Elissa

H >> H. Rider Haggard >> Elissa


"Ah! I remember," said Issachar, "where the accursed woman would have
offered sacrifice, and the priests struck me down because I prophesied
to them of the wrath to come, and that is now at hand. An ill-omened
spot, indeed, and an ill-omened tryst with the fiends for witnesses.
Well, lead on, and I pray you to be brief as may be, for this place
weighs down my soul, and I feel danger in it--danger to the body and the
spirit."

So they went forward. "Be careful," whispered Aziel presently. "The pit
of sacrifice is at your feet."

"Yes, yes," he answered, "we walk upon the edge of the pit, and, in
truth, I grow fearful, for at the threshold of such places the angel of
the Lord deserts us."

"There is nothing to fear," said Aziel. But even as he spoke, although
he could not see it, a white face rose above the edge of the pit, like
that of some ghost struggling from the tomb, watched them a moment with
cold eyes, then disappeared again.

Now they were near the greater pillar, and now from its shadow glided a
black-veiled shape.

"Elissa?" murmured Aziel.

"It is I," whispered a soft voice; "but who comes with you?"

"I, Issachar," said the Levite, "who would not suffer that he of whom I
am given charge should seek such company alone. Now, priestess, say
your say with the prince yonder and let us be gone swiftly from this
blood-stained place."

"You speak harsh words to me, Issachar," she said gently, "yet I am most
glad that you have come, for, believe me, I sought no lovers' meeting
with the prince Aziel. Listen, both of you: you know that they have
consecrated me high-priestess of Baaltis against my will. Now, I tell
you, Issachar, what I have already told the prince Aziel--that I am no
longer a worshipper of Baaltis. Yes, here in her very temple I renounce
her, even though she takes my life in vengeance. Oh! since they made me
priestess I have been forced to learn all her worship, which before I
never even guessed, and to see sights that would chill your blood to
hear of them. Now I tell you, prince Aziel and Issachar, that I will
bear no more. From El and Baaltis I turn to Him you worship, though,
alas! little time is left to me in which to plead for pardon."

"Why is little time left?" broke in Aziel.

"Because my death is very near me, Prince, for if I live, see what a
fate is mine. Either I must remain high-priestess of Baaltis and to
her day by day bow the knee, and month by month make sacrifice--of what
think you? Well, to be plain, of the blood of maids and children. Or,
perhaps, should their fears overcome their scruples, I shall be given by
the council as a peace-offering to Ithobal.

"I say that I will bear neither of these burdens of blood or shame; they
are too heavy for me. Prince, so soon as you are gone I too shall leave
this city, not in the body, but in the spirit, searching for peace
or sleep. It was for this reason that I sought to speak with you in
farewell, since in my weakness I desired that you should learn the truth
of the cause and manner of my end.

"Now you know all, and as for me there is no escape, farewell for ever,
prince Aziel, whom I have loved, and whom I can scarcely hope to meet
again, even beyond the grave." Then with a little despairing motion of
her hand she turned to go.

"Stay," said Aziel hoarsely, "we cannot be parted thus; since by your
own act you can dare to leave the world, will you not dare to fly this
place with me?"

"Perhaps, Prince," she answered with a little laugh, "but would you dare
to take me, and if so, would Issachar here suffer it? No, no; go your
own path in life, and leave me death--it is the easier way."

"In this matter I am master and not Issachar," said Aziel, "though it be
true that should it please him, he can warn the priests of El. Listen,
Elissa: either you leave this city with me, or I stay in it with you.
You hear me, Issachar?"

"I hear you," said the Levite, "but perchance before you throw more
sharp words at my head, you will suffer me to speak. Self-murder is a
crime, yet I honour this woman who would shed her own blood, rather than
the blood of the innocent in sacrifice to Baal, and who refuses to be
given in marriage to one she hates; who, moreover, has found strength
and grace to trample on her devil-worship, if so in truth she has. If
therefore she will come with us and we can escape with her, why, let her
come. Only swear to me, Aziel, that you will make no wife of her till
the king, your grandsire, has heard this tale and given judgment on it."

"That I will swear for him," exclaimed Elissa; "is it not so, Aziel?"

"As you will, lady," he answered. "Issachar, you have my word that until
then she shall be as my sister, and no more."

"I hear and I believe you," said Issachar, adding: "And now, lady, we go
at once, so if you desire to accompany us, come."

