rror was terminated by the old man's
sinking on his knees, clasping his hands, and lifting his eyes, and
breaking out in a short but solemn act of thanksgiving, and then turning
his head without rising, as it were looking for his daughter, she sprang
toward him, and threw her arms about him, whilst he still knelt. It
would be difficult to describe the scene which followed: Dymock began to
caper and exult, Mrs. Margaret to weep, Rebecca to utter imprecations,
and Shanty to sing and whistle, as he was wont to do when hammering in
his shed, and the vagrant to dare the old Jewess to deny any thing which
she had said. When Dymock had assisted Tamar to lift her father into the
chair, and when the old man had wept plentifully, he was again anxious
to examine the case more closely; and a discussion followed, in which
many things were explained and cleared up on both sides, though it was
found necessary for this end, to promise Rebecca that she should be
forgiven, and no vengeance taken upon her, if she should confess her
part of the history. This discussion lasted long, and the substance of
what was then opened to Tamar and her paternal friends was this:--Mr.
Salmon was, it seems, a Polish Jew, extremely rich, and evidently very
parsimonious; he had had mercantile concerns in London, and had there
married, when nearly fifty years of age, a beautiful young Jewess, whose
mother he had greatly benefitted, when in the most deplorable
circumstances. With this lady he had gone abroad, and it was very
evident that he had been a severe and jealous husband. She had brought
him a daughter soon after her marriage. This child was born in Poland,
Rebecca was her nurse; but Mrs. Salmon, falling into bad health
immediately after the birth of the child, she implored her husband to
permit her to return to England, and to her mother. Salmon saw that she
was not happy with him; and the strange suspicion seized him, as there
was little tie between him and his wife, that in case his own child
died, she might palm another upon him,--to prevent which, he branded the
babe with the figure of a palm branch, and sent her home, with Rebecca
and Jacob, who were both Jews, to watch her; though there was no need,
as Rachel was a simple, harmless creature. She was also in very bad
health when she reached England, and scarcely survived her mother three
days, and during that time hardly asked for her child; and the artful
servants had contrived to make their mast