say that he was adopted and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter; that he
became skilled in all the learning of the Egyptians; that he privily
slew an Egyptian who-had maltreated a Hebrew, and was obliged therefore
to flee to the land of Midian, where he married Zipporah, a daughter of
Jethro the priest. At this time Moses was getting on to his eightieth
year. Now-a-days a man of that age sees only the grave before him, and
has pretty nearly closed his account with the world. But in those days
it was different. At the age of eighty Moses was just beginning his
career. He was indeed a very astonishing old boy.

One day Moses was keeping his father-in-law's flock near Mount Horeb,
when lo! a strange vision greeted his eyes. The "angel of the Lord
appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush," which
burned without consuming. By "angel" we are to understand a vision or
appearance only, for the being within the bush was God Almighty himself;
and throughout the rest of the narrative the word "angel" is entirely
dropped, only Lord or God being used. Moses approached this wonderful
sight; but the Lord called out to him, "Draw not nigh hither: put off
thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy
ground." Thereupon Moses hid his face "for he was afraid to look upon
God." Could anything be more ludicrous! Fancy God, the infinite spirit
of the universe, secreting himself in a bush and setting it on fire,
just to make a little display for the benefit of Moses! Our wonder,
however, is presently lessened; for this God turns out to be only
Jehovah "the Lord God of the Hebrews," a mere local deity, who cared
only for his own people, and was quite ready to slaughter any number of
the inhabitants of adjacent countries, besides being bitterly jealous
of their gods. The utmost claimed for him is that he is the biggest God
extant, and quite capable of thrashing all the other gods with one
hand tied behind his back. He had heard the cries of his people and had
determined to rescue them from bondage. He had also resolved to give
Pharaoh and the Egyptians a taste of his quality, so that they might be
forced to-admit his superiority to their gods. "I will let them know,"
said he to Moses, "who I am, and you shall be my agent. We'll confound
their impudence before we've done with them. But don't let us be in a
hurry, for the little drama I have devised requires a good deal of time.
You go to Egypt and a