"I am ready," she replied, "and the hour is well chosen for I shall not
be missed till dawn."

So they turned and left the temple. None stayed or hindered them, yet
although they reached the chambers of Aziel in safety, their hearts,
which should have been light, were still heavy with the presage of new
sorrow to come.

Scarcely could they have been heavier, indeed, had they seen a
white-faced woman creep from the pit of death and follow them stealthily
till they had passed from the temple into the palace doors, then turn
and run at full speed towards the college of the priests of El.

In the chamber of Aziel they found Metem.

"I rejoice to see you back again in safety, since it is more than I
thought to do," he said, while they entered, adding, as the black-veiled
shape of Elissa followed them into the room, "but who is the third? Ah!
I see, the lady Elissa. Does the Baaltis accompany us upon our journey?"

"Yes," answered Aziel shortly.

"Then with her high Grace on the one side and the holy Issachar on the
other it should not lack for blessings. Surely that evil must be great
from which, separately or together, they are unable to defend us. But,
lady, if I may ask it, have you bid farewell to your most honoured
father?"

"Torment me not," murmured Elissa.

"Indeed, I did not wish to, though you may remember that not so long ago
you threatened to silence me for ever. Well, doubtless your departure
is too hurried for farewells, and, fortunately, foreseeing it, I have
provided spare mules. So my deeds are kinder than my words. I go to see
that all is prepared. Now eat before you start; presently I will return
for you," and he left the chamber.

When he had gone they gathered round the table on which stood food,
but could touch little of it; for the hearts of all three of them
were filled with sad forebodings. Soon they heard a noise as of people
talking excitedly outside the palace gates.

"It is Metem with the mules," said Aziel.

"I hope so," answered Elissa.

Again there was silence, which, after a while, was broken by a loud
knocking at the door.

"Rise," said Aziel, "Metem comes for us."

"No, no," cried Elissa, "it is Doom that knocks, not Metem."

As the words passed her lips the door was burst open, and through it
poured a mob of armed priests, at the head of whom marched the Shadid.
By his side was his daughter Mesa, in whose pale face the eyes burned
like torches in a wind.

"Did I not tell you so?" she said in a shrill voice, pointing at the
three. "Behold the Lady Baaltis and her lover, and with them that priest
of a false faith who called down curses upon our city."

"You told us indeed, daughter," answered the Shadid; "pardon us if we
were loth to believe that such a thing could be." Then with a cry of
rage he added, "Take them."

Now Aziel drew his sword, and sprang in front of Elissa to protect her,
but before he could strike a blow it was seized from behind, and he was
gripped by many hands, gagged, bound and blindfolded. Then like a man
in a dream he felt himself carried away through long passages, till
at length he reached an airless place, where the gag and bandages were
removed.

"Where am I?" Aziel asked.

"In the vaults of the temple," answered the priests as they left the
prison, barring its great door behind them.



CHAPTER XIII

THE SACRILEGE OF AZIEL

How long he lay in his dungeon, lost in bitter thought and tormented by
fears for Elissa, Aziel could not tell, for no light came there to
mark the passage of the hours. In the tumult of his mind, one terrible
thought grew clear and ever clearer; he and Elissa had been taken
red-handed, and must pay the price of their sin against the religious
customs of the city. For the Baaltis to be found with any man who was
not her husband meant death to him and her, a doom from which there was
little chance of escape.

Well, to his own fate he was almost indifferent, but for Elissa and
Issachar he mourned bitterly. Truly the Levite and Metem had been wise
when they cautioned him, for her sake and his own, to have nothing to do
with a priestess of Baal. But he had not listened; his heart would
not let him listen--and now, unless they were saved by a miracle--or
Metem--in the fulness of their youth and love, the lives of both of them
were forfeited.

Worn out with sore fears and vain regrets Aziel fell at length into a
heavy sleep. He was awakened by the opening of the door of his dungeon,
and the entry of priests--grim, silent men who seized and blindfolded
him. Then they led him away up many stairs, and along paths so steep
that from time to time they paused to rest, till at length he knew, by
the sound of voices, that he had reached some place where people were
assembled. Here the bandage was removed from his eyes. He stepped
backwards, recoiling involuntarily at the glare of light that poured
upon him from the setting sun, whereon, uttering an exclamation, those
who stood near seized and held him. Presently he saw the reason. He was
standing on the brink of a precipice at the back of and dominating the
dim and shadow-clad city, while far beneath him lay a gloomy rift along
which ran the trade road to the coast.

