ying for his trade papers,
to live in a certain city. The chief of police suddenly took it into
his head to impeach the genuineness of his papers. The capmaker was
obliged to travel to St. Petersburg, where he had qualified in the
first place, to repeat the examination. He spent the savings of years
in petty bribes, trying to hasten the process, but was detained ten
months by bureaucratic red tape. When at length he returned to his
home town, he found a new chief of police, installed during his
absence, who discovered a new flaw in the papers he had just obtained,
and expelled him from the city. If he came to Polotzk, there were then
eleven capmakers where only one could make a living.

Merchants fared like the artisans. They, too, could buy the right of
residence outside the Pale, permanent or temporary, on conditions that
gave them no real security. I was proud to have an uncle who was a
merchant of the First Guild, but it was very expensive for my uncle.
He had to pay so much a year for the title, and a certain percentage
on the profits from his business. This gave him the right to travel on
business outside the Pale, twice a year, for not more than six months
in all. If he were found outside the Pale after his permit expired, he
had to pay a fine that exceeded all he had gained by his journey,
perhaps. I used to picture my uncle on his Russian travels, hurrying,
hurrying to finish his business in the limited time; while a policeman
marched behind him, ticking off the days and counting up the hours.
That was a foolish fancy, but some of the things that were done in
Russia really were very funny.

There were things in Polotzk that made you laugh with one eye and weep
with the other, like a clown. During an epidemic of cholera, the city
officials, suddenly becoming energetic, opened stations for the
distribution of disinfectants to the people. A quarter of the
population was dead when they began, and most of the dead were buried,
while some lay decaying in deserted houses. The survivors, some of
them crazy from horror, stole through the empty streets, avoiding one
another, till they came to the appointed stations, where they pushed
and crowded to get their little bottles of carbolic acid. Many died
from fear in those horrible days, but some must have died from
laughter. For only the Gentiles were allowed to receive the
disinfectant. Poor Jews who had nothing but their new-made graves were
driven away from the station