HERNANI THE JEW
 
 HERNANI THE JEW 
 
 A Story of Russian Oppression 
 
 BY A. N. HOMER, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE RICHEST MERCHANT IN ROTTERDAM," ETC, 
 
 CHICAGO AND NEW YORK: 
 RAND, McNALLY & COMPANY. 
 
 PUBLISHERS.
 
 Copyright, 1897, by Rand, McNally A Co.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 BY A. N. HOMER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Early in the year 1861 General Hourko stood within 
 his palace at Warsaw watching some Jews and Poles 
 driven back over the Praga Bridge by a handful of Cos 
 sacks. Titus Popoloff, his secretary, was with him, and 
 a couple of aides-de-camp were discussing the political 
 situation in the ante-room. 
 
 At the General s feet stretched the terraces of the pal 
 ace gardens, fringed with straggling trees already de 
 nuded of their leaves; beyond, the placid volume of the 
 river Vistula; and a little to the right the bridge upon 
 which the lean and shaggily-mounted Cossacks were 
 proving their zeal and devotion to the Tsar. 
 
 From his point of vantage, and with the aid of his 
 field-glasses, the General could see clearly what was go 
 ing on. 
 
 "Come here, Popoloff, and tell me if you can make out 
 what the rascals are doing," he suddenly exclaimed, as 
 they quitted the bridge and approached to within a 
 stone s throw of the palace walls. "Whom have they got 
 hold of amongst others? A woman for certain, but no 
 peasant, I should say." 
 
 "Eh, your Excellency; she seems to be respectably 
 dressed, well-looking, and of fine presence. Ah ! now I 
 can see plainly." 
 
 "Of course she is, man. A Polish lady, and handsome. 
 This won t do, Popoloff. I thought my instructions were 
 
 213S260
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 clear. We must not quarrel with the women. Send 
 someone to rescue her, and bring her to me." 
 
 Popoloff hurried into the ante-room, and General 
 Hourko squared his shoulders before the window again, 
 muttering to himself, "If I only knew what to strike at; 
 if there were armed troops in the field against me instead 
 of unarmed conspirators, I could act decisively. Offi 
 cialism is corrupt because the officials are Poles. The 
 Church is corrupt because it is not Orthodox, and the 
 Rabbis are not slow to grasp the hand it stretches out to 
 them. Fancy Roman Catholics and Jews talking of ex 
 changing presents! Strong measures should be taken. I 
 am confident. The place should be declared in a state of 
 siege, then powder and shot poured in, and all would be 
 quiet. But what would they say in Petersburg? Ah! 
 they send me here and handcuff me. Alexeieff!" 
 
 "Yes, your Excellency." 
 
 "Does the crowd in the square gather?" 
 
 "It does. But the people are collected in groups, and 
 they talk and gesticulate wildly." 
 
 "Let them. How many of them are there, do you 
 think?" 
 
 "It is difficult to say, sir." 
 
 "Three or four thousand people?" 
 
 "Perhaps; but then there are the approaches which 
 are crammed. All Warsaw is on foot." 
 
 "What do they want, eh?" 
 
 The aide-de-camp smiled sarcastically. 
 
 "The freedom of Poland, sir; nothing less will sat 
 isfy them." 
 
 "An insane idea. And for a rabble like this to talk of 
 petitioning his Majesty for a constitution. Ah! here is 
 Popoloff." 
 
 The sudden opening of the door of the apartment re 
 vealed Popoloff s spare bent form on the one hand, an 
 aide-de-camp on the other; between them, a young, dig 
 nified, and at once remarkable woman. She was clad in
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 7 
 
 deep mourning, and this sable costume heightened the 
 distressed pallor of her face, the fine features of which 
 were lighted by clear, fearless eyes. Even Hourko, who 
 considered himself a judge of feminine beauty, scarcely 
 concealed his surprise and admiration. 
 
 "Madam, I trust you have suffered no personal incon 
 venience," he remarked, in a firm voice which drowned 
 Popoloff s whispered "Madam, this is his Excellency the 
 Governor of the Kingdom." 
 
 "I have been put to considerable inconvenience and 
 annoyance, sir, though no bodily harm has been done 
 me," was the calm answer, although evidently her pulse 
 was beating wildly. 
 
 "I sincerely regret to hear it; but soldiers, like other 
 mortals, are apt to exceed their instructions, to become 
 over-zealous, madam." General Hourko s voice had 
 changed slightly; it was colder and more dignified. Was 
 he not the representative of his sovereign? What reason 
 was there for him to be conciliatory above all to a per 
 son who, his keen Russian eyes told him, was not a Pole 
 after all, but one of a people it had been part of his train 
 ing and education to look down upon, even to despise? 
 He had been under the roof and in the camp, with those 
 who had followed the world s teaching, and had turned 
 their hands against the whole Hebrew race. Yet this 
 woman was certainly not purely Jewish. In the distant 
 past, Polish blood had intermingled and left signs which 
 to him were as plain as the letters of the alphabet. But 
 then, too, she was refined, and elegantly though simply 
 dressed. It had never occurred to him that a Jewess 
 could possess any of these perfections of manner or style. 
 However, he was prepared to accept two incontrovertible 
 facts that a female, and a beautiful one, was before him ; 
 and accordingly he added with a smile, "War is never 
 waged upon women ; but in such disturbed times as these, 
 and for your own personal safety, I would remind you 
 that it is not well for ladies to go into outlying districts
 
 8 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 alone and on foot. The Praga quarter is, I understand, 
 inhabited by the dregs of the population, who 
 
 "Are Jews, your Excellency, like myself," interrupted 
 the lady, crimsoning, for, having watched Hourko s face 
 attentively, she had read his thoughts, and blushed with 
 what she deemed righteous anger. "Amongst my own 
 people I am safe. Why should they hurt me? I only try 
 to help them in their sickness and misery." 
 
 The General was slightly irritated, but he was insensi 
 bly becoming more interested. If it had not been so 
 that is to say, if he had not found her beautiful he would 
 have dismissed her with a few suitable words, but it 
 pleased him to allow himself to be attracted by beauty 
 when he had the time to spare. The acknowledged ad 
 miration of it was one of his most amiable weaknesses. It 
 was true that Warsaw was in a most disturbed state, that 
 the social and political condition of affairs were rotten 
 to the core, that the educated classes were believed to 
 be hostile to the government he represented, almost to a 
 man; there was nothing in all that to prevent him from 
 feeling Horribly bored at times. It was well to lighten 
 the heavy burden of the official day when a good oppor 
 tunity presented itself, and it was part of his duty to 
 pacify and please people. 
 
 "To offer a helping hand, madam, to people in dis 
 tress of any kind, is noble, and the reward will come in 
 affection and respect. Such amiable actions would meet 
 with the approval of my august master, who can only be 
 grieved when there is sickness, poverty, or any kind of 
 unhappiness amongst his people. His sentiments on 
 these points should be well known to all. May I ask how 
 you came to be annoyed in the way you seem to have 
 been, because my instructions are peremptory : no peace 
 able person is to be interfered with?" 
 
 Popoloff pricked up his large ears at this juncture, and, 
 adjusting his spectacles, remarked gravely 
 
 "I am told that this lady was discovered in the house
 
 HEKNANI THE JEW. 9 
 
 of some people who have given much trouble, your Ex 
 cellency. Some rifles, a small package of saddlery, pro 
 visions, and a banner displaying the Polish eagle, were 
 found and seized; and money I won t say a large sum 
 had been supplied to them by her." 
 
 "Ah! is that so? Such a statement is serious; yet, 
 pray, don t distress yourself, madam. Thank you Pop- 
 oloff this will be explained." And, bestowing upon him 
 a look which that individual quite understood, next mo 
 ment General Hourko found himself alone with this 
 w r oman who had begun to interest him so much. His 
 manner instantly became more affable. He planted his 
 back to the huge stove and, with his hands crossed be 
 hind him, inquired gently 
 
 "May I first know to whom I have the pleasure of 
 speaking? I don t wish you to think me a kind of ogre, 
 or to be the least bit afraid of me. I am here to see that 
 justice is done to everyone." 
 
 Instead of allaying her fears, the mildness of this speech 
 excited them. Why did he wish to talk to her to ques 
 tion her in this way himself? Already she had refused to 
 give her name, hoping to escape the necessity. Now she 
 must do so, and she was alone in this huge palace with a 
 man whose po\ver was absolute, who could dispatch her 
 to Siberia as easily as to her own home; and who, more 
 over, in addition to his reputation for harshness, some 
 alleged brutality, was believed to be morally weak and 
 unscrupulous. How far her information was correct she 
 did not know, but the situation she found herself in was 
 one which began to try her nerves and arouse her fears. 
 Not naturally timid, she already felt painfully so. Her 
 eyes swept the apartment as though seeking some means 
 of escape, and as though to say, "Your desire is hope 
 less." There were the walls, lofty, paneled, elegant, No 
 hope in that direction. There, too, was the figure of 
 llourko, strong, apparently inexorable in his tightly fit 
 ting General s uniform, which rendered his shoulders
 
 10 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 squarer, his neck stiffer, his heavy, resolute features and 
 thick iron-gray mustache most awe-inspiring. At length, 
 feeling that she must reply to this demand made upon 
 her, she allowed one word to escape her. 
 
 "Hernani." 
 
 "Your name is Hernani, madam?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 The General reflected. The name struck some note 
 sounded, in fact, perfectly familiar to him. Ah! he re 
 membered. 
 
 "Are you related to a banker in this town of that 
 name?" 
 
 "I am his wife." 
 
 "Indeed! What a pity you did not tell me sooner. 
 Your husband is well known, above suspicion, and I 
 understand is much respected." Then he added laugh 
 ingly, "You are not likely to have been guilty of aiding 
 these refractory people." Receiving no reply, he thought, 
 "So this is Sara Hernani, wife of Kasimir Hernani, the 
 great Jew banker; Sara Hernani, as famous for her 
 beauty as he is for his wealth. What a fortunate scoun 
 drel, a millionaire and with such a wife!" Aloud he 
 added, "You will be good enough to explain to him, 
 please, how I regret the inconvenience you have been 
 put to, but the Government has a difficult task before 
 it to deal firmly with those who would defy it, without 
 wounding the tender susceptibilities of those who respect 
 it, and are honest in their support of law and order." 
 
 Pondering over his former remark about aiding the 
 disaffected, and knowing her husband to belong to the 
 White party,* Sara was disturbed, and, barely hearing 
 him, vaguely answered 
 
 "Indeed, it must be a hard task" not without a sense 
 of hypocrisy mingled with fervent prayer that the inter 
 view might terminate speedily. 
 
 General Hourko saw that she longed to escape from his 
 
 *Moderate party.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. II 
 
 clutches; but all the same, before she left him, he was 
 keenly desirous of making a better impression; of letting 
 her know something of what he felt, and that he would 
 like to see her again, if only to feast his eyes on a face 
 which charmed him so. He made a last effort to pro 
 long the conversation. 
 
 "This disturbance to-day is to be lamented. It can 
 IDC productive of no good. Why won t people be con 
 tented?" 
 
 "With what, sir?" inquired Sara, daringly, though with 
 the sensation that she had impressed him too well to 
 offend him. 
 
 "With the good things his Majesty, my Imperial mas 
 ter, lavishes on them, and the recollection of the tender 
 solicitude they know him to take in their welfare. Then, 
 too, so much more trust might be reposed in them would 
 they but prove themselves worthy." 
 
 "I fear I am incapable of discussing such great ques 
 tions," replied Sara, in despair at still being detained. 
 
 "Then believe what I tell you," replied Hourko, a little 
 pompously; and, further disconcerted at the small 
 amount of headway he was making, he added, "If I can 
 be of use to you in any way, don t fail to apply to me, 
 and remember, too," he blundered, "that I think your 
 husband most fortunate." 
 
 "Why?" demanded Sara, not seeing the drift of his 
 remark until she had spoken. 
 
 "To be the happy possessor of so much beauty," was 
 Hourko s prompt answer, accompanied by a look of 
 admiration which could not escape her understanding. 
 
 Instantly the defenselessness of her position was before 
 her in full force. She experienced the sensation of being 
 wounded, insulted, of having an attack made upon her 
 when, considering that she was virtually a prisoner, such 
 an attack was almost brutal. How dare he pay her 
 compliments, when, having dragged her before him, he 
 dismissed his attendants and interrogated her as he
 
 T2 HERXANI THE JEW. 
 
 chose! But then, too, she ought to have remembered 
 that this was the treatment she should have expected from 
 him. Was he not the Governor of the Kingdom of Po 
 land, and was she not worst thing of all a Jewess? 
 With the warm blood dyeing her cheeks and surging 
 through her, leaving her hot and cold in turn, she rose to 
 her feet, determined to regain her liberty at once. 
 
 "I have already been away from home a long while, 
 your Excellency, and my good looks which you have so 
 graciously admired will be missed there. May I return, 
 please?" 
 
 General Hourko saw his mistake and made an attempt 
 the best he was capable of to repair it. Reassuming 
 his polite and serious manner, he said 
 
 "Oh, I forgot. Of course. A carriage must be ordered. 
 You shall be driven where you wish." 
 
 "Thank you; I know every step of the way, and I prefer 
 to walk." 
 
 "But it is not safe. The crowd blocks the square. 
 Listen to the shouts and uproar." 
 
 "Your Excellency, you are very kind, but the crowd 
 will do me no harm, I assure you." Advancing toward 
 the door, the General could do no less than open it, and 
 Sara Hernani passed down the grand staircase and so out 
 of the palace, Popolofr, who had been on the lookout, 
 escorting her to the entrance. 
 
 Left to himself, the General passed to and fro before 
 the stove, in which wood and coal crackled merrily. The 
 sensation of being lonely as well as irritated stole over 
 him. Sniffing the atmosphere, in which it seemed Sara 
 had left a trace of some fragrant scent she affected, his 
 eye fell upon the chair in which she had sat, and memory 
 placed her there again, in all the rare perfection of her 
 form and face. On the long pile of the Turkey rug there 
 even appeared to be the faint impression of her foot, 
 which he now remembered had peeped from beneath her 
 skirt sufficiently for him to pronounce it small and shape-
 
 HERNAN1 THE JEW. 13 
 
 X 
 
 ly. He regarded that imaginary mark fixedly for an in 
 stant, and then with a savage kick sent the chair spin 
 ning under the table, and, stamping upon the rug, ex 
 claimed 
 
 "What an old fool I am, and worse than ever worse 
 than ever!" 
 
 Ringing a hand-bell with a crash, there appeared upon 
 the scene Tit Prokofievitch Popoloff, or, as the English 
 tongue would render it, Titus Prokofievitch Popoloff, 
 with his habitual stoop which suggested weak lungs, and 
 added to his ill-shapen legs, increased his aspect of un- 
 gainliness ; with his lean, irregular features, wrinkled and 
 yellow skin, pale, almost colorless eyes, and strange 
 stealthiness of movement Titus Popoloff, in fact, with 
 nothing to recommend him so far as one could judge. 
 Yet consider what he had done. In a few years he had 
 succeeded in raising himself from the position of a small 
 tchinovnik* to that of secretary trusted adviser really 
 to Ivan Nicholaevitch Hourko, who, it may be added for 
 the benefit of those who do not remember, had played an 
 important part in the rebellion of 30, had been conspic 
 uous for his bravery at the battle of the Alma, and, in 
 addition to being considered one of the most resolute and 
 sagacious officers in the Russian service, was known to 
 have gained the approval and confidence of his sovereign. 
 All these wonders Titus Popoloff had worked, or, rather, 
 the whim of a woman he had contrived to please had 
 enabled him to work them. 
 
 Olga Pavlovna Hourko, the General s wife, had dis 
 covered him one day quite by chance, ink and dirt be 
 grimed, dishevelled, and meanly clad, sitting in his poky 
 office somewhere in the Ukraine, where she had large 
 estates. She had been insanely jealous of the General at 
 the time, and Titus, in his post of tchinovnik in the serv 
 ice of the Provincial Crown Domain Office, had proved 
 
 *Civil servant.
 
 14 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 himself discreet, in fact invaluable. The General, being 
 easy-going, a warrior, and not a cautious diplomatist, had 
 not troubled himself to make any inquiries about Popo- 
 loff, but, accepting his wife s recommendation without a 
 murmur, had placed this deserving person s feet upon the 
 ladder of ease and security, after which Titus had taken 
 care to mount upward. 
 
 Conscious that he was no longer alone, but without 
 taking further notice of the fact, the General assumed his 
 favorite position near the stove, and some minutes 
 elapsed, during which time Popoloff silently busied him 
 self with polishing his spectacles with a large colored silk 
 handkerchief, and holding them up to the light. He had 
 just placed them on his nose, when the General said sud 
 denly 
 
 "Can you tell me anything about Hernani the banker, 
 here?" 
 
 "What do you want to know, your Excellency?" 
 
 "Everything. His temperament. How and with whom 
 he lives. Exact nature of home ties yes, mark that 
 and political bias. Now I shall be glad to have this in 
 formation soon, for he may be dangerous enough to be 
 worth the trouble of watching. Do you know who that 
 woman was?" 
 
 "Who has just left, sir, and who is so beautiful? he 
 added slyly. 
 
 "Ah! those old eyes of yours have discovered that, and 
 what else?" 
 
 "That she is Kasimir Hernani s wife." 
 
 "And how did you learn that?" 
 
 "I recognized her at the first glance, your Excellency. 
 She refused to give her name, but I make it my business 
 to know." 
 
 "And you do your business well. Ah! Popoloff, good 
 looks don t mean good brains." 
 
 "Not always, sir." 
 
 "Well, be thankful you have the brains and I can pay
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 15 
 
 you for them. One word about Hernani: set your wits 
 to \vork at once and let me hear the result quickly. Why, 
 what is this the square almost clear, the mob dispersed? 
 Look, Popoloff! Now that is good that is good; the 
 noise they made was a frightful nuisance." And crossing 
 over to a writing-table, with a sigh of relief, the General 
 became absorbed in scanning and sorting some papers, 
 occasionally pausing to make corrections and annota 
 tions. A little later Popoloff noiselessly withdrew, and 
 when the neutral tints of the winter evening had deepened 
 into the blackness of night, when the stars were ablaze 
 overhead, he entered another apartment in the huge pal 
 ace, an apartment small in size, octagonal in shape, pan 
 eled with rare wood, cozy with soft mats and replete with 
 every luxury which a fastidious, selfish, and wealthy 
 woman could crowd into her boudoir. In the midst of 
 all this finery a little lady with sharp, mean features, faded 
 yellow hair, and tired-looking eyes, which struck one as 
 being too large for her small, oval face, was reclining half 
 buried in cushions. The atmosphere was that of a hot 
 house, and even Popoloff, through whom any keen wind 
 blew, found himself perspiring; while she, with a little 
 dog curled on her knees, and some tea at hand, com 
 plained querously of the cold, asked twice over if it was 
 freezing, and only seemed to forget about her chilliness 
 when Popoloff got deep into the events of the day. For 
 this was a part of his duty to recount to Madame 
 Hourko all that had transpired, all that her husband had 
 done and deemed secret proceedings, if need be. But 
 then Popoloff was always so obliging, and might not 
 have retained his position if he had not been large-minded 
 enough to consent to a little harmless gossip now and 
 again. And this was the kind of woman the General had 
 chosen for a wife; physically weak, often ailing, by no 
 means beautiful, but doting on him sufficiently to be jeal 
 ous of a shadow if it bore any resemblance to a female. 
 How strangely people marry!
 
 l6 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Once outside the great gloomy walls of the palace, Sara 
 found herself in the square, the space of which was now 
 but thinly sprinkled with the moving forms of people 
 looming large in the blue mist of the gathering darkness. 
 Torches were being kindled and brandished, and the 
 smoke and blaze of them lent a savage aspect to the scene, 
 begirt, as it was, by towering gables and turrets. Snow 
 was beginning to fall in large flakes, and as they struck 
 upon her face, half blinding her, the shrieks of women s 
 voices, the angry tones of men, the sharp cracks of Cos 
 sack nagaikas* sounding clear above the sullen roar of 
 the dispersing mob, assailed her ears and made her shrink 
 and cower under the dark walls. She had but one wish 
 to reach her home unmolested. But her nerves were 
 shaken, and her dress, though black, was costly enough to 
 betray her. Ladies were constantly being accosted and 
 insulted, and, in spite of the brave words she had spoken 
 to Hourko, her mind was full of such stories. 
 
 In the Faubourg Cracow some Cossacks opposed the 
 further advance of a drunken and infuriated droshky 
 driver, and one of them lashed the face of a poor beggar 
 who was slinking along in half-clad wretchedness. There 
 was a piercing shriek, a volley of oaths, and, with the 
 smell of unwashed clothes and vodka in her nostrils, Sara 
 fled into the quiet shelter of the Jardin de Saxe, and, still 
 breathless, arrived at the entance of a mansion which 
 formed the whole side of a square, scarce two hundred 
 yards from the Place de Saxe. This was her home. This 
 was the palace of the famous Jew banker, Kasimir Her- 
 nani, and within its walls loans were advanced to Euro- 
 
 *Whips.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 17 
 
 pean monarchs and nobles, vast business obligations were 
 c ntered into, and millions of rubles sped out over the 
 world, guided by the wisdom and foresight of this finan 
 cial genius. Here in this splendid home Sara worshiped, 
 and had been worshiped, ever since she had come to it 
 out of poverty and want, hardships innumerable, the 
 alarming existence the daughter of a poor and persecuted 
 man must lead. 
 
 Hernani doted upon her. She was the apple of his 
 eye, the breath of his nostrils. Here he had delighted to 
 see her, clad in costly clothes, to satisfy her slightest 
 whim, to greet her with his fondest word, his warmest 
 smile, to lavish upon her the luxuries and refinements, 
 the delights which his affection and wealth could supply. 
 Here, amidst a subdued light, with the perfume of flow 
 ers, the gentle lullaby of falling water and the soothing 
 cadence of singing birds, no matter how the world shook 
 and was troubled, there was quiet and peace for this idol 
 he had set up. 
 
 And the moment she entered he hastened to join her, 
 to reassure himself that she was safe; for he had been 
 anxious, disturbed beyond measure by her long absence; 
 the report that the people were astir having reached him. 
 Her wraps were upon her still when she heard his step 
 and voice. 
 
 "Ah! you are safe; but what has delayed you? You 
 have given me such a fright." 
 
 "I couldn t return sooner. The streets were blocked," 
 she answered, endeavoring to speak as though nothing 
 had happened. 
 
 "Blocked and you in them? But why did you not 
 drive out to-day? I told you I warned you. You must 
 never do this again, dearie. You must promise me. I 
 knew something had happened. But what is the matter? 
 Ah! something else has occurred ; tell me." 
 
 His kind words had affected her. She could still see 
 the rough Cossacks and hear their strange voices and 
 
 2
 
 l8 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 coarse oaths. The people she had been herded with, poor 
 and dejected, were about her again, and then the picture 
 of Hourko, his words and looks. Overwrought, she leant 
 upon his shoulder and sobbed. 
 
 "Come I insist," he went on, her tears salt upon his 
 lips. "Now, pull yourself together and tell me." 
 
 Struggling to regain her composure, she said at length, 
 "You know I went to the Bieloi s over in Praga?" 
 
 "Yes well?" 
 
 "They were making a search." 
 
 "Who the Cossacks?" he demanded fiercely. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "While you were there?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And you come I must know. What is there to 
 hide from me?" 
 
 "Nothing, of course. Well, they found arms and 
 things. Isaach Bieloi was wrong." 
 
 "To let them find them, the ass!" 
 
 "Yes; and I was ordered out of the house like the rest." 
 
 "You ordered out of a hovel where you went to aid 
 starving people! Curse them! the dogs! Is there no 
 freedom in the land? And what else?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing! Kiss me and do not worry me into 
 going over it all again. It will only excite you and do 
 no good, and I want to forget. Here I am, safe and 
 sound; we shall be quiet together for the rest of the 
 evening and I will sing to you, so you must do as I tell 
 you." And she clung to him so that his face was hidden 
 in her auburn hair. 
 
 "But I won t be put off in this way." 
 
 "Not if I wish it?" 
 
 "No. How did you get out of the grip of the brutes, 
 and what did they say?" 
 
 She stood before him, her head tilted to one side, the 
 sweetest and most provoking little smile upon her lips. 
 
 "Well, you see," she said slowly, "I never got into it,
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. IQ 
 
 and they only well, they only smelt. Oh!" she added, 
 mimicking a shudder, "bad tobacco, vodka and filth 
 equals asafcetida. Dearie, what a relief it is to find one s 
 self back, to feel a little tired, to sit down on something 
 soft, to be cold, and for the dry heat to- put warmth and 
 life into one. Those poor Bieloi s hadn t a crust not a 
 kopec left. Besides them, I saw six other families worse 
 off if possible and to think of them all, this bitter night! 
 How will they get through the winter? Oh! if I could 
 only build a great house where they could all find food 
 and warmth and rest. They are no longer fit to struggle. 
 It is terrible." 
 
 "You have done what you can," Hernani answered 
 gravely, "and God, blessed be He, will do the rest." 
 
 "But the children " 
 
 "Ah! the children," interrupted Hernani in a hollow 
 voice, and his eyes sought hers with a hungry look in 
 them, then softened to their usual expression as he added, 
 "Well, the children will be taken care of, and, after all, 
 they can t suffer as acutely. But now I must go to my 
 work; when I return you will be rested and less gloomy. 
 You see, no one is free from trouble." And without say 
 ing more he left her, still with a trace of the sad look in 
 his face, and she watched him away with pain in her own. 
 
 Her allusion to children a natural enough one had 
 stirred up the family ghost, and a moment after she had 
 spoken she could have cut out her tongue. 
 
 Hernani was strong, rich, and respected, but he had 
 no children, and of course he would have given all he 
 had in the world in exchange for them. He wanted a 
 son to bear his name, a son to whom he could leave his 
 wealth, and when exasperated by some new act of oppres 
 sion some evil tidings which told of his people being 
 wrongfully used he had been heard to declare that he 
 wanted a son w r hose heart he could set against those 
 whose hands were turned upon the whole Hebrew race. 
 Hernani knew that,, compared with the blood of the multi-
 
 20 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 tude of those who had allowed his kindred no resting 
 place, who had driven them from land to land, that in 
 his own veins was as the pure stream to the puddle in 
 the street. He knew that Benjamin of Tudela a learned 
 and great traveler two centuries before Maundeville and 
 Marco Polo had mentioned in his writings that he had 
 met a great merchant prince named David ben Hernani, 
 whose ancestors had acquired their wealth and influence 
 at the court of the Caliphs of Baghdad, that he had found 
 this same David, with some thousands of his kindred, 
 living at the city of Bussorah, situated on an island in 
 the river Tigris; but of the actual existence of members 
 of his own family at Damascus, Cairo, and afterward at 
 Constantinople, he Hernani possessed positive proof. 
 Within his ow r n house were stored quaint stones in an 
 cient rings, bearing inscriptions,, curious relics as well as 
 documentary evidence, which proved that the long line of 
 dead from whom he had sprung were not barbarians, but 
 had played their parts as men of culture, wisdom and re 
 finement, through the long ages of the past. Part of the 
 wealth he had inherited had thus come to him from such 
 men, who, as renowned doctors and persevering and 
 astute merchants, had fought their way in these ancient 
 cities of the far east. Always scattered and oppressed 
 these men of old had battled against overwhelming odds 
 with the most superb courage, and, like them, Hernani 
 had the desire to grapple to the death rather than tamely 
 submit to be swept from the face of the earth. This lack 
 of children, then, was the plague spot in his life to which 
 his eye often turned darkly. His wife was so beautiful, 
 but beauty was dear, bought at the price of barrenness, 
 for any hag in the streets could bear children too many 
 of them, as he knew to his cost. True, he suppressed 
 these feelings as much as he could, but every now and 
 then the demon of dissatisfaction would up and declare 
 himself. Some trifling and innocent allusion of the sort 
 related, some chance remark about other people s chil-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 21 
 
 dren their beauty, ability, the trouble they gave or the 
 comfort they were and the slumbering volcano in Her- 
 nani s breast became active. 
 
 With these thoughts again astir, he returned to his 
 bureau, which was situated so as to place him in instant 
 touch with his employes, who had been accommodated 
 with quarters so arranged that a great business could be 
 conducted without in the least affecting the domestic 
 arrangements and general comfort of the establishment. 
 Massive and built of stone, having passed the principal 
 entrance to the building, which was in the center, a lofty 
 hall was gained, upon either side of which were doors, 
 opening into suites of apartments commanding a view 
 of the square. These suites of rooms were thus on the 
 ground floor, and were furnished as offices. A couple of 
 ante-rooms passed, and you were in the midst of the 
 clerks and cashiers. Several smaller rooms abutted on 
 this general office, and upon the doors of these were 
 painted the names of the leading officials, heads of de 
 partments. Once in the central hall again, a flight of 
 steps conducted to folding doors whence the mansion 
 itself was entered. Then the luxury of the place burst 
 upon one. Alabaster columns supported galleries and 
 staircases lighted by a dome, beneath which exotics 
 reared their crowned and feathered heads, seeming ever 
 green and flourishing midst the harmonious tinkle of 
 water which rose from and fell into a silver fountain, a 
 miracle of goldsmiths work. And no harsh sound dis 
 turbed the repose which reigned amidst the tree ferns 
 and palms, the pomegranates and oleanders,, for the feet 
 sank in soft rugs and carpets brought from the famed 
 looms of the far east. Amongst the priceless walnut and 
 pearwood furniture were gems which had decorated the 
 salons of those whose voices had reverberated over Eu 
 rope. Gold and china from which princes had drunk, bro 
 caded lounges upon which they had flirted, pictures they 
 had feasted their eyes upon, ivory cabinets finer than the
 
 22 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 Pope had bestowed upon Sobieski for his conquest of 
 the Turks at Vienna, and which had held documents de 
 ciding the fate of empires. All these things were col 
 lected about this man, whose gold had gathered them 
 together, only that he might beautify the home he had 
 made, the nest to which he had brought the woman of 
 his choice. 
 
 And now he had become as famous for them as he was 
 for the beauty of his wife, for his untiring industry, his 
 financial genius, and, not least, his innumerable acts of 
 charity. He had built a synagogue, and an institution 
 to alleviate want and misery, by enabling those who could 
 and would work to know where to find it. At all times 
 he had opened his purse wide, proud and thankful that 
 it was in his power to do so by reason of the intellect 
 God had given him to fill it. 
 
 Perhaps the knowledge that he was of so much use 
 in the world inspired him with the strength and energy 
 he displayed, for he scanned his vast correspondence, dic 
 tated replies, and had set the many and minute wheels 
 of the machine he controlled revolving, while the bulk 
 of other men slept. 
 
 And at night he seemed to know no fatigue, for his 
 dark eyes flashed as brightly, his tall form and broad 
 shoulders knew no stoop; he was still fit to enter into 
 anything, though the darkness seldom found him far 
 from his wife and his beautiful home. Sometimes he 
 would entertain, and then unconsciously his knowledge 
 of life leaked out, for in his younger days he had wan 
 dered through the crowded towns and bazaars of India, 
 Persia and Asia, where his marvelous capacity for acquir 
 ing languages a gift common to many of his race 
 had enabled him to enter into and understand the lives 
 and characters of those he met, instead of passing 
 through the country forced to be content with seeing 
 only. He had attached himself to caravans and had jour 
 neyed through the desert, smoking the pipe and lying
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 23 
 
 down to sleep with men who valued a life at less than the 
 price of a she-camel. His grasp of Arabic was so thorough 
 that he could have passed for a native had he chosen, 
 and had thus been safe in the midst of perils to which a 
 less gifted and capable person must have succumbed. As 
 much at home on the deck of a ship as on the back of 
 a dromedary, he had once fitted out a vessel in which he 
 had sailed along the African coast, putting in at every 
 strange and interesting port, making long journeys in 
 land and only returning when his mind was stored with 
 curious information, his body hardened by exposure and 
 exercise, his cheek bronzed and his eye as clear as those 
 of the eagles and vultures who had fought over the car 
 cases he had shot. 
 
 Beloved by all who came in contact with him, his re 
 appearance on his own deck was but the signal for shouts 
 of welcome, and for the sails to be set, the course given 
 for some new place of wonder, toward which when the 
 winds blew fiercest and the waves leapt high, Hernani 
 would himself steer, as cool at the helm with the lee rail 
 buried, and the Mediterranean waves hissing and foam 
 ing about him, as he had been when his life had hung 
 upon a death-shot from his rifle. And then his wealth had 
 never made him selfish or overbearing. One of his own 
 crew or some poor devil of a black, sick or staggering 
 under a burden too heavy for him, were equally sure to 
 receive the best medicine or help he could offer. 
 
 He seemed to remember that all men had souls like 
 himself, that one day he must lie down when it pleased 
 God he should, and be as one of the least of them. Of 
 course these adventures and journeyings that strange, 
 wild, changeful life in which he had delighted were as 
 a dream, a page of his past in which Sara had played 
 no part, having been lived before he had met her, as he 
 had, in the hey-day of her maidenhood, though in the 
 very thick of the poverty and trouble, which had en 
 shrouded her father, and been her only birthright. One
 
 24 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 of his acts of charity had brought about his first sight of 
 her. 
 
 At his hotel in Cracow a heart-rending story had been 
 told him of a learned doctor who, on account of his anti- 
 Russian views, had incurred the displeasure of the author 
 ities, had in fact been driven out of one town and then 
 another, always upon some unreasonable or harsh pre 
 text, until at length his means had become so limited 
 that he found it difficult to support himself and daughter. 
 The mother and two other children were already dead, 
 the beauty of this remaining one being indeed marvel 
 ous. The older her clothing and the less food she had 
 to eat, the more ethereal she appeared. Her face was like 
 that of an angel in a fresco. The sun had kissed her 
 hair and had painted it forever, and her eyes, they were 
 large and spoke never the like of them in Cracow be 
 fore their color oh! the heavenliest gray that seemed 
 violet or black, as the light might shine. Some artists 
 foreigners had begged to paint her, offering large 
 sums and declaring in despair that if they might, their 
 fortune would be made. But these requests the good 
 doctor had frowned upon and refused. He would have 
 none of them or their gold. His daughter s honor was 
 more precious in his sight than pearls. And then the 
 girl was so clever, thanks to her father s teaching for 
 he was wise, though he had little money. Had they no 
 friends? Oh, yes, in a sense, but people had grown tired; 
 it was natural. But to see her eyes and hear her voice- 
 she could sing like the saints in Heaven was worth 
 a visit, well worth a visit; and there was a droshky at 
 the door ten minutes drive and he could judge for 
 himself. And Hernani had gone, a little curious, and 
 a little sad that such things should be, but his sense of 
 pity astir in him. He had found them as described to 
 him in the midst of poor surroundings: the old doctor 
 in a dirty caftan, Sara attired in much worn, ill-fitting 
 clothes, tongue tied, and the blood in her cheeks at sight
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 25 
 
 of such a stranger. For to her Hernani seemed a prince 
 such as she had only read of with his tall form, well- 
 molded features, long curling moustache and sunburnt 
 complexion. It was winter, the snow thick upon the 
 ground, and in his handsome fur coat and high leathern 
 boots he looked so big and beautiful that he filled the 
 tiny room. This was Sara s first impression. Afterward, 
 when time had passed and her father had said to her, 
 "He is a good man, he has done much. Not a penny 
 do I owe, except to him, and may the God of Israel 
 bless him and help me to pay him back," her young 
 heart had gone out to him, so that she grew to blush and 
 tremble when he came near, and at length, when she 
 learned that he desired her and that she might be his 
 wife if she pleased, it seemed as though heaven had de 
 scended upon her her ears tingled, they were not to 
 be believed, and she could have leapt with joy. The wife 
 of this man whom she loved to be near, and whose footfall 
 made her pulse quicken who could take her where she 
 would be free from anxiety, and where she could sit and 
 think, with as many books and flowers about her as she 
 pleased! Oh! the Holy One blessed be He! was good 
 to her, too good. Meanwhile, Hernani, foreseeing how 
 it would end, had ordered the most extensive prepara 
 tions to be made in Warsaw, and when Sara entered his 
 house as his honored wife the very raiment which 
 touched her soft white shoulders having been paid for by 
 him with the look of love in his eyes she could have 
 screamed with delight. Even in her dreams she had 
 never conceived anything so beautiful. The marble col 
 umns, the tessellated pavement, the cozy lounges beneath 
 palm leaves and blossoming pomegranates; with the 
 water showering its crystal drops upon the arching green 
 ery and then sinking to rest in the marvelous silver foun 
 tain; the central ornament upon which was an oasis in 
 the desert a well, surrounded by date palms, which over 
 shadowed an Arab horseman, dismounting, breathless,
 
 26 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 dying of thirst, rushing to drink with the fierce expres 
 sion of a fiend upon his face; and from the spot upon 
 which his agonized gaze was bent the well burst this 
 delicious spray, so suggestive of refreshment, luxury, 
 sleep. Then she had gone into ecstasies over the bright 
 bits of color, the frescoes upon the ceilings, the alcoves 
 with ancient Moorish lamps glowing like huge emeralds 
 or rubies; and beyond all that away from the furniture 
 and pictures, the objets d art, beautiful as they were 
 was something which had filled her soul with delicious 
 tranquillity a garden only a garden, but one green and 
 cool, designed in terraces, where, amidst some yews and 
 cedars, pigeons cooed and goldfish sported, while the 
 sun told the time on an ancient dial which had stood 
 there mutely for centuries, as a part of the building had 
 done, being very old. 
 
 Many years had passed since her arrival at this, to her, 
 veritable Aladdin s Palace, but then she had been only 
 a child, though old enough to know that her heart had 
 gone out to Hernani; now, in the fullness of her beauty, 
 in the perfection of her womanhood, she understood bet 
 ter how she only lived for him. And was it wonderful? 
 Had he not rescued her from trouble, and from her fa 
 ther s faded cheeks had he not tried to smooth the 
 wrinkles, until the Angel of Death had become impatient 
 and had taken him? Ah! he had been very good, too 
 good, but if only she could have given him what he 
 yearned for, what she yearned for if only she could 
 have borne him a child, then she could have been quite 
 happy. And yet it was not right to grumble. So she 
 dressed as she knew pleased him, and waited for his 
 return, glad that she had told him nothing of her en 
 forced visit to the palace. It would only have increased 
 his deep-rooted hatred of Hourko, and made his blood 
 boil, and she wished of all things to soothe him, being 
 fearful that he would be rash in some way, even to join 
 ing in the threatening rebellion, so risking his position,
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 2? 
 
 perhaps life. Of Hourko she thought with loathing, 
 hating him as she had never hated anyone in quite an 
 unnatural way, in fact. His request that she should seek 
 him, if he could be of use, recurred to her. How terrible 
 to be driven to entreat him, but then that could never 
 happen, being out of the bounds of possibility. Smiling 
 contentedly to herself, secure in her surrounding, she 
 thought this just as Hernani approached her with a let 
 ter in his hand. 
 
 "Dorozynski has written to me," he exclaimed. 
 
 "Count Andrew Dorozynski?" 
 
 "Yec; you seem surprised." 
 
 "He is a Pole." 
 
 "Well, and I am a Jew. Were you going to add that 
 I ought to feel honored?" 
 
 "Kasimir!" she exclaimed reproachfully. 
 
 "This is what you meant then. That we have not 
 existed on the best of terms. That the Pole has looked 
 down upon the Jew, perhaps cursed and spat at him. 
 What of that? The whole world has done the same. By 
 this time we should be used to it, and yet," he added, 
 passionately, "that same world might have learned the 
 lesson we have tried to teach it for so long now that it 
 may hang, burn, and do its best to destroy us, but it will 
 not succeed. We shall spread over the earth and flour 
 ish, for the God of Israel rights for us. But why do I be 
 come excited? There is nothing to excite me, at least 
 not yet; though there is that ahead which will do so, 
 
 I fear. Ah! I have distressed you; forgive me. So . 
 
 Now to consider this Pole s letter. There should be no 
 enmity between us because we are not of the same race. 
 There is a similarity in their fate as a people, and ours, 
 which should draw us together. Some few drops of their 
 blood, at least, are in your veins, and still you know I 
 love you. Well, they have been oppressed and so have 
 we, but they stretched out their hand to us long years 
 ago. Here in Poland we were permitted to live, pro-
 
 28 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 tected, in comparative safety, and I say that at the least 
 we owe them gratitude; more than that, my feelings are 
 shared by others, and already an understanding has been 
 arrived at of such a nature, too, that should war break 
 out, should these people who are brave and generous, 
 attempt to throw off the yoke of the oppressor, when they 
 have taken the field, they will find us there with them. 
 But Dorozynski s views are moderate at present, though 
 he knows, as I do, that the very foundations of Warsaw 
 are honeycombed by those who are preparing for the 
 strife. The streets are empty at night, strangely so, but 
 it is because preparations are progressing underground. 
 The town may seem deserted, but there is not a bed to 
 be had at the hotels." 
 
 "But how do you know that?" exclaimed Sara, ap 
 parently startled. 
 
 "How do I know that?" and then with stern satis 
 faction, "I am informed, well informed, of all that goes 
 on. Yes, if I chose to turn traitor, I could feast the Rus 
 sians on fat things. I promise you I could tickle their 
 palates. They would give their ears to hear the words I 
 could pour into them, and on the strength of them would 
 take care to hang, shoot or exile, half the nobility of this 
 down-trodden land. But the Poles are safe in my hands, 
 which is more than I will say for their conquerors, should 
 the chance come my way, for I have a score against them 
 and am on the lookout for a day of reckoning. In the 
 event of an outbreak, if I could only bring myself to be 
 lieve that France or England would come to the rescue, 
 I should not hesitate long." 
 
 "Why, what would you do?" demanded Sara, with 
 feverish eagerness. 
 
 "Openly join the Poles," replied Hernani resolutely. 
 
 "You! Risk your life, and if the attempt failed, have 
 your possessions confiscated, your wealth sei7ed be ig- 
 nominiously shot, after being flogged and insulted ; or be
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 29 
 
 dispatched to Siberia, which would be worse than all! 
 Don t even speak of it. I should be " 
 
 "Your safety would be my first consideration." 
 
 "I was not going to speak of my safety, though you 
 would be as incapable of securing it as of protecting your 
 own life." 
 
 "My life has often been at stake before. I fear 
 nothing." 
 
 "Oh! I don t mean that; but what can you do against 
 overwhelming odds, against swarms of Cossacks and 
 gendarmerie a price set upon your head, a 
 
 "And do you think that if I pretended not to be in 
 terested, took no part in what will assuredly happen 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 "A rebellion." 
 
 "It will come?" 
 
 "Yes. Listen, Sara. It would be useless to deceive 
 you; the gravity of the situation cannot be exaggerated. 
 The storm has gathered and is on the eve of bursting. 
 Those who have decided to bear a hand and abide by the 
 result of it, are prepared to play a desperate game. The 
 match is already alight that will set Poland in a blaze. 
 Read the signs. What sounds do you hear in the streets? 
 The national hymn or prayer for liberty ascending heav 
 enward, mingled with the shouts and turmoil of public 
 demonstrations like this of to-day. What sights do you 
 see? The white eagle of Poland once more fluttering in 
 the breeze, the theaters empty, no dancing, no entertain 
 ments, no light-heartedness instead of all this, heavy 
 looks and mourning, the churches filled with prostrate 
 forms, the women pale and anxious, the men flushed, 
 angry, and spitting upon the jostling soldiery and police, 
 while flaunting the national costume. No! the strife 
 must come, and do you think that as a Jew, and one of 
 substance, I shall be suffered to sleep while the tempest 
 howls around me? I tell you no, again. My rubles 
 have been counted, an inventory of my goods has been
 
 3O HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 made. They would plunder me to feed their troops, to 
 liquidate their debts, to furnish their palaces. Which is 
 the best to stand up and fight manfully in defense of jus 
 tice and freedom, or lie down to be robbed and mal 
 treated? The one must be done or the other suffered. 
 Perhaps not now not now a little time may elapse, but 
 it must come; only to-night it is all before me. The 
 Count s letter has stirred me up, though it is moderate 
 and full of wisdom; for the writing of a young man, 
 strangely so. He clings to the hope that the Tsar will 
 show mercy; suggests that he cannot know; that matters 
 may be smoothed by means of patience and petitions. So 
 it may be; for my part I have not much faith either in 
 the one or the other at this juncture." 
 
 Hernani had risen as his feelings gained the mastery 
 over him, and with restless strides paced to and fro be 
 fore Sara, from whose cheek the color had fled more than 
 once, and whose beautiful eyes had flashed and sparkled 
 in spite of herself as the disturbing words were uttered. 
 On their cessation her animation died away. She saw that 
 it would be well to calm her husband, and with an air 
 of easy incredulity, almost of apathy, she said, "But 
 Count Dorozynski may be right, and you, for once, 
 wrong. Who knows? Let us hope so. It will be much 
 better. As for me " 
 
 "As for you, not a hair of your head shall be hurt. 
 Have you no faith in me?" 
 
 "Faith? yes, but you frighten me when you become 
 so vehement. Ah! the love of adventure in you is not 
 extinct. The mere mention of the horrors which you say 
 must come makes my flesh creep, my blood curdle. This 
 home, of which we are so fond, in which we have been 
 so happy, fades from before my eyes, and becomes one of 
 thousands, broken up, desolate, a heap of ashes. Already 
 I seem to see the hateful Cossacks and police crowding 
 the rooms, their clumsy, ill-washed hands laid upon 
 the things I prize; the very smell of their vile tobacco and
 
 HERNANI THE JEW 31 
 
 vodka oppresses me again, as it has already done once 
 to-day. A straw caught up by the hurricane is not more 
 helpless than I suddenly feel myself. Upon you a differ 
 ent effect is produced. You are no longer the peace 
 able citizen, the business man, the husband, happy with 
 his little wife. Your eye kindles, you are a man, you 
 seem to enjoy the idea of a fight and would like to try 
 your hand at it " 
 
 "But you forget I " 
 
 "Listen! I was once friendless, poor and miserable, 
 and the horrid dread that I might become so again, has 
 often seized upon me in the midst of the happiest mo 
 ments I have ever known. I have cried, and you have 
 asked me why; implored me to tell you and I have not 
 liked to; it seemed so stupid of me. Now, surely, trouble 
 is coming upon us and we are about to pay for these long 
 delicious years we have spent together. However, if it 
 is to be, you will see, the little wife can be brave she 
 can fight, too. One has only to harden one s heart. Yet 
 as I have said you may be mistaken." 
 
 "Perhaps, as you say, it may be so. Prayers fill the 
 churches. The most High blessed be He! may decide 
 in favor of peace." 
 
 Sara stirred restlessly. She had not done with the 
 argument; she wished to say a little more. 
 
 "Should this attempt be made, has it occurred to you 
 what a hopeless one it must be?" she inquired, without a 
 quiver in her voice, and as though she did not know that 
 she herself must be drawn into the vortex of it. 
 
 "Not if the peasants could be depended upon?" he 
 answered. 
 
 "But they cannot." 
 
 "Who can say? It is impossible to judge. But all 
 would be well without them if France or England would 
 come to the rescue; and already good news has arrived 
 from Paris. I understand that the Emperor himself
 
 32 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 favors the cause, and information of a later date fills me 
 with hope that there is truth in the rumor." 
 
 In spite of Hernani s brave words and confident man 
 ner, Sara remained unconvinced. 
 
 "In my opinion the opportune moment has gone," she 
 replied; "a few months ago a sudden attack upon the 
 citadel might have met with success, but already the 
 garrison has been strengthened, and fresh regiments will 
 soon be advancing from every part of Russia; there must 
 be more than enough men here now to render any such 
 attempt hopeless." 
 
 "Neveitheless, it will be made," replied Hernani grim 
 ly, though visibly affected by Sara s remarks, over which 
 he pondered in silence for a few moments, lifting his 
 head at length and inquiring forcibly: "But who in 
 formed you of all this? I thought I was supplying you 
 with news, breaking something I ought no longer to 
 attempt to keep from you. The tables appear to be 
 turned." 
 
 Sara hung her head and blushed, just as though she 
 had been detected in some act of deception. Then, hav 
 ing made up her mind to speak as she felt, she replied 
 vehemently 
 
 "But surely you must credit me with a little sense. I 
 have known all you have told me long ago. Should I be 
 a woman if I were not curious, and do you suppose that 
 such great changes could occur without my knowledge? 
 Ah! let rne tell you. I have lain awake night after night 
 while you have slept, thinking thinking till it seemed 
 as though my head would split. I know you detest the 
 Government, and you are passionate very and I have 
 been beside myself." 
 
 Deeply affected, Hernani exclaimed 
 
 "I am not surprised I understand; but, dearie, how 
 needlessly you have tortured yourself!" Then, as if 
 recollecting something, he added, "But why were yon so
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 33 
 
 much distressed this afternoon? I know the Cos 
 sacks 
 
 "Was that not enough?" Sara interrupted, with nerv 
 ous fingers pushing some rebellious hair from her fore 
 head. 
 
 "Well, yes, perhaps," answered Hernani, doubt ex 
 pressed in his voice, his fine dark eyes questioning her. 
 Sara understood. He had been thinking, and in his 
 opinion she had not quite confided in him. This was an 
 opportunity for so doing. However, she had determined 
 that she would say nothing about her interview with 
 Hourko. 
 
 "Certainly enough, I think. How unkind of you! It 
 having dawned on those brutes who I was, I was at liberty 
 to fly, and I did so in terror of the mob, arriving here 
 breathless." 
 
 "Well, child," replied Hernani somewhat wearily, 
 don t trouble to go over it. It won t happen again, will 
 it? You will take my advice and be more careful for my 
 sake as well as your own. As for me, you need have 
 no fear. I shall act, remembering that the days when I 
 used to search for excitement will never come again, and 
 I shall not forget that I am a peaceable citizen, a busi 
 ness man, as you describe me, with a little wife whom all 
 men envy me the possession of. Now, will that set your 
 mind at rest? You shall see my reply to Dorozynski, 
 and I assure you I have no intention of being mixed up 
 either with Poles or Russians, unless they drive me to it. 
 Come, sing to me sing something sweet and pathetic, 
 and then I shall forget." 
 
 Sara rose to do as he bid her, and Hernani followed her 
 movements, admiring the color and quantity of her hair, 
 her delicate skin, the firm, full suppleness of her figure; 
 then as the first notes of her voice rang through the room, 
 as if recollecting, he repeated softly to himself, "Unless 
 they drive me to it."
 
 34 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Usually calm, deliberate, and most methodical, from 
 about this time Hernani s habits underwent a change. 
 The confidences with Sara were not renewed, owing to a 
 feeling of restraint and helplessness; a silent, almost un 
 conscious decision that no good could come of talking. 
 He slept at odd and unusual times, on the whole badly, 
 and was at his place in the office earlier than ever. His 
 confidential clerks received instructions which frequently 
 brought them to their posts at an hour which made them 
 growl in chorus. They were being led a nice dance and 
 for nothing. The chief was made of iron, but all the same 
 he was killing himself, which was his lookout why 
 should they suffer? Oblivious of such trifles, Hernani 
 certainly labored as though the demon of unrest 
 had entered into him. Had he received an offi 
 cial warning that the doors of his prosperous con 
 cern were shortly to be closed, that these were 
 days of grace allowed him to arrange his af 
 fairs, he could have worked no harder. He was dressed 
 and waiting to open his correspondence before the early 
 post had arrived. The envelopes were torn open, the con 
 tents read, instructions given, and his own clerk would 
 distribute the sorted letters arranged in little baskets to 
 the various heads of departments who had but just ar 
 rived upon the scene as expeditiously as though he too 
 had caught the fever which preyed upon his master. 
 Then, as if not satisfied with commencing early, the 
 work went on at night, Sara the while thinking of him, 
 waiting for him, sitting opposite his empty chair, as 
 though in expectation of his appearance, dismayed and 
 distressed, but not daring to speak for fear of annoying
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 35 
 
 him. Without doubt the burden he bore was heavy, the 
 situation he found himself in, one to try the stoutest 
 heart. Already he stood on the very edge of a precipice, 
 and was incapable of measuring the depths into which he 
 might be forced to plunge at any moment. These depths 
 or abysses being represented by political events, which 
 were shaping to a head at a furious pace. 
 
 Patriotic manifestations against the Government were 
 of daily occurrence. The national hymn was sung in gen 
 eral chorus throughout Warsaw, and in the light of day. 
 Large numbers of people were being arrested. Patrols of 
 cavalry surrounded the churches, the streets were kept, 
 clear by detachments of infantry, and the Russian lieu 
 tenant was at length confronted by armed rebellion. 
 
 Sara now scarcely ventured out unless driven and at 
 tended; Hernani, owing to his numerous engagements, 
 but seldom ; all the same he returned one day black with 
 fury. 
 
 "What has happened?" Sara cried the instant she saw 
 him. 
 
 "More than enough," he shouted, beside himself; "the 
 accursed brutes have fired upon the crowd, who were 
 unarmed. Jewish blood has been shed. I myself saw it. 
 Ah! God, how I longed for a rifle. The bullet pierced 
 his heart he fell stone-dead at my side, and I I could 
 only wrench a stick from someone and beat a Cossack 
 to the earth." 
 
 "You you, Kasimir! she shrieked. "Do you know 
 what you have done?" 
 
 "Done, woman!" he exclaimed, his anger terrible to 
 behold, and for the instant becoming almost brutal. 
 "Ah! why have I no sons to tread these vermin under 
 toot?" 
 
 "You must fly, or you will be arrested," she sobbed, 
 ignoring the allusion, knowing that he was only cruel as 
 the waves are in their wrath. 
 
 "Fly do you think so? I shall not budge. Arrested
 
 36 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 shall I be? Let them try it, let them come they will find 
 me prepared." And he shut himself up, to mourn and 
 think, ashamed of his vehemence, and cooling, after he 
 had been alone a little. But when really calmer he could 
 talk of nothing but the aspect of the mob, gathered about 
 the dark Monastery, of the Bernardines; of their forti 
 tude, and the horrors of the scene, inasmuch as they were 
 unarmed and so at the mercy of the troops, who had fired 
 volleys upon them, riding them under foot and flogging 
 them with their nagaikas.* 
 
 In the evening time, when Hernani was still desperate 
 ly agitated, Ivan Nicholaevitch was composedly sipping 
 some fine tea flavored to a nicety with lemon. A sam 
 ovar and a box of choice cigarettes stood near and Popo- 
 loff was at his elbow. 
 
 "Have you found out who knocked the Cossack 
 down?" he asked, helping himself to a cigarette. 
 
 "Yes, your Excellency/ 
 
 "Who was it?" 
 
 "You will be surprised, sir." 
 
 "How do you know? Nothing surprises me." 
 
 "I only think so. It was the banker, Kasimir Hernani." 
 
 "Hernani? H-u-m-m!" Lighting the cigarette, he 
 inhaled freely, blew the smoke out in rings, and with his 
 eyes fixed on Popoloff, repeated, "Hernani?" adding, 
 "Do you know, Popoloff, I am surprised! He seems to 
 be a dangerous character." 
 
 "Yes, your Excellency." 
 
 "We must not forget that." 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 "But do nothing at present. The Cossack may have 
 been insolent, and to be lenient is good sometimes. Re 
 member what I say. Have you got the information I 
 required about him? My hands have been so full that the 
 matter has quite escaped me." 
 
 *Whips.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 37 
 
 "I have it here, sir." And Popoloff handed him a 
 paper. 
 
 Reading attentively for a few minutes, Hourko at 
 length exclaimed 
 
 "Let me see ah! rubbish! Of course I knew that 
 religiously, not strictly devout. Attached to the White, 
 or moderate party looks so by his conduct; wonder what 
 Zamoyski would say to that? This is more to the point. 
 Home relations of a happy nature, the pair being devoted 
 to each other, but for the absence of children, which is a 
 source of great regret to Hernani. His sentiments on this 
 subject are the common property of the household, and 
 the relations between the couple are, in consequence, 
 strained upon occasions. Very concise and yet exhaust 
 ive. I am obliged, Popoloff. Take care of the report. 
 Good ; now this is interesting. A gap is here which can 
 not be filled up, a rent exists which must widen, unless 
 how long have they been married?" 
 
 "I do not know, your Excellency." 
 
 "Some years, doubtless, and wife last resident in Cra 
 cow. How young she must have been, and what a deli 
 cious morsel; of a very affectionate disposition, too, I 
 should say. So Hernani desires children, and, having 
 none, upbraids her. What is his remedy, Popoloff?" 
 
 "How do you mean, sir?" 
 
 "Come, you lawyer. What can he do, given that he 
 wished to take action in the matter?" 
 
 "Get rid of her, sir." 
 
 "Ah! How poison?" 
 
 "You are jesting, your Excellency." 
 
 "Well, seriously, tell me." 
 
 "I will consider the question and let you know, sir." 
 
 "What can t you state now? You will get no extra 
 fees for the delay, eh?" And the General laughed. 
 
 "I would rather think it over, sir." 
 
 "Very well, but answer me this. If he got rid of her, 
 she would be free, of course?"
 
 38 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Certainly, sir." 
 
 "Would she be disgraced?" 
 
 "Not necessarily, but she would sink to a certain 
 extent in the estimation of those who were aware of the 
 facts of the case. Women would 
 
 "Oh, never mind about what the women would think. 
 They must always be jealous of her, for she is beautiful 
 eh, Popoloff?" 
 
 "Very, your Excellency; but a Jewess/ 
 
 "Under some circumstances such an unpleasant fact 
 may be overlooked. You see Esther was also a Jewess, 
 yet King Kasimir adored her. Now although it would 
 never do for me to be lenient to the Jews as that famous 
 King Kasimir was, in consequence of his affection for 
 Esther, yet I will own that I am interested in Sara Her- 
 nani just as he was in Esther, if I may draw such a 
 parallel. Do you understand me, Popoloff?" 
 
 "Perfectly, sir." 
 
 "Well, then, think; I want this acquaintance, so oddly 
 one might say inauspiciously commenced to ripen." 
 
 "Your Excellency s hands will be full with this insur 
 rection, which draws to a head." 
 
 "Oh, I know I know, but not so full as all that. Do 
 as I order you. There will be plenty of spare moments 
 which I intend to spend pleasantly, in spite of the restless 
 ness of these pestilent Poles. Carte blanche is all I want 
 to crush them in a week, instead of telegrams from St. 
 Petersburg arriving at dead of night, conceived at that 
 distance, without the knowledge procurable upon the spot 
 and so disjointing all my plans. But why did you drag 
 it into my head again? I want to forget my worries for 
 the moment, and so gain the strength to meet more of 
 them. Where was I? oh, yes, this Jewess. Well, think; 
 see to it. I have belief in you, as you know." 
 
 Popoloff bowed with a gratified smile, polished his 
 spectacles, and then peering craftily through them, said 
 
 "I have not been idle. Aware of your inclinations, sir,
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 39 
 
 I have already thought, and have managed to see and 
 come to terms with a servant Kasimir has had a long 
 while in his employ, so that from time to time, in consid 
 eration of a judicious disbursement of rubles, I shall be 
 informed of all that transpires in his household. This 
 method of procedure is one which, as you know, I have 
 found effective, with political issues at stake, and in that 
 sense it may prove useful again ; his wealth, coupled with 
 his violence of temper, being a possible source of danger, 
 as your Excellency has suggested. If I choose, he can 
 scarcely leave the house now without my knowledge." 
 
 "Capital! That is good." 
 
 "And," continued Popoloff, with unshaken gravity, 
 "already I possess copies of a correspondence com 
 menced with Count Andrew Dorozynski, who figures on 
 the list of those suspected of treason. Perhaps you will 
 remember that the father, Count Thomas Dorozynski, 
 has twice fallen under his Majesty s displeasure." 
 
 "Yes, I think I recollect something of the matter. He 
 made himself conspicuous in the 30 affair." 
 
 "He did, sir." 
 
 "Had some of his estates confiscated and altogether 
 was a source of great annoyance." 
 
 "Quite right, sir." 
 
 "Well, you have done marvels, Popoloff, and are wise 
 to keep a watchful eye on such men as this young Doro 
 zynski. What news did these letters contain?" 
 
 "Mild expressions of discontent run through them, 
 sir." 
 
 "Written by Count Andrew, you say?" 
 
 "Yes, Excellency." 
 
 "What kind of a person is he? Likely to prove as 
 troublesome as his father, I suppose?" 
 
 "I am afraid so, sir. I understand that he possesses the 
 looks and temper of the old Count, who in his day was as 
 handsome as he was proud and rebellious. But he shall 
 be well looked after."
 
 40 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "There is wisdom in that. Is the family a large one?" 
 
 "Only Count Andrew and a girl, sir." 
 
 "Then there are the less to reckon with. Now don t 
 forget what I have said, Popoloff. Be mindful of my 
 instructions. By the way, I can see no one I want 
 to be quiet." 
 
 Popoloff took the hint and disappeared, serving up for 
 Madame Hourko s nightly dish of gossip, only a few 
 choice morsels which he thought he might safely dis 
 close. 
 
 Helping himself to some more tea, Ivan Nicholaevitch 
 stretched out his legs and began to think, selecting one or 
 two remarks of Popoloff s, which pleased him because 
 they concerned Sara. For example, he chuckled at the 
 recollection of Popoloff s evident appreciation of her 
 beauty, and was glad to think that his wits were at work in 
 support of the increasing intimacy he meditated. She 
 had been in his mind constantly, but he had not spoken 
 about her to Popoloff, knowing that the hints he had 
 thrown out would be remembered by that sagacious in 
 dividual. Then he began to think how he should act 
 should she prove obdurate, and, as a guarantee of head 
 ing her off in that direction, he contemplated with much 
 satisfaction the immense strength of his position. With 
 the power of life and death in his hands, Hernani could 
 be swept away to Siberia, in spite of his wealth and stand 
 ing. He would simply be numbered and lost sight of 
 that was all; then, with Madame Hourko cajoled into 
 visiting her beautiful estate in the Ukraine, the coast 
 would be clear. It would then be easy to see Sara con 
 stantly, and to exert what influence he pleased over her 
 by promising to extricate Hernani from his terrible posi 
 tion. Already the banker had done enough to warrant 
 his arrest, and, if let alone for the present while events 
 took shape, in the end was sure to compromise himself 
 even more deeply. To watch and see him do so would be 
 best perhaps. Anyway, Sara must not suspect his hand
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 41 
 
 in whatever might be done. It would be well if she came 
 to him and said, "Help me I am in distress." Then he 
 might seem magnanimous, in reality doing nothing be 
 yond establishing himself more securely in her favor. 
 
 So for the hundredth time Hourko told himself that he 
 was in love, and that he was not the man to be balked; in 
 this cheerful frame of mind betaking himself to bed, and 
 on his way there getting greeted by a cunning question 
 from his little faded wreck of a wife. 
 
 "Do you know who attacked the Cossack? People are 
 full of it," she inquired, as she tucked herself up, the light 
 playing upon her sharp features and pale eyes, showing, 
 too, how thin and like wire the remnants of her yellow 
 hair had become. 
 
 "What if I do?" he answered grumpily. 
 
 "They say he was a Jew," she persisted, noting every 
 change in his expression, every movement he made. 
 
 "Do they?" 
 
 "Yes; so he may go free, I suppose?" 
 
 The General wheeled upon her. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "You favor them, don t you?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Oh! I thought you did; but you needn t be so cross." 
 
 "Woman, don t worry me !" he roared. "I have enough 
 on my hands. I have to forward a dispatch to St. Peters- 
 burg." 
 
 "Aren t you going to ask his Majesty to advise you how 
 to deal with Jews who assault the troops?" she inquired, 
 her eyes sparkling like a ferret s as she curled herself up. 
 
 "Damn the Jews and the troops too!" he retorted.
 
 42 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The violence Hernani had been guilty of in assaulting 
 the Cossack weighed Sara down with anxiety. A tap of 
 the massive knocker, or a peal of the bell, sent a shudder 
 through her. She imagined that the police had arrived 
 at last, empowered to arrest her husband to carry him 
 off despite her tears and entreaties; and at the thought 
 she was torn with anguish. She did not blame him for 
 his display of anger, but she lamented it as an act of ex 
 treme rashness. When all likelihood of the immediate 
 enforcement of such stringent measures had passed, she 
 became a prey to doubts, which were even worse to bear. 
 Her nervousness was pitiable. She was certain that 
 silence on the part of the police meant mischief, that they 
 were employed in getting up a case against him, and were 
 waiting only that they might act with more telling effect. 
 Hernani s temperament even was a source of constant 
 terror to her. She knew him to be fearless, but such a 
 quality, though noble, when united to a quick temper, 
 became a danger in itself. 
 
 As a Jew too, the laws he had lived under, the in 
 dignities to which he had been subjected, had irritated 
 instead of crushed him. Though he was rich, in fact on 
 account of his riches, he had been mulcted ingeniously 
 and tortured slowly. The battle he had fought had been 
 a hard one, and had rendered him keenly susceptible. So 
 that whenever he was out of her sight the dread lest he 
 should foul the authorities was always hot upon her. 
 She would invariably escort him to the door herself, and 
 with her last kiss would add, "Come back soon, and do 
 be careful for my sake. Remember that the little wife is 
 waiting for you." And the strong man would go away
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 43 
 
 with the tears in his eyes at this proof of her affection, 
 and would turn to look at his home wistfully, for he might 
 not "come back" who could tell? Poland was such a 
 strange country and such funny things happened in War 
 saw; besides, this was a time in which no man could con 
 tain his soul in quiet least of all a Jew. With the 
 presage of a great conflagration aglow in the sky, the 
 gloom and horror of approaching strife cloaking the land 
 like a pall, none could gauge the closeness of Siberia, and 
 ruin or death might be very near at hand; for the laws 
 were severe, the swarming troops eager and vigilant. 
 Hernani himself was consumed by the bulk of these 
 thoughts. He knew that his wealth was a danger rather 
 than a guarantee of security in such days as those he 
 had come upon. With a wife to consider, had he been 
 free to choose, his first act would have been to quit the 
 country, but he was bound up in it, since his rubles were 
 laid out and at stake. What abandon his fortune to his 
 foes by realizing at a frightful loss? Never! It would 
 be puerile, even cowardly. For although he could scarce 
 lay his finger on a soul he could trust, being like many 
 another man in that respect, there were those about him 
 who looked to him for moral support, took courage from 
 his energy and dauntless front, and would have been 
 plunged in despair had he turned his back upon them; 
 for his travels, knowledge and varied experience, added 
 to his known substance, made him a popular pillar of 
 strength. Months back, and seeing what was ahead, he 
 had seriously contemplated flight, but only for a little 
 while and because of Sara. Whether wise or foolish, 
 such an idea had been finally abandoned, leaving him re 
 solved to face and fight whatever might come upon him. 
 So he worked and watched, getting up just as early and 
 retiring as late, his conduct being such as could give no 
 offense to the authorities; political gatherings and dem 
 onstrations being cautiously avoided by him. 
 
 Now and again he received letters from Dorozynski,
 
 44 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 chiefly interesting to him because of the young Count s 
 knowledge of the peasant question, which he shrewdly 
 regarded as the kernel of the insurrectionary move 
 ment. "Would they rise? Indeed no." He even went 
 further and said, "Those peasants who have anything to 
 lose will, when the time comes, appear as enemies. But 
 without some help, nothing is possible, so we must look 
 to France, I think. The Emperor s attitude is, I hear, 
 most favorable." 
 
 The young Count wrote from his father s estate, situ 
 ated some twenty miles out of Warsaw, employing a mes 
 senger whom he no doubt fancied he could trust, Hernani 
 doing the same, neither of them therefore imagining that 
 there was any danger in the correspondence, and so tum 
 bling into it Dorozynski, because it kept him in touch 
 with events when not in Warsaw, supplying him too with 
 fresh ideas; Hernani, because of the young Count s 
 frankness, ability, and shrewd common sense. 
 
 Between Sara and Hernani the touching God-speed 
 and delight on safely meeting again was a perpetual 
 evidence of the gloom and anxiety both were a prey to. 
 
