Daintily embroidered1 napery, beautiful porcelain2, Queen Anne silver, exotic flowers, glittering glass, soft rosy3 light, creamy expanses of shirt-front, elegant low-necked dresses--all the conventional accompaniments of Occidental gastronomy5.
It was not a large party. Mrs. Henry Goldsmith professed6 to collect guests on artistic7 principles--as she did bric-a-brac--and with an eye to general conversation. The elements of the social salad were sufficiently8 incongruous to-night, yet all the ingredients were Jewish.
For the history of the Grandchildren of the Ghetto9, which is mainly a history of the middle-classes, is mainly a history of isolation10. "The Upper Ten" is a literal phrase in Judah, whose aristocracy just about suffices for a synagogue quorum11. Great majestic12 luminaries13, each with its satellites, they swim serenely14 in the golden heavens. And the middle-classes look up in worship and the lower-classes in supplication16. "The Upper Ten" have no spirit of exclusiveness; they are willing to entertain royalty17, rank and the arts with a catholic hospitality that is only Eastern in its magnificence, while some of them only remain Jews for fear of being considered snobs18 by society. But the middle-class Jew has been more jealous of his caste, and for caste reasons. To exchange hospitalities with the Christian19 when you cannot eat his dinners were to get the worse of the bargain; to invite his sons to your house when they cannot marry your daughters were to solicit20 awkward complications. In business, in civic21 affairs, in politics, the Jew has mixed freely with his fellow-citizens, but indiscriminate social relations only become possible through a religious decadence23, which they in turn accelerate. A Christian in a company of middle-class Jews is like a lion in a den4 of Daniels. They show him deference24 and their prophetic side.
Mrs. Henry Goldsmith was of the upper middle-classes, and her husband was the financial representative of the Kensington Synagogue at the United Council, but her swan-like neck was still bowed beneath the yoke26 of North London, not to say provincial27, Judaism. So to-night there were none of those external indications of Christmas which are so frequent at "good" Jewish houses; no plum-pudding, snapdragon, mistletoe, not even a Christmas tree. For Mrs. Henry Goldsmith did not countenance28 these coquettings with Christianity. She would have told you that the incidence of her dinner on Christmas Eve was merely an accident, though a lucky accident, in so far as Christmas found Jews perforce at leisure for social gatherings30. What she was celebrating was the feast of Chanukah--of the re-dedication of the Temple after the pollutions of Antiochus Epiphanes--and the memory of the national hero, Judas Maccabaeus. Christmas crackers31 would have been incompatible32 with the Chanukah candles which the housekeeper33, Mary O'Reilly, forced her master to light, and would have shocked that devout34 old dame35. For Mary O'Reilly, as good a soul as she was a Catholic, had lived all her life with Jews, assisting while yet a girl in the kitchen of Henry Goldsmith's father, who was a pattern of ancient piety36 and a prop25 of the Great Synagogue. When the father died, Mary, with all the other family belongings37, passed into the hands of the son, who came up to London from a provincial town, and with a grateful recollection of her motherliness domiciled her in his own establishment. Mary knew all the ritual laws and ceremonies far better than her new mistress, who although a native of the provincial town in which Mr. Henry Goldsmith had established a thriving business, had received her education at a Brussels boarding-school. Mary knew exactly how long to keep the meat in salt and the heinousness38 of frying steaks in butter. She knew that the fire must not be poked39 on the Sabbath, nor the gas lit or extinguished, and that her master must not smoke till three stars appeared in the sky. She knew when the family must fast, and when and how it must feast. She knew all the Hebrew and jargon40 expressions which her employers studiously boycotted41, and she was the only member of the household who used them habitually42 in her intercourse43 with the other members. Too late the Henry Goldsmiths awoke to the consciousness of her tyranny which did not permit them to be irreligious even in private. In the fierce light which beats upon a provincial town with only one synagogue, they had been compelled to conform outwardly with many galling44 restrictions45, and they had sub-consciously looked forward to emancipation46 in the mighty47 metropolis48. But Mary had such implicit49 faith in their piety, and was so zealous51 in the practice of her own faith, that they had not the courage to confess that they scarcely cared a pin about a good deal of that for which she was so solicitous52. They hesitated to admit that they did not respect their religion (or what she thought was their religion) as much as she did hers. It would have equally lowered them in her eyes to admit that their religion was not so good as hers, besides being disrespectful to the cherished memory of her ancient master. At first they had deferred53 to Mary's Jewish prejudices out of good nature and carelessness, but every day strengthened her hold upon them; every act of obedience54 to the ritual law was a tacit acknowledgment of its sanctity, which made it more and more difficult to disavow its obligation. The dread55 of shocking Mary came to dominate their lives, and the fashionable house near Kensington Gardens was still a veritable centre of true Jewish orthodoxy, with little or nothing to make old Aaron Goldsmith turn in his grave. It is probable, though, that Mrs. Henry Goldsmith would have kept a _kosher_ table, even if Mary had never been born. Many of their acquaintances and relatives were of an orthodox turn. A _kosher_ dinner could be eaten even by the heterodox; whereas a _tripha_ dinner choked off the orthodox. Thus it came about that even the Rabbinate might safely stoke its spiritual fires at Mrs. Henry Goldsmith's.
