“Mr. Rosnofsky,” he said, “I love your daughter.”
Rosnofsky’s eyes opened wide, and his mouth shut tight.
“And she loves me,” Lazarus went on.
Rosnofsky’s eyes contracted, until they gleamed through the tiniest kind of a slit5 between the lids. His hand fumbled6 behind his back among 34a number of tailor’s tools that lay on the table.
“And I have come to ask your consent to our marriage.”
Crash! Rosnofsky’s aim was bad. The shears7, instead of reaching Lazarus, shattered the window pane8. Lazarus was flying rapidly down the street. Then Rosnofsky turned to me.
“And this mixture, as I was saying, will produce exactly the same blue that the Talmud describes.”
It was worth while to become acquainted with Rosnofsky. When aroused, or crossed, or seriously annoyed, he had a frightful10 temper, and the man whose misfortune it had been to stir him up was the object of a malediction11 as bitter as it was fierce, extending through all his family for, usually, a dozen generations. Then, in startling contrast to this, he was a devout12 son of Abraham, and, in moments of serious reflection, would be almost overcome by a feeling of piety13, and at such times all that was good and noble in his nature asserted itself. It was a strange blending of the prosaic14 with the patriarchal.
35“How came the original colour to be lost?” I asked. Rosnofsky looked at me for a moment. Then he shook his head.
“That scamp has upset me completely,” he said. “Some other time I will tell you. Just now I can think of nothing but the effrontery15 of that scoundrel.”
“What makes you so bitter toward him?” I ventured to ask.
“Bitter! Bitter! He wants to marry Miriam. The audacity16 of the wretch17! My only child. And here he practically tells me to my face that he has been making love to her, and that he has ascertained18 that she is in love with him. And I never knew it. Never even suspected it. A curse on the scamp! Sneaking19 into my home to steal my daughter from me. The dishonourable villain20! I trusted him. The viper21. May he suffer a million torments22! May the fiends possess him!”
I ventured to suggest that it was the way of the world. I departed. Somewhat hastily. I did not like the way he glared at me.
The next time I saw Rosnofsky he was walking excitedly up and down his shop, tearing his hair 36en route. When he saw me he sprang forward and clutched me by the shoulder.
“Here!” he cried. “I will leave it to you. You were here when he had the audacity to confess his guilt23 to my face. Read this.” He thrust a crumpled24 piece of paper into my hand. “Read it, and tell me if there is another such villain upon this earth. Oh, I shall go mad!”
I read it. It was from Lazarus.
“I told you that I loved your daughter,” he wrote. “I told you that she loved me. And, like an honest man, I asked you to consent to our marriage. You refused. I now appeal to you again. You will make us both very happy by giving your consent, as we would like you to be present at the wedding. If you do not give your consent, we will not invite you. But we will get married, anyway. We will elope at the first opportunity. The only way to stop it is to keep Miriam locked in the house. Then I shall call in the police.”
It was signed, “Lovingly, your son-in-law-to-be.”
“How can I punish him?” asked Rosnofsky. I promised to think it over. I had called merely to 37tell Rosnofsky that I would accept his invitation to supper on Sader night, and to thank him.
“You know the law,” he said. “When you come bring with you a plan to punish this scoundrel.”
It was the eve of the Passover, and I stood in the gloomy hallway tapping at Rosnofsky’s door. Dimly through the darkness I saw a quivering shadow, but in the labyrinths25 of tenement26 corridors it is unwise to investigate shadows. The door opened, and Rosnofsky, with “praying cap” upon his head, welcomed me to the feast of the Sader.
Miriam was as sweet as a rose. I have not told you how pretty she was, nor shall I begin now, for it is a very tempting27 subject, such as would be likely to beguile28 a man into forgetting the thread of his story, and it was too dangerous for me to enter upon. Suffice it that her eyes were as glorious as—but there!
The table was arranged for four, Rosnofsky, Miriam, and myself, and opposite Miriam’s seat was the chair for the Stranger.
38Now the custom of celebrating this feast, according to the ritual, is like this:
Holding aloft the unleavened bread, the head of the house must say:
“This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all those who are hungry enter and eat thereof; and all who are in distress29 come and celebrate the Passover.”
And the youngest-born must arise and open the door so that the Stranger may enter and take his place at the table, and, even though he slew30 one of their kin4, that night he is a sacred guest.
And—as you have no doubt already opined—hardly had Miriam opened the door when, with pale face, but with lips that were pressed in grim determination, in walked Lazarus. Now, to this day I do not know whether Miriam expected him, or what her feelings were when he entered. She has refused to tell me. It needed but one glance to assure me that if there was any secret Rosnofsky had not been in it.
With a cry of rage he sprang to his feet, and I feared that he would hurl31 a knife at the intruder. 39But an instant later he recovered himself, and with a gurgling, choking sound sank into his chair.
“The grace of God be with you all,” saluted32 Lazarus, still very pale. Then,
“Am I a welcome guest?”
Rosnofsky seemed to be on the point of exploding with rage, but at this question he started as if he had been struck. After a moment’s silence he arose with great dignity—and holding out his hand—the strength of his piety never more forcibly illustrated—said:
“Forgive my anger, my son. You are welcome to the Feast of the Passover.”
And resuming his seat he chanted:
“Blessed art Thou, O Eternal, our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of wine!”
It was the beginning of the service. Lazarus, with his eyes upon the table, chanted the responses, and I, who knew nothing of the ritual, looked at Miriam, who, I assure you, was delightful33 to behold34, particularly when her eyes twinkled as they did now.
By the time he had finished the Sader, Rosnofsky’s troubled spirit had become soothed35, and the 40final grace was delivered in a voice so calm and with a manner so soothing36, that when he looked up Lazarus was emboldened37 to speak.
“You are angry with me, Father Rosnofsky,” he ventured.
“Let us not speak of unpleasant things this night,” replied the tailor, gently. “This is a holy night.”
Lazarus, in no way abashed38, deftly39 led the old man to expound40 some of the intricate sayings of the rabbis upon the Passover, which Rosnofsky, who was something of a theologian, did with great eagerness. Now, how it came about I cannot tell, but Lazarus was so greatly interested in this discussion, and Rosnofsky was so determined41 to prove that the old rabbis were all in the wrong on this one point, that when the meal was over he declared that if Lazarus would call the next night he would have a book that would convince him. Lazarus had the discretion42 to take his departure. When he had gone Rosnofsky puffed43 his pipe in silence for some moments. Then, with a quaint9 smile, he turned to me and said:
“The young rogue44!”
And then he gazed at Miriam until she grew red.
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1
lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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3
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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4
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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6
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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7
shears
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| n.大剪刀 | |
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pane
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| n.窗格玻璃，长方块 | |
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9
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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10
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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11
malediction
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| n.诅咒 | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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13
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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14
prosaic
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| adj.单调的，无趣的 | |
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effrontery
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| n.厚颜无耻 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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20
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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21
viper
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| n.毒蛇；危险的人 | |
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22
torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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23
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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24
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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labyrinths
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| 迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 )； （文字，建筑）错综复杂的 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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beguile
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| vt.欺骗，消遣 | |
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29
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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30
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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31
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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32
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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33
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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36
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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37
emboldened
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| v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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40
expound
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| v.详述；解释；阐述 | |
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41
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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42
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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43
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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44
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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