ursuits,
they have recourse to such as are within their power; and thus the Jews,
who were unable to hold even land in their possession, became the
money-makers; and, consequently, moneylenders of the world--and, as they
were frequently pillaged and deprived by extortion of their wealth, they
naturally endeavoured to regain, by every means left to them, that of
which they had been robbed.

Now, though there are many Jews whose upright conduct is sufficient to
retrieve the characters of their whole people, such cannot be said for
the old Maltese Jew, Aaron Bannech. He was a rogue ingrain. To lie,
cheat, and rob, where he could do so without risk of detection, was his
occupation and delight. Lying, cheating, and robbery, were in him a
second nature. He considered them not only lawful, but praiseworthy
employments. He could not help lying and cheating if he tried. By so
doing, he had heaped up hoards of wealth--he had raised himself from
abject penury, and how could he be expected to persuade his conscience,
or what stood him in place of one, that he had not been acting rightly.
True his gold was of no real use to him--he had no one to enjoy it with
him--he had no relative to whom he could leave it. Some might say that
it would serve to repurchase Judea for his people; but he cared no more
for Judea than he did for Home. He would not have parted with a
sixpence to rebuild Jerusalem, unless he could have got a very large
interest for his money--indeed he would probably have required very
sufficient security, before he would have consented to part with it.
His appearance was far from peculiar or striking as he sat in a dingy
underground den, which he appeared to have burrowed out for himself
beneath the groaning walls of one of the old mansions of Valetta. He
had sharp, ferrety eyes, a hooked nose, and a long, dirty, grey beard;
indeed, no difference could be discerned between him and his countrymen
employed in selling old clothes in London. He wore a brown cap on his
head, anila, long serge overcoat, the colour of which it was impossible
to determine; and a pair of slippers, which had once been yellow, but
were now stained with many a varied tinge. The chamber in which he sat
was fitted up with a desk, and a table covered with packages of papers
and account-books, two high stools, and three or four rickety chairs.
He was by himself, waiting in expectation of the arrival of the Greek.
The time appointed had alread