Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/164

140 140 EXPULSION OF THE JEWS. PART their own account, and to carry the proceeds along '- — with them, in bills of exchange, or merchandise not prohibited, but neither in gold nor silver. ^ Its severe Thc doom of cxilc fell like a thunderbolt on the operatiuu. heads of the Israelites. A large proportion of them had hitherto succeeded in shielding them- selves from the searching eye of the Inquisition, by an affectation of reverence for the forms of Catho- lic worship, and a discreet forbearance of what- ever might offend the prejudices of their Christian brethren. They had even hoped, that their steady loyalty, and a quiet and orderly discharge of their social duties, would in time secure them higher im- munities. Many had risen to a degree of opulence, by means of the thrift and dexterity peculiar to the race, which gave them a still deeper interest in the land of their residence. ^ Their families were reared in all the elegant refinements of life; and their wealth and education often disposed them to turn their attention to liberal pursuits, which enno- bled the character, indeed, but rendered them per- sonally more sensible to physical annoyance, and less fitted to encounter the perils and privations of their dreary pilgrimage. Even the mass of the common people, possessed a dexterity in various handicrafts, which afforded a comfortable livelihood, 5 Carbajal, Anales, MS., aiio ed ten. He mentions one, in par- 1492. — Eecop. de las Leyes, lib. ticular, by the name of Abraham, 8, tit. 2, ley 2. — Pragmaticas del as renting the greater part of Cas- Reyno, ed. 1520, fol. 3. tile! It will hardly do to tiike the 6 The Curate of Los Palacios pood Curate's statement a la lettre. speaks of several Israelites worth See Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. one or two millions of maravedies, 112. and another even as having amass-