Bella Sidney Woolf

“ Harry replied doubtfully. “What are you going to tell me this morning, Herodotus?”
“I will tell thee something of the Pyramids. Thou knowest it has puzzled men through the ages how such gigantic works were achieved. Cheops, the king who succeeded Rhampsinitus, was twenty years in building his pyramid. From his reign begins the misgovernment of Egypt, and the crushing down of the poor. The temples were closed, and men were set to work on hewing and dragging stones for the great buildings. ”

“ Thou wilt hear and see much of them when thou visitest the country. The Egyptians paid much heed to the ceremonies of religion, and sacrificed to their gods—animal and vegetable sacrifices—and they burned much incense. I cannot tell thee of all their festivals and customs, but of some I will speak. One did I witness which pleased me much—the Feast of Lamps, in honour of Isis. There is one night when all the dwellers in Sdro burn lights around their houses—floating wicks in saucers of salt and oil—while all through Egypt every man burns a lamp. ”

“ The sacred bull was always black with a square spot of white upon his forehead, and on his back the figure of an eagle; the hairs in his tail were double, and he had a beetle on his tongue.
“When Apis was led into Cambyses’ presence, the king drew his dagger and wounded the animal in the thigh. Apis fell to the ground, and Cambyses burst into mocking laughter.
“‘A fine god, forsooth,’ he cried, ‘and fit for you, you wooden-heads! But you shall pay dearly for having thus made a fool of me.’
“Then he had the priests scourged, and forbade any more feasting on pain of death.” ”

“ But I’m sorry I interrupted you, Herodotus. Please go on.”
“I have not told thee much of the Nile. Thou knowest that every year it overflowed. ’Twas a strange sight. Nowadays thou hast heard that men have set dams which prevent it; but of old the whole country was under water, and the cities appeared like islands floating in it. In those days thou couldst sail from the sea-coast town of Candbus across the plain to Naucratis, past the cities of Anthylla and Archandropolis. It will amuse thee to hear that the city of Anthylla was given to the wife of the ruler of Egypt to keep her in shoes. ”

“ He had his good side, it seems.”
“Listen further,” said Herodotus. “Cambyses sent a messenger to Psammenitus to ask him why, when his daughter and his son went by he did not weep, but when his friend went by he was overcome with sorrow.
“Psammenitus replied: ‘O King, mine own griefs were too deep for tears, but the sorrows of my friend deserved them. When a man falls from position and wealth into beggary in his old age, tears are most meet.’
“Cambyses was much struck with this message, and Crœsus”
“Our old friend?” cried Harry. ”

“ The Eleans answered promptly that the lists were open to any and every Greek. Then the king said:
“It is not well, for it is impossible that you should favour one of your own citizens. Therefore, if you wish to make your games perfect, no Elean must take part in them.”
“Which took them down a peg or two, I suppose?” said Harry.
“I have no more to tell thee of Psammis; and after him came Apries, who was dispossessed of his throne by Amasis, one of his subjects, of whom I can tell thee a story. This Amasis was at first looked down upon by his people, because he was not of royal blood. ”

“ It’s a good story, anyway.”
“Thou wilt marvel,“ continued Herodotus, “to hear of things which existed in ancient Egypt—of inventions, of games, of customs—
“All through Egypt every man burns a lamp” (p. 42) .
which point to the wisdom and civilisation of the people. Yet wilt thou not marvel when once thou seest the works raised by Egyptian patience and skill in the desert—the mighty Pyramids, and the calm, smiling Sphinx, who has gazed out over the wide sands for ages, with the secret of her makers locked in her stone lips.” “Tell me about them,” said Harry. ”

“ Whereupon the warlike god went to a neighbouring city and rallied round him a body of men, who forced an entrance for him, and treated the attendants none too gently. Therefore a fight with clubs is appointed for this festival.”
“Were the Egyptian gods at all like the Greek?” asked Harry.
“Oh, yes!” replied Herodotus, “for it is my belief that the Greek gods came, with but few exceptions, from Egypt—but this is a subject too long and too deep to speak of now. When thou readest my writings thou wilt learn much about this very question.” ”

