Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty Eight

This wandering nation is cut off from everyone, But boasting that they are good at various arts in the world; They haunt rivers and seas, forests and deserts, acquainted with the mysteries contained in them; They gather unnoticed flowers and plants, Make them play a strange power that can't be dreamed of. "Jews" Our narrative has to go back a few pages and explain something to the readers, otherwise they won't be able to understand the ins and outs of these important plots.With their own wisdom, the reader must have already guessed that when Ivanhoe was seriously injured and collapsed, and it seemed that the whole world had abandoned him, it was because of Rebecca's repeated requests that her father was moved and the heroic The young warriors were carried home from the tourney; Isaac and his daughter were then living on the outskirts of Ashby Town.

It was not in any case difficult to persuade Isaac to take this step, for he was of a benevolent and affectionate nature.But he also accepted the prejudices of his persecuted people, the timidity and apprehension that had to be overcome. Holy Abraham!He is a good young man, he cried, and my heart is sore to see the blood shed on his costly embroidered coat and his costly armor.But bring him to our house!Girl, have you seriously considered it?He was a Christian, and by our laws we are not to have dealings with strangers and Gentiles except for commercial gain. Don't say that, dear papa, replied Rebecca, we really can't drink with them and entertain with them, but Gentiles who are hurt and in danger should also be brothers of the Jews.

If only I knew, Jacob.Book.Rabbi Tudela [Note: A rabbi is a person who presides over religious ceremonies and implements canon and law in Judaism, meaning a teacher. ] What do you think of the question, replied Isaac, but a good young man must not be allowed to bleed to death.Let Seth and Reuben carry him to Ashby. No, let them put him in my pack chair, said Rebecca, and I can ride. That would expose you to Ishmaelites and Edomites. ] in front of those dogs.whispered Isaac, casting a suspicious glance at the group of knights and squires.But Rebecca, who was already carrying out her merciful plans, did not hear his words; at last Isaac took her by the sleeve, and cried again in a panic: O father Aaron!What if this young man dies!If he dies under our protection, will we be held accountable?Maybe I'll tear them into pieces!

He shall not die, said my father, said Rebecca, gently pulling back the sleeve from Isaac's hand, and he shall not die unless we leave him; The world is responsible. Well, said Isaac, letting go, and it pained me to see his blood trickle down, as so many gold coins have flowed from my purse.I know very well that Miriam, the daughter of Rabbi Manasses of Byzantium, may her soul rest in heaven, educated you in the art of medicine, and also the function of herbs and the effects of formulations.Therefore, do what you will, you are a good girl, a gift from God to me, an honor to me and my family, and the nation of my ancestors, a song of joy to me.

However, Isaac's concerns were not unfounded. On the way back to Ashby, his daughter's generous and selfless act of kindness really exposed her beauty to everyone, which naturally did not escape Brienne.Bois-Ghibert's malicious gaze.Twice he walked to and fro beside them, fixing his evil, wanton eyes on the pretty Jewess, the effect of which we have seen, in that she fell inadvertently into that licentious The clutches of the voluptuous. Without delay, Rebecca took the patient to their temporary home, examined and bandaged the wound herself.Young readers of romances and love songs know, of course, that in those so-called dark ages surgery was often taught among women, and that a gallant knight was often wounded and healed by a woman who had touched his heart. .

However, Jews, regardless of men and women, have certain knowledge and practical skills in various departments of medicine. When the kings and nobles were sick or injured, they often had to find an experienced doctor from the nation they despised. The masters healed them.Although among Christians, it is generally believed that what Jewish rabbis are familiar with are all kinds of esoteric magic from the East, especially the mystical magic of Judaism. The urgency to seek help from the Jewish physicians was no less.At the same time the rabbis did not deny their knowledge of the supernatural, since their race was so discriminated against that it did them no harm, but on the contrary lessened the contemptuous element of that vicious attack.A rabbi may be as hateful in people's minds as a Jewish usurer, but he is not held in the same contempt.Moreover, since these Jews are said to have cured all sorts of intractable diseases, it is probable that they did possess some of the mysteries of medical technology, which became their own secret, and the xenophobia fostered by their situation made them, although living in Among Christians, strict precautions are taken to prevent them from leaking to Christians.

