Excerpt from Songs of a Semite: The Dance to Death, and Other Poems Scene I. A Street in the Judengasse, outside the Synagogue. During this scene Jews and Jewesses, singly and in groups, with prayer-books in their hands pass across the stage and go into the Synagogue. Among them, enter Baruch and Naphtali. Naphtali. Hast seen him yet? Baruch. Nay; Rabbi Jacob's door Swung to behind him, just as I puffed up O'erblown with haste. See how our years weigh, cousin. Who'd judge me with this paunch a temperate man, A man of modest means, a man withal Scarce overpast his prime? Well, God be praised, If age bring no worse burden! Who is this stranger? Simon the Leech tells me he claims to bear Some special message from the Lord - no doubt To-morrow, fresh from rest, he'll publish it Within the Synagogue Naphtali. To-morrow, man? He will not hear of rest - he comes anon - Shall we within? Baruch. Rather let's wait, And scrutinize him as he mounts the street. Since you denote him so remarkable, You've whetted my desire. Naphtali. A blind, old man, Mayhap is all you'll find him - spent with travel. His raiment fouled with dust, his sandaled feet Road-bruised by stone and. bramble. But his face! - Majestic with long fall of cloud-white beard, And hoary wreath of hair - oh, it is one Already kissed by angels. Baruch. Look, there limps Little Manasseh, bloated as his purse, And wrinkled as a frost-pinched fruit. I hear His last loan to the Syndic will result In quadrupling his wealth. Good Lord! what luck Blesses some folk, while good men stint and sweat And scrape, to merely fill the household larder. What said you of this pilgrim, Naphtali? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.