The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt Read online

  CHAPTER I.

  THE KING OF THE REBU.

  The sun was blazing down upon a city on the western shore of theCaspian. It was a primitive city, and yet its size and populationrendered it worthy of the term. It consisted of a vast aggregation ofbuildings, which were for the most part mere huts. Among them rose,however, a few of more solid build and of higher pretensions. Thesewere the abodes of the chiefs and great men, the temples, and placesof assembly. But although larger and more solidly built, thesebuildings could lay no claim to architectural beauty of any kind, butwere little more than magnified huts, and even the king's palace wasbut a collection of such buildings closely adjoining each other.

  The town was surrounded by a lofty wall with battlements andloopholes, and a similar but higher wall girt in the dwellings of theking and of his principal captains. The streets were alive with thebusy multitude; and it was evident that although in the arts of peacethe nation had made but little progress, they had in every thingappertaining to war made great advances. Most of the men wore helmetsclosely fitting to the head and surmounted by a spike. These werefor the most part composed of hammered brass, although some of theheadpieces were made of tough hide studded with knobs of metal. Allcarried round shields--those of the soldiers, of leather stiffenedwith metal; those of the captains, of brass, worked with considerableelaboration.

  In their belts all wore daggers, while at their backs were slungquivers of iron; painted bows hung over one shoulder, and some had attheir waist a pouch of smooth flat stones and leather slings. Theirchief garment was a sort of kilt falling to the knee. Above the waistsome wore only a thin vest of white linen, others a garment not unlikethe nightgown of modern times, but with short sleeves. The kilt wasworn over this. Some had breastpieces of thick leather confined bystraps behind; while in the case of the officers the leather wascovered with small pieces of metal, forming a cuirass.

  All carried two or three javelins in the left hand and a spear someten feet long in the right. Horsemen galloped about at full speedto and from the royal palace, while occasionally chariots, drawnsometimes by one, sometimes by two horses, dashed along. Thesechariots were small, the wheels not exceeding three feet in height.Between them was placed the body of the vehicle, which was but justlarge enough for two men to stand on. It consisted only of a smallplatform, with a semicircular rail running round the front someeighteen inches above it. A close observer would have perceived atonce that not only were the males of the city upon the point ofmarching out on a military expedition, but that it was no mere forayagainst a neighboring people, but a war on which the safety of thecity depended.

  Women were standing in tearful groups as they watched the soldiersmaking toward the gates. The men themselves had a resolute anddetermined look, but there was none of the light-hearted gayety amongthem which betokened the expectation of success and triumph. Insidethe palace the bustle of preparation was as marked as without. Theking and his principal councilors and leaders were assembled in thegreat circular hut which formed the audience-room and council-chamber.Messengers arrived in close succession with news of the progress andstrength of the enemy, or with messages from the neighboring towns andtribes as to the contingents they had furnished, and the time at whichthese had set out to join the army.

  The king himself was a tall and warlike figure, in the prime of life.He had led his warriors on many successful expeditions far to thewest, and had repulsed with great loss the attempts of the Persians toencroach upon his territory. Standing behind him was his son, Amuba, alad of some fifteen years of age. The king and his councilors, as wellas all the wealthier inhabitants of the city, wore, in addition to thekilt and linen jacket, a long robe highly colored and ornamented withfanciful devices and having a broad rich border. It was fastened atthe neck with a large brooch, fell loosely from the shoulders to theankles, and was open in front. The girdles which retained the kiltsand in which the daggers were worn were highly ornamented, and theends fell down in front and terminated in large tassels.

  All wore a profusion of necklaces, bracelets, and other ornaments ofgold; many of the chiefs wore feathers in their helmets, and thegreater portion of all ranks had figures tattooed on their arms andlegs. They were fair in complexion, with blue eyes; their hair was forthe most part golden or red, and they wore their beards short andpointed. The young Prince Amuba was attired for the field; his helmetwas of gold and his cuirass covered with plates of the same metal. Helistened with suppressed impatience to the arguments of his elders,for he was eager to be off, this being the first time that he had beenpermitted to take part in the military expeditions of his country.

  After listening for some time and perceiving that there was noprospect of the council breaking up, he retired to the large hutadjoining the council-chamber. This served as the dwelling place ofthe ladies and their family. It was divided into several apartments byscreens formed of hide sewn together and hidden from sight by coloredhangings. In one of these a lady was seated on a low couch coveredwith panthers' skins.

