Kitabı oku: «The Adventures of Captain Mago», sayfa 4

"Whatever kingdoms I conquer," broke in Hanno, "I shall sell forthwith, subjects and all; I shall put them up to auction to the highest bidder, and shall purchase my palace with the proceeds. You, Himilco, shall be appointed cup-bearer. 'When the goat is gardener, the goat-skins are taken care of;' you know the proverb."

"But instead of talking about your feast," said Himilco, drily, "we may as well proceed to enjoy our own;" and he moved towards the table on which the supper had now been laid.

We had hardly commenced our repast, when a sailor came from Bodmilcar to announce that he had completed all his purchases. I inquired why the captain himself did not come to join our party. The man said that he could give no other reason than that he believed Bodmilcar had invited the eunuch to supper with him on board the Melkarth.

Hanno turned pale.

"That rascally eunuch, I fear, is manœuvring some mischief," I said, when the sailor had left us; "however, let us hope that the women are not in the plot."

Hanno was on the point of hurrying off immediately to the cabin, when the door opened, and the waiting-maid made her appearance, followed by her mistress, closely veiled.

"Never fear, captain," said the maid, smiling; "the hawk may fly, but the doves do not follow."

"Did he tell you to follow him?" I asked angrily.

"He did not insist upon it," replied the girl; "and we preferred remaining here; we had no taste for taking up our quarters on that big black ship."

I told her that she had only done right, and that I should reprimand Hazael most severely if he made the slightest attempt at removing them from my immediate supervision. She then made a request, to which I willingly acceded, that they might enjoy a stroll in the fresh air upon the deck; but before she turned away, Chamai, who had hitherto been engrossed in some military discussion with Hannibal, caught sight of her face, and suddenly starting to his feet, exclaimed:

"Abigail, you here!"

"Chamai, is it you?" she answered; and in an instant they were grasping each other's hands; and gazing in each other's eyes, they wept aloud.

As soon as Chamai had recovered his composure, he asked her by what strange chance it happened that she was on board a Phœnician vessel.

"Did you not know," she asked in return, "that the Philistines came down on Guedor, our native village, and carried me off to Askelon, and afterwards sold me to the Tyrians?"

"No," he said; "all this is new to me. I was away in the north, fighting against the King of Zobah, and since that time, have not been home."

It did not take Abigail long to regain all her wonted cheerfulness and vivacity; and she went on to tell how she had been purchased by the King of Tyre, and was now on her way to Egypt in attendance upon the Ionian lady, whom King Hiram had bought at the same time as herself, and whom he was now sending as a present to Pharaoh.

Chamai, in his turn, informed her that he was to be allowed to accompany us in our expedition, but was loud in expressing his regret that the voyage to Egypt would be so quickly over; he could have wished, he said, that it would take as long as his forefathers' wandering in the wilderness.

Touched by the incident of this mutual recognition, I invited the girl to sit down for a little while amongst us; and requested Hanno, who was acquainted with the Ionian dialect, to ask the lady to do the same. With a graceful obeisance, she took her seat on a cushion that was placed for her.

The evening meal proceeded pleasantly enough. Abigail and Chamai entertained us with the story of their attachment, relating how in the days of their early childhood they had tended goats together in their native pastures. I could not refrain from expressing my sorrow that they had met to be parted again so soon.

"But perhaps," said Abigail, "Pharaoh will not want to keep me; of such as I am, King Pharaoh must have thousands. My mistress here is sent for him; but me, surely, he will send back again."

Chamai clenched his strong fists, and gave an appealing look at me; but I could give him no further consolation than by remarking that it was very probable the company of the waiting-woman was only required for the lady during the voyage.

"Apart from that," said Hannibal, "she would be lonely and desolate enough. Little is the trouble that the eunuch Hazael puts himself to for the sake of entertaining her."

Meanwhile, Hanno and the Ionian lady had entered into a conversation so close, and apparently so confidential, that it gave me a feeling of uneasiness; and in order to interrupt it, I took the opportunity, while the wine-cups were being replenished, of asking Hanno whether, as he had a reputation for playing the psaltery, he could not persuade the lady to allow him to accompany her while she sung one of the songs of her country. She had some slight acquaintance with Phœnician, and answered for herself that she should have much pleasure in singing as I wished.

