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This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife,
Ellen “Willow” Szirandi Schmalleger, my true companion,
whose wonderful, happy, and free spirit
is a gift to all who know her.
x CONTENTS
■ CJ | NEWS Supreme Court Says Police Need Warrants before Searching Cell Phones 214
■ CJ | CAREERS School Resource Officer (SRO) 217
Suspicionless Searches 217
High-Technology Searches 218
The Intelligence Function 219
Informants 219
Police Interrogation 220
The Right to a Lawyer at Interrogation 222
Suspect Rights: The Miranda Decision 223
■ CJ | ISSUES The Miranda Warnings 225
Gathering Special Kinds of Nontestimonial Evidence 228
FREEDOM OR SAFETY? YOU DECIDE Policing in the Age of Social Media 229
Electronic Eavesdropping 230
■ CJ | NEWS Supreme Court Says Police Need Warrant for GPS Tracking 231
■ CJ | ISSUES The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and the USA Freedom Act of 2015 233
Summary 235
Key Terms 236
Key Cases 236
Questions for Review 236
Questions for Reflection 236
Notes 236
Fines 373
Death: The Ultimate Sanction 373
Habeas Corpus Review 375
FREEDOM OR SAFETY? YOU DECIDE What Are the Limits of Genetic Privacy? 377
Opposition to Capital Punishment 378
■ CJ | NEWS High Costs Lead to Reconsideration of Death Penalty 383
Justifications for Capital Punishment 384
The Courts and the Death Penalty 385
The Future of the Death Penalty 388
■ CJ | NEWS Death-Row Exonerations Based on DNA Expose Flaws in Legal System 388
Summary 389
Key Terms 390
Key Cases 390
Questions for Review 390
Questions for Reflection 390
Notes 391
Interdiction 563
Crop Control 563
Prevention and Treatment 564
Summary 568
Key Terms 569
Key Cases 569
Questions for Review 569
Questions for Reflection 569
Notes 569
discussed.
●● The boxed lists of police and private security agencies has ●● Statistics and line art have been updated throughout the
been updated. chapter.
xxii
NEW TO THIS EDITION xxiii
●● The 2017 Supreme Court case of White v. Pauly, in which ●● The concept of a term of supervised release (TSR) is
the Court established that “Qualified immunity attaches more clearly defined.
when an official’s conduct does not violate clearly estab- ●● Bill Cosby’s use of an ankle bracelet while awaiting the
lished statutory or constitutional rights of which a rea- conclusion of his trial is discussed.
sonable person would have known,” has been added. ●● Efforts made by the federal government to strengthen
BOP reentry efforts are discussed.
Chapter 9: The Courts: Structure ●● The 2018 federal First Step Act is discussed, as is the
federal Second Chance Act.
and Participants
A discussion of the trial of drug lord “El Chapo” Guzman
●●
Chapter 13: Prisons and Jails
is now a part of the chapter.
●● A new figure, Figure 13-4, “Prison and Jail Populations
in the United States,” has been added.
Chapter 10: Pretrial Activities and ●● Statistics have been updated throughout the chapter.
the Criminal Trial ●● The term “new generation jail” has been changed to
●● Familial DNA searching (FDS), a scientific technique ●● A revised organizational chart of the Department of
used in criminal investigations to identify a suspect by Homeland Security replaces the old one.
comparing the suspect’s DNA to the DNA of members
of the suspect’s biological family, is a new concept that Chapter 18: High-Technology Crimes
has been added to the chapter.
●● The chapter now begins with the NYPD’s ground-
breaking use of drones to patrol the skies above New
Chapter 17: Terrorism, Multinational Year’s revelers in the city’s Times Square.
Federal laws relevant to human cloning and gene editing
Criminal Justice, and Global ●●
are discussed.
Issues ●● A graphic illustration explaining how DNA phenotyping
●● A new chapter-opening story replaces the old one. can be used to construct the physical appearance of an
●● Revised minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, unknown individual from strands of their DNA has been
known as the “Nelson Mandela Rules” are discussed. added to the chapter.
●● The cybercriminal Infraud organization is described. ●● The application of the concept known as “familial DNA
●● The 2018 National Cyber Strategy developed by the searching” is explained.
White House is discussed.
Preface
Many students are attracted to the study of criminal justice because
it provides a focus for the tension that exists within our society
Key Features Include
between individual rights and freedoms, on the one hand, and the Freedom OR safety? YOU decide boxes in each chapter high-
need for public safety, security, and order, on the other. Recently, light the book’s ever-evolving theme of individual rights versus
twenty-first-century technology in the form of social media, public order, a hallmark feature of this text since the first edition.
smartphones, and personal online videos, has combined with In each chapter of the text, Freedom or Safety boxes build on
perceived injustices in the day-to-day operations of the criminal this theme by illustrating some of the personal rights issues that
justice system, culminating in an explosion of demands for justice challenge policymakers today. Each box includes critical-thinking
for citizens of all races and socioeconomic status—especially those questions that ask readers to ponder whether and how the criminal
whose encounters with agents of law enforcement turn violent. justice system balances individual rights and public safety.
A social movement that began with the shooting of an unarmed
black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, has developed into
a widespread initiative that demands justice for all. freedom OR safety? YOU decide
Clarence Thomas Says: “Freedom Means Responsibility”
The tension between individual rights and public order is In 2009, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas crime problem then facing his city and the nation. We mistak-
spoke to a group of high school essay contest winners in a enly look to government and elected officials, Giuliani said, to
the theme around which all editions of this textbook have been Washington, DC, hotel ballroom. Thomas used the occasion,
which was dedicated to our nation’s Bill of Rights, to point
assume responsibility for solving the problem of crime when,
instead, each individual citizen must become accountable
built. That same theme is even more compelling today because out the importance of obligations as well as rights. “Today
there is much focus on our rights,” said Thomas. “Indeed, I
think there is a proliferation of rights.” But then he went on to
for fixing what is wrong with our society. “We only see the op-
pressive side of authority . . . . What we don’t see is that free-
dom is not a concept in which people can do anything they
of the important question we have all been asking in recent say, “I am often surprised by the virtual nobility that seems
to be accorded those with grievances. Shouldn’t there at
want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority.
Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being
least be equal time for our Bill of Obligations and our Bill of to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about
achieve a solid sense of individual and group security? seems, is to balance individual rights and personal freedoms
with social control and respect for legitimate authority. Years
ago, during the height of what was then a powerful move-
You Decide
How can we, as Justice Thomas suggests, achieve a bal-
Although there are no easy answers to this question, this text- ment to win back control of our nation’s cities and to rein in
skyrocketing crime rates, the New York Post sponsored a con-
ance of rights and obligations in American society? What
did Giuliani mean when he said, “What we don’t see is that
ference on crime and civil rights. The keynote speaker at that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything
book guides criminal justice students in the struggle to find a sat- conference was New York City’s mayor, Rudolph W. Giuliani.
