Hernani the Jew: a story of Russian oppression

Front matter

HEENANI THE JEW HEENANI THE JEW A STORY OF RUSSIAN OPPRESSION BY A. N. HOMER 7 AUTHOR OF "THE RICHEST MERCHANT IN ROTTERDAM," ETC. LONDON SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, AND COMPANY LIMITED St. -fflunstan's Man&i Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.C. LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, Limited, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CR0S6. AUTHOR'S NOTE. In offering this book to the public, I should like to make this apologetic explanation. Although I have endeavoured to embroider my own thoughts upon a substantial structure of plot and historical fact, in one instance, I have been compeUed to depart from history. Dur ng the period the work embraces, as is well known, the important post of Governor-General of Poland was successively occupied by various eminent men, but the construction of the story would have been well-nigh impossible with such an incon sistent change of personages ; therefore the character of General Hourko was substituted in place of these in dividuals. With this one marked exception, historical facts, where necessary, have been closely adhered to. HEENANI THE JEW

Chapter I

Early in the year 1861 General Hourko stood within his palace at Warsaw, watching some Jews and Poles driven back over the Praga Bridge, by a handful of Cossacks. Titus Popoloff, his secretary, was with him, and a couple of aides-de-camp were discussing the political situation in the ante-room. At the General's feet stretched the terraces of the palace gardens, fringed with straggling trees already denuded of their leaves ; beyond, the placid volume of the river Vistula ; and a little to the right, the bridge upon which the lean and shaggily-mounted Cossacks were proving their zeal and devotion to the Tsar. From his point of vantage, and with the aid of his field glasses, the General could see clearly what was going on. " Come here, Popoloff, and tell me if you can make out what the rascals are doing," he suddenly exclaimed, as they quitted the bridge and approached to within a stone's throw of the palace walls.

" Whom have they got hold of amongst others ? A woman for certain, but no peasant, I should say." " Eh, your Excellency ; she seems to be respectably dressed, weU-looking, and of fine presence. Ah ! now I can see plainly." B " Of course she is, man. A Polish lady, and handsome. This won't do, Popoloff. I thought my instructions were clear. We must not quarrel with the women. Send some one to rescue her, and bring her to me." Popoloff hurried into the ante-room, and General Hourko squared his shoulders before the window again, muttering to himself, " If I only knew what to strike at ; if there were armed troops in the field against me instead of unarmed conspirators, I could act decisively. Officialism is corrupt because the officials are Poles. The Church is corrupt because it is not Orthodox, and the Rabbis are not slow to grasp the hand it stretches out to them.

Fancy Roman Cathohcs and Jews talking of exchanging presents ! Strong measures should be taken, I am confident. The place should be declared in a state of siege, then powder and shot poured in, and all would be quiet. But what would they say in Petersburg ? Ah ! they send me here and handcuff me. Alexeieff ! " " Yes, your Excellency." " Does the crowd in the square gather ? " "It does. But the people are collected in groups, and they talk and gesticulate wildly." " Let them. How many of them are there, do you think ? " " It is difficult to say, sir." " Three or four thousand people ? " " Perhaps ; but then there are the approaches which are crammed. All Warsaw is on foot." , " What do they want, eh ? " The aide-de-camp smiled sarcastically. "The freedom of Poland, sh; nothing less wiU satisfy them."

" An insane idea. And for a rabble like this to talk of petitioning his Majesty for a Constitution. Ah ' here is Popoloff." The sudden opening of the door of the apartment, revealed Popoloff's spare bent form on the one hand, an aide-de-camp on the other; between them, a young, dignified, and at once remarkable woman. She was clad in deep mourning, and this sable costume heightened the distressed pallor of her face, the fine features of which were lighted by clear, fearless eyes. Even Hourko, who considered himself a judge of feminine beauty, scarcely concealed his surprise and admiration. "Madam, I trust you have suffered no personal in convenience," he remarked, in a firm voice which drowned Popoloff's whispered "Madam, this is his Excellency the Governor of the Kingdom." " I have been put to considerable inconvenience and annoyance, sir, though no bodily harm has been done me," was the calm answer, although evidently her pulse was beating wildly.

