The San Francisco call., 1904-07-03
CHAPTER X.

A CHAT WITH THE MISSIONARY.
We got on an elevated car at Grand
street and rode uptown. We alighted at
the Fifty-ninth street station and
walked several blocks to a fashionable
apartment house. in which he said he
lived. In the small corridor he pressed
one Of a number Of buttons, and some
body called through the speaking tube.
open, Martha" the missionary an
swered.
I heard a click, and he opened the
door Of the hall.
One fight up" he said to me as he
ran up the stairs. He led me up the one
flight and knocked at a door. 1t was
opened by a tall, welI-shaped woman,
who smiled on Gavniack as we entered.
1t struck me that her smile was hardly
the smile Of a wife
We went through a room which I
noted in passing was extensively fur
nished, and entered a room that was
half-study, half-smoklng-roo This,
Ike the adjoining room. had been fur
nished at much expense. There was a
long black leather couch and two arm
chairs: on the wall hung a good pic
ture Of the woman who had opened the
door for US, and opposite IL hung a pic
ture Of a beautiful little girl. who
looked like the miniature Of the woman.
There was also a small well-flled
bookcase and a couple Of we'll executed
pieces of marble.
He excused himself, but returned in
few minutes. He drew the two arm
chairs close together and placed a small
round table between us. We had
scarcely seated ourselves when the
woman brought in some wine, oysters
and cigars and placed them on the ia
bic. She looked at me keenly as she put
the tray down, and a sudden warmth
passed over my face.
He did not introduce me TO her, so I
concluded she was not his wife
She was decidedly handsome, about 30
years old 1 judged, with full milky
cheeks, slightly tinged with crimson,
thick, light-brown hair and blush
eyes with an experienced look in them.
Although I had always fiattered myself
upon being a good physiognomist, I
could not at first tell her race or ma
tiOnality. She looked like a charming
young Bauerin, full Of rustic fascina-
ton. However, after close observation
] discerned by her profile and medita-
tive glance that she must have Jewish
blood in her veins.
She closed the door after her when
she left, and Gavnaick glanced at me
through the corner Of his eye-a little
EuEBlIlOuclgs i LAlOuSnAt lnOuBn nE
feigned to be looking at the picture op-
posite him.
He filled both Of our glasses and said /:
Drink. Wine makes glad the heart of
man." quoting the psalm in the orig
inal. THE psalmist, like Luther, ap-
preciated the mission of Bacchus-
hey?"
Wine enters and secrets come out"
] thought, but said nothing.
IL ~
idealist, Razovski," he went on. "Our
profession needs young men lik. him
and he is worth his weight in gold.
But no inducement could bribe him.
(My heart throbbed with shamel An
idealist is the best tool for our p-ofes-
sion, for those idealists generalIy run
from one extreme to the other. We
need new blood now. Our best patrons
are now losing faith in us and l. this
keeps on much longer we may be olay-
ed out. The infdels on one side and
the poor on the other are liabh to
wrest the food from our mouths. In
ancient times baptism was looked lpon
with unspeakalble horror by the Jews.
but Of late IL has become rather fish
ionable." He smiled a self-adula in q
grin Those Jews Of greatest taent
and genius have tried to wash tleir
birth of with the sacred water of he
font"
Now, let us come 70 a clear uno,r-
standing as TO what I ask of you in
return for the assistance offer" He
assumed business-like air. II knsw
that you are well versed in HEBREW
literature and you are able to dig OFT
some necessary information from tie
Tslmud, Kabbala, and so forth. Be-
sides, your knowledge of the four priI-
cipal European languages will be cf
some help to me. In short. all I ask
Of you is a little elucidation on thee
logical topics. To be frank with you
] have neither the time nor the reuui
site knowledge to, investigate thes.
subjects for myself. have helped
many Russian students and they arr
officiating in large Christian churches
But have no more use for them-nons
whatever. But got paid for them. al
right" This last he said TO himself
He spoke in cool, businesslike tone