In his speech, Giuliani identified the tension between personal
they want, be anything they can be”? Is it possible to balance
individual rights and personal freedoms with social control and
References: Adam Liptak, “Reticent Justice Opens Up to a Group of Students,” New York Times, April 13, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/us/14bar.html (accessed
the 16th edition focuses on the crime picture in America and on October 2, 2018); and Philip Taylor, “Civil Libertarians: Giuliani’s Efforts Threaten First Amendment,” Freedom Forum Online, http://www.freedomforum.org.
portant issues that continue to evolve from the tension between of West Palm Beach, Florida
Colleges attended. Palm Beach
What is a typical starting salary? The West Palm Beach Police
Department starting salary is $49,935 annually, with excellent
State College benefits.
the struggle for justice and the need for safety. For it is on that
Frank Schmalleger
Majors. Psychology What is the salary potential as you move up into higher-level jobs?
Year hired. 2007 An officer reaching PFC (Patrolman first Class) and MPO (Master
bedrock that the American system of criminal justice stands, and Please give a brief description of
your job. As a narcotics agent, my
Patrol Officer) will receive a 2 and 1/2% raise for each level at-
tained. Promotion in rank produces significant raises over time.
it is on that foundation that the future of the justice system— Christian Tomas
co-workers and I target street-
level drug dealers and other
What advice would you give someone in college beginning studies in
criminal justice? This isn’t a job for someone expecting to win
quality-of-life issues, to include all of the battles. You try as hard as you can, but you have to be
and of this country—will be built. prostitution as well as other illegal business practices. We use our
own initiative to begin investigations throughout the city. We buy
prepared for some disappointments when a case doesn’t go the
way you wanted it to. Get your degree, as it will help you get
xxv
xxvi P R E FA C E
CJ News boxes in each chapter present case stories from CJ Issues boxes throughout the text showcase selected is-
the media to bring a true-to-life dimension to the study of sues in the field of criminal justice, including topics related to
criminal justice and allow insight into the everyday workings of multiculturalism, diversity, and technology.
the justice system.
CJ | NEWS CJ | ISSUES
Rightful Policing
Evidence of “Warrior Gene” May Help Explain Violence
In the wake of a heated national debate about racially biased police prac-
mistreatment in childhood. The link has only been identified in men, leav- tices, the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard
University’s Kennedy School released a report on what it called “rightful
ing women seemingly immune from the effects of this genetic anomaly.
policing.” The report’s author, Tracey L. Meares, noted that success in
The media nicknamed MAOA-L the “warrior gene” after it was
police work has traditionally been measured in two ways: (1) the extent
identified as highly prevalent in a constantly warring Maori tribe. Another
to which the police are successful at fighting crime; and (2) the degree to
References: Tracey L. Meares, Rightful Policing. New Perspectives in Policing Bulletin (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 2015); Tom R. Tyler
and Jeffrey Fagan, “Legitimacy and Cooperation: Why Do People Help the Police Fight Crime in Their Communities?,” Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 6 (2008), pp. 231 and
262; and Tom R. Tyler & Cheryl Wakslak, “Profiling and Police Legitimacy: Procedural Justice, Attributions of Motive, and Acceptance of Police Authority,” Criminology, Vol. 42 (2004),
pp. 253 and 255.
Instructor Supplements study materials. Photos, illustrations, charts, and tables from the
book are included in the presentations when applicable.
The 16th edition of Criminal Justice Today is supported by a
complete package of instructor and student resources: To access supplementary materials online, instructors need
to request an instructor access code. Go to www.pearson-
Instructor’s Manual with Test Bank. Includes con- highered.com/irc, where you can register for an instructor
tent outlines for classroom discussion, teaching suggestions, access code. Within 48 hours after registering, you will receive
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a test you are creating, and printing sleek, formatted tests in a variety These are an exciting new choice for students looking to save
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straightforward outlines and notes to use for class lectures or visit www.mypearsonstore.com.
P R E FA C E xxvii
REVEL for Criminal Justice
Today, Sixteenth Edition by
Frank Schmalleger
Designed for how you want to teach - and how your
students want to learn
Revel is an interactive learning environment that engages stu-
dents and helps them prepare for your class. Reimagining their
content, our authors integrate media and assessment throughout
the narrative so students can read, explore, and practice, all at
the same time. Thanks to this dynamic reading experience, stu-
dents come to class prepared to discuss, apply, and learn about
criminal justice — from you and from each other.
Revel seamlessly combines the full content of Pearson’s best- New Student Survey Questions
selling criminal justice titles with multimedia learning tools. Student Survey Questions appear within the narrative asking
You assign the topics your students cover. Author Explanatory students to respond to questions about controversial topics and
Videos, application exercises, survey questions, interactive CJ important concepts. Students then see their response versus the
data maps, and short quizzes engage students and enhance their responses of all other students who have answered the question
understanding of core topics as they progress through the con- in the form of a bar chart. We provide the instructor with a
tent. Through its engaging learning experience, Revel helps PowerPoint deck with links to each survey and map, making it
students better understand course material while preparing easy to pull these items up in class for discussion.
them to meaningfully participate in class.
Author Explanatory Videos
Short 2-3 minute Author Explanatory Videos, embedded in the
narrative, provide students with a verbal explanation of an im-
portant topic or concept and illuminating the concept with ad-
ditional examples.
ISRAEL IN BONDAGE.
LETTERS
OF SESOSTRIS TO QUEEN EPIPHIA.
LETTER I.
Prince Sesostris
To his royal Mother, Epiphia,
Queen of Phœnicia.
At length, my dear mother, I have reached the "Land of the
Seven Rivers," and do now write to you from her gorgeous capital,
On, The City of the Sun.
How shall I describe to you the grand and solemn magnificence of
this city of divine temples, and convey to you a just idea of its
palaces that seem rather to have been erected for the abodes of
gods than of men!
Wheresoever I turn my eyes, I realize that I am in mighty Egypt;
for everywhere I behold grandeur and glory, excellency and
perfection. Every object illustrates the power, munificence, and taste
of the imperial princess who now sits on the throne of the Pharaohs,
and the splendor of whose reign has raised Egypt above the
mightiest empires of the earth.
And all that I behold recalls the ancient glory, my dear mother, of
our own land, the once princely Palestina and Phœnicia,—twin
kingdoms which of old gave conquerors, and rulers, and laws to
Egypt, under the short but brilliant dynasty of her Shepherd Kings!
