As Recha read, she turned deadly pale and the paper almost fell from her hands.
"What will you do?" she faltered at length, while the great tears stood in her eyes.
Mendel's heart throbbed with wild delight as he saw her evident emotion, and her eyes fell under his ardent gaze. Seizing her hand, he asked, in a low voice:
"What would you have me do?"
Recha gazed fondly into Mendel's eyes, and said:
"I should be very unhappy if you left home. What would my father do without you? Think of the void it would create in the lives of your parents and of your uncle. What would the congregation do without you, whom they already regard as an oracle? Stay with us in Kief."
"God bless you, my dear," replied the young man, fervently. "I will remain; I shall never leave this place unless you go with me as my wife."
It was simple and unromantic.
The lovers, happy and contented, sat side by side, discussing their roseate future, and when the Rabbi and his wife returned, the young folks advanced to meet them.
"Rabbi," said the student, bravely, "Recha has promised to be my wife."