  "They have not done talking yet, mother. It has been a question as towhere we shall assemble to give battle. It does not seem to me to makemuch difference where we fight, but they seem to think that it is mostimportant; and of course they know more about it than I do. They havefixed upon a place at last--it is about fifteen miles from here. Theysay that the ground in front is marshy and can hardly be traversed bythe enemy's chariots; but if they cannot get at us, it seems to methat we cannot get at them. Messengers have been sent off to order allthe contingents to assemble at that spot. Six thousand men are toremain behind to guard the city, but as we mean to beat them I do notthink there can be much occasion for that; for you think we shall beatthem--don't you, mother?"

  "I hope so, Amuba, but I am very fearful."

  "But we have several times repulsed them when they have invaded ourcountry, mother; why should we not do so this time?"

  "They are much stronger than they have ever been before when they havecome against us, my boy, and their king is a great warrior who hasbeen successful in almost every enterprise he has undertaken."

  "I cannot think why he wants to conquer us, mother. They say theriches of Egypt are immense and the splendor of their temples andbuildings such as we have no idea of. We have no quarrel with them ifthey will but let us alone."

  "No country is so rich that it does not desire more, my son. Wehave gold and are skilled in the working of it, and no doubt theyanticipate that they will capture much treasure in the land; besides,as you say, their expeditions against the Rebu have been several timesrepulsed, and therefore their monarch will reap all the greater honorif he should defeat us. As to their having no quarrel with us, have wenot made many expeditions to the west, returning with captives andmuch booty? And yet the people had no quarrel with us--many of them,indeed, could scarcely have known us by name when our army appearedamong them. Some day, my son, things may be managed differently; butat present kings who have power make war upon people that are weakerthan themselves, spoil them of their goods, and make slaves of them.

  "I hope, Amuba, you will not expose yourself too much in the conflict.You have not come to man's strength yet; and remember you are my onlychild. See that your charioteer covers you with his shield when youhave entered the battle, for the Egyptians are terrible as archers.Their bows carry much further than do ours, and the arrows will pierceeven the strongest armor. Our spearmen have always shown themselves asgood as theirs--nay, better, for they are stronger in body and full ofcourage. It is in the goodness of her archers and the multitude of herchariots that the strength of Egypt lies. Remember that although yourfather, as king, must needs go into the thick of the battle toencourage his soldiers, there is no occasion why you, who are yet aboy, should so expose yourself.

  "It will doubtless be a terrible battle. The Egyptians have the memoryof past defeats to wipe out, and they will be fighting under the eyeof their king. I am terrified, Amuba. Hitherto when your father hasgone out to battle I have never doubted
as to the result. The Persianswere not foes whom brave men need dread; nor was it difficult to forcethe hordes passing us from the eastward toward the setting sun torespect our country, for we had the advantage in arms and discipline.But the Egyptians are terrible foes, and the arms of their king havebeen everywhere victorious. My heart is filled with dread at thethought of the approaching conflict, though I try to keep up a braveface when your father is with me, for I would not that he should deemme cowardly."

  "I trust, mother, that your fears are groundless, and I cannot thinkthat our men will give way when fighting for their homes and countryupon ground chosen by themselves."

  "I hope not, Amuba. But there is the trumpet sounding; it is thesignal that the council have broken up and that your father is aboutto start. Bless you, my dear boy, and may you return safe and soundfrom the conflict!"

  The queen fondly embraced her son, who left the apartment hastily ashis father entered in order that the latter might not see the tracesof tears on his cheeks. A few minutes later the king, with hiscaptains, started from the palace. Most of them rode in chariots,the rest on horseback. The town was quiet now and the streets almostdeserted. With the exception of the garrison, all the men capable ofbearing arms had gone forth; the women with anxious faces stood ingroups at their doors and watched the royal party as it drove out.

  The charioteer of Amuba was a tall and powerful man; he carried ashield far larger than was ordinarily used, and had been speciallyselected by the king for the service. His orders were that he was notto allow Amuba to rush into the front line of fighters, and that hewas even to disobey the orders of the prince if he wished to chargeinto the ranks of the enemy.

