Part 2
Drums batter, cymbals clash, our hearts and feet Responding to one splendid measure, Wrapt with the glory of our mighty pleasure! Standards on high our enemies to greet! Answering the dawn’s light with our eyes aglow, Serene and proud and passionate we go, Treading the pasture sweet.
_Ranoutet._ The banners are unfurled, standards are raised on high.
_Aahmes._ Who is it that cries in the night?
_Nouferou._ Listen to my voice, O my beloved!
_Ranoutet._ O Hathor, let the spells woven by this woman dissolve before thee, thou flaming eye of Heru. Let them fall from thy servant, that he may stand upright and cast them away as the soul casts away mortality.
(_She reverses the dance. The chant continues_:)
No man of us can be disheartened now; Death have we challenged by this trial; Before the hosts of death we dare denial. Swift mother of our arms, do thou, Who gavest us our land and the bright sun, Give us the perfecting of work begun; Only to thee we bow.
_Ranoutet._ The troops are in array!
_Aahmes._ What am I dreaming?
_Ranoutet._ The glamour of the witch-girl is upon you; your eyes are sealed by her kiss. She has breathed the spirit of her dream into you.
_Nouferou._ I am the dawn, and I am Egypt. Sleep on, beloved, for our dreams are a reality and the world a shadow.
(_The chant continues._)
O heart’s blood of remembrance! Long ago This land upheld our ancient fathers, And for this land, your land, our land now gathers One fellowship against the foe. The spears flash! Be they as your mothers’ eyes. The trump sounds! Hearken to your fathers’ cries! March you to battle so![1]
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Footnote 1:
N.B.—This poem is largely quoted from “The Coming of War,” by Lionel Johnson.
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_Aahmes_ (_starting away while Nouferou clings to him_). Your eyes are demon’s eyes! Your arms are chains about my neck! I am lost!
(_He shakes her off._)
_Ranoutet._ The spirit of Temptation has awakened in this girl. Through her Hathor has tried your strength of purpose, and it has failed you. Go now to the battle, and pray to the mercy of Hathor that she may use your arm to strike the Hyksos, so that you fail not in this also.
_Aahmes_ (_cries_) I am lost! I am lost! (_As he goes voices outside._) Aahmes! mighty Aahmes!
_Ranoutet_ (_prays_). May Aahmes go forth like the panther of the South! May Aahmes go forth under the ægis of Hathor in the radiance of her light! May Aahmes not forget Egypt, Egypt the mother of the mighty! May Aahmes remember her in her need, that she may requite him!
_Nouferou._ Woe, woe unto Egypt for the pain she has wrought! She has warred against love, and love shall abandon her! Wisdom is very powerful, but she cannot conquer love! Wisdom is immortal, but love will destroy her works!
_Ranoutet._ Silence! before the sacrilege of your speech reaches to heaven and awakes the wrath of Hathor, which, shaking the four pillars of the world, would crush you into dust. Love must serve and wisdom rule; but you would put love above all! Your love would have put out the light that shines from the glory of Egypt, and serve the cause of Egypt’s foes! You would have shamed Aahmes to all time that love might rule his soul one little hour!
_Nouferou._ I would see Aahmes dead—dead and dishonoured before I’d give him up to you, Ranoutet!
_Ranoutet._ Hush, hush! even now the battle begins! (_Enter Ouny._) Give me the magic mirror. (_She looks in it._) Aahmes is in his chariot leading the attack. Help me, Ouny.
(_Nouferou sits on the couch with her head bowed._)
_Ranoutet_ (_to Ouny_). Lay the Hyksos’ chiefs under Aahmes’ feet, and when the sistrum is shaken and the lute is plucked by the chanters and musicians in the temple court, the Lady Nouferou will help you wave the holy wands around him, so that the immortal serpents, guardians of our land, may weave the web of protection round him and round our troops.
(_Ouny arranges the images as in Egyptian triumphs described above by Nouferou. Ranoutet holds out serpent wands to Nouferou, who refuses with a gesture._)
_Ranoutet_ (_pleadingly_). To-night the goddess strives with the destroyer for Aahmes’ soul! Think! even now the Threefold Terror may devour him!