Hence, too, the prevalent craving57 for a certain author's blood could not be gratified at Mrs. Henry Goldsmith's Chanukah dinner. Besides, nobody knew where to lay hands upon Edward Armitage, the author in question, whose opprobrious58 production, _Mordecai Josephs_, had scandalized West End Judaism.
"Why didn't he describe our circles?" asked the hostess, an angry fire in her beautiful eyes. "It would have, at least, corrected the picture. As it is, the public will fancy that we are all daubed with the same brush: that we have no thought in life beyond dress, money, and solo whist."
"He probably painted the life he knew," said Sidney Graham, in defence.
"Then I am sorry for him," retorted Mrs. Goldsmith. "It's a great pity he had such detestable acquaintances. Of course, he has cut himself off from the possibility of any better now."
The wavering flush on her lovely face darkened with disinterested59 indignation, and her beautiful bosom60 heaved with judicial61 grief.
"I should hope so," put in Miss Cissy Levine, sharply. She was a pale, bent62 woman, with spectacles, who believed in the mission of Israel, and wrote domestic novels to prove that she had no sense of humor. "No one has a right to foul63 his own nest. Are there not plenty of subjects for the Jew's pen without his attacking his own people? The calumniator64 of his race should be ostracized65 from decent society."
"As according to him there is none," laughed Graham, "I cannot see where the punishment comes in."
"Oh, he may say so in that book," said Mrs. Montagu Samuels, an amiable66, loose-thinking lady of florid complexion67, who dabbled68 exasperatingly69 in her husband's philanthropic concerns from the vain idea that the wife of a committee-man is a committee-woman. "But he knows better."
"Yes, indeed," said Mr. Montagu Samuels. "The rascal70 has only written this to make money. He knows it's all exaggeration and distortion; but anything spicy71 pays now-a-days."
"As a West Indian merchant he ought to know," murmured Sidney Graham to his charming cousin, Adelaide Leon. The girl's soft eyes twinkled, as she surveyed the serious little city magnate with his placid72 spouse73. Montagu Samuels was narrow-minded and narrow-chested, and managed to be pompous74 on a meagre allowance of body. He was earnest and charitable (except in religious wrangles75, when he was earnest and uncharitable), and knew himself a pillar of the community, an exemplar to the drones and sluggards who shirked their share of public burdens and were callous76 to the dazzlement of communal77 honors.
"Of course it was written for money, Monty," his brother, Percy Saville, the stockbroker78, reminded him. "What else do authors write for? It's the way they earn their living."
Strangers found difficulty in understanding the fraternal relation of Percy Saville and Montagu Samuels; and did not readily grasp that Percy Saville was an Anglican version of Pizer Samuels, more in tune79 with the handsome well-dressed personality it denoted. Montagu had stuck loyally to his colors, but Pizer had drooped80 under the burden of carrying his patronymic through the theatrical81 and artistic circles he favored after business hours. Of such is the brotherhood82 of Israel.
"The whole book's written with gall," went on Percy Saville, emphatically. "I suppose the man couldn't get into good Jewish houses, and he's revenged himself by slandering83 them."
"Then he ought to have got into good Jewish houses," said Sidney. "The man has talent, nobody can deny that, and if he couldn't get into good Jewish society because he didn't have money enough, isn't that proof enough his picture is true?"
"I don't deny that there are people among us who make money the one open sesame to their houses," said Mrs. Henry Goldsmith, magnanimously.
"Deny it, indeed? Money is the open sesame to everything," rejoined Sidney Graham, delightedly scenting84 an opening for a screed86. He liked to talk bomb-shells, and did not often get pillars of the community to shatter. "Money manages the schools and the charities, and the synagogues, and indirectly88 controls the press. A small body of persons--always the same--sits on all councils, on all boards! Why? Because they pay the piper."
"Well, sir, and is not that a good reason?" asked Montagu Samuels. "The community is to be congratulated on having a few public-spirited men left in days when there are wealthy German Jews in our midst who not only disavow Judaism, but refuse to support its institutions. But, Mr. Graham, I would join issue with you. The men you allude89 to are elected not because they are rich, but because they are good men of business and most of the work to be done is financial."
"Exactly," said Sidney Graham, in sinister90 agreement. "I have always maintained that the United Synagogue could be run as a joint-stock company for the sake of a dividend91, and that there wouldn't be an atom of difference in the discussions if the councillors were directors. I do believe the pillars of the community figure the Millenium as a time when every Jew shall have enough to eat, a place to worship in, and a place to be buried in. Their State Church is simply a financial system, to which the doctrines92 of Judaism happen to be tacked93 on. How many of the councillors believe in their Established Religion? Why, the very beadles of their synagogues are prone94 to surreptitious shrimps95 and unobtrusive oysters96! Then take that institution for supplying _kosher_ meat. I am sure there are lots of its Committee who never inquire into the necrologies of their own chops and steaks, and who regard kitchen Judaism as obsolete97. But, all the same, they look after the finances with almost fanatical zeal50. Finance fascinates them. Long after Judaism has ceased to exist, excellent gentlemen will be found regulating its finances."
There was that smile on the faces of the graver members of the party which arises from reluctance98 to take a dangerous speaker seriously.
