THE SULTAN'S BEAR.[1]

The sultan being one day rather out of sorts, sent for his Jewish

physician, a man very eminent for skill in his profession, and not

less distinguished by his love of his own nation and his desperate

enmity to the Christians. Finding that his patient had not really much

the matter with him, and thinking a little gossip would not only be

more agreeable, but more likely to do him good, than any medicine

which could be prescribed, the doctor began to discourse on the very

familiar topic of his highness's favourite bear, which was lying at

his feet, and whose virtues and abilities he was never tired of

extolling.

'You would wonder,' said the sultan, 'not only at the natural sagacity

of the creature, and the tact which he shews in a thousand different

ways, but at the amount of knowledge he has collected, and the logical

correctness with which he uses it. He is really a very knowing beast.'

The Jew politely acquiesced in all this and much more; but at length

added: 'It is well that such a clever animal is in such good hands. If

his extraordinary talents are not developed to the utmost, they are at

least not perverted and made a bad use of.'

'I hope not, indeed,' said the sultan. 'But what do you mean by his

talents not being developed? or in what way would they be likely to be

perverted in bad hands?'

'Pardon me,' said the Jew; 'I have spoken rashly before your sublime

highness--such things should not be talked of; but it is natural that,

although I know very little about them, I should consider the practice

and the purpose bad, when they belong to what I consider a bad people:

at the same time, if your sublime highness thinks fit to tolerate

them, it is not for your faithful slave to say a word about it. I

should be sorry that your sublime highness should not extend to your

Christian subjects the same toleration and paternal kindness my own

people enjoy.'

'What in the world do you mean?' said the sultan. 'What have the

Christians to do with my bear?'

'Nothing at all,' replied the Jew with great earnestness; and he

added, with a sigh, 'that is the very thing I am thankful for. It is

such a remarkable creature, that there is no saying what might come of

it.'

'Come of what?' said the sultan.

'Why,' said the Jew, in a humble and very confidential tone, 'your

sublime highness is of course aware, that among the many curious

secrets the Christians possess, they have one which enables them to

teach bears to read.'

'You don't say so?' exclaimed the sultan. 'How do they contrive it?'

'Ah,' replied the Jew with an internal shudder, 'that is more than I

can tell your sublime highness. I don't suppose that half-a-dozen of

your subjects, except themselves, are aware of the fact; and few even

among the Christians know the secret. I only obtained the little

knowledge I have by accidental circumstances, which put me upon the

inquiry; and I was a long while before I could feel perfectly certain

that they actually did the thing. _How_ they did it, and _why_, I have

never been able to learn. It is one of their greatest secrets, one of

their deepest, and therefore, I suspect, one of their most pernicious

mysteries. I do not suppose that any man among them would confess it

to save his life--not even the old patriarch, if he were put to the

rack.'

'It is very strange,' said the sultan, after a pause.

'It is wonderful,' said the physician with much emphasis.

'What is the harm of it?' exclaimed the sultan abruptly after a pause.

'Why should not bears read as well as men, if they are capable of

learning?'

'Most true and most wisely said,' replied the Jew. 'If they were

taught to read good books, it would probably mend their manners. But

if that were all, why should there be so much mystery about it? why

should these people do it so secretly, and deny it so stoutly?' and

again he shook his head, and shuddered. But being fully persuaded that

he had gained his point, he thought it safest to change the subject;

and accordingly he did so as soon as he had emphatically and earnestly

entreated the sultan not to say a word of the secret he had been led

to impart, or, at all events, not to let it be known that _he_ had

given any information on the subject.

When the doctor was gone, the sultan fell into a reverie on the

advantages and disadvantages of his bear learning to read. When he

went to bed, the same train of thought kept him awake; and after a

sleepless night, he sent early in the morning for the patriarch. The

venerable Mar Yusef lost no time in obeying the summons. Taking his

patriarchal staff in his hand, and followed by his two deacons with

their heads bare, and their hands crossed on their bosoms, he silently

bent his way towards the palace, pondering in his mind on all the

various things he could think of as possible causes for his being

wanted by the sultan. The sultan dismissed all his attendants; and as

soon as he and the patriarch were alone, he beckoned him to approach,

and when the aged ecclesiastic had come quite close, and again bowed,

not only out of respect, but instinctively, as one does who expects a

whisper, the sultan said in a low, earnest tone: 'You know my bear?'

'I do, please your sublime highness,' replied Mar Yusef; 'and a very

fine bear he is.'

