The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1831-1858, 1832-09-19

"u mat hld vent Nour rhenm upon my beard,
ana loot me, as ven spnrn a stranger cur
over your threshold; 1oneys is YOUR ,ui.
Ne.chant Of Venice
DIing the tv~annuuS and turbulent reign
of John. the heartless. brother of the Lon
hearted and romantic Richard, the Israel
ties vino then sojourned henealh his I'M
graietnl-sway found merry England bu, a
melancholy refuge. for thor CHRISTIAN broth
rem zealonsly sought every opportunity of
proving thor superiority hy Insulting and
prescribing where or Whenever they en-
countered them.
The hPrcsy of their persuasion placed
them without the pale of the law and the
pnr" catholic antipathv of their oppipssors
destroyed. IN lis flaming wrath, all the ten
der Gee lings of humanity. II is true, their
uSnrlouS practices and unfair DEALINGS. in
many instances. justly brought npon them
the contempt and Hnmadvcrsion of the free
and generous heart. But en- tie other hand
they had much TO advance in exclamation
of their cxtortionS. They were rompeued
by fear and necessity. to exhibit cautions
and external appearance of poverty IF bv
the splendid promises Of the proffuate and
necessItous, they we're induced to unlock
their hidden treasures, and lerd their gold,
their peril was great, for they knew that
Justice was not only blind, bot deaf TO ther
prayers, when they pursued ii refractory
debtor, and offered them nothing but hal
ter.
The willy borrower knew. and not unfre-
Gncnlly took advantage of this paHlaltv.
Unior such circumstances they could not
surely he blamed for demanding a premium
Il,
IN the present charitable and enlightened
age, even among many worthy and money
getting christians. At this early period
they all con~rpgated in an OBSCURE district
of the city, where thov were kindly per-
mltted To dwell that they might he readily
found when wanted for. even king JOHN
himself, in time Of pressing necessity, did
not scruple to drag II Hebrew Of reputed
WCrlth from among his brethren to extort n
considerable sum of money. The Jew IN
VAN pleaded his inability to meet hrs mon
arrh's demand, and one tooth was com
mandod 10 he extracted daily until he should
consent to realize the amount required. Al
last. after losing several of his teeth. his
teeth of wisdom" as lord Of the presence
wtilly observed, prompted him to dis
gorge a portion of the filthy lncre where
with his usurous appetite had been pam
percd."
1t was early inihe forenoon OLA summers
dGy, that two oalan,s, walking arm in arm,
turned suddenly and cautiously into the
street well known as the dwelling place Of
the Jewish traders and money lenders
Iloy appeared TO he very apprehensive
OF beng observed IN such a suspicious and
unluehoualc part of the town-and no
sooner bad they lounged INTO the place than
they hurried hastily forward. They were
both youthful, and extremely modiSh in their
ature-and many u great Israrhte. as they
passed his poorly furnished stall or shop
"lnked knowingly TO his ncighbor. who as
silently answered his sign, by iccosply
touching the empty palm of his lpG hand
with the second finger of his RIGHT thereby
indicating that some pecuninrv cxIncnrv
had prompted tie Young oaiants visit to
their miserable quarters A few minutes
brought them 10 the hthtaton they sought.
and the suspcions of the cunning lslaellles
were soon verified hy their speech
Is this The den - demanded one of the
sparks, half retrcating the very odor of
the rulnous fabric repclling as it were the
refined essence Of his gentlty. 81 faith,
is IT, replied his companion, enjoying the
expression of the others disgust, but
Pap1arcncc est ttompeuse." BY NV faith
thouI ind this worthless casket contalnprh
rare jewels u, in, pr'y thee. there's no
time for handylng words now. Egad need
may drive MS into a worse and more secure
place than this, Basil. ere we die !" and tan
ping with his gold headed BATON at an inner
9poI Srtut Rrt,l,,at e..
he IN his cave Of despair"
Agreeah]y 10 the mpaticnce of the gal
lants, the door was quickly opened, and the
" old sinner" in the form Of handsome,
middle aged Jew, made his appearance.
Ills olive complexion was Swallowed hv
large black hrows and a well trimmed heard.
A black silk sralp covered the crown of his
head, while his lctty hair hung on either
side of his face in long crotchets or curIs.
Save We, gentles," sand he, saurng
them respectfully, and having ushercd them
into a small, dark, and i'll furnished room.
demanded their pleasure,
Is not thy name Amalech 20 asked the
gallant who had acted the part of guide
to his friend.
The same"
"Thcn our errand is quickly told Thou
mayeSt readily promise that nothing short of
dire necessity could have forced MS to enter
this lnerna! abode OF darkness and desoatron
where thon art huTrowed like b!nd mole.
Money, money none, Amalech, we seek,
and thou must provide for our wants. too, If
thou robust thy brethren to make up the
sum"
What mayest thou WANT" inquired the
jew; slight unge suiinslng his DARK coun-
ton"3rc at the ru&e manner in which his
surror WIS demanded.
Neither moro nor less than bundled
marks F" replied Basil. ~ think, Montn-
que" addressing hIs companion, " tia, will
meet my present rXlgpncles."
" hundred marks" repeated AmnIprh,
Theoretically, "'tls round sum: but sup
pose | should be aIlo to prorure It. what
securities canet thou offer for the reimburse
mcnt and interest -
lhe questions were as n matter of course
eXpected-and promptly answered by Basil.
who, aitcr the discussion Of few prclImI.
narcs, executed bond couchcd IN terms
and with considerations highly pleasurabe
tn Amalech, and tending greatly to swpetpn
the bll er Sncets and revIlngs of Montn.
que, and both parties separated with mutual
satisfaction.
A few months afterwards. Basil, with n
gay and happy air, encountered his friend
Montague Iounglng II St. Paul's.
To his eager inquiries he replied, that the
temporary cmhaIrassmcnls uulcr which he
had IaNorcd, had been happily removed hy
the scasonable lonn from Amalech that he
had moreover fallen in love with far and
wealthy heDress had won her affections, and
the reluctant consent of her father, to whom