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‘I have the honour now,’ the new letter ran, ‘to inquire about my decided and expecting departure. I must sue by my quite humble and very instant entreaty Your noble genteel cordial humanity in my very hard troublous and bitter and sour vexations and tribulations to effect for my poor position at least a private anonymous prompt collection as soon as possible according to Your clement magnanimous charitable mercy of L15 if not L25 among Your very estimable and respectfully good friends, in good order to go in another country even Bursia to get my livelihood by my dental practice or by my other scientifick and philological knowledge. The great competition is here in anything very vigorous. I have here no dental employment, no dental practice, no relations, no relief, no gain, no earning, no introduction, no protection, no recommendation, no money, no good friends, no good connecting acquaintance, in Russia I am ruined and I perish here, I am already desperate and despond entirely. I do not know what to do and what shall I do, do now in my actual urgent, extreme immense need. I am told by good many people, that the board of guardians is very seldom to rescue by aid the people, but very often is to find only faults, and vices and to make them guilty. I have nothing to do there, and in the russian jewish fund I found once Sir Asher Aaronsberg and he is not to me sympathical. I supply and solicit considerably Your kind humane clement mercy to answer me as soon as possible quick according to Your very gracious mercy.

‘Your obedient Servant respectfully,
‘NEHEMIAH SILVERMANN,
‘Dentist and Professor of Languages.’

As soon as the light failed in his studio, Barstein summoned a hansom and sped to the Minories.

III

Nehemiah’s voice bade him walk in, and turning the door-handle he saw the top-hatted figure sprawled in solitary gloom along a caneless chair, reading a newspaper by the twinkle of a rushlight. Nehemiah sprang up with a bark of joy, making his gigantic shadow bow to the visitor. From chimney-pot to coat-tail he stretched unchanged, and the same celestial rapture illumined his gaunt visage.

But Barstein drew back his own coat-tail from the attempted kiss.

‘Where is the gas?’ he asked drily.

‘Alas, the company removed the meter.’

‘But the gas-brackets?’

‘What else had we to eat?’ said Nehemiah simply.

Barstein in sudden suspicion raised his eyes to the ceiling. But a fragment of gaspipe certainly came through it. He could not, however, recall whether the pipe had been there before or not.

‘So the young men would not come?’ he said.

‘Oh yes, they came, and they read, and they ate. Only they did not pay.’

‘You should have made it a rule–cash down.’

Again a fine shade of rebuke and astonishment crossed his lean and melancholy visage.

‘And could I oppress a brother-in-Israel? Where had those young men to turn but to me?’

Again Barstein felt his angelic reputation imperilled. He hastened to change the conversation.

‘And why do you want to go to Bursia?’ he said.

‘Why shall I want to go to Bursia?’ Nehemiah replied.

‘You said so.’ Barstein showed him the letter.

‘Ah, I said I shall sooner go to Bursia than to Russia. Always Sir Asher Aaronsberg speaks of sending us back to Russia.’

‘He would,’ said Barstein grimly. ‘But where is Bursia?’

Nehemiah shrugged his shoulders. ‘Shall I know? My little Rebeccah was drawing a map thereof; she won a prize of five pounds with which we lived two months. A genial child is my Rebeccah.’

‘Ah, then, the Almighty did send you something.’

‘And do I not trust Him?’ said Nehemiah fervently. ‘Otherwise, burdened down as I am with a multitude of children—-‘

‘You made your own burden,’ Barstein could not help pointing out.

Again that look of pain, as if Nehemiah had caught sight of feet of clay beneath Barstein’s shining boots.

‘”Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth,”‘ Nehemiah quoted in Hebrew. ‘Is not that the very first commandment in the Bible?’