Those
of Rabbetna were especially afraid--the restoration of the zaimph having
been of no avail. They kept themselves shut up in the third enclosure
which was as impregnable as a fortress. Only one among them, the high
priest Schahabarim, ventured to go out.
He used to visit Salammbo. But he would either remain perfectly silent,
gazing at her with fixed eyeballs, or else would be lavish of words, and
the reproaches that he uttered were harder than ever.
With inconceivable inconsistency he could not forgive the young girl
for carrying out his commands; Schahabarim had guessed all, and this
haunting thought revived the jealousies of his impotence. He accused her
of being the cause of the war. Matho, according to him, was besieging
Carthage to recover the zaimph; and he poured out imprecations and
sarcasms upon this Barbarian who pretended to the possession of holy
things. Yet it was not this that the priest wished to say.
But just now Salammbo felt no terror of him. The anguish which she used
formerly to suffer had left her. A strange peacefulness possessed her.
Her gaze was less wandering, and shone with limpid fire.
Meanwhile the python had become ill again; and as Salammbo, on the
contrary, appeared to be recovering, old Taanach rejoiced in the
conviction that by its decline it was taking away the languor of her
mistress.
Pages:
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350