l be easier to bear as the servant of a
priest than in the household of the king. You had better, however,
mention to no one the rank you have borne, for it might be reported to
the king, and then you might be sent for to the palace; unless indeed
you would rather be a spectator of the pomp and gayety of the court
than a servant in a quiet household."

"I would far rather remain with you, my lord," Amuba said eagerly.
"You have already shown the kindness of your heart by granting my
request, and choosing my comrade Jethro as my fellow-slave, and I feel
already that my lot will be a far happier one than I had ventured to
hope."

"Judge not hastily by appearances," the priest said. "At the same
time, here in Egypt, slaves are not treated as they are among the wild
peoples of Nubia and the desert. There is a law for all, and he who
kills a slave is punished as if he took the life of an Egyptian.
However, I think I can say that your life will not be a hard one; you
have intelligence, as is shown by the fact that you have so rapidly
acquired sufficient knowledge of our tongue to speak it intelligibly.
Can you, too, speak our language?" he asked Jethro.

"I can speak a little," Jethro said; "but not nearly so well as Amuba.
My lips are too old to fashion a strange tongue as rapidly as can his
younger ones."

"You speak sufficiently well to understand," the priest said, "and
doubtless will in time acquire our tongue perfectly. This is my
house."

The priest entered an imposing gateway, on each side of which
stretched a long and lofty wall. At a distance of fifty yards from the
gate stood a large dwelling, compared to which the royal abode which
Amuba had been brought up in was but a miserable hut. Inclosed within
the walls was a space of ground some three hundred yards square, which
was laid out as a garden. Avenues of fruit trees ran all round it, a
portion was laid out as a vineyard, while separated from the rest by
an avenue of palm trees was a vegetable garden.

In front of the house was a large piece of water in which floated a
gayly-painted boat; aquatic plants of all kinds bordered its edges.
Graceful palms grouped their foliage over it, the broad flat leaves of
lilies floated on its surface, while the white flowers which Amuba had
seen carried in all the religious processions and by large numbers of
people of the upper rank, and which he heard were called the lotus,
rose above them. The two captives were struck