TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

* Obvious printer errors have been silently corrected. * Original spelling was kept. * Variant spellings were made consistent when a predominant usage was found. * Italics are represented between underscores as in italics. * Small caps are represented in upper case as in SMALL CAPS. * Illustrations have been slightly moved so that they do not break up paragraphs while remaining close to the text they illustrate. * Illustration captions have been harmonized and made consistent so that the same expressions appear both in them and in the List of Full Page Illustrations.

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA. Frontispiece & Page 309.

THE ADVENTURES
OF
CAPTAIN MAGO

OR
A Phœnician Expedition
B.C. 1000

BY
LÉON CAHUN

ILLUSTRATED BY P. PHILIPPOTEAUX, AND TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY ELLEN E. FREWER

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1889

TROW'S
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY,
NEW YORK.

PREFACE.

The following pages pretend to no original or scientific research. It is their object to present, in a popular form, a picture of the world as it was a thousand years before the Christian Era, and to exhibit, mainly for the young, a summary of that varied information which is contained in books, many of which by their high price and exclusively technical character are generally unattainable.

* * * * *

It would only have encumbered the fictitious narrative, which is the vehicle for conveying the instruction that is designed, to crowd every page with references; but it may be alleged, once for all, that for every statement which relates to the history of the period, and especially to the history of the Phœnicians, ample authority might be quoted from some one or other of the valuable books which have been consulted.

Of the most important of these a list is here appended:--

1. F. C. MOVERS. Das Phönizische Alterthum.

2. RENAN. Mission en Phénicie.

3. DAUX. Recherches sur les Emporia phéniciens dans le Zeugis et le Byzacium.

4. NATHAN DAVIS. Carthage and her Remains.

5. WILKINSON. Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians.

6. HŒCKH. Kreta.

7. GROTE. History of Greece.

8. MOMMSEN. Geschichte der Römischen Republik (Introduction and Chap. I.).

9. BOURGUIGNAT. Monuments mégalithiques du nord de l'Afrique.

10. FERGUSSON. Rude Stone Monuments.

11. BROCA and A. BERTRAND. Celtes, Gaulois et Francs.

12. ABBÉ BARGÈS. Interprétation d'une inscription phénicienne trouvée à Marseille.

13. LAYARD. Nineveh and its Remains.

14. BOTTA. Fouilles de Babylone.

15. REUSS. New translation of the Bible, in course of publication.

A few foot-notes are subjoined by way of illustration of what might have been carried on throughout the volume; and an Appendix will be found at the end, containing some explanation of topics which the continuity of the fiction necessarily left somewhat obscure.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

I.--WHY BODMILCAR, THE TYRIAN SAILOR, HATES HANNO, THE SIDONIAN SCRIBE 1

II.--THE SACRIFICE TO ASHTORETH 19

III.--CHAMAI RECOGNISED BY THE ATTENDANT OF THE SLAVE 44

IV.--KING DAVID 61

V.--PHARAOH ARRIVES TOO LATE 76

VI.--CRETE AND THE CRETANS 98

VII.--CHRYSEIS PREFERS HANNO TO A KING 112

VIII.--AN AFFAIR WITH THE PHOCIANS 132

IX.--THE LAND OF OXEN 148

X.--GISGO THE EARLESS RECOVERS HIS EARS 166

XI.--OUR HEADS ARE IN PERIL 175

XII.--I CONSULT THE ORACLE 196

XIII.--THE SILVER MINES OF TARSHISH 207

XIV.--AN AMBUSCADE 219

XV.--JUDGE GEBAL DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 234

XVI.--PERILS OF THE OCEAN 243

XVII.--JONO, THE GOD OF THE SUOMI 260

XVIII.--JONAH WAXES AMBITIOUS 277

XIX.--BODMILCAR AGAIN 287

XX.--THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN 295

XXI.--THE QUEEN OF SHEBA 307

XXII.--BELESYS FINDS BICHRI SOMEWHAT HEAVY 314

XXIII.--WE SETTLE OUR ACCOUNTS WITH BODMILCAR 327

LIST OF FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA Frontispiece & 309

HANNO PROCEEDED TO DRAW UP THE ARTICLES 8

HANNO CAUGHT UP A LARGE PITCHER 11

MY SALUTE 45

THE IONIAN COMMENCED ONE OF THE SONGS OF HER NATIVE LAND 52

SHORTLY BEFORE SUNSET WE REACHED JERUSALEM 63

WAITING FOR THE KING TO SPEAK 67

"DOWN, YOU PHŒNICIAN THIEVES!" 85

THE SOLDIERS RAPIDLY CROSSED THEIR LANCES 86

PLEASED WITH HIS MORNING'S WORK 99

"THE MELKARTH!" 106

BORNE TO ITS RESTING-PLACE 121

HOMER 129

UNAWARES IN AN AMBUSH 132

HANNO AND CHRYSEIS BESPEAK THEIR ATTENTION 140

"IF YOU ADVANCE ONE STEP BEYOND THIS LANCE" 152

CLOSE TO ETNA 163

UTICA 187

A HUGE ELEPHANT WAS BEING LED PAST 191

I PROSTRATED MYSELF THREE TIMES 202

AN AVALANCHE OF STONES 220

NO QUARTER 222

ON THE VERY POINT OF SLAYING THE CHILD 228

THE DESPICABLE SYRIAN 229

I DID WHAT I COULD TO CONSOLE HASDRUBAL 247

JUDGE GEBAL 248

BICHRI AND DIONYSOS BROUGHT THEM BOTH DOWN 258

HE DASHED IT TO THE GROUND 262

SEVERAL OF THE SAVAGES ENTERED THE HUT 267

THE GOD JONO 275

BLOWING HIS TRUMPET 284

THE CHILD HAD FOUND THE LEAK 293

IT SNAPPED A PIKE-STAFF IN TWO 301

IN HONOUR OF THEIR GENERAL 322

WE WERE COMMANDED TO HALT 324

HIMILCO AND GISGO IN ANIMATED CONVERSATION WITH THE CHALDEAN SOLDIERS 327

MY ACCOUNT WAS SETTLED WITH BODMILCAR 335

And Thirty-six smaller Text Illustrations.

THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO

CHAPTER I.

WHY BODMILCAR, THE TYRIAN SAILOR, HATES HANNO, THE SIDONIAN SCRIBE.

