Violet Guttenberg

“ No matter how hot the day in Haifa, the nights were always cool.
In a sequestered corner of a city roof-garden were Lionel Montella and his wife. Above them the moon shone with dazzling splendour, making the numberless hills stand out as sentinels on guard, and causing the waters of the bay to sparkle like myriads of jewels. Patricia reclined against the cushions of her chair, and inhaled the fragrance of the breeze with keen enjoyment. She found the Syrian climate so trying that she was thankful for every breath of air. ”

“ Do you not think me wise, dear Lady Montella?”
“From the worldly point of view, perhaps; but I would rather have you cling to your precious heritage, my dear, especially just now, when people are so ready to seize on anything which can be considered discreditable to us. My son is doing his utmost to serve his country, and to prove himself a worthy Jew. Even those who are the enemies of our people are forced to honour him. I should like you, in the same way, to prove yourself a worthy Jewess, and so raise the standard in public opinion. What do you say, Raie?” ”

“ Oh, Patricia! you do not know what I have suffered during the past two years. You do not know what it is to have a husband so morose that he will scarcely speak, except to say something unkind. For the first few months of our married life, Athelstan was as genial and happy as a boy; but now—now—his only smile is for Phyllis—never for me. ”

“ Max Engelmacher was the great leader of the Zionists in Germany, a man whose fame had spread throughout every Jewish centre. In appearance he was a typical German, with fair hair, light blue eyes covered with spectacles, and rugged features. No less Oriental-looking man could ever have been found; nevertheless, he was a very Jew of the Jews—to some a second Moses ready to lead his people to the promised land, to others the one who should come in the power and spirit of Elijah before the advent of the national Messiah. ”

“ Has there ever been in the world’s history a greater king and philosopher than Solomon, a greater warrior than Judas the Maccabee, a greater poet than the Psalmist, a greater athlete than Samson, a greater Christian than Paul the Apostle?—and all these men were Jews. Oh, if you could only make 84Athelstan Moore and his followers see the uselessness and iniquity of anti-Semitism, you would do a work which would endear you to the hearts of hundreds! But will you do it? Have you the power to carry out your determination? Have you the moral courage to risk incurring the disapproval of society? ”

“ Julian must be nurtured in Judaism, must breathe the atmosphere from babyhood if he is to grow up a true Jew. The earliest years of a child’s life are the most important, for it is then he imbibes the ideas which cling to him till he becomes a man. Soon he will be old enough to notice the Sabbath candles, and we shall be able to teach him the beginnings of our faith. But remove him from all Jewish influence, let Patricia teach him the Christian Catechism, and whatever else he may be, he will never grow up a Jew. No, there is no alternative in the matter; no compromise is possible. ”

“ Who, in these enlightened days, sacrifices anything for religion? Neither Christians nor Jews; we are all materialists. What we can see and understand we believe—for the rest, it is all in the clouds; let it remain there! No, my dear, you will never get me to believe that. Patricia has evidently been sighing for the fleshpots of Egypt, otherwise the social amenities of English life. She is well-born, beautiful in her way, and has had the entrée to the most exclusive circles of society. Her ladyship felt cramped and bored in this insanitary hole of a place, and surrounded by Jews—always Jews. ”

“ I know you better than you think, Lionel. Life would not be worth living to you without your honour. Besides, it would break your mother’s heart; in her eyes, you are ever the dauntless champion of the Jews.”
“The dauntless champion of the Jews!” he repeated bitterly. “I wonder sometimes if the Jews are worth championing. Where is the grand spirit of unity and discipline which held together the nation of old? Quarrellings, bickerings, murmurings, grumbling at every semblance of authority, one striving to out-do the other; that is what one has to contend with in these days. ”

“ Can a man just calmly and dispassionately choose a girl first, and then pour his love upon her? I admire Miss Lorm, and I am fond of our little Raie, but I would no more think of marrying either of them than I would think of a journey to the moon. Don’t you see, mother, that my feeling for Patricia is totally different. She herself is different to all other women—whether Jewish or Christian—that I have ever met. ”

