Chapter XV. The Purpose of Queen Tera

by Bram Stoker

　　'Now, as to the Star Jewel! This she manifestly regarded as thegreatest of her treasures. On it she had engraven words which none ofher time dared to speak.'In the old Egyptian belief it was held that there were words,which, if used properly--for the method of speaking them was asimportant as the words themselves--could command the Lords of the Upperand the Lower Worlds. The "hekau", or word of power, was all importantin certain ritual. On the Jewel of Seven Stars, which, as you know, iscarved into the image of a scarab, are graven in hieroglyphic two suchhekau, one above, the other underneath. But you will understand betterwhen you see it! Wait here! Do not stir!'As he spoke, he rose and left the room. A great fear for him cameover me; but I was in some strange way relieved when I looked atMargaret. Whenever there had been any possibility of danger to herfather, she had shown great fear for him; now she was calm and placid.I said nothing, but waited.In two or three minutes Mr. Trelawny returned. He held in his hand alittle golden box. This, as he resumed his seat, he placed before himon the table. We all leaned forward as he opened it.On a lining of white satin lay a wondrous ruby of immense size,almost as big as the top joint of Margaret's little finger. It wascarven--it could not possibly have been its natural shape, but jewelsdo not show the working of the tool--into the shape of a scarab, withits wings folded, and its legs and feelers pressed back to its sides.Shining through its wondrous 'pigeon's blood' colour were sevendifferent stars, each of seven points, in such position that theyreproduced exactly the figure of the Plough. There could be no possiblemistake as to this in the mind of anyone who had ever noted theconstellation. On it were some hieroglyphic figures, cut with the mostexquisite precision, as I could see when it came to my turn to use themagnifying glass, which Mr. Trelawny took from his pocket and handed tous.When we had all seen it fully, Mr. Trelawny turned it over so thatit rested on its back in a cavity made to hold it in the upper half ofthe box. The reverse was no less wonderful than the upper, being carvedto resemble the underside of the beetle. It, too, had some hieroglyphicfigures cut on it. Mr. Trelawny resumed his lecture as we all sat withour heads close to this wonderful jewel:'As you see, there are two words, one on the top, the otherunderneath. The symbols on the top represent a single word, composed ofone syllable prolonged, with its determinatives. You know, all of you,I suppose, that the Egyptian language was phonetic, and that thehieroglyphic symbol represented the sound. The first symbol here, thehoe, means "mer", and the two pointed ellipses the prolongation of thefinal r: mer-r-r. The sitting figure with the hand to its face is whatwe call the "determinative" of "thought"; and the roll of papyrus thatof "abstraction". Thus we get the word "mer", love, in its abstract,general, and fullest sense. This is the hekau which can command theUpper World.'Margaret's face was a glory as she said in a deep, low, ringing tone:'Oh, but it is true. How the old wonder-workers guessed at almightyTruth!' Then a hot blush swept her face, and her eyes fell. Her fathersmiled at her lovingly as he resumed:'The symbolization of the word on the reverse is simpler, though themeaning is more abstruse. The first symbol means "men", "abiding", andthe second, "ab", "the heart". So that we get "abiding of heart", or inour own language "patience". And this is the hekau to control the LowerWorld!'He closed the box, and motioning us to remain as we were, he wentback to his room to replace the Jewel in the safe. When he had returnedand resumed his seat, he wenton:"That Jewel, with its mystic words, and which Queen Tera held underher hand in her sarcophagus, was to be an important factor--probablythe most important--in the working out of the act of her resurrection.From the first, I seemed by a sort of instinct to realize this. I keptthe Jewel within my great safe, whence none could extract it; not evenQueen Tera herself with her astral body.''Her "astral body?" What is that, Father? What does it mean?' Therewas a keenness in Margaret's voice as she asked the question whichsurprised me a little; but Trelawny smiled a sort of indulgent parentalsmile, which came through his grim solemnity like sunshine through arifted cloud, as he spoke:'The astral body, which is a part of Buddhist belief, longsubsequent to the time I speak of, and which is an accepted fact ofmodern mysticism, had its rise in Ancient Egypt; at least, so far as weknow. It is that the gifted individual can at will, quick as thoughtitself, transfer his body whithersoever he chooses, by the dissolutionand reincarnation of particles. In the ancient belief there wereseveral parts of a human being. You may as well know them; so that youwill understand matters relative to them or dependent on them as theyoccur. 