IRLF 
 
 3 571 
 
 ILIOWJZT 
 

 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 MRS. MARY WOLFSOHN 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 
 HENRY WOLFSOHN 
 
IN THE PALE 
 
 STORIES AND LEGENDS OF THE RUSSIAN JEWS 
 
 HENRY ILIOWIZI 
 
 
 
 THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA 
 l8 97 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1897 
 BY THK JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA 
 
 PRESS OF 
 KDWARD STERN & Co., INC., 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
TO MY WIFE 
 
 these pages are most affectionately 
 inscribed 
 
A WORD TO THE READER 
 
 IN explanation of some features of the 
 following tales and of the Russo- Judean 
 genius for story-telling in general, it should 
 be remembered that the tellers of the tales 
 current in Russian Jewry are students of 
 the Talmud, accustomed to the hyperbole 
 characteristic of much of the unique litera 
 ture to which they devote their lives. It is 
 not too hazardous to say that in point of 
 inventiveness they can vie with the Arabian 
 Nights Entertainments, and in ideality and 
 moral elevation they far surpass them. 
 
 These tales of fact, folklore, and fiction 
 may serve to open a window of the great 
 dungeon wherein at least half of scattered 
 Israel suffers, worships, and dreams. Living 
 in a gloomy present, and ever picturing a 
 golden future ; languishing in wretchedness 
 here, while never losing hope in a blessed 
 hereafter, it is a race that has learned to 
 weep and laugh at the same time. Now and 
 (7) 
 
A WORD TO THE READER 
 
 IN explanation of some features of the 
 following tales and of the Russo- Judean 
 genius for story-telling in general, it should 
 be remembered that the tellers of the tales 
 current in Russian Jewry are students of 
 the Talmud, accustomed to the hyperbole 
 characteristic of much of the unique litera 
 ture to which they devote their lives. It is 
 not too hazardous to say that in point of 
 inventiveness they can vie with the Arabian 
 Nig/its Entertainments, and in ideality and 
 moral elevation they far surpass them. 
 
 These tales of fact, folklore, and fiction 
 may serve to open a window of the great 
 dungeon wherein at least half of scattered 
 Israel suffers, worships, and dreams. Living 
 in a gloomy present, and ever picturing a 
 golden future ; languishing in wretchedness 
 here, while never losing hope in a blessed 
 hereafter, it is a race that has learned to 
 weep and laugh at the same, time. Now and 
 (7) 
 
8 A WORD TO THE READER 
 
 then the scene is tinged with the melo 
 dramatic, but it never fails to convey pro 
 found faith, deep reverence, lofty morality, 
 proud self-consciousness, and sublime spir 
 ituality. 
 
 That the Russian Jew is in possession of 
 enough material for tales of woe, needed no 
 demonstration. What the world does not 
 yet appreciate is his optimism, his readiness 
 to laugh at the humorous sides of life, and 
 his ability to make others laugh at them. 
 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 EZRA AND HULDAH ii 
 
 THE BAAL-SHEM AND His GOLEM 136 
 
 FRIENDS IN LIEE AND IN DEATH 172 
 
 CZAR NICHOLAS THE FIRST AND SIR MOSES MONTE- 
 
 FIORE 249 
 
 THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 274 
 
 THE LEGEND OE THE TEN LOST TRIBES 309 
 
 THE LEGEND OE THE B NAI MOSHEH 343 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 
 
 I 
 THE STAR S MYSTERIOUS TAIL 
 
 TANGIER is held by the Moors to be the 
 most beautiful city of the Eastern 
 hemisphere, and their patriotic conceit is 
 explained by the circumstance that very 
 few of Moslem birth go to the trouble of 
 crossing the Strait to look even at the great 
 fortress of Gibraltar. Indeed, a distant 
 glimpse of the Moorish Paris inclines one 
 to favor the native view of its deceptive 
 magnificence. As your steamer ploughs the 
 water, sunny glories playing around you, 
 your eye is dazzled by the maze of human 
 habitations, bathed in the morning s radiant 
 splendor as they lie spread out on the rising 
 coast, its highest acclivity on the side toward 
 the narrowing strait, through which old At 
 lantic pours his surplus brine into the his 
 toric, song-consecrated Inland Sea. The ag 
 in) 
 
12 IN THE PALE 
 
 glomeration of dwellings is encompassed by 
 a white, irregular wall about eleven feet high, 
 punctuated here and there by a tower and 
 a battlement, as patent evidence of its being 
 a fortress, though a fortress like Jericho, 
 frowning fearfully, but betraying symptoms 
 of being barely able to withstand the blast 
 of a trumpet, as the French demonstrated 
 not very long ago. 
 
 Tangier has made a record for herself, is 
 accounted one of the oldest African cities, 
 once was the capital of a kingdom, but is 
 now a faded relic of past glories. As you 
 draw nearer the walls, your look betrays 
 disappointment. What a difference between 
 impregnable Gibraltar, but a few miles be 
 hind, and this dilapidated stronghold! If 
 them art not widowed, fair city, then must 
 thy lord be either drunk or insane. So 
 heaven-favored and so neglected ! Here is 
 an illustration of Beauty wedded to the 
 Beast. 
 
 Of Gibraltar a poet of Granada says 
 that it is " as a beacon shedding its rays 
 over the multitudinous seas, and rising far 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 13 
 
 above the neighboring mountains ; one 
 would say that its eyes are watching the 
 stars in their heavenly tracks." 
 
 After Tarik-Ibn Zeyed landed his aggres 
 sive host at the foot of Gibraltar, that fam 
 ous Tarshish stood many a siege, changed 
 masters many a time, until undaunted 
 Britain transformed it into a dormant, 
 thousand-mouthed dragon, not unprepared 
 to belch forth thousandfold thunder, fire, 
 and death. Iron nerves alone would enable 
 one to endure the deafening bursts of can 
 non which shake the rock to its centre on 
 Victoria s birthday. Gibraltar honoring 
 royalty conveys a fair idea of sky-com 
 pelling Jove shaking the heavens and the 
 abysses with thunder. 
 
 Our steamer throws anchor before Tangier. 
 Look at those walls ! How mournful ! Wide 
 gaps unrepaired, plenty of withered moss 
 and loose rolling stones, nests of swallows, 
 piles of debris, masses of cobweb, rusty can 
 non of the oldest pattern, unwatched, 
 uncleaned, bearing the indelible marks of 
 decay! Here nature smiles, and man is 
 
14 IN THE PALE 
 
 wretched. During nine months of the year 
 the climate along the Moorish coast facing- 
 Spain is delightful. Yet, notwithstanding 
 the benignity of the skies and the fertility of 
 the soil, man vegetates here in squalor, pov 
 erty, and ignorance, the historic trinity of 
 Oriental barbarism. Nature blooms and 
 blossoms in vain. The fig, the cactus, the 
 orange, and the citron grow wild. The 
 groves are delicious when in blossom, Hes 
 perian when loaded with golden fruit, but 
 superstition, fanaticism, and indolence are 
 the chronic plagues of unenlightened Islam, 
 and anarchy is the result. 
 
 And who are those bustling people 
 yonder, sunburnt, dark-eyed, black-haired, 
 ragged, shabby; dirty mufflers or caps 
 on their heads ; barefoot, feet unwashed 
 and surmounted by sinewy calves ; poor 
 fellows, all eagerness to be serviceable ? 
 Children of Israel they, whose progenitors 
 Catholic Hispania drove from the land of 
 their birth, the country they dearly loved. 
 Here they are, humble porters on the beach, 
 ready to rush into the water, and bear 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 15 
 
 traveller and baggage on their shoulders to 
 the shore, destitute of landing-place or 
 wharf. Their eyes gleam at the sight of the 
 silver coin you hand them. They eat the 
 bread of poverty, and have emptied the cup 
 of misery, but are resigned to their sad lot. 
 We are on land, and as we enter the first 
 precinct of the harbor, we are at once struck 
 by the palpable reality that the fine art of 
 sweeping has not been cultivated hereabout, 
 where things clean and unclean, living and 
 dead, lie pell-mell, undisturbed. A thought 
 ful donkey, philosophically indifferent to the 
 latest conclusion reached by the evolutionist 
 with regard to his pedigree, gets a vigorous 
 kick from the fortunately unarmed heel of 
 our porter, and he plods on without as much 
 as changing his mien or gait. We are used 
 to this kind of treatment, we poor creatures, 
 he might say, had he the eloquence of 
 Balaam s animal. Poor brute ! Yet, com 
 pared with the fate of his master, his is the 
 happier life. He has no religion to suffer 
 for. The votaries of the mosque have no 
 tortures for him. 
 
l6 IN THE PALE 
 
 Our trunks are solemnly opened before a 
 tribunal of turbaned Moslems, nobles of long 
 beards and white, flowing garments. One 
 article after the other is carefully examined, 
 and declared free of duty. We are politely 
 dismissed, and proceed to enter the city 
 proper in triumph, astride on a donkey. 
 
 In 1874 the inhabitants of Tangier were 
 startled by an appearance in the skies. A 
 comet of enormous size, growing daily in 
 bulk and lustre, amazed Moslem and Jew. 
 Ominous prophecies multiplied as the days 
 advanced, and the " star s tail," as it was 
 popularly called, shot its luminous volume 
 athwart the mysterious empyrean. Every 
 evening thousands of pale faces turned to 
 the celestial wonder. What might it fore 
 shadow ? Nothing good, the faithful agreed. 
 Whether it foretold pestilence, war, famine, 
 or the end of the world, even Rabbi Nahon 
 hesitated to decide, and his was the wisest 
 head in the Mellah (Jewish quarter). To his 
 wife the venerable sage intimated that the 
 star s tail pointed to the approach of the 
 stirring period of Gog and Magog, the worst 
 
EZRA AND HULDATI 17 
 
 in store for humanity. The good woman 
 gave the information in strict confidence to 
 her several friends, and they confided the 
 secret to their dear ones, so that Gog and 
 Magog was the whisper of the hour and the 
 bugbear of the faithful. Little prophets 
 rose daily ; one fancy made room for an 
 other, until one morning the Jewish com 
 munity was thrown into a frenzy of excite 
 ment by a something people had never 
 heard of before. This was the cause. 
 
 Ben Uliel, a very pious young man, had 
 made it his business, after days of prayer 
 and fasting, to watch the development of 
 the heavenly prodigy. His eyes so he re 
 ported the sight vouchsafed unto him 
 shortly after midnight discerned a dim light 
 about the outlines of the comet. Soon the 
 bright edge turned crimson, and the central 
 mass shone like the glowing sun. This was 
 followed by a change in shape. The thin end 
 of the comet grew thinner, the other extreme 
 broadened, the whole assuming the form of 
 a perfect trumpet, which flashed upon the 
 eye with the intense beauty of a brilliant 
 
18 IN THE PALE 
 
 rainbow. Presently there was an outburst 
 of splendor in the background of the starry 
 heavens, whence a power on wings, all glory 
 and radiance, sped forth toward the enor 
 mous trumpet. Taking hold of the ethereal 
 instrument, the power filled infinite space 
 with such music as human ears had never 
 heard. When the notes had died away, 
 the trumpet underwent an instantaneous 
 change, assuming the shape of a fiery throne, 
 on which the self-same power, now a crowned 
 might, was seated, sceptre in hand, pointing 
 toward the East. Hereupon a great cry, as 
 of a battling army, stirred the universe with 
 the multitudinous roar: " Rise, Jerusalem ; 
 rise, Jerusalem ! " Ben Uliel fell upon his 
 face overawed. When he rose, there was 
 nothing but the original star s tail and 
 silence. 
 
 The commotion spread from the Jewish to 
 the Moorish population of Tangier. Ben 
 Uliel reported his vision with circumstantial 
 details, which, in the minds of the pious, 
 gave it the significance of a revelation. A 
 trumpet of light, a heavenly monarch, his 
 
EZRA AND HULL) All 19 
 
 sceptre pointing- eastward, the cry of "Rise, 
 Jerusalem," what could it signify, if not the 
 coming of the Messiah ? Rabbi Nahon said 
 nothing, but he shook his head significantly, 
 which was sufficient to keep pious cred 
 ulity at fever heat, particularly as his wife 
 had a great deal to say about what she 
 assumed her husband s head-shaking to im 
 ply. The resident consuls smiled, but the 
 Pasha took a very serious view of the mat 
 ter. He sent for Ben Uliel, made him repeat 
 his vision, gave him a present as a token of 
 friendship and respect, looked very grave, 
 and ordered the Jew to be mounted on one of 
 his dark mules and to be escorted home as a 
 man of distinction. In view of the ferocious 
 temper of the fanatic Pasha and his chronic 
 hostility to the Jews, his treatment of Ben 
 Uliel was naturally seen in the light of a 
 confirmation of the approach of the Mes 
 sianic era. 
 
 There was at this time a stranger in 
 Tangier, who seemed to have no eyes for 
 the star s tail, nor for anything around him. 
 The man attracted notice wherever he ap- 
 
20 IN THE PALE 
 
 peared, but nobody, except Rabbi Nahon, 
 held intercourse with. him. Who was he ? 
 For once the Rabbi s wife would not say a 
 word, leaving her friends to guess at the 
 identity of the mysterious stranger. He 
 was often seen around the massive light 
 house of Cape Spartel, sometimes on the top 
 of the tower, sending his eye eastward over 
 the huge Pillars of Hercules. "The winds, 
 the winds, who can control the winds ! " 
 Nothing else escaped his lips. What was 
 he looking for ? What was he thinking of ? 
 Within his horizon lay many a scene of 
 vicissitudinous history to set a contem 
 plative mind thinking. Mount Abyla to his 
 right, Mount Calpe to his left, round which 
 olden memories cluster, are rocks dear 
 to the races that rule, well known to the 
 ancients, the Phoenicians, Hebrews, Greeks, 
 Romans, and Carthaginians. Mutability is 
 writing her decrees everywhere save in the 
 stars and the soul of man. What waves of 
 humanity, since the fabled catastrophe of 
 Atlantis, have not swept athwart yonder 
 Strait! Here races struggled for suprem- 
 
EZRA AND IIULDAII 21 
 
 acy. The worshippers of Baal and Astarte, 
 those of Jupiter, of the Unity, and the 
 Trinity here they strove to leave an indeli 
 ble record of their activity. The pitched 
 battles fought between Rome and Carthage, 
 Rome and the dreaded Celtiberi, Rome and 
 the Vandal, Rome and the Frank, formed 
 but a prelude to the yet fiercer combats 
 which, for eight centuries, raged between 
 Goth and Arab, beginning with the fall of 
 Don Roderick, the last Gothic king, and 
 closing with the overthrow of Boabdil, the 
 last Moorish prince of Granada. What 
 material for a great epopee ! 
 
 But the stranger gave those phantoms of 
 the past no thought. To him history was 
 a blank. In his hand he held a telegram 
 signed " Ezra and Huldah." This he read 
 again and again, each time adding the 
 refrain : " The winds, the winds, who can 
 control the winds !" 
 
 On his way to the gate of the city, he con 
 tinued to soliloquize disconnectedly, always 
 winding up with " The winds, the winds, 
 who can control the winds !" Of whom, of 
 
22 IN THE PALE 
 
 what did he speak? The soliloquy referred 
 to " my sweetest child and that superb 
 youth." With them was linked " that godly 
 Messenger of Zion whom Almighty sent to 
 the rescue of my daughter." Before we learn 
 about the " child " and the " youth," we 
 must know somewhat of the Messenger of 
 Zion. 
 
 At certain times a Messenger from the 
 Holy Land is expected to appear in the 
 remotest Jewish communities of Europe, 
 where free contributions are offered for 
 the support of the pious men and women 
 who spend their last days in the land of 
 promise. The person of the Messenger is 
 invested with such reverence as good Cath 
 olics associate with the Papal Legate. The 
 young and the old gather around the pict 
 uresque figure, eager to shake the emissary 
 by the hand, to get a good look at his 
 Oriental attire, and above all, to hear what 
 he deigns to communicate about things 
 in the God-consecrated regions ; about the 
 tombs of the prophets ; about the Cave 
 of Machpelah, wherein the patriarchal 
 
EZRA AND HULDAII 23 
 
 couples are entombed ; about the relic of 
 Zion s fallen Sanctuary, at which the faithful 
 gather to pray and weep over the destruc 
 tion of God s own city ; and about the fox 
 which yearly bounds over the ruin on 
 Moriah on the anniversary of the Temple s 
 fall. 
 
 As a rule, the Messenger knows how to 
 satisfy these innocent cravings of devout 
 souls, and he manages to hold his hearers 
 spell-bound by his tales of wonder. How 
 ever incredible the story, nobody doubts the 
 Messenger s word. The Messenger has 
 favors to bestow, and they may be secured 
 for a consideration. In his possession are 
 small bags filled with the sand of the hal 
 lowed soil. Placed under the head of the 
 dead, it is believed to protect the body from 
 decomposition. Inexhaustible like the 
 chips of the " genuine cross " sold to votaries 
 by saintly monks, the quantity of the 
 coveted material distributed by the Mes 
 senger to his favored friends would justify 
 the supposition that he has a cargo of 
 Moriah s earth at his disposal. The man is 
 
24 IN THE PALE 
 
 above suspicion, however, and the happy 
 owner of the post-mortem head-rest feels 
 like the ancient Pharaoh at the sight of 
 his pyramid sepulchre. 
 
 This little business the Messenger does 
 on his own account. His recognized mission 
 is to get the contents of the tin boxes 
 conspicuously placed in almost all Jewish 
 homes and emptied periodically only by 
 authorized persons. Into the slots of 
 these boxes goes every coin saved for the 
 sake of sweet charity. Before the Jewess 
 lays her hands on her eyes preliminary to 
 the blessing of the Sabbath candles, fol 
 lowed by the blessing uttered over the heads 
 of her children, a coin or two is dropped into 
 the box. A capacious receptacle is put up 
 in each synagogue for the same purpose. 
 The Messenger is entrusted with the sum 
 total, there being no doubt of his integrity, 
 and he is dismissed with heartiness, as he 
 was received and entertained with unstinted 
 hospitality. 
 
 The Messenger of Zion referred to by the 
 stranger was not of the common type, as 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 25 
 
 will become manifest when we are familiar 
 with his nature. 
 
 It was considered a singular coincidence 
 that, while the star s tail was the all absorb 
 ing topic of conversation and speculation, it 
 transpired that the Messenger of Zion was 
 on his way to Tangier. His coming was one 
 of those important secrets which the Rabbi 
 entrusted to his wife, and she to her confi 
 dential friends. The good woman expected 
 the Messenger with unusual anxiety, an 
 anxiety shared by her beauteous daughter, 
 Donna, who corresponded with Zemach Ben 
 David in purest Hebrew on the tenderest of 
 subjects. The romantic relation dated back 
 to a previous occasion, when the youthful 
 Zemach had passed the happiest fortnight 
 of his life under the Rabbi s roof. This 
 was the Messenger to whom the stranger 
 referred. 
 
 The stranger was a new friend of the spir 
 itual head of the Mellah, a new-comer in the 
 place, and much whispered of as an odd in 
 dividual. The man looked as though he 
 had long ago been taken half-broken from 
 
26 IN THE PALE 
 
 the wheel of torture, and restored to a de 
 formed existence. Though his limbs seemed 
 out of joint, he was tall and massive in 
 frame. His lower jaw was distorted and 
 pointed, and it protruded to a line with his 
 crooked nose, which was surmounted by 
 heavy eyebrows, blending into one streak of 
 grizzly hair across his countenance. They 
 were almost as bushy as the untended mus 
 tache, which barely covered the upper of a 
 pair of thick lips, swelling and spreading at 
 the least effort to utter speech. The whole 
 was redeemed by two large, deep, black 
 eyes, never to be forgotten when seen once, 
 and an appealing rather than repellant ex 
 pression ; in all, a physiognomy bearing 
 lines of great suffering, and calling forth 
 reverent sympathy in the observer. 
 
 It was early in the morning. During the 
 night the rain had descended in torrents, 
 and there was no break in the clouds even 
 at this hour. On the shore the unfailing 
 porter was represented in great numbers, his 
 experienced eye fixed on a speck far away 
 in the hazy atmosphere above the surge. 
 
EZRA AND HULDAII 27 
 
 "She is coming in," said one to his fellow. 
 
 " Yes, it is she," replied the one spoken to. 
 
 " Is that not Rabbi Nahon and the stran 
 ger ? " observed another of the porters in a 
 tone of wonder, as the two figures emerged 
 from the gate of the fortress. 
 
 " The Messenger of Zion arrives on board 
 that vessel," was the explanation given. 
 
 The venerable Nahon was a man in the 
 seventies, well preserved, prophetic in look, 
 a stately presence of earnestness and dig 
 nity. His rare appearance on the shore 
 could not fail to attract attention, but the 
 crowd kept at a respectful distance. 
 
 " That is our steamer," said the sage to 
 the stranger. 
 
 " If I do not fall dead before that vessel 
 drops anchor, I shall praise the Lord forever 
 for having granted me this length of days," 
 returned the stranger with suppressed emo 
 tion. " I am trembling from head to foot." 
 
 " Control your feelings, Senor, we are not 
 unobserved," said the Rabbi appealingly. 
 
 " The winds, the winds, who can control 
 the winds ! " exclaimed the stranger. 
 
28 IN THE PALE 
 
 " He who controls the ocean and all the 
 spheres, controls the winds, Senor. The 
 ship will not be in for a full hour, and you 
 are too weak to stand thus waiting. Why 
 not expect their coming under your roof or 
 mine?" asked Nahon. 
 
 " What, not receive my child, my chil 
 dren ? " cried the stranger, tears rolling 
 down his wrinkled cheeks. 
 
 " This is just what I apprehended, Senor 
 Pekarow. You stood well the pressure of 
 sorrow, you may break down under the reac 
 tion. And then this dampness, which the 
 doctor advised you to avoid," remarked the 
 Rabbi. 
 
 " Thank you, Senor, I might as well 
 leave this earth as take my eyes from 
 that vessel. Reuben Pekarow has nerves of 
 iron, sinews of steel, and a heart of immortal 
 fire, or he would have been dead and buried 
 long ere this. My child and her friends 
 will be taken to my home by both of us," 
 was the firm reply. 
 
 " The Messenger of Zion has always been 
 my guest, Senor; my wife and daughter 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 29 
 
 would not have it otherwise," protested 
 Nahon gently. 
 
 " Zemach agreed that my home should be 
 his hereafter. The young man is the crown 
 of human nobility. Give my gratitude a 
 chance. You owe him nothing, Senor, I 
 owe him everything," asserted Pekarow in 
 his emphatic way. 
 
 " We are all indebted to him for the hard 
 ships he endures in the interest of our 
 brethren in the Holy Land. Zemach Ben 
 David is a type. Nothing adorns the blos 
 som of youth more than its association with 
 the mature virtue of age. Such is the case 
 in him. He loves my humble brethren, 
 therefore do I love him. As to your right 
 to harbor him during his stay in Tangier, 
 let us agree to let him have his will," pro 
 posed Nahon, sure that the attraction was 
 in his house. "And there the sun is out to 
 bid our guests welcome," added the Rabbi 
 cheerfully. 
 
 " Guests to you, Senor, but the essence of 
 hope to me," said Reuben pathetically. 
 
 As soon as the vessel threw anchor, a 
 
30 IN THE PALE 
 
 small fleet of boats besieged the steamer, 
 while a crowd of lusty porters rushed into 
 the water to help the passengers on land. 
 Pekarow s eager eye soon discerned the 
 objects of his affection. 
 
 " My daughter, my daughter, there she is, 
 there they are," cried he, in a delirium of joy. 
 " She sees me, she recognizes me, the blessed 
 child." 
 
 " Yes, I see Zemach Ben David and two 
 others," confirmed Nahon, not unmoved by 
 the agitation of his friend. 
 
 The craft held in readiness by two men to 
 do the bidding of Reuben Pekarow shot 
 forth like an arrow as soon as he had pointed 
 out the three persons to be landed. The 
 next moment a tall young lady under a veil, 
 accompanied by two stately young men, one 
 in Oriental garb, was lowered into the boat. 
 Nahon seized Pekarow by the arm, beseech 
 ing him to subdue his excitement, for the 
 man was on the point of running into the 
 water to meet the boat. In a minute the 
 craft touched sand, and Reuben Pekarow 
 caught up his daughter with a yell that sent 
 
EZRA AND 1IULDAH 31 
 
 a shiver through every heart. "My child, 
 my daughter, my daughter ! " -The girl 
 threw her arms around the neck of the rav 
 ing parent, responding with an outburst of 
 tears, too contagious to be resisted by men 
 familiar with sorrow. Nahon extended a 
 hearty welcome to the Messenger of the 
 Holy Land, who introduced his companion, 
 Ezra Amitin. Reuben embraced each one 
 in turn, his tears flowing. The dramatic 
 scene was cut short by Nahon, who hurried 
 the party to their conveyance within the 
 gate, ready to take them to Pekarow s house. 
 
 Reuben Pekarow s residence was a fine 
 building, rented and furnished for the accom 
 modation of the girl and her companions. 
 The door was opened by an elderly woman, 
 whose exclamation of joy was followed by 
 kisses and weeping. 
 
 " Huldah, darling Huldah ! A little older, 
 sweetest girl, but beautiful, child, as beau 
 tiful as when I nursed you years and years 
 ago." 
 
 In the afternoon Rabbi Nahon, accom 
 panied by several of the local worthies, prg- 
 
32 IN THE PALE 
 
 ceeded to the house of the stranger to honor 
 Zemach Ben David, and welcome the others. 
 With awe and wonder they listened to what 
 the Messenger of Zion told, as a manifesta 
 tion of Providential rule and retribution. So 
 deeply impressed was the hoary Rabbi by 
 the events related to him by the Messenger, 
 that he made them the subject of an homiletic 
 discourse on the following Sabbath. 
 
 II 
 
 A DOMESTIC TRAGEDY 
 
 Far away from the benignant clime of 
 northwestern Africa, in the heart of the land 
 of the knout and of Siberian horrors, lies 
 Tchernigoff, the capital of the province of 
 the same name. The macadamized highway 
 from Moscow to Kieff passes through the 
 city, and the Desna flows about a mile away 
 from its suburbs. Tchernigoff has nothing 
 to distinguish it in the annals of the Czar s 
 vast domains. Poorly built, unpaved, badly 
 lighted, unclean, with no favors to thank 
 
EZRA AND HULUAII 33 
 
 nature for, except a small park, and no com 
 forts to mark the progress of the century, 
 the unlovely metropolis is inhabited by a 
 drowsy population of over twenty thousand 
 souls. One-third are Jews, the rest are of 
 the Greek Catholic Church. There are two 
 old cathedrals, a number of churches and 
 chapels, four synagogues, a dilapidated for 
 tress, and a large insane asylum. Numerous 
 ruins in and around the city remind one of 
 the Mongolian invasion. 
 
 TchernigofI had been bitterly fought for 
 by Lithuania, Poland, and the Ukraine, 
 before the Cossack entrusted it to the pater 
 nal guardianship of the Czar, whose icy grip 
 reduced its pulsations to a tempo ranging 
 between intermittent fever and dreamless 
 somnolence. The sluggish drowsiness of 
 life s monotonous drudgery continues therein 
 year in, year out, except when Muscovite 
 strategy puts battalions in motion. Then, 
 being an administrative centre, TchernigofI 
 teems with brilliant uniforms, and rings 
 with martial music and military salutes. 
 
 TchernigofI was Reuben Pekarow s native 
 3 
 
32 IN THE PALE 
 
 ceeded to the house of the stranger to honor 
 Zemach Ben David, and welcome the others. 
 With awe and wonder they listened to what 
 the Messenger of Zion told, as a manifesta 
 tion of Providential rule and retribution. So 
 deeply impressed was the hoary Rabbi by 
 the events related to him by the Messenger, 
 that he made them the subject of an homiletic 
 discourse on the following Sabbath. 
 
 II 
 
 A DOMESTIC TRAGEDY 
 
 Far away from the benignant clime of 
 northwestern Africa, in the heart of the land 
 of the knout and of Siberian horrors, lies 
 Tchernigoff, the capital of the province of 
 the same name. The macadamized highway 
 from Moscow to Kieff passes through the 
 city, and the Desna flows about a mile away 
 from its suburbs. Tchernigoff has nothing 
 to distinguish it in the annals of the Czar s 
 vast domains. Poorly built, unpaved, badly 
 lighted, unclean, with no favors to thank 
 
EZRA AND HULDAII 33 
 
 nature for, except a small park, and no com 
 forts to mark the progress of the century, 
 the unlovely metropolis is inhabited by a 
 drowsy population of over twenty thousand 
 souls. One-third are Jews, the rest are of 
 the Greek Catholic Church. There are two 
 old cathedrals, a number of churches and 
 chapels, four synagogues, a dilapidated for 
 tress, and a large insane asylum. Numerous 
 ruins in and around the city remind one of 
 the Mongolian invasion. 
 
 Tchernigoff had been bitterly fought for 
 by Lithuania, Poland, and the Ukraine, 
 before the Cossack entrusted it to the pater 
 nal guardianship of the Czar, whose icy grip 
 reduced its pulsations to a tempo ranging 
 between intermittent fever and dreamless 
 somnolence. The sluggish drowsiness of 
 life s monotonous drudgery continues therein 
 year in, year out, except when Muscovite 
 strategy puts battalions in motion. Then, 
 being an administrative centre, Tchernigoff 
 teems with brilliant uniforms, and rings 
 with martial music and military salutes. 
 
 Tchernigoff was Reuben Pekarow s native 
 3 
 
34 IN THE PALE 
 
 place. His father, a watchmaker, having 
 formed a lofty idea of medicine and juris 
 prudence, cherished the ambition of seeing 
 his son among professional men. His motive 
 was not love for the sciences. The watch 
 maker was heard to express his conviction 
 that "lawyers and doctors need no capital, 
 are highly honored, do little, and coin 
 money." Of ^Esculapius old Pekarow knew 
 nothing, but he remembered well the big bill 
 he had had to pay the doctor after his wife s 
 death. That inclined his mind in favor of 
 medicine. But had not Moses been the 
 greatest lawyer on earth? And had not 
 God Himself presented the son of Amram 
 with the chips from the tables of the testi 
 mony, the most precious jewels in the uni 
 verse ? Moreover, to dissect bodies was 
 hardly a fit office for an Aaronite, and Peka 
 row traced his lineage to the first High 
 Priest. These considerations led Pekarow 
 to the final conclusion that his Reuben was 
 destined to practise law. 
 
 Reuben justified the most sanguine anti 
 cipations of his father. The boy showed 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 35 
 
 great thirst for knowledge, and was a favor 
 ite with his teachers. But he early betrayed 
 a tendency towards skepticism and a strong 
 inclination to stay away from the synagogue. 
 At the age of thirteen, however, Reuben, 
 according to time-honored custom, was called 
 up to the Law on a Sabbath in the presence 
 of the congregation, and, after pronouncing 
 the benediction, was declared a member of 
 the community of Israel. The ceremony 
 made no impression on the boy. He had by 
 this time been promoted to the higher grade 
 in the gymnasium. He spent his days with 
 non-Jewish comrades, and, though resenting 
 the gibes freely lavished on his race, felt his 
 Jewish descent to be a burden and a barrier. 
 At the same time his talents met with due 
 recognition, and his graduation at the high- 
 school opened the door of the university in 
 Kieff for him. After three years of close 
 study he left that institution with high 
 honors, and was then admitted to the bar. 
 Pekarow was not a rich man, but he econo 
 mized for the benefit of his only son, so that 
 when he died, shortly after Reuben s return 
 
38 IN THE PALE 
 
 mother. In his profession Reuben stood head 
 and shoulders above his competitors, and his 
 legal advice was sought by clients from out 
 side of the city. Yablow s hatred of the 
 Hebrew jurist appeared to have died, for 
 years passed, and nothing occurred to warn 
 Reuben that an act of hostility was contem 
 plated by his enemy. Yablow was rarely 
 seen at court, and was often out of town for 
 months. The Hebrew, on the other hand, 
 pursued his vocation with marked success, 
 spending every spare hour with his wife and 
 child. The boy "flourished, reached the age 
 of four, a flower of beauty and intelligence, 
 and there was no happier couple in the world 
 than Reuben Pekarow and his wife, whose 
 charms were idolized with such religious 
 ardor as transformed the home of the skeptic 
 into a temple and his table into an altar. 
 Reuben learnt to respect prayer, and this 
 was much. 
 
 One day Nachom, the child of the house, 
 did not return from his daily walk with his 
 Christian nurse, who had had charge of 
 him since his tender infancy. It was night- 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 39 
 
 fall; it became night; the darkness of omin 
 ous apprehension settled on the alarmed 
 parents ; the child and the nurse were gone. 
 The evening advanced, the police were noti 
 fied, the night passed, the sun rose on a 
 home of desolation and despair. Nurse and 
 child had disappeared. Rewards were 
 offered, city and suburbs were searched ; in 
 vain, not a trace was found, as though the 
 earth had swallowed woman and child. Day 
 followed day, the parents lived in an agony 
 of suspense. Weeks ran into months ; the 
 autumn was followed by winter, the spring 
 tide was near, but no clue was found to ac 
 count for the disappearance of the woman 
 and her charge. What had become of them ? 
 This was a question nobody could answer. 
 In his heart Reuben felt that Yablow had 
 had something to do with his great loss, but 
 he dared not give utterance to his suspicion, 
 and his anguish had to be suppressed in 
 face of the delicate state of the health of his 
 wife, who was yearning for her first-born son. 
 Passover arrived, bringing new joy to the 
 house of Pekarow. Had little Nachom been 
 
40 IN THE PALE 
 
 found ? No ! But a new life, a daughter, 
 came, a cherub to soothe the aching hearts 
 of the disconsolate family. It was a great 
 joy tempered by great sorrow. 
 
 At this time a rumor spread in the city that, 
 when the tide had cleared the Desna of ice, 
 a woman had been found entangled in the 
 wood-work of the long bridge that spans the 
 river about two miles from Tchernigoff, in 
 the direction of KiefT. Reuben was one of 
 the first to hurry to the scene. The drowned 
 woman was identified as poor Barbara, the 
 nurse who had disappeared with little 
 Nachom. Who had drowned the Christian 
 woman ? Who but the Jews ? Do they not 
 use Christian blood to prepare their un 
 leavened cakes ? This cry was raised by 
 Yablow, and echoed by a priest, who took 
 up the matter before the police had had 
 time to look into it. An infuriated mob des 
 cended on the house of Reuben, howling, 
 and raving, and clamoring : " The Jews 
 have killed her they have drunk her blood 
 tear down the house of the Jew kill the 
 Jew!" 
 
EZRA AND IIULDAH 4! 
 
 A shower of stones shattered every 
 window. Reuben happened to be out, un 
 aware of the peril that hovered over his 
 wife and babe. Friends came in time to save 
 the infant, which was found alive in the 
 arms of its dead mother. A stone had struck 
 the head of Reuben s wife, who had shielded 
 the child with her body. Reuben Pekarow 
 appeared on the scene to receive his share 
 of the mob s fury. The police rescued him 
 broken and bleeding, all but dead. Many 
 other Jewish houses were wrecked and 
 despoiled. 
 
 For months Reuben was thought to be 
 beyond recovery. When, after long suffering, 
 it was possible for him to leave his bed, he 
 stood there a wreck of his former self, a 
 caricature in body, a cynic in mind, a misan 
 thrope in heart. Was not humanity a pro 
 digious herd of wild beasts? That carniv 
 orous biped, man, how he hated him ! And 
 what had he to live for? His wife s grave, 
 alas, his wife s grave ! Ay, and the baby. 
 Between the graveyard and the cradle that 
 held his motherless infant Reuben s time and 
 
42 IN THE PALE 
 
 heart were divided. He neither wept nor 
 smiled. The tears seemed to have con 
 gealed in his eyes, hanging 1 therein unshed. 
 Not until angelic Huldah blessed him with 
 her first smile did his agony find articulate 
 speech. Yes, the babe was alive. She 
 needed his care. Love asserted its sway, 
 and life claimed its own. 
 
 Time, the healer of wounds, the soother 
 of pains, restored Reuben to a degree of 
 self-composure, though never to happiness, 
 his memories being too dark to be bright 
 ened or effaced. Yet Huldah s inexpressible 
 loveliness, her tremulous voice heard in the 
 articulation of prayer, the mystic glow in 
 her eyes, which harbored a heaven of sweet 
 ness for him whom she was destined to love, 
 poured healing into Reuben s heart. What 
 ever charm art and culture could add to her 
 native beauty, the prodigal father secured 
 for his child, regardless of cost. Hers was 
 the house, and she the inspiring soul there 
 of. Her laugh, her song, her touch of the 
 piano s keyboard, her kiss, made summer in 
 the breast of an idolizing parent. Her pro- 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 43 
 
 fessors of music and foreign languages 
 assured Reuben that there was enough of 
 the princess in his daughter to grace a royal 
 palace, as though he had had any doubt 
 of it. 
 
 When the girl completed her sixteenth 
 year, she stood in the exuberance of femin 
 ine grace, every inch a Hebe. Perfectly 
 unaffected, unconscious of her bewitching 
 loveliness, she looked into the beholder s eye 
 with a dreamy ga^e as mysterious as the 
 azure, as deep and as calm. Her look 
 distracted her admirers, who nicknamed her 
 " the angelic Lilith." Her speech was a 
 succession of sweet notes. Whoever heard 
 her sing stood as if petrified by her voice, 
 flowing, swelling, and melting, seizing heart 
 and soul, sounding the unfathomed deeps of 
 human woe, a power superhuman, sweeter 
 than the song of nightingale and holier than 
 prayer. Gentle as she appeared, her external 
 appearance gave no idea of her intensity 
 of temperament, her dynamic energy slum 
 bering like a dormant volcano. Of stately 
 build, tastefully dressed, of a complexion 
 
44 IN THE PALE 
 
 such as painters are wont to give to the 
 graces, Huldah impressed romantic minds 
 as the fairy of an enchanted castle. She 
 had inherited the reverence and piety of a 
 noble mother, and she combined in her 
 nature the two rare extremes of masculine 
 fearlessness and feminine delicacy. 
 
 Before Huldah had reached her nineteenth 
 year, she was forced to make a determined 
 stand against the intrusive Shadchan, whom 
 she treated with scorn. JJ^or did overtures, 
 made by families of standing anxious to 
 capture the maiden s heart for a cherished 
 youth, meet with more encouragement. The 
 girl had a mind of her own, and her 
 will was the Supreme Court in Reuben s 
 household. The only reason for wishing 
 to see his daughter married were the pester 
 ing attentions paid her by certain distin 
 guished officers of the army, who had the 
 impudence to bow to her whenever they 
 chanced to meet her in the street. One of 
 these was General Greboff, whose residence 
 faced that of Reuben. There was nothing 
 to be done but to treat the intruders with 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 45 
 
 contempt, and this nobody understood bet 
 ter than Huldah, who knew how to avoid 
 unpleasant meetings, and not to notice those 
 she could not avoid. Her father felt uneasy, 
 however, and at her request he furnished 
 her with a pocket revolver. 
 
 A noteworthy incident in the life of the 
 Jews in Tchernigoff at the date we are 
 speaking of was the arrival of a famous 
 young Chazan, who was destined to play an 
 important part in the domestic concerns of 
 Reuben Pekarow. Ezra Amitin had barely 
 passed his twenty-third year when fame de 
 clared him the greatest man of his calling 
 in Russian Jewry. The singing and chant 
 ing in the synagogue he raised to the dignity 
 of art, and he performed his sacred functions 
 with a power of soul thitherto unknown. His 
 influence over those whom he led in worship 
 could not be excelled by magic. As a rule 
 the Russian Chazan has a chorus to accom 
 pany him. Amitin was himself a chorus, yea, 
 an orchestra, all centred in a throat that gave 
 forth every note of the gamut to perfection. 
 Simple-minded people maintained that Ezra 
 
46 IN THE PALE 
 
 Amitin s larynx was lined with golden 
 chords. He put a new meaning into every 
 Hebrew syllable. With him recitation 
 meant pouring out the spirit of the Hebraic 
 poet or prophet on the enchanted audience. 
 Whether he read or sang, it was felt that he 
 told the great tale of Israel s triumph and 
 martyrdom. The congregation followed him 
 in tears or in ecstasy, according to the pur 
 port of the recital. Youth, good humor, a 
 certain degree of culture and refinement, 
 personal magnetism, and fertility of imagi 
 nation, which insured for him the reputation 
 of a consummate story-teller, combined to 
 make the youthful Chazan a welcome guest 
 in every distinguished family, so that even 
 Reuben Pekarow was attracted by his per 
 sonality. 
 
 Amitin s first performance in the most 
 aristocratic synagogue of Tchernigoff struck 
 the congregation with astonishment. No 
 mocking-bird could have imitated every 
 variety of note produced by nature or art 
 with greater accuracy than the wonderful 
 Chazan. It was noticed that he possessed 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 47 
 
 the ventriloquist s faculty of singing with 
 lips closed, a feat the immortal Weintraub 
 could not have performed. Furthermore, 
 Weintraub, of blessed memory, used to swim 
 in perspiration while officiating, and had to 
 change his clothing after the service, every 
 article of his wear being as greasy as though 
 it had been stewed in a saucepan. Amitin, 
 on the contrary, caused others to perspire, 
 keeping himself as cool and dry as a windy 
 autumn day. Something within him did the 
 work, and that something was the puzzle of 
 the wisest heads. It was the next thing to 
 a miracle, and the youth was the cynosure 
 of the community. 
 
 As Amitin happened to arrive in the city 
 shortly before the great Holy Days, he was 
 offered inducements to stay and officiate 
 on the New Year and the Day of Atone 
 ment. Reuben was strongly impressed by 
 the endowments of the youth, and, being a 
 power in the synagogue, he craved the honor 
 of harboring the Chazan under his roof. His 
 secret motive was Huldah s pleasure, for 
 she was both religious and musical. 
 
48 IN THE PALE 
 
 In earlier years Reuben had adorned him 
 self with the colorless feathers of morbid 
 skepticism. Misfortune had opened his eyes 
 to the vanity of things transitory. He had 
 moments of serious meditation, while Hul- 
 dah s ardor in matters sacred was contagious 
 enough to turn a heathen into an observing 
 Jew. 
 
 Therefore, a formal invitation was ex 
 tended to the Chazan to take up his quarters 
 in Reuben Pekarow s commodious home, 
 and the proffered hospitality met with due 
 appreciation. The fact is that somebody 
 had whispered into Amitin s ear that he 
 was going to be near a peerless maiden, but 
 she was described as very haughty and 
 inaccessible, all of which tended to raise his 
 curiosity. 
 
 Reuben bade a cordial welcome to his 
 guest, installed him in one of the best rooms 
 of his house, and urged him to make him 
 self perfectly at home. From his windows 
 Amitin could look out upon the trees and 
 the green of a spacious yard guarded by high 
 walls, and adorned by a few irregular beds of 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 49 
 
 flowers, somewhat withered by the cool 
 nights of approaching autumn. To one of 
 the branches a parrot was chained. The 
 bird shook its head drowsily, when aroused 
 by a whistle from a lower window, followed 
 by a laugh, which electrified the CJiazan. 
 "Sing: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do!" To 
 this call of the sweetest feminine voice the 
 bird responded instantly, repeating the notes 
 parrot-like to the great delight of the 
 prompter. The laugh and the voice vibrated 
 in Amitin s ear. He looked at his watch to 
 see if the hour fixed for his first meal 
 in Reuben s house had come; it was time 
 for him to go down, and the next moment 
 he found himself before the ideal of his 
 dreams. 
 
 Amitin s first meeting with Huldah meant 
 to him either nameless felicity or self- 
 destruction. It was the old story of Adam 
 and Eve, with no Milton to immortalize the 
 divine madness without which Eden is a 
 desert. The Chazaris peace of soul was gone. 
 If, up to this time, he had swayed the heart 
 of everyone within reach of his voice, love 
 
 4 
 
50 IN THE PALE 
 
 infused into his breast tenderness so elo 
 quent and appealing that it proved as resist 
 less as the song of the Sirens. His worship 
 of God was intensified by his worship of 
 Huldah. It was a fusion of fiery love with 
 ardent devotion. 
 
 On New Year and on the Day of Atone 
 ment the Jewish liturgy recites the world s 
 grandest epic, enacted by Israel during a 
 career of four thousand years. The service 
 is priestly, poetic, and prophetic, and its 
 transcendental elements overtop all philo 
 sophy. Divine grandeur is contrasted with 
 human insignificance ; the immutable is held 
 up in the face of earthly change and mortal 
 ity. Providence is traced in the world s 
 annals. The Jew s mission is emphasized. 
 Mankind is prayed for. Great historic 
 events, happy and sad, are rehearsed with 
 joy, or referred to with pious resignation. 
 What an opportunity for a melodious voice 
 to touch every chord on the responsive 
 harp of the Jewish heart ! Yea, centuries 
 of agony and anguish, of tears and triumph, 
 are treasured in the traditional songs un- 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 51 
 
 known beyond the walls of the hoary Syna 
 gogue. 
 
 Amitin s interpretation of text and melody 
 showed him to be a master in the Cliazaris 
 calling. The portion of the service wherein 
 the giving of the Law is reviewed on New 
 Year, he rendered with dramatic vividness, 
 so intense that the worshippers thought 
 that they saw Horeb in flames and all the 
 incidents of the Sinaitic revelation. Similar 
 was the impression he produced by reciting 
 the Temple Service on the Day of Atone 
 ment. No wonder that the people raved 
 over the youthful Chazan. Only a few 
 enjoyed the privilege of meeting him at 
 Reuben s house. The hospitable jurist 
 thought it his duty to entertain his guest, 
 but he himself and his friends were enter 
 tained instead. The great feature of the 
 social gathering were the thrilling duets 
 sung by the Chazan and the daughter of the 
 house, varied by talk about the newest local 
 sensation, the recent return of Dinka Edel- 
 berg and her son from Moscow and her 
 remarkable adventure. The heroine was 
 
52 IN THE PALE 
 
 present, and her presence was of dimensions 
 not to be overlooked. 
 
 Dinka Edelberg was a widow in the 
 fifties, a woman of great courage and self- 
 sacrifice, and of a circumference which made 
 it hard for another person to pass by her 
 side through an ordinary door. She believed 
 in miracles, and protected herself against 
 evil spirits by a number of amulets, which 
 she knew how to associate with a stirring 
 story, bearing on what she considered 
 the triumph of her life. Pointing to 
 the tooth of a wolf set in silver, and used 
 as a breast-pin, she caused the blood of 
 the company to run cold through their veins 
 by telling them how she had come into pos 
 session of the lupine ornament. 
 
 It should be stated that Dinka Edelberg 
 was entitled to special consideration mainly 
 on account of her truly heroic effort to 
 rescue her idiotic son from his sad lot in the 
 army, into which, under the iron rule of 
 Nicholas the Cruel, he had been drafted at 
 the age of fourteen. The boy s idiocy made 
 his military master despair of ever teaching 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 53 
 
 him how to tell his right arm from his left. 
 In vain poor Isaac received his full share 
 of the birch rod. The creature was a 
 perfect simpleton, and finally became an 
 object of pity even to his hard-hearted 
 batchuska. That made it possible for Dinka 
 to attempt her child s liberation, but it could 
 not be effected without a vast deal of peti 
 tioning, praying, hoping, and waiting, not to 
 mention the bribes handed in the shape of 
 presents to those in authority. " Yes," she 
 said to one of the gathering, as she glanced 
 at her cheap little silver watch, u the one 
 set with diamonds, which my poor husband 
 bought for me shortly before he died, I 
 begged Colonel Tukatchoff to accept as a 
 remembrance, you know, or I should never 
 have seen my Isaac in our synagogue." 
 
 Jacob Edelberg, Dinka s late husband, 
 was remembered as a wealthy dealer in 
 grain and an enthusiastic Kabbalist. With 
 his last breath he promised his wife to be 
 with her in spirit, whenever she invoked his 
 help. Dinka was successful in all her under 
 takings, and she ascribed her success to the 
 
54 IN THE PALE 
 
 constant guardianship of her lamented hus 
 band, in accordance with the notions current 
 in Slavonic Israel and far beyond its bounds. 
 The woman was sure that her departed con 
 sort was with her, and on this occasion she 
 justified her conviction by telling a thrilling 
 experience she had had on her way from 
 Moscow to Tchernigoff. 
 
 " Speak of wonders ! " she began. " We left 
 Moscow as soon as my child was delivered 
 to me, that was two days after my interview 
 with the Governor, who shook my hand, and 
 said: * Dinka, you are a brave woman. 
 I trembled from head to foot, my heart pal 
 pitated, and I was not at all sorry when the 
 police ordered me to leave the city before 
 sunset, no Jewess being allowed to stay 
 there longer than her permit specifies. 
 
 " It was a December evening, bitter cold, 
 and a snow-storm set in as the open sleigh 
 which I had hired passed through the sub 
 urbs of Moscow. The driver, a powerful 
 Russian, had a double-barrelled gun with 
 him. He loaded it carefully, and filled a 
 small leather bag with shot. I did not like 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 55 
 
 to have the gun near me in the sleigh, but 
 he reassured me, adding that we might be 
 glad to have the weapon with us. Two 
 spirited horses had carried us easily along 
 the highway for about twenty versts beyond 
 the city, when I noticed a number of lights, 
 as of a hundred lanterns, flitting about in 
 the darkness of a snowy night. The horses 
 pricked up their ears and shuddered. I did 
 not realize our danger until I heard the 
 driver invoke the assistance of his saints, 
 and saw him repeatedly make the sign of 
 the cross. At least fifty of the savage 
 beasts, murmured he, drawing forth his gun, 
 and preparing to fire. 
 
