PAGE TWO

THE DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE

THREE BARS OF A SOLO

feeble and almost imbecile about I himself of his obscure and lowly place ice. It was Zarfin who taught him the
tions were to Chayim a secret source
these thin, high notes, nothing mar- in Reuben, t e cabinet-maker' s
shop, stops, the fingering, the notes—three
tial or imposing. Chayim was puzzled and understood, with tears welling or four at a time. When he took his of fear and joy. He dreaded them
about the place and standing of such into his eyes, that his place in the key too high, and was told to take a and yet, somehow, he enjoyed them,
a strang-voiced toy in a military band. i bandmaster's orchestra would be as lower note, Chayim felt like a man and they gave him a nascent feeling
"Instruments are selected for our
m The musicians told him that no must- his berth at Reuben s. And his soul rolling down an alpine slope during a of being really needed. , . .
regimental band—now beat it and be cal piece, neither song nor march in was filled with gnawing, bitter dis- bold feat of mountaineering. His mu-
• to
on your way!" the sentinel curtly . its entirety, could be played on it. content. . .
sic-sheet
looked
to
him
like
a
wild,
In
this
manner
he
passed the 'pren-
formed him. A strange, inexplicable Furthermore, they told him that the
. •
tm possible nightmare of dots and tice year, not over-creditably, but
feeling of gladness, of joy, suffused waldhorn
plays only "seconds" i During the first two months of a dashes.
Once
in
a
while
the
senior
without
serious
friction.
His skill
Chayim's whole being. Not that he that is to say, just causual notesL !musical apprenticeship Chayim limped instrumentalist, a man reputed to be
equal now to the playing of his part in
was a musician—far from it—he tarara—ta—tal
painfully
after
the
instructions
of
his
master
of
every
musical
instrument
"God
Save
the
Czar"
and in several
could play no instrument—he couldn't
And Chayim, with shame-reddened teacher, Leib Zarim, a young Jew under the heavens, put Chayim marching tunes besides.
He had a
even carol a simple song—never tried cheeks and sinking heart, reminded with a twelve months' record
of serv- through a grilling. These examina-
(continued On Page Three.)
it—besides his physical insignificance
would be sure to exclude him auto-
matically from a regirental band—and
yet, he felt his heart beat stormily
as lie drew near the tenth
A parcel of young recruits, told off
for selection, were assembled there.
A non-com. snapped a command:
"Draw up in single file — forward
march!" They were marched before
; F
l
i
.
the bandmaster. To his right stood W
Nt!
the ranking senior musician, a roll of ki
".17"

ABRAHAM REISIN.