'I know that,' answered the sultan; 'but the matter is this,' and he

lowered his voice, and increased the earnestness of his tone: 'You

must teach him to read.'

'To read!' exclaimed the patriarch, thunderstruck. 'To read! the thing

is impossible.'

'Of course, I knew you would say that,' said the sultan; 'you must do

it, however, or it will be the worse for you and for all your people.'

'Most willingly would I do that, or anything lawful, to shew my

respect for your sublime highness,' said the astonished patriarch;

'but, as I have already had the honour to observe, the thing is

impossible.'

'Don't tell me,' said the sultan. 'I know more about the matter than

you imagine. There is no use in trying to conceal it. I know upon

undoubted authority, that you have taught bears, and many of them, I

daresay, of less capacity than mine. I shall send him to you this

evening, and if you do not bring him back in six weeks able to read,

it will be as I have already told you--at your peril, and to the ruin

of all that belong to you. So, now, do not waste time, for I am quite

in earnest about it; but go and make preparations to receive him, for

he has been used to courteous treatment.'

This speech was accompanied by a wave of the hand, which precluded all

reply, and the troubled patriarch silently and slowly withdrew.

'My children,' said the patriarch on his way home, addressing the two

young men who were supporting him, 'the sultan has resolved to destroy

us, and all the Christians in his dominions. He is seeking occasion

against us. He does not make open war upon us; but he secretly

commands us to do what is impossible, in order that he may have a

pretext for our destruction. He requires that in six weeks we should

teach his bear to read!'

'The old brute!' exclaimed the deacon Timothy.

'My father,' said the other deacon, Titus, 'suffer me to speak.'

'Speak, my son,' replied the aged man, in a voice scarcely articulate,

while he gently withdrew his hand, and laid it on the deacon's head;

'what wouldst thou say?'

'Under favour, most dear and reverend father,' replied Titus, 'I would

say that, whatever the sultan's design may be, you should not be

discouraged; and that if you will only do one thing, which I earnestly

entreat you to do, I will cheerfully undertake all the rest, and I

doubt not that we may get clear through this difficulty.'

'What would you have me do, my son?' said the patriarch.

'Just this,' replied the deacon, 'if I may be permitted to advise: go

back to the sultan as quickly as possible, and say that, on

consideration, you are sorry that you hesitated--that you will be

happy to receive his bear--that you will do your best, and hope to

give him satisfaction in the matter.'

'What! my son,' said the patriarch, 'would you have me go to the

sultan, and undertake to teach his bear _to read_? You do not know how

difficult it is even to teach young children.' But the deacon pleaded

so earnestly, that his superior at length consented; and returning to

the palace, the patriarch signified to the sultan, that he had thought

better of the subject, and was willing to do anything in his power to

give his sublime highness satisfaction.

'No doubt you can, if you will,' said the sultan hastily, but not in

ill-humour; 'and I expect you to do it--you might as well have agreed

to it at once.'

When the patriarch was at home, seated in his armchair, with his

deacons standing on each side, and a little recovered from the fatigue

of the walk, he turned to Titus, and said: 'Well, my son, and what am

I to do now?'

'Nothing, my father,' replied the deacon cheerfully. 'You have done

all I asked you to do, and what remains I will readily undertake.'

So he made his bow, and set off to make his arrangements. He chose a

little square room up one pair of stairs in the north turret, and

parted off about a third of it with strong horizontal bars, six inches

apart. The two lowest bars were movable, and the spaces between them

left open, to admit air and light, as well as to allow the inmate to

go in and be brought out at the pleasure of his keepers; but all above

them were boarded over, except that one which was of such a height as

would be about even with the bear's head when he should stand on his

hind legs. This space was left open along the whole length of the den,

so that, in any part of it, he could very conveniently put forth his

nose far enough to look about him.

'And now,' said Titus to his comrade Timothy, when he had completed

these preparations, 'I must go to seek for a book and a desk; and if

they bring the bear before I come back, will you be so good as to see

him put in, and also to mind that the other end of the chain, which I

have padlocked to the staple in the wall, is fastened to his collar,

and is long enough to allow of his lying down comfortably in the

straw, and taking a little turn backwards and forwards, if he likes?

and don't let them give him anything to eat, and take care not to be

out of the way--that is a good fellow.'

