The author to the scholar and critic—pp. 597-600.

{25}

THE PILLAR OF FIRE,

OR

ISRAEL IN BONDAGE.

LETTERSOF SESOSTRIS TO QUEEN EPIPHIA.

OF SESOSTRIS TO QUEEN EPIPHIA.

LETTER I.

At length, my dear mother, I have reached the "Land of the Seven Rivers," and do now write to you from her gorgeous capital, On, The City of the Sun.

At

On

How shall I describe to you the grand and solemn magnificence of this city of divine temples, and convey to you a just idea of its palaces that seem rather to have been erected for the abodes of gods than of men!

Wheresoever I turn my eyes, I realize that I am in mighty Egypt; for everywhere I behold grandeur and glory, excellency and perfection. Every object illustrates the power, munificence, and taste of the imperial princess who now sits on the throne of the Pharaohs, and the splendor of whose reign has raised Egypt above the mightiest empires of the earth.

And all that I behold recalls the ancient glory, my {26} dear mother, of our own land, the once princely Palestina and Phœnicia,—twin kingdoms which of old gave conquerors, and rulers, and laws to Egypt, under the short but brilliant dynasty of her Shepherd Kings! But, though fading with age, Phœnicia still lives in the beauty, pride, and power of her daughter Egypt.

{26}

I will not lament over the waning glory of my own dear land, my royal mother, while I can see it revived here with increased magnificence. Phœnicia is not dead while Egypt lives. Every ruin in my own kingdom is restored with 

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