‘Tell him that you are my sister, that I am his son, that I love you so, that I love him so; tell him anything. Say that he ought to do it because I am a Hebrew.’
‘A what?’ said Eva.
‘A Hebrew; yes, a Hebrew. I am a Hebrew by blood, and we all are by faith.’
‘Thou son of a slave!’ exclaimed the lady, ‘thou masquerade of humanity! Christian or Mussulman, Pagan or Druse, thou mayest figure as; but spare my race, Fakredeen, they are fallen——’
‘But not so base as I am. It may be true, but I love you, Eva, and you love me; and if I had as many virtues as yourself, you could not love me more; perhaps less. Women like to feel their superiority; you are as clever as I am, and have more judgment; you are generous, and I am selfish; honourable, and I am a villain; brave, and I am a coward; rich, and I am poor. Let that satisfy you, and do not trample on the fallen;’ and Fakredeen took her hand and bedewed it with his tears.
‘Dear Fakredeen,’ said Eva, ‘I thought you spoke in jest, as I did.’
‘How can a man jest, who has to go through what I endure!’ said the young Emir, in a desponding tone, and still lying at her feet. ‘O, my more than sister, ‘tis hell! The object I propose to myself would, with the greatest resources, be difficult; and now I have none.’
‘Relinquish it.’
‘When I am young and ruined! When I have the two greatest stimulants in the world to action, Youth and Debt! No; such a combination is never to be thrown away. Any young prince ought to win the Lebanon, but a young prince in debt ought to conquer the world!’ and the Emir sprang from the floor, and began walking about the apartment.
‘I think, Eva,’ he said, after a moment’s pause, and speaking in his usual tone, ‘I think you really might do something with your father; I look upon myself as his son; he saved my life. And I am a Hebrew; I was nourished by your mother’s breast, her being flows in my veins; and independent of all that, my ancestor was the standard-bearer of the Prophet, and the Prophet was the descendant of Ishmael, and Ishmael and Israel were brothers. I really think, between my undoubted Arabian origin and being your foster-brother, that I may be looked upon as a Jew, and that your father might do something for me.’