'You may depend upon me,' said Timothy; and Titus went off to the

church, to see about a lectionary, for the bear to study, though, to

say the truth, not entirely, or even principally, with that intention;

for he did not mean that his pupil should commence that day, or the

next; and he was in no doubt which to choose among many old

lectionaries that had been laid aside. There was an immense one, with

great brass knobs and corners, out of which he had himself learned to

chant long before he could lift it, and indeed, now that he was come

to man's estate, it was as much as he could carry. This book he meant

to use; but for the present he contented himself with observing from

the window the bear coming to school in procession; and when he was

satisfied that his pupil was in safe custody, he descended from the

church-tower, and went to see after him. When he came to the door of

the apartment, he waited a moment to listen to what seemed an

interchange of anything but civilities between Timothy and his charge.

Titus called out his colleague; and, without going in himself, locked

the door, and put the key in his pocket.

'Won't you go in and look at him?' said Timothy, as they went down the

staircase together.

'Time enough,' said Titus; 'he will be better by himself just at

present. Had you much trouble in getting him in? How did he behave?'

'Rather restive,' replied Timothy; 'but we managed it among us. Should

not he have something to eat?'

'No,' said Titus; 'he has got plenty of water; he will do very well.

But now come and help me down with the old lectionary from the upper

vestry, for I don't think I can get it down that staircase myself.'

Between them the lectionary was safely brought down, and deposited,

not in the apartment, which we may now call the school-room, but in

the chamber of Titus, on a massy oak desk or lectern, which turned

upon its pedestal, and which they brought out from the patriarch's

library for the purpose.

It was well that the school-room was rather remote, and had thick

walls; for, missing his supper, the bear naturally became not only

hungry, but savage, growled in the most ferocious manner, and rampaged

about his cage like a fury. But he got nothing by it; and when he had

drunk up the water, and exhausted his powers of growling and raging,

he went to sleep. In the morning, Titus brought him merely some fresh

water and a cake of barley-bread; but in the afternoon, thinking it

was now time for his pupil--who was tolerably tame after his unwonted

exercise and fasting--to begin his studies, he brought with him the

great book he had prepared for his use, and placed it open on the

desk, which now stood before the horizontal opening between the bars

already described. All the morning had been employed in preparing the

desk and the book; and the former was now so contrived that, by means

of a screw, the latter could be raised or lowered at pleasure. The

book was no sooner placed before the opening, at the distance of a few

inches, than the bear, which was on the look-out to see what was going

forward, began to snuff and poke, and shewed a most eager desire to

reach it. In fact, all along the lines of large letters, which were

widely divided by the musical staves, the tutor, well knowing the

taste of his pupil, had stuck little figs, dates, raisins, almonds,

morsels of cake, comfits, and dried fruits; in short, all such little

sweet things as bears so particularly delight in. The book was placed

at such a height and distance, that the pupil could only reach the top

line; and the eager manner in which he cleared it, gave promise that

he would prove an apt scholar in that branch of learning. One page

only was thus prepared for him; for at that period of his education it

would have been impossible, without harsher measures than his tutor

wished to adopt, to prevent him from cross-readings, which would

greatly have blemished his scholarship. Some minor offences, such, for

instance, as inordinate efforts to begin upon a second line before he

had regularly perused the first, were punished by switching him on the

nose, turning the double desk round--in which case it presented him

with a mirror, that frightened him dreadfully--or even, in case of

perverseness, leaving him to himself, without giving him the

substantial honey-cake, which always rewarded a well-said lesson. In a

short time the parties began to understand one another, and as Titus

had prudently taken care to be known to his pupil only as a

benefactor, he soon gained his confidence. The bear who, like all his

race, had an ardent love for such dainties, found that he was welcome

to eat all he could get, if he did but do it in a decent methodical

manner. He soon learned, therefore, to take each line as it came; and,

indeed, after a short time, his instructor not only ventured to cover

the lines of the two open pages at the same time, but by enlarging the

opening in front of his cell, he put it in his pupil's power to go on

from one line to another without the book being raised; and after the

tutor had for a week or two turned the leaf when necessary, the pupil

began to shew that, if it was not done for him, he could do it for

himself.

As the time drew on, the patriarch was most anxious to know, but did

not venture to ask, how matters were going on. At length he summoned

courage, and put the question, somewhat indirectly, to Titus; and

although he received no particulars, yet he could not help feeling

comforted by the cheerful manner in which his affectionate deacon

assured him that everything was going on rightly, and that he need

have no fear for the result.

