“Nay, begone! I would not live it over more to-night.”
But it became more obtrusive than ever.
Thinking to divert his mind, he took a roll containing a copy of the “Mishna,” with its six hundred and thirteen precepts, and began to read them slowly in order. But even upon the roll, in the midst of the clearly inscribed lines which recited the Jewish code, there was the scene, the tragedy! He impatiently threw down the roll, and in the stillness seemed to hear a voice within.
“Thou art guilty! Thy peace hath forsaken thee! Thou art condemned! condemned! condemned!”
He was startled, for the voice was so distinct that it seemed to come to the outer hearing. He stopped his ears to find if it were still audible.
“Condemned! condemned! condemned!” still echoed as before.
He arose and walked to and fro, and made audible answer.
“Cease thy railing! I am the defender of my people! I will fight blasphemy and heresy, and nothing shall hinder! The Chosen People will honor me! Away, and be thou choked, thou false and lying spirit! I crush thee, and will increase my deeds manifold!”
He then extinguished his lamp, and retired to his couch for the night. But his sleep was broken, and he could not rest. He heard angry voices, groans, and noises, and saw horrible shapes. But at length, in the midst of a troubled sleep, he was suddenly awakened. Something seemed to have shaken him. With a shiver through every nerve, he sat upright, and saw a bright object in the blackness before him. His gaze was fastened, and he could not turn it aside.
“Away! Away! Trouble me not!”