believe."

Bacon saw that he must retract or lose all, and he went on with some
haste:

"Perchance 'tis not an opinion in writing that is required," he said.

"Nay--nay; your spoken word will suffice, Master Bacon."

"In that case, then----"

She drew ten gold pieces from her purse and dropped them into his
extended palm. Then, seating herself upon a bench against the wall hard
by, she said:

"The case is this: If a certain merchant borrow a large sum from a Jew
in expectation of the speedy arrival of a certain argosy of great
treasure, and if the merchant give his bond for the sum, the penalty of
the bond being one pound of flesh from the body of the merchant, and if
then the argosies founder and the bond be forfeit, may the Jew recover
the pound of flesh and cut it from the body of the merchant?"

As she concluded, Phoebe leaned forward and watched her companion's
face earnestly, hoping that he would betray his hidden interest in this
Shakespearian problem by some look or sign.

The face into which she gazed was grave and judicial and the reply was a
ready one.

"Assuredly not! Such a bond were contrary to public policy and void _ab
initio_. The case is not one for hesitancy; 'tis clear and certain. No
court in Christendom would for a moment lend audience to the Jew. Why,
to uphold the bond were to license murder. True, the victim hath to this
consented; but 'tis doctrine full well proven and determined, that no
man can give valid consent to his own murder. Were this otherwise,
suicide were clearly lawful."

"Oh!" Phoebe exclaimed, as this new view of the subject was presented
to her. "Then the Duke of Venice----"

She broke off and hurried into new questioning.

"Another opinion hath been given me," she said. "'Twas urged that the
Jew could have his pound of flesh, for so said the bond, but that he
might shed no blood in the cutting, blood not being mentioned in the
bond, and that his goods were forfeit did he cut more or less than a
pound, by so much as the weight of a hair. Think you this be law?"

Still could she see no shadow in Bacon's face betraying consciousness
that there was more in her words than met the ear.

"No--no!" he replied, somewhat contemptuously. "If that A make promise
of a chose tangible to B and the promise fall due, B may have not only
that which was promised, but all such matters and things accessory as
must, by the very nature of the agreed transfer, be attached to the
thi