" I sincerely regret to hear it ; but soldiers, like other mortals, are apt to exceed their instructions, to become over-zealous, madam." General Hourko's voice had changed slightly ; it was colder and more dignified. Was he not the representative of his sovereign ? What reason was there for him to be conciliatory — above all to a person who, his keen Russian eyes told him, was not a Pole after all, but one of a people it had been part of his training and education to look down upon, even to despise ? He had been under the roof and in the camp, with those who had followed the world's teaching, and had turned theh* hands against the whole Hebrew race. Yet this woman was certainly not purely Jewish. In the distant past, Pohsh blood had intermingled and left signs which, to him, were as plain as the letters of the alphabet.

But then, too, she was refined, and elegantly though simply dressed. It had never occurred to him that a Jewess could possess any of these perfections of manner or style. However, he was b prepared to accept two incontrovertible facts — that a female, and a beautiful one, was before him ; and accordingly he added with a smile, " War is never waged upon women ; but in such disturbed times as these, and for your own personal safety, I would remind you that it is not well for ladies to go into outlying districts alone and on foot. The Praga quarter is, I understand, inhabited by the dregs of the population, who " "Are Jews, your Excellency, like myseU," interrupted the lady, crimsoning, for having watched Hourko's face attentively, she had read his thoughts, and blushed with what she deemed righteous anger.

" Amongst my own people I am safe. Why should they hurt me ? I only try to help them in their sickness and misery." The General was slightly irritated, but he was insensibly becoming more interested. If it had not been so — that is to say, if he had not found her beautiful — he would have dismissed her with a few suitable words, but it pleased him to allow himself to be attracted by beauty when he had the time to spare. The acknowledged admiration of it was one of his most amiable weaknesses. It was true that Warsaw was in a most disturbed state, that the social and political condition of affairs were rotten to the core, that the educated classes were believed to be hostile to the government he represented, almost to a man ; there was nothing in all that to prevent him from feeling horribly bored at times.

It was well to lighten the heavy burden of the official day, when a good opportunity presented itself, and it was part of his duty to pacify and please people. " To offer a helping hand, madam, to people in distress of any kind, is noble, and the reward will come in affection and respect. Such amiable actions would meet with the approval of my august master, who can only be grieved when there is sickness, poverty, or any kind of unhappiness amongst his people. His sentiments on these points should be well known to all. May I ask how you came to be annoyed in the way you seem to have been, because my instructions are peremptory : no peaceable person is to be interfered with ? " Popoloff pricked up his large ears at this juncture, and, adjusting his spectacles, remarked gravely — " I am told that this lady was discovered in the house of some people who have given much trouble, your ExceUency.

Some rifles, a small package of saddlery, provisions, and a banner displaying the Polish eagle, were found and seized ; and money — I won't say a large sum — had been supplied to them by her. " " Ah ! is that so ? Such a statement is serious ; yet, pray, don't distress yourself, madam. Thank you, Popoloff— this will be explained." And, bestowing upon him a look which that individual quite understood, next moment General Hourko found himself alone with this woman who had begun to interest him so much. His manner instantly became more affable. He planted his back to the huge stove and, with his hands crossed behind him, inquired gently— " May I first know to whom I have the pleasure of speaking ? I don't wish you to think me a kind of ogre, or to be the least bit afraid of me. I am here to see that justice is done to everyone."

