There is an old saying, that, "Give a dog a bad name, it is sure to
stick by him." On this account I suppose it is that Jews are always
considered rogues. I am very far from saying that they really are so
invariably, or even generally. On the contrary, I believe that there
are a great number of very honest, generous, kind-hearted, hard-working
people among them in all countries where they enjoy the privileges of
free men.
That, in those times and countries where they have been treated as worse
than slaves, despised, insulted, and robbed on every occasion, they
should have become, what they are often described as being, is not only
not surprising, but is according to the laws which govern mankind.
Tyranny and wrong, invariably make the people, who submit to them, grow
mean, treacherous, and false. Cut off from all honourable pursuits,
they have recourse to such as are within their power; and thus the Jews,
who were unable to hold even land in their possession, became the
money-makers; and, consequently, moneylenders of the world--and, as they
were frequently pillaged and deprived by extortion of their wealth, they
naturally endeavoured to regain, by every means left to them, that of
which they had been robbed.
Now, though there are many Jews whose upright conduct is sufficient to
retrieve the characters of their whole people, such cannot be said for
the old Maltese Jew, Aaron Bannech. He was a rogue ingrain. To lie,
cheat, and rob, where he could do so without risk of detection, was his
occupation and delight. Lying, cheating, and robbery, were in him a
second nature. He considered them not only lawful, but praiseworthy
employments. He could not help lying and cheating if he tried. By so
doing, he had heaped up hoards of wealth--he had raised himself from
abject penury, and how could he be expected to persuade his conscience,
or what stood him in place of one, that he had not been acting rightly.
True his gold was of no real use to him--he had no one to enjoy it with
him--he had no relative to whom he could leave it. Some might say that
it would serve to repurchase Judea for his people; but he cared no more
for Judea than he did for Home. He would not have parted with a
sixpence to rebuild Jerusalem, unless he could have got a very large
interest for his money--indeed he would probably have required very
sufficient security, before he would have consented to part with it.
His appearance was far from peculiar or striking as he sat in a dingy
underground den, which he appeared to have burrowed out for himself
beneath the groaning walls of one of the old mansions of Valetta. He
had sharp, ferrety eyes, a hooked nose, and a long, dirty, grey beard;
indeed, no difference could be discerned between him and his countrymen
employed in selling old clothes in London. He wore a brown cap on his
head, anila, long serge overcoat, the colour of which it was impossible
to determine; and a pair of slippers, which had once been yellow, but
were now stained with many a varied tinge. The chamber in which he sat
was fitted up with a desk, and a table covered with packages of papers
and account-books, two high stools, and three or four rickety chairs.
He was by himself, waiting in expectation of the arrival of the Greek.
The time appointed had already passed, and he was beginning to think
that some accident must have occurred to his acquaintance. Ten minutes
more elapsed--his suspicions increased.
"Can the myrmidons of the law have got hold of him?" he muttered. "That
rascal Giacomo--he may have informed, and will receive the reward which
ought to be mine. If I dared, I would secure the prize at once--but
then, I suspect, before long, the amount will be increased. Yes, it
must be. The fruit is not yet ripe for plucking."
He stopped, either to chuckle at his own wit, or to calculate the sum he
might expect for betraying the man who trusted him. His virtuous
meditations were interrupted by the entrance of the Greek. His manner
was as free and joyous as ever. He addressed the Jew in Italian, with a
remarkably pure accent.
"Ah! my dear correspondent--my noble friend--my prince of money-lenders,
how fares it with you? Still at the old trade of coining gold, eh?
Well, we must all live either by fraud or force; cunning or strength are
the weapons put by nature into our hands. To some she gives one; to
others the latter: nature is most impartial. To the lion she gives
claws and teeth; to the horse his hoofs and fleetness. To a woman,
beauty and softness; to a man, strength and courage. She intends all
these attributes to be employed. So, friend Bannech, you live by fraud,
and I by force. Is it not so?"
"I cannot dispute the correctness of your assertion: for, to say the
truth, you have spoken so rapidly, that my poor comprehension could not
follow you, noble signor," said the Jew, bending low, and placing a
chair for his visitor. "But may I inquire what thus unexpectedly brings
you to Malta?"
