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 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS
 
 HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 SCENES AND INCIDENTS CHIEFLY OF 
 RUSSO-JEWISH LIFE 
 
 SAMUEL GORDON 
 
 METHUEN & CO. 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET, W.C. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 1897
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THIS is an age of exploration for the 
 ethnographer no less than for the 
 geographer. We are intruding into the 
 penetralia of unknown territories, we are 
 making inroads into the mysteries, yet 
 unsolved, of the thoughts, customs, and 
 observances of alien races. The ethno- 
 grapher's function is rendered more urgent 
 by the duty he owes to the interests of 
 the spirit of future inquiry ; he must take 
 an impress of individual peoples before the 
 barriers of isolation, behind which they 
 have preserved their individuality unim- 
 paired, are broken down by the onward 
 sweep of progress, the ultimate, if far-off, 
 goal of which seems to be cosmopoli- 
 tanism. 
 
 It would be ludicrous were I to put 
 forward these few tales as even the 
 slightest contribution to the science. And
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 yet in no case, perhaps, is the necessity 
 of such racial stereotyping greater than in 
 that of the Russian Jew. In view of the 
 various schemes to repatriate him in the 
 land of his ancestors, where the absence 
 of ukase, " Pales of Settlement," and other 
 amenities of his present condition cannot 
 but metamorphose him out of all recog- 
 nition, schemes which, whether from a 
 political or economical standpoint, bid fair 
 at no distant date to become a question of 
 European importance, it may not be out 
 of place to make an attempt, however im- 
 perfect by comparison with more compe- 
 tent exponents, to delineate a few of the 
 characteristics which have made him, if 
 not a picturesque, at any rate an inte- 
 resting figure in the background of modern 
 history. 
 
 Despite, or perhaps because of, the 
 numerous occasions which of late have 
 brought the Russian Jew into an unenvi- 
 able prominence, he has remained to the 
 Western world only a shadowy reality, a 
 myth and a mystery ; he is still a hiero- 
 glyphic which has been but imperfectly 
 deciphered. Some consider he has been 
 wilfully and maliciously created for the
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 express purpose of tarnishing the glories 
 of our civilisation, by reminding us that 
 mediaeval intolerance is not yet a thing of 
 the past. However that may be, I have 
 in these slight sketches endeavoured to 
 depict the Russian Jew in his native 
 surroundings as a creature possessing 
 "organs, dimensions, senses, affections, 
 passions," and actuated in his dealings 
 both with his brother in faith as well as 
 with his Gentile neighbour by the same 
 motives, good, bad, and indifferent, which 
 actuate those of his fellow-beings to whom 
 the Providence of history has been less 
 of a stepmother. No attempt has been 
 made, apart from an occasional hint, to 
 draw fine shades of distinction as regards 
 the character, language, locality, even 
 creed, which differentiate the various 
 sections composing an aggregate of five 
 million human souls ; there has been 
 intended no tirade against an unfathom- 
 able policy of systematic and gratuitous 
 cruelty which blindly defeats its own ends. 
 I have merely attempted to show that the 
 Russian Jew lives in a world of his own, 
 a world having its lights and its shadows, 
 and, despite its intrinsic incongruities,
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 bearing in the humanity and divinity 
 which is its motor force a wonderful 
 resemblance to the world we inhabit our- 
 selves. 
 
 The two stories of non- Jewish interest 
 included in this little volume are perhaps 
 an anomaly. But they may be justified 
 as being faint side-lights illustrating the 
 environments in which the Russian Jew 
 moves, and as such, if on no other count, 
 let them stand and take their chance with 
 the rest. 
 
 LONDON, September, 1896.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION . .1 
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT .... 26 
 
 THE REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT . . 60 
 THE MIGRATION OF SAINT SEBASTIAN . . QI 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN .... 125 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE . . 143 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST . . . -173 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS . . . 2IO 
 " WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE "... 242 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER .... 267
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 
 
 " r I "'HIS day I am become a happy man 
 X in Israel blessed be the name of 
 the Lord ! " rose Tarphon's jubilant cry. 
 The proof of his gladness lay in his face ; 
 but the cause of it lay in his arms a 
 huddled-up, swaddle-clothed heap of two- 
 hour-old humanity. "It is a boy that was 
 bravely done of thee, Mirzah ; now we 
 shall have some one to say the Sanctifica- 
 tion over us when we are dead." 
 
 "What ails thee, Tarphon?" said 
 Mirzah, looking reproach with her big 
 wan eyes, for she had not strength enough 
 to lay it into her voice ; "in the hour that 
 new life is given us, to take the name of 
 death into thy mouth ? Thou knowest 
 not what thou sayest in thy transport. 
 Give me back the child before thou 
 swallowest it with thine eyes." 
 
 " There, selfish one that thou art ! " was 
 
 2 t
 
 2 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 the good-humoured reply. " May I not 
 hold him and touch him for a little while ? 
 Thou grudgest me the joy of fatherhood, 
 perhaps, and yet it is the first time in the 
 ten years of our wedlock that I have tasted 
 it." 
 
 " Tarphon ! " and the gathering tears in 
 the big wan eyes said the rest. 
 
 " Foolish one, I was but jesting ; " and 
 Tarphon stroked the limp hand that was 
 stretched out to meet his. " I am very 
 well satisfied with thee ; he shall be a 
 great scholar, and his fame shall ring 
 through the world that pleases thee, see, 
 thou smilest and no less than two bullocks 
 and ten sheep shall be eaten at his marriage 
 feast. To be sure, I know not what I am 
 saying I will go forth and tell the news 
 in the town and in the houses of our friends 
 and kinsfolk. Nay, let me look at him 
 again I shall not do him mischief." 
 
 No wonder that Tarphon was a little 
 delirious. He was a man who had been 
 blessed with chattels of many sorts ; he 
 owned manservants and maidservants, and 
 his flocks cropped his own pastures for 
 many an acre round. And now God had 
 set this coping-stone upon his fortunes,
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 3 
 
 and Tarphon was but human and might be 
 excused for not eyeing the event with stoic 
 indifference. His excitement kept him on 
 his legs till late in the afternoon, and when 
 he came home he was very tired. "Not 
 with the walking," he explained to Mirzah, 
 "but with the load of good wishes I have 
 brought for all the three of us." And then 
 he sat down at the bedside and thought 
 for a long time. 
 
 " What sayest thou, Mirzah ? I hold it 
 is but right I should make some offering 
 to the congregation, so that the birth of 
 Tarphon's son may be remembered for 
 many ages to come." 
 
 " When I am recovered, I and my sisters 
 shall embroider a covering-cloth for the 
 Reader's pulpit," suggested Mirzah. 
 
 "It will get worn out in a few years," 
 objected Tarphon, "and the gift is not one 
 of sufficient value." 
 
 " Then let it be a golden wine-beaker." 
 
 " That might get stolen. Nay, do not 
 prompt me ; I have the gift in my mind. 
 I have heard much talk to-day that Benish, 
 the great scribe of Gostoneen, has finished 
 the Scroll of the Law which he affirms to 
 be the best handiwork of his lifetime, and
 
 4 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 he asks for it a large sum I know not 
 how much ; but the harvest has been 
 plentiful this year, and there has been no 
 foot-rot among the sheep. I shall give 
 what he asks I shall not miss it." 
 
 So then, as proposed, Tarphon went to 
 negotiate with Benish on the following 
 morning ; and when he entered, the ex- 
 pert was sitting in his scriptorium busily 
 examining old parchments that needed 
 repair. 
 
 " I have come about the scroll that I 
 have heard say is the wonder of the world," 
 began Tarphon. 
 
 "It is disposed of, or nearly so," answered 
 Benish, " for the congregation of Wilna 
 has offered me eleven hundred and fifty 
 roubles for it." 
 
 " I will give you twelve hundred," said 
 Tarphon. 
 
 " There is only one man can do that, 
 and that is Tarphon of Stchelno." 
 
 " I am Tarphon, and yesterday a son 
 was born to me ; and I would present the 
 scroll to the congregation in memory of 
 it." 
 
 " The gift is worthy of the man and the 
 occasion," said Benish; "you shall buy
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 5 
 
 it. And now come and let me show it 
 
 n 
 
 you. 
 
 And then from the inmost receptacle of 
 his storing-place came forth the precious 
 manuscript. It was of medium size and 
 compact, nor yet so unwieldily bulky as 
 many of the scrolls that weary the arms of 
 the holders when they are carried about in 
 procession on the Day of Rejoicing in the 
 Law. And Benish's eyes glowed as he 
 commented on its excellences. 
 
 "Ten years I have worked at it, and 
 now every flourish is in its place, and the 
 spacings and margins between the portions 
 are measured to a hair. Look at the 
 handles solid ebony from the land of 
 Kush, and the silk coverings at the back 
 are such as the Indias cannot outvie." 
 
 And then he showed Tarphon the ac- 
 coutrement and the accessories that be- 
 longed to the scroll ; how the breastplate 
 of solid silver was worked into the effigy 
 of King Solomon's temple, with the peri- 
 styles and vestibules daintily fretted out 
 from the bulk. And the large head-bells 
 were the shapes of crowns, and the clappers 
 inside gave out a sound like cymbals. As 
 for the pointer, the upper part was in form
 
 6 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 of a palm branch tapering off into a deli- 
 cately chiselled hand. 
 
 " And all these things were fashioned by 
 my son, the silversmith," added Benish, 
 proudly. " I tell you, no finer scroll exists 
 unless it be the one from which the 
 patriarchs read the Sabbath-portion in the 
 Garden of Eden ; and it is yours at the 
 twelve hundred and fifty roubles you 
 named." 
 
 Tarphon stood gazing with open mouth 
 at the splendours before him, and he had 
 not the heart to haggle about the extra 
 fifty wherewith Benish had saddled him ; 
 the man deserved his price. 
 
 And when Tarphon came home he told 
 his wife : "I have beheld what no human 
 eyes have seen; it was like drinking in the 
 veritable glory of God." 
 
 " Nay, talk not so big," broke in Mirzah. 
 "I, too, have been feasting mine eyes 
 upon the shadow of the shadow thereof. 
 But be still he sleeps." 
 
 " The child our child ! " breathed Tar- 
 phon ; and then he went on in a whisper, 
 "What sayest thou to this, Mirzah : was 
 it not at the hour of eight that he first 
 drew breath ? And Benish told me that
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 7 
 
 was the instant when he put the last stroke 
 to the writing of the scroll, having worked 
 at it through the night into the morning ; 
 and so it might be said that they were 
 born in the same winking of the eye. Is 
 it not strange ? " 
 
 "Strange?" said Mirzah. (( Oh, thou 
 niggard of faith ! Is not God rich enough 
 to dower the world with two blessings by 
 one outstretching of the hand ? Call it not 
 strange ; say rather it is a happy omen 
 and foreshadowing that good fortune shall 
 be his, having chanced upon such a co- 
 eval." 
 
 Then Tarphon stooped over the child, 
 and, kissing it, he whispered, " Dear as is 
 to the Almighty His Law, so be thou, His 
 creature." 
 
 But there were many things that de- 
 manded attention, and Tarphon had his 
 hands full for the next five days that 
 elapsed before the child might be initiated 
 into the Covenant of Abraham. And the 
 memory of that initiation-feast is still 
 current through the country, for from the 
 mere remains of it full two weddings might 
 have been furnished forth. And for the 
 occasion there had come all the men of
 
 8 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 consideration and importance in the neigh- 
 bourhood ; notably Rabbi Eliezar, the 
 renowned Cabbalist, who it was said had 
 once caught an angel by the foot and would 
 not let him go until he had been promised 
 a foremost place in the World-to-come. 
 Now he was blind and palsy-stricken, and 
 it was only a man of Tarphon's standing 
 who might make bold to ask his company. 
 And in the evening of the feast they brought 
 the child, which had been named Ephraim, 
 and laid it on the table before Rabbi Eliezar 
 that he might give it his blessing ; and he, 
 alone of all the others, had been told of 
 the wondrous coincidence that marked the 
 finishing of the scroll and the birth of the 
 child. And he laid his shrunken hand on 
 little Ephraim's head, and, lifting his sight- 
 less eyes to heaven, he blessed him. Now 
 the old man was toothless, and his utter- 
 ance was vague and confused ; but those 
 who sat near him thought that these were 
 the words he spoke : 
 
 " As ye are both cast within one nativity, 
 so may its soul be also thy soul, and than 
 the soul of the Word of God there is no 
 thing purer and wholesomer on earth. But 
 the Eternal breathed into the limitless vast,
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 9 
 
 and they became, and were, the four things 
 that are His dimensions. And as thou 
 shalt abide by the blessings of the twin- 
 soul that is thine, so shalt thou abide by 
 whatever else may betide it ; and as one 
 shall be, so shall be the other. And if the 
 twin-soul pass all the trials thereof, then 
 shall it live appointed days." 
 
 And all who heard wondered what the 
 blessing meant ; but there was no one to 
 give an explanation not even Rabbi 
 Eliezar, for he died on the way home from 
 the feast of the Covenant. 
 
 The day following Ephraim's initiation 
 was fixed for the Dedication of the Scroll ; 
 and in honour of this a general holiday 
 prevailed through the town. Tarphon 
 himself carried the scroll from his house 
 to the synagogue in procession with the 
 wardens and goodmen of the congre- 
 gation. The House of Prayer was packed 
 every inch, and from the galleries the 
 women threw down cakes and sweetmeats, 
 and there was great merriment and amicable 
 strife in the catching of the dainties. But 
 Tarphon's munificence was not yet at an 
 end. In the opening paragraphs of Genesis, 
 where the letters were only outlined, he
 
 io A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 chose the characters that made up the 
 name of his son, " Ephraim ben Tarphon," 
 to be filled in with ink ; and the same he 
 did with the last sentences of Deuteronomy, 
 which had been left blank likewise. And 
 for every letter he paid five roubles, all 
 which went to the community to be given 
 in charity to those that needed. Nor yet 
 were the festivities done with, for on the 
 thirtieth day from the birth took place 
 Ephraim's redemption. And this means 
 that he was repurchased from the priests 
 of the town ; for being a " first-born " he 
 was, according to the Law, the due, and 
 tithe, of the Cohanim, the descendants of 
 Aaron. And Tarphon paid to every priest 
 who asked for it the sum of ninety copecks, 
 and again there was a plentiful feast pro- 
 vided. Occasionally Tarphon reflected on 
 the strange blessing Rabbi Eliezar had 
 uttered over Ephraim, but, though he 
 knew a little more of the case, he saw 
 therein no clearer significance than did the 
 others ; but it seemed to imply that an 
 extraordinary destiny hung over his son 
 that might turn to good or ill. Yet from 
 the first Ephraim proved a source of joy. 
 At the age of two he could say the alphabet
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 11 
 
 from Aleph to Tov, and from Tov back 
 to Aleph ; and at three he boldly tackled 
 the sesquipedalian monsters that are to be 
 found in the " Sayings of the Fathers." 
 
 About this time Ephraim's career, which 
 augured so well, almost came to an abrupt 
 ending, and the thing was due to the care- 
 lessness of some one. For Mirzah had 
 occasion to go upon some household errand, 
 and had left the boy sleeping upon the 
 couch, for the servants were about, and she 
 knew he was safe. Now as to demons, 
 burglars, and ravenous beasts he was cer- 
 tainly safe, for there were none in the 
 neighbourhood. But in the very room 
 where he slept there stood a monster made 
 of glazed bricks that reached to the ceiling, 
 and its inners were filled with burning 
 embers. Now this monster-oven found 
 that the flue through which it was wont to 
 respire had become choked up, and the 
 fumes which were to escape into the open 
 were forced back into the cavity ; and to 
 obtain relief from the overcharge, the oven 
 began to belch forth the noisome exhal- 
 ations into the chamber, so that all the 
 pure air became forced out through the 
 crevices. And with the pain of the oppres-
 
 12 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 sion, Ephraim awoke and started scream- 
 ing with all the strength that yet remained 
 in his poor tormented chest ; and at that 
 moment Mirzah rushed in and snatched 
 him out of his peril just two heart-beats 
 before it was too late. All the week he 
 was sick and giddy, so that he was pre- 
 vented from going to synagogue on the 
 Sabbath with his father. And that was a 
 sore disappointment to the little fellow. 
 For he was now entrusted with the rolling- 
 up of the swathe that served as a girdle 
 for his scroll ; and he was never happier 
 than when at this task, although the stiff 
 silken border proved a difficult matter for 
 his little fingers. And that Sabbath there 
 happened a strange thing in the synagogue. 
 For while Naphtali, the master of the Canti- 
 lation, was reciting the weekly portion of 
 the Law, he was seen suddenly to stop, and 
 take off his spectacles ; and then he rubbed 
 his eyes and looked again. But though 
 he rubbed spots out of his eyes, he could 
 not rub the mistake from the page ; for to 
 be sure, the word for "breath," which 
 ought to have been in the passage he had 
 come up to, was missing from its place, and 
 the sentence ran on mutilated and incohe-
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 13 
 
 rent. And the wonder was how the defi- 
 ciency had escaped notice so long, though 
 at each reading the page had been closely 
 scanned by three pairs of eyes namely, 
 those of Naphtali, who read, of the person 
 who was called up to pronounce the bless- 
 ing over the section, and of Tarphon who 
 stood pointing. The next day Benish was 
 summoned, and great was his consternation 
 at the mishap. 
 
 " I don't know how this came about, "he 
 said in justification. " Every line I have 
 gone over diligently after I had written it, 
 and not even the tail of a Yod but was 
 marked with unerring accuracy but of 
 this I can make nothing." 
 
 And then with dubious shakings of head 
 he corrected the omission, and every one 
 admired the skill wherewith he super- 
 literated the erasure so that no trace of the 
 tinkering remained. Tarphon was greatly 
 grieved at the occurrence, for it jeopardised 
 the reputation of the scroll. Still his grief 
 was more than counterbalanced by the joy 
 of Ephraim's speedy recovery. 
 
 And as the time went on Ephraim con- 
 tinued to make progress, so that at the 
 age of seven he had already advanced to
 
 14 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 the study of Rashi and Onkelos and the 
 commentators, and harassed his teachers 
 with perplexing questions. 
 
 "Tell me," he once asked them, "if it 
 happen that a man has searched every 
 nook and corner of his abode upon the 
 eve preceding the Passover, and has 
 gathered all the crumbs and particles of 
 leaven, so that nothing is left ; but if 
 during the festival a mouse should bring 
 in from the adjoining dwelling, which is 
 a Gentile's, a crust of bread and deposit it 
 secretly in the Jewish house, is the owner 
 thereof liable to the punishment of him 
 who neglects the ordinance : ' Seven days 
 there shall be no leaven found in your 
 houses ? ' ' And this, you must admit, is 
 not a question which can be answered 
 standing on one leg ; and it was whispered 
 that before every lesson his teachers held 
 a conclave to be prepared with satisfactory 
 answers to the precocious questioner. And 
 Tarphon held his head high among the 
 fathers of the congregation. 
 
 But little Ephraim was no mere book- 
 worm ; he romped about with the other 
 children and excelled in their games. And 
 thus it happened that a serious accident be-
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 15 
 
 fell him. For one day, while playing at hare 
 and hounds, he was chosen the hare ; and 
 seeing that one of his playmates had nearly 
 come up to him, he looked about for a 
 place of refuge or vantage. Now, in the 
 corner of the courtyard where he had 
 taken his flight there stood a large four- 
 walled tank, rising to the height of three 
 feet from the ground, that contained, as 
 Ephraim thought in his perilous haste, dry 
 fodder for the cattle ; and if he could but 
 attain that he was safe, for from there he 
 could clamber over into the next courtyard, 
 and his pursuer could not equal him in 
 leaping. And at last he reached the side, 
 and, vaulting over splash ! down he 
 went, for the tank was full of water and 
 only sprinkled at the top with a thin layer 
 of chaff; and once he sank, and twice, 
 and at the third time a stableman had 
 rushed to the spot, and barely reached him 
 at the end of a pitchfork that caught in 
 Ephraim's doublet. And so he was borne 
 home a pitiable sight ; his limbs stiff and 
 his eyes staring wide ; for the water he 
 had swallowed had almost forced the life 
 from his body. And when Mirzah saw 
 him thus she set up a loud wailing, but
 
 16 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Tarphon only turned pale and helped her 
 quickly strip him and put him into warm 
 coverlets. By the Sabbath Ephraim had 
 somewhat recovered, though he still re- 
 mained a little ailing ; and Tarphon went 
 to synagogue to offer up thanksgiving for 
 the sparing of his child. And the portion 
 of the week was the crossing of the Red 
 Sea ; and when Naphtali had come to the 
 passage where the waters parted, Tarphon 
 suddenly clutched hold of his hand and 
 bade him stop ; for Tarphon's eyes had 
 caught an error so glaring, that Naphtali 
 might be pardoned for passing it without 
 notice in the belief that his senses were 
 playing him false. For the word " mayim," 
 signifying "waters," was written such that 
 the final "mem" bore the same shape as 
 the initial "mem"; and the whole congre- 
 gation came up one by one to examine 
 the monstrosity of the thing, and certain 
 remarks concerning Benish went from 
 mouth to mouth that would not have 
 pleased him. What ? take such a treasury 
 of money for work which a cobbler's boy 
 would have performed more creditably ? 
 Such a thing had not been heard of ever 
 since geese grew quills to make pens for
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 17 
 
 scribes. And when Benish was called to 
 see with his own eyes he stood tapping his 
 forehead for a long time. 
 
 " Nay, my masters," he said at last ; 
 " this is not my handiwork. I am not a 
 son of the soil, and I did not write this 
 scroll in my sleep ; but there is a mystery 
 in this, I will swear that upon the scroll. 
 There is an evil spirit lurking in the place ; 
 perhaps the man who blew the ram's horn 
 on the First Day of the Year was unworthy 
 of his office or incapable thereof, for he 
 did not frighten the Satan away by the 
 strength and excellence of his blowing, 
 and that is the cause of this mischief." 
 Many there were who believed the ex- 
 planation and many there were who did 
 not ; and of the latter the most incredulous 
 was Naphtali, for he himself was the man 
 who had blown the ram's horn. And then 
 Benish made the correction and went 
 away ; and when Tarphon came home he 
 found Ephraim eating chicken-broth, and 
 the flush of health had come back to his 
 cheeks. 
 
 Ephraim continued to make good head- 
 way in all things. At the age of ten he 
 began to keep all the fast-days, observ- 
 3
 
 i8 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 ing even the " Fast of the First-born " 
 until the time of sunset ; and he missed 
 not a single service either in the early 
 morning or in the evening of each day, 
 and when his father was kept away by 
 business he went by himself. And in all 
 things relating to his religion he was most 
 circumspect, and if the white of an egg 
 showed but a tiny speck of blood he would 
 not eat it, even though another were not 
 immediately available. And yet for all 
 this he did not seem to be spared trial and 
 calamity. It was the time of counting the 
 Omer, the seven weeks that elapse between 
 Passover and Pentecost, when Ephraim 
 had reached the age of eleven, that he 
 went with the other children of the town 
 to the river's bank, there to gather the 
 youngling bulrushes which it is customary 
 at this season of the year to strew across 
 the floor, so that a pleasant savour might 
 rise up from the sap. And Ephraim, in his 
 eagerness to pluck only of the best, had 
 strayed from his comrades, and did not 
 notice how the soil was getting more and 
 more porous and squelched beneath his 
 footsteps. And suddenly it slipped away 
 from him altogether, and there he was up
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 19 
 
 to his waist in the slimy ooze ; and, more 
 by instinct than premeditation, he flung 
 his arms aloft and grasped at the branches 
 of the willow-tree that overhung his head, 
 and that saved him. But it seemed to him 
 that for the moment his arm must have 
 lengthened to three times its usual measure, 
 even, as the arm of Pharaoh's daughter 
 lengthened so that she might pull Moses 
 from the water ; for Ephraim could not 
 understand how else he had reached the 
 supports to which he clung. And there he 
 might have remained during the night 
 were it not for the poor washerwoman who 
 plied her task a little further up ; and when 
 she had helped him out Ephraim enjoined 
 her, giving her all his stock of savings, 
 not to speak of his misadventure. And 
 then he went home, very frightened, and 
 changed his clothes before his parents 
 might ask questions as to their condition. 
 But what washerwoman ever recognised 
 that she had a tongue to keep secrets with? 
 And the tale of his son's escape soon 
 reached Tarphon's ears, and at the news 
 a thought flashed across his mind, unde- 
 fined and vague, and he tried to connect 
 its trail by dim links of memory with
 
 20 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 something else equally vague and unde- 
 fined ; but the more he followed it, the 
 more subtly it escaped him. And again 
 he renewed the attempt when it came 
 about during the next reading of the 
 Law, which took place on the second 
 Sabbath of the Omer, that there was yet 
 another alteration necessary in the scroll. 
 For in the passage where it speaks of the 
 houses of the lepers and of the mortar 
 connected therewith, the word for mortar, 
 which is " ongphar," and properly signifies 
 " loam " or earth, was slightly shifted from 
 its place, so that it stood slantingly below 
 the level of the line. Now this was the 
 eleventh time in eleven years that Tarphon 
 had scanned the place, and never before 
 had he remarked its peculiarity ; and he 
 knew it was no use sending for Benish 
 to account for the thing, so on the day 
 following he came and, without a word to 
 any one, made the correction himself. 
 But the event lay deeply in his mind, and 
 he did not forget it for many a day. 
 
 At last came the time when Ephraim 
 was to become a Son of the Command- 
 ments, and Tarphon determined that the 
 occasion should be celebrated with befitting
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 21 
 
 splendour. Of course Ephraim read before 
 the congregation the whole portion of the 
 week, and, in addition, the apocryphal 
 chapter pertaining thereto ; and that was 
 a feat of which not everybody's son could 
 boast. Not only that, but he delivered an 
 oration of his own making, showing that 
 he felt the responsibility of becoming a 
 full-fledged member of the congregation ; 
 and the whole town was full of his praises, 
 and Tarphon was vaunted indeed a man 
 whose works turned out well. A month 
 after Ephraim was to proceed to the great 
 Talmud School of Vilosen, for he was to 
 qualify for a Rabbi ; but on the eve of his 
 departure he complained of spots before 
 his eyes, and there was a slight discolora- 
 tion about his temples that became more and 
 more apparent. This was his first serious ill- 
 ness, and Tarphon went betimes to change 
 the boy's name, so that if it had been 
 ordained was not God's wisdom infinite ? 
 that the Angel of Death should be 
 deputed to lay his hand on him, Azrael 
 might come and find some one who 
 answered not to the name of him for 
 whom he had been sent the errand. But 
 despite of it Ephraim grew worse ; a fever
 
 22 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 came over him, and the blood coursed 
 seething-hot through his veins. Tarphon 
 and Mirzah sat and looked at him, noting 
 every breath he drew and every tremor of 
 his body. And when Mirzah had fallen 
 asleep with the weariness of the watching, 
 Tarphon buried his head in his hands ; 
 but he did not weep there was no time 
 for that. He was busy tracing the flimsy 
 thread of memory that he knew lurked 
 somewhere in the recesses of his mind. 
 And all at once a quaint phrase leapt forth 
 therefrom, and he grew puzzled where he 
 had heard it. " The four things that are 
 His dimensions." That was something to 
 work upon, and then came another recol- 
 lection, which ran, " if the twin-soul pass 
 all the trials thereof, then shall it live 
 appointed days." Were not those the 
 words which Rabbi Eliezar had uttered at 
 Ephraim's initiation into the Covenant ? 
 And then Tarphon carefully pieced to- 
 gether his conjectures. In the week that 
 Ephraim had nearly suffered death from 
 the poisonous vapours, was there not 
 missing from its place in the Scriptures 
 the word " ruach," signifying the air, the 
 clean breath of the nostrils ? And then
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 23 
 
 again, at the time when Ephraim was 
 nearly drowned in the cattle tank, was not 
 the word for "waters" found to be ill- 
 conditioned the end letter the same as 
 the beginning, even as Ephraim had 
 thought that the bottom of the tank was 
 of like nature to the top ? And Tarphon 
 thought tremblingly of the last point: when 
 Ephraim had gone to gather bulrushes, was 
 there not an untoward dislocation of the 
 word which means "earth," even as the 
 ground had moved from its place under 
 his feet? And so Ephraim had run the 
 gauntlet of air, water, and earth, and in 
 each case the scroll had suffered mishand- 
 ling in the words of this meaning. And 
 now it was clear to Tarphon that the 
 " four dimensions of God " were, forsooth, 
 the four elements, and the "twin-soul" 
 was the spirit animating both his child and 
 the scroll that had been born into life at 
 one and the same moment. And what 
 further proof did he need ? Was not the 
 boy writhing with the inflammation of his 
 vitals ? Was he not burning as with a 
 fire ? That was it and Tarphon leapt up 
 like a madman there was some word 
 signifying fire, flame, or burning which
 
 needed correction in the scroll, and if that 
 were done the danger would be passed 
 and the elements conquered, and his boy 
 Ephraim would live long days and be a 
 king among men. And so Tarphon stormed 
 out through the door he would search the 
 scroll from beginning to end, even if the 
 sight of his eyes perished over it. But 
 suddenly he stopped it was very strange: 
 surely the sun had long gone down, and 
 it was too early for the dawn ; but over 
 there to the west was a reddish glare that 
 increased as he went on, and round the 
 corner men came running, breathlessly 
 shouting : 
 
 " Tarphon, Tarphon, the synagogue is 
 in flames!" 
 
 And Tarphon dashed on with wolf-like 
 eyes and gnashing teeth, and when he 
 came up to the crowd that stood out- 
 side the burning edifice, he clove through 
 them as a thunderbolt cleaves through ears 
 of corn, shrieking : " The scroll, the scroll ; 
 or else he dies he dies ! " And before 
 they could hold him he had rushed into 
 the flaming chaos of destruction, tore down 
 the aisle to the Sacred Ark that spat sheaves 
 of fire at him and lo, there was the scroll
 
 THE FOURTH DIMENSION 25 
 
 blazing like touchstone. But what of that? 
 There was the scroll in cinders or not, 
 what mattered it? And out again he 
 came, like a demon who has burst his 
 chains, from amid the holocaust of his 
 damnation. And on and on he ran, holding 
 the charred trophy above his head and 
 when he came in they had just finished 
 stretching the linen sheet over the starken- 
 ing limbs and were turning the looking- 
 glasses towards the wall. 
 
 Two days afterwards was the Fast of 
 Ab, the anniversary .of the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, the day whereon are carried to 
 the " Good Place " for burial all the torn 
 leaflets and spoilt synagogue gear whereon 
 appears the name of God ; but the Scroll 
 of Tarphon was buried in one and the 
 same coffin with his son Ephraim. Say, 
 are not these things wonderful ?
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 
 
 If you prick us, do we not bleed ? 
 
 Merchant of Venice. 
 
 HE that is, Solomon was certainly 
 the oracle of the place. H is authority 
 on politics, art, science, and all other things 
 that more or less affect this world and 
 the next, was undisputed. Saturday, from 
 midday to the hour of the afternoon 
 service, he gave consultations, sat in his 
 seat and uttered revelations. The family- 
 heads who were habitues of the little place 
 of worship listened to him open-mouthed 
 and open-eared ; but occasionally a casual 
 visitor who knew not of Solomon's great- 
 ness would venture a suggestion, and then 
 the floodgates of Solomon's wisdom were 
 opened, and his knowledge came sweeping 
 down in a torrent on the bold questionist, 
 making sport of his opinion in a whirlpool 
 
 36
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 27 
 
 of sense-bewildering information. I was 
 perhaps the only one of his audience that 
 knew what a humbug old Solomon was ; 
 I at least was aware that what the others 
 thought the gleanings of a laboriously 
 accumulated world-wisdom, was the spon- 
 taneous manufacture of the moment. 
 Solomon had a vivid imagination : nothing 
 else could account for the perversions of 
 the natural order of things for which he 
 was responsible for the alliances between 
 hostile dynasties, for translocations of vast 
 territories, which gave the lie to all our 
 received notions of geography for regene- 
 ration schemes that would shortly make 
 the earth a paradise. Still he was enter- 
 taining, and gave a distinct relish to the 
 somnolent Sabbath afternoons that were 
 apt to hang heavy on my hands. He 
 was the beadle of the little congregation, 
 and in his unconsecrated moments sold 
 lottery tickets. In his after-business hours 
 he wrote door-post amulets. He was also, 
 for some mysterious reason, the best per- 
 former on the ram's-horn during the high 
 festivals, and the fame of his efficiency 
 brought him many pupils. Otherwise he 
 was a solitary man, without kith or kin
 
 28 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 in London. Not that he seemed to want 
 any one, because he managed very well 
 for himself, bought his own provisions, 
 kept his own house, which amounted to 
 a single-roomed flat in Montague Build- 
 ings, and no one who looked at the squat, 
 sturdy figure and the tawny beard would 
 have credited them to a man of sixty. 
 
 I had seen Solomon pose as a demi- 
 god, and was very keen to know him as 
 a man. Strong individuality was stamped 
 like a hall-mark on every feature of his 
 face, and made one forget its common- 
 placeness ; and the expression upon it 
 was one not acquired in the elementary 
 school of tribulation. He seemed to have 
 been taught one of those lessons which 
 stock a man with sufficient education in 
 character to last him all his lifetime. And 
 if this was mere conjecture on my part, it 
 was perhaps his habitual reticence about 
 himself that made me drape his past with 
 shadows. I did not, however, despair of 
 solving this sexagenarian riddle. 
 
 One Sabbath afternoon I found him 
 sitting in solitary grandeur. He explained 
 to me that a domestic event had happened 
 in the house of Stocklinski, the congrega-
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 29 
 
 tion treasurer, and that there had been an 
 exodus en masse to 2, Penny Street, in 
 token of goodwill to the new arrival and 
 the two parties responsible for it. Solomon 
 and the treasurer were eternally at feud, 
 because the latter insisted on counter- 
 signing the receipts, which Solomon took 
 for a slur on his trustworthiness. I blessed 
 Stocklinski for his caligraphic officiousness, 
 because it gave me at last an opportunity 
 of a quiet tete-a-tte with Solomon. 
 
 " I am surprised to see how you bam- 
 boozle your seat-holders, Solomon," I said 
 offhand ; "if they found you out they 
 would give you the sack." 
 
 He smiled all along the expanse of his 
 strong, healthy teeth. 
 
 "The sheep's-heads," he said disdain- 
 fully in his peculiar idiom, half English, 
 half everything else ; " they know they 
 have hands and feet, and nothing more, 
 Isn't it the same all the world over? If 
 you tell a lie and keep a sober face on it, 
 not even Elijah the prophet would find 
 you out and this is not a congregation of 
 prophets." 
 
 " Well, Solomon," I answered, " I am 
 not much of a prophet myself, but I know
 
 30 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 when I get hoodwinked, and that ought 
 to take the spice out of your fabrications." 
 
 "You misjudge me, my son, if you 
 think I lie for the mere pleasure of lying," 
 he said. " May there not be in a man's 
 life one bitter truth, one sad reality, to 
 forget which he dwells in a world of 
 dreams and imaginings ? And if he de- 
 ceives others, he is perhaps but practising 
 how best to deceive himself." 
 
 There was a pause ; I felt the old man's 
 rebuke, but I also felt that it contained no 
 malice only sorrow, infinite sorrow, such 
 as my remark could not have caused were 
 his nature the most sensitive. 
 
 " They say you were taken prisoner at 
 Sebastopol " I resumed. 
 
 " Quite true," he interrupted. " I came 
 over as the Queen's guest she sent me 
 an invitation through thirty thousand men, 
 several generals amongst them and that 
 is more than most foreigners over here 
 can say." And he smiled at his own 
 quaint view of the case. 
 
 My nerves began to tingle. Here was 
 a man who had seen death and destruction 
 in the wholesale, who had played skittles 
 with his life and limb, and survived to tell
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 31 
 
 the tale. I was young, and so I felt the 
 strong fascination of the man who could 
 talk so dispassionately of a reality, the 
 mere conception of which set my flesh in 
 a tremor. 
 
 "You were taken prisoner and con- 
 veyed to Plymouth," I continued, in order 
 to keep the topic in evidence. Solomon 
 had a habit of dodging the point at issue. 
 "How does it feel to be taken prisoner in 
 war?" 
 
 A far-away look had come into his eyes. 
 
 " Yes, I was brave in those days," he 
 said slowly "very brave ; but then I did 
 not care what happened, and perhaps it is 
 an easy thing to be brave when you feel 
 like that." He suddenly recollected him- 
 self, and went on with a short laugh : 
 "Ah, you want to know how I was taken 
 prisoner ? Why, all the little children 
 know the story ; I have told it hundreds 
 of times. Well, I was stationed in the 
 south suburbs Karabelnaya, I believe 
 they call it ; I don't know why, but the 
 enemy seemed to be bearing us a special 
 grudge, for it was here that their guns 
 were closest to the city walls ugly looking 
 iron brutes with impudent prying nozzles.
 
 32 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Occasionally they suffered from a catarrh, 
 and then they sneezed cannon-balls and 
 coughed fire-clouds, till I thought it was 
 Sodom and Gomorrah all over again, only 
 that the righteous were no better off than 
 the sinners. Every day the cursed things 
 came nearer and nearer, till we scarcely 
 had any breathing room left. I was 
 serving in Poniatowski's regiment a crew 
 of dare-devils and scamps, who stole the 
 boots from each other's feet and ate them. 
 I tell you, leather was a delicacy in those 
 days after the tallow had given out. The 
 knife was grazing our throat, and Kerkoff, 
 our colonel, went about like a dog with a 
 scalded tail. 
 
 " ' Children,' he said one day, ' do you 
 see that powder-tower ? ' 
 
 " We saw it clearly enough ; we were 
 well acquainted with it for months. It 
 was the enemy's chief ammunition depot, 
 and there were barrels and barrels of the 
 deadly stuff in it. 
 
 " 'Well,' Kerkoff went on, ' I want a 
 man to make it jump ; one man can do it, 
 but he won't be much good for anything 
 else afterwards. That will give us a 
 respite before they bring up fresh supplies,
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 33 
 
 and in the meantime perhaps we can break 
 our way through. Who will volunteer ? ' 
 
 " Then we knew that one of us had to 
 die. If there were no volunteers the lot 
 would decide. So I stepped forward I 
 was afraid the lot would miss me." 
 
 " You, Solomon, volunteered ? " I in- 
 terrupted him with a start. "And for 
 certain death, too ? What made you do 
 it?" 
 
 " What made me do it ? " he repeated. 
 I was used to his repeating my questions ; 
 it was not the effect of a laborious com- 
 prehension, but of the mechanical habit to 
 which all that section of his race are 
 subject. " I had nothing to live for the 
 bullets avoided me, though they slew right 
 and left ; and when you get tired of waiting 
 for a thing, you go forth to meet it." He 
 broke off, and again the far-away look 
 came into his eyes. 
 
 I pitied him in silence ; I could not do 
 more it is presumption to comfort a man 
 if he chooses to make the shadows of his 
 sorrow inscrutable. 
 
 "And yet you escaped?" I said, to 
 arouse him from his reverie. "How did 
 it happen ? " 
 
 4
 
 34 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 " How it happened? " he iterated, look- 
 ing up heavily. " I have forgotten how 
 exactly. I am an old man, and it is long 
 ago ; but I remember crawling through 
 the trenches, fuse and tinder-box in hand, 
 till suddenly I felt a grip on my shoulder 
 and saw a young English officer big as 
 Og, King of Bashan loom down upon 
 me. 
 
 " ' What are you doing here ? ' he said 
 in Russian. I could not answer because 
 his hold on me was so tight, so I showed 
 him my fuse and the fire apparatus, and 
 pointed to the powder-tower. 
 
 " ' Oh, I see,' he gasped, and his teeth 
 came together with a snap. ' Blow us up, 
 did you want to ? Well, you are an 
 ambitious man, but your life before ours,' 
 and he pulled out his revolver. ' How- 
 ever, I give you a chance will you die, or 
 surrender ? ' 
 
 "And as he was standing there, the 
 long rod of his revolver bearing on me, 
 I was reminded of Rabbi Nathan at the 
 Talmud School how he once stood over 
 me with his cane because I did not know 
 my lesson, and the lesson was a sentence 
 from Mishnah : ' If a man consent to his
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 35 
 
 own death, unless it be for the honour of 
 God and our Sacred Writ, it shall be as 
 though he were the cause thereof, and his 
 blood shall be on his own head.' And the 
 punishment of the suicide, you know, is 
 Gehennah you jump from the roaring 
 furnace into the ice-cold water, and back 
 again, and so on for all eternity. But 
 that did not matter ; I had got used to 
 Gehennah and things worse in the last 
 three months of the siege what with 
 scorching my skin brown in putting out 
 the blazing buildings, and then shivering 
 with ague during nights of sentry duty. 
 And it all passed through my mind like a 
 flash. 
 
 " ' Then I will die, your honour,' I said. 
 The officer looked startled. 
 
 " ' Well, you are the first man who asked 
 me to have his brains blown out,' he said ; 
 ' if I had liked the job I would not have 
 given you a chance of asking. Anyway, 
 I am not going to turn assassin to please 
 a Russian, even if he is as brave as you 
 are. 
 
 " ' But I am a Jew, your honour,' I 
 tempted him. 
 
 "He laughed. ' That makes no differ-
 
 36 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 ence in our notions. I shall say that you 
 have deserted, and then you won't get 
 shot.' Then he called the guard. Well, 
 you know the rest." 
 
 I was hanging spellbound on Solomon's 
 lips. His narrative was like a rocket that 
 has burnt itself to ashes before one could 
 gather all its wonderful effects. The 
 vacuum it left on my understanding was 
 almost painful. And yet I comprehended 
 the pregnant terseness, the absence of 
 adorning, self-laudatory detail in the old 
 man's simple words. It was that his 
 adventure, apart from the distance of its 
 occurrence and the familiarity of its recol- 
 lection, meant nothing to him. It existed 
 in his mind not for itself, but because it 
 was the result of some cause, and the 
 cause overshadowed the result and effaced 
 it. It is not often that people give such 
 an earnest of their satiety of life as Solomon 
 had done. 
 
 "Yes, Solomon, everybody has his 
 troubles," I remarked, more in answer to 
 my own thoughts, and feeling half-ashamed 
 of my platitude. " The difference is in the 
 way we bear them : on some of us the 
 least trifles fall like a sledge-hammer blow
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 37 
 
 to others the heaviest tribulation is but 
 a soap-bubble of fate." 
 
 " Do not our sages say the human heart 
 is less brittle than iron ? " he replied, with 
 rather more interest than my truisms 
 warranted. " I could tell you a story of a 
 
 man ' he stopped, and looked at the 
 
 round-faced clock that gave the little bal- 
 cony connecting the two women's galleries 
 quite a cyclopean appearance : " the 
 masters will not be back for an hour if 
 you would care to listen to an old gabbler 
 like me, I will tell you about something 
 that happened years and years ago in my 
 native country." 
 
 I nodded, because I would not let my 
 eagerness betray me by my words ; true 
 I should have preferred hearing his own 
 story, but I had a vague hope he would 
 speak of something nearest his heart, and 
 I should catch a glimpse of his calamity 
 through the chinks of his parable. 
 
 "His father was the richest man in 
 Kadaan," Solomon began without ado; 
 " he kept a drink-shop, and as it stood a 
 few hundred yards away from the village 
 out upon the open road, it was the nearest 
 to the farmers and the dealers coming
 
 38 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 from up-country to the market-town be- 
 yond, and the last on their return way till 
 they again reached Trenka, which is the 
 village before Kadaan ; and this circum- 
 stance had a great influence on the custom 
 of the tavern. Favish, the son the man 
 of whom I am telling you served at the 
 bar, but he did not like the occupation. 
 The strange, bold faces he saw across the 
 counter frightened him. He was much 
 more comfortable in his little garret, trying 
 to blow its roof off with his cornet. When 
 he was a boy of twelve, his uncle had 
 brought him a little tin trumpet, and that 
 determined his vocation in life a klesmer, 
 a musician, he would be, and nothing else. 
 By the time he left boyhood he was al- 
 ready an expert, and in great demand at 
 all the festivities in the neighbourhood. 
 By now he was quite a man, as reserved 
 as ever, seeking his own company, plain- 
 featured and clumsy, but ready to give 
 his heart's blood for those he loved. 
 
 " One day Chananya, the glazier-huck- 
 ster from Uldrodno, who, by the way, 
 was also district scavenger, because he 
 picked up everything nobody else would 
 lay hands on came to Favish 's father.
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 39 
 
 " ' Mendel,' he said, with his wheezy 
 chuckle, ' your son may he live to be a 
 hundred is nearly four and twenty. It is 
 time he had his own home and hearth, 
 like a good Yehudi.' 
 
 " ' Well, that has nothing to do with 
 you/ said Mendel, gruffly. He did not 
 like holding a long conversation with 
 Chananya it was almost a degradation 
 for a respectable householder to speak to 
 him. 
 
 "'Why not?' asked the other; 'he must 
 marry, for the glory of the congregation 
 and besides, I have found him a bride.' 
 
 "'And who is she?' asked Mendel, 
 smiling in spite of himself at the absurd 
 idea. 
 
 " ' My daughter,' answered Chananya, 
 hardily, " as fine and respectable a girl 
 
 " But here Mendel flew in a terrible rage. 
 
 " ' What ! you old carrion-flayer, you 
 with your half-bred hussy of a daughter, 
 you want to get hold of my Favish ? 
 Some evil spirit has driven you out of 
 your senses go home and pray God 
 that you may be restored my son for 
 your daughter ! '
 
 40 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 " ' And why not ? ' persisted Chananya ; 
 'my daughter is good and respectable.' 
 
 " ' Good and respectable ! ' shouted 
 Mendel ; ' what do people say of her 
 how many times has she run away from 
 you ? ' 
 
 " ' She was starving with hunger and 
 cold, and when I came home and brought 
 no money she went away, because we 
 could not bear to look upon each other's 
 misery,' said Chananya, whiningly yet 
 glibly. 
 
 " ' And where did she go to when she 
 went away ? ' jeered Mendel. 
 
 " ' I don't know,' said Chananya, ' but 
 the spirit of the Lord is on all her ways.' 
 
 " 'Then may the spirit of the Lord be 
 a thousand miles hence,' cried Mendel, 
 rendered profane by his exasperation. 
 
 " ' Well, we shall see, Mendel we shall 
 see,' said Chananya, quietly, as he lifted 
 his satchel and hobbled off. 
 
 "And the old schemer knew what he 
 was saying. About a week afterwards, 
 towards afternoon time, when the tavern 
 was most crowded and Favish had to help 
 at the bar, Chananya came in and not 
 alone. He brought his daughter with
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 41 
 
 him ; she was holding him up by the arm, 
 because he pretended to have fallen lame, 
 and that was his excuse for taking the girl 
 with him on his rounds. And what a 
 strange pair they made ! No one would 
 have guessed that they were trunk and 
 branch : she, lissome as a withe and fresh 
 as a myrtle ; he, gnarled and bent and 
 shrunken like a sapless bramble-stock. 
 And then their faces one was tempted to 
 gaze long at the distorted grimace of the 
 old man, to give oneself the luxury of the 
 contrast. For Yenta's face was like a 
 summer storm, terrible in its beauty. The 
 hair was massed and black as the thunder- 
 clouds, and her eyes could flash and strike 
 hard as the lightning, and between the 
 two arched the broad serene brow like the 
 calm of the rainbow. And as she tripped 
 in, modestly and demurely, trim in her 
 ankle-long frock and neat apron, step- 
 ping daintily on the high-heeled morocco 
 slippers, Mendel turned white to the tip of 
 his nose, and cast an anxious sidelong 
 glance at Favish. 
 
 " ' A glass of vodka of your best,' 
 said Chananya, throwing a silver rouble 
 on the counter. Mendel obeyed without
 
 42 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 a word, and Chananya stood there, with 
 his daughter beside him, leisurely sipping 
 his beverage instead of tossing it down as 
 usual, for he could toss vodka with the 
 best of them. Mendel kept furtively 
 watching Favish ; the young man looked 
 terribly disconcerted, his hands seemed to 
 be refusing him service, for he dropped 
 two glasses, and spilt half a gallon of fire- 
 wine. And all the while Chananya stood 
 sipping, fully conscious that every eye in 
 the room was fixed on him and his 
 daughter. 
 
 " ' Make haste, Chananya,' Mendel burst 
 out at last, half-mad with anxiety ; ' don't 
 you see you take up the room of the other 
 customers ? ' 
 
 " ' What of that ? ' answered Chananya, 
 looking him full in the face ; ' have I not 
 paid my money like the others, and have 
 I not the right to drink my purchase fast 
 or slow as pleases me ? ' 
 
 " ' Well said, Melchizedek, or whatever 
 your name is,' broke in Christopher Talka. 
 He was the tallest man in the room, with 
 a big red beard, and by trade he was a 
 swine-dealer. ' Let the old man alone, 
 Mendel ; he can stay as long as he likes,'
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 43 
 
 he continued, turning to the host. But 
 everybody knew what Christopher meant 
 it was Yenta, not her father, whom he 
 defended. Many a time he had kicked 
 and hustled some way-worn pedlar out of 
 the room with the words : ' Go and make 
 hay for your cow and calves at home, and 
 leave drinking to your betters.' 
 
 " ' Let us go, father,' said Yenta, gently, 
 while shooting a quick glance at Christo- 
 pher ; ' do not let us be the cause of quarrel 
 if these men are inhospitable, God will 
 provide us other shelter.' 
 
 " Chananya turned grumblingly ; he 
 knew he was the hero of the hour, and he 
 wanted to enjoy his triumph over Mendel 
 a little longer. But still, Favish had seen 
 Yenta, and that was the principal thing. 
 So they went away, and all across the 
 courtyard Favish's eyes followed them ; 
 but at the corner Yenta turned and smiled 
 at him yes, unmistakably at him. Then 
 they disappeared, and Favish thought 
 that the dark had set in early that day, and 
 his legs tottered under him as if all the 
 sinews had snapped. 
 
 "That is how the mischief began. From 
 that day Favish was a changed man, and
 
 44 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 his father looked upon him sorrowfully, for 
 he divined the reason of Favish's pale 
 cheeks, and he cursed Chananya from 
 top to toe for the evil he had brought on 
 his boy. For Favish neither ate nor slept, 
 but all day long he loitered about the 
 high-road looking towards Uldrodno, as 
 though he were expecting some one to 
 come from there. At first he still toyed a 
 little with his cornet, but that ceased too, 
 and the house lay desolate with the silent 
 misery of its two occupants ; for it was two 
 years now since Chavah, the faithful wife 
 and mother, had been carried out of it, feet 
 foremost. For several weeks things went 
 on thus, while Favish was wasting to a 
 skeleton ; but still Mendel said nothing, 
 because he thought the evil would die of 
 the disease of time. 
 
 " But Favish came to him one day, laid 
 his head on his father's shoulder, and burst 
 into tears. 
 