 The incident of Sara s late return and evident distress 
 on the day upon which she had been taken before General 
 Hourko had been almost forgotten by Hernani, when of 
 a sudden it was revived, and a new side of it turned to 
 him, by a man whom he met quite by accident, and who 
 loosed his tongue without thinking. She had been com 
 pelled to go to the palace and had, he stated, been de 
 tained there. Once upon the subject, Hernani extracted 
 this information without showing how profoundly ig 
 norant he was of the whole affair. Surprised and an 
 noyed as well as doubting, he lost no time in applying 
 dexterous questions to others, receiving much the same 
 story over again. The tale, then, was common property 
 and must be true. Of course, such ideas as these fol 
 lowed upon the discovery. Why had she omitted to 
 tell him refused to, in fact? What could it mean?
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 45 
 
 He blundered on with his reasoning, making noth 
 ing of it, and as if to provoke him further, later 
 in the day he was informed by a Rabbi who had 
 been requested to represent his class in the famous 
 Delegation which had been appointed that General 
 Hourko had himself spoken of and made inquiries about 
 him. There was nothing wonderful or even strange in 
 this, seeing that he was perhaps the most influential Jew 
 in Warsaw, but he became a little suspicious was this 
 the beginning of some delicate overtures on the part of 
 the General, and if so, what was his object? Sara was 
 beautiful in his sight, wondrously so. A few pangs of 
 jealousy were added to his suspicions; and the more he 
 thought the keener they became. All at once he made 
 an enormous mental leap. The Russian Governor had 
 seen her and it had been enough; she had at 
 tracted him at once; perhaps the whole affair had 
 been a carefully arranged plot. What more simple 
 than to have noticed her in the town, perhaps 
 shopping, admired her, had her watched, at length 
 seized and conveyed to the palace. Hourko would 
 run no risk by such an act; he would say to him 
 self, "She is only the wife of a Jew; it will not matter 
 I am safe." It was a horrible thought; but there was a 
 worse one to come. He had never known Sara refuse 
 point-blank to tell him anything before. The terms upon 
 which they had lived had been too happy to admit of 
 secrets, however trifling. And clearly this was more than 
 a small matter. Whatever had induced her to act as she 
 had then? What was he to think? Was it possible that 
 Hourko s rank, added to the splendor he maintained, had 
 "dazzled her, so that the attentions he had forced upon her, 
 instead of proving odious, had pleased her? Was she 
 silent because she wished them to be renewed when 
 chance offered? Women are vain, Hernani argued. 
 
 Next moment he hated himself for thinking so ill of 
 her. His little wife impossible! What a fool he was!
 
 46 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 She was not like that, and as pure as the driven snow. 
 Love a Russian? What a mistake! Love anyone but 
 himself in fact he to whom she had surrendered herself! 
 What madness to think such things! Really he would 
 soon be fit for an asylum. His little wife well! But he 
 went home and said nothing, treasured his doubts as 
 though they were gold, more precious to him even than 
 fine gold or rubies. 
 
 Disguising his twinges of jealousy, his cruel and de 
 testable speculations, as closely as he would have guarded 
 the knowledge of some new-found and fabulous mine, 
 the keen eyes of love looked into him and found some 
 thing amiss. 
 
 "What was the matter with him?" Sara inquired. Had 
 anything happened? No, nothing Nothing! Well, 
 then, they could be jolly together for the evening. No, 
 he had work to do. Come she could not hear of it. 
 She Sara had a right to his evenings they belonged 
 to her. She was ready to devote herself to him, to sing, 
 to amuse him, to make herself charming; and could any 
 man wish more? This last remark was accompanied by 
 a smile that made Hernani shiver; feeling how she af 
 fected him, and thinking how weak any man would be if it 
 pleased her to make him so. She clung about him with 
 her soft, warm touch, full of love, as she often did, but he 
 loosened her hands, put her from him, and went away 
 disturbed and sulky. 
 
 Later, when he rejoined her, a little ashamed of himself, 
 horribly miserable, he attempted no explanation, said 
 nothing kind she hungering all the while but with 
 consummate coolness remarked that General Marquis 
 Paulucci had been placed at the head of the police. She 
 could have struck him. 
 
 "What do I care about Paulucci?" she replied snap 
 pishly. Was that all he was thinking about? Had he 
 come there to annoy her? 
 
 "But it is a great matter, and the Government is ob-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 47 
 
 viously so weak. These concessions, the Delegation, the 
 promise of even more extraordinary favors, is a posi 
 tive proof. They are driven to it; or they would yield 
 nothing." 
 
 Goodness! Was that all he had to say to her? All 
 and was it not enough? She should be delighted. Sara 
 was thoroughly put out. 
 
 "Oh! I am sick of the whole affair!" she exclaimed 
 petulantly. Then she suddenly relented, such a show of 
 temper being foreign to ner. She became again affection 
 ate, tender, nestling against him. "Come, dearie, be like 
 yourself," she said; "let us forget these horrid affairs 
 which we cannot control, and with which we are always 
 being bothered. Let us talk of ourselves, of old times; 
 we were not so worried then; and you were so kind 
 you loved me so." 
 
 She had bid for a reply, which she did not get. 
 
 "Am I unkind now?" he asked coldly. 
 
 "Oh, no; probably we are neither of us quite our 
 selves. Do you know I begin to long for the spring, real 
 spring weather; not like this, warm and muggy, with the 
 streets full of mud, but fine and sunny. The trees beau 
 tifully tinted, and the birds singing in them as though 
 they were just beginning life." 
 
 "It will come soon enough," he answered grimly; "a 
 few days will decide all that." 
 
 "And will it not be nice? You will take me into the 
 country; we can drive to Villanov, and sit in the shade 
 at the little white Inn, where the birds chatter so in the 
 chestnut trees, and we will have some of those cakes 
 do you remember? We might even go upon the river 
 when we are tired of the gardens. Ah! how I love it 
 the cattle browsing in the meadows, and the stream so 
 deep and placid, reflecting everything, the banks, the 
 trees, the sky how I love it!" 
 
 "And yet you are only a little town girl; you have 
 tramped more pavements than fields."
 
 48 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 She looked at him, startled and frightened, as though 
 his words had recalled some hideous vision, and her eyes 
 filled with tears. 
 
 "Ah! how cruel. The pavements yes, I was poor, 
 and I had to walk. One often has to do things one 
 hates, and I hated the streets; but do you want do 
 you want to remind me how much I owe to you? God 
 knows " 
 
 "Hush !" he said, and he put his hand upon her lips. "I 
 am sorry, and I am not a cur." 
 
 She blushed and brightened at the tenderness in his 
 voice ; her tears were gone, her face radiant as a beautiful 
 landscape after an April shower. The sun itself, the sun 
 she loved so well, seemed to gild her bright eyes as she 
 said softly, in a hushed voice, as though his instant kind 
 ness still rang in her ears, and by no harsh sound would 
 she drive it away 
 
 "Well, then, a day out there with you would be worth 
 anything, and you can leave your business for once. It 
 will be so nice so nice." 
 
 But Hernani could only sigh. This forced gayety, as 
 he thought it, was out of place and jarred upon him. 
 Besides, could he quite believe her? Would it delight her 
 so, or was she acting? Ah! he feared, he doubted. 
 How absurd to talk about Villanov, the gardens, the 
 river, a nice day spent there, when by that time he might 
 have to fight for his life who could tell? 
 
 Before going to bed he said suddenly 
 
 "General Hourko spoke about me to Rabbi Nathan- 
 sohn, so I heard." And watching her face narrowly he 
 became furiously jealous, as he thought he detected a 
 certain uneasiness in her manner.
 
 HERN AMI THE JEW. 49 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A little while afterwards Sara received a note from 
 Hourko, signed by Popoloff, requesting her to see him on 
 the ground that it would interest her to hear of, and to 
 discuss, the merits of some benefits he proposed to confer 
 upon the poorer classes of Jews. Perhaps, since she was 
 so deeply interested in their welfare, she would have some 
 useful suggestions to offer; therefore he should be glad 
 if she would call any day about twelve. 
 
 Sara s first idea was to treat the request with indiffer 
 ence, doubting the genuineness of it; her next one, to 
 write a brief line, courteously refusing; finally she de 
 cided that it would be well to be cautious, if not for her 
 own sake for that of others. 
 
 Here was a letter from the Governor of the Kingdom, 
 and the reason of it she well knew. She had influenced 
 him, could influence him, if she set herself to try. Why 
 should she not gain an ascendancy over him that would 
 enable her to make better terms for her down-trodden 
 race? He had proposed it himself; it was for her to 
 manage him, for her to see that the suggestion he had set 
 down bore fruit. 
 
 Would it not be selfish, almost criminal, on her part, 
 to neglect such a chance of doing good to a vast body of 
 sorely-tried, hard-working, and deserving people, whose 
 lives she knew so well, and with whom she could sym 
 pathize as few could, having actually lived as thousands 
 of them were living? They had no one to put in a word 
 for them, no one who cared whether the ready-made col 
 lar about their necks was tight or no, or, if caring, could 
 get it loosened. Perhaps she had some such power in her 
 hands, if she would only exert herself and conquer the 
 4
 
 50 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 repugnance she felt for the task. Why should she hate 
 General Hourko so much shrink from approaching him 
 as though he were an adder? He must have his good 
 qualities, and had shown himself polite and reasonable 
 enough, though perhaps that was because he had been 
 affected by her beauty. But for his one remark about 
 her, and the expression of his eyes, which was wicked, 
 she could find no fault with his reception and treatment of 
 her. Then came another and a last thought which decid 
 ed her. She could remember ridiculing as an impossi 
 bility the idea of begging anything of General Hourko. 
 Already she saw reasons why those views should be modi 
 fied. So sure as she lived, Hernani would put his neck 
 under the heel of the Government, hating the existing 
 officialism as he did, writhing under the cruelty and in 
 justice he maintained it had already been guilty of; ready, 
 despite his coolness and judgment in other matters, to 
 leap to arms should the least chance of success offer. 
 She might well look ahead and prepare a chance of es 
 cape for him, should failure attend him as she dreaded. 
 As matters stood, any day he might have to answer for 
 his furious attack upon the Cossack. How well then if 
 she could buoy the course he was taking, since she could 
 not direct it, and so by her own judicious behavior, find 
 him, when the storm burst, an anchorage in which he 
 could lie safe. What a wife she would thus prove herself. 
 The reason why he had not already been roughly dealt 
 with was perhaps due to her influence, for how many 
 thousands had gone to Siberia for a much lighter of 
 fense! 
 
 On her own account she must not be nervous; she 
 could take care of herself well enough, and for the pres 
 ent, certainly, there was nothing to fear. For the best 
 possible reasons she must continue to be silent to Her 
 nani, for to take him into her confidence, detesting Hour 
 ko as he did, would be to abandon her projects and in 
 furiate him, since she would have to speak of the visit
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 51 
 
 she had already been compelled to make to the palace, 
 which would be summed up by him in one word inso 
 lence. No; she must keep her own counsel and act as 
 seemed best, redoubling her caution to prevent him from 
 discovering what she was about. 
 
 There was, however, just this difficulty of which she 
 was unaware: Hernani had met Hourko s messenger by 
 chance, as he was going out; had actually fingered the 
 letter and recognized the official arms upon it; when 
 questioned, too, the man had admitted that it was from 
 General Hourko. Hernani had turned it over and won 
 dered. Should he take it to his wife and ask her the 
 meaning of it? No. He was proud. She had secrets. 
 Very well; she might keep them. What was the use of 
 trying to keep pace with a woman who wished to de 
 ceive. So he ground his teeth and suffered it to be de 
 livered to her without comment, feeling the while as 
 though his home were collapsing about him. 
 
 When Sara s reply reached the palace the General gave 
 full vent to his satisfaction. 
 
 "So the Jewess is coming, Popoloff!" he exclaimed. 
 "Ah! you were right,, you \vere clever. She has swal 
 lowed the bait, and now I must be profoundly wise and 
 sympathetic on the question of lightening Jewish bur 
 dens. Ha! ha! do you hear?" 
 
 Never known to laugh or to be enthusiastic about any 
 thing, Popoloff replied with the utmost gravity 
 
 "Is that so, sir?" 
 
 "That is so, man. You have read the letter." 
 
 "Yes; but now let me tell you something I wanted 
 to speak about, sir. I have not been idle in another 
 direction." 
 
 "No; what have you done?" 
 
 "Renewed my acquaintance with Kasimir Hernani s 
 lawyer, Hermann Bloch, sir." 
 
 "Is Bloch his confidential man?" 
 
 "He is, sir."
 
 52 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Haven t I had some dealings with him? That mort 
 gage on the property in Lithuania you will remember." 
 
 "Quite right, your Excellency." 
 
 "Ah! I only saw him once, when I signed some pa 
 pers, but Bloch might be a useful man, I should say. 
 Fond of rubles, eh, Popoloff?" 
 
 "Very, sir, as I have reason to know; he is, besides, 
 much about Hernani, and in delicate matters it is neces 
 sary to have the right tools to hand. Yes, I think he is 
 worth cultivating. Now, on the matter of the law we 
 spoke of." 
 
 "Ah! How does that stand?" 
 
 "Kasimir Hernani can divorce his wife, on the ground 
 that she is barren, if it should please him to do so, since 
 she would probably offer no opposition. When you put 
 the question to me at first, I could not reply, because I 
 did not know how long they had been married. Now I 
 only say he can do this. As a rule, divorce without con 
 sent is only resorted to by the lower classes of Jews." 
 
 "Still it might suit him." 
 
 "It might, as you say, your Excellency; of course it 
 depends upon the nature of his regard for her. Bloch 
 says that he has often lamented his childless condition, 
 and is, he assured me, irreconcilable." 
 
 "What an ass he must be, though, .after all, I suppose 
 it is natural- " 
 
 "To men to long for something they don t possess a 
 common failing." 
 
 "True." 
 
 "When is she to be here, sir? It has escaped me." 
 
 "The day after to-morrow. Not in a hurry, eh? But 
 now, Popolofif, when she comes, take care that I am 
 not disturbed. These Jewish questions are ticklish, you 
 understand." 
 
 "Perfectly, sir." 
 
 "Good; now tell me what is the outlook? Are the 
 people less agitated?"
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 53 
 
 "Perhaps, since the appointment of the Marquis Wie- 
 lopolski as Chief Minister. But it won t last; he has no 
 following, and is detested, as your Excellency is aware." 
 
 "I believe in him, though. He is the most able man in 
 the country. Count Zamoyski hasn t half his brains." 
 
 "But he is popular, sir." 
 
 "Ah! A great matter." 
 
 "The bulk of people assert that the Government is 
 weak; that is one reason for the lull. The instant the 
 notion is fully digested, their importunities will begin, 
 and increase in proportion to the clemency shown them." 
 
 "The Government weak? They think that, do they! 
 
 What d d impertinence! They shall see in good 
 
 time. We can eat them up at any moment. And yet 
 there are few visible signs of disturbance." 
 
 "I have been told, sir, that a white squall a storm 
 much dreaded by sailors scarcely signalizes its ap 
 proach." 
 
 "From which simile I suppose you mean to infer that 
 this Polish madness is ripening beneath smiles?" 
 
 "Exactly; the smiles of a villain when meaning to be 
 most deadly." 
 
 "I daresay; I incline to agree with you, though you 
 are a bit of an old croaker, Popoloff. Any news from 
 the Ukraine?" 
 
 "A letter to-day " 
 
 "Ah! Is it much warmer there just now?" 
 
 "Much, sir." 
 
 "Of course it is; I reminded Madame Hourko. The 
 cold of this place kills her. A run down there would set 
 her up. You tell her about it." And the General saun 
 tered to a window, while Popoloff went away with a 
 cunning grin of understanding and a folio of papers 
 tucked beneath his arm.
 
 54 HERNANI THE JEW 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 With the light of the morning upon which Sara was 
 to see Hourko, came a load as of lead upon her heart. 
 A sense of approaching calamity, as though an irretrace 
 able step were being taken, was blended with a tumult 
 of doubts which she thought she had set at rest. Was 
 she acting wisely in going? Would her visit be pro 
 ductive of the good she expected; and was it safe for her 
 to trust herself inside that great palace, with a man of 
 whom such stories as she had heard were told? She 
 distrusted and detested him; then why should she vol 
 untarily put herself in his power? To end this mental 
 conflict which threatened to become interminable, she 
 asked herself one question: "Am I trying to do right?" 
 and the answer was an emphatic "Yes." Then what 
 disturbed her so unnaturally? If on the side of right, 
 what had she to fear? She was going to sacrifice her 
 own feelings for the good of others, and in so doing she 
 should have experienced a sense of restfulness, of quiet 
 pleasure, as though an angel had crept into her heart 
 and made its abode there. 
 
 Perhaps the anxiety she had felt about Hernani had 
 upset her. Never had he been so cold, so preoccupied, 
 seeming to avoid her, even to shrink from seeing her 
 during the last day or so. That was it, and no wonder, 
 when through the whole of their married life they had 
 been so happy together: perfectly so, but for the occa 
 sional uprising of the ghost this question of children. 
 But his mood would pass, the old days would return; 
 likely enough some troubles of his own business wor 
 ries were at the root of the matter. 
 
 "Patience little wifey," she said to herself over and
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 55 
 
 over again; "as Riva is fond of reminding me, to be 
 patient is sometimes better than to have great riches." 
 And as the time came to go she put on her hat and 
 warm wraps, Riva Krein waiting upon her and fastening 
 her boots; and when she was ready she breathed more 
 freely and her heart became light again. 
 
 Riva Krein was old and peaked and yellow; half the 
 size she had once been, owing to time, poor food, and 
 trouble. But she still possessed the eyes of her youth, 
 dark and piercing; and her hair had retained its color, 
 for, though very thin, it was still black. 
 
 Sara had no secrets from Riva, for she had clung to 
 the family in sickness and health, through good and evil 
 repute, until grinding poverty had forced her away for a 
 while. When Sara s fortunate marriage had come 
 about, she had sought her out, and given her a home 
 and wages that the old woman could never have got 
 elsewhere. For Sara was not one to forget faithfulness 
 and kindness. Riva Krein knew that, and her love for 
 her amounted to worship; otherwise she was cunning 
 and a little unscrupulous. Perhaps the world had made 
 her so, for her legs had trembled always under the load 
 she had carried from her cradle. 
 
 "Riva," Sara said, last thing, wishing to leave some 
 trace of herself if need be, "I am going to the palace to 
 see General Hourko. It is to do good to people like the 
 Bielois, you understand. And you are to say nothing 
 unless you have cause to be anxious. Mind now, not 
 a word to a soul." 
 
 "Very well, my lamb; I will count and think, but will 
 be as silent as a sepulchre. What says the law Silence 
 is the fence round wisdom. : 
 
 With a nod and smile of approval, Sara set off, quick 
 ening her step in the cool bracing air, and feeling re 
 freshed and invigorated by it. She was anxious to 
 escape observation as much as possible, yet she stopped 
 to give a few kopecs to a little girl whose appearance
 
 56 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 pleased her, but who made her sigh as she remembered 
 that she had no little baby face of her own to cheer 
 her. It was so strange, since she was so well formed 
 and so robust. But she was not disposed to look sadly 
 upon anything just then; she could do good, and if some 
 things were not as she wished, she had her use in the 
 world. Besides, since she had not been out for days, 
 the scenes so familiar wore a refreshing aspect of new 
 ness cheering to her. It was as though she had been 
 ill and was taking her first walk. As she entered the 
 palace her pulse quickened, and it occurred to her how 
 strange it was to be calling upon a man who, in Cracow, 
 but a few years back, might almost have flung her a few 
 kopecs, had he been in a mood for giving alms; and 
 she shuddered as she remembered how weak and faint 
 she had often felt in those days, and how the bleak 
 winds used to pierce her clothing, while the snow and 
 rain had soaked through her boots and chilled her feet. 
 Ah ! it was all very strange, strange too and tragic, that 
 the man who had lifted her out of such suffering, who 
 had clothed and fed her so well, should at that instant 
 have his eyes fixed upon her eyes in which wrath and 
 anguish fought. 
 
 Had she glanced back with keen enough vision to 
 recognize who had tracked her, she might have saved 
 herself the bitterest suffering, and the loving heart she 
 owed so much to, an ache like unto death. But she 
 went on without once turning, and when she had disap 
 peared, Hernani, muffled in a great coat and fur cap, 
 came to a standstill in an archway, watching. Occasion 
 ally a tear rolled down his cheeks, and he was very pale, 
 but he scarcely moved for a good two hours, after which 
 time she reappeared, passing within a few feet of him 
 as he shrank back from her sight.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 57 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 "And what have you been doing with yourself?" Her- 
 nani inquired when they met, hours after, his voice ring 
 ing true as though no mental conflict had shaken him. 
 
 "I oh! I have been out," answered Sara. 
 
 "Yes; well, and who did you see, and what did you 
 buy?" 
 
 "I saw scarcely anyone to speak to. Old Bloch came 
 puffing along, looking as fat and red and funny as ever. 
 I always laugh when I look at him." 
 
 "Do you what, Hermann Bloch, the notary?" 
 
 "Yes our Bloch. Don t you think he is odd look- 
 ing?" 
 
 "Perhaps. I have never thought of him but in con 
 nection with business. He is very clever." 
 
 "So he ought to be." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because he is so ugly." 
 
 "Well, brains are better than beauty." 
 
 "Some men have both." The compliment was appar 
 ent, but Hernani let it pass. "I know someone who has 
 big eyes for a pretty face," continued Sara playfully, ex 
 pecting Hernani to say, "Yes, and that someone has 
 eyes only for you," instead of which he said coldly 
 
 "Wisdom and understanding are better than good 
 looks, and virtue better than the three." 
 
 "How dull and grumpy you are," answered Sara, with 
 affected petulance. 
 
 "I, my love?" 
 
 "Yes, you; and I have been buying something very 
 nice for you something you have long wanted and that 
 we have often talked about. Now guess."
 
 58 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "I can t; tell me." 
 
 "No, you must guess, or I shall keep it a secret until 
 it is made." 
 
 Hernani did not answer. How could he be in a mood 
 to chatter? It was wonderful that he was able to pretend 
 as well as he did. 
 
 "Oh! And who else do you think I saw besides 
 Bloch?" resumed Sara, anxious to engage him in con 
 versation, so that she might have him to herself for a 
 little while. 
 
 "Eh!" stammered Hernani, roused from thoughts 
 which cut him like sharp knives "what did you say?" 
 
 "Why don t you listen to me, dear? Who else do you 
 think I saw?" 
 
 "I have no notion." 
 
 "The Marquis Wielopolski, dashing along with his 
 mounted guard alone, haughty, and reserved-looking, 
 as though his resolutions were fixed, and that was 
 enough. How strange for a man to go about sur 
 rounded by soldiers in the heart of his own country." 
 
 "It is because his own countrymen don t trust him." 
 
 "Of course; but why?" 
 
 "Why are people distrusted? Really, Sara, how droll 
 to ask me. Because of their conduct, I suppose." And 
 the hateful reflection followed: "Politicians may well 
 be doubted if men doubt their own wives." 
 
 "Oh! Well, I saw Wielopolski, and not ten minutes 
 afterward, General Paulucci, whose appointment you 
 raved about." 
 
 "Right I did; but you seem to have encountered 
 quite a throng of notables. General Hourko, now did 
 you see him?" 
 
 Hernani scarcely dared to look at her as he put the 
 question by which he meant to afford her another 
 chance of confiding in him and her answer, which was 
 really a ready one, seemed ages in coming. 
 
 "I seldom see General Hourko; do you?"
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 59 
 
 Ah! the hussy; she had circumvented him; walked 
 round him, indeed, without moving a muscle. 
 
 "No," he answered snappishly, and rose to leave her. 
 
 "Are you going?" 
 
 "Yes, I must. You forget that I have work to do a 
 dozen letters to write yet." 
 
 "Kasimir" his name, spoken by her, made him 
 tremble, so sweet did it sound "you always make some 
 excuse to avoid me. I have remarked it. You scarcely 
 ever have time to talk to me now. What is amiss?" 
 
 "With me? nothing," he answered gravely. "I am 
 very busy; there are many things to disturb and occupy 
 me just now; as for avoiding you, that is absurd. If 
 you had your hands as full as mine are, such fancies 
 would never enter your head." And as he went away he 
 added to himself, "What impudence to ask me what is 
 amiss! And yet, when she called me Kasimir, I shook! 
 Ah! what a fool I have been to place my happiness in 
 her keeping what a fool." And, with a face distorted 
 with anger and indescribable sorrow, he shut himself 
 up amongst his papers. 
 
 After seeing Sara leave the palace as he had done, he 
 scarcely knew where he had gone, what had become of 
 him, how he had found his way home. Contrary to 
 habit, for he was most abstemious, he dimly remem 
 bered entering several restaurants and drinking vodka 
 freely; restaurants where he was known, and yet he 
 could not recollect being addressed or noticed in any 
 way. He wondered how he had conducted himself and 
 whether any change in his manner had been observed. 
 There must have been one, he was sure, for he 
 had wrestled with his wrath and anguish, his feel 
 ing of being stricken to the earth, of being de 
 prived of the only affection he prized and which 
 constituted his whole interest in life; finally he 
 had returned to his house with certain resolutions, 
 having said to himself, "If a woman intends to deceive,
 
 60 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 she will, in spite of one." It was her intention to deceive. 
 Very well; he was too proud to extract, compulsorily, 
 or by diplomacy, what she would not yield him of her 
 own free will. In short, he would seek no explanation. 
 Her very intention to deceive him, proved that he would 
 hear nothing genuine by questioning her. He would 
 save her the trouble of telling lies; of wheeling round 
 him by some tricks of the tongue which would leave him 
 no nearer the truth, though in his own estimation, with 
 shattered pride and injured dignity. In a haughty 
 silence he would find the only consolation he could hope 
 for. If this woman, whom he had delivered from many 
 trials, and had elevated to the honorable position of wife, 
 to whom he had devoted himself, bestowing upon her 
 all he had, his substance and his love ungrudgingly, and 
 in whom he had confided absolutely if she could desire 
 to keep from him such amazing and important news 
 as two visits, to his certain knowledge, paid to the Gov 
 ernor-General of the Kingdom, she must have reasons 
 he had better not seek to know, unless he had decided 
 to part from her. Her race, her religion, her position 
 as his wife, his known hatred of this exalted Russian, not 
 to speak of the man s blood and creed, vetoed all in 
 timacy, and increased the enormity of her offense in his 
 eyes. What had she to do with the Governor what 
 could she have to do with him she a Jewess unless 
 her position was a wrong and ignoble one? The battle 
 he had fought, then, all through his life had been a vain 
 one. His existence made harder for him than for many 
 other men, he had withstood the scorching temperature 
 of the seven-times heated furnace in which he had 
 been tried to what end! Only to find himself worst 
 ed at last, defeated in matters dearer to him than suc 
 cess in life, than life itself in fact only to find that after 
 all he had built everything upon the sand of a woman s 
 regard. Fool that he had been; and with his knowledge 
 of life, too, he might have known better. And what was
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 6l 
 
 before him now? How was he to act? In no way 
 harshly, of course; rather play the mild if torturing 
 game of watching and waiting, with his heart on fire, 
 his head racked with the misery it had suddenly become 
 full of, occasionally suffering with such acuteness that 
 his mental equilibrium trembled. He must look upon 
 this woman, with whom all his latter days had been 
 spent, and with one agonizing wrench tear himself from 
 her; force himself to recognize that for him she had 
 ceased to exist. Ah! could a man be more cruelly 
 dealt with, for in addition to this woe, in itself sufficient 
 to crush him, there was the terrible, the incalculable 
 weight of this public calamity, this rebellion hanging 
 over him. When all men s lives and fortunes were at 
 stake, to what extent was he likely to be the sufferer? 
 His religion and his riches made answer. Whichever 
 side won, in the end he would lose. And at such a crisis 
 the consolation, the inestimable boon of close compan 
 ionship with Sara, was denied him. For how could he 
 make a confidant of a woman whom he could no longer 
 trust, whom he more than half suspected of dealings 
 which maddened him to think of? Well, he would sit 
 down, he would watch and wait, whatever it cost him. 
 Clearly this was the moment for him to prove his worth 
 and strength to endure, and let none know what he 
 endured. 
 
 As a Jew, was he not familiar with the sensation of 
 the world in arms against him? Was he not an Ish- 
 maelite in this country of his adoption, and a thousand 
 times (like every Jew who keeps his head above water) 
 had he not proved himself victorious? But this plague 
 at his hearth, this canker within this wife whom he 
 doted on great God! It was hard, it was terrible. 
 
 In calmer moments he would endeavor to grope for 
 consolation, and, convincing himself that there was room 
 for hope, would whisper, "Patience, courage; time will 
 show, will prove, will even heal."
 
 62 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 The hours dragging, Sara, in happy unconsciousness 
 of the storm she had so innocently raised, went and got 
 old Riva Krein to sit with her, since she could not come 
 by her husband, and outside her home had not a friend 
 in whom she dare fully confide. Glad of such a chance, 
 Riva, with her skinny hands folded upon her knees, and 
 her piercing eyes fixed upon the charming face of her 
 young mistress, sat as though at the feet of an oracle. 
 
 Knowing how curious and ignorant she was, and 
 though a little out of spirits, feeling mischievous, Sara 
 said 
 
 "Riva, the palace is grand." 
 
 "Finer than this, my lamb?" 
 
 "Finer than this! This is small. There, the ceilings 
 are lofty, twice as high, with clouds and angels painted 
 on them, so beautifully that you would fancy that 
 heaven had opened and was smiling upon you. Then 
 there are great grand staircases, and halls and corridors 
 all of marble; rooms, Riva, with a dozen windows on 
 one side; the walls hung with paintings of battles and 
 warriors, or paneled with precious wood, sometimes 
 draped with tapestry. And there are marvelous gilded 
 clocks that revolve and chime and send serpents and 
 soldiers, all in the brightest and richest clothes, hurry 
 ing about their duties." 
 
 "Ach! And the great Russian is he ablaze with 
 jewels, when quiet at home, as you saw him?" 
 
 Sara laughed a little. The old woman s lips were 
 parted, and she was beginning to lean forward, so as not 
 to lose a word. 
 
 "No; but he is big and grand looking. You ve seen 
 him in the street." 
 
 "Yes, but my old eyes were too slow. He tore past 
 so quick. But to think of you, my lamb; your mother 
 would be proud, that would she. And did he treat you 
 nobly and honor you? Never woman with your beauty 
 has been seen by him before."
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 63 
 
 "Oh! Riva, how foolish you are." 
 
 "No, my lamb, no; as I live it is true." 
 
 "Nonsense. Yes, he was polite and dignified," she 
 added, thinking how courteous and ceremonious 
 Hourko had been. 
 
 "And will good come of your talk with him? Will 
 he be kind and considerate, and help folks to food and 
 work folk, as you said, like the Bielois that the Lord 
 - blessed be He! may make His face to shine upon 
 him?" 
 
 "Food and work, Riva? No one could expect that. 
 But I don t know; I talked to him, and he may not 
 grind them so hardly." 
 
 "Then it was some good to see him?" 
 
 "Perhaps I am not sure. Riva!" 
 
 "Yes, child." 
 
 "He loves me." 
 
 "He what the Russian the Governor Hourko! 
 Lusts after your beauty, my lamb." 
 
 "Hush!" 
 
 "No one is near. The master is in his bureau and 
 the doors are shut. Loves you! Yes, as a Russian 
 would love a Jewess. But you must go near him no 
 more. You would tempt an angel. Were I a man and 
 young, I should know no rest without you. What did 
 he say?" 
 
 "He said nothing. He looked." 
 
 "I know I know. With eyes like coals aflame the 
 wicked one. You must go near him no more. Ah! and 
 the master would kill you." 
 
 "No one knows but you, Riva." 
 
 "It is well so. To serve you, for your own sake and 
 your mother s, I would cut out my tongue. You know 
 that." 
 
 "Yes, but listen. I would never see him again were 
 it not for two reasons. First, that I may influence him 
 to ease the burdens of hundreds thousands, if he
 
 64 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 pleases; and secondly, you know that we are on the 
 eve of trouble ; any moment it may come. Your master 
 is hasty, his blood hot and full of hatred for the oppres 
 sor. Already he has transgressed in striking a Cossack, 
 and it may be through me he has been spared. Now 
 I fear for him in the future. Well, should he do wrong 
 I mean, should he place himself in the power of the 
 authorities, and should Warsaw be given over to fire and 
 sword, as I dread to have secured the Governor s 
 friendship might mean saving him from indignities and 
 pillage, perhaps death. Do you understand me?" 
 
 "Who could fail to? Ah! but you are shrewd, wise 
 and good, as well as beautiful. You re your mother s 
 child. Would that she could see you now! Yet she is 
 best off with our Father Abraham; and she may be 
 near at hand as we speak who knows? But think 
 how is his protection to be bought? For, never fear, he 
 will be satisfied with nothing short of ample payment. 
 Gold will be useless. Do you know what he will ask, 
 my lamb? He will require you." 
 
 "Plow dare you say such things!" 
 
 "As I live, it is true." 
 
 "But I would rather die a thousand times rather. 
 No I think I understand him, and can make him use 
 ful without risk." 
 
 "Don t think it; the knife or the poison were safer 
 than the mood of a man like that. Was there no dread 
 in your heart when alone with him?" 
 
 "I suffered horribly; I could have fainted, but I 
 meant well and that strengthened me." 
 
 "Ah! the Lord was with you in the midst of the 
 Philistines. But if you will see him, mark me, you will 
 make him mad for you; and as I live, when the strife is 
 upon us and who knows? the master away, he will 
 carry you off. There is nothing to protect you. The 
 creatures he can send at dead of night, will raise the cry 
 of Open to the police! The doors will be rent asunder
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 65 
 
 and you will be lost. Turn aside, now, while there is 
 time. Your honor gone, would be to him and his flesh, 
 a victory won. With wine in his head he would boast 
 of it." 
 
 "Hush! It is not good to speak such words. You 
 may misjudge him. Where is your charity?" 
 
 "Dead to him and his race. What of your father? 
 They killed him worried him into the grave ah! and 
 thousands like him, skilled and law-abiding, only pray 
 ing to be let live in peace. When you are as old as I 
 am, and have suffered as much, you will think as I do." 
 And Riva panted from excess of feeling, her black eyes 
 glittering, her long bony fingers working nervously, as 
 though clutching the throats of these foes of her life, 
 these oppressors of her race. 
 
 "Yes, I know I can understand you; the same fire 
 burns within me. Do you think I have forgotten my 
 father s unhappy end? No; but such feelings are best 
 in bondage at times. I would be as good as I can, and 
 that too is best. How foolish of me to get excited; there 
 is no good in it. Ah! now I am better. Then your ad 
 vice is, don t go near him?" 
 
 "You should not see him, my lamb. It is like play 
 ing with fire." 
 
 "I must give up all hope of helping these poor people, 
 then?" 
 
 "Whatever he has proposed to you, if there is truth 
 in him, he will fulfill." 
 
 "Besides abandoning the idea of being able to count 
 upon him in an emergency." 
 
 "Count on the Lord." 
 
 "Oh, yes; but we must help ourselves, Riva." 
 
 "I think it is a trick on his part," Riva answered, 
 ignoring the remark; "he wanted to have you to him 
 self, to influence you." 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Sara passionately "you think he 
 will do nothing for all these starving people, our own 
 e
 
 66 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 kindred? And after writing to me as he did? You say 
 he wished to talk with me, to fill my head with hopeless 
 ideas, that time and opportunity might be gained for 
 his own base ends! Oh! you are wrong; it cannot be 
 so. A man in his position would not stoop to such 
 actions. If I thought it 
 
 "You need think nothing else. I feel sure of it. You 
 have stirred him, and that is all. Such a man as the 
 Governor is said to be, passionate and cunning as a 
 fox." 
 
 "Well, I will consider." 
 
 "Do, my lamb, and you will find me right. The 
 blessed Book says, The best teacher is time; now I am 
 old and I may have gained a little wisdom." 
 
 "You re a good soul, if ever there was one. Mind, not 
 a word to anyone, Riva. When I act, it will be with 
 caution." 
 
 Riva nodded. She would have liked to have heard 
 more about the wonders and splendor of the palace, but 
 that would all come, and Sara had talked as much as she 
 cared to just then; besides, this was astounding news 
 about the Governor Hourko. It might bring evil too. 
 Bewildered and excited, she hobbled away to turn it all 
 over in her own way, and Sara, stepping from the room 
 in which they had been talking, seated herself under the 
 lofty glass dome, beneath which clustered the graceful 
 foliage of the bamboo, reminding one of the much prized 
 feathers of the ostrich; tree ferns of tender green with 
 serrated fronds, strilligias, philodendrons, delicate spikes 
 of orchid bloom, rare and exquisitely varied in hue, 
 amidst which, as though struggling for the mastery, the 
 bright scarlet blossom of the pomegranate and paler 
 oleander appeared; and in this truly sylvan light, half 
 religious and uncertain, but wholly soothing, amidst 
 the rhythmic cadence of the falling water and the mystic 
 shadows of those great silent plants, Sara was disposed 
 to think. It was the hour Hernani had often chosen for
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 67 
 
 joining her. Drawn from a handsome samovar, he 
 would drink delicious yellow tea, there or in the garden, 
 and they would talk over it of all that concerned them; 
 but now there was no sign of him, and she began to call 
 to mind the changes that she had observed in his con 
 duct of late, speculating upon their cause. The great 
 ness of her love for him enabled her to see such altera 
 tions with strange clearness of vision, and it was cruel 
 of him, she considered, to make her feel gloomy and sad 
 without any reason. What had she done that her mental 
 condition should become overcast, through this unac 
 countable turn in his behavior? Why should he shut 
 himself up amongst his papers with such persistency, by 
 so doing breaking down long-cherished habits? He was 
 rich enough without such hard work, without work at 
 all in fact. 
 
 Was this another proof that his love for her was cool 
 ing? Ah! if only a child had been given them, what a 
 tie it would have been. She need have had no fears then. 
 So many of their acquaintances had ample families, and 
 doted on their children, simply living for them, in so 
 doing only exhibiting a feature, marked, amongst those 
 of their persuasion. Such spectacles of marital bliss 
 were always more or less painful to her. Was the sight 
 of them, and the longing thus nourished, beginning to 
 wear out his regard, which had once been all she could 
 have wished for? She knew that this trait, this capacity 
 for loving children, hereditary to so large an extent, 
 was in Hernani s case even more strongly developed 
 than was usual, amounting almost to a mania. While 
 she was his wife, it seemed as though this keen desire 
 must continue unsatisfied, his life remain uncrowned 
 with happiness, for that happiness was just what her ex 
 istence denied him. She had grown to magnify all that 
 tended to tell strongly against her, and when in her 
 worst spirits could see nothing before her but loss of 
 influence, in the end of his love. Her head was con-
 
 68 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 stantly full of the belief that her condition was fast be 
 coming a pitiable one; and what could she do, poor 
 woman, but exert herself in all directions, and when 
 tired, again pity herself? If Hernani was not pleased 
 with her, it was through no fault of her own, for the 
 creed of her whole married life had been that to lose 
 him would be to lose the desire to live. To die would be 
 better than to linger on alone. She knew that he had 
 become part of her being, and she never attempted to 
 shirk the knowledge. He was her all, and it was all or 
 nothing with her. 
 
 So there she sat and cogitated, looking so charming 
 as the ideas flashed through her mind, that could she 
 have seen herself with the eyes of others, she would no 
 longer have dreaded that her power to captivate and 
 retain was waning; though the spectacle of Hernani, 
 alone in his study, would have done little to reassure 
 her. 
 
 For the moment his mental distress had assumed the 
 proportions of outward calmness. He was simply smok 
 ing and eating himself up with silent fits of smothered 
 anger and despair; yet had she approached him sud 
 denly, he would have wreathed his face in smiles, ac 
 cepted her caresses, allowed her in fact to consider her 
 self happy, if she chose. At times he thought himself 
 cruel for practicing this deception, for letting her imag 
 ine as he believed she did that between them all was 
 as it had been. He had a mind to confront her, insist 
 upon being told the truth, and by such means cover her 
 with the confusion she merited. Yet he always shrank 
 from such a step. When doubts of her guilt assailed 
 him, as happened constantly, he swept them aside by re 
 calling every particle of the evidence against her, which, 
 thanks to his jealousy and suspicion, appeared to be 
 utterly damning. If he, lulled by his senses of security, 
 had discovered quite by chance that she had visited 
 Hourko twice, and had received a letter from him in
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 69 
 
 addition, how often had she really seen him, and how 
 many unintercepted notes of his had reached her? It 
 would certainly be foolish of him to imagine that all that 
 had happened was known to him. He had been so busy, 
 so close a prisoner to his work, that Hourko might have 
 spent hours in the very house, and he would have been 
 none the wiser. No, no; there was more in it than he 
 had courage to lay bare, and further proof to that effect 
 would be forthcoming in a little while. There would be 
 no need for him to do more than wait. It had occurred 
 to him to cross-examine Riva Krein, who, as he well 
 knew, enjoyed Sara s entire confidence; but Riva was 
 devoted to her, not to him, and would sooner be hewn 
 in pieces than say a word against her. If his suspicions 
 were just, Riva would be mute, and if groundless he 
 would have placed himself in a false position, and cruelly 
 wronged the only being he loved in the world. But 
 though thus harassed and perplexed, with all these ideas 
 and suspicions clashing in his mind, he adhered rigidly 
 to the course he had first decided upon, the result being 
 that in a little while the dire calamity which had befallen 
 him seemed to have had the effect of nerving, even 
 steadying him. He succeeded in resuming to exactitude 
 his methodical existence, compassing the routine of the 
 day by sheer force of will. With clenched teeth he ap 
 peared to begin life again setting his face against any 
 distractions, however trifling; toiling as though his ex 
 istence depended upon his efforts; turning neither right 
 nor left and parrying all Sara s strictures upon his con 
 duct with a set smile, almost a set phrase "Ah! rub 
 bish; you don t understand. Business absorbs me; I 
 must attend to my work. Any day the police may step 
 up and close the doors of my counting-house; and what 
 could I do? Is there any justice here?" And the large 
 sums of money he made by the extra strain he put upon 
 himself, he said nothing about, experiencing a sort of 
 melancholy pleasure in being more generous and char-
 
 70 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 itable than ever, relieving every genuine case of destitu 
 tion discoverable, and saying to himself, sometimes with 
 tears in his eyes, "Perhaps if I am good, good will come 
 to me." And the tears would be brushed away and he 
 would work harder. 
 
 Experiencing intense relief from this heroic effort to 
 forget himself, he took up the threads of two gigantic 
 schemes, long talked of, and to some extent developed, 
 but laid aside by reason of the threatening outlook and 
 the pressure, at the time, of other affairs. One was the 
 establishment of an ingenious system of banking upon 
 a colossal scale, the other the deepening and widening 
 of the Vistula, so as to admit of swift and specially-con 
 structed steamers plying between Warsaw and Dantzic; 
 the gain, to be the development of trade to an enormous 
 extent, by the closer connection of those two important 
 places. Of course neither of these great ventures could 
 be actually floated until the political atmosphere had 
 cleared, but Hernani recognized that much might be 
 done toward putting them in trim, to begin when the 
 right moment should have arrived. Attaching great im 
 portance to Hermann Bloch s opinion on both these 
 huge undertakings, he had consulted him some time 
 back, awakened his interest and obtained his unqualified 
 approval. The shrewd notary, in whose abilities Her 
 nani had such faith, expressed himself with confidence. 
 Large sums would be needed for the completion of such 
 great schemes, but Hernani was a power, and could 
 command the minds and purses of others as rich and 
 energetic as himself. There need be no doubt of the 
 ultimate success in both instances, should he really take 
 them in hand. And on the strength of such advice, 
 backed by his own unerring judgment, Hernani had 
 labored, so that on handling the reins again h e found 
 much of the work already cut and dried. Appreciating 
 Bloch to the full, he sought his advice more than ever, 
 and at the end of a long discussion one morning, in
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 71 
 
 which an unusually confidential vein had been struck, 
 they ended by drinking some vodka together in one of 
 the smaller reception rooms, the door of which, abutting 
 on the central hall, was like the rest, protected from 
 draught by the folds of a heavy curtain. Smacking his 
 lips in approval of the delicate flavor of the fine old 
 Polish vodka to which he was being treated, Bloch ob 
 served that if he were of an envious temperament he 
 should certainly covet Hernani s good fortune. 
 
 "And you can t wonder at it, can you?" he added. 
 "You are the possessor of everything a man can wish 
 for." 
 
 "Appearances are sometimes deceptive," replied Her- 
 nani, refilling the glasses as he spoke. 
 
 "Oh, come, now how deceptive? You don t mean 
 to tell me that there is anything of the kind about you 
 and your surroundings?" insisted Bloch, his keen eyes 
 playing upon Hernani from out a million puckers and 
 wrinkles ; for he was getting on in years, as he was con 
 stantly reminding people, and his hair, though so coarse 
 and short that it stood on end, was almost white. 
 
 "Much," answered Hernani with some solemnity. 
 Bloch pricked up his ears. Evidently Hernani was not 
 jesting as he had thought on the instant. 
 
 On the other side of the curtain, in the hall, beneath 
 the great dome, Sara was at work amongst the flowers, 
 tending and watering them. It was a delightful self-im 
 posed task, which she undertook at odd hours each day. 
 At the moment she was quietly absorbed in cutting off 
 a large dead strilligia leaf, being at the same time care 
 ful not to injure a choice spike of orchid bloom. 
 
 His reflections puzzling him, after rather a lengthy 
 pause, Bloch could only say, naturally enough 
 
 "Nonsense, my dear friend. You imagine things. All 
 Warsaw envies you. Do you hear?" 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Well, to begin with, you are rich."
 
 ?2 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "And again?" 
 
 "You are respected and admired." 
 
 "Is that so?" 
 
 "Yes, and deservedly so." 
 
 "Possibly." 
 
 "No, without doubt." 
 
 "And what else?" 
 
 "You are still in the prime of life; you have a splen 
 did constitution, and you are clever better say a genius 
 financially speaking." 
 
 "And is all that worth envying me for, admitting your 
 statements to be true?" 
 
 "All that? Well, how absurd! Why, to think of it 
 makes one s mouth water. Here have I been laboring 
 all my life, without any of your mental and physical ad 
 vantages, and having arrived at the end of my tether 
 pretty well, I find myself with only a competency in 
 addition to the most modest position. And then you 
 grumble. Really, something will happen to you if you 
 are so wicked. What would you have? Do you aim 
 at becoming the Governor-General, or what?" 
 
 "I aim at being happy," answered Hernani, in a voice 
 so solemn that Bloch was not only startled, but con 
 vinced that something really was wrong. His curiosity 
 was excited. An admission of weakness from the great 
 man would be well worth listening to. Changing his 
 tone of unbelief and banter for a more sympathetic one, 
 he replied 
 
 "I am very sorry to hear you speak so sadly. Of 
 course, to be happy is the legitimate aim of everyone." 
 
 "Exactly, and you for instance have succeeded?" 
 
 "I, my dear sir? By no means. Practically speaking, 
 I question if happiness is attainable. Owing to the 
 strange molding of our minds, most of us have to con 
 tent ourselves with the counterfeit, which in the long 
 run we are thankful enough to accept. Plenty of people 
 haven t even that offered to them. Take the case of my-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 73 
 
 self, since you have alluded to me. Beginning in pov 
 erty, no sooner had I made a sum which far surpassed 
 my first desires, than I became again dissatisfied; no 
 sooner had I acquired a small house than I longed for 
 a large one a short, stout, dark-haired wife, than I was 
 cursed with the desire for a tall slim one with flaxen 
 locks, and so on, ad infinitum. Very well; now I have 
 learned that I cannot get my flaxen-haired damsel, or 
 the money, or the house that, in fact, I shall never 
 get any of these things I had set my heart on. The sen 
 sation was intolerable at first; the more firmly it laid 
 hands on me, the more I writhed and rebelled; grad 
 ually, however, I grew tired, I became passive, I was 
 broken in, and so with the wisdom I have bought so 
 dearly I cheerfully accept the inevitable. It is only when 
 all possibility of alteration has fled, that we settle down 
 to the counterfeit of happiness contentment." 
 
 "A nice compliment to someone who shall be name 
 less, eh?" interrupted Hernani, smiling in spite of him 
 self. 
 
 "My wife? Well, if you put it that way, it looks ugly; 
 but what was I going to say? I have it. You have 
 been put through no such mill as I have described. 
 You " 
 
 "How do you know?" 
 
 "I am sure of it. You are one of the favored few 
 the man in the million. Your ambitions have been sat 
 isfied to a very great extent, I take it and, to crown 
 your existence, you possess a wife whom all men must 
 agree in calling beautiful and accomplished." 
 
 "Beauty and accomplishments are well in their place, 
 but a wife must have other virtues." 
 
 "Of course, of course." 
 
 "Or she may put to dangerous use her wit and good 
 looks." 
 
 "Precisely. But look here it s all very fine any day
 
 72 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "And again?" 
 
 "You are respected and admired." 
 
 "Is that so?" 
 
 "Yes, and deservedly so." 
 
 "Possibly." 
 
 "No, without doubt." 
 
 "And what else?" 
 
 "You are still in the prime of life; you have a splen 
 did constitution, and you are clever better say a genius 
 financially speaking." 
 
 "And is all that worth envying me for, admitting your 
 statements to be true?" 
 
 "All that? Well, how absurd! Why, to think of it 
 makes one s mouth water. Here have I been laboring 
 all my life, without any of your mental and physical ad 
 vantages, and having arrived at the end of my tether 
 pretty well, I find myself with only a competency in 
 addition to the most modest position. And then you 
 grumble. Really, something will happen to you if you 
 are so wicked. What would you have? Do you aim 
 at becoming the Governor-General, or what?" 
 
 "I aim at being happy," answered Hernani, in a voice 
 so solemn that Bloch was not only startled, but con 
 vinced that something really was wrong. His curiosity 
 was excited. An admission of weakness from the great 
 man would be well worth listening to. Changing his 
 tone of unbelief and banter for a more sympathetic one, 
 he replied 
 
 "I am very sorry to hear you speak so sadly. Of 
 course, to be happy is the legitimate aim of everyone." 
 
 "Exactly, and you for instance have succeeded?" 
 
 "I, my dear sir? By no means. Practically speaking, 
 I question if happiness is attainable. Owing to the 
 strange molding of our minds, most of us have to con 
 tent ourselves with the counterfeit, which in the long 
 run we are thankful enough to accept. Plenty of people 
 haven t even that offered to them. Take the case of my-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 73 
 
 self, since you have alluded to me. Beginning in pov 
 erty, no sooner had I made a sum which far surpassed 
 my first desires, than I became again dissatisfied; no 
 sooner had I acquired a small house than I longed for 
 a large one a short, stout, dark-haired wife, than I was 
 cursed with the desire for a tall slim one with flaxen 
 locks, and so on, ad infinitum. Very well; now I have 
 learned that I cannot get my flaxen-haired damsel, or 
 the money, or the house that, in fact, I shall never 
 get any of these things I had set my heart on. The sen 
 sation was intolerable at first; the more firmly it laid 
 hands on me, the more I writhed and rebelled; grad 
 ually, however, I grew tired, I became passive, I was 
 broken in, and so with the wisdom I have bought so 
 dearly I cheerfully accept the inevitable. It is only when 
 all possibility of alteration has fled, that we settle down 
 to the counterfeit of happiness contentment." 
 
 "A nice compliment to someone who shall be name 
 less, eh?" interrupted Hernani, smiling in spite of him 
 self. 
 
 "My wife? Well, if you put it that way, it looks ugly; 
 but what was I going to say? I have it. You have 
 been put through no such mill as I have described. 
 You " 
 
 "How do you know?" 
 
 "I am sure of it. You are one of the favored few 
 the man in the million. Your ambitions have been sat 
 isfied to a very great extent, I take it and, to crown 
 your existence, you possess a wife whom all men must 
 agree in calling beautiful and accomplished." 
 
 "Beauty and accomplishments are well in their place, 
 but a wife must have other virtues." 
 
 "Of course, of course." 
 
 "Or she may put to dangerous use her wit and good 
 looks." 
 
 "Precisely. But look here it s all very fine any day
 
 74 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 you may wish yourself back in your old shoes, though 
 they seem to pinch a bit now." 
 
 "You hint at the approaching struggle. Ah! I have 
 little doubt of that. But mind, I am not unthankful 
 now." 
 
 "It seems to me shall I say it? that you are inclined 
 to be." 
 
 "That is because you don t quite understand me. You 
 must remember this, Bloch as I daresay I have said to 
 you before I have no children." 
 
 "Ah! That is a trial indeed. I forgot that. I don t 
 know what I should do without my little ones. I live 
 my young days over again in them. Yes, my friend, I 
 can sympathize with you." 
 
 "Thanks I know that. Now, perhaps, no man ever 
 longed for them more than I have done, and that long 
 ing I find impossible to destroy difficult even to con 
 trol. As a father, you may be able to understand me 
 thoroughly." 
 
 "I can." 
 
 "I wanted to have my own flesh and blood growing 
 up about me, learning from me, comforting me; inher 
 iting my wealth, as well as my name my own flesh 
 and blood, of whom I could be proud, in whose triumphs 
 I could triumph and on whom I could rely if need be 
 to do battle against the Philistines" lowering his 
 voice at the last words, then continuing abruptly, with 
 growing excitement: "No; men may envy me what 
 looks to them like good fortune, but I tell you they 
 would not care to be saddled with my griefs." 
 
 "Come, come you are never despondent. It isn t a 
 bit like you. If you give way, what am I to expect 
 next?" 
 
 "I am not despondent, I only face facts, and I never 
 give way. It is not my nature. I endure," answered 
 Hernani proudly, and they continued to talk in this 
 strain, Bloch waxing sympathetic, Hernani perceptibly
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 75 
 
 affected by the kindliness, until at length, as he spoke, 
 his lips quivered beneath his long dark moustache and his 
 voice occasionally shook. Suddenly his pent-up feel 
 ings got the better of him, and with a gesture of des 
 peration, and passion he exclaimed 
 
 "Look here, Bloch listen to me. Any day I may 
 have to divorce my wife. Divorce her do you hear? It 
 has come to that." 
 
 Astonished beyond measure, Bloch leaped to his feet, 
 in doing so, knocking over the vodka and glasses with 
 a crash, the noise he made drowning another and more 
 startling one. 
 
 Riva Krein had been buzzing about her young mis 
 tress as usual, and had been near enough to clasp her 
 in her arms as she was about to measure her length 
 amongst the ferns and flowers. Then, with the tender 
 ness of a mother, she supported Sara s trembling form, 
 getting her away so that the two men remained undis 
 turbed. 
 
 The vodka being set in its place again, Hernani con 
 tinued 
 
 "You are surprised; well, perhaps now you will agree 
 with me that appearances are deceptive?" His burst of 
 feeling had spent itself; he was cooler than Bloch, 
 cynically so, as he added, "You are my solicitor, to 
 whom I have a right to speak. And you won t envy 
 me any longer, eh? Would others, do you think, if they 
 knew?" 
 
 "Is it possible?" gasped Bloch, his face like a peony, 
 his little eyes gleaming, his white hair really bristling, 
 while he found it necessary to mop his forehead with his 
 handkerchief. 
 
 "It is." 
 
 "What give her gett?"* 
 
 *Writing of divorcement.
 
 76 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Yes" and then more solemnly, "give her gett. But 
 it is not yet done." 
 
 "You the model husband and wife!" 
 
 "Alas!" 
 
 "Idolizing each other, as we thought." 
 
 "Well, yes, but this becomes too painful. Let us say 
 no more. I was carried away by my feelings or I should 
 not have spoken." 
 
 "I understand, my dear fellow. But, as you say, it 
 is not yet done. There is hope. It will not come to 
 that. Courage, my friend it will not come to that." 
 
 "May the Lord grant it," replied Hernani in a whis 
 per. And old Hermann Bloch bent his white head as 
 though in prayer, the two men grasping each other s 
 hands amidst a profound silence. 
 
 "I will come and see you again soon," Bloch mur 
 mured as he went away, and Hernani merely nodded.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 77 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Riva Krein had induced Sara to lie down on her bed, 
 where she tended her as though she had been her own 
 child; loosening her dress, applying various restora 
 tives, and chafing the cold soft hands with infinite gen 
 tleness and affection. When she had done all she could 
 think of, and her oft-repeated "Come, my lamb look 
 up and take heart. Tell your own Riva what ails you," 
 had only been answered by sobs, she thought it time for 
 her to cry, so tears began to disfigure her faded cheeks, 
 descending in hot drops upon her red and bony fingers. 
 Sara s distress wrung her heart. She had never seen 
 her weep since the old days in Cracow, and the sight 
 carried her mind back there, to the home that had been 
 little better than a hovel, but where they had all been 
 together; understanding each other, sharing the suffer 
 ing and living in harmony, though they had been so 
 miserably poor. Again she could see Sara s father, the 
 old doctor, with his shriveled, bloodless features, round 
 ed shoulders and poor, hollow chest, attired in his 
 threadbare caftan; she could hear him, amidst the 
 wheezing and coughing, explaining how his ideas and 
 discoveries would one day make them rich. It was all 
 certain a question only of time. And he had been 
 so kind and gentle and good, though he could never 
 make a penny scarcely; and now he was under the sod 
 with his knowledge and his unrealized hopes, poor 
 broken life that it had been. 
 
 Sara s mother, too, was at rest, feeling no longer 
 the snow and the rain, and the frightful anxiety. But 
 she and Sara they were still left to fight for a little 
 while, and trouble had found them out again. And it
 
 8o HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 will have enemies if he does this thing. And the woman 
 who is she that he has in his eye?" 
 
 "The woman!" gasped Sara. 
 
 "Yes, the woman, for there must be one if he thinks 
 such ill." 
 
 "Yes oh! horrible I had not thought " 
 
 "Ah! but this will nerve you; this will turn your heart 
 to steel." And Riva s black eyes flashed fire. This is 
 no time for sore eyes. Dry them, or he will ask to know 
 what is amiss." 
 
 Sara started up, ablaze with wounded pride. 
 
 "He shall never know, though I die for it. He has 
 worked to deceive me talks of me behind my back. 
 He shall see. I will begin from now. What is the time? 
 In a few minutes I must go down to him we must 
 meet. Riva, do my hair quick, and give me that 
 sponge. He shall never know." 
 
 Twenty minutes later and they were together. Nerv 
 ous and sensitive to a degree, trembling from the shock 
 received, she was horribly afraid lest he should notice 
 some signs of the grief she had so hastily attempted to 
 obliterate. Her eyes and cheeks were hot and sore; she 
 felt ill not up to her part in any way; and he who knew 
 her so well could scarcely fail to discover that all was not 
 right with her. In momentary dread of this, she took 
 care to be ready with an ingenious explanation which 
 would have disarmed all further inquiries, had he made 
 them. Surprised and relieved to find that she provoked 
 no criticism, was not even looked at pointedly, and that 
 he ate and drank with a good appetite and an unruffled 
 exterior, after a little while she forgot herself in her con 
 templation of him. 
 
 His perfect composure gave her courage; she be 
 came even interested in watching him and receiving his 
 customary delicate attentions, offered as though nothing 
 had occurred to disturb him. She knew one thing he 
 could not feel as he looked; the tones in which he had
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 8l 
 
 thundered "Any day I may have to divorce my wife" de 
 cided that. Yet here he was, having made use of ex 
 pressions which were fatal to her happiness, and must 
 affect his own calm and apparently in full enjoyment 
 of the luxury surrounding him. The sight of such com 
 posure gradually enraged as well as frightened her. If 
 he could be so calm, it was a sufficient indication that 
 she had lost the game already. He would not spare her. 
 All the same, she became furious such insolence she 
 could have struck him, as he commenced to chat glibly 
 on a variety of topics. 
 
 At length, itching to make a plunge to have her say, 
 to convince herself that she was no brow-beaten woman, 
 given over to listening and silence, she demanded dar 
 ingly 
 
 "Tell me about Bloch; what had he to say for him 
 self?" 
 
 "Bloch?" he answered unhesitatingly. "Oh! he talked 
 just as usual." 
 
 As usual? Then they were in the habit of discussing 
 her. What impudence! 
 
 "But was he clever as you say he is? Did he interest 
 you had he any news to tell?" 
 
 "Bloch is always clever. To-day only in a business 
 way, because I made him stick to business. As for 
 news, I don t think he had heard anything fresh. The 
 suppression of the Agricultural Society has aroused his 
 indignation as much as mine. He shares my belief that 
 it will precipitate matters, stir up the worst possible feel 
 ing against the Government. This immense demonstra 
 tion denouncing the act, and covering the closed doors 
 and windows of the building with flowers, convinces me 
 that I am right." 
 
 "But has all this happened?" inquired Sara, feeling 
 compelled to say something; "shut up here, I seem to 
 be ignorant of what is going on." 
 
 6
 
 82 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Yes; but I spoke of it only yesterday. Vast crowds 
 are now collecting before the palace." 
 
 A grim expression crossed Hernani s face as he allud 
 ed to General Honrko s official residence, but it fled as 
 he added 
 
 "In order to show that they resent this. fresh step on 
 the part of the Government as another national wrong, 
 and to fully estimate the importance of the action the 
 authorities have taken, you must bear in mind that the 
 most powerful of the nobles and proprietors were mem 
 bers, and that in consequence the people looked upon 
 the society as an institution through which, as through 
 a mouth-piece, they could make themselves heard. 
 However, it has ceased to be, and another act has been 
 committed and added to the list of those for which a 
 reckoning will be demanded." 
 
 "Was that what you were discussing with Bloch?" 
 inquired Sara, as though the question barely interested 
 her. 
 
 "In part," Hernani answered,, unflinchingly meeting 
 her gaze, and then, with a sense of pride in his own 
 ability outraged pride, since she no longer valued him 
 sufficiently he entered into an elaborate description of 
 his two great schemes, about which he had never spoken 
 to her before. 
 
 "You see," he went on, "this business I am conduct 
 ing here, is not large enough to absorb anything like 
 my whole attention, so that I shall have plenty of time 
 to devote to the operations I have described." 
 
 "Yet it is the largest business of the kind in Warsaw," 
 exclaimed Sara, becoming interested in spite of herself. 
 
 "Unquestionably." 
 
 "Then what need have you to tax your strength fur 
 ther by increasing your responsibilities? Is it wise?" 
 
 "I think so. You see, we are living upon a mine, the 
 time fuse of which is already lighted. The explosion 
 may occur at any moment, and I want to forget such an
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 83 
 
 unpleasant fact, since I am powerless to avert the catas 
 trophe. Work is the only remedy for forgetting one s 
 self and one s troubles. Every day I grow more restless, 
 more ambitious; stronger even it seems to me; though 
 the strength may be due to the increasing excitement to 
 which I am a prey. 1 am already rich, I have the desire 
 to become great; not only by reason of the millions of 
 rubles known to be at my command, as at present, but, 
 with that power at my back, by launching enterprises 
 of a magnitude the world must acknowledge and I my 
 self be proud of. 
 
 "As Bloch said to-day, I am in my prime the pos 
 sessor of a grand constitution. What I shall do with it 
 remains to be seen. This is the country of my adoption, 
 and in my own way I love it; moreover, the nature of 
 my ambition is summed up in two words universal 
 benefactor. If I could set in motion this system of 
 banking, which I am confident must be a success if 
 launched and conducted as I propose, I should be en 
 titled to such an epitaph at least. They might thank me 
 then; it would cost nothing. Bah! but what care I for 
 what is said? The best preacher is the heart. I want 
 to feel that I have done something worth doing. Then 
 it will be all right. It will be well with me. And I have 
 not even taken into account my scheme for the develop 
 ment of the Vistula. By means of that, don t you see 
 how the cost of bringing goods all imported stuffs 
 into the country would be cheapened, and that thus, by 
 one magnificent stroke, the importance and financial 
 prosperity of this, the capital of Poland, would be se 
 cured. A direct and thoroughly serviceable waterway 
 connecting us with the ancient and wealthy port of 
 Dantzic that s what is wanted. There are boats you 
 would say now; but what sort of boats? If you want to 
 make a place great, let the sea in." 
 
 "But you can do nothing in the face of disturbances
 
 84 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 such as are in progress and to be expected," insisted 
 Sara, now absorbed in interest and admiration of him. 
 
 "With the country bristling with troops and the peo 
 ple ready to leap to arms, I can take no active steps 
 that is so it would be madness, but I can make prepa 
 rations ; I can go into and arrange matters, so that when 
 the time is ripe there will be no delay. If we would reap, 
 we must sow. Ah! if I were only living in a country 
 where there were none of these accursed upheavals, 
 what headway I should make, how I should progress 
 by leaps and bounds!" 
 
 "But you have done so," she exclaimed enthusiastic 
 ally. 
 
 "What I have done is nothing to what I will do," he 
 answered proudly. 
 
 Though the strong personality of the man, the 
 strength of old associations, the toughness and durabil 
 ity of old ties, had caused her to enter into and interest 
 herself in this recital of his bold projects, forgetting her 
 self when she could, the cuts and thrusts of his words 
 were all the sharper for the hold he had over her. Every 
 hope she possessed was left buried beneath what he had 
 said. He was to be greater than ever, but amidst his 
 triumphs there was to be no place for her; she was to 
 be left behind. He had done with her, as he had done 
 with the past. And he was doubtless getting everything 
 in readiness to put her from him, with the same patience 
 and method that he was employing in the steady devel 
 opment of his vast projects. In a loud, determined voice, 
 and no doubt with flashing eyes and quivering lips, she 
 herself had heard him say so; very well he had never 
 given her cause to doubt his word. So to her it seemed 
 as though her doom was fixed, as unalterably as the fact 
 that she must die. She could have shrieked in her agony 
 as this idea forced itself upon her. 
 
 With his chin resting upon his clenched fists, his eyes 
 regarding space, Hernani was indulging in thoughts of
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 85 
 
 a very different kind. Mixed feelings of despair, rage, 
 and jealousy had impelled him to speak of himself. He 
 fully intended to attempt all he had said, but he meant 
 to lash her with the information. He was not exactly a 
 ninny, and just then he took a savage pleasure in letting 
 her know it. He dilated upon the number of successful 
 undertakings in which he had been engaged of late. 
 Everything touched by him had turned to gold. His 
 good luck was marvelous; even his dreams had been 
 surpassed. If he told her all, she would scarcely credit 
 him. Channels long closed had opened up again, and 
 to an extent there had been no reason to look for. In 
 short, money had simply poured into his coffers. She 
 had thought he was working hard ah! but it had been 
 worth it. As a proof: if he had burnt the midnight 
 oil, amongst a number of other charities, he had been 
 enabled to forward five thousand rubles to the society 
 in Cracow, for the aid of their poorer co-religionists. 
 Now was she pleased? And having fired this last shot, 
 made this last crushing allusion as she understood it 
 to the straitened circumstances in which he had found 
 and from which he had been good enough to extricate 
 her, he left her; and not a moment too soon, for had 
 he stayed to witness the effect of his remarks, her de 
 fensive armor would have failed her, and her tears have 
 flowed. 
 
 As it was, he returned to his bureau as usual, and she 
 went sobbing to her room, where old Riva soon found 
 her out. 
 
 Sara was only like other women; she was being 
 cruelly treated kicked, in her opinion yet she loved 
 all the more. 
 