 " * Fifty wolves ! exclaimed I in terror. 
 
 " Fully fifty. I can kill off a score of them. 
 If their flesh gluts the others, we shall reach 
 the next hostelry alive ; if not, the Lord be 
 gracious unto us. Here, hold the reins, the 
 horses will not bolt, said the Russian 
 quietly. 
 
 " Bang, bang ! There were too many of the 
 hungry brutes for one shot to miss them. 
 One fell after the other, but the pack seemed 
 
56 IN THE PALE 
 
 to grow rather than to dwindle, and the car 
 casses were devoured by them in less time 
 than it takes to tell. The man loaded again 
 and again, no discharge ever missing its aim. 
 The horses kept close to each other, snort 
 ing and tearing away at break-neck speed. 
 The fiery eyes grew less and less. Suddenly, 
 as we approached a bridge which we had to 
 cross, we lighted on another pack of wolves, 
 fully as numerous as the one which we 
 hoped to have escaped, but which came up 
 with us the next moment. 
 
 " We are lost; my bag is empty ! cried 
 the Russian, seizing the reins and giving the 
 horses free play. We swept over the bridge 
 like the wind, the beasts close at our heels. 
 I threw my arms around my terrified child, 
 and fervidly invoked the spirit of my hus 
 band to help us in our distress. Our situa 
 tion was desperate. The wolves outran the 
 horses, trying to cut us off, and there was 
 no refuge in sight. The good horses tore 
 away like a storm, but the end appeared to 
 be near, when I heard the Russian exclaim : 
 Jesus and Mary ! A glance to our right 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 57 
 
 revealed an apparition that filled me with 
 amazement. Beside our sleigh, mounted 
 on a magnificent black steed, noiselessly 
 galloped a majestic figure, brandishing 
 a flashing blade of steel, which sent forth 
 a shower of sparks like a rocket. Horse 
 and rider skimmed over the soft snow, leav 
 ing no trace of a hoof on the surface. 
 In a moment the wolves fell back and 
 vanished. The glimmer of a bright window 
 and the barking of a dog assured us of the 
 shelter we had prayed for. Our ghostly 
 escort slackened pace, allowing the horses 
 to gain on it. On turning my head back 
 ward, I found that it was gone. 
 
 " St. Elia has saved our lives, Jewess/ 
 said the driver, as we entered the friendly 
 inn. Grateful tears filled my eyes. I said 
 nothing in reply, but I knew that my poor 
 husband had been with us. He has never 
 failed me when I have invoked him never 
 in danger, as, for instance, in the second 
 miracle of my life," closed the woman 
 insinuatingly. 
 
 Had Dinka s assertions in this narrative 
 
58 IN THE PALE 
 
 been questioned, the company would have 
 been doomed to listen to a phantasmagoric 
 sketch of what she termed the " second 
 miracle" of her life, her recent escape from 
 the horns of a vicious animal. Dinka de 
 rived her sustenance from a dairy. In the 
 pinched state of Russo-Judean life in the 
 smaller places, a cow is a source of plenty 
 and of some revenue. In those regions 
 meat is not tasted from Sabbath to Sabbath, 
 and milk, cheese, and butter are, next to rye- 
 bread, the staple articles of food. But not 
 everyone enjoys the blessing of having even 
 a goat, the next good thing to a cow, so that 
 small dairies insure a sufficient income to 
 account for their frequency. The trouble in 
 their case is the Shabbes-Goye, or non-Jewish 
 assistant, called in to milk the animals on 
 the Sabbath. As a rule, the Shabbes-Goye 
 needs watching, not alone because she 
 has a kosher article in trust, without being 
 trusted, but more on account of the alarm 
 ing tendency of valuable trinkets to dis 
 appear the moment she passes through a 
 room. Nor has it been found expedient to 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 59 
 
 charge her with larceny, and take her before 
 the ispravnik, or chief of police. This would 
 not pay at all. 
 
 Now, Dinka had a number of trinkets in 
 her house, and she needed the services of the 
 Shabbes-Goye. Dinka did like her neighbors ; 
 she had an eye on the Goye, following 
 her like her shadow. Unfortunately cows 
 are not the most reasonable of creatures, as 
 the pious woman learned to her chagrin. 
 For, as she entered her stable on a Sabbath, 
 close upon her Goyes heels, she incurred the 
 displeasure of her finest cow, an animal of 
 the Ukraine, and the brute lost no time 
 in manifesting distaste for Dinka s gaudy 
 attire in her own way. What the woman 
 dimly remembered was a shock, flight 
 through the air, and descent on a stack of 
 hay. The hay was soft, so was Dinka, who 
 came off with nothing worse than a great 
 fright and the loss of half of her dress. One- 
 half of her Sabbath garment remained in 
 the undisputed possession of the animal, 
 which seemed to be conscious of her 
 trophy. The Goye was in a hurry to seek 
 
60 IN THE PALE 
 
 shelter where all heroic bull-fighters find 
 safety, that is, behind a wall. Thereafter 
 Dinka, having recovered from her shock, 
 affirmed that she had seen the shadowy 
 figure of her late husband interpose itself 
 between her and the infuriated brute, and 
 she embellished her account so extrava 
 gantly that even her most credulous friends 
 hesitated to accept her statement without 
 due allowance for an overheated fancy. 
 
 Whether to escape a rehash of her " sec 
 ond miracle " or to introduce an experience 
 of his own, Reuben remarked that it was 
 fortunate that there had been no werewolves 
 in the packs they had escaped. The woman 
 opened her eyes wide, astonished that she 
 had never thought of the likelihood. " Who 
 knows that there was none ? " asked Dinka 
 in a voice of challenge. 
 
 " If there had been any, you would not be 
 here to tell the story," replied Reuben. 
 
 "For my part, I doubt whether there is 
 such a thing as a werewolf to be seen any 
 where ; it is the creation of the superstitious 
 mujik" maintained the Cliazan. 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 6l 
 
 "That is just my idea of it ; there are no 
 werewolves," agreed Huldah. 
 
 " No werewolf ? Did not a wovkalack tear 
 up some children in Strelitzev a few weeks 
 ago ? The villagers saw the monster jump 
 out of the window, all shaggy, with the 
 head of a wolf," advanced Dinka. 
 
 " O, the villagers will tell you a hundred 
 other things which are neither here nor 
 there. My mother has been repeatedly 
 warned not to allow a cat to enter our 
 stable at night, because a cat is supposed to 
 be a sorceress in disguise, who transfers the 
 milk and fecundity of one animal to another. 
 The mujiks believe it, but * there is no witch 
 craft in Jacob, " closed the Chazan with 
 Balaam s phrase. 
 
 " Of course, I have never seen a wovkalack 
 myself, but they are so much spoken of that 
 one cannot help believing that there are 
 such beasts somewhere," explained the 
 woman. 
 
 "No, Dinka, they are nowhere, I am 
 afraid, or my father would know something 
 about it," remarked Huldah, with her 
 
62 IN THE PALE 
 
 sweetest smile, her eyes meeting those of 
 Reuben. 
 
 " How in the world can a man be turned 
 into a wolf?" Ezra was curious to know. 
 
 "They say that a sorcerer does it by 
 frightening a man at night and slipping a 
 wolf s hide over his body. The bewitched 
 mujik becomes mad for the woods, crawls on 
 all fours, seeks the forest, joins a she -wolf, 
 and rears a family. Sometimes he enters a 
 village, steals a baby, and raises it with his 
 cubs. Well, you need not smile ; I am only 
 repeating what many Jews and Christians 
 believe," added Dinka protestingly. 
 
 " But it was your father, Huldah, who 
 introduced the werewolf to us this evening," 
 remarked one of the company. " Let Mr. 
 Pekarow tell us his view of the matter." 
 
 Reuben s face became the target of 
 every eye in the room. The man seemed 
 strangely affected by the appeal to enlarge 
 on the topic he had initiated. 
 
 " Yes, tell us what you think of the 
 wovkalack ; you are learned," urged Dinka. 
 
 "If there are werewolves ?" began Reuben 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 63 
 
 almost absent-mindedly. " If there are were 
 wolves ! To be sure there are wovkalacks, as 
 the rustic calls them, but they are unfor 
 tunately not confined to the forests, nor are 
 they the product of witchcraft. There 
 are, indeed, men-wolves ; they are neither 
 shaggy, nor are they marked by wolfish 
 heads, nor do they eat or tear up children. 
 No, they are dressed like men ; they look, 
 eat, drink, walk, sleep, and talk like men, but 
 are wolves nevertheless, wolves in instinct 
 and ferocity. They do not devour your 
 body, but they tear your soul, wring your 
 heart, poison your blood, darken your sun, 
 kindle and feed a furnace in your bosom, a 
 hell in your mind. They revel in atrocity, 
 rejoice at your agony, live on your marrow, 
 work your destruction to gratify the two 
 basest instincts greed and vengeance. In 
 this land the name of the man-wolf is 
 legion. He wears the polish of refinement, 
 the mask of religion, the garb of justice, the 
 dignity of office, but preys and spies, and 
 bleeds, and robs, and tears every inch a 
 wolf. I have felt the pestiferous breath of 
 
64 IN THE PALE 
 
 one of these men-wolves. His exhalation 
 withered this world s glories for me, crip 
 pling my body and agonizing my heart, and 
 only the healing balsam of the immaculate 
 being God in his infinite grace has sent me 
 rendered life endurable, yea, at times enjoy 
 able. If there are men-wolves! Lord, but 
 for those fell, rapacious, blood-thirsty beasts, 
 what a blessed world this were !" Reuben 
 ended his excited speech, all changed by 
 the spectral shadow the topic had conjured 
 up. 
 
 The man spoke with the calm solemnity 
 of the tragedian who reviews a tragic situa 
 tion, and Huldah s interesting and inter 
 ested face, turned in tender, inexpressible 
 sympathy toward her father, intensified the 
 dramatic moment. 
 
 " Excuse me, friends, I forgot myself," 
 said Reuben apologetically, remembering 
 his duty as host. The girl clasped her 
 father s hand in hers. Dinka broke the 
 moment s silence : 
 
 " Yes, there are wolfish bad men, too 
 many of them hereabout, and they cannot 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 65 
 
 be removed either. I wish I could move 
 some of them from this city." 
 
 "There is one in sheepskin whom I know, 
 and whom I should like to transport to the 
 land where the pepper grows," said Huldah 
 deliberately, with a look of suppressed hat 
 red. Reuben was startled by the girl s 
 vehemence, aware as he was of the object 
 of her abhorrence. His face looked sallow ; 
 Ezra s countenance glowed ; the others 
 looked at one another in mute surprise. 
 Huldah, realizing that she had but half 
 uttered her sentiment, continued : 
 
 " He is an odious brute, the General, but 
 I am not afraid of him ; nor do I see him 
 when he grins, the animal, nor hear him 
 when he whistles to attract my attention. 
 Yesterday, as I stepped out of the door to 
 fasten a shutter, a shower of silver coins 
 fell around me. The cur thought that I 
 would pick them up ; but he was mistaken." 
 
 "You did not tell me a word about it, 
 daughter," said Reuben nervously. 
 
 " Why should I, father ? You would only 
 worry, that is all. If he ever comes near 
 5 
 
66 IN THE PALE 
 
 me, " said the girl, significantly leaving 
 the sentence unfinished. 
 
 "Oh, it is General Greboff you have in 
 mind. Not pick up silver coins ! I wish he 
 tried it on me. He is not a bad man, is he ? 
 Yes, he does think much of you, that I am 
 sure of ; but he is not a bad man ; he always 
 pays for the butter my Isaac delivers at his 
 quarters. Colonel Sterkatcheff owes me 
 thirteen roubles, and I cannot get a kopeck 
 from him," was Dinka s statement of facts. 
 
 " And how did you come to be sure that the 
 General thinks so much of my daughter ?" 
 inquired Reuben visibly alarmed. 
 
 "That is what Colonel Sterkatcheff told 
 me, when I assured him that I was a poor 
 widow, and could not afford to lose thirteen 
 roubles. The dog pinched my cheek and 
 said: You poor? Look into the mirror, 
 and see how your big jewels become you. 
 You are not so handsome as Huldah Peka- 
 row, but you are good for twenty years to 
 come. There are not many like her; the 
 General, who worships her as his goddess, is 
 right. Why, he would walk barefoot to 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 67 
 
 Jerusalem, and have himself made over to 
 suit her, if she gave him the least encourage 
 ment ; but the General despairs of success ; 
 she is another Sebastopol to be taken by 
 strategy/ That is what the Colonel told me 
 about it." 
 
 "That barrel of flesh shall be eaten by the 
 worms before he sees Jerusalem, or Jeru 
 salem sees him. I should stab the beast, 
 if he ever dared insult my sister!" cried 
 Ezra, rising to his feet in excitement, as 
 though his sister had been insulted. 
 
 If nobody understood the Chazaris indig 
 nation, Huldah did, and her appreciation of 
 his sympathy found expression in a look 
 which told a volume of sweet things to the 
 enamored youth. Neither was Reuben blind 
 to the impending denouement of the romance. 
 He had watched it in its bud, and he was not 
 unprepared to see it in its blossom. Such 
 was the golden hope he fed on, or his alarm 
 would have been great, indeed. 
 
 " Friends, let there be no further talk on 
 this distasteful matter," said Reuben ap- 
 pealingly. " We are not unguarded against 
 
68 IN THE PALE 
 
 the inroads of brutality, and my child is a 
 budding Deborah, fully armed to encounter 
 vice and defeat it. And does not our living 
 God protect innocence? But this is a poor 
 winding up of a pleasantly spent evening. 
 I am sorry that I brought up the werewolf, 
 and we are going to have something more 
 palatable served to dispel the bad taste un 
 clean things have left in our mouths. Here 
 come refreshments." 
 
 Refreshments were served, but the com 
 pany could not be restored to good humor. 
 The friends of the house had vague misgiv 
 ings about the girl s safety, yet nobody 
 dared give voice to his apprehension. Ezra 
 and Huldah were invited to sing a duet, but 
 they agreed in declining. 
 
 As some of the friends thought that they 
 would have no occasion to meet the Chazan 
 again before his departure, they shook his 
 hand regretfully, unwilling to part with so 
 rare a chanter. The clock struck ten when 
 the door closed behind the last of the visi 
 tors. 
 
 "Child," said Reuben to his daughter, "if 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 69 
 
 you love me, never pass the threshold of our 
 house unaccompanied, never until God Al 
 mighty sends you the one of all men who 
 will be ready to live and die for you ! " 
 
 III 
 
 VIRTUE VERSUS WICKEDNESS 
 
 Israel s great Holy-Day month with its 
 suggestive symbols had come to a close. 
 The Feast of Booths, commemorative of 
 his wanderings through the desert, was 
 over. The days were growing shorter, the 
 nights longer, the winds colder, the dew of 
 the morning was changed into hoar-frost, the 
 green meadows withered into a dull yellow. 
 The forest pathways were thickly strewn 
 with the spoils of the disrobed silver-birch, 
 of the oak, the aspen, the alder, the willow, 
 the wild cherry tree, and the infinite variety 
 of wild shrubbery impossible to enumerate. 
 In great flocks the migratory birds were seen 
 to wing their course southward. But in 
 Ezra s heart were the cheer and the warmth 
 
70 IN THE PALE 
 
 of a mild summer. Autumnal gloom with 
 out enhanced the brightness within. After 
 a stay of six weeks in Reuben s house, he had 
 won the great prize. Huldah was his, for 
 ever his. It could not have ended other 
 wise. The youth and the maiden had felt 
 that sacred affinity of soul which mortals 
 call love, failing to recognize therein a col 
 lateral of the law of gravitation. 
 
 They had been six hard weeks for Reuben, 
 who h ad anxiously watched his child s intense 
 longing for the youth. In her voice there 
 was a tenderness and plaintiveness which 
 made her father s heart throb with sym 
 pathy. He asked his daughter no questions, 
 but he knew enough of her dynamic tem 
 perament to dread the consequences of un 
 reciprocated passion. It was an unfounded 
 fear. The talented CJiazan was as desper 
 ately enamored of the girl as she was of 
 him. He watched for an auspicious moment 
 to unbosom himself to his worshipped 
 maiden, and it came about thus : 
 
 When the friends, who had spent the even 
 ing under Reuben s hospitable roof, had left, 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 71 
 
 having bidden the Chasan a hearty adieu, 
 Reuben excused himself, and withdrew to 
 his office to attend to some correspondence. 
 Huldah opened one of the shutters, and 
 threw herself into an arm-chair, her face 
 turned toward the window. Across the 
 street GrebofFs birthday was being cele 
 brated by a display of fireworks. The Gen 
 eral was surrounded by the higher officers of 
 his staff and many prominent civilians, 
 and his residence was brilliantly illumin 
 ated by lamps and chandeliers, and flowers 
 were spread about in profusion. 
 
 Was Huldah interested in the lively pro 
 ceedings at the mansion opposite? was the 
 question in Ezra s mind. His eye rested fix 
 edly on the perfect outlines of the maiden s 
 form. Why did she not speak a word to him, 
 now that he was on the point of leaving the 
 home he had learned to love so dearly? 
 And why did he hesitate to break the silence ? 
 -Was it a sob that had escaped her bosom ? 
 Yes, Huldah was in tears. Wherefore in 
 tears ? Could it be that the girl loved him, and 
 was weeping at the thought of his departure ? 
 
72 IN THE PALE 
 
 Overpowered by an impulse that defied 
 all self-control, he determined to learn his 
 fate then and there. Three steps brought 
 him near enough to lay a gentle hand on 
 her shoulder. The touch electrified the 
 girl. She started, but retained her seat. 
 
 "You weep, Huldah," whispered the youth 
 in his softest tones, sending a thrill of rapture 
 through her whole being ; " will you not let 
 me have a share in your sorrow ?" 
 
 The maiden rose, her face turned away, 
 but she allowed her hand, which he had 
 passionately seized, to remain in his. 
 
 " Is it because my stay here has drawn to 
 a close, and we are to part forever, Huldah, 
 forever ?" tenderly repeated the youth. 
 
 Huldah vainly essayed to speak; even her 
 sobs ceased. Blushes and pallor chased each 
 other over her cheeks. Her eyes fell before 
 her wooer s ardent gaze. She made a faint 
 attempt to withdraw her hand from his 
 clasp. Urged into action by the scarcely 
 perceptible movement, he gently drew her 
 towards him, and, coyness at last giving way 
 before resistless passion, the girl silently 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 73 
 
 and tearfully permitted herself to be em 
 braced by Ezra, who sealed the sacred bond 
 with kiss after kiss. 
 
 When Reuben appeared he divined the 
 situation, at once longed for and feared. 
 His daughter s yearnings satisfied, he real 
 ized with a sudden pang that love of him 
 would henceforth fill a subordinate place in 
 her heart. But with parental unselfishness, 
 he forced his sense of loss to yield before 
 the thought that his daughter s happiness 
 was secured, so far as human judgment 
 could foresee. 
 
 Huldah rushed from the arms of her lover 
 into those of her father, hiding her head on 
 his breast and murmuring caressing words. 
 It was a moment of great joy and deep feel 
 ing, intensified for Reuben by the memory 
 of his wife s tragic death, which obtruded 
 itself upon his mind at every solemn mo 
 ment of his life. Having satisfied his affec 
 tion by repeatedly kissing his child, Reuben 
 turned to Ezra : 
 
 " Come hither, son," said he, tears run 
 ning down his cheeks, " come hither. With 
 
74 IN THE PALE 
 
 this daughter of mine you take my heart ; 
 she controls my destiny. I think you worthy 
 of her love, worthy of her immaculate 
 being. May your career be blessed of God 
 and man." 
 
 Herewith Reuben laid his hands on the 
 heads of his dear ones, blessing and kissing 
 each in turn. " Sleep will not trouble me 
 this night. Talk to me, daughter. You will 
 not leave your father alone, will you ?" asked 
 he in a voice choked by emotion. 
 
 The question proved too much for 
 Huldah s filial devotion and tender affection, 
 and the answer came in the shape of 
 renewed weeping followed by a passionate 
 embrace of parent and child. 
 
 " Very well, let it be settled thus. There 
 shall hereafter be three, instead of two, in 
 the family," compromised the father with a 
 tearful smile. 
 
 Ezra happened to look through the win 
 dow, and was mortified by the sight of the 
 General across the street. He had evi 
 dently been an interested eye-witness of 
 the happy scene in Reuben s house. What 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 75 
 
 right had he to intrude on the sacred privacy 
 of a family with whom he held no intercourse 
 whatsoever? Ezra and Reuben were indig 
 nant, but their rage was impotent. The 
 General held all Jews in contempt, and 
 had a special reason for hating Reuben, who 
 had had the audacity to deal with him in a 
 manner which had struck him with astonish 
 ment. He had not been taught to credit an 
 Israelite with a sense of honor. 
 
 Greboff was a distinguished soldier, and 
 very popular in Tchernigoff. From the 
 Crimean war he had come forth with his 
 breast glittering with medals and his name 
 emblazoned among the heroes of the day. 
 Greboff was by no means handsome, was 
 very corpulent, but an excellent horseman, 
 had a powerful voice, was affable in manner, 
 accessible to the poor, and liberal to a fault. 
 He had adopted the eccentric habit of throw 
 ing handfuls of small coins for the boys and 
 the poor to scramble after, and thus made 
 himself the cynosure of all eyes and the fre 
 quent subject of conversation. His motto 
 was "Wine and Women," and elsewhere his 
 
76 IN THE PALE 
 
 copper-colored nose and prodigious mustache 
 would have rendered him a tempting object 
 for the caricaturist. In Russia, wit of this 
 kind lands a man in Siberia. 
 
 One day a package bearing the General s 
 name, and addressed " to the most adorable 
 beauty of the house," was delivered at Reu 
 ben s door. The Hebrew turned pale at 
 sight of the address. What could he, a Jew, 
 do to chastise the brazen impudence of a 
 general ? Without breathing a syllable of 
 the affair to his child, Reuben returned the 
 parcel unopened, accompanied by a vigorous 
 note, informing the General that he had 
 ample means to dress his daughter in silk 
 and sable, but considered virtuous sim 
 plicity far more precious than unholy lux 
 ury. Vice was contemptible, however glit 
 tering it be. 
 
 Thereafter the service of the house was 
 strengthened by a combative matron, who 
 was informed of the danger of her charge. 
 Heavy bars were added to the doors 
 and windows, and a watchman was en 
 gaged to have an eye on both houses and to 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 77 
 
 give the alarm, should the necessity arise. 
 Reuben had concluded to move to other quar 
 ters, when Ezra s arrival held out hope of a 
 different solution of the problem. The re 
 sult of the CJiazaris sojourn in Reuben s 
 home was providentially to interpose the 
 strongest of barriers a maiden may rely 
 upon for safety. Huldah was betrothed. 
 
 Next day Reuben had a lengthy interview 
 with Ezra. He acquainted him with the 
 painful incidents of his life, showed him the 
 life-like picture of Huldah s dead mother, 
 and suggested that he establish himself at 
 Tchernigoff, where, he had no doubt, the 
 Jews would be only too glad to secure his 
 services as Chazan. Ezra expressed his readi 
 ness to be entirely influenced by Huldah s 
 will. " Whatever may be her pleasure is my 
 delight. The only wish I have is to let my 
 aged parents see the chosen of my soul, and 
 as they cannot come hither, it is proper for 
 us to go to them as soon as feasible," said 
 the youth, to the satisfaction of the fond 
 father. 
 
 When the engagement of Ezra and Hul- 
 
78 IN THE PALE 
 
 dah became known, the Jewish community 
 were quick to express their respects to the 
 incomparable Chazan by presenting their 
 congratulations in a becoming manner. 
 Headed by the Rabbi, the elders appeared 
 in a body with a magnificent Menorah made 
 of solid silver, offering it to the betrothed 
 couple as a symbol of light, holiness, and 
 felicity. Congratulations and presents came 
 in from every side. Over a fortnight the 
 quiet home of Reuben was held in a flutter. 
 Then the excitement subsided, and the 
 family breathed easy< 
 
 It was a melancholy evening. A northern 
 wind caused the shutters to rattle, and a 
 light snow began to whiten the deserted 
 streets. Supper was over. Hannah and 
 Blume had cleared the table, and an atmos 
 phere of contentment pervaded the room 
 wherein Reuben was feasting his eyes on the 
 beautiful lovers. The shutters were closed, 
 and the howling wind without increased the 
 sense of comfort within. The date of the 
 nuptials was discussed and settled. " Son, 
 let your song tell us how God revealed Him- 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 79 
 
 self to Israel on Sinai," proposed Reuben. 
 Ezra complied, rising 1 like a soldier before 
 his superior, and losing himself in a reverie 
 of improvised melody, which showed him in 
 his superb brilliancy. " You are my singer 
 of singers," cried Huldah in a transport of 
 admiration. 
 
 "And you are my angel of angels," re 
 turned the noble youth with passion. 
 
 "Children," said Reuben, "I did not tell 
 you that I had a very strange dream last 
 night, which, were I superstitious, I should 
 assume implied something untoward to 
 come. In my youth I once heard a stranger 
 in my father s house tell of the weird fate of 
 an informer who, in the guise of a pious Jew, 
 had betrayed his brethren to the govern 
 ment. The place was Mazir on the Dniester. 
 The traitor made it his business to encour 
 age trifling transgressions of the arbitrary 
 police regulations devised against the Jews 
 and then report them to the police. The poor 
 Israelites were at their wit s end to account 
 for their persecutors knowledge of their most 
 hidden transactions, until a strange occur- 
 
80 IN THE PALE 
 
 rence discovered their villainous brother to 
 them. 
 
 " A tailor who, like hundreds of his kind, 
 spent the week among the peasantry, doing 
 all sorts of work for the villagers, was on his 
 way home Friday afternoon to celebrate the 
 Sabbath with his family. A snow-fall having 
 effaced the pathway leading through a dense 
 wood, the half-frozen man looked around for 
 shelter from the inclemency of the weather. 
 There was none in sight. A feeling of numb 
 ness gained on him, and he realized that 
 only a miracle could save him from being 
 frozen to death. He prayed for help, strug 
 gling onward, without knowing whither, the 
 snow having fallen a foot deep and left 
 no trace of a road. Evening came, and 
 the thought of his wife and children waiting 
 for him in vain, and wondering what had 
 become of their protector, made him feel 
 sick at heart. At this critical moment a 
 light lured him from a distance. Gathering 
 his last strength, he succeeded in reaching 
 the spot, and found it to be the entrance 
 to a cave illumined by a big fire built of 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 8 1 
 
 logs on a brick hearth. Before the blaze sat 
 an imposing figure in a white robe, and next 
 to it, stretched upon the ground, lay a huge 
 dog with tremendous jaws. The figure 
 told the tailor to warm himself, and 
 asked him if he wanted to see the 
 punishment of Yankel the informer. The 
 affirmative answer of the astonished man 
 was followed by the stentorian call : Yank- 
 ele, come in ! What was the amazement of 
 the tailor to see Yankel, one of the most 
 honored Talmudists of Mazir, walk in, at 
 tired in his Sabbath habiliments. The in 
 former looked as pale as a ghost. 
 
 " * Yankele, tell this tailor how often you 
 have played the villain against your brethren, 
 and what your atonement is to be for a hun 
 dred years to come," ordered the figure in 
 white. 
 
 " Yankel gave the details of his infamy with 
 candor that could not be questioned, and 
 concluded with the request to be swallowed 
 by the enormous Cerberus. As though the 
 dog knew all about it, it rose the moment 
 Yankel uttered his own doom. The beast s 
 6 
 
82 IN THE PALE 
 
 eyes glowed like balls of fire, its jaws dis 
 tended to the dimensions of a crocodile s, 
 and, with a turn of the head that enabled it 
 to close them around Yankel s waist, the 
 monster crunched the informer s bones be 
 tween his teeth. The sickening 1 sight made 
 the tailor turn away, and the cries of the 
 agonized reprobate reverberated in the cave. 
 Not a vestige remained to show that a 
 whole man had been devoured. 
 
 " Yankele, come in, commanded the self 
 same voice. In came the same phantom, 
 repeating the same story, and receiving the 
 same treatment. * Shema Yisroel! cried 
 the poor tailor, his blood running cold 
 through his veins. At these two words 
 the scene dissolved, and the cave vanished. 
 What became of the tailor? When he 
 looked about him he felt the warmth of a 
 comfortable room. He found himself on 
 the rude couch of a mujik, his hands and 
 feet frozen. The house was that of an hum 
 ble forester, whose dogs had drawn his atten 
 tion to the benumbed tailor by their whining 
 and barking. The man had gone out to hunt 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 83 
 
 game in the morning, had lighted on the un 
 fortunate Jew, and had restored him to con 
 sciousness by rubbing and cold applications. 
 
 " The tailor s vision induced the elders of 
 Mazir to look for Yankel, who had been 
 missing since Friday evening. The villain 
 was found dead in his bed, with a cross un 
 der his shirt. Yankel had been an apostate 
 and an informer in disguise. The police were 
 notified of his death, and he was buried with 
 honors in the Greek Catholic cemetery. 
 
 "That story recurred to me in my dreams 
 last night. Methought I saw the cave, the 
 white figure, and the beast, but, instead of 
 Yankel, it swallowed my deadliest enemy, 
 Yablow." 
 
 " Did you not hear a wagon stop before 
 our door?" asked Ezra, starting to his feet. 
 
 A rap at the entrance was distinctly heard, 
 and Reuben rose to answer it. On opening 
 the door, he recoiled with horror. There 
 stood the Czar s " black wagon," a convey 
 ance that should bear the inscription which 
 is over the gate of the infernal regions : 
 "Who enters here leaves hope behind." 
 
84 IN THE PALE 
 
 There was no time for questioning-. Two 
 gendarmes laid hold on old Reuben, and the 
 next instant saw him locked in the dismal 
 vehicle. Before Ezra realized the situation, 
 he was likewise seized and pushed into the 
 grim van through another door, the rolling 
 jail having several compartments. As the 
 horses moved off, Huldah gave a shriek of 
 despair. It was her turn now. Four iron 
 hands grasped her maidenly frame, while 
 one assailant smothered her voice with a rag, 
 and two others threw Blume into the next 
 room. All this was the work of a moment, 
 the only witness of the crime being the ter 
 rified Blume. The watchman did not appear, 
 and when Hannah, startled by Huldah s 
 cry, rushed to the front of the house, she 
 found Blume in convulsions. 
 
 The Czar s subjects speak of the black 
 wagon with as much horror as though it 
 were a vehicle of the nethermost pit. It 
 springs from night, and, having swallowed 
 its prey, vanishes into darkness. It glides 
 into sight like an unearthly hearse. Black 
 horses pull it ; black agents direct and sur- 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 85 
 
 round it. Stern as death, they are inexora 
 ble as fate, mute as the sphinx, prompt as 
 hunger and greed, and cold as frost. Without 
 the least warning the black wagon pounces 
 upon its victim, tears him from the arms of 
 love, from the house of prayer, from the bed 
 of sickness, from the wedding table. The 
 black wagon is unwindowed. It disgorges 
 its prey into some sinister cell, there to 
 wither in dire monotony, varied only by 
 interrogations accompanied by the knout. 
 They whom the black wagon seize seldom 
 return alive; the few that escape by a 
 miracle are wrecks in mind and body, the 
 ordeal being too much for man to endure. 
 Whoever catches sight of the black wagon 
 at the ghostly hour the hour of its activity 
 rushes out of its way, prompted by terror. 
 Superstition associates with the spectral 
 conveyance the agency of hell, and the 
 worst curse uttered by vindictive ignorance 
 against an object of hatred is : " May the 
 black wagon devour thee." Twice during 
 this century have the unfortunate Poles 
 learned the significance of that curse. 
 
86 IN THE PALE 
 
 As soon as the women recovered their 
 presence of mind, their first impulse was to 
 make for the door and inform neighboring 
 friends of the occurrence, but they found 
 the rear and front of the house barred 
 and guarded, and they were warned to stay 
 where they were. 
 
 " I shall run up to the second floor, and cry 
 out for help," muttered Blume. " I have 
 a suspicion that the child is in the General s 
 residence." 
 
 " Let us cry murder," suggested Hannah. 
 "The dogs can do nothing to us." 
 
 In a moment the women were on the 
 upper floor. They tore open a window, but 
 neither of them had the courage to break 
 the silence of the night. The flickering 
 lamps in sight threw a dubious glare on 
 the drifting snow. Not a sound was heard, 
 not a soul seen. In Grebofl s quarters a 
 dim light gleamed from behind heavy 
 hangings. Instinctively the women held 
 their eyes fixed on the General s windows, 
 as if the source of all evil was hidden be 
 hind them. And lo and behold ! two sharp 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 87 
 
 reports as of pistol shots issued from Gre- 
 boff s apartments, and were followed by 
 a lurid flame, which brightened into a 
 red sheet of fire, while the air shud 
 dered with the cry of " Murder ! Fire !" The 
 women stared amazed. The General s 
 house was bursting into flames. The win 
 dows of the burning habitation flew open, 
 and the desperate efforts of the attendants 
 to remove an apparently lifeless body could 
 be distinctly seen from across the street. 
 The alarm summoning the fire brigade 
 warned the city of the conflagration. 
 
 " Come, let us try to get out of the house, 
 lest it catch fire, and we burn alive," pro 
 posed Blume, leading the way down-stairs. 
 They found the door open, heard the gong 
 of the engines as they came thundering and 
 whizzing by, and were on the point of turning 
 into a back alley, when they heard Huldah s 
 cry for help. It was no dream. Her dress 
 torn to tatters, her hair dishevelled, Huldah 
 broke through a window of the doomed 
 building, ready to throw herself into the 
 street at the risk of life and limb. Heroic 
 
88 IN THE PALE 
 
 Blume, forgetful of her own danger, inter 
 posed her strong arms to break the fall of 
 the raving girl. Hannah was at hand, and 
 no sooner had Huldah landed in the street 
 than she was hurried off to a safe place, 
 night and confusion covering her escape. 
 " Villain, do not touch me ! " repeatedly 
 exclaimed the girl, evidently under the 
 feverish impression of imminent danger. 
 
 Reassured that she was in friendly hands, 
 she cried: " Let us nee! he is dead, the 
 villain I killed him shot him twice threw 
 a burning lamp at him it struck a hanging 
 lamp, both exploded he burned, the beast 
 let us flee ! " 
 
 Day dawned on a dismal heap of ashes 
 where the General s residence had stood. 
 His half-charred body, bearing the marks of 
 Huldah s bullets, was laid out in a room of 
 the barracks, and Reuben s deserted home 
 was searched, and put under the seal of the 
 magistrate pending the inquest. 
 
 For good reasons, the circumstances of 
 GrebofFs death could not be given fully in 
 the local paper. It was insinuated that the 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 89 
 
 popular hero had been the victim of Jewish 
 vengeance, and the populace was quick in 
 jumping to the conclusion that the Jews 
 had committed arson and murder. Threat 
 ening mutterings were heard in the market 
 place, where the scum of the city gathered. 
 The rabble had reached that ugly mood 
 in which it takes but a second to pass from 
 word to deed, when a man appeared on the 
 scene, who, owing to his well-known past, 
 was surnamed " the little Haman." To him 
 the crowd turned for information, anticipat 
 ing a bitter onslaught against the sons of 
 Israel. " Let us hear what Stenko Yablow 
 has to say," passed around, and the man 
 was bodily raised on a dry-goods box, so 
 that he might be seen and heard. 
 
 Yablow looked pale, and his eyes betrayed 
 anxiety incompatible with the spirit of a 
 demagogue. 
 
 " Speak, speak ! Did not the Jews kill the 
 General ? " cried a voice. 
 
 "The Jews killed Christ, and they slew 
 the good General ! " clamored another voice. 
 
 " Brothers, if it be proved that General 
 
90 IN THE PALE 
 
 Greboff has been killed by a Jew or a 
 Jewess, you may count on it that his blood 
 will be avenged ; but we must not rashly 
 make innocent people suffer for the crime of 
 one person. You know that all the Jews 
 of Tchernigoff could not be guilty of killing 
 one man," reasoned Yablow, to the great 
 disappointment of the sanguinary crowd. 
 
 " If they did not slay the General, they are 
 hiding the murderer," said a priest. 
 
 " He is right, he is right; they are hiding 
 the murderer," cried several voices. 
 
 " Who can hide himself from the Czar s 
 all-seeing justice? Are not five persons al 
 ready under arrest ? And, as I am a Chris 
 tian, I shall have a hand in the matter ; but 
 innocent people must not be hurt," protested 
 Yablow. 
 
 " Innocent people ? " echoed the priest 
 sarcastically. 
 
 " Will you assume the part of the Czar s 
 all-knowing judge? Shall we have blood 
 shed ?" asked the attorney sharply. 
 
 " Did we not have it at your instigation 
 in years gone by, innocent soul ?" retorted 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 9! 
 
 the priest contemptuously. " Somebody has 
 pulled the devil by the tail." 
 
 For a moment Yablow stood nonplussed, 
 remembering the villain s part that selfsame 
 priest had taken, at his prompting, in the 
 ruin of Reuben s house. The priest and the 
 lawyer looked daggers at each other. There 
 was laughter among the crowd. Yablow 
 struck at his whilom associate in crime with 
 a weapon that rendered resistance hopeless. 
 
 " If a frail layman is willing to repent his 
 sins, why should not a father of the merci 
 ful Church do as he preaches ? We sinned 
 together, Father, let us repent, to prove our 
 selves worthy of our meek Redeemer," sug 
 gested the lawyer, with a twinkle in his 
 eye that threw some doubt on his earnest 
 ness. 
 
 " He has seen Jew-money," muttered the 
 priest, turning away in disgust from his 
 adversary. 
 
 Yablow followed the holy man with a 
 look of scorn, whistled, with his arms 
 akimbo, and wound up by remarking : " Such 
 be some of our holy men !" 
 
92 IN THE PALE 
 
 His descent from the platform was the 
 signal for the dispersion of the rabble, 
 which could do nothing without a ring 
 leader. 
 
 Yablow s change of heart must be traced 
 to its psychological motive, rare but not 
 unnatural in the d-omain of human con 
 science. The man had risen from what he 
 had feared would prove his deathbed, and in 
 reviewing his past he had recoiled from 
 the darkest episode in his career. During 
 feverish nights he had incessantly reverted 
 to the nameless agony he had caused his 
 Jewish rival in the legal profession, and his 
 fervid prayer was that he might be granted 
 a short lease of life for a penitent effort to 
 undo whatever could be undone. Could 
 Reuben s implication in GrebofTs death be 
 anything but an answer to his prayer ? Here 
 was his chance to atone, in a measure, for a 
 crime weighing heavily on his conscience. It 
 amounted to certainty in his mind that the 
 General had paid with his life for some 
 nefarious misdeed, and he was prepared to 
 sift the matter thoroughly. Thus, having 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 93 
 
 learned that Reuben and his family were in 
 the clutches of the police, he resolved to 
 throw in all his weight in favor of the 
 prisoners, and he proceeded to carry out his 
 resolutions with great energy. Had he been 
 known as a friend of Israel, his offer to act 
 as the champion of the incriminated family 
 would probably have met with less ready 
 acceptance. The " little Haman " could 
 scarcely be suspected of seeking the charge 
 he coveted from love. 
 
 " Will the Jew accept you as his counsel ?" 
 was the only question put to Yablowby the 
 procurator. 
 
 An affirmative answer secured for him 
 the conduct of the defence before his clients 
 had an inkling of his intention. 
 
 Meanwhile the whole Jewish community 
 was in mourning over the mysterious trag 
 edy, because of its serious aspects in regard 
 to the innocent persons implicated, and 
 when it transpired that Yablow was to op 
 pose the prosecution, the prospects of a fair 
 trial darkened. The man was too spiteful 
 to be placated, too rich to be bribed. What 
 
94 IN THE PALE 
 
 was the use of the liberal money contribu 
 tions that were forthcoming ? 
 
 Nobody had the least intimation of the 
 attorney s change of sentiment. Apprehen 
 sion, however, gave room to hope, when it 
 became known that Yablow had had a 
 lengthy interview with the Rabbi, to whom 
 the Christian appealed for help in win 
 ning the confidence of Reuben, who had 
 so good a reason to abhor his very presence. 
 A communication from the pious head of 
 the congregation to Reuben paved the way 
 for a meeting and an understanding between 
 two men whose reconciliation, under ordi 
 nary circumstances, would have been as 
 likely as a love-feast between Mordecai and 
 Haman. 
 
 The Rabbi was convinced that Yablow s 
 remorse was sincere, and advised the head 
 of the imprisoned victims to trust the 
 Christian s solemn assurances, and to accept 
 his proffered service as defender, he being 
 as powerful for good as for evil. 
 
 The fact that Reuben had been the first 
 thrown into the black wagon precluded his 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 95 
 
 knowing the sequel, which had involved his 
 only child in a criminal case. The Rabbi s 
 information made him realize the magnitude 
 of his misfortune, and, great as must have 
 been his aversion to the author of his life 
 long misery, Yablow s unsolicited offer to 
 exculpate his child a service none within a 
 radius of many miles could do better than 
 he had to be gratefully acknowledged, yea, 
 looked upon in the light of a godsend. 
 
 What in any civilized land would have 
 been cleared up by a coroner s inquest, in 
 Russia required an indefinite protraction of 
 legal formalities, pending which the pris 
 oners were to continue in durance vile. 
 Reuben s greatest anxiety was, therefore, 
 to hasten the trial, and Yablow took up the 
 defence with zeal as earnest as his previous 
 animus against the Hebrew had been deadly. 
 A villain touched by remorse, he was the right 
 man to deal with a crime too often connived 
 at by the Czar s subservient magistrates. 
 
 When the date of the trial became known, 
 the Rabbi ordered the day to be observed as 
 a fast, and required the Jewish community 
 
96 IN THE PALE 
 
 to gather in the several places of worship 
 to pray for the exculpation of the innocent 
 victims. In the court-room, military circles 
 were represented by the general of the 
 division in which the dead Greboff had at 
 tained distinction, besides a few inferior 
 officers that had sought admission. 
 
 Yablow was prepared to accept the evi 
 dence of the state prosecutor that Greboff s 
 death had been caused by the discharge of 
 a deadly weapon in Huldah s hand. Nor 
 did he intend to deny that the General s 
 quarters had been set on fire and destroyed 
 by a lamp the maiden had flung at her as 
 sailant. But did not the circumstances vin 
 dicate the act of an outraged maiden, who 
 valued virtue more than life ? 
 
 " Facts, humiliating facts, face the court, 
 and innocence cries to heaven for justice," 
 exclaimed Yablow. " General Greboff died 
 guilty, not alone of a heinous crime against 
 inviolable virtue, but he broke the Czar s 
 law, inasmuch as he counterfeited His 
 Majesty s secret means of justice to gratify 
 a villainous passion. The black wagon was 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 97 
 
 imitated to perpetrate a black crime. To 
 break into a peaceful home at a late hour of 
 the night, seize the head of the house and 
 the betrothed of his daughter, throw them 
 into a black van, then lock them up in a dingy 
 cellar, so that a helpless maiden might be 
 gagged, kidnapped, and ruined ! Ye hon 
 ored judges of the Czar s retributive law, 
 would not you glory in the heroism of your 
 daughters, had they, to escape shame and 
 ruin, done as Huldah Pekarow did ? There 
 can be but one decision, and a monument of 
 bronze should be set to the girl in commemo 
 ration of virtue s triumph over vice." 
 
 Yablow s position was strong, and Huldah s 
 graphic tale of her desperate situation did 
 not weaken it. The fact remained, how 
 ever, that Ivan Greboff, a distinguished sol 
 dier, had fallen by the hand of a Jewish 
 maiden for attempting unsuccessfully what 
 others accomplish with impunity. Thus, 
 while the other prisoners were acquitted 
 as "men without a blemish," Huldah s 
 sentence was reduced to five years im 
 prisonment, with -a recommendation by the 
 7 
 
98 IN THE PALE 
 
 judges to the Czar for a pardon, which, 
 meant five years and nothing less. 
 
 Reuben and Ezra, seeing Huldah led off 
 in chains, despised their freedom, and Han 
 nah and Blume rent the air with lamenta 
 tions. 
 
 " Do not despair, brother Reuben," cried 
 Yablow, as he joined him outside of the 
 court-room. " Your daughter shall be with 
 you before the moon changes twice." 
 
 " That is, if a miracle happens," said the 
 old man in tears. 
 
 " Years must pass until a pardon can 
 come from the Czar, if it ever comes," re 
 marked Ezra. 
 
 "The miracle will happen, take my word 
 for it," promised Yablow, and looking 
 around, as if afraid to be overheard, he con 
 tinued : "All we have to secure for our end 
 is her imprisonment in the jail of Kharkow ; 
 her escape thence is a certainty." 
 
 " My only child, my angelic Huldah in 
 prison !" cried Reuben, his hands folded in 
 pain. 
 
 " Here, enter my house, Pekarow," sug- 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 99 
 
 gested Yablow, as they stood before a 
 spacious building. " I have rooms prepared 
 for you and this young man, until your own 
 home is in order. You need rest and new 
 clothing; everything has been attended to." 
 
 Reuben looked at his old enemy with as 
 tonishment, hesitated an instant, but re 
 membering that he and the youth needed 
 rest and a change of dress, he yielded to the 
 repeated invitation of the singular Yablow. 
 Distrust had made room for confidence. 
 
 " When you have had a bath and have 
 rested, I shall divulge a secret to you, 
 brother Reuben, of no less interest to you 
 than the liberation of your daughter, which, 
 I guarantee, will be effected much sooner 
 than you dream," said the host. 
 
 "Speak to me now; why defer a thing 
 that holds out hope ?" spoke Reuben. 
 
 " Do you hope ever again to behold your 
 son ? " asked Yablow calmly. 
 
 " My son ! Are you sane ?" exclaimed the 
 startled Hebrew. 
 
 " Pekarow, your son is alive, so may Christ 
 save my soul ; he is alive," asserted Yablow. 
 
IOO IN THE PALE 
 
 " Stenko Yablow, why do you torture me ? 
 How can my daughter get free, and how 
 can my son, drowned more than twenty 
 years ago, be alive ? " asked Reuben, in 
 great agitation. 
 
 " Did you ever see your son s body?" was 
 Yablow s question. 
 
 " Yablow, you are mistaken about my 
 son ; he is dead," maintained Reuben. 
 "Help me out of this land with my Hul- 
 dah, and you shall have a pound of golden 
 coin." 
 
 " Ah, no Shylock bargain with me, Peka- 
 row ; keep your gold for your children, man. 
 I have vowed in my soul to be your friend, 
 having done you evil in the past. Now, hear 
 me. After you have rested, the first thing 
 for you to do is to dispose of your property. 
 It will cost me a handsome amount to have 
 your child sent to Kharkow prison. Be at 
 hand there with this young man and 
 another person of courage. I shall look out 
 for the rest; do you understand? The head 
 of that jail is a school friend of mine. 
 Tell this to your daughter as soon as you 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH IOI 
 
 may. Assure her of special treatment in 
 the cell and of speedy restoration to those 
 that love her," ended Yablow, insisting that 
 the liberated prisoners attend to their com 
 fort. 
 
 Reuben s frame of mind may be more 
 easily imagined than described. After 
 months of suspense spent within a melan 
 choly cell, ignorant of the extent to which 
 his child was implicated in the General s 
 death, he saw her sentenced for a term which 
 to him was eternity. The mere possibility of 
 finding his first-born son, given up as dead, 
 turned painful suspense into anguish. In 
 vain Ezra pointed out the finger of Provi 
 dence, so manifest in the various incidents 
 of their common misfortune, in the glorious 
 deed of the divine Huldah, as in Yablow s 
 transformation from a fierce villain into a 
 generous champion. Everything would 
 pass off well. " The Christian swore by his 
 Redeemer that your son is alive, and if he 
 is alive, we shall find him," concluded Ezra. 
 
 " Son, my wits are turning ; it were too 
 much for me to survive," replied Reuben in 
 
102 IN THE PALE 
 
 a broken voice. " Why does he not tell me 
 where my child bides ?" 
 
 " Let him do it in his own way. He seems 
 anxious to possess your fullest confidence. 
 The man is in dead earnest and full of 
 devices. Make him feel that you depend 
 on his friendship for all that is dear and 
 near to you in this world," advised Ezra. 
 
 " Stenko Yablow, my friend ! The woe and 
 the wonder of my life !" cried Reuben. 
 
 Meanwhile the tidings spread throughout 
 the Jewish community that the incompar 
 able Chazan as well as Reuben and the two 
 women of his household had been set free, 
 but not Huldah, she who had been glorified 
 in prose and poetry as the sweetest maiden, 
 beautiful as the rose of Sharon, sweet as the 
 dew of heaven, heroic as immortal Deborah, 
 but ill-fated as Hannah of old, who, for 
 the sake of faith, sacrificed her seven chil 
 dren. Men and women prayed that she 
 might be restored to her lover, and the girls 
 shed tears of sympathy, and wore mourning, 
 in token of their genuine sorrow. 
 
