第47章
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  Atthemealwesittogether:

  `Salvetibi!’ImusthearWisetalkofthekindofweather,Sortofseason,timeofyear:

  `Notaplenteouscork-crop:scarcelyDarewehopeoak-galls,Idoubt:

  What’stheLatinnamefor”parsley”?’

  What’stheGreeknameforSwine’sSnout?

  3。

  Whew!We’llhaveourplatterburnished,Laidwithcareonourownshelf!

  Withafire-newspoonwe’refurnished,Andagobletforourself,RinsedlikesomethingsacrificialEre’tisfittotouchourchaps——

  MarkedwithL。forourinitial!

  He-he!Therehislilysnaps!

  4。

  SAINT,forsooth!WhilebrownDoloresSquatsoutsidetheConventbankWithSanchicha,tellingstories,Steepingtressesinthetank,Blue-black,lustrous,thicklikehorse-hairs,——Can’tIseehisdeadeyeglow,Brightas’twereaBarbarycorsair’s?

  Thatis,ifhe’dletitshow!

  5。

  Whenhefinishesrefection,KnifeandforkheneverlaysCross-wise,tomyrecollection,AsdoI,inJesu’spraise。

  ItheTrinityillustrate,Drinkingwateredorange-pulp——

  InthreesipstheArianfrustrate;

  Whilehedrainshisatonegulp——

  St。5。theArian:afollowerofAriusdied336A。D。,whodeniedthattheSonwasco-essentialandco-eternalwiththeFather。

  6。

  Oh,thosemelons?Ifhe’sableWe’retohaveafeast!sonice!

  OnegoestotheAbbot’stable,Allofusgeteachaslice。

  Howgoonyourflowers?Nonedouble?

  Notonefruit-sortcanyouspy?

  Strange!——AndI,too,atsuchtrouble,Keepthemclose-nippedonthesly!

  7。

  There’sagreattextinGalatians,Onceyoutriponit,entailsTwenty-ninedistinctdamnations,Onesure,ifanotherfails:

  IfItriphimjusta-dying,Sureofheavenassurecanbe,SpinhimroundandsendhimflyingOfftohell,aManichee?——

  St。7。textinGalatians:chap。5,vv。19-21,whereareenumerated”theworksoftheflesh”。Thereareseventeennamed;

  heusestwenty-nineindefinitely;it’scommoninFrenchtousetrente-six36foranyprettybignumber。

  IfItriphim:WhatifI;andsoinnextstanza。

  aManichee:afollowerofMani,whoaimedtouniteParseeism,orParsism,withChristianity。

  8。

  Or,myscrofulousFrenchnovelOngraypaperwithblunttype!

  Simplyglanceatit,yougrovelHandandfootinBelial’sgripe:

  IfIdoubledownitspagesAtthewofulsixteenthprint,Whenhegathershisgreengages,Opeasieveandslipitin’t?

  9。

  Or,there’sSatan!——onemightventurePledgeone’ssoultohim,yetleaveSuchaflawintheindentureAshe’dmisstill,pastretrieve,Blastedlaythatrose-acaciaWe’resoproudof!Hy,Zy,Hine……

  ’St,there’sVespers!PlenagratiaAve,Virgo!Gr-r-r——youswine!——

  St。9。Hy,Zy,Hine:representthesoundofthevesperbell。

  Holy-CrossDay。

  OnwhichtheJewswereforcedtoattendanAnnualChristianSermoninRome——

  *”ByabullofGregoryXIII。intheyear1584,allJewsabovetheageoftwelveyearswerecompelledtolisteneveryweektoasermonfromaChristianpriest;usuallyanexpositionofsomepassagesoftheOldTestament,andespeciallythoserelatingtotheMessiah,fromtheChristianpointofview。Thisburdenisnotyetwhollyremovedfromthem;andtothisday,severaltimesinthecourseofayear,aJewishcongregationisgatheredtogetherinthechurchofS。AngeloinPescheria,andconstrainedtolistentoahomilyfromaDominicanfriar,towhom,unlesshiszealhaveeatenuphisgoodfeelingsandhisgoodtaste,theceremonymustbeaspainfulastohishearers。

  Inthesamespiritofvulgarpersecution,thereisuponthegableofachurch,oppositeoneofthegatesoftheGhetto,afrescopaintingoftheCrucifixion,and,underneath,aninscriptioninHebrewandLatin,fromthe2dand3dversesofthe65thchapterofIsaiah——