 It was scarcely possible for her to realize fully what 
 had happened; whenever she seemed to, in spite of her 
 efforts to remain calm and to think, she could only weep 
 afresh. To decide upon her future conduct in the con 
 dition in which she thus found herself, was altogether
 
 86 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 out of the question. Beyond the already fixed resolu 
 tion that Hernani must know nothing of her feelings 
 and sufferings, she had not had time to go. With star 
 ing, vacant eyes, she lay full length, her ideas flowing 
 slowly as though she were half stunned, and through the 
 mists of weakness could neither think nor see with clear 
 ness. Growing stronger, she became conscious of 
 where she was, and that she was looking about her as 
 one looks upon things one has got to leave. There 
 were curious turns and twists on the carved ceilings, 
 familiar marks, the pattern of the wall paper, counted 
 and studied until she had felt dazed and had had to close 
 her eyes once when she had been ill; also the position 
 and character of the different articles of furniture his 
 taste had chosen and placed there. For this had been 
 one of his first ideas, delicate, and a delicious proof of his 
 affection; everything in her own chamber, everything 
 she wore, as near as could be, must be of his choosing. 
 She was his from head to foot; everything around and 
 touching her must be his also ; then the delightful sense 
 of possession was complete. Exquisite and costly trifles 
 lay thick about her. One by one he had given them to 
 her, discovering them by degrees, paying fabulous sums 
 for them as gems of their kind, and each one had its lit 
 tle history, treasured and complete, and was indescriba 
 bly sweet and priceless to her. What would become of 
 all these dear toys? Who would dust and polish, finger 
 and delight in them, as she had done? Assuredly they 
 must all be left behind, said farewell to, for when driven 
 out, when told that he no longer had use for her, she 
 would go, as she had come, with nothing. She would 
 put on a simple black dress, and not a ruble, not a ring, 
 would she take with her, but out into the world she would 
 go, as poor as she had been when he had asked her to be 
 his, leaving no trace, being to his future life only a recol 
 lection. Well for her now had her father been alive 
 well for her, but not for him ; and at this thought she al-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 8? 
 
 most broke down afresh. However, if she had no one 
 to go to, no one who would stretch out a hand to help 
 her, if there was not one corner in the great cold world 
 where she would have the right to rest, perhaps death 
 would seek her the sooner. There was always dying 
 room to be found. As for Hernani, he would do what 
 he had said. Clever and vigorous, patient and persever 
 ing, he would climb to the height he had foretold. He 
 would meet with the recognition- his abilities merited, he 
 would be sought after, honored and admired, far more 
 than he had ever been, in spite of being a Jew. A Jew 
 one of the chosen of God. Would the Gentiles have 
 possessed their crucified Savior but for a Jew, or some 
 other chosen instrument? Should they be reviled and 
 maltreated then? Could logic propose and religion sup 
 port such conduct? Surely not. But even as a Jew, 
 with all the odds against him, Hernani would work as he 
 willed, though she might not be near to watch or hear of 
 him might never know, in fact. Ah! someone some 
 one oh! maddening thought, someone else, another 
 woman would be about him, would take her place, the 
 place that she lived but to fill. This being, this creature, 
 would look into his eyes, feel his touch, hear his voice, 
 council him and share his triumphs in place of her. 
 Every fiber, every nerve, tingled and rebelled at a pros 
 pect endurable only had she loved less just only had 
 she been false to her vows. Her cup of bitterness was 
 full, full to overflowing. 
 
 "Yes, he will put me from him," she moaned, "because 
 I have borne him no children. It is the law, as Riva 
 says, and he will have it of me." 
 
 And downstairs, Hernani sat and smoked and thought. 
 He had signed some letters and cheques, and then had 
 issued orders to his people not to disturb him, the after 
 noon being still young. 
 
 Though in a sense irritated at his own weakness, he 
 felt a little easier since he had told Bloch, and was
 
 88 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 drowsy, having fed well and taken wine. From sheer 
 weariness and familiarity with the subject, he was begin 
 ning to think that divorce was really the only way out 
 of his difficulties. He had been just and would be so, 
 but between a woman beautiful as Sara, and a man like 
 Hourko, there could be but one kind of intimacy, and 
 the existence of that such an accursed stain upon his 
 honor could be remedied in but one way. When the 
 time came, he must steel his heart to old memories, the 
 feelings that were knit in old days ; he must be blind to 
 Sara s beauty, he must forget what her kisses were like, 
 since they were not for him alone; and though he could 
 never love again, as he had loved, and God help him, 
 did love, someone else must fill the place she must quit 
 someone who, perhaps, might prove bearable, when 
 the children he had dreamt of came and dwelt in the 
 heart that would be empty and waiting for them. Per 
 haps he might live through it all, endure, and in the end 
 replacing the passion he had for Sara, a nobler, calmer, 
 and less selfish joy might spring up, enabling him to die 
 at least in peace. And so, thinking these things, he 
 slept for a few minutes, yet lightly as a watch-dog does, 
 being feverish and overwrought. Roused suddenly, and 
 as soon fully awake, the dropping crackle of musketry 
 rang in his ears. 
 
 Sara heard it too, and on the alert, as he was, heard him 
 quit the house, saw him cross the square in haste, and 
 followed as swiftly as the delay in putting on a cloak 
 would permit. There was no need to doubt which way 
 to go. The detonations again reverberated sharp and 
 harsh above the dull sullen roar of the people in anger 
 and in their thousands. Hernani had disappeared, and 
 her feet flew over the rough stones and pavements as 
 she pictured him in peril, exposing himself needlessly, 
 courting danger even. Ah! if it could but be her lot to 
 save him, rescue him, at risk of her own life, he might
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 89 
 
 think of her with kindliness, even forgive her for a fail 
 ing that was not her fault. 
 
 Many a time, in years gone by, well-wishers had said 
 to her, "May the Lord bless you with children," but such 
 expressions of good-will had, in time, become rare, and 
 then ceased altogether. It was better so, perhaps they 
 thought; silence saved breath, and, though significant, 
 could give no offense. And added to these generous 
 desires for her, had been her own prayers, and they too 
 had remained unanswered. Well, would he forgive her 
 if he owed his life to her? Fortune might favor her, the 
 chance might come who could say? It seemed to her 
 that she could never again tell him of her devotion in 
 words, but it was open to her to prove it in acts. All her 
 spleen, her sense of wrongs, the great sorrow that had 
 just come to her, vanished before these generous im 
 pulses, this inextinguishable love of hers, as chaff before 
 the wind. On and on she sped, unconscious of fatigue, 
 her little feet keeping pace with her thoughts, until at 
 length she burst upon a scene that, she was never likely 
 to forget. 
 
 There lay the cold and cheerless faqade of the Imperial 
 Governor s palace, against the gloomy walls of which a 
 sotnia of Cossacks had backed their lean mounts, so as 
 to give place to long lines of infantrymen, who in their 
 mud-colored uniforms were again preparing to fire upon 
 the vast concourse of people, who, standing and kneel 
 ing without arms, exhorted each other to remain firm; 
 mothers, fathers, and children, clasping each other s 
 hands, and with eyes cast heavenward wailing forth their 
 national hymn or prayer for liberty. There was no sign 
 of wavering, no thought of it, and at sight of their help 
 lessness and courage, the stones might have shed tears, 
 the most heartless have admired, pitied, and shown 
 mercy. Attracted by the dread sounds, ignorant of what 
 fear was, new-comers, flushed and breathless, wedged 
 themselves into the already compact mass of defenseless
 
 90 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 beings, while overhead, that wondrous and silent witness, 
 the sun, in saffron streaks, had struggled through a 
 dingy shroud of flying vapor, coloring the savage picture 
 with that peculiar and beautiful hue which the great 
 Dutch painters loved so well to copy. Hourko and his 
 aides-de-camp, decorated, brilliant; the stern, meanly - 
 clad infantrymen, like great children, rigid, expression 
 less, obeying; the motionless Cossacks, grim and cruel 
 as the whips they held in readiness: the crowd of all 
 sizes, castes, and conditions, young and old, poorly and 
 well clad, comely and plain, menacing and despairing, 
 were all illumined by this delicate, clear-cutting light, to 
 which the tall, dark, encircling buildings lent a solemn 
 almost weird effect. 
 
 With a half-suppressed cry of joy Sara descried Her- 
 nani, and with an exclamation of horror he saw and 
 forced his way towards her. Sara his wife, exposed to 
 the Russian rifle fire! At that instant he understood how 
 much he loved her. 
 
 "God of Israel, you here!" he exclaimed, when at 
 length he had his hands upon her shoulders, his body 
 between her and harm. 
 
 "And you?" she inquired, as calm now that she had 
 found him, as though they had met at a bataille des 
 fleurs. She had come there to be near at hand, to give her 
 life for his, if necessary; she might have arrived to buy 
 some bon-bons or a few bunches of violets. His an 
 swering words died upon his tongue, as a stern command 
 produced a clicking of rifle locks, then a withering vol 
 ley. Into the vault of heaven, away amidst the ^ \vift 
 drifting scud, rolled the groans of the wounded and dy 
 ing, the sobs of the bereaved, the shouts and execra 
 tions of the thinned and exasperated mob, while amidst 
 the infernal din, like mere machines, the second rank 
 stepped forward to collect the dead and maimed, who 
 were to be seen plainly enough, after the smoke had 
 cleared away, pallid, bloodstained, and leaden-looking
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 91 
 
 past rough human aid. Sara, in swift, agonized glances 
 cast over and between the bowed and kneeling forms, 
 saw enough of all this to make her turn away sick and 
 dizzy. Boiling with anger and hatred of the act, and in 
 despair because of the risk she ran, Hernani caught her 
 in his arms and strove by sheer strength to bear her clear 
 of the throng. It was a useless attempt, one that the 
 people were in no mood for; they w r ould stay where 
 they were, die where they were, no one should go, as 
 their clasped hands testified. Summoned to disperse 
 why should they? They had a right to make their griev 
 ances known, a right beneath God s sky, and in the face 
 of day to pray and sing for the recovery of their lost 
 liberty. And again came the rattle of arms, the brief, 
 sharp orders, the echoing volleys, the groans and shrieks 
 and curses, finally the scream of Sara, as a huge Pole 
 with a fur cap fell doubled up over those about him, be 
 spattering them with blood. Hernani was as tall as this 
 man, was her first thought. He would be shot too. In 
 an agony of fear and on her knees, she implored him to 
 kneel as she was doing. To see her so hurt him; she 
 was so pale, with the fear of death upon her face, for his 
 sake as it seemed. He would have liked to do as she 
 wished, but the thing was impossible. What because 
 these people amused themselves with shooting unarmed 
 men and women in cold blood was he to bend as he 
 only bent to his God? Surely not, and bullets of such 
 firing would do him no harm. So he set his broad back 
 to the pealing volleys and shrugged his shoulders con 
 temptuously as the bullets whistled about him, the light 
 of battle in his eyes the while, and his strong hands 
 clenched with the wrath he suppressed. The old days 
 were back upon him, days when the hot blood had 
 rushed through his body, every fiber in him tingling with 
 health and vigor, when his life would have been lost but 
 for straight shooting, coolness and pluck; the desert 
 sun overhead, the crisp invigorating air of the desert in
 
 92 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 his nostrils. Ah! how his fingers itched to grasp a rifle 
 again. 
 
 In glorious freedom, and as if in mockery of his fierce 
 reflections, some pigeons, scared by the firing, whirled 
 and circled above him with sun-gilt flashing wings, and 
 Sara, fascinated into staring at his angry face, became 
 conscious of their presence, and wondered for a second 
 how she could notice such an insignificant thing as a 
 pigeon, at such a moment. 
 
 At length, sick of the storm of lead, the nauseous odor 
 of powder, the crowd broke and s\vept out of the square, 
 carrying Sara, with Hernani s arms about her, with it. 
 
 When they were at home again, safe and glad to be 
 there, and she had recovered in a measure from the 
 fright and fatigue of it all, he said to her 
 
 "Why did you come?" 
 
 "And you?" she again murmured, pale and troubled- 
 looking where she lay amongst some cushions. 
 
 "I I knew what they were at, what I should see, but 
 I was curious to 
 
 "So was I," she answered eagerly, preferring that he 
 should deem her guilty of curiosity rather than of love. 
 
 "But you you have no right. Look at the figure 
 you cut, tearing through the street. What would peo 
 ple think?" 
 
 "I have no interest in knowing. What are people to 
 me? Were they of use when I was poor in Cracow? Had 
 I been seen tearing through the streets, as you phrase it, 
 then, would it have mattered and why should it matter 
 now, since I might starve again to-day for aught they 
 people would care? The right, the luxury of freedom, 
 is worth more than public opinion." 
 
 He agreed with her; but she disputed with him so 
 seldom, and that afternoon he had resisted the tempta 
 tion to shriek in her ear, "Your lover, that d d Hour- 
 
 ko why doesn t he stop the firing? You are here; isn t 
 that enough?"
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 93 
 
 "There is no question of being poor or of starving," 
 he continued haughtily, remembering the desire he had 
 crushed. 
 
 "Not to-day, that is true, but to-morrow there may 
 be," she said bitterly. 
 
 "What is the matter with you, Sara?" She had never 
 spoken so strangely before. "You are never to run such 
 a risk again. Remember, I forbid it. What I do, is one 
 thing; what you do, another." 
 
 "Who cares what I do?" she had it on her tongue to 
 say, petulant and weak, and having suffered enough in 
 one day to last for a life; but by closing her eyes she hid 
 the tears that filled them and only murmured wearily 
 
 "I am overdone, very tired, that is all. I will do as 
 you wish." 
 
 It seemed her lot to be corrected, misunderstood and 
 ill-treated. From his lips she had heard words that were 
 to her the most brutal he could ever speak; yet she had 
 forgotten them at the first sound of danger to him, and 
 here he was chiding her. She had admired him more 
 than ever, if that were possible, as she had crouched at 
 his feet imploring him to stoop. Was he not the youth 
 ful image of what a stately patriarch must have been in 
 the old days; that great, splendid looking fellow, with 
 his deep, wonderful eyes, his fine bronzed features and 
 dark curling moustache? Again, he had been to her the 
 handsome traveler, enshrined in romance ; the mysterious 
 Croesus of the little hovel in Cracow. Was there any 
 thing he could not do? smile with the bullets whistling 
 about him, handle her like a child and protect her with 
 his own body. Could she evtr forget the beautiful light 
 in his face as he had snatched up a little one who would 
 have been trampled under foot, and held it tenderly in 
 his arms, though its face was unwashed and its feet dirty, 
 relinquishing it only when a place of safety seemed 
 gained. 
 
 Then, too, was it not wonderful to contemplate this
 
 94 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 success of his as a financier? The most intricate business 
 problems were clear to him. He had only to think, to 
 understand. And not content with the ordinary meth 
 ods by which wealth was attainable, he imagined, in 
 vented and speculated, always with the same penetrative 
 and unerring judgment, the same result success. And 
 after she had dwelt upon all these perfections, these ad 
 mirable qualities, to her mind, another gift remained to 
 him which perfected them all and was above price the 
 blessing of the Eternal, which was with him in his going 
 and coming, an ornament about his neck, an amulet in 
 the face of danger. 
 
 The good he did, too, would live after him, for to help 
 those who were past helping themselves, the desolate 
 and unfortunate, the sick and starving, was a pleasure in 
 his life which grew and flourished and which he had 
 taken in exchange for that common error men make 
 heaping riches on themselves. Was it to be wondered 
 at, then, that she adored him, and that in consequence 
 the fiat she had heard him pronounce assailed her with 
 the more crushing force? On the evidence of his own 
 lips, she was to lose him who was to her so admirable, 
 so well worth loving, and to whom she had dedicated the 
 beauty and freshness of her girlish years. How could a 
 heavier blow have been dealt her, and how was she to en 
 dure the effect of it and retain her reason? 
 
 With half-closed eyes, she reclined amongst her cush 
 ions and watched him as he paced the room, apparently 
 a prey to excitement produced by the bloodshed he had 
 witnessed. But for this home trouble that had come 
 upon her, she would have felt the same, her mind would 
 have been full of the cruelty and horrors she had been 
 compelled to see, but the actual destruction of others, 
 shrank into insignificance beside the loom of the shadow 
 which threatened destruction to herself. It was selfish 
 of her, and she would have liked to have been good and 
 great enough to forget her own woe in the sufferings of
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 95 
 
 others. But after all she was only human, intensely so; 
 a woman, weak, and with her heart full of the keenest 
 longing for love and sympathy. Perhaps he was a little 
 like her, and the distress she saw in his face was not en 
 tirely due to the inhuman acts he had been helpless to 
 prevent. There was at least one circumstance that 
 pointed to it. When he had found her in danger, he had 
 made no secret of his distress and anxiety. If he felt as 
 he had looked then, how could he turn his back upon her 
 in cold blood, thrust her from him without one crime to 
 record against her? Surely in the depths of his heart 
 some of the love she had inspired must still linger. Ah ! 
 if but a chance of retaining him remained to her, how 
 well she would do battle. How surely she would win 
 with this great love nerving and strengthening her. 
 But the dead weight of doubt soon crept in upon the 
 thought, knocking the life out of it, leaving her with head 
 propped up, swaying and splitting where she lay. 
 
 "What are you thinking of?" she demanded, when the 
 desire to speak had grown too strong to resist. 
 
 "Thinking er I?" he stammered, startled into him 
 self by the directness of the question. Then more col 
 lectedly, "Has to-day brought nothing fresh to think 
 about?" 
 
 "It has brought too much," she answered simply and 
 solemnly. 
 
 "You ought never to have been there," he retorted, 
 the real meaning of her words conveying nothing to him. 
 "Such blood-curdling sights are not for women. Why 
 ever did you come? Had I dreamt that you would leave 
 the house, I would have warned you. It was bad enough 
 for me, to whom death is not unfamiliar but you you 
 will dream of it, you will never get it out of your head. 
 My poor girl, I am sorry. And yet, perhaps, it is as 
 well ; a baptism of some kind could not have been avert 
 ed for long, for such fine doings will be thick upon the 
 ground presently, and you may as well begin to harden
 
 96 HERNANI THE JEW 
 
 your heart now as later. It only shows what one has 
 got to look forward to, and increases one s respect for 
 and confidence in the authorities. But what is one to do? 
 There will be no peace in this accursed city very shortly, 
 and for myself, I have the sensation of being caught in 
 a trap from wnich I shall not be freed, until 1 have paid 
 and suffered to the utmost. There will be no mercy 
 shown me, you may be sure. I begin to feel as though 
 time and money would be well spent in organizing and 
 arming a few brave fellows, if only to avenge those who 
 have been murdered in cold blood. Besides, is one to 
 sit still and await one s turn, without making an attempt 
 in self-defense, thankful if one escapes butchering? I 
 tell you, my patience is becoming exhausted. Aware 
 that life and property may be lost any day, I should like, 
 at least, to have a fight for them. As I live, they will 
 want money ere long, and then the usual proceedings will 
 take place a raid will be made and the wealthiest of us 
 will be robbed. Did you see Hourko rigged out in his 
 best? He should have whetted his appetite for dinner, 
 but may it choke him, the villain!" 
 
 Narrowly though he watched her, he got nothing for 
 his pains. Her innocence was her safeguard. 
 
 "Is General Hourko responsible for what has oc 
 curred?" she asked quietly, and without even so much 
 as lifting her head to look at him. 
 
 "Responsible? Of course he is. He is empowered to 
 act as he thinks proper. There can be no doubt of that. I 
 dare hold the Tsar is practically blameless in the matter. 
 Deceived by the unscrupulousness of his ministers and 
 advisers, he never knows more than it suits their policy 
 to tell him. He is fenced about by machinations, and, 
 thinking he pulls the strings, looks on while they are 
 pulled for him. Hourko? I should think he is to 
 blame!" 
 
 "Then he will be punished sooner or later," she an 
 swered wearily.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 97 
 
 It disappointed her to find him full of the day s doings 
 and apparently without thought of her. He could speak 
 as she had heard him do to Hermann Bloch, and yet 
 keep his mind clear to talk glibly on whatever topic 
 turned uppermost. She could hear him thundering 
 forth, "Any day I may have to divorce my wife," and 
 the words buzzed in her ears as it seemed to her they 
 would do till she died; yet, apparently, how little he was 
 affected by them, or rather what had called them forth. 
 Could he care for her then did the dregs of his love for 
 her still remain? The question died upon her tongue; 
 she was without strength to answer it. To her, at that 
 moment, there seemed to be a great contrast between 
 them ; he was so strong and vigorous, with the hue of 
 health in his cheek, the fire of energy in his eyes, and she 
 was weak and weary tired oh! how terribly so. 
 "Well for me if I could die now," she whispered to her 
 self, her eyes still closed and hot with tears "he has 
 done with me, and I would have done with life." 
 
 And with Riva about her, touching her tenderly, she 
 said to her, "Riva, but for the sin of it, I would not live 
 beyond to-night."
 
 98 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Youth and hope, sleep, awakening to the springtime, 
 revivified, again inspired how comforting! Plunged in 
 despair one day, but cheered and strengthened another, 
 Sara watched and waited and fought to keep what 
 seemed to her all her husband. Glad of anything that 
 gained her time, she no longer discouraged the interest 
 he felt in the insurrectionary movement. Rather than 
 that he should think of and plot against her, she had best 
 fill his mind with it. Evidently his schemes were not 
 enough to satisfy his voracious appetite for work and 
 excitement; besides, they must hang fire, remain in 
 abeyance, as things were. Hitherto she had done her 
 utmost to restrain his ardent patriotism, but since he 
 would not be permitted to stand still, and according to 
 his own showing must be drawn into the vortex created 
 by the great movement, she would no longer be a wet 
 blanket. Where was the use? It would be better for 
 her if his mind ran on fighting and freedom rather than 
 on her and the children her existence denied him. Yet 
 again, she felt that if by her counsel or even neutrality, 
 ill befell him, she would be unable to forgive herself, and 
 would be in a worse plight than ever. She was thus 
 between two fires. And never in her life had she ex 
 perienced anything approaching the restlessness and in 
 decision, the unhappy vacillation and despair she was 
 now a prey to. At one moment she was for facing it 
 out, trusting to what might be the remnants of her in 
 fluence, but what, since she was still with him, must 
 amount to influence, also to time and the secrets hidden 
 in the morrow. At another, she could scarcely con 
 tinue to remain beneath the same roof. Anything rather
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. , 99 
 
 than this frightful uncertainty, this crushing weight 
 which his words had suspended over her head, and which 
 might fall upon her when least expected. The indignity 
 also of being told to go, would be agonizing. What an 
 insupportable affront! The contemplation of it, from 
 which she could seldom free herself, seemed to turn her 
 sick, to take her breath away. She watched him, too, so 
 closely, and weighed his words with a mind so com 
 pletely impregnated with doubt and suspicion, that when 
 ever they met, she fancied she had discovered some new 
 phase or development of the situation. There remained 
 no rest for her, and to succumb, to die, or disappear, 
 was apparently the only solution, the final termination. 
 When he was not with her, when out of her sight, she 
 was racked with doubts and dread of what was happen 
 ing, what he was doing or thinking; and when they were 
 shut up together, her nerves were excited and strained 
 to such a pitch, that her control over herself threatened 
 to fail her. Nevertheless, she went into the fresh air 
 more, now that the flowers were fresh and blooming, 
 the trees displaying their most refreshing and attractive 
 garb. 
 
 With an immense effort to become philosophical, she 
 endeavored to live for the day, for the hour. Her love 
 of nature was profound, and she took a melancholy de 
 light in burying herself amongst the trees, away from 
 everything that could be harsh or unkind, and where at 
 least no sound came to her except that of the birds she 
 loved so well, who seemed to be her friends, the only 
 ones she had. Of General Hourko she had lost count, 
 though he had assailed her again upon the old pretext 
 her charity and pity for those of her race less fortunate 
 than herself. 
 
 On his part, Hourko certainly had her fresh in his 
 mind. While she was endeavoring to cope with the woe 
 that threatened to engulf her, he was in the old palace of 
 the Polish kings, immersed in business, besieged with
 
 100 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 dissatisfied dispatches from St. Petersburg. They were 
 calling his policy in question, even censuring it. In 
 undated by instructions, in dread of being ignominiously 
 recalled, he could still quietly remark 
 
 "This Jewess will not bite, eh, Popoloff? The avowed 
 interest in Judaism won t do. We must think of some 
 better bait." 
 
 "Excellency, you will have more time when -" 
 
 "Anyone else would be dismissed, Popoloff, for talk 
 ing about time. How often am I to remind you that I 
 am not a slave? Won t once do? I am sick of the sight 
 of papers, each with a fresh string of suggestions, the 
 last of which always proves more useless than the first. 
 There is nothing tangible, nothing substantial about 
 these accursed Poles that s what it amounts to. I should 
 like to hunt them out of their filthy dens, where they are 
 knee-deep in plotting impossibilities, into the light of 
 day, supply them with arms, and then, as a soldier, I 
 could deal with them. Fighting with conspirators such 
 as they are, is to me, what fighting with something in 
 visible would be to any man. I am sick of it just in 
 that condition, in fact, when a pretty face would be a 
 relief; and was there ever a man who liked one, cooped 
 up and harassed as I am? All the same, I am not going 
 to give up my Jewess. Who would, once they had seen 
 her? This banker fellow is just the right man to find his 
 way to Siberia, and then, in a gilded prison such as I 
 could provide her with, my beautiful Sara would thrive 
 and delight me. That s what it will come to, eh, Popo 
 loff? But not yet the time is hardly ripe. Have you 
 had news from the palace this Hernani maintains?" 
 
 "Some of the money that is being steadily collected by 
 the chiefs of the insurrectionary movement has already 
 been supplied by him, sir." 
 
 "Ah! How do you know that?" 
 
 "Excellency as I know everything," answered Popo 
 loff, with some show of pride, and the shadow of a grim
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. IOI 
 
 smile upon his inscrutable face. "He has already been 
 guilty of that and of assault." 
 
 "Good; then we can arrest 
 
 "Anyone, Excellency." 
 
 "True, but I question; he is very rich and a leader 
 amongst them one of their head men. No, we will 
 wait. Have you heard anything more?" 
 
 "The relations between Kasimir and his wife are less 
 satisfactory, though the reason is unknown." 
 
 "Is that so?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; but this information about his monetary 
 dealings is really important. His immense wealth at the 
 disposal of these traitors to his Imperial Majesty makes 
 a dangerous combination." 
 
 "His wings will need clipping." 
 
 "They will, sir." 
 
 "But at present we must be patient. Have you issued 
 my instructions to the officers?" 
 
 "Yes, Excellency." 
 
 "Then there can be no excuse for brawls of any kind. 
 What fresh signs are there? How are the streets look 
 ing? I must take a drive for the sake of some air." 
 
 "The streets are as usual, sir. No new symptoms. 
 The women clad as for a funeral, the men ready for a 
 wedding. The fools, to be strutting about like so many 
 peacocks! Colonel Woronzow was insulted by one of 
 them in a cafe this very morning, the young jackanapes 
 who was guilty of the affront, displaying what he would 
 be pleased to call the national dress, which, as you know, 
 is as bright as that of our Circassians. Top boots, em 
 broidered shirt, and red fur-brimmed hat nothing short 
 of it. The numbers who take to this absurd attire, ap 
 pear to increase every day, making the general mourn 
 ing of the women more noticeable." 
 
 "Yes, I know I have remarked that. But how did 
 Colonel Woronzow act?" 
 
 "He was patient under the insult, sir."
 
 102 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "I am glad of that. The names of those officers or men 
 who are not so, under such annoyances, must be report 
 ed to me. I have strict injunctions to avoid more blood 
 shed or disturbances, though such leniency will only fos 
 ter arrogance and produce dissension. The rifle and the 
 knout are what is required. Any reports from the prov 
 inces?" 
 
 "Excellency, the provinces record no fresh outrages 
 or disturbances; the rule of our Holy Father the Tsar 
 is maintained in unbroken quiet. The peasants, one and 
 all, know which side their bread is buttered. They have 
 been well counseled and will obey, as good subjects 
 should." 
 
 "That is gratifying." 
 
 "Most gratifying, sir." 
 
 "If they observe that attitude, there will be nothing 
 worth calling A rebellion." 
 
 "They will do as they are told, Excellency. They are 
 so simple and ignorant, as you know just like over 
 grown children; and it is only necessary to remind them 
 of the tyranny their Polish masters practiced, of their 
 indifference to their sufferings, of the way in which they 
 enslaved and used them as beasts of burden to rouse 
 them to fury and knit them to us." 
 
 "And has this been done thoroughly?" 
 
 "Thoroughly, sir. And our judiciously-selected emis 
 saries are devoted in their endeavors to instil into them 
 an exact idea of their position. They are unwearyingly 
 reminded not to anger the Tsar, of the submission they 
 owe to him as the head of the kingdom, and on account 
 of his tender solicitude for them. The treacherous char 
 acter of the Polish nobility, and the hollowness of the 
 promises they make, are duly set forth, and they are ex 
 horted to stand firm for the sake of their own interests." 
 
 Hourko smiled grimly. 
 
 "In short, the work is being done well," he exclaimed. 
 
 "I trust so, your Excellency. Every day my labor in 
 creases. I have spies in every hamlet, village and town,
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 103 
 
 and so great is the correspondence and intricate the de 
 tail, that, mindful of your permission, the large staff of 
 officials and clerks has been increased. Soon there shall 
 not be a single family of any consequence of whose most 
 private actions I am in ignorance, and when the time 
 comes, what power must remain on the side of law and 
 order, in consequence of such important information! 
 They will not know us, but we shall know them." 
 
 "Yes, yes you are wonderful an enthusiast, Popo- 
 loff," answered Hourko, with a look of weariness upon 
 his face, as though, despite his interest, something new 
 would please him better. 
 
 Considered apart from Popoloff s ideas and schemes, 
 the fact remained that there was nothing of the diplomat 
 ist about Ivan Nicholaevitch. Intrigue and detail, fine 
 shades of thought, of feeling, or of policy, were never 
 conceived or understood by him. In his opinion, there 
 were only two things fit for a soldier to do to fight and 
 make love. He was brave, some said brutal, and he 
 liked to come to downright blows, or, if there were none 
 to be exchanged, console himself with what, in his opin 
 ion, he could well appreciate a fair form and face. 
 Women and the peasants might be considered in the 
 same breath. The peasants were meant to be ignorant, 
 to remain ignorant, that they might till the land and 
 minister to the needs of those who were not so. And 
 women well, women in the concrete were a shade bet 
 ter than the peasants, but the end for which they were 
 created was the same: to crown with comfort and de 
 light the existences of those superior beings men the 
 lords of the soil. For virtue he entertained respect and 
 admiration in the dim recesses of his mind. But then, 
 could virtue be found? Certainly his wife had never de 
 ceived him to his knowledge, but then his wife was such 
 a fearfully attenuated specimen of humanity, and where 
 there was no desire or temptation, there could be no vir 
 tue. There had been a time when he was savage in his
 
 104 HERN AN I THE JEW. 
 
 hatred of a lie, but that time had never outlived his ca 
 det s uniform. Some sorts of lies were of the first neces 
 sity, though it was a pity, and truth was best, though 
 dull, and only endurable at certain seasons. 
 
 For instance, Popoloff was so conscientiously truthful 
 in the way in which he bored him with a lot of things he 
 might just as well have kept to himself. It was a pity, 
 too, that he was so ugly and not the least little bit of a 
 roue. It was so odd for a man to have a mind like iron, 
 to possess a perfect memory, and to work, work, work 
 always, never seeming to remember that a little relaxa 
 tion, a little amusement in the shape of feminine society, 
 would be consoling as well as refreshing. But then ex 
 perience might have taught Popoloff that the fair sex 
 would have none of him, and, after all, he was invaluable. 
 
 "Popoloff, you should marry," he suddenly remarked, 
 surveying that strange personage with a half ironical, 
 half comical grin, fancying the while that the man seemed 
 even longer and thinner, more cadaverous and more 
 knock-kneed than he had thought he was. Without a 
 word in answer, feigning deafness to perfection, Popo 
 loff gravely submitted some papers for his chief s signa 
 ture, and when it had been affixed in the usual sprawling 
 hand, and Popoloff was going off limping on his heels, 
 Hourko added 
 
 "You are cut out for a chief of police ; you might emu 
 late the deeds of a Fouche, but to follow Benedict s lead 
 is not in your line, eh?" 
 
 Popoloff brightened. 
 
 "That s it, Excellency." 
 
 "Oh! you heard, you dog." 
 
 "Yes, sir; but these important dispatches and and 
 many things being on my mind, diverted my attention." 
 
 That Popoloff was unscrupulous there could be no 
 doubt, otherwise he would not have remained a day in 
 the position he occupied. It was something for the ob 
 scure tchinovnik to be patronized by Madam ; so he had
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 105 
 
 readily adapted himself to the situation into which he 
 had slid that of the master s trusted servant and the 
 wife s confidential spy. He had to please them both if 
 he meant to remain where he was. And Popoloff, it so 
 happened, was ambitious of climbing high, the road to 
 this great end apparently being much like Hourko s, a 
 blind belief in the orthodox faith and in his Imperial 
 Majesty the Tsar. Clad in such sound and shining ar 
 mor, it only remained for him to come to the front, to 
 distinguish himself; and here again the way seemed 
 clear. Jewish troubles loomed ahead as well as Polish 
 ones, and deep down in his heart there was hidden the 
 desire to become a great Jewish scourge. The ripening 
 insurrectionary movement was only the looked-for op 
 portunity which would enable him to attract the Emper 
 or s notice. His ability would insure this success for him, 
 and this once done, there would be no limit to his ends 
 and aspirations. It followed therefore, that in a degree 
 he discountenanced Hourko s attitude towards Sara. 
 Though again it might be the means to an end. She was 
 one of the accursed race, by his desire to exterminate 
 which he was to obtain consideration in high places, and 
 in addition, wealth, which to him meant everything, ava 
 rice being his crowning vice. 
 
 The position he had assumed meanwhile was that of 
 watching and a waiting events. Perhaps the lynx-eyed 
 and jealous Madam Hourko might become exasperated, 
 and he might quietly lend her a hand in exterminating 
 the whole Hernani brood, for his hatred of Jewish blood 
 was so inveterate, that instead of Sara s beauty produc 
 ing admiration, or assuaging his feelings in the very 
 least, he would have had her stripped in the market 
 place, and flogged through the streets in the light of day, 
 before a sea of eyes. 
 
 With these rancorous sentiments within him, how mas 
 terful had been his control over himself, and with what 
 consummate tact had he acted, even to the point of sup-
 
 106 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 plying ideas, and with his own hand writing letters, in 
 furtherance of his master s desire to develop an intimacy 
 with this Hebrew woman, quietly chuckling as he re 
 ceived smiles and expressions of approval in return for 
 his services. "He had been clever, he had done well"- 
 though after all, in establishing spies and gaining all 
 possible information, he had done no more than he un 
 failingly did. Meanwhile, if driven to grind his teeth 
 and bide his time, it consoled him to reflect that such 
 people as these Hernanis would finally be consumed in 
 the general conflagration approaching, as would many 
 more pestilent Jews who encumbered the ground, and 
 upon whom his glance of hatred was fixed. He could 
 well afford to wait, so great would be their confusion in 
 a little \vhile, and at present it was his policy to be all 
 things to all men. So he played with Madam Hourko, 
 as he did with the General, both being unconsciously his 
 tools when it pleased him, for both were blinded by their 
 belief in him; Madam Hourko, the only one in a posi 
 tion to see through him, attributing all his actions, in a 
 measure, to his gratitude for the notice she had taken of 
 him, the preferment she had gained him. 
 
 Her idolatrous regard for Hourko, which, owing to 
 his actions and temperament, took the form of the most 
 insane jealousy conceivable, left her no time and no in 
 clination for thinking of much else. But it was this ele 
 ment of jealo usy that rendered her capable of becoming 
 extremely dangerous to a woman born and placed as 
 was Sara. Her exalted position invested her with limit 
 less power. What could she not do, or cause to be done 
 to a Jewess, and one, moreover, whose audacity she be 
 lieved had led her to trifle with her husband, the Gener 
 al s, affections? For in Popoloff s skillful hands, the in 
 formation supplied her was just such as to arouse and 
 develop indignation, without causing her to overstep 
 the bounds he had at present mentally fixed for her. He 
 could easily make her do that when he wished. And it
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 107 
 
 was interesting to watch how tigerish she became when 
 her appetite was cunningly whetted. Of course she un 
 hesitatingly blamed the woman. Eyes were being made 
 at her husband, whose position and splendid appearance 
 had completely dazzled and subjugated this Hebrew 
 banker s wife. 
 
 "But what is to be done?" she screamed to Popoloff, 
 in the course of one of their talks. 
 
 "Nothing, Madam; and it is because these people shall 
 be sent off to Siberia by etape one fine day, that I say, 
 Nothing. If you took any step now, his Excellency s 
 suspicions would be aroused, his indignation excited, and 
 he would put protective measures in force which would 
 probably baffle us both. We should be outwitted, and 
 furthermore, he would be certain to suspect me. You 
 would not wish that?" 
 
 "On no account." 
 
 "Then trust me, Madam. You may do so implicitly. 
 You will find me equal to the occasion." 
 
 So in blissful unconsciousness of the storm that was 
 gathering beneath his own roof, Hourko took long drives 
 round the town, even along the Avenue, under the pale 
 arching foliage of the limes, down into the beautiful park 
 of Lazienki, always keeping a sharp look out, yet scarce 
 ly ever catching a glimpse of this woman he was hunting 
 for, who seemed so absurdly unapproachable, and who 
 .was, in fact, more anxious than ever to avoid him. When 
 he stopped his carriage, and alighted to speak to her on 
 one or two occasions, Sara had received him with ner 
 vous and chilly reserve, he the while taking no pains to 
 conceal the admiration he entertained for her. 
 
 No kind of social intercourse between them was pos 
 sible on ordinary lines, his nationality, if not his rank, 
 erecting obstructive barriers of iron. He knew that, yet 
 "she must come to the palace and talk with him. Much 
 good might come from such conversations. He was 
 prepared to be as good as his word and to befriend her
 
 108 HERN AN I THE JEW: 
 
 co-religionists in all ways that were feasible and pru 
 dent." But the great man pleaded in vain. Having 
 heard as in a sort of misty dream all he had to say, and 
 been well stared at for walking with so important a per 
 sonage, Sara thanked him courteously, but politely ex 
 cused herself, with pretty but undeniable dexterity. 
 
 In reality, her heart was too full, her brain too act 
 ively engaged in unhappy reflections, to give a thought 
 to him, and the policy she had but so recently deemed 
 desirable. 
 
 Far from disheartening Hourko, this resistance to his 
 wishes, and indifference to his advances, affected him as 
 might have been expected, seeing that he was a strong- 
 willed, obstinate man, to whom the sensation of being 
 repulsed was distinctly refreshing. He was so powerful 
 and influential, accustomed for many years to being 
 courted and made much of, even by those who were 
 themselves of some importance; and here was this Jew 
 ish woman setting herself up against him, ignoring his 
 advances, unaffected by them, apparently only desirous 
 of being rid of him. This opposition at once set her 
 upon a higher platform in his mind. In proportion to 
 her difference in appearance, so was she purer in mind 
 and in virtue than those other women, who had been, 
 one and all, only too glad to accept his favors and caress 
 es, pleased if they might thus buzz about him. Yes, this 
 Sara was evidently of rarer and more precious material, 
 worthier of a true and lasting love than of a simple pass 
 ing fancy. But, all the same, was he not Ivan Nicholae- 
 vitch Hourko, and had he not always obtained what he 
 had coveted? To think that he had stooped to, and shown 
 himself attracted by a woman, who if not nameless, was 
 in the eyes of some people lower even, by reason of her 
 blood. There came moments when he was dangerously 
 piqued, though these were when his thoughts were low 
 est and most passionate. Still his amour propre had re 
 ceived a shock which at such times made him feel al-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 109 
 
 most vindictive. She had better take care, or she should 
 rue the day in which she began to trifle with him. As a 
 woman she must have seen all along how he had been 
 affected. Perhaps she had laughed at him. A thousand 
 furies! He would bring her to her knees, she should beg 
 her honor and her life from him, the little fool. Did she 
 think herself free to do as she pleased? She should dis 
 cover her mistake, and that soon. There was no such 
 thing as freedom in the land for her or her race. Pish! 
 she was very beautiful, but she had her price, and if not, 
 it was in his power to make her take, and be glad to take, 
 what he chose. Do what he would, he found it impossi 
 ble to shut her image out of his mind. She was always 
 rising up, disturbing and seductive. There was some 
 thing in her lithe and easy carriage, in the milk-white 
 nape of her neck, with its curling auburn locks, some 
 thing in the liquid depths of her wonderful eyes, which 
 inflamed his passions and bewitched him, as he had never 
 thought to be bewitched. 
 
 Titus Prokofievitch Popoloff, and those beneath him, 
 had a bad time when such visions presented themselves, 
 and Ivan Nicholaevitch grew irritable, because he was 
 no nearer those perfections than on the day when they 
 had first met his gaze, besides seeing no way to approach 
 them either by strategy or force. Considering the state 
 of the political atmosphere, if he were guilty of any ex 
 traordinary step, Warsaw might be ablaze, and a leakage 
 of news would at once get through to St. Petersburg. 
 He would be talked of, injured, with such fine capital in 
 the hands of his enemies. No; he was not going to be 
 such a fool. He must fret and fume and wait; lose sight 
 of his purpose, never. 
 
 And in ignorance of the deadly enemies she had so 
 unconsciously created, Sara sorrowfully dragged through 
 the days that were now not the least bit like what the old 
 ones had been, and would, it seemed, never come round 
 to right themselves again. Such a hope seldom glim-
 
 1 10 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 mered in her mind, and when it did, she wondered how 
 it had come there, since there was no shadowy ground 
 even for its existence. And as though to sadden her, 
 and remind her more forcibly of the mourning that had 
 taken possession of her heart, when she went out, every 
 woman she met even Russian was like herself, at 
 tired in deep black, and could not have walked the streets 
 in safety otherwise. In addition, all places of public 
 amusement were now completely abandoned, even the 
 mildest form of recreation being as sternly tabooed in 
 private circles as though the most solemn season had 
 been entered upon, and each house sorrowed for its be 
 loved dead. The churches were crammed and ringing 
 with the sad and tender prayerfulness of the national 
 hymn, while no great day in the annals of Polish history 
 was suffered to pass unmarked. 
 
 After the municipal elections came fresh demonstra 
 tions, and these were indulged in, until one fine day, an 
 official declaration of a state of siege was proclaimed. 
 
 In all this there was nothing to cheer, not one flash of 
 light to illumine, and Sara felt her spirits at zero, in spite 
 of the unflagging efforts she made to forget herself by 
 means of the old recipe of taking interest in others. As 
 a proof of the genuineness of her attempts in this direc 
 tion, she busied herself in gaining information, going 
 into really minute calculations over the revolutionary 
 question, finally by drawing up a plan with much labor 
 and thought, in which she succeeded in setting down 
 with admirable lucidity considering the conflicting 
 statements made in the materials at her disposal a vig 
 orous resume of what should, in her opinion, be done to 
 cope with the difficulties of the political situation. She 
 was inspired to do this by the decision she had arrived 
 at, to damp Hernani s patriotism no longer, her innate 
 conscientiousness demanding that she should at least 
 learn all she could of a cause, which, if not warmly ad 
 vocating, she at least countenanced; the undertaking
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. Ill 
 
 being an attempt to justify herself for the course she had 
 adopted. When she had finished it, she showed it to 
 Hernani. 
 
 "Why, what is this?" he inquired, pushing some papers 
 aside and unrolling the scroll she had handed to him. 
 
 "A plan of campaign/ she answered rather seriously. 
 
 "Drawn up by Joan of Arc?" he asked with an amused 
 smile. 
 
 "By poor Sara Hernani," she replied wearily. 
 
 "Why poor?" 
 
 "Oh, I don t know." 
 
 "A woman s answer but let me see. You must have 
 spent a lot of time, and taken any amount of pains over 
 this." 
 
 "Yes, it gave me some trouble." 
 
 "And why did you do it?" 
 
 "Because the subject is of vital importance." 
 
 "Quite true. It is very clear and ingenious. Do these 
 figures represent the number of male inhabitants between 
 these ages?" 
 
 "Yes, that is the total; and, even supposing that half 
 the peasants refuse their assistance, there remains a suffi 
 ciently formidable body upon which to count. The two 
 greatest difficulties will be to supply arms and teach even 
 the most rudimentary discipline. To feed them I imagine 
 would not be quite so hard a task." 
 
 "No, I should say not; you are right there. Many 
 friends would be met with, and supplies to a certain ex 
 tent would be assured." He was surprised at the clear 
 ness of her ideas. "But to rely upon half the peasants, 
 to begin with, would be a mistake. Men have long mem 
 ories where grievances are concerned. They will in 
 bulk probably forget a kindness; they always remem 
 ber an injury. The wrongs of centuries have brought 
 them to the pass they have arrived at. In addition to 
 flogging and imprisonment, the Polish noble occasion 
 ally took it into his head to deprive his serf of life, his
 
 112 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 only punishment for the savage crime being a fine of a 
 few livres. I need not say more, to convince you that 
 the peasant has a heavy account to get settled, and will 
 not forget to demand payment when the chance offers. 
 But all this you know as well as I do." 
 
 "Yes, I suppose I do." 
 
 "As for the importation of arms, something has al 
 ready been done, yet very little, and for every rifle that 
 reaches its destination, three are lost. Discipline to any 
 extent seems out of the question." 
 
 "Your views are not usually so gloomy." 
 
 "Perhaps not, but it is well to err on the safe side. 
 Leave this with me to look at. I m glad you are so much 
 interested. In all your calculations remember this: the 
 Russians will yet suffer for doing what we, the Poles, 
 have already done, and are suffering for now. The 
 worm will turn and so will the peasant, wherever he may 
 be enslaved and ill-treated. The Polish noble is paying 
 now for the tyranny practiced by his forefathers; the 
 Russian noble s turn will come." 
 
 How cold and business-like was his manner, how stri 
 dent his voice so woefully changed from that of old 
 days and he had as good as dismissed her without the 
 warm kind kiss so common once, now, alas! a luxury; 
 and yet, knowing the turn of his thoughts towards her, 
 she dare not say, "What is amiss? Come let us be 
 again what we have been." Such a request was impossi 
 ble; there could be no putting matters right, and she 
 must just drag on her life thus, thankful that she might 
 see and speak with him, conscious that ere long she 
 would be deprived of even that consolation. 
 
 It was at such times as these that she felt like going 
 mad moments when his actions flung her face to face 
 with facts. She was in a regular trap. To think that she 
 loved this man more than her life, yet dare not reproach 
 him for his altered conduct, for fear of hastening the 
 catastrophe she dreaded, and had silently to contemplate
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 113 
 
 overtaking her any clay. What ill-luck had come to her, 
 when by mere chance she had overheard his terrible dis 
 closure to Bloch Bloch, before whom she now felt 
 shame-faced and awkward, as though she had no right 
 where she found herself, and was only there on suffer 
 ance. And to keep up appearances she had been com 
 pelled to meet him. It was too cruel. If, instead of 
 making the discovery she had, the space of but a few 
 yards had separated her from that detestable doorway, 
 then at least her existence would have been tolerable, 
 since she then would have accepted some such excuse 
 as his oft-repeated, "Pooh! you don t understand I 
 have much upon my mind I am busy," as a sort of rea 
 son for the complete transformation her affection de 
 tected. Besides, she would have invented; there would 
 have been business anxieties which told upon his health 
 and temper, the shadow cast by the great stir in the 
 country, like the increase of wind, the sighing of it, and 
 the accompanying distress and gloom heralding the 
 storm; all sorts of excuses would have been made for 
 him, and so she would have lived a little longer in the 
 fool s paradise she had been so contented with. Any 
 thing rather than the load she now bore. Sheer nerv 
 ousness, too, made her confident that other people be 
 sides Bloch and Riva Krein were aware of the state of 
 affairs scandal traveling far and furiously. She saw it 
 in their eyes and in their manner to her, and was forever 
 imagining that she had detected some fresh symptoms 
 of pity or thinly-veiled contempt. When such fancies 
 as these laid hold upon her, she was beside herself with 
 mixed feelings of indignation and annoyance. A pretty 
 figure she cut, supplying food for gossip; being ridi 
 culed unmercifully, no doubt, for endeavoring to hang 
 on where she was no longer wanted. When despair 
 ingly appealed to, Riva Krein had expended her tears 
 and her eloquence to no purpose. 
 
 "What ails my lamb? It can t be; make your mind 
 
 8
 
 114 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 easy. The thing is impossible. The dead are not more 
 silent than I have been. Not a soul knows." 
 
 But Sara refused to be comforted. 
 
 "Oh! that I could rest somewhere," she would sob, 
 her spirits at the lowest ebb. "Do you see how he has 
 changed what a different man he is to me?" 
 
 "The Holy One will curse him unless he takes care, 
 for it is written, Men should be careful lest they cause 
 women to weep, for God counts their tears. " 
 
 "Hush! Riva." 
 
 "Well, my lamb, is it not so?" 
 
 "Hush! I say. You must not say such dreadful 
 things. He is not to blame it is I. I should never 
 have been born. Such women as myself, who are in 
 capable of fulfilling the duty for which they were 
 brought into the world that of child-bearing only en 
 cumber the ground. I speak plainly that you may 
 understand what I feel, Riva." 
 
 "Oh! I understand; but, dear heart, to hear you, one 
 might think there were not enough of us already. See 
 what a time I ve had; there s never been a place for 
 me, though I ve looked hard for one. Now I ll tell you, 
 this is my belief that there are too many of us, and that 
 good store should be set by those who just come and 
 go, without making misery by multiplying. If a man 
 knew when he was well off, he wouldn t look for sons 
 to blacken his name and worry him into the grave, as 
 many a son has done before now. If the Holy One 
 gives him no children, he should say, Well so, and be 
 content. I ve no patience." 
 
 "But we all expect children, Riva. It s only natural." 
 
 "Well, so we may. I ve expected a lot of things, but 
 as soon as I found I came no nearer getting them, I 
 stopped expecting. It s best so. We re only happy 
 when we ve got nothing to hope for, and what we get 
 comes to us as a surprise." 
 
 "Must we indeed become embittered?"
 
 HERN AMI THE JEW. 115 
 
 "Things bitter to the tongue are sweet to the stomach. 
 A good few of us would be happier if we didn t expect 
 so much. Look at the master the Lord preserve him! 
 What a lot he has to make him happy if he wouldn t 
 look for more, and so work hard to spoil what he has." 
 
 "Riva, you don t know his troubles, you can t feel as 
 he feels; therefore you must not judge him. No two 
 of us are constituted alike. I can fully understand that 
 I am a disappointment to him, but I would have had 
 him come to me and tell me so, not talk about me to 
 others." 
 
 "I ll hear no such thing as that you are a disappoint 
 ment to anyone. If you are, it s because they don t 
 know how to value you. Was anyone ever so beau 
 tiful?" 
 
 "In your eyes, Riva." 
 
 "No, not in my eyes alone. Doesn t the whole street 
 turn to look at you when you pass? Haven t I seen 
 it many times? In Cracow, when we were poor, wasn t 
 it the same? It was the joy of my life, to see the fine 
 ladies with fortunes on their backs, envious of you, 
 whose whole outfit would not have fetched twenty 
 gulden. And you are good and charitable; could any 
 one be more so? Haven t you given your time and 
 money for others, and thought of them more than of 
 yourself, risking health and life many a day when the 
 fever and cholera s been raging? Don t I know? Ah! 
 to have been a man, and to have been loved by you, 
 would have been a foretaste of bliss. And I have had 
 my love; I know about it what it is to feel one s limbs 
 palsied, one s heart as though it would stand still, faint, 
 weary unto death. I loved like that, and it was all use 
 less. I have never loved since." 
 
 "My poor Riva." 
 
 "Don t sorrow for me I m past needing it; for, 
 though I used to know what it was for the days that 
 kept us apart, to seem like years; for the warmth and
 
 Il6 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 light of the sun to be in my heart as well as about me; 
 though the thought that we were to meet and the sight 
 of him made me tremble with a joy I can t tell of think 
 of this; I am never to tremble again, not even for death. 
 No, don t you sorrow for me, because you are all I have 
 to live for in the world, and you re enough." 
 
 "I know it, I know it, and you will come with me 
 if if- 
 
 "Come with you to the ends of the earth. We two will 
 journey along together; and what is it after all it will 
 soon be over; the journey along the rough ways and 
 through the night, will soon be done, and the Holy One 
 blessed be He! will have us in His arms, safe, some 
 where." Tears stood in Riva s black eyes, and her 
 wrinkled skin was drawn into a web of puckers as her 
 feelings worked in her face. Sara could not speak, and 
 the old woman, with her peaked and shriveled breast 
 heaving tumultuously, gasped forth: "Ah! it has been 
 a weary fight, a weary fight, my lamb; but courage 
 we shall go to rest when it is time." And a seraphic 
 light shone in her face, as though the land she spoke of 
 lay illumined before her earth-worn eyes. 
 
 "But meanwhile," murmured Sara, controlling the 
 emotion that threatened to master her "meanwhile we 
 must keep on fighting. You will help me, you will be 
 with me, and what a comfort you are!" 
 
 "Am I, my love am I? Then I am happy. To 
 hear you say that, from your heart, is what I ve lived for 
 this long while past. The riches seemed robbing me 
 of you, and in my heart I cursed them." 
 
 "They will have taken to themselves wings and fled, 
 soon enough. But can you understand what I suffer, 
 Riva I, who was so happy that the days were never 
 long enough? I seemed to walk on air, to breathe the 
 breath of heaven, and now now 
 
 "I know, my lamb, I know. But you must conquer 
 and crush these feelings, or soon you will cease to
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 117 
 
 struggle at all. It may seem hard, but it must be clone. 
 The master loves you that s what you have to go upon 
 and look to. With my own ears I ve heard him tell you 
 that you are his first real love, and woe to him if he 
 cleaves not to you. Is it not written, Tears are shed on 
 God s altar for the one who forsakes his first love ? 
 The man who forsook me never prospered. And it 
 was just; he robbed me of all I had to give, and then 
 fled. The Eternal reckons up these things, my love. 
 Lay yourself out to keep the master, and you must suc 
 ceed; what man could resist you?" 
 
 "If only he had not said what he did, Riva. 
 
 "Perhaps he was angry and did not mean it. Men 
 are like that." 
 
 "How could that be? Bloch was with him by ap 
 pointment. He had arranged to meet him to tell him 
 about me." 
 
 "Go and ask him, then." 
 
 "Ask him?" repeated Sara passionately. "How often 
 have you suggested that, and how often have I said I 
 would rather die than do it! If I needed proof to con 
 vince me that his words were neither angry nor idle 
 ones, I have it in his whole treatment of me." 
 
 "Then be patient," answered the old woman sagely. 
 "It is written that to b"e patient is sometimes better than 
 to have much wealth. Ah! how should I have come 
 through my life, if I had not remembered and treasured 
 up these blessed sayings? We fail to value what we 
 have at its worth. When one is famished, how one 
 relishes a crust, when each blast of wind blows through 
 one, what warmth and cheer is to be found in a gleam 
 of sunshine, and when one hungers for sympathy, how 
 the chance word of a stranger even, yields consola 
 tion." 
 
 "Then you think I make too much of my troubles?" 
 
 "If you were to count up the mercies more diligently, 
 you would be able to bear them better, my lamb. And
 
 Il8 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 after all, the Lord can give, and He can take away. He 
 may wish you to begin a new life, and for such as you, 
 how many men there are in the world!" 
 
 "You are wrong, Riva; for me, no men exist. I 
 shall never love again." And Sara turned sadly away, 
 wondering why she had talked so long, and at the end 
 of it, had found so little comfort; though it happened 
 so always, no matter how often she found herself listen 
 ing to and confiding in Riva. 
 
 Sometimes it occurred to her that she was too much 
 alone, and that if she cultivated the numerous friends 
 or rather acquaintances she possessed, and resumed the 
 old habits with which she had broken, she would be 
 able to forget herself and her misfortunes more, and 
 endure her lot better. 
 
 It had come to this: she, who used to be so busy, with 
 never an idle moment on her hands visiting the poor, 
 tending them in sickness, cheering and inspiring them 
 always, even reminding them of the hard, sad life she 
 had once lived could now contemplate recontinuing 
 this renunciation of self, yet for the moment felt her 
 self too weak to do it. The painful sensation of nerv 
 ousness which caused her to shrink from meeting any 
 one, and which strengthened every day, partly pre 
 vented her. And besides, how was she, in the midst of 
 sickness and misfortune, poverty and oftentimes death, 
 to bear up with unruffled composure and cheerful pla 
 cidity, when the hand of sorrow lay so heavy upon her? 
 How could she speak words of consolation and tender 
 ness to others, when at the bare thought of it all, her 
 own grief blinded her? No; she was prepared to admit 
 that she was incapable of such an attempt, and rather 
 than make it, preferred to wander about the garden and 
 the house, a prey to the melancholy reflections which 
 had laid such firm hold upon her. She even avoided 
 the little shopping excursions, which had once been a 
 recognized portion of her daily duty, availing herself of
 
 HERNAN1 THE JEW. 119 
 
 every possible pretext for sending Riva instead, and 
 the drive or walk beneath the centenarian lime-trees of 
 the Avenue, or to the left, amidst the plane-trees and 
 sycamores of the park of Lazienki, was fraught with 
 the possibility of encountering Hourko and his passion 
 ate glances, and so a thing to be avoided. 
 
 After she had scrupulously attended to her household 
 tasks, however, there was the one spot the garden in 
 which she felt herself safe from intrusion, and where she 
 could indulge in her mournful reflections without dread 
 of being disturbed, since in it she could escape from the 
 gaze of the curious, from the admiring glances which 
 persecuted her once out of doors, and from being forced 
 into conversations which were without a particle of in 
 terest for her, in the mood she had become reduced to. 
 
 Here, on pretense of reading, she would retire, for 
 hours, the book unopened, it is true; but when, after 
 moments of mental distress, comparative calmness had 
 come again, she would surrender herself to the enjoy 
 ment of admiring with the eyes of a true lover of nature, 
 if not of an artist, the soothing and beautiful effects of 
 light and shade, as the sun streamed through the great 
 dark boughs of the cedars, and danced upon the spark 
 ling waters of the fountain where the gold-fish lurked, 
 motionless in the shade of the Flora whose image was 
 flung upon the waters, and from whose sculptured 
 fingers the crystal spray descended upon them. 
 
 It was here, amidst the soft cooing of the doves, the 
 hum of insects, and the multitudinous but more distant 
 sounds of the great city surrounding her, that she gave 
 the rein to her thoughts; pacing amongst the flowers, 
 admiring their delicate and brilliant faces, delighting in 
 the odors that arose from them, and never wearying of it 
 all for one moment, only wishing herself less sad, less 
 lonely. 
 
 When the weather was fine, it had been a habit of 
 Hernani s to join her there, to take tea from her hands
 
 120 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 in an arbor within sound of the fountain, and after an 
 hour or so spent in this fashion, it had been his custom 
 to return to his bureau and finish the business of the 
 day. She could count on half the fingers of one hand, 
 the number of times he had done so latterly, and even 
 when he had so condescended, his going had been rather 
 a relief, so awkward had been the turns the conversa 
 tion had taken. Once, when he had joined her in this 
 way, she was on the point of telling him of her visits 
 to Hourko, and all in connection with them, but she 
 refrained from doing so, as she reflected that they were 
 a little happier together for the moment, that most 
 assuredly he would be dreadfully angry, and finally, that 
 to explain her reason for having gone, she would have 
 to sound her own trumpet, since it had been her desire 
 to help others that had prompted the step. Better not, 
 she thought; better let the past be past. So she had 
 turned from the subject, deciding not to speak of it, little 
 dreaming how closely she had approached the happiness 
 she sought and seemed to have said farewell to. It is 
 often so in life; a tiny spring or wheel awry, even 
 a grain of dust, and the whole going of the machine 
 is altered, spoiled. 
 
 But to retrace our steps a little. The plan of cam 
 paign as Sara had jestingly entitled her written at 
 tempt to comprehend clearly, the prospects, and prob 
 able line of conduct, of the insurrectionary leaders 
 produced effects that could never have been conceived 
 as possible by her, once her back was turned. 
 
 Hernani unrolled the manuscript again and examined 
 it attentively, a shadow, dark as a thunder-cloud, slowly 
 gathering in his face and completely distorting his fine 
 features during the process. At length with an angry 
 exclamation he dashed it upon the floor. What was 
 this insane piece of paper calculated to do? Mislead 
 him, beguile him into believing her true to the cause 
 he had at heart, and, in consequence, an enemy to the
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 121 
 
 death of Hourko s, when the last thing he had heard was 
 that she had been seen walking with him in the Avenue, 
 the two of them evidently exchanging confidences, with 
 heads bent low like lovers, while the coachman followed 
 them at a respectful distance, in readiness to whisk his 
 master away to further acts of villainy. Was she pleased 
 to think, then, that nothing that was done by her was 
 known to him, and that she could career about the town 
 as it suited her, receiving attentions from the most 
 prominent of the Government chiefs, without it so much 
 as reaching his ears? He, Kasimir Hernani, wealthy, 
 respected, and he had every reason to believe, beloved 
 he, the pillar of his party, the strongest prop and most 
 trusted follower of his persuasion in all Warsaw! Was 
 there ever anything so absurd? He, who employed 
 spies, who was known to everyone, and could not stir 
 without stumbling across an acquaintance, not to know 
 of such shame-faced behavior! For there was no use 
 in mincing matters, casting about for fine phrases; 
 sharne-faced it was, and he would call it so. Of course 
 information reached him through circuitous channels, 
 but then information of such a kind naturally would. 
 And it would be retailed as fine gossip, repeated as a 
 good joke, and told to him from cynical as well as med 
 dling motives. People would wonder what he was 
 about, what strange move he was authorizing and quiet 
 ly calculating the effect of. He would be discredited by 
 those in whose trust he stood high. Was he employing 
 his beautiful wife, as a decoy or a go-between, for the 
 further development of some subtle ruse, some care 
 fully-thought out machination, the result of which would 
 be startling? Was he preparing some Russian nest, in 
 which to ensconce himself snug and safe when the strife 
 ran high? 
 
 For without doubt he would be credited with knowing 
 all she did, since they were looked upon as a model 
 couple, who had made a love-match and had found it
 
 122 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 answer. Of course this was the light in which people 
 would look at it. And it was the condition under which 
 they had lived, their love and perfect faith, upon the 
 genuineness of which he could have staked his life, that 
 had produced his proud, suspicious, and jealous decision 
 to remain dumb. Sara s conduct had, by its apparent 
 infamy, electrified him into silence, and reduced him 
 into awaiting with agonizing interest, a further develop 
 ment of the situation, under the growing impression 
 that she had suddenly shown herself in her true colors, 
 leapt out of his control, and was no longer worthy of it. 
 Thus, the appalling nature of the spectacle he had set 
 himself to watch, had gradually enchained him, breath 
 less and spell-bound. What was the use of speaking 
 to her, he had argued scores of times? If proofs were 
 needed, they were to hand in plenty, and if he doubted 
 his own ears and eyesight, he surely could not mistake 
 the meaning of her altered conduct toward him. She 
 was another being. In a few weeks her affection for him 
 had steadily dwindled to nothing, his own manner and 
 actions during the time having, he imagined, been ex 
 emplary. For like many a man, he believed himself to 
 be a good actor ; and in reality, had played well enough 
 up to the point at which he had become too much in 
 terested and incensed to conduct himself consistently. 
 When the news of the fresh and further meeting between 
 Sara and Hourko had reached him, he had received it 
 with the tact he deemed suitable to the occasion, being 
 in the highway with the broad glare of day upon him; 
 but, once under cover and alone, the change became 
 startling. His anger was terrible, his despair pitiable. 
 Such an outburst was natural to such a man, and in 
 the heat of it he suddenly seemed to be capable of over 
 stepping all bounds. The silent walls of his bureau rang 
 with menaces and imprecations, he goaded himself into 
 a fury as a newly-caged tiger might have done, dashing 
 himself against the bars, as it were, in an impotent at-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 123 
 
 tempt to escape from this galling persecution. If 
 Hourko had not been altogether unassailable, then he 
 might have extricated himself from this trap in whicli 
 he was caught, and in which he seemed doomed to suffer 
 in silence; he would have struck at him as man to man, 
 and his life would have paid for his rascally temerity, 
 but such a step was impossible. The chosen representa 
 tive of the Tsar, incased in the iron support of the realm, 
 Hourko was invulnerable, and the knout or transporta 
 tion to Siberia would have been the result of any rash 
 ness. Since this was so, the only solution to the diffi 
 culty, was the one he had arrived at long ago, and so 
 boldly spoken of to Hermann Bloch. But when it came 
 to this crucial point, he found himself too weak to act. 
 His own near relatives were dead; Sara was the one 
 being upon earth about whom he was entwined, the 
 very sight of whom made his pulses thrill, his heart leap ; 
 for whom he had toiled to increase his reputation and 
 his wealth, before whom he had taken an almost childish 
 pleasure in displaying his abilities. He could sever 
 himself from her no more easily than the monarch of 
 the forest could break from his roots. 
 
 And if he steeled himself to endure the wrench, what 
 about the effect upon her, given that her love for him 
 was dead? Once adrift, he well knew that she would 
 take no money from him; and since she did not possess 
 a penny of her own, how was she to exist? Upon the 
 charity of others; or yet, more terrible to contemplate, 
 the sale of the virtue and perfections he had prized more 
 than all his worldly possessions. And should he be the 
 one to drive her to such degradation to that or to 
 death? An heroic idea darted through his mind, and 
 as its soothing influence stole over him, he ceased his 
 impatient walk to and fro; the hands that had severed 
 the air with indignant gestures fell listlessly to his side, 
 the muscles of his forehead relaxed, the stern expression 
 of his mouth softened, and he sank into a chair. Out-
 
 124 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 side, in the square upon which the lofty windows looked, 
 a scene of peace presented itself. Three or four palaces 
 the size of his own encompassed it, while in the center 
 was a smiling garden, in which bright patches of color 
 were revealed, and surrounding these flowers, the light 
 foliage of acacias and plane-trees, silver birches and 
 sycamores, waved in a cool refreshing breeze, in which 
 the birds took delight in twittering. Overhead, soft 
 fleecy clouds floated through a sky of azure blue. His 
 eyes sought to pierce the depths between these gently- 
 drifting ridges, that presented themselves wave on wave 
 like the waters of the incoming sea. What filled those 
 deep blue distances, and what had he done to merit a 
 home up there, where the choiring angels should sing 
 the praises of their Creator? It was true that he had 
 fought, that he had been galled by persecutions and 
 restrictions, and in many a moment of his strange life, 
 in his travels and in his work, had encountered the gibes 
 to which his despised race were universally subjected. 
 But what of that? Had not the Eternal blessed his 
 efforts, crowned them with success, made him rich, in 
 spite of the malignity of his enemies, smiled in love upon 
 him always? In return for all this, could he do noth 
 ing nothing but build some synagogue or scatter some 
 alms, to give which he had to deprive himself in no 
 way, make no personal sacrifice? It had been the wish 
 of his life to do something great, to confer some lasting 
 benefit, to leave some fair imperishable record; now 
 here, close at hand, was something greater than a uni 
 versal bank or a successful steamboat venture. Should 
 circumstances favor him, the development of such 
 schemes as these would be easy; but the thought that 
 had entered his mind was the father to a gigantic task, 
 and one, moreover, for which he would receive no public 
 recognition, no reward at all, too probably. 
 
 It was this. To return what seemed to him to be 
 good for evil. His wife had sinned against him. Instead
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 125 
 
 of driving her out, acting toward her as he had intended 
 and as the bulk of men would have done, could he not 
 continue to keep her near him, influence, shelter and 
 protect her in all ways? 
 
 Given that she was guilty of all he deemed possible 
 and dreaded most, there had never been a period in her 
 existence in which she had stood in so much need of 
 guidance, consideration in a word, of friendship as 
 the one she had now reached. But was he capable of 
 such an effort, of such complete abnegation of self, such 
 almost heroic charity, and could he curb his anger, 
 which he knew to be at times both hot and sudden? 
 
 It appeared to him to be a tremendous undertaking, 
 and he doubted himself sorely, but after long delibera 
 tion he decided in favor of making the attempt. 
 
 This decision and the further desire to adhere to it, to 
 pledge himself in fact, occasioned an almost immediate 
 change in his conduct, and though he went cautiously 
 to work to begin with, so keen was Sara s power of per 
 ception where he was concerned, that she noticed the 
 alteration at once; yet with his ominous threat ex 
 pressed to Bloch ringing in her ears, she very naturally 
 thought that something had pleased him, that he was 
 in an unusually amiable frame of mind and no more. 
 
 However, since his kinder words and actions contin 
 ued, she slid into wondering, soothed and pleased, 
 doubting the evidence of her own senses, yet with flut 
 tering pulse, longing to leap into his arms, and be again 
 to him as she had once been. 
 
 In this mental condition, nearing each other imper 
 ceptibly, almost on the verge of spanning the chasm that 
 separated them, an event found them out which was to 
 work its will upon both, developing, changing, affecting 
 powerfully. 
 
 They were together in the quiet of evening time; ob 
 jects were already of an uncertain size and color, the 
 birds had talked themselves silent, and a few marvel-
 
 126 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 ously bright stars were to be seen, when with quiet tread 
 and voice, Riva entered to tell of the arrival of two 
 strangers, a lady and gentleman, who wished to speak 
 with Hernani. 
 
 "Show them in here," was his answer to the demand, 
 and in a few seconds a young man, handsome as a pic 
 ture, accompanied by a young girl who resembled him 
 in many respects, entered the apartment. 
 
 "Count Dorozynski!" exclaimed Hernani, almost im 
 mediately. 
 