But, though fading with age, Phœnicia still lives in the beauty, pride,
and power of her daughter Egypt.
I will not lament over the waning glory of my own dear land, my
royal mother, while I can see it revived here with increased
magnificence. Phœnicia is not dead while Egypt lives. Every ruin in
my own kingdom is restored with augmented beauty and splendor
on the green plains of this land of the shining River, whose fountain-
head is underneath the throne of Thoth, far in the southern sky.
How shall I describe what I behold? Every new object enchants
me, and moves my soul with a fresh pleasure. I am intoxicated, not
with wine, but with the splendor of art and scenes of beauty, and
with manifestations of human glory and power hitherto
inconceivable. I have heard my royal father describe the glory of
Salem in Palestine, under the princes of the dynasty of Melchisedec,
with its gorgeous temples to the Sun, and its palaces of marble, its
hanging gardens, and noble terraces overlooking its flower-
enamelled valleys; but the cities of Egypt surpass this Syriac
magnificence.
In coming hither, across the Levantine seas, from Syria, I seem to
have crossed to the shores of that mystic world where dwell the
sacred divinities, rather than only to another land of the plane of the
earth; for Egypt, compared with the kingdom of Phœnicia seems
truly the land of the blessed. What far-famed warriors! what stately
priests, clothed with power from the gods! what superb princes!
what a majestic queen! what grace and dignity in the virgins of the
Sun! what a stupendous system of worship! what mighty
mausoleums, both tomb and temple, rising like mountains hewn into
solid triangles everywhere over the illimitable plain! What a land of
verdure and of flowers!—land of gardens and palaces, obelisks and
fountains, fanes and altars, sphinxes and gigantic statues!—land,
comprising all that can delight the heart or take captive the sense!
I ask myself—Am I, indeed, in Egypt, the "Land shadowing with
wings," as those proud Pharaohs, Thothmeses I. and II., termed it,
upon their winged globe-carved shields?—am I in Egypt, the glory of
the earth, the kingdom above all kingdoms, whose queen is above
all the monarchs that reign, and before the elevation of whose
golden sceptre all sceptres fall?
I have not yet, my dearest mother, seen, save at a distance, as
she was ascending the steps of her palace, this mighty queen of the
ancient house of the Pharaohs; but the third day hence I shall be
formally presented to her in the throne-room, where she receives
the ambassadors and princes of the nations who come into Egypt
either to learn arts or arms, or to behold the magnificence of her
empire, or to study the religion, laws, and government of a nation,
the fame of which has filled the earth.
Upon my arrival with my galleys off the mouths of the Nile, I
forwarded to her, by a private messenger in my gilded barge, the
letters written by your loving hand and sealed with the regal signet
of your kingdom, commending me to her personal favor and royal
consideration.
Although I have not yet been presented to the court, I have seen,
and must describe to you, the royal son of Queen Amense—this
proud daughter of the Pharaohs—Prince Remeses. Never did the
gods set their seal upon a nobler and truer prince. Every movement
of his stately and graceful person, his rich voice, his superb height,
his lordly eyes, his majestic yet winning carriage, all bespeak a youth
born to empire—created for dominion over men.
He is now in his thirty-fourth year, and is in the full glory of
manhood. He is skilled in all the arts of war, and not less celebrated
for his learning in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Sages and
philosophers listen to his words when he converses, not so much
with the deference that is the homage due to rank, as with the
attention which intelligence lends to superior wisdom.
He received me with kindness and embraced me with affection,
inquiring after the welfare of my royal mother, and welcoming me to
his country with gracious and courteous words. Notwithstanding
there is a difference of six years in our ages, I feel that I shall be
regarded by him on terms of equal friendship, and that to his
companionship I shall owe the happiest hours I may pass in the land
of Egypt.
But, dear mother, as I promised to write you an account of my
voyage hither, with the adventures and scenes thereof worthy of
your notice, I will devote the remainder of my letter to this subject.
When I took leave of you on the marble steps of the stately pier
which extends along the front of our palace, and had stepped upon
the deck of my galley, I felt that a twofold cord had parted at my
heart,—one which bound me to thee, O mother, from whom I had
never before been separated, and one which tied me to my native
land.
Although for the first time in command of a beautiful fleet,
numbering a score and ten galleys, and about to visit the fairest of
all realms under the sunny skies of Afric, yet the pang of this twofold
separation deeply grieved my soul. It was with tears glittering upon
my eyelids that I gazed upon you, as you waved your adieux and
called on the god of our race to bless me! It was with a voice thick
with emotion that I gave orders to the admiral to spread the purple
sails of my golden galley to the favoring breezes which seemed to be
sent in answer to your prayers.
Long I stood upon the lofty poop of my ship, gazing towards the
receding city, with its noble lines of palaces, its crowning temples, its
familiar groves, and pleasant gardens. (Even now I am moved as I
recall the sweet emotions of that time.) As I surveyed the fleets of
merchantmen from all lands gathered about her piers and anchored
in the haven, I felt my sorrow at parting, yielding gradually to a
feeling of pride that I was the prince of the great city to which these
argosies came bearing the merchants of all the earth. Indeed it was
a noble and stirring sight, dear mother, and calculated to divert my
thoughts, to see these ships, as my galley passed through them,
lower their banners, or elevate their rows of shining oars high in the
air, both in homage and farewell to the departing lord of the port.
There were vessels for bringing the merchandise of gold, and silver,
and precious stones from unknown seas; galleys from Tarsus and
the isles of the West, bearing pearls, and coral, and precious woods,
and thyme-wood; gayly decked barges, that carry fine linen, and
purple, and silk, and scarlet down to Egypt from Syria; painted ships
from the Nile, that receive by caravans from Ind and the East
cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and ivory,
and diamonds; the low dark galleys from Afric, that bring Ethiopian
slaves; and the broad heavier vessels from the Delta, laden with
wheat and fine flour! There were also the strong craft from Colchis
and the North, with iron, and brass, and marble; and oaken argosies
from further Britannia, bringing tin; tall ships from Græcia with
horses and chariots; while from the south shores of the summery
seas were light, graceful vessels laden with dainty and goodly fruits,
and birds of gorgeous plumes and of ravishing songs! All these
annually lay their treasures at thy feet!
As I moved slowly in my galley through the rich fleet of ships
which filled your haven, I felt my heart beat quicker, and I returned
the salutations of the ship-masters and of the foreign merchants on
their decks, with smiles of gratification at the prosperity still at least
of our port of Tyre; though the half our realm has been lost by
invasion and our interior cities are decaying. So long as Damascus
and Tyre remain, dear mother, those two eyes of your kingdom, your
power and throne will stand. The decadence of our sister city Sidon
will not affect our prosperity, since her ships will flock to Tyre. Yet
Sidon will rise again, if in my power to restore it.