Instead of allaying her fears, the mildness of this speech excited them. Why did he wish to talk to her — to question her in this way himself ? Already she had refused to give her name, hoping to escape the necessity. Now she must do so, and she was alone in this huge palace with a man whose power was absolute, who could despatch her to Siberia as easily as to her own home ; and who, moreover, in addition to his reputation for harshness, some alleged brutality, was believed to be morally weak and unscrupulous. How far her information was correct she did not know, but the situation she found herself in was one which began to try her nerves and arouse her fears. Not natu raUy timid, she already felt painfully so. Her eyes swept the apartment as though seeking some means of escape, and as though to say, " Your desire is hopeless."

There were the walls, lofty, panelled, elegant. No hope in that direction. There, too, was the figure of Hourko, strong, apparently inexorable in his tightly-fitting General's uni form, which rendered his shoulders squarer, his neck stiffer, his heavy, resolute features and thick iron-gray moustache most awe-inspiring. At length, feeling that she must reply to this demand made upon her, she allowed one word to escape her. " Hernani." " Your name is Hernani, madam ? " " Yes." The General reflected. The name struck some note — sounded, in fact, perfectly familiar to him. Ah ! he remembered. " Are you related to a banker in this town of that name ? " " I am his wife." " Indeed ! What a pity you did not tell me sooner. Your husband is well-known, above suspicion, and I understand is much respected."

Then he added laughingly, "You are not likely to have been guUty of aiding these refractory people." Receiving no reply, he thought, " So this is Sara Hernani, wife of Kasimir Hernani, the great Jew banker ; Sara Hernani, as famous for her beauty as he is for his wealth. What a fortunate scoundrel, a millionaire and with such a wife ! " Aloud he added, " You will be good enough to explain to him, please, how I regret the in convenience you have been put to, but the Government has a difficult task before it — to deal firmly with those who would defy it, without wounding the tender susceptibUities of those who respect it, and are honest in their support of law and order." Pondering over his former remark about aiding the disaffected, and knowing her husband to belong to the White party,* Sara was disturbed, and, barely hearing him, vaguely answered — • " Indeed, it must be a hard task " — not without a sense of hypocrisy mingled with fervent prayer that the interview might terminate speedUy.

General Hourko saw that she longed to escape from his clutches ; but all the same, before she left him, he was keenly desirous of making a better impression ; of letting her know something of what he felt, and that he would like to see her again, if only to feast his eyes on a face which charmed him so. He made a last effort to prolong the conversation. " This disturbance to-day is to be lamented. It can be productive of no good. Why won't people be con tented ? " " With what, sir ? " inquired Sara, daringly, though with the sensation that she had impressed him too well to offend him. " With the good things his Majesty, my Imperial master, lavishes on them, and the recoUeetion of the tender solicitude they know him to take in their weUare. Then, too, so much more trust might be reposed in them would they but prove themselves worthy."

" I fear I am incapable of discussing such great questions," replied Sara, in despah at still being detained. " Then beheve what I tell you," replied Hourko, a Uttle pompously ; and, further disconcerted at the smaU amount of headway he was making, he added, " If I can be of use to you in any way, don't fail to apply to me, and remember, * Moderate party. too," he blundered, "that I think your husband most fortunate." " Why ? " demanded Sara, not seeing the drift of his remark until she had spoken. "To be the happy possessor of so much beauty," was Hourko's prompt answer, accompanied by a look of admiration which could not escape her understanding. Instantly the defencelessness of her position was before her in full force. She experienced the sensation of being wounded, insulted, of having an attack made upon her — when, considering that she was virtually a prisoner, such an attack was almost brutal.

How dare he pay her compliments, when, having dragged her before him , he dismissed his attendants and interrogated her as he chose ! But then, too, she ought to have remembered that this was the treatment she should have expected from him. Was he not the Governor of the Kingdom of Poland, and was she not — worst thing of all — a Jewess ? With the warm blood dyeing her cheeks and surging through her, leaving her hot and cold in turn, she rose to her feet, determined to regain her liberty at once. "I have already been away from home a long while, your Excellency, and my good looks which you have so graciously admired will be missed there. May I return, please ? " General Hourko saw his mistake and made an attempt — the best he was capable of — to repair it. Reassuming his polite and serious manner, he said — " Oh, I forgot.

