Contrite Hearts

as at a loss what to say, so he asked harshly: "Who's there?" "I?Esther," she replied, with a ring of firm determination in her voice. "Beile Reize, make haste, light the lamp!" cried Isroel, irritated by Esther's tone. "Our daughter has brought darkness into the house!" He endeavored to suppress his agitation, but his anger was unmistakable. Beile Reize hastened from behind the door of the bedroom and began to bustle about, groping in the dark for some time. When she found the matches, it took her a few minutes to light the lamp, for her hands were trembling. Then she advanced a few steps towards Esther, who still stood by the door, with downcast eyes; but Isroel emphatically motioned to her to leave the room. She looked at Esther, shook her head mournfully, cast a beseeching glance at her husband, and walked out with a deep sigh. Mendel was standing behind the bedroom door with bated breath, tortured with fear and jealousy. From childhood on he loved Esther, and now that he had attained his aim, now that two of the greatest Rabbis in Russia had examined him and found him proficient in the Talmud and in Rabbinical lore, and indeed prophesied for him a great future as a teacher in Israel, ? now that he was at last in a position to unite his life with Esther's and make her happy, his hopes were suddenly shattered, ? shattered by an apostate. Like one falling from a precipice, whence there is no hope of ever returning, he now waited for the fina...