for little children, sounded strangely, softly,
and solemnly from the withered, yellow lips of Saul, moving from the
midst of his milk-white beard. While pronouncing that word, his
wrinkled forehead, surmounted by equally white hair beneath a velvet
skull-cap, became smooth.

But where were Freida's beautiful face, dark, fiery eyes, and slender
figure? How changed was the quiet, industrious, intelligent wife and
confidant of Hersh Ezofowich! She had outlived all her charms, as she
had outlived her husband, lord and friend. With time, her delicate,
slender figure increased in size, and took on the shape of the trunk
of a tree, from which sprang many strong, fruit-bearing branches. Her
face was now covered with such a quantity of fine wrinkles that it
was impossible to find one smooth place. Her eyes were sunken, and
had grown small, looking from beneath the bar of eyelashes with a
pale, faded glow. But on her face, crumpled though it was by the hand
of time, there was a sweet and imperturbable peace. The small eyes
looked about with smiling tranquillity of the spirit, lulled to sleep
by agreeable whispering, and the sweet smile of slumber surrounded
her yellow, hardly perceptible lips, which for a long time had grown
silent, opening more and more seldom for the pronunciation of shorter
and shorter sentences. Now, having placed her arm about the neck of
the pretty, young and strong girl by whose side she stood at the
family table, and having looked on the faces of all present there,
she whispered:

"Wo ist Meir?"

It was the great-grandmother who spoke, and at her words the whole
assembly recoiled, as from the blow of a sudden gust of wind. Men,
women, and children looked at each other, and through the room
resounded the whisper:

"Wo ist Meir?"

Owing to the largeness of the family his absence had not been
noticed. Old Saul did not repeat his mother's question, but his
forehead frowned still more, and his eye was fixed on the door with a
severe, almost angry expression.

At that moment the door opened and a tall, well-proportioned young
man entered. His long dress was trimmed with costly fur. He closed
the door after him and stood near it, as though shy or ashamed. He
noticed that he was too late and that the common family prayers had
been recited without him, that the eyes of his grandfather Saul, of
two uncles and several women relatives were looking at him severely
and inquisitively. Only the grandmother's go