 After the night spent at Yablow s house, 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 103 
 
 Reuben and Ezra were greeted with great 
 solemnity at the synagogue by the Rabbi 
 and the Elders. In the throng of prominent 
 men who thus welcomed the twain restored 
 to liberty, stood the picturesque figure of as 
 interesting a personality as the Chazan him 
 self. It was the youthful Messenger from 
 Jerusalem, Zemach Ben David, a celebrity 
 in the domain of Kabbalistic wisdom and a 
 poet of no mean genius. His verses were 
 composed in the purest Hebrew, and they 
 breathed the sweet soul of Jehuda Halevi. 
 In appearance he bore striking resem 
 blance to Ezra, and his Oriental costume 
 lent him romantic interest. 
 
 In Reuben s misfortune he was deeply 
 concerned, and his sympathy with Huldah 
 found expression in a poem so pathetic that 
 its recitation was the signal for lamentation. 
 Zemach shook Reuben s hand with a hearti 
 ness which gave comfort, and offered his 
 personal service in any and every shape. 
 " Use me in any way you please ; I am born 
 to assist my brethren in distress," said the 
 generous Messenger. 
 
104 IN THE PALE 
 
 To Ezra Zemach felt especially at 
 tracted, having heard of his great vocal 
 powers and the romantic turn his sojourn 
 in Reuben s house had taken. The first 
 meeting of the two distinguished young 
 men resulted in a friendship based on recip 
 rocal esteem. 
 
 Zemach and Ezra represented the loftiest 
 ideals of Slavonic Jewry, poetic mysticism 
 and divine song. Furthermore, there was a 
 something about Zemach s individuality 
 that impressed Ezra with the feeling that 
 he was the man they needed in that critical 
 hour. The young men loved each other as 
 though they had spent all their lives to 
 gether as schoolmates or brothers. An un 
 accountable consciousness of affinity some 
 times apprises two beings that they are 
 spiritually related. The strongest feature 
 in their quickly developed affection was the 
 feeling that they should never part again. 
 It was an intuition hard to explain. 
 
 Reuben secured access to his daughter to 
 inform her that she would be transferred to 
 Kharkow for the purpose of speedy libera- 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH IO5 
 
 tion, and that he and Ezra would be at hand 
 to further her escape. The girl assured her 
 father that her greatest suffering was his 
 sorrow, her heart being gratified by the 
 death of the brute that had threatened her 
 honor and by her fortunate escape from 
 shame, and inspired by the hope of soon 
 joining her dear ones. 
 
 " Is not my Ezra an infinite comfort to 
 you ? He will wait for me, and be near 
 you till I join you. Promise me to bear it 
 calmly, dear, good father, and my slumbers 
 will be easy, my heart hopeful. If you cry, I 
 shall be miserable ; I feel your agony a 
 thousand miles away," spoke Huldah be 
 seechingly, kissing the hands of the old man, 
 who was the image of unutterable grief. 
 Finally they had to part. Reuben had 
 wisely refrained from communicating to the 
 girl the uncertain tidings about a brother 
 she had never heard of. 
 
 His next move was to dispose of his home, 
 draw in his various investments, and be 
 ready for migration whithersoever God 
 might direct. In a fortnight everything was 
 
106 IN THE PALE 
 
 arranged, and Yablow informed him that 
 Kharkow s great prison harbored the heroic 
 maiden. 
 
 " We have her where we wished her to be ; 
 it remains to carry out the plan of freeing 
 her. You must furnish me with two brave 
 men, and yourself be ready to receive her 
 beyond the Czar s boundaries. I hold my 
 self responsible for the safe issue of the ad 
 venture, provided you furnish the right 
 men," the undaunted attorney assured him. 
 
 "How much time do you need to carry the 
 plan into effect?" inquired Reuben. 
 
 " As much as you need to find the men 
 that are to act as I direct them," said Yablow. 
 
 " Suppose I produce the men to morrow, 
 will it hasten matters ? " asked the other. 
 
 " The sooner the better ; delay will do us 
 no good," affirmed Yablow. 
 
 " Whatever money you need I am pre 
 pared to supply," remarked Reuben. 
 
 " Yablow owes Reuben more than all the 
 treasures on earth can pay. Here, take this 
 guilty hand of a penitent brother, who has 
 often prayed to God to be forgiven. Your 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH IO7 
 
 son is alive, Pekarow. You have not asked 
 me any questions, martyred Jew, though. I 
 know your heart is burning with fearful 
 anxiety to learn the fate of your first child. 
 Your boy lives ; his nurse died, driven to 
 despair by her cowardly act of sending the 
 sleeping babe down the Desna in a boat. 
 Tremble not, man, he is safe. I know all. I 
 have traced him to the home where he spent 
 the years of his early youth, and I shall spare 
 no pains to ferret out his present where 
 abouts. Now, make your arrangements, and 
 let me know your men. I must have them 
 in Kharkow, where you will meet me before 
 the Epiphany Fair opens. The director of 
 the prison is my chum, and will be lenient 
 to please me. Here is my address at Khar 
 kow ; apprise me of your arrival. No money, 
 do you hear? Though it cost ten thousand 
 roubles, Yablow can stand it. Farewell, I 
 must be gone." 
 
 There was no time for idle reflection ; the 
 hour called for energetic action. That Ezra 
 would rush into fire for his beloved, who 
 could doubt it? But why the magnanimous 
 
108 IN THE PALE 
 
 Messenger was expected to join him in 
 the perilous enterprise, was a question to 
 be answered; yet it was on him that both 
 Reuben and Ezra counted, and they were 
 not mistaken in their judgment. The Ori 
 ental declared his cheerful willingness to 
 share every hazard with Ezra in the attempt 
 to save the imprisoned maiden. The Mes 
 senger would not even accept thanks for his 
 readiness to serve. 
 
 " Why have I life and limbs, if not to use 
 them in the noblest cause I can think of? 
 A man should appreciate a good chance 
 offered him to do a manly deed," was 
 Zemach s reply. 
 
 " You are my messenger from God ! " ex 
 claimed Reuben with ardor. " I see that the 
 Almighty is doing wonders for the sake of 
 my precious child." 
 
 The next day the three men were on their 
 way to Kharkow, whither Yablow had pre 
 ceded them. 
 
 A matter of serious consideration was the 
 selection of a place of refuge for Reuben 
 and his daughter. Might not an extradition 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH IOQ 
 
 treaty exist between Russia and her im 
 mediate neighbors, and Huldah be applied 
 for as a refugee convicted of murder ? Her 
 whereabouts, therefore, not alone ought to be 
 remote from Muscovy, but ought to remain 
 a secret. After the advantages and the dis 
 advantages of a number of places had been 
 considered, Zemach named Morocco as the 
 land of his individual preference, and 
 Tangier as the fairest place for a new home. 
 His reasons were these : 
 
 "The city is beautifully spread on the 
 shore of the Mediterranean, the climate is 
 mild and salubrious, the soil fertile, and 
 provisions cheap. Nobody is asked who he 
 is, or whence he comes, it being a cosmo 
 politan place, and it is an easy matter to 
 put one s self under the protection of some 
 powerful consulate. Above all, Rabbi 
 Nahon of Tangier is my friend, a very good 
 old man, weighted with sacred lore even 
 more than with years. A letter from my 
 hand would open his heart and his door, 
 and to him I should recommend you. 
 Should you grow tired of Tangier, the 
 
110 IN THE PALE 
 
 Orient is vast, and Constantinople may be 
 easily reached by the sea." 
 
 " Be it Tangier, then, and the Holy Land 
 thereafter," decided Reuben. 
 
 The Epiphany Fair of Kharkow is the 
 busiest of its four annual fairs. A fair in 
 Russia means a vast concourse of people 
 from adjoining- provinces, a bewildering 
 conglomeration of heterogeneous humanity. 
 Weeks previous to the great conflux of 
 buyer and vender, the vanguard of itinerant 
 commerce arrives, and the preparatory work 
 of booth-building begins. Advantageous 
 spots in the market place command a high 
 price, and are held in lease from season to 
 season. Rows of shops and stalls rise, 
 crudely built of pine boards, lined and 
 covered with canvas, and furnished with 
 shelves for the display of sundry wares cal 
 culated to fascinate the muji&s unrefined 
 taste. Him you see arrive in festive gar 
 ments, bringing for sale home-spun yarn, 
 stuffs, woollen and linen ; wax, grain, flour, 
 hemp, wool, raw hides, cordage, swine s 
 bristles, fruits, green or dry, strings of dried 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH III 
 
 mushrooms, sheep, horses, cattle, pigs, in 
 short, anything that will realize a coin. 
 
 A Russian fair resembles an Oriental 
 bazaar in all but a few national and local 
 peculiarities. Lines of stands are kept 
 by venders of drinks, such as, mead and 
 kivas, or of eatables, such as, eels, crabs, 
 salted or fresh fish, caviar, and a variety of 
 pastry. The gypsy is here with his fiery 
 ponies, and the money-changer, heaps of 
 silver and copper coin before him, and 
 charging exorbitant discount for metal cur 
 rency in exchange for the Czar s paper 
 rouble. From different quarters come the 
 sounds of music, vocal or instrumental. 
 Hither the populace streams, eager to hear 
 the fabulous tales of popular heroes told 
 by aged or blind minstrels. Numerous are 
 the taverns, gardens, and cheap restaurants 
 wherein throngs of the lower classes drink, 
 quarrel, swear, and dance. The unfailing 
 drunkard s brawl, the pickpocket s raid, the 
 brutal fight, and the horse-thief s escapade 
 are small incidentals for the ubiquitous 
 police to attend to. There are also exhibits 
 
112 IN THE PALE 
 
 of finery. Merchants of the higher guilds 
 are there prepared to supply the better class, 
 especially the nobility, with whatever fancy 
 or fashion dictates, from the most costly 
 sable robe to the finest racer bred in the 
 Ukraine. 
 
 Yablow justly concluded that the Epiph 
 any Fair was the most suitable time for the 
 execution of his scheme. In his first rendez 
 vous with the Hebrews at Kharkow, he de 
 clared himself ready, and astonished Reuben 
 by producing a document signed by the 
 Governor, and ordering the head jailer to 
 deliver Huldah Pekarow to the gendarmes 
 who were to transport her to Siberia. 
 
 " The Governor has never seen this docu 
 ment," remarked Reuben laconically. 
 
 " And my friend, the head jailer, shall 
 never see it," replied Yablow. 
 
 " What shall be our part in the enter 
 prise ?" inquired Zemach. 
 
 " Let me sum it up in a few words. In 
 twenty-seven days the fair opens. By that 
 time you will be equipped and drilled, as 
 the Czar s gendarmes should be, and pre- 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 113 
 
 pared to present this document at the office 
 of the prison director, or head jailer, who 
 is going to be sick. His assistant will 
 be his substitute, and him you will find 
 willing and prepared. The girl will be de 
 livered to you, and it will be your business 
 to disguise her, divest yourselves of your own 
 disguise, and hurry beyond the reach of the 
 Czar s genuine red-coats. The place of 
 refuge must be your choice, but rest not 
 ere you have crossed Russia s frontier. 
 Austria is not far; embark at Trieste, the 
 Adriatic takes you to the Mediterranean, 
 which laves the shores of all the civilized 
 lands, as well as of others not civilized." 
 
 " Young men, you have heard the 
 nature of the task before you, what do you 
 say to it? In no other way can my child be 
 rescued ; what is your determination ? " asked 
 Reuben. 
 
 " This question is for you to answer, 
 friend; there is nothing I am unprepared to 
 do for the beloved of my soul," said the 
 Chazan to the Messenger. 
 
 "If it be love with you, duty and honor 
 8 
 
I 14 IN THE PALE 
 
 prompt me to stand by you, come what may. 
 What I promised I shall keep," affirmed 
 Zemach unhesitatingly. 
 
 " Young man, I am old enough to be your 
 father," resumed Reuben in a solemn voice; 
 "yet, I assure you, I have never thought 
 man capable of such lofty generosity as your 
 nature reveals. You teach me the great les 
 son that there is a spark of divine love in 
 the human breast. Whatever be our lot 
 in the days to come, as long as this heart 
 throbs, my soul shall bless you, my house 
 shall be yours. And since you deem Tan 
 gier the safest place for me to choose as 
 home, will you, God being gracious to us, add 
 to our happiness by making your home 
 with us there ? " 
 
 " Why should recompense be offered or 
 accepted for willingness to do what man 
 hood should consider a privilege?" returned 
 the Messenger. " Who compensates you 
 for being a Jew with all it implies? Thus 
 far, I have but substituted one resolution 
 for another. Instead of gathering funds to 
 alleviate misery in the Holy Land, I use a 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 115 
 
 little time to relieve it as it chances to cross 
 my pathway, the pathway of the wandering 
 Jew, serving God by serving the cause of 
 honor and justice." 
 
 "I am struck with astonishment at the 
 unparalleled qualities of your people, Reu 
 ben. Here are human beings who, in mat 
 ters of heroic endurance and moral inde 
 pendence, put the fabled demi-gods to shame. 
 Only a Jew could have been willing to bleed 
 on the cross, so that mankind might be re 
 deemed. I have never seen a Jew despair," 
 asserted Yablow firmly. 
 
 " Despair ! Dastards despair whenever 
 there is a hitch in the gear," cried Reuben, 
 inflamed by momentary inspiration. . " Had 
 the Jew ever despaired, this would be a 
 beastly world, wallowing in the mud of a 
 bottomless slough. Ay, if you, brave though 
 you be, ye followers of the meek Nazarene, 
 had had to foil the obduracy of a Pharaoh, 
 cross a Red Sea with an army close at your 
 heels, receive a Revelation before a burning 
 mountain, and have your loyalty to it tested 
 by forty years of wandering through a desert 
 
Il6 IN THE PALE 
 
 infested with, hydra-headed Amalek ; fol 
 lowed by a deadly struggle of cycles with 
 desperate heathendom, and supplemented 
 by a dance to death extending over eighteen 
 centuries, you would have despaired. But 
 there is enough of Moses in every true- 
 hearted Israelite to guard him against des 
 pair in the very jaws of destruction. Ah, 
 witness my daughter. And here, behold 
 this youth, a stranger, willing to hazard life 
 and liberty to rescue an unknown maiden." 
 
 " Yes, the Jews are a strange people, and 
 you, my friend, are essentially one of them. 
 I have had my lesson ; I am conquered and 
 humbled. She has been to see me, your 
 wife ; yes, she has visited me. Death will 
 not efface the sight," said the Christian, the 
 color flying from his face, while Reuben rose 
 to his feet, all amazement and trembling. 
 
 " My wife has visited you ? What are you 
 raving about? My wife! Are you sane?" 
 
 " Your wife, your dead wife, appeared to 
 me in the dead of night, with a thousand 
 snakes hissing Murder ! in my ear, and 
 pointing to an abyss terrible to think of, 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 1 17 
 
 and I vowed to save my soul by doing good 
 where I had been the cause of evil. Do you 
 understand me now ? I have bequeathed to 
 you my whole estate ; the Church shall not 
 get a kopeck from me. The fell priest was 
 my evil inspiration. I can do no more; your 
 daughter shall be free, and your son shall be 
 restored to you. Adieu, Reuben Pekarow. 
 These young men will meet me in Kharkow ; 
 but who knows where you and I shall meet 
 again perchance before the Judgment Seat. 
 Take my hand. The old Yablow is dead; I 
 am not he. Take this hand, and say : I for 
 give, so may Israel s God be gracious to me," 
 the Christian closed his appeal to the crip 
 pled Jew. 
 
 " Stenko Yablow, a higher Power has 
 pronounced your verdict," cried Reuben, 
 deeply moved; "I bear you no hatred, hav 
 ing had proofs of your great remorse. The 
 evil you have done cannot be undone, alas ! 
 Yet you are forgiven by the man whose ruin 
 you confess to have compassed. Yea, you 
 are forgiven, as I believe in the mercy of 
 Israel s long-suffering God. But, before we 
 
IlS IN THE PALE 
 
 part, probably never to meet again on earth, 
 favor me with whatever particulars you 
 have gathered in regard to the whereabouts 
 of my lost child, so that I may trace his foot 
 steps in this labyrinthine world." 
 
 " They are written down and shall be in 
 your hands even before the close of this 
 day," were the last words Reuben heard 
 from the man whom he had so much cause 
 to curse and to bless. Making the sign of 
 the cross on his breast, Yablow closed the 
 door behind him. The moment Reuben 
 was alone with his friends, he exclaimed : 
 "That man has been judged by Thee, Lord 
 of eternal retribution. Thy will be done !" 
 
 Two days later Reuben entered upon his 
 long journey to the coast of Morocco, having 
 been furnished with letters to the venerable 
 head of the Jews in Tangier. As his plan 
 was to settle in the Moorish city, he found 
 it advisable to have the faithful Blume ac 
 company him thither, she having had Hul- 
 dah in charge since her tender infancy. 
 
 Yablow remained in Kharkow to superin 
 tend the necessary preparations for Huldah s 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 119 
 
 escape. As neither of the young men knew 
 how to mount a horse, they had to be given 
 an idea of equestrian craft, and a skilful 
 horseman was engaged to instruct them. 
 The details of the impending adventure at 
 tended to, the youthful heroes burnt with 
 impatience for the fateful hour. Prudence 
 dictated caution and secrecy, so that, except 
 in their consultations with Yablow, the make- 
 believe gendarmes kept severely aloof from 
 public places, in which an Argus-eyed police 
 might have had opportunity to become 
 interested in their identity. Thus thrown 
 on their limited resources to while away 
 long days and evenings, the youths depended 
 on each other for diversion. Great as was 
 the intimacy of the two friends, there was an 
 aloofness in Zemach s bearing that made 
 Ezra feel uneasy. Was not the magnanimous 
 Messenger going to risk his all to help him 
 free his love ? Who had ever heard of such 
 self-sacrifice in return for nothing ? Failure 
 in this hazardous enterprise meant Siberia, 
 if nothing worse. 
 
120 IN THE PALE 
 
 IV 
 THE MYSTERY SOLVED 
 
 The nearer the critical hour approached, 
 the more incomprehensible appeared to 
 Ezra the conduct of his companion in danger. 
 Who was this young man ? What were his 
 antecedents? Why did he show so much 
 concern in the fate of a maiden he had never 
 seen? Furthermore, the expressive features 
 of the Messenger, when animated, revived 
 in Ezra s memory the image of someone he 
 must have seen somewhere. " If I have not 
 seen him, I must have seen someone who 
 looks strikingly like him," was Ezra s un 
 spoken conclusion. The fact was that the 
 Messenger left a great many questions un 
 satisfied, studiously evading every allusion 
 to his past, and this it was that Ezra was 
 anxious to penetrate. Although absorbed 
 by the painful situation of his betrothed, 
 the Chazan did not fail to notice that his 
 friend had moments of great mental dejec 
 tion. Why had he not the courage to ask 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 121 
 
 him the direct question : " Who are you ?" 
 He waited for a favorable opportunity, which 
 came two evenings before the memorable 
 day. In the strain of an ardent lover, Ezra 
 was rhapsodizing on the angelic qualities of 
 his divine Huldah, how his parents would 
 welcome her to their home and their hearts, 
 and how convinced he felt that he had found 
 the one woman on earth to make him happy. 
 A silent tear rolled down the cheek of the 
 Messenger. Seizing his friend by the hand, 
 the Chazan cried : 
 
 " A Providential power has thrown us 
 together for a purpose yet to be unveiled. 
 We have been friends, intimate friends, these 
 many weeks, yet I know nothing of your his 
 tory, and, strangely enough, from day to day 
 the conviction has been growing stronger in 
 me that I have seen you before. Certain it 
 is that I bear a dim likeness of you in the 
 picture gallery of my soul. How am I to ac 
 count for it ? And may I not know the sor 
 row in your heart?" 
 
 " You are doubtless deceived by the re 
 semblance I happen to bear to some person 
 
122 IN THE PALE 
 
 among- your past associations. Had we 
 ever met, a Messenger of Zion and a Chazan 
 of your renown, it is not likely that we 
 should have forgotten each other," replied 
 Zemach coldly. 
 
 " You are right. Yet I could swear to it 
 that I have somewhere seen these very 
 features. Perhaps in one of your nearest 
 kindred?" questioned the Chazan. 
 
 11 My nearest kindred ! Friend, he who 
 shall succeed in placing me before my 
 nearest kindred shall be credited with the 
 power of making the sphinx talk," replied 
 Zemach. 
 
 "Parents, but no relatives whatsoever?" 
 continued Ezra, with a purpose in mind. 
 
 " Neither parents nor relatives alone in 
 this wide world alone ; ask no more, 
 friend," answered the Messenger gently, 
 adding : " You look surprised. Do you un 
 derstand my sorrow ?" 
 
 " Why should I not ? Pardon the inquisi- 
 tiveness of a disinterested friend : why 
 Zemach Ben David? The name implies 
 knowledge of a father," urged the CJiazan. 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 123 
 
 " You touch upon the sorest point in my 
 heart, Ezra , the unsolved mystery of my 
 existence. The authors of my life I have 
 tried to trace in vain. What I dimly re 
 member is that water surrounded me, that 
 a man of coarse features took me out of the 
 boat that bore me, allayed my fears by kind 
 words and caresses, took me into his cabin 
 built on a floating raft, and delivered me to 
 an elderly couple in a house in a large city. 
 The man s name was David, the woman s, 
 Dinah. They taught me to love them ten 
 derly, and I have had good reasons to con 
 clude that God could not have given me 
 better parents than those pious people. 
 They at that time lived in Odessa, but we 
 soon crossed a wild sea, and landed in a yet 
 greater city, Constantinople. 
 
 "Well, the hour came, when, before 
 breathing his last, he whom I believed to be 
 my father told me as much as he knew of 
 my origin, handing me a talisman that had 
 hung round my neck when I was delivered 
 to him. His good wife followed him soon, 
 leaving me heir to the little the dear people 
 
124 IN THE PALE 
 
 had had. I stood alone, friendless, yet not 
 unprepared, my foster parents having given 
 me the benefit of a fair education. What 
 could I do ? 
 
 " I turned my face toward the Holy Land. 
 Here I craved and received the mission of 
 Messenger. You now know all. Useless to 
 add that my message hides the unuttered 
 purpose of tracing the spot where my cradle 
 stood," confessed Zemach. 
 
 " Which purpose has hitherto remained 
 unfulfilled," supplemented Ezra. 
 
 " Unfulfilled," confirmed the Messenger. 
 " How find a needle in a hay-stack?" 
 
 " You need a clue. Why, if you only 
 knew the stream whereon you were found, 
 that might lead to some result. Have you 
 nothing in your possession to justify syste 
 matic search ? You said that you have a 
 talisman of some kind. What is it ?" asked 
 Ezra. 
 
 " What I have suggests nothing ; a charm, 
 I suppose, but it gives no clue. O, that the 
 things around us are deaf and mute ! " cried 
 the Messenger impatiently. 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 125 
 
 " Herein we disagree. Whatever there 
 is in the heavens or on earth will speak, 
 if we know how to address it in its lan 
 guage," asserted the Chazan philosophically. 
 " What made Solomon the wisest man ?" 
 
 " In what language would Solomon have 
 addressed a thing like this ?" asked the Mes 
 senger, as he brought forth an amulet in the 
 shape of a heart. 
 
 The charm was made of ivory. On its 
 face was graven an open hand, which dis 
 played in the palm the Tetragrammaton in 
 diminutive Hebrew letters in gold over 
 a conspicuous " R," likewise filled with the 
 precious metal. 
 
 " Let me look at it," cried Ezra, grasping 
 the amulet eagerly. 
 
 " Mark this R. Why not Reuben ? He 
 talks of a lost child drowned in the Desna 
 long ago ! That is why I so eagerly engaged 
 in this adventure, prompted by the hope of 
 possible identification. But Yablow s asser 
 tion that he knows about the child is dis 
 couraging ; he can know nothing about me," 
 maintained the Messenger. 
 
126 IN THE PALE 
 
 Ezra s hand trembled as he examined the 
 amulet ; he instinctively felt that it con 
 tained a solution of the problem of Zemach s 
 parentage. He was convinced that the 
 talisman in his hand was hollow, and that 
 its contents were invaluable. 
 
 " Have you ever tried to open it ?" in 
 quired the Chazan in a state of excitement. 
 
 " It cannot be opened ; it is one piece, 
 made of solid ivory," replied the Mes 
 senger. 
 
 " I am sure it is hollow, and put together 
 somehow," disputed the Chasan. " It should 
 have been opened long ago." 
 
 " I would not have it broken for the 
 world," returned the Messenger emphati 
 cally. 
 
 "Not for the possibility of finding therein 
 a clue to the place of your birth, the authors 
 of your life ?" queried the Chazan im 
 patiently. 
 
 "It is out of the question; the charm is 
 too small to prove anything, but unspeak 
 ably dear to me, who am under the impres 
 sion that my mother s hand hung it around 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH I2/ 
 
 my neck. It is solid / and cannot be opened," 
 the Messenger reiterated his conviction. 
 
 "That may be tested. If your mother 
 suspended the amulet around your neck, she 
 had an object in doing so. Small things 
 play a great part in human affairs, friend. 
 Let us try to open it," proposed Ezra, driv 
 ing his thumb nail along the edge of the tal 
 isman to the great alarm of the Messenger. 
 
 " Spare it ! It is the only heirloom I have 
 from my unknown parents," cried Zemach. 
 
 In his eagerness to take the amulet out of 
 the hand that held it, the Messenger caused 
 it to drop on the hard floor, when, splitting 
 in twain, it brought to light the portraits 
 of a young man and woman, evidently in the 
 prime of married life. No sooner had Ezra s 
 eye fallen on the photographs than he 
 uttered a loud cry, which sent a shiver 
 through the blood of the Messenger. 
 
 " These are Huldah s parents, her father 
 and her mother, your father and your 
 mother ! My heart, my prophetic heart ! 
 You are Reuben s son, Pekarow s lost child, 
 Huldah s brother, my brother!" 
 
128 IN THE PALE 
 
 All this was said in a breath. Zemach s 
 thoughts quickened with the pulsations of 
 his throbbing heart. The young men rushed 
 into each other s arms, but Zemach broke 
 down under the sudden realization of his 
 father s life-long tragic sorrow. The emo 
 tions were too deep to be expressed in words 
 Sympathy makes grief as well as joy con 
 tagious. Ezra made no attempt to comfort 
 his Huldah s newly - found brother, but 
 heartily wept with him, whose mother was 
 killed, whose father was a cripple, and whose 
 sister was in prison. The Chazan fondly 
 held the Messenger s hand in his hands, 
 and looking through tears into his eyes said 
 smilingly : 
 
 " Not Zemach Ben David hereafter, but 
 Nachom Ben Reuben. Have I not been the 
 Daniel to interpret the hand on the talis 
 man? Your father has with him a large 
 portrait of your blessed mother, of which 
 this is an excellent miniature copy. You 
 resemble your mother, and now I see that 
 it is Huldah of whom you reminded me. 
 It is well that the old man is not here ; the 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 129 
 
 shock might have proved too much for him. 
 It is the finger of God !" 
 
 "May the Almighty assist us in liberating 
 the child !" prayed the Messenger in tears. 
 
 "There is a prophecy in my soul that we 
 are going to have the sweetest girl with us 
 within a few days. Is not everything point 
 ing that way ?" said Ezra. 
 
 When the first flow of emotion had made 
 room for sober thought, the young men 
 utilized every moment in perfecting the 
 preparations for Huldah s escape. Yablow 
 was indefatigable in training the mock gen 
 darmes, and was perfectly successful in 
 removing every obstacle in their way. But 
 his success did not appear to relieve him of 
 a sore conscience. The man could neither 
 eat nor sleep, and every day found him 
 more haggard and melancholy than the last. 
 But his activity continued undiminished. 
 
 On the eve of the Epiphany Fair, Yablow 
 called at the rooms occupied by the Chazan 
 and the Messenger to inform them that 
 matters were in excellent shape. The direc 
 tor of the prison guaranteed the liberation 
 9 
 
130 IN THE PALE 
 
 of Huldah the moment the papers signed by 
 the provincial Governor were presented to 
 his subordinate by the gendarmes. The 
 warning was added that, the escape being 
 effected, the uttermost haste in placing the 
 fugitive beyond the reach of the genuine 
 red-coats was a vital condition of safety, lest 
 the forgery be discovered, in which case he 
 would be powerless to prevent the police 
 from resorting to the usual means of track 
 ing the convict and arresting her and her 
 liberators. Forty-eight hours was the max 
 imum of time given them. 
 
 " Then, to-morrow afternoon, when the 
 sun declines, you proceed in military array 
 to the main portal of the prison, and present 
 your order to the proper authority. Gold 
 has paved your way. There will be small 
 ceremony, and the maiden will be delivered 
 to you. Take her and rest not before you 
 touch the other side of the Pruth," Yablow 
 enjoined, sealing the truth of his statement 
 with the sign of the cross. The man looked 
 pale and nervous, as though living in un 
 endurable suspense. 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 131 
 
 In a few graphic words, Ezra introduced 
 the Messenger of Zion as Reuben Pekarow s 
 lost child, and reported the unmistakable 
 proof they had found of the relationship. 
 Yablow s eyes dilated with astonishment. 
 He crossed himself again and again, seized 
 the hand of the sobbing youth, kissed 
 it with ardor, and swore by the salvation of 
 his soul that he had bequeathed his entire 
 estate to his father, Reuben Pekarow, and 
 that he would take care that the fortune 
 should go to him for whom it was intended. 
 " God and Christ rule this world ; man is 
 nothing, no more than a fly. Ah, if all men 
 were good Christians, would not this be a 
 heavenly kingdom ? Yet a Jew may like 
 wise be great, and lead a saintly life, as your 
 father has demonstrated, my boy. I stand 
 sobered of a wide-spread lunacy. Yea, it is 
 blasphemous presumption to meddle with 
 Deity in the grand affair of managing His 
 Universe, as though we had an idea of His 
 unfathomable designs. If this world needed 
 no Jews, there would be none. And this, 
 young men, applies to Christianity and 
 
132 IN THE PALE 
 
 every other ideal cherished by mankind. 
 May I die a Christian as I was born, and 
 may Moses point your pathway to heaven," 
 finished Yablow in a pathetically appealing 
 voice. 
 
 The man s remorse was indeed sincere, 
 and his heroic efforts to undo, as much as 
 was in his power, the evil he had conjured 
 up were a triumph of the best quality in 
 human nature over the worst. He shook 
 the young men warmly by the hand, en 
 couraged them by the assurance that he 
 would be near them in the critical hour, ex 
 acted a promise to let him hear of their safe 
 arrival in Morocco, and handed the Messen 
 ger a heavy purse to defray expenses. 
 " You are under the protection of the Most 
 High, that is manifest," he said in parting. 
 
 When the Christian had closed the door 
 behind him, the Chazan and the Messenger, 
 as though obeying the command of a supe 
 rior officer, turned their faces toward the 
 East, and prayed that their perilous attempt 
 might be crowned with success. 
 
 The next day found Kharkow a hive 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 133 
 
 of buzzing humanity. The great Epiphany 
 Fair was open. When the lengthening 
 shadows indicated the approach of night, 
 there issued from a stable in the suburbs 
 two gendarmes finely equipped. Behind 
 them, mounted on a horse, but keeping at a 
 considerable distance, we recognize Stenko 
 Yablow, all fever and anxiety. They ad 
 vance in the direction of the great prison of 
 Kharkow, wherein hundreds of human lives 
 are entombed in utter silence and unbroken 
 loneliness ; for in the Czar s jails speech and 
 association with fellow-creatures are con 
 sidered luxuries, and are punished as a 
 breach of discipline. Punishment here 
 means the lash or incarceration in a fetid 
 cell, and no difference is made between men 
 and women. 
 
 The gendarmes are stopped and ques 
 tioned before the prison gate, while Yablow 
 watches developments from a sequestered 
 spot. The gendarmes are admitted. The 
 officer that faces them is not the director 
 himself, but obviously knows what is to 
 be done. He reads the document signed 
 
134 IN THE PALE 
 
 by the provincial Governor, muses an in 
 stant, which seems an eternity to the gen 
 darmes, and, without asking a question, 
 writes an order, hands it to a warden, 
 and turns his face toward a window over 
 looking a court guarded by a number of 
 armed men. The young men have their eyes 
 on every door within view. Presently one 
 opens, and from, behind the bars comes 
 forth a maid in her prison habiliments. It 
 is Huldah, and she is accompanied by a 
 warden to the office, where the two gen 
 darmes are allowed to take her in charge. 
 Looks are exchanged, but no word is 
 spoken, except these by the officer : " Here 
 is your prisoner; take her, and lose no 
 time." 
 
 The next moment Huldah is beyond the 
 portals of the prison, in the care of her 
 lover and her brother. At Yablow s whistle 
 a team starts up as suddenly as if it had been 
 hidden in the earth. A dark night and fleet 
 horses favor the escape. Yablow makes the 
 sign of the cross, and vanishes into the dark 
 ness of night. The third day dawns on 
 
EZRA AND HULDAH 135 
 
 three happy beings in a region of perfect 
 safety. They have crossed the Pruth. 
 Jassy is their next destination, but they 
 rest not until they find themselves on ship 
 board on the Adriatic. 
 
 Kind reader, be satisfied if no attempt is 
 made to describe what cannot be painted in 
 cold syllables to be articulated by human 
 lips. Great joy, following great sorrow, has 
 but one language tears. Of these there 
 were enough. 
 
 You have seen the meeting of father and 
 daughter on the shore of Tangier ; you 
 know the heroes of our story, and we credit 
 your imagination with sufficient power to 
 form a mental picture of the sequel. 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 
 
 ^ I ^HE meaning of Baal-Shem is " man 
 of fame." The Baal-Shem must be a 
 Zaddik, that is, a man of righteousness and 
 piety. What gives him the power of an auto 
 cratic leader, or chief, however, is his great 
 familiarity with things in the domain of the 
 supernatural and his unlimited sway over 
 agencies invisible. Earth and heaven, and 
 whatever there be thereon, therein, and be 
 tween, are assumed to be subject to his 
 omnipotent will. His unquestioned author 
 ity is based on profound knowledge of the 
 most metaphysical of sciences the Kab- 
 bala. If the Baal-Shem suffers this wicked 
 world to continue, it is because of his rev 
 erence and piety, which do not permit him 
 to thwart the Providential design so mani 
 fest to him. Otherwise, one word from his 
 lips would hurl this insignificant creation 
 into the abyss of darkness and oblivion. 
 Infallibility may describe the self-conscious 
 (136) 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 1.37 
 
 power of a Pope ; it gives no adequate idea 
 of the Baal-Shem s all-controlling omnipo 
 tence. However high the seraph, however 
 low or malignant the demon, the Baal- 
 Shem s behest they have to do, and his 
 votaries know this too well to entertain any 
 doubt about it. What, then, is impossible 
 for so formidable a person? 
 
 It was on account of a famous Zaddik of 
 this description that Karolin, an obscure 
 town in the province of Moghileff, acquired 
 renown entirely out of proportion to its size 
 and importance. Its geography and topo 
 graphy became of vital interest to myriads 
 of the faithful, who flocked thither to 
 drink in the words of mystic wisdom that 
 incessantly dropped from the inspired lips 
 of Reb Aarele Baal-Shem. The Karolin 
 Chassidim entertained the highest possible 
 opinion of their spiritual chief, and were 
 not unprepared to see the biblical miracles 
 eclipsed by his supernatural doings. It was 
 an open secret that it was in Reb Aarele s 
 power to arrange things above and below 
 to suit himself, hosts of good and evil 
 
138 IN THE PALE 
 
 agents being comp elled to do his bidding, 
 whatever it might be. 
 
 As proof of his universal supremacy, it 
 was circulated, during the Crimean War, 
 that the celestial prototype of Czar Nicholas 
 every ruler below having an archetype 
 above to plead his cause had been seen in 
 the dead of night, bowing humbly before 
 the couch of the Baal-Shem. The purpose 
 of the nocturnal interview was understood 
 to be an effort on the part of His Shadowy 
 Majesty to secure for his sublunary repre 
 sentative a longer lease of rule, his time 
 having drawn to a close. The Baal-Shern 
 being the spiritual sovereign of this lower 
 world, the matter had been referred to him 
 for final action. Had the cruel Nicholas 
 been a friend of the Jews, Reb Aarele would 
 have inclined the balance in his favor. As 
 the Czar deserved no consideration, he re 
 ceived none. The Baal- Shem would not grant 
 him another day, and His Majesty left the 
 bedroom, crying : " I am lost, all is lost !" 
 
 In a few days it was learned that the 
 Czar was dead. The Baal-Shem made little 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 139 
 
 ado about the matter. He did not like 
 Nicholas, that was all. Concerns of greater 
 moment engaged his attention. 
 
 Such trifles as restoring the sick to health, 
 the blind to sight, or publishing the un 
 holy musings of one s heart, or causing a 
 flood of radiance to illumine his own coun 
 tenance, were but incidental happenings in 
 the career of the man who held the des 
 tinies of constellations in his hands. 
 
 "The Messiah," the inspired Zaddik ex 
 claimed one day, "the Messiah! I can order 
 the true son of David to blow the trumpet 
 of resurrection to-morrow, but are you ready 
 to receive him with the period of horrors 
 to follow the trump of doom ? Say that you 
 are prepared, and the dead rise to-morrow." 
 
 This positive statement spread consterna 
 tion among the Chassidim, who shuddered 
 at the prospect of seeing all the graveyards 
 give up their tenants on the universal Day 
 of Judgment. Was it not a wiser course to 
 let a later generation grapple with the dismal 
 incidents foretold in connection with the ad 
 vent of the Messiah ? The Baal-Shem was 
 
140 IN THE PALE 
 
 accordingly petitioned to postpone his com 
 ing, and the prayer was graciously granted. 
 In his Kabbalistic discourses the Baal- 
 Shem spoke of things in the heavens with a 
 positiveness that proved his thorough 
 knowledge of every star in infinite space. 
 The all-revealing Kabbala was his key to 
 the mysteries of the Universe. His touch 
 consecrated food and drink. The dishes he 
 tasted of were considered holy, and dis 
 tributed in small portions to the faithful 
 throngs around him. For whatever the 
 Baal - Shem touched had healing virtue. 
 The fact is, that down to this day the 
 Karolin Chassidim are known as a contented, 
 yea, happy, jolly, and humorous sect, doing 
 with scrupulous fidelity whatever their chief 
 does. As he eats, they eat ; as he walks, 
 they walk ; as he talks and prays, they talk 
 and pray. Praying is the great business of 
 their life, and their orisons are offered up in 
 a voice of thunder, accompanied by violent 
 contortion and shaking of the body ; for soul 
 and body must unite in ecstatic worship of 
 the Mysterious Supreme Being. 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 141 
 
 There are two causes why they pray loud, 
 very loud : one is to bar out extraneous 
 thoughts from the holy of holies, the human 
 heart ; the other is to confuse Satan the 
 Beast and Lilith the Harlot, ever on the 
 alert to intercept, with their devilish 
 machinations, prayerful souls soaring- 
 heavenward. The ecstasy of the Chassidim 
 reaches its climax when the Unity of the 
 Most Holy One is proclaimed. The recita 
 tion of " Our Lord is One" is followed by 
 delirious rapture. The worshipper is over 
 come by the beatific consciousness that man 
 is the image of God, and is destined to 
 rejoin the Blessed One whom the heaven 
 of heavens cannot contain. 
 
 Early bathing is one of the earnest pre 
 liminaries of worship. Worldly concerns 
 are held unworthy of more than passing 
 consideration. The sublime task of this 
 life is to prepare for a blessed eternity to be 
 spent among the stars, where kingdoms un 
 fading are reserved for the purified soul. 
 Man being an epitome of the Universe, his 
 soul is as much greater than his body as 
 
142 IN THE PALE 
 
 the spaces of infinity are vaster than the 
 mass of the earth. The dangers which be 
 set the image of God here below are Satan 
 and Lilith, typifying temptation and 
 worldly pleasure. Satan and Lilith control 
 the realms of darkness, and are ever at work 
 to entice souls from the realms of light. 
 Numberless are the evil spirits under the 
 absolute command of those powers of sin 
 and vice. Salvation is to be found in medi 
 tation and prayer and in the effacement of 
 self before the Presence Divine, which fills 
 infinite space with glory. Life is a shadow. 
 The body is nothing, the soul everything; 
 the less there is of earth, the more of heaven. 
 Such is the motto lived up to in all its logi 
 cal consequences. 
 
 From this it may readily be inferred that 
 the faithful of the sect count on much more 
 treasure in the other world than they possess, 
 or care to possess, here below. As a rule, 
 they are both unpractical and poor, but their 
 wives are of the Deborah type in activity and 
 economy. Thine and mine, moreover, are not 
 known in the social intercourse of the 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 143 
 
 brotherhood, the idea of property being con 
 trary to their self-sacrificing doctrine. One 
 of them may enter the humble home of a 
 brother, take his seat at the table uninvited, 
 and be served as one of the family, as a mat 
 ter of course. 
 
 The approach of the Sabbath causes every 
 one of the mystics to go through a course 
 of most scrupulous preparations to receive 
 the descending over-soul, which enhances 
 the blessedness of the divinely ordained holy 
 day. The three feasts of the Sabbath are 
 made as royal as means permit. Devotion 
 is intensified ; the house of worship rings 
 with the ecstatic roar of a rapturous gath 
 ering, the Baal-Shem leading with holy 
 fury, as though the battlements of heaven 
 were endangered by the cohorts of Satan. 
 Each meal is consecrated by hymnal song 
 and discourse on holy things. The rest of 
 the day is spent in a hall, and the Baal- 
 Shem, his eyes closed and his features beam 
 ing with ineffable felicity, tells his votaries 
 of things in the heavens above, on the earth 
 beneath, and in the waters under the earth. 
 
 
144 IN THE PALE 
 
 In every face the spiritual delight of the 
 chief is reflected. This Kabbalistic Nir 
 vana often ends with a hymn and an in 
 formal dance in praise of God and His 
 countless hosts of cherubim and seraphim, 
 who are eternally circling around the 
 Throne of Glory, the star-outshining Mcrcha- 
 bah above the seventh heaven. Such is the 
 ideal of the Karolin Chassidim. 
 
 Now, in view of the Russian attitude to 
 wards idealism and metaphysics in general, 
 and the transcendental Kabbala in particular, 
 it stands to reason that a sect of the calibre 
 of the Karolin Chassidim is not what the 
 average Russian is prepared to admire. In 
 deed, if the truth must be told, men of weak 
 nerves deem it prudent to keep aloof from 
 the lively brotherhood, a combination of the 
 ancient Essenes and the modern Dervishes. 
 True, no danger for the Czar lurks in the 
 antics of the Karolin Chassidim. No spies 
 need be employed to discover their where 
 abouts. Their teachings of mundane nihil 
 ism, of scorn for things earthly, cannot affect 
 the patriotic fire of the Czar s most devoted 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 145 
 
 subjects. But how myriads of sane creatures 
 can cultivate so unsubstantial a thing as 
 Kabbala, a thing so much less tangible and 
 enjoyable than vodka and caviar, must needs 
 pass the understanding of a Russian magis 
 trate, especially when his nervous system is 
 somewhat unstrung. 
 
 Such was, some fifty odd years ago, the 
 case with Payutin, the new magistrate of 
 the town of Karolin. Payutin had never be 
 fore settling in Karolin seen a Jew, and what 
 he had heard was not calculated to inspire 
 him with admiration for the race. Of course, 
 his conclusion was that all Jews were like 
 the Karolin Chassidim, and he could not suffi 
 ciently admire the wisdom of His Majesty, 
 the Czar, who kept the great cities of holy 
 Russia clear of the pestilent fanatics. "The 
 Jews are lunatics, and I am going to teach 
 them a lesson," cried the judicial head of the 
 district, shortly after his arrival to fill his 
 important office. 
 
 Payutin was entirely too good a Christian 
 of the orthodox type to love Hebrews at 
 best. To be of the same persuasion with 
 
 10 
 
146 IN THE PALE 
 
 the Emperor appeared to him the most 
 judicious policy. Their Semitic welcome, 
 extended to him in the shape of a purse 
 the offering usually made to secure the 
 good-will of a tchinovnik caused him to sup 
 press his aversion for a moment, but only 
 for a moment. 
 
 Payutin s antipathy to the Judaic popula 
 tion of Karolin was incorporated in a living 
 being, which the Chassidim, for valid 
 reasons, looked upon with dread as the per 
 sonification of Satan the Beast. This was 
 Graff, his English bull-dog, a Cerberus in 
 bulk and ferocity. Graff furnished the Baal- 
 Shem with a lofty theme for a profound dis 
 course, in which he set forth the diabolical 
 tricks of Satan and Lilith, who enter brute 
 bodies, like those of serpents and dogs, to 
 do injury to the tabernacle of the heaven- 
 aspiring soul. Graff s appearance in the 
 street was the signal for the Jews of Karolin 
 to take to their heels and seek safety behind 
 closed doors. True, the brute did not bite, 
 but it did the next vicious thing. It threw 
 itself against every Jew or Jewess it 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 147 
 
 chanced to light upon with a vehemence 
 that hurled the ill-fated victim head over 
 heels into a ditch or a puddle; or it sent two 
 passers-by at once sprawling against a 
 wall, or against a group of persons, who 
 rolled over pell-mell to the merriment of 
 the spiteful magistrate. Redress for fright, 
 injury, soiled clothes, or indignity, was out 
 of the question. Payutin was himself the 
 judge to whom the appeal would have had 
 to be made. To poison the dog would have 
 been the simplest remedy, but Graff gave 
 no Israelite time to offer him a delicacy. 
 
 The only outlook for relief from vexation 
 was granted by the magistrate s ill health. 
 It was hoped that the man would either go 
 the way of all flesh, or be converted to the 
 belief that Reb Aarele could do for him 
 what no other physician thus far had suc 
 ceeded in doing. In other words, it was not 
 thought impossible that Payutin might learn 
 to worship the Baal-Shem. Unfortunately, 
 the magistrate s curiosity tempted him into 
 the sanctuary of the Chassidim at a moment 
 when the whole congregation was roaring in 
 
148 IN THE PALE 
 
 a delirium of devotion, as it were. Payutin 
 was shocked. The scene of confusion and 
 the noise haunted him thereafter like a 
 nightmare. The magistrate was convinced 
 that the Jews were mad. He felt it his duty, 
 as the Czar s interpreter of the law, to do 
 something, and he began to make up his 
 mind. But who could hide his thoughts 
 from an all-knowing Baal-Shem ? 
 
 Once more the purse was resorted to. 
 Payutin was gracious enough to accept a 
 liberal gift, but asked in return that the 
 holy vociferations of the enthusiastic fol 
 lowers of the Baal-Shem be reduced by at 
 least seventy-five per cent ; otherwise, he 
 assured the delegation, his weak nerves 
 would force him to quit the city. The 
 Chassidim understood the hint, and reported 
 the result of their mission to their chief, 
 who shrugged his shoulders, as if to say : 
 We are going to have it our own way all the 
 same. 
 
 The Mayor of Karelin was a Russian of 
 pacific temper and somewhat diluted ortho 
 doxy, diluted by the liquors which Cha- 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 149 
 
 minsky, the Jewish liquor dealer, one of the 
 Baal-Shem s unswerving followers, cheer 
 fully supplied. Pozanow such was the 
 name of the official head of Karolin occu 
 pied a commodious residence, wherein the 
 loveliest object was his only child, a maiden 
 of nineteen summers, beautiful, all agreed, 
 and of piety rare even among the most rigid 
 Catholics. If she stood not before the 
 mirror, she was sure to be found kneeling 
 before the sacred icons, praying and con 
 fessing her frailties, though everybody that 
 knew her was ready to swear to her im 
 maculate innocence. Among her friends 
 she was spoken of as the "saintly Tilka." 
 Who would have thought that Tilka was 
 praying for the conversion of the Jews ? 
 Yes, like Isabella, the Catholic, Tilka prayed 
 that the Jews might turn Christians, and, as 
 her petition continued unrealized, she hated 
 them with all her heart. 
 
 Madam Pozanow had her own good rea 
 sons for sharing her daughter s sentiments ; 
 but the Mayor, remembering his obligation 
 to Chaminsky, treated the matter lightly. 
 
150 IN THE PALE 
 
 " The Jews are the property of the Czar. 
 What right have I to convert His Majesty s 
 goods into anything else than they were 
 when he entrusted them to my care?" 
 argued he, and continued passive. 
 
 With the arrival of Payutin, however, 
 matters assumed a different aspect. As 
 was to be expected, the magistrate being 
 single and Tilka an enchanting maiden, the 
 relation between the judge and the girl 
 ere long passed into a most interesting 
 phase. Acquaintance ripened into friend 
 ship, and friendship culminated in pas 
 sionate love, to the great delight of the 
 Pozanows and all the friends of the saintly 
 Tilka. The only heart that throbbed against 
 the happy alliance was the omniscient Baal- 
 Shem s. With true prophetic spirit, he 
 recognized another of Satan s and Lilith s 
 tricks, and foresaw evil things to spring from 
 the union. 
 
 Tilka s hatred of the Jews seemed to 
 grow with her love for the magistrate. She 
 would actually spit at the sight of a long- 
 bearded descendant of Judah, however ven- 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 151 
 
 erable his looks. It was not piety alone that 
 drove her to the extreme of aversion. The 
 poor girl reasoned that if the Jews furnished 
 no vodka, her father would not be so beastly 
 drunk as he often was. She could not see it 
 in any other light, and her soul yearned for 
 vengeance. 
 
