nd the canvas at the back of the tent. Presently the hangings
were withdrawn; and the prisoner beheld an interior chamber, hung with
various instruments the nature of which was betrayed by their very
shape; while by the rack, placed in the centre of that dreary chamber,
stood a tall and grisly figure, his arms bare, his eyes bent, as by an
instinct, on the prisoner.

Almamen gazed at these dread preparations with an unflinching aspect.
The guards at the entrance of the tent approached: they struck off the
fetters from his feet and hands; they led him towards the appointed
place of torture.

Suddenly the Israelite paused.

"Priest," said he, in a more humble accent than he had yet assumed, "the
tidings that thou didst communicate to me respecting the sole daughter
of my house and love bewildered and confused me for the moment. Suffer
me but for a single moment to recollect my senses, and I will answer
without compulsion all thou mayst ask. Permit thy questions to be
repeated."

The Dominican, whose cruelty to others seemed to himself sanctioned by
his own insensibility to fear, and contempt for bodily pain, smiled with
bitter scorn at the apparent vacillation and weakness of the prisoner:
but, as he delighted not in torture merely for torture's sake, he
motioned to the guards to release the Israelite; and replied in a voice
unnaturally mild and kindly, considering the circumstances of the scene,

"Prisoner, could we save thee from pain, even by the anguish of our own
flesh and sinews, Heaven is our judge that we would willingly undergo
the torture which, with grief and sorrow, we ordained to thee.
Pause--take breath--collect thyself. Three minutes shalt thou have
to consider what course to adopt ere we repeat the question. But then
beware how thou triflest with our indulgence."

"It suffices--I thank thee," said the Hebrew, with a touch of gratitude
in his voice. As he spoke he bent his face within his bosom, which he
covered, as in profound meditation, with the folds of his long robe.
Scarcely half the brief time allowed him had expired, when he again
lifted his countenance and, as he did so, flung back his garment.
The Dominican uttered a loud cry; the guards started back in awe. A
wonderful change had come over the intended victim; he seemed to stand
amongst them literally--wrapt in fire; flames burst from his lip, and
played with his long locks, as, catching the glowing hue, they curled
over his shoulders like