Tancred; Or, The New CrusadeDisraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield
ReligionJewish
Tancred; Or, The New Crusade
Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield
Christianity and other religions -- Judaism -- Fiction; Judaism -- Relations -- Christianity -- Fiction
‘An obstinate Jew dog!’ exclaimed Eva, rising, her eyes flashing, her
nostrils dilating with contemptuous rage. The manner of Fakredeen had
not pleased her this morning. His temper, was very uncertain, and, when
crossed, he was deficient in delicacy. Indeed, he was too selfish,
with all his sensibility and refined breeding, to be ever sufficiently
considerate of the feelings of others. He was piqued also that he had
not been informed of the previous acquaintance of Eva and Tancred. Her
reason for not apprising him of their interview at Bethany, though not
easily impugnable, was not as satisfactory to his understanding as to
his ear. Again, his mind and heart were so absorbed at this moment by
the image of Tancred, and he was so entirely under the influence of his
own idealised conceptions of his new and latest friend, that, according
to his custom, no other being could interest him. Although he was
himself the sole cause of all the difficult and annoying circumstances
in which he found himself involved, the moment that his passions and his
interests alike required that Tancred should be free and uninjured,
he acted, and indeed felt, as if Amalek alone were responsible for the
capture and the detention of Lord Montacute.
The young Emir indeed was, at this moment, in one of those moods which
had often marred his popularity, but in which he had never indulged
towards Eva before. She had, throughout his life, been the commanding
influence of his being. He adored and feared her, and knew that she
loved, and rather despised him. But Eva had ceased to be the commanding
influence over Fakredeen. At this moment Fakredeen would have sacrificed
the whole family of Besso to secure the devotion of Tancred; and the
coarse and rude exclamation to which he had given vent, indicated the
current of his feelings and the general tenor of his mind.
Eva knew him by heart. Her clear sagacious intellect, acting upon an
individual whom sympathy and circumstances had combined to make her
comprehend, analysed with marvellous facility his complicated motives,
and in general successfully penetrated his sovereign design.
‘An obstinate Jew dog!’ she exclaimed; ‘and who art thou, thou jackal of
this lion! who should dare to speak thus? Is it not enough that you have
involved us all in unspeakable difficulty and possible disgrace, that we
are to receive words of contumely from lips like yours? One would think
that you were the English Consul arrived here to make a representation
in favour of his countryman, instead of being the individual who planned
his plunder, occasioned his captivity, and endangered his life! It is
a pity that this young noble is not acquainted with your claims to his
confidence.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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