Sidney Graham was one of those favorites of society who are allowed Touchstone's license99. He had just as little wish to reform, and just as much wish to abuse society as society has to be reformed and abused. He was a dark, bright-eyed young artist with a silky moustache. He had lived much in Paris, where he studied impressionism and perfected his natural talent for _causerie_ and his inborn100 preference for the hedonistic view of life. Fortunately he had plenty of money, for he was a cousin of Raphael Leon on the mother's side, and the remotest twigs101 of the Leon genealogical tree bear apples of gold. His real name was Abrahams, which is a shade too Semitic. Sidney was the black sheep of the family; good-natured to the core and artistic to the finger-tips, he was an avowed102 infidel in a world where avowal103 is the unpardonable sin. He did not even pretend to fast on the Day of Atonement. Still Sidney Graham was a good deal talked of in artistic circles, his name was often in the newspapers, and so more orthodox people than Mrs. Henry Goldsmith were not averse104 from having him at their table, though they would have shrunk from being seen at his. Even cousin Addie, who had a charming religious cast of mind, liked to be with him, though she ascribed this to family piety. For there is a wonderful solidarity105 about many Jewish families, the richer members of which assemble loyally at one another's births, marriages, funerals, and card-parties, often to the entire exclusion106 of outsiders. An ordinary well-regulated family (so prolific107 is the stream of life), will include in its bosom ample elements for every occasion.
"Really, Mr. Graham, I think you are wrong about the _kosher_ meat," said Mr. Henry Goldsmith. "Our statistics show no falling-off in the number of bullocks killed, while there is a rise of two per cent, in the sheep slaughtered108. No, Judaism is in a far more healthy condition than pessimists110 imagine. So far from sacrificing our ancient faith we are learning to see how tuberculosis111 lurks112 in the lungs of unexamined carcasses and is communicated to the consumer. As for the members of the _Shechitah_ Board not eating _kosher_, look at me."
The only person who looked at the host was the hostess. Her look was one of approval. It could not be of aesthetic113 approval, like the look Percy Saville devoted114 to herself, for her husband was a cadaverous little man with prominent ears and teeth.
"And if Mr. Graham should ever join us on the Council of the United Synagogue," added Montagu Samuels, addressing the table generally, "he will discover that there is no communal problem with which we do not loyally grapple."
"No, thank you," said Sidney, with a shudder115. "When I visit Raphael, I sometimes pick up a Jewish paper and amuse myself by reading the debates of your public bodies. I understand most of your verbiage116 is edited away." He looked Montagu Samuels full in the face with audacious _naivete_. "But there is enough left to show that our monotonous117 group of public men consists of narrow-minded mediocrities. The chief public work they appear to do outside finance is when public exams, fall on Sabbaths or holidays, getting special dates for Jewish candidates to whom these examinations are the avenues to atheism118. They never see the joke. How can they? Why, they take even themselves seriously."
"Oh, come!" said Miss Cissy Levine indignantly. "You often see 'laughter' in the reports."
"That must mean the speaker was laughing," explained Sidney, "for you never see anything to make the audience laugh. I appeal to Mr. Montagu Samuels."
"It is useless discussing a subject with a man who admittedly speaks without knowledge," replied that gentleman with dignity.
"Well, how do you expect me to get the knowledge?" grumbled119 Sidney. "You exclude the public from your gatherings. I suppose to prevent their rubbing shoulders with the swells120, the privilege of being snubbed by whom is the reward of public service. Wonderfully practical idea that--to utilize122 snobbery123 as a communal force. The United Synagogue is founded on it. Your community coheres124 through it."
"There you are scarcely fair," said the hostess with a charming smile of reproof125. "Of course there are snobs amongst us, but is it not the same in all sects126?"
"Emphatically not," said Sidney. "If one of our swells sticks to a shred127 of Judaism, people seem to think the God of Judah should be thankful, and if he goes to synagogue once or twice a year, it is regarded as a particular condescension128 to the Creator."
"The mental attitude you caricature is not so snobbish129 as it seems," said Raphael Leon, breaking into the conversation for the first time. "The temptations to the wealthy and the honored to desert their struggling brethren are manifold, and sad experience has made our race accustomed to the loss of its brightest sons."
"Thanks for the compliment, fair coz," said Sidney, not without a complacent130 cynical131 pleasure in the knowledge that Raphael spoke132 truly, that he owed his own immunity133 from the obligations of the faith to his artistic success, and that the outside world was disposed to accord him a larger charter of morality on the same grounds. "But if you can only deny nasty facts by accounting134 for them, I dare say Mr. Armitage's book will afford you ample opportunities for explanation. Or have Jews the brazenness135 to assert it is all invention?"
"No, no one would do that," said Percy Saville, who had just done it. "Certainly there is a good deal of truth in the sketch136 of the ostentatious, over-dressed Johnsons who, as everybody knows, are meant for the Jonases."
"Oh, yes," said Mrs. Henry Goldsmith. "And it is quite evident that the stockbroker who drops half his h's and all his poor acquaintances and believes in one Lord, is no other than Joel Friedman."
"And the house where people drive up in broughams for supper and solo whist after the theatre is the Davises' in Maida Vale," said Miss Cissy Levine.
