told you what occurred after the people learned the
command that had been issued. We, too, were among those who lost courage
and murmured. But last night, all who belonged to the household of
Nun--and also the shepherds, the slaves, and the poor--were summoned to
a feast, and there was abundance of roast lamb, fresh, unleavened bread,
and wine, more than usual at the harvest festival, which began that
night, and which you, my lord, have often attended in your boyhood. We
sat rejoicing, and our lord, your father, comforted us, and told us of
the God of our fathers and the wonders He had wrought for them. It
was now His will that we should go forth from this land where we had
suffered contempt and bondage. This was no sacrifice like that of
Abraham when, at the command of the Most High, he had whetted his knife
to shed the blood of his son Isaac, though it would be hard for many of
us to quit a home that had grown dear to us and forego many a familiar
custom. But it will be a great happiness for us all. For, he said, we
were not to journey forth to an unknown country, but to a beautiful
region which God Himself had set apart for us. He had promised us,
instead of this place of bondage, a new and delightful home where we
should dwell free men, amid fruitful fields and rich pastures, which
would supply food to every man and his family and make all hearts
rejoice. Just as laborers must work hard to earn high wages, we must
endure a brief period of want and suffering to gain for ourselves and
for our children the beautiful new home which the Lord had promised.
God's own land it must be, for it was a gift of the Most High.

"Having spoken thus, he blessed us all and promised that thou, too,
wouldst shake the dust from off thy feet, and join us to fight for our
cause with a strong arm as a trained soldier and a dutiful son.

"Shouts of joy rang forth and, when we assembled in the market-place and
found that all the bondmen had escaped from the overseers, many gained
fresh courage. Then Aaron stepped into our midst, stood upon the
auctioneer's bench, and told us with his own lips all that we had
heard from my master Nun at the festival. The words he uttered sounded
sometimes like pealing thunder, and anon like the sweet melody of lutes,
and every one felt that the Lord our God Himself was speaking through
him; for even the most rebellious were so deeply moved that they no
longer complained and murmured. And when he finally annou