"STAR" TALES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7892, 23 December 1903, Page 4

"STAR" TALES.

. « THE AMERICANISATION OF SHADRACH COHEN. (By BRUNO LESSINQ.) There i? no set rule for the turning of the worm ; most worms, howev&r, turn unexpectedly. It was so with Shadrach Cohen. He had two sous. One was named Abel and the other Gottlieb. They had left Ruesia five years before their father ; hadl opened a store on Hester Street with tine money he had given them. For reasons that only business men would understand they conducted the store in their father's cam« — and, when the buginesa began to prosper and they saw an opportunity of investing further capital in it to good advantage, they wrote to their dear" father to come to this country.. "We have a nice home for you here," they wrote. "We will live happily together." ' i Shadrach came. With him he broxighl M*rta, the serving-woman/ who had nursed his wife until she died, and whom, for his wife's sake, She had) taken into the household. When the ship landed he was met by two dapper-looking young men, eaoh of whom wore a flaring neoktie with, a- diamond in it. It took him some time, to realise that there were his two sons. Abel and Gottlieb promptly threw their arms around his neck and welcomed him. to the new land. Behind his head they looked a* each other in dismay. In the course of five years they had forgotten that their father wore a gabardine — the loose, bag-liks garment of the Russian ghetto — and had a tang, straggling grey beard and' ringlets that caane down over his ears— 'that, "in short, he was a perfect type of the immigrant whose appearance taiey had so frequently ridiculed. Abel and Gottlieb were proud of the foot that they h«wi become Americanised. And they frowned at Marta. " Come, father," they said', "l»t us go to a barber, who will trim your beard and make you look more like an American. Then we will take you bom© wrtib us." Shadrach looked from one to the otfoer in surprise. " My beard?" he. said j " what is th« matter with my beard 1 ?" " lii this city," they explained to him, "no one wears a beard like yours except the newly -landed Russian, Jews." Shadrach's lips shut tightly for a monmxt. Then he said : . . T " Then I will keep my beard as it is. I am newly-landed Russian Jew. His sons clenched theSr fists behind their backs and smiled at, him amiably. After all, he held the purse-strings. It was best to humour him. - "What shall, we do with Marta? they asked. "We bave a servant. We will not n«ad two." •a "Marta," said the old man, "stays with us. Let the other servant go. Come, take me home. lam getting hungry." They took him home, where they had prepared a feast for him. When he bad© Marta sit beside him at the table Abel and Gottlieb promptly turned and looked out of the window. The feast was a dismal affair. Shadrach was racking his brains bo find 1 some explanation that would account for the change that had come over his sons. They had never been demonstrative in their affection for him, and he had not looked for an effusive greeting. But he realised immediately that there was a j %fil between him and his sons; , some change had occurred ; he was distressed and puzzled. When the meal was over Shado-ach donned his praying cap amd began to recite the grace after meals. Abel and Gottlieb looked at each, other in consternation. Would they have to go through this at every meal? Better— for better— to risk tihair father's displeasure and acquaiot him with the' truth at once. When it came to"th« response Shadrach looked inquiringly. at his • son*. It was Abel who explained the matter: ce — er — Have grown out of — cr — that is — -cr — don© away with— «r — sort of fallen into the habit, don't you know, of lea/ring out the prayer at meals. It's not quite American!" Shadrach looked from one to tho other. Then, bowing his head, he went on. with his, prayer. . . . . "My sons," he said, when the table had been cleared, "it is wrong to omit the prayer after meals. It is part of your teligion. Ido not know anything about this America or its customs. But religion is the worship of Jehovah who has chosen us as His chldren on earth, and that same Jehovah rules supreme over America even as He does over the country that you came from." i y Gottlieb promptly changed the subject by explaining to him how badly they needed more money in their business. Shadrach listened patiently for a while, then' said : "I am tired after my long journey. I do not understand this business that you are talking about. But you may have whatever money you need. After all, I have no one but you two.",. He looked at them 1 fondly. Then his fell upon the serving-woman, anwl he added, quickly : "And Marta." I "Tha-nk God," said Gottlieb, when their father had retired, "he does not intend to be stingy." " Oh, ha is all right," answered Absl. "After he gets used to things ihe will become Americanised like us." To their chagrin, however, they began to realise after a few months that their father was clinging to the habit® and customs of his old life with a tenacity that filled them with despair. The mow they urged him to abandon his ways the more eager he seemed to become to cling to them. He seemed to take no interest in their business affairs, but h& responded almost cheerfully to all their requests for money. He began to feel that this, after all, was the only bond between him and his sons. And when they had pocketed the money they would shake their heads and sigh. "Ah, father, if you would only not insist upon being so old-fashioned!" Abel would say. ■ _ " And let us fix you up a bit," "Gottlieb, 'would chime in. '' And become more progressive — like the

