ly of the poorer classes, who,
being without means, were assisted by their more fortunate
co-religionists to emigrate. There were many sturdy young people among
the group, who, like Joseph Kierson and his wife, hoped for better
opportunities than were possible in their own intolerant land. The
wealthier classes, those who still had important mercantile interests in
Russia, as a rule, remained at home, in expectation of a speedy end of
the persecutions.

On the next day a sad and sorrowful procession moved slowly out of Kief.
They were accompanied part of the way by grieving friends, and trudged
bravely along on foot to Brody, on the Austrian frontier, where they
arrived after many days, foot-sore and weary. A pitiful state of affairs
confronted them here. Nearly six thousand refugees from Russian villages
had assembled in Brody and were in a completely helpless state. Huddled
in cellars, stowed away in sheds, in boxes, under lumber, lay the
unfortunate people, many of whom but a few weeks before had been rich
and prosperous. The travellers from Kief did what they could to mitigate
the horrible condition of these wretches, but the trouble was of such
magnitude that they could do little to relieve it.

On to Hamburg went our friends, on foot, in wagons, or by rail, as their
means warranted; on to Hamburg, there to take ship for the haven of
their hopes, the free and hospitable shores of America.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 22: For the corroboration of these facts, see the account of
the _London Times_ special correspondent; also, Mr. Evarts' speech
delivered in Chickering Hall, New York, in March, 1882.]

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE LAND OF THE FREE.

A letter from Kathinka Kierson to her father:

JULY 1, 1887.

DEAR FATHER:--We grieved and rejoiced on the receipt of your
last letter: grieved that the Jews of Russia are still smarting under
the lash of persecution, that outbreaks of intolerance still continue;
and we rejoice to learn that dear mother has almost entirely recovered
her reason. We trust that her cure will be permanent, and that the
evening of your life will be as happy as you so richly deserve. It is
truly as you so often said: "Sorrow is essential in bringing out the
best there is in man." As a severe storm in nature purifies the elements
and the earth, reviving the plants, clarifying the air, causing the sun
to shine more gloriously, so, too,