 " ' Send for her, father, if thou wouldst 
 have me live,' he sobbed. ' I have tried, 
 but I can no more send for her.' 
 
 "Mendel waited till he had gulped down 
 his own tears. ' Son, dear son,' he said 
 at last, ' conquer thyself. She is not for
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 45 
 
 such as thou art ; she will not make thee 
 a good wife. Let her go her own way, 
 and do thou go thine.' 
 
 " ' I cannot, father,' whispered Favish ; 
 ' she haunts me ; her face mocks me for 
 my impotence when I endeavour to forget. 
 Oh ! I am so helpless, and the ache in my 
 heart is killing me. Thou canst help me, 
 father help me ! ' 
 
 " ' I should be helping thee to thy own 
 destruction,' said Mendel, despairingly. 
 
 " ' I must have her, father, if it be for 
 my destruction in this world and the 
 next,' cried Favish. ' I have lost my 
 health, my skill, everything that made 
 life pleasant to me. Yesterday I tried to 
 play my sorrow away, to be David to my 
 own Saul, but an iron grip held me by 
 the throat and choked my breath. And 
 so it will be as long as I live help me, 
 father!' 
 
 '"If it must be, Favish,' said Mendel, 
 tremblingly, ' then let it be in God's 
 name. I will not see thee despair if thou 
 hast made me thy hope. Besides, shall I 
 play Providence to any man ? ' 
 
 " At these words Favish started up with 
 a cry of joy, seized his father's hands, and
 
 46 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 kissed them again and again. Then it 
 was settled that Mendel should go to 
 Chananya on the morrow and talk things 
 over. What passed between them and 
 what terms and conditions of marriage 
 they arrived at Favish never knew, nor 
 did he care in the fulness of his joy. The 
 face of Mendel, when he returned with 
 the news of Chananya's approval, was not 
 that of a messenger of glad tidings ; the 
 furrows in his forehead had deepened, and 
 his hair was perhaps a tinge whiter. But 
 Favish saw nothing, and the first time he 
 held'Yenta in his arms he felt a giant's 
 strength come over him, and was certain 
 that no human evils could make part of 
 his fate. 
 
 " The news of the marriage created a 
 great stir in the neighbourhood ; and when 
 the first wave of astonishment had settled 
 down, every now and then another gossip 
 came, shaking his head and talking under 
 his breath to Mendel. And the usual 
 conclusion to what they had to tell was, 
 ' Do not take it ill, Mendel ; I speak to 
 you as a friend.' 
 
 " To one and all of them Mendel 
 listened quietly, and at the end he replied,
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 47 
 
 ' I will not believe anything. My son 
 loves her, and soon she will be as flesh of 
 my flesh. For the honour of my son, 
 and for my own honour, I will not believe 
 anything to her shame ; and now go in 
 peace.' 
 
 "And whether Mendel's rebuke offended 
 them, or whether there was some other 
 reason, few of his friends attended the 
 wedding, and on Chananya's side not so 
 much as a dog turned up to do him honour 
 in his hour of joy. But guests or no 
 guests, Yenta was Favish's wife irrevocably, 
 and the weal and woe of one was the weal 
 and woe of the other. 
 
 " For some time it seemed as though 
 the raven-croak of the gossips and Mendel's 
 misgivings were doomed to disappoint- 
 ment. Yenta was a model housewife, and 
 her husband did not find her wanting 
 in the matter of wifely affection. Old 
 Chananya kept himself scarce, and on the 
 rare occasions when he came to the hostel 
 he was quite respectable. They had found 
 him a decent lodging, and as he had no 
 longer need to beg or to perform antics 
 in the huts of wood-choppers and glass- 
 blowers for he had been a clown in his
 
 younger days in return for a night's 
 shelter, he had managed to acquire some 
 self-respect. True, it sat on him like an 
 ill-fitting secondhand coat, but it was 
 there. Favish was in high spirits. He 
 improved wonderfully in his art now that 
 he had somebody besides himself to work 
 for ; and in the meantime the business of 
 the tavern prospered and throve, for the 
 fame of the beautiful hostess spread over 
 the country around, and a good many did 
 not mind going a little out of their way to 
 get a glimpse of her. Old Mendel went 
 about in a dream and held his breath, for 
 fear of an evil eye. 
 
 "It was about a year after the marriage 
 that first a strange thing happened. 
 Mendel and Favish had gone over to 
 Trenka to see about a new supply of 
 drink-stuff for the shop. They made their 
 bargain, and returning, had found a lift on 
 a corn-waggon, which brought them home 
 an hour earlier. And as they entered the 
 courtyard they saw, sitting at one table, 
 Yenta and Christopher Talka, the swine- 
 dealer ; and as neither of them was deaf, 
 there was no need for them to have their 
 heads so close together. Two full glasses
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 49 
 
 were on the table, and Yenta was spread- 
 ing a pack of cards one by one. 
 
 " Favish gave a gasp and stood still at 
 the door, and Talka scrambled hastily to 
 his feet, almost upsetting the table in 
 extricating his long legs. Yenta kept a 
 smiling countenance. 
 
 " ' Talka asked me to tell him his 
 fortune,' she said, looking at Favish 
 without wincing. Favish answered not a 
 word, but passed on into the stables. 
 Mendel's, however, was the wisdom of 
 maturer years ; he saw it was a case 
 where silence would speak the loudest, so, 
 despite the quaking of his heart, he forced 
 a jest to his lips. 
 
 " ' What ! a big fellow like you, Chris- 
 topher, afraid of a hare that has run across 
 your path ? ' 
 
 " Talka twisted and turned awkwardly 
 from side to side. 
 
 " ' Mere pastime,' he mumbled, ' mere 
 pastime ; ' and with a sheepish laugh he 
 edged out by the door. 
 
 "All during the rest of the day father 
 and son avoided each other. Perhaps 
 they were afraid of reading the confirma- 
 tion of some nameless dread in each
 
 50 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 other's face. Yenta went about her duties 
 unconcernedly ; she seemed ignorant that 
 anything uncommon had happened, and 
 Favish did not tell her. 
 
 " But she soon made it apparent that 
 things were not with her as they had 
 been ; she became peevish and uneven in 
 her temper, and her' husband did not 
 always know what answer he might 
 expect. Sometimes she was moody and 
 thoughtful, and at others uproariously 
 merry. But her laugh was not pleasant 
 to hear ; it was loud and strident, almost 
 like a shriek, and occasioned by things 
 that ought to have made her blush in 
 her husband's presence. For she busied 
 herself more and more with the customers, 
 and took a great interest in their affairs. 
 So the reserve which her prim, quiet 
 demeanour had at first kept up began to 
 wear off, and the fault was none but hers. 
 Was it seemly that she should stand lean- 
 ing on both elbows across the counter, 
 drinking with the peasants, and mixing in 
 their talk ? And if now and then one 
 caught her by the hand, she did not draw 
 it away in anger, as a well-behaved matron 
 should have done Talka was invisible
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 51 
 
 for a month or so ; then he started coming 
 again, at first rarely, then more often, till 
 that flaring red beard of his was the 
 most familiar sight in the public room. 
 Chananya, too, became a more frequent 
 visitor, and each time he brought a new 
 rent in his coat and a more unquenchable 
 thirst. There he would sit, with a 
 besotted look in his eyes, till he was 
 drunk, and then he got on the table, the 
 empty bottle in hand, and danced the 
 Cossack dance ; and Yenta's laughter rang 
 louder than all the others', louder even 
 than Talka's. Mendel turned white as 
 death, and Favish said nothing, but went 
 out into the stables. More and more the 
 control of things passed out of their hands. 
 Yenta did all the business, kept the 
 accounts and the money, and doled it 
 out to them grudgingly, as one does to 
 strangers. 
 
 " ' Make an end of it, Favish,' said 
 Mendel one day, brokenly. ' Tell her 
 that Chananya and and the swine-dealer 
 must not come to the house any more, or 
 I shall not survive it.' 
 
 " 'Yes, father,' answered Favish, looking 
 away ; ' I shall tell her I shall tell her
 
 52 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 of it to-morrow.' And to-morrow came, 
 and still he did not tell her ; and again it 
 was to-morrow, and always to-morrow. 
 For whenever he looked at his wife his 
 accursed love for her mastered him and 
 held him tongue-tied. And so Talka 
 flaunted his red beard more overbearingly 
 than ever, and Chananya drank and drank 
 till he fell under the table or wallowed in 
 the passage snoring off his drunkenness, 
 while the peasants kicked and trod and 
 spat upon him as they passed in and 
 out. And Yenta saw it and laughed. 
 Mendel saw it too, but with failing eyes, 
 and perhaps he would have cried were not 
 his heart beating too faintly to stir him to 
 tears. And one morning it had ceased to 
 beat altogether. Favish raved with grief; 
 yet through it all, strange to say, a vague 
 feeling of relief came over him. He was 
 alone now there was nobody standing by 
 to count every leap and quiver of his 
 heart ; and his pain was less, because it 
 was not doubled by agonising that other 
 loving breast. And at least he was now 
 secured against that terrible ' Make an 
 end of it, Favish,' for the loving tongue 
 that had uttered it was now silent for
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 53 
 
 ever. Favish was very patient ; he had 
 faith in the goodness and fitness of things, 
 and the day would arrive when Yenta 
 would come to him unasked, and bring 
 him the love a wife should bring her 
 husband. 
 
 " And so he waited, and for a whole 
 year nothing happened, except that Yenta's 
 face more and more often wore a red flush, 
 and that she became a great expert in all 
 games of cards. Talka went in and out 
 as usual, and brought her mysterious 
 packets, the contents of which Favish was 
 never told. The only important event 
 before things came to a finish was that 
 Chananya was found one day at the bottom 
 of a fox-pit with his neck broken. And 
 that was the end of Chananya. Yenta 
 did not trouble to observe the week of 
 mourning. 
 
 "It was the Sabbath after Chananya 's 
 funeral. For the first time since many 
 months Yenta had stood by to hold the 
 candle while Favish was saying the 
 Sabbath - eve blessings on the ensuing 
 week ; and afterwards she had gone up to 
 him and had stooped for she was much 
 taller than he to kiss him. Favish did
 
 54 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 not know what was happening, and as he 
 went up to his room to fetch his cornet, 
 he had to grope his way, for the tears of 
 happiness were blinding him. At last it 
 had come, all that for which he had hoped 
 and waited and suffered. That night he 
 had to go to Trenka to play at a wedding 
 feast ; for, as is usual in that part of the 
 country, the marriage had taken place on 
 the Friday, and the feast was left for 
 the following Sabbath evening. Favish 
 cursed his fate at having to leave home, 
 but he had promised. And as he walked 
 along the road, all ablaze with the silver 
 of the full moon, he was almost glad to be 
 alone with his happy thoughts. Half-way 
 along he heard cries, and the trampling of 
 beasts, and when they came nearer he saw 
 it was Talka driving with voice and whip 
 a herd of swine in close tether. As he 
 saw Favish, he became quiet, and tried 
 to hasten the beasts by a shower of blows. 
 
 " ' Where are you going, Talka ? ' asked 
 Favish, with a sudden dread shooting 
 through him. 
 
 "' I must hasten on to Slonim,' answered 
 Talka. ' I want to get there by midnight, 
 so as to give my beasts a rest, and make
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 55 
 
 them look fit for to-morrow's market we 
 have already come a long way.' 
 
 " Favish looked at him; but Talka 
 seemed speaking the truth : his face was 
 red and heated, and the hoofs of the swine 
 were trodden to the blood, for a red trail 
 stretched in the direction from which they 
 came. 
 
 i( Favish reached Trenka in another 
 hour ; and when he came there, there 
 was to be no wedding feast after all ; either 
 the cook had let the dishes burn, or the 
 bridegroom had run away overnight 
 something had happened to stop the pro- 
 ceedings. Favish was very pleased ; he 
 saw in it a good sign, and he turned back 
 without a word of chiding for having been 
 made to come a fool's errand. The ground 
 flew under his feet, for his heart was light 
 and his step was light, and before he 
 knew it he saw the palisade fence that 
 hedged the tavern on one side gleam white 
 in the distance. And as he came nearer, 
 he heard voices floating through the still 
 summer night voices that he knew, for 
 at the sound a leaden weight hung itself 
 upon his feet, and, dropping on his hands, 
 he crawled to the edge of the enclosure.
 
 56 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 At the gate stood Yenta, with her thick 
 hair falling like a mantle around her 
 shoulders, and one of her hands in 
 Talka's ; the herd of swine lay around 
 them in dead weariness. 
 
 " ' And so it will be to-morrow ? ' Talka 
 was saying, gazing in Yenta's eyes ; ' thou 
 hast kept me long enough.' 
 
 "'I could not come before this, Chris- 
 topher,' replied Yenta. ' There was 
 father after all he was my father, and if I 
 went away he would be cast out upon the 
 streets, and I could not let that be done.' 
 
 " 'Very well, sweetheart, so be it then,' 
 said Talka, ' I shall come to-morrow night 
 and take thee away ; and listen, dear, get 
 ready whatever there is, the roubles and 
 that gold beaker and the silver candle- 
 sticks the broad-nosed Jew, what does he 
 want them for ? and then we shall go 
 far away, to my home in Croatia, and thou 
 shalt eat swine flesh to thy heart's content. 
 Didst thou like the bacon I brought 
 thee ? ' 
 
 " ' I liked it, but I like thy kisses better, 
 Christopher,' she said. ' I tried to kiss 
 him to-night, in order to allay his sus- 
 picions, and I have a taste on my lips as
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 57 
 
 if I had been eating crab apples kiss me 
 hard, Christopher,' and she stretched out 
 her mouth to meet his. 
 
 " Favish listened and looked ; then life 
 came back to his limbs if his ears had 
 been dishonoured, his eyes were not to be 
 dishonoured too ; and so, quick as lightning, 
 he snatched up his cornet, set it to his 
 mouth and blew. And he blew as no 
 man on earth had done before or will do 
 after him ; and perhaps the sound of the 
 trump of judgment will ring out like that. 
 At first it was like the whining of a wolfs 
 cub, then it swelled like the distant thunder 
 on the hills, and at last it rose like the 
 shriek of Satan when he tried to force his 
 way into Paradise and got his knee 
 jammed in the gateway. At the sound 
 Talka started up with a yell, and ran 
 and ran as fast as he could waddle on his 
 fat haunches. And, despite everything, 
 Favish had to throw down his cornet and 
 to lean against the fence, for the maniac 
 laughter that shook him threatened to 
 burst his sides. Then he strode towards 
 Yenta. She had been standing there, 
 white and moveless as a pillar of salt ; 
 and just near her Favish saw something
 
 58 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 glittering on the ground it was Talka's 
 butcher-knife, which he had dropped as 
 he scampered off; it was long and turned 
 up to a point at the end like his own 
 impudent nose ; nor was it straight and 
 _square like those which our licensed 
 slaughterers use. Favish picked it up 
 and stood before his wife. 
 
 "'So thou eatest the flesh of swine?' 
 he asked. 
 
 " She looked at him, but even her eyes 
 had lost their power of speech. 
 
 " ' Then I shall give thee a feast, such 
 as thou never hadst in all thy days,' he 
 screamed, and threw himself on the herd 
 of swine and hacked and slashed and 
 sliced among them wherever his knife 
 plunged ; and he shrieked with laughter 
 to see the quivering carcases and the 
 helpless struggles of those that survived 
 to break away from the tether. And each 
 time he struck a more murderous bow, or 
 made a more deadly gash, he cried, ' So 
 much for thee, friend Talka.' Now and 
 then he looked round to see whether 
 Yenta was standing where he had left 
 her. And when he had finished, he went 
 up to her, twined his hand in her hair,
 
 AN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 59 
 
 and dragged her along towards the 
 slaughtered swine. 
 
 " ' Eat, eat,' he shouted, ' there is enough 
 and to spare,' and with one push he sent 
 her staggering on to the heaving, tossing 
 flesh-mountain. Then without another 
 look or word, he went out into the night." 
 
 Solomon ceased, and his head fell heavily 
 on his breast. I dared not look at him. 
 
 "And what became of Favish ? " I 
 whispered. 
 
 "What became of Favish?" he re- 
 peated. "He exchanged with a con- 
 script, went to the war, and was taken 
 prisoner in the trenches of Sebastopol 
 trying to blow up the English powder 
 magazine."
 
 THE REDEMPTION OF THE 
 SERPENT 
 
 Not the generous fool who his gift bestows 
 
 Since he cannot answer nay, 
 Who opens his hand and laughs and goes 
 
 His old unconscious way, 
 But the man who knows the full worth of his gift 
 
 And gives, tho' he gives with a frown 
 For he gives with his dole a share of his soul 
 
 'Tis he deserves the crown ! 
 
 Saying from the Ramban spurious). 
 
 NAY, Bylah, let not that be your 
 last word. Can I say nought to 
 soften your heart?" And the man, as he 
 spoke, looked piteously at the girl. 
 
 " Importunate that you are," she an- 
 swered, impatiently ; " if my answer pains 
 you, what profits it you to make me 
 repeat it ? It cannot be, Gedaliah let 
 the thought go from your mind." 
 
 " And why can it not be ? " he per- 
 sisted.
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 61 
 
 " Because because people say you are 
 not a good man, that you smoke on the 
 Sabbath, and game and drink." 
 
 He hung his head. " But you can 
 make me good," he said at last. 
 
 <( I ? " she asked. " God forbid that 
 I should take such a task upon me I 
 that am ignorant in all but what per- 
 tains to a woman's knowledge ; I can 
 repair a tattered frock to look like new, 
 but- 
 
 " But a tattered soul like mine is beyond 
 mending, you would say," he broke in 
 bitterly. 
 
 " Nay, I said not that," was the quick 
 reply. "To every man it is given to 
 conquer the evil mind that leads him to 
 transgression; go frequently to the House 
 of Prayer, give unto the poor with open 
 hand, and seek the company of godly 
 men. Many have found deliverance in 
 this wise." 
 
 " And when I have done so, what as to 
 the marriage ? " 
 
 " That can never be," she said, resolutely. 
 " I love you not." 
 
 He drew a deep breath it was scarcely 
 a sigh ; whoever heard Gedaliah sigh ?
 
 62 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 "If not, then not," he said, with philo- 
 sophic shrugging of shoulders ; and then 
 he turned on his heel and went. 
 
 There were other reasons that prompted 
 Bylah in her reply. For instance, Gedaliah 
 was a Littvak ; and it is well known that 
 every self-respecting Pollak spends all his 
 hours of leisure and all the time he plays 
 truant from his business in thinking small 
 beer of his Lithuanian coreligionist, though 
 his ancestors may have been Gaonim and 
 Talmud-diplome's for four generations. 
 Furthermore Gedaliah walked a little stiff 
 in his right leg, the result of a gunshot 
 in the calf. That meant, of course, that 
 he had been a frontier smuggler, and had 
 helped to carry contraband bales of tobacco 
 and tallow, for which a patriotic Govern- 
 ment sentry had felt himself called upon 
 to remind him, by a badly-aimed bullet, 
 that the Holy Russian Empire was not to 
 be trifled with, and required an unusual 
 amount of caution and great swiftness of 
 limb before it might be circumvented. 
 The calling of contrabandist is not of an 
 edifying nature, nor are its professors, as 
 a rule, desirable acquaintances ; but it is 
 lucrative, and those who manage to escape
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 63 
 
 the official remuneration in lead, have 
 usually made good provision for an un- 
 authorised payment in more precious 
 metal. Gedaliah must have been lucky 
 in his enterprises, apart from the above- 
 mentioned misadventure ; for he was well 
 off, although he drew his income from no 
 apparent sources. But Bylah did not tell 
 him that her chief motive for rejecting 
 him lay not in unorthodox habits, nor in 
 differences of dialect, nor in stray excise- 
 ammunition. What had it to do with him 
 or anybody else, that there was a certain 
 understanding between herself and one 
 called Aryah, by profession a leather- 
 hawker ? They had arrived at it without 
 outside interference, there had been no 
 ceremonious go-between, no contracting 
 middleman. They knew each other, and 
 loved each other, and that was all ; and 
 despite the anomaly of the case, they were 
 happy none the less. The cause for this 
 directness in the hymeneal negotiations 
 was to be found in the fact that they 
 were both in reduced circumstances as 
 regards the possession of parents. Aryah 
 had owned to the deficiency unblushingly 
 since the days of his boyhood ; and
 
 64 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Bylah had made shift with the person of 
 a maternal grandmother, who, however, by 
 reason of the infirmities of age, had long 
 thrown the responsibility of Bylah 's exist- 
 ence on to her own shoulders. And now 
 they were waiting till Aryah had talked 
 the neighbouring peasantry into the belief 
 that the quality of his leather was unex- 
 ampled since the creation of cows and 
 other dermatophorous quadrupeds ; for 
 naturally, upon this belief depended the 
 profits of his business, and consequently 
 the consummation of his promise to Bylah. 
 And at last they thought they could 
 venture upon it. The wedding was an 
 unpretentious affair, just serving its pur- 
 pose and nothing more. There was no 
 honeymoon ; people of their standing 
 believe in commencing the book of matri- 
 monial life without reading the poetic 
 dedication ; they get on to the prose of it 
 at once. And so it was with Bylah and 
 Aryah. On the morning following the 
 marriage, Aryah slung his bag across his 
 shoulder and started on his professional 
 tramp as usual, but, if anything, he was 
 a little keener in driving his bargains. 
 Bylah went about her household duties
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 65 
 
 with a happy little smile, for she was 
 conscious that on her rested the senti- 
 ment of the transaction. And therefore 
 she did not forget the practical part of it. 
 She went to the butcher and felt that she 
 had a substantial interest in life ; and as 
 she sat peeling her potatoes she became 
 aware that she was doing and managing 
 for an eminently rational purpose. It was 
 a change from the eternal gruel and meal- 
 soup of grandmother's diet, ever since the 
 old lady lost all her teeth and most of her 
 senses. And as she watched the bubbling 
 saucepan, Bylah remembered with glad- 
 ness that somewhere upon earth there was 
 a set of strong, healthy mandibles and a 
 well-ordered digestion, the owner of which 
 belonged to her ; and the sense of owner- 
 ship was grateful to the lonely soul that 
 had gone its way in solitude where the 
 milestones were so far apart, and one so 
 very like the other. What it was she 
 knew not, but the world seemed to have 
 narrowed wonderfully in its compass. 
 And so she determined that, come what 
 may, she would try to deserve her good 
 fortune, that she would be a helpmeet to 
 her husband, and take upon herself their 
 6
 
 66 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 sorrows and leave for his portion their 
 blessings. Such were her thoughts ; but 
 is it not a little sad when happiness may 
 not be its own excuse ? 
 
 Every evening she went beyond the 
 village in the direction from which he was 
 coming. 
 
 " Let me carry the wallet, crown of my 
 soul," she would say, wiping the sweat 
 from his face. 
 
 " Nay, life of my heart," would be the 
 answer, " I am not tired ; I sat and rested 
 awhile on my way. What wouldst thou 
 think to see me coming along on tottering 
 limbs and with straitened breath ? ' I 
 have married an old man,' thou wouldst 
 think. And is it not better I should leave 
 my weariness among the stones of the 
 wayside than bring it as far as thy arms ? " 
 
 " But the burden is heavy " 
 
 "Not so heavy as when I bore it forth 
 in the morning," smiled Aryah ; "if it 
 were, what would become of us ? " And 
 then out came the pieces of silver and 
 now and then a paper rouble ; and Bylah 
 felt it was good to live, and that love was 
 the true service of Heaven, for which they 
 were blessed as recompense with suffi-
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 67 
 
 ciency of sustenance ; for poverty is the 
 mother of strife and discord. 
 
 Such was the routine of their life. But 
 for them it held no monotony ; there was 
 always something new. Day by day they 
 discovered in each other some undreamed- 
 of excellence, and rivalled each other in 
 the display of loving forethought. In the 
 evening Aryah chopped the firewood for 
 the coming day, and fetched the water 
 from the pump ; and Bylah was up with 
 the sun to prepare the hot foot-bath that 
 would alleviate for Aryah the hardships of 
 the day's travelling. But of all days they 
 preferred the Sabbath ; for then, of course, 
 Aryah did no business, and they were 
 together from morn to night. And as he 
 sat at the midday table and looked around 
 him, Aryah's face gleamed with pride. 
 Was he not now a "master of the house," 
 of a rank with the other men of the 
 congregation, though they had beards 
 reaching to their girdles ? And at his 
 side sat she, who was at once his do- 
 main and his despot, his vassal and his 
 queen Bylah, gentle, patient, ready to 
 shed for him her heart's blood ; he felt 
 that was the truth, and a man who feels
 
 68 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 that even once only in a lifetime has 
 justified his existence. And when the 
 meal had been despatched as a sordid 
 necessity, they went forth into the forest 
 and what work of God is there to equal 
 a Russian forest in summer? There they 
 idled away the afternoon, hiding them- 
 selves far up, almost near the source of 
 the little brook, where the other people 
 came not, neither the screech-voiced 
 matrons lamenting the scarcity of things 
 in proportion to the numerousness of their 
 offspring neither they nor the mischievous 
 boys with their lungs of iron, and all was 
 quiet as in heaven. Only once Bylah 
 felt her heart stop because she thought 
 that through the foliage she descried the 
 sullen, peering face of Gedaliah. But 
 what was there to dread ? Was he not 
 with her, her lord of the strong right arm ? 
 and did she not feel his head cradled on 
 her lap even while she glanced for a 
 moment at the twinkling brooklet that was 
 making such gigantic efforts to leap over 
 the mound of pebbles barring its course 
 at the bend ? And all the time her hands 
 were revelling among the tangle of his 
 hair ; could there be a greater delight
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 69 
 
 than that ? Besides, it kept her fingers 
 employed, for they were itching to cull 
 the crocuses and " lion-mouths " that en- 
 compassed them, and that would be 
 breaking the Sabbath, for it came within 
 the degree of manual labour. It was all 
 so different to the bygone days, when 
 Bylah had to sit through an afternoon 
 like this, not romping with the other girls 
 on the meadows, but reading out to grand- 
 mother the apocryphal wonders set forth 
 in the musty pages of the " Go-and-See- 
 Book " ; and when she had drudged near 
 to the end, grandmother would wake up 
 and ask to have the reading repeated from 
 the point where she dozed off ; and as she 
 was not sure of the place, to prevent 
 mistakes Bylah had to begin at the be- 
 ginning. Poor old grandmother ! it was 
 now three months since she had ceased 
 pretending to be awake and had gone to 
 sleep in earnest. And at the memory of 
 it all, Bylah lifted up her voice and sang 
 the song from " Shulamith," the one that 
 is called the " Almond-and- Raisin Song"; 
 and Aryah, looking up with swimming 
 eyes, repeated the refrain under his 
 breath :
 
 70 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 " So think of it, waking or sleeping, 
 
 The vow, that is ours for our own : 
 Through days of rejoicing and weeping, 
 I love thee, thou lov'st me, alone." 
 
 And the song ran on, and the brook ran 
 on, and the time ran on till it was dark, 
 and they rose to return through the forest 
 amid the sacred sounds and silences of the 
 night. 
 
 That was in the summer ; but presently 
 the season grew tired of its glare and 
 glory, and became ill-tempered and whim- 
 sical. A haggard look lay upon the trees, 
 and the sun felt chilly and retired early to 
 bed. Towards the end of the autumn 
 Bylah and Aryah moved two villages 
 further up country, for that was more 
 central to the circuit wherein lay his best 
 custom. But even then the way was still 
 very long, and the north wind is an 
 awkward fellow when you have him for 
 your out-rider, much more when you meet 
 him face to face, and Aryah came home 
 not always pleased with the day's work 
 nor with the prospects of the morrow. 
 Not that he abated in his kindness to 
 Bylah, but his manner was a little fretful, 
 and now and then, what had never hap-
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 71 
 
 pened before, he made wry mouths at 
 the dishes she set before him. And then 
 came the long evenings, which Aryah got 
 through somehow by dint of much yawn- 
 ing and stretching, and rolling of cigarettes, 
 while Bylah sat knitting warm winter 
 stockings for his use and talked. But 
 there was a furtive watchfulness about 
 her eyes as she looked at him that gave 
 a discordant undertone to her light-hearted 
 prattle. They knew no one in the place, 
 for Aryah had no time to make friends, 
 and Bylah no inclination. What were 
 friends to her when she had Aryah ? 
 
 And all through Aryah made no com- 
 plaint ; but when one night in the early 
 part of the winter there was a knock at 
 the door and Gedaliah stamped in, shaking 
 the snowflakes off his coat and hat, Aryah 
 jumped up with a little cry of joy. 
 
 " Blessed be your coming," he said, 
 reaching out an eager hand ; " why, I 
 should not be more surprised to see 
 Elijah the prophet actually step into my 
 room on Passover night when the best 
 and greatest in Israel are asking him to 
 be their guest." 
 
 "Thanks for the greeting," replied
 
 72 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Gedaliah ; "it feels good to be made 
 welcome in the dwellings of others ; what 
 is the saying ? ' Bind me by all fours and 
 cast me among my friends.' How goes it 
 with you, Bylah ? " 
 
 But Aryah cut short her answer, and 
 took entire possession of Gedaliah, asking 
 him about their acquaintances, the object 
 of his coming, and many other things. 
 And so he learned that Gedaliah had 
 various matters of import he did not 
 specify them to transact in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and that he would stay some 
 time in the village ; and Aryah clapped 
 his hands at the news. Bylah had settled 
 down again to her work, but her fingers 
 moved more quickly in proportion to the 
 quickening of her heart's pulse. And 
 thinking rapidly, many thoughts came in 
 her mind her distrust of the man and 
 the strangeness of his arrival ; the memory 
 of the Sabbath afternoon when he had 
 followed them, as she thought, to spy 
 upon their happiness ; and at that a tear 
 gathered in her eye, for she could not but 
 feel that things were not all they had been 
 in those golden days. It did not escape 
 her, that tremor of gladness in her hus-
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 73 
 
 band's voice at the appearance of their 
 guest and at the tidings that he would 
 not depart immediately. She was then 
 no longer all in all to him, that his heart 
 must needs turn to others to be filled with 
 pleasure. She could not understand it. 
 And then again she reproached herself for 
 her fancifulness. What after all had she 
 against the man ? Had he not taken his 
 rebuff in good part, and troubled her no 
 more when he knew her mind ? As for 
 her husband, he might well be wearied 
 for a little time with the surfeit of her 
 presence. She had nothing to offer him 
 besides her infinite love and patience, and 
 he was a man, and his thoughts ranged 
 beyond the boundary of her world. 
 Assuredly it was better thus ; his heart 
 would come back to her with double 
 eagerness when it had become chilled in 
 the keeping and contact of others. 
 
 Meanwhile the two men talked, raking 
 up old memories they had in common, 
 and so far had they progressed in their 
 intimacy, that when Gedaliah left and his 
 host saw him to the door, it was "boon- 
 comrade " and " brother-heart " between 
 them at every second word, and Gedaliah
 
 74 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 was straitly enjoined to come again the 
 following evening. Next morning Aryan's 
 face was a little brighter, and before 
 starting he kissed his wife three times, to 
 make up for one or two occasions whereon 
 lately he had neglected the act. Bylah 
 took it as it came, nor did she harp too 
 much on the thought that he was kind to 
 her for the sake of another. Rarely is 
 there much to be gained by reading be- 
 tween the lines, and in a woman's case it 
 means wrinkles which do not act as love- 
 charms. And, true to his word, Gedaliah 
 came at night, and not alone. In his 
 hand he bore a flask of corn-brandy, and 
 as he set it on the table he said, with a 
 laugh : 
 
 " Fear not, Aryah, it is of a good 
 sort, and clean ; nor is the seal upon it 
 Rabbi Yochanan's ban of excommunica- 
 tion." 
 
 And he knew why he said that, for 
 Aryah would be sure to ask him the story, 
 which was famous throughout the pro- 
 vince, though none knew the right and 
 wrong of it ; and Gedaliah was great in 
 telling stories of wit and wickedness, 
 especially those wherein he had had a
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 75 
 
 hand. And this particular story was how 
 Rabbi Yochanan of Stolp had prohibited 
 Gedaliah from selling wines and spirits 
 because they were profaned for use, having 
 passed through the hands of Gentiles in 
 the manufacture. Now this was a great 
 loss to Gedaliah, who dealt chiefly among 
 those who adhered strictly to the faith. 
 So, being eager for revenge, and having 
 ascertained one day that Rabbi Yochanan 
 was going to a wedding feast in an outlying 
 hamlet, he went to the first place through 
 which the Rabbi would have to pass, and 
 told the people mujiks all of them that 
 he came as the forerunner of a great 
 juggler and acrobat ; but one who needed 
 great stress put upon him ere he would 
 display aught of his craft and cunning. 
 And thus when Rabbi Yochanan arrived 
 at the place he found many people 
 assembled, who stopped his horses and 
 bade him alight. And he did so, wonder- 
 ing what it all meant. Then they told 
 him to make exhibition of his skill ; but 
 the poor little pot-bellied ecclesiastic stood 
 gaping at them bewildered, till a whip 
 cracked and a lash across his shoulders told 
 him they were in earnest. And finding no
 
 76 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 escape, he steadied himself with one hand 
 against the wall, and stood first on one 
 leg and then on the other ; but when he 
 made an attempt at hopping, he toppled 
 over and lay all his length on the floor. 
 Then the peasants grew angry, and told 
 him unless he did something worth looking 
 at evil would befall him. So in his distress 
 he called his driver, who knew more of the 
 affair than he would tell his master, and 
 said : " See here, Moyshaaron, I will place 
 my head on the ground, and do thou push 
 from the rear, so that I may turn head- 
 over-heels and make sport for these mur- 
 derers." Moyshaaron did his best, but 
 even then the attempt was a failure, and 
 with hooting and cudgelling the peasants 
 seized hold of the Rabbi and pitched him 
 back into his waggon, together with a 
 cargo of mud and much refuse vegetables. 
 And the whole thing Gedaliah wound up 
 with the declaration : " And this, forsooth, 
 is to show thee, brother mine, that it is 
 my custom not to rest till I have brought 
 hurt upon those who have acted contrari- 
 wise to my desire." Aryah heeded not 
 the moral, for he was too busy wriggling 
 with laughter ; but Bylah heard it, and it
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 77 
 
 seemed to her that the words were not 
 spoken at random. 
 
 Now the telling of the tale had taken a 
 long time, and by the end of it the brandy 
 flask felt somewhat relieved of its con- 
 tents ; nor was Aryah remiss in helping 
 its depletion. All through the evening it 
 was but rarely that he cast his eyes in 
 the direction where Bylah sat, or he would 
 have seen that the louder he laughed the 
 lower drooped her head, so that the 
 glistening stains on her cheek might not 
 be seen. And at last Gedaliah went away 
 with his empty bottle and the promise, 
 which was not empty, to come earlier next 
 day, for Aryah said he would only go 
 three-quarters of his ordinary round. 
 
 So it came about that Gedaliah and 
 his brandy bottle became a nightly in- 
 stitution in Aryah's household ; and Aryah 
 was ever shortening his hours of labour so 
 that he might be home the sooner. Bylah 
 saw how Gedaliah was growing more and 
 more a necessity with him ; but she wept 
 her tears in silence, and made him no 
 reproaches. And about four w r eeks after 
 the intruder's first appearance she was 
 taken ill. She had gone one morning to
 
 78 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 the pump for the water-carrying and 
 wood-chopping had been left to her for 
 some time and, hatchet in hand, she 
 began cutting away the ice that crusted 
 thickly round the place. For the frost- 
 fiend had been busy all night decorating 
 the village-monument in question with 
 designs that particularly struck his fancy, 
 and when he saw her making havoc of 
 his handiwork he grew angry, and in 
 passing laid his finger on her bosom 
 lightly, it is true, but sufficient to chill the 
 marrow in her bones, so that she kept her 
 bed with the ague. Aryah was very good 
 to her, and brought her warm potions and 
 appliances, and sat with her till Gedaliah 
 came, and no longer. Her apartment was 
 separated from the main room by a thin 
 partition, and so she could hear most of 
 what was going on there. And on the 
 fourth day of her sickness, when it was at 
 its height, soon after Gedaliah's entrance, 
 she heard a sound coming from the other 
 chamber that made her leap up in terror. 
 The men were talking low, but between 
 the words she caught the "swish-swish" 
 of cards being shuffled for Aryah had 
 not been bold enough to defile her eyes
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 79 
 
 with the sight of what he knew she hated 
 most on earth ; but now that she was out 
 of the way, what harm was done ? And 
 again she listened eagerly to ascertain 
 what the game was ; it was not "frantsa- 
 foos," nor " clabberyas " to be sure it 
 was "okka," the deadly, ruinous "okka." 
 Now of all the thousand combinations in 
 which the paste-boards may be manipu- 
 lated, "okka" is pre-eminently the fabrica- 
 tion and pet child of the devil. It blends 
 cunning and accident in a way more 
 curious than any other game, and it is 
 the spade that has dug the grave for the 
 prosperity of many a household. You 
 only use the pack from the nines upward, 
 deal to each player two cards turned 
 down and two cards face up ; and then 
 you must scrape together every item of 
 mother wit, and every atom of Providence 
 that has been set aside to watch over your 
 undeserving head, if you would escape from 
 the clutches of an expert player with 
 unscathed skin ; and Gedaliah was an 
 expert player. Therefore it astonished 
 Bylah very much to hear Aryah say at 
 the finish of the play : " Gedaliah, you 
 must look to your reputation, for I have
 
 8o A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 won from you the best part of two roubles." 
 But when Aryah came to her room on 
 tiptoe she feigned to be asleep, for she 
 would not shame him with her knowledge 
 of his doings. This went on till she had 
 strength enough to move about again, and 
 then happened what her woman's heart 
 had prophesied her ; for Aryah, to escape 
 the embarrassment of her presence, changed 
 the scene of the gambling to Gedaliah's 
 house, just coming home to deposit his 
 wares and to swallow a hasty meal. But 
 however late he returned for the night, 
 Bylah made no comment, for she was too 
 proud for bickerings and remonstrances, 
 nor would she beg for the love that was 
 not given her willingly. Often she won- 
 dered what kept Gedaliah in the neigh- 
 bourhood, for he had no apparent business, 
 and was ever loitering aimlessly about the 
 village ; but she was to know soon. 
 
 One morning, when Aryah was out 
 hawking, she saw Gedaliah make a non- 
 chalant entrance ; he had not been in her 
 house for some time now, and even when 
 they saw each other not a word had passed 
 between them. 
 
 " You seem lonely, Bylah," he began.
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 81 
 
 " I have come to bear you company, 
 though you do not look thankful for the 
 good office." He spoke lightly, but he 
 stepped back quickly enough as he saw 
 her turn her blazing eyes upon him. 
 
 " You have done your best to make me 
 lonely and an outcast from mine own," 
 she answered, controlling herself; "am I 
 to thank you for that ? " 
 
 " I have made you lonely? " he repeated, 
 in apparent wonderment ; " but it must be 
 true, since it is your own mouth that says 
 so. Strange it is that the man for whose 
 sake you denied my suit thinks so little of 
 his good fortune." 
 
 " Gedaliah," said Bylah, quietly, "it is 
 foolish of you to mock me, for I cannot 
 feel aught you say. My heart is dead and 
 I am dead, and it is lost labour to stab at 
 something that does not writhe at the 
 stroke. But go hence, before I curse you 
 the curses of the dead come true." 
 
 " I am cursed enough," said Gedaliah, 
 lightly ; "I game and I drink, and truly 
 there must be an evil doom upon me, for 
 those that consort with me cannot but do 
 the same." 
 
 " An evil doom and a perdition you 
 7
 
 82 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 have been to him," was Bylah's answer to 
 the taunt; "you have made him what he 
 is and on the Day of Judgment I shall 
 demand him of you as he was ; and beware 
 if you cannot answer the demand." 
 
 But at her words a change came over 
 Gedaliah's face, and he took a step towards 
 her. " Why talk of him at all, Bylah ? " 
 he said, caressingly. "He loves you no 
 longer ; he treats you like a dog. All his 
 love has gone forth to me ; but I have 
 husbanded it carefully, and here I offer it 
 to you. Take it, and me therewith ; I can 
 give you two men's love, and now you 
 have neither's. Come with me, Bylah, and 
 I shall worship you ; you can get the 
 divorce easily, I shall take that upon me ; 
 come only come." 
 
 She looked at him for a moment, and 
 then burst into a laugh that went rasping 
 across his soul and lacerated it in a thou- 
 sand places. And still shrieking with 
 laughter, she ran into the adjoining room 
 and shot the bolt. That was all the answer 
 he got from her ; but from the threshold 
 he turned back once more and flung these 
 words at her : 
 
 " Did you mark what I said that day of
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 83 
 
 my habits of revenge ? Is it an idle boast ? 
 You can tell, surely, if any one, for you have 
 not only learned the lesson, but lived it. 
 And if I have made him different from of 
 old, I shall make him so that his own 
 good angel shall not recognise him on the 
 day he stands in the gates of death." 
 
 When Aryah came home at night, Bylah 
 told him simply : 
 
 " Gedaliah was here, and cast insult 
 upon me ; he would have me come and 
 be a wife unto him." 
 
 But Aryah flared up: 
 
 " What nonsense thou talkest ; what is 
 thy head made of that thou canst not see 
 a jest ? Would he say such a thing in 
 earnest ? A man may turn his eye upon 
 a woman without having it in his heart 
 to deal evil with her so much for thy 
 wisdom. And now haste thee about the 
 meal, for I am hungry." And then he ate 
 his food in silence and went to Gedaliah 
 as usual. 
 
 As Bylah said, her heart was indeed 
 dead within her ; but the numbed sullen- 
 ness of her despair lived through all those 
 dreary and desolate days and nights. And 
 now and then the twin-demon of fury
 
 84 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 and helplessness lashed her forth to lurk 
 like a wounded beast in the outskirts of 
 Gedaliah's dwelling. At last, almost by 
 instinct, she had found an opening in the 
 hedge whence she could peer in through 
 the window. At first glance she thought 
 she had mistaken the house, for certainly 
 there sat Gedaliah, but the other man's face 
 she knew not. The thing that crouched 
 there with glazen eyes and drooping jowl 
 was not her Aryah. And so she watched 
 them almost interestedly for the two men 
 seemed to her as strangers with whom she 
 had no concern. She noted how that all 
 the time Gedaliah held and dealt the cards, 
 which showed, according to the rules of 
 the game, that he was winning, and further 
 she noted how he shuffled them with the 
 tantalising deliberateness of a man who 
 holds the key of a situation and knows it. 
 And each time he saw the frantic eager- 
 ness wherewith his opponent clutched at 
 his cards, there flitted across Gedaliah's 
 face a smile all contempt and exultation 
 that was more terrible than the other man's 
 despair. 
 
 So deal succeeded deal to the unvarying 
 advantage of Gedaliah ; if Aryah had
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 85 
 
 thirty-one, Gedaliah had three nines, or 
 three queens or three kings. But at last 
 there came a hitch in the game, and Bylah 
 held her breath, for the play was running 
 very close, and both players were confident 
 of victory ; and the staking and counter- 
 staking went higher and higher. 
 
 "Three aces," said Aryah, with a deep 
 breath, and laid his hand on the pool. 
 " Not so fast," remarked Gedaliah, calmly, 
 and showed up : he had four of a colour. 
 Aryah sprang up with an oath, and 
 putting his hand in his pocket he took 
 out a small casket and threw a gold coin 
 on the table. "The last!" he shouted. 
 Bylah started back with affright and eagerly 
 felt in the folds of her dress. The key 
 was gone, the key of the little stronghold 
 that held her savings. Not the money 
 not the money she cared for ; but Aryah 
 had become a thief. And next morning 
 the people of the village asked each other 
 with scared faces if they had heard the 
 wail of unhuman sorrow that had passed 
 their houses last night, and every man 
 looked to his doorpost amulet to see if it 
 was sound and would keep out the evil 
 spirits.
 
 86 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 It was on the third night after her vision 
 of hell, as it had seemed to Bylah. For 
 once she sat up ; she did things mechani- 
 cally now, and that interfered with her 
 previous habits. She kept no count of 
 time ; why should she ? What was there 
 to expect or to hope for? Her life had 
 again become the immeasurable nothing- 
 ness it had been before ; so let it be, since 
 that was to be her fate. And suddenly 
 she heard steps outside, and a man breath- 
 ing heavily came along the passage and 
 pushed open the door. It was Gedaliah, 
 and on his shoulder he carried something ; 
 and Bylah thought calmly, from the mode 
 of his carrying, that his practice as contra- 
 band-porter came him in good stead. 
 
 " Quick," he gasped ; " help me put him 
 to bed ; he must be kept warm the cold 
 may have already done him harm." 
 
 Without a word she rose to his bidding 
 and helped him to cover up the heaving 
 mass and wiped the foam from the quiver- 
 ing lips. She supposed it was Aryah, or 
 else why should this thing have been 
 brought to her house ? And Gedaliah 
 caught her questioning look and told her : 
 "It came upon him suddenly ; it was the
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 87 
 
 brandy, I think ; but he would not stop, 
 and flung me away as I strove to wrest 
 the bottle from his hand. There is no 
 danger if he be well tended, and when he 
 is recovering no doubt he will send me 
 news thereof, and I shall come again. 
 Say, am I not keeping my word ? " And 
 then he turned to go ; but as he clasped 
 the door handle there was a loud sobbing 
 from the middle of the room, and there 
 was Bylah crawling to him on her knees 
 with outstretched arms, and all the pent- 
 up anguish of many days flowed unre- 
 strainedly from her lips : 
 
 " Gedaliah, by the life of your mother 
 and your sisters and all the womankind 
 that is of your flesh and blood, let not the 
 hand of your vengeance choke all the 
 happiness out of my life. I have disdained 
 you, I have preferred to you another ; but 
 in your mercy remember I am of human 
 make, and it was God's will, not mine, that 
 swayed me in my desires. Though you 
 have sinned every day of your life, though 
 you have violated all the ordinances of 
 earth and heaven, let not go this chance of 
 winning your redemption. Spare me and 
 spare my husband, and take away from
 
 88 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 him the curse of your temptation, as you 
 hope to clasp a loving wife to your bosom 
 and to lead your children beneath the 
 bridal canopy. I beseech you, Gedaliah, 
 upon your hope of the World-to-come, I 
 beseech you, look, here in the dust." And 
 with that she grasped the edge of his tunic 
 and buried her face therein. 
 
 Long did Gedaliah stand looking down 
 on her, and devil and angel wrestled in his 
 heart for the mastery. But at last he laid 
 his hand gently on her head and said : 
 " Bylah, you have conquered, and I am 
 prostrate in the very hour of my triumph ; 
 I give him back to you, and when I am 
 gone hence he will love you as of yore. 
 But I loved you too look how I loved 
 you." And he took out a piece of parch- 
 ment and held it before her ; but she waved 
 it away, signing to him to read its purport. 
 And this is what it contained : 
 
 "I, Aryah Klenker, herewith bind 
 myself to be a bondslave unto Gedaliah 
 Ickroner, and my wife Bylah likewise to 
 be a handmaiden unto the same ; and he 
 shall deal with us as is his pleasure for a 
 period of two years." 
 
 " See, Bylah," Gedaliah continued, " this
 
 REDEMPTION OF THE SERPENT 89 
 
 is how I love you," and the paper fluttered 
 in fragments at her feet. " And now 
 good-bye," and he stooped and kissed her 
 once on the forehead; "and when Aryah 
 awakes, give him my brotherly love and 
 this." It was a heavy purse of money. 
 "It is his own, he but lent it to me for a 
 while." And then he went out pensively 
 and slowly, like a man who is afraid of 
 treading on the tail of his thoughts. 
 
 And Bylah had a weary time of it for a 
 week. Aryah raved and raved, and his 
 utterances were all confused. ' ' Gedaliah 
 that is the wrong card, I saw thee shifting 
 it ; but you may believe me, good sir, 
 that I speak truth : this leather is not catskin, 
 but good Ukraine bullock ; nay, take 
 not thy hand away, Bylah, the sun comes 
 stabbing through the trees not drink, 
 Gedaliah ? may I not drink for the last 
 time that I am a free man and not a 
 servant ? and now, one kiss more, Bylah, 
 
 before And so it went on till one 
 
 day he opened his eyes without a film on 
 them, and fancied himself in Paradise, for 
 over there stood Bylah, and she, or the 
 heavenly hosts, were singing the refrain 
 from the " Almond-and- Raisin Song :
 
 90 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 " Through days of rejoicing and weeping 
 I love thee, thou lov'st me, alone." 
 
 " I have had a bad dream, Bylah," he 
 said feebly, " but I am better now ; it was 
 all about Gedaliah, the smuggler we knew 
 in our native village, and we were doing 
 all manner of strange things ; come close, 
 sweetheart nay, closer. But what is 
 this ? One must not mix wine and water, 
 for it is foolish of thee to laugh and cry at 
 the same time."
 
 THE MIGRATION OF SAINT 
 SEBASTIAN 
 
 r T'S an ill wind that blows nobody 
 JL good," runs the time-honoured saying, 
 and will probably continue to run till the end 
 of all things. Proverbs are the pack-asses 
 that carry the worsted and the homespun 
 philosophy of the world across the conti- 
 nents of the commonplace. Poor patient 
 proverbs poor patient pack-asses ; and 
 the strangest thing of all is that they 
 occasionally convey a truth. Of their 
 miscarriages and aberrations no notice is 
 taken. So much the worse for them ; for 
 each time they come home to their event 
 it is counted new evidence that they are 
 fit for their purpose, and that saddles them 
 with a new lease of service. With regard 
 to the especial burden and bearing of the 
 above-mentioned pack-ass I mean pro- 
 verb if you wish to discover it, you will 
 91
 
 92 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 have to follow it all the way to the con- 
 fines of Tartary and the Greek Catholic 
 Calendar ; and as the way is long, you 
 had better draw a good breath before 
 starting. 
 
 The journey's end will bring you to one 
 of the villages hidden deep in the steppes 
 of the Ukraine ; for that is where they 
 lived these boys, rascals, or devils you 
 can specify them according to the intensity 
 of your own love of goodness. Assuming 
 them to be devils, their own proper and 
 peculiar pandemonium was a military 
 government institution which combined 
 the characteristics of an orphanage with 
 that of a penitentiary. By being open 
 chiefly to orphan boys of officers it justified 
 its claim to the one title ; Draconian severity 
 of regulations made it the other. Not 
 that such was not necessary. Had the 
 reins of control been one degree slacker, 
 the very saints and angels would have 
 wished Paradise a few thousand fathoms 
 higher ; but old Colonel Schubyakowski, 
 the governor, took good care that the 
 existing proportions of the universe were 
 not interfered with. 
 