I am Captain Mago, and Hiram,[1] King of Tyre, was well aware that my experience as a sailor was very great. It was in the third year of his reign that he summoned me to his presence from Sidon,[2] the city of fishermen, and the metropolis of the Phœnicians. He had already been told of my long voyages; how I had visited Malta; how I had traded to Bozrah,[3] the city founded by the Sidonians, but now called Carthada[4] by the Tyrians; and how I had reached the remote Gades in the land of Tarshish.[5]

[1] Hiram I. reigned from 980 to 947 B.C.

[2] Sidon, or Zidon, in the Phœnician tongue means "fishery."

[3] Bostra, or Bozrah; hence Byrsa, the citadel.

[4] Carthage, or Kart-Khadecht, the new city.

[5] Tarshish, the Tartessus of the Greeks, Spain.

The star of Sidon was now on the wane. The ships of Tyre were fast occupying the sea, and her caravans were covering the land. A monarchy had been established by the Tyrians, and their king, with the _suffects_[6] as his coadjutors, was holding sway over all the other cities of Phœnicia. The fortunes of Tyre were thus in the ascendant: sailors and merchants from Sidon, Gebal, Arvad and Byblos were continually enlisting themselves in the service of her powerful corporations.

[6] Suffect, or choupheth (plural chophettim), the Hebrew and Phœnician magistrates preceding the monarchy.

When I had made my obeisance to King Hiram, he informed me that his friend and ally, David, King of the Jews, was collecting materials for the erection of a temple to his god Adonai (or our Lord) in the city of Jerusalem, and that he was desirous of making his own royal contribution to assist him. Accordingly he submitted to me that at his expense I should fit out a sufficient fleet, and should undertake a voyage to Tarshish, in order to procure a supply of silver, and any other rare or valuable commodity which that land could yield, to provide embellishment for the sumptuous edifice.

Anxious as I was already to revisit Tarshish and the lands of the West, I entered most eagerly into the proposal of the King, assuring him that I should require no longer time for preparation than what was absolutely necessary to equip the ships and collect the crews.

It was still two months before the Feast of Spring, an annual festival that marked the re-opening of navigation. This was an interval sufficient for my purpose, for as the King directed me to call first at Joppa, and to proceed thence to Jerusalem to receive King David's instructions, I had no need for the present to concern myself about anything further than my ships and sailors, knowing that I could safely trust to the fertile and martial land of Judæa to provide me with provisions and soldiers.

The King was highly gratified at my ready acquiescence in his proposition. He instructed his treasurer to hand over to me at once a thousand silver shekels[7] to meet preliminary expenses, and gave orders to the authorities at the arsenal to allow me to select whatever wood, hemp, or copper I might require.

[7] The silver shekel was the standard money of the Phœnicians, and was worth about 2_s._ It was a tenth part of a shekel of gold.

I took my leave of the King and rejoined Hanno my scribe and Himilco my pilot, the latter of whom had been my constant associate on my previous voyages. They were sitting on the side-bench at the great gate of the palace, and had been impatiently awaiting my return, mutually speculating upon the reason that had induced the King to send for us from Sidon, and naturally conjecturing that it must relate to some future enterprise and adventure. At the first glimpse of my excited countenance, revealing my delight, Hanno exclaimed:

"Welcome back, master; surely the King has granted you some eager longing of your heart!"

"True; and what do you suppose it is?" I asked.

"Perhaps a new ship to replace the one you lost in the Great Syrtes; and perhaps a good freight into the bargain. No son of Sidon could covet more than this."

"Yes, Hanno; this, and more beside," I answered. "But our good fortune at once demands our vows; let us hasten to the temple of Ashtoreth,[8] and there let us render our thanks to the goddess, and sue for her protection and her favour to guard our vessels as we sail to Joppa. To Joppa we go; and onwards thence to Tarshish!"

[8] Astarte. The Aphrodite of the Greeks; the goddess of navigation, and the national deity of the Sidonians.

"Tarshish!" echoed the voice of Himilco, with a cry of ecstasy; and as he spoke he raised up his sole remaining eye towards the skies; he had lost the other in a naval fight. "Tarshish," he said again: "O ye gods, that rule the destinies of ships! ye stars,[9] that so oft have fixed my gaze in my weary watch on deck! here I offer to you six shekels on the spot; 'tis all my means allow. But take me to Tarshish, and vouchsafe that I may come across the villain whose lance took out my eye, so that I may make him feel the point of my Chalcidian sword below his ribs, and I vow that I will offer you in sacrifice an ox, a noble ox, finer than Apis, the god of the idiot Egyptians."

[9] The stars in the constellation of Ursa Major were also tutelary deities of navigation; the pole-star by the Greeks being called "the Phœnician."

Hanno was less demonstrative. "For my part," he said, "I shall be satisfied if I can barter enough of the vile wine of Judæa, and the cheap ware of Sidon, to get a good return of pure white silver. I shall only be too pleased to build myself a mansion upon the sea-shore where I can enjoy my pleasure-boat as it glides along with its purple sails, and so to pass my days in ease and luxury."

"Remember, however," I replied, "that before you can get your lordly mansion, we shall again and again have to sleep under the open sky of the cheerless West; and before you arrive at all your luxury, you will have to put up with many a coarse and meagre meal."

"All the more pleasant will be the retrospect," rejoined Hanno; "and when we come to recline upon our costly couches it will be a double joy to dwell upon our adventures, and relate them to our listening guests."

Conversation of this character engaged us till we reached the cypress-grove, from which the temple of Ashtoreth upreared its silver-plated roof. The setting sun was all aglow, and cast its slanting rays upon the fabric, illuminating alike the heavy gilding and the radiant colours of the supporting pillars. Flocks of consecrated doves fluttered in the sacred grove, alighting ever and again upon the gilded rods that connected one pillar with another. Groups of girls were frequently met, dressed in white, embroidered with purple and silver, either hastening, pomegranates in their hands, to make a votive offering at the shrine, or sauntering leisurely in the sacred gardens. Ever and again, as the temple-doors were opened, there was caught the distant melody of the sistra, flutes, and tambourines, upon which the priests and priestesses were celebrating the honour of their goddess. Such were the sounds, the modulated measures of the music mingled with the soft cooings of the doves and the joyous laughter of the heedless maidens, that combined to make a mysterious murmur that could not fail to impress the minds of such as us, rough mariners unaccustomed to anything more harmonious than the groanings of the waves, the creaking of our ships, and the howling of the wind.

