MOSES ON THE MOUNT. 187 



men in the peaceful college gardens, beneath the 

 "willows that hang over the Fountain of the Sun. 

 Never more will he see the people of his tribe whom 

 he loves so dearly, and for whom he endures this 

 miserable fate. They will suffer, but he will not see 

 them ; they will mourn, but he will not hear them— 

 or only in his dreams. In his dreams he hears them 

 and he sees them, alas ! too well. He hears the whistling 

 of the lash and the convulsive sobs and groans. He 

 sees the poor slaves toiling in the field, their hands 

 brown with the clammy clay. He sees the daughters 

 of Israel carried off to the harem with struggling arms 

 and streaming hair ; and then, lamentable sight ! the 

 chamber of the woman in labour — the seated shudder- 

 ing, writhing form — the mother struggling against 

 maternity — the tortured one dreading her release — for 

 the king's officer is standing by the door, and as soon 

 as the male child is born its life is at an end. 



The Arabs with whom he was living were also 

 children of Abraham, and they related to him legends 

 of the ancient days. They told him of the patriarchs 

 who lay buried in Canaan with their wives ; they told 

 him of Eloah whom his fathers had adored. Then as 

 one who returns to a long lost home the Egyptian 

 priest returned to the simple faith of the desert, to the 

 God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. As he 

 wandered on the mountain heights he looked to the 

 west and he saw a desert : beyond it lay Egypt, the 

 house of captivity, the land of bondage. He looked 

 to the east and he saw a desert : beyond it lay Canaan, 

 the home of his ancestors, a land of peace and soon 

 to be a land of hope. For now new ideas rose tumul- 

 tuously within him. He began to see visions and to 

 dream dreams. He heard voices and beheld no form : 