I remained upon the poop of my ship until we had passed, not
only the fleet of merchant galleys, but the fourscore war-ships with
their hundred banks of oars, that ever guard the entrance to the
port with vigilant eyes and arms. The sun was gilding with his
setting beams the battlements of the temple of Hercules; and the
columns of the graceful temple of Io were richly roseate in the
blushing glory of his radiance. The last object on which my eye
rested was the gilded gate of the gorgeous Fane of Nyeth on
Lebanon; and I sent from my lips a prayer to the fair and kind-
hearted goddess to guard thee, mother, and me for thy sake.
We soon passed the bright red Pharos, from the lofty lantern of
which, as the shades of evening rapidly fell around us, streamed
forth like a new-born star its cheering splendor for the haven-bound
mariner. Soon in the heavens over us other lights were kindled by
the gods; and the moon, rising over the lofty mountain-range of
Libanus, made far out upon the sea a path of light, that seemed like
a band of silver with which she would bind me still to the shores I
was leaving! But in Egypt I yet behold the same moon shine down
upon me with familiar radiance; and as I gaze upon her I can feel,
that even here she is a link to bind me to my native land—that upon
her winged beams I can send a thought to my dear mother, on
whom also she shines.
My whole fleet got well out of the port before the star Aldebaran
rose; and as the breeze was light, the governors of the rowers
commanded them to ply their oars. Thus with the fall of a thousand
sweeps into the blue sea at one motion, keeping time to the voice of
a singer who stood upon the bridge across the mid-ship, we kept our
course down the coast of Palestine. We would have steered directly
for the Delta of the Nile, but had knowledge, by a vessel that met
us, of a fleet of Rhodian pirates, which lay wait, in that vicinity, for
the Egyptian merchant-ships; and, as my galleys were rather an
escort of honor than a war-fleet, I did not wish to measure my
strength with them, but dispatched one of my ships, the same night,
back to Tyre, to the admiral of your Tyrian fleet, who, no doubt, has
gone out ere this in pursuit of these sea-rovers and enemies of our
commerce.
Nevertheless, after we had passed Jaffa, and the next day Ascalon
in lower Philistia, we beheld half a score of ships of doubtful
appearance, and, by my orders, six galleys were detached from the
fleet and gave chase. They proved to be fast-sailing Ionian pirates,
for one of them, being crippled, was overtaken. They had been
many weeks on the sea, and were returning to their own distant and
barbarous islands, richly laden. The captain of the galley took out
her merchandise, and precious stones, and spices, of which she had
robbed other ships, and burned her on the sea, with all the wretches
who appertained to her.
The shores of Egypt were reached by us on the seventh day,
without any accident to my fleet. It was two hours after the sun rose
that we came in view of the low line of land which marks the
entrance to the "Garden of the World," and from which open the
seven gates of the Nile into the great blue sea.
Upon ascending to the castle for bowmen on the highest mast of
the ship, I could discern the tall columns erected by King Menes at
the chief entrance of the river, from the summit of each of which at
night blazes a wonderful flame, said to have been invented by the
Magi of Egypt. As our galley rowed nearer the faint line of coast, I
could see numerous ships coming out and entering the Pelusian
branch of the Nile,—some of them in the interior so far, that only
their tops could be seen above the level land. I was now suddenly
surprised with a change in the color of the sea, which, from an
emerald green, became clouded with an intermixture of tawny water,
thick with mud, that seemed to flow upon the surface of the sea, as
if lighter than itself. I soon perceived that this was the outrush of the
river against the sea, with which it refused wholly to intermingle and
lose itself,—as if the proud Father Nilus reluctantly yielded his power,
so long wielded for a thousand miles, to the sceptre and dominion of
the god of the Mediterranean. Yet the latter—so vast was the volume
of the yellow waves of the former—was forced a league from the
shore before the conquered Nile ceased to resist his fate.
The sun shone upon the battlements of the great city of Pelusium
—the oldest fortified place in Egypt, and called "the Key of Egypt,"
and also "the Strength of Egypt"—and lighted up the terraces of its
gardens and temples; but the admiral told me that every year the
deposit of the Nile is covering them, and that ere many centuries no
trace will be left of a city which is older than On or Memphis. We
saw, from the deck, palaces and obelisks and groves in the suburbs,
and further inland a country of wonderful beauty and of the highest
cultivation, but as level as the sea, from which it is elevated but a
few feet. The muddy and wonderful Nile is overflowing annually
these pleasant maritime plains; and as the plane of the Delta is
steadily raised, these ancient cities and palaces and this fair land will
become a fen for the stork and the sea-mew! How different the site
of Tyre, my dear mother! Built upon the firm coast, and defended by
nature, it will stand forever as the key of Syria and of the East; and
to the end of time the commerce of the world will flow into the
palace-like warehouses of its opulent merchants!
As we drew near the port, one of the large fishing eagles which
have their home in the Delta soared above our heads, scanning our
deck with his piercing glances: and snow-white birds with black-
tipped wings skimmed past from wave to wave; while others, resting
upon the crest of a shining billow, rocked gracefully with the motion
of its undulations. An ibis stalked upon the shore, and numerous
aquatic birds, unknown to us, soared about our galleys with sharp
and strange outcries.
The atmosphere of the morning was slightly hazy, and, suffused
by the sunbeams, cast a soft veil over the land, investing galley,
pharos, and fane with the hues of gold. It was a scene of novel
beauty, and I hailed the very first view of Egypt with delight. It was
a happy omen of the future.
As my galley advanced before the fleet, a large war-ship with a
triple poop-deck, and propelled by three hundred oars, swept like a
swift dark cloud out of the mouth of the river and bore down
towards me in hostile attitude. I displayed the insignia of my
kingdom at the top of the chief mast, and awaited the Egyptian
guard-ship. The vessel was brought to, a bow-shot from my own,
and I was asked by the governor thereof, who I was, whence I
came, and my destination? To these inquiries I gave satisfactory
replies through my admiral; whereupon the Egyptian captain,
commanding an elegant barge to be made ready, came on board,
attended by his suite, to pay his respects to me as Prince of Tyre. I
came forth from my state-room to receive him, my dear mother,
attired as became my rank. In the most courteous language, and
with an elegance of manners unsurpassed save in the polite land of
Egypt, he assured me of the pleasure it would give his royal
mistress, Queen Amense, "The Support of Worlds," as he termed
her, to have me visit her court. He said she was just then returning
from a visit to the temple of Isis and Nephthys, at Philæ, with a vast
retinue of state and sacred galleys, and by the time I arrived at
Memphis she would be either there or at her private palace at On.