 The more immediate purpose of the
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 93 
 
 institution was to furnish the crack regi- 
 ments with recruits. The cadets, carefully 
 picked as to fitness, were taken in hand 
 from the age of seventeen, and taught the 
 soldiering craft as their fathers had been 
 taught before. Thus was the bone and 
 blood of the old school to be perpetuated, 
 and a race of dare-devils to be bred fit to 
 lift the universe from its hinges ; and the 
 present crop was as promising as any of 
 those that had preceded it, for it gave 
 every indication of being the true seed of 
 those centaurs of the plains, the Uhlans 
 and Cossacks, who in the good old days, 
 it was currently reported, were accustomed 
 to sew up live cats in the bellies of their 
 prisoners, and used babies for tent-pegging 
 sport. 
 
 Just at present the inmates were in very 
 bad humour, because things were so hope- 
 lessly dull. The whole life and soul seemed 
 to have gone out of the place in the person 
 of Ignatz Pablowitch Ignatz their old 
 and trusty leader, now conscribed to the 
 service. The first few days they passed 
 monotonously in respectable diversions, to 
 wit, in pilfering the pyxes of the neigh- 
 bouring churches, in stoning fishes writh-
 
 94 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 ing on the bank, in crucifying frogs and 
 setting the bloodhounds on the track of 
 Hebrew pedlars, or else helping the local 
 knacker in his delectable work. But all 
 these things were mere makeshifts, for 
 they were used to occupations less ele- 
 mentary. True, there was a certain 
 amount of domestic excitement, for with 
 such inflammable substance things could 
 not be expected to progress on the " love- 
 in-a-dovecot " system ; all the energy 
 accumulated from want of external friction 
 had to find an outlet, if only an internal 
 one, and so they fell to mutual hair-pulling 
 not sportively, but after the manner of 
 young giants extracting oaks by the roots. 
 If a cranium got broken here or a shoulder 
 put out of joint somewhere else, it was 
 merely a lesson in the science of self- 
 preservation ; for having learnt the pain- 
 fulness of the experience, one would do 
 his best to forestall its re-occurrence, and 
 there were few who did not get their fair 
 share of learning. The governor shut an 
 indulgent eye, for did not all this tend to 
 make each one of them a human slaughter- 
 machine in time of war ? 
 
 The denizens of the institution were
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 95 
 
 cleft into two parties. The smouldering 
 fire of discontent was fanned by the breath 
 of faction, and now the question of leader- 
 ship had stirred it into an open blaze. 
 Without a leader they were nothing ; nay, 
 more, they were a mockery and derision 
 to their inveterate foes the ploughmen 
 and field-labourers of the adjacent hamlets. 
 Why, only the other day one of their 
 comrades had been waylaid by the sheep- 
 boys of Sompolka, who sent him home, 
 his arms tightly pinioned and a mangy cur 
 dangling fantastically from his neck ; and 
 all these indignities they suffered because 
 of the interminable wrangling between 
 Black Wolf and Dimitri. Neither of them 
 would give way ; both had equal claims to 
 the captaincy, or, at least, equal determi- 
 nation to uphold them. 
 
 There had been hatred between these 
 two ever since they could remember, with 
 this difference, that Black Wolf did the 
 hating and Dimitri allowed himself to be 
 hated. Black Wolfs ill-feeling afforded 
 Dimitri great satisfaction ; he considered 
 it a compliment, and returned it merely as 
 a matter of courtesy. For Dimitri had 
 good manners ; indeed, there was some-
 
 96 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 thing altogether superior about him in his 
 well-formed features, white skin, and ivory 
 teeth ; whereas Black Wolf, with his bush 
 of coal-black, gipsy hair, his bloodshot 
 pig-eyes and saffron fangs, did not at first 
 sight look prepossessing, and it scarcely 
 needed a further acquaintance to develop 
 this impression into utter repulsion. 
 Perhaps it was for this that he hated 
 Dimitri ; he had only to appear in the 
 distance, and the serving-maids, who stood 
 gossiping round the village-pump, franti- 
 cally clutched their half-filled pails with 
 the cry, " Here comes Black Wolf," and 
 stampeded, cackling and shrieking like a 
 flock of geese that scent the fox. Nor 
 was it likely he should improve his temper 
 by prowling round the house of Father 
 Ivanovitch and by peering through the 
 cracks of the shutters, only to see Dimitri 
 and little Marinka sitting with hands 
 clasped before the cosy hearth. Of course 
 he could have the pleasure of rattling at 
 the window, just to make her shiver with 
 dread of the night- witches, or of Vyeej, 
 the iron-wrought fiend, who is not deterred 
 even by the sign of the cross, because his 
 eyelids reach right down to the ground, so
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 97 
 
 that he can see nothing ; but it only made 
 the girl cling closer to her lover, and Black 
 Wolf scurried away into the darkness with 
 curses on his lips. Often had he gone 
 down on his knees and prayed to his 
 patron : " Dear, good Saint Sebastian, 
 slay Dimitri quickly, and I shall ever after 
 observe thy name-day with fasting and 
 prayer." Some people want their deity to 
 be merely their worse alter ego. At any 
 rate St. Sebastian knew that he could not 
 jeopardise his position in the Calendar by 
 turning assassin, and at last Black Wolf 
 grew sulky with him and resolved to 
 have his revenge on the saint no less than 
 on Dimitri. 
 
 As regards the latter, a good deal of the 
 prestige that clung to him originated in 
 the mystery surrounding his derivation. 
 Nobody, not even he himself, knew who 
 he was or whence he had emanated ; he 
 had been smuggled into the Government 
 House without possessing the proper 
 qualifications, and in the transit he had 
 apparently lost his patronymic, for he 
 was never called anything else but just 
 " Dimitri." In default of a more tangible 
 clue, conjectures as to his history attached 
 8
 
 98 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 themselves to the livid circle that ran 
 round his neck. By some it was considered 
 a mark for ultimate identification ; others 
 whispered that it testified to the efforts of 
 a high-born dame to dispose of an un- 
 welcome encumbrance that the noose, 
 however, had been tied by unskilful 
 fingers, and a woodchopper who was 
 passing through the forest had cut the 
 infant down in time to save its little life. 
 Others again maintained, pessimistically, 
 that the mark was evidence that Dimitri 
 was doomed to be hanged. Dimitri treated 
 this gossip with cordial indifference ; he 
 laughed, and said it was not likely that one 
 who had commenced life by nearly being 
 strangled, should end it in the same 
 manner that would be too much of a 
 coincidence. And so the matter of his 
 origin was left pending. 
 
 It was now the tenth day since the 
 departure of Ignatz, and the universe 
 was yet at a standstill. For want of 
 something better there had been a whole- 
 sale departure to the nearest valley-hollow 
 to yawn away the tediousness of a dog- 
 day afternoon. Life was a blank with 
 no immediate future and an interminable
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 99 
 
 present. Each side cursed the pig- 
 headedness of the other in not coming to 
 an understanding, and studiously resolved 
 not to be the first to make advances. 
 Black Wolf lay sullenly on his stomach, 
 every now and then angrily tossing his 
 head as it came into contact with the 
 prickly grass blades ; it was near haytime, 
 and the foils, curled and sapped by the 
 sun's fierceness, stung like spears. Fur- 
 tively he watched Dimitri where he lay, 
 seemingly at peace with the whole world, 
 ensconced in a recess of the valley that 
 overhung him with projecting ledge, and 
 cradled him like a solicitous mother on a 
 couch of spring-green moss. Dimitri 
 seemed to have the best in everything, 
 and this complacency wherewith he 
 accepted his good fortune frenzied Black 
 Wolf to desperation. Now or never 
 he must put an end to this, come what 
 may. 
 
 " Oh, ye blocks of idleness," he shouted, 
 jumping up, "are we to lie thus till old 
 age and doomsday overtake us ? Look, 
 our flesh is getting soft to melting, like 
 that of girls, and our bones are crumbling 
 away with the rot of sloth. I cannot forget
 
 ioo A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 that I was born a man, if you have for- 
 gotten." 
 
 The disconsolate day-dreamers started 
 up at the sound of his voice ; it was as 
 though a thunderbolt had crashed into the 
 turf on which they lay, and had cleft it 
 into a blackened rent before their eyes ; 
 and in wonder they pricked up their ears 
 to listen to the storm of which this must 
 be the precursor. There were few amongst 
 them, besides Black Wolf, who could pre- 
 sume to break in so rudely upon their 
 siesta. But no better time could be chosen 
 to betray them into sudden action ; rack 
 the apathy of an undecided man to its 
 utmost power of tension, and you will get 
 him to roll among nettles for sheer dis- 
 traction. 
 
 "And all because one man has left 
 you?" Black Wolf continued, passionately; 
 clearly he was infuriating himself by his 
 own words. " I speak not of your pride 
 that is dead but what of your pru- 
 dence ? Here we go shifting at random, 
 like fluff in the wind, and our strength 
 grows faint for want of a hand to nourish 
 it. And still you do not seek it ; wait on 
 and perhaps Michael, the archangel, will
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 101 
 
 come down to you after he has put the 
 heavenly hosts through their exercises." 
 
 And while Black Wolf was still laughing 
 bitterly at his impious jest, into which he 
 perverted the teachings of good Father 
 Ivanovitch, a stir ran through the gather- 
 ing. The isolated little heaps of indolence 
 lifted and shifted themselves, gravitated 
 towards one another according to their 
 motive, coagulated into little knots, which 
 again confounded themselves into larger 
 clusters, until the straggling groups had 
 become compacted into two solid arrays 
 that faced each other, with a Rubicon 
 between them. So the crisis had come at 
 last, and each man had chosen his cause 
 and his leader. Black Wolf glanced from 
 his followers over to Dimitri's, as a thresher 
 looks from the grain to the chaff; but he 
 was vexed that the quantities should be so 
 equal. 
 
 " Now I can speak," he continued his 
 harangue ; " some one I will not say who 
 has divided us in strife against ourselves. 
 There has been underhand speech, and 
 much backbiting to set us by the ears, and 
 to seize the leadership during the tumult ; 
 but all this shall avail nought, for I, and
 
 102 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 none other, shall be your leader, by right 
 of valour and descent. Who can count 
 more generations of his line that grew 
 into soldiers over there than I ? " and he 
 pointed to their alma mater; "or, if any 
 one thinks he has a better claim, let him 
 stand forth, and I will argue with him." 
 
 There was truth in what Black Wolf 
 had said. His great-grandfather had been 
 one of the aboriginal inmates, and that 
 made Black Wolf, so to speak, a founda- 
 tioner of the place ; and Dimitri was a 
 mere foundling, an intruder without name 
 or history. 
 
 Black Wolf looked round insolently, 
 waiting for an answer, and when none 
 came, he continued, with a smile of 
 disdain : 
 
 "Do you see how it is? When the 
 mischief is done, one stoops one's head 
 and lets the challenge hurtle over it." 
 
 No one mistook the point of the remark, 
 least of all Dimitri, and Dimitri was 
 playing his game as he thought best, and 
 so he answered : 
 
 " And if one may ask," he said, lazily 
 raising himself on his elbow and motioning 
 those in front to stand away for through
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 103 
 
 all the agitation he had not stirred from 
 his place "if one may ask, what would 
 be the manner of your arguing ? " 
 
 " Oh, by casting of sheep's eyes and 
 fondling of hands by the chimney, "sneered 
 Black Wolf; "that would suit you, would 
 it not ? I prefer letting bone speak to 
 bone and sinew to sinew." 
 
 Of course Dimitri had known all along 
 what Black Wolf meant ; he knew also 
 that Black Wolf was a formidable advocate 
 in arguments of that sort his chest looked 
 alarmingly broad and his arms were un- 
 compromisingly long. Moreover, when he 
 was in earnest he could bite out pieces 
 of flesh with the best of his four-footed 
 namesakes ; and Dimitri thought if that 
 happened in his case there would be less 
 of him to kiss, and Marinka would not 
 like it. Perhaps his motive was less dis- 
 interested, but no one could have told 
 whether the flicker at the corner of his 
 mouth was a tremor of fear or a stray 
 sunbeam gliding across it, and his voice 
 sounded hard and straight as a ramrod. 
 
 " Black Wolf," he said, slowly, " yours 
 is a fool's carcase, and your head is stuffed 
 with bran and oats. First, it was by no
 
 104 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 insidious talk that I gained the favour of 
 those that wish me well ; and therein you 
 have spoken lyingly. Nor, again, is it by 
 the strength of our single arms that this 
 matter can be decided. Suppose you turn 
 out to be the stronger, or I what does 
 that show ? Nothing, except that one of 
 us is fitter for carrying burdens than the 
 other ; and at that a three months old ox 
 would excel us. Strength without wisdom 
 is like an axe without a handle ; and in a 
 leader a ready wit is more than a ready 
 blow." 
 
 This was a home-thrust for Dimitri, for 
 every one knew that his presence of mind 
 had helped them out of many a scrape 
 into which the hot-headed Wolf had 
 hurried them. The latter stood writhing 
 with annoyance ; he thought the trap was 
 fast, and here he saw his enemy wriggling 
 out of it and mocking him for his clumsi- 
 ness. 
 
 " God send me to deal with men, and 
 not with children that prate like women," 
 he cried, impatiently ; and then he con- 
 tinued, maliciously : " Say, Dimitri, did 
 your father teach you all this wisdom while 
 dandling you on his knee ? "
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 105 
 
 Dimitri showed a calm face, despite his 
 inward quailing at the taunt ; he got up, 
 and nonchalantly stepping into the middle 
 he said : 
 
 "Comrades mine, 'where there is folly 
 there is selfishness,' is the saying, and 
 Black Wolf has proved it just now. He 
 has taken this matter into his own hands, 
 and has lost count of you altogether, as 
 though you were mere puppets to dance 
 at his bidding. But I say, this is for you 
 to consider, and if I speak at all, it is not 
 to burst your ears with loud words, but to 
 help you to your decision. Now this is 
 my plan : we are evenly matched as to 
 numbers, so that none can say this is a 
 case of an iron hammer against a glass 
 anvil ; let us, then, fight the matter out 
 in open battle, and let the rest go by the 
 issue that would be fairer, as I take it." 
 
 And the long and short of it was that 
 they decided to have a grand scrimmage 
 on the following day, and the leader of 
 the victorious side was to be accorded the 
 dignity of generalissimo. Dimitri's pro- 
 posal was popular ; it meant a chance of 
 settling private feuds, of clearing the 
 atmosphere generally, and, finally, it was
 
 io6 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 one, and by no means the worst, way of 
 unscrewing the deadlock. 
 
 Black Wolf hung back moody and 
 thoughtful in the wake of the crowd that 
 surged homeward clamorously. He did 
 not at all like the way things had turned 
 out ; he knew he was no general, and that 
 was why he had been so anxious to settle 
 the affair by single combat, for Dimitri 
 was a wily trickster and excelled in 
 matters of strategy. And so Black Wolf 
 felt very diffident as to the result ; but 
 perhaps the arm of Providence could be 
 given a little push in the right direction. 
 He needed not dirty his own fingers for it 
 these things belonged to the province of 
 Nicolai and his likes. Nicolai would do 
 it ; Nicolai did everything that every one 
 else fought shy of : he ate apples from the 
 dust-heap, he spat on crucifixes, and com- 
 mitted all the iniquities that lay between 
 these two extremes. They called him 
 Toadmouth, and a man must be possessed 
 of one or two disagreeable habits at least 
 before he can deserve the sobriquet ; and 
 that is why he was now straggling on the 
 outskirts of the throng and no one cast a 
 look towards him. He had taken Wolf's
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 107 
 
 side, not from any preference, but because 
 if he did not take one side, he would be 
 battledored between the two. And now 
 when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and, 
 in turning, found himself looking into 
 Wolf's face, he gave a little scream, and 
 ducked as though he were hamstrung. 
 
 " This way, Toadmouth," Wolf said, 
 dragging him behind a hedge ; " keep 
 still, till the others have gone, and when 
 your teeth have stopped chattering per- 
 haps you will be able to hear what I tell 
 you." 
 
 It did not take Black Wolf long to make 
 his meaning clear to Toadmouth ; the 
 latter was quick-witted as a fox where 
 mischief was concerned, and any opposi- 
 tion to Wolf's proposal meant mischief to 
 himself. So they discussed the matter for 
 a long time, and then Wolf said to the 
 other, as a final injunction : 
 
 " You will find one at the shambles ; 
 get the strongest you can pick, but not too 
 large to go into the sleeve of your coat ; 
 you must not even let the tip be seen. 
 Do you remember how he made you turn 
 somersaults to show us Marinka's white 
 teeth as she was laughing ? "
 
 io8 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Toadmouth remembered the incident 
 quite well, and to drive it from his mind 
 he took a stroll into the town, casually 
 dropped in at the slaughter-house, and 
 still more casually stole from there a cow- 
 horn. Then he grew yet more mysterious 
 in his doings, for he laid himself in a mud- 
 puddle, and wallowed therein like a hog 
 with the St. Vitus's dance ; furthermore, 
 he ripped open his breeches as far as the 
 knee-joint, then he spent ten minutes in 
 rehearsing an elaborate limp, and thus 
 came whimpering like a mongrel to Dimi- 
 tri : 
 
 " Black Wolf has beaten me within an 
 inch of my life, because I would not steal 
 him a sausage from the Poppe's larder ; 
 and I would not do it because you love 
 Marinka, his daughter. Shield me, Dimi- 
 tri, and I will serve you to-morrow among 
 your most faithful." 
 
 And Dimitri, at the bidding of his 
 destiny, made him welcome. 
 
 It was not often that the inmates had 
 to resort to such extreme measures to 
 settle a point ; but provision had been 
 made for the emergency, and a code of 
 athletic warfare had been laid down which
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 109 
 
 included only the exercise of weapons 
 which nature had furnished. But a pecu- 
 liar and favourite item was the nape-stroke ; 
 it consists of a knuckle-rub down the 
 vertebrae which rasps on the nerves and 
 seems to tear their network to tatters ; 
 and because it concentrates all the weak- 
 ness of a man's body into his weakest 
 part, it will, if dexterously administered, 
 cripple him instantly. Two men are 
 necessary for it as a rule, one to do the 
 gripping from the front and the other 
 the rasping at the back. Otherwise they 
 mimicked the business of war very faith- 
 fully, even to the holding of court-martials 
 and the takings of prisoners, who became 
 serfs to their captors until by length of 
 fag-service they had redeemed their free- 
 dom. Of course, these proceedings were 
 entirely unofficial, and Governor Schubya- 
 kowski was not invited to honour them 
 with his presence. 
 
 Dimitri did not sleep much that night, 
 and his brain revolved busily. He had to 
 make up his plan of campaign ; these 
 things could not be left to the last moment. 
 Two courses were open to him open 
 battle and guerilla warfare. It depended
 
 i io A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 on him what form the contest should take, 
 for he knew Black Wolf would wait to see 
 what he did and then do the same. So 
 he decided on open battle, for that left 
 him more master of initiative. Besides, 
 Black Wolf was rash ; something could 
 be counted on that. A little ambush or 
 so, just simple enough to escape suspicion, 
 would go a long way, at least a longer 
 way than Black Wolf could see before 
 him. And at last, through the leaden 
 heat-haze that half numbed his brain, 
 Dimitri could see the thread of an idea ; 
 and with a little more weaving of thought 
 the thread became a cord, and the cord 
 a rope, that, if all went well, would fetter 
 Black Wolf hand and foot. Dimitri was 
 satisfied ; he had simply not to oversleep 
 himself in the morning ; after that the 
 complications would begin. 
 
 And rise early he did ; and not long 
 afterwards the dormitories were astir and 
 buzzing with the excitement of events that 
 seemed too big for speech. Unmerciful 
 inroads were made on the morning meal, 
 for the day was likely to be a heavy and 
 hungry one. Then Dimitri passed the 
 word ; his followers were quick to the call
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN in 
 
 and they sallied forth, jauntily treading the 
 buoyant morning air, and stringing tight 
 a muscle or two that might have become 
 slack with disuse. And then one of them 
 started the soldier-song which Kavischko, 
 the great bard, had imported with him 
 when they brought him prisoner from 
 Tcherkessia, and the strains of the " Blood 
 Harvest " song rose in weird, uncouth 
 cries like those of men who are being 
 turned into beasts. And this is how it 
 begins : 
 
 " Blood is the bounty of God, 
 
 Blood is the blessing of men, 
 Quickens the seed in the clod, 
 Ripens the wheat in the fen. 
 
 Feed ye your soil with the slain, 
 
 Each little trickle of red 
 Grows you a bushel of grain, 
 
 Brings you a garner of bread." 
 
 Dimitri walked on, but he did not join 
 in. The singing did them no harm if 
 they sang a little more courage into them- 
 selves, all the better ; that was their busi- 
 ness, not his. He had to think for them, 
 and singing comes easily only to the 
 thoughtless. Something had been gained 
 already ; he had succeeded in forestalling
 
 ii2 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Black Wolf in the matter of position. 
 Dimitri could make his choice, and thus 
 the necessity of the attack would be left 
 to the enemy. So on they went, till the 
 plain began to rise, and as it rose the 
 voices of the clamorous crowd behind him 
 sank lower, for their breath came more 
 quickly and shortly with the ascent. 
 Another quarter of an hour, and they had 
 reached the high level of the tableland 
 which Dimitri had chosen for action. For 
 hundreds and hundreds of yards it stretched, 
 till the edge of it became bounded off by 
 a skirting edge of hazel-rods, matted and 
 knotted together, and not growing upright, 
 but slanting over like the beard of a 
 man's chin when he is on his back. On 
 the other side they overlooked the famous 
 sand-hills of Sovarno that lead the slope 
 steeply down again to the plain, and where 
 the sand-diggers come from far and wide 
 to dig the soft, shining sand which they 
 cart about for sale in the villages. Here 
 and there the earth was burrowed into 
 huge deep cauldrons, so that a stranger 
 might have thought he was in a country 
 of troglodytes. But with these slopes 
 Dimitri was not at present concerned,
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 113 
 
 though he involuntarily felt if his neck was 
 where it ought to be after the head-over- 
 heel tumble they had given him two years 
 ago as he was searching for birds' nests 
 in the copse. But it was then that he 
 discovered that the drooping fringe of 
 hazel-willows over-canopied a terrace or 
 ledge, about two feet wide, three-quarters 
 the height of a man, from the top-level of 
 the plain. It would give a firm foothold, 
 and by tightly grasping the bushes one 
 could easily provide against a precipitous 
 descent to the hill-base, fathoms and 
 fathoms below. It would serve his pur- 
 pose admirably. 
 
 Dimitri ordered a halt, and his men 
 sank sprawling on the ground, eagerly 
 quaffing the freshening breeze that had 
 sought refuge on the grassy height from 
 the burning sands at the bottom, for the 
 sun, despite the early hour, was already 
 in violent mood. There was nothing to 
 be done but to wait, and that also came 
 not amiss, for it gave them time to rest ; 
 the enemy's scouts would have no difficulty 
 in discovering them. Dimitri spent the 
 time in speaking secretly to a dozen or so 
 of his men on whom he could rely more 
 9
 
 ii4 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 surely than the rest, and instructed them 
 carefully in all the details of his plan. 
 
 After an hour's waiting the enemy hove 
 in sight, and at a word from Dimitri the 
 dozen crept on their bellies to the brink of 
 the plateau and warily glided through the 
 thicket till their feet touched the terrace ; 
 and the bushes hid them from view, even 
 on the sand hillside, though no one could 
 reach them from that quarter. The rods, as 
 they clutched them, felt wiry and deep- 
 rooted, and were well fitted for helping 
 a leaping vault to the top when the time 
 came. Toadmouth noted the manoeuvre, 
 but said nothing. By now Black Wolf 
 had reached the beginning of the incline, 
 and stopped, considering how to reach the 
 high land at the back of Dimitri's column ; 
 but it was dangerous they were too near 
 the border, and might topple him over the 
 height, which meant broken arms and legs. 
 So nothing could be done but to deploy 
 in front, leaving Dimitri the benefit of 
 higher ground ; and that was just what 
 Dimitri had expected. In a moment 
 his line was formed ; but he himself stood 
 with a little reserve body, stationed to 
 guard prisoners, twenty yards away from
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 115 
 
 the main column. Toadmouth had begged 
 a place near him, because, he said, Black 
 Wolf had threatened to throttle him if he 
 met him in the thick of the fight. 
 
 After that things went rapidly. Black 
 Wolf just massed his men into shape, put 
 himself in the centre, and flung headlong 
 forward like a battering-ram. What hap- 
 pened after that is a matter for conjecture ; 
 but what is likely to ensue when you have 
 three hundred pairs of arms clutching and 
 clawing at each other, and three hundred 
 bodies straining and struggling? and 
 that is without counting the action of the 
 feet : it certainly looked like business. At 
 first there was a little attempt at shouting, 
 but it soon settled down into the silence of 
 men who are determined that deeds should 
 tell their own tale. All the time Dimitri 
 stood stock still, surveying the scene. His 
 men did not begrudge his keeping himself 
 out of harm's way ; they knew they could 
 trust him the decisive moment had not 
 come, and Dimitri was always at his 
 greatest then. So they fought on dog- 
 gedly. Black Wolf was chafing with rage 
 to find Dimitri out of his reach. "The 
 coward, "he thought, "he hides his coward-
 
 ii6 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 ice under the mask of strategy ; why, if I 
 were to keep treading on the body of the 
 worm all day, I should not kill it in the 
 head lies its life." And he looked up and 
 eagerly watched the little group at the top. 
 And just then he saw Toadmouth stretch- 
 ing out his arm, as though he were exercis- 
 ing it, and he knew that the time had come. 
 And then he started wedging his way 
 out into the open, and the men whom he 
 had chosen his bodyguard followed closely 
 in his track. Once free, he dashed past 
 the enemy's flank, and tore furiously up 
 the slope, making straight for Dimitri. 
 Dimitri's heart beat a little faster his 
 plan was working grandly Black Wolf 
 was delivering himself into his hands, the 
 improvident fool ! And now Black Wolf 
 was within a yard or two ; already he felt 
 his hot breath, already their arms had 
 closed around each other for the wrestle : 
 and Dimitri opened his mouth to give the 
 sign to the ambush on the ledge opened 
 his mouth, and shut it again with a snap, 
 while his voice turned a somersault in his 
 throat. And that was not all, for in addi- 
 tion the sun exploded, ripping open the 
 sky, and a thousand imps with smoke-
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 117 
 
 blackened wings and faces fell out of it, 
 snatched up the trunk of his body and 
 whirled away with it in a thousand direc- 
 tions through space ; only his head and 
 legs lay disjointed on the ground. 
 
 " Mercy on me ! " thought Dimitri, " the 
 end of the world has come, and I have 
 not had absolution." And ere the waves 
 of oblivion had closed over him, he heard 
 a voice it sounded thousands of miles 
 away, yet it seemed the voice of Toad- 
 mouth crying : " Dimitri has fallen fly 
 all who can." 
 
 But Dimitri could not have lain senseless 
 long, for as he revived Black Wolf had 
 not finished pinioning his arms. 
 
 " What are you doing to me where 
 are my comrades ? " he said, faintly, with- 
 out moving and looking neither left nor 
 right. " Did I ever have the strength to 
 move and look about me ? " he wondered 
 in his heart. 
 
 "If you stand up you can see them 
 scampering away downhill," said Black 
 Wolf, maliciously. " I do not blame them 
 for stretching their legs it was unkind of 
 you, Dimitri, to keep your friends cooped 
 up so long on a two-inch foothold. But
 
 ii8 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 we have caught a few, and presently there 
 will be fine sport to see them do the devil's 
 skip." 
 
 Dimitri shuddered, for Black Wolf 
 meant that they were to run the gauntlet 
 of the Craven Field ; and this again 
 implied treading with naked feet among 
 the lumber and litter of many years that 
 lay there accumulated in piles of broken 
 pewter and earthenware. But such was 
 the law for prisoners taken in flight, for 
 tail-turning was not to be encouraged. 
 
 Wolf reflected a little, then an ugly smile 
 broke across his face. 
 
 " How far is it from here to St. Sebas- 
 tian's Cross ? " he asked, and some one 
 answered that it was half an hour's easy 
 marching. 
 
 "Then help him up," continued Wolf, 
 pointing to Dimitri, "and come with me." 
 
 A groan wrung itself from Dimitri's 
 lips : " Somebody has been driving iron 
 nails into my back -- long thin-pointed 
 nails, and the bone behind seems all in 
 splinters," he moaned, trying to twist his 
 arm round under the coils. And so he 
 reeled on, tottering to and fro like a 
 drunken man ; and when he lagged, they
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 119 
 
 hustled him to increase his pace. And 
 every minute had the weariness of a mile, 
 and the road lengthened endlessly, till he 
 thought he was going down, down, down 
 with a sinking feeling of unfathomable 
 depth. Black Wolf walked on deep in 
 thought, and if his thoughts were as black 
 as his looks, it boded ill for somebody. 
 
 And at last the wayside shrine of St. 
 Sebastian was reached. The old saint 
 looked down astonished at his unexpected 
 visitors, for he only held receptions on 
 fixed and stated occasions, when the pil- 
 grims came from far and near to invoke 
 his blessing and protection. Poor old 
 fellow, he seemed more in need of it than 
 his votaries, so woe-begone and chop- 
 fallen he looked ; his very crucifix seemed 
 to have lost all self-respect in its ragged 
 coat of paint. 
 
 Wolf looked wickedly at the saint : 
 " You will do it now, old fox, whether 
 you would or would not," he said under 
 his breath. And turning to Dimitri, who 
 had sunk down at the foot of the cross, he 
 jeered : " Up, up ! how unmannerly to 
 sprawl thus in front of a saint ; get up, 
 and make your reverence ! "
 
 120 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Dimitri looked up and said wearily, 
 " You mock me, Wolf and yet it puzzles 
 me ; I know there is strength in your arms 
 such as few men possess ; but to break me 
 in two with one hug as though I were a 
 rotten twig- 
 He stopped short and stared hard before 
 him ; for he had caught sight of Toad- 
 mouth, who found it difficult to keep out 
 of evidence among the half-dozen whom 
 Black Wolf had set aside for Dimitri's 
 escort. And in Toadmouth's girdle stuck 
 a cow-horn, that could not serve as a 
 bugle, for the tip was raw and unbored ; 
 and the thing had clearly no business 
 there. Dimitri tried painfully to think. 
 Toadmouth here, next to Black Wolf, 
 from whom he had hidden, because of his 
 murderous threat : there was more in this 
 than showed at first glance. Toadmouth 
 had deserted from Black Wolf, and a 
 traitor might easily prove treacherous ; and 
 then there was the cowhorn, and a cow- 
 horn might easily break a man's back. 
 And at last a light came over Dimitri. 
 
 " I see, I see," he shrieked, " this is 
 how men are struck down from behind : 
 for this did you come to fawn on me, you
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 121 
 
 faithless dog ! Oh, if I am but healed 
 again, I will tear out your entrails with 
 the same cursed cow-horn with which you 
 have ground my bones to powder. And 
 yet," he continued, turning a questioning 
 look on Black Wolf, "this is your work 
 too. I can see it by the scarlet on your 
 face ; it was you who hired this assassin, 
 in his treachery lay your strength 
 
 But his power of speech failed him, and 
 with a little gasp he fell back on his side. 
 Black Wolf hid his confusion as well as he 
 could under a garb of icy nonchalance. 
 
 " More wisdom, I suppose. Truly this 
 is a fine invention," he said; "why not 
 take defeat with a good grace, which is 
 the next best thing to victory ? I know 
 nothing of cow-horns and treachery and 
 such things, but I know that I have won 
 the leadership on the very terms of your 
 own suggestion ; and further, that you are 
 my prisoner. So make an end of it down 
 on your knees ! " 
 
 "A faithful servant you will win by 
 trapping him into captivity," sneered 
 Dimitri ; " if he has any manhood in him, 
 he will rise in the night and strangle his 
 master."
 
 122 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 At this Wolf turned with a gesture of 
 accusing to his companions. " Do you 
 hear what this rebellious hound says ? 
 Strangle his master in his sleep? Why, 
 it is of such stuff that they are made who 
 raise their arms in enmity against our 
 Little Father long may he rule ; we must 
 not let the brood increase there are too 
 many of them as it is." 
 
 He snatched up a coil of rope, with 
 nimble hands tied a noose, and slung one 
 end over the arm of the crucifix. The 
 others watched him in silence : what a 
 shrewd fellow Black Wolf was after all. 
 Was it not a clever manoeuvre of him to 
 force Dimitri into terrified submission ? 
 But Black Wolf had other thoughts ; he 
 was merely intent on his revenge, and 
 however things turned out they might 
 readily be ascribed to accident. So 
 he went close up to his victim and 
 said : 
 
 " Dimitri, three times will I summon 
 you to give way and acknowledge me your 
 chief; and at the third time your life is in 
 your own hands." 
 
 Dimitri remained silent at the first two 
 appeals, but at the third he raised himself
 
 MIGRATION OF ST. SEBASTIAN 123 
 
 on his elbow, looked steadfastly at his tor- 
 mentor and hissed : 
 
 " Sooner than I stoop before you, may 
 the cholera eat into your vitals, and jackals 
 make havoc of your parents' graves." 
 
 There was a howl like that of a wild 
 beast a rush and Black Wolf had flung 
 himself on Dimitri, had forced the noose 
 about his neck, and with frantic straining 
 was tugging him aloft ; and before any one 
 could make him loosen his hold, Dimitri's 
 feet were inches off the ground, his face 
 was black, and the last few shivers were 
 passing through his body. And that was 
 the last of Dimitri, unless the limp inert 
 mass that lay loosely on the heather 
 counted for anything. 
 
 Little to do was made over the matter ; 
 coroner's inquests are not in vogue in that 
 part of the world. People talked for a 
 little time about the strange end of Dimitri 
 who had been driven to accomplish the 
 fate which destiny had, so to speak, 
 marked out on his body. Of course, the 
 pessimists had a high old time of it, and 
 nearly gouged people's eyes out with their 
 " I told you so." A good many were 
 scandalised : the sacrilegious wretch, he
 
 124 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 could find nothing worse on which to hang 
 himself than the crucifix of good old St. 
 Sebastian, who no doubt was greatly up- 
 set by the occurrence. But there they 
 were mistaken. The sly old saint was 
 chuckling with delight. The ill wind that 
 blew the life out of Dimitri had blown 
 good luck into his way. For now that his 
 shrine had been profaned his worshippers 
 had to locate him elsewhere, and the 
 change of scene was a godsend, especially 
 as the atmosphere in the vicinity of his 
 old domicile was not what it used to be, 
 since somebody had started a cemetery 
 close by. The only persons who had a 
 right to grumble were the pilgrims coming 
 eastward from Pulk, for they had to walk 
 two weary miles further, and the way to 
 Urtava, whither the saint had been re- 
 moved, was all uphill and led through 
 clumps and undergrowths of prickly fir- 
 bushes. Perhaps it should be stated, 
 moreover, that the gleam of little Marinka's 
 white teeth was not seen for many a day 
 after.
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 
 
 God, oh make me strong of limb, 
 
 God, oh make me straight of mind ; 
 Save me from untoward whim, 
 
 Keep me conscious of my kind. 
 Teach me judge twixt sin and saint, 
 
 Not by faith of self-deceit, 
 Lest Thy taintless skies I taint 
 
 As I climb with bleeding feet. 
 
 Prayer of Reason. 
 
 I ^ H E parishioners all remarked upon it ; 
 
 X the cattle-dealers and hawkers that 
 came from the hamlets around on market 
 days, and took the opportunity of attending 
 mass or receiving absolutions, went away 
 shaking their heads ; and on their way 
 home the matter was discussed in all its 
 bearings. 
 
 " Aye, Father Stanislaus is very strange 
 in his ways, even stranger than when I 
 
 saw him last." 
 
 125
 
 126 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 " His wife's death, is beginning to tell 
 on him." 
 
 " Stupid one ; what wife ever sent her 
 husband crazy by dying ? " 
 
 " But remember he is a priest, and may 
 only marry once by the canons of the 
 Church." 
 
 " Then let him thank the canons of the 
 Church instead of his own good fortune. 
 When my first wife died, I wept for her ; 
 when my second died, I wept for the pig 
 which I had to kill for the funeral meal ; 
 and when my third died, I wept because 
 she had not left me a pig to kill. Women 
 are a plague to a thrifty man." 
 
 " What, did you also notice his eyes ? " 
 
 " Notice them ? why he nearly stabbed 
 me with them when he glanced at me for 
 an instant." 
 
 "And I could have sworn that at one 
 time he was watching the angels tuning 
 their violins, and at another old Cloven- 
 hoof beating his grandmother ; but when 
 he did which I cannot tell." 
 
 " That is nothing to what happened to 
 me. I asked him, ' How goes it in limb 
 and body, your reverence ? ' And at that 
 he groaned and beat his breast, and cried
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 127 
 
 ' peccavi,' as though it were a sin to be 
 reminded of the infirmities of the flesh." 
 
 " Perhaps let me whisper in your ear 
 perhaps he is about to abjure the faith 
 and turn Malakhan." 
 
 " Have a care over your tongue ! The 
 Malakhans do not believe in images, and 
 I distinctly saw him kiss the feet of the 
 Holy Mother seven times." 
 
 " Has it anything to do with his little 
 boy Wladislav ? Is the lad not turning out 
 well ? Poor little fellow, he looks wan and 
 thin ; I do not think there is much mis- 
 chief in his heart." 
 
 " No, and he has no honey-licking of it 
 since his mother died ; but after all it is 
 none of our business. Surely we have 
 enough to sweep in our own stables." 
 
 On Sundays after service there would 
 be more whisperings. 
 
 " Tell me, magister you who know all 
 the languages under the sun in what 
 tongue did the father preach this morn- 
 ing?" 
 
 " No language at all, neither Latin nor 
 Hebrew, but good gibberish of his own ; 
 and then there was not much in what he 
 said. He called himself names, saying 
 that he was a cesspool of sin and iniquity,
 
 128 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 and that for thirty miles round there was 
 not so much wickedness as lay in his one 
 little finger." 
 
 " And he said nothing about me, and 
 did not rate me soundly for my trans- 
 gressions ? Why do I pay him tithe if he 
 does not take me to task in his sermons ? 
 How can I, an honest man, go through 
 life with self-respect if I am not frequently 
 called scoundrel and orphan-spoiler ? " 
 
 " That may be as it is ; but certainly he 
 is most prodigal of self-reproach. I should 
 not be thankful for so keen a sense of my 
 failings, unless he lays claim to trespasses 
 of which he is guiltless, so as to get credit 
 for not having committed them." 
 
 " Ah, then he is a holy man and a 
 prudent one as well." 
 
 But Father Stanislaus was not actuated 
 by such mercenary motives. He had no 
 intention of coquetting with heaven. And 
 let the truth be known at once : there had 
 lately come upon him a strange desire to 
 qualify for a saint, not the imitation article 
 made of clay, but a full-fledged saint 
 whose attributes are pilgrimages and wax 
 tapers. The father was not afraid of 
 death it was a thing that happened only
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 129 
 
 once in every man's life ; but after death 
 came eternity, and that, from all accounts, 
 was a long-winded affair and went on 
 happening for ever. It might become 
 monotonous in the end without a more 
 definite occupation than beatified idleness. 
 A saint usually had his hands full ; there 
 was always a drought or a murrain or a 
 heart-broken lover to be looked after. Be- 
 sides, what scope was there not in the 
 matter of miracles ! And on this point 
 Father Stanislaus had some notions of his 
 own ; he would make all the other saints 
 look mere amateurs he would perform 
 miracles to which those of the Exodus 
 would be as skittles to pyramids ; and 
 thus would his memory be hallowed and 
 revered by all men. Saint Stanislaus 
 how pretty it sounded. 
 
 So he set about his sanctification in the 
 time-honoured way. He waited for the 
 Annunciation : that came in the shape of 
 Anushka's death. Not that people must, 
 as a rule, wait for their wives to die before 
 they can devote themselves wholly to 
 godliness, but it was the first important 
 event in his dull parochial life. It was 
 also a parallel to many instances of 
 10
 
 130 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 canonisation in which the sanctified were 
 God-forsaken heathens until domestic 
 bereavement chastened them and helped 
 them to quite a respectable place in the 
 Calendar. And this was what had 
 changed Father Stanislaus into the loose- 
 girded, straggling-limbed cassockman of 
 whom the parishioners spoke with mis- 
 givings ; and this was the cause of his 
 public self-humiliations, his antics of 
 asceticism, and all the other irregularities 
 of a man whose wits are overspun with 
 cobwebs. In the meantime the dirt 
 accumulated in the corners of his house, 
 the crevices in the walls grew wider, and 
 the straw hung in mildewy festoons across 
 the ceiling. 
 
 For all that little Wladislav loved his 
 father, and in the intervals of his idiosyn- 
 crasy his father loved him ; but there was 
 much bickering between the two when it 
 came to meal-times. Father Stanislaus 
 wished to ignore these, because they 
 reminded him that he was still subject to 
 human necessities ; and then little Wladi- 
 slav had to argue with him, and what 
 made him most eloquent was the fact that 
 his father kept the key of the pantry, and
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 131 
 
 without the pantry there could be no 
 dinner. 
 
 And possibly this abstinence had some- 
 thing to do with the fact that Father 
 Stanislaus was haunted by apparitions. 
 One night he sat up in his bed with a 
 start, and awoke little Wladislav, who 
 slept in a cot close by. 
 
 " Little son," he whispered, awestruck, 
 " come here and chase away the ghost 
 that stands looking at me from the foot of 
 the bed." 
 
 "Which ghost, father?" said the little 
 fellow, rubbing his eyes. 
 
 " There it stands, all white in its grave- 
 clothes quick, cast it out of doors ! " 
 
 " But, father, that is the clothes-rack 
 with your surplice on it." 
 
 "It was a ghost, I tell you. I shall not 
 wear that surplice any more ; some lost 
 soul has stood next to it." 
 
 On the third or fourth night after, little 
 Wladislav was again awakened. 
 
 " Softly," his father was saying ; " go 
 on tiptoe, so that they do not hear 
 you, and catch me one of those little 
 dwarfs." 
 
 " Little dwarfs ! " echoed Wladislav, in
 
 132 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 surprise. " I see no little dwarfs any- 
 where." 
 
 " Are you blind ? " said his father, 
 angrily. " Do you not see them clamber- 
 ing over the walls in thousands ? " 
 
 Wladislav looked hard, and saw little 
 shadows glancing up and down the 
 room. 
 
 " They are no dwarfs, father," he said 
 at length; "they are the leaves of the 
 apple-tree flickering outside in the moon- 
 
 light.- 
 
 But the third vision which Father 
 Stanislaus had he kept a secret ; and 
 indeed his little son would have found 
 some difficulty in explaining that away. 
 All at once the priest found himself 
 pursued by a scowling face with a pair 
 of wooden, staring eyes. He saw it upon 
 the pages of his psalter ; he saw it on the 
 church steeple, usurping the place of the 
 weathercock indeed it was everywhere. 
 The father had recourse to paroxysms of 
 devotion, but that, instead of banishing it, 
 made it only more obtrusive ; and there 
 it was, a veritable incubus that clung with 
 iron talons to his prayers, and prevented 
 them from flying up to heaven.
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 133 
 
 And yet when Father Stanislaus looked 
 at the length and breadth of the thing, 
 he found it was only what he had to 
 expect. These visions, as a rule, emanated 
 from the Tempter, who had been an 
 important ingredient in most cases of 
 authenticated sainthood. Evidently the 
 father's attempts were becoming serious 
 enough to call for interference, and that 
 was in itself a partial acknowledgment of 
 success. The worst of it was that this 
 necessitated a division of devotional 
 energy : one-half the prayers had to go 
 for the removal of the unwelcome familiar, 
 which meant so much time lost from the 
 main object in view. But the strange 
 thing was that day by day the uncanny 
 presence became more evident ; and 
 though Father Stanislaus pressed his 
 hands to his forehead till he nearly 
 squeezed his eyes from their sockets, and 
 though he swayed his body till it became 
 lithe as an acrobat's, the hateful face, with 
 its wooden, staring eyes, could not be 
 shaken off. Nay, it waxed and expanded 
 and eclipsed the horizon of his soul and 
 senses. And if this went on, his prospect 
 of saintdom would dwindle away to a
 
 134 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 peep-hole ; and when that too had closed 
 up there would be nothing but a dark 
 infinity of scowling face, with two staring 
 wooden eyes for constellations. 
 
 It was Pentecost morning, and Father 
 Stanislaus had woke up with a bad head- 
 ache ; it was not exactly a headache, but 
 his five senses seemed playing at leap-frog 
 inside his head, and a rough-and-tumble 
 crew they were. He had had another 
 vision, and now he sat pensively at the side 
 of his bed thinking it over. The scowling 
 face aforementioned had interviewed him 
 in his sleep and had suggested a compro- 
 mise ; not only that, but it had even 
 specified the terms in an offhand manner, 
 as though it did not wish to make a 
 bargain. But Father Stanislaus remem- 
 bered that there had been something in 
 these terms to make him bate and haggle, 
 that he had writhed in the grip of the 
 cold, staring eyes that had clutched and 
 grabbed till they had torn his heart out of 
 him at least, it could not be there any 
 more, for in the night he had felt it ache 
 very much when he had agreed to do 
 what was asked of him ; but now every- 
 thing was void and blank. And somehow
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 135 
 
 he felt glad of it, for thus it seemed he 
 was escaping some great agony. 
 
 Little Wladislav, for his part, had passed 
 a very good night, and now sat anxiously 
 by the small kitchen oven watching the 
 morning meal in preparation, and trying 
 to persuade himself, with indifferent 
 success, that he was not really so hungry 
 as he felt. He always had to deal very 
 diplomatically with his appetite in the 
 mornings, because his father commenced 
 the day by telling his beads for an hour 
 or two. In the daytime it was not so 
 bad ; he could drop in on the neigh- 
 bouring housewives and get a crust here 
 and a saucer of milk there ; but in the 
 morning they were busy making the beds 
 and getting the children ready for school, 
 so that visitors were not encouraged. 
 To-day, as it was a festival, he anticipated 
 a longer wait, because his father com- 
 memorated such occasions by a double 
 dose of devotion. So he was not a little 
 surprised to hear him descend swiftly the 
 creaky staircase and come straight across 
 the sitting-room into the kitchen. 
 
 " Make haste and eat," were his first 
 words. " We shall go over to Pirna,
 
 136 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 to bid your grandmother a merry holi- 
 day." 
 
 Wladislav looked up eagerly it was 
 too good to be believed. " To Pirna ? " 
 he repeated, to make sure his ears had 
 not deceived him. 
 
 "Yes, to Pirna why not to Pirna?" 
 said his father, fretfully. 
 
 Wladislav had no objection ; it was a 
 grand thing to go to granny's. He 
 had seen her only twice since they 
 carried his mother away in the black 
 box, for there had been no one to take 
 him, and grandmother herself could not 
 walk three steps without her crutches. 
 So he needed no further bidding. He 
 did not eat much, partly from excitement, 
 and partly because he wished to keep 
 himself hungry for the poppy-cake and 
 dried apples which he knew were in 
 store for him. In five minutes he was 
 ready. 
 
 " Shall I put on my beaver cap and 
 velvet doublet?" he asked, tugging eagerly 
 at his father's girdle, for otherwise it was 
 hard to attract his attention. 
 
 " There is no need," said the priest, 
 glancing hurriedly away from the little
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 137 
 
 face ; " you will be as welcome in your 
 workaday clothes." 
 
 Little Wladislav wondered ; he knew 
 grandmother would like to see him in all 
 his finery, for she had said the last time, 
 " When you come, always come spruce 
 and smart, for then it will make me feel as 
 though Anushka's hand had tended you." 
 However, he said nothing, and nimbly 
 followed his father into the street ; but as 
 they stepped over the threshold he looked 
 up wistfully and said : 
 
 " The garden door is open ; some one 
 will come and steal my spade and pick- 
 axe." 
 
 " You are a little fool ! People do not 
 thieve on holy-days." 
 
 Wladislav shrank back at the rough 
 tone, and kept silent for fear of irritating 
 his father, else the latter might change his 
 mind and give up the excursion. So he 
 ran on briskly to keep alongside of the 
 priest's lanky strides. 
 
 " A merry holiday, your reverence a 
 merry holiday, little Wladislav," met them 
 on every side. 
 
 " God's greeting to you, ' shouted 
 Wladislav, joyously, in reply; "we are
 
 138 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 going to Pirna to Granny's." He felt so 
 glad that he would have the whole world 
 know his happiness ; but he wondered 
 why his father did not answer these good 
 people. So he was twice as cordial to 
 make up for his sullenness, for he loved 
 his father, especially this morning, and he 
 wanted folks to think well of him. 
 
 They had come to the first milestone, 
 where the road branched. Wladislav was 
 skipping on in front he knew the way 
 when his father's voice stopped him. 
 
 " Follow to the left," he was saying 
 across his shoulder, without looking back. 
 
 Wladislav stopped in perplexity. Granny 
 lived on the road to the right ; by the left, 
 he knew, you came first to the pine forest, 
 where the shadows lay thick even in the 
 broadest daylight ; further on there were 
 ditches and a swamp, and beyond that 
 probably lay the end of the world. What 
 was the use of going there ? The other 
 road was quite straight and direct, and 
 already from the second milestone could 
 be seen Granny's cottage, looking like a 
 chalk cliff in the dazzling glory of its 
 whitewash, and blinking into the sunshine 
 with half-closed shutters. But Wladislav
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 139 
 
 had faith in his father, who, he was sure, 
 could reach a place sooner by a round- 
 about path than most people could by a 
 straight one ; but then he was so much 
 cleverer than everybody else. So he 
 made his little legs as long as possible, 
 breaking into a run till he had caught his 
 father up. Soon the road on the right 
 was lost to view, and the air grew strong 
 and intoxicating with the heavy smell of 
 the pinewood. The sun stopped reluc- 
 tantly on the skirts of the forest, watching 
 them enviously penetrate into the cool, 
 dew-soaked glades. Little Wladislav took 
 his father's hand, and as he touched it he 
 felt it give a twitch as though it had been 
 seared with hot iron ; nor did it close over 
 his own hand with that reassuring grip he 
 liked to feel on occasions when his heart 
 beat as loud and as fast as it did now. 
 And the greater the stillness, the louder 
 grew the thumping noise in his chest ; he 
 could not even look up to his father's face, 
 for fear of tripping over the gnarled roots 
 and amputated stumps. It had now got 
 very still, till suddenly a clap of thunder 
 broke on his ear but no, it was only his 
 father speaking.
 
 140 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 "Little son," he said, "do you remember 
 the time when I first taught you your 
 letters ? " 
 
 "Yes, father," gasped Wladislav, in 
 wonder at the strange question and the 
 strange tone. 
 
 " What was the story I first taught you 
 to read ? " went on the strange voice. 
 
 "It was about a wicked man Abraham, 
 who would have slain his poor little 
 Isaac only God sent a ram instead," 
 Wladislav answered pat. "It is wicked 
 for people to kill their little sons, is it not, 
 father ? " 
 
 " Not when it is in the cause of 
 God," came the answer, sullenly and 
 tardily. 
 