'First there is the "Ka", or "Double", which, as Doctor Budgeexplains, may be defined as- "an abstract individuality of personality"which was imbued with all the characteristic attributes of theindividual it represented, and possessed an absolutely independentexistence. It was free to move from place to place upon the earth atwill; and it could enter into heaven and hold converse with the gods.Then there was the "Ba", or "soul", which dwelt in the "Ka", and hadthe power of becoming corporeal or incorporeal at will; "it had bothsubstance and form.... It had power to leave the tomb.... It couldrevisit the body in the tomb... and could reanimate it and holdconverse with it." Again, there was the "Khu", the "spiritualintelligence", or spirit. It took the form of "a shining, luminous,intangible shape of the body".... Then again there was the "Sek-hem",or "power" of a man, his strength or vital force personified. Thesewith the "Khaibit", or "shadow", the "Ren", or "name", the "Khat", or"physical body", and "Ab", the "heart", in which life was seated, wentto the full making up of a man.'Thus you will see, that if this division of functions, spiritualand bodily, ethereal and corporeal, ideal and actual, be accepted asexact, there are all the possibilities and capabilities of corporealtransference, guided always by an unimprisonable will or intelligence.'As he paused I murmured the lines from Shelley's 'Prometheus Unbound':The Magus Zoroaster... Met his own image walking in the garden.Mr. Trelawny was. not displeased. 'Quite so!' he said, in his quietway. 'Shelley had a better conception of ancient beliefs than any ofour poets.' With a voice changed again he resumed his lecture, for so kwas to some of us:There is another belief of the ancient Egyptian which you must bearin mind; that regarding the ushaptiu figures of Osiris, which wereplaced with the dead to do its work in the Under World. The enlargementof this idea came to a belief that it was possible to transmit, bymagical formulae, the soul and qualities of any living creature to afigure made in its image. This would give a terrible extension of powerto one who held the gift of magic.'It is from a union of these various beliefs, and their naturalcorollaries, that I have come to the conclusion that Queen Teraexpected to be able to effect her own resurrection, when, and where,and how, she would. That she may have held before her a definite timefor making her effort is not only possible but likely. I shall not stopnow to explain it, but shall enter upon the subject later on. With asoul with the Gods, a spirit which could wander the earth at will, anda power of corporeal transference, or an astral body, there need be nobounds or limits to her ambition. The belief is forced upon us that forthese forty or fifty centuries she lay dormant in her tomb--waiting.Waiting with that "patience" which could rule the Gods of the UnderWorld, for that "love" which could command those of the Upper World.What she may have dreamt we know not; but her dream must have beenbroken when the Dutch explorer entered her sculptured cavern, and hisfollower violated the sacred privacy of her tomb by his rude outrage inthe theft of her hand."That theft, with all that followed, proved to us one thing,however: that each part of her body, though separated from the rest,can be a central point or rallying place for the items or particles ofher astral body. That hand in my. room could ensure her instantaneouspresence in the flesh, and its equally rapid dissolution.'Now comes the crown of my argument. The purpose of the attack on mewas to get the safe open, so that the sacred Jewel of Seven Stars couldbe extracted. That immense door of the safe could not keep out herastral body, which, or any part of it, could gather itself as wellwithin as without the safe. And I doubt not that in the darkness of thenight that mummied hand sought often the Talisman Jewel, and drew newinspiration from its touch. But despite all its power, the astral bodycould not remove the Jewel through the chinks of the safe. The Ruby isnot astral; and it could only be moved in the ordinary way by theopening of the doors. To this end, the Queen used her astral body andthe fierce force of her