272 MEMORIES OF MY LIFE 



Before quitting this subject I may be allowed to 

 tell a tale thereon. I had to deliver a lecture at the 

 British Association, in which these Number-Forms 

 were to be spoken of, and did a rash thing. It was 

 that after describing their character and frequency, 

 I said, " Now, will every person in this large meeting 

 who is conscious of seeing a Number-Form, hold up 

 his hand ? " There was a dead silence ; those who 

 should have responded were too shy to move, and 

 not a hand was raised. I suddenly bethought myself 

 of a tale that had not long since appeared in the 

 Times, as told by a German soldier to his comrades 

 over a bivouac fire, to account for a want of solidarity 

 in the French resistance. It was this, and I told it 

 with some variations to the meeting : 



" The Chief Rabbi of Dantzig was a wealthy and 

 hospitable man. (I repeat what I read, and beg 

 pardon if the tale was applied to the wrong person.) 

 One day his house caught fire and even the contents 

 of his good cellar suffered. The Jews took counsel 

 what to do for their beloved Rabbi. First a hand- 

 some subscription was proposed, but overruled ; then 

 another idea was mooted, then another, each less 

 costly than the preceding ; and at the last it was 

 agreed that every Jew should visit the house on a 

 day to be fixed, and bring with him a bottle of Eau 

 de Vie de Dantzig (the original said "wine"). That 

 after an appropriate speech of greeting to the Rabbi, 

 he should descend into the cellar and empty his bottle 

 into a vat prepared for the purpose. The day came, 

 the Chief Rabbi prepared a sumptuous collation, and 

 listened with delight to the flattering addresses of 

 his guests ; then, when the ceremony was concluded, 