"Yes, the book's true enough," began Mrs. Montagu Samuels. She stopped suddenly, catching137 her husband's eye, and the color heightened on her florid cheek. "What I say is," she concluded awkwardly, "he ought to have come among us, and shown the world a picture of the cultured Jews."
"Quite so, quite so," said the hostess. Then turning to the tall thoughtful-looking young man who had hitherto contributed but one sentence to the conversation, she said, half in sly malice138, half to draw him out: "Now you, Mr. Leon, whose culture is certified139 by our leading university, what do you think of this latest portrait of the Jew?"
"I don't know, I haven't read it!" replied Raphael apologetically.
"No more have I," murmured the table generally.
"I wouldn't touch it with a pitchfork," said Miss Cissy Levine.
"I think it's a shame they circulate it at the libraries," said Mrs. Montagu Samuels. "I just glanced over it at Mrs. Hugh Marston's house. It's vile121. There are actually jargon words in it. Such vulgarity!"
"Shameful140!" murmured Percy Saville; "Mr. Lazarus was telling me about it. It's plain treachery and disloyalty, this putting of weapons into the hands of our enemies. Of course we have our faults, but we should be told of them privately141 or from the pulpit."
"That would be just as efficacious," said Sidney admiringly.
"More efficacious," said Percy Saville, unsuspiciously. "A preacher speaks with authority, but this penny-a-liner--"
Saville stopped, disgusted, and the hostess answered Sidney half-coaxingly.
"Oh, I am sure you can't think that. The book is so one-sided. Not a word about our generosity143, our hospitality, our domesticity, the thousand-and-one good traits all the world allows us."
"Of course not; since all the world allows them, it was unnecessary," said Sidney.
"I wonder the Chief Rabbi doesn't stop it," said Mrs. Montagu Samuels.
"My dear, how can he?" inquired her husband. "He has no control over the publishing trade."
"He ought to talk to the man," persisted Mrs. Samuels.
"But we don't even know who he is," said Percy Saville, "probably Edward Armitage is only a _nom-de-plume_. You'd be surprised to learn the real names of some of the literary celebrities144 I meet about."
"Oh, if he's a Jew you may be sure it isn't his real name," laughed Sidney. It was characteristic of him that he never spared a shot even when himself hurt by the kick of the gun. Percy colored slightly, unmollified by being in the same boat with the satirist145.
"There is an Armitage who subscribes148 two guineas a year to the Board of Guardians," said Mrs. Montagu Samuels. "But his Christian name is George."
"'Christian' name is distinctly good for 'George,'" murmured Sidney.
"There was an Armitage who sent a cheque to the Russian Fund," said Mr. Henry Goldsmith, "but that can't be an author--it was quite a large cheque!"
"I am sure I have seen Armitage among the Births, Marriages and Deaths," said Miss Cissy Levine.
"How well-read they all are in the national literature," Sidney murmured to Addie.
Indeed the sectarian advertisements served to knit the race together, counteracting149 the unravelling150 induced by the fashionable dispersion of Israel and waxing the more important as the other links--the old traditional jokes, by-words, ceremonies, card-games, prejudices and tunes151, which are more important than laws and more cementatory than ideals--were disappearing before the over-zealousness of a _parvenu_ refinement152 that had not yet attained153 to self-confidence. The Anglo-Saxon stolidity154 of the West-End Synagogue service, on week days entirely155 given over to paid praying-men, was a typical expression of the universal tendency to exchange the picturesque156 primitiveness157 of the Orient for the sobrieties of fashionable civilization. When Jeshurun waxed fat he did not always kick, but he yearned158 to approximate as much as possible to John Bull without merging159 in him; to sink himself and yet not be absorbed, not to be and yet to be. The attempt to realize the asymptote in human mathematics was not quite successful, too near an approach to John Bull generally assimilating Jeshurun away. For such is the nature of Jeshurun. Enfranchise160 him, give him his own way and you make a new man of him; persecute161 him and he is himself again.
"But if nobody has read the man's book," Raphael Leon ventured to interrupt at last, "is it quite fair to assume his book isn't fit to read?"
The shy dark little girl he had taken down to dinner darted162 an appreciative163 glance at her neighbor. It was in accordance with Raphael's usual anxiety to give the devil his due, that he should be unwilling164 to condemn165 even the writer of an anti-Semitic novel unheard. But then it was an open secret in the family that Raphael was mad. They did their best to hush166 it up, but among themselves they pitied him behind his back. Even Sidney considered his cousin Raphael pushed a dubious167 virtue168 too far in treating people's very prejudices with the deference due to earnest reasoned opinions.
"But we know enough of the book to know we are badly treated," protested the hostess.
"We have always been badly treated in literature," said Raphael. "We are made either angels or devils. On the one hand, Lessing and George Eliot, on the other, the stock dramatist and novelist with their low-comedy villain169."
"Oh," said Mrs. Goldsmith, doubtfully, for she could not quite think Raphael had become infected by his cousin's propensity170 for paradox171. "Do you think George Eliot and Lessing didn't understand the Jewish character?"
"They are the only writers who have ever understood it," affirmed Miss Cissy Levine, emphatically.
A little scornful smile played for a second about the mouth of the dark little girl.
