"In his youth he did. But the great Lord of heaven revealed Himself to him as One God, and thenceforth he knew and worshipped only the Lord of heaven and earth." "How knowest thou mysteries which are approached with the greatest awe by the most sacred priests?" "Abraham, our father, gave to Isaac, his son, the knowledge of One God, God _of_ gods!--above, beyond, higher, and over the fabulous Osiris, Apis, Thoth, Horus, and all other so-called deities. Isaac left the knowledge with his son Jacob. From Jacob it descended to his twelve sons, princes by birth; and we are their progeny; and though in bondage, and tempted to bow down ourselves to the gods of Egypt, yet there remain a few in Israel who have never bowed the knee to the black statue of Apis, or crossed the breast before the golden image of Osiris." "What is the name of the One God you, and minds like yours, worship?" I asked. "He is called the One Lord; not only Lord of the sun, but Lord of the lords of the sun. He is One in His being, One in power, and yields not His glory and dominion to others. Such is the tradition of our faith." "How hast thou resisted the worship of Egypt?" I asked. "Hast thou not from a child been an inmate of this palace?" "Yes, my lord prince. But my mother taught me early the truths of the faith of Abraham, and I have held firmly to the worship of my fathers, amid temptations, trials, and menaces. But all the gods of Egypt have not turned me aside from the One God; and my heart tells me that in Him, and Him alone, I live, and move, and have my being!" I regarded this noble-looking bondwoman with surprise and profound respect. Here, from the lips of a female, a slave, had I heard the mystery of God made known, by one who worshipped boldly the Divine Unity, which the wisdom of Remeses shrunk from certainly acknowledging; but felt after only with hope and desire. "Prince," she said, looking up into my face, and speaking with feeling, "dost thou believe in these gods of Egypt?" I confess, dear mother, I was startled by the question. But I replied, smiling-- "I worship the gods of my own land, Miriam." "Are they idols?" "What is an idol?" "An image or figure in stone, or wood, or metal, or even painted with colors, to which divine homage is paid,--visible representations of the invisible." "In Phœnicia we worship the sun, and also honor certain gods." "Then thou art not above the Egyptians. I saw thee bend in attitude of prayer at the sound of the sistrum. Dost thou believe that the sacred bull is God,--who made thee, and me, and nature, and the sun, and stars, and upholds the universe? Dost thou believe Apis or Mnevis at On, or Amun at Thebes, either or all of them, GOD?" "Thou art a wonderful woman!" I exclaimed. "Art thou not a priestess of the Hebrew people?"