 " More likely it would be the cause of 
 
 the " broke from Wladislav ; but he 
 
 stopped short in affright, and looked 
 around him shrinkingly. He dared not 
 utter the name amidst these desolate 
 places he did not know who might be 
 listening behind the trees, and he wished 
 they were at Granny's, where a crucifix 
 hung on every wall. 
 
 " Let us go faster, father ; we shall be 
 late," he ended up with instead.
 
 THE ASCENT INTO HEAVEN 141 
 
 But for answer his father came suddenly 
 to a standstill. What was the good of 
 going farther? He could not get away 
 from the dread task that lay before him, 
 and why not get done with it here ? 
 Everything was so dark and gloomy, 
 and the matter in hand needed no super- 
 abundance of light. And just then 
 Wladislav looked up, saw the hard, 
 glittering thing in his father's hand, and 
 shrieked : 
 
 " What would you do with the knife, 
 father ? " 
 
 " I am going to play at Abraham, and 
 you at Isaac," came the answer, almost 
 sobbingly, from the priest's lips. " Nay, 
 do not seek to escape, little son you 
 must die ; I have promised it in the 
 vision, for unless I sacrificed my dearest 
 it would never leave me, and I could not 
 become a saint. Quick ! say a pater- 
 noster " 
 
 " I shall not run away, father," whispered 
 Wladislav, with trembling lips. " I was 
 just peering through the trees if perchance 
 the ram was there. Look, father you 
 are so tall look hard through the trees. 
 Has not God sent the ram ? "
 
 H2 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Father Stanislaus looked right and left, 
 and on each side he was fenced in by a 
 scowling face with staring, wooden eyes ; 
 and at the sight he felt the hard, glittering 
 thing in his hand become alive, and it 
 writhed and darted till it had forced its 
 way into the soft flesh again and again. 
 
 And this was the Ascension of Father 
 Stanislaus. 
 
 Granny sat all day at the window, look- 
 ing out anxiously. 
 
 "If only Anushka were alive," she 
 muttered, shaking her head sorrowfully.
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF 
 BONDAGE 
 
 Though the mouth of the well in the passing of time 
 Be clogged by the clambering weeds as they climb, 
 Who knows but beneath, all undreamt-of, unseen, 
 Its waters as erstwhile leap limpid and clean ? 
 
 "AN inn, you inquire for, good sir? 
 JL~\. and that upon the eve of the Pass- 
 over ? How come you to be on your 
 travelling during the festival ? " 
 
 " I miscalculated the distance, for I 
 thought to be at Vikulno ere dark." 
 
 "It's two hours further, and the roads 
 are difficult ; therefore come with me. 
 The other masters of houses doubtless 
 passed you by when they chose their 
 strangers because you do not carry the 
 air of a would-be guest, either in your 
 aspect or in your garb ; and thus you 
 must be content with me." 
 
 " I thank you, but I need no charity,
 
 144 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 and require no service without payment. 
 I have set my heart on the inn." 
 
 "Then you must come with me perforce 
 there is no hostel in the town, so that 
 travellers quarter with whoever receives 
 them ; and no one shall say that 
 Nachemyah Turok showed unmindful of 
 the precept concerning the stranger in 
 the gate. Nor let us talk of money 
 and payment upon a holy-day. Is this 
 not the season when we say, < This is 
 the bread he who is without, let him sit 
 down and eat ' ? ' 
 
 There could be no mistaking the cor- 
 diality with which the old man urged the 
 younger to give him his company. The 
 two were standing by the doorway of 
 the synagogue, that was already wrapped 
 in gloom, for the evening service was over 
 and each man had hurried home to inaugu- 
 rate the festival in the midst of his own. 
 
 " Let us not delay any longer," went on 
 Nachemyah ; " Hagar, my wife, will be 
 anxious." 
 
 " Do not think me surly," said the 
 stranger ; "I would come gladly, but I 
 do not care to witness the light of joyous 
 faces and listen to their laughter. I prefer
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 145 
 
 sitting in the abode of wayfarers like my- 
 self, where one knows not the other, and 
 where sadness of mien and silence of 
 speech concerns not your neighbour and 
 affords no comment." 
 
 " Then you may rest assured," answered 
 Nachemyah ; " think not you are going to 
 a house where there are many faces and 
 much laughter. It is a house of solitude 
 wherein dwell I and my wife Hagar ; and 
 if your heart is not in joyous mood it shall 
 be not so much out of keeping with the 
 rest. Let us go faster, pray ; my house 
 stands the last in the town, for that thou 
 mayest know it I am the guardian of the 
 graveyard." 
 
 And so the two walked on in silence. 
 
 "It is in no auspicious time that you 
 have come to sojourn in these parts," 
 said Nachemyah after a while. " There 
 have arrived tidings that the hearts of the 
 rulers are ill-affected towards our brethren, 
 and there has been maltreatment and mis- 
 handling of them in places not so far hence. 
 At Olnitzk they have burned the house of 
 prayer, at Ramant they have pillaged the 
 dwellings, and in other towns they have 
 cast children and bedridden women into 
 ii
 
 146 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 the streets at night-time. Nor is that the 
 worst they have done I will not defile 
 my mouth with the utterance. Grant God 
 the evil may not come nearer our own 
 doors." 
 
 " I have seen the sights you speak of," 
 said his companion, "and I did not care 
 to look twice. But I have not come to 
 sojourn here. Rarely it is that I make 
 my stay long in any one place, for my 
 heart is ever dragging me hither and 
 thither so that I can find no resting-place. 
 And it is chiefly at this time of the year 
 that the feeling is strongest upon me, and 
 I would wander to the ends of the earth, 
 seeking a home and kith and kin. - But one 
 does not find them for the mere seeking 
 these things are in the hand of God." 
 
 " You are young to have lost all your 
 kindred," said Nachemyah. 
 
 " I did not lose them I do not remem- 
 ber when I had them to lose. I have 
 abided amidst strangers but what am I 
 telling you ? Your wife will scold you 
 hard to have brought for her table-fellow 
 a mouther of lamentations, and that on a 
 festival when we should serve God by 
 merriment."
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 147 
 
 They had come to the outskirts of the 
 town, and Nachemyah pointed to the 
 bright glittering windows of his house. 
 
 " I have brought thee a guest, Hagar," 
 he said, entering ; " one only, not two as 
 thou didst ask me, so that for once we 
 might have the full number for saying 
 grace. But there were no others left ; 
 the rich have ever the preference of means 
 to find favour in God's eyes but let us be 
 thankful for one." 
 
 " Blessed be your coming, my son," said 
 the woman, and her glance was as kindly 
 as her words. It did not happen too often 
 that their lonely meal was shared by a 
 third, and another face would give a more 
 homely look to the dreary, straggling 
 chamber. It would also make her feel 
 bolder, for despite her long association 
 with the burial-ground she still was a little 
 afraid of it after dark. Each time she 
 passed the window she could see it 
 grinning at her with its long white teeth, 
 for such, by a trick of her fancy, appeared 
 to her the tombstones of gleaming chalk. 
 And, again, she did not like the clattering 
 sound that came from there on gusty nights 
 like this one ; of course she knew that
 
 H8 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 it was only the rackety old wood-tablet 
 with the mourner's blessing daubed on it, 
 but it might how could she tell ? be 
 also the rattling of the skeletons in their 
 coffins. But with the stranger's presence 
 a wonderful assurance had come over her ; 
 for to-night at least she was certain that 
 tombstones would be tombstones, and the 
 crazy wooden board would bring no sug- 
 gestion of the dead playing at skittles with 
 their bones. 
 
 " Who are you, and whence come you ? " 
 she said. " Be not angry at my question ; 
 it is but courteous to inquire of the guest, 
 lest he think he is asked to sit at table as 
 though he were a stray dog of whose 
 comings and goings no count is taken." 
 And there was a softness in her words 
 that made the stranger feel they were half 
 a benediction. 
 
 " I have come lately from Biastotzk ; 
 but I am known in the parts beyond for 
 an expounder of the Holy Writ, and my 
 name is not unfamiliar to the ears of those 
 that dwell there. Do not think me a 
 braggart, but these things are such, and I 
 cannot say otherwise." 
 
 " Nachemyah, in a good hour didst thou
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 149 
 
 go to the synagogue," said Hagar. " I 
 doubt if any of the well-to-do of the town 
 are honoured as we are this night, for the 
 learned in the Law are the crown of Israel. 
 Nachemyah, thou shalt be a king in good 
 earnest this evening, for thou hast a crown 
 in thy house. And at last my heart's 
 desire is granted ; long have I wished for 
 such an one as you," and she turned to the 
 stranger, " to make clear to me the difficult 
 places of the Hagada that have harassed 
 my mind these many years ; and be not 
 vexed if I pester you with many questions, 
 but answer them. What name shall I 
 give to you, my son ? " 
 
 " Avromelya I am called," said the 
 stranger, and a blush of modesty came 
 over his face at Hagar's garrulous praise. 
 And at the mention of his name he saw 
 his host and hostess dart a quick glance at 
 each other, and immediately the woman's 
 face became drawn with pain. 
 
 And Nachemyah, as though to give a 
 different turn to their thoughts, said, 
 speaking very fast, " Long of tongue thou 
 art, like all women there thou standest 
 prating of many things while our guest's 
 heart may be aching with hunger and
 
 150 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 weariness ; what manner of entertainment 
 dost thou call this ? " 
 
 At the rebuke Hagar cast down her 
 eyes, and went quickly to the bedchamber 
 to fetch the pillows whereon her husband 
 was to recline like a king on his divan ; 
 for on this night every Hebrew is a sove- 
 reign in his house, and he may couch at 
 table, leaning on his elbow in token of 
 his freedom. Thus would he spite the 
 Egyptian, who presumed to trammel him 
 with the yoke of slavery, and Pharaoh no 
 doubt would turn in his grave at the insult. 
 
 And then the ceremony went apace. 
 Nachemyah consulted his patriarchal 
 prayer-book for the regulations and ordi- 
 nances that affect the arrangement of the 
 various accessories of the paschal table. 
 He had done so each Passover for thirty 
 years past, and still he did not remember 
 whether the roasted egg was to stand to 
 the right or left of the heap of unleavened 
 bread ; and whether the bitter herbs had 
 their place over or under the spice mixture 
 that was the colour and stood for the 
 emblem of the loam in which the children 
 of Israel had worked. And the scorched 
 mutton-bone, which, according to tradi-
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 151 
 
 tion, was there to make mockery of the 
 Mizraim's worship of the beasts of the field, 
 gave its usual deal of trouble in locating it. 
 And at last everything stood in its place, 
 and Nachemyah said, keeping his eyes on 
 the page : 
 
 " Avromelya if I may call you thus 
 you are the youngest of the party, do 
 you ask the Question." 
 
 At that Avromelya seemed to remind 
 himself of something. " Have ye no 
 children ? " he asked. And it puzzled him 
 a little to hear both husband and wife 
 answer in the same breath and in the 
 same tone : 
 
 " No, we are childless God has given 
 us no offspring." 
 
 And then the young man did as he was 
 bidden, and began the recital of the cate- 
 chism wherein, by question and answer, 
 Israel repeats to itself the assurance of its 
 deliverance, heedless of the bitter irony ; 
 for where is the truth, where is the con- 
 summation of what it so triumphantly im- 
 plies ? But form is form, be there reality 
 or not. And so Avromelya read : "Why 
 is this night different to all other nights ? " 
 And as he dwelt on each word lovingly
 
 152 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 and reverently, Hagar watched his lips 
 move, and a feeling came over her that 
 she must reach out her arms and draw his 
 head to her bosom. Nachemyah listened 
 solemnly, and when it was finished he did 
 not immediately follow on the cue with, 
 " Slaves we were unto Pharaoh, until the 
 Lord led us forth with a strong hand and 
 an outstretched arm," but sat on dreaming, 
 so that Avromelya looked up wonderingly 
 at the silence, and Nachemyah fell to it 
 shamefacedly, as though he had been 
 detected in some misdoing. And then the 
 two men read on quickly, because they 
 remembered it all by heart, and Hagar 
 dragged after them painfully, for the words 
 were hard to spell, and her heart was 
 full of other memories. Suddenly she 
 stopped and lifted her head. 
 
 " Heard ye nothing ?" she said. 
 
 "No, I heard nothing do not interrupt 
 the reading," said Nachemyah, severely, 
 and the droning of the voices went on. 
 But after a minute or two Hagar leapt up 
 with her hand to her heart. 
 
 " Heard ye not the strange hollow 
 sound that comes floating from the 
 streets ? " she asked, anxiously.
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 153 
 
 " I heard a low rumbling, but it is only 
 a clod of earth rolling into an open grave," 
 said Nachemyah, and looked reproof at 
 her. 
 
 " I thought it came from the town side, 
 not from the graveyard," ventured Avro- 
 melya ; "and now indeed I can hear it 
 more plainly, for my ears are younger than 
 yours a deep, confused hum, as of many 
 voices in turmoil." 
 
 " Perhaps a fire has broken out," said 
 Nachemyah. 
 
 "It cannot be, or we should have heard 
 the tocsin boom," said Hagar. 
 
 But Avromelya rose up quietly, and 
 going to the door he opened it. " There 
 is no redness in the sky," he said across 
 his shoulder. And then there surged in 
 the subdued murmur of a multitude when 
 it is swayed by a great emotion. And at 
 last there could be no mistaking the sounds 
 of lamentation and the cries of terror ; for 
 the tumult waxed and rose higher and 
 higher. Avromelya came back still more 
 quietly, and his face was very white. 
 
 " It is the rioters the town is doomed," 
 he said, under his breath. 
 
 But Hagar caught the words, and clasp-
 
 154 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 ing her hands she gasped, " Oh, thou dear 
 God, save us from destruction, and turn 
 not Thy face from us in the hour of our 
 peril ! Nachemyah, quick, let me blow 
 out the candles ; it is lawful to do so even 
 on a Sabbath when there is danger of life. 
 In the darkness we may creep away and 
 escape." 
 
 But Nachemyah sat there immovably, 
 and at his wife's words he lifted his eyes 
 to hers slowly. 
 
 " Art thou not ashamed," he said " thou 
 that makest pretence of so much piety in 
 thy ways ; art thou not ashamed to think 
 thou couldst turn aside God's purpose by 
 the quenching of a rushlight ? And if our 
 destiny is upon us, shall it reach us less 
 surely because we shirk it in the shadow 
 of the darkness ? Sit down, and rather 
 thank God that our abode is at a distance 
 from the others, for thus we shall have 
 time to finish the service of the night. 
 Where did we leave off, Avromelya ? 
 Unless " and the thought came to him 
 suddenly " you wish to escape betimes ; 
 for what is our peril to you ? Therefore 
 go your way." 
 
 " Like a sheep that runs from the flock
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 155 
 
 because the shearer is coming ? " said 
 Avromelya. " But how can you tell ? 
 I am a stranger to you, and you 
 have no knowledge of- my nature. I 
 shall stay to the end. Let us read 
 on." 
 
 And then the two men continued with 
 flying breath, while Hagar sat shaking 
 and listening as though every pore of her 
 body were an ear. And the uproar came 
 nearer and nearer, till they could distin- 
 guish single voices. 
 
 "That was Lesser Sundra's shout; they 
 must be doing him some hurt, or he would 
 not bellow thus like a bull," moaned 
 Hagar, tremblingly. " Oh ! what will 
 become of us ? " 
 
 The two men made no answer ; they 
 had come to the pouring out of the fourth 
 glass of wine according to the prescribed 
 number, and, after one or two attempts, 
 Nachemyah handed the bottle to Avro- 
 melya, saying : 
 
 " Do you the pouring your sinews are 
 stronger than mine." And now they had 
 come to the tale of the lamb that was 
 bought for six groats, which traces the 
 history of Israel through the list of his
 
 156 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 persecutors right up to the hands of God, 
 the avenger ; and as the last words were 
 uttered there came the stamping of heavy 
 footsteps, and with a thud the door fell 
 splintered from its hinges. Hagar buried 
 her face in her hands, and the two men 
 stood gazing wild-eyed at the comers. 
 And as they sprang into the room, beetle- 
 browed, straggling-haired, sheepskin cap 
 and all, they could hardly be called a 
 pretty sight. They were mujiks peasants 
 all the three of them, and they had 
 been asked to lend a hand in the work of 
 the night ; and to the mujik no work is so 
 much a labour of love as a Jews' hunt. 
 But, whatever else it had been in their 
 mind to do, no sooner had they entered, 
 when they stopped short, and, stepping 
 back a pace or two, gave a long, lingering 
 stare at Avromelya. And for a moment 
 there was a silence of death in the 
 chamber ; but then the intruders turned 
 to one another and burst into a laugh, 
 like the laugh of men who have been 
 frightened by a shadow and laugh them- 
 selves to shame for their folly. 
 
 " Didst thou not think my thought, 
 Karol ? " said the first. "Thy thought
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 157 
 
 was : ' We left him but an instant ago, 
 and here he stands facing us.' ' 
 
 " Be careful, Stephan," said the other. 
 " Go not too near ; it may be the Fiend. 
 Nothing is impossible with these cursed 
 Jew-folk ; there is no reason why the 
 devil should not come to visit them, and 
 why the devil should not look like a 
 commissioner of police. But we shall 
 soon see." 
 
 And he stretched out his arms in the 
 manner of a cross, while the others did 
 likewise, and advanced straight on Avro- 
 melya, who did not know what to make 
 of it. 
 
 " He has stood the test," said Stephan, 
 "and therefore he cannot be the Evil 
 One, and we have wasted a reverence. 
 Ought it not to be that a Jew should fall 
 dead each time one makes the sign of the 
 cross ? " And then, turning to those at 
 the table, he went on, " Why do you stand 
 there gaping, you god-slaying heretics ? 
 Why do you not thank Providence that 
 has sent you three true believers to make 
 vain your wicked rites and incantations, 
 so that you lay up for yourselves less 
 torment in hell ? "
 
 158 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 And striding up to the table, he sur- 
 veyed the eatables on it. 
 
 " Look at the provision they have made 
 for their honoured visitors," he jeered ; 
 "and that in return for the glad tidings 
 we bring may no one bring them better 
 to the day of their death. Well, I am 
 going to have my supper while we wait 
 for the commissioner." And with one 
 blow he sent Hagar staggering to the 
 other end of the room, and seated himself 
 in her place. The other two peasants 
 stood looking on, laughing at Stephan's 
 antics. 
 
 " No, I will not eat of your dishes ; 
 there may be poison in them, or human 
 blood at the least. Here is honest Chris- 
 tian food." And from his knapsack he 
 took a loaf of barley bread and a hunch 
 of swine flesh, and laid them on the 
 platter ; and Hagar, as she saw it, wrung 
 her hands at the defilement and Nache- 
 myah ground his teeth in impotence. 
 And while Stephan was eating, Karol 
 and the other one came up, and Karol 
 took one of the unleavened cakes ; and 
 as he bit into it he made a wry mouth, 
 and spat the morsel upon the floor.
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 159 
 
 "And this is what you feed on, you 
 mongrels ? " he cried. " Baked sawdust, 
 into which you have been too niggardly 
 to put salt. Poor creatures ! Say, Stephan, 
 would it not be true charity to give them 
 some of that excellent Ruzzavana bread 
 of thine, lest their souls should go out of 
 them with their self-castigation ? " 
 
 "Thou hast reminded me well," said 
 Stephan, jumping up ; and, cutting a slice 
 from his loaf, he went up to Nachemyah, 
 who cowered back and lifted his tunic 
 over his head at the ruffian's coming. But 
 Stephan rudely gripped it, so that it was 
 torn down to the middle ; and, forcing 
 down the old man's arm, he held the 
 forbidden leaven before his face. And 
 Hagar shrieked aloud, as she saw Nache- 
 myah 's struggles and heard his agonised 
 wail, "Have mercy on me! kill me! 
 but do not make me transgress the 
 commandment. " 
 
 But Avromelya, who had stood there 
 chafing all the time, could bear it no 
 longer, and seizing Stephan with tight 
 grip, he hurled him upon his haunches 
 into the middle of the room. At that 
 the other two rushed upon him and bore
 
 160 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 him down ; and when Stephan had 
 gathered himself up again he came and 
 knelt on Avromelya's chest, clutching his 
 neck with both his hands. But that did 
 not suffice him ; so, looking about the 
 room, he saw an iron tripod in the corner, 
 and when Karol had handed it to him he 
 set it down with the bottom uppermost, 
 so that its feet stood out like prongs, 
 and crashed Avromelya's head against it 
 heavily ; and the tripod made a good 
 battering-block, for it was harder than 
 the flooring, which was of caked turf. 
 And no one could tell what would 
 eventually have become of Avromelya's 
 head, had not the ring of spurs been 
 heard outside and Karol had dragged 
 his comrade forcibly from off his victim. 
 
 " Have done the commissioner comes," 
 he whispered. 
 
 And no sooner had Stephan got to his 
 feet than there stepped into the room a 
 man, young in years, but upon whose 
 forehead were written large command and 
 authority ; and as he cast his eyes about 
 and saw the signs of the commotion, he 
 said sternly : 
 
 "There has been violence here; did I
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 161 
 
 not tell you no one should be touched 
 unless resistance was offered ? " 
 
 "They did resist," said Stephan, sullenly. 
 " I would give the old man of my bread, 
 to make him strong for his pilgrimage, 
 and then the young one here came and laid 
 violent hands on me, your honour's ser- 
 vant ; and for that I have chastised him." 
 
 And only then the new-comer became 
 aware of the prostrate form of Avromelya 
 where he lay half stunned. So, going over 
 to him, he shook him by the shoulder. 
 
 " Get up, my good fellow ; this is no 
 time for lying at thy ease. Thou hast a 
 long journey before thee, for thou and all 
 thy folks must leave this town within the 
 hour, and there is no escape. The rescript 
 has arrived." Here he suddenly stopped 
 short, and, bending low, he scanned Avro- 
 melya's features closely 
 
 " By the clank of my scabbard," he 
 cried, straightening himself, " this is won- 
 derful ! " And he took one of the candles 
 from the table and held it close to the 
 still face. 
 
 "It is indeed wonderful," said Karol, 
 coming to his side; "the Jew-dog has 
 stolen your honour's face, and will sneak 
 12
 
 162 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 into heaven pretending he is you. These 
 Jews would cheat God Himself if they 
 could." 
 
 But the commissioner was still standing 
 in wonder ; and indeed it was a thing to 
 marvel at to see how the two men were 
 like to one another, feature by feature 
 and line by line. 
 
 " The Jew has fainted," he said ; " give 
 me some wine for him." And at the same 
 time he began to unfasten Avromelya's 
 doublet. And when he saw Stephan's 
 finger-marks on the throat, he said, angrily : 
 "You have throttled him between you 
 curses on your murderous hands." For 
 he felt as if he saw his own corpse lying 
 before him. But just then Avromelya 
 gave a little gasp and opened his eyes ; 
 and just then, too, the commissioner 
 caught sight of the string of catgut that 
 was tied round his neck, and to the 
 catgut there hung an onyx stone, pure of 
 colour and oblong ot shape. And at 
 view of it he lifted his hands to his 
 forehead, for he felt the sweat starting 
 upon it. 
 
 " I cannot understand this," he said, 
 half aloud. " This is yet more wonderful.
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 163 
 
 The very thing I have been looking for, 
 and here I find it about the neck of a 
 Jew. My good fellow, I am no robber ; 
 thou must give me this, and I will give 
 thee its value in money. For it matches 
 mine, and Fanushka, my little mistress, 
 has been harassing me into grey hairs to 
 find her another for a pair of pendants. 
 Give it to me ; the money will come thee 
 in good stead on thy journey." 
 
 Stephan and Karol looked on in angry 
 surprise. Bandy words with a Jew ? That 
 was setting a bad example. The Jew was 
 the common quarry of everybody, to de- 
 spoil at pleasure ; the idea of compensation 
 was absurd. But they looked at the 
 commissioner and kept their thoughts to 
 themselves. 
 
 Avromelya held tight to the trinket 
 with all the strength of his feeble hand, 
 and murmured, " Do not take it from me, 
 good sir. Have compassion ; it is what 
 I hold dearest of all the world. It is to 
 me the memory of a home I never knew, 
 of parents whose face I have never kissed, 
 and upon it I set all my hope of happiness 
 that is to befall me. Take whatever else 
 I possess, though I am a poor man, but
 
 1 64 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 leave me this that is at once my poverty 
 and my wealth. 
 
 All during this Hagar had crouched in 
 her corner listening eagerly to the talk of 
 the men ; but she understood little of it, 
 for they spoke in Russian. Then by the 
 flash of the candlelight she saw the agate 
 round Avromelya's neck, and at the sight 
 a flash of mingled joy and terror glanced 
 through her heart. And, stealthily creep- 
 ing up to where he lay, she flung herself 
 upon him, and, taking the stone in her 
 hands, she cried, wildly : 
 
 "Oh, to think that my prayers and 
 midnight weepings have been of avail ! 
 Thou hast then come back to me after 
 many years of waiting, O my But let 
 me talk and tell thee everything, so that, 
 hearing, thou mayest believe." And then 
 her speech flowed forth in a cataract of 
 words. " Many years ago I had two 
 children that were born within the same 
 hour, and the face of one was the face 
 of the other, like and similaj as are the 
 stars of heaven. And lest the two should 
 be confounded and we should forget who 
 is the eldest, so that he might observe the 
 fast of the firstborn and be the first to be
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 165 
 
 called up to the reading of the Law, I 
 took two agate stones that my mother 
 gave me from her necklet ; and on one 
 I had engraved the letter Aleph and on 
 the second the letter Beth, and hung the 
 first round the neck of the elder and 
 the second round the younger. And 
 look if it is not as I speak here is the 
 Aleph upon the stone. And when they 
 were six years old God was angry with 
 us, and took away our children. For it 
 was upon the day preceding the Passover, 
 when Nachemyah had gone across country, 
 and I had run to the burning-place to burn 
 the leaven-offering the ladle and the 
 bread-crumbs and the candle and the 
 feather ; and I had left the little ones 
 playing outside the door. And when I 
 returned and looked for them they had 
 vanished. Then I ran weeping to the 
 neighbours, and they told me that a pair 
 of Cossacks had passed through the town 
 in the direction of my house. And then 
 I knew my fate ; and presently the town 
 shepherd came to me and said he had 
 seen my two children, each on the saddle 
 of one rider, and that when they had 
 come to the crossway the two had sepa-
 
 1 66 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 rated, and the one rider went one way 
 and his fellow the other. And the name 
 of the elder child was Avromelya, like 
 thine. And all this is true as the Word 
 of God. Oh, Nachemyah ! why dost thou 
 stand mute, like a block of stone ? Why 
 dost thou not speak and bear me out, 
 and protest and swear by thy life in the 
 World-to-come that this is as I have 
 said ? " 
 
 But Nachemyah had been standing all 
 the while staring blankly from Avromelya 
 to the commissioner, and when he beheld 
 the agate his senses turned like a whirl- 
 pool. 
 
 "Why should I swear, Hagar?" he 
 said at last. " If all thy tokens bring no 
 belief to his heart, and if the voice of his 
 mother as she soothed him to sleep with 
 her lullaby ring not in his ears, what can 
 I, even I, say to convince him ? " 
 
 " But I would be convinced I would 
 believe gladly," said Avromelya, eagerly ; 
 "and yet why did you tell me before, 
 when I asked, that you had been ever 
 childless ? " 
 
 "It was the vow we had taken to one 
 another," said Hagar, " never to speak
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 167 
 
 of our children that were, and to make 
 belief that God had given us none ; for 
 our two hearts were breaking with the 
 woe, and if the heart of one broke before 
 the other, what would be the life of the 
 one remaining ? " 
 
 Then Avromelya sat himself up, and 
 said thoughtfully : " This is what I re- 
 member, how I came to the house of a 
 teacher of the Law a solitary man. And 
 I abided with him, and he called me son 
 and I called him father. But on his 
 deathbed he told me that he had found 
 me by the roadside, and had brought me 
 up for his own ; and he urged me to go 
 and seek my parents, and to hold by the 
 amulet because it might serve for a recog- 
 nition. And that is why I wander, not 
 finding rest anywhere, and why ever at 
 this season of the year my feet have wings 
 and cannot abide in one place. Am I not 
 to believe you ? Am I not to believe my 
 own heart, that has cast forth its demon of 
 unrest ever since I entered this dwelling ? 
 Come father, mother come ! " And he 
 stretched out an arm about each, and 
 their heads and lips were close together. 
 
 The commissioner stood looking on and
 
 i68 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 wondered. He could not make out how 
 it was that he, a true Slav of purest race, 
 who spoke the language of the country 
 and none other, should understand the 
 strange talk of these strange people. And 
 yet of all that had been said not a word 
 had escaped his comprehension. A son 
 had strayed back to the house of his 
 parents, and the mother had set aside 
 all doubt by her story. What was that 
 recollection from the buried past that 
 had made him understand ? What was 
 the instinct that had haunted him all his 
 life, and the dim uncertainty that had 
 made him so often clench his hands in 
 his hopeless search for light and clear- 
 ness ? Perhaps here was the revelation 
 Long, long ago he remembered certain 
 people had asked him a certain question, 
 and he had answered " Naphtali." And 
 then they had beaten him, and told him 
 that he was to answer " Kyriloff," not 
 " Naphtali " ; and how he had lain awake 
 at night repeating the name, lest he should 
 answer " Naphtali " when he was ques- 
 tioned and be beaten again. Here he 
 was Ivan Kyriloff; but what had be- 
 come of the Naphtali ? The memory of
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 169 
 
 the name clung to him and came as a 
 voice from another life. These people 
 here had bred great prophets in their 
 race, and perhaps they would tell him. 
 
 "Wait for me outside, and do not enter 
 before I call you," he said to the three 
 myrmidons, who had eyed the scene in 
 blank amazement. And when the door 
 had closed behind them, he said (and his 
 lips shaped themselves unconsciously to 
 the strange tongue he had just heard) : 
 
 " What means Naphtali ? " 
 
 At the question Hagar turned round, 
 and only then and for the first time she 
 saw the likeness ; and when she heard the 
 name she turned white, and would have 
 fallen but for Avromelya's arm. 
 
 " Naphtali means my second son," she 
 gasped ; and then an inspiration came 
 over her the inspiration of every mother, 
 brute or human, and pointing to him 
 solemnly, she said: "Thou art he God 
 has told me." And at the answer the 
 questioner took a step forward, and bowed 
 his head as though he would ask for her 
 blessing. And suddenly he put his hand 
 in his pocket and took out the agate, 
 which he had possessed he could not
 
 i;o A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 remember how long ; and he thought of 
 the unaccountable jealousy he had felt 
 each time Fanushka's dainty fingers had 
 toyed with it, and the puzzled perplexity 
 each time she had asked him the meaning 
 of the mystic symbol scratched upon it. 
 But now he could read it quite easily 
 it was Beth, the letter shaped like a 
 house ; and here they stood before him, 
 his flesh and blood, his father, mother, 
 and twin-brother, the living voices that 
 had called to him from the dead past. 
 And without stood the ruthless horde 
 that was to uproot them from the soil 
 of their birth and drive them homeless 
 out into the unknown wilderness ; and he 
 could do nothing. But no, he could do 
 a great deal. 
 
 "Will you take me for your son and 
 brother ? " he asked, with glistening eyes. 
 " Will you take me, the apostate, the 
 baptised, who has grown up among your 
 adversaries and has hated you with their 
 hatred ? You shall teach me again your 
 ways that I have forgotten, and I shall 
 share with you through good and evil 
 only do not make me an outcast for 
 ever."
 
 OUT OF THE LAND OF BONDAGE 171 
 
 There was a long silence, and then 
 Nachemyah went and took his outstretched 
 hand ; and looking hungrily into his eyes, 
 he said : 
 
 " My son thou art, wert, and shalt be 
 evermore, although all the sins of Satan 
 be fastened upon thy head. But bethink 
 thee what couldst thou not do if thou 
 wert to remain here among thy suffering 
 brothers and in a little way avert their 
 evils ? Is it not more fitting thou shouldst 
 stay here and be their shield ? " 
 
 But Naphtali shook his head, and said, 
 mournfully : " No, I could not stay here 
 knowing what I know, and seeing what 
 I see ; for my heart might bleed itself 
 to death at the sight, and when it is dead 
 I should be pitiless like the rest save 
 them from me, and me from myself." 
 
 "Then come, in God's name," said 
 Nachemyah. 
 
 Naphtali went to the door, and open- 
 ing it, he told the men outside : " You 
 need wait no longer ; go and help the 
 others, but tell them upon their lives to 
 deal gently. As for me, I shall convey 
 these people to Vikulno to the ecclesiastic 
 court, for the woman has accused the
 
 1/2 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 men of unholy rites -they shall be my 
 charge. ' 
 
 And when he had watched them out of 
 sight he came back. 
 
 "Quickly," he said, "get together what- 
 ever you may carry in your hands ; and 
 here I have a blank passport that will give 
 us unconditional passage wherever we go. 
 At Vikulno I shall claim from the bankers 
 the three thousand roubles of my savings 
 to furnish us for our journey ; and for 
 the rest, I and Avromelya have two 
 pair of strong arms to keep us all from 
 want and God will help. And now come 
 let us go to the countries across the sea 
 where there is liberty and where men do 
 not rend their fellows from narrowness of 
 heart. Come, father, mother, brother 
 let us go hence, out of the land of 
 bondage ! "
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 
 
 " I "HE words of Rabbi Elchanan, the 
 X son of Aaron the Levite, unto 
 Riffka, daughter of Baruch the Scribe : 
 Peace and greeting unto thee, oh bride 
 of my youth, mainstay of my manhood, 
 comforter of my old age. Whereas Leyb 
 Tchariner thy kinsman has handed to me 
 a letter written at thy dictate and over thy 
 name for thou art thyself no expert in 
 penmanship, despite the cunning of thy 
 father what says the proverb? "The 
 children of shoemakers go barefoot " 
 the letter, wherein thou inquires! con- 
 cerning me and makest great lamentation 
 that since the day I set foot from our 
 threshold no tidings have reached thee 
 of my wellbeing. And at sight and 
 perusal thereof my soul lifted her hands 
 in repentance. For as thou sayest, it is 
 truly spoken : seven portions of the Law 
 
 173
 
 174 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 have been read, and on the coming 
 Sabbath shall be uttered the third Bene- 
 diction of the New Moon since what 
 time I started forth to sojourn amongst 
 strangers ; the cause thereof being, as 
 thou well knowest, the gathering of a 
 marriage-portion for our daughter, the 
 sole and single issue of our love may 
 God make her like unto Sarah, Rachel 
 and Leah, her forbears. And verily, were 
 it not for that, I should have returned long 
 ere this, for one endures hardship and 
 tribulation in dwelling among men of alien 
 speech and customs. But the matter pro- 
 ceeds somewhat tardily, and it is because 
 my mind is ever intent upon the achieving 
 thereof that my hand has been turned 
 aside from the admonishings of my heart, 
 Now, however, open thine ears unto the 
 tale of my wanderings ; for it shall be set 
 forth in all detail, both my pilgrimage and 
 all that appertains unto my quest. 
 
 It was upon the third day after Pente- 
 cost, if my memory serves me truly, that 
 I girded up my aged loins to make ad- 
 venture into the land of Britannia, whereof, 
 as report says with truth, a woman is the 
 ruler, a land lying towards the sinking of
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 175 
 
 the sun. And further I remember how 
 my going forth laid a gloom upon thy 
 soul, and how thou didst endeavour vainly 
 to clutch me by the caftan and hold me 
 back with much shrieking and wringing 
 of hands, until the women surrounded thee 
 and conveyed thee to thy couch, whereon 
 thou didst lie, a swoon holding thy senses 
 captive. And as I turned me and gazed 
 back, behold, methought that my house 
 to compare small things to great seemed 
 likest to Yerusholayim upon the day of its 
 destruction. But wherefore didst thou 
 afflict thy soul ? K no west thou not that 
 God is ever at the right hand of the 
 righteous and maketh clear his path from 
 the ambushes of wicked men ? And 
 further, was there not a dire stress upon 
 me to collect the amount of the dowry ? 
 For I am a man, poor after God's own 
 heart, as the saying goes, and the poor 
 must make trial of many things before they 
 enter the palace of happiness, and then it 
 is mostly through a postern-gate. With 
 these thoughts did I set out ; and many 
 men of the congregation remitted their 
 toil in their several handicrafts to give me 
 escort as far as Kavass-Novrod, where
 
 1 76 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 there was to await me, according to 
 concert, a driver with his conveyance to 
 carry me across the frontier for a con- 
 sideration. But when we came up, he 
 made show of being very wroth, and 
 looked very angry as to his eyes, saying 
 that for my account he had delayed long 
 over the given time, and that he would 
 incur much blame and abuse from 
 his master on his return. And upon that 
 plea he made claim that the stipulated 
 hire must be increased by fifty copecks. 
 And what could I do, being in the hands 
 of the Philistine and oppressed by him ? 
 And thereupon we drove off, and the 
 company followed three ells shouting 
 after me the usual " May the Lord bless 
 thee and preserve thee," repeating it 
 seven times. Then indeed my heart 
 became desolate and I wept many tears ; 
 and for a distraction I took from my 
 wallet "The Guide of the Ignorant," and 
 read therein until it came on dark and 
 my eyes refused their service. Then I 
 laid me down and slept throughout the 
 night without a fear, for I had prayed 
 my night prayer and had dealt with the 
 Tetragrammaton by Gematrya, so as to
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 177 
 
 conjure Michael and Gabriel to stand by 
 and encompass me with their wings. 
 And towards dawn, when all the stars had 
 returned to heaven for the morning 
 prayers, the bal-ha-golah, the driver to 
 wit, awakened me by a thrust of his 
 foot. 
 
 "Rouse thee," he cried, "and get thee 
 into thy hiding-place ; for we have passed 
 the last milestone before the toll-house." 
 
 Now I must make known to thee, oh 
 wife of my bosom, that the waggon where- 
 on I rode was freighted with skins of 
 bullocks ; and my plan was to conceal 
 myself amongst these, and under cover 
 thereof to cross the frontier. For not 
 being possessed of a passport, since I was 
 lacking the money wherewith to procure 
 such an one, necessity was upon me to pass 
 over the border by stealth ; and thus is a 
 poor man rendered dishonest in the land 
 of oppression. Now as to the bullock- 
 skins, they were but freshly hided, so that 
 they lay limp and huddled, and the smell 
 was not the savour of spice and cinnamon. 
 Into these, then, I coiled myself, and the 
 driver heaped them about my feet and 
 body that I might not be discovered. 
 13
 
 i;8 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 So we rode on, I direly struggling with 
 my breath, until I heard a voice cry 
 " Halt ! " And then indeed my gizzard 
 quaked mightily within me. 
 
 " What kind of manure dost thou cart 
 there, Gregorov ? " asked one of the 
 sentries ; for I could hear the clanking 
 of their sabres. 
 
 "No manure," answered the driver ; 
 "untanned leather, that is all." 
 
 "And how much carcase inside?" spoke 
 the sentry. 
 
 " By the head of my patron saint," said 
 the driver, " no living thing could draw 
 breath in there, unless it be a snoutless 
 skunk." 
 
 " Or a Jew," added the sentry, and they 
 all laughed inordinately. 
 
 So we were allowed to pass, and I crept 
 from underneath my cover and eagerly 
 quaffed the air of heaven. And then the 
 driver importuned me strongly to give him 
 yet two more roubles for the danger he 
 had run ; or else he would turn back to the 
 custom-house and deliver me up. But I 
 prevailed upon him to wait till we reached 
 an inn, for I was at that moment at my 
 devotions and might not engage in busi-
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 179 
 
 ness of any sort. And no sooner had we 
 come to the inn, when I plied him with 
 vodka the cheap kind at two copecks 
 the measure ; and he being weary with 
 night-vigil and drinking upon an empty 
 stomach, became drowsy and incontinently 
 he slept. And thereupon I debated with 
 myself as to the two roubles I had pro- 
 mised him. Not that I had intention to 
 withhold them from him in requital for his 
 greed, nor did I think of the kick which he 
 had bestowed upon me ; but there came 
 into my mind the saying of our sages : 
 " Whoso awakeneth a sleeper, draggeth a 
 human soul out of heaven by the feet." 
 So, not wishing to commit iniquity, and 
 not knowing how long his drunken sleep 
 might endure, being myself in haste, I 
 waited not to hand him the money, but got 
 me forth. And that is how I slipped under 
 the hands of the frontier-watchmen ; for 
 God had stricken them with blindness. 
 
 And now I had come into the land of 
 Ashkanaz, which is Edom on the hither 
 side of Jordan, forasmuch as its people are 
 evilly-minded towards our race. And I 
 made observation that their language is 
 not unlike our own, being, in fact, an
 
 i8o A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 abortion thereof, and comparable to it in 
 the degree of similitude between an ape 
 and a man ; and they speak it with much 
 mincing of the mouth, even like girls when 
 they are about to be kissed on the lips. 
 But of that I have no knowledge, and 
 speak only upon report and hearsay. So 
 being now, as it were, in the wilderness, I 
 followed closely upon the instructions which 
 Moshke Kitsler, the glazier, had imparted 
 unto me. For thou knowest the story 
 how he went to this country of Britannia 
 two years ago, having received a letter to 
 come and claim his brother's inheritance ; 
 and when he arrived, behold there had 
 been no brother, and there was no inheri- 
 tance, and the whole thing was the chica- 
 nery of some one who bore Moshke a 
 grudge suspicion pointing to Elya Sch- 
 mendriak, who had gone to this town of 
 London because Moshke had married the 
 woman whom Elya had loved. And I have 
 sought out Schmendriak, and questioned 
 him straightly upon the matter ; but he 
 looked at me with brazen eyes and denied 
 all knowledge of it. So then I went by 
 the instruction which Moshke has bought at 
 great cost and by much tribulation of soul.
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 181 
 
 And first he had enjoined me to make 
 my way to Ostrovno ; and since there was 
 a market gathering at the place on the 
 morrow, I had no trouble in finding ac- 
 commodation with one of the waggoners, 
 of whom there were many proceeding 
 thither. And by reason of one of the 
 horses falling lame, we arrived not there 
 till nightfall. Thenceforward I was to 
 journey by a certain wondrous contrivance 
 whereof I have heard men speak, but such 
 as is unknown to thee that hast no concern 
 in the business of the world. And though 
 I have become familiar with the thing, 
 and have used it for my service on several 
 occasions by this time, the first sight and 
 aspect of it brought upon me a deep amaze- 
 ment. For standing there in the gloom, 
 having first converted much shining silver 
 into a worthless four-cornered scrap of 
 paste-paper, I thought I beheld a monster 
 with fiery eyes issuing from the bowels of 
 the earth, and flying towards me on wings 
 of smoke and flame, uttering hoarse 
 screeches from outspread jaws. And in 
 these jaws, wherefrom upleapt long tongues 
 of fire, I saw three men writhing like 
 Chananya, Meshual and Azariah, in Nebu-
 
 182 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 chadnezzar's furnace ; yet, like them, they 
 were not consumed. And then the pro- 
 digy stood still, panting and snorting, and 
 I repeated the blessing which is incum- 
 bent upon us at beholding an untoward 
 spectacle ; but though I looked narrowly, 
 I saw nothing of the two-score demons 
 which Moshke swore were harnessed to 
 the contrivance to set it in motion. And 
 I could make no conjecture as to the 
 mode of its propelling, but I stood and 
 marvelled much at the cunning of the 
 Gentile and his handiwork. And to me, 
 thus distracted, there came a man, a 
 dignitary of the town it seemed, for there 
 were strings of golden braid across his 
 bosom and a silver cockade in his cap. 
 
 " Where are you bound for ? " he ac- 
 costed me. 
 
 " I am going to Hamburg, to sail by the 
 ship, your honour," I said. 
 
 "Then make haste and enter, else you 
 will be left behind," he said, surlily. And 
 with that he tore open a panel in the flank 
 of the monster and flung me into the bulk 
 and belly thereof; and its entrails were 
 made of wood, fashioned into seats for 
 men to sit upon. And for a little time I
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 183 
 
 cowered there bewildered, for I felt the 
 ground moving under me, and the dark- 
 ness without whirled past me in great 
 flakes of blackness, and there was no 
 resting-place for my eyes. But when I 
 turned them upon the company that sat 
 by my side or fronting me, I saw much 
 laughter upon their faces, whereat I was 
 greatly comforted, for men do not smile 
 when the danger of death is upon them. 
 And among them there was a young man 
 with glasses as to his eyes, a great scar as 
 to his forehead, and a large pipe with long 
 wooden stem and porcelain bowl as to his 
 mouth. And he, having toised me for 
 some time, addressed me as follows: 
 
 " What takes thee from out thy door- 
 posts, Judas Yeshariat? Art thou going 
 in search of the Lost Tribes ? " 
 
 Thereon I made reply, swallowing 
 my anger for that he had misnamed me 
 strangely : 
 
 "My son, truly say our sages : ' he that 
 openeth his mouth in ignorance, shall close 
 it in confusion.' For it stands written that 
 the Sons of Moses abide on the further 
 side of the sand-river Sambatyon, and no 
 man may cross it, for all the week it heaves
 
 184 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 with whirlwinds of stones and dust, and 
 on the Sabbath, when it is at rest, it is not 
 lawful to travel more than a thousand 
 cubits ; but the river measures a thousand 
 and one.' 
 
 And the company listened with open 
 ears ; but the young man aforesaid, not 
 heeding my presence, as though I were 
 a haystack or a piece of rock, turned to 
 them and said again : 
 
 " Is it not strange that these people 
 cleave so perversely to their superstitions ? 
 And then there is much talk of progress 
 and enlightenment in these days." 
 
 But then I could contain myself no 
 longer, and burst into speech. "Young 
 sir," I said, "it may be true that we are 
 dark as to our beliefs, and that we do not 
 see clearly the drift and purport of things ; 
 and that perchance may be because our 
 eyes are blinded by tears for our nation's 
 sorrows. But this much we know well 
 amongst us, that it is enjoined to treat the 
 stranger in our gates with kindness and 
 courtesy, and that it is becoming for mere 
 striplings to pay reverence unto grey hairs. 
 For what blessing is there in knowledge if 
 it be poisoned by malice of the heart ? "
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 185 
 
 And then I ceased ; but no one an- 
 swered, and the young man busied himself 
 strenuously in the rubbing of his spec- 
 tacles. But I stood up and silently re- 
 peated the evening prayer, not forgetting 
 the three backward paces at conclusion of 
 the Eighteen Benedictions. And I slept 
 soundly through the night ; but in the 
 morning, when I awoke, lo, a woe and a 
 calamity had come upon me. For the 
 ringlets at the side of my head, the glory 
 of my temples and the badge of my piety, 
 had been shorn away to the roots ; and in 
 my girdle was stuck a fragment of paper 
 whereon were written these words for I 
 have had them expounded to me since : 
 " Ahasuerus, thou hast convinced me of 
 the error of my ways ; therefore, mindful 
 of what thou didst say, I have taken away 
 with me thy grey hairs to reverence them 
 at my leisure " ; and the message was 
 signed " Bierbauch, Student of the Theo- 
 logies." And then I stood up, for I was 
 left alone of all the company, and invoked 
 upon him all the tribulations of Hiob, and 
 all the imprecations which Balaam was not 
 permitted to utter against the children of 
 Israel, all these I flung forth against him ;
 
 i86 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 and I doubt not that by this time his hands 
 have been stricken with palsy and the 
 sight has gone forth from his eyes. But 
 as to my ringlets, even now they have not 
 grown to their wonted length, and I fear 
 me they will never again sprout with their 
 ancient vigour, for I am an old man, and 
 the marrow in my bones is dried up, and 
 my sinews are brittle like stalks of straw. 
 But I will refrain from overmuch lamenta- 
 tion ; for it may betide that this missive 
 reaches thee on a Sabbath, and it would 
 be a sin on my head to move thy heart to 
 sorrow on such a day. Rather will I go 
 on to narrate what things further befell me 
 ere that I reached my appointed goal ; and 
 in all my doings I followed the admonish- 
 ings of Moshke, the glazier. 
 
 So when I came to Hamburg, which 
 was the place of my embarkation, I wended 
 my steps straightway to the ship ; and as I 
 was setting foot on the gangway, some one 
 tapped me on the shoulder and said a 
 quaint thing. 
 
 " Friend," he said, " thy Ten Command- 
 ments are dangling out behind thy back." 
 And when I looked round it appeared that 
 the fringes of my Four-corner Garment
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 187 
 
 were overlapping the nape of my neck. 
 And I bestowed them in their proper place, 
 laughing much at the folly and ignorance 
 of the Gentile. Then I passed on into 
 the hollow of the ship, and they showed 
 me a place where I was to abide during 
 the voyage ; it was dark and squalid, fitted 
 with narrow wooden chests along the wall 
 that looked like coffins : and I spat out in 
 deprecation of the thought. But I was 
 sorely afraid, for, as thou knowest, this was 
 my first adventure by sea. Presently I 
 heard a loud booming sound, that might 
 have been the bellowing of sea-monsters ; 
 and soon after the ship gathered itself up 
 and moved with a swinging motion from 
 side to side. And first it swung not more 
 violently than thou didst rock the cradle of 
 our daughter Leah when she was yet a 
 suckling ; but soon it staggered, seemingly 
 going two different ways at one time, until 
 it overleapt its balance, and turned round 
 and round upon itself, like a sleeper who 
 is tossed by evil dreams at night, so that 
 its flooring stood uppermost And then I 
 sat down upon my wallet, for my bowels 
 heaved and my gall-bladder crept up into 
 my throat. And I will give thee a token
 
 i88 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 of the feeling that came over me. For 
 dost thou remember how thou clidst go 
 with the other folks of the town to witness 
 the hanging of the prisoners that were 
 taken in the time of the rebellion ; and 
 how there was a spell upon thine eyes, so 
 that thou couldst not turn them away from 
 the sight till the hanging was finished, and 
 the six of them swung dead and stark ? 
 And then thou didst fall to the ground in 
 a swoon, and for three days no food passed 
 thy lips, and for three days thou didst 
 vomit and retch, till I thought thou 
 wouldst cast forth thy very soul. Of 
 such a sort were my own sufferings during 
 those days ; and when I was reviving and 
 began to feel I was still a living man, on 
 the fourth night a storm arose that took 
 the ship in its strong arms and flung it 
 against the vault of heaven or thrust it 
 into the caverns of the deep. And in my 
 great fear I took my Pentateuch, and 
 opened it, and upon its pages I sprinkled 
 for a charm of the clean salt whereof I 
 had taken with me a supply, so that I 
 might not purchase of the Gentile, and I 
 repeated psalms in multitude, and espe- 
 cially that which says : " They that go
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 189 
 
 down in ships to the great waters, see the 
 wonders of the Lord." For what death is 
 there so horrible as to be devoured by the 
 leviathans of the sea? And bitterly I 
 regretted my improvidence in that I had 
 not stocked myself with a sack of Sacred 
 Earth that is dug from the soil of Pales- 
 tine. For how else was I to find my way 
 into the land of Canaan so it pleased God 
 to put an end to my days ? But it seemed 
 that on the Day of Atonement my name 
 had not been blotted out from the Book of 
 Life, so that I survived ; for after a while 
 the sea made its peace with God, and the 
 lightnings were quenched and the chariots 
 of the thunder were again fastened to their 
 staples. However, nothing further betided 
 till we ran into harbour ; but I vow upon 
 my life and health, not less glad was I to 
 leave the hollow of that ship than was 
 Jonah when the whalefish spat him forth 
 and he went to make prophecy unto the 
 people of Nineveh. 
 
