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"I tell you what, Levinsky," he said, half in jest and half in earnest. "Let the two of us make a partnership of it. I could put some money into the business." I reflected that when I approached him for a loan of four hundred dollars, on my first visit at his house, he had pleaded poverty "I could do a good deal of hustling, too," he added, gravely.
There was often a wistful look in his eye, as if he wondered whether his wealth and new mode of living were not merely a cruel practical joke. Or was he yearning for the simpler and more natural life which he had led until two years ago? We had many an expensive meal together, and often, as he ate, he would say: "Oh, it's all nonsense, Mr. Levinsky.
I argued again, entreated, raved, all to no purpose "I'll never come close to you. All I want is to be able to see you, to live in the same house with you." "Don't be tearing my heart to pieces," she said. "It is torn badly enough as it is. Do as I say, Levinsky." "Don't you want to see me at all?" "Oh, it's cruel of you to ask questions like that. You have no heart, Levinsky.
"I love you more than I can tell you, Levinsky," she resumed. "But it is not my good luck to be happy. I dreamed all my life of love, and now that it is here, right here in my heart, I must choke it with my own hands." "Why? Why?" I said, with vehemence. "Why must you?" "Why!" she echoed, bitterly. "Because the Upper One brought you to me only to punish me, to tease me. That's all. That's all.
But it and his later books The Imported Bridegroom and Other Stories and The White Terror and the Red have been overwhelmed by novels by more familiar men dealing with more familiar communities. The same has been true even of his masterpiece, the most important of all immigrant novels, The Rise of David Levinsky.
Or else we would start on a ramble, usually through Grand Street to East River and back again through East Broadway. His favorite topics during these walks were civics, American history, and his own history "Dil-i-gence, perr-severance, tenacity!" he would drawl out, with nasal dignity. "Get these three words engraved on your mind, Levinsky. Diligence, perseverance, tenacity."
I told you she was a smart girl, didn't I, Levinsky?" "Don't be uneasy, Meyer. Mr. Levinsky won't even look at an old woman like me. It's a pretty girl he's fishin' for. Ainchye, Mr. Levinsky?" She was middle-aged, with small features inconspicuously traced in a bulging mass of full-blooded flesh. This was why her mother-in-law called her "meat-ball face."
Well, how goes it, great man?" "How have you been?" "Can't kick. Of course, compared to a big fellow like David Levinsky, I am a fly." I excused myself to Tevkin and took Margolis to the quieter side of the Avenue "Glad to see you, upon my word," he said. "Well, let bygones by bygones. It's about time we forgot it all." "There is nothing to forget." "Honest?" "Honest!
It isn't the same kind, but you won't feel lonesome any longer." I laughed "Laugh away, Levinsky. But you can't help it. And the smart books you read won't help you, either. You've got to get married whether you want it or not. This is a bill that must be paid." I had lunch with him a day or two after my meeting with Lucy.
She was not pretty, but she had winning blue eyes and her yellow waist became her. "Mr. Levinsky wants to know if you're going to catch him with a net or with a trap." "And how about yourself?" I demanded. "What sort of tools have you?" "Oh, I don't think I have a chance with a big fish like yourself," she replied Her companions laughed "Well, that's only her way of fishing," said Miss Lazar.
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