The Story of a Jewish Girl and her Christian Friend
They were friends; everyone, in Sunnyville knew that. And yet, had you seen them together you would scarcely have believed it, the contrast between them was so striking. In the first place, Judith was a Jewess while Miss Doree was a Christian. But this is not saying much. Friendship between Jews and Christians is a common enough thing, especially when neither is inclined to be analytic. But in this case it was different. Both Miss Doree and Judith were of keen, analytical minds; both were intense, earnest and sensitive, except that the Jewess was proud, unbend-ingly proud, while her friend boasted a “Christian humility.”
Another striking point about them wasthat both were deeply devout. Miss Doreewas a zealous, out-and-out, almost fanatical Presbyterian, whose standing in Sunnyville church circles was very high. AndJudith? Judith was a Jewess to her finger tips, or, as she expressed it, "from thecrown of her head to the soles of her feet."Her life, her soul were steeped in Jewishness; her mind was saturated with it.Every impulse of her being, every throb ofher heart, every thrill of her sensitive soulresponded with sympathy for her race,her religion and everything which concerned it. The blood in her veins had allthe passion, all the fire, all the poetry ofher great, historic race. Judith loved herpeople and gloried in their history. Andno wonder. From her earliest childhoodshe had been daily, nay, hourly, fed on theancient, rich and mystic thought of herpeople's sages and savants. The very airwhich she breathed seemed full of theeloquence of some poet or prophet. It wasall because she loved books, books of allsorts, but more especially her people's books.How she loved to delve into the musty,motheaten tomes! It was like looking into
Under the influence of this new thought
a magic mirror whose face reflects wonderful, mysterious objects that seem quite near; so near that we stretch out our hand to grasp them, only to find that the objects have faded away and eluded us.
Day-dreams, castle-building and rambles through the beautiful gardens which surrounded their home were part of Judith's existence. Whatever time was left was spent in the company of her books. When still a very, very, small child she had imbibed the burning words of the prophets—their passion, their vehemence, often made her childish mind stagger; she would walk about as if intoxicated, drunk from the excessive indulgence of her emotions. Even now, after many years, the echo of those inspiring thoughts still keeps her soul afire with holy fervor.
Judith's friends, who knew her as a calm,reserved girl, never dreamed that beneaththe cold exterior was an intense, high-strung nature. Judith had early learnedto restrain herself. Bred amid calm anddignified surroundings, demonstrativenesswas not a part of her nature. Outwardlyshe lacked nothing, her life was even andhappy. But there was that moral craving—a mysterious, ceaseless, insatiable craving which often robbed her of her peace ofmind. This craving was manifestly selfish. Judith, analyst that she was, hadlooked into her heart and had guaged itswants. She was too honest not to admitto herself that the yearnings and restlessness of her spirit were born of the selfishdesire to be elevated above the commonlevel. As she grew older she was glad tofind her old love of self-glorification growing weaker and less persistent; in its steada new feeling was taking possesion of her.She was learning to forget herself in thethought of others—her people.