_Swiri_.—Willingly, brother of Gibraltar; I will pay the woman for the mantle; it does not appear a bad one. Thereupon he flung two _cruzados_ to the woman, who forthwith left the shop. _Gibraltar Jew_.—Thanks, brother _Swiri_; this is very kind of you. Now let us go and sell the mantle, the gold alone is well worth a _moidore_. But I am poor, and have nothing to eat; give me, therefore, the half of that sum and keep the mantle; I shall be content. _Swiri_.—May Allah blot out your name, you thief! What mean you by asking me for money? I bought the mantle of the woman and paid for it. I know nothing of you. Go out of my doors, dog of a Nazarene; if not, I will pay you with a kick. The dispute was referred to one of the _sabios_, or priests; but the _sabio_, who was also from Mogadore, at once took the part of the _Swiri_, and decided that the other should have nothing. Whereupon the Gibraltar Jew cursed the _sabio_, his father, mother, and all his family. The _sabio_ replied, “I put you in _nduis_,”—a kind of purgatory or hell. “I put you in seven _nduis_,” retorted the incensed Jew, over whom, however, superstitious fear speedily prevailed; he faltered, became pale, and dropping his voice, retreated, trembling in every limb. The Jews have two synagogues in Lisbon, both are small; one is, however, tolerably well furnished, it has its reading-desk, and in the middle there is a rather handsome chandelier; the other is little better than a sty, filthy to a degree, without ornament of any kind. The congregation of this last are thieves to a man; no Jew of the slightest respectability ever enters it. How well do superstition and crime go hand in hand! These wretched beings break the eternal commandments of their Maker without scruple; but they will not partake of the beast of the uncloven foot, and the fish which has no scales. They pay no regard to the denunciations of holy prophets against the children of sin, but they quake at the sound of a dark cabalistic word pronounced by one perhaps their equal or superior in villainy; as if God would delegate the exercise of his power to the workers of iniquity. I was one day sauntering along the _Caesodré_, when a Jew, with whom I had previously exchanged a word or two, came up and addressed me. _Jew_.—The blessing of God upon you, brother; I know you to be a wise and powerful man, and I have conceived much regard for you; it is on that account that I wish to put you in the way of gaining much money. Come with me, and I will conduct you to a place where there are forty chests of tea. It is a _sereka_, and the thieves are willing to dispose of it for a trifle; for there is search being made, and they are in much fear. I can raise one-half of what they demand, do you supply the other, we will then divide it, each shall go his own way and dispose of his portion.