choose a friend I determine my fate anew. I can think
of no cataclysm that could have the force to move me from my path.
Fire or flood or the envy of men may tear the roof off my house, but
my soul would still be at home under the lofty mountain pines that dip
their heads in star dust. Even life, that was so difficult to attain,
may serve me merely as a wayside inn, if I choose to go on eternally.
However I came here, it is mine to be.

CHAPTER IV

DAILY BREAD

My mother ought to have been happy in her engagement. Everybody
congratulated her on securing such a scholar, her parents loaded her
with presents, and her friends envied her. It is true that the
hossen's family consisted entirely of poor relations; there was not
one solid householder among them. From the worldly point of view my
mother made a mesalliance. But as one of my aunts put it, when my
mother objected to the association with the undesirable cousins, she
could take out the cow and set fire to the barn; meaning that she
could rejoice in the hossen and disregard his family.

The hossen, on his part, had reason to rejoice, without any
reservations. He was going into a highly respectable family, with a
name supported by property and business standing. The promised dowry
was considerable, the presents were generous, the trousseau would be
liberal, and the bride was fair and capable. The bridegroom would have
years before him in which he need do nothing but eat free board, wear
his new clothes, and study Torah; and his poor relations could hold up
their heads at the market stalls, and in the rear pews in the
synagogue.

My mother's trousseau was all that a mother-in-law could wish. The
best tailor in Polotzk was engaged to make the cloaks and gowns, and
his shop was filled to bursting with ample lengths of velvet and satin
and silk. The wedding gown alone cost every kopeck of fifty rubles,
as the tailor's wife reported all over Polotzk. The lingerie was of
the best, and the seamstress was engaged on it for many weeks.
Featherbeds, linen, household goods of every sort--everything was
provided in abundance. My mother crocheted many yards of lace to trim
the best sheets, and fine silk coverlets adorned the plump beds. Many
a marriageable maiden who came to view the trousseau went home to
prink and blush and watch for the shadchan.

The wedding was memorable for gayety and splendor. The guests included
some of the finest people in Polotzk; for while