REMESES OF DAMASCUS TO SESOSTRIS.
You will see by the date that I am once more in Egypt; and I am here under circumstances the most wonderful and amazing. Remeses—that is, Moses, the servant of the Most High God—is here also. My trembling fingers can scarce form the letters legibly, so great is the emotion under which I now write to you! But I will not delay to give you a history of the events.
I wrote to you last, from the grotto of the shepherd-sage of Horeb.
The following day he led a portion of his own flock, from a distant plain, to the secluded valley on the rear of the mountain of Horeb, away from the sea. Expecting his return, I had gone forth to meet him, and was descending a steep path, when I beheld him advancing before his shepherds, and leading his flock up the valley. He preceded them some distance, and was quite alone, when I perceived a bright flame arise by the side of his path. It rose above the bushes, which it seemed to consume without smoke. At the same moment I observed that Moses turned aside and approached the dazzling fire. In an instant he was lost to my gaze, and enveloped in its flame. I hastened down the mountain-path, surprised and alarmed at what I had seen; and, as the way was winding, it was some minutes before I came to the valley, where I expected to find the venerable sage consumed by the flames, that appeared to have surrounded him.
Upon reaching the valley, lo! I beheld the shepherds fallen upon their faces, the man of God standing before the burning bush, his countenance like the sun, and his raiment shining with supernatural light! My soul was seized with an indescribable awe at the sight! His sandals were removed from his feet, and he seemed as if he were standing in the presence of his God, so awful was the majesty of his countenance. He appeared to be holding discourse with one in the flames. I was transfixed to the spot, and fell upon my face at the sight of this stupendous vision, feeling the presence of the Almighty there. Then I heard a voice utter these words from the midst of the fire, in which I had seen appear the form of a man, radiant with glory above the brightness of the sun:
"I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
While the calm, divine voice spake in still, soft tones, the earth seemed to tremble, as if its Creator stood upon it. I looked up with fear and trembling, and, lo! Moses was standing with his face covered by his shepherd's mantle, for he was afraid to look upon God; while my heart sunk within me, and I became as a dead man.
When I returned to consciousness, I heard, without raising my face again, Moses talking with the mighty Angel in the flame, which I perceived rested upon the thorn-bush like dazzling sunbeams concentrated thereon, but without consuming or changing a leaf. It was the radiance alone, of this celestial Person's glorious presence, that constituted the wonderful flame of fire.
"I have surely seen," said the Voice from the flaming glory, "the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows, and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land, and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey,—the land of the Canaanites and the Amorites.
"Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come up before me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
Here the holy and divine Voice ceased. How did its words thrill my heart! Had the mighty God of the Hebrews come down from heaven at last to deliver His people, fulfil His promise to Abram, and also make Moses the servant of His power? My soul was overpowered with the thought.
Then Moses spake, in accents of the profoundest humility and fear, and said—
"Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
And the Voice replied—
"Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee,—lo! when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye and they shall serve God upon this mountain."
Then Moses answered the Angel of the flame, with that meekness and humbleness of heart which characterizes him—
"Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, 'The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you;' and they shall say unto me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say unto them?"
The inquiry was made by him with the profoundest homage in the tones of his reverent voice, not as if he doubted God, but his brethren. Moreover, he now beheld, as it were face to face, the Lord God of heaven and earth, whom he had so long worshipped, and whose name to men, neither he nor any man knew. And I heard the Voice answer—with majesty inconceivable, so that my spirit failed before it—and say unto Moses—
"I am that I am. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 'I AM hath sent me unto you!'"
Then after a brief silence, during which Moses fell upon his face and worshipped, the Voice from the midst of the fire said:
"Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 'The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you. This is my NAME forever; and this is my memorial unto all generations!' Go, and gather the elders of Israel together and say unto them, 'The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying—
"'I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt; and I have said, I will bring you out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey!' And the children of Israel shall hearken to thy voice; and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him—
"'The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us; and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand; and I will stretch out My hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that he will let you go: and when ye go, ye shall not go empty, but ye shall spoil the Egyptians."
When the Voice had ceased, I heard Moses answer, and say with modest diffidence:
"But, behold, the elders and people of my brethren, the Hebrews, will not believe me nor hearken to my voice; for they will say, 'The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.'"