 "And my sister, too," the young fellow replied, bow 
 ing; and then after a few courteous expressions, glanc 
 ing round the room suspiciously, he added, "May i 
 speak?" 
 
 "Freely. Only my wife can hear you." 
 
 "Well, then, we are fugitives, compelled to seek shel 
 ter somewhere, or otherwise I should not have presumed 
 to intrude at such a late hour. 
 
 "Don t give that a thought but fugitives 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "How? What has happened?" 
 
 "Oh! the usual thing." 
 
 "The police 
 
 "Took it into their wise heads to visit us by day 
 instead of night, and having searched the place or, as 
 I might better describe it, tumbled everything upside 
 down in spite of assurances and entreaties how should 
 I catch them, but in the act of satisfying themselves as 
 to the color and delicacy of my poor little sister s skin." 
 
 "Hush! Andrew," interposed the girl, her cheeks rosy 
 with blushes. 
 
 "No necessity, my dear child we are with friends and 
 married folk; besides, I am still savage about it, so let 
 me speak out. They were actually stripping her in the 
 garden think of that! a lot of dirty Cossacks pulling 
 my little sister about, when by good luck I, who had 
 been out shooting, arrived upon the scene. Grasping
 
 HERN AMI THE JEW. 127 
 
 the situation at a glance and who wouldn t? I clubbed 
 my gun, and after the display of more strength and 
 energy than I believed myself capable of, I succeeded 
 in rescuing her and escaping into the woods at the back 
 of the house. Since then we have been hiding and 
 maneuvering like so many thieves, and at last here we 
 are." 
 
 "Where you are cordially entreated to remain, and 
 in perfect safety, at least for a time." 
 
 "That s what I thought. Amongst my own peo 
 ple 
 
 "You would naturally be sought for, but here, in the 
 house of a Jew, no one would ever think of looking for 
 you." 
 
 "True; but I am ashamed of myself. I shall give you 
 a lot of trouble, and I hate putting people out." 
 
 "Now, my dear Count, you must dismiss such ideas 
 from your mind. My wife and myself in our joint names 
 bid you both welcome. Is not that sufficient? This 
 is a time of trouble. The greater part of this house is 
 empty, so you see you are not disturbing anyone, but 
 merely occupying space for which we had no use. You 
 can repay me by discussing at greater length those sub 
 jects upon which so far we have only written. We 
 shall be able to exchange ideas much more freely upon 
 all points. The unjust treatment you have experienced, 
 together with the brutal insult offered to your sister, 
 occasions me no surprise, simply because nothing does; 
 but it is certainly one of the worst cases I have heard of 
 for a long while past, and the effect of it should be to 
 unite us ; for since Poles and Jews are persecuted alike, 
 strength to resist the common oppressor of both, must 
 be sought in union. Out of a seeming evil much good 
 often springs. It may be my turn to be ill-used next 
 who can say? But if anything can knit us firmly to 
 gether, it should be the existence of such lawlessness 
 as prevails."
 
 128 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 Dorozynski s eyes flashed, and his well-drilled, sym 
 metrical figure, seemed to straighten and swell with pride 
 and patriotism as he thundered 
 
 "It must be so. We shall be one united body, and 
 the result will be that again the Polish eagles will flut 
 ter in the breeze. Ah! how I long to take the field, to 
 engage the scoundrels and exterminate them. And as 
 I have, perhaps, told you, I am not without knowledge 
 as well as practical experience. I have studied in Paris, 
 served in Hungary, and in the army of the kingdom of 
 Italy, so that I am fitted to play my part, and, like a 
 good many more, am only consumed with the desire to 
 begin." 
 
 Hernani gave vent to a satisfied laugh. Dorozynski 
 was so refreshingly full of life and fire. 
 
 "But we cannot be too cautious," he replied; "above 
 all things, when the time comes, we must act in con 
 cert." 
 
 "Ah! but when will it come?" inquired the young 
 fellow with a long-drawn sigh, which was full of mean 
 ing "when will it come, that s what I want to know. 
 Meanwhile one must wait, while one s sisters are in 
 sulted before one s very eyes, one s parents driven into 
 the grave. Would you believe it, at this very moment 
 I have no idea what has happened to my father. When 
 I returned in the manner I have tried to describe, my 
 first thought, naturally enough, was to save Deotima 
 here from the ruffians in whose clutches I found her. I 
 saw no sign of my father, and had I done so, doubt if I 
 could have been of use to him, my hands were too full. 
 Now what I dread, is the effect the shock may have 
 upon him. You see he is very old and feeble, and if 
 they would touch a girl, they would not hesitate to 
 handle him roughly. However, there is little use in 
 talking, and now that my sister is in a place of safety, 
 for which I shall be eternally grateful to you, I must
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 not remain idle. It won t take me long to ascertain 
 how the land lies, and I shall start at once." 
 
 "To my mind, if you would be wise, you will not go," 
 answered Hernani gravely; "after the resistance you 
 have made, the country will be scoured for you. You 
 risk almost certain detection and capture." 
 
 "Risk? I love it!" laughed Dorozynski with flashing 
 eyes. 
 
 "Yes, that s all very well; but picture yourself a pris 
 oner, locked up in the Citadel, or some more isolated 
 fortress, incapable of escaping, of helping your father, 
 your sister, or your country s cause, and simply because 
 you chanced to be a little hot-headed." 
 
 "But I have no choice." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "I love my father- and cannot leave him to the tender 
 mercies of those brutes." 
 
 "I sympathize with you entirely, but in all probability 
 the whole of their spleen will be directed against you. 
 You are the only son, the heir, the hope of your father s 
 old age. Do you think they are unaware of these facts? 
 Ten to one, they will have left him uninjured and in 
 undisputed possession of his house, his sole anxiety at 
 this moment being his ignorance of the fate of his chil 
 dren. Now take my advice; remain here, enjoy the 
 rest you stand in need of, and in half an hour I will 
 dispatch a messenger in whom I have implicit confi 
 dence. Mounted as he shall be, he will soon return 
 with all the information you require. Don t you agree 
 with me, Sara?" he added. 
 
 "I do. In my opinion the Count would be very wrong 
 to go," answered Sara, with a kindly glance at Doro 
 zynski. 
 
 "Oh! well, I give in," laughed the Count. "When 
 so advised, how can I do otherwise?" 
 
 And there the matter rested, the returning messenger 
 9
 
 130 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 proving to the hilt the soundness of Hernani s predic 
 tions. 
 
 He brought word that, considering the shock he had 
 received, the old Count was well, and since his son and 
 daughter were safe, as contented as he could hope to be 
 while thus torn from them. They were not to trouble 
 about him, but to be sure to keep him well posted as to 
 their health and movements. 
 
 In quite a short space of time the brother and sister 
 settled down in their new quarters, where they, found 
 themselves treated with such kindness that, had it re 
 quired an effort on their part, they could have done no 
 less than strain every nerve to please their protectors. 
 But no such effort was needed. The two women had 
 taken a great fancy to each other at sight, and this 
 feeling, so instantly awakened, developed with speed. 
 As for the men, Hernani found in Count Andrew a 
 patriot, and a brave one, a mixture of intelligent sa 
 gacity and headlong courage, almost boyish in some re 
 spects, hopeful always, and invigorating to a surprising 
 degree. Some people would have argued that the com 
 panionship of such a man, at such a moment, was a 
 danger to be shunned. Hernani, alive to the risk, 
 courted it as befitting the hour. 
 
 Here was one who was to play a stirring part in his 
 life, some still small voice within him insisted; well, he 
 was disposed to offer no resistance; he might be the 
 man for the moment, and together they might accom 
 plish much. To be able to influence a young officer of 
 tried valor and intelligence, might be of great advantage 
 to him in the future. Besides, the Count s condition 
 aroused his interest and sympathy, the mental sketch he 
 had rapidly drawn of him, if rough, being vigorous and 
 of this type. 
 
 His mother, dead of a broken heart, in consequence of 
 the failure of the 1830 affair: his father, half ruined 
 pecuniarily, and wholly so mentally; his sister, the ap-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 131 
 
 pie of his eye, but just insulted in a singularly brutal 
 way; he himself, a fugitive from the home of his child 
 hood, and in momentary peril of arrest, because of a nat 
 ural display of promptitude, spirit, and right feeling. 
 The galling sensation of belonging to a conquered and 
 down-trodden people had been his birthright, and to 
 resent such oppression had been the one great lesson, 
 taught him so effectually that his whole being had be 
 come impregnated with it. The Count had freely told 
 him, how in his earlier days he had dreamt of, and rev 
 elled in the doings of those from whom he had de 
 scended, and in his later ones had burned and panted 
 to eclipse their gallant deeds, to lay down his life for his 
 country, and win it back again from the cruel, gray- 
 coated, stony-hearted Muscovite. Hernani knew that, 
 with this aim in view, he had strengthened himself by 
 means of all manly exercise practicing thrift, rigid 
 economy, working early and late the result being that 
 when at the Ecole Militaire he had signally distinguished 
 himself, and when in the pay of the Austrian and Italian 
 Governments had shown such aptitude and intelligence, 
 that he had been twice decorated for his services. With 
 a few clear touches such as these, he sought to outline 
 and appreciate Count Andrew Dorozynski. In his sister, 
 Deotima, he considered that he saw a more impulsive, 
 if possible, more patriotic figure; warm-hearted, affec 
 tionate, truthful, a sister worthy of such a brother, and 
 one in whose heart an admiration, amounting almost to 
 adoration of that brother, ranked before her love of her 
 country, even before her hatred of the Moskals.* 
 
 These were the sort of people who, in Hernani s opin 
 ion, had come beneath his roof; and in so considering 
 them, he thought of them merely as types of well-bred 
 Poles. 
 
 *Russians.
 
 132 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 Meanwhile political events developed with speed, ap 
 pearing in hot succession, shaping to one great end. 
 
 People who had filled the churches, and, in spite of 
 threats from the authorities, remained there praying in 
 honor of the national hero, Kosciusko, had been arrested 
 and carried off to the fortress in large numbers. 
 
 The declaration of a state of siege had checked many 
 of the outward signs of rebellion. The hymn or prayer 
 for liberty was no longer borne upon the breeze, there 
 were no more discontented gatherings and political 
 celebrations, and apparently the Government were mas 
 ters of the situation. 
 
 Yet, though the Russian chiefs were for the most part 
 ignorant of the fact, the hidden machinery worked 
 smoothly; the engines of agitation, well fed, were grind 
 ing at top speed through the darkness of night. The 
 funds of the Moderate or White party were steadily 
 swelling; the Reds or extreme men of the party of 
 action were marshaling their forces, levying taxes, print 
 ing and spreading over the country a secret journal, 
 establishing a National Committee, which was to de 
 velop into the Central National Committee, and thence 
 into the National Government. Nothing \vas suffered 
 to stand still, the great cry of "Forward" having gone 
 up. 
 
 And in the midst of this energetic, arduous and dar 
 ing movement, glance at Hernani s great banking ma 
 chine. 
 
 Every tiny wheel worked well there, by not so much 
 as a few grains of dust was that huge money mill affect 
 ed, though the external confusion was actually terrific. 
 Business was not suffered to languish, the sinews of war 
 did not stiffen, and were kept oiled by what seemed 
 magic, and people who knew the real condition of affairs 
 hurried into the square, only to find all quiet and orderly, 
 smiling and prosperous as the faces of the intelligent 
 and hard-working clerks, the polite and methodical
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 133 
 
 cashiers and heads of departments, strong, and appar 
 ently unassailable as its calm and resolute chief Her- 
 nani. 
 
 Early and late he labored, with a perseverance equaled 
 only by his untiring strength. After the arduous busi 
 ness day, when under other circumstances he would 
 have sought complete relaxation of some kind, he dis 
 cussed fresh schemes and attended to obligations al 
 ready incurred, and of a varied nature, or with Doro- 
 zynski disguised so that the old Count himself would 
 have failed to recognize him, penetrated into a new life, 
 a new world that of underground Warsaw, where he 
 controlled, advised, received reports, issued instructions 
 and inspired, as many had grown to think, he alone 
 could inspire; for since the affair of the square, where 
 he had seen defenseless people indiscriminately slaugh 
 tered, he had ceased to hold himself aloof had, in fact, 
 become a ruling spirit. 
 
 With so much upon his hands, it followed that Sara 
 was thrown into Dorozynski s society, and piqued by 
 the chill courtesy with which Hernani treated her when 
 alone, she rather encouraged the young fellow s evident 
 admiration for her, with the dangerous object of kin 
 dling Hernani s jealousy if she could. 
 
 In the presence of a third party, his treatment of her 
 was that of a dignified but sufficiently affectionate hus 
 band, but when on several occasions she had attempted 
 to break through the reserve he affected when alone 
 with her, she had endured the mortification of having 
 her advances repelled. 
 
 "I don t know when I ve laughed so much," she told 
 him upon one occasion, having been listening to some 
 amusing stories of Parisian life which the young Count 
 had related admirably. 
 
 "You think him entertaining?" demanded Hernani 
 sharply. 
 
 "Very."
 
 134 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Charming, in fact?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "God of Israel," he roared, suddenly beside himself 
 with rage, forgetful of his good resolutions and remem 
 bering only his fancied wrongs, "such women as you 
 ought never to be married! Any foolish boy can pos 
 sess himself of all the trumpery affection you are capa 
 ble of." 
 
 Sara heard him in speechless amazement. Was he 
 mad, to talk so? Then, quickly as a woman would 
 grasp it, the real meaning of his behavior flashed upon 
 her. He was jealous. Then he loved her still. With 
 her beautiful eyes luminous with the light that shone in 
 them only for him, she extended her arms as though to 
 encircle him, to lay his head once more upon her bosom. 
 Her lips parted with an enraptured smile, and 
 
 "Kasimir, you love me you do love me!" escaped 
 her. 
 
 For one brief instant she was on the verge of regain 
 ing him, and could he for that instant have remained 
 dead to thought, her marvelous beauty must have tri 
 umphed, and they would have been sobbing deliriously 
 in each other s arms. But, alas! poor Sara; disappoint 
 ment was upon her swiftly. The very means she had 
 employed, the coquettish effort on her part to stir his 
 feelings, to say to him, "See, young and handsome men 
 spend their time with me and are at my feet," coupled 
 with the voluptuous abandon of her attitude, were to 
 him at that moment only fresh proofs of her shallow 
 unworthiness, possibly infidelity. All men were one 
 and the same to her, the heartless hussy! But he would 
 be fooled no longer. It was time he broke adrift from 
 such snares, snapped such worthless ties. To do so 
 would be a victory for him. With ill-suppressed wrath 
 he just contrived to hiss between his clenched teeth 
 
 "I_loveyou? Oh! do I? Ha! na! No: I did once. 
 but that piece of experience was enough." And turn-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 135 
 
 ing his back upon her, he left her standing watching 
 him, until the door he banged behind him hid him from 
 her sight, and she, cold and bloodless as marble, sank 
 nerveless upon the soft rug spread beside her bed. 
 
 After such words and so little deserving them, some 
 women would have begun to dislike, to become re 
 vengeful, to keep the wound his bitterness had inflicted 
 raw and gaping; but upon Sara s loving nature, ab 
 sorbed in and devoted to him once and therefore always, 
 they only acted as the whip does upon the dog, and had 
 she been a dog she would have pined for his caresses; 
 as a woman, she longed for him more, and last thing 
 fell on her knees and prayed to God to give him to her. 
 
 "The master is jealous," said Riva, who was shrewd, 
 and kept her eyes open always, where her mistress was 
 concerned; "he is jealous, so he loves you still, my 
 lamb. Is Riva right?" 
 
 "No," answered Sara, with a pain in her face. 
 
 "Then what is amiss with him?" 
 
 "I do not know." 
 
 "But I know, my love." 
 
 "There is nothing fresh." 
 
 "But there is, and it is just what I say. He is jealous 
 of Count Dorozynski, and I don t wonder. What a 
 figure and face, and mad for love of you." 
 
 "You re a fool, Riva!" screamed Sara, for once exas 
 perated beyond control, longing almost to strike the 
 woman, so much did she suffer. 
 
 With a cloud of reproach darkening her face, and 
 without one word, Riva just gazed at her reproachfully, 
 then left the room.
 
 136 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Another day had ended in quietness, and the evening 
 had come on with a gentle and refreshing breeze, in 
 which the trees in the great quadrangle, where stood 
 the Hernani palace, rustled and waved pleasantly. Over 
 head, the stars were flashing distantly, in tremulous sub 
 mission to the fuller light of a cloudless moon, in the 
 searching rays of which, the houses and pavements ap 
 peared dazzlingly white. 
 
 All at once, the silence, which had been that of a city 
 resting, was broken by the heavy and regular tramp of 
 a little knot of strong, stout, great-coated figures, who 
 entered the square and deliberately marched along one 
 side of it until Hernani s door was reached, when their 
 leader stepped forward, and with a cautious knock de 
 manded admission. Scratching his uncombed hair and 
 blinking furiously, the tired and startled dvornik* 
 crossed himself and opened to the summons. An in 
 stant s pause while a few words were whispered in the 
 man s ear, and the fortress was stormed and won. The 
 compact little body of gendarmes and men in civil dress 
 clanked up the steps, to the right and left of which 
 stretched Hernani s business premises, and, passing 
 through a massive inner door which the dvornik unhesi 
 tatingly opened for them, stood in a warmer atmos 
 phere, amongst the exotics, beneath the great dome, 
 where stood the fountain with its silvery imagery of 
 the oasis and the tottering form of the parch-stricken 
 Arab dismounting from his camel. 
 
 A slight departure from the usual proceedings was 
 
 *Porter,
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 137 
 
 now noticeable. Instead of dispersing over the house, 
 securing the screaming women and alarmed men in 
 their very bed-chambers, in obedience to an order from 
 their chief, who was accompanied by a red-bearded and 
 bulky personage, whose behavior was that of a specta 
 tor, the party halted where it stood, appearing like v a 
 body of bronze statues in the pale silver refulgence 
 which streamed through the arching glass above them. 
 
 Meanwhile the dvornik, frightened and wondering, 
 had dashed up the main staircase and communicated 
 with Hernani, who quickly arrived upon the scene, 
 calm and self-possessed, though in reality disturbed, 
 even much alarmed by the unusual occurrence. 
 
 "You have a warrant for this intrusion?" he demand 
 ed in a firm voice. 
 
 "Undoubtedly, or we should not be here." 
 
 "Have the goodness to show it to me." 
 
 "It is unnecessary. You are Kasimir Hernani?" 
 
 "I am." 
 
 "Very well; we will proceed with our work. We 
 shall make a search. You will give us every assistance." 
 
 Knowing the uselessness of remonstrance, the absurd 
 ity of threats, or a display of the indignation he felt, 
 Hernani took out some keys, and passing down the 
 marble steps into the vestibule, entered the banking por 
 tion of the establishment, followed closely by the police; 
 one man alone remaining motionless beneath the dome, 
 as if on guard, watching intently. This was the person 
 age whose conduct throughout had been that of an on 
 looker. t 
 
 Abruptly aroused from what, for a wonder, had been 
 a refreshing sleep, and agitated as any woman would be 
 under such trying conditions, Sara at once thought of 
 Dorozynski and Deotima. The search must be for 
 them. The police had discovered their hiding-place, 
 and had come to arrest them. With speed and deftness 
 she thrust her little bare feet into slippers, coiled her
 
 138 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 hair into a firmer knot, and, enveloped in a long loose 
 wrap which effectually concealed her night attire, hur 
 ried to Deotima s room, with the result, that in a couple 
 of minutes, Count Andrew and his sister were descend 
 ing into the garden, by one of those spiral iron staircases 
 not uncommon in old Polish houses. 
 
 Consoled by the reflection that she had done her best 
 for them, and that in the quaint old garden, favored by 
 the hour and the dense shadows, they would have a fair 
 chance of escape, Sara next went to reassure some of 
 the servants, who were three parts panic-stricken, and 
 then, anxious about Hernani, and feeling that her place 
 was at his side, she hastened to join him, and was in 
 the act of gliding noiselessly between a clump of feath 
 ery-leaved bamboos and the fountain, when from out 
 the shade of the plants a figure advanced and a voice 
 said in low but authoritative tones 
 
 "Madam, a word with you. Let us go in here." And 
 stepping up to the curtained door of the very room in 
 which Sara had overheard Bloch and Hernani talking, 
 the man opened it as though the place belonged to him, 
 and she followed mechanically, thrown off her guard by 
 the strangeness of the situation, the suddenness of the 
 request made by this stout, military-looking personage, 
 whose face was hidden by the large flat-topped cap he 
 wore in defiance of all courtesy, whose shaggy red beard 
 looked savage and repulsive, and, .strange to say, whose 
 voice, it flashed upon her, she had heard before. She 
 could not divest herself of this idea, and also for the 
 first time she remarked that the whole place was lighted 
 up; this room into which she had been invited being 
 illuminated like the rest. An expression of irritation stole 
 over her face. Her fears, then, were about to be real 
 ized. She would be forced to look on, while the sanctity 
 of her home was violated, her beautiful rooms dese 
 crated, her Lares and Penates denied by the hands and 
 feet of coarse strangers. This great unwieldy brute, this
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 139 
 
 clumsy Cossack in front of her, how dare he come there 
 at dead of night and march her about, addressing her 
 as though he had a right to do so! The thought ex 
 ploded in speech. 
 
 "For what reason have you invaded us in this man 
 ner?" she demanded, both voice and bosom betraying 
 the emotion she strove to control. The red-bearded 
 man smiled, calm and secure in his official superiority. 
 
 "Does your conscience not tell you that, madam?" 
 was his stern yet half amused reply. 
 
 "My conscience? No." 
 
 "It is possible that it should. However, you have 
 lived here long enough to understand the meaning of 
 this visit. The police wish to satisfy themselves that all 
 in this house are loyal and devoted subjects of my mas 
 ter, his Imperial Majesty, the Tsar." 
 
 "No cause for doubt upon the subject has been sup 
 plied to them." 
 
 "You take a grave responsibility upon yourself when 
 you say so." 
 
 "I believe in my household as in myself." 
 
 "Misplaced confidence too probably." 
 
 "I have never had cause to doubt them." 
 
 "You may have; and, madam, we, the police, think 
 differently to you, though by all the Saints I hope 
 wrongly, or we should not have disturbed your slum 
 bers. But accept my assurance that there is no desire 
 to annoy you or anyone, only to do what duty demands, 
 quietly and well." 
 
 The soothing effect of the last few conciliatory words 
 was somewhat marred by the entrance of the chief of 
 the search party, who, with an apology for the inter 
 ruption, delivered a little bundle of papers. 
 
 "These documents may prove important, sir, and 1 
 would draw your attention more especially to this one," 
 he remarked, with an air of respectful deference. Then, 
 receiving no reply that detained him, he retired.
 
 140 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "This one? Ah! let us see. Why, what have we 
 unearthed? There can be no doubt. Some statistics 
 and remarks concerning the insurrectionary movement. 
 Some value may attach to this." Then, fixing his keen 
 eyes upon Sara as though he would read her very soul, he 
 continued in an easy, chaffing voice, "You see, madam, 
 the police are not always wrong. Would you guaran 
 tee the good conduct of your whole household now? I 
 think not, I think not. Ah! the police are cunning, very 
 cunning, I assure you. Their scent is keen, and some 
 times it enables them to seek so well that they find all 
 sorts of queer things. But what is this? A signature 
 quite carelessly scribbled in the corner. Another sur 
 prise! Madam, it strikes me that this is not a case of 
 answering for your servants, but for yourself. This 
 document is signed Sara Hernani. I have reason to 
 believe are you that lady?" 
 
 "I am." 
 
 "That is unfortunate, decidedly. May I inquire 
 whether you are aware of what the discovery of this 
 means, what kind of fate will probably be yours, in con 
 sequence of having written such words and figures at 
 such a time? Your beauty will not avail you any bet 
 ter than your prayers. Your own handwriting con 
 demns you. You thought to help set a trap, and you 
 have fallen into it. It is a pity." 
 
 Sara was alarmed, greatly so, but her fears were not 
 defined. They had yet to strike her with all their be 
 numbing force. Besides, it would be foolish to give 
 way; she must be brave and make a good fight of it. 
 Pointing to the paper, she said, though with -a hand 
 that shook 
 
 "It is ridiculous; those remarks cannot harm me; 
 they are merely my own private views." 
 
 "Private opinions reduced to writing, and of sufficient 
 importance to be placed in your husband s custody are 
 dangerous. However, you know best, madam."
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 141 
 
 "But I have done nothing," she gasped, led on by this 
 cunning allusion to her judgment. 
 
 "I have told you what I think. If these opinions of 
 yours leave my hands, nothing can save you. In Russia 
 we have strange and summary methods of dealing with 
 such offenses. People guilty of them are generally 
 never heard of again, and I repeat, that should I see 
 fit, nothing can save you from the punishment I have 
 described." 
 
 White to the lips and tongue-tied,, Sara clutched a 
 chair for support and sank into it. Under the lash of 
 such brutal allusions she gripped the situation with ter 
 rible distinctness. She would be torn from her hus 
 band and her home there and then. Her body would 
 be mutilated with the awful knout. She would be dead, 
 and yet alive, a prisoner for life in Siberia. So color 
 less did she become, so like dying on the spot, as these 
 appalling thoughts leapt upon her, that her tormentor, 
 who had evidently miscalculated his strength to endure 
 the sight of her anguish, sprang to her assistance, his 
 arm upon her shoulder, his threatening tones gone. 
 
 "But listen, madam; it may not come to that there 
 should be no necessity. Those who know, can be si 
 lenced. They are my slaves. It shall be for you to de 
 cide. I can ah! I will keep up this farce no longer. 
 We shall be disturbed, and then Open your eyes 
 and look at me. Do you hear? See this beard is a 
 false one." 
 
 Sara did just hear, could just open her eyes sufficient 
 ly to see that the man bending over her was his Ex- 
 cellency the Governor-General, who, as if to leave no 
 doubt of the fact, added 
 
 T am General Hourko, and no one knows it but your 
 self and the chief of the gendarmes; so you see, on 
 your part you have a little secret to keep, which I will 
 help you to do by assuming my disguise. Come don t 
 be alarmed. I had no intention of betraying myself, but
 
 142 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 you would have fainted, and I have no wish to give you 
 pain. As I have told you all along, I take an interest 
 in you." 
 
 Hourko had stepped back to readjust the deceptive 
 tuft of red hair, as well as to survey Sara, and gloat over 
 her beauty. Having sunk back nerveless in the large 
 chair, her slippered feet were half exposed to his roving 
 gaze, ana at sight of their tempting whiteness, passion 
 gleamed in his eyes, while his large, strong-jawed face 
 reddened as the blood leapt into it. 
 
 Recovering herself with a great effort, Sara saw the 
 look and understood its meaning. 
 
 "You," she said feebly "you take an interest in me?" 
 
 "A great one, believe me. You need fear nothing 
 from this document. It will be perfectly safe in my 
 keeping; you have only to be a little more considerate 
 for me. This descent upon you was my planning. I 
 wanted to see you, to hear your voice, to feast my eyes 
 upon you. And I had pictured you just as I have found 
 you, in this charming dishabille, only you are a thou 
 sand times lovelier than my imagination had painted 
 you. See now I have explained, you have no cause 
 for alarm. You must have confidence in me, that is all. 
 There must be a perfect understanding between us. I 
 would bring pleasure into your life, not pain." 
 
 A growing sense of dread and distrust stole over Sara. 
 Her limbs trembled from the unwonted excitement. Her 
 whole body shook with nervousness. She was conscious 
 too of anger mingled with disgust. The meshes of this 
 strong man s net were closing around her. In spite of 
 her struggles she was more completely encompassed 
 than ever. And he had dared to approach her at dead 
 of night, and beneath her husband s roof had poured 
 poisonous words into her ears. The desperate situation 
 in which she found herself, suddenly acted like a tonic. 
 She was not only strong again, she was reckless. If 
 her life was at this man s mercy, if it was to take what
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 143 
 
 shape he pleased, and drag to its close in pain and suffer 
 ing, at least there need be no degradation in it, since 
 her honor would remain to the end unblemished. She 
 stood up erect. 
 
 "You would give me no pain then leave me. There 
 can be no understanding as you call it between us, 
 since no honest woman could listen to the language you 
 have used without feeling insulted. There are some 
 women who prefer death to dishonor. I am one of 
 them." 
 
 Hourko s face was swept by emotions. Was it possi 
 ble that he, the Governor of Poland, the Tsar s repre 
 sentative, should be so spoken to, snubbed, taught the 
 meaning of the word honor, and by a Jewess? His ears 
 tingled. How absurd; he was not going to accept such 
 a ridiculous situation. She was acting, going into hero 
 ics, playing the highly virtuous role, so as to increase 
 her value in his eyes. All through his life his experi 
 ence had taught him, that this exalted twaddle, ran skin- 
 deep only was, in short, mere gilding. 
 
 "You misunderstand me," he said insinuatingly. 
 
 "Unfortunately I do not." 
 
 "You are mistaken. We shall come to know each 
 other better, and then you will regret your words." 
 
 "May the God of my fathers forbid" and then, over 
 wrought, in despair: "Your Excellency forgets that for 
 the oppressed there is the grave; but as a Russian offi 
 cer you cannot forget that your presence is an infliction 
 to an unprotected Jewess." 
 
 "Cannot forget what! By all the Saints, you shall 
 have cause to regret these insults!" exclaimed Hourko, 
 placing the little bundle of papers in his pocket, and 
 half turning on his heel to go. "But, no I won t get 
 angry with you. If I left you in this way, I should only 
 blame myself five minutes after. I have a quick temper, 
 which luckily does not last long. But, as I have said, you 
 must treat me with a little more consideration. It is
 
 144 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 only reasonable. Because I admire you, and in a weak 
 moment, when you were terribly distressed, told you so, 
 boldly, bluntly, if you like, I don t see why you should 
 jump to the conclusion that I wish to wrong you. Why 
 think ill of me without a cause?" 
 
 His sudden change of front was admirable. He was 
 tender but respectful. Paying homage at the feet of 
 beauty, imploring only to be heard. And he had calcu 
 lated the effect of this alteration in his manner to a nicety. 
 Sara was partly disarmed at once. 
 
 "I think ill of no one unjustly. God forbid," she mur 
 mured in a low and quivering voice, that told how she 
 longed to find a friend and kindness, rather than an 
 enemy and strife. 
 
 "But have I ever injured you in any way? Tell me 
 that." 
 
 "No not that I know of." 
 
 "Then dismiss the idea that I am capable of such un- 
 kindness from your mind, and judge me as you have 
 found me. You will recognize the truth of what I say, 
 when I tell you that you stand in much need of friends, 
 and that events ahead will render that need constantly 
 more pressing; is it not so?" 
 
 "It is true." 
 
 "Then count on me a little. You tell me that there can 
 be no understanding between us; my reply is that for 
 your sake there must be ; otherwise, who is to keep your 
 and your husband s head above ground. Supposing that 
 I do not suppress this document, but allow the law to 
 take its course, your arrest and his would follow at once. 
 
 "His? Why?" 
 
 "He is guilty of many things. And those things are all 
 known. Everything is known. The walls listen, and 
 we know what they hear. Do you understand me? Now 
 let the commencement of this little compact between us, 
 be your silence as to my visit and my words. Mind, tell 
 no one, or it will be told to me again. Now I must go;
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 145 
 
 be easy at heart. I shall find means to communicate with 
 you when it is advisable." 
 
 "But " stammered Sara. 
 
 "Hush! It must be as I say/ he interrupted, and 
 without giving her time for more words, with a quick 
 movement he seized her hand, pressed it firmly in his 
 strong grasp, and then, like a dark shadow, left the room. 
 
 So her husband is her weak point," he muttered, as 
 without word or order he clanked down the entrance 
 steps, and, with the old dvornik bowing low from fear of 
 him, emerged into the night air; "the fortress must be 
 stormed from that side. I thought so, I had my sus 
 picions, but I had to be cautious in alluding to him ; now 
 I know, and it is always good to know. This intrigue 
 grows in excitement and interest, and without excite 
 ment of this sort I should die. How lovely she is, and 
 what a fright she was in! Perhaps I was an ass to let 
 her know who she was dealing with perhaps I have 
 been stupid but no matter. If I thought she was genu 
 ine now virtuous ah! if And with a yawn, ex 
 pressive of the gravest doubt on that score, Hourko 
 hailed a droshky and, jumping into it, rattled away in the 
 direction of the palace. 
 
 Within an hour after he had gone the Hernani man 
 sion became as dark as the grave. The police had disap 
 peared as they had come, like specters. White and shiv 
 ering, Sara had returned to bed, and the whole house 
 hold had followed her example and that of Count Do- 
 rozynski and his sister, who had gladly exchanged their 
 temporary imprisonment in the garden, for the comfort 
 of their own rooms, where curled up in warmth, the 
 Count fell asleep, firmly impressed with the belief that 
 Sara was as cool and plucky as she was beautiful, and 
 that to her courage and tact, he and Deotima were in 
 debted for their continued liberty. 
 
 With one swift searching glance, the effect of General 
 Hourko s strange visit can be grasped. 
 11
 
 146 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 Sara herself felt prostrated, and with racked brain and 
 wide open eyes lay staring into the blackness of the com 
 ing day. She had been in no way prepared for this last 
 blow, and it seemed one calculated to stun the strongest. 
 How could she summon courage to fight against such 
 odds, and what was to be her end? were the questions 
 she put to herself. Was she indeed doomed to be torn 
 from her husband, to become the plaything of a human 
 tiger, notwithstanding her efforts, her prayers? And 
 then, was she to be lost in the mists of the Siberian night, 
 to be thrust into that hideous country from which so few 
 ever returned? How often had women of her persuasion 
 met with such deaths. All the saddest and most terrible 
 stories of cases told her by those whose word she could 
 trust, recurred to her. The closed cells of her mind 
 opened for the escape of harrowing details, until that mo 
 ment forgotten for years. A sensation of helplessness 
 and loneliness indescribable stole over her. She was like 
 a hunted animal with the hot breath of her pursuers upon 
 her, strength and heart failing, and no aid at hand. Sunk 
 in this despair for hours, gradually she rallied, and as her 
 mind cleared, the natural buoyancy of her nature as 
 serted itself. With all the ills she had reckoned against 
 her, what could she count on her side? There was com 
 parative youth, health, and beauty, and in addition, cour 
 age; for forced into this critical situation, into this cor 
 ner from which there seemed no escape, she began to feel 
 the existence of this superb quality. Timidity would not 
 serve her; the time had come, or was close upon her, 
 when unaided she must either swim upon the turbulent 
 waters surrounding her, or sink in weakness, perhaps 
 misery. And after all, nothing that the future hid, could 
 crush her as the sound of Hernani s voice had done, 
 when he had thundered, "Any day I may have to divorce 
 my wife." Those words still stood out with cutting clear 
 ness. Once again, for an instant, it occurred to her to 
 go to him, to tell him the whole history of her dealings
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 147 
 
 with Hourko, and seek his protection and advice; but 
 her pride, hardening with the recollections of the things 
 he had said and done, forbade the step. Had he not told 
 her that he no longer loved her? What more did she 
 want? She would say nothing. 
 
 If he did not know what had become of the paper she 
 had covered with figures, and her own ideas, and had 
 playfully laid before him, hoping to say to him by the 
 simple act, "See I am interested in whatever interests 
 you," so much the better. She would cause him less 
 anxiety. More fortunate still, he might never miss it, 
 might have forgotten all about it, or believe he had de 
 stroyed it. 
 
 So when the two met in the light of day neither could 
 read the face of the other, for Hernani did know, and 
 was acting as cleverly as she was, though trembling for 
 her the while. Signs of anxiety were soon apparent in 
 the others. Dorozynski, naturally capable of grappling 
 with difficulties, was silent and preoccupied, as though a 
 problem had presented itself for solution; something he 
 did not quite like to talk of, did not know how to talk of. 
 Deotima, usually as blithe as the birds she had learned 
 to love, in the woods and pastures round the old chateau 
 where she had been born, evidently had some weight 
 upon her mind. The coils of her fair hair were less care 
 fully confined, and her cheeks were paler, while her large 
 blue eyes were heavy from sleeplessness. As tall as her 
 brother Count Andrew being a small man when com 
 pared with Hernani the young people presented a 
 marked contrast side by side on the staircase, where they 
 stood talking; she so fair, with snowy neck and hands, 
 and with eyes like the sky after an April shower he, lean, 
 compact and soldier-like, with aquiline nose, and close- 
 cropped, curly black hair. 
 
 "What shall we do, Andrew?" she asked for the third 
 or fourth time. 
 
 "Oh! I ll think it over. Don t you worry, little one."
 
 148 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "How can I help it?" 
 
 "But try." 
 
 "It s impossible. We must go from here." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "We must." 
 
 "But why?" 
 
 "Because it would be unsafe to remain." 
 
 "I m not so sure of that." 
 
 "Andrew!" 
 
 "How can we move? Besides, probably, they dare not 
 arrest us the biutes!" 
 
 "Dare not? Why?" 
 
 "Because we are Dorozynskis. That should be suffi 
 cient." 
 
 "Just why they should seize us." 
 
 "Well, don t distress yourself leave it to me." 
 
 And then came a meal, during which the conversation 
 was disjointed, each one having more than enough to 
 think of, Hernani furtively devouring Sara, as though he 
 were looking his last upon her, before the entrance of 
 the police who were to tear her from him this woman 
 upon whom he doted, every particle of whose flesh was a 
 thousand times dearer to him than his own, for whom 
 he had lived and striven, and if he might judge by the 
 anguish he endured, and had endured for her whose 
 death would occasion his own this woman was to be 
 torn from him at any moment, wealth and personal stand 
 ing availing him nothing. Dirty-fisted, half-washed fel 
 lows, whose very breath was pollution, would lay hands 
 upon her, revelling in the chance afforded them of hand 
 ling and insulting so perfect a specimen of womanhood. 
 His inability to prevent it would equal that of an infant. 
 In some filthy prison she would remain unfed and un 
 washed; she would become emaciated and her hair \vould 
 grow gray and fall off. In an agony of spirit, he started 
 from the table, abruptly excusing himself for his depart 
 ure. Then, after a time, when a moment served, with
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 149 
 
 quivering lips and a tongue dry as though fire-scorched, 
 he unburdened himself to Dorozynski told him every 
 thing; how that this document was as damning as words 
 could make it, under an unkind eye, adding his fears and 
 reasons for dreading the worst. 
 
 "And now, what am I to do?" he finally demanded. 
 
 "Are you sure that she knows nothing and suspects 
 nothing?" inquired the Count. 
 
 "Certain. How should she? 
 
 "Then, my friend, cost what it may, you must keep 
 silence, and should she ask about this precious paper, 
 which, were I hard-hearted I might blame you for not 
 having destroyed, be ready with the best lie and the 
 smoothest face you can summon. Poor thing, she would 
 be half dead with fright if she knew what we do. Keep 
 her in ignorance that is the only plan." 
 
 "But they may return to arrest her at any moment." 
 
 "Good heavens! I forgot that and you too." 
 
 "Of course. For me it is all right; I can suffer. Ah! 
 I am well used to it." 
 
 "But you forget our country is in bondage for lack 
 of men with heads and hearts like yours. You are a 
 power. Don t let us think, much less speak of such mis 
 fortunes, such horrors. One thing is certain flight is 
 useless. Even with your experience it would fail, and 
 by the simple attempt, guilt would be admitted. But, a 
 word for one instant, if you will forgive me for talking 
 about myself, which but for my sister I would not do. 
 What should be my course? Shall I leave here?" 
 
 "On no account." 
 
 "I could hide in a score of dens, where I should be 
 safe." 
 
 "And take your sister?" 
 
 "Ah! that s the difficulty. I don t want to drag her 
 into roughing it, though she would glory in it. Perhaps 
 Zamoyski would help me." 
 
 "Count Zamoyski can help no one will not be able
 
 150 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 even to help himself if Wielopolski has his way. Is it 
 not clear to you? The Marquis " 
 
 "Whom no man loves." 
 
 "Yet who means well, I firmly believe, will stomach no 
 rivals. In his opinion, any more fingers in his pie will 
 spoil it; so with him it is take them out or they will be 
 burnt. Besides, Zamoyski is too anxious to stand well 
 with the government, to be tempted into helping a noble 
 man such as yourself, who, in the cold eyes of that gov 
 ernment, is under a cloud forgive me for the expres 
 sion. No be advised. Remain where you are. You 
 are welcome, you are wanted, and I firmly believe you 
 are safe, or I would be the last to say Stay. This police 
 visit was not on your account, rest assured. Ah! our 
 talk has soothed me, set my brain working and nerved 
 me, so that I feel even with all these troubles weighing 
 me down strong as a lion. They have yet to discover 
 what it means to press and fight with a man like me. 
 Listen; we must arrange so that, should this house be 
 forcibly entered, we can escape through the garden and 
 the door in the wall I have shown you, into our good 
 friend Nikolay Brauman s premises, and thence else 
 where." 
 
 "But you may have spies amongst your servants." 
 
 "I don t think it." 
 
 "Or if that is not so, some of your employes will be in 
 touch with these accursed police. Would I had the 
 whole body of them by the throat." 
 
 "Again, I don t think it. I have selected them all with 
 the greatest care, and have treated them, without excep 
 tion, generously enough to attach them to me." 
 
 ""In that case, there may be ten spies where one might 
 have been looked for. Such is human nature." 
 
 "I disagree with you. If you would be trusted, you 
 must trust. I selected these people because I knew they 
 hated the existing state of things, and I ve trusted them 
 because I have in part proved them to be worthy of my
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 15 1 
 
 confidence. No; I refuse to rake up doubts of this kind. 
 We are not responsible for what we cannot help, and 
 therefore should not consider." 
 
 "True." 
 
 "As a rule you are so confident, so cheerful." 
 
 "And so I am now, only our uninvited visitors have 
 made me feel that caution of the closest kind must be 
 exercised." 
 
 Hernani tugged at his long moustache unconsciously. 
 Then, rising from his chair with an expressive gesture of 
 approval, he exclaimed 
 
 "Ah! now you have it. That is the lesson we must lay 
 to heart. Caution. In addition, we want time and if 
 we get it we need not despair ; we shall accomplish great 
 things. My fear from the first has been that you were 
 too impulsive." 
 
 Dorozynski smiled. 
 
 "And this has struck you, because occasionally, it is 
 the greatest relief to me to give free vent to my feelings. 
 I have got into a habit of talking to you as I talk to no 
 one else." 
 
 "Keep to it; you shall never regret it. But in the 
 midst of misfortunes here is some good news for you. T 
 learn that we are doing wonders by means of our secret 
 press. The country will soon be as one man, united, 
 irresistible. Subscriptions for large- amounts are pour 
 ing in, enlistments are frequent, and by means of wide 
 spread connections, arms, in fair quantities, are traveling 
 towards us, slowly but surely. The day is not far dis 
 tant when, if it seems well, we shall be strong enough to 
 rise en masse, and then for a rush upon the Citadel. We 
 shall overpower the troops, and Warsaw will be ours." 
 
 "I shall be in the front; you will see me in the front," 
 shouted the Count, unable to restrain his enthusiasm. 
 
 "You are right, and in the front we shall both be, with 
 a sea of good men behind us. The thought makes me 
 ten years younger. But now we must do, not talk. Ah!
 
 152 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 if I could only know what steps the police will take. 
 What a fool I was not to have destroyed that in fact, 
 all the papers. Strange how it could escape me." And 
 Hernani heaved a sigh that shook his large shoulders. 
 
 Before many days were out, since no demand for ad 
 mittance rang through the house, no visit in force at 
 dead of night was made, Hernani found himself grow 
 ing interested in watching Sara closely. She seemed to 
 him unlike the same woman. Instead of the anxious 
 dependency upon others, the looking out for love, for 
 sympathy and attention, which he had thought to be a 
 part of her nature, and had admired, though latterly had 
 much ignored, she behaved as though she had suddenly 
 learned a lesson of self-reliance not to be forgotten. But 
 by whom or what was she inspired? Restless and rapid 
 in speech and movement, she was simply a masculine 
 edition of Sara, wound up to go at speed. Not an in 
 stant of her day was spent with her old tranquillity. She 
 was wearing herself out, in a high state of fever, and 
 what was the cause? Did she know of the action of the 
 police, and in consequence of the position she was placed 
 in, or more properly, they were placed in? But that 
 idea was no sooner thought of than dismissed. She 
 could not know; it was impossible. Much more likely, 
 he reasoned, that with the keen perceptive faculty of her 
 sex, she scented the nearer approach of the threatening 
 crisis. That was it. The conversations between Do- 
 rozynski and himself were sufficient; she had overheard 
 them and was agitated. For the future he must be more 
 careful, for though she had treated him ill, had secrets, 
 was even false to him as he feared, he had no wish to 
 alarm and harass her by constant allusions for which her 
 temperament was unsuited. And all the while Sara was 
 flitting about him, regarding him with the eyes of love, 
 longing to cast all pride to the four winds, praying God 
 that they might be reconciled if only for a day, and re-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 153 
 
 garding with terror the future, in which it seemed to her 
 their separation was decided. 
 
 Since she had had time to think, her fears were for 
 him, rather than for herself. Over and over again, with 
 sickening persistency and acknowledged weakness, she 
 had recalled Hourko s threatening remarks concerning 
 him. "He is guilty of many things," rang in her ears. 
 And she had gone to him as soon as she dare trust her 
 self to speak, and upon the basis of this domiciliary visit, 
 had implored him to use all the caution possible. 
 
 "Already you are suspected," she had said. 
 
 "May be," he had answered gloomily. 
 
 "Your shadow upon the wall is watched." 
 
 "Possibly: I am not afraid." 
 
 "For that very reason you will be caught; foolhardi- 
 ness will be your ruin." 
 
 "I don t want my womenkind to predict my ruin." 
 
 "Your womenkind? You mean me, I suppose?" 
 
 "Whom else should I mean?" 
 
 "But it is because they it is because I care. Oh! 
 Kasimir. in thinking of these things you little know how 
 I suffer." 
 
 And then the big, strong, prosperous man. shook for 
 a moment. His name upon her lips as of old, and her 
 soft voice imploring him to be cautious for her sake. 
 God if she did but care! But then, that beast, Hourko 
 ah! she wanted to deceive him. It was another of her 
 tricks. All the same, she was in jeopardy she whom he 
 loved she might be wrenched from him and yet per 
 haps she was really safe enough. Hourko would see to 
 that. He had scarcely thought of it that way. Ah! hate 
 ful thought : rather than owe her liberty to Hourko, bet 
 ter that she were dead and yet dead it was difficult 
 his heart was so overcharged, his brain so strained, 
 that without trusting himself to look at her, and in a 
 husky voice, he could only just reply
 
 154 HERN AMI THE JEW. 
 
 "The Most High blessed be He! has us in His keep 
 ing. We are safe now and always." 
 
 And he turned away, her eyes following him wistfully, 
 her heart bounding to be at his side, her lips tremulous 
 with the words, "If he would but be kind to me if he 
 would but be kind to me!" 
 
 Riva knew what was going on. If she did not actually 
 see or hear, she imagined so accurately, from her long 
 knowledge of those whom she served, that her mistakes 
 were few. Near her mistress always when circumstances 
 permitted, she had been the only one in the whole house 
 hold who had heard her talking, while Hernani had led 
 the way, and been occupied in his counting-house. What 
 had been said, she knew not, but. lurking about in fear 
 and trembling, she had seen Hourko s bulky form filling 
 the half-open doorway, then disappearing with obse 
 quious attention from the dvornik; and as friend rather 
 than servant she had gone to Sara. Could she be of use? 
 Was there anything she could get? Sara looked pale, 
 faint and no wonder. But seemingly with a great ef 
 fort, coupled with a brusqueness altogether unusual in 
 her treatment of Riva, or indeed of anyone, Sara had 
 denied that she was ailing or in need of anything. 
 
 "Get to your bed, Riva," she had insisted. " It is the 
 best thing you can do." And Riva, annoyed as a child 
 might be, had gone, but with her quick wits at work, 
 wondering vaguely. Since then, no confidences on 
 Sara s part, scarcely an allusion to that night of nights 
 none as to whom she had spoken with, spy, gendarme or 
 what not and matters in Riva s mind were working 
 furiously. For in addition came that change marked by 
 Hernani by Dorozynski, for that matter, though to him 
 it was pleasurable in a sense. Forced gayety, unflagging 
 energy, amounting to tirelessness, might deceive Doro 
 zynski, whose knowledge of Sara was superficial, but 
 the servant, the nurse, the friend, who with many fail 
 ings was faithful according to her understanding, could
 
 HEKNANI THE JEW. 155 
 
 not be so mistaken. Sara was in a more dangerous mood 
 than she had witnessed, over all the long years bridging 
 childhood and womanhood. But cunning as Riva was, 
 she occasionally shot wide of the mark; and after casu 
 ally recalling the deep male voice mingling with her mis 
 tress s silvery one, she set the matter aside, considering 
 the man as a police functionary in pursuance of his du 
 ties. Sara was unhappy she was sure of it miserably 
 so. More than that, her relations with Hernani were 
 still the cause. How stupid it was! Why could not they 
 have children to link them together like all other rational 
 folk? A child -only one would settle the matter. Riva 
 was also as sure of that as that hens lay eggs ; so she set 
 to casting about, keeping her eyes open wider than ever, 
 her ears distended under her lank black hair, so that 
 nothing escaped them. 
 
 "Time sends it to sleep," Sara remarked to Deotima 
 one day, speaking of sorrow, and having for the moment 
 hammered her mind into thinking so, though her heart 
 bled as she spoke. 
 
 "True enough ; but time sends everything mundane to 
 sleep, and the unfortunate part of it is that we may sleep 
 our last sleep, before the soothing specific benumbs or 
 affects our minds as we would wish/ replied the girl, 
 whose soft fingers were at work upon some rough warm 
 shirts for those who were to take the field, and as she be 
 lieved enthusiastically, restore her country s greatness. 
 
 "Time has played tricks with our poor old father, so 
 far," put in the Count; "with snowy hair he is now en 
 countering his greatest grief, since the mother died." 
 
 "Which is the enforced absence of both of you, I sup 
 pose?" 
 
 "Yes; Andrew means that." 
 
 "Of course I do. It makes me savage to think of him 
 alone in that great house." 
 
 "I can understand and sympathize with you. But of
 
 156 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 late you have had good news of him, haven t you?" Sara 
 inquired, looking up into the young fellow s face. 
 
 "Yes; the best that could be expected. Too good to 
 be true, I fancy sometimes." 
 
 "But papa would never deceive us," the girl insisted. 
 "Ah! I wish you could see him. No one could be hand 
 somer. He is taller than Andrew as tall as your hus 
 band, in fact, and straight as an arrow, with perfect fea 
 tures, snowy hair, and eyes like like 
 
 "Yours," laughed the Count. 
 
 "Oh, mine are not half so blue. He is a dear. I only 
 wish I could kiss him." 
 
 "Do you remember how you used to tease him by kiss 
 ing him on the neck, eh, you rogue? You are no light 
 weight, and once on his knee, he could only laugh, 
 though you tickled him frantically." 
 
 "But he liked it." 
 
 "Did he? I m not so sure." 
 
 "Then, for saying such horrid things, you shall re 
 ceive the same punishment." And, flinging her work 
 aside, she gave chase to her brother with the abandon 
 of a child of ten. "How foolish we are," she panted, after 
 a minute or two, the Count laughing at her futile efforts 
 from the other side of the table. "Oh! I am out of 
 breath." 
 
 "Yes, you must take care, sis. Why you are quite red 
 in the face. Really, you are too big for such frivolity." 
 
 "Don t be rude, sir." 
 
 "Do you remember when you fell into the pea-field 
 fish-pond, and I pulled you out with all your pretty 
 white clothes covered with duck-weed?" 
 
 Deotima blushed deliciously. 
 
 "Isn t he a tease?" she said, appealing to Sara, who 
 was amused in spite of herself. 
 
 "Would you believe it," pursued the Count, brimful 
 of mischief, "when I roared with laughter at the figure 
 she cut, with mud, weed, and feathers sticking all over
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 157 
 
 her, she drew herself up like a Duchess, and just shouted, 
 Don t be rude, sir! That was all I got for saving her 
 life." 
 
 "Really, Andrew, you are too absurd. Saving my life! 
 Why the pool was only about three feet deep." 
 
 "That s all you know. Three of water and three of 
 mud would be more like the thing." 
 
 "Besides, ladies don t shout." 
 
 "Don t they, by Jupiter. If you didn t shout, you 
 screamed. I thought you were being murdered." 
 
 "Ok! you are simply incorrigible. Come and hold 
 this flannel and behave yourself, if you can." 
 
 "I m not quite sure that I want to; but shall I try? 
 Very well. Those ah! yes, those were jolly times," he 
 added, subsiding into a chair, with a cigarette between 
 his brown fingers, and a dreamy far-away look in his 
 dark eyes. 
 
 "Jolly because they are past?" suggested Sara. 
 
 "Well, I m not quite clear about that. W r e were young 
 and thoughtless, I suppose." 
 
 "But don t you think we live too much for yesterday 
 and to-morrow,, and too little for to-day?" 
 
 "There s something in that," replied the Count, open 
 ing his eyes wider and becoming attentive, as he in 
 variably was when Sara spoke. 
 
 "We are not philosophical when we do so, are we?" 
 
 "Perhaps not. I scarcely think so." 
 
 "We don t do justice to to-day. What work we have 
 on hand is less thoroughly done, and our pleasures are 
 less keenly entered into. We weaken our efforts by 
 thinking of the wrong things at the wrong time." 
 
 "But then we are not mere machines," observed Deo- 
 tima. 
 
 "That s exactly what w r e are, little stupid," answered 
 the Count. 
 
 "We cannot control our thoughts," insisted the girl. 
 
 "Perhaps not wholly, but to some extent, and we can
 
 158 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 guide them; at least I have brought myself to think so," 
 said Sara deliberately. 
 
 "Oh! I agree with you; but though a weakness, in a 
 vague sense, this groping in the past," the Count ob 
 served thoughtlessly, "you probably like to hark back to 
 your own childhood to live in it again mentally. Then 
 you hadn t to think for yourself. There was nothing to 
 trouble you, and you breathed and dreamed through 
 every hour, half unconsciously perhaps, but yet delight 
 edly, feeling it to be so very good. Was it not so?" 
 
 The allusion w r as too much for Sara. A film hid her 
 sewing. She could scarcely see, and to hide her feelings 
 got up and rummaged in the deep well of an inlaid work- 
 table. Her childhood! Rough words, friendlessness, 
 and her playing-ground the damp or sun-scorched pave 
 ments, or places where mud and filth lay thick; her 
 greatest delight a flower that struggled in a pot. Later, 
 the anxious, anaemic, storm-worn face of her hollow- 
 chested father, playing his own part, and that of the 
 faithful wife and mother, who had fallen asleep in a city 
 whither the Russian Government would permit no re 
 turn, having driven them from her grave with whips. 
 Later again, the torn and shabby books the worn-out 
 father could get by hook or crook, seeing his daughter 
 cared for such things, and longing to teach her all he 
 could, before he too was hustled gravewards. She could 
 see it all, plainly as ever. But what a heart! How brave 
 he had been, bidding her hope always with the tears 
 in his eyes and the phlegm in his throat. With blue, 
 bloodless lips, choking through asthma at night, and 
 weak and faint in the day, yet gentle as a woman his 
 first lesson, his last one teaching her to be honest and 
 virtuous. Her childhood! She had never been a child. 
 
 Sufficiently mistress of herself, the apparent thing she 
 sought for found, she turned from the work-table. What 
 a contrast to her thoughts this room with its luxury, 
 these two young people of noble birth, her guests, her-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 1 59 
 
 self beloved, or rather coveted passionately by the great 
 man of the country the Governor-General; she, the 
 wife of the richest banker in all Warsaw; in addition, 
 threatened with divorce because barren; finally, in the 
 power of the police if it pleased her admirer and perse 
 cutor. 
 
 With her mind harping upon these things, knowing 
 them all, was it not wonderful that it kept its balance, 
 and was it not still more wonderful that she should feel 
 strong? Like the great Catherine, self-made Empress of 
 all the Russias, of whom she had read, did she indeed 
 strengthen when sore beset. 
 
 Turning to Count Dorozynski, she said sweetly 
 
 "No, I think I was not clever then in my childhood. 
 I cried too much. I might have saved my eyes. It was 
 foolish. But then we are all foolish always. As chil 
 dren, only in the lesser degree. My prayer still is that 
 I may be given faith and wisdom. It is terrible to have 
 only such a little life, and to find all the time, on looking 
 back, that it has been lived so stupidly." 
 
 "Oh! but you take things too seriously," exclaimed 
 Deotima. 
 
 "Do I? Perhaps, if one were a little wiser, one would 
 be enabled to live so that to scrutinize the past would 
 give one fewer shocks. But let us talk of something 
 more cheerful." 
 
 "There, that s your fault, Andrew, you stupid old 
 thing! Why do you stir up unpleasant recollections?" 
 remarked the girl. 
 
 But the Count, like a man, did not take the broad hint, 
 though quick enough to detect the ring of sadness in 
 Sara s voice, and fascinated by it, as he had been before. 
 
 What possible trouble could she have, other than the 
 common one of oppression? he asked himself. She had 
 married for love, and had got riches as well. She was 
 clever, healthy, and beautiful. What more could she 
 want? She was to be envied. More than that, he had
 
 160 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 got so far as to think that there would be no hardship 
 in having to fill the shoes of the man who possessed her. 
 It was scarcely possible to be with her constantly and 
 to look at her for long without these thoughts arising. 
 He would have wagered that ninety-nine men out of 
 every hundred would have echoed his sentiments. With 
 out heeding Deotima s thrust at him, he observed to 
 Sara 
 
 "So you dislike to review the past? Surely, consider 
 ing all things, you have been fortunate, just as you seem 
 to be now?" 
 
 "Appearances are sometimes deceptive," replied Sara, 
 unconsciously using the very words which Hernani had 
 addressed to Bloch, before telling him of the strained 
 condition of his home ties. 
 
 "It strikes me that we are either very frivolous or 
 ridiculously solemn," interposed the young girl, bent on 
 supporting Sara and stopping her brother s mouth. 
 
 Quick to avail herself of the alliance, Sara replied 
 
 "Yes; and if we would do great things, we must not 
 be guilty of little ones. What precious moments we have 
 been wasting." And she set to work with renewed ar 
 dor. 
 
 As for the Count, he contented himself with gazing 
 admiringly at this young wife, who, with nimble fingers, 
 was embroidering the white eagle in silk, upon a material 
 of the same substance. Where would it float, and under 
 what conditions? Mentally he drew a picture of the 
 thick woods which were a feature of the country. Amidst 
 the tall stems of the pines, but thinly mingled with de 
 ciduous trees, the Russian infantry were retiring in con 
 fusion, amounting almost to a rout. The vivid flashes, 
 the rattling detonations, and the puffs of blue smoke, in 
 dicating where they faced about, paused and fired, then 
 scurried off again in full retreat. The triumphant shouts 
 of his countrymen rang plainly in his ears. Victory was 
 with the white eagle. Bullet-riddled and smoke-be-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. l6l 
 
 grimed it would flutter proudly in the wind. That would 
 be the termination of the contest; the Moskals would 
 be thrashed all along the line. It was a foregone con 
 clusion. So real did it seem to him, and so strongly were 
 his sympathies enlisted in support of the imaginary idea, 
 that he found his pulses beating wildly, his breath com 
 ing short and thick, as though, already in the forefront of 
 the battle, he inspired and piloted his men. Mastering 
 his emotion, he approached Sara, and gathering some 
 folds of the banner in his hand, remarked 
 
 "Yes, you are right to be busy; and I have a fancy 
 that in every Polish home it will be the same. I should 
 condemn myself as a worthless fellow for standing and 
 watching you, but that for the moment my share is done. 
 To-night again I shall be full of work. Ah! I tell you, it 
 is interesting. Nikolay Brauman has at last lent us his 
 cellars. They are huge, and amidst the flickering of both 
 gas and torchlight, the drilling and instructing of squads 
 of fine fellows goes on. I wish I could paint. What a 
 subject! Imagine whitewashed walls, supporting low 
 cracked ceilings, on all sides, plenty of evidence of the 
 presence of wine, in cask and bottle. Then, some dozen 
 pairs of broad shoulders, supporting the anxious, deter 
 mined faces of men, who feel themselves on the eve of 
 delivering their country from the hand of the spoiler. 
 But that is the serious side of the picture. Overhead 
 there is something amusing to be seen. There, with su 
 perb indifference, the police are tramping about with the 
 regularity of machines. We can almost hear them. 
 It is a splendid joke." 
 
 Both women paused in their self-imposed tasks. The 
 Count had a way of riveting attention when he spoke. 
 His voice was a musical one, and when he became really 
 interested in his subject, the charm of his manner was 
 not only apparent, but irresistible. The expression on 
 the attentive faces of both his listeners was one of un 
 disguised alarm. They were aware, to some extent, that 
 11
 
 1 62 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 such things were happening, but to be told outright was 
 painful to a degree. 
 
 "What if you were caught, Andrew?" exclaimed Deo- 
 tima. 
 
 The Count shrugged his shoulders significantly. 
 
 "Well, it would be rather a bad business, sis." 
 
 "You would be shot." 
 
 "Lucky at that." 
 
 "Oh! think of papa. If anything happened to you, it 
 would kill him." 
 
 Sara had listened in silence, quaking and white to the 
 lips, in the presence of this forcible reminder of the im 
 minent perils which beset Hernani. For herself, per 
 haps, there were some loopholes. If driven to desperate 
 straits she would have to rely upon her wits, and stand 
 or fall upon her manner of handling Hourko, but if 
 caught red-handed, as it appeared he might easily be, 
 how could she hope to save him? 
 
 The Count had watched Sara change color, and regret 
 ting the thoughtlessness of his remarks, he hastened to 
 reassure her. 
 
 "The risk we run is really very slight. It would take a 
 big body of police to do us any harm ; besides, we are on 
 our guard and are much too artful to be caught. You 
 may make your mind easy, sis we shall have good news 
 to send home, not bad." 
 
 Hernani entering the room with Hermann Bloch, the 
 Count fancied that something had pleased him, and said 
 as much. 
 
 "What is it, man?" he inquired, drawing him aside. 
 "Come let me into the secret." 
 
 "Only that Bloch here has brought news of the safe 
 arrival of a quantity of arms and ammunition, long since 
 considered lost." And the two men began talking con 
 fidentially, while the little fat notary, clad in his shiny 
 frock coat, perspired and fidgeted in his efforts to be civil 
 to the two women, with whom it appeared he made poor
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 163 
 
 headway. Sara had grown to dislike the sight of his 
 white bristly hair, and keen little pig s eyes half buried in 
 rolls of red fat, and wondered how his wife, who was 
 rather pretty, could have been induced to marry such a 
 man. It had become almost unbearable to her to have 
 him about the house, ever since Hernani had made the 
 mistake of talking to him about her. Sheer nervousness 
 induced her to credit him with knowing a great deal 
 more than he did; little gossip that he was, frequenting 
 the cafes on his own admission, and always to be seen at 
 street corners, talking with odd-looking acquaintances. 
 In her distrust of him, she decided that the very atmos 
 phere of sharp dealing clung to his clothes, while his 
 manner was like that of a detective. When bad fortune 
 befell her, it would come from such a quarter, and here 
 he was haunting the place. 
 
 Quite unconscious of the sentiments he unluckily cre 
 ated, after a few minutes spent in struggling against the 
 tide of disapproval, Bloch respectfully took his leave, 
 and Sara, breathing more freely, was at liberty to direct 
 furtive glances at Hernani s face, and read there all that 
 it betrayed to her. Some time had elapsed since she had 
 had a good look at him, and it at once struck her that 
 he was thinner, besides being more excitable and rest 
 less in manner, as one working at high pressure. Other 
 wise, his finely-moulded features, set off by the bronzed, 
 healthy complexion she had at first admired, were just 
 the same, showing no signs of the attacks time was mak 
 ing upon him. The poise of his head and the spread of 
 his shoulders were unaltered; he was as erect and state 
 ly as on the day when he had entered the house where 
 he had found her in Cracow. No gray hairs seamed the 
 long curling moustache, and his splendid brown eyes 
 not the least opaque, as common, and to be distrusted 
 were as clear, fearless, and full of expression, as when 
 they at first made her pulses dance in the old time long 
 past. Watching him, thinking of the load of responsibil-
 
 1 64 HERN AN I THE JEW. 
 
 ity those broad shoulders carried, of the many anxious 
 and intricate thoughts passing beneath the smooth skin 
 of that spacious forehead, she felt thankful beyond the 
 power of her tongue to tell, that she had borne the weight 
 of her troubles, and not gone crying to him in the first 
 flush of her fears for her own safety. Had she ever dis 
 covered that Riva was right, and that his head was full 
 of another woman, her attitude would no doubt have 
 been that of the enraged tigress, rather than of the pa 
 tient, burden-bearing ship of the desert. As it was, she 
 was charitable and gentle, and every petty detail of her 
 home life was dwelt upon and attended to, with scrupu 
 lous care and unspeakable affection. Soon it would no 
 longer be her lot to have these duties to perform, for if 
 the projected revolt became a Russian defeat, her dis 
 missal would come the quicker; that would be certain, 
 for Hernani, with time on his hands, would again be 
 Hernani, full of the failure she had been to him. Yes, 
 she was aware of it he would sweep her aside, as the 
 wind hurls the autumn leaves. The Russians triumphant 
 as she could never help fearing they would be meant 
 that they would be fugitives upon the face of the earth 
 their vast wealth confiscated a price upon their heads 
 or worse Hernani in a fortress, en route for Siberia 
 or Kamtchatka, she in the power and at the mercy of his 
 Excellency the Governor. 
 
 So daily and hourly she seemed to take leave of her 
 luxurious home, every corner of which was so indescrib 
 ably dear to her. To look at a picture, or with careful 
 fingers to dust a piece of china, was to examine and touch 
 a dumb friend, for her woman s heart was full of affec 
 tion for these trifles, which to a masculine mind under 
 similar conditions would scarcely have appealed. Thus, 
 the magnitude of the issues at stake, did not prevent her 
 from considering the minutiae surrounding her, though 
 she found plenty of time to think of the weightier mat 
 ters, with a lucidity and grasp which left little to carp at.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 165 
 
 The Governor s silence and inaction, so far as she was 
 concerned, was a mystery to her. What was he doing? 
 What was he thinking of? cooped up with that subtle- 
 looking villain, as she thought of him Titus Popoloff. 
 Perhaps he was too full of the political game he was 
 playing to think about her. No doubt her turn for per 
 secution would come during a lull, or at least, fast 
 enough. Meantime she could only say to herself over the 
 samovar, where it was so necessary to appear cheerful 
 and act well, "If they only knew what I endure Kasimir 
 and these other people." And, with a sense of satisfac 
 tion that she could be so brave and bear so much, she 
 would hand and sip the yellow tea that soothed and re 
 freshed her. 
 
 There could be no doubt that she derived an immense 
 amount of consolation from Deotima s society, though 
 ignorant of the extent of the interest she already took in 
 the young girl. Attracted towards each other by the 
 common misfortune of oppression, the desire for free 
 dom was at once an indissoluble bond between them, 
 which was further cemented by Deotima s unvarying 
 amiability. And then, the two men, Hernani and the 
 Count, not only shared the same interests, but agreed so 
 well over them, which was another tie. 
 
 So shut up in that luxurious house, where it seemed 
 best for them to remain almost close prisoners, they 
 worked and talked, casting anxious eyes into the im 
 penetrable future. 
 
 At the end of a day in which Sara had been more than 
 usually busy with household matters, in addition to hav 
 ing received a number of visits from so-called friends, 
 the two women were once more together, having seen 
 next to nothing of each other for hours. 
 
 "Did any of your friends see me?" inquired the girl. 
 "I was afraid they would, and rushed out of the way in a 
 tremendous hurry." 
 
 "I don t think so. I should have been questioned had
 
 l66 HERNANT THE JEW. 
 
 yon been noticed. You see you are not easy to hide," 
 Sara replied, surveying Deotima s large and ripening 
 figure with the admiration women often bestow upon 
 each other. 
 
 "That is what Andrew means, I suppose, when he 
 calls me a great gawky girl. I would much rather be 
 your height, and have your ruddy-brown hair, than be 
 as I am, so fair, all pink and white, like a china doll. But 
 I did not make myself, that s one consolation." 
 