  "My son must not shirk danger," his father said, "and he must needs gowell in the fight; but he is still but a boy, not fit to enter upon ahand-to-hand contest with the picked warriors of Egypt. In time I hopehe will fight abreast of me, but at present you must restrain hisardor. I need not bid you shield him as well as you can from thearrows of the Egyptians. He is my eldest son, and if aught happensto me he will be the king of the Rebu; and his life is therefore aprecious one."

  Half an hour later they came upon the tail of the stragglers makingtheir way to the front. The king stopped his chariot and sharplyreproved some of them for their delay in setting out, and urged themto hasten on to the appointed place. In two hours the king arrived atthis spot, where already some forty thousand men were assembled. Thescouts who had been sent out reported that although the advance-guardof the Egyptians might arrive in an hour's time, the main body weresome distance behind and would not be up in time to attack beforedark.

  This was welcome news, for before night the rest of the forces of theRebu, fully thirty thousand more, would have joined. The king at onceset out to examine the ground chosen by his general for the conflict.It sloped gently down in front to a small stream which ran throughsoft and marshy ground, and would oppose a formidable obstacle to thepassage of chariots. The right rested upon a dense wood, while avillage a mile and a half distant from the wood was held by the leftwing.

  A causeway which led from this across the marsh had been broken up,and heavy blocks of stone were scattered thickly upon it to impede thepassage of chariots. The archers were placed in front to harass theenemy attempting to cross. Behind them were the spearmen in readinessto advance and aid them if pressed. The chariots were on the higherground in the rear ready to dash in and join in the conflict shouldthe enemy succeed in forcing their way through the marsh.

  The visit of inspection was scarcely finished when a cloud of dust wasseen rising over the plain. It approached rapidly. The flash of armscould be seen in the sun, and presently a vast number of horses wereseen approaching in even line.

  "Are they horsemen, father?" Amuba asked.

  "No, they are chariots, Amuba. The Egyptians do not, like us, fight onhorseback, although there may be a few small bodies of horsemen withthe army; their strength lies in their chariots. See, they havehalted; they have perceived our ranks drawn up in order of battle."

  The chariots drew up in perfect line, and as the clouds of dust blewaway four lines of chariots could be made out ranged at a distance ofa hundred yards apart.

  "There are about a thousand in each line," the king said, "and this isbut their advance-guard. We have learned from fugitives that there arefully fifteen thousand chariots with their army."

  "Is there no other place where they can pass this swamp, father?"

  "Not so well as here, Amuba; the valley deepens further on, and thepassage would be far more difficult than here. Above, beyond the wood,there is a lake of considerable extent, and beyond that the ground isbroken and unsuited for the action of chariots as far as the sea.Besides, they have come to fight us, and the pride of their kingwould not permit of their making a detour. See, there is some greatpersonage, probably the king himself, advancing beyond their ranks toreconnoiter the ground."

  A chariot was indeed approaching the opposite brow of the depression;there were two figures in it; by the side walked numerous figures,who, although too far off to be distinguished, were judged to be theattendants and courtiers of the king. The sun flashed from the sideof the chariot, which appeared at this distance to be composed ofburnished gold. Great fans carried on wands shaded the king from theheat of the sun.

  He drove slowly along the edge of the brow until he reached a pointopposite the wood, and then, turning, went the other way till hereached the causeway which passed on through the village. After thishe rode back to the line of chariots and evidently gave a word ofcommand, for instantly the long line of figures seen above the horsesdisappeared as the men stepped off the chariots to the ground. Nomovement took place for an hour; then there was a sudden stir, and thelong lines broke up and wheeled round to the right and left, wherethey took up their position in two solid masses.

  "The main army are at hand," the king said. "Do you see that greatcloud, ruddy in the setting sun? That is the dust raised by theiradvance. In another hour they will be here, but by that time the sunwill have set, and assuredly they will not attack until morning."

  The front line were ordered to remain under arms for a time; theothers were told to fall out and prepare their food for the night. TheEgyptian army halted about a mile distant, and as soon as it wasevident that no further movement was intended, the whole of thesoldiers were ordered to fall out. A line of archers were placed alongthe edge of the swamp, and ere long a party of Egyptian bowmen took uptheir post along the opposite crest. Great fires were lighted, and anumber of oxen which had been driven forward in readiness wereslaughtered for food.