Hanno fetched his psaltery, and as soon as it was tuned, the captive damsel turned back her veil and revealed a countenance of peculiar beauty. She was dressed as a Phœnician, in a purple robe embroidered with silver, and wore a necklace composed of three rows of gold beads and gold ornaments of elaborate design. Her head was bare, and her hair was arranged in the fashion of her own country, turned back from the forehead and secured in the middle. We sat in silence, as though riveted by a spectacle of surpassing beauty.

As soon as my slave had attached the earthenware lamps to the supports that were ready for them in the ship's side, the Ionian, in a rich harmonious voice, commenced one of the songs of her native land. I cannot profess to be familiar with the Ionic tongue, but in the course of my wanderings I had gained sufficient acquaintance with it to be aware that the verses which she sung were in celebration of the wars made long, long ago by her countrymen, the Achæans, against Priam and the city of Troy. Ever and again, as her voice rose in thrilling sweetness, Chamai's eyes could be noticed flashing with emotion, and Hannibal's fingers seemed to be feeling for the hilt of his sword; and even those who could not comprehend the meaning of the words were all enraptured by the melody of the song and the bewitching loveliness of the singer. When she had finished, she rose and retired with a step stately as that with which Ashtoreth might move along the floods.

Immediately after she had gone, Hanno moved to the ship's side, where he stood for a considerable time gazing moodily into the water. I missed his merry voice from our party, and going up to him asked him what was the matter.

"Nothing but what will soon pass away," he replied.

"Take my advice," I said, "and let nothing be told Bodmilcar about what has transpired this evening. I neither trust him nor the eunuch."

"Let Bodmilcar do as he pleases," replied Hanno, quickly. "For my part, I shall abide by the promise I have made. What I want now is to get to Tarshish, and to find adventures to divert me. I think I shall be a good sailor yet, captain;" and his tone brightened as he spoke. I shook him heartily by the hand. Somehow or other I felt myself every day to be drawn closer to the youth.

When I rejoined the others I found Chamai on the point of returning to shore.

"Good-night, Chamai," said I; "we meet again in the morning."

"Good-night, captain; good-night all;" and as soon as he was in the boat he shouted, "Good-night, Abigail, my charming dove!"

"Good-night, my pretty lamb!" responded Abigail, saucily, as she looked forth from the interior of her cabin.

At this very moment the eunuch arrived. "The fellow has good lungs," he sneered, as he passed; "but I question whether King Pharaoh would be best pleased to know that his slaves had been displayed to all the world."

"No, nor if he should learn that they have been entertained by a ship's captain and his scribe," put in Bodmilcar, contemptuously kicking aside Hanno's psaltery, which had been accidentally left upon the cushion that had been occupied by the Ionian.

"Your proceedings displease me;" I began, in a tone of reproof; but Bodmilcar interrupted me by saying sharply: "Hazael has the King's authority for placing the slaves wherever he thinks best."

This was too exasperating. It was intolerable that a Syrian eunuch, himself a mere slave, should presume to set up his authority over me, a free man and a captain of a Sidonian fleet, and I stared steadily at Bodmilcar, as if he could hardly be aware of what he said; but he only returned my gaze with a look of defiance.

He proceeded in a haughty tone: "This Ionian damsel was once mine, but she was stolen from me by men who sold her to the King. The King sends her to King Pharaoh as a present, and I shall do my duty to the King by preventing his present from falling into the hands of your scribe."

I answered firmly: "In all these matters I alone am judge. On these vessels my authority in all things is supreme, and woe to any one who questions it."

"Well spoken!" cried Hannibal. "Discipline and obedience for ever!"

"I shall do this, then," he began, with a voice half-choked with rage; but I took him up coolly and decisively: "You will do what I order; you will go back to your ship and look after your sailors. I shall be away five days."

He retreated slowly towards the boat, muttering threats and oaths as he went, but to these I did not pay the slightest heed.

When he was gone, Hazael said: "And now I shall go and chastise that girl."

I laid my hand upon his shoulder to deter him; but he shook himself free, and was about to open the cabin-door, when the powerful grasp of Hannibal was upon him, so that he was twisted completely round.

"How? – how now?" he stammered out, looking first at me and then at Hannibal, who still retained a firm hold upon him. I folded my arms and looked steadily at him.