The beautiful Rebecca has been well-educated since she was a child, and she has accepted all kinds of knowledge inherent in her nation. In addition, she is smart, eager to learn, and has a strong understanding ability. Class Balge, beyond the average level of her age, sex, and even the era in which she lived.Her medical knowledge and medical skills were taught by an older Jewish woman, who was the daughter of a famous doctor at that time. She liked Rebecca and regarded her as her own child; it is said that she was also at this age, She had inherited the mantle of her learned father under such circumstances, and now she passed these secrets to Rebecca.Indeed, Miriam's life was unfortunate. She became a victim of that religious fanatic age, but her knowledge was inherited by her bright students.

Thus Rebecca's knowledge, like her beauty, won the general esteem and admiration of her tribe, and she was almost regarded as one of those gifted women mentioned in the biographies of sages.Her father, adoring her talents, and involuntarily seeing her as the jewel in his palm, favored her so much that he gave her more liberty than his national customs usually permitted, and, as we have seen, he Often act according to her ideas, even at the expense of his original views. When Ivanhoe arrived at Isaac's apartment, he was still unconscious, having bled profusely from fighting hard in the tournament arena.Rebecca examined the wound, and applied trauma medicine to it, as she had learned in medicine; and she told her father that her only fear was the high fever which might be caused by the profuse bleeding, and that, if the fever subsided, Miriam's ointment would have its intended effect. If cured, the guest's life was not in danger, and the next day he was safe enough to travel with them to York.Isaac was dumbfounded.His mercies would have been limited to bringing him to Ashby, or at most to leaving the badly wounded Christian in his present lodgings, and entrusting his care, while assuring the Hebrew landlady that he would pay all expenses at any time. offer.Rebecca, however, disagreed with this, and for a number of reasons, we will only mention two which Isaac considered particularly important.First of all, she could not hand over the precious medicine to another doctor, even if it was a member of her own nationality, for fear that the precious secret recipe would be leaked; secondly, the wounded knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe , is a very important confidant of Richard the Lionheart. If the king returns to the country and finds out that Isaac has funded his brother's conspiracy to rebel, he will inevitably be punished. At that time, only this one will be favored by Richard. A knight can protect him and get him through.

You speak the truth, Rebecca, said Isaac, beginning to give in to these strong arguments, and it is against the will of God to divulge to others the secrets of late Miriam; To irrelevant persons, whether it be gold or silver, or the secret recipe of a wise physician; no doubt, whomever Heaven has entrusted them with should keep them safe.As for that man that the English Nazarenes call the Lionheart, he knows well that I would rather meet the great Lion of Edom than fall into his hands, and perhaps he already knows of my dealings with his brother.I will therefore take your advice, and let this young man go with us to York, and stay with us until his wounds are healed.Now there are many rumors outside that the Lionheart King has returned to the country. If this is true, if the king's dissatisfaction falls on your father, then only Wilfred of Ivanhoe is my reliable protector.If the king doesn't come back, this Wilfred, with his martial arts, can make as much money as he did yesterday and today, and pay us back what we owe us.Because this man is a good young man, he keeps his word, he never defaults on borrowing money, and he is willing to rescue the Israelites. Even if your father falls into the hands of the disciples and strongmen of Belial, he will lend a helping hand.

It was almost dark before Ivanhoe regained consciousness.When he awoke from fitful sleep he was still in the dazed state of mind which is inevitable when one emerges from a stupor.For a while, he couldn't remember what happened before he fell down in the arena; he always felt vague and vague about what happened yesterday, and he couldn't figure out a clue.All he knew was that he was wounded, aching, weak, and powerless; the attack and counterattack, the horse's head-on rush, impact and fall, the shouts and the impact of weapons constituted an earth-shaking scene in his memory. scene of chaos.He tried to pull the curtain back, which he managed to a certain extent, but the pain of the wound was almost unbearable.