  "If the Egyptians can see what is going on," the king said to his son,"they must be filled with fury, for they worship the oxen as amongtheir chief gods."

  "Is it possible, father, that they can believe that cattle are gods?"Amuba asked in surprise.

  "They do not exactly look upon them as gods, my son, but as sacred totheir gods. Similarly they reverence the cat, the ibis, and many othercreatures."

  "How strange!" Amuba said. "Do they not worship, as we and thePersians do, the sun, which, as all must see, is the giver of lightand heat, which ripens our crops and gives fertility in abundance?"

  "Not so far as I know, Amuba; but I know that they have many gods whothey believe give them victory over their enemies."

  "They don't always give them victory," Amuba said, "since four timesthey have been repulsed in their endeavors to invade our land. Perhapsour gods are more powerful than theirs."

  "It may be that, my son; but so far as I can see the gods give victoryto the bravest and most numerous armies."

  "That is to say, they do not interfere at all, father."

  "I do not say that, my son; we know little of the ways of the gods.Each nation has its own, and as some nations overthrow others, it mustbe that either some gods are more powerful than others or that they donot interfere to save those who worship them from destruction. Butthese things are all beyond our knowledge. We have but to do our partbrave
ly, and we need assuredly not fear the bulls and the cats andother creatures in which the Egyptians trust."

  Some hours were spent by the king, his leaders, and his captains ingoing about among the troops seeing that all the contingents hadarrived well armed and in good order, notifying to the leaders of eachthe position they should take up in the morning, and doing all intheir power to animate and encourage the soldiers. When all was donethe king sat down on a pile of skins which had been prepared for himand talked long and earnestly with his son, giving him advice as tohis conduct in future if aught should befall him in the coming fight.

  "You are my heir," he said, "and as is customary to the country thethrone goes down from father to son. Were I to survive for anothereight or ten years you would, of course, succeed me, but should I fallto-morrow and should the Egyptians overrun the land, things may happenotherwise. In that case the great need of the people would be amilitary leader who would rouse them to prolonged resistance and leadthem again and again against the Egyptians until these, worn out bythe perpetual fighting, abandon the idea of subjecting us and turntheir attention to less stubborn-minded people.

  "For such work you are far too young, and the people would look toAmusis or one of my other captains as their leader. Should successcrown his efforts they may choose him as their king. In that case Iwould say, Amuba, it will be far better for you to acquiesce in thepublic choice than to struggle against it. A lad like you would haveno prospect of success against a victorious general, the choice of thepeople, and you would only bring ruin and death upon yourself and yourmother by opposing him.

  "I can assure you that there is nothing so very greatly to be enviedin the lot of a king, and as one of the nobles of the land yourposition would be far more pleasant here than as king. A cheerfulacquiescence on your part to their wishes will earn you the good willof the people, and at the death of him whom they may choose for theirking their next choice may fall upon you. Do all in your power to winthe good will of whoever may take the place of leader at my death bysetting an example of prompt and willing obedience to his orders. Itis easy for an ambitious man to remove a lad from his path, and yoursafety absolutely demands that you shall give him no reason whateverto regard you as a rival.

  "I trust that all this advice may not be needed and that we mayconquer in to-morrow's fight, but if we are beaten the probabilitythat I shall escape is very small, and it is therefore as well thatyou should be prepared for whatever may happen. If you find that inspite of following my advice the leader of the people, whoever hemay be, is ill-disposed toward you, withdraw to the borders of thecountry, collect as large a band as you can--there are always plentyof restless spirits ready to take part in any adventure--and journeywith them to the far west, as so many of our people have done before,and establish yourself there and found a kingdom.

  "None of those who have ever gone in that direction have returned, andthey must therefore have found space to establish themselves, for hadthey met with people skilled in war and been defeated, some at leastwould have found their way back; but so long as traditions have beenhanded down to us tribes from the east have poured steadily westwardto the unknown land, and no band has ever returned."

  His father spoke so seriously that Amuba lay down that night on hiscouch of skins in a very different mood to that in which he had riddenout. He had thought little of his mother's forebodings, and had lookedupon it as certain that the Rebu would beat the Egyptians as they haddone before, but his father's tone showed him that he too felt by nomeans confident of the issue of the day.