"Listen!" I said; "listen to me. The rule of a Phœnician ship is this: whoever defies the captain's orders is tied to a rope from the yard-arm and dipped three times in the water. Do you understand me?"

Quivering with fear, the eunuch only bowed his head in assent.

"Remember it then," I added; "and remember, too, another rule: when any one curses another he is fastened tight to that mast and flogged; five-and-twenty lashes. Do you understand?"

He bent his head again.

"And don't forget," I said, "that Abigail has a busy tongue, and that I have sharp ears. Now, Hannibal, let him go."

Hazael made his way to his cabin without a word. Hannibal could not suppress his glee. He exclaimed: "Bravo! captain! all right! no good doing things by halves; mutiny in a ship is as bad as rebellion in a camp."

Early next morning I sent for Bodmilcar.

"Bodmilcar," said I, "you are an old Phœnician mariner and ought to be trusted, but I am afraid the influence of that eunuch has turned your head. He will not be long with us; and when he takes his women ashore, I hope you will be yourself again: but meanwhile you must give me your word that you will not be promoting further discord."

He attempted to deny that he had in any way fostered discord, but I was not to be put off; I insisted upon the promise being distinctly given, and when he had yielded and made me the promise I required, I said to him:

"Now, attend to my instructions. You will remain here in command of the vessels, while I am gone to Jerusalem. Hanno and Hannibal will accompany me, but Hasdrubal, Hamilcar and Himilco will remain with you, and you will be under the protection of the soldiers. We will make it our business to get provisions in the interior of the country, so that you will have nothing to concern yourself about in the way of purchases."

"And what becomes of the two women?" he inquired.

"That is my affair," I answered; "I shall see that they are provided for on shore. But we are off at once; so look to your duty. Farewell!"

I directed Hanno and Hannibal to get into the boat, and ordered my slave, with two sailors carrying the baggage, to accompany them. As Hanno passed Bodmilcar, I noticed that the latter scowled and spat upon the ground. Hanno merely shrugged his shoulders.

Before I took my own place in the boat, I saw the women and the eunuch safely on board the other boat, and told two sailors to go with them, and take on shore all that they might require. Hazael tried to invent some pretext for remaining behind; he would look after the baggage, he said, but on hearing me cry out, "No, no," he embarked without further remonstrance.

Everything being ready, I gave the word for starting, and the two boats moved off. Bodmilcar stood upon the poop watching us gloomily, whilst Himilco, who was by his side, bade us good-bye with a friendly cheer.

A very few strokes of the oar brought us to land; Chamai had been impatiently awaiting our arrival, and hastened to assist Abigail from the boat. We made our way straight to the village, which lies in a grove of wild fig-trees, about two bowshots from the fortress, and is provided with a good cistern. In front of the house that seemed by far the most important in the place, there were tied two horses and about a dozen asses. The horses were well caparisoned with embroidered bridles, and had their heads decked out with scarlet network, trimmed with little bells and parti-coloured rosettes, their tails being tied up with scarlet bands. The asses' manes and tails, according to a general custom, were dyed with henna, and these animals, like the horses, were all well harnessed.

"This," said Chamai, "is the house of Bichri; he is one of the men that I propose getting to join you on your voyage. He is young and strong, and skilful in the use alike of his bow, his sword, and his shield. He has been a vine-dresser on the mountains, and has learnt the art of making wine."

Bichri himself at this moment came forward to give us his greeting; he was accompanied by another man with a young woman.

"This is Barzillai, one of my captains of ten," said Chamai, introducing him to me; "and this is his wife, Milcah; she is the sister of our friend Bichri here, and is famous for the honey-cakes she makes."

Hannibal suggested that Barzillai and his wife should join us on our expedition, but Chamai explained that nothing would induce them to go to sea.

I next proceeded to make arrangements for lodging the two women during my absence. I found that they could either be accommodated in the tower, or that they could be received into Bichri's house, where they would be near enough to Barzillai to have the companionship of his wife, and the protection of his men-at-arms. At first Chamai was disposed to murmur when he learnt that Abigail was not to accompany us to Jerusalem; but when he understood that it was my wish that she and her mistress should remain together where they were, he acquiesced without another word of disapprobation. To Barzillai I give the strictest injunctions to allow no one, except the eunuch, to see the Ionian lady on any pretence whatever, and he struck his hand upon the hilt of his sword as a guarantee that he would be faithful to his trust.