 Yet it concerned me somewhat to note 
 that the day of my arrival was the second 
 of the week, even the day whereon our 
 sages say God created the Gehennom and 
 Lilith and all the children of evil ; and
 
 190 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 perchance it may be for that cause that 
 my errand has not sped according to my 
 desire. And having gone on land, I was 
 even like unto the idols of the heathen, for 
 I had eyes and saw not, and ears and heard 
 not ; and I was stricken as to the under- 
 standing of all things around me. But 
 I chanced against a man of our own 
 race and tongue, who proffered me his 
 guidance unto the place of my destination. 
 But he premised that it was necessary I 
 should give him a piece of gold the equiva- 
 lent of ten roubles, not for his own especial 
 use and benefit, but because he affirmed 
 it was the custom of strangers that arrived 
 to bestow that sum upon the institutions 
 for the tending of the sick and the study 
 of the Sacred Writ. And I gave it, though 
 with much secret doublings of heart, and 
 he conducted me faithfully. But upon 
 inquiry I learned that there was no such 
 custom, and that the man had deceived 
 me. Now if he be in good earnest a 
 Student of the Law, I grudge him not the 
 money ; but if he be not, may it go towards 
 the healing of deadly sickness in his 
 household. 
 
 So then I came to Leyb Tchariner, the
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 191 
 
 aforesaid, the kinsman ; and beneath his 
 roof I tarried two days and two nights, 
 until the stiffness had departed from out 
 my limbs and I was rested. Then he 
 went out, and on my behalf he hired a 
 place of abode ; for he himself was greatly 
 straitened as to room, dwelling as he did 
 in three chambers with his wife and four 
 sons and three daughters. And here I 
 may note what thou wilt apprehend with 
 wonder, even as I marvelled at the thing. 
 For he has turned himself, for the earning 
 of his bread, unto the making of shoes 
 and other footgear, he that in his native 
 country followed the calling of corn and 
 wheat broker. But lest thou shouldst feel 
 grieved thereat, be it known to thee here- 
 with that in this country the constructing 
 of shoes and garments is not deemed an 
 indignity as it is with us, but that the 
 makers thereof are not considered inferior 
 to the scribes of books or to the keepers 
 of taverns ; and many of them, and justly 
 so, are advanced to posts of high honour 
 in the community. And further I have 
 here encountered sundry of my country- 
 men whom I never thought to set eyes 
 upon before the resurrection of the dead ;
 
 192 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 chiefly there was Chayim, the bellows- 
 maker and tinker, who, as thou well 
 knowest, disappeared from our township 
 during the days that followed the con- 
 clusion of the Postanye, the revolution to 
 wit. And we all thought that he had been 
 conveyed to Siberia and had there died by 
 reason of his sufferings. And the manner 
 of his escape was as a miracle of God ; for 
 he was just about to issue from his house, 
 having it in his heart to flee the country 
 because of the suspicion attaching to him ; 
 and on the last step of his threshold there 
 suddenly came into his path two emissaries 
 of police. And one of them asked : " Art 
 thou Chayim Drontovar ? " for they knew 
 him not by person. And then God 
 breathed cunning and wisdom in his head 
 so that he made reply : "No, I am not 
 he ; but I left him this instant at his mid- 
 day meal with his family, and he dwells on 
 the third flooring." And then they de- 
 tained him no longer, and he lay hidden 
 all during the day in a heap of refuse, and 
 at night he escaped and came to this land. 
 And his wife Mariam, even she who was 
 flogged naked in the market-place to make 
 her divulge her husband's secret resort,
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 193 
 
 came at his bidding to this country after 
 she had recovered from the effect of the 
 scourging ; but she has now departed this 
 life, and the day whereon I met Chayim 
 was the second anniversary of her death. 
 And of one other I shall give thee tidings, 
 though he is not worthy that his name be 
 mentioned by mouths that utter words of 
 righteousness ; I speak of Lutke, the 
 glutton as he was called. I doubt not 
 thou rememberest him, a wild, dissolute 
 fellow that had no shame in the sight of 
 God or man ; and a marvel it is that 
 because of his deeds of evil and darkness 
 the sun became not blotted out in the 
 heavens. And finally, having filled full 
 the measure of iniquity, and being in great 
 straits for money, he went to the leader 
 of the Attrat, the reconnoiterers, that made 
 search in the forests for the insurgents 
 hidden there for this too happened in the 
 time of the rebellion and offered upon 
 payment to show a place where was con- 
 cealed great store of powder and shot and 
 much accoutrement. And having received 
 faithful promises of reward, he betrayed 
 the spot, and according to his word was 
 found much ammunition, which was carted
 
 194 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 away to Wratislavik, so that the insurgents 
 were crippled of supplies and could not 
 carry on the war in that part of the 
 country. And he, to escape their wrath 
 for they would have flayed him alive went 
 back with the Attrat and sojourned among 
 the soldiers ; and thy sister's daughter has 
 told me how she saw him go past her 
 door unto the soldiers' mess and filled his 
 bucket at the common cauldron with the 
 rest. And one day he vanished ; but the 
 manner of my encountering him I shall 
 relate anon. 
 
 In this place I shall make utterance of 
 certain things that have come within my 
 observation and have filled my heart with 
 sorrow. For the people of our race 
 dwelling in this country are for the most 
 part of them by no means God-fearing. 
 Rather do they offend greatly against the 
 ordinances of our wise men. Thus it is 
 that few of the women, though they be 
 mothers of many children, wear the peri- 
 wig which is the sign of matronhood ; so 
 that they walk abroad with outstretched 
 necks and great luxuriance of hair-growth. 
 And again the young men, and many of 
 the elder too, shave the hair of the face
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 195 
 
 and go about smooth like hounds that 
 suffer with mange. Furthermore do they 
 shamelessly carry rain-screens upon Sab- 
 baths and festivals, though this is a city 
 that has no fortifications but lies open to 
 the country upon all four sides. But more 
 than this : they wear garments wherein 
 wool and cotton are intermingled a 
 heinous sin, and one for which there is no 
 forgiveness. Yet this is not all ; for I 
 have heard of an abomination that is 
 greater than the sum and aggregate of all 
 the others. There is here a House of 
 Prayer, rather should I call it a House 
 of Blasphemy, where youths and maidens 
 are gathered indiscriminately for the 
 chanting of hymns on the Sabbath, and 
 where a man makes music by breathing 
 into long tubes of iron, and the destruction 
 of our Sacred City is in no wise remem- 
 bered amongst these people. And having 
 been made aware of these things, straight- 
 way I eschewed also the drinking of milk, 
 for in the eating of flesh I have not 
 indulged since I left home. For in a land 
 where such desecration is tolerated, no 
 man is to be trusted for the purity and 
 fitness of food. And ever since I have
 
 196 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 subsisted on the produce of the soil and 
 of trees and upon the meat of fish roasted 
 in oil, according to the manner and custom 
 of the country. 
 
 And now touching the matter of the 
 dowry. And upon this point I bear no 
 grudge against him whom we have 
 destined for our daughter's husband- 
 though he has rated himself highly, even 
 at the worth and value of five hundred 
 roubles to be given for a marriage-portion. 
 For he is a goodly youth, and master of 
 a handicraft ; nor shall it be with us as it 
 is with many, to whom their son-in-law is 
 as a yoke about the neck, since they must 
 give him food and raiment and sustenance 
 until he has learned to deal out his soup 
 with his own ladle. And further for 
 must it not be said ? our daughter is not 
 like other maidens, being stricken with a 
 limp in her tongue, so that her words 
 come haltingly and stumble one against 
 the other. And these things need the 
 sheen of money to cast a glamour over 
 the eyes of suitors. For that she can 
 repeat by heart three portions of Mishnah 
 what is it? It goes for nought in these 
 ungodly days. And as for the tribulations
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 197 
 
 that I have undergone or that are in store 
 for me on this matter, I make light of 
 them ; may they be taken for expiation 
 of my transgressions and turn aside unto- 
 ward punishment. Besides, is it not right 
 and fitting that in all joyous occasion 
 there should be some tinge of bitterness 
 to make us mindful that we are exiles and 
 abide in the midst of our adversaries ? 
 
 First, then, I had recourse unto our 
 townsmen that dwell in this city. And 
 of them there is no inconsiderable number, 
 nor indeed is there a region under the sun 
 whereof one or two inhabitants are not con- 
 gregated here nay, not excepting Sheol 
 and Tophet, for I have here seen stalking 
 about devils blacker than ebony as to their 
 skins and with many little horns of wool 
 upon their heads ; but their tails were not 
 visible, for the law of the land permits 
 them not to go unclothed. But the towns- 
 men, though they wished me well and 
 received me hospitably, are poor men with 
 scarcely a sufficiency of bread, nor do they 
 live like God in Frenchland, as the saying 
 is. So of them I could expect nothing. 
 Then acting upon their advice, deeming 
 it good, I went a different road. In this
 
 198 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 city there are men of our race whom God 
 has blessed with riches passing the com- 
 putation of man ; they are said to eat from 
 golden platters and to cast aside a garment 
 after they have worn it but once. Now I 
 thought it impossible that they would with- 
 hold from dispensing of their bounty unto 
 me, a scholar and a poet from the crown 
 of my head unto the toes of my feet. So 
 then I sat me down, and with much labour 
 and application I indited epistles unto 
 them, setting forth their greatness and 
 telling them of my urgent necessity. And 
 the manner of my writing was such as no 
 man on earth has attempted before. For 
 in honour of the first man I composed an 
 acrostic showing the initial letters of his 
 name backward and forward, and with the 
 end letters I dealt likewise. And the 
 second epistle I wrote in the Aramaic 
 tongue, with interspersions of Chaldee ; 
 and yet in a third I contrived that every 
 seventh word should contain the sum total 
 of the man's name reckoned by Gematrya. 
 And various other and quaint devices of 
 word-play I designed. And my reason for 
 this was such that these men, coming 
 together at their banquets or in the House
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 199 
 
 of Learning, and falling upon me for a 
 topic, might say unto each other: "Clearly 
 he springs not from the people of the 
 soil, and his mind lingers not among 
 the commonplaces of thought, but ranges 
 boldly through the wildernesses and un- 
 trodden paths of conception ; he is a man 
 whom we must reward and honour for the 
 honouring of ourselves and the congrega- 
 tion." And in this expectation I waited ; 
 and having waited for the space of a week 
 I grew anxious and bewildered, for to all 
 my missives there was no response. And 
 I pondered many things, not knowing 
 what to conjecture. Could it be that the 
 messengers, whom they had entrusted 
 with the bearing of their gift, had seques- 
 tered the money for their own use, de- 
 frauding me of my due and portion ? But 
 Leyb Tchariner inclined to this opinion : 
 that my very wisdom had been my un- 
 doing, for that I had acted like a man who 
 has dug a well of more than common 
 depth for the obtaining of more copious 
 water ; but that the travellers from whom 
 I expected reward for my toil, being men 
 of despatch and haste, nor having sufficient 
 length of chain to their own pitchers and
 
 200 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 disdaining to use another's, had hurried on 
 without a second glance. And perhaps it 
 was as he said ; and as time went on and 
 I heard nothing, I lost heart and set my 
 thoughts in another direction, for I per- 
 ceived that my affairs were going the 
 crab's walk, that is, rearward and not 
 forward. 
 
 And thereupon I bethought myself to 
 set up a school for the teaching of our 
 sacred tongue and for the instruction of 
 youths in their portion of Holy Writ. But 
 it proved a sore burden unto me, for the 
 boys were unruly and troublesome, and 
 neither were they attentive in their tasks 
 nor in the payment of the lesson-money. 
 And it chanced, unfortunately, that most 
 of them were the children of Littvaks, and 
 spoke a dialect unlike my own, which is 
 Polish ; and thus they said " Sibboleth," 
 and what should be " hee " was " hoo " in 
 their mouths. For this reason I was a 
 mockery unto them, and one day they all 
 by concert brought certain engines which 
 they made to explode about my feet with 
 sparks of fire and a loud reverberation. 
 And upon that I fled from the chamber, 
 nor have I returned amongst them to this
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 201 
 
 day, for fear they might do me some 
 bodily hurt. And in this extremity a plan 
 entered into my head, hazardous in the 
 accomplishing, but yet to be attempted. 
 I have spoken before of Lutke, the same 
 who turned informer ; and it was in my 
 heart to seek him, and reminding him of 
 sundry benefits wherewith I had benefited 
 him, and telling him that more blessed is 
 he who gives than he who receives, to 
 make appeal to him on my claim of clan- 
 ship. But when I told my project unto 
 the townsmen they laughed in derision : 
 " What ails thee ? Ask charity of Lutke ? 
 He will give the calves which his oxen 
 have borne him. Why, when we were 
 building our synagogue and sent to him to 
 make contribution towards the outlay, he 
 said he would not deny us his help, but 
 that he would give according to the deserts 
 of the case. And on the following day 
 there arrived a large casket, and our hearts 
 were glad, for we thought : surely herein 
 is some scroll of the Law, or some 
 embroidered curtain to hang before the 
 Ark ; but when we opened it, lo and 
 behold, it contained three mouldy bricks 
 and a block of worm-eaten wood curses
 
 202 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 on the blasphemer ! Rather husband thy 
 dignity, and go not near him, lest he 
 should make thee to wallow in the gutter 
 of his abuse." 
 
 All this they said to me, but I did not 
 heed them, being of advice that he would 
 give ear to me though he had flouted the 
 others ; and besides, it benefits not a poor 
 man to be dainty in his enterprises. 
 
 So then I took a little boy for my guide, 
 having ascertained the man's abode. For 
 who knew it not? Had they not all gone 
 to look at the mansion wherein he dwelt, 
 and to marvel why in this world the sin- 
 ner is ever preferred to the righteous ? 
 And as for his wealth, they say it was 
 acquired by the sale of cast-off clothing, 
 and in other mysterious ways. Then 
 having entrusted our bodies to the afore- 
 mentioned contrivance that flies on the 
 wings of fire and smoke, we were con- 
 veyed a long distance, and that where 
 shall the marvels cease ? below the level 
 of the ground ; and the texture of sul- 
 phurous gloom and horror through which 
 it rushed was ripped into a thousand 
 fluttering shreds. And only at given 
 intervals did it rise to the surface, so
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 203 
 
 that our vitals might not swell to burst- 
 ing with the noisome vapours. But at last 
 we alighted and came to Lutke's house, and 
 I passed up the broad stairs of stone ; and 
 at my summons, straightway the doors 
 were opened by two sons of Anak, white- 
 haired and abruptly-clad as to their nether 
 garments. And they stopped and accosted 
 me. But their words were to me as the 
 babblings of popinjays, and I heeded 
 them not, crying with the full girth of 
 my voice : " Lutke ! Lutke !" And at the 
 sound he came forth, the man himself 
 for I knew him at once by the indenting 
 of the underlip where he had cleft it 
 against the kerbstone in a drunken mood, 
 and thou didst bandage it up with thine 
 own hand. Then he looked at me, with 
 an eye void of understanding, and said 
 certain words to his hirelings. And then 
 
 as I live, I tell thee no falsehood they 
 gripped me by the shoulder, and jostled 
 me, and thrusting me forth into the street, 
 they shut the door with great violence. 
 
 And so may the gate of Garden-Eden be 
 closed in his face I will not curse him 
 overmuch, for are not all Israel brothers? 
 
 Then it bitterly repented me of my fool-
 
 204 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 hardiness, in that I had defied sager 
 counsel. I had eaten to the full of vexa- 
 tion of soul, and my eyes were downcast 
 with shame ; for the little boy had wit- 
 nessed all, standing by the outer gate, 
 and he would spread the tale are not 
 children's mouths like sieves, through 
 which their tongues trickle uncontainedly ? 
 But more than all, upon that journey I had 
 expended one silver coin and two large 
 pieces of copper, and my gain therefrom 
 was not worth the tail of a rabid dog. 
 
 And on my return I kept steadfastly to 
 my chamber, lest any one should feast his 
 eyes on my humiliation. But on the third 
 day a man, whose face I knew not, came 
 to me and spoke many words and privily. 
 And the import thereof was that for 
 several years there had not appeared in 
 this city a "Good Hebrew," and that the 
 inhabitants, at least those that belonged to 
 our faith, were swayed by many doubts 
 and misgivings, and that there was much 
 confusion in their households and private 
 affairs, and there was no one to give them 
 counsel or explain away their anxieties ; 
 that I, being versed in Kabbalistic lore 
 and having penetrated deeply into the
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 205 
 
 mysteries of heaven and earth, might fitly 
 take such office upon me ; and that there 
 was much profit in the venture both for 
 me and for him. Now the plan seemed 
 good in my eyes, and we agreed. And he 
 took upon himself the function of bedell 
 and herald unto me, and caused it to go 
 abroad that there had arrived a man of 
 God, and all who were harassed by some 
 trouble might come and he would salve 
 them. And straightway our door became 
 besieged by questioners. And Tyveles, 
 the bedell, stood in the outer chamber and 
 wrote the tablets and took the fee ; and 
 such as brought none or not sufficient he 
 drove away, and would not let them enter 
 the inner chamber where I sat and de- 
 livered responses. And those that came 
 were chiefly women maidens, past their 
 first youth, who would know if they were 
 ever fated to stand beneath the mar- 
 riage canopy ; mothers of ill-conditioned 
 children, seeking a remedy for the curse ; 
 and lastly, matrons of long standing unto 
 whom God had denied issue. To all these 
 I replied according to the judgment which 
 was in me. And this continued for several 
 days ; and in the night-time of each day
 
 206 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Tyveles would give me my share of the 
 payments. But though I had suspicion 
 that he gave not my due measure, I durst 
 not say aught, for he was a man of fierce 
 countenance and uncouth habits. At last, 
 however, sinister rumours arose, and one 
 day three men of accredited worth came 
 and testified against Tyveles, how that he 
 was an apostate, and had forsworn the 
 faith, and had for long years consorted with 
 the Gentiles ; nor could Tyveles gainsay the 
 accusers, for his falsehood lay manifest. 
 So then the three men took hold of him 
 and jostled him from the chamber with 
 blows and other ill-natured treatment. As 
 for me, I took upon myself a fast of three 
 days to expiate the pollution of contact 
 with the man. But mark how the evil 
 ever beget evil. For certain calumniators 
 rose up against me, saying that I had had 
 foreknowledge of the man's misdoings and 
 yet had taken him to my bosom and had 
 broken bread with him. And the report 
 gained credence, and thenceforth not a 
 shadow darkened my threshold ; even the 
 townsmen looked askance and mistrusted 
 me. Thus was I left to go my own way ; 
 and now the future lies dark before me, for
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 207 
 
 I know not unto which thing to betake 
 myself. And my only hope is, by abiding 
 here until the Great and Holy Days, which 
 is yet two gatherings of the moon, to be 
 chosen by one of the congregations to 
 recite the Law and hold solemn discourse 
 for the cleansing of their sins, for which 
 they will make me remuneration and offer 
 votive offerings on my behalf. And with 
 this money I shall return to my country, 
 and if it be not of the covenanted amount, 
 verily our son-in-law that is to be must 
 needs make an abatement thereon if he 
 have set his heart upon our daughter in 
 good sooth. 
 
 So then let this suffice thee for an ac- 
 count of me, and fear not, for the Lord 
 forsakes not those who keep His ordi- 
 nances. And these few precepts would 
 I have thee lay to heart in the ordering 
 of our household. As for the flesh which 
 is my perquisite from the congregation, let 
 it go towards the sustaining of thy life, so 
 that neither thou nor our daughter may 
 suffer hunger in the interval. But as for 
 the suet that goes with the portion, let it 
 be smelted and hawked about the town for 
 sale, and all that accrues therefrom let it
 
 208 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 be laid by for the marriage. And if there 
 be difficulty in the congealing of the fat, 
 which might betide in this hot season, 
 I would counsel thee to dig holes in the 
 ground and therein to bestow it in covered 
 pans ; for it will meet with readier sale if 
 it be hard and brittle. And the spot fittest 
 for the bestowing methinks will be to the 
 north side of our courtyard, where stands 
 the great bay-tree that wards off the fierce- 
 ness of the sun by its branches. And 
 furthermore, in the feeding of our milch- 
 goat, see that thou segregate the night- 
 shade from the wholesome herbs, lest it 
 die as happened with the other ; and goat- 
 skin is a thing of small value, scarcely 
 fetching the price of a fur collar against 
 the winter. . . . 
 
 Glory be unto the Lord of Hosts ! 
 Knew I not that He would not withdraw 
 His right hand from His beloved? This 
 very instant there has been given to me 
 thy second epistle which tells me glad 
 tidings. A thousand roubles, sayest thou ? 
 Ay, ay ! my heart leaps with joy, and my 
 voice is raised in psalmody and thanks- 
 giving. Surely it was God's own finger 
 that turned the wheel of the lottery so that
 
 RABBI ELCHANAN'S QUEST 209 
 
 it stopped at the number of our billet. So 
 then I shall despatch my affairs in this city, 
 which are not considerable, and do thou 
 prepare for my home-coming. For I shall 
 follow close upon the heels and haunches 
 of this missive.
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE 
 SERFS 
 
 BY profession the two were " me- 
 shorrerim," which, of course, idio- 
 matically rendered, means " journeymen 
 synagogue minstrels " ; but for everyday 
 purposes of life we may call them 
 choristers. Of the two, Klotz sang bass, 
 and Avshalom tenor. Apart from this 
 difference, they were great friends ; their 
 hearts beat in concord, and they swerved 
 not from each other in truth or in false- 
 hood. 
 
 For the benefit of those who might wish 
 to adopt the calling, I shall here set forth 
 in more detail the scope and function of 
 such a "chorister." First of all you must 
 possess a voice to sing with a good one 
 of necessity, an excellent one by pre- 
 ference. Then you must gain admission 
 into the troupe of one of the "chazanim,"
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 211 
 
 specifically "precentors," whose talents as 
 such are too great to be supported by one 
 single community, and who in consequence 
 give devotional performances on tour. For 
 instance, the proprietor of the choir to 
 which Klotz and Avshalom belonged was 
 Shaya Piper, whose headquarters were in 
 Tamalov, which is in Lithuania, and 
 whence he made choral incursions into 
 the country around. If you are a little 
 boy, you must take especial care lest you 
 should be kidnapped by a rival itinerant 
 company ; such things are not unknown 
 therefore lay my words to your soul. You 
 must furthermore be endowed with a versa- 
 tile digestion ; for each day you will be 
 quartered on a different household for your 
 dinner, and the fare ranges from roast 
 goose to herring and potatoes according 
 to the means or the meanness of your 
 hosts. If you have survived all this, you 
 either become an operatic star in an 
 American Reform Temple, or you marry 
 the precentor's daughter and inherit the 
 prestige and practice of your father-in-law. 
 At present, however, no such dreams 
 of glory filled the bosoms of Klotz and 
 Avshalom. Their hearts were heavy
 
 212 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 within them, despite the fact that this 
 was the season of the " Feast of Lots," 
 the joyous commemoration of Israel's 
 escape from the spite of Amalek, when 
 Haman and his sons were hanged on a 
 tree ten cubits high eleven according to 
 some authorities ; one might as well be 
 impartial in these matters of history. 
 
 " Who among them did this deed of 
 malice unto us ? " asked Klotz, with 
 reference to the cause of their affliction. 
 The two had been walking cross-country 
 for the last two hours, and by their rate of 
 walking it seemed they had a whole pur- 
 gatory of devils to walk out of themselves. 
 
 " I don't know," gasped Avshalom, on 
 whom the exertion was beginning to tell, 
 for he was not half as sturdy as his com- 
 rade " no one in particular, unless it be 
 Klumpka, the plate-licker ; but they all 
 hate us thee, because thou art good to 
 look upon and the maidens of the town 
 make much of thee ; and me, I know not, 
 unless it be because thou hast taken me 
 to thy bosom, after the manner of a brother, 
 and so I share their hatred as I share thy 
 love." 
 
 "The dogs!" growled Klotz. "All the
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 213 
 
 plagues of Pharaoh into their vitals. I 
 never did one of them evil wittingly, for 
 I am not a man who burns down his 
 neighbour's house and steals his property 
 in the confusion ; but on me they had no 
 mercy, and would grow rich in my des- 
 poiling. Let us go back, Avshalom we 
 cannot run away from our calamity, unless 
 we walked all the way to Gehennom." 
 
 And upon their homeward journey their 
 minds harked back for the twentieth time 
 to the terrible scene of the morning, that 
 had turned the Sabbath for them into 
 a day of sorrowing. And this is what 
 had happened. It was towards the end 
 of the service ; the synagogue was filled 
 with the sound of praying-shawls being 
 folded up and with the opening and 
 shutting of seat-boxes, when a hush went 
 through the assembly, for the preceptor of 
 preceptors, the shining light of religion, 
 even Rabbi Gamaliel himself, had risen 
 from his seat and had stood before the 
 Sacred Ark and had lifted up his voice : 
 
 "A woe and a sorrow which mine eyes 
 have beholden will I relate unto you, my 
 masters. It befell on the fifth day of the 
 week, which was the Fast of Esther, that,
 
 214 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 upon a certain report which had reached 
 me, I entered the dwelling-place of Shaya 
 Piper, the precentor, at the hour when all 
 his choristers were assembled, there to 
 make inquiries into the state of their 
 phylacteries and Four-corner garments. 
 As to the Four-corner garments, I found 
 that the rest were in fit condition, except- 
 ing that of Avshalom the tenor, whereof 
 the fringes appending thereto were too 
 short by half their ordained length, and 
 that of Yashko Klotz the bass, which was 
 none at all. And again what pertains to 
 the phylacteries, all the rest were in fit 
 condition excepting those of Avshalom 
 the aforesaid, whereof one of the head- 
 bands had been riven in twain, and those 
 of Yashko Klotz, whereof the scroll of 
 parchment had been removed from out of 
 the leathern arm-capsule. And I bowed 
 my head in affliction that this should be. 
 But as to these two who have defiled the 
 Name, I herewith decree, that during this 
 Feast of Lots it shall not be lawful to ask 
 them to join in the merrymaking, and that 
 they shall go sequestered from all the 
 congregation ; and furthermore, it shall 
 be forbidden to them to make the quest
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 215 
 
 with their pyxes for the messenger-gifts 
 which it is customary to bestow upon this 
 season. Thus have I pronounced in my 
 wisdom and judgment, and unto this let 
 us say Amen." 
 
 The Amen was scarcely appropriate, 
 but as Rabbi Gamaliel had a habit of 
 never saying two words without clinch- 
 ing them with an " Unto this let us say," 
 the congregation duly responded "Amen"; 
 and Klotz and Avshalom, from sheer 
 stupefaction or from force of habit, joined 
 in the response. But the others knew 
 not from what cause they responded, and 
 said that not only were they heretics, but 
 also impudent faces. 
 
 Now, however, the full force of his 
 disgrace came home to Klotz, and his 
 bile seethed like a cauldron with the fire 
 of his anger. That there had been a 
 conspiracy he was sure. He knew that 
 most of his fellow-choristers were but 
 " righteousness clad in fur-skins," which 
 translated means " wolves in sheep's 
 clothing " ; for none of them kept the 
 appointed ordinances very strictly, and 
 the fact that they had come without blot 
 or blame from the ordeal of inspection
 
 216 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 was something more than accident. It 
 was clear that some one had laid infor- 
 mation against him and Avshalom and 
 had warned all the others, so that they 
 were prepared. And so this misfortune 
 had come upon the two ; and a misfor- 
 tune it was, at least to Klotz for the 
 prohibition to quest meant a more serious 
 loss to him than appeared on the sur- 
 face. And now as he thought of the 
 gibes and mocking looks from which he 
 had fled and to which he was returning, 
 he tore at his hair, beat his bosom, and 
 said, "Woe, woe is unto me!" 
 
 "Let be," said Avshalom; "it is not 
 good to afflict thy soul more than need 
 be over this matter. The rascals 
 a black year upon them ! But the 
 time will come for our triumph. Be 
 patient." 
 
 "It will come but it must be soon," 
 said Klotz, vehemently. " I had counted 
 on the money," he went on more gently, 
 "to send to my poor mother. She is a 
 widow, and old, and she will be sorely 
 in want, for I have sent her nothing 
 ever since the Good Days ; and then it 
 was no great matter."
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 217 
 
 " I have two roubles and a half," 
 suggested Avshalom. 
 
 "Which thou hast saved up in copecks 
 to buy a pair of boots therewith," broke 
 in Klotz. " No, little brother " and he 
 laid his hand caressingly on Avshalom's 
 neck " I will not take from my heart 
 to give unto my soul. But let me con- 
 sider my head is choking with thought. 
 I care not for other things only I can- 
 not think of her as starving," and his 
 strong voice shook a little. 
 
 So they trudged on without another 
 word till the chimneys of Tamalov hove 
 in sight. Klotz came to a sudden stand- 
 still. 
 
 "Answer me, Avshalom," he replied; 
 "whom of the villagers around dost thou 
 take to be the most stupid and ignorant ? 
 thou knowest the country." 
 
 "That is an easy question," replied 
 Avshalom, readily " those of Tarnagov, 
 without a doubt. Why, they are more 
 stupid than those of Chelm in Bohemia. 
 Dost thou not know the tale how at a 
 certain feast, whereat they all appeared 
 in white trousers, they got so heavy with 
 wine that they feared to rise from table
 
 2i8 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 lest each should walk away on his neigh- 
 bour's legs ? " 
 
 " I have heard the tale," said Klotz, 
 " but I do not believe it it is merely in 
 a manner of speaking. Do they know 
 Russian dost thou think ? " 
 
 " Russian ! " echoed Avshalom, disdain- 
 fully ; "dost thou take them for scholars? 
 They understand no language but their 
 own ; and we can talk that no worse 
 than they unless thou countest the 
 grunting of their pigs and the bellowing of 
 their bullocks at the plough for a language." 
 
 " King Solomon understood the lan- 
 guage of many beasts and he was a 
 wise man," remarked Klotz. 
 
 " King Solomon understood because of 
 his wisdom, and they understand because 
 of their ignorance that is the differ- 
 ence," answered Avshalom. 
 
 "Once more," said Klotz "how far 
 is it thither?" 
 
 "Two swift horses it will take less than 
 three hours." 
 
 Avshalom wondered exceedingly at the 
 drift of these questions ; but Klotz did not 
 choose to be explicit, and in that case it 
 was no use pumping him.
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 219 
 
 " Let us walk more quickly," he said, 
 resolutely; "and hold thy head high let 
 us not give the thieves cause to mock us 
 by slinking along like whipped curs. And 
 besides, I am hungry." 
 
 Avshalom said nothing, but wondered 
 still more at the change of voice in Klotz 
 and the look of determination almost of 
 exultation that flashed from his eyes. 
 What was in his mind? 
 
 The Sabbath was nearly over. On all 
 sides the people were streaming to the 
 House of Prayer, to hear the Book of 
 Esther being read and to execrate 
 Hainan's memory and make sport of 
 him in effigy. At the second corner they 
 saw Shaya Piper and his choristers 
 coming on in a body. Klotz did not 
 swerve an inch, but linked his arm in 
 Avshalom's and passed straight through 
 their midst, nor did he turn his head at 
 the gibes and laughter that broke from 
 them in his rear. 
 
 " Let them laugh," he said, quietly ; 
 " I think I shall prick a big hole 
 in their laughter and make it ring 
 hollow." 
 
 Avshalom looked puzzled.
 
 220 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 "Are we not going to the synagogue?" 
 he asked. 
 
 " No," said Klotz, curtly "they might 
 ask us to sit on the mourners' seats ; and 
 besides, I have work to do that will be 
 best done while we are alone." 
 
 Avshalom was a little afraid. He did 
 not like missing the service, although the 
 choristers did not assist thereat ; but in 
 the hands of Klotz he was as clay beneath 
 the potter's thumb. 
 
 By now they had reached their place of 
 abode. It consisted of three rooms, one 
 of which was consecrated to Shaya and 
 his wife they had no children ; the 
 second served as a kitchen ; and the 
 third was a spacious hayloft, where the 
 choristers slept on trusses of straw or 
 anything that could be misconstrued into 
 a bed. 
 
 " Let us get something to eat first my 
 stomach is whining piteously," said Klotz. 
 
 But the " getting something " was more 
 easily said than done. Shaya's wife was 
 economical gossips called her miserly 
 and kept everything well under lock and 
 key. But at last they found half a Sabbath 
 loaf and five onions. Klotz devoured his
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 221 
 
 share in silence, thinking busily all the 
 time. 
 
 "Ah," he sighed, regretfully, after he 
 had finished the last morsel, " glutton 
 that I am, if I had not eaten so quickly, 
 I should still be eating ; but blessed be 
 God that there is no more, for a full 
 stomach makes an idle brain. Let me 
 get to my task, for clearly Providence is 
 with me." 
 
 It was quite dark now, and three stars 
 had come out to convoy the departing 
 Sabbath ; but Klotz knew where the 
 tallow stumps from the synagogue can- 
 delabra one of Shaya's perquisites 
 were deposited. The way he set to 
 work was peculiar. He went into the 
 kitchen and there took a saucer of shoe- 
 blacking, which, by the infusion of water, 
 he converted into a make-belief for ink ; 
 then he found a splinter of wood, which 
 he sharpened into a stylus, and lastly 
 helped himself to a huge sheet that served 
 as fly-leaf to Shaya's Pentateuch. After 
 that he sat down at the table and wrote. 
 Avshalom looked over his shoulder in 
 silent wonder ; Klotz was covering the 
 paper with the letters of the Russian
 
 222 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 alphabet in every possible combination 
 for what purpose Heaven only knew, for 
 Klotz was ignorant of the Russian tongue, 
 and had never got further in the study of 
 it than the shape of the letters. At last 
 the two pages were filled, and weary work 
 it had been, since it had worn away the 
 stylus to half its original length and the 
 patience of Klotz to its entire extent. 
 
 " There is just one thing more wanted," 
 he said, looking with satisfied smile at his 
 handiwork. 
 
 He took one of the lighted stumps, 
 went up to the hay-loft, and in two 
 minutes came down again, carrying in 
 his hand a waxen seal large as a small 
 plate. 
 
 " Where didst thou procure that ? " 
 queried Avshalom, in awe at his friend's 
 resourcefulness. 
 
 " I tore it from Klumpka's slaughter- 
 certificate ; thou knowest he holds an 
 authorisation to kill cattle may he cut 
 his own throat by mistake ! " answered 
 Klotz, unconcernedly ; and with that he 
 heated the wax and glued it firmly on to 
 the paper in the empty space he had left 
 in the right-hand corner at the top. Then
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 223 
 
 he held the document at arm's length ; it 
 was indeed a stately and imposing affair. 
 
 " So far so good," he said, folding it 
 up carefully and putting it in his pocket. 
 " And now if thou art still willing to trust 
 me with thy two roubles and a half till 
 to-morrow only till to-morrow," and he 
 looked inquiringly at Avshalom. 
 
 The latter needed no further bidding, 
 and Klotz took without a word of thanks 
 the tanned goat-bladder that served alter- 
 nately for purse and tobacco-pouch. These 
 mutual accommodations were a matter of 
 course. 
 
 " And now we must go to Chatzkel, the 
 huckster, and see if we can find there 
 what we want," said Klotz. 
 
 This particular Chatzkel for his name 
 is legion kept a sort of co-operative 
 store, and boasted that in his shop one 
 could purchase everything from tin-tacks 
 to atoned transgressions, as he quaintly 
 put it. Otherwise he was not a bad sort 
 of fellow, and did many a little act of 
 kindness in odd times and in odd places. 
 
 Klotz and Avshalom sallied out into 
 the streets, and from every side there 
 came upon their ears the sound of high
 
 224 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 revelry. Here and there they met with 
 strange apparitions, boys and men in 
 grotesque disguises the masqueraders of 
 the Jewish carnival. Avshalom's eyes 
 followed them enviously into the houses, 
 and he clenched his fist at the redoubled 
 laughter that followed the maskers' entry. 
 From all these joys he was an outcast. But 
 Klotz made no sign at what he heard and 
 saw. Chatzkel was behind his counter as 
 they entered. 
 
 " I cannot give you anything ; it is for- 
 bidden by the Rabbi's edict," he greeted 
 them. 
 
 " I have not come for a gift, but for a 
 loan," said Klotz, quietly. 
 
 " I only lend on deposit," returned 
 Chatzkel. 
 
 " That, too, I have foreseen here is 
 money " ; and Klotz displayed the vast 
 amount of wealth which was his on trust. 
 
 " H'm, it depends ; what do you re- 
 quire ? " asked Chatzkel. 
 
 "If you have them," said Klotz, as if 
 he were asking for an ounce of pepper, 
 " I want a general's uniform, with cloak 
 and medals ; further, two false beards and 
 a postilion's hat."
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 225 
 
 Chatzkel opened his eyes wide, and 
 Avshalom nearly jumped out of his skin. 
 He had thought they were going there 
 to get a bottle of brandy and some honey- 
 cake to make a little feast of their own. 
 But all these absurdities what were they 
 for ? Was Klotz mad ? 
 
 " I know not what is the purpose of 
 your disguise, nor how it will avail you," 
 said Chatzkel, thoughtfully, after a while ; 
 "but if I have the things, you can take 
 them and leave your money for a pledge." 
 
 So they followed him to his magazine, 
 and he rummaged among the litter and 
 the neatly-stacked bales, and behold ! 
 did fortune favour them, or was Chatzkel 
 really a great and wonderful man ? the 
 articles were there. " What was there 
 not ? " as Chatzkel said, wiping his fore- 
 head, that shone with pride and perspira- 
 tion. But he did not tell them why he 
 was so good to them that it was because 
 he himself led a joyless, kinless life, and 
 therefore could feel for them in their lone- 
 some wretchedness. 
 
 " Stay with me this evening," he said, 
 as he helped them making up their 
 packages. 
 
 16
 
 226 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 " I thank you, but I cannot ; I am tired, 
 my limbs feel all broken," replied Klotz 
 "and besides, it is not lawful." 
 
 " Ah, I forgot," said Chatzkel, with a 
 sigh, as he watched them out into the 
 darkness. But he kept the money. 
 "They will be glad of it afterwards," he 
 thought to himself. "Who knows? they 
 might have gamed it away or spent it 
 unworthily." 
 
 It was about ten o'clock when they 
 reached home again. "We must get to 
 bed straight away," said Klotz, "for we 
 must be up early in the morning." 
 
 Avshalom was nothing loth ; he was very 
 tired so tired, in fact, that he could not 
 take the trouble to ask why Klotz fetched 
 the stable-key that lay under Shaya's pillow 
 and put it into his pocket ; nor why Klotz 
 placed the two straw-sacks on which they 
 slept nearest to the door. Their bundles 
 they had bestowed in the penthouse out in 
 the courtyard, wherein Shaya's wife kept 
 her geese for fattening from Tabernacles 
 until the Festival of Lights. 
 
 The scent of the dawn was in the air 
 when the others returned. They were 
 none of them too steady about the legs,
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 227 
 
 and as they stumbled up the staircase to 
 the hayloft, guffawing and chattering, Klotz 
 and Avshalom started up from their sleep. 
 
 " Look at them," jeered Klumpka, hold- 
 ing the candle over them, " where they 
 lie in their beauty, David and Jonathan 
 they are dreaming of the riches they will 
 gather to-morrow," and the others laughed. 
 But the two gave no sign that they heard, 
 and Klotz smacked his lips and threw back 
 his head as was his habit to do during 
 sleep. 
 
 And presently Klumpka got tired of 
 his jeering and lay down. Klotz nudged 
 Avshalom and whispered, " Keep awake, 
 for as soon as they are asleep we shall go 
 forth." And in another half an hour they 
 got up quietly and stole down. They had 
 to pass through Shaya's room ; he heard 
 them and sat up in bed. 
 
 " Who goes there ? " he cried. 
 
 "It is I, Klotz and Avshalom," was 
 the answer in humble tones; "we are 
 going to the Midrash- House, there to read 
 in the Sacred Writ." 
 
 "There ye do well," yawned Shaya, " it 
 will turn your minds to good, ye sinners in 
 Israel, and may God pour grace and con-
 
 228 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 trition into your hearts. No wonder evil 
 dreams visit me at night ; to think I have 
 been sleeping all this time with two pair of 
 desecrated phylacteries hanging over my 
 bed" for that was the regular place for 
 the articles in question, so that they might 
 serve as security against their owner's 
 decampment. 
 
 Klotz quickly led the way to the pent- 
 house, took up the bundles, and then 
 passed on into the silent street down 
 towards the shed that served for Shaya's 
 stable ; it stood half a mile beyond the 
 town, but it was well protected, for the 
 lock-chain was huge and massive, and the 
 gates well fastened with clamps and rivets 
 of iron. Avshalom followed drowsily, 
 grumbling at his comrade's strange pro- 
 ceedings. Klotz quickly opened the gate 
 and passed in. 
 
 " Don't stand there shivering, sleepy- 
 head," he cried; "help me pull out the 
 waggon and harness the horses it will 
 warm thee up." 
 
 In about ten minutes the conveyance 
 stood ready. The waggon was large and 
 roomy, the bottom littered with clean straw, 
 with hurdles ribbing the length of both
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 229 
 
 sides, and the two horses were strong and 
 serviceable. Shaya used them to convey 
 his company from place to place during 
 his professional peregrinations. 
 
 Avshalom looked from the horses to 
 Klotz and at last asked the question that 
 had been trembling on his lips. 
 
 " Thou art not going to sell them ? " 
 
 " No, simpleton, I am not a thief," came 
 the indignant reply ; "we shall bring them 
 back before it is time to groom and fodder 
 them ; and now for our disguise." 
 
 It did not take him long to don his 
 uniform ; it was big enough to go over his 
 own clothes, and made him look stalwart 
 and broad-shouldered ; and the cloak hid 
 the folds that hung loosely in the back. 
 Avshalom put on his postilion's hat and 
 tucked his trousers into the shafts of his 
 top-boots. And when they were ready 
 Klotz jumped up and seized the reins, and 
 away they went over the hard frozen ground ; 
 it was towards the end of February and the 
 cold held the world with an iron grasp. 
 
 " Now wilt thou tell me what hare- 
 brained idea thou art harbouring ? " asked 
 Avshalom, getting seriously alarmed as to 
 the outcome of their venture.
 
 230 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 They had gone a good way already, and 
 Klotz had talked about this and that and 
 nothing at all. 
 
 "Willingly," he answered, "for we must 
 concert our plans so that there may not be 
 a hitch." 
 
 And then he told what it was in his 
 heart to do ; and as Avshalom listened his 
 limbs began to shake, and he would have 
 turned white if the cold had not already 
 turned him blue. 
 
 "Thou madman," he said, through his 
 chattering teeth ; " we shall be discovered 
 and they will tear us to pieces." 
 
 "Thou art very stupid," remarked Klotz, 
 indifferently; "have we not been through 
 worse things before ? hast thou forgotten 
 how we escaped the recruiters at Ulsk ? " 
 
 And then he gradually managed to talk 
 a little courage into his faint-hearted ally ; 
 and what his persuasion failed to do was 
 effected by a certain bottle of good size 
 and better contents : Klotz had found it in 
 the tail pocket of his uniform for Chatzkel 
 had thought that smuggling a gift did not 
 come within the rabbinical edict. And so 
 they went on, past the turf-stacks of 
 Bavarak, past the flour-mills of Diabritz,
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 231 
 
 past the cattle-pens of Vorshk. And be- 
 tween the admonitions of Klotz and the 
 ministrations of the bottle, Avshalom be- 
 guiled the time in mumbling benedictory 
 psalms on their enterprise. At last they 
 caught sight of the birch-forest, the out- 
 posts of which skirted the houses of 
 Tarnagov, their destination. Klotz now 
 put the reins into Avshalom 's hands and 
 told him to drive at break-neck speed. So 
 they rattled with tremendous clatter through 
 the high-street, while every window flew 
 open, and craning necks and gaping mouths 
 protruded in multitudes. They pulled up 
 at the tavern, and at the sound two ostlers 
 rushed out. Avshalom jumped down and 
 stood holding the horses' heads. 
 
 " Help his Excellency to alight," he 
 whispered to the two men ; " our state- 
 carriage broke a wheel, and we had to 
 come on in a ladder-cart. My master bears 
 important despatches from St. Petersburg." 
 
 But Klotz grandiosely waved aside their 
 assistance, as though he did not like them 
 to lay hands on him, and got out with 
 much ceremony and circumstance. 
 
 " What, is there no one here to receive 
 a messenger of the Government ? " he
 
 232 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 roared, pulling himself up to his full height, 
 which exceeded that of an ordinary man. 
 And without further ado he strode towards 
 the house, closely followed by Avshalom. 
 
 On the threshold they were met by the 
 host, hot and breathless. " Pardon your 
 honour," he said, " I was kennelling my 
 bloodhounds they are very fierce to-day, 
 and the horses 
 
 Klotz stopped him with a wave of the 
 hand. " I cannot have long speeches, for 
 I am in haste," he said ; "let the town-crier 
 go out and bid all the heads of families 
 assemble here within the hour, and let 
 those that cannot come send their proxies. 
 I bear an imperial rescript." 
 
 "Your will shall be done," said the host, 
 bowing low, for he was struck with awe at 
 the stranger's voice and demeanour. 
 
 Klotz sat down by the chimney fire in 
 solitary grandeur, while Avshalom stood 
 whispering with the host, and told him 
 what Klotz had enjoined him to say. And 
 sure enough, in a little time the tavern 
 began to fill with peasants for this was 
 Sunday, and Klotz had taken that into 
 account ; and they all stood in the furthest 
 corner casting anxious, sidelong glances
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 233 
 
 at him, while Avshalom went amongst 
 them and spread the tale of his master's 
 greatness. More and more peasants came, 
 and a hum of eager excitement surged 
 through the crowd. What was going to 
 happen ? What were they going to hear ? 
 Was there some new oppression, some new 
 disability to be laid on them in addition to 
 those beneath which the poor serfs already 
 groaned? And each man looked anxiously 
 at his neighbour. 
 
 At last the host came forward on tiptoe 
 and whispered, " My lord, we are as- 
 sembled." 
 
 Then Klotz got up leisurely, threw back 
 his cloak, so that all could see the glitter 
 of his sham stars and crosses, and stood 
 eyeing them disdainfully ; slowly and de- 
 liberately he unfolded his document, lifted 
 his cap, and reverently kissed the great 
 seal. 
 
 "In the name of the Czar," he began, 
 and that glorious deep voice of his seemed 
 to travel into the caverns of the earth, 
 and thence to reverberate with redoubled 
 volumes of sound ; and a tremor quivered 
 through the assembly. " Whereas we have 
 decreed, in our great mercy and in our all-
 
 234 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 pitiful goodness of heart to seek the welfare 
 of the peoples under our dominion : it shall 
 be established henceforth as a law and a 
 statue unto all ages that servitude shall 
 cease amongst our subjects, and that every 
 man shall be master of his body and his 
 chattels and all that appertaineth unto 
 him ; and that it shall not be lawful for any 
 Lord of Manor to claim tithe and tribute 
 of him, and the strength of his sinews shall 
 no more be expended in tilling the feudal 
 lands, but he shall be permitted to husband 
 his own, and to reap the labour of his 
 hands in his own garner and his own 
 threshingfloor. And this shall obtain 
 throughout the length and breadth of our 
 rule. And herewith we send messengers 
 to proclaim the good tidings unto all such 
 whom it shall benefit even in the tongue 
 that is severally understanded of them ; 
 and we have set upon it the warranty of 
 our Great Seal. Furthermore we make 
 known that whosoever shall suffer violence 
 or encroachment upon these rights, unto 
 him it shall be given to vindicate them 
 with might and main, even to the wielding 
 of arms. And in token of this we authorise 
 our messengers to enact a liberation-tax of
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 235 
 
 one-half silver rouble per head of family 
 to augment the exchequer of the empire. 
 Long live the Czar." 
 
 Such was the term of the proclamation ; 
 and for some time after the reading the 
 heavy hand of surprise lay on the mouths 
 of the listeners and kept them mute ; then 
 there came little ebullitions of sound that 
 were like the wind that rasps through the 
 trees and tells that the thunder is coming. 
 But it did not suit Klotz that their feelings 
 should find vent ; it was best that their 
 thoughts should remain cumbered down by 
 their unuttered amazement. So in business- 
 like tone he continued : 
 
 " Silence all : quick, host, get me pen 
 and paper for my portfolio was left in my 
 carriage so that I may write down the 
 names of all who seek enfranchisement ; 
 for these are to be registered in the archives 
 of the land to be a charter to them and 
 their children and their progeny afterwards ; 
 and forget not the tax." 
 
 Then there began a crush and commo- 
 tion to get to the table where Klotz was 
 seated, each one striving to be the first 
 enrolled on the list of the emancipated ; 
 and those who had no money on the spot
 
 236 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 either borrowed it from their friends or 
 loaned it from the tavern-keeper on security 
 of rings and snuff-boxes and suchlike. For 
 it had come at last, the blessed hour of 
 freedom for which they had pined and 
 whined ; now they would know what life 
 meant ; now they could drink one half the 
 time and idle half the other, whilst their 
 wives saw to the potato crop and tended 
 the pigs it was glorious. And the tax- 
 it was that which proved the genuineness 
 of the rescript. Was there ever a rescript 
 issued for good or ill whereto there did not 
 hang an impost ? So Klotz wrote down 
 the name and trade of each man in his 
 turn, and Avshalom raked in the money ; 
 his fingers trembled a little no doubt on 
 account of the cold. At last it was all 
 over, and Klotz got up, stretched himself 
 mightily, and said, " Brothers for we are 
 that now, brothers and peers I must 
 hasten on to carry the good news further ; 
 and when my carriage comes here tell my 
 servants to seek me on the road to Minsk. 
 Let us go," turning to Avshalom ; "health 
 and great riches upon you all." 
 
 With that they passed out, and every- 
 body stood out of their way with deep
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 237 
 
 obeisances, and one or two made even bold 
 enough to print a kiss on the corner of the 
 mock-messenger's cloak. 
 
 " Drive hard, for the love of Heaven," 
 whispered Klotz ; for now that his object 
 was accomplished he felt his heart falling 
 between his feet, and his blood was con- 
 gealed into clots with fear. But as he put 
 his foot on the axle a loud shout was heard 
 and a man came running towards them 
 frantically. Klotz and Avshalom turned 
 pale and looked at each other. 
 
