The Heart of Sheba, being the Story of a Great Queen as told in the parchment of Arnath, the Queen's brother

Front matter

THE HEART OF SHEBA. THE HEART OF SHEBA BEING THE STORY OF A GREAT QUEEN AS TOLD IN THE PARCHMENT OF ARNATH, THE QUEEN'S BROTHER BY ETHEL MAY HEWITT gottoon T. FISHER UNWIN paternoster square mdcccxc [All rights reserved."] Dedication. ESSHS1 CAST about me for some name to k§n EgSl inscribe on the dedication-page of r"*^-^**^ this story, and found it no easy task, so rich am I in friends, old and new, who might well look for such tribute from me. But the nearest and dearest among them will, I know, be the first to admit that theirs is not a prior claim. There is but one name that can fitly7 be written on the sails of this little barque, — a name around which cluster the purest, tenderest memories of childhood and girlhood, — her name with whom I have shared joy and sorrow, and in whose faithful heart is her children's best home — the dear name of Mother.

St. Ethelreda's Day, October 17, 1889. NOTE PlJg^a'ALKIS, Queen of Sheba, the Nikaule n BrRif of Josephus, Alakeda of the Abys l^gSal sinians, is claimed by the Christian Ethiopians as their ancestress, their popular legends asserting that she became the wife of Solomon, and bore him a son, Menelek, the founder of the Ethiopian dynasty in Abyssinia. Divesting her story as much as possible of the purely legendary, and giving her her Arab name of Balkis, I have based this old-Avorld romance itotc on the simple biblical assertion, " She turned and went to her OAvn country " ; an indisputable proof, I take it, that, pre-eminently fitted as was the Queen of the South to become the consort of the wisest of mankind, this honour was denied her. CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. HOW THE HEART OF SHEBA WAS BROUGHT UP IN THE HOUSE OF NAHU THE PRIEST 1 1 II.

HOW.TAMERIN, THE MERCHANTMAN, MADE A REPORT UNTO KING HODHADI ... 23 III. HOW KING HODHADI DIED, AND THE CHILD BALKIS REIGNED IN HIS STEAD ... 37 IV. HOW THE WHITE BIRD OF SHEl6m6h BROUGHT GREETING UNTO THE HEART OF SHEBA 49 V. HOW WE JOURNEYED UNTO THE LAND OF ISRAEL 63 VI. HOW WE CAME UNTO THE PRESENCE OF THE WISE KING 75 VII. HOW THE HEART OF SHEBA PLANTED THE BALSAM-TREE IN THE GARDENS OF ETHAM Contents. 10 CHAP. PAGE VIII. HOW BATHSHUA BESOUGHT THE HEART OF SHEBA 97 IX. HOW THE WOMEN OF THE KING'S HOUSE MADE A GREAT FEAST UNTO THE HEART OF SHEBA I°9 X. HOW THE HEART OF SHEBA COMMUNED WITH THE WISE KING ON THE ROOF OF .J THE PALACE 121 XI. HOW THE HEART OF SHEBA PARTED FROM THE WISE KING 135 XII. HOW WE CAME AGAIN UNTO THE LAND OF SHEBA 145 XIII. HOW HER PEOPLE DESIRED THE HEART OF SHEBA TO WED 157 XIV.

Chapter I

How the Heart of Sheba was brought up in the house of Nahu the priest. [jKpS^flODHADI, my master, Kingof Shcba, B □! wnose mother was Umera, of the jg gg l^j children of the Jinns, took to wife Elmineh, of the daughters of the priesthood. She dying of the child she bore, there was sought among her kinswomen one who should be as a mother to the babe. Such an one Avas found in Lebna, the wife ©be ®eart of gtljeba. 12 of Nahu, High Priest of the Temple of the Sun that stands in the midst of the city of Mareb, the chief of all the cities of Sheba. And when the days of mourning for Elmineh Avere ended, the King arose and took the child in his arms, and Avent down to the house of Nahu the priest. And Lebna, the Avife of Nahu, stood at the entering in of the courts of the temple, and her Avomen stood by her, and they Avaited for the coming of the King.

