A Fair Jewess

by B. L. Farjeon

"It is a strong illustration," said the engineer, "but it is not with nations as with families."

"It is," said Aaron with passionate fervor. "There is no distinction in the eyes of God. We are all members of one family, and the world is our heritage. The world is divided into nations, nations into cities, towns, and villages, and these are subdivided into houses, each having its separate ruler; and though physically and geographically wide apart, all are linked by the one common tie of our common humanity. The same emotions, the same passions, the same aspirations, run through all alike. Does it make an innocent babe a malefactor because he is born in Russia instead of France or England? But it is so considered, and his life is made a misery to him by monsters who, when they give bloody work to their armies to do, blasphemously call upon the Lord of Hosts to bless their infamous banners."

It was seldom that Aaron expressed himself so passionately, and as the engineer made no reply they did not pursue the discussion.

[CHAPTER XXVII.]

THE FAREWELL.

When it became known that Aaron was about to leave the quiet resting place in which the last few years had been passed, and in which he had enjoyed peace and prosperity, a general feeling of regret was expressed, and efforts were made to induce him to change his resolution. The well-to-do and the poor alike deplored the impending loss, but their appeals were unsuccessful. There was in Aaron a latent ambition, of which he himself was scarcely aware, to move in a larger sphere, and to play his part in life among his own people. His intention had been at first to remain in the pretty French village only long enough to benefit Rachel's health, and had it not been for the chance that threw him and the engineer together, and which opened up enterprises which had led to such fortunate results, he would have fulfilled this intention and have selected some populous center in England to pursue his career.

One venture had led to another, and the success which had attended them was a sufficient inducement to tarry. But now that the partnership was at an end the incentive was gone, and he was not sorry that he was in a certain sense compelled to return to his native land. One thing in his life in the village had weighed heavily upon him. He was the only Jewish man in the place; there was no synagogue in which he and his family could worship, and it was in his own home that he carried out all the ceremonials of his religion. Not one of these did he omit; he strictly observed the Sabbaths and holidays and fasts, and under no consideration would he perform any kind of work on those occasions.

He obtained his Passover cakes and his meat (killed according to the Jewish law) from neighboring towns, and he did not excite the ire of the local butcher, because he spent more money with him in providing for the wants of the poor than he could have done in his own establishment had it been twice as large as it was. Every year he erected in his garden a tent in which to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, and in all these observances Rachel took a devout and heartfelt pleasure.

If the great painter who had painted her portrait as she sat beneath the cherry tree had been a witness of the scene when the family were assembled in the prettily decorated tent, and Aaron, with the palm branch in his hand, intoned in his rich musical voice, "When I wave the branches do Thou pour down the blessings of thy heavenly influence on Thine habitation, the bridal canopy, the dwelling place of our God," while Rachel, with her young children, stood meekly before him, he would have been inspired to produce another picture which would have rivaled the first in popularity. But much as Aaron had reason to be grateful for, he yearned to follow the practices of his religion among his co-religionists, he yearned to have the honor of taking the sacred scroll from the ark, to hear the chazan's voice from the pulpit and the melodious chant, of the choir, followed by the deep responses of the congregation. There was another consideration.

He wished his son, Joseph, to grow up amid such surroundings, so that he might be fixed firmly in the faith of his forefathers. There was no Jewish school in the village in which the lad could be educated, there was no Jewish society in which he could mix. He looked forward to the future. Joseph would become a man, and in this village there would be no Jewish maiden to attract his heart. He discussed these matters with Rachel.