Of course. A carriage must be ordered. You shall be driven where you wish." " Thank you ; I know every step of the way, and I prefer to walk." "But it is not safe. The crowd blocks the square. Listen to the shouts and uproar." " Your Excellency, you are very kind, but the crowd will do me no harm, I assure you." Advancing towards the door, the General could do no less than open it, and Sara Hernani passed down the grand staircase and so out of the palace, Popoloff, who had been on the lookout, escorting her to the entrance. Left to himself, the General passed to and fro before the stove, in which wood and coal crackled merrily. The sensation of being lonely as weU as irritated stole over him. Sniffing the atmosphere, in which it seemed Sara had left a trace of some fragrant scent she affected, his eye fell upon the chair in which she had sat, and memory placed her there again, in aU the rare perfection of her form and face.

Ou the long pUe of the Turkey rug there even appeared to be the faint impression of her foot, which he now remembered had peeped from beneath her skirt sufficiently for him to pronounce it small and shapely. He regarded that imaginary mark fixedly for an instant, and then with a savage kick sent the chair spinning under the table, and, stamping upon the rug, exclaimed — " What an old fool I am, and worse than ever — -worse than ever ! " Ringing a hand-bell with a crash, there appeared upon the scene Tit Prokotievitch Popoloff, or, as the English tongue would render it, Titus Prokofievitch Popoloff, with his habitual stoop which suggested weak lungs, and added to his ill-shapen legs, increased his aspect of ungainliness ; with his lean, irregular features, wrinkled and yeUow skin, pale, almost colourless eyes, and strange stealthiness of movement — Titus Popoloff, in fact, with nothing to recom mend him so far as one could judge.

Yet consider what lie had done. In a few years he had succeeded in raising himself from the position of a small tchinovnik* to that of secretary— trusted adviser reaUy — to Ivan Nicholaevitch Hourko, who, it may be added for the benefit of those who * Civil servant do not remember, had played an important part in the rebellion of '30, had been conspicuous for his bravery at the battle of the Alma, and, in addition to being considered one of the most resolute and sagacious officers in the Russian service, was known to have gained the approval and con fidence of his sovereign. All these wonders Titus Popoloff had worked, or rather the whim of a woman he had contrived to please had enabled him to work them. Olga Pavlovna Hourko, the General's wUe, had discovered him one day quite by chance, ink and dirt begrimed, disheveUed, and meanly clad, sitting in his poky office somewhere in the Ukraine, where she had large estates.

She had been insanely; jealous of the General at the time, and Titus, in his post of tchinovnik in the service of the Provincial Crown Domain Office, had proved himseU dis creet, in fact invaluable. The General, being easy-going, a warrior, and not a cautious diplomatist, had not troubled himself to make any inquiries about Popoloff, but, accepting his wUe's recommendation without a murmur, had placed this deserving person's feet upon the ladder of ease and security, after which Titus had taken care to mount upwards. Conscious that he was no longer alone, but without taking further notice of the fact, the General assumed his favourite position near the stove, and some minutes elapsed, during which time Popoloff silently busied himseU with polishing his spectacles with a large coloured silk handker chief, and holding them up to the light.

He had just placed them on his nose, when the General said suddenly — " Can you tell me anything about Hernani the banker, here ? " " What do you want to know, your Excellency ? " " Everything. His temperament. How and with whom he lives. Exact nature of home ties — yes, mark that — and political bias. Now I shall be glad to have this information soon, for he may be dangerous enough to be worth the trouble»of watching. Do you know who that woman was?" " Who has just left, sir, and who is so beautiful ? " he added slUy. " Ah ! those old eyes of yours have discovered that, and what else ? " " That she is Kasimir Hernani's wUe." " And how did you learn that ? " "I recognised her at the first glance, your ExceUency. She refused to give her name, but I make it my business to know." " And you do your business well.