 " For mercy's sake," panted the man, 
 when he came near, " do not go before 
 you have added my name. I was belated, 
 and my brother came to seek me lest I 
 and my household should remain in servi- 
 tude when all the others went free." 
 
 Klotz waited a moment, till his own 
 breath went steady again. " What is thy 
 name ? " he asked, severely. 
 
 " Ivanov Shleutra, and I am the carrion- 
 carter of this place, your honour." 
 
 " Ivanov," continued Klotz, "thou shalt 
 go free like the rest, but for thy remiss- 
 ness the penalty shall be one whole rouble 
 over and above the half." 
 
 And that was a rouble on which they
 
 238 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 had not reckoned ; but they thought that 
 it was more hardly earned than all the 
 rest put together. And the whole amount, 
 as they counted it, came to seventy-three 
 roubles and a half, not to mention the four 
 coins that were spurious. But they did 
 not laugh till they were again well on the 
 road to Tamalov ; they had doffed their 
 disguises long ago, and when finally they 
 had restored the horses and vehicle to 
 their proper abode, then only was it that 
 they felt the rock of anxiety lifted from off 
 their bosoms. 
 
 They had met nobody, for it was the 
 hour of the midday meal, and no one 
 stirred abroad lest he should be cheated 
 out of his portion of the three-cornered 
 meat-dumplings that were the speciality 
 of the day. So they walked on to Shaya's 
 house, while Avshalom now and then 
 peeped sideways at his companion, like a 
 mortal who had long sojourned with a 
 god and knew it not. 
 
 When they came in, dinner was finished, 
 and all the choristers were there for 
 Shaya had behaved handsomely and had 
 feasted them at home that day ; and now 
 they sat, each for himself, taking stock of
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 239 
 
 the money which that morning's questing 
 had brought him. The harvest had been 
 but scanty. Some had taken no more 
 than two roubles ; but Klumpka had 
 managed to obtain three roubles twenty 
 copecks and a big bruise on the right side 
 of his forehead. How he came by that 
 was not known ; later on it was current 
 that he had climbed to the garret of a 
 poor bedridden cripple, whence he would 
 not depart till the indignant neighbours 
 pitched him downstairs. Klumpka denied 
 the report but then, why was he called 
 the " plate-licker " ? 
 
 " Here come the Korahs, the wealthy 
 men," he jeered, as he caught sight of 
 Klotz and Avshalom ; " where have ye 
 quested ? In the House of Everlasting 
 Life among the tombstones ? " 
 
 "Yes," said Klotz, "the dead are 
 generous they have given me richly ; 
 listen," and he jingled the silver in his 
 pocket. "Why, I can even afford to give 
 thee five copecks to buy a plaster for thy 
 bruise," and he threw the coin at his feet. 
 
 "Thou hast stolen it," screamed 
 Klumpka. 
 
 "Then wait till the robbed comes and
 
 240 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 makes complaint," answered Klotz, and 
 busied himself among the scraps and bones 
 that remained from the meal ; he was 
 content, for he knew that his mother 
 would have better fare for many a day 
 to come. 
 
 Now in this adventure of Klotz there 
 were several things that gave cause for 
 wonder. First of all the choristers won- 
 dered what danger it was that Avshalom 
 had escaped so that he offered public 
 thanksgiving for his deliverance and 
 paid a rouble in token of his sincerity ; 
 and further, where he had obtained the 
 rouble. Then Abihu, Shaya's groom, 
 wondered why, when he came to tend 
 the horses, he found them so broken- 
 winded. Furthermore, Klumpka won- 
 dered who it was that had torn the seal 
 from his slaughter-certificate. Again, the 
 whole province wondered what spirit of 
 madness had come over the peaceful 
 peasantry of Tarnagov, that they should 
 refuse their serf-labour when called upon 
 to do so by the overseers and taskmasters, 
 so that the police had to come with staves 
 and blunt bayonets to force them to their 
 toil and stop them babbling about rescripts
 
 THE MORDECAI OF THE SERFS 241 
 
 and emissaries and liberty charters. And 
 finally Klotz and Avshalom wondered 
 what manner of Providence it could be 
 that turned the evil which man designed 
 against man into a source of blessing and 
 augmentation.
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS 
 JUSTICE" 
 
 While the heavens stand firm, to the world's last term 
 Shall be the three things that were from the start : 
 
 The word of God His chastening rod, 
 
 And the suffering-strength of a woman's heart. 
 Saying of the Fathers (interpolated). 
 
 " A ND thou weepest because thou hast 
 \. lost a child that was not even yet 
 a weanling ? And therefore thou walkest 
 here in solitude by the edge of the lake, 
 wringing thy hands and crying aloud in 
 the bitterness of thy heart ? Ah, blessed 
 are the young in their strength ! Seest 
 thou not how thou art blessed in being 
 strong to wash the sorrow from thy soul 
 through the floodgates of the eyes ? But 
 in us that are old the sluices are weary 
 with flowing, and therefore the grief 
 remains unmoved, and lies heavy as a 
 stone ; and by reason of its endurance 
 
 242
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 243 
 
 it becomes as part and parcel of our lives, 
 so that we would not grow rid of it, even 
 if we could. Therefore I begrudge thee 
 not thy tears ; but lest thou shouldst arraign 
 Heaven and thereby bring sin upon thy 
 head, I would have thee remember that 
 whomsoever God loves He chastises. And 
 me He has loved very much. Have I not 
 lived to the age of sixty and I know not 
 how much over and have I not been 
 stricken very hard ? One child thou didst 
 lose, and one that had not learned to bite 
 with its teeth ? But I have lost four 
 that were long past the pitfalls of infancy, 
 and were like to grow up as cedars of 
 Lebanon. But the great woodcutter, 
 which is the Angel of Death, cut them 
 down two of them singly and two of 
 them at one stroke ; for at that time he 
 was in great haste, and worked busily 
 with his hands. So while we sit here in 
 the cool of the evening, let me tell thee 
 the tale of my four children ; but do thou, 
 my daughter, on no account remit thy 
 weeping. 
 
 "One son I had, and his name was 
 Isaac what am I saying? nay, it was 
 Benjamin, of whom I must tell thee first.
 
 244 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 He had grown to be thirteen, and already 
 I was casting about my eyes among the 
 maidens of the place to choose him a wife. 
 Verily, he was a lad who might be a joy 
 to his mother, and right willingly did he 
 take upon himself the burdens of the 
 household ; for his father had gone betimes 
 to prepare places for us all in Paradise. 
 And this was the period of the Cantonists. 
 What, thou knowest not of the Cantonists? 
 Ah, I forgot that thou comest from afar, 
 even from across the frontier, and the tale 
 of them has not reached thy ears. Nor 
 indeed is it fit for the ears of women, for 
 it is a tale of darkness and misery and the 
 rending of hearts. But for the purpose in 
 hand it must needs be told thee at length 
 and with a full mouth. 
 
 "It was in the time when Nicolai ruled 
 over the land, and his councillors put an 
 evil thought into his mind, like the thought 
 of Pharaoh when he set his heart on the 
 harassing of the children of Israel. And 
 was there not sufficient of tribulation 
 before ? God knows all things, and 
 whom He loves He chastises. And 
 this, then, was the evil in the matter 
 of the Cantonists. For the heads of the
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 245 
 
 provinces and the governors of the towns 
 and the mayors of the villages looked 
 with jealous eyes on our people, how 
 their offspring waxed great by the blessing 
 of God unto Abraham. And therefore 
 they said craftily to one another : 
 
 " ' Let us lay hands on the little children 
 which are the roots of a nation growing 
 into and strengthening the bulk of the 
 trunk.' 
 
 " And then there was issued an edict 
 which provided that youngsters ranging 
 from the age of eight to fifteen, which is 
 implied in the meaning of the word since 
 thou knowest not the language should be 
 taken from the homesteads of their birth 
 and scattered about the country. 
 
 " Now this was the method of the taking. 
 Over each village there was set a warden, 
 and chiefly he was a man of our own faith, 
 for he had most cognizance of the families 
 of his brethren. And from this warden it 
 was required that when called upon he 
 should furnish boys from the children of 
 the congregation to the number that was 
 named. At first the people understood 
 not this plague that had come upon them ; 
 but when presently one child was kid-
 
 246 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 napped and then another, and the calamity 
 spread abroad, then indeed there rose a 
 wail of sorrow that might have shook the 
 gates of heaven. But the heavens are 
 planted upon firm foundation, and there- 
 fore they did not fall and crush the 
 heads of the evildoers. And mostly there 
 suffered the poverty-stricken, for they 
 could give no gifts to make propitious 
 to them the hearts of those that held this 
 matter in hand ; and so when a rich man's 
 son was named for a victim, his father 
 would go and prevail by bribery, so that 
 there was a substitute. And surely there 
 must be some great dispensing of God's 
 favour upon this generation, that their eyes 
 behold not what ours saw in those days. 
 For our village lay full in the route of the 
 children's journey ; and they came in 
 bodies of hundred, with the riders at 
 their side and in their back and the 
 riders bore kantchouks in their hands 
 that lay not idle. And through each 
 rank there ran a leathern thong for a 
 tether, fastened to the sleeve of each, 
 lest at dark of night any should escape. 
 For they marched day and night, huddled 
 in their long mantles of raw hide that
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 247 
 
 trailed over their feet and made them to 
 stumble ; and whenever they slept it was 
 by the roadside or in the ditches, so that 
 their garments were caked with muddy 
 slime, unless the season was frosty and 
 the ground stiff and unyielding. But from 
 every hundred that went forth barely two 
 or three returned ; and that was because 
 their hands and feet were bitten useless 
 with the cold and their hearing was 
 numbed so that they heard not. As 
 for the rest, this was the fate that befell 
 them. They were penned up like cattle 
 in stables until creeping sores and diseases 
 fastened upon them from want of food 
 and storing room. Now those for whom 
 there was hope of recovery, they were 
 given to the peasants for the tending of 
 their swine, and the yoke was laid upon 
 them to draw furrows like oxen ; and 
 twelve of them went to one ox. But as 
 for those that were rotten to the core 
 and in whom the cancers had eaten 
 the flesh to the bone, for these were 
 built large wooden sheds, and an opiate 
 was mixed in their food. And at night, 
 when they slept, there were lighted great 
 trusses of wet straw, whereof the fumes
 
 248 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 penetrated the chinks, and during their 
 sleep was their innocent life choked out 
 of them. What, thou dost not believe ? 
 See, I am near to the end of my days, and 
 what would I gain by accusing my fellow- 
 creatures idly ? But these things happened 
 as I have said, nor did I see a windmill 
 where there was but a cow ; rather have 
 I been niggardly in my setting forth, for 
 there are many to whom the memory of 
 this still comes as a nightmare in the 
 broad of the day. And each time when 
 a troop had passed through, the parents 
 would look at each other with leaden eyes, 
 and turn their faces from their children ; 
 but in those days many a beard of brown 
 whitened into snow overnight. Such, 
 then, is the story of the Cantonists, and 
 I had a son Benjamin. 
 
 "Now thus far I had escaped the visita- 
 tion. And I knew not to what to ascribe 
 my good fortune, unless it was because of 
 my sister, who had now been a faithful 
 servant for twelve years at the house of 
 the Davoustchik, which is the Warden. 
 And seemingly at her entreaty, my son 
 Benjamin had remained exempt. But the 
 time came when for the great part the
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 249 
 
 available youngsters had been despatched, 
 and there were left behind only the chil- 
 dren of the wealthy, and the children of the 
 Warden and of his kinsfolk, and the child 
 that was mine, even my son Benjamin. 
 
 " And one night my sister came bringing 
 me word that there was at last no thrusting 
 off the impending doom, for that the kid- 
 nappers were ordered to seize my son 
 Benjamin on the morrow. Yet though 
 the dismay was great in my heart, I did not 
 fold my arms idly, making no attempt to 
 wrestle with fate. For of furtively slipping 
 away there was no question, since the issues 
 of the place were watched ; but in my head 
 there had been ripening a plan against the 
 emergency. Therefore at dead of night 
 I awoke my son for he slept soundly in 
 ignorance of the danger and told him 
 what there was to be done. And the boy 
 looked up at me wildly and said : 
 
 " ' Mother dear, I am afraid.' 
 
 " And then I urged him again, saying 
 that there was no other outlet from the 
 disaster, and that all must be staked on 
 this throw. Thus we sat during the night, 
 and his arms clung about my neck and 
 there was a trembling through all his body.
 
 250 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 But towards the morning he grew calmer 
 and at last he said : 
 
 " ' Mother dear, if this must be done, 
 then I shall not resist, for I cannot bear 
 to see thy grief; but I am afraid afraid 
 unto death.' 
 
 "And then in all haste I took a linen 
 sheet from my couch, and placed two chairs 
 for a trestle, and laying my son Benjamin 
 thereon, I covered him with the sheet ; 
 and further, I lit two candles and set them 
 on the floor near his head. So then we 
 waited ; and after some time of waiting I 
 heard the kidnappers outside, and rushing 
 to the door I flung it open with a loud cry. 
 
 " ' You have come too late my son 
 Benjamin died at the rising of the sun ; 
 look where I have laid him out for burial.' 
 
 " And one of the men there were two 
 said according to the formula, ' Blessed is 
 He whose judgment is justice.' And then 
 he shouldered past me, for I dared not 
 prevent him, and strode up to the chairs 
 and lifted a corner of the sheet ; and turning 
 to the other he said, ' She speaks truth ; we 
 have come too late he is dead.' 
 
 " Then he passed out, and on the thresh- 
 old I caught his hand and quickly pressed
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 251 
 
 therein a silver coin, for that he had borne 
 me out and had saved my son Benjamin. 
 And the man looked at me with big eyes 
 and said nothing. And then I watched 
 them passing down the street, giving praise 
 to God for my deliverance, and thinking 
 quickly that I should have an empty coffin 
 taken from my house, and conceal my son 
 Benjamin in his chamber till I might 
 smuggle him away into safety. And at 
 last, when the men were out of sight, I 
 flew to the boy, and snatched off the 
 covering and called him ; but he slept 
 on, worn out with the watching of the 
 night. And then I shook him, and kissed 
 him on the mouth and at that his jaw 
 fell, and I saw what I saw. And the 
 coffin that went from my house was not 
 empty. Aye, blessed be He whose judg- 
 ment is justice. But what is this ? I 
 charged thee to weep, and yet thy tears 
 come less plentiful for thy child that was 
 not even a weanling. 
 
 " And now let me tell thee of my 
 daughter Esther, that went by the name 
 of Hadassah, the myrtle, because her 
 breath was as a fragrance and the bloom 
 lay on her face summer and winter ; and
 
 252 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 her full tale of these was fifteen. And to 
 all her lovers who asked her in marriage 
 she gave one answer : ' I shall not 
 go from under my mother's roof; for 
 since my brother Benjamin died there is 
 no one to bring grist to the mill, so that 
 she and the two little ones ' meaning the 
 two youngest, that were twin ' may not 
 go hungering.' 
 
 " Now the manner of our occupation 
 was the growing of herbs and vegetables, 
 which she went to sell in the houses of 
 the town. But there was none that paid 
 with more liberal hand than the Galach, 
 I say the village priest, an old man and 
 pious and walking in the fear of God. 
 And about this time he died, and there 
 was put in his place a young man, a 
 wolf in sheep's clothing, who wrought evil 
 things in secrecy. And the third time my 
 daughter went to his house she returned 
 with flaming cheeks : 
 
 " ' Mother, the Galach has reminded 
 me that I am a woman grown.' And 
 thereafter it was I who carried him the 
 produce of our field. And often he made 
 inquiry after my daughter with feigned 
 kindliness, though 1 knew it was with no
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 253 
 
 good purpose ; nor was there once that he 
 passed my house without spying into the 
 doorway. And one day he entered, asking 
 me, ' Have you perchance seen a spaniel 
 of mine that has gone astray ? ' And just 
 then my daughter came in, and he said 
 further : 
 
 " ' Behold, I went out to seek a hound, 
 and instead I have found a Rose of 
 Sharon.' 
 
 And thereon she answered rashly and 
 without wisdom : 
 
 " ' The thing that you find had liefer be 
 a hound than a Rose of Sharon.' 
 
 "And he bit his lip, and, looking her 
 full in the face, he said, ' So even the 
 Roses of Sharon have thorns that sting ? 
 Yet none the less are they desirable for 
 culling.' And so he continued harping on 
 the word in terms of insult. 
 
 "And that was not the only time, for 
 after that he came often to the house, and 
 I had not the courage to gainsay him 
 entrance ; and further, I besought Esther, 
 if she could not hie from the chamber in 
 time, to show him courtesy and meet 
 cunning with cunning. But what could 
 two women avail against him who wrought
 
 254 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 by the aid of Satan ? And when my 
 daughter disappeared, just as a stone is 
 dropped into a well, even then he came 
 and asked for her presence ; and when I 
 told him she was not, he laughed at me 
 in my distraction, and said : 
 
 " ' You have hidden her for fear of me, 
 and that is unkind of you, for I am a 
 man of God and would do wrong unto 
 no living thing.' 
 
 "And he said it so speciously that for 
 long time I was swayed by doubt whether 
 his ignorance was feigned or true, in the 
 meantime making diligent inquiry in the 
 neighbourhood, and enjoining the fishers 
 to give heed when they dragged the river 
 for fish. And the time passed on without 
 tidings. 
 
 " But after some weeks the priest came 
 to me saying, ' You did right to bewail 
 your daughter. I have this day come 
 from Warsaw, and there I have seen the 
 Rose of Sharon trailing in the mud of the 
 gutters, beneath the light of the lanterns ; 
 and her name is a byword in every tavern 
 for ten miles around.' 
 
 " And from that I knew that he lied, for 
 at Warsaw, in the old cemetery, her father
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 255 
 
 lies buried, and she would not dare to do 
 evil in a place where his soul could lay its 
 finger on her as she passed. And, more- 
 over, I knew now that the priest had a 
 hand in her vanishing. 
 
 "So I bided my time, and one day, 
 having watched him depart on his con- 
 veyance, I went to his house, there to 
 converse with the old woman who tended 
 his kitchen, and I took with me a slice of 
 honey-cake and a bottle of raisin wine in 
 strong fermentation. 
 
 "'There, Katrinka,' I said, 'I have 
 brought thee a gift that will please thee 
 the cake is soft and needs no teeth-grinding, 
 and the wine will run like fire through thy 
 body.' So then we sat talking, and I plied 
 her cautiously with questions ; and at last 
 the wine loosed her tongue, and she spoke. 
 'Aye, aye,' she said, 'it is a dreary life 
 and solitary I lead here since the old priest 
 died, for my new master has much business 
 abroad and is no stay-at-home; but latterly 
 he goes often to the convent of Tchen- 
 stochov, doing good service to a novice, 
 and curing her of the devil that is strong 
 within her.' 
 
 " And then I knew where I had to seek
 
 256 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 for my daughter ; and having awaited the 
 priest's return, and also having bestowed 
 my two other children with an affinity of 
 mine, I set out for the convent, two days' 
 journey on foot, for perchance God would 
 show me a way to wrest her from her 
 adversaries. And on the way I stained 
 my teeth with saffron and my hands and 
 face with walnut, so that I might go 
 unknown ; and further, that I might have 
 a pretext for not knowing their language, 
 feigning to be a gipsy. 
 
 " Now when I had arrived, which was 
 in the morning of the third day, I straight- 
 way hid among the bushes that hedged 
 the courtyard of the convent. And not 
 long after there came out two she-priests, 
 leading between them a third that wore a 
 thick veil of black about her head so as to 
 shut off all her sight. And as they led her 
 up and down, I knew her for my daughter 
 Esther by the upward jerk of her arms 
 which had been her habit as a child, and 
 much I marvelled that the habit should 
 have come back to her after such long 
 time. But I took the encounter for an 
 omen and a sign that she would soon be 
 released from her captors. So each day I
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 257 
 
 watched, but except for a sight of my 
 child I gained nothing. 
 
 " At last came a time when she no 
 longer appeared, and I waited in vain for 
 her coming. But a week later, as I stood 
 clawing at the fence in my distress so 
 that the blood sprang from the nails, a 
 man came out on the terrace and stood 
 looking about. And at last his eyes 
 chanced on me, and he cried : 
 
 " ' What dost thou there, thou vaga- 
 bond ? Come in and earn a meal honestly 
 if thou wouldst, so that thou hast no need 
 of pilfering.' 
 
 "And at the bidding I tremblingly 
 passed in through the gate, not knowing 
 what this might betide. And then it 
 appeared that one of the charwomen had 
 fallen in a faint, and that I was to do her 
 portion of the work. And from the talk 
 of the others I learned that on the morrow 
 there was to be a great solemnity, because 
 of the dedication of a novice. And then 
 I knew that the knife was at my throat 
 and that there was great need of a miracle. 
 
 " Now it chanced that I was stationed 
 upon the second floor, and on my right 
 hand there was a door whence I heard 
 18
 
 258 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 voices one voice that spoke with a loud 
 eagerness, and a second whose words 
 came faint and languid. And as I lay 
 there on my hands and knees listening 
 with all the might of my ears, the door 
 was opened and out came the selfsame 
 priest I knew, red and angry, and in 
 passing he darted at me with his foot, 
 bidding me move out of his way. And 
 when he was gone I gently lifted up the 
 latch and peered into the chamber ; and 
 there, stretched out all her length on the 
 couch, lay my daughter Esther, or, at 
 least, the shadow of her. And at sight 
 of me she gasped, ' Mother, mother, come 
 quickly they have killed me ! ' for she 
 knew me despite my disguise, and from 
 that I augured that she was dying, for the 
 dead know all things. And I flew to the 
 couch, and cradling her head on my 
 bosom, I bade her repeat the attestation 
 of Israel : ' Hear, the Lord is thy God ! ' 
 And her lips moved faintly in struggling 
 after the sound, but her hands kept ever 
 jerking to her neck as I had seen her do 
 in the courtyard, but she had not strength 
 to lift them high enough. And at last I 
 understood, and, unfolding her dress, I saw
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 259 
 
 upon her heart a crucifix of jasper ; and 
 snatching it up, I flung it upon the ground, 
 so that it shivered into a thousand pieces. 
 And at that she raised her head and said, 
 ' Thanks, mother dear ; I could not die 
 
 with that on my ' And she breathed 
 
 once more, and only once more. Then 
 I kissed her and said, ' Blessed is He 
 whose judgment is justice,' for that they 
 had only killed her body, but not her 
 soul. 
 
 " And at that moment there came in 
 three of the she-priests, and they stood 
 looking at me and my daughter and the 
 fragments on the floor. But I had my 
 tale ready : ' I heard a loud cry, and 
 entering here, I found the maiden dying ; 
 and just before she died the Mother of 
 God there ' and I pointed to the large 
 image in clay that was placed on a shelf 
 over the couch 'stretched out her hand, 
 took the crucifix from the maiden's bosom, 
 and hurled it upon the floor. And all this 
 I saw with my own eyes, and can testify 
 to the miracle.' 
 
 " And they dared not deny my word, 
 for that would be casting a doubt on the 
 Mother of their God. And after I had
 
 260 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 got me forth from the convent I rent my 
 garment, and waited till the following day 
 to see them bury my daughter ; and in the 
 night I came and tore down the cross that 
 had been fixed over her grave, and planted 
 around the place a circle of pebbles, so 
 that she might lie apart from the Gentiles. 
 After that I hurried away to my native 
 place, there to sit through the ordained 
 period of mourning. 
 
 " Thus did I lose my daughter aye, 
 blessed be He whose judgment is justice ! 
 But wherefore hast thou ceased weeping, 
 thou that didst just now make such lamen- 
 tation for thy child that had not outgrown 
 its swathing-clothes ? 
 
 " And now there remained to me but 
 two Isaac and David, that were born at 
 one birth. And when I looked at them I 
 knew that my old age would not go totter- 
 ing along without two strong staves to 
 lean upon. But alas ! it was my doom to 
 be a childless mother of children, and had 
 I borne a hundred I should only have been 
 childless a hundredfold but blessed be 
 He whose judgment is justice! And the 
 two were taken off in a manner that has 
 no like within the memory of men even
 
 WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 261 
 
 by the hand of one another were they 
 taken off and died. 
 
 " Truly thou art a stranger in this land, 
 yet hast thou heard of the great uprising 
 wherewith the people of this country were 
 uplifted against their oppressors, for the 
 fame thereof has flooded the world even 
 as their blood flooded the soil of their 
 fathers. But nowhere was the earth 
 redder than there where flowed the blood 
 of my twin sons, Isaac and David. For 
 they heeded not the voice of their mother, 
 but said, ' Counsel us not to our shame so 
 that it be said, " Oh, this valiant progeny 
 of the Maccabees ! look how these cocks 
 crow each on his own dunghill ! " For we 
 are mindful of our brother Benjamin, that 
 died by the tyrant, and we have not for- 
 gotten our sister Esther, that died through 
 the curse of his superstition ; and for every 
 hair of their head we shall slay one of his 
 servants.' Thus they spoke, talking big 
 words as is the wont of boys. And Isaac 
 had lately married, and he said to his wife, 
 ' Fear not ; I shall return by the time I 
 can look at the face of my child.' 
 
 " So they went forth with the rest, and 
 fought the battles of their countrymen.
 
 262 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 And we women sat at home and fought 
 against their evil destiny with prayers and 
 supplications ; and our fighting, too, was 
 not without its bloodshed. And suddenly 
 we heard of the great battle that had 
 been fought at Bialablotta, the place of 
 the chalk mud, and that the Emperor's 
 men had prevailed and had driven their 
 enemies the brothers-in-arms of my sons 
 before them, and had slain them in 
 multitudes. And a great band of the 
 fugitives h id fled within two miles of our 
 village and were encamped in the forest, 
 where they would lie in wait for their 
 pursuers. 
 
 "And the whole tenor of the calamity 
 was related to us by one of the fugitives 
 that escaped the slaughter ; and I remember 
 his words distinctly, for I drank them in, 
 not with my ears, but with all the soul 
 that is within me. And this is what he 
 said : 'It was in the gathering of the 
 darkness that we heard the trampling of 
 hoofs from afar, and from the sound we 
 knew that the Cossacks were coming. So 
 we got ready, standing behind the trees 
 on either side of the road, intending to 
 close in upon them as they passed through
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 263 
 
 and make havoc of them in our midst. 
 But the Cossack is a child of the devil 
 by a she-fox ; and thus it was that they 
 escaped destruction by the pricking of a 
 horse-ear. For the stallions on which 
 they rode became restive, tossing their 
 heads and sniffing the air ; and from that 
 their riders knew that there were mares 
 ahead likely the mares of some transport. 
 But as none of their comrades had passed 
 in front, they guessed that some body of 
 the enemy lay across their road. So, 
 laughing at their own shrewdness, they 
 dismounted, and waited till the dark had 
 come on full. And then they picked out a 
 hundred of their horses that were of least 
 store, tied upon their backs a corpse, 
 wherever they could find one and the 
 search was easy and sent them galloping 
 upon our trail. And we, hearing them 
 advance, stood waiting with our weapons 
 in our hands till the squadron had come 
 up ; and then we rushed forth and started 
 hacking at them with our knives, for we 
 dared not shoot for fear of assistance 
 coming to them. And how it was we 
 knew not. There was no moon, and the 
 trees towered high like great fingers point-
 
 264 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 ing to heaven in accusing of the horror ; 
 but, meeting no resistance, we fought and 
 hacked and slaughtered, until suddenly we 
 found other weapons darting at our 
 bosoms, and we thought that the enemy 
 had worked up his mettle. Then we 
 returned the stabs with twofold vigour, 
 and not a cry was uttered even by those 
 in their death agony, for that was against 
 the command. And we thought that now 
 we were avenged ; but just then came the 
 first streak of dawn, and we saw what we 
 had done, and how our madness had 
 betrayed us into self-destruction. And 
 there lay four hundred of us whom our 
 own arms had sent into the last great sleep.' 
 " Thus much he told us, and the rest 
 I learned for myself. For early in the 
 morning, when we heard of the carnage, 
 we went forth with fomentations and 
 bandages to help the wounded, for we 
 thought, ' Thus may other mothers go 
 forth to ease our sons when they suffer.' 
 And I was the foremost, and went amongst 
 the bodies, turning them over and feeling 
 their hearts ; but most of them were still, 
 for whose hand strikes more surely than 
 that of a friend or familiar ?
 
 "WHOSE JUDGMENT IS JUSTICE" 265 
 
 " And at last I came to where lay two 
 bodies close to each other, with their left 
 hands clasped tightly and their lips almost 
 touching ; and the dagger of the one 
 stuck in the throat of the other, and the 
 knife of the second gashed the bosom of 
 the first. And at the sight a faintness 
 came over me, and I crept up to them on 
 my knees, averting my head with dire 
 forebodings ; and when I turned it it 
 was like twisting it from the foundations 
 of my neck and looked, why, behold 
 blessed be He whose judgment is justice ! 
 there were my two sons Isaac and 
 David, or they that had been my sons, 
 for now they belonged to the earth 
 whereof their bodies were made. And 
 with the strength of three I dragged them 
 among the trees and covered them with 
 my headcloth ; and then I ran to fetch 
 Naomi, Isaac's wife, who was a mother 
 of eleven days, and said to her, ' Quick ! 
 bring thy babe, so that it may look once 
 upon the face of its father, for he will 
 never look upon the face of his child- 
 blessed be He whose judgment is justice ! ' 
 
 " And I took with me a hand-waggon, 
 and laid thereon my two sons, and con-
 
 266 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 veyed them to the ' Good Place/ lest they 
 should be deposited with the others in the 
 great hole that served for the common 
 sepulchre. 
 
 " These things have I seen and done, 
 and I have eaten to the full of child- 
 sorrow, and they were none of them 
 sucklings like thine. What is this ? 
 Dry-eyed ? Truly it is said that a small 
 grief melts away in the telling of a 
 greater. And now let us go, since the 
 night air is chill, and here comes my 
 grandson searching for me ; for the love 
 he bears me is as great as half the love I 
 have buried in the graves of my four 
 children."
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER. 
 
 A NYBODY with half an eye to pro- 
 JL\. portion could see what an ill-assorted 
 couple they were. Among their most ob- 
 trusive dissimilarities were these : the one 
 was called Casimir, the other Jacob the 
 names betokening Slav and Semitic de- 
 scent respectively. Again, Casimir had to 
 stoop under most of the doorways through 
 which he passed, whereas Jacob, when 
 standing his tallest, just reached Casimir's 
 elbow, a circumstance to be explained by 
 the fact that the one had been a full-grown 
 man for years, while the other had still 
 most of his growing to get through. But 
 the most radical difference surely was 
 this : Casimir was a spear-bearing, fierce- 
 whiskered member of his Majesty's im- 
 perial army Cossack department ; and 
 Jacob a soprano chorister in the local 
 
 267
 
 268 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 synagogue. How, in spite of these des- 
 perate inequalities, there came to be any 
 connection between the two was a miracle. 
 It is the fashion to explain miracles by 
 natural causes ; this was a case in point. 
 To bring about primarily a reachable dis- 
 tance between Casimir and Jacob, it was 
 fated that certain turbulent minds among 
 the gentry of the district wherein Jacob 
 lived should become suddenly troubled by 
 the ghosts of Sobietski and Kosciusko and 
 the spectre of Poland's departed greatness 
 that came to them clamouring for a speedy 
 re-incarnation. These turbulent minds had 
 long failed to see what connection ex- 
 cepting that of the railway there should 
 be between St. Petersburg and Warsaw, 
 and why people should not be allowed to 
 do as they liked in and with their own 
 country. They thereupon took to dis- 
 seminating this opinion, at first privately 
 and with circumspection, then more broad- 
 cast and openly, until rumours of it reached 
 the keenset ears of the governmental 
 authorities, who with great gusto straight- 
 way made a blood-curdling report of it to 
 headquarters. There is a fixed and con- 
 stitutional remedy for these cases of politi-
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 269 
 
 cal hay-fever, administered in the shape of 
 two or three Pulks of Cossacks, whose 
 presence generally serves as a cooling- 
 draught for the hot-headed restorationists. 
 That is how Casimir came to Lotz. 
 
 There was a great deal of excitement 
 when the regiment rattled into the little 
 town and halted on the market-place. 
 Everybody was there to receive them 
 from the mayor to the knacker, just to 
 show there was no ill-feeling towards the 
 arrivals, and the patriots felt very small at 
 sight of the swarthy bearded faces and 
 gleaming lance-points. Of course Jacob 
 was there, bearing himself very calmly in 
 the possession of a clean conscience ; but 
 all the same, he felt rather frightened when 
 presently one of the men rode straight up 
 to him and said, gruffly : 
 
 " Do you know one Pototski, a miller?" 
 
 There was nothing formidable about 
 the question, and Jacob felt particularly 
 adapted for answering it. 
 
 " Yes, I know him," he piped ; " my 
 mother lives in his courtyard." 
 
 " Come along, then, and show the way 
 
 I am billeted there," said the man ; and 
 
 before Jacob knew what was happening
 
 270 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 he found himself whipped up by the nape 
 of his jacket and seated astride in the 
 saddle. In a second or two he grew alive 
 to the situation, and determined to make 
 the best of it. Horse-riding was a new 
 sensation to him ; when his father, who had 
 been a butcher, was living, he had occa- 
 sionally been allowed to ride cattle to the 
 shambles. But this was different ; to ride 
 on one horse with a Cossack was an 
 experience to relate and remember, and 
 would no doubt raise his prestige among 
 the knickerbocker population of the town 
 by several inches. 
 
 This was the first contact between 
 Casimir and Jacob, but it needed more 
 than that to bring about an acquaintance. 
 And this time, despite the shoulder-shrug 
 of the rationalist, the hand of Providence 
 was stretched forth visibly. Two days 
 after, Jacob was sitting near the window 
 to catch the last streaks of the dying day- 
 light ; for he was particularly anxious to 
 finish carving his bulrush whistle that 
 evening. It was turning out beautifully 
 the rind was tough and fresh, and would 
 not require much hammering to remove 
 the stalk from within, and Jacob expressed
 
 271 
 
 his satisfaction thereat in tones of loud and 
 clear- voiced melody. He did not notice 
 what he was singing singing had become 
 a mechanical action with him ; he sang 
 with as little self-consciousness as a bird, 
 and therefore, because his music came 
 from the heart, it went to the heart. In 
 the distance there was a sound of rioting, 
 where the soldiers had gathered in the 
 canteen ; but sometimes, when Jacob's 
 voice rose especially clear, there was a 
 lull as if they were listening. Jacob 
 noticed neither the noise nor the silence, 
 but worked on busily. His mother sat at 
 the table with a pile of goose-feathers 
 before her ; she was stripping the down 
 from the quills to make feather coverlets 
 of them it was what she earned her 
 living by. 
 
 The twilight waned, and the room was 
 filled with the argent glimmer of the full 
 moon. " We shall save a rushlight to- 
 night God is good," thought Jacob, and 
 sang on. Just then there was a sound of 
 heavy steps walking as though trying to 
 tread down their heaviness ; they came 
 nearer, and paused before the door. 
 Jacob heard them, and stopped singing ;
 
 272 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 and instantly the latch lifted, and a tower- 
 ing form strode across the threshold. 
 
 " Who was singing here ? " said a voice 
 from somewhere among the rafters. 
 
 Jacob's mother screamed she under- 
 stood Russian because she had served as 
 cook in Odessa many years before her 
 marriage ; and the question suggested to 
 her answers in the shape of knouts and 
 prisons and Siberia, and fear tied her 
 tongue. 
 
 " Who was singing here ? " came the 
 question more urgently. 
 
 The woman sprang up and threw her- 
 self on her knees before the intruder. 
 
 "Spare us, spare us, your honour," she 
 stammered ; " the boy did not know he 
 was doing wrong. Did he disturb your 
 honour in your sleep? or is it not lawful 
 to sing the song ? " And then she turned 
 to her son and became fluent in chiding 
 him. " Did I not tell thee, rascal, to let 
 alone these songs of the Gentiles ? Have 
 I not begged of thee to sing the Syna- 
 gogue tunes like ' He is the Tree of Life,' 
 and ' There is none like him among the 
 gods,' and such things, whereat none can 
 take umbrage ? To be sure, your honour,
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 273 
 
 I have warned him, but he is obstinate 
 and foolhardy : do not let your hand fall 
 too heavy on us, for he is but a child with- 
 out sense, and my husband served the 
 Emperor loyally for twelve years." 
 
 The Cossack heard her patiently, then 
 he smiled at least Jacob saw his teeth 
 gleam in the moonlight. 
 
 "My good woman," he said at last ; "I 
 have not come to harm you there is 
 nothing punishable in the boy's song, 
 although it is the cause of my coming ; 
 but that is no business of yours. Come 
 here, little throstle ; who taught you that 
 song ? " 
 
 " What song, your honour?" whimpered 
 Jacob, still very much frightened. 
 
 " The ' Minka, Minka ' song." 
 
 And Jacob told him how there had 
 come to the choir two years ago one 
 Aaron, a tenor, and he it was who taught 
 him the song. Aaron had learned it on 
 his wanderings, somewhere in Livonia, 
 and this same Aaron had afterwards gone 
 to Warsaw and had there become a famous 
 opera singer. Casimir nodded his head. 
 Quite true, the song came from Livonia, 
 for that he could vouch. That was where 
 19
 
 274 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 he had first heard it, and that was where 
 he had met the Minka who had sung it to 
 him in the drowsy summer afternoons, and 
 had given the sunset a golden glory such 
 as he had never seen before. And then, 
 when his regiment had been ordered 
 further, the memory of song and singer 
 and sunset had followed him hauntingly, 
 till he stretched out his arms in vain im- 
 potent longing for the dreamlike gladness 
 of the past. Ever since he had seen no 
 beauty in melody, nor in the smile of 
 maidens, nor in the gorgeous phantasms 
 of the summer sky. But at the sound of 
 the selfsame song it was as though by a 
 magic touch the old world were rising from 
 its ruins ; he was again lying on the 
 heather with Minka beside him chasing 
 the importunate gnats from his forehead, 
 and singing with that soul -bewildering 
 sweetness which only her happiness of 
 heart could have taught her. And again 
 he went through the short-lived period of 
 Paradise from the first mute compre- 
 hending look to the agonised bliss of the 
 last embrace. 
 
 Jacob looked at him in wonder. What 
 made the stern-faced man draw his lips
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 275 
 
 together as if he were in pain ? What put 
 the far-away look into his eyes ? Jacob 
 would have -pitied him, if there had been a 
 man on the face of the earth bold enough 
 to pity a Cossack. 
 
 Casimir took a chair and made himself 
 at home. 
 
 " Will you sing that song again, little 
 man ? " he said. 
 
 Jacob was quite willing ; he had lost all 
 fear. The great big soldier spoke very 
 kindly, almost pleadingly, so he began : 
 
 " Minka, the plain is asleep, 
 Minka, the moon " 
 
 Casimir stopped him. " Wait a minute," 
 he said, and got up to shut the open 
 window. Jacob thought he looked jealous 
 that anything of the tune should float away 
 and be lost on the air. 
 
 Jacob began again, putting all his soul 
 into his voice : 
 
 " Minka, the plain is asleep, 
 
 Minka, the moon is blind ; 
 Minka, the stars breathe deep 
 Their breath is the whispering wind." 
 
 And so it went on. 
 
 Casimir looked up with a sigh when it
 
 was finished. "It does not seem so long 
 ago, nor so far away after all," he 
 muttered ; and then, stroking Jacob's head, 
 he said, " Good-night, little man ; may 
 the saints watch over you." 
 
 He went out very slowly, stopping to 
 smile back from the door. The next evening 
 he came again, and Jacob had to sing the 
 " Minka " song once and twice and three 
 times. Casimir tapped time with his foot, 
 and tried to hum a bar or two under his 
 breath in his bassoon gurgle ; but it was 
 not a success, for he sang dreadfully out of 
 tune, and at last he gave it up and let 
 Jacob sing on alone. 
 
 The third evening he came again. " I 
 have brought you a present," he said ; and 
 out he fetched three big buttons of shining 
 bronze, such as are worn on military uni- 
 forms, and a rusty spur. Jacob was 
 delighted, especially with the bronze but- 
 tons, which were quite a treasure ; for 
 among his playmates they each counted 
 equal in value to a whole dozen of the 
 ordinary brass or bone article, and Jacob 
 had been slightly out of luck in the button- 
 game lately. As for the spur, it would sell 
 for two copecks any hour in the day.
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 277 
 
 Henceforth Cossack and chorister were 
 inseparable ; wherever one was seen, the 
 other was sure to be not many miles off. 
 Jacob certainly neglected no opportunity 
 of being about with his stalwart friend, 
 and by force of example was gradually 
 assuming a martial swagger that would 
 have made him ludicrous in the eyes of 
 his comrades if they had room for anything 
 but jealousy at his glory. 
 
 It must be said, however, that there was 
 nothing virulent in their envy. For the 
 most part it resolved itself into a regretful 
 self-pity ; everybody cannot be so lucky as 
 to have a real live Cossack for his body- 
 guard. The chief exception was Schmey- 
 rel, the red-haired, pimple-faced fellow- 
 chorister of Jacob. He also sang treble, 
 but though he had an exceptionally good 
 voice, it did not come up to Jacob's by a 
 size and a half ; and consequently it never 
 fell to Schmeyrel's lot to sing the treble- 
 solos wherever such occurred a fact 
 which he looked upon as a flagrant mistake 
 in the dispensation of God's justice. He 
 therefore did not love Jacob, and was not 
 always complimentary in his criticisms of 
 his favoured rival,
 
 2/8 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 " Do you think he can sing? " he used 
 to say ; "if you throw your boots against 
 the wall you will have more music than 
 you could ever squeeze out of his voice." 
 
 And now when he saw the intimate 
 relations between Jacob and Casimir, his 
 bile was full to bursting. It only needed 
 a sight of Jacob flying by on the Cossack's 
 horse, with Casimir gripping him solici- 
 tously behind, to spoil Schmeyrel's appetite 
 for the day ; and as this sort of thing 
 occurred at least once every twenty-four 
 hours, he was in a fair way of dwindling 
 down to a bag of bones. Thus desperate 
 measures became necessary. Supplanting 
 Jacob was impossible. Schmeyrel knew 
 he sat too firm in the saddle of the Cos- 
 sack's horse and the Cossack's affections. 
 He therefore set about equalising matters 
 by getting for himself a Cossack of his 
 own. 
 
 How it was he smuggled himself into 
 Sturak's good graces remained a mystery. 
 His mother did not connect the event with 
 the mysterious disappearance of the liver 
 sausages and onion-strings from the hay- 
 loft, nor did his father associate it with the 
 abnormally rapid decline of his brandy
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 279 
 
 and tobacco. It was only when the roast 
 goose, that was to have served for the 
 Sabbath dinner, took wings unto itself and 
 flew away that Schmeyrel's tactics of in- 
 gratiation fell under momentary suspicion. 
 But he had attained his object ; he was 
 allowed to walk by Sturak's side, clutching 
 him by the skirt of his coat ; he could 
 touch his lance, sit on his horse and avail 
 himself of all the amenities of having a 
 Cossack for an acquaintance. The one 
 shadow of dissatisfaction consisted in the 
 thought that herein also Jacob had out- 
 distanced him : Jacob's Cossack was the 
 Colonel's special orderly, whereas Sturak 
 was only a mere rank-and-file man. 
 
 Strange to say, Sturak had himself re- 
 marked on this inequality of things, though 
 not from Schmeyrel's point of view. He 
 saw no reason why Casimir should be 
 orderly and not he. There were privileges, 
 perquisites, exemptions, connected with the 
 post which made it desirable for having. 
 Sturak had never failed to observe on the 
 drill-ground how much more cool and 
 comfortable Casimir must feel, sitting still 
 on his horse, at a respectful distance behind 
 the Colonel, than if he were engaged with
 
 280 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 the others in performing neck-breaking 
 bewildering movements and evolutions, 
 and choking all the time with dust and 
 heat and vexation. He thought of Casimir's 
 luck at the time when the elm forest out- 
 side the town had been struck by lightning 
 and was blazing away merrily, so that 
 Sturak and all his comrades had to turn 
 out with axes to cut a clearing and prevent 
 the fire causing further mischief. And 
 what did Casimir do ? Nothing ; he just 
 stood aside out of harm's way, superin- 
 tending and giving directions, like a full- 
 fledged non-commissioned officer, compla- 
 cently watching the others getting scorched 
 and blistered, not to mention the immediate 
 possibility of their getting their heads 
 broken by the down-crashing trunks. Oh, 
 it was a grand thing to be the Colonel's 
 orderly. 
 
 The summer had been quite young when 
 the Cossacks came to Lotz ; by the time it 
 was middle-aged Casimir and Jacob seemed 
 to have known each other all their lives. 
 But much earlier in the day the confede- 
 racy had been raised to a trio. Satanas 
 was a fine fellow, despite his congenital 
 habit of going on four legs. His skin was
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 281 
 
 smooth as velvet and black as jet, so that 
 the whites of his eyes, shot with thin 
 streaks of red, gleamed out in startling 
 contrast. He was completed by an arching 
 tail, which meant eternity to any presump- 
 tuous insect that came within the sweep 
 and purchase of it. Casimir had cropped 
 it by four inches, because otherwise Satanas 
 flicked himself in the afore-mentioned eyes, 
 which did not conduce to his good be- 
 haviour. For the maintenance of this 
 Casimir was responsible. The horse be- 
 longed to the Colonel, and Casimir had his 
 hands full in reminding this same Satanas 
 that even the most high-spirited stallion 
 has to conform to certain rules and re- 
 strictions not observed in his primitive 
 state. 
 
 If any man could do that it was Casimir ; 
 he was noted as the best and boldest rough- 
 rider within the range of the Uralo-Car- 
 pathians, and although Satanas came to 
 him with the reputation of having kicked 
 his mother and brother-foal to death, the 
 mere sound of Casimir's voice soon began 
 to have a most salutary effect on his 
 morals. Occasionally the old, or rather 
 the young Satanas peeped out of him, as
 
 282 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 in the case of the man who wagered he 
 would ride him with spurs ; that man 
 never put on spurs again. Satanas soon 
 saw that Jacob was a friend of his chamber- 
 lain, and under the circumstances found 
 it expedient to treat him with a certain 
 amount of consideration ; and then he 
 thought that this roundabout way was a 
 waste of time, and determined to like the 
 boy for his own sake. 
 
 So the three lived together in very good 
 accord. Every afternoon Casimir took the 
 horse to the river to give him his after- 
 siesta bath ; Jacob helped to rub him down, 
 and in reward was allowed to ride him back 
 to stable, with Casimir leading by the 
 bridle. In the meantime the "Minka" 
 song was not forgotten. Sometimes Casi- 
 mir went about like a man in a trance, or 
 stood looking northwards, his soul and 
 body seemingly nothing but eyes. Jacob 
 knew him in these moods ; gently, as 
 though it were merely the wind blowing 
 in snatches of music, he started the song 
 and gradually let it swell out in full sono- 
 rousness, till earth and sky seemed to be 
 singing the glories of Minka. And in the 
 end Casimir always came to himself with
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 283 
 
 a little shiver, as though he had passed 
 through a tense, soul-racking agony and 
 felt he had still hope of life. 
 
 But once something very unpleasant 
 occurred in connection with the song. It 
 was a sultry night and the stars flashed as 
 they flash only once in a thousand years, 
 and Jacob had gone with Casimir to pass 
 the night in the great barn that served as 
 sleeping accommodation for the detach- 
 ment. The others had all dozed off, but 
 Casimir kept tossing and tossing from side 
 to side on his truss ; at last he sat up, and 
 with his chin propped up on both hands 
 gazed wearily at the heavens. Jacob 
 watched him furtively for a while, and 
 then crawling up to him put his arm 
 round his friend's neck and whispered : 
 
 " Shall I sing it ? " 
 
 Casimir nodded silently, and Jacob began 
 in a low crooning tone which a nurse might 
 use in soothing a fretful child. But it was 
 not so soft but that the other sleepers should 
 sleep through it, and one by one they lifted 
 their heads and listened ; perhaps it re- 
 minded them of their mothers and wives 
 and sisters praying for them in their homes 
 thousands and thousands of miles away.
 
 284 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 But when Jacob had come as far as the 
 middle, Sturak's voice came gruffly : 
 
 " What ails the Jew-brat ? He whines 
 like a wolf-cub that has fed on moonlight 
 instead of mother's milk for a month. 
 Silence, you whimpering cur." 
 
 Jacob looked up and saw Casimir signing 
 to him to go on. That sufficed him ; at 
 Casimir's bidding he would have sung in 
 defiance of all other Cossacks in the world. 
 
 " Silence, there," shouted Sturak again. 
 "What, you will not? Then listen to 
 this." 
 
 His foot shot out and Jacob flew forward 
 as from a catapult, and the rest of the song 
 tumbled out of him all at once in a heap of 
 gasps and gurgles. Luckily Sturak's foot 
 was unshod, else Jacob would not have 
 been left with any backbone to speak of. 
 Casimir got up very quietly, strode over 
 to where Jacob lay, examined him and saw 
 there was not much damage done. Relieved 
 on that point, he went back into the barn 
 and busied himself with Sturak ; that is to 
 say, with one hand he clutched him by his 
 shoulder-strap and with the other by the 
 belt, and banged him up and down on the 
 straw pallet as if he were determined to
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 285 
 
 get a bushel of grain out of the empty ears. 
 Sturak protested, and If he had only once 
 succeeded in getting his teeth firmly set in 
 his assailant's wrist, the latter would have 
 remembered it for many a day to come. 
 But Casimir was lithe as an eel, and when 
 he had done with Sturak as a threshing 
 machine he threw him down with a decisive 
 thud and went back to his couch. How- 
 ever, there was not much sleeping done in 
 the barn that night ; Casimir kept awake 
 to prevent Sturak knifing him unawares, 
 and the others had a disquieting notion 
 that Sturak might fasten the barn door 
 from outside and burn them as a sacrifice 
 to his humiliated pride. 
 
 The report of the scrimmage got abroad, 
 and Schmeyrel went about with mischiev- 
 ous insinuations concerning Jacob. 
 
 "Take care," he told everybody "that 
 vagabond will plunge us all into ruin ; was 
 it not through him that Sturak was nearly 
 killed ? And if it had not been for me and 
 for my begging the Cossack with tears not 
 to visit the sins of the guilty on the innocent, 
 it would have gone hard with us ; for he 
 had sworn wherever he met a Jew to run 
 him through the belly with his lance. But
 
 286 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 of course no one thanks me for what I do 
 to the benefit of the congregation." 
 
 However, nothing more was heard of 
 the affair, for Sturak thought there was 
 always more to be lost than gained in 
 trying tricks on Casimir. But he carefully 
 made a note of the whole business and 
 waited an opportunity when he could have 
 his own say with safety. Jacob felt a little 
 stiff for a few days, and then something of 
 such moment happened as to put the recol- 
 lection of his misadventure clean out of 
 his mind. 
 