Much to his astonishment, he found that he was sleeping in a luxuriously furnished room, with no chairs at first glance, but cushions, and it was so arranged in all respects in such an oriental color that he began to Doubt, if in his sleep he was sent back to the land of Palestine.Later, this impression deepened. He saw that the curtain covering the door was pulled back, and the figure of a young girl floated into the room. Her clothes were gorgeous and oriental, unlike Europeans. A dark-skinned servant. Just as the wounded knight was about to question the beautiful ghost, she pressed a thin finger to her bright red lips to signal him to keep silent. At this moment, the servant came to the bedside and uncovered Evan Hell's threat. The beautiful Jewish girl looked at the quilt next to her for a while, and felt very satisfied; the wound was still well bandaged, and the condition was not bad.She set to work, although in more civilized times such things were considered unsuitable for women, yet her movements were so graceful and dignified, and her manner so simple and unpretentious, that she did not realize that this was a young and beautiful maiden. While attending to a sick person, or bandaging the wound of a member of the opposite sex, all her thoughts were focused on this act of kindness, to alleviate the suffering of the patient and overcome the threat of death by her loving care.Rebecca gave brief instructions in Hebrew to the old servant, who had always acted as her assistant in similar cases, and obeyed them without further questioning. A strange language, however harsh it may sound in other people's mouths, has a wonderful and joyful effect from the pretty Rebecca's mouth, which is enchanted by fantasy, which makes it seem The voice of a benevolent fairy, indeed, does not understand the meaning of the ear, but the sweet tone and tender expression that accompany it provoke a pleasant response and resonance of the heart.Ivanhoe didn't want to ask any more questions, but in silence, let them take what they thought was best for his recovery; his curiosity was finally overwhelmed when the gracious doctor was about to leave after everything was over. .He had learned some Arabic in his travels to the East, and he could speak to the lady who now stood before him, in her turban and girdle, and he could speak to her, so he said: Please, gentle Miss, you take such good care of me But the beautiful doctor immediately interrupted him, and an uncontrollable smile appeared on her usually melancholy and dignified face: I was born in England, Mr. Knight, and I can speak English, although I The clothes and blood of the people belong to another region. Honorable Miss.Knight Ivanhoe began again, but Rebecca cut him off again hastily. Don't call me that word of honour, she said, but I should let you know at once that the little lady who waits on you is poor Jew, daughter of Isaac of York; In the current situation, when you need help, he and his family should try their best to take care of you. I do not know whether fair Rowena will be entirely satisfied with what her loyal knight has just done, for he gazes tenderly at the fine features, the slender figure, the radiant beauty of the lovely Rebecca. Eyes, and these shining eyes, under the cover of long slender eyelashes, seem half-dark and softly lit. A troubadour will compare them to the starlight peeping out through the jasmine bushes in the night sky.But Ivanhoe, being an orthodox Catholic, could not have felt the same way about Jewish girls; Rebecca had foreseen this, which was why she was eager to mention her father's name and her bloodline.However, this beautiful and intelligent daughter of Isaac is not without a bit of female weakness. When she found that the respectful and admiring gaze suddenly changed, she couldn't help but sigh secretly in her heart, because although the gaze was still to a certain extent On the face, the tenderness shown to the strange female benefactor was maintained, and the expression has become cold, calm and reserved. It no longer contains deep feelings, but expresses gratitude to an unexpected outsider, a member of a weak and small nation. Thank you so much for taking care of it.This is not to say that Ivanhoe's previous attitude meant anything other than ordinary sincere respect, the kind of respect a young man would inevitably give to a beautiful woman; Poor Rebecca, who did not consider herself unworthy of respect at all, was relegated to an inferior position, which was chilling after all. But Rebecca is naturally gentle and frank, and she also has prejudices caused by the times and religions against Ivanhoe, and