The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-06-16

alike of the church and the synagogue"
her sublime courage with which she de-
fies him and faces death itself rather
than yield TO dishonor-these, together
with nearly all the minor traits attribut-
ed to her, were but transcriptions from
the character and nature of Rebecca
Gratz, as she was described to the great
romancer by Irving, and as she was
known to her many friends and admir-
ers in America.
Whether Mr.. Irving possessed por-
trait of Miss Gratz or not is not positive
ly known. I am inclined to think it
more than probable that he did: and il
so that he must have shown it to the au-
thor of Ivanhoe, for the description of
her personal appearance by the latter is
SO accurate reproduction of the por-
trait Of the lady yet extant, and cores
ponds 80 nearly with the recollection of
Of her brilliant beauty by those who saw
her even In her old age, that it can scarce
ly be accounted for on any other SUPPOSE
ton. The striking features of her love-
illness were her wonderful eyes, her beau
tiful hair, and the exquisite grace of her
form and carriage; and these are graph
ically pictured by Scott. The oriental
garb aside in which he has clothed her,
his description Of Rebecca, the Jewess,
may be accepted as truthful portrait of
Rebecca Grafz. "Her form was exquis-
itely symmetrical, and was shown to ad-
vantage by sort of Eastern dress, which
was worn according to the fashion of the
females of her nation. The turban of
yellow silk suited we'll with the darkness
of her complexion. The brilliancy of
her eyes, the superb arch of her eyebrows,
her well-formed aquiline nose. her teeth
as white as pearl, and the profusion of
her sable tresses, which, each arranged
in fits own little spiral Of twisted curls,
fell down upon as much of lovely neck
and bosom as a simarre OF the richest
Persian silk, exhibiting flowers in their
natural colors embossed upon a purple
ground permitted to be visible-all these
constituted combination Of loneliness
which yielded not to the most beautiful
of the maidens who surrounded her,"
When Ivanhoe was finished, the author
at once sent copy of the book to Mr..
Irving, with the inquiry, "How do you
like your Rebecca? Does the Rsbecca
have pictured compare well with the
pattern givenY And there can be no
doubt that Irving was pleased with
it, and probably Miss Gratz, too, for she
of course knew from her friend that she
had unwittingly served as a model after
which the great Scotch artist nodded
his most finished and famous production.
At the same time, however, she is said
never to have willingly referred to it,
but with her characteristic native mod
esty avoided the subject.
II the Hebrews OF America are proud
Of Rebecca Gratz for the honor she
brought upon them by her high social
standing, her worldwide charity and
beneicence, and withal her strict loyalty
to her religion, and for these causes
have enrolled her name at the very head
OF the notable women of their faith in
this country, may not American Gentiles
join with them in hallowing her memory
and doing honor to her name, for having
been the means Of giving to the world
one of the purest and fairest female char
acters to be found in ell the realm of lit
erature? In all the treasure house of
English fiction the brightest gem is the
one that was found on American soil,
Rebecca, the Jewess of Pennsylvania.