{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_60189/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_60189","id":"gutenberg_60189","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60189","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Jewish folk literature","Jewish legends","Jews -- Folklore","Jews -- Social life and customs","Tales -- Israel"],"text":"Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustrations.\n      See 60189-h.htm or 60189-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/60189/pg60189-images.html)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/60189/60189-h.zip)\n\n\n      Images of the original pages are available through\n      Internet Archive. See\n      https://archive.org/details/fromheartofisrae00drac\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s note:\n\n      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE VILLAGE\n\n  _Frontispiece_]\n\n\nFROM THE HEART OF ISRAEL\n\nJewish Tales and Types\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nby\n\nBERNARD DRACHMAN\n\nIllustrated by A. Warshawsky\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNew York\nJames Pott & Company\n1905\n\nCopyright, 1905\nby Bernard Drachman\n\n\n\n\n                               CONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n APOLOGIA PRO LIBRO SUO,                                               v\n\n THE VILLAGE KEHILLAH,                                                 1\n\n   Nordheim,                                                           1\n\n   Schnorrers,                                                        28\n\n   Gendarmes,                                                         37\n\n   Reb Shemayah and other Nordheim Worthies,                          49\n\n THE LITTLE HORSERADISH WOMAN,                                        84\n\n THE GENERAL,                                                         95\n\n TOO LATE, BUT ON TIME,                                              128\n\n THE PROSELYTE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,                                     142\n\n ISAAC AND ALICE,                                                    168\n\n THE SCISSORS-GRINDER,                                               186\n\n THE SHLEMIHL,                                                       211\n\n A VICTIM OF PREJUDICE,                                              244\n\n THE RABBI\u2019S GAME OF CARDS,                                          268\n\n GLOSSARY OF HEBREW AND OTHER NON-ENGLISH TERMS                      291\n\n\n\n\n                         APOLOGIA PRO LIBRO SUO\n\n\n\u201cIs Saul also among the prophets?\u201d With my mental ear I hear thus\nexclaim those in whose view the teller of tales stands immeasurably\nhigher than the rabbi, minister, preacher, scholar, or whatever else may\nbe called he whose vocation it is to disseminate Hebrew religion and\nwisdom, when they see that one of the latter class has dared to intrude\namong those who take fiction as their exclusive and legitimate field,\nand has also ventured before the public with a book of tales. \u201cWhat\nwould the priest in the house of graves (cemetery)?\u201d I hear, on the\nother hand, indignantly ask those who deem the wisdom of the Torah alone\nworthy of attention, and who think it degradation and sin to turn away\neven for a moment from the study and the teaching of Holy Writ and the\nwords of the sages to waste time with the telling of empty tales. Both\nagree in their application to the present case of the Latin and English\nproverb \u201c_Ne sutor ultra crepidam_\u201d (\u201cLet the shoemaker stick to his\nlast\u201d); and that they are not right is not for the one who is\nresponsible for the present effort to say, but must be left to the\ndecision of an impartial public, which will not fail to tell truthfully\nwhether it has found aught of pleasure or profit in the stories of\nJewish life hereinafter contained. But it may be permitted to the writer\nto say that, in his humble opinion, both of the criticisms quoted above\nare based on erroneous conceptions. The telling of tales is neither\nindependent of nor contradictory to the Torah; that is to say, it may be\na most excellent method of inculcating pure and noble lessons, and has\nalways been used for such purpose by the great teachers in Israel.\n\nIndeed, the putting before the world of truthful pictures of Jewish life\nis in itself a good and useful work. It is extraordinary, considering\nthat the Jews have lived in the midst of all civilized peoples for\nalmost twenty centuries, what ignorance concerning the teachings of\ntheir religion and their characteristics as a people still prevails.\nThey have sojourned in the midst of mankind and have wandered from land\nto land, stamped everywhere with the seal of mystery, looked upon by all\nnot of their creed and kin as a \u201cpeculiar,\u201d enigmatical,\nincomprehensible people. The fact that their Book, which most thoroughly\nreveals their innermost spirit, has become the cherished property of the\nworld, should have made such misconception impossible; but it has not\ndone so. Whatever, therefore, helps to show Jewish life in its true\naspect, to reveal the poetry and the romance, the sorrow and the\nwretchedness, but also the joy and the beauty, the glory and the heroism\nof Jewish existence even in the unheroic present, performs a most\nuseful, truly religious work. Nothing can do this more effectively than\nfiction, which appeals to multitudes to whom works of formal learning,\nof profound and scholarly research, could never find access. This is the\nexcuse of the writer for departing for a time from those domains of\nJewish learning which should, perhaps, more properly employ his\nenergies, and becoming, in a measure, a rival of those who have in\nrecent years tilled the field of Jewish fiction. In a ministry now of\nmany years\u2019 duration he has naturally had the opportunity of becoming\nacquainted with many interesting types of Jewish character, and with\nmany incidents which speak eloquently of the trials and tribulations\nwhich still form a part of Jewish experience, of the evils and good\nwhich result therefrom, and of the influence of Jewish teachings working\nunder such conditions. It has seemed to him desirable to present some of\nthese to the world in this easily grasped and popular form in order to\nassist in the attainment of that comprehension of the Jews and their\nlife which is so necessary, if they are ever to cease from their present\nabnormal state of mystery and be recognized in their natural relation to\nthe general life and religion of mankind. Whether he has performed his\ntask properly his readers shall judge.\n\n                                                             THE AUTHOR.\n\n NEW YORK, Ellul, 5665\u2014September, 1905.\n\n\n\n\n                         LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n THE VILLAGE,                                             _Frontispiece_\n\n THE VERY SPIRIT OF SABBATH PERVADED THE NOISELESS AIR,               20\n\n THERE THEY SAT AND STOOD, IN VARIOUS ATTITUDES, WHILE\n   THE DEEPENING SHADOWS MADE THEIR FIGURES EVER VAGUER\n   AND MORE INDISTINCT,                                               21\n\n THEY HONORED THE COMMUNITY FREQUENTLY WITH THEIR VISITS,             28\n\n REB. SHEMAYAH AND PERLA,                                             49\n\n THE LITTLE HORSERADISH WOMAN,                                        84\n\n THERE IS SOMETHING COMMANDING, SOMETHING INDEFINITELY\n   MILITARY AND AUTHORITATIVE ABOUT HIM,                              96\n\n AS THE CAVALCADE PASSED A CORNER THE GENERAL HEARD A\n   CRY,                                                              111\n\n HE WAS NOTHING BUT A COMMONPLACE, EVERY-DAY PEDDLER,                131\n\n A GROUP OF STREET-IDLERS WERE AMUSING THEMSELVES AT THE\n   PLIGHT OF A SHORT, DARK-COMPLEXIONED MAN WHO STOOD IN\n   THEIR MIDST,                                                      142\n\n NOTHING PLEASED THEM BETTER THAN A \u201cHORSEY-BACK\u201d RIDE,              172\n\n THE SCISSORS-GRINDER,                                               186\n\n I WAS LEFT BEHIND, GAZING OUT OF THE WINDOW AT THE\n   FUNERAL PROCESSION,                                               196\n\n THE MAN WAS A WOE-BEGONE SPECIMEN OF HUMANITY, WITH\n   HUNGRY EYES GAZING AT YOU OUT OF A CARE-WORN, FURROWED\n   COUNTENANCE,                                                      212\n\n IT\u2019S ONLY BECAUSE YOU\u2019RE A JEW THAT YOU HAVE ANY\n   TROUBLE,                                                          252\n\n THE GAME WHICH ENSUED WAS HIGHLY INTERESTING,                       287\n\n\n\n\n                       FROM THE HEART OF ISRAEL.\n\n\n\n\n                         THE VILLAGE KEHILLAH.\n\n\n                               NORDHEIM.\n\nMany persons, perhaps the majority of the readers of a certain kind of\nJewish literature at present in vogue, led astray by the revival and\nimproper application of the term Ghetto, have an idea that the great\nmass of the Jewish people on the continent of Europe have their\nhabitations in filthy, noisome slums of the great cities, and that it is\nonly in such secluded reservations, away from the contact or observation\nof the Gentile, that Judaism in its ancient, traditional form and\npristine vigor, is or can be, maintained. In the imagination of such\npersons, deceived by prejudiced or sensation-seeking writers, Judaism is\na feeble, pale, cellar plant which leads its an\u00e6mic existence in\ndarkness and slime, but which withers and fades when exposed to the\nfresh, strong breeze and the bright, warm sun of heaven. These notions,\nhowever well they may suit the requirements of ambitious story-tellers,\nare incorrect both as regards the alleged facts and the inferences drawn\ntherefrom. In the greatest part of the civilized world the Jews are not\nconfined, whether by compulsion or choice, to particular sections of the\ncities, but dwell freely among their Gentile fellow-citizens everywhere;\nnor is the law of Moses forced to flee for refuge to darksome purlieus,\nwhere the humblest and lowliest of Judah\u2019s strain drag out a wretched\nexistence as unwilling neighbors of the vicious and the criminal, but\nfinds multitudes of sincere upholders and adherents in the high places\nof the lands among the happy possessors of what mankind esteems highest,\nculture and wealth. In fact, it is not to the great cities at all that\nwe should look for the best examples of a living, earnest Judaism.\nScattered broadcast through the Old World, particularly through the\nlands of central and southeastern Europe, may be found to this day\nthousands of Jewish communities in villages and rural towns which are in\nvery truth \u201cwells of purest Judaism undefiled,\u201d and living refutations\nof all the pet theories of the modern Jewish (?) novelist. Our brethren\nin those little rural communities breathe the purest, health-giving air\nthat nature gives forth over mountain, field, and forest, and have never\nfound in the keen ozone any faith-destroying, heretical qualities. They\ndwell side by side with the Gentile and meet him continually in all the\ncommercial and social relations of life, but they have never found in\nthe free intercourse any dread influence subversive of Judaic beliefs\nand practices. Indeed, few of them are aware, except in a hazy and\nindirect manner, that Judaism is in danger in this modern age of ours.\nThey live as their ancestors did before them, honest, simple, earnest,\nsincere Jewish lives; happy in their state of moderate wealth or\nendurable, light-pressing poverty; keeping their Sabbaths and their\nholidays, fasting and feasting in the prescribed seasons, laying\nTephillin on week-days and eating only permitted food at all times,\ngiving freely of their means to assist the poor and afflicted, and\naccepting misfortune with resignation as the will of God, and not\ndoubting but that this Judaism will continue to exist for all time to\ncome.\n\nOf such a little _Kehillah_ in a German village, Nordheim, in the Rh\u00f6n\nMountains of Bavaria, and of some of the quaint and interesting persons\nthat composed it, my tale shall be.\n\nWhen, as a child, I made my first studies of the world around me, one of\nthe objects which chiefly attracted my childish gaze was a picture which\nhung on the wall of the parlor of my home. It was a crude and inartistic\npicture, awkward in delineation and barbarous in color; but it was full\nof interest to me, for it spoke to me of a place far across the sea, a\nplace which oft-told but never wearisome tales had surrounded with a\nbright halo of romance, and which my eager imagination had glorified\ninto a veritable fairyland; it was a picture of a village in that\nGermany which seemed so far away and so unreal, my mother\u2019s native\nplace, Nordheim _vor der_ Rh\u00f6n. These sentiments were not entirely, nor\neven mainly, due to the picture itself, but to the descriptions with\nwhich mother \u05e2\u05f4\u05d4 used to accompany it; for mother dear, God rest her\nsoul, among her other good qualities, had a most vivid and emphatic way\nof impressing her ideas upon her auditors. She was not only in loving\ntenderness and devotion the ideal of a Jewish parent, but a most\ncharming and entertaining _raconteuse_, full to the brim of\nreminiscences of her youth, an animated chronicle of persons and events,\nand capable of describing both the humorous and the pathetic in an\ninimitably touching and taking manner. In addition to all this she was a\nliving refutation of the favorite anti-Semitic calumny, that Jews have\nno sentiment of patriotism. She cherished in her heart the warmest and\nmost unquenchable love for her native land, while her attachment to the\nmemory of her birthplace, its ties and its traditions, approached the\ndignity and sincerity of a religion. No wonder that from such a stirring\nand enthusiastic source I imbibed the liveliest interest in all that\nconcerned Nordheim before the Rh\u00f6n, its inhabitants and its welfare. I\nwould stand for hours at a time before that crude little picture on our\nparlor wall, gazing at the array of houses with startlingly red roofs\nand dazzlingly white walls, at the fields of brilliant green and the\ntrees with trunks as straight as ramrods and mathematically elliptical\nfoliage, and at the tin-soldier-like _gendarme_ whom the rustic artist,\nwho must have inclined either to realism or militarism (I could never\ndetermine which) had depicted marching, with martial air and projecting\nbayonet, along the country highway.\n\nBut I saw none of these things. My imagination gazed beyond these\nexternals and saw the quaint and touching figures of those who had their\nabode in this secluded retreat, and I found myself wondering whether it\nwould ever be my privilege to see the spot where mother\u2019s cradle had\nstood, and to sojourn there where life flowed on in such pure and\npeaceful and virtuous channels, far away from the crush and the turmoil,\nthe evil and the anguish of the great world, where the peasants were\nsimple, honest folk and the Jews all faithful to their ancestral\nreligion, where old age was venerated and childhood obedient and\nrespectful, where such things as violating the Sabbath and eating\n_Trefoth_ were unknown.\n\nMy opportunity came in my twenty-first year. Circumstances, the nature\nof which need not be dilated upon here, made it my privilege to spend\nseveral years in Europe in study. But while I awaited, in joyous\nanticipation, the day when I should enter upon my course at the North\nGerman University and Seminary, at which I was to prepare for my life\u2019s\nvocation, it was with an absorbing interest, I might almost say with a\npassionate longing, that I looked forward to actually seeing Nordheim,\nand actually knowing the persons and conditions of which I had heard and\ndreamt so much. Never shall I forget the day when, having crossed the\nstormy Atlantic and travelled by train a day and a night southward from\nHamburg, I alighted at Mellrichstadt, the railroad station nearest to\nNordheim\u2014four English miles\u2014and saw upon the platform, waiting for me, a\npleasant-faced, dark-complexioned youth, whom I had never seen before,\nand yet whom I at once recognized, for his features appeared in more\nthan one counterfeit presentment in a well-worn family album, over which\nI had often pored more than three thousand miles away. It was Cousin\nSolomon, and he had come to the station, having been notified by letter\nof my prospective arrival, to meet his American relative, and to conduct\nhim to Nordheim and the bosom of his family. Then and there I recognized\nthe reality and the value of sentiment. Here were two persons, born in\ndifferent and widely separated lands, speaking different mother tongues\nand citizens of different nations, who had never seen each other before;\nand yet so powerful were the ties of kinship and the remembrance of\ncommon blood and a common origin, that they sufficed to bridge over all\nthat yawning gap of separation and to bring heart to heart and lip to\nlip in a union of truest love and affection. Our recognition was mutual\nand instantaneous. We pronounced each other\u2019s names, fell upon each\nother\u2019s necks, and a moment later were chatting as intimately as though\nwe had met daily during all our previous lives. Three years long I spent\nmy summer vacations at Nordheim, and I came to know and to love it and\nthe surrounding region so well that when the hour of final parting came,\nit cost my heart more than one pang and drew more tears from my eyes\nthan I should like to confess. What a charming ideal life of sentiment\nand pleasure we led there, Cousin Solomon and I. We seemed to be\nhovering in a dream world, far too sweet and beautiful to be real. We\nwere at once students on a holiday, friends of nature, children without\na shade of care or anxiety, and sincere, devout worshippers at the\nshrine of Israel\u2019s God. We climbed together the steep and lofty\nmountains which abound in that region, and when we had reached the\nsummit we gazed with delight at the dazzling panorama spread out before\nus and inhaled deep draughts of the pure, cool, health-giving air. We\nwandered for hours through the dense pine forests or undertook long\ntrips on foot to distant villages or spots that were interesting for\nsome historical or other reason. Once we made a long trip, in company\nwith Aunt Caroline, to the village of Burghauen, on the other side of\nthe Rh\u00f6n Mountains, to visit some relatives there. We travelled in a\ncarriage belonging to the Duke of Weimar. We had hired it from the\nduke\u2019s manager, who was not above turning an honest penny with his\nmaster\u2019s property when occasion offered. The carriage bore the ducal\nescutcheon, and our coachman and footman wore the duke\u2019s livery; and as\nwe rolled through the various villages in grand style, the peasants and\ntheir wives and children all came out and made deep and reverent\nobeisance. I was quite astounded, but Aunt Caroline and Cousin Solomon\nwere so amused that they could hardly keep straight faces. Both they and\nI bowed to the right and to the left and answered the salutations right\nroyally, at which the people seemed highly gratified.\n\n\u201cWhat is the reason of all this,\u201d said I (to whom this unexpected\nenthusiasm was extremely puzzling) to Solomon. \u201cDo they make so much\nfuss about everybody?\u201d \u201cWhy, no!\u201d said Solomon, laughing heartily. \u201cThey\nrecognize the carriage and the lackeys, and they take us for members of\nthe ducal family. They think mamma is the duchess, and you and me they\ntake for the young dukes.\u201d\n\nBut, altogether, everybody was extremely friendly in Nordheim and\nvicinity, Jew or Gentile, peasant, merchant or teacher, acquaintance or\nstranger, without exception. It was \u201c_gruesse Gott_,\u201d and \u201c_guten\nMorgen_,\u201d and \u201c_guten Tag_,\u201d and \u201c_lebe wohl_,\u201d and \u201c_auf Wiedersehen_,\u201d\nand \u201c_schlafe wohl_,\u201d and \u201c_angenehme Ruhe_,\u201d and any number of other\nkindly and sympathetic phrases, and all said with such evident sincerity\nand good intentions as went quite through one and left one feeling warm\nand charitable and kindly disposed toward humanity in general. And then\nthe eating, so abundant in quantity, so excellent, and more than\nsatisfying in quality. At first Aunt Caroline wanted to feed me all the\ntime. Six or seven times a day she would spread the table and invite me\nto partake until I protested, and by dint of hard pleading induced her\nto reduce the number of meals to four, with an occasional extra bite in\nbetween. It makes my mouth water yet to think of the \u201c_gef\u00fcllte\nFlanken_,\u201d and the \u201c_gruenkern Suppe_,\u201d and the \u201c_eingelegte\nG\u00e4nsebr\u00fcst_,\u201d and the \u201c_Zwiebelt\u00e4tcher_,\u201d and the \u201c_gesetzte Bohnen_,\u201d\nand the \u201c_Shabboskugel_,\u201d and the thousand and one other delicacies with\nwhich dear Aunt Caroline used to regale us, and to which healthy\nappetites and youth gave a zest compared with which ambrosia must have\nbeen poor. And, oh, the beer! Such magnificent stuff! So different from\nthe wretched pretence which we call by that name in America. I quite\nlost all my temperance principles in Nordheim and have never recovered\nthem since.\n\nBut along with this joyous physical life there went a spiritual life no\nless joyous and satisfying. We were Jews there in Nordheim. The Sabbath\nwas a guest whose arrival was looked forward to with the most eager\nanticipation, and which seemed to cast a magic, sacred glamour over all\nthe Jewish houses in the village, transforming the prosaic, work-a-day\nappearance of persons and things into an aspect of dignity and holiness.\nAll day long on Fridays until about an hour before nightfall, a\ntremendous bustle of preparation was going on. Such cleaning and\nscrubbing and polishing, such baking and boiling and brewing! It seemed\nas though every house was being turned topsy-turvy. On that day, too,\nthe men folks came home several hours sooner than usual, and then there\nwas added the turmoil of the taking of baths and the polishing of shoes,\nand the taking out of clean shirts and Sabbath suits, and dressing and\ngetting ready. But about an hour before nightfall all the noise and\nclamor and turmoil ceased and Sabbath stillness began to settle over the\nvillage. The quaint old seven-cornered Sabbath lamps were taken out and\nthe Jewish housewives lit them, pronouncing at the same time the\nprescribed benediction. How charming and yet impressive Aunt Caroline\nlooked as she stood with uplifted hands and reverential mien before the\nsacred lamp, the Sabbath cap of dainty lace and ribbons surmounting her\nrefined and regular features of purest Hebrew type, while from her lips\nissued in the holy tongue the words of the benediction, \u201cBlessed art\nThou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us with\nThy commandments and bidden us light the Sabbath lamp.\u201d\n\nA half-hour later all were assembled in the little synagogue, which was\nfilled to the very last seat, for the Nordheim synagogue was not built\non the American plan. In our progressive country we build great and\nimposing synagogues and temples for the benefit, not of the people who\nregularly attend\u2014for them a very small edifice would suffice\u2014but of\nthose who pay the Almighty the honor of a visit only once or twice a\nyear. But the Nordheim synagogue had accommodations only for its regular\nmembers and attendants, and these were expected to be in their places on\nevery occasion of public services. Sometimes somebody would be missing\nat service, and then it used to amuse me to notice with what anxious\nsolicitude inquiry would be made of his family as to the cause of his\nabsence. It appeared to be taken for granted that only illness or some\nother equally grave reason could induce any one to be absent from\nsynagogue at time of worship. I could not refrain from smiling when I\nthought how pointless such solicitude would be in America, where, on the\ncontrary, the question addressed to any average Jew, should he present\nhimself in the synagogue on any but two or three days of the year, would\nbe, \u201cWhat brings _you_ to _Shool_ to-day?\u201d\n\nThe services in the synagogue at Nordheim were intensely interesting to\nme, not, indeed, because of the artistic rendition of the ritual or the\ntechnical excellence of the singing, but because of the spirit of\ndevotion and earnestness by which they were pervaded. I have listened to\nnumbers of cantors who certainly rank higher in their profession than\nthe humble individual who acted in the capacity of village teacher,\n_Chazan_, and _Shochet_ in Nordheim, and the musical performances of\ntrained and paid choirs are undeniably superior to the untutored though\nvociferous efforts of a rustic congregation. But all these have\nsomething perfunctory and mechanical about their efforts which deprive\nthem of real charm and of power to touch and move the spirit. One\nremains coldly critical in listening to them, and judges them solely\nfrom the standpoint of professional ability and artistic merit. Not so\nin Nordheim. There was an all-pervading sense of earnestness and reality\nin the worship which made one forget the _how_ of the prayers and hymns\nand think only of the _what_. Faith, deep and firm as the rocks,\ningrained into the very tissue and life of the spirit, looked forth from\nthose simple, earnest faces, shone forth from those sincere and\nexpressive eyes. This spirit gave the familiar ritual an entirely new\nvividness and impressiveness. The worshippers seemed to be speaking\ndirectly to their heavenly Father, and when, at the close of the _Lecho\nDodi_, the hymn of welcome to the Sabbath, all rose and faced the\nentrance, I half expected to see Queen Sabbath herself, clad in bridal\nrobes of celestial purity, enter through the portals of that humble\nhouse of God.\n\nThe prayers concluded, the worshippers greeted each other with hearty\n\u201cGood Shabbos\u201d salutation and wended their homeward way. The scenes in\nthe homes were in some respects even more impressive than in the\nsynagogue. Uncle Koppel\u2019s house particularly was resplendent with a\nblaze of glory. The dining-room, which also served as parlor and best\nroom, was brilliantly lighted, and in the midst of the effulgence shone,\nwith especial radiance, the Sabbath lamp. The table was covered with a\nlinen cloth of snowy whiteness and laden with the finest porcelain,\nglass, and silver that the household could boast, while at the head of\nthe table, opposite the seat sacred to the master of the house, stood\nthe two Sabbath loaves covered with a beautifully embroidered satin\ncover; and at their side the silver _Kiddush_-beaker and the decanter,\nfrom which the wine of blessing was to be drawn. Before _Kiddush_ Uncle\nKoppel \u201cmarched\u201d with the youngest of the children, and presented a\npicturesque sight indeed as he paraded up and down the room, carrying\nthe infant of the family upon his right arm and leading the next\nyoungest by his left hand, chanting meanwhile the hymn of welcome to the\nSabbath angels. Then came the solemn benediction when the children all\npresented themselves with bowed heads before their parents, and were\nblessed by them in the words pronounced by Aaron of old over the tribes\nof Israel, with an added invocation in the case of sons that the Lord\nmight make them like Ephraim and Manasseh, and of daughters that they\nmight become like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. Then came Kiddush,\nand the formal washing of hands and breaking of bread, and then the\nSabbath meal.\n\nOh, the pleasure of that Sabbath meal! Everybody had a magnificent\nappetite on Friday evening; which was really no wonder, seeing that\nevery one had worked and hurried all day in preparation for the holy\nevening; and that, in accordance with the religious precept, no one had\neaten any substantial meal all day in order that he should be able to do\njustice to the first meal of the Sabbath. The dishes were various and\nall excellent, for they were seasoned with that finest of spices\u2014the\nSabbath\u2014which gave them a flavor all their own, and which the most\nfamous _chefs_ of European or American hotels would strive in vain to\nrival; but the _pi\u00e8ce de resistance_ was undoubtedly the fish. Trout of\nthe finest quality, speckled beauties, which had only been drawn a few\nhours before from the icy waters of some one of the mountain streams of\nthe Rh\u00f6n _gebirge_, they made their appearance at the table cold, from a\nsojourn of several hours in the rock-hewn cellar, which served the\npurpose of our modern refrigerators, and with a sweet-and-sour sauce of\nthe consistency of jelly. They were consumed with an avidity which boded\nill for their speckled _confr\u00e8res_ of the mountain streams and shady\npools. After the meal and the formal pronouncing of grace, in which all\njoined with a volume of sound which attracted the attention of the\nvillage boys in the street outside, each one followed his or her own\nsweet will. Some conversed, some read devotional books, some dozed until\nthe flickering of the lights betokened their approaching extinction and\nwarned all that the hour of retiring had arrived. Then with pleasant\n\u201cgood-night\u201d wishes, each sought the shelter of his or her couch.\n\nOn the morrow the observance of the Sabbath was continued in a manner\nworthy of its inauguration. The morning service, which began at eight\nand was over at half-past ten, was followed by _Kiddush_ and the second\nof the three prescribed Sabbath meals. Here the chief feature was the\n\u201c_gesetztes Essen_,\u201d or dishes which had been cooked on Friday and kept\nwarm in a special kind of oven known as \u201c_Setz\u00f6fen_,\u201d in which they were\nsurrounded by a gentle heat which neither burned nor dried them, until\nthey were served at the Sabbath meal. Some persons assert that food\ncooked a day previous to being consumed is injurious to the health, but\nto judge by the favor in which it was held in Nordheim, such can hardly\nbe the case. Of course not all food is capable of being treated in this\nmanner; but that which is, acquires a special taste and a mellowness\nwhich makes it peculiarly palatable.\n\nOn our Sabbath menu we had \u201c_gesetze Bohnen_,\u201d the dish of whose glories\nHeine has sung, and \u201c_Shabbos-Kugel_,\u201d to whose merits even a poet could\nhardly do justice. After dinner visits were in order. The younger\nmembers of the _Mishpochoh_ went to pay their respects to their seniors,\nand the children of the community called at the various houses without\ndistinction of relationship and were treated to fruits and sweetmeats.\nWhat impressed me on the part of the children was their extremely\nrespectful and bashful behavior, amounting almost to timidity. They\nwould knock timidly at the outside door; and on being bidden to enter\nwould step in on their tip-toes, timidly utter the Sabbath greeting, and\nthen stand in a row without opening their mouths until they were told to\nbe seated. They would not touch anything or do anything without\npermission, and when given fruit or sweetmeats would modestly utter\nwords of thanks and eat them in silence. Their actions were typical of\nthe German-Jewish standard of child behavior. The children who were old\nenough to receive tuition were also examined on the Sabbath in the\nsubjects in which they had been instructed during the week. Great was\nthe joy of parents whose son translated with fluency the _Sedrah_ of the\nweek, and the capable lad always received his reward in the shape of an\nextra portion of fruit or sweetmeats.\n\nAfter the visits and the examinations came the Sabbath nap. The Sabbath\nnap! Let no one speak of it in tones of levity or disrespect, for it\nstood in high esteem indeed in Nordheim and other communities of the\nsame type. Every one deemed it an absolutely indispensable feature of\ncorrect Sabbath observance; and though few of the people were learned in\nHebrew lore, yet nearly all were able to quote in defence of their\npractice the cabalistic interpretation that the letters of the word \u05e9\u05d1\u05ea\n(Sabbath) are equivalent in meaning to the sentence \u05e9\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05e9\u05d1\u05ea \u05ea, which\nmay be parodied as \u201cSleep on _SaBBath_, the heart delighte_TH_.\u201d\n\nBetween the hours of 1 and 4 P.M., the Nordheim _Kehillah_, to use a\nheathenish illustration, lay locked in the arms of Morpheus. On sofas\nand beds or in arm-chairs, within the house or before the doors, the\nworthy _Baale Batim_, their spouses and children slumbered, dozed, and\nreposed. The cat slept under the stove, the dog dozed peacefully before\nthe door, the very horses and cattle stood motionless as statues within\ntheir stalls and seemed to slumber. It was a most peaceful, somnolent,\nsoporific scene. Not a sound disturbed the quiet of the village streets,\nfor the Gentile peasants were all abroad in the fields. The very spirit\nof Sabbath pervaded the noiseless air, and everywhere were rest, repose,\nand tranquillity universal. I, too, who had never been accustomed to\nsleep by day, could not resist the drowsy influence of the general\nexample, and after the first week or two took my Sabbath nap as\nregularly as any, and found it most agreeable. At four all were awake\nagain and then the third Sabbath meal, which was usually light, and\nconsisted only of coffee, cake, and fruit, was partaken of. The\ncongregation then gathered in the synagogue for afternoon service, at\nthe conclusion of which the Chazan \u201clearned _Shiur_\u201d\u2014that is to say,\nread to the assembled auditors extracts from a Hebrew devotional work,\nin German translation, accompanying them with a running commentary of\nhis own. His diction was poor, his expressions the reverse of elegant,\nand his train of thought in absolute disagreement with most of the pet\ntheories of the age; but I doubt whether the most eloquent and\nscientifically trained of modern preachers ever had as attentive and\nsympathetic a congregation as he. Now came the charmed time known as\n\u201cbetween _Minchah_ and _Maariv_,\u201d the period most attractive and\npleasing to the Jewish heart of all the Sabbath day. As the light of the\nsun is most beautiful and glorious just before it sets, so the Sabbath\nseems sweetest and most delightful when it is about to depart. The\nafternoon prayers and the _Shiur_ were both concluded; the day was\nbeginning to grow dark, but almost an hour must still elapse before the\nSabbath would be over and the evening prayer of the first day might be\nrecited. Some of the people went for a brief stroll in the fields;\nothers went into the inn where they were furnished with beer and other\nlight refreshments without payment; for the Gentile innkeeper knew well\nthat the observant Jew bore no money on his person on the Sabbath day,\nbut most remained in the synagogue or gathered in the court-yard before\nthe sacred edifice and passed the time in pleasant conversation or the\nrelation of anecdotes. There they sat and stood, in various attitudes,\nwhile the deepening shadows made their figures ever vaguer and more\nindistinct, and enjoyed the freest opportunity for unrestricted\nconversation and interchange of thoughts that all the week afforded.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE VERY SPIRIT OF SABBATH PERVADED THE NOISELESS AIR\n\n  _Page 20_]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THERE THEY SAT AND STOOD, IN VARIOUS ATTITUDES, WHILE THE DEEPENING\n    SHADOWS MADE THEIR FIGURES EVER VAGUER AND MORE INDISTINCT\n\n  _Page 21_]\n\nAll possible subjects came up for discussion \u201cbetween _Minchah_ and\n_Maariv_.\u201d The politician of the Kehillah discoursed learnedly on the\nEuropean situation and the various problems of statecraft involved in\nthe relations of the great Powers to each other, the philosopher shed\nthe light of his wisdom on the great scientific movements of the day and\nthe wondrous inventions which are revolutionizing civilization, while\nthe Talmudist elucidated knotty and interesting questions of rabbinical\nlaw or lamented the downfall of religious sentiment in these evil days\nand contrasted these with the unyielding fidelity and loyalty of yore.\nThey all found attentive and eager listeners, to whom their words were\nas the very revelation of the Urim and Tummim; but they did not arouse\nthe same degree of enthusiasm as the story-teller. This accomplished\nnarrator of witty tales and humorous anecdotes held the hearts of his\nauditors in his hands; and when his turn came and he began to draw upon\nhis apparently inexhaustible stock of _Mesholim_, an immense enthusiasm\ntook possession of the entire audience, and there was no limit to their\nenjoyment of the numberless good points he made. They were indeed\namusing, those tales of impecunious rabbis, and still more impecunious\n_Bachurim_, of awkward bridegrooms and homely brides, of witty Poles and\nscheming _Schnorrers_. But they were more. They were instructive, for\nthey reflected the inner life of the Jewish people, and showed, even if\nfrom a humorous point of view, the many trials and difficulties by which\nthey were encompassed.\n\nBut now the shadows had deepened into night, and the _Shammas_, who had\nthe privilege of reading the service before the rest of the congregation\nin order that he might be permitted to perform the work-a-day task of\nlighting the lights, interrupted the pleasant tales of the story-teller\nby a brief notification that the time for prayer had arrived. The\nevening service was brief, lasting in all hardly more than a quarter of\nan hour. Its chief feature was the _Havdoloh_, in which the Chazan\npronounced a number of benedictions over wine, spices, and a peculiar\nbraided wax candle, and thanked the Lord that He makes a distinction\nbetween light and darkness, between Sabbath and week-day, and between\nIsrael and the nations. The service concluded, the worshippers greeted\neach other with hearty \u201c_Gut Woch_\u201d and repaired to their homes, but not\nyet to resume work-a-day tasks.\n\nIt was an unwritten law in Nordheim that the Saturday night was not to\nbe given over to labor or business, except in cases of emergency. The\nwomen were particularly zealous in following this rule. Instead\nsociability reigned supreme. The men indulged in friendly card-play, the\nmarried women sat together in groups and gossiped, the youths and\nmaidens played musical instruments, sang, and danced. These pleasant\noccupations were continued several hours, so that on Saturday nights the\nworthy Jewish burghers retired much later than usual.\n\nThe sincerity and thoroughgoing consistency which marked the observance\nof the Sabbath were characteristic of the religious life of the Nordheim\ncommunity throughout the year. It would be inconsistent with the scope\nof this sketch to go into all the details of religious life and\npractice; but suffice it to say that Jewish piety, as illustrated in\nNordheim, was eminently earnest, emphatic, and genuine. The very\nchildren possessed the spirit of martyrs. They would have endured\ntortures rather than eat forbidden food or violate the Sabbath or any\nother of the holy days. Some of the manifestations of this piety were\nquaintly humorous or pathetic, according to the viewpoint from which\nthey are regarded. The children of Nordheim, like children the world\nover, were very fond of fruit and berries. Had they been permitted to go\ninto the orchards and gardens and gather their sweet products\nunrestrained, there can be no doubt that as much would have disappeared\ndown their throats as they brought home. But the Nordheim mothers struck\nupon a shrewd scheme for circumventing the appetites of their\nsweet-toothed offspring, which did equal credit to their ingenuity and\ntheir psychological knowledge. They would send the children to gather\nfruits or pick berries upon a fast day. The plan was as effective as it\nwas beautifully simple. The children brought home all that they\ngathered, for no Jewish child in Nordheim would have even thought of\ncommitting such a heinous sin as tasting food on a _Taanis_. Think of\napplying such a rule to American children! It would be about as\neffective as trying to restrain a bull with a piece of cotton thread.\n\nIt is recorded of a worthy Nordheim _Baal Habbayis_ that he once saw\nsome flies rise from his boots and settle upon some hay, which was later\non eaten by his cows. Now that in itself is a trifling and insignificant\nincident; but it so happened that the boots, in accordance with German\nvillage custom, had been smeared with tallow, which, from the viewpoint\nof the Jewish religious law is _Trefah_\u2014that is, ritually unclean, and\nforbidden to be eaten. Our worthy Nordheimer at once felt himself\nburdened in his conscience and despatched a special messenger post-haste\nto the rabbi at Gersfeld with an inquiry as to whether the milk of those\ncows might lawfully be drunk. This pious scrupulosity did not, however,\nas might be thought, involve any gloomy or dreary harshness of\nsentiment. What we are accustomed to call the Puritanical frame of mind\nwas utterly unknown in Nordheim. On the contrary, a cheerful and\npleasant disposition, which made the tone of social intercourse\nextremely agreeable, was the all prevalent mood. In individual instances\nthis mental tendency was emphasized into pronounced joviality, and the\nhappy possessors thereof became the \u201c_Spass macher_,\u201d the jesters and\nfun-makers of the community. Woe betide the unfortunate individual who\nacquired a reputation for sourness and unsociability. He was considered\na legitimate victim for the gibes and jests of the official jokers, and\nsmall indeed was the meed of sympathy which he received.\n\nAnother instance of the prevailing jocoseness was the custom of\nattaching nicknames to persons, which were then used instead of their\nproper appellations. It was rarely that any one was referred to in\nNordheim by his given name, the nickname being so universally used as\nalmost to displace the real and legal cognomen. These nicknames were\nderived from some personal characteristic or some peculiarity arising\nfrom vocation or experience in life, which had struck the village wags\nas humorous. It was \u201cthe black Elias,\u201d or \u201cthe long Moses,\u201d or \u201cthe bold\nIsaac,\u201d or \u201cthe gentle Sarah,\u201d the last two appellations being, of\ncourse, mildly ironical. One individual, who had an undue amount of\naudacity in his psychological make-up, was known as \u201cder _Baishan_,\u201d\nthat is, \u201cthe bashful or timid one,\u201d while another who had failed in\nnearly everything he had undertaken was universally dubbed \u201cder\n_Mazzeldige Shmuel_,\u201d that is, \u201clucky Sam.\u201d A family, some remote\nancestor of which had once been imprisoned in a tower and escaped\ntherefrom by leaping from the window of his cell, was generally known as\n\u201c_die Thurm h\u00fcpfer_,\u201d \u201cthe tower-hoppers,\u201d while six brothers, all of\nwhom were over six feet tall and stout in proportion, bore the\nstrikingly apposite designation of \u201c_die Kinderlich_,\u201d that is, \u201cthe\nbabies.\u201d The swineherd, who called his charges together by means of a\nlong tin trumpet, from which he emitted shrill and piercing, though\nhardly melodious notes, was styled by the Jews \u201c_der Baal Tokea_,\u201d that\nis, the blower of the Shofar or ram\u2019s horn trumpet used in the services\nof the New Year; while the village constable, who was an extremely pious\nCatholic and always walked around through the village streets on Sundays\nwith a prayer book in his hand, from which he read with strait-laced\nmien and ostentatious devotion, was dubbed \u201c_der Baal Tephillah_,\u201d that\nis, the cantor or reader of the synagogue services.\n\n\n                              SCHNORRERS.\n\nThe two banes of village life and at the same time the most diverting\nfigures therein were the _Schnorrers_ and the gendarmes or rural\npolicemen. The first-named gentry, wandering Jewish mendicants, who\nbelieved in the socialistic doctrine that the world, or at least that\npart of it which professed Judaism, owed them a living, were a most\ninteresting set and worthy of a special study in themselves. They\nhonored the community frequently with their visits. Some were usually\nvisible in the streets at all seasons of the year, and the services in\nthe synagogue were generally graced by the presence of two or three. In\nmost instances they professed intense piety and then their _Tephillin_\nwere larger, their _Talethim_ longer, and their prayers louder and more\necstatic than those of the rest of the congregation. They came from\nanywhere and everywhere. Most of them were of Russian or Polish origin,\nbut there was a goodly sprinkling of individuals of German birth and\noccasionally a Sephardi from Jerusalem or some other Eastern region,\nclad in Oriental robes and with a majestic turban upon his head,\nrelieved the monotony of Schnorrerdom and added interest and diversity\nthereto by his strikingly alien and picturesque appearance. They came in\nthe most diverse guises. Some appeared in the r\u00f4le of venerable rabbis\nwith flowing beards, and anxious to display their learning in the law to\nwhomsoever they could induce to listen; others professed to be merchants\nwho had lost their all in ill-starred commercial ventures; while others\nwere wandering apprentices\u2014_Handwerksburschen_\u2014temporarily out of work.\nSometimes they were accompanied by their wives, who were always more\nvoluble and eloquent than their husbands. Sometimes an entire family,\ngrandparents, married sons and daughters and children of all ages,\nincluding infants in arms, made their appearance and then the resources\nof Nordheim charity were severely strained adequately to provide for\nthem.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THEY HONORED THE COMMUNITY FREQUENTLY WITH THEIR VISITS\n\n  _Page 28_]\n\nThese Schnorrers were not beggars in the ordinary sense. They certainly\nhad no humble or suppliant air. They came into the house with the air of\ncalling upon old personal friends, and seemed to think it an entirely\nself-understood and axiomatic matter that their co-religionists should\ntake upon themselves the duty of caring for their needs. Among them\nmany, no doubt, were genuinely unfortunate and deserving individuals,\nbut there was more than a suspicion that a large proportion had taken up\nthe pursuit of Schnorring as a peculiarly pleasant and profitable\nvocation. Their reliance upon the charitable disposition of their\nbrethren in faith was well grounded. The Nordheim Jews were guided by\nthe eminently humane and noble principle that it is better that\nninety-nine undeserving persons should be aided than that one deserving\nperson should be refused the assistance he required; and, consequently,\nevery applicant for charity, unless it was positively known that he was\nunworthy, received the help he craved. This help usually took the form\nof food, lodging, and some money or clothing. A sort of system\nprevailed. The Schnorrer would first call upon the _Parnass_, or\npresident of the congregation, who would then give him a ticket, called\n_Plett_, a corruption of _Billet_, upon some member of the congregation,\nentitling the stranger to food and lodging. These tickets were issued in\nrotation, and were usually cheerfully honored. Some of the members even\nhad a predilection for entertaining these destitute brethren, and would\nrival each other in the numbers they accommodate. It was amusing to hear\none boast that he had harbored, let us say twenty-seven, Schnorrers\nduring the year, only to be told by another, with triumphant mien, that\nthe number of his non-paying guests had been thirty-five. The most\ncelebrated hostess of this kind was a widow named Hannah. This\nwarm-hearted daughter of Israel strove to fulfil literally the precept\nof the sages, \u201cLet the poor be the children of thy house.