"And where am I to lodge?" asked the eunuch.

"Wherever you may choose," I answered; "in Bichri's house, if you like."

"In my house!" cried Bichri; "a Syrian of Zobah in my house! No, no, captain, by your leave, I'd rather not. It cannot be."

"Why not?" yelped out the eunuch; "are we Syrians not as good as you?"

"No; Syrians are slaves: our King conquered you at Zobah and Damascus both; you are fleas, dead dogs!"

"True," chimed in Chamai; "the Philistines of Gaza and Askelon are foes worth conquering, but as to Syrians, I could spit a dozen of them on my lance and carry them across my shoulder."

"Ha, ha!" laughed Hannibal; "Chamai dearly loves a joke; he will make good sport for us along our way."

To Barzillai's inquiries whether the women were ever to be allowed to go out, I replied that Abigail, since she belonged to the country, might occasionally take a walk in company with Milcah, but that the Ionian must not be allowed to leave the house until my return. They engaged to make the lady's time pass agreeably, and Milcah undertook to initiate her into the art of making cakes and other delicacies.

Having thus satisfactorily made our preliminary arrangements, we entered the house to partake of some refreshment before our departure.

In order to ensure that the guard should be sufficiently strong, Barzillai had offered to find quarters in the village for fifteen of our men in addition to his own. Hannibal accordingly sent to the ships for fifteen archers to come on shore, and I took the opportunity of sending by the same messenger to Hamilcar and those who were with him, to inform them what I had done by way of putting an effectual check upon any scheme that Bodmilcar and the eunuch might concert between them.

The eunuch had declined joining our meal, and had returned sulkily to the ships. Milcah conducted the Ionian to her apartment, but soon reappeared, bringing a supply of her renowned honey-cakes, three for every guest. So engrossed, however, were Abigail and Chamai with each other's society, that they forgot all about taking their own shares, which Hannibal was nothing loath to eat for them.

Bichri went out first to see that the horses and asses were in readiness, and we followed him as soon as we had taken our leave of Barzillai and Milcah. The parting between the young lovers, it need scarcely be said, was somewhat protracted. Thoroughbred Sidonian as I was, more accustomed to the rolling of a ship than the curvetings of a steed, I declined mounting the high-spirited horse which the Jew offered me, feeling that I should be more at my ease upon a pacific steady-going ass. By my directions Hanno had made a present to our host of a piece of scarlet cloth; to his wife I had given a pair of silver earrings, with which she was extremely delighted; and we had distributed a number of earthenware dolls and toys to the children who crawled about or clambered on our knees. Chamai (who had donned his new cuirass and bestowed his old one upon Barzillai), detained us by running back a dozen times upon some frivolous pretext, which ill disguised his real design of saying good-bye once more to his sweetheart, but at last made up his mind to mount the horse which Hanno, as well as myself, had refused to ride. Hannibal had already mounted the other horse, and was exhibiting his skill as an equestrian, by cantering about us. Of the asses, four were laden with our baggage; Hanno, the two sailors, and my own slave, got upon the others; and Bichri, with his strong mountaineer's stride, marched on ahead of the caravan to pioneer the way.

CHAPTER IV
KING DAVID

After crossing the fertile corn-fields of the low-lying plains, thickly studded with groves of figs and dates, and with clumps of the stunted trees which abound in Judæa, expanding their parasol-like foliage, we began to ascend the mountain by narrow pathways, bordered by forests of terebinths, alternating with vineyards and plantations of olives. This route, delightful in its shade, brought us to the little town of Timnah, on the ridge of the hill, where Chamai introduced us to a man who found us lodging, and provided shelter for our beasts. Timnah is not only small, but it is most irregularly built; it is encircled by an embattled wall, with two gateways and twelve circular towers; the houses are only of one storey, being detached, and generally surrounded by gardens.

We were tormented by myriads of fleas, which appeared to be especially remarkable for avidity. There were also countless swarms of flies; and Hannibal, who had taken off his cuirass in order that he might more effectually scratch himself, remarked, with some show of reason, that he thought the inhabitants of Judæa ought to implore Beelzebub, as the god of flies, to relieve them of this plague of vermin.