"Stop a moment," said Sidney. "I've been so busy doing justice to this delicious asparagus, that I have allowed Raphael to imagine nobody here has read _Mordecai Josephs_. I have, and I say there is more actuality in it than in _Daniel Deronda_ and _Nathan der Weise_ put together. It is a crude production, all the same; the writer's artistic gift seems handicapped by a dead-weight of moral platitudes172 and highfalutin, and even mysticism. He not only presents his characters but moralizes over them--actually cares whether they are good or bad, and has yearnings after the indefinable--it is all very young. Instead of being satisfied that Judaea gives him characters that are interesting, he actually laments173 their lack of culture. Still, what he has done is good enough to make one hope his artistic instinct will shake off his moral."
"Oh, Sidney, what are you saying?" murmured Addie.
"It's all right, little girl. You don't understand Greek."
"It's not Greek," put in Raphael. "In Greek art, beauty of soul and beauty of form are one. It's French you are talking, though the ignorant _ateliers_ where you picked it up flatter themselves it's Greek."
"It's Greek to Addie, anyhow," laughed Sidney. "But that's what makes the anti-Semitic chapters so unsatisfactory."
"We all felt their unsatisfactoriness, if we could not analyze174 it so cleverly," said the hostess.
"We all felt it," said Mrs. Montagu Samuels.
"Yes, that's it," said Sidney, blandly175. "I could have forgiven the rose-color of the picture if it had been more artistically176 painted."
"Rose-color!" gasped177 Mrs. Henry Goldsmith, "rose-color, indeed!" Not even Sidney's authority could persuade the table into that.
Poor rich Jews! The upper middle-classes had every excuse for being angry. They knew they were excellent persons, well-educated and well-travelled, interested in charities (both Jewish and Christian), people's concerts, district-visiting, new novels, magazines, reading-circles, operas, symphonies, politics, volunteer regiments178, Show-Sunday and Corporation banquets; that they had sons at Rugby and Oxford179, and daughters who played and painted and sang, and homes that were bright oases180 of optimism in a jaded181 society; that they were good Liberals and Tories, supplementing their duties as Englishmen with a solicitude182 for the best interests of Judaism; that they left no stone unturned to emancipate183 themselves from the secular184 thraldom185 of prejudice; and they felt it very hard that a little vulgar section should always be chosen by their own novelists, and their efforts to raise the tone of Jewish society passed by.
Sidney, whose conversation always had the air of aloofness186 from the race, so that his own foibles often came under the lash187 of his sarcasm188, proceeded to justify189 his assertion of the rose-color picture in _Mordecai Josephs_. He denied that modern English Jews had any religion whatever; claiming that their faith consisted of forms that had to be kept up in public, but which they were too shrewd and cute to believe in or to practise in private, though every one might believe every one else did; that they looked upon due payment of their synagogue bills as discharging all their obligations to Heaven; that the preachers secretly despised the old formulas, and that the Rabbinate declared its intention of dying for Judaism only as a way of living by it; that the body politic22 was dead and rotten with hypocrisy190, though the augurs191 said it was alive and well. He admitted that the same was true of Christianity. Raphael reminded him that a number of Jews had drifted quite openly from the traditional teaching, that thousands of well-ordered households found inspiration and spiritual satisfaction in every form of it, and that hypocrisy was too crude a word for the complex motives193 of those who obeyed it without inner conviction.
"For instance," said he, "a gentleman said to me the other day--I was much touched by the expression--'I believe with my father's heart.'"
"It is a good epigram," said Sidney, impressed. "But what is to be said of a rich community which recruits its clergy194 from the lower classes? The method of election by competitive performance, common as it is among poor Dissenters195, emphasizes the subjection of the shepherd to his flock. You catch your ministers young, when they are saturated196 with suppressed scepticism, and bribe197 them with small salaries that seem affluence198 to the sons of poor immigrants. That the ministry199 is not an honorable profession may be seen from the anxiety of the minister to raise his children in the social scale by bringing them up to some other line of business."
"That is true," said Raphael, gravely. "Our wealthy families must be induced to devote a son each to the Synagogue."
"I wish they would," said Sidney. "At present, every second man is a lawyer. We ought to have more officers and doctors, too. I like those old Jews who smote200 the Philistines201 hip15 and thigh202; it is not good for a race to run all to brain: I suppose, though, we had to develop cunning to survive at all. There was an enlightened minister whose Friday evenings I used to go to when a youth--delightful203 talk we had there, too; you know whom I mean. Well, one of his sons is a solicitor204, and the other a stockbroker. The rich men he preached to helped to place his sons. He was a charming man, but imagine him preaching to them the truths in _Mordecai Josephs_, as Mr. Saville suggested."
His wife hastened to obliterate206 the unrefined expression.
"Mr. Strelitski is a wonderfully eloquent207 young man, so quiet and reserved in society, but like an ancient prophet in the pulpit."
"Yes, we were very lucky to get him," said Mr. Henry Goldsmith.
"What is the matter?" asked Raphael softly.
"I don't know. I don't like the Rev56. Joseph Strelitski. He is eloquent, but his dogmatism irritates me. I don't believe he is sincere. He doesn't like me, either."
"Oh, you're both wrong," he said in concern.
"Strelitski is a draw, I admit," said Mr. Montagu Samuels, who was the President of a rival synagogue. "But Rosenbaum is a good pull-down on the other side, eh?"
