Joseph and His Brothers, page 111
"Most noble lady," he said, "if your most humble servant did not appear before you yesterday to discuss current and unresolved matters with you—for, as you will at once recall upon my reminder.
I was present the day before yesterday and only the holy zeal with which you likewise pursue this matter enlarges the length of my absence—it was solely because the duties of my office made urgent claims upon me, though without their being able to distract my mind even temporarily from the matter that lies so close to your— and thus also to my—heart and that concerns Osarsiph, the new steward. My obligations as chief master of the wardrobe are—and for this you will not chide me—dear and precious to me, for I have grown fond of them, as happens with all duties and burdens that are such only at the start, but over time become more and more the object of the heart's affection. So, too, with this business, with the earnest prosecution of a matter that has frequently allowed your most humble servant to enjoy the benefit of consulting with you. And how could one not take to heart a concern so indispensable that it brings one, whether summoned or unsummoned, before you, my mistress, for daily or almost daily exchanges of questions and answers? And how could one not transfer one's gratitude for so great a pleasure to the object of that concern and take it to heart as well, if only because it has been raised up in becoming an object of your concern? That is one's only possible response, and happily your servant can recall that he has never thought of that object—that is, the person in question—as anything but worthy of your attention. It would be a painful injustice to suggest that Dudu has allowed even one hour of highly rewarding service in the dressing chamber to prevent him from pondering and pursuing privately the matter in which his gracious lady has allowed him to participate. For one should do one thing, yet not neglect the other—that has always been my motto, whether regarding matters earthly or divine. Amun is a great god, he could not be greater. But should one therefore refuse honor and nourishment to the other gods of the nation, especially those who are so closely related to him as to be one with him and who have named him their name, such as Atum-Re-Horakhte at On in Upper Egypt? The last time I was graciously allowed to speak before your ladyship, I attempted to express, though probably clumsily and without success, what a great, wise, and gentle god the latter is, distinguished by inventions such as the clock and time's handbook, without which we would be but animals. Beginning in my youth I have silently asked myself—and of late ask myself aloud— how Amun in his shrine could possibly hold it against us if we were
to make a place in our hearts for the mild and magnanimous ideas of this majestic deity, with whose name he has joined his own. Is not His Excellency Beknechons the first prophet of one as well as the other? When at high feasts my mistress shakes the clear-sounding rattle before Amun as one of his consorts, she is no longer called Mut as on other days, but Hathor, who, with disk and horns, is the sister and wife of Atum-Re, not of Amun. In consideration of which, your most faithful servant has never ceased to pursue this matter so close to his heart by approaching that young man, that blossoming sprout of Asia—who in rising to young steward among us has become the object of your concern—in order to fathom him correctly, so that I might speak of him to you more accurately and better than I succeeded in doing last time, despite my best efforts. All in all, I found him charming—within the limits that the natural order sets for approval by a man such as myself. The females upon the roofs and walls are a different matter, but I found that our young man would have little objection to their being shot at with arrows, and, given that fact, there appears little reason for those weapons to be turned about. For I heard him say something to the effect that only one woman has the right to gaze at him and look him in the eye, and all the while he stared at me very darkly from under his brows, his eyes large and shining at first, but then cunningly veiled in that interesting way of his. Though one might find in his remark some indication of the manner in which he regards you, it nonetheless did not suffice for me; and since I am accustomed to evaluating and judging people by their attitude toward you, I was able to turn the conversation to the charms of women in general and posed him the manly question as to whom he regarded as the most beautiful he knows. *Mut-em-enet, our mistress,' he said, *is the most beautiful both here and far and wide. For if one were to cross seven mountains, one would not find a woman more charming.' And as he said it, his countenance took on the redness of Atum, which I can only compare with that which colors your own at the moment, out of joy—or so I flatter myself—at the adept industry of your humble servant in this matter of the heart. And as if that were not enough, I anticipated your wish that the new steward should wait upon you more often and be questioned by you, that you may discover the source of his magic and fathom the secret of his mouth, for which tasks I feel myself unsuited by nature. I urgently exhorted him,
coaxing him in his timidity, to approach you, my lady, the more diU-gently the better, and with his Hps to kiss the earth at your feet, for the earth would acquiesce. At which point he fell silent. But the redness of Atum that had meanwhile faded from his countenance swiftly rose to cover it anew, and I took that as a sign of his fear of betraying himself to you, of surrendering his secret to you. Nevertheless, I remain convinced that he will follow my instruction. To be sure, he has, by whatever unknown means, outgrown me in this house and stands at its head; but I am his elder both in years and in residence and I am able to speak frankly and openly with such a youngster as befits the plain man that I am and as which I commend myself to my lady's favor."
And with that Dudu gave his most proper bow, the stumps of his arms dangling from his shoulders, turned on his heels, and hastened on short legs to Joseph, whom he greeted with the words: "My respects, mouth of the house!"