In the meantime, the sultan, though less anxious, was intensely

curious to see what would come of the matter, and frequently entered

into conversation on the subject with his physician, who was, on

somewhat different grounds, still more curious than himself. His

sublime highness, however, who could not expect from a Jew much

information respecting the secrets and mysteries of the Christians,

rather confined the discourse between them to the physiological part

of the subject, expressing his wonder--first, that bears should be

able to learn to read; and, secondly, that such a capacity was not

more frequently cultivated, asking him, withal, whether he had ever

himself heard a bear read? The doctor, in parliamentary fashion,

blinked the question; observing that as it was done by secret

practices, and no doubt for wicked purposes, it was best to say as

little as possible about it. His sublime highness was not altogether

satisfied, but comforted himself with thinking that time would soon

throw light on the matter.

At length the day arrived when the bear's proficiency was to be put to

the test. The sultan was seated on a divan in his hall of audience;

his ministers and officers of state stood on either side; and behind

him knelt his Jewish physician, who assumed that position, because,

although he would not have failed, even at the hazard of his life, to

be present, yet he had no strict right to be there; and, moreover, he

did not particularly wish to be seen in the business. All were in

breathless expectation when the Christian procession entered. The

patriarch walked first, with his crosier in his hand; next came Titus,

the tutor, bowed down under the huge lectionary, which he bore upon

his back, secured by leathern straps over his shoulders; then followed

Timothy, leading by a chain the carefully-muzzled pupil. This

precaution was quite necessary; for, having been kept fasting

four-and-twenty hours, the animal was in no good-humour, and would not

have been so quietly brought in, if it had not been closely following

the favourite book. But, in fact, the only trouble which Timothy had,

was to prevent his eager charge from leaping at the volume while it

was yet on his tutor's back. The procession was closed by a porter,

bearing the desk, who, under the direction of Titus, placed it before

the sultan, at such a distance as would conveniently enable the reader

to stand between it and his sublime highness, who might thus see the

book over his favourite's shoulder. Titus himself, thus relieved of

his burden by its transfer to the desk, went round into the reader's

place, and opened the ample leaves of the lectionary; while, to the

great amusement of the sultan, Timothy was exerting his energies to

the utmost to keep back the eager pupil.

'He seems fond of his book, however,' said the sultan; 'that looks

well.' And all the circle bowed assent.

At length, having arranged the volume to his satisfaction, Titus

received his pupil from the hands of his colleague. The bear stood up

manfully to his task; but it need scarcely be said, he was sadly

disappointed when he found that, unlike itself, the beloved book

contained no sweets; not a morsel, though the often-travelled,

much-licked, and still-besmeared lines retained the well-known scent

and savour. He ran his nose over one line after another, all down the

first page, then down the second, and then somewhat impatiently turned

the leaf.

'Well,' cried the sultan, 'he certainly seems to take a great interest

in it himself; and he may understand it perfectly, for aught I know;

but I wish he would read aloud. I should like to hear him. Will you be

so good as to tell him so?' he added, addressing the patriarch.

The venerable Mar Yusef was puzzled, and, as people often do when they

are puzzled, he made a bow, but could think of nothing to say. Titus,

however, promptly dropped on his knees between the bear and the

sultan; and addressing the latter, he said: 'Your sublime highness

will hear him presently; be pleased to give him a little time. Let him

not be harshly judged, if he is a little timid and shy. This is his

first attempt in public.'

As he said this, the deacon saw the twinkle of the Jew's eye over the

sultan's shoulder. It was only for a moment, and nobody but Titus

himself knew that he had seen it at all, so intently did he seem to be

occupied in comforting and encouraging--perhaps we should say

exciting, his pupil. The bear, however, being disappointed line after

line, and page after page, and only stimulated and irritated by the

scent and the slight taste which he could get by thrusting the tip of

his tongue through his muzzle, began to growl most awfully, as he

still went on mechanically, line after line, and turned the leaves

with increased rapidity and vehemence. This continued for some time,

until the pupil was evidently getting into a passion, and the tutor

was growing rather nervous, when the sultan shewed a disposition to

speak, which Titus most thankfully interpreted as an intimation that

the experiment had been carried far enough. He instantly quieted his

pupil, not so much by the order which he gave, as by shewing him a

honey-cake, which nobody else saw, handed the chain to Timothy, and

prepared to listen.