Ah ! Popoloff, good looks don't mean good brains." "Not always, sir." Well, be thankful you have the brains and I can pay you for them. One word about Hernani ; set your wits to work at once and let me hear the result quickly. Why, what is this — the square almost clear, the mob dispersed ? Look, Popoloff ! Now that is good — that is good ; the noise they made was a frightful nuisance." And crossing over to a writing-table, with a sigh of relief, the General became absorbed in scanning and sorting some papers, occasionaUy pausing to make corrections and annotations. A Uttle later Popoloff noiselessly withdrew, and when the neutral tints of the winter evening had deepened into the blackness of night, when the stars were ablaze overhead, he entered another apartment in the huge palace, an apartment smaU in size, octagonal in shape, paneUed with rare wood, cosy with soft mats and replete with every luxury which a fastidious, selfish, and wealthy woman could crowd into her boudoir.

In the midst of aU this finery a little lady with sharp mean features, faded yellow hah, and tired looking eyes, which struck one as being too large for her small, oval face, was recUning haU buried in cushions. The atmosphere was that of a hothouse, and even Popoloff, through whom any keen wind blew, found himself perspiring ; while she, with a little dog curled on her knees, and some tea at hand, complained querulously of the cold, asked twice over if it was freezing, and only seemed to forget about her chilliness when Popoloff got deep into the events of the day. For this was a part of his duty — to recount to Madame Hourko all that had transpired, all that her husband had done and deemed secret proceedings, if need be. But then Popoloff was always so obliging, and might not have retained his position if he had not been large-minded enough to consent to a little harmless gossip now and again.

And this was the kind of woman the General had chosen for a wife ; physically weak, often ailing, by no means beautiful, but doting on him sufficiently to be jealous of a shadow if it bore any resemblance to a female. How strangely people marry I

Chapter II

O-xce outside the great gloomy walls of the palace, Sara found herself in the square, the space of which was now but thinly sprinkled with the moving forms of people, looming large in the blue mist of the gathering darkness. Torches were being kindled and brandished, and the smoke and blaze of them lent a savage aspect to the scene, begirt as it was by towering gables and turrets. Snow was beginning to fall in large flakes, and as they struck upon her face, half blinding her, the shrieks of women's voices, the angry tones of men, the sharp cracks of Cossack nagaikas * sounding clear above the suUen roar of the dispersing mob, assailed her ears and made her shrink and cower under the dark walls. She had but one wish — to reach her home unmolested. But her nerves were shaken, and her dress, though black, was costly enough to betray her.

Ladies were constantly being accosted and insulted, and, in spite of the brave words she had spoken to Hourko, her mind was fuU of such stories. In the Faubourg Cracow some Cossacks opposed the further advance of a drunken and infuriated droshky driver, and one of them lashed the face of a poor beggar who was slinking along in haU-clad wretchedness. There was a piercing shriek, a voUey of oaths, and, with the smell of unwashed clothes and vodka in her nostrils, Sara fled into the quiet shelter of the Jardin de Saxe, and, stiU * Whips. breathless, arrived at the entrance of a mansion which formed the whole side of a square, scarce two hundred yards from the Place de Saxe. This was her home. This was the palace of the famous Jew banker, Kasimir Hernani, and within its walls loans were advanced to European monarchs and nobles, vast business obligations were entered into, and millions of rubles sped out over the world, guided by the wisdom and foresight of this financial genius.

Here in this splendid home, Sara worshipped, and had been worshipped, ever since she had come to it out of poverty and want, hardships innumerable, the alarming existence the daughter of a poor and persecuted man must lead. Hernani doted upon her. She was the apple of his eye, the breath of his nostrils. Here he had dehghted to see her, clad in costly clothes, to satisfy her slightest whim, to greet her with his fondest word, his warmest smile, to lavish upon her the luxuries and refinements, the delights which his affection and wealth could supply. Here, amidst a subdued light, with the perfume of flowers, the gentle lullaby of faUing water and the soothing cadence of singing birds, no matter how the world shook and was troubled, there was quiet and peace for this idol he had set up. And the moment she entered he hastened to join her, to reassure himself that she was safe ; for he had been anxious, disturbed beyond measure by her long absence ; the report that the people were astir having reached him.