Here in this dizzy spot was a wide space of rock, walled in upon three
sides. The precipice formed the fourth side of its square, in which,
seated upon stones that seemed to have been set there in semi-circles to
serve as judgment chairs, were gathered the head priests and priestesses
of El and Baaltis, clad in their sacerdotal robes. To the right and left
of these stood knots of favoured spectators, among whom Aziel recognised
Metem and Sakon, while at his side, but separated from him by armed
priests, were Elissa herself, wrapped in a dark veil, and Issachar.
Lastly, in front of him, a fire flickered upon a little altar, and
behind the altar stood a shrine containing a symbolical effigy of
Baaltis fashioned of gold, ivory and wood to the shape of a woman with a
hundred breasts.

Seeing all this, Aziel understood that they three had been brought here
for trial, and that the priests and priestesses before him were their
judges. Indeed, he remembered that the place had been pointed out to him
as one where those who had offended against the gods were carried for
judgment. Thence, if found guilty, such unfortunates were hurled down
the face of the precipice and left, a shapeless mass of broken bone, to
crumble on the roadway at its foot.

After a long and solemn pause, at a sign from the Shadid, he who had
been the husband of the dead Baaltis, the veil was removed from Elissa.
At once she turned, looked at Aziel, and smiled sadly.

"Do you know the fate that waits us?" the prince asked of Issachar in
Hebrew.

"I know, and I am ready," answered the old Levite, "for since my soul is
safe I care little what these dogs may do to my body. But, oh! my son,
I weep for you, and cursed be the hour when first you saw that woman's
face."

"Spare to reproach me in my misfortune," murmured Elissa; "have I not
enough to bear, knowing that I have brought death upon him I love? Oh!
curse me not, but pray that my sins may be forgiven me."

"That I will do gladly, daughter," replied Issachar more gently, "the
more so that, although you seem to be the cause of them, these things
can have happened only by the will of Heaven. Therefore I was wrong to
revile you, and I ask your pardon."

Before she could answer the Shadid commanded silence. At the same moment
the woman Mesa stepped from behind the effigy of the goddess on the
shrine.

"Who are you and what do you here?" asked the Shadid, as though he did
not know her.

"I am Mesa, the daughter of her who was the lady Baaltis," she answered,
"and my rank is that of Mother of the priestesses of Baaltis. I appear
to give true evidence against her, who is the anointed Baaltis, against
the Israelitish stranger named Aziel, and the priest of the Lord of the
Jews."

"Lay your hand upon the altar and speak, but beware what you speak,"
said the Shadid.

Mesa bowed her head, took the oath of truth by touching the altar with
her fingers, and began:--

"From the time that she was appointed I have been suspicious of the lady
Baaltis."

"Why were you suspicious?" asked the Shadid.

The witness let her eyes wander towards Metem, then hesitated. Evidently
for some reason of her own she did not wish to implicate him.

"I was suspicious," she answered, "because of certain words that came
from the lips of the Baaltis, when she had been thrown into the holy
trance before the fire of sacrifice. As is my accustomed part, I bent
over her to hear and to announce the message of the gods, but in place
of the hallowed words there issued babblings about this Hebrew stranger
and of a meeting to be held with him at one hour before moonrise by
the pillar of El in the courtyard of the temple. Thereafter for several
nights as was my duty I hid myself in the pit of offerings in the
courtyard and watched. Last night at an hour before the moonrise the
Lady Baaltis came disguised by the secret way and waited at the pillar,
where presently she was joined by the Jew Aziel and the Levite, who
spoke with her.

"What they said I could not hear, because they were too far from me, but
at length they left the temple and I traced them to the chambers of the
Jew Aziel, in the palace of Sakon. Then, Shadid, I warned you, and the
priests and you accompanied me and took them. Now, as Mother of the
priestesses, I demand that justice be done upon these wicked ones,
according to the ancient custom, lest the curse of Baaltis should fall
upon this city."

When she had finished her evidence, with a cold stare of triumphant hate
at her rival, Mesa stepped to one side.

"You have heard," said the Shadid addressing his fellow-judges. "Do you
need further testimony? If so, it must be brief, for the sun sinks."

"Nay," answered the spokesman, "for with you we took the three of them
together in the chamber of the prince Aziel. Set out the law of this
matter, O Judge, and let justice be done according to the strict letter
of the law--justice without fear or favour."