\u201d The days were\nfew when her house did not contain some \u201c_guest_\u201d; and she would give\nhim of her best, and wait upon him as though his presence was the most\ndistinguished honor. When asked once how it was that she, although not a\nwoman of means, was always ready to receive needy strangers, far more\nso, indeed, than persons of far greater wealth, Hannah answered: \u201cWhy,\nthat is a very simple matter. All that one needs is a _Lef_ and a\n_Loeffel_.\u201d\n\nAltogether, the mental attitude of the Nordheim Jews toward their needy\nand mendicant co-religionists was very different from that which\nprevails to-day; at any rate, in America. At present the unfortunates\nwho depend upon the aid of their supposedly sympathetic brethren are\nconsidered a nuisance; an unsightly excrescence upon the body social to\nbe abolished by all means, if possible. The wretched applicant for\nrelief is rigidly scrutinized and interrogated by lynx-eyed committees\nuntil he is made to feel as though he were a criminal on trial for his\nlife. A domiciliary visit is paid to his home by some surly\n\u201cinvestigator,\u201d whose efficiency is measured by the number of\nunfavorable reports he makes. And woe betide the miserable one whose\nhabitation shows some traces of neatness and gentility, and where some\nhumble ornaments, relics, perhaps, of happier days, have been suffered\nto remain, and have not found their way into the pawnshop. Such a one is\nat once declared an \u201cundeserving case\u201d; for does not his dwelling show\nthat he is still possessed of means, and his application is at once\nsummarily and without mercy rejected. But Nordheim knew nothing of such\nuncharitable charity, such inhuman humanity. The disposition there was\ntruly charitable in the kindlier, and hence nobler, sense of the word.\nPoverty was looked upon as a necessary and inevitable feature of human\nexistence, as, indeed, a part of the Divine order of the world; for had\nnot He said in His law, \u201cThe poor shall not cease from the midst of the\nland\u201d?\n\nThe unfortunates who had been selected by some mysterious dispensation\nof Providence to bear the hard burden of poverty were the objects of\nreal and genuine commiseration, and every effort was made to alleviate\ntheir sad condition. And if some of them did occasionally resort to\ndeception or petty misrepresentation in order to secure a larger\nbenefaction than would otherwise have fallen to his share, there was no\nhorror-stricken outcry, no show of virtuous indignation, such as our\nhigh-salaried or amateur charity experts would indulge in; but people\nmerely shook their heads, rather pityingly than otherwise, and would\nsay: \u201cPoor fellow! he has little enough in this world, God knows. No\nwonder that he tried to get a little more.\u201d Indeed, if the Schnorrer was\nreally a shrewd fellow and his trick a well-devised one, he was far more\napt to arouse amusement than resentment, and would actually profit by\nhis nimble wit. This I saw well illustrated shortly after my arrival in\nNordheim. One day a Schnorrer presented himself with an expression of\nutter woe upon his countenance before Uncle Koppel, and in\nheart-breaking accents informed him that he had just received news that\nhe had become an _Ovel_. \u201cAlas, woe is me,\u201d he wailed. \u201cMy poor, dear\nwife in Poland is dead! What shall I do without her? Who will care for\nmy poor, unfortunate orphans? How shall I keep the _Shivah_ for her, as\nis due to her memory, I who have no home and no means?\u201d It need hardly\nbe stated that the sad case of the stricken widower aroused the most\nprofound sympathy among the Jews of Nordheim. Uncle Koppel at once\nplaced his house at the disposal of the unfortunate man in order that he\nmight properly observe the seven days of mourning, and most of the\nmembers of the congregation offered to attend the mourning services\nmorning and evening. Aunt Caroline looked well after his comfort,\nprovided him with four or five square meals daily and a good bed at\nnight. At the conclusion of the seven days a substantial purse was made\nup for his benefit and he departed, showering blessings upon the heads\nof all the Nordheim _Kehillah_, and vowing that he would never forget\ntheir kindness and their true spirit of brotherliness.\n\nA few weeks later Uncle Koppel had occasion to make a trip on business\nto R\u00f6mhild, a somewhat distant town in the grand duchy of Meiningen. As\nhe never ate dinner when away on these trips, it was customary to keep\nhis dinner for him, and all the household would remain up until his\nreturn. It was rather late before he returned, after nine in the\nevening. As soon as he had strode through the door we all noticed that\nsomething unusual had befallen him during the day, and that that\nsomething had been of an amusing nature. His face was wreathed in smiles\nand he was silently chuckling to himself. We all became, of course,\ncurious to know the cause of his amusement, but none, except Aunt\nCaroline, ventured to ask. \u201cFor goodness\u2019 sake, husband,\u201d said she,\n\u201cwhat is the matter? Let us know.\u201d \u201cGive me my meal first, wife,\u201d said\nUncle Koppel. \u201cI need strength before I can tell you.\u201d All during the\nmeal Uncle Koppel sat with sides shaking with ill-suppressed laughter,\nwhile curiosity and impatience consumed us all. At last, his meal\nconcluded and grace recited, Uncle Koppel began his story. \u201cI heard\nsomething in R\u00f6mhild to-day of our Schnorrer,\u201d said he; \u201cthe one who\nkept Shivah in our house.\u201d \u201cIndeed,\u201d we all vociferated, \u201cwhat was it?\u201d\n\u201cI called first on Moses Rosenbaum,\u201d he resumed, \u201cin reference to some\ncattle that I wished to buy of him; and after we had finished our\nbusiness, he said to me: \u2018By the way, Koppel, there is a very sad case\nin town at present, and it would be a real _Mitzvah_ for you to help us\na little in relieving it.\u2019 \u2018What is it,\u2019 said I. \u2018A poor man,\u2019 said he,\n\u2018has suddenly received news that his wife died, and he is so destitute\nthat he cannot support his orphans without help, or even keep Shivah. We\nhave helped him some and he has been keeping Shivah in my house during\nthe week.\u2019 \u2018Aha,\u2019 said I, beginning to smell a rat, \u2018this is strange. We\nhad just such a case in Nordheim a few weeks ago. I think I shall go\nover and see your man.\u2019 We went over to Rosenbaum\u2019s house, and, sure\nenough, it was the same fellow. The Shivah-keeping business in Nordheim\nhad suited him so well that he was trying it again in another place.\nWhen I saw him I said: \u2018My friend, I believe I have met you before.\u2019 He\nlooked at me, not in the least abashed, and said: \u2018Oh, yes, in Nordheim,\na few weeks ago.\u2019 \u2018What do you mean by this brazen-faced fraud,\u2019 I\nasked, \u2018pretending to have lost your wife and swindling people into\ncharitable gifts by pretending to keep Shivah?\u2019 \u2018Oh, my good sir,\u2019 said\nhe, with great pretence of earnestness, \u2018it is no deceit at all. The\nfirst time it was a false report. My wife had not died. But this time\nshe is really dead, really indeed; and if you don\u2019t believe me you can\ngo yourself to Pitchichow in Poland, my native town, and convince\nyourself. You can, indeed.\u2019 We all laughed heartily at the fellow\u2019s\nimpudence, and warning him to be sure that his wife was dead before he\nsat Shivah for her next time, we bade him begone. He went off with great\nalacrity, evidently glad that he had fared no worse.\u201d\n\n\n                               GENDARMES.\n\nThe gendarmes or rural policemen were the second bane of village life;\nbut while the Schnorrer was looked on with charitable eye, for these\nlatter gentry no one had a good word. They were detested, thoroughly and\nintensely. As a rule they well deserved the detestation in which they\nwere held, for they were pompous, insufferable individuals, egregiously\nproud and conceited because of the little authority they possessed, and\nover-eager to display their power; in a word, petty tyrants of the worst\nkind. They were equally hated by Jew and Gentile, and were not popular\neven with the judges and magistrates, who were often liberal-minded\ngentlemen, and who knew well the tyrannical disposition of their rustic\nretainers. The multiplicity of laws and regulations in the German\nstatute book, particularly those referring to trade and commerce, gave\nthe gendarmes the much-desired opportunity for the display of their\npower; and as the Jews were the chief element engaged in commercial\npursuits, they were also the chief victims of these rustic arbiters of\nweal and woe. To defeat or discomfit a gendarme was a highly meritorious\ndeed, and all the community rejoiced in concert when one of these\npotentates had been made the victim of some particularly ingenious\ntrick.\n\nAn incident which had happened some time previous to my arrival in\nNordheim, and which all the community were highly enjoying at the time\nof my arrival, will illustrate this disposition. There lived in Nordheim\na poor, half-witted Jew named Meyer, an unfortunate fellow without\nrelatives or home or means of subsistence, who depended for his support\non the charitable gifts of the kind-hearted villagers. Despite his\nmental infirmity, Meyer possessed, as is not seldom the case with the\nweak-minded, quite a stock of humor; and as he was always cheerful and\npleasant, and was continually doing odd and amusing things, \u201cShoteh\nMeyerle,\u201d or \u201cLittle Meyer the fool,\u201d as he was called, enjoyed\nconsiderable popularity. Everybody, rich and poor, high and low, Jew and\nGentile, knew him well. Everybody had a friendly greeting for him when\nmet on the road; nobody, not even the most unruly boys, would harm him\nin any way or permit him to be harmed by others. He had free access to\nevery house, and enjoyed altogether liberties and privileges not\npossessed by any other member of the community. One day it chanced that\nShoteh Meyerle determined, in accordance with his wont, to visit the\nadjoining village of Willmars to obtain some gifts. The day was hot, the\nroad was long and dusty, and Meyer soon felt that rest and recuperation\nwould be agreeable. These could not be had on the dusty road, and he,\ntherefore, stepped aside into a field where there was a fine tree, in\nwhose cool shade he sat him down and reposed. This act, it is true, was\nillegal, for the agrarian regulations of the Bavarian state strictly\nprohibit the stepping upon cultivated fields on the part of others than\nthe proprietors, or those to whom they give permission. But what recked\nMeyer for that; he was, in a measure, above the law. He could violate\nthe solemn enactments of the code with impunity, for the light in which\nhe was viewed by the community enabled him to say, like a celebrated\nAmerican politician of later date, \u201cWhat\u2019s the Constitution between\nfriends?\u201d Meyer, therefore, sat him down on the cultivated field of\nFarmer Dietrich without having obtained his formal permission, but\nwithout the least fear of consequences. This time, however, he was in\nerror. A new gendarme had recently come to Nordheim, a stranger from a\ndifferent region, unacquainted with the people and their ways, but with\na soul longing to acquire distinction by making some brilliant arrests.\nHis reputation as a surly and churlish fellow had preceded him, and\nevery one had scrupulously avoided him and taken particular care not to\ncome into conflict with any of the numerous statutes and police\nregulations; so that hitherto no one had fallen into his clutches, and\nhis ambition for distinction had as yet had no opportunity to be\ngratified. This particular morning he was walking along the road,\nmeditating upon his ill luck (as he considered it), and cursing the\npeople of Nordheim and vicinity for an absurdly law-abiding crowd. What\nespecially grieved him was that no Jew had yet fallen into his hands,\nfor he was a true anti-Semite; and to haul up one of the accursed\nSemites on some good and heavy charge was incense to his soul. While\nthus marching along the highway and meditating, he beheld a man sitting\nupon a stone in a field, whose appearance clearly indicated that he was\nnot a peasant nor a field laborer, and who, therefore, had probably no\nright to be there. It was, of course, our friend Meyer; but our doughty\ngendarme knew him not, and was not aware of the peculiar status of\nimmunity which he possessed. \u201cAha!\u201d thought the gendarme, his soul\nfilled with joy at the idea of at last making an arrest. \u201cA law-breaker!\nProbably a wandering apprentice (_Wandersbursch_) or itinerant merchant\n(_Handelsman_) who does not know that I, the zealous and faithful\nwatchman of the law, am in the neighborhood, and who has therefore dared\nto invade the sacred precincts of the fields! I must approach cautiously\nlest he see me while still afar, and escape.\u201d Thus thinking, he began\ncautiously to draw near to the neighborhood of the suspected violator of\nthe law, slinking behind bushes and walls so as not to reveal his\npresence until he should be in the immediate vicinity of his intended\nvictim, when he would pounce upon him as the tiger springs upon his\nprey.\n\nBut, cunning as the gendarme was, Shoteh Meyerle was still more cunning.\nHe had seen the bright uniform and shining musket of the pompous\nchampion of the law when they first appeared at the distant turning of\nthe Ostheim _chauss\u00e9e_. He at once understood his intention when he saw\nhim first pause and afterward slowly advance, seeking cover behind\nbushes and walls and, with the instinctive cunning of the half-witted,\nhe at once resolved to baffle his elaborate plan and to have some sport\nwith his would-be captor. He remained quietly sitting upon his stone,\napparently in entire ignorance of the gendarme\u2019s approach until just\nbefore the latter came into too uncomfortable proximity, when he arose\nand began to move leisurely across the fields in the direction of the\nSommerberg, a forest-crowned hill situated somewhat to the northeast of\nthe village. At this the gendarme was compelled to show himself. He\nburst forth from his covering of bushes, leaped upon the field and\ncalled upon the intruder, as he considered him to be, to stand and\nsubmit to arrest. Instead of doing so, Meyer continued to move on at a\nsomewhat more rapid pace. To realize the meaning of this action, one\nmust remember that in Germany a person when called upon by the police is\nexpected at once to stand and give an account of himself, and invariably\ndoes so. Only one who has the gravest of reasons for not desiring police\nattention would dare to attempt to evade them when their attention had\nonce been called to him.\n\nOur worthy gendarme was now convinced that he had a dangerous criminal\nto deal with, and his soul thrilled with the hope of making a brilliant\narrest; one that would secure him favorable notice from above, rapid\npromotion, and perhaps immortality in the annals of criminalistic\nachievement. He shouted to Meyer at the top of his voice to halt,\nbreaking at the same time into a run and dashing toward him. But Meyer\ndid not halt. On the contrary, he too began to run, and was soon\nspeeding over hill and dale, hotly pursued by the now thoroughly enraged\nofficer.\n\nWho can fitly describe the terrors and the glories of that extraordinary\nrace? Meyer was thin and light and active, possessed of splendid wind\nand as fleet as a deer. He led the gendarme a merry chase, indeed, over\nhills and down into valleys, through forests and over brooks, through\ncorn-fields, meadows, and gardens. But the gendarme was a strong man and\ngame, though rather heavy from overmuch eating and beer-drinking;\nweighed down with his heavy musket, and sadly out of condition through\nlack of exercise. Filled with rage and determined to make a prisoner of\nthis extraordinary criminal, he panted and toiled on in pursuit, despite\nweariness and perspiration. Meyer could easily have distanced him, but\nhad no intention of doing so; and therefore so controlled his pace as to\nremain always in sight of his pursuer, and not permit the latter to lose\nhope and give up.\n\nThus the chase continued until hunter and hunted, having covered more\nthan four miles of country, found themselves at the gates of\nMellrichstadt, the chief town of the district and the seat of the\ndistrict court, which at that time, as Meyer well knew, was in\nsession. Here, Meyer pretending to have grown weary, gradually\nslackened his pace and permitted himself to be seized by his panting\nand perspiration-bathed pursuer. \u201cAha, accursed Jew! Aha, thou\nrascal!\u201d hoarsely exclaimed the latter, as he seized Meyer roughly by\nthe collar, \u201cat last I have thee! Now thou shalt pay bitterly for thy\nvillainy and thy audacity. I shall drag thee straight to court, and\nthe honorable judges will know well how to deal with an audacious\nwretch, such as thou art, and who undoubtedly must have committed some\ngreat crime or else he would not have thus fled from me.\u201d Meyer\nvouchsafed no answer and offered no resistance, but meekly followed\nthe gendarme to the courthouse, which was but a short distance away;\nalthough the triumphant officer in his wrath at the unprecedented\nchase he had been forced to make, literally dragged him thither in\nmost ungentle manner.\n\nThe district judge, clad in his silken robes of office, and with his\nvelvet cap upon his head, was seated at his elevated desk at the upper\nend of the court-room, at either side an assessor, when this remarkable\npair, the stout, hot, perspiring gendarme, with face red as fire, and\nthe comical, well-known figure of the half-witted Jewish beggar entered\nthe room, the former holding the latter with an iron grasp and with an\nexpression of intense excitement upon his countenance; while the latter\nwas perfectly cool and self-possessed, and was smiling all over with an\nexpression of perfect content, as though a run of four miles and\napprehension by the constabulary were every-day and quite pleasant\nexperiences in his life. An interesting case was going on at the time,\nand the court-room was crowded with a mixed multitude of peasants,\nworking-men, Jewish merchants, and landed proprietors, among whom the\narrival of this singular pair created a lively sensation, especially as\nthe mischievous propensities of Shoteh Meyerle were well known and\ncuriosity was rife as to what he was up to now.\n\nWhen the gendarme entered the court-room, he at first hesitated for a\nmoment, being undecided as to whether he had the right to appear at once\nbefore the judges or not; but the supreme judge, who knew Shoteh Meyer\nperfectly well (as did also the assessors), and was himself consumed by\ncuriosity concerning the meaning of this extraordinary arrest, at once\nsignalled him to advance, which he immediately did. No sooner had the\ngendarme brought his prisoner before the bar than the latter made a deep\nbow to the court; and, smiling affably at the judges, said in a voice\naudible all over the room: \u201cGood morning, _Herr Gerichtshof_! Good\nmorning, my _Herren Assessoren_! How are you all feeling to-day? I trust\nyou all slept well last night!\u201d This, in a court-room, extremely unusual\nsalutation was accompanied by an extraordinary smirk and a comical\nflourish of the arms, and was greeted by an outburst of hearty laughter\non the part of the audience; in which the judges joined, a proceeding\nextremely disconcerting to the gendarme, who detected in it a note of\nfriendliness to the prisoner, which he could not understand, but which\nboded ill for the success of his charge.\n\nThe gendarme was then ordered to tell his story, and gave the facts with\nwhich we are already familiar, laying particular stress on his suspicion\nthat the prisoner was guilty of other grave crimes, based on the\ndesperate manner in which he had endeavored to avoid arrest. This story\nwas listened to with evident amusement, which added greatly to the\nembarrassment of the valiant captor, who began to feel very cheap,\nthough he knew not why.\n\nMeyer was then called upon for his side of the case. \u201cWhy, most honored\njudge and assessors,\u201d said Meyer, with a most engaging smile and\ningenuous air, \u201cI do not know why I have been arrested, or why the Herr\nGendarme is so angry with me. I am only a poor, humble man, and I have\nnever done any one any harm in all my life. I was resting a little in\nFarmer Dietrich\u2019s field this morning, and afterward I took a little\nlively run to Mellrichstadt and I saw the Herr Gendarme a few times on\nthe way. Hardly had I reached Mellrichstadt when he fell roughly upon me\nand dragged me here, and that is all I know.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why were you in Farmer Dietrich\u2019s field?\u201d asked the supreme judge,\ntrying to assume a severe air. \u201cDo you not know that is against the law,\nand that you make yourself thereby liable to severe punishment?\u201d \u201cThat\nmay be, your honor,\u201d answered Meyer; \u201cbut I did not think I was doing\nany wrong. All the people hereabouts are very kind to me, and willingly\npermit me in their fields; and I thought it would be the same this time\nas always.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why did you run all the long way from Nordheim to Mellrichstadt,\nand in this hot weather, too?\u201d asked the judge, suppressing by a great\neffort his amusement.\n\n\u201cThe reason I did that,\u201d said Meyer, with a most innocent expression of\nface, \u201cwas for the benefit of my health. I have been suffering a great\ndeal lately from constipation, and the doctor recommended me exercise in\nthe open air.\u201d This answer was greeted with a shout of laughter from all\nsides.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d continued the judge, still endeavoring to conduct the inquiry in\na judicial manner, \u201cwhen you saw the gendarme running after you, you\nshould not have kept on without noticing him. You should have stopped to\nsee what he wanted of you. Why did you not do so?\u201d \u201cI should gladly have\ndone so, your honor,\u201d said Meyer in a tone of perfect frankness, \u201cbut I\ndid not have the least idea that he wanted anything of me. I thought\nthat he, too, was probably suffering from constipation, and that the\ndoctor had also recommended him exercise for his health.\u201d This answer\nliterally \u201cbrought down the house.\u201d Amidst a storm of merriment, which\nutterly defied the usual restraints of court discipline, the case was\ndismissed and the crestfallen gendarme was overwhelmed with a flood of\nironical compliments on his zeal as an official and his ability as a\nrunner. Shoteh Meyerle was more popular than ever after this incident,\nbut it was many a day before the gendarme could muster up courage to\nlook any one in the face.\n\n[Illustration: Reb. Shemayah]\n\n[Illustration: _Page 49_]\n\n\n               REB SHEMAYAH AND OTHER NORDHEIM WORTHIES.\n\nO sweet Nordheim! Though thy inhabitants, particularly those who\nprofessed the ancient faith of Israel, were but few, how numerous,\ncomparatively, were those whose characters for one reason or other were\ninteresting and noteworthy. Let me pass a few of these in review before\nthe eye of the reader before I close this insufficient though veracious\nchronicle. Without a doubt the most important and significant of these\npersons was Reb Shemayah. He was my grandfather, although it was not my\nprivilege to behold him in the flesh, for he had passed to the better\nworld some years before my visit to the village. He was a perfect type\nof the old-time, sincere, loyal, and devout German Jew. He was the son\nof an old family of high repute and standing, which had been settled in\nNordheim for several centuries; and one of his ancestors, whose picture\nappears in an old village chronicle, had enjoyed the unique distinction\nof being the only inhabitant who owned a saddle horse. Like all the sons\nof the better class of Jewish families in former generations he received\na thorough training in Hebrew and Talmudic studies. At the _Yeshibah_ in\nFulda, to which he had been sent to study rabbinic lore, he attained\nsuch distinction by the keenness of his intellect and the rapidity of\nhis progress that the venerable rabbi became warmly attached to him, and\ndeclared that he alone should be his successor and his son-in-law, the\nhusband of his youngest daughter.\n\nJust as Reb Shemayah was about to attain the loftiest pinnacle of Jewish\nambition in those days, to become a rabbi and to take as his wife the\nbeautiful, dark-eyed daughter of the Fulda Rav, an event occurred which\ndestroyed his hopes in both these regards, but gave occasion for the\ndisplay of his noble idealism. The Bavarian Government issued a rescript\nto the effect that in order to wean Jews from the petty forms of trading\nto which they had hitherto been addicted, and to induce them to take up\nagriculture, the law prohibiting Jews from owning land, which had been\nin force for centuries, was repealed, and it would henceforth be\npermitted them to own and cultivate land, the same as all other\ncitizens.\n\nThe beneficent intentions of the new law were evident, but the Jews\nhesitated to take advantage of it; indeed, they were loath to do so. The\ncenturies of unfamiliarity with agriculture were partly to blame for\nthis reluctance; but then, again, there was also a strong prejudice\nagainst the farmer\u2019s vocation, which was considered low and rude and far\ninferior in social value to that of the merchant or scholar. Reb\nShemayah did not share these views. His soul was all aflame with\nenthusiasm when he heard of the new law which, in his opinion, first put\nthe stamp of real citizenship upon the Jew. Not only did he consider\nagriculture intrinsically ennobling and the only vocation in consonance\nwith true Jewish, Biblical precepts, but he also held that the landed\nclass are the real foundation of the state, while all others are but\nfloating parasites. When he saw that his brethren were hesitating, and\nthat none appeared willing to purchase land, he determined to give them\na good example and himself became a tiller of the soil. He invested his\nwhole fortune in the purchase of a farm near Nordheim, which he himself\nbegan actively to cultivate. Thus did Reb Shemayah renounce the\nrabbinical vocation and become a peasant. It was a tremendous sacrifice\nto make; but what was worse was that he had to renounce his sweet bride\ntoo, for the old Fulda rabbi was obstinate and had no liking for these\nnew things. \u201cA peasant shall not have my daughter,\u201d he said; and though\nReb Shemayah loved sweet Miriam well, he loved Israel better, and for\nthe sake of his ideal he sacrificed a piece of his own heart. Encouraged\nby Reb Shemayah\u2019s example, many other Jews invested in land and\nendeavored to learn the art of agriculture; and at present Jewish\ntillers of the soil are no longer rarities.\n\nIn the Nordheim community and the entire surrounding country Reb\nShemayah enjoyed the highest possible reputation. He was universally\nloved, respected, revered. And right well did he deserve his high\nrepute, for a character of such singular purity, sweetness, and nobility\nbelongs to the rare things of earth. He was profoundly and exceptionally\ndevout, even for those days when piety and religious strictness were\nusual and ordinary in Israel. The Torah, the divine law, he considered\nGod\u2019s most precious gift to mankind, and Israel\u2019s mission he held to be\nto practice this law and to show its excellence to the world; and by\nlives of utmost virtue and beneficence to be _mekaddesh Ha-Shem_,\n_i.e._, to sanctify the name, and to bring honor and glory to Him whose\nservants were thus righteous and good. He lived up to his ideal, and his\nlife thus became one long record of kindly words and noble deeds. Jews\nand Gentiles alike had in him a sincere friend and a trustworthy\ncounsellor, and were equally glad to seek his wise counsel and ready\nassistance in their hour of need or distress. The Schnorrers had in him\na particularly warm sympathizer, so that, after his death, they lamented\nthat Nordheim, although charitable beyond the average, had lost its halo\nof glory in their eyes. He always believed any tale of woe told him by a\nsuppliant stranger and never wearied of assisting, for the thought of\ndeceit or fraud never entered his guileless mind. The learned wanderer\nhad his especial sympathy, and he would always welcome such a one right\nroyally to his home and listen with kindliest interest to his erudite\ncomments on Biblical or Talmudic passages or new solutions of old\ndifficulties; and after entertaining him with unstinted generosity,\nwould dismiss him laden with blessings in substantial form.\n\nIt was not because Reb Shemayah was wealthy that he was able to do all\nthese things, by merely sparing a little from his abundance. On the\ncontrary, he gave thus liberally as a matter of principle, of religious\nduty, and his charitable gifts often involved great sacrifices on his\npart. During the greater part of his life he lived in rather straitened\ncircumstances, and rigid economy was necessarily the strict rule of his\nhousehold. His entire fortune had gone to the purchase of his\n_Bauerngut_; and as he was neither a trained agriculturist nor a keen\nbusiness man, his finances might have fallen into great disorder but for\nthe iron rule he had set up for himself, and from which he never\ndeviated, never to contract debts which he could not see his way clear\nto pay. In addition to his ordinary difficulties he met with several\nmisfortunes, which would have sufficed to break down the courage of an\nordinary man; but his sublime faith enabled him to bear all these trials\ncheerfully and resignedly, and, like Rabbi Nahum of old, he would repeat\nwhenever any tribulation came upon him: \u201cThis also is for good.\u201d\n\nA striking illustration of this trait was given after he had been for\nquite some years actively engaged in his chosen vocation, had found his\nchosen life partner, and had already a family of several daughters. In\nthe middle of a bitter winter night a fire suddenly broke out in Reb\nShemayah\u2019s dwelling; and, quickly assuming dimensions which rendered it\nimpossible to check it, the family were driven forth half-clad into the\nicy night. The house was burned to the ground and hardly anything of its\ncontents was saved, but the barn had escaped, and there Reb Shemayah and\nhis nearly frozen wife and family found refuge. There, too, his wife,\nPerla by name, who had for some time been expecting the advent of a\nlittle stranger, gave birth to a beautiful black-eyed boy, the first\nmale child. It was a heartrending conjuncture. His home a mass of\nsmoking ruins in the intense cold of a Bavarian mountain winter, nothing\nsaved but a few quilts and articles of clothing, his family huddled\ntogether for refuge in a barn, through the chinks of whose wooden walls\nthe chill blasts blew keenly; and most heartrending of all\u2014to see his\ndear wife forced to undergo, under such circumstances, the pains and\ndangers of childbirth. It was a situation which would have broken the\ncourage or destroyed the faith of another man. But Reb Shemayah lifted\nhis eyes to heaven, and in all sincerity and truth uttered the words: \u201cI\nthank Thee, O Master of the universe, for Thou art good. With one hand\nThou smitest, but with the other Thou healest. Thou hast destroyed my\nhabitation, but Thou hast also fulfilled the prayer of my heart and\ngiven me a son.\u201d And, indeed, the terror and the suffering were soon\nover. Kind Jewish neighbors hastened to open their homes to the\nafflicted family. Neither mother nor child was any the worse for the\nharsh exposure, and the black-eyed boy became subsequently the Uncle\nKoppel, whose hospitality I enjoyed. If anything in the whole incident\ndistressed Reb Shemayah keenly, it was the necessity of accepting, if\neven temporarily, the assistance of others. Himself ever ready to assist\nthe needy, he entertained an intense aversion to receiving himself such\nassistance.\n\nThough Reb Shemayah was, as we have seen, an ethically noble and exalted\ncharacter, he was by no means gloomy or austere. On the contrary, he was\nnatural and unaffected in his ways, accessible to every one, dearly fond\nof a joke, and a capital story-teller. Despite his readiness to accept\nas true tales of distress, he was, nevertheless, an excellent\npsychologist, and had no difficulty in thoroughly reading the characters\nand motives of those with whom he was thrown into contact. This ability\nonce enabled him to baffle an attempt which was made to victimize and\nblackmail him, and to turn it into a humorous triumph for him.\n\nNordheim, as regards the majority of its inhabitants, was an intensely\nCatholic village. The feasts and fasts of the church were celebrated\nthere with great pomp and unction, and the numerous religious\nprocessions were particularly solemn and, according to rural standards,\nmagnificent. In these the Jewish inhabitants, of course, took no part,\nand, indeed, usually remained secluded in their houses during their\ncontinuance. For this there were several reasons. The Jews being, from\nthe Catholic standpoint, heretics and unbelievers, were _eo ipso_\nexcluded from participation in these Christian solemnities; and their\npresence in the streets on such occasions was apt, even in these more\ntolerant times, to rouse the slumbering embers of religious animosity\nand bigotry. Besides, the Jews themselves, warm adherents of their own\nmonotheistic creed, would rather have suffered martyrdom than to have\nparticipated in practices which they looked upon as closely akin to\nidolatrous.\n\nShortly after Reb Shemayah had become a Nordheim peasant and citizen,\nthe village priest who happened at the time to be presiding over the\nspiritual affairs of the community conceived what appeared to him a most\nbrilliant idea, by means of which he believed he could press a\nsubstantial contribution out of the learned and pious new Jewish\nhouseholder. A great holiday of the church was approaching\u2014the indulgent\nreader will kindly excuse the author for his ignorance of Catholic\ntheology, which prevents him from specifically stating which one it\nwas\u2014of the celebration of which a particularly great and splendid\nprocession was the leading feature. In this procession substantially all\nthe Gentile villagers took part, and at its head a splendid effigy of\nthe crucified one was borne. The office of carrying the image was\nperformed by a citizen especially selected by the priest and burgomaster\nconjointly with the council; and to be chosen for this duty was deemed a\nhigh honor, and was eagerly coveted by the good Christian burghers of\nNordheim. Our priest\u2019s idea was as follows: The honor of carrying the\nimage should be bestowed, with flattering words and honeyed compliments,\nupon Reb Shemayah as a prominent and universally respected citizen of\nthe village. Of course the cunning ecclesiastic did not seriously mean\nthat Reb Shemayah should actually perform the office, for it was\nentirely out of the question that any Jew, however worthy, should\nactually take a leading part in the solemn ceremonies of the church; but\nour worthy theologian knew well that the aversion of the Jews to\nparticipating in such observances was even greater than the\ndisinclination of the Christians to permit them so to do, and he had no\nfear that Reb Shemayah would, under any circumstances, consent. What he\nimagined would happen was that Reb Shemayah, on being informed of his\nselection for the honorable task of image-bearer, would decline the\nhonor on the ground that his religion did not permit him to participate\nin such functions; and when he would be further informed that it was not\npossible for a citizen to refuse an honor to which he had been duly\nappointed by the constituted authorities, would beg and implore to be\nlet off, and would finally offer a good round sum to be released. This\nsum, after various difficulties and objections, would be graciously\naccepted as a mark of special favor, and thus the little comedy would\nfind a pleasant and profitable end. Filled with this splendid idea for\n\u201cspoiling the Egyptians\u201d this time in the form of a Hebrew, the priest\nhastened to the burgomaster and confided his plan to him. That worthy,\nalso, not at all averse to having a little innocent sport and gaining\nsome filthy lucre from the unbelieving Jew, at once gave the plan his\nmost hearty approval, and it was resolved to put it forthwith into\nexecution. Accordingly Reb Shemayah was astounded that evening, when\nsitting in his room resting after the labors of the day, to hear first a\nresounding knock with the old-fashioned knocker on his front door and\nafterward from the lips of his Perla, who had gone to answer the\nsummons, and who returned with an expression of amazement not unmingled\nwith anxiety upon her face, the words, \u201cThe priest and the burgomaster\nare here and desire to see you.\u201d\n\nReb Shemayah at once felt that this visit betokened something unusual.\nHe had often met and conversed with the priest and the burgomaster,\nsingly and together; the one and the other had also been casually within\nhis four walls, but neither had ever visited him formally, and this\nspecial visit by the two leading men of the village together he knew\nmust have some particular and unusual reason. He at once determined to\nreflect ripely on whatever proposition they should make him, and to act\nupon it in accordance with his best judgment and wisdom. He rose and\nreceived them with great politeness; and after they had seated\nthemselves, in accordance with his request, he inquired to what he owed\nthe distinguished honor of their visit. The priest, in view of the\ndeference due to his holy calling, acted as spokesman and explained the\nmission which had brought them thither.\n\n\u201cWe have come, dear Reb Shemayah,\u201d he said, \u201cas a deputation from the\nchurch and secular community of Nordheim, to show you how free from\nprejudice or bigotry our village is, and in particular how greatly we\nlove and honor you. You know, of course, that it is a fixed rule with us\nnever to confer any of the honors connected with the rites and\nceremonies of our holy church upon any one but a true believer, in full\ncommunion with and good standing in the church; but so greatly do we\nlove and esteem you that we have resolved for your sake to depart from\nthis time-honored and otherwise invariable rule, and to honor you as\ngreatly as we would the best of our true Christian burghers. We have\ntherefore come as a delegation to inform you that you have been selected\nfor the high and solemn office of bearing the Holy Image at the great\nprocession of \u2014\u2014mas next, and at the same time to congratulate you upon\nthis rare honor, which has never yet been attained by any Jew.\u201d Reb\nShemayah listened to this smooth speech with external calmness, but with\nthe most violent internal agitation. The priest had understood well his\ntrue feelings. His very blood ran cold at the thought of the proffered\n_honor_(?). What! he, the scion of a long line of martyrs who had died\nat the stake rather than prove recreant to the command thundered forth\namid Sinai\u2019s flames, \u201cThou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image,\nor any likeness of anything which is in the heaven above, or in the\nearth beneath, or in the waters beneath the earth; thou shalt not bow\ndown to them nor worship them\u201d; from whose dying lips had issued the\ncry, \u201cHear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One\u201d\u2014he should march\nin the procession of an alien cult and himself bear an image for the\nidolatrous adoration of the multitude! He felt his very soul sicken at\nthe thought. But his keen mind and his shrewd, intuitive perception of\nthe fitness of things helped him out of his difficulty. He missed the\nnote of sincerity in the priest\u2019s smooth words; he noticed that neither\nhis demeanor nor that of his companion, the burgomaster, was exactly\nsuch as is characteristic of persons desiring to confer honor upon\nanother; besides, he knew full well how utterly contrary to all Catholic\nrule and precedent it was to permit heretics to participate in church\nceremonials, and he could not conceive that an exception should be made\nfor him, and in a flash the whole devious machinations were revealed to\nhim, and he realized that it was only a cunningly thought-out plot to\nextort money from him as the price of exemption. He resolved to baffle\nthe ingenious scheme with equal ingenuity, and to give the plotters no\nopportunity to narrate later on, with vociferous hilarity, how shrewdly\nthey had victimized and blackmailed the Jew. His first step was to\nexpress his sense of unworthiness of the proffered honor. \u201cI feel\ngreatly honored, indeed,\u201d he said, \u201cby this proof of the esteem in which\nmy fellow-burghers hold me; but how can I accept such a distinction? I\nam only a young citizen. There are others, older and better known than\nI; besides I am not even of your faith. I am a Jew whom you deem an\nunbeliever; and how, then, can I aspire to an honor which should be\nconferred only upon a true and undoubted co-religionist of your own?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have considered these things well, Reb Shemayah,\u201d said the priest;\n\u201cand you need not hesitate to accept the honor on account of them. If we\nesteem you so much that we are willing to overlook them, surely you need\nnot be troubled on that score at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut surely you know,\u201d said Reb Shemayah, \u201cthat my religion also forbids\nme to take part in such ceremonies. Judaism teaches me that the\nfundamental ideas which you solemnly proclaim by your processions and\nother such observances are not true; and I may not lend my countenance\nto them by participating personally in services held in recognition and\naffirmation of them. It is not lawful for me, as a Jew, to adore an\nimage, or to assist in its adoration by others. I am sorry; but, while\nappreciating, indeed, the high honor you would bestow upon me, I feel\nthat I must decline it as not suitable to one of my faith.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear Reb Shemayah,\u201d said the priest in a somewhat harsher manner,\nwhile the burgomaster sustained him with a threatening shake of the\nhead, \u201cI am sorry to hear you speak thus. Permit me to say that your\nwords are displeasing, not to say offensive. To decline on such grounds\nthe distinguished honor offered you is to scoff at our holy faith; is,\nindeed, to insult our entire Christian community here in Nordheim.\nFurthermore, let me remind you that it is a matter of civic obligation,\nand that it is not feasible for a citizen to decline the honors or\nrefuse the functions which the community may see fit to confer upon him.\nIf such were permitted, our civic honors might go begging and all\nauthority would fall into contempt. You have been selected, as an\nhonored citizen, to take a leading part in a great public ceremony, and\nit is expected that as a loyal burgher you will overlook your religious\nscruples and perform your public duty. Both as a Jew, who needs to live\nin peace with the inhabitants of other faiths, and as a true citizen of\nthis community, we expect, nay we insist, that you will at once declare\nyour willingness to perform the duty assigned to you by the constituted\nauthorities of the community.\u201d\n\nThese words made a deep and evident impression upon Reb Shemayah. He was\nvisibly agitated. The choice the priest had given him was a hard one.\nEither recreancy to his so ardently loved faith, or the disfavor of his\nfellow-townsmen, and perhaps punishment as a scoffer at the established\nreligion, or a contumacious rejector of civic honors.\n\nThe priest and burgomaster gazed at him with triumphant eyes, thinking\nin their hearts that now they had the Jew on his knees, and that\npresently he would be begging and pleading for mercy, and offering to do\nanything or give any amount if only they would release him from the\ndreaded and abhorred \u201chonor.\u201d The priest was already considering the\namount he should ask as the condition of release; and the burgomaster,\nforeseeing that the unselfish (?) disciple of other-worldliness would\nwant the lion\u2019s share, was resolving in his mind that he would insist on\na fair and equitable division of the spoils, share and share alike. But\nReb Shemayah had prepared a little surprise for them.\n\n\u201cYour reverence,\u201d he said when the priest had concluded his remarks, \u201cI\nbeg your pardon for my hasty words, uttered without a true comprehension\nof the importance of the privilege bestowed upon me. Your lucid\nexplanation has fully convinced me that I was in the wrong. I see now\nthat it is my duty as a good citizen to accept with gratitude any duty\nwhich the community may assign to me, even if it does not agree with my\nreligion. I accept, therefore, the honor you have conferred upon me, and\nI desire you to express my thanks to the worthy councilmen for the high\nprivilege which I have received at their hands.\u201d\n\nIt was the turn now of the priest and the burgomaster to be agitated.\nThey could hardly believe their ears. Reb Shemayah, the Jew, the\nheretic, to be the leading figure in the great\u2014\u2014mas procession! The\nthought was horrifying. They realized that their brilliant plan had\nfailed, that the Jew had triumphed, that they had gotten themselves into\na pretty pickle out of which they would have vast trouble to extricate\nthemselves; for, of course, Reb Shemayah had not been really invited by\nthe councilmen, and the matter had never been even broached to them by\nthe cunning schemers. They were beaten, disconcerted, crushed. Worst of\nall, they had to dissemble, to pretend that they were delighted.\n\n\u201cDo I understand you, then, Reb Shemayah,\u201d said the priest, suppressing\nby a great effort his discomfiture, and forcing his countenance to\nassume a pleased expression, \u201cyou are willing to accept the honor and\nwill bear the image at the procession?\u201d \u201cYes, your reverence,\u201d answered\nReb Shemayah. \u201cYour eloquence has convinced me and induced me to do so.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuch being the case,\u201d answered the priest, \u201cwe may consider the matter\nsettled and will now bid you good-by.\u201d The priest and burgomaster\nthereupon took their departure. When they were gone, the members of Reb\nShemayah\u2019s household, who had heard with amazement, not unmixed with\nhorror, his declaration of willingness to bear the image, besieged him\nwith questions as to how it was possible for him to think of such a\nthing. But Reb Shemayah only smiled and answered not a word. In the\nmeanwhile the priest and the burgomaster had a heated and angry\ndiscussion. Each blamed the other for the extremely embarrassing\nposition in which they were placed; but the priest smarted most under\nthe reproaches of his colleague in iniquity, for the fact was\nindisputable that the plot had originated with him, and it was\nparticularly mortifying to him, as a man of presumably superior wisdom,\nto have committed such an egregious blunder, and to be in danger of\nignominious exposure. The upshot of their debate was that Reb Shemayah\nmust be induced to change his mind and withdraw his acceptance of the\nimpossible honor which they had tendered him, and that knowledge of\ntheir scheme, and the manner in which it had been frustrated, must be\nkept from the councilmen and the people in general.