d
his back in the direction in which they walked. Consequently he could
not be said to walk, but draw back, in the meantime jumping and
clapping his hands, bending low to the ground, stumbling, and jumping
again, raising his face to the sky and shouting for joy. Finally, a
certain distance behind, a throng of children followed them and
looked with great curiosity at the retinue, and on seeing the
melamed's jumping and dancing, they began to imitate him, jumping and
gesticulating also and filling the air with wild noise.

After a while the door of the Ezofowich house was violently opened
and through it rushed the melamed--he was red, out of breath, bathed
in perspiration and beaming with great joy. He rejoiced heartily,
loudly, passionately. What for? Poor melamed!

"Reb Saul!" he said with a hoarse voice, "meet the great happiness
the great honour coming to you."

From Saul's face it would be seen that a secret fear was fighting
with the great joy within him. But his family evidently rejoiced
exceedingly, for their faces beamed with pride and satisfaction
except Ber, who was always silent and apathetic if the question was
not one of business and money. Old Saul stood near the threshold of
the parlour. On the piazza Rob Jankiel and Morejne Calman seized the
Rabbi under either arm, lifted his thin body above the ground, and
having carried him through the hall and over the threshold they
placed him opposite Saul. Then they bowed profoundly, left the house,
sat on the piazza waiting for the moment to reconduct the Rabbi.

In the meanwhile Saul bent before the guest his grave and reverent
head. Everyone present followed his example.

"He who greets a sage greets the Eternal," said he.

"He who greets a sage . . ." the choir of male and female voices
began to repeat after Saul, but at that moment Isaak Todros raised
his index finger, looked around with his fiery eyes, and said:

"Sh-a-a-a!"

In the room there was the silence of the tomb.

The finger of the guest made a large circle, taking in the row of
people standing near the wall.

"Weg!" (get out) shouted he.

Within the room the rustling of dresses and the sound of swift steps
were heard; faces grew frightened and sorrowful, and crowding
together the inmates squeezed through the door leading to the
interior of the house, and disappeared.

In the larger room only two men remained--the silver-haired,
broad-shouldered patriarch, and the thin, fiery-looking s