Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1841-01-29

If pure honey, rose cakes Of Damascus, and
bananas of Rosetta, Egyptian syrup, and {
,rystal vases in which, the rich wine Of Heloon
,parkled will, tempting brilliancy. Ii
"Faircst of the daughter of men, may
crave thy name and that of thy fathers
house I" said the rabbi, addressing his UNI
known companion.
"My name is Zorah," replied the damscl;
''my father is of the children of lshmcal, an
abidcr in the desert the fame of the sage
Abimclccl, has reached TO the further borders
Of the wilderness; and behold, the heart of
thine l,andmaiden was moved to see the man
of whose wisdom all nations spoke"
"Lovely Zoral,, my wisdom has become
as withcred grass before thy beauty, and the
strength of my heart asdcw before the consul
ming light of thine eyes. Suffer, me, therefore,
to be unto thee even as Boaz was unto
Ruth, and to love thee with the love where
with Jacob loved Rachel"
Zorah smiled at the earnestness with which,
these words were uttered, and filling the cup,
presented it to rabbi, who instinctivcy shrunk
from the dangerous libation; but Zorah would
not be denied.
"Urge me not, fair damscl," said he 81
have vow against the juice Of tho vine
until next new MOON"
Zoral's countenancc fell, and the big tear
hung trembling on the dalk, sulen lash.
Abmelcch, torn with conflicting passions,
dashed his arm around her waist, and drew
her INCREASINGLY to his bosom he felt the
quick pulses Of her heart throb against his
her warm signs were upon his cheek, and the
perfumed wine cup at his lips human
strength could resist no longer he seized the
cup with desperate hands, and, at single
draught, qualified it to the bottom. His
uow ,cas broken and, having nothing to
hope or to fear, draght followed draught in
quick succession, till his flushed cheek and
sparkling eyes bore evidence that he was no
longer under the dominion of sober reason.
Zorah, my beautiful Zorah," cried he
tiny love for thee i, as the love which floods
cannot qucnch, nor many waters drown
thou art the light Of my eyes-I cannot part
from thec-let US, therefore, flee unto your
fathers tents, even unto the Wilderness, as
unto city ofretuge."
"Ah my lord, but thy servant hath neith-
or gold or silver to bear the charge-could
we live like the raven or the stork of the
dcscrt?"
This objection had not struck Abimclech
before he was rich himself, but he could
not Immediately convert his possession into
money. And his passion was too violent to
admit delay. lie seemed perplexed, and
spoke not, till Zorah inquired, in careless
manner, if his next door neighbor was not
the rich publican, Aron Ben Rabiat.
at is even So" replied the rabbi, still
musing.
"And he hath, am told, Golfers filled with
slckcls of pure silver"
at is said So"
"And shekcls of gold, and pots of double
Eaccabees, and of precious stones, pearls,
and sardonyx, and caibunclcs, more costly
than the Jewels in the high priests breast
plato"
ala !" exclaimed Abimclech, as if sud-
den rap of light had darted upon his mind ;
"spcak on"
"Aron Ben Rabiat is well stricken in years
and livcth alone-richcs to him arc as dust Of
the earth--thcre is private way from thy
house to Ills"
Stop, STOP" cried the agitated man, gras.
ping the arm Of the tcmpter, convulsvely
"what wouldst thou Shall peril my SOU
in this thing7 Zorah, Zorah thy words
are pleasant to my ears as the murm,lr oil
falling waters in the desert, but the bitter.
ness of death is in their Observation-Disclosures, If
this also will obey thee"
"Abont it then instantly" said Zorah, ri.
sing 'thou knowest the private passage,
into the old miser's chamber !; take this dag.
ger thou nayest need it; and when thol
sI,n al. 4.
hthcr, and all things shall be ready for oul
flight"
Abimclech, whose scruples had, by thi.
time completely vanished, was no less eager
than his impetuous mistress to accomplish
the decd-he dartcd with incredible speed
through the now silent streets, and quickly
reached his own dwelling. Lighting small
lamp, he entered, private passage, which
in time of danger, had been comrived be-
tween the two houses, and in few moments
he found himself in the strong chamber OF
Aaron Ben Rabiat.
Around him lay Golfers of gold and silver
coin, and caskets charged with precious
stones, that tremoled with varied but inces-
SAINT lustre in the sickly beams of the lamp
which he bore. lie had raised one jewe
box to his eyes TO examine it more closely
when, slipping from his fingers, it fell on the
floor witha loud crash and the next momen,
: the alarmed miser rushed into the apartment
Seeing a stranger, at such an hour, in the
sanctuary of the god of his idolatry, he utter
cd a piercing scream, and throwing himself
upon the robber, grapplcd him with an al
most supernatural strength. Vainly die
Abimeech endeavor to escape from the ole
mans grasp, or to still his scrcams-evcry
moment increased his danger-he heard the
steps of persons ascending the stairs-not al
instant was to be lost--thc dagger which
Zorah had given him was in his girdle-he
drew it,and plunged it to the heart of the ole
man. A piercing Shrek rang through tho
chamber, and the unfortunate Aaron Bel
Rabiat fell lifeless on the floor. Instead o
providing for his safety, the guilty rabb
stood petrlfcd over the quivering body of hi
: victim, watching the liic-stream swelling
from his side in bubbling tide. When TIN
persons attracted by the publican's screams