"Hearken," said the Shadid. "Last night this woman Elissa, the daughter
of Sakon, being the lady Baaltis duly elected, met men secretly in
the courts of the temple and accompanied them, or one of them, to the
chamber of Aziel, a prince of Israel, the guest of Sakon. Whether or no
she was about to fly with him from the city which he should have left
last night, we cannot tell, and it is needless to inquire, at least she
was with him. This, however, is sure, that they did not sin in ignorance
of our law, since with my own mouth I warned them both that if the
lady Baaltis consorts with any man not her husband duly named by her
according to her right, she must die and her accomplice with her.
Therefore, Aziel the Israelite, we give you to death, dooming you
presently to be hurled from the edge of yonder precipice."

"I am in your power," said the prince proudly, "and you can murder if
you will, because, forsooth, I have offended against some law of Baal,
but I tell you, priest, that there are kings in Jerusalem and Egypt who
will demand my blood at your hands. I have nothing more to say except to
beseech you to spare the life of the lady Elissa, since the fault of the
meeting was not hers, but mine."

"Prince," answered the Shadid gravely, "we know your rank and we know
also that your blood will be required at our hands, but we who serve our
gods, whose vengeance is so swift and terrible, cannot betray their law
for the fear of any earthly kings. Yet, thus says this same law, it is
not needful that you should die since for you there is a way of escape
that leads to safety and great honour, and she who was the cause of your
sin is the mistress of its gate. Elissa, holder of the spirit of Baaltis
upon earth, if it be your pleasure to name this man husband before us
all, then as the spouse of Baaltis he goes free, for he whom the Baaltis
chooses cannot refuse her gift of love, but for so long as she shall
live must rule with her as Shadid of El. But if you name him not, then
as I have said, he must die, and now. Speak."

"It seems that my choice is small," said Elissa with a faint smile.
"Praying you to pardon me for the deed, to save your life, prince Aziel,
according to the ancient custom and privilege of the Baaltis, I name you
consort and husband."

Now Aziel was about to answer her when the Shadid broke in hurriedly,
"So be it," he said. "Lady, we hear your choice, and we accept it as we
must, but not yet, prince Aziel, can you take your wife and with her my
place and power. Your life is safe indeed, for since the Baaltis, being
unwed, names you as her mate, you have done no sin. Yet she has sinned
and doom awaits her, for against the law she has chosen as husband one
who worships a strange god, and of all crimes that is the greatest.
Therefore, either you must take incense and before us all make offering
to El and Baaltis upon yonder altar, thus renouncing your faith and
entering into ours, or she must die and you, your rank having passed
from you with her breath, will be expelled from the city."

Now Aziel understood the trap that had been laid for him, and saw in it
the handiwork of Sakon and Metem. Elissa having flagrantly violated the
religious law, and he, being the cause of her crime, even the authority
of the governor of the city could not prevent his daughter and his
guest from being put upon their trial. Therefore, they had arranged this
farce, for so it would seem to them, whereby both the offenders might
escape the legal consequences of their offence, trusting, doubtless, to
accident and the future to unravel this web of forced marriage, and to
free Aziel from a priestly rank which he had not sought. It was only
necessary that Elissa should formally choose him as her husband, and
that Aziel should go through rite of throwing a few grains of incense
upon an altar, and, the law satisfied, they would be both free and safe.
What Metem, and those who worked with him, had forgotten was, that this
offering of incense to Baal would be the most deadly of crimes in the
eyes of any faithful Jew--one, indeed, which, were he alone concerned,
he would die rather than commit.

When the prince heard this decree, and the full terror of the choice
came home to his mind, his blood turned cold, and for a while his senses
were bewildered. There was no escape for him; either he must abjure his
faith at the price of his own soul, or, because of it, the woman whom
he loved, now, before his eyes, must suffer a most horrible and sudden
death. It was hideous to think of, and yet how could he do this sin in
the face of heaven and of these ministers of Satan?

The moment was at hand; a priest held out to him a bowl of incense, a
golden bowl, he noticed idly, with handles of green stone fashioned in
the likeness of Baaltis, whose servant he was asked to declare himself.
He, Aziel of the royal house of Israel, a servant of Baal and Baaltis,
nay, a high-priest of their worship! It was monstrous, it might not be.
But Elissa? Well, she must die--if this was not a farce, and in truth
they meant to murder her; her life could not be bought at such a price.

