ded for the children's bodily needs--food and
clothing.

Now he would supply them with spiritual things--instruction and
education.

He dismissed the old teachers, and engaged young ones in their stead,
even for Jewish subjects. Out of the Talmud Torah he wanted to make a
little university. He already fancied it a success. He closed his eyes,
laid his forehead on his hands, and a sweet, happy smile parted his
lips. He pictured to himself the useful people who would go forth out of
the Talmud Torah. Now he can die happy, he thinks. But no, he does not
want to die! He wants to live! To live and to work, work, work! He will
not and cannot see an end to his life! Reb Shloimeh feels more and more
cheerful, lively, and fresh--to work----to work--till--

The whole town was in commotion.

There was a perfect din in the Shools, in the streets, in the houses.
Hypocrites and crooked men, who had never before been seen or heard of,
led the dance.

"To make Gentiles out of the children, forsooth! To turn the Talmud
Torah into a school! That we won't allow! No matter if we have to turn
the world upside down, no matter what happens!"

Reb Shloimeh heard the cries, and made as though he heard nothing. He
thought it would end there, that no one would venture to oppose him
further.

"What do you say to that?" he asked the teachers. "Fanaticism has broken
out already!"

"It will give trouble," replied the teachers.

"Eh, nonsense!" said Reb Shloimeh, with conviction. But on Sabbath, at
the Reading of the Law, he saw that he had been mistaken. The opposition
had collected, and they got onto the platform, and all began speaking at
once. It was impossible to make out what they were saying, beyond a word
here and there, or the fragment of a sentence: "--none of it!" "we won't
allow--!" "--made into Gentiles!"

Reb Shloimeh sat in his place by the east wall, his hands on the desk
where lay his Pentateuch. He had taken off his spectacles, and glanced
at the platform, put them on again, and was once more reading the
Pentateuch. They saw this from the platform, and began to shout louder
than ever. Reb Shloimeh stood up, took off his prayer-scarf, and was
moving toward the door, when he heard some one call out, with a bang of
his fist on the platform:

"With the consent of the Rabbis and the heads of the community, and in
the name of the Holy Torah, it is resolved to take the children away
from the Talmud Torah, seeing that in place