His never-failing friend.

His sleep to him is sweet
After a hearty meal;
Neither grief nor worry
The farmer-man doth feel.

He rises very early
To start betimes his toil,
Healthy and very happy
On his ever-smiling soil.

O blessings on our czar,
Czar Nikolai, then be,
Who granted us this gladness,
And bade the Jews be free.

Alas, this joy was of short duration! Very soon Nicholas became
suspicious of his Siberian colonization scheme, that it was in reality a
philanthropic measure, and in place of saving the Jew's soul it only
promoted his physical well-being. This suspicion grew into a conviction
when he learned that the Jewish community at Tomsk, still faithful to
the heritage of Israel, applied for permission to appoint a spiritual
leader. The autocrat, therefore, signed an ukase checking settlement in
the hitherto free land, depriving honest men of the privilege enjoyed by
the worst of criminals, and enrolling the children of those already
there among the military Cantonists (January 5, 1837).

Then began real misery. Believing at first that the czar's intentions
were sincere, many Jews had sold their hut and land and left for