By his advice, I dispatched, in our handsomest galley, my
secretary, Acherres, with a copy of the letter to the queen, which
you gave to me, sealed with my own signet. This done, I entertained
the Egyptian officer with a magnificence becoming my position and
his own. He was much pleased with the elegance of my ship, and
the complete appointment of my fleet. He said he had never seen a
Tyrian squadron before, but had heard much of our luxury and
perfection in maritime affairs.
His ship was stately in height, and terrible with its warlike aspect.
The poop bristled with armed warriors in polished helms of brass. It
had four short masts, and upon each top thereof a huge castle
containing a score of Libyan bowmen with steel-headed arrows.
Upon the prow was a sort of fortress, on which stood a group of
soldiers armed with long spears and with large oval shields, on
which were painted hieroglyphic devices in brilliant colors. Arranged
on the sides above the rowers were black Ethiopians, gigantic men
in steel cuirasses, with long swords held before them. The captains
of these warriors were stationed at various points, arrayed in rich
armor of varied fashion, according to the class of soldiers that were
under them. The prow of this mighty battle-ship, which carried one
thousand fighting men, besides three hundred rowers, was
ornamented with a lion's head and shoulders of colossal size; while
across the stern stretched the broad, gilded wings of the feathered
globe of the Sun, which is the emblem of the kingdom of Egypt.
Besides this gorgeous and majestic galley, there were many lesser
ones near, having but a single mast and fifty oars. This fleet ever
kept guard at the mouth of the Nile, and thus defended the gates of
Egypt on the sea against foes.
When I had sufficiently admired his ship from my own, the
admiral, whose name is Pathromenes, invited me to go on board.
After viewing all the parts of the ship, and especially the noble
apartments devoted to him and his officers, I was entertained with
musical instruments by players of infinite skill. Then I was amused
with the performances of jugglers and the wonderful antics of
grotesque deformed dwarfs, who seemed kept on board only for the
entertainment of these Egyptian nobles. Towards evening, a banquet
was offered me. Among other rare dishes were gazelles. Before the
feast, the admiral made a signal to a priest of Osiris, who presided
over the sacred rites on board, and inaugurated it by a prayer to the
god for the welfare of the queen and the prosperity of the kingdom.
This custom recalled our own, of offering first a libation of wine to
the gods. During the banquet, sweet strains of music floated around
us. After we had closed the feast, and were drinking wine, an
attendant entered, bearing a miniature mummy, elaborately painted
and gilded. Holding this emblem of mortality before me and the
admiral, he said solemnly:
"Behold this, and drink and be happy; for such thou shalt be when
thou art dead!"
I was not a little surprised at this unwelcome, and, as it seemed to
me, unseasonable intrusion. Pathromenes, observing my looks, said
with a smile: "This introduction of a memorial of death to our feasts,
O prince, is not unseasonable. It is designed to exhort us to enjoy
life while we possess it, for when we are no more, enjoyment will be
past." Thus saying, he poured out a vase of wine into our golden
cups, and pledged me "Thy health, my mother!" So I drank to thee,
and the glory of thy reign. Nevertheless, I do not agree with the
admiral, but think, rather, that the intention of this exhibition of
Death to guests, is to warn them that, while life is so short, it ought
not to be spent wholly in pleasure and festivities.
At length, night coming on, I returned to my ship, and the next
day, with a light wind and aided by but one bank of rowers, entered
the mighty Nile, and slowly ascended its powerful but sluggish
stream. The courtly Pathromenes escorted me past Pelusium, and
then took leave of me, embracing me more like a father than a
friend. I left my fleet at the Pelusian Delta, to return to Tyre after it
shall have received fresh water on board from the Nile. The only
galleys I took with me are the one I came in, and that on board of
which I sent my secretary to the capital in advance of me. I trust the
remainder will safely reach Syria.
The shores of the Eastern Nile, as we ascended, presented an
unchanging scene of gardens, verdant fields of corn, villages,
temples, and tombs, all united in one unbroken belt for leagues. The
river was dotted with fishers in their slender boats, and we
constantly met vessels descending, bound to the open sea: some for
Afric for gold-dust and ivory; others to Philistia, for copper and iron;
others to Colchis, for silver, or to the Isle of Thasos. The evening of
the day we entered the river, we beheld the sacred crocodile. It was
a vast scaly monster, basking on the shore. I gazed upon him with
wonder and fear. If he be a god, his votaries worship him rather
through terror than from love. But to my senses all the minor deities
of Egypt are gross and revolting. Yet I must not dare to be impious
while in the very land of these gods.
The next day, after sailing for hours between gardens, we drew
near the City of On, on the east bank. Our approach to it was
marked by the increased size and grandeur of the palaces and
temples, and the life and activity on the shores. Before reaching the
city, I caught view of Memphis on the west side of the river, and far
beyond towered the apex of one of those mighty pyramids whose
age is lost in the oblivion of the past.
Farewell, dear mother. In my next letter I will describe my arrival
and debarking at the terrace of the City of the Sun, and my
gratifying reception by the Prince Remeses.
Your affectionate son,
Sesostris.
LETTER II.
City of the Sun.
My dear and royal Mother:
Think not that the splendors of the Court of "Pharaoh's
Daughter," as the Egyptians still love to call their queen, will lead me
to forget my own royal home and the dear scenes in which I have
passed my life—scenes that memory will ever cherish, as they are
associated with the love and care of a mother, such as a prince was
never before blessed with by the gods. Think not, my queenly
mother, that while I describe with pleasure the magnificence of
Queen Amense's realm, I think less of your own kingdom; but,
rather, all I behold only causes me to love my native land the more;
for the glory of Tyre, my home, is my mother's presence—and my
mother is not here! Queen Amense may have the homage of my
intellect, but that of my heart is reserved only for thee!
I have prefaced my letter in this manner, dear mother, lest you
should jealously read the glowing descriptions I give of what I
behold, and may fear that the luxuries and grandeur of Egypt will
make me dissatisfied with the lesser splendor of the Court of
Phœnicia. Fear not. I shall bring back to thee a son's faithful love,
and to my people the loyal affection due to them from their prince.
I closed my letter to you in sight, as I thought, of the City of the
Sun. But what I believed to be the capital of the gods, was but the
colossal gateway leading from the river to the city, which is half an
hour's ride inland. Yet from the Nile to the city there is a continuous
avenue of temples, such as earth has never beheld—not even
Nineveh or Babylon, in all their glory. For a mile fronting the river
extends a row of palaces, which, stupendous as they are, form but
wings to a central temple of vaster dimensions. The palaces that
guard it, as it were, are adorned with sculptured columns of the
most elegant description. They are three hundred in number,
covered with gorgeous paintings in the richest tints, and carved with
the most finished art. The beautiful capitals of these columns are
shaped alternately like a flower-bud, not yet expanded, or like the
open flower of the lotus, and the sides formed of imitations, by the
wonderful artist, of leaves and flowers indigenous to Egypt. The
columns and capitals, thus exquisitely fashioned, are gigantic in size,
and of the grandest altitude.