And Hodhadi looked upon Lebna, and his countenance Avas very sorrowful, for the Avife of Nahu had been as a sister unto Elmineh. And the King gave the child into the hands of Lebna, and spake unto her after this manner in the ears of all the people : " Take thou this child of her Avho was as a ®h« ®eavt of &ljeba. 13 sister unto thee, and let it be even as thine own. And the gods make the child a blessing unto thee and unto thine house, and deal Avith thee as thou shalt deal Avith the child." And Lebna took the child to her bosom, and she made obeisance unto the King. So the child was nourished in the priest's house. And the name of the child was Balkis, for thus, decreed the sages, shall they call the daughter that shall be born unto Hodhadi the King and Elmineh his wife. And the name of the child's nurse was Amataxos.

Now Amataxos was very old, so old that no man in all the land of Sheba remembered the fashion of her youth : it was said among the people that she had followed Umera, the mother of Hodhadi, from the country of the Jinns : she ®lje geart of &ljeba. 14 was Avith Elmineh when she died, and she be came nurse unto the child Balkis. Very wise Avas Amataxos : nought had the gods hidden from her : she held converse Avith the stars that keep watch over the destinies of men : all plants yielded their secrets unto her, so that in all the land Avere no such salves, and balsams, and healing draughts, as those of Amataxos : strange Avords she spake oftentimes in the ears of them that dAvelt in the priest's house, and the songs whereAvith she lulled the child Balkis to rest were in a tongue Avhereof no man knoweth the interpretation.

But it may Avell be that the child whose father was Hodhadi, the son of Umera, of the lineage of the J inns, comprehended the mystic language, for she Avas Avont to laugh aloud in her nurse's arms, Avell pleased with the strange ®he Seort of gtljeba. 15 melodies. But Lebna, the wife of Nahu, was as a mother unto the babe, for I, Arnath, was the sole child that had been born unto her, and because she had been as a sister unto Elmineh, her soul clave unto the King's child, and the child loved her, and was obedient unto her. : And I, Arnath, the son of Nahu and Lebna his wife, was as a slave unto the child : I it was who wove her garlands whereAvith to deck the shrine of the Sun : by my hand, when as yet her steps were feeble, she ascended unto the altar : when she ate, I ministered unto her : when she went abroad, I guided her chariot : and it pleased the child to be very gracious unto me : and forasmuch as Ave had lain on the same bosom, and dwelt beneath the same roof, and called the wife of Nahu mother, it seemed good unto King Hodhadi that men should ©fie QeavX of §ljeim. speak of me as Arnath, the brother of Balkis.

So the child dwelt in the house of Nahu, for the King took no more a Avife, and there was no Avoman in the King's house to tend the child: and Ave grew together at the feet of Lebna. We were to fall on no such happy days again. And the child greAV Avondrous fair and tall : and so great Avas her fame in all the land of Sheba that the people journeyed many days to look upon the face of the King's daughter, and when she stood at the right hand of Hodhadi on the great feast-days of the Sun, the multi tude cried aloud to behold her beauty, and so dear was the child unto them that men called her the Heart of Sheba. And there came wise men from the Chaldees, and astrologers out of Egypt, to make knoAvn their learning unto the daughter of Hodhadi ; ©he Seart of &ljeba. 17 and Nahu the priest, to whom Balkis was as his OAvn child, opened unto her all that was laid up in the books of the King's House and in the roll of the Temple of the Sun : and the child was Aviser than her teachers — nothing Avas too hard for her — insomuch that there was no Avoman in all the land of Sheba like unto the maiden Balkis.

And forasmuch as it seemed good unto Lebna that a woman-child should be skilled in all manner of needlework, there came cunning men, Aveavers, and devisers of broidery, and the child, the King's daughter, handled the distaff, and fashioned raiment strange and fair, of gold, and scarlet, and purple. Also she kneaded bread, and ground wheat, and made cakes and savoury meat to set before ©h;e geart of gtjeba. the house of Nahu the priest : so that they spake of the child in all the land of Sheba as one who should rule her household prudently Avhen it should please the gods to set her over the palace of the kings in Mareb. And her delight was to minister unto the sick and needy : she dried the mourner's tear, and brought healing into the chamber of the diseased, so that the dying cried aloud for the touch of her hand, and there Avas no physician in all the land of Sheba to Avhom the gods vouchsafed such skill as Amataxos taught the child Balkis.

