by their co-religionists, might have gone far to allay prejudice against the Jewish race. It was the solidarity generally presented by the Jews towards the rest of the community which excited alarm in the minds of French citizens. Thirty years earlier the merchants of Paris, in a petition against the admission of the Jews to their corporations, indicated by an admirable simile the danger this solidarity offered to free commerce.
The French merchant carries on his commerce alone; each commercial house is in a way isolated, whilst the Jews are particles of quicksilver, which at the least slant run together into a block.<sup></sup>
But in spite of all protests, the decree emancipating the Jews of Alsace was passed in September 1791, and hymns of praise were sung in the synagogues.
What part was actually played by the Jews in the tumults of the Revolution it is impossible to determine, for the reason that they are seldom designated as such in