London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
THE POSITION OF THE JEWS.
As I am referring particularly to leaders of religious thought in this chapter, it may not be out of place at | |
29 | this point to make a passing allusion to the position held by the Jews at the close of the century in the estimation of their fellow Londoners. Thanks to their kindness of heart to their countrymen of British nationality and their patriotism, they have long since ceased to be regarded as a race apart. which in the last century was regarded as a comedy, so far as the principal character was concerned, at the present time is accepted in the same relationship as a tragedy. The wrongs of Shylock are no longer received with shouts of derisive laughter, but even with tears, and when Sir Henry Irving quits the stage in his gaberdine, bowed down with the cruel insults of the victorious Christian, the exit is greeted with keenly sympathetic applause. It seems strange to us nowadays that the Jews should have been forbidden entrance to the House of Commons, when some of the most respected members of the House of Lords at this moment belong to the same persuasion. At the clubs there are now no religious disabilities, and some of our most popular chief magistrates in the City have been supporters of the synagogues. Some of our greatest philanthropists have also been Jews, and one of the soundest lawyers of modern times, a Hebrew by birth and faith, added by his honoured presence to the illustrious traditions of the British judicial bench. |
