The San Francisco call., 1904-06-26
LITHUANIAN JERUSALEM" ."

LITHUANIAN JERUSALEM"
The holidays passed mournfully
enough. Nothing was heard OF Make.
Her name was not to be mentioned in
her fathers presence, though both Of
the grief-stricken parents continued to
weep and groan, and the dreary fall
added a touch of gloom. I could not
bear to stay in this house any longer,
so when the first snow fell I thanked
the broken-hearted people for their
kindness and departed. With a hun
dred rubles in my pocket hoped TO be
able to make start in Vino.
Late on Friday afternoon.I arrived in
the great city OF enlightenment. The
streets Of Lithuanian Jerusalem" as
Vilno was justly termed, were thronged
with running. jostling, pushing men
and women, whose every look and ges-
ture spoke OF thrifty commerce. With
no particular destination in view, 1
wandered through the busy thorough
fares, staring at everything about me
with astonishment; at the three and
four story white-plastered buildings
which seemed to me like so many
towers Of Babel, at the crowded side
walks, at the noisy pavements, at the
smoothly rolling carriages, at the rat
Ting carts, at the rushing droskies.
Everything was so different from what
I had been accustomed to in the small
dirty towns that 1 felt helpless, half
frightened.
/ reached the marketplace. Here
more than ever I was aware that was
in vilno and on Friday-the busiest
day Of all seven. I paused on a street
corner and looked about dazedly. Fish
mongers, fruit-venders, small dry
goods dealers called off their wares in
stentorian voices, asthmatic voices,
screechy. piping voices, jarring voices,
and in all sorts OF intonations and dia-
lects.
A heavy-cloaked, fat Jewess, with a
large woolen shawl twisted around her
head and covering all features but her
frozen nose and moving lips, solicited
trade in this wise: Blessed women,
come, come; good. hot, mellow, and
relishable beans; buy, women, for the
Sabbath. They will melt in your
mouths like granulated sugar-so may
the One whose name I am not worthy
Of mentioning help me to see, my chill
dren under the bridal canopy-a real
bargain; a bargain as sure as 1 live"
"A bargain as sure as I live" piped
her little daughter, while her mother
was rubbing her hands and warming
herself over the ''fre-pot"
Another woman stood in the doorway
OF a dry goods shop, her hands under
her apron and her head cowled In a
baavv Sbauyl oYrorralfp1 x.,f+b n ,--o~.o.
who was leaving the store. "Outcast!
Vixen. May your name be effaced from
the earth!" cursed the stcrekeeper.
Don't know that you go around from
store to store only to bargain and hag-
gle without buying a penny's worth of
stuff? Hal ha! ha! Did you ever see
such a pig, such an unclean animal,
who came over here from some small
town or village. and simply goes
around for the fun of bargaining? Ten
customers-so may God help me and
give me good luck-ten customers-so
may / see my eldest daughter under
the bridal canopy and you in the
gravei-ten customers-so may ten
plaques set on your hoggish black face!
ten customers passed my door and
did not come In because you were bar
gaining with me. and they surely would
have bought more goods than you have
got In your store, you pig of a small
town. All the ten plaques Of Egypt
shall rest on your hoggish headl" The
shopkeeper turned to the passersby:
''Nu! nu! Did you ever hear? She don't
want my goods, she says, after I had
turned the store upside down and
quoted her the cheapest prices-almost
at cost"
The would-be customer, a short,
heavy-set woman with purple cheeks.
blue lips, and a reddish snub-nose, had
been gathering wrath, and she now
turned II loose. Thief Pickpocketi
Your swindles are known all over the
world, from India unto Ethiopia Ha!
ha! hai She thinks she has got hold of
a fool from a small town, and tries to
sell her cat In a bag Before 1 ever
knew about your threadbare stolen
handkerchiefs and rotten silk had al
ready dealt in ten thousand rubles'
worth Of satin and costly silks and vel
vets. All the storekeepers of our town
warned me not to buy any goods from
you-so may I live to see my husband
and children in the best of health
when 1 arrive homel All your curses
will fall in the deep sea where the
Egyptians were drowned, and where
hope to see you swallowed. Must l buy