Part 71 (2/2)

”Oh, please! Don't you go in for those cheap sarcasms.”

”Forgive me,” she said. ”Remember my conceptions of orthodoxy are drawn mainly from the Ghetto, where cleanliness, so far from being next to G.o.dliness, is nowhere in the vicinity. But what can I do for you?”

”I don't know. At present the staff, the _Flag_-staff as Sidney calls it, consists of myself and a sub-editor, who take it in turn to translate the only regular outside contributor's articles into English.”

”Who's that?”

”Melchitsedek Pinchas, the poet I told you of.”

”I suppose he writes in Hebrew.”

”No, if he did the translation would be plain sailing enough. The trouble is that he will write in English. I must admit, though, he improves daily. Our correspondents, too, have the same weakness for the vernacular, and I grieve to add that when they do introduce a Hebrew word, they do not invariably spell it correctly.”

She smiled; her smile was never so fascinating as by firelight.

Raphael rose and paced the room nervously, flinging out his arms in uncouth fas.h.i.+on to emphasize his speech.

”I was thinking you might introduce a secular department of some sort which would brighten up the paper. My articles are so plaguy dull.”

”Not so dull, for religious articles,” she a.s.sured him.

”Could you treat Jewish matters from a social standpoint--gossipy sort of thing.”

She shook her head. ”I'm afraid to trust myself to write on Jewish subjects. I should be sure to tread on somebody's corns.”

”Oh, I have it!” he cried, bringing his arms in contact with a small Venetian vase which Esther, with great presence of mind, just managed to catch ere it reached the ground.

”No, I have it,” she said, laughing. ”Do sit down, else n.o.body can answer for the consequences.”

She half pushed him into his chair, where he fell to warming his hands contemplatively.

”Well?” she said after a pause. ”I thought you had an idea.”

”Yes, yes,” he said, rousing himself. ”The subject we were just discussing--Art.”

”But there is nothing Jewish about art.”

”All n.o.ble work has its religious aspects. Then there are Jewish artists.”

”Oh yes! your contemporaries do notice their exhibits, and there seem to be more of them than the world ever hears of. But if I went to a gathering for you how should I know which were Jews?”

”By their names, of course.”

”By no means of course. Some artistic Jews have forgotten their own names.”

”That's a dig at Sidney.”

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