Page:Anthology of Modern Slavonic Literature in Prose and Verse by Paul Selver.djvu/103

Rh the hall of the Pharaohs, surrounded by a great company of servants.

He took his seat upon the gallery, the marble steps of which extended downwards even to the river, and, filled with unfathomable sorrows, he gazed around him.

The moon, near which glimmered Saturn, the star of evil portent, was juSt gilding the bronze-coloured waters of the Nile, painted the shadows of the huge pyramids upon pastures and gardens, and lit up the whole valley for several miles around. In spite of the lateness of the hour, lamps were burning in huts and buildings, and the populace came out from their homes beneath the open sky. Upon the Nile, skiffs were moored in dreams as closely as on a festive day; in palm-forests, on the shores above the water, in market-places, in streets, and beside the palace of Rameses, surged a countless throng. And in spite of that, it was so still, that the rustle of water-reeds and the plaintive howling of hyenas in search of food, were borne to the ear of Horus.

"Wherefore are they gathered together in such numbers?" Horus asked one of the courtiers, as he pointed to the immeasurable rows of human heads.

"They wish to hail thee as the new Pharaoh, lord, and to hear from thy lips of the benefits which thou hast ordained for them."

In this moment the prince's heart was smitten