How extraordinary, O my father, this humility of the wisest of men! How impiously vain some sages and seers would have been, at such an infinite honor as the appearance of God to them, to talk with them, face to face, as He did now to Moses,—veiling the ineffable splendor of His glory under the form of an angel enveloped in a mantle of dazzling sunbeams,—His presence a flame of fire! But see this great and holy man modestly declining the service, considering himself mean and powerless when compared with the mighty Pharaoh, and utterly unable to do any thing for the Hebrew nation. Forty years ago, he had, indeed, felt a divine motion in himself to deliver them, which he then believed was an indication that God would use him as an instrument for that purpose: but forty years an exile, forgotten by the children of Israel, and being only a ruler of shepherds, and guardian of the flocks of a small province, he felt the humility and insignificance of his position, as well as his total want of means and power to do what God now commanded him to do. But, lo! God condescends to inspire him with the confidence and resolution, the magnanimity and fortitude, that his sublime errand demanded.
The voice of the Lord spake and said:
"What is that in thine hand?"
He answered, "A rod."
This was the staff with which he climbed the sides of Horeb, and guided his flock, and upon which he often leaned his head when he stood and worshipped.
And the Voice said, with authority:
"Cast it on the ground."
As Moses obeyed, I heard first the rod strike the ground, then a sharp hissing, as of a serpent, and lastly, a cry of surprise from Moses; when, raising my face from the earth, upon which I had remained prostrate, fearing to look upon the glory before me, I perceived, with horror, a serpent rearing its head angrily into the air, and Moses flying from before it. Then the Voice from the ineffable light said to him, "Put forth thy hand and take it by the tail." Moses, with hesitating obedience, obeyed, put forth his hand and caught it, when, lo! it became a rod again in his hand.
"This shall be a sign to them, that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee," was again spoken.
I had risen, and stood upon my feet in terror, at beholding the serpent, and would have fled, but had no power to move. I now heard the Voice command Moses to thrust his hand into his bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, it was as leprous as snow. Then the Voice said—for I heard only, not daring to behold the Angel more—"Put thy hand into thy bosom again." And he put his hand into his bosom again; and when he had plucked it out of his bosom, it was turned again as it was before, like his other flesh.
Then I heard the Angel of God, who was God himself, say to him:
"It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. If they will not believe, also, these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, then thou shalt take of the water of the river of Egypt and pour it upon the dry land, and it shall become blood."
Then Moses looked troubled in spirit, and said unto the Lord—
"O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue."
This embarrassment of speech, my dear father, which existed in a slight degree, as I have heard you say, when you knew him, and which proceeded from modesty and diffidence when expressing himself in intercourse with others (though with his pen he is powerful and eloquent beyond all men), has, no doubt, been increased by his long retirement as a shepherd, and his love of solitude; yet, nevertheless, he is the most interesting teacher of wisdom to whom I ever listened. But no one save himself would accuse him of being slow of speech and slow of tongue.
Then the voice of the Lord said, with a rebuke in its tones—
"Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now, therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say!"
Notwithstanding all this, the heart of Moses failed him. He trembled at being an ambassador of God to his people, and said, with great fear and dread visible in his countenance—
"Send, I pray Thee; but not by me, but by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send."
Thus speaking, he fell prostrate before the Lord and covered his face.
Then the anger of the Angel of the Lord seemed to be kindled against Moses, for the flames were agitated and spread abroad, and shot forth fiery tongues, and I looked to see him consumed. But from their midst I heard the Voice demand—
"Is not Aaron, the Levite, thy brother? I know that he can speak well; and also, he cometh forth to meet thee, and when he seeth thee he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him" (the dread Voice was no longer in anger), "and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be, even he shall be unto thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. And thou shalt take this rod in thy hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs."
Then Moses rose from the ground, and bowed his head low in submission and obedience to the voice of the Lord. The flame had already begun to fade slowly, until it appeared like a golden cloud, which now rapidly melted away like a mist touched with the setting sun. The next moment it was invisible, leaving the sacred bush as before, green with leaves and brilliant with wild-flowers; and as I gazed, a pair of snow-white doves lighted upon it.
Then Moses, lifting up his eyes to heaven, said: "O Lord God, who is like unto Thee among the gods? Who is like unto Thee, glorious and fearful, doing wonders? The Lord shall reign forever, great in power and holiness! He is my God, and I will praise Him; my fathers' God, and I will magnify His holy name forever! He hath remembered His covenant with Abraham, and His vengeance against the nation that oppresseth His people."