I went with Himilco to consult the tariff of the sacrifices, which was exhibited, engraven on a tablet and affixed to the feet of a huge marble dove at the right-hand entrance to the precincts of the temple. As my own offering, I selected some fruit and cakes, the value of which did not exceed a shekel, and was just turning back to call Hanno, when I encountered a man in a dirty and threadbare sailor's coat, who was hurrying along, muttering bitter curses as he went.

"Help me, Baal Chamaim, Lord of the heavens!" I involuntarily exclaimed; "is not this Bodmilcar, the Tyrian?"

The man paused, and recognised me in a moment; and we exchanged the warmest greetings.

Bodmilcar, whom I had thus unexpectedly met, had been one of my oldest associates. Many a time, alike in expeditions of war and commerce, he had commanded a vessel by my side. He was likewise already acquainted with Himilco, who consequently shared my surprise and regret at meeting him in so miserable a plight.

"What ill fate has brought you to this?" was my impatient inquiry. "At Tyre you used to be the owner of a couple of gaouls[10] and four good galleys; what has happened? What has brought it about that you should be here in nothing better than a ragged kitonet?"[11]

[10] Gaoul, a round ship, employed in merchant service.

[11] Kitonet, a short tunic, worn by Phœnician sailors.

"Moloch's[12] heaviest curses be upon the Chaldeans!" ejaculated Bodmilcar. "May their cock-head Nergal[13] torture and burn and roast them all! My story is soon told. I had a cargo of slaves. A finer cargo was never under weigh. The hold of my Tyrian gaoul carried Caucasian men as strong as oxen, and Grecian girls as lissome as reeds; there were Syrians who could cook, or play, or dress the hair; there were peasants from Judæa who could train the vine or cultivate the field. Their value was untold."

[12] Baal Moloch, the sun god.

[13] Nergal, the Chaldean god of fire and war, always represented with a cock's head.

"And tell me, friend Bodmilcar," I inquired, "where are they now? Did they not yield you the countless shekels on which you reckoned?"

"Now! where are they now?" shrieked out the excited man; "they are every one upon their way to some cursed city of the Chaldeans, on the other side of Rehoboth. Instead of shekels I have got plenty of kicks and plenty of bruises, of which I shall carry the marks on my body for a long time to come. The naval suffect gave me a few zeraas,[14] just to relieve my distress, and had it not been for that, I should not have had a morsel of bread to keep life in me. It is now three days since I arrived in Tyre, and to get here I have been continually walking, till my feet are so swollen I can hardly move."

[14] Zeraas, small copper coin.

"You mean you have walked here?" said Himilco, compassionately. "But surely you might have found a boat of some sort to bring you?"

"Boat!" growled Bodmilcar, almost angrily; "when did boats begin to journey overland? Did I not tell you I came from Rehoboth in the land of those cursed Chaldeans? But hear me out, and you will sympathise with my misfortune. I started first of all along the coast, buying slaves from the Philistines, and corn and oil from the Jews. I went across to Greece, and made some profitable dealings there. I chanced upon a few wretched little Ionian barques, and secured some plunder so. Then I conceived the project of going through the straits, and I succeeded beyond my hopes in getting iron, and, what is more, in getting slaves from Caucasus. My fortune was made. I was proceeding home, when just as we neared the Phasis, on the Chalybean coast, some alien gods--for sure I am that neither Melkarth nor Moloch would so have dealt with a Tyrian sailor--some alien gods, I say, sent down a frightful storm. With the utmost peril I contrived to save my crew and all my human cargo; but the bulk of my goods was gone, and my poor vessels were shattered hopelessly. There was but one resource; I had no alternative but to convey my salvage in the best way I could across Armenia and Chaldea by land, consoling myself with the expectation of finding a market for the slaves along the road. But once again the gods were cruelly adverse. We were attacked by a troop of Chaldeans; fifty armed men could not protect a gang of four hundred slaves, who, miserable wretches as they were, could not be induced by blows or prayers to lift up a hand in their own defence. The result was that we were very soon overpowered, and that, together with all my party, I was made a prisoner. The Chaldeans proposed to sell us to the King of Nineveh, and I had the pleasure of finding myself part and parcel of my own cargo."

"But, anyhow, here you are. How did you contrive to get out of your dilemma?" I asked my old comrade.

Bodmilcar raised the skirt of his patched and greasy kitonet, and displayed a long knife with an ivory handle hanging from his belt.

"They forgot to search me," he said, "and omitted to bind me. The very first night on which there was no moonlight I was entertaining a couple of rascals who had charge of me, by telling them wonderful tales about Libyan serpents, and about the men of Tarshish who had mouths in the middle of their chests, and eyes at the tips of their fingers; openmouthed, they were lost in amazement at the lies I was pouring into their ears, and were entirely off their guard. I seized my opportunity; and having first thrust my knife into the belly of one of them, I cut the throat of the other and made my escape. I took to my heels, and, Moloch be praised! the rascals failed to find a trace of me. But now that I am here, the gods only know what is to become of me. If I fail to get service as a pilot, I must enter as a common sailor in some Tyrian ship."

"No need of that, Bodmilcar," I exclaimed; "you have made your appearance just at a lucky moment. All praise to Ashtoreth! you are just the man I want. I have a commission from the King to fit out ships for Tarshish; I am captain of the expedition, and here at once I can appoint you my second in command. My pilot is Himilco; and here is Hanno, my scribe; we are on our way to the temple of the goddess, and are going in her presence to draw up the covenants."

"Joy, joy, dear Mago!" ejaculated Bodmilcar; "may the gods be gracious to you, and repay your goodness! I shall not regret my disaster at the hands of the Chaldeans, if it ends in a voyage to Tarshish with you. Only let Melkarth vouchsafe us a good ship, and with Himilco to guide our course, we cannot fail to prosper, even though our voyage be to the remotest confines of the world."