“ When he was dying he revealed the secret to his sons, and they continued to plunder the king’s treasure. Rhampsinitus at length noticed his decreasing wealth, and could not imagine how the thief obtained entrance, for the chamber seemed intact. So he set a trap near one of the jars which held his treasure, and behold! when next the thief and his brother entered the treasure-chamber one of them was fast caught in the trap. Whereupon he cried:
“Cut off my head, oh brother, that none may know who I am when I am found, and thus, thou mayest escape.”
“Rather decent of him,” observed Harry. ”

“ Now, I′d far sooner wake one morning and find I knew Greek.”
“Ah!” replied Herodotus smiling, “naught of value is gained save by labour. The poet had laboured, thou mayest be sure—possibly with tears and hunger—ere he attained that fame.”
“I suppose so,” said Harry sighing. “Please tell me some more now, Herodotus. What were the priests like?” ”

“ The unhappy fathers knew they were bound to suffer death, and they wept very bitterly, all save the king, who sat motionless as before.
“Then there chanced to pass by a friend of Psammenitus′ youth—a dear friend who had been stripped of all he possessed, and now came begging from the soldiers. At this the fallen king burst into a passion of tears, and cried aloud to his friend in an agony of grief. Upon this, the messengers who had been told off to watch him hurried to Cambyses with news of this strange behaviour.” ”

“ Were they kind to animals in Egypt? Some people are brutes, so Father says, and treat animals shamefully.”
“The Egyptians held most animals sacred,” said Herodotus, smiling at Harry’s outburst, “and each animal had special persons to watch over it—both men and women—what thou mightst call ‘animal priests.’ Thus, when a man had made a vow to a god he shaved his son’s head, weighed the hair against a sum of silver, and devoted the money to purchasing food for the animal sacred to the god. Moreover, if a man killed a sacred animal intentionally, he suffered death ”

“ It is well to be reminded of what is the fate of all, lest we linger too long at the banquet. But thou needst not brood over such things now. When thou art older thou wilt have time for such thoughts. ”

“ Could any mortal shoot straighter?”
“And Prexaspes dared not protest, for he saw the king was mad.”
“How awful! how fearful!” said Harry, his eyes wide with horror.
“Indeed, it was a fearful time. At length Crœsus ventured to remonstrate with the king, saying that Cyrus had himself charged him to give advice at need, and that if Cambyses continued to put innocent men—even children—to death, his people would rise against him. ”

“ We are indeed good friends. Maybe next summer I shall come to thee again and hear thy stories of Egypt. Now we must cease our gossip if thou wouldst hear the end of Cambyses.”
“Yes, please go on,” said Harry, stuffing the letter into his pocket and settling himself in the grass. “You broke off in the middle of a sentence last week. Don’t you remember? You were telling about the Ethiopians.” ”

“ Then the man who pledges his friendship commends the other to all his friends, and they are bound to see the promise carried out.”
“What a fuss,” said Harry; “but I daresay it was a very good thing. Well, did the Arab king help Cambyses?”
“Yes; he loaded camels with skins of water, and drove them into the desert to await the coming of the army. Thus Cambyses crossed the desert in comfort, and pitched his camp near that of the Egyptians.”
“Oh, Amasis had come out to meet him, then?”’
“Nay, not Amasis, for he had meanwhile died, after a long and prosperous reign. ”

“ Cambyses immediately imagined that Prexaspes, whom he had charged to kill Smerdis, had dealt falsely. So he turned upon him and taxed him with treachery.
“‘O, my king,’ replied Prexaspes, ‘unless the dead can come to life, thou hast no need to fear Smerdis thy brother. Question, I pray thee, this herald, and see if this be not some trick.’
“Cambyses approved of this, and the herald confessed that he had not seen Smerdis—the king’s brother—since the day Cambyses left for Egypt. It was Patizeithes who had given him the message, purporting to come from Smerdis. ”