Also she learnt of Amataxos strange things : signs and tokens, the interpretation of spirits, divination, the Avisdom of many generations, and the language of the stars. Long nights, Avhilst the city slept, the child ©ije $eart of g*heha. 19 sat at the feet of Amataxos, and they tAvain scanned the heavens ; and the meaning and the message of the stars, the homes of the gods, were made known unto the child. And I, Arnath, stood by, Avhilst they communed in a strange tongue, and I heard, and compre hended not. On a certain night as we stood in the chamber of Amataxos, that is on the roof of the priest's house, the child Balkis stretched out her hand unto me, and said : " I have desired Amataxos, O Arnath, to make knoAvn unto thee also someAvhat of her wisdom, but she saith me nay. Howbeit, thou knowest that she is very Avise, and Ave must be content to have it so.

Nevertheless, the gods have granted thee that Avhich is better than knowledge, even a goodly heart : repine ©he fjeart of &b,eba. 20 not if they withhold a little wisdom from thee." And I boA\'ed my head and held my peace : was I not as a slave unto 'my sister ? And, truly, what more could I have desired of the gods than to find favour in her sight ? Thus the child dwelt among us, and she was as a blessing unto the house of Nahu : famine and pestilence entered not into our midst ; the flocks and herds multiplied exceedingly, and the people brought gifts a hundredfold into the priest's treasury. So it was with Lebna as King Hodhadi had spoken unto her : even as she had dealt with the child, so had the gods dealt Avith her. And great honour was given unto Lebna, the wife of Nahu, Avho Avas as a mother unto the King's child : she Avalked as a princess in ©he Seort of gheha. 21 the midst of the people ; her apparel was after the manner of the queens of Sheba, and her place Avas ever at the King's right hand.

HoAvbeit, no man bore her envy, for she desired none of these things. Gentle was she, and mild of speech, prudent and diligent, faithful unto her lord, the beloved of all her kindred, the wise mistress of her household, blameless in the sight of all men : there shall arise another like unto her whom the gods suffered me to call mother. HoAvbeit, she craved none other honour save only to be called the mother of the Heart of Sheba ; and the child Balkis was ever as a daughter unto her. Thus many moons Avaned, and the land of Sheba prospered in the days of Hodhadi the King. And the fame of the child was in all ©Jje gmrt of &b,eba. 22 lands : her Avisdom was greater than the old men's, the senators', and the priests found no ansAvers to her hard questions. She sat by Avhile her father, the King, gave judgment, and suffered no wrong to be done : she was as a shield unto the oppressed.

And Avithal, the burden of her Avisdom was a very slight thing unto her : she Avas as one that serveth in the house of Nahu the priest, and when she led the dances before the King, she Avas as one of her handmaidens that waited on her, and she Avas obedient unto Lebna. To me also, to Avhom the gods had given little knoAvledge, the child Avas ever gracious, and many dark things she made plain unto me. After this manner was the childhood of my sister, Balkis, the Heart of Sheba.

Chapter II

How Tamerin, the merchantman, made a report unto King Hodhadi. |pe™»3?|T was so that on a certain day as Upra ragi we sat at meat in the house of Nahu ifyfp-JP^j) the priest, there came unto our ears a sound as of much running to and fro in the streets of the city. And Nahu, my father, sent one of the young men, priests, that broke bread Avith us, saying, " Stand, I pray thee, at the entering in of the house, and inquire Avhat this tumult may be." ©Ije ijeart of gheha. 24 And the young man came again, and said, " Tamerin, the merchantman, hath returned from the land of Judæa, and goeth unto the palace of the King to give an account of his journeyings, whereat the people re joice." For Tamerin was of great repute in all the city of Mareb. And even Avhile the priest, the young man, spake, there came unto Lebna one of the King's guard, for the King desired the child Balkis to come unto the palace to hear the report of Tamerin.

