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 172 SHOLOM-ALECHEM

have passed altogether twenty- five children, twenty- three Christian and two Jewish. Says she, "Who are they?" Says he, "One a Shefselsohn and one a Katz." At the name Katz, my wife shoots home like an arrow from the bow, and bursts into the room in triumph: "Good news! good news! Passed, passed!" and there are tears in her eyes. Of course, I am pleased, too, but I don't feel called upon to go dancing, being a man and not a woman. "It's evidently not much you care ?" says she to me. "What makes you think that?" say I. "This," says she, "you sit there cold as a stone! If you knew how impatient the child is, you would have taken him long ago to the tailor's, and ordered his little uniform," says she, "and a cap and a satchel," says she, "and made a little banquet for our friends." "Why a banquet, all of a sudden?" say I. "Is there a Bar-Mitzveh ? Is there an engagement ?" I say all this quite quietly, for, after all, I am a man, not a woman. She grew so angry that she stopped talking. And when a woman stops talking, it's a thousand times worse than when she scolds, because so long as she is scolding at least you hear the sound of the human voice. Other- wise it's talk to the wall ! To put it briefly, she got her way she, not I as usual.

There was a banquet ; we invited our friends and our good friends, and my boy was dressed up from head to foot in a very smart uniform, with white buttons and a cap with a badge in front, quite the district-governor! And it did one's heart good to see him, poor child ! There was new life in him, he was so happy, and he shone, I tell you, like the July sun! The company