"I cannot do it," he gasped with dry lips, thrusting aside the bowl.

Now all looked astonished, for his refusal had not been foreseen.
There was a pause, and once more the woman Mesa, in her character of
prosecutrix on behalf of the outraged gods, appeared before the altar,
and said in her cold voice:

"The Jew whom the lady Baaltis has chosen as husband will not do homage
to her gods. Therefore, as Mother of the priestesses and Advocate of
Baaltis, I demand that Elissa, daughter of Sakon, be put to death, and
the throne of Baaltis be purged of one who has defiled it, lest the
swift and terrible vengeance of the goddess should fall upon this city."

The Shadid motioned to her to be silent, and addressed Aziel:--

"We pray you to think a while," he said, "before you give one to death
whose only sin is that, being the high-priestess of our worship, she has
named an unbeliever to fill the throne of El and be her husband. Out of
pity for her fate we give you time to think."

Now Sakon, taking advantage of the pause, rushed forward, and throwing
his arms about Aziel's knees, implored him in heart-breaking accents
to preserve his only child from so horrible a doom. He said that did he
refuse to save her because of his religious scruples, he would be a dog
and a coward, and the scorn of all honest men for ever. It was for love
of him that she had broken the priestly law, to violate which was death,
and although he had been warned of her danger, yet in his wickedness and
folly he had brought her to this pass. Would he then desert her now?

But Issachar thrust him aside, and broke in with fiery words:--

"Hearken not to this man, Aziel," he said, "who strives to work upon
your weakness to the ruin of your soul. What! To save the life of one
woman, whose fair face has brought so much trouble upon us all, would
you deny your Lord and become the thrall of Baal and Ashtoreth? Let her
die since die she must, and keep your own heart pure, for be assured,
should you do otherwise, Jehovah, whom you renounce, will swiftly be
avenged on you and her. At the beginning I warned you, and you would not
listen. Now, Aziel, I warn you again, and woe! woe! woe! to you should
you shut your ears to my message." Then lifting his hands towards the
skies, he began to pray aloud that Aziel might be constant in his trial.

Meanwhile, Metem, who had drawn near, spoke in a low voice:--

"Prince," he said, "I am not chicken-hearted, and there are so many
young women in the world that one more or less can scarcely matter;
still, although she threatened to murder me three days ago, I cannot
bear to see this one come to so dreadful a death. Prince, do not heed
the howlings of that old fanatic, but remember that after all you are
the cause of this lady's plight, and play the part of a man. Can you for
the sake of your own scruples, however worthy, or of your own soul even,
however valuable to yourself, doom the fair body of a woman who risked
all for you to such an end as that?" And shuddering he nodded towards
the gloomy precipice.

"Is there no other way?" Aziel asked him.

"None, I swear it. They did not wish to kill her, except that wild-cat
Mesa who seeks her place, but having put her on her public trial, if you
persist--they must.

"This is one of the few laws which cannot be broken for favour or for
gold, since the people, who are already half-mad with fear of Ithobal,
believe that to break it would bring the curses of heaven upon their
city. Perhaps we might have found some other plan, but none of us even
dreamed that you would refuse so small a thing for the sake of a woman
whom you swore you loved."

"A small thing!" broke in Aziel.

"Yes, Prince, a very small thing. Remember, this offering of incense is
but a form to which you are forced against your will--you can do penance
for it afterwards when I have arranged for both of you to escape the
city. If your God can be angry with you for burning a pinch of dust
to save a woman, who at the least has dared much for you, then give me
Baal, for he is less cruel."

Now Aziel looked towards him who held the bowl of incense. But Elissa
who all this while had stood silent, stepped forward and spoke:--

"Prince Aziel," she said in a calm and quiet voice, "I named you husband
to save your life, but with all my strength I pray of you, do not this
thing to save mine, which is of little value and perhaps best ended.
Remember, prince Aziel, that being what you are, a Jew, this act of
offering, however small it seems, is yet the greatest of sins, and one
with which you should not dare to stain your soul for the sake of a
woman, who has chanced to love you to your sorrow. Be guided, therefore,
by the true wisdom of Issachar and by my humble prayer. Make an end of
your doubts and let me die, knowing that we do but part a while, since
in the Gate of Death I shall wait for you, prince Aziel."

Before Aziel could answer, the Shadid, either because his patience was
outworn, or because he wished to put him to a sharper trial, uttered a
command. "Be it done to her as she desires."