Arachne

Arachne, Complete, by Georg
Ebers

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Arachne, Complete, by Georg Ebers
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Arachne, Complete
Author: Georg Ebers
Release Date: October 17, 2006 [EBook #5516]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARACHNE,
COMPLETE ***

Produced by David Widger

ARACHNE
By Georg Ebers
Volume 1.

Translated from the German by Mary J. Safford
CHAPTER I.
Deep silence brooded over the water and the green islands which rose
like oases from its glittering surface. The palms, silver poplars, and
sycamores on the largest one were already casting longer shadows as
the slanting rays of the sun touched their dark crowns, while its
glowing ball still poured a flood of golden radiance upon the bushes
along the shore, and the light, feathery tufts at the tops of the papyrus
reeds in the brackish water.
More than one flock of large and small waterfowl flew past beneath the
silvery cloudlets flecking the lofty azure vault of heaven; here and there
a pelican or a pair of wild ducks plunged, with short calls which ceased
abruptly, into the lush green thicket, but their cackling and quacking
belonged to the voices of Nature, and, when heard, soon died away in
the heights of the tipper air, or in the darkness of the underbrush that
received the birds. Very few reached the little city of Tennis, which
now, during the period of inundation in the year 274 B.C., was
completely encircled by water.
From the small island, separated from it by a channel scarcely three
arrow-shots wide, it seemed as though sleep or paralysis had fallen
upon the citizens of the busy little industrial town, for few people
appeared in the streets, and the scanty number of porters and sailors
who were working among the ships and boats in the little fleet
performed their tasks noiselessly, exhausted by the heat and labour of
the day.
Columns of light smoke rose from many of the buildings, but the
sunbeams prevented its ascent into the clear, still air, and forced it to
spread over the roofs as if it, too, needed rest.
Silence also reigned in the little island diagonally opposite to the
harbour. The Tennites called it the Owl's Nest, and, though for no
especial reason, neither they nor the magistrates of King Ptolemy II
ever stepped upon its shores. Indeed, a short time before, the latter had

even been forbidden to concern themselves about the pursuits of its
inhabitants; since, though for centuries it had belonged to a family of
seafaring folk who were suspected of piracy, it had received, two
generations ago, from Alexander the Great himself, the right of asylum,
because its owner, in those days, had commanded a little fleet which
proved extremely useful to the conqueror of the world in the siege of
Gaza and during the expedition to Egypt. True, under the reign of
Ptolemy I, the owners of the Owl's Nest were on the point of being
deprived of this favour, because they were repeatedly accused of piracy
in distant seas; but it had not been done. Yet for the past two years an
investigation had threatened Satabus, the distinguished head of the
family, and during this period he, with his ships and his sons, had
avoided Tennis and the Egyptian coast.
The house occupied by the islanders stood on the shore facing the little
city. It had once been a stately building, but now every part of it
seemed to be going to ruin except the central portion, which presented a
less dilapidated appearance than the sorely damaged, utterly neglected
side wings.
The roof of the whole long structure had originally consisted of palm
branches, upon which mud and turf had been piled; but this, too, was
now in repair only on the central building. On the right and left wings
the rain which often falls in the northeastern part of the Nile Delta, near
the sea, had washed off the protecting earth, and the wind had borne it
away as dust.
Once the house had been spacious enough to shelter a numerous family
and to store a great quantity of goods and provisions, but it was now
long since the ruinous chambers had been occupied. Smoke rose only
from the opening in the roof of the main building, but its slender
column showed from what a very scanty fire it ascended.
The purpose which this was to serve was readily discovered, for in
front of the open door of the dwelling, that seemed far