Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-09-03
A NEW
Another Account of the Exodus of the
IsraeIites from Egypt.

From the Pail HaU Gazette.
1t is hardly a year since that the famous
Shapiro manuscripts threatened to star
tie the orthodox world by a new version
of the Ten Commandments. The mustv
manuscripts, however, were proved TO be
a fraud, and the sensation subsidized. The
idea, however, of pseudo-anti1ue varia-
lions Of Biblical stories has ever since
possessed the German Imagination, and
there now lies before us another writing,
hardly less musty than the Shapiro MSS.
which PROCESSES to give in German dog
gerel the Egyptian version of the Plaques
and the Exodus. The author saws his
version was written lat the time of the
exodus of the Jews from Egypt" so that
both text and Illustrations were prepared
when the impression of the departure of
the Jews was still fresh on the mind. The
date of the disinterment of the present
volume is left unmentiOned by the pub
Usher, but there is no doubt that Schiller
was we'll acquainted with it's contents,
and borrowed from it the measure for
several of his famous ballads and minor
poems. The opening lines Of the first
song, FOR Instance:
AT Ramses', the Pharaoh's palace so grand,
The chambers are thronged and the portals,
The princes are there aud the great of the
lAnQ.
High statesmen and-commoner mortals,
are almost identical In metre with the
corresponding lines of the ballad 'Zu
Aaehen in seiner Kaisepraoht,' % and that
most charming of Schiller's minor poems,
"Es reden ind traumen die Menschen
viel.s' Again the second song. opening
with the following lines; "a -ef 10
The ocean isihish, the dykes are in danger.
The wind Ofthedesert blOwsfurious and wild.
AS for the new version Of the Mosaic sto-
ry, our author gives it thus: "Meneph-
tab, King OF Egypt, wanted money. There
vas none in Egypt. Two intriguing
Jews supplied it, and thereby became the
Pharaoh's bosom friend. The Egyptian
wise men, TO punish their King, brought
on the plaques which, however, were
rendered ineffective by remedies of acids
and insect powders furnIshedby Mauress,
the jew, who, in return for his great SER
vices, was enriched with all the remain
Ing treasures Of Egypt. At last the pa
tience OF The Egyptians was exhausted,
and the King was compelled to sign a
treaty by which he promised to send the
Hebrews across the Red sea. Secretly,
however, the King resolved to let them
return as soon as peace was restored be-
tween him and his subjects. But the ex-
ecution Of that plan was prevented by his
subjects, who, by means Of dynamite or a
similar radical cure, blew up Menephtah's
ship when he was in the middle Of the
Red sea. He was then eaten piecemeal
by the fishes. and the children Of Israel
escaped. to turn up again as wealthy
'commezienrathe.' The naive humor
which characterizes this ancient volume
speaks well for the literary tastes OF the
Egyptians of old, az the illustrations are
a sign OF the advanced state Of arts in the
reign OF the Pharaohs. The elaborate jeu
d'esprlt is quite as c~leverly got up as the
preceding ancient Egyptian MSS. which
had so great "A success last year, with its
sackcloth covering and its ancient seals"