Then there was Isaac, the _Schlemihl_, a well-meaning, earnest struggler, but a perfect type of the _Schlemihl_ or Jewish ne’er-do-well, upon whose undertakings no blessing ever seemed to descend. He worked harder, probably, than any three other members of the Kehillah; but in his hands the fairest projects seemed to receive a blight, and the most promising business ventures turned to wormwood and ashes, to apples of Sodom and grapes of bitterness. But the Schlemihl, perfectly useless though he was to himself and his family, had one very evident purpose in the scheme of life, namely, to open the hearts of his brethren to impulses of kindness and benevolence. They certainly acted toward him in the most sympathetic and brotherly manner, and permitted neither him nor his family to suffer. At the time of my arrival in Nordheim, Isaac had just managed, through one of his usual transactions, to lose all he had, and to have his house, which he had received as part of the dowry of his wife, seized in satisfaction of his debts. But the Nordheim Kehillah, assisted by some benevolent friends from other places, paid off his debts, redeemed the house, and furnished him with a certain amount of capital with which to begin life anew. For safety’s sake the Kehillah retained the title in the house; for, as Uncle Koppel said to me in confidence, “We might otherwise have to buy the house every year.” A peculiarly interesting character was David the horse-dealer, a jovial, hale fellow, handsome too, and tall and strong as a lion, a very “mighty man in Israel.” He was a stanch friend and reliable, and could be depended upon to go through thick and thin for one who had once gained his friendship. But David had one weakness, not unnatural, perhaps, in those of his vocation. He knew no scruples of conscience in regard to transactions in horseflesh; and some of his achievements in that line had been, if report spoke truly, to say the least, extremely venturesome. Thus he was credited with having once sold a Prussian major who prided himself on his expert knowledge of the equine species, a horse with only three hoofs. The manner in which David was said to have done the trick was as follows: The deal took place in midwinter, when the ground was covered with snow to the depth of a foot or more. The horse was a fine animal, coal black and of handsome form, except that the left front hoof was lacking. David led the horse out of the stable; and as it stood in the deep snow before the Prussian major, who was critically examining it through his eyeglasses, the absence of the hoof was not noticeable. He then put it through its paces, cracking his whip furiously, so that the horse leaped and dashed in a most fiery manner, and the absence of the hoof was again not noticeable. The major was charmed with the fire and grace of the animal, bought and paid for it at once, and ordered it to be sent to his quarters. It is said that the