plague makes him seek once more to appease Moses and Aaron. He is ready now even to let the women and children go, only the cattle must remain in Egypt. But Moses is firm; the cattle were needed for sacrifice. Nothing less than a complete exodus of all the people with their possessions for a three days' journey into the wilderness to worship God on His holy mountain would satisfy Moses. Indeed, he even suggests that the king himself provide animals for the sacrifice. Then Pharaoh in a rage commits his final indiscretion, declaring to Moses and Aaron, "Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die." This closes all negotiations between them. Moses accepts his ultimatum. "Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more." Henceforth, not even a three days' journey into the wilderness will suffice. Pharaoh had pronounced his own sentence, a sentence which the arbitrary and tyrannical always pronounce upon themselves when opposed by the protagonists of reason and justice. =Aim.= The aim of this chapter, as of all those leading to the event of the Exodus, is to inspire the child with faith in God's providence as exercised over Israel in particular, and over mankind in general, in the interests of liberty and justice. =Suggestions to the teacher.= It is sometimes suggested in books on the teaching of Biblical history that the story of the plagues be passed over lightly, without much attention to detail. This would be a mistake. The story of the plagues has a great fascination for young children, the same sort of fascination which the works of fairies and witches in their favorite fairy tales exercise over them. The skillful teacher will make the most of the native interest in the marvelous by employing it to increase the spirit of reverent awe which he must endeavor to associate with the thought of God. In telling each of these plagues, it is not enough to describe what happened, but the teacher must assist in making the child realize what the plagues meant to Egypt. Thus, in teaching the first plague, dwell on how indispensable water is and what distress results if people are deprived of water for any length of time. The interest of the children in the plagues must not, however, be merely due to their interest in the marvelous. Endeavor to interest them primarily in the contest between God and Pharaoh. All the conversations between Pharaoh and Moses must be told as nearly as possible in the language of the Bible, so that the child is made to feel the strength of the firm insistence of Moses and the weakness of Pharaoh's vacillating and temporizing attitude. Unless at the end of the lesson the child is filled with admiration for Moses and contempt for Pharaoh, the teacher has not taught the lesson well.