Many circumbendibuses
Took the holy one—he could not
Recollect,—and made excuses
In succession like a Christian,
Till at length I burst the buttons
In the breeches of my patience,
And began to swear so fiercely,
In such very impious fashion,
That the worthy pietist,
Pale as death, with trembling knees,
Forthwith gratified my wishes,
And the following story told me:
“In the Bible it is written
“How, while wandering in the desert,
“Israel oft committed whoredom
“With the daughters fair of Canaan.
“Then it came to pass that Phinehas
“Chanced to see the noble Zimri
“Thus engaged in an intrigue
“With a Canaanitish woman.
“Straightway in his fury seized he
“On his spear, and put to death
“Zimri on the very spot.—Thus
“In the Bible ’tis recounted.
“But, according to an oral
“Old tradition ’mongst the people,
“’Twas not Zimri that was really
“Stricken by the spear of Phinehas;
“But the latter, blind with fury,
“In the sinner’s place, by ill-luck
“Chanced to kill a guiltless person,
“Named Schlemihl ben Zuri Schadday.”—
He, then, this Schlemihl the First,
Was the ancestor of all the
Race Schlemihlian. We’re descended
From Schlemihl ben Zuri Schadday.
Certainly no wondrous actions
Are preserved of his; we only
Know his name, and in addition
Know that he was a Schlemihl.