Hanno, who meanwhile had joined us, took out from his girdle some ink and some reeds, with a little stone to sharpen them, and having seated himself upon the temple steps, proceeded to draw up the articles which appointed me admiral of the expedition, Bodmilcar vice-admiral, and Himilco pilot-in-chief. Himilco and myself both affixed our seals to the document, and Bodmilcar was proceeding to do so likewise, feeling mechanically for his seal, which he remembered afterwards that the Chaldeans had stolen. I gave him twenty shekels to buy another, and to provide him with a new outfit of clothes. Then, with Himilco, I proceeded to make my oblation of fruits and cakes to Ashtoreth; and in the highest spirits we made our way to the harbour, where our light vessel, the Gadita, was awaiting us.

HANNO PROCEEDED TO DRAW UP THE ARTICLES. To face page 8.

Early next morning we set vigorously to work. I drew out the plans of my vessels upon papyrus sheets. My own Gadita was to be kept as a light vessel; but I resolved to have a large gaoul constructed as a transport to carry the merchandise, and two barques to act as tenders to the gaoul, which would draw too much water to approach very near the shore. As an escorting convoy I chose two large double-decked galleys,[15] manned by fifty oarsmen, similar to those recently invented at Sidon. At this period, the Tyrians had three of these galleys in port; they were very rapid in their course, and drew very little water; they were armed with strong beaks at the prow; were worked both by oars and sails, and were adapted either for war or commerce.

[15] For details of the construction of these galleys, see notes at the end of the Volume.

I determined to use cedar for the keel and sides of my vessel, and oak from Bashan, in Judæa, for the masts and yards. I discarded the ancient method of making my sails of Galilean reeds or papyrus-fibre, preferring to have them woven out of our excellent Phœnician hemp, which the people of Arvad and Tyre are skilful in twisting into a very substantial texture. It was of the same material that I resolved to make my ropes.

As I was going through the arsenal, and wondering at the accumulated mass of copper, I espied a little store of the beautiful white tin obtained from the Celts in the distant islands of the far north-west. Previously to my own voyage those islands had been all but unknown, and I believe that I may say that my own investigation of them has conferred as great a benefit upon the Phœnicians as they had reaped two hundred years before by the discovery of the silver mines of Tarshish.

The sight of the copper determined me upon carrying out a plan which I had for some time been contemplating. It occurred to me that if the keel and flanks under water were protected with copper in the same way as the prows had hitherto been, the solidity of the vessel would be greatly increased, and the wood would be far less liable to decay. Accordingly, I made up my mind to protect the prows of the galleys with a hard alloy of copper and tin, and to sheathe the keels and flanks of all the four vessels with plates of wrought copper. The copper of Cyprus I rejected as being too soft and spongy for my purpose, and that of Libanus as far too brittle; but the firm yet ductile Cilician metal suited me admirably, and Khelesh-baal, the renowned Tyrian founder, set to work at once to forge me some large sheets, three cubits[16] long by two wide.

[16] The common cubit is about 16 inches.

The King had placed 200 workmen at my disposal; and, in order that I might better superintend their operations, I took a lodging with my three friends in a house at the corner of the Street of Caulkers, just opposite the arsenal, and there from my window upon the fourth floor I could well overlook the men working in the docks below. I directed Hanno to make out a list of the goods we should require for barter, and he and Himilco chiefly busied themselves in collecting the things together; whilst Bodmilcar, with two of my sailors, kept perambulating the neighbourhood of the harbour, succeeding tolerably well in securing recruits for my crew from amongst the seamen who were loitering about the quays, with tilted hats, looking out for employment.

On the first day of the month Nisan,[17] just four weeks after I had undertaken my commission, I returned home for my evening meal, and found my companions in hot dispute.

[17] Nisan; part of March and April.

"How now!" I cried, on entering the room; "what's this? What is the meaning of this angry contention?"

"I am telling Bodmilcar," said Hanno, "that he has about as much brains as a bullock, and about as much elegance as a Bactrian camel."

"And am I to endure this insolence from a young stripling?" cried Bodmilcar, angrily; "am I to put up with it from a fresh-water lubber, who will cry like a baby at the first gust of wind, and implore us to put him on shore again? He has lived among women and scribblers till he has no more pluck in him than a garden-tortoise."

HANNO CAUGHT UP A LARGE PITCHER. To face page 11.

"I confess," rejoined Hanno, sarcastically, "that I have not had your experience; I have not had the advantage of being pounced upon by the Chaldeans, or of being thrashed by my own slaves. But let me say, I am twenty, and that I hope the first time you find me funking the sea, you will pitch me overboard like an old sandal. Anyhow, I have had a voyage as far as Chittim;[18] I have been amongst the Ionians, and can speak their language ten times better than any one among you."

[18] Chittim, the classical Citium, a Phœnician colony in Cyprus.

"Talk to me about the Ionians," shouted Bodmilcar in a fury, "and I will break every bone in your precious skin."

And, as he spoke, he laid his hand upon his knife; but Hanno, without flinching for a moment, caught up a large pitcher that was standing on the table.

"Steady, steady!" interposed Himilco, "or you will be spilling all the nectar;"[19] and whilst I laid a firm grasp upon Bodmilcar's arm, he rescued the pitcher, and deposited it safely in the corner of the room.

[19] Nectar; the sweet and perfumed wine of the Phœnicians, said by the Greeks to be the drink of the gods.

Then addressing myself to the two excited combatants, I said: "Now then, I cannot permit this altercation; you are both under my orders, and you must both submit; conduct yourselves amicably, or it shall be the worse for him that disturbs the peace. But what is the meaning of this chatter about the Ionians?"

Hanno held out his hand to me, in token of submission, expressed his regret for having given offence to Bodmilcar, and assured me that he had only spoken in jest.

"You see now," I said to Bodmilcar, "Hanno is not your subordinate, and you are bound to treat him as your equal. However, what is it that he has said to offend you so grievously?"

Bodmilcar seemed abashed; he stood twirling his beard, and without raising his eyes, said:

"Amongst the slaves that the Chaldeans captured, there was one Ionian girl that I thought to make my wife. I spoke of her to Hanno, but he only jeered me; he told me that the girl had gone off with the Chaldeans of her own accord, merely to get out of reach of me; and his provocation made me angry."

"Nay, nay," said Hanno: "I did not want to make him angry; it was a thoughtless joke; he was somewhat old, I said, for so young a bride, and Ionian girls generally like the perfume of flowers and the fragrance of sweet spices better than the smell of tar."