_Nouferou._ If Aahmes dies now he is mine—mine on the golden borders of heaven; if he lives he is yours and Hathor’s.
_Ranoutet._ If Aahmes dies in sin, faithless to Hathor, his soul must die the second death! There will be no light life for him on the horizons with you for playfellow.
_Nouferou._ I will not believe it!
_Ranoutet._ That is the law of Hathor. Her servant must be faithful, or he dies body and soul, and his name is trodden out by the Sebau in the deepest cavern of Duat.
_Nouferou._ Woe! woe! Desolation, oh desolation! Has Hathor no mercy?
_Ranoutet._ Have you had mercy in your jealous rage? To the battle! to the battle! Do as I do, and lift up your heart in prayer that Egypt may conquer, and that Aahmes may conquer in his mortal combat! (_pause_). And listen to my voice, if Aahmes dies your life shall be the forfeit! (_Seizes her throat._) The traitress has short trial in time of war!
_Nouferou._ Mercy! mercy!
_Ranoutet_ (_contemptuously_). Mercy! see that your actions are fit for justice. (_The music in the temple court is heard._) Quick, to the serpent dance! (_Holding out the serpent wands._) Here, take the wands of power and weave the magic cord.
_The priests chant outside._ Yeioret!
(_Nouferou and Ouny perform a dance._)
_Ranoutet._ Now call the spirits of the earth and sky!
_The priests chant._ Yakhu pout! Yakhu taw!
(_Nouferou and Ouny dance._)
_Ranoutet._ Now clash the cymbals (_presents them ceremonially_), and I will call on the vultures of death—swift servants of the mother of our arms!
_The priests chant._ Maut! Maut!
(_Nouferou and Ouny dance and clash cymbals. Drums, sistrums, and cries of victory rising to a great clamour without._)
_Nouferou_ (_seizes the image of Aahmes and shrieks_). Then let Aahmes die!
(_She shatters it on the ground and rushes out, Ouny hastens to replace it._)
_Ranoutet_ (_sternly_). Go, bring the meaning of this clamour. (_Ouny goes._)
_Ranoutet_ (_gathering together the pieces of the image_). This deed brings judgment, for it shows that the hour is come when the Truth that is eternal and the Truth that is of time will divide the ways of Aahmes. As the semblance of Aahmes is broken, so shall the soul of Aahmes be broken, and the victory be to the flesh alone. O Lady Hathor! thou hast given this deed as a sign and an omen. Nouferou has shattered the semblance of Aahmes, and has broken up the waters of his soul! They no longer reflect the divine image; but the troubled fantasies of love and human life. Verily Thy judgments are keen and sudden as the lightnings in heaven, and the thunders of Thy punishments make the earth shake in fear! The ways wherein Thou comest and goest are tremendous, and no foot but Thine may tread them!
_Ouny_ (_returning_). Through the crowd I saw the father of Nouferou driving in his chariot with white horses, and he stopped before the gates of the temple and asked for her, and she came out from between the gates doing obeisance to him. She is white and tall, and the crowd rejoiced to see her; but her father had no smile for her, and took her into his chariot and made his way through the people, the horses plunging and scattering them; and I saw her no more.
_Ranoutet._ That is well; let him look to her.
(_Shouts of_ Aahmes! _outside_.)
_Ouny._ The people shout because great Aahmes is in the midst of them. Their voice is like the hoarse note of the marsh-birds. He comes that you should bless the victory.
(_Enter Aahmes. Kneels at Ranoutet’s feet._)
_Aahmes._ O Priestess of Hathor, smite me across the mouth that I may be dumb, for I am not worthy to speak in the temple! Take away my ears from me, that I may no longer hear the voice of Hathor; that terrible voice which carries judgment: for I have failed in the great trial.
_Ranoutet._ This plant of failure, Aahmes, which you have sown, bears a flower which to the outward seeming is of splendid colour and a sweet smell, and its name is Power. Put it upon your heart, and be strong to rule our people; but know that such a blossom is arid, and holds no promise of immortal fruit. Have power and the ruling of the kingdom, but have sorrow also, and eternal grief; because the doors of Hathor’s sanctuary open to you no more.
SLOW CURTAIN.