Mr. Henry Goldsmith groaned209. The second minister of the Kensington synagogue was the scandal of the community. He wasn't expected to preach, and he didn't practise.
"I've heard of that man," said Sidney laughing. "He's a bit of a gambler and a spendthrift, isn't he? Why do you keep him on?"
"He has a fine voice, you see," said Mr. Goldsmith. "That makes a Rosenbaum faction192 at once. Then he has a wife and family. That makes another."
"Strelitski isn't married, is he?" asked Sidney.
"No," said Mr. Goldsmith, "not yet. The congregation expects him to, though. I don't care to give him the hint myself; he is a little queer sometimes."
"He owes it to his position," said Miss Cissy Levine.
"That is what we think," said Mrs. Henry Goldsmith, with the majestic manner that suited her opulent beauty.
"I wish we had him in our synagogue," said Raphael. "Michaels is a well-meaning worthy210 man, but he is dreadfully dull."
"Poor Raphael!" said Sidney. "Why did you abolish the old style of minister who had to slaughter109 the sheep? Now the minister reserves all his powers of destruction for his own flock.'"
"I have given him endless hints to preach only once a month," said Mr. Montagu Samuels dolefully. "But every Saturday our hearts sink as we see him walk to the pulpit."
"You see, Addie, how a sense of duty makes a man criminal," said Sidney. "Isn't Michaels the minister who defends orthodoxy in a way that makes the orthodox rage over his unconscious heresies211, while the heterodox enjoy themselves by looking out for his historical and grammatical blunders!"
"Poor man, he works hard," said Raphael, gently. "Let him be."
Over the dessert the conversation turned by way of the Rev. Strelitski's marriage, to the growing willingness of the younger generation to marry out of Judaism. The table discerned in inter-marriage the beginning of the end.
"But why postpone212 the inevitable213?" asked Sidney calmly. "What is this mania214 for keeping up an effete215 _ism_? Are we to cripple our lives for the sake of a word? It's all romantic fudge, the idea of perpetual isolation. You get into little cliques216 and mistaken narrow-mindedness for fidelity217 to an ideal. I can live for months and forget there are such beings as Jews in the world. I have floated down the Nile in a _dahabiya_ while you were beating your breasts in the Synagogue, and the palm-trees and pelicans218 knew nothing of your sacrosanct219 chronological220 crisis, your annual epidemic221 of remorse222."
The table thrilled with horror, without, however, quite believing in the speaker's wickedness. Addie looked troubled.
"A man and wife of different religions can never know true happiness," said the hostess.
"Granted," retorted Sidney. "But why shouldn't Jews without Judaism marry Christians223 without Christianity? Must a Jew needs have a Jewess to help him break the Law?"
"Inter-marriage must not be tolerated," said Raphael. "It would hurt us less if we had a country. Lacking that, we must preserve our human boundaries."
"You have good phrases sometimes," admitted Sidney. "But why must we preserve any boundaries? Why must we exist at all as a separate people?"
"To fulfil the mission of Israel," said Mr. Montagu Samuels solemnly.
"Ah, what is that? That is one of the things nobody ever seems able to tell me."
"We are God's witnesses," said Mrs. Henry Goldsmith, snipping224 off for herself a little bunch of hot-house grapes.
"False witnesses, mostly then," said Sidney. "A Christian friend of mine, an artist, fell in love with a girl and courted her regularly at her house for four years. Then he proposed; she told him to ask her father, and he then learned for the first time that the family were Jewish, and his suit could not therefore be entertained. Could a satirist have invented anything funnier? Whatever it was Jews have to bear witness to, these people had been bearing witness to so effectually that a daily visitor never heard a word of the evidence during four years. And this family is not an exception; it is a type. Abroad the English Jew keeps his Judaism in the background, at home in the back kitchen. When he travels, his Judaism is not packed up among his _impedimenta_. He never obtrudes225 his creed87, and even his Jewish newspaper is sent to him in a wrapper labelled something else. How's that for witnesses? Mind you, I'm not blaming the men, being one of 'em. They may be the best fellows going, honorable, high-minded, generous--why expect them to be martyrs226 more than other Englishmen? Isn't life hard enough without inventing a new hardship? I declare there's no narrower creature in the world than your idealist; he sets up a moral standard which suits his own line of business, and rails at men of the world for not conforming to it. God's witnesses, indeed! I say nothing of those who are rather the Devil's witnesses, but think of the host of Jews like myself who, whether they marry Christians or not, simply drop out, and whose absence of all religion escapes notice in the medley227 of creeds228. We no more give evidence than those old Spanish Jews--Marannos, they were called, weren't they?--who wore the Christian mask for generations. Practically, many of us are Marannos still; I don't mean the Jews who are on the stage and the press and all that, but the Jews who have gone on believing. One Day of Atonement I amused myself by noting the pretexts229 on the shutters230 of shops that were closed in the Strand231. 'Our annual holiday,' Stock-taking day,' 'Our annual bean-feast.' 'Closed for repairs.'"
"Well, it's something if they keep the Fast at all," said Mr. Henry Goldsmith. "It shows spirituality is not dead in them."