other men of your ago in this country." '• And wear your beard shorter and trimmed differently." "And leara. to speak English." Shadrach never lost his temper; never upbraided them. H« would look from one to the other and keep his lips tightly pressed together. And whan they had gone he would look at Marta and would say : " Tell me what you think, Marta. Tel] me what you think." " It is not proper for me to interfere between father and sons," Marta would say. And Shadrach could never induce her <bo it'll him what she thought. But he could perceive a gleam in her ejjgs and observed a certain nervous vigour in the way ehe cleaned the pots and pans for hours after these talks, that fell soothingly upon his perturbed spirit. .As we remarked before, there is no rule for the turning of the worm. Some worms, jbowev»er, turn, with a crash. It was so with Shadrach Cohen. Gottlieb informed his father that he contemplated getting married. "She is very beautiful," he said. "I/he affair is all in the hands of the Shadchen." His father's face lit up with pleasure. " Gottlieb," he said, holding out hie hand, " God bless you ! It's the very best thing you could do" Marta, bring me my hat and ooat. Come, Gottlieb. Take me to see her. I cannot wait a moment. I want to see my future daughter-in-law at once. How happy your mother would be if she were alive today!" . /' Gottlieb turned red and hung back. "I think, father," he said, "you had better not go just yet. Let us wait a few days until the Shadchen has made all the arrangements. She is an American girl. She— she— -wont— er— understand your ways —don't you know ? And it may. spoil everything." ' x Crasih » Marta had dropped an iron pot that she was cleaning. Shadrach was red in the face with suppressed rage. "So!" he said. "It has come to this. You are ashamed of your father !" Then he turned to tho old servant : — "Marta," he said, "to-morrow we be- j com* Americanised-ryou and I." • There was an intonation in his voice that alarmed his son. "You are not angry "he began, but with a fierce gesture his father cut him short. "Not another word. To bed! Go to bed at once." Gottlieb was dumbfounded. With, open mouth he stared at his father. He had not beard that tone since he was a little boy. "But, father- " x he began. " Not a word. Do you hear me? Not a word will I listen to. In five minutes, if you ore not in bed you will go^out of this. h.ouse. Remember, this is my house." Then he turned to Abel. Abel was calmly smoking a cigar. " Throw that cigar away," his father commanded, sternly. Abel gasped and looked at his father in dismay. " Marta, take that cigar out of his mouth and throw it into the fire. If he objects he goes out of the house.'' With a smils of intense delight Marta plucked the cigar from Abel's unresisting lips, and incidentally trod heavily upon his toes.~" Shadrach gazed l° n g an< l earnestly at his sods. " To-morrow, my eons," he said, slowly, " you .will begin to lead a new life." In the morning, Abel and Gottlieb, full of dread forebodings, left the house as hastily &3 they could. They wanted to get to the store of talk matters ove*. They had 1 hardly entered the place, however, when the figure of their father loomed up in the doorway. He had never been in the place before. He looked around him with great satisfaction at the many evidences of prosperity which the place presented. When ha beheld the name " Shadraoh Cohen, Proprietor," over the d66r he chuckled. Ere his sons had recovered from the shock of hie appearance, a pale-faced clerk, smoking a cigarette, approached Shadrach, and in a sharp tone asked i— . "Well, sir, what do you want?" Shadrach looked at him with considerable curiosity. Was he Americanised, too. The young man frowned impatiently. " Come, come ! I oan't stand here all day. Do you warit anything?" / Shadrach smiled and turned to his sons. " Send him away at once. I don't want that kind of young man in my place." Then turning to the young man, upon whom the light of r©relatio» had quickly dawned, he said sternly : "Young man, whenever you address a person who is oldter than you, do it Tespeotfullv. Honour your father and your mother. Now go away as fast as you can. I don't like you." "But, father," interposed Gottlieb, "we must have someone to do his work." " Dear me," said Shadrach, "is that so? Then, for the present, you will do it. And that young man over there I—what1 — what does he dot" "He is also a salesman." "Let him go. Abel will take his place." "But, father, who is to manage the store? Who will see that the work is properly "done?" "I will," said the father. "Now, let us have no more talking. Get to work." Crestfallen, ' miserable and crushed in spirit, Abel -and Gottlieb began their humble work 1 while their father entered upon the task of familiarising himself with the details of the business. And even before the

