The Denver Jewish news., 1922-07-19

-Ahu IdlIiNA anu IipALiSA 'N'tiARiAAFll iii'
to study harder, reminding me of Ten
Percent. reminding me that | must be
better prepared than any other boy,
for there are only five vacancies for
Jewish boys and at least one hundred
are going to take the examination.
And they tell me that the only saliva
tion for Il jew in Russia is 20 study,
to go through high school then to
enter a university. and to acquire n
profession. Jewish professional men
are allowed little more freedom,
few more rights than the plain un-
et'ucated Jews. And my young brain
falls again under the Influence of the
bogy-Tcn Percent And | begin 10
studys with more zeal And even the
rarely smiling Mr.. Kunin seems pleas
ed.
Spring is here. Warm breeZcs are
waited from the South. The ice ON
the Dnicper breaks, and the wide
stream. freed from bondage. flows fas-
ter as if TO make up for lost time.
In our large courtyard there are pud-
dies and pools of water: and oh. how
irresistibly tempting it is to spend
these beautiful days in the open and
away from grammar and arithmetic
and the impending examinations and
the thought of the thrice-accursed Ten
Percent.
Summer is under way. Acacia bios
SONS line the sidewalks, but |, an
eight-ycar-old Jew. spend all my days
in studying. Only once in great
while do | take a rest and we board
the car for the City Park. the old
park planted in the days of Catherine
the Great by her favOrite. Prince Po-
tiomkin. 1t is old and neglected and
full of tall troes-oaks and naples
with here and there Il poplar. and on
almost every branch a crows nest.
Have you prepared your lessons
for tomorrow mother asks. We
hastily return home. 1 spend all even
ing trying to puzzle out how many |
boxes of tea at two rubles Il pound |
were bought by certain merchant in
Mascow, and how many pounds of
sugar at sixteen kopechs II pound were
sold by the same worthy.
The summer is at an end Two more
weeks to the twentieth of August. the
day of the examination. Mr.. Kunin
grows more and more serious. He
quizzcs me daily. After n number Of
rehearsals he assures my parents that
! am ready not only for the prepara-
tory grade but even for the first class.
The day before the examination he
admonishcs me not to get frightened
when l am called upon to rccite. and.
in general. to behave like man. He
rchcarses me once more. He puts the
hardest and cntchicst questions. but I
avoid all his traps successfully and
answer TO his complete satisfaction.
Early in the morning. l open my |
eyes. 1t is dark in the room, and in
Il minute | am asleep again. hut faith
cr comes over to my bed and taps me
ON the shoulder: Come, get up, it |
is seven o'clock"
l jump up and begin to dress. l am
so excited | can hardly eat breakfast.
| don my new sailor suit especially |
holder, n few pen-pointS, and bottle |
OF ink in my pocke.-they do not fur
nish any Mt the Gymnasium. At last
l am ready, and father and l start
for school.
God he with you mother whisp- |
crs as she kisses me. There is II
strange tremor in her voice and as !
look up see tears in her eyes =.
After half an hours walk we reach
the Gymnasium, a long, white, two
story building. We enter through the
main entrance and through n few
winding corridors pass into long.
wide hall For minute or so l am
lost Boys of all ages and sizes run
TO and fro in groups of two and three.
laughing Joking. arguing. The din
and turmoil bewildcr me. We meet II
few more fathers with their sons.
Some of them we know. We greet
cach other, aud while we boys stop
to talk notice that our fathers eye
each other with glanccs far from
friendly; young as l am I divine the
reason-there are so many of us, and
only five vacancies.
Through side door Il tall, stout
man comes in. accompanied by a boy
of my age. They are Gentiles and the
father apparently landed proprietor
from the country. He asks my father
where the examination for the pre-
para tory class is to he held, and both
rrot intn nm -lnirnntn conversation