\n\nBut who should undertake the difficult and unpleasant task of\nundeceiving Reb Shemayah, a task which, they clearly foresaw, would\ninvolve confession of their guilty purpose and practically throwing\nthemselves on the mercy of the Jew, whom they had deliberately plotted\nto torture and plunder, and who had so cleverly turned the tables upon\nthem? Each desired the other to undertake the disagreeable mission; but\nfinally the burgomaster yielded to the urgent pleadings of the\nhumiliated cleric and consented to visit Reb Shemayah and endeavor to\nalter his unexpected resolution. Accordingly at a very early hour the\nfollowing morning\u2014the burgomaster called intentionally so early in order\nto forestall any attempt of Reb Shemayah to disseminate the news of the\ndistinction he had received\u2014the burgomaster appeared again in Reb\nShemayah\u2019s dwelling. Our friend was not in the least surprised to see\nthe burgomaster; in fact, he had expected that either he or the priest\nwould appear, but expressed, as in duty bound, great astonishment at his\nearly visit.\n\n\u201cTo what do I owe the honor of this very early call, good friend\nburgomaster?\u201d he said, with voice and countenance expressive of\nsurprise. \u201cIs there any other service, perhaps, which the community\nrequires of me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, good friend Shemayah,\u201d said the burgomaster, with halting voice and\nembarrassed manner; for, in good truth, he felt very cheap indeed. \u201cIn\nfact, I have come to tell you that his reverence, the priest, and I\ndiscussed the matter of your acting as image-bearer on our way back from\nyour house last evening, and we came to the conclusion that we had not\ngiven enough consideration to your Jewish prejudices; and that we really\nought not to insist on your performing an act which is against your\nconscience. I have, therefore, come to tell you that you are released\nfrom the function for which we had selected you, and that you need not\nact as image-bearer.\u201d\n\n\u201cAha,\u201d thought Reb Shemayah, \u201cso this is the direction from which the\nwind blows! Well, you shall not get off so easy. You and your reverend\ncompanion must first be taught a little lesson of consideration for the\nfeelings of others, and be discouraged from similar financial ventures\nin the future.\u201d Then he spoke aloud and in a tone of the utmost courtesy\nand deference to the burgomaster. \u201cI thank you, most worthy burgomaster,\nfor the delicacy and consideration for my conscientious scruples which\nyour words display, and which are no doubt felt also by his reverence,\nthe priest. But I have also reflected well on the matter, and I shall\nask no special privilege as a Jew. As his reverence so well explained\nlast night, it is a matter of civic obligation; and I do not wish, as a\nJew, to shirk any civic duty, or to have it said that my co-religionists\nare unwilling to perform any task which the state imposes upon them. I\ndo not ask, therefore, for any exemption, but shall cheerfully perform\nthe task assigned me, and appreciate greatly the honor which I have\nreceived in being selected for such a function.\u201d\n\nThe face of our worthy burgomaster was a sight to behold during the\ndelivery of these words, and his feelings would beggar description. He\nwas a picture of limp despair, of utter dismay and dejection. He saw\nclearly that there was no other escape from the predicament than to make\na clean breast of it, which he accordingly resolved to do. It is\nunnecessary to enter here into all the details of conversation, to\nrepeat the faltering words of the confused and embarrassed burgomaster,\nand the indignant outbursts of virtuous wrath on the part of Reb\nShemayah. Suffice it to say, that the burgomaster made an abject\nconfession of the whole despicable plot, and begged Reb Shemayah to have\nconsideration with him and his companion in guilt and not bring disgrace\non them both; which Reb Shemayah, after his first outburst of wrath had\nsubsided, consented to do, but only on condition that the priest, as the\ninstigator of the plot, should visit him and personally ask his pardon.\n\nBoth conspirators were glad enough to settle the affair in this way. The\npriest appeared before Reb Shemayah the following evening with an humble\napology, which the latter accepted, but not until he had read the\nabashed cleric a good lesson on the moral aspects of the priestly\nvocation, and on the duty of respecting the feelings and scruples of\nthose who do not think as we do. Nothing ever became officially known of\nthe episode, but the facts leaked out somehow, as facts of this kind\nhave a way of doing, and became the common talk of the village for a\nconsiderable time. The incident caused Reb Shemayah to be looked upon in\na somewhat different light than hitherto. He had previously enjoyed the\nreputation of rectitude and piety; after this he acquired a name for\nshrewdness and wit, so that the phrases, \u201cshrewd as Reb Shemayah,\u201d\n\u201csharp as Reb Shemayah\u201d vied in popularity in Nordheimer speech with the\nother phrases, \u201cgood as Reb Shemayah\u201d and \u201cpious as Reb Shemayah.\u201d\n\nAnd thus this good and noble man lived his allotted tale of years in his\nrustic home, respected and loved; yes, revered by all. As the French\nking said, \u201c_L\u2019Etat, c\u2019est moi_,\u201d so Reb Shemayah could have said had he\nbeen egotistical enough to have thought of such a thing, \u201cThe Nordheim\n_Kehillah_; I am it.\u201d He was the one dominant, overshadowing figure in\nthe whole Nordheim community; so that Nordheim became known as the place\nwhere Reb Shemayah lived. And Nordheim people, when away from home and\nstating whence they came, would often hear in comment the words, \u201cOh,\nthat is where Reb Shemayah lives.\u201d Some of the less appreciative members\nof the congregation resented slightly this pre\u00ebminence, which was shared\nby no one except Reb Shemayah\u2019s excellent wife, Perla. Indeed, the\nstory-teller of the congregation, who was also the communal wag and\nhumorist, suggested that as Reb Shemayah was equivalent to the whole\n_Kehillah_, the text of the _Yekum Purkan_ prayer, in which the\nblessings of heaven are implored on Sabbath mornings for the\ncongregation, should be altered so as to restrict the benediction to Reb\nShemayah and his worthy spouse. He actually proposed a new wording with\nthat purpose in view, which, as it is not devoid of a certain wit and\nmay be interesting to those acquainted with the synagogue ritual, I\nshall not refrain from giving in this place.\n\n                     _Yekum purkan min Shemaya\n                     F\u00fcr die Perla und Reb Shemayah\n                     In Nordheim vor der Rh\u00f6n,\n                     Ve-Nomar Omain._\n\nTranslated, this composition, a _mixtum compositum_ of Chaldaic and\nJewish-German, runs thus:\n\n                    My salvation arise from heaven,\n                    For Perla and Reb Shemayah,\n                    In Nordheim before the Rh\u00f6n,\n                    And let us say, Amen.\n\nBut these rebellious murmurings did not dim even in the slightest degree\nthe brilliant radiance of Reb Shemayah\u2019s reputation for learning, piety,\nand benevolence. Ably seconded by his beloved Perla, who was on her part\nalso a model of olden Jewish wifely virtues, God-fearing, modest, hard\nworking, and tenderhearted, and who suffered from lack of recognition\nsolely through being eclipsed by the incomparable and exceptional merit\nof her husband, he maintained an ideal home in which the traditional\nprinciples of patriarchal authority and filial devotion, of strictness\ntempered by gentleness and love, and of constant inculcation of lofty\nethical precepts were undeviatingly maintained. And when this gentle and\ntruly pious pair were laid away to rest\u2014as they were within a few brief\ndays of each other\u2014in the little Eternal House in Willmars on the other\nside of the hill, tears flowed from the eyes of the many hundreds who\nhad followed them to their last resting-place; and all felt that the\nwords of the rabbis in the Talmud were but too true: \u201cWhen the truly\nrighteous are departed from a place, gone is its glory, gone its\nradiance, gone its splendor.\u201d\n\nYes, Reb Shemayah was the crowning glory of Nordheim\u2019s history, his\nlife-time the golden age in the pages of its annals. And therefore we\nshall glance but briefly at some of the other whimsical or touching\nfigures that lived and moved and had their being within its ancient\nwalls. There was old Eliezer, who was always praying, because he thought\nit a sinful misuse of human speech to apply it to any other use than to\nthe worship of the Maker. He always restricted his worldly remarks to\nthe briefest possible compass, and was never known to grow angry at any\none except on one occasion. Then it was the writer\u2019s sainted mother, at\nthe time a little girl of a lively and humorous disposition, who had the\nmisfortune to arouse his ire, and even to receive a slap from his holy\nhand. That happened in this wise. Eliezer had no sons, but two daughters\nwho bore the appellations respectively of Simchah and Glueck, the\nsignification whereof in the English idiom is \u201cjoy\u201d and \u201cgood fortune.\u201d\nThese two daughters, contrary to the usual lot of the Jewish maidens of\nNordheim, remained unmarried for a long time, so that at last they\nentered into that state most hateful even to-day in our age of \u201cbachelor\ngirls,\u201d but doubly hateful then, old maidenhood. Finally Simchah\nsucceeded in becoming betrothed to a very worthy man. Eliezer was\noverjoyed; but Glueck, although outwardly joyous, was, naturally enough,\nmore than a little jealous and displeased. At this juncture mother,\npeace to her soul, chanced to meet old Eliezer when returning from the\nsynagogue, where the happy event had been announced and the young couple\nduly blessed and, yielding to a momentary mischievous impulse, accosted\nhim thus: \u201c_Mazzol tov_, Eliezer! I suppose your Glueck must have a\ngreat _Simchah_ that your Simchah has such a _Glueck_.\u201d The joke was\ngood; but Eliezer did not appreciate humor, and a slap was the reward of\nthis humorous effort. Eliezer not only spoke little at any time, but on\nSabbath he eschewed the vulgar vernacular altogether and would only\nspeak Hebrew, which language he alone considered suitable, as the holy\ntongue for the holy day. But as he was anything but a Hebrew scholar,\nthe results of his efforts at restoring to colloquial use the idiom of\nancient Canaan I will leave to the imagination of the reader.\n\nThen there was Asher, the _Chazan_, who was not really the Chazan or\nofficial precentor of the synagogue, but a hard-working merchant in a\nsmall way, who supported himself and his family by untiring and\nunceasing labor and industry, but who was called Chazan because of his\nremarkable knowledge of the traditional melodies of the German-Jewish\nritual. These melodies he could chant with much skill and a pleasant\nvoice; and his rendition of the services was so well liked by the\nmembers of the congregation that they did not hesitate to say that Asher\n\u201cwas a better Chazan than the Chazan.\u201d Asher was a pleasant and friendly\nindividual altogether; but if one wished to gain his particular and\nundying gratitude, there was no better way of doing so than by\ncommunicating to him some new _niggun_ or Hebrew melody. It was my good\nfortune to communicate to him some of the more modern synagogue chants\nwhich I had heard in America, and which he, in his isolated village\nlife, had never had occasion to hear; and I do not doubt but he\nremembers me gratefully to this day. Asher and his two brothers were\n_Cohanim_\u2014that is to say, of Aaronitic or priestly descent. As such it\nwas their prerogative, and that of their sons, to pronounce the\nthreefold benediction over the congregation on holidays; and it was\ntouching, indeed, to listen to their solemn and melodious rendition of\nthe ancient chant, and to notice the dignity and earnestness with which\nthey prepared to perform their traditional function. To gaze at them\nwhile chanting the benediction was not permitted.\n\nThen there was Isaac, the _Schlemihl_, a well-meaning, earnest\nstruggler, but a perfect type of the _Schlemihl_ or Jewish\nne\u2019er-do-well, upon whose undertakings no blessing ever seemed to\ndescend. He worked harder, probably, than any three other members of the\nKehillah; but in his hands the fairest projects seemed to receive a\nblight, and the most promising business ventures turned to wormwood and\nashes, to apples of Sodom and grapes of bitterness. But the Schlemihl,\nperfectly useless though he was to himself and his family, had one very\nevident purpose in the scheme of life, namely, to open the hearts of his\nbrethren to impulses of kindness and benevolence. They certainly acted\ntoward him in the most sympathetic and brotherly manner, and permitted\nneither him nor his family to suffer. At the time of my arrival in\nNordheim, Isaac had just managed, through one of his usual transactions,\nto lose all he had, and to have his house, which he had received as part\nof the dowry of his wife, seized in satisfaction of his debts. But the\nNordheim Kehillah, assisted by some benevolent friends from other\nplaces, paid off his debts, redeemed the house, and furnished him with a\ncertain amount of capital with which to begin life anew. For safety\u2019s\nsake the Kehillah retained the title in the house; for, as Uncle Koppel\nsaid to me in confidence, \u201cWe might otherwise have to buy the house\nevery year.\u201d\n\nA peculiarly interesting character was David the horse-dealer, a jovial,\nhale fellow, handsome too, and tall and strong as a lion, a very \u201cmighty\nman in Israel.\u201d He was a stanch friend and reliable, and could be\ndepended upon to go through thick and thin for one who had once gained\nhis friendship. But David had one weakness, not unnatural, perhaps, in\nthose of his vocation. He knew no scruples of conscience in regard to\ntransactions in horseflesh; and some of his achievements in that line\nhad been, if report spoke truly, to say the least, extremely\nventuresome. Thus he was credited with having once sold a Prussian major\nwho prided himself on his expert knowledge of the equine species, a\nhorse with only three hoofs. The manner in which David was said to have\ndone the trick was as follows: The deal took place in midwinter, when\nthe ground was covered with snow to the depth of a foot or more. The\nhorse was a fine animal, coal black and of handsome form, except that\nthe left front hoof was lacking. David led the horse out of the stable;\nand as it stood in the deep snow before the Prussian major, who was\ncritically examining it through his eyeglasses, the absence of the hoof\nwas not noticeable. He then put it through its paces, cracking his whip\nfuriously, so that the horse leaped and dashed in a most fiery manner,\nand the absence of the hoof was again not noticeable. The major was\ncharmed with the fire and grace of the animal, bought and paid for it at\nonce, and ordered it to be sent to his quarters. It is said that the\nmajor was furious later, not so much on account of the money loss, but\nbecause he, the expert, had been so neatly duped, and because he had no\nlegal remedy against David. Had David put a false hoof in place of the\nlacking member, he would have been liable to a heavy penalty for fraud;\nbut he had not done so, and had made no false representation. And\ntherefore the major not only had no case against him, but could not even\ndemand the cancellation of the sale. Thus the story for whose veracity I\nwill not guarantee. But, however weak David\u2019s conscience may have been\nin matters of horsetrading, his conduct otherwise merited no reproach\nand he was well liked.\n\nMany were the estimable and lovable characters in Nordheim\u2019s Kehillah,\nand I cannot attempt to describe or even mention them all. Of Uncle\nKoppel and Aunt Caroline I have already spoken. Uncle Koppel was a\ntypical Jewish _Baal-Ha-Bayith_, or householder, a business man of\nprobity, whose word was as good as his bond, a faithful worshipper at\nthe altar of Israel\u2019s God, and a worthy upholder, by character, if not\nby learning, of the reputation of Reb Shemayah, his father. Aunt\nCaroline was a true mother in Israel, loyal, conscientious, and devout.\nTheir able sons and charming dark-eyed daughters were imbued with their\nspirit, and together they formed an ideal household. Nor must I forget\nAunt Gella, the only other child of Reb Shemayah who had remained in the\nnative village, a woman of noble parts, who, had her lot been cast\nsomewhere else in the great world, might have played an important part\nin history. Her noble brow, which emerged so modestly from the recesses\nof her _Scheitel_ and her mild and clear blue eyes, showed her the\npossessor of a strong and well-developed intellect; and her wise and\nwell-considered conversation showed that the reality corresponded to the\nindications. Her heart was as warm and good and her spirit as firm and\ncourageous as her mind was keen and clear; and she was, so to speak, the\ncombined oracle and Lady Bountiful of the village. Was any female or,\nfor that matter, any male villager in trouble, in want of counsel or\nhelp, she or he would direct her or his steps to the neat cottage in the\nLong Street where dwelt Aunt Gella, and there would find counsel or\ncomfort, or whatever help was required. A plague of dysentery came once\nupon the village, and then it was that Aunt Gella showed herself the\nveritable angel of help. While it continued she hardly ate or drank or\nslept or changed her clothes. She worked with tireless energy at her\nmission of mercy, going from house to house among the afflicted ones,\nbringing the right medicine to one, the right food to the other, and\nmoney to the third. Dear Aunt Gella: methinks I see her sweet, mild face\nnow, and hear the words of blessing with which peasant and Jew mentioned\nher name. And besides those whom I have mentioned, there were dozens of\nhouseholders in which piety, probity, and loving kindness were the\nconstantly practised rule of life.\n\nYes, Nordheim, I loved thee well, and I love thy memory. I loved thee\nfor thy simplicity, for thy natural goodness, for the true and\nunpretentious way in which thou didst lay stress upon that which is pure\nand noble, and didst reject that which is base and vile in human life;\nfor the picture which thou didst show me of the beautifying and\nsanctifying effect of a simple, sincere, and honest Judaism, simply and\nsincerely lived. Thou wast one of the forces which did lead me to love\nand uphold the Torah, and to cleave to the faith which my and thy\nancestors received at Sinai from Sinai\u2019s God.\n\nOh, that this tale of thee might work likewise upon the hearts of others\nlike me, children of an unbelieving and irreverent age, and stir them to\nlove for Israel\u2019s God and devotion to Israel\u2019s sacred heritage!\n\n\n\n\n                     THE LITTLE HORSERADISH WOMAN.\n\n\nHow many of my readers know the little horseradish woman? Many, I have\nno doubt, are more or less acquainted with her; and those who are not\ncan make her acquaintance without any difficulty. Almost any afternoon\nand late into the evening, except on Sabbaths or Jewish holidays, she\nmay be found at her post in one of the blocks of upper Third Avenue, New\nYork, standing behind her improvised little table, industriously rubbing\naway at her acrid merchandise, with only occasional pauses to wipe away\nwith the corner of her snow-white apron the tears which her lachrymose\noccupation forces from her eyes, or to give customers extraordinarily\nliberal portions of her finished product. The size of the portions she\nsells is quite astonishing to the customer; but the little horseradish\nwoman is scrupulously honest in matters of weight and measure, of mine\nand thine, and would not think of giving less.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE LITTLE HORSERADISH WOMAN\n\n  _Page 84_]\n\nHer tears, too, are quite remarkable. Indeed, I believe that horseradish\ntears have not been appreciated as they should be, for they are a\nspecies entirely _sui generis_, and not to be confused with any other\ntears that are shed on earth. Ordinary, every-day tears indicate sorrow\nand produce weakness; crocodile tears indicate hypocrisy and produce\ndisgust; but horseradish tears are born of industry, and their offspring\nare energy and good-humor. Such, at least, is the case with our little\nhorseradish woman; for, no sooner has she wiped away one of her\nperiodical outbursts of tears, than she begins to rub away again with\nthe utmost energy and the best humor in the world. My observation of the\ntears the horseradish woman sheds has made me their confirmed admirer. I\nhave no liking for the lachrymose ebullitions of love-lorn maidens, of\nsnivelling swains, or of wheezing or wheedling Pecksniffs. Give me\nhorseradish tears; they are the honestest, cheerfullest\u2014I had almost\nsaid\u2014manliest tears in the world.\n\nOur horseradish woman is known by various names. Some call her \u201cthe old\nRebecca\u201d; others, desiring to speak more formally or respectfully, refer\nto her as \u201cold Mrs. Levy\u201d; but the appellation by which she is most\nwidely and popularly known is _das Meerrettich Weible_\u2014the little\nhorseradish woman. It makes no difference, however, by what designation\nshe is known, she is popular under them all; for the little horseradish\nwoman is liked. Some like her for her courage in toiling so constantly\nand industriously, and supporting herself at her advanced age; others\nlike her because of her unfailing cheeriness and good-humor; others,\nagain, because of her simple, trustful faith and earnest piety, for the\nlittle horseradish woman is more than usually religious, and is to be\nfound in the synagogue, not only on Sabbaths and holidays, but also at\nthe early morning and evening services on week-days, and is one of the\nmost attentive listeners to the rabbi when he expounds the Sedrah on\nSabbath mornings, or \u201clearns Shiur\u201d on Sabbath afternoons or week-day\nevenings.\n\nIt is a truly pleasing picture which the little horseradish woman\npresents when she stands at her post ready for business. Her regular and\nrefined features, of the familiar Jewish type, are, it is true, worn and\nwrinkled, and the hair which peeps out from under the cloth band and the\nold-fashioned bonnet which surmount her head is whitened by the seventy\nor more winters which have passed over her; but the light of\nintelligence, of benevolence, and of pure and refined sentiments shines\nin her countenance and makes it singularly attractive. Her clothing is\nof the plainest. She wears a dress of some simple, dark material and\nover it a long, white apron; but no patch, tear, nor stain is visible\nanywhere, and we feel instinctively that we have before us a person who,\nthough in humble, even lowly circumstances, is naturally and\nintrinsically refined.\n\nBut as yet we do not know the little horseradish woman. It is only upon\nentering into conversation with her that we really find out what she is,\nand a great surprise awaits us then. For this poor, little, old woman\nwho stands upon the street in all weather and seasons, and toils so hard\nto earn a few cents by the sale of her commodity, comes of excellent\nfamily, has had, for her time, an exceptionally good training, and is,\nin some respects, a remarkably well-educated woman.\n\nShe was born as the daughter of a rabbi in a small provincial city of\nGermany, and her father, besides instilling into her soul the seeds of\nfervent Hebraic piety, saw to it that she received a thorough secular\nand religious training. As a consequence her manners are those of polite\nand well-bred circles, her German is pure and correct in grammar and\npronunciation, and what is most surprising and pleasing to the Jewish\nscholar, she is acquainted with the entire Bible in the original Hebrew.\nThe Book of Psalms she knows by heart and quotes with amazing fluency;\nand from her experience in her father\u2019s house she has derived a large\nnumber of technical Talmudic phrases, which she uses in her conversation\nwith entire correctness of expression and application.\n\nAnd the most remarkable thing of all is the entire lack of\nself-consciousness on the part of the little horseradish woman. She is\nentirely unaware that there is anything out of the ordinary in her life,\nher characteristics, or her circumstances. She never comments upon the\ndifferent conditions that prevail to-day, never boasts nor condemns, is\nsimple, natural, and unaffected; a typical, humble, pious Jewish woman.\nOh, that you might come, you artificial, affected daughters of an\nartificial, affected age, and learn simple refinement and natural\ndignity from this lowly sister of yours! The lesson is needed and would\nprove effective.\n\nLast Saturday night, after the \u201cgoing out\u201d of the Sabbath, my wife and I\nalso determined to go out for a stroll on Third Avenue. We often take\nthese strolls, and enjoy them. My wife loves the excitement of the\nlights and the crowds, which make it doubly pleasant to meet an\nacquaintance or make an occasional purchase; and I am equally fond of\nstudying human nature where it makes its most characteristic appearance,\nin the busy throngs of men. We had not seen the little horseradish woman\nfor some time, for she had given up of late her habit of coming to our\nhouse with her wares, and her stand was not on any of the blocks we\nusually traversed.\n\nThat evening we extended our walk a little further than usual. As we\nneared \u2014th Street, suddenly Mrs. \u2014\u2014 exclaimed: \u201cLook, there is the\nlittle horseradish woman!\u201d Sure enough it was she, and we immediately\nwent up to her.\n\nWhile she was returning our greeting with great cordiality and\nfriendliness, I noticed that she did not appear to be as well as usual.\nHer movements were lacking in their customary vivacity, and her face\nseemed thinner and paler than its wont.\n\n\u201cHow are you getting on, Mrs. Levy?\u201d I said, while she was filling a bag\nwith our ordered portion of horseradish.\n\n\u201c_Boruch Hashem_, quite well,\u201d she responded with a smile. \u201cMy friends\nare good and patronize me steadily, but I feel that I am growing older.\nI was quite ill the other day. I nearly fainted here on the street; but\nthe people in the delicatessen store were very kind. They took me in and\ngave me cold water, and kept me there until I recovered; and I am\nfeeling quite well now.\u201d\n\nWhile listening to her words, I thought to myself how hard her lot was;\nand I asked myself whether it really was necessary for her to stand on\nthe street and earn her living in such a trying manner.\n\n\u201cMy good Mrs. Levy,\u201d I said, \u201cdon\u2019t you think your life is too hard for\nyou? Would you not rather go to some institution where you would be\ncared for?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, thank you,\u201d she responded. \u201cI don\u2019t wish to go to a home. I\nhave a husband, although he is old and feeble, and good children who do\nwhat they can for me; and I am glad that I still can earn something\nmyself. You know what King David says in the Psalms,\u201d and she quoted\nglibly, \u201c_Yegia keppecho ki sochel, ashrecho ve-tov-loch_\u201d (\u201cIf thou\neatest what thy hands earn, thou art happy, and it is well with thee\u201d).\n\u201cI eat what my hands earn, so I am happy.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you come to our house any more?\u201d broke in my wife.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d answered the little horseradish woman, \u201cI heard that another woman\nbrings you your horseradish, and I did not wish to be _massig gevool_.\u201d\n\nOur package was now ready and we departed. But my thoughts gave me no\nrest. I was thinking continually of the little horseradish woman, and\nwhether it was not possible to devise some means of improving her lot.\n\nA few blocks down the avenue we met Mr. and Mrs. Bergheim. They are\nfriends and neighbors of ours, and our greetings were cordial. I soon\nturned the conversation to that which was uppermost in my thoughts.\n\n\u201cYou know the little horseradish woman, do you not?\u201d I asked.\n\nThe Bergheims nodded assent.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you think something could be done for her?\u201d I continued. \u201cIt does\nseem wrong that such a worthy old person should be forced to stand on\nthe street and toil so hard for a livelihood.\u201d\n\nThe Bergheims smiled at each other peculiarly.\n\n\u201cWhat would you do for her?\u201d asked Mr. Bergheim. \u201cShe is much too proud\nto accept charity; besides, she really does not need to work, as her\nchildren supply her with all she requires for herself and husband. Her\nhorseradish receipts are so much extra income that she earns.\u201d\n\nI must confess that this reply rather staggered me. There appeared to be\na mystery about the horseradish woman which was puzzling, to say the\nleast.\n\n\u201cBut why, in the name of common sense,\u201d I demanded, \u201cdoes such an old\nand not overstrong woman toil on the streets, in rain and shine, by day\nand by night, if she has all she requires and does not need to work? It\ndoesn\u2019t seem reasonable. She isn\u2019t touched in her upper story, I hope?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, not at all,\u201d said Bergheim; \u201cbut you see, she has rather\nunusual and exalted notions about duty. Since the requirements of\nherself and husband are satisfied and she has some strength, she thinks\nit her duty to labor for the poor. Every cent she earns by selling\nhorseradish she gives to the poor. It is quite an amount, for she has\nmany customers; and quite a long list of widows and orphans and feeble\nold men who are regular pensioners on her charity.\n\n\u201cEvery _Rosh Chodesh_ there is quite a gathering in her humble flat. All\nsorts of needy and afflicted persons, men, women, and children, crowd\nher rooms, and she divides among them, with the most kindly sympathy but\nwith excellent judgment, all the money she has earned during the month.\nThe blessings she gets are innumerable, and she considers herself well\nrewarded thereby for all her trouble.\n\n\u201cI found this out by accident, as she never says a word about it to any\none. When I asked her why she went to all this trouble, she quoted a\npassage from the Pentateuch: \u2018Verily, thou shalt not harden thy heart\nnor close thy hand against thy poor brother\u2019; and in another from the\nEthics of the Fathers, \u2018The poor shall be the children of thy house,\u2019\nand said those were her reasons.\n\n\u201cThat, my dear \u2014\u2014, is why you cannot do anything for the little\nhorseradish woman, except to be her customer and patronize her\nliberally. She wants no charity, and will take no gifts for \u2018her poor,\u2019\nwhom she wishes to assist with her own earnings.\u201d\n\nSo that was the explanation of the riddle. The little horseradish woman\nwas emulating the work of the Master of the universe, was toiling early\nand late to feed His hungry ones, to dry the tears of His afflicted, to\ncare for His poor. I was lost in admiration, both of the noble soul of\nthis humble daughter of Israel and the sublime glory of Israel\u2019s law,\nwhich put such thoughts into her soul.\n\nI have made up my mind that the next time I see the little horseradish\nwoman I shall pronounce over her the benediction which the rabbis ordain\nto be spoken at the sight of kings and queens, for she is a real queen,\nan uncrowned queen of mercy and love. \u201cBlessed art Thou, O Lord, who\nhast given of Thy glory to flesh and blood.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                              THE GENERAL.\n\n\nI have distinguished company in my study this morning. No less a\npersonage than Gen. Sergei Pavlowitz, late commander of the \u2014th division\nof the regular Russian army, has paid your humble servant the honor of a\nvisit, and is now seated in the rocking-chair opposite my desk. I must,\nhowever, ask my readers not to strain their imaginations unduly in\nsummoning up before their mental vision a suitable picture of military\npomp and splendor. The general is not in full uniform heavily braided\nand trimmed with gold lace, nor radiant with glittering epaulets and\nbuttons. No plumed helmet surmounts his head; no clanking sabre swings\nat his side; he is neither gloved, booted, nor spurred. His appearance\nwould not dazzle the onlooker, nor overawe the most timid; in fact, no\none would, at first sight, think of connecting him in any way with\nmarching hosts or warlike scenes. As he sits there in my rocking-chair,\ngazing at me with his mild blue eyes, upon his head a little black\nskull-cap, his long, snow-white beard flowing down upon the front of his\nshirt and his black broadcloth coat; in his hand a stout cane to assist\nthe steps which age has made somewhat uncertain, while he descants upon\na matter of purely synagogical interest, there is no suggestion about\nhim of martial glory, no hint of the groan and agony and heroism of\nbattle. He seems just a plain, every-day, elderly Russian Jew, diffident\nand retiring in worldly affairs, but bright enough in matters of Jewish\nconcern, of Hebrew learning, and religious practice, such a man, in a\nword, as may be found in any of the orthodox synagogues throughout New\nYork but particularly on the lower East Side, where the places of\nworship and solemn assembly of his brethren and countrymen most abound.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THERE IS SOMETHING COMMANDING, SOMETHING INDEFINITELY MILITARY AND\n    AUTHORITATIVE ABOUT HIM\n\n  _Page 96_]\n\nBut now my visitor has concluded the business which brought him hither\nand rises to depart. Immediately one can notice a vast change in the\nimpression he makes. He does seem different now from the ordinary\nso-called Ghetto type he appeared identical with a moment ago. There is\nsomething commanding, something indefinitely military and authoritative\nabout him. Though feeble, he stands perfectly erect, and his figure and\nbearing are thoroughly military. Military, too, is the almost painful\nneatness which characterizes his attire, from his well-brushed hat and\ncoat down to his brightly polished shoes, a far-off reminder, as it\nwere, of the days when a dull button or a frayed coat sleeve meant\ndisgrace and the guard-house; but most military of all is his right\nsleeve, for it hangs empty, with only a short stump filling the upper\npart near the shoulder, a mute reminder of bloody Sebastopol, where a\nBritish sabre cleft the arm to which it belonged in twain, and its owner\nhovered for many a day \u2019twixt life and death.\n\nThis is the General. Perhaps, strictly speaking, he does not deserve the\ntitle, for he long since was stricken from the Russian army list, and\nmight even meet with condign punishment were he to return to his native\nland; but once he bore it with full right and authority, and no military\nshortcoming, no lack of loyalty or courage upon the battlefield was\nresponsible for its forfeiture. It is, therefore, only natural that his\nfriends and neighbors who know his history give him the title. So \u201cthe\nGeneral\u201d he is, and \u201cthe General\u201d he will remain, until death calls him\nto his last long bivouac. What a tremendous change in state and fortune!\nOnce a distinguished military commander, whose slightest behest\nthousands hastened to obey because of his heroism; beloved by his\ncountrymen and honored by his emperor; the husband of a renowned\ngeneral\u2019s daughter, and with every prospect promising rapid advancement\nand eventually loftiest rank; now the humble denizen of an obscure\nstreet in the Jewish quarter of New York, his life in nowise different\nfrom that of the other long-bearded habitu\u00e9s of the synagogue and the\nBeth Hammidrash.\n\nHow came this Jew, son of a proscribed and pariah race, to attain to\nsuch distinguished rank in the service of the persecutors of his people?\nHow came he to lose it, and to sink back again into the lowliness from\nwhich he sprang? It is a strange tale, showing what sombre romances,\nwhat heartrending tragedies Jewish life is still capable of producing in\nthe empire of the Czars. I shall tell it you.\n\nSome seventy years ago there lived in one of the western provinces of\nRussia a young couple. Israel Rabbinowitz was the husband\u2019s name, and\nMalka Feige that of the spouse. They were a pious and worthy pair. The\nhusband was a respected merchant, whose scrupulous honesty and\ncommercial rectitude were no less esteemed than his unswerving religious\nfidelity, and the accuracy and extent of the Hebrew scholarship which he\ndisplayed in the Talmudic debates of the circle of \u201clearners\u201d in the\nBeth Hammidrash. Malka Feige was a worthy mate of such a husband.\nKindhearted, unwearyingly industrious, and devout, she was a typical\nJewish housewife.\n\nThey had but one child, a blue-eyed, fair-haired boy of eight, whom they\nloved with the passionate devotion of which parental hearts are capable\nwhen they have but one object upon which to concentrate their affection.\nHe was literally the apple of their eyes. His father cared for his\nintellectual welfare, and provided the best and most highly esteemed\n_Melammedim_ to introduce him into the intricacies of the Jewish\neducation of that time; and the lad, who had a bright and acute\nintellect, responded well to these efforts, and at eight was quite a\nlittle prodigy of Biblical and Talmudical learning. His mother, on the\nother hand, looked after his physical well-being, fed him on delicate\nfood, clothed him in a _jubitza_ of extra fine material, brushed and\ncombed his little _peoth_ until they shone, and set her pride upon\nmaking him finer and brighter in appearance than his comrades. Like\nHannah of old, she had determined to dedicate her offspring to the Lord.\nAlready in imagination she saw him seated upon the rabbi\u2019s seat, greeted\nby the plaudits of admiring thousands; and so strong was her faith in\nthat future for her son that she rarely called him by his given name,\nwhich was Saul Isaac, but always referred to him as \u201cmy little rabbi.\u201d\nThus the love, the hopes, the ambition of these parents were all wrapped\nup in this, their only son.\n\nTroublous times were just beginning then for the descendants of Jacob\nliving on Muscovite soil. Nicholas the First sat on the throne of the\nCzars; and, like so many of the Russian potentates before and after him,\ncould find no more pressing task to perform than to convert his Hebrew\nsubjects to Christianity. He had no respect for the conscientious\nscruples which kept the Jews faithful to their ancestral religion; he\ncould not appreciate the heroism with which they endured every\nconceivable suffering and martyrdom rather than grow recreant to the\nallegiance plighted to their God. In his eyes they were only a mass of\nobdurate, stubborn, and pestiferous heretics, who refused to see the\nbeauties and accept the salvation of Christianity. He thought and\nthought and cudgelled his brains to devise some scheme by which to\novercome the endless resistance of Judaism to its own dissolution, and\nfinally evolved a plan which for sheer deviltry and refinement of\nheartless brutality would have done credit to the blackest fiend in the\nlegions of Satan; and this, too, in the name of the religion which\nclaims love and tenderness as its own special prerogative, and calmly\nassumes all the progress of humanity and civilization as its doing.\n\nHis plan, in brief, was to separate the parents and the children. With\nthe old Jews, he knew nothing could be done. They would go to the stake\nor the dungeon, and would not recant; but if, he reasoned, the young\nJews could be removed from parental influence, could be caught, so to\nspeak, before their characters were formed, and be placed in charge of\npriests or other Christian officials, they would be unable to resist,\nbut would succumb to the powerful pressure brought to bear upon them and\nwould become genuine Christians.\n\nThis fiendish plan he proceeded, with icy deliberation, to put into\nexecution. What cared he for the cruelty or violent dissolution of\nnatural relations, for the tears of terrified children, for the\nimmeasurable woes and heart-breakings of bereaved parents. His tyrant\u2019s\nview of statecraft approved the plan and other considerations had no\nweight. Then were legions of brutal emissaries sent into the provinces\nreserved for the habitation of the children of Jacob. Their conduct\nresembled that of brigands rather than of officers of the law. In\nnumbers so great as to defy resistance, they would fall upon some\nunsuspecting Hebrew settlement, generally at dead of night; would burst\ninto the houses, and with utter disregard of all considerations of\njustice or frenzied appeals for mercy, would tear the weeping and\nterror-stricken children from the arms of their screaming and\nfrantically resisting parents, would throw them into the ready standing\nwagons and would carry them off, never more to return.\n\nIt would take the pen of a Dante and the brush of their own Verestchagin\nfitly to depict the awful scenes which occurred on the occasions of\nthese visitations, the demoniacal brutality of the despot\u2019s henchmen,\nthe helpless terror of the childish victims, and the unutterable,\nparalyzed agony of the wretched fathers and mothers who saw their\nbeloved ones dragged away to that which for them was worse than death,\nand could do nothing to save them from their fate.\n\nThe same fate befell our Saul Isaac. It was a cold midwinter night. The\nRabbinowitz family were sleeping peacefully, all unsuspecting of evil.\nSuddenly the sound of powerful blows upon the door caused them to awake\nin terror. Too well they knew what those sounds meant, although there\nhad been no report that the \u201c_chappers_,\u201d as they were called, were\ncoming to their province. Hastily the agonized parents sought to find\nsome place of concealment for their son. A second later the door fell\nbeneath the shower of blows rained upon it, and several ruffianly\nlooking men, dressed in uniform, burst into the room. Without showing\nany warrant or offering a word of explanation, they seized the shrinking\nlad. Roughly they thrust aside Israel, who would have protested, and\nflung off Malka Feige, who clung to them in a half-insane effort to\nrescue her boy. The lad himself they tossed into the wagon, into the\nmidst of twenty or more other lads, who already cowered there, and drove\noff.\n\nLet us draw a veil over the unutterable sorrows of that parent pair,\nthus foully deprived of the beloved of their souls. Heaven alone has\npower to right wrongs such as these, and to the mercy and justice of\nheaven we must commend them.\n\nLet us follow Saul Isaac on the course which he was obliged to pursue.\nHis experience was not at first different from that of thousands of\nothers. He was taken to the convent of St. Sophia in the neighborhood of\nMoscow. There a thorough Russian and Christian education was given him,\nand every effort was made, by means of mingled kindness and severity, to\ninduce him voluntarily to accept baptism, for even the perverted and\ntyrannical minds of his captors perceived that a compulsory\nadministration of the rite could have no binding obligation upon the\nconscience. To be sure, their notions of voluntary action were rather\nremarkably casuistical. Severe beatings, periodical starvation, and\nlonger or shorter terms of imprisonment were all considered legitimate\nforms of missionary effort with which to persuade the cantonists, as the\nabducted Hebrew children were called, of the superiority of Christianity\nto Judaism, and to induce them _voluntarily_ to accept it.\n\nIt is a glorious tribute to the power of Jewish teachings that most of\nthese helpless victims, despite their tender years and pitiful\ncondition, were by no means quick to yield to the maltreatment or\nblandishments of their masters. Most of them resisted for years; some\nnever yielded.\n\nFour years were required to bring our Saul Isaac into the frame of mind\nrequisite for the acceptance of Christianity. At first he wept and\nwailed constantly and would touch no food except dry bread and water;\nand, young as he was, he refused to listen to the instruction of the\nRussian monks. But as the weeks rolled into months and the months into\nyears, without seeing other than Gentile faces and without any word from\nhis parents or any other Jews, gradually his recollections grew dimmer\nand his resolution weaker. Finally he no longer objected to the\nChristian instructions, and in his twelfth year he was baptized with\ngreat pomp and parade in the chapel of the monastery, receiving the name\nof Sergei Pavlowitz. From this time on his advancement was rapid. After\nthree years of general education he decided to enter upon the military\ncareer, and in his fifteenth year he entered the Imperial Cadet School\nat St. Petersburg.\n\nThe memory of his parents had quite faded from his mind; or if the\nthought of them ever came to him, they seemed like ghostly figures of an\nunreal world, entirely devoid of actuality or connection with his\npresent existence.\n\nSergei Pavlowitz was one of the most popular students at the Cadet\nSchool. His quick intellect, which had enabled him to comprehend the\nabstruse debates of the Talmud, stood him in good stead in mastering the\ndetails of military science, while his handsome figure in the neat\nRussian uniform and his polite and obliging ways were universally\npleasing. In due course of time he graduated as a lieutenant of\nartillery.\n\nHis career in the army justified the expectations of his student years.\nHe combined the two most requisite military qualities, high capacity and\nrigid fidelity to duty. He became in rapid succession a captain and then\na colonel of artillery.\n\nWhile holding the latter office he attracted the attention and then\naroused the love of Olga, the beautiful daughter of General Wladimir de\nMitkiewicz. Shortly afterward the General sent for him, and in due form\nand in the most flattering terms offered to make him his son-in-law.\nSuch a distinguished honor could not be refused. To be sure, a momentary\npang went through the heart of the young colonel; and the shadowy faces\nof his father and mother seemed to rise from the gloomy recesses of the\npast and gaze at him reproachfully, but these sensations were too dim\nand faint to have any effect. He accepted the offer of the venerable\nGeneral, which was, indeed, a most complimentary one, and because of\nwhich he became the object of many congratulations and no little envy.\n\nIn the magnificent cathedral of Kurski-Kazan the nuptials of the dashing\nColonel Pavlowitz and the beautiful and accomplished Olga de Mitkiewicz\nwere consummated with all the gorgeous ceremonial of the Greek Church,\nand amidst an unprecedented display of wealth and luxury. The vast\nedifice was crowded with representatives of the noblest and finest\nfamilies of the province, while the streets surrounding the cathedral\nwere thronged with a vast multitude of the baser sort; and the personal\ninterest and gratification which all displayed were quite extraordinary.\n\nIt cannot be denied that the striking attentions and adulations of which\nColonel Pavlowitz became the recipient did almost turn his head. In no\nother country are honors so much appreciated as in Russia; and those he\nhad received were quite exceptional, both in extent and in cordiality.\n\nHe was happy, very happy; happy in the possession of the radiant,\nbeauteous creature he could now call his own, and from whose sparkling\neyes love and devotion, ardent and sincere, shone forth; he was happy in\nthe evident sympathy and admiration of all his associates, and he was\nhappy in the consciousness that his future was secure and that he was\ndestined to a brilliant and distinguished career. Very faint and dim,\nindeed, were now the images of the ghostly past, and they did not affect\nhis actions in the slightest; but somehow or other they would not\nforsake him, and he often found himself wondering with a peevish sort of\ndissatisfaction and impatience, why they did not leave him to enjoy\nundisturbed the pleasures and honors of his present station.