gradually subsided into the mournful murmur of a
prayer for the dead. She heard the names of her dear kinsfolk,
accompanied by the words which convey the blessing on the departed; and
the last hope vanished from her soul, for it was torn by the certainty
that those dear ones had really been slain, that her little niece was
dead, that her little cousins Posy and Birdy were dead, that little
Gottschalk too was dead--all murdered and dead! And she, too, would have
succumbed to the agony of this realization, had not a kind swoon poured
forgetfulness over her senses.

CHAPTER III

When Beautiful Sara, after divine service was ended, went down into the
courtyard of the synagogue, the Rabbi stood there waiting for her. He
nodded to her with a cheerful expression, and accompanied her out into
the street, where there was no longer silence but a noisy multitude. It
was like a swarm of ants--bearded men in black coats, women gleaming and
fluttering like gold-chafers, boys in new clothes carrying prayer-books
after their parents, young girls who, because they could not enter the
synagogue, now came bounding to their parents, bowing their curly heads
to receive their blessing--all gay and merry, and walking up and down
the street in the happy anticipation of a good dinner, the savory odor
of which--causing their mouths to water--rose from many black pots,
marked with chalk, and carried by smiling girls from the large community
kitchens.

In this multitude particularly conspicuous was the form of a Spanish
cavalier, whose youthful features bore that fascinating pallor which
ladies generally attribute to an unfortunate--and men, on the contrary,
to a very fortunate--love affair. His gait, although naturally carefree,
had in it, however, a somewhat affected daintiness. The feathers in his
cap were agitated more by the aristocratic motion of his head than by
the wind; and his golden spurs, and the jeweled hilt of his sword, which
he bore on his arm, rattled rather more than was necessary. A white
cavalier's cloak enveloped his slender limbs in an apparently careless
manner, but, in reality, betrayed the most careful arrangement of the
folds. Passing and repassing, partly with curiosity, partly with an air
of a connoisseur, he approached the women walking by, looked calmly at
them, paused when he thought a face was worth the trouble, gave to many
a pretty girl a passing compliment, and went his way heedless as to its
effect. He had