“ Then they are filled with water, taken into the desert, and stored there.”
“Cambyses and the Arabian king pledged faith with each other” (p. 66) .
“What a neat idea,” said Harry.
“Yes, necessity maketh man ingenious. Well, Cambyses and the Arabian king pledged faith with each other; and an Arab, whatever be his faults, never breaks faith. When two men swear to be friends, they go through a ceremony which would astonish you, who speak of friendship so lightly.” ”

“ Thou canst imagine he was grateful; a stone statue was set up in the Temple of Vulcan—Sethên with a mouse in his hand, and the inscription ran: ‘Look on me, and learn to reverence the gods.’
“After Sethên, twelve kings ruled over Egypt, and all went well and peacefully till a certain day, when the twelve had met together to worship in the temple of Vulcan. It happened that the high priest brought by mistake eleven golden goblets instead of twelve, and Psammetichus, the king who stood last, was left without one. So he took his bronze helmet, and held it out instead. ”

“ Even as I came towards thee I had this in my mind.”
“Right away!” cried Harry. “I’m so glad you're starting.”
“Well, thou knowest that the Egyptian race is one of the oldest in the world; that the record of their kings, or ‘dynasties’ as they are called, goeth back to three thousand years and more before the birth of Christ. In ancient Egypt the people boasted that they were the oldest race of all, but their king Psammetichus, who died in 611 B.C., was the first to undeceive them. ”

“ He did his best, and all he got was bothers.”
“The ways of the gods are not the ways of men,” said Herodotus.
“Who was the next king?” asked Harry.
“The next one of interest was Sethên, but before he came to the throne the Ethiopians had held the land for many years, and had driven out a blind king named Anysis; but of this I will not tell thee more. Sethên was a priest, and he neglected and offended the army, so that when Sennacherib, King of Assyria, came down on his land the warriors would not fight for Sethên. ”

“ Likewise, I was but a private person, but now I am a king, and it is meet that you should do me honour.’
“The people were so pleased at this that they at once went over to his side.”
“Was he a good king?” asked Harry.
“Yes,” said Herodotus, “but men found fault with him because, when his duties of State were finished, he was wont to jest and drink and feast with his friends. Indeed, some said to him that it was scarce kingly, whereupon Amasis replied:
“‘The archers do not keep their bows ever tightly strung; they slacken them when their work is finished. ”

“ If he were caught and he denied having stolen, his accusers used to drag him before the oracle, which would sometimes say ‘Guilty,’ at other times ‘Not guilty.’ When he came to the throne he gave high power to those oracles which had convicted him when guilty, but he would have nothing to do with those which had proved incorrect.”
“A swarm of field-mice gnawed the quivers and bow-strings” (p. 58)
“He seems to have been awfully clever,’ said Harry admiringly. ”

“ They believed that when a man dies, his spirit enters into the form of an animal, and thus onwards through the ages from one to another, till it has passed through all creatures of earth, air, and water, when it at length enters into human form again. ”

“ Well, when Arabs swear friendship they stand one on each side of a third man, who with a stone makes a cut near the middle finger of the hand of the other two. Then he dips a piece of their dress in the blood and moistens seven stones with it, at the same time uttering a prayer. ”

“ Certain it is, too, that you see fewer bald men in Egypt than elsewhere.”
“I must have a look when I go there,” said Harry. “I'd better make some notes, Herodotus, or I’ll never remember everything. Please go on now.”
“After the battle the Egyptians fled to Memphis; but they were soon compelled to surrender, and Psammenitus was taken. Soon after Cambyses determined to test the fallen king’s spirit, so he first commanded his daughter to be clothed like a slave and to be sent, together with other high-born Egyptian maidens, to draw water. ”

“ Some Egyptians con- sidered them sacred, others as a foe. Some of them—those who dwelt near Lake Mœris—tamed one special crocodile, and put rings of gold in his ears, and bracelets on his forefeet. Special food was prepared for him, and when he died there was great ceremony. ”