\n\nShortly after his marriage the Crimean war broke out. Russia was engaged\nin a titanic struggle with the Western Powers, and Colonel Pavlowitz was\namong those summoned to defend the fatherland. The parting from his\nyoung wife was marked by tears and sobs; but still he heard the summons\nto war with stern joy, for, like a true soldier, he longed to display in\nactual combat the qualities he had gained in theoretic instruction; and\nthen he longed for action\u2014intense, stirring action\u2014to drive away the\nshadowy, reproachful faces which tortured him by their constant\nrecurrence.\n\nHe was one of the commanders in charge of the defence of Sebastopol. He\nwas personally engaged, and displayed the greatest gallantry in many of\nthe desperate conflicts of that bloody campaign. At Balaklava he was in\ncommand of a part of the artillery, which received the world-renowned\ncharge of the Light Brigade; and it was while fiercely beating off that\nattack that an unexpected blow of a British sabre took off his right arm\nnear the shoulder.\n\nFor three months our hero lay in the hospital, the object of universal\nsympathy and interest, for the good-will which had been previously\nentertained toward him had been greatly heightened by the splendid\nbravery and skill he had displayed in the war and the cruel wound he had\nreceived.\n\nThe Emperor himself had sent several times to inquire concerning his\ncondition, and the visits and inquiries of lesser personages were\ninnumerable.\n\nAs soon as he was able to resume his active duties, the Emperor ordered\na review of the entire army. It was a glittering spectacle, a sea of\nbrilliant uniforms, shining bayonets, swords and cannons, interspersed\nwith magnificent bands of music, an ocean of deeply interested\nonlookers. Our hero rode at the head of his regiment on a splendid black\ncharger, his empty sleeve hanging useless at his right side. As he\npassed the grand stand where stood the Emperor and his brilliant retinue\nof officers and aides, His Majesty ordered the parade to halt. Then in\nthe presence of the army and the serried throngs of spectators, the\nEmperor addressed him as follows:\n\n\u201cGen. Sergei Pavlowitz, my good and faithful servitor. I have noticed\nthe courage and devotion with which you have served in my army. It is\nalways my wish fitly to reward virtue and fidelity, and I therefore\nappoint you to the command of the \u2014th division of my regular army.\u201d\n\nHardly had these words, which His Majesty pronounced in a loud and clear\nvoice, been spoken, than the entire army, breaking for a moment through\nthe restraints of discipline, and the vast throng of spectators, burst\ninto enthusiastic hurrahs and cheered again and again the name of Sergei\nPavlowitz. It was a glorious and inspiring moment.\n\nOur hero flushed with pride and gratification; but, obedient to the\nrules of military etiquette, said no word, but merely saluted with\nprofound reverence, and a second later the stern command rang forth and\nthe host marched on.\n\nWords cannot describe the exultation which now filled the soul of\nGeneral Pavlowitz. He was fairly intoxicated with joy. Every ambition of\nhis life seemed gratified, and with rapture he thought of the delight\nwith which the news of his great advancement would fill the heart of his\nbeloved Olga, who had visited him during his stay in the hospital, and\nhad now returned to their home in Kursky Kazan.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  AS THE CAVALCADE PASSED A CORNER THE GENERAL HEARD A CRY\n\n  _Page 111_]\n\nLittle did he reck that a tremendous change was impending, that an event\nwas about to occur which would recall with irresistible force the events\nof his early life and change the entire current of his military career.\nBut so it was, and the climax of his military ambition was also destined\nto mark its sudden and complete end.\n\nThe parade had been dismissed. The spectators had dispersed, and the\nvarious regiments were marching back to their several barracks.\n\nAccompanied only by his staff and a small escort of cavalry, General\nPavlowitz was returning to his headquarters. Their road led through some\nof the old streets of the town. As the cavalcade passed a corner the\nGeneral heard a cry. He alone of all the company noticed it, but there\nwas something in it that thrilled and chilled him and filled his frame\nwith violent agitation. It was a wailing, sobbing cry in a woman\u2019s\nvoice, and its burden was made up of a few words, oft-repeated, in the\nRusso-Jewish dialect: \u201cOh, woe is me, my little rabbi, my Saul Isaac!\noh, woe is me, my little rabbi, my little rabbi!\u201d General Pavlowitz\nheard the cry and understood the words. Though for more than twenty\nyears he had heard and spoken only Russian, yet those words came to him\nas the far-off echoes of his own past, intelligible, familiar, sweet,\nand unutterably sad. Like a flash there rolled away the many years of\nRussian, Christian, and military training, and he saw himself again in\nthe happy days of his childhood, a little innocent Jewish boy, proudly\nreciting his week\u2019s lesson before a circle of admiring neighbors, while\nfather and mother beamed with satisfaction. Then, again, the memory of\nthe awful night when he was snatched from them, and he quivered again\nwith fresh horror and indignation. Turning his head as his horse trotted\non, he saw, standing at the corner an elderly Jewish couple, gazing\nafter him, with tears streaming from their eyes and an expression of\nintensest anguish upon their faces, the woman wailing and sobbing as in\nfrenzy. He knew them at once. They were his father and mother. His\nresolution was instantly formed. His parents and he should meet. Hastily\nsummoning a subaltern, who like himself was a baptized Jew, he bade him\nleave the ranks unobserved, go back to the old couple and inform them\nthat the General would see them that evening at a certain quiet hotel of\nthe town.\n\nFaithfully the subaltern fulfilled his chief\u2019s commission, ignorant, of\ncourse, of the reasons thereof, but with his soul filled with an\nindefinable sympathy with its object, which instinctively he felt was\nnoble. Quietly he dropped behind the troop, and in a few hastily spoken\nwords communicated to the aged couple the wish of the General, whereupon\nhe put spurs to his horse and speedily rejoined his companions, none of\nwhom had observed his action.\n\nThat evening a young man in civilian attire inquired at the office of\nthe Narodski Hotel whether a certain Jewish couple were not at the\nhotel, and was shown to the room where his parents (it was the General)\nwere awaiting him. The meeting was pathetic, almost tragic, in the\nintensity of the emotions it aroused. The first sentiment was that of\ngreat, overwhelming joy. The reunited parents and child wept and smiled\nalternately, and embraced each other with a fervor only possible to\nthose whose hunger for love had remained so long unsatisfied. Especially\ndid Malka Feige clasp her long-lost son to her breast in a paroxysm of\nmaternal affection, and very, very reluctantly did she release him from\nher embrace. But finally the first mighty ebullitions of emotion had\nsubsided somewhat and they began to discuss their eventful career and\nthe difficulties of their present position.\n\nThe parents\u2019 story was soon told. Their presence in Sebastopol was quite\naccidental, or rather, as they devoutly believed, providential. During\nall these years they had been unable to learn anything of the fate of\ntheir boy. They knew neither the place where he had been kept during the\nfirst few years after his abduction, nor anything of his subsequent\nexperiences; and all of their efforts to obtain some information had\nremained entirely fruitless, so that finally they had despaired of\nlearning anything of him any more. A few days previous to the memorable\noccasion of their reunion, Israel had received a favorable business\nproposition which required his presence at Sebastopol; and as Malka\nFeige did not care to remain at home in utter solitude, she had\ndetermined to accompany him. They had not gone to the review, for they\nhad no heart for pageantry or splendor, and it was quite by chance that\nthey happened to be standing at the corner of the street when the little\ncompany of cavalrymen with the general rode by. Gazing at the company in\na casual and apathetic way, Malka Feige\u2019s sharp eyes had at once\nnoticed, despite the disparity of age and brilliant uniform, the\nresemblance in the features of the leader to those of her own Saul\nIsaac, and her mother\u2019s heart told her that this was her stolen boy.\nThen had she, in a sudden and irrepressible outburst of feeling, uttered\nthe cry which attracted the attention of the General and brought about\nthe meeting.\n\nSaul Isaac then told his parents the story of his experience, which, as\nit is well known to my readers, need not be repeated. After he had\nconcluded, the conversation turned upon their future relations, and they\nall recognized that it was a most difficult and dangerous one.\n\n\u201cAh, dear son,\u201d said Malka Feige, \u201cwhat shall our future be? I cannot\nlive without you, now that my eyes have seen you alive; but how can we\ncome together, since we are but a humble Jewish couple and you a great\ngeneral, and especially since you have become, alas for my sins! a\nChristian? It is indeed impossible for us to live together. The Czar\nwould never allow it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d chimed in Israel, \u201cand think what a disgrace it would be for us\nto have it known in the _Kehillah_ that my son, the _Illuy_ and\n_Charif_, was a _Meshummed_! I could never endure the shame of it. All\nyour glory would be no compensation.\u201d\n\nIt was indeed a knotty and thorny problem. But Saul Isaac had already\nreflected upon the matter in all its aspects, and with customary\npromptness of resolution had determined what he would do.\n\n\u201cDear parents,\u201d said he, \u201cbe at rest. Never shall I forsake you more.\nNow that God, the God of my fathers, has brought us together thus\nwonderfully, we shall never be separated again. I shall stay with you\nand be a Jew, a sincere, loyal Jew. I know that I must renounce my high\nrank, to which the Emperor has just appointed me, and all my hopes for\nthe future, and leave this country; for, as a Jew, not only would every\navenue be closed to me, but as an apostate I would be sure of severe\npunishment, and, perhaps, even of death. But what care I for that! I\nhave never been sincerely a Christian. I only became such because my\npower of resistance was gone and there seemed no other prospect in life.\nBut now that I see you again, my resolution is formed, and is\nunalterable. I love you; I love my poor, persecuted people; I love my\nGod. I shall return to you and to Him with all my heart and soul.\u201d\n\nThe parents shed tears of joy, not unmingled with grief and\napprehension, at this heroic announcement.\n\n\u201cBut how about your wife?\u201d asked Malka Feige. \u201cYou are married to one\nwho is not of our religion, but who accepted you in good faith and\nintention. Lawfully you may not abide with her, but honor forbids you to\nleave her. What shall you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf that, too, I have thought,\u201d answered Saul Isaac. \u201cI love my Olga\ndearly, but my faith and my God are more precious to me than the love of\nwoman. I shall go to Olga, tell her frankly of all the circumstances\nwhich surround me and ask her to accept our faith and become a Jewess.\nIf she consents, we shall leave the country together and all will be\nwell. If she refuses, I shall tell her that it were better that we\nparted, for true, God-pleasing marriage cannot exist between persons of\ndifferent faiths. But, under all circumstances, I am determined\nhenceforth to be a true Jew, to live and die as such.\u201d\n\nThe parents declared themselves satisfied with this solution of the\nproblem, and they separated with the understanding that Israel and Malka\nFeige were to go home and Saul Isaac was to keep them informed of all\nhis movements.\n\nThe first step of General Pavlowitz after the reunion with his parents\nwas to seek leave of absence from the army to visit his wife in\nKursky-Kazan. This was granted him without difficulty, in consideration\nof his meritorious services and his natural desire to share the joy of\nhis advancement with his wife. With every external manifestation of joy,\nbut with a heart filled with secret misgivings, he set out on his\njourney. He feared much for the result upon his wife of the revelation\nthat he had reverted to Judaism, and hardly dared to hope that she would\nlook with favor upon his proposition that she should accept the faith of\nher husband.\n\nKnowing only too well the intense aversion with which his brethren were\nregarded by the Russians belonging to the official Greek Church, and\nhaving often had occasion to notice with what scorn and contempt the\nname \u201cZid\u201d was uttered by the haughty representatives of Muscovite\nself-conceit, he realized keenly that no greater shock could possibly be\ninflicted upon his Olga than the announcement that her husband was one\nof the despised and hated Jews. But it appeared to him that no other\ncourse was consistent with honor and rectitude, and he determined not to\ndeviate from the straight path of duty.\n\nOften during the long and tedious journey he tried to imagine the answer\nwhich Olga would give. Sometimes he thought of her as declaring that her\nhusband\u2019s faith and people should be hers, and that with him she would\ngo to the uttermost ends of the earth; at other times he imagined her\nsaying that the faith of her fathers stood higher to her than aught\nelse, and that she would never forsake it. But in his wildest imaginings\nhe did not form any notion of what the actual reception of his words\nwould be.\n\nHe had determined to make his announcement immediately after his arrival\nat home; but when he saw the radiant face of his wife and felt her warm\nkiss upon his lips, his heart failed him. How could he speak words which\nmight bring sorrow to such a beautiful and affectionate creature. He\nsuffered himself to be carried to his splendid residence, and partook of\nthe luxurious repast which Olga had prepared for him. He simulated\ngayety, and spoke with affected animation of the war and his part in it\nand his advancement and brilliant future prospects. He determined to\nmake his announcement on the morrow. But on the morrow his courage had\nnot returned, and he could not speak. He who had faced charging armies\nundaunted and looked death in the eye without flinching could not make a\nstatement which might grieve the woman to whom he had given his name and\nwho loved him so ardently. But on this day he was abstracted and\ndejected, and could not suppress the sighs which from time to time\nforced themselves from his breast.\n\nOlga could not help noticing his melancholy. That evening she determined\nto speak to him concerning its cause.\n\n\u201cSergei, my love,\u201d said she, when the evening repast had been served and\nthe servants had withdrawn, and they were nestling side by side upon the\nluxurious divan, \u201cSergei, my love, something is troubling you. My\nwoman\u2019s heart tells me that some secret grief is eating out your soul.\nWill you not tell your Olga what it is? Will you not let me share your\ngrief?\u201d\n\n\u201cOlga, dearest,\u201d said Sergei, gazing at her with troubled eyes, while\nsudden pains shot through his heart, \u201cOlga, dearest, how can I tell you\nwhat I know will grieve you and bring great sorrow upon her whom I love\nand cherish more than myself?\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d she pleaded; \u201cam I not your wife? Did I not swear to be the\npartner of your joys and sorrows? Tell me your burden; and no matter\nwhat it is, I shall help you bear it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d answered he, \u201csince you urge me, I shall tell you. Know,\nthen, I am a Jew. Your husband, the great General Pavlowitz, is but one\nof that abhorred race, one of those wretched pariahs whom the Emperor\nand the people alike despise\u2014a \u2018Zid.\u2019 Is it not sufficient cause for\ngrief that the high-born Olga de Mitkiewicz should be tied to such a\none, that he should be able to call her wife?\u201d\n\nOlga looked at him with eyes in which a curious light shone.\n\n\u201cWhat folly you speak, Sergei,\u201d she said. \u201cHow can you call yourself a\nJew? To be sure, I know, and when I gave you my hand I knew, that Hebrew\nblood flows in your veins; but it is now many years since you renounced\nthe sinful heresy of Judaism and were baptized into our holy Greek\nChurch in the chapel of the monastery of St. Sophia. How, then, can you\ncall yourself a Jew, since the church and our gracious Emperor recognize\nyou as good a Christian as any of us? Put away these foolish thoughts,\ndear Sergei, and let not the fact of your Hebrew descent trouble you in\nthe least; and be assured that it does not diminish my love for you in\nthe slightest degree.\u201d\n\nSergei gazed with tear-stained eyes for a moment at his wife, and then\nspoke in a voice choking with emotion:\n\n\u201cDearest Olga, what you say is well put, but I cannot recognize it as\ncorrect. I was baptized against my will; my consent was insincere and\nsuperficial. For a time I could disguise my real sentiments; to-day I\ncan do so no more. I am a Jew, in faith as well as in blood. I have seen\nagain my parents, and the sight of them has revived all my olden\nfeelings, all the childish love for my faith. No longer will I wear the\nmask, will I play the part of being Christian. I am determined to be a\nJew. I intend to renounce all my offices and dignities and flee to a\nland where I may be at liberty to live according to the dictates of my\nconscience as such. My wife, too, should be a Jewess, should share my\nbeliefs and hopes. Olga, can you go with me; can you accept our Jewish\nfaith in one God and His holy law; can you resolve to share my lot in my\nunknown future home and be a true partner to me for life and for\neternity? If you can, you will fill my heart with joy; but I do not urge\nyou to make the sacrifice. If you choose to remain in your faith and\nyour native land, you will be entitled to a legal divorce. I would leave\nyou all my property and possessions and will never trouble you again.\nSpeak, Olga, and tell me your decision?\u201d\n\nWhen Sergei had concluded he gazed again into his wife\u2019s face, anxious\nto know by its expression the manner in which she had received his\nwords. What he saw surprised him. He had expected to see there the\nexpression of anger or displeasure or, at best, surprise, uncertainty,\nand hesitation.\n\nInstead, he beheld the beautiful countenance of Olga, all radiant with a\nstrange and inexplicable joy. She was smiling a smile of triumph, almost\nof exultation; but there was withal a solemnity in her eyes which showed\nthat there was no levity in her joy, but that it was based upon some\nprofoundly earnest sentiment. While he was gazing at her, almost\nstupefied at her unexpected look, Olga began to speak.\n\n\u201cSergei,\u201d said she, \u201cyou have told me your secret. I shall tell you\nmine. You belong to a proscribed race; so do I, and am now really your\nsister in faith. You are a Hebrew. I descend from the Subotnikis, those\nsincere seekers after God whom the renowned Zacharia of Tambow converted\nto Judaism some centuries ago. As a student of Russian history, you know\nthat the emperors persecuted the \u201cJudaizing heretics,\u201d as my people were\ncalled, with even greater cruelty and persistency than they did yours.\nImprisonment, deprivation of civil rights, and banishment to remote\nsections of the empire, and even harsher punishments were inflicted upon\nthem.\n\n\u201cUnder these circumstances thousands of our brethren fell away\ncompletely; others fled to foreign countries where they openly professed\nJudaism; and others nominally adhered to the Greek Church, but in their\nhearts secretly cherished their faith in the one God of Israel and\nendeavored to fulfil His holy law as far as in their ignorance and their\ndifficult circumstances they could.\n\n\u201cMy family belonged to the last-mentioned class; but through the high\nconnections it has formed, it had grown quite lax and out of touch with\nthe brethren. But we have, nevertheless, never forgotten our origin;\nand, though I feared to tell it to you, thinking you had become a\nthorough Christian and would not like to be reminded of your former\nstate, your Hebrew descent was really one of the causes which gained for\nyou my affections, for we Subotnikis honor and revere those native born\nin the household of Israel very much, and esteem a marriage alliance\nwith them a high privilege.\n\n\u201cYour announcement, therefore, of your intention to be a Jew, instead of\ndispleasing me, has afforded me the keenest joy, a joy I never expected\nto feel. I shall accept your faith, dear Sergei, not merely because I\ndesire to please you, as my husband, but because my heart already\ninclines toward it with sincere devotion. I shall share your lot and\nyour future, whatever they may bring of joy or sorrow. And like Ruth of\nold I shall say: \u2018Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God.\nWhither thou goest I shall go; and where thou diest I shall die, and\nthere shall I be buried.\u2019\u201d\n\nWords cannot describe the tremendous revulsion of feeling which the\nwords of Olga, so unexpected, produced in the breast of our hero, whom\nwe shall henceforth call only by his Hebrew cognomen of Saul Isaac. He\nwas transported from the depth of misery and apprehension to the seventh\nheaven of joy by this so pleasing solution of a difficulty which he had\nlooked upon as almost insoluble. But Olga was also filled with joy, and\nthe radiant gladness which shone from her beautiful eyes showed that she\nconsidered that hour, which meant for her the beginning of exile and,\nperhaps, of poverty, as the happiest of her life.\n\nThe husband and wife, now joined by a new and profound sympathy,\nembraced each other with a fervor of love they had not known before,\nafter which they sat down to write a letter to the parents of Saul\nIsaac. In this letter Saul Isaac gave expression to the happiness which\nfilled his heart, and Olga wrote a few kindly lines, closing with the\nwords, \u201cYour loving daughter and faithful handmaid of Abraham.\u201d\n\nThe happy couple now made quiet preparations to leave the land.\nGradually the general disposed of his property and turned it into cash.\nWhen this had been accomplished, after several months, the General and\nhis wife left the town of their residence quite openly, under the\nplausible pretext of making a short foreign tour. Their first\ndestination was a frontier town of Roumania, whither Israel and Malka\nFeige had preceded them. From this place Saul Isaac wrote to the\nMinister of War, resigning his commission in the Russian army and\nfrankly stating his reasons for his action. Then they proceeded to\nJerusalem, where the parents of Saul Isaac had resolved to pass their\ndeclining years in pious seclusion and the service of God. In the holy\ncity Olga was formally received into the community of Israel, the name\nof Sarah being conferred upon her.\n\nHere they lived for twenty years. Six children were born unto them, all\nof whom received an excellent Hebrew and secular training, and were\nreared to industry, virtue, and the fear of God. After the death of the\nparents, which occurred in the twentieth year of their sojourn in the\nholy city, Saul Isaac and Sarah thought it desirable, in the interest of\ntheir children, to emigrate to America. Accordingly they settled in New\nYork some years ago. Saul Isaac and his wife selected for their\nresidence a portion of the city mainly inhabited by Russian\nco-religionists, for in their midst they felt themselves most at home.\n\nSaul Isaac finds his chief pleasure in attendance at synagogue, and it\nis a question open to debate which affords him the most pleasure, the\nsermons of the _Maggid_ or the gossip and anecdotes in which the\ncongregation indulges in the intervals of services.\n\nAs for Sarah, she is so thoroughly Judaized, so punctual and exact in\nthe fulfilment of her religious duties, so particular in maintaining the\n_Kosher_ character of her household and such a fluent speaker of the\nRusso-Jewish jargon, that one would never suspect in her anything but a\ngenuine Russian Jewess, native and to the manner born. Their children\nhave grown up to be handsome and talented young men and women, good Jews\nand good Americans.\n\nSaul Isaac and Sarah are happy and contented. No tinge of regret for\ntheir former state ever enters their hearts. But often as they worship\nin the synagogue there comes spontaneously to their lips the words of\nSolomon: \u201cBlessed be the Lord God, who hath given rest to His people\nIsrael.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                         TOO LATE, BUT ON TIME\n\n\nMoses Levinsky awoke with a start upon his humble couch in the little\nhall bedroom in the sixth story of the immense and crowded\ntenement-house in Eldridge Street, New York City, in which he dwelt. He\nvery much feared that he had overslept himself and would be late at the\nearly morning service of the Congregation Sons of Peace. The light which\nshown through the narrow window of his room was much brighter than the\npale illumination which usually greeted his early waking eyes and seemed\nto show that the day was further advanced. A glance at the cheap silver\nwatch which lay upon his trousers on the chair next to his bed showed\nhim that his apprehensions were only too well founded.\n\nThe Congregation Sons of Peace invariably began its devotions at 6 A.M.\nMoses Levinsky was in the habit of rising at half-past five; his toilet\nand the walk to the little meeting-room in the next block required\ntwenty-five minutes, and he was regularly in his place five minutes\nbefore the voice of the _Chazan_ or precentor, chanting in classic\nHebrew, \u201cExalted be the living God and praised,\u201d betokened that the\nservice of adoration and supplication, with which modern Israel supplies\nthe place of the ancient sacrificial worship, had begun. But to-day the\nwatch which usually indicated about a quarter past five when he first\nglanced at it in the early mornings, stood at half-past six. The\ncongregation had already been engaged in prayer for a full half-hour,\nand he could hardly hope to be with them before the services, which\nusually lasted somewhat less than an hour, were concluded. Watches and\nclocks are obstinate creatures. They persist in their opinions, which\ncan be plainly read in their faces. They care not at all how\ndisagreeable or unpleasant their statements may be to those who consult\nthem, and they can neither be reasoned with nor stared out of\ncountenance. And so Moses Levinsky\u2019s watch did not recede at all for all\nthe hard stares which that rather confused individual directed at it;\nbut, on the contrary, advanced a minute or so, while he, who had now\nrisen upon his side and rested upon his left arm, gazed at it with\npuzzled and rueful countenance.\n\nThe truth was that Moses was in doubt as to the right course to pursue.\nHis watch told him that he might as well make an exception to-day from\nhis regular practice and stay at home, for he could never hope to be on\ntime at the services, or even present during any considerable portion of\nthem. On the other hand, his conscience smote him greatly at having\noverslept himself; and thus incurred the danger of breaking his life\nrule, of always beginning the day in the house of God, and in the words\nwhich the ship captain once addressed to the prophet Jonah when he had\ngone to sleep in the midst of all the turmoil of the storm, it called to\nhim, \u201cWhat aileth thee, O sleeper? Arise, cry out unto thy God.\u201d After a\nminute\u2019s hesitation conscience won the battle over comfort. Moses\nhastily sprang from his couch, made his simple toilet as speedily as\npossible, and in something less than twenty minutes was on his way to\nthe little synagogue (\u201cplace of prayer\u201d was the unassuming name which\nthe worshippers themselves gave it) of the Congregation of the Sons of\nPeace. While he is on his way thither, we will take occasion to describe\nhim to our readers; for many of them, no doubt, are at a loss to\nunderstand what kind of a person he is, and particularly fail to\ncomprehend why he should be so dreadfully put out at the mere\npossibility of being absent from prayers one morning, a thing which, I\nam sure, would never disturb the majority of my worthy readers in their\nmental tranquillity.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  HE WAS NOTHING BUT A COMMONPLACE, EVERY-DAY PEDDLER\n\n  _Page 131_]\n\nMoses Levinsky was a very ordinary and insignificant individual, such as\nyou might pass a thousand times in the street and never pay any\nattention to. He was nothing but a commonplace, every-day peddler who\nwandered from morning to evening through the streets of the great\nmetropolis, with a huge basket suspended in front of him, filled to\noverflowing with a miscellaneous assortment of goods\u2014suspenders, shoe\nlaces, pins, needles, tape, handkerchiefs, stockings, and what not\u2014and\nendeavored to induce his fellow-beings to purchase sufficient of his\nstore to provide him with a meagre livelihood. He had straight and\nregular features, of a rather handsome Semitic type, though worn and\nfurrowed, not so much by years\u2014he was only forty-three\u2014as by care and\nanxiety; his hair and large irregular beard were black, heavily streaked\nwith gray, and his clothes and close-fitting derby hat were decidedly\nshabby. All in all, he was not an imposing figure; and when we add to\nthe unimpressiveness of his exterior the fact that he had a nervous,\ndeprecatory manner, and looked around him with timid, apprehensive eyes,\nand also that he was a very indifferent master of the vernacular, which\nhe spoke hesitatingly and with a pronounced Slavonic-Jewish accent, the\nreader will at once realize that he was of the type which low comedians\nlove to caricature and street urchins to mock at, if not to treat worse.\n\nBut his external appearance was no indicator, except for those who are\naccustomed to read and understand such exteriors, of his internal\ncharacteristics. Beneath the unprepossessing outward semblance there\ndwelt a keen intellect and a noble soul which might well deserve the\nadmiration of the discerning. He had received a good education of its\nkind in his youth in his Russian home. He had been thoroughly trained in\nHebrew, had read the entire Bible in the original, and was well\nacquainted with the Talmud and the modern Hebrew literature from which\nhe had derived correct ideas of the world and the development of modern\nscience. But he had not been able to utilize his training either in his\nnative land or America. In Russia he had desired to become a rabbi, for\nwhich his learning and his sincere religious bent amply fitted him; but\nall the positions he knew of were filled, and so after a few years\u2019 vain\nwaiting he kissed his wife and his two little ones good-by (he had\nmarried early while still a student at the _Yeshibah_) and set sail for\nAmerica, where, he thought, congregations without number were ready to\ngreet him as their spiritual chief. But a brief glance at the conditions\nsurrounding the rabbinate among his immigrant brethren under the Western\nskies had cured him of his desire to make it his vocation. As he had\nneither capital nor sufficient secular training to enable him to become\na merchant, or secure a remunerative commercial position, he had only\nthe choice between two ways of gaining a livelihood. He could become a\nworkman in a sweat-shop or a peddler. He chose the latter and, at the\ntime this story begins, had pursued the occupation of itinerant\nmerchant, an occupation in which there is little gain and less glory,\nfor some ten years. During all these years he had permitted himself only\none form of pleasure, attendance at the House of God. The theatre knew\nhim not, the interior of saloons saw him only when on business bent; but\nat the synagogue he was a regular attendant, never missing the early\nmorning services or the evening gatherings, in which the rabbi expounded\nthe Talmud and its commentaries to a group of attentive \u201clearners.\u201d\n\nApart from his natural piety it had gradually become a matter of pride\nwith him to be regular and punctual in his attendance at the synagogue,\nand consequently he felt considerably mortified when on the morning of\nour tale he found that he must either be absent or late at service. On\nhis way to the house of worship he tried to console himself with the\nsneaking hope that perhaps his watch was fast and that the hour was not\nreally as late as it indicated. But his hopes were doomed to\ndisappointment. As he entered the little synagogue the mourners were\njust repeating the last _Kaddish_, and most of the other worshippers\nwere folding and putting away their _Tallithoth_ and _Tephillin_,\npreparatory to leaving for the work of the day.\n\nPoor Moses! A pang went through his heart at the thought that he, whose\npunctuality and zeal had become proverbial, should be so culpably remiss\nas to appear in _Shool_ when services were practically over, and a\nkeener pang yet pervaded him when he noticed the expression of\nwonderment with which his companions and fellow-members gazed at him.\nNor did they confine themselves to looks of amazement; but, being\nfinished with their devotions, they gave free expression to their\nastonishment in questions. \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, Levinsky?\u201d he was asked\nfrom all sides. \u201cAren\u2019t you well, or are you getting lazy, or are you\nturning _link_?\u201d To all these interrogations Moses returned no answer;\nindeed, he felt morally too much crushed to defend or even to palliate\nhis shortcoming. Gloomily he proceeded to put on his prayer-shawl and\nphylacteries and with much less fervor than usual he recited the morning\nprayer. By the time he had concluded his devotions every one else had\nleft except the _Shammas_, who, obliged by his office to remain, had\nwaited impatiently to lock the synagogue, and who felt considerably\naggrieved at Moses for having caused him to lose so much of his valuable\ntime, which might have been utilized for collecting a bill or arranging\na _Shidduch_. Listlessly Moses left the room and directed his feet\nstreet-ward, but not too listlessly to feel the withering glance of\nreproach which the _Shammas_ shot after him as he departed.\n\nThe street was thronged and bustling with the full tide of activity\nwhich had now begun, but Moses paid no attention to its appearance. He\ndid not even notice the friendly greetings of several acquaintances whom\nhe passed on his homeward way. His mind had only room just then for one\nthought, that of mortification at his inexplicable tardiness and the\nhumiliation which that morning had brought him in the opinion of his\nfellow-congregants. He reached the huge tenement he called his home and\nbegan mechanically to climb the narrow and interminable staircases that\nled up to his room. The building was comparatively quiet. Most of the\nmale inmates and of the children of school age had already departed, the\nformer to take up their daily tasks, the latter for the immense public\nschool a few blocks away. No one met him on the stairs to draw his mind\nfrom its gloomy abstraction. But as he reached the fifth floor he\nperceived something which at once, arrested his attention and turned his\nthoughts to matters outside of himself. It was a strong and pungent\nsmell, the smell of smoke. He stopped, all his senses at once keenly\nalert. Like all tenement-dwellers he realized well the meaning of smoke.\nIt meant fire, and fire all too often meant death in those lofty and\ncrowded edifices, from whose upper portions escape was always difficult\nand sometimes impossible. Even as he stood, the noise of uneasy motion\nin the apartments at the side of the hall where he was and a sudden\nclamor of voices within betokened that their occupants too had smelt the\nsmoke and were seized with sudden dread. Doors were flung open; the\nwhite, anxious faces of frightened women, followed by wondering little\nchildren, peered out. There was a rush of feet in the hall below and\nquavering voices screamed \u201cfire! fire!\u201d By this time (a very brief\ninterval only had passed) Moses Levinsky had located the direction\nwhence the smoke proceeded. It came from the sixth story, and was\nalready quite dense at the head of the stairs. As he gazed, Levinsky\nthought he could hear children\u2019s voices, faintly crying, as if half\nstifled.\n\nWhat should he do? For a moment he thought he would rush downstairs to\nthe street and start the fire-alarm at the next corner. But he realized\ninstantly that quicker action was necessary in this case, that human\nlives, children\u2019s lives probably, were in imminent danger, and that he\nmust do something himself to rescue them, leaving to others the task of\nnotifying the fire department. With a few swift bounds he was at the\nnext landing, clearing three steps at every leap. The fire was evidently\nin the apartments on the left side of the hall, where lived the Shapiros\nwith their three children, for dense smoke was pouring from their rear\ndoor and children\u2019s voices were heard from within, feebly wailing. The\nrooms on the other side of the hall, occupied by the Arnowitzs, a young\nmarried couple, were still and evidently empty. With one rush Levinsky\nwas at the door through whose interstices the smoke proceeded and\nendeavored to open it. It was closed and resisted his efforts. He kicked\nat it frantically. It did not yield. In the meanwhile the smoke was\npouring forth in denser clouds, paining his eyes and his lungs, and the\nchildren\u2019s voices were growing fainter and feebler. With mad frenzy\nMoses Levinsky threw his body against the door; it shook and quivered\nbut did not yield. Again he tried to kick it in, striking his right foot\nin his thin boot against the door with all his strength, and with utter\ndisregard for the pain and possible injury to himself. In vain. The door\nwas strong and firmly locked, while Levinsky was but an indifferent\nspecimen of muscular development (his athletics had all been of the\nintellectual variety), and all his efforts to break it down were of no\navail. Several precious minutes had now passed and Levinsky was almost\nin despair. He was hesitating what to do, and half inclined to rush\ndownstairs in quest of additional help when his eyes, aimlessly\nwandering about the hall, chanced to light in the opposite corner, and\nlo and behold! there stood an axe. It was the axe with which Shapiro was\naccustomed to chop wood in the yard. Usually he kept it in his rooms,\nbut that morning had left it, by a providential chance, in the hall.\nInstantly Moses Levinsky seized it. A few vigorous blows, launched with\nall his strength against the door, brought it down and he rushed into\nthe smoke-filled room. In the corner he saw dimly three little figures.\nTwo were clinging to each other and one was lying prostrate on the\nfloor. They were Sarah and Ikey, the five-year and three-year-old\ndaughter and son, and little Josey, the eighteen-months-old baby of the\nShapiros. The older ones were still conscious, but wee little Josey had\nbeen overcome by the smoke and had fallen to the floor. In the middle of\nthe room stood the large family bed, the bed-clothing fiercely burning\nand emitting dense volumes of black smoke. Levinsky\u2019s first thought was\nof the children. Lifting up and holding the unconscious child with his\nright hand and taking a hand of each of the other children in his left,\nhe rushed from the room.\n\nBy this time the whole house and all the neighborhood had taken alarm.\nAs he hastened down the stairs, in an effort to find a place where the\nunconscious child might have fresh air, there came rushing toward him a\nthrong of neighbors; among them several firemen, with a portable\nextinguisher, and a physician. Moses Levinsky\u2019s task had been\naccomplished. The firemen proceeded to deal in systematic manner with\nthe fire, which had now grown large enough to threaten the whole house.\nThe physician took charge of the unconscious infant and in a few minutes\nhad brought him to. But who is this whose agonized screams are now\nheard, and who comes rushing through the dense crowd, frantically\ncrying, \u201cMy children! O my children!\u201d It is the mother, Mrs. Shapiro,\nwho had gone out to do her marketing, together with her neighbor, Mrs.\nArnowitz, and, in the manner customary in that vicinity, had locked her\nchildren in the room until her return. When she saw that her children\nwere alive and well, she kissed and hugged them frantically, and drew\nthem to her breast as if she half doubted the evidence of her senses.\nThen she asked who was their brave rescuer; and when all pointed to\nMoses Levinsky, she fell on her knees before him and kissed his hands\nand called him a _Malach_ of God, sent directly from heaven to rescue\nher dear ones. But Moses Levinsky did not grow at all conceited nor take\nthe praise to himself. His face was lighted up with the gleam of\nintelligence, with the satisfaction of a problem solved. All he said\nwas: \u201cNow I see that God is good and His plans are wise. He made me late\nat _Shool_ so that I should be on time to save these poor _Nefoshos_. I\nwas too late for one _Mitzvah_, but just in time for another, and that\nis quite in accordance with the _Halachah_; for does not the Talmud tell\nus, \u2018He that has to perform one _Mitzvah_ is exempt from another\u2019?\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                    THE PROSELYTE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.\n\n\nAbout fifty years ago a group of street-idlers and passers-by were\nstanding at the corner of one of the narrow and old-fashioned streets\nnear the old harbor of Marseilles, amusing themselves at the plight of a\nshort, dark-complexioned man who stood in their midst, and who was\nevidently a foreigner and a stranger in the town. It was a typical early\nsummer day in one of the busiest spots of the metropolis of southern\nFrance. The sun shone with a brilliance and a radiance characteristic of\nthe region and the season, and was just a little too warm for comfort;\nand the streets were crowded with a motley throng partly composed of\nFrenchmen, among whom the natives of northern France and the proven\u00e7als\nor inhabitants of the south could be easily distinguished from each\nother by their diversity of type, and partly by representatives of\nvarious races and nationalities varying in shade from the olive-skinned\nSpaniards, Italians, and Greeks to the coffee-brown Arabs and Moors from\nnorthern Africa, with here and there among the throng a negro of ebony\nblackness.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  A GROUP OF STREET-IDLERS WERE AMUSING THEMSELVES AT THE PLIGHT OF A\n    SHORT, DARK-COMPLEXIONED MAN WHO STOOD IN THEIR MIDST\n\n  _Page 142_]\n\nThe great press upon the streets was due in part to the normal activity\nof the town; but more to the fact that three of the great sailing\nvessels which, in those ante-steam-navigation days managed the freight\nand passenger traffic between the Levantine ports, had that morning\ndischarged their human cargoes at three of the principal wharves in the\nneighborhood, and the stream of released passengers was flowing through\nthe adjacent streets before becoming commingled with the general human\nflood of the city. There were many strange figures among the new\narrivals, but they all appeared fairly at home in their new\nsurroundings. Some may have been in Marseilles on previous occasions,\nand others were met by relatives or friends who guided them to their\nrespective destinations. Thus all were cared for in the strange city\nexcept one, and he the woe-begone individual whom we have seen standing\nat the street corner amidst the knot of street _gamins_ and loiterers.\nThey had fine sport with him, commenting on his outlandish appearance,\nand asking him all sorts of facetious questions in the vulgar _argot_\nthey spoke; but he understood nothing, and only looked helplessly from\none unsympathetic face to the other, saying only occasionally in a dazed\nsort of way, to the one or the other, in what seemed to them an\nunintelligible gibberish, the mystic words, \u201c_Yehudi Attah? Yehudi\nAttah?_\u201d Every such utterance would be greeted with a shout of laughter;\nthat is to say, by all except one.\n\nBenjamin Dalinsky, a Jewish peddler, whose cradle had stood on the banks\nof the Dnieper, but whom fate had carried to the land of the Gauls, and\nwho found his subsistence as an itinerant merchant in the southern\nFrench metropolis, chanced to pass the spot where these scenes were\nbeing enacted, and paused a moment to ascertain the cause of the\nexcitement. The stranger noticed the newcomer, and addressed to him the\nquery he had so often fruitlessly repeated: \u201c_Yehudi Attah? Yehudi\nAttah?_\u201d\n\nA thrill went through the whole body of Benjamin Dalinsky. He understood\nthe mystic words. He heard in them an echo of the voices of his\nchildhood, and of the spirit of his home, which he missed so sadly in\nthis strange, un-Jewish France. He felt in them the yearning of a Jewish\nsoul for the companionship of a brother in faith, in sympathy, and in\naffection. His soul went out in sudden attraction to this dark-hued\nstranger, whom he had never seen before; and in the same ancient tongue,\nthe Hebrew, in which the stranger had made his inquiry, he answered:\n\u201c_Ani Yehudi bo immi achi._\u201d\n\nGreat, overwhelming joy lit up the dark face of the stranger. With\nmingled love and deference he bowed low and kissed the hem of the coat\nof Dalinsky, who quickly drew him from the midst of the throng; and the\nwondering French idlers stepped aside as this strangely assorted pair,\nthe fair-haired son of the North and the swarthy Oriental walked away\ntogether. Dalinsky\u2019s lodgings were but a short distance away\u2014he had a\nroom with a Jewish couple who eked out their scanty earnings with the\nsmall amount he paid them and thither he quickly led the stranger. After\nhe had given the latter an opportunity to wash himself and eat\nsomething, which he did ravenously after he had satisfied himself of its\nritual purity, for on the ship he had tasted hardly anything of the food\nof the Gentiles, he asked the stranger what had brought him to this\nunknown country, whose language and manners were alike unfamiliar to\nhim. In classic Hebrew, which he spoke with perfect fluency and with\ngreat animation and vivacity, the stranger told the following tale:\n\n\u201cI am a Jew; and it is the pride and glory of my life that I belong to\nthe faith first proclaimed by Abraham, and whose sacred laws and\nordinances I endeavor faithfully to fulfil; but I am not native-born in\nthe household of Israel. I am only an adopted child therein, although, I\ntrust, my love for the people which is now mine is none the less warm\nand true on that account. By origin I am a Greek. I was born on the\nbeautiful island of Corfu, the pearl of the archipelago, where grow the\nfinest and choicest _Ethrogim_, most suitable of all species for the\nsolemn ceremonies of the Feast of Tabernacles; and the name upon which I\nwas baptized was Dimitri Aristarchi. To-day I am known in Israel as\nAbraham Ger-Tsedek. The manner in which I came to seek entrance into the\ncongregation of the Lord was most extraordinary; and my statement may\nseem to you but little worthy of credence, but I solemnly assure you it\nis true. It happened in this wise. My family was an old and\ndistinguished one in the island; but my father, in consequence of ill\nsuccess in various business ventures and a series of other misfortunes,\nlost all his wealth when I was a lad of about fifteen, and shortly\nafterward died. My poor mother, overwhelmed by the double loss of her\ndearly beloved husband and all her earthly possessions, did not survive\nher life partner long, but within a few short weeks followed him into\nthe grave. I was thus thrown entirely upon my own resources; and as I\nwas an only child, without either brother or sister, and had learnt no\ntrade or profession, having been reared in the luxurious and careless\nfashion usual in my country in well-to-do families, my condition was\nindeed desperate. There was nothing left for me to do except to seek a\nposition as a domestic servant, in which no special skill is required\nand in which industry and good-will may supply the place of training. It\nwas a most humiliating necessity, which drew many tears from my eyes. I,\nthe pampered child of wealth, must seek my daily bread as a menial! But\nthere was no alternative; and as the saying is, \u2018Necessity can neither\nbe praised nor blamed.