 This combination of hostile forces against 
 the mystic denizens of Karolin was greatly 
 strengthened by the moral encouragement of 
 Father Shapirow, no less a personage than 
 the local dignitary of the Church. The 
 learned theologian could not solve the puz 
 zle why there should be such undesirable 
 things as Jews, and failed to understand why 
 a good Christian should miss a chance to 
 play them an evil turn. 
 
 Father Shapirow s antagonism to the Jews 
 had a painful motive. It was not wholly 
 religious ardor, but something more tangi 
 ble ; it was his nose, yea, his awfully Jewish 
 proboscis, shining like old Jerusalem in her 
 glory, in the centre of a visage of burnished 
 copper, broad and oily, set in a frame of jet- 
 black hair, which descended to a pointed 
 
152 IN THE PALE 
 
 beard, reminding one of a fat billy-goat s. 
 Shapirow inherited his cast of countenance 
 from his father, an apostate Jew, who in his 
 time had done his share in maligning the 
 race he had deserted. Shapirow had dark 
 reminiscences to draw upon for bitter con 
 templation. His parents had lived sepa 
 rated, he having been torn from the breast 
 of his mother, who would not follow her 
 husband s example even after the child 
 had been taken from her, the Russian law 
 giving an apostate power over his children. 
 Shapirow s appearance in the canonicals of 
 the orthodox Church brought home the 
 ludicrous paradox of the Mishna s being 
 employed to sustain the miracles of the 
 Gospels. His solemn march to church on 
 Sundays aroused the humor of the Jewish 
 element. The mortification he endured 
 was too great a "tax upon his patience 
 and humility. He awaited his opportunity 
 to be avenged, and it came with the engage 
 ment of the pious Tilka to the determined 
 magistrate. 
 
 Over a score of years had the cleric 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 153 
 
 fed the spiritual hunger of the Pozanows. 
 He had poured the baptismal water on 
 Tilka s baby head, had been ever welcome 
 at the hearth of the orthodox family, and 
 had had the gratification of seeing the 
 youngest soul of his charge evolve remark 
 able affinity with him, at least as regarded 
 hatred of the Jews. But for Chaminsky s 
 power over the Mayor, the priest would 
 have turned his mind, too, against the Chas- 
 sidim. As matters had stood, he had had 
 to bide his time, but now his chance was 
 come ; the magistrate was to be his instru 
 ment of vengeance. 
 
 Thus, with Tilka s power over Payutin s 
 heart and with Shapirow as the inspiring 
 genius, it is not surprising that a scheme was 
 matured calculated to make the Chassidim 
 feel that it was not good for man to be a 
 Jew and a mystic at that. As to Pozanow s 
 conscience the Mayor was suspected of 
 cherishing a faint sense of duty it was 
 appeased by Father Shapirow s spiritual 
 encouragement. He argued eloquently that 
 the descendants of those who had slain the 
 
154 IN THE PALE 
 
 son of God had no claim whatsoever on the 
 consideration of a good Christian. More 
 over, why should the Jews dream of turning 
 Christians, as long as they were treated as 
 though they belonged to the national 
 Church ? Was it not a personal affront to 
 the Czar that there should be infidels among 
 his subjects? Whoever rejects the Messiah, 
 must be rejected. 
 
 The logic of this argument was strength 
 ened by a barrel of whiskey which, by the 
 order of Payutin, had been lowered into the 
 cellar of his prospective father-in-law. This 
 made the Mayor happy and independent of 
 Chaminsky, the liquor dealer. Having thus 
 fortified himself against all intervention, 
 Payutin caused the Mayor s secretary to 
 issue a strict order to the Chassidim and 
 their chief, that no Hebrew dare hereafter 
 worship in a voice above a whisper, or cause 
 any disturbance, lest the fire-brigade mis 
 take the noise, and bring forth the engines, 
 in which case the Jews would be open to a 
 charge of disorderly conduct, and would be 
 held responsible for the expense the mis- 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 155 
 
 understanding involved. This meant money 
 for the conspirators and intolerable silence 
 for the worshippers. How could such a 
 state of things continue ? 
 
 When the Pharaonic edict had been ren 
 dered into the sacred tongue, and was 
 handed the Baal-Shem for no genuine 
 Baal-Shem would lisp a syllable in an un 
 holy language he fixed his pensive eye on 
 the fatal document, and continued for a full 
 hour as one in a trance, the Chassidim 
 anxiously watching his vacant countenance 
 in the hope of discerning something therein 
 that might indicate a miracle. There was 
 an intuitive feeling that, though his body 
 was here, his soul was in consultation with 
 potent spirits in another world as to the 
 best course to be pursued in the emer 
 gency. Suddenly there was animation in 
 his face. He rose to his feet, and passed 
 his hand across his eyes, whispering a 
 few words of Holy Writ, which enjoined 
 the obligation of sacrificing life to prin 
 ciple. This sounded natural enough, the 
 concerns of the soul admittedly being 
 
156 IN THE PALE 
 
 superior to those of the body. It was evi 
 dent that the Baal-Shem had concluded to 
 treat the Mayor s manifesto with contempt, 
 and the faithful derived courage and inspi 
 ration from the conviction that he had un 
 earthly powers to back him. " There shall 
 be glorious worship of the King of kings 
 hereafter, as hitherto !" exclaimed he in 
 a voice that shook the building. This 
 meant defeat and confusion to the enemy. 
 
 The succeeding Sabbath found the Chas- 
 sidim prepared to bid defiance to Satan the 
 Beast and Lilith the Harlot, who, the 
 Baal-Shem hinted, were animating the 
 bodies of Payutin and Tilka. Rebellion 
 was what the evil-planning magistrate had 
 counted on, and he took measures to 
 meet the exigency, acting, as he was, in 
 place of the Mayor. While the daunt 
 less Chassidim were lost in rapturous 
 vociferation, led on by their sky-storming 
 chief, whose voice rang out like rattling 
 thunder, streams of water came bursting 
 through the windows of the sacred place, 
 shattering the glass and turning the house 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 157 
 
 into a lagoon of mud and mire. And when 
 the bulk of the congregation made a rush 
 for dry land, the fire brigade without re 
 ceived them with volumes of the thin fluid 
 and with shouts of laughter, intermingled 
 with jeers and sneers and huzzahs of derision. 
 Neither did Graff fail to contribute his share 
 to the enlivenment of the scene. The water 
 and the ferocious brute endowed the fright 
 ened mystics with wings. The Baal-Shem 
 was hurried off to a dry place. Nobody was 
 hurt, but all were badly frightened, and had 
 had their best garments soiled, besides 
 being wet to the skin. Such an outrage 
 cried to heaven for redress. The Baal-Shem 
 looked daggers, breathed vengeance, and 
 his followers knew that he would not allow 
 the indignity to pass unrevenged. 
 
 That afternoon the Baal-Shem revealed 
 no mysteries among the stars to his votaries. 
 His faithful followers rehearsed the experi 
 ence of the morning, and hung upon his lips 
 to gather from them some hint as to the 
 punishment in store for the adversary. 
 There was some consolation in the con- 
 
158 IN THE PALE 
 
 sciousness of having suffered for the sake 
 of a dear and holy cause. Was not Israel 
 the martyr of the world ? Nevertheless, the 
 Baal-Shem intimated clearly enough that 
 patience had ceased to be a virtue, and went 
 so far as to assure those in attendance that 
 before the new moon appeared in the skies, 
 they should once more and forever be free 
 to pray at the top of their voices. 
 
 "The powers of the invisible spheres will 
 assist me in annihilating those vicious in 
 struments of Satan the Beast and Lilith 
 the Harlot. Send me Pulasky, the smith, 
 whom I shall charge to create for me a 
 thing unseen hitherto and unheard of," 
 cried Reb Aarele, glowing like Mars in 
 anger. 
 
 Herewith the Baal-Shem withdrew, warn 
 ing those present that nobody, except Pul 
 asky, dare approach him for twelve days. 
 
 The impending doom of the foe having 
 thus been foretold, the Chassidim doubted 
 not that the infliction was going to be dealt 
 by superhuman hands. 
 
 With nightfall the Baal-Shem received 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 159 
 
 Pulasky in his subterranean library. Here 
 piles of manuscript were heaped on shelves, 
 works of hoary ages, among them the " Book 
 of Creation," which God handed to Adam 
 in Paradise, and the " Zohar," the " Light " 
 of the mystic Universe, containing startling 
 revelations for him who can fathom its un 
 explored depths. In mute submissiveness 
 stood the master mechanic before the wonder- 
 doing Baal-Shem, who addressed him thus : 
 " Thou, Pulasky, the smith, art the image 
 of the Most High, and I, Reb Aarele Baal- 
 Shem, who hold rank among the omnipotent 
 powers above, do herewith invest thee with 
 the divine skill of the immortal Beza- 
 lel, whose wonderful workmanship adorned 
 the Holy of Holies. Hear me, and do as 
 thou art bidden. I must have a terrific 
 power of destruction, a Golem, and I charge 
 thee to call it into existence. Masters in 
 visible are placed at thy command. The 
 hour must be the dead of night ; the condi 
 tions, utter silence and solitude. And these 
 shall be thy preparations : Bathe thyself 
 seven times in running water with Orion 
 
160 IN THE PALE 
 
 and the Zodiac shining upon thee. Confess 
 thy sins as on the Day of Atonement. 
 Then read these seventy-seven names 
 of powers which I herewith hand thee. 
 Read them in a whisper; read them with 
 awe. Strange shapes will emerge from 
 the invisible vast to do as thoti wilt com 
 mand. They will vanish at the crowing of 
 the cock, but the thing will be done. Fear 
 them not; they have no power over thee; 
 thou hast power over them. Make them 
 forge for me a horror of black iron. It shall 
 be as awe-inspiring as Death, as terrible as 
 the Plague, gigantic as the Anak who fol 
 lowed Noah s Ark through the waters of the 
 deluge, implacable as Satan the Beast and 
 Lilith the Harlot. Hissing serpents shall be 
 its hair ; its eyes shall glow like the fire of 
 hell; from its mouth shall shoot forth alive 
 dragon as tongue ; its claws shall be like 
 those of the tiger, and its tail a venomous 
 hydra. The Golenis hands shall reach to the 
 soles of its feet. Dress it in a garb of feath 
 ers as black as Abaddon. It shall stride forth 
 with wings outspread, shall breathe fire and 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM l6l 
 
 vomit flame ; a hellish roar shall issue from 
 its throat ; and I shall cause it to move and 
 act as a power possessed of reason and will." 
 
 On realizing the nature of his task and 
 the agents to be employed in its execution, 
 Pulasky felt a chill run through his blood ; 
 but the order was given in so peremptory a 
 tone that willing compliance seemed the 
 only response possible. Being one of the 
 faithful, Pulasky had no doubt as to the 
 issue. But to speak of spirits is one thing, 
 to face them is another. However, the 
 smith braced his nerves, cast a glance at the 
 scrap of paper handed him, and said unquail- 
 ingly: " It shall be done." The Baal-Shem 
 waved his hand in token of dismissal, and 
 the interview was at an end. 
 
 Pulasky proceeded to carry out the order 
 to the letter, confident that nothing un 
 toward would betide him, provided the con 
 ditions were carefully complied with. In a 
 brook beyond the limits of the town the 
 smith bathed himself as he had been told. 
 By the time he reached his house, the hour 
 was ripe for the carrying out of the order. 
 
162 IN THE PALE 
 
 He entered his smithy, barred the door be 
 hind him, took a long breath, struck a match, 
 and, by the gleam of a flickering taper which 
 he had lighted, he fixed his eyes on the 
 seventy-seven Kabbalistic names of what he 
 felt sure must be angels. Another chill ran 
 over his shuddering frame at the thought 
 that unsealing his lips meant conjuring up 
 superhuman agencies to execute ghastly 
 work. But Pulasky was a man of stout 
 heart and unbounded faith. Slowly, deliber 
 ately, and reverently he began to whisper 
 one name after the other, and, lo and be 
 hold! The space around him widened into a 
 hall of several hundred paces, the roof .ris 
 ing in proportion. There was a growing 
 noise as of rustling wings. Flitting flames 
 passed through the air and circulated 
 around his head. When the last name w r as 
 read, there stood before him seventy-seven 
 genii, with hands folded and heads inclined. 
 
 "Command, master, we are bound to 
 obey," was the unanimous utterance of the 
 willing crew. 
 
 Pulasky sketched the Golem they were re- 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 163 
 
 quired to fashion. No sooner had the order 
 been given than seventy-seven forges burst 
 forth from the ground. There was a blow 
 ing of bellows, a glowing of iron, a mighty 
 forging and welding of metal, and a skilful 
 fashioning of limb after limb. The black 
 prodigy assumed fearful shape, a demoniac 
 power terrible to behold. Without fear 
 Pulasky watched the activity of the phantom 
 mechanics. Suddenly the shrill cry of the 
 cock transformed the whole scene into one 
 of dim narrowness and dead silence. The 
 smithy shrank to its former dimensions. 
 Everything vanished, except the inanimate 
 Golem, seen in all its hideousness by the 
 flicker of the taper. The smith took a good 
 look at the infernal creation as it sat 
 huddled in a corner, its prodigious arms 
 folded. Then he closed the smithy, and re 
 tired to rest. The next day he reported to 
 the Baal-Shem : " It is done." 
 
 Meantime the Chassidim lived in ex 
 ultant anticipation of beholding a miracle 
 as great as any ever vouchsafed unto the 
 mortal race. What else could have been 
 
164 IN THE PALE 
 
 meant by the thing " unseen hitherto and 
 unheard of," which Pulasky was to create ? 
 Every eye was riveted on the smith. 
 Fame is one of the airy nothings which 
 the humble Vulcan did not seek. He kept 
 aloof from the inquisitive crowd, would 
 not be interviewed, and looked mysterious, 
 all of which conspired to concentrate the 
 roused curiosity of an intensely interested 
 public on his humble person. Many ques 
 tions remained unanswered. Why did the 
 Baal-Shem retire from public intercourse 
 with his votaries for twelve days? And 
 why twelve? If it had been seven, the num 
 ber is sacred. Why twelve ? 
 
 A faint light dawned on the mystics 
 when it became known that on the twelfth 
 day from the memorable Sabbath the wed 
 ding of Tilka to the magistrate was to 
 be solemnized. This information reached 
 them in the form of another order, issued 
 under the seal of the Mayor, forbidding them 
 to appear on the street on the day on which 
 the saintly maiden was to be married an 
 order promulgated to please the bride. 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 165 
 
 At the same time Chaminsky was in 
 structed to furnish a considerable quantity 
 of wines for the banquet to follow the nup 
 tials. He accepted the commission, pro 
 vided he was paid for his liquors in 
 advance. Being- assured that the amount 
 would be handed him on the delivery of the 
 goods, he appeared with the order filled, 
 presented the bill, and received payment in 
 full at the hands of four policemen, who 
 took him to the Mayor s stable, and gave 
 him a sound flogging, for the magistrate 
 had decided that Chaminsky s conduct was 
 an insult to the official head of Karolin. 
 
 Such was the climax of the outrage com 
 mitted on the Chassidim in the person of 
 the liquor dealer. This happened two days 
 before the wedding of the Mayor s daughter. 
 
 That the mystics were in a fever of excite 
 ment at the sight of poor Chaminsky, and 
 that the Baal-Shem thought himself justi 
 fied in starting his Golem to do terrific exe 
 cution, need not be said. There was enough 
 pent-up energy in the sect to burst the barrel 
 of a cannon. The trouble was that Satan 
 
l66 IN THE PALE 
 
 the Beast and Lilith the Harlot had assumed 
 forms in which they could not be annihilated 
 by uproarious prayer. 
 
 Let it not be supposed for a moment that 
 Payutin succeeded in checking the burning 
 ardor of the Baal-Shem and his followers 
 to the extent of making them pray in a 
 subdued voice. This was absolutely im 
 possible, because the fiendish legions of 
 the dark Prince, left unconfused by the 
 Baal-Shem s opposition, would have upset 
 the spiritual Universe. To prevent so fear 
 ful a catastrophe, those that had cellars un 
 loaded their pious souls underground in as 
 energetic a manner as was compatible with 
 safety; the others sought their opportunity 
 in the neighboring woods, making the glens 
 ring with sacred invocations. Terror seized 
 the beasts and the fowl of the forest. Even 
 the Russian wolf and the wolf is a good 
 Russian in more than one sense turned 
 tail and fled, astonished at the chaos of yells, 
 so unlike the huzzahs of the ordinary 
 hunter. Terror seized the unsophisticated 
 mujiks, whose ears caught the pious bellow- 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM l6/ 
 
 ings of the faithful, none daring to penetrate 
 the sylvan mystery. In the eyes of the 
 Chassidim these painful circumstances were 
 invested with a halo of historic glory. They 
 reminded them of the stirring Asmonean 
 age, when, hunted by the mercenaries of 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, the Jews turned every 
 cave into a sanctuary. 
 
 A beautiful morning initiated Tilka s 
 wedding day, as though the heavens smiled 
 on the union of the magistrate with the 
 most orthodox beauty of Karolin. Early in 
 the forenoon the bustle of many servants 
 about the Mayor s residence, the floral dec 
 orations, and the hoisted flags, indicated the 
 nature of the approaching event. Flowers 
 and foliage adorned the portals of the 
 church. On the main street the sym 
 pathetic joy of many of the towns-men was 
 manifested by fine exhibitions of the 
 florist s art in their windows. As the day 
 advanced, and the arrangements for the 
 ceremony were perfected, an air of solemn 
 festivity appeared to hover over all the 
 town, except the unadorned homes of the 
 
l68 IN THE PALE 
 
 mystics, who, had they not been afraid, 
 would have displayed symbols of mourning. 
 The solemn chiming of the bells, Father 
 Shapirow s majestic march to the church, 
 and a line of carriages headed by one drawn 
 by two beautifully caparisoned white horses, 
 all pointed to the same event : the saintly 
 Tilka and the formidable Payutin were on 
 the point of becoming husband and wife. 
 
 The ceremony is over. It is nightfall ; it 
 is night. The non-Jewish population fills 
 every available spot around the Mayor s 
 residence. Carriage after carriage draws 
 up before the festive mansion, unloading 
 belated guests, largely of the small nobility 
 from neighboring estates. A military 
 guard of honor surrounds the precincts of 
 the brightly illuminated building. Eating, 
 drinking, and dancing within ; drinking, 
 brawling, and rough horse-play without. 
 In the Jewish quarter darkness and not a 
 sign of life. Such is the situation when the 
 clock strikes eleven. Are they around the 
 synagogue all asleep ? O, no ! The Baal- 
 Shem issues from his library, a volume of 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM 169 
 
 mystic lore in his hand. He is joined by 
 Pulasky, who shows his chief into the 
 smithy. They stay therein a few minutes, 
 return quickly, pass like phantoms, and dis 
 appear in their respective houses, as though 
 nothing appalling had occurred. 
 
 Useless to say that the Golem had been 
 despatched on its bloody way. Its mission 
 was that of the destructive power that 
 visited every first-born in ancient Egypt. 
 Unspeakable was the horror that seized the 
 people at the sight of the fiendish appari 
 tion. Those that moved an arm to make 
 the sign of the cross felt their blood congeal 
 in their veins. A pack of howling dogs sig 
 nalized the approach of the dreadful demon. 
 The next instant Graff shot like a bomb 
 from the Mayor s window clear over the 
 heads of the stupefied throng, yelped 
 wildly, rose on his hind legs, snuffed the 
 air, and showed symptoms of hydrophobia. 
 He was answered by a score of his kind, 
 whose unearthly howls turned the street 
 into pandemonium. The frightened brutes 
 tried to hide themselves behind the mass of 
 
170 IN THE PALE 
 
 terrified men and women. The Gorgon 
 emerged from a by-way, strode forth 
 leisurely, its pennons flapping like black 
 sails against its gruesome bulk, and turned 
 into the highway leading to its destination. 
 It moved on slowly, its fiery eyes rolling, 
 its dragon tongue wagging, the snakes on 
 its head hissing, the hydra-tail waving to 
 and fro, and its hellish throat bellowing 
 forth such a confusion of noise as would 
 have appalled a herd of walruses. As if 
 turned into stone, the military guard 
 moved no arm to intercept the approach 
 ing demon. It would have been a vain 
 attempt. Gates and bolts yielded like 
 burned straw before the .presence of a 
 horror personifying a hell of hideous things. 
 Its dark volume swallowed light, and the 
 Egyptian darkness gave it grim prominence. 
 Toward the Mayor s residence the Golem 
 advanced, rending the air with infernal 
 notes ; therein it disappeared. A minute s 
 dreadful silence was broken by a tremen 
 dous explosion, like the eruption of a 
 volcano. Showers of flying debris filled 
 
THE BAAL-SHEM AND HIS GOLEM i;i 
 
 the neighborhood, hurting hundreds of 
 people, who fell prostrate to save their lives. 
 The convulsion was followed by an outburst 
 of fire and the total annihilation of the 
 festive dwelling and all therein. As if to 
 complete the desolation, a thunder-storm 
 broke over the city, giving the ruins an air 
 of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 
 Not a Jewish house was damaged ; not a 
 Jewish body hurt. The Baal-Shem spent 
 the night in his subterranean library. The 
 following Sabbath Reb Aarele and his fol 
 lowers were early in their place of worship 
 to give vent to their joy over the signal de 
 feat of Satan the Beast and Lilith the 
 Harlot. The Baal-Shem smiled when he 
 was told, that the official version of the 
 Golem s work proclaimed, that " the accident 
 was caused by a red bolt of lightning, 
 which killed the people and destroyed the 
 building." 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 
 
 DAVID and Jonathan were cousins, the 
 first-born children of two sisters, and 
 they loved each other tenderly. It was a 
 curious coincidence that physically as well 
 as psychologically the boys held out promise 
 of conforming- in a remarkable degree to 
 the two heroic types represented by their 
 biblical namesakes. Red-cheeked, strong- 
 boned, short-limbed, quick-witted, impene 
 trable, daring, and cunning, David had 
 acquired renown among the youths of his 
 native place as an adversary to be shunned. 
 In each of his frequent encounters with un 
 friendly schoolmates and he was fond of 
 provoking quarrels he displayed new tac 
 tics, ever retaining the field, though always 
 outnumbered by his enemies. The lad 
 gloried in mischief. There was not an 
 orchard in Choinick, a small town in the 
 province of Minsk, in which he was not 
 familiar with every fruit-bearing tree. 
 (172) 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 173 
 
 If David planned a raid, success was a 
 foregone conclusion. Everybody knew that 
 he had been there, but it was hard to 
 catch him, and well nigh impossible to 
 prove him the plunderer. Many a time he 
 abstracted from some neighbor s oven the 
 Kugel, that is, a most savory pudding which 
 forms part of the historic Shale t a combi 
 nation of many dishes stored in one capa 
 cious reservoir and sealed up for the Sab 
 bath dinner and substituted therefor a ves 
 sel filled with potato parings, or something 
 less odorous. There was a little anger and 
 much laughter, and the matter was ended, 
 until another Kugel disappeared. Serio- 
 comical roguishness distinguished the clan 
 destine expeditions of the lad, calling 
 forth merriment as often as a new depre 
 dation was added to his account. His repu 
 tation for courage can be judged from the 
 suspicion that he was the author of the 
 mischief done in the sanctum of Yente 
 the Knowing. 
 
 Yente was a woman of uncounted years 
 and of unfathomed knowledge in the occult 
 
174 IN THE PALE 
 
 lore of the healing science. She cured the 
 incurable. Malicious gossip associated her 
 with the Evil One, an assumption somewhat 
 sustained by her chronically red eye-balls 
 and her demonstrated power to counteract 
 effectively the baneful afflictions caused by 
 the evil eye. The withering shafts of the 
 evil eye are dreaded by Jews and non-Jews, 
 wherever the sane influence of the school 
 master is not felt, and Guttenberg s necro 
 mancy has not been invoked to tear the 
 mental cloud woven of ignorance and super 
 stition. It has been found that flourishing 
 youth and sweet infancy are especially liable 
 to be stricken by the evil eye, which is 
 followed by a sickness characterized by ner 
 vous prostration and intermittent fever. 
 Yente restored the victim by whispering 
 over some article of his wear, and relief 
 was instantaneous. She also asserted 
 that she knew the latent virtues of many 
 herbs and blossoms, which she gathered in 
 due season, and labeled her " mystic teas." 
 Of these she dispensed freely to the poor, 
 but she charged handsomely when they were 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 175 
 
 in demand among the wealthier of her 
 patrons. In every case the result was won 
 derful. 
 
 Yente s forte, however, was midwifery, 
 a specialty which opened the doors of non- 
 Jewish houses to her, and gave her influence 
 among the local officials. As to her power 
 of curing the endless ills and woes of infants, 
 that was simply unsurpassed. In the prov 
 ince in which she lived, she could well 
 afford to laugh all competition to scorn. In 
 short, Yente was the recognized authority 
 in domestic remedies among the Jews and 
 Christians of Choinick, and she bore herself 
 with the lofty dignity of self-conscious im 
 portance natural to one holding so exalted a 
 position. 
 
 That Yente was a privileged character 
 among the living was, however, less remark 
 able than her apparent familiarity with the 
 dead, of whom she did not entertain the 
 least fear. For not alone did she attend to 
 the bathing and dressing of the women who 
 died, but rumors were rife that she had 
 often been seen at midnight in the grave- 
 
176 IN THE PALE 
 
 yard and in the Shule. The Shule is the 
 place of worship, where the dead are sup 
 posed to assemble in the ghostly hour to 
 pray and to read the Sacred Law. When 
 approached in reference to her nocturnal 
 roamings, Yente shook her head dubiously, 
 which was tantamount to an affirmative 
 answer. The woman understood how to 
 hide her thoughts, and thus gave her deal 
 ings an air of mystery. 
 
 David, whose dare-devil audacity made 
 all things possible, was credited with an 
 offense against her which was never for 
 gotten, and which she never forgave. 
 Yente s habitation was a cabin built of 
 logs. The furniture comprised a bed, a 
 tub for water, a bench, and a table. A 
 hearth of pale bricks supplied the means 
 for heating and cooking, while a crude box 
 nailed to the wall held the necessary eat 
 ables. Her sole companion was an enormous 
 Maltese cat with a head more lupine than 
 feline, and of an age running far beyond the 
 local chronicles. She scared off every living 
 creature, and woe befell the cur that came 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 1 77 
 
 within reach, of her paws. Only at night 
 was the cat seen to roam around the neigh 
 borhood, her eyes glowing like those of a 
 preying wolf, and unruly children were sub 
 dued by the threat that Yente s cat would 
 seize them at night. 
 
 In Yente s immediate neighborhood was 
 the public bath, an institution of import 
 ance in Slavonic Jewry. Here the women 
 refresh themselves on Thursdays and the 
 men on Fridays, the steaming and the 
 plunge in the reservoirs being hugely en 
 joyed. Selig, an old blind man, was the 
 only occupant of the bath during the week, 
 and he assured the public that the building 
 was haunted. He told the children blood 
 curdling tales of what he nightly heard 
 around him, the sounds cries of infants, 
 weird music, dancing, brawling, and feast 
 ing always ceasing at the crow of the cock. 
 He was once offered a glass of wine by one 
 of the airy revelers, but he read the Shema\ 
 and the attention was never repeated. 
 
 Yente was known to have a tender feeling 
 for Selig. Kalmon, the eagle-eyed Shadchan 
 
 12 
 
1 78 IN THE PALE 
 
 of Choinick, suggested an alliance between 
 the pair, but nothing came of it. Selig was 
 willing enough, but Yente hesitated, leaving 
 the matter in suspense. Friendly inter 
 course was cultivated between the blind 
 bachelor and the knowing maid, but wed 
 lock remained the possibility of an unknown 
 future. 
 
 The question people often asked one an 
 other was : What is Yente going to do with 
 her treasure ? It must not be thought that 
 they referred to Selig as her treasure. The 
 woman had a real hoard. This was an 
 established fact ; for with the income of a 
 professional man she combined the parsi 
 mony of a miser, so that her unemployed 
 wealth was assumed to have reached a 
 fabulous figure. She had no relatives, no 
 soul to claim a thing after her demise. 
 Who will inherit her fortune ? The next 
 question was : Where and how does she 
 manage to hide it ? 
 
 One moonless evening, unearthly lamen 
 tations, making night hideous, issued from 
 Yente s cabin. It sounded as though a 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 179 
 
 wolf and a cat were vying with each other 
 in the endeavor to rend the air with appal 
 ling notes. It was Yente and her cat. The 
 feline creature appeared to share the dis 
 tress of her mistress, and joined her in her 
 dirge of despair. Selig responded at once; 
 others followed hesitatingly, the region be 
 ing shunned after nightfall. Yente raved 
 distractedly, the cat whined, and walked 
 about her in a circle, her tailed raised, her 
 eyes burning, and her wolfish head moving 
 ominously. 
 
 " He has robbed me, he has robbed me he 
 has taken all, the thief has taken all ; I shall 
 never see my many, many silver roubles 
 again," cried the crone despondingly. 
 
 Yes, her treasure was gone, pot and all. 
 She had hoarded it under her hearth, over 
 which the cat kept faithful watch, except 
 when she roamed about at night. How any 
 one could get at the treasure without at 
 tracting notice was the puzzle of the mo 
 ment. 
 
 " He has robbed me, he has robbed me," 
 repeated Yente in a mournful strain, folding 
 
180 IN THE PALE 
 
 her shriveled hands in despair, and moaning, 
 as if her dearest lay hushed in death. 
 
 " Whom do you accuse of the theft?" was 
 Selig s pertinent query. 
 
 " She means David," was the simultaneous 
 murmur of several persons present. 
 
 No sooner was the suspicion uttered than 
 Jonathan, who happened to be there, chal 
 lenged the accusing parties to show cause 
 why his cousin should be charged with the 
 crime. 
 
 " How dare you accuse an honorable 
 man?" cried Jonathan, clinching his fist. 
 
 " Yes, he is the thief," cried the exasper 
 ated woman defiantly ; "it is he, it is he." 
 
 Jonathan s eyes flashed wildly as he 
 turned upon the crone, and he emphasized 
 his words by shaking his two powerful fists 
 at her: "If thou wert not a woman and a 
 witch, I should teach thee a lesson." 
 
 Jonathan had no doubt of his cousin s in 
 nocence. 
 
 " And I say, it is he, nobody but him," as 
 serted Selig belligerently, raising his stick 
 in defiance, and adding : " The thief stole the 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH l8l 
 
 Kugel out of the Shalct a hundred times." 
 " And I say, you are a pair of black slander 
 ers, possessed by the demon of lies," re 
 torted Jonathan, and withdrew with venge 
 ful ire, sure that there was not a shadow of 
 truth in the unanimous accusation of his 
 friend. Jonathan s generous nature, sus 
 tained by a strong sense of honor and can 
 dor, revolted against the idea that his cousin 
 should descend to the crime of stealing, or 
 withhold anything from him that he was 
 entitled to know. 
 
 It should be stated that Jonathan, though 
 backing David in every legitimate enter 
 prise, could not be prevailed upon to parti 
 cipate in expeditions unsanctioned by his 
 sense of right. He drew a line between 
 plundering a Shalct or an orchard and steal 
 ing the earnings of labor. David humored 
 him in this singular interpretation of the 
 eighth commandment, availed himself of his 
 cousin s assistance as far as it could be 
 secured, and did the rest of his jobs on his 
 own account. Whether he was guilty of 
 the robbery in question remains to be seen. 
 
182 IN THE PALE 
 
 The two cousins loved each other devot 
 edly, but, saving fearlessness, had little in 
 common. Jonathan was frank, stately in 
 stature, scrupulous in matters of principle 
 as he understood it, and generous even to 
 those he had reason to dislike. He was 
 popular among his comrades, and David was 
 feared. Seen together, the cousins were a 
 striking reproduction of the Scriptural pic 
 ture of the son of Jesse pacing the street 
 of Gibeah by the side of princely Jonathan. 
 
 Yente s loss was the talk of the town. A 
 small sum of money was collected and 
 offered her, but she refused to accept it. 
 She also declined to administer her nos 
 trums to those in want of them, knowing 
 that to find a substitute for her was impos 
 sible. The woman meditated vengeance. 
 Hereafter Selig was her constant companion 
 during the day ; the nights he spent in the 
 bath. Kalmon lost all interest in the pair, 
 now that the match had no golden promise 
 for him. It had been otherwise when 
 Yente was rich, but no shrewd Shadchan 
 bothers himself about the poor. 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 183 
 
 David had little to say in reference to the 
 robbery. When informed that the crone 
 charged him with the crime, and swore to 
 wreak vengeance on him, he made the 
 strange remark that the spirit of the son of 
 Jesse scorned the Witch of Endor ; neither 
 did he fear the impotent threats of an old 
 sorceress ; he would, moreover, know how to 
 deal with him who dared associate his 
 name with the theft. Herewith the matter 
 ended. The only serious result of the pain 
 ful occurrence was Yente s determination not 
 to pursue her profession. The evil eye made 
 havoc in the town. Selig s interposition was 
 sought in vain. " She shall do as she 
 pleases," was his laconic answer. It was 
 then thought that Kalmon s oratory might 
 have good effect. It failed, partly because 
 he was not interested in what appertained 
 to Yente, since she no longer was mis 
 tress of a hoard. His mind was busy with 
 another scheme. Kalmon had a numerous 
 family and a quick eye to business. Noth 
 ing of interest to him escaped his attention. 
 
 David s defiant answer to Yente s charge 
 
1 84 IN THE PALE 
 
 and his pregnant allusion to the spirit of the 
 son of Jesse, as well as his attachment to 
 Jonathan, made it appear plausible to the 
 wisest elders of the town that the two youths 
 represented something more than appeared 
 on the surface of things. The Kabbalists, 
 of whom there was a goodly number in 
 Choinick, and with whom the transmigration 
 of the soul is an article of faith, were struck 
 by the amazing phenomenon of a late re 
 birth of two ancient heroes, evidently for 
 some Providential design, to be revealed 
 hereafter. Seen in this light, the character 
 of David was a psychological necessity. And 
 who could doubt that Jonathan was a worthy 
 representative of his old prototype ? Did 
 not his figure and nature bear striking 
 resemblance to his immortal namesake s ? 
 
 What this conclusion meant to Kab- 
 balistic dreamers, only he who entertains 
 profound reverence for persons renowned 
 in Holy Writ can imagine. Henceforth 
 people were eager to learn of new mis 
 chief done by David, or of some heroic act 
 done by Jonathan. Further reflection en- 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 185 
 
 gendered the idea that the reappearance of 
 the two chivalrous princes of hoary an 
 tiquity in youthful forms might indicate 
 the imminent arrival of the Messiah. The 
 son of Jesse being here, why should not the 
 son of David follow ? Are not the times out 
 of joint? Is not Israel suffering under the 
 iron heel of Edom ? Surely it was time that 
 Elijah blew his trumpet. 
 
 As soon as Kalmon, the Shade han, grasped 
 the drift of the plausible assumption, it 
 dawned on his mind that his opportunity 
 had come to do a great thing. The prospect 
 of bringing about an alliance full of promise 
 to the parties concerned as well as to himself, 
 an alliance likely to culminate in the birth 
 of Messiah, dazzled his imagination. Match 
 making having been his life-long vocation, 
 Kalmon seldom failed to hit the nail on the 
 head. A survey of circumstances convinced 
 him that success was sure to crown his 
 efforts, and he took up the affair with alacrity. 
 
 There is a vast deal of shrewd diplomacy 
 in the strategic moves of the proficient 
 Shadchan. In the first place every marriage- 
 
1 86 IN THE PALE 
 
 able youth and maiden within the debatable 
 periphery of what he pleases to call his dis 
 trict is carefully registered. Genealogy, 
 personal charms, as well as defects, age, and 
 probable dowry, are noted for reference. If 
 there be a black sheep in the family, a stain 
 on the character of a member thereof, the 
 Shade han is bound to know it. He is in truth 
 the most trustworthy chronicler of his dis 
 trict, his records being a mirror, as it were, 
 of the moral, not less than of the material 
 conditions, prevalent within his domain. 
 
 The Shadchan understands how to make 
 capital of occasional meetings with parents 
 who have marriageable children. Prepared 
 to embrace the opportunity, the professional 
 man enlarges on some general topic of inter 
 est, until he deems the moment auspicious 
 for the beginning of the operations proper. 
 His eloquence fairly overflows in extravagant 
 praise of the family in view ; what an 
 honor it were to get one s son a wife of that 
 incomparable stock, from which lights have 
 sprung that made their age radiant with 
 the effulgence of their spirit. If there be a 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 187 
 
 bodily or mental shortcoming in the young 
 person under consideration, it is cleverly 
 contrasted with a score of magnified virtues. 
 The advantages of the party present are be 
 littled in order to heighten the distinction 
 of the party suggested as worthy of his 
 alliance. " It is true that the girl is not 
 exactly handsome, and is somewhat squint- 
 eyed, but you should see her cook, and bake, 
 and attend to the little ones during her moth 
 er s sickness. Then, was not Rabbi Joel, who 
 fasted every Monday and Thursday, and 
 knew the whole Mishna by heart, her great 
 grandfather? What a family she will raise!" 
 The most consummate cicerone would have 
 found the artful Sliadchan more than a match 
 for his voluble tongue. 
 
 A person of some note in Choinick was 
 Samson the Driver. The man had a history. 
 Samson was the father of two motherless 
 maidens, Miriam and Leah, and the owner 
 of a considerable fortune, two-thirds of 
 which he was prepared to give away with 
 his winsome daughters, provided the right 
 husbands were suggested. That Kalmon 
 
1 88 IN THE PALE 
 
 had the girls on his register need scarcely K, 
 said. But Samson had formed extravagant 
 conceptions of the youths he would deign to 
 accept as his sons-in-law, and his ideal could 
 not be found among the youths of Choin- 
 ick. "The young men who are to marry my 
 daughters must be lights in Israel," main 
 tained Samson, and Kalmon was at his wit s 
 end how to find those "lights" in his district. 
 Samson did not make much of his reputa 
 tion as the strongest man in the place, so 
 strong, it was asserted, that he could uproot 
 a tree, not unlike his namesake, who tore 
 out the gates of Gaza. The Driver had not 
 known how strong he was until he saw his 
 cow in danger. This occurred on a Sabbath 
 morning, while the Jews of Choinick were 
 gathered in one of their synagogues to sing 
 psalms. At this time a plague was deci 
 mating the cattle in the non-Jewish quarter, 
 while in the Jewish herds, grazed on separate 
 pastures, not a goat died. To satisfy a mali 
 cious proclivity, the starostvo directed the 
 herdsmen to unite the herds of the Jews with 
 those of the other citizens, on a day when the 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 189 
 
 Jews were not likely to offer serious resist 
 ance, the avowed object being to communi 
 cate the plague to their cattle. He was 
 mistaken. As soon as the Jews heard of 
 the infamy, they hurried to the spot to 
 extricate their cattle. They met with force, 
 the starostvo having been prepared for the 
 encounter. The Jews were beaten back, 
 and the battle would have been lost, had not 
 Samson arrived in time to turn the tide of 
 victory in favor of his outraged brethren 
 and their cows. Armed with a knotty 
 cudgel, he threw himself into the thick of 
 the combat with a vigor which caused the 
 enemy to look for shelter behind fences and 
 hedges, leaving the field to the redoubtable 
 Maccabeus. The herds were separated, and 
 Samson s heroism was on every lip, but he 
 bore his fame with becoming modesty. 
 
 The man was kind-hearted, pious, and 
 charitable, but abysmally ignorant. His ig 
 norance would have been less striking, had 
 he not had the irrepressible habit of mis 
 quoting sacred lore, to the great amusement 
 of the learned, who ungenerously entangled 
 
1 90 IN THE PALE 
 
 the whole-souled man in theological discus 
 sions entirely beyond the reach of his knowl 
 edge. To strengthen his position he would 
 unload a volley of Hebrew phrases, ludic 
 rously incorrect and frequently disproving 
 what he was anxious to establish. Good- 
 natured as he was, he would join in the 
 laughter elicited by his illiteracy, instead of 
 feeling humiliated. "As a Rabbi I should 
 be a failure, I suppose," he would say inno 
 cently. 
 
 Samson had risen to wealth by a curious 
 accident, not to say adventure. Origi 
 nally a poor driver of a one-horse team, 
 he had taken passengers from Choinick to 
 the neighboring towns. But one day he be 
 gan to deal in hides and grain, paying in 
 hard cash and disposing of his goods to ad 
 vantage. Where had he gotten the money ? 
 
 The secret was this. One Friday morning, 
 on returning from his weekly trip, he was 
 accosted by an emaciated soldier, who looked 
 an object of pity. The wretched warrior as 
 sured him that he had spent the preceding 
 night on the porch of the open market-place, 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 19! 
 
 that lie was sick, hungry, and chilled to the 
 marrow of his bones. He did not possess a 
 kopeck to buy a cup of tea, would not accept 
 charity, but offered a shabby coat for sale, 
 as he had two, and could dispense with one. 
 That he had but one leg, and needed less 
 covering than a man with two legs, was the 
 pathetic justification of the proposed com 
 mercial transaction. Samson had a big 
 heart. He gave the man a few kopecks, 
 told him to come to his house to get a warm 
 meal, and refused to take the garment. The 
 soldier thanked him, threw the habit on his 
 wagon, and went his way, leaving Samson 
 to feel sorry that he could do no more for 
 the unfortunate man. 
 
 There are few cities, towns, and villages 
 in Russia where such wrecks of humanity 
 may not be found vegetating, their strength 
 and manhood beaten out of them during 
 military slavery, which consumes the best 
 half of their lives. If he has no relatives 
 to take care of him, the Russian veteran has 
 either to be a menial, or beg, or die in a 
 poorhouse. Besides, there is a popular preju- 
 
IQ2 IN THE PALE 
 
 dice against old soldiers, who are met every 
 where with ill-disguised suspicion ; the rea 
 son is that the Czar s humbler veterans 
 often incur flogging for the commission of 
 petty larcenies. 
 
 Once under his roof, Samson greeted his 
 aged mother, kissed his daughters, un 
 hitched his horse, offered up his prayers, 
 took a frugal breakfast, and was on the 
 point of retiring to take a nap, when his foot 
 came in contact with the coat he had thrown 
 on the floor. He thought that he had struck 
 something unusually heavy in one of its 
 sleeves. He tried the other sleeve, and 
 found it equally loaded. What might be 
 therein? Perchance a soiled handker 
 chief, tobacco leaves, old newspapers, or 
 other nondescript articles which a Russian 
 soldier is in the habit of stowing away be 
 hind the upturned cuff of his greatcoat. 
 Whatever it might be, Samson s curiosity 
 was aroused. 
 
 A closer examination of the sleeves showed 
 them to be carefully sewed up. A rip with 
 a knife gave the driver access to the inside 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 193 
 
 of one of them. Pushing his hand inward 
 as far as he could, he got hold of and 
 brought forth a large package in an en 
 velope. Still sure that it contained nothing 
 of value, he opened it, and, to his speechless 
 amazement, found it literally stuffed with a 
 variety of bank-notes, running from five to a 
 hundred roubles. The man trembled as he 
 ripped open the other sleeve, wherefrom he 
 pulled forth another envelope, containing 
 about an equal amount in paper currency. 
 The precious garb was now anxiously 
 searched, and the quest was rewarded by the 
 discovery of a flattened package cunningly 
 hidden under the broad upper lapel of the 
 coat; its contents almost doubled the treasure 
 in Samson s hands. Joy, not unmixed with 
 apprehension, seized the driver s heart. He 
 counted thousand after thousand, not one 
 note of recent date. The poor soldier had 
 carried that coat about for years, without 
 dreaming of the fortune hidden therein 
 for the humble Israelite. Finds of this 
 kind have often enriched dealers in old 
 clothes in Russia, especially after a war, it 
 13 
 
194 IN THE PALE 
 
 being habitual with the mujik to hide his pelf 
 in a pot and bury it, and with the soldier to 
 sew it up in a sleeve for future use, often 
 prevented by the death of the owner. 
 
 Samson was inclined to believe that the 
 beggarly soldier was none else than Elijah, 
 the Prophet, who can assume any guise 
 when on an errand of assistance to the 
 worthy. For tradition speaks of Elijah as 
 the benign messenger dispatched now and 
 then to relieve the woes of poverty and 
 misery. 
 
 In this way Samson the Driver became 
 the richest man in his town, and he made 
 good use of his wealth. 
 
 Shortly after this happy occurrence Sam 
 son had a confidential interview with Rabbi 
 Joseph, who advised him to have a new 
 Torah written for the congregation, in grate 
 ful acknowledgment of the blessing re 
 ceived. Accordingly, one of the most skil 
 ful and pious scribes was engaged, the best 
 parchment was prepared, and the sacred 
 work was begun with great solemnity. The 
 scribe bathed every morning, worked in si- 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 195 
 
 lent seclusion, and when the work was com 
 pleted, the scroll was carried to the Holy 
 Ark with magnificent ceremony after a feast 
 of rejoicing 1 . Samson looked and felt as if 
 earth and heaven delighted in his action, 
 and was sure that the best chair in Paradise 
 had been reserved for him. 
 
 How the impecunious driver could do 
 so grand a thing, this had to remain a secret, 
 lest the police hear of his find, in which case 
 his fate would have been sealed: He would 
 have been arrested, imprisoned, and his 
 property confiscated. 
 
 Fortunately this had happened long before 
 Yente s hoard disappeared, or the good man 
 would have been suspected of the rob 
 bery, although his sincere piety precluded 
 the least suspicion that there was anything 
 wrong in the acquisition of his riches. 
 
 Hereafter Samson s ambition centred in 
 the wish to see his, daughters married 
 to youths of learning and noble lineage. 
 He watched every budding genius in the 
 place, but the finest specimens of the Tal- 
 mudic stripling about him did not seem 
 
196 IN THE PALE 
 
 worthy of the prizes he held out. Of David 
 and Jonathan he had had no thought, until 
 the quick-witted Kalmon unveiled to him the 
 Messianic hopes founded on the identity of 
 the youths with the royal singer and the 
 sweetest prince in ancient Israel. The 
 SJiadchan drew a transcendental picture of 
 the golden likelihoods destined to spring 
 from an alliance of Miriam and Leah on 
 the one hand, with David and Jonathan on 
 the other. Growing eloquent, Kalmon went 
 into a prophetic transport over the brilliant 
 vista the proposed union would open for 
 Israel in exile. Samson s poor head turned 
 dizzy with the intoxication of inexpressible 
 joy. A shower of biblical misquotations 
 descended on the head of the devoted Shad- 
 chan. Samson s erudition filled Kalmon 
 with astonishment. He professed surprise 
 at the appropriate lore thus freely given. 
 
 " From what Delilah did you learn your 
 wisdom, brother Samson?" inquired the 
 foxy match-maker. Kalmon was not aware 
 that he had touched a tender spot in the 
 heart of the driver. 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 197 
 
 Ah, my Delilah you mean my Esther 
 has been dead now over seven years, alas !" 
 sighed Samson pathetically. " But if the 
 blessed Messiah is to be our grandchild, 
 she will certainly hear of it, and rejoice in 
 the other world, will she not, Kalmon?" 
 
 The Shadchan had no doubts on this 
 matter, and he left the honest ignoramus, 
 sure of success so far as the latter was con 
 cerned 
 
 The parents of David and Jonathan lived 
 under the same roof and in such cordial re 
 lations with each other as to be looked upon 
 as one family. Kalmon s dignified appear 
 ance and his diplomatic statement of the 
 case had the weight of an irrefutable argu 
 ment. Samson, it was true, was a fearfully 
 illiterate man, but then who can buy a cow 
 for literature ? The Talmud is a very great 
 and holy thing, but who can feed his wife 
 with Talmudic saws ? The driver was an hon 
 est, exceedingly religious man ; Miriam and 
 Leah were fine girls, and the dowry they 
 were going to receive was the main item to 
 be considered. The Shade/tan had the logic 
 
198 IN THE PALE 
 
 of stern reality on his side, and gained an 
 easy victory. In his presence David and 
 Jonathan were consulted as to their inclina 
 tions, and their answers were characteristic. 
 
 " If Leah will have me, I take her to be 
 the sweetest of the two," said David. 
 
 " I should prefer Miriam at any time," 
 observed Jonathan. 
 
 " It suits me either way, boys," closed 
 Kalmon, delighted with the result of his 
 effort. 
 
 Hereupon the parents kissed their sons, 
 the mothers shed tears, several earthen pots 
 were broken in token of the engagement and 
 of the discomfiture of the Evil One, who, in 
 company with Lilith, plans the frustration 
 of every happy union, and felicitations were 
 exchanged. The following day the docu 
 ment of the betrothal, setting forth the con 
 ditions and fixing the date of the nuptials, 
 was duly signed, and, according to the cus 
 tom in vogue, presents were given to the 
 betrothed couples. David and Jonathan 
 each received a golden watch and a fine set 
 of the Talmud ; the maidens got precious 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 199 
 
 rings and silk shawls, and the happy event 
 was celebrated by a great dinner at the 
 house of Samson, followed by a similar re 
 past spread at the home of the prospective 
 grooms. 
 
