"
"So?"
"Nay; hast thou not heard of the Israelitish unrest?"
"Aye, I had heard--but--but hath it become of any import?"
"It is the peril of Egypt that she does not realize her menace in these
Hebrews," the lady answered. "The north knows it, but it has sprung
into life so recently, and from such miserable soil, that even my
father, who has been away from the Delta but a few months, does not
appreciate the magnitude of the disaffection."
"Thou hast lived among them, Lady Masanath. What thinkest thou of
these people?" Kenkenes asked after a little silence.
"Of the mass I can not speak confidently," she answered modestly.
"They are proud--they pass the Egyptian in pride; they have kept their
blood singularly pure for such long residence among us; they are
stubborn, querulous and unready. But above all they are a contented
race if but the oppression were lifted from their shoulders. They are
an untilled soil--none knows what they might produce, but the
confidence of their leader, who is a wondrous man, bespeaks them a
capable people. To my mind they are mistreated beyond their deserts.
I would have the powers of Egypt use them better."
"Is it known in the north what Mesu's purpose is? The Israelites among
us talk of their own kingdom, and I wonder if the Hebrew means to set
up a nation within us, or assail the throne of the Pharaohs, or go
forth and settle in another country.
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