 "My dear child, you are all that could be wished for. 
 Any man would be proud of you." 
 
 "I don t think any man will ever get me." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Oh! just because 
 
 Sara laughed at the naive simplicity of this deliciously 
 fresh plump maiden. Then pointing some silk with her 
 teeth, to thread it, she returned to the charge. 
 
 "But tell me," she entreated persuasively. 
 
 Deotima became grave, the blood mounted to her 
 cheeks and her eyes flashed. 
 
 "This is no time for marrying or thinking of marriage. 
 As her daughter, Poland claims me." 
 
 A little shiver passed down Sara s back. The brave 
 words, so full of meaning, thrilled through her. 
 
 "But have you made up your mind not to marry?" she 
 asked gently, repressing her feelings. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "And you don t care for anybody?" 
 
 "Not as I should. Why, I have been shut up; with 
 the exception of a few brother-officers of Andrew s, I 
 have never met anyone. You see, we have been too poor 
 to entertain, thanks to the way in which we have been 
 deprived of our land. And mother s death had a great 
 effect upon papa, who was heart-broken and would see 
 no one. But if I ever marry, it will be for love, and if I 
 love, I shall trust implicitly. I can do nothing by 
 halves."
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 167 
 
 "It is the only way," answered Sara, surprised and 
 interested in the same breath. Deotima was over-young 
 to speak so shrewdly. Had she always trusted Hernani? 
 she instantly asked herself, the penciled eyebrows tight 
 ening into a painful frown, as without stopping to in 
 vestigate, to accuse herself of her one piece of deception 
 which had been so well meant, she told herself that she 
 was not to blame, since, if only she had been fruitful, all 
 would have been well with her. Her failure was through 
 no fault of her own, and with another brave effort to 
 ignore this constantly-recurring misery of her life, and 
 the consequences which were yet to come of it, she 
 thought to give advice. "Yes," she said; "if you marry, 
 you must trust place your honor in your husband s 
 keeping and let it rest there; but, let him know and feel 
 it to be so. You don t mind me saying what I think, do 
 you?" 
 
 "Go on/ said Deotima. 
 
 "You are sure we understand each other?" 
 
 "Certain." 
 
 "Well, I have heard it said that we all begin by be 
 lieving implicitly, by trusting absolutely, but that too 
 often our eyes are roughly opened. The man proves 
 worthless. But jealousy and suspicion, the tendency to 
 expect too much, to give too little, may make one think 
 this. Let a woman first satisfy herself as to his worth- 
 lessness, and be sure that it is none of her doing. Is he 
 so, then she had best fly from him. At least her happi 
 ness with him is over. But in nine cases out of ten she 
 is not sure, she is a little put out, dissatisfied, jealous, al 
 ways too ready to doubt. Then the weak moment comes 
 when she flings her doubt in the man s face, with this re 
 sult: if he be by nature bad, she feeds his vice; if really 
 good, she has done her best to make him bad to turn 
 the materials given her to the worst account. All women 
 understand how to secure the man they covet, few, that
 
 l68 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 having got him, the struggle has but commenced. But 
 perhaps this does not interest you?" 
 
 "Yes, it does go on." 
 
 Sara stitched away silently for a few seconds, and then 
 observed 
 
 "If you distrust an honest servant you may make a 
 thief. To be no longer believed in, no longer trusted, 
 means that the grossest insult has been tendered. Let 
 a woman trust, I say, and cling to that trust as to her 
 very life. You may mend broken china, but the cracks 
 remain. Whatever women say to the contrary, and I 
 have heard some strange things said, men possess that 
 delicate commingling of many qualities, termed honor. 
 Place a man on his honor, and much more often than 
 not, he will proudly maintain the right, inherited from 
 his birth, to be called an honorable man. Trust is the 
 only card a woman holds worth playing. When her in 
 terest and happiness have been irrevocably staked, let 
 her always say to the man, See, I trust you. 
 
 Stirred by her subject, conscious throughout of her 
 own unhappiness, the convincing tones of her voice, so 
 round and soft, rose and fell, and at length ceased, and 
 Deotima, who had never before beheld her so animated, 
 could not take her eyes off her face. The extreme beauty 
 of her complexion was heightened by a deeper flush, her 
 wide expressive lips, ruddy and parted, revealed teeth 
 even and fair as pearls, while in the bright shaft of light 
 cast by the shaded lamp, the fine curves of her figure, 
 the warm hue of her hair and eyebrows, shielding those 
 eyes which Hernani loved so well, were seen in all their 
 rare perfection. Dazzled by her beauty, Deotima could 
 only repeat Riva s sentiments and exclaim 
 
 "If I were a man, how I should love you my good 
 ness, how I should love you!" 
 
 Sara blushed like a child, and without a word, worked, 
 stitched as though her life depended upon the quickness 
 of her needle, for she was completely disconcerted by
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 169 
 
 the girl s blunt expression of her admiration. After a 
 while she broke the silence which had fallen upon them. 
 
 "And since we are both women and I am a weak one?" 
 she inquired timidly. 
 
 "I shall love you less selfishly. But then" and she 
 pouted deliciously "you will not care I mean, every 
 one loves you." 
 
 "One can never have too much love, never have 
 enough," said Sara. 
 
 "But you are so rich." 
 
 "What difference does that make?" 
 
 "You have so many distractions." 
 
 "Of what kind? You know my life." 
 
 "Oh! but just now no one is gay. Such gloom as 
 this will not last; people will entertain again, the theaters 
 will re-open, mourning will be cast aside. The women 
 in black, will be an historical feature of the past, and all 
 will be bright and gay, thoughtless and happy. As for 
 me, I am sure to be buried in the country with Andrew, 
 so you will forget me, and, like the butterfly emerging 
 from the chrysalis, you will leave this house 
 
 "A beggar!" cried Sara wildly. 
 
 Deotima paused in astonishment, but only for a sec 
 ond, Sara having quickly recovered herself. 
 
 "My word a beggar!" she repeated. "Wherever did 
 you get such an idea? I should not mind sharing your 
 poverty and grief." 
 
 "Do you think I am happy?" inquired Sara. 
 
 "Of course I do," said Deotima. 
 
 "Then I ought to have been an actress," answered 
 Sara, with a little smothered laugh; "how well I must 
 play. Seriously though," she added, laying her hand 
 upon the young girl s knee and looking up into her face, 
 "should I ever come to you, homeless, with no money 
 and no friends, weary, and with only the clothes I stand 
 up in, will you will you be kind to me?" 
 
 "As long as I breathe," replied the girl impulsively.
 
 I7O HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Very well, I warn you. I may put you to the test. 
 Now let us change the subject." 
 
 "I have not annoyed you?" 
 
 "How could you? What have you done? Hush! 
 that was the door someone is coming; your brother or 
 my husband." 
 
 But no one came. Sara s ears had deceived her, and 
 for a long while they were silent, both of them full of their 
 own thoughts. 
 
 Annoyed at having so nearly betrayed her feelings to 
 Deotima, Sara again began to criticise her conduct to 
 wards Hernani. She had plenty of advice to offer to 
 others, and yet had somehow made a mull of her own 
 affairs. Why had she not pocketed her pride and sought 
 an explanation, even after the conversation she had over 
 heard? Ah! if only she had not heard him say what he 
 had. She would have credited no reports. But her own 
 ears! It was too much. And what would have been the 
 use? She would have knelt at his feet and he would have 
 said, "Get up; you know my feelings. I am disappoint 
 ed, and I have said so, often." She would have hastened 
 her own downfall perhaps. Anyhow, it was too late. 
 
 And just then Deotima alluded to an oft talked-of 
 project that of visiting home. Much as she loved her 
 brother, she would like to return, if only for a few hours. 
 Her father was old and lonely, and it would be so sweet 
 to get a peep at him, and the old place so full of mem 
 ories. But Andrew opposed the step, and her father 
 appeared to be in league with him. So far as she was 
 concerned there could be no danger, and no one need be 
 the wiser, since she could easily go and return without 
 being observed. The distance was not great, and for the 
 time of year the roads were good; besides, she knew 
 every inch of the way. It was all very fine to say that 
 she was of most use where she was. She could not see it. 
 And what difference could a few hours make, either one
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 171 
 
 way or the other? Andrew was not a baby, and could 
 sew his own buttons on, if it came to that. 
 
 "Oh, you will go one of these days," Sara remarked 
 soothingly; "meantime, you are safer here." And with 
 a few more opinions on Deotima s side the conversation 
 dropped. 
 
 Sara went out one afternoon, accompanied by Riva. 
 She was obliged to go, but while the old servant babbled 
 of her own views and feelings and dropped her choice 
 bits of wisdom, Sara was intensely nervous. Every sol 
 dier or gendarme she saw and the streets were full of 
 them had been instructed to arrest her. This was to 
 be the outcome of General Hourko s long silence. She 
 did not like that silence. It boded her no good. He was 
 only maturing his plans for seizing her, and the delay 
 must have been a necessary one. Then, ashamed of her 
 own weakness, she held her head up, looked into the cafes 
 as she passed them, and thought, comically, of what an 
 immense amount of liquor, caviare, salted fish, and other 
 dainties, the great hulking fellows that filled them must 
 consume. Her fears returning, she struggled with them, 
 and again thought how absurd it was of her to imagine 
 that she really occupied a moment of Ivan Nicholae- 
 vitch s day. Such a great man, with so many compli 
 cated affairs to attend to, could have no time to spare to 
 worry his head about her. He might even have forgot 
 ten about her altogether. But then, what would become 
 of that stupid document which might injure her so much? 
 She was in terror whenever she thought of that awful 
 night, and that great strong man towering over her so 
 threateningly. Would he do all he had promised, and let 
 no one see the paper? Her liberty was so insecure. Oh! 
 if he would only forget her and burn the hateful thing. 
 How often had such thoughts racked her brain. 
 
 When she arrived home, Riva tripping at her side, 
 with a cloak over her shoulders and a basket on her arm,
 
 172 HERNANI THE JEW 
 
 she found Hernani excitedly declaring that Hourko had 
 been shot shot as he was driving along. 
 
 "Do you hear?" he added, addressing her, his manner 
 almost aggressive, his eyes, as it were, searching to find 
 some fault. 
 
 "Well, I am sorry," she answered simply, without 
 thought of what such news might mean to her. 
 
 "Bravo! I suppose you are." 
 
 "Who would not be? Murder in the public streets! It 
 is too terrible." 
 
 Hernani was baffled. 
 
 "You are right there/ he agreed. "How these women 
 can act!" he thought. "Is it likely that she would ever 
 have admitted anything, had I asked her!" 
 
 Then he began to grapple with the news, while Sara 
 wondered at the strangeness of the reception he had given 
 her, and set it down to excitement or some such cause. 
 
 "Mind you, it will do us no good," he remarked to 
 Dorozynski. 
 
 "The man who did it must be mad," asserted the 
 Count. 
 
 "Well; but it is all the same. Fresh troops will be 
 poured in. There will be all sorts of rigorous measures 
 enforced." 
 
 "Stop a bit though; there is this chance the rumor 
 may be a false one," suggested the Count. 
 
 "True; though my information should be good. It 
 occurred near the Hotel de 1 Europe, I am told. I must 
 have been within a few hundred yards at the moment." 
 
 However, before nightfall it transpired that Hourko 
 had only been wounded, and that, it was said, but 
 slightly. 
 
 The next occurrence worthy of note came in the shape 
 of sad and startling news for Deotima and Count An 
 drew. A trusted messenger arrived at night, fatigued 
 and covered with dust, to announce that Count Doro 
 zynski had died in his sleep. Worn out with disappoint-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 173 
 
 ment and ill-usage, he had at length succumbed. There 
 could be no doubt that the attack made upon his home, 
 was the immediate cause of his end. The shock of being 
 so rudely separated from his children, added to his con 
 stant fears for their safety, had been insupportable to 
 him. He had been unable to sleep or take proper nour 
 ishment latterly, and more than once, in a kind of stupor, 
 had been discovered muttering their names, which had 
 finally been his last words. 
 
 Cbunt Andrew was on no account to return to the 
 house, as such an act would be one of extreme rashness 
 in the opinion of his advisers. It was thought possible, 
 that with caution, his sister might attend the funeral, but 
 /f she could be restrained from doing so, so much the 
 better, as the authorities were known to be deeply in 
 censed at what they were pleased to consider as the out 
 rages committed by Count Andrew. Deotima received 
 the news speechless with horror and grief. She spoke 
 little and few tears flowed; these were the worst signs. 
 When the Count entreated her not to go, with quivering 
 lips and all the affectionate influence he could exert, she 
 replied by informing him that she was ready for the jour 
 ney, and only awaited the necessary arrangements for it, 
 which must be made at once. 
 
 On her return, when they were alone, her first act was 
 to solemnly swear to dedicate her life to the destruction 
 of those foes who had wantonly, and in cold blood, de 
 stroyed her father, and by way of answer, the steadfast 
 exchange of glances, the quivering of lips, and the silent 
 clasping of hands, was all that followed between them, 
 but from that hour certainly, the Russian Government 
 might have added two more names to its long list ofr 
 irreconcilable enemies. 
 
 After that the Marquis Wielopolski was twice shot at. 
 Then there was a little lull.
 
 174 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The General s wound was healing well. The doctors 
 had gravely prescribed rest, and had been pooh-poohed 
 for their pains. Relying upon his stout constitution. 
 Hourko had politely sent them to the devil, and himself 
 to work, with a grim will. Confined to the palace, his 
 temper was said to be diabolical, and in truth a milder 
 word w 7 ould not have described it. He kept Titus Popo- 
 loff trotting about on his heels all day long. "Led every 
 one of them a devil of a dance" so said his perfumed 
 and gorgeously-clad aides-de-camp Petersburg dandies 
 of the first water. 
 
 "Well, what do you want now?" was the reception the 
 great man accorded his apparently indefatigable facto-, 
 turn, Popoloff, upon one occasion, on his entrance into 
 the same apartment to which Sara had been introduced. 
 
 "I have brought important dispatches, Excellency." 
 
 "Set them down they can wait." 
 
 "But 
 
 "What are they about?" 
 
 "They need your consideration, sir." 
 
 "Consideration! I am sick of considering. If only I 
 had a tent about me, instead of picture-hung walls, ceil 
 ings with fat-cheeked grinning imps, soft carpets, ticking 
 clocks, and all the rest of the precious paraphernalia. 
 The sight of brave Czengery and a cloud of Cossacks, 
 the smell of powder something to stir one s blood, that s 
 what I want not physic or rest; you can t make a silk 
 en, smooth-tongued puppet out of a soldier. What is it? 
 Read them." 
 
 Popoloff wiped his eternal spectacles, and in a sing 
 song voice drawled through a long official report. An-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 175 
 
 other followed, then several shorter ones, the General 
 the while making some pencil memoranda, without 
 speaking a word or ceasing to puff at his cigarette. 
 
 "That is all, Excellency," said Titus at length, clearing 
 his voice, which had grown husky. 
 
 "All, is it and enough, I should think! What will 
 Wielopolski say to this? Does he know?" 
 
 "The Marquis has read the dispatches, sir." 
 
 "Has he? Oh! Well, all I can say is that these devils 
 seem to be going ahead. So Nazimoff has found it neces 
 sary to declare Grodno, Kovno, and Wilna in a state of 
 siege." 
 
 "Together with And Popoloff enumerated sev 
 eral less important places. 
 
 "The result, probably, of renewed efforts on the part 
 of those ruffians Mieroslawski and Czartoryski, I sup 
 pose." 
 
 "You are not far wrong, sir." 
 
 "What you know it?" 
 
 "Well, several fresh proclamations have been discov 
 ered and seized, Excellency, and the recent increase in 
 the agitation is traceable to no other cause." 
 
 "The scoundrels! We ll hang them we ll hang them 
 yet; but meanwhile they are free to trouble us, and they 
 are missing no chance. Have you been able to obtain the 
 names of any more people who have been guilty of sup 
 porting this movement financially? For evidently large 
 sums of money are being supplied." 
 
 "Yes, Excellency; I have a further list of those who 
 are known to have done so, or who are suspected. They 
 are mainly Jews, but in the forefront of their ranks stands 
 Kasimir Hernani. I mentioned this to you some time 
 back, and his guilt can be proved." 
 
 "I fancy you did. I remember something about it. 
 To have arrested him would have been a useful step, but 
 considering his influence, a false one, or it should have 
 been taken long ago."
 
 1/6 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "He has, I find, afforded shelter for some while past 
 to that young desperado, Count Andrew Dorozynski, 
 who is accompanied by his sister." 
 
 "So I have understood. Watch them well, Popoloff; 
 know where to lay hands on them, but wait for the word. 
 I will consider the dispatches, to which I shall have an 
 swers later in the day." 
 
 These last decisive remarks were Popoloff s dismissal. 
 He could remain no longer, for, enveloped in clouds of 
 cigarette smoke, the great man had forgotten his exist 
 ence. So with his colorless^ unfathomable eyes blinking, 
 as though from out of darkness he had suddenly been 
 thrust into light, Popoloff shambled off to a room where 
 a worse annoyance awaited him. Madam Hourko had 
 sent for him. He could not remember when such a thing 
 had happened. She had always awaited his appearance, 
 which had been at night and in her boudoir. What did 
 it mean? The General no longer trusted him of that 
 he was convinced. Never a \vord of confidence of late, 
 not a single allusion to his mad passion for the Jewess, 
 Sara Hernani, no matter how dexterously angled for. 
 To declare himself overworked, worried, in the wrong 
 box, or disgusted at instructions received from St. 
 Petersburg, was one thing; to talk of his love affairs, 
 quite another. He frequently did the former, never the 
 latter by any chance. 
 
 Popoloff \vas agitated ; he had noted the change for a 
 while past, but, rack his brain as he would, he could not 
 discover the cause. Had some of his side issues, his 
 clever little intrigues been detected, and was he on the 
 verge of being exposed, disgraced, banished? The Jew 
 ish and Polish gold, subscribed to support the revolu 
 tion, and of which he had given so good an account to 
 Hourko \vas it known that some of it had found its 
 way into his pockets? It might be. And yet no, he 
 would not think of such a thing. Plenty of accusations 
 might be launched against him, but proofs would be
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 177 
 
 needed. He had gone to work with such care, his pre 
 cautions were unique bah! he was too old a fox to be 
 caught. It was impossible. He was all right. So in 
 this confident mood, patting his hollow chest as though 
 he cared naught for the whole world, and having actu 
 ally surveyed his wrinkled, yellow-skinned face in a 
 mirror, he presented himself to madam, whom he found 
 in the same little octagon chamber, elegantly attired, 
 surrounded by canine pets, above all things, warm. 
 
 Olga Pavlovna had not altered one whit. She had 
 reacFied that age and condition at which people seem 
 loth to do so, and was still the little lady with sharpened 
 features and anaemic face crowned with straggling rem 
 nants of wiry yellow hair. Disposed upon a sofa, with 
 her dogs growling defiance from her skirts, she signed to 
 Popoloff to seat himself opposite to her, so that the light 
 fell full upon his face, and when he had done so, she 
 dropped one word interrogatively 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Madam," stammered Popoloff, his guilty fears re 
 turning, his confidence shaken by this funny reception. 
 
 "What have you to tell me?" 
 
 "I, madam? Nothing." 
 
 "Oh, but you should have." 
 
 "But surely it is well if there is nothing disturbing to 
 relate." 
 
 "That may be if nothing disturbing has happened. 
 Shall I tell you something?" 
 
 "If it please you, madam." 
 
 "His Excellency, my husband, distrusts you." 
 
 PopolofFs face expressed the greatest surprise. 
 
 "His Excellency distrusts me?" 
 
 "Precisely. I sent for you to mention that important 
 
 fact, coupled with some others which have occurred to 
 
 me. What I shall tell you, I have thought, for weeks 
 
 past. Now I have proof, and I hasten to give it to you. 
 
 12
 
 178 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 His Excellency has visited the Jewess Sara Hernani 
 at dead of night." 
 
 Popoloff felt himself in a dilemma, but he accepted the 
 situation with the placidity of an innocent child. His 
 pale eyes dwelt upon Madam Hourko vacantly, as 
 though he did not comprehend, or was very tired, then 
 an expression of surprise slowly awoke in them. 
 
 "Is it possible?" he ejaculated. 
 
 "It is true. It has happened, and you you were in 
 ignorance," replied madam severely. 
 
 There was nothing for it but to appear incredulous. 
 
 "But there is, perhaps, some mistake. I can scarcely 
 credit it." Then without giving time for an answer, his 
 elbows upon his knees, his long bony fingers pointed 
 together, he put a cunning question: "Is the informa 
 tion upon which madam bases her statement perfectly 
 reliable? I have a little doubt." 
 
 "It is beyond the smallest." 
 
 Baffled, he attempted to elicit an admission. 
 
 "Of course, if the source " he began, and found 
 himself stopped. 
 
 "We will pass beyond that, sir. I am content to 
 believe that is sufficient." 
 
 "Oh, well, certainly then no more can be said. Still, 
 it is possible that his Excellency visited the house for 
 some political purpose, or owing to some trivial accident 
 of which he saw no reason to acquaint me." 
 
 "His Excellency visits no house by accident, dis 
 guised, and at such an hour. Whether he attained his 
 object, that of seeing this base woman, I am unable to 
 say, but before I have done with her I shall extract an 
 admission of her guilt." 
 
 "Yes, yes, of course that will be simple. You have 
 only to will the thing, madam, and such a trifle as the 
 humiliation or extinction of a corrupt and insolent 
 Jewess, must at once follow. But I am soiry. Bozhe
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 1/9 
 
 moi, * to think how I have slaved to be of service, and 
 how in this instance I have failed ! Ah ! I am grieyed 
 I am grieved. Yet there is this comfort, madam you 
 must feel that your interests are ever nearest my heart. 
 I can never forget that I was the poor tchinovnik whom 
 
 With a rapid and irritable gesture she interrupted him. 
 
 "I don t know I don t know. Your protestations 
 need testing. I am wronged, and I hate. Help me to 
 be revenged that is all I ask." 
 
 "But, madam, I would lay down my life - 
 
 "So you say. But instead of words I require deeds, 
 or I must seek for assistance elsewhere." 
 
 Popoloff was fairly alarmed. 
 
 "I ask time and your confidence," he whined. "Then 
 you shall see, you shall be satisfied." 
 
 "Well, you know the price of my favor," she answered 
 him, grudgingly becoming pacified. 
 
 "And I will pay it. Ah ! am I not indebted 
 
 "We will not talk of that. I have trusted you, and I 
 am content, so long as I may continue to do so. It rests 
 with you to prove yourself worthy. I am resolved that 
 if his Excellency plays me false, he shall have ample 
 cause to repent it. I will spare no pains to make him 
 know that he is wronging one who can right herself, or 
 who at least is not such a poor weak fool as to accept 
 just what he chooses to give. If you take trouble and 
 display tact you will soon regain his favor. Do we 
 understand each other?" 
 
 "Without doubt, madam. My one aim shall be to 
 serve and please you in all things." 
 
 The heavy lids descended over Olga Pavlovna s eyes; 
 the tired expression so habitual to her returned, and in 
 silence she caressed the silky coat of her nearest dumb 
 friend, who gratefully licked her hand, which was long, 
 
 * "My God, Good Heavens!"
 
 ISO HERN AN I THE JEW. 
 
 thin, and white. Reclining there, she looked the indo 
 lent and jealous wife to the life. 
 
 Titus Popoloff shifted his great splay feet awkwardly. 
 He was glad of a momentary respite, and he fervently 
 congratulated himself, too, that no woman was tacked 
 on to him, whose lynx eyes searched his paths, and 
 counted his steps. For a moment he caught himself 
 wondering what had become of Madam Hourko s pride, 
 that in the midst of her brilliant life she should yet make 
 a study of running after a man who took no pleasure in 
 her. Owing to her position, she might have amused 
 herself with many lovers. Could she not content her 
 self? What was the use of righting against the inevit 
 able? His Excellency s ways could be changed no more 
 easily than the satin coat of his favorite charger. In 
 this way the pause between them lasted some minutes, 
 at the end of which time, one of the little dogs toppled 
 on to the floor, with a whine which became a snarl, as 
 Popoloff ventured to put him in his place again, the 
 noise he made rousing his mistress. 
 
 "Shall I tell you what his Excellency intends to do 
 with this woman?" she demanded suddenly. "When 
 these stupid people, these Poles, stand up to have their 
 throats cut, in the uproar, he will take steps to secure 
 her. She will disappear, with his assistance." 
 
 With a woman s intuition she had suddenly stumbled 
 upon Hourko s pet plan. He had been silent and inact 
 ive, because he intended to make that move. He had 
 not even hinted such a thing to a soul save Popoloff, 
 yet his wife had found him out. Popoloff looked at her 
 and admired her shrewdness. 
 
 "It is possible, madam," he answered her. 
 
 "It is so I am positive; that is what he meditates. 
 Now we must defeat him. I intend that this Jewess shall 
 be in my pow r er, not his. Do you understand me?" 
 
 "Perfectly "
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. l8l 
 
 "We shall seize her; then when he arrives at the nest, 
 he will find it empty. Can this be done?" 
 
 "With ease, madam. Trust me that is all you have 
 to do." 
 
 "Very well; but mind, let there be no bungling. Think 
 we have lots of time, and if this is a success, as it must 
 be, you may count upon my gratitude." 
 
 Popoloff bowed and went away, but he was disturbed, 
 not satisfied, and he told himself that it would be a fine 
 thing if he could contrive to do without either the Gov 
 ernor or his wife.
 
 l82 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 In the whole course of her life, Riva had never felt 
 so distressed, so miserable. It was not that her glances 
 ahead told her anything she had no mind for such 
 things. Her trouble lay in the present, and was always 
 with her her Alpha and Omega beginning and end of 
 everything being Sara. As she had said, apart from 
 her she had no interest in life. And Sara was an altered 
 being, as the whole household agreed. Her moods were 
 incomprehensible. She was lively, and sad, and silent. 
 and talkative within the space of one hour though to 
 Riva talkative, never. It was cruel to ignore her so. 
 Could it be that she did it on purpose, shunned her sys 
 tematically, and when they were together became 
 strangely uncommunicative reticent all at once? Riva 
 preferred to think not, but her dark eyes grew dim, and 
 her heart felt like failing her, when the smile or the word 
 she had waited for so long, so seldom came, and at the 
 best, was not the old smile or tender thrilling voice 
 known to her from prattling babyhood. In vain she 
 kept her eyes and ears open and preached patience to 
 herself in her own quaint way. She got no nearer her 
 goal that of discovering what new evil ailed Sara, and 
 relieving her, so that she should be again happier- 
 more like herself. Finally, she set it down in strong 
 language and upon the ground of her past knowledge. 
 
 "She is being killed by inches destroyed my lamb 
 and it is the master," she wailed, in the quiet of her 
 own little chamber, where she sat doubled up in a chair 
 "it is the master, and the Holy One will curse him. 
 sure enough with such a wife in the bosom of Abra 
 ham no lovelier could rest what matters it children
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 183 
 
 the fool ! To see, let alone touch her, should be pleasure 
 enough for mortal. And here she is eating her heart 
 out. The man is an ass, and thistles should be his food. 
 The bat is not more blind, and cursed be the day when 
 he first saw the light! I grow to hate him. The young 
 gentleman, the young noble, he sees my lamb s worth; 
 he is wise. With her little finger held up, all men would 
 run to her ; but this one the one lawfully her own 
 And as disturbed as ever, Riva fell to thinking. 
 
 That night Sara retired early. Hernani and Doro- 
 zynski were out as usual, and Deotima, under cover of 
 night, awhile back and by stealth, had journeyed to some 
 relatives to rouse them with her woman s voice, to pour 
 into their ears her wrongs, their wrongs, to the end 
 that the Polish eagles might be borne more bravely 
 aloft. 
 
 Seated before her toilet-table, Sara wore a long loose 
 wrap, like the one in which Hourko had surprised her, 
 and behind her stood Riva ready to brush her hair. The 
 chubby fists of two china cherubs grasped the lighted 
 candles on either side of the mirror, reflected in which 
 was the adorable face and figure of this apple of Riva s 
 eye. The stove was lighted, but the bed, curtained and 
 dainty, lay in gloom like the rest of the room. 
 
 For once Sara seemed disposed to talk a little, to be 
 gay, despite the cold dead weight at her heart. Pin 
 after pin was removed jeweled some of them; Herna- 
 ni s gifts time back and then coil upon coil fell the 
 fine soft rippling hair that Riva loved to brush. 
 
 "Mine is getting gray," remarked the woman, as she 
 labored with deft hands. 
 
 "Yours! Well, but that is natural; you are no longer 
 a chicken. Is not age the cause?" 
 
 "No trouble. It was black enough awhile ago." 
 
 "But you must expect such changes. Mine will b-j 
 white soon. Live for the day, Riva; it is the only way." 
 
 "As you do, my lamb."
 
 184 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Oh! let me alone. I am past redemption hope 
 less." 
 
 "Hopeless?" repeated Riva. 
 
 "Quite. Did you get those things I reminded YOU 
 about?" 
 
 "Yes, that I did. But talk as you were beginning to. 
 I love the sound of your voice always, but most when il 
 rings and trembles, thrilling through me." 
 
 "But you hear it so often. And we must not be seri 
 ous; I want to laugh." 
 
 "And I want to hear you, though there is little to 
 laugh at." 
 
 "There is a comical side to everything. When you 
 brush my hair to benefit it, you pull it out. The man 
 who has been starving must not eat too much. Do you 
 remember young Jacob shot in the massacre? His 
 photograph exhibited as that of a patriot and martyr; 
 his loss bewailed by all. Well, the boy s heroic death 
 was a good day s work for his brothers; it reconciled 
 the uncle to the family, and his money will now go to 
 them. There is something comical in a man dying and 
 being sorrowed for, when but for his death others would 
 starve." 
 
 Aware of the influence Riva could sometimes exert 
 over her, Sara talked lightly, preferring to monopolize 
 the conversation. She had not dared to open her lips 
 upon the subject of her hateful nocturnal meeting with 
 Hourko, and she felt the secret to be a barrier between 
 them. "Everything is known. The walls listen, and 
 we know what they hear," had rung in her ears ever 
 since that night. How could she tell what might come 
 of confidences, living as she did. But Riva had made 
 up her mind. There should be an understanding be 
 tween them; she had things to say, and say them she 
 would, while she had the chance, that her lamb might 
 be the happier. 
 
 "All that you tell me," she answered, "may well be
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 185 
 
 I am not wise, and my head buzzes when I try to think. 
 But about living for the day let the book speak: Thy 
 yesterday is thy past, thy to-day thy future, thy to-mor 
 row is a secret. So to live for to-day would be well. 
 
 "Don t tug so, Riva; I sha n t have a bit of hair left 
 soon." 
 
 "I, my lamb? You can t say I was rough." 
 
 "But I do." 
 
 "Then it was by accident. Ah! you have been cruel 
 to me this while past. Do you know if you were happy 
 I should say you had forgotten old Riva." 
 
 "Oh! I shiver I must get into bed." 
 
 "Ah! it is because the dear feet are bare, and the 
 pretty legs such bits of things when I knew them first 
 just like satin for all the world. I remember so well 
 so well. There, with that stool and shawl, no cold can 
 come." 
 
 "Thanks that s nice, Riva." 
 
 "And I ll not be long." 
 
 "Oh! I don t mind, only don t let us talk of distress 
 ing things. You like to, I fancy." 
 
 "Never, if you take it ill." 
 
 "Well, I do. I want all my courage. I have enough 
 to bear." 
 
 "That have you. But it seemed to me, time back, that 
 whatever came, we could meet it together. Never a 
 thought apart from each other; it was Riva this, and 
 Riva that, and it kept me alive." 
 
 "But" I am the same now, Riva?" 
 
 "No, my love." 
 
 "How could I alter toward you?" 
 
 "But you have. May I die if it s not so." 
 
 "Not at heart, I tell you. Ah! can t you see? Some 
 times I think I shall go mad." 
 
 "But my poor darling." 
 
 "Don t, Riva don t. I can t bear it." 
 
 "And all of a tremble too."
 
 186 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "It s nothing. Listen; will you do this for me? I 
 have scarcely tasted food all day. No one noticed it, 
 but I couldn t, my head was racked." 
 
 "No one noticed it! Surely the master 
 
 With a gesture of impatience, Sara interrupted her. 
 
 "Fetch me some fowl or something simple, and I ll 
 eat it sitting here. I shall enjoy it." 
 
 Riva was away and back again with a tray loaded 
 temptingly, and after a long pause, during which the 
 click of the knife and fork and the fainter sound of 
 mastication alone broke the silence, Sara looked up at 
 her. 
 
 "Do you remember how you used to cook little things 
 and bring them to me?" she asked. 
 
 "In Cracow?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "That I do." 
 
 "And how I discovered that you were pinching and 
 starving yourself?" 
 
 "No, no I was given a few gulden. Besides, it s best 
 to forget all that." 
 
 "We will speak of it only for a moment. It is often 
 in my mind." 
 
 "Is it, my lamb?" 
 
 "Often. What do you think I m made of, Riva? And 
 then you say I ve changed." 
 
 "Did I? I was wrong, and had better have bitten 
 my tongue out. Forgive me." 
 
 Sara looked at her fixedly and smiled, and the smile 
 was sufficient to reconcile them; it alone was enough. 
 But Riva felt emboldened. She had things to say and 
 the chance was a good one. 
 
 "The Russian," she began suddenly in a strained voice 
 "the Governor have you seen him, my love, since 
 we talked?" 
 
 Sara hesitated. 
 
 "Yes," she said at length, firmly.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 187 
 
 "Ah! I warned you." 
 
 "Warned me of what?" 
 
 "I don t wonder." 
 
 "But what do you mean?" 
 
 "Well, he is a great man, the Russian. Has he kept 
 the promise he made you? Has he been good to the 
 poor and fatherless?" 
 
 "He made me no promise that he would be." 
 
 "No! Perhaps my old head fails me. He was to do 
 something, though, I know something for poor folk 
 like the Bielois." 
 
 "Yes; but he has done nothing." 
 
 "Then he has broken his word." 
 
 "In a sense; and I hate him." 
 
 "God of Israel, could it be otherwise! What did I 
 tell you, my lamb? An old head is better than a young 
 one. Now the gentleman, Count Dorozynski, would 
 never break his word, I ll warrant me." 
 
 "Perhaps not. I don t think he would. But what 
 makes you speak of him?" 
 
 "Oh! my own thoughts." 
 
 "What are they? Tell me." 
 
 "It is best not. Silence is the fence round wisdom." 
 
 "But I wish to hear." 
 
 Riva leant over her, her black eyes glistening. 
 
 "Do you remember speaking of the gold and finery 
 in the great Russian s palace, where you had been?" 
 
 "Yes; but you have told no one that I went there?" 
 
 "Not a soul. You were anxious then, and your heart 
 was heavy. Is it lighter now?" 
 
 "What good can come of troubling you; you have 
 your own load, my poor Riva, and I have mine, which 
 I must bear patiently." 
 
 "But is it heavy still?" 
 
 "Heavier than ever." 
 
 "I knew it I knew it all along. And I have been 
 sleepless because of it. You must change you must
 
 1 88 HEP. N AMI THE JEW. 
 
 alter your ways, my love. Bound up in this house and 
 the master, your beautiful young life is going. Why 
 should it be so? No enjoyment no pleasure. Slaving, 
 seeing no one, and as a reward always, always, no 
 thanks." 
 
 "Hush! There you are wrong, Riva." 
 
 "Wrong, am I? Fit mate for the Princes of the earth 
 and neglected that s what s wrong." 
 
 "You have been with me all my life, but can be no 
 judge either of what I am fit for, or what would be 
 good for me. No other eyes see me as yours do. You 
 are bigoted. If I know myself, then I say, I was made 
 for quiet, and simplicity, and love; for some little home 
 where the sea I have read of and never seen, murmurs 
 against the rocks ; where I might be free to go out into 
 the fresh fearless wind, and feel it upon my cheeks and 
 drink it in, and live, and laugh, and be happy amongst 
 the flowers and the sunshine. Oh! my God the flow 
 ers and the sunshine and love. Love that would heal 
 the bruises, the scars, the gaping wounds within me, 
 that would stanch the sighs and lighten the load of liv 
 ing, and by its purity for God is Love and God is pure 
 lift one nearer and nearer, until the kind clear heav 
 ens absorbed one, and one rested with Him. I hate this 
 rush and sweat for gold. I have hated it ever since 
 I knew it, but anything was well that he loved, since he 
 loved me. Is it too late yet all too late, Riva? Would 
 he, if I went on my knees, tear himself from this ambi 
 tion and strife, and come with me to where in quiet he 
 might know me really and we could be one? But what 
 am I saying? The bright visions of what might be, 
 swarm within my brain, yet there is no substance for 
 them." 
 
 "Ach, no that" is all moonshine, my love," replied 
 Riva brusquely; "the master will stick where he is, as 
 long as his legs carry him. Excitement is to him the 
 breath of his nostrils."
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 189 
 
 "I believe you are right." 
 
 "Ach! I know I am. You can get no old bear to 
 dance to a new tune. His habits are formed just as his 
 bones are set. But see now if I were you, though the 
 times are ill and unchangeable, I would amuse myself 
 I d have people about me and lovers too. The master d 
 be jealous, and serve him right; but see the good of 
 teaching him to behave! A fine strapping lover. 
 There s no saying what would come of it. No father, 
 no child. And there is the Count to your hand; follow 
 ing you with his eyes if his legs take rest; near al 
 ways when chance offers; hanging upon your words; 
 wretched out of your sight; ready to risk his life for 
 kiss from you. Keep your own counsel and grant him 
 his desire. Harden your heart that the sorrow of your 
 life may pass and the master be at your feet again." 
 
 Sara started from her chair. Erect and threatening, 
 the loose robe caught about her waist and clinging to 
 her, with eyes flashing and hands tight closed, she 
 looked the very incarnation of anger and outraged 
 dignity. 
 
 "What!" she cried "you would have me be false to 
 my husband, false to myself and false to God? How 
 dare you how dare you suggest such wickedness?" 
 
 "Only that there is the gett and a child 
 
 "The gett! Another word and all is over between us! 
 To save myself from the cruelty of man and the injus 
 tice of the law, you would have me fathom the depths 
 of dishonor. You have astounded me. No; if because 
 I am barren the man I love turns me adrift in the world, 
 I shall walk through it starving and toiling, sweeping 
 the streets, searching the gutters it may be, yet at least 
 striving to remain as honest and upright as when I en 
 tered it. But that we have lived all our lives together 
 I should hate and despise you. Despise you I must and 
 do but Ah! you may well weep and yet no 
 Riva, Riva, my old nurse and friend, listen I shall for-
 
 190 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 get it. Something is amiss with you to-day. It is not 
 you who has spoken it is someone else. You meant 
 it well, but how could you think so ill and so ill of me? 
 I am no Saint, and for love, some great love, I might 
 be tempted and fall, as better women than I have fallen ; 
 but to save myself from all the wretchedness the mind 
 can conceive, I should never have thought of a thing 
 so vile, and could never be so guilty as to do it. I am 
 tired tired; help me into bed in many a worse one 
 we have lain together. See I forgive, and time will 
 heal. Let us sleep. Sweet, clean sleep. We shall 
 awake purer and better. Good-night." 
 And Riva rushed blubbering from the room.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 If Sara knew how to love, she also knew how to for 
 give, and as soon as she had digested Riva s bold and 
 even unscrupulous advice, she began to make excuses 
 for her. She had spoken hastily and had not intended 
 to be disrespectful or to wound her, but, having been 
 desperately unhappy on her account, had seen but this 
 one way out of the difficulty, and since she was ill-born, 
 ill-brought up and ill-educated, had caught at it. 
 
 A lover might mean a natural child, which it would be 
 so easy to foist upon Hernani. He would never be the 
 wiser if she were cautious, and at one bound the chasm 
 between them would be bridged. That was what Riva 
 had meant, and had nerved herself to say, in the fhost 
 intelligible language at her command. 
 
 Upon the suggestion itself, Sara bestowed scarce a 
 thought. It possessed no temptations for her. In fact, 
 when it stood out in all its repulsiveness, she turned from 
 it with loathing, deciding that if she wished to look Riva 
 in the face again, and treat her as she had been in the 
 habit of doing, she must make every effort to forget it. 
 In her ready good nature and kindliness of heart, she 
 even went so far as to attach some blame to herself 
 over the matter. Had she thought more of others, and 
 less of herself, she would have appeared in Riva s eyes 
 less unhappy, in which case the desperate remedy would 
 never have been suggested. True, she had striven to be 
 energetic and cheerful, but to avoid the chance of any 
 impulsive confidences on her part, had put an end to 
 that familiar intercourse which had been the one endur 
 ing joy of the woman s life, by so doing thoughtlessly 
 rendering her existence intolerable. That was the cause
 
 192 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 of Riva s conduct. She, Sara, had been wanting in con 
 sideration and attention, toward one who had served 
 her faithfully over the whole span of her life, and who, 
 by her devotion, had made good to no small extent, the 
 loss she had sustained by her mother s early death. 
 What would have become of her in the Cracow days 
 without Riva? What should she have done without her 
 always? Yes, she had been thoughtless and bad. With 
 such reasoning as this, she strove to gloss over defects, 
 and find excuses for retaining Riva intact in her heart. 
 
 Of course these views took time to shape and arrange 
 themselves in her mind, and were to some extent trace 
 able to the abject penitence displayed by Riva, but the 
 result was that she reinstated her in her favor, almost 
 too rapidly, some would have thought. 
 
 Meanwhile the household routine continued un 
 changed. Hernani retired to his bureau for the pur 
 pose of transacting his business as of old. The hours 
 for meals were the same, and between them Sara attend 
 ed to her womanly duties, received an occasional caller, 
 or went to the synagogue, while the Count busied him 
 self as he saw fit. In the evening, the two men discussed 
 their projects, or went out in furtherance of the absorb 
 ing and dangerous plans on hand, Sara singing, read 
 ing, or sewing the while, missing Deotima much, wish 
 ing for her return a good deal, but throughout, learn 
 ing to bear the load of her own troubles with patience 
 and fortitude. She thought it only wise and right to 
 assume an attitude of reserve toward the Count, and 
 while gradually doing so, was mindful to watch for any 
 of those symptoms of admiration of which Riva had 
 spoken of so boldly. 
 
 And so in this way time crept on, one day closely re 
 sembling another, except that, instead of discussing the 
 effect and benefits to be derived from a petition to be 
 presented to the Governor-General by Count Zamoyski, 
 it began to be rumored that the Count would have noth-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 193 
 
 ing to say to the project, and had even torn up the draft 
 of the document; then, that he had been interviewed by 
 his Excellency, who had decided that he must proceed 
 to St. Petersburg for the purpose of seeking audience 
 of the Emperor; and after a brief delay, a pause, during 
 which speculation was rife, came the crushing announce 
 ment that his Imperial Majesty had ordered Count 
 Zamoyski to quit the country had exiled him in fact; 
 and upon receipt of that piece of information as is well 
 known there arose in men s minds and upon their 
 tongues, a great clamor of indignation. 
 
 All these many and weighty matters Sara heard dis 
 cussed and sifted by Hernani and Count Andrew, during 
 long hours of patient listening, until in place of them 
 arose the shadow of the long, dimly-threatened Con 
 scription, to which it was affirmed the Marquis Wielo- 
 polski lent his countenance and support. 
 
 And it was beneath the lofty span of glass, in the great 
 hall, when seated before the silver samovar, that Sara 
 first came to know of the serious and disturbing nature 
 of this arbitrary project. In the warm atmosphere which 
 was due to partly-concealed and admirably-arranged 
 stoves, she dispensed her tea the beverage so dear to 
 her in delicate china cups, which Hernani and the 
 Count accepted from her hands and solemnly sipped, 
 amidst the cool green foliage of the tropic plants, the 
 refreshing odor of flowers, and the gentle soothing mur 
 mur of the fountain. 
 
 "This threat of the Conscription will be found to be 
 the last straw/ announced Hernani, returning his cup 
 for replenishment. 
 
 "Upon whose back?" inquired the Count, though an 
 ticipating Hernani s answer. 
 
 "The people will not submit to be torn from their 
 beds, and whipped away from their homes and their 
 lawful callings." 
 
 "I don t know. Their courage seems gone, their 
 
 13
 
 194 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 spirit broken. What about the massacres, the arrests 
 even in the house of God, the dissolution of the Agri 
 cultural Society last of all, Zamoyski s cruel and in 
 solent dismissal? They have borne all that, and only 
 talked." 
 
 "Well, you will see, you will find me a true prophet. 
 And, moreover, you forget that those events have 
 ripened their minds, slowly but surely, as the sun ripens 
 the fruit upon the wall. For the last two years their 
 protests have been gathering in volume and violence, 
 and if this iniquitous act be perpetrated, with one con 
 sent they will agree that the moment for an appeal to 
 arms has arrived. Are their sons to be dragged from 
 them by brute force, arrested in the public thorough 
 fares, and compelled to serve in the ranks of their ene 
 mies? Many a peaceable and hard-working citizen in 
 this town would rather see his child under the sod." 
 
 "If what you say be true, God be thanked!" mur 
 mured the Count earnestly. 
 
 "He is already thanked, then, as you will see shortly 
 enough. The agitation, so widespread and so well sus 
 tained, has revived historical recollections, and made the 
 youth of the land patriots, just as much as those whose 
 pockets are pinched, and whose wounds still smart from 
 the failure of the 30 attempt. That the great nobles 
 may remain quiet for a time is likely enough. We, the 
 party of action, they say, have nothing to lose disaster 
 to us would mean nothing. For them it would be dif 
 ferent. They have proud names which might be black 
 ened, and rich estates which might go forfeit, and they 
 argue, as we know, that Europe is tranquil, and so that 
 the time has not come. But after shamelessly hanging 
 fire for a while, they will join us to a man; then too we 
 shall be helped, as Italy was. France or England will 
 come to our assistance, as I have contended all along, 
 and in support of my contention, see how the press up 
 holds our cause. We have only to leap to arms that
 
 HERN AMI THE JEW. IQ5 
 
 is all. They know as well as we do that the ranks of our 
 foes are torn by dissensions, that the Muscovite army 
 is not what it was six years ago, that the soldier does 
 not respect his officer, and that nothing but corporal 
 punishment can make him obey; but they don t know 
 what we do that the bulk of the officials in this, the 
 capital of Poland, have no real belief in a rising." 
 
 "But how do you know that?" inquired Sara. 
 
 "From a dozen reliable sources," replied Hernani 
 promptly. 
 
 "Yes, that is true enough," the Count chimed in, "and 
 it is a great point in our favor." 
 
 "Of course it is one of vital importance; but hear 
 me out. They the public, you understand know that, 
 politically, Russia is in the throes of dissolution, that 
 disaffection is rife throughout the land, that the students 
 are unmanageable, the discipline of the military schools 
 lax to a degree, and that incendiary fires in Petersburg 
 are of constant occurrence." 
 
 "Yes, that is so that is all right," assented the Count; 
 "but," he added irrelevantly, "what a deep game that 
 Wielopolski is playing." 
 
 "Ah! I believe you. He is a misguided man," af 
 firmed Hernani solemnly,, "and would sacrifice or sell 
 anything and everything to obtain power." 
 
 "But is there really any truth in the rumor that he 
 intends levying these forces, to the number ot several 
 thousands, from families of all classes, thereby seizing 
 those best able to strike a blow for their country s free 
 dom?" 
 
 "Yes every truth, I believe." 
 
 Suddenly Sara interposed. No one would listen to 
 her it was really past a joke. 
 
 "Well, there, drink this tea while it is hot," she said; 
 and the simple blow fell like a bomb. It was so ridicu 
 lous to descend to tea-drinking. Hernani could have 
 dashed his cup down, but he replied by emptying it, and
 
 196 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 clattering it in the saucer as he replaced it, in a way 
 which said as plainly as words could have done, "How 
 trumpery are a woman s ideas, at a moment when they 
 should be great!" 
 
 There was an awkward pause. Hernani was for 
 continuing the conversation, when the Count inter 
 rupted him. 
 
 "I am getting anxious about Deotima," he said; 
 "already it is dark and bitterly cold, I suppose. Let us 
 go and see if there is any sign of her" to which sugges 
 tion Hernani silently assented, and, having carefully 
 wrapped themselves up, they left the house together. 
 
 Within the hour the Count returned, without Hernani 
 but accompanied by Deotima, who had arrived overflow 
 ing with health and spirits, having met with the greatest 
 kindness, and being thoroughly satisfied with the result 
 of her journey. She had been escorted into the town by 
 one of Hernani s trusted agents, and she was loud in 
 her praise of his forethought and attention. 
 
 When she had removed her furs, and stood up smell 
 ing of the cold and fresh sweet air of the country, in an 
 uncontrollable outburst of brotherly affection the Count 
 took her in his arms, imprinting two vigorous kisses 
 upon her smooth pink cheeks; then he pushed the fair 
 wavy hair from her forehead, and stepped back a couple 
 of paces to examine her critically. 
 
 "Upon my word, you ve improved vastly," he re 
 marked enthusiastically; "you ve grown, I do believe! 
 I feel smaller than ever alongside of you; and what a 
 fine figure! Many a fellow would envy me those kisses, 
 wouldn t they?" he inquired abruptly of Sara; "and the 
 two of you make a picture, to which this perfectly 
 artistic room is the frame. One dark and the other fair, 
 and both so charming. Even with my knowledge of 
 languages, I should find it difficult to describe quite 
 what I see and think." Then, since Sara did not appear 
 to relish his glowing compliments, he drew in his horns
 
 HERNAN1 THE JEW. 197 
 
 a little. "Well, come and sit down and tell me your news. 
 Did you receive a great deal of attention? How many 
 conquests did you make, and how many duels have been 
 fought over you? Come I want to hear everything." 
 
 Deotima seated herself beside him, and with an irre- 
 sisitibly coquettish toss of her fair head and pout of her 
 full wide lips, said 
 
 "Ah! then you want to hear too much, sir. You are 
 not a bit changed just the same impudent old Andrew. 
 Has he been good really good?" she inquired of Sara. 
 
 "Very." 
 
 "No trouble to you?" 
 
 "Not in the least," answered Sara, laughing. 
 
 "So that I may tell him a little of what I have done 
 and seen?" 
 
 "Yes, I think you may. But here is some nice fresh 
 tea. You had better have some first, since you must be 
 cold and tired, then talk to him, and come and have a 
 long chat with me when you have finished. I have 
 missed you very much, so we must make up for lost 
 time." 
 
 "Now that is sweet and kind of you." 
 
 "But it is better it is true." 
 
 "Well, don t leave me I am afraid of Andrew. Come 
 and sit close to me and hear all I have to say, the bulk 
 of it being serious matter. Yes ; now we shall do splen 
 didly. Well, Andrew, uncle and aunt send affectionate 
 messages, and the girls forward kisses." 
 
 "Thanks I d rather have the originals." 
 
 "You hateful boy! If I thought you meant it!" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "I refuse to believe you. What! Cara with her pro 
 jecting teeth and ugly gums that is, when she laughs. 
 Mariette with her pasty face, her freckles, and her red 
 hair; and Barbel with her great feet, her snub nose, and 
 chronic cold! Don t tell me; if so, your taste must be 
 execrable. Well, all want to see you; more than that,
 
 198 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 all want to marry you, and Barbel declares she will have 
 no one else." 
 
 "A nice lookout for me! Of course you reminded 
 them of my peculiar but unalterable opinions upon the 
 merits of single blessedness?" 
 
 "I told them nothing untrue, but I reminded them of 
 the fact that you re a naughty, fickle boy, incapable of 
 sticking to any woman." 
 
 "Ah! 1 What a jolly reception I shall get there next 
 time." 
 
 "Listen to me and don t talk so much. Adam is as 
 precocious as ever, but Ladislaus has improved im 
 mensely he is charming. I am certain you would like 
 him. But come we really must be serious. I can as 
 sure you there has been no such thing as frivolity while 
 I have been away. There, as here, one hope fills all 
 hearts the resurrection of Poland. I bring nothing but 
 good news. The pamphlets and proclamations, scat 
 tered so cleverly, have taught the peasantry the differ 
 ence between right and wrong; they are stirred up, and, 
 no longer asleep, are ready for anything. If this cruel 
 Conscription be resorted to, from the Baltic to the 
 Dneister, there will go up one great and unanimous 
 shout for Liberty." 
 
 The click of the door handle, and the sound of some 
 one entering the room, prevented Deotima from saying 
 more, and, almost sobbing from excess of feeling, she 
 remained silent, as Hernani approached her. He w^as 
 pale, and from his manner, usually so calm, it could be 
 seen that something of importance had transpired. Re 
 covering herself, she continued 
 
 "We took long drives and walks; not a moment of 
 the day was lost in idleness; we were up and working, 
 early and late, and what I saw and heard has inspired 
 me with confidence rather than with distrust. My feel 
 ing now is that the supreme moment has arrived. T 
 should tell vou also that Adam and Ladislaus, between
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 199 
 
 them, have got together a small but well-equipped body 
 of horse, composed of their own friends and acquaint 
 ances, and have at the same time been successful in im 
 porting and secreting a quantity of arms and ammuni 
 tion. They taught me how to shoot at a mark, and you 
 would be surprised I am quite an expert now." 
 
 Having exchanged a few sentences with Deotima and 
 congratulated her upon her apparent good health and 
 safe return, Hernani contrived to whisper to the 
 Count 
 
 "Come with me; I want a word with you." 
 
 "What is it now? Has something gone amiss?" in 
 quired the Count as soon as they were alone. 
 
 Hernani closed the door of the apartment into which 
 he had led him, and, glancing round as though to make 
 sure that they were the sole occupants of it, he ex 
 claimed 
 
 "The efforts of the Rzad* have failed. Wielopolski 
 has carried the day. The Conscription will be drawn. 
 His threatened resignation as head of the civil admin 
 istration of the kingdom, and the pressure he has 
 brought to bear, will end in this raid upon the people; 
 for it is nothing else. Already the police have received 
 their instructions." 
 
 "But when will they act? What date is fixed?" de 
 manded the Count. 
 
 "Ah! there my information is at fault. The strictest 
 secrecy is maintained. It may be to-night. Upon that 
 point, as also upon the names contained in the list, I 
 am entirely ignorant. But it will be an attack upon all 
 classes merchants, schlacta,f everyone. I have some 
 thing even more weighty to tell you, so far as I am con 
 cerned sit down, here are some cigarettes something 
 
 * Secret Committee, Government. 
 t Lesser nobility, without office.
 
 2OO HERNAN1 THE JEW. 
 
 that will put a rifle in my hands quicker than I had 
 thought." 
 
 The Count began smoking and settled himself to 
 listen. 
 
 "You know how gloomy and deserted the Saksonski 
 Sad* is at this season of the year not a flower to be 
 seen only snow or dead leaves and muddy walks? 
 Well, I was crossing it near the cafe, where the trees 
 grow thickly, when a man sprang on to the path, not five 
 paces ahead of me. Absorbed in thought though I was, 
 in an instant I had set the fellow down as a Russian, 
 and a hired assassin perhaps; so with a bound I had 
 him by the neck. 
 
 " Remove your hand from my throat, batuishka/f 
 he said quietly, without a sign of resistance; do you 
 not see who I am? The voice I did not know, but, 
 uncertain though the light was, I thought I remembered 
 the face, so I eased my grip. 
 
 " Who are you, and what are you doing here? I 
 shouted, in no mood for trifling. 
 
 " Easy, easy, batuishka; lower your voice, if you 
 please, and pay good heed to what I am about to tell 
 you. It is of importance. Who I am I shall keep to 
 myself; on the other hand, who you are is already 
 known to me, which is sufficient for my purpose. 
 
 " And what may that be? I asked. 
 
 " Bozhe moi,J batuishka, I will tell you! Nu, it is 
 to furnish you with valuable information in return for 
 a sufficient sum of money, upon which we will agree. 
 
 " But how am I to know that the information will not 
 be worthless? I again asked. 
 
 " Because I do not desire payment until you have 
 proved the truth of what I propose to tell you. On my 
 part, I intend to trust you, because of the reputation you 
 
 * Saxon Gardens. t Little father, 
 
 t "My God, good Heavens!" Well.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 2O1 
 
 enjoy. Now answer me quickly, for I have no time to 
 lose. If I can save your wife from peril, will you pay me 
 well? 
 
 "My fears excited, I instantly said Yes. 
 
 " How much? Unhesitatingly I proposed a large 
 sum. In short, we came to terms, my agreement being 
 to pay him when he should seek me, and, as near as I 
 can remember, these were his words: I have learned 
 that your house is again to be visited by the police, and 
 your wife, your beautiful wife, seized. You know what 
 that means. 
 
 " When? I demanded, trembling so with excitement 
 that I could scarcely speak. 
 
 That is a question you must answer for yourself. 
 Perhaps to-night who knows? All I advise is, get her 
 out of the way, or any day your hair may turn white 
 with grief. Now I have told you. It is the truth. It 
 now remains for you to act. And the man slid away 
 between the tree stems, with a peculiar shuffling gait 
 I shall not readily forget, though not before I had 
 crammed every ruble I had about me into his hand. 
 Now what do you think of the whole story?" 
 
 The Count cleared his throat, took another whiff of 
 his cigarette, and then spoke. 
 
 "That it is a true one," he said briefly. 
 
 "My opinion precisely. What object could be gained 
 by telling me a lie?" 
 
 "None, of course. He was there to make money out 
 of you, without doubt. What are you going to do?" 
 
 "The Holy One direct me! I have not decided yet. 
 It is a terrible position to be placed in just consider 
 one s wife. I was so distressed that I could scarcely 
 speak when I came to tell you. Would they see your 
 sister or my wife that something was amiss with me?" 
 
 "No, I don t think so," answered the Count, feeling 
 bound to say something consoling. 
 
 "I am glad of that. I did my best to appear as usual.
 
 202 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 Well, I must take proper measures, and to-night. This 
 is why the police have remained inactive. They have 
 waited for the eve of this Conscription, and, calculat 
 ing on the commotion resulting, are prepared to take 
 steps which in quieter times would occasion an uproar. 
 The papers they seized are at the bottom of this piece of 
 cruelty. One thing is certain I would rather shoot her 
 than see her fall into the power of these brutes, who, 
 like machines, are without conscience or heart. They 
 shall never take her alive. God of Israel how long 
 how long what I suffer at this moment passes descrip 
 tion!" And Hernani, completely overcome, sank into 
 a chair and buried his face in his hands. 
 
 After a while, growing calmer, he rose to his feet and 
 paced the room, censuring himself aloud. "This is fool 
 ish this is weak and unworthy of me. Any man may 
 be brave when the current is with him. But at a mo 
 ment such as this Ah! what have we to fear? The 
 Holy One has us in His keeping." Then suddenly, as 
 though a good idea had struck him at last, he said 
 
 "That is it that will do. I have arranged it all. This 
 is the course we will take. Nikolay Brauman is in 
 debted to me. I could not ask too much of him. We 
 will go with Sara and your sister and give them into 
 his charge. If an attack were made upon this house, he 
 and his sons would devise means for their escape, and 
 would resist to the death rather than yield that is, if 
 I require it of them. And as yet the police have not 
 treated him with suspicion. They would be safe there. 
 I will see to it at once. Go and rejoin them and keep 
 them in good spirit. Say that I have gone out but will 
 return soon." And Hernani prepared to leave the 
 house. Later in the evening he again spoke to the 
 Count. 
 
 "Nikolay Brauman will do all I want," he said; "we 
 have only to retire with them through the garden: then, 
 once they are safe, you and I will come back, and unless
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 203 
 
 visited by these devils disguised as men, we will remain, 
 perhaps who can tell? our last night for a while in 
 this house. Above all things, guard these timid ones 
 from alarm." 
 
 The Count simply nodded. Full of the gravity of the 
 outlook, he could not even smoke for the moment. Alone 
 with Sara, Hernani spoke so plausibly that at first she 
 was deceived. He told her that in view of the Conscrip 
 tion, and not knowing when it might be enforced, it 
 would be well to remove to Brauman s house. This was 
 all the more necessary because the police had already 
 made themselves obnoxious, as she was aware. With 
 Nikolay Brauman they would be at ease, since he had 
 no employes who might be sought on the premises. 
 
 To which reasoning Sara agreed, though not without 
 flutterings of the heart, and misgivings which grew into 
 shape, when Hernani, driven to it, suggested the expe 
 diency of taking with them many necessaries which in 
 his anxiety he began to enumerate and, in addition, a 
 good stock of clothing. 
 
 "What in the world for?" Sara demanded, facing him. 
 
 "Because it will be best," he answered nervously, still 
 striving to appear unconcerned. 
 
 Startled by the expression of his face beneath her 
 steady gaze, she seized his wrist and forced him to look 
 at her. 
 
 "You are deceiving me. You are keeping something 
 from me. Kasimir I believe ah! tell me for the love 
 of God. Is anything wrong? What has occurred? How 
 white and stern you look. You frighten me." 
 
 "Frighten you? How can you imagine such things? 
 Do as I say, then it will be well with you," Hernani con 
 trived to answer. 
 
 "But why should there be a mystery between us? Do 
 you hope to save me pain by treating me like a child? It 
 is true that when I came here, I was one, almost. But 
 now it is different. I am a woman, old enough and
 
 204 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 strong enough to know and bear the weight of all that 
 distresses you." 
 
 Her words sank into his heart and unnerved him. He 
 forgot his grievances everything, but that Sara was be 
 fore him, mingling her breath with his, her beautiful 
 head flung back, her hands upon his shoulders, her eyes, 
 so soft and luminous, looking into his, while her voice 
 the voice he loved so well thrilled through him as her 
 pleading tones fell upon his ear. Half suffocated with 
 emotion, he murmured 
 
 "Don t, dearie." 
 
 Years seemed to have elapsed since he had addressed 
 her so tenderly. 
 
 "But my place is by your side," she insisted, pushing 
 her little warm hand into his; "and I ought to know 
 what steps we are about to take, and why we are taking 
 them. Won t you tell me? In any case you want me 
 to be ready to go where you wish to-night. Well, you 
 may depend upon me." 
 
 Overcome by his feelings, the immense importance 
 and sadness of the situation pressing upon him, he was 
 about to reply to her, but the words died upon his 
 tongue. What could he tell her that the police were 
 tracking her, and that for her sake this flight was neces 
 sary? A sweat broke out upon his forehead. He sucked 
 the hairs of his moustache between his teeth and bit 
 them; in his nervous anguish he even bit his lower lip 
 until it bled. Then suddenly he drew away his hand; 
 this was no time for weakness. Every instant was most 
 precious. On the point of leaving his home, of taking 
 up arms in a great cause, spies and police swarming, per 
 haps even about to lose his wife, he must be strong 
 it was demanded of him. 
 
 "Another time I may be able to speak more plainly 
 to you," he said, the stern expression she had com 
 plained of returning; for the present I can only say, 
 pack and be ready, and it will be well."
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 205 
 
 The calm, firm tone in which the words were uttered 
 left no room for remonstrance; she could only regard 
 him wistfully for a moment, her desires and her anxi- 
 ties crowding into her mind it seemed all at once 
 then she turned and left him. 
 
 They had been, it appeared, upon the verge of a recon 
 ciliation, which in her opinion rested with him to bring 
 about, and which would have been so simple and at the 
 same time so delightful. Would it ever come to pass? 
 she wondered. Then she set to work. By ten o clock- 
 she had made her preparations, her last act being to 
 linger in the rooms she loved, and with a vivid recollec 
 tion of the happiness she had felt, even on first entering 
 them, to say to each in turn, "Good-bye, good-bye." It 
 cost her a frightful wrench to tear herself away. Two 
 or three times she returned, on each occasion discover 
 ing something she could not part with some gift-- 
 some souvenir of Hernani s which they had bought to 
 gether on their return from a day in the country an 
 outing the memory of which would last as long as 
 reason itself. Oh! those pure delights how innocent, 
 how delicious they had been. What had she done, what 
 sin had she been guilty of, that all chance, all hope of a 
 repetition of them should have disappeared, and left her 
 still young and still hungering, for the joys, the consola 
 tion, she had known and lost? Poor soul! it was heart 
 rending to read the word despair written in her eyes, 
 and to see her with her cheeks flushed, her lips dry and 
 feverish, and her hands trembling, as she persistently 
 wandered from one object to another. A little painted 
 miniature of Hernani, when but twenty years of age, was 
 discovered in an out-of-the-way corner where it had 
 been placed to make room for newer treasures this was 
 the last thing she pounced upon and forced into her 
 pocket. 
 
 Compelled to go at length, she announced that she 
 was ready, and when the moon was riding high and clear
 
 2C>6 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 above them, they crossed the terraced walks where the 
 flowers had been so bright in the spring and summer, 
 and lingering an instant near the fountain where the 
 gold-fish had sported, they then passed on beneath the 
 boughs of the cedars, together and in silence. 
 
 While the key was being fitted in the door which ad 
 mitted them to Nikolay Brauman s premises, Sara 
 glanced back, then swiftly into Hernani s face. 
 
 "We shall sleep in the old home no more, Kasimir?" 
 she whispered softly. 
 
 Hernani bowed his head. She was right.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 2O/ 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 That night, that historical night of the I4th of Jan 
 uary, 1863, the police fulfilled their instructions. The 
 youth of Warsaw to the number of two thousand, it is 
 said went to swell the Russian ranks, and the new day 
 dawned upon what appeared to be a triumph of minis 
 terial policy. The attitude of the Government had been 
 resolute. In spite of threats, it had carried its point. 
 It had conquered; yet could the official eyes have pene 
 trated to where the wheels of the revolutionary machine 
 worked swiftly and well, enough would have been seen 
 to occasion distrust, even alarm. 
 
 Never having once closed his eyes, the pale beams of 
 that morning found Hernani patiently at work. He and 
 Dorozynski had returned to the house as agreed, and 
 though the latter had done little beyond consuming a 
 quantity of cigarettes, he had been the silent witness 
 of a vast expenditure of methodical labor. 
 
 Early on the previous evening, Hernani had arranged 
 for the attendance of an old and trusted official, and 
 since for so long he had been steadily preparing for the 
 worst that could befall him, his actions fitted like the 
 parts of a puzzle. The doors of the bank were to be kept 
 open, and the business to be conducted as usual, though 
 a smaller staff was to be maintained; while, so far as the 
 internal working of the establishment was concerned, 
 Hernani appointed this little, round-shouldered, wizened, 
 though trustworthy official, in all things his deputy. 
 
 Thus having set his house in order so far as in him lay, 
 when the mist was clearing and the white and azure dap 
 pling of the sky was becoming tinted and streaked with 
 gold, amidst the twittering of the sparrows, and the
 
 208 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 steady drip, drip of the melting frost, pattering in crystal 
 drops from the flat and funereal branches of the cedar 
 trees, he turned his back upon his luxurious, almost 
 princely home, and with a heavy heart, and a min-l 
 harassed with care, sought the shelter extended to him 
 by Nikolay Brauman. To the Count, who was by his 
 side, he made but one remark by the way. 
 
 "So the police have not troubled us after all. Do they 
 know where to find us, and so are they strong in their 
 silence? It disturbs me we must make another move, 
 I think." 
 
 And worn out for once, he went away to take a little 
 rest. 
 
 It was Nikolay Brauman himself who was the first to 
 rouse him from a deep and unrefreshing slumber, and to 
 cause him to start up with blood-shot eyes, while he told 
 the tale of the unresisted, bloodless Conscription. Her- 
 nani stretched himself, and greatly disturbed, got up; 
 then for the remainder of that day, and for two more, he 
 was in the city alone. He had assumed a clever disguise, 
 at which the very chiefs of the revolutionary party, with 
 whom he was closeted, laughed, being unable to recog 
 nize him but for his voice. 
 
 Upon his return, he poured startling news into Doro- 
 zynski s ears. 
 
 "I have seen my friend of the garden," he said "the 
 man who stopped me in the Saksonski Sad, as I told you. 
 He with a party of detectives has been on our track. 
 Ah! he has been useful, and in the future I count upon 
 some services from him. The Holy One blessed be 
 He! has sent me such a friend at such a moment, other 
 wise I tremble to think what would have happened. Now 
 tell me what of our two doves, my wife and your sis 
 ter do they bear up well? They say so, of course, but 
 you, who have been with them and have no doubt ob 
 served them you will know." 
 
 "You need trouble nothing about them. They suf-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 2CK) 
 
 fer, but no more than they must, and they are strong and 
 full of courage. Your constant messages reassured us 
 all." 
 