 At the approach of the seven festive days 
 devoted to Jewish nuptials, the Jews of 
 Choinick were up and doing, preparing for 
 the auspicious feast. Everyone was grati 
 fied except two persons, Yente and Selig, 
 who had no blessing for the coming wed 
 ding. The cordial invitation Samson ex 
 tended to them they rejected with scorn. 
 Selig shook his fist at the beadle who had 
 come to inform him that he was to preside 
 over the table set apart for the poor on such 
 occasions. This was meant as a compliment, 
 but was received as an affront. Yente s 
 displeasure, muttered in curses, gave Sam 
 son much concern. He tried hard to con 
 ciliate the woman by a liberal offering, but 
 met with a rebuff. " You should bear in 
 mind," Samson pleaded, after some Scrip 
 tural misquotations, " that yours is an 
 imaginary wrong. Is it right to wish evil 
 
2OO IN THE PALE 
 
 to a youth, destined to be the father of the 
 true Messiah ? " 
 
 Yente s response to Samson s plea was a 
 fit of hysteric laughter and the slamming of 
 her door in his face,, for it was before her 
 shanty that he had succeeded in facing 
 her. The man stood with his mouth wide 
 open, by no means tin alarmed at the evil 
 prognosticated by her behavior. He had a 
 high opinion of the woman s magic secrets, 
 and felt sure that she was bent on mischief. 
 A consultation with the spiritual adviser of 
 the congregation, however, relieved the 
 driver of his darker apprehensions, and he 
 proceeded to make royal preparations for 
 the wedding of his daughters. 
 
 There shall be no stale bread at our 
 banquet," announced Samson, a metaphori 
 cal way of promising that the guests would 
 be treated in proper fashion, and he was 
 known to be as good as his word. 
 
 Orthodox Israel expects the bride and 
 the groom to spend their wedding day in 
 prayer and meditation. To those on the 
 point of embarking on the high seas of life 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 2OI 
 
 it is, in a sense, a Day of Atonement, and as 
 such it is treated. David and Jonathan ac 
 cordingly spent the whole day in seclusion. 
 With the decline of the sun their best men 
 appeared to prepare them for the marriage 
 ceremony, which was to take place in the 
 presence of the entire congregation, gath 
 ered between the twin places of worship, a 
 square large enough to hold several thou 
 sand people. 
 
 It is proper to mention that Choinick, 
 like other towns of the kind, sustains two 
 places of worship ; one is the Beth Hami- 
 drash, a house devoted to daily prayer and 
 the study of the Law and its commentaries, 
 and a Shule, an imposing building open only 
 on Sabbaths and only during the warm 
 season. During the week and during the 
 winter, the Skule, built in pyramidal shape, 
 looks like a haunted castle ; it is unheated, 
 unillumined, shrouded in sepulchral gloom, 
 and believed to be the haunt of the dead 
 at midnight for the purpose of ghostly 
 devotion, a cycle of awful stories being 
 current to substantiate the belief. 
 
202 IN THE PALE 
 
 Between the sacred edifices, under a 
 canopy known as the CJiuppa, at the setting 
 of the sun, the Rabbi was to tie the knot 
 that was never to be untied. Yellow sand 
 was strewn to brighten up the space, and 
 things in general wore an air of festivity. 
 When the cousins were ready to be escorted 
 to their brides, Jonathan had tears in his 
 eyes. " What oppresses thy heart, my Jon 
 athan?" asked David. 
 
 The taller youth looked down at his friend 
 in pregnant silence, his face betraying sup 
 pressed emotion. The young men embraced 
 each other with affection. " Speak thy 
 heart, my Jonathan," insisted David, " for I 
 see that thou hast something to say that 
 weighs heavily on thy breast ; is it in my 
 power to serve thee ?" 
 
 "Yes, I have a request which thou must 
 grant, David. A mysterious impulse impels 
 me to ask of thee a thing never before 
 asked of man. Yet I shall ask no more than 
 I am willing to give in return," replied Jona 
 than, with great earnestness. 
 
 With a look of genuine surprise David 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 203 
 
 rashly swore that, whatever the request, 
 he was prepared to gratify it. " I know that 
 my cousin will not ask me to do wrong, 
 and what you are determined to do for me, 
 I shall most assuredly do for thee." 
 
 At this Jonathan, resumed with grave 
 deliberation : " Cousin, I find this life to be 
 a great, deep mystery, surpassed only by 
 the yet deeper mystery enshrouding man s 
 fate beyond the grave. The heavens with 
 the stars above us, what do they signify? 
 What is the purpose of this creation? 
 Who and what is man ? What becomes of 
 him hereafter? Seasons change, years fly, 
 generations perish, the skies are mute 
 who are we? Wherefore are we? What 
 becomes of us? This I long to know. 
 Therefore, O David, be it settled between 
 us that, whosoever of us two dies first, shall 
 in due time report, if possible, to him left be 
 hind, on things hitherto tmrevealed. Swear 
 by the living soul in thee, as I herewith do, 
 to hold the promise as sacred as the three 
 fold covenant that forever weds Israel to 
 his God." 
 
204 IN THE PALE 
 
 There was a moment s silence in the 
 room, broken by the oath of David, who 
 swore to do what he might be permitted in 
 the matter of satisfying his friend. 
 
 " Do you not hear the sound of the drum 
 and the lute summoning you to meet your 
 brides under the CJntppa ?" asked one of the 
 best men. " Let death and mystery alone," 
 and the tardy bridegrooms were hurried 
 to the scene of solemn joy. 
 
 In a community in which mischievous 
 Cupid has to make room for the calculating 
 Shadchan, no sonnets are sung to the eye 
 brow of the mistress. Yet it has been found 
 impossible to divest matrimony, however 
 prosaically contracted, of the air of romance 
 that will ever hover over the associations of 
 love. The Slavonic Jew and his co-religion 
 ist in Oriental regions behold in the early 
 consummation of marriage the realization 
 of an ethical ideal. At the age of eighteen 
 the Talmudist would have the youth pass 
 through the matrimonial market, wedded 
 life being the fundamental design of crea 
 tion, a view the Shadchan knows how to 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 20$ 
 
 utilize. And in a town where life s monotony 
 is rarely interrupted, where cows, dogs, 
 pigs, chickens, goats, and unwashed children 
 are promiscuously scattered in the lanes, a 
 wedding cannot fail to create a stir in 
 the dull atmosphere. In this case the inter 
 est was heightened by the rare incident 
 that two sisters were to be joined to two 
 cousins, of late the most talked-of and 
 observed in the place. Furthermore, there 
 were not many in the congregation whom 
 Samson the Driver had not invited to the 
 regal feast to follow the consecration of 
 love. No wonder that the open space be 
 tween the twin houses of worship, where the 
 canopy was stretched on four gilded poles, 
 teemed with humanity robed in festive gar 
 ments and eager to catch a glimpse of the 
 two brides, as they were brought along un 
 der silken veils, preceded by a band of mu 
 sic. The brides were stationed under the 
 canopy, attended by their parents, and 
 thither the bridegrooms were led to the 
 sound of the band. The young men looked 
 pale, walked with eyes downcast, and wore 
 
206 IN THE PALE 
 
 an air as solemn as though they were led to 
 a place of execution. Who could tell what 
 wedded life had in store for them ? 
 
 When the ceremony began, everything ap 
 peared to go wrong. The first hitch oc 
 curred when the Rabbi mistook one bride 
 for the other, barely escaping the fearful er 
 ror of wedding Jonathan to the girl of Da 
 vid s choice. Next, confusion was caused by 
 Jonathan s failure to crush the wine-glass 
 thrown at his feet. The thing would not 
 crack, as though made of steel. This 
 was an ominous augury, the successful 
 breaking of the tumbler being a sure indi 
 cation of good luck. To add to the alarm of 
 those most concerned in the sacred rite 
 and in the future of the two couples, a 
 pack of whining cats in a yard near-by rent 
 the air with hideous noise. The significance 
 of the feline chorus impressed itself on the 
 mind of the superstitious crowd, when it was 
 perceived that Yente s lupine cat was at the 
 head of the fell disturbance. It all meant 
 something portentous for the parties under 
 the Chuppa. The Rabbi s presence of mind 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 2O/ 
 
 alone saved the ceremony from ending in 
 utter perturbance. A repeated effort en 
 abled Jonathan to shiver the tumbler into 
 fragments. The cats were scared off the 
 ground. The seven benedictions closed the 
 solemnization, and the united couples were 
 made to link their arms. The band struck up 
 a march, the multitude clapped their hands, 
 and the guests proceeded to the festal hall, 
 where the feast continued until late at night, 
 followed by dancing till dawn. 
 
 On the following Sabbath the brides were 
 ushered into the women s gallery of the 
 synagogue as responsible daughters in Is 
 rael, and Samson began to figure out the 
 date on which the Messiah was likely to be 
 born under his roof. 
 
 An air of mystery hovered over Choinick. 
 Yente gave up her vocation, and lived on what 
 little Selig supplied by his weekly rounds 
 at the doors of the neighboring houses. 
 Liberal offers of help by Samson were scorn 
 fully rejected. A strange sympathy and a 
 purpose to be divulged hereafter linked the 
 old creatures together. They withered vis- 
 
208 IN THE PALE 
 
 ibly, held secret counsel, returned no an 
 swer beyond the shrugging of shoulders to 
 every question, and startled the people by 
 purchasing a roll of material generally used 
 for the vestments of the dead. Soon a rumor 
 spread that Yente was engaged in prepar 
 ing the last garments for Selig and herself, 
 and a little spying into the window of her 
 melancholy habitation proved the rumor to 
 be well founded. 
 
 That Selig was under the crone s magic 
 spell, nobody had a doubt. As for the rest, 
 the fact that many pious persons think it 
 meritorious to have their last vestments in 
 readiness explained Yente s desire to pre 
 pare for death. Was she not old enough 
 to prepare for the grave? The only. detail 
 in the proceeding that puzzled the curious 
 was the especial interest she showed in 
 Selig s post-mortem attire. What was the 
 astonishment of the people when it became 
 known that Yente and Selig had applied to 
 the Rabbi to be made husband and wife ! 
 When it is taken into consideration that 
 Yente was a shrivelled hag, bent almost 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 209 
 
 double, whose beginning the oldest heads of 
 the town failed to remember, and that Selig 
 was fully her age, blind, and a pauper, the 
 comical aspect of the alliance is readily 
 comprehended. The people laughed and 
 wondered, but Samson s head rested uneasy. 
 The good man felt that there was a snake in 
 the grass, prepared as he was to see the 
 powers of darkness conspire against the 
 coming of the Messiah. But interference 
 was out of the question. Nobody had power 
 over Yente s mind. The woman had never 
 before been reasoned out of a whim, and 
 had of late met friendly overtures with sul 
 len mien. 
 
 Yente insisted on being wedded between 
 the synagogues, under the canopy used for 
 the last double wedding. Samson objected, 
 but it was beyond his power to prevent the 
 ceremony from taking place according to 
 usage. As a bride, Yente could not be refused 
 what other brides were granted as a matter of 
 course. The day was set, but it was not 
 marked by any preparation whatsoever. As 
 the hour of the nuptials approached, curiosity 
 
2IO IN THE PALE 
 
 brought together a number of men and 
 women, among them David and Jonathan, 
 who indulged in all sorts of ludicrous specu 
 lations. Who would give the bride away? 
 Who would be Selig s best man ? How would 
 Selig find the finger of his bride to put the 
 ring on it? Joke followed joke, until Rabbi 
 Joseph arrived, and took his stand under 
 the Chuppa, ready to perform his function. 
 No sound of music was heard. The day was 
 drawing to an end ; the swallows swarmed 
 in the air; the herd was returning from 
 the pasture ; the crowd around the Chuppa 
 grew larger. Where is the pair to be united 
 in wedlock ? Suddenly the silence of death 
 fell upon the space of which the Chuppa 
 formed the centre. Ghastly faces, eyes star 
 ing in consternation, were turned toward the 
 lane leading to the public bath. Thence 
 two shapes, a man and a woman, robed in the 
 long, white, flowing vestments of death, came 
 forth slowly, tottering, arm in arm, with 
 the solemnity befitting a walk to the grave. 
 They were Yente and Selig, who had con 
 cluded to be united thus for a purpose known 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 21 1 
 
 to them alone. The sight of death stalking 
 in grotesque attire chilled the hearts of the 
 spectators. The beadle had a bench at 
 hand. Linen hoods overhung the faces 
 of the couple, who approached the min 
 ister to be joined as husband and wife. 
 It was a ghostly scene fit to be en 
 acted in a graveyard at midnight. The 
 Rabbi proceeded with the ceremony. Selig 
 placed the ring on the bony finger of his 
 bride. When the echo of the last "Amen" 
 had died away in the ambient air, the mar 
 ried couple simultaneously sat down on 
 the bench, Yente throwing her palsied 
 arm around the man whom she appeared 
 to have charmed into passive submis 
 sion. The blind man did not betray a 
 sign of animation. Was he enchanted or 
 dead ? Strange were the feelings of the 
 throng, whom an unaccountable spell seemed 
 to chain to the ground. 
 
 The sun was below the horizon ; twilight 
 asserted its rule ; beast and bird sought their 
 resting places. Nothing stirred in the air; 
 not a syllable fell from a lip. The Rabbi had 
 
212 IN THE PALE 
 
 his eyes fixed on the two figures before him 
 on the bench, leaning against each other, 
 their faces hidden by the white hoods. 
 Almost imperceptibly their heads inclined 
 forward, sinking slowly, until their chins 
 touched their breasts. i: They are dead," 
 whispered the beadle. The Rabbi s coun 
 tenance turned pale; the people dispersed 
 without uttering a word. Who had ever 
 heard of such a marriage and such a 
 sequel ? Before the bodies were removed 
 for burial, the lupine cat made her appear 
 ance, purring and w r alking around the body 
 of her dead mistress. 
 
 The superstitious awe with which Yente 
 had been looked upon while among the 
 living, swelled into fear of her now that 
 she was dead. Her departure from life had 
 been in accord with her whole career. Fur 
 ther gossip matured the idea that blind Selig 
 had likewise been a necromancer, the 
 haunted bath having been a fit residence for 
 him. Only a few of the most pious elders 
 attended the funeral of the bridal pair. The 
 dogs howled the night after the nuptials as 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 213 
 
 well as the following night, and a strong 
 wind sprang up, blowing and whining, as 
 though animate and inanimate creation were 
 joining in a dirge over the demise of the 
 witch and her associate. The people shud 
 dered under their blankets. Had they had 
 any doubt about the witchery of the de 
 parted couple, the uproar in nature would 
 have removed it ; for it was remembered 
 that, after the death of the great sorcerer 
 Wovkalack, a cyclonic storm had unroofed 
 every house in town, such being the 
 manner in which the evil spirits welcome a 
 doomed soul. 
 
 The impression that the wedding cere 
 mony of Yente and Selighad left on the eye 
 witnesses may be easily imagined. But no 
 body s memory was more haunted by the 
 ghostly scene than David s and Jonathan s. 
 In the company of their sweet consorts, un 
 der the roof and at the hospitable board of 
 their generous father-in-law, the young hus 
 bands succeeded in whiling away their days, 
 frequently amused by the irrepressible mis 
 quotations of the illiterate Samson, who 
 
214 IN THE PALE 
 
 persisted in mutilating sacred lore. The 
 darkness of night, however, put them into a 
 different frame of mind. The hoot of an owl, 
 the rustling of the leaves of a tree, the flutter 
 of a bat, the rattling of a loose shutter, were 
 enough to upset the equanimity of the young 
 men, however courageous they endeavored 
 to seem, and when the hour came to retire 
 for the night, deep gloom darkened their 
 faces, which did not add to the happiness of 
 the youthful wives. 
 
 It must not be supposed that Miriam and 
 Leah were denied their share of marital af 
 fection. The cousins vied with each other 
 in demonstrations of connubial love, and 
 the restlessness of their husbands was the 
 only bitter drop in the young women s cup 
 of bliss. 
 
 "As soon as the light is out in our room, 
 the phantom of the ghastly marriage scene 
 soars before my eyes, whether open or 
 closed," confessed Jonathan to David. 
 
 Without admitting that he was similarly 
 haunted, David called him foolish for being 
 afraid of a dead pauper and a buried witch. 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 21 5 
 
 " I wonder what has become of the hag s 
 infernal cat," said Samson one dark even 
 ing, unaware of the palpitation his remark 
 caused the hearts of his sons-in-law. 
 
 " She ought to have been buried with her 
 mistress," thought David. 
 
 " I wish she were buried," cried Jonathan, 
 apparently very much concerned. 
 
 " If I get hold of the beast, I shall send 
 it where the Azazel goat went," said Sam 
 son, sure that his Scriptural allusion was in 
 place. 
 
 Such was the mood of the cousins when 
 the three melancholy weeks threw their 
 historic shadow over all the gatherings of 
 dispersed Israel. This yearly period of relig 
 ious mourning over the fall of Zion, begin 
 ning on the seventeenth of Tammuz with a 
 fast, ends on the ninth of Ab in a like man 
 ner. The three weeks usually occur in Aug 
 ust. During that space all joy is banished, 
 and the only idea kept vividly before the 
 Jewish mind is the remembrance of the 
 national calamity, too great ever to be 
 forgotten. The gloom increases with the 
 
2l6 IN THE PALE 
 
 approach of the month of Ab, and culmi 
 nates on the ninth day of the month. It is 
 the anniversary of the fall of Israel s Holy 
 City and Sanctuary, first brought about by 
 Nebuchadnezzar s general, Nebuzaradan, 
 and, at a later date, by Titus Vespasianus. 
 The same day is also remembered as the one 
 on which their Catholic Majesties, Ferdi 
 nand and Isabella, out of deference to the 
 Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, expelled the 
 Jews from Spain. 
 
 The day is spent in fasting, and the Jere 
 miad, or Book of Lamentations, is recited in 
 the synagogue. Whoever has witnessed 
 the celebration, as observed in orthodox 
 Israel, will never forget it. Immediately 
 after sunset the votaries of the Mosaic 
 dispensation and of the traditional law 
 founded thereon assemble in their houses 
 of worship. The shoes are taken off, and, 
 seated on low benches, the mourners of Zion 
 stir the air with their plaintive chanting. 
 The mourning is so pathetic and sincere that 
 one unfamiliar with the ancient event might 
 believe that the calamity had occurred 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 21 7 
 
 yesterday. Every year the faithful expect 
 some miracle to happen. Did not God 
 promise to restore divine glory to His 
 favored city? The most devout prove 
 their sincerity by a characteristic act of 
 self-abnegation. They sleep in the street 
 on straw. It is believed that if one keeps 
 awake all night, he will be vouchsafed such 
 revelations as only the prophets were 
 deigned worthy of. 
 
 Samson was neither last nor least in the 
 public demonstrations of sorrow, which are 
 regarded as manifestations of Jewish loy 
 alty. He slept in the open air, and was 
 joined by his sons-in-law. David was deter 
 mined not to close an eye that night. 
 
 " Will not the ninth of Ab be turned into 
 a day of joy after the birth of Messiah?" 
 inquired Samson significantly, sure that a 
 year later there would be a new life in his 
 house destined to initiate the Kingdom of 
 God here below. 
 
 "That is what our sages say," replied 
 Jonathan, opening a bunch of straw. 
 
 Within the enclosure of Samson s spacious 
 
2l8 IN THE PALE 
 
 yard the three men spread their bed of straw 
 on the bare earth, and made themselves 
 comfortable for the night. Full of golden 
 dreams, sound in digestion, and undisturbed 
 in conscience, Samson, having said a prayer 
 and tucked his blanket around him, was soon 
 in the land of Morpheus, followed thither by 
 Jonathan. David alone struggled against 
 sleep, straining his eyes to discern the mir 
 acle that he anticipated among the stars. 
 
 Was it a dream ? Or was it reality ? The 
 moon turned yellow, darkened, and vanished. 
 One after the other the constellations of a 
 cloudless heaven faded, until the firmament 
 became a total blank, deep, dark, and silent, 
 like a graveyard on a moonless night. Then 
 came a myriad howls shivering through the 
 air, accompanied by a Babel of hideous 
 noises, shrill, hoarse, fearful, mingled with 
 demoniac laughter and appalling groans, as 
 though the whole earth were an insane 
 asylum, and all the inmates were raving 
 in utter darkness. Following the unearthly 
 uproar came a convulsion in nature, as if 
 the elements were transgressing their 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 219 
 
 bounds, culminating in a dreadful earth 
 quake. Cataracts of fire burst forth, from 
 unfathomed deeps, laid bare by the universal 
 upheaval. From one of the yawning abys 
 ses rose a black bird of enormous wings, 
 whose baneful shadow, like the blast of 
 the simoom, withered far and wide what 
 ever it fell upon, transforming beautiful 
 regions into an endless, desolate waste, 
 covered with the relics of a decayed world. 
 In the wake of the winged hobgoblin uprose 
 another still more hideous, drawing after 
 him countless millions of lesser horrors, 
 which cried : " Samael, Samael, thou potent 
 prince of the nether world, we are here to 
 do thy behest. Let us know thy will !" 
 
 There was enough light to reveal the 
 fearful deeps between two mountains, 
 whence a host of winged goblins flocked 
 upward, covering every available space to 
 the topmost crests of the towering peaks, 
 as migratory birds alight on a tree, and 
 make it appear a spire of raven plumage. 
 Between the heights the infernal prince, 
 dimly visible, rose from the chasm he filled, 
 
220 IN THE PALE 
 
 his lower limbs reaching down to a glowing 
 pit. Soaring on his prodigious wings, he 
 thus began in a voice that rang like distant 
 thunder : 
 
 "*Ye zealous adversaries of light and what 
 that beam engenders of happiness and joy, 
 denied us in the tempestuous gulfs where 
 everlasting Night, our silent mother, grins 
 at gloomy fires, which her sable garb 
 illumine ! Conceived in darkness, for a pur 
 pose dark, we but our inborn impulse follow 
 in promoting evil among the brood of man. 
 He, so much less than we, enjoys such bless 
 ings as we crave in vain. Imperfect he, 
 yet preferred, and stationed in a glorious 
 world he scarcely knows how to value, much 
 less to rule, though claiming sovereign sway 
 over kingdoms beautiful as heaven. Doomed 
 unguilty, as we are, who may of justice 
 think? Unblamable we, therefore, for 
 doings forced on us by Him on high for 
 ends we fail to comprehend. Proceed we 
 then henceforth as hitherto to foster evil 
 in the human heart, turning earth into a 
 vale of crime, like Sodom and Gomorrah, 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 221 
 
 till brother murders brother, less remorseful 
 than the beast that its own cub devours. 
 Why scruple as to means ? Employ fanati 
 cism, vanity, conceit, jealousy, and greed, 
 but never cease to work until the mind s 
 high faculty is dimmed, until man loses 
 faith in Providence, and seeks a substitute 
 among the idols of our make. Though first 
 we be uneasy thus to warp intelligence, 
 thus to untune the music of the soul feed 
 ing on the harmony of creation, let us per 
 sist until sin invades it, and when chaos and 
 confusion rule therein, our will shall prevail. 
 Mankind is mad, and shall be maddened till 
 every fool proclaims himself his god, self- 
 worship being \vorse than base idolatry. 
 With no Supreme God to look to in despair, 
 man will espouse despondency, concluding 
 that life is pain, death the end of life, that 
 love is lust, religion a mummery, death a 
 horror, immortality a fable, and he a monkey, 
 born to labor with the brute, live in sorrow, 
 and perish like the worm. 
 
 " Such be our task, lest, by ever-growing 
 light irradiated within, man ascend too high 
 
222 IN THE PALE 
 
 for us to overthrow his rule. Already does 
 he of the Lord s anointed dream. Who 
 knows, unless our legions triumph, what 
 may happen to defeat our end ! " 
 
 As if in response to this Miltonic strain 
 from the mouth of his Satanic Majesty, 
 a terrific thunderbolt convulsed the atmos 
 phere, and earth shuddered like a brute 
 shaking off uncleanness. In a moment the 
 steep acclivity was a mass of writhing 
 skeletons, wriggling in agony and crying : 
 " Woe, woe, woe ! No God Death ends life 
 Love is lust Religion a mummery Im 
 mortality a fable Death a horror. Woe, 
 woe, woe ! Man a monkey!" 
 
 Myriad mocking tones echoed the heart 
 rending lamentation, fiendish laughter ming 
 ling with the blowing of demoniac horns 
 and yells of hellish voices. Night put on 
 her raven black, and the infernal bird re 
 turned with a warning scream, before which 
 the black cohorts fled and vanished like 
 vapor before a cyclone. A shock from be 
 neath was followed by a crack, as though 
 the firmament were bursting asunder. A 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 2.? 3 
 
 flood of dazzling- light broke on the dismal 
 scene, and dissolved it into naught. Nature 
 stood robed in majestic loveliness, like a 
 bride waiting for her lover s embrace. The 
 heavens shone with growing splendor, while 
 from the deep azure flowed a symphony so 
 enravishing that animate and inanimate 
 creation seemed to respond to the heavenly 
 strain. Soon the interstellar spaces teemed 
 with shining hosts of angels, each waving a 
 flaming sword. They descended, as if in 
 pursuit of a hostile army, led by a cherub, 
 who uttered these words : 
 
 " Ye guardian ministers, be watchful, lest 
 the evil ones prevail in dark design, as hith 
 erto they have by much retarded creation s 
 blessed consummation here, where by self- 
 imposed sacrifice man must rise to holiness 
 and truth, until earth is counted one of 
 heaven s unpolluted spheres, a seat of song 
 and worship. Let not in him the brute the 
 godlike quality suppress, nor dread of death 
 wake in him despair. His breath, a part of 
 God, is, like the Source Supreme, immortal. 
 The open heavens are there, and natiire s 
 
224 IN THE PALE 
 
 living wonders to inspire him with faith in 
 Providential love, thus revealed to him in 
 fulness that has eyes to see. How can he 
 doubt the measureless intelligence so fully 
 spread and visibly throughout the universe, 
 whence flow light and warmth to nurse him 
 on this nether world, that he may grow, and 
 rise, and worship, overawed and filled with 
 gratitude for gifts divine, bestowed un 
 asked? Let him of Samae l beware, how 
 ever, the Tempter, who in human error 
 revels. Enough of innate fervor is in man for 
 him to draw soul-stirring inspiration from 
 ethereal fountains, as the prophets did in 
 ages agone." 
 
 Here ended the archangel, overpowered 
 by a wave of radiance outshining what 
 had seemed at first the brightest stream of 
 the empyrean. 
 
 Metatron s shadow yonder, the power of 
 the Almighty," said the cherub with a smile, 
 and faded like a cloudlet, his host vanishing 
 with him. 
 
 Meanwhile, brighter and brighter shone 
 the dazzling blaze, and a sound as of 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 22$ 
 
 myriad harps in angels hands diffused rap 
 turous bliss through endless space. On 
 the waves of light and song, in the deepest 
 blue, amidst a universe of ineffable glories, 
 the infinite Merchabah glided through galax 
 ies, as a regal equipage might pass through 
 an atmosphere of golden dust. Whatever 
 grows on earth shone in inexpressible beauty 
 under the holiest beam, making nature 
 an interminable paradise. From uncounted 
 graveyards rose a host of happy beings, 
 resurrected to new life and felicity. " Thine 
 is the glory," they sang in grateful recog 
 nition of the grace received. Among them 
 David recognized his friend Jonathan. He 
 rushed to embrace him, when a cry of agony 
 broke in upon his mystic vision. 
 
 " My face is torn, and I am bleeding here 
 is the accursed monster," cried Jonathan. 
 " Help, it will tear out my eyes." 
 
 Samson s iron grip closed round the neck 
 of the enraged beast, which, with the growl 
 of a tiger, buried its claws in the flesh of 
 the herculean driver. 
 
 " It is Yente s cat," yelled David at the 
 
226 IN THE PALE 
 
 top of his voice. Now it was Samson s turn 
 to call for assistance. 
 
 "Get a knife and kill her, kill her!" 
 screamed the bleeding man. "There are 
 twenty cats and devils in this ferocious 
 brute," added he, vainly casting about for a 
 Scriptural phrase. 
 
 In an instant the beast was swimming in 
 its blood ; David had plunged a knife 
 into the vitals of the carnivorous mon 
 ster. The beast died hard, and its last 
 moans sent a chill .through the blood of the 
 men, convinced as they were that the cat had 
 been animated by a malicious demon. 
 
 That the neighborhood was aroused by 
 the commotion in Samson s yard, that the 
 unheard-of ferocity of the cat was put to the 
 credit of Yente s immortal hatred, and that 
 Samson furnished a number of biblical quo 
 tations supposed to be applicable to the de 
 feat of vile witchery, as illustrated by his 
 heroism and his wounds, need hardly be 
 said. The accident having become known 
 early in the morning, crowds of people in 
 vaded Samson s home, all eager to see the 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 22; 
 
 monstrous brute, and learn the details of the 
 occurrence. Although assisted by his sons- 
 in-law in giving the information required, 
 Samson felt himself called upon in person 
 to satisfy everyone to the best of his ability, 
 and he acquitted himself so thoroughly of 
 his self-imposed task, that he talked him 
 self hoarse, and had no voice to join in the 
 mournful recitations in the synagogue. The 
 greatest sensation of the day, however, was 
 reserved for a later hour, when the congre 
 gation had returned from visiting the graves 
 of the dead, as is customary on the ninth of 
 Ab. Then David unfolded his transcen 
 dental vision of the previous night, repeat 
 ing the words he had heard, and drawing 
 the picture of what he had seen with intense 
 vividness. Was it not an adumbration of 
 the much-prayed-f or Messianic era ? SamaeTs 
 discomfiture means Metatron s triumph, and 
 Metatron is none else than the deathless 
 Elijah, destined to precede the coming of 
 the true Messiah. 
 
 Samson would have gone into a rhapsody 
 of misapplied Scriptural allusions, had not 
 
228 IN THE PALE 
 
 the cat s claws put a damper on his Mes 
 sianic enthusiasm. Foreshadowed evil had 
 turned into horrid reality. In view of Jona 
 than s bandaged face and Samson s patched 
 limbs, Yente s vindictive ghost became an 
 object of terror, seeing that there were many 
 crawling, creeping, and bounding things left 
 that the malignant breath of a witch might 
 animate for evil. Samson had sinew enough 
 to squeeze a score of live Yentes into jelly, but 
 here was a phantom horror to be dealt with. 
 
 It was suggested that only another sor 
 ceress or wizard could counteract the invisi 
 ble agencies of witchcraft, but the Rabbi 
 threatened Samson with the ban, should 
 he dare invoke the powers of darkness, 
 heartfelt prayer being the only legitimate 
 panoply of a true Israelite. The good man 
 abandoned the idea as soon as the spiritual 
 chief quoted Scripture against it. He en 
 deavored to repeat the phrase told him in 
 Balaam s name, and thereafter referred to 
 the ancient wizard as " the Goy whose ass 
 spoke in the Bible." 
 
 In a few days the excitement subsided, 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 229 
 
 and as weeks glided by without any re 
 markable developments, Samson and his 
 family grew calm, and the solemn month of 
 meditation preceding the great Holy Days 
 engaged the serious attention of the pious 
 congregation. 
 
 The old custom of rising before daybreak 
 for the purpose of reciting Selichoth, that is, 
 propitiatory invocations and prayers, is 
 strictly adhered to wherever old Judaism 
 rules supreme. Cudgel in hand, the beadle 
 hurries from house to house, and knocks at 
 the shutter of each, at the same time calling 
 out with stentorian tones : " Get up to say 
 Selichoth" Responding immediately, the 
 pious gather in their places of worship to 
 shed tears over their sins and aberrations. 
 
 During this earnest season Jonathan one 
 morning thought that he had heard the 
 beadle call him up to join the crowd in their 
 early orisons. In fact, he was sure that he 
 had heard Samson and David leave the 
 house, after telling him to hurry up, and 
 he was sorry to be the last of the family to 
 enter the house of prayer. When he had 
 
230 IN THE PALE 
 
 closed the door behind him, he found him 
 self in a gusty, moonless atmosphere, and he 
 accelerated his steps to reach the place dedi 
 cated to God. He was surprised to meet no 
 person in the street at a time when he might 
 have expected to see many take the same 
 direction. Convinced that he was very late, 
 he increased his speed until he was fairly 
 running, and he rushed into the sacred 
 building without realizing that not a sound 
 was issuing therefrom. On entering he 
 was petrified with horror. The place was 
 crowded to the uttermost with unknown 
 shapes, all attired in the garments of death. 
 He was among the dead. A vapory lumi- 
 nousness, unaccountable as to source, 
 showed a spectacle that made Jonathan s 
 hair stand on end. A muffled hum indi 
 cated the presence of ghostly worshippers, 
 who proceeded to environ the living man, 
 cutting off his retreat, and forcing him 
 toward the centre of the disembodied as 
 sembly. The humming was like the buzz 
 of a distant swarm of bees, but the flitting 
 of the shades, round and round, was unique 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 231 
 
 and too awful to be compared witn any 
 thing in the concrete world. Only one had 
 the power of speech, and his voice was not 
 unfamiliar. " Pass him a Seliche" was the 
 order. 
 
 Jonathan turned his head mechanically 
 toward the shade that spoke ; it was Selig, 
 just as he had seen him in the hour of his 
 wedding and death. From the opposite side 
 of the spacious room, where the women s 
 gallery was situated high above the heads 
 of the men, an arm fully sixty feet long 
 stretched forth to hand Jonathan the book. 
 One look was sufficient to convince the terri 
 fied man that the attention was paid him 
 by Yente. She was in her bridal attire, and 
 a smile crossed her sinister countenance, so 
 terrifying that Jonathan almost sank under 
 his own weight. 
 
 He did not avail himself of the courtesy, 
 and lost no time in looking for his friends of 
 shorter limbs. Rushing towards the door, 
 he found the audience as yielding as air. 
 Once in the street, he sped homeward at a 
 rate more creditable to his heels than to his 
 
232 IN THE PALE 
 
 dignity. He felt considerably relieved on 
 recognizing in the dimness the familiar out 
 lines of his genial father-in-law. Taking a 
 long breath, he unfolded the spectral tale of 
 the longimanous adventure. In answer, 
 Samson, usually so unsophisticated, smiled 
 so broad a smile that to make room for it 
 his visage dilated to amazing dimensions, 
 and shot forth a sixty yards tongue, which, 
 like a huge serpent, he wound round his pro 
 digious frame. This was too much for 
 Jonathan. He ran to his home, where he 
 found all sound asleep. On awakening, his 
 wife discovered that he had swooned. Re 
 vived with difficulty, he told his tale, fell 
 sick, raved about ghosts and goblins, and 
 died. 
 
 Of course, there was great consternation 
 in the community and a youthful widow in 
 the house of Samson, who resented the hob 
 goblin s having borrowed his features to 
 distort them for the ruin of his son-in-law. 
 Instead of becoming the grandfather of the 
 Messiah, he had a widowed daughter, and 
 lived in perfect horror of something darker 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 233 
 
 to come. Nor did he stand alone in his 
 gloomy forebodings. A sense of insecurity 
 seized the entire population of Choinick, in 
 cluding non-Jews, whose dread of witchcraft 
 exceeds that of their Hebrew neighbors. 
 
 Benjamin, the lessee of the public bath, 
 offered to state under oath that he had seen 
 Yente, Selig, and the cat glide out of the dead 
 woman s deserted shanty at a late hour in 
 the evening, and vanish in the air, and chil 
 dren reported that they had seen the cat on 
 the hearth in the hovel long after she was 
 known to be dead. 
 
 A portentous symptom was the incessant 
 howling of dogs at night, heretofore rarely 
 noticed, except after the death of some 
 notorious witch or wizard. In short, what 
 ever superstition could be associated with 
 the abandoned nest of a dead sorceress, was 
 linked with the miserable hole once occu 
 pied by the crone and her cat. 
 
 After the burial of the lamented Jona 
 than, it occurred to David that the dead 
 man was bound by an oath to communicate 
 with him about things in the world of mys- 
 
234 IN THE PALE 
 
 tery. David s anxiety to prevent the prom 
 ised information from reaching him was not 
 small. How could a ghost be restrained 
 from surprising him in the dead of night 
 with harrowing details of another life? 
 The circumstances of Jonathan s death sug 
 gested blood-curdling possibilities. What 
 was to be done ? Acting on the Rabbi s 
 advice, ten honored elders repaired to the 
 grave of Jonathan, and solemnly informed 
 him that his friend cheerfully relieved him 
 of his promise to reveal the unrevealed; 
 that, in fact, he would be pleased to be left 
 unmolested. To make things doubly sure, 
 the warning was added, that it was in the 
 power of the living to make it uncomfort 
 able for the dead by excluding certain names 
 from the prayers for the dead in the syna 
 gogue. 
 
 This ruse worked as long as the sun 
 shone, but when twilight set in, Samson felt 
 uneasy, and David fairly trembled at the 
 likelihood of a nocturnal call that might 
 end his existence. 
 
 A new sensation was created by Benja- 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 235 
 
 min s sickness. He lay speechless, stricken 
 by a mysterious something, which his wife 
 thought must have been either Yente s 
 evil eye or Selig s stick, both of which, 
 he asserted, he had felt repeatedly when 
 he had met them between the deserted 
 hovel and the bath, threatening him and 
 vanishing in the air. Benjamin died. 
 
 The gruesome wedding scene ever before 
 his mind s eye, and the dark happenings of 
 a near past fresh in his memory, it needed 
 more than ordinary courage for David to see 
 the shades of night gather without a palpi 
 tating heart. To add to his dismay, his 
 Leah refused to stay with him at a time 
 when companionship was a precious boon to 
 him. The young woman feared that Jona 
 than s ghost might emerge from the dark 
 with news which she was far from anxious 
 to learn. Samson had to fill the place of 
 his daughter, who went over to Miriam s 
 room. At any other time David would have 
 objected to him as a substitute for his wife ; 
 as matters stood, however, Samson s kind 
 ness was duly appreciated. 
 
236 IN THE PALE 
 
 This cloud darkened Samson s home until 
 time dispersed it. Uneventful years passed 
 by, and the conclusion was reached, that 
 either the measure taken by the pious men 
 had had the desired eff ect,which was thought 
 likely enough, or the dead were dead, and 
 were not permitted to reveal what Provi 
 dence decreed was to remain hidden. It was 
 argued that, if the dead were allowed to 
 divulge to the living all they knew, nothing 
 would be left to inspire awe. Furthermore, 
 there were such horrors to be revealed as 
 can be faced only by the dead, who can 
 stand a great deal more than the living, 
 and this could not be denied. 
 
 This reasoning induced Leah, to poor Sam 
 son s great delight, to resume connubial 
 relations with her disconsolate husband, 
 and Kalmon, the Shadchan, was on the 
 outlook for a respectable widower to make 
 Miriam happy. 
 
 One morning there was great stir and 
 agitation in and about the house of the 
 honest driver. Pale faces, tears, the Rab 
 bi s presence, the undertaker s expectant 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 237 
 
 look, all told a tale of sorrow. What had 
 happened ? David dead ? No. Alive ? No. 
 Sick ? No. What then ? In a few mo 
 ments it was known that David was neither 
 alive nor dead. He was in a trance. His 
 eyes were open, his breast hove and fell, 
 laboring to inhale the vital element ; his 
 pulse indicated feverish heat within, but he 
 was manifestly lost to all consciousness. In 
 a few minutes the house was besieged by 
 throngs of friends, the whole congregation. 
 Everybody suggested a remedy, and every 
 remedy was tried in vain. They gave him 
 snuff, but he would not sneeze; they tickled 
 him, but he would not laugh ; they held a 
 burning taper before his open eyes, it did not 
 disturb him in the least ; the sacred shophar 
 was sounded in his ear, he moved no muscle; 
 a hot plate was applied to his bare soles, 
 he remained passive. Yet, though he was 
 dead in appearance, life was visibly flowing 
 through his veins. The people were amazed, 
 and the non-Jewish physician assured them 
 that it was one of the rarest phenomena for 
 a man to be dead and alive at the same time. 
 
238 IN THE PALE 
 
 The question arose whether a similar oc 
 currence was anywhere recorded in Israel s 
 traditional or legendary lore. Certainly; 
 here are two illustrations : A famous sage 
 died. His wife, instead of giving him up for 
 burial, kept his body in an upper chamber, 
 believing, as she did, that the righteous 
 never die. There he continued for many 
 years undecayed, yea, life-like, though unfed 
 and breathless. The wonder of the tale is 
 heightened, when it is added that the man 
 having died without leaving a competence 
 to sustain his family, the brave widow 
 helped herself by causing contending parties 
 to state their differences before the door of 
 her dead husband, and his voice gave the 
 decisions. The fees thus secured supported 
 the family. This went on for eighteen years, 
 when the widow, who daily attended to the 
 cleanliness of her husband s body, found a 
 little worm in one of his ears, and took it as 
 a hint that the time had come to restore him 
 to eternal rest. 
 
 Of another light in Israel it is recorded, 
 that he was put into a trance for seventy 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 239 
 
 years merely to convince him that even so 
 long a space may, by the will of God, pass 
 like a dream. The venerable teacher 
 had not been able to realize how a ban 
 ishment of seventy years from Zion 
 could be spoken of as a dream. Pondering 1 
 on the Psalm in which this expression 
 occurs, he passed out of the city gate, and, 
 feeling tired, stretched himself under a 
 tree to rest. An impenetrable maze of 
 shrubs and foliage, called forth for the pur 
 pose, hid the sleeper for seventy years from 
 the eye of man and brute, the seven decades 
 gliding by like a dream of as many minutes. 
 Awaking from what he believed to have 
 been a nap, the sage proceeded homeward. 
 What was it that struck him with astonish 
 ment? Neither the scenery nor the sur 
 roundings appeared the same as he had 
 known them. He did not recognize his 
 beloved home. The town was full of un 
 known people. At his own school he found 
 teachers he had never met, surrounded by a 
 generation as foreign to him as he was to 
 them. Was it a dream ? On hearing him- 
 
240 IN THE PALE 
 
 self quoted as an authority of a former age, 
 he understood that he had undergone a most 
 wonderful experience. He had slept seventy 
 years. Feeling- himself a stranger in a time 
 for which he was not intended, he prayed to 
 be withdrawn, and his prayer was granted. 
 
 When Samson heard that David s trance 
 might extend over a period of seventy 
 years, in which case he should have two 
 young widows to provide for and a half 
 dead son-in-law in the bargain, he exclaimed 
 in despair : " This is as bad as all the bad 
 things in the Book of Job and a little worse. 
 You can do something with a live man. 
 You can do something with a dead man. 
 But what shall one do with a man who is 
 neither alive nor dead ?" The logic of the 
 statement did not change the case. 
 
 A new fear was aroused by the doctor s 
 hint that, should the trance continue for 
 weeks, science would demand the dissection 
 of David s body, in which case it would 
 have to be transported to the college of 
 anatomy in the University of Kieff. This 
 coincided with the popular prejudice con- 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 241 
 
 cerning the infernal doings of doctors, 
 when their curiosity is roused as to how 
 some incurable disease is healed, or why a 
 certain ill cannot be cured. In each case 
 the dissecting knife is applied. Samson 
 was horrified at the idea, and the doctor got 
 what he expected, a handsome bribe to keep 
 his peace. But this apprehension was soon 
 removed. The trance lasted only a day and 
 a night. 
 
 When David returned to consciousness, 
 he thrilled with awe those who listened to 
 his account of his meeting with Jonathan. 
 Death, Jonathan had told him, was by no 
 means so terrible a spectre as he is assumed 
 to be. Death is neither covered all over 
 with eyes, as tradition paints him; nor does 
 he brandish a burning sword ; nor does he 
 bear bladders filled with deadly gall, nor 
 vials full of poison. Death is a large cherub 
 of pale countenance and placid eyes, soaring 
 on two wings, and gently drawing life out 
 of him whose end has come. Here is Jona 
 than s report : 
 
 " When I beheld the winged cherub over- 
 16 
 
242 IN THE PALE 
 
 shadow my bed, I felt that my hour had 
 come. Like an immense eagle poising over 
 his prey, the dark power hovered over me, 
 draining my life, until I felt a sensation as 
 though a crust of ice enfolded me, leaving 
 me in utter oblivion. 
 
 " How long I remained in this inanimate 
 condition, I am unable to say. At a cer 
 tain moment there came a something over 
 me that disturbed my rest. That some 
 thing kept me awake in spite of the insidi 
 ous attacks of overwhelming sleep. The 
 narrow walls which enclosed me suited my 
 condition, my body being perfectly content 
 to rest where it lay encased. The influence 
 that worked on me from without, however, 
 proved too strong to be long resisted, so that 
 I was bodily raised out of my grave to face 
 an angel in silvery garb. He looked majes 
 tic, covered a league with his outspread 
 wings, and diffused lustre like that of the 
 unclouded moon. He called me with domes 
 tic familiarity, and informed me that he was 
 sent to lead me to the place where my record 
 had been examined and found wanting. 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 243 
 
 " Off he swept like lightning, drawing me 
 after him, like a leaf caught in a cyclone. 
 He plunged into an abyss with so precipi 
 tous a fall as in a second sent us adown thou 
 sands of miles through dense night. We 
 landed in a desolate rotunda, hemmed in by 
 black rocks of smoking sulphur. The me- 
 phitic vapors were terrible, but they did not 
 hurt me. 
 
 " Before me stood the radiant angel of 
 j ustice, balance in hand, on which my life was 
 weighed. I could review it from beginning 
 to end, a perfect individuality bearing my 
 impress. The volume of its spotted body 
 weighed down the dark side of the balance; 
 its limbs dangled on the other side, signify 
 ing my meritorious deeds outbalanced by 
 the weight of sin. 
 
 " In the next moment the dismal space 
 teemed with legions black and white, the 
 bright ones shielding me from the fury of 
 the black demons, who threatened to tear 
 me to pieces. They were all my own, typify 
 ing my good and my evil deeds, each host 
 claiming its master. Among the fiends 
 
244 IN THE PALE 
 
 were Yente and Selig, who incited the gob 
 lins against me. It was a critical moment. 
 The load of evil was so entirely out of pro 
 portion to the amount of good that I gave 
 myself up as lost. While the furious war 
 was waged between the adverse hosts, 
 there emerged on a sudden lame Hirsh, my 
 first instructor in Hebrew, whose chronic 
 poverty I often relieved by the small atten 
 tions we are in the habit of showing to those 
 that watch over our childhood. Hirsh, 
 you know, was more of a kind nurse than 
 a pedagogue, watching affectionately over a 
 herd of little tots entrusted to hi3 care, 
 teaching them the Hebrew alphabet, and 
 recounting marvellous tales, in which the 
 ever-roaming Elijah was the central hero. 
 The man came halting, one mass of bundles 
 and baskets and a variety of things received 
 at our home on all occasions. These he 
 threw in together with himself for my salva 
 tion. Down came the fateful scale with a 
 click in my favor. The cherub of mercy ap 
 peared on the scene, and, by a touch of his 
 wand, raised my soul from the black abode. 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 245 
 
 " Off we darted with, the speed of light to 
 ward a great blaze, which broke on us from 
 the first of the seven heavens. At the en 
 trance of the first heaven, I was met by 
 father Abraham, shining like the sun. He 
 knew me, and welcomed me with a smile of 
 paternal benignity. 
 
 " * Your lame teacher saved. you from many 
 years of torment in yon dark abodes, re 
 served for the deluded of the erring race. 
 Ah, if my descendants on earth only knew 
 how insignificant: things combine to stamp 
 a man good or bad, they would be more 
 careful in their words and dealings. What 
 have I done to be holding thus the gate of 
 the heavens ? My knowledge of things in 
 general was limited, but my heart was faith 
 ful and unselfish. As long as all-controlling 
 selfishness sways the minds of the race, it is 
 vain to count on the Messianic redemption. 
 Who cannot cherish the virtues associated 
 with my name ? It is so much easier to be 
 righteous than to be crooked that only 
 idiots deliver themselves to vice. 
 
 "This plain talk of our patriarch re- 
 
246 IN THE PALE 
 
 minded me of my wife below, and I asked 
 my angelic guide to let me have a glimpse 
 of Miriam. He informed me that earth was 
 so far beneath that it would take a stone, 
 dropped from the spot whereon we stood, 
 five cycles to strike solid ground. He fur 
 ther stated, that the upper skies were many 
 thousand times higher, one above the other, 
 and above the seventh heaven the Mer- 
 chabah occupied more space than all the 
 heavens combined, more than figures can 
 tell, or human brain conceive of. 
 
 " I should have felt sorry to be so far away 
 from my dear Miriam, had it not been for the 
 celestial wonders that engaged my atten 
 tion, especially the heavenly music made by 
 cherub choirs, wearing garlands of unfading 
 flowers and shining like burnished gold un 
 der a perfect sun. The delights are en 
 hanced by the acquired power of flight from 
 heaven to heaven, from star to star. It is a 
 felicity, which words cannot describe, be 
 cause inconceivable in the state of mor 
 tality. 
 
 "When he had told me all this, the 
 
FRIENDS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 247 
 
 angel of mercy bade me adieu, and I was 
 left to look out for myself, which implied no 
 hardship whatsoever. There being 1 neither 
 hunger nor thirst, the soul feeds on the 
 numberless glories spread in profusion. 
 
 " Other beings j oined me, and one proposed 
 that we ascend to the second sky. They 
 were all admitted by Moses except myself. 
 The lawgiver informed me that there was 
 an item in his records against me, preclud 
 ing my immediate entrance into the higher 
 Elysian regions. I had to fulfil the agree 
 ment we had entered into before our mar 
 riage. With the utmost velocity I hurried 
 earthward, promising myself deep joy from 
 a visit to my dearest ones. Great was my 
 disappointment on finding it impossible to 
 commune with a soul enshrined in a mortal 
 frame. I had no means of approaching my 
 consort, and how acquit myself of my prom 
 ise to you ? The latter problem I solved by 
 throwing you into a trance." 
 
