Scharnhorst

“ It is the only thing approaching a naval victory scored by the Germans up to the time of writing.
The German squadron, which was commanded by Admiral Graf von Spee, consisted of the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, [273] Dresden, Nürnberg, and Leipzig. The two former had been on the Chinese station and were big armoured cruisers of 11,600 tons, dating from 1907. They were sister ships, each mounting eight 8·2-inch, six 6-inch, and several smaller guns. The Scharnhorst (flag) was the crack gunnery ship of the German fleet. ”

“ The Scharnhorst disappeared. She went down with her flag flying to an ocean grave, bearing 760 brave men and a gallant admiral, whose name will deservedly rank high in the annals of German naval history. The Gneisenau passed on the far side of her sunken flagship. With the guns of both battle-cruisers now bearing upon her alone, the German was soon in sore straits. But she fought on gallantly for a considerable time. At half-past five she had ceased firing, and appeared to be sinking. She had suffered severe damage. Smoke and steam were rising everywhere. Her bridge had been shot away. ”

“ The Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau were drawing near the South Coast of America. On the way they might be met by the light cruisers Leipzig, Dresden and Nürnberg. The squadron which might thus be formed would be entirely composed of fast modern ships. The two large cruisers were powerful vessels. They carried each eight 8–inch guns arranged in pairs on the upper deck, six of which were capable of firing on either beam. Both ships being on permanent foreign service were fully manned with the highest class of German crews ”

“ If people lived for ever, Schnorrers could not live at all."
"Hush! The world could not exist without Schnorrers. As it is written, 'And Repentance and Prayer and Charity avert the evil decree.' Charity is put last—it is the climax—the greatest thing on earth. And the Schnorrer is the greatest man on earth; for it stands in the Talmud, 'He who causes is greater than he who does.' Therefore, the Schnorrer who causes charity is even greater than he who gives it."
"Talk of de devil," said Yankelé, who had much difficulty in keeping his countenance when Manasseh became magnificent and dithyrambic. ”

“ Yankelé had his roguish twinkle. "At first," he admitted, "but de Schnorrer vaits his time."
Manasseh shook his head. "Schnorring is the only occupation that is regular all the year round," he said. "Everything else may fail—the greatest commercial houses may totter to the ground; as it is written, 'He humbleth the proud.' But the Schnorrer is always secure. Whoever falls, there are always enough left to look after him. If you were a father, Yankelé, you would understand my feelings. How can a man allow his daughter's future happiness to repose on a basis so uncertain as work? ”

“ Even now, though you have been insolent and uncharitable, I am ready to befriend you if you are in want."
"If I am in want!" repeated the Schnorrer scornfully. "Is there anything I do not want?"
"You are married?"
"You correct me—wife and children are the only things I do not lack."
"No pauper does," quoth Grobstock, with a twinkle of restored humour.
[12]
"No," assented the Schnorrer sternly. "The poor man has the fear of Heaven. He obeys the Law and the Commandments. ”

“ It is your misfortune."
"My misfortune!" echoed the Schnorrer scornfully. "It is your misfortune—I did not even draw it. The Holy One, blessed be He, has punished you for your heartless [9] [10] jesting with the poor—making a sport for yourself of their misfortunes, even as the Philistines sported with Samson. The good deed you might have put to your account by a gratuity to me, God has taken from you. He has declared you unworthy of achieving righteousness through me. Go your way, murderer!"
"Murderer!" repeated the philanthropist, bewildered by this harsh view of his action. ”

“ As Manasseh the Great, first beggar in Europe, sauntered across Goodman's Fields, attended by his Polish parasite, both serenely digesting the supper provided by the Treasurer of the Great Synagogue, Joseph Grobstock, a martial music clove suddenly the quiet evening air, and set the Schnorrers' pulses bounding. From the Tenterground emerged a squad of recruits, picturesque in white fatigue dress, against which the mounted officers showed gallant in blue surtouts and scarlet-striped trousers. ”

