Part 16 (1/2)
The wise lance on the river and its purple waves, and saw at once as the s to their primitive condition,” he said to Mosche's coain smote the stream, which at once resumed its natural colour
Ennana nodded briefly, like an iue; he considered the enchantht for one who had not had, like hi wisdom in the mysterious chambers of the labyrinth, where a very few of the initiated can alone enter, so trying are the tests which have to be undergone
”It is my turn now,” he said; and he stretched out over the Nile his rod engraved with hieroglyphic signs, ue so old that it had probably ceased to be understood even in the days of Mene, the first king of Egypt,--a language spoken by sphinxes, with syllables of granite
A vast red flood stretched suddenly frouined waves to the sea The twenty-fouras if they were about to withdraw
”Remain,” said the Pharaoh
They resumed their impassible countenances
”Have you no other proof of your mission than that? My wise men, you see, i discouraged by the ironical words of the King, Mosche replied: ”In seven days' tio into the desert to sacrifice to the Lord according to their rites, I shall return and perform another wonder before you”
At the end of seven days Mosche reappeared He spoke to his servant Aharon the words of the Lord:--
”Stretch out thine hand with thy rod over the streas to coypt”
As soon as Aharon had done as he was bidden, ed from the canals, the rivers, and the marshes; they covered the fields and the roads, they hopped upon the steps of the temples and the palaces, they invaded the sanctuaries and the s followed those which had first appeared; they were found in the houses, in the kneading-troughs, in the ovens, in the coffers; no one could step anywhere without crushi+ng sos, to the right and the left, forward and backward; as far as the eye could reach, they were seen rippling, hopping, ju past one another, for they already lacked roorew, their ranks becareen backs turned the countryside into a sort of anireen meadow, on which their yellow eyes shone like flowers The anioats,--terrified and startled, fled across the fields, but everywhere came upon the loathsome swarms
The Pharaoh, who fros eariness and disgust, crushed as many as he could with the end of his sceptre and pushed back the others with his curved sandals, but his labour was lost; s came no one knehence, and took the places of the dead, swar more than they did,the vertebrae on their backs, staring at hi out their webbed feet, wrinkling the white skin of their throats The vile anience, and they for than anywhere else
The swarrew: on the knees of the colossi, on the cornices of the palaces, on the backs of the sphinxes, on the entablatures of the temples, on the shoulders of the Gods, on the pyramidions of the obelisks, the hideous reptiles, with swollen backs and indrawn feet, had taken up their places The ibises, which at first had rejoiced at this unexpected treat, and had lanced thehty invasion fled to the upper regions of the sky, snapping their long bills
Aharon and Mosche triuht; his finger, placed upon his bald brow, his eyes half-closed, he seeic formula
The Pharaoh, somewhat uneasy, turned towards hiht? Is this wonder beyond the reach of your wisdoed ineternity and in spelling out the incomprehensible, it may happen that he does not at once recall the odd hich rules reptiles, makes them live or destroys them Watch! all this verician waved his wand and whispered a feords; in an instant the fields, the squares, the roads, the quays along the stream, the streets in the city, the courts of the palaces, the roouests, and restored to their pri sician
”It is not enough to have broken the spell of Aharon,” said Ennana; ”I shall repeat it”
Ennana waved his wand in the opposite direction and s reappeared in greater nu the whole land was covered with theician was unable to dispel the invasion called up by his enchantment In vain he spoke the mysterious words, the incantation had lost its power The bands of wise e, and the brows of the Pharaoh were bent with anger, but he hardened his heart and would not grant the prayer of Mosche; his pride strove to struggle and to fight against the unknown God of Israel
However, unable to get rid of the terrible reptiles, Pharaoh promised Mosche, if he would intercede for hio into the desert to sacrifice
The frogs died or returned to the waters, but the Pharaoh hardened his heart, and in spite of the gentle remonstrances of Tahoser, he did not keep his proypt a ed between the wise men and the two Hebrehose wonders they reproduced Mosche changed all the dust in Egypt into lice; Ennana did the same Mosche took two handfuls of ashes of the furnace and sprinkled theht of the Pharaoh, and i forth with blains upon yptians, but not upon the Hebrews
”Imitate that wonder!” cried the Pharaoh, beside hi in front of a fiery furnace, as he addressed himself to the chief of the wise men
”It would be useless,” replied the old er of the Unknown is in all this; our vain forainst that mysterious power Submit, and let us return to our sanctuaries to study this new God, this Lord, who isof Egypt has been overcome, the riddle of the sphinx cannot be answered, and the vast ness only”
As the Pharaoh still refused to let the Hebrews go, all the cattle of the Egyptians were sle head