At this moment I beheld Aaron advancing along the defile. When he beheld Moses, whose person yet seemed bright with the lingering glory of the divine Presence, he ran to him, and kissing him, said—
"Thus did I behold thee in my vision, brother!"
"Hast thou also seen God face to face?" demanded Moses, regarding him with affectionate earnestness, "that thou art come hither from Egypt so soon?"
"I was at prayer fourteen days ago, in Goshen, when a vision stood before me!—such a form, doubtless, as our father Abraham beheld. It said to me, 'Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.' Then, in the vision, I beheld thee standing in the mount of God, and the glory of the Lord shone upon thee, and thou wast talking with one who seemed like an angel of God, and I knew that thou wast ordained of Him, with authority to deliver Israel out of Egypt. Therefore, delaying not, I am come hither according to the command of the angel of the Lord. My heart is glad at beholding thee! Speak now, O my brother, for the angel said to me, 'He shall tell thee all the words of the Lord, and all the signs which He hath commanded him.'"
Moses then told Aaron all the words which God had spoken unto him, and how the Lord had sent him to deliver Israel, and had given him courage and power to obey, removing his fears and confirming his faith. Thereupon he showed Aaron the rod in his hand, and said, "If this rod becomes a serpent, as it did before the Lord, then wilt thou know that He hath sent me, and is with me! for this is His sign."
As he spoke, he cast the rod far from him upon the ground, which it no sooner struck than it became a serpent, and ran swiftly towards Moses, who reached forth, and grasping it by the head without fear, lo! it became again a rod of almond-wood, as before! The other sign also Moses showed to his brother, who then answered and said—
"Thou shalt deliver Israel, and I will be thy servant, and bear thy rod before thee!"
I had already, by the invitation of Moses, drawn near to these holy and great men, and walked with them, feeling, prince that I am, the deepest sense of inferiority and humility. I felt that I could be the servant of both, and that I was honored when taking up the sandals which Moses had put off his feet. I knelt before him to put them on; but, in his modesty, this prince appointed of God would not suffer me.
The two venerable brothers—one eighty years of age, and the other eighty-three—now walked together towards the shepherd's cave on the mountain-side, discoursing of the wonderful and joyful events which had just passed, of the promised deliverance of Israel, and how God would accomplish it, and by what sort of exercise of power and majesty.
The next day Moses returned to Jethro, and said to him—
"I pray thee let me go, and return unto my people which are in Egypt, and see how they fare, and if my brethren of the family of Levi be yet alive—for the Lord hath shown me that all the men are dead which sought my life." And his venerable father-in-law said—
"Go in peace."
Therefore, my dear father, three days afterwards, Moses, accompanied by his brother and myself, took leave of Jethro, and taking his wife and son, and holding the "rod of God" in his hand, left Midian. The next day we fell in with a caravan from the East, and after many days I once more reached Egypt. In sight of On, I parted from Moses, who went with his family to that part of the land of Goshen where his tribe dwells, which is not far from the treasure-city of Raamses.
The first hours I could command, after reaching the palace of the Governor of On, with whom I dwell as a guest, I have devoted, my dear father, to a recital of these extraordinary events. Moses seems to be a different man! calm majesty sits enthroned upon his brow, and he is profoundly impressed with the sublime mission which Heaven has intrusted to him.
Aaron, who has, from time to time, revisited Egypt, and is well known to the elders of his people, will be a great support and aid to Moses, in his intercourse with the Hebrews. The two mighty brothers are now assembling the elders together, though it is but two days since they returned to Egypt. Secretly, messengers have been going by night throughout the land of Goshen, calling an assembly, in the name of the God of Abraham, to meet, two nights hence, at the ruined fountain of Jacob.
I shall also be present, dear father, by permission of the inspired Moses. What infinite issues will grow out of that midnight meeting of these "sons of God," for such, though in bondage, are these Hebrews shown to be! How little Thothmes-Amosis, who calls himself also, vainly, after Amunophis, the Great, and assumes the style, "Upholder of worlds," "Lord of the Diadem of Heaven," and "Beloved of the Sun," upon his cartouch,—how little, I repeat, he dreams that One mightier than he, the Upholder of the universe, very Lord of heaven and earth, and Creator of the sun, is armed with vengeance against him, and will presently bring him into judgment for the bondage of the Hebrews! I saw him this morning in his palace, for he is now in his palace at On, having hastened to pay him my homage after my absence. He was in gay humor, for news had reached him that his "lord of the mines" had opened a new vein of silver, in the southern mountains near Ethiopia.
