m a rational Jew myself. I stand by my people as a
sort of family relations, and I am for keeping up our worship in a rational way.
I don't approve of our people getting baptised, because I don't believe in a
Jew's conversion to the Gentile part of Christianity. And now we have political
equality, there's no excuse for a pretence of that sort. But I am for getting
rid of all our superstitions and exclusiveness. There's no reason now why we
shouldn't melt gradually into the populations we live among. That's the order of
the day in point of progress. I would as soon my children married Christians as
Jews. And I'm for the old maxim, A man's country is where he's well off.«
    »That country's not so easy to find, Gideon,« said the rapid Pash, with a
shrug and grimace. »You get ten shillings a-week more than I do, and have only
half the number of children. If somebody will introduce a brisk trade in watches
among the Jerusalem wares, I'll go - eh, Mordecai, what do you say?«
    Deronda, all ear for these hints of Mordecai's opinion, was inwardly
wondering at his persistence in coming to this club. For an enthusiastic spirit
to meet continually the fixed indifference of men familiar with the object of
his enthusiasm is the acceptance of a slow martyrdom, beside which the fate of a
missionary tomahawked without any considerate rejection of his doctrines seems
hardly worthy of compassion. But Mordecai gave no sign of shrinking: this was a
moment of spiritual fulness, and he cared more for the utterance of his faith
than for its immediate reception. With a fervour which had no temper in it, but
seemed rather the rush of feeling in the opportunity of speech, he answered
Pash: -
    »What I say is, let every man keep far away from the brotherhood and the
inheritance he despises. Thousands on thousands of our race have mixed with the
Gentile as Celt with Saxon, and they may inherit the blessing that belongs to
the Gentile. You cannot follow them. You are one of the multitudes over this
globe who must walk among the nations and be known as Jews, and with words on
their lips which mean, I wish I had not been born a Jew, I disown any bond with
the long travail of my race, I will outdo the Gentile in mocking at our
separateness, they all the while feel breathing on them the breath of contempt
because they