\u2019\n\n\u201cIt so happened that I found employment in the house of a Jewish\nphysician, Moses Allatini by name. He was a man of considerable\nprominence, handsome and distinguished in appearance, extremely skilful\nin his profession, but learned as well in Hebraic lore. His wife,\nEsperanza by name, was radiantly beautiful, with the pensive, thoughtful\nbeauty that marks so many of the daughters of Israel, and as\nkind-hearted and pious as she was beautiful. Their family consisted of\nseven children, all well-bred, polite, and lovable. At the time of my\nentrance into the household there was a baby, a sweet boy of two years,\nwith curly black locks clustering around a face of alabaster whiteness,\nand eyes in whose liquid black depths an infinity of sentiment was\nrevealed. As I was not good for much else, Raphael, for so the youngest\nwas called, was assigned to my care, at which I greatly rejoiced, for I\nhad fallen in love with the sweet child when first these eyes lighted\nupon his angelic countenance. I devoted myself to his care with the\nutmost zeal. I washed, bathed, and clothed him, took him out daily in\nthe fresh air, gave him his meals, and tucked him in his little bed\nnightly when he closed his beautiful eyes in sleep. I learnt the little\nHebrew prayers which Jewish children recite when they lie down to rest\nat night, or when they rise in the morning, and the benedictions which\nthey pronounce on various occasions in order that I might dictate them\nto him, and that no one should come between me and my dearly beloved\ncharge. Raphael reciprocated my attachment; no doubt because he\nperceived its sincerity and we grew inseparable. As he grew older our\nlove for each other did not diminish; on the contrary, it increased and\ngrew deeper and more intense. Next to his parents Raphael loved best his\nDimitri; and as for me, I had no one else in the wide world for whom I\nneed care, and I concentrated upon him all the intensity of love of a\nnaturally warm and affectionate heart. I continued to have the exclusive\ncharge of Raphael, participated in all his sports and games, and\naccompanied him whenever he went out. Indeed, he always insisted that I\nmust be his companion, and refused to go anywhere unless I was with him.\nOur great love for each other became generally known and excited great\ninterest, especially among the Hebrew inhabitants\u2014the Greeks were not so\nwell pleased\u2014and the Allatini family were universally congratulated upon\nthe possession of such a faithful and devoted servitor. When Raphael was\nfour years old his parents began to take him to the synagogue on\nholidays and Sabbaths of special importance; and as he insisted upon my\naccompanying him, a request which excited great amusement among the\nfamily and the others who learned of it, I was one of the party on these\noccasions. Thus was I first introduced to the ancient Hebrew worship as\nit is conducted in the Jewish House of God. I was deeply impressed by\nthe melodious chanting of the _Hazan_, in which the congregation joined\nharmoniously from time to time, and I listened with great interest to\nthe learned and pious discourses of the venerable rabbi. But there was\nno thought in my mind at this time of allying myself to Israel; and as\nfor the Allatinis and the other Hebrews, they never even dreamed of such\na thing.\n\n\u201cWhen Raphael had attained to the age of five, Dr. Allatini declared\nthat it was now time to teach him the Hebrew language, and to begin to\ninitiate him into the knowledge of the Bible and the rabbinical\nwritings. But now a new and unexpected difficulty arose. Raphael\ninsisted stoutly that I must take the lessons, too, and declared that he\nwould learn nothing unless I was his fellow-scholar. This was a little\ntoo much for his good parents. They tried to make him comprehend that it\nwas absurd to make a Gentile study the Hebrew language and religious\nliterature; and to me, too, the thing appeared exceedingly dubious; but\nhe would have nothing of their arguments and, with the unreasoning\nobstinacy of childhood, insisted that I must participate in the\ninstruction. \u2018Dimitri does everything with me,\u2019 he said, \u2018and he must\nlearn with me, too. If Dimitri will not learn, Raphael will not learn\neither.\u2019 There was no help for it. His youthful mind was fixed in the\nidea that I must be his companion in study as in all other things; and\nhis parents, seeing that it was impossible to change his view, yielded,\nhalf in amusement and half in vexation, to his wish. Thus I became a\nstudent of the Holy Law; and I bless God for the hour when He separated\nme from those that are in error and brought me near to Him, by enabling\nme to become acquainted with His Torah and to recognize the wisdom and\nholiness of His teachings. A teacher was engaged, the ablest Hebrew\nscholar of the town, and he began to instruct what he declared was the\nstrangest pair of pupils he had ever had, the Greek Gentile youth of\neighteen and the Hebrew lad of five. Both of us learned zealously.\n\n\u201cNow that I had begun I was eager to learn all that I could of Hebrew\nlore; and Raphael, pleased that his wish had been gratified, and\npossessing a bright and acute intellect, learned rapidly and well. We\nbegan with the Hebrew alphabet and the rudiments of the sacred tongue;\nbut soon we had mastered these elementary portions and took up the\nreading of the Scriptures, at first in the simple text and afterward\nwith the commentaries of various learned rabbis. I cannot find words\nwith which to describe the profound impression which this course of\nstudy made upon me. What had at first been a mere good-natured\ncompliance with the whim of a child became afterward a most fascinating\nand absorbing pursuit, the most important part of my intellectual and\nspiritual life. At first I was charmed with the Hebrew tongue as a\nvehicle of thought and expression, with its pronunciation, at once\nsonorous and melodious, with its symmetrical and harmonious grammatical\nconstruction, with its brief and yet richly expressive phrases and\nsentences; then the sublimity and grandeur of the Biblical teachings\nstirred and moved me. I wondered at the divine wisdom of the creation; I\nadmired the grand and heroic leaders, God-inspired prophets and teachers\nwho spread the knowledge of the universal Master among men; I began to\nunderstand why Israel existed on earth; I followed with deepest interest\nthe checkered history of the chosen people; I triumphed with Solomon\nwhen the holy house was dedicated on Zion\u2019s height, and I wept and\nsorrowed with Jeremiah when it sank in ruin. The wisdom of the Torah\nimpressed me deeply, its numerous statutes and ordinances, all designed\nto bring about the one end, the happiness and well-being of mankind\nrevealed clearly to my mind the ineffable goodness of the Author of all,\nand with David I exclaimed, \u2018The law of the Lord is perfect restoring\nthe soul.\u2019 In a word the spirit of the All-holy entered into me, and I\nunderstood, as I never understood before, and as millions do not\nunderstand to-day, that He desires the happiness of mankind; and in\norder to promote that happiness and to diffuse universal blessing, He\nhath chosen the Torah and Moses His servant and Israel His people.\n\n\u201cThus the years flowed away, bringing ever-increasing knowledge and\nhappiness to us both, for Raphael and I were like two brothers united by\nlove such as brothers seldom know. When we had finished the reading of\nthe Bible, which took us about five years, we began to study the\n_Mishnah_. Here I found new subjects for admiration; the acuteness and\nprofound scholarship of the _Hakamim_, their methodical order and\nsystem, and also their stern piety and unyielding devotion to principle.\nIn two years we had concluded the _Mishnah_ and took up the intricate\ndiscussions of the _Gemara_. But now Raphael had entered upon his\nthirteenth year, at the conclusion of which, as you well know, every\nJewish boy becomes _Bar-Mitzvah_; that is to say, attains his religious\nmajority, and is accounted fully responsible for all his acts in the\nsight of God and man. The _Bar-Mitzvah_ day is considered everywhere in\nIsrael a most auspicious and happy occasion. The youthful celebrant is\ntreated with distinguished honor, is permitted to read the _Sedrah_ and\nthe _Haftarah_, and even to deliver an address in the synagogue, and is\nmade the recipient of rich gifts and marked attentions. As these\nceremonies require special study and preparation, it is necessary to\ntrain a youth some time in advance of the happy day. Such was the\nproceeding followed also in the case of Raphael. The teacher who had\ninstructed us both suspended temporarily the regular course of\ninstruction in which I had taken part, and concentrated his efforts upon\nteaching Raphael the proper method of chanting the portions of the law\nand the prophets which were to be read on the great Sabbath of the\n_Bar-Mitzvah_, and also aided him in the preparation of a learned and\nprofound discourse which he, though a mere youth, was to deliver on that\nauspicious occasion.\n\n\u201cAs these matters did not concern me, I was necessarily left out of\nconsideration and had now no part in the studies of Raphael, except that\nof a mere occasional listener and looker-on. For the first time in over\nseven years Raphael and I were separated, no longer joined in study nor\nmuch together otherwise, for the preparations for the _Bar-Mitzvah_\nabsorbed most of his time, and he did not find leisure for our\naccustomed walks and pleasures. The change grieved me deeply. I realized\nnow as I had not realized before the distinction between us; that he was\none of the chosen people whose history and religion we had been\nstudying, while I was an outsider, a stranger, not privileged to enter\ninto close connection with the covenant brethren, nor to share in their\nmost intimate concerns, their truest joys, and deepest sorrows. I cannot\ndescribe to you the melancholy which filled my soul at this thought; but\nit must have showed itself in my countenance or demeanor, for Raphael\nnoticed it, and with true fraternal sympathy tried to soothe and console\nme. But his well-meant efforts were in vain. Nothing could assuage the\nkeen pain which rose in my soul whenever I reflected that there existed\nan invisible but nevertheless real and undeniable dividing wall between\nme and the human being I loved best, a wall that would probably grow\nthicker and stronger as the years rolled on, until it would at last keep\nus utterly asunder, except, perhaps, as regards the superficial\nrelations of mere formal friendship.\n\n\u201cFor months this dull pain gnawed at my heart until one day, when the\n_Bar-Mitzvah_ day was no longer far distant, there came to me, all\nunexpectedly and sudden as a lightning flash, a thought that promised\nredemption. \u2018Why need I permit this wall to grow up between me and my\nbeloved?\u2019 I asked myself. \u2018Why can I not become Raphael\u2019s brother in the\ncovenant of Israel? Israel is God\u2019s holy nation, but it does not\njealously restrict its membership to those born in the fold. Its gates\nopen gladly to welcome those who seek entrance because of true union of\nsentiment with the hereditary guardians of the covenant. As Isaiah says:\n\u201cLet not the stranger that joineth himself unto the Lord say, verily the\nLord will separate me from His people.\u201d I, too, may join myself to\nIsrael, may share the burdens and the privileges of the Holy people, and\ntake upon myself their name.\u2019\n\n\u201cThus did my love for a dear Jewish lad suggest to me to enter into\nIsrael; but nevertheless I did not determine upon the step until I had\nexamined my mind and my soul to ascertain whether I was fit for this\ngreat change. I knew that to become a proselyte for any personal motive\nalone, no matter how high or ideal it might be, were sin. But my\nself-examination taught me my real beliefs, showed me that, spiritually\nif not formally, I already belonged to Israel. I recognized that the\ntheological dogmas I had been taught in my boyhood no longer possessed\nany charm or validity for my soul, which for seven years had drunk deep\ndraughts of life-giving water from the fountains of Israel\u2019s law and\ntradition. I saw that in Israel was the spiritual home where my soul\ndesired to dwell. Encouraged and inspired by this recognition, I went to\nthe rabbi and communicated to him my desire to enter the fold of Israel.\nHe was surprised at first and rather displeased; but when I told him my\nstory, and informed him that I was well instructed in Hebrew lore and\nfamiliar with the ordinances of Judaism, he declared that he could not\nrefuse to accept me as a proselyte.\n\n\u201cI now unfolded to him an idea which I had conceived in relation to my\nreception into Judaism, which pleased him well, and to which he at once\ngave his approval. Under the plea of desiring a vacation, which was\nreadily granted, for Raphael was busy with his preparations and my\nservices were not really required, I secured a leave of absence for\nseveral weeks from the Allatini household. I went to a little town some\nfew miles distant, and there in the presence of the rabbi and ten Hebrew\nbrethren I was circumcised and the name I now bear in Israel conferred\nupon me. I remained there until I had thoroughly recovered when I\nreturned to the Allatini home. No one knew of the change which had taken\nplace, for I had requested, for reasons of my own, those present at the\nceremony to divulge nothing for the time being; and my wishes had been\nrespected. All noticed that I had lost the melancholy air which I had\nborne for several months, and was looking contented and happy; but none\nknew the reason for the improvement in my appearance.\n\n\u201cAt last the great day, the Bar-Mitzvah Sabbath, arrived. The synagogue\nwas densely packed, for the interest in the event which concerned so\nclosely the most prominent family in the congregation and its\nwell-beloved son was universal. On the main floor the noblest and best\nmen of the community were assembled, and from the galleries the matrons\nand maidens of Israel, arrayed in splendid robes, beamed radiantly down.\nWhen the time for the reading of the Torah arrived Raphael ascended the\n_Tebah_, or altar, and at once began to chant from the sacred scroll. He\nwas a picture of youthful beauty as he stood there; and his voice, pure\nand clear as the sweetest of song-birds, filled the synagogue with\nmelodious resonance as he chanted the solemn sentences of Holy Writ. A\nhum of admiration ran around the synagogue; and all eyes, after feasting\nwith pleasure on the beauteous form of the youthful celebrant, turned\nwith silent congratulation to the happy father and the joyous mother,\nwho showed in their beaming countenances what joy dwelt within their\nhearts. Raphael was summoned as the third person to pronounce the\nbenediction over the law, which he did with great dignity and\ndevoutness. His father then ascended the altar and made generous\nofferings for the benefit of the congregation; and the rabbi, leaving\nhis seat and ascending the altar, placed his hands upon Raphael\u2019s bowed\nhead and pronounced over him the threefold priestly blessing. Thus far\neverything had been conducted in the manner usual on such occasions, but\nnow a deviation took place. Instead of summoning the next person to the\nTorah, which would have been the usual proceeding, the rabbi turned to\nthe people and addressed them thus:\n\n\u201c\u2018Brethren of Israel! It has been now our privilege to witness the\nacceptance into full membership in the covenant of our beloved young\nfriend, Raphael Allatini, to whom and to whose respected parents we\noffer our sincere well-wishes. It will now be our pleasure to behold\nanother Bar-Mitzvah, one who is a true believer in our holy faith, and\nwho has been for many years a friend and comrade of our young celebrant,\nand desires not to separate from him on this happy day.\u2019\n\n\u201cAll were amazed at the enigmatical words of the rabbi; for no one had\nheard of another Bar-Mitzvah, and the fact of my conversion had been\nkept a profound secret. The _Chazan_, however, had been let into the\nsecret, and in a loud voice he proclaimed: \u2018Let there arise Abraham, son\nof Abraham, the proselyte of righteousness, to read the Torah. May his\nrock protect him.\u2019\n\n\u201cProfound astonishment reigned in the synagogue as I, the full-grown man\nof twenty-five, whom all had known as Dimitri the Greek servant, arose\nin my place and ascended the Tebah in a character belonging usually only\nto Hebrew youths of thirteen; and in breathless silence they listened\nwhile I pronounced the benediction over the Torah and read my portion\nwith correct accent and melody. When I had finished I blessed the Lord\nwith a loud voice; and according to the words of the benediction,\n\u2018Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast\npermitted me to live and attain to this day,\u2019 and all the congregation\nshouted \u2018Amen!\u2019 The rabbi then blessed me with tears in his eyes; and\nRaphael fell about my neck and embraced me, with radiant smiles, for to\nhim my act meant most of all. The rest of the service was conducted in\nthe usual quiet and solemn manner; but when the last chant had been\nconcluded, the excitement broke forth. The vast congregation crowded\naround the Allatini family, Raphael and me, congratulating us most\nwarmly on the remarkable and auspicious event which had just taken\nplace. I had almost as great a share of popular approval as Raphael, and\nmy fidelity and loyalty both to the family I served and the religion I\nhad embraced, my devotion to my young master, and my attainments in\nHebrew lore were greatly admired and commended. Oh, that was a glorious\nday in my life; and, however long the Most High may permit me to remain\non earth, I shall never forget it. The Allatinis, too, when the first\nshock of surprise was over, acted toward me with the utmost love and\nkindness. I was treated in all respects as the equal and comrade of\nRaphael. I sat next to him at the festive board during the splendid\nbanquet given the same afternoon in celebration of the event. After he\nhad delivered his address, I, too, was asked to speak to the guests, who\nincluded the most respected people in the community; and the rabbi, in\nhis remarks, referred to me in the kindest terms, praising greatly my\nfidelity and piety and the learning I had acquired, and comparing me\nwith Shemayah and Abtalion, the distinguished proselytes who became\nheads of the Sanhedrin during the period of the second Temple.\n\n\u201cAfter the Bar-Mitzvah festivities were over, Raphael took up again the\ninterrupted course of studies and I was again his companion. I was very,\nvery happy. I felt that I had entered into the haven of peace and joy in\nthe blessed study of God\u2019s holy law and the willing fulfilment of its\nprecepts, while enjoying also the love of my young master, the kindness\nof his family, and the respect of all my newly gained Jewish brethren. I\nasked for nothing better on earth, though I did hope that in course of\ntime I might be able to ask some well-born maiden of Israel to be my\nlife partner and settle down as a worthy _Baal Ha-baith_. But, alas!\nwhile I was basking in the bright sun of happiness, the black clouds\nwere gathering which were destined to cover with inky pall the fair sky\nof my well-being.\n\n\u201cThe romantic incidents of my conversion and my public reception as a\nBar-Mitzvah had excited great public interest among the Jewish\ninhabitants of the island generally and were spoken of everywhere. In\nthis way the facts came also to the knowledge of the Greek Gentiles and\naroused their deep anger and resentment. Great as was the enmity which\nthey bore the children of Jacob, they hated with a still intenser hatred\nthe one from their own midst who had cast in his lot with the ancient\npeople. I soon noticed that I was regarded with great ill favor. When I\nwent abroad through the streets of the town on my accustomed walks with\nRaphael, I noticed that the men and women gazed at me with black,\nscowling looks, while the children put no restraint on their tongues,\nbut yelled after me, \u2018Apostate, renegade, traitor!\u2019 This discovery,\nwhile it was certainly not pleasing, did not disconcert either me or my\nfriends. There had not been any uprising against the Jews in many years,\nand none of us thought that I was of sufficient importance to be honored\nwith a special uprising, exclusively on my account. Soon, however,\nrumors began to be heard that the lower orders of people, incited by\nvirulent agitators, in particular by a fanatical priest of the\nneighborhood, were planning an attack on the Allatini house for the\npurpose of seizing me and visiting upon me condign punishment\u2014that is to\nsay, death\u2014for what they were pleased to call my apostasy. This report\ndid cause us some anxiety; but we all, in particular Dr. Allatini,\nlooked upon it as an idle tale and took no precaution to ward off any\npossible calamity.\n\n\u201cA few nights later the blow fell. Our house was in silence and\ndarkness, all having retired to rest, when some time after midnight a\nviolent knocking and beating at the massive gates of the high stone\nwall, which surrounded the garden in which stood the Allatini residence,\nwas heard. We were all aroused by the clamor and hastening to the\nwindows beheld in the road outside the gates a great, raging multitude\nwith hate-filled countenances, and bearing in their hands, besides\nweapons, flaming torches which cast a lurid light over all the scene. No\nsooner did they behold the frightened faces at the windows (I was not\namong them, for, realizing at once that the clamor had reference to me,\nI kept in the background) than with terrible cries and yells they\ndemanded that I be delivered to them. \u2018Give us the apostate, the\nrenegade,\u2019 they yelled. \u2018We mean no harm to you that are born Jews, but\nwe want the blood of the traitor; and unless you surrender him to us, we\nwill destroy the house and slay you all.\u2019\n\n\u201cOur people held a hasty consultation. I will not detain you with all\nthe particulars of our debate, but the result reached was that it was\npossible for me to be saved. Dr. Allatini took a hasty leave of me and\nthen went forth to parley with the mob. I hastily dressed myself and\npacked together a few necessary articles. A purse of money was pressed\ninto my hands. I embraced and kissed my beloved Raphael and bade all\ngood-by, then entered a subterranean passage-way which led to an\nadjacent street. When I emerged in the next street, the shouts and noise\nof the mob had died down and I realized that Dr. Allatini had succeeded\nin quieting them. I subsequently learned that he had assured them that I\nwas not in the house, and had given them permission to enter it and\nsearch for me. I reached the harbor early the next morning in safety and\ntook passage in the first ship leaving which chanced to be bound for\nMarseilles.\n\n\u201cWith a soul filled with mingled feelings of sorrow and gratitude I left\nmy native land, sorry that I must leave my dearly beloved one, the\ncompanion of my youth and early manhood, and gratitude to the God of\nIsrael, who had saved me from the hands of my enemies and from the\nperils of the sea, and brought me in safety to a new home. And I thank\nHim also that in this strange land He has led me to a brother who has\nshown himself possessed of true fraternal, Jewish love and kindness. And\nI doubt not that He who maketh a path in the fierce waters and who\nprotected His servant David from the hostile sword, will care for me,\nHis humble worshipper, in this strange land and grant me His peace and\nblessing. The words of Abraham are finished.\u201d\n\nWhen the stranger had finished his tale, Benjamin Dalinski, who had\nlistened in wonderment to the singular narrative, said to him: \u201cTruly,\nthy tale is strange and interesting; but dost thou not think that thou\ndidst act foolishly? Hadst thou remained in the faith of thy forefathers\nthou wouldst not have lost the friendship of thy Jewish benefactors, nor\nhave aroused the hatred of thy Gentile neighbors. Thou couldst have\nremained in peace in thy native land and perhaps have become in later\nyears a great man among thy people; whereas now thou art an exile and a\nfugitive, and who knows what will be thy lot here in this land?\u201d\n\nAbraham gazed at him a moment as though he did not understand his words\nand then answered with indignation as one who repudiates a sinful and\nunworthy suggestion. \u201cI would rather eat bread with salt and drink blank\nwater as a _Yehudi_ than be a prince and a great man among the\nGentiles.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said Dalinski, \u201cthou art indeed a proselyte of righteousness.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                            ISAAC AND ALICE\n\n\nThey were good friends and true, were Isaac and Alice. To be sure, they\nwere not exactly what most people would consider a well-assorted or\nnaturally allied pair; for Isaac was a great strapping fellow of about\nthirty, who could speak Yiddish much better than English, while Alice\nwas a sweet little girl of not quite five, whose childish prattle had a\ndecidedly Yankee twang, and whose cradle had stood many thousands of\nmiles from the spot where Isaac\u2019s infantile eyes had first opened upon a\nstrange and troublesome world. Yet that they were close friends was an\nundeniable, if somewhat unaccountable, fact. People who saw the stalwart\nyoung Lithuanian Hebrew carpenter, with the dark ringlets and raven\nbeard and the golden-haired and blue-eyed little Down East maiden as\nthey sat together and conversed during the midday hour when Isaac was\neating his frugal lunch, or as they sauntered hand in hand through the\nstreets of the little Massachusetts town, would often smile and wonder\nand make comments, sometimes jocular and sometimes sarcastic to each\nother; but neither Isaac nor Alice cared what anybody said. They were\nnot afraid of scandal and were sublimely indifferent to public opinion.\nThey were just good friends and that was all about it. They had been\ngood friends from the first moment they met, several weeks after Isaac\nhad set foot upon the hospitable shore of America, and had exhausted the\ngreater part of his physical energy and about all of his financial\nresources and of his store of courage and hope in the effort to persuade\nthe land of the free and the home of the brave to provide him with a\nlivelihood. He had entered at the port of New York and tried for a week\nor so to find employment at his trade in the metropolis. But there must\nhave been a plethora of carpenters in the great city at that time; for\nwherever he applied, the answer was the same, \u201cNo one wanted.\u201d He had\nthen determined to try the smaller towns and cities, and had wandered on\nfoot through Connecticut, and had applied at hundreds of shops in the\nmany industrial communities of that State, all the time growing fainter\nand weaker and more discouraged; and had never heard any other response\nto his request for work than the same monotonous refrain, which had now\ngrown terrible in its suggestion of despair, \u201cNo one wanted.\u201d\n\nAt last he had drifted, he hardly knew how, into Massachusetts and had\nentered the little town of Atbury. Hope had almost left him, and grim\nthoughts of suicide filled his mind while he wandered aimlessly through\nthe neat and well-kept streets of the town. In the course of his\nwanderings he saw a wooden building, upon the front of which a large\nsign proclaimed that within was a carpenter shop, and that the owner\u2019s\nname was Thomas Jones. Mechanically Isaac entered the large open doorway\non his usual quest. He had no anticipation of success; and when Mr.\nJones, who was a handsome middle-aged man of typical Yankee appearance\nand very brusque and short-spoken, returned the usual answer to his\ntimid query, he turned to go away with a sinking heart, in which the\ndull pain was not perceptibly keener than it had previously been.\n\nBut this time an unprecedented incident occurred. A pretty little\nblond-haired, blue-eyed girl, a mere tot, was standing next to the\nproprietor when the stranger entered the shop, and she gazed at his\nhandsome though careworn features while he made his pitiable appeal for\nwork, with an expression of evident liking, mingled with sympathy and\npity. When he turned to depart, surprise and sorrow showed themselves\nplainly in the face of the child; and turning to her father\u2014as you have,\nno doubt, already guessed, sweet reader, it was Alice, Thomas Jones\u2019s\nonly and dearly beloved child\u2014she said: \u201cWhy, aren\u2019t you going to give\nthe poor man work, papa? Just see how sad he looks. Don\u2019t let him go.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you want me to keep him, little one?\u201d asked the father, gazing at\nthe pleading face of his little daughter with amused parental fondness.\n\n\u201cYes I do, papa,\u201d said Alice. \u201cI think he is a very good man and I want\nyou to keep him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Thomas Jones, \u201cfor your sake I\u2019ll give him a chance.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  NOTHING PLEASED THEM BETTER THAN A \u201cHORSEY-BACK\u201d RIDE\n\n  _Page 172_]\n\nIsaac was not yet out of the shop and the loud voice of the master\ncarpenter at once brought him back. He speedily demonstrated his ability\nin his trade and was retained, his employer impressing upon him that it\nwas the intercession of the little girl which had given him his\nopportunity. Isaac bowed low before the child with reverential gratitude\nand imprinted upon her tiny hand a grateful kiss. Thus began their\nfriendship, and it became very warm and sincere indeed. Alice took\nnaturally to the broadshouldered, pleasant-faced young foreigner; and\nIsaac, who was not only deeply grateful to the child for having steered\nthe almost shipwrecked vessel of his life into the safe harbor of\nemployment and bread, but was also thoroughly social and companionable\nby disposition, did all in his power to amuse and entertain his young\nbenefactor. They were not allowed to meet during work hours, for Father\nJones, though a loving and indulgent parent, was a strict and\nuncompromising task-master, and would tolerate no unbusiness-like\ninterruptions during the time allotted to work; but during the noonday\nintermission for meals, when Alice would seek Isaac in whatever part of\nthe town he happened to be employed after the close of work in the late\nafternoon, when Isaac returned to his master\u2019s house where was his home,\nthey were sure to be together, and would romp and \u201ccarry on\u201d to their\nheart\u2019s content. Nothing pleased them better than a \u201chorsey-back\u201d ride,\nwhen Isaac would act as the fiery though remarkably docile steed, and\nAlice rode her mount in greater security than the most practised\nequestrienne. Isaac would trot and gallop, and pace and paw, and prance\nand snort, and whinny and neigh, like the very war-horse of Job, all the\ntime holding his little rider in a firm and loving grasp; while Alice,\nwith streaming locks and flashing eyes, would cry \u201cGee-up!\u201d and \u201cWhoa!\u201d\nand pull his hair for reins and belabor his shoulders with her tiny\nfists, according to the most approved rules of the equestrian art. There\nwere plenty of other forms of amusement as well. Sometimes they would\nplay \u201cblind-man\u2019s buff,\u201d when Isaac would begin the game by permitting\nhimself to be tightly bandaged across the eyes, and would then grope\naround the room in an endeavor to catch Alice. But somehow or other he\nwas always very clumsy in this game; and Alice never had the least\ntrouble to avoid his aimless reachings out, and would enjoy herself\nhighly, slipping in and out right in front of his very face and touching\nhim on all sides. And when finally his hand would land on Alice,\napparently by accident, and capture her, and it would be her turn to\nsubmit to be bandaged and to try to capture him, he seemed even clumsier\nin his movements. He never seemed to know how to evade the \u201cblind man,\u201d\nbut was continually getting in the way; and in two or three minutes at\nthe utmost, Alice\u2019s tiny hands would seize him in their firm grasp, and\nher shrill cry of triumph would proclaim that he was a prisoner. He also\ntaught Alice some queer Russian games, which were a source of\nnever-failing amazement and amusement (about equally divided) to all the\nboys and girls in the neighborhood. Then sometimes on a holiday, or when\nwork happened to be slack, they would go out together berrying, and\nwould come home with big canfuls of blackberries, or blueberries, or\nhuckleberries, or raspberries, or some of the other sorts of berries\nwhich grew at the roadsides or in the fields, Alice looking very happy,\nand Isaac rather tired and scratched about the hands; for it was an open\nsecret that while Alice had most of the fun, Isaac had most of the\ntrouble, and worked his very hardest to fill the can with the ripest and\nfinest berries that could be found, so that the expedition should be\nproperly fruitful of results. In these and a hundred other ways Isaac\nendeavored to please his employer\u2019s little daughter, and his efforts\nwere highly successful, so successful, indeed, that the child grew to\nlook upon him with warm affection, and was never so happy as when in his\ncompany.\n\nNor was Alice the only one who regarded Isaac with affection. Her\nparents were almost equally warm in their sentiments. Thomas Jones\nthought much of him because he was a thorough master of his trade,\ntremendously strong, and absolutely faithful and reliable. Any task\nassigned to him, however arduous, was always performed with scrupulous\nexactness and conscientiousness, and no complaint or objection ever\nescaped his lips. Mrs. Jones liked him because he was sober, polite, and\ncleanly in his habits, and because he took such pains to please and\namuse her little daughter. To be sure, there were some points about him\nwhich they did not exactly like, but his many good qualities\ncounterbalanced these defects. One of these points was that he would not\nlabor on the Sabbath or Jewish holidays. This difficulty had arisen the\nvery first week of his employment, but the superior character of his\nwork had induced Mr. Jones then to retain him, and afterward he had\ngrown accustomed to dispensing with the services of Isaac on Saturdays\nor on any other day when he declared the rules of his religion required\nabstention from labor. Another matter which seemed very peculiar to both\nMr. and Mrs. Jones was that, although Isaac boarded with them, he never\nate flesh in any form and refused to partake of many other dishes which\nappeared on their table. But, as the Joneses were kind-hearted and\ntolerant people, and had besides a genuine liking for Isaac, they\noverlooked these matters, and, if they reflected on them at all, merely\nthought them the natural result of his religious views.\n\nMany were the arguments which the Joneses had with some of their\nneighbors on account of Isaac and the peculiar position which he\noccupied in their household. Bigotry and narrow-mindedness are not\nunknown even in free America, where, theoretically, a man\u2019s race and\nreligion should have no influence, favorable or unfavorable, upon the\nopinion which is held concerning him, and where, if anywhere, the\nprinciple enunciated by the rabbis in the Talmud should prevail\u2014\u201cThy\ndeeds shall recommend thee, thy deeds shall condemn thee.\u201d Some of the\ngood Christian people of Atbury, who thought, like Sancho Panza, that\nthe most essential characteristic of a Christian was a sound hatred of\nthe Jews, could not conceal their amazement, nay, their righteous\nindignation, that a Jew should be a favored member of a Christian\nhousehold, and, worse yet, the trusted friend and companion of a little\nChristian maiden.\n\n\u201cHow can you permit an unbeliever to dwell in your home?\u201d they would\nsay, with much show of holy horror. \u201cAren\u2019t you afraid that in course of\ntime he may seduce you or your little daughter, with specious reasoning,\naway from the true faith, and lead you into the error of Judaism?\u201d But\nthe Joneses would only laugh at these pious apprehensions and answer\nthat Isaac never spoke to them on religious subjects; that, while he was\nundoubtedly sincerely religious in his own way, he never obtruded his\nviews on others; and that, in fact, it would not have been a bad thing\nif some people whom they knew would have imitated him in this\nparticular.\n\nThe neighbors would then try another tack, in which they hoped to be\nmore successful. \u201cHow can you trust Alice to such a person?\u201d they would\nask, with the solemn air of those who warn friends against impending\ndangers which they are rashly incurring. \u201cAren\u2019t you afraid that he may\ndo her some harm? You never can tell what such a Jew might do. Why, in\nsome parts of Europe they even accuse them of slaying Christian children\nin order to use their blood for the Passover. It isn\u2019t safe to leave\nAlice in his charge.\u201d\n\nBut when they came with this argument they received a fitting response,\nwhich was not lacking either in clearness or emphasis. The Joneses,\nparticularly Mrs. Jones, told them that they might be at better business\nthan calumniating one of whom they knew no evil; that Isaac was the\nkindest, best-hearted, most devoted fellow in the world; that he was\ndeeply grateful to Alice because she had been the means of saving him\nfrom starvation, and, as for her being in any danger at his hands, why\nthey, the Joneses, were convinced that he would at any time be ready to\ngive his life rather than see a hair of her head harmed.\n\nSooner than any one anticipated the opportunity came which demonstrated\nthat Isaac was indeed ready to lay down his life to save his little\nfriend from harm. A few days after an unusually warm debate of the kind\noutlined above between Thomas Jones and an especially zealous neighbor,\nwho had warned Isaac\u2019s employer that all kinds of dreadful things would\ncertainly happen if this unholy friendship were permitted to continue,\nJones summoned Isaac to him. \u201cCome here, you Jew!\u201d he said half\njocularly, half angrily, for the remembrance of the uncharitable words\nof his officious neighbor was still strong in him. \u201cI want to show you\nwhat I think of you.\u201d Isaac at once advanced and waited with deferential\nair for the further words of his employer. \u201cI\u2019ve got a job in the\noutskirts of the town,\u201d continued Jones, gazing with satisfaction at the\nbrawny figure and submissive attitude of his most reliable workman,\n\u201cand, as I can\u2019t spare any men from the other work, I\u2019m going to put the\nwhole thing in your hands. There\u2019s a little cottage on the Prentice\nplace that\u2019s got to be jacked up to make room for the masons to build a\nnew foundation, and then all the board work and carpentering generally\nmust be renovated and fixed up. I\u2019ve sent up all the necessary wood\nalready, so you can go right up and attend to the whole job alone. When\nyou get there you can see for yourself what is to be done, and if you\ndon\u2019t understand anything, why, just ask old man Prentice, and he\u2019ll\ntell you what to do.\u201d\n\nIsaac picked up his box of tools and was about to depart when little\nAlice, who had been listening to the words of her father, skipped up\nand, laying her hand on Isaac\u2019s arm, asked eagerly: \u201cWon\u2019t you take me\nalong, Isaac? I want to be with you when you\u2019re doing the work.\u201d\n\n\u201cAsk your papa, Alice,\u201d said Isaac, smiling pleasantly at his little\nfriend. \u201cIf he will let you go, then I\u2019ll be glad to take you.\u201d\n\nAlice did not need to ask her father, for the latter, without giving her\nthe opportunity to speak, at once gave her the desired permission. \u201cYes,\nindeed, you can go with Isaac,\u201d he said, with rather more emphasis than\nwas apparently necessary. \u201cI\u2019ll just show those numbskull bigot\nneighbors of mine what I think of their fanatical suspicions and\ninsinuations. Just trot along, little one, and I wish you lots of\npleasure seeing Isaac at work.\u201d\n\nThus duly authorized and permitted, Isaac and Alice went off together to\nthe scene of his solitary task, which they reached in about half an\nhour. The Prentice place was a little farm of two or three acres, in the\ncentre of which stood the cottage. It was not a very large structure,\nbut Isaac\u2019s practised eye at once perceived that his employer had set\nhim a task sufficient to try the strength of three men. Old man Prentice\nwas of the same opinion, and very emphatically expressed his\ndissatisfaction that Jones had sent only one man to do the work of\nthree. Nothing daunted, however, Isaac at once set about the performance\nof his task. The first thing to do was to lift the structure, which was\ndone by means of appliances called jacks. Isaac inserted one of the\njacks under each of the four corners of the house and screwed it up\nuntil that part of the building was elevated to the desired height. In\nthe mean while Alice stood near her favorite and watched him at his\narduous task, chatting and prattling all the while with the careless\ninnocence of childhood; and Isaac, though engrossed in his labor, did\nnot fail to answer her childish queries, and kept his little friend\ninterested and amused. All went well until Isaac came to the fourth and\nlast corner and proceeded to jack it up as he had done the others. Here,\nby some miscalculation, he raised the corner a foot or so more than was\nnecessary. At once the frame structure began to careen. Isaac instantly\nperceived that the building would certainly topple to the ground, and a\npang of agony shot through his heart as he thought of the loss which his\nmistake, unaccountable even to himself, would cause. His next thought\nwas to save himself from harm; but, as he turned to flee from under the\nfalling structure, what horrible sight met his eyes! Little Alice,\npetrified apparently by fright, was standing motionless under the\ntottering building. A sickening picture flashed up instantly before his\nmental retina of her little body lying crushed and bleeding under the\nruins of the building, its life crushed out by the overwhelming weight.\nHow could he save her? She was too far away for him to seize her and\nflee with her to safety, neither would it avail aught to shout to her to\nflee. Before she could have recovered control of her faculties and\nimpelled her limbs to motion, the blow would have fallen and all would\nbe over. There was but one way to save Alice, and, though Isaac knew it\nmeant almost certain death for himself, he instantly determined to do\nit. Placing his powerful shoulders under the tilting woodwork, he\nshouted in a great and terrible voice to Alice to run\u2014run for her life.\nFor a minute or so he stood, like fabled Atlas upholding the world,\nsupporting with his tremendous strength the falling structure, while his\nmuscles stood out like whipcords and the sweat of agony poured all over\nhis body. In that minute Alice recovered herself and toddled out of\nharm\u2019s way. A second later the heavy framework crushed out the man\u2019s\nstrength and bore him to the ground with a sickening thud, while the\nharsh crackling of the beams and boards as they were torn from their\nfastenings mingled with his awful shriek. He did not need to lie there\nlong. Poor little Alice, with an intelligence beyond her years, ran to\nseek help from the neighbors; but her frenzied efforts were not\nnecessary. The frightful crash of the falling building and the fierce,\nagonized shriek of the stricken victim had aroused all the neighborhood,\nand from all sides assistance speedily came. The united efforts of old\nman Prentice and a number of laborers who hastened from a neighboring\nfield speedily succeeded in removing the mass of beams and boards and\nodds and ends of woodwork from the body of Isaac, and tenderly they laid\nhim upon a temporary couch formed of their coats. He was crushed and\nmaimed and bloody, every limb broken, and his features disfigured almost\nbeyond recognition, but he was conscious and a happy smile played upon\nhis face when he saw that Alice had escaped all injury and was safe and\nsound.\n\n\u201cCome to me, little darling,\u201d he said, in barely audible tones, gazing\nwistfully at the child-friend for whom he had given his life; \u201ccome and\nbid me good-bye, for I feel that I must go. I do not complain because\nGod is calling me away, but I am glad your young life is spared to be a\njoy to yourself and your dear parents for many years to come.\u201d And his\nyoung friend, with strangely grave and solemn face, went to her dying\nprotector and clasped his hand and kissed his blood-stained and\ndistorted features, and called him her own dear Isaac, and begged him\nnot to die, while the strong men who stood around bowed their heads in\nreverent sorrow and silently wept. Then they bore him home, and Alice\u2019s\nparents, when they heard the story of what he had done, knew not of\nwhich feeling their hearts were fuller\u2014of gratitude that their darling\ndaughter was safe or of admiration for the pure and self-sacrificing\nfriendship which Isaac had so heroically displayed and sorrow for his\nuntimely end. He had relapsed into semi-consciousness and lay for\nseveral hours without speaking on his couch. Then he stirred uneasily\nand feebly beckoned to his employer, indicating that he desired to\ncommunicate something to him. Thomas Jones, who had not left the room\nsince first Isaac had been brought home, at once went to the bedside,\nand putting his ear to the mouth of the dying man, heard him say in a\nfeeble voice: \u201cDear master, promise me one favor. I die a Jew. Have me\nlaid away among my people.\u201d\n\nAnd Thomas Jones answered: \u201cIsaac, I promise.\u201d\n\nA look of infinite content and gratitude lit up Isaac\u2019s face. Then,\nrising slightly on his side, he recited in Hebrew, in a clear though\nfeeble voice, the words of the Jewish ritual for the dying: \u201cHear, O\nIsrael, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Blessed be the glorious name\nof Thy kingdom for ever and ever. Into Thy hands I deliver my spirit.\nThou hast redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth.\u201d And so he passed away.\n\nEvery year, on the anniversary of Isaac\u2019s death, Alice, now a maiden\nripening into womanhood, visits Isaac\u2019s grave in the Jewish cemetery in\nBoston in which he rests; and if sincere tears and true sorrow are\nacceptable in the sight of God, then is her offering indeed acceptable\nand holy.