narch sank back upon
his throne, the old man, fixing his keen eyes on Hosea, replied:

"The demand which the lord of both worlds makes upon you by my lips is
easy to fulfil. You must return to be once more his servant and one of
us, as soon as your people and their leader, who have brought such
terrible woe upon this land, shall have clasped the divine hand which the
son of the sun extends to them in reconciliation, and shall have returned
to the beneficent shadow of his throne. He intends to attach them to his
person and his realm by rich tokens of his favor, as soon as they return
from the desert to which they have gone forth to sacrifice to their God.
Understand me fully! All the burdens which have oppressed the people of
your race shall be removed. The 'great god' will secure to them, by a new
law, privileges and great freedom, and whatever we promise shall be
written down and witnessed on our part and yours as a new and valid
covenant binding on our children and our children's children. When such a
compact has been made with an honest purpose on our part to keep it for
all time, and your tribes have consented to accept it, will you promise
that you will then be one of us again?"

"Accept the office of mediator, Hosea," the queen here interrupted in a
low tone, with her sorrowful eyes fixed imploringly on Hosea's face. "I
dread the fury of Mesu, and everything in our power shall be done to
regain his old friendship. Mention my name and recall the time when he
taught little Isisnefert the names of the plants she brought to him and
explained to her and her sister their beneficial or their harmful
qualities, during his visits to the queen, his second mother, in the
women's apartments. The wounds he has dealt our hearts shall be pardoned
and forgotten. Be our envoy. Hosea, do not deny us."

"Such words from royal lips are a strict mandate," replied the Hebrew.
"And yet they make the heart rejoice. I will accept the office of
mediator."

The hoary high-priest nodded approvingly, exclaiming:

"I hope a long period of blessing may arise from this brief hour. But
note this. Where potions can aid, surgery must be shunned. Where a bridge
spans the stream, beware of swimming through the whirlpool."

"Yes, by all means shun the whirlpool," Pharaoh repeated, and the queen
uttered the same words, then once more bent her eyes on the flowers in
her lap.

A council now began.

Three private scribes took seats on the floor c