“ A sense of unreality affected the little Countess as she listened; it seemed almost as if she were living the past over again. She had had acquaintance with the man beside her for at least three years, but she had never liked him so well as at this moment. Perhaps it was because she saw him in a new light, and felt the undoubted fascination of his virile personality. She forgot the many stories she had heard of his despotic dealings, forgot altogether his hatred of the Jews. She remembered only that he was a great man, and that he had come to her for sympathy. ”

“ I have thoroughly made up my mind that the difference-in-creed bogey shall never come between us again. I am a Jew, and you are a Christian, and so long as we do our duty according to our respective convictions, no one has a right to expect any more. Thank God, there is now neither a fanatical Chief Rabbi nor a foolish Assimilation Act to interfere. We are free at last, and in such freedom there is happiness for us both. Set your mind at rest, my dear one; the troubles of the past can never return.”
And Patricia gave a sigh of relief as she gazed into the heart of the fire. ”

“ Clerks and business people generally were travelling homewards, newspaper boys were calling out the special editions of the evening papers, and the traffic rushed bewilderingly through the crowded streets. Leaning back in the brougham, Patricia’s head seemed to swim, for the roads and shops and people had apparently magnified themselves tenfold, and loomed large and vast through the gloom of the evening twilight. She was thankful when the carriage slackened pace, and pulled up before the familiar door. But even Grosvenor Square seemed to have extended in area. ”

“ Do you think your forefathers, when they left Palestine and lived in the West, were not affected by the influences of Hellenism, of Chivalry, of the Renaissance, of the Reformation, and of the Christian ethics in general, with which they came into contact? My dear fellow, the Occidental Jew—such as yourself—is no more like the Hebrew of old than I am! Do you think that if you were forced to live in strict accordance with the Talmudic law, you would feel that you were fulfilling the obligations of your race? ”

“ I would not marry Lionel Montella, even if he asked me, because I do not consider myself fitted to become his wife. As he will not ask me, however, I shall be saved the trouble of declining. Have you not heard that he is engaged to Lady Patricia Byrne?”
“What!” Mrs. Emanuel sat bolt upright. “This is news, indeed. Who is Lady Patricia What’s-her-name? A Jewess?”
“No; a—Christian—the daughter of Earl Torrens—gloriously beautiful, and with a face like a Greuze. She is far more suitable as a wife for Mr. Montella than a plain, insignificant little creature like myself could ever be.” ”

“ The Minister frowned.
“I do not call it persecution when the alternative is such a reasonable one,” he replied. “It is not as if we were compelling you to become Christians. You can retain your religious belief in the Absolute Unity by declaring yourselves Theists or Monotheists instead of Jews; the change is only in the name.”
“But we are to give up our customs and our Sabbath, our fasts and our feasts, and everything which throughout the centuries has made Judaism the bond of union twixt Jew and Jew!” ”

“ He is an adept at catching one in one’s words. He loves to condemn people out of their own mouths; it is a form of amusement in which he delights.”
“You may rely on me to be discreet,” returned Montella, with a smile. “I can be as stolid as the Sphinx when I please.”
They parted for the night, and the young man went to his room with a light step. To his surprise he found Patricia still half dressed, her willowy figure enveloped in a loose silken wrapper. Sitting with her elbows resting on the ledge of the open casement, she looked like some frail sprite in the light of the moon. ”

“ It is not good for man to be alone, especially a man so harassed and worried by the affairs of the nation as I am. When a fellow’s brain is so severely taxed that sometimes the whole universe seems out of joint, he longs for the sympathy of an intelligent woman to steady his nerves. I am not a young man, and I do not offer you the passionate devotion which a hotheaded youth lavishes on a young girl in her teens; but I will do my best to make you a good husband, Mamie ”

“ Don’t let us make it harder for each other than we can help. Let us try to think of the—the—happy reunion in the future.”
“The future? But when? So far as I know, I am settled in Haifa for life. If we part, it may be for years, for we do not know when we shall see each other again.” He paused, evidently struck by a new idea, and continued impulsively: “Patricia, why should we give up our happiness for the sake of people who do not care two straws whether we live or die? Why should I slave and toil and worry, only to be rewarded by base ingratitude? ”

“ He ought never to have taken a Christian wife.”
“Of course not,” assented the doctor complacently. “Your sentiments are most admirable, dear lady; but Montella, though a man, is human, and has a heart. It is impossible to expect him to be a mere patriotic machine; and even the greatest patriots in history have had a feminine angel somewhere in the background. Ach, the women! But Ben Yetzel was a beast; it ought never to have been necessary to send Lady Patricia away. However, whats done is done. Montella must make the best of a bad business, and live it down.” ”