\n\n\n\n\n                          THE SCISSORS-GRINDER\n\n\n\u201cScissors to grind! Knives, axes, or saws to sharpen! Everything made as\nsharp as new!\u201d This is the cry, uttered in a clear and cheerful voice,\nwhich is frequently heard in the alleys and back yards as well as the\nstreets and avenues of that vast and densely populated section of the\nAmerican metropolis known as the great East Side. The man who utters it\nis an unusually agreeable, as well as active and energetic,\nrepresentative of the classic trade of scissors-grinding. He is a\npleasant-faced, good-humored young fellow, with light-brown hair and\nrounded, open countenance, from which a pair of bright blue eyes gaze at\nyou with a frank and sympathetic expression. His shabby clothes hang\nmost gracefully on his lithe and erect, not over tall figure; his\nmotions have a sort of trained elegance about them, and when he stands\nbefore you with his grinding machine on his back, he seems not so much\nan humble sharpener of domestic utensils, but rather some strange sort\nof soldier, and the machine upon his back some peculiar and unusual\nengine of warfare. He is very well liked in the entire district, and his\npopularity brings in sufficient trade to insure him a very fair living.\nWhen his clear and musical cry is heard anywhere in the neighborhood,\nthe customers pour forth from the many-storied tenements, the cellar\ndwellings (I had almost written cave dwellings, which term would hardly\nhave rendered me liable to a suit for libel if I had used it), and the\nlittle shops and stalls which abound everywhere in the vicinity. Soon he\nis surrounded by a motley throng\u2014Jews, Italians, Poles, Bohemians, men,\nwomen, and children, all sorts and conditions of mankind\u2014who bring him a\nmiscellaneous collection of invalid table knives, dilapidated carving\nknives, superannuated scissors, and antediluvian saws, all of which he\nis expected to heal and to restore to their pristine brightness and\nsharpness.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE SCISSORS GRINDER\n\n  _Page 186_]\n\nBut, though our friend is well known and popular in the district, he is\nnevertheless unknown. By this paradoxical statement is meant that,\nalthough the scissors-grinder is personally a familiar and well-esteemed\nfigure, nothing is known by the vast bulk of his constituents and\ncustomers of his connections, his history, or his antecedents. This is\nnothing strange or unusual in that section. People are not, as a rule,\ncurious concerning each other on the East Side. The inhabitants are\nmostly not native to the soil, but are a chance aggregation from all the\ncountries of the civilized world, driven from their native habitats by\nthe storm and stress of harsh experiences and brought together in the\nNew World by the glittering attractions of the Golden Land. It is not\nalways advisable under such circumstances to be over-inquisitive\nconcerning the past history of one\u2019s neighbors and friends, and\ntherefore the dwellers on the East Side are discreetly devoid of\ncuriosity, and are quite content if the people with whom they associate\nare, in their present stage of life, decent and well behaved. That is\nwhy no one knows (or knew until recently) anything about the\nscissors-grinder\u2014his history, his family, or even his name. Nevertheless\nhis story came out some time ago, and it proved to be, what no one would\nhave anticipated from the scissors-grinder\u2019s blithe and pleasant\nappearance, a real moral tragedy, a tale of blind, medi\u00e6val oppression,\nof high ambition suddenly blasted, of strange and sublime heroism. It\ncame out through Mendel Greenberger.\n\nMendel, who keeps a little optician shop in Orchard Street near Grand,\nis considerable of a character himself, and, unlike the majority of the\ndenizens of the region, is gifted with a lively curiosity concerning the\npersons with whom he comes in contact. Mendel has travelled pretty much\nall over the world, and has acquired in the course of his wanderings the\nknowledge of a dozen or more languages and of at least three trades. But\nwhat he most prides himself on is his _menschenkenntniss_, that is, his\nability to recognize at a glance the origin of strangers whom he sees\nfor the first time, and to classify them according to the racial,\nreligious, and social elements or subdivisions thereof to which they\nbelong. This he infers from the appearance, conduct, and speech of the\nindividuals concerned, and, in particularly interesting cases, he\nmanages to have them reveal their names and other personal details of\ninterest, but without asking direct questions, which he thinks\nimpertinent.\n\nWhen the scissors-grinder began to come into the neighborhood and Mendel\nbegan to give him employment in his vocation, he at once recognized that\nhere was an interesting and extremely puzzling personality. It was a\nreal problem of the kind Mendel Greenberger loved to solve, but it\ndefied his powers of analysis and classification. For the life of him he\ncould not make out who or what the handsome, pleasant-spoken young man,\nwith the lowly trade apparently so unsuited for him, was. His type was\nabsolutely non-distinctive. As far as appearance went there was no\ntelling whether he was Jew or Gentile, and no reason to assign him to\nany one European nation rather than another. His conduct and manner were\njust as little guide, for, though polite and manifestly well-bred, he\nhad no mannerisms of any kind. Baffled by his inability to \u201clocate\u201d his\nnew acquaintance by these usually infallible indications, Mendel\nresorted to the expedient of addressing him in various languages. But\nhere Mendel \u201ctripped up,\u201d so to speak, even more emphatically than\nbefore. The scissors-grinder spoke, with one exception, every European\nlanguage which Mendel did, but with superior accent and correcter\ngrammar. His English was that of one to the manner born, though devoid\nof either Cockney accent or Yankee twang; his French would have done\ncredit to any _boulevardier_; his German was as faultlessly exact in\nconstruction and pronunciation as that of any compatriot of Goethe or\nSchiller; and as for Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, and Hungarian,\nto say nothing of the minor tongues, Bohemian, Roumanian, Servian,\nGreek, Turkish, he spoke them all with perfect ease and fluency. It\nmattered not in what tongue the puzzled Mendel addressed him, the\nscissors-grinder always answered in the same, but without betraying any\nsurprise and as though it were the natural and to-be-expected thing to\nspeak any and every idiom in existence. But, as already stated, there\nwas one exception to the polyglot ability of the scissors-grinder. He\ndid not know Yiddish, for when Mendel addressed him in that tongue, he\ndid not understand him well and answered in German, the tongue most\nnearly related to the dialect of the Jews of the Slavonic lands, and\nwithout using any Hebrew words or phrases with which even the German\nJews habitually interlard their speech. Mendel had to confess to himself\nthat the scissors-grinder was an enigma, which even he, with his great\nknowledge of human beings, could not solve. Of two things, however, he\nfelt certain: first, that the scissors-grinder was originally of far\nhigher social station than his humble vocation would suggest, for his\nmanners and bearing, and, above all, his extraordinary linguistic\nattainments, were only explainable on the ground of refined surroundings\nand the best of education; secondly, that he was no Jew, for his\nignorance of Yiddish and Hebrew and his manifest unfamiliarity with\nJewish ideas and usages showed conclusively that he had had no Jewish\nbringing up nor had ever associated intimately with Jewish circles.\n\nMendel at first conjectured that the scissors-grinder was a nobleman of\nsome European nation, who had been compelled to leave his native land\nfor a political or other reason, and was obliged to support himself by\nhis own labor in exile. Noblemen in exile do not, however, usually\nselect a vocation requiring as much skill and industry and withal so low\nin the social scale as scissors-grinding, so on second thought Mendel\nabandoned this conjecture as untenable, and, not being able to set up\nany more satisfactory one, found himself, as far as this question was\nconcerned, _vis \u00e0 vis de rien_. Not feeling able to remain in this\ncondition, he cast about for other means of solving the problem and\ngratifying his curiosity. He determined to ask the scissors-grinder\u2019s\nname. Names, it is true, may be assumed, but Mendel thought that even an\nassumed name would be some sort of clew to its bearer\u2019s identity, for it\nwould, at least, indicate to what nation or class the bearer considered\nhimself and desired to have others consider him as belonging.\nAccordingly when next the scissors-grinder appeared in the neighborhood\nof Mendel\u2019s shop and was bringing back finely renovated the penknife\nwhich Mendel had given him to sharpen, the latter remarked: \u201cFine\nweather we are having to-day, Mr. \u2014\u2014!\u201d and paused with expectant air.\n\n\u201cMy name,\u201d said the scissors-grinder quietly, \u201cis Eliezer Schwartzfeld.\u201d\n\nMendel gazed at him in undisguised astonishment. \u201cThat sounds extremely\nJewish,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are not one of the chosen people, are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I am a Jew,\u201d answered the scissors-grinder, with just a suggestion\nof a smile at Mendel\u2019s evident surprise; \u201ca Russian Jew at that, too.\u201d\n\nMendel\u2019s astonishment increased to a degree that was absolutely comical.\nHere was an utterly inexplicable case. It was not that the\nscissors-grinder\u2019s physiognomy did not contain a feature that suggested\nthe Semite\u2014that was common enough, especially among Russian Jews; but\nwhat might be called the psychology of the case was utterly baffling to\nMendel. He had often met Jews that were well educated and spoke a number\nof languages with fluency, but in all his experience he had never come\nacross one who had not at least some, however slight, acquaintance with\nthe Jewish mother tongues, Yiddish or Hebrew. He had frequently come in\ncontact with Jews, well and gently reared in their native lands, who had\nbeen forced by adverse circumstances to earn their bread by humble labor\nin America; but they had invariably found employment in some one of the\nso-called \u201cJewish\u201d branches of industry, tailoring, cloak-making,\ncigar-packing, or the like, which open at least the door to a future as\nan independent manufacturer or merchant. But something so plebeian and\nhopeless as scissors-grinding, and embraced, too, by a man of evident\nrefinement\u2014why, that was utterly anomalous, unheard of! He gazed at the\nscissors-grinder without uttering a word, but with eyes which told\nunmistakably their tale of amazement.\n\n\u201cYou are surprised,\u201d said the latter, \u201cI suppose, because I, though a\nJew, do not speak Yiddish, and because I found nothing better to do than\nto sharpen scissors and knives. Let me tell you my story and you will\nwonder no longer. I can recollect very little of my earliest childhood.\nMy mother must have died, I think, when I was hardly more than an\ninfant, for all I can recollect of her is a picture, very dim and faint,\nof a sweet, motherly face bending over me and of a tender, loving voice\ncalling me darling and dove. My father, too, must have left this earth\nwhen I was only about four or five years of age. My memories of him,\ntoo, are few and indistinct. I can recall that I was a very small child\nin charge of an old, cross-tempered woman, a Jewess, I think, who\ntreated me with a strange alternation of cruelty and kindness. My father\nused to visit me at rare intervals in this place, and bring me\nsweetmeats and little presents, and I can remember that on these\noccasions he was always dressed in a brilliant uniform, which filled my\nchildish heart with admiration and awe. My most distinct recollection\nconcerning my father is of the circumstances attending his death. He was\nbrought to the house one day with blood-stained bandages around his head\nand breast and with face ghastly pale. They laid him upon a couch, and\nfor several days physicians came to treat him, and men dressed in even\nbrighter and finer uniforms than his came to visit him, and some of them\nchucked me under the chin and called me a fine little fellow. Then one\nday he called me to his bedside and said to me, in such a faint voice\nthat I had to put my ear to his mouth in order to catch his words:\n\u2018Eliezer, my darling boy, I am going to die and must leave you alone in\nthe world. But I have spoken to good people, and they have promised me\nto care for you and to see that you are educated to become what your\nfather was\u2014a soldier\u2014but a higher and nobler one than he could be.\nAlways be good and honorable in all your doings, and above all, my son,\nnever forget, wherever you may be or whatever you may become, that you\nare a Jew, as your father was, and never permit anything to swerve you\nfrom your faithfulness to the holy traditions of our religion and\npeople.\u2019 Then he kissed me on my brow, and, child though I was, I knew\nthat something dreadful was going to happen, and burst forth into an\nagony of bitter weeping that shook my little frame convulsively. That\nsame night he died, and the day after the next he was taken away in the\nmidst of a great concourse of people, among whom were many Jewish men\nand women whom I knew not, and who wept and cried aloud as they\naccompanied the funeral procession. There was also a long line of\nsoldiers, who marched with flags draped and guns reversed, and in front\nof whom went musicians and drummers with crape-covered drums, who played\ntogether a sad, funereal strain as they marched. I was left behind,\ngazing out of the window at the funeral procession as long as it was in\nsight, weeping as though my very heart would break and feeling that I\nwas left all alone now in the world, without friend, protector, or\nwell-wisher. But the same afternoon a kindly spoken, friendly looking\nofficer, attired in a brilliant uniform, came to my lodgings, told the\nold woman who had charge of me that he was Col. Ivan Mentchikoff, and\nthat he had been appointed legal guardian of Corporal Schwartzfeld\u2019s son\nand had come to take me away. I noticed that the old woman did not seem\nsatisfied, and grumbled something to herself with a discontented air,\nbut she did not audibly object, but took the money which the colonel\noffered her. She then packed together my little belongings, carried them\ndown to the carriage which was waiting at the door, and the colonel and\nI entered and drove off to the railroad station, whence we left for the\ncolonel\u2019s home, which was in the town of Yellisavetgrad, many miles\naway. I remained with the family of the colonel for eight or nine years.\nI was treated with the utmost kindness\u2014in fact, in all regards, except\none, exactly like the children of the family. Colonel Mentchikoff was\nvery particular in regard to the education of his children. He kept the\nbest of private tutors for all subjects, and was especially insistent\nthat they should learn all the chief European languages, a knowledge of\nwhich, he declared, was essential to a Russian gentleman. I had, of\ncourse, the advantage of all this, the same as all the others, and I\nquickly discovered that I had a special linguistic talent, and, while I\neasily kept pace with the Mentchikoff boys and girls in all the subjects\nof instruction generally, as regards the acquisition of languages I was\nso superior that I could not be compared with them at all. It was no\ntrouble at all to me to acquire a new language; the forms seemed to\nimpress themselves naturally on my mind, and my memory retained with the\ngreatest ease the multitudes of new terms and expressions which each\ntongue presented.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  I WAS LEFT BEHIND, GAZING OUT OF THE WINDOW AT THE FUNERAL PROCESSION.\n\n  _Page 196_]\n\n\u201cThe point in which my education differed from that of my companions was\nthat of religion. Colonel Mentchikoff was a zealous adherent of the\nGreek Church, and insisted that his children should be instructed in its\ndoctrine, and also that they should attend worship regularly in the\nbeautiful church of the town. I was exempted from both these\nrequirements, but, as he did not forbid my attendance at them, I formed\nthe habit of being of my own accord present at the lessons in religion\nwhich a certain pope gave them twice weekly, and I was frequently\npresent at service in the church on Sundays and feast days. Hebrew\ninstruction I did not receive, and was, to my shame I must confess,\nutterly ignorant of the teachings of the religion in which I was born\nand to which my father, on his dying bed, had adjured me to be faithful.\nI did not, however, feel at all attracted to the teachings of Greek\nChristianity. My attendance at church and lessons was induced solely by\ncuriosity, and I often found myself smiling contemptuously at the things\nmy companions were obliged to learn and believe. As I knew and kept\nnothing of Judaism either, I suppose I must have been classed at that\ntime as a youthful heathen.\n\n\u201cAfter I had been about two years in Colonel Mentchikoff\u2019s house he told\nme my father\u2019s story and the reason why he, the colonel, was so friendly\nto me. My father, it seems, had been a soldier in the Russian army most\nof his life, and had attracted attention because of his gallantry and\nfidelity. He had taken part in many battles in the Caucasus and had\nrisen to the rank of corporal, which was as high as an uneducated man\nand a Jew could aspire. In a fierce hand-to-hand struggle in one of\nthose battles he had saved the life of Colonel Mentchikoff, who had\nthen, impelled by gratitude, asked him in what way he could recompense\nhim for the great service he had rendered him. My father, blessed be his\nmemory, who was as unassuming and modest as he was brave, answered that\nhe desired no recompense for himself, as he had only done his duty in\ndefending his commander, but that he had an only child, a son, whose\nmother had died while he was yet an infant, and that he, my father,\ndesired, in case he met his death in the war, that the colonel should\nsee that the boy was cared for and properly educated, and if in future\nyears the intolerant laws should be changed and it would be permitted to\nJews to become military officers, that he should endeavor to have him\nadmitted to the military academy and prepared for the martial career.\nAll this the colonel had willingly promised, and thought it but a slight\nreward for the saver of his life.\n\n\u201cShortly after my father received his death wound at the hand of one of\nthe savage warriors of the Caucasus. He was brought, at his own urgent\nrequest, to the house where his little son was living in charge of an\nold nurse, to pass the few remaining days of his existence; and when he\nhad died he received, in consideration of his exceptional merit, the\ndistinguished honor of a great military funeral. The colonel, had then\ntaken formal charge of me, and ever since I had resided in his home. The\ncolonel assured me that he loved me dearly, for the sake of my father,\nwhose memory he held sacred, and that he would do all in his power to\npromote my welfare and to assist me to embrace the military career as my\nfather had desired. He was as good as his word. Until my fourteenth year\nhe cared for me in the most liberal and kind-hearted manner, providing\nequally well for my physical and intellectual needs, and then, since I\nhad reached the age when youths, intending to take up the military\ncareer must begin their studies, he procured my admission into the\nImperial Military Academy at St. Petersburg. The illiberal laws\nprohibiting the conferring of commissions on Hebrews had not, it is\ntrue, been formally abrogated, but the spirit of tolerance was abroad in\nthe land; it was in the days of the good Czar Alexander II., who had in\nso many ways alleviated the lot of all the oppressed peoples of his\nrealm, and so my kind protector and guardian met with no difficulties or\ndiscouragements in seeking my admission into the academy. On the\ncontrary, the officials of the institution were exceedingly kind and\nsympathetic. They received me with open arms as the orphan son of the\ngallant Corporal Schwartzfeld, of whose heroic record they were well\naware, and as the ward of the well-connected and influential Colonel\nMentchikoff. The fact of my being a Hebrew was hardly referred to, or,\nif any casual mention thereof was made, it was accompanied with the\nstatement that that would undoubtedly make no difference in my case, and\nthat, in view of my exceptional recommendations, I need anticipate no\ndifficulty in obtaining a satisfactory appointment when once I had\ncompleted my course.\n\n\u201cI took leave of my benefactors with tears and embraces\u2014and to this day\nI cannot think of Colonel Mentchikoff and his good, kind family without\nbeing deeply moved, for they were noble, true-hearted people, and very\ngood to me\u2014and took up my studies at the military academy. I will not\nrefer at length to my career at the military academy, for now it makes\nno difference whether I did well or poorly, and, besides, it were\nfoolish for the poor scissors-grinder to boast of the past glories of\nhis life. Suffice it to say that I more than held my own in every branch\nof instruction, and made, besides, a specialty of three subjects. I\ndevoted myself with great zeal to the pursuit of military engineering\nand languages, and also sought to acquire an expert knowledge of the\nmanufacture and preparation of weapons, both of those which cut and\nthose which discharge projectiles. The latter two branches of knowledge\nI pursued with the idea that they would be particularly useful if ever I\nbecame a member of the general staff or obtained some high military\npolitical post, when a knowledge of languages, particularly of the\nSlavonic tongues, and ability to criticise the quality of weapons\nfurnished to the army would be invaluable. I thought of myself as a\nsoldier, and a soldier only. To other matters I hardly devoted a\nthought, so absorbed was I in my preparations for my prospective\nvocation\u2014least of all to religious loyalty or Hebraic traditions. During\nall the seven years of my attendance at the military academy I never\nentered a synagogue\u2014in fact, I would not have known what to do had I\ngone there, for I was utterly ignorant of Hebrew and knew nothing of the\nmode or manner of worship among the Jews; I never kept a Jewish holiday,\nnever was present at a religious gathering of any kind, for I had given\nup also my former curiosity concerning Christianity; I did not associate\nwith or even know any Hebrew; in short, to all intents and purposes, I\nforgot that I was a Jew or had any need to consider the question of my\nrelation to my ancestral faith, and my friends and colleagues at the\nacademy, who were all very liberal-minded and tolerant, did not remind\nme of it in any way. Personally I was popular with both teachers and\nstudents, and, when the last year of the course began, I received an\nunofficial intimation from the faculty that, on account of my\nexceptional proficiency in technical matters, I would be recommended for\nappointment after graduation as a captain of engineers.\n\n\u201cAt last the day of days, long looked for\u2014commencement\u2014arrived. I had\npassed a splendid examination and was designated valedictorian of the\nclass. The great _aula_ or hall of the academy was filled to overflowing\nwith a brilliant and distinguished assemblage, among them brave men and\nfair women, bearers of the proudest and most ancient names in Russia. At\nthe front of the hall facing the stage sat, in two long rows, the\ngraduates, in their natty uniforms, among them myself. At the front of\nthe stage, at a table on which were flowers, the graduates\u2019 diplomas,\nand other papers, sat the venerable General Popoff, president of the\nacademy, and behind him the faculty and a large number of honored\nvisitors. Just before the hour appointed for the beginning of the\nceremonies, an orderly entered the hall, strode up to General Popoff,\nsaluted in regulation military fashion, handed him a note, saluted\nagain, and retired. I do not know why it was, but a shiver of\napprehension went through me as I saw this action. I felt instinctively\nthat it concerned me and boded me no good. The General opened the\nletter, my eyes mustering him painfully the while, and I could see him\nstart as he read its contents. For a moment he sat with his head resting\non his hands, evidently plunged in deep thought. Then he summoned an\nattendant and spoke a few words to him. A moment later the attendant\nstood at my side.\n\n\u201c\u2018The General desires to speak to you in the room at the side of the\nstage,\u2019 he said.\n\n\u201cThe hot blood surged impetuously to my head and my heart beat violently\nas I entered the room whither I had been summoned. General Popoff was\nalready in and looked at me pityingly as I entered. \u2018At your command,\nGeneral,\u2019 I said, concealing my agitation with a mighty effort and\nsaluting stiffly. The General did not answer, but handed me a paper,\nevidently the letter which he had just received. It was an official\ncommunication, bore the governmental seal, and read as follows:\n\n\n                                                    \u201c\u2018MINISTRY OF WAR.\n\n  \u201c\u2018_To General Alexei Popoff, President of the Imperial Military\n     Academy._\n\n  \u201c\u2018SIR: The receipt of your report certifying to the cadets entitled\n  to graduation and recommending the same to various appointments in\n  the army is hereby acknowledged. The same is approved, and you are\n  authorized to issue certificates of graduation to all the cadets\n  therein named, with the exception of Cadet Schwartzfeld. In his case\n  there appears to be some doubt whether he has been properly baptized\n  in the Orthodox Church, and you are hereby ordered to withhold his\n  certificate until you have convinced yourself that such is the case.\n\n  \u201c\u2018In the name of the Minister,\n\n\n                                           \u201c\u2018KRASNEWITZ, _Secretary_.\u2019\n\n\n\u201cI read the note through two or three times. Its contents seemed to burn\nthemselves with letters of fire into my brain. I looked at the General.\nHe did not say anything and appeared deeply agitated. At last I forced\nmyself to address him, and my voice sounded strangely harsh and metallic\nas I spoke:\n\n\u201c\u2018What is to be done in this matter, your Excellency?\u2019 I said.\n\n\u201c\u2018My dear boy,\u2019 said the General, and the true note of sympathy rang in\nhis voice, \u2018I sent in my report over a month ago, and, not receiving any\nanswer, I thought everything was well and that I could go ahead. I did\nnot think this would happen. There is only one thing that you can do.\nYou must go and have yourself baptized in the orthodox faith, or else\nyou can receive neither your certificate nor your appointment, and your\ncareer is at an end.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But how about this evening\u2019s affair?\u2019 I said, and the whole world\nseemed reeling about me. \u2018Am I not to receive my certificate? Am I not\nto deliver my valedictory?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Strictly speaking, you should not be permitted to do either,\u2019 said the\nGeneral, and his voice sounded even more sympathetic than before; \u2018but I\nshould be sorry to see you suffer public humiliation. I will tell you\nwhat I can do. If you will promise me that to-morrow you will go and be\nbaptized, I will accept your word of honor and you shall receive your\ncertificate and deliver your address. But you must answer me at once,\u2019\nand he glanced at his watch, \u2018for the hour is growing late and the\nproceedings must soon begin.\u2019\n\n\u201cMy brain seemed to become paralyzed and to lose all power of thought as\nI listened to the General\u2019s words, kindly spoken, but, oh, so bitter to\nme. My heart struck at my breast as though it would burst its confines.\nI longed to give the answer the General desired, but the figure of my\ndying father, lying outstretched upon his couch of suffering, rose\nsuddenly before me; again I saw his pale face and blood-stained\nbandages, and again I heard his faint voice saying, \u2018Above all, my son,\nnever forget that you are a Jew, and never permit anything to swerve you\nfrom your faithfulness to the holy traditions of our religion and\npeople\u2019\u2014and I could not.\n\n\u201c\u2018I cannot give you that promise now, your Excellency,\u2019 I said, in a\nbroken voice, whose agonized groaning was perceptible even to me. \u2018I\nmust have time to think over the matter.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018In that case,\u2019 said the General, and his voice sounded distinctly\nharder, \u2018I must ask you to leave the hall, where your presence has\nbecome improper; and any time you are ready to take the necessary steps\nyou can notify me, and I will see to it that you receive your\ncertificate and appointment.\u2019\n\n\u201cI saluted and retired. I went to my seat, took my military cap, and,\nwithout saying a word to my fellow-students, at once left the hall,\nthough I could not fail to notice the buzz of astonishment from both\ncadets and audience as I strode through the aisle toward the door. That\nnight on my couch I fought a fiercer battle than any in which I could\never have taken part had I been privileged to enter upon my projected\ncareer. Two opposing forces were arrayed against each other and\ncontended fiercely\u2014on the one side self-interest and the disappointment,\nnaturally intense, at seeing an ardently desired career thus cruelly cut\noff, nipped not even in the bud; on the other side filial devotion and a\nnewly awakened sense of racial and religious loyalty. The one said: \u2018Why\nruin yourself? What does Judaism concern you? You have never observed\nits precepts. Let them sprinkle the three drops over you. It is only the\nticket of admission to your future. Inwardly you can remain as you are.\u2019\nThe other said little. It was only the pale face of my dying father and\nhis faint voice speaking: \u2018Above all, my son, never forget that you are\na Jew, and never permit anything to swerve you from your faithfulness to\nthe holy traditions of our religion and people.\u2019\n\n\u201cAll night long the battle raged, while I tossed on my weary couch and\nnever closed an eye; but when the early morning light stole through my\nlattice, my father had won the victory. I rose, hastily made my toilet,\nand wrote a letter to the General, informing him that my decision had\nbeen made to remain loyal to my faith, even at the cost of my career. On\nthe same day I packed together my belongings and left forever that\nRussia that had grown hateful to me. I sailed at once for America, the\nland where men are free and where the State does not ask what is a man\u2019s\ndescent or religion before permitting him to consecrate his services to\nit. In New York I found that my talents and knowledge did not avail in\nsecuring a position. Every place seemed filled and there was no lack of\npeople of education looking unsuccessfully for work. But, fortunately, I\nunderstood the art of sharpening and tempering steel blades, and thus I\nbecame a knife-sharpener and scissors-grinder, and manage to support\nmyself. Now you know why I am in New York, a scissors-grinder and a Jew,\ninstead of being in Russia, a captain of engineers and a Christian. Can\nI sharpen anything else for you to-day? No, next time; all right,\ngood-bye.\u201d\n\nAnd the scissors-grinder went forth in search of other customers,\nmerrily whistling the while and leaving Mendel Greenberger behind,\nplunged in deep reflection.\n\n\n\n\n                             THE SHLEMIHL.\n\n\nNovo-Kaidansk was a most _shlemihlig_ sort of place, and Yerachmiel\nSendorowitz was the most _shlemihlig_ of all its inhabitants. Indeed,\nhis character as such was so pronounced and universally known that he\nwas seldom referred to by his proper cognomen, but usually spoken of as\n\u201cYerachmiel Shlemihl,\u201d or, in shorter form, \u201cthe _Shlemihl_.\u201d For the\nbenefit of those of my readers who are not familiar with the\nJud\u00e6o-German idiom, I will explain that the noun \u201c_Shlemihl_\u201d is\ngenerally supposed to be a corruption of the first name of Shelumiel ben\nZuri-shaddai, one of the princes of Israel in the wilderness, of whom\nHeine has sung, and who, according to Jewish tradition, was a most\nawkward sort of fellow, who was continually getting into all sorts of\nscrapes. The noun \u201c_Schlemihl_,\u201d accordingly, signifies an aggravated\nsort of ne\u2019er-do-well, a hopeless incapable; and the adjective derived\ntherefrom is synonymous with all that is utterly unprogressive and\nwretched.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE MAN WAS A WOE-BEGONE SPECIMEN OF HUMANITY, WITH HUNGRY EYES GAZING\n    AT YOU OUT OF A CARE-WORN, FURROWED COUNTENANCE\n\n  _Page 212_]\n\nBoth Novo-Kaidansk and Yerachmiel Sendorowitz were deserving of these\nappellations in fullest measure. The town was a collection of miserable\nhuts and shanties, irregularly scattered over the dull expanse of a\nLithuanian plain, with unpaved streets that were ankle-deep in dust most\nof the summer, and knee-deep in mud and slush and snow most of the\nwinter. The man was a woe-begone specimen of humanity, with hungry eyes\ngazing at you out of a careworn, furrowed countenance, the lower part of\nwhich was surrounded by a neglected-looking, reddish beard; clad in an\naged suit of many colors\u2014a man who was ready to do any and every work\nfor a few kopecks, and who was rarely so fortunate as to see a whole\nrouble. He was not a bad sort of fellow at all, nor stupid. On the\ncontrary, he had somewhat of a smattering of Hebrew education, and he\nendured with patience the unceasing chidings and naggings of his wife\nShprinze, who, despite the auspicious significance of her name\u2014a Yiddish\ncorruption of the melodious Spanish appellation Esperanza\u2014Hope\u2014and thus\nalso a far-off reminder of the sojourn of the children of Israel in the\nbeautiful Iberian peninsula\u2014did nothing to inspire the spouse of her\nbosom with courage or confidence, but was enough to break down the\nresolution of any man. He was never known to answer her revilings with a\nsingle harsh word. No doubt much of his patience was due to his\nknowledge of the fact that Shprinze had ample provocation, for, whatever\nmight have been the reason, Yerachmiel simply could not earn a living.\nBut, though Shprinze had provocation for her ill-temper, justification\nshe had none. Yerachmiel did the very best he could, and it was not his\nfault but only the cruelty of unfeeling fate which prevented him from\nextracting even \u201cbread of adversity and water of affliction\u201d from the\nworld. He tried to earn a little by being a porter or burden-bearer for\none of the merchants of the town at very scanty wages, but just as he\nwas about to get the place, along came a younger and stronger man and\noffered to do the work for even less. Needless to say, the latter was\nselected. He thought he could earn his livelihood by being a\n_Mithassek_, that is to say, one who watches at the bed of the dead and\nperforms the funeral ablutions and rites; but it was provokingly healthy\nthat season. No one died for a long time; and when at last the angel of\ndeath did claim one of the Hebrew residents of Novo-Kaidansk\u2014a wealthy\n_Baal Ha-Bayith_ he was, too, whose family always paid liberally for all\nservices rendered to any of its members\u2014it just happened that they had a\npoor relative, an aged man of greater learning and stricter piety than\nYerachmiel; and so, of course, he was preferred, and Yerachmiel was not\nconsidered at all. At one time he dealt in fruit, purchasing a small\nstock with a sum of money which a pitying philanthropist had given him\nin order to set him up in business; but the demand for fruit was very\nslack just then, and in a short time Yerachmiel decided to retire from\nthat line of commerce with the capital which he had originally\npossessed, that is to say, nothing. He made a dozen other attempts to\ncoax the unwilling world into providing him with sustenance, but each\nattempt ended with the same result\u2014failure, and caused him to sink\nappreciably lower in the estimation of Shprinze, whose temper grew\nbitterer and whose tongue sharper with every new proof of her husband\u2019s\n_Shlemihligkeit_. In fact, the term _Shlemihl_ no longer harmonized with\nher conception of her husband\u2019s worthlessness; it was too mild, too\nutterly inadequate. She began to address him by no other term than\n_Shlamazzalnik_, that is, one doomed and predestined to perpetual\nmisfortune; and soon the neighbors and the other townspeople, and even\nthe children on the streets, took up the cry, and \u201cYerachmiel\nShlamazzalnik\u201d resounded from one end to the other of the dusty highways\nof Novo-Kaidansk whenever the poor fellow made his appearance. Poor\nYerachmiel! He used to console himself by saying that he was the equal\nin some respects of the great Ibn Ezra, the renowned Hebrew exegete and\npoet of the Middle Ages, for the latter was also an incurable _Shlemihl_\nand _Shlamazzalnik_. Yerachmiel used to think he was reading of his own\nexperiences when he read the complaint of Ibn Ezra:\n\n                   \u201cWere I to deal in candles,\n                     The sun would shine alway;\n                   And if \u2019twere shrouds I\u2019d handle,\n                     Then death would pass away.\u201d\n\nBut poetry, though it may be a good consoler, is a poor substitute for\nsubstantial food and the other requisites of a comfortable life; and so\nYerachmiel was not entirely satisfied with his lot, even though the\ngreat Ibn Ezra was a companion in misfortune. Finding that his attempts\nto earn a living by work were not crowned with success, Yerachmiel did\nwhat other unsuccessful persons have done under similar circumstances\u2014he\ntook to religion. He became an assiduous attendant at the local Beth\nHammidrash, was present at all services, morning, afternoon, and\nevening, and remained in the sacred edifice during the greater part of\nthe day and night. He would pray with great fervor, particularly the\n\u201cprayer for sustenance\u201d at the end of the morning service, would listen\nattentively to the rabbi or the other learned Talmudists expounding the\nHoly Law, and would sometimes try to learn a little himself from some of\nthe bulky tomes. He was, no doubt, sincere in his new-found fervor, but\ncandor impels the statement that one of the motives of his fondness for\nthe sacred place was a desire to have a refuge in which the sharp tongue\nof Shprinze could not reach him; and another was a desire to participate\nin the doles which were distributed on certain occasions, such as the\nbeginnings of months or the memorial days of the death of the parents of\nwell-to-do members to the poor persons who regularly attended. In this\nway he managed to exist in a precarious fashion, at least without being\na burden to his wife; for whenever he had a little money he gave it to\nher, and when he had none he simply did not eat. It is true, he was\nsometimes obliged to go without food or with next to none for several\ndays at a time; but, like all other things, semi-starvation becomes a\nhabit, and Yerachmiel was so used to it he did not even complain.\n\nOne afternoon he was poring over one of the volumes of the Talmud,\ntrying to interest himself in a particularly intricate disputation\nbetween Abaye and Raba, and thus forget the unidealistic fact that he\nhad not eaten a substantial meal in three days, and that there were no\nvisible prospects of obtaining any in the near future. He had fallen\ninto a light doze, and was just dreaming that he had been invited by the\n_Parnass_ to take dinner with him on the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath\ngoose, juicy and savory and appetizing, had just been carried to the\ntable, when he was aroused by a hearty whack on his shoulders and a loud\nvoice exclaiming, in boisterous though friendly tones, \u201cWake up, old\n_Chaver_! What are you doing here?\u201d Yerachmiel awoke with a start. The\nvision of savory goose disappeared into thin air, and he was about to\nprotest angrily against the rude disturbance of his entrancing dream\nwhen he recognized that the man who stood before him with a broad smile\nupon his countenance was none other than Shmulke Aronowitz, his old-time\nfriend and boyhood comrade. It was Shmulke, sure enough, but strangely\naltered. He was dressed in an elegant suit of foreign make; his hair and\nbeard were closely trimmed, and his whole appearance, including his\nruddy countenance and his cheerful smile, indicated prosperity. All of\nthese characteristics were strange enough in Novo-Kaidansk, heaven\nknows, but they were hardly to be wondered at in Shmulke, who had\nemigrated to America some twenty years previously and had amassed wealth\nin the liquor business in the classic vicinity of Baxter Street, New\nYork. He had Americanized his cognomen into Samuel Aarons, and had\nincidentally acquired local fame by pugilistic ability so that he was\nsometimes referred to as \u201cSam, the Hebrew slugger.\u201d He was now on a\nvisit to his native town, where his parents still resided, and was\nunfeignedly glad to see Yerachmiel, who had been a real chum to him in\nboyhood days. The latter sat gazing dazedly at his old friend for a few\nmoments, utterly unable to speak, so overwhelmed was he by the\nunexpected sight and also by the manifest contrast between his own\ncondition and that of his friend.\n\nShmulke recalled him to himself. \u201cCome, come, old comrade,\u201d he said with\ngood-humored impatience. \u201cDon\u2019t sit staring at me as though I were a\ncuriosity in a circus. Speak out and tell me how you are getting on.\u201d\nThus encouraged, Yerachmiel lost no time in pouring his sad story into\nthe ears of his friend. Shmulke listened attentively until the tale was\nall told, including the present hunger and the dream goose, and then\nsaid: \u201cThat is too bad, Yerachmiel. I am really sorry that you are so\nunfortunate. Come with me now to the inn of Reb Yankele, where, if you\ncan\u2019t get the roast goose of which I deprived you, at least you can get\n_something_ to eat, and there we can consult as to what can be done for\nyou.\u201d Yerachmiel complied with alacrity.\n\nReb Yankele was more than surprised at the unexpected apparition of\nYerachmiel the _Shlemihl_, who had never in all his life been rich\nenough to be a guest at the _Kretchm_, although he had been glad to get\nan occasional meal or drink there in return for odd jobs, boldly\nentering his establishment as the companion of a manifestly prosperous\n_Deitch_. He stepped forward with an obsequious bow and a deferential\n\u201cWhat do the gentlemen wish?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe best your house has of food and drink,\u201d answered Shmulke, \u201cand be\nquick about it. A rouble or two more or less makes no difference.\u201d\n\nThus encouraged the innkeeper performed his task with alacrity; and in a\nfew minutes Shmulke and Yerachmiel were sitting down before a very fair\nmeal, consisting of beet soup, roast chicken, boiled potatoes, black\nbread, onions sliced in vinegar, and a large bottle of _vodka_.\nYerachmiel almost imagined himself in _Gan Eden_, and was convinced that\nif dreams were not prophetic, they were certainly closely akin to\nprophecy. The roast chicken, if not equal in quality to the dream goose,\nwas not much inferior; and the _vodka_, while undoubtedly not as good as\nthe wine which is stored up for the righteous since creation\u2019s dawn, was\nyet abundantly satisfying to a poor sinner in the cheerless present.\n\nShmulke watched Yerachmiel\u2019s enjoyment of the meal with a quiet smile of\nsatisfaction, and said to him: \u201cWhat is the best way to provide you with\na permanent _parnoso_?\u201d Yerachmiel did not exactly know. He suggested\nhalf a dozen different sorts of business, from banker to butcher, but\nwas most inclined to favor the occupation of innkeeper, of whose\ndelights he had just had emphatic demonstration.\n\nShmulke rejected all these propositions with scorn. \u201cTo tell you the\ntruth,\u201d he said, \u201cI don\u2019t believe you could succeed at anything in\nRussia. You are too much of a _Shlemihl_, and you could never get along\nwithout some one to look after you. What do you say to going with me to\nAmerica? I would set you up in business and help you along with my\nadvice.\u201d\n\nThe magnificence, as well as the unexpectedness, of this proposal fairly\ntook Yerachmiel\u2019s breath away. Indeed, it made him feel a little faint.\nHe did not really want to go to America. He admired America as a land of\nextraordinary and incomprehensible prosperity; but he also feared it as\na land which corrupted Jewish piety, and made the holy people faithless\nto their ancient heritage. He would rather have remained in his native\nplace and continued to live in his accustomed manner could he have been\nassured of even the most modest sustenance. But in his heart he knew\nthat Shmulke had spoken the truth; that he was too much of a _Shlemihl_\nto succeed without friendly aid and sympathetic guidance, and that he\ncould not expect to receive those from any one except the old friend of\nhis youth. He therefore murmured a confused assent, adding, however,\nfaintly that he was afraid Shprinze might not be willing to have her\nhusband leave her and go to so distant a land.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry about that, old friend,\u201d said Shmulke, with a broad smile.\n\u201cI\u2019ll guarantee that she will not put any obstacles in the way of her\nown prosperity. And now that you have agreed, we will go and see her at\nonce.\u201d\n\nShmulke was right. Shprinze assented at once to Shmulke\u2019s proposition,\nwhich was that he would take Yerachmiel to America and assist him to\nbecome self-supporting, that he would provide her with sufficient money\nto maintain her for several months until Yerachmiel would probably be\nable to send her of his own earnings; and that if Yerachmiel proved\nunable to adapt himself to the conditions of America and find his way in\nhis new home, at the end of three years he, Shmulke, would send him back\nto his native place with a substantial gift. Indeed, her assent was so\nwilling, and given with such manifest pleasure, that it jarred\ndisagreeably upon Yerachmiel, and was not altogether pleasing even to\nShmulke.\n\nThus did Yerachmiel Sendorowitz become a resident and a respected\ncitizen of the metropolis of America. It is not necessary to enter into\nthe details of his career in the New World, which did not differ\nessentially from that of many of his Russian Jewish compatriots. At\nfirst he was a peddler, Shmulke providing him with suitable goods and\ninitiating him into the mysteries of the profession. He did not fail.