 The " magnum opus " of Myer Bachyah, 
 the famous precentor of Lotz, was at last 
 finished. Twelve months had he been 
 about his setting of the passage "The 
 Lord is King," that is said during the 
 Friday Evening Service, and in all he had 
 made five different and distinct draughts 
 of the composition before he was satisfied 
 with his work. And a wonderful thing it 
 was so much could be seen even from 
 the imperfect renderings of the initial 
 rehearsals. It started by being chanted 
 right through as a solo by each of- the four 
 part-voices, and the accompaniment of the 
 other three was varied in every case. This
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 287 
 
 served as an introduction, and then it was 
 gone through twice in a grand ensemble 
 the first time in "dur" the second in 
 " moll." Then the precentor himself de- 
 claimed it as a recitative, and after that 
 came the item de resistance a treble mono- 
 logue sung by one voice, for which, of 
 course, Jacob had been cast from the start. 
 The subsequent and diversified movements 
 of "The Lord is King" are too numerous 
 to specify how numerous may be gauged 
 by intimation being sent to the Wardens 
 of the Synagogue that on the eve of its 
 production they had better provide candles 
 three times the length of those used on 
 less conspicuous occasions. Yes, " The 
 Lord is King " was undoubtedly a great 
 work, with fugues and coloratures of the 
 most neck-twisting descriptions, with start- 
 ling paradoxes of counterpoint and contra 
 C's for the basses and top C's for the tenors 
 in wasteful profusion. There was not a 
 chorister in Bachya's choir who did not pat 
 himself on the back for having cast in his 
 lot with so distinguished a precentor. Their 
 fame was now assured, for the work would 
 take its triumphant course through all the 
 synagogues of Poland, Slavonia, Kurland,
 
 288 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 into Hungary and Austria, and they, the 
 original interpreters, would live long in the 
 memories and traditions of their imitators. 
 The solo-singers all except little Jacob, 
 the greatest of them gave themselves high 
 airs and swelled visibly with conceit and a 
 sense of indispensability. 
 
 Bachya was very pleased with the pro- 
 gress of the rehearsals, and announced that 
 the ddbut of "The Lord is King" was 
 fixed for the eve of the Sabbath of Repent- 
 ance, which would invest it with greater 
 dclat, this being the most momentous of all 
 Sabbaths because it is the immediate fore- 
 runner of the Day of Atonement ; and, 
 despite the stress of their own duties, the 
 precentors of Linschitz, Klom, Volesen, 
 and all the neighbouring towns had pro- 
 mised to grace the occasion with their 
 presence. And as the decisive day drew 
 near and things were getting shipshape, 
 Bachya and his choristers went about with 
 the exhilarating consciousness of having a 
 sensation in store for the world. 
 
 Jacob had not seen so much of Casimir 
 lately, but for all that there was no slacken- 
 ing of their friendship. The only diffe- 
 rence was that as time went on a change
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 289 
 
 came over the Cossack's disposition which 
 Jacob could not fathom. There was a 
 restlessness, an anxious expectancy about 
 him, as though the future were big with 
 tremendous consequences. But when 
 Jacob met him on the morning of the 
 great "The Lord is King" Friday, the 
 look he saw on Casimir's face almost made 
 him cry out in wonder ; the man seemed 
 transfigured. 
 
 " What has happened ? " he asked. 
 " Why, Casimir, you look as if you had 
 been born all over again." 
 
 Casimir smiled. " Don't ask questions, 
 little man," he said, "you don't understand 
 these things." And then he sank his voice 
 to a conspirator's whisper. " Do you 
 know what I am going to do ? I am 
 going away the whole day ; the Colonel 
 is out wolf-hunting, and he won't know. 
 Come with me I must find some one to 
 give Satanas his afternoon splash ; it is 
 getting cold, and there won't be many 
 more for him this season." 
 
 Jacob trotted along merrily. " Shall I 
 go down to the river with him ? " he asked. 
 
 "If you like why not?" was the 
 answer. 
 
 20
 
 290 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 " And may I ride him back ? " 
 
 Casimir looked serious. " I don't 
 know," he said at last ; " it is rather 
 risky without me." 
 
 " But he knows me by now," protested 
 Jacob; "he pricks up his ears when he 
 hears me coming and neighs. I think he 
 likes me as well as you." 
 
 " Hm," observed Casimir, cautiously. 
 He knew that Satanas' affection for him 
 was tempered to a certain extent with fear. 
 But there was nothing to be afraid of in 
 little Jacob, and therefore the animal's 
 liking for him was perhaps of a more 
 genuine sort, which made things more 
 hopeful as far as Jacob's request was con- 
 cerned. 
 
 " Well, if you will be very careful," was 
 the decision ; "sit very still and don't let 
 the reins flap, else he might think some 
 one was flogging him." 
 
 Jacob promised faithfully to keep a 
 zealous guard over his neck and legs, for 
 the normal condition of which he had a 
 strong partiality. Then they went and 
 found a beetle-browed, heavy-jawed 
 Wallachian who undertook to act as 
 Casimir's substitute.
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 291 
 
 The whole forenoon Jacob lounged 
 aimlessly about the streets, the more at a 
 loss for diversion because the afternoon 
 and evening were to be a programme of 
 incidents ; besides he was rather im- 
 patient to try how much influence he 
 individually possessed over Satanas. He 
 was therefore in good time at the stables, 
 and superintended the removal of Satanas 
 with the air of a proprietor. The river 
 passed by the outskirts of the town, and 
 soon the whole cavalcade of men and 
 horses was sleepily wending its way 
 thither through the sultry afternoon. 
 Jacob passed Schmeyrel walking at 
 Sturak's side. 
 
 "Have you been sucking raw eggs?" 
 shouted Schmeyrel. 
 
 " What for ? " asked Jacob, off his guard. 
 
 " To make your voice a bit smoother ; it 
 rasps like a grater." 
 
 Schmeyrel knew he was telling a lie, 
 and Jacob knew of Schmeyrel's know- 
 ledge, and therefore did not trouble to 
 continue the topic, reserving his demon- 
 stration for the evening. 
 
 In a little while the whole troop were 
 plunging and spuming in the freshening
 
 292 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 waters, that sucked the seething heat-fever 
 out of their veins. Satanas was behaving 
 in best style ; of course he was aware that 
 Casimir was away, but the presence of 
 Jacob was a guarantee that things were as 
 they should be. So when after the ablu- 
 tions Jacob mounted him, it was only what 
 he expected. 
 
 The others were cantering on in front ; 
 Satanas was right behind, for Jacob was 
 mindful of Casimir's precept to use him 
 gently ; the Wallachian walked stolidly by 
 his side, one hand on the bridle. Gradu- 
 ally one of the other mounts fell back, and 
 Jacob saw it was Sturak with Schmeyrel 
 on the saddle in front of him. Schmeyrel 
 had cut himself a withe from the bank, 
 and was swishing it in the air. The two 
 horses trotted side by side with a fair 
 distance between them. Then Sturak 
 edged up closer, keeping somewhat in the 
 rear, so that Jacob hardly noticed that 
 they were only an arm's length or so 
 apart. 
 
 Sturak was eyeing Satanas with side- 
 long glances, and somehow the beast gave 
 to him a suggestion of which he had long 
 been in search. If Schmeyrel should
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 293 
 
 chance to whip him ever so lightly with 
 his withe there would probably be conse- 
 quences not redounding to Casimir's credit 
 in his capacity of Colonel's orderly ; it 
 would also incidentally wipe off the little 
 score still due to him from the barn 
 episode. 
 
 " Strike him," he whispered in Schmey- 
 rel's ear. 
 
 Schmeyrel did not at once catch the 
 drift of the bidding. Then it came home 
 to him that if he sent Satanas tearing 
 away with his rider there would, in all 
 likelihood, not be sufficient of the rider 
 left to sing the treble solo in " The Lord 
 is King " that evening. And of course 
 there would be requisition of himself as 
 understudy. With a deft insidious move- 
 ment he lashed Satanas across the 
 haunches. Satanas walked on uncon- 
 cernedly ; he felt the sting, but then he 
 thought there must be a mistake some- 
 where ; no one would take such a liberty 
 with him. 
 
 Sturak could not make it out " Strike 
 harder," he whispered again, and Schmey- 
 rel struck harder. 
 
 This time Satanas was certain, and did
 
 294 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 not stay to see if the arm of the Wallachian 
 was still in its socket or if he had pulled it 
 out by the roots. With a shrill whistle of 
 anger he levelled his neck and leapt for- 
 ward as if there were myriads of hornets 
 and gadflies behind him. Jacob had just 
 time to throw himself flat and clutch as 
 much of the coal-black mane as his con- 
 vulsive little hands could hold. And then 
 he lay quite still, sucking himself on to the 
 maddened brute with all the pores of his 
 body. So he flew on, passing the strag- 
 gling groups ahead one by one. In 
 wonder and terror they stared after the 
 hapless rider, but no one stirred a finger ; 
 it would be madness to get in the way of 
 that stampeding avalanche of hoof and tail 
 and foam. Jacob felt nothing, only the 
 hissing, whizzing noise in his ears, and the 
 black dancing spots that kept circling 
 before his eyes. His limbs were numbed 
 with a narcotic torpor, and he breathed 
 only when the vice across his chest grew 
 so tight that it seemed gripping his life by 
 the very core. Where were they taking 
 him too ? Perhaps to his father in heaven ; 
 well, then, he hoped he would get there 
 soon, for he was quite tired of the deserts
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER 295 
 
 and deserts of nothingness he had already 
 traversed. At one place he heard a loud 
 shriek which he knew was his mother's, 
 and from that he gathered he must be 
 somewhere near the synagogue, for she 
 had gone betimes to get a good seat from 
 which to feast her eyes and ears on the 
 one lamb that made all her flock. 
 
 For all we know this might have been 
 the last of Satanas and Jacob. But that 
 would be forgetting the existence of 
 Casimir and the special providence that 
 watched over "The Lord is King " can- 
 tata. Casimir had done his day's business, 
 and was walking home very pleased with 
 himself and everybody else. Just as he 
 was turning the cross-road he caught the 
 sound of trampling. " A runaway horse," 
 he said to himself; he ought to have 
 known, for runaway horses were a 
 speciality of his. On a nearer view he 
 found the horse was black, was running as 
 if it had split its four legs into eight, and 
 consequently was Satanas ; there was a 
 moveless little figure clinging to his neck, 
 with its yellow curls fluttering in the wind 
 like a flag, and which presumably was 
 Jacob : the situation was quite clear.
 
 296 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS 
 
 Casimir knew better than to fling his 
 arms about like a windmill and halloo ; 
 Satanas was going quite fast enough with- 
 out giving him reasonable motive for an 
 extra spurt. So he waited till they were 
 abreast, and then proceeded to test how 
 far he could stretch his legs without 
 actually dislocating them. Man and beast 
 ran on side by side till they had come to a 
 spread of green turf, and then Casimir 
 saw his chance. Bending forward he just 
 whispered one word, " Satanas ! " and 
 Satanas stood still as if his feet had sud- 
 denly grown into the earth. But Casimir 
 ran full two yards forward, opened his 
 arms and dexterously caught the limp, 
 huddled form which he knew would come 
 whirling through the air with a semi- 
 circular sweep. 
 
 Five minutes afterwards Jacob was say- 
 ing, " Is that you, Casimir? " 
 
 "Yes, little man" there was half a 
 sob in the answer. 
 
 " Casimir." 
 
 " What, Jacob ? " 
 
 " Tell me the truth am I alive ? " 
 
 Casimir would have laughed, but he 
 lacked the requisite breath.
 
 COSSACK AND CHORISTER. 297 
 
 "Yes, Jacob, you are alive," he said, 
 soberly. 
 
 " Then come and let me tell my mother 
 so." 
 
 He suddenly grasped what had been 
 the nagging thought at the back of his 
 brain that had kept him from dying. 
 
 "The Lord is King" was a portentous 
 success there were no two opinions about 
 it. Casimir, who had been standing open- 
 mouthed all through, thought that Jacob 
 had sung more gloriously than he had 
 ever sung the " Minka " song ; but perhaps 
 Jacob's rendering had lost some of its 
 merit in consequence of certain events. 
 
 The following Sunday Jacob met Casi- 
 mir coming out of church, but he was not 
 alone ; there was a young woman with 
 him, by her dress evidently a Livonian. 
 Jacob turned tail to run, but Casimir 
 caught him gently by the arm and said 
 smilingly : 
 
 " Jacob, this is Minka ; was she not 
 worth while singing of? " 
 
 THE END. 
 
 21
 
 ftbe resbam press, 
 
 ITXWIN BROTHERS. 
 WOK1XG AND LOXDOX.
 
 A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 
 
 AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OF 
 
 METHUEN AND COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS : LONDON 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET 
 
 W.C. 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 FORTHCOMING BOOKS, .... 2 
 
 POETRY, . . . . . .II 
 
 ENGLISH CLASSICS, . . . . .13 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, . . . . .13 
 
 HISTORY, . . . . . . .14 
 
 BIOGRAPHY, . . . . . 1 6 
 
 GENERAL LITERATURE, .... 19 
 
 SCIENCE, ..... 22 
 
 PHILOSOPHY, ....... 22 
 
 THEOLOGY, ...... 23 
 
 LEADERS OF RELIGION, . ... 25 
 
 FICTION, ...... 26 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, . . .34 
 
 THE PEACOCK LIBRARY, . :5 
 
 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERIES, ... 35 
 
 SOCIAL QUESTIONS OF TO-DAY, ... 36 
 
 CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS, . 37 
 
 EDUCATIONAL BOOKS, . . . 38 
 
 MARCH 1897
 
 MARCH 1897. 
 
 MESSRS. M ET H u E N ' s 
 
 ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 Poetry 
 
 GEOKGE WYNDHAM 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS. Edited, with an Introduction and 
 Notes, by GEORGE WYNDHAM, M. P. Crown %ro. 6s. 
 
 m j* HENLEY 
 
 ENGLISH LYRICS. Selected and Edited by W. E. HENLEY. 
 Crown Svo. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 Also 1 5 copies on Japanese paper. Demy Svo. 2, 2s. 
 Few announcements will be more welcome to lovers of English verse than the one 
 that Mr. Henley is bringing together into one book the finest lyrics in our 
 language. The volume will be produced with the same care that made ' Lyra 
 Heroica ' delightful to the hand and eye. 
 
 Travel and Adventure 
 
 SIR H. H. JOHNSTON, K.C.B. 
 
 BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA. By Sir H. H. JOHNSTON, 
 K.C.B. With nearly Two Hundred Illustrations, and Five Maps. 
 Crown 4/0. 30^. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 (i) The history of Nyasaland and \ (5) The Missionaries. 
 British Central Africa generally, with a | (fi) Th f f Nyasaland with much 
 
 se'ven years". " " information concerning its big game. 
 
 (2) A detailed description of the various 
 races considered anthropologically and 
 ethnologically 
 
 (3) The languages of British Central 
 :a. 
 
 The European settlers, their mode 
 coffee, cultivation, etc. 
 
 Africa. 
 
 (7) The flora and the minerals. 
 
 (8) The scenery (copiously illustrated to 
 show the remarkable natural beauty of 
 the country), and 
 
 (9) A concluding chapter on the future 
 prospects of the country. 
 
 CAPTAIN HINDE 
 
 THE FALL OF THE CONGO ARABS. By SIDNEY L. 
 
 HINDE. With Portraits and Plans. Demy Svo. 12s. 6d. 
 This volume deals with the recent Belgian Expedition to the Upper Congo, which 
 developed into a war between the State forces and the Arab slave raiders in 
 Central Africa. Two white men only returned alive from the three years' war 
 Commandant Dhanis and the writer of this book, Captain Hinde. During the 
 greater part of the time spent by Captain Hinde in the Congo he was amongst 
 cannibal races in little-known regions, and, owing to the peculiar circumstances 
 of his position, was enabled to see a side of native history shown to few Europeans. 
 The war terminated in the complete defeat of the Arabs, seventy thousand of 
 whom perished during the struggle.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 3 
 
 BADEN-POWELL 
 
 SCOUTING SKETCHES IN RHODESIA. By LIEUT. 
 COLONEL BADEN-POWELL. With numerous Illustrations, Maps, 
 etc. Demy 8zv. Cloth. 155. 
 
 PRINCE HENRI OF ORLEANS 
 
 FROM TONKIN TO INDIA. By PRINCE HENRI OF 
 ORLEANS. Translated by HAMLEY BENT, M.A. With over 100 
 Illustrations and 4 Maps. Demy Sv0. 2is. 
 
 The travels of Prince Henri in 1895 from China to the valley of the Bramaputra 
 covered a distance of 2100 miles, of which 1600 was through absolutely unexplored 
 country. No fewer than seventeen ranges of mountains were crossed at altitudes 
 of from 11,000 to 13,000 feet. The journey was made memorable by the discovery 
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 added dangers from the attacks of savage tribes. The book deals with many of 
 the burning political problems of the East, and it will be found a most important 
 contribution to the literature of adventure and discovery. 
 
 L. DECLE 
 
 THREE YEARS IN SAVAGE AFRICA. By LIONEL DECLE. 
 With an Introduction by H. M. STANLEY, M.P. With 100 Illus- 
 trations and 5 Maps. Demy&vo. 2ls. 
 
 Few Europeans have had the same opportunity of studying the barbarous parts of 
 Africa as Mr. Decle. Starting from the Cape, he visited in succession Bechuana- 
 land, the Zambesi, Matabeleland and Mashonaland, the Portuguese settlement on 
 the Zambesi, Nyasaland, Ujiji, the headquarters of the Arabs, German East 
 Africa, Uganda (where he saw fighting in company with the late Major ' Roddy' 
 Owen), and British East Africa. In his book he relates his experiences, his 
 minute observations of native habits and customs, and his views as to the work 
 done in Africa by the various European Governments, whose operations he was 
 sble to study. The whole journey extended over 7000 miles, and occupied 
 exactly three years. 
 
 H. S. COWPER 
 
 THE HILL OF THE GRACES: OR, THE GREAT STONE 
 TEMPLES OF TRIPOLI. By H. S. COWPER, F.S.A. With Maps, 
 Plans, and 75 Illustrations. Demy 8zv. icw. 6d, 
 
 The Turkish prohibition against all European travel in their African Pashalics has, 
 during the last seventeen years, rendered impossible both geographical and 
 archaeological research. The author, however, was enabled to make two journeys 
 through the hill range of Tripoli in 1895 and 1896, and this volume deals chiefly 
 with a remarkable series of megalithic Temples and Trilithons, which he found 
 to exist there in extraordinary numbers. These ruins have hitherto been quite 
 uninvestigated, and to Englishmen should have an exceptional interest, from the 
 light it is believed they will throw on our own national monument of Stonehenge. 
 In all about one hundred sites were visited and photographed, and the volume will 
 l>e fully illustrated by maps, plans, and photographs. Chapters will also be devoted 
 to modern Tripoli, the little visited ruins of I eptes Magna, the ancient and 
 modem geography of the district generally, and the author's personal experiences. 
 
 W. CROOKE 
 
 THE NORTH-WEST PROVINCES OF INDIA: THEIR 
 ETHNOLOGY AND ADMINISTRATION. By W. CROOKE. With Maps 
 and Illustrations. Demy'&z-o. los. 6cf.
 
 4 MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 History and Biography 
 
 MORRIS FULLER 
 
 THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JOHN DAVENANT, 
 D.D. (1571-1641), President of Queen's College, Lady Margaret Pro- 
 fessor of Divinity, Cambridge, Lord Bishop of Salisbury. By the 
 Rev. MORRIS FULLER, B.D., Vicar of St. Mark's, Marylebone. 
 Crown 8vo. Js. 6d. 
 
 Dr. Davenant, Bishop of Salisbury, the maternal uncle of Dr. Fuller, lived at a very 
 critical time in our history (1571-1641), He was one of the British representatives 
 of the first great Synod of the reformed churches held at Dort, was one of Arch- 
 bishop Laud's Suffragans, and assisted him in carrying out his reforms. 
 
 Precis is given of some of the Bishop's writings, and a very celebrated sermon, never 
 before published and supposed to have been lost, is printed in extenso. 
 
 EDWARD GIBBON 
 
 THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 
 By EDWARD GIBBON. A New Edition, edited with Notes, 
 Appendices, and Maps by J. B. BURY, M.A., Fellow of Trinity 
 College, Dublin. In Seven Volumes. Demy 8vo, gilt top. 8s. ()d. 
 each. Crown 8vo. 6s. each. Vol. III. 
 
 J. WELLS 
 
 THE CITY AND UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. By J. 
 WELLS, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Wadham College. Illustrated 
 by E. II. NEW. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. 6(t. 
 
 This is a Guide chiefly historical to the Colleges of Oxford. It contains numerous 
 full-page illustrations. 
 
 C. H. GEINLING 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY, 
 1845-95. B y C. H. GRINLING. With Maps and Illustrations. 
 Crown %vo. 6s. 
 
 A record of Railway enterprise and development in Northern England, containing 
 much matter hitherto unpublished. It appeals both to the general reader and to 
 those specially interested in railway construction and management. 
 
 Naval and Military 
 
 DAVID HANNAY 
 
 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ROYAL NAVY, FROM 
 EARLY TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. By DAVID HANNAY, 
 Illustrated. 2 Vols. Demy 8v0. 1 51. 
 
 This book aims at giving an account not only of tne fighting we nave done at sea, 
 but of the growth of the service, of the part the Navy has played in the develop- 
 ment of the Empire, and of its inner life. The author has endeavoured to avoid 
 the mistake of sacrificing the earlier periods of naval history the very interesting 
 wars with Holland in the seventeenth century, for instance, or the American 
 War of 1779-178310 the later struggle with Revolutionary and Imperial France.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 5 
 
 COL. COOPER KING 
 
 THE STORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY. By Lieut-Colonel 
 COOPER KING, of the Staff College, Camberley. Illustrated. Demy 
 8vo. js. 6d. 
 
 This volume aims at describing the nature of the different armies that have been 
 formed in Great Britain, and how from the early and feudal levies the present 
 standing army came to be. The changes in tactics, uniform, and armament are 
 briefly touched upon, and the campaigns in which the army has shared have 
 been so far followed as to explain the part played by British regiments in them. 
 
 Theology 
 
 E. C. 8. GIBSON 
 
 THE XXXIX ARTICLES OF THE CHURCH OF ENG- 
 LAND. Edited with an Introduction by E. C. S. GIBSON, D.D., 
 Vicar of Leeds, late Principal of Wells Theological College. In Two 
 Volumes. Demy 8vo. Js. 6d. each. Vol. II. Articles IX. -XXXIX. 
 
 W. H. BENNETT 
 
 A PRIMER OF THE BIBLE. By Prof. W. H. BENNETT. 
 Crown 8z'o. 2s. 6d. 
 
 C. BIGG 
 THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. Newly Trans- 
 
 lated, with an Introduction, by C. BIGG, D.D., late Student of 
 
 Christ Church. With a Frontispiece. i%mo. is. 6d. 
 This little book is the first volume of a new Devotional Series, the volumes of which 
 
 will be edited by competent scholars, printed in clear type, and published at a 
 
 very low price. 
 This volume contains the nine books of the 'Confessions,' which are suitable for 
 
 devotional purposes. The name of the Editor is a sufficient guarantee of the 
 
 excellence of the edition. 
 
 F. E. BRIGHTMAN 
 
 THE DEVOTIONS OF BISHOP ANDREWES. Newly Trans- 
 lated, together with his ' Manual of the Sick,' with an Introduction 
 by F. E. BRIGHTMAN, M.A., of the Pusey House, Oxford. i8mo. 
 is. 6d. 
 
 The inclusion of Andrewes' ' Manual of the Sick ' will greatly increase the value of 
 this edition of the ' Preces Privatae.' 
 
 Sport 
 
 H. MORGAN BROWNE 
 
 SPORTING AND ATHLETIC RECORDS. By H. MORGAN 
 BROWNE. Crown 8vo. $s. 6d. 
 
 This book gives, in a clear and complete form, accurate records of the best perform- 
 ances in all important branches of Sport. It is an attempt, never yet made, to
 
 6 MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 
 present all-important sporting records in a systematic way. In many branches of 
 athletics world's records will be properly tabulated for the first time. Records at 
 many of the great public schools will be given. While complete lists of the 
 winners of important events in the world of sport (e.g. principal horse races, 
 English Amateur Championships, Oxford and Cambridge Boat-race, etc. etc.) 
 will be found in an Appendix. 
 
 General Literature 
 
 ARTHUR SHERWELL 
 
 LIFE IN WEST LONDON: A STUDY AND A CONTRAST. 
 By ARTHUR SHERWELL, M.A. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 H. A. SALMONE 
 
 THE FALL AND RESURRECTION OF TURKEY. By 
 H. ANTHONY SALMONE. With Portraits. Crown 8vo. 3.?. 6J. 
 
 LAURIE MAGNUS 
 
 A PRIMER OF WORDSWORTH. By LAURIE MAGNUS. 
 Crown %vo. zs. 6d. 
 
 R. US8HER 
 
 NEO-MALTHUSIANISM. By R. USSHER, M.A. Cr. Bvo. $* 
 An Enquiry into that System, with regard to its Economy and 
 Morality. 
 
 This book deals with a very delicate but most important matter, namely, the volun- 
 tary limitation of the family, and how such action affects morality, the individual, 
 and the nation. 
 
 Educational 
 
 C. STEPHENSON AND F. SUDDARDS 
 
 ORNAMENTAL DESIGN FOR WOVEN FABRICS. By 
 C. STEPHENSON, of The Technical College, Bradford, and 
 F. SUDDARDS, of The Yorkshire College, Leeds. With 65 full-page 
 plates, and numerous designs and diagrams in the text. Demy 8vo. 
 Js. 6d. 
 
 The aim of this book is to supply, in a systematic and practical form, information on 
 the subject of Decorative Design as applied to Woven Fabrics, and is primarily 
 intended to meet the requirements of students in Textile and Art Schools, or of 
 designers actively engaged in the weaving industry. Its wealth of illustration is 
 a marked feature of the book.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 7 
 
 R. E. STEEL 
 
 MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY. By R. ELLIOTT 
 STEEL, M.A., F.C.S. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 4s. 6d. 
 
 E. E. WHITFIELD 
 
 PRECIS WRITING AND OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 By E. E. WHITFIELD, M.A. Crown %vo. 2s. 
 
 {Commercial Series. 
 
 ESSENTIALS OF COMMERCIAL EDUCATION. By 
 E, E. WHITFIELD, M.A. Crown Szv. is. 6d. 
 
 A guide to Commercial Education and Examinations, which ought to prove most 
 useful as showing what is now being done in this country to promote commercial 
 education, and also as giving valuable information to those who may wish to enter 
 for some of the commercial examinations now held by the London Chamber of 
 Commerce and other bodies. 
 
 Methuen's Classical Texts 
 
 GENERAL EDITOR 
 
 E. C. MARCH ANT, M.A. 
 
 OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD ', FELLOW OF PETERHOUSE, CAMBRIDGE; 
 ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL, LONDON. 
 
 MESSRS. METHUEX propose to issue a new series of Classical Texts, edited 
 by eminent scholars, for the use of English-speaking students. The books 
 will be well printed and bound, and will be published at a very low price. 
 The first volume of every author will contain a brief Introduction in English, 
 not exceeding eight pages, in which the necessary information about the MSS. 
 will be given, and the salient features of the author's style indicated. 
 
 The critical notes, which will be at the foot of the page, will exhibit only 
 the important MS. variants and conjectures of special value. They will 
 contain very little argument ; and there will be no explanatory notes. Every 
 volume of the series will contain a short Index Rerum et Nominum 
 
 Special attention will be paid to the typography of the series. 
 
 The following, among many others, are arranged : 
 
 AUTHOR. EDITOR. 
 
 AESCHYLUS, . . . R. Y. TYRRELL, D.Litt, LL.D., Regius Professor of 
 Greek in the University of Dublin. 
 
 ARISTOPHANES, 2 vols., . PROFESSOR TYRRELL. 
 
 SOPHOCLES, W. J. M. STARKIE, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, 
 
 Dublin. 
 
 EURIPIDES, 3 vols., . . W. S. HADLEY, M.A., Fellow and Bursar of Pembroke 
 College, Cambridge. 
 
 THUCYDIDES, 2 vols... . E. C. MARCHANT, M.A., Fellow of Peterhouse, Cam- 
 bridge ; St. Paul's School. 
 
 DEMOSTHENES, 3 vols., . J. E. SANDYS, Litt.D., Public Orator in the University 
 of Cambridge.
 
 8 MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 
 ClCEKO 
 
 Speeches, 3 vols., . . J. S. REID, Litt.D., Fellow and Tutor of Cams College, 
 
 Cambridge. 
 
 Philosophical Works, . J. S. REID 
 Letters, 2 vols., . . L. C. PURSER, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Trinity 
 
 College, Dublin. 
 TACITUS, 2 vols., . . G. G. RAMSAY, LL.D., Litt.D., Professor of Humanity 
 
 in the University of Glasgow. 
 TERENCE W. M. LINDSAY, M.A., Fellow of Jesus College, 
 
 Oxford. 
 
 LUCRETIUS, J. S. DUFF, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cam- 
 
 bridge. 
 VERGIL A. S. WILKINS, M.A., Professor of Latin, Owen's 
 
 College, Manchester. 
 
 HORACE, .... J AMES Gow, Litt.D. , Master of Nottingham High School. 
 OVID, 3 vols.. . . . S. G. OWEN, M. A., Senior Student and Censor of Christ 
 
 Church, Oxford. 
 
 JUVENAL S. G. OWEN, M.A. 
 
 PHAEDRUS, . . . ROBINSON ELLIS, M.A. , LL.D., Corpus Professor of 
 
 Latin in the University of Oxford. 
 MARTIAL, . . . . W. M. LINDSAY, M.A. 
 
 Methuen's Byzantine Texts 
 
 GENERAL EDITOR 
 
 J. B. BURY, M.A. 
 
 FELLOW AND TUTOR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, PROFESSOR OF MODERN 
 HISTORY IN DUBLIN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN propose to issue a series of texts of Byzantine Historians, 
 edited by English and foreign scholars. It will consist mainly of Greek texts, 
 but will also include English translations of some Oriental works which are 
 important sources for Byzantine history. The Greek texts, which will be in 
 all cases based on original study of MSS. , will be accompanied by brief critical 
 notes, and preceded by short introductions, containing the necessary explana- 
 tions as to the material which has been used for the determination of the text. 
 A special feature of these volumes will be very full indices Graecitatis, framed 
 with a view to the collection of material for the Lexicon totius Graecitatis of 
 the future. Each volume will of course also be provided \\ ith an Index Rerum 
 et Nominum. 
 
 The collaboration of a considerable number of eminent foreign scholars has 
 been secured ; so that this series can justly claim to be regarded as inter- 
 national 
 CHRONICLE OF MOREA, . . . JOHN SCHMITT, Ph.D. 
 
 CONSTANTINE PoRl'HYROGENNETOS, PROFESSOR J. B. BURY. 
 
 ECTHESIS CHRONICA, . . . PROFESSOR LAMBKOS of Athens. 
 
 EVAGRIUS, PROFESSOR LEON PARMENTIER of Liege and 
 
 M. BIDEZ of Gand. 
 
 GENESIUS, . . -.-'. . PROFESSOR J. B. BURY. 
 
 GEORGE PISIDES PROFESSOR LEO STERNBACH of Cracow. 
 
 JOHN OF NIKIN (translated from the 
 
 Ethiopic) REV. R. H. CHARLES. 
 
 PSELLUS (Historia), .... MONSIEUR C. SATHAS. 
 
 THEODORE OF CYZICUS, . . . PROFESSOR LAMBROS.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 9 
 Fiction 
 
 MARIE CORELLI'S ROMANCES 
 
 A'cw and Uniform Edition, Large Crown 8zv. 6s. 
 WORMWOOD. Eighth Edition. 
 THE SOUL OF LILITH. Ninth Edition. 
 
 BARABBAS : A DREAM OF THE WORLD'S TRAGEDY. 
 Twenty-Hint h Edition. 
 
 THE SORROWS OF SATAN. Thirty-fourth Edition. 
 
 The above will be issued in the uniform edition of Marie Corelli's books. 
 
 ANTHONY HOPE 
 
 PHROSO. By ANTHONY HOPE, Author of 'The Prisoner of 
 Zenda,' etc. Illustrated by H. R. MILLAR. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ROBERT BARR 
 
 THE MUTABLE MANY. By ROBERT BARR, Author of ' In 
 the Midst of Alarms,' ' A Woman Intervenes,' etc. CrouttSzv. 6s. 
 
 EMILY LAWLESS 
 
 A NEW BOOK. By The Hon. EMILY LAWLESS, Author of 
 
 ' Hurrish,' ' Maelcho,' etc. Crown Szv. 6s. 
 
 S. BARING GOULD 
 
 GUAVAS THE TINNER. By S. BARING GOULD, Author of 
 ' The Broom Squire,' etc. Illustrated by Frank Dadd. Craiftt Svo. 
 6s. 
 A Historical Romance of the time of Elizabeth. 
 
 W. E. NORRIS 
 
 CLARISSA FURIOSA. By W. E. NORRIS, Author of 'The 
 Rogue,' etc. Crown 8z>o. 6s. 
 
 GILBERT PARKER 
 
 THE POMP OF THE LAVILLETTES. By GILBERT PARKER, 
 Author of ' The Seats of the Mighty,' etc. Cn.wn 8zv. 3.1-. 6ct. 
 
 J. MACLAREN COBBAN 
 
 WILT THOU HAVE THIS WOMAN? By J. M. COBBAN, 
 Author of ' The King of Andaman.' Ova n 8tv. 6s. 
 A 2
 
 io MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 
 H. MORRAII 
 
 THE FAITHFUL CITY. By HERBERT MORRAH, Author of 
 ' A Serious Comedy. ' Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 J. F. BREWER 
 THE SPECULATORS. By J. F. BREWER. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 A. BALFOUR 
 
 BY STROKE OF SWORD. By ANDREW BALFOUR. Illus- 
 trated by W. CUBITT COOKE. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 JAMES GORDON 
 
 THE VILLAGE AND THE DOCTOR. By JAMES GORDON. 
 Crown 8v0. 6s, 
 
 IDA HOOPER 
 
 THE SINGER OF MARLY. By IDA HOOPER. Illustrated 
 by W. CUBITT COOKE. Crown &vo. 6s. 
 
 A romance of adventure. 
 
 H. G. WELLS. 
 
 THE PLATTNER STORY ; AND OTHERS. By H. G. WELLS, 
 Author of 'The Stolen Bacillus,' 'The Time Machine,' etc. Crown 
 8vo. 6s. 
 
 MARY GAUNT 
 
 KIRKHAM'S FIND. By MARY GAUNT, Author of 'The 
 Moving Finger. ' Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 L. S. MCCHESNEY 
 
 UNDER SHADOW OF THE MISSION. By L. S. McCHES- 
 NEY. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 M. C. BALFOUR 
 
 THE FALL OF THE SPARROW. By M. C. BALFOUR. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 S. GORDON 
 
 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS. By S. GORDON. Crown %vo. 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 A volume of stories of Jewish life in Russia. 
 
 P. NEUMANN 
 
 THE SUPPLANTER. By P. NEUMANN. Crown 8vo. 3^. 6<f. 
 
 H. A. KENNEDY 
 
 A MAN WITH BLACK EYELASHES. By H. A. KENNEDY. 
 Crown 8v0. $s. 6d. 
 
 HANNAH LYNCH 
 
 AN ODD EXPERIMENT. By HANNAH LYNCH. Cr. Bvo. 
 3s. 6d.
 
 A LIST OF 
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S 
 
 PUBLICATIONS 
 
 Poetry 
 
 RUDYAKD KIPLING'S NEW POEMS 
 
 Rudyard Kipling. THE SEVEN SEAS. By RUDYARD 
 KIPLING. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Buckram, gilt top. 6s. 
 
 1 The new poems of Mr. Rudyard Kipling have all the spirit and swing of their pre- 
 decessors. Patriotism is the solid concrete foundation on which Mr. Kipling has 
 built the whole of his work." Times. 
 
 ' Full of passionate patriotism and the Imperial spirit.' Yorkshire Post. 
 
 ' The Empire has found a singer ; it is no depreciation of the songs to say that states- 
 men may have, one way or other, to take account of them.' Manchester 
 Guardian. 
 
 'Animated through and through with indubitable genius.' Daily Telegraph. 
 
 ' Packed with inspiration, with humour^ with pathos.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 ' All the pride of empire, all the intoxication of power, all the ardour, the energy, 
 the masterful strength and the wonderful endurance and death-scorning pluck 
 which are the very bone and fibre and marrow of the British character are here. 1 
 Daily Mail. 
 
 Rudyard Kipling. BARRACK-ROOM BALLADS; And 
 Other Verses. By RUDYARD KIPLING. Tenth Edition. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 ' Mr. Kipling's verse is strong, vivid, full of character. . . . Unmistakable genius 
 
 rings in every line.' Times. 
 
 'The ballads teem with imagination, they palpitate with emotion. We read them 
 with laughter and tears ; the metres throb in our pulses, the cunningly ordered 
 words tingle with life ; and if this be not poetry, what is?' Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 "Q." POEMS AND BALLADS. By "Q.," Author of ' Green 
 
 Bays,' etc. Crown 8vo. Buckram. %s. 6d. 
 
 ' His book will be read with interest by the most fastidious lovers of poetry, and it 
 will please many who think they have no taste for poetry at all' Scotsman. 
 
 "Q." THE GOLDEN POMP : A Procession of English Lyrics 
 from Surrey to Shirley, arranged by A. T. QuiLLER COUCH. Crown 
 8vo. Buckram. 6s. 
 1 A delightful volume : a really golden " Pomp." ' Spectator. 
 
 " Q." GREEN BAYS : Verses and Parodies. By " Q.," Author 
 
 of ' Dead Man's Rock,' etc. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 3*. 6d. 
 ' The verses display a rare and versatile gift of parody, great command of metre, and 
 a very pretty turn of humour.' Times.
 
 12 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 H. C. Beecning. LYRA SACRA : An Anthology of Sacred Verse. 
 Edited by H. C. BEECHING, M.A. Crown 8vo. Buckram. 6s. 
 'An anthology of high excellence.' Athenaunt. 
 1 A charming selection, which maintains a lofty standard of excellence.' Times. 
 
 W. B. Yeats. AN ANTHOLOGY OF IRISH VERSE. 
 Edited by W. B. YEATS. Crown 8vo. 3*. &/. 
 
 1 An attractive and catholic selection.' Times. 
 
 ' It is edited by the most original and most accomplished of modern Irish poets, and 
 against his editing but a single objection can be brought, namely, that it excludes 
 from the collection his own delicate lyrics.' Saturday Review. 
 
 E. Mackay. A SONG OF THE SEA : MY LADY OF DREAMS, 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS. By ERIC MACKAY, Author of ' The Love 
 Letters of a Violinist.' Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo, gilt top. $s. 
 
 ' Everywhere Mr. Mackay displays himself the master of a style marked by all the 
 characteristics of the best rhetoric. He has a keen sense of rhythm and of general 
 balance ; his verse is excellently sonorous. ' Globe. 
 
 Ibsen. BRAND. A Drama by HENRIK IBSEN. Translated by 
 WILLIAM WILSON. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. 
 
 'The greatest world-poem of the nineteenth century next to "Faust." It is in 
 the same set with "Agamemnon," with " Lear," with the literature that we now 
 instinctively regard as high and holy.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 "A.G." VERSES TO ORDER. By "A. G." Cr. 8vo. 2s.M. 
 net. 
 
 A small volume of verse by a writer whose initials are well known to Oxford men. 
 ' A capital specimen of light academic poetry. These verses are very bright and 
 engaging, easy and sufficiently witty. Si. James's Gazette. 
 
 F. Langbridge. BALLADS OF THE BRAVE : Poems of 
 
 Chivalry, Enterprise, Courage, and Constancy, from the Earliest 
 Times to the Present Day. Edited, with Notes, by Rev. F. LANG- 
 BRIDGE. Crown 8vo. Buckram. 3^. 6d. School Edition. 2s. 6d. 
 
 ' A very happy conception happily carried out. These "Ballads of the Brave" are 
 intended to suit the real tastes of boys, and will suit the taste of the great majority.' 
 Spectator. ' The book is full of splendid things.' World. 
 
 Lang and Craigie. THE POEMS OF ROBERT BURNS. 
 Edited by ANDREW LANG and W. A. CRAIGIE. With Portrait. 
 Demy 8vo, gilt top. 6s. 
 
 This edition contains a carefully collated Text, numerous Notes, critical and textual, 
 a critical and biographical Introduction, and a Glossary. 
 
 'Among the editions in one volume, Mr. Andrew Lang's will take the place of 
 authority. 1 Times. 
 
 1 To the general public the beauty of its type, and the fair proportions of its pages, as 
 well as the excellent chronological arrangement of the poems, should make it 
 acceptable enough. t Mr. Lang and his publishers have certainly succeeded in 
 producing an attractive po_pular edition of the poet, in which the brightly written 
 biographical introduction is not the least notable feature.' Glasgo^a Herald.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 13 
 
 English Classics 
 
 Edited by W. E. HENLEY. 
 
 'Very dainty volumes are these ; the paper, type, and light-green binding are all 
 
 very agreeable to the eye. Simplex munditiis is the phrase that might be applied 
 
 to them.' Globe. 
 'The volumes are strongly bound in green buckram, are of a convenient size, and 
 
 pleasant to look upon, so that whether on the shelf, or on the table, or in the hand 
 
 the possessor is thoroughly content with them.' Guardian. 
 
 THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTRAM SHANDY. 
 By LAWRENCE STERNE. With an Introduction by CHARLES 
 WHIBLEY, and a Portrait. 2 vols. 7*. 
 
 THE COMEDIES OF WILLIAM CONGREVE. With 
 an Introduction bv G. S. STREET, and a Portrait. 2 vols. Is. 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF HAJJI BABA OF ISPAHAN. 
 By JAMES MORIER. With an Introduction by E. G. BROWNE, M. A., 
 and a Portrait. 2 vols. fs. 
 
 THE LIVES OF DONNE, WOTTON, HOOKER, HER- 
 BERT, AND SANDERSON. By IZAAK WALTON. With an 
 Introduction by VERNON BLACKBURN, and a Portrait. 35-. 6d. 
 
 THE LIVES OF THE ENGLISH POETS. By SAMUEL 
 JOHNSON, LL.D. With an Introduction byj. H. MILLAR, and a 
 Portrait. 3 vols. lew. 6d. 
 
 Illustrated Books 
 
 Jane Barlow. THE BATTLE OF THE FROGS AND MICE, 
 translated by JANE BARLOW, Author of ' Irish Idylls,' and pictured 
 by F. D. BEDFORD. Small 4*0. 6s. net. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. A BOOK OF FAIRY TALES retold by S. 
 BARING GOULD. With- numerous illustrations and initial letters by 
 ARTHUR J. GASKIN. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Buckram, 6s. 
 ' Mr. Baring Gould is deserving of gratitude, in re-writing in honest, simple style the 
 old stories that delighted the childhood of " our fathers and grandfathers." As to 
 the form of the book, and the printing, which is by Messrs. Constable, it were 
 difficult to commend overmuch. Saturday Review. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. OLD ENGLISH FAIRY TALES. Col- 
 lected and edited by S. BARING GOULD. With Numerous Illustra- 
 tions by F. D. BEDFORD. Second Edition. CrcwnSvo. Buckram. 6s-. 
 A charming volume, which children will be sure to appreciate. The stories have 
 been selected with great ingenuity from various old ballads and folk-tales, and, 
 having been somewhat altered and readjusted, now stand forth, clothed in Mr. 
 Baring Gould's delightful English, to enchant youthful readers.' Guardian.
 
 14 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 S. Baring Gould. A BOOK OF NURSERY SONGS AND 
 RHYMES. Edited by S. BARING GOULD, and Illustrated by the 
 Birmingham Art School. Buckram, gilt top. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 1 The volume is very complete in its way, as it contains nursery songs to the number 
 of 77, game-rhymes, and jingles. To the student we commend the sensible intro- 
 duction, and the explanatory notes. The volume is superbly printed on soft, 
 thick paper, which it is a pleasure to touch ; and the borders and pictures are 
 among the very best specimens we have seen of the Gaskin school.' Birming- 
 ham Gazette, 
 
 H. 0. Beeching. A BOOK OF CHRISTMAS VERSE. Edited 
 by H. C. BEECHING, M.A., and Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. 
 Crown 8vo, gilt top. $s. 
 
 A collection of the best verse inspired by the birth of Christ from the Middle Ages 
 to the present day. A distinction of the book is the large number of poems it 
 contains by modern authors, a few of which are here printed for the first time. 
 
 'An anthology which, from its unity of aim and high poetic excellence, has a better 
 right to exist than most of its fellows.' Guardian. 
 
 History- 
 Gibbon. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN 
 EMPIRE. By EDWARD GIBBON. A New Edition, Edited with 
 Notes, Appendices, and Maps, by J. B. BURY, M.A., Fellow of 
 Trinity College, Dublin. In Seven Volumes. Demy 8vo. Gilt top. 
 85. 6d. each. Also crown 8vo. 6s. each. Voh. I. and II. 
 
 'The time has certainty arrived for a new edition of Gibbon's great work. . . . Pro- 
 fessor Bury is the right man to undertake this task. His learning is amazing, 
 both in extent and accuracy. The book is issued in a handy form, and at a 
 moderate price, and it is admirably printed.' Times. 
 
 ' The edition is edited as a classic should be edited, removing nothing, yet indicating 
 the value of the text, and bringing it up to dr.te. It promises to be of the utmost 
 value, and will be a welcome addition to many libraries.' Scotsman. 
 
 'This edition, so far as one may judge from the first instalment, is a marvel of 
 erudition and critical skill, and it is the very minimum of praise to predict that the 
 seven volumes of it will supersede Dean Milman's as the standard edition of our 
 great historical classic." Glasgow Herald. 
 
 1 The beau-ideal Gibbon has arrived at last.' Sketch. 
 
 'At last there is an adequate modern edition of Gibbon. . . . The best edition the 
 nineteenth century could produce.' Manchester Guardian. 
 
 Flinders Petrio. A HISTORY OF EGYPT,FROMTHE EARLIEST 
 
 TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. Edited by W. M. FLINDERS 
 
 PETRIE, D.C.L., LL.D., Professor of Egyptology at University 
 
 College. Fully Illustrated. In Six Volumes. Crown &ro. 6s. each. 
 
 Vol. I. PREHISTORIC TIMES TO XVI. DYNASTY. W. M. F. 
 
 Petrie. Second Edition. 
 Vol. II. THE XVIlTH AND XVIIlTH DYNASTIES. W. M. F. 
 
 Petrie. 
 
 ' A history written in the spirit of scientific precision so worthily represented by Dr. 
 Petrie and his school cannot but promote sound and accurate study, and 
 supply a vacant place in the English literature of Egyptology.' Times.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 15 
 
 Flinders Petrie. EGYPTIAN TALES. Edited by W. M. 
 
 FLINDERS PETRIE. Illustrated by TRISTRAM ELLIS. In Two 
 
 Volumes, Crown Szv. $s. 6d. each, 
 1 A valuable addition to the literature of comparative folk-lore. The drawings are 
 
 really illustrations in the literal sense of the word.' Globe. 
 ' It has a scientific value to the student of history and archjeology.' Scotsman. 
 ' Invaluable as a picture of life in Palestine and Egypt.' Daily News. 
 
 Flinders Petrie. EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ART. By 
 W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE, D.C.L. Withi2olllustrations. Crown 
 8zv. 35. ftd. 
 
 Baring Gould. THE TRAGEDY OF THE C^SARS. 
 
 The Emperors of the Julian and Claudian Lines. With numerous 
 Illustrations from Busts, Gems, Cameos, etc. By S. BARING GOULD, 
 Author of ' Mehalah,' etc. Fourth Edition. Koyal%vo. l$s. 
 ' A most splendid and fascinating book on a subject of undying interest. The great 
 feature of the book is the use the author has made of the existing portraits of the 
 Caesars, and the admirable critical subtlety he has exhibited in dealing with this 
 line of research. It is brilliantly written, and the illustrations are supplied on a 
 scale of profuse magnificence." Daily Chronicle. 
 
 ' The volumes will in no sense disappoint the general reader. Indeed,_ in their way, 
 there is nothing in any sense so good in English. . . . Mr. Baring Gould has 
 presented his narrative in such a way aj not to make ome dull page. 1 Athentrutn. 
 
 H. de B. Gibbins. INDUSTRY IN ENGLAND : HISTORI- 
 CAL OUTLINES. By H. PE B. GIBBINS, M.A., D.Litt. With 
 5 Maps. DemyZvo. los. 6d. Pp. 450. 
 
 This book is written with the view of affording a clear view of the main facts of 
 English Social and Industrial History placed in due perspective. Beginning 
 with prehistoric times, it passes in revie_w the growth and advance of industry 
 up to the nineteenth century, showing its gradual development and progress. 
 The author has endeavoured to place before his readers the history of industry 
 as a connected whole in which all these developments have their proper place. 
 The book is illustrated by Maps, Diagrams, and Tables, and aided by copious 
 Footnotes. 
 
 A. Clark. THE COLLEGES OF OXFORD : Their History, 
 
 their Traditions. By Members of the University. Edited by A. 
 
 CLARK, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Lincoln College. Svo. 12s. 6d. 
 
 ' A work which will certainly be appealed to for many years as the standard book on 
 
 the Colleges of Oxford.' AtAenamm. 
 
 Perrens. THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE FROM 1434 
 TO 1492. By F. T. PERRENS. Translated by HANNAH LYNCH. 
 Svo. i2s. 6d. 
 
 A history of Florence under th domination of Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo de 
 
 Medicis. 
 ' This is a standard book by an honest and intelligent historian, who has deserved 
 
 well of all who are interested in Italian history.' Manchester Guardian.
 
 1 6 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 J. Wells. A SHORT HISTORY OF ROME. By J. WELLS, 
 M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Wadham Coll., Oxford. With 4 Maps. 
 Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. 3$ofp. 
 
 This book is intended for the Middle and Up_per Forms of Public Schools and for 
 
 Pass Students at the Universities. It contains copious Tables, etc. 
 'An original work written on an original plan, and with uncommon freshness and 
 vigour. ' Speaker. 
 
 E. L. S. Horsburgh. THE CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO. 
 By E. L. S. HORSBURGH, B. A. With Plans. Crown 8vo. 5*. 
 
 'A brilliant essay simple, sound, and thorough.' Daily Chronicle, 
 ' A study, the most concise, the most lucid, the most critical that has been produced.' 
 Birmingham Mercury, 
 
 H.B. George. BATTLES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. ByH.B. 
 GEORGE, M.A., Fellow of New College, Oxford. With numerous 
 Plans. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' Mr. George has undertaken a very useful task that of making military affairs in- 
 telligible and instructive to non-military readers and has executed it with laud- 
 able intelligence and industry, and with a large measure of success.' Times. 
 