On the following morning, after traversing several ravines, and crossing several ridges of the hilly but well-cultivated country, we came in sight of a deep valley, sterile and deserted. The rocks that formed alike its bottom and its sides were scattered over with human bones, that were bleaching in the air. Towards the east some eminences could be discerned, surmounted by a fort, whilst the valley again sloped upwards towards the ridges that bounded it on the south.

"This is the Valley of Giants," said Bichri, as he turned over a skull with the end of a staff he carried.

"Well enough I know it," broke in Chamai. "When I was young I was Benaiah's armour-bearer. Benaiah was one of King David's mighty men, a captain of a hundred; one snowy day he killed a lion in a pit; and once in single fight he slew an Egyptian giant; and here in this very vale of Rephaim, when I was serving under him, we routed the Philistines so utterly, that the men of Ashdod have been tributary to us ever since."

"And I, too, can recall it well," said Hannibal. "The Philistines were up there to the right, designing to storm the fortress in our front; half-way down the valley the King encountered them and drove them to their heights again. The heat of the battle was in the valley, but the greatest carnage was on the flight up yonder ridge."

As we proceeded, Hannibal pointed out to us on the further side of the valley the thirty stakes to which the King had had the chiefs of the Philistines bound after the battle; fragments of the skeletons were still attached to them.

"Ours is a good King," exclaimed Chamai; "Absalom, his son, rebelled against him, but I stood fast by David."

"And I, too," said Bichri; "and a battle followed in which I killed Othniel, the son of Ziba: I sent a javelin clean through his temples; this girdle of purple linen, which I am wearing now, was his."

All along, as we proceeded, Chamai, Hannibal and Bichri continued in this way to point out the sites, and to recall the history of places and events to which any interest attached. Whenever we passed a village or a town, the inhabitants, recognising us as Phœnicians, came flocking towards us with offerings of milk, dried grapes, figs, wine, or other refreshment, but were always eager in their inquiries whether we had any commodities of our own to sell. Bichri invariably told them that if they wished to inspect our merchandise, they must either come to Jerusalem, whither we were going, or go down to Joppa, where we had left our ships. Occasionally the goat-herds, who were in charge of fine flocks upon the hill-sides, accosted us, but we bought nothing of them except a couple of the excellent cheeses of the country, for which we paid only a few zeraas. As we were eating the cheeses under the shade of a terebinth, some girls brought us cool water from a neighbouring spring, and in acknowledgment of their attention, Hanno gave them a number of glass beads, with which they seemed highly delighted.

Shortly before sunset, on the evening of the second day we reached Jerusalem, a city very strongly built upon a steep and elevated plateau. The distant view of the city is extremely striking; the soil on which it is built is undulating and irregular, so as to produce an effect of the whole place being literally studded with domes and terraces; the whiteness of the walls, and the numerous roofs that are imbedded in the foliage of the olive-yards that skirt the walls, all combine to make up a picture that cannot fail most favourably to impress the traveller with its beauty.

After crossing a road that was bounded on one side by the torrent of Kedron, and which was lost to view as it deflected towards the deserts, we had surmounted the last of the olive-covered hills, and passed the last of the ravines, and soon began ascending a paved street, wide enough to admit three horsemen abreast, of which the houses were of brick, their gardens being enclosed by low clay walls. Night was coming on, and Chamai, who had galloped on ahead (leaving us to the guidance of Bichri), was now awaiting us at the gate of a large garden attached to a handsome brick house of two storeys. This house was the residence of Ira, one of the King's officers, to whom the duty was specially entrusted of providing for the entertainments of foreign ambassadors. Immediately on our arrival, some slaves came to take charge of our beasts, and to carry our baggage into the dwelling, where we were first conducted into a long low room, and water was brought us for our feet. It was not long before Ira himself appeared to bid us welcome, and to offer us refreshment. I informed him of my name and errand, and showed him the letter I bore from King Hiram to King David. He raised it to his head in token of his respect, and promised to give his sovereign an immediate notice of my arrival.