The central temple is a lofty and wonderful edifice of brilliant red
sandstone, with sixty columns of marble enriching its façades; these,
with the three hundred, representing the three hundred and sixty
days of the ancient Egyptian year. The front of this sublime temple is
pierced by three colossal gateways, broad enough for four chariots
to pass abreast. These gateways are adorned with paintings, in the
brightest tints, representing processions of priests, sacrifices,
offering of incense, and all the imposing religious ceremonies
appertaining to the worship of the Sun.
Above the centre gateway, between the noble wings of the
propyla which flank it, is a representative emblem of Osiris, in the
shape of a splendid shield of the sun, a half-sphere of gold, from
which extend wings for many yards, each feather glittering with
precious stones. Around the globe are entwined two brazen asps
emblems of which I have not yet learned the signification.
Imagine, my dear mother, this stupendous and noble temple, with
its vast wings facing the river, and reflected upon its sunny surface.
Fancy the river itself, flowing laterally through these gateways into
an artificial canal, lined with trees, and bordered by lesser temples,
which recede in long lines of diminishing columns. Behold oranges
swinging in clusters from branches bending over the water, while
scarlet pomegranates, figs, and olives fill trees innumerable that
shade the terraces; and vines, either gorgeous with flowers of
wonderful beauty and form, or pendent with purple grapes, entwine
the columns, and depend from the carved abacus of the capitals.
Into this canal my beautiful galley was received, in the sight of
thousands of admiring gazers standing upon the steps of the terrace
which led down to the entrance, and on which I had landed to pay
my homage to the chief captain at the propylon, who, magnificently
attired, waited, by the queen's command, to receive me and conduct
me to the city.
Returning with me on board my galley, he gave orders for it to be
taken in charge by two royal barges, with prows of silver, and golden
banners waving above the heads of the rowers, who were Nubian
slaves clothed in scarlet tunics. Thus, in state, my dear mother, as
became a prince, was I borne along this avenue of palaces and
fanes, and fragrant gardens. The vanishing line of columns was, at
short intervals, interrupted by gateways, above which were statues
of Osiris and Isis.
I was almost bewildered by the novelty and splendor of these
varied scenes, and was thinking that nothing could surpass in
magnificence this mighty avenue to a city, when all at once the canal
expanded into a circular lake completely inclosed by columns,
forming majestic colonnades on all sides, in which were walking and
conversing innumerable richly dressed persons, while others were
grouped around noble-looking ancient men, listening to their
discourses. The chief captain, who was with me in my galley,
informed me that these columned halls were the favorite resort of
the eminent philosophers and scholars of all lands, who came hither
to be taught in the learning and wisdom of the Egyptians. I then
looked a little closer, when he was pleased to point out to me several
great philosophers, who, called wise men in their own kingdom, yet
had come hither to learn at the feet of these masters of the world's
wisdom, the wise men of Egypt. As we were rowed past and around
this majestic circle of columns, I saw two noble youths from
Damascus, who came last year to Tyre, in order to embark for
Memphis. I beheld also Prince Melchor of the City of Salem, in Syria,
the descendant of the great king Melchisedec, whose wise reign,
about three centuries ago, is still remembered with glory and honor
to his name. The prince recognized me, and returned my salutation,
and leaving the group with which he stood, hastened around the
terrace to meet me at the place of debarkation; for this delightful
lake, dear mother, terminated the noble canal which united it with
the river. Beyond it, the galleys and barges did not go. Instead of
water, this mighty avenue to On was now to be continued by land.
At the place opposite the inlet rose two lofty obelisks a hundred feet
in the air, of incomparable elegance and beauty. They were
dedicated to Osiris and Isis. Elevated upon pedestals of porphyry,
they formed the graceful entrance to a semicircular flight of marble
steps which led from the lake to a broad terrace interlaid with parti-
colored marbles, in every variety of device which taste could
conceive, or art execute. Landing upon these steps, I ascended to
the terrace, and was there met and embraced by the Prince of
Salem. Here the chief captain took leave of me, and immediately
there advanced towards me a noble person, wearing a chain of gold
about his neck, and clothed in purple silk, richly embroidered, and
who carried in his right hand a long silver wand, with the head of an
ibis, cut out of a precious stone, upon it. He said that he was an
officer of the court of the queen, and had come to conduct me on
my way to the city.
"Her majesty," he said, with dignity becoming one who served so
mighty a monarch, "has received your letter, royal prince, and has
directed her servants to pay you all honor!"
I acknowledged the grace of the queenly Amense in this courteous
reception of a stranger, and followed him across the terrace, which I
perceived was encircled by statues of all the divinities of the earth;
and I was gratified to see that Io, and Hercules, and the favored
deity of Phœnicia, Athyris, had conspicuous pedestals allotted to
their sacred images, near the Theban god Amun.
Indeed, dear mother, this fact, and the manner of my reception,
shows that the present dynasty has graciously forgotten the
conquest of Egypt by the warlike hosts of Phœnicia. But when we
recollect that the first Amosis of the present house of Pharaohs had
for his queen the beautiful Ephtha, daughter of the last Phœnician
Pharaoh, taking her captive when he expelled the father from the
throne of Memphis, we need not be surprised at the favor shown us
by the noble Queen Amense, for, fourth only in descent from the fair
Phœnician, who was of our own blood, she is our cousin by just
hereditary lineage.
When I had traversed the "Hall of the Gods," we came to a lofty
two-leaved gate of brass, which stood between two sculptured
propyla of Libyan stone. At a wave of the wand of my escorter, they
flew wide open, and revealed the most magnificent and awe-
inspiring spectacle that it was possible to conceive the world could
present.
Before me was revealed an avenue, more than a mile in length to
the eye, leading straight to the City of the Sun, which rose, temple
rising beyond temple, shining like gold in the sunbeams, a mountain
of architecture, fashioned as if by the hands of gods rather than of
men. In the midst stood, elevated above all surrounding edifices, the
great temple of Osiris itself, encircled by a belt of twelve glittering
obelisks, representing the twelve months. In the centre of this
wonderful girdle, upon the apex of a pyramid rising within the walls
of the temple, two hundred feet high, blazed that sacred gold shield
of the sun—the shield of Osiris—the fame of which has filled the
world. It was like the sun itself for glory and splendor! Oh, how can I
describe all this! My pen refuses to find language to record what I
wish to write.