So Ave arose and Avent Avith her, Nahu the priest, and Lebna his Avife, and I, Arnath, the brother of the child, and Amataxos her nurse, and we came into the great Hall of the Palace of Hodhadi. And the King was set on his ©he Seavt of *gb.eba. 25 throne that is Avonderful among the thrones of the nations round about ; gold and silver, emvrought Avith pearls, and rubies, and chryso lite. And so great was the honour Avherewith Hodhadi honoured her who Avas as a mother unto his child, that he rose up from his throne to meet her, and there Avas set a place for Lebna at the King's right hand. But the child Balkis stood beside her father, and the King's arm Avas Avrapped about her. And Tamerin the merchantman stood forth, and spake after this manner in the ears of Hodhadi the King, and in the ears of the priests, the councillors, the Avarriors, and in the ears of all the people : " Great and fair, O King Hodhadi, is the land of Sheba ; exceeding beautiful is thy city of Mareb, Avhither the gods have brought me ©fie fJjeart of grljetm. back in safety.

Yet, let the King be gracious unto his servant, there hath no such land been known unto thy servant as the land of Israel that is beyond the Avilderness, a land of orchards and vineyards, corn and oil, wherein entereth neither strife nor famine, but every man dwelleth safely in his tent. A city of palaces is its city that standeth in the midst thereof, and all nations do throng its streets, Avhereof the stones are silver. " Wise and terrible is its King, to Avhom the gods have made known all things : fair and wonderful is his countenance, and there is no end to his Avisdom, and men call him Shelomoh, the Peaceful One, whom Bathshua, the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess, bore unto King David. " Sweet songs he singeth, Avise Avords he speaketh in the ears of his people : many ©he geort of gfjcba. 27 books hath he written, and in their own tongue he talketh Avith birds and beasts, Avhom he tameth unto his hand : night and day his gates stand open, and all kindreds of the earth do enter in ; and when he sitteth in the Porch of Pillars kings make their suit unto him.

" Fashioned of pure gold, exceeding glorious, is the temple he hath budded unto his God in the midst of his city, and there is none of all the palaces of Mareb like unto his. " Of cedar-wood and ivory and gold is the fashion thereof, and in the hall thereof he hath made unto himself a throne of ivory, wrought Avith gold, and six-and-twenty lions of pure gold stand round about the throne. " His slavTes are the sons of his father, princes, and the Pharaoh of Egypt hath giA'en him his daughter to wife. ©Ije fjeavt of &ljeba. "And I Avould, O King Hodhadi, that thou mightest journey into the land of Israel, and with thine own eyes behold these Avonders whereof I have told thee, and sojourn awhile in its city of palaces, and be called the Wise King's friend." But King Hodhadi answered, and said : " Nay, O Tamerin, there is no journey appointed unto me, save one : thither she whom my soul loveth hath gone before me."

And the child Balkis stooped unto me, as the lillies that blossom in the courts of the temple bend to the winds, and she spake in mine ear : " One day, Arnath, thou and I shall go this journey whereof Tamerin hath spoken." And Amataxos the nurse, the wise Avoman, heard Avhen the child spake unto me, and she made answer for me : ©he &eavt of gbeba. 29 " It is appointed unto thee, O Heart of Sheba." Then Tamerin the merchantman dreAV near, and gave unto King Hodhadi gifts from the land of Israel ; a robe of silk, a chain of gold, and a casket of pearls. And the King gave unto Tamerin a ring from off his finger, and Tamerin made obeisance unto the King, and departed unto his own house. And the next day he made a great feast unto his kinsfolk, and a slavTe that Avaited on Lebna was one of them that were bidden.

And the child Balkis heard when the slave besought her mistress that she might go unto the feast, and the child said unto me : " I Avill make myself as a slave, and go also unto the house of Tamerin, for I desire to hear more of the Wise King." ©tje -geari of gljeba. 30 And I spake unto my sister : "Nay, let not the King's daughter go into the house of a stranger as one of her slaves : speak unto Lebna, and she will cause Tamerin to come unto thee, and thou shalt ask of him Avhatsoever thou wilt." Howbeit, the child suffered it not to be so ; and when evening was come, Ave went Avith the slave unto the house of Tamerin. And a great multitude Avas gathered together in the house, for Tamerin had opened his gates unto all the city, and no man knew that the Heart of Sheba Avas among them save only I, Arnath, and the slave that Avent Avith us, for the child Avas veiled.