Her wraps were upon her still when she heard his step and voice. " Ah ! you are safe ; but wiiat has delayed you ? You have given me such a fright." " I couldn't return sooner. The streets were blocked," she answered, endeavouring to speak as though nothing had happened. " Blocked— and you in them ? But why did you not drive out to-day ? I told you— I warned you. You must never do this again, dearie. You must promise me. I knew something had happened. But what is the matter ? Ah ! something else has occurred ; tell me." His kind words had affected her. She could stUl see the rough Cossacks and hear their strange voices and coarse oaths. The people she had been herded with, poor and dejected, were about her again, and then the picture of Hourko, his words and looks. Overwrought, she leant upon his shoulder and sobbed.

" Come — I insist," he went on, her tears salt upon his Ups. " Now, pull yourseU together and tell me." StruggUng to regain her composure, she said at length, " You know I went to the Bieloi's over in Praga ? " " Yes— well ? " " They were making a search." " Who — the Cossacks ? " he demanded fiercely. "Yes." " While you were there ? " " Yes." "And you — come — I must know. What is there to hide from me ? " " Nothing, of course. Well, they found arms and things. Isaach Bieloi was wrong." " To let them find them, the ass ! " " Yes ; and I was ordered out of the house like the rest." " You — ordered out of a hovel where you went to aid starving people ! Curse them ! — the dogs ! Is there no freedom in the land ? And what else ? " " Oh, nothing ! Kiss me and do not worry me into going over it aU again.

It will only excite you and do no good, and I want to forget. Here I am, safe and sound ; we shall be quiet together for the rest of the evening and I wUl sing to you, so you must do as I tell you." And she clung to him so that his face was hidden in her auburn hair. " But I won't be put off in this way." " Not if I wish it ? " "No. How did you get out of the grip of the brutes, and what did they say ? " She stood before him, her head tUted to one side, the sweetest and most provoking Uttle smUe upon her hps. " WeU, you see," she said slowly, " I never got into it, and they only — weU, they only — smelt. Oh ! " she added, mimicking a shudder, " bad tobacco, vodka and filth, equals asafœtida. Dearie, what a relief it is to find oneself back, to feel a Uttle tired, to sit down on something soft, to be cold, and for the dry heat to put warmth and life into one.

Those poor Bieloi's hadn't a crust — not a kopec left. Besides them, I saw six other families worse off if possible — and to think of them aU, this bitter night ! How will they get through the winter ? Oh ! U I could only build a great house where they could all find food and warmth and rest. They are no longer fit to struggle. It is terrible." " You have done what you can," Hernani answered gravely, " and God, blessed be He, wiU do the rest." " But the chUdren " " Ah ! the chUdren," interrupted Hernani in a hoUow voice, and his eyes sought hers with a hungry look in them, then softened to theh usual expression as he added, " WeU, the children wiU be taken care of, and, after all, they can't suffer as acutely. But now I must go to my work ; when I return you will be rested and less gloomy.

You see, no one is free from trouble." And without saying more he left her, still with a trace of the sad look in his face, and she watched him away, with pain in her own. Her aUusion to chUdren — a natural enough one — had stirred up the famUy ghost, and a moment after she had spoken, she could have cut out her tongue. Hernani was strong, rich, and respected, but he had no children, and of course he would have given aU he had in the world in exchange for them. He wanted a son to bear his name, a son to whom he could leave his wealth, and when exasperated by some new act of oppression — some evil tidings which told of his people being wrongfully used — he had been heard to declare, that he wanted a son whose heart he could set against those whose hands were turned upon the whole Hebrew race.