Zibal, who had not moved before, got down from his high stool heavily. He shoved the people aside and walked toward the door.
“What’s up, Jew?” some one questioned.
“Leiba Zibal” declared the innkeeper solemnly, and with a lofty gesture, “Leiba Zibal is going to Jassy to tell the Rabbi that he is no longer a Jew—Leiba Zibal is a Christian—because, in honor of the Christ, Leiba Zibal burned candles—at the Easter!” And he walked away meditatively toward the hills—toward the East. He walked slowly like an experienced wanderer who knows that one must not begin a long journey with hasty steps.
SVATOPLUK ČECH
Svatopluk Čech (1846-) is the successor in both prose and verse of Neruda and like him he is greater as a poet than as a prose writer, and like him, too, he has tried his hand at every variety and style of writing.
Among his books of verse are—“The Smith of Lešetin,” “In Shadow of the Linden”; many delightful ballades—such as “The Lark”—have been written by him.
We include perhaps his best short story—“The Journey.” None of the verse of Čech has appeared in English. Of his prose we know of only one other translated story.[3]
THE JOURNEY
PROUD Odessa disappeared in the distance. It was the first time that my eyes had beheld only sky and water. The circle of the sea rolled in splendor on all sides, and nothing disturbed the first overpowering impression. Peculiar emotions arose within me, as I gave myself over to this spectacle. The dimensions of the sea exalted my spirit, and at the same time oppressed it. At sight of the measureless horizon my chest expanded in blessed sensations of freedom.