And the King's daughter spake unto the slave and said : "Thou shalt presently desire thy kinsman, ©he &eavt of &b,eba. 31 Tamerin, that he speak unto his guests of the Wise King Avhereof he hath spoken unto King Hodhadi." And the slave did as she Avas commanded. And many others also who had not been able to enter into the palace for the press, desired the merchantman that he should speak unto them of the city whose stones are silver, its palaces and its temple, of the dAvelling of the Wise King, his songs, and his Avords of wisdom, his glory and his beauty. And a great silence fell upon all them that listened Avhilst Tamerin spake of the Wise King, his riches, his wisdom, his wonders ; of the gardens he had fashioned, and the chariot that he rode in ; of the marvellous white bird that he had trained unto his hand to bear messages Avhithersoever he Avould ; of the young ©Ije fjeart of &\jcba. 32 men, princes, that guarded him night and day ; of the fair women that called him lord.

And Balkis Avas very attentive to hear all these things ; notwithstanding, she spake again unto the slave of Lebna, and said : " Inquire of thy kinsman concerning the God Avhom the Wise King Avorshippeth ; of AA'hat similitude is he? " And the slave obeyed the commandment of Balkis, and inquired of Tamerin concerning the Wise King's God. And Tamerin answered and said " No man hath beheld Him ; howbeit His glory abideth continually in the Temple of Shelomoh ; but none of the strangers in the land do enter in, for the King hath planted in the courts thereof trees whereof the leaves wither Avhen any stranger essayeth to enter in." ©Ije geart of gljebct. 33 And Ave came again unto the house of Nahu, and from that day forth my sister Balkis talked much Avith me concerning the report of Tamerin.

And she spake unto me, saying : " The gods of Sheba, the god of the Temple of the Sun Avhom my house serveth, bring me shortly into the land of Israel and into the city of Shelomoh." Also she inquired diligently of Nahu con cerning the God of the Wise King, and the manner of worship of the JeAvs, the people of Israel. And Nahu ansAvered and said unto the child Balkis : " Suffer not the report of this merchantman Avho spake yesterday unto thy father to lead thee astray from the faith of thy sires. Unto ©lie ficort of gtljcbn. 34 what land hath its god vouchsafed gifts like unto those Avhich the great Sun-god hath given unto Sheba ? Blessings in abundance, full garners, and peace in all the land. And if these content thee not, sure am I that the God of the Sun will give unto thee whatsoever more thou desireth, for thou art of a race beloved of the gods.

Therefore, O daughter of Hodhadi, inquire not concerning any strange god, lest the displeasure of the Sun fall on thee and on thy father's house." But Balkis made ansAver unto Nahu the priest : " Have I not been ever as thy child, O Nahu ? And of Avhom should I inquire con cerning hard things save of thee ? HoAvbeit, let it grieve thee no more : I Avill take counsel henceforth with no man." ©Ije &eavt of §heba. 35 But unto me the child said : "Verily, 0 Arnath, I go into the land of Israel in the appointed season of the gods ; there will I learn all things concerning the God of Shelomoh, and there is none that shall say me nay."

Chapter III

How King Hodhadi died, and the child Balkis reigned in his stead. Efffp^f ND after many days there fell a If JsTS I S Sreat sickness on Hodhadi, my BaAfiwJal master, King of Sheba. And the physicians ministered unto him in vain : also Amataxos, the nurse, the wise woman, brought her salves and cunning potions, and Nahu the priest besought the gods night and day for the life of the King. And the child Balkis waited on her father, and wearied not. ©he g)eavt of gtljeha. HoAvbeit, it pleased not the gods to defer their sentence, and it Avas known unto all men that Hodhadi the King was stricken unto death. And the King caused all men to go forth from his chamber, and sent and called for Arnath, the son of Nahu ; and I came, and knelt before the King on his couch, and the King laid his hand upon me, and spake unto me after this manner : " I go hence, O Arnath, even as I spake not many days since unto Tamerin, on the journey that is appointed unto all men : and she whom my soul loveth is glad at my coming.

