Transcriber's Notes:
1. Page scan source:
http://www.archive.org/details/judithtrachtenb00lewigoog
Copyright, 1891, by Harper & Brothers.
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About sixty years ago, during the reign of the Emperor Francis theFirst, there lived in a small town in Eastern Galicia an excellent man,who had been greatly favored by fortune. His name was NathanielTrachtenberg; his occupation was that of a chandler. He had inheritedfrom his father a modest business, which he had increased by his energyand perseverance, by adding to it the manufacture of wax candles, andby the admirable quality of his goods. Possibly, also, by the wisemoderation he used in demanding payment, which had secured nearly allthe noble families of the country as his patrons.
His intellectual progress kept pace with his increase of riches. Richlyendowed by nature, he acquired, by his intercourse with those ofsuperior position and by the numerous journeys he made to the West forbusiness purposes, a higher degree of culture than was usual with hisco-religionists of that period. He spoke and wrote German fluently; heread the Vienna papers regularly, and even occasionally a poet, such asSchiller or Lessing.
But, no matter how widely his opinions might vary from those of hisless-cultivated co-religionists as to the aims and purposes of life, hebound himself closely to them in matters of dress and style of living,and not only conformed to every command of the Law, but carried outevery injunction of the rabbis with punctilious exactitude.
"You do not know the atmosphere we breathe," he was accustomed to sayto his progressive Jewish friends in Breslau and Vienna. "It does notmatter as to my opinion of the sinfulness of carrying a stick on theSabbath, but it is important to prove to them by the example of a manthey respect that one may read German books, talk with Christians incorrect German, and still be a pious Jew. Therefore it would be a sinif my talar were replaced by a German coat. Do you suppose, either,it would bring me closer to the gentry? No, indeed. They would onlyregard it as an impotent attempt to raise myself to their level. So webetter-educated Jews must remain as we are for the present, at least,as regards externals." This was the result of serious conviction, healways added; and how serious, he proved by the method of educationwhich he pursued with his two children, his wife having died while shewas still quite young.
There was a boy, Raphael, and a girl, Judith. The latter gave promiseof great beauty. Both received a careful education, in accordance withthe requirements of the age, from a tutor, one Herr Bergheimer, who hadbeen brought from Mayence by Trachtenberg. But their religious trainingwas cared for by the father himself. "I will not say," he once told thetut