she doesn't want to blame.On the contrary, this beautiful Jewish woman cared patiently and wholeheartedly, although she realized that her patients now saw her only as one of a fallen people, and that it would be disgraceful to associate with her more than necessary. He, hope he heals and recovers.She informed him that they must go to York, and her father resolved to take him with him, and keep him at his home until he recovered.Ivanhoe dismissed the plan, on the grounds that he didn't want to bother his benefactors anymore. I could stay in Ashby, or near it, he said, with a Saxon manor, or a well-to-do farmer, if he would take in a wounded countryman, and let me wear my clothes again when he was healed. Before armor, it was enough to stay in his house temporarily.I could even find a Saxon-endowed monastery if it would take me in.Or whether it is possible to send me to Burton, where I am sure to be taken in by Volsioff, the abbot of St. Vysolt, with whom I am somewhat related. Doubtless, said Rebecca, with a sad smile, all these places are better for you to live in as your refuge than a despised Jew's home; Go to your doctor and you can't change your residence.You know well that our nation can heal sword wounds, though we never stick guns; especially in our families we keep those secret recipes, which have been handed down from Solomon's time to the present day, and their potency, you I have already experienced it.There isn't a Nazarene in this land of the British Isles, beg your pardon, there isn't a Christian doctor, Mr. Knight, who can put you back in your armor in a month. So how many days can you cure me?Ivanhoe asked anxiously. No more than eight days, as long as you are patient and do exactly what I say.Rebecca replied. I swear by the Holy Mother that it would not be a sin to mention her here This is not a time for me or any true knight to lie in bed; if only your promises will be kept, madam, I will do everything in my power to find a helmet full The gold coins to repay you. My promise will be kept, said Rebecca, and in eight days from now you will be able to put on your armor, but I don't want your gold or silver, I only ask you to promise me one thing. As long as I can do it, and a true Christian can promise the Jews, Ivanhoe replied, I will definitely promise you and meet your request. I don't want anything from you, Rebecca replied, I just want you to believe that Jews can be of great use to Christians in the future, and they don't need any rewards. The same should be blessed by God. It is a crime not to believe it, madam, replied Ivanhoe, then I will rely on your skill, without hesitation or doubt; I believe, under your treatment, on the eighth day, I will be able to wear Armor up.Now, gracious doctor, let me inquire about the outside news, what has become of the noble Saxon Cedric and his family?And that lovely lady, he shut up, as if she would not speak Rowena's name in a Jew's house, I mean the lady who was elected queen at the tourney, how is she? Is that the lady you chose, Mr. Chevalier?Rebecca replied, Your eyesight is indeed as much admired as your bravery. Even though Ivanhoe had bled profusely, a blush welled up his cheeks at this moment, and he realized that, despite his best efforts to conceal his deep feelings for Rowena, he had inadvertently leaked the secret in a moment of impatience. It's not her that I want to inquire mainly, but Prince John, he said, and I want to know, how is my loyal squire, and why doesn't he come to wait on me? Now I have to use my doctor's power to order you to remain silent, Rebecca replied, you can stop thinking about it, and I can tell you now some things you need to know.Prince John suspended the tourney, and hastened to York with his party of lords, knights, and clergy; , searched for as much money as possible.He was said to be plotting a revolt against his brother's throne. There was bound to be a fight, Ivanhoe said, lifting himself from his hospital bed, and as long as Britain had a true subject, he should stand up.To defend Richard's rights, I will fight those people to the end, for his just cause, one against both of them! But for you to do that, said Rebecca, putting her hand on his shoulder, you must now follow my instructions and remain calm. Yes, girl, Ivanhoe said, try to be as calm as possible in these troubled times.And what about Cedric and his family? His steward came in a moment afterward in a hurry, the Jewish girl said, and he ran out of breath to demand a sum of money from my father for a shipment of wool from Cedric; and from him I heard that Cedric and Athelstan, of Coningsburg, was very angry when he