Egypt -- History -- 30 B.C.-640 A.D. -- Fiction; German fiction -- Translations into English
Andreas had painted it as a glorious place; and yet she shuddered at the
thought. But was not that foolish? If she were really dead, all terror
and pain were at an end. She would see her mother once more; and
whatever might happen to those she loved, she might perhaps be suffered
to linger near them, as she had done on earth, and hope with assurance to
meet them again here, sooner or later.
But no! Her heart was beating still; she could feel how strongly it
throbbed. Then where was she?
There certainly had not been any such coverlet as this on her bed in the
Serapeum, and the room there was much lower. She looked about her and
succeeded in turning on her side toward the evening breeze which blew in
on her, so pure and soft and sweet. She raised her delicate emaciated
hand to her head and found that her thick hair was gone. Then she must
have cut it off to disguise herself.
But where was she? Whither had she fled?
It mattered not. The Serapeum was far away, and she need no longer fear
Zminis and his spies. Now for the first time she raised her eyes
thankfully to Heaven, and next she looked about her; and while she gazed
and let her eyes feed themselves full, a faint cry of delight escaped her
lips. Before her, in the silvery light of the bright disk of the young
moon lay a splendid blooming garden, and over the palms which towered
above all else, in shadowy masses, in the distance the evening star was
rising just in front, the moonlight twinkled and flashed in the rising
and falling drops of the fountain; and as she lay, stirred to the depths
of her soul by this silent splendor, thinking of kindly Selene moving on
her peaceful path above, of Artemis hunting in the moonlight, of the
nymphs of the waters, and the dryads just now perhaps stealing out of the
great trees to dance with sportive fauns, the chant suddenly broke out
again in solemn measure, and she heard, to deep manly voices, the
beginning of the Psalm:
"Give thanks unto the Lord and declare his name; proclaim his wonders
among the nations.
"Sing of him and praise him; tell of all his wonders; glorify his holy
name; their hearts rejoice that seek the Lord."
Here the men ceased and the women began as though to confirm their praise
of the most High, singing the ninetieth Psalm with enthusiastic joy:
"O Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations.
"Before the mountains were brought forth, or, ever thou hadst formed the
earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
"For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is
passed, and as a watch in the night."
Then the men's voices broke in again
"The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his
handiwork.
"Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge."
And the women in their turn took up the chant, and from their grateful
breasts rose clear and strong the Psalm of David:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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