“ Should we not put up with a little inconvenience, and ask Sharnall to bring the Bishop here, and lunch himself? He must know perfectly well that entertaining a Bishop in a lodging-house is an unheard-of thing, and he would do to make up the sixth instead of old Noot. We could easily tell Noot he was not wanted."
"Sharnall is such a disreputable creature," Mrs Parkyn answered; "he is quite as likely as not to come tipsy; and, if he does not, he has no breeding or education, and would scarcely understand polite conversation." ”

“ They had travelled far and wide with Grobstock, who invariably combined pleasure with business.
"MANASSEH CAREFULLY EXAMINED THE BOXES."
"There is none quite empty," announced the Schnorrer, "but in this one there are only a few trifles—a pair of galligaskins and such like—so that if you make me a present of them the box will be empty, so far as you are concerned."
"All right," said Grobstock, and actually laughed. The nearer the departure of the Schnorrer, the higher his spirits rose. ”

“ No one gave him a farthing. He had blundered beyond redemption. At one blow he had destroyed one of the most profitable connections a Schnorrer ever had, and without even getting anything for the goodwill. So if you will be guided by me, Yankelé, you will do nothing to assist the [70] philanthropists to keep you. It destroys their satisfaction. A Schnorrer cannot be too careful. And once you begin to work, where are you to draw the line?"
"But you be a marriage-broker yourself," said Yankelé imprudently.
"That!" thundered Manasseh angrily, "That is not work! That is pleasure!"
"Vy look! ”

“ The color died out of Shannon's face; he spoke again, forming his words slowly with dry lips:
"Harrod, why—why do you come into this street—to-night? What do you know? How do you know? I tell you I—I cannot endure this—this tension——"
"She is enduring it."
"Good God!"
"Yes, God is good," said Harrod, turning his haggard face as they halted. "Answer me, Shannon, where are we going?"
"To—her. You know it! Harrod! Harrod! How did you know? I—I did not know myself until an hour before I met you; I had not seen her in weeks—I had not dared to—for all trust in self was dead. ”

“ The pillar of the Synagogue felt as if his paunch were shrinking.
"But the others—" he murmured deprecatingly. "I have not shed their blood—have I not given freely of my hard-earned gold?"
"For your own diversion," retorted the Schnorrer implacably. "But what says the Midrash? There is a wheel rolling in the world—not he who is rich to-day is rich to-morrow, but this one He brings up, and this one He brings down, as is said in the seventy-fifth Psalm. Therefore, lift not up your horn on high, nor speak with a stiff neck." ”

“ None but a Schnorrer would wear a home-made turban, issue of a black cap crossed with a white kerchief; none but a Schnorrer would unbutton the first nine buttons of his waistcoat, or, if this relaxation were due to the warmth of the weather, counteract it by wearing an over-garment, especially one as heavy as a blanket, with buttons the size of compasses and flaps reaching nearly to his shoe-buckles, even though its length were only congruous with that of his undercoat, which already reached the bottoms of his knee-breeches. ”

“ Manasseh's benefactions were approaching thrillingly near the highest total hitherto reached by any one man upon any one occasion. Every brain was troubled by surmises. The Chief of the Elders, fuming impotently, was not alone in apprehending a blasphemous mockery; but the bulk imagined that the Schnorrer had come into property or had always been a man of substance, and was now taking this means of restoring to the Synagogue the funds he had drawn from it. ”

“ Mechanically I followed his directions and put the piece of rope in my pocket. Only gradually did I clearly understand in what danger I had been, and that Franz Schorn had ventured his own life to rescue mine. It was almost a certainty that I should drag him down to the abyss, but he had seized me as I fell, and at the risk of his life had pulled me back to the platform.
"You have saved my life----"
He interrupted me. "Don't speak of it. We all help one another as well as we can. What we have to think of now is how to reach the rock above us without injury." ”

“ The poor man put his hand involuntarily to his high collar as if to explain away his apparent arrogance, but in reality because he was not breathing easily under the Schnorrer's attack.
"You are an uncharitable man," he panted hotly, driven to a line of defence he had not anticipated. ”