"Pleasure, Bannech--pleasure, and, perhaps, the hopes of a little
profit," said the Greek, laughing. "Now, though I may not just yet tell
you what brings me to Malta, I will tell you a little more of my history
than you are at present acquainted with. Know, then, most worthy Jew,
that I am, by name, Argiri Caramitzo, a patriot Greek chief, or prince,
call me, of Graditza. That I have been educated in Italy--that years
have passed since I set foot in my native land--and that I am now
hastening thither to join in the noble struggle to emancipate Greece
from the thraldom of the infidel Turk. I have travelled from that city
of learning and piety, Pisa, to Naples, thence to Syracuse; and from
that ancient city, I have crossed the sea hither. All this you must
remember, Bannech, should you be questioned."
"I will not forget it, most noble prince," said the Jew, bending his
head. "I like the story much. It has a probability about it which
cannot fail to make it be believed--an essential point too frequently
overlooked by bunglers in lying."
"I am glad you like it," observed the Greek, or prince--as we may now
call him. He took no notice of the last, not very flattering,
observation of the Jew. "But now, Bannech, I wish to know what vessels
are sailing hence for Greece, as I desire, you must remember, to secure
a passage by one of them."
The Jew looked at him for a moment, doubting whether he was in earnest.
"Oh, I understand," he said at length. "Why, there are several sailing
in the course of a few days, but the one which will best suit your
purpose quits the harbour to-morrow. She carries passengers--one of
whom an English colonel is said to be rich, so he will doubtless have a
store of gold on board. He has a daughter or niece with him, who is
reported handsome. If she was, by chance, to fall into the hands of
such gentry, as we wot of, she would gain them a large amount for her
ransom. The vessel I speak of is the _Zodiac_, John Bowse, master."
"I passed her as we entered the harbour," remarked the Greek. "I will
go on board this very evening. But I wish to know more about her
passengers. Could not they be induced to carry a large amount of gold
with them? It would be very convenient. Tell me, how can I become
acquainted with them?"
The Jew shook his head.
"I do not know how it can be managed. These English people, with their
proud manners, do not like making the acquaintance of foreigners of
whose history they are ignorant."
"Do not tell me that it cannot be done," exclaimed the Greek
impatiently. "I tell you, signor, that you must find means of doing it.
Surely a Greek prince would not be refused admittance into the best
society of an insignificant island dependency like this."
"There are a great many arrant rogues bearing that title," said the Jew,
his eyes twinkling as he spoke. "And among the English here the rank
alone does not bear much weight. You should have letters of
introduction, and how they are to be procured, I cannot say."
"How they are to be procured! Why, forge them to be sure, my friend,"
exclaimed the Greek. "Nothing is so easy. Come, come, you are well
accustomed to the work, I know."
"Oh, father Abraham, suppose I was to be discovered!" ejaculated the
Jew. "My credit would be gone, and I should be completely ruined and
undone."
"Oh, no fear of that, while your wits are as keen as at present," said
the Greek. "Come, has not the colonel some acquaintance or other in
Italy, who would be likely to introduce a distinguished foreigner, his
friend, visiting the island, or do you know of some other person to whom
a letter of introduction might be addressed?"
The Jew meditated for some time, and if with any other sensation than
that of grasping avarice, and all its accompanying hopes and fears, it
was with that of admiration for the Greek's daring and versatility of
talent. He was thinking of the value of which they might be to himself.
"I have it," he exclaimed. "There is a client of mine, a young
spendthrift, who has lived much in Italy, and many of whose acquaintance
I know. Stay, I have a letter by me from his friend the Count
Montebello of Florence. He shall be your introducer. Do you know him?"
"I know nothing of him," said the Greek, "make me a friend of his
friend. It will be safer and will be sufficient."
"Excellent, excellent," exclaimed the Jew, chuckling at the thoughts of
the fraud. "You should have been bred a lawyer instead of a sailor,
prince. Now, remember, this client of mine is acquainted with Colonel
Gauntlett, and is, indeed, a suitor of his niece's, for the sake of the
money he expects she will receive from her uncle. You will know how to
talk to him."
"Admirable! My plan must prosper. There is a ball, too, I understand
to-night, at which I suppose all the principal people in the place will
be present, and among them, the colonel, his niece, and my new friend.