'As I observed before,' said the sultan, 'he certainly does seem to

take a vast interest in it himself; and I daresay he understands it:

but as to his elocution, I must say that it seems to me somewhat

inarticulate.' The patriarch was puzzled again, and again he bowed,

lower than before. The Jew chuckled, and whispered something in the

sultan's ear. But Titus was not disconcerted. Falling again on his

knees, he exclaimed: 'Pardon me, your sublime highness, we consider

him a remarkably good reader, an animal of excellent parts, and a

pupil who does us great credit. It is true, as your sublime highness's

discrimination has observed, that his enunciation, even to those who

know the language, may have some appearance of indistinctness, because

he is defective in the vowel-points; but we cannot help it, for all

our books are unpointed. In this, which, indeed, we consider a matter

of little importance, we do not pretend to compete with the Jews, who

teach theirs from pointed books. If your sublime highness ever heard a

bear read more articulately than this one, it must have been one of

theirs; and if you would have your own perfected in that particular,

you must put it into their hands.' The sultan stared at the deacon;

and the Jew eyed him over the sultan's shoulder with fierce alarm. But

the hands of Titus were folded on his breast, and his head was bowed

down on his hands.

'Well,' said the sultan to the patriarch, after a pause, during which

it was obvious that some things were passing through his mind, of

which he said nothing, 'I thank you for the pains you have taken; and

although I cannot say that I quite understand the matter now, yet if I

had known six weeks ago as much as I do at present, I would not have

troubled you. If you are ever in want of any help or protection,

remember, as I shall, that you have obliged me.'

The patriarch bowed. The sultan rose and retired, resolved that his

first business should be to come to a full explanation with his

doctor; and accordingly, a summons for the Israelite was instantly

issued. Very long it seemed to the sultan--although, in fact, it was

only half an hour--before the vizier came to report, that the doctor

was nowhere to be found.

'Well,' said the sultan, 'I do not much wonder at that. I always

thought him a wise man, and he is certainly no fool to get out of the

way now. But, at the same time, let strict search be made; and also

bring me the chief rabbi.'

In the confusion occasioned by the breaking up of the company, the

tutor and his pupil--the latter of whom had naturally dropped into the

less ostentatious posture of a quadruped--were forgotten, or at least

overlooked, by the crowd of courtiers, who rushed to congratulate Mar

Yusef, or laid their heads together, to whisper their surprise or

their suspicions. Titus, therefore, having briefly given directions to

Timothy to take care that the book was removed, and to see the

patriarch home, and make an excuse for his staying behind, slipped

with his amiable charge through a side-door into the garden, where he

seated himself on a bench, while his companion stood opposite to him

on his hind legs, looking wistfully, he almost thought reproachfully,

in his face. In truth, Titus was conscious that he had tried the

temper of his pupil, and was afraid to let him loose before company,

or, indeed, to let him go into company at all, until he should have

brought him into good-humour. He had provided himself with ample means

of doing this; and having produced more than one honey-cake, and

several other good things, and laid them on the bench beside him, he

did not hesitate to unmuzzle his friend, and a merry meal they made

together.

If the master was rendered happy by the issue of an experiment which

had been matter of such great and long anxiety, the pupil was also

raised to a state of the highest possible good-humour, by being at

once relieved from restraint and hunger. He looked cheerily about him;

seemed as if for the first time he recognised his old haunts; gamboled

through the now deserted hall and passages; and, before he had been

missed by anybody, found his way, by a short cut, to his own rug in

the sultan's apartment.

For a moment, indeed, while occupied in anticipating the explanation

which he had resolved to extort from his doctor, the sultan, like his

courtiers, had forgotten his favourite; but now the meeting was most

cordial on both sides. The sultan seemed determined to make up for his

neglect; and the favourite to shew, that neither scholarship, nor the

discipline requisite for obtaining it, had diminished his social

affections or companionable qualities.

At length the rabbi arrived. He had, indeed, been a little longer than

was necessary on the way, because he had found some means of

persuading the messenger to let him call on two or three friends as he

came along. He did not lose much time by this, however; his only

object being to ask them, to what extent they could help him in case

the loan should be very large. Satisfied on this point, and

preoccupied by the thoughts which had suggested the inquiry, he stood

before the sultan. Great, therefore, was his surprise, when his

sublime highness, instead of saying a word about money-matters,

briefly, but clearly, explained to him the nature of the business in

which his service was required.

'Your sublime highness is pleased to jest with your servant,' said the

rabbi, as soon as he could command breath enough to utter the words.

'Not at all,' replied the sultan; 'you will find me quite in earnest,

I assure you. He reads, and, I am told, reads as well as can be

expected _without_ the points; now you must teach him to read _with_

them.'