“ LADY CHESTERWOOD’S SECRET Patricia’s interest deepened. “A great man?” she repeated. “In what way is he great?”
The Countess rose with an air of mystery, and closed the door, which had been left ajar. Then she established herself comfortably in one of the beautifully carved chairs, and assumed a look of importance.
“First of all, dear,” she said impressively, “you must promise absolute secrecy. I must have your word of honour that you won’t tell a living soul, not even Lionel Montella.” ”

“ It was a curious fact that while the Premier never suffered himself to be dictated to by those whose powers of thought equalled his own, he was as wax in the hands of his child. The Countess smiled.
“Phyllis has been quarrelling with my little Leslie,” she informed him, with pretended gravity. “It is strange that they two can never agree.”
“I suppose it is because the girl is older than the boy,” he returned thoughtfully. “A boy does not like to be commanded by a girl, even if she be older than himself. ”

“ Lionel, I am certain, as I look into the future, that opportunity will be given you to prove your devotion to our cause. I am certain that you are destined to exercise a great influence, both politically and socially, as a Jew. Can you wonder, therefore, 43that I see in Lady Patricia a stumbling-block to your career? Will your co-religionists have the same opinion of you when you have married a Christian? Will you have the same voice, the same power, when you have married away from the race which you profess to love so deeply? ”

“ Montella’s lineage is more ancient than my own, and there is no member of my family who has ever done so much to promote the general welfare of his country as did the late Sir Julian Montella for England. Lionel himself is in every way worthy of respect; and the brilliance of his university and parliamentary careers has proved that a more gifted man of his age cannot be found. ”

“ Read the history of the Jews, and you will see what a long-suffering people they are, surely more sinned against than sinning. It is we who are to blame—we Gentiles, who, in the name of Christianity, have persecuted them throughout the ages, who have inflicted on them the tortures of the Inquisition, who have denied them the rights accorded to other civilised beings. The Jews are the elder brothers of the human race, and to hate them is to hate the God who made them. ”

“ Patricia’s brow contracted.
“I thought you liked him,” she said.
“Yes; I’ve nothing against him personally, but I do not approve of your becoming connected with a Jewish family.”
“I am not going to marry the family,” the girl corrected amiably. “I have no desire to have more than one husband.”
Her chaperon frowned.
“You ought not to joke on this subject, Patricia,” she rejoined. “Your words confirm my opinion: you do not realise the gravity of the step you intend to take.”
“Yes, I do—to its fullest extent. That is why I have allowed Mr. Montella to give me an engagement ring.” ”

“ A land of their very own, where persecution would be forgotten, where they could lift their heads in freedom, and win back their good name. The promised land of their forefathers and of their glorious past—the promised land of the future, where they should behold the long-looked-for coming of the King! ”

“ But think, Patricia, what it will mean. It is enough to make a man’s senses reel!”
The girl poured him out a glass of wine and made him take it. If only she had known of this before Lady Chesterwood had left! Her heart beat like a sledge-hammer against her breast, and for the moment she could find no words; but she knew that her lover needed comfort, and that it was her duty to help him. ”

“ He knew that the Earl liked to be humoured in his hobby, so he proceeded to ply him with questions relating to the art. Suddenly he gave an exclamation of pleasure. The portrait of a girl floated towards him—a girl with wavy hair, whose tendrils strayed on to a low but intelligent forehead; with large eyes, set somewhat far apart and full of expression; with a well-formed nose, short upper-lip and rounded chin. She was clasping a bunch of roses against her breast, and a garland of the same flowers nestled in her hair. “Lady Patricia,” he said, a softened tone in his voice. ”

“ As was to be expected, however, his formula evoked a storm of indignation in the Jewish press. Eloquent appeals to the patriotism of the race were issued and disseminated amongst the British Jews throughout the land, and meetings of protest were held despite the vigilance of the police. What People—were they ever so irresponsible—would renounce their race and religion, together with their ancient and illustrious past, at the mere word of command? The very thought of persecution was enough to make men cling to their cherished traditions with a new and greater strength. ”