"Thou hast seen Andrew?" cried Tarass; "what of him? where didst thou see him? in some dungeon? in some cave? dishonoured? fettered?" "Who would ever dare to fetter my lord Andrew? he is now such a knight--by Heavens, I hardly recognised him! His coat all over gold, his belt all gold--yes, all over gold and everywhere gold; just like the sun, as it shines in spring when every bird is chirping and singing in the gardens, and every blade of grass is fragrant, thus is he all shining bright with gold; and the steed that the voevoda has given him, is the best riding horse one ever saw: the steed alone is worth two hundred ducats!" Boolba was astounded. "Why did he put on this strange dress?" "Because it was better than his own; that's why he put it on. And he is riding about, and others are riding about, and he is teaching others, and others are teaching him--just like the most important Polish lord." "And who constrained him to do this?" "I am not saying that anybody put any constraint on him. Does not your lordship know, then, that he went over to them of his own free will?" "Who went over?" "My lord Andrew." "To whom is he gone over?" "To the other side; he is now quite theirs." "Thou liest, hog!" "How can it be that I should lie? Am I a fool to lie? Will I lie at the risk of my own head? Do I not know that if a Jew happen to lie to a lord, he will be hanged like a dog?" "So thou sayest that he has sold his native country and his faith?" "I did not say that he had sold anything; I am only saying that he has passed over to the other side." "Thou liest, cursed Jew! such a thing never happened in a Christian land! Thou mockest me, cursed dog!" "May grass grow on the threshold of my house if I lie! May every one spit on the tomb of my father, on that of my mother, on those of my father-in-law, of the father of my father, of the father of my mother, if I lie! If your lordship wishes, I'll even say why he went over to them." "Why, then?" "The voevoda's daughter is a beauty. Heavens! what a beauty!" and the Jew endeavoured as well as he could to express her beauty in his face, stretching his hands asunder, twinkling one of his eyes, and writhing his mouth on one side, as if he had tasted something good. "Well, then, what of that?" "That is the reason of all his doings and of his passing over. Because if a man becomes enamoured he is just like the sole of a boot, which, if it becomes once soaked in water, may be stretched and bent as much as one wishes." Boolba fell into a deep reverie. He remembered that such is the power of a weak woman that many mighty men perish by it, that Andrew was very vulnerable on that point--and long did he remain as if riveted to the same spot.