But did you ever know a right-minded woman pardon another for being
handsome and more love-worthy than herself? The Lady Rowena did
certainly say with mighty magnanimity to the Jewish maiden, "Come and
live with me as a sister," as the former part of this history shows; but
Rebecca knew in her heart that her ladyship's proposition was what
is called BOSH (in that noble Eastern language with which Wilfrid the
Crusader was familiar), or fudge, in plain Saxon; and retired with a
broken, gentle spirit, neither able to bear the sight of her rival's
happiness, nor willing to disturb it by the contrast of her own
wretchedness. Rowena, like the most high-bred and virtuous of women,
never forgave Isaac's daughter her beauty, nor her flirtation with
Wilfrid (as the Saxon lady chose to term it); nor, above all, her
admirable diamonds and jewels, although Rowena was actually in
possession of them.
In a word, she was always flinging Rebecca into Ivanhoe's teeth. There
was not a day in his life but that unhappy warrior was made to remember
that a Hebrew damsel had been in love with him, and that a Christian
lady of fashion could never forgive the insult. For instance, if Gurth,
the swineherd, who was now promoted to be a gamekeeper and verderer,
brought the account of a famous wild-boar in the wood, and proposed a
hunt, Rowena would say, "Do, Sir Wilfrid, persecute these poor pigs: you
know your friends the Jews can't abide them!" Or when, as it oft would
happen, our lion-hearted monarch, Richard, in order to get a loan or a
benevolence from the Jews, would roast a few of the Hebrew capitalists,
or extract some of the principal rabbis' teeth, Rowena would exult and
say, "Serve them right, the misbelieving wretches! England can never be
a happy country until every one of these monsters is exterminated!" or
else, adopting a strain of still more savage sarcasm, would exclaim,
"Ivanhoe my dear, more persecution for the Jews! Hadn't you better
interfere, my love? His Majesty will do anything for you; and, you know,
the Jews were ALWAYS SUCH FAVORITES OF YOURS," or words to that effect.
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