I must be prepared for the occasion; so, friend Bannech, send for the
best tailor in the place forthwith; for it will never do to appear in
this barbarian costume."
The Greek having thus fully concocted his plan, overruled all the
objections thrown out by the Jew, and, as he was a man of action, he
insisted on a tailor being instantly sent for. In ten minutes
afterwards the well-known artist Paolo Muhajiar made his appearance,
and, though he was somewhat astounded at the shortness of the time
allowed him to rig the Greek stranger in a suit of mufti, a show of some
broad gold pieces overcame all difficulties, and he promised to set
every hand at his establishment on to the work.
Little did the honest Paolo dream, as with a profound bow, he gathered
up his measures and patterns, and took his departure, who was the
distinguished foreigner for whom he was about to labour. The Greek
desiring the Jew to detain the beggar Giacomo till his return, with a
triumphant look soon after set out to inspect the good brig the
_Zodiac_.
Argiri Caramitzo was a man who hated inactivity; he was never happy
except he was in motion, and never contented unless he had a prospect of
change before him. Born in England, he would have been a universal
philanthropist or a radical reformer, or an inventor of patent machines,
or, in late days, a railroad projector; he would have employed his time
in haranguing popular assemblies on the rights of man, and the freedom
of religion, and he would have been a loud advocate of the cause of the
Poles, and Greeks, and Hungarians; but, as he happened to have been born
in Greece, he cared not a jot for the Greeks, and employed his talents,
sharpened by use, in making a fortune in the way most clearly open to
him, and most suited to his taste.
He now hurried down to the quay, off which he saw Manuel at his post,
waiting for his return. He beckoned him to approach, and, taking his
seat, ordered him to pull alongside the English brig the _Zodiac_; he
soon stood on her deck, to the no small astonishment of Captain Bowse,
who had just before got on board. It may be supposed that they would
have had no little difficulty in understanding each other; but there is
a _lingua Franca_ used in the Mediterranean, which all mariners, who
traverse that sea, very quickly pick up; and, what with that and the aid
of signs, they made themselves tolerably intelligible to each other; at
all events the Greek learned all he wished to know; even before he had
spoken, his quick glance had made him acquainted with the armament of
the vessel, and her probable seaworthy qualities. His foot, too, as he
walked aft, happened to strike one of the carronades, the look of which
he considered suspicious, and he smiled as he found that it was of wood.
He soon made known his object in visiting the ship; he was looking out
for a passage to Greece by some vessel shortly to sail thither, and, as
the appearance of the _Zodiac_ pleased him, he should like to engage a
cabin on board her.
"Cannot, though, receive you on board, sir; sorry for it: but all my
accommodation is taken up by an English colonel and his family, and he
would not allow anybody else on board, even if it was the Pope himself,"
answered Captain Bowse.
"But I am not at all particular as to the sort of accommodation you can
find for me," urged the Greek. "I have been at sea before, and can
rough it as well as any of you mariners."
"No matter, Mr Prince; the colonel would not allow any stranger on
board, so, with all the will in the world to serve you, I cannot do it."
"But suppose the colonel should not object, would you then receive me?"
asked the stranger.
"That would alter the case, sir, and we would rig you up the best berth
we could manage," answered Captain Bowse.
"So far, so good," said the Greek. "About the passage-money we shall
not disagree; but tell me of what does your cargo consist? I have the
greatest horror of sleeping over gunpowder, or anything likely to
explode."
"Oh, we have no gunpowder except a few charges for our guns there; but
we have some cases of muskets consigned to a merchant at Cephalonia, and
which will, I suspect, soon find their way over to your friends on the
main; and we have besides an assortment of hard goods, and of silks and
clothes, and cottons, and such things, indeed, as would only be shipped
in a sound ship--high up in Lloyd's list, let me tell you, sir. There
isn't a finer craft out of London than the _Zodiac_, and none but a good
ship would have weathered the gale we fell in with t'other day, though,
as it was, we met with a little damage, which made us put in here to
repair."
"I have no doubt of the _Zodiac's_ good qualities, and I hope that I may
yet have the satisfaction of proving them," said the Greek, as he
stepped over the side. "Adieu, captain; a prosperous voyage whether I
sail with you or not."