jeeringly called “teacher” and “master” according to sex after her superiors, till the victims longed for Elisha’s influence over bears.  Later on, she was shocked to see her teacher’s brother piloting bonny Bessie Sugarman through the thick of the ferment.  Crushed between two barrows, she found Mrs. Belcovitch and Fanny, who were shopping together, attended by Pesach Weingott, all carrying piles of purchases.

“Esther, if you should see my Becky in the crowd, tell her where I am,” said Mrs. Belcovitch.  “She is with one of her chosen young men.  I am so feeble, I can hardly crawl around, and my Becky ought to carry home the cabbages.  She has well-matched legs, not one a thick one and one a thin one."’

Around the fishmongers the press was great.  The fish-trade was almost monopolized by English Jews—­blonde, healthy-looking fellows, with brawny, bare arms, who were approached with dread by all but the bravest foreign Jewesses.  Their scale of prices and politeness varied with the status of the buyer.  Esther, who had an observant eye and ear for such things, often found amusement standing unobtrusively by.  To-night there was the usual comedy awaiting her enjoyment.  A well-dressed dame came up to “Uncle Abe’s” stall, where half a dozen lots of fishy miscellanaea were spread out.

“Good evening, madam.  Cold night but fine.  That lot?  Well, you’re an old customer and fish are cheap to-day, so I can let you have ’em for a sovereign.  Eighteen?  Well, it’s hard, but—­boy! take the lady’s fish.  Thank you.  Good evening.”

“How much that?” says a neatly dressed woman, pointing to a precisely similar lot.

“Can’t take less than nine bob.  Fish are dear to-day.  You won’t get anything cheaper in the Lane, by G——­ you won’t.  Five shillings!  By my life and by my children’s life, they cost me more than that.  So sure as I stand here and—­well, come, gie’s seven and six and they’re yours.  You can’t afford more?  Well, ’old up your apron, old gal.  I’ll make it up out of the rich.  By your life and mine, you’ve got a Metsiah (bargain) there!”

Here old Mrs. Shmendrik, Shosshi’s mother, came up, a rich Paisley shawl over her head in lieu of a bonnet.  Lane women who went out without bonnets were on the same plane as Lane men who went out without collars.

One of the terrors of the English fishmongers was that they required the customer to speak English, thus fulfilling an important educative function in the community.  They allowed a certain percentage of jargon-words, for they themselves took licenses in this direction, but they professed not to understand pure Yiddish.

“Abraham, ’ow mosh for dees lot,” said old Mrs. Shmendrik, turning over a third similar heap and feeling the fish all over.

“Paws off!” said Abraham roughly.  “Look here!  I know the tricks of you Polakinties.  I’ll name you the lowest price and won’t stand a farthing’s bating.  I’ll lose by you, but you ain’t, going to worry me.  Eight bob!  There!”