  `Ihavespreadoutmyhandsallthedayuntoarebelliouspeople,whichwalkethinawaythatwasnotgood,aftertheirownthoughts;

  apeoplethatprovokethmetoangercontinuallytomyface。’”——

  GeorgeS。Hillard’sSixMonthsinItaly。1853。——

  [”NowwascomeaboutHoly-CrossDay,andnowmustmylordpreachhisfirstsermontotheJews:asitwasofoldcaredforinthemercifulbowelsoftheChurch,that,sotospeak,acrumb,atleast,fromherconspicuoustablehereinRome,shouldbe,thoughbutonceyearly,casttothefamishingdogs,under-trampledandbespitten-uponbeneaththefeetoftheguests。

  Andamovingsightintruth,this,ofsomanyofthebesottedblindrestifandready-to-perishHebrews!nowmaternallybrought——nayforHesaith,`Compelthemtocomein’,haled,asitwere,bytheheadandhair,andagainsttheirobstinatehearts,topartakeoftheheavenlygrace。Whatawakening,whatstrivingwithtears,whatworkingofayeastyconscience!Norwasmylordwantingtohimselfonsoaptanoccasion;witnesstheabundanceofconversionswhichdidincontinentlyrewardhim:thoughnottomylordbealtogethertheglory。”——DiarybytheBishop’sSecretary,1600。]

  WhattheJewsreallysaid,onthusbeingdriventochurch,wasrathertothiseffect:——

  1。

  Fee,faw,fum!bubbleandsqueak!

  BlessedestThursday’sthefatoftheweek。

  Rumbleandtumble,sleekandrough,Stinkingandsavory,smugandgruff,Takethechurch-road,forthebell’sduechimeGivesusthesummons——’tissermon-time!

  2。

  Boh,here’sBarnabas!Job,that’syou?

  UpstumpsSolomon——bustlingtoo?

  Shame,man!greedybeyondyouryearsTohandselthebishop’sshaving-shears?

  Fairplay’sajewel!Leavefriendsinthelurch?

  Standonalineereyoustartforthechurch!

  3。

  Higgledypiggledy,packedwelie,Ratsinahamper,swineinasty,Waspsinabottle,frogsinasieve,Wormsinacarcass,fleasinasleeve。

  Hist!squareshoulders,settleyourthumbsAndbuzzforthebishop——herehecomes。

  4。

  Bow,wow,wow——aboneforthedog!

  IlikenhisGracetoanacornedhog。

  What,aboyathisside,withthebloomofalass,Tohelpandhandlemylord’shour-glass!

  Didsteverbeholdsolitheachine?

  Hischeekhathlapslikeafresh-singedswine。

  5。

  Aaron’sasleep——shovehiptohaunch,Orsomebodydealhimadiginthepaunch!

  Lookatthepursewiththetasselandknob,Andthegownwiththeangelandthingumbob!

  What’sheat,quotha?readinghistext!

  Nowyou’vehiscurtsey——andwhatcomesnext?

  6。

  Seetoourconverts——youdoomedblackdozen——

  Nostealingaway——norcognorcozen!

  Youfive,thatwerethieves,deserveitfairly;

  Youseven,thatwerebeggars,willlivelesssparely;

  Youtookyourturnanddippedinthehat,Gotfortune——andfortunegetsyou;mindthat!

  7。

  Giveyourfirstgroan——compunction’satwork;

  Andsoft!fromaJewyoumounttoaTurk。

  Lo,Micah,——theselfsamebeardonchinHewasfourtimesalreadyconvertedin!

  Here’saknife,clipquick——it’sasignofgrace——

  Orheruinsusallwithhishanging-face。

  8。

  Whomnowisthebishopa-leeringat?

  Iknowapointwherehistextfallspat。

  I’lltellhimto-morrow,awordjustnowWenttomyheartandmademevowTomeddlenomorewiththeworstoftrades:

  Letsomebodyelseplayhisserenades!

  9。

  Groanalltogethernow,whee——hee——hee!

  It’sa-work,it’sa-work,ah,woeisme!