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THE SHRINE OF THE GOLDEN HAWK. ❦ ❦
❦ _The Priest of the Waters is seated. Enter the Priest of the Harvests._
❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
_The Priest of Harvests._ Our Master finishes his work to-night.
_The Priest of Waters._ At last! Each day his spirit becomes more charged with lonely suspicion. I doubt sometimes if this act of faith will bear good fruit for us.
_The Priest of Harvests._ Do not fear. Gebuel, being a great magician and our master, has promised us the victory. Even the Majesty of Egypt, whose name shakes our land, is to be overcome.
_The Priest of Waters._ Gebuel shall overcome Zozer, the enemy of our arts.
_The Priest of Harvests._ Hark! did you not hear the distant thunder? Which of us has dared name the king of Egypt for these many years?
_The Priest of Waters._ Pah! He, whom I have named, is the enemy of our arts. When I cursed the land of Egypt with a great flood, he opened watercourses, and the evil became a good, and the desert was no longer waste.
_The Priest of Harvests._ The curse of famine, which I laid upon the land of Egypt, was unavailing. I cursed the land when he, whom you have named, was using the strength of his people to build the pyramid of six heights and four sides as a tower of magic; for it is raised above that chamber which lies empty, hidden deep in the earth, waiting for the divine secret which is to manifest in its depths and make full its vacancy.
_The Priest of Waters._ Curse the king over Egypt, for he has wrought so that our power falls from us.
_The Priest of Harvests._ Curse the king over Egypt, for he has annulled the ancient law to which all the works of men have been obedient! He has made bread from the substance of heaven; wherewith he fed his people when it was my will that they should starve.
_The Priest of Waters._ To-night great Gebuel will bless the talisman of Heru, for the power of Heru is supreme: and if his godhead is on our side, not even the Egyptian himself can work against our will.
_The Priest of Harvests._ The fire of Heru will take the form of the Golden Hawk; and his wings shall stretch out, and he shall hover over the secret place which Gebuel, blessed be he, has made of precious stones and rare metals. And our ancient glory shall be given to us once more.
_The Priest of Waters._ So long as the Golden Hawk is with us, victory is with us.
_The Priest of Harvests._ Only the taking from us of the Golden Hawk can take victory from us.
_Gebuel_ (_without_). Ruler of the rivers and the floods, prepare for the coming of the Hawk of the North!
_The Priest of Waters._ Here I obey, great Gebuel.
_Gebuel._ Ruler of the Harvests and the Famines, prepare for the coming of the Hawk of the North!
_The Priest of Harvests._ Here I obey, great Gebuel.
(_Gebuel enters, carrying the enamelled pectoral of the Golden Hawk._)
_Gebuel._ Let the ruler of the floods and of the storms stand on my right hand.
(_The Priest of Waters brings libation vase to his right._)
_Gebuel._ Let the ruler of the harvest and the famines stand on my left hand.
(_The Priest of Harvests brings corn and a cone of bread to his left._)
_Gebuel._ Take the perfected talisman of the Golden Hawk between your hands while I invoke Heru, who rests upon the central pillar of the world! Heru, whose four servers uphold the shining adamantine heavens! Heru, who has sent forth his retinue to the uttermost limits of the earth, and remains solitary in the midst whilst they wind the magic cord on the circle of the wheel. Heru, the axletree of flame, the source of the fire of life!
(_The priests each hold one side of the pectoral while Gebuel rests his hands on their shoulders and prays._)
_Gebuel._ O Ancient, before all time! Supreme Ruler over the work of That Mighty Countenance which speaks the Word of Life! Pour thy golden fire into this Golden Hawk now coming into being. I have made thee in the image of the mountain hawk which thou hast chosen to be thy symbol because of his fearless eye, which alone can affront the eye of heaven. Thou hast commanded, and I have made thy visible image in unchanging gold. May thy chosen ones rejoice in its presence, feeling the spirit of peace resting upon them. (_Removes his hands from the shoulders of the priests._) Lift the bolt of the doors of the sanctuary.
(_Priests go out. Gebuel holds the pectoral on high. Priests return._)
_Priests._ It is done, mighty one.