 "Good! Now let us smoke, and let me tell you all I 
 have done, and all that is to follow. As I warned you, 
 the action of the Government in the matter of this Con 
 scription has set the match to the fire; within the space 
 of this week the country will be in a blaze. Nikolay 
 Brauman, my friend we may speak without reserve 
 no one will hear us?" 
 
 Nikolay Brauman assented. 
 
 "Very well; our foes not being prepared, and not be 
 lieving in their hearts that we have the courage to fight, 
 it has been decided at a meeting held now many hours 
 ago to take the great step on the 22nd of this month. 
 Our couriers are already scouring the kingdom, and on 
 that day the people will rise en masse Poland will be in 
 arms and then, as you will see, France will come to our 
 assistance." 
 
 "Ah! if we could but count upon that," exclaimed 
 Dorozynski. 
 
 "In any case, it is certain that we can count upon our 
 selves." answered Hernani; "but hear me out. I am full 
 of news, good and healthy for the cause. Every Rus 
 sian garrison throughout the land is to be attacked at 
 midnight on the date mentioned. Already there are 
 bodies of armed men moving in the woods on both banks 
 of the Vistula, and I am in receipt of special information 
 as to their numbers and condition." 
 
 The Count rubbed his hands. 
 
 "By heaven, this looks like business! We are really 
 about to do something," he exclaimed, with an almost 
 comical expression of satisfaction. 
 
 "You are right, my friend, and to-morrow night we 
 begin, we take the step. By nine o clock, since it is so 
 dark, we shall have crossed the river, and if the roads 
 permit, in the early hours of the morning we shall have 
 
 14
 
 210 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 met and mustered, five hundred strong. Each man has 
 been warned by me, and I think none will fail. 
 
 "But why was I left idling here while such work was 
 going on?" grumbled the Count. 
 
 "Because I judged it wise. Oh, you need not mind. 
 No slight was intended. When we are in the field we 
 shall depend upon you. What should I have done with 
 out you, since you have kept the women in good heart?" 
 
 The Count s face cleared. His generous nature was 
 free from the taint of sulkiness. 
 
 "That s all right," he said; "but what instructions did 
 you give the men? The greatest care should be taken to 
 get clear of the town without attracting attention, other 
 wise numbers of them may be arrested on suspicion/ 
 
 "Of course I thought of that it was one of my first 
 fears. They are to proceed singly or in parties of two 
 and three, riding or on foot, at any hour of the day they 
 may choose, but no arms are to be carried, and their 
 dress is to be their everyday attire. Now congratulate 
 me; there should be no hitch." 
 
 "With all my heart. No none should occur so far as 
 one can see." 
 
 "We have a strong body of men, plenty of food, and a 
 fair supply of arms and ammunition." 
 
 "But is there to be no attack upon the Citadel?" the 
 Count exclaimed all at once, in tones of surprise, as 
 though the thought had but just struck him. 
 
 "None is planned as yet. We are said to be too weak." 
 
 "Then we begin by abandoning the key to the situa 
 tion?" 
 
 "So I urged, but my representations were ignored." 
 
 "It should have been attempted, to my mind. A rush 
 should have been made. Look at the gain the prize 
 was a rich one." And the two men continued talking, 
 with old Nikolay Brauman for an attentive listener. 
 
 The few hours which remained before quitting the city, 
 were entered upon by Hernani, in a spirit of feverish
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 211 
 
 excitement. He dreaded the police; their methods of 
 dealing were, lie knew, so subtle. Never in his life had 
 he felt so anxious. He could abandon his business and 
 his home, he could risk the confiscation of the bulk of 
 his wealth with the calm deliberation of a man who be 
 lieves in himself, having learned to fight the world; but 
 when it came to the thought of his little one, his wife, in 
 jeopardy her safety, her very existence threatened 
 his legs felt weak, his head spun round , and he tottered 
 as beneath a weight too heavy for him. Perhaps the limbs 
 of the law would move with machine-like precision and 
 rapidity at the last moment on quitting Brauman s 
 house, or on stepping into a droshky; on the way to the 
 river, or when about to cross it. Now that his plans 
 were made, his business complete, he could not bear her 
 out of his sight. He caught himself eyeing her with 
 melancholy tenderness, making up his mind to part from 
 her, as it were, since at times, the disaster overshadowing 
 them seemed as black as a thunder-cloud on the point 
 of bursting. He was affected by fits of hilarity and con 
 fidence, depression and fear. Like a child he would start 
 up and peer out of the windows, or stand still and listen 
 for sign or sound, of the ubiquitous, iron-handed func 
 tionaries of the law. As for the time, it seemed as though 
 the hours refused to pass. He examined his watch, tug 
 ged unconsciously at his moustache, thrust his long thin 
 fingers through his dark wavy hair, and was incapable 
 of remaining seated for more than a few minutes. The 
 chiefs of the Central Committee, remembering his vast 
 \vealth, and consequent importance, favored him with 
 long and inspiriting messages, to which he paid little or 
 no heed. To such a pitch of distress was he reduced by 
 li is affection for this woman, whom in his darkest and 
 most jealous moments he still believed to be untrue to 
 him, that old Brauman s sons spoke of him as a bear, and 
 even went so far as to touch their foreheads significantly, 
 thereby indicating to each other that perhaps he was a
 
 212 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 little mad. Of the men about him, the Count alone 
 pitied him, knowing the exact condition of affairs; and 
 Hernani, who occasionally encountered and understood 
 his sympathetic glances, said to him, more than once, as 
 though ashamed of his weakness 
 
 "I shall be all right when we are clear of the place. 
 Ah! my friend, there is no need to tell you." And he 
 smoked and paced about the room, this old tried traveler, 
 this man of iron will and approved courage, in an ap 
 parently inconsolable frame of mind waiting forced to 
 wait; the unendurable suspense killing him. 
 
 Sara and Deotima, too, for that matter, were carrying 
 their separate loads of anxiety, but then, being women, 
 they bore them more patiently.
 
 HKRNANI THE JEW. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Shut up within his palace, protected from cold and dis 
 comfort by stout walls and innumerable luxuries, Hour- 
 ko found himself alternately gratified and perplexed. 
 Wielopolski s coup d etat, the attempting of which he 
 had strenuously opposed , had deprived him of excitement 
 on the one hand, while supplying it on the other. 
 
 If the sons of the leading citizens of the town could be 
 arrested in their beds and in the streets, and tranquillity 
 be maintained, then obviously the Marquis Wielopolski 
 was right and there would be no revolution or rebellion 
 of any kind. And that was well, so far; still, there would 
 be no fighting, nothing out of which to obtain kudos 
 and he loved fighting and kudos, and he hated the Poles ; 
 besides, if there were to be no disturbances, what was to 
 become of his long-cherished passion for the Jewess 
 the adorable Sara which, if controlled or laid aside tem 
 porarily owing to his wound and to absorbing demands 
 made upon him, was by no means abandoned. As he 
 had considered all along, with the whole kingdom in 
 arms, and Warsaw in a state of uproar and confusion, the 
 wife of a traitor and Jew might have been easily account 
 ed for, but, with the loom of tranquillity and the growing 
 prospect of it, the realization of his desires might be dif 
 ficult, in fact unattainable. For obvious reasons he had 
 not the smallest intention of using the criminous docu 
 ment, the possession of which had so alarmed Sara and 
 influenced Hernani. Sara, surrendered to the tender 
 mercies of the law, would be Sara out of his reach, lost to 
 him in fact. The idea that she was virtuous occasionally 
 forced itself upon him, and dimly, deep in his heart, he 
 felt himself capable of respecting such an admirable qual 
 ity, though the teaching and experience of his whole life
 
 214 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 was opposed to a belief in its existence. Whatever the 
 temporary direction of his thoughts, however, upon all 
 such points as concerned her, he invariably returned to 
 the main one his decision, fixed and unalterable, to have 
 her within his power, hazard and trouble to be unconsid- 
 ered trifles. So, though slowly, having so many dis 
 tractions, his wits were at work, shaping out this problem 
 he had set himself. 
 
 In another wing of the palace, that is to say, in one 
 of the suite of rooms Madam Hourko appropriated to 
 herself, a short scene was in progress, which would have 
 occasioned the gallant Ivan Nicholaevitch no small 
 amount of additional perplexity and also some surprise. 
 Olga Pavlovna sat palpitating and furious, while before 
 her stood Popoloff, cringing and crestfallen. 
 
 "So again this woman has slipped through our fingers, 
 and again you have failed me!" she well-nigh screamed, 
 in her thin, irritable voice. 
 
 "Do but hear me, madam," whined Titus, shuffling his 
 feet, and unconsciously cracking the knuckles of his long 
 bony fingers, in his evident distress "do but believe me, 
 when I assure you that to have done the thing would 
 have been madness, and upon my head your censure 
 must have fallen. Well was it that the house was empty, 
 or what an uproar would have followed." 
 
 "Silence, sir," Olga retorted "you were only born to 
 obey!" 
 
 "Let me beg, let me remind you that the Jew is a great 
 man in his own way, being rich beyond count ; how then 
 could this woman be seized without inquiries resulting? 
 A little patience, a little waiting would be well ; still, if you 
 desire it, a commotion being nothing, we may have her 
 yet. The tricks of the town are well known to the men 
 I employ. She can be caught oh! yes; there can be lit 
 tle doubt of that. I think I could go near to where she 
 is in hiding at this very moment." 
 
 "You could? Then how can vou lose time?"
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 215 
 
 "But, madam, I have despatched the detectives. To 
 night they will make their report to me." 
 
 "Oh! these delays these delays." 
 
 "Madam, there must be reasonable ones." 
 
 "But they are maddening. Did you bribe the men 
 sufficiently?" 
 
 "Yes with a due attention to reason." 
 
 "But there is no reason in the matter. I may be alto 
 gether unreasonable in my hatred of this woman, since 
 but for her I might be forced to hate another. That does 
 not matter. I hate her. See take these rubles; spend 
 them ; scour the town, every hole and corner of it, but let 
 me know that she is under lock and key. That is all I 
 ask of you." 
 
 "It shall be done, madam." 
 
 "Promptly and well?" 
 
 Popoloff smiled sarcastically. 
 
 "Madam, the detectives I have employed may be reck 
 oned on." 
 
 "And you will let me know the result on the instant?" 
 
 "The instant I know it, madam." 
 
 "One moment there is one thing more I have to say 
 to you. Should you fail I may as well tell you frankly 
 you may count upon me as your worst enemy." 
 
 Popoloff ventured no answer; he merely bowed and 
 shuffled out of the room, muttering to himself 
 
 "Of what use to reason, to point out that the time is 
 not ripe ! Reasoning with a woman in love, is like talk 
 ing to a mad dog." 
 
 Later still, that day, it might have been said that he 
 was employing his own wits oddly, since he was myste 
 riously engaged with members of the Central Commit 
 tee, in return for what he would have described as a 
 "sufficient sum of money."
 
 2l6 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 At length, for Hernani, the supreme moment had ar 
 rived. With a view to attract less attention, the Count 
 and Deotima had gone on ahead in a sauki,* intending to 
 proceed over the Praga Bridge to the rendezvous, which 
 was to be at a given point on the river bank. 
 
 All that remained to be done was to bid farewell to old 
 Nikolay Brauman, and step into the street accompanied 
 by Riva. Hernani s disguise was perfect, a long thick 
 beard adding twenty years to his age; as for Sara, she 
 was muffled up past all recognition. The door of the old 
 Jew s house closed behind them as they descended the 
 steps. A sauki came up in search of a fare, they engaged 
 it, seated themselves, and in perfect Russian, Hernani 
 gave his instructions. They were off. Sara s pulses 
 beat wildly, and her beautiful eyes, appearing black nou 
 that the pupils were dilated, flashed anxious glances on 
 all sides. Would they be stopped? What would hap 
 pen? Every dusky figure approaching in shuba, mili 
 tary great-coat or other attire, was assuredly a foe to be 
 reckoned with, and when at a breakneck speed their 
 driver swept them round a turning, almost into the cen 
 ter of a group of mounted Cossacks, her distress was 
 complete. She uttered a nervous stifled cry. Surely 
 they were lost? Leaning back in his seat, his broad 
 shoulders expanded, a couple of loaded revolvers in his 
 pockets and a good cigar between his teeth, Hernani ap 
 peared at his ease. His utterances were monosyllabic. 
 and he contented himself with firmly gripping Sara s 
 arm at the moment when he heard her weak expression 
 of fear: otherwise he sat motionless. In this way thev 
 
 * Small sledge.
 
 HERN AMI THE JEW. 217 
 
 swung round the angles of the streets, miraculously, it 
 seemed, escaping collision with other vehicles, until, with 
 a jerk which threw the horses on their haunches, they at 
 length drew rein within a few paces of the river. The 
 little passage over the ice was nothing, and there in the 
 gloom, awaiting their coming, were the Count and Deo- 
 tima, while close at hand was a sani* and pair, and a 
 couple of saddle-horses. A few remarks exchanged, 
 even a joke thrown in, and they were off again, Hernani 
 and the Count riding, the two women tucked up warmly 
 in the sledge; above all things, Warsaw was behind them, 
 and the open country and the woods ahead. 
 
 Throughout that drive the sensation was strong upon 
 Sara that she was entering upon a new life. She expe 
 rienced a feeling of sleepy contentment as the horses tore 
 along and the sledge labored and creaked. Now and 
 again they rumbled and oscillated over a bridge of pine 
 trunks, the interstices of which were stuffed with branch 
 es and soil, pounded and moistened by exposure and 
 usage to the consistency of clay. When she looked out 
 she could see nothing but the dim outline of a white- 
 walled cottage, a fence, or the straight dark stems of trees 
 disappearing into interminable gloom, and this, thanks 
 alone to the side lamps, athwart the light from which, 
 the rapid breathing of the horses struck in pointed shafts 
 of vapor. 
 
 Hernani and the Count rode ahead or in the rear, the 
 road being for the most part too narrow for them to keep 
 abreast of the sledge, and she occasionally caught herself 
 judging of their position by the dull rhythmic thud of 
 their horses hoofs. These monotonous sounds created by 
 this passage through the silence of the night, succeeding 
 the protracted anxiety and nervous strain to which she 
 had for so long been subjected, caused Sara to sink at 
 length into a deep and placid sleep, during which Deo- 
 
 * Large sledge.
 
 2l8 HERN AN I THE JEW. 
 
 tima remained awake without attempting to speak, the 
 Count and Hernani scarcely exchanging a word, except 
 of advice or caution. 
 
 And so they journeyed on, hour after hour, through 
 dense woods and occasional open spaces, until, as in a 
 dream, Sara was conscious of alighting and entering a 
 long low house with a wooden porch, of receiving the 
 kindest welcome and some much needed refreshment, 
 and then, still in a pleasantly tired and happy state, of hur 
 rying into bed, thankful to rid herself of her clothes and 
 nestle beneath the cool soft sheets, with the abandon of a 
 child who is weary and wishes but to stretch its limbs. 
 
 In the morning, she was awakened by the muffled 
 noises made by people moving and busying^ themselves 
 within and without the house. As she lay on her back 
 wondering where she was, and yawned and stretched her 
 soft round arms above her head, slowly she became con 
 scious of the cheering and appetizing sounds and scents 
 of a country house. She, who in her heart loved such 
 simple things, discovered that the air w r as fresher and 
 purer, and that stored herbs and fruits, such as apples 
 and pears and preserves, mingled their perfume with the 
 more subtle fragrance of wood smoke, hay, and an oc 
 casional puff of a stronger odor, caused by the presence 
 of cattle and the roots necessary to them. Gradually be 
 coming more alive to sounds, she distinguished the low, 
 monotonous, but soothing coo-coo of wood-pigeons, the 
 twitter of sparrows and linnets, and the more prolonged 
 and agreeable notes of mavis and blackbird. With a lit 
 tle shudder she drew her arms beneath the bed-clothes, 
 which she collected about her ears, despite the increased 
 cold, taking pleasure in moving her limbs into the cool 
 parts of the bed, vaguely wondering and listening still, 
 but dimly conscious that she breathed and was refreshed. 
 Finally, in response to the dull rumble of wagons, some 
 shouts rising above the hum of many voices, the crack 
 of a rifle and an occasional command in sharp decisive
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 219 
 
 tones, she flung the bed-clothes aside, hung her little feet 
 over the edge of the bed momentarily, then boldly step 
 ped across the floor and cautiously raised the milk-white 
 linen blind. The sight she beheld enabled her instantly 
 to appreciate her position. 
 
 Before her lay a drive and a flower-garden, separated 
 from an orchard but thinly planted with fruit trees, by a 
 rough wooden fence. On the edge of this orchard a long 
 line of farm buildings appeared, built upon a scale suit 
 able to an estate of several thousand acres, situated in a 
 country where the climate and method of farming neces 
 sitated a great storage of produce. Upturned carts, 
 ploughs, and other implements of husbandry, were to be 
 seen mingled with all the litter of a space, where through 
 open doors, cows were standing gently swinging their 
 tails. As a setting to this scene, as well as a serviceable 
 protection from fierce gales of wind, imagine the dark 
 brown trunks and feathery crests of an apparently in 
 terminable forest of pine trees. 
 
 A fresh fall of snow had occurred over night, but the 
 dampness of it was totally ignored by groups of men 
 scattered over the orchard or gathered around the out 
 buildings, where horses were being groomed, arms and 
 equipments examined and cleaned, the arrival and. un 
 loading of wagons attended to. Occasionally, rifles were 
 being discharged over the heads of young animals, with 
 a view to accustom them to the sound of firing; this pre 
 cautionary measure being carried on at some little dis 
 tance to the right, near the pine wood, on the fringe of 
 which the Count might be discerned instructing a little 
 squad of men. And upon the whole picture, the sun was 
 making attacks in amber shafts, dispersing the mist and 
 flashing light upon every piece of shining metal bits, 
 gun-barrels, implements, every particle of snow, ice, and 
 dripping moisture. 
 
 But where was Hernani, and what had become of the 
 usually attentive and devoted Riva? Why had they
 
 22O HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 allowed her to sleep so late, for evidently it was late? It 
 was too bad, and made her feel desperately guilty. She 
 should have been up and doing with the rest; it was 
 disgusting, lazy of her at such a time ; and, thinking thus 
 ill of herself, she was in the midst of hurrying, when in 
 reply to a knock, Deotima had to be admitted . And the 
 young girl came in looking the embodiment of health, 
 her lips and cheeks ruddy as ever, her eyes clear and 
 sparkling, though her hands were somewhat cold and 
 blue, owing to the low temperature of the water in which 
 she had been splashing about. But it was easier to get 
 Deotima into the room than out of it, brimful as she was 
 of strange news, rumors, positive facts, actual occur 
 rences; for already she had been out and about, having 
 run down to explore, like a child, naturally curious and 
 keenly interested in a new place. 
 
 Deliberately seating herself on the edge of the bed, her 
 skirts spread out, she showed rather a large though shape 
 ly foot and ankle. Then she began to talk. Had Sara not 
 enjoyed the long drive? To her it had been delightfully 
 swift and romantic; and what a complete change of ex 
 istence it had brought about. Had she slept well? She 
 looked as fresh as a flower. Oh, yes; she would let her 
 get up in a moment, but there was really no occasion to 
 hurry, and she must just say her say before leaving her 
 in peace. Sara rolled the bed-clothes about her and sat 
 up, clasping her knees, listening with amused good na 
 ture and interest to this breathless account; and Deoti 
 ma continued. Several sturdy and fine-looking young 
 fellows who had not been expected, had already dropped 
 in amongst the rest, who in many cases were really well 
 mounted and good riders. Andrew had expressed him 
 self much pleased with their appearance. Then wagons 
 were rolling up, as she surely must have heard, filled 
 with hay and straw and any amount of provisions, so that 
 the place would soon be converted into a camp on a large 
 scale. Their host, old Sicinski, was a charming patriot.
 
 HEKNANI THE JEW. 221 
 
 ready to spend his last shilling for the cause, and his two 
 sons were most civil and obliging but of course Sara 
 had seen them. Oh, and Andrew had promised to 
 further her instruction with a rifle and revolver, and 
 but how stupid of her that news was stale. Very well ; 
 since Sara was so anxious to dress, she would be off and 
 would not forget to send Riva, whom she had already 
 encountered downstairs ; and away went this fine, simple- 
 minded specimen of maidenhood, in such spirits, that 
 Sara scarcely recognized her. Then the dressing recom 
 menced more soberly, and with the conviction that she 
 was hopelessly behindhand. 
 
 She had slept well, and no doubt under the influence 
 of the keen frosty air, sweet with the resinous odor of the 
 pine woods, her thoughts flew swiftly. She became con 
 scious of freedom from gloom and anxiety. It was as 
 though she had been suddenly relieved of a heavy incu 
 bus by an unseen hand, and, surprised at this lightness 
 of heart, she put the question to herself more than once, 
 "What has happened what has happened?" And she 
 actually sat down, the better to enable her to analyze her 
 own feelings. "Why do I feel so different?" she inquired. 
 "I am like a new being. Let me think." With a towel 
 over one arm, her hair escaping over her shoulders, she 
 raised the ringers of her left hand and began to enumer 
 ate her ideas ; then, after a while, she again commenced 
 her toilet, her mind still at work, though in a less method 
 ical fashion. For instance, that snake in the grass, that 
 little fat oily pig, Hermann Bloch, was no longer near 
 to work mischief. Besides that, Hernani must have a 
 warm corner for her somewhere in his heart, and, as if in 
 support of this idea, had she not surprised him in the act 
 of regarding her with something of the old interest and 
 affection? He had certainly been more sympathetic and 
 tender in manner. As for the magnitude of the step they 
 had now taken, her belief in him was prodigious, abso 
 lute. Over again she was the young woman who had
 
 222 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 clung to him in the old Cracow days, wondering, rever 
 encing, adoring. No matter what he might do, he would 
 be lucky. Her fears had been groundless, the over 
 whelming obstacles she had at first discerned had existed 
 only in her imagination. The cause he had espoused 
 would assuredly triumph the Russians would be worst 
 ed and forced to come to terms, and once again Poland 
 would be free. But even while she so arranged the ter 
 mination of this death-struggle, through her window a 
 spectacle presented itself which upset her. Out there 
 in the orchard, a tall, slim young fellow 7 , with a white 
 face one of the new recruits was being shown how to 
 hold his rifle. She recoiled a step. What material! 
 Was there not something wrong, something worse than 
 a forlorn hope about this revolutionary effort? There 
 were thousands of splendid troops in and around War 
 saw; in some instances, the flower of the Russian army. 
 She had seen and heard them march, and the precision 
 and thunder of their disciplined steps, rang again in her 
 ears. A sensation of emptiness, even sickness, over 
 came her, and she passed her hand over her forehead as 
 though to disperse such unpleasant reflections. 
 
 "It is all right. He knows," she at length had courage 
 to murmur, and she shrugged her shoulders as though to 
 say, "It is thus I banish such ideas." 
 
 At the close of that first day the greatest progress had 
 been made. To begin with, more than the number of 
 men expected had joined, and these had been questioned 
 separately, with a view to ascertain their special capabili 
 ties. Quarters for the whole force had been found in and 
 around the farm-buildings, which in case of attack were 
 to be defended to the last. The thick woods in rear of 
 the position, were to be retreated into, only in case of ex 
 treme need. The best mounted and most trustworthy 
 men had been thrown out as scouts, having received in 
 structions how to act in case of emergency from the 
 Count, who in reality was in command of rather more
 
 223 
 
 than five hundred men, in good health and in the best of 
 spirits. 
 
 Word had been received from Deotima s cousins, 
 Counts Ladislaus and Adam Goroski, that they were 
 joining with all speed, and moreover, not single-handed. 
 All the peasants thus far encountered had proved friend 
 ly, though that, it was thought, might be due to the in 
 fluence of their host and his two sons, who, jointly, were 
 the proprietors of an immense stretch of land. 
 
 Up to the hour at which they sat down to the evening 
 meal a sort of homely tea five-and-twenty of them at a 
 long table which extended nearly the length of the room, 
 no news of any kind had been received from Warsaw. It 
 was not yet known whether the Government was aware 
 that they had taken up arms, and Hernani was anxious 
 that the fact should be disguised as long as possible. To 
 be let alone for the next few days would be of immense 
 advantage, he urged. Their friends would have time to 
 join them perhaps one, if not both, of the two bodies of 
 men reported to be within twenty miles, would come in 
 to swell their ranks; the men would be better accustomed 
 to the weapons they were about to handle, and, more 
 important still, the result of the grand attempt on the 
 22nd, would be known after which it would be so much 
 easier to gauge the situation accurately. 
 
 The appetites of all these people, these young fellows 
 met together for so desperate a purpose, appeared to Sara 
 to be really enormous. Some of them had never been a 
 clay s journey from home, yet they were laughing and 
 chaffing, eating and drinking, as though they were ac 
 customed to such work behaving like veterans, in fact. 
 She caught herself wondering whether this mirth was not 
 too loud to be natural. It was all very well, but what a 
 noise! Beneath the surface were there no shadowy mis 
 givings such as she herself had been troubled with? Un 
 used to hardship or exposure of any kind, without reck 
 oning the enemy s bullets, a great many of them would
 
 224 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 never see parents or home again. And to think that 
 Hernani had staked life everything just as they had. 
 At that thought she must have looked intensely serious, 
 for Deotima, who had been watching her, could not help 
 exclaiming 
 
 "What are you thinking of? 7 
 
 Disturbed, almost startled, Sara could make no other 
 answer than a very commonplace one, which was 
 
 "Oh, nothing." " 
 
 "But the expression of your face was quite tragic." 
 
 Sara shook herself and with affected surprise said 
 
 "No really did I look so disagreeable? What a 
 mistake. But I was dreaming that was all. 
 
 "Are you feeling well?" inquired Deotima sympatheti 
 cally; and Sara declared with energy that she was. All 
 the same, her spirits had somewhat evaporated, Hernani 
 being in a measure at the bottom of it. He had not 
 escaped her notice through the day in fact, when it had 
 been possible, she had spoken to him and had been de 
 pressed by a slight, but to her insignificant, alteration in 
 his manner towards her. He seemed rather to avoid her, 
 she imagined, and by way of an additional annoyance, 
 for the sake of space, it had been decided that she and 
 Deotima should occupy one room together, so that her 
 much cherished desire to share whatever accommodation 
 there was with Hernani, was at once destroyed. It was 
 irritating in the extreme; however, having decided to 
 make the best of everything, she laid herself out to 
 be charming, with the result that before bedtime she 
 had succeeded in winning the hearts of all those with 
 whom she came in contact. Last thing that night Riva 
 joined her as was her wont, and the gossip she delighted 
 in, having been missed latterly, she was overflowing 
 with her own simple ideas. In her servant s voice she 
 began by grumbling at their change of quarters. 
 
 "This is no place for you, my lamb. What could the
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 225 
 
 master be thinking of, to leave a beautiful home and all 
 the comforts of it, for a hole like this?" 
 
 "You don t understand, Riva," Sara answered gently. 
 
 Then it s no fault of mine. I ask, and I obey; now, 
 don t I? It s Riva do this and that, and I m to be found 
 trotting about, here, there, and everywhere, always on 
 my legs. Tell me did the pan* here lose his wife? 
 Pity for him; a house without a woman to look after it 
 is no better than a pig-sty." 
 
 "It does make a difference." 
 
 "I should think so indeed." 
 
 "But you are well treated, Riva." 
 
 "Oh, as for that, yes; I have nothing to complain of. 
 But the place is going to ruin. If I were an obyvatel,t 
 with land by the mile and money by the sack, I d have 
 my ceilings white and my windows and walls clean. And 
 those great strong sons of his what do they do all day 
 but smoke, smoke, smoke." 
 
 "Ah! Riva; you are in the wrong mood to be 
 pleased." 
 
 "What do I see to please me, my lamb?" 
 
 "Well, make the best of it." 
 
 "Oh, as for that, that s all right; but I wish we were 
 back in Warsaw again." 
 
 "Don t." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because it is useless to wish such things." 
 
 "Where are we going, then? Shall we be here all 
 through the cold?" 
 
 "I know no more than you do, Riva." 
 
 "How strange; and does the master?" 
 
 "Not as yet. A day or two may decide." 
 
 "And you will tell me?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well, from what I can see of it, there is no rising 
 
 * Mr. Sir Owner. tLanded proprietor. 
 
 15
 
 226 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 throughout the land. Only ourselves, stuck fast in the 
 midst of woods. If the great Russian, the Governor, 
 move against us with his host, may the God of Israel 
 fight for us, I say we shall need him. 
 
 "That must be so always. But He is on our side. Our 
 cause is a righteous one." 
 
 "Yes, that is so. Well, the master knows what he is 
 about, I suppose. He has a long head, and fortune pur 
 sues him. Ach! How grand he looks in his great-coat 
 and boots, like as in Cracow when he came to us through 
 the snow eh, my lamb?" 
 
 Sara nodded her head with the pleased expression 
 Riva was on the lookout for. 
 
 "Not one of them here can make his shadow." 
 
 Sara fairly blushed and did not answer. She was as 
 simple as a child in aught that concerned Hernani, and 
 never knew what to say when his praises were sung. In 
 her eyes he had no faults. All this Riva knew, but, 
 shrewdly judging enough to be as good as a feast, she 
 slid on to another topic. 
 
 "Well, have caution for yourself, my lamb. When you 
 are out of my sight, what is to be done if you are not 
 careful? And the draughts here are awful think of 
 that! Ah! what a night I had never a wink of sleep, 
 what with the ache in my teeth and the pain in my shoul 
 der. Is there enough on the bed are you sure? Ach! 
 The more comfort one has, the more one wants. There, 
 now, someone is coming. For the life of me, I can never 
 get you to myself." And Riva retreated precipitately, 
 just as Deotima entered. 
 
 Evidently the young woman did not share Riva s hor 
 ror of cold or draughts, for her first act was to make for 
 the window, which she flung open. 
 
 "What a relief to get a breath of fresh air, after the 
 heat of that room downstairs!" she exclaimed, filling 
 her lungs with a sigh of satisfaction. "Really it was in 
 sufferably hot: I felt like fainting. Come and have a
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 227 
 
 peep. A lot of them have decided to camp out. I joked 
 them about being hot-house plants told them they 
 would catch cold if a leaf stirred, and this is the result. 
 They declared they had tents and meant to use them. 
 Come; it looks quite pretty in the light of the huge wood 
 fires. You won t catch cold. It is dry. There is a sharp 
 frost." 
 
 Sara joined her, and the two of them rested their arms 
 on the window-sill. A sudden thought struck Deotima. 
 
 "Let us put on our furs and go out for a few min 
 utes," she said; "the house is not shut up and it will do 
 us good. 
 
 Sara objected. It was late. 
 
 "But not too late," argued the girl; "for my part, I 
 never felt less like sleeping come." 
 
 Sara yielded the two of them skipping down the 
 staircase as though they were escaping for some fine 
 fun. In spite of remonstrances from Riva, who had 
 heard them and begged them not to be foolish, they fol 
 lowed the curve of the drive as it wound through the 
 garden into the orchard, Sara firing a last shot at Riva, 
 who stood shivering in the doorway. 
 
 "You stupid old thing it will not hurt us. We shall 
 be back in a moment." 
 
 But it was all very fine. In a few minutes they shiv 
 ered, the keen air having chilled them. 
 
 "Let us go back; Riva was right," said Sara. 
 
 "No, no come on," urged the girl; "I cannot sleep 
 to-night. Can you guess why?" 
 
 "Yes, I fancy so." 
 
 "Why, then?" 
 
 "It is the great night the 22nd." 
 
 "You are right, and I shall never be able to close my 
 eyes. Think of what will be happening now and within 
 an hour. It is already past eleven. At this very mo 
 ment they will be stealing to the places of meeting, 
 avoiding the police or the troops. May the Blessed Vir-
 
 228 HERN AMI THE JEW. 
 
 gin watch over them and endow them with strength 
 courage, I know they have. The old and infirm the 
 parents will be praying for the young and active the 
 children who will be arming, and in their hearts pray 
 ing too. Ought not we to pray we two here, with 
 only the sky between us and God s throne? No one 
 will see; it is so dark. Let us." 
 
 And at the edge of the wood, whence came faint noises 
 of the night, at the foot of a huge pine tree, which cast 
 its drooping branches encrusted with frozen snow al 
 most over them, they lifted their eyes to heaven, and as 
 their different religions prompted them, implored the 
 Divine aid for Poland and her sons. Then, in a silence 
 which both felt to be good at such a moment, they skirt 
 ed the fringe of pines, passing near the watch-fires rec 
 ognized and unchallenged. 
 
 Over their heads not a star was to be seen, mist even 
 floating through the summits of the loftiest trees, driven 
 by the cool wind. Once they distinctly heard, far up 
 above them, the measured flap-flap of some great bird s 
 wings, as in mystic solitude and impenetrable gloom it 
 beat its trackless course southward. And the same 
 thought occurred to both at the same moment what 
 strange and terrible scenes might those tireless pinions 
 hover over! 
 
 The remainder of that night passed away in peace, 
 though in a large village near at hand, manifestations of 
 friendliness to the Polish cause were freely indulged in, 
 much to the wrath of the Russian burgomaster and tax- 
 gatherer. This was entirely due to Hernani s efforts, 
 supplemented by the orders he had issued to cultivate 
 the goodwill of the peasantry and to pay the price de 
 manded for any supplies obtained. 
 
 As the new day dawned, the thoughts in the hearts of 
 all were, What has happened when shall we receive in 
 formation? The Count had advocated an attack upon
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 229 
 
 Siedlec hours previously, to which Hernani had ob 
 jected. 
 
 "I promised to come here, and to do nothing until I 
 received instructions," he had answered. "Let us act as 
 I agreed; it will be for the best. 1 And there the matter 
 dropped. 
 
 For Sara the event of the day came early. There were 
 a few gleams of sunshine, though the air was damp ow 
 ing to a thaw, and she and Deotima stood in the wooden 
 porch sheltered from the wind, enjoying the feeble 
 warmth and watching the puffs of blue smoke curling 
 away from the Minie rifles, as the men in their simple 
 gray uniforms practiced at a mark. Neither of them had 
 slept well, and both were in that frame of mind, when to 
 think little, is as great a relief as to talk little. The large 
 rambling house of one story in height, the garden, or 
 chard and outbuildings had all been explored even the 
 frozen pond which supplied fish for the Lenten fast, had 
 been looked at and walked round; there was no new 
 sensation to be got by a further exhibition of curiosity, 
 and since there was no immediate cause for uneasiness, 
 they abandoned themselves to a momentary sensation 
 of comfort, blinking there in the sun, dropping mono 
 syllabic remarks without being conscious that they 
 opened their lips. A perpetual hum of voices came from 
 the direction of the outbuildings, where most of the men 
 were assembled, only a few of the rawest of their number 
 being out, burning the powder which was so precious. 
 So there were the bulk of them, lolling about, amusing 
 themselves, smoking, singing, playing cards, telling each 
 other how the Russians were to be made short work of, 
 while only those who thought more and talked less, 
 washed, hung out some clothes, mended the fires, or 
 groomed their horses. 
 
 Amidst this jumblement of sounds, came the clang of 
 the iron gate at the bottom of the drive, the latch rattling 
 as it swung upon its hinges.
 
 HER NAN! THE JEW. 
 
 A little old woman with a basket trudged up to them. 
 She wished to see Hernani. For what purpose? Oh! 
 for that matter, she had two fowls, plump and white, and 
 some fresh eggs. She wished to give them to him, and 
 had walked some three miles to do so. Why? Why? 
 Because he had been the salvation of her son, who had 
 been lazy and given to drink. He had found work for 
 him at a time when the world had tired of him. She 
 knew of others who could tell the same story. Yes, it 
 was a long while since before she had come to live in 
 that part of the country, but she had not forgotten she 
 should never forget. She had been assured that he was 
 close at hand, and she had come to see. 
 
 Sara turned to Deotima. 
 
 Take her to him," was all she could say. 
 
 Ah! what joy, what unspeakable joy to hear him 
 spoken of with such affection, to know that he was be 
 loved as well as respected. No wonder that she loved 
 him. It made her quiver with delight. To think of it-- 
 in the country miles from home his good deeds blos 
 soming in such a fashion. Then she remembered. The 
 woman was poorly clad and it was cold. She was only 
 copying him, it was true, but, with her heart throbbing, 
 she rushed upstairs. She had few things to choose from. 
 but there was a shawl, a soft woolen one which would 
 be just the thing. Riva should take it. Ah! it was de 
 licious to be kind, she thought, as hidden away she 
 stood and watched the little bent figure limping along, 
 looking bigger and warmer for the extra wrap, her 
 empty basket hooked upon her arm, her heart evidently 
 strengthened by the treatment she had received, if one 
 might judge by the laughter that marked her passage 
 through the ranks of the well-meaning young patriots. 
 
 For a little while and for the first time for years 
 Hernani experienced the sensation of being out of his 
 element. Count Dorozynski was a soldier in the true 
 sense of the word, that is, he had seen active service.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 231 
 
 Hernani was a traveled civilian of large experience, a 
 shrewd business man and born financier, but he could 
 claim to be no more. By a retrospective bound, which 
 recalled old days minutely, it seemed to him that he 
 would have felt more at home amidst the wild freedom 
 of an Arab encampment, than surrounded by the disci 
 pline the Count did his best to enforce. Amidst the rifle 
 practice, the drilling, the exercises of various kinds by 
 word of command, he was forced to look on while the 
 Count stepped into the position habitual to him in all 
 he undertook that of chief. Chief he was to many of 
 the men, his own employes and those who knew him, 
 and chief he might be again when it came to the turmoil 
 of a fight, but amongst military red-tapism he felt out 
 of place. It was only by degrees that this feeling passed 
 and he began to make headway and to be conscious of 
 it. Possessing the rare power of inspiring others with 
 the confidence he felt in himself, he had only to throw 
 his whole heart and soul into his new duties to make 
 the most astonishing strides in the right direction. His 
 practical, penetrative and logical mind, was so capable 
 of grasping and advising quickly and wisely, that even 
 where technical knowledge seemed to be required, his 
 counsel was useful. He won the hearts of those of his 
 following to whom he had been but slightly known, and 
 in the eyes of those who thought they knew him he dis 
 played fresh qualities. It was as though he had started 
 a new business, which at the outset required every mo 
 ment of his time and attention. It was the master mind 
 at work again. Even the Count was not prepared for 
 such an exhibition. 
 
 "You should have been a soldier!" he could not help 
 exclaiming. 
 
 As for the men, they talked amongst themselves, sift 
 ing, discussing, measuring him accurately and assigning 
 him his place in their midst. "Let the chief alone; he s 
 all right; he s got a head on his shoulders," they were
 
 232 HERNANI THE JEW 
 
 in the habit of saying. "To see him shoot, one would 
 think he had been born to the business." Then they 
 would allude to his wealth. It whetted their curiosity; 
 it awed them. How much had he got? Ah! that was a 
 question. One thing was certain a man with so much 
 money was a man worth respecting. And all sorts of 
 fabulous stories were circulated about him, the things 
 he had done, and the things he had not done but was 
 credited with, when added together, making a heavy 
 total. However, there could be no doubt that he was 
 warm-hearted and generous, as well as enormously 
 wealthy that he had traveled everywhere awhile back, 
 and that his linguistic attainments were unique. Then, 
 too, there was his wife could anyone be more gentle 
 and charming, or quicker with a kind word or a good 
 act? And the more intelligent added that at times she 
 looked thoughtful and sad, an expression, they contend 
 ed, which softened and enhanced her surprising beauty. 
 A button sewed on by her, was fingered with respect, by 
 the soft-hearted fellow thus favored. A few simple words 
 falling from her lips, made the pulses of the recipients 
 flutter with pleasure. And was it to be wondered at. 
 when to her beauty, goodness had been added, and to 
 that, affability, an irresistible combination with which to 
 assault poor susceptible humanity? 
 
 So these two, Sara and Hernani, were in a fair way to 
 be thought much of, and this not less because they were 
 both unconscious of the subtle charm of their own indi 
 viduality. 
 
 At length, when it became known that a mounted 
 courier had arrived bringing important information, 
 what gossiping began, and what signs of excitement 
 were visible upon each face; what conjectures were haz 
 arded, and what speculations indulged in! Some of the 
 poor fellows talked of getting news of their parents, 
 though how it was to come to them was not quite clear. 
 It was true, thev had onlv been absent a little while:
 
 
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 233 
 
 but their position was a perilous one, and they were un 
 accustomed to being out of sight of their own house 
 tops. 
 
 Actually in receipt of a direct communication from the 
 Central Committee, Hernani and Dorozynski proceeded 
 to discuss it with closed doors. None of the subordinate 
 officers they had appointed, not even Counts Ladislaus 
 and Adam Goroski, who had by this time arrived, were 
 to be told anything until they had carefully decided how 
 much to tell. 
 
 The despatch proved to be a lengthy one which occa 
 sioned pleasure, but also indicated the necessity for 
 energetic action in the near future. The tale it told was 
 that the secret of the rising had been faithfully main 
 tained to the last moment, with the result that it had been 
 general and singularly successful. The whole country 
 was in arms. Isolated bodies of Russian troops had 
 been overpowered, their weapons and ammunition 
 seized, the military chests carried off, the towns and vil 
 lages they had garrisoned occupied. The peasantry fa 
 vored the cause, and were arming or quietly rendering 
 every assistance while appearing in the villages in open- 
 mouthed innocence and apparent inactivity. Capable 
 and trustworthy officers were spreading themselves over 
 the country to organize and lead the insurgent bands 
 forming on all sides. Furthermore, it suggested that a 
 junction should be effected with one, if not both, the 
 other insurgent bodies in movement on the right bank of 
 the Vistula, and it added and this was the alarming 
 part of the despatch that a force of three hundred Rus 
 sian infantry was shortly to leave Warsaw for the pur 
 pose of attacking the position occupied by Hernani and 
 Count Dorozynski. Hernani folded up the paper, then 
 tossed it to the Count, and both men remained silent for 
 some minutes, Hernani twice muttering audibly, "So 
 they are coming," a third time adding, "Three hundred 
 of them, and they are about to march. Very well, my
 
 234 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 friend, we shall meet them eh? That will be the plan, 
 and there are some nice places for the purpose between 
 here and Warsaw. There is also another advantage we 
 shall have over them: we know them, they don t know 
 us. We understand what we have to expect from disci 
 plined troops, they will look upon us as a rabble, a col 
 lection of silly ignorant peasantry, or a lot of townsmen 
 who for fighting purposes are no better than babies. 
 We are civilians, and regular soldiers turn up their noses 
 at civilians. They will come strolling along, their pipes 
 in their mouths, so to speak, and without a scout thrown 
 out, and we shall await them where there is a morass and 
 a thick wood just beyond. You remember my remark- 
 as we passed it? That will be the plan, eh?" 
 
 The Count demurred. What would be the use of 
 abandoning their strong position? What if the enemy 
 were not careless and felt them first, then encountered 
 them on even terms? It would be foolish. No, no! the 
 thing would be to remain where they were. But they 
 must think. The situation had become serious. 
 
 "Ah! But you don t understand me," retorted Her- 
 nani, returning to the charge. "Abandon this position? 
 On no account; it is a strong one. These farm-build 
 ings, loop-holed, the rise in the ground, and the woods, 
 not too close in our rear, will suit us well." 
 
 "That is my opinion," agreed the Count. 
 
 "But this is mine, my friend, and you will forgive me 
 for pressing it upon you, since I am no soldier. Let us 
 divide our force. With a hundred and fifty to two hun 
 dred men we will waylay these Moskals,* choosing 
 ground to our liking. We make this place our base, and 
 the remainder of our men with the supplies and ammu 
 nition must remain here; then, if the worst comes to the 
 worst, and we are defeated, we can make a final stand 
 upon this spot. 
 
 * Muscovites.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 235 
 
 "Well, we must think it over," conceded the Count, 
 brightening up. 
 
 "But we must be prompt," urged Hernani; "every 
 moment is precious; at such a time there is much to be 
 done." 
 
 "The scheme has its good points/ mused Dorozynski, 
 lighting a cigarette and puffing at it vigorously. Then 
 they began to reason and argue afresh they could not 
 quite agree there was so much to be considered; final 
 ly, after a long discussion, the idea was practically adopt 
 ed. Counts Ladislaus and Adam Goroski, who had 
 joined with over a hundred men, were to remain behind, 
 Sara and Deotima being committed to their charge. 
 And in spite of all Dorozynski s representations to the 
 contrary, Hernani insisted upon going. What it was 
 dangerous and there was no need and he was wanted 
 where he was. That might be true, all of it, but he had 
 always loved danger, and time back had gone in search 
 of it danger in life was like the spice in a pudding: it 
 flavored it. As for being wanted others would fill his 
 place very well. Sara would be anxious true, he was 
 sorry for that but what was to be done? she must get 
 used to such things. Of one fact there could be no doubt 
 he must go. It was, he felt, his duty. So the neces 
 sary preparations were at once commenced; the taking 
 of the step itself depending upon further information as 
 to the movements of the Russian forces.
 
 236 HERNANI THE JEW 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 To follow the course of events accurately, and to un 
 derstand enough of their working, the inmates of the 
 palace, Titus Popoloff and the Governor-General, Ivan 
 Nicholaevitch, must be glanced at quickly. 
 
 The apparent intention of the former, which was to 
 spirit Sara away, had been upset by the stranger s desire 
 to serve Hernani (he of the Saksonski Sad*), as pre 
 viously related, this failure of course having its direct 
 effect upon the General, since he soon knew of her es 
 cape; also, though he little thought it, upon madam, 
 his wife, as well. 
 
 Having given no fresh orders, but having trusted to 
 Popoloff s watchfulness, Hourko was distinctly offended 
 by the display of clumsiness, of which he considered he 
 had been guilty, in allowing the whole brood as he 
 thought of them Sara, Hernani himself, Count Doro- 
 zynski, and Deotima, to get clear away from the city. 
 His faith in this obsequious servant, latterly on the wane, 
 had thus drawn closer to a breakage. The matter of 
 Sara, and the handling of it, had been a special charge, 
 a delicate trust emanating from a whim of his, it might 
 be, but all the more important because of the value he 
 chose to set upon it. As for madam, henceforth, as she 
 had said of herself, she was Popoloff s enemy. So that 
 the storm that personage had drawn upon himself, part 
 ly by his lack of promptitude and partly by the betrayal 
 of his trust, could do no less than gather until it burst. 
 He had been completely outwitted, so it seemed how, 
 he appeared not to know; in addition, he was certainly 
 
 * Saxon gardens.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 237 
 
 fast exhausting all his resources on the score of other 
 irons still held in the fire -by him. That was the posi 
 tion. 
 
 The eventful night of the 22nd once over, with a space 
 added for the press of events and the arrival of news, and 
 Hourko was able to find time to order the step alluded 
 to in the despatch forwarded to Hernani by the Central 
 Committee. Three hundred infantrymen, commanded 
 by the well-known Major Surofr, were directed to be in 
 readiness to cross the Vistula, and reduce to submission 
 Hernani, Count Dorozynski, and the insurgent band 
 under their joint leadership; such instructions being 
 supplemented by orders delivered privately to Major 
 Surofr, which were as follows: 
 
 The Jew Hernani, and the Pole known as Count An 
 drew Dorozynski, with such subordinates as might be 
 with them, were to be captured alive if possible, but with 
 regard to the two women known to be in their follow 
 ing, the wife of the Jew and the sister of the Count, no 
 pains were to be spared to take them alive and un 
 harmed. This order accomplished, Major Suroff was 
 to communicate, and await instructions wheresoever he 
 might chance to find himself.
 
 238 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A kind of pause had come in the life at the hastily- 
 formed camp. So thought Sara. A pause during which 
 it seemed that she had grown to know it all, and that 
 what was at first novel and interesting, had in it a vein 
 of monotony. When relieved of extreme doubt on the 
 score of safety, surely it should have been pleasant 
 enough to be with Hernani, to watch his tall form, to 
 see him advising, encouraging, inspiring; to look into 
 his face when the chance offered, and try to read there 
 all that she would have had him tell her. And yet she 
 was not at ease, not as she had felt upon that one morn 
 ing, her first one there. Ever since that day her old 
 feelings had steadily caught her up again, returning in 
 force, though one by one. The notes of suspense, 
 anxiety, positive dread, sounded loud and ever louder 
 in her ears. In her weak moments she felt as if all the 
 preparation and practice, the drilling and maneuvering, 
 could not avert the coming of the crash, though by such 
 means it might be stayed for awhile. Danger was grad 
 ually stalking upon them, walling them in, encircling 
 them. They were in a false position. Then, too, her 
 mind was awry. In nothing did she resemble what she 
 wished to be. A constant thought with her was, "What 
 have I done? What am I doing?" Even when condi 
 tions seemed to favor her, she could but play the prosaic 
 part of simple housewife. With the desire so strong in 
 her to do something heroic as well as useful, something 
 to win back her husband s affection, and worth ex 
 changing for the youth which was passing from her, the 
 beauty which was decaying, she could discover no out 
 let, no opening. All her struggles were against a death
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 239 
 
 in life, an existence in which individuality dwindles and 
 becomes lost in a mere nihility, accepted placidly by mil 
 lions of wives. 
 
 Conscious of vast stores of energy and affection, it was 
 becoming a daily and hourly grievance to her to feel that 
 her place in the world was a sinecure, that she was not 
 useful, not necessary to anyone. And this sensation 
 strengthened, because, to her consternation, Hernani s 
 conduct had after the excitement of the escape from 
 Warsaw reverted to the lines with which she was so 
 familiar. He was amiable and polite, even attentive, but 
 never by any chance sympathetic or affectionate, and the 
 hopes she had entertained of the possible advantage to 
 be derived from their altered fortunes, were disappear 
 ing fast. With indescribable suffering she again began 
 to understand that his attitude towards her was an in 
 exorable one. Yet she was fain to admit to herself and 
 she hated her weakness that she loved him with a love 
 which grew rather than diminished, as might have been 
 expected. The fact that he did not pay her the compli 
 ment of confiding in, or consulting her in any way, was 
 another misfortune which made her feel still more a 
 cipher. It was so ignominious to receive news from Riva, 
 which Riva had picked up second-hand or by keeping 
 her ears open. And to be thankful for that how hu 
 miliating! There could be no doubt, she considered, 
 that she was being disgracefully treated. 
 
 So the morning of the start to intercept the Russian 
 advance, suggested by Hernani and acceded to by the 
 Count, found her in an unenviable and unhappy frame of 
 mind, though apparently cheerful and obliging. 
 
 The information Hernani had waited for had arrived, 
 and within an hour or so from the receipt of it, the little 
 force was drawn up under arms, each man having vol 
 unteered, quarrels even having taken place as to who 
 should go, for there was scarcely one who was not eager 
 for the adventure. It was to serve their country, it
 
 240 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 would put an end to staying in the camp talking, and 
 the first blood would be drawn. 
 
 Before mounting his horse Hernani approached Sara 
 and kissed her on the forehead. The others were stand 
 ing round Deotima and Dorozynski, the two brothers, 
 Ladislaus and Adam Goroski, even Riva was close at 
 hand. And this cold farewell took place in the front of 
 the old farm-house, near the wooden porch, while the 
 men stood to their arms in the orchard, amidst the stems 
 of the apple trees, with the huge farm-buildings in their 
 rear. Hernani was smiling, chatting right and left, and 
 he held a lighted cigar in one hand when with the other 
 he finally grasped Sara s fingers. 
 
 "We shall only be away a few hours, and you are in 
 good hands so cheer up," he said quite lightly. "You 
 must think of us in this way we have food, ammuni 
 tion, and are in health so there must be no worrying or 
 anxiety on our account. Do you promise?" 
 
 Sara s hand rested passively in his. She dared not 
 trust herself to look in his face. She could not open her 
 lips. 
 
 "Very well," he muttered, and his voice shook per 
 ceptibly as he added, "Good-bye," and to Ladislaus Go 
 roski, "Take care of her, Count." 
 
 A moment after they were off with a ringing cheer, 
 marching amongst the stems of the trees, lost to sight 
 of the farm and its inmates, none of them knowing that 
 two dark figures, two women, followed them quite a dis 
 tance, further than was safe, to obtain a last glimpse, 
 and with the anxiety, the sorrow in their hearts that 
 women wrestle with when husbands and brothers go out 
 into danger. No one knew either, that in the dusky 
 shadows of the woods Hernani brushed away more than 
 one tear, while affecting to be in the best of spirits, and 
 breathing nothing but confidence and encouragement 
 upon all sides. Throughout the whole of that day they 
 marched those young fellows, jubilant, cutting jokes.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 24! 
 
 behaving as though they were tramping to a wedding, a 
 carouse, or to meet the girl of their choice, rather than 
 in the cold, with spare food, over rough country, to 
 their first engagement, their first blood-letting, as it 
 proved to be. 
 
 No event marked that long, wearying, machine-like 
 movement along the flat ground, amongst trees, through 
 open glades, and past an occasional hamlet, farm, or 
 isolated hut, until the waning light and the deepening 
 shadows made faces and forms gray and indistinct, and 
 at that hour, just as some of the weaker ones were flag 
 ging, and rest was being thought of, a shout re-echoed 
 along the line, and a dark mounted form drew rein in 
 their midst. What was the news? It was this so this 
 man, their scout, would have it the Russians were at 
 hand and in force two to three hundred infantrymen, 
 if one, and he could lead the way to where he believed 
 they would be found camping for the night. 
 
 A halt and a meal was ordered, then with the greatest 
 caution an advance was commenced, orders being given 
 that not a word was to be spoken, not a sound made; 
 and in this deep silence, throughout the blackness of 
 these amaranthine shades, following the cautious move 
 ments of their guide, they stepped along without ex 
 changing a syllable, obedient as children, their hearts 
 beating, their eyeballs strained, feeling that at last some 
 thing decisive was to happen, and that blows were to 
 be struck for the possession of the soil upon which they 
 stood, the beloved country in which the oppressor had 
 dared to make a home. 
 
 Within a mile or so of where their foes were believed 
 to be, they were again halted, with instructions to re 
 main quiet, to kindle no fire or light, to make no noise, 
 but wrapped in their coats, to seek the deepest shadows 
 and patiently await orders. Hernani and Dorozynski 
 both spoke to them, mindful that many of them were of 
 good blood, serving at their own discretion and by free 
 
 16
 
 242 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 will, therefore meriting greater consideration and gen 
 tler handling. A subordinate officer was left in charge 
 of them, and Hernani and the Count went forward, 
 treading in the footprints of the scout as nearly as they 
 could, bent on reconnoitering the Russian position, and, 
 if feasible, on making a prompt and telling attack upon 
 this nest of enemies, at once so near to them, so danger 
 ous to their very existence and to the cause they so ar 
 dently supported. Less than a mile of this stealthy work 
 absorbed more than an hour of time, but with eyes well 
 accustomed to the darkness, at the end of that short 
 period, which had seemed like an eon, a fire was dis 
 covered, and soon afterwards, what appeared to be the 
 figure of a soldier, erect and motionless upon the watch. 
 
 So they were not going to have it all their own way, 
 and the Russian chief had been too wide awake to neg 
 lect the common precaution of posting sentries. Re 
 tiring and edging to the right, through an open glade, 
 they at length got a better view of the hasty bivouac, 
 carefully noting the strength of the place; then, with 
 drawing to a distance, they consulted as to the move to 
 be made. Darkness favored an attack; the time would 
 be ripe enough towards midnight, but the only sentry 
 they had come upon was in the wood through which they 
 must advance. With a quick grip of the situation Her 
 nani decided. 
 
 Leave him to me," he said; "he shall be disposed of 
 or his mouth shall be stopped, whichever suits best. You 
 go back and bring up the men so as to be here by twelve 
 o clock. That will give me time enough, and by then 
 our friends yonder will have grown sleepy. You will 
 find me waiting for you upon this spot." 
 
 "Ah! But if you fail to kill or capture the fellow," 
 objected Dorozynski very naturally, "the alarm will be 
 given and we shall have the whole force upon us. Be 
 sides, look at the risk you run. As a younger and an
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 243 
 
 unmarried man I am better suited for such work. Your 
 life ought not to be hazarded." 
 
 Hernani was speechless for some moments, as though 
 the objections raised were hard to digest. Then, with 
 out even noticing the remarks about himself, he said 
 coolly 
 
 "Leave all that with me, my friend. The first thing 
 for us to do is to have confidence in each other. As for 
 danger 11 and he gave a little laugh "a man can die 
 but once. Come go along be back here at midnight. 
 You will find me waiting for you. Meantime I shall 
 have turned Indian, to suit the occasion, and experiences 
 in my early life have taught me how to do it. Go along, 
 you skeptic, you can t fancy a banker, a business man, 
 knowing aught of warfare, much less how to muzzle a 
 Russian sentry, eh?" 
 
 "He is probably a picked man/ grumbled Dorozynski. 
 
 "So much the better," retorted Hernani firmly; "be 
 off!" And in that firmness there was a resolute ring 
 which told the Count to go; so he went, though with 
 many misgivings. Left to himself, Hernani s first ac 
 tion was cool, if extraordinary: in a sheltered spot where 
 he deemed it safe to do so, he lighted a cigar, and there, 
 crouched upon the ground, watching the red glow come 
 and go as he inhaled the fragrant smoke, he became con 
 scious of thinking with great clearness and vigor. The 
 track of his life stretched in a long thin line behind him. 
 He could see every inch of the way back. He had 
 schemed, toiled and made love, and to what end? There 
 was his deserted business and his home to which he could 
 never return, unless all went well. There was his wife 
 who had taught him to love her, and then deceived him 
 as he thought. Nowhere could he discern anything 
 worth living for. It had come to that it was a mistake, 
 and he knew it at that moment, having topped the hill 
 and being half-way down the slope that led to the foot. 
 
 Assuredly he was the man for some mad act of
 
 244 HERNANI THE JEW 
 
 daring he knew that too as a vision of the foes of his 
 race, the oppressors of his forefathers, arose before him. 
 Perhaps it was his turn his, the Jew, since these ene 
 mies, these heavy task-masters, were <feo near, and it 
 might be, delivered into his hands. 
 
 Then, as though to control and balance the harsh and 
 bitter thoughts, kindlier and better ones crowded upon 
 each other. The Most High had been good to him all 
 his life through. Though myriads of beings covered the 
 earth, had it not pleased Him to create him one of the 
 chosen race, which, though scattered and trodden down 
 for a while, would in the end unite, and triumph, as one 
 people under one God? Health and riches and honor 
 had been given him over long years, and though the 
 love he had treasured had changed and was fast growing 
 gray and colorless, there was a reason for life and living, 
 which the one word Duty described. He had a duty to 
 Sara, to the country of his adoption; also and before all, 
 if he could but remember it always to the God who 
 gave him breath. Then why despair or yield to depres 
 sion? Was it not fair and manly to measure the rough 
 against the smooth, and was it not pleasant to feel, and 
 hear, and breathe; to see the flashing stars, the moon, 
 .and the glorious sun, and to know that the Maker of 
 them was his Maker, the Supporter and Controller of 
 them, his Helper too and friend? Of course, in common 
 with other human beings, it was not given to him to 
 understand much of these mysteries, but while the soft 
 winds rustled in the tree-tops, and the dappled clouds 
 chased each other in the wondrous sky where the warb 
 ling voiced birds found echo, could it ever be too hard 
 to live? Even in those sad and serious moments Sara 
 being at the root of such gloom Hernani thought not. 
 Then he bestirred himself, and having shivered a little 
 and buttoned his coat about his throat, he noticed that 
 the moon peered through the trees, and that a broken 
 scud sailed swiftly over it.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 245 
 
 For a few moments he remained thinking thinking 
 as though painfully disturbed; then producing a pocket- 
 book and pencil, aided by the light from his cigar, he 
 made this simple inscription in the Hebrew tongue: "I 
 have loved you always, Sara always," and he added a 
 date. "Should she ever see it she will understand," he 
 muttered, replacing it in his pocket; and then, as though 
 conscious that he had rested and thought enough, he 
 set his face towards where the Russian infantrymen lay 
 r-noring round their flickering fires, and where in a 
 little log hut or hovel, seen as the flames had crackled 
 and leaped he had no doubt the officers would be found, 
 enveloped in tobacco smoke, playing cards, and drink 
 ing wine or vodka. 
 
 Bearing to the right as before, after a slow and tortu 
 ous movement, in which he dreaded the snapping of a 
 twig or a false step, he again lay at full length, looking 
 down the glade, which at the point of the camping 
 ground widened perceptibly. At first there was no sign 
 of life, only dark masses, recumbent forms, piled arms or 
 food and forage upon which uncertain shadows were 
 cast; then a soldier arose, and with his heavy boot 
 kicked the burning logs together, heaped on fresh ones, 
 and took a bit of blazing wood between his fingers to re 
 kindle his pipe. There was only this straight glade 
 passing through the encampment, the hut or hovel, 
 which might have belonged to a wood-cutter, being to 
 the left, and as far away as the shadows would permit of 
 seeing. In the intense stillness Hernani could hear the 
 sounds of voices and laughter proceeding from it, and 
 light gleamed through the chinks of the logs and door. 
 
 Smiling grimly to himself as an idea struck him, he 
 began to drag himself along the ground, keeping within 
 the shadow of the trees, and never pausing except to 
 be sure that he was unobserved, until he judged himself 
 to be between the sentry and the camp. Then he turned 
 and began an advance upon where he felt sure the man
 
 246 HERN AN I THE JEW. 
 
 was posted. After a while, and to his delight, he found 
 that he had not deceived himself. There, ahead, stood 
 a motionless figure. Availing himself of a line of tree- 
 trunks he stood up, shook a powdering of crisp snow 
 and dead leaves from his heavy coat, and, with his hand 
 upon a revolver hidden in his pocket, waited for a mo 
 ment of dense gloom. In such obscurity, favored by 
 the length and cut of his great-coat and flat peaked cap, 
 he could, he thought, play the role of officer well enough. 
 With caution he approached the man. Within five yards 
 he did not stir. Was it a man? The outline was odd 
 and irregular. He stepped up, and to his amazement 
 discovered the stump of a tree, thicker than a pine and 
 covered with ivy. How astounding but what good 
 fortune and how stupid he had been the scout and 
 Dorozynski would never be able to trust their eyesight 
 again after such a mistake! 
 
 He had meant to ignore the danger of a challenge 
 coming from the sentry or the camp, to take the risk 
 and in Russian say authoritatively to the fellow, "Fol 
 low me, my man"; then when at a safe distance to turn 
 upon and cover him with the revolver, adding the threat 
 that if he spoke, he might consider himself dead. 
 
 Perhaps it was a mad scheme, perhaps it would have 
 failed, although executed with the complete confidence 
 he had felt. 
 
 One thing was certain the Russian officers were bent 
 on enjoying themselves, and, as he had by chance pre 
 dicted, were not going to put either themselves or their 
 men out to keep watch, when opposed to such canaille 
 as stupid civilian insurgents. 
 
 "The fools," said Hernani to himself "they have yet 
 to learn that it is well to conquer a foe before despising 
 him! It only remains to show them what those they 
 scorn can do." 
 
 After stumbling about in the gloom, sinking deep in 
 snow, damp earth, moss, and leaves, and knocking his
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 247 
 
 shins many times, he again arrived at the spot fixed by 
 him for the rendezvous. 
 
 Dorozynski was awaiting him, and after a few hurried 
 sentences in which they exchanged ideas and agreed 
 upon a plan of attack, they proceeded to spread through 
 the wood; the men having been again warned that suc 
 cess depended upon silence. Dividing the force, Doro 
 zynski was to advance upon one side, and Hernani, cross 
 ing the glade or ridge at a higher point, to close in on 
 the other, when, without cover to protect them, the Rus 
 sians would be exposed to a cross fire. The signal for 
 action was to be a shot from Hernani s own rifle. 
 
 About to be pitted against regular troops said to out 
 number them under conditions highly trying to the 
 nerves, sleepless and after a long march the men, or in 
 a few instances boys, as some writers have called them, 
 stepped out with precision, caution, and pluck. They 
 were patriots in arms against oppression, there to fight 
 for their parents and their homes, about to wrestle for 
 the glorious liberty their forefathers had enjoyed. They 
 represented their nation; keen human interests warmed 
 the breast of each one, and being educated for the most 
 part, proud memories stirred and strengthened them. 
 Such feelings, backed by the might and splendor of 
 right, would atone for their youth, their lack of experi 
 ence and discipline all their defects there should be 
 no flinching they would triumph. 
 
 Pale with such thoughts, but cool and confident, they 
 groped their way midst the trunks of the pine trees, until 
 at length, and almost simultaneously, both little bands 
 looked upon the Russian camp. 
 
 The scene there had changed. There was a stir; some 
 shouts issuing from dark hurrying forms told that they 
 had been discovered. Then, at that critical moment 
 by good fortune or the will of God came the solitary 
 shot for which they were to wait the signal which 
 boomed through the silent night-enshrouded woods,
 
 248 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 only to have its echo drowned by the sharp crackle of 
 the Minie rifles, as slowly advancing-, loading rapidly 
 and aiming low, Dorozynski and Hernani led them to 
 the attack. 
 
 Even under these disadvantages, surprised, exposed to 
 a galling fire from foes whose position and numbers they 
 could judge of only by the flashes of the shots which 
 struck them down, the dogged but phlegmatic Russians 
 moved like machines. They tried to arm, tried to form 
 up, and did so, back to back, in two separate bodies. 
 Charging amongst the trees they attempted to dislodge 
 their enemies, the disturbers of their slumbers, who, 
 scarce yielding an inch, met them with clinched teeth 
 and the warm steel muzzles of their rifles which belched 
 forth a deadly hail. They were veteran troops, but they 
 found it hot, too hot, and stumbling down the slight 
 slopes into the camp again, disconcerted, it looked as 
 though they were beaten. But after all it was a mere 
 check, and again they rushed into the gloom. 
 
 At this stage Hernani thought that Dorozynski was 
 being driven back; his fire, it seemed, was slackening 
 he himself was hard pressed. Obeying a sudden im 
 pulse, he shouted, "These men have fired upon your 
 women! Remember the massacres, remember the Con 
 scription" and almost point blank, he discharged his 
 revolver at the head of an officer, who sword in hand, 
 would have cut him down. A wild yell greeted the en 
 couragement. Still they were pressed. Dorozynski was 
 at his wits end. Oh! for regular troops and the steady 
 coolness born of discipline. In despair he cheered and 
 charged, in his loudest voice shouting a stave of the na 
 tional hymn, the prayer for liberty. The effect was 
 magical. There was not a man there but pressed for 
 ward or stood firm with the strength and the courage 
 of ten, the strange, grand, soul-stirring music ringing 
 in his ears, and lightning-like thoughts, evoked by it.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 249 
 
 flashing, quivering through him for his women, his old 
 mother, his sister, his wife or girl-lover. 
 
 Before that nervous vigor, that heroic front, the 
 Russians wavered and again recoiled. They were not 
 used to face and fight with men who strove for the ties 
 that make life dear and ennoble it; it was too much for 
 them at such an hour and under such conditions. With 
 shouts which became cheers, footing in the camp was 
 gained; a few dropping shots like the crackle of burn 
 ing wood followed, and the fight was won, the last of 
 the heavy gray-coated figures had disappeared into the 
 gloom. 
 
 Unobserved and in pathetic silence, Hernani and Dor- 
 ozynski wrung each other s hands. The struggle had 
 been a sharp one, and throughout it, their all had hung 
 in the balance. Without speaking, they understood each 
 other, and Hernani s wish was accomplished, confidence 
 between them was established. 
 
 Having collected an armful of rifles, a little ammuni 
 tion and some provisions all that was to be found 
 with their dead and wounded four men had been killed 
 and more than twice that number injured a swift re 
 treat homewards was commenced, another weary march 
 begun, footsore, hungry, and with alarms, but in repay 
 ment for the anxiety and exposure, at length there came 
 the arrival unharmed at the camp. 
 
 Thanks to the rapidity with which news travels 
 whether of good or evil rumors had reached Sara even 
 in advance of a message which Hernani had despatched 
 as soon as he could. Aware that amongst the peasants 
 through whom such reports filtered, there were those 
 who took a delight in lying, she knew not what to be 
 lieve, and until she was again gladdened with a sight of 
 Hernani the one man in the world who belonged to 
 her. and the one of all others most blind to her good 
 qualities her anxiety was well-nigh unendurable. 
 