"I will send one hundred thousand of these Hebrews to work it, O prince," he said. "I will, to-morrow, give orders to all the governors, and chief captains, and officers over them, to choose me the strongest and most dangerous, and assemble them in companies of thousands, and, under strong guard, march them to the Thebaïd. By the gods! yesterday I was planning some new device to destroy their children, male and female; but the mines come happily to my aid!"
Thus does this proud, weak, luxurious, and cruel monarch, confident of power, and sitting as a god upon his throne, acknowledging no power above his own, dream of wealth, and rejoice in dominion!
Did policy prompt me to give him warning? I feared the God of Moses more than I sympathized with a contemporaneous prince, albeit Tyre was his ally.
Farewell, my dear father.
My next letter will, no doubt, convey to you startling tidings.
REMESES OF DAMASCUS TO KING SESOSTRIS.
The secret assembly of the elders, called by Moses, met last night. It was in a solitary place, far from any of the garrisons of soldiers. In the disguise of a Hebrew, I also was present, standing by Aaron. It was after midnight before all the elders could elude the vigilance of their officers, and had assembled. The well of Jacob, you recollect. It is where you had the conversation with Remeses (now Moses), upon the condition of the Hebrews. The Egyptian soldiers, who are very superstitious, will not venture near this desolate fountain by night; for the tradition is, that it leads to the realms of the lower world, and that there are evil beings who issue from it in the darkness, and drag under the earth all who walk past it. The Hebrews have no such superstition, or despised their fears on an occasion like the present. Aaron, in selecting the spot, knew it would be safe from intrusion on the part of the Egyptians.
It was a sublime spectacle to see no less than four hundred and eighty elders of the Hebrews, forty out of each tribe, met together beneath the aged palm-trees that overshadowed the fountain, and where Jacob had sat, with his sons about him, in peace, under the protecting sceptre of the king of that day.
The moon shone here and there upon a silvery head, while others were grouped in shadow. There was a deep, expecting silence. At length Aaron stood up in their midst, his venerable figure visible to all present, as the pale moonlight fell upon him—
"Men and brethren, Hebrews of the house of Abraham our father, hear, while I make known to you why I have called this strange meeting—for when before has Israel met in such an assembly! Your presence, your readiness to come, your courage, and your success in reaching here, all show to me the hand of God, and the power of God."
Aaron then gave a history of the origin of their nation, of God's promise to Abraham, of his prophecy of their bondage and deliverance, and his promise to give them the land of the Canaanites. They listened with deep attention, for he spoke with remarkable eloquence. He then said, "The hour of our deliverance is at hand. God has remembered His promise, and come down to our deliverance." Then, with thrilling power, the venerable speaker described the scene at the burning bush on Horeb, and, in conclusion, presented Moses, his brother, to the elders. He was received with a murmur of satisfaction; but some doubted. Others remembered that he had been raised an Egyptian, and openly expressed their fear that it was a plan to betray them into a movement, that would give Pharaoh an excuse to destroy them all.
"Let us see his miracles! If God sent him, let us see his rod become a serpent before our faces," said an old man brutally and tauntingly.
Moses took the rod from the hand of his brother, and said with sternness—
"Thou shalt see and believe!"
He then cast it upon the ground, when it not only became a serpent, but its scales glittered like fire. With fierce hissing it coiled itself about the form of the doubter, and lifting its head above his own, darted it every way with flashing eyes, so that there was a universal cry of horror. The wretched old man fell to the ground, the serpent uncoiled from his form, and Moses taking it by the tail it became a rod again in his hand!
At this miracle, the whole assembly, save one man became convinced that Moses had been sent by God to them. This one said—
"It is the magician's art! He hath been an Egyptian priest, and knows their mysteries."
Upon this, Moses said—
"Korah, I remember thee! I was educated as an Egyptian, but I know none of their magic; and to show thee that this is the power of God, thrust thy hand into thy bosom!"
The man obeyed.
"Take it forth!" said Moses, in a tone of command.
He did so and it was leprous as snow, and the moon glared upon it, as upon the alabaster hand of a statue. He uttered a cry of horror.
