But if the old, grey-bearded Ichabod had been an object of dislike to
the youthful and self-willed Jewess before she saw Sir Willmott Burrell,
how did she regard him afterwards!
Manasseh Ben Israel had, as we have intimated, intrusted some packages
for his daughter to the charge of the treacherous knight; and how he
abused the trust has been already shown. But the poor Jewess found to
her cost, that though she loved him with all the warmth and ardour of
her own nature, he regarded her only as an object of pastime and
pleasure; the idea of in reality marrying a Jewess never once entered
into his calculation, though he was obliged to submit to something like
the ceremony, before he could overcome scruples that are implanted with
much care in the heart of every Jewish maiden. Although she deceived her
guardians and her antiquated lover with great dexterity, it never
occurred to her that Sir Willmott could be so base as to deceive her.
She was new to the world and its ways; and the full torrent of her
anger, jealousy, and disappointment burst upon him, when she found that
the charms of a fair-haired lady had superseded her own, and that
Burrell was already treating her with coldness. Of all the passions
inherent in the heart of a woman, that of jealousy is the most dangerous
to herself and others: it is fierce and restless in its nature; when
infuriated, nothing can oppose its progress; and although most powerful
in the most feeble-minded, it frequently assumes the semblance of
intellectual strength. Zillah's jealousy kept pace with her headlong
love, and in one of its most violent paroxysms she made the attempt on
the life of Burrell, which, it is easy to believe, he never forgave.
Subsequently, and during the remainder of his stay in Paris, he humoured
her fancy, and led her to imagine that he had sufficient influence with
Cromwell to prevail on him to interest her father on her behalf, and do
what no Israelite of the time had ever done--recognise a Christian
son-in-law. After Burrell's departure, however, she soon saw how little
reliance was to be placed upon his promises, and therefore resolved to
act for herself. Suspicion and jealousy divided her entire soul between
them; and she determined not to trust Dalton to bring her over to
England, because Burrell had recommended her to do so. Jeromio was known
to the person at whose house she lodged at St. Vallery, and, hearing
that she wanted to get to England, and would dispense much largess to
secure a passage, he thought he could make something by secreting her on
board, and then passing her off to his captain as a dumb boy. To this
plan Zillah readily agreed, for her imagination was at all times far
stronger than her reason. She had cast her life upon a die, and cared
not by what means her object was to be secured.