The rabbi was utterly confounded. He could only bow down his head,

wondering what the sultan could mean, and what he would say next, and

whether it would throw any light on what he had said already. So his

sublime highness continued, with some asperity: 'Do not think to

deceive me. I know all about the matter. You _can_ do it, and you had

better not hesitate; for I am in no humour to be trifled with. I gave

the Christians six weeks, and I'll give you the same. Don't answer,

but go, and he shall be sent to you.'

The unhappy rabbi returned home in a state of bewilderment. He sent

for some of his friends to consult with, most of whom were as much

surprised as he had been, when they learned the nature of the business

which had produced the summons. Only one of them, who happened to be a

friend of the missing doctor, seemed to know anything about the

matter; and he could not throw much light upon it. He could only tell

them, for their comfort, that it was a very serious affair, and they

must mind what they were about.

It would be only tiresome, if it were possible, to particularise all

the suggestions and discussions which ensued. They were still going on

when the bear arrived, and was duly installed in an apartment which

had been prepared for him, as well as it could be on such short

notice; for all agreed, that he must be treated with great care and

attention, not only in order to propitiate him, but because it might

be dangerous to let him return in worse condition than he came. So

neither trouble nor cost was spared to make him comfortable; and very

comfortable he was: supplied with every luxury, crammed with dainties,

and petted in every conceivable way. But whatever progress he might

make in the study of mankind, and in other branches of useful

knowledge, it was plain that he was making none in that particular

branch of learning for which he had been sent to school. His

instructors did not know how to deal with him. He was on easy terms

with all about him, would play with anybody, and quarrelled with

nobody; but learn he would not. When they held a book before him, he

thrust his nose into the cream-bowl; when they spoke of Pathach and

Segol, he shut one eye, and munched figs; and when, 'as a bird each

fond endearment tries,' they set up a stave which might have made the

very learned the Masorites to dance for joy, in the hope that

instinctively, or by mere love of imitation, he might be led to join

in the chorus, he only threw himself on his back, and fairly roared

them down.

Sensible of all this, and of its probable consequences, the

instructors had not been idle in another direction. They had used

their utmost endeavours to learn how the pupil had been dealt with by

his former tutor. But all their inquiries were fruitless. Titus had

kept his secret so effectually, that even Timothy knew little, if

anything, more than other people; or, in other words, more than had

been transacted before the sultan and his court. But in collecting all

such information as could be gleaned, they were indefatigable, and

were scrupulously careful to imitate everything which had been done,

not knowing what hidden virtue there might be in things apparently

trivial. They provided a great book and a desk; and did, and were

prepared to do, all that, so far as they could learn, had been done

before. And so matters went on, until the time came for them to

produce their pupil.

The sultan was led, by various considerations, to think that it would

be better to have the examination rather more private than the former

one had been; and, accordingly, at the time appointed, the rabbi and

his companions were brought into his private apartment. They had no

hope that the book and desk--which, however, they had taken care to

provide--would be wanted by their pupil; and indeed for some time past

their thoughts had been turned from any attempts at instruction, and

employed in framing an apology, in doing which they flattered

themselves that they had succeeded tolerably well.

The pupil, who had grown corpulent under his late course of treatment,

did not at first raise his lazy, half-shut eyes high enough from the

ground to see the desk and open book, which were clever imitations, if

not quite facsimiles of forms deeply impressed on his memory, and

calculated to produce very stimulating recollections. As soon as they

caught his eye, he seemed to be seized with sudden passion, dashed at

the book, and overthrew the whole concern. Fiercely did he thrust his

nose and paws between the leaves, and turn them, and tear them, and

trample them. At length, exhausted by his exertions--to say nothing of

his having previously had more exercise than usual--he waddled away to

his well-known rug, absolutely declined all invitations either to work

or play, and lay there watching the company through his half-shut

eyes, in a state of stupid repose, which those who had just watched

his effervescence did not care to interrupt.

'Well,' said the sultan to the rabbi and his friends, 'you are a

strange set of people. When I put my bear into your hands, he read

fluently, and _con amore_; and all you had to do, was to perfect his

articulation. Instead of that, you bring him back fat, stupid, and

savage, and so far from reading better, unable to read at all. It

would serve you right, if I were to hang the whole set of you, and

confiscate all your goods; but I am a merciful man, and will be

content with banishment.'

So an order was immediately issued for banishing the Jews from the

dominions of the sultan; and they all made off as fast as they could,

not knowing that their own countryman had been at the bottom of all,

or having any idea of the explanation which is here laid before the

reader.