"Be not unbelieving," said Moses. "Replace thy hand in thy bosom." He did so, and took it out restored like the other. The man who had been entwined by the serpent also rose to his feet, and both acknowledged the power of God, and the authority of Moses. He now made known to them that God had sent him to demand their release from Pharaoh; and that the king would at first refuse, but that after he had seen the power of God he would yield and let them go forth out of Egypt, to the good land promised to Abraham for his seed, forever.
"Return now, elders and brethren," he said to them, like one who spake by authority to those who recognized it, "return to your places of toil. Be quiet and patient, and wait the hand of God. He will manifest His glory and display His power in your behalf, as was never done on earth before. Bear patiently your labors, and do not doubt that the time of your deliverance is at hand. Let all Israel know the glad tidings of God's visitation, and that He has surely stretched out His arm over Egypt, to break their yoke of bondage."
This extraordinary assembly then separated, each man to his place; and Moses and Aaron went to the house of one Naashon, a Levite, whose sister had become Aaron's wife many years before. Here I remained until morning; but no eye closed in sleep, for many had followed the brothers, and till dawn they were holding discourse with their friends, on the wonderful things about to happen.
Moses said he should go before Pharaoh the next day but one, when he held public audience in the throne room, that great hall of Egyptian state, which, my dear father you once described, and where you were presented to Queen Amense, as she was seated upon the same throne.
Farewell, my dear father. In three days I will write you again.
REMESES OF DAMASCUS TO SESOSTRIS.
Moses has met Pharaoh, face to face, and demanded of him the liberty of the Hebrew nation! The scene in the throne-room was deeply interesting and striking; and I will endeavor briefly to convey to you a conception of it.
The king, on that day gave audience in the throne-room, when, according to custom, no one, however humble, was refused permission to lay his petition before his king. At the hour appointed, Moses the mighty Hebrew, and Aaron his brother, accompanied by seven of the chief men of their nation—a venerable company with their flowing beards and snow-white locks—entered the city from Raamses, and proceeded towards the palace. The captain of the guard, seeing they were Hebrews, looked amazed, and would have stopped them, but the majesty and authority with which the two brothers moved, side by side, awed him, and without speaking, he suffered them to enter the palace, and they passed on, looking neither to the right nor the left. Knowing that they would appear at that hour I stood near and beheld them. They traversed the corridor of the vestibule, and the courtiers and lords and servitors gave way before them, for they were clad in long robes like priests, and appeared to them to be some sacred procession: but when they perceived that they were Hebrews, they looked with contempt on them, yet let them pass. So these chosen men advanced, and stood before the ivory throne, where the king sat in robes of cloth of purple and vestments of gold, wearing the double crown. His high officers stood about him, his body-guard were stationed on each side of the throne, while before him kneeled a single petitioner. It was a woman, whose son had accidentally wounded an ibis with an arrow, and was condemned to die. She plead to the king for his life.
"Nay, woman, he must not live!" answered Pharaoh. "If he had slain a slave or a Hebrew, I might grant thy prayer; but to wound a sacred bird is sacrilege. Retire! But who come hither?" he demanded of his grand-chamberlain beside his footstool, as he saw the Hebrew company advancing. "Who are these?"
"They look like Hebrews, father," said the son of Thothmeses, a young prince twenty years of age, who lounged indolently against one of the ivory figures that adorned the throne.
"Hebrews?" said the king. "What do they here? And in robes! Ah, Prince of Tyre, welcome!" he said, turning to me, as, at the moment, I appeared and made my obeisance before him. "You honor us by your presence in our hall of judgment."
While he spoke, Aaron and Moses had reached the foot of the throne. Their venerable and majestic aspect seemed to impress him. "Who are ye? Are ye not Hebrews?" he demanded, with a face expressing mingled surprise and doubt.
"We are Hebrews, O king," answered Aaron, with respectful homage. "We are two brethren. My name is Aaron the Levite, and this my brother is Moses the Midianite; and these others are the elders of Israel—chiefs of the Hebrew people." This was spoken with calmness and fearlessness.
"And wherefore are ye come hither?" the king cried. "Who of my governors has let you from your work? Who is Israel?"
"Thus saith the Lord, the Governor of the universe," answered Aaron: "'Israel is my son, even my first-born. Let my son go, that he may serve me.' And if thou refuse to let Israel go, O king," continued Aaron with an air of inspiration, "behold our God will slay thy son, even thy first-born."
