house is mine. The
lady and the child are in the upper chamber." And accordingly the
sorrowful Rabbi ascended the stairs to find them.

The lady, whose dazzling beauty was shrouded by melancholy beyond
hope, lay in bed; the child, in rich raiment, slumbered on the lap of
the nurse, by her side.

"I have brought to thee, light of my eyes!" said the Demon, "Rebecca,
beloved of my soul! I have brought unto thee Rabbi Jochonan the Wise,
for whom thou didst desire. Let him, then, speedily begin his office;
I shall fetch all things necessary, for he is in haste to depart." He
smiled bitterly as he said these words, looking at the Rabbi, and left
the room, followed by the nurse.

When Jochonan and the lady were alone, she turned in the bed towards
him, and said,

"Unhappy man that thou art! knowest thou where thou hast been
brought?"

"I do," said he, with a heavy groan. "I know that I am in a city of
the Mazikin."

"Know then, further," said she, and the tears gushed from eyes
brighter than the diamond, "know then, further, that up one is ever
brought here unless he hath sinned before the Lord. What my sin hath
been imports not to thee--and I seek not to know thine. But here thou
remainest for ever--lost, even as I am lost." And she wept again.

The Rabbi dashed his turban on the ground, and, tearing his hair,
exclaimed, "Woe is me! Who art thou, woman, that speakest to me thus?"

"I am a Hebrew woman," said she, "the daughter of a Doctor of the
Laws, in the city of Bagdad; and being brought hither--it matters not
how--I am married to a Prince among the Mazikin, even him who was sent
for thee. And that child whom thou sawest is our first-born, and I
could not bear the thought that the soul of our innocent babe should
perish. I therefore besought my husband to try and bring hither a
priest, that the law of Moses (blessed be his memory!) should be done;
and thy fame, which has spread to Bagdad, and lands farther towards
the rising of the sun, made me think of thee. Now, my husband, though
great among the Mazikin, is more just than the other Demons; and he
loves me, whom he hath ruined, with a love of despair. So he said that
the name of Jochonan the Wise was familiar unto him, and that he knew
thou wouldst not be able to refuse. What thou hast done to give him
power over thee is known to thyself."

"I swear, before Heaven," said the Rabbi, "that I have ever diligently
kept the law, and walked steadfastly according t