But I will be brief, lest I overpower you with gorgeousness, and
blind you with glory. Verily, the Egyptians seem resolved to rob the
heavens of their celestial architecture, and set up a rival heaven on
earth!
From the open gateway of brass I beheld the city thus described,
with its temple, obelisks, pyramid, and countless palaces, while the
whole was encircled by a green belt of gardens, which shut it in from
the desert, like a setting of Indian diamonds in a bed of Assyrian
emeralds.
The avenue itself was paved with red-colored Syene stones from
the isles of the Cataracts, and on each side was a gigantic row of
sphinxes, reposing on broad, elevated dromoi. Some of these
represented lions, leopards, and other beasts of the African and
Nubian deserts. Some of them had the head of a ram, with the body
of a lion, the fore-paws extended upon the terrace, the vast body
resting upon the hind-paws, all presenting aspects of majestic
repose. There were one hundred of these stone effigies, in a double
row twenty feet apart, facing the avenue, and fastening upon the
passer-by their stony eyes in immovable watchfulness. This avenue I
walked up, preceded by the queen's officer, and escorted by a
retinue, which fell in behind me.
Having passed this row of crio-sphinxes we ascended three broad
steps, on each side of which towered a lofty pylon, elaborately
adorned with costly paintings of colossal size, representing sacred
scenes. Another dromo bordered with fourscore andro-sphinxes,
having alternate faces of Osiris and Isis, the one stamped with
majesty, the other with beauty, now began, and passing this solemn
and awful range of gigantic faces we came to another ascent of
marble steps, flanked by obelisks: four lofty pylones, and three
spacious courts were at the end of the dromos of sphinxes, also a
vast arena inclosed by palaces. Crossing this noble square, we came
to two colossi of granite, representing Cheops and Nilus, their
shields covered with hieroglyphics wrought with the highest degree
of perfection, each cartouch recording their titles and deeds.
At this point there met me a superbly caparisoned Arabian
charger, held by two pages; while a young noble, bearing upon his
breast the insignia of a prince of the queen's palace, addressed me,
and invited me to mount the beautiful and fiery animal.
I obeyed, leaping into the saddle with delight at once more being
upon horseback. Scarcely had I pressed the bit with the gilded
bridle, ere a score of horsemen, in splendid armor, issued from the
propylon on my left, in two columns, and, inclosing me between
them, escorted me through several magnificent courts, in which I
caught glimpses of obelisks, monoliths of kings, pylones sixty feet in
height with pyramidal wings, giving entrance to courts each more
magnificent than the last.
At length I saw before me the great and splendid pylon which
gives admission to the city. In front of it, raised upon a throne of
crimson stone, stood, with his ibis head fifty feet in the air, a
monolith statue of Thoth. In his outstretched right hand he held a
pair of scales, and in his left a tablet.
At this gate, the city is entered in its central point. Two obelisks,
ninety feet in height, towered on each side of the entrance. Here I
was received by a venerable noble, who was mounted upon a snow-
white horse, and attended by a brilliant retinue, all superbly
mounted. This personage extended to me the same hospitable and
courteous welcome from his queen, which had been presented to
me from the others. He rode by my side, and we took our way at a
rapid trot along an avenue of alternate obelisks and sphinxes, until
we passed through a pylon which opened into the streets of the city.
The splendor around bewildered me. Palaces, with gorgeous façades
and triple stories of colonnades, composed street after street, while
fountains and statues and propyla, temples, monoliths, andro-
sphinxes and crio-sphinxes presented, as I rode along through this
superb "City of the Sun," an endless spectacle of architectural
grandeur and marble magnificence. The streets were thronged with
handsomely attired citizens, either in the pursuit of pleasure or
business, while priestly processions, festival parties crowned with
flowers and attended by musicians, and bodies of horse, were met
by us. Gilded chariots, palanquins, and vehicles of rare and graceful
forms, were numerous. The whole city wore an air of pleasure and
life, and impressed me with the idea that the Egyptians are not only
master-builders in architecture, but know how to enjoy the splendid
cities they erect with such costly care.
My senses sated with luxury, I was not unwilling to alight at the
entrance of a beautiful palace, which the venerable horseman said
the queen had placed at my service. Upon its portico I was met by
my private secretary, Acherres, who, in his joy at beholding me
again, forgot for a moment my rank, and embraced me with tears of
delight; for, in this foreign land, he saw in me alone the link which
bound him to his native country.
I have now been two days in this palace, wherein is furnished me,
by the queen, the attendance of slaves; and every luxury of Egypt is
at my command. As I said to you, dear mother, in my first letter, I
have yet only seen the Queen of Egypt at a distance, as she was
ascending the steps of her palace, but to-morrow I am formally to
be presented to her, for on that day of the week alone she receives
princes and ambassadors. She had returned four days before to
Memphis, from Philæ, with a great retinue of the lords and officers
of her realm, and yesterday, crossing the Nile in her barge of state,
she entered this sacred city, which she visits for three days every
month to perform in the great temple the sacred rites of her
gorgeous religion. Of this worship I will soon write you more fully. It
is an error, however, to suppose that these enlightened Egyptians
worship the sun, or any other objects, as such, of mere matter. Their
fundamental doctrine is the unity of the deity, whose attributes are
represented under positive and material forms. The common people
perhaps never go beyond these forms, and their minds never are
admitted to a knowledge of the truth of the mysteries; but the
priests, and the high in rank, look upon the sun, and moon, and
animals, and the fecund Nile, only as so many attributes of a one
infinite deity. The sun—believed to possess much of the divine
influence in its vivifying power and its various other effects—is
regarded as one of the grandest agents of the one deity. The moon
is another direct manifestation of the invisible author, and as the
regulator of time, say their sacred books, is figured in painting and
sculpture as the ibis-headed Thoth, and the deity who records, as
time flies, the actions of men's lives. Osiris, if I understand their
mythology, is this supreme god (symbolized here by the sun), who is
also the judge of the souls of the dead, rewarding or punishing
hereafter the creatures he has created, according to their lives. But
when I learn more fully their system of religion, I will explain it to
you, dear mother.
Although I have not seen, to speak with her, the august lady who
reigns over Egypt, I have been visited by her son, the lord Prince
Remeses. I have already written of him. He is in his thirty-fourth
year, and the noblest appearing man my eyes ever beheld. Upon his
brow the gods have set the seal and impress of command. I will
narrate the manner of our first intercourse.
