The End of Everything (New Yiddish Library Series) Read Online Free PDF

win it.
    By no means downhearted, he had great confidence; despite his anxiety, he’d nevertheless remembered to bring presents home, and once he even made a witty remark about the new silk skullcap he’d brought back from the provincial capital. At the time, Gitele was deeply dissatisfied with this head covering:
    —How could he pick out a skullcap for himself—she protested—without noticing that it fell down round his ears? †
    Nothing more than his strained, sharply etched nose seemed to smile in response.
    —Did Gitele really believe that his head was in the provincial capital just then? At that time, his head had been at home.
    And presently he threw on his Sabbath overcoat and rushed away to welcome the Sabbath at the old Sadagura prayer house * where for a while after the service a few observant, wealthy young men kept their places on either side of his reserved seat at the eastern wall, watched him with eyes filled with high regard and feline gratitude, and were prepared at any moment to wish him all the joys of the World to Come because he’d behaved honorably and in good time had repaid what he owed them.
    Of course they were well disposed toward him, these few observant, wealthy young men in their silk capotes, but because their money was so precious to them, and because they felt so guilty at having been afraid to trust Hurvits, now, walking home, they were mournfully silent and often, quite suddenly and apropos of nothing, remarked to one or another:
    —After all, he’s a decent man, Reb Gedalye, eh? Altogether a thoroughly decent man.
    Meanwhile there was great curiosity in town to know how it would end:
    Would Reb Gedalye manage to extricate himself from his difficulties or not?
    At this time, widespread interest was taken in the matter, which was frequently discussed.
    The only person unwilling to discuss it was Mirele, his only child, that delicately brought up slender creature who, during that period, either through love for her father or love for herself, would often leave the house and stay out all day.
    She was now unduly pensive and volatile, behaving with excessive harshness even toward the crippled student Lipkis, who on her account had not attended his courses at the university that year and limpingly followed her around everywhere. Walking by his side for hours on end, she was quite capable of forgetting that he was still alive, and would unexpectedly turn to stare at him with so strange an expression of astonishment it seemed as though she were unable to believe what she saw and could not understand it:
    —Just look! Lipkis was still walking by her side! And she’d imagined that he’d gone home long ago.
    When she did deign to notice him, she couldn’t stop herself from hurting him with a sharp remark:
    —Lipkis, why do your moustaches grow so oddly? They never grow so oddly on anyone else.
    Or:
    —Generally speaking, you’re not bad looking, Lipkis, but when one studies you closely, you look fearfully like a Japanese.
    At such times he felt inordinately ill at ease and was unable to respond. He could think of no reason why she kept silent, and many times decided that it was needful to say something encouraging to her about her father’s situation and the brouhaha that had erupted in their home. Once he finally began to stammer:
    —To be sure, he understood very well that unhappiness didn’t derive primarily from money, and yet … He didn’t know why, but every time he’d called on them recently and seen her father there, a tragedy seemed to be taking place around him.
    Without so much as glancing at him, Mirele silently fixed her blue eyes on the sunset in the distance, and remarked with cold indifference:
    —Well, lend him twelve thousand rubles and he’ll free himself from his difficulties.
    And with sorrow in her blue eyes she went on staring silently ahead, to the place where the sun was setting.
    How odd: this delicately brought up creature even knew exactly how much