"Aha, Dudu," Joseph replied, "you have come to see me to offer your esteemed respects? How does that happen? For only recently you did not want to eat with me and made it apparent in word and deed that you were not particularly well disposed toward me, is that not so?"
"Well disposed?" Zeset's spouse asked, throwing his head back to look up at him. "I have always been more well disposed toward you than many another, who may have so disposed themselves over these seven years, but I did not let it show. I am a reticent, prudent man, who does not bestow his favor and respect right off on just anyone, simply because he has beautiful eyes, but rather I hold myself back, testing and allowing my trust to ripen, perhaps even for seven years. But once it has ripened, then my loyalty can be trusted categorically, and he who was tested may test it."
"Very good," Joseph replied. "I'm pleased to have won your regard without having gone to any great lengths to gain it."
"Great lengths or not," the little man retorted, suppressing his anger, "at any rate, henceforth you may depend on my enthusiastic service, which is dedicated above all to those gods who are manifestly with you. I am a pious man, who holds the opinion of the gods in high esteem and who appraises a man's virtue by his good fortune. The favor of the gods is persuasive. Who would be so headstrong as to oppose it with his own opinion for very long? Dudu is not that
Stupid and obstinate, and therefore I have become yours, every inch of me."
"I'm glad to hear it," Joseph said, "and congratulate you on your wisdom in divine matters. And on that note, let us take leave of one another, for duty calls."
"It is my impression," Dudu insisted, "that our young steward does not yet fully realize the value and meaning of my overture, which is tantamount to a proposal. Otherwise, you would not wish to absent yourself to pursue other duties before having truly examined the meaning and extent of my offer and informing yourself as to the advantages it presents you. For you may trust me and avail yourself of my loyalty and industry in all things, since both in matters of the household and in regard to your person and happiness, you may depend upon the solid experience of Dudu and his ability to pursue, as a man of the world, certain byways and provide every sort of information, whether as eavesdropper, bearer of both messages and tales, or reporter of matters on a higher level—not to mention his ability to keep secrets with a subtlety and inviolability that is surely without compare on earth. I hope your eyes are starting to open as to what my offer entails."
"They were never blind to it," Joseph assured him. "You have greatly misunderstood me if you believe that I have failed to recognize the full import of your friendship."
"I am encouraged by your words," the dwarf said, "though not so much by the tone in which they are spoken. If my ears do not deceive me, I hear in it a certain stiffness, which in my eyes belongs to a period of time now past and for which there should be no place between you and me, since I, for my part, have put it entirely behind me. I cannot help being pained by the vexing injustice of such a tone on your part, since you have had just as long a time to let your confidence in me ripen as was permitted me for the growth of my own—that is, seven years. Trust for trust. I can see that I will have to do something more and draw you still deeper into mine, so that you may likewise receive me into yours without reticence and reservation. You should know then, Osarsiph," he said, lowering his voice, "that my decision to love you and devote myself entirely to your service has not arisen solely out of my fear of the gods. Also contributing to it—decisively, as I must now admit—are the wishes and
instructions of an earthly power, of a person who also stands very near to the gods/' He said no more, but only blinked.
"Well, and who might that person be?" Joseph could not refrain from asking.
"You need ask?" Dudu responded. "Fine, for my answer will draw you into my most tender confidence, so that you can only respond in kind." He stood on tiptoe, cupped his little hand to his mouth, and whispered, "It was the mistress."
"The mistress?" Joseph replied all too quickly and just as softly, bending down to the little man straining up at him. Sad to say, it was true—the dwarf had known the word that would arouse his partner's immediate curiosity and draw him into conversation. Joseph's heart—which Jacob in his faraway homeland had long believed secure in death, but which here in the land of Egypt had continued to beat on and was still exposed to life's dangers—stood still in his breast, ceased to beat for a moment of self-forgetfulness, only to follow the heart's ancient custom and make good on the beats it had missed with still faster ones.
Almost at once, however, he stood up erect again and commanded, "Take your hand from your mouth. You may speak softly, but take that cupped hand away."
He said this so that no one would see that he and the wedded dwarf shared secrets—he was quite prepared to share secrets, of course, but was repelled by the visible gestures that accompany them.
Dudu obeyed.
