling, or boxing, or in the race;" and so,
saying, he motioned to the man alluded to, to advance.
He came forward and made his adoration to Hydaspes. So vast and "old
world[17]" was his stature, that when kissing the king's knees, his
head nearly equalled those who sat on raised seats above him; and,
without waiting for any orders, he stripped and challenged any one
to engage with him, either with skill of arms, or with strength of
hands. And when, after many proclamations made, no antagonist appeared
to oppose him--"You shall have," said Hydaspes, "a reward quite in
character;" and he ordered an old and very bulky elephant to be brought
out and given to him.