At the age of fifteen, Chayim was
indentured to a cabinet-maker. He
served a 'prenticeship of five years,
and at twenty he was neither an ab-
solute failure nor a master of his
handicraft—just an ordinary, inferior
sort of a journeyman, whom his mas-
ter never entrusted with any work re-
quiring great skill or nice precision.
He was never given a chance to make
all parts of a table, an entire bedstead,
a complete chest of drawers. All the
work turned oer to him consisted of
parts only, later on to be assembled
into a whole by a better craftsman;
the leg of a chair, a bed-plank, the
planing of boards and such like drudg-
ery. In the completed whole he never
recognized the component parts of his
own handicraft—they were always
glossed, varnished, whittled out of
-
recognition by some other cabinet- paper in his hand.
...,..., -
maker, or by the boss himself. The
The bandmaster, a tall, lanky Ger-
craftsman's pride and joy in looking man, with eye-glasses upon his hawk- El!
1 1
at a finished creation of his own mak- nose, bade them draw up in line. In NI
ing did never fall to Chayinis lot. his hand he carried a violin. He be-
Though a diligent and useful helper, gan to examine them, one by one. V"
he felt himself a nullity in the shop, Chayim was tenth in line. When the
one whose entire life-work was bandmaster approached him, he had
merged in and absorbed by the work a queer feeling, as if both his arms
of others, a man whose daily work and his legs were not his but some-
left no trace on the output of the shop. one else's. Ile stood there, open-
And because he could take neither mouthed, round-eyed and all in a
pride nor find any enjoyment in his tremble.
"Do you sing?" demanded the band-
work, he never thought of himself as
a cabinet-maker, nor did he call him- master sharply.
"No, your excellency," stuttered
self one when in his twenty-first year
he was summoned before the Recruit- Chayim, blue-lipped and scarcely cap-
ing Commission. Ile suppressed all able of articulate speech in his reas-
mention of his trade, for to mention onless excitement.
The bandmaster tapped his chest—
it would have probably made him a
soldier-workman, somewhere in a "strong chest!"—he grabbed his wind-
pipe
— "throat all right!" he growled at
company of sappers or train-men, an
inferior worker among his hustling the ranking senior, who nodded
betters, a nullity, as before in civil gravely. Chayim had no idea what it
all meant. Ile grew up to be twenty-
li fe.
130 three weeks after his joining one with no one ever telling him that
the Third Company his calling became he had a sound chest or a healthy
throat. Ile collected his scattered
known—thus:
wits and hoped for something auspi-
The sergeant-major one day came cious.
to the barracks of the Third Company
The bandmaster struck up a simple
and shouted into the rooms: "Ifei- tune on his fiddle and told Chayim to
any cabinet-maker among you?" And sing. Chayim didn't understand—
Chayim, taken by surprise, redden- didn't grasp what he was meant to do,
ing and growing pale by turns, re- but the lanky bandmaster explained
sponded on the impulse of the mo- to him matters, methodically, like a
ment: "I am a cabinet-maker," said patient German, and Chayim, for the
64
he, with a weak and quavering voice first time in his life, sang a tune, to ati
—and was promptly pressed into serv- the accompaniment of the bandmas-
ice.
ter's fiddle.
"There is an odd job for you to be
"What is your name?" he heard the 74
done," announced the sergeant-major, bandmaster presently ask in sober
"some two or three days' work. The businesslike accents .
captain wants the shelves for the sol-
"Chayim Kugel!" bawled the sweet
diers' kits renewed—d'ye think you singer in Israel, reddening all over
can do it? The name of each soldier his coarse-featured face. "Enroll his
is to be painted on his shelf as soon flannel" commanded the German, and 40
as the new shelf-work is affixed above his aide duly registered: Chayim
the camp-beds." Chayim threw a Kugel.
desolate glance at the outworn shelf
"Thou art a musician now!" whis-
above his own camp-bed and saw that pered another Jewish recruit into his
the job was a trilling one and that he ear—but Chayim couldn't believe in
could easily manage to get it done in such an incredible stroke of luck.
two or three days.
What—he—Chayim—a musician—has
He renewed the shelves within the the world turned crazy, or has lie?
Upon his return to the soldiers'
time-limit set, and for the first time
in his life had the saisfacion of look- tents the Jewish recruits greeted him
with
a hearty "rnasel-tovl" And his
ing a his own handiwork, done with-
out assistance of others and unchang- Gentile barrack-mates aired their
vocabulary—stray
ed by superior skill No extra-pay fell rough-and-tumble
bits of indecent Yiddish, picked up,
to his share—not even a brusque and God knows how:
soldierlike word of thanks—and yet
■
"A roach in dein mamehn—give
Iris whole soul was filled with sweet brandy!" And with their coarse,
content—unaided, he had plied his stump fingers they pointed to their
craft to good purpose! He did not parched throats. Chayim felt prickly
crave recognition—to look at the new and hot all over with the shame of not
shelfwork above the company-beds, being able to "stand treat," but he of-
mute witnesses in their neatness of fered to "stand" forty-five kopek's
his competent craftsmanship, was sat- worth of brandy on pay day next.
isfaction enough. His satisfaction That contented the goyim and they
"DeDIZOITS eACC6TT&D
shrunk when the company-clerk paint- cheered him with a hearty good will,
ed on each shelf a name, a patro- "Good boy—hurrah for Chayim Ku-
nymic, and a number, in neat and gel!"
*
conspicuous black-lettering. Chayim
The instrument entrusted to Chay-
secretly resented this—but, of course,
V
a man can't be a competent cabinet- im's helpless hands had an outlandish
first Chayim
maker and a scrivener at the same name—"waldhorn"—at
simply couldn't get used to the name
time—such prodigies are not to be
pronounce it—couldn't say
OPEN
found in a regiment of foot—and be- —couldn't
sides, the clerk had to write on what the instrument was called. When
he
wrote
to
his only brother, a cob-
EVENINGS
shelves of his making!
bler of Minsk, announcing his rise in
However, the first winter of his the world, the other musicians had to
service passed without any further help him in the spelling of the name.
cabinet-making jobs for Chayim. The Chayim was rather pleased with the
shelves once affixed and ready for use, looks of the instrument; he liked its
he sank back to the level of an or- tortuous and intricate windings, its
dinary raw recruit, and like all other claps, the queer mouthpiece—alto-
raw recruits he was put through a gether a treasure to he proud of!
routine of marching, deploying and Only the tone of the instrument dis-
taking aim with his rifle. When his pleased him. There was something
turn came for fatigue-duty, he had
to peel potatoes in the kitchen, fetch
water and saw wood. Nothing but
the barrack-shelves reminded him of
his trade, and his first flicker of ela-
tion died away.
But the sergeant-major was mind-
ful of the fact that Ile had a Jewish
cabinet - maker among his train, and a
few weeks after Pesach he sent him
with a detachment to make tents for
encampment.
A happy man and a proud one was
Chayim, when he went forth with his
comrades to report for duty. The
leader of the group, a Gentile, an old
non - commissioned officer of a severe
and haughty bearing, kept the detach.
ment in apple-pie order. Chayim did
Talk about variety! You never in
duty to his liking—he was never rep-
When year boy wears one of the
your life saw such a wonderful range
rimanded—and for the first time in
splendidly - made, attractive suits that
of
Spring
Suits—the
biggest
variety
in
his life he had a feeling of superiority
we now feature, lie will feel like a regular
Detroit! The entire second floor of
over others—something resembling
little Tun. There is every good pattern,
self-respect. . . .
our store-60x150 feet—is devoted to
and all have full-lined knickers.
But his rising spirits were humbled
boys' clothes!
once more, when he was bidden to do
more fetching and carrying at the
task of tentmaking. Again his daily
task was sunk in the work of others;
Special
again he saw no vestige of it in the
$
The very newest
tents showing white against the
■
■
Jersey sults for
gloomy landscape; and once more he
All-wool
boYs 13 to 51 —
fast-eolor
navy
blue
We're showing the newest novel-
serve
suits
handsome
styles $15."
for the boy who's about
felt himself a nullity, an unconsidered
flee In hetnespunn, tweeds, coverts,
and colors.
to be con/Imbed Very dressy.
and blue verges. Ages 2 to 10.
item in an overwhelmingly big sum
total of hustling humanity. And
Chayim was steeped in vague and
"The Store That Made Fanner Street"
hazy discontent. . . .
It was on the eve of the maneuvers;
all the tents were astir and getting
Stockings
3Se to 7Sc
ready for long and hard exertions.
Belts
SOc to $150
Chayim stood before his tent, clean-
Glom
VAS to $2.50
ing his rifle with the fanatical pre-
Handkerchids
25e
cision of a well-taught soldier.
BI
$1.00 to $2.50
A sentinel roughly bade him dress
Shirts
81.50
to
$3.00
up in a hurry and report at the of-
Undisrwsar
d5c to $2.00
ficers' tent. He leaned his rifle against
Nockwa ■ t
3Se to MOO
a pyramid of small-arms, donned a
clean shirt and made haste on his
way to the officers' tent, not without
stopping, however, to inquire about
the things in store for him.

