"He was educated an Egyptian, and was supposed to be the son of Pharaoh's daughter, but was only adopted by her; and being discovered to be a Hebrew, he left Egypt."
"This same Moses, once Prince Remeses, is now in Midian, where he hath been these forty years," answered the venerable chief-captain of the caravan. "He is son-in-law to our prince, who has made him ruler over all the companies of shepherds in the region that lieth between the city of Keturah and the sea, and even to the back of the desert, where, on the sides of Horeb and the valleys thereof, he feeds his flocks. Moreover, there also he meditates, and writes in a cave—for he is a man of vast learning, and greatly revered in Midian as a wise sage. He is married to the daughter of the Prince Ru-el Jethro, and by her hath had many sons, but two only—mere lads—remain, the rest having died early. Surely, what man in Midian knoweth not Moses, the wise shepherd of Horeb?"
Upon hearing this good news, dear father, I rejoiced, in anticipation, at the pleasure you would receive, when you should read my letter containing the pleasing tidings. I now asked the good Midianite when he would return. He said that in seven days he should depart, and that it would take him eleven days to reach that part of the country where Moses dwelt. Upon this, my dear father, after making sundry other inquiries about the route, I determined to accompany him; for I knew you would value one letter from me, saying I had seen and spoken with your friend face to face, more highly than many from the hundred-gated Thebes. I shall be gone but one month, and shall be well repaid, not only by seeing Moses, whose noble countenance I can just recollect as a pleasant remembrance of my childhood, but by conferring upon him the unexpected pleasure of hearing from you by your son, his namesake. Thus, for your sake, as well as for his, and also my own gratification in seeing a new and rarely visited country, I take my departure with the caravan. After I reach Midian, and have seen your old friend in the land of his long exile, I will write to you fully of all that may interest you.
May the God of Abraham and of Moses have you always in His sacred keeping.
Your loving son,
Remeses of Damascus.
LETTER III.
MOSES TO SESOSTRIS.
Land of Midian.