Familiar, to bring to the keyhole of the safethe master key which debarred her wish. For years I have suspected,nay, have believed as much; and I, too, guarded myself against powersof the Nether World. I, too, waited in patience till I should havegathered together all the factors required for the opening of the MagicCoffer and the resurrection of the mummied Queen!' He paused, and hisdaughter's voice came out sweet and clear, and full of intense feeling:'Father, in the Egyptian belief, was the power of resurrection of amummied body a general one, or was it limited? That is: could itachieve resurrection many times in the course of ages; or only once,and that one final?'There was but one resurrection,' he answered. 'There were some whobelieved that this was to be a definite resurrection of the body intothe real world. But in the common belief, the Spirit found joy in theElysian Fields, where there was plenty of food and no fear of famine.Where there was moisture and deep-rooted reeds, and all the joys thatare to be expected by the people of an arid land and burning clime.'Then Margaret spoke with an earnestness which showed the convictionof her inmost soul:'To me, then, it is given to understand what was the dream of thisgreat and far-thinking and high-souled lady of old; the dream that heldher soul in patient waiting for its realization through the passing ofall those tens of centuries. The dream of a love that might be; a lovethat she felt she might, even under new conditions, herself evoke. Thelove that is the dream of every woman's life; of the Old and of theNew; Pagan or Christian; under -whatever sun; in whatever rank orcalling; however may have been the joy or pain of her life in otherways. Oh! I know it! I know it! I am a woman, and I know a woman'sheart. What were the lack of food or the plenitude of it; what werefeast or famine to this woman, born in a palace, with the shadow of theCrown of the Two Egypts on her brows! What were reedy morasses or thetinkle of running water to her whose barges could sweep the great Nilefrom the mountains to the sea. What were petty joys and absence ofpetty fears to her, the raising of whose hand could hurl armies, ordraw to the water-stairs of her palaces the commerce of the world! Atwhose word rose temples filled with all the artistic beauty of theTimes of Old which it was her aim and pleasure to restore! Under whoseguidance the solid rock yawned into the sepulchre that she designed!'Surely, surely, such a one had nobler dreams! I can feel them in myheart; I can see them with my sleeping eyes!'As she spoke she seemed to be inspired; and her eyes had a far-awaylook as though they saw something beyond mortal sight. And then thedeep eyes filled up with unshed tears of great emotion. The very soulof the woman seemed to speak in her voice; whilst we who listened satentranced.'I can see her in her loneliness and in the silence of her mightypride, dreaming her own dream of things far different from those aroundher. Of some other land, far, far away under-the canopy of the silentnight, lit by the cool, beautiful light of the stars. A land under thatNorthern star, whence blew the sweet winds that cooled the feverishdesert air. A land of wholesome greenery, far, far away. Where were noscheming and malignant priesthood; whose ideas were to lead to powerthrough gloomy temples and more gloomy caverns of the dead, through anendless ritual of death! A land where love was not base, but a divinepossession of the soul! Where there might be some one kindred spiritwhich could speak to hers through mortal lips like her own; whose beingcould merge with hers in a sweet communion of soul to "soul, even astheir breaths could mingle in the ambient air! I know the feeling for Ihave shared it myself. I may speak of it now, since the blessing hascome into my own life. I may speak of it since it enables me tointerpret the feelings, the very longing soul, of that sweet and lovelyQueen, so different from her surroundings, so high above her time!Whose nature, put into a word, could control the forces of the UnderWorld; and the name of whose aspiration, though but graven on a starlitjewel, could command all the powers in the Pantheon of the High Gods.'And in the realization of that dream she will surely be content torest!'We men sat silent, as the young girl gave her powerfulinterpretation of the design or purpose of the woman of old. Her everyword and tone carried with it the conviction of her own belief. Theloftiness of her thoughts seemed to uplift us all as we listened. Hernoble words, flowing in musical cadence and vibrant with internalforce, seemed