\nThe mysterious something in the American atmosphere which confers energy\nand shrewdness and practical sense seemed to be even more potent than\nusual in his case. This may have been due to the fact that the\n_Shlemihligkeit_, which had hitherto been his distinguishing\ncharacteristic, had been more apparent than real, and that he had really\npossessed innate qualities of courage and astuteness which only had\nlacked the opportunity of manifesting themselves. However that may have\nbeen, he certainly became a different man under the invigorating\ninfluence of America. He toiled early and late with untiring assiduity\nand industry; he purchased his little articles of merchandise wisely and\nsold prudently. In six months he had developed into a customer peddler,\nand no longer wandered through the streets with a pack upon his back,\nbut went with samples only to the numerous customers whose friendship\nand trade he had gained, and received their orders. A year later he had\ngiven this up also, and was the proud and happy possessor of a peddler\u2019s\nsupply store in one of the little streets which abut on the main\nthoroughfare of the Jewish East Side, Canal Street, and had purchased a\ntenement house. Success even affected his personal appearance favorably.\nThe old slouchy, unkempt, ne\u2019er-do-well, with the hungry eyes and\nhopeless air, had disappeared forever, and in his stead had come a\nbright, alert, neat, active man. Yerachmiel the _Shlemihl_ had given way\nto Mr. Sendorowitz, the prosperous wholesale merchant and real-estate\nowner. Nor had he failed to keep his promises to Shprinze. He wrote to\nher regularly, every week, telling her in detail and with great pride\nabout his doings and his successes, not failing either to give due\ncredit to Shmulke for the large share which the latter had had in\nbringing about these gratifying results, and always inquiring\nsolicitously about her health and welfare. Once a month he sent her\nmoney, at first only a few roubles, afterward larger sums, but always\nsufficient to enable her to live in proper comfort in the little Russian\ntown of her residence. He often wrote her, too, of his intention to go\nout and take her to his new home as soon as business would permit, she\nhaving expressed a strong aversion to crossing \u201cthe great sea\u201d alone. In\nall this he was thoroughly sincere, for he was naturally the soul of\nhonor, and really loved his wife in a simple, unreflecting way, despite\nthe slight cause she had ever given him for affection. Besides, his\nTalmudic studies had given him a clear conviction that a Jewish husband\nwas under many obligations to his wife; but his ideas of the counter\nduties of wife to husband were much less distinct. Despite the slight\ndemands which he made upon the conjugal sentiment of his life partner,\nhe had, however, to confess to himself that the letters of Shprinze were\nnot satisfactory. They were excessively brief, not very frequent,\nexpressed very little interest in his personal welfare or his doings,\nand invariably contained a demand for a larger amount of money.\nYerachmiel tried to obey the rabbinical precept, \u201cJudge every one\nleniently,\u201d and to find excuses for Shprinze\u2019s unsympathetic demeanor.\nHe told himself that women are naturally inclined to scold, and that\nShprinze was merely following the rule of her sex; that she did not put\nfull faith in his tales of prosperity, and was demanding money as a test\nof their truth; that women are naturally less expressive of the\naffection they feel than are men, and a half-dozen other excuses for her\napparent coldness and mercenariness. But none of these excuses seemed\nreally adequate, and gradually Yerachmiel found a great dissatisfaction\nwith the conduct of his wife toward him rising in his breast. Finally, a\nmost painful question began to torture him. \u201cDid Shprinze love him at\nall, or was her interest in him purely mercenary, and limited to the\nmaterial benefits which she could derive from him?\u201d\n\nSimple-minded as Yerachmiel was in worldly things, untutored in romantic\nconcepts and affairs of the heart, his whole nature revolted against the\nidea of marital relations with a woman in whose soul burned no flame of\nlove for him as her husband. But how could he ascertain the truth; how\nfind out whether his wife really loved him or not? Gradually a plan\nmatured in his mind. He did not permit Shprinze to have any inkling of\nthe doubts and the conflicting emotions by which he was agitated. He\nwrote her as frequently and regularly as hitherto, and sent her monthly\nremittances of money with unfailing punctuality. After some five years\nof absence he wrote her that he had found it at last possible to\nwithdraw his constant personal attention from business for a few months,\nand that he would come out and take her with him to his new home in\nAmerica. When Shprinze received this letter it did not fill her with the\njoy which the prospect of reunion with a beloved and long-absent husband\nmight be expected to inspire in the heart of an affectionate and devoted\nwife. She would have preferred the indefinite continuance of the\ncondition which had now lasted upward of five years, and which she had\nfound very agreeable. It had been very pleasant to receive constant\nremittances of money, to live in comfort and ease, and to be looked up\nto on all sides as the fortunate and happy one. When she had entered the\nwomen\u2019s gallery in the synagogue all the women had hastened to make way\nfor her with the utmost deference; and many a highly esteemed _Baal\nHa-bayis_ had looked upon her with favor, and would not have spurned to\nask her hand in marriage if her incumbrance on the other side of the\nAtlantic would only have been good enough to make a polite exit for a\nbetter world, leaving her a substantial fortune in American dollars. And\nnow all this was to cease; and she must leave her native place for a\nstrange land, and live again with one whom in her heart she still\ndespised as a _Shlemihl_, despite his unexpected good fortune in the New\nWorld. Besides, she had a dim presentiment of evil, a feeling that the\nadvent of Yerachmiel meant some undesirable change in her tide of\nfortune, why or what she could not think. At last a despatch came from\nYerachmiel, informing her that he was in Hamburg, and would reach\nNovo-Kaidansk with the train due at such and such an hour. At the\nappointed hour she was at the station, accompanied by quite a throng of\nJewish townsfolk bent on giving their long-absent townsman a hearty\nwelcome. Speculation was rife as to his appearance. Some thought that\nhis long absence in a foreign land would have removed his Jewish looks;\nthat he would have shaved off his beard and assumed in every way the\nappearance of the Gentile. Others thought such a thing impossible of\nYerachmiel Sendorowitz; that he was far too pious and God-fearing to\nfall away so utterly from Jewish ways, and that the only change probable\nwas that he would be elegantly attired in fine clothing, and would show\nin his prosperous and beaming aspect the possession of much\nAmerica-gained wealth. The grimy train, drawn by the ugly, soot-covered\nlocomotive, swept into the low-roofed Russian station. The swarm of\npassengers, of all kinds and degrees, flowed from the narrow openings of\nthe cars; and then a shock came over the waiting throng. From amidst the\ncrowd of passengers emerged one who was unmistakably Yerachmiel; and,\nhorrible to relate, the Yerachmiel of old, Yerachmiel the _Schlemihl_.\nTo be sure, he was not exactly the same in appearance as of old, for the\nhat and suit that he wore were of American make; but they were shabby\nand dusty, and ill suited to a prosperous man. His hair and beard were\nunkempt and neglected, and his face bore an expression of anxiety and\ncare. All were surprised and shocked; but the most pitiably shocked of\nall was Shprinze. Yerachmiel at once recognized his townsmen and his\nwife, and advanced with a sort of wan smile to greet them. The former,\nof course, returned his greetings, and inquired how he had fared in\nAmerica; but their embarrassment was only too manifest, and cutting\nshort his answers to them, Yerachmiel turned to his wife, who had been\nstanding all the while as if petrified, and said: \u201cCome, Shprinze, let\nus go home.\u201d Mechanically she led him to her home. Hardly had the door\nof the little dwelling closed behind them when all the animation and\nenergy which had left Shprinze when she beheld her spouse in such\nunexpected and unwelcome guise suddenly returned.\n\n\u201cWhat is the meaning of all this?\u201d she demanded fiercely, while flames\nof wrath blazed from her piercing eyes. \u201cWhy do you come to me from\nAmerica looking like a beggar and a ragged saint fresh from the benches\nof the Beth-Hammidrash instead of a prosperous New York merchant, as you\nhad made us all believe you had become? Was it all a lie, your\noft-repeated tale of your success in business and your progress? Did you\nsteal the money you sent me, and have you fled from the officers of the\nlaw, who, perhaps, are after you now? Oh, you are still the same old\n_Shlemihl_, the same old goodfor-nothing! Why did the Most High curse me\nby making me your wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear Shprinze, do not rave so!\u201d expostulated Yerachmiel. \u201cHow can\nyou say such things before you have heard any explanation from me? I am\nnot a liar nor a _Shlemihl_. Whatever I wrote you about my business\nsuccess in America was strictly true; and the money I sent you was my\nown, and all honestly earned. I have come to take you with me to\nAmerica; and I already have the steamship tickets for us both, and\nplenty of money for railroad fare and necessary expenses.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen why are you dressed so shabbily?\u201d continued Shprinze, with\nundiminished fierceness; \u201cand why do you look so down-hearted? Is that\nthe appearance and the bearing suitable to a wealthy merchant, such as\nyou have claimed to be?\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose I am not very particular about my appearance,\u201d answered\nYerachmiel; \u201cand then, I admit, I have had considerable trouble and\nlosses in business lately, and that may have given me a worried look.\nBut what need that concern you? I have learned the art of getting on in\nAmerica, and I do not fear but that I shall soon be able to recover\nwhatever I have lost. In the mean while I am here. I am your husband,\nand I ask you to come and make your home with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are _mechulleh_,\u201d said Shprinze, suspicion gazing out of every line\nof her excited countenance. \u201cI can understand from what you admit that\nyou have lost all you had, and you want me to share your poverty, or\nperhaps to give you the money that I have saved from what you sent me! I\nshall not do it! I do not want to go with you! Give me a _Get_. I do not\nwant to be the wife of such a _Shlemihl_.\u201d\n\nYerachmiel\u2019s pale face became fiery red when he heard these harsh and\nheartless words; but again he endeavored to bring his wife to a better\nframe of mind. \u201cShprinze,\u201d he said in appealing tones that might have\nmelted a heart of stone, \u201cis this my welcome home? Have I deserved this\nof you? Have I not always been faithful to you, even when I was a poor\n_Shlemihl_ in this town, and did I not give you every kopeck I earned?\nDid I not send you money abundantly from America? You may trust me. I\nstill have the means to support my wife, and therefore I again ask you\nto come with me to my home, as beseems a good and true wife in Israel.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will believe you are not _mechulleh_,\u201d said Shprinze, in a tone of\ncalculating shrewdness, \u201cif you will give me a thousand roubles now. If\nyou do that I will go with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I shall not do,\u201d said Yerachmiel, a manly anger getting the better\nof his usual extreme mildness. \u201cI do not need to buy my wife. Have you\nno love for me at all? I ask you to go with me because I can support\nyou; and as a wife you can ask no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I see you are _mechulleh_,\u201d answered Shprinze, \u201cand I will not go.\nDivorce me, I say; give me a _Get_. I want none of you or your money.\nAll I want is a _Get_.\u201d\n\nAgain and again did Yerachmiel appeal to Shprinze\u2019s better nature. It\nwas of no avail. She persisted in her demand and could not be induced to\nalter it. Seeing that her determination was unalterable and that her one\nwish was to be separated from him, Yerachmiel, although according to the\nJewish religious law he could have refused to consent to the desired\ndivorce and thus have effectually baffled any other matrimonial plans\nthat Shprinze might have entertained, decided to accede to her wishes.\n\u201cI shall do as you ask, hard-hearted and ungrateful woman,\u201d he said;\n\u201cfor even now that you treat me thus cruelly I wish you no evil. But one\nthing I must tell you. In order to show that this divorce is not in\naccordance with my wish, I shall pay neither the rabbi, nor the scribe,\nnor any of the other expenses. Whatever outlay there is you must defray.\nThus shall all know that you are the one who seeks to undo the bond that\nhas bound us together these many years, but that I am satisfied to keep\nyou as my lawful, wedded wife.\u201d\n\nShprinze eagerly agreed to this; and having further agreed that they\nshould meet on the morrow in the house of Rabbi Israel, the spiritual\nguide of the Jewish community of the town, they separated, Yerachmiel\nleaving the house without word of farewell.\n\nGreat was the surprise of Reb Yankele, the innkeeper, when Yerachmiel,\nwhom he had assisted in welcoming at the railroad station a few hours\npreviously, entered the inn and gloomily inquired whether he could be\naccommodated with food and lodging for the night. He wondered greatly\nwhy Yerachmiel was not staying in his own home on the first night after\nhis arrival from a distant land; but the latter volunteered no\nexplanation, and Reb Yankele did not venture to ask for any. However, he\ndid not need to remain long in ignorance. No sooner had Yerachmiel left\nhis wife\u2019s house than Shprinze rushed to the nearest female neighbor and\ntold her the news, adding many dreadful details about the repulsiveness\nof Yerachmiel\u2019s appearance, his poverty, and his hopeless\n_Shlemihligkeit_; adding, however, that in spite of all she must be\ngrateful to him for his willingness to grant her the divorce she craved,\nand assuring her (the neighbor) of her unutterable joy at the prospect\nof being at last free from an incurable _Shlemihl_ and _Shlamazzalnik_.\nThe neighbor, of course, had no more imperative duty to perform than to\nput her shawl over her head and rush to communicate to her nearest\nneighbor the news, still fresh and hot, of the impending divorce of\nYerachmiel and Shprinze Sendorowitz. In this way not two hours had\npassed before the whole _Kehillah_ of Novo-Kaidansk had learned the\nnews. Reb Yankele had learned why Yerachmiel was his guest; and even\nRabbi Israel had been informed, at evening service in the synagogue, of\nthe function which he was to be asked to perform on the morrow.\n\nAt nine the next morning Yerachmiel and Shprinze were in the large front\nroom in the rabbi\u2019s dwelling, which served as his office, and whither\nrepaired whosoever in Novo-Kaidansk had a religious question to ask or a\nceremony to be performed, or that was in need of spiritual counsel or\nguidance of any kind. Shprinze was gayly attired, and chattered\nconstantly with a group of female acquaintances by whom she was\nsurrounded. She was in high spirits, and cast occasional contemptuous\nglances at Yerachmiel, who sat, moody and abstracted, in a corner and\nspoke to no one. Besides these the room was crowded with the most\nnotable members of the congregation, drawn hither by the exceptional\ninterest which this extraordinary case had aroused. The side door\nopened, and a hush fell upon the assembly as the venerable Rabbi Israel,\naccompanied by two coadjutor rabbis and several other persons who were\nto take part in the solemn function of pronouncing the divorce, entered\nand took their places in seats which had been reserved for their\noccupancy, behind long tables at the head of the room. The _Shammas_\nthen asked in a loud voice whether there was any one present who desired\nto consult the Beth Din on any matter. At this Yerachmiel arose, and,\naddressing Rabbi Israel, said: \u201cVenerable rabbi, I desire to divorce my\nwife, Shprinze, daughter of Moses; and I request of you to ordain the\nissuing of such a divorce, according to the law of Moses and Israel.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hear your request with sorrow,\u201d said the rabbi, while an expression\nof pain passed over his venerable features. \u201cIs it the desire of your\nwife also that your marriage be dissolved?\u201d\n\nYerachmiel bent his head in assent; and the _Shammas_, in response to a\nmotion of the rabbi\u2019s hand, called in a loud voice: \u201cShprinze, daughter\nof Moses, step forward.\u201d Shprinze did so, and the rabbi put to her the\nquestion whether she consented to the dissolution of her marriage to\nYerachmiel, son of Isaac, to which she responded with a loud and\ndistinct \u201cYes.\u201d Summoning them both before him, the rabbi now addressed\nto them a long and earnest plea to give up their intention of divorce.\nHe pointed out to them that, although the holy Torah permitted the\ndissolution of a marriage which had been polluted and desecrated by\ngross and abominable sin, or which had grown utterly intolerable to\neither or both parties, and left it to their decision whether it should\nbe dissolved; yet it did not approve, but, on the contrary, severely\ncondemned, the tearing asunder of the holy bonds of wedlock, and that in\nthe words of the sages the altar shed tears over husband and wife who\nbecame recreant to the covenant of their youth. He therefore entreated\nthem most earnestly to become reconciled to each other, and to remain\nfaithful to the pledges which they had once taken upon each other. To\nthis touching plea they returned no answer. Yerachmiel gazed at the\nfloor, his face alternately flushed and ashy pale. Shprinze gazed at the\nrabbi with firm eyes and shook her head in the negative. Seeing that his\nefforts at reconciliation were useless, the rabbi then announced \u201cthe\ngiving of the _Get_ must, therefore, take place.\u201d\n\nThese words were the signal for the commencement of the divorce\nceremonial, which was now performed with all the solemn and impressive\nformalities with which it has been carried out since time immemorial in\nIsrael. The rabbi appointed an expert and skilful scribe to write the\nbill of divorce, which must be written in strict accordance with many\nminute and detailed rules, the neglect or violation of any of which\nwould render it invalid. He also designated two pious and trustworthy\nmen, both proficient in the art of writing the square Hebrew script, to\nact as the official witnesses to the document. The scribe seated himself\nat his desk and produced his paper, quill pen, and ink, all of them\nspecially prepared, in accordance with fixed rules, for this purpose. To\nhim Yerachmiel, acting under the instruction of the rabbi, now spoke and\ndirected him to write a bill of divorce for his wife, Shprinze, daughter\nof Moses. Amidst breathless silence the scribe now began to write the\ndocument which was to sunder two lives hitherto joined. The writing\nlasted a considerable time; and during all its continuance not a sound,\nsave the steady scratching of the scribe\u2019s pen, was heard, for it is\nstrictly forbidden to make a noise of any kind while a _Get_ is being\nwritten, lest the sound disturb the _Sopher_ and cause him to err in\nsome particular, thus necessitating the rewriting of the document. At\nlast the bill of divorce was finished and the two witnesses appended\ntheir signatures, written in the square Hebrew script, and without title\nof any kind. The rabbi then designated two other men of religious\nstanding and good repute to be the official witnesses of the delivery of\nthe _Get_. Summoning Shprinze, the rabbi bade her uncover her face,\nwhich hitherto during the proceedings had been covered with a heavy\nveil, and said to her in solemn tones: \u201cShprinze, daughter of Moses, art\nthou willing to accept a bill of divorce from thy husband, Yerachmiel,\nson of Isaac?\u201d Shprinze responded with a firm \u201cYes.\u201d Turning to\nYerachmiel, the rabbi asked him whether he still desired to divorce his\nwife, to which Yerachmiel answered in the affirmative. Turning again to\nthe woman, the rabbi said in a stern voice: \u201cGive me thy _Ketubah_. Thou\nno longer hast any use for it.\u201d At this, the most feared part in the\ndivorce ceremony, Shprinze\u2019s face grew slightly pale; but she drew forth\nher marriage certificate, which she had brought along for this purpose,\nand gave it to the rabbi, who laid it aside, to be destroyed immediately\nafter the completion of the divorce proceedings. The rabbi then bade her\nremove her marriage ring and extend her hands to receive her bill of\ndivorce. Yerachmiel then took the bill of divorce, placed it in the\noutstretched hands of Shprinze, and said: \u201cBehold, this is thy bill of\ndivorce. Accept thy bill of divorce, and by it thou art released and\ndivorced from me, and free to contract lawful marriage with any other\nman.\u201d With a few earnest words from the rabbi pointing out the duty of\nliving their separate lives in peace and righteousness, and of avoiding\nin the future the sins which had led to this sorrow, the ceremony was\nconcluded.\n\nYerachmiel and Shprinze were no longer man and wife. At once a clamorous\nbuzz of conversation arose all over the room. The excitement which had\nbeen suppressed so long now burst the bonds of enforced silence and\nfound relief in vociferous exclamations of wonderment and emphatic\nexpressions of approval and disapproval. Some of the women congratulated\nShprinze; others held aloof. The men were unanimous in their\ncondemnation of the hard-hearted woman who had taken her husband\u2019s money\nfor years and then induced him, when grown poor, to give her a divorce.\n\nThe excitement was at its height, when suddenly a tremendous rap on the\ntable drew the startled gaze of all toward the spot whence the sound had\nproceeded. What they saw caused a hush to fall over the assemblage.\nYerachmiel stood at the side of one of the tables, his cheeks ashy pale,\nhis eyes blazing with a furious light that no one had ever seen in them\nbefore, fiercely rapping with his cane in an effort to procure silence.\nAs soon as his voice could be heard he began to speak.\n\n\u201cJewish brethren and sisters of Novo-Kaidansk,\u201d he said, with painfully\nlabored yet distinct utterance. \u201cYou have come here to see Yerachmiel\nthe _Shlemihl_ give divorce to his wife, Shprinze. I know most of you\nare good people and have pitied me for being such a _Shlemihl_ that I\ncould not keep either my money or my wife. But, perhaps, I am not such a\n_Shlemihl_ after all. I have not desired nor sought this divorce, but I\nhave tried to find out the truth about an old wrong and to right it; and\nI believe I have succeeded as well as some who are considered wiser and\ncleverer than I. _Shlemihl_ though I may be, I have always tried to do\nmy duty toward my wife. Even before I went to America, when poverty and\nwretchedness were my lot in this town, I gave Shprinze every kopeck that\nI earned. From America, where God blessed me and made me prosperous, I\nsent her regularly all that she could properly require. But in return\nfor this I asked wifely love. I knew that a husband must honor, cherish,\nand maintain his wife; and that a wife must, in true marriage, return\nlove for love, affection for affection. Shprinze never showed the least\ntrace of love for me. My soul hungered and thirsted for love. Shprinze\ngave me, at worst, bitter revilings and beratings, tongue-stabbings that\npierced my soul like the thrusts of a sword; at best, cold indifference.\nIn the beginning, when I could not, because of poverty, properly support\nher, I excused her. I said to myself that I deserved nothing better. But\nwhen from America I sent abundance of gold and loving words, and showed\nin every way I could that I was a true and loving husband, and when, in\nreturn for all this, I could not get an affectionate word, a loving\nsentence, I resolved that I would find out whether in Shprinze\u2019s heart\ndwelt a spark of love for me, or whether it was only my gold she loved.\nThe rest you know. I came here, dressed in shabby clothing, looking the\nolden _Shlemihl_. Her evil heart made her quickly conclude that I had\nlost my all, and without questioning me or offering, like a true wife,\nto share my lot, she demanded a divorce. I saw that she loved me not,\nthat she had never been to me more than a wife in name, and to-day I\nhave granted her wish. But let me assure her and you, friends, that she\nis mistaken in thinking that she has now got rid of a _Shlemihl_, of a\npoor, never succeeding unfortunate. She has freed herself of a\nsuccessful, of a wealthy man; she has deprived herself of a splendid\nhome in the greatest city of free America; she has deprived herself of\nluxury and riches, and, what is more, of the love of a man who was\ndeeply attached to her, and who would have given his all for a kind word\nor a loving kiss from her lips. See, here are the presents I had brought\nhere for her, and would have given her had she treated me rightly.\u201d So\nspeaking, he drew forth a magnificent diamond necklace and a beautiful,\nrichly ornamented gold watch and chain. \u201cAnd here is the proof that I am\na man of means and no deceiver\u2014a letter of credit on a Berlin\nbanking-house for ten thousand marks\u201d\u2014and here he drew from his wallet\nthe precious document and flourished it triumphantly yet sorrowfully\nbefore the eyes of his hearers. \u201cAs for me,\u201d he continued, \u201cI thank the\nAll-Merciful that He has opened my eyes to the truth, and that He has\nfreed me from a serpent that would only have devoured my substance, and\nwith its icy touch have frozen my heart. Now farewell, friends, and\nfarewell, false and heartless woman. I go to my home beyond the sea,\nwhere I shall try to forget this long, sad dream of misplaced love and\ncruel ingratitude and heartlessness.\u201d\n\nHaving thus spoken, he turned and left the room. None ventured to detain\nhim or to restrain his departure. As he went out of the door, Shprinze,\nwho had been listening with strained attention to his words, and whose\ncountenance had alternately flushed and paled as he spoke, rushed\nforward as if she would have held him back, then paused, uttered a\npiercing, heartrending shriek, and fell in a deathly swoon to the floor.\nThe cry reached the ears of Yerachmiel as he strode down the dusty\nstreet. An expression of pain crossed his features as he heard it, but\nhe did not turn and he came not back.\n\n\n\n\n                         A VICTIM OF PREJUDICE.\n\n\nFranz Friedrich Levy sat on his high stool before his desk in the office\nof the Second Secretariat of the Anhalt-Diesterburg-Rickershofen State\nRailroad and reflected discontentedly on his lot. He had rather an\nimportant position, it is true, that of chief bookkeeper of the Second\nSecretariat, an important subdivision in the management of the railway,\nwhich was a prosperous governmental institution, binding together a rich\nand beautiful stretch of country in middle Germany. He was in receipt of\na very fair salary, occupied a comfortable house in the suburbs of the\ntown, and was wedded to a rather good-looking wife, with quite a store\nof fashionable though useless accomplishments, but still he was not\nhappy. The cause of his unhappiness was a grievance which he had against\nthe Ober-Direction or supreme management of the railway, a grievance for\nwhich he thought\u2014and his wife agreed with him in this opinion\u2014there\ncould be only one explanation. He believed that his promotion was unduly\nslow. He had entered the service of the railroad in his twentieth year\nas clerk, and now in his forty-fifth, when his once raven black locks\nwere already heavily streaked with gray and more than a suspicion of\nbaldness was showing itself on the top of his poll, he was only chief\nbookkeeper of one of the numerous subdivisions of the great concern. He\nthought that by length of service and capacity he was fitted to be\ngeneral manager of the road; but while admitting that he had no right to\naspire to that exalted position, he considered that by this time he\nshould have attained at the very least to the post of division chief or\nsuperintendent.\n\n\u201cWhy is it that I do not advance?\u201d he asked himself as he sat gloomily\nrevolving on the high stool. \u201cAm I incapable? Have I been idle,\nnegligent, or inattentive to my duties? Do I not know all the details of\nthe business from beginning to end? Do I not know by heart all the\nstatistics of the road, the number of passengers and the weight of\nfreight carried, the condition of every station, the receipts and the\nexpenditures to a pfennig? No, the fault is not mine. It is owing to\n_rishus_, to anti-Semitic prejudice. My only fault, as far as I can\ndiscover, is that I am a Jew. To that I owe all my misfortune. This\naccursed accident of my birth prevents my talents being appreciated,\nprevents my attaining the success which I should naturally reach; and, I\nsuppose, as long as I am marked with this badge of disgrace and social\ninferiority I shall always remain an unimportant, insignificant\nindividual. That Ober-Director von Meinken, he is, I am sure, the chief\ncause of keeping me down. He always looks at me with such a dark,\nunfriendly glance whenever I have to enter his office. He is the very\npicture of a _Rosho_, although he talks smoothly enough. I don\u2019t doubt\nbut he would be glad enough to get rid of me altogether if he only knew\nhow to bring it about.\u201d\n\n\u201cAha, friend Levy, why are you plunged in such deep thought?\u201d suddenly\nsaid a deep, hearty voice at his side. \u201cI have been standing here a\nwhole minute and you have never even noticed my presence, so absorbed\nwere you in your reflections. Did I not know that you were a married man\nof virtuous principles I would say that you were in love. But then the\nexpression of your face shows that you have not been dreaming sweet\ndreams of love delights. If I am any judge of physiognomy at all, your\nthoughts have been disagreeable ones. May I ask what they were?\u201d\n\nLevy turned around with a startled jerk of the high stool. It was the\nHerr Ober-Director, Baron Adalbert von Meinken himself with a\ngood-humored smile on his broad, handsome, Teutonic face, the lower part\nof which was covered with a neatly trimmed brown full beard. Levy\nblushed guiltily. He felt as though the keen blue eyes of his superior\nwere gazing into his very soul and reading the thoughts that had just\noccupied him. He stammered forth a half apology.\n\n\u201cThe Herr Ober-Director will pardon my preoccupation,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I\ncan assure you that I was not thinking of any outside matter. I never\npermit myself to think of outside matters in business hours. I was\nthinking of a method of reducing the expenses of the station Weizenhofen\non the Blauberg-Schoenthal branch. That place costs a great deal more\nthan it ought to, considering the small amount of business done at that\npoint, and I hope soon to be able to lay a project before your\nExcellency which will materially reduce the cost of maintenance of the\nstation.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said the Ober-Director, with a pleased expression, \u201cI might have\nknown that you, Levy, were not wasting your employer\u2019s time in idle\nruminations. You have always been a faithful, industrious worker,\ndevoted heart and soul to the interests of the road. I shall be glad to\nreceive your proposal in the Weizenhofen matter and I shall give it full\nconsideration.\u201d\n\nAnd the Ober-Director passed on and entered his private office. Levy\nbent over his books as soon as his chief had passed, and was careful not\nto fall into another fit of reflection that afternoon. The words of the\nOber-Director had pleased him but he did not altogether trust them. He\nfeared that he was under close surveillance, and that all his actions\nwere being rigidly scrutinized, with a view to finding some flaw in his\nconduct. He devoted himself, therefore, with redoubled assiduity to his\nroutine work until the welcome sound of the bell, announcing the closing\nhour, relieved him from further labor for the day. He put on his hat,\nexchanged his light office jacket for his street coat, and with a\npleasant word of farewell to his fellow-clerks sallied forth into the\nstreet. As he sauntered down the beautiful Kaiser Strasse, the finest\nthoroughfare of the town, through which he always walked both in his\ndaily journeyings to and from the office and on his Sunday and holiday\npromenades, he was greeted by so many friends and acquaintances that his\nhand was continually busy raising his hat in response to their\nsalutations. His social equals, both Christian and Jewish, saluted him\nwith easy and unaffected cordiality, his humbler acquaintances with\ngreat deference. These manifestations of friendship and respect, instead\nof pleasing him, added to his discontent and his resentment against the\nauthorities of the railroad. He said to himself that it was a crying\nshame, indeed an outrage, that a man so generally esteemed and honored\nby his fellow-townsmen should be kept in a subordinate position because\nof the religious prejudices of his superiors; and should be prevented by\nsuch a reason, so repugnant to the culture and civilization of the\ncentury, from attaining to the rank and emoluments to which he was\nclearly entitled. In this frame of mind he reached his handsome\ndwelling, which was charmingly situated in the Schoenberger Allee, a new\nand fashionable street in the suburbs of the town. To the effusive\ngreetings of the spouse of his bosom, Frau Ottilie, _n\u00e9e_ Kahn, he\nreturned a curt answer and threw himself, in an attitude of utter\ndisgust and weariness, upon the sofa.\n\nFrau Ottilie Levy was a worthy counterpart of her partner in life. If\nharmony in marriage is secured by similarity in tastes and disposition,\ntheirs should have been an ideal union, for their characters and views\nwere almost exactly alike. Like her husband, Frau Levy was intensely\nambitious. Her sole aim in life was to secure the greatest possible\nmeasure of wealth and social prestige. She shared her husband\u2019s\ngrievance to the fullest extent; but, womanlike, she was inclined to put\nthe blame on him for his failure to advance, and continually nagged and\npestered him with her complaints, and the expression of her discontent\nat not being able to shine as much as Frau Geheimr\u00e4thin So-and-So or\nFrau Commerzienr\u00e4thin Somebody Else. Seeing the discomposure under which\nher husband was evidently laboring, her woman\u2019s instinct told her that\nnow was not the time to nag and scold, but to sympathize and console.\nShe therefore relinquished, or rather postponed to a more favorable\nopportunity, the caustic lecture combined with a demand for a larger\nallowance which she had been preparing all day for the special benefit\nof her life partner, and began inquiring, with great solicitude,\nconcerning the cause of his disturbed condition.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter, Franz dear?\u201d she asked, in the same tone of winning\ngentleness which she had lately so greatly admired in the celebrated\nstage heroine, Adele de Pompadour, as played by Madame Graetzinger, the\nrenowned _Erste Dame_ of the Stadt Theater. \u201cWhy are you so upset? I\ntrust that nothing serious has happened.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes and no,\u201d answered Franz dejectedly; \u201cthat old Von Meinken caught me\nto-day, when I was thinking about the shameful slowness of my promotion,\nor rather my lack of any promotion, and was neglecting my work. I was so\nabsorbed in thought that I never noticed him, although, as he told me,\nhe stood by my desk over a minute. Of course I gave him as good an\nexcuse as I could get up in a hurry to account for my absent-mindedness;\nbut how can I tell whether the old fox believed what I said or not?\nConfound him, he\u2019s always sure to be around when he isn\u2019t wanted. You\ncan rely on it that I worked extra hard all the rest of the afternoon.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think that can hurt you any, do you?\u201d asked Otillie, dropping\nher theatrical manner, and with just a shade of anxiety in her voice.\n\u201cWhat harm is it if an old, trustworthy employee like you is idle for a\nminute or two in the day?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt oughtn\u2019t to be any harm,\u201d answered Franz. \u201cBut then you know how\nstiff and exacting these Prussian officials are. They think men are\nnothing but machines, and they make no allowances for anything. A number\nof men have been discharged of late, and then, you know, there is so\nmuch anti-Semitism nowadays. I, as a Jew, have to be particularly\ncareful.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s the root of the whole matter,\u201d said Frau Ottilie, pouncing with\navidity upon her favorite argument. \u201cIt\u2019s only because you\u2019re a Jew that\nyou have any trouble. Don\u2019t tell me that an experienced, faithful\nofficial like you, if he were a Christian, would be trembling with fear\nof losing his place because he had been thinking of something for a\nmoment or two. No such trivial thing would have been of any consequence\nin his case. It is only we Jews who must be continually alarmed,\ncontinually alert lest we commit the slightest error; because, in our\ncase, any fault, sometimes even only imaginary, means ruin. Yes, Heine\nwas right when he said: \u2018Judaism is not a religion; it is a misfortune.\u2019\nIt certainly is your misfortune, and therefore mine. As long as you are\na Jew you will never advance. You might as well try to jump over the\nmoon as to overcome the deep-seated prejudices of Christians against\nJews. You simply cannot do it.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  IT\u2019S ONLY BECAUSE YOU\u2019RE A JEW THAT YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE\n\n  _Page 252_]\n\n\u201cBut, my dear,\u201d said Levy, who had heard this sort of talk very\nfrequently, and was rather weary of it, \u201cwhat is the use of telling me\nall that again and again. I know as well as you that being a Jew is the\nchief hindrance to my progress. But what is the use of continually\nharping on it. I cannot change what I am; so why kick in vain against\nthe unalterable?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it is not unalterable,\u201d said Frau Ottilie, with even more acerbity\nthan the sense of her old and keenly felt grievance usually aroused.\n\u201cYou talk as though to be a Jew was the same as being a negro, or a\nChinaman, or blind, or lame. The negro cannot make his black skin white,\nnor the Chinaman his complexion or his features resemble those of the\nCaucasian; neither can the blind nor the lame alter their physical\ndeformities. But the Jew needs only to speak a meaningless formula and\npermit three drops of water to be sprinkled upon him and presto, change,\nhe has ceased to be a Jew and become a Christian. All his former\nblemishes and shortcomings are forgotten, and he is received with open\narms into Christian society. Instead of being an outcast and a pariah,\nan individual barely and unwillingly tolerated, he becomes a beloved\nbrother. Then, why stupidly submit to a load of inherited, unnecessary\ntrouble? Why not rather take the one bold step which will make an end of\nthem all at once and forever?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, my dear Ottilie,\u201d said Franz, who, though used to this line of\nargument, was surprised by his wife\u2019s unusual bitterness. \u201cWhat is the\npurpose of all this? You don\u2019t want me to be baptized, to be a\n_meshummad_, do you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is just what I do want,\u201d answered Ottilie, vehemently. \u201cI want you\nto cease being a stupid martyr and begin to be sensible, and I want to\nbe sensible with you, too. I am not afraid of the word _meshummad_. That\nis only a harmless term which stupid and fanatical Jews use to condemn\npeople who are more sensible than they. Baptism will not hurt you. It is\nonly the key which will unlock before you the gates of prosperity and\nhappiness in life. Besides, if you look honestly into your heart you are\nno Jew. A Jew must have a faith, must believe in Judaism, and practise a\nlot of senseless ceremonies. You do not care a straw for the whole\nJewish religion, nor bother your head about the Sabbath or the dietary\nlaws, or any of the other absurdities which they call religious\npractices in Judaism. I don\u2019t believe you have been inside of a\nsynagogue in ten years. I am just as little of a Jewess as you are of a\nJew. Yet, by keeping up the name of Jew, without any real reason except\na blind clinging to you know not what, you expose yourself and me and\nour only son to all the trouble and disadvantages which result from\nconnection with a despised and hated people. Again, I say, be sensible.\nPay the price of admission to civilized society, that is, accept baptism\nand be done with it.\u201d\n\nThus did Ottilie reason and plead with her husband to renounce his\nancestral faith. The argument, thus seriously begun, lasted long, and\nwas carried on with intense earnestness on both sides. The thought of\naccepting Christianity was no new one to Franz. His wife\u2019s constant\nperusal of that theme had made it familiar to him, but he had never yet\nseriously contemplated the step. The memory of pious parents and of the\nreligious zeal and piety of youthful days, though long since discarded,\nhad had force enough to render the thought of apostasy utterly repugnant\nand prevent its serious consideration. But Ottilie\u2019s nature was stronger\nthan his; her\u2019s was the masterful character, his the subordinate. Before\nthe evening was over, her persistence and adroit reasoning had\noverpowered his feeble and illogical resistance. They retired for the\nnight with the understanding that on the morrow Franz was to inform Herr\nOber-Director von Meinken of his determination to seek salvation in the\narms of the church, and to request the Herr Ober-Director to act as his\ngodfather at the solemn rite of baptism.\n\nThe following morning Franz awoke in a state of high exhilaration. Now\nthat he had made up his mind he was thoroughly content, and wondered a\nlittle how he had ever been able to pass so many years with the awful\nburden of Judaism resting upon him, hindering and impeding his progress,\nwhich he now pictured to himself as rapid and uninterrupted, bringing\nhim from step to step to the highest rank in his vocation. Ottilie was\neven more jubilant than her husband. She rejoiced that her influence\nover her husband was so great as to induce him to take so important and\ndecisive a step, and she rejoiced particularly when she thought how\ngrandly she would enter the _salons_ of her distinguished acquaintances,\nno longer the merely tolerated Jewess, but the equal and co-religionist\nof them all. She pictured to herself with especial delight how solemnly\nshe would enter the beautiful church, only two squares from their home,\nwhich was so holy and so fashionable; and what a sensation she would\ncreate with her reverent demeanor and her Paris gowns!\n\nAs soon as Franz reached the office he inquired whether the Herr\nDirector had arrived. As he had anticipated, the Herr Director had not\nyet arrived. He did not usually come until about eleven o\u2019clock, and\nthis morning was no exception. Franz waited with great impatience the\narrival of the great man. He thought it rather inconsiderate of him to\nstay away so long when he, Franz Friedrich Levy, desired to make him so\nimportant an announcement. At last, about a quarter of an hour later\nthan usual, the Herr Ober-Director put in his appearance and went at\nonce to his private office. He had not been in his sanctum five minutes\nwhen a somewhat diffident knock at the door was heard, and upon his\ndeep-voiced \u201cHerein!\u201d Franz entered. \u201cAh, is it you, Levy?\u201d said Herr\nvon Meinken, with a pleasant smile. \u201cI think I can imagine the reason of\nyour call this morning. It is, I presume, in reference to that Station\nWeizenhofen matter you spoke of the other day.\u201d Franz hesitated. Now\nthat the decisive moment had come, he grew a little uncertain in his\nconviction of the spiritual beauties and material advantages of\nChristianity, and would have more than half liked another chance to\nthink over the matter. But only for a moment.\n\n\u201cNo, your Excellency,\u201d he answered. \u201cIt is not in reference to the\nWeizenhofen matter that I have taken the liberty to request a brief\ninterview with you this morning. I am still engaged in working out that\nmatter, but I am not as yet prepared to make any definite proposition on\nthe subject. The cause that has brought me before your Excellency this\nmorning is of an entirely personal nature, but of the highest importance\nto me, and I trust that I shall have the benefit of your Excellency\u2019s\nkindness and courteous sympathy in connection therewith.\u201d\n\nHerr von Meinken\u2019s eyebrows rose slightly and his lips tightened just a\nlittle when he heard these words. He did not answer, but continued to\neye Franz with the somewhat cold and dubious gaze of one who expects to\nbe importuned for a favor and does not feel inclined to grant it. \u201cWhat\nI desire and would respectfully request,\u201d continued Franz, \u201cis that your\nExcellency might kindly consent to act as godfather at my baptism, and\nthat the highly honored baroness might graciously deign to act in the\nsame capacity for my wife. I do not doubt that you are somewhat\nsurprised,\u201d he added, noticing the expression of genuine astonishment\nupon the Herr Ober-Director\u2019s face, \u201cat this request but the fact is, my\nwife and I have contemplated this step for some time. We are no longer\nin sympathy with the faith in which we were born. We have come to\nrecognize that it is a presumption for an insignificant, retrograde\nminority to cling to a religion different from that of the great,\ncultured majority. Our tastes and views are all in close accord with\nthose of the Christian people of the land. In a word, we feel that our\nplace is in the church rather than in the synagogue, and, therefore, we\nhave finally determined to seek our true spiritual home, the church, and\nto request most respectfully your Excellency and your Excellency\u2019s\nworthy lady kindly to assist at the solemn rite which joins us with our\nfellow-citizens in the close brotherhood of religion, as we have always\nbeen joined to them in the brotherhood of patriotism and love of the\nfatherland.\u201d\n\nThe Herr Ober-Director was surprised. There could be no doubt of that.\nThe expression of his countenance showed it plainly. But another emotion\nof a less definite nature was also suggested on his features. It seemed\nsomething like amusement; but one could not be sure, for he did not\nexplain it. He answered Franz very graciously, congratulated him on his\nresolution, which did equal credit to his head and heart, assured him\nthat the true unity of citizens could only be found in their adherence\nto a common faith, and wound up by accepting, in the kindliest and most\ncondescending manner possible, for himself and the Frau Baronin the\nhonorable functions of godfather and godmother to Franz and Ottilie.