I was standing by the window of the stately apartment, which
overlooks one of the squares of the city, interested in watching the
toils of several hundred men, coarsely attired in blue aprons or loin-
cloths, and gray breeches reaching only to the knee, the upper part
of their bodies being naked, who were at work constructing a wall
which was to inclose a new lake before the temple of Apis, in the
midst of the square; for On is a city of alternate lakes (all of great
beauty and adorned with trees), temples, squares, and palaces,
interspersed with dromos of sphinxes connecting court after court,
through lofty pylones; while obelisks, statues, and fountains fill up
the interspaces.
My window not only commanded a view of these laborers with
their heavy burdens of bricks, borne on their shoulders to the top of
the wall they were building, but also, beyond the wall and distant
temples, a glimpse of the yellow expanse of the desert. How mighty,
and grand, and solemn it looked in its loneliness and ocean-like
vastness! A faint dark line that I at length perceived in motion, was,
doubtless, a caravan coming from the haven of the Red Sea, where
the galleys from Farther Ind land their precious freights of untold
wealth. This caravan seeks the port of On, six miles below on the
Nile, whence sail ships, laden with the treasures of the caravan, to
all parts of the known earth. Sesostris, Thothmes, Menes, all
planned a canal from the Nile to this sea; but the camels are the
only ships, to this day, that cross this desert waste. Again my eyes
rested upon the laborers, seeing that they were sorely pressed by
cruel taskmasters, who, with long rods, urged them to their
ceaseless toil. I perceived, then, that they were men with Syrian
features, arched eagle noses, long black beards, and narrow but fine
eyes, which seemed to have a strange expression of tears in them.
There were among them noble and manly men, handsome youths,
though pale with toil, and bent forms of aged men. I marvelled to
see so fine a race thus in bondage, as slaves under taskmasters, for
in the day of the Phœnician Pharaohs, there were no such bondmen
in the land of Egypt. From their remarkable likeness to some natives
of Mesopotamia I had seen in Tyre, I judged that they must be
captives of that ancient Orient people, taken in the wars of
Amunoph.
While I was regarding them, and especially an interesting youth,
whose dark eyes, as he staggered under a heavy burden of bricks,
were turned up to me as if seeking sympathy, Acherres entered and
said:
"My lord Sesostris, the mighty Prince Remeses is alighting from his
chariot upon the steps of your palace!"
Upon hearing this news I hastened to the portico, wondering if I
were to be honored with a personal visit from the lord of Egypt, ere
the queen mother should receive me in state.
Upon reaching the circular peristyle hall within the portico, the
ædile of my palace opened the gilded doors, and there stood before
me the Prince of Egypt. I have already described his noble presence
and personal appearance. Upon seeing me he advanced, waving his
attendants to withdraw, and with mingled dignity and sweetness,
that at once won my heart, said:
"I welcome you, noble Prince of Tyre, to Egypt! I have been
engaged in reviewing the army of the Nile, a day's march hence, and
heard but yesterday of your arrival. I hail you, not as a stranger, but
as cousin, dear Sesostris; for are we not allied by blood?"
"You, my lord prince," I said, "are descended from two lines of
kings—the Syrian and Theban—I from but one. But by that one we
are indeed of the same blood. But what is a prince of Tyre,
compared with the heir to the throne of Egypt?"
"We are to be friends and equals," he said, smiling, as he pressed
my hands. I accepted this pledge of friendship with grateful emotion,
my dear mother; and from that moment we became as brothers,—
he the elder, I the younger, and looking up to him with admiration
and pride, as henceforth my model of what a prince should be.
He remained with me three hours. We discoursed of you, of Tyre,
of the beautiful city of Damascus,—my sword of Damascene steel
attracting his notice (for he is a famous soldier), and leading to the
mention of this city. We talked also of Egypt, and her glory, and her
power; of the queen, his mother, and the manners, religion, and
policy of the kingdom.
But, my dear mother, I will here close this letter, and in another
relate to you what passed at our interview, and the most interesting
portion of his conversation.
Your devoted son,
Sesostris.
LETTER III.
The City of the Sun.
My dear Mother:
The climate of this land of the Sun is so delightful to the senses
that one feels a constant buoyancy of the heart, and experiences in
the consciousness of mere existence, an undefinable and delicious
joy; and herein I discover the key to the cheerful gayety of the
Egyptians. The skies are blue with eternal sunshine. The
atmosphere, free from moisture, is so transparent and crystalline,
that distant objects lose one half their distance to the eye. The sun
rises ever with cloudless splendor, and sets in a sea of golden glory,
without a shadow of a cloud falling upon his fiery disk. The moon
sails by night across the starry ocean of the heavens, with a
brilliancy unknown in other lands; while the stars burn with an
increased intensity, and seem enlarged by means of the purity of the
upper air through which we behold them. It is no marvel that the
dwellers in this happy land are wise, and love art, and delight in
forms of beauty, and build palaces for gods! But I promised in my
last letter, dear mother, to describe what particularly passed in the
long and interesting interview which the Prince Remeses had with
me on his first visit to my palace. I have already described his
personal appearance; but, as ladies are always interested in
costume, I will relate to you how he was attired.
The Egyptians, you are aware, always shave the head and beard
closely, save when in mourning. They have nevertheless a plaited
lock of hair on the height of the forehead, which falls down over the
ear. Such is the fashion with which the youthful god Horus is
represented in paintings and statues, though the beautiful locks of
this deity are not so closely removed but that a crest of golden
tresses covers the top of his head like the plume of a helmet.
Something in this manner Prince Remeses wore the lock of jet-black
hair which remained. But upon his head he had a rich cap or kaftan
of green silk, the front of which was shaped like the beak of an
eagle, while behind, it fell to the shoulders in a sort of cape,
fashioned like drooping wings—the whole most becoming and
striking. In the eyes of the eagle, blazed diamonds, and his plumage
was studded with precious stones, beryls, sardine gems, and the
onyx-stone. This head-costume, in varied forms, is worn by all the
nobles and men of high rank. With some the ibis or the vulture, with
others the lion or the hawk, form the insignia. I have seen him since
in his chariot, in a close-fitting helmet-cap of burnished gold,
resembling that of the Egyptian god of war, which, with his martial
form and commanding glance, lent to him the aspect of the god
himself!
His vesture was of fine linen, worn in numerous folds about his
form; and a surcoat embroidered with gold in royal devices, left
open in front, displayed a girdle of links of steel and gold, exquisitely
and cunningly woven, to which hung his jewelled sword. About his
neck was fastened, by a pearl of price, a collar of the red-hued gold
of Ophir, massive and large; and upon his manly chest glittered a
breastplate, sparkling with the enamelled cartouch of the god
Athothis, the deity who presided at his birth, and who is the same as
our Taut, the inventor of letters.
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