 Here Jonathan closed, promising to give 
 more information in course of time. Da 
 vid assured his friend that he knew 
 
248 IN THE PALE 
 
 enough to last him all his life. The only 
 favor he asked was, that Yente be hereafter 
 restrained from molesting Samson and his 
 family. It was at this point that David s 
 trance was broken. The good fellow sneezed 
 heartily, and was again among the living. 
 
 Henceforth there was peace in Choinick. 
 Yente s hovel was demolished, and Benja 
 min s widow was allowed to use of it what 
 ever could be burned to heat the bath. 
 The strangest incident in the affair was the 
 discovery of the hoard supposed to have 
 been stolen by David. It appeared that in 
 spite of Yente s terrific cat her miserable 
 hovel had been honey-combed by a colony of 
 rats. The rodents had undermined the 
 hearth, thus causing the treasure to sink 
 under its own weight out of sight and be 
 yond reach. David s innocence was estab 
 lished, and the Rabbi decided that the re 
 covered hoard was to be devoted to the 
 alleviation of misery among the faithful in 
 the Holy Land. 
 
CZAR NICHOLAS THE FIRST AND 
 SIR MOSES MOXTEFIORE 
 
 THE Yeshiba is a Jewish College in 
 Russia at which nothing but the Tal 
 mud and its commentaries is taught, and 
 a pupil at such schools, of which many 
 exist, is called Yeshiba-Bachur, a synonym 
 for student of the Talmud. The head of 
 each of these Colleges is honored as the 
 RosJi ha-Yes/nba. His office is to expound 
 daily except Friday and Saturday a por 
 tion of the Gcmara with pilpulistic sub 
 tleties, which the first or highest class of 
 the institution must know fully, and the 
 second class partly. The students are given 
 efficient assistance by a " repeater," in this 
 case not a revolver, but a thorough Talmud- 
 ist engaged for the purpose. The third or 
 preparatory class is enjoined to listen atten 
 tively, but is not required to know more 
 than the plain text and its commentaries. 
 The examination takes place at the end of 
 (-49) 
 
250 IN THE PALE 
 
 the week. It is characteristic of the 
 Yeshiboth that the bulk of their students 
 come from other cities, and wholly de 
 pend for their board on the kindness of 
 the towns-people. Some are fortunate 
 enough to become regular boarders in hos 
 pitable homes, but this is rare. The Bachur 
 is prepared to eat his seven weekly dinners 
 in seven different houses, and to sleep 
 among scores of his fellows on the benches 
 of the large school-house, his head resting 
 on the pillow he has brought in his box 
 along with a number of nondescript articles. 
 Coming as he does from an humble home, 
 he does not feel the need of a dormitory. 
 He is ever in excellent humor, unless he 
 has missed a couple of meals, which hap 
 pens only too often, is ambitious to be dis 
 tinguished and promoted, and is strongly 
 inclined to migrate in the hope of securing 
 more comfort in another Yeshiba. 
 
 There are famous Yeshiboth in Russia, open 
 only to such as are able to pass a very exact 
 ing examination in the unnumbered chapters 
 of traditional lore. In exceptional instances, 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 251 
 
 one man of means supports the whole insti 
 tution; in others, the Yeshiba is sustained by 
 subscriptions and donations. The S/iad- 
 chan, of course, has his eye on the " lights" 
 of these schools, and many an unbeautiful 
 maiden of rich parents has been made 
 happy by her marriage to a brilliant Bachur. 
 The " lights" are exceptions, however. As 
 a rule, the Bachurim are left to themselves, 
 but their isolation and monotonous life are 
 greatly relieved by the sociability that pre 
 vails among them, by the songs and the wit 
 of some, and by the stories of others. Bibli 
 cal plays are composed and produced, and if 
 there is anything in the city to be laughed 
 at, you may count on its comical discussion 
 or reproduction in the Yeshiba. In fact, 
 the poor Bachur is every inch a student, and 
 youth expresses itself in him as it does in 
 the attendants of the University. He is 
 credited, moreover, with great shrewdness, 
 and many a story is current of the strate 
 gies he resorts to, where miserliness closes 
 the door against him. Here is an instance. 
 It is a rule among the Jewish residents 
 
252 IN THE PALE 
 
 of villages to keep " open table," that is, to 
 welcome any who may come to their hos 
 pitable board, in view of the fact that ped 
 dlers are poor people, and cannot get kosher 
 food in a village. This admirable hospi 
 tality is not emulated by the modest tavern- 
 keeper, who often declines to sacrifice 
 his small earnings to the patriarchal ideal. 
 Now, it happened that a poor Baclinr, on his 
 way from one Yeshiba to another, arrived on 
 a Friday at a place in which there was but 
 one Jewish resident, the inn-keeper, and he 
 not of the hospitable kind. He was re 
 ceived very coldly, and, being hungry and 
 having no money, he contemplated with 
 alarm the prospect of enjoying a long fast 
 instead of a feast. He smelt the dinner, 
 and saw the fuming dishes served. His 
 mouth watered, but he was left severely 
 alone. An idea struck him. With a face 
 as earnest as that of a priest celebrating 
 high mass, he called the host aside, looked 
 furtively around, as if to assure himself that 
 his secret would not be overheard by a third 
 party, and asked in a whisper what he sup- 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 253 
 
 posed a diamond about as large as a pigeon 
 egg and as scintillating as a star was 
 worth ? The question surprised the un 
 friendly host, whose features, hitherto as 
 rigid as those of a police magistrate, soft 
 ened into a dubious smile. If the young 
 fellow had the jewel he spoke of, and did 
 not know its value, what a chance to make 
 a fortune! 
 
 " A diamond of the kind and size you de 
 scribe may be worth two hundred roubles," 
 said the shrewd tavern-keeper with the air 
 of an experienced jeweler. 
 
 " Two hundred roubles ! Why, Shapirsky 
 of Yurevitz told me that the precious stone 
 would bring at least four hundred," asserted 
 the BacJiur. 
 
 "It all depends upon what kind of a 
 stone it is," remarked the inhospitable host, 
 anxious to secure the confidence of the 
 youth. " It may be worth even more than 
 that." 
 
 " If a man has a jewel like the one I 
 should so much desire to sell, he, of course, 
 tries to dispose of it at the highest price 
 
254 IN THE PALE 
 
 possible," explained the hungry wanderer, 
 and resumed his seat in the cold corner, 
 while the other looked for his wife to 
 enkindle her mind by the brilliancy of 
 the diamond. The woman was dazzled 
 by the report of the sparkling stone, and 
 the next moment she stood before the 
 young man, urging him to partake of a meal 
 which she had set out for him in the adjoin 
 ing room, to make himself sociable, and stay 
 with them over the Sabbath. King Solo 
 mon s crown jewels were the topic of the holy 
 day, and the youthful roamer had a good 
 deal to say about the treasures of Ophir, so 
 that the host and the hostess thought and 
 dreamed of nothing but diamonds. The 
 Sabbath over, the kind tavern-keeper offered 
 to hitch up his horse and take his friend of 
 the jewel a few miles in the direction of his 
 destination. The offer was accepted, but 
 the student talked of everything but jewels. 
 When finally asked to produce the stone 
 that he had for sale, he said that he had 
 never had one. 
 
 " You have no diamond ? " cried the 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 255 
 
 greedy villager disappointed. " Why did 
 you inquire about its value so earnestly, and 
 talk about its brilliant quality?" 
 
 "Why? Shall I allow people to fool me in 
 case I find a diamond, as others have done?" 
 returned the Bachur. "Should not a man 
 know something of so important a matter ? " 
 
 The host asked no further questions, and 
 turned his horse homeward. 
 
 As for the Bachur s inventive genius, let 
 the following two tales speak for them 
 selves. 
 
 * * -5f -5f -X- -5f -X- 
 
 When the death of Alexander the First 
 placed his son, Nicholas the First, on the 
 throne of the Czars, the Russian Hebrews 
 did not count on considerate treatment 
 from the new Czar. All they prayed for 
 was to be left unmolested in the exercise 
 of their religion, however unenviable their 
 state might otherwise be. But, like all the 
 Romanoffs, Nicholas was a very orthodox 
 Czar. His anxiety to bring his Jews under 
 the eaves of the Greek Catholic Church 
 assumed the nature of a passion. "One 
 
IN THE PALE 
 
 Church, one Russia," was his motto, in 
 herited from a rigidly autocratic lineage. 
 Neither Gibraltar nor Sebastopol are im 
 pregnable fortresses; both have been 
 stormed and taken. Not so the settled 
 mind of a thoroughly orthodox Jew. In 
 his case the all-conquering Alexanders and 
 Napoleons have failed. That phenomenal 
 specimen of ancient humanity has periodi 
 cally been subjected to a variety of theo 
 logical experiments, with the disheartening 
 result that, after he has been starved, flayed, 
 stewed, roasted alive, immured, impaled, 
 and has passed through almost every opera 
 tion performed with the thumbscrew and 
 the dissecting knife, he continues to live as 
 though all these anatomic attentions had 
 been paid to the man in the moon. " Once 
 a Jew, forever a Jew," is his motto, and he 
 has taught the world -that airy nothings 
 may survive emperors and empires. 
 
 Nicholas discovered this early, and set 
 about devising means and methc "j of con 
 version, other than those associated with the 
 career of Thomas Torquemada. Theortho- 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 257 
 
 dox Czar made up his mind to "beat the 
 world s record." If the adult Hebrew was a 
 thing the devil could not save from perdition, 
 what might not be done with his unfossil- 
 ized brood? Once removed from parental 
 influence, the youthful offspring of stiff- 
 necked Judah would sooner or later submit 
 to pressure, especially if the life-saving dis 
 pensation is impressed with military em 
 phasis. 
 
 Thus it came to pass that under Nicholas 
 the First Slavonic Israel experienced op 
 pression equal in many respects to that 
 sustained by the Jews under the rule of 
 Antiochus Epiphanes. An imperial Ukase 
 commanded that Jewish boys be enrolled 
 in the army at an early age, at which re 
 sistance to conversion might easily be over 
 come either by corporal punishment or by 
 temptations. The Ukase spread consterna 
 tion among families with boys answering the 
 demand of the inexorable autocrat. The 
 children had to be delivered at a fixed date. 
 Desolation and anguish reigned in thou 
 sands of Jewish houses. The Chassidim in 
 
258 IN THE PALE 
 
 their bitterness of heart roared out furiously 
 against the cruelties of Edom, and watched 
 the starry heavens for a sign indicative of 
 Providential displeasure, but the stars took 
 no notice of Israel s sorrow. The imperial 
 will was enforced yearly, multiplying 1 tears, 
 misery, and converts, and mothers ran to the 
 sacred Ark of the Covenant to pray that 
 their children die rather than be forced into 
 an idolatrous Church. 
 
 What was the joy and surprise of the 
 Russian Hebrews, when they heard that one 
 of their faith, Moses Montefiore, had been 
 received with honors at the court of the 
 Czar ; that he had come to St. Petersburg 
 to plead in behalf of his persecuted brethren, 
 and that his petition was likely to relieve 
 their distress? The very name of the great 
 philanthropist awakened sweet hope. Moses 
 is a name engraved on the Jewish heart 
 Moses son of Amram ; Moses Maimonides ; 
 Moses Mendelssohn, had not each had a mis 
 sion to fulfil in his time ? And now Moses 
 Montefiore ! Henceforth he was spoken of 
 as the fourth great luminary in Israel s 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 259 
 
 annals, and him the modern Pharaoh was 
 bound to respect, lest the ten plagues of 
 ancient Egypt descend on the Czar s do 
 mains. 
 
 It was felt that nothing short of a miracle 
 could have induced the fanatic Czar, who 
 had sworn to uproot the seed of Judah, to 
 honor a Hebrew. But is not our his 
 tory a succession of miracles ? Acrostics 
 were composed in honor of the deliverer, 
 and prayers offered for his prosperity. His 
 tour through several Russian cities with 
 large Jewish congregations turned out a 
 triumphal pageant, and there was no end 
 to the tales describing his reception else 
 where. By the Caliph of Estamboul Monte- 
 fiore had been treated like a sovereign. 
 Czar Nicholas had appointed a special 
 palace for the entertainment of his Jewish 
 guest, had detailed a regiment of his body 
 guard to do honor to the Anglo-Hebrew 
 millionaire, and had had food prepared for 
 him in compliance with the dietary injunc 
 tions of the Torak. 
 
 It was asserted that the vast wealth of 
 
260 IN THE PALE 
 
 the admirable Moses made Croesus seem a 
 poor fellow in comparison. Montefiore, 
 everybody was convinced, had immense 
 vaults stored with bags of gold and precious 
 stones. He had offered the Czar ten 
 roubles for each of His Majesty s Hebrew 
 subjects. The Czar, of course, would not 
 think of accepting the offer, the article 
 being too precious to be thus cheaply dis 
 posed of. There was no doubt, however, 
 that ere long Montefiore would have a con 
 sultation with his friend Rothschild, and the 
 two Anglo-Jewish nabobs together would 
 make a more reasonable proposition to the 
 Czar, the object being to restore scattered 
 Israel to the Land of Promise. Was not 
 Rothschild a fit prince to ascend the throne 
 of David? And where was the man to 
 dispute the right of the world-renowned 
 and honored Moses to the high priesthood ? 
 Montefiore s enormous wealth did not in 
 the least interfere with his humility, his 
 love of the poor, his devotion to his God, 
 and his ardor of worship. He had a mentor 
 in the shape of a wonderful clock, which, 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 26 1 
 
 at the expiration of each hour, before strik 
 ing time, played a funeral march, followed 
 by the heart-stirring call : " Moses, Moses, 
 another of thy counted hours is gone, gone. 
 Remember thy grave, thy grave, thy grave !" 
 A still stronger reminder was a coffin made 
 of plain pine wood, ready to encase his 
 mortal remains. To curb vanity which 
 riches like his might beget, the good Moses 
 daily stretched himself for an hour in the un 
 adorned sarcophagus, and so well succeeded 
 in keeping the frailty of mortal man before 
 his mental eye that prayer never departed 
 from his lip, and the needy never turned to 
 him in vain. A Jew in every atom of his 
 being, Montefiore loved even the Goyim, 
 whose misery he tried to alleviate. Monte- 
 fiore s wife was worthy of her philanthropic 
 husband. She was on terms of friendship 
 with the Queen of England, but would not 
 shake hands with Czar Nicholas, because he 
 had caused so much pain to her sisters in 
 Russia, nor would she wear a jewel so long 
 as her co-religionists suffered oppression. 
 She had traveled with her consort every- 
 
262 IN THE PALE 
 
 where, but would not honor Muscovy with 
 her presence, until Nicholas revoked his 
 cruel Ukase against Jewish children. Even 
 Montefiore s bill-of-fare was not unknown 
 to the BacJiur of the Yeshiba. To comply 
 with the behests of the fathers, who enjoin 
 abject frugality upon the student of the 
 sacred Law, the noble Baronet ate bread 
 and onions during the week, but royalty 
 could not outdo the sumptuousness of his 
 table on the holy Sabbath. 
 
 The hospitality the noble Moses extended 
 to the Czar of all the Russias while His Im 
 perial Majesty visited Great Britain was as 
 sumptuous as the feast given by Ahasverus 
 in the capital of ancient Persia. In the para 
 disiacal park of the Baronet, for a distance 
 of several miles, the finest Oriental rugs 
 were spread for His Majesty s feet to tread 
 upon. The entrance to the palatial residence 
 was paved with plates of solid silver, artis 
 tically fitted to each other. The vestibule 
 was finished in gold, and the walls of the 
 drawing-room presented a blaze of gems 
 such as no monarch had seen before. 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 263 
 
 The marvel of the palace, however, was 
 its dining-room. On entering this apart 
 ment accompanied by his suit, the Czar 
 was astonished to see the royal banquet 
 hang in mid-air, apparently without sup 
 port. The Czar s confusion was not small 
 when he was invited to take a seat. There 
 was no chair in the room ; neither was there 
 a table, but the dishes were there. Nicholas 
 was at a loss how to get out of the embar 
 rassing position with dignity. " Is it not 
 customary in this land for the host to take 
 his seat first ?" asked the wily monarch. 
 Hereupon the Hebrew host permitted his 
 capacious proportions to rest on what 
 looked like nothing, but was assuredly 
 something solid, or it could not have sup 
 ported the considerable weight of the cor 
 pulent Baronet. There the great philan 
 thropist was seated on the air, as it were, 
 his feet dangling several inches above the 
 floor. The Czar looked like the man in 
 the play who tries to stab Hamlet s ghost. 
 He was willing enough to follow the host s 
 example, but no chair was in sight. The 
 
264 IN THE PALE 
 
 generous Hebrew, perceiving His Majesty s 
 perplexity, finally led his royal guest to a 
 seat, which the Czar felt to be as real as if 
 made of rock. 
 
 The mystery was soon solved. The din 
 ing-room was fitted up with furniture of 
 crystal so fine that only the most experienced 
 eye could detect it. There was nothing in 
 the world to match it. Envy seized the 
 heart of the mean Nicholas. By a cunning 
 tumble he managed to break, not alone 
 his own seat, but several chairs near him. 
 Montefiore answered smilingly in reply 
 to the Czar s hypocritical regret at what 
 he termed an accident : " Sire, I can furnish 
 every palace in your empire with invisible 
 conveniences and commodities from top to 
 bottom. We possess the secret of manufac 
 turing these things in as large quantities as 
 we care to do." 
 
 The appointments of the hall wherein the 
 Czar was entertained were so costly that no 
 monarch could have afforded them with 
 out draining the resources of his land. Yet 
 it was not its magnificence that astonished 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 265 
 
 the Emperor. There was a bewitching some 
 thing floating in the atmosphere, a marvel 
 ous odor, causing everyone to feel intoxi 
 cating joy. The guests were conscious of a 
 delightful drowsiness, and the Czar was the 
 first to rest himself on a superb divan, invit 
 ing the others to do likewise. No sooner 
 were they seated than a mysterious sym 
 phony filled the spacious room, and enrap 
 tured the souls of the distinguished com 
 pany. Answering to the touch of a bell, 
 seven angels emerged from curtained niches, 
 performed a graceful dance in the air, and 
 vanished like apparitions. When the music 
 died away, the Baronet requested the royal 
 party to rise and then to resume their seats. 
 This was necessary to continue the concert, 
 which was a product of the invaluable 
 divans. 
 
 Such were some of the curiosities Monte- 
 fiore exhibited to surprise the enemy of 
 his race. For a definite purpose the wise 
 Moses referred to the great resources of 
 the Muscovite Empire. " Yes, we have 
 gold enough in our realms to have a chain 
 
266 IN THE PALE 
 
 forged stretching all the way from St. Pet 
 ersburg to London and thence to Kam- 
 tchatka," remarked the Czar boastfully. As 
 the Hebrew expressed no surprise at the ex 
 travagant statement, Nicholas asked him 
 how long a chain he could make, thinking 
 that he would thus be able to test his enor 
 mous wealth. 
 
 " Long enough, Sire, to stretch through 
 all the space between the Holy Ark of my 
 synagogue to the blessed throne of God 
 above the seventh heaven," was Montefi- 
 ore s calm reply. Nicholas smiled. 
 
 " You are undoubtedly the richest Jew on 
 earth. We have some wealthy Hebrews in 
 our Empire, but they are not the subjects 
 on whom we can safely build," said the Czar. 
 
 " It has ever been my wish to be the best 
 rather than the richest Jew, Sire, but I 
 am neither the one nor the other. In wealth, 
 my friend Rothschild is by far my superior, 
 and in the Jewish quality of true, heroic 
 self-abnegation, there are thousands of He 
 brews in your Majesty s domains whose 
 equal I cannot claim to be. There are As- 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 267 
 
 monean Israelites in Russia, Sire," asserted 
 the host. 
 
 " We should be pleased to agree with you, 
 sir; but are you in earnest?" asked the 
 Emperor, not a little surprised at the positive 
 assertion of the Baronet. 
 
 " As earnest as death, Sire," returned 
 Moses with unfaltering 1 voice. " It is a 
 matter easily tested. It costs me little to be 
 a faithful Jew in England, but in your Maj 
 esty s domains " here he stopped short. 
 
 Serious thoughtfulness settled on the 
 forehead of the Czar, as he said : " We 
 have always thought our Hebrew subjects 
 the meanest within the bounds of our 
 Empire, yea, perhaps the meanest people in 
 the world ; exclusive, deceitful, parsimon 
 ious, fanatic, treacherous, and whatever is 
 bad in humanity. They will not assimilate 
 with their countrymen, do what we please. 
 They persist in living out of touch with the 
 other sons of Russia, a foreign element, 
 praying for Jerusalem, and cursing the 
 adherents of the cross," asseverated the 
 Czar emphatically. 
 
268 IN THE PALE 
 
 " Sire, it is their misfortune to be thus mis 
 understood," rejoined Sir Moses, " their 
 sad condition making them appear worse 
 than their brethren elsewhere. We are all 
 of the same stock, springing from the same 
 patriarchal family, inspired by the same 
 religion, worshipping the same God, culti 
 vating the same literature, and cherishing 
 the same hope of one day seeing mankind 
 united as one brotherhood. There is a dif 
 ference between the British and the 
 Russian Jew, but it arises from the fact 
 that in this land we bathe in the sunshine 
 of human equality, which is denied my 
 brethren under your Majesty s rule. It lies 
 not in human nature, Sire, to return confi 
 dence for distrust, or love for hatred. The 
 Jew has character, alas, and human dignity !" 
 
 " What is the Jew wanted for now ? What 
 is he living for?" exclaimed the Czar. " Do 
 you still dream of spiritual pre-eminence 
 among the nations of the earth ? If God be 
 love, and His word truth, they are destined 
 to be universal blessings, not the exclusive 
 heritage of a few insignificant tribes. Why 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 269 
 
 is Jesus rejected by the Jew ? Did he not 
 live and die a Jew? His love embraced the 
 world. Whom does the Jew love ? What 
 has Jesus done to be spurned ? Would 
 this world be better, happier, without Chris 
 tianity ? Conquer your Jewish prejudice, 
 sir host. If Christianity be a delusion, 
 it is the greatest, the divinest in history. 
 If humanity is to be united in heart, 
 soul, and God-worship, who is working for 
 the union? The Jew? Your Judaism 
 holds out no redemption for the race ; 
 Christianity does. Give me the religion 
 that stands first and last for universal union 
 and harmony. Is it your religion ? A creed 
 that stands for human exclusiveness and 
 tribal choice is an institution of the devil " 
 wound up Nicholas, shaking his fist. 
 
 But the autocratic ruler had to deal with 
 a Moses, whose reverence, piety, and wisdom 
 were not to be daunted by a display of finely 
 spun phrases. 
 
 " Your Majesty is right," cried the Hebrew, 
 his eyes flashing fire. " A creed that stands 
 for human exclusiveness and tribal choice 
 
 v* 
 
270 IN THE PALE 
 
 is an institution of the devil. That is the 
 reason why I am a Jew ; for the synagogue 
 stands for unity, and union, and unison 
 unity of God, union of men, and unison in 
 God-worship. Is not this our prophet s Mes 
 sianic dream ? And is it Judaism that re 
 tards the wished-for consummation of the 
 divine Utopia ? Sire, is it just to impugn 
 Israel for ministering to his own salvation, 
 and credit the Church with world-redeeming 
 endeavors ? Where shall the Jew yield ? 
 If Jesus were a Jew of to-day, he would 
 certainly not worship in the Trinitarian 
 Church, nor would he substitute baptism 
 for our fundamental blood-covenant. Would 
 our surrender to a creed so entirely at vari 
 ance with our monotheistic ideal be a step 
 in advance toward a sublimer conception of 
 God and His Universe ? The holiness and 
 humanity taught by the synagogue are une 
 qualled. The Jew feels at home wherever 
 man is humanized. His mission is not to 
 conquer the world by forced conversions, 
 but by making life an illustration of the 
 golden rule, which is the kernel of our faith. 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 2/1 
 
 We cannot, will not assimilate with denomi 
 nations which violate our central truth of 
 Divine Unity. Why should I go to the 
 Church or the Mosque to taste of adul 
 terated food, which I have in original purity 
 in my synagogue ? 
 
 " I admit Christianity to be a step toward 
 Judaism. Jesus and Mohammed are to me 
 the same as Zoroaster, Buddha, Confucius, 
 and Socrates. We venerate wisdom, extol 
 virtue, but worship no man ; no, not even 
 Moses. There is one figure to whom I indi 
 vidually pay hero-worship. It is Job, the 
 martyr of the world ; heroic in his mighty 
 resistance to all the woes and throes of 
 outrageous fate; sublime in his reflections 
 on life s unsolved mystery; majestic in his 
 interrogation of powers that answer not ; 
 divine in his sweet resignation, and triumph 
 ant in a struggle superhuman endurance 
 alone could have sustained. Job is the 
 allegory of Israel s martyrdom, Sire, the 
 type of the agonized Jew. The Church 
 and the Mosque are monuments of Jew 
 ish conquest, and Israel s misery is the 
 
272 IN THE PALE 
 
 monumental pyramid of man s immortal 
 shame! " 
 
 The Czar s eye measured the proportions 
 of the philanthropic Hebrew with an ex 
 pression of mute wonder, unused as he was 
 to be thus encountered and defeated beyond 
 hope of regaining the field. There remained 
 nothing for His Majesty but to beat an 
 honorable retreat from the arena, and Nich 
 olas did it gracefully. Turning to his at 
 tendants, who wondered at the boldness of 
 the Hebrew, the Emperor observed : 
 
 " We should like to have with us at this 
 moment some of our learned metropolitans 
 and others of our Archierey, to prove our just 
 claim to religious ascendency over the old 
 faith. However, we go hence, sir host, im 
 pressed with the conviction that the matter 
 has two sides. Our Jews, we are grieved to 
 affirm, are not a class to be loved or admired ; 
 yet have we never heard of a Hebrew 
 soldier s disobedience to his superior or 
 disloyalty to his sovereign. We shall give 
 this question our best attention, Sir Moses," 
 was the Czar s last remark. 
 
NICHOLAS I AND MOSES MONTEFIORE 273 
 
 All the Czar did, however, was to talk 
 over the matter with his kind-hearted son, 
 the Czarowitch Alexander, who, on ascend 
 ing his father s throne, remembered it, and 
 did much to ameliorate the painful situation 
 of his Jewish subjects. 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S 
 CASTLE 
 
 THE royal treatment the Czar had expe 
 rienced at the mansion of Moses 
 Montefiore moved his curiosity to see the 
 yet more magnificent palace of the world- 
 renowned Rothschild. No sooner did the 
 millionaire learn of the Emperor s wish, 
 than a cordial invitation was extended, 
 which was graciously accepted. Was it 
 necessary for the Baron to make prepara 
 tions to receive his imperial guest? Not at 
 all. His palatial residence was always in a 
 Solomonic state of splendor, such as no 
 Caliph could have sustained without reduc 
 ing his realm to poverty. In fact, at least 
 half of this world s treasures are stored in 
 Rothschild s vaults. What renders this 
 Hebrew most formidable is his possession 
 of King Solomon s signet-ring, the very seal 
 that enabled the ancient despot to make 
 the demon Ashmodai do his bidding. In 
 (274) 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 275 
 
 other words, Rothschild has power over 
 agencies inaccessible to other mortals. 
 Kings are afraid of him, and the fortress of 
 Sebastopol would never have fallen, had he 
 had cause to favor Russia. He was friendly 
 to Great Britain, and the doom of the Mus 
 covite army was sealed. 
 
 The reception and entertainment offered 
 the autocrat of all the Russias by the man 
 who thus controls the destiny of nations 
 was marked by incidents well known in the 
 Yeshiboth. That the carriages sent for His 
 Majesty the Czar and his attendants were 
 marvels of workmanship, and had wheels of 
 precious metal and seats soft as air, need 
 hardly be alluded to. The conveyances 
 were drawn by horses of Egyptian breed, 
 sired by those which King Solomon intro 
 duced into his capital after he had married 
 the daughter of the lord ruling over the 
 domains of the Nile. The trappings were 
 made of purple, and studded with stars of 
 gold. Artfully hidden jewels illumined the 
 inside of the imperial equipage. All this, 
 however, is referred to as a mere bagatelle 
 
276 IN THE PALE 
 
 in the great display of wealth that made 
 Israel s enemies pale with envy. 
 
 A rather comical incident of the visit was 
 caused by a mysterious purse of gold, which 
 came very near costing one of the Musco 
 vite boyars his nose, to the great amuse 
 ment of the Czar and his suit. It was a 
 Satanic temptation, a golden trap. The 
 insidious treasure lay on the ground in the 
 heart of the millionaire s estate, before the 
 entrance to the palace, as though some one 
 had lost it. For a genuine Russian to pass 
 so tempting a thing as a purse of gold with 
 out trying to lay hold on it, is a psycho 
 logic impossibility. The noble Slav could 
 not imagine that the confounded purse was 
 the instrument of a treacherous scheme. 
 What the unsophisticated Russian beheld 
 was a purse transparent enough to leave 
 no doubt as to its contents. 
 
 Here is what happened. The heavy por 
 tals of gilded workmanship swung wide open 
 to receive the royal party. The carriages 
 rolled on for many miles through superb 
 gardens, covered with rare shrubbery and 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 277 
 
 delicious flowers, as in Solomon s famous 
 parks in song-consecrated Zion, in which he 
 entertained the Queen of Sheba. Birds 
 made music, brooks murmured, cascades 
 bounded over barriers, fountains played, 
 parrots screamed, all conspiring to make the 
 surroundings an Eden of delight. Pres 
 ently, as the imperial party left their convey 
 ances, one of the distinguished attendants, 
 a nobleman of no small importance, caught 
 sight of the purse, and, by a strategic move 
 ment, managed to come within grasping 
 distance. No sooner did he lay his hand 
 thereon, than presto ! a black cuckoo, with 
 the screech of a devil s bird, responded to 
 the touch, a response which exasperated His 
 Highness. Darting down with the rapidity 
 of lightning, the naughty bird fastened its 
 iron bill on the nose of the astonished court 
 ier. In very emphatic German the distressed 
 nobleman cried, " Zum Kuckuk," but all in 
 vain. The infernal creature would not relax 
 its hold, until the unfortunate Slav, with 
 more haste than heroism, dropped the for 
 bidden treasure. It fell exactly where it 
 
2/8 IN THE PALE 
 
 had lain before, and the bird disappeared 
 like an apparition. The Russians looked 
 embarrassed, but Nicholas laughed heartily 
 when the joke was explained to him. The 
 piece of machinery had not its like in the 
 world. A great Kabbalist had made it for 
 the generous millionaire. 
 
 " Who made that devilish fowl for you, 
 Monsieur le Baron ?" asked the Czar. 
 
 " One of your Majesty s subjects," an 
 swered Rothschild significantly. 
 
 u One of our subjects ?" cried the monarch, 
 visibly surprised. 
 
 " One of Judah s suffering children in 
 your Majesty s Empire," reiterated the proud 
 Hebrew. 
 
 There was a look of interrogation in the 
 Czar s eye, but the sagacious host said 
 nothing more, and his imperial guest was 
 soon within the walls of the palace. Many 
 were the surprises in store for the Emperor, 
 each apartment exhibiting an excess of 
 costly articles, unequalled by anything seen 
 in royal palaces. As in the residence of Sir 
 Moses Montefiore, the dining-room was 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 2/Q 
 
 a most remarkable combination of art 
 and magic. In reality it contained abso 
 lutely nothing- to see or to eat, the walls 
 being bare and the floor empty. Nicholas, 
 who had hitherto succeeded in suppressing 
 every sign of surprise, remembering the 
 invisible furniture of Montefiore s dining- 
 room, asked the host whether he was 
 to be seated on an invisible chair, and fed 
 with impalpable dishes ; or whether he was 
 to be served on the floor with manna rain 
 ing through the ceiling ? 
 
 "Neither one thing nor the other, Sire," 
 replied the host dryly. " Here is the ser 
 vice intended for your Majesty and your 
 Majesty s attendants." 
 
 Saying this, Rothschild touched a knob. 
 Immediately was heard a distant rumbling, 
 followed by a cracking and bursting of walls, 
 a falling and tumbling of ceilings, panels, 
 and pillars, as though an earthquake were 
 shaking the castle. In a trice there was 
 an amazing transformation, and the scene 
 looked like a dream woven by genii. 
 The Czar stood perplexed. Could those 
 
280 IN THE PALE 
 
 immovable fairies, stationed around golden 
 tables, whereon dishes fit for angel royal 
 ties were spread, be real, tangible creatures ? 
 And those chairs set with precious jewels, 
 each one fit to be a ruler s throne, could 
 they be genuine ? All doubt vanished 
 the moment a concert by invisible instru 
 ments caused the airy beings to move and 
 serve the Emperor and his train, their voices 
 mingling with the instrumental music, which 
 filled the air with celestial harmony. 
 
 " It was not one of our Hebrew subjects 
 that devised this, Monsieur le Baron ? We 
 should like to know him, if he be one of 
 ours," observed the Czar ironically. 
 
 " Pardon, Sire, the Kabbala, the mystic 
 science, is possessed by none to so high a 
 degree as by the Hebrews under your Maj 
 esty s rule. To one of them I am indebted 
 for a power worth all the kingdoms on earth. 
 Should your Majesty condescend to spend 
 the coming night here, it will be my pleasure 
 to let your Majesty s eyes behold what no 
 monarch, except King Solomon, ever wit 
 nessed," returned Rothschild. 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 28 1 
 
 The Czar made no reply, but looked 
 thoughtful and serious. He was reflecting 
 on the cruel wrongs he had inflicted on his 
 Jewish subjects. At the close of the ban 
 quet, he turned to inform his host that he 
 was pleased to accept the invitation to stay 
 with him over night. Rothschild bowed his 
 respectful acknowledgment. 
 
 We need not wonder that hours passed 
 like minutes at the festive board. It was 
 late in the afternoon when the imperial 
 party rose from the table. The Czar was 
 anxious to miss no curiosity in the most 
 sumptuous of human habitations, and the 
 hospitable Hebrew was only too willing to 
 please His Majesty. They proceeded from 
 room to room, from hall to hall, from vault 
 to vault, where enormous hoards of gold 
 and invaluable stones were stored and 
 guarded by gigantic warriors of the Queen, 
 all armed cap-a-pie. At last they found them 
 selves under the open skies, but embowered 
 by a wealth of tropic plants and blossoms 
 rarely seen in our latitude. 
 
 They advanced into the depths of the 
 
282 IN THE PALE 
 
 park, and suddenly stood before an arch of 
 flowery glories, prodigious in size, and 
 shaped in imitation of the rainbow. Every 
 tint of the multicolored bow was artistically 
 reproduced, and, lest the cold destroy that 
 marvel of the florist s art, a crystal vault 
 hung over it like a solid firmament, allowing 
 sunshine to warm and beautify the unique 
 creation of genius. Jealousy seized the 
 flinty heart of the Czar. What was the use 
 of being the autocrat of all the Russias, if a 
 Jew dared boast possession of what he could 
 not dream of enjoying ? A sigh escaped his 
 envious breast, as he asked in a cheerless 
 tone : 
 
 " And what is the object of this display of 
 plants, Monsieur le Baron ?" 
 
 " We call it our symbolic gate, Sire," re 
 plied the millionaire. 
 
 " Symbolic of what ? " inquired Nicholas, 
 unwilling to be surprised again. 
 
 " It is an emblem of the two pathways 
 presented for the choice of humanity, 
 Sire," explained Rothschild. 
 
 "Aha, I see, two ways separate, one to 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 283 
 
 the right and one to the left, both equally 
 wide, but one cheerful and smooth, the other 
 dark and rugged. Which is preferable ? Is 
 not this the point?" 
 
 " Exactly, Sire ; that has been man s ques 
 tion since his creation," agreed the host. 
 
 "Very well, as we have the choice, we 
 shall proceed on the smooth pathway," 
 decided Nicholas, and straightway led 
 his suit on the tempting road, running 
 down an inclination of the ground. Roths 
 child took the other direction, his path 
 way leading to elevated ground. Before 
 the royal party had advanced a few hun 
 dred paces, they had to pass through a sub 
 terranean passage, whence they emerged 
 upon the most desolate surroundings they 
 had ever seen in so limited a space. The 
 desolation grew with every step, the road 
 losing itself in a labyrinth of rocks, on which 
 the sun s light appeared to have no influence. 
 Having passed over a dark chasm by means 
 of what looked like a bridge, the company 
 was astonished to see the span disappear 
 the moment the last person stepped on the 
 
284 IN THE PALE 
 
 other side, thus rendering return by the 
 same pathway impossible. To the right 
 and the left there was a dismal growth of 
 half-withered trees, and almost perpen 
 dicular rocks rose to a considerable height, 
 a dark fluid, resembling liquid pitch rather 
 than water, issuing from many a fissure. 
 The hoot of an owl was answered by a 
 chorus of screaming bitterns and squeaking 
 frogs. The Czar took umbrage on dis 
 covering that his host was not present. He 
 stopped, looked around, and asked why 
 the Baron was absent. " We seem to be 
 unaccompanied and unguarded," said he 
 impatiently. 
 
 " Your Majesty is accompanied, and, in 
 this castle, under the guardianship of the 
 Lord of Israel," came the assurance from the 
 top of a rock. 
 
 " And where are you, Monsieur le Baron?" 
 cried the Czar, the situation being one 
 scarcely to the taste of a despot unused to 
 be trifled with. 
 
 " I am in Paradise, Sire," was the curious 
 answer of the famous banker. 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 285 
 
 " And where the devil are we ? " was the 
 next question of His Majesty the Czar. 
 
 " In hell, Sire," came the laconic reply, to 
 the surprise of the Czar and his attendants. 
 
 " Here is a Hebrew who appears to own 
 all worth having on earth and Para 
 dise besides," remarked the monarch good- 
 humoredly. Turning his look upward, he 
 called out, taking up the Baron s pleasantry : 
 "And will you not raise us out of this 
 infernal region, Monsieur? " 
 
 The answer was : " Immediately." 
 
 On four golden chains, down came a 
 chariot of crystal and jewels to lift the 
 Czar and his train to the paradisiacal height. 
 It was a plateau as beautiful as the valley of 
 Sharon, shaded by trees loaded with the 
 most odoriferous fruits and blossoms. Nich 
 olas understood the lesson, for he deliber 
 ately observed: 
 
 " Like a true brother of Christ you saved 
 us from perdition, Monsieur le Baron." 
 
 " We wait for the world s appreciation, 
 Sire," said Rothschild in a voice full of 
 meaning. 
 
286 IN THE PALE 
 
 " Your symbolic gate has taught us a 
 lesson," added the Czar. 
 
 " Only a hint at Israel s history, his mar 
 tyrdom, his mission, and his final triumph. 
 Without Sinai and Carmel, without Abra 
 ham, Moses, Samuel, and the Maccabees, 
 what were the hope, life, and dream of the 
 human race ? " asked the Hebrew. 
 
 " It is clear," continued the monarch pen 
 sively. "On a thorny pathway the Jew as 
 cended the mount of salvation, drawing up 
 with him the non-Jewish world. His re 
 mains the glory of having given us a Re 
 deemer, apostles, and a Bible. Who has 
 done the like? Who half as much? Why, 
 Monsieur le Baron, it must inspire a feeling 
 of great pride to have rendered mankind 
 such invaluable services. If I were not the 
 Czar, I should like to be a Hebrew, one like 
 yourself." 
 
 Rothschild bowed deep, and in a tone of 
 suppressed emotion asked : " And how does 
 the world requite us for the work your 
 Majesty has so graciously referred to?" 
 
 "The world is not good," returned the 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 287 
 
 Czar, his eyes fixed on the crimsoned west, 
 where the descent of the sun was marked by 
 a trail of waning coruscations. " Yes, the 
 world ought to be a vast deal better with 
 Moses and Jesus as our divine guides." 
 
 " It is in your Majesty s power to make it 
 better," suggested Rothschild. 
 
 " Too late, too late to begin a new course," 
 said Nicholas, as though to himself. " The 
 Jew will remain a Jew to the end of time. 
 What he teaches must be immutable, or 
 it would have changed. Everything suffers 
 change ; only the Jew remains the same. 
 His is the threefold blessing: historical pre 
 servation, divine revelation, and prophetic 
 inspiration. The Lord knows best what is 
 good for this world. The Hebrew wor 
 shipped the Supreme Being thousands of 
 years before our ancestors had a glimpse of 
 the divine truth. We shall hereafter let the 
 Jew worship after his fashion, Monsieur le 
 Baron, sorry though we are to see him 
 reject the Messiah." 
 
 "The Lord will bless your Majesty," 
 gratefully said the Hebrew host. 
 
288 IN THE PALE 
 
 The palace and the gardens were beauti 
 fully illumined, night having set in, and the 
 evening was spent in viewing a variety of 
 exhibitions given for the diversion of His 
 Majesty. It was almost midnight when the 
 Czar signified his intention of withdrawing 
 to his apartments. 
 
 " We have instructed our guards to give 
 Monsieur le Baron access to our retreat this 
 night," said the Czar on his way to his bed 
 room. 
 
 " It is then your Majesty s pleasure to 
 have the vision? " asked the host. 
 
 "Ah, then it is no more than a vision that 
 we are to be regaled with ? We counted on 
 something more than a dream," observed 
 the Czar, seemingly disappointed. 
 
 "It will be more, Sire; neither will the 
 guards stand between us at the time of the 
 meeting," added Rothschild significantly. 
 
 " Unless we meet disembodied, no creature 
 of flesh can approach our person without 
 giving the proper sign, if permission has not 
 previously been granted," asserted the Czar. 
 
 " Your Majesty having signified it to be 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 289 
 
 your pleasure to be met, no earthly power 
 can prevent the meeting," replied the host 
 positively. 
 
 " Of this we shall have proof during the 
 coming night," said the Czar, and, with a 
 nod to the Baron, retired, having given 
 strict orders to admit not a soul to his apart 
 ments. 
 
 When the clock struck twelve there was 
 perfect quiet in the castle. Useless to 
 dwell on the sumptuousness of the Czar s 
 apartment. It was the very copy of the one 
 occupied by King Solomon in his glory. 
 Nicholas thought it a dream. The high 
 canopy of the bed was a miniature imitation 
 of the starry dome, scintillating jewels rep 
 resenting the constellations of the firma 
 ment. The tapestries on the walls showed 
 landscapes so wonderfully realistic that they 
 appeared miles away. The illusion was 
 rendered perfect by the ringing of a cow 
 bell, the playing of a lute, and the carol of 
 a lark. " This is an enchanted castle, and 
 the Jew is a mate of the devil," cried the 
 Czar. 
 19 
 
IN THE PALE 
 
 " A mate of the devil," echoed a tenfold 
 voice. Nicholas, startled by the hollow 
 echo, made the sign of the cross. He went 
 to open a window, but there was none. 
 How was the apartment ventilated ? Neither 
 was a lamp to be seen, yet the room was 
 brilliantly lighted, the jewels throwing out 
 a flood of radiance. 
 
 Tired though the Czar was, he hesitated 
 to stretch his royal limbs on the dazzling 
 couch. When he had gathered courage 
 enough to measure his length on the regal 
 bed, he was astonished at the effect of his 
 horizontal position. His weight caused 
 harmony to proceed from beneath his pil 
 lows, as sweet as the spiritual music of 
 another world. 
 
 Now the clock struck one. What was it ? 
 A mysterious tremor made the whole space 
 quiver. Was the castle rising or sinking? 
 Certainly the room was moving. Whither ? 
 The Czar rose to his feet. Adown every 
 thing went, and with speed suggestive 
 of considerable depth. A light jerk in 
 formed the imperial guest that a station 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 29 1 
 
 had been reached. A rap at the door with 
 out was answered from within. Rothschild s 
 voice reassured His Majesty that everything 
 was as it should be. The door opened, not 
 into the pompous hall of the palace, but into 
 a cavernous hollow, dimly lighted by a lan 
 tern in the Hebrew s hand. Invited to step 
 into the deep, the Czar asked whether the 
 room would not fly up the moment he 
 stepped out of it. Assured that there was 
 no danger, the guest followed his host 
 through an irregular arch, and entered 
 a grotto of vast dimensions, shrouded 
 in total darkness. Presently Rothschild 
 caused the light in his hand to fall on a 
 massive door of steel, which bore four 
 Hebrew letters graven in the metal. The 
 Czar learnt that the letters spelt the ineffable 
 Name, which the high priest wore on his 
 headgear, and before which Alexander the 
 Great had bowed with reverence. Yielding 
 to the touch of the guide, the ponderous 
 door opened, showing a brilliant model of the 
 Holy Ark made of hammered gold. Nicholas 
 inclined his head reverently, but he was not 
 
292 IN THE PALE 
 
 permitted to view its contents. To the left, 
 suspended on a golden peg, hung the Urim 
 and the Thummim, the oracular symbols 
 the high priest wore on his breast. With 
 them Rothschild adorned his chest. To the 
 right of the Ark stood an antique vase 
 filled with invaluable gems of great beauty. 
 Rothschild picked out a ring, slipped it on 
 his index finger, closed the door, and put out 
 the lamp. 
 
 " The glow of this ring fulfils the function 
 of a thousand lamps," observed Nicholas, 
 his envious eye resting on the blazing seal. 
 
 " Solomon s signet can do more than 
 illuminate a rayless cavern, Sire," replied 
 the Baron. 
 
 The Czar stood mute with amazement ; he 
 knew the virtue of the ancient monarch s 
 signet ring, and strained his eyes to discern 
 the contents of the numerous recesses, 
 which, he suspected, contained startling rev 
 elations. The grotto was a labyrinth too 
 vast to be the work of human hands. 
 Its great height could scarcely be reached 
 by the eye, and it was hung with solid 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 293 
 
 crystals of glittering magnificence. The 
 uneven floor was a bewilderingly variegated 
 mosaic of marble and onyx, suggesting a 
 superhuman master hand, which must have 
 been active for ages unnumbered in forming 
 the incrusted pattern of indescribable 
 beauty, broken here and there by petrified 
 trees and shrubs, which sparkled as though 
 set with multicolored jewels. The impres 
 sion of awe was deepened by the presence 
 of a dazzling altar adorned with irregular 
 columns branching into fantastic candel 
 abra, adding greater beauty to a place 
 already fit for the ministrations of a high 
 priest. 
 
 " Let us ascend this altar," proposed the 
 host to the Czar. The hundredfold rever 
 beration of these words startled the Em 
 peror. Could those hollow noises be no 
 more than a mocking echo ? 
 
 From his stand upon the altar, Rothschild 
 commanded a full view of all the dark re 
 cesses. Toward the first of these he turned 
 the beam of the glowing signet. An out 
 burst of mellow splendor from within re- 
 
294 IN THE PALE 
 
 sponded to the flash of the supernatural 
 ring, revealing a sight of awe and horror. 
 From a dim background, teeming with un 
 sightly shapes of groveling and groping 
 humanity kneeling before a variety of mon 
 strosities, strode forth, like Phoebus from 
 the Orient s golden gate, a comely youth, his 
 back turned on the gruesome scene, his 
 eyes, full of ethereal inspiration, cast heaven 
 ward. A gigantic savage, club in hand, 
 threw grim eyes at him, and a gleam from 
 the deep empyrean gilded the countenance of 
 the dreamy demi-god. The sight was preg 
 nant with sublime significance. The Czar 
 looked to his guide for an explanation. 
 Without a w r ord, Rothschild turned his 
 light on the next recess. Here the youth 
 stood in matured manhood, looking thought 
 fully on a barren tract before him, in his rear 
 a numerous train, and behind them a chaos 
 of shattered idols and broken altars amidst 
 a confused mass of frowning humanity. 
 " Abraham ? " whispered the Czar. " Abra 
 ham," reverberated every recess. 
 
 "The head of the Hebrew nobility, Sire; 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 295 
 
 the man who preceded the son of Amram in 
 his world-redeeming mission ; the one we call 
 our great-grandsire. The world has never 
 been graced by a diviner specimen of hu 
 manity. To him our letters of nobility date 
 back," was the undisputed claim of the proud 
 Hebrew, who at the same time gave illumi 
 nation to the adjoining recess. 
 
 Pyramids on the banks of a mighty stream 
 indicated the land of the Nile. Wretched 
 slaves were engaged in hard labor, task 
 masters, rod in hand, inflicted punishment 
 on some, and others were casting furtive 
 looks at a new-born babe with head encircled 
 by a nimbus. Nicholas asked : " Israel in 
 Egypt?" 
 
 " Israel in Egypt, Sire, and here the Exo 
 dus," answered Rothschild, flooding another 
 region of the cavern with a blaze of light. 
 The scene presented a great multitude of 
 men, women, and children, headed by a 
 mighty leader, staff in hand, before them a 
 pillar of fire, and farther on a stormy sea. 
 "Sinai comes next," surmised the Czar. 
 
