"No, it is too late. Faith is the beverage of youthful souls. When unbelief is developed, the ground is dried up and a new graft cannot shoot forth. But G.o.d is full of mercy and pity. He will not punish us when we are not in fault. He will make allowances for our education."

They were silent, but had no desire to return to the _salon_, where Muse, at the piano, was playing one of Liszt's most brilliant compositions.

"Come, Jacob," said Mathilde, "you must do your duty. Go and compliment Muse. I will not be jealous. She is on the wrong path; you can convert and save her."

"It is too late; that which you falsely said about yourself applies to her. Her intelligence and her heart have matured, and her character is already formed."

They entered the _salon_. Mathilde's first glance showed her husband leaning on the back of Muse's chair, and his tender glances told that he was very much impressed. She did not feel the slightest chagrin. She was completely indifferent to Henri, and she rejoiced to think that he amused himself elsewhere, provided he spared her all importunate tenderness.

Madame Wtorkowska was very nervous; she feared that the entertainment would not lead to the desired results. Jacob seemed absolutely indifferent to her daughter's charms; as for the other young men, they all admired her, but at a distance; and the marked attentions of Henri Segel displeased her because they came from a married man. With music, singing, cards, tea, and supper, the _soiree_ was prolonged to a late hour. The elder guests took leave under pretext of engagements in the morning. Mathilde went home, as she had a headache, and left the field free to her husband. Jacob had accompanied her to her door, and had received his orders to return. This thinning out of the rooms favoured the charmer's plans.

The young man carelessly turned the leaves of an alb.u.m; his conduct during the evening had strictly conformed to the rules of politeness.

Yet this cold observation of the proprieties exasperated Madame Wtorkowska, who resolved to undertake his subjugation herself. She drew near him, and, as Jacob rose to give her his seat she said, taking his arm:--

"Monsieur, let us walk a little, and tell me about yourself. Now that you have returned to us, what do you intend to do?"

Surprised by these attentions, he replied:--

"I intend to study and lead a life of leisure."

"We have heard so much in your praise," said she, "that we were very desirous of knowing you."

"I am infinitely obliged, madame."

"Especially, Emusia. She admires such men."

She could not find an adjective to designate exactly what kind of men, and added after a moment of hesitation:--

"I mean superior men. For, you see, my Emusia is a young girl of talent. What intelligence, what gifts! She devours an incredible quant.i.ty of books. Her memory is prodigious. Her wit is of the finest quality. In short, if she were not my daughter I would say that she is a marvel."

"That is what I hear from every one," said Jacob politely.

"My situation," continued she, "is an anxious one, for I have a mother's heart. To whom will my cherished one give herself? Will he appreciate her? Alas, the young men of to-day are so frivolous!"

"Mademoiselle Emusia has but to choose."

"How little you know the young men, monsieur!"

For want of breath the mother stopped. She had commenced the battle with so much impetuosity that she was already worn out. She could think of nothing more to say. She was driven to her last intrenchments, and, on his side, Jacob had exhausted all his praises. Notwithstanding, after a moment of reflection she took breath and continued:--

"You, who are so great a connoisseur, what do you think of Emusia's playing?"

"It is truly marvellous, madame."

"Liszt, the master, was stupefied with astonishment when my daughter played for him his overture to _Guillaume Otello_. He watched her execute this, that, all the most difficult parts, and was wild with enthusiasm. It was at Spa. There was such clapping of hands, bravos that almost shook the house, an avalanche of bouquets! What an ovation, _mon Dieu!_"

"It was merited, no doubt."

"Oh, yes," said the mother. "An Erard piano fairly spoke under her fingers. She has such strength and incredible power."

She was thus extolling her daughter when the young lady herself came to join in the conversation. Her eyes shone wrathfully. The more invulnerable Jacob showed himself, the more she was determined to bring him to her feet. Henri had given her the key to the character of this man, whom he called a religious fanatic. She resolved to read and study the Bible, and even the Talmud, if necessary. Already she commenced to play her new role.

"I detest these noisy pleasures," said she. "Reading, meditation, quiet, they are the things that I love. And you?"

"I also love study and tranquillity," said Jacob.

"You men," said Muse, "have everything in your favour. You can, at your pleasure, devote yourselves to intellectual occupations; you are not slaves to the obligations of society, as we poor women are. You cannot imagine what a humiliation it is for a young girl to be taken continually here and there, and shown like merchandise."

"Mademoiselle, although what you say is partly true, I a.s.sure you that the mothers and daughters exaggerate these pretended obligations. Our poet, Krasicki, has said somewhere, 'Nothing ever comes of a dialogue prepared with too much care.'"

"That is very true, monsieur. Also most matches that end happily are made without thought, and as it were by a miracle."

"Yes, I am convinced of that."

"And it is probably by a miracle also," added the elder woman, "that marriages are maintained."

"Have you been in the Orient?" asked Emusia, to change the conversation.

"Yes, mademoiselle, and I bring back a sad impression. The land of poetry is to-day the land of misery. The cradle of civilization has become the tomb."

"But there are still traces there of biblical times, are there not?"

asked Muse.

"Certainly. The costumes, the habits, the landscape, all remind one of the Bible. As in old days, Rachel still leads her flocks to water, and the white-bearded patriarchs still welcome you to their tents."

"All that must be very interesting."

"Not for the children of a civilization, enervated and weakened. We can no longer live this poetical life. It is rigid, painful, grave, primitive, and laborious. It impresses us, notwithstanding its poetry, with a strange emotion toward the fountains which now are dried up."

"And the old biblical traditions?"

"They clash on all sides. With us the old traditions are preserved, like withered plants in an herbarium; while there they still live, mixed with the daily existence. With what emotion one contemplates stones taken from the aqueducts of Solomon, the ruins of the temple, the places sanctified by the patriarchs! Christians and Jews both find there the cradle of their faith. In Europe we are only colonists."

Emusia had taken a reclining att.i.tude near Jacob, and listened with great attention. The mother profited by the occasion, and left them alone. Thus these two, in the midst of a crowd, found themselves alone.

Simple politeness forbade Jacob's retreat. Muse attempted to magnetize him by her glances, by her gestures, by the sight of her gleaming shoulders, by her beauty, while she idly played with her bracelet, her rings, and her embroidered handkerchief, useless for any other purpose.

The young man scarcely perceived these affected and enticing airs.

"I know not," said she with hesitation, "if it be owing to the blood that flows in my veins, but this Orient has for me a certain attraction. It is thither that my desires tend. It has been torn from us, and we have been forced to forget it. It is a source of sadness for me that I know a ma.s.s of useless things, and that I am ignorant of that which most interests me."

"What, for example?" asked Jacob, interested in spite of himself.

"I will tell you," replied she, in a low voice with a feigned alarm, "provided mamma does not hear me. I am curious about all that concerns us that is Jewish. A Christian nominally, I am of Jewish blood, and Jesus has declared that he did not come to destroy the ancient law.

Mamma, like many of our race, avoids and forbids all allusion to the past."

"If you really wish it, mademoiselle, you can easily become familiar with our traditions; you have only to consult several books."