"It was wrong of you," I said, as sternly as I could, though I really felt inclined to laugh.

To my suggestion that they should make up their quarrel with mutual pledges over a cup of wine, Hanno eagerly responded, "With all my heart, and Ashtoreth give me my deserts if ever wilfully I offend his grey hairs again;" but Bodmilcar took the proffered hand coldly, and with evident constraint.

Seeing that all immediate peril of a smash was over, Himilco brought forward his pitcher again from its place of safety. I heard nothing more of the disagreement; but I could not help noticing that Bodmilcar was never again the same in his demeanour towards Hanno, and that he did not speak to him any more than he could avoid.

About a week later, as I was in the arsenal for the purpose of selecting the ropes for the rigging, Himilco came running to me to inform me that one of the King's servants had arrived with a message that was to be delivered to myself. I went to meet the messenger. He was a tall Syrian eunuch with frizzled hair and painted face, arrayed in a long embroidered robe, and wearing large gold earrings after the fashion of his country. He held a long cane surmounted by a golden pomegranate, and spoke with a languid lisp.

"Are you Captain Mago, the King's naval officer?" he asked, as he eyed me from head to foot.

Receiving my reply, he continued: "I am Hazael, of the royal household; here on my finger you may see the signet which empowers me to exercise my authority. The purpose of my visit is to inspect the vessels you are building; but specially my object is to give instructions that proper accommodation shall be provided for myself, and for a slave that I have to conduct from my master to Pharaoh, King of Egypt. Two proper berths must be prepared; and the King's orders are that you are to remit us to Egypt after you have visited Jerusalem."

"As to your directions about berths," I replied, utterly astonished at his cool effrontery, "you must permit me to remind you that on board ship the captain, with his pilot under him, invariably allots the place for every passenger."

"Be it so," rejoined the eunuch; "yet it is imperative that separate apartments, tapestried and carpeted suitably, should be provided for myself and for the royal slave. Impossible for us to live in contact with the rough and tarry seamen."

I felt a strong inclination to let Hazael experience how he relished lying full length upon a heap of rubbish that was close at hand; but I controlled my indignation and said:

"I will contrive something. I will either make a partition in a corner of the hold, or put up a cabin of planks upon the deck; but whatever is done must not interfere with the working of the ship. When I have made the provision in space, I leave you to fit and furnish as you please; but mark you this, your curtains and carpets will be ruined in the first tempest that we get. However, that is your concern, not mine."

"Each of the cabins," complacently continued the eunuch, "must be twelve cubits by six; there must be six benches of sandal-wood and ivory; the bedsteads must be inlaid; the windows must be framed and fitted perfectly."

"Fitted!" I rejoined: "have I not told you already that you may furnish and adorn the cabins as you will: their size, their position must rest with me: in such matters my authority is supreme. You may tell your royal master from me that adequate accommodation shall be provided, but that with my arrangements no one is at liberty to interfere."

The eunuch looked aghast at my temerity; but he seemed somehow to comprehend that I was not to be trifled with. He muttered a few words to the effect that I had better see that everything was duly done, and without a word or gesture of leave-taking, turned on his heel and sauntered leisurely away. I watched him for a moment, and turning to Himilco, who had been near enough to overhear the conversation, I said:

"Unless I reckon badly, that fellow will give us some trouble before we have done with him."

"Ah, no; I'll take care of that," said Himilco. "Sooner than the painted hound should interfere with us too much, I'd have a rope to his heels, and he should dangle, head in the water, all the way from Joppa to Tarshish. 'Tis not for us to permit ourselves to be treated like dogs."

"No," said I; "but maybe, all will go well; Moloch will be our guardian; and once at sea we shall not fail to secure the protection of our Ashtoreth. To tell you the truth, I am really far more apprehensive about Hanno's pranks with Bodmilcar."

"We must hope for the best," replied Himilco. "Bodmilcar will be on board the gaoul, and we will contrive for Hanno to come with us in one of the galleys."

"True," I assented; "it is indispensable that they should be separated. But with regard to this eunuch's requirements; I hardly see whether it will be better to provide the cabins in the gaoul, as being the more roomy, or to have them under my own supervision. Plague upon the slave and eunuch both!"

At that moment Hanno come up, with his roll of papyrus in his hand, and caught the tenor of our conversation.

"A slave and an eunuch to go!" he exclaimed. "Surely the charge of them ought to fall to my lot. Such duties ever belong to a scribe. Besides, I have made some progress in the studies of a magician; and better even than a magician I could humour their fancies, and understand their likes and dislikes."

I expressed my opinion that they would have enough of magicians in Egypt whither they were going, and resolved that I would keep them under my own eye.

"There's an end then to all my pretty scheme of teaching them calligraphy, rhetoric, and what not," said Hanno, smiling. "I must fall back, I see, upon my own accounts."

He unfolded his roll, and submitted to me his reckoning of the amount that would be requisite to pay our sailors and our oarsmen, at the same time handing me his statement of the sums that had already been expended in the purchase of the goods for barter.

The outlay far exceeded the golden talent, the thousand shekels, which the King had advanced. He had, however, commissioned me to spare no expense, and had promised to meet all reasonable demands, so that I felt no uneasiness, but sent Hanno straight to the palace to exhibit the accounts and to ask for a further grant. The request was most generously met.

Meanwhile, Himilco and I continued to employ ourselves in having planks of fir from Senir[20] fitted to the flanks of our vessels, and in rigging our heavy masts of oak with yard-arms of cedar.

[20] Senir, in Libanus, now Djebel Sannin.

Our work progressed to our entire satisfaction. The Gadita was repaired and entirely refitted; the figure-head, an immense horse, was illuminated with dazzling enamel eyes; the sides of the vessel were painted red upon a black ground; and twelve shields of bronze, each glowing in the centre with a polished copper boss, were hung outside.