 " There is Sinai, Sire," cried Rothschild, 
 
296 IN THE PALE 
 
 lighting up a panorama of overpowering 
 reality. " Yonder your Majesty may dis 
 cern Horeb wrapped in flame, at the summit 
 a majestic figure, clad in fire like a god our 
 lawgiver, the tablets in his hand. The efflu 
 ence issuing therefrom throws streaks of 
 light on the faces of the alarmed masses, and 
 breaks the darkness far beyond, suggesting 
 the power of the Torah to enlighten mankind. 
 Israel holds the light of the world. By the 
 impenetrable mystery yonder is conveyed a 
 faint idea of the ineffable Supreme Being, 
 who, in the beginning, bade chaos recede be 
 fore His light, which enkindled the stars, and 
 set them moving forever. Below, diagon 
 ally opposite, your Majesty beholds heath 
 enism symbolized by Jove in despondency. 
 Those three at the thunderer s feet represent 
 Minos, Lycurgus, and Solon, with heads 
 lowered, and unrolled scrolls clutched in 
 their nervous hands. Hebraism triumphs 
 over Hellenism. And here Israel s march 
 through the desert." 
 
 With a wave of his hand the guide trans 
 formed a dark recess into a vision of glory. 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 2Q/ 
 
 Twelve tribes were seen to advance majes 
 tically, the holy Ark of the Covenant occu 
 pying the centre of the triumphant proces 
 sion. 
 
 " That was a daring expedition," said the 
 Czar. " They dared and conquered. Their 
 faith must have been great." 
 
 " Unbounded, Sire, then as thereafter and 
 hitherto. Yet our forty years in the desert 
 have been the most heroic and blessed ever 
 lived through by a people. With Moses as 
 leader, the destruction of idolatry and the 
 fashioning of the divinest code as exclusive 
 employments, and heavenly manna as food, 
 what a glorious period !" cried Rothschild. 
 
 " And after the desert the Land of Prom 
 ise," assumed Nicholas in a positive tone. 
 
 "Zion, Sire," responded the lord of the 
 grotto, sending a volume of light in the direc 
 tion of a great city, clustered round a superb 
 edifice of symmetrical beauty. A striking 
 figure was a majestic woman of queenly 
 grace, one of whose hands rested on a cornice 
 of the portico, the other on the head of a 
 person whose contemplative look and whose 
 
298 IN THE PALE 
 
 garments indicated the calling of the 
 prophet. Around the harvest festival was 
 being celebrated, happy throngs crowding 
 the courts and the neighborhood of the 
 sacred building, many with green laurel 
 crowns on their heads, in their hands bas 
 kets filled with sheaves of golden grain or 
 with clusters of the luscious grape. Headed 
 by the high priest, a train of priests and Le- 
 vites, attired for the sacred office, were on 
 the point of entering the Sanctuary. 
 
 " Beautiful Zion !" exclaimed the Czar. 
 
 " And here her first great sorrow," supple 
 mented the guide, throwing light upon a 
 scene of wreckage and desolation. The city 
 and the Temple were seen in flames ; Asiatic 
 cohorts reveled within the precincts of the 
 sacred edifice, tearing down whatever would 
 not yield to the fire. Far away, chained and 
 guarded, the daughter of Zion was seen 
 being led off into captivity, accompanied by 
 the prophet, his hand pointing heavenward. 
 The meaning was clear, and was further 
 illustrated by the next scene, Israel in cap 
 tivity, crowding the highways which passed 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 299 
 
 by a stream, harps hanging on the willows. 
 
 " Your story is unsurpassed in stirring 
 incidents by the tale of Troy," said Nicholas 
 with great earnestness. 
 
 " Sire, our tale is either epos, or ode, or 
 tragedy," returned the guide. "There, 
 Zion s daughter in a new situation," added 
 Rothschild, as he caused another scene to 
 burst forth in luminous grandeur. 
 
 An altered Temple, environed by an 
 altered Jerusalem, showed a new state of 
 things. The Roman ensign and files of 
 legionaries told their own story. The em 
 blematic figure was there in her original 
 posture, but her features were affected by a 
 twitch of nervous impatience. The ex 
 pression was intensified by the sight of the 
 man of God near her, who, rod in hand, was 
 on the point of chastising a wayward boy. 
 The deeper significance of the tableau was 
 brought home by the presence of a Roman 
 magistrate, whose eyes were riveted on this 
 group, while his finger pointed to a rood in 
 the distance. Angry Hebrews threw threat 
 ening glances at the unruly child in the 
 
300 IN THE PALE 
 
 hands of the priest. The foreshadowed 
 issue caused the Czar to exclaim : " They 
 are going to crucify our Saviour." 
 
 "Sire, not they; the Romans are going to 
 crucify him; the Romans were his execu 
 tioners. The Jews are themselves going to 
 be crucified, a nation of martyrs, for eigh 
 teen hundred years," returned the guide, 
 furnishing the illustration to his words by 
 breaking the night in another recess at the 
 extreme end of the grotto. 
 
 Once more Zion was in conflagration ; the 
 Temple stood a dismal ruin. The vast deso 
 lation was rendered ghastly by the slain and 
 the dying Judeans. Roman legions made 
 havoc among the ill-fated sons of Judah. 
 Again the daughter of Zion was seen as 
 she was carried off, this time chained to a 
 Roman chariot. 
 
 " We should have liked to see Judea 
 prevail in her final struggle for spiritual 
 supremacy," graciously observed the Czar, 
 evidently moved by the tragic scene. 
 
 " Judea did prevail, Sire, prevails to this 
 day," asserted Rothschild, pointing to an- 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 301 
 
 other brilliant display conjured up from 
 dense darkness. "There, the rule of the 
 black monk ! " cried he. 
 
 "The rule of the black monk," echoed 
 every hollow of the labyrinthian cave. 
 
 A monk, the personification of an irre 
 concilable Church, had one of his feet on the 
 Roman eagle, the other on the neck of the 
 magistrate. His eyes were fixed in fierce 
 hatred on the daughter of Zion, robed in 
 mourning, and his hands grasped a red cross. 
 In the background, separated from the 
 daughter of Zion, dressed in sackcloth and 
 overshadowed by the emblem of the new 
 religion, stood the exiled Jew, holding the 
 Torah in his embrace. " This needs no ex 
 planation, Sire," suggested the host. 
 
 " It needs none, Monsieur le Baron," agreed 
 His Majesty, looking for the coming scene. 
 
 " Neither does this historic reality need 
 interpretation," observed the millionaire. 
 
 The display called forth from night by 
 the power of the signet was an infernal 
 spectacle of outrage and carnage under a 
 lurid sky. The Czar shuddered at the 
 
302 IN THE PALE 
 
 sight of fiendish atrocities perpetrated on 
 men, women, and children of Jewish features. 
 In the inhuman revels of cruelty and blood 
 shed, the black monk played the most prom 
 inent part; but there were others whose van 
 dalism caused the Czar to blush for shame. 
 Among the barbarians that tore away 
 children from the breasts of their mothers, 
 he recognized the instruments of his own 
 despotism. They were his Russians who 
 did the dark deeds. He realized what this 
 implied. He had brought untold misery to 
 a myriad Jewish homes by robbing them of 
 their children to baptize them in the army. 
 The lesson came home to him forcibly, that 
 his place in history was fixed. 
 
 " Is there anything else to be seen, Mon 
 sieur le Baron?" inquired the monarch, evi 
 dently anxious to have the scenes shifted. 
 
 " The brightest is yonder, Sire," replied 
 the banker, turning the signet toward a deep 
 recess and transforming it into a Messianic 
 vision. " It is the passing of man from dark 
 ness to light." 
 
 The startling tableau was one of trans- 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 303 
 
 parent shades broken by a tremulous dawn, 
 an indefinable transition from night to day. 
 Only half revealed, the emblem of Chris 
 tianity was seen in the background, and the 
 fierceness of the black monk was relenting in 
 face of the imposing presence of a thought 
 ful power surrounded by all the instruments 
 of modern research and science. On the 
 brighter side of the picture, holding the 
 Torah in his arms, stood the Jew, unbending, 
 but placid, sorrowful, but unrevengeful. 
 Partial reconciliation was indicated by the 
 friendly intercourse of the votaries of dif 
 ferent denominations originally hostile to 
 one another. 
 
 "And do the Jews wait for the realization 
 of that dream ?" asked the Czar. 
 
 " Yea, Sire, and for much more, as soon 
 as humanized humanity grasps the pro 
 phetic ideal, which is to make earth like 
 heaven by reuniting the divided race. Here 
 is the culmination of Israel s Utopia." 
 
 The display brought to light by the power 
 in Rothschild s hand was the grandest and 
 most overpowering yet seen by the Czar. 
 
304 IN THE PALE 
 
 It was the dreamed-of Messianic time. After 
 "his royal guest had earnestly contemplated 
 the glories in sight, Rothschild satisfied his 
 unspoken inquiry by volunteering the brief 
 explanation: "Love, justice, and universal 
 brotherhood, heavenly peace, Sire ; what 
 else has this world been created for?" 
 
 The panorama showed a blessed hemi 
 sphere bathed in golden radiance, as beau 
 tiful as Eden, with Horeb outshining all the 
 splendors of the revealed regions. The peak 
 of the mountain appeared the focus of the 
 sun s effulgence, reflecting prodigious beams 
 on great numbers of the race, who turned 
 longing eyes toward the centre of universal 
 enlightenment. At the foot of the blazing 
 height stood the exile of Zion, robed in 
 priestly attire, holding the Torah in his em 
 brace, hand in hand with the monk, he, too, 
 all transformed, and arrayed in the white 
 garments of sacred ministration. 
 
 " When that comes to pass, there will be 
 no Czars in Russia," whispered Nicholas, 
 overcome by the Messianic suggestions of 
 the grandiose spectacle. 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 305 
 
 " There will be neither boundaries nor 
 ranks and titles to divide the children of 
 man, Sire," said the Baron with great earn 
 estness. 
 
 "We do not appear to draw near it, Mon 
 sieur le Baron," observed the Czar. 
 
 "That is why we Jews expect the Messiah, 
 your Majesty," explained Rothschild. 
 
 "No, no! The Messiah has come; he 
 has come that taught us to live heavenly 
 lives. Let man be blamed for living like a 
 beast," asserted the Czar in a soft voice. 
 
 " Yea, Sire, let that man, whoever he may 
 be, who misuses the power vested in him for 
 benign rule to multiply the woes of the race 
 be blamed," supplemented the host point 
 edly. 
 
 But the Czar did not appear to notice the 
 last words, his eyes being riveted on the 
 signet Rothschild wore, as though an inex 
 pressible longing had seized him to possess 
 it. 
 
 " If we touched this seal of Solomon, 
 would the marvels repeat themselves by the 
 virtue vested therein ? " questioned the Czar. 
 
 20 
 
306 IN THE PALE 
 
 Taking the hint, Rothschild begged per 
 mission to put the signet-ring on the ringer 
 of his imperial guest. Nicholas felt a cold 
 shiver run through his veins, and the dim 
 recesses of the grotto seemed to realize the 
 transfer of the invaluable jewel. For no 
 sooner was the ring on the Emperor s hand, 
 than the cavern seemed to resent the pro 
 fanation of the magic jewel. A shaking, as 
 from a light earthquake, was accompanied 
 by an instantaneous vibration of air, remind 
 ing the Czar of the atmospheric disturbance 
 caused by the distant discharge of artillery. 
 A faint, multitudinous echo, such as one 
 sometimes hears coming from a glen or a 
 hollow, startled the imperial guest. In a 
 trice the echo swelled into the uproar of a 
 battling army. The grotto widened enor 
 mously, each recess subsiding and yielding 
 up its contents, not as lifeless groups, but in 
 a state of feverish activity. It was no more 
 a cave, but a vast plain under a clouded 
 sky, teeming with bristling battalions, and 
 ringing with the furious cries, groans, and 
 curses of battling races. Cycles of stirring 
 
THE CZAR IN ROTHSCHILD S CASTLE 307 
 
 history unfolded their fearful tale before 
 the gaze of the amazed Nicholas, who stood 
 horrified at the woes man wrought for his 
 kind. Presently his Russians rushed into 
 the arena of slaughter, hyenas in human 
 form. Helpless throngs were murdered, 
 devilish crimes perpetrated, and curses 
 mixed with the Czar s name convulsed the 
 atmosphere. Suddenly the chaos subsided, 
 the air cleared, and the two spectators saw 
 themselves in the heart of a great city. 
 
 "St. Petersburg!" exclaimed Nicholas. 
 Yes, it was St. Petersburg. The brilliant 
 files of the Czar s body-guard lined the 
 street, restricting the masses of human 
 ity to the sidewalks. Muffled drums and 
 wailing trumpets sounded a funeral march, 
 to the rhythm of which a black cortege 
 progressed slowly toward a draped cathe 
 dral. The Czar s hair stood on end. As 
 the magnificent catafalque drawn by twelve 
 black horses passed the elevation whereon 
 he and Rothschild stood, he beheld himself 
 in the coffin, his sword broken, his face yel 
 low, and his crown tarnished. Without 
 
308 IN THE PALE 
 
 uttering a sound, the Czar sank under his 
 own weight, and lost all consciousness of 
 his surroundings. 
 
 When he opened his eyes, he found him 
 self in the royal bed and under the scintil 
 lating canopy. Instead of by the lark s song, 
 he was greeted by the hooting of an owl. 
 He left the castle as soon as possible, with 
 out so much as bidding his host adieu. 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST 
 TRIBES 
 
 THE Maggid is the itinerant preacher 
 whose homilies furnish the impetus 
 for periodical revivals in Slavonic Jewry. 
 The names of famous Maggidim, as for in 
 stance that of the Maggid of Dubno, are 
 reverently transmitted from age to age, and 
 their inspired utterances are treasured like 
 those of prophecy. What a great Maggid 
 does not know of sacred, particularly Mid- 
 rashic lore, is not held to be worth knowing. 
 The arrival of a Maggid at a Jewish centre 
 of population is an event equalled only by 
 the coming of a celebrated Chazan, and the 
 coincident arrival of both creates great ex 
 citement. There are instances on record 
 when Maggid and Chazan exhausted their 
 resources in the attempt to excel each other 
 in the impression they produce on the 
 masses, who gather to be edified by their 
 speech and song. Like the Chazan, the 
 (309) 
 
310 IN THE PALE 
 
 Maggid arrives unheralded, yea, uninvited ; 
 like him, he is welcomed everywhere, espe 
 cially if fame precedes him, as is the case with 
 most Maggidim that deserve the name they 
 bear. Mediocrity forces the Chasan and the 
 Maggid to look for other callings. 
 
 The Maggid is a power for good. Black- 
 haired, long-bearded, two shining curls de 
 scending from his temples to a line with the 
 lower jaw, a high forehead, noble, earnest 
 features, frequently relieved by a tinge of 
 good humor, he as a rule possesses an im 
 posing presence, which is further dignified 
 by a long, flowing robe of satin or atlas, and 
 is crowned by a towering cap of sable. 
 
 The genuine Maggid\)Q,&t$ himself majes 
 tically, and suits his actions to his carriage. 
 In his individuality there is a combination 
 of the dignity of the judge, the intense en 
 thusiasm of the prophet, the solemn de 
 meanor of the tragedian, the imagination 
 and fire of the poet, and the ready wit of 
 the comedian. What he brands as wicked 
 ness, men are deterred from doing. His 
 apostrophes addressed to virtue are divine ; 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 311 
 
 his verbal pictures of the torments of Gehin- 
 nom are blood-curdling, and his descriptions 
 of the delights of Gan-Eden, or Paradise, are 
 Dantesque. His study is human nature, 
 and he never ascends the pulpit before he is 
 well informed on local affairs, and woe betide 
 him who, being rich, indulges in meanness, 
 or, being strong, revels in abuse of the weak. 
 The death-bed, the bier, the terrific angel 
 who pays the first call to the buried, the 
 Throne of Judgment, hell-fire, brimstone, 
 pools of boiling pitch, all the horrors of 
 Abaddon, are conjured up and depicted with 
 such realistic vividness as to chill the audi 
 ence to the very marrow. 
 
 The Maggid knows neither fear nor the 
 desire to please ; he has a message and a 
 mission, and he acquits himself of his self- 
 imposed duty in a manner that would do 
 honor to an Elijah. He is listened to with 
 bated breath for hours ; his voice continues 
 to ring in every ear for weeks after he is 
 gone ; his notes and gestures are imitated 
 by such as possess the ability to do so; his 
 exhortations are on every lip, and his meta- 
 
312 IN THE PALE 
 
 phors, similes, and illustrations become 
 household quotations, passing from parent 
 to child, from one town to the other. Stern 
 as the average Maggid appears, his quiver is 
 filled with the withering shafts of ridicule, 
 and his wit and humor are acknowledged 
 with smiles of delight, sometimes with peals 
 of laughter. 
 
 In familiar intercourse the Maggid is 
 an excellent companion, knows and sings the 
 newest tunes of the best Cfiazanim, amuses 
 the people by recounting a hundred funny in 
 cidents, which he has experienced on his 
 travels, and, what is most highly valued, has 
 an inexhaustible repertory of stories to draw 
 upon for the edification of his friends. 
 
 Such a Maggid was Menahem of Odessa. 
 Of the many legends circulated in his 
 name, those about the Ten Lost Tribes 
 and the B nai Mosheh may serve as samples. 
 They have often been told and retold, and 
 here they shall be set down substantially as 
 they have been translated from the jargon, 
 or Yiddish Deutsch, in which they are extant 
 in manuscript : 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 313 
 
 " In my early childhood I was very fond of 
 listening to thrilling tales, and close attention 
 enabled me to acquire local reputation as a 
 consummate story-teller, so that my school 
 mates regaled me with a portion of their 
 luncheon in exchange for the stories I 
 evolved from a retentive memory, and em 
 bellished by a fertile imagination. As I 
 was naturally impressionable, the tales I 
 heard reproduced themselves in an incoher 
 ent chain of dreams. These I told to my 
 parents, who listened to me with silent won 
 der, especially my mother, who was a very 
 pious woman, and believed that dreams 
 come from God, and are breathed by angels 
 into the ears of infancy, which accounts for 
 the sweet smiles so often seen on the faces 
 of infants while asleep. The angels com 
 mune with the immaculate souls of babes, 
 reveal mysteries and transcendent scenes in 
 the valleys of Eden to them, and the smiles 
 are the expressions of felicity. To my child 
 ish imagination those tales and dreams were 
 as real as reality. To this moment, while 
 preaching to crowded synagogues and wan- 
 
314 IN THE PALE 
 
 dering from city to city, I am under the im 
 pression that invisible powers watch over 
 me, put fire into my soul, and teach me what 
 I am to say in the name of truth and right 
 eousness. In fact, I have of late been af 
 fected by the illusion that I am in dream 
 land, surrounded by a multitude of phan 
 toms, and I entertain the hope that I shall 
 one day awaken to find that what I so long 
 believed to be my real existence was but a 
 fitful hallucination. Who can prove that 
 death is not an exit from the phantom-play 
 called life? 
 
 " Another conclusion of mine, which 
 would fairly account for the universal mad 
 ness here, where intelligent beings sacrifice 
 their bliss of soul to the gross pleasures of 
 the body, is that earth is one of the remote 
 spheres, set apart by the Supreme Ruler for 
 the sojourn of erratic spirits; greed, vice, 
 wickedness, murder, and war being sure 
 symptoms of insanity. A myriad men and 
 women are daily delivered to the grave ; 
 everyone sees and knows that this is the 
 end ; yet everyone goes home, takes dinner, 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 315 
 
 and toils for the next meal. The few sane 
 men who have blessed the world with their 
 presence are the thinkers, the prophets, 
 and the poets, the great dreamers that out 
 live and outshine the colossal bipeds mis 
 called the great. The grandest dream on 
 record is that of Jacob s ladder. It connects 
 heaven and earth, and is the symbol of 
 Israel s mission. The ascent and descent of 
 angels signifies the eternal circulation of 
 matter and spirit. If you hope to rise 
 heavenward, you must leave matter behind. 
 Jacob s offspring are to spread on this earth 
 and to teach man how to ascend that ladder. 
 Whatever member of the human race is 
 idealized, whatever soul is etherealized, 
 wears the garland woven of the prophet s 
 and the poet s dreams. I take this universe 
 to be the realization of a supernal dream. 
 God dreamed, and there was light and life, 
 a billion hosts of angels, and countless 
 myriads of constellations, and galaxies of 
 fiery orbs. 
 
 " I may assert that I have seen, learned, 
 and heard many unaccountable things in 
 
316 IN THE PALE 
 
 this life. In Constantinople, the wonder 
 ful city of cities, I passed the most profit 
 able years of my youth. The Caliph 
 forces nobody to believe what he believes ; 
 all creeds and nationalities are tolerated. 
 Thus unoppressed, our brethren there are 
 far in advance of the Turk in knowledge, 
 and fill offices of trust in the imperial gov 
 ernment. Happily I was among those of 
 the rising generation whose parents thought 
 less of worldly than of intellectual dis 
 tinction. My teachers were the best, and 
 I early found Jewish history to have a resist 
 less fascination for me. I discovered in it 
 tragic grandeur excelled nowhere in prose 
 or in poetry. How anyone could study our 
 Scriptures and read our history without 
 reverence, was to me incomprehensible. 
 The epic of humanity centres in the career 
 of Israel. With Moses as the sky-bearing 
 Atlas, Judah s triumph should suffer no 
 fluctuation. But how explain the untold 
 woes of Jacob s progeny? Why do other 
 tribes multiply and ramify, until continents 
 are filled with their ever-growing numbers, 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 
 
 while we are to-day numerically the same 
 as in the times of David ? 
 
 "The answer rny teacher gave me was: 
 We have lost ten of our tribes, besides the 
 vast multitude of the B nai Mosheh, of whom 
 history is silent. What a loss, if irretriev 
 able! Where can the lost tribes be? And 
 where the B nai Mosheh? Surely they are 
 somewhere, I concluded, and thenceforth my 
 sole wish and thought was to discover a 
 clue that would enable me to solve the prob 
 lem of our history. Instead of the small 
 fraction we now are among the nations of 
 earth, we should rise to be a power of over 
 one hundred millions. Our position would 
 be strong and commanding enough for us to 
 reclaim our heritage and rebuild the Sanc 
 tuary of Zion. My soul was fired by the 
 idea, and I could not rid myself of the belief 
 that it was my destiny to reunite the scat 
 tered sheep of ancient Israel and Judah. 
 
 "My father objected to the chimera, as he 
 termed it, seeing that it possessed all my 
 being to the exclusion of every other thought, 
 but my mind was inflamed, inaccessible to 
 
318 IN THE PALE 
 
 reason, though sensitive to ridicule, to both 
 of which my father resorted in vain. What 
 ever literature I could procure in reference 
 to the subject close to my heart, I devoured 
 with avidity, but there was no clue to the 
 mystery in any of the works I read. Some 
 authors assumed the English, others the 
 Japanese, to be the descendants of the Lost 
 Tribes. None contained an allusion to the 
 B nai Mosheh, who, according to the Word 
 of God, were to be as numerous as Israel. 
 
 "That the world knew nothing of them 
 did not, in my judgment, preclude the possi 
 bility of their flourishing in some un 
 approachable region. A time came for 
 America to be discovered; who could say 
 that the time had not come for the lost of 
 our race to be restored to us? The thought 
 that the solution of this problem was to be 
 the glory of my life ripened into a certainty 
 within me. 
 
 " One afternoon, as the shadow of things 
 lengthened in the mellow light of declining 
 day, while out for a walk in the suburbs of 
 Estamboul, I was stopped by a person of at 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 319 
 
 least five times my age and of weird appear 
 ance. He was a man known as the silent 
 mystic; was regarded with awe by those 
 who knew of his holy nature, and was often 
 received reverently at our home, for he was 
 poor, and depended for the scant food he 
 needed on the "bounty of open hands. His 
 figure was tall and lean ; his look deep and 
 sombre ; his eyes shone mysteriously from 
 hollow sockets ; his jaw was strikingly 
 pointed, his face fearfully wrinkled, and his 
 hands as bony and dry as the talons of a 
 bird. The man looked like a skeleton cov 
 ered with yellow parchment. Silently he 
 laid his right hand on my head, looked into 
 my eyes, and appeared to read the secret of 
 my soul. An unearthly illumination shed a 
 passing glow on his sallow countenance, his 
 lips moved as if in prayer, but no sound was 
 heard. 
 
 " Suddenly he turned around, drawing me 
 resistlessly after him. I followed unalarmed, 
 knowing him to be a holy man, who broke 
 his fast but once a week, on the eve of the 
 Sabbath. The mystic was winged with 
 
320 IN THE PALE 
 
 speed, advancing at a rate totally unpropor- 
 tioned to his strength, and he held me under 
 an influence that bore me along like a thing 
 without will. Up-hill, down-hill, through 
 valley, forest, meadow, glen, and field, across 
 rivers and swamps, he drew me onward, 
 never looking behind him, but sweeping on 
 ward, onward, as though space were naught, 
 and the law of gravitation had ceased to 
 operate, until the skies grew dim, and twi 
 light merged into thickening night, when, 
 passing through a valley between two piles 
 of jet-black rock, he stood before a dismal 
 cave, illumined by a single wax taper, which 
 magnified our shadows prodigiously. 
 
 " Here he turned round to look at me, and 
 I perceived an astonishing change in his 
 features. He was another man. Behind 
 the unsightly mask had been hidden a figure 
 of symmetrical beauty and manly vigor. 
 The marvelous transformation extended to 
 the ring of his voice. A genial smile illum 
 ined his face, as he said : 
 
 " Thy wish, my son, shall in part be ful 
 filled; thou shalt behold the Ten Lost Tribes, 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 321 
 
 and be among 1 the blessed children of our 
 immortal master, Moses. In this hollow of 
 the dark mountains thou art bidden to fast 
 with me seventy moons, breaking thy fast 
 every Sabbath eve on the food the Lord will 
 provide. Never let a profane word pass 
 thy lip, nor think of aught unholy, but pon 
 der on the work I shall place in thy hand. 
 Do as I prompt thee, and let thy faith be 
 perfect. Thy reward will be the revelation 
 of the Holiest Name, first revealed to Adam 
 in Eden, who passed it on to the patriarchs. 
 From them it came down to the good men 
 that led Israel before the fall of Zion, after 
 which it was lost to us. By virtue of that 
 Name the son of Amram performed his great 
 wonders. Entrusted to Aaron, the Name 
 passed from high priest to high priest, to be 
 uttered on the Day of Atonement in the 
 Holy of Holies. By the might vested in 
 that Name, Joshua stopped the career of 
 the sun, Elijah called down fire from heaven, 
 and brought the dead to life, and prophets 
 pierced the veil of futurity. You shall hear 
 more thereof in the Isle of the Elect. 
 
 21 
 
322 IN THE PALE 
 
 " On hearing this, I reverently took my 
 seat at the feet of the holy man, who handed 
 me a volume full of mystic lore, containing 
 a long list of mysterious names of high 
 spirits in the skies. Therein I read, and 
 reading mused, and wondrous trances and 
 dreams came over me, and my soul soared 
 in a haze of weird visions. I held the work 
 God had given Adam in Paradise that he 
 might understand the secrets of creation, 
 and in my meditations past and present were 
 forgotten. All the wants of the body were 
 subdued by the thirst of the soul to pene 
 trate the deep purport of Kabbalistic revela 
 tions. 
 
 "And so days and nights passed like hours, 
 weeks glided by like days, and the moons 
 and the seasons came and went, and when 
 the period of my probation drew to a close, a 
 great vision broke on me. The heavens 
 opened, and the Great Name was legibly 
 written in the stars of the empyrean, the 
 universe all the while blazing with fiery con 
 stellations and hosts of seraphim. 
 
 " I rose in the morning with new strength 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 323 
 
 in my arms, a mighty impulse in my heart, 
 and a power in my eyes that enabled me 
 to see things in a light hitherto unknown 
 to me. The darkness seemed bright, the 
 desert beautiful, and the skies deeper and 
 sweeter than ever before. 
 
 " Thou hast the Ineffable Name graven in 
 thy memory; wherefore go whithersoever 
 thy heart leadeth thee, and have thy wish 
 fulfilled, whispered the mystic. 
 
 <% As one soaring on eagle s wings, off I 
 hurried, instinct with superhuman vigor. My 
 heart drew me southward. Soon the moun 
 tains vanished in the rear, and before me 
 spread a sunny vast of earth and sky with 
 all the glories of a blessed May. My path 
 way ran along a placid stream, meandering 
 through tropic luxuriance of mead and 
 grove and discharging its crystal tide into 
 an ocean, calm and blue as azure. 
 
 " Before the waters of the unruffled sea 
 I stood alone, knowing my goal to be far 
 beyond the deep. How traverse the abyss ? 
 1 Spread thy mantle on the wave, whispered 
 a voice within me. And, acting on this im- 
 
324 IN THE PALE 
 
 pulse, I embarked on my garment, which 
 stiffened into a boat, the centre yielding and 
 the edges rising. A new-born breeze pro 
 pelled me lightly farther and farther away 
 from the shore, until there was naught in 
 sight save sky and water and myself 
 between. Undismayed I looked toward 
 the South, the Great Name burning in my 
 memory. 
 
 "As though to try my faith, a gale came 
 bursting from the North, driving the thick 
 threatening clouds that hung in the horizon 
 and upheaving mountainous billows. I stood 
 unaffected, fearless as the sea-gull. And 
 when the darkness had subsided, the waves 
 changed into ripples, and I beheld with 
 delight a range of white mountains, which, 
 washed at their base by transparent waters, 
 towered, like enormous icebergs, into the 
 very deep of the blue heavens. I drifted 
 gently toward the nearest landing point, and 
 set foot on a shore of soft breezes, saturated 
 with delicious odors. 
 
 "At first the region appeared deserted by 
 life and inhospitable ; but farther in spread 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 325 
 
 a landscape fairer and stranger than the 
 strangest things the eye has ever seen. 
 Either my sight magnified nature s products 
 to gigantic proportions, or the world I had 
 left behind was a miniature representation 
 of what I beheld here in towering glory. 
 
 "Pleasant drowsiness stole over me, coup 
 led with a thirst that forced me to look 
 for a cooling drink. A bubbling spring 
 near by, under a tree of a magnitude seen 
 nowhere else, furnished the longed-for 
 draught. Then, yielding to an overpower 
 ing somnolence, I dreamed dreams the 
 sweetest I have ever had, so that, on open 
 ing my eyes, I was sorry to find that the sun 
 had risen. 
 
 "Nothing within sight indicated ordin 
 ary life, except a number of star-dotted 
 birds, sparkling in the bushy foliage of the 
 tree that gave me shelter and ease. The 
 turf was softer than moss, free from decayed 
 roots and blades, and emitted an aroma 
 that affected the senses like nepenthe. I 
 should have continued to yield to slumber, 
 which weighed down my eyelids, had it not 
 
326 IN THE PALE 
 
 been for the discomfort caused me by my 
 garments. Everything about my body tight 
 ened, especially my shoes, which threatened 
 to burst on my feet. Something was going 
 on with my physical frame, for on removing 
 my shoes I found them to be much smaller 
 than the feet they had encased, and the 
 rounded shape of my hands left no doubt 
 that I was undergoing an unaccountable 
 process of bodily expansion and renovation. 
 My limbs looked not unlike those of a giant 
 baby, fresh, tender, transparent, and beauti 
 ful, and I could not help laughing at sight 
 of my dimpled hands and rosy infant face. 
 The sound of my voice startled me. I could 
 hardly believe my ears. The succession of 
 notes vibrated through the air like song, 
 voice and echo melting into sweet harmony. 
 "Anon sweeter music than human voice 
 could produce diverted my attention. Feath 
 ered musicians burst forth into such raptur 
 ous strains as man never heard in field or 
 grove. Rapt with delight, I listened, listened, 
 and dreamed of things dear, mysterious, and 
 holy. 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 327 
 
 "Once more sleep took me in its soft 
 embrace. When I opened my eyes, it 
 was about noontide. A huge lion, his 
 tufted tail raised, was sniffing around me. 
 All fear deserted me. The royal animal 
 licked my hands, and playfully purred 
 around me like a gentle kitten. I fondled it 
 with great pleasure. By various expressions 
 of its wish the noble brute induced me to 
 mount it, and carried me in less time than 
 it takes to tell to a shaded brooklet, landing 
 me in the midst of a flock of snow-white 
 sheep as large as heifers. Happy land of 
 Messianic peace! Whoever they be that 
 dwell here, their Messiah has come indeed! 
 was my natural thought. 
 
 " Half lost in reverie, yet conscious of my 
 wondrous surroundings, I set out to pene 
 trate to the interior of the fairy land. As 
 I stopped at a limpid fountain to quench my 
 thirst, I recoiled astonished from my own 
 reflection therein. If that was my likeness 
 and how could I doubt it? there was lit 
 tle left of my previous self. What a stature 
 and complexion were mine! 
 
328 IN THE PALE 
 
 " Forced to remove my clothes, which mo 
 lested me, I threw myself into a brook as 
 clear as beryl, and rose from the water re 
 newed in body and soul. Samson, with his 
 locks full grown, could not have been more 
 conscious of his prodigious power than I was 
 of mine. The earth appeared to tremble 
 under my tread. A leap carried me over the 
 brook. Another bound lifted me to the high 
 est point of a stately cedar tree, whence, like 
 a bird, I darted from bough to bough, from 
 tree to tree. Reveling in my acquired 
 strength, I repeated the feat again and 
 again, leaping and bounding and finishing 
 with another plunge in the delicious tide. 
 
 " Suddenly I realized that the landscape 
 was sinking under my feet. Soft hoops 
 gently enclosed my frame, and I was soaring 
 in mid-air. Before I had had time to ac 
 count for my curious experience, I found 
 myself seated on the palm of an outstretched 
 hand belonging to a Titan of most prepos 
 sessing physiognomy. We exchanged a 
 look of mutual surprise. But his smile was 
 reassuring. Had he chosen to close his 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 329 
 
 hand, I should not have been here to tell the 
 tale. Instead, he advanced with a step 
 commensurate with his size, leaving me 
 to infer that he proposed to exhibit rne to 
 his fellows. 
 
 " It was a thrilling sensation to be thus 
 conveyed through the higher currents of a 
 mysterious atmosphere in the hand of a 
 mysterious being. I felt like one placed on 
 a walking tower viewing the glories of a 
 vast horizon. 
 
 " As I had anticipated, several of his kind, 
 beautiful Cyclopean shapes of God s perfect 
 workmanship, issuing from pyramidal bow 
 ers, responded to his call. No intrusive 
 inquisitiveness, only calm wonder, marked 
 their speech and manner, gentle as the air 
 they inhaled. Their language was Hebrew, 
 spoken as melodiously as when David sang 
 his sacred odes to the Almighty, and in this 
 tongue I answered their questions. 
 
 " Such were the first representatives I met 
 of the Ten Lost Tribes, who inhabit the 
 outskirts of nether Eden. 
 
 " How had they reached these blessed 
 
330 IN THE PALE 
 
 regions ? Driven from the Land of Promise 
 by grim oppressors, and full of faith that 
 Israel s God never forsakes the righteous, 
 they had prayed for deliverance, and had 
 had a vision that their petition was granted. 
 Elijah had appeared at three different 
 places, each time pointing to the South as 
 the seat of salvation. The Elders had taken 
 the hint, inspired the discouraged myriads 
 with hope, and caused them to embark in 
 thousands of crafts on the southern sea, 
 sure that, as in the case of the B nai Mosheh 
 ages before, the winds of heaven would 
 carry them to their destination. No sooner 
 did their vessels touch the wave than a 
 breeze propelled the fragile fleet, wafting 
 them for many days under a benignant 
 sky, until they reached nether Eden, now 
 the Isle of the Elect, once boundless 
 Paradise, transplanted bodily after the fall 
 of the first human pair to this region 
 beyond the sea. Gobi, or the Desert of 
 Shamo, marks the place once occupied by 
 the original Eden. 
 
 " Undisturbed by sublunary tribulations 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 33! 
 
 the habitants of nether Eden live in the 
 delightful mildness of perpetual spring, 
 cultivate and beautify the soil, and sing 
 hymns to the Bestower of all good. Their 
 dwellings are odoriferous bowers of unfad 
 ing palm-leaves, intertwined with flowery 
 climbers and a wealth of blossoms, mixed 
 with the luscious grape, each habitation 
 rising like a tower of delicious foliage, flow 
 ers, and fruits. 
 
 " Eden s four streams here roll their limpid 
 tides over beds of golden sands, watering 
 meads and vales teeming with paradisiacal 
 wonders. Plenteous nature spares them 
 physical toil. Work with them means diver 
 sion and the gratification of an inborn 
 impulse to beautify the beautiful. Neces 
 sity begotten of want and all other ills to 
 which man is heir elsewhere, are unknown 
 to them. 
 
 " The first pilgrims to land on the border 
 of the blessed Isle died of high age, having 
 brought with them the germ of mortality, 
 and I was permitted to see them in their 
 sepulchres, resting life-like, as though in 
 
332 IN THE PALE 
 
 sleep. Not so their descendants, who were 
 rendered immortal by their birth in the 
 deathless clime, men and women continuing 
 ever young and blooming. But if no cave 
 has to be hollowed out for the preservation 
 of the dead, neither is there need for a 
 cradle, death having ceased with the expira 
 tion of the fathers, and birth with the birth 
 of their immediate offspring. 
 
 " The only tradition kept alive among 
 them is the destruction of the Holy City by 
 Nebuchadnezzar. The memory of Moses 
 and Samuel they hold in awful reverence. 
 The sacred Law they treasure as the most 
 precious elixir of spiritual felicity. Periodi 
 cally dreams and visions are vouchsafed 
 unto them from on high. Worship and 
 love are to them interchangeable terms. 
 Only through the prohibitory ordinances in 
 the Law do they know that sin and vice 
 exist elsewhere. So far removed are they 
 from wickedness and corruption, that it 
 passes their comprehension how an intelli 
 gent being can be guilty of them. 
 
 " My arrival was soon heralded through- 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 333 
 
 out the broad zone along the border of the 
 Isle, reaches covering hundreds of leagues 
 and wholly possessed by the Tribes. I 
 expressed my wish to meet as many of them 
 as possible, and it was fulfilled expeditiously. 
 The result was an enormous multitude of 
 gigantic youths and maidens, who gathered 
 on the bank of a mighty stream. 
 
 " It was on a Friday afternoon when, sta 
 tioned on a steep rock, I faced my immense 
 audience with inexpressible exultation. A 
 myriad brilliant eyes were turned on me, 
 waiting for the message from their brethren 
 in exile which I had promised to impart. 
 A slight trepidation stole over me. Who 
 was I to address so illustrious an assembly? 
 By a strange association of thought I was 
 reminded of the great encampment sur 
 veyed by Balaam, and the wizard s eloquent 
 apostrophe was on my lip : * How beautiful 
 are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwelling places, 
 O Israel/ But the words died before they 
 were uttered. The heavens frowned, and 
 earth shuddered. Phenomenal gloom dark 
 ened the loveliness of nature. With the 
 
334 IN THE PALE 
 
 suddenness of lightning came a furious 
 blast and an earthquake, with symptoms 
 characteristic of a volcanic eruption. Min 
 gled with the fury of the disturbance was 
 heard blood-freezing howling and wailing, 
 as of souls in torment. My heart was 
 seized with pity, which must have expressed 
 itself on my countenance, for I was calmly 
 informed that the uproar was due to the 
 ascent of the shades doomed to expiate their 
 sins in She ol, who are released at the ap 
 proach of the Sabbath, and permitted to 
 rest on the holy day in the outskirts of Eden. 
 "A chill ran through the marrow of my 
 bones. In the next moment myriads of 
 reprobate ghosts were to be around me, lis 
 tening to my speech. The commotion, how 
 ever, lasted but a few minutes. Reassured 
 by the composure of the multitude before me, 
 I regained courage, and it was made clear to 
 me that immortal beings are inaccessible to 
 fear, which is an attribute of mortality. To 
 my question whether Eden and She ol were 
 in close proximity, the answer was : As 
 Virtue and Vice. 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 335 
 
 " As soon as the storm had subsided, things 
 not only resumed their former serenity, but 
 looked lovelier than before, the glories of the 
 Sabbath enhancing the beauties of Eden, 
 and redoubling the spiritual delights of its 
 dwellers. Inspired by the grandiose en 
 vironments, I began to impart my message, 
 reciting the melancholy tale of our people s 
 interminable woes : how the cycles had 
 rolled on, and Israel was yet homeless, 
 scorned by barbarous nations, hated, de 
 famed, disgraced, yea, oppressed, and out 
 raged, for no other cause than his unswerv 
 ing loyalty to his God he, the bearer of 
 Jehovah s banner, the messenger of peace 
 and salvation to all men. Races unworthy 
 of the imperishable gifts of his soul despise 
 him, trample on his manhood, turn his life 
 into a burning desert, a Sahara of hatred 
 and persecution. Yet how faithful he, ever 
 blessing the Holy One, breathing his last in 
 agony, but never betraying his Maker. 
 
 " I wound up with a strong appeal to my 
 intensely interested audience to unite in 
 prayer, that a redeemer be sent to deliver 
 
IN THE PALE 
 
 them from a maddened world sunk in sin. 
 My voice trembled with deep emotion, yet 
 rang clear as a silver bell, when I cried : 
 
 " Shall Zion mourn forever, mankind for 
 ever grope in darkness? Where is faith, 
 where reverence, love, virtue, truth ? The 
 discomfiture of the Lord s own people per 
 petuates the triumph of falsehood, retards 
 the realization of the Prophet s promised 
 era of universal peace and brotherhood. 
 Help your martyred brethren, O ye favored 
 of Him whom we worship and bless in 
 unison ! 
 
 " The response was a multitudinous roar of 
 pain, and faces hitherto unclouded by earthly 
 cares turned prayerfully toward heaven, 
 their petition swelled by the moaning 
 and weeping of the ghostly reprobates, who 
 thus manifested their sympathy with the 
 living. 
 
 " The voice of one that spoke with au 
 thority bade the others remember that the 
 Sabbath was intended to be a day of de 
 light, not of sorrow. I took the hint, and 
 fondly dwelt on the heroic endurance of 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 337 
 
 our illustrious ancestors and their literary 
 achievements while in dispersion. The 
 change of subject afforded me the oppor 
 tunity of touching- on the deep purport of 
 our traditional lore, and on the unfathomed 
 mysteries hidden in the Kabbala, which had 
 proved impregnable fortresses against our 
 foes from without. Each of our renowned 
 luminaries came in for a share of praise. 
 Our enemies had failed in their efforts to 
 destroy the source of our marvelous vitality ; 
 our literature had invariably risen phoenix- 
 like from the ashes, a monument of awe and 
 wonder. 
 
 " Yea, Israel suffers, but he lives ! was my 
 last word. 
 
 " Henceforth I was the centre of attrac 
 tion, drawing large numbers around me, who 
 treated me with reverential respect, and 
 waited on me with patriarchal hospitality. 
 Numerous were their questions, which I en 
 deavored to answer to the best of my ability. 
 In return they acquainted me with the great 
 difficulties I should have to overcome in my 
 attempt to penetrate to the central region 
 
33 8 IN THE PALE 
 
 of Eden. The only accessible gate was 
 guarded by a prodigious fly-wheel of dou 
 ble-edged flaming swords, shooting light 
 ning, besides twelve raging cataracts, which 
 the tempestuous black river Sambation sends 
 adown in a succession of tremendous falls to 
 protect Eden proper, the seat of the B nai 
 Mosheh, from the intrusion of the inhabi 
 tants outside. 
 
 " Never had any one of the Ten Tribes been 
 permitted to see the luminous offspring of 
 the deathless lawgiver, the barriers being 
 impassable. My determination to encounter 
 the dangerous elements and my hope to 
 traverse the fearful Sambation, they could 
 not comprehend, and besought me to desist 
 from attempting the hitherto unattempted, 
 until I explained the omnipotent virtue of 
 the Great Name burning in my memory, 
 no power in the Universe being able to 
 resist it. They had no doubt that the In 
 effable Name was known to those beyond 
 the Sambation. 
 
 " Time leaves no trace on these unfading 
 children of an eternal spring. Like the green 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 339 
 
 and the flowers about them, they continue 
 ever young and lovely, rising each morning 
 to begin a series of pastimes, bathing in 
 rejuvenating waters, worshipping, loving, 
 dancing, and crowning each other with gar 
 lands culled in evergreen meadows by the 
 hands of maidens lovelier than the god 
 dess of grace. Sin, fear, greed, tempta 
 tion, jealousy, and retribution are things 
 they conceive of as we do of a disembodied 
 state of being. So utterly innocent did I 
 find them of human ills that it taxed my in 
 genuity to make the sorrows of mortality 
 clear to them. Nor was it easy for them to 
 imagine a pure motive in a being that causes 
 affliction or pain to another, unless it be an 
 inspiration from the powers of evil. 
 
 " Beautiful as I had found the Tribes 
 at my arrival, the Sabbath atmosphere threw 
 a halo of additional lustre around each head, 
 transforming the male beings into demi 
 gods, the female beings into enchanting 
 cherubim. And when, obeying the signal of 
 a leader, they uttered adoration in choral 
 song, my tears flowed profusely, for my 
 
340 IN THE PALE 
 
 heart yearned to bide forever with the Elect. 
 The song was one of the Davidic odes once 
 sung in the Sanctuary of Zion. O, for the 
 time when God dwelt visible among His 
 people, and earth and heaven were linked by 
 the golden chain of heartfelt prayer ! 
 
 " The transcendent holy day was depart 
 ing, leaving only a trail of radiance in the 
 crimsoned West, when the loveliness of 
 nature began to be obscured by an atmos 
 pheric disturbance similar to that which 
 had preceded the Sabbath. In other quar 
 ters it would have scared animate creation 
 into hiding-places to escape the fury of 
 the elements. Here, however, not the least 
 perturbance of spirit was betrayed, although 
 the uproarious storm broke out with a vehe 
 mence threatening to uproot every tree. 
 I was told to watch things undisturbed, 
 and was assured that the outburst implied 
 no danger whatever for beings beyond the 
 reach of Sheol. The tempest, like the 
 first, was of short duration. Doleful wail 
 ing mingled with the howling winds ; the 
 darkness grew dense, and the noises were 
 
LEGEND OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES 341 
 
 hideous. Thunder and lightning rent 
 the firmament, and shook the rockbed of 
 Eden. Amidst the confusion and the 
 lamentations was heard the heart-chilling 
 call: Return, ye wicked, to Sheol ! 
 This cry was the signal for a terrific con 
 vulsion of the earth and air. The call was 
 repeated with intensified emphasis. My 
 heart stood still. The mysterious voice 
 rang like the trump of doom. l Return, 
 ye wicked, to Sheol ! 
 
 " Like the far-off flapping of the wings 
 of myriad pelagic birds passing over the 
 sailor s head in the dead of night, was the 
 sound of the ghosts moving off with hollow 
 moaning toward the black Sambation, in 
 obedience to the third call. Long the pite 
 ous notes vibrated in my ears. Darkness 
 departed, and the firmament revealed the 
 magic evening star. Thus was the reward 
 of virtue contrasted with the punishment 
 of wickedness. 
 
 "Those who answered my questions pro 
 fessed to know nothing of the mysteries of 
 the nether world, except that eternal justice 
 
342 IN THE TALE 
 
 accords every being its due meed or its due 
 punishment. Had not Moses warned the 
 students of the Tor ah not to search into 
 things destined to remain unrevealed ? 
 
 " A moon bright as a transparent crown 
 jewel rilled the weird landscape with magic 
 lustre and my heart with indefinable long 
 ing. Was it the nightingale ? Only a bird 
 of Eden could pour forth melody so sweet, 
 cadence so thrilling, so heart-healing. Yet 
 sweeter and holier than the song of the 
 winged worshipper was the choral hymn 
 sung in the peace of a blessed eve by heaven- 
 inspired souls in yearning love for the 
 One whom the heaven of heavens cannot 
 contain." 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI 
 MOSHEH 
 
 ** ^T^HAT night little time was given to 
 sleep. The wailings of the repro 
 bate ghosts had left an echo in the chambers 
 of my memory, and a cheerless picture of 
 the Sambation hovered before my thought. 
 Gray dawn found me on my feet, and on 
 issuing from the bower assigned me, I was 
 greeted by a group of singing virgins garbed 
 in multicolored robes, woven of imperish 
 able flowers, and they placed on my head a 
 wreath of unfading roses prepared in my 
 honor. Then each of the cherubic maidens 
 kissed my forehead, withdrawing with 
 modesty to admit a delegation come to con 
 sult with me about the best means to afford 
 help to the dispersed sons of Judah, in 
 whose behalf I had spoken to them. 
 
 "After earnest deliberation the conclusion 
 was reached that, as in olden times Moses 
 had been the lawgiver, leader, and emanci- 
 (343) 
 
344 IN THE PALE 
 
 pator of the chosen people, so his lineal 
 descendants were his legitimate heirs in 
 the great work, the Tribes being ready to 
 follow whithersoever they might lead. It 
 was, therefore, suggested that, as it was 
 in my power to traverse the Sambation by 
 virtue of the Great Name, I should hasten 
 to familiarize the B nai Mosheh with the 
 sorrowful situation of their brethren in 
 exile, appeal to them for help, and assure 
 them of the alacrity of the Tribes to be 
 led against the foes of God and humanity. 
 "A better result I had not anticipated. 
 Perfectly pleased with the proposition, I de 
 clared my readiness to enter upon my 
 journey to the Sambation, determined, 
 as I was, to penetrate into Inner Eden. 
 Prayers were offered for my safety, and a 
 solemn service was held in celebration 
 of the memorable event. An escort of 
 honor was appointed to accompany me as 
 far as the forbidding zone allowed them to 
 advance, and blessings were wafted after 
 me, as, inspired by the Great Name that 
 glowed in my memory, I turned my back 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSHEH 345 
 
 on the Titanic descendants of the Ten 
 Tribes. 
 
