Rembrandtesque figure, his white
beard hiding the society shirtfront; and as he began intoning the
grace in Hebrew, the startled Barstein felt that the Mayoress had at
least a superficial justification. There came to him a touch of new
and artistic interest in this prosy, provincial ex-M.P., who,
environed by powdered footmen, sat at the end of his glittering
dinner-table uttering the language of the ancient prophets; and he
respected at least the sturdiness with which Miss Aaronsberg's father
wore his faith, like a phylactery, on his forehead. It said much for
his character that these fellow-citizens of his had once elected him
as their Member, despite his unpopular creed and race, and were now
willing to sit at his table under this tedious benediction. Sir Asher
did not even let them off with the shorter form of grace invented by a
wise Rabbi for these difficult occasions, yet so far as was visible it
was only the Jewish guests--comically distinguished by serviettes
shamefacedly dabbed on their heads--who fidgeted under the pious
torrent. These were no doubt fearful of boring the Christians whose
precious society the Jew enjoyed on a parlous tenure. In the host's
son Julius a superadded intellectual impatience was traceable. He had
brought back from Oxford a contempt for his father's creed which was
patent to every Jew save Sir Asher. Barstein, observing all this
uneasiness, became curiously angry with his fellow-Jews, despite that
he had scrupulously forborne to cover his own head with his serviette;
a racial pride he had not known latent in him surged up through all
his cosmopolitanism, and he maliciously trusted that the brave Sir
Asher would pray his longest. He himself had been a tolerable Hebraist
in his forcedly pious boyhood, and though he had neither prayed nor
heard any Hebrew prayers for many a year, his new artistic interest
led him to listen to the grace, and to disentangle the meaning from
the obscuring layers of verbal association and from the peculiar chant
enlivened by occasional snatches of melody with which it was intoned.

How he had hated this grace as a boy--this pious task-work that almost
spoilt the anticipation of meals! But to-night, after so long an
interval, he could look at it without prejudice, and with artistic
aloofness render to himself a true impression of its spiritual value.

'_We thank Thee, O Lord our God, because Thou didst give as an
heritage unto our fathers a desirable, good,