 'This book is almost a revelation ; and we heartily congratulate the author on his 
 work.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 0. Browning. A SHORT HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ITALY, 
 A.D. 1250-1530. By OSCAR BROWNING, Fellow and Tutor of King's 
 College, Cambridge. Second Edition. In Two Volumes. Crown 
 8vo. $s. each. 
 
 VOL. I. 1250-1409. Guelphs and Ghibellines. 
 VOL. II. 1409-1530. The Age of the Condottieri. 
 'A vivid picture of mediaeval Italy.' Standard. 
 
 ' Mr. Browning is to be congratulated on the production of a work of immense 
 labour and learning.' Westminster Gazette. 
 
 O'Grady. THE STORY OF IRELAND. By STANDISH 
 O'GRADY, Author of ' Finn and his Companions.' Cr. Svo. zs. 6d. 
 'Most delightful, most stimulating. Its racy humour, its original imaginings, 
 make it one of the freshest, breeziest volumes.' Methodist Times. 
 
 Biography 
 
 S. Baring Gould. THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONA- 
 PARTE. By S. BARING GOULD. With over 450 Illustrations in 
 the Text and 13 Photogravure Plates. Large quarto. Gilt top. 36^. 
 'A brilliant and attractive volume. It impresses first by reason of its bulk, 
 and next by reason of its substantial and striking binding. Within, it is 
 remarkable, to begin with, for the considerable number and unusual excellence 
 of its illustrations. Never before, it is safe to say, have so many pictures 
 relating to Napoleon been brought together within the limits of an English 
 book. The portraits alone are multitudinous ; Bonaparte is presented to us 
 at all ages, in all sorts of costume, and amid very varied circumstances. Then 
 there are reproductions of statuettes, busts, and medals, caricatures, portraits of 
 his connections by birth and marriage, representations of events in which he took
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 17 
 
 part, and what not. The list of illustrations in the text covers nine pages, and in 
 addition there are a dozen full-page photogravures, in which famous paintings are 
 reproduced. Altogether, this is a table-book of the first class. But it is more. It 
 embodies "a study of the character and opinions of Napoleon " on which Mr. 
 Baring Gould can be freely congratulated. The writer's plan has been to " lay 
 on one side what concerned Napoleon's military achievements and the political 
 importance of his life, so far as did not bear on the development of his mind and 
 the movements of his heart." By this means a novel point of view has been 
 secured, and the result is a narrative of which the chief characteristic is an agree- 
 able freshness.' Globe. 
 
 E. L. Stevenson. VAILIMA LETTERS. By ROBERT Louis 
 STEVENSON. With an Etched Portrait by WILLIAM STRANG, and 
 other Illustrations. Second Edition. Crown &vo. Buckram. Js.6d. 
 
 ' The Vailima Letters are rich in all the varieties of that charm which have secured 
 
 for Stevenson the affection of many others besides "journalists, fellow-novelists, 
 
 and boys." 'The Times. 
 ' Few publications have in our time been more eagerly awaited than these "Vailima 
 
 Letters," giving the first fruits of the correspondence of Robert Louis Stevenson. 
 
 But, high as the tide of expectation has run, no reader can possibly be disappointed 
 
 in the result.' Si. James's Gazette. 
 ' For the student of English literature these letters indeed are a treasure. They 
 
 are more like " Scott's Journal" in kind than any other literary autobiography.' 
 
 National Observer. 
 
 Victor Hugo. THE LETTERS OF VICTOR HUGO. 
 Translated from the French by F. CLARKE, M. A. In Two Volumes. 
 Dtmy^vo. icxr. 6d. each. Vol.1. 1815-35. 
 
 This is the first volume of one of the most interesting and important collection of 
 letters ever published in France. The correspondence dates from Victor Hugo's 
 boyhood to his death, and none of the letters have been published before. The 
 arrangement is chiefly chronological, but where there is an interesting set of 
 letters to one person these are arranged together. The first volume contains, 
 among others, (i) Letters to his father ; (2) to his young wife ; (3) to his confessor, 
 Lamennais ; (4) a very important set of about fifty letters to Sainte-Beuve ; (5) 
 letters about his early books and plays. 
 
 ' A charming and vivid picture of a man whose egotism never marred his natural 
 kindness, and whose vanity did not impair his greatness.' Standard. 
 
 J. M. Eigg. ST. ANSELM OF CANTERBURY : A CHAPTER 
 IN THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. By J. M. RIGG, of Lincoln's 
 Inn, Barrister-at-Law. Demy Svo. Js. 6d. 
 
 This work gives for the first time in moderate compass a complete portrait of St. 
 Anselm, exhibiting him in his intimate and interior as well as in his public life. 
 Thus, while the great ecclesiastico-political struggle in which he played so prominent 
 a part is fully dealt with, unusual prominence is given to the profound and subtle 
 speculations by which he permanently influenced theological and metaphysical 
 thought ; while it will be a surprise to most readers to find him also appearing as 
 the author of some of the most exquisite religious poetry in the Latin language. 
 
 'Mr. Rigg has told the story of the great Primate's life with scholarly ability,_and 
 has thereby contributed an interesting chapter to the history of the Norman period.' 
 Daily Chronicle. 
 
 A3
 
 i8 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 F. W. Joyce. THE LIFE OF SIR FREDERICK GORE 
 OUSELEY. By F. W. JOYCE, M.A. With Portraits and Illustra- 
 tions. Crown 8vo. ^s. 6d. 
 
 ' The book gives us a complete picture of the life of one who will ever be held in 
 loving remembrance, and who in the history of music in this country will always 
 occupy a prominent position on account of the many services he rendered to 
 the art.' Musical News. 
 
 1 This book has been undertaken in quite the right spirit, and written with sympathy, 
 insight, and considerable literary skill.' Times. 
 
 W. G. Collingwood. THE LIFE OF JOHN RUSKIN. By 
 W. G. COLLINGWOOD, M.A., Editor of Mr. Ruskin's Poems. With 
 numerous Portraits, and 13 Drawings by Mr. Ruskin. Second 
 Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. 32$. 
 
 ' No more magnificent volumes have been published for a long time.' Times. 
 
 ' It is long since we had a biography with such delights of substance and of form. 
 Such a oook is a pleasure for the day, and a joy for ever.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 C. Waldstein. JOHN RUSKIN : a Study. By CHARLES 
 WALDSTEIN, M.A., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. With a 
 Photogravure Portrait after Professor HERKOMER. Post 8vo. $s. 
 'A thoughtful, impartial, well-written criticism of Ruskin's teaching, intended to 
 separate what the author regards as valuable and permanent from what is transient 
 and erroneous in the great master's writing." Daily Chronicle. 
 
 W. H. Hutton. THE LIFE OF SIR THOMAS MORE. By 
 W. H. HUTTON, M.A., Author of ' William Laud.' With Portraits. 
 Crown 8v0. $s. 
 
 ' The book lays good claim to high rank among our biographies. It is excellently, 
 even lovingly, written. ' Scotsman. ' An excellent monograph. ' Times. 
 
 M. Kaufmann. CHARLES KINGSLEY. By M. KAUFMANN, 
 
 M.A. Crown 8v0. Buckram. $s. 
 
 A biography of Kingsley, especially dealing with his achievements in social reform. 
 ' The author has certainly gone about his work with conscientiousness and industry'. 
 Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 
 
 A. F. Robbing. THE EARLY PUBLIC LIFE OF WILLIAM 
 EWART GLADSTONE. By A. F. ROBBINS. With Portraits. 
 Crown 8z>0. 6s. 
 
 'Considerable labour and much skill of presentation have not been unworthily 
 expended on this interesting work.' Times. 
 
 Clark Russell. THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL LORD COL- 
 LINGWOOD. By W. CLARK RUSSELL, Author of ' The Wreck 
 of the Grosvenor.' With Illustrations by F. BRANGWYN. Third 
 Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' A book which we should like to see in the hands of every boy in the country.' 
 St. James's Gazette. ' A really good book.' Saturday Review. 
 
 Southey. ENGLISH SEAMEN (Howard, Clifford, Hawkins, 
 Drake, Cavendish). By ROBERT SOUTHEY. Edited, with an 
 Introduction, by DAVID HANNAY. Second Edition. Crown8vo. 6s. 
 
 'Admirable and well-told stories of our naval history." Army and Nary Gazette. 
 
 ' A brave, inspiriting book.' Black and White.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 19 
 
 General Literature 
 
 S. Baring Gould. OLD COUNTRY LIFE. By S. BARING 
 GOULD, Author of 'Mehalah,' etc. With Sixty-seven Illustrations 
 by W. PARKINSON, F. D. BEDFORD, and F. MASEY. Large 
 Crown 8vo. los. 6d. Fifth and Cheaper Edition. 6s. 
 ' " Old Country Life," as healthy wholesome reading, full of breezy life and move- 
 ment, full of quaint stories vigorously told, will not be excelled by any book to be 
 published throughout the year. Sound, hearty, and English to the core." World. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. HISTORIC ODDITIES AND STRANGE 
 EVENTS. By S. BARING GOULD. Third Edition. CrownKvo. 6s. 
 ' A collection of exciting and entertaining chapters. The whole volume is delightful 
 reading.' Times. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. FREAKS OF FANATICISM. By S. BARING 
 
 GOULD. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 1 Mr. Baring Gould has a keen eye for colour and effect, and the subjects he has 
 chosen give ample scope to his descriptive and analytic faculties. A perfectly 
 fascinating book.' Scottish Leader. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. A GARLAND OF COUNTRY SONG : 
 English Folk Songs with their Traditional Melodies. Collected and 
 arranged by S. BARING GOULD and H. FLEETWOOD SHEPPARD. 
 Demy 4/0. 6s. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. SONGS OF THE WEST: Traditional 
 Ballads and Songs of the West of England, with their Traditional 
 Melodies. Collected by S. BARING GOULD, M. A., and H. FLEET- 
 WOOD SHEPPARD, M. A. Arranged for Voice and Piano. In 4 Parts 
 (containing 25 Songs each), Parts /., //., ///., 3.?. each. Part 
 IV., 5.T. In one Vol., French, morocco, l$s. 
 ' A rich collection of humour, pathos, grace, and poetic fancy.' Saturday Review. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. YORKSHIRE ODDITIES AND STRANGE 
 EVENTS. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. STRANGE SURVIVALS AND SUPER- 
 STITIONS. With Illustrations. By S. BARING GOULD. Crown 
 8w. Second Edition. 6s. 
 
 ' We have read Mr. Baring Gould's book from beginning to end. It is full of quaint 
 and various information, and there is not a dull page in it.' Notes and Queries, 
 
 S. Baring Gould. THE DESERTS OF SOUTHERN 
 FRANCE. By S. BARING. GOULD, With numerous Illustrations 
 by F. D. BEDFORD, S. HUTTON, etc. 2 voh. Demy 8vo. 32.?. 
 
 This book describes the great barren tableland that extends to the south of Limousin, 
 a country of dolomite cliffs, and canons, and subterranean rivers. The region 
 is full of prehistoric and historic interest, relics of cave-dwellers, of mediaeval 
 robbers, and of the English domination and the Hundred Years' War. 
 
 1 His two richly-illustrated volumes are full of matter of interest to the geologist, 
 the archaeologist, and the student of history and manners." Scotsman.
 
 20 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 R. S. Baden-Powell. THE DOWNFALL OF PREMPEH. A 
 Diary of Life with the Native Levy in Ashanti, 1895. By Lieut. -Col. 
 BADEN-POWELL. With 21 Illustrations, a Map, and a Special 
 Chapter on the Political and Commercial Position of Ashanti by Sir 
 GEORGE BADEN-POWELL, K.C.M.G., M.P. DemyZvo. IQS. 6d. 
 
 ' A compact, faithful, most readable record of the campaign.' Daily News. 
 ' A bluff and vigorous narrative.' Glasgow Herald. 
 
 G. W. Steevens. NAVAL POLICY : WITH A DESCRIP- 
 TION OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN NAVIES. By G. W. STEEVENS. 
 Demy 8v0. 6s. 
 
 This book is a description of the British and other more important navies of the world, 
 with a sketch of the lines on which our naval policy might possibly be developed. 
 It describes our recent naval policy, and shows what our naval force really is. A 
 detailed but non-technical account is given of the instruments of modern warfare 
 guns, armour, engines, and the like with a view to determine how far we are 
 abreast of modern invention and modern requirements. An ideal policy is then 
 sketched for the building and manning of our fleet ; and the last chapter is 
 devoted to docks, coaling-stations, and especially colonial defence. 
 
 'An extremely able and interesting work." Daily Chronicle. 
 
 W. E. Gladstone. THE SPEECHES AND PUBLIC AD- 
 DRESSES OF THE RT. HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. 
 Edited by A. W. HUTTON, M.A., and H. J. COHEN, M.A. With 
 Portraits. Svo. Vols. IX. and X. 12s. 6d. each. 
 
 Henley and Whibley. A BOOK OF ENGLISH PROSE. 
 Collected by W. E. HENLEY and CHARLES WHIBLEY. Cr. %vo. 6s. 
 
 'A unique volume of extracts an art gallery of early prose.' Birmingham Post. 
 
 1 An admirable companion to Mr. Henley's " Lyra Heroica.'" Saturday Review. 
 
 1 Quite delightful. The choice made has been excellent, and the volume has been 
 most admirably printed by Messrs. Constable. A greater treat for those not well 
 acquainted with pre-Restoration prose could not be imagined.' Athcnieum. 
 
 G. W. Steevens. MONOLOGUES OF THE DEAD. By 
 G. W. STEEVENS. Foolscap Svo. 35. 6d. 
 
 A series of Soliloquies in which famous men of antiquity Julius Caesar, Nero, 
 Alcibiades, etc., attempt to express themselves in the modes of thought and 
 language of to-day. 
 
 ' The effect is sometimes splendid, sometimes bizarre, but always amazingly clever. 
 Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 J. Wells. OXFORD AND OXFORD LIFE. By Members of 
 the University. Edited byj. WELLS, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of 
 Wadham College. Crown 8v0. %s. 6d. 
 
 This work contains an account of life at Oxford intellectual, social, and religious 
 a careful estimate of necessary expenses, a review of recent changes, a statement 
 of the present position of the University, and chapters on Women's Education, 
 aids to study, and University Extension. 
 
 ' We congratulate Mr. Wells on the production of a readable and intelligent account 
 of Oxford as it is at the present time, written by persons who are possessed of a 
 close acquaintance with the system and life of the University.' Athen&um.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 21 
 
 W. M. Dixon. A PRIMER OF TENNYSON. By W. M. 
 DIXON, M.A., Professor of English Literature at Mason College. 
 Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 ' Much sound and well-expressed criticism and acute literary judgments. The biblio- 
 graphy is a boon.' Speaker. 
 
 ' No better estimate of the late Laureate's work has yet been published. His sketch 
 of Tennyson's life contains everything essential ; his bibliography is full and con- 
 cise : his literary criticism is most interesting.' Glasgow Herald. 
 
 W. A. Craigie. A PRIMER OF BURNS. By W. A. CRAIGIE. 
 
 Crown Svo. 2s. 6d. 
 This book is planned on a method similar to the ' Primer of Tennyson." It has also 
 
 a glossary. 
 
 'A valuable addition to the literature of the poet.' Times. 
 ' An excellent short account. ' Pall Mall Gazette. 
 ' An admirable introduction.' Globe. 
 
 L. WMbley. GREEK OLIGARCHIES : THEIR ORGANISA- 
 TION AND CHARACTER. By L. WHIBLEY, M.A., Fellow 
 of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' An exceedingly useful handbook : a careful and well-arranged study of an obscure 
 subject. ' Times. 
 
 ' Mr. Whibley is never tedious or pedantic.' Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 W. B. Worsfold. SOUTH AFRICA : Its History and its Future. 
 By W. BASIL WORSFOLD, M.A. With a Map. Second Edition. 
 Crown 8v0. 6s. 
 
 'An intensely interesting book.' Daily Chronicle. 
 ' A monumental work compressed into a very moderate compass.' World. 
 
 0. H. Pearson. ESSAYS AND CRITICAL REVIEWS. By 
 C. H. PEARSON, M.A., Author of 'National Life and Character.' 
 Edited, with a Biographical Sketch, by H. A. STRONG, M.A,, 
 LL.D. With a Portrait. Demy 8v0. los. 6d. 
 
 'These fine essays illustrate the great breadth of his historical and literary sym- 
 pathies and the remarkable variety of his intellectual interests.' Glasgow Herald. 
 
 ' Remarkable for careful handling, breadth of view, and thorough knowledge.' Scats- 
 man. ' Charming essays.' Spectator. 
 
 L. F. Price. ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND PRACTICE. 
 By L. F. PRICE, M.A., Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. Crown 
 8vo. 6s. 
 This book consists of a number of Studies in Economics and Industrial and Social 
 
 Problems. 
 
 ' The book is well written, giving evidence of considerable literary ability, and clear 
 mental grasp of the subject under consideration.' Western Morning News. 
 
 0. P. Andrews. CHRISTIANITY AND THE LABOUR 
 
 QUESTION. By C. F. ANDREWS, B.A. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 'A bold and scholarly survey of the principle and motive which have shaped and 
 determined the conflicts of Labour. Speaker. 
 
 Ouida. VIEWS AND OPINIONS. By OUIDA. Crown 8vo. 
 
 Second Edition. 6s. 
 
 Ouida is outspoken, and the reader of this book will not have a dull moment. The 
 book is full of variety, and sparkles with entertaining matter.' Speaker.
 
 22 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 J. S. Shedlock. THE PIANOFORTE SONATA : Its Origin 
 
 and Development. By J. S. SHEDLOCK. Crown 8vo. 55. 
 ' This work should be in the possession of every musician and amateur, for it not 
 only embodies a concise and lucid history ol the origin of one of the most im- 
 portant forms of musical composition, but, by reason of the painstaking research 
 and accuracy of the author's statements, it is a very valuable work for reference. 1 
 A theneeum. 
 
 E.M. Bowden. THE EXAMPLE OF BUDDHA: Being Quota- 
 tions from Buddhist Literature for each Day in the Year. Compiled 
 by E. M. BOWDEN. With Preface by Sir EDWIN ARNOLD. Third 
 Edition. i6mo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 J. Beever. PRACTICAL FLY-FISHING, Founded on 
 Nature, by JOHN BEEVER, late of the Thwaite House, Coniston. A 
 New Edition, with a Memoir of the Author by W. G. COLLINGWOOD, 
 M.A. Crown 8v0. 3^. 6d. 
 A little book on Fly-Fishing by an old friend of Mr. Ruskin. 
 
 Science 
 
 Freudenreich. DAIRY BACTERIOLOGY. A Short Manual 
 for the Use of Students. By Dr. ED. VON FREUDENREICH. 
 Translated from the German by J. R. AINSWORTH DAVIS, B.A., 
 F.C.P. Crown 8vo. 2s. (>d. 
 
 Chalmers Mitchell. OUTLINES OF BIOLOGY. By P. 
 
 CHALMERS MITCHELL, M.A., F.Z.S. Fully Illustrated. Crown 
 8vo. 6s. 
 
 A'text-bo_ok designed to cover the new Schedule issued by the Royal College of 
 ^hvsicians and Surgeons. 
 
 G.Massee. A MONOGRAPH OF THE MYXOGASTRES. By 
 GEORGE MASSEE. With 12 Coloured Plates. Royal "&vo. i8.r. net. 
 
 1 A "work much in advance of any book in the language treating of this group of 
 organisms. It is indispensable to every student of the Myxogastres. The 
 coloured plates deserve high praise for their accuracy and execution.' Nature. 
 
 Philosophy 
 
 L. T. Hobhouse. THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE. By 
 L. T. HOBHOUSE, Fellow and Tutor of Corpus College, Oxford. 
 Demy 8vo. 21 s. 
 
 1 The most important contribution to English philosophy since the publication of Mr. 
 Bradley 's "Appearance and Reality." Full of brilliant criticism and of positive 
 theories which are models of lucid statement.' Glasgow Herald. 
 
 ' An elaborate and often brilliantly written volume. The treatment is one of great 
 freshness, and the illustrations are particularly numerous and apt.' Times.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 23 
 
 W. H. Fairbrother. THE PHILOSOPHY OF T. H. GREEN. 
 By W. H. FAIRBROTHER, M.A., Lecturer at Lincoln College, 
 Oxford. Crown 8vo. %s. 6J. 
 
 This volume is expository, not critical, and is intended for senior students at the 
 Universities and others, as a statement of Green's teaching, and an introduction to 
 the study of Idealist Philosophy. 
 
 In every way an admirable book. As an introduction to the writings of perhaps the 
 most remarkable speculative thinker whom England has produced in the present 
 century, nothing could be better.' Glasgow Herald. 
 
 T. W. Bussell. THE SCHOOL OF PLATO : its Origin and 
 its Revival under the Roman Empire. By F. W. BUSSELL, M.A., 
 Fellow and Tutor of Brasenose College, Oxford. Demy 8v0. los. 6d. 
 
 ' A highly valuable contribution to the history of ancient thought.' Glasgow Herald. 
 ' A clever and stimulating book, provocative of thought and deserving careful reading.' 
 Manchester Guardian. 
 
 F. S. Granger. THE WORSHIP OF THE ROMANS. By 
 F. S. GRANGER, M.A., Litt.D., Professor of Philosophy at Univer- 
 sity College, Nottingham. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 The author delineates that group of beliefs which stood in close connection with the 
 Roman religion, and among the subjects treated are Dreams, Nature Worship, 
 Roman Magic, Divination, Holy Places, Victims, etc. 
 
 1 A scholarly analysis of the religious ceremonies.beliefs, and superstitions of ancient 
 Rome, conducted in the new instructive light of comparative anthropology.' 
 
 Times, 
 
 Theology 
 
 E. C. S. Gibson. THE XXXIX. ARTICLES OF THE 
 CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Edited with an Introduction by E. 
 C. S. GIBSON, D.D., Vicar of Leeds, late Principal of Wells 
 Theological College. In Two Volumes. Demy 8vo. 'js. 6d. each. 
 Vol. /. Articles /. - VIII. 
 
 ' The tone maintained throughout is not that of the partial advocate, but the faithful 
 
 exponent. ' Scotsman. 
 ' There are ample proofs of clearness of expression, sobriety of judgment, and breadth 
 
 of view. . . . The book will be welcome to all students of the subject, and its sound, 
 
 definite, and loyal theology ought to be of great service.' National Observer. 
 ' So far from repelling the general reader, its orderly arrangement, lucid treatment, 
 
 and felicity of diction invite and encourage his attention.' Yorkshire Post. 
 
 E. L. Ottley. THE DOCTRINE OF THE INCARNATION. 
 
 By R. L. OTTLEY, M.A., late fellow of Magdalen College, Oxon., 
 
 Principal of Pusey House. In Two Volumes. Demy&vo, l$s. 
 ' Learned and reverent : lucid and well arranged.' Record. 
 'Accurate, well ordered, and judicious.' National Observer. 
 'A clear and remarkably full account of the main currents of speculation. Scholarly 
 
 precision . . . genuine tolerance . . . intense interest in his subject are Mr. 
 
 Ottley 's merits.' Guardian.
 
 24 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 F. B. Jevons. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY 
 OF RELIGION. By F. B. JEVONS, M.A., Litt.D., Tutor at the 
 University of Durham. DcmyZvo. los. 6d. 
 
 Mr. F. B. Jevons 1 ' Introduction to the History of Religion' treats of early religion, 
 from the point of view of Anthropology and Folk-lore ; and is the first attempt 
 that has been made in any language to weave together the results of recent 
 investigations into such topics as Sympathetic Magic, Taboo, Totemism, 
 Fetishism, etc., so as to present a systematic account of the growth of primitive 
 religion and the development of early religious institutions. 
 
 1 Displays mental power of no ordinary kind, and is the result of much and well- 
 directed study.' Scotsman. 
 
 S. E. Driver. SERMONS ON SUBJECTS CONNECTED 
 WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT. By S. R. DRIVER, D.D., 
 Canon of Christ Church, Regius Professor of Hebrew in the Uni- 
 versity of Oxford. Crown 8z>0. 6s. 
 
 ' A welcome companion to the author's famous ' Introduction.' No man can read these 
 discourses without feeling that Dr. Driver is fully alive to the deeper teaching of 
 the Old Testament." Guardian. 
 
 T. K. Cheyne. FOUNDERS OF OLD TESTAMENT CRITI- 
 CISM : Biographical, Descriptive, and Critical Studies. By T. K. 
 CHEYNE, D.D., Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scrip- 
 ture at Oxford. Large crown &vo. Js. 6d. 
 
 This important book is a historical sketch of O. T. Criticism in the form of biographi- 
 cal studies from the days of Eichhorn to those of Driver and Robertson Smith. 
 It is the only book of its kind in English. 
 'A very learned and instructive work.' Times. 
 
 C.H.Prior. CAMBRIDGE SERMONS. Edited by C.H. PRIOR, 
 
 M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Pembroke College. Crown %vo. 6s. 
 A volume of sermons preached before the University of Cambridge by various 
 
 preachers, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Westcott. 
 'A representative collection. Bishop Westcott's is a noble sermon.' Guardian. 
 
 H. C. Beeching. SERMONS TO SCHOOLBOYS. By H. C. 
 BEECHING, M.A., Rector of Yattendon, Berks. With a Preface by 
 Canon SCOTT HOLLAND. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Seven sermons preached before the boys of Bradfield College. 
 
 E. B. Layard. RELIGION IN BOYHOOD. Notes on the 
 Religious Training of Boys. With a Preface by J. R. ILLING- 
 WORTH. By E. B. LAYARD, M.A. i&mo. is. 
 
 W. Yorke Faussett. THE DE CATECHIZANDIS 
 RUDIBUS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. Edited, with Introduction, 
 Notes, etc., by W. YORKE FAUSSETT, M.A., late Scholar of Balliol 
 Coll. Crown 8v0. 3*. 6d. 
 
 An edition of a Treatise on the Essentials of Christian Doctrine, and the best 
 methods of impressing them on candidates for baptism. The editor bestows upon 
 this patristic work the same care which a treatise of Cicero might claim. There 
 is a general Introduction, a careful Analysis, a full Commentary, and other useful 
 matter. No better introduction to the study of the Latin Fathers, their style and 
 diction, could be found than this treatise, which also has no lack of modern interest. 
 'Ably and judiciously edited on the same principle as the ordinary Greek and 
 Latin texts.' Glasgow herald.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 25 
 
 2Detottonal Boofeg. 
 
 With Full-page Illustrations. Fcap. 8v0. Buckram. 3*. 6d. 
 
 Padded morocco, $s. 
 
 THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. By THOMAS A KEMPIS. 
 With an Introduction by DEAN FARRAR. Illustrated by C. M. 
 GERE, and printed in black and red. Second Edition. 
 'Amongst all the innumerable English editions of the " Imitation," there can have 
 been few which were prettier than this one, printed in strong and handsome type 
 by Messrs. Constable, with all the glory of red initials, and the comfort of buckram 
 binding.' G/asftnu Herald, 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. By JOHN KEBLE. With an Intro- 
 duction and Notes by W. LOCK, M. A. , Sub- Warden of Keble College, 
 Ireland Professor at Oxford, Author of the ' Life of John Keble.' 
 Illustrated by R. ANNING BELL. 
 
 'The present edition is annotated with all the care and insight to be expected from 
 Mr. Lock. The progress and circumstances of its composition are detailed in the 
 Introduction. There is an interesting Appendix on the MSS. of the "Christian 
 Year," and another giving the order in which the poems were written. A " Short 
 Analysis of the Thought" is prefixed to each, and any difficulty in the text is ex- 
 plained in a note. Guardian. 
 
 ' The most acceptable edition of this ever-popular work. ' Globe. 
 
 Leaders of Religion 
 
 Edited by H. C. BEECHING, M.A. With Portraits, crown 8vo. 
 
 A series of short biographies of the most prominent leaders //" 
 
 of religious life and thought of all ages and countries. O / (^) 
 
 The following are ready W/ 
 
 CARDINAL NEWMAN. By R. H. HUTTON 
 JOHN WESLEY. By J. H. OVERTON, M.A. 
 BISHOP WILBERFORCE. By G. W. DANIEL, M.A. 
 CARDINAL MANNING. By A. W. HUTTON, M.A. 
 CHARLES SIMEON. By H. C. G. MOULE, M.A. 
 JOHN KEBLE. By WALTER LOCK, M.A. 
 THOMAS CHALMERS. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. 
 LANCELOT ANDREWES. By R. L. OTTLEY, M.A. 
 AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY. By E. L. CUTTS, D.D. 
 WILLIAM LAUD. By W. H. HUTTON, M.A. 
 JOHN KNOX. By F. M'CUNN. 
 JOHN HOWE. By R. F. HORTON, D.D. 
 BISHOP KEN. By F. A. CLARKE, M.A. 
 GEORGE FOX, THE QUAKER. By T. HODGKIN, D.C.L. 
 Other volumes will be announced in due course.
 
 26 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 Fiction 
 
 8IX SHILLING NOVELS 
 
 Marie Oorelli's Novels 
 
 Crown %vo. 6s. each. 
 
 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS. Fourteenth Edition. 
 VENDETTA. Twelfth Edition. 
 THELMA. Sixteenth Edition. 
 ARDATH. Tenth Edition. 
 THE SOUL OF LILITH. Ninth Edition. 
 WORMWOOD. Eighth Edition. 
 
 BARABBAS : A DREAM OF THE WORLD'S TRAGEDY. 
 Twenty-ninth Edition. 
 
 ' The tender reverence of the treatment and the imaginative beauty of the writing 
 have reconciled us to the daring of the conception, and the conviction is forced on 
 us that even so exalted a subject cannot be made too familiar to us, provided it be 
 presented in the true spirit of Christian faith. The amplifications of the Scripture 
 narrative are often conceived with high poetic insight, and this "Dream of the 
 World's Tragedy " is, despite some trifling incongruities, a lofty and not inade- 
 quate paraphrase of the supreme climax of the inspired narrative.' Dublin 
 Review. 
 
 THE SORROWS OF SATAN. Thirty-fourth Edition. 
 
 ' A very powerful piece of work. . . . The conception is magnificent, and is likely 
 to win an abiding place within the memory of man. . . . The author has immense 
 command of language, and a limitless audacity. . . . This interesting and re- 
 markable romance will live long after much of the ephemeral literature of the clay 
 is forgotten. ... A literary phenomenon . . . novel, and even sublime.' W. T. 
 STEAD in the Review of Reviews. 
 
 Anthony Hope's Novels 
 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. each. 
 THE GOD IN THE CAR. Seventh Edition. 
 
 ' A very remarkable book, deserving of critical analysis impossible within our limit ; 
 brilliant, but not superficial ; well considered, but not elaborated ; constructed 
 with the proverbial art that conceals, but yet allows itself to be enjoyed by readers 
 to whom fine literary method is a keen pleasure.' The World. 
 
 A CHANGE OF AIR. Fourth Edition. 
 
 'A graceful, vivacious comedy, true to human nature. The characters are traced 
 with a masterly hand.' Times. 
 
 A MAN OF MARK. Fourth Edition. 
 
 ' Of all Mr. Hope's books, " A Man of Mark " is the one which best compares with 
 " The Prisoner of Zenda." ' National Observer.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 27 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF COUNT ANTONIO. Third 
 
 Edition. 
 
 'It is a perfectly enchanting story of love and chivalry, and pure romance. The 
 outlawed Count is the most constant, desperate, and withal modest and tender of 
 lovers, a peerless gentleman, an intrepid fighter, a very faithful friend, and a most 
 magnanimous foe.' Guardian. 
 
 S. Baring Gould's Novels 
 
 Crown Svo. 6s. each. 
 
 'To say that a book is by the author of "Mehalah" is to imply that it contains a 
 story cast on strong lines, containing dramatic possibilities, vivid and sympathetic 
 descriptions of Nature, and a wealth of ingenious imagery.' Speaker. 
 'That whatever Mr. Baring Gould writes is well worth reading, is a conclusion that 
 may be very generally accepted. His views of life are fresh and vigorous, his 
 language pointed and characteristic, the incidents of which he makes use are 
 striking and original, his characters are life-like, and though somewhat excep- 
 tional people, are drawn and coloured with artistic force. Add to this that his 
 descriptions of scenes and scenery are painted with the loving eyes and skilled 
 hands of a master of his art, that he is always fresh and never dull, and under 
 such conditions it is no wonder that readers have gained confidence both in his 
 power of amusing and satisfying them, and that year by year his popularity 
 widens.' Court Circular. 
 
 ARM I NELL : A Social Romance. Fourth Edition. 
 URITH : A Story of Dartmoor. Fifth Edition. 
 
 1 The author is at his best.' Times. 
 
 IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA Fifth Edition. 
 
 ' One of the best imagined and most enthralling stories the author has produced. 
 Saturday Revinv. 
 
 MRS. CURGENVEN OF CURGENVEN. Fourth Edition. 
 
 ' The swing of the narrative is splendid." Sussex Daily News. 
 
 CHEAP JACK ZITA. Fourth Edition. 
 
 1 A powerful drama of human passion.' Westminster Gazette. 
 'A story worthy the author.' National Observer. 
 
 THE QUEEN OF LOVE. Fourth Edition. 
 
 1 You cannot put it down until you have finished it.' Punch. 
 
 ' Ca:i be heartily recommended to all who care for cleanly, energetic, and interesting 
 fiction.' Sussex Daily News. 
 
 K I TT Y ALONE. Fourth Edition. 
 
 ' A strong and original story, teeming with graphic description, stirring incident, 
 and, above all, with vivid and enthralling human interest.' Daily Telegraph. 
 
 XOEMI; A Romance of the Cave-Dwellers. Illustrated by 
 
 K. CATON WOODVILLE. Third Edition. 
 
 1 " Noemi " is as excellent a tale of fighting and adventure as one may wish to meet. 
 The narrative also runs clear and sharp as the Loire itself.' Pall Mall Gazette. 
 'Mr. Baring Gould's powerful story is full of the strong lights and shadows and 
 vivid colouring to which he has accustomed us.' Standard. 
 
 THE BROOM -SQUIRE. Illustrated by FRANK DADD. 
 
 Fourth Edition. 
 ' A strain of tenderness is woven through the web of his tragic tale, and its atmosphere 
 
 is sweetened by the nobility and sweetness of the heroine's character.' Daily Nevus. 
 ' A story of exceptional interest that seems to us to be better than anything he has 
 
 written of late.' Speaker.
 
 28 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 THE PENNYCOMEQUICKS. New Edition. 
 DARTMOOR IDYLLS. 
 
 'A book to read, and keep and read again ; for the genuine fun and pathos of it will 
 not early lose their effect.' Vanity Fair, 
 
 Gilbert Parker's Novels 
 
 Croiun 8vo. 6s. each. 
 PIERRE AND HIS PEOPLE. Third Edition. 
 
 ' Stories happily conceived and finely executed. There is strength and genius in Mr. 
 Parker's style.' Daily Telegraph. 
 
 MRS. FALCHION. Fourth Edition. 
 
 ' A splendid study of character.' Athetueutn. 
 
 ' But little behind anything that has been done by any writer of our time." Pall 
 Mall Gazette. ' A very striking and admirable novel.' St. James's Gazette. 
 
 THE TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE. 
 
 'The plot is original and one difficult to work out; but Mr. Parker has done it with 
 great skill and delicacy. The reader who is not interested in this original, fresh, 
 and well-told tale must be a dull person indeed.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 THE TRAIL OF THE SWORD. Fourth Edition. 
 
 'Everybody with a soul for romance will thoroughly enjoy "The Trail of the 
 Sword." ' St. James's Gazette. 
 
 ' A rousing and dramatic tale. A book like this, in which swords flash, great sur- 
 prises are undertaken, and daring deeds done, in which men and women live and 
 love in the old straightforward passionate way, is a joy inexpressible to the re- 
 viewer." Daily Chronicle. 
 
 WHEN VALMOND CAME TO PONTIAC : The Story of 
 
 a Lost Napoleon. Fourth Edition. 
 
 1 Here we find romance real, breathing, living romance, but it runs flush with our 
 own times, level with our own feelings. The character of Valmond is drawn un- 
 erringly ; his career, brief as it is, is placed before us as convincingly as history 
 itself. The book must be read, we may say re-read, for any one thoroughly to 
 appreciate Mr. Parker's delicate touch and innate sympathy with humanity.' 
 Pall Mall Gazette. 
 ' The one work of genius which 1895 has as yet produced.' Neiv Age. 
 
 AN ADVENTURER OF THE NORTH: The Last Adven- 
 tures of ' Pretty Pierre.' Second Edition. 
 
 'The present book is full of fine and moving stories of the great North, and it will 
 add to Mr. Parker's already high reputation." Glasgow Herald. 
 
 THE SEATS OF THE MIGHTY. Illustrated. Sixth Edition. 
 
 The best thing he has done ; one of the best things that any one has done lately.' 
 
 St. James's Gazette. 
 ' Mr. Parker seems to become stronger and easier with every serious novel that he 
 
 attempts. . . . In " The Seats of the Mighty " he shows the matured power which 
 
 his former novels have led us to expect, and has produced a really fine historical 
 
 novel. . . . Most sincerely is Mr. Parker to be congratulated on the finest 
 
 novel he has yet written.' Atken&um. 
 'Mr. Parker's latest book places him in the front rank of living novelists. "The 
 
 Seats of the Mighty" is a great book.' Black and White. 
 'One of the strongest stories of historical interest and adventure that we have read 
 
 for many a day. . . . A notable and successful book.' Speaker. 
 ' An admirable romance. The glory of a romance is its plot, and this plot is crowded 
 
 with fine sensations, which have no rest until the fall of the famous old city and 
 
 the final restitution of love." Pall Mall Gazette.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 29 
 
 Conan Doyle. ROUND THE RED LAMP. By A. CONAN 
 DOYLE, Author of 'The White Company,' 'The Adventures of 
 Sherlock Holmes,' etc. Fourth Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 ' The book is, indeed, composed of leaves from life, and is far and away the best view 
 that has been vouchsafed us behind the scenes of the consulting-room. It is very 
 superiorCo "The Diary cf a late Physician."' Illustrated London New s. 
 
 Stanley Weyman. UNDER THE RED ROBE. By STANLEY 
 WEYMAN, Author of ' A Gentleman of France.' With Twelve Illus- 
 trations by R. Caton Woodville. Eleventh Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 'A book of which we have read every word for the sheer pleasure of reading, and 
 which we put down with a oang that we cannot forget it all and start again.' 
 Westminster Gazette. 
 
 ' Every one who reads books at all must read this thrilling romance, from the first 
 page of which to the last the breathless reader is haled along. An inspiration of 
 "manliness and courage."' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 ' A delightful tale of chivalry and adventure, vivid and dramatic.' Globe. 
 
 Lucas Malet. THE CARISSIMA. By LUCAS MALET, 
 
 Author of ' The Wages of Sin,' etc. Third Edition. CrownSvo. 6s. 
 
 This is the first novel which Lucas Malet has written since her very powerful ' The 
 
 Wages of Sin.' 
 ' A very able story. Only a very few of our novelists can write so well.' Sketch. 
 
 Lucas Malet. THE WAGES OF SIN. By LUCAS 
 
 MALET. Thirteenth Edition. Crown 8z-o. 6s. 
 Mrs. Clifford. A FLASH OF SUMMER. By Mrs. W. K. 
 
 CLIFFORD, Author of ' Aunt Anne,' etc. Second Edition. Crown 
 
 8vo. 6s. 
 ' The story is a very sad and a very beautiful one, exquisitely told, and enriched with 
 
 many subtle touches of wise and tender insight. It will, undoubtedly, add to its 
 
 author's reputation already high in the ranks of novelists.' Speaker. 
 
 Emily Lawless. HURRISH. By the Honble. EMILY LAW- 
 LESS, Author of ' Maelcho,' etc. Fifth Edition. Crown %vo. 6s. 
 A reissue of Miss Lawless' most popular novel, uniform with ' Maelcho.' 
 
 Emily Lawless. MAELCHO : a Sixteenth Century Romance. 
 By the Honble. EMILY LAWLESS, Author of ' Crania,' ' Hurrish.'etc. 
 Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' A really great book.' Spectator. 
 
 'There is no keener pleasure in life than the recognition of genius. Good work is 
 commoner than it used to be, but the best is as rare as ever. All the more 
 gladly, therefore, do we welcome in " Maelcho " a piece of work of the first order, 
 which we do not hesitate to describe as one of the most remarkable literary 
 achievements of this generation. Miss Lawless is possessed of the very essence 
 of historical genius." Afanchester Guardian. 
 
 J. H. Findlater. THE GREEN GRAVES OF BALGOWRIE. 
 
 By JANE H. FINDLATER. Third Edition. Crcnvn 8vo. 6s. 
 A powerful and vivid story.' Standard. 
 
 \ beautiful story, sad and strange as truth itself.' I'anity Fair. 
 \ work of remarkable interest and originality.' National Observer. 
 \ very charming and pathetic tale." Pall Mall Gazette. 
 A singularly original, clever, and beautiful story.' Guardian, 
 ' The Green Graves of Balgowrie " reveals to us a new Scotch writer of undoubted 
 
 faculty and reserve force.' Spectator. 
 ' An exquisite idyll, delicate, affecting, and beautiful.' Black and White.
 
 30 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 E. F. Benson, DODO : A DETAIL OF THE DAY. By E. F. 
 
 BENSON. Sixteenth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' A delightfully witty sketch of society.' Spectator. 
 ' A perpetual feast of epigram and paradox.' Speaker. 
 
 E. F. Benson. THE RUBICON. By E. F. BENSON, Author of 
 
 ' Dodo. ' Fifth Edition. Crown 8v0, 6s. 
 
 1 An exceptional achievement ; a notable advance on his previous work. 1 National 
 Observer. 
 
 M. M. Dowie. GALLIA. By MENIE MURIEL DOWIE, Author 
 
 of 'A Girl in the Carpathians.' Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 1 The style is generally admirable, the dialogue not seldom brilliant, the situations 
 surprising in their freshness and originality, while the subsidiary as well as the 
 principal characters live and move, and the story itself is readable from title-page 
 to colophon.' Saturday Review. 
 
 Mrs. Oliphant. SIR ROBERT'S FORTUNE. By MRS. 
 OLIPHANT. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' Full of her own peculiar charm of Etyle and simple, subtle character- painting comes 
 her new gift, the delightful story before us. The scene mostly lies in the moors, 
 and at the touch of the authoress a Scotch moor becomes a living thing, strong, 
 tender, beautiful, and changeful.' Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Mrs. Oliphant. THE TWO MARYS. By MRS. OLIPHANT. 
 Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 W. E. Norris. MATTHEW AUSTIN. By W. E. NORRIS, Author 
 of ' Mademoiselle de Mersac,' etc. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' "Matthew Austin " may safely be pronounced one of the most intellectually satis- 
 factory and morally bracing novels of the current year.' Daily Telegraph. 
 
 W. E. Norris. HIS GRACE. By W. E. NORRIS. Third 
 
 Edition. Crown %vo. 6s. 
 
 'Mr. Norris has drawn a really fine character in the Duke of Hurstbourne, at once 
 unconventional and very true to the conventionalities of life.' Atheneevm. 
 
 W. E. Norris. THE DESPOTIC LADY AND OTHERS. 
 By W. E. NORRIS. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' A budget of good fiction of which no one will tire.' Scotsman. 
 'An extremely entertaining volume the sprightliest of holiday companions.' 
 Daily Telesraph 
 
 H. G. Wells. THE STOLEN BACILLUS, and other Stories. 
 By H. G. WELLS, Author of 'The Time Machine.' Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' The ordinary reader of fiction may be glad to know that these stories are eminently 
 readable from one cover to the other, but they are more than that ; they are the 
 impressions of a very striking imagination, which, it would seem, has a great deal 
 within its reach.' Saturday Review. 
 
 Arthur Morrison. TALES OF MEAN STREETS. By ARTHUR 
 
 MORRISON. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' Told with consummate art and extraordinary detail. He tells a plain, unvarnished 
 
 tale, and the very truth of it makes for beauty. In the true humanity of the book 
 
 lies its justification, the permanence of its interest, and its indubitable triumph.' 
 
 A thenaum. 
 ' A great book. The author's method is amazingly effective, and produces a thrilling 
 
 sense of reality. The writer lays upon us a master hand. The book is simply 
 
 appalling and irresistible in its interest It is humorous also ; without humour 
 
 it wouldnot make the mark it is certain to make.' World.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 31 
 
 Arthur Morrison. A CHILD OF THE JAGO. By ARTHUR 
 MORRISON, Author of 'Tales of Mean Streets.' Second Edition. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 This, the first long story which Mr. Morrison has written, is like his remarkable 
 'Tales of Mean Streets,' a realistic study of East End life. 
 
 ' The book is a masterpiece.' Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 ' Told with great vigour and powerful simplicity.' Atkenteunt. 
 
 J. Maclaren Cobban. THE KING OF ANDAMAN : A 
 
 Saviour of Society. By J. MACLAREN COBBAN. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' An unquestionably interesting book. It would not surprise us if it turns out to be 
 the most interesting novel of the season, for it contains one character, at least, 
 who has in him the root of immortality, and_ the book itself is ever exhaling the 
 sweet savour of the unexpected. . . . Plot is forgotten and incident fades, and 
 only the really human endures, and throughout this book there stands out in bold 
 and beautiful relief_its high-souled and chivalric protagonist, James the Master 
 of Hutcheon, the King of Andaman himself.' Pail Mall Gazette. 
 
 H. Morrah. A SERIOUS COMEDY. By HERBERT MORRAH. 
 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' There are many delightful places in this volume, which is well worthy of its title. 
 The theme has seldom been presented with more freshness or more force.' 
 
 L. B. Walford. SUCCESSORS TO THE TITLE. By MRS. 
 
 WALFORD, Author of ' Mr. Smith, 'etc. Second Edition. CrownSva. 6s. 
 
 ' The story is fresh and healthy from beginning to finish ; and our liking for the two 
 
 simple people who are the successors to the title mounts steadily, and ends almost 
 
 in respect.' Scotsman. 
 
 T. L. Paton. A HOME IN INVERESK. By T. L. PATON. 
 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 'A book which bears marks of considerable promise.' Scotsman. 
 'A pleasant and well-written story.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 John Davidson. MISS ARMSTRONG'S AND OTHER CIR- 
 CUMSTANCES. By JOHN DAVIDSON. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' Throughout the volume there is a strong vein of originality, a strength in the 
 handling, and a knowledge of human nature that are worthy of the highest praise.' 
 Scotsman. 
 
 J. A. Barry. IN THE GREAT DEEP : TALES OF THE SEA. 
 By J. A. BARRY. Author of ' Steve Brown's Bunyip.' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 ' A collection of really admirable short stories of the sea, very simply told, and placed 
 before the reader in pithy and telling English.' Westminster Gazette. 
 
 J. B. Burton. IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY. By J. BLOUN- 
 DELLE BURTON, Author of ' The Hispaniola Plate.' Second Edition. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' Unusually interesting and full of highly dramatic situations. 'Guardian. 
 
 ' \ well-written story, drawn from that inexhaustible mine, the time of Louis XIV. 
 Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 J. Bloundelle Burton. DENOUNCED. By J. BLOUNDELLE 
 BURTON, Author of ' In the Day of Adversity,' etc. Second Edition. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' The plot is an extremely original one, and the local colouring is laid on with a 
 delicacy of touch and an accuracy of detail which denote the true artist.' Broad 
 Arrow.
 
 32 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 H. Johnston. DR. CONGALTON'S LEGACY. By HENRY 
 JOHNSTON. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' The story is redolent of humour, pathos, and tenderness, while it is not without a 
 
 touch of tragedy.' Scotsman. 
 'A worthy and permanent contribution to Scottish creative literature.' Glasgow 
 
 Herald. 
 
 Julian Corbett. A BUSINESS IN GREAT WATERS. By 
 JULIAN CORBETT, Author of 'Forgotten Gold,' ' Kophetua xin,' 
 etc. Crown 8f0. 6s. 
 
 ' Mr. Corbett writes with immense spirit, and the book is a thoroughly enjoyable 
 one in all respects. The salt of the ocean is in it, and the right heroic ring re- 
 sounds through its gallant adventures.' Speaker. 
 
 L. Cope Cornford. CAPTAIN JACOBUS : A ROMANCE OF 
 THE ROAD. By L. COPE CORNFORD. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 6*. 
 'An exceptionally good story of adventure and character.' World. 
 
 C. Phillips Wolley. THE QUEENSBERRY CUP. A Tale 
 of Adventure. By CLIVE PHILLIPS WOLLEY, Author of ' Snap, 1 
 Editor of ' Big Game Shooting. ' Illustrated. Crown 82/0. 6s. 
 ' A book which will delight boys : a book which upholds the healthy schoolboy code 
 of morality. ' Scotsman. 
 
 Robert Ban. IN THE MIDST OF ALARMS. By ROBERT 
 BARR, Author of 'From Whose Bourne,' etc. Third Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' A book which has abundantly satisfied us by its capital humour.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 'Mr. Barr has achieved a triumph whereof he has every reason to be proud.' Pall 
 Mall Gazette. 
 
 L. Daintrey. THE KING OF ALBERIA. A Romance of 
 the Balkans. By LAURA DAINTREY. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 1 Miss Daintrey seems to have an intimate acquaintance with the people and politics 
 of the Balkan countries in which the scene ot her lively and picturesque romance 
 is laid. On almost every page we find clever touches of local colour which dif- 
 ferentiate her book unmistakably from the ordinary novel.' Glasgow Herald. 
 
 M. A. Owen. THE DAUGHTER OF ALOUETTE. By 
 MARY A. OWEN. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 A story of life among the American Indians. 
 'A fascinating story.' Literary World. 
 
 Mrs. Pinsent. CHILDREN OF THIS WORLD. By ELLEN 
 
 F. PINSENT, Author of ' Jenny's Case. ' Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' Mrs. Pinsent's new novel has plenty of vigour, variety, and good writing. There 
 are certainty of purpose, strength of touch, and clearness of vision.' Atkemeum. 
 
 Clark Russell. MY DANISH SWEETHEART. By W. 
 CLARK RUSSELL, Author of 'The Wreck of the Grosvenor,' etc. 
 Illustrated. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 G. Manville Fenn. AN ELECTRIC SPARK. By G. MANVILLE 
 FENN, Author of ' The Vicar's Wife,' 'A Double Knot,' etc. Second 
 Edition. Crown 8vo, 6s. 
 
 Ronald Ross. THE SPIRIT OF STORM. By RONALD 
 Ross, Author of ' The Child of Ocean. ' Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 A romance of the Sea. ' Weird, powerful, and impressive.' Black and White.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 33 
 
 R. Pryce. TIME AND THE WOMAN. By RICHARD PRYCE, 
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 34 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
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 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 35 
 
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 36 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
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 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 37 
 
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 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 39 
 
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