to issue from some great instrument of elemental power.Even her tone was new to us all; so that we listened as to some new andstrange being from a new and strange world. Her father's face was fullof delight. I knew now its cause. I understood the happiness that hadcome into his life, on his return to the world that he knew, from thatprolonged sojourn in the world of dreams. To find in his daughter,whose nature he had never till now known, such a wealth of affection,such a splendour of spiritual insight, such a scholarly imagination,such... The rest of his feeling was of hope!The two other men were silent unconsciously. One man had had hisdreaming; for the other, his dreams were to come.For myself, I was like one in a trance. Who was this new, radiantbeing who had won to existence out of the mist and darkness of ourfears. Love has divine possibilities for the lover's heart! The wingsof the soul may expand at any time from the shoulders of the loved one,who then may sweep into angel form. I knew that in my Margaret's naturewere divine possibilities of many kinds. When under the shade of theoverhanging willow-tree on the river, I had gazed into the depths ofher beautiful eyes, I had thenceforth a strict belief in the manifoldbeauties and excellences of her nature; but this soaring andunderstanding spirit was, indeed, a revelation. My pride, like herfather's, was outside myself; my joy and rapture were complete andsupreme!When we had all got back to earth again in our various ways, Mr.Trelawny, holding his daughter's hand in his, went on with hisdiscourse:'Now, as to the time at which Queen Tera intended her resurrectionto take place! We are in contact with some of the higher astronomicalcalculations in connection with true orientation. As you knew, thestars shift their relative positions in the heavens; but though thereal distances traversed are beyond all ordinary comprehension, theeffects as we see them are small. Nevertheless, they are susceptible ofmeasurement, not by years, indeed, but by centuries. It was by thismeans that Sir John Herschel arrived at the date of the building of theGreat Pyramid--a date fixed by the time necessary to change the star ofthe true north from Draconis to the Pole Star, and since then verifiedby later discoveries. From the above there can be no doubt whateverthat astronomy was an exact science with the Egyptians at least athousand years before the time of Queen Tera. Now, the stars that go tomake up a constellation change in process of time their relativepositions, and the Plough is a notable example. The changes in theposition of stars in even forty, centuries is so small as to be hardlynoticeable by an eye not trained to minute observances, but they can bemeasured and verified. Did you, or any of you, notice how exactly thestars in the Ruby correspond to the position of the stars in thePlough; or how the same holds with regard to the translucent places inthe Magic Coffer?'We all assented. He went on:'You are quite correct. They correspond exactly. And yet when QueenTera was laid in her tomb, neither the stars in the Jewel nor thetranslucent places in the Coffer corresponded to the position of thestars in the Constellation as they then were!'We looked at each other as he paused; a new light was breaking uponus. With a ring of mastery in his voice he went on:'Do you not see the meaning of this? Does it not throw a light onthe intention of the Queen? She, who was guided by augury, and magic,and superstition, naturally chose a time for her resurrection whichseemed to have been pointed out by the High Gods themselves, who hadsent their message on a thunderbolt from other worlds. When such a timewas fixed by supernal wisdom, would it not be the height of humanwisdom to avail of it? Thus it is'-- here his voice deepened andtrembled with the intensity of his feeling--'that to us and our time isgiven the opportunity of this wondrous peep into the old world, such ashas been the privilege of none other of our time; which may never beagain.'From first to last the cryptic writing and symbolism of thatwondrous tomb of that wondrous woman is full of guiding light; and thekey of the many mysteries lies in that most wondrous Jewel which sheheld in her dead hand over the dead heart, which she hoped and believedwould beat again in a newer and nobler world!'There are only loose ends now to consider. Margaret has given usthe true inwardness of the feeling of the other Queen!' He looked ather fondly, and stroked her hand as he said it: 'For my own part Isincerely hope she is right; for in such case it will be a joy, I amsure, to all of us