After everything had been completed, I obtained permission for the Gadita to be conducted with great ceremony, to the music of trumpets and cymbals, into the basin of the harbour. For the occasion the naval suffect lent me a large purple sail, reserved expressly for state festivities; twelve armed sailors, lance in hand, stood behind the shields of bronze; and twenty-two oarsmen, plying their oars in regular cadence, made the ship glide swiftly through the water. Gisgo, the helmsman, from his station in the stern, deftly wielded the tiller, according to the directions of Himilco, whose place was at the prow. Bodmilcar, Hanno, and myself were upon the poop. We were all of us in state attire, and were conscious of a keen enjoyment of the admiring gaze of the crowds of sailors who thronged, not only the adjacent quays, but the terraces of the arsenal and of the admiralty palace, and watched our manœuvres. The naval suffect was himself one of the spectators; he was seated at the grand entrance of the palace, just above the flight of steps that led down to his official wharf. So pleased he was with the appearance of the Gadita, that he invited all the officers to sup with him in the evening, and sent a sheep, a large jar of wine, two baskets of bread, a supply of figs and raisins, and twelve cheeses, for the entertainment of our sailors.

Arrived at the palace, we passed up the narrow staircases and dim corridors of the eastern tower, and found ourselves in a large round room with a lofty dome, from the centre of which there hung a polished copper lamp. The suffect paid us many compliments; and, on learning that we should be ready for our outfit within ten days, he gave me permission to go next morning and to choose whatever arms would be requisite for the expedition.

After our entertainment we embarked from the suffect's private wharf, intending to return, all of us, to our own quarters on shore; but all at once Bodmilcar declared himself so enamoured of the Gadita, that he resolved to sleep alone on board. As our boat was silently threading its way along the canal that intersected the mainland, cutting off an island by its course, Hanno commenced singing in a foreign language. My attention was arrested, and I asked him what language it was. He replied that it was Ionian, and expressed his surprise that I did not understand it.

"No," I answered; "it is strange to me. I have sailed but rarely along those coasts. But haven't you done with the Ionians yet?"

"Oh, Bodmilcar is not here to get in a rage, and we have not got the slave amongst us to be affected by any songs of mine."

"The slave!" I exclaimed with wonder. "I did not imagine that the slave would care for your songs. Is she an Ionian?"

Hanno laughed, and made me no answer; but after a while he yielded to my persuasion, and made me acquainted with all he knew.

"Hazael the eunuch," he said, "is a chattering fool. When I went to the palace I saw him, and wormed out of him that the slave in question had been brought from some Chaldean merchants, and that she had been originally carried away from her own country by a Tyrian pirate, so that the whole truth was not hard to guess."

"Not a word of this," I said; "not a word to Bodmilcar. More than ever it makes me resolve to have both eunuch and slave on board my own galley; otherwise I foresee there will be no end of mischief. Neither you nor Himilco must breathe a syllable until we have seen our unwelcome passengers securely landed at their destination."

Each promised faithfully to preserve the strictest reticence: Hanno, for his part, vehemently asseverating that if a word upon the matter should escape him, he would forthwith cut off his tongue, and devote himself to Horus, the Egyptian god of silence.

As we now reached our lodging, the conversation dropped, and for the next few days we were far too much engaged in active duties to think any further of what had transpired.

I gave my own personal superintendence to the weaving of all the sails, which were made strictly after the directions prescribed by the goddess Tannat.[21] I saw that my ropes were well twisted and thoroughly tarred; and I arranged the benches for my oarsmen with such compactness that there was only an interval of a hand's breadth between the seat of the rower on the upper tier and the head of the man in the tier below.

[21] The Grecian Tamith; according to the Phœnician legend, she was the inventor of sails.

To give extra strength to the masts and yards, I had them bound at regular distances with bands of ox-hide, and finally I had the entire hulls plated with sheets of copper, fastened together with bolts of bronze.

Never had prouder ships been launched upon the Great Sea.[22]

[22] The Mediterranean.

CHAPTER II.

THE SACRIFICE TO ASHTORETH.

Two days before the great spring festival which celebrated the re-opening of navigation, and which was observed as a national holiday, our ships were ready in the stocks, and in the course of three hours were launched without difficulty.

The two galleys were each seventy-two ordinary cubits (or sixty-two sacred cubits) long by seventeen wide. The gaoul, with its keel of one solid piece of cedar, was sixty-seven cubits in length by twenty in width; it had three decks and, as I have said, two tiers of rowers; the decks were four cubits apart, and were raised fore and aft, so as to make the elevation sixteen cubits above the water, whilst in the centre it did not exceed twelve cubits. The galleys, when carrying their full burden, and the double line of oarsmen, stood each eight cubits above the water-line. Each contained space enough to take 150 sailors and 50 rowers; but hitherto I had only engaged 200 seamen, expecting that I should be able to enlist the services of 100 soldiers and archers who would be willing to take a share of the working of the vessel. The number of the crew of the gaoul was complete; the Gadita had likewise her full complement of thirty-seven men, and the barques their crews of eight. These two small craft were to be kept constantly in tow, and would consequently be in no need of a pilot; but each of the larger vessels was provided with two pilots, one at the prow, one at the stern, Himilco being pilot-in-chief. At the top of every mast, there was a look-out place, constructed of fir-wood from Senir, for the purpose of sheltering the man on watch. The apertures for the oars were arranged at equal distances along the sides; and all the vessels, after they had been caulked and tarred, were made to correspond with the Gadita by being painted black with red lines. Hanno had drawn up a document for each of the captains, containing the names of the respective crews, and a complete list of every piece of spare rigging on board, with a register of the place where every article was stored. All the arms, the bedding, the cooking-utensils, the water-barrels, had their positions carefully recorded, and in the crew's quarters between decks, each seaman and rower had his berth distinctly marked with his own name. The cabin under the raised deck at the stern was reserved for the use of the captain and pilots, whilst that under the prow was set apart for the officers of the crew, and the captains of the men-at-arms. On all the vessels the arrangements were identical, with the exception that at the stern of the galley which I had chosen for myself I had ordered a boarded cabin to be erected, divided into two compartments by a partition, and lighted by two small windows, for the especial use of the eunuch and the King's slave under his charge.

Hanno was extremely interested in the selection of good and appropriate names for the ships. At his wish, the gaoul, which was under the command of Bodmilcar, and numbered a large proportion of Tyrians amongst its crew, was named after Melkarth, the god of Tyre. One of the galleys was named the Dagon, being placed under the protection of the Philistine god of fish; whilst the one on which we ourselves were about to embark was dedicated to the Sidonian goddess Ashtoreth, to whom we were personally bound by an especial reverence. Associated with these divinities, of course it was out of all character that the Gadita should retain her previous name; accordingly, at Himilco's request, and in consideration that she was to sail at the head of the squadron, we gave her the designation of the Cabiros. Bodachmon, the high priest of Ashtoreth, undertook to present us with images of the various deities to be kept on board the ships which were severally dedicated to them.

