Close behind him was a chariot of ebony drawn by two plunging,
coal-black horses. A robust Egyptian, who shifted from one foot to the
other and talked to his horses continually, drove therein alone. As he
approached, the Hebrew woman raised herself so suddenly that one of the
nervous animals side-stepped affrighted. The swaggering Egyptian, with
a muttered curse, struck at her with his whip. The four bearers sprang
forward, but she quieted them with a few words in Hebrew. Reentering
her litter she was borne away, while the Thebans were still lost in the
delights of the procession.
In the few strange words of the woman of Israel, Kenkenes had caught
the name of Har-hat. This then was the bearer of the king's fan--this
insulter of age and womanhood. And the words of Mentu seemed very
fitting,--"I like him not."
The Thebans were in raptures. The splendors of the pageant had far
surpassed their expectations. Priests, soldiers and officials came in
companies, rank upon rank, of exalted and ornate dignity. Chariots and
horses shone with gilding, polished metal and gay housings, while the
marching legions clanked with pike and blade and shield. Now that the
chief luminaries of the procession had passed, the rich and lofty
departed with a great show of indifference to the rest of the parade.
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