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Suddenly from my dwelling, and left my life
To darkness, grief and pain, and for her sake,
Not thine, I'll spare the child." And thus I saved
Thee twice—once from the angry sword and once
From the devouring flood. Moses, thou art
Doubly mine; as such I claimed thee then, as such
I claim thee now. I've nursed no other child
Upon my knee, and pressed upon no other
Lips the sweetest kisses of my love, and now,
With rash and careless hand, thou dost thrust aside
that love.
There was a painful silence, a silence
So hushed and still that you might have almost
Heard the hurried breathing of one and the quick
Throbbing of the other's heart : for Moses,
He was slow of speech, but she was eloquent
With words of tenderness and love, and had breathed
Her full heart into her lips ; but there was
Firmness in the young man's choice, and he beat
back
The opposition of her lips with the calm
Grandeur of his will, and again he essayed to speak.
MOSES.
Gracious lady, thou remembrest well
The Hebrew nurse to whom thou gayest thy found-
ling.
That woman was my mother; from her lip I
Learned the grand traditions of our race that float,
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