left the residence of Prince John, and was preparing to hurry home. Is there any lady at the banquet with them?asked Wilfred. You are asking about Miss Rowena. Rebecca made it more clear in her answer. Miss Rowena did not attend the Prince's banquet. According to the butler, she is now returning to Rotherwood with her guardian Cedric.As for your loyal follower Ge Si ha!cried the knight, do you know his name?Yes, you know, he immediately said, of course you know, because he got it from you, now I believe it was only out of your own generosity, he just received a hundred gold coins from you yesterday. Don't mention that again, said Rebecca, flushing, as I saw how easily the tongue gives away what the heart wishes to keep hidden. But these gold coins, Ivanhoe said, it concerns my honor, and I must return it to your father. When the eight days have passed, do as you please, Rebecca said, but don't think about it now, don't talk about it, it will interfere with your recovery. All right, kind girl, said Ivanhoe, if I don't listen to you, I'll be at my wit's end.But please tell me how poor Ge Si is, and I won't ask you for anything else. I am sorry to have to tell you the truth, Sir Chevalier, replied the Jewish girl, that he ordered Cedric to be imprisoned.Then she found that Wilfred's face was sad when he heard the news, and she said at once: "But according to Oswald the steward, if there is nothing to rekindle the master's displeasure with him, he believes Cedric will forgive Ge Si, For he was a faithful servant, always favored by his master, and he made this mistake only out of his love for Cedric's son.He also said that in case Cedric's anger towards him could not be alleviated, he and his partners, especially the clown Wang Ba, decided to notify Ge Si in advance and let him try to escape. May God bless them not to change their minds!But I always felt like I was destined to bring disaster to anyone who cared about me, Ivanhoe said.My king honors and exalts me, but lo and behold, he owes a mountain to his brother, who takes up arms to usurp his throne; Restraints and troubles; and now my father in a fit of rage nearly kills the poor servant, just because he loves me and serves me faithfully!You see, girl, it is such a misfortune that you try to help; and it would be wise to let me go, lest my fate follow me like a hound, and make you its prey. No, sir Cavalier, said Rebecca, your weakness and your anxiety have misinterpreted the will of Heaven.You think, just when your country needed a strong warrior and a loyal heart, you came back to your country; just when your king's enemies were tyrannical and arrogant, you stopped their arrogance.As for your doom, do you not see that it was at this time that God sent you a physician to save you, even from a spurned nation?So you've got to have the guts to believe that you're in for something earth-shattering.Sent from heaven to do your part for this country.Goodbye, I will send Reuben to bring you medicine, you must take it on time, rest in peace, so that you can survive tomorrow's trip. Ivanhoe was convinced by this reasoning and accepted Rebecca's guidance.The medicine Ruben gave him was analgesic and anesthesia, and it made the patient sleep through the night without pain.In the morning the kind doctor found that his fever had completely passed away and he was fit for the fatigue of the journey. He was placed in the pack in which he left the tourney, and every care was taken for the comfort of his journey.Only one thing, despite Rebecca's repeated pleadings, was not enough attention, to do what the wounded knight wanted.It turns out that Isaac is just like Juvenal [Note: Ancient Roman satirical poet. ] The rich traveler described in the tenth satire is always worried about robbers blocking the way, and feels that the predatory Norman nobles and Saxon bandits may appear before his eyes at any time as a piece of fat, Therefore, he had to hurry without stopping, to hurry and shorten the time for rest and meals.In the end he overtook Cedric and Athelstan, though they had started several hours before him, not to mention their splendid feast at St. Vysolt's Abbey, which had delayed them quite a bit.However, because of the miraculous curative effect of Miriam's ointment, and because of Ivanhoe's strong physical strength, he withstood the exhaustion of the journey and did not cause the adverse consequences that the kind doctor worried about. But from another point of view, the rush of the Jews was just waste of haste, which was counterproductive.He insisted on a quick approach, which caused several altercations between him and the escorts he had hired.Those