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diff --git a/17352.txt b/17352.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..80d1357 --- /dev/null +++ b/17352.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14518 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Awakening, by Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy, +Translated by William E. Smith + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Awakening + The Resurrection + + +Author: Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy + + + +Release Date: December 19, 2005 [eBook #17352] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE AWAKENING*** + + +E-text prepared by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Diane Monico, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net/ + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 17352-h.htm or 17352-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/5/17352/17352-h/17352-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/5/17352/17352-h.zip) + + + + + +THE AWAKENING + +(The Resurrection) + +by + +COUNT LEO TOLSTOI + +Author of + +"War and Peace," "The Kreutzer Sonata," +"Anna Karenina," Etc. + +Translated by William E. Smith + + + + + + + +[Illustration: COUNT LEO TOLSTOI.] + + + + +New York +Street & Smith, Publishers +238 William Street +Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1900 +By Street & Smith +In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C. + + + + + + "Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my + brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven + times?"--_Matthew, c. xviii.; v. 21._ + + "Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven + times: but until seventy times seven."--_Idem, v. 22._ + + "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's + eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own + eye!"--_Idem, c. vii.; v. 3._ + + "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a + stone at her."--_John, c. viii.; v. 7._ + + "The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is + perfect shall be as his master."--_Luke, c. vi.; v. 40._ + + + + +THE AWAKENING. + + +PART FIRST. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +All the efforts of several hundred thousand people, crowded in a small +space, to disfigure the land on which they lived; all the stone they +covered it with to keep it barren; how so diligently every sprouting +blade of grass was removed; all the smoke of coal and naphtha; all the +cutting down of trees and driving off of cattle could not shut out the +spring, even from the city. The sun was shedding its light; the grass, +revivified, was blooming forth, where it was left uncut, not only on +the greenswards of the boulevard, but between the flag-stones, and the +birches, poplars and wild-berry trees were unfolding their viscous +leaves; the limes were unfolding their buds; the daws, sparrows and +pigeons were joyfully making their customary nests, and the flies were +buzzing on the sun-warmed walls. Plants, birds, insects and children +were equally joyful. Only men--grown-up men--continued cheating and +tormenting themselves and each other. People saw nothing holy in this +spring morning, in this beauty of God's world--a gift to all living +creatures--inclining to peace, good-will and love, but worshiped their +own inventions for imposing their will on each other. + +The joy of spring felt by animals and men did not penetrate the office +of the county jail, but the one thing of supreme importance there was +a document received the previous evening, with title, number and seal, +which ordered the bringing into court for trial, this 28th day of +April, at nine o'clock in the morning, three prisoners--two women and +one man. One of the women, as the more dangerous criminal, was to be +brought separately. So, in pursuance of that order, on the 28th day of +April, at eight o'clock in the morning, the jail warden entered the +dingy corridor of the woman's ward. Immediately behind him came a +woman with weary countenance and disheveled gray hair, wearing a +crown-laced jacket, and girdled with a blue-edged sash. She was the +matron. + +"You want Maslova?" she asked the warden, as they neared one of the +cells opening into the corridor. + +The warden, with a loud clanking of iron, unlocked and opened the door +of the cell, releasing an even fouler odor than permeated the +corridor, and shouted: + +"Maslova to the court!" and again closing the door he waited for her +appearance. + +The fresh, vivifying air of the fields, carried to the city by the +wind, filled even the court-yard of the jail. But in the corridor the +oppressive air, laden with the smell of tar and putrescence, saddened +and dejected the spirit of every new-comer. The same feeling was +experienced by the jail matron, notwithstanding she was accustomed to +bad air. On entering the corridor she suddenly felt a weariness coming +over her that inclined her to slumber. + +There was a bustling in the cell; women's voices and steps of bare +feet were heard. + +"Hurry up, Maslova! Come on, I say!" shouted the warden into the +cell-door. + +Presently at the cell-door appeared a middle-sized, full-breasted +young woman, dressed in a long, gray coat over a white waist and +skirt. She approached with firm step, and, facing about, stood before +the warden. Over her linen stockings she wore jail shoes; her head was +covered with a white 'kerchief, from under which black curls were +evidently purposely brushed over the forehead. The face of the woman +was of that whiteness peculiar to people who have been a long time in +confinement, and which reminds one of potato-sprouts in a cellar. Her +small, wide hands, her white, full neck, showing from under the large +collar of the coat, were of a similar hue. On the dull pallor of that +face the most striking feature was the black, sparkling eyes, somewhat +swollen, but very bright eyes, one of which slightly squinted. She +held herself erect, putting forth her full chest. Emerging into the +corridor, throwing her head back a little, she looked into the eyes of +the warden and stood ready to do his bidding. The warden was about to +shut the door, when a pale, severe, wrinkled face of an old woman with +disheveled hair was thrust out. The old woman began to say something +to Maslova. But the warden pressed the door against the head of the +woman, and she disappeared. In the cell a woman's voice burst into +laughter. Maslova also smiled, and turned to the grated little opening +in the door. The old woman pressed her forehead to the grating, and +said in a hoarse voice: + +"Above all, don't speak too much; stick to one thing, and that is +all." + +"Of course. It cannot be any worse," said Maslova. + +"You certainly cannot stick to two things," said the chief warden, +with official assurance of his own wit. "Follow me, now! Forward! +March!" + +The eye looking from behind the grating disappeared, and Maslova took +to the middle of the corridor, and with short, but rapid strides, +followed the warden. They descended the stone stairway, and as they +passed the men's ward, noisy and more noisome even than the woman's +ward, scores of eyes followed them from behind the gratings. They +entered the office, where an armed escort of two soldiers stood. The +clerk handed one of the soldiers a document, reeking of tobacco smoke, +and, pointing to the prisoner, said: + +"Take her." + +The soldier, a Nijhni peasant with a red and pock-marked face, placed +the paper into the cuff of his coat sleeve, and, smiling, winked to +his muscular comrade. The soldiers and prisoner descended the stairs +and went in the direction of the main entrance. + +A small door in the gate opened, and, crossing the threshold, they +passed through the inclosure and took the middle of the paved street. + +Drivers, shop-keepers, kitchen maids, laborers and officials halted +and gazed with curiosity at the prisoner. Some shook their heads and +thought: "There is the result of evil conduct--how unlike ours!" +Children looked with horror at the cut-throat, but the presence of the +soldiers reassured them, for she was now powerless to do harm. A +villager, returning from the mart, where he had disposed of his +charcoal and visited an inn, offered her a kopeck. The prisoner +blushed, drooped her head and murmured something. + +Conscious of the attention that was shown her, without turning her +head she looked askance at the onlookers and rather enjoyed it. She +also enjoyed the comparatively pure spring air, but the walking on the +cobblestones was painful to her feet, unused as they were to walking, +and shod in clumsy prison shoes. She looked at her feet and endeavored +to step as lightly as possible. Passing by a food store, in front of +which some pigeons were picking grain, she came near striking with her +foot a dove-colored bird. It rose with a flutter of its wings, and +flew past the very ear of the prisoner, fanning her face with its +wings. She smiled, then sighed deeply, remembering her own condition. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +The history of the prisoner Maslova was a very common one. Maslova was +the daughter of an unmarried menial who lived with her mother, a +cowherd, on the estate of two spinsters. This unmarried woman gave +birth to a child every year, and, as is the custom in the villages, +baptized them; then neglected the troublesome newcomers, and they +finally starved to death. + +Thus five children died. Every one of these was baptized, then it +starved and finally died. The sixth child, begotten of a passing +gypsy, was a girl, who would have shared the same fate, but it +happened that one of the two old maidens entered the cow-shed to +reprimand the milkmaids for carelessness in skimming the cream, and +there saw the mother with the healthy and beautiful child. The old +maiden chided them for the cream and for permitting the woman to lie +in the cow-shed, and was on the point of departing, but noticing the +child, was moved to pity, and afterward consented to stand godmother +to the child. She baptized the child, and in pity for her +god-daughter, furnished her with milk, gave the mother some money, +and the babe thrived. Wherefore the old maidens called it "the saved +one." + +The child was three years old when the mother fell ill and died. She +was a great burden to her grandmother, so the old maidens adopted her. +The dark-eyed girl became unusually lively and pretty, and her +presence cheered them. + +Of the two old maidens, the younger one--Sophia Ivanovna--was the +kindlier, while the older one--Maria Ivanovna--was of austere +disposition. Sophia Ivanovna kept the girl in decent clothes, taught +her to read and intended to give her an education. Maria Ivanovna said +that the girl ought to be taught to work that she might become a +useful servant, was exacting, punished, and even beat her when in bad +humor. Under such conditions the girl grew up half servant, half lady. +Her position was reflected even in her name, for she was not called by +the gentle Katinka, nor yet by the disdainful Katka, but Katiousha, +which stands sentimentally between the two. She sewed, cleaned the +rooms, cleaned the ikons with chalk, ground, cooked and served coffee, +washed, and sometimes she read for the ladies. + +She was wooed, but would marry no one, feeling that life with any one +of her wooers would be hard, spoiled, as she was, more or less, by the +comparative ease she enjoyed in the manor. + +She had just passed her sixteenth year when the ladies were visited by +their nephew, a rich student, and Katiousha, without daring to confess +it to him, or even to herself, fell in love with him. Two years +afterward, while on his way to the war, he again visited his aunts, +and during his four days' stay, consummated her ruin. Before his +departure he thrust a hundred ruble bill into her hand. + +Thenceforward life ceased to have any charms for her, and her only +thought was to escape the shame which awaited her, and not only did +she become lax in her duties, but--and she did not know herself how it +happened--all of a sudden she gave vent to her ill temper. She said +some rude things to the ladies, of which she afterward repented, and +left them. + +Dissatisfied with her behavior, they did not detain her. She then +obtained employment as servant in the house of the commissary of rural +police, but was obliged to give up the position at the end of the +third month, for the commissary, a fifty-year old man, pursued her +with his attentions, and when, on one occasion, he became too +persistent, she flared up, called him an old fool, and threw him to +the ground. Then she was driven from the house. She was now so far +advanced on the road to maternity that to look for a position was out +of the question. Hence she took lodgings with an old midwife, who was +also a wine dealer. The confinement came off painlessly. But the +midwife was attending a sick woman in the village, infected Katiousha +with puerperal fever, and the child, a boy, was taken to a foundling +asylum where, she was told, he died immediately after his arrival +there. + +When Katiousha took lodgings with the midwife she had 127 rubles; 27 +rubles of which she had earned, and 100 rubles which had been given +her by her seducer. When she left her she had but six rubles left. She +was not economical, and spent on herself as well as others. She paid +40 rubles to the midwife for two months' board; 25 rubles it cost her +to have the child taken away; 40 rubles the midwife borrowed of her to +buy a cow with; the balance was spent on dresses, presents, etc., so +that after the confinement she was practically penniless, and was +compelled to look for a position. She was soon installed in the house +of a forester who was married, and who, like the commissary, began to +pay court to her. His wife became aware of it, and when, on one +occasion, she found them both in the room, she fell on Katiousha and +began to beat her. The latter resented it, and the result was a +scrimmage, after which she was driven out of the house, without being +paid the wages due her. Katiousha went to the city, where she stopped +with her aunt. Her aunt's husband was a bookbinder. Formerly he used +to earn a competence, but had lost his customers, and was now given to +drink, spending everything that came into his hands. + +With the aid of a small laundry she was keeping, her aunt supported +her children as well as her husband. She offered Maslova work as a +washerwoman, but seeing what a hard life the washerwomen at her +aunt's establishment were leading, she searched through the +intelligence offices for a position as servant. She found such a place +with a lady who was living with her two student boys. A week after she +had entered upon her duties, the oldest son neglected his studies and +made life miserable for Maslova. The mother threw all blame upon +Maslova and discharged her. She was some time without any occupation. +In one of these intelligence offices she once met a lady richly +dressed and adorned with diamonds. This lady, learning of the +condition of Maslova, who was looking for a position, gave her her +card and invited her to call. The lady received Maslova +affectionately, treated her to choice cakes and sweet wine, while she +dispatched her servant somewhere with a note. In the evening a tall +man with long hair just turning gray, and gray beard, came into the +room. The old man immediately seated himself beside Maslova and began +to jest. The hostess called him into an adjoining room, and Maslova +overheard her say: "As fresh as a rose; just from the country." Then +the hostess called in Maslova and told her that the man was an author, +very rich, _and will be very generous if he takes a liking to her_. He +did take a liking to her, gave her twenty-five rubles, and promised to +call on her often. The money was soon spent in settling for her board +at her aunt's, for a new dress, hat and ribbons. A few days afterward +the author sent for her a second time. She called. He gave her another +twenty-five ruble bill and offered to rent apartments for her where +she could reside separately. + +While living in the apartments rented by the author, Maslova became +infatuated with a jolly clerk living in the same house. She herself +told the author of her infatuation, and moved into a smaller +apartment. The clerk, who had promised to marry her, without saying +anything, left for Nijhni, evidently casting her off, and Maslova +remained alone. She wished to remain in the apartment, but the +landlord would not permit a single woman to occupy it, and she +returned to her aunt. Her fashionable dress, cape and hat won her the +respect of her aunt, who no longer dared to offer her work as a +washerwoman, considering her present position far above it. The +question of working in the laundry did not even occur to Maslova now. +She looked with compassion on the life of drudgery led by these pale, +emaciated washerwomen, some of whom showed symptoms of consumption, +washing and ironing in a stifling, steam-laden atmosphere with the +windows open summer and winter, and she was horrified at the thought +that she, too, might be driven to such drudgery. + +Maslova had for a long time been addicted to cigarette smoking, but of +late she had been getting more and more accustomed to drink. The wine +attracted her, not because of its taste, but because it enabled her to +forget her past life, to comfort herself with ease, and the confidence +of her own worth that it gave her. Without wine she was despondent and +abashed. There was the choice of two things before her; either the +humiliating occupation of a servant, with the certain unwelcome +attentions of the men, or a secure, quiet and legitimatized position +of everybody's mistress. She wished to revenge herself on her seducer, +as well as the clerk, and all those that brought misfortune upon her. +Besides, she could not withstand the temptation of having all the +dresses her heart desired--dresses made of velvet, gauze and +silk--ball dresses, with open neck and short sleeves. And when Maslova +imagined herself in a bright yellow silk dress, with velvet trimmings, +decolette, she made her choice. + +From this day on Maslova began to lead a life to which hundreds of +thousands of women are driven, and which, in nine cases out of ten, +ends in painful disease, premature decrepitude and death. + +After a night's orgies there would come a deep slumber till three or +four o'clock in the afternoon; then the weary rising from a dirty +couch; seltzer-water to remove the effect of excessive drinking, +coffee. Then came the sauntering through the rooms in dressing-gown, +looking through the windows; the languid quarrels; then the perfuming +of her body and hair, the trying on of dresses, and the quarrels with +the mistress which they occasioned; contemplating herself in the +mirror, rouging her face, darkening her eyebrows. Then came the sweet, +rich food, the bright silk dress, the entry into the brightly lighted +parlor, the arrival of the guests, music, dancing, confectionery, wine +and cigarettes. + +Thus Maslova lived for seven years. On the eighth, when she had +reached her twenty-sixth year, there happened that for which she had +been jailed, and for which she was now led to the court, after six +months of confinement among thieves and murderers. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +At the time when Maslova, exhausted by the long walk, was approaching +with the armed convoy the building in which court was held, the same +nephew of the ladies that brought her up, Prince Dmitri Ivanovitch +Nekhludoff, who deceived her, lay on his high, soft, spring +feather-bed, in spotless Holland linen, smoking a cigarette. He was +gazing before him, contemplating the events of the previous day and +considering what he had before him for that day. As he thought of the +previous evening, spent at the Korchagins, a wealthy and influential +family, whose daughter, rumor had it, he was to marry, he sighed, and +throwing away the butt of his cigarette, he was on the point of taking +another from the silver cigarette holder, but changed his mind. Half +rising, he slipped his smooth, white feet into the slippers, threw a +silk morning gown over his broad shoulders, and with quick and heavy +stride, walked into the adjoining dressing-room, which was permeated +with the artificial odors of elixirs, perfumes, cosmetics. There he +washed his partly gold-filled teeth with a tooth-powder, rinsed them +with a perfumed mouth-wash, then began to sponge himself and dry his +body with Turkish towels. After washing his hands with perfumed soap, +carefully brushing his trimmed nails and washing his face and stout +neck in a marble basin, he walked into a third room, where a +shower-bath was ready. Here he received a cold-water douche, and after +rubbing his white and muscular body with coarse towels and donning his +white linen, he seated himself before the mirror and began to brush +his short, curly beard and the thinning curls of his forehead. + +Everything used by him--the linen, clothing, shoes, scarfs, +scarf-pins, cuff-buttons, were of the very best quality, simple, +tasteful and expensive. + +He then picked out the first of a dozen scarfs and pins that came into +his hand--it was no more novel and amusing, as it used to be--and he +was quite indifferent as to which he put on. He dressed himself in his +brushed clothes which lay on the chair and went out, though not quite +refreshed, yet clean and fragrant. In the oblong dining-room, the +inlaid floor of which had been polished by three of his men the day +before, and containing a massive oaken sideboard and a similar +extension table, the legs of which were carved in the shape of lion's +paws, giving it a pompous appearance, breakfast stood ready for him. A +fine, starched cloth with large monograms was spread on the table, on +which stood a silver coffee-pot, containing fragrant, steaming coffee, +a sugar bowl and cream pitcher to match, fresh rolls and various kinds +of biscuits. Beside them lay the last number of the "Revue des deux +Mondes," newspapers and his mail. Nekhludoff was about to open the +letters, when a middle-aged woman, with a lace head-gear over her +unevenly parted hair, glided into the room. This was Agrippina +Petrovna, servant of his mother, who died in this very house. She was +now stewardess to the son. + +Agrippina Petrovna had traveled many years abroad with Nekhludoff's +mother, and had acquired the manners of a lady. She had lived in the +house of the Nekhludoffs since childhood, and knew Dmitri Ivanovitch +when he was called by the diminutive Mitenka. + +"Good-morning, Dmitri Ivanovitch." + +"How do you do, Agrippina Petrovna? What's the news?" asked +Nekhludoff, jesting. + +"A letter from the old Princess, or the young one, perhaps. The maid +brought it long ago, and is now waiting in my room," said Agrippina +Petrovna, handing him the letter with a significant smile. + +"Very well; I will attend to it immediately," said Nekhludoff, taking +the letter and then, noticing the smile on Agrippina's face, he +frowned. + +The smile on Agrippina's face signified that the letter came from +Princess Korchagin, whom, according to Agrippina Petrovna, he was to +marry. And this supposition, expressed by her smile, displeased +Nekhludoff. + +"Then I will bid her wait," and Agrippina Petrovna glided out of the +dining-room, first replacing the crumb-brush, which lay on the table, +in its holder. + +Nekhludoff opened the perfumed letter and began to read: + + "In fulfillment of the duty I assumed of being your memory," + the letter ran, "I call to your mind that you have been + summoned to serve as juror to-day, the 28th of April, and + that, therefore, you cannot accompany us and Kolosoff to the + art exhibition, as you promised yesterday in your customary + forgetfulness; a moins que vous ne soyez dispose a payer a + la cour d'assises les 300 rubles d'amende que vous vous + refusez pour votre cheval, for your failure to appear in + time. I remembered it yesterday, when you had left. So keep + it in mind. + + "PRINCESS M. KORCHAGIN." + +On the other side was a postscript: + + "Maman vous fait dire que votre couvert vous attendra jusqu' + a la nuit. Venez absolument a quelle heure que cela soit. M. K." + +Nekhludoff knit his brows. The note was the continuation of a skillful +strategem whereby the Princess sought, for the last two months, to +fasten him with invisible bonds. But Nekhludoff, besides the usual +irresoluteness before marriage of people of his age, and who are not +passionately in love, had an important reason for withholding his +offer of marriage for the time being. The reason was not that ten +years before he had ruined and abandoned Katiousha, which incident he +had entirely forgotten, but that at this very time he was sustaining +relations with a married woman, and though he now considered them at +an end, they were not so considered by her. + +In the presence of women, Nekhludoff was very shy, but it was this +very shyness that determined the married woman to conquer him. This +woman was the wife of the commander of the district in which +Nekhludoff was one of the electors. She led him into relations with +her which held him fast, and at the same time grew more and more +repulsive to him. At first Nekhludoff could not resist her wiles, +then, feeling himself at fault, he could not break off the relations +against her will. This was the reason why Nekhludoff considered that +he had no right, even if he desired, to ask for the hand of Korchagin. +A letter from the husband of that woman happened to lay on the table. +Recognizing the handwriting and the stamp, Nekhludoff flushed and +immediately felt an influx of that energy which he always experienced +in the face of danger. But there was no cause for his agitation; the +husband, as commander of the district where Nekhludoff's estates were +situated, informed the latter of a special meeting of the local +governing body, and asked him to be present without fail, and donner +un coup d'epaule in the important measures to be submitted concerning +the schools and roads, and that the reactionary party was expected to +offer strong opposition. + +The commander was a liberal-minded man, entirely absorbed with the +struggles, and knew nothing about his wretched family life. + +Nekhludoff recalled all the tortures this man had occasioned him; how +on one occasion he thought that the husband had discovered all, and he +was preparing to fight a duel with him, intending to use a blank +cartridge, and the ensuing scene where she, in despair, ran to the +pond, intending to drown herself, while he ran to search for her. "I +cannot go now, and can undertake nothing until I have heard from her," +thought Nekhludoff. The preceding week he had written to her a +decisive letter, acknowledging his guilt, and expressing his readiness +to redeem it in any manner she should suggest, but for her own good, +considered their relations ended. It is to this letter that he +expected a reply. He considered it a favorable sign that no reply +came. If she had not consented to a separation, she would have +answered long ago, or would have come personally, as she often did +before. Nekhludoff had heard that an army officer was courting her, +and while he was tormented by jealousy, he was at the same time +gladdened by the hope of release from the oppressive lie. + +The other letter was from the steward in charge of his estates. +Nekhludoff was requested to return and establish his right to the +inheritance and also to decide on the future management of the +estates; whether the same system of letting out to the peasants, which +prevailed during the lifetime of his mother, was to be continued, or, +as the steward had strongly advised the deceased Princess, and now +advised the young Prince, to augment the stock and work all the land +himself. The steward wrote that the land could thus best be exploited. +He also apologized for his failure to send the three thousand rubles +due on the first of the month, which he would send by the next mail, +explaining it by the difficulty of collecting the rents from the +peasants whose bad faith had reached a point where it became necessary +to resort to the courts to collect them. This letter was partly +agreeable and partly disagreeable to Nekhludoff. It was agreeable to +feel the power of authority over so vast an estate, and it was +disagreeable, because in his youth he was an enthusiastic adherent of +Herbert Spencer, and being himself a large land owner, was struck by +the proposition in _Social Statics_ that private ownership of land is +contrary to the dictates of justice. With the frankness and boldness +of youth, he not only _then_ spoke of the injustice of private +ownership of land; not only did he compose theses in the university on +the subject, but he actually distributed among the peasants the few +hundred acres of land left him by his father, not desiring to own land +contrary to his convictions. Now that he found himself the owner of +vast estates, he was confronted by two alternatives: either to waive +his ownership in favor of the peasants, as he did ten years ago with +the two hundred acres, or, by tacit acquiescence, confess that all his +former ideas were erroneous and false. + +He could not carry out the first, because he possessed no resources +outside of the land. He did not wish to go into service, and yet he +had luxurious habits of life which he thought he could not abandon. +Indeed, there was no necessity of abandoning these habits, since he +had lost the strength of conviction as well as the resolution, the +vanity and the desire to astonish people that he had possessed in his +youth. The other alternative--to reject all the arguments against +private ownership of land which he gathered from Spencer's _Social +Statics_, and of which he found confirmation in the works of Henry +George--he could follow even less. + +For this reason the steward's letter was disagreeable to him. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +Having breakfasted, Nekhludoff went to the cabinet to see for what +hour he was summoned to appear at court, and to answer the Princess' +note. In the work-room stood an easel with a half-finished painting +turned face downward, and on the wall hung studies in drawing. On +seeing that painting, on which he had worked two years, and those +drawings, he called to mind the feeling of impotence, which he +experienced of late with greatest force, to make further advance in +the art. He explained this feeling by the development of a fine +aesthetic taste, and yet this consciousness caused him unpleasant +sensations. + +Seven years before he had retired from active service he decided that +his true vocation in life was painting, and from the height of his +artistic activity he looked down upon all other occupations. And now +it appeared that he had no right to do so, and every recollection of +it was disagreeable to him. He looked on all the luxurious +appointments of the work-room with heavy heart, and walked into the +cabinet in ill humor. The cabinet was a high room, profusely +ornamented, and containing every imaginable device of comfort and +necessity. + +He produced from one of the drawers of a large table the summons, and, +ascertaining that he must appear at eleven o'clock, he sat down and +wrote to the Princess, thanking her for the invitation, and saying +that he should try to call for dinner. The tone of the note seemed to +him too intimate, and he tore it up; he wrote another, but that was +too formal, almost offensive. Again he tore it up, and touched a +button on the wall. A servant, morose, with flowing side-whiskers and +in a gray apron, entered. + +"Please send for a carriage." + +"Yes, sir." + +"And tell the Korchagins' maid that I thank them; I will try to call." + +"Yes, sir." + +"It is impolite, but I cannot write. But I will see her to-day," +thought Nekhludoff, and started to dress himself. + +When he emerged from the house a carriage with rubber tires awaited +him. + +"You had scarcely left Prince Korchagin's house yesterday when I +called for you," said the driver, half-turning his stout, sun-burned +neck in the white collar of his shirt, "and the footman said that you +had just gone." + +"Even the drivers know of my relations to the Korchagins," thought +Nekhludoff, and the unsolved question which continually occupied his +mind of late--whether or not he ought to marry Princess +Korchagin--again occurred to him, and, like most questions that he was +called upon to decide at that time, it remained unsolved. + +He had many reasons for, and as many against, marriage. There was the +pleasure of domestic life, which made it possible to lead a moral +life, as he called married life; then, and principally, the family and +children would infuse his present aimless life with a purpose. This +was for marriage generally. On the other hand there was, first, the +loss of freedom which all elderly bachelors fear so much; and, second, +an unconscious awe of that mysterious creature, woman. + +However, in favor of marrying Missy in particular (Korchagin's name +was Maria, but, as usual in families of the higher classes, she +received a nickname) there was, first, the fact that she came of good +stock, and was in everything, from her dress to her manner of +speaking, walking and laughing, distinguished not by any exceptional +qualities, but by "good breeding"--he knew no other expression for the +quality which he prized very highly. Second, she valued him above all +other men, hence, he thought she understood him. And this appreciation +of him, that is, acknowledging his high qualities, was proof to +Nekhludoff of her intelligence and correct judgment. Finally, against +marrying Missy in particular, was, first, the extreme probability of +his finding a girl of much better qualities than Missy, and, +consequently, more worthy of him; and, second, Missy was twenty-seven +years old and had probably loved other men before him. This thought +tormented him. His pride could not reconcile itself to the thought +that she could love some one else, even in the past. Of course, she +could not be expected to know that she would meet him, but the very +thought that she could have loved some one else before offended him. + +So that there were as many reasons for as there were against marriage +in general and marrying Missy in particular. At all events the +arguments were equally strong on both sides, and Nekhludoff laughed as +he compared himself to the ass in the fable who, while deciding which +of the two bales of hay before him he should have his meal from, +starved himself. + +"However, until I have heard from Maria Vasilieona, the wife of the +commander, and have done with her for good, I can do nothing," he said +to himself. + +And the consciousness that he could and must defer his decision +pleased him. + +"Ah, but I will consider it all later," he said to himself, as his +cabriolet silently approached the asphalt pavement of the court-house. + +"And now I must do my duty to the community conscientiously, as I +always do, and think it one's duty to do. Besides, it is often +interesting," he said, and went past the door-keeper into the +vestibule of the court. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +There was great commotion in the corridors of the court when +Nekhludoff entered. + +The attendants flitted to and fro breathlessly, delivering orders and +documents. Police captains, lawyers and clerks passed now one way, now +the other; complainants and defendants under bail leaned sadly against +the walls, or were sitting and waiting. + +"Where is the Circuit Court?" asked Nekhludoff of one of the +attendants. + +"Which one? There is a civil division and a criminal one." + +"I am a juror." + +"Criminal division. You should have said so. This way, to the right, +then turn to your left. The second door." + +Nekhludoff went as directed. + +At the door two men stood waiting. One was a tall, stout merchant, a +good-natured man, who had evidently partaken of some liquor and was in +very high spirits; the other was a clerk of Jewish extraction. They +were talking about the price of wool when Nekhludoff approached them +and asked if that was the jury's room. + +"Here, sir, here. Are you also one of the jurymen?" mirthfully winking +his eyes, the good-natured merchant asked. + +"Well, we will drudge together, I suppose," he continued in response +to Nekhludoff's affirmative answer. "My name is Baklashoff, merchant +of the second guild," he introduced himself, extending his soft, broad +hand; "we must do our duty. Whom have I the honor of addressing?" + +Nekhludoff gave his name and passed into the jury-room. + +In the small jury-room there were about ten men of every description. +They had just arrived; some were sitting, others walked about, eyeing, +and making each other's acquaintance. One was a retired officer in +uniform; others were in short coats, and but one in peasant garb. + +Notwithstanding that they were all complaining that the jury duty was +burdensome, and was taking them away from their business, they all +seemed to be pleased with the consciousness of performing an important +civic duty. + +The jurymen talked among themselves of the weather, of the premature +spring, of the business before them. Those who were not acquainted +with Nekhludoff hastened to become so, evidently considering it an +honor. And Nekhludoff, as was usual with him among strangers, received +it as his due. If he were asked why he considered himself above the +majority of people he would not be able to answer, as there was +nothing in his life transcending the commonplace. The fact that he +spoke English, French and German fluently; that his linen, clothing, +scarf and cuff-buttons were of superior make would not be sufficient +reason for assuming his superiority, as he himself well understood. +And yet he doubtless acknowledged in himself this superiority, and +regarded the respect shown him as his due, and was offended when it +was not forthcoming. It just happened that in the jury-room Nekhludoff +experienced this disagreeable feeling of being treated with +disrespect. Among the jurymen there was an acquaintance of Nekhludoff. +This was Peter Gerasimovitch (Nekhludoff never knew, and even boasted +of the fact that he did not know his surname), who was at one time +tutor to his sister's children. Peter Gerasimovitch was now teacher in +a college. Nekhludoff could never bear his familiarity, his +self-satisfied laughter--in a word, his "communizing," as Nekhludoff's +sister used to put it. + +"Ha, ha! So you are also trapped?" he greeted Nekhludoff with a loud +burst of laughter. "You did not escape it?" + +"I never intended to evade my duty," sternly and gloomily said +Nekhludoff. + +"That I call civic virtue. But wait till you are hungry and sleepy, +you will sing another tune," Peter Gerasimovitch said, laughing still +louder. + +"This son of an archdeacon will soon begin to 'thou' me," thought +Nekhludoff, with an expression of sadness on his face, as though he +had just learned of a grievous loss in his family. He turned from the +ex-tutor and approached a group of people that had formed around a +clean-faced, tall man, of dignified carriage, who were holding a +spirited conversation. The man was speaking of a case that was being +tried in the civil division, showing his familiarity with the judges +and the famous lawyers by referring to them by name. He was telling +them of the remarkable turn given to the probable result of the case +by the dexterity of a famous lawyer, by which an old lady, who was in +the right, would be obliged to pay an enormous sum to the adverse +side. + +"He is a most ingenious attorney," he said. + +He was listened to with respect, and some attempted to interrupt him +with some remarks, but he cut them short as if he alone knew the true +facts. + +Although Nekhludoff arrived late, there was a long wait before him, +which was caused by the failure of one of the judges to appear. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +The presiding justice arrived early. He was a tall, stout man, with +long, grayish side-whiskers. He was married, but, like his wife, led a +very dissolute life. They did not interfere with each other. On the +morning in question he received a note from a Swiss governess, who had +lived in his house during the summer, and was now passing on her way +from the South to St. Petersburg. She wrote that she would be in town +between three and six o'clock p.m., and wait for him at the "Hotel +Italia." He was, therefore, anxious to end his day's sitting before +six o'clock, that he might meet the red-haired Clara Vasilievna. + +Entering his private chamber, and locking the door behind him, he +produced from the lower shelf of a book-case two dumb-bells, made +twenty motions upward, forward, sidewise and downward, and three times +lowered himself, holding the bells above his head. + +"Nothing so refreshes one as a cold-water bath and exercise," he +thought, feeling with his left hand, on the fourth finger of which was +a gold ring, the biceps of his right arm. He had to go through two +more movements (these exercises he went through every day before court +opened), when the door rattled. Some one was attempting to open it. +The judge quickly replaced the dumb-bells and opened the door. + +"I beg your pardon," he said. + +One of the members of the court, wearing gold eye-glasses, of medium +height, with high shoulders and frowning countenance, entered. + +"Matvei Nikitich is late again," said the newcomer, with an air of +displeasure. + +"Yes," said the presiding judge, donning his robes. "He is always +late." + +"It is a shame," said the member, and sat down angrily, then lighted a +cigarette. + +This member of the court, a very punctilious man, had this morning had +an unpleasant encounter with his wife, which was caused by her +spending her monthly allowance before the month was up. She asked for +a sum of money in advance, and he refused. The result was a quarrel. +She said that unless he gave her the money there would be no dinner +that night, and that he would have to dine outside. He departed in +fear that she would carry out her threat, as anything might be +expected from her. + +"Is it worth while leading a good, moral life?" he thought, as he +looked at the beaming, healthy, joyful and good-natured presiding +justice, who, spreading his elbows, stroked his long, gray whiskers; +"he is always contented and cheerful, while I am suffering." + +The secretary entered and handed the presiding justice a document. + +"Thank you," he said, and lighted a cigarette. "Which case shall be +taken up first?" + +"The poison case, I think," the secretary answered, with feigned +indifference. + +"Very well; so let it be the poison case," said the justice, +considering that that case could be disposed of by four o'clock and +make it possible for him to keep the appointment. "Has Matvei Nikitich +arrived?" + +"Not yet." + +"Is Breae here?" + +"Yes," answered the secretary. + +"Then tell him that we shall try the poisoning case." + +Breae was an assistant prosecuting attorney and was assigned to this +term of the court. + +The secretary met Breae in the corridor. With uplifted shoulders, his +robe unbuttoned, and portfolio under his arm, he almost ran, his heels +clattering on the floor, and his disengaged hand outstretched in the +direction in which he was going. + +"Michael Petrovich desires to know if you are ready," said the +secretary. + +"Certainly; I am always ready," said the assistant prosecutor; "which +is the first case?" + +"The poisoning case." + +"Very well," said the assistant prosecutor, but he did not consider it +well at all--he had not slept all night. A send-off had been given to +a departing friend, and he drank and played till two in the morning, +so that he was entirely unfamiliar with this case, and now hastened to +glance over the indictment. The secretary had purposely suggested the +case, knowing that the prosecutor had not read it. The secretary was a +man of liberal, even radical, ideas. Breae was conservative, and the +secretary disliked him, and envied his position. + +"And what about the Skoptzy?"