Bodmilcar was assigned the command of the Melkarth, and her attendant barques; Hasdrubal, a Sidonian, was appointed to the charge of the Dagon; and the Cabiros was confided to the care of Hamilcar, another Sidonian, a bold and experienced seaman.

On board the Ashtoreth, my flag-ship, I took for my personal staff Hanno as scribe, Himilco as head pilot, and Hannibal of Arvad (whom I knew to be a strong, brave man) as commander of my men-at-arms.

Fore and aft of each of the ships Hannibal placed two machines of his own invention for hurling stones and darts, and called "scorpions;" thus, with the exception of the Cabiros, which being small could only carry two, every vessel was provided with four of these powerful engines.

We worked hard throughout the greater part of the night and all the following morning in packing and stowing the freight of our little fleet as it lay in the inner basin of the trade harbour, and the Cabiros joined us to receive her portion of the cargo and provisions. Towards the middle of the day we found time for rest and refreshment. Anticipating our departure on the morrow, several of us met for a frugal meal in a tent that had been erected for our accommodation on one of the quays. The three captains, the commander of my men-at-arms, the chief pilot, and myself, had just seated ourselves at the table, when the curtain that covered the entrance was drawn aside by one of the sailors, and Hazael the eunuch was announced.

Hazael entered with his usual lazy saunter; behind him was a train of six slaves carrying baskets, boxes, and bundles, and accompanied by a workman with a hammer and a variety of tools. Outside, mounted on white asses, were two women, one of them closely veiled; the face of the other was uncovered, and by her red skull-cap with its gold band and dependent white veil, as well as by her frizzled hair and prominent features, I recognised her at once as a daughter of Israel.

"We have come," said the eunuch, without pretence of courteous salutation, "to take possession of our berths, and to stow away our baggage."

Hanno started to his feet. I laid my hand upon his arm, and asked him what he was about to do.

"To stow away the baggage for them," he replied; adding, "unless, captain, you forbid me."

"Better for you," I continued, "to remain where you are; I have other business for you to do. This falls best to Himilco's duty. Go, Himilco," I said, turning to the pilot, "go and assist Hazael to arrange his property and see to the accommodation of the women."

Himilco emptied his glass, and, not without a longing glance towards the jar of wine round which we were sitting, left the tent. Hanno, who had fallen back to his seat with an assumed air of indifference, now asked:

"And what is the business for which you want me?"

"You must go," I answered, "to the temple of Ashtoreth to prepare for our sacrifice to-morrow: you must procure us some birds to take with us on board our ships; in stormy weather they will show us which way lies the land: you must find the naval suffect, and deliver him a list of all the crews, and a catalogue of all the cargoes; most of all, you must wait upon the royal treasurer and furnish him with an abstract of all accounts. Is not all this enough for you to do?"

"No time, I see, then, for me to lose," said Hanno, with impetuous eagerness; and snatching up his papyrus roll, he ran hastily away. It was my impression, as I caught sight of him through the half-opened curtain of the tent, that he turned, not in the direction of the temple, but towards the harbour-basin; however, when he came back in the evening all his commissions had been fully and faithfully executed, and I thought no more of the matter.

On his return he was accompanied by one of the officials of the temple, carrying on his head some large bird-cages made of palm-wicker. Hanno himself held a smaller cage, containing four pigeons of a rarer sort, a beautiful shot plumage glittering gaily on their breasts.

"If these birds don't bring us good luck," he said, "I am sure no others will; they come straight from the temple of Ashtoreth, and were handed over to me by the priestess herself, who made me promise that they should be prized according to their worth."

Each of the captains selected his proper share of the birds, with the exception of Bodmilcar, who contemptuously refused.

"Don't the birds suit you?" said Hanno; "what's the matter with them?"

"I want no pigeons," retorted Bodmilcar; "ravens are the birds for me, and I have taken enough of them on board already."

Hanno turned his back; but Himilco, who had witnessed what was passing, remarked:

"Fortunate for the passengers that they will not be on board the Melkarth. Far more congenial, I should think, the cooing of doves than the croaking of ravens, to the ears of an Ionian!"

"Ionian!" ejaculated Bodmilcar, turning pale, "is the slave an Ionian?"

In an instant I gave Himilco a sharp dig below the ribs to recall him to his senses, and as quickly he clapped his finger on his forehead, pretending to recollect himself: "No, no; not an Ionian; I mean a Lydian." And turning round to me he asked me whether he was right.

I made a sort of a gesture which I hoped would satisfy Bodmilcar, but he was manifestly still agitated; he made no further remark, but shortly afterwards quitted the room, mumbling unintelligibly as he went. As soon as his back was fairly turned, Hanno, who had been seated quietly arranging his papyrus leaves, rose from his seat, and advancing towards the door, made a low and solemn bow, a proceeding on his part that caused Himilco to burst into a roar of laughter.

"Our friend Bodmilcar," remarked Hannibal, "seems to be rather a morose sort of gentleman."

"Nothing of the sort, I assure you," said Hanno, satirically; "I hardly know a man of a brighter and more genial temperament; however, I confess that we may thank our stars that we have not to sail in the same ship with him."

Hannibal smiled, in token of assent.

Time to retire for the night had now arrived. We indulged in a parting glass, in recognition of our mutual hopes for the successful issue of the enterprise before us, and with no little emotion, parted to seek the repose which should prepare us for the ceremonial of the morrow.

Early in the morning I repaired to the arsenal, but not too soon to find the crews assembled each round its own captain. Hannibal had been successful in collecting together all the archers and the men-at-arms. Every captain was attended by his own trumpeter, in a scarlet tunic, the trumpeter of the military captain being distinguished by the magnitude of his trumpet, which was double the size of the others.