  As soon as daylight broke the Rebu stood to their arms, and an hourlater dense masses of the Egyptians were seen advancing. As soon asthese reached the edge of the slope and began to descend toward thestream, the king ordered his people to advance to the edge of theswamp and to open fire with their arrows.

  A shower of missiles flew through the air and fell among the ranks ofthe Egyptian footmen who had just arrived at the edge of the swamp. Soterrible was the discharge that the Egyptians recoiled and, retreatinghalfway up the slope, where they would be beyond the reach of theRebu, in turn discharged their arrows. The superiority of the Egyptianbowmen was at once manifest. They carried very powerful bows, andstanding sideways drew them to the ear, just as the English archersdid at Crecy, and therefore shot their arrows a vastly greaterdistance than did their opponents, who were accustomed to draw theirbows only to the breast.

  Scores of the Rebu fell at the first discharge, and as the storm ofarrows continued, they, finding themselves powerless to damage theEgyptians at that distance, retired halfway up the side of the slope.Now from behind the lines of the Egyptian archers a column of menadvanced a hundred abreast, each carrying a great fagot. Their objectwas evident: they were about to prepare a wide causeway across themarsh by which the chariots could pass. Again the Rebu advanced to theedge of the swamp and poured in their showers of arrows; but theEgyptians, covering themselves with the bundles of fagots theycarried, suffered but little harm, while the Rebu were mown down bythe arrows of the Egyptian archers shooting calmly and steadily beyondthe range of their missiles.

  As soon as the front rank of the Egyptian column reached the edge ofthe swampy ground the men of the front line laid down their fagots ina close row and then retired in the intervals between their comradesbehind them. Each rank as it arrived at the edge did the same. Manyfell beneath the arrows of the Rebu, but the operation went onsteadily, the fagots being laid down two deep as the ground becamemore marshy, and the Rebu saw, with a feeling approaching dismay, thegradual but steady advance of a causeway two hundred yards wide acrossthe swamp.

  The king himself and his bravest captains, alighting from theirchariots, went down among the footmen and urged them to stand firm,pointing out that every yard the causeway advanced their arrowsinflicted more fatal damage among the men who were forming it. Theirentreaties, however, were vain; the ground facing the causeway wasalready thickly incumbered with dead, and the hail of the Egyptianarrows was so fast and deadly that even the bravest shrank fromwithstanding it. At last even their leaders ceased to urge them, andthe king gave the order for all to fall back beyond the range of theEgyptian arrows.

  Some changes were made in the formation of the troops, and the bestand most disciplined bands were placed facing the causeway so as toreceive the charge of the Egyptian chariots. The two front lines wereof spearmen, while on the higher ground behind them were placedarchers whose orders were to shoot at the horses, and to pay no heedto those in the chariots; then came the chariots, four hundred innumber. Behind these again was a deep line of spearmen; on the rightand left extending to the wood and village were the main body of thearmy, who were to oppose the Egyptian footmen advancing across theswamp.

  The completion of the last portion of the causeway cost the Egyptiansheavily, for while they were exposed to the arrows of the Rebu archersthese were now beyond the range of the Egyptians on the oppositecrest. But at last the work was completed. Just as it was finishedand the workmen had retired, the king leaped from his chariot, and,leading a body of a hundred men carrying blazing brands, dashed downthe slope. As soon as they were seen the Egyptian archers ran forwardand a storm of arrows was poured into the little band. Two-thirds ofthem fell ere they reached the causeway; the others applied theirtorches to the fagots.

  The Egyptian footmen rushed across to extinguish the flames, while theRebu poured down to repel them. A desperate fight ensued, but thebravery of the Rebu prevailed, and the Egyptians were driven back.Their attack, however, had answered its purpose, for in the strugglethe fagots had been trodden deeper into the mire, and the fire wasextinguished. The Rebu now went back to their first position andwaited the attack which they were powerless to avert. It was upwardof an hour before it began, then the long line of Egyptian footmenopened, and their chariots were seen fifty abreast, then with a mightyshout the whole army advanced down the slope. The Rebu replied withtheir warcry.

  At full speed the Egyptian chariots dashed down the
declivity to thecauseway. This was the signal for the Rebu archers to draw their bows,and in an instant confusion was spread among the first line ofchariots. The horses wounded by the missiles plunged madly. Many,stepping between the fagots, fell. For a moment the advance waschecked, but the Egyptian footmen, entering the swamp waist-deep,opened such a terrible fire with their arrows that the front line ofthe Rebu were forced to fall back, and the aim of their archers becamewild and uncertain.