The king started, and became pale with anger and amazement; and his son, Amunophis, sprang forward a step, and laid his hand upon the jewelled scimitar he wore at the girdle of his vesture, crying,—
"Slay me! What menace is this, graybeard? A conspiracy, my father!"
"Who is the Lord," demanded the king, "that I should obey His voice, and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. What threats are these? Ho! captain of the guard, seize these Hebrews, and put them in prison!"
The captain of the guard prepared to obey, but not a soldier moved. The majesty of Moses, as he fixed his eyes upon them, as it were, paralyzed them. Then Aaron answered Pharaoh, and said:
"He is the God of the Hebrews, O king; the Lord of the sun, and Upholder of worlds. He hath met with us and commanded us to go three days' journey out of Egypt into the desert, and sacrifice unto Him, as our fathers aforetime did: and if we disobey His voice, He will fall upon us, and destroy us with pestilence or with the sword; for what other people is there that do not their sacrifices, save our nation? Therefore, thus saith the Lord of the Hebrews to thee, O King of Egypt, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a holy feast to me in the wilderness.'"
"By the gods of Egypt, ye Moses and Aaron," cried the king, rising from his throne in great wrath, "I defy the God of the Hebrews! Wherefore do ye hinder the people from their works? Get you, and these old men with you, unto your burdens! Ye seek to destroy Egypt; for if the Hebrews, which are now many in the land, be let three days from their burdens, they will do mischief, and make sedition. Get thee from my presence! But for thy gray head, O Aaron, you should be put to death! This is a new thing in Egypt. Let them forth!" he called to his servitors.
Moses answered, speaking for the first time,—
"O King Thothmeses, the God of the Hebrews, whose servant I am, will yet make thee know His power, and that there is none else—no other God but Him!"
The king made no reply. He sunk back upon his throne overcome with surprise; and I could perceive a certain look of fear in his eyes. Prince Amunophis followed the retiring ambassadors of God, and, as they reached the vestibule, he gave orders to the outer guard to arrest the whole company. But with a gesture of his hand, Moses caused them to retire before him; and the prince, returning with amazement, said to the king:
"These two men are gods, O king! They carry the aspect and majesty of demigods, and all men fear to lay hands on them!"
"If I hear more of them," answered Pharaoh, by this time recovered from his emotion, "I will know whether they are gods or men! They shall die, by the life of Osiris! Do these Hebrews want more work?"
The king then commanded to come before him his chief officers, governors, captains, and head taskmasters, and said to them, "Ye shall no more give the Hebrew people straw to make brick as heretofore. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the number of bricks which they have made heretofore, shall ye bind them to. Ye shall not diminish aught thereof; for they are idle, and cry, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' Let there be more work laid upon the men, that they may be so employed as not to have leisure to regard the vain words of this Moses and Aaron!"
Thus, my dear father, the first result, of the interposition of Moses for his people, is to increase their oppression! Yet their God is above all, and will manifest His power for their deliverance.
Many days have passed since I wrote to you. You will wish to hear the ultimate issue of the command of Pharaoh, to increase the burdens of the Hebrews, and its effects upon them.
In obedience to this command, the taskmasters and officers of this unhappy people went out and strictly fulfilled it. The poor Hebrew brick-makers, in whose work coarse straw of wheat cut fine is necessary to make the clay cohere, as they are only dried in the sun, are now distributed all over Egypt seeking straw, which hitherto the Egyptian laborers brought to them in carts and laden barges. Thus dispersed, they gather stubble, and dry bulrushes, and grass, and every thing they can in their haste find on the surface of the ground; for if night comes and their tale of bricks falls short, they are beaten. As, therefore, one half of the time of many is consumed in searching the highways and fields, instead of being all the time, as heretofore, engaged only in making brick, the task put upon them is an impossible one; and everywhere the sound of the rod and whip, and the cry of sufferers, goes up from the land. At length the elders and officers of the Hebrews (for their own people are often made their taskmasters, who also had to account to their Egyptian captains for their fulfillment of the king's command), got courage from despair, and meeting the king as he was abroad in his chariot, cast themselves before him, crying, "Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us? It is not our fault that we cannot make up the number of bricks, as heretofore, seeing straw is not given us; and thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own officers."
Pharaoh angrily answered, "Ye are idle! Ye are idle! Ye have not enough to do, or ye would not think ye had time to go into the desert to sacrifice to your God. Go, therefore, and do your tasks, for there shall no straw be given you."
