Leopold Kompert

“ Not another Ghetto in all Bohemia could show a handsomer and happier couple than Ascher and his wife. “Wild” Ascher was one of those intrepid, venturesome spirits, to whom no obstacle is so great that it cannot be surmounted. And the success which crowned his long, persistent wooing was often cited as striking testimony to his indomitable will. Gudule was famous throughout the Ghetto as “the girl with the wonderful eyes,” eyes—so the saying ran—into which no man could look and think of evil. ”

“ One Friday evening, shortly after the seven-branched Sabbath lamp had been lit, Gudule, seated in her arm-chair, out of which she had not moved all day, called the two children to her. A bright smile hovered around her lips, an unwonted fire burned in her still beautiful eyes, her bosom heaved... in the eyes of her children she seemed strangely changed. “Children,” said she, “come and stand by me. Ephraim, you stand here on my right, and you, dear Viola, on my left. I would like to tell you a little story, such as they tell little children to soothe them to sleep. Shall I?”
“Mother!” ”

“ The uncle then insisted that Viola at least should accompany him, for he had daughters at home whom she could assist in their duties in the house and on the farm. But the child clung to Ephraim, and with flaming eyes, and in a voice of proud disdain, which filled the simple farmer with something like terror, she cried:
“Uncle, you have enough to do to provide for your own daughters; don't let me be an additional burden upon you; besides, sooner would I wander destitute through the world than be separated from my brother.” ”

“ Gudule suddenly cried, with uplifted voice, “what this Sechûs is like? It has the form of an angel, and it stands near the Throne of the Almighty.... But, since the days of Rachel, our mother, it is the Sechûs of a mother that finds most favor in God's eyes. When a mother dies, her soul straightway soars heavenward, and there it takes its place amid the others.
“'Who art thou?' asks God, 'I am the Sechûs of a mother,' is the answer, 'of a mother who has left children behind her on earth.' 'Then do thou stand here and keep guard over them!' says God. ”

“ The children were growing up. Ephraim had entered his fifteenth year. Viola was a little pale girl of twelve. In the opinion of the Ghetto they were the most extraordinary children in the world. In the midst of the harassing life to which her marriage with the gambler had brought her, Gudule so reared them that they grew to be living reflections of her own inmost being. People wondered when they beheld the strange development of “Wild” Ascher's children.
Their natures were as proud and reserved as that of their mother. They did not associate with the youth of the Ghetto ”

“ So there's your chance, Ephraim, my child; you 've got the money, buy!” All at once a dark cloud overspread his smiling face.
“It's a lot of money, Ephraim, that I am giving you... many a merchant can't lay his hands on it,” he said, hesitatingly; “but if... you were to... gam—”
The word remained unfinished, for upon his arm he suddenly felt a sensation as of a sharp, pricking needle.
“Uncle Gabriel!” cried Viola—for it was she who had gripped his arm—and the child's cheeks were flaming, whilst her lips curled with scorn, and her white teeth gleamed like those of a beast of prey. ”

“ Open is the window, no grating noise has accompanied the unbolting of the shutter.... The evil spirits have taken care that the faintest sound shall die away... even the rough iron obeys their voices... it is they who have bidden: “Be silent; betray him not; he is one of us.”
Even the key in the door of the old bureau is turned lightly and without noise. Groping fingers are searching for a bulky volume. ”

“ Then he pocketed the money.
“Well, Ephraim,” said he, “may God bless you, and grant you further luck. But you won't blame me if I take the money,—I can do with it, and in oats, as you know, there's some chance of good business just now. But I am glad to see that you 're so prompt at paying. Never give too much credit! That 's always my motto; trust means ruin, and eats up a man's business, as rats devour the contents of a corn-barn.” ”

“ Ephraim felt compelled to ask himself... “how different our poor mother looked!”
With a violent effort he repressed the feelings which swelled his bosom. “Dear father,” he said, with tears in his eyes, “make yourself quite comfortable; you have n't closed your eyes the whole night, you must be worn out. You are at home, remember... father!”
“It's all right,” said Ascher, with a deprecating gesture, “we fellows know other ways of spending the night.”
“We fellows!” The words cut Ephraim to the heart. ”

“ The girl was the first to break the silence.
“Ephraim, my brother!” she said.
“What is it, dear Viola?”
“I wonder does the birdie know that it is the Sabbath to-day?”
“What a child you are!” answered Ephraim.
“Yes, that 's always the way; when you clever men can't explain a thing, you simply dismiss the question by calling it childish,” Viola exclaimed, as though quite angry. “And, pray, why should n't the bird know? ”

