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1 6 BY ORDER OF THE CZAR.

" Not to speak with him," said Klosstock, " but I know him by repute as one whose word is his bond, and who has large possessions."

" Ha ! " ejaculated the Italian, rising and pacing the room for a moment, and at the same time pausing near the door, as if he listened for footsteps.

" Do you know him ? " asked the rabbi.

" I do," said Ferrari.

" I fear a cloud is gathering about us," said the rabbi, " but one which may break far away if we are careful. I have kept watch over my words this evening that your servant might not hear of the warnings which have reached me within the last few hours from a trusted friend in St. Petersburg."

" Is it touching the new Governor ? " said Ferrari inter- rupting him.

" It is," said the rabbi.

" Alas, I can indorse it ; and I, too, have observed a reticent demeanor, for the reason that this Amos is not what he represents himself to be."

" Forewarned is forearmed," said the rabbi. " The new Governor is on his way to Czarovna ; it may be possible to propitiate him; I know that it is possible for him to reduce our lives to the miserable level of those of our brethren at Kiew. That we are an exception is due to exceptional causes. The hand of persecution lies heavy on our brethren all round about us."

" Our brethren are themselves much to blame," said Klosstock. "They make hard bargains ; they thrive on the Christian need ; they do no acts of charity outside the Pale of Settlement ; they forget that God made us all."

" They remember," said Ferrari, " that the Christian has ground them beneath his heel ; they remember that from age to age in all countries they have been harried by Christian fire and sword; and that even in these days of