"I have set in order all things pertaining unto my people, and unto my kingdom i there re maineth yet but one charge to be given : and unto thee, O Arnath, do I commit it, the chief ©he $eart of gheha. 39 treasure of my house, the child of my love, whom to-morroAv's sun shall hail the Queen of Sheba. " Councillors and warriors shall she have in great abundance to guard her borders, but thou shalt be as a shield unto her, and stand ever at her right hand, and men shall call thee Arnath, the Queen's brother. Fain would I desire that, Avhen the days of her mourning are ended, thou mightest take her to wife : albeit great kings shall seek her, I would that thou mightest be her lord, and the father of her sons, for thou art of the lineage of Elmineh. But Nahu saith this may not be ; and who am I that I should rebel against the Avord of the gods ?

" Howbeit, thou shalt be the faithful servant of my child, and journey whithersoever she ©Ije geavt of grljetra. 40 will, and go down Avith her into all the shadowy places Avhither the gods may call her : thou shalt know no joys save such Avherein she shall take pleasure, and no sorrows shall grieve thee save hers : and it may be that the gods, Avho are ever gracious unto the true and faithful of heart, shall relent at the last, and turn the heart of my child unto thee, and the soul of Elmineh and my soul shall be glad together in the Land of Shadows to know thou art lord unto our child." Then the King blessed me, and kissed me even as his OAvn son, and I wept aloud, for I knew that my master Avas departing from us. Then the King sent and called Balkis, and the child came weeping, and knelt before her father.

And the King spake unto her, and said : ©he gcort of gtijeba. 41 " At this time to-morrow men shall no more say Hodhadi the King, but Balkis the Queen. The gods prosper thee, O child of Elmineh, and grant thee Avisdom such as hath been given unto none" other among Avomen, and make thy name great in all the earth when Sheba hath no more a place in the nations. " Silver, and gold, and jeAvels, palaces, horses, slaves, and armies shall be thine in great abundance, and I have given Arnath thy brother charge to stand ever at thy right hand ; he shall be unto thee as a shield from all tempests, as a sure refuge in all tumults, and thou shalt be very gracious unto him, and make him as a prince in thy kingdom." And the child Balkis kissed her father, and I, Arnath the son of Nahu, wept Avith her. And at sunset of that day Hodhadi the King ©he &eavt of gMjebct. 42 died, and there Avas great lamentation in all the land of Sheba, for there had not arisen so Avise a king in all the former generations of the kings of Sheba.

So King Hodhadi Avas gathered unto his fathers, and they laid him in the tomb of Elmineh his Avife, and the child Balkis was Queen after him. HoAvbeit for many days no man beheld her face, save only Lebna, the wife of Nahu, Avho was as a mother unto her, and Amataxos, her nurse, and I, Arnath, her brother, and the Heart of Sheba mourned for her father. But when the days of her mourning Avere ended, she sent and called Nahu the priest by my mouth. And I hasted unto my father, and said " O my father, the Heart of Sheba calleth for thee." ©he fjeart 0f Qijeba. 43 And Nahu arose, and came quickly unto the chamber of Balkis. And Balkis sat on a couch of silver, with scarlet hangings : and Amataxos the nurse, the Avise woman, sat at her feet, and Lebna the wife of Nahu stood by her. And when Nahu beheld the Heart of Sheba, he would have bowed himself to the earth, but she arose, and kissed him, and said unto him : " Have I not been ever as a daughter unto thee, O Nahu ?

Put me not in remembrance of the burden that hath fallen on me : make no obeisance unto me, Avho am tenfold more thy child, and stand in greater need of thee than of old. " Thou seest I have laid aside my garments of mourning, for I know that my people desire greatly to look upon the face of their Queen, tTTlje fteavi of grljcba. 44 and henceforth am I theirs. And thou shalt cause a proclamation to go throughout the land of Sheba that on a set day the Heart of Sheba will come forth unto her people, and they shall behold her face, and she shall give herself unto them for the appointed span Avherein the gods shall suffer her to minister unto them." And Nahu the priest did even as he Avas commanded, and there came unto Mareb all the cities of Sheba to look upon the face of the Queen, insomuch that there Avas no place found for the multitude.