"Spirituality!" sneered232 Sidney. "Sheer superstition233, rather. A dread of thunderbolts. Besides, fasting is a sensuous234 _attraction_. But for the fasting, the Day of Atonement would have long since died out for these men. 'Our annual bean-feast'! There's witnesses for you."
"We cannot help if we have false witnesses among us," said Raphael Leon quietly. "Our mission is to spread the truth of the Torah till the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
"But we don't spread it."
"We do. Christianity and Mohammedanism are offshoots of Judaism; through them we have won the world from Paganism and taught it that God is one with the moral law."
"Then we are somewhat in the position of an ancient school-master lagging superfluous235 in the school-room where his whilom pupils are teaching."
"By no means. Rather of one who stays on to protest against the false additions of his whilom pupils."
"But we don't protest."
"Our mere29 existence since the Dispersion is a protest," urged Raphael. "When the stress of persecution236 lightens, we may protest more consciously. We cannot have been preserved in vain through so many centuries of horrors, through the invasions of the Goths and Huns, through the Crusades, through the Holy Roman Empire, through the times of Torquemada. It is not for nothing that a handful of Jews loom237 so large in the history of the world that their past is bound up with every noble human effort, every high ideal, every development of science, literature and art. The ancient faith that has united us so long must not be lost just as it is on the very eve of surviving the faiths that sprang from it, even as it has survived Egypt, Assyria, Rome, Greece and the Moors238. If any of us fancy we have lost it, let us keep together still. Who knows but that it will be born again in us if we are only patient? Race affinity239 is a potent240 force; why be in a hurry to dissipate it? The Marannos you speak of were but maimed heroes, yet one day the olden flame burst through the layers of three generations of Christian profession and inter-marriage, and a brilliant company of illustrious Spaniards threw up their positions and sailed away in voluntary exile to serve the God of Israel. We shall yet see a spiritual revival241 even among our brilliant English Jews who have hid their face from their own flesh."
The dark little girl looked up into his face with ill-suppressed wonder.
"Have you done preaching at me, Raphael?" inquired Sidney. "If so, pass me a banana."
Raphael smiled sadly and obeyed.
"I'm afraid if I see much of Raphael I shall be converted to Judaism," said Sidney, peeling the banana. "I had better take a hansom to the Riviera at once. I intended to spend Christmas there; I never dreamed I should be talking theology in London."
"Oh, I think Christmas in London is best," said the hostess unguardedly.
"Oh, I don't know. Give me Brighton," said the host.
"Well, yes, I suppose Brighton _is_ pleasanter," said Mr. Montagu Samuels.
"Oh, but so many Jews go there," said Percy Saville.
"Yes, that _is_ the drawback," said Mrs. Henry Goldsmith. "Do you know, some years ago I discovered a delightful village in Devonshire, and took the household there in the summer. The very next year when I went down I found no less than two Jewish families temporarily located there. Of course, I have never gone there since."
"Yes, it's wonderful how Jews scent85 out all the nicest places," agreed Mrs. Montagu Samuels. "Five years ago you could escape them by not going to Ramsgate; now even the Highlands are getting impossible."
Thereupon the hostess rose and the ladies retired242 to the drawing-room, leaving the gentlemen to discuss coffee, cigars and the paradoxes243 of Sidney, who, tired of religion, looked to dumb show plays for the salvation244 of dramatic literature.
There was a little milk-jug on the coffee-tray, it represented a victory over Mary O'Reilly. The late Aaron Goldsmith never took milk till six hours after meat, and it was with some trepidation245 that the present Mr. Goldsmith ordered it to be sent up one evening after dinner. He took an early opportunity of explaining apologetically to Mary that some of his guests were not so pious246 as himself, and hospitality demanded the concession247.
Mr. Henry Goldsmith did not like his coffee black. His dinner-table was hardly ever without a guest.
