The Southern Israelite. (Augusta, Ga.) 1925-1986, April 15, 1929, Image 18

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Page 18 The Southern Israelite BELK ROBINSON CO. DEPARTMENT STORES Carolina's Largest DintriluitorH of Merchandisi* SIXTY BIG STORKS Buy and Sell for l,en* CHARLESTON, S. C. Visit One of tin- Mont Modern Plants in the South United Dry Cleaning Co. CLEANERS AND DYERS I'lain Dresses* $ 1.25; Evening Dresses $1.50 up 2 IMeee Suits $1.00; 3 Piece Suits $1.25 Service You'll Like 55 Wentworth St. Between King and Meeting Phone 1700-01-02 Charleston, S. C. All that a STORE can 272 King St. Phones 108-109 Charleston,S . C. Ideal White Swan Laundry Co. I >VERS—DRY Cl.1:ANKR S Damp Wash* Family Finish, llundlr Work PHONES Plant 134 Ollier 3898 723 King Street CHARLESTON. S. < . The Carolina Mutual Insurance Co. FIRE INSURANCE Or)!ani<ril 1 8.» 1 \ Legal Reserve Mutual Insurance Company All I'olieies Non-Assessable DIVIDENDS TO POLICYHOLDERS 25 PER CENT E. K. WKIIMAV President Home Offices 37 Broad Street, Charleston. S. C. Branch Office: 501 Carolina Life Bldg., Columbia, S. C. S. C. Allen Bldg., Greenville, S. C. From the Frying Pan into the Fire (Continued from page 4) “What!” Reb Benzion jumped from his place as if bitten by a serpent. “Sigmund Reifman is the party you propose for my daughter? “Wisdom” understood that the time had come to make use of the little hack door. “At any rate,” he said meekly, “be fore getting excited you must listen to what I have to say. I asked you whether you know this Reifman, be cause I heard that some match-makers are trying to persuade you to take him for a son-in-law. But how can you think of such a thing? This is what I ask. As a true friend I came to warn you of this match. It is not for you. Your sons-in-law must be of an entirely different sort. They must be of the old fashioned style. You understand what I mean.” “In that case”, Reb Benzion breath ed as if a weight had been lifted from his chest, “it is well to talk to you a while.” “With whom else could you talk, if not with me? The party I want to speak about is the same I under stand someone is trying to persuade you to accept.” “So you know about it?” asked Reb Benzion in wonder. “You know that someone is trying to make a match?” The eyes of the “Red One” sparkled like those of a cat when she is on the scent of a mouse hole. “Of course I know,” he said, drag ging his words, “that Bengamin Hook er proposed you a party. But what does that matter. As you know, he is not among my friends, but I give the Devil his due. I like to see the good even in my enemies. The party proposed to you by Hooker is indeed the best.” Reb Benzion remained thoughtful for a moment. It occurred to him that it were best to put both “Wis dom" and “Piety” into his service in order to keep them both from doing him mischief. “Yes,” he said a moment later, "I, too, am of the opinion that Mendle Rebhuhn’s son is the best husband for my daughter Esterka, and I would like to have you help along in this matter, that you and Reb Bengamin work together arranging this match.” The eyes of the “Red One” sparkled more brightly. He had now learned the name of the proposed party, and what was more important was that he was certain now that Bengamin Hoeker was trying to make a match. “First of all,” Reb Benzion remind ed him, “it is strictly necessary that this affair shall be a secret for a while. Neither my wife nor my Es terka must know anything about it, for the heads of these women are filled with that fellow Reifman. Should they find out something about our secret it may he that they would cross our plan. So it means keeping our mouths shut. A man like you needs hardly to be reminded of such a thing. You know best when speech and when silence is necessary.” Oh, no! He needed no one to teach him the uses of speech or silence. He, therefore, rushed up the back steps into the living rooms of Reb Benzion, where he lost no time inform ing Esterka and her mother that Ben gamin Hoeker was proposing a match for Esterka, and he intimated that if they did not take necessary pre . cautions Esterka would get for a hus- band, instead of Sigmund Reifman whom she wanted, the greenish little son of Reb Mendle Rebhuhn. His words had the desired effect They struck the women folk like light ening. We shall leave mother and daughter now and get acquainted with Sigmund Reifman. His parents were neighbors of Reb Benzion. Sigmund and Esterka were playmates. They were so attached to each other when they were children that they became proverbial in their little town. Immediately after his father’s death, Sigmund, who, even from his earliest days, excelled in school, had to leave his home. His uncle in Berlin undertook to give him the necessary education for a business career. Thanks to his ability and his earnest endeavors, he gained the con- fidence of his employer, and was ad vanced rapidly until he became man ager of the firm in a few years. In this position he had the opportunity to he in constant correspondence with Esterka. The firm, whose manager he was, did a great deal of business with Reb Benzion, and letters were exchanged frequently. The letters which Esterka wrote in the name of her father, and Sigmund for his firm, limited themselves merely to business matters, hut it goes without saying that from time to time there was a certain warmth in these messages, which only Esterka and Sigmund un derstood. Later on Sigmund found opportunities to spend hours near Es terka. On his visits to his mother he would find pretexts to remain for hours in Reb Benzion’s store. Reb Benzion being very much interested in the financial aspect of these visits, never gave a thought to the fact that Sigmund was talking business merely to breathe the same air which Esterka inhaled. In this way the inclination for each other, which was so strong in childhood, was fanned into a flame, and they knew without either of them saying it aloud that they belonged to each other for life. Esterka found a true confidante in her mother, who desired from the depths of her heart a union between Sigmund and her daughter. She trie repeatedly to win over her husban to her way of thinking, but each time he informed her in his rather rough, summary manner, not to mix into hi? affairs. Why Reb Benzion was jn Complete Home Furnishers Haverty Furniture Company King and Society Street' CHARLESTON. S. C.