At my mother's request, O king, I have written the foregoing, and now
inclose his letter to you. I had no sooner entered my house, than I
saw my parents and sister preparing to fly from the king, fearing his
vengeance when he should learn of the escape of Moses! Not that
Pharaoh cared for the life of the slain Egyptian, but he would gladly
seize upon the occasion, as a pretext to destroy his former rival.
May God long preserve thy life, O king.
Written in Egypt by thy servant,
AARON THE HEBREW.
AFTER AN INTERVAL OF FORTY YEARS,
REMESES, PRINCE OF TYRE AND OF DAMASCUS,
SON OF SESOSTRIS,
VISITS EGYPT, AND ADDRESSES THE FOLLOWING
_Series of Letters to his Father_.
LETTER I.
PALACE OF PHARAOH, LAKE MŒRIS
MY DEAR FATHER AND KING:
It is with emotions of no ordinary kind, that I find myself amid the
scenes familiar to your eyes, when forty-six years ago, a young man,
you visited Egypt. Every object upon which I gaze is invested with new
interest as I reflect--"And this my father also saw. On this pylon he
has stood and surveyed the landscape; and along these corridors, his
feet have awakened the echoes which respond to mine."
The letters which you wrote from Egypt, during the reign of the wise
Queen Amense, addressed to my royal grandmother, and which are now in
my possession, early familiarized my mind with this wonderful land;
and I recognize every place of interest, from your descriptions.
There are, however, some changes. Pharaoh-Mœris, who has been long
dead, and his son Meiphra-Thothmes, Thothmeses his grandson, and
Thothmeses IV., the present king, all inaugurated their reigns by
laying the foundations of temples, palaces, and pyramids; while the
ruins of others have been repaired. Mœris restored the ancient
temple of Thoth, in the Island of Rhoda, where Prince Remeses was
hidden three months, and also all other temples in Egypt. His reign,
though tyrannical, was distinguished by improvement in arts, in
letters, in astronomy, architecture, and arms. His pyramid is an
imposing one, and singularly pre-eminent, by having an obelisk at each
angle. His lake, however, is this Pharaoh's greatest monument, if I
may so term it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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