THE JEWESS AND THE CHRISTIAN.
BY J. Ꭲ . EVANS .
CHAPTER I.
He who has travelled on the high road of Lusa, cannot but have remarked that in the midst of that species of gulph that opens on the right side of Mount Cenis, there are erected some few very small cottages, thatched with straw, and that look so tiny and so frail, that they seem to tremble when exposed to the rude blasts of the north wind. It may be affirmed, that in the spot where they are located, the sun never gilds the rocks with his rays, and that the only appearance of animation that is given to the scene is that conveyed by the dull monotonous brawling of a brook, that seems to be enclosed in the mountains, and with difficulty forces its way into the lower regions of the plain. The ice and the snow constitute the sole covering of these steep rocks, and the barren earth is more ungrateful to the tiller than the rugged lands of Switzerland. It is desolate, but there is about it not one single feature of grandeur ; it affrights the spectator, but does not fill his mind with awe. Such is the Novelese. It was upon a certain evening in the year " that there were observed upon one of the narrow and steep paths of the Novelese, two mules ; they advanced with apparent difficulty. There was seated upon one of them a very old man, and in his looks might be remarked the pleasure with which he contemplated the barren prospect that was before him. Its sterility did not affright him by its wildness, and desolation seemed to be an enjoyment to him. Upon the other mule, there was a very young maiden, clothed in white, and whose limbs seemed to be frozen by the cold and bitter blasts that she encountered. She cast no glance around her ; she seemed to be a stranger to the country through which she was passing, and its novelty had evidently no charms for her. These two were preceded by one individual, who was clad like a rustic, and over whose shoulders were cast the rough skin of a bear. Just as the travellers appeared, dark and reddish clouds covered Mount Cenis, and at the same time, a thin cold rain began to fall. The mules continued to advance, and their sweet- sounding bells were heard, until, at length, they stopped before a cottage, from which there soon issued an old woman, supported on the arm of a strong and athletic mountaineer. The old man then alighted, and he instantly went to help the maiden from her mule. The delicate creature was so exhausted, either by grief, or so transfixed by cold, that she could not move from her pillion, and they had to carry her in their arms, into the cottage. " Rachel !" exclaimed the old man, 66 Rachel, my
daughter, thou art now suffering ; but the Lord will have mercy on thee. Hath he not delivered us out of the hands of Pharoah ? Hath he not given us to drink of fresh water, even in the arid sands of the desert ? I have saved thee, thee, my beloved one, from the snares of Ammon . Lift up, then, thy head, thou child of Israel." The maiden made no answer ; but she turned her eyes from the brook to the high summit of the Alps, and shuddering, affrighted, panting with grief, she showed in her look, and in her attitude, that she was about to fall into a paroxysm of despair ; but then, in a moment afterward, an idea, as if it were vague, obscure, and half-formed, seemed to come to her mind ; it warmed her cheeks with blushes ; her eyes shot forth brilliant glances ; and her soft, low, and musical voice pronounced the single word, " Louis." It was uttered with a charm so ineffable, that as the Jew listened to it, his hands were clenched as if in agony, and the hoarse growl of despair was heard to issue from his lips, as if torture alone had forced it from his heart. In the small cottage, which had received the Jew and Jewess as guests, there might be observed an air of the greatest neatness. Two lovely infants played close to the fire, and, as they did so, they eagerly tried to bring warmth into the limbs of the hapless Rachel. Her father, Solomon, took the young mountaineer to a dark recess in the cottage, and then the two were seen to converse in whispers for a very long time. The remainder of the day was passed in sighs, in tears, in counsels, in expostulations. The wild air of the rough mountaineer contrasted strongly with the appearance of all else that was in the cottage ; and it might be noticed , that every time the harsh tones of the mountaineer's voice were heard, a cold shivering made the white robes of Rachel tremble, as if the wind had blown upon them. The last rays of the sun had already cast a crown of gold upon the pinnacle of Mount Cenis, when Solomon Levi again disappeared in the passes of the Novelese, for the purpose of proceeding to Susa, from which conveyances can easily be procured to Turin. CHAPTER II. ALREADY a cruel month of feverish expectation had passed away. It was gone before Louis, who loved the Jewish maiden so dearly, and by whom he was as tenderly beloved, could discover her retreat. He had, however, discovered the neighborhood in which she was concealed ; and, in order that his absence might not be remarked, he had stated to his attendants, that he intended for a few days to sport in the mountains. He set out then one fine morning, with his fowling piece in proper order, and his horn well filled , and followed by two of his dogs. It is not necessary to