NIEMEIMMIERIMEHRIERESIE1:01:11:11
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EXCLUSIVE, BUT NOT EXPENSIVE

1 $
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EaSki Is As Close As The Cues In 4: :41

Cucumber. This Shop Is An Encyclo-
pedia Of Alen's Fashions UnderA Plate
Glass Cover.
,
Present Overwear,
Underwear, Headwear, Handwear,
Footwear, Neckwear And Otherwear
Of Smartest StyleAtThe Lowest Prices
ConsistentWithThe Highest Quality.

h

Ri
:!

Spring-Season Suits • • $35 to $125
Spring-Season Topcoats, $30 to $85

sine cockNaz"

r)

Woodward at Montcalm

OPEN
EVENINGS

ob.

...MIRERFII VERMHMEIMEMIEREIIESSIMIMMITERVDEMEIRPHIPEZIMMIESEIZEillitat,

Boys' 2-Pant Spring Suits

'15 . '20 . '25

Confirmation Suits

12.50 .to.s27. 50

For Confirmation!

Spring Topcoats

Oliver Twist Suits

Boys'
Hats!
Boys'
Caps!

to
$3.95

EprInir
models:
New
patterns!
All styles!

$ 7. 50. •••t0 ••• S20

CHMITZ SHRODER

, 53 and 55 Farmer Street

Open Saturday Evenings

"D:troit's
13;egest
Store
for Boys"