 In spite of the victory won, the price paid for it occa-
 
 250 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 sioned a gloom. Of this Hernani was unconscious. His 
 mind was too full. In the presence of fresh news from 
 the Central National Committee, and of several reports 
 which he knew to be trustworthy, he shut himself up 
 with Dorozynski. The information received from the 
 Committee clashed with that supplied by his own agents, 
 whom his connections as an influential business man 
 made widespread, and whom his wealth enabled him to 
 pay well. 
 
 "What does this mean?" he asked, laying the papers 
 before the Count. "Read for yourself. This one from 
 the Committee is a catalogue of success from beginning 
 to end. The tenor of the others is dubious, and gives 
 details which are distressing. Because we have been 
 brutally treated, should we in return be guilty of down 
 right cruelty? Read the thing." 
 
 Without a word, the Count sat down and did as he was 
 bid. 
 
 The scene was a striking one. These two careworn 
 men, closeted in this farmhouse room, which bore signs 
 of having been used for stores, and odds and ends for 
 which no use could be found at the moment. A couple 
 of chairs and a table without polish or cloth, were 
 grouped in the center of a bare plank floor. Bunches 
 of herbs and paper bags containing seeds, lay amidst dust 
 upon shelves or hung pendent from hooks driven into 
 the walls, while a hammer and some strips of cloth for 
 nailing up fruit trees, lay near a stove, within which 
 roared a fire of split pine logs. It was a poor place in 
 which to decide questions of life and death, and added 
 to the general discomfort, the cold that morning was in 
 tense, the frost thick upon the window, which was dirty 
 and looked upon the cheerless ice-coated fish-pond. 
 
 Hernani paced the room with heavy step and lonc^ 
 stride, keeping the table between himself and the seat 
 occupied by the Count, who read to the end and then 
 laid down the papers.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 251 
 
 "Well, what do you think of it?" demanded Hernani, 
 seeing that the Count had finished. "Give me your opin 
 ion." 
 
 "I think that the official suggestion to join Langie- 
 wicz* and co-operate with him, is a good one, if we could 
 carry it out." 
 
 "If we could carry it out?" repeated Hernani. 
 
 "Yes; it would be difficult, I admit." 
 
 We should have to risk being intercepted and forced 
 to fight, perhaps in the open, and we both know how 
 near we have already been to defeat, though everything 
 was in our favor at the time." 
 
 "Yes," assented the Count. 
 
 "And then, what about supplies, which are already 
 running short? We should have difficulty in collecting 
 sufficient to keep us going on the march but these are 
 all questions which, though of the first importance, we 
 are not called upon to decide in haste. What has upset 
 me is this. In the dispatch from the Committee, the 
 peasants are alluded to as arming and supporting the 
 cause generally. Now our own experience latterly has 
 taught us quite the reverse, and this information from 
 private sources, upon which I can depend, contains no 
 such reassuring statement. In addition, atrocities which 
 chill one s blood, are boldly spoken of." 
 
 "But let us consider one subject at a time," suggested 
 the Count; "the atrocities 
 
 "Ah! let us speak of them," interrupted Hernani ex 
 citedly. "Can good come of capturing a Cossack and 
 beating him to death with the butt of a rifle? Can good 
 come of burning Muscovite soldiers, because they have 
 barricaded themselves and can be overcome in no other 
 way and what about murdering them while sleeping, 
 setting fire to their barracks as though to hide the crime? 
 Can good come of that, I ask you, and I say No without 
 waiting for your reply?" 
 
 * A leading General, and for a few days Dictator.
 
 252 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "But if these deeds have been done began the 
 Count. 
 
 "Unhappily, no doubts upon the subject are admis 
 sible/ interrupted Hernani. 
 
 "Very well, then; they have simply been retaliatory 
 acts. The Muscovites have behaved as monsters. You 
 may depend upon that, or 
 
 "Oh! I know, I know proofs of that are not want 
 ing. But such an argument will not suffice. As I have 
 said, because we are ill-used, should we be cruel? Fair 
 fighting is what I had hoped to see, and for a fair cause 
 had come to support, but such accounts as these make 
 me sick. We are not barbarians. Is it charitable, is it 
 noble? I am disgusted. I had hoped to do good with 
 the rifle, as I have tried to do with the ruble. For this 
 I have toiled early and late, and this I know that rather 
 than have connected myself with a cause so conducted, 
 I would have fled from the country as a criminal does, 
 under cover of night. Oh! I tell you, my friend, I am 
 incensed." 
 
 The Count bowed his head. What could he say? Her- 
 nani s sentiments were, in the main, his own. At length, 
 however, his face brightened and he looked up. 
 
 "Well," he said, "there is this consolation. To what 
 ever straits we are driven, we at least may make our 
 selves known for our fairness and mercy. We are not 
 responsible for the actions of others, whom we cannot 
 control, but of our own doings we must be prepared to 
 give an account." 
 
 "Yes, that is true we can control our own actions," 
 muttered Hernani absently, as though thinking of some 
 thing else; then resuming his naturally energetic utter 
 ance, he added, "But there is a more serious aspect to 
 the affair, and it is this: such dealing will be prejudicial 
 to us in the eyes both of peasants and proprietors. As 
 it is, they are hanging fire, ready to rush to the winning 
 side, or are watching, without a policy, too timid to act.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 253 
 
 Ah! what fine patriots. Shall I tell you something? If 
 these proprietors, these land-owners, were decided and 
 united, success would follow without doubt. Poland 
 would be free. There could be no other result. As mat 
 ters stand I fear I have my fears." 
 
 "Langiewicz* is doing wonders," said the Count, try 
 ing to appear hopeful, even confident. "It says here"- 
 and he glanced at one of the letters " that already four 
 out of eight chief towns are in his hands. That looks 
 well. And some of the peasants are also friendly, and 
 the priests are with us to a man." 
 
 "Yes," assented Hernani. 
 
 "And the news from Paris is not disheartening. Czar- 
 toryskif speaks with confidence, and is not only capable, 
 but may be counted upon to do his best. The fact that 
 a few Frenchmen are already scattered over the country, 
 may also have its good meaning." 
 
 "True," murmured Hernani, and then he walked to 
 the window, staring through its frosted panes at the 
 pond, for full five minutes without speaking. Young 
 Sicinski, the son of the owner of the farm, of whom Riva 
 had spoken as "smoking, smoking always," had flung a 
 stick for his dog to retrieve, and as the beast, having 
 made a rush, slipped helplessly upon the glassy surface, 
 barking furiously the while, the young fellow laughed 
 until his face reddened. Some fowls scratched and 
 clucked upon a manure heap four hens and a jaunty 
 little bantam cock and the contented but disagreeable 
 grunting of pigs could be distinctly heard occurring 
 with monotonous frequency. 
 
 At the distance of two fair-sized fields, through the 
 straggling branches of some leafless walnut trees, a 
 number of the men could be seen jogging along on their 
 
 * General Langiewicz was in the government of Radom, and 
 had done this. 
 
 t Prince Ladislaus Czartoryski, then in Paris, representing 
 Polish interests.
 
 254 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 return from a foraging expedition. On seeing these 
 young fellows earnestly fulfilling their duties, an intense 
 ly serious expression stole over Hernani s face. The 
 dog sliding over the ice had made him smile, though un 
 consciously, and the vigor with which the fowls sought 
 for food had not escaped his quick eye, but the glimpse 
 he had caught of the men who believed in him and had 
 followed his fortunes, made him reflect. In the event 
 of a disaster what could be done for them what could 
 atone for their loss to the parents whom he had per 
 suaded them to leave? Perhaps he had been wrong 
 Perhaps With an irritable shrug of the shoulders 
 and a twirl of the fingers which drew his moustache to 
 a point, he turned on his heel. 
 
 "It would be well for us if we could join Langiewicz," 
 he recommenced brusquely; "in small detached bodies 
 scattered over the country, we cannot have the weight 
 and strength that combination would give us. We 
 shall be annihilated in detail that will be the end of it. 
 Divided we are weak, united we should be strong." 
 
 "But to join the General, even with regular troops, 
 in the teeth of the opposition certain to be encountered, 
 would be a dangerous and difficult operation." 
 
 "Therefore one not to be attempted with the force at 
 our disposal." 
 
 "I think not. We are not fit to run the gauntlet." 
 
 "Well," said Hernani, "you must be the judge upon 
 such a point. Your opinion is a practical one. But we 
 must consider." 
 
 "Yes, we must give it thought. A hasty decision 
 might be a fatal one," replied the Count, lighting a cig 
 arette which, he contended, soothed him always and 
 emitting some little rings of smoke. 
 
 After a pause, during which both seemed lost in re 
 flection, the conversation drifted into other channels, 
 and they talked of the scarcity of supplies, of the ever- 
 increasing difficulties encountered in obtaining them, of
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 255 
 
 the amount of ammunition their one successful engage 
 ment had cost them, of the quantity still left ; and Doro- 
 zinski was deep in such matters, when Count Adam Go- 
 roski burst in upon them, and in spite of the grave out 
 look, sent them into fits of laughter, by mimicking the 
 manner and expressions of one of the young fellows who 
 had played his part in administering to the Muscovites 
 the defeat they had sustained, and who had been foolish 
 enough to brag of it in no mild terms. 
 
 After Dorozynski and Goroski had left him, Hernani 
 was disturbed by Riva entering with a message from 
 Sara which necessitated seeing her, and so the day wore 
 on. Having attended to innumerable details, and given 
 instructions of a varied nature, in the dusk of the after 
 noon he found himself alone for a few minutes, and dur 
 ing that time the whole of his conversation with the 
 Count again recurred to him. He felt keenly what he 
 had said on the subject of the atrocities, yet had not 
 said a tithe of what he had thought. It cut him to the 
 quick to think that any member or portion of the party 
 with whom he was allied, and for whom he had risked 
 all a man can risk, should be guilty of acts at once ig 
 noble and blood-thirsty; and it weighed nothing with 
 him, as he had said, that the Muscovite oppressors should 
 in the first instance have been guilty of even more des 
 perately brutal outrages. 
 
 His thoughts straying a little, other ideas floated be 
 fore him oft recurring recollections of the difficulties 
 he had met with always, of the indignities to which he 
 and his race had been subjected; of the well-nigh super 
 human efforts he had put forward before the business 
 he had conducted had become great. 
 
 And then of how hard it was for him to think that 
 the police were in possession of his premises, that his 
 splendid home was shut up or overrun by strangers, 
 that he himself was an outlaw in the eyes of that Govern 
 ment whose rule, had it been an equitable one, he would
 
 256 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 so gladly have upheld. Harder still was it for him to 
 look upon his wife, to see her placed in the thick of dis 
 comforts and hardships, and hourly in danger of life 
 and limb, after the luxury lavished upon her, the love 
 which he had given her, and of which in his heart, he 
 at times felt that death alone could deprive her. What 
 was to become of her if the peasants would not rise in 
 defense of the soil to which they were heirs, if the land 
 owners the men of substance continued to present a 
 timid and vacillating front, and to blow neither hot nor 
 cold? Dimly he felt that it might soon be beyond his 
 strength or resources to protect and save her from the 
 unscrupulous and cruel hands of those enemies whom, 
 in his dark moments, he thought of as closing in on 
 him upon all sides. Then too came visions of his home 
 life as it had once been, of the days which had been 
 sweetened by labor and love perfect love, but for his 
 one great grievance, his one regret that no children 
 had come of it. And it never occurred to him that he 
 had been at all unreasonable in forming and adhering 
 to the decision at which he had arrived in the cafes at 
 Warsaw, when he had drunk so much vodka, after hav 
 ing tracked Sara to the palace and watched her leave it. 
 He had always told himself that her manner towards 
 him considered apart from her actions had of itself 
 proved her guilt. He even took some credit to himself 
 for his forbearance, in having so unswervingly befriend 
 ed her in spite of her behavior, as he had resolved to do. 
 So, after all, he was very weak, very stupid, very human, 
 in spite of his great abilities and the gift akin to genius, 
 of knowing what he could do best, and doing it with his 
 whole might. Such was the substance of his reflections 
 in the chill winter of that afternoon, during the last lull 
 he was to know for awhile. 
 
 As usual, when she could be near, Sara was not far 
 from him, but the steel-blue glitter of the stars, far away 
 in the frost-bound sky, found her bending over the
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 257 
 
 wounded sufferers who had come in ; forgetting her own 
 anxieties forgetting even Hernarn as she strove with 
 gentle touch and kindly word to lessen the pain they 
 endured, the injured ones being grateful beyond descrip 
 tion; and though she tried to check their utterances, 
 telling her so, while overhead the stars still gleamed 
 coldly down, flashing as proudly as the eyes of a cynical 
 worldly woman to whom nothing seems romantic or pa 
 thetic. 
 
 They had witnessed so many struggles, those distant 
 twinkling worlds of light; they had seen so many dark 
 forms totter forth upon the earth, supporting burdens 
 too heavy for them, all the while exhibiting the courage 
 and indomitable will of the tiny insects upon which they 
 also looked the ants yet only ant-like to disappear be 
 neath the hard ground, when with dull thud it came to be 
 heaped upon them. It was pitiful. So haughty, ma 
 jestic and marvelously distant was their scintillating si 
 lence, that it might have been taken to say, as it played 
 upon the roof of that lonely farmhouse and peered into 
 the pallid faces of the afflicted ones, "Why are ye not 
 now content to depart? it will save you much trouble." 
 But of such icy ideas Sara knew naught. She had found 
 objects worthy of her attention, beings with hearts of flesh 
 and blood like her own, upon whom she could pour all 
 the pent-up womanliness within her. The instincts of a 
 mother were so strong in her, and her imagination was 
 such a restless and vivid one, that while handing a cool 
 ing drink, a dose of medicine, or smoothing a tumbled 
 pillow, the tearful faces of the anxious and lonely par 
 ents left in Warsaw arose before her, and her heart 
 warmed and expanded, and she told herself silently that 
 she would try her best to fill the places of the absent ones, 
 and that the sick men should be to her as her children. 
 Then too a sense of duty influenced her. Was not Her- 
 nani, or perhaps Count Dorozynski, responsible for hav 
 ing persuaded these young fellows to bear arms in the 
 
 17
 
 258 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 cause which they supported? Had they remained quiet 
 ly in Warsaw, possibly they might have escaped harm. 
 So it was in vain that Riva pleaded and whined. 
 
 "What will become of your beauty, my lamb? Take 
 sleep or it will vanish. One is young but once. It is a 
 sin to destroy youth. See, now you will get gray, your 
 eyes heavy, and wrinkles will come to remain. Do as I 
 tell you. I will sit up, and in the morning you will be 
 fresh and a joy to all eyes. For me it does not matter; 
 work was the portion allotted to me." 
 
 "And what was my portion, pray? Sara inquired 
 comically. 
 
 "To be careful of yourself, and by so doing to care for 
 those who love you," replied Riva. 
 
 "But if I cared for myself at the expense of others, I 
 should be hated. No; you must let me have my way. 
 You are more tired than I am." 
 
 "Let me sit up," interposed Deotima, who had over 
 heard Riva s expostulations; "it would be a change for 
 me. I am as strong as a horse stronger than either of 
 you." 
 
 Thus beset, Riva gently obliged Sara to give up some 
 broth she was carrying, and muttering half audibly, 
 "Victuals prepared by many cooks will be neither hot nor 
 cold," she disappeared into the sick-room. But in spite 
 of such appeals and the display of so much decision on 
 Riva s part, the end was the same Sara invariably did 
 as she wished. 
 
 Owing to the strain upon her nerves, occasioned by 
 the uncertainty and danger of the position she found her 
 self in, added to the anxiety about Hernani, all of which 
 sensations became aggravated by loss of sleep, she began 
 again to live at fever-heat. It was as though she existed 
 in momentary dread of the police once more, though, 
 now that that fear had passed, it seemed trifling when 
 compared with the morbid terror which stole into her 
 heart and left her face colorless, whenever the danger to
 
 HEKNANI THE JEW. 259 
 
 which Hernani was exposed occurred to her. A sudden 
 sound made her start and shudder. Her beautiful eyes 
 shone and dilated with feelings which crossed her mind 
 with the rapidity of those variable cat s-paws which skim 
 the otherwise placid bosom of the sea. She would talk 
 with careless vivacity, appearing tireless in her activity, 
 but when alone, overcharged and overwrought, she 
 would pay the penalty in floods of tears. Nothing es 
 caped her. She was like an instrument screwed to its 
 highest pitch to that of breaking. She had even ar 
 rived at the point of imagining that the responsibility of 
 the whole situation rested upon her shoulders. And 
 just in the midst of this trying period, when most in need 
 of support, she was disappointed and saddened by the 
 fullest consciousness of isolation and loneliness she had 
 ever experienced. Riva even galled her by the manner 
 in which she dropped her wise sayings, borrowed and 
 stored up to fit any occasion. For instance, the faithful 
 and shrewd old servant grasped the situation so cleverly, 
 that, while trotting on her legs all day, and racking her 
 brain to save Sara either labor or anxiety, she must needs 
 say to her 
 
 "Take things quietly, my lamb, or you will wear your 
 self out. What says the Book? The sun will set with 
 out thy assistance. " 
 
 Sara was irritated. The remark was meant well, she 
 knew, had she stopped to think, but to her ears ju.it then 
 it seemed ill-judged. 
 
 "Don t prate, Riva I hate it!" she exclaimed angrily; 
 with the result that, feeling it best not to say more, Riva 
 stole out of the way. 
 
 Deotima too had proved a disappointment. In the 
 time of trouble she was not sympathetic, and Sara had 
 been disgusted at the callousness displayed by her when 
 told of the deaths of those who had fallen in the fight. 
 The tender and gentle qualities in the young girl ap 
 peared to be dried up, and in place of them had come a
 
 260 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 hard and stony desire for revenge. The injured ones 
 were looked to by her with care and attention, but when 
 strong enough to bear it, she took occasion to fire their 
 blood with the repetition of wrongs inflicted and insults 
 endured. To Sara this seemed to be a needless stirring 
 up of strife. She herself hoped to be courageous when 
 necessity demanded, but she pitied the Muscovite rank- 
 and-file, thinking of them as poor uneducated soldiers, 
 who were only obeying orders when they received or in 
 flicted wounds or death. If they were brutal, it seemed 
 to her that it must be because they knew no better. All 
 her indignation and hatred she reserved for the chiefs, 
 who instigated or directed movements which necessitat 
 ed what she dimly began to understand as the horrors of 
 war. 
 
 Sometimes she would try to imbue Deotima with her 
 own milder views, to which she would once have lis 
 tened; but Deotima as she had been in Warsaw, and Deo 
 tima face to face with Russian foes, were two different 
 persons. 
 
 "Ah!" the young girl would exclaim, "you have not 
 suffered as I have." 
 
 "But you do not know!" urged Sara, thinking of her 
 early life and of her dead parents. 
 
 "Know what?" inquired Deotima with startling energy. 
 
 "To what extent I and mine have been injured." 
 
 "How should I? You do not tell me, but I am sure 
 you can t have gone through what I have. Your wrists 
 have never been bruised by the vile hands of filthy Cos 
 sacks, you have never been dragged into your own gar 
 den, and there made to stand, amidst jeers and obscenity, 
 while being stripped of your clothing. Such insults I 
 have not forgotten or forgiven, and never shall. No 
 never as long as I live. And what would have happened 
 but for Andrew, I tremble to think. Besides, you seem 
 to forget that, not content with hunting us from our
 
 HERNAN1 THE JEW. 261 
 
 home, by their barbarous conduct they killed my fath 
 er." 
 
 At that point she broke down, the mention of the dead 
 Count invariably reducing her to tears. Of course Sara 
 ended by sympathizing with her, as any woman would. 
 
 Being thus, as described, keenly on the alert, it at 
 length came to Sara s ears that a great move had been 
 decided upon; in short, they were to make an heroic ef 
 fort to join General Langiewicz, who at the moment was 
 known to be successful in all directions. This step being- 
 deemed wise, though bristling with danger and difficulty, 
 preparations for taking it were at once begun. 
 
 In the noontide of that very day, and within a few 
 hours of the time at which the decision had been arrived 
 at, a mounted patrol returned to camp at a gallop, 
 breathless and having been fired upon. Hernani, pre 
 pared for anything, received the news as composedly as 
 though it were a mere business communication. 
 
 The Russians were not five miles distant, and were 
 advancing swiftly upon the position. The whole force 
 was composed of infantry, and if the peasants were to be 
 believed, they were the men upon whom the night at 
 tack had been made. The idea of co-operating with 
 General Langiewicz was instantly abandoned. Fresh 
 orders were issued, a plan of resistance long agreed upon 
 adopted, and in a few minutes after the instructions were 
 given, every man was armed and at his post. 
 
 "Go and ease the minds of the women," said Hernani 
 to Dorozynski; "go to nty wife. You will do better than 
 I should. She can read my face too well; besides, being 
 a soldier, she will attach more importance to what you 
 say." 
 
 Though his faith in Sara was so shaken, Hernani s 
 first thought was of her. 
 
 "Go to her," he repeated, and Dorozynski, though 
 conscious that his mission was a difficult one, went. 
 
 In attendance upon the sick men, calm and self-pos-
 
 262 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 sesscd, Sara bore some resemblance to a patient and 
 beautiful sister of mercy, as in her black dress she min 
 istered to their wants. 
 
 "You see, I learned how to make myself useful when I 
 was very young and very poor/ she said gayly, adding 
 playfully, "Hush! you must be quiet, or I shall turn you 
 out instantly." 
 
 The Count smiled. What could he say to this nervous 
 creature, who was so kind and so adorable in her simple 
 dress of mourning, symbolical as it was of the sorrow of 
 a nation for its enforced captivity? Seeing his embar 
 rassment, she came to his assistance. 
 
 "You want to tell me something," she said; "don t be 
 afraid. I am not easily alarmed." 
 
 "Well," he blundered like the soldier he was, not the 
 diplomat he wished to be, "some stupid Russians are in 
 the neighborhood. We may have to drive them off, so 
 don t be surprised if you hear the sound of firing." 
 
 "Who sent you?" she inquired abruptly. 
 
 "Your husband," he answered. 
 
 "Why did he not come himself?" it was on her tongue 
 to say. 
 
 "Tell him I don t understand what fear is," she replied, 
 her face crimsoning. 
 
 "May I say that?" he asked, admiration and satisfac 
 tion marking his utterance. 
 
 "Of course," she said, with a laugh; "and add that he 
 is to take good care of himself." 
 
 "If all our hearts are as stout as yours, we shall do," 
 murmured the Count below his breath ; then he went off, 
 after some casual remarks, in which advice to Deotima 
 figured. 
 
 So Hernani had thought of her, Sara reflected. True 
 he might have come himself yet she was pleased. 
 
 One by one the pickets were driven in, though with 
 out the firing of a shot, as powder was so precious, and
 
 HEKNANI THE JEW. 263 
 
 soon afterwards the head of the Russian column came in 
 sight. 
 
 The next move made by the enemy was to send a flag 
 of truce, which Major Suroff for he it was, in command 
 mindful of the instructions received by him from Gen 
 eral Hourko, ordered as a cautious and possibly effective 
 method of obtaining his ends namely, the possession of 
 the women, the arrest of the chiefs, and the dispersal of 
 the force. 
 
 If he entertained such hopes seriously, however, they 
 were quickly destroyed. In answer to the proposition of 
 an unconditional surrender, coupled with the vague 
 promise of fair treatment, Hernani and Dorozynski ten 
 dered a brief but resolute refusal. It was of course ex 
 pected that an attack would soon follow this absolute re 
 jection of all overtures, but, strangely enough, during 
 the remainder of that day no such attempt was made, 
 though through the night the watch-fires were seen 
 burning brightly, while at intervals shots were fired, and 
 there were constant alarms. The Count and Hernani 
 were of one mind in a decision they formed to act entirely 
 on the defensive, and to further this object, Sara and 
 Deotima, with the wounded, were made as comfortable as 
 was possible in the out-buildings, the stout walls of which 
 were better adapted to stand a siege than those of the 
 farm itself. The old house was strongly garrisoned how 
 ever, bags stuffed with earth being stacked up to the 
 height of a man at all weak points, such as the windows, 
 the rifle barrels being thrust between and through them, 
 the glass having been carefully removed. 
 
 All that night no eyes were closed, and, shivering and 
 sleepless, the questions were often put "Do they mean 
 to starve us out? What can they be waiting for? Is it 
 the daylight, or are they fatigued with their march?" To 
 such remarks many answers and suggestions were made, 
 which again were as often upset by new ideas and opin 
 ions. The morning brought no relief, only the informa-
 
 264 HERNANI THE JEW- 
 
 tion that the attacking force had encamped snugly 
 amongst the pines, and with boughs torn from the trees 
 had erected shelters, which for hardy soldiers, warmly 
 clad and well fed, might serve for days. In addition, the 
 weather seemed to favor them, the atmosphere having 
 turned warmer by several degrees. 
 
 In consultation with the two Goroskis and Count Do- 
 rozynski, Hernani expressed the opinion that Major 
 Suroff meant to tire and weaken them, before hazarding 
 an attack. 
 
 "Otherwise, why this delay?" he demanded. 
 
 "Perhaps reinforcements are expected," suggested 
 Count Adam. 
 
 "They probably think mere rifles insufficient against 
 stone walls, manned by men who are desperate," ob 
 served his brother. 
 
 Hernani made no answer, since it was evident that 
 nothing was to be gained by talking, but, as if to prove 
 the soundness of such haphazard conjectures, it was 
 found impossible to convey supplies of any kind into 
 camp. Small detachments of Russian infantry disputed 
 the passage of all the roads, and in face of the fact that 
 powder was so scarce, temporary orders were issued to 
 prevent skirmishing, unless it was found necessary to 
 engage in it. 
 
 At the end of forty-eight hours the position had not 
 changed, but near about that time a sudden alarm fur 
 nished at least one reason for Major SurofFs silence. A 
 few shouts were heard, a few flying shots indulged in, 
 as like a flash of lightning, a fittle cloud of mounted 
 Cossacks dashed right through the camp, leaping their 
 horses over all obstacles, and escaping clear, but for the 
 emptying of two saddles. An hour later safe dragoons 
 were encountered on one of the roads, and then another 
 night dragged itself out into the gray of the new day, 
 in the early light of which Suroff, thus strengthened. 
 commenced the attack.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 265 
 
 The dark outline of the fir-trees could just be seen 
 through the mist and fine drizzling rain, the long strag 
 gling branches, heavy with moisture, hanging sadly, like 
 sepulchral ostrich plume s, pendent and motionless, there 
 being no wind. The snow had melted or been trodden 
 into dirty gray patches, and as the eye traveled along the 
 level ground which separated the farm with its out-build 
 ings from the belt of wood, and finally rested upon the 
 stems of the trees, from between their straight trunks 
 flashes of flame spurted, and little white clouds of smoke 
 curled ominously. 
 
 As the sounds of the firing became continuous, Riva s 
 black eyes gleamed, and as she stood in the great barn 
 which now sheltered them, she unconsciously drew near 
 er to Sara s side. On her own account she experienced 
 no sense of fear, having i n her time witnessed too many 
 fierce fights of the Ghetto to be readily intimidated it 
 was for Sara that she was distressed so she felt for a 
 keen-bladed knife she had hidden in her bosom, and with 
 consummate coolness began to reckon up the odds for 
 and against in the situation which she rightly judged 
 to be one of life and death, freedom or captivity for all 
 concerned. Only once, as the volleys rattled more fierce 
 ly, and a storm of lead struck both brick and plaster with 
 dull ominous thud, did she hold up her worn fingers and 
 call upon God to witness the dire distress of her mind. 
 
 "May the Lord of Hosts fight for us!" she murmured 
 in a broken voice, to which Sara, who was assisting in 
 bandaging the arm of a fresh victim to the Russian rifle 
 fire, answered below her breath 
 
 "Hush! Riva. Take heart He will." 
 
 It seemed that that was all Riva wanted just to hear 
 her mistress speak for she said no more, though eyes 
 and ears worked the keener for her silence. 
 
 She saw Hernani and the Count, and for that matter, 
 the two Goroskis, redoubling their efforts, behaving like 
 men, unflagging in their determination to win or die, and
 
 266 HERNANI THE JEW 
 
 she could not help rubbing her bony hands together with 
 a sort of fiendish joy, as taking the rifle of a young Pole 
 who rolled backward in the death agony, Hernani him 
 self pushed the barrel through the loophole whence the 
 fatal shot had come, and waiting his chance, disposed of 
 at least one more foe. 
 
 If this state of things, this tumult and danger found 
 favor with anyone, apparently it was with Deotima. Her 
 manner became animated, her actions brisk, her eyes 
 sparkled and the color in her cheeks deepened; the im 
 pression she would have conveyed to a disinterested on 
 looker would have been that she had triumphed in some 
 great purpose of her life, and could but enjoy with keen 
 relish the full flavor of her good fortune. And, after all, 
 was it not in a measure natural? With the hereditary 
 enemies of her house and of her race, the rude ruffians 
 who had shocked her girlish modesty and threatened her 
 maidenly virtue, within arms reach, striking distance, 
 was it strange if her blood was up, the expression of her 
 face determined, and her heart as hard as that of a man 
 who after years of patient waiting at length confronts 
 the foe of his life? Of course, with Deotima it was pos 
 sible to hate; to some natures it is not so. However, 
 the young girl of her own accord suddenly developed 
 into an experienced vivandiere. fulfilling the duties which 
 become such a role like an old hand. She had hunted up 
 a little wooden cask and had filled it with fine old vod ka, 
 and, while pressing upon the men she knew best a tempt 
 ing drink, she stepped from her pinnacle as a young girl 
 of birth and position, and became at once a friend, an 
 equal. 
 
 To induce them to fight with every nerve in their 
 bodies, she struck those chords which she knew lay deep 
 est in their natures; she even went so far as to whisper, 
 "If I am to esteem you, you must fight as your forefath 
 ers did in times past." With such words confidentially
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 267 
 
 spoken, with all the charm of manner which was natural 
 to her, she restored confidence and rekindled enthusiasm. 
 
 At one end of the great clumsy old barn, with its pon 
 derous doors and massive cross-beams and rafters, there 
 was a sort of loft, approached by a short wooden ladder, 
 and up this Deotima climbed unhesitatingly in pursuit 
 of her purpose. Here the noise of each discharge seemed 
 more deafening, the smoke as it ascended thicker, the 
 gloom more intense. Still, a clearer view of the enemy 
 could be obtained, and a few of the better shots had ap 
 propriated these higher loopholes, from which posts, with 
 praiseworthy steadiness, they were giving a good ac 
 count of themselves. 
 
 Under cover of a hot fire, Count Andrew had headed 
 two sorties, with the object of driving the enemy from 
 their position, but in both instances had been repulsed 
 with loss. 
 
 Choosing what she believed to be a favorable oppor 
 tunity, Deotima singled out a young fellow who lay flat 
 upon his stomach behind some hay, and bending over 
 him said 
 
 "Pick off the officers if you can, Ladislaus." Then 
 receiving no answer, she stood upright, and glanced 
 stealthily into the gloom on all sides of her, the nauseous 
 fumes of the powder making her cough ; finally her eyes 
 became riveted on a small strongly-made trunk of wood, 
 which, had she not known where to look for it, she would 
 never have discovered, thrust aside as it was in a corner 
 near the eaves. Deotima unlocked it and lifted the lid, 
 then, as though doubtful or nervous, she closed it, and, 
 stepping back, touched the young man on the shoulder, 
 addressing him by his name. Still receiving no reply, 
 she shook him gently, and then a benumbing sense of 
 horror took possession of her. Sinking on her knees at 
 his side, she supported herself upon her hands, the sensa 
 tion that she touched some warm liquid substance mak 
 ing her start back and examine them. They were cov-
 
 268 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 ered with blood. In another instant she knew the truth. 
 A bullet had passed through his forehead, and he was 
 dead. 
 
 "Blessed Mother, this is too horrible!" she gasped. 
 "Ladislaus dead!" and white to the lips, for some mo 
 ments she felt as though about to faint. Recovering her 
 self by the strongest effort of which she was capable, 
 with solemn reverence and a heart-breaking expression 
 of despair, she made the sign of the Cross, and with a 
 sigh that was almost a gasp, exclaimed in a broken 
 voice 
 
 "Poor dear Ladislaus!" 
 
 It was Count Ladislaus Goroski. 
 
 Returning with deliberate steps to the little trunk, 
 where in the feeble light amidst the dense blue smoke no 
 eye could see her, she stood erect, and with fingers trem 
 ulous from excitement, not nervousness, began to unbut 
 ton her bodice. This done, she next freed herself of her 
 skirts, substituting in place of them a pair of soldier s 
 overalls, which she tucked into high leather boots. Then 
 she put on a braided tunic, which fitted as though made 
 for her, which indeed was the case. Beneath a large 
 flat-topped cap she hid her hair, drawing the peak well 
 over her eyes, and adding, as a finishing touch to her dis 
 guise, a long military great-coat which had a strap at the 
 back, she stepped up to the body. Exerting all her 
 strength, yet with infinite tenderness, she dragged it away 
 from the loophole, and taking up the dead man s rifle, 
 lay down on the floor that was yet warm. 
 
 "Poor Ladislaus!" she again sobbed. "So they ve killed 
 you you whom I loved best and it was to be near me 
 that you came here. Very well, poor darling, you shall 
 be revenged we will both be revenged." And fairly 
 choking with emotion, she prepared to fire. 
 
 Below, in the body of the great barn, amidst sound and 
 unsound implements, quantities of hay and roots used in 
 feeding the cattle, on the shaft of an upturned cart, sat
 
 HERN AM THE JEW. 269 
 
 Hernani. From time to time he would exchange a few 
 words with Dorozynski, or satisfy himself as to the move 
 ments of the enemy through a slit in the wall. Hope was 
 still strong within him. It was not his fate ever to be 
 beaten. Notwithstanding the reinforcements of dra 
 goons and Cossacks, Suroff had made no headway, and 
 must have lost many men. It only there had been plenty 
 of food and powder, protected by such stout old walls, his 
 chance against the whole Russian force would have been 
 worth a good round sum. As it was, his marvelous for 
 tune would not forsake him. Something favorable would 
 happen. His turn would come. They would be able to 
 beat a retreat, having crippled their foes. The Central 
 National Committee were aware of his critical position 
 perhaps they had already despatched assistance or a 
 turn of cold would be a fine ally. There were a thousand 
 and one chances. Suroff would see. He would receive 
 another lesson, and this time a decisive one. Revolving 
 all these possibilities with astounding cheerfulness, 
 amidst the strong smell of the place, which, mingled with 
 that of burnt powder and human beings, was almost sick 
 ening, he encouraged those about him, the strange in 
 fluence of his personality remaining as yet unimpaired, 
 and causing the poor fellows surrounding him still to 
 think, "It will be all right he knows we shall see." 
 
 Amidst the uproar of the fight, the rattle of the firing, 
 an occasional shout of triumph or scream of pain, the 
 frightened lowing of the two or three oxen yet un- 
 slaughtered, and the shrill neigh of dragoon and Cossack 
 horses, he remained calm and self-possessed as though in 
 his great counting-house at Warsaw. Judging by his 
 manner, the band of men around him sweating, dirty, 
 and worn out might have been his sleek, well-fed staff 
 of clerks; the huge beams and dust-covered rafters above 
 him, his own roof-tree; the corner of the place in which 
 Sara was huddled with the wounded, a handsomely fur 
 nished apartment in the splendid home he had left. The
 
 2/0 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 might have been did not affect him; he was himself even 
 with what was. 
 
 It was the master mind still at work, the man of huge 
 possibilities, hemmed in by difficulties. All at once, and 
 as though in grim derision of such amazing equanimity, a 
 chorus of exultant shouts pealed through the damp, 
 smoke-laden air, after which came a pause of some min 
 utes, broken at the end of that time by the sullen roar of 
 a heavy weapon, a Krupp cannon. At such close range 
 the round shot crunched through the wall, knocked a 
 shower of splinters from the opposite one, and rolled and 
 spun almost to Hernani s feet. 
 
 Such a shock moved even his stout heart. Of what 
 use brick walls with a well-served Krupp playing upon 
 them? He turned the shot over with his foot, and for 
 the first time despair seized upon him. 
 
 So there was to be no relief of any kind, either from the 
 distant French, upon whom he had cast such patient, 
 hopeful glances, the lukewarm nobles, of whom he had 
 expected such great things, or the Central National Com 
 mittee, who were, he had believed, to be counted upon. 
 However, the strife might go with others; all all had 
 failed him. His grand schemes were at an end. He 
 would never deepen the Vistula, so as to accommodate 
 a large carrying trade, or start his great banking scheme 
 which was to have crowned him with the name of univer 
 sal benefactor. The game was up. He was caught in a 
 trap from which there was no escape. Very well; he 
 was not of the sort to languish in some foul prison or rot 
 by inches in a mine they should see how he could die. 
 As though reflection even were denied him, at that in 
 stant Dorozynski rushed up to him, and with breathless 
 eagerness, though in a voice inaudible to anyone else, 
 said 
 
 "You see how it is. Again they have been strength 
 ened, and if we can t take that gun, in my opinion we are 
 done for."
 
 HERNAN1 THE JEW. 271 
 
 Hernani nodded; words failed him. 
 
 "Shall we try?" 
 
 "Yes," he said huskily; "you get the men together. 
 This is the moment to show what we are made of." 
 
 Still sitting upon the shaft of the cart, his right foot 
 planted upon the ground supporting his weight, he drew 
 out first one, and then another revolver, to assure him 
 self, that they were ready for use; being satisfied, he was 
 in the act of replacing them, when a terrible thought en 
 tered his mind. What about Sara? He had promised 
 himself that she should never fall into Russian hands 
 alive. He had told Dorozynski so. His hope of pro 
 tecting her was as good as gone, the chance of returning 
 to her side a worthless one. The moment for action had 
 suddenly arrived. What was to be done? Could he 
 take her life? Could he deliberately shoot her his wife 
 in cold blood? Would it be right of him? Could any 
 extremity justify such an act? There she was, not ten 
 paces from him, her profile clear cut against the dirt- 
 begrimed wall of the barn, and though as pale as death 
 she was as beautiful as ever. The thought was too hor 
 rible. For a few seconds, which seemed like a lifetime, 
 he paused in doubt, turning one of the weapons in his 
 hand, his eyes gleaming, fierce lit like those of a mad 
 man, the muscles of his forehead contracted, a frightful 
 expression of despair and irresolution disfiguring his 
 fine face; another shot crashed through the roof, and 
 shrieks came from the direction of the farmhouse. He 
 could hear Dorozynski addressing the men, imploring 
 them to be brave to do their duty. That brought him 
 to himself. White to the lips he put away the weapon; 
 then, scarce knowing what he did or how he came to do 
 it, he flung himself upon Sara, his arms upon her shoul 
 ders, choking with the terrible nature of his feelings. 
 
 "The Holy One," he exclaimed "the Holy One He 
 will have you in His charge !" 
 
 And before she could reply, further than to try to hold
 
 272 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 him, he had wrenched himself clear of her, and passed 
 out into the light drizzling rain, almost side by side with 
 Deotima, who had descended from the loft, and who, un 
 noticed by anyone in the excitement of the moment, took 
 her place in the ranks with the men. Again Dorozyn- 
 ski s voice rose high. 
 
 "My countrymen, my comrades, remember what we 
 have been. What our forefathers did we can do again. 
 Let us strike for our beloved country and for our homes. 
 
 With the speed of despair, and the recklessness of a last 
 hope, the small but solid phalanx of heroes answered 
 him with cheers, and by bursting upon the Russian posi 
 tion with a wild hurrah that made even Suroff admire 
 and wonder. 
 
 "Take them prisoners don t cut them down !" he was 
 heard to shout, as his Cossacks and dragoons rode 
 through and through them. "Spare all you can!" he 
 yelled, well knowing it to be too late. Yet, despite the 
 fire, the charge, they were at the gun, amongst his men, 
 Hernani and Dorozynski still living, still heading them. 
 
 Pressing forward all that remained of them as 
 though the spirit of ten were in each, they were hidden by 
 the smoke, the mist, and the brown stems of the pines, 
 Sara with strained eyes watching them, as dazed with 
 dread of what might happen she stood out in the open, 
 stray bullets whistling round her, and old Riva, wild with 
 fear for her, clinging to her skirts and dragging her back 
 under cover. 
 
 Borne upon the heavy winter air, the shouts, the up 
 roar, the melee of horse and man and clanging weapons, 
 soon told its tale of widowhood and woe, soon lessened, 
 and slowly died upon the ear. 
 
 In minutes swifter to pass than to tell of, it was over, 
 and Dorozynski, in the thick of it, had gone upon his 
 knees beside a form he had thought to be a gallant troop 
 er, fighting at his side throughout, and had recognized 
 to be a woman and a sister only as a fatal bullet had sped,
 
 HEKNANI THE JEW. 273 
 
 and the large confederatka* had fallen, setting free her 
 golden hair. Blind to danger, ignorant of what fear 
 meant, deaf to everything but that it was his sister, Deo- 
 tima whom he loved, he knelt there, his heart benumbed, 
 his tears falling as a woman s might have done upon the 
 long slim hand, so soft and white, so powerless, and so 
 heavy. 
 
 God! How he longed that she might speak that 
 word of his might wake once more some spark of life and 
 light within the glazing eye that had so often looked 
 with warmth and love into his own! 
 
 Could he survive such bitterness as Deotima gone? A 
 shout was all his answer, a rush of horse and man upon 
 him. To stagger to his feet, to try to ward the blow was 
 all he did, and all he did was not enough to save his life. 
 Pierced through and through, he rolled upon the ground , 
 the cries of those he hated most on earth, ringing above 
 him as his life blood ebbed. 
 
 They might have spared him, so young, so brave, and 
 fighting for his native soil; yet such a death was his that 
 all, since born to die, might covet. 
 
 Recovering as from a sort of swoon, the new sight that 
 showed itself to Sara s gaze was that of Riva, struggling 
 with a large, clumsy-looking Cossack, her keen knife 
 buried in his arm, the great barn filling with men not 
 of their side, soldiers, helmeted dragoons, with mud-be 
 spattered boots and uniforms, and swords yet stained 
 with blood; Cossacks rough and dirty; infantrymen, 
 snub-nosed, fair-haired, and furious like the rest for plun-- 
 der and a grip of the foe they had vanquished at last. 
 Look as she would, there was no sign of Hernani, of 
 Dorozynski, of one friendly face to lessen the horror of 
 the feeling that, weak and unprotected, she was at the 
 mercy of those who to her, at such a moment, seemed 
 fiends in the jrarb of men. 
 
 * Confederate cap. 
 18
 
 274 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 Springing to assist Riva, the Cossack caught her by the 
 neck as he would have done a rat, and with a cuff on the 
 side of the head, sent her reeling backwards against the 
 boards, upon which the wounded were stretched. 
 
 The huge fellow s triumph over his feminine antag 
 onists was, however, short-lived, for his hands were 
 scarcely quit of Sara, before a shower of blows descended 
 upon his broad back, delivered with a will and the flat of 
 a sword, and, turning to defend himself, who should he 
 face but Suroff, accompanied by several officers and evi 
 dently in no mood to be trifled with. 
 
 "What! you hound, you would set upon women, would 
 you? As though there was not enough men about for 
 you to practice upon! You dare to answer?" as the 
 man attempted to speak. "Here, Bazaroff where are 
 you?" turning to a handsome young officer of Cos 
 sacks. "I hand him over to your tender mercies he is 
 one of your fellows." Then stepping up to Sara, he ad 
 dressed her with an unclouded face and a slight but cap 
 tivating smile "Madam, are you the wife of the Jew, by 
 name, Hernani?" 
 
 By this time Sara had recovered herself, and now stood 
 erect before him. 
 
 "I am," she answered simply, though with dignity. 
 
 "I guessed as much. Well, I regret that I was not in 
 time to save you from insult, though I managed to do so 
 from harm, I hope. You need be under no further 
 apprehension, I assure you; though a prisoner for the 
 time being, you will be treated with every respect and 
 consideration while in my charge. Beyond that I have 
 no power to promise. In a little while I shall ask you to 
 confine yourself to one of the rooms in yonder farmhouse, 
 where I suppose you were living until I was forced to 
 disturb you." 
 
 This rather long speech eliciting only a mute assent 
 from Sara, Suroff fell back a few paces amongst his 
 brother-officers, his fair complexion ruddier with increase
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 275 
 
 of color, as though under their critical glances he expe 
 rienced some awkwardness in addressing a woman. 
 
 "The devil! he muttered to himself under his fair 
 moustache. "So that is his Excellency s fancy and no 
 bad one any way! What eyes, and what a figure! A 
 Persian s idea of perfection, being plump and white. She 
 is very handsome but faugh ! a Jewess." Then to the 
 officers around him, with a significant smile "One must 
 always be civil to women, but of this one we had better 
 see as little as possible, or it will be a case of trespassing 
 upon other people s property." Then in response to an 
 amused, almost comical exchange of glances "Oh! 
 don t mistake me; I mean the observation for myself as 
 much as for Bazaroff, or any of you." 
 
 "Well, sir," ventured Bazaroff, w 7 ho was a licensed fa 
 vorite and knew it, "since she is a prize, taken in warfare, 
 it 
 
 "Matters very much sir," interrupted Suroff with well- 
 assumed severity, straightening his muscular figure, and 
 looking large and important in his loosely-cut greatcoat, 
 heavy boots and clanking spurs. 
 
 Within an hour of Suroff s brief remarks to her Sara 
 found herself locked up with Riva, in the very room 
 Hernani had appropriated, and from the window of which 
 he had smiled as the young Sicinski s dog had slid upon 
 the ice-bound pond in pursuit of the stick thrown to him. 
 
 "Oh! my lamb, my lamb," groaned Riva, after a dead 
 silence, which it seemed to her would never be broken, 
 "what is to become of us what is to become of us? Not 
 a bone of me seems in place, and I ache oh ! how I ache. 
 That unclean beast of a man shook me as the whirlwind 
 would. The teeth in my head rattled, and I thought my 
 hour had come." 
 
 Sara stood before the window her back to Riva her 
 mind far from the sodden cheerless landscape upon which 
 her gaze seemed fixed. Snow in large flakes descended 
 with that sliding zigzag motion peculiar to it, and the
 
 276 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 drip, drip of moisture from the branches of a tree, which 
 in the fitful puffs of air occasionally rubbed against the 
 window panes, was plainly audible. There were no tears 
 in her eyes now they glittered with a hard cold light 
 and her lips met tightly, as though she suffered, while her 
 face was deadly white. 
 
 "To think of it all," pursued Riva; "it s terrible ter 
 rible, and half my time I can t believe I m Riva and not 
 mad or dreaming. 1 
 
 Still Sara remained silent, Riva regarding her long and 
 wistfully, with an expression of acute anguish in her face. 
 For some minutes she too contrived to remain speech 
 less, then she broke out again. 
 
 "This is beyond me to bear this is awful! In Cracow 
 it was bad. Times were hard. In Warsaw I was miser 
 able towards the last, but to be shut up here like sheep 
 in a slaughter-house I wish I were dead, for I m hope 
 less, and to be hopeless is worse than death." 
 
 "Hopeless? I am not!" Sara suddenly exclaimed 
 fiercely. "They ve not killed me yet!" 
 
 Riva sprang to her side, and clinging to her skirt grov 
 eled at her feet, an unspeakable joy illuming her thin 
 dark face so seamed with wrinkles. 
 
 "I am not," Sara repeated. "Is this the time to grum 
 ble is this the time to despair? Oh! I feel distracted." 
 
 "At last you speak. The Holy One be thanked ! That 
 is what I wanted and waited and talked for to hear the 
 sound of your voice. Never a word have you spoken for 
 five hours, judging by the light, and with it all, cold as 
 an icicle, and never a tear. I grew to be frightened, for 
 what do I live for but you? I could 
 
 And Riva fairly broke down, her pent-up feelings es 
 caping in hysterical sobs. Impelled by the woman s al 
 most idolatrous affection, Sara laid her hand firmly upon 
 her shoulder and in a gentle though decided tone said 
 
 "Hush! That will help neither of us. We have got 
 to think and act and be brave."
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 277 
 
 "And who would not be with with you ?" 
 quavered Riva. "Oh! it does my old heart good to hear 
 you and what courage " 
 
 Sara laid her finger upon her lips and turned her head 
 in the attitude of listening. The sentry grounding his 
 rifle outside the door occasioned her no surprise. Some 
 thing more unusual had disturbed her. 
 
 "What can it be? There it is again!" she exclaimed 
 in an excited voice. 
 
 Riva passed her bony hand across her wet face and 
 listened attentively, scream after scream reaching them at 
 length, though faintly, owing, no doubt, to the thickness 
 of the walls. 
 
 "It s nothing, my lamb nothing that need trouble 
 you," she declared with languid indifference, well know 
 ing the necessity of soothing Sara. 
 
 "You are wrong, I am certain. It is the cry of some 
 man in pain," answered Sara in awe-stricken accents; and 
 then there followed, sweeping through her mind with 
 lightning speed, her recollection of that land in which 
 she had spent her life; of the cruel scenes she had herself 
 witnessed, and the barbarities of which she had been told. 
 Troubled beyond the power of words to describe, she 
 clutched Riva s arm convulsively, and in a voice which 
 excitement reduced to a whisper, gave vent to the 
 thoughts which had been upon her mind, but which un 
 til that moment she had lacked the courage to put into 
 words. 
 
 "What of him where is he what can have hap 
 pened?" 
 
 To such questions it was not in Riva s power to make 
 answer. Her own concern for Hernani was neither deep 
 nor warm. Any consideration she might have felt for 
 him had been swamped by jealousy in the days when her 
 mistress had been happy, and since then by a growing 
 dislike, he to her mind being the absolute and unworthy 
 cause of all Sara s grief. Besides had he not got them
 
 278 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 into their present plight the fool as she thought of 
 him? Therefore knowing the nature and staunchness 
 of the heart he had won, and fearing to wound by some 
 ill-judged word, she took refuge in silence. 
 
 "What of him, I say," Sara repeated, still gripping her 
 arm, till Riva could feel the little nails cutting into her 
 skin "is he dead, or are they torturing him?" 
 
 "No, no, nothing of that it cannot be," the woman 
 ventured, thus driven to say something. "See the chari 
 ty he has bestowed upon others, the schools he has built, 
 and the synagogues, and the money he has cast about 
 him on all sides. He will not be forgotten of Him who 
 rules the world, and who knows the hearts of Kings. The 
 master s good fortune will not fail him even in such 
 straits. Take heart you will see." 
 
 "Do you think so, Riva? Is that what you think?" 
 
 "I know it here, my lamb," pointing to her heart; 
 "though what says the Book? When the ox is down 
 many are the butchers. " 
 
 Riva knew nothing of the kind, and thought quite the 
 contrary. That signified nothing. Sara must be com 
 forted; to her mind the circumstances warranted her 
 words. 
 
 "Bless you for saying that!" murmured Sara. "But, 
 oh! the sight of him as he disappeared I shall see him 
 always." And she hid her face in her hands. 
 
 "Why were you silent before the officer?" Riva now 
 took courage to ask. "He was the man to speak to, and 
 then was the time. When he said, Are you the wife of 
 Hernani? I made sure you would say Yes; and what 
 of him? Is he unhurt? " 
 
 "How could I, Riva? You forget how I was surround 
 ed by men, all staring at me as though I were a savage, 
 and at the time my head ringing with the blow I had 
 got." 
 
 "The brute! I wish my knife had entered his heart 
 instead of his arm," Riva blazed up. "No you did the
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 279 
 
 best," she added, pursuing her subject; "but when you 
 see him again you can ask him questions. He will an 
 swer them. I saw him look at you, and I know what 
 such looks mean. You can ask him about the young lady 
 and her brother, the Count, and the other two gentlemen. 
 I never saw them towards the end. I never set eyes on 
 her did you?" 
 
 And the two women went on talking, occasionally 
 fancying they heard the strangest noises and were per 
 haps about to become the victims of the foulest of plots, 
 yet with it all striving to take heart, comforting each 
 other as best they could, but securely guarded, as the 
 heavy and monotonous tread of a sentry outside their 
 door constantly reminded them.
 
 280 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 In pursuance of his instructions, within an hour of his 
 victory, Suroff had despatched a courier to his Excellen 
 cy, General Hourko, and with his prisoners secured and 
 the wounded looked to, awaited the reply, which, when it 
 came after a lapse of more than forty-eight hours 
 was, in the main, what he had expected. 
 
 The whole batch of prisoners were to be sent to differ 
 ent specified fortresses with the exception of the two 
 women, with whom, after giving over his command, he 
 was to hasten to an address situated within a few miles 
 of the Chateau Villanov, and upon the direct road to 
 Warsaw. 
 
 Suroff well knew that the place mentioned was a villa 
 owned or rented by General Hourko, said to be of com 
 fort, even elegance, and to possess conservatories, where 
 notable specimens of orange, pomegranate, and other 
 beautiful trees flourished. 
 
 "So his Excellency meditates a little relaxation, I im 
 agine," he told himself upon the receipt of these orders. 
 "Well, I don t think I blame him, though his sharp-vis- 
 aged wife will, if she gets to know of his doings. He can 
 trust me, he knows. My pay will come in medals and 
 promotion, and I shall get both for this clean bit of 
 work." And Suroff stroked his moustache, and allowed 
 his thoughts to wander to some of the fair sex in Peters 
 burg for whom he owned to a leaning, and then, soldier 
 like, set about carrying out his instructions without de 
 lay. 
 
 In receipt of a curt order to hold herself in readiness 
 for a journey, Sara, who was still in ignorance of Her- 
 narrl s fate, and felt the impossibility of leaving the farm 
 without doing her utmost to obtain news of him, seized
 
 HERN AMI THE JEW. 281 
 
 the opportunity to address the bearer of the message a 
 soldier whom she saw for the first time. 
 
 "I wish to speak to the officer in command," she said 
 mildly, and in her most persuasive manner. "Will you 
 please give him that message for me?" 
 
 The man turned upon her half in astonishment and 
 anger at receiving such a request from a prisoner, but 
 remembering that for some reason she was treated with 
 distinction, the oath and the point blank refusal upon his 
 tongue, were changed for a civil assurance that the desire 
 should be communicated, the result being that after a 
 while, Suroff himself came to her. 
 
 "I am told that you have something to say to me," he 
 said, barely allowing his eyes to rest upon her as he 
 spoke, but seeming rather to prefer to look about the 
 room, or at Riva, who, with the best intention, had with 
 drawn to the furthest corner, and there appeared deeply 
 engrossed. 
 
 "Yes; I ventured to send such a message," answered 
 Sara, inwardly agitated and nervous, now that she really 
 faced this man whose power over her was so absolute, 
 and who was, she felt, intentionally impervious to an ap 
 pealing glance or a trick of the voice. 
 
 "And in what way can I be of assistance to you? re 
 turned Suroff, in tones which before Sara preferred her 
 request, impressed her with the hopelessness of it. 
 
 "You can tell me what has become of my husband," 
 she said, with startling abruptness and energy, as though 
 convinced that with Suroff, plain speaking would weigh 
 the heaviest. 
 
 For the instant he appeared slightly confused, as 
 though the directness or nature of the assertion, for 
 which he should certainly have been prepared, placed 
 him at a disadvantage. Then he said as if to gain time 
 for reflection, or to soften the refusal he meditated 
 
 "How do you know that?" 
 
 "Common sense tells me. Ah! if YOU knew how I suf-
 
 282 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 fer, you would not hesitate; and what harm could it do to 
 anyone?" 
 
 "Probably none." 
 
 "Then let me entreat you," urged Sara, vaguely con 
 scious that if he would but look at her she could win her 
 way to his heart. 
 
 Inclined to doubt himself under the circumstances, 
 feeling that to hesitate was to be lost, and that he had to 
 choose between a chivalrous desire to be lenient to a 
 woman and a grave doubt as to how far wisdom would 
 support him in the act, Suroff said firmly, though evident 
 ly against his will 
 
 "Duty does not permit me to grant your request. If 
 it seemed wise, I would. There are few harder tasks in 
 life than to know when to be silent." 
 
 "You refuse?" 
 
 "Absolutely, madam." 
 
 "Then that is all I have to say, sir," answered Sara 
 calmly, though in truth despairingly. 
 
 Suroff bowed as politely as though quitting the salon 
 of a Duchess, simply because it was natural to him so to 
 do when dealing with a woman, and Riva, in the depths 
 of her corner, thought, though with strange laxity of 
 reasoning considering the looseness of her own tongue, 
 "The young man is right; that he should know such 
 things is why he is where he is, for the Book says wisely, 
 Silence is the fence round wisdom. " 
 
 In a little while after that, conscious of being crest 
 fallen, down-trodden and unfortunate to a degree past 
 any previous experience or conception, and yet dimly 
 sensible that since she breathed, all was not lost, Sara 
 found herself seated in a conveyance not more comfort 
 able than a perekladnaia, being of rough country build, 
 muffled in wraps, with Suroff at her side, and Riva fol 
 lowing in a cart packed with prisoners, guarded by an es 
 cort of Cossacks. 
 
 In the greatness of her grief, as she was thus forced
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 283 
 
 away from the Sicinski farm, and as she looked long and 
 wistfully upon it, it seemed to her that in leaving it she 
 was leaving him, severing the last link that bound her to 
 him Hernani, whose voice still rang in her ears, whose 
 hands, when she shut her eyes, were yet upon her shoul 
 ders and that if not dead and the awful thought would 
 come they were dead to each other, and that on earth 
 they had spoken and touched for the last time. Through 
 the driving sleet, as it swept over her in gusts, she could 
 dimly discern the little window at which she had stood 
 on that first morning hopeful, strangely so and the 
 memory of it, and that then she was not alone, was so 
 cruel, so heartbreaking a mockery of the suffering she 
 endured, that, proud though she was and determined to 
 be brave in the presence of her victorious foes, in silent 
 woe she hid her face. 
 
 Throughout that long sad drive Suroff made no at 
 tempt to speak to her, but muffled to the very tips of his 
 ears seemed ignorant of her existence, save when the 
 clumsy vehicle lurched in the deep ruts, and threatened 
 to pitch them bodily into the snow, when he evinced in 
 terest enough to rouse himself, and support her with a 
 strong hand until the danger was past. 
 
 A roadside inn sheltered them for some hours while 
 the storm was at its height, and there the horses were 
 changed and a less comfortless conveyance, a sleigh, ob 
 tained. When a fresh start was made, part of the escort 
 with the half-starved prisoners in charge, branched off in 
 another direction, and soon after, they had rumbled out 
 of sight, jolting in the carts, and some of them screaming 
 with pain, Sara began to think that certain features of the 
 landscape were familiar to her. Occasionally she felt 
 positive that a tiny church with its gilded cross and green 
 dome, a group of cottages, multi-colored from dilapida 
 tion, the shape of some fields, or a certain peculiar curve 
 in the dusky outline of a pine forest, were not new to her; 
 but at such points, exhaustion, mental and physical, pre-
 
 284 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 vented her from troubling her head more than to won 
 der. Of what account was it where she was going, since 
 in all directions she was equally friendless and forlorn? 
 
 The bitter wind and driving sleet had chilled her to the 
 bone, her feet were like icicles, every joint in her body 
 seemed to have stiffened, her head itself was benumbed 
 and like lead, with a dull throbbing ache in it almost in 
 supportable. The severe jolting she had sustained had 
 shaken her to pieces, and she was so tired that she could 
 scarcely sit upright. 
 
 In such a condition despair might well lay hold upon 
 her, the limits of her endurance having been reached. 
 Feverish and overwrought, her mind seemed in too weak 
 and excitable a state to deal lucidly with any one idea, and 
 yet ideas swarmed. Visions of damp and noisome dun 
 geons, such as she knew existed, where huge and loath 
 some rats alone could thrive, were succeeded by recol 
 lections of her beautiful and costly home, which present 
 ed itself instantaneously in all its details of Hernani of 
 her barrenness of the divorce she had lived under the 
 shadow of of that terrible paper in General Hourko s 
 hands of his passionate glances on that night so like a 
 nightmare to her of the burning words he had poured 
 in her ear; and then with startling irrelevancy she leapt 
 backward over years she was again in Cracow a slip 
 of a girl; there were the streets she knew so well the 
 door of her home ajar, revealing the form and face of 
 her father, and between the paroxysms of his terrible 
 cough she could hear voices, lifted in altercation, as he 
 repeated his oft-told story of the fortune his knowledge 
 and discoveries would one day bring. The very tunes 
 popular at that date pealed from the street organs, and 
 voices shouted the doggerel lines of songs just then the 
 rage. Oh! they were all so cruelly fresh and clear to her, 
 those myriad recollections of that long and fitful dream 
 which was her life. And then, as though at last worn 
 out, her troubled mind became a blank, and she no longer
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 285 
 
 possessed the power to conjure up those panoramic pic 
 tures, and was only dreamily alive to such monotonous 
 sounds as the creaking of the sleigh, the crunching of 
 the snow, which had become crisp with frost, and an oc 
 casional clear ring of the horses hoofs as some hard sub 
 stance was struck. 
 
 Suroff was still impassive; he had lit a fresh cigar, 
 which glowed as he smoked, while a great clear moon 
 peered down upon them, and a bird croaked as it was 
 disturbed. A couple of turnings were taken, the last a 
 sharp one, and through tall iron gates they swung into a 
 drive, overhung with leafless trees, arriving at length be 
 fore high stone columns, flanking the entrance to a villa, 
 from the doorway of which a blaze of light streamed upon 
 them. Two bulky figures in somber uniforms stood to 
 their arms as, shaking the snow from his furs, Suroff rose 
 to his feet, and then Sara understood that what she had 
 dreaded throughout yet would not hint to Riva had 
 come to pass, and that she was in General Hourko s 
 power. 
 
 A few words from Suroff, spoken well out of hearing, 
 relieved him of his charge, and with a "Good-night, 
 madam," and a careless lifting of his fingers to the peak 
 of his military cap, Sara saw him disappear, as it proved, 
 for ever out of her life. 
 
 With Riva at her side, and in silence submitting to be 
 conducted, a broad flight of stairs was ascended, a corri 
 dor traversed, and a suit of rooms entered. Here there 
 was warmth at least, and luxury and tempting food at 
 hand; better still, there was privacy for the instant, 
 though, as Sara sank into a chair with a furtive glance 
 round the walls, she suppressed a shudder as she thought 
 of how those walls might yield to a practiced, unscrupu 
 lous touch, for aught she knew, and discover her help 
 less as she was. 
 
 "Riva," she said, when she had recovered a little from 
 her exhaustion, and the heat from the stove had warmed
 
 266 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 and set her blood at work "Riva, did you see anything 
 at the head of the staircase facing the statue holding the 
 lamp and upon the wall before it? 
 
 "Ach ! Yes a picture in a big gold frame. What of 
 that, my love?" 
 
 "That is a portrait of the Governor of General Hour- 
 ko." 
 
 "The Holy One protect us of the great Russian 
 then 
 
 "You know where we are." 
 
 "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in his hands! He 
 of whom such things are spoken, and who has shed the 
 blood of the innocent! Is it so? Can it be? Then evil 
 has indeed overtaken us. Oh! My lamb, my lamb 
 and I knew it all along. What did I say have none of 
 him that was my counsel." 
 
 Ignoring the censure, strong in her innocence, Sara 
 remained silent for a few seconds, and then in her low 
 sweet voice told of Hourko s night visit, concealing 
 nothing, even to the paper in his possession, ending with 
 the demand 
 
 "What do you advise? Can you see any way out of 
 this trap? What is to be done?" 
 
 "What can you do?" answered Riva, after having com 
 mented upon the disclosures in her own quaint way. 
 "Here, as in the world, might is right. He will lay hands 
 upon you you will be sacrificed 
 
 "Lay hands upon me!" interrupted Sara, with the in 
 dignant gesture of a very Queen of Tragedy. "I can 
 strike him dead should he dare." And as though to draw 
 some hidden weapon, her hand sought her bosom. 
 
 Riva now appeared calmness itself, but it was the calm 
 born of terror. She laughed hysterically and spoke fast 
 as though without control. 
 
 "Oh! ah! strike him dead that is good! Rut not 
 here and for you you would be taken and cut in pieces 
 with the knout, and your body think of it your body
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 287 
 
 would be flung to the dogs of the street! Strike him 
 dead? No there must be nothing of that. What says 
 the law? All that a man hath, will he give for his life. 
 And you you are young, without a wrinkle, beautiful 
 and with the plumpness of youth. Ah! life is sweet, my 
 love." 
 
 "Not to me, Riva. Every hope that it contains is cen 
 tered in in 
 
 "Ah! yes the master. I know I know." 
 
 "You are right, and as though to punish me for loving 
 aught but God so much, here am I without news of him. 
 Even now, at this moment, he may be lying dead in some 
 vile pit into which these monsters have flung him; or, 
 if not dead, immured in some foul dungeon, where is 
 neither warmth nor light, and where the atmosphere 
 breeds death. But this is yielding to weakness help me, 
 Riva help me to take heart, like a good soul, for upon 
 me everything depends; in me the last hope our last 
 hope his and mine is centered. So you thought me 
 strange when I kept my own counsel, and pretended that 
 I was happy." 
 
 "You never deceived me. To my eyes you were 
 wretched." 
 
 "Ah! you know me so well. You understand. But 
 the tide of my life sets from bad to worse; this is worse 
 than that, for that was happiness compared with this. Yet 
 I felt strong then, as though, were I put to it, I could do 
 much; yes, then at the worst I felt strong; now I know 
 that I must be so, and what I have to do seems shaping 
 in my head. When beset, I should be brave; else it were 
 better I were nothing. Riva, how strange life is, and 
 how many are its lessons, in the forefront of them being 
 contentment and endurance. We would give something 
 for the old Cracow days at this moment. I had not suf 
 fered then, and yet I thought I was a martyr; but then, 
 too, I had not loved. Ah! a physical ill is nothing to a 
 mental one; remedies may mend the one, but a genuine
 
 288 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 sickness of the other is incurable. Cut we must face all 
 this and fight through it. 1 feel my spirits rise at thought 
 of struggling more. Riva, look to the door the one 
 with the spring you will find it locked, I think. They 
 will shut us off from the rest of the house, and confine 
 us securely by means of it. How tired I feel, and sore 
 from head to foot, as though I had been beaten with 
 sticks. Well is it locked? I thought so. Now for the 
 walls. A while back i should never have thought . of 
 making a mental plan of a house in mounting a stair 
 case, or of examining a room, as though each chair or 
 cupboard concealed a bomb, each picture or panel a se 
 cret door; but now my inquisitiveness must be humored 
 if my eyes are to close. It cannot be called taking pre 
 cautions, for what precautions are possible? Still, it 
 eases one s mind to peer into cupboards, beneath beds, or 
 behind curtains; all of which proves one, after all, to be 
 but little better than an overgrown child. No; so far as 
 I can see, there is nothing suspicious, and yet the very at 
 mosphere is charged with evil. Now listen to my sum 
 ming-up of the situation, Riva. 
 
 "We are in one or other of the Governor s summer 
 residences, not a great way from Warsaw I am sure of 
 that; there is an armed guard outside, and within, a man 
 and woman man and wife, I should say, who are faithful 
 and discreet, and who have been told to supply our wants 
 and prevent our escape. We have apartments en suite 
 a luxuriously-furnished sitting-room and two bedrooms, 
 the smallest of which, I should say, has done duty as an 
 ante-room. In all probability, in fact, these are his Ex 
 cellency s private apartments. We now await the great 
 event, his Excellency s approach, which 
 
 "Ach! you are clever," interrupted Riva. 
 
 "Clever? No; I am stupid to a degree or I should not 
 be here." 
 
 "Stupid! The mind wears the body out, and it is so 
 with you, my lamb. All this talk comes of excitement;
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 289 
 
 though who can blame you? You need rest, or you will 
 be ill. Ach! your hand is like a live coal, your cheeks 
 aglow, and your eyes aflame. You are in a fever. I 
 know it I know it. Am I not your nurse, your own old 
 Riva who has rocked and sung you to sleep in the days 
 when your mind was a blank? Ah! you can tell me 
 nothing. You must have rest and warmth. Come, let 
 me see you get it; let me ease you of the boots and the 
 clothes. The little feet will be cold, like unto stones, and 
 must be chafed, and I shall watch by you that no harm 
 may come near." 
 
 "It is good of you, Riva, but how can I rest? I can 
 recall too plainly the face of the great Russian, as you call 
 him, and that strange visit at dead of night, of which I 
 have told you. How I hate him! People talk of beauty 
 and sigh for it; it is easy for beauty to prove a curse." 
 
