Plainfield High School - Milestone Yearbook (Plainfield, NJ)

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THE ORACLE NI Second Prize Transplanting a Home MATILDA SRAGER. “How much?” “Thirty-five copecks.”’ “Mother of Heaven! Thirty-five copecks! It is not worth eight! I will give you twenty.” “It is worth fifty! See how strong it is!” “Strong! Holy Mary, do you hear that?’ The woman gave the cloth a mighty pull, ripping it. “That pull would rend an ox!” cried Slova indignantly. “The cloth is good cloth, worth much. You do not want to wear one dress all your life!” “I give twenty-five. It is not worth that, although very pretty.” “Thirty-five copecks.” The woman, her snub nose pointing to the sky, laughed scornfully and marched to the door. Seeing that Slova did not call her back, she stopped, turned round, and began to bargain again. “Will you sell f or thirty?” she asked. Slova nodded, cut the cloth, and gave it to the woman, taking a handful of coppers in exchange. She put the money hastily away, lest her patroness should change her mind, then followed her out to the steps, joining in the common cry of the shopkeepers: “Come in my store, come in my store.” Meanwhile her husband in the store was showing some peasants around, who jeered at everything in general, at the things he called attention to in particular, and bought nothing. Finally they waddled out, an awful mass of color from the flaming headshawls to the red, green, and yellow stock- ing s. Dovid said something under his breath. In half an hour one more customer came in, who wanted some calico. After haggling, exclamations of Satan, bouncing in and out of the store, ete., they agreed about the price. The cloth was cut; the money (counted five times to be sure it was not too much) almost handed to Dovid when a party of her friends burst in. They looked at the calico; turned up their noses; spit at it to show their disgust ; and rushed out, taking the customer with them. Dovid stood blankly in the empty store with the cut calico in his hand. Then he began to swear. Slova did not try to stop him, first, because she couldn’t, second, because it was rather a relief to her feelings also. First came the women, then their city, then Russia, and—the “Little Father.” Slova gave a startled glance around. ‘Hush, man,’ she cautioned, “do you want to sup in Siberia next week ?”

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6 THE, ORACLE and when able to pierce the darkness and find voice to speak he reported to us the wonderful, beautiful news of our escape from a watery grave. He had recognized the white tents of the United States Army post at Pasa Caballos and saw that we were within the entrance of the harbor of Cien- fuegos. It was a long time before we were able to realize the truth—that our lives were actually spared; that our absolute safety was really assured and that we were truly beyond reach of that surging main. But when the realization came, the passionate prayers of thanksgiving that went up from those people for that miraculous deliverance out of the very jaws of death, were surely heard by Him whose Power had saved us. Exhausted with fear and suffering we were glad to be able to obtain a few hours of much needed rest until dawn, when we smoothly and happily sailed up the harbor to the wharf where many anxious watchers waited to hear our frightful tale. Twenty-eight steers and five hogs had been killed in that night of terror, being thrown and trampled on, while the rest were poor tottering mangled beasts that were unloaded the next morning. Even the passengers looked as though they had gone through weeks of torture and some had actually lost flesh in that one night. The following morning the explanation of our sudden change from the angry billows to the death-like calm of the harbor came to us from the Captain himself. Not knowing where we were, he had not realized that we were anywhere near Cienfuegos, until suddenly coming upon the opening that he soon recognized. Then the great engine was nearly reversed and, as those heavy chains grated and turned, we were swung sharply around into a deep little cove at the mouth of the harbor, where all was calm and still. Such was our frightful experience and narrow escape from shipwreck on that beautiful Caribbean Sea. We had sailed over the same historic waters over which Christopher Columbus had sailed on his second voyage to America; but the realization of that interesting fact and the remembrance of the enjoyments of that day did not return to us for a long time—not until the horrors of that long night had faded somewhat from before our eyes and left a space for the pleasanter circumstances of the voyage to appear. Peddler—Madam, I have a fine collection of complexion beautifiers which— Lady—No, you don’t work any skin game on me.—E. Little Girl (entering grocery store)—Ain’t you got no aigs? Grocer—lI ain’t said I ain't. Little Girl—I ain’t ast you is you ain’t, I ast you ain’t you is, is you?

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8 THEAORACEE “T shall soon go out of the Czar’s power,” he hinted. His wife pretended not to hear. They shut the shop and walked home. The next day when they rode to Riga for new goods, a long, weary way in a springless cart, a shower came up, soaking them through and through. Seeking shelter, they went to a log hut near by, but were driven out because they were Jews. Dovid’s temper was not cooled by the rain. “A plague on these pigs!” he stormed. “May the cholera take them where they will not want for a fire!” “Why only these? All are the same.” “They say in America it is different.” “They say, too, in America one can pick up gold in the streets !” That was all the conversation till they reached Riga. ce te 0 ae se st ey 3K «K K 2K 2K “kK kK Some days after, while at supper, Slova was greatly startled. She saw Dovid had something to tell her, but was entirely unprepared when he blurted out: “Leizer and I are going to America.” “Going to America!” Slova did not believe her ears. “Art drunk or crazy, man? You are making a living yet, and so is the other meshuganer. What more can you.want? Do you believe the silly tales they tell of America? It is the same here or there, only that the other land is godless and full of sin. You cannot throw our bread away; you cannot go.” “We are tired of this place. We want to go where we have a chance. Here it is from hand to mouth; there they all get rich.” “Truly! and leave me, and the children and. forget us all, and forget your religion, and become an opikouros in that shameful land. No one goes there but those who are so low that they can go no lower. Show me one man of good family there that was not ruined here and you can go. You know there is none.” » “T will send for you the very first year, indeed I will. Why not go? One land is as good as another: this is not Jerusalem.” Slova calmed herself. “You cannot go any way. There is no money.” yoellatherstore,” “And I, and the children? How would we live? “Make a smaller one.” So the arguments ran. In the end the man had his way. When the time came Dovid kissed his wife and children and rode away. He was happy, he knew he was; but somehow, there was a queer, dull pain in his heart. This was his home, the home of his fathers; they had lived, loved and died there. The people, too, were kindly, when not set on by church or state ; and as he left it, he knew he loved i t.