m is over; and, as they never
pass a door without begging, they are not likely to be disappointed.

"The fun I enjoyed best was the uncovering of our plates and seeing what
Shalach-monus had been sent to us. A cap had been sent to Father, made
of velvet, with tails of sable and other skins round it. Father felt
very downcast, for he did not at all like the idea of giving up wearing
the high hat that he always wore in London on Sabbaths and holidays.
Whether he will wear the velvet schtramel or not I cannot tell, but I
will wait and see who wins--Father or the community--for we have some
idea who sent it.

"Mother received a beautiful, soft silk kerchief to wear on her head,
and it seemed a sign that the community wanted her to put her wig aside
and wear a kerchief instead. I was most thankful they did not send me a
pair of scissors. If they had, I should have thought they wanted me to
cut my plaits off. Well, I should have fought for my hair as I would for
life!

"In the afternoon I went to visit some friends, and I found a house full
of men, young and old, with their schtramel on their heads, and their
kaftans tied back, singing at the very top of their voices (and some
have very fine voices); others were clapping their hands, while eight
men, four on each side, were dancing what looked like a pantomime ballet
that I once went to. It was simply grand to watch them, for some were
old men with long, white beards, while others were serious-looking
young men who are to be seen daily in the street walking to and from
their homes and Shules, always deep in thought and so very
serious-looking that you would imagine that they did not know how to
smile. Here they were, on this Purim afternoon, dancing with all their
might, and with bright, smiling eyes! You could see it was not wine that
had made them bright and cheery: it was the spirit, or fire, of their
religious zeal commemorating with thankfulness the anniversary of the
day when their nation was saved from destruction. Of course I was too
fascinated watching them at the time to think this was the reason for
this unusual sight.

"After a while, they went to pay visits to the Rav and to others who
were scholars or pious men in the community. Often when walking to the
various houses they would catch hold of others and dance with them in
the open streets as you see children doing when an organ-grinder plays.

"I was so attracted by them, and so was everyone who saw them,