(_Gebuel stands before the door. The priests kneel on either side of him._)
_Gebuel._ Hail in the holy place of thine Epiphany, solitary one! O thou who restest on the star in the centre of the Northern heavens! That star which alone is immovable. Thou art the celestial abode of our god, Star of the North! Divine Hawk, hovering in the blue night, dark as lapis lazuli! Immovable eye, in the midst of the wheel of the stars, send down a ray from thy splendid solitude upon this hawk—image of thee, thou solitary one, resting upon the empty air, immovable as thou art in the midst of heaven. Let the Priest of the Harvest and the Famine do homage before Heru! (_He prostrates himself._) Let the Priest of the Floods and the Storms do homage before Heru! (_He prostrates himself._) Hail, Hawk of Gold! I give thy symbol into thine own keeping. Hail to thee, resting over the Star of the North!
(_Veils himself and enters the sanctuary. The priests rise and replace their symbols upon the altar._)
_The Priest of Harvests._ So long as Heru in the form of the Golden Hawk is hidden within the shrine, victory is hidden between our hands.
_The Priest of Waters._ The Golden Hawk is hidden within the shrine; and victory is hidden between our hands.
(_Gebuel re-enters trembling. The priests support him._)
_Gebuel._ I am stricken by his eyes; I am stricken by the eyes of Heru.
(_They lead him to the seat._)
_Gebuel_ (_staring in front of him_). The Star of the North shines beyond the open gates; but some strong hand holds me back. I have a strange knowledge of one coming—whose coming will bring darkness. (_Tries to stand._) I cannot stand. Close the doors quickly. Drop the bolt. (_This is done._) Bring me the sweet-smelling fire that I may breathe it and find strength. (_They burn incense. He gradually recovers._) Bring me the stones of wisdom, that I may understand this portent. (_They bring two stones._) Let the secret be read and the sign given. Speak! let me know the riddle. (_He holds the stones to his ears. He says to the priests_) Leave me, for the answer is adverse. There is a secret evil even at the doors of this holy place. Go cleanse yourselves with rites till I summon you again before me. (_The attendant priests go out._) O Heru, dost thou demand that a victim should be sacrificed? How have I unwittingly sinned against thee? Thou sayest, “One must be made desolate.” Someone is to be made desolate.
(_Nectoris knocks outside._)
_Gebuel._ Who is there?
_Nectoris._ A wanderer.
_Gebuel._ There is food and shelter for all a little to the westward of this place.
_Nectoris._ I ask no food for the body. I come to feed the soul on wisdom. (_Gebuel opens the door._) Hail to you, guardian of the mysteries.
(_She salutes him in the Egyptian manner._)
_Gebuel._ What wisdom do you seek?
_Nectoris._ The wisdom of the Golden Hawk.
_Gebuel._ Who told you of this place?
_Nectoris._ In my dreams I went into the forest where the bronze and gold serpents coil like flames amid the leaves, and they made me wise with great sayings, and the spirits of power passed into my spirit; for the forest was the forest of knowledge. But when I held the image of the Hawk exalted on the standard of the crossed pole before the serpents, they paled and grew dim in the presence of a strength greater than theirs; and as I looked the wood became silent and empty, and the creatures of the wisdom, which is of time, faded away.
_Gebuel._ The serpent is wisdom from the beginning of time, but the Golden Hawk is poised in the immensities between that which has been and the revelation of the last secret.
_Nectoris._ Even so. I saw before me the Hawk brooding with spread wings in space beyond the worlds, in the midst of the network of the stars; and as its wings moved they fanned the golden denseness of the air, and sparks arose and came and went like luminous winged creatures.
_Gebuel._ They are the flames of life.
_Nectoris._ I saw three towers rising from the head of the bird like a great crown, and from them sprang the souls of the heroes.
_Gebuel._ Even so. This is one of the greater mysteries.
_Nectoris._ From the wings and the heart sprang the souls of the workers, who make beautiful all they touch.
_Gebuel._ The heart is the kindling will of the golden one.
_Nectoris._ From the feet of the bird came the workers of less skill and cunning, and these make the foundations of the works of beauty, and drift onwards, without the inspiration and the kindling fire.
_Gebuel._ Where did you learn to discern these mysteries, my daughter?