“ She had stepped up to Dollar, had taken his arm, had even put her other hand in front of her own revolver.
"Let him go on; we may as well know where we are," she had said in the middle of Scarth's speech. And now she asked him what he proposed, as if she were inquiring the price of a dress, with the civility doubly due to an inferior.
"You have had my proposal," said Scarth. "It's not the kind that one repeats before a third party."
"I may as well ring them up," said Lady Vera, trying to disengage her arm; but Dollar's had closed upon it, and his left hand held hers as in a vise. ”

“ It will not be easy for you, Herr Professor, to make one to-morrow of Franz Schorn's party to the cave without allowing him to perceive your detestation of him."
"I cannot; I shall excuse myself on the plea of illness."
"No, Herr Professor, you must not do this. Schorn will surely learn through Mizka that I came with you to your room; he might suspect something. A criminal of his calibre is on the watch for the merest trifle which can arouse suspicion of his discovery. You, too, Herr Professor, have a hard duty to perform, but it must be done. You must be one of the party, as I shall be. ”

“ Chesbro said.
Sharon permitted herself a frown, her face turned away. She said gaily, "Probably loving every minute of it, Arthur. It must be pretty exciting for her. Anyway," she added blandly, "Mickey Groff's probably taking good care of her."
"Mickey Groff?" He looked at her with surprise. "Polly?"
Sharon said, "Well, he did seem rather interested—"
Chesbro shook his head. "Oh, no. You don't know Polly. Believe me, men aren't her—" He hesitated, and said, "Believe me, she has too much sense to get involved with a two-bit operator like him. She's loyal, Sharon. Absolutely loyal to me." ”

“ The sweater fell back in amazement. Then a sudden light dawned upon him, and, in an altered tone, he said: “Very well. I will do her no harm. Sit down, my friend. You need not work to-day if you are not feeling well. I will get someone to take your place, and—and—” (it required a heroic effort) “you will not lose the day’s pay. You had better go home.”
Scharenstein smiled and thanked the sweater. Then he started down the stairs. Marna followed him, and with her arm around him helped him down the steps. ”

“ His face was an olive oval, bordered by ragged tufts of beard and stamped with melancholy.
"You see the results of working," cried Manasseh. "It brings temptation to work on Sabbath. That Epicurean there is profaning the Holy Day. Come away! A Schnorrer is far more certain of The-World-To-Come. No, decidedly, I will not give my daughter to a worker, or to a Schnorrer who makes illegitimate profits."
"But I make de profits all de same," persisted Yankelé.
"You make them to-day—but to-morrow? There is no certainty about them. Work of whatever kind is by its very nature unreliable. ”

“ Manasseh added winningly: "I know you are a gentleman, capable of behaving as finely as any Sephardi."
This handsome compliment completed the Schnorrer's victory, which was sealed by his saying, "And so I should not like you to have it on your soul that you had done a poor man out of a few shillings."
Grobstock could only remark meekly: "You will find more than seventeen shillings in the bag."
"Ah, why were you born a Tedesco!" cried Manasseh ecstatically. "Do you know what I have a mind to do? To come and be your Sabbath-guest! ”

“ He requested me to tell everything that I knew of Schorn and to hold back nothing out of regard for the man who, as he had already heard in Adelsberg, had saved my life. It was my duty to tell not only the truth, but the whole truth.
The Judge was a handsome, kindly man, so courteous that he would not have me summoned for my examination to the court house, but took down my deposition in my room. Yet with all his amiability and in spite of the sympathy which he apparently felt for Franz Schorn, his inquiries were frightfully searching; he forced me to tell him more than I wished to. ”

“ What a strange accident it was, what a strange thing that Sharnall should have been haunted by that wandering fancy of a man following him with a hammer, and then have been found in this very loft, with the desperate wound on him that the pedal-note had dealt! How much had happened—his own proposal to Anastasia, his refusal, and now that event for which the bells were ringing! How quickly the scenes changed! What a creature of an hour was he, was every man, in face of these grim walls that had stood enduring, immutable, for generation after generation, for age after age! ”