duys 1 voi'k was <Wme he came to his sons with a frown of intirnsa disgust. "Bah!" he exclaimed. "It is just as I expected. You have both been, making as complete a mess of thig business as you could without ruining it. What you both lack is K-rinso. If becoming Amraricanised means becoming stupid, I must congratulate you upon tho thoroughness of your work. To-morrow I Khali hire a manager to run tliia ».tone. H« will arrange your hours of work. He will also pay you what you are worth. Not a cent more. How late have you be*n keeping this store opoiw" " Until six o'clock," said Abel. " H'm ! Woll, beginning to-day, you both will stay htffe until eight o'clock. Then one of you can go. Tho other will stay until ton. You can take turn*. I *yill have Marta send yoa some supper." To the amazement of Abel and Gottlieb the business of Shtirdach Cohen began to grow, olowly it dawned upon them that in the mercantile realm they were as children compared with their father. His wa* the true money-awaker spirit ; there was something 1 wonderful in the swiithess witih whioh he grasped tho most intricate phases of trade ; anu whero experience failed him some instinct seemed bo guide him aright. And gradually, as tho business of Shadraoh Oohen increased, and even the sons saw vistas of. prosperity beyond thrir wildest dreonu, they begaa to look upon tiheir father with increasing respect. What they had refused to the Integrity of his character, to tue nobility of his heart, they promptly yielded to the shrewdness of his brain. The sons of Shadrach Ooihon became proud of their father. Ht», too, was slowfy undergoing a change. A new life was unfolding itself before his <syes, he became broaderminded, more toterint, and, above all, more flexible in his tenets. Contact with the outer world bad quickly impressed him with the vast differences between, % his present surroundings and his old life in Russia* The charm of Americam life, of liberty, of democracy, appealed to Shim strongly. As the field of his business operations widened he came more and more, in contact with American business men, from whom he learned many things — principally the faculty of adaptability. And as his sons began to perceive that all these business men whom, ia former years, they had looked upon with feelings akin to reverence, eeemed to show to their father an amount of deference and respect which they had never eviafted toward the sons, their admiration for their father incrsnsed. And yet it was the same Shadrach Cohen. From that explosive moment when he had rebelled against his Rons, 'he demanded fromtftean implicit obedience and profound respect. Upon that point he wo* stern and unyielding. Moreover, he insisted upon a strict observance of every tenet c" their religion. This, at first, was the bitterest pill of all. But they soon became accustomed to it. When life is light and free from care, religion is quick to fly ; but when the sky grows dark and. life becomes earnest, and we feel its burden growing heavy upon our shoulders, then we welcome the consolation that religion brings, and we cling to it. And Shadrach Cohen had taught his sons that life was earnest. They were earning their bread by the sweat of their brow. No prisoner, with chain and ball, was subjected to closer supervision by his keeper than were Gottlieb and Abel. " You have been living upon my charity," their father said to them; "I will teach you how to earn your own living." And he taught them. And with the lesson ifley Learned many things 1 ; learned the : value of discipline, learned the beauty of filial reverence, learned .the severe joy of the earnest life. One day Gottlieb said to his father : — " May I bring Miriam to supper to-night? I am anxious that you should see her." Shadraoh turned his face away so that Gottlieb might not see the joy teat beamed in his eyes. " Yes, my son," ha answered. "I, too, am anxious to sea if she is worthy of you." Miriam came, and in a stiff," embarrassed manner, Gottlieb presented her to his father. The girl looked in surprise at the venerable figure that stood before her — a picture of a patriarch from the Pentateuch, with a long, straggling beard, and ringlets of hair falling over the ears, and clad in the long gabardine of the Russian ghettos. And she saw a pair of gray eyes bent keenly upon hei I—eyes1 — eyes of shrewdness, but eoft and tender as a woman's — the eyes of a strong man with a kind heart. Impulsively she ran toward him, seized his hands. And, with a smile upon her lips, she said : — . "Will you not give me your blessing?" When the evening meal had ended, Shadrach donned his praying cap, and with bowed head intoned the graoe after* meals: — " We will bless Him from whose wealth we have eaten !" And in fervent tones rose from Gottlieb,'s lipß the response i— "BjLessed be He!"