"Ah! 'twas but to pervert thee."
"Nay, mother, we talked not of religion."
"And last night thou wast too absorbed in thy reading?" put in Miriam.
"That is how it came to pass, Miriam."
"But why did not Helena warn thee?"
This time it was Joseph that started. But he replied simply—
"We were reading in Tasso. She hath rare parts. Sometimes she renders Plato and Sophocles to me."
"And thou, our future Rabbi, didst listen?" cried Rachel.
"There is no word of Christianity in these, mother, nor do they satisfy the soul. Wisely sang Jehudah Halevi, 'Go not near the Grecian wisdom.'"
"Didst thou sit near her at the mass?" inquired Miriam.