With effective precision Hannibal had arranged his soldiers in their ranks. The first rank was composed of twenty archers in white tunics, their heads covered with white linen caps, which were encircled by a band of leather studded with nails, and of which the ends hung down behind. They all wore scarlet waistbands, in which were inserted ivory-handled broadswords; their quivers were attached to a belt of ox-hide, that passed over the shoulder, and was ornamented with a profusion of copper studs. In his hand every one carried his long Chaldean bow, the upper extremity of which was carved to represent a goose's head. Next behind the archers were two ranks of armed men, twenty in each rank: they wore cuirasses composed of small plates of polished copper, and had helmets of the same material. Their tunics were scarlet, and hung below the cuirasses; on the left of their belts was a strong Chalcidian sword, and on the right an ivory-hilted dagger; one hand carried a large circular shield, ornamented in the centre with a deep-red copper figure of the sun; the other hand bore a lance, furnished with a long sharp point of bronze.

Hannibal stood at the head of his troop. He wore a Lydian helmet, surmounted with a silver crest, which was further adorned with a scarlet plume. The image of the sun in the middle of his shield was likewise silver, and around that was a circle of the eleven planets. His sword-handle was carved into the figure of a lion, the lion's head forming the guard. Like all the rest of the company he commanded, his feet and legs were protected by leather greaves or gaiters, laced up the front, and turned upwards at the point in the Jewish fashion. He no sooner saw me approaching than he unsheathed his sword, and his trumpeter sounded three blasts, an example which was followed by the other trumpeters, all blowing in unison, after which the captains and pilots advanced and made me a general salute.

Our seamen were provided with neither belts, shields, nor helmets, but carried large cutlasses below their kitonets; they wore pointed caps that covered the nape of the neck, similar to those that are constantly seen at Sidon. Hannibal proposed that they should be drawn up and drilled like the soldiers, but I did not acquiesce in his suggestion; I preferred allowing them to rove about at their pleasure, knowing that they could be drilled far better on board ship, after they had been regularly assigned their proper place and duties.

Hanno and Himilco, who had gone by my directions to see that everything was in readiness for the sacrificial rites, now joined us. They were accompanied by two men, each leading a superb bullock covered with purple housings, and with their horns decorated by fillets of embroidery, to which were attached little bells, which tinkled as they moved. Close in their rear followed my slave, carrying on his head a large basket of pomegranates, covered with a napkin embroidered with silver.

After he had stationed our four trumpeters in couples behind his own, Hannibal gave me to understand that he was only waiting for me to give the signal to march. No sooner had I signified my permission, than he shouted out the word of command, and the archers and men-at-arms doubled file and faced about with an alertness that elicited universal commendation. The trumpeters led the way with a flourish that was well-nigh deafening; the archers followed two and two; then came Hannibal at the head of his warriors, all shouldering their lances. My own place was the next; and I marched on, supported by Hanno and Himilco, and immediately followed by my slave and the two men who were in charge of the oxen devoted as victims for the altar; whilst behind us were the four troops of sailors, not marching in any special order, but each headed by its own captain and pilots. This irregular company brought up the rear.

The thoroughfares along which we passed were decorated gaily. In honour of the great yearly festival of Melkarth, which attracted the mass of all the surrounding population, they were profusely hung with coloured canvas of many a hue, and floating streamers of linen, dyed with the richest shades of purple, orange, green, and vermilion were interspersed amongst waving branches of palms and massy boughs of cedar. Each separate window was a separate centre of display. The people, in holiday attire, were wending their way in crowds in the direction of the island upon which stands the temple of Melkarth, but they stood aside in every portico to allow us to proceed; they were eager in their inquiries as to the meaning and purpose of our formal progress through the streets; and when they understood that we were marching to the shrine of the goddess Ashtoreth to make our sacrifice, and to intreat her favour upon an expedition to Tarshish which we were about to make, they rent the air with their boisterous acclamations. Men expressed their wonder at the concourse of our sailors and the quality of our oxen; women admired our attire and the carriage of our officers, being especially lavish in their praise of Hanno; the children ran after the procession, attracted equally by the glittering crest in Hannibal's helmet, by the glowing red of the trumpeters' tunics, and the swelling notes of their martial music. Every one was unanimous in declaring that never before had so magnificent a retinue left a Phœnician city on a distant enterprise.

As we passed along beneath the sycamines in front of the King's palace, the vast concourse that had assembled in readiness for the royal procession parted asunder to allow us room to pass, and the King's trumpeter and musicians, who were stationed at the gateway, broke out into strains of welcome. A messenger was observed hurrying down from the palace, and it was soon known that he came with orders for us to halt. Hannibal immediately made his men face about; the sailors, as it were involuntarily, turned towards the palace, and I myself, with Hanno and Himilco, advanced in the direction of the window at which the King is accustomed to show himself to his people, and which is easily distinguishable from the others by the gilding and tapestried hangings with which it is decorated. Meanwhile our trumpeters had taken up the strains of the royal march in concert with the King's musicians, and the melody was re-echoed by various bands in other quarters of the palace-yard.

Only a short time elapsed before the King presented himself at the window. An attendant, gorgeously attired, held over the King's head a purple canopy embroidered with gold and richly jewelled; behind him could be seen the glittering helmets and cuirasses of his body-guard. Without a word of preface, he called me forth by name; and having prostrated myself to the earth in deep obeisance, in another moment I was standing with folded arms before him awaiting his commands.

He spoke to this effect:

"Mago! content I am with the preparation you have made. Well pleased I am with the way in which you have collected your seamen and equipped your warriors in behalf of my friend, my royal ally, King David. You quit these realms for the distant shores of Tarshish. May our guardian gods protect you! Hazael will deliver you the letters signed by my own hand, which you are to present to the various sovereigns who are my allies; to him I have further intrusted the papyrus roll on which my instructions are inscribed. Onwards now, fulfil your oblations to your goddess Ashtoreth. I go to render my sacrifice to our great Melkarth; but when I have discharged my vows, my purpose is to be myself a witness of your departure, and you shall not fail to have still further tokens of my favour."

Again I prostrated myself before the King, who then retired, leaving me to proceed upon my way, still heralded by the trumpets and greeted by the continuous acclamations of the people. We had hardly turned away, when the great gate of the palace was thrown open, and, headed by a band composed of trumpets, sistra, tambourines, and flutes, there issued the grand procession on its way to the island upon which rose the columns of the temple of Melkarth, the supreme deity of Tyre.

We had hardly reached the limit of the royal court-yard, when Bodmilcar, who had quickened his pace to overtake me, came to my side and said mysteriously,

"Melkarth is a great god!"