he Czar. A
glance over the statutes of the Pale leaves you wondering that the
Russian Jews have not lost all semblance to humanity.

[Illustration: THE GRAVE DIGGER OF POLOTZK]

A favorite complaint against us was that we were greedy for gold. Why
could not the Gentiles see the whole truth where they saw half? Greedy
for profits we were, eager for bargains, for savings, intent on
squeezing the utmost out of every business transaction. But why? Did
not the Gentiles know the reason? Did they not know what price we had
to pay for the air we breathed? If a Jew and a Gentile kept store side
by side, the Gentile could content himself with smaller profits. He
did not have to buy permission to travel in the interests of his
business. He did not have to pay three hundred rubles fine if his son
evaded military service. He was saved the expense of hushing inciters
of pogroms. Police favor was retailed at a lower price to him than to
the Jew. His nature did not compel him to support schools and
charities. It cost nothing to be a Christian; on the contrary, it
brought rewards and immunities. To be a Jew was a costly luxury, the
price of which was either money or blood. Is it any wonder that we
hoarded our pennies? What his shield is to the soldier in battle, that
was the ruble to the Jew in the Pale.

The knowledge of such things as I am telling leaves marks upon the
flesh and spirit. I remember little children in Polotzk with old, old
faces and eyes glazed with secrets. I knew how to dodge and cringe and
dissemble before I knew the names of the seasons. And I had plenty of
time to ponder on these things, because I was so idle. If they had let
me go to school, now--But of course they didn't.

There was no free school for girls, and even if your parents were rich
enough to send you to a private school, you could not go very far. At
the high school, which was under government control, Jewish children
were admitted in limited numbers,--only ten to every hundred,--and
even if you were among the lucky ones, you had your troubles. The
tutor who prepared you talked all the time about the examinations you
would have to pass, till you were scared. You heard on all sides that
the brightest Jewish children were turned down if the examining
officers did not like the turn of their noses. You went up to be
examined with the other Jewish children, your heart heavy about that
matter of your nose. There was a special examination for the Jewis