to assist at such a realization of hope. But we mustnot go too fast, or believe too much in our present state of knowledge.The voice that we hearken for comes out of times strangely other thanour own; when human life counted for little, and when the morality ofthe time made little account of the removing of obstacles in the way toachievement of desire. We must keep our eyes fixed on the scientificside, and wait for the developments on the psychical side.'Now, as to this stone box, which we call the Magic Coffer. As Ihave said, I am convinced that it opens only in obedience to someprinciple of light, or the exercise of some of its forces at presentunknown to us. There is here much ground for conjecture and forexperiment; for as yet the scientists have not thoroughlydifferentiated the kinds, and powers, and degrees of light. Withoutanalysing various rays we may, I think, take it for granted that thereare different qualities and powers of light; and this great field ofscientific investigation is almost virgin soil. We know as yet solittle of natural forces, that imagination need set no bounds to its,flights in considering the possibilities of the future. Within but afew years we have made such discoveries as two centuries ago would havesent the discoveries to the flames. The liquefaction of oxygen; theexistence of radium, of helium, of polonium, -of argon; the differentpowers 'of Rontgen and Cathode and Becquerel rays. And as we mayfinally prove that there are different kinds and qualities of light, sowe may find that combustion may have its own powers of differentiation;that there are qualities in some flames non-existent in others. It maybe that some of the essential conditions of substance are continuous,even in the destruction of their bases. Last night I was thinking ofthis, and reasoning that as there are certain qualities in some oilswhich are not in others, so there may be certain similar orcorresponding qualities or powers in the combination of each. I supposewe have all noticed some time or other that the light of colza oil isnot quite the same as that of paraffin, or that the flames of coal gasand whale oil are different. They find it so in the lighthouses! Allat once it occurred to me that there might be some special virtue inthe oil which had been found in the jars when Queen Tera's tomb wasopened. These had not been used to pre-serve the intestines as usual,so they must have been placed there for some other purpose. Iremembered that in Van Huyn's narrative he had commented on the way thejars were sealed. This was lightly, though effectually; they could beopened without force. The jars were themselves preserved in asarcophagus which, though of immense strength and hermetically sealed,could be opened easily. Accordingly, I went at once to examine thejars. A little--very little of the oil still remained, but it had grownthick in the two and a half centuries in which the jars had been open.Still, it was not rancid; and on examining it I found it was cedar oil,and that it still exhaled something of its original aroma. This gave me the idea that it was to be used to fill the lamps.Whoever had placed "the oil in the jars, and the jars in thesarcophagus, knew that there might be shrinkage in process of time,even in vases of alabaster, and fully allowed for it; for each of thejars would have filled the lamps half a dozen times. With part of theoil remaining I made some experiments, therefore, which may give usefulresults. You know, Doctor, that cedar oil, which was much used in thepreparation and ceremonials of the Egyptian dead, has a certainrefractive power which we do not find in other oils. For instance, weuse it on the lenses of our microscopes to give additional clearness ofvision. Last night I put some in one of the lamps, andplaced it near a translucent part of the Magic Coffer. The effect wasvery great; the glow of light within was fuller and more intense than Icould have imagined, where an electric light similarly placed hadlittle, if any, effect. I should have tried others of the seven lamps,but that my supply of oil ran out. This, however, is on the road torectification. I have sent for more cedar oil, and expect to havebefore long an ample supply. Whatever may happen from other causes, ourexperiment shall not, at all events, fail from this. We shall see! Weshall see!' Doctor Winchester had evidently been following the logical processof the other's mind, for his comment was: 'I do hope that when thelight is effective in opening the box, the mechanism will not beimpaired or destroyed.' His doubt as to this gave anxious thought tosome of us.