"It was Mut, our lady," he confirmed, "the first and true wife. She bade me come before her on your account and spoke to me in these words: 'Overseer'—forgive me, for since Mont-kaw departed to become a god, you are the overseer here and have moved into the special chamber of trust, and as before I am an overseer only in a limited but worthy sense; it is, however, the mistress's way, a pretty piece of flattery, when speaking to me—'Overseer,' she said, 'to come back to the lad Osarsiph, the new steward of the house, about whom we have exchanged thoughts several times now, it seems to me the moment has come for you finally to abandon the manly reticence and testing reservation you have shown for several years, perhaps seven or so, and without further ado to place yourself in his
service, which at the bottom of your heart you have long wished to do. I have given serious consideration to the misgivings you have thought it appropriate to present to me now and again concerning his inexorable rise in this house, but have finally cast them aside because of his manifest virtues, and have done so all the more readily and easily inasmuch as, over time, you yourself have grown more and more hesitant and feeble in advancing your objections and are scarcely able or willing to conceal the love for him burgeoning within your bosom. You are not to restrain yourself any longer— such is my will—but to serve him with a well-disposed and faithful heart, for such is the heartfelt wish of your mistress. Few things can so concern my heart as that the best servants of this house should be truly well disposed to one another and should ally themselves for the sake of its welfare. You are to make a covenant with this young steward, Dudu, and as a man of experience are to be aide, advisor, messenger, and guide to his youth—that is my heart's desire. For he is clever, I grant, and the gods usually bestow success upon whatever he does; in many things, however, his youth is in fact a hindrance and a hazard. And to speak first of the hazard, the fact is that his youth is bound up with considerable beauty, such as is found in his suitable stature, his veiled eyes, and his full- and well-formed mouth, so that one might cross seven mountains without coming upon a lad of equally fine appearance. What I command is that you are to protect his person against insufferable curiosity and for his visits to the city to provide him, if necessary, with a guard of archers, who can mitigate any danger by responding with a flurry of arrows to all troublesome objects thrown from the walls and roofs. But to return now to the matter of hindrance, it appears that his youth still renders him all too shy and timorous, so that I wish to extend your duties in that regard as well, and I charge you to assist him in overcoming his faintheartedness. All too seldom, for example, indeed almost never, does he venture to come before me, his mistress, and to engage me in conversation to discuss current and unresolved matters. I am unhappy to forgo such occasions, for I am in no way like Petepre, my consort, who on principle concerns himself with nothing, but as mistress would gladly take part in affairs of business and have always regretted that Mont-kaw, the steward who is now a god, excluded me from them so entirely, whether out of misplaced re-
spect or a desire to protect his own authority. In that regard, I had hoped for some improvements with this change in high office, but thus far find my hopes disappointed, and I command you, my friend, to play the dehcate role of intermediary between me and this young steward and to induce him to overcome his youthful shyness and come before me frequently for discussions of this and that. And you may in fact regard this as the chief goal and purpose of the covenant that you are to make with him, just as I, Mut-em-enet, shall make one with you. For I bind you by your oath on his account, which one can indeed call a threefold covenant, between you, me, and him.' These, then," Dudu concluded, "are the words that the mistress addressed to me and with which, by having repeated them, I have drawn you, young steward, into my most tender confidence, so that you may respond in kind. For you surely understand better now what all is entailed in my offer, according to which I place myself blindly in your service and am prepared to travel back and forth along every silent byway for the sake of this threefold covenant."
"Very good," Joseph rephed in a voice muted by forced composure. "I have Hstened to you, keeper of the jewel chests, out of respect both for the mistress who spoke through you, or at least so I am led to believe, and for you, a polished man of the world, to whom the only fitting response is one that is no less smooth and cool. For you see, I am not at all convinced that you have lately decided to be well disposed and devoted to me—to be frank, and please do not take this amiss, I believe it to be worldly artifice and a politic lie. And my love for you, my friend, is likewise not without limits, and as for any enthusiasm I might feel toward your person, I can indeed say that it more or less repulses me. But I am firmly resolved to prove to you that as a man of the world I am no less master of my feehngs than you and, out of cold calculation, capable of paying them no mind. A man such as I cannot always follow direct paths; he dare not fear taking a crooked one in some cases. And such a man finds his friends not only in upstanding fellows, but, as a man of the world, must also know how to coolly make use of slickly polished spies and informers. Therefore, far be it from me to reject your offer, master Dudu, and I am prepared to accept you as my dutiful servant. But let us not speak of a covenant, I am uneasy with that word when
applied to you and me, even when the mistress is said to be party to it. But any information you may have from the house or the city, you may always blow my way, and I will attempt to make use of it."
"If you but trust my loyalty," the misshapen man said, "then it does not matter to me whether you consider my motives worldly or affectionate. I do not need love from the world; I have it at home at the side of Zeset, my wife, and my thriving children, Esesi and Ebebi. Nevertheless, our glorious mistress has laid upon my heart the covenant I have with you, to be aide, advisor, messenger, and guide to your youth, and for my part I shall hold to it and be aide, advisor, messenger, and guide to your youth, and shall be content if you will but depend on me, whether it be with your heart or your worldly understanding. Do not forget what I have informed you concerning the mistress's desire to be more intimately acquainted with the business of the house than was the case with Mont-kaw and that you are to engage frequently in conversation with her. Do you perhaps have a message to give me as I retrace my steps?"
