e Jew--"At what sum would you value that onyx?"

The Israelite asked to see the gem once more; he turned it about, and
then said with a grin: "Well, fair lady, if my black hen laid me little
things like that I would feed it on cakes from Arsinoe and oysters from
Canopus. The stone is worth a landed estate, and though I am not a rich
man, I would pay down two talents for it at any moment, even if I had to
borrow the money."

This statement could not fail to make a great impression on the judges.
Orion, however, exclaimed: "Wonders on wonders mark this eventful day!
The prodigal generosity which had become an empty name has revived again
among us! Some lavish demon has turned a worthless plate of gold into a
costly gem.--And may I ask who it was that saw the empty setting hanging
to your chain?" Paula was in danger of forgetting even that last reserve
she had imposed on herself; she answered with trembling accents:

"Apparently your confederates or you yourself did. You, and you alone,
have any cause. . . ."

But he would not allow her to proceed. He abruptly interrupted her,
exclaiming: "This is really too much! Oh, that you were a man! How far
your generosity reaches I have already seen. Even hatred, the bitterest
hostility. . . ."

"They would have every right to ruin you completely!" she cried, roused
to the utmost. "And if I were to charge you with the most horrible crime.
. . ."

"You yourself would be committing a crime, against me and against this
house," he said menacingly. "Beware! Can self-delusion go so far that you
dare to appeal to me to testify to the fable you have trumped up. . . ."

"No. Oh, no! That would be counting on some honesty in you yet," she
loudly broke in. "I have other witnesses: Mary, the granddaughter of the
Mukaukas," and she tried to catch his eye.

"The child whose little heart you have won, and who follows you about
like a pet dog!" he cried.

"And besides Mary, Katharina, the widow Susannah's daughter," she added,
sure of her triumph, and the color mounted to her cheeks. "She is no
longer a child, but a maiden grown, as you know. I therefore demand of
you--" and she again turned to the assembly--"that you will fulfil your
functions worthily and promote justice in my behalf by calling in both
these witnesses and hearing their evidence."

On this Orion interposed with forced composure: "As to whether a
soft-hearted child ought to be exposed to the temptation to save the
frien