Chapter I: Front Matter

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| Transcriber's Note: |
| |
| Inconsistent hyphenation and inconsistant spelling in the |
| original document have been preserved. This document |
| contains Yiddish and other dialects. |
| |
| Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For |
| a complete list, please see the end of this document. |
| |
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GHETTO COMEDIES

by

ISRAEL ZANGWILL

* * * * *

New 6s. Novels.

THE EXPENSIVE MISS DU CANE. By S. MACNAUGHTAN. 'To resist the charm
of Hetty Du Cane one must be singularly hard to
please.'--_Spectator._

THE LOST WORD. By EVELYN UNDERHILL. 'She writes vigorously and well,
with a clear sense of the beauty of language and a notable power
of description.'--_Times._

THE COUNTRY HOUSE. By JOHN GALSWORTHY. 'It deserves the widest
measure of success as a careful study of modern life and an
interesting piece of fiction, presented with remarkable literary
ability.'--_Daily Telegraph._

MEMOIRS OF A PERSON OF QUALITY. By ASHTON HILLIERS. 'Such a recruit
as Mr. Hilliers is welcome to the ranks of novelists.... He has
absorbed the spirit of the times with remarkable ability. Mr.
Hilliers has a fine literary future before him, and we are glad
to give his maiden effort a cordial greeting.'--_Athenæum._

PAUL. By E.F. BENSON. 'A genuinely fine novel; a story marked by
powerful workmanship and glowing with the breath of
life.'--_Daily Telegraph._

THE SWIMMERS. By E.S. RORISON. 'Full of crisp dialogue and bright
descriptive passages.'--_Athenæum._

THE TRAIL TOGETHER. By H.H. BASHFORD. 'Very interesting, very well
constructed, and admirably written; altogether an excellent piece
of work.'--_Daily Telegraph._

FOOLS RUSH IN. By MARY GAUNT and J.R. ESSEX. 'A live story, full of
the stir and stress of existence on the fringe of civilization,
very vividly and interestingly written.'--_Sketch._

JOSEPH VANCE. By WILLIAM DE MORGAN. 'Humorous, thoughtful, pathetic,
and thoroughly entertaining.... Fresh, original, and unusually
clever.'--_Athenæum._

MOONFACE, AND OTHER STORIES. By JACK LONDON. 'Jack London at his
best.'--_Standard._

LOVE'S TRILOGY. By PETER NANSEN. 'Humour the author possesses, and
tenderness. Sensibility he has, and shrewd sense. The tale "God's
Peace" shows that he has a soul.'--_Evening Standard._

LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN, 21, BEDFORD STREET.

* * * * *

GHETTO COMEDIES

by

ISRAEL ZANGWILL

Author of 'The Grey Wig,' 'Dreamers of the Ghetto,' 'The Master,' 'Children of the Ghetto,' 'Ghetto Tragedies,' etc.

With Illustrations by J.H. Amschewitz

London William Heinemann 1907

Copyright by William Heinemann, 1907

TO

MY OLD FRIEND

M.D. EDER

NOTE

Simultaneously with the publication of these 'Ghetto Comedies' a fresh edition of my 'Ghetto Tragedies' is issued, with the original title restored. In the old definition a comedy could be distinguished from a tragedy by its happy ending. Dante's Hell and Purgatory could thus appertain to a 'comedy.' This is a crude conception of the distinction between Tragedy and Comedy, which I have ventured to disregard, particularly in the last of these otherwise unassuming stories.

I.Z.

SHOTTERMILL,
_April, 1907._

CONTENTS

PAGE

THE MODEL OF SORROWS 1

ANGLICIZATION 49

THE JEWISH TRINITY 89

THE SABBATH QUESTION IN SUDMINSTER 119

THE RED MARK 173

THE BEARER OF BURDENS 193

THE LUFTMENSCH 225

THE TUG OF LOVE 249

THE YIDDISH 'HAMLET' 259

THE CONVERTS 293

HOLY WEDLOCK 313

ELIJAH'S GOBLET 335

THE HIRELINGS 351

SAMOOBORONA 375

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

AT LAST I SAID 'GOOD MORNING' _Frontispiece_

_To face page_

'I WORK ON--ON _SHABBOS_' 142

'YOU COMPARE MY WIFE TO A KANGAROO!' 276

THE JEWS SCATTERED BEFORE HIM LIKE DOGS 408

THE MODEL OF SORROWS

THE MODEL OF SORROWS