'I wonder what has become of him,' I
said to myself." He did not remember my name, or perhaps he
had never known it, so I had to introduce myself afresh. The
contrast between his flashy clothes and my frowsy,
wretched-looking appearance, as I saw ourselves in the mirrors on
either side of me, made me sorely ill at ease. The brilliancy of the
gaslight chafed my nerves. It was as though it had been turned on
for the express purpose of illuminating my disgrace. I was longing
to go away, but Gitelson fell to questioning me about my affairs
once more, and this time he did so with such unfeigned concern
that I told him the whole cheerless story of my sixteen months' life
in America
He was touched. In his mild, unemphatic way he expressed
heartfelt sympathy
"But why don't you learn some trade?" he inquired. "You don't
seem to be fit for business, anyhow" (the last two words in
mispronounced English)
"Everybody is telling me that."
"There you are. You just listen to me, Mr. Levinsky. You won't be
sorry for it." He proposed machine-operating in a cloak-shop,
which paid even better than tailoring and was far easier to learn.
Pages:
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244