True, when it came to getting the Children of Israel out of Egypt, as
Cousin Bill J. observed, "Things brisked up considerable."

The plan of first hardening Pharaoh's heart, then scaring him by a
pestilence, then again hardening his heart for another calamity, quite
won the little boy's admiration for its ingenuity, and even Cousin Bill J.
would at times betray that he was impressed. Feverishly they followed the
miracles done to Egypt; the plague of frogs, of lice, of flies, of boils
and blains on man and beast; the plague of hail and lightning, of locusts,
and the three days of darkness. Then came the Lord's final triumph, which
was to kill all the first-born in the land of Egypt, "from the first-born
of Pharaoh, that sitteth upon the throne, even unto the first-born of the
maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts."
Again the little boy's heart ached as he thought pityingly of the
first-born of all white rabbits, but there was too much of excitement to
dwell long upon that humble tragedy. There was the manner in which the
Israelites identified themselves, by marking their doors with a sprig of
hyssop dipped in the blood of a male lamb without blemish. Vividly did he
see the good God gliding cautiously from door to door, looking for the
mark of blood, and passing the lucky doors where it was seen to be truly
of a male lamb without blemish. He thought it must have taken a lot of
lambs to mark up all the doors!

Then came that master-stroke of enterprise, when God directed Moses to
"speak now in the ears of the people and let every man borrow of his
neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver and jewels
of gold," so that they might "spoil" the Egyptians. Cousin Bill J.
chuckled when he read this, declaring it to be "a regular Jew trick"; but
Clytie rebuked him quickly, reminding him that they were God's own words,