 " As on high mountains vegetation ceases 
 at a certain height, at a line marked by the 
 intrusion of sterile scenery, gray boulders, 
 and a chaos of wild rocks rising in pro 
 miscuous disorder; so on approaching the 
 hitherto untraversed zone, I beheld the 
 rocky skeleton of the earth protruding in 
 enormous piles, black as pitch, leaving 
 yawning chasms between torn cliffs, which 
 emitted mephitic odors and death fumes, 
 such as our patriarch must have inhaled 
 on the shores of the pestiferous lake that 
 covered Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 
 " Here my escort thought it proper to re 
 turn, and I found myself alone in a dis 
 mal labyrinth, not a breeze to disturb the 
 deadly atmosphere, not a sound to break 
 the awful silence. Wrapped in my mantle, 
 the Great Name graven in my mind, I pro 
 ceeded. 
 
 " My progress was greatly impeded by the 
 chaotic ruggedness of the region, towering 
 rocks, precipices steep as walls, and bottom- 
 
346 IN THE PALE 
 
 less pits intercepting my course. With 
 every step I paced through thicker gloom, 
 dense fogs veiling in hazy twilight the deso 
 late stretches before me and to my right 
 and left, the whole impressing the mind 
 with the dread of an active volcano in 
 momentary suspense. With daring bound 
 I cleared many a chasm, pushing onward in 
 air saturated with noxious gases. Presently 
 the stillness was broken by distant rumb 
 ling as of an approaching storm. I knew it 
 to be the roar of the Sambation s terrific 
 waterfalls, barring the entrance to Inner 
 Eden. The Great Name glowing in my 
 soul, I advanced fearlessly, feeling that 
 nothing could betide me so long as my faith 
 was unshaken. 
 
 "The thunders of the vast cataracts con 
 vulsed the air far and wide, as if the bolts 
 of heaven were casting their wrath on 
 the unblessed river. Led by the deafen 
 ing noise, I groped my way through dark 
 ness, undismayed by the terrific peals which 
 seemed to rend the earth. 
 
 " At last I stood before an appalling abyss, 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSIIEH 347 
 
 reaching 1 to the very core of the globe, a 
 seething whirlpool in frantic agitation, roar 
 ing and swallowing itself in madness. From 
 an unfathomed deep, like lava bursting from 
 a furious crater, a tremendous volume rose, 
 fuming, and boiling, and wheezing, and 
 cracking, and leaping, and bursting madly 
 over a maze of sulphurous precipices, which 
 broke its furious career, and sent the grim 
 flood into black hollows to be lost in rayless 
 gulfs. Such is one of the gates of She ol 
 through which the doomed reprobates are 
 permitted to ascend at the approach of each 
 Sabbath, relieved from doing penance dur 
 ing the divinely consecrated day. 
 
 " In this fearful desolation I wandered 
 about for many hours, straining my eyes to 
 discern what was beyond the cataracts and 
 watching my chance to cross the tempests 
 ous river. The flare of a piercing light 
 dazzled my sight, when I sent a penetrat 
 ing look athwart the grim tide. What mon 
 ster sweeping through space yonder over 
 powered my imagination, and almost caused 
 my heart to stand still? On a huge axis 
 
348 IN THE TALE 
 
 of glowing- steel I perceived a prodigious 
 wheel of flaming swords, each blade as vast 
 and lurid as a comet, revolve with the veloc 
 ity of lightning, darting forth streams of 
 dazzling sparks, out-thundering the thun 
 ders of the Sambation, and covering a vast 
 circle cut through a massive rock as black 
 as dense night. One might as well think 
 of leaping over the moon as of passing 
 through that whirling blaze of steel and 
 fire. Here was the wonder of creation. 
 
 " Could it be here that Alexander Magnus 
 had knocked for admission, and that, ac 
 cording to the Talmudic legend, an eye 
 typifying his insatiate greed had been 
 thrown out unto him ? The great conqueror 
 was told that only the righteous enter 
 here. Alexander asked the Synhedrion to 
 explain to him what the eye signified. He 
 was told to weigh it by putting all the treas 
 ures at his disposal in the other scale. 
 The eye could not be outbalanced until a 
 handful of dust was thrown thereon. Then 
 the pan in which it lay rose, indicating that 
 man s greed ends with his life. How could 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSIIEH 349 
 
 the royal heathen have found his way 
 hither ? Impossible. The tale was an 
 allegory. He had never come near the 
 awful gate beyond which the chosen of the 
 chosen dwell. But might it not have hap 
 pened on a Sabbath, when the Sambation 
 relaxes its terrors? 
 
 "Thus pondering on matters past and 
 present, I strode along the bank of the mad 
 river in the hope of discovering a fordable 
 point. Every turn of the tide showed new 
 dangers, the waters being in fierce revolt, 
 as it were, against any creature that at 
 tempted a passage, unless by divine inter 
 position. But was not I favored, being per 
 mitted to stand where I stood ? How could 
 I doubt the all-controlling power of the In 
 effable Name ? 
 
 " At last my attention was attracted by 
 a dark interspace, stretching for many a 
 league between two cataracts, the one above 
 precipitating its boiling volume over a steep 
 barrier of raven black below, solid as ada 
 mant, and broken into a thousand irregular 
 cones, sharp crests, and flooded ravines. 
 
350 IN THE PALE 
 
 The eye tried in vain to penetrate the seeth 
 ing torrents, and the little to be discerned 
 deterred the soul from spying into mysteries 
 not intended for the contemplation of the 
 righteous, but reserved for the wicked in 
 Gehinnom. 
 
 " The flood teemed with grizzly creatures 
 unknown among our poisonous reptiles, 
 green-eyed, red-spotted, horned, unsightly, 
 and armed with the weapons of the most 
 destructive monsters. Their terrible nature 
 was betrayed by voracity that impelled 
 them to devour each other, and their 
 dimensions and repugnant outlines were 
 rendered visible by a species of Crustacea 
 whose eyes glared like burning coal. No 
 sooner did they catch sight of me than, for 
 getting their voracious greed for one another, 
 they made a dash toward the bank, some 
 leaping out of their element. I thought 
 of the Great Name, and they slunk away 
 before the beam of my gaze. 
 
 " At this moment an irresistible impulse 
 emboldened me to traverse the river. My 
 eyes turned prayerfully to heaven, I de 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSHEII 351 
 
 scended to the brink of the rolling tide, 
 spread my mantle on the water, and, clos 
 ing my eyes and fixing my thought on the 
 Great Name burning in my soul, stepped 
 on the outspread garment. A soothing 
 influence seemed to control the boisterous 
 flood. 
 
 " How long I drifted on the water I cannot 
 tell. When I opened my eyes, I found my 
 self on the other side, and, marvelous to say, 
 the wheel of steel and fire, blazing like a 
 sun, was thundering behind me. 
 
 " My soul fed on the happy consciousness 
 of being where no common mortal had ever 
 been before. Afar off I discerned another 
 range of mountains covered with vege 
 tation, and my heart throbbed with joy at 
 the prospect of passing the boundary of 
 Inner Eden and communing face to face 
 with the B nai Mosheh. Like a deer, I 
 bounded forward, and halted not until I 
 stood at the foot of .the noblest system 
 of mountains under the heavens. 
 
 " A high acclivity had to be ascended, 
 the first of an endless chain of peaks lost in 
 
352 IN THE PALE 
 
 ethereal blue, thickly crowned with majestic 
 forests, and robed in soft verdure down to 
 the brink of a murmuring stream, which 
 formed the dividing line between the dis 
 mal domain of the Sambation and the 
 blessed seat of the divine Elect. A bound 
 landed me on the other side of the trans 
 parent stream. Lighter of heart than a 
 youth who leaps over a fence to embrace his 
 dearest one, I skipped from height to height, 
 until the highest peak was reached, and 
 lo ! what a panorama yonder of Eden s 
 superb glories ! 
 
 " As I descended into the paradisiacal val 
 ley, a delicious perfume apprised me that 
 the zephyrs wafted along the heights the in 
 visible germs of immortal life. Whitherso 
 ever the eye turned, it feasted on sights of de 
 light, scenes of wonder, sylvan, multiflorous 
 clusters, groves glowing with golden fruits, 
 flowery shrubs bathed in the resplendence 
 of the mellowest sunbeams, shedding rain 
 bow tints on a blaze of melliferous blossoms. 
 Here and there, amidst exuberant verdure, 
 towered in lonely majesty lofty bowers, 
 
THE LEGEND OE THE B NAI MOSIIEII 353 
 
 cone-shaped, built by Nature s lavish bounty 
 of intertwining leafage, shrubs, and climb 
 ing ivy, bearing flower and fruit, and walled 
 in by Hesperian groves, in meadow, dale, 
 and plain, often on banks of devious brooks 
 or rills, hurrying on in berylline waves over 
 golden sands and murmuring and tumbling 
 in dreamy cascades. 
 
 " Back of the glorious landscape rose in 
 dazzling radiance what looked like an impe 
 rial castle. Are there princes in Paradise ? 
 If so, what a throne must he occupy, whose 
 palace glitters as though built of the Orient s 
 invaluable jewels! 
 
 " While the eye was lost in the contempla 
 tion of the grand and the beautiful, the ear 
 was charmed by a mellifluous symphony, 
 which came floating on the soft breeze, 
 strains undreamt of in the grosser climes we 
 inhabit. I directed my steps toward the 
 spot whence the harmony spread like a 
 sweet dream. Onward I sped with the 
 swiftness of a racer through shady alleys of 
 cypress, palm, and myrtle, and over green 
 as soft as velvet, exquisitely relieved by an 
 23 
 
354 IN THE PALE 
 
 inexhaustible variety of floral adornments, 
 roses of all hues, the hyacinth, the jasmine, 
 the carnation, and the tulip, interchanging 
 with the lily, the saffron, and scores of species 
 no scientist has ever met in the tropics. 
 
 " In accord with the harmony of colors 
 and the softness of the zephyr was the 
 melody, a wave of cherubic song, entranc 
 ing the senses like a magic spell. As if in 
 sympathy with the chorus of ineffable sweet 
 ness, a hundred shining birds swelled the 
 divine concert with their thrilling notes. 
 
 " Drawn by the might of the choral song, 
 I broke through thick leafage, and stood en 
 chanted before a group of colossal figures, 
 robed in garments of undying flowers, which 
 reflected the tints of the rainbow. Their 
 countenances beamed like that of their 
 deathless progenitor, when, the decalogue 
 in hand, he descended from Horeb, having 
 communed forty days and nights with the 
 Lord and His angels. In a transport of 
 ecstasy they sang : The heavens proclaim 
 the glory of the Lord, and the firmament 
 telleth of the work of His hands/ 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSHEH 355 
 
 "At first undiscovered, I stood overawed 
 by the majesty of the scene. Before I re 
 alized the fact, I was one of the celestial 
 chorus, unconsciously swelling the volume 
 of song. I had succumbed to the resistless 
 power of the hymn, so unlike anything I had 
 ever heard. Yet, although my voice mixed 
 with those- of the radiant group, they con 
 tinued undisturbed, apparently absorbed in 
 the ardor of devotion. 
 
 " Angels could neither look more lovely 
 nor sing holy hymns more sweetly than 
 those bright habitants of Inner Eden, glori 
 fying the Creator, free from all passion, 
 tribulation, sorrow, anxiety, and fear of 
 death. Here was a family of the descend 
 ants of Moses, seven blissful beings, housed 
 in an arbor wreathed in unwithering blos 
 soms, near a fountain as pure and blue as 
 the sky above. 
 
 " Generations before the Tribes entered 
 upon their miraculous adventure, the sires 
 of these late B nai Mosheh, inspired by a 
 vision, had sought an asylum from oppres 
 sion. In the vision the sepulchre of Moses 
 
356 IN THE PALE 
 
 was revealed to them, and they were enjoined 
 to remove the remains of the world s law 
 giver to the land whither his spirit should 
 lead them. Without comprehending the 
 mystery of the revelation, holy men searched 
 the caverns of Mount Pisgah, and the sepul 
 chre of the Lord s confidant was unearthed, 
 a beam of light betraying the spot where the 
 precious treasure lay hidden. After thirty 
 days spent in fasting and prayer, they opened 
 the sepulchre, and the mortal form of the 
 Toratis immortal author was found in peace 
 ful repose and perfect preservation. The 
 body was watched with great attention, the 
 holy men hoping to discern a sign as to 
 what they were meant to do. 
 
 " One morning it was found that the right 
 arm of the dead was displaced, and its index 
 finger was pointing southward. It was con 
 cluded that the greatest prophet wanted his 
 descendants to proceed in the direction indi 
 cated, and preparations were made for their 
 departure toward the great sea of the South. 
 Numberless vessels and rafts covered the 
 placid waters of the ocean to carry the faith- 
 
THE LEGEND OE THE li NAI MOSHEII 357 
 
 ful to a place of salvation. Thither thou 
 sands on thousands moved in endless cara 
 vans, and thither in the darkness of night 
 and with deep secrecy the body of Moses 
 was reverently conveyed. 
 
 " The hour of embarkation was preceded 
 by prayer and weeping. The moment the 
 sacred load was placed in the boat assigned 
 it, the vessel, as if animated by a wise spirit, 
 took to the sea. A column of fire broke 
 from the deep empyrean, and from it shot 
 forth an arm of light, pointing the course 
 it was to pursue. Joy filled the hearts 
 of the faithful, whose crafts followed the 
 leading vessel. The heavenly manifesta 
 tion was accompanied by halcyon days, sea 
 and air combining to change a perilous 
 adventure into a delightful voyage. 
 
 " The landing on the shores of the blessed 
 Isle was as joyous and as wonderful an event 
 as the passage through the Red Sea, immor 
 talized by the songs of Moses and Miriam. 
 Glad as they would have been to settle in 
 the outskirts of Eden, neither the glowing 
 column nor the flaming arm departed, until, 
 
358 IN THE TALE 
 
 lured by them, the faithful wanderers trav 
 ersed the Sambation, the furious river quiet 
 ing down and congealing 1 at their approach. 
 
 " Their experiences thereafter were simi 
 lar to those of the Tribes. The pioneers 
 succumbed to the mortality within them. 
 The new-born generation were rendered im 
 mortal by the clime of their birth. Such is 
 the tradition current among them. 
 
 "At the close of the sacred hymn one 
 of the group turned his brilliant eyes on my 
 diminutive self, and his discovery was sig 
 nalized by an exclamation of surprise, such 
 as a boy utters at sight of a curious object. 
 Presently the others had their looks focussed 
 on me. Without betraying the least hesi 
 tation, one of the male giants raised me 
 a hundred feet above the ground, and, 
 setting me down on his broad palm, ad 
 dressed me in melodious Hebrew: 
 
 " If thou, strange creature, hast power 
 of speech, tell us who thou art, and whether 
 we may do aught for thee, favored to be 
 among us, the descendants of Moses. 
 
 " In answer, I gave an account of myself, 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSHEH 359 
 
 and stated my mission, asking to be pre 
 sented to the leader or the prince of Eden. 
 They had no leader, I was informed, one in 
 habitant being equal to the other, but they 
 often met and appointed one to lead them 
 in prayer, the one thus honored being high 
 priest for the time. 
 
 "Israel s tragic tale, as I told it, impressed 
 them as it had the descendants of the 
 Tribes on the other side of the Sambation. 
 But sorrow was not permitted to bide long 
 in their realm of bliss. In one of their 
 bowers I was served with whatever Eden 
 provides for its denizens, and hospitably en 
 tertained. The news of my coming was 
 spread by two of the blessed family, so that 
 the next morning a host of the Elect gath 
 ered around the habitation which harbored 
 me, a glorious galaxy of superhuman be 
 ings, supernal beauty radiating from every 
 countenance. 
 
 " My appearance attracted every eye. 
 Again, in order to be conveniently heard, I 
 was raised to a great height. Once more 
 the sight of the dazzling castle caught and 
 
360 IN THE PALE 
 
 chained my attention. To my inquiry about 
 the stupendous structure shining like the 
 sun, they replied that it was a perfect, vastly 
 magnified, and superbly beautified repro 
 duction of Solomon s Temple destroyed by 
 Nebuchadnezzar and rebuilt by an angel s 
 hand. 
 
 " In its court, between the altar and the 
 laver, the trees of knowledge and eternal 
 life spread their branches to unmeasured 
 height. The fruit on the tree of knowledge 
 shows resemblance to a child s perfect head, 
 hiding within the mystery of the human 
 brain; that of eternal life bears the shape 
 of the human heart, symbolizing the good 
 and the pure harbored in the centre of 
 man s being. On both trees the leaves 
 shine like enameled gold, each leaf being 
 large enough to screen a thousand people 
 from the heat of the sun, and displaying in 
 letters of ever-changing light the purport of 
 the Ten Commandments. 
 
 " Midway between the two trees is a 
 domed edifice of burnished gold, its walls 
 incrusted with the most precious stones 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSHEH 361 
 
 set in the shape of Hebrew letters, which 
 spell out the contents of the Tor ah. Here, 
 the two tables of the covenant in his hand, 
 his staff bearing the Great Name at his 
 side, Moses rests on a bed that shines like 
 the most brilliant star in the Zodiac. His 
 lips move with delight whenever his teach 
 ings are uttered anywhere, that is, they 
 move forever. Over his head, in radiant 
 letters, the words blaze : The Eternal, the 
 Eternal, a God of Mercy. 
 
 " Thither I was led, and was shown many 
 things that I am unable to describe. When 
 we issued from the inner recesses of the 
 Sanctuary, I felt relieved of the intense 
 awe that had possessed me within. We 
 emerged upon the outer courts, where, 
 at the signal of one appointed to lead in 
 worship, a hymn was given out for all to 
 join in. Uplifted as the descendants of 
 Moses are at all times, they are enravished 
 whenever the divine career of their progeni 
 tor is dwelt upon by one of the inspired 
 brotherhood. Glad was I to find myself 
 again beyond the precincts of the Temple, 
 
362 IN THE PALE 
 
 its holy magnificence, as well as the awful 
 reverence of my guides, having thrilled me 
 to the very core of my being. 
 
 " The time had come for me to recite the 
 epic of our unparalleled martyrdom, and I 
 awakened to the full consciousness of my 
 self-imposed mission. My only anxiety was 
 to rise to the great occasion. . Whether 
 the subject or the blessed atmosphere in 
 spired me, I am unable to tell. However, 
 I felt that my eloquence carried the con 
 tagion of intense emotion to my hearers. 
 There was no audible expression of feeling, 
 but when the last word fell from my lips, 
 sympathetic eyes turned skyward, and tears 
 rolled down cheeks never before moistened 
 by the liquid pearls of earthly woe. 
 
 " The response from on high was instan 
 taneous. The sun faded, leaving an after 
 glow on a dense mass of gold-edged clouds. 
 The momentary twilight was immediately 
 dispersed by a billow of white flame, which 
 broke from the cerulean background, and 
 was greeted with the joyous exclamation: 
 Elijah, Elijah, Elijah! 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B*NAI MOSIIEH 363 
 
 " To save my sight from the blinding effect 
 of the effulgence, I sought shelter behind a 
 pile of impenetrable green, pulled my mantle 
 over my face, and recalled the star-spelt 
 Name as revealed to me after my probatory 
 season. The others likewise fell prostrate 
 on their faces, lest they be consumed by 
 the seraphic power. 
 
 " Hear me, ye blessed scions of Moses! 
 Hidden in mystery is His design, destined 
 to be revealed in the course of countless 
 cycles. His plans are immutable, and His 
 means are as just as His wisdom is inscrut 
 able. Therefore, pray not for the repeal of 
 His decrees. Human suffering is not the 
 infliction of Divine wrath. Sorrow is sent 
 on earth to spiritualize the soul engrossed 
 with perishable things. Let Israel rejoice 
 at being God s chosen bearer of Sinai s Mes 
 sage in the nether world. He who reaches 
 out for the triple crown of the Law, the 
 priesthood, and spiritual sovereignty must 
 suffer, that his mettle may be tried. His is 
 the triumph who sacrifices ease of body to 
 the concerns of the soul. The angels weep, 
 
364 IN THE PALE 
 
 and the demons laugh, when they who deify 
 a Jew despise the kindred of their Re 
 deemer. But man errs, and err he will, 
 until the light of Sinai and Carmel is the 
 light of the world. Till then it is glory 
 enough to be the martyr of the world/ 
 
 " The martyr of the world ! echoed myr 
 iad voices in Eden, as Elijah closed his ex 
 hortation. To my ear it sounded like the 
 distant roar of a host vibrating through 
 space. 
 
 " On recovering from my fright, I removed 
 the mantle from my head to find that I was 
 sweeping through ethereal heights in the 
 chariot of the supernal messenger. A sol 
 emn voice warned me to utter no sound, 
 whatever the vision vouchsafed unto me. 
 Scarcely had the warning been given, when 
 the East appeared to divide, revealing an 
 arch a thousand times the size and splendor 
 of the rainbow. Through its periphery 
 flowed a stream of such light as totally 
 eclipsed the stars, laying bare the awful 
 deeps and wonders of immensity. From the 
 immeasurable abysses of space, preceded by 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSIIEII 365 
 
 a heavenly symphony, which evoked re 
 sponse from all the constellations, glided 
 forth the Ineffable Glory, filling the un 
 bounded universe with divine beauty. 
 
 " I beheld what human speech cannot 
 utter. Ether teemed with infinite hosts of 
 angels of high and low estate. Above these 
 a myriad squadrons of seraphim enwheeled 
 the highest and holiest chariot, surmounted 
 by the eternal throne. The countless bil 
 lions of humanity buried since the begin 
 ning of things rose transfigured from the 
 dust, a blessed host of airy forms covering 
 the world from end to end and taking station 
 on river, lake, and sea, as if waters were as 
 substantial as earth. Responding to the 
 empyrean concert, they sang, and they shone 
 in the reflex of unutterable majesty. In 
 finity seemed an endless ocean of light 
 and bliss. Numberless as are the stars 
 visible to the eye, they are but few com 
 pared with the mazes of teeming constella 
 tions I was deigned worthy to see, rising 
 host on host, to immeasurable heights and 
 in unfathomed deeps, with the Merchabah as 
 
366 IN THE PALE 
 
 the all-controlling 1 centre. A something 
 within me caused me to feel that I, too, was 
 as light as air, and an irrepressible impulse 
 prompted me to join the supernal choirs. 
 My soul told me that I was akin to heavenly 
 light and fire, and the sense of this kinship 
 was intense felicity. Why not throw my 
 self among my kindred spirits, and sweep 
 along forever among the blessed galaxies ? 
 No sooner did this thought possess me than, 
 with a superhuman effort, I darted out of 
 the celestial chariot, and dropped, like an 
 aerolite, out of my transcendental reverie. 
 Before me stood the Kabbalist. 
 
 " Go home, son, now that, by virtue of the 
 over-soul which my prayer called down for 
 thee, thou hast seen what thy soul was long 
 ing for. What man works, yearns, and 
 prays for, God grants him in time. Neither 
 Eden nor Abaddon are dreams. The soul is 
 open to them here ; they are open for the 
 soul hereafter. Ask no questions. Fare 
 well. 
 
 " Turning round, he passed away like a 
 shadow in the twilight, for the last trace of 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE B NAI MOSHEH 367 
 
 the sun s afterglow had faded. I dashed 
 my hand across mine eyes to convince my 
 self that I was not asleep, but even now I 
 am still in doubt whether it was a vision 
 or an actual revelation." 
 
PUBLICATIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY 
 
 OF AMERICA 
 
 OUTLINES OF JEWISH HISTORY. From the Return from Babylon to 
 
 the Present Time. By Lady Magnus. (Revised by M. Friedliinder.) 
 THINK AND THANK. By Samuel W. Cooper. 
 RABBI AND PRIEST. By Milton Goldsmith. 
 THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS IN RUSSIA. 
 VOEGELE S MARRIAGE AND OTHER TALES. By Louis SchnabeL 
 CHILDREN OF THE GHETTO : BEING PICTURES OF A PECULIAR 
 
 PEOPLE. By I. Zangwill. 
 SOME JEWISH WOMEN. By Henry Zirndorf. 
 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. By Prof. H. Graetz. 
 
 Vol. I. From the Earliest Period to the Death of Simon the Mac- 
 cabee (135 B. C. E.). 
 
 Vol. II. From the Reign of Hyrcanus to the Completion of the 
 Babylonian Talmud (500 C. E.). 
 
 Vol. III. From the Completion of the Babylonian Talmud to the 
 Expulsion of the Jews from England (1290 C. E.). 
 
 Vol. IV. From the Rise of the Kabbala (1270 C. E.) to the Permanent 
 Settlement of the Marranos in Holland (1618 C. E.). 
 
 Vol. V. From the Chmielnicki Persecution in Poland (1G48 C. E.) to 
 
 the Present Time. 
 
 SABBATH HOURS. Thoughts. By Liebman Adler. 
 PAPERS OF THE JEWISH WOMEN S CONGRESS. 
 OLD EUROPEAN JEWRIES. By David Philipson, D.D. 
 JEWISH LITERATURE AND OTHER ESSAYS. By Gustav Karpelei. 
 THE TALMUD. By Emanuel Deutsch. 
 
 READINGS AND RECITATIONS. Compiled by Isabel E. Cohen. 
 STUDIES IN JUDAISM. By S. Schechter. 
 JEWISH LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. By Israel Abrahams. 
 IN THE PALE. Stories and Legends of the Russian Jews. By Henry 
 
 Iliowizi. 
 
 Dues, $3.00 per Annum 
 
 All Publications For Sale by the Trade and at the Society s Office 
 
 SPECIAL TERMS TO SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES 
 
 The Jewish Publication Society of America 
 
 OFFICE, JOJ5 ARCH ST., PHILA., PA. 
 
 P. O. Box 1164 
 
 H 
 
OUTLINES OF JEWISH HISTORY, 
 
 From the Return from Babylon to the Present Time, 
 1890, 
 
 With Three Maps, a Frontispiece and Chronological Tables 
 
 BY LADY MAGNUS. 
 
 REVISED BY M. FKIEDLANDER, PH. D. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 The entire work is one of great interest ; it is written with moderatiori, 
 and yet with a fine enthusiasm for the great i ace which is set before thj 
 reader s mind Atlantic Moiitlily. 
 
 We doubt whether there is in the English language a better sketch of 
 Jewish history. Tne Jewish Publication Society is to be congrauilated 
 on the succe ssful opening of its career. Such a movement, so auspi 
 ciously begun, deserves the hearty support of the public. Nation (New 
 York). 
 
 Of universal historical interest Philadelphia Ledger. 
 
 Compresses much in simple language. Baltimore Sun. 
 
 Though full of sympathy for her own people, it is not without a sin 
 gular value for readers whose religious belief differs from that of the 
 author. New York Time*. 
 
 One of the clearest and most compact works of its class produced in 
 modern times. New York Kan. 
 
 The Jewish Publication Society of America has not only conferred A 
 favor upon all young Hebrews, but also upon nil ({(.-miles who desire to 
 see the Jew as he appears to himself. notion lit raid. 
 
 We know of no single-volume history which gives a better idea of the 
 remarkable part played by the Jews in ancient and modern history. 
 SVm Francisco Chronicle.. 
 
 A succinct, well-written history of a wonderful race. Buffalo Courier. 
 
 The best hand-book of Jewish history that readers of any class can 
 find. New York Herald. 
 
 A convenient and attractive hand-book of Jewish history. Clcviland 
 Plain Dialer. 
 
 The work is an admirable one, and as amanunl of Jewish history it 
 may be commended to persons of every race and ereeo. I hiUiddpk ui 
 Times. 
 
 Altogether it would be difficult to find another book on this subject 
 containing so much information. American (Philadelphia). 
 
 Lady Magnus book is a valuable addition to the s(ore-hou c e of litera- 
 tme that we already have about the Jews. Charleston ($. C.) News. 
 
 We should like to see this volume in the library of every school in the 
 State. Albany Argus. 
 
 A succinct, helpful portrayal of Jewish history. .Boston Post. 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, postpaid, $1.00, Library Edition. 
 75 cents, School Edition. 
 
"THINK AND THANK." 
 
 A Tale for the Young, Narrating in Romantic Form the 
 
 Boyhood of Sir Moses Montefiore. 
 WITH SIX i:LL,USTIlATIONS. 
 
 BY SAMUEL W. COOPER. 
 
 OPINIONS OFTHE PRESS. 
 
 A graphic and iuterestit-g story, full of incident and adveru .ire, with 
 an admirable npirit attending il consonant with the kindly arM sweet, 
 though courageous and energetic temper of the distinguished philan 
 thropist. American (Philadelphia). 
 
 THINK AND THANK is a most useful corrective to race pr j udice. It 
 Js also deep y interesting as a biographical sketch of a distinguished 
 Englishman. Philadelphia Ledger. 
 
 A fine book for boysof any class to read. Public Opinion (Washington). 
 
 It will hnve especial interest for Ihe boys of his race, bnt all school 
 boys can well afford to read it and profit by it. Albany Evening Journal. 
 
 Told simply and well. New York Sun. 
 
 An excellent story for children. Indianapolis Journal. 
 
 The old as well as the young may learn a lesson from it. Jewish 
 Exponent. 
 
 Jt is a thrilling story exceedingly well told. American Israelite. 
 
 The book is written in a plain, simple style, and is well adapted for 
 Sunday-school libraries. Jtwisli Spectator. 
 
 It is one of the very few books in the English language which can bn 
 placed in the hands of a Jewish boy with the assurance of arousing and 
 maintaining his interest. Hebrew Journal. 
 
 Intended for the young, but may well be read by their elders. Detroit 
 Free Press. 
 
 Bright and attractive reading. Philadelphia Press. 
 
 THINK AND THANK will please boys, and it will be found popular 
 in Sunday-school libraries. J\"ew York Herald. 
 
 The story is a beautiful one, and gives a clear insight into the circum- 
 stances, the training and the motives that gave impulse and energy to 
 the life-work of the great philanthropist. Kansas City Times. 
 
 We should be glad to know that this little book has a large circulation 
 among Gentiles as well as among the " chosen people." It lias no truce 
 of religious bigotry about it, and its perusal cannot but serve to make 
 Christian and Jew better known to each other. Philadelphia Telegraph. 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, postpaid, 50c. 
 
RABBI AND PRIEST. 
 
 A STORY. 
 
 BY MILTON GOLDSMITH. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 The author has attempted to depict faithfully the customs and prac 
 dees of the Russian people and government in connection with the 
 Jewish population of that country. The book is a strong and well writ 
 ten story. We read and suffer with the sufferers. Public Opinion 
 (Washington). 
 
 Although addressed to Jews, with an appeal to them to seek free 
 dom and peace in America, it ought to be read by humane people of all 
 races and religions. Mr. Goldsmith is a master of English, and his 
 pure style is one of the real pleasures of the story. Philadelphia Bulle 
 tin. 
 
 The book has the merit of being well written, is highly entertaining. 
 and it cannot fail to prove of interest to all who may want to acquaint 
 themselves in the matter of the condition of affairs that has recently 
 beau attracting universal attention. San Francisco Call. 
 
 RABBI AND PRIEST has genuine worth, and is entitled to a rank 
 among the foremost of its class. Minneapolis Tribune. 
 
 The writer tells his story from the Jewish standpoint, and tells it 
 well. Ft. Louis Republic. 
 
 The descriptions of life in Russia are vivid and add greatly to the 
 charm of the book. Buffalo Courier. 
 
 A very thrilling story. Charleston (S. C.) News. 
 
 Very like the horrid tales that come from unhappy Russia. hew 
 Orleans Picayune. 
 
 The situations are dramatic ; the dialogue is spirited. Jewish Mes 
 senger. 
 
 A history of passing events in an interesting form. Jewish Tidings. 
 
 RABBI AND PRIEST will appeal to the sympathy of every reader in its 
 touching simplicity and truthfulness. Jewish Spectator. 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, Post-paid, $1. 
 
OF THE GHETTO 
 
 BEING 
 
 PICTURES OF A FEQULI/1R PEOPLE. 
 
 BY I. ZANGWHX. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 The art of a Hogarth or a Cruikshank could not have made types of 
 character stand out with greater force or in bolder relief than has the 
 pen of this author. Philadelphia Record. 
 
 It is one of the best pictures of Jewish life and thought that we have 
 seen since the publication of "Daniel Deronda." London Pall Mall 
 Gazette. 
 
 This book is not a mere mechanical photographic reproduction of the 
 people it describes, but a glowing, vivid portrayal of them, with all the 
 pulsating sympathy of one who understands them, their thoughts and 
 feelings, with all the picturesque fidelity of the artist who appreciates 
 the spiritual significance of that which he seeks to delineate. Hebrew 
 Journal. 
 
 Its sketches of character have the highest value. . . . Not often 
 do we note a book so fresh, true and in every way helpful. Philadelphia 
 Evening Telegraph. 
 
 A strong and remarkable book. It is not easy to find a parallel to it. 
 We do not know of any other novel which deals so fully and so authori 
 tatively with Judaea in modern London. Speaker, London. 
 
 Among the notable productions of the time. . . . All that is here 
 portrayed is unquestionable truth. Jewish Exponent. 
 
 Many of the pictures will be recognized at once by those who have 
 visited London or are at all familiar with the life of that city. Detroit 
 Free Press. 
 
 It is a succession of sharply-penned realistic portraya.ls. Baltimore 
 American, 
 
 TWO VOLUMES. 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, postpaid, $2.50. 
 
SOME JEWISH WOMEN, 
 
 HENRY ZIRNDORF. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS s 
 
 Moral purity, nobility of soul, self-sacrifice, deep affection and devotion, 
 sorrow and happiness all enter into these biographies, and the interest 
 felt in their perusal is added to by the warmth and sympathy which the 
 author displays and by his cultured and vigorous style of writing. 
 Philadelphia Record. 
 
 His methods are at once a simplification and expansion of Josephus and 
 the Talmud, storiessimply told, faithful presentation of the virtues, andnot 
 infrequently the vices, *of characters sometimes legendary, generally 
 real. Keio York World. 
 
 The lives here given are interesting in all cases, and are thrilling in 
 some c&aes. Public Opinion (Washington, D. C.). 
 
 The volume is one of universal historic interest, and is a portrayal of 
 the early trials of Jewish women. Boston Herald. 
 
 Though the chapters are brief, they are clearly the result of deep and 
 thorough research that gives the modest volume an historical and critical 
 value. Philadelphia Times. 
 
 It is an altogether creditable undertaking that the present author has 
 brought to so gratifying a close the silhouette drawing of Biblical 
 female character against the background of those ancient historic times. 
 Minneapolis Tribune. 
 
 Henry Zirndorf ranks high as a student, thinker and writer, and this 
 little book will go far to encourage the study of Hebrew literature. 
 Denver Republican. 
 
 The book is gracefully written, and has many strong touches of char 
 acterizations. Toledo Blade. 
 
 The sketches are based upon available history and are written in clear 
 narrative style. Galvcston News. 
 
 Henry Zirndorf has done a piece of work of much literary excellence 
 in " SOME JEWISH WOMEN." &. Louis Post- Dispatch. 
 
 It is an attractive book in appearance and full of curious biographical 
 research. Baltimore Sun. 
 
 The writer shows careful research and conscientiousness in making 
 his narratives historically correct and in giving to each heroine her just 
 due. American Israelite (Cincinnati). 
 
 Bound in Cloth, Ornamental, Gilt Top. Price, postpaid, $1.25. 
 
HISTORY Of THE JEWS. 
 
 BY 
 
 PROFESSOR H. GRAETZ. 
 
 Vol. I. From the Earliest Period to tlie Death of Simon the 
 
 Maccabee (135 B. C. E.). 
 Vol. II. From the Reijjn of Hyrcamis to the Completion of the 
 
 Babylonian. Talmud (50O C. E.). 
 Vol. III. From the Completion of the liahylouian Talmud to 
 
 the Banishment of the Jews from England (129O 
 
 C. E.). 
 
 Vol. IV. From the Rise of the Kahbala (1370 C. E.) to the Per 
 manent Settlement of the Marranosin Holland (1618 
 
 C. E.). 
 Vol. A r . From the Chmielnicki Persecution in Poland (1C IS 
 
 C. E.) to the Present Time. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 Professor Graetz s History is universally accepted as a conscientious 
 and reliable contribution to religious literature. Philadelphia Telegraph. 
 
 Aside from his value as a historian, he makes his pages charming by 
 all the little side-lights and illustrations which only come at the beck 
 of genius. Chicago Inter-Ocean. 
 
 The writer, who is considered by far the greatest of Jewish historians, 
 is the pioneer in his field of work history without theology or polemics. 
 
 . . . His monumental work promises to be the standard by which 
 all other Jewish histories are to be measured by Jews for many years to 
 come. Baltimore American. 
 
 Whenever the subject constrains the author to discuss the Christian 
 religion, he is animated by a spirit not unworthy of the philosophic and 
 high-minded hero of Lessing s " Nathan the Wise." New York Sun. 
 
 It is an exhaustive and scholarly work, for which the student of his 
 tory has leason to be devoutly thankful. . . . It will be welcomed 
 also for the writer s excellent style and for the almost gossipy way in 
 which he turns aside from the serious narrative to illumine his pages 
 with illustrative descriptions of life and scenery. Detroit Free Press. 
 
 One of the striking features of the compilation is its succinctness and 
 rapidity of narrative, while at the same time necessary detail is not 
 sacrificed. Minneapolis Tribune. 
 
 Whatever controversies the work may awaken, of its noble scholarship 
 there can be no question. Richmond Dispatch. 
 
 If one desires to study the history of the Jewish people under the 
 direction of a scholar and pleasant writer who is in sympathy with his 
 subject because he is himself a Jew, he should resort to the volumes of 
 Graetz. Review of Reviews (New York). 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, postpaid, $3 per volume. 
 
SABBATH HOURS. 
 
 THOUGHTS. 
 By LIEBMAN ADLER. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 Rabbi Adler was a man of strong and fertile mind, and his sermons 
 are eminently readable. Sunday School Times. 
 
 As one turns from sermon to sermon, he gathers a wealth of precept, 
 which, if he would practice, he would make both himself and others 
 happier. We might quote from every page some noble utterance or 
 sweet thought well worthy of the cherishing by either Jew or Christian. 
 Richmond Dispatch. 
 
 The topics discussed are in the most instances practical in their 
 nature. All are instructive, and passages of rare eloquence are of fre 
 quent occurrence. San Francisco Call. 
 
 The sermons are simple and careful studies, sometimes of doctrine, 
 but more often of teaching and precept. Chicago Times. 
 
 He combined scholarly attainment with practical experience, and 
 these sermons cover a wide range of subject. Some of them are singu 
 larly modern in tone. Indianapolis JVcics. 
 
 They are modern sermons, dealing with the problems of the day, and 
 convey the interpretation which these problems should receive in the 
 light of the Old Testament history. Boston Herald. 
 
 While this book is not without interest in those communities where 
 there is no scarcity of religious teaching and influence, it cannot fail to 
 be particularly so in those communities where there is but little Jewish 
 teaching. Baltimore American. 
 
 The sermons are thoughtful and earnest in tone and draw many forci 
 ble and pertinent lessons from the Old Testament records. Syracuse 
 Herald. 
 
 They are saturated with Bible lore, but every incident taken from the 
 Old Testament is made to illustrate some truth in modern life. San 
 Francisco Chronicle. 
 
 They are calm and conservative, . . . applicable in their essential 
 meaning to the modern religious needs of Gentile as well as Jew. In 
 style they are eminently clear and direct. Review of Reviews (New York). 
 
 Able, forcible, helpful thoughts upon themes most essential to the 
 prosperity of the family, society and the state. Public Opinion (Washing 
 ton, D. C.). . 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, postpaid, $1.25, 
 
PAPERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Jewish Women s Congress 
 
 HELD AT CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER, 1893. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 This meeting was held during the first week of September, and was 
 marked by the presentation of some particularly interesting addresses 
 and plans. This volume is a complete report of the sessions. Chicago 
 Times. 
 
 The collection in book form of the papers read at the Jewish Women s 
 Congress . . makes an interesting and valuable book of the history 
 and affairs of the Jewish women of America and England. St. Louis 
 Post-Dispatch. 
 
 A handsome and valuable souvenir of an event of great significance 
 to the people of the Jewish faith, and of much interest and value to in 
 telligent and well-informed people of all faiths. Kansas City Times. 
 
 The Congress was a branch of the parliament of religions and was a 
 great success, arousing the interest of Jews and Christians alike, and 
 bringing together from all parts of the country women interested in 
 their religion, following similar lines of work and sympathetic in ways 
 of thought. . . . The papers in the volume are all of interest. 
 Detroit Free Press. 
 
 The Jewish Publication Society of America has done a good work in 
 gathering up and issuing in a well-printed volume the " Papers of the 
 Jewish Women s Congress." Cleveland Plain-Dealer. 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, Postpaid, $1. 
 
OLD 
 EUROPEAN JEWRIES 
 
 By DAVID PHILIPSON, D.D. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 
 
 A good purpose is served in this unpretending little book, . . . 
 which contains an amount and kind of information that it would be 
 difficult to find elsewhere without great labor. The author s subject is 
 the Ghetto, or Jewish quarter in European cities. Literary World 
 (Boston). 
 
 It is interesting ... to see the foundation of ... so much 
 fiction that is familiar to us to go, as the author here has gone in one 
 of his trips abroad, into the remains of the old Jewries. Baltimore Sun. 
 
 His book is a careful study limited to the official Ghetto. Cincinnati 
 Commercial- Gazette. 
 
 Out-of-the-way information, grateful to the delver in antiquities, 
 forms the staple of a work on the historic Ghettos of Europe. Mil 
 waukee Sentinel, 
 
 He tells the story of the Ghettos calmly, sympathetically and con 
 scientiously, and his deductions are in harmony with those of all other 
 intelligent and fair-minded men. Richmond Dispatch. 
 
 A striking study of the results of a system that has left its mark upon 
 the Jews of all countries. San Francisco Chronicle. 
 
 He has carefully gone over all published accounts and made discrimi 
 nating use of the publications, both recent and older, on his subject, in 
 German, French and English. Reform Advocate (Chicago). 
 
 Bound in Cloth Price, Postpaid, $1.25 
 
JEWISH LITERATURE 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER ESSAYS 
 
 By 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 
 
 There is a very significant sense in which it is impossible) really to under 
 stand the Bible unless one knows something of the working ot the Jewish 
 mind in letters since it was written. One can heartily commeud this little 
 volume to people who want this information. TALCOTT WILLIAMS, l>ook 
 News. 
 
 The essays have the charm of an attractive style, combined with a sub ecv 
 of great and varied interest. Independent. 
 
 A very informing review of the entire round of Jewish intellectual activity. 
 Sunday School Times. 
 
 Its great merit, from the non-Jewish standpoint, is tliat it looks at civiliza 
 tion and history and literature from a new point of vfew ; it opens unsus 
 pected vistas, reveals a wealth of fact and of opinion before unknown 
 Public Opinion. 
 
 The-ruth"r shows in every chapter the devoted love for Judaism .vhich 
 prompted the work, and which gave him e thusiasm and patience for the 
 thorough research and study evinced. Denver Republican, 
 
 A snlendid and eloquent recital of the glories of Jewish religion, philoso 
 phy and song. Philadelphia Jlecord. 
 
 The result of great research by a careful, painstaking scholar. A Ibany 
 Journal. 
 
 The reader who is unacquainted with the literary life of the highest circles 
 of Jewish society will have his eyes opened to things of which, perhaps, he 
 Las never dreamed. New Orleans Picayune. 
 
 For popular, yet scholarly treatment, and the varied character of it.s 
 themes, Dr. Gustav Karpeles " Jewish Literature and other Essays" is an 
 almost ideal volume for a Jewish Publication Society to issue. Jewish Mes 
 senger (New York). 
 
 All of the essays show that thorough erudition, clear discernment and 
 criticism for which their author is noted. Jewish Exponent (Philadelphia). 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, Postpaid, $1.25 
 
Readings and Recitations 
 
 FOR 
 
 JEWISH HOMES AND SCHOOLS 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 ISABEL E. COHEN 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, 
 
 It would be difficult to name a similar collection as dignified as this. 
 Boston Herald. 
 
 To many the revelation of the extent to which English literature is 
 indebted to the Hebrew Bible for its themes and images will come as a 
 surprise. New Orleans Times-Democrat. 
 
 There is a rich fund of literature to choose from in making a selection 
 of the kind, for the Old Testament and the stories of the old Jewish 
 writers have furnished many themes to our poets both English and 
 American from Browning, Longfellow, Whittier and Aldrich, to Edwin 
 Arnold. Baltimore Sun. 
 
 One who reads these selections will find therein the casus esse of Juda 
 ism, and the more that its inspiration and the treasures of its own litera 
 ture are thus made accessible to Jew and non-Jew alike, the stronger 
 will be the "hooks of steel " by which it will clasp the affection of its 
 followers. Jen- isfi South (Richmond). 
 
 The compiler has, with rare taste, selected from English literature the 
 masterpieces of song and thought, written under the inspiration and as 
 paraphrases of Biblical poetry. To these have been added English 
 versions of some of the choicest gems from the divan of Jewish poets. 
 This book should be found in every Jewish home ; it should find its way 
 into every Jewish Sabbath-School ; for none will lay it aside without 
 feeling that a religion, which could intone such songs and inspire such 
 bards, has every claim upon the intelligent reverence of those in its 
 household born. E. G. II., in Reform Advocate (Chicago). 
 
 Bound in Cloth, Price, Postpaid, $1.25 
 
 " " Half Morocco, " " $1.75 
 
SPECIAL SERIES 
 
 No, 1, The Persecution of the Jews in Russia 
 
 With a Map 
 Showing the Pale of Jewish Settlement 
 
 Also, an Appendix, giving an Abridged Summary of Laws, 
 
 Special and Restrictive, relating to the Jews in 
 
 Russia, brought down to the year 1890. 
 
 Paper, Price, postpaid, 25c. 
 
 No. I Yoegele s Marriage and Other Tales 
 
 BY LOUIS SCHNABEL 
 
 Paper, Price, postpaid, 25c. 
 
 No, 3. THE TALMDD 
 
 REPRINTED FROM TH3 
 
 "LITERARY REMAINS" 
 
 OF EMANUEL DEUTSCH 
 Boards. .... Price, nostnaid. 3Oo 
 
STUDIES IN JUDAISM 
 
 BY S. SCHECHTER, M.A. 
 Reader in Talmudic in the University of Cambridge 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 
 
 A mine of fresh information and fresh ideas, conveyed in a style that 
 is graceful and vivid and frequently witty. I. Zangwill. 
 
 Mr. Schechter is one of the few men whom we possess to-day who seem 
 to understand that to popularize Judaism is not unworthy of the greatest 
 scholar. And what more than anything else attracts us to his writings 
 a quality which marks in an eminent degree the collection just published 
 is not merely the lucidity of the style and the exposition, but the fact, 
 most significant in these days of dominant philology and archaeoiogy, 
 that Mr. Schechter remembers that Judaism after all is a religion and 
 not merely an interesting congeries of problems inviting the curiosity of 
 the historian and antiquarian or the bibliographer. Reform Advocate 
 (Chicago). 
 
 The value of the book lies in its careful interpretation of the more 
 serious side of Hebrew theology, and for this reason it may be appreci 
 ated at its true worth by many a scholar. New York Herald. 
 
 It is very much to be doubted if in any single volume yet published is 
 to be found so complete a picture of modern Judaism, of its aims, pur 
 poses and beliefs, as is given us in this volume of collected essays. Bos 
 ton Advertiser. 
 
 They possess not only the element of novelty to general readers inter 
 ested in such themes, but are based on thorough scholarship and admir 
 able literary qualities. Jewish Messenger (New York). 
 
 A number of the articles must be considered real contributions to the 
 literature which has of late sprung up in treatment of the phases of Jew 
 ish history in the vernacular. Jewish Criterion (Pittsburg). 
 
 As an educational source the essays are a treasure house to the lay read 
 er. Cliicago Israelite. 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, Postpaid, $1.75. 
 
Jewish Life in the Middle Ages 
 
 BY ISRAEL ABRAHAMS, M.A. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 
 
 The research involved in this piece of work must have been patient 
 and profound ; nevertheless the author presents his results in an attract 
 ive manner. Nation. 
 
 The author s study of the Ghetto reveals many facts Jews and Chris 
 tians do not know. New York Times. 
 
 Contains a vast amount of interesting information. New York Sun. 
 
 This is a book which will be read with interest by a large public, and 
 cannot fail to be of great help to the student. It is a valuable contribu 
 tion to Jewish literature. ... It is, indeed, an excellent and complete 
 picture of medieval Jewish life that the author has drawn for us. 
 REV. DR. K. KOHLER, American Hebrew (New York). 
 
 We know of no single work which imparts so much information in this 
 field. Jeivish Messenger (New York). 
 
 The book is indeed fascinating, and we know of no work more apt to 
 serve as a magnet that will lead our young people to read more of Jewish 
 history than this charming book. Menorah Monthly. 
 
 The whole scale of mediaeval life as it was among the Jews ... is 
 revealed with an accuracy which only the patient researches of a stu 
 dent and a scholar can bring to the surface. American Jewess. 
 
 Bound in Cloth. Price, Postpaid, $1.75 
 
 
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