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1
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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porcelain
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| n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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gastronomy
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| n.美食法；美食学 | |
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professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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ghetto
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| n.少数民族聚居区，贫民区 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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quorum
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| n.法定人数 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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luminaries
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| n.杰出人物，名人（luminary的复数形式） | |
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serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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17
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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18
snobs
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| （谄上傲下的）势利小人( snob的名词复数 )； 自高自大者，自命不凡者 | |
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19
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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solicit
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| vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意) | |
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civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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politic
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| adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政 | |
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23
decadence
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| n.衰落，颓废 | |
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24
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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25
prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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28
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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29
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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30
gatherings
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| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
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31
crackers
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| adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘 | |
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32
incompatible
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| adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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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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35
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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37
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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38
heinousness
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39
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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40
jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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41
boycotted
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| 抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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43
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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44
galling
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| adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的 | |
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45
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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46
emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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47
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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48
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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49
implicit
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| a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的 | |
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50
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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51
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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52
solicitous
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| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
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53
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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54
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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55
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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56
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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57
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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58
opprobrious
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| adj.可耻的，辱骂的 | |
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59
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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60
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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61
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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62
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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63
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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64
calumniator
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| n.中伤者，诽谤者 | |
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65
ostracized
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| v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥 | |
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66
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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67
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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68
dabbled
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| v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
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exasperatingly
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70
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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spicy
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| adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的 | |
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72
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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73
spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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74
pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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75
wrangles
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| n.（尤指长时间的）激烈争吵，口角，吵嘴( wrangle的名词复数 )v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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76
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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77
communal
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| adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的 | |
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78
stockbroker
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| n.股票（或证券），经纪人（或机构） | |
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tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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80
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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82
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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83
slandering
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| [法]口头诽谤行为 | |
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84
scenting
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| vt.闻到（scent的现在分词形式） | |
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85
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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86
screed
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| n.长篇大论 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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88
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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91
dividend
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| n.红利，股息；回报，效益 | |
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92
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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93
tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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94
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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95
shrimps
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| n.虾，小虾( shrimp的名词复数 )；矮小的人 | |
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96
oysters
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| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
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97
obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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98
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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99
license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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inborn
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| adj.天生的，生来的，先天的 | |
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101
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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102
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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103
avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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104
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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105
solidarity
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| n.团结；休戚相关 | |
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106
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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107
prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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108
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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109
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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110
pessimists
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| n.悲观主义者( pessimist的名词复数 ) | |
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111
tuberculosis
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| n.结核病，肺结核 | |
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112
lurks
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| n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式） | |
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113
aesthetic
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| adj.美学的，审美的，有美感 | |
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114
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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115
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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116
verbiage
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| n.冗词；冗长 | |
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117
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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118
atheism
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| n.无神论，不信神 | |
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119
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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120
swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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121
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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122
utilize
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| vt.使用，利用 | |
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123
snobbery
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| n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格 | |
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124
coheres
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| v.黏合( cohere的第三人称单数 )；联合；结合；（指看法、推理等）前后一致 | |
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125
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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126
sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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127
shred
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| v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少 | |
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128
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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129
snobbish
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| adj.势利的，谄上欺下的 | |
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130
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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131
cynical
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| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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132
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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133
immunity
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| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
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134
accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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135
brazenness
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| 厚颜无耻 | |
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136
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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137
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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138
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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139
certified
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| a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的 | |
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140
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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141
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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142
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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143
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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144
celebrities
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| n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉 | |
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145
satirist
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| n.讽刺诗作者，讽刺家，爱挖苦别人的人 | |
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146
subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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147
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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148
subscribes
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| v.捐助( subscribe的第三人称单数 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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149
counteracting
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的现在分词 ) | |
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150
unravelling
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| 解开，拆散，散开( unravel的现在分词 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚 | |
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151
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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152
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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153
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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154
stolidity
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| n.迟钝，感觉麻木 | |
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155
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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156
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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157
primitiveness
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| 原始，原始性 | |
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158
yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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159
merging
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| 合并（分类） | |
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160
enfranchise
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| v.给予选举权，解放 | |
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161
persecute
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| vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰 | |
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162
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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163
appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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164
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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165
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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166
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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167
dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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168
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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169
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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170
propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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171
paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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172
platitudes
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| n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子 | |
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173
laments
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| n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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174
analyze
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| vt.分析，解析 (=analyse) | |
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175
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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176
artistically
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| adv.艺术性地 | |
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177
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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178
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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179
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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180
oases
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| n.（沙漠中的）绿洲( oasis的名词复数 )；（困苦中）令人快慰的地方（或时刻）；乐土；乐事 | |
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181
jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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182
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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183
emancipate
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| v.解放，解除 | |
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184
secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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185
thraldom
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| n.奴隶的身份，奴役，束缚 | |
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186
aloofness
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| 超然态度 | |
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187
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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188
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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189
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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190
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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191
augurs
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| n.（古罗马的）占兆官( augur的名词复数 )；占卜师，预言者v.预示，预兆，预言( augur的第三人称单数 )；成为预兆；占卜 | |
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192
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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193
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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194
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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195
dissenters
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| n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 ) | |
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196
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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197
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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198
affluence
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| n.充裕，富足 | |
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199
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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200
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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201
philistines
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| n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子 | |
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202
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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203
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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204
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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205
guffaw
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| n.哄笑；突然的大笑 | |
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206
obliterate
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| v.擦去，涂抹，去掉...痕迹，消失，除去 | |
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207
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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208
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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209
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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210
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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211
heresies
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| n.异端邪说，异教( heresy的名词复数 ) | |
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212
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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213
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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214
mania
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| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
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215
effete
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| adj.无生产力的，虚弱的 | |
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216
cliques
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| n.小集团，小圈子，派系( clique的名词复数 ) | |
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217
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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218
pelicans
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| n.鹈鹕( pelican的名词复数 ) | |
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219
sacrosanct
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| adj.神圣不可侵犯的 | |
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220
chronological
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| adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的 | |
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221
epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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222
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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223
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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224
snipping
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| n.碎片v.剪( snip的现在分词 ) | |
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225
obtrudes
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| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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226
martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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227
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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228
creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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229
pretexts
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| n.借口，托辞( pretext的名词复数 ) | |
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230
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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231
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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232
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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233
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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235
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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236
persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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237
loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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238
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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239
affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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240
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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241
revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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242
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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243
paradoxes
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| n.似非而是的隽语，看似矛盾而实际却可能正确的说法( paradox的名词复数 )；用于语言文学中的上述隽语；有矛盾特点的人[事物，情况] | |
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244
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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245
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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246
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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247
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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