When we had completed our repast, I began to prepare my presents for King David. First of all I chose a hyacinth-coloured under tunic, made of the finest Egyptian linen, and a purple upper tunic embroidered round the neck and sleeves with flowers, and bordered with silver fringe; to these I added a girdle wrought in gold and silver, with a lion's head in gold for a clasp, the eyes being of bright enamel. This girdle was a most elaborate specimen of Egyptian workmanship, being one of four that I had purchased of a native artist, intending them for presents to any monarchs to whose presence I might be admitted in the course of my progress. Another gift that I selected was a drinking-cup of silver with two handles; it was raised upon a stem, and embossed with ornaments, worked in gold, representing fruit and flowers. The whole of these I deposited in a box of the sandal-wood of Ophir, curiously inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl. Remembering that the King was not only fond of music, but was himself a skilful performer, I further looked out for him a three-stringed harp of sandal-wood, ornamented with coloured tufts, and surmounted by the figure in solid gold of a bird with open beak and outstretched wings. This instrument could not be matched out of Phœnicia, and the wood of which it was made, like that of the box, had been brought from Ophir. I had procured the harp from Khelesh-baal, a Sidonian, to whom it had been given by the Queen of Ophir as an acknowledgment of his having designed some ships for her which could brave the open sea.

Early next morning when Ira came to inform me that he had announced my arrival to the King, he expressed his astonishment at the presents which I showed him I was about to make; he told me that they would be most acceptable to the King, who was very desirous of seeing me.

About two hours afterwards some of the royal slaves arrived, bringing a calf, some bread, several cheeses, a basket of cakes and figs, a large jar of olives, and a still larger jar of the good wine of Helbon; one of them, saluting me as an ambassador from King Hiram, said:

"I am instructed by King David to conduct you and your companions to the palace: come at once."

I gave the box containing the presents to my two sailors to carry, and collected my people together. Hannibal donned his helmet and cuirass, Hanno put his official inkhorn in his girdle, and we lost no time in setting off. Chamai and Bichri both accompanied us: they were in high glee, the latter especially, as, although he was one of David's subjects, he had never hitherto seen his King. On our way he remarked:

"David wronged our tribe of Benjamin; but he made amends by his kindness to Saul's kindred. He is truly the glory of the tribes: I shall be rejoiced to see him; I have never seen him yet."

"And after all," said Chamai, "he did not want to be hard upon the tribe of Benjamin; it went against his heart. Think, too, of his love for Jonathan, and of his marrying Michal; and Jonathan and Michal were both Saul's children. And how he avenged the death of Saul himself! He has no ill-will against you children of Benjamin."

"He is a valiant King," said Hannibal; "and valiant, too, is his general, his sister Zeruiah's son. He and Joab, both are warriors worthy of their renown."

While this conversation had been going on, we had been making our way through a succession of steep, narrow streets, with houses, one or two storeys high, and gardens on either hand. Seeing that we were ushered along by the royal servants, easily recognised as these were by the purple borders of their white garments, all the people saluted us respectfully as we passed, an evidence of the high esteem in which the King is held by his subjects.

We crossed a quarter of the city known by the name of Millo, and came to a canal which runs out in the direction of the open country, and which is overhung by an eminence called Sion, the entire space between Sion and Millo being occupied by houses recently erected at the King's own cost. In the surrounding wall there still remained the breach which had been opened by David, when he took the city from the Jebusites. On the summit of Sion stands a fortress, in the interior court of which the royal palace has been built. Designed by Tyrian architects, this is three storeys high, with a central dome, and is surrounded by magnificent gardens, the edifice for the most part being constructed of hewn stone and sandal-wood. On either side of the gateway are two stately pillars of bronze, and against the wall, to the right of one of these pillars, is placed the seat where the King sits to administer justice; the gallows for the execution of capital sentences being close at hand. In the rear are other gardens, and the buildings set apart for the women of the household.

Ira was at the palace-gate to meet us, and conducted us by a winding staircase into a square apartment, well lighted, and hung with tapestries figured with birds and flowers. At one end was a raised sandal-wood dais, three steps above the level of the floor; upon this stood the throne, which was likewise of sandal-wood, but perfectly plain and unadorned either with carving or gilding, a lion's skin stretched out at its foot. On the right hand stood Joab, the King's general, in helmet and cuirass; at a little distance behind was the royal armour-bearer holding the King's sword, while his lance rested against the wall; several officers were stationed upon the steps; and in front four of the King's body-guard of mighty men, with their swords drawn.