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!”