In the realm of Jewish _belles lettres_ S. J. Abramovich, known under his pen-name _Mendele Mokher Sforim_, the writer of the "Era of Reforms," remained as theretofore the acknowledged leader. The creative energy of this author, who mastered with equal skill both the national and the popular language, attained to even greater heights during the period of the new Jewish martyrdom. His novel _Wünschfingerl_, "The Wishing Ring," which was originally written in Yiddish, and, in its Hebrew version, grew into a large volume, _Be-'Emek ha-Bakha_, "In the Valley of Tears," (1897-1907), constitutes a great epic depicting Jewish life during the gloomy reign of Nicholas I. and the "Era of Enlightenment" under Alexander II. A series of sketches, marked by inimitable humor, portray the disintegration of the old mode of life under the influence of the pogroms of 1881 and the subsequent emigration from Russia (_Bime ha-Ra'ash_, "In Stormy Days," and others). His autobiographical series (_Bayyamim Hahem_, "In Those Days") and his incomplete _Shloime Reb Hayyims_ ("Solomon the son of Hayyim") reveal the power of rare psychological analysis. Abramovich's literary activity, extending over half a century,[29] earned for him the title of "Grandfather of Neo-Hebrew Literature" (_Der Zeide_).[30] He was privileged to witness the brilliant successes of his "sons and grandsons" who came gradually to the fore, particularly in Yiddish literature. His younger contemporary, Isaac Leib Perez, wrote, during the first period of his literary endeavors, clever stories, portraying the life of the Jewish masses in Poland and distinguished by a powerful realism, often tinged with satire (his series _Reisebilder_, "Travel Pictures," and other sketches which were written mostly during the nineties). Later on, Perez leaned more and more towards modern literary symbolism, drawing his inspiration mostly from the mystic legends of the Hasidim (his series _Hasidish_, which was subsequently expanded into two volumes under the title _Volkstümliche Geschichten_, "Popular Stories," 1909).[31]