  In vain the king endeavored to steady them. While he was doing so, thefirst of the Egyptian chariots had already made their way across thecauseway, and behind them the others poured on in an unbroken column.Then through the broken lines of spearmen the Rebu chariots dasheddown upon them, followed by the host of spearmen. The king's objectwas to arrest the first onslaught of the Egyptians, to overwhelm theleaders, and prevent the mass behind from emerging from the crowdedcauseway.

  The shock was terrible. Horses and chariots rolled over in wildconfusion, javelins were hurled, bows twanged, and the shouts of thecombatants and the cries of the wounded as they fell beneath the feetof the struggling horses created a terrible din. Light and active, theRebu footmen mingled in the fray, diving under the bellies of theEgyptian horses, and inflicting vital stabs with their long knives orengaging in hand-to-hand conflicts with the dismounted Egyptians.Amuba had charged down with the rest of the chariots. He wasstationed in the second line, immediately behind his father; and hischarioteer, mindful of the orders he had received, strove, in spite ofthe angry orders of the lad, to keep the chariot stationary; but thehorses, accustomed to maneuver in line, were not to be restrained, andin spite of their driver's efforts charged down the slope with therest.

  Amuba, who had hunted the lion and leopard, retained his coolness,and discharged his arrows among the Egyptians with steady aim. Fora time the contest was doubtful. The Egyptian chariots crowded onthe causeway were unable to move forward, and in many places theirweight forced the fagots so deep in the mire that the vehicles wereimmovable. Meanwhile, along the swamp on both sides a terrible contestwas going on. The Egyptians, covered by the fire of their arrows,succeeded in making their way across the swamp, but here they were metby the Rebu spearmen, and the fight raged along the whole line.

  Then two thousand chosen men, the bodyguard of the Egyptian king, madetheir way across the swamp close to the causeway, while at the sametime there was a movement among the densely packed vehicles. Atremendous impulse was given to them from behind: some were pressedoff into the swamp, some were overthrown or trampled under foot, somewere swept forward on to the firm ground beyond, and thus a mass ofthe heaviest chariots drawn by the most powerful horses forced theirway across the causeway over all obstacles.

  In their midst was the King of Egypt himself, the great Thotmes.

  The weight and impetus of the mass of horses and chariots pressed allbefore it up the hill. This gave to the chariots which came on behindroom to open to the right and left. The king's bodyguard shook thesolid formation of the Rebu spearmen with their thick flights ofarrows, and the chariots then dashed in among them. The Rebu foughtwith the valor of their race. The Egyptians who first charged amongthem fell pierced with their arrows, while their horses were stabbedin innumerable places. But as the stream of chariots poured overwithout a check, and charged in sections upon them, bursting their waythrough the mass of footmen by the force and fury with which theycharged, the infantry became broken up into groups, each fightingdoggedly and desperately.

  At this moment the officer in command of the Rebu horse, a thousandstrong, charged down upon the Egyptian chariots, drove them backtoward the swamp, and for a time restored the conflict; but the breakswhich had occurred between the Rebu center and its two flanks hadenabled the Egyptian bodyguard to thrust themselves through and tofall upon the Rebu chariots and spearmen, who were still maintainingthe desperate conflict. The Rebu king had throughout fought in thefront line of his men, inspiriting them with his voice and valor. Manytimes, when his chariot was so jammed in the mass that all movementwas impossible, he leaped to the ground, and, making his way throughthe throng, slew many of the occupants of the Egyptian chariots.

  But his efforts and those of his captains were unavailing. Theweight of the attack was irresistible. The solid phalanx of Egyptianchariots pressed onward, and the Rebu were forced steadily back. Theirchariots, enormously outnumbered, were destroyed rather than defeated.The horses fell pierced by the terrible rain of arrows, and the waveof Egyptians passed over them. The king, looking round in hischariot, saw that all was lost here, and that the only hope was togain one or other of the masses of his infantry on the flank, and tolead them off the field in solid order. But as he turned to giveorders, a shaft sent by a bowman in a chariot a few yards away struckhim in the eye and he fell back dead in his chariot.