\n\nFlustered and confused by the extraordinary courtesy of the Herr\nOber-Director and overwhelmed with happiness, Franz retired from the\naugust presence. The baptism took place, with all due formality, about a\nweek later. The minister of the fashionable Erl\u00f6ser Kirche, which\nOttilie so greatly admired, Pastor Boecker, had been more than satisfied\nwith the intelligent and modest manner in which Franz and Ottilie had\napplied for baptism, and had seen no reason to refuse their request for\na speedy performance of the ceremony. At the rite itself, which took\nplace in the presence of a small but select group of Christian\nacquaintances, Franz and Ottilie conducted themselves with due humility\nand reverence; and the Herr Ober-Director and spouse performed their\nparts with perfect dignity and solemnity, while the Herr Pastor showed,\nby the unusual impressiveness of his address, that he considered the act\none of exceptional importance. After the ceremony there was a charming\nlittle supper in a private room of the Hotel zum Blauen Adler. Never\nbefore had the Herr Ober-Director shown himself so affable. He proposed\nthe health of their newly-made Christian brother and sister in the\nwarmest and most eloquent terms, alluded in words of sincere\nappreciation to Franz\u2019s many years of useful service to the Anhalt\nDiesterburg-Rickershofen State Railroad, presaged for him a still more\ndistinguished career in the future, and wound up by extending to him,\nmetaphorically, of course, the hand of friendship and brotherhood. As\nfor the Frau Baronin, she was as charming as she could be to Ottilie,\nwhose right-hand neighbor at table she was. Our newly-made Christians\nwere touched to the heart by all the kindness and sympathy that were\nshown them, and could hardly refrain from open manifestation of their\njoy. When the delightful feast was over and Franz and Ottilie had\nreached their home, they gave full vent to their exultation.\n\n\u201cNow, Franz,\u201d said Ottilie, \u201cyou see what it means to be numbered among\nthe Christians. What cordiality, what sincere friendship they all showed\nus! Did you notice how extremely courteous the Frau Baronin was to me?\nShe never used to do more than barely notice me, with a merely formal\nbow. But then I was only a Jewess, while now I am one of her own faith;\nthat is the difference. I hope now, Franz, you understand how much you\nare obliged to me for having urged and finally brought you to consent to\nthis step, which means so much to both of us. Ah, I shudder when I think\nof the time when I was numbered among the despised, wretched Jews. The\nchurch in which we were baptized is rightly called Erl\u00f6ser Kirche, for\nit has redeemed us both from the bondage of Judaism.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are right, Ottilie,\u201d answered Franz, his face beaming with delight.\n\u201cThis has been a great day for us. I have no doubt now but I shall\nrapidly advance. Did you notice how the Herr Director praised my\nservices to the railroad and predicted for me a brilliant future? That\nis what they call a hint with a fence rail; that from now on I am to\nadvance. The only obstacle to my progress was my Judaism; and that\nhateful stumbling-block being now removed, there is no reason why I\nshould not rapidly forge ahead in my career.\u201d\n\nIn this edifying and truly spiritual manner did our worthy couple\ndiscuss the advantages of Christianity until a late hour, when they\nretired to dream sweet dreams of financial blessings and social joys to\ncome. The next morning, bright and early, Franz was at his post in the\noffice of the railroad. He felt it incumbent upon him, so to speak, to\nshow that he did not presume to take any liberties because of his new\nreligious status, but that he still intended to merit promotion through\nfaithful performance of duty. About the usual time the Herr\nOber-Director appeared and, with a friendly nod to Franz, went into his\nprivate office. As his tall form passed through the door, Franz\nspeculated as to how soon there would come through that door the welcome\nmessage announcing his elevation to the next higher post. He did not\nanticipate that it could come very soon; and when a half-hour later the\nHerr Ober-Director\u2019s special messenger approached his desk and deposited\nupon it a huge envelope addressed to him and bearing the official seal\nof the railroad, he was greatly surprised. \u201cSo soon,\u201d he said to\nhimself, as with trembling hands and palpitating heart he tore open the\nportentous missive. \u201cThis is far speedier than I could have expected.\nHow overjoyed Ottilie will be when I bring to her already to-day the\nwelcome news of my preferment. I wonder what the post is for which I am\nselected.\u201d Hastily he read; and as he grasped the contents of the\nmissive, his gaze hardened into a stare, his breath came in short, quick\ngasps, all the color fled from his cheeks and left them ashy pale. This\nis what he read:\n\n\n            \u201cANHALT-DIESTERBURG-RICKERSHOFEN STATE RAILROAD,\n\n                     \u201cBUREAU OF THE ADMINISTRATION.\n\n  \u201c_To Herr Franz Friedrich, Chief Bookkeeper\n  of the Second Secretariat._\n\n  \u201cDEAR SIR: We regret to inform you that after the end of the present\n  week your services will no longer be required. Thanking you for your\n  faithful efforts in the past, and sincerely regretting the necessity\n  of dispensing with your services in the future, we remain,\n\n                                       \u201cYours very truly,\n                                         \u201cTHE OBER-DIRECTION,\n                                                   \u201cSCHMIDT, _Sec\u2019y._\u201d\n\n\nFranz sat for a full minute as one petrified, glaring at the curt\nofficial note which announced the end of all his hopes and ambitions,\nhardly able to realize its significance. Then a sudden resolution came\ninto his mind. He would face the Herr Ober-Director; he would demand the\nmeaning of this utterly inexplicable and outrageous action; he would\nreproach him with his hypocritical professions of friendship at last\nnight\u2019s celebration; he would shame him into continuing his services. He\nrose from his seat, went to the door of the Ober-Director\u2019s private\noffice and knocked. His chief\u2019s deep-voiced \u201cHerein!\u201d was heard and he\nentered. The Herr Ober-Director was seated at his desk, and gazed at\nFranz with a grave countenance as he entered.\n\n\u201cYour Excellency,\u201d said Franz, in a voice almost choked with emotion,\nshowing the fatal letter as he spoke, \u201cI have just received this\ncommunication, which informs me of my discharge. Is it correct? Am I\nreally dismissed from the road after a service of over twenty-five\nyears?\u201d The Herr Ober-Director bowed in corroboration. \u201cYour Excellency\nwill pardon me,\u201d continued Franz, \u201cif I ask you, is this just? Have I\nnot always done my duty faithfully? Am I not fully conversant with all\nthe requirements of my position? I believe these reasons would have\njustified you in retaining me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat you say is true, Herr Levy,\u201d answered the Ober-Director, \u201cand I\nregret extremely to have to dispense with your services; but the fact\nis, the business of the road has declined, and does not warrant us in\nretaining so many officials. The Government is urgent that I must reduce\nexpenses. I am, therefore, obliged to abolish the second secretariat\naltogether; and since your post thus ceases to exist, there is no choice\nbut for you to go.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour Excellency will further pardon me,\u201d said Franz, with increasing\nagitation, \u201cif I say that this action comes with especial harshness just\nat this time when I have joined your faith, and been initiated into the\nchurch under your kind patronage. It does seem strange, to say the\nleast, that during all these years, when I was a Jew, I was retained,\nand no complaint or hint of prospective discharge ever reached my ears;\nand now that I have become a Christian, you immediately discover that\nthere is no need for my services and I am summarily dismissed.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is the very reason, strange as it may seem,\u201d said the Herr\nOber-Director. \u201cYou see, we had already contemplated dismissing you some\ntime ago, as the need for your services had really ceased. But there is\nso much talk nowadays of official anti-Semitism, of anti-Jewish\nprejudice on the part of the Government, that we hesitated to discharge\nyou, since you were a Jew and an employee of many years\u2019 standing. We\nknew that if you were discharged, it would immediately be made the basis\nof accusations of anti-Semitic tendencies on the part of the Government;\nand since the Government has no such tendencies, and does not wish to be\nconsidered as having them, we felt ourselves obliged to retain you. But\nnow that you are a Christian, and a member of the State church, no such\naccusation of anti-Semitism can be made, and we therefore have felt at\nliberty to dispense with your services, which, as I have said, have\nreally become superfluous. And, now, permit me to conclude this\ninterview, which is time-robbing and unprofitable, and to wish you a\nvery good day.\u201d\n\nAs Franz went out through the Ober-Director\u2019s door he said to himself,\nwith grim emphasis: \u201cI think Ottilie will have to revise her favorite\nquotation from Heine. As far as we are concerned, not Judaism but\nChristianity has been the misfortune.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                       THE RABBI\u2019S GAME OF CARDS.\n\n\n\u201cRabbi, why do you not come to supper? Everything is getting spoiled;\nand if you do not come soon, your meal will not be fit to eat.\u201d\n\nIt was the voice of Rebecca the rebbetzin, or wife of the rabbi of\nGaloschin, in the province of Posen; and she was endeavoring to induce\nher lord and master, Rabbi Akiba Erter, to leave his sanctum, where he\nhad been busy all afternoon solving profound intellectual problems, and\nto turn his attention to the less ideal but equally necessary task of\neating his evening meal. It was nothing unusual for the good rabbi to be\nso absorbed in his studies as to be utterly oblivious to all other\nmatters, and to disregard utterly such insignificant trifles as a call\nto a meal. Rabbi Akiba was a noble specimen of the old-time rabbi. He\nwas a Talmudic scholar of extraordinary erudition and dialectic\nkeenness, a pietist of rigidly scrupulous observance, and charitable in\nthe extreme. Of the three elements which go to make up the ideal man,\nthe head, the heart, and the soul, it was hard to say with which he was\nmore liberally endowed. Whatever he did, he did with all his power. When\nengaged in study, his absorption was absolute and his concentration\ncomplete; when worshipping, his whole being poured itself out before his\nMaker; and, when engaged in performing an act of benevolence, he had no\nother thought in his mind until it was accomplished.\n\nThe problem which had engaged his attention on this particular occasion\nbelonged to the last-mentioned category, and was knottier far than the\nmost abstruse ceremonial, legal, or theological riddle he had ever been\ncalled upon to solve. So troublesome was it, and so greatly did it worry\nthe good rabbi, that he presented quite a picture of despair as he sat\nbefore his study-table, upon which were heaped in picturesque confusion\nhuge rabbinical tomes, some open and some closed, his black skull cup\npushed far back upon his head, and his hair and long venerable beard\nsadly tousled and frowsed from the constant pulling he had given it\nduring the past three hours, while his long _peoth_ were from the same\ncause all limp and out of curl. Supper-time had come, but the problem\nwas apparently as far from solution as ever, for the servant maid of the\nhousehold had summoned him four and five times to the evening meal and\nhe had not answered or even seemed aware of the summons; and it was only\nwhen the rebbetzin herself appeared that he seemed conscious that he had\nbeen called, and answered abstractedly, \u201cYes, wife, I am coming at once,\nat once.\u201d Impatiently muttering and grumbling to herself, the rebbetzin\nreturned to the dining-room; and the rabbi, rising from his seat,\ndirected his steps to the same place, his face clearly showing by its\nabstracted and absorbed expression that the same problem which had\nworried him all afternoon still engaged his thoughts.\n\nRabbi Akiba was usually a very pleasant companion at table. He was in\nthe habit of telling amusing anecdotes and making witty remarks in the\ncourse of the meal, and it was his invariable custom to discourse\nlearnedly on some theme of the law before the blessing of the food was\npronounced, in order to fulfil the rabbinical precept, \u201ca man shall\nalways speak words of the law over his table\u201d; but to-night he was very\npoor company indeed. He ate his food mechanically, taking everything\nthat came along without examination, although his usual practice was to\neat quite sparingly, and only such dishes as were favorites of his. He\nput snuff into his milk-soup and salt to his nose, and would have eaten\nthe soup with its snuffy admixture had not Rebecca pointed out the\nerror.\n\nTo the remarks addressed to him by his better half he returned only\nincoherent answers. In a word, he was in a state of abstraction and\nperplexity which was plainly visible to all, so that not only his spouse\nand his three pretty black-eyed daughters, Leah, Miriam, and Taube,\nnoticed it, but even the Russian _Bochur_ Hayim, whom the rabbi kept in\nhis house out of admiration for the latter\u2019s profound erudition and who\nwas three-fourths blind, and as a rule totally oblivious to everything\nthat went on in the world outside of the _Beth Hammidrash_, dimly\nperceived that his master was not the same as at other times. Suddenly\nthe rabbi paused while drinking a cup of tea, with such a suddenness,\nindeed, as to make half of the hot fluid go down \u201cthe wrong throat\u201d; and\nthough sputtering and coughing, and with face fiery red from the\nresulting tracheal disturbance, managed to exclaim in triumphant gasps:\n\u201cI have it, I have it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat have you?\u201d inquired Rebecca with some acerbity. \u201cAs far as any one\ncan notice, all you have is a fit of coughing which cannot do you any\ngood. I hope what you have is worth having.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, wife,\u201d said the rabbi with a pleasant smile. \u201cWhat I have\nis indeed worth the while. When all is accomplished you shall know what\nit is. And now let us finish our meal, for I am in haste.\u201d\n\nThe rabbi then briefly discoursed on a religious theme in order not to\ndeviate from his custom, and pronounced the blessing of the food, in\nwhich all joined. \u201cNow, my good Rebecca,\u201d said the rabbi, when these\nceremonies were concluded, \u201cbring me my great coat, my Sabbath hat, and\nmy cane, for I have a certain visit to make.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, what possesses you?\u201d said Rebecca in wonderment. \u201cWhy do you want\nto go out at night, although you have often told me that the disciples\nof the learned should not go out alone at night, and why do you wish to\ndress in your Sabbath state? Are you making a visit at court or the\npalace of a noble? I am afraid all is not right with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not be afraid, wife,\u201d said the rabbi, who was now in excellent\nspirits. \u201cEverything is all right. Now, quickly get me my things, for,\nas I said, I am in haste.\u201d\n\nThe rebbetzin was fain to be content with this not very satisfactory\nanswer, and brought her husband his finest official robes, the great,\nheavy satin _jubitza_ and his broad velvet _streimel_ or Sabbath hat.\nHaving arrayed himself in these, and taken in addition a stout stick,\nthe rabbi ventured forth into the night, which, although the hour was\nnot late, was already, as usual in those northern regions, intensely\ndark and quite cold.\n\nWhile he is on his way to his destination, whatever that may be, let us\nsee what was the matter which had so greatly troubled the holy man all\nday, and which had driven him forth into the darkness and rigor of a\nnorthern winter night. That morning there had come to him Mosheh\nLabishiner, one of the constant worshippers in the synagogue and an\nunfailing attendant at the rabbi\u2019s Talmudic lectures in the house of\nlearning, and had poured into his ears a pitiful tale of woe. It was not\nexactly a story of destitution, but it was one which touched the rabbi\u2019s\nnaturally soft heart, always open to every plea of distress and ever\nready to sympathize with all that suffered and sorrowed, in a\nparticularly tender and sensitive spot. Mosheh told Rabbi Akiba that his\ndaughter Deborah (whom Rabbi Akiba knew as a dutiful and God-fearing\nmaiden and pretty withal) had been betrothed to a poor but very worthy\nyouth, Samuel of Kempen, for more than two years; that the two young\npeople were ardently devoted to each other, and desirous, as were also\nthe parents on both sides, of sealing their love by the sacred bond of\nwedlock, but that prudence forbade the union until the youth would be\nthe possessor of a business of his own, and able properly to maintain a\nwife and family. He, Mosheh, in accordance with the invariable custom in\nall good Jewish families, had promised his prospective son-in-law a\ndowry of a thousand gulden, which would be amply sufficient to establish\na modest business; but that owing to various misfortunes and losses he\nhad been unable to accumulate more than two hundred gulden, which would\nbarely suffice for the expenses of the wedding, but would leave nothing\nfor the dowry. The young people were to have been married a year\npreviously; but as Mosheh did not possess the requisite amount of the\ndowry, he had continually deferred the marriage, on various pretexts,\nuntil now it was impossible to defer it any more. His poor wife and his\ndaughter, the _Kallah_, were in the utmost distress and wept\nunceasingly, while his intended son-in-law and _Mehuttanim_, who knew\nnothing of his financial embarrassments, were beginning to grow\nsuspicious and to think that he was opposed to the marriage, and did not\nreally intend to permit it to be consummated.\n\n\u201cAnd now, dear rabbi,\u201d Mosheh had said, \u201chelp me, I implore thee. Unless\nI can procure a thousand gulden within a day or two I do not know what\nmisfortune will happen. My poor wife and daughter will surely die of\nbroken hearts and my name will be blackened forever.\u201d\n\nRabbi Akiba was not intimately acquainted with Mosheh. All he knew of\nhim was that he was an \u201chonest Jew,\u201d a good, straightforward, religious\nman; but that was sufficient to gain his sympathy, and especially the\nsorrows of his wife and daughter touched him to the quick. He at once\noffered to go and collect the money for the dowry among the wealthy\nmembers of his flock; and he added that he was sure there would be no\ndifficulty in obtaining the required amount for a young woman of such\nexcellent repute, who was a daughter of such eminently respectable and\npious parents. But here he struck an unexpected difficulty. Mosheh\nobjected strenuously to any public collection in his behalf.\n\n\u201cYou must not breathe a syllable of all this to any living creature,\ndear rabbi,\u201d he begged. \u201cI could never endure the thought that all the\nKehillah should know that I had been obliged to depend upon the\ncharitable gifts of kind-hearted people in order to obtain a dowry for\nmy daughter. I have always been an independent, self-respecting\nmerchant, and have myself provided for all the needs of my family. I\ncould not endure the thought of appearing as a _Schnorrer_ for any\nreason. And then my wife and daughter, do you think that they would ever\naccept a dowry which had been thus gathered together from the offerings\nof pity? They would sooner die. They do not even know that my\ncircumstances are so straitened. The mere report that contributions were\nbeing solicited in our behalf would destroy whatever happiness they\nhave. No, rabbi, you must get the amount needed in some other way, in\nsome way which will not even raise a suspicion that we are being helped,\nor else I shall have to ask you rather to do nothing and to leave it to\nthe All-Merciful One to deal with us as He sees fit.\u201d\n\nThese words, while they greatly increased the respect which the rabbi\nfelt for Mosheh, also added immensely to his perplexity. They seemed\nutterly to shut the door in the face of any attempt to obtain the\nrequired sum. Rabbi Akiba himself was not the possessor of any\nconsiderable amount of money. His income was not large and he never had\nany difficulty in disposing of it, there being plenty of claimants on\nhis bounty outside of his own family. If, therefore, he could not go to\nthe wealthy householders in the Kehillah and openly ask them for\ndonations, he knew of no source whence he could derive the assistance\nneeded. It would not do to request of them the gift of such a large\namount without stating the purpose for which it was to be used. They\nmight give it to him, such was their respect for his character and their\ntrust in the purity of his motives, but they would be apt to speculate\non the use to which he intended to devote it, and very likely they would\nfind it out, too, and that would be directly contrary to the explicit\ndesire and request of Mosheh, Hence the perplexity and the mental\nstruggles by which the poor rabbi had been tortured all day until at\nsupper he had found, as he thought, the solution of the vexatious\nproblem. The simpler solution which would have suggested itself to many\na modern cleric, to shrug the shoulders deprecatingly and politely to\ninform the suppliant that he regretted extremely that under the\ncircumstances it was impossible to do anything for him, did not occur to\nRabbi Akiba. He was narrow in many ways, limited both in views and\nexperience to that which could be acquired in the secluded recesses of\nthe Beth Hammidrash, simpler, indeed, than many a modern child in\nworldly ways; but on that very account his moral fibre possessed the\nold, unspoiled Jewish sturdiness. He knew that Mosheh was deserving of\nsympathy and help, and he determined to help him if there were any\npossibility of doing so; and believed he had now found a way to attain\nthat wished-for end.\n\nRabbi Akiba hurried through the streets of Galoschin, brilliantly\nlighted with the bright illumination of early evening, presenting a\nsingular enough figure, as he hastened along, to be the object of the\nwondering stares of many a passer-by. Galoschin was a city originally\nPolish, but which under the influence of Prussian culture and discipline\nhad become thoroughly Germanized, and which strove to reproduce the\nmanners and the external characteristics of the German metropolis. The\nJewish inhabitants in particular had, as a rule, dropped all the\nold-time Polish characteristics. _Jubitzas_ and _peoth_ in particular\nwere utterly banned, and were conceded only to the rabbi to whom, as an\nexample of rigid conservatism and unswerving piety, they were deemed\nappropriate. As Rabbi Akiba hastened through the streets he presented,\ntherefore, a most extraordinary contrast in his long, girdled robe, his\nstrange broad-brimmed hat, with long, dangling ear-curls and the stout\ncane in his hands, to the ladies and gentlemen, attired in the height of\nmodern fashion, who sauntered along the elegant thoroughfare, stopping\nbefore the brilliantly lighted windows of the shops or entering the\ntheatres, concert halls, caf\u00e9s, and other places of amusement which\nabounded in this vicinity. In front of a large and splendid edifice,\nthrough whose windows and great portal floods of light poured and loud\nstrains of gay dance music were heard, the rabbi paused. Over the\ngateway was a huge sign, which bore, in letters composed of shining gas\nflames, the legend, \u201cGaloschiner Casino und Vereinshaus.\u201d Rabbi Akiba\nglanced at this sign a moment and then boldly entered. His entrance was\nthe signal for great excitement among the persons standing in the hall\nand among the visitors who were entering at the same time, and who had\ncome to attend the annual ball and reunion of the Galoschiner Gesellige\nVerein, the fashionable club _par excellence_ of the town, to which\nbelonged all those who could lay claim to wealth and social station. It\nwas an unheard-of thing that an old-fashioned, conservative Jew, who\nclung to Polish costume, beard and ear-locks, should set his foot within\na place dedicated to the dance and the new social practices which had\ncome from the West. To such a one they were all un-Jewish abominations;\nand the sight of swallow-tailed, bareheaded men and half-clothed women,\nshamelessly exposing their naked bosoms and arms to the gaze of strange\nmen, was hateful and loathsome. That Rabbi Akiba, the holy man, whose\nname was a synonym for all that was pious and austere, who stood for\nrigid and unswerving adherence to the olden Jewish life and stern\nreligious discipline, and for uncompromising opposition to all\nnew-fashioned vanities and worldliness, that he should actually in\n_propria persona_ enter into precincts given over to empty gayety and\nfolly, \u201cthe abode of scoffers,\u201d was more than surprising; it was\nbewildering, stupefying, paralyzing.\n\nRabbi Akiba did not seem to notice the excitement created by his\nentrance, but walked ahead to the door of the main _salon_. Here stood\nseveral gentlemen in evening dress. They were the reception committee,\nappointed to welcome the arriving guests. They gazed with amazement at\nthe venerable figure approaching, and bade him good-evening in subdued\nvoices. He answered their greeting and strode into the _salon_. The\ndance had just begun, and the floor was crowded with gentlemen in\nevening dress and ladies in handsome _d\u00e9collet\u00e9_ gowns and elegant\ncoiffures. The appearance of the rabbi gave rise to a scene of\nextraordinary excitement and confusion. Both men and women had no other\nthought but that their venerable spiritual chief had come there to\nrebuke them for their pursuit of unseemly and impious fashions; that he\nwould denounce them in fiery words as recreants to the faith, as sinners\nin Israel. In those days men and women still trembled when the rabbi\nuttered bitter words of reproof; and it was, therefore, only natural\nthat a sort of panic seized those who knew that they had transgressed\nagainst the strict rules of propriety of their faith, and saw before\nthem one who could call them to account. Some of the women fled to the\nother end of the room, followed by their escorts; others endeavored\nhastily to cover up their bare breasts and arms; others again stood as\nif rooted to the spot and unable to move. But Rabbi Akiba uttered no\nword of rebuke. He stood still, gazing with a benevolent smile at the\nscene of confusion which his advent had caused. Several moments of\nembarrassment and constraint passed before a few of the gentlemen\npresent plucked up courage to approach the rabbi, bid him welcome, and\ninquire the reason of his visit to the ball. At their head was Herr\nPringsheim, the banker and president of the community, who, by reason of\nhis prominent station, acted as spokesman.\n\n\u201cPeace be unto thee, honored rabbi,\u201d he said, with a low and reverential\nbow. \u201cWe welcome thee to our festivity. But may I inquire what has\nbrought us the honor of thy presence this evening? We had hardly thought\nthat festivities such as this met with thy approval.\u201d\n\n\u201cCuriosity, merely curiosity, friend Pringsheim,\u201d answered the rabbi,\nwith a reassuring smile. \u201cI wanted to know what our Jews are doing in\nthese new-fashioned days. One must know everything. Our sages, of\nblessed memory, tell us: \u2018Know what thou shouldst answer to the\nEpicurean.\u2019 But how can one know what to say to the Epicureans unless\none knows what they do? Just think: I have grown so old and have never\nseen a ball and know nothing, except by hearsay, of what is done in a\ncasino or clubhouse. Now, let the dance go on. Do not interrupt your\nproceedings on my account. I shall not scold you to-night, although what\nI may do some other time I shall not say.\u201d\n\nA gasp, indicating wonderment and only partial reassurance, escaped from\nthe breasts of the rabbi\u2019s hearers at these words. There was nothing to\ndo, however, except to follow his suggestion. Herr Pringsheim signalled\nto the musicians, who had ceased playing, to resume, and most of the\ndancers also resumed their places, showing, however, by their\nembarrassed air that they were ill at ease and not at all comfortable\nunder the rabbi\u2019s gaze. It was a singular sight, the venerable rabbi\nwhose whole appearance bespoke the house of worship and the study\nchamber, and recalled memories of centuries long past, standing in a\nmodern ball-room, critically inspecting the motions of the gayly clad\ncrowd, who bowed and _chass\u00e9ed_ and changed partners and swung around in\nthe most approved style, but who could not help showing by their\nsheepish looks how keenly they felt the absurdity of their position.\n\nThe dance over, Herr Pringsheim asked the rabbi if he had now satisfied\nhis curiosity. \u201cOh, no,\u201d answered Rabbi Akiba, \u201cunless this is all that\ntakes place here. But there must surely be more going on in a casino\nthan merely dancing, or you could not use so many rooms.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut there is really nothing else,\u201d answered Pringsheim, \u201cexcept the\ncard-playing. Those gentlemen who do not dance play various games of\ncards until supper-time, which comes at midnight. But I hardly suppose,\nworthy rabbi, that you take any interest in games of chance?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, but I do,\u201d answered the rabbi, with sudden animation. \u201cThat is just\nwhat I want to see. I want to know what there is about games of chance\nwhich so fascinates men that they will stake their money, their health,\nthe happiness of their families, even their lives, upon the issue of a\ngame of cards. By all means bring me where they play cards.\u201d\n\nWith a gesture of despair and an illy suppressed groan, Herr Pringsheim\nled the way to the card-room. The entrance of the rabbi into the\nelegantly furnished card-room produced a sensation similar to that which\nhad been caused by his appearance in the ball-room. A number of\ngentlemen were sitting around the green-covered tables, deeply engrossed\nin their hazardous and exciting pastime; but no sooner did the tall,\nvenerable figure of the aged ecclesiastic appear amid the thick clouds\nof tobacco smoke which filled the atmosphere of the room than all paused\nin astonishment and rose to their feet in varying attitudes and aspects\nof amazement and consternation. Like their companions of the ball-room\nthey were apprehensive of a fierce denunciation of their ungodly doings,\nand half expected to be peremptorily ordered home. Herr Pringsheim\nhastened to relieve their apprehensions.\n\n\u201cRetain your seats, gentlemen,\u201d he said, \u201cand do not interrupt your\ngame. Our honored rabbi has come here this evening impelled by a desire\nto see for himself how modern society amuses itself. He does not wish to\ndisturb or interfere with you in any way. Resume your playing,\ntherefore, and we shall remain here as mere spectators.\u201d\n\nThe effect of these words was that the players resumed their seats and\nbegan again their interrupted games. The ban of the rabbi\u2019s presence\nrested, however, heavily on all, and the playing, like the dancing in\nthe ball-room under the same influence, became spiritless and\nperfunctory in the extreme. The players removed their cigars from their\nmouths, the erstwhile boisterous voices became subdued, and all\nanimation departed from the scene. After silently watching the\nproceedings for a few moments the rabbi said to Herr Pringsheim: \u201cDo you\nknow, friend Pringsheim, I do not seem to gain any insight into a\ngambler\u2019s feelings from merely looking on. To me the whole thing seems a\nmerely mechanical proceeding. One makes one move and the other another\nmove. I cannot make out what it is all about, and I believe that I shall\nnever have any conception of what card-playing is, or wherein the\nfascination lies unless I play a game or two myself. Would you mind\nplaying with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot at all, rabbi,\u201d said Pringsheim, highly amused at the request.\n\u201cWhat game shall it be?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is all the same to me,\u201d answered the rabbi. \u201cI do not know one\nfrom the other. You choose any one you please and you will be kind\nenough to teach it me. I think I shall be able to learn it.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Pringsheim, laughing heartily. \u201cI don\u2019t doubt but you\nwill make a famous card-player. Where there is _Torah_ there is\n_Chochmah_.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut one thing I must tell you,\u201d said the rabbi. \u201cWe must play for\nmoney. I could never get the real feeling of the gambler, the thrill and\nthe tension which he feels, unless there was the hope of gain and the\nrisk of loss. So we must not play a mere formal game, but there must be\na real stake involved.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, rabbi,\u201d said Pringsheim, still smiling. \u201cHow large shall the\nstake be, a gulden or five gulden?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, that would never do,\u201d said the rabbi. \u201cI could not get the right\nidea with such a trifling sum, which is of no consequence whether won or\nlost. Let us play for a thousand gulden. I shall put my five hundred\ngulden on the game and you put in five hundred gulden also.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE GAME WHICH ENSUED WAS HIGHLY INTERESTING\n\n  _Page 287_]\n\nThe effect of this proposition was naturally startling. Pringsheim\nstared at the rabbi for a moment as though he could not trust his ears.\nBut he was, to put it in modern parlance, game. \u201cAs you wish, rabbi,\u201d he\nsaid, quietly. \u201cWe shall play for a stake of a thousand gulden.\u201d\n\nThe game which ensued was highly interesting. Writer deponeth not, nor\nis it essential to the purposes of this veracious history to state\nwhether the game was klabberyas, pinocle, skat, euchre, or poker.\nPringsheim taught Rabbi Akiba its rules and the game began. With one\naccord all the other players suspended their games to contemplate the\nspectacle of a rabbi in _jubitza_, _streimel_, and _peoth_ engaged in a\ngame of cards with a society gentleman in swallow-tail and bare head. Of\nthe result there could be no doubt. Pringsheim, of course, had no\nintention of either defeating the rabbi or taking his money. After\nvarious more or less intricate man\u0153uverings Rabbi Akiba won.\n\n\u201cWell, rabbi, you have won. Here are your winnings,\u201d said Pringsheim;\nand he took out his wallet, and extracting therefrom five hundred gulden\nnotes, handed them to the rabbi, who took them with great complacency\nand stowed them carefully away in his purse. \u201cI think you must\nunderstand now a gambler\u2019s feelings, at all events when he wins.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo far, so good, friend Pringsheim,\u201d answered the rabbi; \u201cbut this is\nnot quite experience enough for me. I want to know how a gambler feels\nwhen he risks the possessions he has gained so easily. If you do not\nmind, therefore, I should like to play one more game, staking the amount\nI have just won.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall have to beg to be excused this time, worthy rabbi,\u201d said Herr\nPringsheim, with an amused chuckle. \u201cYou are too good a player for me.\nLet some one else take my place. Herr Commerzienrath Hamburger, perhaps\nyou will oblige our honored _Rav_ and play a game with him on the same\nterms as the first one.\u201d\n\nHerr Commerzienrath Hamburger, a stout man with a bald head and a smooth\nface, who, like Pringsheim, was one of the _Vorstand_ or trustees of the\ncommunity, came forward, somewhat reluctantly, at these words and\nsignified his willingness to do as requested. The issue of the second\ngame was the same as that of the first. The rabbi\u2019s good luck did not\ndesert him, and a few moments later he rose from the table with the\nhandsome sum of a thousand gulden in his purse. He thanked Messrs.\nPringsheim and Hamburger for the instructive experience which they had\nbeen the means of affording him, bade the other gentlemen good-night,\nand turned to depart. He was escorted to a private exit by Herr\nPringsheim, who had him placed in a carriage, and the rabbi was whirled\nto his home, leaving behind him a much puzzled and mystified company of\nhis congregants.\n\nOn the following day Mosheh Labishiner called on Rabbi Akiba. He was in\na state of wretchedness bordering on utter despair. He had been forced\nto yield to the repeated entreaties of his wife and daughter, and had\npermitted the date of the wedding to be set, and had assured his\nintended son-in-law that the dowry would be ready a few days before the\nmarriage. But he had not the faintest idea whence he could derive the\nneeded funds; and he did not believe that Rabbi Akiba, in view of the\nrestriction he had placed upon him, would be able to assist him. His\nvisit to the rabbi was more with a vague idea of obtaining some comfort\nfrom the rabbi\u2019s friendly words than of anything more material. As soon\nas the rabbi caught sight of Mosheh\u2019s distressed countenance he cried\nout: \u201cMosheh, don\u2019t look so black. A man who is going to marry his\ndaughter to a fine young _bochur_ must look happy. Have you set the date\nof the wedding yet?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, rabbi, but the _Neduniah_?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, don\u2019t let that worry you. Here it is.\u201d And the rabbi drew forth his\npurse, and taking therefrom ten hundred gulden notes, placed them in the\nhands of the bewildered Mosheh.\n\n\u201cO rabbi, a thousand thanks! But how in the world did you get it, since\nyou had not the money and I had insisted that you must not collect for\nus?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, that was easy. I won it at cards.\u201d\n\n\u201cAt cards!\u201d and Mosheh stared at the rabbi with a look of blank\namazement and non-comprehension.\n\n\u201cYes, at cards,\u201d said the rabbi. \u201cI am a famous card-player. Whenever\nany of my good friends cannot find the dowry of his daughter, I go and\nwin it at cards. Why not? Do I not cause the card-players to do a\n_Mitzvah_? And is that not in itself a _Mitzvah_?\u201d And the rabbi laughed\nlong and heartily.\n\n\u201cRabbi, I do not understand thy words,\u201d said Mosheh; \u201cbut I know thou\nhast been my saviour, and the saviour of my family. I would fain show my\ngratitude. How can I thank thee?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want no thanks,\u201d said the rabbi. \u201cAll I want is that thou shouldst\nrespect my ability as card-player and give me the privilege of a\n_Mitzvah_ dance at the wedding.\u201d And the rabbi laughed again.\n\n\n\n\n            GLOSSARY OF HEBREW AND OTHER NON-ENGLISH TERMS.\n\n\n ABAYE AND RABA,                     Two distinguished rabbis of the\n                                       Talmud.\n\n ANGENEHME RUHE,                     Pleasant rest.\n\n ANI YEHUDI, BO IMMI ACHI,           I am a Jew. Come with me, O my\n                                       brother.\n\n APOLOGIA PRO LIBRO SUO,             Apology or defence of his book.\n\n AUF WIEDERSEHEN,                    Good-by; au revoir.\n\n\n BACHURIM,                           Talmud students.\n\n BOCHUR,                             Talmud students.\n\n BORUCH HASHEM,                      Praised be the Lord.\n\n BAAL HAB-BAYIS OR BAAL HA-BAYITH,   Householder, burgher.\n\n BAALE BATIM,                        Members of the congregation.\n\n BAUERNGUT,                          Peasant estate, farm.\n\n BETH HA-MIDRASH,                    House of study, where the study of\n                                       the law and worship are\n                                       conducted.\n\n\n CHAUSS\u00c9E,                           Highway.\n\n CHARIF,                             Sharp, keen-witted.\n\n CHAVER,                             Friend, companion.\n\n CHAZAN,                             See Hazan.\n\n CHOCHMAH,                           Wisdom.\n\n\n DEITCH,                             German: Polish-Jewish term for a\n                                       Jew who has adopted Gentile dress\n                                       and ways.\n\n\n ETHROGIM,                           Fruit of the citra species, used on\n                                       the Feast of Tabernacles, Lev.\n                                       xxiii. 40.\n\n EINGELEGTE G\u00c4NSEBRUST,              Goose breast preserved in fat.\n\n ERSTE DAME,                         First Lady; Prima Donna.\n\n ETERNAL HOUSE,                      English rendition of Beth Olam, one\n                                       of the many touching Hebrew names\n                                       for the Jewish Cemetery.\n\n\n FULDA RAV,                          Officiating rabbi of Fulda.\n\n\n GALOSCHINER CASINO UND VEREINSHAUS, Galoschin Casino and Club House.\n\n GAN EDEN,                           Paradise.\n\n GEBIRGE,                            Mountain range.\n\n GEF\u00dcLLTE FLANKEN,                   Stuffed flanks or navel pieces.\n\n GEMARA,                             Main portion of the Talmud.\n\n GESETZTE BOHNEN,                    Beans placed in the oven on Friday\n                                       and left there till the next day.\n\n GESETZTES ESSEN,                    Food treated as preceding.\n\n GET,                                Divorce.\n\n GRUESSE GOTT,                       Be greeted in the name of God.\n\n GRUENKERN SUPPE,                    Soup made from a peculiar kind of\n                                       green kernels.\n\n GUTEN MORGEN,                       Good morning.\n\n GUTEN TAG,                          Good day.\n\n GUT WOCH,                           Good week.\n\n\n HAFTARAH,                           Prophetic portion.\n\n HAKAMIM,                            The sages, the rabbins.\n\n HALACHAH,                           Religious rule or decision.\n\n HAZAN,                              Reader or Precentor.\n\n HEREIN,                             Come in.\n\n\n ILLUY,                              Bright scholar.\n\n\n JUBITZA,                            Long robe worn by the Polish and\n                                       Russian Jews.\n\n\n KADDISH,                            A prayer recited by sons during the\n                                       eleven months after the death of\n                                       a parent.\n\n KALLAH,                             Bride.\n\n KEHILLAH,                           Congregation.\n\n KIDDUSH,                            Benediction by which the Sabbath or\n                                       festivals are introduced.\n\n KIDDUSH-BEAKER,                     Cup containing the wine of the\n                                       blessing.\n\n KETUBAH,                            Marriage certificate.\n\n KOSHER,                             Ritually clean.\n\n KRETCHM,                            Tavern, inn.\n\n\n \u201cL\u2019ETAT, C\u2019EST MOI,\u201d                The State, I am it.\n\n LEBE WOHL,                          Farewell.\n\n LEF,                                A heart.\n\n LINK,                               Irreligious.\n\n LOEFFEL,                            A spoon.\n\n\n MAARIV,                             Evening service.\n\n MAGGID,                             Preacher.\n\n MALACH,                             Angel.\n\n MASSIG GEVOOL,                      Interference with the business of\n                                       another.\n\n MAZZOL TOV,                         Good luck, a form of\n                                       congratulation.\n\n MECHULLEH,                          A bankrupt.\n\n MEHUTTANIM,                         Relatives by marriage.\n\n MELAMMEDIM,                         Hebrew teachers.\n\n MESHOLIM,                           Stories or parables.\n\n MESHUMMAD OR MESHUMMED,             A renegade, a pervert from Judaism.\n\n MINCHAH,                            Afternoon service.\n\n MISHNAH,                            Portion of the Talmud.\n\n MISHPOCHOH,                         Family connections, relationship.\n\n MITZVAH,                            Meritorious action, good deed.\n\n\n NEDUNIAH,                           Dowry.\n\n NEFOSHOS,                           Souls.\n\n NIGGUN,                             Melody.\n\n\n OVEL,                               A mourner.\n\n\n PARNASS,                            President of the congregation.\n\n PARNOSO,                            Livelihood, sustenance.\n\n PEOTH,                              Ear curls.\n\n PLETT,                              A ticket.\n\n RACONTEUR, FEM.\u2014_euse_,             Teller of tales and anecdotes.\n\n RAV,                                Official or communal rabbi.\n\n RISHUS,                             Wickedness, enmity; Hebrew term for\n                                       anti-Jewish prejudice.\n\n ROSH CHODESH,                       First of the Jewish month.\n\n ROSHO,                              Wicked man, Jew-hater.\n\n\n SCHEITEL,                           A cloth or wig with which religious\n                                       Jewesses cover their heads.\n\n SCHLAFE WOHL,                       Sleep well.\n\n SCHNORRERS,                         Beggars.\n\n SEDRAH,                             The part of the Pentateuch read in\n                                       the synagogue.\n\n SHABBOS KUGEL,                      Sabbath pudding.\n\n SHAMMAS,                            Synagogue attendant; sexton.\n\n SHIDDUCH,                           Marriage.\n\n SHIUR,                              A selection from the Talmud or\n                                       devotional books.\n\n SHIVAH,                             The prescribed mourning period of\n                                       seven days during which the\n                                       mourner sits on the earth and\n                                       does not leave the house.\n\n SHOOL,                              Synagogue.\n\n SOPHER,                             Scribe.\n\n\n TAANIS,                             A fast day.\n\n TALLETHIM OR TALLITHOTH,            Robes or shawls worn during\n                                       services.\n\n TEPHILLIN,                          Phylacteries.\n\n PROSELYTE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,         English rendition of Ger Tsedek, a\n                                       Gentile who enters into the\n                                       covenant of Judaism in all\n                                       sincerity and lives a\n                                       consistently pious and religious\n                                       life.\n\n TORAH,                              The Law.\n\n TREFAH OR TREFOTH,                  Forbidden food.\n\n\n VIS \u00c1 VIS DE RIEN,                  Over against nothing\u2014_i. e._, at a\n                                       loss, unable to do anything.\n\n VODKA,                              Russian whiskey.\n\n\n YEHUDI,                             A Jew.\n\n YEHUDI ATTAH?                       Art thou a Jew?\n\n YESHIBAH,                           Talmudic Academy.\n\n\n ZWIEBEL T\u00c4TCHER,                    Onion cake.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s note:\n\n 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.\n\n 2. Retained anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as\n      printed.","title":"From the Heart of Israel: Jewish Tales and Types","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":63429}