Israelites to scorn and once more refused to
consider their request, whereupon plagues of lice, flies, and boils
broke out upon man and beast, with mighty storms, and a great darkness
in which no man could see another's face. Once more Pharaoh, whose heart
was still hardened against Moses, called Ptahmes to his presence and
bade him advise him as to the course he should pursue. Being already at
war with his neighbours, he had no desire to permit this horde to cross
his borders only to side with his enemies against himself. And yet to
keep them and to risk further punishment was equally dangerous. Moses
was a stern man, and as the King had had already good reason to know,
was not one to be trifled with. Only that morning he had demanded an
audience and had threatened Pharaoh with a pestilence that should cause
the death of every first-born son throughout the land should he still
persist in his refusal.

"Now Ptahmes, who, as I have said, was an astute man, and who had
already been allowed to see the consequences of giving advice that did
not tally with his master's humour, found himself in a position, not
only of difficulty, but also of some danger. Either he must declare
himself openly in favour of letting the Hebrews go, and once more run
the risk of Pharaoh's anger and possible loss of favour, or he must side
with his master, and, having done so, put forth every effort to prevent
the punishment Moses had decreed. After hours of suspense and
overwhelming anxiety he adopted the latter course. Having taken counsel
with his fellow-Magicians, he assured Pharaoh, on the honour of the
gods, that what the Israelite had predicted could never come to pass.
Fortified with this promise, Pharaoh once more refused to permit the
strangers to leave the land. As a result the first-born son of the King,
the child whom he loved better than his kingdom, sickened of a
mysterious disease and died that night, as did the first-born of all the
Egyptians, rich and poor alike. In the words of your own Bible, 'There
was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not
one dead.' Then Pharaoh's hatred was bitter against his advisers, and he
determined that Ptahmes in particular should die. He sought him with the
intention of killing him, but the Magician had received timely warning
and had escaped into the mountains, where he hid himself for many
months. Little by little his health gave way, he grew weaker, and in the
fiftieth