nfessed that he was
induced to take this step by his father's command did he beckon to the
high-priest, who began in low, almost inaudible tones:

"The son who resigns great things to remain obedient to his father will
be the most loyal of the 'good god's' servants. Go, obey the summons
of Nun. The son of the sun, the Lord of Upper and Lower Egypt, sets
you free; but through me, the slave of his master, he imposes one
condition."

"What is that?" asked Hosea.

Pharaoh signed to Rui a second time and, as the monarch sank back upon
his throne, the old man, fixing his keen eyes on Hosea, replied:

"The demand which the lord of both worlds makes upon you by my lips is
easy to fulfil. You must return to be once more his servant and one
of us, as soon as your people and their leader, who have brought such
terrible woe upon this land, shall have clasped the divine hand which
the son of the sun extends to them in reconciliation, and shall have
returned to the beneficent shadow of his throne. He intends to attach
them to his person and his realm by rich tokens of his favor, as soon as
they return from the desert to which they have gone forth to sacrifice
to their God. Understand me fully! All the burdens which have oppressed
the people of your race shall be removed. The 'great god' will secure
to them, by a new law, privileges and great freedom, and whatever we
promise shall be written down and witnessed on our part and yours as
a new and valid covenant binding on our children and our children's
children. When such a compact has been made with an honest purpose on
our part to keep it for all time, and your tribes have consented to
accept it, will you promise that you will then be one of us again?"

"Accept the office of mediator, Hosea," the queen here interrupted in a
low tone, with her sorrowful eyes fixed imploringly on Hosea's face.
"I dread the fury of Mesu, and everything in our power shall be done to
regain his old friendship. Mention my name and recall the time when he
taught little Isisnefert the names of the plants she brought to him
and explained to her and her sister their beneficial or their harmful
qualities, during his visits to the queen, his second mother, in the
women's apartments. The wounds he has dealt our hearts shall be pardoned
and forgotten. Be our envoy. Hosea, do not deny us."

"Such words from royal lips are a strict mandate," replied the Hebrew.
"And yet they make the heart rejoice. I will acce