Then they surmised that the chest
contained jewels, but Abraham was quite as willing to pay the higher
duty on gems, and now the curiosity of the officials could be no longer
restrained. They broke open the chest, when, lo, their eyes were dazzled
with the lustrous beauty of Sarah! Abraham, it seems, had adopted this
plan for smuggling his lovely wife into the Egyptian dominions.
_The Infamous Citizens of Sodom._
Some of the rabbinical legends descriptive of the singular customs of
the infamous citizens of Sodom are exceedingly amusing--or amazing. The
judges of that city are represented as notorious liars and mockers of
justice. When a man had cut off the ear of his neighbour's ass, the
judge said to the owner: "Let him have the ass till the ear is grown
again, that it may be returned to thee as thou wishest." The hospitality
shown by the citizens to strangers within their gates was of a very
peculiar kind. They had a particular bed for the weary traveller who
entered their city and desired shelter for the night. If he was found to
be too long for the bed, they reduced him to the proper size by chopping
off so much of his legs; and if he was shorter than the bed, he was
stretched to the requisite length.[65] To preserve their reputation for
hospitality, when a stranger arrived each citizen was required to give
him a coin with his name written on it, after which the unfortunate
traveller was refused food, and as soon as he had died of hunger every
man took back his own money.
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