would mean, 'It's a fine day for an operation.' I get a pain in my right
side whenever I think of him even."

"Never mind, Abe," Morris rejoined. "Oncet in a while a doctor in the
house comes in pretty handy--a lawyer too. A feller could get a whole
lot of pointers riding up and down in an elevator with a lawyer. Ain't
it? The only trouble about the house is the family above us, which the
lady is all the time hollering like somebody would be giving her a
licking already. Minnie says that she hears from our girl that her girl
says she was an opera singer in the old country."

"Yow, an opera singer in the old country!" Abe exclaimed skeptically.
"In Russland they don't got so many opera singers as all that."

"What d'ye mean, in Russland?" Morris demanded. "The woman ain't from
Russland at all. She's an Italiener. I am coming up in the elevator last
night with her husband and a friend, and the way they are talking to
each other it sounds like a couple of bushelers in a factory. I tell you
the honest truth, Abe, for me it don't make no difference if a feller
would be a Frencher _oder_ an Irishman, so long as he treats me white I
would be a good feller, Abe; but an Italiener, Abe, is something else
again. An Italiener would as lief stick a knife into you as look at you,
Abe, and they smell the whole house out with garlic yet."

"There's lots of things smells worse as garlic, Mawruss," Abe retorted,
"and as for sticking a knife into you, that's all _schmooes_. There's
lots of people worser as Italieners, I bet yer, and when it comes right
down to it, Mawruss, I'd a whole lot sooner have a couple Italieners
working for me as some of them fellers which they are coming over from
Russland."