Part 11 (1/2)
At a sign given by the minister of war, a number of officials ran in: one brought sandals and put them on Nitager's feet; others put down costly stools for the minister and leaders.
When the three dignitaries were seated, Rameses XII. said,--
”Tell me, Nitager, dost thou think that my son will be a leader?--But tell pure truth.”
”By Amon of Thebes, by the glory of my ancestors in whom was blood royal, I swear that thy heir, Prince Rameses, will be a great leader, if the G.o.ds permit,” replied Nitager. ”He is a young man, a lad yet; still he concentrated his regiments, eased their march, and provided for them. He pleased me most of all by this, that he did not lose his head when I cut off the road before him, but led his men to the attack. He will be a leader, and will conquer the a.s.syrians, whom we must vanquish to-day if they are not to be seen on the Nile by our grandchildren.”
”What dost thou say to that?” inquired the pharaoh of Herhor.
”As to the a.s.syrians, I think that the worthy Nitager is concerned about them too early. We must strengthen ourselves well before we begin a new war. As to the heir, Nitager says justly that the young man has the qualities of a leader: he is as keen as a fox, and has the energy of a lion. Still he made many blunders yesterday.”
”Who among us has not made them?” put in Patrokles, silent thus far.
”The heir,” continued the minister, ”led the main corps wisely, but he neglected his staff; through this neglect we marched so slowly and in such disorder that Nitager was able to cut off the road before us.”
”Perhaps Rameses counted on your dignity,” said Nitager.
”In government and war we must count on no man: one unreckoned little stone may overturn everything,” said the minister.
”If thou, worthiness,” answered Patrokles, ”had not pushed the columns from the road because of those scarabs--”
”Thou, worthiness, art a foreigner and an unbeliever,” retorted Herhor, ”hence this speech. But we Egyptians understand that when the people and the soldiers cease to reverence the scarabs, their sons will cease to fear the ureus (the serpent). From contempt of the G.o.ds is born revolt against the pharaohs.”
”But what are axes for?” asked Nitager. ”Whoso wishes to keep a head on his shoulders let him listen to the supreme commander.”
”What then is your final opinion of the heir?” asked the pharaoh of Herhor.
”Living image of the sun, child of the G.o.ds,” replied the minister.
”Command to anoint Rameses, give him a grand chain and ten talents, but do not appoint him yet to command the corps in Memphis. The prince is too young for that office, too pa.s.sionate and inexperienced. Can we recognize him as the equal of Patrokles, who has trampled the Ethiopians and the Libyans in twenty battles? Or can we place him at the side of Nitager, whose name alone brings pallor to our northern and eastern enemies?”
The pharaoh rested his head on his hand, meditated, and said,--
”Depart with my favor and in peace. I will do what is indicated by wisdom and justice.”
The dignitaries bowed low, and Rameses XII., without waiting for his suite, pa.s.sed to remoter chambers.
When the two leaders found themselves alone in the entrance hall, Nitager said to Patrokles,--
”Here priests rule as in their own house. I see that. But what a leader that Herhor is! He vanquished us before we spoke; he does not grant a corps to the heir.”
”He praised me so that I dared not utter a word,” said Patrokles.
”He is far seeing, and does not tell all he thinks. In the wake of the heir various young lords who go to war taking singers would have shoved themselves into the corps, and they would occupy the highest places. Naturally old officers would fall into idleness from anger, because promotion had missed them; the exquisites would be idle for the sake of amus.e.m.e.nt, and the corps would break up without even meeting an enemy. Oh, Herhor is a sage!”
”May his wisdom not cost thee more than the inexperience of Rameses,”
whispered Patrokles.
Through a series of chambers filled with columns and adorned with paintings, where at each door priests and palace officials gave low obeisances before him, the pharaoh pa.s.sed to his cabinet. That was a lofty hall with alabaster walls on which in gold and bright colors were depicted the most famous events in the reign of Rameses XII., therefore homage given him by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, the emba.s.sy from the King of Buchten, and the triumphal journey of the G.o.d Khonsu through the land of that potentate.