people are all Saxons.With the characteristics of this nation's unchangeable desire for ease and pleasure, the Normans once called this the inferiority of eating and doing things.They and Sherlock [Note: The Jews in Shakespeare's comedy "The Merchant of Venice" refer to Isaac here. ]’s position was just the opposite. He wanted to rely on the rich Jewish man to eat and drink before accepting employment. Now he found that the rich man was only on his way, so he was disappointed and very annoyed.They also protested that their horses were in danger of being injured by running so non-stop.In the end, Isaac and his bodyguard quarreled bitterly over the amount of ale to be served at each meal.In this way, when Isaac had seen the signs of danger and trembled in fear, lest disaster would come, those disgruntled mercenaries left him and walked away.He counted on their protection but did not take the necessary measures to win over their hearts. It was in this helpless situation that the Jewish father and daughter and their wounded met Cedric, as has been explained before, and soon they all fell into the hands of De Blasey's group.At first the dog didn't attract attention, and if it weren't for De Blasey's curiosity, it would have been fine.But he leaned inwards, thinking that the prey he was going to chase might be hidden here, because Rowena was always wearing a veil.And so, when De Blasey was taken aback to find lying in the caravan a wounded man who thought he had fallen into the hands of a Saxon strongman, his name might be of use to himself and himself. His friends are protective, so he candidly admits that he is Ivanhoe's Wilfred. Although De Blasey is rough and frivolous, he has not completely abandoned the knight's honor concept, which makes him not want to hurt the knight who is in a state of defenselessness, and he is also unwilling to inform the bull-faced general. The contender for the Hefeng land would put that person to death without hesitation.On the other hand, the situation in the tournament field and the well-known reason why Wilfred was driven out of the house by his father made De Blasey unwilling to release Miss Rowena's lover, which was far beyond his tolerance psychological maximum.The only compromise he could take, between good and evil, was to order two of his squires to stand by the side of the caravan, and keep no one near it.If asked, they were obliged to answer, as their master had ordered, that it was Miss Rowena's pack car, and that she had given a ride for a member of their family who had been wounded in the melee.Arriving at Torquaystone, both the Templars and the lord of the castle were busy carrying out their own plans, one to exploit the Jewish property, the other to usurp his daughter, so two of de Blassy's squires were transported In the name of an injured partner, Ivanhoe was sent to a remote house.When General Niu Mian asked them why they didn't go up the tower after hearing the alarm, they also explained it that way. A wounded partner!General Bullface replied, very angry and surprised, no wonder those country bumpkins and peasants are so arrogant, they dare to besiege the castle, those clowns and pigs dare to challenge the nobles, because when the castle is about to be attacked, we Our fighters are still nurses for the sick, and our freedom fighters are guarding the beds of the wounded!Go up to the tower, you idle bastards!He yelled in a loud voice that echoed from the top of the roof, "Go up to the tower, and don't tell me to break your backs with this stick!" The two men replied with mournful faces that they would rather go up to the tower to fight, as long as the bull-faced general would speak for them in front of their master, because it was their master who ordered them to take care of the dying man here. Dying man!You bastards, replied the Baron, I tell you, if we fail to hold this castle, we shall all be dead.But I can delegate the task of guarding this bastard to someone else.Say, Everid, old good woman, Saxon witch, do you hear me calling you?You come to attend to this sick man, because he must be attended to, and these two rascals have to fight with me.Men, here are two crossbows, crossbows and square arrows, take them to the bunker at once, and shoot at the Saxon's head. The two servants, like most people in this industry, love to fight and don't want to be idle, so they happily went up to the tower to execute the order.In this way, the responsibility of guarding Ivanhoe fell on Efrid, that is, Ulriga.But her mind was so full of humiliating memories and a desire for vengeance that she at once turned over the care of the sick to Rebecca.