herded in the
Russian Pale to begin with.'

'The Providence of God has long been scattering them to New York.'

'Yes, four hundred thousand in one square mile. A pretty scattering!'

Sir Asher flushed angrily. 'But they go to the Argentine too. I heard
of a colony even in Paraguay.'

'Where they are preaching the Unity to the Indians.'

'I do not discuss religion with a mocker. We are in exile by God's
decree--we must suffer.'

'Suffer!' The artist's glance wandered cynically round the snug
solidities of Sir Asher's exile, but he forbore to be personal. 'Then
if we _must_ suffer, why did you subscribe so much to the fund for the
Russian Jews?'

Sir Asher looked mollified at Barstein's acquaintance with his
generosity. 'That I might suffer with them,' he replied, with a touch
of humour.

'Then you _are_ a Jewish patriot,' retorted Barstein.

The bluff British face grew clouded again.

'Heaven forbid. I only know of British patriots. You talk treason to
your country, young man.'

'Treason--I!' The young man laughed bitterly.

'It is you Zionists that will undermine all the rights we have so
painfully won in the West.'

'Oh, then you're not really a British patriot,' Barstein began.

'I will beg you to remember, sir, that I equipped a corps of
volunteers for the Transvaal.'

'I dare say. But a corps of volunteers for Zion--that is blasphemy,
narrow tribalism.'

'Zion's soil is holy; we want no volunteers there: we want saints and
teachers. And what would your volunteers do in Zion? Fight the Sultan
with his million soldiers? They couldn't even live in Palestine as men
of peace. There is neither coal nor iron--hence no manufactures.
Agriculture? It's largely stones and swamps. Not to mention it's too
hot for Jews to work in the fields. They'd all starve. You've no right
to play recklessly with human lives. Besides, even if Palestine were
as fertile as England, Jews could never live off one another. And
think how they'd quarrel!'

Sir Asher ended almost good-humouredly. His array of arguments seemed
to him a row of steam-hammers.

'We can live off one another as easily as any other people. As for
quarrelling, weren't you in Parliament? Party government makes quarrel
the very basis of the Constitution.'

Sir Asher flushed again. A long lifetime of laying down the law had
ill prepared him for repartee.

'A pretty mess we should make of Government!' he sneered.

'Why? We have given Ministers to eve