Then he added, aloud: "There is only one
thing I want you to promise me. Don't neglect your religion nor
your Talmud. Do you promise that, David?"
I did. There was a note of fatherly tenderness in the way this utter
stranger called me David. It reminded me of Reb Sender. I wanted
to say something to express my gratitude, but I felt a lump in my
throat
He advised me to invest the five dollars in dry-goods and to take
up peddling. Then, wishing me good luck, he left
My landlady, who had listened to Mr. Even's parting words with
pious nods and rapturous grins, remarked that one would vainly
search the world for another man like him, and proceeded to make
my bed on a lounge
The room was a kitchen. The stove was a puzzle to me. I wondered
whether it was really a stove.
"Is this used for heating?" I inquired
"Yes, for heating and cooking," she explained, with smiling
cordiality. And she added, with infinite superiority, "America has
no use for those big tile ovens."
When I found myself alone in the room the feeling of desolation
and uncertainty which had tormented me all day seized me once
again
I went to bed and began to say my bed-prayer.
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