"And shall we deliver the tale of bricks?" they cried.
"To the last one of them!" answered the king; and with an impatient sign for them to stand aside from his chariot-wheels, he dashed forward on his way, attended by his brilliant retinue. The unhappy men then perceived "that they were in evil case," as one of them said to me in relating this interview; and meeting Moses and Aaron in the fields not long afterwards, one of their number said, indignantly, and with grief—
"The Lord look upon you, Moses and Aaron, and judge you, because by your interference with the king, thou hast put a sword into the hand of Pharaoh to slay us."
Moses looked sorrowfully and troubled, and raising his eyes heavenward as he left them without a reply, for he wot not how to answer, they heard him cry unto his God, and say—
"Lord, wherefore hast Thou so evil entreated this Thy people? Why is it that Thou didst send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither, O Lord God, hast Thou delivered Thy people at all!"
Then came a voice from heaven, which they heard, and said—
"Thou shalt see what I will do to Pharaoh; for he shall let you go, and drive you out of his land. I am the Lord who spake to thee in Horeb, out of the burning bush; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty. But by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel. Wherefore say unto them, 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land which I did swear to give to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you for an heritage. I am the Lord!'"
With these words, Moses sought to comfort the Hebrews, his brethren, going to them and proclaiming it to them in their ears; but for an anguish of spirit, and the great pressure of their cruel bondage upon their minds, they did not hearken unto him. Hope in their bosoms was utterly dead. Moreover, many of them looked on him with eyes of hatred, as the author of this increase of their wretchedness.
What a situation was this for the servant of God! Confident of the power and truth of Jehovah, he could not reconcile therewith this increase of the power of Pharaoh. Perhaps, at times, his own faith was severely tried.
Since then, a month has passed, during which period I saw Moses often in Goshen, where he passed his time in encouraging those of his brethren who would give heed to him.
In the mean while, Pharaoh, as if in contempt or defiance of the God of the Hebrews, has been engaged in extraordinary religious rites; and every day the streets have resounded with the music of instruments and choral songs of processions to the gods. I witnessed all of these ceremonies, and will describe some of them that are not mentioned by you in your letters from Egypt, my dear father.
On the seventh day after Moses and Aaron left him, Thothmeses went in state to the black marble temple of the sacred serpent, Uræus, to offer sacrifice and oblation to its great image of gold with jewelled eyes and hideous head. He addressed it as the god of wisdom and sagacity, and presented offerings of flowers, and a necklace of emeralds; while, for the living serpents, held sacred by the Egyptians, he left gifts of money to purchase food for their repletion.
The next day he proceeded, at the head of the priests and the most magnificent religious procession I have seen in Egypt, from his palace along the sphinx-lined avenue to the terrace of the Nile, opposite the Island of Rhoda, where stands a brazen statue of the god Nilus, with those of Osiris and Thoth on either side of its pedestal.
Descending from his chariot, he advanced to the river, and poured from a goblet, set with diamonds, a libation of wine into its waves, and invoked the river itself as a deity, concluding his prayer with a curse upon the God of the Hebrews. Then, at his command, the chief sacrificer advanced, leading a Hebrew boy four years old, whom he laid upon the altar before the statue of the god, and, at a stroke of his sacrificial knife, sacrificed there. I could scarcely refrain from a cry of horror. I knew that the Egyptians, on certain occasions, sacrificed human beings to the gods; but I never expected to behold an immolation like this. The palpitating form of the child was then taken up by two assistants, and the blood of its heart was poured forth into the Nile, as a libation to the god. The empurpled wave then received the inanimate form, amid a crash of instrumental music. This unusual libation of blood to the Nile was intended as an act of defiance to the Hebrew Jehovah.
The following day, Pharaoh made a procession to the temple of sacred frogs, on the borders of the canal of Amun. Here libations were poured out before a colossal sphinx having a frog's head, and offerings made. The frog is held sacred by the Egyptians, because it is supposed to purify the waters by feeding on poisons in the marshes and river.
The succeeding day Pharaoh, as if possessed with a religious infatuation, that now led him to seek the favor of gods hitherto neglected by him, in his dread of the God of the Hebrews, paid a visit, with all his court, to the temple of the scarabæus, or sacred beetle of Egypt. This is a marble edifice, adorned with a frieze of scarabæi, having heads of every variety of animal. The god himself is a gigantic beetle of black marble, with a human head. He is supposed to protect the temples from vermin, such as lice and fleas; for one of these seen in a temple, or upon the garments of a priest, causes ceremonial defilement, and neither priest nor temple may be made holy again but by purification.