 "Yet, if you were like me, wrinkled and yellow as a 
 skin ill-cured, where would this night have found us?" 
 
 "One may pay too dearly for safety, Riva." 
 
 "Ah! well, my lamb, then such a price must never be 
 paid." 
 
 And there in those big rooms, bearing the subtle 
 marks, not so much of wealth as of refinement and cul 
 ture in loneliness, with the shadow of unknowable dis 
 asters hanging over them they gradually ceased talk 
 ing, Riva flitting about as though of india-rubber rather 
 than of flesh and blood; attentive, gentle, seeming alike 
 unconscious of ill or of fatigue, so long as her love, her 
 lamb, the apple of her eye, was beside her. And so the 
 hours sped, and the cold increased, and the snow fell 
 pitilessly, no news coming to them whether of good or 
 ill. 
 
 To demean herself by questioning the stern-visaged 
 attendants, never occurred to Sara, and no good could 
 have come of it, seeing that they were a sour-faced pair 
 it seemed, fanatically devoted to the interests they 
 served. So there was little else to be done but wonder 
 
 19
 
 2QO HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 and wait, and try to shape plans and actions for that fu 
 ture which seemed profoundly dark and even terrible in 
 its obscurity. 
 
 As for the manner of her conduct towards the Gov 
 ernor when he should burst upon her, at one moment 
 Sara fancied she saw her way clear, and could handle him 
 to a nicety, holding him at a good arm s length; but in 
 the next hour, ignorance of the man, doubts of herself, 
 of her will and wit, doubts of all things concerning her 
 condition, clouded her mind. 
 
 Some days thus sped, in bewilderment, monotonous 
 speculation and torturing anxiety at least to Sara, for 
 whom it had been well, had her mind been duller, her 
 nerves less sensitive at the end of which time, and un 
 heard by her or Riva, isolated as they were, came a tink 
 ling of silver sleigh bells over the crisp white snow, as, 
 drawn by coal-black horses of that famous breed of 
 which the Orloffs were so proud, the Governor, Ivan 
 Nicholaevitch himself arrived. 
 
 What a bustle there was, what a running to and fro, 
 and homage and hypocrisy on the part of all concerned; 
 in return for which the great man replied with placid 
 indifference or harsh contempt, a flinging aside of his 
 furs, and an imperious call for tea with lemon shredded 
 in it, after which came an appeal to the eternal cigarette. 
 The tea would stimulate and create warmth. He would 
 recover himself from the chilling effects of the drive, then 
 he would dine well, and then he would send for Sara. 
 That was the programme he sketched out, as in a cosy 
 arm-chair, drawn close to the stove, he warmed himself, 
 stretching forth his hands, stamped by the time which 
 had whitened his hair and grizzled his moustache. 
 
 He was in a triumphant mood, as well he might be, 
 according to his reckoning of things ; for had not his wife 
 the jealous and exacting Olga Pavlovna disgusted 
 with the increased cold shivering, hating it disgusted 
 with the failure of her schemes for capturing and humil-
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 2QI 
 
 iating Sara disgusted also with PopolofFs imbecility or 
 perfidy at length beat a swift retreat towards the sun 
 shine, the flowers and the swallows ; trusting to the bitter 
 cold of the forests, to exposure and want, for that ven 
 geance upon one whom she chose to consider as an inso 
 lent and unscrupulous rival. And had not Popoloff been 
 detected in the committal of acts of long-suspected 
 treachery, and was not the General, Ivan Nicholaevitch, 
 waiting and watching patiently, until it should seem good 
 to him to punish his unworthy servant; above all, was not 
 Sara actually under the same roof with him, and could 
 he not summon her or go to her, as might please him? 
 And as to that, he would eat well and then he would see ; 
 but upon that frost-bound winter evening, he was cer 
 tainly master of the situation upon all points, and none 
 could have disputed it. 
 
 In such a mood there was danger in Hourko, it would 
 be thought danger in any member of that large class 
 described as unscrupulous. So as the cold increased, and 
 the stars flashed clearer as the night aged, with heavy 
 curtains drawn and fuel fresh upon the stove, the Gen 
 eral sat erect in his chair, his fine chest eased by the loos 
 ing of his tunic buttons, his decorations glittering, not a 
 hair awry in his waxed moustache, and upon his face a 
 benign smile of satisfaction. 
 
 Before him were the remnants of delicacies, while a 
 costly wine sparkled in his glass. He was not rich, and 
 his debts were huge, but he lived as his rank demanded ; 
 moreover, for him a gala night had arrived. He hic 
 coughed a time or two and finished his wine, then he 
 drank his coffee, and, having lighted a cigar, addressed 
 his servant harshly, as though that servant were a mu 
 tinous dog. In that stately, masculine language, the 
 Russian tongue, he gave some orders, then with digni 
 fied carriage he passed beneath the half-drawn folds of 
 an embroidered curtain and entered another apartment. 
 He had sent for Sara.
 
 292 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 When the message came to her, Sara bit her lip and 
 turned pale, and old Riva stifled a little scream and pro 
 tested . 
 
 "See him here, my lamb, and you will be wise. I am 
 but an old woman, yet should you wish for me I am at 
 hand." 
 
 But Sara knew better. For the weak there could be 
 but one course to appear strong. So, woman-like, 
 looking to her beauty even at that pass, she followed at 
 the heels of her conductor, appearing on her way down 
 the staircase, and upon her entry into the General s pres 
 ence, refined and dignified, as suffering will refine and 
 dignify, being God s own marking of His creatures 
 faces. What if the simple black dress which had pro 
 tected her from jibes and insults in Warsaw, and done 
 service at the Sicinski farm, were worn and shabby? 
 Does the light of the eye, the sheen of the hair, and the 
 delicate tinting of the fair cheek, need a fine setting or 
 ornamentation? If so, Sara had none, but stood before 
 Hourko with the simplicity and easy dignity, which, 
 coupled with her beauty, had attracted him at first, when, 
 with Popoloff and the aide-de-camp on either side of 
 her, she had been brought before him at the palace. 
 
 The General looked imposing and substantial, as he 
 stood with his back to the stove in his favorite attitude; 
 for his years he appeared even handsome, with his keen 
 blue eyes, his red square-jawed face, and heavy cavalry 
 moustache. But in Sara s sight these perfections did 
 not exist. She only saw before her a rugged unscrupu 
 lous soldier, to whom the shedding of innocent blood was 
 easy, who had pursued and hunted her down a tyrant, 
 in short. 
 
 It was Hourko s passing intention to avail himself of 
 all the advantages and power of his exalted rank, and 
 from that lofty pinnacle to impress and bend Sara as he 
 wished; so with this idea he greeted her sternly with 
 a
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 293 
 
 "Madam, we meet once more, and this time beneath 
 my own roof." 
 
 Without reflecting a second Sara answered boldly, 
 "The shelter of which has, I need scarcely remark, been 
 forced upon me." 
 
 "True; and had it not been so you would have 
 starved in the forests, as others who have revolted are 
 doing, or been left to languish in a fortress. You will 
 remember how I told you that you would need a friend; 
 well, it is so now more than ever, for 
 
 "I believe you, sir." 
 
 "For the account against you and yours has swollen." 
 
 "Excellency, I am aware of my condition, but could a 
 wife do less than I have done?" 
 
 "You have judgment, you : 
 
 "I have used it. If my debt to the Government of this 
 country is so heavy, my liberty or my life must go to 
 discharge it." 
 
 "That is what will probably happen," replied Ivan 
 Nicholaevitch grimly; "but," he added as he looked 
 down upon her, seated as she was in a chair, "it is my 
 desire to prevent such a reckoning." 
 
 "Then I may look upon your Excellency as the friend 
 you said you were," she answered, eager to gain a point. 
 
 "I am proving it." 
 
 "Will your Excellency be good enough to tell me 
 how?" 
 
 "I have rescued you from imprisonment." 
 
 "But only to imprison me here." 
 
 "Only to keep you out of harm s way. Are you not 
 supplied with every comfort? You have only to ask to 
 be satisfied. Are my people attentive to you?" 
 
 "I cannot complain." 
 
 "Then what is amiss? In the present disturbed state 
 of affairs, safety is worth having. There are thousands 
 who would give sacks of rubles to be in your place. You 
 are not thankful enough."
 
 294 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Excellency, it is not for me to argue with you. I 
 am only a simple-minded woman, loving honesty and 
 candor, and being untaught in the ways and windings 
 of the world . I understand nothing of finesse; there 
 fore this I frankly tell you if, as you assure me, you are 
 a friend to me, I have cause to be grateful, and shall not 
 forget to be so, but I must beg you to prove it, and satis 
 fy me that your sentiment towards me is nothing worse. 
 I hold that 
 
 "By all the Saints such spirit and such language 
 
 "Sir, my language is not meant to give offense and is 
 merely a straightforward rendering of my thoughts; as 
 for my spirit, it is not yet crushed. Would you have it 
 so? The punishment with which you have threatened 
 me Siberia 
 
 "Punishment Siberia pooh! Let us talk pleasant 
 ly. With your beauty 
 
 "Better women have gone and died there." 
 
 "I m not so sure of that. But you need fear nothing, 
 only you must be reasonable." 
 
 "I can only be myself, Excellency." 
 
 "And a very sweet self a self to which I am inclined 
 to be devoted." 
 
 "Words will not hurt me, sir." 
 
 "No; but I m prepared to prove mine." 
 
 "I will ask you rather to prove your consideration for 
 me by modifying them. In addressing you Excellency, 
 I shall always remember that a strong" Sara would not 
 say brave "and honorable man cannot take advantage 
 of a weak and defenseless woman, but as a test of the 
 friendship that your Excellency has professed for me, 
 will you favor me with news of my husband of Kasi- 
 mir Hernani?" 
 
 Hourko took a turn or two in front of her, his steps 
 always bringing him back to the same point, the stove; 
 then unconsciously, though feeling disappointed and ir 
 ritated, he lighted a fresh cigarette. Had Sara cringed
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 295 
 
 before him, or shown sign of fear or weakness, his course 
 would have been simple. He would have taken good 
 care to work on and develop such symptoms, but by her 
 simple self-reliance and confidence, springing perhaps 
 from the love and consciousness of the right she pro 
 fessed, she disarmed him. A twinge which had hurt 
 him before pained him again, the twinge being the 
 thought not new that in the flesh, before him, there 
 was an upright woman, upon whom, moreover, rank, or 
 wealth, or bribery of any kind would pass as the water 
 over the coral of the deep sea, leaving it fairer and purer 
 for the contact. In his young days he might have dis 
 missed such reflections successfully he had silenced 
 his conscience so often but to his annoyance he now 
 found them difficult to get quit of. As to Hernani 
 why should he not tell her the truth, watching her face 
 so as to estimate the depth of her affection for him, now 
 that his ruin was complete? 
 
 "He was taken prisoner," he said slowly, stationing 
 himself before her with his eyes fixed upon her face. 
 
 "Yes," said Sara, without eagerness, as though listen 
 ing to a pleasing story, and wishing him to proceed 
 "yes," she repeated softly, for she instinctively divined 
 his intention, and was guarding even the quiver of an 
 eyelash. 
 
 "He was found to be wounded, and " 
 
 "Is he dead?" she asked, in a perfectly natural voice, 
 which actually startled Hourko into thinking her either 
 indifferent or the most perfect actress he had ever met. 
 He reflected for an instant. If her affections were not 
 involved, as he had thought, to threaten or promise to 
 aid Hernani would avail him little. 
 
 "No," he said, removing his gaze to knock the ash off 
 his cigarette, and as quickly glancing at her again, in 
 the hope of effecting a surprise "no; his wound was 
 slight, and when I last heard of him I seem to remember
 
 296 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 that he was doing well. But I may be mistaken. There 
 are so many things to think of." 
 
 "God of my Fathers, how I thank Thee! 1 Sara thought, 
 but with only a natural pause she said 
 
 "Was that long ago, Excellency? Can you remem 
 ber?" 
 
 "Quite recently, I think, but I will inquire if you wish 
 which is another proof of my friendship." 
 
 Sara smiled, and the smile thrilled through Hourko, 
 who, as he felt the sensation, half cursed himself for the 
 weakness. 
 
 "And yet," he argued silently, "the woman is mine. 
 She can never escape me now. Still, if Ah! he 
 
 was irritated. 
 
 "Thanks, 1 murmured Sara. "Where is he, sir?" she 
 ventured to ask a moment later. 
 
 His temper ruffled, Hourko turned upon her sav 
 agely. 
 
 "Madam, he is safe in a fortress, where he is likely to 
 remain, and where it seems you would like to join him. 
 You can easily be accommodated, I assure you. There s 
 lots of room at present," he added darkly. 
 
 Feeling that her only chance with this man was to 
 show no sign of fear, Sara said boldly 
 
 "If it should be my lot to be immured in a prison, I 
 shall hope for the courage to endure it, though it has 
 pleased your Excellency to tell me that I am too good for 
 such a fate." 
 
 "And so you are!" exclaimed Hourko, for the instant, 
 as frank and simple as a boy. 
 
 "Then I will not think of it just now," answered Sara 
 calmly. "Will your Excellency give me further details, 
 and tell me of the fate of Count Dorozynski, of his sis 
 ter, and of the tv/o brothers, the Counts Goroski?" 
 
 Hourko hesitated momentarily. In reality he was be 
 coming more and more astonished at Sara s bearing. 
 "There is no understanding these women," he thought
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 297 
 
 to himself. "I might be the delinquent in some meas 
 ure, by the way she speaks. By all the Saints, she is 
 taking me to task; but then, she is beautiful, which is 
 a free pass to such license." Aloud he said, "I will en 
 deavor to do so. According to the report made by Major 
 Suroff, one-half of the force opposed to him was de 
 stroyed, the remainder were taken prisoners. Count 
 Andrew Dorozynski was killed, and so was his sister. 
 She was shot while masquerading in a man s attire, 
 which was brave, in one sense, but foolish in anoth 
 er Sara interrupted him with an exclamation of 
 wonderment. 
 
 "What! you are surprised?" he inquired. 
 
 "Very." 
 
 "You did not see her in such disguise? 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Where were you?" 
 
 "Excellency, I was attending to the sick and wound 
 ed." 
 
 "Which more womanly occupation probably saved 
 your life. Do you know that I was anxious about you, 
 and that, had I known what was going on, you would 
 never have left Warsaw. You were in my thoughts 
 when I despatched Surof with the troops. Do you be 
 lieve me?" 
 
 "Excellency, I do not know." 
 
 "You doubt my word?" 
 
 Sara thought a moment. She was playing a desperate 
 game. She might anger the man. Was it wise to risk 
 so much? In an instant of time she weighed her chances 
 and formed her decision. 
 
 "Has your Excellency given me no cause?" 
 
 Ivan Nicholaevitch was electrified. No one ever dared 
 to question him; yet within his own walls helpless 
 in his power, this Jewess as good as told him that he 
 had lied to her. His eyes flashed dangerously, but they 
 encountered Sara s truthful and steady gaze, which never
 
 298 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 quailed before his angry glance. He was going to ful 
 minate threats on the instant, the words actually trem 
 bling on his tongue. But somehow he could not he 
 hesitated this was a woman and one who had never 
 lied as he had; whose purity compared with his was 
 what the driven snow is to the dust-heap who, in fact, 
 in all ways, was different to his Petersburg women, who 
 had always flung themselves at his head. Besides, he 
 had lied to her systematically; his conscience, which was 
 not dead nor sleeping at this crisis, told him that. She 
 was right enough to censure him, since he had placed 
 her in a position to do so, but it was intensely annoying, 
 and, after all, whatever he had done had been for her 
 sake. 
 
 "What do you mean?" he stammered. 
 
 "Excellency, I will tell you. You found out, or else 
 you knew, that my sympathies were enlisted in favor of 
 those of my persuasion; that among them I had labored 
 in my small way, and unasked, you promised me your 
 support." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "And you had no intention of giving it, or showing 
 any favor to my co-religionists." 
 
 "No." 
 
 "And, Excellency, you expect me to credit your state 
 ments after such an admission?" 
 
 "Yes, when you know that all I did then, and all I 
 have done since, was because of my regard for you. Yes, 
 I put it stronger my love for you, Sara." 
 
 "Oh! I am to understand, then, that the sentiment 
 your Excellency entertains for me is love, not friend 
 ship?" 
 
 "Yes love," repeated Hourko; and before Sara could 
 prevent him he had his arm about her, and would have 
 pressed his grizzled moustache to her lips, had she not 
 sent him spinning backward with an energy that aston 
 ished him.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 299 
 
 Listen to me," she said, sinking again into her seat, 
 breathless but calm "listen to me. Is that the way an 
 officer, representing his Imperial Majesty the Tsar, 
 should treat a woman, who in the first place, is dragged 
 into his presence for the sole crime of having tried to 
 succor the starving?" 
 
 "By the God above us, you will madden me!" cried 
 Hourko, in a voice like the growl of a wild beast. "I 
 have but to ring this bell and 
 
 "I shall be on my way to Siberia by etape," Sara inter 
 rupted with reckless courage. "Do so I am not afraid. 
 I have already been there mentally and, I may add 
 truthfully, through your threats. You have deceived 
 me by word, and in writing; you have tracked me, and 
 had me spied upon; at dead of night I have not been 
 safe from you; to further your purposes you have had 
 me smuggled beneath your roof, and now you offer me 
 physical insults under assurances of friendship. There is 
 a right and a wrong, as the God whose name you have 
 used is judge, and because I am right and know it, I 
 have had the courage to speak to you as I have done. 
 Leave me alone, Excellency; lay no hand upon me; 
 drive me forth into the snow as you would a dog, rather 
 than doom me, a woman, to that most fatal degradation, 
 loss of self-respect." 
 
 Colorless as though dying having risen to her feet 
 in her agony of excitement Sara stood with flashing 
 eyes and parted lips, panting for breath. 
 
 Never a word was spoken for some second s, and in 
 the room, there was never a sound, save the ticking of 
 an ormolu clock, a crackle in the stove, as the fuel sank, 
 Sara s breathing, and at length, the creak of the Gen 
 eral s varnished boot, as he moved slightly. Then, he 
 spoke dropping his words like bullets. 
 
 "Madam, there can be no doubt that you are a sin 
 gularly fine person. I will say more a remarkable one; 
 also, that you have the best of the argument, if I may
 
 300 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 so style it women usually have on the other hand, I, 
 Ivan Nicholaevitch, have the best of the situation. I 
 admire your views, and they have a certain weight with 
 me; but you are so delightful, so adorable, that you 
 will have to adopt mine, otherwise, the chances for you 
 as suggested, are much in favor of Siberia by etape. But, 
 what s up? What s the matter? Are you ill? By all 
 the Saints !" 
 
 In the heat of his fear, without reflecting, he sprang 
 to the bell and sent peal after peal through the house. 
 The servants rushed in. Sara looked ghastly. Like 
 fools, these menials stood inactive looking. 
 
 "Go and get some restoratives, wine, cognac, any 
 thing," roared Hourko. "Do you hear you sheep 
 heads?"* 
 
 The sound of his hated voice, distant and singing in 
 her ears, though it seemed, made the alarm a false one. 
 With the aid of her pride and a prodigious effort of will, 
 Sara recovered herself, and Ivan Nicholaevitch, thinking 
 that he had been too harsh, and being, in truth, more 
 affected by Sara s words than he cared to own, tried to 
 make amends and headway, by what he deemed atten 
 tion and kindness. With all the wit he had, he turned 
 the conversation into other channels, and finally, hav 
 ing exhausted the last moment of leisure at his disposal, 
 he resumed his furs, flung himself into his sleigh, and 
 more intoxicated than ever with the passion her beauty 
 had inspired in him, tore back to Warsaw, telling him 
 self that he had obtained a clearer insight into her char 
 acter that night, and that he would conquer her by kind 
 ness, if not, by threats, but that conquered and his, she 
 should be. 
 
 Other food for reflection and speculation, as well as 
 occasion for energetic resolutions, if not actions, would 
 have been supplied to him, had he, Ivan Nicholaevitch, 
 
 * Russian expression.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 3OI 
 
 paid a visit to his villa at noon of the next day; also his 
 eyes would have opened wider had they lighted upon 
 the ungainly figure of Titus Prokofievitch Popoloff ; Ti 
 tus himself, who was there with his colorless, inscrutable 
 face, polishing his spectacles leisurely as of old, and 
 using them to peer at his, Ivan Nicholaevitch s, trusted 
 dependents, with whom he appeared to be on the best 
 of terms. This in itself was curious, but then, Mr. Sec 
 retary Popoloff was, in his way, a curious man, and had 
 so many strings to pull to enable him to keep in touch 
 with, and know everything, as was his proud boast, and 
 then also, officialism has occasionally proved corrupt. 
 
 When Sara rejoined Riva, no sooner had the door shut 
 and left them alone together, than Riva s old arms were 
 extended at sight of her mistress, and so great had been 
 the strain upon Sara that she straightway fell into them, 
 exclaiming as she swooned: 
 
 "Riva, he is alive he is alive!"
 
 302 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The beginning of Titus PopolofFs loss of influence 
 had dated from the to him unlucky day when Sara 
 had been brought before Hourko. His attempt to serve 
 two masters had begun to fail from that moment, and 
 one is bound to admit that it could scarce have been 
 otherwise. However, acting unscrupulously as was his 
 wont, he had made money for himself throughout, and 
 if destined to lose prestige with Hourko at the rate at 
 which it had of late deserted him, he had decided that 
 he had a mind to pursue his old tactics. 
 
 If kudos and the advancement he coveted were as far 
 off as ever, it was still open to him to employ his talents 
 in the acquiring and storage of rubles. 
 
 In Cracow, awhile back, adherents of the revolution 
 ary movement had agreed to the establishment of a Dic 
 tatorship, and as a fit occupant of that post, had nomi 
 nated General Maryan Langiewicz. It had followed that 
 Langiewicz had become Dictator, had won a battle or 
 two, which had helped his cause in no way, that the Rus 
 sian Government had offered fifty thousand rubles for 
 his head, finally that his force had been dispersed, and he 
 himself imprisoned in an Austrian fortress, having 
 crossed the frontier into Austria in the company of his 
 romantic and beautiful aide-de-camp so styled by cour 
 tesy Miss Pustowoitow daughter of a Russian Gen 
 eral. These historical facts were ancient history to Pop- 
 oloff. His knowledge extended further, for he knew that 
 with the setting of General Langiewicz s bright particu 
 lar star, the back of the revolution had been broken, a 
 death-blow to it dealt. He knew that the peasantry had 
 been converted by the government into a kind of brutal 
 police, armed with bill-hooks, axes, any weapon that
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 303 
 
 came to hand, that he himself had borne his part in 
 bringing this about, and that in consequence, the landed 
 proprietors without whose support the revolutionary 
 movement would dwindle and die were actually being 
 brought into the towns in their own carriages, their 
 hands having been tied by their own peasants. With 
 affairs at such a pass, what was to be done? His Pop- 
 oloff s pay, was a mere pittance, compared with what 
 he could earn by the judicious sale of information; so 
 he promptly continued the selling of it. He had audi 
 ences of that mysterious group of personages, who, after 
 General Langiewicz s overthrow, had hastened to resume 
 the supreme authority, calling themselves the Provision 
 al National Government. Thanks to his villainy and 
 that of others, resolutions were made known, while the 
 ink upon the paper recording them was scarce dry. The 
 disposition of the Russian forces, the convoying and 
 safe conduct of arms and provisions, were thus antici 
 pated and intercepted. 
 
 It had now come to pass, that Titus Popoloff, in the 
 restlessness of his mind, had conceived a fresh project, 
 which stood commended to him, by reason of its easy 
 accomplishment, the slight risk attaching to it, and the 
 money it would bring him. In furtherance of the 
 scheme, he had appeared at the villa, and there sounded 
 the minds of the Governor-General s servants. His 
 next step was to present himself at the Citadel, where, 
 as he well knew, Hernani was confined. It was perfectly 
 easy to him to gain admittance to that strong fortress, 
 and with a little judicious bribery, to effect an entrance 
 into the cold damp cell which doomed Hernani to inac 
 tion and despair. Once within it, and by way of answer 
 to Hernani s mute expression of inquiry, he said ab 
 ruptly: "Come I have news for you." 
 
 "News?" was the tired reply from this man, who had 
 been all fire and energy but awhile back. 
 
 "Yes, news, and of a pleasant kind, if you choose to
 
 304 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 make it so. Ah! I see; the damp walls and the solitude 
 are already having their effect. Your face is as color 
 less as that of a ghost, and your hair is turning white." 
 
 This was true enough, but there being no friendship 
 between them, and not trusting his visitor wholly, 
 though they had had dealings, Hernani answered sharp 
 ly enough: 
 
 "Pass on to your point. Give me the news." 
 
 "Fifty thousand rubles is a good deal of money," 
 mused Popoloff. 
 
 "What of it?" inquired Hernani, irritated by the fa 
 miliar manner and brusque bearing of the man. 
 
 "It was offered as a reward for the person of General 
 Maryan Langiewicz." 
 
 "With what result?" 
 
 "That he I won t say owing to the reward, though 
 is safe in an Austrian fortress." 
 
 There was something terribly pathetic in the dignified 
 silence with which Hernani received this crushing blow 
 to what remained to him of hope that his cause would 
 prosper, but it was not until some seconds had elapsed 
 that he found the words and the courage to answer 
 quietly. 
 
 "Is that the news?" 
 
 "No, I am coming to it," answered Popoloff with pro 
 voking calmness. 
 
 "Well, I am listening." 
 
 Popoloff carefully removed his spectacles, then, with 
 the habitual rub from his silk handkerchief, set them 
 upon his nose again. There was no trace of his usual 
 obsequiousness. Hernani was no longer the influential 
 banker and merchant prince, but, to his way of think 
 ing, a ruined man. So he could afford to be curt and 
 brutal, as is the way with such people. 
 
 After a dead silence of some moments he again spoke. 
 
 "Tell me," he said, "since the information I gave you 
 in the Saxonski Sad concerning your wife, coupled with
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 305 
 
 other little transactions, your faith in me is established, 
 is it not?" 
 
 Hernani almost smiled as he riveted his eyes upon 
 his questioner. 
 
 "I have faith," he smiled grimly, "go on." 
 
 "That is well." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "You will have need of it." 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 "Because, without my assistance, you are lost, doom 
 ed." 
 
 "That is a pleasant assurance." 
 
 "It is a true one is it not?" 
 
 "Perhaps; as yet I am unable to judge. How do you 
 propose to help me, and so avert this doom?" 
 
 "You are brave, my friend." 
 
 This time Hernani did smile. 
 
 "I can lay claim to nothing more, now," he replied 
 bitterly, "but," he added, recovering himself quickly, "to 
 be helped would be interesting. Let me hear what you 
 propose to do." 
 
 "I will tell you. It depends upon you. First, you 
 must have faith in me, and must do as I direct; in addi 
 tion, you must have one hundred thousand rubles. 
 
 The mention of business kindled a little animation in 
 Hernani s face; for the instant, he forgot what he had 
 come to, and remembered only what he had been. 
 
 "How am I to lay hands on such a sum, shut up here?" 
 he enquired. 
 
 "There is no necessity for you to touch it. I will un 
 dertake to do that," replied Popoloff facetiously, "your 
 hand set to paper, will be sufficient. You Jews help 
 each other so well. You have but to write to a friend, 
 and that friend through a friend s friend, will bring me 
 good hard cash, to our little spot in the gardens, at any 
 time and date we may agree upon. Is it not so?" 
 
 "Possibly. But what am I to obtain in exchange?" 
 
 20
 
 306 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "Your liberty." 
 
 "Is that all?" 
 
 "Is that all, my friend? Take care; what do you 
 mean? Is that not enough for such a sum, may I ask? 
 
 A listless expression stole over Hernani s fine face. 
 He was weary intensely so. 
 
 Confinement and the breakage of his hopes had al 
 ready told upon him. 
 
 "No," he said bluntly. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because the bargain does not tempt me." 
 
 Popoloff was silent. He coughed violently, patted his 
 chest as though confident of his strength and proud of 
 its hollowness, and then, with his thin knees touching, 
 and his pale shifty eyes searching Hernani s face, he de 
 cided regretfully to play his big trump. 
 
 "Suppose I throw in your wife?" he said slowly. 
 
 "My wife?" repeated Hernani, excited enough now. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What do you know of her?" 
 
 "Everything." 
 
 "Everything?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Where is she?" 
 
 "Within twenty miles of you." 
 
 "Is she unhurt?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And in health?" 
 
 "Gently, my friend; let us go gently, and above all, 
 let us be business-like. You will appreciate me, I know, 
 being the soul of business. I repeat, suppose I threw 
 in your wife?" 
 
 Hernani was silent. The animation had fled from his 
 face as quickly as it had come. Popoloff watched him 
 inquiringly. Shrewd Russian though he was, he was 
 puzzled. Then, after a little reflection, he thought he 
 understood. He would probe.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 307 
 
 "She is quite near to you," he repeated. 
 
 "Starving in some foul prison, I suppose?" said Her- 
 nani, turning pale at the thought. 
 
 "On the contrary, she is living in luxury." 
 
 "What do you mean a prisoner and in luxury?" 
 
 "A prisoner! I never said so." 
 
 "What have you to say then?" demanded Hernani, 
 struggling to control his rising anger. 
 
 "As little as possible until we come to our bargain. 
 
 "Bargain is that it? Don t trifle with me, upon such 
 matters, or by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
 you will drive me 
 
 Popoloff retreated a step before Hernani s advance 
 and threatening air. 
 
 "All right," he said. "I have no desire to trifle. You 
 shall know all I have to tell you." 
 
 "Where is my wife? In whose hands is she?" thun 
 dered Hernani, as dread and suspicion laid hold upon 
 him. 
 
 "The Governor s." 
 
 "The Governor s," he repeated as though he did not 
 understand, though the vague and horrible fear of such 
 a calamity had already entered his head. Recovering 
 himself with an exclamation of rage, he leaped to Popo- 
 loff s side. 
 
 "What do you mean?" he again thundered, while if 
 his glances could have slain, Popoloff had been dead. 
 
 That astute individual backed a pace or two, mur 
 muring, "Ah! as I thought jealous," as placidly as 
 though ordering vodka in a cafe. 
 
 "What did you say?" stammered Hernani, as though 
 the man s knowledge of his thoughts deprived him of 
 breath. 
 
 "It is all right, my friend . You need say no more. I 
 will save you the trouble. You are jealous of his Ex 
 cellency the Governor, who has no doubt given you 
 cause. I will explain. Mind, it may be mere conjecture
 
 308 HERNA:-:I THE JEW. 
 
 on my part, still, you may credit me with being neither 
 blind nor deaf. From your manner a moment ago, 1 am 
 convinced that you arc offended with your wife, that a 
 man is the cause, and from what I know, and what I 
 don t know, but assume, I give it as my opinion that the 
 man is the Governor himself." 
 
 "And if so?" 
 
 Popoloff was silent, "Unless I say all I know about 
 the woman," he thought, "and I know nothing against 
 her, my plan will fall through. He will do nothing, con 
 sequently, there will be no money to be got." 
 
 "Well, if so, he exclaimed at length, "it happens that 
 I am in a position to clear her character completely. 
 You wrong her." 
 
 "Oh, that I had shot her in the barn," thought Her- 
 nani. 
 
 "You wrong her," repeated Popoloff, "His Excellency, 
 it is true, was mad about her, but she loathes him as I 
 am a witness, having been present at their first inter 
 view, and knowing what has happened since." 
 
 "You present, you know what has happened?" 
 
 "Yes," said Popoloff, and told the whole story, stick 
 ing to the truth, where it suited him; finally adding, 
 "now what are you going to do, that s the question?" 
 
 "I must think. Give me time. You have sprung so 
 much upon me. Let me think. Why did you not tell 
 me this when I was free? I would have made you rich. 
 How long has she been in the power of this man?" 
 
 "Oh! not long." 
 
 "Not long how long? Was she taken there by 
 force?" 
 
 "By the neck, as you were brought here." 
 
 "How am I to know 
 
 "Oh, suspicious again, eh! Curse suspicion. Put it 
 away from you. Yon need have none of it." 
 
 "My good man," exclaimed Hernani, irritably, "you
 
 HERN AMI THE JEW. 309 
 
 imagine too much. To be suspicious of you, would be 
 natural enough. There my suspicion ends." 
 
 "You were green with jealousy a moment ago. What 
 does that mean? Jealousy and suspicion are pretty close 
 friends. But there I am not here to argue. Splitting 
 hairs does not interest me and is fatiguing. I am off. 
 Your dainty morsel may stay where she is. Is that the 
 way of it? She won t long remain dainty." 
 
 Hernani raised his hand, the veins in his forehead 
 swelled. Popoloff very nearly received his fist full in his 
 face. But he controlled himself once more. 
 
 "Will you swear to the truth of what you have told 
 me?" he asked as soon as he could speak calmly. 
 
 "Yes. I swear it. On your part, will you swear that 
 the sum of one hundred thousand rubles, shall be paid 
 me by your agent, on condition that I effect your escape 
 and that of your wife?" 
 
 "Yes. It shall be paid to you, once we are clear of 
 the frontier." 
 
 "No, no." 
 
 "Once we are clear of the frontier," repeated Hernani. 
 
 Popoloff smiled craftily. 
 
 "Very well," he said, "we won t quibble over trifles. 
 I will come to you again shortly, and we will decide 
 upon a date for the money to be paid over. The place 
 shall be where we met in the gardens. Will that suit?" 
 
 "Perfectly." 
 
 "Good! Then meantime I will arrange matters; pass 
 ports, disguise, horses, everything. Wait patiently. That 
 is all you have to do. But I was forgetting. Here is 
 ink and paper; write to your wife instructing her to 
 obey me. I am going to her at once. She might deem 
 me an impostor and perhaps raise an alarm, unless my 
 credentials were clear." 
 
 Hernani took the paper, and looked at the pen which 
 Popoloff had taken from his pocket and pieced together. 
 It was a terrible moment for him. What should he do?
 
 3IO HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 An hour ago he had not known that Sara was alive. He 
 had been tortured by the most cruel doubts concerning 
 her. Now he was told that she w r as well, within a few 
 miles of him, yet in Hourko s power; and suddenly he 
 was asked to write such a paper as could proceed only 
 from his hand, that she might do whatever the bearer of 
 it might direct. 
 
 Popoloff saw the look of perplexity, of hesitation, 
 even of dread, which Hernani at that instant took no 
 pains to conceal; and he gave vent to a harsh little 
 chuckle, which said plainly enough: "Look here, my 
 friend, I understand your feelings. But I have no sym 
 pathy for you you only amuse me." 
 
 Amidst a dead silence, Popoloff snapped the spring of 
 the pocket ink bottle which he held in his hand, a time 
 or two; then he put it down on the wretched bed that 
 was all Hernani had to sit or lie upon; finally, he took 
 to cracking the knuckles of his thin bony fingers, in a 
 manner habitual to him; at length, tired of that trick, 
 he exclaimed irritably 
 
 "Look here, my friend, you seem to forget that not 
 content with keeping me waiting, you openly doubt me. 
 You are a business man, and a shrewd one, let me put 
 it to you. I want one hundred thousand rubles. You 
 are willing to pay the sum. I mean to earn it. That is 
 the only bond between us. That we are not total stran 
 gers may appeal to you, but there is the plain sum and 
 substance of the contract. Were I in your position, I 
 should jump at such a chance, and so would anybody." 
 
 Hernani dipped the pen in the ink. He had decided 
 how to act, and stooping down began to write. Yet, as 
 the words were swiftly formed, he reflected that Popo- 
 loff s visit, offer, and suggestion, might be a ruse of 
 Hourko s, for some purpose not clear to him. How 
 ever, with him, a decision was final, so he signed the 
 note with a term of endearment, invented by, and known
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 311 
 
 to Sara, then handed it to Popoloff, who took it, and after 
 a remark or two not worth recording, left him. 
 
 Once clear of the Citadel and alone, Titus PopolofFs 
 real feelings cropped to the surface. He held soothing 
 converse with himself as he went his way, "one hundred 
 thousand rubles. I shall get it, but they will not get 
 their liberty. That is how it will be. Jews! faugh! 
 how I hate them!"
 
 312 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Meanwhile, affairs at the palace shaped painfully. The 
 Governor-General, Ivan Nicholaevitch, had begun to 
 think himself an ill-used man. The reasons for such feel 
 ings being that his responsibilities were varied and irk 
 some, that the insurrection still flickered on, and could 
 not be got to go out, its broken character and hydra- 
 headedness rendering decisive action a lengthy and dif 
 ficult business; also that as is the case with exalted per 
 sonages, Ivan Nicholaevitch was fenced about by jeal 
 ousies, intrigues, Petersburg instructions of conflicting 
 purport, and Petersburg doubts and suspicions. There 
 was some talk of the great man s recall; not that such 
 talk was new or meant more than it had hitherto done, 
 but amidst all this clamor of tongues, one thing was cer 
 tain, that Ivan Nicholaevitch s temper was not on the 
 mend. Domestic affairs were growing to trouble him 
 more, and might be said to be straining towards a break 
 age, since his wife, Madam Olga, wrote threateningly 
 from out the sunshine to which she had fled, and was 
 aided and abetted in so doing by a strong band of rela 
 tives, who, being in high favor with his Imperial Ma 
 jesty the Tsar, had it well within their power to do him 
 injury. 
 
 Then, too, in the matter of Sara, he had made no head 
 way. For a spell of weeks, he had patiently pursued 
 the kind tack, under the impression that with a woman 
 of Sara s temperament, coercion would be useless. He 
 had torn himself from his duties, and had rushed to her 
 side at headlong speed, assuming the attitude and con 
 duct of an ardent but honorable lover; the result being, 
 that after such interviews, he had galloped back, dis 
 turbed, inflamed, disappointed, but no nearer the pos-
 
 HERN AMI THE JEW. 313 
 
 session of his baffling paragon of beauty. When the 
 urgency of his business had prevented his personal at 
 tentions which had happened for days scarce one had 
 passed without some recognition from him of her near 
 presence and his interest in her. Flowers, delicacies, 
 even jewels, had arrived at the villa, and had been re 
 ceived by Sara with indifference, coupled with a fear, 
 which was accentuated by the sight of each package or 
 costly bouquet for were they not signs of the deep- 
 rootedness of the man s evil passion, of the unalterable- 
 ness of his resolution concerning her? Poor Sara! she 
 saw them with pallor and a beating heart, an inward 
 sense of sickness, swimming of the head, positive loath 
 ing. Each one seemed to say aloud to her, "I have come 
 to remind you that as a woman, born of woman, you 
 must yield and be dragged to the depths. Circumstances 
 are against you. In the end, you will succumb, you will 
 see." Even Riva, being of commoner clay and looser 
 morals, dreading doubt and danger and coveting luxury 
 and rest, had begun to hint at the justifiableness of 
 weakness under given conditions, and to remark, that 
 Ivan Nicholaevitch had his good qualities, as his con 
 duct latterly had proved. 
 
 At which dark suggestions, after ignoring patiently, 
 then with gentleness correcting, Sara had grown angry, 
 and forbidden the mention of such matters. 
 
 Such being a brief summary of the situation, Ivan 
 Nicholaevitch, though at a critical pass, state telegrams 
 thundering upon him, consigned them to the devil, and 
 himself to the road, his historical team of blacks clatter 
 ing beneath the now budding lime trees of the Avenue 
 at top speed, bearing him to the villa, and what in his bad 
 mood he had resolved should be an understanding with 
 Sara. 
 
 As though to foster and compel this inevitable crisis 
 Sara, though in reality pale from lack of exercise and 
 fresh air, and sleepless from anxiety had, to Hourko s
 
 314 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 mind, never looked lovelier. In describing her after 
 wards for he had good reason to remember that inter 
 view he affirmed that her beauty was such "that it de 
 prived him of speech." 
 
 He had dined as was his custom. Sara had sung to 
 him, exercising herself the while, as to how to wear the 
 time away until the moment of his departure. From the 
 corners of her eyes she had watched him as he had hov 
 ered about her, and had shrunk and shuddered as he had 
 caressed her hair, laid his hand upon her shoulders, and 
 with firm fingers encircled her arm. So nervous had she 
 gradually become, that being able to endure his distress 
 ing proximity no longer, and in obedience to a sudden 
 impulse, she ceased playing and sprang off the music- 
 stool. 
 
 "What did you do that for? he asked instantly. 
 
 "I am tired," she faltered. 
 
 "Nonsense, play a little longer." 
 
 "I cannot." 
 
 Hourko s pent-up wrath found outlet. 
 
 "But you must." 
 
 Standing there facing him, Sara opened her beautiful 
 eyes wide, wonder and alarm shining in them. Her at 
 titude displayed the grace and symmetry of her figure 
 to perfection, and in that lightning-like instant, the sight 
 of it increased Hourko s disappointment as well as his 
 passion. 
 
 "Curse it," he went ori, brutally, losing all control over 
 his tongue, "you shall do as I tell you. Do you under 
 stand? I have played the fool long enough. Do you 
 suppose I am going to keep you in luxury, load you 
 with presents, and dance attendance upon you into the 
 bargain, for nothing? I can be kind and considerate 
 enough and listen to all your fine ideas whereby you 
 keep me at a distance so long as they do not weary me ; 
 but I will have my way with you, as I have given you 
 to understand."
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 315 
 
 Still in front of him, still standing, Sara s attitude was 
 so haughty and repellent, yet withal, so womanly as 
 though she were grieved as well as shocked that Hour- 
 ko, regretful of his anger on the instant, softened his 
 speech. 
 
 "Come," he said, "I did not mean that, quite. But I 
 am harassed on all sides, and from you I expect a little 
 kindness. 
 
 "Excellency; gratitude, which I have a right to give, 
 is yours." 
 
 "But how far does it extend?" 
 
 "To thanking you for 
 
 "To shrinking from me." 
 
 "Certainly not to obeying you in the matter of playing, 
 with all due respect to you; though such an unreason 
 able attitude strikes me as being a little like a man." 
 
 Hourko winced and was silent, while Sara prepared 
 herself for the mischief which she instinctively felt was 
 coming, and waited for him to speak. There was to be 
 a struggle, very well, it should be of his making." 
 
 "A little like a man; why should you sneer at men?" 
 he at length asked. 
 
 "Excellency, I do not." 
 
 "Then what do your words imply?" 
 
 "That I know what is unreasonable and must be 
 amused when I encounter it." 
 
 "By all the Saints, I shall be unreasonable in a way 
 that will not amuse you, if you goad me to it." 
 
 "I goad you; I have no other wish than to please 
 you." 
 
 "Then do so." 
 
 "But I cannot hear you speak of gifts and attentions, 
 without reminding you that I ask for neither of them. 
 My only request is 
 
 "What? Don t let it be unreasonable. 
 
 "It is that you will grant me my liberty. Let me leave 
 this place, as I entered it."
 
 3l6 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "For the streets. To beg?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Unprotected?" 
 
 "No one would harm me." 
 
 "You think that?" 
 
 "I am sure of it." 
 
 "Oh! you have droll ideas. 
 
 "I should find friends, or at worst, should die." 
 
 "Highly romantic, but, pardon me, distinctly absurd. 
 Why should you die? When people consider themselves 
 unfortunate, they invariably talk of dying. My experi 
 ence is, that when worst off, they live the longest. No, 
 you would not die, and you would not even be allowed 
 to beg, but you would be arrested and locked up, you 
 would be at the mercy of men who would neither be 
 friend nor pity you at a time like this. No, make your 
 mind easy, I know what is best for you too well to let 
 you go." 
 
 "It is cruel." 
 
 "Cruel! you don t know what you are talking about. 
 I should be brutal, were I to do as you ask. Listen 
 during those moments when you have spoken most con 
 siderately and our thoughts have mingled best, you have 
 hinted at being unhappy with your husband. Is it not 
 so?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then what am I to understand?" 
 
 Sara hesitated. She had feared lest, having Hernani 
 in his power, he should seek to influence her through 
 him, in some way, so had, wisely as she thought, though 
 vaguely, alluded to the tie between them as a slight one. 
 She did not know what answer to make, being directly 
 taxed, and Hourko repeated his question without taking 
 his eyes off her. 
 
 "Nothing," she said at length. 
 
 "Nothing; a regular woman s answer. However, I 
 think I understand you. Still, I am in a generous mood,
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 317 
 
 and I want you to be clearly aware that my affection for 
 you is a genuine one, that you attracted me from the 
 first, that I have risked a public and private scandal as 
 well as other dangers on your account, and that I have 
 never changed in the slightest degree towards you. Have 
 I?" 
 
 "Excellency, you are very good, and I am indebted to 
 you for such homage, you who are surrounded by so 
 much beauty, but Sara paused, despising herself 
 
 for her attitude towards the man, for dissembling, when 
 she so loathed him. 
 
 "But what?" he demanded. 
 
 "How can I compel myself to like you, when 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "When I should hate you, were our relationship what 
 you would wish?" 
 
 "Nonsense! My devotion to you would win the day; 
 and, Sara, believe me, I am devoted. I would sacrifice 
 ambition, relatives, everything, for you. I recognize the 
 fact that I shall never again meet with a woman capable 
 of inspiring me with affection as you have done." 
 
 "But, Excellency, we are neither of us free." 
 
 "That does not lessen my power to protect you. I can 
 offer you safety, comfort, even luxury all that you need 
 wish for." 
 
 "No honest woman would accept such a position." 
 
 "Accept such a position! Wouldn t they! Now, by 
 all the Saints, you try my patience. I have stooped to 
 plead, now hear my other argument. You have not for 
 gotten the paper found in your house?" 
 
 "No!" 
 
 "I have it still." 
 
 "I thought so." 
 
 "By your own handwriting you prove your treachery 
 to his Imperial Majesty s Government. Is it not so?" 
 
 "So you say!" 
 
 "Very well; that paper shall be handed to the police,
 
 3l8 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 and with it yourself, together with what comments it may 
 please me to make, unless well unless you consent to 
 my proposals." 
 
 "Then, Excellency," answered Sara, wrought to such 
 a pitch that she was calm, "you had better label me with 
 that paper and your remarks, and hand me over to your 
 myrmidons." 
 
 "You still refuse?" 
 
 "Absolutely!" 
 
 "At the same time, be it understood, you doom your 
 husband either to lifelong imprisonment or ignominious 
 death." 
 
 "How?" gasped Sara, horror-stricken. 
 
 Hourko saw his advantage. He had cunningly kept 
 his strongest argument, his worst and most cruel threat, 
 until the last. 
 
 "If you accept my offer, and are to me all I wish, you 
 cannot suppose that those who have cared for and pro 
 tected you, shall be allowed to suffer as I have described. 
 Be all I ask, and I will take it upon me to see that your 
 husband shall go free. He shall be escorted over the 
 frontier, and shall write from a place of safety in such 
 a way as to prove the worth of my promise. Now think, 
 and think well, for I am not to be trifled with. You 
 have it in your power to save your husband from death, 
 or worse, a living death in the mines. What is it to be? 
 
 Confident of his advantage, by reason of the effect of 
 his words already anticipating her reply his eyes 
 gleaming with passion, Hourko stood over her. 
 
 It was a terrible moment. In the death-like stillness 
 of the room, terror and despair seemed to deprive Sara 
 of the power of speech. She could hear the loud full 
 beat of her heart, and her tongue clung to her mouth. 
 What should she do? 
 
 To that terrible frightened heart-beat, there was sud 
 denly added another sound, and that one audible to 
 Hourko, nay, growing more audible each instant. It
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 319 
 
 was that of a horse stretched out at the gallop; in fact, 
 approaching the villa by way of the avenue. 
 
 "Hark! What is it?" he exclaimed. Then as it drew 
 nearer, "Ah ! an aide-de-camp ; and at this hour. Some 
 thing has occurred. I shall have to go. Come! your 
 answer before I leave. When we meet again my prom 
 ise will be fulfilled and he will be free." 
 
 As in a mist, half swooning, deprived of the time and 
 strength to think clearly, Sara could only repeat to her 
 self, "I have it in my power to save him from awful suf 
 fering perhaps from death. Can I hesitate? He may 
 not love me, but I it is the chance I have longed for 
 always to prove my love. Let me think?" and Her- 
 nani s last words, so often repeated by her, rang in her 
 ears, "The Holy One, He will have you in His charge." 
 
 The clatter of hoofs had stopped. A bell pealed 
 through the house. Hourko left the apartment, and re- 
 entered it with a dispatch in his hand. 
 
 "Come, your answer?" he repeated, inexorable to the 
 last. 
 
 Sara s lips moved, but no sound came. 
 
 "What do you say?" he asked, bending over her as 
 she sat. 
 
 Again her lips moved, and this time he heard distinct 
 ly, for the words rang through the room as in bitter de 
 fiance of fate. She had consented . 
 
 "This seals our compact," he exclaimed; and before 
 she could move, he had kissed her passionately. 
 
 His touch, and the horror of the situation, deprived 
 her of speech, and before she could give utterance to the 
 words which rushed to her lips, Hourko had left the 
 room and set out for Warsaw, the dispatch safe in his 
 pocket. 
 
 It was a sign of the Tsar s displeasure, and of the tri 
 umph of his enemies it was his recall to Petersburg.
 
 320 HERNAN1 THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Armed with Hernani s note to Sara which, by the 
 way, he carefully opened, suspecting pitfalls though de 
 layed for days and by a dozen matters, Popoloff lost the 
 least possible time in making for the villa. The arrange 
 ments for the double escape and flight complete, he wait 
 ed only until he knew Hourko to be well out of the way, 
 then he set forward. With lavish bribe of rubles he 
 satisfied unscrupulous and avaricious hearts, and with 
 mock show of halting, and many cautions from these peo 
 ple, he got himself conducted to where Sara, terror- 
 stricken at a sound, by reason of her dread of Hourko s 
 return, anxious and restless to a degree scarcely to be 
 understood, awaited with old Riva the turning of events. 
 
 Imagine Sara s surprise and consternation, when this 
 man of whom she thought so ill, arrived upon the scene 
 to add to her complications. Though she had never 
 exchanged a word with him, from the first, her repug 
 nance for him had been complete. Was this some sud 
 den move of General Hourko s? What was about to 
 happen? What was he there for? She put this last ques 
 tion to him politely, when she had stayed the beating of 
 her heart and knit herself for the occasion. 
 
 "I shall tell you, madam, with much pleasure if you 
 will dismiss your woman." 
 
 This was a shot at Riva, whose presence he had dis 
 counted, but whose keen black eyes displeased him. 
 
 Riva looked at Sara questioningly, and after some 
 slight hesitation on her part received a sign to go. Mean 
 while, with his seemingly vacant glances, Popoloff took 
 in the situation, noting with a curling lip the presence of 
 freshly-cut flowers, even a case of jewels, collected on 
 a side table, thrust into a corner. They were presents
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 321 
 
 from Hourko he felt sure. The General had evidently 
 hit upon that plan of laying siege. Then he looked at 
 the object of such attentions, meeting the gaze he chal 
 lenged frankly enough, but thinking with characteristic 
 duplicity, how he would have the lovely creature stripped, 
 that her soft body might writhe beneath the blows of 
 the shabby old tasseled cane he carried! "A Jewess, 
 faugh ! That was how he would have treated her. And 
 he had a paper in his pocket to make her respect and 
 obey his injunctions. He could have laughed; the more 
 as, reading Sara s thoughts, he said to himself furious 
 ly, "I am ugly, so the minx has the impertinence to dis 
 like me." 
 
 The silence becoming embarrassing, Sara was again 
 driven to address him. 
 
 "You have some message or note for me from 
 
 "His Excellency? No, madam." 
 
 "Then may I again ask you to tell me the object of 
 your visit?" 
 
 Ingenious in the rapidity with which he decided to 
 amuse himself, even at the risk of being obnoxious, Pop- 
 oloft" answered promptly enough 
 
 "Madam, my answer is that you have the best right 
 to do so, since it entirely concerns yourself. I am here 
 with a view to induce you to consign yourself to my safe 
 keeping, and with that object before me, I have en 
 countered innumerable obstacles and dangers." 
 
 "Can the man be mad? thought Sara, "or in love 
 with me, or what?" But being able to decide nothing, 
 she stammered 
 
 "Is his Excellency, General Hourko, aware that you 
 have come here?" 
 
 "On the contrary, were his Excellency, my master, to 
 know that I am here, my place would be forfeited and 
 my person seized." 
 
 "But he will be told. His servants are "
 
 322 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 "In my pay. Ready to do my bidding. When it is 
 done they will pass the frontier." 
 
 "You cannot mean that you 
 
 "Precisely ; that is what I do mean. For the moment 
 the General and I have parted company. Oh! when you 
 know me better you will see how many-sided I am. Ex 
 perience has given me a large head and heart. I have 
 learned to live in any climate, hot, cold, or variable; 
 therefore, I can expand or contract as necessity may re 
 quire. Let me beg of you not to judge me by my fase. 
 That, I know, is all against me. But what can be more 
 deceptive than a face? True, in some cases the face is 
 the index to the mind, but in few only. Neither is it 
 safe to judge a man by words, for to my mind, you judge 
 a man, not by what he says, but by what he does not 
 say. Oh! it is very mystifying. I know it. But acts, 
 they are what we w r ant. You should judge by acts. Now 
 listen to me, for my advice is sage. I want you to pre 
 pare yourself for a change. To have what you may have 
 though it were well that that should go in a handker 
 chief, so to speak collected and ready to take in your 
 hand, so that you may follow me from this house. It 
 is an extraordinary request you will say. I agree with 
 you; but you must bear in mind that the times are out 
 of joint, and that for one of your persuasion, this is a 
 queer place to be in. Do you comprehend me, madam?" 
 
 Sara was speechless. The last remark or two she had 
 not heard. Her thoughts were confused. Out of it all 
 she seemed to have but one clear idea absolute distrust 
 of the man who addressed her. 
 
 Popoloff spoke again, and so spurred her into speech. 
 
 "Will you do as I wish!" he demanded, in a voice 
 which, when he pleased, was pleasant enough. 
 
 "No!" answered Sara energetically. 
 
 "I thought not; but what if your husband wishes it?" 
 
 "My husband?" 
 
 "Yes!"
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 323 
 
 "What can you possibly know of him?" 
 
 "A very great deal. There! now your face changes. 
 Never judge by a face. A moment ago you could have 
 shot me. Now, if you could only bring yourself to be 
 lieve that I can give you news of your husband, you 
 would kiss me, ugly though you think me. Well, I 
 have never counted much upon women so that kisses 
 
 would not move me . But, I forgot, time is precious, 
 
 therefore without a kiss, I will give you this note. There 
 now you will understand that you must do as I tell 
 you." 
 
 Sara took the letter with tremulously eager fingers, 
 turning both red and white even at the feel of it. 
 
 "You would be alone, I see," continued Popoloff, more 
 from the desire to vaunt his own perspicacity than from 
 any wish to be civil, "I wonder what this love is," he 
 added to himself, as, deaf to his remarks, Sara stepped 
 aside to read the letter. "One thing is certain; clogged 
 with such sentiment, the mastership of oneself surrend 
 ered, one would sink rather than rise. Such silly weak 
 ness is not for men." 
 
 Flushing with a happiness bred in the last few min 
 utes, wild with delight at the thought that Hernani was 
 not lost to her, and that she would be saved from a fear 
 ful existence with Hourko, yet chilling fast, as her fears 
 of the man in whom she was told to confide, again got 
 the better of her, Sara finished her reading of those few 
 sweet lines, and then said, with as much composure as 
 she could summon: 
 
 "Whatever my personal feelings, sir, this letter would 
 decide my actions. I cannot but be filled with mis 
 givings, but you may depend upon me to do as you may 
 desire." 
 
 Popoloff directed his gaze towards the door through 
 which Riva had obediently disappeared. 
 
 "That is well," he remarked, "we shall get along now; 
 but what about that woman? When you have gone,
 
 324 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 there will be a fine hue and cry after you. She will be 
 questioned flogged perhaps. Can you depend upon 
 her?" 
 
 "How do you mean?" 
 
 "Is she to be trusted?" 
 
 "Absolutely. She would sacrifice her life for me." 
 
 "That is good." 
 
 "But she will be with me. We shall escape together." 
 
 "It is impossible. She is old, and her presence must 
 increase the difficulties. She must remain behind and 
 shift for herself. That is all I can suggest. She has no 
 place in my calculations." 
 
 Sara looked at him steadily and with scorn. 
 
 "Then you must leave me out of them also. Not a 
 step do I go without her. She has befriended me all my 
 life, and at her age, after such service, would you have 
 me desert her?" 
 
 "It is necessary. You must abandon her or give up 
 the chance of escape." 
 
 "Very well, then, I have done with it. Riva goes 
 with me or I don t stir." And as though to emphasize 
 the unalterableness of her decision Sara sat down in a 
 chair. 
 
 "What is the use of making a fuss about a paltry 
 servant?" remonstrated Popoloff. 
 
 To which remark Sara deigned no answer. 
 
 "Very well, I must see about it. More money must 
 be paid me for the safe conduct of such cattle, that is 
 all," he added, fairly exasperated. 
 
 No reply coming from Sara, he continued in milder 
 tones, as though he considered himself ill used: 
 
 "But, after all, I was prepared for this, as I am for 
 anything. If you knew the difficulties you have to con 
 tend with, you would agree that you are foolish. How 
 ever, I shall arrange. Now, if you will give me a few 
 minutes attention I will tell you my plans. According 
 to my calculation, your husband should escape from the
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 325 
 
 Citadel to-morrow night. There should be no difficulty 
 doors and gates will simply be opened. Once clear 
 of the walls, he will be met by my paid agent, who will 
 travel with him over the frontier to the little town of 
 Wieletzka where you are to join him. To do this, I pro 
 pose that you should also start to-morrow night, and at 
 nine o clock have arranged for a conveyance to be in at 
 tendance. You will simply place yourself in the hands 
 of the woman here who has waited upon you, and the 
 more you hide your face, and the less you open your 
 lips, until you find yourself in your husband s arms, the 
 better." 
 
 Sara began to thank him she could not help it her 
 gratitude would be lifelong her prayers . 
 
 Popoloff cut her short with a grim smile, and what 
 he meant to be the most cruelly cynical, nay, brutal 
 words he had ever uttered. 
 
 "Heap your blessings on your husband when you see 
 him and are free." 
 
 Then he left her.
 
 326 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Affairs had shaped as Popoloff had wished. In no 
 solitary instance had his plans miscarried. The risk he 
 had incurred and the sum at stake, had guaranteed the 
 working of his wits to good purpose. Bribery .had un 
 barred the strongest gates in Warsaw those of the 
 Citadel without a hitch, and Hernani had set out for 
 the frontier, safely escorted, safely provided with pass 
 port and instructions warranted to work. 
 
 At Ivan Xicholaevitch s villa, the patient sentries 
 automatic, and there for military show and stiffest cere 
 monial watched over empty quarters, so far as Sara 
 was concerned she and Riva having been got clear 
 away, by aid of those in whom Ivan Xicholaevitch had 
 placed such faith. 
 
 Popoloff had even received a telegram from his agent, 
 as agreed, stating that Hernani had crossed the frontier 
 en route for Wieletzka, and on strength of this and as 
 also agreed, he in his turn had communicated with old 
 Nikolay Brauman, fixing an appointment in the Saxon- 
 ski Sad, for that very day, at nine of the clock. So far 
 all went swimmingly. Friend Popoloff felt sure of his 
 money. He had as good as got it. With such a sum 
 added to others put away, he would be above the reach 
 of want, for life, luxuriously placed even, to his way of 
 thinking. It would be a nice nest egg, should his busi 
 ness of secretary, tchinovnick, spy, or what it might be 
 called, fail him. From that pleasant aspect of the pic 
 ture, he turned, as was his cruel nature, to gloat savagely 
 over a choice termination to this adventure scheme of 
 his. 
 
 He chose to think, with rare inventive devilry, of the 
 blessings that would be showered upon him by the eager
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 327 
 
 Hernani, and by Sara, expectant, eager too; both brim 
 ming over with love, speeding towards each other with 
 whole skins and palpitating hearts; believing their 
 troubles ended or nearing that felicity; the confidence in 
 each other rekindling, and the whole world before them 
 it might seem. Popoloff dwelt upon these details with 
 singular relish, yet with even keener appetite hastened 
 on to others, which when dovetailed, should comprise a 
 finale of surpassing merit, and irony of grimmest in 
 tensity. 
 
 He knew the little inn at Wieletzka where Sara and 
 Hernani were to be again united, and since Hernani s 
 sagacity had prompted him to pay only on clearing the 
 frontier, this was the denouement, he, Popoloff, had 
 deftly planned. 
 
 He would hasten to the Saxonski Sad, he would 
 pocket his money, and that safe, by a judicious and pre 
 arranged appeal to Austrian officialdom,* he would 
 cause Hernani and Sara to be re-arrested, and flung into 
 some vile hole where they could await his pleasure and 
 further developments. By such an arrangement, his 
 keen nose scented other Jewish moneys, perhaps rubles 
 from Hourko, who might swallow some cunningly 
 thought-out concoction, and prove grateful into the bar 
 gain. 
 
 Such was PopolofFs masterpiece of treachery, war 
 ranted to be steel-jointed and to fail in no way. 
 
 But Popoloff had forgotten that a lie cannot last in a 
 race with truth, but must be outstripped, fail, and in its 
 hideousness, be at length exposed to public gaze ablaze 
 with wrath. 
 
 He had forgotten that if his plans were to triumph, to 
 the undoing of others, for him too there must come a 
 reckoning day. 
 
 However, with a light heart and an itching palm, he 
 
 The Austrian officials aided the Russians throughout the revolt.
 
 328 HEKNANI THE JEW. 
 
 finished his business for the night, tidied official papers 
 committed to his charge, closed his private bureau with 
 cunning look and sharp eye, and set out with quick step 
 and eager expectancy for the gardens. 
 
 At the hour he had chosen, they were deserted, as he 
 had calculated; plunged also in deepest gloom, and 
 moisture of copious spring rains which had left the paths 
 slimy and unpleasant to the foot. 
 
 Arrived upon the spot, and seeing no one nothing 
 but straight stems of trees and shadowy stretching of 
 dim alleys, he paced to and fro. The lights of an hotel, 
 and of a palace, once royal and Polish, shone pallidly. 
 
 He began to grow restless to stamp irritably to 
 wonder and to talk to himself angrily. Patience, friend 
 Popoloff. The virtue of it is at all times great, and 
 could you but see ahead, you would be glad of a respite, 
 of Time, and all that Time confers. 
 
 At length a step was heard by him, a form seen to 
 approach, seen also by three other forms hard by, intent 
 on watching, befriended also by the darkness and the 
 many tree trunks. 
 
 Popoloff coughed; which sign was answered, and the 
 two dark figures came to a halt. 
 
 "Have you the money?" he inquired. 
 
 "It is here, as promised," was the answer, with addi 
 tional suggestion to "count it at a cafe," where they can 
 be quiet. 
 
 "It is unnecessary," replied Popoloff, "I can trust you. 
 Have you anything further to say?" 
 
 "Nothing." 
 
 "Then I will wish you good-night." 
 
 The money safe within his grasp, consigned to his 
 tchinovnik s portfolio of especial safety, once again he 
 stepped out at quickest pace, with even his old heart 
 beating fast in wicked delight. A few steps only did he 
 take, or was suffered to take it would be well to sav.
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 329 
 
 Then, no further could he go. Two men blocked the 
 narrow path, one also closed on him in rear. 
 
 "What do you want?" he exclaimed. 
 
 "You," answered one. 
 
 "Say your prayers, old man," mocked another. "Aye, 
 aye, pray if you can before you die the death of a traitor." 
 
 Popoloff was no coward. He would have fought or 
 shown firm front, could he but have done so. But, alas, 
 where now was Time for him? At last it was no more, 
 but had deserted him for ever. 
 
 The third man, at his back, was not seen by him, and 
 there lay the danger, for without fresh chance of speech, 
 and with lightning stroke, a blow from keenest steel was 
 dealt him between the shoulders; rough hands 
 smothered his cries. What mercy had he ever shown, 
 and what mercy did he now deserve? 
 
 His pockets rifled, bathed in blood, his foes beside 
 him, till his evil heart ceased beating, that was his end, 
 and that end the one he most merited.
 
 33 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The weather was magnificent, the sun shone in cloud 
 less splendor, warming, cheering, and beautifying the 
 charming scenery which skirted the town of Wieletzka, 
 where stood the Inn at which Popoloff had decided that 
 Hernani and Sara should meet. He had selected the 
 spot because it was, to his mind, the sort of place at 
 which anything might be done without attracting great 
 notice. It was true that the spring had come, that the 
 varied tinting of the trees was admirable, that the lake 
 and the woods invited picnic parties, and that the vil 
 lagers for miles round availed themselves of the charms 
 of the district and the cheap comforts of the Inn, and 
 trooped there with their women, bent upon eating, drink 
 ing and love-making; all these facts scarce counted, since 
 the peasants were calculated to sip their liquor with 
 sleepy-eyed indifference, while anything short of murder 
 was being committed. 
 
 So there stood the little white-walled Inn, begirt by its 
 pretty garden and bright green palings, its whole front 
 age a bower of shade, thanks to a number of chestnut 
 trees, the tops of which had been pruned to pancake-like 
 flatness, to give light and a view to the upper windows. 
 
 In these pink chestnut trees, whole colonies of birds 
 chirped, twittered, and fought, while beneath them 
 strong wooden tables, painted green like the palings, 
 were grouped conveniently. 
 
 Coarse white cloths were spread upon these tables, 
 which were further garnished by cheap blue crockery, 
 black-handled knives and forks, and cruet stands, con 
 taining oil, vinegar, and French mustard; the salt, with 
 a knife to help it, being set in a separate bowl. All these 
 tables were filled to overflowing, and from each and all of
 
 HERNANI THE JEW. 331 
 
 them came peals of laughter, coarse jokes, and the occa 
 sional fumes of bad tobacco. 
 
 A solitary waiter, clad in greasy black, ample shirt 
 front and low cut turned down collar, perspired freely, 
 and with unctuous good nature struggled to attend to 
 every one at once. 
 
 Watch that brown-skinned, plump-fingered woman, 
 lighting a cigar for that jolly, fat, peasant fellow who is 
 her lover, and then travel with the blue smoke as it 
 leaves his lips, through the tender green of the sun- 
 kissed chestnut leaves, slowly and upward, until it curls 
 into a little room, before the open window of which 
 stretched wood and water in perfection. 
 
 The occupants of that room, two in number, have 
 interest of their own, being Kasimir Hernani and Sara. 
 
 Titus PopolofPs emissaries, weary of waiting for in 
 structions, and thinking that none could be forthcoming, 
 had taken the road to Warsaw. Alone and together, the 
 hearts of husband and wife had overflowed. In impas 
 sioned eloquence Hernani had told of his first doubts and 
 fears, of the perpetual strengthening of them, and had 
 broken down and sobbed like a child in an attempt to 
 describe what he had suffered; after which, a few words 
 from Sara had been enough to cjear the way, to the lock 
 ing of arms and the meeting of warm lips. 
 
 "Dearie, dearie, then you do love me?" she had 
 gasped. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "For myself, and even though I have brought you no 
 children?" 
 
 "For yourself, and as I shall never love again. But 
 you you 
 
 "I I love you like this," and with trembling lips, as 
 though the horror of it all still made her quake, she 
 spoke of Hourko and the suffering he had put her to at 
 the villa. 
 
 "So then in your turn, you love me mind, we shall
 
 332 HERNANI THE JEW. 
 
 be poor very comparatively, for they will take care to 
 confiscate all they can lay hands on." 
 
 "I love you and we shall be poor listen," and in a 
 torrent of burning words, unable to restrain herself, the 
 blood in her face, determined to lay bare her whole heart, 
 she told him how that for him, she would have yielded 
 even herself; her honor being nothing when weighed 
 against his life. 
 
 "God of my fathers! you would have done that for 
 me!" he exclaimed. 
 
 And she nodded, adding, moments after, when she 
 could gain her voice 
 
 "So that now we shall be one always and never part 
 while life lasts?" 
 
 "Never," he answered solemnly, taking her in his 
 strong arms, "the Holy One will have us in His charge, 
 and it will be well with us." 
 
 And beneath them, through the green of the chestnut 
 leaves, the smoke still ascended, the laughter rang out, 
 and the birds talked to each other, while into their 
 hearts stole the blessed thought that for them there was 
 still hope, for there was love. 
 
 THE END.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FAC LITY 
 
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