Mary Antin

In the evening of the first day my father conducted us to the public baths.

In the evening of the first day my father conducted us to the public baths.

One positive command he gave us: You shall love and honor your emperor. In every congregation a prayer must be read more

One positive command he gave us: You shall love and honor your emperor. In every congregation a prayer must be said for the czar's health, or the chief of police would close the synagogue.

His struggle for a bare living left him no time to take advantage of the public evening school. In time read more

His struggle for a bare living left him no time to take advantage of the public evening school. In time he learned to read, to follow a conversation or lecture; but he never learned to write correctly; and his pronunciation remains extremely foreign to this day.

As we moved along in a little procession, I was delighted with the illumination of the streets. So many lamps, read more

As we moved along in a little procession, I was delighted with the illumination of the streets. So many lamps, and they burned until morning, my father said, and so people did not need to carry lanterns.

If education, culture, the higher life were shining things to be worshiped from afar, he had still a means left read more

If education, culture, the higher life were shining things to be worshiped from afar, he had still a means left whereby he could draw one step nearer to them.