ep
back his tongue from taunting them. Then when he had washed again and
dipped the celery in the vinegar, and they had drunk of the wine once
more, he taunted them afresh and laughed. But nothing yet had they
understood of his meaning, and they looked into each other's faces and
asked, "What is it?"

"Wait! Only wait!" Israel answered. "You shall see!"

At that moment Ruth sent for him to her chamber, and he went in to her.

"I am a sorrowful woman," she said. "Some evil is about to befall--I
know it, I feel it."

But he only rallied her and laughed again, and prophesied joy on the
morrow. Then, returning to the patio, where the passover cakes had been
broken, he called for the supper, and bade his guests to eat and drink
as much as their hearts desired.

They could do neither now, for the fear that possessed them at sight of
Israel's frenzy. The three old usurers, Abraham, Judah, and Reuben, rose
to go, but Israel cried, "Stay! Stay, and see what is come!" and under
the very force of his will they yielded and sat down again.

Still Israel drank and laughed and derided them. In the wild torrent of
his madness he called them by names they knew and by names they did not
know--Harpagon, Shylock, Bildad, Elihu--and at every new name he laughed
again. And while he carried himself so in the outer court the slave
woman Fatimah came from the inner room with word that the child was
born.

At that Israel was like a man distraught. He leapt up from the table and
faced full upon his guests, and cried, "Now you know what it is; and now
you know why you are bidden to this supper! You are here to rejoice
with me over my enemies! Drink! drink! Confusion to all of them!" And he
lifted a winecup and drank himself.

They were abashed before him, and tried to edge out of the patio into
the street; but he put his back to the passage, and faced them again.

"You will not drink?" he said. "Then listen to me." He dashed the
winecup out of his hand, and it broke into fragments on the floor. His
laughter was gone, his face was aflame, and his voice rose to a shrill
cry. "You foretold the doom of God upon me, you brought me low, you made
me ashamed: but behold how the Lord has lifted me up! You set your women
to prophesy that God would not suffer me to raise up children to be a
reproach and a curse among my people; but God has this day given me a
son like the best of you. More than that--more than that--my son shall
yet see--"

The