Litchfield enquirer., 1873-07-10
From The Springfield Republican. n TABERNACLE'S DAUGHTER

Old Levy Samuel Davis of Clothiers alley. St Bartholemew's, Smithfeld, Lit tie Britain, was as 'tdowny cove"-to use slang that seems now almost obsolete. but was fashionable when Dickens wrote 1 'Ohyer Twist" you could find in three kingdoms. He rose early and he went to bed late; and he lived in the times when money was to be made.
 i He did not confne himself to the sale of garments, old or new, although the nimble penny had an attraction for him but now and then Levy s. Davis-old "e s. d., as they called him-ventured into buying rare and curious old silver crucifxes and alter-plate he was especial ly fond of; and, accompanied by sweat ing and puHing Anglo Saxon servant, car rylng, Heaven knows how many, ounces of old plate in canvas bag, Levy would venture far into the land of the Philis- tines and sell his wares to the West end silversmiths
 "God bless me--what fine work p cried MT. Borax, the eminent jeweler. s'Where did you get it from Mir. Samuels?"
 s'That'z mi buziness, sir; but I know you'll buy it. God bless me you know q fine piece O work when you sees 1t, sir. l always sez, sez I, If there is a man who has fine nose for piece of good work, Muster Borax is the man And, sir. Da- wis ish mi name"
 The end of 1t was that old 'e S. d." sold that for 25s. an ounce that he had only given 5s. for; while the crucifix, upon which Mir. Davis gloated with peculiar pleasure, passed from Mr. Davis to Mr. Borax to some great nobleman's house; I AI I get these works of art? It was in the old time, and ships from beyond seas-espec- ially from Spain and the low countries- brought rate treasures, which would now fetch ten times the price they then fetch 1 ed.
 As MT. Davis grew old, he who had as- sisted at the spelling of many churches bethought himself that he would enrich his own; so he scraped more and more, and took larger interest, and saved even candles ends, till his neighbors wondered at his parsimony. Even his favorite son was mulcted of some part of his educa- tion; and Mir. Samuel Davis, junior, was taken from University college, London, and put into a lawyers office As this lawyer was under Mr. ,Davis's thumb-he had foolishly been joint security for de- faulting cient-young ''s. d." had his articles presented him gratis, upon pay ing for the stamps only; and old ''e s. d." chuckled with pride as he thought that his son would "a gentleman by act of Parliament.
 'S'help me Benjamin. interiected ''s 1 d." who in his hot youth had wicked wit, ''it's the on'y way we be-"
 ''O'd yer tongue-o'd yer tongue, cried the old man. We cae buy 'em up-buy 'em up"
 But this was little consolation to him. 1 His money increased marvelously. but 1 his trouble as we'll His priest came and read him the holy books and the peniten- tial psalms, and his heart was smitten
 Sammy" cried he one day
 WOt's the row?' asked the young limb of the Jaw, who was practicing engross- ing on some blue-ined draf- paper, and irritating his fathers soul by using it wastefully: ''Such bhoy!' said Davis, senior pee vishly. ''There ain't no row-on'y there will be. I'm going;to die
 1 ''Time enough for that, father" re- turned "s. d." junior, without looking round.
 ''S'help ma
 Bob, said the boy, piously:- ''1n leave 1t all to shtrongers, and build tabernacle, if you ain't good"
 ''No, you won't, llreturned s's. d." jun l ior
 l He was quite right. He did not But l he did build one end of meeting house, or synagogue, and he worried all his brethren till he made them subscribe to- ward it, for which he took all the credit; and heneeforward he was called "Old Tabernacle.
 This act of faith gave him lease of l life; but in due time he slept with his l fathers, leaving ''s. d" gay young fel- low, with taste for opera, flowers, Go ven garden, fish dinners and dry wines He was an admitted attorney, but did not practice much, and had, indeed, little l need for work. But he took house in 1 side street running out of Piccadil- ly, and on the door he placed the name MR. DAVIS TABERNACLE, SOLICITOR. He thought the name good one. He hated the name and tribe of Levy, and abom1nated Samuels, but Davis, he pre- sumed, was Welsh, and the surname, he asserted, he inherited from his father. He was old Tabernacle, and his son had been often in his lifetime called young Tabernacle.
 Mir. Davis Tabernacle, 1t is needless to say, prospered. He was not suspected of belonging to the ancient people of whom he was so unworthy as to be ashamed; and, although he had but one clerk, he was full of business. He moved in socie- ty of peculiar sort; plenty of lords and ladies, honorables and so on, did he know-after a manner; and he, as we have said, was accepted as Christian attorney. There are two or three sorts of Jews-the mealy Jew, the red or sanguine Jew, and the blue black Israelite, who always has & dark blue mark round his shayen chin, and the ladies of whose tribe have tend ency to wear mustaches. MT. Tabernacle was one of the mealy kind; had very red lips, white shin, haxen hair and silver eyebrows and eyelashes. In those days everybody did not wear mustaches which had he worn, young Tabernacle would undoubtedly dyed; and our solicitors early education at that great university, which was then profanely called ''Stink- o'-malee," prevented him from tripping into Anglo-J udaic archaisms in his speech. A Welshman he was, from the Welsh Tabernacles, to all people except his wife his daughter, and his own people l What thing is faith The son Of old s.s s. q. was ashamed of his people; but he yet married from among them, and Mrs. Tabernacle though by no means in- different to the charms of society, was de- voted to the religion of her people. So was her lamented father-in-law, as we have seen; who, though only five feet one inch in night, had, equally with giant, a soul-and one, as he felt, to be saved. Hence he spoiled the Egyptians, with in
 
 though he, too. spoiled the Egyptians, worked on the Jewish Sabbath and fre- quently went to church-to fashionable churches where he might meet with his clients at their devotions. It Is with grief that we explain that Mir. Tabernacle dld not go there for religious purposes. He even affected to sleep during the ser mon; but he was accompanied by his daughter Myra. 9 s-a
 Myra was a beauty, and, better than beauty, really good, good girl. Mir.