The next day a procession was made by Pharaoh and his people to the little temple of Baal-Zebel, a deity that is reverenced as their protector from flies, which sometimes infest the land in ravenous swarms, and which, it is believed, this idol only can remove. Can Thothmeses be so superstitious? Or does he make all this show of piety merely to humor the superstitions of his people, and sustain the priests of these shrines? Does he fear Moses and his power, so as to desire to strengthen himself in the affections of the priesthood and people?
The day after the visit to the temple of the fly-god, he went in great state to the temple of the sacred ox of On, Mnevis. Here he sacrificed, prayed, poured libations, and offered oblations. It was an imposing scene, as he was attended by one thousand priests clad in rich vestments, and wearing shining crowns, the whole waving censers of gold. Of the god he asked protection to all the cattle of Egypt, and prosperity to the harvests; and then solemnly denounced the God of the Hebrews, as a God not known or honored in Egypt, and who, if He existed, was but a God of slaves.
The next day of this ten days' ovation, Pharaoh proceeded to the gloomy temple of Typhon, on the edge of the desert. Here a Nubian slave was sacrificed to the Evil Principle, by being bound to the altar and burned alive. The officiating priests then gathered the ashes and cast them high into the air, calling on their god and praying him, that wheresoever an atom of the ashes was borne on the wind, evil might not visit the place.
Thothmeses has diligently revived the human sacrifices which Queen Amense forbade, and the act sufficiently illustrates the native cruelty and superstition of the man.
Two days afterwards, having crossed the Nile in great pomp, he proceeded, in grand procession, to the temple of Serapis. The god Apis, you are aware, my dear father, has the peculiar office, besides many others, of protecting the country from locusts; and at the seasons when these destructive insects visit Egypt, Apis is invoked to command them to retire from the land.
The rites performed by the king before the god were imposing and gorgeous. He invoked him, not against locusts, but against the God of Moses!
Does not all this show a secret dread of the God he defies? Yet he knows nothing of His power, and has witnessed no act of wonder performed by Him. Doubtless he felt, that a servant who dared to be so bold and confident, must have a divine Master, who is great and powerful. Perhaps he had heard of the God of the Hebrews in times past;—of the dream of Prince Joseph and the seven years' famine;—of the destruction of the vale of Sodom, with its cities, by fire from heaven at God's command;—of the dispersion of the nations at the pyramid of Babylon;—of the mighty deluge which He caused to overflow the mountains and drown the world! Perhaps, for he is learned and intelligent enough, when Aaron spoke to him of the God of the Hebrews, he remembered who He was in times of old, and trembled to hear His name again.
Three days afterwards the king visited the shrine of Isis, and poured libations, and made thanksgivings; and invoked her, as the moon, and controller of the seasons and weather, to send abundant rains upon the mountains of Ethiopia, and the sources of the Nile, so that the annual overflow, now near at hand, may not fail, nor the land be deprived of its fertility.
Two days later, with a procession of all the priests of all the temples, and with chariots, and horsemen, and footmen,—a vast array,—he visited the great temple of Osiris, or the sun; and, after august ceremonies, himself acting as high-priest, with the high-priest of On for his assistant, he presented the statue of the god with a new crown of gold, and a crook and flail of ivory inlaid with jewels. He invoked him, by the appellation of the god of light, the dispeller of darkness, the terror of clouds, and the foe of lightnings and storms. And he implored clear skies, and serene weather for the harvests, as heretofore.
Thus the piety of Thothmeses has been quickened into unwonted activity by the dread of the God of Israel, as if he would secure his gods' faithfulness should the God of Moses be too strong for him. In the mean while the children of Israel are groaning under the weight of their increased oppression. I have seen Aaron to-day. He informed me, with looks of holy faith in his God, that Moses and he were, to-morrow, by God's command, to appear again before Pharaoh, and demand the release of the Hebrews.
What a scene will be enacted! Will these two courageous men brave his anger, and escape? I tremble for the result. They are firm and resolved, being strong in the strength of their God. I shall be sure to be at the palace to-morrow, that I may behold these servants of Jehovah meet, once more, face to face, this cruel Pharaoh and his gods.