the Jews, Alexander was particularly gracious. He removed many of the
restrictions imposed by his predecessor. The stringent laws limiting the
number of marriages in a community were moderated. In some few instances
their quarters were enlarged, and an order was issued restoring to their
parents all children that had been forcibly taken from them during the
reign of the old Czar.

What rejoicing was there in Israel! How many families, separated by the
inhuman decrees of Nicholas, were now reunited! Every home was gladdened
either by the restoration of some beloved son, or in sympathy with the
general rejoicing. One family in Kief waited in vain, however, for the
return of a missing child. It was hoped by Mordecai that under the
general amnesty Jacob, if indeed he were still living, would be allowed
to return; but there were no tidings of him, and the conviction that he
had met his death was strengthened.

A new and promising era opened for the oppressed and persecuted Hebrews.
It appeared as if their patient resignation under adverse circumstances
would eventually be rewarded by the concession of equal rights with
their fellow-men. To be sure, all persecution did not cease. The badge
of disgrace was still worn by every male Jew, the owning of land and the
following of many trades was still forbidden. The Jew was still the
object of derision throughout the Empire; he was still judged by a
severer code of justice than were his gentile neighbors; the entire race
was still held responsible for the crime of the individual. But active
hostilities ceased and the Hebrews rejoiced thereat.

Mendel continued his studies, and in the course of a few years his fame
spread from _jeschiva_ to _jeschiva_, from congregation to congregation.
By the time that he was twenty-one years of age, he had published a book
in Hebrew, which, while it respected the religious sentiment of his
people, paved the way for assimilating the modern knowledge. The work
created a profound impression. The chief synagogues of Moscow and of
Warsaw invited him to take up his residence with them. His reply was
that as his parents resided in Kief, he preferred to remain there.

There was another attraction in Kief more powerful than that exercised
by his parents, more potent to keep the young philosopher in the city of
his adoption. Mendel was in love. His heart, schooled in the wisdom of
many nations, had surrendered unconditionally to the charm of Recha, the
b