276 



BERTHA S VISIT TO HER 



likely to exalt his personal character, and is 

 throughout distinguished by that candour and 

 impartiality w with which Moses always speaks of 

 himself. 



I asked her, how soon after the death of 

 Joseph, the destruction of the first-born of the 

 Israelites was decreed by Pharaoh. 



" There is reason to think," said my aunt, 

 " that it was about sixty-four years after the 

 death of Joseph ; probably soon after the birth 

 of Aaron, who had not been subject to this 

 decree ; and about one hundred and thirty-three 

 years after their settlement in Egypt. 



" You are of course aware, Bertha," continued 

 she, " that Pharaoh was the title of all the Egyp- 

 tian sovereigns at that ancient period ; the Pha- 

 raoh who had favoured Joseph was dead, and 

 his successors were ill-disposed towards the 

 Israelites, who had increased so much, that the 

 Egyptian kings began to fear them, for they still 

 recollected the thraldom in which they had for 

 a long time been held by the Cushite or Shep- 

 herd invaders. And besides, Egypt was still sub- 

 ject to incursions from the Arabians, on that very 

 side where the Israelites dwelled ; which ac- 

 counts at once both for their jealousy of the 

 Israelites, who had the power of betraying them, 

 by admitting the invaders, and also for the fear 

 expressed by Pharaoh, lest they should ' get 

 them up out of the land ;' because, as long as they 