  Itbegan,whenaherdofus,pickedandplaced,WerespurredthroughtheCorso,strippedtothewaist;

  Jewbrutes,withsweatandbloodwellspentTousherinworthilyChristianLent。

  10。

  Itgrew,whenthehangmanenteredourbounds,Yelled,prickedusouttohischurchlikehounds:

  Itgottoapitch,whenthehandindeedWhichguttedmypurse,wouldthrottlemycreed:

  Anditoverflows,when,toeventheodd,MenIhelpedtotheirsins,helpmetotheirGod。

  11。

  Butnow,whilethescapegoatsleaveourflock,Andtherestsitsilentandcounttheclock,SinceforcedtomusetheappointedtimeOnthesepreciousfactsandtruthssublime,——

  Letusfitlyemployit,underourbreath,InsayingBenEzra’sSongofDeath。

  12。

  ForRabbiBenEzra,thenighthedied,Calledsonsandsons’sonstohisside,Andspoke,”Thisworldhasbeenharshandstrange;

  Somethingiswrong:thereneedethachange。

  Butwhat,orwhere?atthelastorfirst?

  Inonepointonlywesinned,atworst——

  St。12。RabbiBenEzra:seebiographicalsketchsubjoinedtotheArgumentoftheMonologueentitled`RabbiBenEzra’。

  13。”TheLordwillhavemercyonJacobyet,AndagaininhisborderseeIsraelset。

  WhenJudahbeholdsJerusalem,Thestranger-seedshallbejoinedtothem:

  ToJacob’shouseshalltheGentilescleave,SotheProphetsaithandhissonsbelieve。

  14。”Ay,thechildrenofthechosenraceShallcarryandbringthemtotheirplace:

  InthelandoftheLordshallleadthesame,Bondsmenandhandmaids。Whoshallblame,Whentheslavesenslave,theoppressedoneso’erTheoppressortriumphforevermore!

  15。”Godspoke,andgaveusthewordtokeep:

  Badeneverfoldthehandsnorsleep’Midafaithlessworld,——atwatchandward,TillChristattheendrelieveourguard。

  ByhisservantMosesthewatchwasset:

  Thoughnearuponcock-crow,wekeepityet。

  16。”Thou!ifthouwasthe,whoatmid-watchcame,Bythestarlight,namingadubiousname!

  Andif,tooheavywithsleep——toorashWithfear——Othou,ifthatmartyr-gashFellontheecomingtotakethineown,AndwegavetheCross,whenweowedtheThrone——

  17。”ThouarttheJudge。Wearebruisedthus。

  But,theJudgmentover,joinsideswithus!

  Thinetooisthecause!andnotmorethineThanours,istheworkofthesedogsandswine,Whoselifelaughsthroughandspitsattheircreed,Whomaintaintheeinword,anddefytheeindeed!

  18。”WewithstoodChristthen?BemindfulhowAtleastwewithstandBarabbasnow!

  Wasouroutragesore?Buttheworstwespared,Tohavecalledthese——Christians,hadwedared!

  Letdefiancetothempaymistrustofthee,AndRomemakeamendsforCalvary!

  19。”Bythetorture,prolongedfromagetoage,Bytheinfamy,Israel’sheritage,BytheGhetto’splague,bythegarb’sdisgrace,Bythebadgeofshame,bythefelon’splace,Bythebranding-tool,thebloodywhip,AndthesummonstoChristianfellowship,——

  St。19。Ghetto:theJews’quarterinRome,Venice,andothercities。

  ThenameissupposedtobederivedfromtheHebrew`ghet’,meaningdivision,separation,divorce。

  20。”WeboastourproofthatatleasttheJewWouldwrestChrist’snamefromtheDevil’screw。

  ThyfacetookneversodeepashadeButwefoughttheminit,Godouraid!

  Atrophytobear,aswemarch,thybandSouth,East,andontothePleasantLand!”

  [ThelatePopeabolishedthisbadbusinessofthesermon——R。B。]——

  ThelatePope:GregoryXVI。

  Saul。

  1。

  SaidAbner,”Atlastthouartcome!EreItell,erethouspeak,Kissmycheek,wishmewell!”ThenIwishedit,anddidkisshischeek。

  Andhe,”SincetheKing,Omyfriend,forthycountenancesent,Neitherdrunkennoreatenhavewe;noruntilfromhistentThoureturnwiththejoyfulassurancetheKinglivethyet,Shallourlipwiththehoneybebright,withthewaterbewet。

  Foroutoftheblackmid-tent’ssilence,aspaceofthreedays,Notasoundhathescapedtothyservants,ofprayernorofpraise,TobetokenthatSaulandthespirithaveendedtheirstrife,Andthat,faintinhistriumph,themonarchsinksbackuponlife。[10]

  2。”Yetnowmyheartleaps,Obeloved!God’schildwithhisdewOnthygraciousgoldhair,andthoseliliesstilllivingandblueJustbrokentotwineroundthyharp-strings,asifnowildheatWerenowragingtotorturethedesert!”

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