“ A carriage drew up one day in front of Ascher's house. There has evidently been a splendid crop of oats this year. Uncle Gabriel has come. Uncle Gabriel has only lately assumed the additional character of father-in-law to Ephraim, for he declared that none but Eph-raim should be his pet daughter's husband. And now he has come for the purpose of having a confidential chat with Viola. There he sits, the kind-hearted, simple-minded man, every line of his honest face eloquent with good-humor and happiness, still guilty of an occasional violent onslaught upon his thighs. ”

“ Ephraim, 't is true, told his sister where he had been, and what he had done, but in the simplest words there vibrated that tone of unutterable sadness which has its constant dwelling-place in such sorely-tried hearts.
Meanwhile, a great change had come over Viola. Nature continues her processes of growth and development 'mid the tempests of human grief, and often the fiercer the storm the more beautiful the after effects. Viola was no longer the pale child, “the little spit-fire,” by whom her Uncle Gabriel's arm had been seized in such a violent grip. ”

“ And many a bitter sneer was hurled at Gudule's head.
“Does she imagine,” she often heard people whisper, “that because her father was a farmer her children are princes? Let her remember that her husband is but a common gambler.”
How different would have been their thoughts had they known that the children were Gudule's sole comfort. What their father had never heard from her, she poured into their youthful souls. No tear their mother shed was unobserved by them; they knew when their father had lost, and when he had won ”

“ But I must give you one bit of advice; it 's worth a hundred pounds to one in your position. Never leave a key in the lock of a bureau!”
Ephraim looked at his father as though stupefied. Was the man mad or delirious to talk in such a strain? At that moment, from the extreme end of the Ghetto, there sounded the three knocks, summoning the people to evening prayer. As in the morning, so again now the sound seemed to stun the vigorous man. His face blanched and assumed an expression of terror; he trembled from head to foot. Then again he cast a frightened glance in the direction of the window. ”

“ Eighteen years before, upon that very threshold which he now crossed with halting, stealthy steps, as of a thief in the night, stood a fair and loving wife, holding a sturdy lad aloft in her arms, so that the father might at once see, as he turned the street corner, that wife and child were well and happy. ”

“ I 'll make you rich, and as for Viola, I 'll get her a husband—such a husband that all the girls in Bohemia will turn green and yellow with envy.... Ascher's daughter shall have as rich a dowry as the daughter of a Rothschild.... But there 's one thing, and one thing only, that I need, and then all will happen as I promise, in one night.”
“And what is that, father!” asked Ephraim, with a slight shudder.
“Luck, luck, Ephraim, my son!” he shouted. “What is a man without luck? Put a man who has no luck in a chest full of gold; cover him with gold from head to foot ”

“ And to all appearances Viola will keep her word.
Had she taken upon herself a voluntary penance for having, in her heart's bitter despair, presumed to abjure her faith in the Sechûs of her mother? Or was there yet another reason? The heart of woman is a strangely sensitive thing. It loves not to build its happiness upon the hidden ruins of another's life. ”

“ Ascher was walking up and down with heavy tread.
“Do you feel refreshed after your sleep, father?” Ephraim asked timidly.
Ascher stood still, and confronted his son. His face was still very flushed, but his eyes had lost their glassy stare; his glance was clear and steady.
“Ephraim, my son,” he began, in a kindly, almost cheerful tone, “you 've grown into a splendid business man, as good a business man as one can meet with between this and Vienna. I 'm sure of it. ”

“ I need strength and sharp eyes, and they are things which only sleep can give. Ephraim, my son,” he continued after a while in thick, halting accents... “tell the watch—Simon is his name, I think—he can give six knocks instead of three upon the door, in the morning, he won't disturb me... and to Viola you can say I 'll find her a husband, handsomer than her eyes have ever beheld, and tell her on her wedding-day she shall wear pearls round her neck like those of a queen—no, no, like those of Gudule, her mother.” A few moments later he was sound asleep. ”

“ What business is it of theirs who your guest is? Let them attend to their own affairs.... But they would n't be of 'the chosen race' if they did n't want to know what was taking place in the furthermost corner of your brain. You can't be too careful with them... you 're never secure against their far-scenting noses and their sharp, searching eyes.”
It was now broad daylight. Ephraim drew down the blinds.
“The blinds are too white...” Ascher muttered, and moving a chair forward, he sat down upon it with his back to the window. ”

“ And yet, I have but to say one word... and I 'll wager that you will be the first to open the cage and say to the bird, 'Fly, fly away, birdie, fly away home!'”
“Never, never!” cried the girl.
“Viola,” said Ephraim beseechingly, “I have taken a vow. Surely you would not have me break it?”
“A vow?” asked his sister.
“Viola,” Ephraim continued, as he bent his head down to the girl's face, “I have vowed to myself that whenever he... our father... should return, I would give our little bird its freedom. It shall be free, free as he will be.”
“Ephraim!” ”

“ I 'll tell you something. There are persons whose whole powers are devoted to one object—how to win a fortune; in the same way as there are some who study to become doctors, and the like, so these study what we call luck... ”