_Nectoris._ Since my childhood I have lived among strangers in a place of dreams. I have wandered from land to land searching for wisdom. I have but the sombre knowledge born of time, which is shattered before the final ecstacy. Now my footsteps have brought me to you, O great magician.
_Gebuel_ (_kindly_). You are welcome.
_Nectoris._ I have been guided by some star that smiled on my nativity, which was darkened until this day in obedience to a wisdom higher than its own.
_Gebuel._ Why did you seek for me?
_Nectoris._ Your spirit springs from the triple crown. You alone can fill my soul, hungering for satisfaction in that wisdom which is beyond, hidden behind the veil. (_Gebuel sighs, feeling conscious of his own difficulties. He is genuine in his interest in Nectoris._) Will you not let me follow you one step beyond the threshold of the golden sanctuary?
_Gebuel._ O child of the serpent wisdom, do you not know that no mortal may look upon the face of Heru and live? Only after the purifications of long silences, long fasts, and constant uplifting of the heart, may one born of the human race purge himself of the perishable substance of the life we know, and exchange it for the imperishable essence of the shining ones. Only after such rites have been performed may you hope to pass through the closed doors of the sanctuary.
_Nectoris_ (_with passion_). Let me but look upon the door.
_Gebuel._ The door is there—your first duty is to keep vigil. But beware of the brightness hidden in the heart of the shrine. To look upon it is to be blind; to be enfolded by its heat is to pass through fires too potent for any human soul.
_Nectoris._ I will keep vigil.
_Gebuel._ You are rash! being young, and do not know that there is a wisdom before which the sun pales and the stars are put out.
_Nectoris._ Let me begin the vigil that it may be the sooner ended!
_Gebuel._ To watch from this day until your span of earthly life is ended would not be long enough. Be warned, let the shut door remain closed.
_Nectoris._ Father of Wisdom, put me to the test. I will endure all hardships.
_Gebuel._ No hardship is before those who worship Heru. I ask nothing but obedience to my warning. Keep vigil before the door of the sanctuary; the bolts are easy, the secret of secrets is within, but remember the light of flame brings desolation. You are warned.
_Nectoris_ (_as if in a dream_). “The light shines forth and leaves you desolate.”
_Gebuel_ (_suddenly becoming suspicious_). The words that were spoken to me out of the stones! Desolate—one to be made desolate! Where have you heard those words?
_Nectoris._ They passed through the air as you were speaking.
_Gebuel._ The warning is given for the second time! To you the unseen spirits are not dumb. How have you this power?
_Nectoris._ Great Master, I am but a little child in the presence of your wisdom. I come not to show that I have knowledge, but to gain it by your aid. I have heard the voices of the unseen ones since I was a child, and taken no thought of it.
(_Gebuel claps his hands. The priests enter._)
_Gebuel._ Set guards about the door, and see that none go in or out this day.
(_The priests salute and go out._)
_Gebuel_ (_sardonically_). The secret of all knowledge is within the shrine. The vigil must be long. You will be alone for many hours, and none will enter in to disturb you. Have courage!
_Nectoris._ Your look upon me is heavy and cold as stone. O Master, do you deny me the wisdom of the Golden Hawk, for which I ask in all humility?
_Gebuel._ Again I say the secret is within the shrine. Keep vigil!
_Nectoris._ I am afraid! Your face has become like a mask of stone. The human face is hidden behind it. I am afraid!
_Gebuel._ The secret is within the shrine. Keep vigil till I come again. (_He goes._)
_Nectoris_ (_shrieks_). This terror kills me! (_She throws off her veil._) Spirit of Zozer my father, I call on you for help! My flesh fails—I cannot move, Father in thy magic shrine, save me! Father in thy magic shrine, reign over me! Father in thy magic shrine, pour thy will into me, for I am powerless alone! Spirit of Zozer my father, help thy child!
(_She sinks on the floor. The Ka glides in and covers herself with the veil._)
_The Ka._ Look upon me. I am with you. You have begun well, and are worthy of your inheritance. Do not fail now. Have you forgotten your father’s words?
_Nectoris._ Sister of my soul! they are in my heart for ever.
_The Ka._ Speak them.