[A] + +"I have already said that I cannot prosecute them in the absence of +witnesses," said the assistant prosecutor, "and I will so declare to +the court." + +"But you don't need----" + +"I cannot," said the assistant prosecutor, and waving his hand, ran to +his office. + +He was postponing the case against the Skoptzy, although the absent +witness was an entirely unnecessary one. The real reason of the +postponement was that the prosecutor feared that their trial before an +intelligent jury might end in their acquittal. By an understanding +with the presiding justice their case was to be transferred to the +session of the District Court, where the preponderance of peasants on +the jury would insure their conviction. + +The commotion in the corridor increased. The greatest crowd was before +the Civil Court, where the case of which the portly gentleman was +telling the jurymen was being tried. During a recess the same old lady +from whom the ingenious attorney managed to win her property in favor +of his shrewd client, came out of the court-room. That he was not +entitled to the property was known to the judges as well as to the +claimant and his attorney, but the mode of their procedure was such +that it was impossible to dismiss their claim. The old lady was stout, +in smart attire, and with large flowers on her hat. As she passed +into the corridor she stopped, and turning to her lawyer, kept +repeating: + +"How can it be? Great heavens! I don't understand it!" + +The lawyer did not listen to her, but looked at the flowers on her +hat, making mental calculations. + +Behind the old lady, beaming in his wide-open vest, and with a +self-sufficient smile on his face, came that same famous lawyer who so +managed the case that the lady with the large flowers lost all her +property, while his shrewd client, who paid him ten thousand rubles, +received over a hundred thousand. All eyes were directed toward him. +He was conscious of it and seemed to say by his demeanor: + +"Never mind your expressions of devotion," and brushed past the crowd. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote A: A sect of eunuchs.] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +Finally Matvei Nikitich arrived, and the usher, a long-necked and lean +man, with a sideling gait and protruding lower lip, entered the +jury-room. + +The usher was an honest man, with a university education, but he could +not hold any employment on account of his tippling habit. A countess, +his wife's patroness, had obtained him his present position three +months ago; he still retained it, and was exceedingly glad. + +"Are you all here, gentlemen?" he asked, putting on his pince-nez and +looking through it. + +"I think so," said the cheerful merchant. + +"Let us see," said the usher, and drawing a sheet of paper from his +pocket, began to call the names of the jury, looking at those that +responded to their names now through his pince-nez, now over it. + +"Counsilor of State E. M. Nikiforoff." + +"Here," said the portly gentleman, who was familiar with all the +litigations. + +"Retired Colonel Ivan Semionovich Ivanoff." + +"Present," answered a lank man in the uniform of a retired officer. + +"Merchant of the second guild, Peter Baklashoff." + +"Here," said the good-natured merchant, smiling from ear to ear. "We +are ready." + +"Lieutenant of the Guards, Prince Dmitri Nekhludoff." + +"Here," answered Nekhludoff. + +The usher, looking politely and pleasantly through his pince-nez, +bowed, thereby distinguishing him from the rest, as it were. + +"Captain Uri Dmitrievich Danchenko; merchant Gregory Ephimovich +Kouleshoff," etc., etc., etc. + +There were but two missing from the panel. + +"You will now, gentlemen, walk into the court," said the usher, +pointing to the door with a polite sweep of the hand. + +They all rose from their seats, and passing each other through the +door, made their way through the corridor to the court-room. + +The court was held in a large, oblong room. At one end was a platform, +reached by three steps. In the middle of the platform stood a table, +covered with green cloth, which was fringed with a dark-green lace. +Behind the table stood three arm-chairs with high, carved backs. In an +image-case suspended in the right corner was a representation of +Christ with a crown of thorns, and beneath it a reading-desk, and on +the same side stood the prosecutor's desk. To the left, opposite this +desk, was the secretary's table, and dividing these from the seats +reserved for spectators was a carved railing, along which stood the +prisoners' bench, as yet unoccupied. + +On an elevation to the right were two rows of chairs, also with high +backs, reserved for the jury; below these were tables for the +attorneys. All this was in the front part of the court-room, which was +divided in two by a railing. In the rear part of the room benches in +lines extended to the wall. In the front row sat four women, either +servants or factory employees, and two men, also workmen, who were +evidently awed by the grandeur of the ornamentations, and were timidly +whispering to each other. + +Soon after the jurymen came the usher, who, walking sidewise to the +middle of the room, shouted, as if he meant to frighten those present: + +"The court is coming!" + +Everybody stood up, and the judges ascended the platform. First came +the presiding judge with his muscles and beautiful whiskers. Then came +the gold-spectacled, gloomy member of the court--now even more gloomy, +for before the opening of the session he met his brother-in-law, a +candidate for a judicial office, who told him that he had seen his +sister, and that she declared that there would be no dinner at home +this day. + +"So that, it seems, we will have to dine at an inn," said the +brother-in-law, laughing. + +"What is there droll about it?" said the gloomy member of the court, +and sank into a still deeper gloom. + +And last of all came the third member of the court, that same Matvei +Nikitich, who was always late. He wore a long beard, and had large, +kindly eyes, with drooping eyelids. He suffered from catarrh of the +stomach, and by the advice of his physician had adopted a new regimen, +and this new regimen detained him this morning longer than usual. When +he ascended the platform he seemed to be wrapped in thought, but only +because he had the habit of making riddles of every question that +occurred to him. At this moment he was occupied with the following +enigmatical proposition: + +If the number of steps in the distance between the cabinet-door and +the arm-chair will divide by three without a remainder, then the new +regimen will cure him; but if it does not so divide, then it will not. +There were twenty-six steps, but he made one short step and reached +the chair with the twenty-seventh. + +As the judges ascended the elevation in their uniforms, with +gold-laced collars, they presented an imposing array. They themselves +felt it, and all three, as if confused by their own greatness, +modestly lowered their eyes, and hastily seated themselves behind the +table on which clean paper and freshly-pointed lead pencils of all +sizes had been placed. The prosecutor, who entered with the judges, +also hastily walked to his place near the window, his portfolio still +under his arm, and waving his hand he began to read the papers in the +case, utilizing every moment to prepare himself. + +This was his fifth case as prosecuting attorney. He was ambitious, and +was determined to make his career, and hence he endeavored to obtain +a conviction in every case he prosecuted. He knew the main points of +the poisoning case, and had already planned his speech; but he needed +to know some particulars of which he was now making extracts from the +papers. + +The secretary sat on the opposite side of the elevation, and, having +prepared all the papers that might be necessary to produce on trial, +was glancing over a newspaper article, which he had obtained and read +the day before. He was anxious to talk to the member of the court with +the long beard, who shared his views, and before doing so wished to +better familiarize himself with it. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +The presiding justice looked over the papers, asked some questions of +the usher, and receiving affirmative answers, ordered that the +prisoners be brought into court. Immediately a door beyond the grating +opened, and two gendarmes with unsheathed swords and caps on their +heads, stepped into the court-room. Behind them came a freckled, +red-haired man and two women. The man was dressed in prisoner's garb +which was too long and too wide for him. As he entered the court-room +he held up with outspread fingers the sleeves which were too long. +Without looking at the judges or the spectators, his attention was +absorbed by the bench around which he was led. When he had passed +around he carefully seated himself on the edge, and making room for +the others, began to stare at the presiding justice, the muscles of +his cheeks moving as if he were whispering something. He was followed +by a middle-aged woman, also dressed in a prisoner's coat. A white +prison cap covered her head; her face was grayish, and her eyes were +devoid of either eye-lashes or eyebrows. She seemed quite composed. As +she was passing the railing to take her seat, her coat caught at +something; without haste, she carefully disengaged it, then smoothed +it and took her seat. + +The third prisoner was Maslova. + +No sooner did she enter than all the male spectators turned their +eyes toward her, attracted by her white face, lustrous black eyes and +high breast. Even the gendarme whom she passed gazed at her until she +seated herself; then, as if feeling himself guilty, he quickly turned +his head from her and straightening himself, he began to gaze into the +window directly in front of him. + +The presiding justice waited until all the prisoners took their +places, and as soon as Maslova was seated, he turned to the secretary. + +Then commenced the customary proceeding; calling of the jurymen, +fining the absent ones, listening to the claims of exemption from jury +duty and filling the panel from a number of reserves. Then the +presiding justice folded the slips of paper, placed them in a glass +vase, and turning up his gold-laced sleeve drew the slips one by one, +unrolled them and read them aloud. Then he straightened his sleeve and +called on the priest to swear in the jury. + +An old little priest with a swollen, pale yellow face, in a brown +cassock and gold cross on his breast and some small badges pinned to +the cassock, slowly moving his swollen feet under the cassock, +approached the reading desk under the image. + +The jury rose and, crowding each other, came forward. + +"Come nearer, please," said the priest, touching with his swollen hand +the cross on his breast, and waiting until all the jury were near him. + +While the jury were mounting the steps to the elevation where the desk +stood, the priest wriggled his bald, hoary head through the opening of +the stole, then rearranging his scanty hair, he turned to the jury: + +"Raise your right hands and keep your fingers thus," he said, in a +slow, feeble voice, raising his bloated hand and pointing at his +forehead with the first three of its dimpled fingers. "Now repeat +after me: 'I promise and swear by the Almighty God, His Holy Gospel, +and by the life-giving cross of our Lord, that in the case'"--he +continued, resting after each phrase. "Don't drop your hand; hold it +thus," he turned to a young man who let his hand fall--"'that in the +case which----'" + +The portly, whiskered gentleman, the colonel, merchant and others +held their hands as directed by the priest, and seemed to do so with +particular pleasure, holding their hands quite high, and their fingers +most proper; others seemed to do it against their will, and +carelessly. Some repeated the words too loudly, in a provoking manner, +with an expression on the face which seemed to say: "I will repeat as +I please;" others whispered, fell behind the priest and then, as if +frightened, hastened to catch up with him. Some held their fingers +tightly closed, as if challenging anyone to part them; others, again, +loosened them, now closed them again. After the jury was sworn, the +presiding justice directed them to choose a foreman. They arose and, +crowding each other, went into the consultation room, where almost +every one produced cigarettes and began to smoke. Some one proposed +the portly gentleman, who was immediately chosen, then they threw away +their cigarettes and returned to the court. The gentleman declared to +the presiding justice that he was chosen foreman, and stepping over +the feet of each other, the jury again seated themselves in the two +rows of high-backed chairs. + +Everything proceeded smoothly, quickly and not without solemnity, and +the regularity, order and solemnity evidently pleased the +participants, confirming their sense of rendering important public +service. Nekhludoff also experienced this feeling. + +As soon as the jury seated themselves the presiding justice instructed +them in their rights, duties and responsibilities. While speaking, he +was constantly changing his attitude; now he leaned on his right hand, +now on his left; then he reclined in his chair, or rested his hands on +the arms of the chair, smoothed the corners of the paper on the table, +polished the paper-knife or clutched the lead pencil. + +Their rights, according to him, consisted in that they were allowed to +question prisoners, through the presiding justice; they might keep +pencils and paper, and might also view exhibits. Their duties +consisted in not giving a false verdict. And their responsibilities +consisted in that if they failed to keep secret their deliberations, +or spoke to outsiders, they would be liable to punishment. + +They all listened with respectful attention. The merchant, from whom +the fumes of wine spread through the jury box, and who was suppressing +the noisy rising of gases in his stomach, approvingly nodded at every +sentence. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +After he had finished the instructions, the presiding justice turned +to the prisoners. + +"Simon Kartinkin, rise!" he said. + +Simon sprang up nervously. The muscles of his cheeks began to twitch +still quicker. + +"What is your name?" + +"Simon Petroff Kartinkin," he said quickly, in a sharp voice, +evidently prepared for the question. + +"What estate?" + +"Peasant." + +"What government, district?" + +"Government of Tula, district of Krapivensk, Kupian township, village +of Borki." + +"How old are you?" + +"Thirty-four; born in eighteen hundred----" + +"What faith?" + +"Of the Russian orthodox faith." + +"Are you married?" + +"O, no!" + +"What is your occupation?" + +"I was employed in the Hotel Mauritania." + +"Were you ever arrested before?" + +"I was never arrested before, because where I lived----" + +"You were not arrested?" + +"God forbid! Never!" + +"Have you received a copy of the indictment?" + +"Yes." + +"Sit down. Euphemia Ivanovna Bochkova!" The presiding justice turned +to the next prisoner. + +But Simon remained standing in front of Bochkova. + +"Kartinkin, sit down!" + +Kartinkin still remained standing. + +"Kartinkin, sit down!" + +But Kartinkin stood still until the usher, his head leaning to the +side, and with wide-open eyes, whispered to him in a tragic tone: + +"Sit down, sit down!" + +Kartinkin sat down as quickly as he rose, and wrapping himself in his +coat began to move his cheeks. + +"Your name?" With a sigh of weariness the presiding justice turned to +the next prisoner without looking at her, and consulted a paper before +him. He was so accustomed to the business that to expedite matters he +could try two cases at once. + +Bochkova was forty-two years old, a burgess of the town of Koloma; by +occupation a servant--in the same Hotel Mauritania. Was never arrested +before, and had received a copy of the indictment. She gave the +answers very boldly and with an intonation which seemed to add to +every answer. + +"Yes, Bochkova, Euphemia, have received a copy, and am proud of it, +and will permit no one to laugh at me." + +Without waiting to be told to sit down, Bochkova sat down immediately +after the questioning ceased. + +"Your name?" asked the presiding justice of the third prisoner. "You +must rise," he added, gently and courteously, seeing Maslova still in +her seat. + +With quick movement Maslova rose with an air of submissiveness, and +throwing back her shoulders, looked into the face of the presiding +justice with her smiling, somewhat squinting black eyes. + +"What are you called?" + +"They used to call me Lubka," she answered, rapidly. + +Meanwhile Nekhludoff put on his pince-nez and examined the prisoners +while they were questioned. + +"It is impossible," he thought, looking intently at the prisoner. "But +her name is Lubka," he thought, as he heard her answer. + +The presiding justice was about to continue his interrogation when the +member with the eye-glasses, angrily whispering something, stopped +him. The presiding justice nodded his assent and turned to the +prisoner. + +"You say 'Lubka,' but a different name is entered here." + +The prisoner was silent. + +"I ask you what is your real name?" + +"What name did you receive at baptism?" asked the angry member. + +"Formerly I was called Katherine." + +"It is impossible," Nekhludoff continued to repeat, although there was +no doubt in his mind now that it was she, that same servant ward with +whom he had been in love at one time--yes, in love, real love, and +whom in a moment of mental fever he led astray, then abandoned, and to +whom he never gave a second thought, because the recollection of it +was too painful, revealed too manifestly that he, who prided himself +of his good breeding, not only did not treat her decently, but basely +deceived her. + +Yes, it was she. He saw plainly the mysterious peculiarity that +distinguishes every individual from every other individual. +Notwithstanding the unnatural whiteness and fullness of her face, this +pleasant peculiarity was in the face, in the lips, in the slightly +squinting eyes, and, principally, in the naive, smiling glance, and in +the expression of submissiveness not only in the face, but in the +whole figure. + +"You should have said so," again very gently said the presiding +justice. "What is your patronymic?" + +"I am illegitimate," said Maslova. + +"But yet you were named after your godfather?" + +"Michailova." + +"What crime could she have committed?" Nekhludoff thought meanwhile, +his breath almost failing him. + +"What is your surname--your family name?" continued the presiding +justice. + +"Maslova--after my mother." + +"Your estate?" + +"Burgess." + +"Of the orthodox faith?" + +"Yes." + +"Your occupation? What was your occupation?" + +Maslova was silent. + +"What was your occupation?" repeated the justiciary. + +"You know!" said Maslova. She smiled and quickly glanced around, then +looked squarely at the justiciary. + +There was something so unusual in the expression of her +face--something so terrible and piteous in the meaning of her words, +in that smile, that quick glance which she cast over the +court-room--that the justiciary hung his head, and for a moment there +was perfect silence. + +A burst of laughter from some spectator interrupted the silence. Some +one hissed. The justiciary raised his head and continued the +interrogation. + +"Were you ever arrested?" + +"No." Maslova said in an undertone, sighing. + +"Have you received a copy of the indictment?" + +"Yes." + +"Sit down." + +The prisoner raised her skirt with the customary movement of a +fashionable lady, arranging her train, and sat down, folding her hands +in the sleeves of her coat, and still looking at the justiciary. + +Then began the recounting of witnesses, their removal to a separate +room, the decision on the evidence of the medical expert. Then the +secretary arose and began to read the indictment, loud and with +distinctness, but so rapidly that his incorrect sounding of the +letters l and r turned his reading into one continuous, weary drone. +The judges leaned now on one side, now on the other side of their +arm-chairs, then on the table, and again on the backs of the chairs, +or closed their eyes, or opened them and whispered to each other. One +of the gendarmes several times stifled a yawn. + +The convulsions of Kartinkin's cheeks did not cease. Bochkova sat +quietly and erect, now and then scratching with her finger under her +cap. + +Maslova sat motionless, listening to the reading, and looking at the +clerk; at times she shuddered and made a movement as if desiring to +object, blushed, then sighed deeply, changed the position of her +hands, glanced around and again looked at the clerk. + +Nekhludoff sat on the high-backed chair in the front row, second to +the aisle, and without removing his pince-nez looked at Maslova, while +his soul was being racked by a fierce and complicated struggle. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +The indictment read as follows: + +"On the 17th of January, 18--, suddenly died in the Hotel Mauritania, +merchant of the second guild, Therapont Emelianovich Smelkoff. + +"The local police physician certified that the cause of death of said +Smelkoff was rupture of the heart, caused by excessive use of liquor. + +"The body of Smelkoff was interred. + +"On the 21st day of January, a townsman and comrade of Smelkoff, on +returning from St. Petersburg, and hearing of the circumstances of his +death, declared his suspicion that Smelkoff was poisoned with a view +of robbing him of the money he carried about his person. + +"This suspicion was confirmed at the preliminary inquest, by which it +was established: 1. That Smelkoff had drawn from the bank, some time +before his death, three thousand eight hundred rubles; that, after a +due and careful inventory of the money of the deceased, only three +hundred and twelve rubles and sixteen kopecks were found. 2. That the +entire day and evening preceding his death deceased passed in the +company of a girl named Lubka (Katherine Maslova) in the Hotel +Mauritania, whither said Maslova came at the request of Smelkoff for +money; that she obtained the money from Smelkoff's trunk, first +unlocking it with a key intrusted to her by Smelkoff; that the money +was thus taken in the presence of two servants of the said +hotel--Euphemia Bochkova and Simon Kartinkin; that at the opening of +said trunk by the said Maslova in the presence of the aforementioned +Bochkova and Kartinkin, there were rolls of hundred ruble bills. 3. +That on the return of said Smelkoff and Maslova to the said hotel, the +said Maslova, on the advice of the said servant Kartinkin, +administered to the deceased a glass of brandy, in which she put a +white powder given her by said Kartinkin. 4. That on the following +morning Lubka (Katherine Maslova) sold to her mistress, Rosanova, a +diamond ring belonging to Smelkoff, said ring she alleged to have +been presented to her by said Smelkoff. 5. That the servant of said +Hotel Mauritania, Euphemia Bochkova, deposited in her name in the +local Bank of Commerce the sum of eighteen hundred rubles. + +"At the autopsy held on the body of Smelkoff, and after the removal of +the intestines, the presence of poison was readily discovered, leaving +no doubt that death was caused by poisoning. + +"The prisoners, Maslova, Bochkova and Kartinkin pleaded not guilty. +Maslova declared that she did go to the Hotel Mauritania, as stated, +for the purpose of fetching some money for the merchant, and that +opening the trunk with the key given to her by the merchant, she took +only forty rubles, as she was directed, but took no more, which fact +can be substantiated by Bochkova and Kartinkin, in whose presence she +took the money and locked the trunk. She further testified that during +her second visit to the room of the merchant she gave him, at the +instigation of Kartinkin, several powders in a glass of brandy, which +she considered to be narcotic, in order that she might get away from +him. The ring was presented to her by Smelkoff when she cried and was +about to leave him after he had beaten her. + +"Euphemia Bochkova testified that she knew nothing about the missing +money, never entered the merchant's room, which Lubka herself kept in +order, and that if anything was stolen from the merchant, it was done +by Lubka when she came to the room for the money." + +At this point Maslova shuddered, and with open mouth looked at +Bochkova. + +"And when Euphemia Bochkova was shown her bank account of eighteen +hundred rubles," continued the secretary, "and asked how she came by +the money, she testified that the money was saved from their earnings +by herself and Simon Kartinkin, whom she intended to marry. + +"Simon Kartinkin, on his part, at the first examination, confessed +that, at the instigation of Maslova, who brought the key to the trunk, +he and Bochkova stole the money, which was afterwards divided between +the three." + +At this Maslova shuddered again, sprang to her feet, turned red in +the face, and began to say something, but the usher bade her be quiet. + +"Finally," continued the secretary, "Kartinkin also confessed to +giving Maslova the powders to put the merchant to sleep. On the second +examination, however, he denied having either stolen the money, or +given Maslova the powders, but charged Maslova with both. As to the +money placed by Bochkova in the bank, he declared, in accordance with +Bochkova's testimony, that they had saved it during their twelve +years' service in the hotel." + +The indictment wound up as follows: + +"In view of the aforesaid the defendants, Simon Kartinkin, peasant of +the village of Borkoff, thirty-three years of age; burgess Euphemia +Ivanova Bochkova, forty-two years of age, and burgess Katherine +Maslova, twenty-seven years of age, conspired on the 17th day of +January, 188-, to administer poison to merchant Smelkoff with intent +to kill and rob him, and did on said day administer to said Smelkoff +poison, from which poison the said Smelkoff died, and did thereafter +rob him of a diamond ring and twenty-five hundred rubles, contrary to +the laws in such cases made and provided. Chapter 1453, sections 4 and +5, Penal Code. + +"Wherefore, in accordance with chapter 201 of the Code of Criminal +Procedure, the said peasant, Simon Kartinkin, burgess Euphemia +Bochkova and burgess Katherine Maslova are subject to trial by jury, +the case being within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court." + +The clerk having finished the reading of the long indictment, folded +the papers, seated himself at his desk and began to arrange his long +hair. Every one present gave a sigh of relief, and with the +consciousness that the trial had already begun, everything would be +cleared up and justice would finally be done, leaned back on their +chairs. + +Nekhludoff alone did not experience this feeling. He was absorbed in +the horrible thought that the same Maslova, whom he knew as an +innocent and beautiful girl ten years ago, could be guilty of such a +crime. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +When the reading of the indictment was finished, the justiciary, +having consulted with his associates, turned to Kartinkin with an +expression on his face which plainly betokened confidence in his +ability to bring forth all the truth. + +"Simon Kartinkin," he called, leaning to the left. + +Simon Kartinkin rose, put out his chest, incessantly moving his +cheeks. + +"You are charged, together with Euphemia Bochkova and Katherine +Maslova, with stealing from the trunk of the merchant Smelkoff money +belonging to him, and subsequently brought arsenic and induced Maslova +to administer it to Smelkoff, by reason of which he came to his death. +Are you guilty or not guilty?" he said, leaning to the right. + +"It is impossible, because our business is to attend the guests----" + +"You will speak afterwards. Are you guilty or not?" + +"No, indeed. I only----" + +"You can speak later. Do you admit that you are guilty?" calmly but +firmly repeated the justiciary. + +"I cannot do it because----" + +Again the usher sprang toward Simon and with a tragic whisper stopped +him. + +The justiciary, with an expression showing that the questioning was at +an end, moved the hand in which he held a document to another place, +and turned to Euphemia Bochkova. + +"Euphemia Bochkova, you, with Kartinkin and Maslova, are charged with +stealing, on the 17th day of January, 188-, at the Hotel Mauritania, +from the trunk of the merchant Smelkoff, money and a ring, and +dividing the same among yourselves, and with a view of hiding your +crime, administered poison to him, from the effects of which he died. +Are you guilty?" + +"I am not guilty of anything," boldly and firmly answered the +prisoner. "I never entered the room--and as that scurvy woman did go +into the room, she, then, did the business----" + +"You will speak afterwards," again said the justiciary, with the same +gentleness and firmness. "So you are not guilty?" + +"I did not take the money, did not give him the poison, did not go +into the room. If I were in the room I should have thrown her out." + +"You are not guilty, then?" + +"Never." + +"Very well." + +"Katherine Maslova," began the justiciary, turning to the third +prisoner. "The charge against you is that, having come to the Hotel +Mauritania with the key to Smelkoff's trunk, you stole therefrom money +and a ring," he said, like one repeating a lesson learned by rote, and +leaning his ear to the associate sitting on his left, who said that he +noticed that the phial mentioned in the list of exhibits was missing. +"Stole therefrom money and a ring," repeated the justiciary, "and +after dividing the money again returned with the merchant Smelkoff to +the Hotel Mauritania, and there administered to him poison, from the +effects of which he died. Are you guilty or not guilty?" + +"I am not guilty of anything," she answered, quickly. "As I said +before, so I repeat now: I never, never, never took the money; I did +not take anything, and the ring he gave me himself." + +"You do not plead guilty of stealing twenty-five hundred rubles?" said +the justiciary. + +"I say I didn't take anything but forty rubles." + +"And do you plead guilty to the charge of giving the merchant Smelkoff +powders in his wine?" + +"To that I plead guilty. Only I thought, as I was told, that they +would put him to sleep, and that no harm could come from them. I did +not wish, nor thought of doing him any harm. Before God, I say that I +did not," she said. + +"So you deny that you are guilty of stealing the money and ring from +the merchant Smelkoff," said the justiciary, "but you admit that you +gave him the powders?" + +"Of course, I admit, only I thought that they were sleeping powders. +I only gave them to him that he might fall asleep--never wished, nor +thought----" + +"Very well," said the justiciary, evidently satisfied with the results +of the examinations. "Now tell us how it happened," he said, leaning +his elbows on the arms of the chair and putting his hands on the +table. "Tell us everything. By confessing frankly you will improve +your present condition." + +Maslova, still looking straight at the justiciary, was silent. + +"Tell us what took place." + +"What took place?" suddenly said Maslova. "I came to the hotel; I was +taken to the room; he was there, and was already very drunk." (She +pronounced the word "he" with a peculiar expression of horror and with +wide-open eyes.) "I wished to depart; he would not let me." + +She became silent, as if she had lost the thread of the story, or +thought of something else. + +"What then?" + +"What then? Then I remained there awhile and went home." + +At this point the assistant public prosecutor half rose from his seat, +uncomfortably resting on one elbow. + +"Do you wish to question the prisoner?" asked the justiciary, and +receiving an affirmative answer, motioned his assent. + +"I would like to put this question: Has the prisoner been acquainted +with Simon Kartinkin before?" asked the assistant prosecutor without +looking at Maslova. + +And having asked the question he pressed his lips and frowned. + +The justiciary repeated the question. Maslova looked with frightened +eyes at the prosecutor. + +"With Simon? I was," she said. + +"I would like to know now, what was the character of the acquaintance +that existed between them. Have they met often?" + +"What acquaintance? He invited me to meet guests; there was no +acquaintance," answered Maslova, throwing restless glances now at the +prosecutor, now at the justiciary. + +"I would like to know why did Kartinkin invite Maslova only, and not +other girls?" asked the prosecutor, with a Mephistophelian smile, +winking his eyes. + +"I don't know. How can I tell?" answered Maslova, glancing around her, +frightened, and for a moment resting her eyes on Nekhludoff. "He +invited whomever he wished." + +"Is it possible that she recognized me?" Nekhludoff thought, with +horror. He felt his blood rising to his head, but Maslova did not +recognize him. She turned away immediately, and with frightened eyes +gazed at the prosecutor. + +"Then the prisoner denies that she had intimate relations with +Kartinkin? Very well. I have no more questions to ask." + +He removed his elbow from the desk, and began to make notes. In +reality, instead of making notes, he merely drew lines across his +notes, having seen prosecutors and attorneys, after an adroit +question, making memoranda of questions which were to crush their +opponents. + +The justiciary did not turn immediately to the prisoner, because he +was at the moment asking his associate in the eye-glasses whether he +consented to the questions previously outlined and committed to +writing. + +"What followed?" the justiciary continued. + +"I came home," Maslova continued, looking somewhat bolder, "and went +to sleep. As soon as I was asleep our girl, Bertha, came and woke me. +'Your merchant is here again. Wake up.' Then he"--again she pronounced +it with evident horror--"he wished to send for wine, but was short of +money. Then he sent me to the hotel, telling me where the money was +and how much to take, and I went." + +The justiciary was whispering at the time to his associate on the +left, and did not listen to Maslova, but to make it appear that he had +heard everything he repeated her last words. + +"And you went. Well, what else?" he asked. + +"I came there and did as he told me. I went to his room. I did not +enter it alone, but called Simon Michaelovich and her," she said, +pointing to Bochkova. + +"She lies; I never entered----" Bochkova began, but she was stopped. + +"In their presence I took four ten ruble bills," she continued. + +"And while taking this money, did the prisoner see how much money +there was?" asked the prosecutor. + +Maslova shuddered as soon as the prosecutor began to speak. She could +not tell why, but she felt that he was her enemy. + +"I did not count it, but I saw that it was all hundred ruble bills." + +"The prisoner saw hundred ruble bills. I have no other questions." + +"Well, did you bring back the money?" asked the justiciary, looking at +the clock. + +"I did." + +"Well, what then?" + +"Then he again took me with him," said Maslova. + +"And how did you give him the powder in the wine?" asked the +justiciary. + +"How? Poured it into the wine and gave it to him." + +"Why did you give it to him?" + +Without answering, she sighed deeply. After a short silence she said: + +"He would not let me go. He exhausted me. I went into the corridor and +said to Simon Michaelovich: 'If he would only let me go; I am so +tired.' And Simon Michaelovich said: 'We are also tired of him. We +intend to give him sleeping powders. When he is asleep you can go.' +'All right,' I said. I thought that it was a harmless powder. He gave +me a package. I entered. He lay behind the partition, and ordered me +to bring him some brandy. I took from the table a bottle of +feen-champagne, poured into two glasses--for myself and him--threw the +powder into his glass and handed it to him. I would not have given it +to him if I had known it." + +"And how did you come by the ring?" asked the justiciary. + +"He presented it to me." + +"When did he present it to you?" + +"When we reached his room. I wished to depart. Then he struck me on +the head and broke my comb. I was angered, and wished to go. Then he +took the ring from his finger and gave it to me, asking me to stay," +she said. + +Here the assistant prosecutor again rose, and with a dissimulating +naiveness asked permission to ask a few more questions, which was +granted, and leaning his head on his gold-embroidered collar, he +asked: + +"I would like to know how long was the prisoner in the room with +Smelkoff?" + +Maslova was again terror-stricken, and with her frightened eyes +wandering from the prosecutor to the justiciary, she answered, +hurriedly: + +"I do not remember how long." + +"And does the prisoner remember entering another part of the hotel +after she had left Smelkoff?" + +Maslova was thinking. + +"Into the next room--an empty one," she said. + +"Why did you enter that room?" said the assistant prosecutor, +impulsively. + +"To wait for a cabriolet." + +"Was not Kartinkin in the room with the prisoner?" + +"He also came in." + +"Why did he come in?" + +"There was the merchant's feen-champagne left, and we drank it +together." + +"Oh, drank together. Very well." + +"And did the prisoner have any conversation with Simon, and what was +the subject of the conversation?" + +Maslova suddenly frowned, her face turned red, and she quickly +answered: + +"What I said? I know nothing more. Do what you please with me. I am +innocent, and that is all. I did not say anything. I told everything +that happened." + +"I have no more questions to ask," said the prosecutor to the court, +and uplifting his shoulders he began to add to the memorandums of his +speech that the prisoner herself confessed to entering an empty room +with Simon. + +There was a short silence. + +"Have you anything else to say?" + +"I have told everything," she said, sighing, and took her seat. + +The justiciary then made some notes, and after he had listened to a +suggestion whispered by the associate on the left, declared a recess +of ten minutes, and, hastily rising, walked out of the court-room. + +After the judges had risen, the jury, lawyers and witness also rose, +and with the pleasant feeling of having already performed part of an +important work, began to move hither and thither. + +Nekhludoff walked into the jury-room and took a seat near the window. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +Yes, it was Katiousha. + +The relations of Nekhludoff to Katiousha were the following: + +Nekhludoff first met Katiousha when he went to stay one summer out at +the estate of his aunts in order that he might quietly prepare his +thesis on the private ownership of land. Ordinarily he lived on the +estate of his mother, near Moskow, with his mother and sister. But +that year his sister married, and his mother went abroad. Nekhludoff +had to write a composition in the course of his university studies, +and decided to pass the summer at his aunts'. There in the woods it +was quiet, and there was nothing to distract him from his studies. +Besides, the aunts loved their nephew and heir, and he loved them, +loved their old-fashioned way of living. + +During that summer Nekhludoff experienced that exaltation which youth +comes to know not by the teaching of others, but when it naturally +begins to recognize the beauty and importance of life, and man's +serious place in it; when it sees the possibility of infinite +perfection of which the world is capable, and devotes itself to that +endeavor, not only with the hope, but with a full conviction of +reaching that perfection which it imagines possible. While in the +university he had that year read Spencer's Social Statics, and +Spencer's reasoning bearing on private ownership of land produced a +strong impression on him, especially because he was himself the son of +a landed proprietress. His father was not rich, but his mother +received as her marriage portion ten thousand acres of land. He then +for the first time understood all the injustice of private ownership +of land, and being one of those to whom any sacrifice in the name of +moral duty was a lofty spiritual enjoyment, he forthwith divided the +land he had inherited from his father among the peasants. On this +subject he was then composing a disquisition. + +His life on the estate of his aunts was ordered in the following way: +He rose very early, some times at three o'clock, and till sunrise +bathed in the river under a hill, often in the morning mist, and +returned when the dew was yet on the grass and flowers. Some mornings +he would, after partaking of coffee, sit down to write his +composition, or read references bearing on the subject. But, above +all, he loved to ramble in the woods. Before dinner he would lie down +in the woods and sleep; then, at dinner, he made merry, jesting with +his aunts; then went out riding or rowing. In the evening he read +again, or joined his aunts, solving riddles for them. On moonlit +nights he seldom slept, because of the immense joy of life that +pervaded him, and instead of sleeping, he sometimes rambled in the +garden till daylight, absorbed in his thoughts and phantasies. + +Thus he lived happily the first month under the roof of his aunts' +dwelling, paying no attention to the half-servant, half-ward, the +black-eyed, nimble-footed Katiousha. + +Nekhludoff, raised under the protecting wing of his mother, was at +nineteen a perfectly innocent youth. He dreamed of woman, but only as +wife. All those women who, according to his view, could not be +considered as likely to become his wife, were to him not women, but +people. But it happened on Ascension Day that there was visiting his +aunts a lady from the neighborhood with her two young daughters, her +son and a local artist who was staying with them. + +After tea had been served the entire company, as usual, repaired to +the meadow, where they played blind man's buff. Katiousha went with +them. After some exchanges came Nekhludoff's turn to run with +Katiousha. Nekhludoff always liked to see Katiousha, but it had never +occurred to him that their relations could ever be any but the most +formal. + +"It will be difficult to catch them now," said the cheerful artist, +whose short and curved legs carried him very swiftly, "unless they +stumble." + +"You could not catch them." + +"One, two, three!" + +They clapped their hands three times. Almost bursting into laughter, +Katiousha quickly changed places with Nekhludoff, and pressing with +her strong, rough little hand his large hand she ran to the left, +rustling her starched skirt. + +Nekhludoff was a swift runner; he wished to out-distance the artist, +and ran with all his might. As he turned around he saw the artist +catching up with Katiousha, but with her supple limbs she gained on +him and ran to the left. In front of them was a patch of lilac bushes, +behind which no one ran, but Katiousha, turning toward Nekhludoff, +motioned him with her head to join her there. He understood her, and +ran behind the bushes. But here was a ditch overgrown with nettles, +whose presence was unknown to Nekhludoff. He stumbled and fell, +stinging and wetting his hands in the evening dew that was now +falling, but, laughing, he straightened himself and ran into the open. + +Katiousha, her black eyes beaming with joy, ran toward him. They met +and caught each others' hands. + +"You were stung by the nettles, I suppose," she said, arranging with +her free hand her loosened braid, breathing heavily, and looking up +into his eyes. + +"I did not know there was a ditch," he said, also smiling, and still +keeping her hand in his. + +She advanced a little, and he, without being able to account for it, +inclined his face toward hers. She did not draw back. He pressed her +hand and kissed her on the lips. + +She uttered an exclamation, and with a swift movement, releasing her +hand, she ran in the direction of the crowd. + +Plucking two lilac twigs from the lilac bush, fanning her flushed face +with them, and glancing around toward him, she ran to the players, +briskly waving her hands. + +From this day on the relations between Nekhludoff and Katiousha were +changed, and there were established between them those peculiar +relations which are customary between two innocent young people who +are attached to each other. + +As soon as Katiousha entered the room, or even when Nekhludoff saw her +white apron from afar, everything became immediately as if lit by the +sun; everything became more interesting, more cheerful, more +important; life became more joyful. She experienced the same feeling. +But not alone the presence and proximity of Katiousha had such effect +upon Nekhludoff; the very thought of her existence had the same power +upon him as that of his had upon her. Whether he received an +unpleasant letter from his mother, or was backward in his composition, +or felt the ceaseless sadness of youth, it would suffice for him to +see her and his spirit resumed its wonted good cheer. + +Katiousha had to do all the housework, but she managed to do her duty +and found spare time for reading. He gave her the works of Dostoievsky +and Tourgenieff to read. Those descriptive of the beauties of nature +she liked best. Their conversations were but momentary, when they met +in the corridor, on the veranda, in the court-yard, or in the room of +the aunts' old servant, Matriena Pavlovna, with whom Katiousha roomed, +or in the servants' chamber, whither Nekhludoff sometimes went to +drink tea. And these conversations in the presence of Matriena +Pavlovna were the pleasantest. When they were alone their conversation +flagged. Then the eyes would speak something different, more +important, than the mouth; the lips were drawn up, they felt +uncomfortable, and quickly parted. + +These relations continued during the time of his first visit to his +aunts. The aunts noticed them, were dismayed, and immediately wrote to +the Princess Elena Ivanovna, Nekhludoff's mother. But their anxiety +was unfounded; Nekhludoff, without knowing it, loved Katiousha, as +innocent people love, and this very love was the principal safeguard +against either his or her fall. Not only did he not desire to possess +her physically, but the very thought of such relation horrified him. +There was more reason in the poetical Sophia Ivanovna's fear that +Nekhludoff's having fallen in love with a girl, might take a notion to +marry her without regard to her birth or station. + +If Nekhludoff were clearly conscious of his love for Katiousha; +especially if it were sought to persuade him that he could and must +not link his fate to that of the girl, he would very likely have +decided in his plumb-line mind that there was no reason why he should +not marry her, no matter who she was, provided he loved her. But the +aunts did not speak of their fears, and he departed without knowing +that he was enamored of Katiousha. + +He was certain that his feeling toward Katiousha was but a +manifestation of that joy which pervaded his entire being, and which +was shared by that lovely, cheerful girl. However, when he was taking +leave, and Katiousha, standing on the veranda with the aunts, followed +him with her black, tearful and somewhat squinting eyes, he felt that +he was leaving behind him something beautiful, precious, which would +never recur. And he became very sad. + +"Good-by, Katiousha. I thank you for everything," he said, over the +cap of Sophia Ivanovna, and seated himself in the cabriolet. + +"Good-by, Dmitri Ivanovich," she said, in her pleasant, caressing +voice, and holding back the tears which filled her eyes, ran into her +room, where she could cry freely. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +For three years afterward Nekhludoff did not see Katiousha. But when, +as staff-officer, he was on his way to his army post, he paid a short +visit to his aunts, but an entirely different man. Three years ago he +was an honest, self-denying youth, ready to devote himself to every +good cause; now he was a corrupt and refined egotist, given over to +personal enjoyment. Then, the world appeared to him as a mystery which +he joyfully and enthusiastically tried to solve; now, everything in +this world was plain and simple, and was determined by those +conditions of life in which he found himself. Then, it was necessary +and important to hold communion with nature and with those people who +lived, thought and felt before him (philosophers, poets); now, human +institutions were the only things necessary and important, and +communion he held with his comrades. Woman, then, appeared to him a +mysterious and charming creature; now, he looked on woman, on every +woman, except nearest relations and wives of friends, as a means of +gratifying now tried pleasures. Then, he needed no money, and wanted +not a third part what his mother gave him, disclaimed title to his +father's land, distributing it among the peasants; now, the fifteen +hundred rubles' monthly allowance he received from his mother did not +suffice for his needs, and he often made it the cause of unpleasant +conversation with her. His true self he then considered his spiritual +being; now, his healthy, vigorous, animal self was his true ego. + +And all this terrible transformation took place in him only because he +ceased to have faith in himself, and began to believe in others. To +live according to the faith that was in him was burdensome; every +question would have to be decided almost always against his animal +ego, which was seeking light pleasures; but reposing his faith in +others, there remained nothing to decide, everything having been +decided, and decided always against the spiritual and in favor of the +animal ego. Besides, following his inner faith, he was always subject +to the censure of people; in the other case he received the approval +of the people that surrounded him. + +Thus, when Nekhludoff was thinking, reading, speaking of God, of +truth, of wealth, of poverty, everybody considered it out of place and +somewhat queer, while his mother and aunt, with good-natured irony, +called him notre cher philosophe. When, however, he was reading +novels, relating indecent anecdotes or seeing droll vaudevilles in the +French theatre, and afterward merrily repeated them, everybody praised +and encouraged him. When he considered it necessary to curtail his +needs, wore an old coat and gave up wine-drinking, everybody +considered it eccentric and vain originality; but when he spent large +sums in organizing a chase, or building an unusual, luxurious cabinet, +everybody praised his taste and sent him valuable gifts. When he was +chaste, and wished to preserve his chastity till marriage, his +relatives were anxious about his health, and his mother, so far from +being mortified, rather rejoiced when she learned that he had become a +real man, and had enticed the French mistress of some friend of his. +As to the Katiousha episode--that the thought might occur to him of +marrying her, she could not even think of without horror. + +Similarly, when Nekhludoff, on reaching his majority, distributed the +estate he inherited from his father among the peasants, because he +considered the ownership of land unjust, this act of his horrified his +mother and relatives, who constantly reproached and ridiculed him for +it. He was told unceasingly that so far from enriching it only +impoverished the peasants, who opened three liquor stores and stopped +working entirely. When, however, Nekhludoff joined the Guards, and +spent and gambled away so much money that Elena Ivanovna had to draw +from her capital, she scarcely grieved, considering it quite natural +and even beneficial to be thus inoculated when young and in good +society. + +Nekhludoff at first struggled, but the struggle was very hard, for +whatever he did, following the faith that was in him, was considered +wrong by others, and, contrariwise, whatever he considered wrong was +approved of by his relatives. The result was that Nekhludoff ceased to +have faith in himself and began to follow others. At first this +renunciation of self was unpleasant, but it was short lived, and +Nekhludoff, who now began to smoke and drink wine, soon ceased to +experience this unpleasant feeling, and was even greatly relieved. + +Passionate by nature, Nekhludoff gave himself up entirely to this new +life, approved of by all those that surrounded him, and completely +stifled in himself that voice which demanded something different. It +commenced with his removal to St. Petersburg, and ended with his entry +upon active service. + +During this period of his life Nekhludoff felt the ecstasy of freedom +from all those moral impediments which he had formerly placed before +himself, and continued in a chronic condition of insane egotism. + +He was in this condition when, three years afterward, he visited his +aunts. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +Nekhludoff called at his aunts because their manor lay on the road +through which his regiment had preceded him, and also because they +requested him to do so, but principally in order that he might see +Katiousha. It may be that in the depth of his soul there was already a +mischievous intention toward Katiousha, prompted by his now unbridled +animal ego, but he was not aware of it, he merely desired to visit +those places in which he lived so happily, and see his somewhat queer, +but amiable and good-natured, aunts, who always surrounded the +atmosphere around him with love and admiration, and also to see the +lovely Katiousha, of whom he had such pleasant recollections. + +He arrived toward the end of March, on Good Friday, in the season of +bad roads, when the rain was falling in torrents, and was wet all +through, and chilled to the marrow of his bones, but courageous and +excited, as he always felt at that time of the year. + +"I wonder if she is still there?" he thought, as he drove into the +familiar court-yard of the old manor, which was covered with snow that +fell from the roofs, and was surrounded by a low brick wall. He +expected that the ringing of the bell would bring her running to meet +him, but on the perron of the servants' quarters appeared two +bare-footed women with tucked-up skirts, carrying buckets, who were +apparently scrubbing floors. She was not on the front perron, either; +only Timon, the lackey, came forth in an apron, also apparently +occupied with cleaning. Sophia Ivanovna came into the ante-chamber, +attired in a silk dress and cap. + +"How glad I am that you came!" said Sophia Ivanovna. "Masheuka[B] is +somewhat ill. We were to church, receiving the sacrament. She is very +tired." + +"I congratulate you, Aunt Sonia,"[C] said Nekhludoff, kissing the hand +of Sophia Ivanovna. "Pardon me, I have soiled you." + +"Go to your room. You are wet all through. Oh, what a mustache! +Katiousha! Katiousha! Bring him some coffee quickly." + +"All right!" responded a familiar, pleasant voice. Nekhludoff's heart +fluttered. "She is here!" To him it was like the sun rising from +behind the clouds, and he cheerfully went with Timon to his old room +to change his clothing. + +Nekhludoff wished to ask Timon about Katiousha. Was she well? How did +she fare? Was she not engaged to be married? But Timon was so +respectful, and at the same time so rigid; he so strictly insisted on +himself pouring the water from the pitcher over Nekhludoff's hands, +that the latter could not decide to ask him about Katiousha, and only +inquired about his grand-children, about the old stallion, about the +watch-dog Polkan. They were all well, except Polkan, who had gone mad +the previous year. + +After he had thrown off his wet clothes, and as he was about to dress +himself, Nekhludoff heard quick steps and a rapping at the door. He +recognized both the steps and the rapping. Only _she_ walked and +rapped thus. + +It was Katiousha--the same Katiousha--only more lovely than before. +The naive, smiling, somewhat squinting black eyes still looked up; she +wore a clean white apron, as before. She brought a perfumed piece of +soap, just taken from the wrapper, and two towels--one Russian and the +other Turkish. The freshly unpacked soap, the towels and she herself, +were all equally clean, fresh, pure and pleasant. The lovely, firm, +red lips became creased from unrestrainable happiness at sight of him. + +"How do you do, Dmitri Ivanovich?" she said, with difficulty, her face +becoming flushed. + +"How art--how are you?" He did not know whether to "thou" her or not, +and became as red in the face as she was.[D] "Are you well?" + +"Very well. Your aunt sent you your favorite soap, rose-scented," she +said, placing the soap on the table, and the towels on the arms of the +chair. + +"The gentleman has his own," Timon stood up for the independence of +the guest, proudly pointing to the open traveling bag with silver +lids, containing a large number of bottles, brushes, perfumes and all +sorts of toilet articles. + +"My thanks to auntie. But how glad I am that I came," said Nekhludoff, +feeling the old brightness and emotions recurring to his soul. + +In answer to this she only smiled and left the room. + +The aunts, who always loved Nekhludoff, received him this time with +greater joy than usual. Dmitri was going to active service, where he +might be wounded or killed. This affected the aunts. + +Nekhludoff had arranged his trip so that he might spend twenty-four +hours with his aunts, but, seeing Katiousha, decided to remain over +Easter Sunday, which was two days later, and wired to his friend and +commander Shenbok, whom he was to meet at Odessa, to come to his +aunts. + +From the very first day Nekhludoff experienced the old feeling toward +Katiousha. Again he could not see without agitation the white apron of +Katiousha; he could not listen without joy to her steps, her voice, +her laugh; he could not, without emotion, look into her black eyes, +especially when she smiled; he could not, above all, see, without +confusion, how she blushed when they met. He felt that he was in love, +but not as formerly, when this love was to him a mystery, and he had +not the courage to confess it to himself; when he was convinced that +one can love only once. Now he loved knowingly, rejoiced at it, and +confusedly knowing, though he concealed it from himself, what it +consisted of, and what might come of it. + +In Nekhludoff, as in all people, there were two beings; one spiritual, +who sought only such happiness for himself as also benefited others; +and the animal being, seeking his own happiness for the sake of which +he is willing to sacrifice that of the world. During this period of +his insane egotism, called forth by the life in the army and in St. +Petersburg, the animal man dominated him and completely suppressed the +spiritual man. But, seeing Katiousha, and being again imbued with the +feelings he formerly experienced toward her, the spiritual man raised +his head and began to assert his rights. And during the two days +preceding Easter an incessant struggle was going on within Nekhludoff +of which he was quite unconscious. + +In the depth of his soul he knew that he had to depart; that his stay +at his aunts was unnecessary, that nothing good could come of it, but +it was so joyous and pleasant that he did not heed it, and remained. + +On the eve of Easter Sunday, the priest and deacon who, as they +afterward related, with difficulty covered the three miles from the +church to the aunts' manor, arrived on a sleigh to perform the morning +services. + +Nekhludoff, with his aunts and the servants, went through the motions, +without ceasing to look on Katiousha, who brought a censer and was +standing at the door; then, in the customary fashion, kissed the +priest and the aunts, and was about to retire to his room when he +heard Matriena Pavlovna, the old servant of Maria Ivanovna, making +preparations with Katiousha to go to church and witness the +consecration of the paschal bread. "I will go there, too," he thought. + +There was no wagon or sleigh road to the church, so Nekhludoff gave +command, as he would in his own house, to have a horse saddled, and, +instead of going to bed, donned a brilliant uniform and tight +knee-breeches, threw on his military coat, and, mounting the snorting +and constantly neighing, heavy stallion, he drove off to the church in +the dark, over pools and snow mounds. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote B: Diminutive of Maria.] + +[Footnote C: Diminutive of Sophia.] + +[Footnote D: The Russian thou cannot be rendered into English with any +degree of accuracy. The greeting to which the impulsive Nekhludoff was +about to give expression is that used toward a beloved person.] + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +That morning service formed the brightest and most impressive +reminiscence of Nekhludoff's after life. + +The darkness of the night was only relieved here and there by white +patches of snow, and as the stallion, splashing through the mud-pools, +and his ears pricked up at the sight of the fire-pots surrounding the +church, entered its inclosure, the service had already begun. + +The peasants, recognizing Maria Ivanovna's nephew, led his horse to +the driest spot, where he dismounted, then they escorted him to the +church filled with a holiday crowd. + +To the right were the male peasants; old men in homespun coats and +bast shoes, and young men in new cloth caftans, bright-colored belts +and boots. To the left the women, with red silk 'kerchiefs on their +heads, shag caftans with bright red sleeves, and blue, green, red, +striped and dotted skirts and iron-heeled shoes. Behind them stood the +more modest women in white 'kerchiefs and gray caftans and ancient +skirts, in shoes or bast slippers. Among these and the others were +dressed-up children with oiled hair. The peasants made the sign of the +cross and bowed, disheveling their hair; the women, especially the old +women, gazing with their lustreless eyes on one image, before which +candles burned, pressed hard with the tips of their fingers on the +'kerchief of the forehead, the shoulders and the abdomen, and, +mumbling something, bent forward standing, or fell on their knees. The +children, imitating their elders, prayed fervently when they were +looked at. The gold iconostasis was aflame with innumerable candles, +which surrounded a large one in the centre wound in a narrow strip of +gilt paper. The church lustre was dotted with candles, joyful melodies +of volunteer singers with roaring bass and piercing contralto mingled +with the chant of the choir. + +Nekhludoff went forward. In the middle of the church stood the +aristocracy; a country squire with his wife and son in a sailor +blouse, the commissary of the rural police, a telegraph operator, a +merchant in high boots, the local syndic with a medal on his breast, +and to the right of the tribune, behind the squire's wife, Matriena +Pavlovna, in a lilac-colored chatoyant dress and white shawl with +colored border, and beside her was Katiousha in a white dress, +gathered in folds at the waist, a blue belt, and a red bow in her +black hair. + +Everything was solemn, joyous and beautiful; the priest in his bright, +silver chasuble, dotted with gilt crosses, the deacon, the chanters in +holiday surplice of gold and silver, the spruce volunteer singers with +oiled hair, the joyous melodies of holiday songs, the ceaseless +blessing of the throng by the priests with flower-bedecked tern +candles with the constantly repeated exclamations: "Christ has risen! +Christ has risen!" Everything was beautiful, but more beautiful than +all was Katiousha, in her white dress, blue belt and red bow in her +hair, and her eyes radiant with delight. + +Nekhludoff felt that she saw him without turning round. He saw it +while passing near her to the altar. He had nothing to tell her, but +tried to think of something, and said, when passing her: + +"Auntie said that she would receive the sacrament after mass." + +Her young blood, as it always happened when she looked at him, rose to +her cheeks, and her black eyes, naively looking up, fixed themselves +on Nekhludoff. + +"I know it," she said, smiling. + +At that moment a chanter with a copper coffee-pot in his hand passed +close to Katiousha, and, without looking at her, grazed her with the +skirt of the surplice. The chanter, evidently out of respect for +Nekhludoff, wished to sweep around him, and thus it happened that he +grazed Katiousha. + +Nekhludoff, however, was surprised that that chanter did not +understand that everything in the church, and in the whole world, for +that matter, existed only for Katiousha, and that one might spurn the +entire world, but must not slight her, because she was the centre of +it. It was for her that the gold iconostasis shone brightly, and these +candles in the church-lustre burned; for her were the joyful chants: +"Be happy, man; it is the Lord's Easter." All the good in the world +was for her. And it seemed to him that Katiousha understood that all +this was for her. It seemed to Nekhludoff, when he looked at her erect +figure in the white dress with little folds at the waist, and by the +expression of her happy face, that the very thing that filled his soul +with song, also filled hers. + +In the interval between early and late mass Nekhludoff left the +church. The people made way for him and bowed. Some recognized him; +others asked: "Who is he?" He stopped at the porch. Beggars surrounded +him, and, distributing such change as he had in his pocket, he +descended the stairs. + +The day began to break, but the sun was yet beyond the horizon. The +people seated themselves on the grass around the church-yard, but +Katiousha remained in the church, and Nekhludoff waited on the porch +for her appearance. + +The crowd was still pouring out of the church, their hob-nailed shoes +clattering against the stone pavement, and spread about the cemetery. + +An old man, confectioner to Maria Ivanovna, stopped Nekhludoff and +kissed him, and his wife, an old woman with a wrinkled Adam's apple +under a silk 'kerchief, unrolled a yellow saffron egg from her +handkerchief and gave it to him. At the same time a young, smiling and +muscular peasant, in a new caftan, approached. + +"Christ has risen!" he said, with smiling eyes and, nearing +Nekhludoff, spread around him a peculiar, pleasant, peasant odor, and, +tickling him with his curly beard, three times kissed him on the lips. + +While Nekhludoff was thus exchanging the customary kisses with the +peasant and taking from him a dark-brown egg, he noticed the chatoyant +dress of Matriena Pavlovna and the lovely head with the red bow. + +No sooner did she catch sight of him over the heads of those in front +of her, than her face brightened up. + +On reaching the porch they also stopped, distributing alms. One of the +beggars, with a red, cicatrized slough instead of a nose, approached +Katiousha. She produced some coins from her handkerchief, gave them to +him, and without the slightest expression of disgust, but, on the +contrary, her eyes beaming with delight, kissed him three times. While +she was thus kissing with the beggar, her eyes met those of +Nekhludoff, and she seemed to ask him: "Is it not right? Is it not +proper?" + +"Yes, yes, darling; it is right; everything is beautiful. I love you." + +As they descended the stairs he came near her. He did not wish to kiss +her, but merely wished to be by her side. + +"Christ has risen!" said Matriena Pavlovna, leaning her head forward +and smiling. By the intonation of her voice she seemed to say, "All +are equal to-day," and wiping her mouth with a bandana handkerchief +which she kept under her arm-pit, she extended her lips. + +"He has risen, indeed," answered Nekhludoff, and they kissed each +other. + +He turned to look at Katiousha. She flushed and at the same moment +approached him. + +"Christ has risen, Dmitri Ivanovich." + +"He has risen, indeed," he said. They kissed each other twice, and +seemed to be reflecting whether or not it was necessary to kiss a +third time, and having decided, as it were, that it was necessary, +they kissed again. + +"Will you go to the priest?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"No, we will stay here, Dmitri Ivanovich," answered Katiousha, +laboriously, as though after hard, pleasant exertion, breathing with +her full breast and looking straight in his eyes, with her submissive, +chaste, loving and slightly squinting eyes. + +There is a point in the love between man and woman when that love +reaches its zenith; when it is free from consciousness, reason and +sensuality. Such a moment arrived for Nekhludoff that Easter morn. + +Now, whenever he thought of Katiousha, her appearance at that moment +obscured every other recollection of her. The dark, smooth, +resplendent head; the white dress with folds clinging to her graceful +bust and undulating breast; those vermilion cheeks, those brilliant +black eyes, and two main traits in all her being: the virgin purity of +her love, not only for himself, but for everything and everybody--he +knew it--not only the good and beautiful, but even that beggar whom +she had kissed. + +He knew that she possessed that love, because that night and that +morning he felt it within him, and felt that in that love his soul +mingled into one with hers. + +Ah, if that feeling had continued unchanged! "Yes, that awful affair +occurred after that notable commemoration of Christ's resurrection!" +he thought now, sitting at the window of the jury-room. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +Returning from the church, Nekhludoff broke his fast with the aunts, +and to repair his strength, drank some brandy and wine--a habit he +acquired in the army--and going to his room immediately fell asleep +with his clothes on. He was awakened by a rap at the door. By the rap +he knew that it was she, so he rose, rubbing his eyes and stretching +himself. + +"Is it you, Katiousha? Come in," he said, rising. + +She opened the door. + +"You are wanted to breakfast," she said. She was in the same white +dress, but without the bow in her hair. + +As she looked in his eyes she brightened up, as if she had announced +something unusually pleasant. + +"I shall come immediately," he answered, taking a comb to rearrange +his hair. + +She lingered for a moment. He noticed it, and putting down the comb, +he moved toward her. But at the same moment she quickly turned and +walked off with her customary light and agile step along the narrow +mat of the corridor. + +"What a fool I am!" Nekhludoff said to himself. "Why did I not detain +her?" And he ran after her. + +He did not know himself what he wished of her, but it seemed to him +that when she entered his room he ought to have done something that +any one in his place would have done, but which he failed to do. + +"Wait, Katiousha," he said. + +She looked around. + +"What is it?" she said, stopping. + +"Nothing. I only----" + +With some effort he overcame his shyness, and remembering how people +generally act in such a case, he put his arm about Katiousha's waist. + +She stopped and looked in his eyes. + +"Don't, Ivanovich, don't," she said, blushing until her eyes filled +with tears. Then with her rough, strong hands she removed his arm. + +Nekhludoff released her, and for a moment felt not only awkward and +ashamed, but seemed odious to himself. He should have believed in +himself, but he failed to understand that this awkwardness and shame +were the noblest feelings of his soul begging for recognition, and, on +the contrary, it seemed to him that it was his foolishness that was +speaking within him, that he ought to have done as everybody does in a +similar case. + +He overtook her again, again embraced her and kissed her on the neck. +This kiss was entirely unlike the other two kisses. The first was +given unconsciously, behind the lilac bush; the second, in the morning +in church. The last one was terrible, and she felt it. + +"But what are you doing?" she exclaimed in such a voice, as if he had +irrecoverably destroyed something infinitely precious, and ran away +from him. + +He went to the dining-room. His aunts in holiday attire, the doctor +and a neighbor were taking lunch standing. Everything was as usual, +but a storm raged in Nekhludoff's soul. He did not understand what was +said to him, his answers were inappropriate, and he was thinking only +of Katiousha, recalling the sensation of the last kiss he gave her +when he overtook her in the corridor. He could think of nothing else. +When she entered the room, without looking at her, he felt her +presence with all his being, and had to make an effort not to look at +her. + +After lunch he went immediately to his room, and in great agitation +walked to and fro, listening to the sounds in the house and waiting to +hear her steps. The animal man that dwelled in him not only raised his +head, but crushed under foot the spiritual man that he was when he +first arrived at the manor, and was even this very morning in church, +and that terrible animal man now held sway in his soul. Although +Nekhludoff was watching an opportunity to meet Katiousha that day, he +did not succeed in seeing her face to face even once. She was probably +avoiding him. But in the evening it happened that she had to enter a +room adjoining his. The physician was to remain over night, and +Katiousha had to make the bed for him. Hearing her steps, Nekhludoff, +stepping on tip-toe and holding his breath, as though preparing to +commit a crime, followed her into the room. + +Thrusting both her hands into a white pillow-case, and taking hold of +two corners of the pillow, she turned her head and looked at him +smiling, but it was not the old, cheerful, happy smile, but a +frightened, piteous smile. The smile seemed to tell him that what he +was doing was wrong. For a moment he stood still. There was still the +possibility of a struggle. Though weak, the voice of his true love to +her was still heard; it spoke of her, of her feelings, of her life. +The other voice reminded him of his enjoyment, his happiness. And this +second voice stifled the first. He approached her with determination. +And the terrible, irresistible animal feeling mastered him. + +Without releasing her from his embrace, Nekhludoff seated her on the +bed, and feeling that something else ought to be done, seated himself +beside her. + +"Dmitri Ivanovich, darling, please let me go," she said in a piteous +voice. "Matriena Pavlovna is coming!" she suddenly exclaimed, tearing +herself away. + +Matriena Pavlovna was really approaching the door. She entered the +room, holding a quilt on her arm, and, looking reproachfully at +Nekhludoff, angrily rebuked Katiousha for taking the wrong quilt. + +Nekhludoff went out in silence. He was not even ashamed. By the +expression of Matriena Pavlovna's face he saw that she condemned him, +and justly so; he knew that what he was doing was wrong, but the +animal feeling, which succeeded his former feeling of pure love to +her, seized him and held sole sway over him; recognizing no other +feeling. He knew now what was necessary to do in order to satisfy that +feeling, and was looking for means to that end. + +He was out of sorts all that night. Now he would go to his aunts; now +he returned to his room, or went to the perron, thinking but of one +thing: how to meet her alone. But she avoided him, and Matriena +Pavlovna strove not to lose sight of her. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +Thus the entire evening passed, and when night came the doctor went to +bed. The aunts were also preparing to retire. Nekhludoff knew that +Matriena Pavlovna was in the aunts' dormitory, and that Katiousha was +in the servants' quarters--alone. He again went out on the perron. It +was dark, damp and warm, and that white mist which in the spring thaws +the last snow, filled the air. Strange noises came from the river, +which was a hundred feet from the house. It was the breaking up of the +ice. + +Nekhludoff came down from the perron, and stepping over pools and the +thin ice-covering formed on the snow, walked toward the window of the +servants' quarters. His heart beat so violently that he could hear it; +his breathing at times stopped, at others it escaped in a heavy sigh. +A small lamp was burning in the maid-servants' room. + +Katiousha was sitting at the table alone, musing and looking at the +wall before her. Without moving Nekhludoff for some time stood gazing +at her, wishing to know what she would do while thinking herself +unobserved. For about two minutes she sat motionless, then raised her +eyes, smiled, reproachfully shook her head, at herself apparently, +and, changing her position, with a start placed both hands on the +table and fixed her eyes before her. + +He remained looking at her, and involuntarily listened to the beating +of his heart and the strange sounds coming from the river. There, on +the misty river some incessant, slow work was going on. Now something +snuffled, then it crackled, and again the thin layer of ice resounded +like a mass of crushed glass. + +He stood looking at the thoughtful face of Katiousha, tormented by an +internal struggle, and he pitied her. But, strange to say, this pity +only increased his longing for her. + +He rapped at the window. She trembled from head to foot, as if an +electric current had passed through her, and terror was reflected on +her face. Then she sprang up, and, going to the window, placed her +face against the window-pane. The expression of terror did not leave +her even when, shading her eyes with the palms of her hands, she +recognized him. Her face was unusually grave--he had never seen such +an expression on it. When he smiled she smiled also--she smiled as if +only in submission to him, but in her soul, instead of a smile, there +was terror. He motioned her with his hand to come out. But she shook +her head and remained at the window. Again he leaned toward the window +and was about to speak when she turned toward the door. Some one had +apparently called her. Nekhludoff moved away from the window. The fog +was so dense that when five feet away he saw only a darkening mass +from which a red, seemingly large, light of the lamp was reflected. +From the river came the same strange sounds of snuffling, crackling +and grinding of the ice. In the court-yard a cock crowed, others near +by responded; then from the village, first singly, interrupting each +other, then mingling into one chorus, was heard the crowing of all the +cocks. Except for the noise of the river, it was perfectly quiet all +around. + +After walking twice around the corner of the house, and stepping +several times into mud-pools, Nekhludoff returned to the window of the +maid-servants' quarters. The lamp was still burning, and Katiousha sat +alone at the table as if in indecision. As soon as he came near the +window she looked at him. He rapped. Without stopping to see who had +rapped, she immediately ran from the room, and he heard the opening +and closing of the door. He was already waiting for her in the +passage, and immediately silently embraced her. She pressed against +his bosom, lifted her head, and with her lips met his kiss. + + * * * * * + +When Nekhludoff returned to his room it was getting brighter. Below, +the noises on the river increased, and a buzzing was added to the +other sounds. The mist began to settle, and from behind the wall of +mist the waning moon appeared, gloomily, lighting up something dark +and terrible. + +"Is it good fortune or a great misfortune that has happened to me?" he +asked himself. "It is always thus; they all act in that way," and he +returned to his room. + +[Illustration: PRINCE NEKHLUDOFF.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +On the following day the brilliant and jovial Shenbok called at the +aunts for Nekhludoff, and completely charmed them with his elegance, +amiability, cheerfulness, liberality, and his love for Dmitri. Though +his liberality pleased the aunts, they were somewhat perplexed by the +excess to which he carried it. He gave a ruble to a blind beggar; the +servants received as tips fifteen rubles, and when Sophia Ivanovna's +lap-dog, Suzette, hurt her leg so that it bled, he volunteered to +bandage it, and without a moment's consideration tore his fine linen +handkerchief (Sophia Ivanovna knew that those handkerchiefs were worth +fifteen rubles a dozen) and made bandages of it for the dog. The aunts +had never seen such men, nor did they know that his debts ran up to +two hundred thousand rubles, which--he knew--would never be paid, and +that therefore twenty-five rubles more or less made no appreciable +difference in his accounts. + +Shenbok remained but one day, and the following evening departed with +Nekhludoff. They could remain no longer, for the time for joining +their regiment had arrived. + +On this last day spent at the aunts, when the events of the preceding +evening were fresh in his memory, two antagonistic feelings struggled +in Nekhludoff's soul; one was the burning, sensual recollection of +love, although it failed to fulfill its promises, and some +satisfaction of having gained his ends; the other, a consciousness of +having committed a wrong, and that that wrong must be righted--not for +her sake, but for his own sake. + +In that condition of insane egotism Nekhludoff thought only of +himself--whether he would be condemned, and how far, if his act should +be discovered, but never gave a thought to the question, "How does she +feel about it, and what will become of her?" + +He thought that Shenbok divined his relations to Katiousha, and his +ambition was flattered. + +"That's why you so suddenly began to like your aunts," Shenbok said +to him when he saw Katiousha. "In your place I should stay here even +longer. She is charming!" + +He also thought that while it was a pity to leave now, without +enjoying his love in its fullness, the necessity of going was +advantageous in that he was able to break the relations which it were +difficult to keep up. He further thought it was necessary to give her +money, not because she might need it, but because it was customary to +do so. So he gave as much money as he thought was proper, considering +their respective positions. + +On the day of his departure, after dinner he waited in the passage +until she came by. She flushed as she saw him, and wished to pass on, +pointing with her eyes to the door of her room, but he detained her. + +"I came to bid you farewell," he said, crumpling an envelope +containing a hundred ruble bill. "How is----" + +She suspected it, frowned, shook her head and thrust aside his hand. + +"Yes, take it," he murmured, thrusting the envelope in the bosom of +her waist, and, as if it had burned his fingers, he ran to his room. + +For a long time he paced his room to and fro, frowning, and even +jumping, and moaning aloud as if from physical pain, as he thought of +the scene. + +But what is to be done? It is always thus. Thus it was with Shenbok +and the governess whom he had told about; it was thus with Uncle +Gregory; with his father, when he lived in the country, and the +illegitimate son Miteuka, who is still living, was born to him. And if +everybody acts thus, consequently it ought to be so. Thus he was +consoling himself, but he could not be consoled. The recollection of +it stung his conscience. + +In the depth of his soul he knew that his action was so base, +abominable and cruel that, with that action upon his conscience, not +only would he have no right to condemn others but he should not be +able to look others in the face, to say nothing of considering himself +the good, noble, magnanimous man he esteemed himself. And he had to +esteem himself as such in order to be able to continue to lead a +valiant and joyous life. And there was but one way of doing so, and +that was not to think of it. This he endeavored to do. + +The life into which he had just entered--new scenes, comrades, and +active service--helped him on. The more he lived, the less he thought +of it, and in the end really forgot it entirely. + +Only once, on his return from active service, when, in the hope of +seeing her, he paid a visit to his aunts, he was told that Katiousha, +soon after his departure, had left them; that she had given birth to a +child, and, as the aunts were informed, had gone to the bad. As he +heard it his heart was oppressed with grief. From the statement of the +time when she gave birth to the child it might be his, and it might +not be his. The aunts said that she was vicious and of a depraved +nature, just like her mother. And this opinion of the aunts pleased +him, because it exculpated him, as it were. At first he intended to +find her and the child, but as it pained him very much, and he was +ashamed to think of it, he did not make the necessary efforts, and +gradually ceased to think of his sin. + +But now, this fortuitous meeting brought everything to his mind, and +compelled the acknowledgment of his heartlessness, cruelty and +baseness which made it possible for him to live undisturbed by the sin +which lay on his conscience. He was yet far from such acknowledgment, +and at this moment was only thinking how to avoid disclosure which +might be made by her, or her attorney, and thus disgrace him before +everybody. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +Nekhludoff was in this state of mind when he left the court-room and +entered the jury-room. He sat near the window, listening to the +conversations of his fellow jurymen, and smoked incessantly. + +The cheerful merchant evidently sympathized with Merchant Smelkoff's +manner of passing his time. + +"Well, well! He went on his spree just like a Siberian! Seems to have +known a good thing when he saw it. What a beauty!" + +The foreman expressed the opinion that the whole case depended on the +expert evidence. Peter Gerasimovich was jesting with the Jewish clerk, +and both of them burst out laughing. Nekhludoff answered all questions +in monosyllables, and only wished to be left in peace. + +When the usher with the sidling gait called the jury into court +Nekhludoff was seized with fear, as if judgment was to be passed on +him, and not he to pass judgment on others. + +In the depth of his soul he already felt that he was a rascal, who +ought to be ashamed to look people in the face, and yet, by force of +habit, he walked to the elevation with his customary air of +self-confidence, and took his seat next to the foreman, crossed his +legs and began to play with his pince-nez. + +The prisoners, who had also been removed from the court, were brought +in again. + +The new faces of witnesses were now seen in the court-room, and +Nekhludoff noticed Maslova constantly turning her head in the +direction of a smartly attired, stout woman in silk and plush, with an +elegant reticule hanging on her half-bare arm. This was, as Nekhludoff +afterward learned, Maslova's mistress and a witness against her. + +The examination of the witnesses began as to their names, age, +religion, et cetera. After being questioned as to whether they +preferred to testify under oath, the same old priest, with difficulty +moving his legs, came, and again arranging the gold cross on his +silk-covered breast, with the same calmness and confidence, began to +administer the oath to the witnesses and the expert. When the swearing +in was over, the witnesses were removed to an adjoining room, leaving +only Kitaeva, Maslova's mistress. She was asked what she knew of the +affair. Kitaeva, with a feigned smile, a German accent, and +straightening her hat at every sentence, fluently and circumstantially +related the following: + +Simon came first to her house for Liubasha.[E] In a little while +Liubasha returned with the merchant. "The merchant was already in +ecstasy," slightly smiling, said Kitaeva, "and he continued to drink +and treat himself, but as he was short of money he sent to his room +this same Liubasha, for whom he acquired a predilection," she said, +looking at Maslova. + +It seemed to Nekhludoff that Maslova smiled at this, and the smile +seemed to him disgusting. A strange feeling of squeamishness mingled +with compassion rose in his breast. + +"What opinion did you entertain of Maslova?" timidly and blushingly +asked the attorney assigned by the court to defend Maslova. + +"Very excellent," answered Kitaeva. "The girl is very well educated +and elegant in her manners. She was raised in a very good family, and +could read French. She sometimes drank a little too much, but she +never forgot herself. She is a very good girl." + +Katiousha looked at her mistress, then suddenly turned her eyes on the +jury and rested them on Nekhludoff, her face becoming serious and even +stern. One of the stern eyes squinted. These strangely gazing eyes +were turned on Nekhludoff for a considerable time. Notwithstanding the +terror that seized him, he could not remove his own gaze from those +squinting eyes with their shining whites. He recalled that awful night +with the breaking ice, the fog, and especially that waning, upturned +moon which rose in the morning and lit up something dark and terrible. +These two black eyes which looked at and at the same time by him +reminded him of something dark and terrible. + +"She recognized me!" he thought. And Nekhludoff shrank, as it were, +waiting for the blow. But she did not recognize him. She sighed calmly +and again fixed her eyes on the justiciary. Nekhludoff also sighed. +"Ah, if they would only hasten it through," he thought. He felt now as +he did once when out game shooting, when he was obliged to kill a +wounded bird--he was filled with disgust, pity and vexation. The +wounded bird is struggling in the game bag; he feels disgust and pity, +and wishes to kill it quickly and forget it. + +Such mingled feelings filled Nekhludoff's breast as he sat listening +to the examination of the witnesses. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote E: A contemptuous diminutive of Liuba. Tr.] + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +As if to spite him, the case dragged out to a weary length. After the +examination of the witnesses and the expert, and after all the +unnecessary questions by the prosecutor and the attorneys, usually +made with an important air, the justiciary told the jury to look at +the exhibits, which consisted of an enormous ring with a diamond +rosette, evidently made for the forefinger, and a glass tube +containing the poison. These were sealed and labeled. + +The jury were preparing to view these things, when the prosecutor rose +again and demanded that before the exhibits were examined the medical +report of the condition of the body be read. + +The justiciary was hurrying the case, and though he knew that the +reading of the report would only bring ennui and delay the dinner, and +that the prosecutor demanded it only because he had the right to do +so, he could not refuse the request and gave his consent. The +secretary produced the report, and, lisping the letters l and r, began +to read in a sad voice. + +The external examination disclosed: + +1. The height of Therapout Smelkoff was six feet five inches. + +"But what a huge fellow," the merchant whispered in Nekhludoff's ear +with solicitude. + +2. From external appearances he seemed to be about forty years of age. + +3. The body had a swollen appearance. + +4. The color of the pall was green, streaked with dark spots. + +5. The skin on the surface of the body rose in bubbles of various +sizes, and in places hung in patches. + +6. The hair was dark and thick, and fell off at a slight touch. + +7. The eyes came out of their orbits, and the pupils were dull. + +8. A frothy, serous fluid flowed continuously from the cavity of the +mouth, the nostrils and ears. The mouth was half open. + +9. The neck almost disappeared in the swelling of the face and breast, +et cetera, et cetera. + +Thus, over four pages and twenty-seven clauses, ran the description of +the external appearance of the terrible, large, stout, swollen and +decomposing body of the merchant who amused himself in the city. The +loathing which Nekhludoff felt increased with the reading of the +description. Katiousha's life, the sanies running from the nostrils, +the eyes that came out of their sockets, and his conduct toward +her--all seemed to him to belong to the same order, and he was +surrounded and swallowed up by these things. When the reading was +finally over, the justiciary sighed deeply and raised his head in the +hope that it was all over, but the secretary immediately began to read +the report on the internal condition of the body. + +The justiciary again bent his head, and, leaning on his hand, closed +his eyes. The merchant, who sat near Nekhludoff, barely kept awake, +and from time to time swayed his body. The prisoners as well as the +gendarmes behind them sat motionless. + +The internal examination disclosed: + +1. The skin covering of the skull easily detached, and no hemorrhage +was noticeable. 2. The skull bones were of average thickness and +uninjured. 3. On the hard membrane of the skull there were two small +discolored spots of about the size of four centimetres, the membrane +itself being of a dull gray color, et cetera, et cetera, to the end of +thirteen more clauses. + +Then came the names of the witnesses, the signature and deduction of +the physician, from which it appeared that the changes found in the +stomach, intestines and kidneys justified the conclusion "to a large +degree probable" that the death of Smelkoff was due to poison taken +into the stomach with a quantity of wine. That it was impossible to +tell by the changes in the stomach and intestines the name of the +poison; and that the poison came into the stomach mixed with wine +could be inferred from the fact that Smelkoff's stomach contained a +large quantity of wine. + +"He must have drank like a fish," again whispered the awakened +merchant. + +The reading of this official report, which lasted about two hours, did +not satisfy, however, the prosecutor. When it was over the justiciary +turned to him, saying: + +"I suppose it is superfluous to read the record of the examination of +the intestines." + +"I would ask that it be read," sternly said the prosecutor without +looking at the justiciary, sidewise raising himself, and impressing by +the tone of his voice that it was his right to demand it, that he +would insist on it, and that a refusal would be ground for appeal. + +The associate with the long beard and kind, drooping eyes, who was +suffering from catarrh, feeling very weak, turned to the justiciary: + +"What is the good of reading it? It will only drag the matter out. +These new brooms only take a longer time to sweep, but do not sweep +any cleaner." + +The associate in the gold eye-glasses said nothing, and gloomily and +determinedly looked in front of him, expecting nothing good either +from his wife or from the world. + +The report commenced thus: "February 15th, 188-. The undersigned, in +pursuance of an order, No. 638, of the Medical Department," began the +secretary with resolution, raising the pitch of his voice, as if to +dispel the drowsiness that seized upon every one present, "and in the +presence of the assistant medical director, examined the following +intestines: + +"1. The right lung and heart (contained in a five-pound glass vial). + +"2. The contents of the stomach (contained in a five-pound glass +vial). + +"3. The stomach itself (contained in a five-pound glass vial). + +"4. The kidneys, liver and spleen (contained in a two-and-a-half-pound +glass vial). + +"5. The entrails (contained in a five-pound earthen jar)." + +As the reading of this report began the justiciary leaned over to one +of his associates and whispered something, then to the other, and, +receiving affirmative answers, interrupted the reading at this point. + +"The Court finds the reading of the report superfluous," he said. + +The secretary closed reading and gathered up his papers, while the +prosecutor angrily began to make notes. + +"The gentlemen of the jury may now view the exhibits," said the +justiciary. + +The foreman and some of the jury rose from their seats, and, holding +their hands in awkward positions, approached the table and looked in +turn on the ring, vials and jars. The merchant even tried the ring on +his finger. + +"What a finger he had," he said, returning to his seat. "It must have +been the size of a large cucumber," he added, evidently amused by the +giant figure of the merchant, as he imagined him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +When the examination of the exhibits was over, the justiciary +announced the investigation closed, and, desiring to end the session, +gave the word to the prosecutor, in the hope that as he, too, was +mortal, he might also wish to smoke or dine, and would have pity on +the others. But the prosecutor pitied neither himself nor them. When +the word was given him, he rose slowly, displaying his elegant figure, +and, placing both hands on the desk, and slightly bending his head, he +cast a glance around the court-room, his eyes avoiding the prisoners. + +"Gentlemen of the jury, the case which is now to be submitted to your +consideration," he began his speech, prepared while the indictment and +reports were being read, "is a characteristic crime, if I may so +express myself." + +The speech of a prosecuting attorney, according to his idea, had to be +invested with a social significance, according to the manner of those +lawyers who became famous. True, among his hearers were three women; a +seamstress, a cook and Simon's sister, also a driver, but that made +no difference. Those celebrities also began on a small scale. The +prosecutor made it a rule to view the situation from the eminence of +his position, i. e., to penetrate into the profound psychological +meaning of crime, and bare the ulcers of society. + +"Here is before you, gentlemen of the jury, a crime characteristic, if +I may so express myself, of the end of our century, bearing, as it +were, all the specific features of the first symptoms of +decomposition, to which those elements of our society, which are +exposed, as it were, to the more scorching rays of that process, are +subject." + +The prosecutor spoke at great length, endeavoring on the one hand to +remember all those wise sayings which he had prepared for the +occasion, and on the other, most important, hand, not to stop for a +moment, but to make his speech flow uninterruptedly for an hour and a +quarter. He stopped only once, for a long time swallowing his saliva, +but he immediately mastered himself and made up for the lost time by a +greater flow of eloquence. He spoke in a gentle, insinuating voice, +resting now on one foot, now on the other, and looking at the jury; +then changed to a calm, business tone, consulting his note-book, and +again he thundered accusations, turning now to the spectators, now to +the jury. But he never looked at the prisoners, all three of whom +stared at him. He incorporated into his speech all the latest ideas +then in vogue in the circle of his acquaintances, and what was then +and is now received as the last word of scientific wisdom. He spoke of +heredity, of innate criminality, of Lombroso, of Charcot, of +evolution, of the struggle for existence, of hypnotism, of hypnotic +suggestion, and of decadence. + +The merchant Smelkoff, according to the prosecutor, was a type of the +great, pure Russian, with his broad nature, who, in consequence of his +trusting nature and generosity, had become a victim of a gang of +corrupt people, into whose hands he had fallen. + +Simon Kartinkin was the atavistic production of serfdom, stupid, +without education, and even without religion. Euphemia was his +mistress, and a victim of heredity. All the symptoms of degenerate +life were in her. But the ruling spirit in this crime was Maslova, who +was the mouthpiece of the lowest phenomenon of decadence. "This +woman," said the prosecutor without looking at her, "received an +education--you have heard here the evidence of her mistress. Not only +can she read and write, but she can speak French. She is an orphan, +and probably bears the germs of criminality in her. She was raised in +an intelligent, noble family, and could make her living by honest +toil, but she leaves them, yields to her passions, and displays an +intelligence, and especially, as you have heard here, gentlemen of the +jury, an ability to exert influence on people by that mysterious, +lately discovered by science, especially by the school of Charcot, +power known by the name of hypnotic suggestion. By the aid of this +power she gets control over this hero--a kind, trustful, rich guest, +and uses his confidence first to rob him, and then to pitilessly +murder him." + +"But he is wandering away," said the justiciary, smiling and leaning +over to the stern associate. + +"What an awful blockhead!" said the stern associate. + +"Gentlemen of the jury!" the prosecutor continued meanwhile, +gracefully swaying his slim body. "The fate of these people is in your +hands, as is to some extent the fate of society, which is influenced +by your verdict. You must fathom the significance of this crime, the +danger to society that lurks in such pathological, as it were, +individuals as Maslova. You must guard it against infection; it is +your duty to guard the innocent, healthy elements of society against +contagion, if not destruction." + +And as if himself impressed with the importance of the verdict, and +evidently greatly delighted with his speech, the prosecutor took his +seat. + +The burden of his speech, if we eliminate the flights of eloquence, +was to the effect that Maslova, after gaining the merchant's +confidence, hypnotized him, and that, arriving at the inn with the key +to the merchant's trunk, she intended to steal the money herself, but, +being discovered by Simon and Euphemia, was obliged to divide with +them. That afterward, desiring to conceal the traces of her crime, +she returned with the merchant to the inn and administered poison to +him. + +When the prosecutor had finished his speech, a middle-aged man, in a +dress coat and wide semi-circle of starched shirt front, rose from the +lawyer's bench, and boldly began to deliver a speech in defense of +Kartinkin and Bochkova. He was a lawyer hired by them for three +hundred rubles. He declared them both innocent, and threw all the +blame on Maslova. + +He belittled the deposition of Maslova relating to the presence of +Bochkova and Kartinkin when she took the money, and insisted that, as +she had confessed to poisoning the merchant, her evidence could have +no weight. The twenty-five hundred rubles could have been earned by +two hard working and honest persons, who were receiving in tips three +to four rubles a day from guests. The merchant's money was stolen by +Maslova, who either gave it to some one for safe keeping, or lost it, +which was not unlikely, as she was not in a normal condition. The +poisoning was done by Maslova alone. + +For these reasons he asked the jury to acquit Kartinkin and Bochkova +of stealing the money; or, if they found them guilty of stealing he +asked for a verdict of theft, but without participation in the +poisoning, and without conspiracy. + +In conclusion, this lawyer made a thrust at the prosecuting attorney +by remarking that, although the splendid reasonings of the prosecutor +on heredity explain the scientific questions of heredity, they hardly +hold good in the case of Bochkova, since her parentage was unknown. + +The prosecutor, growling, began to make notes, and shrugged his +shoulders in contemptuous surprise. + +Next rose Maslova's lawyer, and timidly and falteringly began his +speech in her defense. Without denying that Maslova participated in +the theft, he insisted that she had no intention of poisoning +Smelkoff, but gave him the powder in order to make him sleep. When he +described Maslova's unfortunate life, telling how she had been drawn +into a life of vice by a man who went unpunished, while she was left +to bear the whole burden of her fall, he attempted to become eloquent, +but his excursion into the domain of psychology failed, so that +everybody felt awkward. When he began to mutter about man's cruelty +and woman's helplessness, the justiciary, desiring to help him, asked +him to confine himself to the facts of the case. + +After this lawyer had finished the prosecutor rose again and defended +his position on the question of heredity against the first lawyer, +stating that the fact that Bochkova's parentage was unknown did not +invalidate the truth of the theory of heredity; that the law of +heredity is so well established by science that not only can one +deduce the crime from heredity, but heredity from the crime. As to the +statement of the defense that Maslova was drawn into a vicious life by +an imaginary (he pronounced the word imaginary with particular +virulence) man, he could say that all facts rather pointed to her +being the seducer of many victims who were unfortunate enough to fall +into her hands. Saying which he sat down in triumph. + +The prisoners were then allowed to make any statements they wished in +their behalf. + +Euphemia Bochkova repeated her statement that she knew nothing, had +not taken part in anything, and persistently pointed at Maslova as the +only guilty person. Simon only repeated several times: + +"Do what you please with me, only it is all for nothing." + +Maslova was silent. When asked what she had to say in her defense, she +only lifted her eyes on the justiciary, looked around like a hunted +animal, and immediately lowering them began to sob aloud. + +"What is the matter?" asked the merchant of Nekhludoff, hearing a +strange sound escaping the latter's lips. It was a suppressed sob. + +Nekhludoff did not yet realize the significance of his present +position, and the scarcely suppressed sob and the tears that welled up +in his eyes he ascribed to the weakness of his nerves. He put on his +pince-nez to hide them, and, drawing a handkerchief from his pocket, +began to blow his nose. + +His fear of the disgrace that would fall upon him if everybody in the +court-room were to find out his conduct toward her stifled the +struggle that was going on within him. At this time fear outweighed +in him every other feeling. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +After the last words of the prisoners had been heard, and the lengthy +arguments over the form in which the questions were to be put to the +jury were over, the questions were finally agreed upon, and the +justiciary began to deliver his instructions to the jury. + +Although he was anxious to finish the case, he was so carried away +that when he started to speak he could not stop himself. He told the +jury at great length that if they found the prisoners guilty, they had +the right to return a verdict of guilty, and if they found them not +guilty, they had the right to return a verdict of not guilty. If, +however they found them guilty of one charge, and not guilty of the +other, they might bring in a verdict of guilty of the one and not +guilty of the other. He further explained to them that they must +exercise this power intelligently. He also intended to explain to them +that if they gave an affirmative answer to a question, they would +thereby affirm everything involved in the question, and that if they +did not desire to affirm everything involved in the question, they +must distinguish the part they affirmed from the part they +disaffirmed. But, seeing on the clock that it was five minutes of +three, he decided to pass over to a statement of the case. + +"The facts of this case are the following," he began, repeating +everything that had been stated over and over again by the defendants' +attorneys, the prosecutor and the witnesses. While the justiciary was +charging the jury his associates thoughtfully listened, and now and +then glanced at the clock. They thought that although his charge was +sound, i. e., as it should be, it was too long. Of the same opinion was +the prosecutor, as well as all those connected with the court, +including the spectators. The justiciary concluded his charge. + +It was thought he had finished. But the justiciary found it necessary +to add a few words concerning the importance of the power given to +the jury; that it should be used with care, and should not be abused; +that they had taken an oath; that they were the conscience of society, +and that the secrecy of the consultation room was sacred, etc., etc. + +From the moment the justiciary began to speak, Maslova kept her eyes +on him, as if she feared to miss a word, so that Nekhludoff was not +afraid to meet her gaze, and constantly looked at her. And before his +imagination arose that common phenomenon of the appearance of a long +absent, beloved face, which, after the first shock produced by the +external changes which have taken place during the long absence, +gradually becomes the same as it was many years ago--all the past +changes disappear, and before the spiritual eyes stands forth the main +expression of the peculiar spiritual individuality. This happened with +Nekhludoff. + +Yes, notwithstanding the prison garb, the bloated body and the high +breast; notwithstanding the distended lower part of the face, the +wrinkles on the forehead and the temples, and the swelling under the +eyes, it was undoubtedly that same Katiousha who on Easter Sunday +looked up to him, her beloved, with her enamored, smiling, happy, +lively eyes. + +"What a remarkable coincidence! That this case should be tried during +my term! That, without seeing her for ten years, I should meet her +here in the prisoner's dock! And what will be the end? Ah, I wish it +were over!" + +He would not yield to the feeling of repentance which spoke within +him. He considered it an incident which would soon pass away without +disturbing his life. He felt himself in the position of a puppy who +had misbehaved in his master's rooms, and whom his master, taking him +by the neck, thrust into the dirt he had made. The puppy squeals, +pulls back in his effort to escape the consequences of his deed, which +he wishes to forget, but the inexorable master holds him fast. Thus +Nekhludoff felt the foulness of his act, and he also felt the powerful +hand of the master, but did not yet understand the significance of his +act, did not recognize the master. He did not wish to believe that +what he saw before him was the result of his own deed. But the +inexorable, invisible hand held him fast, and he had a foreboding that +he should not escape. He summoned up his courage, crossed his legs, as +was his wont, and, negligently playing with his pince-nez, he sat with +an air of self-confidence on the second chair of the front row. +Meanwhile he already felt in the depth of his soul all the cruelty, +dastardliness and baseness not only of that act of his, but of his +whole idle, dissolute, cruel and wayward life. And the terrible veil, +which during these twelve years in such marvelous manner had hidden +from him that crime and all his subsequent life, already began to +stir, and now and then he caught a glimpse behind it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + +The justiciary finally finished his speech and handed the list of +questions to the foreman. The jury rose from their seats, glad of an +opportunity to leave the court-room, and, not knowing what to do with +their hands, as if ashamed of something, they filed into the +consultation-room. As soon as the door closed behind them a gendarme, +with drawn sword resting on his shoulder, placed himself in front of +it. The judges rose and went out. The prisoners also were led away. + +On entering the consultation-room the jury immediately produced +cigarettes and began to smoke. The sense of their unnatural and false +position, of which they were to a greater or less degree cognizant, +while sitting in the court-room, passed away as soon as they entered +their room and lighted their cigarettes, and, with a feeling of +relief, they seated themselves and immediately started an animated +conversation. + +"The girl is not guilty, she was confused," said the kind-hearted +merchant. + +"That is what we are going to consider," retorted the foreman. "We +must not yield to our personal impressions." + +"The judge's summing up was good," said the colonel. + +"Do you call it good? It nearly sent me to sleep." + +"The important point is that the servants could not have known that +there was money in the room if Maslova had no understanding with +them," said the clerk with the Jewish face. + +"So you think that she stole it?" asked one of the jury. + +"I will never believe that," shouted the kind-hearted merchant. "It is +all the work of that red-eyed wench." + +"They are all alike," said the colonel. + +"But she said that she did not go into the room." + +"Do you believe her more than the other? I should never believe that +worthless woman." + +"That does not decide the question," said the clerk. + +"She had the key." + +"What if she had?" answered the merchant. + +"And the ring?" + +"She explained it," again shouted the merchant. "It is quite likely +that being drunk he struck her. Well, and then he was sorry, of +course. 'There, don't cry! Take this ring.' And what a big man! They +said he weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds, I believe." + +"That is not the point," interrupted Peter Gerasimovich. "The question +is, Was she the instigator, or were the servants?" + +"The servants could not have done it without her. She had the key." + +This incoherent conversation lasted for a long time. + +"Excuse me, gentlemen," said the foreman. "Let us sit down and +consider the matter. Take your seats," he added, seating himself in +the foreman's chair. + +"These girls are rogues," said the clerk, and to sustain his opinion +that Maslova was the chief culprit, he related how one of those girls +once stole a watch from a friend of his. + +As a case in point the colonel related the bolder theft of a silver +_samovar_. + +"Gentlemen, let us take up the questions," said the foreman, rapping +on the table with a pencil. + +They became silent. The questions submitted were: + +1. Is the peasant of the village of Barkoff, district of Krapivensk, +Simon Petroff Kartinkin, thirty-three years of age, guilty of having, +with the design of taking the life of Smelkoff and robbing him, +administered to him poison in a glass of brandy, which caused the +death of Smelkoff, and of afterward robbing him of twenty-five hundred +rubles and a diamond ring? + +2. Is the burgess Euphemia Ivanovna Bochkova, forty-seven years of +age, guilty of the crime mentioned in the first question? + +3. Is the burgess Katherine Michaelovna Maslova, twenty-seven years of +age, guilty of the crime mentioned in the first question? + +4. If the prisoner Euphemia Bochkova is not guilty of the crime set +forth in the first question, is she not guilty of secretly stealing, +while employed in the Hotel Mauritania, on the 17th day of January, +188-, twenty-five hundred rubles from the trunk of the merchant +Smelkoff, to which end she opened the trunk in the hotel with a key +brought and fitted by her? + +The foreman read the first question. + +"Well, gentlemen, what do you think?" + +This question was quickly answered. They all agreed to answer +"Guilty." The only one that dissented was an old laborer, whose answer +to all questions was "Not guilty." + +The foreman thought that he did not understand the questions and +proceeded to explain that from all the facts it was evident that +Kartinkin and Bochkova were guilty, but the laborer answered that he +did understand them, and that he thought that they ought to be +charitable. "We are not saints ourselves," he said, and did not change +his opinion. + +The second question, relating to Bochkova, after many arguments and +elucidations, was answered "Not guilty," because there was no clear +proof that she participated in the poisoning--a fact on which her +lawyer put much stress. + +The merchant, desiring to acquit Maslova, insisted that Bochkova was +the author of the conspiracy. Many of the jurymen agreed with him, but +the foreman, desiring to conform strictly to the law, said that there +was no foundation for the charge of poisoning against her. After a +lengthy argument the foreman's opinion triumphed. + +The fourth question, relating to Bochkova, was answered "Guilty," but +at the insistence of the laborer, she was recommended to the mercy of +the court. + +The third question called forth fierce argument. The foreman insisted +that she was guilty of both the poisoning and robbery; the merchant, +colonel, clerk and laborer opposed this view, while the others +hesitated, but the opinion of the foreman began to predominate, +principally because the jury were tired out, and they willingly joined +the side which promised to prevail the sooner, and consequently +release them quicker. + +From all that occurred at the trial and his knowledge of Maslova, +Nekhludoff was convinced that she was innocent, and at first was +confident that the other jurors would so find her, but when he saw +that because of the merchant's bungling defense of Maslova, evidently +prompted by his undisguised liking for her, and the foreman's +resistance which it caused, but chiefly because of the weariness of +the jury, there was likely to be a verdict of guilty, he wished to +make objection, but feared to speak in her favor lest his relations +toward her should be disclosed. At the same time he felt that he could +not let things go on without making his objections. He blushed and +grew pale in turn, and was about to speak, when Peter Gerasimovich, +heretofore silent, evidently exasperated by the authoritative manner +of the foreman, suddenly began to make the very objections Nekhludoff +intended to make. + +"Permit me to say a few words," he began. "You say that she stole the +money because she had the key; but the servants could have opened the +trunk with a false key after she was gone." + +"Of course, of course," the merchant came to his support. + +"She could not have taken the money because she would have nowhere to +hide it." + +"That is what I said," the merchant encouraged him. + +"It is more likely that her coming to the hotel for the money +suggested to the servants the idea of stealing it; that they stole it +and then threw it all upon her." + +Peter Gerasimovich spoke provokingly, which communicated itself to the +foreman. As a result the latter began to defend his position more +persistently. But Peter Gerasimovich spoke so convincingly that he won +over the majority, and it was finally decided that she was not guilty +of the theft. When, however, they began to discuss the part she had +taken in the poisoning, her warm supporter, the merchant, argued that +this charge must also be dismissed, as she had no motive for poisoning +him. The foreman insisted that she could not be declared innocent on +that charge, because she herself confessed to giving him the powder. + +"But she thought that it was opium," said the merchant. + +"She could have killed him even with the opium," retorted the colonel, +who liked to make digressions, and he began to relate the case of his +brother-in-law's wife, who had been poisoned by opium and would have +died had not antidotes promptly been administered by a physician who +happened to be in the neighborhood. The colonel spoke so impressively +and with such self-confidence and dignity that no one dared to +interrupt him. Only the clerk, infected by the example set by the +colonel, thought of telling a story of his own. + +"Some people get so accustomed to opium," he began, "that they can +take forty drops at a time. A relative of mine----" + +But the colonel would brook no interruption, and went on to tell of +the effect of the opium on his brother-in-law's wife. + +"It is five o'clock, gentlemen," said one of the jury. + +"What do you say, gentlemen," said the foreman. "We find her guilty, +but without the intent to rob, and without stealing any property--is +that correct?" + +Peter Gerasimovich, pleased with the victory he had gained, agreed to +the verdict. + +"And we recommend her to the mercy of the court," added the merchant. + +Every one agreed except the laborer, who insisted on a verdict of "Not +guilty." + +"But that is the meaning of the verdict," explained the foreman. +"Without the intent to rob, and without stealing any property--hence +she is not guilty." + +"Don't forget to throw in the recommendation to mercy. If there be +anything left that will wipe it out," joyfully said the merchant. They +were so tired and the arguments had so confused them that it did not +occur to any one to add "but without the intent to cause the death of +the merchant." + +Nekhludoff was so excited that he did not notice it. The answers were +in this form taken to the court. + +Rabelais relates the story of a jurist who was trying a case, and who, +after citing innumerable laws and reading twenty pages of +incomprehensible judicial Latin, made an offer to the litigants to +throw dice; if an even number fell then the plaintiff was right; if an +odd number the defendant was right. + +It was the same here. The verdict was reached not because the majority +of the jury agreed to it, but first because the justiciary had so +drawn out his speech that he failed to properly instruct the jury; +second, because the colonel's story about his brother-in-law's wife +was tedious; third, because Nekhludoff was so excited that he did not +notice the omission of the clause limiting the intent in the answer, +and thought that the words "without intent to rob" negatively answered +the question; fourth, because Peter Gerasimovich was not in the room +when the foreman read the questions and answers, and chiefly because +the jury were tired out and were anxious to get away, and therefore +agreed to the verdict which it was easiest to reach. + +They rang the bell. The gendarme sheathed his sword and stood aside. +The judges, one by one, took their seats and the jury filed out. + +The foreman held the list with a solemn air. He approached the +justiciary and handed it to him. The justiciary read it, and, with +evident surprise, turned to consult with his associates. He was +surprised that the jury, in limiting the charge by the words, "without +intent to rob," should fail to add also "without intent to cause +death." It followed from the decision of the jury, that Maslova had +not stolen or robbed, but had poisoned a man without any apparent +reason. + +"Just see what an absurd decision they have reached," he said to the +associate on his left. "This means hard labor for her, and she is not +guilty." + +"Why not guilty?" said the stern associate. + +"She is simply not guilty. I think that chapter 818 might properly be +applied to this case." (Chapter 818 gives the court the power to set +aside an unjust verdict.) + +"What do you think?" he asked the kind associate. + +"I agree with you." + +"And you?" he asked the choleric associate. + +"By no means," he answered, decidedly. "As it is, the papers say that +too many criminals are discharged by juries. What will they say, then, +if the court should discharge them? I will not agree under any +circumstances." + +The justiciary looked at the clock. + +"It is a pity, but what can I do?" and he handed the questions to the +foreman. + +They all rose, and the foreman, standing now on one foot, now on the +other, cleared his throat and read the questions and answers. All the +officers of the court--the secretary, the lawyers and even the +prosecutor--expressed surprise. + +The prisoners, who evidently did not understand the significance of +the answers, were serene. When the reading was over, the justiciary +asked the prosecutor what punishment he thought should be imposed on +the prisoners. + +The prosecutor, elated by the successful verdict against Maslova, +which he ascribed to his eloquence, consulted some books, then rose +and said: + +"Simon Kartinkin, I think, should be punished according to chapter +1,452, sec. 4, and chapter 1,453; Euphemia Bochkova according to +chapter 1,659, and Katherine Maslova according to chapter 1,454." + +All these were the severest punishments that could be imposed for the +crimes. + +"The court will retire to consider their decision," said the +justiciary, rising. + +Everybody then rose, and, with a relieved and pleasant feeling of +having fulfilled an important duty, walked around the court-room. + +"What a shameful mess we have made of it," said Peter Gerasimovitch, +approaching Nekhludoff, to whom the foreman was telling a story. "Why, +we have sentenced her to hard labor." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed Nekhludoff, taking no notice at all this +time of the unpleasant familiarity of the tutor. + +"Why, of course," he said. "We have not inserted in the answer, +'Guilty, but without intent to cause death.' The secretary has just +told me that the law cited by the prosecutor provides fifteen years' +hard labor." + +"But that was our verdict," said the foreman. + +Peter Gerasimovitch began to argue that it was self-evident that as +she did not steal the money she could not have intended to take the +merchant's life. + +"But I read the questions before we left the room," the foreman +justified himself, "and no one objected." + +"I was leaving the room at the time," said Peter Gerasimovitch. "But +how did you come to miss it?" + +"I did not think of it," answered Nekhludoff. + +"You did not!" + +"We can right it yet," said Nekhludoff. + +"No, we cannot--it is all over now." + +Nekhludoff looked at the prisoners. While their fate was being +decided, they sat motionless behind the grating in front of the +soldiers. Maslova was smiling. + +Nekhludoff's soul was stirred by evil thoughts. When he thought that +she would be freed and remain in the city, he was undecided how he +should act toward her, and it was a difficult matter. But Siberia and +penal servitude at once destroyed the possibility of their meeting +again. The wounded bird would stop struggling in the game-bag, and +would no longer remind him of its existence. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + +The apprehensions of Peter Gerasimovitch were justified. + +On returning from the consultation-room the justiciary produced a +document and read the following: + +"By order of His Imperial Majesty, the Criminal Division of the ---- +Circuit Court, in conformity with the finding of the jury, and in +accordance with ch. 771, s. 3, and ch. 776, s. 3, and ch. 777 of the +Code of Criminal Procedure, this 28th day of April, 188-, decrees +that Simon Kartinkin, thirty-three years of age, and Katherine +Maslova, twenty-seven years of age, be deprived of all civil rights, +and sent to penal servitude, Kartinkin for eight, Maslova for the term +of four years, under conditions prescribed by ch. 25 of the Code. +Euphemia Bochkova is deprived of all civil and special rights and +privileges, and is to be confined in jail for the period of three +years under conditions prescribed by ch. 49 of the Code, with the +costs of the trial to be borne by all three, and in case of their +inability to pay, to be paid out of the treasury. + +"The exhibits are to be sold, the ring returned, and the vials +destroyed." + +Kartinkin stood like a post, and with outstretched fingers held up the +sleeves of his coat, moving his jaws. Bochkova seemed to be calm. When +Maslova heard the decision, she turned red in the face. + +"I am innocent, I am innocent!" she suddenly cried. "It is a sin. I am +innocent. I never wished; never thought. It is the truth." And sinking +to the bench, she began to cry aloud. + +When Kartinkin and Bochkova left the court-room she was still standing +and crying, so that the gendarme had to touch the sleeve of her coat. + +"She cannot be left to her fate," said Nekhludoff to himself, entirely +forgetting his evil thoughts, and, without knowing why, he ran into +the corridor to look at her again. He was detained at the door for a +few minutes by the jostling, animated crowd of jurors and lawyers, who +were glad that the case was over, so that when he reached the corridor +Maslova was some distance away. Without thinking of the attention he +was attracting, with quick step he overtook her, walked a little ahead +of her and stopped. She had ceased to cry, only a sob escaped her now +and then while she wiped her tears with a corner of her 'kerchief. She +passed him without turning to look at him. He then hastily returned to +see the justiciary. The latter had left his room, and Nekhludoff found +him in the porter's lodge. + +"Judge," said Nekhludoff, approaching him at the moment when he was +putting on a light overcoat and taking a silver-handled cane which the +porter handed him, "may I speak to you about the case that has just +been tried? I am a juror." + +"Why, of course, Prince Nekhludoff! I am delighted to see you. We have +met before," said the justiciary, pressing his hand, and recalling +with pleasure that he was the jolliest fellow and best dancer of all +the young men on the evening he had met him. "What can I do for you?" + +"There was a mistake in the jury's finding against Maslova. She is not +guilty of poisoning, and yet she is sent to penal servitude," he said, +with a gloomy countenance. + +"The court gave its decision in accordance with your own finding," +answered the justiciary, moving toward the door, "although the answers +did not seem to suit the case." + +He remembered that he intended to explain to the jury that an answer +of guilty without a denial of intent to kill involved an intent to +kill, but, as he was hastening to terminate the proceedings, he failed +to do so. + +"But could not the mistake be rectified?" + +"Cause for appeal can always be found. You must see a lawyer," said +the justiciary, putting on his hat a little on one side and continuing +to move toward the door. + +"But this is terrible." + +"You see, one of two things confronted Maslova," the justiciary said, +evidently desiring to be as pleasant and polite with Nekhludoff as +possible. Then, arranging his side-whiskers over his coat collar, and +taking Nekhludoff's arm, he led him toward the door. "You are also +going?" he continued. + +"Yes," said Nekhludoff, hastily donning his overcoat and following +him. + +They came out into the bright, cheerful sunlight, where the rattling +of wheels on the pavement made it necessary to raise their voices. + +"The situation, you see, is a very curious one," continued the +justiciary. "Maslova was confronted by one of two things: either a +short term in jail, in which case her lengthy confinement would have +been taken into consideration, or penal servitude; no other sentence +was possible. Had you added the words, 'without intent to kill,' she +would have been discharged." + +"It is unpardonable neglect on my part," said Nekhludoff. + +"That is the whole trouble," the justiciary said, smiling and looking +at his watch. + +There was only three-quarters of an hour left to the latest hour fixed +in Clara's appointment. + +"You can apply to a lawyer, if you wish. It is necessary to find +grounds for appeal. But that can always be found. To the +Dvorianskaia," he said to the cab-driver. "Thirty kopecks--I never pay +more." + +"All right, Your Excellency." + +"Good-day. If I can be of any service to you, please let me know. You +will easily remember my address: Dvornikoff's house, on the +Dvorinskaia." + +And, making a graceful bow, he rode off. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + +The conversation with the justiciary and the pure air somewhat calmed +Nekhludoff. The feeling he experienced he now ascribed to the fact +that he had passed the day amid surroundings to which he was +unaccustomed. + +"It is certainly a remarkable coincidence! I must do what is necessary +to alleviate her lot, and do it quickly. Yes, I must find out here +where Fanarin or Mikishin lives." Nekhludoff called to mind these two +well-known lawyers. + +Nekhludoff returned to the court-house, took off his overcoat and +walked up the stairs. In the very first corridor he met Fanarin. He +stopped him and told him that he had some business with him. Fanarin +knew him by sight, and also his name. He told Nekhludoff that he would +be glad to do anything to please him. + +"I am rather tired, but, if it won't take long, I will listen to your +case. Let us walk into that room." + +And Fanarin led Nekhludoff into a room, probably the cabinet of some +judge. They seated themselves at a table. + +"Well, state your case." + +"First of all, I will ask you," said Nekhludoff, "not to disclose that +I am interesting myself in this case." + +"That is understood. Well?" + +"I was on a jury to-day, and we sent an innocent woman to Siberia. It +torments me." + +To his own surprise, Nekhludoff blushed and hesitated. Fanarin glanced +at him, then lowered his eyes and listened. + +"Well?" + +"We condemned an innocent woman, and I would like to have the case +appealed to a higher court." + +"To the Senate?" Fanarin corrected him. + +"And I wish you to take the case." + +Nekhludoff wanted to get through the most difficult part, and +therefore immediately added: + +"I take all expenses on myself, whatever they may be," he said, +blushing. + +"Well, we will arrange all that," said the lawyer, condescendingly +smiling at Nekhludoff's inexperience. + +"What are the facts of the case?" + +Nekhludoff related them. + +"Very well; I will examine the record to-morrow. Call at my office the +day after--no, better on Thursday, at six o'clock in the evening, and +I will give you an answer. And now let us go; I must make some +inquiries here." + +Nekhludoff bade him good-by, and departed. + +His conversation with the lawyer, and the fact that he had already +taken steps to defend Maslova, still more calmed his spirit. The +weather was fine, and when Nekhludoff found himself on the street, he +gladly inhaled the spring air. Cab drivers offered their services, but +he preferred to walk, and a swarm of thoughts and recollections of +Katiousha and his conduct toward her immediately filled his head. He +became sad, and everything appeared to him gloomy. "No, I will +consider it later," he said to himself, "and now I must have some +diversion from these painful impressions." + +The dinner at the Korchagin's came to his mind, and he looked at his +watch. It was not too late to reach there for dinner. A tram-car +passed by. He ran after it, and boarded it at a bound. On the square +he jumped off, took one of the best cabs, and ten minutes later he +alighted in front of Korchagin's large dwelling. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + +"Walk in, Your Excellency, you are expected," said the fat porter, +pushing open the swinging, oaken door of the entrance. "They are +dining, but I was told to admit you." + +The porter walked to the stairway and rang the bell. + +"Are there any guests?" Nekhludoff asked, while taking off his coat. + +"Mr. Kolosoff, also Michael Sergeievich, besides the family," answered +the porter. + +A fine-looking lackey in dress coat and white gloves looked down from +the top of the stairs. + +"Please to walk in, Your Excellency," he said. + +Nekhludoff mounted the stairs, and through the spacious and +magnificent parlor he entered the dining-room. Around the table were +seated the entire family, except Princess Sophia Vasilievna, who never +left her own apartments. At the head of the table sat old Korchagin, +on his left the physician; on his right, a visitor, Ivan Ivanovich +Kolosoff, an ex-district commander, and now a bank manager, who was a +friend of the family, and of liberal tendencies; further to the left +was Miss Rader, governess to Missy's four-year-old sister, with the +little girl herself; then to the right, Missy's only brother, Peter, a +high-school pupil, on account of whose forthcoming examinations the +entire family remained in the city, and his tutor, also a student; +then again to the left, Katherine Alexeievna, a forty-year-old girl +Slavophile; opposite to her was Michael Sergeievich, or Misha Telegin, +Missy's cousin, and at the foot of the table, Missy herself, and +beside her, on the table, lay an extra cover. + +"Ah, very glad you came! Take a seat! We are still at the fish," +chewing carefully with his false teeth old Korchagin said, lifting his +bloodshot eyes on Nekhludoff. "Stepan!" he turned with a full mouth to +the fat, majestic servant, pointing with his eyes to Nekhludoff's +plate. Although Nekhludoff had often dined with and knew Korchagin +well, this evening his old face, his sensual, smacking lips, the +napkin stuck under his vest, the fat neck, and especially the +well-fed, military figure made an unpleasant impression on him. + +"It is all ready, Your Excellency," said Stepan, taking a soup ladle +from the sideboard and nodding to the fine-looking servant with the +side-whiskers, who immediately began to set the table beside Missy. + +Nekhludoff went around the table shaking hands with every one. All, +except Korchagin and the ladies, rose from their seats when he +approached them. And this walking around the table and his +handshaking, although most of the people were comparative strangers to +him, this evening seemed to Nekhludoff particularly unpleasant and +ridiculous. He excused himself for his late coming, and was about to +seat himself at the end of the table between Missy and Katherine +Alexeievna, when old Korchagin demanded that, since he would not take +any brandy, he should first take a bite at the table, on which were +lobster, caviare, cheese and herring. Nekhludoff did not know he was +as hungry as he turned out to be, and when he tasted of some cheese +and bread he could not stop eating, and ate ravenously. + +"Well? Have you been undermining the bases of society?" asked +Kolosoff, ironically, using an expression of a retrogressive +newspaper, which was attacking the jury system. "You have acquitted +the guilty and condemned the innocent? Have you?" + +"Undermining the bases--undermining the bases"--smilingly repeated the +Prince, who had boundless confidence in the intelligence and honesty +of his liberal comrade and friend. + +Nekhludoff, at the risk of being impolite, did not answer Kolosoff, +and, seating himself before the steaming soup, continued to eat. + +"Do let him eat," said Missy, smiling. By the pronoun "him," she +meant to call attention to her intimacy with Nekhludoff. + +Meanwhile Kolosoff was energetically and loudly discussing the article +against trial by jury which had roused his indignation. Michael +Sergeievich supported his contentions and quoted the contents of +another similar article. + +Missy, as usual, was very _distingue_ and unobtrusively well dressed. +She waited until Nekhludoff had swallowed the mouthful he was chewing, +and then said: "You must be very tired and hungry." + +"Not particularly. Are you? Have you been to the exhibition?" he +asked. + +"No, we postponed it. But we went to play lawn tennis at the +Salamatoff's. Mister Crooks is really a remarkable player." + +Nekhludoff had came here for recreation, and it was always pleasant to +him to be in this house, not only because of the elegant luxury, which +acted pleasantly on his senses, but because of the adulating +kindnesses with which they invisibly surrounded him. To-day, +however--it is wonderful to relate--everything in this house disgusted +him; the porter, the broad stairway, the flowers, the lackeys, the +table decorations, and even Missy herself, who, just now, seemed to +him unattractive and unnatural. He was disgusted with that +self-confident, vulgar, liberal tone of Kolosoff, the bull-like, +sensual, figure of old Korchagin, the French phrases of the Slavophile +maiden, the ceremonious faces of the governess and the tutor. But +above all, he was disgusted with the pronoun "him" that Missy had +used. Nekhludoff was always wavering between two different relations +he sustained toward Missy. Sometimes he looked at her as through +blinking eyes or by moonlight, and then she seemed to him beautiful, +fresh, pretty, clever and natural. At other times he looked at her as +if under a bright sun, and then he saw only her defects. To-day was +such a day. He saw the wrinkles on her face; saw the artificial +arrangement of her hair; the pointed elbows, and, above all, her large +thumb nail, resembling that of her father. + +"It is the dullest game," Kolosoff said, speaking of tennis, +"baseball, as we played it when we were boys, is much more amusing." + +"You have not tried it. It is awfully interesting," retorted Missy, +unnaturally accentuating the word "awfully," as it seemed to +Nekhludoff. + +A discussion arose in which Michael Sergeievich and Katherine +Alexeievna took part. Only the governess, the tutor and the children +were silent, evidently from ennui. + +"They are eternally disputing!" laughing aloud, said old Korchagin. He +pulled the napkin from his vest, and, noisily pushing back his chair, +which was immediately removed by a servant, rose from the table. They +all rose after him and went to a small table, on which stood figured +bowls filled with perfumed water; then they washed their finger-tips +and rinsed their mouths, and continued their conversation, in which no +one took any interest. + +"Is it not true?" Missy said to Nekhludoff, desiring to receive +confirmation of her opinion that man's character can best be learned +in play. She noticed on his thoughtful face an expression of reproach, +which inspired her with fear, and she wished to know the cause of it. + +"I really don't know. I never thought of it," answered Nekhludoff. + +"Will you go to mamma?" asked Missy. + +"Yes, yes," he said, producing a cigarette. The tone of his voice +plainly betrayed that he did not wish to go. + +She looked at him inquiringly, but was silent. He felt ashamed. "It is +hardly proper for me to come here to put people out of temper," he +thought, and, in an effort to be pleasant, he said that he would go +with pleasure if the Princess were in a mood to receive him. + +"Yes, yes; mamma will be glad. You can smoke there also. And Ivan +Ivanovich is with her." + +The mistress of the house, Sophia Vasilievna, was an invalid. For +eight years she had reclined in laces and ribbons, amid velvet, +gilding, ivory, bronzes and flowers. She never drove out, and received +only her "friends," i. e., whoever, according to her view, in any way +distinguished himself from the crowd. Nekhludoff was one of these +friends, not only because he was considered a clever young man, but +also because his mother was a close friend of the family and he was a +desirable match for Missy. + +Her room was beyond the small and large drawing-rooms. In the large +drawing-room Missy, who preceded Nekhludoff, suddenly stopped, and +placing her hands on the back of a gilt chair, looked at him. + +Missy was very anxious to be married, and Nekhludoff was a desirable +party. Besides, she liked him, and had become accustomed to the +thought that he would belong to her, and not she to him, and, with the +unconscious but persistent craftiness of heart-sick persons, she +gained her end. She addressed him now with the intention of bringing +forth an explanation. + +"I see that something has happened to you," she said. "What is the +matter with you?" + +The meeting in the court came to his mind, and he frowned and blushed. + +"Yes, something has happened," he said, desiring to be truthful. "It +was a strange, extraordinary and important event." + +"What was it? Can't you tell me?" + +"Not now. Don't press me for an answer. I have not had the time to +think over the matter," he said, blushing still more. + +"And you will not tell me?" The muscles on her cheek quivered, and she +pushed away the chair. + +"No, I cannot," he answered, feeling that answering her thus he +answered himself--admitted to himself that something very important +had really happened to him. + +"Well, then, come!" + +She shook her head as if desiring to drive away undesirable thoughts, +and walked forward with a quicker step than usual. + +It seemed to him that she unnaturally compressed her lips in order to +suppress her tears. It was painful to him to grieve her, but he knew +that the slightest weakness would ruin him, i. e., bind him. And this +he feared more than anything else to-day, so he silently followed her +to the door of the Princess' apartments. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + + +Princess Sophia Vasilievna had finished her meal of choice and +nourishing dishes, which she always took alone, that no one might see +her performing that unpoetical function. A cup of coffee stood on a +small table near her couch, and she was smoking a cigarette. Princess +Sophia Vasilievna was a lean and tall brunette, with long teeth and +large black eyes, who desired to pass for a young woman. + +People were making unpleasant remarks about her relations with the +doctor. Formerly Nekhludoff had paid no attention to them. But to-day, +the sight of the doctor, with his oily, sleek head, which was parted +in the middle, sitting near her couch, was repulsive to him. + +Beside the Princess sat Kolosoff, stirring the coffee. A glass of +liquor was on the table. + +Missy entered, together with Nekhludoff, but she did not remain in the +room. + +"When mamma gets tired of you and drives you away, come to my room," +she said, turning to Nekhludoff, as if nothing had happened, and, +smiling cheerfully, she walked out of the room, her steps deadened by +the heavy carpet. + +"Well, how do you do, my friend? Sit down and tell us the news," said +Sophia Vasilievna, with an artful, feigned, resembling a perfectly +natural, smile, which displayed her beautiful, long, skillfully made, +almost natural-looking teeth. "I am told that you returned from the +court in very gloomy spirits. It must be very painful to people with a +heart," she said in French. + +"Yes, that is true," said Nekhludoff. "One often feels his--feels that +he has no right to judge others." + +"Comme c'est vrai!" she exclaimed, as if struck by the truth of the +remark, and, as usual, artfully flattering her friend. + +"And what about your picture? It interests me very much," she added. +"Were it not for my indisposition, I should have visited you long +ago." + +"I have given up painting entirely," he answered dryly. Her unjust +flattery was as apparent to him to-day as was her age, which she +attempted to conceal. Try as he would, he could not force himself to +be pleasant. + +"It is too bad! You know, Riepin himself told me that Nekhludoff +possesses undoubted talent," she said, turning to Kolosoff. + +"What a shameless liar!" Nekhludoff thought, frowning. + +Seeing that Nekhludoff was in ill humor, and could not be drawn into +pleasant and clear conversation, Sophia Vasilievna turned to Kolosoff +for his opinion of the new drama, with an air as if Kolosoff's opinion +would dispel all doubt and every word of his was destined to become +immortalized. Kolosoff condemned the drama and took occasion to state +his views on art. The correctness of his views seemed to impress her; +she attempted to defend the author of the drama, but immediately +yielded, or found a middle ground. Nekhludoff looked and listened and +yet saw and heard but little. + +Listening now to Sophia Vasilievna, now to Kolosoff, Nekhludoff saw, +first, that neither of them cared either for the drama or for each +other, and that they were talking merely to satisfy a physiological +craving to exercise, after dinner, the muscles of the tongue and +throat. Secondly, he saw that Kolosoff, who had drunk brandy, wine and +liquors, was somewhat tipsy--not as drunk as a drinking peasant, but +like a man to whom wine-drinking has become a habit. He did not reel, +nor did he talk nonsense, but was in an abnormal, excited and +contented condition. Thirdly, Nekhludoff saw that Princess Sophia +Vasilievna, during the conversation, now and again anxiously glanced +at the window, through which a slanting ray of the sun was creeping +toward her, threatening to throw too much light on her aged face. + +"How true it is," she said of some remark of Kolosoff, and pressed a +button on the wall near the couch. + +At this moment the doctor rose with as little ceremony as one of the +family, and walked out of the room. Sophia Vasilievna followed him +with her eyes. + +"Please, Phillip, let down that curtain," she said to the +fine-looking servant who responded to the bell, her eyes pointing to +the window. + +"Say what you will, but there is something mystical about him, and +without mysticism there is no poetry," she said, with one black eye +angrily following the movements of the servant who was lowering the +curtain. + +"Mysticism without poetry is superstition, and poetry without +mysticism is prose," she continued, smiling sadly, still keeping her +eye on the servant, who was smoothing down the curtain. + +"Not that curtain, Phillip--the one at the large window," she said in +a sad voice, evidently pitying herself for the efforts she was +compelled to make to say these words, and to calm herself, with her +ring-bedecked hand, she lifted to her lips the fragrant, smoking +cigarette. + +The broad-chested, muscular Phillip bowed slightly, as if excusing +himself, and submissively and silently stepped over to the next +window, and, carefully looking at the Princess, so arranged the +curtain that no stray ray should fall on her. It was again +unsatisfactory, and again the exhausted Princess was obliged to +interrupt her conversation about mysticism and correct the +unintelligent Phillip, who was pitilessly tormenting her. For a moment +Phillip's eyes flashed fire. + +"'The devil knows what you want,' he is probably saying to himself," +Nekhludoff thought, as he watched this play. But the handsome, strong +Phillip concealed his impatience, and calmly carried out the +instructions of the enervated, weak, artificial Princess Sophia +Vasilievna. + +"Of course there is considerable truth in Darwin's theory," said the +returning Kolosoff, stretching himself on a low arm-chair and looking +through sleepy eyes at the Princess, "but he goes too far." + +"And do you believe in heredity?" she asked Nekhludoff, oppressed by +his silence. + +"In heredity?" repeated Nekhludoff. "No, I do not," he said, being +entirely absorbed at the moment by those strange forms which, for some +reason, appeared to his imagination. Alongside of the strong, handsome +Phillip, whom he looked upon as a model, he imagined Kolosoff, naked, +his abdomen like a water-melon, bald-headed, and his arms hanging +like two cords. He also dimly imagined what the silk-covered shoulders +of Sophia Vasilievna would appear like in reality, but the picture was +too terrible, and he drove it from his mind. + +Sophia Vasilievna scanned him from head to foot. + +"Missy is waiting for you," she said. "Go to her room; she wished to +play for you a new composition by Schuman. It is very interesting." + +"It isn't true. Why should she lie so!" Nekhludoff thought, rising and +pressing her transparent, bony, ring-bedecked hand. + +In the drawing-room he met Katherine Alexeievna, returning to her +mother's apartments. As usual, she greeted him in French. + +"I see that the duties of juryman act depressingly upon you," she +said. + +"Yes, pardon me. I am in low spirits to-day, and I have no right to +bore people," answered Nekhludoff. + +"Why are you in low spirits?" + +"Permit me not to speak of it," he said, looking for his hat as they +entered the Princess' cabinet. + +"And do you remember telling us that one ought to tell the truth? And +what cruel truths you used to tell us! Why don't you tell us now? Do +you remember, Missy?" the Princess turned to Missy, who had just +entered. + +"Because that was in play," answered Nekhludoff gravely. "In play it +is permissible, but in reality we are so bad, that is, I am so bad, +that I, at least, cannot tell the truth." + +"Don't correct yourself, but rather say that we are so bad," said +Katherine Alexeievna, playing with the words, and pretending not to +see Nekhludoff's gravity. + +"There is nothing worse than to confess being in low spirits," said +Missy. "I never confess it to myself, and that is why I am always +cheerful. Well, come to my room. We shall try to drive away your +mauvais humeur." + +Nekhludoff experienced the feeling which a horse must feel when +brushed down before the bridle is put on and it is led to be harnessed +to the wagon. But to-day he was not at all disposed to draw. He +excused himself and began to take leave. Missy kept his hand longer +than usual. + +"Remember that what is important to you is important to your friends," +she said. "Will you come to-morrow?" + +"I don't think I will," said Nekhludoff. And feeling ashamed, without +knowing himself whether for her or for himself, he blushed and hastily +departed. + +"What does it mean? Comme cela m'intrigue," said Katherine Alexeievna, +when Nekhludoff had left. "I must find it out. Some affaire d'amour +propre; il est tres susceptible notre cher Mitia." + +"Plutot une affaire d'amour sale," Missy was going to say. Her face +was now wan and pale. But she did not give expression to that passage, +and only said: "We all have our bright days and gloomy days." + +"Is it possible that he, too, should deceive me?" she thought. "After +all that has happened, it would be very wrong of him." + +If Missy had had to explain what she meant by the words, "After all +that has happened," she could have told nothing definite, and yet she +undoubtedly knew that not only had he given her cause to hope, but he +had almost made his promise--not in so many words, but by his glances, +his smiles, his innuendos, his silence. She considered him her own, +and to lose him would be very painful to her. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + + +"It is shameful and disgusting," Nekhludoff meditated, while returning +home on foot along the familiar streets. The oppressive feeling which +he had experienced while speaking to Missy clung to him. He understood +that nominally, if one may so express himself, he was in the right; he +had never said anything to bind himself to her; had made no offer, but +in reality he felt that he had bound himself to her, that he had +promised to be hers. Yet he felt in all his being that he could not +marry her. + +"It is shameful and disgusting," he repeated, not only of his +relations to Missy, but of everything. "Everything is disgusting and +shameful," he repeated to himself, as he ascended the steps of his +house. + +"I shall take no supper," he said to Kornei, who followed him into the +dining-room, where the table was set for his supper. "You may go." + +"All right," said Kornei, but did not go, and began to clear the +table. Nekhludoff looked at Kornei and an ill feeling sprung up in his +heart toward him. He wished to be left in peace, and it seemed as if +everybody were spitefully worrying him. When Kornei had left, +Nekhludoff went over to the _samovar_, intending to make some tea, +but, hearing the footsteps of Agrippina Petrovna, he hastily walked +into the drawing-room, closing the door behind him. This was the room +in which, three months ago, his mother had died. Now, as he entered +this room, lighted by two lamps with reflectors--one near a portrait +of his father, the other near a portrait of his mother--he thought of +his relations toward his mother, and these relations seemed to him +unnatural and repulsive. These, too, were shameful and disgusting. He +remembered how, during her last sickness, he wished her to die. He +said to himself that he wished it so that she might be spared the +suffering, but in reality he wished to spare himself the sight of her +suffering. + +Desiring to call forth pleasant recollections about her, he looked at +her portrait, painted by a famous artist for five thousand rubles. She +was represented in a black velvet dress with bared breast. The artist +had evidently drawn with particular care the breast and the beautiful +shoulders and neck. That was particularly shameful and disgusting. +There was something revolting and sacriligious to him in this +representation of his mother as a denuded beauty, the more so because +three months ago she lay in this very room shrunken like a mummy, and +filling the entire house with an oppressive odor. He thought he could +smell the odor now. He remembered how, on the day before she died, she +took his strong, white hand into her own emaciated, discolored one, +and, looking into his eyes, said: "Do not judge me, Mitia, if I have +not done as I should," and her faded eyes filled with tears. + +"How disgusting!" he again repeated to himself, glancing at the +half-nude woman with splendid marble shoulders and arms and a +triumphant smile on her lips. The bared bosom of that portrait +reminded him of another young woman whom he had seen dressed in a +similar way a few days before. It was Missy, who had invited him to +the house under some pretext, in order to display before him her +ball-dress. He recalled with disgust her beautiful shoulders and arms; +and her coarse, brutal father, with his dark past, his cruelties, and +her mother with her doubtful reputation. All this was disgusting and +at the same time shameful. + +"No, no; I must free myself from all these false relations with the +Korchagins, with Maria Vasilievna, with the inheritance and all the +rest," he thought. "Yes, to breathe freely; to go abroad--to Rome--and +continue to work on my picture." He remembered his doubts about his +talent. "Well, it is all the same; I will simply breathe freely. +First, I will go to Constantinople, then to Rome--away from this jury +duty. Yes, and to fix matters with the lawyer----" + +And suddenly, before his imagination, appeared with uncommon vividness +the picture of the prisoner with the black, squinting eyes. And how +she wept when the last words of the prisoners were spoken! He hastily +crushed the cigarette he was smoking, lit another, and began pacing up +and down the room. One after another the scenes he had lived through +with her rose up in his mind. He recalled their last meeting, the +passion which seized him at the time, and the disappointment that +followed. He recalled the white dress with the blue ribbon; he +recalled the morning mass. "Why, I loved her with a pure love that +night; I loved her even before, and how I loved her when I first came +to my aunts and was writing my composition!" That freshness, youth, +fullness of life swept over him and he became painfully sad. + +The difference between him as he was then and as he was now was great; +it was equally great, if not greater, than the difference between +Katiousha in the church and that girl whom they had tried this +morning. Then he was a courageous, free man, before whom opened +endless possibilities; now he felt himself caught in the tenets of a +stupid, idle, aimless, miserable life, from which there was no escape; +aye, from which, for the most part, he would not escape. He +remembered how he once had prided himself upon his rectitude; how he +always made it a rule to tell the truth, and was in reality truthful, +and how he was now steeped in falsehood--falsehood which was +recognized as truth by all those around him. + +And there was no escape from this falsehood; at all events, he did not +see any escape. He had sunk in it, became accustomed to it, and +indulged himself in it. + +The questions that absorbed him now were: How to break loose from +Maria Vasilievna and her husband, so that he might be able to look +them in the face? How, without falsehood, to disentangle his relations +with Missy? How to get out of the inconsistency of considering the +private holding of land unjust and keeping his inheritance? How to +blot out his sin against Katiousha? "I cannot abandon the woman whom I +have loved and content myself with paying money to the lawyer to save +her from penal servitude, which she does not even deserve." To blot +out the sin, as he did then, when he thought that he was atoning for +his wrong by giving her money! Impossible! + +He vividly recalled the moment when he ran after her in the corridor, +thrust money in her bosom, and ran away from her. "Oh, that money!" +With the same horror and disgust he recalled that moment. "Oh, how +disgusting!" he said aloud, as he did then. "Only a scoundrel and +rascal could do it! And I am that scoundrel, that rascal!" he said +aloud. "It is possible that I--" and he stopped in the middle of the +room--"Is it possible that I am really a scoundrel? Who but I?" he +answered himself. "And is this the only thing?" he continued, still +censuring himself. "Are not my relations toward Maria Vasilievna base +and detestable? And my position with regard to property? Under the +plea that I inherited it from my mother I am using wealth, the +ownership of which I consider unlawful. And the whole of this idle, +abominable life? And to crown all, my conduct toward Katiousha? +Scoundrel! Villain! Let people judge me as they please--I can deceive +them, but I cannot deceive myself." + +And he suddenly understood that the disgust which he had lately felt +toward everybody, and especially to-day toward the Prince and Maria +Vasilievna, and Missy, and Kornei, was disgust with himself. And in +this confession of his own baseness there was something painful, and +at the same time joyous and calming. + +In the course of his life Nekhludoff often experienced what he called +a "cleansing of the soul." This happened when, after a long period of +retardation, or, perhaps, entire cessation of his inner life, he +suddenly became aware of it, and proceeded to cleanse his soul of all +the accumulated filth that caused this standstill. + +After such awakenings Nekhludoff always laid down some rules for +himself which he intended to follow all the rest of his life; kept a +diary and began a new life, which he hoped he should never change +again--"turning a new leaf," he used to call it. But the temptations +of life entrapped him anew, after every awakening, and, without +knowing it, he sank again, often to a lower depth than he was in +before. + +Thus he cleansed himself and revived several times. His first +cleansing happened when he visited his aunts. That was the brightest +and most enthusiastic awakening. And it lasted a long time. The next +happened when he left the civil service, and, desiring to sacrifice +his life, he entered, during the war, the military service. Here he +began to sink quickly. The next awakening occurred when he retired +from the military service, and, going abroad, gave himself up to +painting. + +From that day to this there was a long period of uncleanliness, the +longest he had gone through yet, and, therefore, he had never sunk so +deep, and never before was there such discord between the demands of +his conscience and the life which he was leading. So, when he saw the +chasm which separated the two, he was horrified. + +The discord was so great, the defilement so thorough, that at first he +despaired of the possibility of a complete cleansing. "Why, you have +tried to improve before, and failed," the tempter in his soul +whispered. "What is the good of trying again? You are not the only +one--all are alike. Such is life." But the free, spiritual being which +alone is true, alone powerful, alone eternal, was already awake in +Nekhludoff. And he could not help believing it. However great the +difference between that which he was and that which he wished to be, +for the awakened spiritual being everything was possible. + +"I shall break this lie that binds me at any cost. I will confess the +truth to everybody, and will act the truth," he said aloud, +resolutely. "I will tell Missy the truth--that I am a profligate and +cannot marry her; that I have trifled with her. I will tell Maria +Vasilevna (the wife of the marshal of nobility)--but no, what is the +good of telling her? I will tell her husband that I am a scoundrel, +that I have deceived him. I will dispose of my inheritance in +accordance with the demands of justice. I will tell her, Katiousha, +that I am a knave, that I have wronged her, and will do everything in +my power to alleviate her condition. Yes, I shall see her, and beg her +forgiveness--I will beg like a child." + +He stopped. + +"I will marry her, if necessary." + +He crossed his hands on his breast, as he used to do when a child, +raised his eyes and said: + +"Lord, help me, teach me; come and enter within me and purify me of +all this abomination." + +He prayed, asked God to help him and purify him, while that which he +was praying for had already happened. Not only did he feel the +freedom, vigor and gladness of life, but he also felt the power of +good. He felt himself capable of doing the best that man can do. + +There were tears in his eyes when he said these things--tears of +joy--on the awakening within him of that spiritual being, and tears of +emotion over his own virtue. + +He felt warm and opened a window which looked into a garden. It was a +moonlit, fresh and quiet night. Past the street rattled some vehicle, +and then everything was quiet. Directly beneath the window a tall, +denuded poplar threw its shadow on the gravel of the landing-place, +distinctly showing all the ramifications of its bare branches. To the +left the roof of a shed seemed white under the bright light of the +moon; in front were the tangled branches of the trees, through which +was seen the dark shadow of the garden inclosure. + +Nekhludoff looked at the moonlit garden and roof, the shadows of the +poplar, and drank in the fresh, invigorating air. + +"How delightful! My God, how delightful!" he said of that which was in +his soul. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + + +It was six o'clock when Maslova returned to her cell, weary and +foot-sore from the long tramp over the stone pavement. Besides, she +was crushed by the unexpectedly severe sentence, and was also hungry. + +When, during a recess, her guards had lunched on bread and hard-boiled +eggs her mouth watered and she felt that she was hungry, but +considered it humiliating to ask them for some food. Three hours after +that her hunger had passed, and she only felt weak. In this condition +she heard the sentence. At first she thought that she misunderstood +it; she could not believe what she heard, and could not reconcile +herself to the idea that she was a convict. But, seeing the calm, +serious faces of the judges and the jury, who received the verdict as +something quite natural, she revolted and cried out that she was +innocent. And when she saw also that her outcry, too, was taken as +something natural and anticipated, and which could not alter the case, +she began to weep. She felt that she must submit to the cruel +injustice which was perpetrated on her. What surprised her most was +that she should be so cruelly condemned by men--not old men, but those +same young men who looked at her so kindly. + +The prosecuting attorney was the only man whose glances were other +than kind. While she was sitting in the prisoners' room, and during +recesses she saw these men passing by her and entering the room under +various pretexts, but with the obvious intention of looking at her. +And now these same men, for some reason, sentenced her to hard labor, +although she was innocent of the crime. For some time she wept, then +became calm, and in a condition of complete exhaustion she waited to +be taken away. She desired but one thing now--a cigarette. She was in +this frame of mind when Bochkova and Kartinkin were brought into the +room. Bochkova immediately began to curse her. + +"You are innocent, aren't you? Why weren't you discharged, you vile +thing? You got your deserts! You will drop your fineries in Siberia!" + +Maslova sat with lowered head, her hands folded in the sleeves of her +coat, and gazed on the smoothly trampled ground. + +"I am not interfering with you, so leave me in peace," she repeated +several times, then became silent. She became enlivened again when, +after Bochkova and Kartinkin had been removed from the room, the guard +entered, bringing her three rubles. + +"Are you Maslova?" he asked. + +"Yes." + +"Here is some money which a lady sent you," he said. + +"What lady?" + +"Take it, and ask no questions." + +The money was sent by Kitaeva. When leaving the court she asked the +usher if she could send some money to Maslova, and, receiving an +affirmative answer, she removed a chamois glove, and, from the back +folds of her silk dress, produced a stylish pocket-book, and counted +out the money into the hands of the usher who, in her presence, handed +it to the guard. + +"Please be sure to give it to her," said Karolina Albertoona to the +guard. + +The guard was offended by this distrust shown to him, which was the +cause of his speaking angrily to Maslova. + +Maslova was overjoyed by the receipt of the money, for it could give +her the one thing she wished for now. + +All her thoughts were now centered on her desire to inhale the smoke +of a cigarette. So strong was this desire that she greedily inhaled +the smoke-laden air which was wafted in from the corridor and through +the cabinet door. But there was a long wait before her, for the +secretary, who was to deliver to the guard the order for her removal, +forgetting the prisoners, engaged one of the lawyers in the discussion +of an editorial that had appeared in a newspaper. + +At five o'clock she was finally led down through the rear door. While +in the waiting-room she gave one of the guards twenty kopecks, asking +him to buy for her two lunch rolls and some cigarettes. The guard +laughed, took the money, honestly made the purchase and returned the +change to her. She could not smoke on the road, so Maslova arrived at +the jail with the same unsatisfied craving for a cigarette. At that +moment about a hundred prisoners were brought from the railroad +station. Maslova met them in the passageway. + +The prisoners, bearded, clean-shaven, old, young, Russians and +foreigners--some with half-shaved heads, and with a clinking of iron +fetters, filled the passage with dust, tramping of feet, conversation +and a sharp odor of perspiration. The prisoners, as they passed +Maslova, scanned her from head to foot; some approached and teased +her. + +"Fine girl, that!" said one. "My compliments, auntie," said another, +winking one eye. A dark man with a shaven, blue neck and long +mustache, tangling in his fetters, sprang toward her and embraced her. + +"Don't you recognize your friend? Come, don't put on such style!" he +exclaimed, grinning as she pushed him away. + +"What are you doing, you rascal?" shouted the officer in charge of the +prisoners. + +The prisoner hastily hid himself in the crowd. The officer fell upon +Maslova. + +"What are you doing here?" + +Maslova was going to say that she had been brought from the court, but +she was very tired and too lazy to speak. + +"She is just from the court, sir," said one of the guards, elbowing +his way through the passing crowd, and raising his hand to his cap. + +"Then take her to the warden. What indecencies!" + +"Very well, sir!" + +"Sokoloff! Take her away!" shouted the officer. + +Sokoloff came and angrily pushed Maslova by the shoulder, and, +motioning to her to follow him, he led her into the woman's corridor. +There she was thoroughly searched, and as nothing was found upon her +(the box of cigarettes was hidden in the lunch roll), she was admitted +into the same cell from which she had emerged in the morning. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + + +The cell in which Maslova was confined was an oblong room, twenty feet +by fifteen. The kalsomining of the walls was peeled off, and the dry +boards of the cots occupied two-thirds of the space. In the middle of +the room, opposite the door, was a dark iron, with a wax candle stuck +on it, and a dusty bouquet of immortelles hanging under it. To the +left, behind the door, on a darkened spot of the floor, stood an +ill-smelling vat. The women had been locked up for the night. + +There were fifteen inmates of this cell, twelve women and three +children. + +It was not dark yet, and only two women lay in their cots; one a +foolish little woman--she was constantly crying--who had been arrested +because she had no written evidence of her identity, had her head +covered with her coat; the other, a consumptive, was serving a +sentence for theft. She was not sleeping, but lay, her coat under her +head, with wide-open eyes, and with difficulty retaining in her throat +the tickling, gurgling phlegm, so as not to cough. The other women +were with bare heads and skirts of coarse linen; some sat on their +cots sewing; others stood at the window gazing on the passing +prisoners. Of the three women who were sewing, one, Korableva, was the +one who had given Maslova the instructions when the latter left the +cell. She was a tall, strong woman, with a frowning, gloomy face, all +wrinkled, a bag of skin hanging under her chin, a short braid of light +hair, turning gray at the temples, and a hairy wart on her cheek. This +old woman was sentenced to penal servitude for killing her husband +with an axe. The killing was committed because he annoyed her daughter +with improper advances. She was the overseer of the cell, and also +sold wine to the inmates. She was sewing with eye-glasses, and held +the needle, after the fashion of the peasants, with three fingers, +the sharp point turned toward her breast. Beside her, also sewing, sat +a little woman, good-natured and talkative, dark, snub-nosed and with +little black eyes. She was the watch-woman at a flag-station, and was +sentenced to three months' imprisonment for negligently causing an +accident on the railroad. The third of the women who were occupied +with sewing was Theodosia--called Fenichka by her fellow-prisoners--of +light complexion, and with rosy cheeks; young, lovely, with bright, +childish blue eyes, and two long, flaxen braids rolled up on her small +head. She was imprisoned for attempting to poison her husband. She was +sixteen years old when she was married, and she made the attempt +immediately after her marriage. During the eight months that she was +out on bail, she not only became reconciled to her husband, but became +so fond of him that the court officers found them living in perfect +harmony. In spite of all the efforts of her husband, her +father-in-law, and especially her mother-in-law, who had grown very +fond of her, to obtain her discharge, she was sentenced to hard labor +in Siberia. The kind, cheerful and smiling Theodosia, whose cot was +next to Maslova's, not only took a liking to her, but considered it +her duty to help her in every possible way. Two other women were +sitting idly on their cots; one of about forty years, who seemed to +have been pretty in her youth, but was now pale and slim, was feeding +a child with her long, white breast. Her crime consisted in that, when +the people of the village she belonged to attempted to stop a +recruiting officer who had drafted, illegally, as they thought, her +nephew, she was the first to take hold of the bridle of his horse. +There was another little white-haired, wrinkled woman, good-natured +and hunch-backed, who sat near the oven and pretended to be catching a +four-year-old, short-haired and stout boy, who, in a short little +shirt, was running past her, laughing and repeating: "You tan't tatch +me!" This old woman, who, with her son, was charged with incendiarism, +bore her confinement good-naturedly, grieving only over her son, who +was also in jail, but above all, her heart was breaking for her old +man who, she feared, would be eaten up by lice, as her daughter-in-law +had returned to her parents, and there was no one to wash him. + +Besides these seven women, there were four others who stood near the +open windows, their hands resting on the iron gratings, and conversing +by signs and shouts with the prisoners whom Maslova had met in the +passageway. One of these, who was serving a sentence for theft, was a +flabby, large, heavy, red-haired woman with white-yellow freckles over +her face, and a stout neck which was exposed by the open waist collar. +In a hoarse voice she shouted indecent words through the window. +Beside her stood a woman of the size of a ten-year-old girl, very +dark, with a long back and very short legs. Her face was red and +blotched; her black eyes wide open, and her short, thick lips failed +to hide her white, protruding teeth. She laughed in shrill tones at +the antics of the prisoners. This prisoner, who was nicknamed Miss +Dandy, because of her stylishness, was under indictment for theft and +incendiarism. Behind them, in a very dirty, gray shirt, stood a +wretched-looking woman, big with child, who was charged with +concealing stolen property. This woman was silent, but she approvingly +smiled at the actions of the prisoners without. The fourth of the +women who stood at the window, and was undergoing sentence for illicit +trading in spirits, was a squat little country woman with bulging eyes +and kindly face. She was the mother of the boy who was playing with +the old woman, and of another seven-year-old girl, both of whom were +in jail with her, because they had no one else to take care of them. +Knitting a stocking, she was looking through the window and +disapprovingly frowned and closed her eyes at the language used by the +passing prisoners. The girl who stood near the red-haired woman, with +only a shirt on her back, and clinging with one hand to the woman's +skirt, attentively listened to the abusive words the men were +exchanging with the women, and repeated them in a whisper, as if +committing them to memory. The twelfth was the daughter of a church +clerk and chanter who had drowned her child in a well. She was a tall +and stately girl, with large eyes and tangled hair sticking out of her +short, thick, flaxen braid. She paid no attention to what was going on +around her, but paced, bare-footed, and in a dirty gray shirt, over +the floor of the cell, making sharp and quick turns when she reached +the wall. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + + +When with a rattling of chains the cell door was unlocked and Maslova +admitted, all eyes were turned toward her. Even the chanter's daughter +stopped for a moment and looked at her with raised eyebrows, but +immediately resumed walking with long, resolute strides. Korableva +stuck her needle into the sack she was sewing and gazed inquiringly +through her glasses at Maslova. + +"Ah me! So she has returned," she said in a hoarse basso voice. "And I +was sure she would be set right. She must have got it." + +She removed her glasses and placed them with her sewing beside her. + +"I have been talking with auntie, dear, and we thought that they might +discharge you at once. They say it happens. And they sometimes give +you money, if you strike the right time," the watch-woman started in a +singing voice. "What ill-luck! It seems we were wrong. God has His own +way, dear," she went on in her caressing and melodious voice. + +"It is possible that they convicted you?" asked Theodosia, with gentle +compassion, looking at Maslova with her childish, light-blue eyes, and +her cheerful, young face changed, and she seemed to be ready to cry. + +Maslova made no answer, but silently went to her place, next to +Korableva's, and sat down. + +"You have probably not eaten anything," said Theodosia, rising and +going over to Maslova. + +Again Maslova did not answer, but placed the two lunch-rolls at the +head of the cot and began to undress. She took off the dusty coat, and +the 'kerchief from her curling black hair and sat down. + +The hunch-backed old woman also came and stopped in front of Maslova, +compassionately shaking her head. + +The boy came behind the old woman, and, with a protruding corner of +the upper lip and wide-open eyes, gazed on the rolls brought by +Maslova. Seeing all these compassionate faces, after what had +happened, Maslova almost cried and her lips began to twitch. She +tried to and did restrain herself until the old woman and the child +approached. When, however, she heard the kind, compassionate +exclamation of pity from the old woman, and, especially, when her eyes +met the serious eyes of the boy who looked now at her, now at the +rolls, she could restrain herself no longer. Her whole face began to +twitch and she burst into sobs. + +"I told her to take a good lawyer," said Korableva. "Well? To +Siberia?" she asked. + +Maslova wished to answer but could not, and, crying, she produced from +the roll the box of cigarettes, on which a picture of a red lady with +a high chignon and triangle-shaped, low cut neck was printed, and gave +it to Korableva. The latter looked at the picture, disapprovingly +shook her head, chiefly because Maslova spent money so foolishly, and, +lighting a cigarette over the lamp, inhaled the smoke several times, +then thrust it at Maslova. Maslova, without ceasing to cry, eagerly +began to inhale the smoke. + +"Penal servitude," she murmured, sobbing. + +"They have no fear of God, these cursed blood-suckers!" said +Korableva. "They have condemned an innocent girl." + +At this moment there was a loud outburst of laughter among those +standing near the window. The delicate laughter of the little girl +mingled with the hoarse and shrill laughter of the women. This +merriment was caused by some act of a prisoner without. + +"Oh, the scoundrel! See what he is doing!" said the red-headed woman, +pressing her face against the grating, her whole massive frame +shaking. + +"What is that drum-hide shouting about?" said Korableva, shaking her +head at the red-haired woman, and then again turning to Maslova. "How +many years?" + +"Four," said Maslova, and the flow of her tears was so copious that +one of them fell on the cigarette. She angrily crushed it, threw it +away and took another. + +The watch-woman, although she was no smoker, immediately picked up the +cigarette-end and began to straighten it, talking at the same time. + +"As I said to Matveievna, dear," she said, "it is ill-luck. They do +what they please. And we thought they would discharge you. Matveievna +said you would be discharged, and I said that you would not, I said. +'My heart tells me,' I said, 'that they will condemn her,' and so it +happened," she went on, evidently listening to the sounds of her own +voice with particular pleasure. + +The prisoners had now passed through the court-yard, and the four +women left the window and approached Maslova. The larged-eyed illicit +seller of spirits was the first to speak. + +"Well, is the sentence very severe?" she asked, seating herself near +Maslova and continuing to knit her stocking. + +"It is severe because she has no money. If she had money to hire a +good lawyer, I am sure they would not have held her," said Korableva. +"That lawyer--what's his name?--that clumsy, big-nosed one can, my +dear madam, lead one out of the water dry. That's the man you should +take." + +"To hire him!" grinned Miss Dandy. "Why, he would not look at you for +less than a thousand rubles." + +"It seems to be your fate," said the old woman who was charged with +incendiarism. "I should say he is severe! He drove my boy's wife from +her; put him in jail, and me, too, in my old age," for the hundredth +time she began to repeat her story. "Prison and poverty are our lot. +If it is not prison, it is poverty." + +"Yes, it is always the same with them," said the woman-moonshiner, +and, closely inspecting the girl's head, she put her stocking aside, +drew the girl over between her overhanging legs and with dexterous +fingers began to search in her head. "Why do you deal in wine? But I +have to feed my children," she said, continuing her search. + +These words reminded Maslova of wine. + +"Oh, for a drop of wine," she said to Korableva, wiping her tears with +the sleeve of her shirt and sobbing from time to time. + +"Some booze? Why, of course!" said Korableva. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + + +Maslova produced the money from one of the lunch-rolls and gave it to +Korableva, who climbed up to the draught-hole of the oven for a flask +of wine she had hidden there. Seeing which, those women who were not +her immediate neighbors went to their places. Meantime Maslova shook +the dust from her 'kerchief and coat, climbed up on her cot and began +to eat a roll. + +"I saved some tea for you, but I fear it is cold," said Theodosia, +bringing down from a shelf a pot, wrapped in a rag, and a tin cup. + +The beverage was perfectly cold, and tasted more of tin than of tea, +but Maslova poured out a cupful and began to drink. + +"Here, Finashka!" she called, and breaking a piece from the roll +thrust it toward the boy, who gazed at her open-mouthed. + +Korableva, meanwhile, brought the flask of wine. Maslova offered some +to Korableva and Miss Dandy. These three prisoners constituted the +aristocracy of the cell, because they had money and divided among +themselves what they had. + +In a few minutes Maslova became brighter and energetically began to +relate what had transpired at the court, mockingly imitating the +prosecutor and rehearsing such parts as had appealed to her most. She +was particularly impressed by the fact that the men paid considerable +attention to her wherever she went. In the court-room every one looked +at her, she said, and for that purpose constantly came into the +prisoners' room. + +"Even the guard said: 'It is to look at you that they come here.' Some +one would come and ask for some document or something, but I saw that +it was not for the document that he came. He would devour me with his +eyes," she said, smiling and shaking her head as if perplexed. "They +are good ones!" + +"Yes, that is how it is," chimed in the watch-woman in her melodious +voice. "They are like flies on sugar. If you needed them for any other +purpose, be sure they would not come so quickly. They know a good +thing when they see it." + +"It was the same here," interrupted Maslova. "As soon as I was brought +here I met with a party coming from the depot. They gave me no rest, +and I could hardly get rid of them. Luckily the warden drove them off. +One of them bothered me particularly." + +"How did he look?" asked Miss Dandy. + +"He had a dark complexion, and wore a mustache." + +"It is he." + +"Who?" + +"Stchegloff. He passed here just now." + +"Who is Stchegloff?" + +"She don't know Stchegloff! He twice escaped from Siberia. Now he has +been caught, but he will escape again. Even the officers fear him," +said Miss Dandy, who delivered notes to prisoners, and knew everything +that transpired in the jail. "He will surely escape." + +"If he does he won't take either of us with him," said Korableva. +"You'd better tell me this: What did the lawyer say to you about a +petition--you must send one now." + +Maslova said that she did not know anything about a petition. + +At this moment the red-haired woman, burying her two freckled hands +into her tangled, thick hair, and scratching her head with her nails, +approached the wine-drinking aristocrats. + +"I will tell you, Katherine, everything," she began. "First of all, +you must write on paper: 'I am not satisfied with the trial,' and then +hand it to the prosecutor." + +"What do you want here?" Korableva turned to her, speaking in an angry +basso. "You have smelled the wine! We know you. We don't need your +advice; we know what we have to do." + +"Who is talking to you?" + +"You want some wine--that's what you want." + +"Let her alone. Give her some," said Maslova, who always divided with +others what she had. + +"Yes, I will give her," and Korableva clenched her fist. + +"Try it! Try it!" moving toward Korableva, said the red-haired woman. +"I am not afraid of you." + +"You jail bird!" + +"You are another!" + +"You gutter rake!" + +"I am a rake--am I? You convict, murderess!" shrieked the red-haired +woman. + +"Go away, I tell you!" said Korableva frowning. + +But the red-haired woman only came nearer, and Korableva gave her a +push on the open, fat breast. The other seemingly only waited for +this, for with an unexpected, quick movement of one hand she seized +Korableva's hair and was about to strike her in the face with the +other, when Korableva seized this hand. Maslova and Miss Dandy sprang +up and took hold of the hands of the red-haired woman, endeavoring to +release her hold on Korableva, but the hand that clutched the hair +would not open. For a moment she released the hair, but only to wind +it around her fist. Korableva, her head bent, with one hand kept +striking her antagonist over the body and catching the latter's hand +with her teeth. The women crowded around the fighters, parting them +and shouting. Even the consumptive came near them, and, coughing, +looked on. The children huddled together and cried. The noise +attracted the warden and the matron. They were finally parted. +Korableva loosened her gray braid and began to pick out the pieces of +torn hair, while the other held the tattered remnant of her shirt to +her breast--both shouting, explaining and complaining against one +another. + +"I know it is the wine--I can smell it," said the matron. "I will tell +the superintendent to-morrow. Now, remove everything, or there will be +trouble. There is no time to listen to you. To your places, and be +silent!" + +But for a long time there was no silence. The women continued to curse +each other; they began to relate how it all commenced, and whose fault +it was. The warden and matron finally departed; the women quieted down +and took to their cots. The old woman stood up before the image and +began to pray. + +"Two Siberian convicts," suddenly said the red-haired woman in a +hoarse voice, accompanying every word with a torrent of abuse. + +"Look out, or you will get it again," quickly answered Korableva, +adding similar revilement. Then they became silent. + +"If they had not prevented me, I should have knocked out your eyes," +the red-haired one began again, and again came a quick and sharp +retort. + +Then came another interval of silence, followed by more abuse. The +intervals became longer and longer, and finally silence settled over +the cell. + +They were all falling asleep; some began to snore; only the old woman, +who always prayed for a long time, was still bowing before the image, +while the chanter's daughter, as soon as the matron left the cell, +came down from her cot and began to walk up and down the cell. + +Maslova was awake and incessantly thinking of herself as a convict, +the word which had been twice applied to her--once by Bochkova, and +again by the red-haired woman. She could not be reconciled to the +thought. Korableva, who was lying with her back turned toward Maslova, +turned around. + +"I never dreamed of such a thing," she said, in a low voice. "Others +commit heaven knows what crimes, and they go scot free, while I must +suffer for nothing." + +"Don't worry, girl. People live also in Siberia. You will not be lost +even there," Korableva consoled her. + +"I know that I will not be lost, but it is painful to be treated that +way. I deserved a better fate. I am used to a comfortable life." + +"You can do nothing against God's will," Korableva said, with a sigh. +"You can do nothing against His will." + +"I know, auntie, but it is hard, nevertheless." + +They became silent. + +"Listen to that wanton," said Korableva, calling Maslova's attention +to the strange sounds that came from the other end of the cell. + +These sounds were the suppressed sobbing of the red-haired woman. She +wept because she had just been abused, beaten, and got no wine, for +which she so yearned. She also wept because her whole life was one +round of abuse, scorn, insults and blows. She meant to draw some +consolation from the recollection of her first love for the factory +hand, Fedka Molodenkoff, but, recalling this first love, she also +recalled the manner of its ending. The end of it was that this +Molodenkoff, while in his cups, by way of jest, smeared her face with +vitriol, and afterward laughed with his comrades as he watched her +writhing in pain. She remembered this, and she pitied herself; and, +thinking that no one heard her, she began to weep, and wept like a +child--moaning, snuffling and swallowing salty tears. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + + +Nekhludoff rose the following morning with a consciousness that some +change had taken place within him, and before he could recall what it +was he already knew that it was good and important. + +"Katiousha--the trial. Yes, and I must stop lying, and tell all the +truth." And what a remarkable coincidence! That very morning finally +came the long-expected letter of Maria Vasilievna, the wife of the +marshal of the nobility--that same letter that he wanted so badly now. +She gave him his liberty and wished him happiness in his proposed +marriage. + +"Marriage!" he repeated ironically. "How far I am from it!" + +And his determination of the day before to tell everything to her +husband, to confess his sin before him, and to hold himself ready for +any satisfaction he might demand, came to his mind. But this morning +it did not seem to him so easy as it had yesterday. "And then, what is +the good of making a man miserable? If he asks me, I will tell him; +but to call on him specially for that purpose---- No, it is not +necessary." + +It seemed to him equally difficult this morning to tell all the truth +to Missy. He thought it would be offering an insult. It was +inevitable, as in all worldly affairs, that there should remain +something unexpressed but understood. One thing, however, he decided +upon this morning--that he would not go there, and would tell the +truth when asked. But in his relations toward Katiousha there was to +be nothing unsaid. + +"I will go to the jail--will tell her, beg of her to forgive me. And, +if necessary--yes, if necessary--I will marry her," he thought. + +The idea that for the sake of moral satisfaction he would sacrifice +everything and marry her this morning particularly affected him. + +It was a long time since he had risen with so much energy in him. When +Agrippina Petrovna entered his room he declared to her with a +determination which he himself did not expect, that he had no further +need of the house, and that he would dispense with her services. There +was a tacit understanding that the large house was kept up for his +contemplated marriage. The closing up of the house consequently had +some particular significance. Agrippina Petrovna looked at him with +surprise. + +"I thank you very much, Agrippina Petrovna, for your solicitude in my +behalf, but I do not now need such a large house, or any of the +servants. If you wish to help me, then be so kind as to pack away the +things as you used to do in mamma's lifetime. Natasha will dispose of +them when she arrives." Natasha was Nekhludoff's sister. + +Agrippina Petrovna shook her head. + +"Dispose of them? Why, they will be needed," she said. + +"No, they will not, Agrippina Petrovna--they will positively not be +needed," said Nekhludoff, answering what she meant by shaking his +head. "Please tell Kornei that his salary will be paid for two months +in advance, but that I do not need him." + +"You are wrong in doing this, Dmitri Ivanovich," she said. "You will +need a house even if you go abroad." + +"You misunderstand me, Agrippina Petrovna. I will not go abroad, and +if I do go, it will be to an entirely different place." + +His face suddenly turned a purple color. + +"Yes, it is necessary to tell her," he thought. "I must tell all to +everybody. + +"A very strange and important thing has happened to me. Do you +remember Katiousha, who lived with Aunt Maria Ivanovna?" + +"Of course; I taught her to sew." + +"Well, then, she was tried in court yesterday, and I was one of the +jury." + +"Ah, good Lord! what a pity!" said Agrippina Petrovna. "What was she +tried for?" + +"Murder, and it was all caused by me." + +"How could you have caused it? You are talking very strangely," said +Agrippina Petrovna, and fire sparkled in her old eyes. + +She knew of the incident with Katiousha. + +"Yes, it is my fault. And this causes me to change my plans." + +"What change can this cause in your plans?" said Agrippina Petrovna, +suppressing a smile. + +"This: That since it was through my fault that she is in her present +condition, I consider it my duty to help her to the extent of my +ability." + +"That is your affair, but I cannot see that you are so much in fault. +It happens to everybody, and if one is guided by common sense the +matter is usually arranged and forgotten, and one lives on like the +rest of the world," said Agrippina Petrovna, sternly and seriously. +"There is no reason why you should take it so much to heart. I heard +long ago that she had gone to the bad, so whose fault is it?" + +"It is my fault, and that is why I wish to make amends." + +"Well, it is hard to set that right." + +"That is my affair. If you are thinking of yourself, then that which +mother wished----" + +"I am not thinking of myself. Your deceased mother showed me so many +favors that I do not desire anything. My niece, Lizauka, wishes me to +come to her, so I will go as soon as you need me no longer. Only you +are taking it too much to heart; it happens with everybody." + +"Well, I do not think so. I still ask you to help me rent the house +and pack away the things. And do not be angry with me. I am very, very +thankful to you for everything." + +It is remarkable that since Nekhludoff understood that he was +disgusted with himself, others ceased to be repulsive to him. On the +contrary, he had a kindly and respectful feeling for Agrippina +Petrovna and Kornei. He wished to confess also before Kornei, but the +latter was so impressively respectful that he could not make up his +mind to do it. + +On his way to the court, passing along the familiar streets and in the +same carriage, Nekhludoff was himself surprised what a different man +he felt himself to-day. + +His marriage to Missy, which but yesterday seemed to be so near, +to-day appeared to him absolutely impossible. Yesterday he understood +his position to be such that there could be no doubt that she would be +happy to marry him; to-day he felt himself unworthy not only of +marrying her, but of being her friend. "If she only knew who I was, +she would never receive me, and yet I taunted her with coquetting with +that gentleman. But no, even if she married me I should never have +peace, even though I were happy, while that one is in jail, and may +any day be sent under escort to Siberia. While the woman whom I have +ruined is tramping the weary road to penal servitude, I will be +receiving congratulations, and paying visits with my young wife. Or I +will be counting the votes for and against school inspection, etc., +with the marshal, whom I have shamefully deceived, and afterward make +appointments with his wife (what abomination!). Or I will work on my +picture, which will, evidently, never be finished, for I had no +business to occupy myself with such trifles. And I can do neither of +these things now," he said to himself, happy at the inward change +which he felt. + +"First of all," he thought, "I must see the lawyer, and then--then see +her in jail--the convict of yesterday--and tell her everything." + +And when he thought how he would see her, confess his guilt before +her, how he would declare to her that he would do everything in his +power, marry her in order to wipe out his guilt, he became +enraptured, and tears filled his eyes. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + + +Arriving at the court-house, Nekhludoff met the usher in the corridor +and asked him where the prisoners already sentenced were kept, and +from whom permission could be obtained to see them. The usher told him +that the prisoners were kept in various places, and that before final +judgment the public prosecutor was the only person from whom +permission to see them could be obtained. "The prosecutor has not +arrived yet; when he does I will let you know, and will escort you +myself to him after the session. And now, please to walk into the +court. The session is commencing." + +Nekhludoff thanked the usher, who seemed to him particularly pitiful +to-day, and went into the jury-room. + +As Nekhludoff was approaching the jury-room his fellow jurors were +coming out, repairing to the court-room. The merchant was as cheerful, +had lunched as well as yesterday, and greeted Nekhludoff like an old +friend. The loud laughter and familiarity of Peter Gerasimovitch did +not give rise to-day in Nekhludoff of the unpleasant sensation of +yesterday. + +Nekhludoff wished to tell all the jurymen of his relations to the +woman whom they had convicted yesterday. "It would have been proper," +he thought, "yesterday to rise in court and publicly confess my +guilt." But when with the other jurymen he entered the court-room and +witnessed the same procedure, the same "Hear ye! Hear ye!" the three +judges in high collars on the elevation, the silence, the seating of +the jury on high-backed chairs, the gendarmes, the priest--he felt +that, though it was necessary to do it, he would not have been able +even yesterday to break this solemnity. + +They went through the same preliminaries, except the swearing in of +the jury and the justiciary's speech to them. + +A case of burglary was before the court. The prisoner, who was guarded +by two gendarmes with unsheathed swords, was a twenty-year-old boy +with a bloodless face and in a gray coat. He sat alone on the +prisoners' bench and scanned from under his eyebrows all those that +entered the court-room. This boy and another were charged with +breaking the lock of a shed and stealing therefrom mats of the value +of three rubles and sixty-seven kopecks. It appeared from the +indictment that a policeman caught the boy when he was walking with +the other, who carried the mats on his shoulder. Both of them +immediately confessed, and they were put in jail. The comrade of this +boy, a locksmith, died in jail, and he was tried alone. The old mats +lay on the table reserved for exhibits. + +The case was conducted in the same order as yesterday, with all the +proofs, witnesses, experts, oath-taking, examinations and +cross-examinations. The policeman, when questioned by the justiciary, +complainant and the defense, made listless answers--"Yes, sir," "Can't +tell," and again "Yes, sir"--but notwithstanding this, it was apparent +that he pitied the boy and testified involuntarily against him. + +Another witness, a splenetic old man who owned those mats, when asked +if they belonged to him, unwillingly testified that they were his. +When, however, the prosecutor asked him what use he intended to make +of them, and whether he needed them much, he became angry and +answered: "I wish they had been lost entirely, these mats. I don't +need them at all. And if I had known that you would make so much fuss +about them, I would gladly have given ten rubles, or twenty, rather +than be dragged into court. I have spent five rubles on carriages +coming here and going back again. And I am sick; I am suffering from +rupture and rheumatism." + +The prisoner admitted the charge against him, and, like a trapped +animal, stupidly looked now to one side, now to the other, and in a +halting voice related everything as it happened. + +It was a clear case, but the prosecutor, as he did yesterday, raised +his shoulders and propounded subtle questions which were calculated to +entrap the clever criminal. + +In his speech he argued that the theft was committed in a +dwelling-house by breaking and entering it, and that therefore the +severest punishment should be meted out to him. + +Counsel for the defense, appointed by the court, argued that the +theft was committed not in a dwelling-house, and that, though the +prisoner pleaded guilty, he was not as dangerous to society as the +prosecutor would have them believe. + +The justiciary was the personification of impartiality and justice, +and endeavored to impress on the jury that which they already knew and +could not help knowing. Again they took recesses and smoked +cigarettes, and again the usher shouted "Hear ye!" and the two +gendarmes sat trying to keep awake. + +It developed during the trial that this boy had been apprenticed in a +tobacco factory, in which he worked five years. This year he was +discharged by his employer after a misunderstanding with the +employees, and, going idly about the city, he spent all he had on +drink. At an inn he met a locksmith who had also been discharged and +was drinking hard, and the two went at night, while drunk, to that +shed, broke the lock, and took the first thing they saw. They were +caught, and as they confessed they were imprisoned. The locksmith, +while waiting for a trial, died. The boy was now being tried as a +dangerous creature from whom it was necessary to protect society. + +"As dangerous a creature as the prisoner of yesterday," Nekhludoff +thought while watching the proceedings. "They are dangerous, but are +we not dangerous? I am a libertine, an impostor; and all of us, all +those that know me as I am, not only do not detest but respect me." + +It is evident that this boy is no villain, but a very ordinary +person--every one sees that--and that he became what he is only +because he lived amid conditions that beget such people. It is +therefore plain that such boys will exist as long as the conditions +producing these unfortunates remain unchanged. If any one had taken +pity on this boy, Nekhludoff thought while looking at the sickly, +frightened face of the boy, before want had driven him from the +village to the city, and relieved that want, or, when, after twelve +hours' work in the factory, he was visiting inns with grown-up +comrades, some one had told him, "Don't go, Vania; it is bad," the boy +would not have gone, or got drunk, and the burglary would never have +occurred. + +But no one pitied the boy during the time that he, like an animal, +spent his school years in the city, and, with close-cropped hair, to +prevent his getting vermin, ran errands for the workmen. On the +contrary, the only thing he had heard from the workmen and his +comrades was to the effect that a brave fellow was he who cheated, +drank, reviled, fought, or led a depraved life. + +And when, sickly and depraved from the unhealthy work, from drink and +lewdness, foolish and capricious, he aimlessly prowled around the +city, as in a dream, entered some shed and abstracted a few worthless +mats, then, instead of destroying the causes that led this boy into +his present condition, we intend to mend matters by punishing him! + +It is dreadful! + +Thus Nekhludoff thought, and no longer listened to what was going on +around him. He was himself terrified at this revelation. He wondered +why he had not seen it before--how others failed to see it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + + +As soon as the first recess was taken, Nekhludoff rose and went out of +the court, intending to return no more. They might do with him what +they pleased, but he could no longer take part in that farce. + +Having inquired where the prosecutor's room was, he directed his steps +toward that dignitary. The messenger would not admit him, declaring +that the prosecutor was busy, but Nekhludoff brushed past him and +asked an officer who met him to announce him to the prosecutor, saying +that he was on important business. His title and dress helped +Nekhludoff. The officer announced him, and he was admitted. The +prosecutor received him standing, evidently dissatisfied with +Nekhludoff's persistence in seeking an audience with him. + +"What do you wish?" the prosecutor asked, sternly. + +"I am a juryman, my name is Nekhludoff, and I want to see the +prisoner Maslova," he said, resolutely and quickly. He blushed, and +felt that his act would have a decisive influence on his life. + +The prosecutor was a tall, swarthy man with short hair just turning +gray, bright eyes and a trimmed, bushy beard on the protruding lower +jaw. + +"Maslova? Yes, I know her. She was charged with poisoning," he said +calmly. "Why do you want to see her?" And then, as if desiring to +soften his harsh demeanor, he added: "I cannot give you the permission +before I know what you want to see her for." + +"It is very important for me to see her," Nekhludoff burst out. + +"I see," said the prosecutor, and, raising his eyes, looked intently +at Nekhludoff. "Has her case been tried?" + +"She was tried yesterday and sentenced to four years' penal servitude. +The conviction was irregular; she is innocent." + +"I see. If she has only been sentenced yesterday," said the prosecutor +without paying attention to Nekhludoff's declaration about her +innocence, "then she will be detained until final judgment in the +place where she is now. The jail is open to visitors on certain days +only. I advise you to apply there." + +"But I must see her as soon as possible," with trembling lower jaw +Nekhludoff said, feeling that a critical moment was approaching. + +"Why are you so anxious about seeing her?" the prosecutor asked, +raising his eyebrows with some alarm. + +"Because she is innocent of the crime for which she was sentenced to +penal servitude. The guilt is mine, not hers," Nekhludoff said in a +trembling voice, feeling that he was saying what he should not. + +"How so?" asked the prosecutor. + +"I deceived her, and brought her to the condition in which she is now. +If I had not driven her to the position in which she was, she would +not have been charged here with such a crime." + +"Still I fail to see what all this has to do with visiting her." + +"It has, because I want to follow her and--marry her," said +Nekhludoff. And, as it usually happened when he spoke of this, his +eyes filled with tears. + +[Illustration: THE PRISONERS.] + +"Ah, is that so?" said the prosecutor. "This is really an exceptional +case. Are you not a member of the Krasnopersk town council?" asked the +prosecutor, as if recalling that he had heard of this Nekhludoff who +was now making such a strange statement. + +"Excuse me, but I fail to see what this has to do with my request," +fuming, Nekhludoff answered with rancor. + +"Nothing, of course," the prosecutor said, with a faint smile on his +face, and not in the least disturbed. "But your request is so unusual +and beside all customary forms----" + +"Well, can I get the permission?" + +"Permission? Why, yes. I will give you a pass immediately. Please be +seated." + +He went to the table, sat down and began to write. + +"Please be seated." + +Nekhludoff stood still. + +When he had made out the pass the prosecutor handed it to Nekhludoff +and eyed him with curiosity. + +"I must also tell you," said Nekhludoff, "that I cannot continue to +serve as juror." + +"As you know, satisfactory reasons must be given to the court in such +cases." + +"The reasons are that I consider all courts useless and immoral." + +"I see," said the prosecutor, with the same faint smile which seemed +to indicate that such statements were familiar to him, and belonged to +an amusing class of people well known to him. "I see, but you +understand that, as public prosecutor, I cannot agree with you. I +therefore advise you to state so to the court, which will either find +your reasons satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and in the latter case +will impose a fine on you. Apply to the court." + +"I have already stated my reasons, and I will not go there," +Nekhludoff said angrily. + +"I have the honor to salute you," said the prosecutor, bowing, +evidently desiring to rid himself of the strange visitor. + +"Who was the man that just left your room?" asked one of the judges +who entered the prosecutor's cabinet after Nekhludoff had left. + +"Nekhludoff. You know, the one who made such strange suggestions in +the Krasnopersk town council. Just imagine, he is on the jury, and +among the prisoners there was a woman, or girl, who was sentenced to +penal servitude, and who, he says, was deceived by him. And now he +wishes to marry her." + +"It is impossible!" + +"That is what he told me. And how strangely excited he was!" + +"There is something wrong with our young men." + +"He is not so very young." + +"What a bore your famous Ivasheukoff is, my dear! He wins his cases by +tiring us out--there is no end to his talking." + +"They must be curbed, or they become real obstructionists." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + + +From the public prosecutor Nekhludoff went straight to the +detention-house. But no one by the name of Maslova was there. The +inspector told him that she might be found in the old temporary +prison. Nekhludoff went there and found that Katherine Moslova was one +of the inmates. + +The distance between the detention-house and the old prison was great, +and Nekhludoff did not arrive there until toward evening. He was about +to open the door of the huge, gloomy building, when the guard stopped +him and rang the bell. The warden responded to the bell. Nekhludoff +showed the pass, but the warden told him that he could not be admitted +without authority from the inspector. While climbing the stairs to the +inspector's dwelling, Nekhludoff heard the sounds of an intricate +bravura played on the piano. And when the servant, with a handkerchief +tied around one eye, opened the door, a flood of music dazed his +senses. It was a tiresome rhapsody by Lizst, well played, but only to +a certain place. When that place was reached, the melody repeated +itself. Nekhludoff asked the servant if the inspector was in. + +The servant said that he was not. + +"Will he be in soon?" + +The rhapsody again ceased, and with a noisy flourish again repeated +itself. + +"I will go and inquire." And the servant went away. + +The rhapsody again went on at full speed, when suddenly, reaching a +certain point, it came to a stand-still and a voice from within was +heard. + +"Tell him that he is not home, and will not come to-day. He is +visiting--why do they bother us?" a woman's voice was heard to say, +and the rhapsody continued, then ceased, and the sound of a chair +moved back was heard. The angry pianist herself evidently wished to +reprimand the importunate visitor who came at such a late hour. + +"Papa is not home," angrily said a pale, wretched looking girl with +puffed-up hair and blue spots under her eyes, who came to the door. +Seeing a young man in a good overcoat, she became calm. "Walk in, +please. What do you wish to see him for?" + +"I would like to see a prisoner. I hold a pass from the prosecutor." + +"Well, I don't know; papa is not in. Why, walk in, please," she again +called from the entrance hall. "Or apply to his assistant, who is now +in the office. You may talk to him. And what is your name?" + +"Thank you," said Nekhludoff, without answering the question, and went +away. + +Scarcely had the door closed when the same vigorous, merry sound, so +inappropriate to the place and so persistently rehearsed by the +wretched girl, was heard. In the court-yard Nekhludoff met a young +officer with a stiff, dyed mustache, of whom he inquired for the +assistant. He himself was the assistant. He took the pass, looked at +it, and said that he could not admit any one to the prison on a pass +for the detention-house. Besides, it was late. + +"At ten o'clock to-morrow the prison is open to all visitors, and the +inspector will be here. You could then see her in the common +reception-room, or, if the inspector permits it, in the office." + +So, without gaining an interview, Nekhludoff returned home. Agitated +by the expectation of seeing her, he walked along the streets, +thinking not of the court, but of his conversations with the +prosecutor and the inspectors. That he was seeking an interview with +her, and told the prosecutor of his intention, and visited two prisons +preparing for the ordeal, had so excited him that he could not calm +down. On returning home he immediately brought forth his unused diary, +read some parts and made the following entry: "For two years I have +kept no diary, and thought that I should never again return to this +childishness. But it was no childishness, but a discourse with myself, +with that true, divine _I_ which lives in every man. All this time +this _I_ was slumbering and I had no one to discourse with. It was +awakened by the extraordinary event of the 28th of April, in court, +where I sat as jurymen. I saw her, Katiousha, whom I had deceived, on +the prisoners' bench, in a prison coat. Through a strange +misunderstanding and my mistake, she was sentenced to penal servitude. +I have just returned from the prosecutor and the prison. I was not +permitted to see her, but I am determined to do anything to see her, +acknowledge my guilt and make reparation even by marrying her. Lord, +help me! My soul is rejoicing." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + + +For a long time that night Maslova lay awake with open eyes, and, +looking at the door, mused. + +She was thinking that under no circumstances would she marry a convict +on the island of Saghalin, but would settle down some other way--with +some inspector, or clerk, or even the warden, or an assistant. They +are all eager for such a thing. "Only I must not get thin. Otherwise I +am done for." And she recalled how she was looked at by her lawyer, +the justiciary--in fact, everybody in the court-room. She recalled how +Bertha, who visited her in prison, told her that the student, whom she +loved while she was an inmate at Kitaeva's, inquired about her and +expressed his regrets when told of her condition. She recalled the +fight with the red-haired woman, and pitied her. She called to mind +the baker who sent her an extra lunch roll, and many others, but not +Nekhludoff. Of her childhood and youth, and especially of her love for +Nekhludoff, she never thought. That was too painful. These +recollections were hidden deeply in her soul. She never saw Nekhludoff +even in a dream. She failed to recognize him in court, not so much +because when she last saw him he was an army officer, beardless, with +small mustache and thick, short hair, while now he was no longer young +in appearance, and wore a beard, but more because she never thought of +him. She had buried all recollections of her past relations with him +in that terrible dark night when, on his return from the army, he +visited his aunts. + +Up to that night, while she hoped for his return, the child which she +bore under her heart was not irksome to her. But from that night +forward everything changed, and the coming child was only a hindrance. + +The aunts had asked Nekhludoff to stop off at their station and call +on them, but he wired that he would not be able to do it, as he had to +reach St. Petersburg in time. When Katiousha learned this, she decided +to go to the railroad station to see him. The train was to pass at two +o'clock in the morning. Katiousha helped the ladies to bed, and, +having induced the cook's girl, Mashka, to accompany her, she put on +an old pair of shoes, threw a shawl over her head, gathered up her +skirts and ran to the station. + +It was a dark, rainy, windy, autumn night. The rain now poured down in +large, warm drops, now ceased. The road could not be distinguished in +the field, and it was pitch dark in the woods. Although Katiousha was +familiar with the road she lost her way in the woods, and reached a +sub-station, where the train only stopped for three minutes. Running +on the platform, she espied Nekhludoff through the window of a +first-class car. The car was brightly illuminated. Two officers sat on +plush seats playing cards. On the table near the window two thick +candles were burning. Nekhludoff sat on the arm of the seat, his elbow +resting on the back, laughing. As soon as she recognized him she +tapped on the window with her cold hand. But at that moment the third +bell rang, and the train began to move, the cars jostling each other +forward. One of the players rose with the cards in his hands and began +to look through the window. She tapped again, and pressed her face +against the window-pane. At that moment the car beside which she stood +was tugged forward, and it moved along. She ran alongside, looking in +the window. The officer tried to lower the window, but could not. +Nekhludoff rose, and, pushing the officer aside, began lowering it. +The train went faster, so that Katiousha was obliged to run. The train +moved still faster when the window was lowered. At that moment the +conductor pushed her aside and jumped on the car. She fell back, but +continued to run along the wet boards of the platform, and when she +reached the end of the platform and began to descend the steps to the +ground, she almost fell exhausted. The first-class car was far ahead +of her, and while she was running the second-class cars passed her, +then came with greater speed those of the third class. When the last +car with the lanterns flew by her she was already beyond the +water-tank, unsheltered from the wind which lashed her, blowing the +shawl from her head and tangling her feet in her skirt. But still she +ran on. + +"Aunt Michaelovna!" shouted the little girl, "you have lost your +shawl." + +Katiousha stopped, threw back her head, and, covering her face with +her hands, began to sob. + +"He is gone!" she cried. + +"While he is in a lighted car, sitting on a plush seat, jesting and +drinking, I stand here in the mud, rain and wind, crying," she +thought. She sat down on the ground and began to sob aloud. The little +girl was frightened, and, embracing her wet clothing, she said: + +"Auntie, let's go home." + +"I will wait for the next train, throw myself under the wheels, and +that will end it all," Katiousha was meanwhile thinking, not heeding +the girl. + +She made up her mind to carry out her intention. But as it always +happens in the first moment of calm after a period of agitation, the +child, _his_ child, suddenly shuddered. Immediately all that which so +tortured her that she was willing to die, all her wrath and her +desire to revenge herself even by death, passed. She became calm, +arranged her clothing, put the shawl on her head, and went away. + +She returned home exhausted, wet and muddy. From that day began in her +that spiritual transformation which ended in her present condition. +From that terrible night on she ceased to believe in God and in +goodness. Before that night she herself believed in God, and believed +that other people believed in Him; but after that night she became +convinced that no one believed, and all that was said of God and His +law was false and wrong. The one whom she loved, and who loved +her--she knew it--abandoned her and made sport of her feelings. And he +was the best of all the men she knew. All the others were even worse. +This she saw confirmed in all that had happened. His aunts, pious old +ladies, drove her out when she was no longer as useful as she used to +be. All the women with whom she came in contact tried to make money by +her; the men, beginning with the commissary and down to the prison +officers, all looked upon her as a means of pleasure. The whole world +was after pleasure. Her belief in this was strengthened by the old +author whom she met during the second year of her independent life. He +had told her frankly that this--he called it poetical and esthetic--is +all of life's happiness. + +Every one lived for himself only, for his own pleasure, and all the +words about God and goodness were deception. And if the questions +sometimes occurred to her, Why were the affairs of the world so ill +arranged that people harm each other, and all suffer, she thought it +best not to dwell on it. If she became lonesome, she took a drink, +smoked a cigarette, and the feeling would pass away. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + + +When at five o'clock the following morning, which was Sunday, the +customary whistle blew, Korableva, who was already awake, roused +Maslova. + +"A convict," Maslova thought with horror, rubbing her eyes and +involuntarily inhaling the foul morning air. She wished to fall +asleep again, to transfer herself into a state of unconsciousness, but +fear overcame her drowsiness. She raised herself, crossed her legs +under her, and looked around. The women were already up, only the +children were still sleeping. The moonshining woman with bulging eyes +was carefully removing her coat from under them. The rioter was drying +near the oven some rags which served for swaddling cloths, while the +child, in the hands of the blue-eyed Theodosia, was crying at the top +of its lungs, the woman lulling it in a gentle voice. The consumptive, +seizing her breast, coughed violently, and, sighing at intervals, +almost screamed. The red-headed woman lay prone on her back relating a +dream she had had. The old incendiary stood before the image, +whispering the same words, crossing herself and bowing. The chanter's +daughter sat motionless on her cot, and with dull, half-open eyes was +looking into space. Miss Dandy was curling on her finger her oily, +rough, black hair. + +Presently resounding steps were heard in the corridor, the lock +creaked open, and two prisoners in short jackets and gray trousers +scarcely reaching their ankles entered, and, raising the ill-smelling +vat on a yoke, carried it away. The women went to the faucets in the +corridor to wash themselves. The red-headed woman got into a quarrel +with a woman from the adjoining cell. Again there were cursing, +shouting and complaints. + +"You will get into the dark-room yet," shouted the warden, and he +slapped the red-headed woman on her fat, bare back, so that it +resounded through the entire corridor. "Don't let me hear you again." + +"Fooling again, you old man?" she said, treating it as a caress. + +"Hurry up! It is time for mass." + +Scarcely had Maslova arranged her hair when the inspector entered with +his attendants. + +"Make ready for inspection!" shouted the warden. + +The women of the two cells formed in two rows along the corridor, +those of the back row placing their hands on the shoulders of the +women in the front row. Then they were counted. + +After the count came the woman inspector and led the prisoners to the +church. Maslova and Theodosia were in the middle of the column, which +consisted of over a hundred women from all the cells. They all had +white 'kerchiefs on their heads, and some few wore their own colored +dresses. These were the wives and children of convicts. The procession +covered the whole stairway. A soft clatter of prison shoes was heard, +here and there some conversation, and sometimes laughter. At a turn +Maslova noticed the malicious face of her enemy, Bochkova, who was +walking in the front row, and pointed her out to Theodosia. At the +foot of the stairs the women became silent, and, making the sign of +the cross and bowing, they filed into the open door of the empty, +gold-bedecked chapel. Their place was on the right, where, crowding +each other, they began to arrange themselves in rows, standing. Behind +the women came the male convicts who were serving terms or detained +for transportation under sentence by the communities. Loudly clearing +their throats, they formed a dense crowd on the left and the middle of +the chapel. Above, on the gallery, were other convicts with heads half +shaven, whose presence was manifested by a clanking of chains. + +This prison chapel had been rebuilt and remodeled by a rich merchant, +who had spent about thirty thousand rubles on it, and it was all +ornamented with gilt and bright colors. + +For a few seconds there was silence, which was broken only by the +blowing of noses, coughing, and clanking of chains. Suddenly the +prisoners who stood in the middle began to press back, making a +passage for the inspector, who walked to the middle of the chapel, and +the services commenced. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + + +Nekhludoff left the house early. A peasant was driving along a side +alley, shouting in a strange voice: "Milk! milk! milk!" + +The first warm, spring rain had fallen the evening before. Wherever +there was a patch of unpaved ground the green grass burst forth; the +lindens were covered with green nap; the fowl-cherry and poplar +unfolded their long, fragrant leaves. In the market-place, through +which Nekhludoff had to pass, dense crowds in rags swarmed before the +tents, some carrying boots under their arms, others smoothly pressed +trousers and vests on their shoulders. + +The working people were already crowding near the traktirs +(tea-houses), the men in clean, long coats gathered in folds in the +back of the waist, and in shining boots; the women in bright-colored +silk shawls and cloaks with glass-bead trimmings. Policemen, with +pistols attached to yellow cords fastened around their waists, stood +at their posts. Children and dogs played on the grass-plots, and gay +nurses sat chatting on the benches. + +On the streets, the left sides of which were yet cool, moist and +shady, heavy carts and light cabs rumbled and jostled, the tram-cars +rang their bells. The air was agitated by the pealing of the +church-bells summoning the people to mass. + +The driver stopped at a turn some distance from the prison. A few men +and women stood around, most of them with bundles in their hands. To +the right stood a few frame houses; to the left a two-story building +over which hung a large sign. The large prison itself was directly in +front. An armed soldier walked to and fro challenging every one +attempting to pass him. + +At the gate of the frame buildings sat the warden in uniform, with an +entry booklet in his hand. He made entries of visitors and those whom +they wished to see. Nekhludoff approached him, gave his name and that +of Moslova, and the officer entered them in his book. + +"Why don't they open the door?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"The morning service is on. As soon as it is over you will be +admitted." + +Nekhludoff returned among the waiting crowd. + +A man in threadbare clothing, rumpled hat and slippers on his bare +feet, and his face full of red lines, pushed his way through the crowd +and walked toward the prison door. + +"Where are you going?" shouted the soldier. + +"What are you bawling about?" answered the man, entirely undisturbed +by the soldier's challenge. "If I can't go in, I will wait. No use +bawling as if you were a general." + +The crowd laughed approvingly. Most of the visitors were poorly +dressed, even ragged, but, judging by outward appearance, there were +also some decent men and women among them. Beside Nekhludoff stood a +well-dressed man, clean shaven, stout and with rosy cheeks, who +carried a bundle of what looked like linen. Nekhludoff asked him if +that was his first visit. The man answered that he came there every +Sunday, and they entered into conversation. He was an employee of a +bank, whose brother was under indictment for forgery. This +kind-hearted man told Nekhludoff all his story, and was about to ask +him about his own when their attention was attracted by a rubber-tired +carriage drawn by a blooded chestnut horse. The carriage was occupied +by a student and a lady whose face was hidden under a veil. The +student alighted, holding in his hand a large bundle. He approached +Nekhludoff and asked him where and how he should deliver the loaves of +bread he had brought for the prisoners. "I brought them at the request +of my bride. That is my bride. Her parents advised us to bring some +alms for the prisoners." + +"I really don't know, for I am here for the first time, but I think +that that officer will tell you," said Nekhludoff, pointing to the +warden in the crown-laced uniform. + +While Nekhludoff was talking to the student the large iron gate of the +prison opened and a uniformed officer with another warden came out. +The one with the booklet in his hand announced that the prison was +open for visitors. The guard stood aside, and all the visitors, as if +fearing to be late, with quick step, and some even running, pressed +toward the prison gate. One of the wardens stationed himself at the +gate, and in a loud voice counted the passing visitors--16, 17, 18, +etc. The other warden, within the gate, touching each with his hand, +also counted the visitors as they entered another door. This was to +make sure that at their departure no visitor remained in prison, and +no prisoner made his way out. The tallying officer, without regard to +the person of the visitor, slapped Nekhludoff on the back. This at +first offended the latter, but he immediately remembered his mission, +and he became ashamed that his feelings should be thus wounded. + +The second door opened into a large, vaulted room with small +iron-grated windows. In this room, which was called the meeting-room, +Nekhludoff saw in a niche a large image of the Crucifixion. + +Nekhludoff went on slowly, letting the hurrying visitors pass before, +and experienced a mingled feeling of horror at the malefactors +imprisoned in this jail, compassion for those innocent people who, +like the boy and Katiousha, must be here, and timidity and tenderness +before the meeting that was before him. When he reached the end of the +room the warden said something, but Nekhludoff, who was absorbed in +his thoughts, paid no attention to it, and followed in the direction +led by the crowd, that is, to the men's ward instead of the women's. + +Letting the hurrying visitors pass, he walked into the next room +designated for interviews. On opening the door he was struck by the +deafening shouts of a hundred throats turned into a continuous humming +noise. Only as he neared the people, who, like flies swarming on sugar +pressed their faces against a net which divided the room in two, did +Nekhludoff understand the cause of the noise. This room with windows +in the rear wall was divided in two not by one, but by two wire nets +which stretched from the ceiling to the floor. Two wardens walked +between the nets. The prisoners were on the other side of the nets, +between which there was a space of about seven feet for visitors, so +that not only was it difficult to converse with them but a +short-sighted man could not even see the face of the prisoner he was +visiting. In order to be heard, it was necessary to shout at the top +of one's voice. On both sides, pressing against the nets, were the +faces of wives, husbands, fathers, mothers, children, who endeavored +to see and speak to each other. But as every one tried to speak so +that he could be heard by the person spoken to, and his neighbor did +the same, their voices interfered with each other, and each tried to +outcry the other. The result was the noise which astonished Nekhludoff +when he entered the room. It was absolutely impossible to understand +the conversations. Only by the expression of the people's faces could +one judge what they were speaking about, and what relation the +speakers sustained toward each other. Near Nekhludoff was an old woman +with a small 'kerchief on her head, who, with trembling chin, shouted +to a pale young man with head half shaven. The prisoner, knitting his +brow, was listening to her with raised eyebrows. Beside the old woman +stood a young man in a long coat, who was nodding his head while +listening to a prisoner with a weary face and beard turning gray, who +greatly resembled him. Further on stood a ragamuffin waving his hand, +shouting and laughing. On the floor beside this man sat a woman in a +good woolen dress, with a child in her arms. She wept bitterly, +evidently seeing for the first time that gray-haired man on the other +side of the net, manacled, in a prison jacket, and with head half +shaven. Over this woman stood the bank employee shouting at the top of +his voice to a bald-headed prisoner with shining eyes. + +Nekhludoff remained in this room about five minutes, experiencing a +strange feeling of anguish, a consciousness of his impotence at the +discord in the world, and he was seized with a sensation like a +rocking on board of a ship. + +"But I must fulfill my mission," he said to himself, taking heart. +"What am I to do?" + +As he looked around for some officer, he saw a middle-sized man with +mustache, wearing epaulets, who was walking behind the crowd. + +"Sir, could you not tell me where the women are kept, and where it is +permitted to see them?" he asked, making a particular effort to be +polite. + +"You wish to go to the women's ward?" + +"Yes; I would like to see one of the women prisoners," Nekhludoff +said, with the same strained politeness. + +"You should have said so in the meeting-room. Whom do you wish to see, +then?" + +"I wish to see Katherine Maslova." + +"Has she been sentenced?" + +"Yes, she was sentenced the other day," he said humbly, as if fearing +to ruffle the temper of the officer, who seemed to be interested in +him. + +"Then this way, please," said the inspector, who had evidently +decided from Nekhludoff's appearance that he deserved attention. +"Sidoroff!" he turned to a warrant-officer wearing a mustache, and +medals on his breast. "Show this gentleman to the women's ward." + +"All right, sir." + +At that moment heart-rending cries came from the direction of the +grating. + +All this seemed strange to Nekhludoff, and strangest of all was that +he was obliged to thank and feel himself under obligation to the +inspector and warden. + +The warden led Nekhludoff from the men's ward into the corridor, and +through the open door opposite admitted him to the women's +meeting-room. + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + + +This room, like the one in the men's ward, was also divided in three, +by two nets, but it was considerably smaller. There were also fewer +visitors and fewer prisoners, but the noise was as great as in the +men's room. Here, also, the authorities stood guard between the nets. +The authorities were here represented by a matron in uniform with +crown-laced sleeves and fringed with blue braid and a belt of the same +color. Here, too, people pressed against the nets--in the +passage--city folks in divers dresses; behind the nets, female +prisoners, some in white, others in their own dresses. The whole net +was lined with people. Some stood on tip-toe, speaking over the heads +of others; others, again, sat on the floor and conversed. + +The most remarkable of the women prisoners, both in her shouting and +appearance, was a thin, ragged gipsy, with a 'kerchief which had +slipped from her head, who stood almost in the middle of the room, +near a post, behind the net, gesticulating and shouting to a short and +tightly belted gipsy in a blue coat. A soldier sat beside him on the +floor, talking to a prisoner. Beyond stood a young peasant with a +light beard and in bast shoes, pressing his flushed face to the net, +evidently with difficulty suppressing his tears. He was talking to a +pretty, light-haired prisoner who gazed at him with her bright, blue +eyes. This was Theodosia, with her husband. Beside them stood a tramp, +who was talking to a disheveled, broad-faced woman. Further on there +were two women, a man, and again a woman, and opposite each was a +prisoner. Maslova was not among them. But behind the prisoners stood +another woman. Nekhludoff felt the beating of his heart increasing and +his breath failing him. The decisive moment was approaching. He neared +the net and recognized Katiousha. She stood behind the blue-eyed +Theodosia, and, smiling, listened to her conversation. She did not +wear the prison coat, but a white waist, tightly belted, and rising +high above the breast. As in the court, her black hair hung in curls +over her 'kerchiefed forehead. + +"It will all be over in a moment," he thought. "Shall I address her, +or shall I wait till she addresses me?" + +But she did not address him. She was waiting for Clara, and never +thought that that man came to see her. + +"Whom do you wish to see?" the matron asked Nekhludoff, approaching +him. + +"Katherine Maslova," he stammered. + +"Maslova, you are wanted," shouted the matron. + +Maslova turned round, raised her head, and with the familiar +expression of submissiveness, came to the net. She did not recognize +Nekhludoff, and gazed at him in surprise. However, judging by his +dress that he was a rich man, she smiled. + +"What are you?" she asked, pressing her smiling face with squinting +eyes against the net. + +"I wish to see--" He did not know whether to use the respectful "you" +or the endearing "thou," and decided on the former. He spoke no louder +than usual. "I wish to see you--I----" + +"Don't give me any of your song and dance----" the tramp beside him +shouted. "Did you take it, or did you not?" + +"She is dying; she is very weak," some one shouted on the other side. + +Maslova could not hear Nekhludoff, but the expression of his face, as +she spoke, suddenly reminded her of that which she did not wish to +think of. The smile disappeared from her face, and a wrinkle on her +brow evidenced her suffering. + +"I cannot hear what you are saying," she shouted, blinking and still +more knitting her brows. + +"I came----" + +"Yes, I am doing my duty; I am repenting," thought Nekhludoff, and +immediately tears filled his eyes, and he felt a choking sensation in +his throat. His fingers clutched at the net and he made efforts to +keep from sobbing. + +"I should not have gone if you were well," came from one side. + +"I swear by God I know nothing about it!" cried a prisoner from the +other side. + +Maslova noticed his agitation, and it communicated itself to her. Her +eyes sparkled, and her puffy, white cheeks became covered with red +spots, but her face retained its severity, and her squinting eyes +stared past him. + +"You are like him, but I don't know you," she shouted. + +"I came here to ask your forgiveness," he said in a loud voice, +without intonation, as if repeating a lesson he had learned by heart. + +As he said these words he felt ashamed and looked round. But the +thought immediately came to his mind that it was well that he was +ashamed, for he ought to bear the shame. And in a loud voice he +continued: + +"I acted meanly, infamously--forgive me." + +She stood motionless, her squinting eyes fixed on him. + +He could not continue and left the net, making efforts to stifle the +sobbing which was convulsing his breast. + +The inspector who directed Nekhludoff to the women's ward, evidently +becoming interested in him, came into the room, and, seeing him in the +middle of the passage, asked him why he was not speaking with the +prisoner he had inquired about. Nekhludoff blew his nose, and, +endeavoring to assume an air of calmness, said: + +"I can't speak through the net; nothing can be heard." + +The inspector mused awhile. + +"Well, then, she can be brought out for awhile." + +"Maria Karlovna!" he turned to the matron. "Lead Maslova out." + + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + + +A moment afterward Maslova came out through a side door. With gentle +step she came up to Nekhludoff; stopped and glanced at him from under +her lowered eyebrows. Her black hair stood out on her forehead in +curly ringlets; her unhealthy, bloated, white face was pretty and very +calm, only her shining-black, squinting eyes sparkled from under their +swollen lashes. + +"You may talk here," said the inspector and went aside. + +Nekhludoff moved toward a bench standing beside the wall. + +Maslova glanced inquiringly at the inspector, and shrugging her +shoulders, as if in wonder, followed Nekhludoff to the bench, and +straightening her skirt, sat down beside him. + +"I know that it is hard for you to forgive me," began Nekhludoff, but +feeling the tears flooding his eyes, again stopped, "but if the past +cannot be mended, I will do now everything in my power. Tell me----" + +"How did you find me?" she asked without answering his question, her +squinting eyes looking and not looking at him. + +"Oh, Lord! Help me, teach me what to do!" Nekhludoff said to himself +as he looked at her face so completely changed. + +"I was on the jury when you were tried," he said. "You did not +recognize me?" + +"No, I did not. I had no time to recognize you. Besides, I did not +look," she answered. + +"Wasn't there a child?" he asked, and he felt his face turning red. + +"It died at that time, thank God," she said with bitterness, turning +away her head. + +"How did it happen?" + +"I was ill myself--nearly died," she said without raising her eyes. + +"How could the aunts let you go?" + +"Who would keep a servant with a child? As soon as they noticed it +they drove me out. But what is the use of talking! I don't remember +anything. It is all over now." + +"No, it is not over. I cannot leave it thus. I now wish to atone for +my sin." + +"There is nothing to atone for; what's gone is gone," she said, and, +all unexpected to him, she suddenly looked at him and smiled in an +alluring and piteous manner. + +His appearance was entirely unexpected to Maslova, especially at this +time and place, and therefore the astonishment of the first moment +brought to her mind that of which she never thought before. At the +first moment she hazily recalled that new, wonderful world of feeling +and thought which had been opened to her by that charming young man +who loved her, and whom she loved, and then his inexplicable cruelty +and the long chain of humiliation and suffering which followed as the +direct result of that enchanting bliss, and it pained her. But being +unable to account for it all, she did the customary thing for +her--banished all these recollections from her mind, and endeavored to +obscure them by a life of dissipation. At first she associated this +man who sat beside her with that young man whom she had loved once, +but as the thought pained her, she drove it from her mind. And now +this neatly dressed gentleman, with perfumed beard, was to her not +that Nekhludoff whom she had loved, but one of those people who, as +opportunity afforded, were taking advantage of such creatures as she, +and of whom such creatures as she ought to take advantage as +opportunity offers. For this reason she smiled alluringly. + +She was silent, thinking how to profit by him. + +"All that is over now," she said. "And here I am, sentenced to penal +servitude." + +Her lips trembled as she spoke the terrible word. + +"I knew, I was certain that you were innocent," said Nekhludoff. + +"Of course I was innocent. I am no thief or robber. They say here that +it all depends on the lawyer; that it is necessary to appeal. Only +they say it comes very high----" + +"Yes, certainly," said Nekhludoff. "I have already seen a lawyer." + +"One must not be sparing, and get a good one," she said. + +"I will do everything in my power." + +They were silent. She again smiled as before. + +"I would like to ask you--for some money, if you have it--not much, +say ten rubles," she said suddenly. + +"Yes, yes," said Nekhludoff, abashed, and thrust his hand in his +pocket. + +She quickly glanced at the inspector, who was walking up and down the +aisle. + +"Don't let him see it, or he will take it away." + +Nekhludoff took out his pocketbook as soon as the director turned his +back on them, but before he could hand her the ten-ruble bill the +inspector turned round, facing them. He crumpled the bill in his hand. + +"Why, she is a dead woman," thought Nekhludoff as he looked at her +once lovely, but now defiled, bloated face with the unhealthy sparkle +in her black, squinting eyes, which looked now at the inspector, now +at Nekhludoff's hand with the crumpled bill. And a moment of +hesitation came over him. + +Again the tempter of the night before whispered in his soul, +endeavoring to turn the question, What would be the best thing to do? +into, What will be the end of it? + +"You can do nothing with that woman," whispered the voice. "She will +be like a stone around your neck, which will drag you down, and +prevent your being useful to others. Give her all the money you have, +bid her good-by and put an end to it for all time." + +And immediately he became aware that something important was taking +place in his soul; that his inner life was on a wavering scale, which +could by the slightest effort be made to overbalance to one side or +the other. And he made that effort, calling on that God whom the other +day he felt in his soul, and God immediately came to his aid. He +resolved to tell her all. + +"Katiousha! I came to ask your forgiveness, but you have not answered +me whether you have forgiven me, or ever will forgive me," he said +suddenly. + +She was not listening to him, but looked now at his hand, now at the +inspector. When the latter turned away, she quickly stretched forth +her hand, seized the money from Nekhludoff's hand and stuck it behind +her belt. + +"How funny!" she said, smiling contemptuously as it seemed to him. + +Nekhludoff saw that there was something inimical to him in her, which +stood guard, as it were, over her as she was now, and prevented him +from penetrating into her heart. + +But--wonderful to relate--so far from repulsing him, this only drew +him to her by some new peculiar force. He felt that he ought to awaken +her spirit; that it was extremely difficult to do so; but the very +difficulty of the undertaking attracted him. He experienced a feeling +toward her which he had never experienced before, either toward her or +any one else, and in which there was nothing personal. He desired +nothing of her for himself, and only wished her to to cease to be what +she was now, and become what she had been before. + +"Katiousha, why do you speak thus? I know you, I remember you as you +were in Panoff----" + +But she did not yield--she would not yield. + +"Why recall the past!" she said dryly, frowning even more. + +"Because I wish to efface, to expiate my sin. Katiousha----" he began, +and was about to tell her that he would marry her, but he met her eyes +in which he read something so terrible, rude and repulsive that he +could not finish. + +At that moment the visitors began to take leave. The inspector +approached Nekhludoff and told him that the time for interviewing was +ended. Maslova rose and submissively waited to be dismissed. + +"Good-by. I have a great deal to tell you yet, but, as you see, I +cannot do it now," said Nekhludoff, and extended his hand. "I will +call again." + +"I think you have said everything----" + +She extended her hand, but did not press his. + +"No. I will try to see you again, where we can speak together, and +then I will tell you something very important," said Nekhludoff. + +"Well, all right," she said, smiling as she used to do when she +wished to please a man. + +"You are more to me than a sister," said Nekhludoff. + +"Funny," she repeated, and, shaking her head, she went behind the +grating. + + + + +CHAPTER XLII. + + +Nekhludoff expected that at the first meeting Katiousha, learning of +his intention to serve her, and of his repentance, would be moved to +rejoicing, would become again Katiousha, but to his surprise and +horror, he saw that Katiousha was no more; that only Maslova remained. + +It surprised him particularly that not only was Maslova not ashamed of +her condition, but, on the contrary, she seemed to be content with, +and even took pride in it. And yet it could not be different. + +It is usually thought that a thief or murderer, acknowledging the +harmfulness of his occupation, ought to be ashamed of it. The truth is +just the contrary. People, whom fate and their sinful mistakes have +placed in a given condition, form such views of life generally that +they are enabled to consider their condition useful and morally +tenable. In order, however, to maintain such views they instinctively +cling to such circles in which the same views are held. We are +surprised when we hear thieves boasting of their cleverness, or +murderers boasting of their cruelty, but that is only because their +circle is limited, and because we are outside of it. + +This was the case also with Maslova. She was sentenced to penal +servitude, and yet she formed such views of life and her place in it +that she could find reasons for self-approval and even boast before +people of her condition. + +The substance of this view was that the greatest welfare of all men, +without exception--young, old, students, generals, educated and +uneducated--consisted in associating with attractive women, and that +therefore all men, while pretending to occupy themselves with other +business, in reality desire nothing else. Now, she is an attractive +woman, and can satisfy that desire of theirs, or not, as she wishes, +hence she is a necessary and important person. All her life, past and +present, attested the justice of this view. + +Whomever she met during ten years, beginning with Nekhludoff and the +old commissary of police, and ending with the jailers, all wanted her. +She had not met any one who did not want her. Hence the world appeared +to her as an aggregation of people who watched her from all sides and +by all possible means--deceit, violence, gold or craftiness--strewn to +possess her. + +With such an idea of life, Maslova considered herself a most important +person. And she cherished this view above all else in the world, +because to change it would be to lose that standing among people which +it assured her. And in order not to lose her standing she +instinctively clung to that circle which held the same views of life. +Seeing, however, that Nekhludoff wished to lead her into another +world, she resisted it, feeling that in that other world into which he +was luring her she would lose her present standing which gave her +confidence and self-respect. For the same reason she drove from her +mind all recollection of her first youth and her first relations to +Nekhludoff. These recollections clashed with her present views of +life, and for that reason were entirely effaced from her memory, or, +rather, were preserved somewhere in her memory, but were covered up, +as it were, with a thick plastering, to prevent any access to them. +Nekhludoff was, therefore, to her not that man whom she had loved with +a pure love, but merely a rich gentleman by whom one may and ought to +profit, and who was to be treated like any other man. + +"I did not tell her the most important thing," thought Nekhludoff, as +with the other people he walked toward the door. "I did not tell her +that I would marry her, but I will do it." + +The inspectors at the doors counted the visitors each with one hand +slapping every visitor on the back. But Nekhludoff was not offended by +it now; he even took no notice of it. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + + +It was Nekhludoff's intention to alter his manner of living--discharge +the servants, let the house and take rooms in a hotel. But Agrippina +Petrovna argued that no one would rent the house in the summer, and +that as it was necessary to live somewhere and keep the furniture and +things, he might as well remain where he was. So that all efforts of +Nekhludoff to lead a simple, student life, came to naught. Not only +was the old arrangement of things continued, but, as in former times, +the house received a general cleaning. First were brought out and hung +on a rope uniforms and strange fur garments which were never used by +anybody; then carpets, furniture, and the porter, with his assistant, +rolling up the sleeves on their muscular arms, began to beat these +things, and the odor of camphor rose all over the house. Walking +through the court-yard and looking out of the window, Nekhludoff +wondered at the great number of unnecessary things kept in the house. +The only purpose these things served, he thought, was to afford the +servants an opportunity of exercise. + +"It isn't worth while to alter my mode of life while Maslova's affair +is unsettled," he thought. "Besides, it is too hard. When she is +discharged or transported and I follow her, things will change of +their own accord." + +On the day appointed by the lawyer Fanirin, Nekhludoff called on him. +On entering the magnificently appointed apartments of the house owned +by the lawyer himself, with its huge plants, remarkable curtains and +other evidences of luxury, attesting easily earned wealth, Nekhludoff +found in the reception-room a number of people sitting dejectedly +around tables on which lay illustrated journals intended for their +diversion. The lawyer's clerk, who was sitting in this room at a high +desk, recognizing Nekhludoff, greeted him and said that he would +announce him. But before the clerk reached the door of the cabinet, +the door opened and the animated voices of a thick-set man with a red +face and stubby mustache, wearing a new suit, and Fanirin himself were +heard. The expression on their faces was such as is seen on people +who had just made a profitable, but not very honest, bargain. + +"It is your own fault, my dear sir," Fanirin said, smiling. + +"I would gladly go to heaven, but my sins prevent me." + +"That is all right." + +And both laughed unnaturally. + +"Ah, Prince Nekhludoff! Pleased to see you," said Fanirin, and bowing +again to the departing merchant, he led Nekhludoff into his +business-like cabinet. "Please take a cigarette," said the lawyer, +seating himself opposite Nekhludoff and suppressing a smile, called +forth by the success of the preceding affair. + +"Thank you. I came to inquire about Maslova's case." + +"Yes, yes, immediately. My, what rogues these moneybags are!" he said. +"You have seen that fellow; he is worth twelve millions, and is the +meanest skinflint I ever met." + +Nekhludoff felt an irresistible loathing toward this ready talker who, +by his tone of voice, meant to show that he and Nekhludoff belonged to +a different sphere than the other clients. + +"He worried me to death. He is an awful rogue. I wanted to ease my +mind," said the lawyer, as if justifying his not speaking about +Nekhludoff's case. "And now as to your case. I have carefully examined +it, 'and could not approve the contents thereof,' as Tourgeniff has +it. That is to say, the lawyer was a wretched one, and he let slip all +the grounds of appeal." + +"What have you decided to do?" + +"One moment. Tell him," he turned to his clerk, who had just entered, +"that I will not change my terms. He can accept them or not, as he +pleases." + +"He does not accept them." + +"Well, then, let him go," said the lawyer, and his benign and joyful +countenance suddenly assumed a gloomy and angry expression. + +"They say that lawyers take money for nothing," he said, again +assuming a pleasant expression. "I succeeded in obtaining the +discharge of an insolent debtor who was incarcerated on flimsy +accusations of fraud, and now they all run after me. And every such +case requires great labor. We, too, you know, leave some of our flesh +in the ink-pot, as some author said." + +"Well, now, your case, or rather the case in which you are +interested," he continued; "was badly conducted. There are no good +grounds for appeal, but, of course, we can make an attempt. This is +what I have written." + +He took a sheet of paper, and quickly swallowing some uninteresting, +formal words, and emphasizing others, he began to read: + +"To the Department of Cassation, etc., etc., Katherine, etc. Petition. +By the decision, etc., of the etc., rendered, etc., a certain Maslova +was found guilty of taking the life, by poisoning, of a certain +merchant Smelkoff, and in pursuance of Chapter 1,454 of the Code, was +sentenced to etc., with hard labor, etc." + +He stopped, evidently listening with pleasure to his own composition, +although from constant use he knew the forms by heart. + +"'This sentence is the result of grave errors,' he continued with +emphasis, 'and ought to be reversed for the following reasons: +First, the reading in the indictment of the description of the +entrails of Smelkoff was interrupted by the justiciary at the very +beginning.'--One." + +"But the prosecutor demanded its reading," Nekhludoff said with +surprise. + +"That is immaterial; the defense could have demanded the same thing." + +"But that was entirely unnecessary." + +"No matter, it is a ground of appeal. Further: 'Second. Maslova's +attorney,' he continued to read, 'was interrupted while addressing the +jury, by the justiciary, when, desiring to depict the character of +Maslova, he touched upon the inner causes of her fall. The ground for +refusing to permit him to continue his address was stated to be +irrelevancy to the question at issue. But as has often been pointed +out by the Senate, the character and moral features generally of an +accused are to be given the greatest weight in determining the +question of intent.'--Two." + +"But he spoke so badly that we could not understand him," said +Nekhludoff with still greater surprise. + +"He is a very foolish fellow and, of course, could say nothing +sensible," Fanirin said, laughing. "However, it is a ground for +appeal. 'Third. In his closing words the justiciary, contrary to the +positive requirements of section 1, chapter 801 of the Code of +Criminal Procedure, failed to explain to the jury of what legal +elements the theory of guilt consisted; nor did he tell them that if +they found that Maslova gave the poison to Smelkoff, but without +intent to kill, they had the power to discharge her.' This is the +principal point." + +"We could have known that. That was our mistake." + +"And finally: 'Fourth,'" continued the lawyer. "'The answer of the +jury to the question of Maslova's guilt was made in a form which was +obviously contradictory. Maslova was charged with intentional +poisoning of Smelkoff, and with robbery as a motive, while the jury, +in their answer, denied her guilt of the robbery, from which it was +evident that they intended to acquit her of the intent to kill. Their +failure to do so was due to the incomplete charge of the justiciary. +Such an answer, therefore, demanded the application of chapters 816 +and 808 of the Code. That is to say, it was the duty of the presiding +justice to explain to the jury their mistake and refer the question of +the guilt of the accused to them for further deliberation.'" + +"Why, then, did he not do it?" + +"That is just what I would like to know myself," said Fanirin, +laughing. + +"So the Senate will correct the mistake." + +"That will depend on who will be sitting there when the case is +heard." + +"Well, and then we continue: 'Under these circumstances the court +erred in imposing on Maslova punishment, and the application to her of +section 3, chapter 771 of the Code was a serious violation of the +basic principles of the criminal law. Wherefore applicant demands, +etc., etc., be revised in accordance with chs. 909, 910, s. 2, 912 and +928 of the Code, etc., etc., and referring the case back for a new +trial to a different part of the same court.' Well, now, everything +that could be done was done. But I will be frank with you; the +probabilities of success are slight. However, everything depends on +who will be sitting in the Senate. If you know any one among them, +bestir yourself." + +"Yes, I know some." + +"Then you must hasten, for they will soon be gone on their vacation, +and won't return for three months. In case of failure, the only +recourse will be to petition the Czar. I shall be at your service also +in that contingency." + +"I thank you. And now as to your honorarium?" + +"My clerk will hand you the petition and also my bill." + +"One more question I would like to ask you. The prosecutor gave me a +pass for the prison, but I was told there that it was necessary to +obtain the Governor's permission to visit the prison on other than +visitors' days. Is it necessary?" + +"I think so. But he is away, and the lieutenant is in his place." + +"You mean Maslenikoff?" + +"Yes." + +"I know him," said Nekhludoff, rising to leave. + +At that moment the lawyer's wife, an extremely ugly, pug-nosed and +bony woman, rushed into the room. Not only was her attire unusually +original--she was fairly loaded down with plush and silk things, +bright yellow and green--but her oily hair was done up in curls, and +she triumphantly rushed into the reception-room, accompanied by a +tall, smiling man with an earth-colored face, in a cut-away coat with +silk facings and a white tie. This was an author. He knew Nekhludoff +by sight. + +"Anatal," she said, opening the door, "come here. Semion Ivanovitch +promised to read to us his poem, and you must read something from +Garshin." + +Nekhludoff was preparing to go, but the lawyer's wife whispered +something to her husband and turned to him: + +"I know you, Prince, and consider an introduction unnecessary. Won't +you please attend our literary breakfast? It will be very interesting. +Anatal is an excellent reader." + +"You see what variety of duties I have," said Anatal, smiling and +pointing at his wife, thereby expressing the impossibility of +resisting that bewitching person. + +With a sad and grave face and with the greatest politeness, Nekhludoff +thanked the lawyer's wife for the invitation, pleaded other +engagements and went into the reception-room. + +"What faces he makes!" the lawyer's wife said of him, when he had left +the room. + +In the reception-room the clerk handed him the petition, and in answer +to Nekhludoff's question about the honorarium, said that Anatal +Semionovitch set his fee at a thousand rubles; that he really does not +take such cases, but does it for Nekhludoff. + +"And who is to sign the petition?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"The prisoner may sign it herself, and if that be troublesome, she may +empower Anatal Semionovitch." + +"No, I will go to the prison and obtain her signature," said +Nekhludoff, rejoicing at the opportunity of seeing Katiousha before +the appointed day. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + + +At the usual hour the jailers' whistles were heard in the corridors of +the prison; with a rattling of irons the doors of the corridors and +cells opened, and the patter of bare feet and the clatter of prison +shoes resounded through the corridors; the men and women prisoners +washed and dressed, and after going through the morning inspection, +proceeded to brew their tea. + +During the tea-drinking animated conversations were going on among the +prisoners in the cells and corridors. Two prisoners were to be flogged +that day. One of these was a fairly intelligent young clerk who, in a +fit of jealousy, had killed his mistress. He was loved by his +fellow-prisoners for his cheerfulness, liberality and firmness in +dealing with the authorities. He knew the laws and demanded compliance +with them. Three weeks ago the warden struck one of the chambermen for +spilling some soup on his new uniform. The clerk, Vasilieff, took the +chamberman's part, saying that there was no law permitting an official +to beat prisoners. "I will show you the law," said the warden, +reviling Vasilieff. The latter answered in kind. The warden was about +to strike him, but Vasilieff caught hold of his hands and held him +fast for about three minutes and then pushed him out of the door. The +warden complained and the inspector ordered Vasilieff placed in +solitary confinement. + +These cells for solitary confinement were dark closets iron-bolted +from the outside. In these cold, damp cells, devoid of bed, table or +chair, the prisoners were obliged to sit or lie on the dirty floor. +The rats, of which there was a large number, crawled all over them, +and were so bold that they devoured the prisoner's bread and often +attacked the prisoners themselves when they remained motionless. +Vasilieff resisted, and with the aid of two other prisoners, tore +himself loose from the jailers, but they were finally overcome and all +three were thrust into cells. It was reported to the Governor that +something like a mutiny occurred, and in answer came a document +ordering that the two chief culprits, Vasilieff and the tramp +Don'tremember (an application given to some tramps and jail birds who, +to conceal the identity, with characteristic ingenuity and stupidity +make that answer to all questions relating to their names), be given +thirty lashes each. + +The flogging was to take place in the women's reception-room. + +This was known to all the inmates of the prison since the previous +evening, and every one was talking of the coming flogging. + +Korableva, Miss Dandy, Theodosia and Maslova, flushed and animated, +for they had already partaken of vodka which Maslova now had in +abundance, were sitting in their corner, talking of the same thing. + +"Why, he has not misbehaved," Korableva said of Vasilieff, biting off +a piece of sugar with her strong teeth. "He only sided with a comrade. +Fighting, you know, is not allowed nowadays." + +"They say he is a fine fellow," added Theodosia, who was sitting on a +log on which stood a tea-pot. + +"If you were to tell him, Michaelovna," the watch-woman said to +Maslova, meaning Nekhludoff. + +"I will. He will do anything for me," Maslova answered, smiling and +shaking her head. + +"It will be too late; they are going to fetch him now," said +Theodosia. "It is awful," she added, sighing. + +"I have seen once a peasant flogged in the town hall. My +father-in-law had sent me to the Mayor of the borough, and when I came +there I was surprised to see him----" The watch-woman began a long +story. + +Her story was interrupted by voices and steps on the upper corridor. + +The women became silent, listening. + +"They are bringing him, the fiends," said Miss Dandy. "Won't he get it +now! The jailers are very angry, for he gave them no rest." + +It became quiet in the upper corridor, and the watch-woman finished +her story, how she was frightened when she saw the peasant flogged, +and how it turned her stomach. Miss Dandy told how Schezloff was +flogged with a lash while he never uttered a word. Theodosia then +removed the pots and bowls; Korableva and the watch-woman took to +their sewing, while Maslova, hugging her knees, became sad from ennui. +She was about to lay down to sleep when the matron called her into the +office, where a visitor was waiting for her. + +"Don't fail to tell him about us," said the old Menshova, while +Maslova was arranging her headgear before a looking-glass half void of +mercury. "It was not me who set the fire, but he, the villain, himself +did it, and the laborer saw it. He would not kill a man. Tell him to +call Dmitry. Dmitry will explain to him everything. They locked us up +here for nothing, while the villain is living with another man's wife +and sits around in dram-shops." + +"That's wrong!" affirmed Korableva. + +"I will tell him--yes, I will," answered Maslova. "Suppose we have a +drink, for courage?" she added, winking one eye. + +Korableva poured out half a cup for her. Maslova drank it and wiped +her mouth. Her spirits rose, and repeating the words "for courage," +shaking her head and smiling, she followed the matron. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + + +Nekhludoff had been waiting for a long time in the vestibule. + +Arriving at the prison he rang the front-door bell and handed his pass +to the warden on duty. + +"What do you want?" + +"I wish to see the prisoner Maslova." + +"Can't see her now; the inspector is busy." + +"In the office?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"No, here in the visitors' room," the warden answered, somewhat +embarrassed, as it seemed to Nekhludoff. + +"Why, are visitors admitted to-day?" + +"No--special business," he answered. + +"Where can I see him, then?" + +"He will come out presently. Wait." + +At that moment a sergeant-major in bright crown-laced uniform, his +face radiant, and his mustache impregnated with smoke, appeared from a +side door. + +"Why did you admit him here? What is the office for?" he said sternly, +turning to the warden. + +"I was told that the inspector was here," said Nekhludoff, surprised +at the embarrassment noticeable on the officer's face. + +At that moment the inner door opened and Petroff, flushed and +perspiring, came out. + +"He will remember it," he said, turning to the sergeant-major. + +The latter pointed with his eyes to Nekhludoff, and Petroff became +silent, frowned and walked out through the rear door. + +"Who will remember? What? Why are they all so embarrassed? Why did the +sergeant make that sign?" thought Nekhludoff. + +"You cannot wait here; please walk into the office," the +sergeant-major turned to Nekhludoff, who was about to go out when the +inspector came in through the inner door, more embarrassed even than +his assistants. He was sighing incessantly. Seeing Nekhludoff, he +turned to the warden: + +"Fedotoff, call Maslova." + +"Follow me, please," he said to Nekhludoff. They passed up a winding +stairway leading into a small room with one window and containing a +writing table and a few chairs. The inspector sat down. + +"Mine are disagreeable duties," he said, turning to Nekhludoff and +lighting a thick cigarette. + +"You seem tired," said Nekhludoff. + +"I am very tired of all this business; my duties are very onerous. I +am trying my best to alleviate the condition of the prisoners and +things are getting only worse. I am very anxious to get away from +here; the duties are very, very unpleasant." + +Nekhludoff could not understand what it was that made it so unpleasant +for the inspector, but to-day he noticed on the inspector's face an +expression of despondency and hopelessness which was pitiful to +behold. + +"Yes, I think they are very trying," he said. "But why do you not +resign?" + +"I have a family and am without means." + +"But if it is difficult----" + +"Well, you see, I manage to improve somewhat their lot after all. +Another one in my place would hardly exert himself as I do. It is no +easy matter to handle two thousand people. They are also human and one +feels pity for them, and yet they can't be allowed to have all their +own way." + +And the inspector related the case of a recent fight among the +prisoners which ended in murder. + +His story was interrupted by the entrance of Maslova, who was preceded +by the warden. + +Nekhludoff got sight of her when she appeared on the threshold and +before she saw the inspector. Her face was red, and she walked briskly +behind the warden, smiling and shaking her head. Noticing the +inspector she gazed at him with frightened face, but immediately +recovered herself and boldly and cheerfully turned to Nekhludoff. + +"How do you do?" she said, drawlingly, smiling and vigorously shaking +his hand, not as on the former occasion. + +"Here I have brought you the petition to sign," said Nekhludoff, +somewhat surprised at the forward manner in which she accosted him. +"The lawyer wrote it. It must be signed and sent to St. Petersburg." + +"Why, certainly. I will do anything," she said, winking one eye and +smiling. + +"May she sign it here?" Nekhludoff asked of the inspector. + +"Come here and sit down," said the inspector. "Here is a pen for you. +Can you write?" + +"I could write once," she said, smiling, and, arranging her skirt and +waist-sleeve, sat down, clumsily took the pen into her small, +energetic hand, began to laugh and looked round at Nekhludoff. + +He pointed out to her where to sign. + +Diligently dipping and shaking the pen she signed her name. + +"Do you wish anything else?" she asked, looking now at Nekhludoff, now +at the inspector, and depositing the pen now on the ink-stand, now on +the paper. + +"I wish to tell you something," said Nekhludoff, taking the pen from +her hand. + +"Very well; go on," she uttered, and suddenly, as though meditating or +growing sleepy, her face became grave. + +The inspector rose and walked out, leaving Nekhludoff with her alone. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + + +The warden who brought Maslova to the office seated himself on the +window-sill, away from the table. This was a decisive moment for +Nekhludoff. He had been constantly reproaching himself for not telling +her at their first meeting of his intention to marry her, and was now +determined to do so. She was sitting on one side of the table, and +Nekhludoff seated himself on the other side, opposite her. The room +was well lighted, and for the first time Nekhludoff clearly saw her +face from a short distance, and noticed wrinkles around the eyes and +lips and a slight swelling under her eyes, and he pitied her even more +than before. + +Resting his elbows on the table so that he should not be heard by the +warden, whose face was of a Jewish type, with grayish side-whiskers, +he said: + +"If this petition fails we will appeal to His Majesty. Nothing will be +left undone." + +"If it had been done before--if I had had a good lawyer"--she +interrupted him. "That lawyer of mine was such a little fool. He was +only making me compliments," she said, and began to laugh. "If they +had only known that I was your acquaintance, it would have been +different. They think that everybody is a thief." + +"How strange she is to-day," thought Nekhludoff, and was about to tell +her what he had on his mind when she again began to speak. + +"I wanted to tell you. There is an old woman here--we are even +surprised--such a good little woman, but there she is--she and her +son, both in prison, and everybody knows that they are innocent. They +are accused of setting fire, so they are in prison. She learned, you +know, that I am acquainted with you," said Maslova, turning her head +and casting glances at him, "and she says to me: 'Tell him,' she says, +'to call my son; he will tell him the whole story.' Menshoff is his +name. Well, will you do it? Such a good little woman. You can see for +yourself that she is not guilty. You will help them, dear, won't you?" +she said, glancing at him; then she lowered her eyes and smiled. + +"Very well; I will do it," said Nekhludoff, his surprise at her easy +manner growing, "but I would like to talk to you about my own affair. +Do you remember what I told you that time?" + +"You have spoken so much. What did you say that time?" she said, +continuing to smile and turning her head now to one side, now to the +other. + +"I said that I came to ask your forgiveness," he said. + +"Oh! Forgiveness, forgiveness! That is all nonsense. You had better----" + +"That I wish to atone for my sin," continued Nekhludoff, "and to +atone not by words but by deed. I have decided to marry you." + +Her face suddenly showed fright. Her squinting eyes became fixed, and +they looked and did not look at him. + +"What is that for?" And she frowned maliciously. + +"I feel that before God I must do it." + +"What God, now, are you talking about? You are not talking to the +point. God? What God? Why didn't you think of God then?" she said, and +opening her mouth, stopped short. + +Nekhludoff only now smelled a strong odor of liquor and understood the +cause of her excitement. + +"Be calm," he said. + +"I have nothing to be calm about. You think I am drunk? Yes, I am +drunk, but I know what I am talking about," she said quickly, and her +face became purple. "I am a convict, while you are a lord, a prince, +and needn't stay here to soil your hands. Go to your princesses----" + +"You cannot be too cruel to me; you do not know how I feel," he said +in a low voice, his whole body trembling. "You cannot imagine how +strongly I feel my guilt before you!" + +"Feel my guilt," she mocked him maliciously. "You did not feel it +then, but thrust a hundred rubles in my hands. 'That's your price----'" + +"I know, I know, but what am I to do now? I have decided not to leave +you," he repeated; "and what I say I will do." + +"And I say that you will not!" she said, and laughed aloud. + +"Katinsha!" he began. + +"Leave me. I am a convict, and you are a prince; and you have no +business here," she shrieked, violently releasing her hand from his, +her wrath knowing no limit. + +"You wish to save yourself through me," she continued, hastening to +pour out all that had accumulated in her soul. "You have made me the +means of your enjoyment in life, and now you wish to make me the means +of saving you after death! You disgust me, as do your eye-glasses and +that fat, dirty face of yours. Go, go away!" she shrieked, +energetically springing to her feet. + +The warden approached them. + +"Don't you make so much noise! You know whom----" + +"Please desist," said Nekhludoff. + +"She must not forget herself," said the warden. + +"Please wait a while," said Nekhludoff. + +The warden returned to his seat on the window-sill. + +Maslova again seated herself, her eyes downcast and her little hands +clutching each other. + +Nekhludoff stood over her, not knowing what to do. + +"You do not believe me," he said. + +"That you wish to marry me? That will never happen. I will sooner hang +myself." + +"But I will serve you anyway." + +"That is your business. Only I don't want anything from you. Now, that +is certain," she said. "Oh, why did I not die then!" she added, and +began to cry piteously. + +Nekhludoff could not speak; her tears called forth tears in his own +eyes. + +She raised her eyes, looked at him, as if surprised, and with her +'kerchief began to wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. + +The warden again approached them and reminded them that it was time to +part. Maslova rose. + +"You are excited now. If possible I will call to-morrow. Meantime, +think it over," said Nekhludoff. + +She made no answer, and without looking at him left the room, preceded +by the warden. + + * * * * * + +"Well, girl, good times are coming," said Korableva to Maslova when +the latter returned to the cell. "He seems to be stuck on you, so make +the most of it while he is calling. He will get you released. The rich +can do anything." + +"That's so," drawled the watch-woman. "The poor man will think ten +times before he will marry, while the rich man can satisfy his every +whim. Yes, my dear; there was a respectable man in our village, and +he----" + +"Have you spoken to him of my case?" asked the old woman. + +But Maslova was silent. She lay down on her bunk, gazing with her +squinting eyes into the corner, and remained in that position till +evening. Her soul was in torment. That which Nekhludoff told her +opened to her that world in which she had suffered and which she had +left, hating without understanding it. She had now lost that +forgetfulness in which she had lived, and to live with a clear +recollection of the past was painful. In the evening she again bought +wine, which she drank with her fellow-prisoners. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + + +"So, that is how it is!" thought Nekhludoff as he made his way out of +the prison, and he only now realized the extent of his guilt. Had he +not attempted to efface and atone for his conduct, he should never +have felt all the infamy of it, nor she all the wrong perpetrated +against her. Only now it all came out in all its horror. He now for +the first time perceived how her soul had been debased, and she +finally understood it. At first Nekhludoff had played with his +feelings and delighted in his own contrition; now he was simply +horrified. He now felt that to abandon her was impossible. And yet he +could not see the result of these relations. + +At the prison gate some one handed Nekhludoff a note. He read it when +on the street. The note was written in a bold hand, with pencil, and +contained the following: + + "Having learned that you are visiting the prison I thought + it would be well to see you. You can see me by asking the + authorities for an interview with me. I will tell you + something very important to your protege as well as to the + politicals. Thankfully, Vera Bogodukhovskaia" + +"Bogodukhovskaia! Who is Bogodukhovskaia?" thought Nekhludoff, +entirely absorbed in the impression of his meeting with Maslova, and +failing at the first moment to recall either the name or the +handwriting. "Oh, yes!" he suddenly recalled. "The deacon's daughter +at the bear-hunt." + +Vera Bogodukhovskaia was a teacher in the obscure district of +Novgorod, whither Nekhludoff, on one occasion, went bear hunting with +his friends. This teacher had asked Nekhludoff to give her some money +to enable her to study. He gave it to her, and the incident dropped +from his memory. And now it seemed that this lady was a political +prisoner, had probably learned his history in prison, and was now +offering her services. At that time everything was easy and simple; +now everything was difficult and complex. Nekhludoff readily and +joyfully recalled that time and his acquaintance with Bogodukhovskaia. +It was on the eve of Shrovetide, in the wilds about sixty versts from +the railroad. The hunt was successful; two bears were bagged, and they +were dining before their journey home, when the woodsman, in whose hut +they were stopping, came to tell them that the deacon's daughter had +come and wished to see Prince Nekhludoff. + +"Is she good looking?" some one asked. + +"Come, come!" said Nekhludoff, rising, and wondering why the deacon's +daughter should want him, assumed a grave expression and went to the +woodsman's hut. + +In the hut there was a girl in a felt hat and short fur coat, sinewy, +and with an ugly and unpleasant face, relieved, however, by her +pleasant eyes and raised eyebrows. + +"This is the Prince, Vera Efremovna," said the old hostess. "I will +leave you." + +"What can I do for you?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"I--I--You see, you are rich and throw away your money on trifles, on +a chase. I know," began the girl, becoming confused, "but I wish but +one thing; I wish to be useful to people, and can do nothing because I +know nothing." + +"What, then, can I do for you?" + +"I am a teacher, and would like to enter college, but they don't let +me. It is not exactly that they don't let me, but we have no means. +Let me have some money; when I am through with my studies I shall +return it to you." + +Her eyes were truthful and kindly, and the expression of resolution +and timidity on her face was so touching that Nekhludoff, as it was +usual with him, suddenly mentally placed himself in her position, +understood and pitied her. + +"I think it is wrong for rich people to kill bears and get the +peasants drunk. Why don't they make themselves useful? I only need +eighty rubles. Oh, if you don't wish to, it is all the same to me," +she said, angrily, interpreting the grave expression on Nekhludoff's +face to her disadvantage. + +"On the contrary, I am very thankful to you for the opportunity----" + +When she understood that he consented her face turned a purple color +and she became silent. + +"I will fetch it immediately," said Nekhludoff. + +He went into the entrance hall where he found an eavesdropping friend. +Without taking notice of his comrade's jests, he took the money from +his hand-bag and brought it to her. + +"Please don't be thanking me. It is I who ought to be thankful to +you." + +It was pleasant to Nekhludoff to recall all that; it was pleasant to +recall how he came near quarreling with the army officer who attempted +to make a bad joke of it; how another comrade sided with him, which +drew them more closely together; how merry and successful was the +hunt, and how happy he felt that night returning to the railroad +station. A long file of sleighs moved noiselessly in pairs at a gentle +trot along the narrow fir-lined path of the forests, which were +covered with a heavy layer of snowflakes. Some one struck a red light +in the dark, and the pleasant aroma of a good cigarette was wafted +toward him. Osip, the sleigh-tender, ran from sleigh to sleigh, +knee-deep in snow, telling of the elks that were roaming in the deep +snow, nibbling the bark of aspen trees, and of the bears emitting +their warm breath through the airholes of their wild haunts. + +Nekhludoff remembered all that, and above all the happy consciousness +of his own health, strength and freedom from care. His lungs, +straining his tight-fitting fur coat, inhaled the frosty air; the +trees, grazed by the shaft, sent showers of white flakes into his +face; his body was warm, his face ruddy; his soul was without a care +or blemish, or fear or desire. How happy he was! But now? My God! How +painful and unbearable it all was! + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + + +Rising the next morning Nekhludoff recalled the events of the previous +day and was seized with fear. + +But, notwithstanding this fear, he was even more determined than +before to carry out his plan already begun. + +With this consciousness of the duty that lay upon him he drove to +Maslenikoff for permission to visit in jail, besides Maslova, the old +woman Menshova and her son, of whom Maslova had spoken to him. +Besides, he also wished to see Bogodukhovskaia, who might be useful to +Maslova. + +Nekhludoff had known Maslenikoff since they together served in the +army. Maslenikoff was the treasurer of the regiment. He was the most +kind-hearted officer, and possessed executive ability. Nothing in +society was of any interest to him, and he was entirely absorbed in +the affairs of the regiment. Nekhludoff now found him an administrator +in the civil government. He was married to a rich and energetic woman +to whom was due his change of occupation. + +She laughed at him and patted him as she would a tamed animal. +Nekhludoff had visited them once the previous winter, but the couple +seemed so uninteresting to him that he never called again. + +Maslenikoff's face became radiant when he saw Nekhludoff. His face was +as fat and red, his dress as excellent as when he served in the army. +As an army officer he was always neat, dressed in a tight uniform made +according to the latest style; now his dress fitted his well-fed body +as perfectly. He wore a uniform. Notwithstanding the difference in +their age--Maslenikoff was about forty--they familiarly "thoued" each +other. + +"Very glad you remembered me. Come to my wife. I have just ten minutes +to spare, and then I must to the session. My chief, you know, is away. +I am directing the affairs of the district," he said, with joy which +he could not conceal. + +"I came to you on business." + +"What's that?" Maslenikoff said in a frightened and somewhat stern +voice, suddenly pricking his ears. + +"There is a person in jail in whom I am very much interested;" at the +word "jail" Maslenikoff's face became even more stern, "and I would +like to have the right of interview in the office instead of the +common reception room, and oftener than on the appointed days. I was +told that it depended on you." + +"Of course, mon cher, I am always ready to do anything for you," +Maslenikoff said, touching his knees with both hands, as if desiring +to soften his own greatness. "I can do it, but you know I am caliph +only for an hour." + +"So you can give me a pass that will enable me to see her?" + +"It is a woman?" + +"Yes." + +"What is the charge against her?" + +"Poisoning. But she was irregularly convicted." + +"Yes, there is justice for you! Ils n'en font point d'autres," he +said, for some reason in French. "I know that you do not agree with +me, but c'est mon opinion bien arretee," he added, repeating the +opinion that had been reiterated during the past year by a retrograde, +conservative newspaper. "I know you are a liberal." + +"I don't know whether I am a liberal or something else," smilingly +said Nekhludoff, who always wondered at being joined to some party, or +called a liberal only because he held that a man must not be judged +without being heard; that all are equal before the law; that it is +wrong to torture and beat people generally, especially those that are +not convicted. "I don't know whether I am a liberal or not, but I do +know that our present courts, bad as they are, are nevertheless better +than those that preceded them." + +"And what lawyer have you retained?" + +"I have retained Fanarin." + +"Ah, Fanarin!" Maslenikoff said, frowning as he recalled how Fanarin, +examining him as a witness the year before, in the most polite manner +made him the butt of ridicule. + +"I would not advise you to have anything to do with him. Fanarin est +un homme tare." + +"I have another request to make of you," Nekhludoff said, without +answering him. "A long time ago I made the acquaintance of a girl +teacher, a very wretched creature. She is now in jail and desires to +see me. Can you give me a pass to her?" + +Maslenikoff leaned his head to one side and began to reflect. + +"She is a political." + +"Yes, I was told so." + +"You know politicals can only be seen by their relatives, but I will +give you a general pass. Je sais que vous n'abuserez pas----" + +"What is the name of this your protege? Bogodukhovskaia? Elle est +jolie?" + +"Hideuse." + +Maslenikoff disapprovingly shook his head, went to the table and on a +sheet of paper with a printed letter-head wrote in a bold hand: "The +bearer, Prince Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhludoff, is hereby permitted to +visit the prisoners, Maslova and Bogodukhovskaia, now detained in the +prison," and signed his name to it with a broad flourish. + +"You will see now what order there is in prison. And to keep order +there is very difficult, because it is overcrowded, especially by +those to be transported. But I watch over them, and like the +occupation. You will see there are very many there, but they are +content, and are faring well. It is necessary to know how to deal with +them. Some unpleasantness occurred there a few days ago--disobedience. +Another man in my place would have treated it as a riot and made many +people miserable, but we arranged it all pleasantly. What is necessary +is solicitude on the one hand, and prompt and vigorous dealing on the +other," he said, clenching his soft, white fist projecting from under +a white, starched cuff and adorned with a turquoise ring--"solicitude +and vigorous dealing." + +"Well, I don't know about that," said Nekhludoff. "I was there twice, +and I was very much distressed by the sight." + +"You know what I will tell you? You ought to get acquainted with +Princess Passek," continued Maslenikoff, who had become talkative; +"she has entirely devoted herself to this cause. Elle fait beaucoup +de bien. Thanks to her and, without false modesty, to myself, +everything has been changed, and changed so that none of the old +horrors can be found there, and they are decidedly well off there. You +will see it. There is Fanarin. I am not personally acquainted with +him; besides, our roads do not meet because of my position in society, +but he is decidedly a bad man, and allows himself to state in court +such things, such things!" + +"Well, thank you," said Nekhludoff, taking the document, and took +leave of his old comrade. + +"Would you not like to see my wife?" + +"No, thank you; I have no time now." + +"Well, now, she will never forgive me," said Maslenikoff, conducting +his old comrade to the first landing, as he did with people of +secondary importance, among whom he reckoned Nekhludoff. "Do come but +for a moment." + +But Nekhludoff was firm, and while the footman and porter sprang +toward him, handing him his overcoat and cane, and opening the door, +before which a policeman stood, he excused himself, pleading want of +time. + +"Well, then, Thursday, please. That is her reception day. I will tell +her!" Maslenikoff shouted from the top of the stairs. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + + +From Maslenikoff, Nekhludoff went directly to the prison and +approached the familiar apartments of the inspector. The sounds of a +tuneless piano again assailed his ears, but this time it was not a +rhapsody that was played, but a study by Clementi, and, as before, +with unusual force, precision and rapidity. The servant with a +handkerchief around one eye said that the captain was in, and showed +Nekhludoff into the small reception-room, in which was a lounge, a +table and a lamp, one side of the rose-colored shade of which was +scorched, standing on a knitted woolen napkin. The inspector appeared +with an expression of sadness and torment on his face. + +"Glad to see you. What can I do for you?" he said, buttoning up the +middle button of his uniform. + +"I went to the vice-governor, and here is my pass," said Nekhludoff, +handing him the document. "I would like to see Maslova." + +"Markova?" asked the inspector, who could not hear him on account of +the music. + +"Maslova." + +"O, yes! O, yes!" + +The inspector rose and approached the door through which Clementi's +roulade was heard. + +"Marusia; if you would only stop for a little while," he said in a +voice which showed that this music was the cross of his life; "I +cannot hear anything." + +The music ceased; discontented steps were heard, and some one looked +through the door. + +The inspector, as if relieved by the cessation of the music, lit a +thick cigarette of light tobacco and offered one to Nekhludoff, which +he refused. + +"Can Maslova----" + +"It is not convenient to see Maslova to-day," said the inspector. + +"Why?" + +"It is your own fault," slightly smiling, said the inspector. "Prince, +you must not give her any money. If you wish to give her money, leave +it with me; I will keep it for her. You see, you must have given her +money yesterday, for she bought wine--it is hard to eradicate that +evil--and is intoxicated to-day. In fact, she became unruly." + +"Is it possible?" + +"Why, I even had to employ strict measures, had her transferred to +another cell. She is very tractable, but, please do not give her +money. That is their failing." + +Nekhludoff quickly recalled the incident of yesterday, and he was +seized with fear. + +"And may I see Bogodukhovskaia, the political?" Nekhludoff asked, +after some silence. + +"Well, yes," said the inspector. "What are you doing here?" he turned +to a five-year-old girl who came into the room, walking toward her +father, her eyes riveted on Nekhludoff. "Look out, or you will fall," +he said, smiling, as the little girl, walking with her head turned +toward Nekhludoff, tripped on the carpet and ran to her father. + +"If she may be seen, I would go now." + +"Oh yes; she may be seen, of course," said the inspector, embracing +the little girl, who was still looking at Nekhludoff. "All right----" + +The inspector rose and gently turning the girl aside, walked into the +vestibule. + +He had scarcely donned the overcoat handed him by the girl with the +bandaged eye and crossed the threshold when the distinct sounds of +Clementi's roulade broke out. + +"She was at the Conservatory, but there is disorder in that +institution. But she is very gifted," said the inspector, walking down +the stairs. "She intends to appear at concerts." + +The inspector and Nekhludoff neared the prison. The wicket immediately +opened at the approach of the inspector. The wardens standing to +attention followed him with their eyes. Four men with heads half +shaved, carrying large vessels, met him in the vestibule, and as they +spied him slunk back. One of them, in a particularly gloomy way, knit +his brow, his black eyes flashing fire. + +"Of course, her talent must be perfected; it cannot be neglected. But +in a small apartment it is hard, you know," the inspector continued +the conversation without paying any attention to the prisoners, and +dragging his tired legs passed into the meeting-room, followed by +Nekhludoff. + +"Whom do you wish to see?" asked the inspector. + +"Bogodukhovskaia." + +"That is from the tower. You will have to wait a little," he turned to +Nekhludoff. + +"Couldn't you let me see, meantime, the prisoners Menshov--mother and +son--who are charged with incendiarism?" + +"That is from cell 21. Why, yes; they may be called out." + +"Would you allow me to see the son in his cell?" + +"It is quieter in the meeting-room." + +"But it is interesting to see him there." + +"Interesting!" + +At that moment a dashing officer, the inspector's assistant, appeared +at a side door. + +"Conduct the Prince to Menshov's cell--No. 21," said the inspector to +his assistant. "Then show him to the office. And I will call--what is +her name?" + +"Vera Bogodukhovskaia," said Nekhludoff. + +The inspector's assistant was a light-haired young officer with dyed +mustache, who spread around him the odor of perfume. + +"Follow me, please." He turned to Nekhludoff with a pleasant smile. +"Does our institution interest you?" + +"Yes. And I am also interested in that man who, I was told, is +innocent." The assistant shrugged his shoulders. + +"Yes, that may be," he said calmly, courteously admitting the guest +into the ill-smelling corridor. "But they also lie often. Walk in, +please." + +The doors of the cells were open, and some prisoners stood in the +corridor. Slightly nodding to the wardens and looking askance at the +prisoners, who either pressed against the walls, entered their cells, +or, stopping at the doors, stood erect like soldiers, the assistant +escorted Nekhludoff through one corridor into another, on the left, +which was iron-bolted. + +This corridor was darker and more ill-smelling than the first. There +was a row of cells on each side, the doors of which were locked. There +was a hole in each door--eyelet, so called--of about an inch in +diameter. There was no one in this corridor except an old warden with +a wrinkled, sad face. + +"Where is Menshov's cell?" asked the assistant. + +"The eighth one on the left." + +"Are these occupied?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"All but one." + + + + +CHAPTER L. + + +"May I look in?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"If you please," the assistant said with a pleasant smile, and began +to make inquiries of the warden. Nekhludoff looked through one of the +openings. A tall young man with a small black beard, clad only in his +linen, walked rapidly up and down the floor of his cell. Hearing a +rustle at the door, he looked up, frowned, and continued to walk. + +Nekhludoff looked into the second opening. His eye met another large, +frightened eye. He hastily moved away. Looking into the third, he saw +a small-sized man sleeping curled up on a cot, his head covered with +his prison coat. In the fourth cell a broad-faced, pale-looking man +sat with lowered head, his elbows resting on his knees. Hearing steps, +this man raised his head and looked up. In his face and eyes was an +expression of hopeless anguish. He was apparently unconcerned about +who it was that looked into his cell. Whoever it might be, he +evidently hoped for no good from any one. Nekhludoff was seized with +fear, and he hastened to Number 21--Menshov's cell. The warden +unlocked and opened the door. A young, muscular man with a long neck, +kindly, round eyes and small beard, stood beside his cot, hastily +donning his prison coat and, with frightened face, looking at the two +men who had entered. Nekhludoff was particularly struck by the kindly, +round eyes whose wondering and startled look ran from him to the +warden and back. + +"This gentleman wishes to ask you about your case." + +"Thank you." + +"Yes, I was told about your case," said Nekhludoff, going into the +depth of the cell and stopping at the barred, dirty window, "and would +like to hear it from yourself." + +Menshov also drew near the window and immediately began to relate the +particulars of his case--at first timidly, from time to time glancing +at the warden, then growing bolder and bolder. And when the warden +had left the cell to give some orders, his timidity left him entirely. +Judging by his speech and manner, his was a story of a simple, honest +peasant, and it seemed very strange to Nekhludoff to hear it from the +lips of a prisoner in the garb of disgrace and in prison. While +listening to him, Nekhludoff examined the low cot, with its straw +mattress, the window, with its thick iron bars, the damp, plastered +walls, the pitiful face and the figure of the unfortunate, mutilated +peasant in bast shoes and prison coat, and he became sad; he would not +believe that what this kind-hearted man told him was true. And it was +still harder to think that this truthful story should be false, and +that kindly face should deceive him. His story, in short, was that +soon after his wedding a tapster enticed away his wife. He had +recourse to the law everywhere, and the tapster was everywhere +acquitted. Once he took her away by force, but she ran away the +following day. He went to the seducer, demanding his wife. The tapster +told him that she was not there, although he saw her when coming in, +and ordered him to depart. He would not go. Then the tapster and +another workman beat him until he bled, and the following day the +tapster's house took fire. He and his mother were charged with +incendiarism, although at the time the fire broke out he was visiting +a friend. + +"And you really did not set the fire?" + +"I never even thought of such a thing, master. The villain must have +done it himself. They say that he had just insured his house. And he +said that I and my mother came and threatened him. It is true, I +abused him at that time--couldn't help it--but I did not set the fire, +and was not even in the neighborhood when the fire started. He set the +fire purposely on the day I was there with my mother. He did it for +the insurance money, and threw it on us." + +"Is it possible?" + +"As true as there is a living God, master. Do help us!" He was about +to bow to the ground, but Nekhludoff forcibly prevented him. "Release +me. I am suffering here innocently," he continued. His face suddenly +began to twitch; tears welled up in his eyes, and, rolling up the +sleeve of his coat, he began to wipe his eyes with the dirty sleeve +of his shirt. + +"Have you finished?" asked the warden. + +"Yes. Cheer up; I will do what I can for you," Nekhludoff said, and +walked out. Menshov stood in the door, so that when the warden closed +it he pushed him in. While the warden was locking the door, Menshov +looked through the hole. + + + + +CHAPTER LI. + + +It was dinner time when Nekhludoff retraced his steps through the wide +corridor, and the cells were open. The prisoners, in light yellow +coats, short, wide trousers and prison shoes, eyed him greedily. +Nekhludoff experienced strange feelings and commiseration for the +prisoners, and, for some reason, shame that he should so calmly view +it. + +In one of the corridors a man, clattering with his prison shoes, ran +into one of the cells, and immediately a crowd of people came out, +placed themselves in his way, and bowed. + +"Your Excellency--I don't know what to call you--please order that our +case be decided." + +"I am not the commander. I do not know anything." + +"No matter. Tell them, the authorities, or somebody," said an +indignant voice, "to look into our case. We are guilty of no offense, +and have been in prison the second month now." + +"How so? Why?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"We don't know ourselves why, but we have been here the second month." + +"That is true," said the assistant inspector. "They were taken because +they had no passports, and they were to be transported to their +district, but the prison had burned down there, and the authorities +asked us to keep them here. Those belonging to other districts were +transported, but these we keep here." + +"Is that the only reason?" asked Nekhludoff, stopping in the doorway. + +The crowd, consisting of about forty men, all in prison garb, +surrounded Nekhludoff and the assistant. Several voices began talking +at once. The assistant stopped them. + +"Let one of you speak." + +A tall old man of good mien came forward. He told Nekhludoff that they +were all imprisoned on the ground that they had no passports, but +that, as a matter of fact, they had passports which had expired and +were not renewed for about two weeks. It happened every year, but they +were never even fined. And now they were imprisoned like criminals. + +"We are all masons and belong to the same association. They say that +the prison has burned down, but that isn't our fault. For God's sake, +help us!" + +Nekhludoff listened, but scarcely understood what the old man was +saying. + +"How is that? Can it be possible that they are kept in prison for that +sole reason?" said Nekhludoff, turning to the assistant. + +"Yes, they ought to be sent to their homes," said the assistant. + +At that moment a small-sized man, also in prison attire, pushed his +way through the crowd and began to complain excitedly that they were +being tortured without any cause. + +"Worse than dogs----" he began. + +"Tut, tut! do not talk too much, or else you know----" + +"Know what?" said the little man desperately. "Are we guilty of +anything?" + +"Silence!" shouted the assistant, and the little man subsided. + +"What a peculiar state of things!" Nekhludoff said to himself as he +ran the gauntlet, as it were, of a hundred eyes that followed him +through the corridor. + +"Is it possible that innocent people are held in durance here?" +Nekhludoff said, when they emerged from the corridor. + +"What can we do? However, many of them are lying. If you ask them, +they all claim to be innocent," said the assistant inspector; +"although some are there really without any cause whatever." + +"But these masons don't seem to be guilty of any offense." + +"That is true so far as the masons are concerned. But those people +are spoiled. Some measure of severity is necessary. They are not all +as innocent as they look. Only yesterday we were obliged to punish two +of them." + +"Punish, how?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"By flogging. It was ordered----" + +"But corporal punishment has been abolished." + +"Not for those that have been deprived of civil rights." + +Nekhludoff recalled what he had seen the other day while waiting in +the vestibule, and understood that the punishment had then been taking +place, and with peculiar force came upon him that mingled feeling of +curiosity, sadness, doubt, and moral, almost passing over into +physical, nausea which he had felt before, but never with such force. + +Without listening to the assistant or looking around him, he hastily +passed through the corridor and ascended to the office. The inspector +was in the corridor, and, busying himself with some affair, had forgot +to send for Bogodukhovskaia. He only called it to mind when Nekhludoff +entered the office. + +"I will send for her immediately. Take a seat," he said. + + + + +CHAPTER LII. + + +The office consisted of two rooms. In the first room, which had two +dirty windows and the plastering on the walls peeled off, a black +measuring rod, for determining the height of prisoners, stood in one +corner, while in another hung a picture of Christ. A few wardens stood +around in this room. In the second room, in groups and pairs, about +twenty men and women were sitting along the walls, talking in low +voices. A writing table stood near one of the windows. + +The inspector seated himself at the writing table and offered +Nekhludoff a chair standing near by. Nekhludoff seated himself and +began to examine the people in the room. + +His attention was first of all attracted by a young man with a +pleasant face, wearing a short jacket, who was standing before a man +prisoner and a girl, gesticulating and talking to them in a heated +manner. Beside them sat an old man in blue eye-glasses, immovably +holding the hand of a woman in prison garb and listening to her. A boy +in high-school uniform, with an expression of fright on his face, +stood gazing on the old man. Not far from them, in the corner, a pair +of lovers were sitting. She was a very young, pretty, stylishly-dressed +girl with short-cropped, flaxen hair and an energetic face; he was a +fine-featured, handsome youth, with wavy hair, and in a prison coat. +They occupied the corner, whispering to each other, apparently wrapped +in their love. Nearest of all to the table was a gray-haired woman in +black, evidently the mother of a consumptive young man in a rubber +jacket, who stood before her. Her eyes were fixed on him, and her +tears prevented her speaking, which she several times attempted to do, +but was forced to desist. The young man held a piece of paper in his +hand, and, evidently not knowing what to do, with an angry expression +on his face was folding and crumpling it. Sitting beside the weeping +mother, and patting her on the shoulder, was a stout, pretty girl with +red cheeks, in a gray dress and cape. Everything in this girl was +beautiful--the white hands, the wavy, short hair, the strong nose and +lips; but the principal charm of her face were her hazel, kindly, +truthful, sheep eyes. Her beautiful eyes turned on Nekhludoff at the +moment he entered, and met his. But she immediately turned them again +on her mother, and whispered to her something. Not far from the lovers +a dark man with gloomy face sat talking angrily to a clean-shaven +visitor resembling a Skopetz (a sect of castrates). At the very door +stood a young man in a rubber jacket, evidently more concerned about +the impression he was making on the visitors than what he was saying. +Nekhludoff sat down beside the inspector and looked around him with +intense curiosity. He was amused by a short-haired boy coming near him +and asking him in a shrill voice: + +"And whom are you waiting for?" + +The question surprised Nekhludoff, but, seeing the boy's serious, +intelligent face, with bright, attentive eyes, gravely answered that +he was awaiting a woman acquaintance. + +"Well, is she your sister?" asked the boy. + +"No, she is not my sister," Nekhludoff answered with surprise. "And +with whom are you?" + +"I am with mamma. She is a political," said the boy. + +"Maria Pavlovna, take away Kolia!" said the inspector, evidently +finding Nekhludoff's conversation with the boy contrary to the law. + +Maria Pavlovna, the same beautiful woman who had attracted +Nekhludoff's attention, rose and with heavy, long strides approached +him. + +"What is he asking you? Who you are?" she asked, slightly smiling with +her beautifully curved lips, and confidingly looking at him with her +prominent, kindly eyes, as though expecting Nekhludoff to know that +her relations to everybody always have been, are and ought to be +simple, affable, and brotherly. "He must know everything," she said, +and smiled into the face of the boy with such a kindly, charming smile +that both the boy and Nekhludoff involuntarily also smiled. + +"Yes, he asked me whom I came to see." + +"Maria Pavlovna, you know that it is not permitted to speak to +strangers," said the inspector. + +"All right," she said, and, taking the little hand of the boy into her +own white hand, she returned to the consumptive's mother. + +"Whose boy is that?" Nekhludoff asked the inspector. + +"He is the son of a political prisoner, and was born in prison." + +"Is it possible?" + +"Yes, and now he is following his mother to Siberia." + +"And that girl?" + +"I cannot answer it," said the inspector, shrugging his shoulders. +"Ah, there is Bogodukhovskaia." + + + + +CHAPTER LIII. + + +The short-haired, lean, yellow-faced Vera Efremovna, with her large, +kindly eyes, entered timidly through the rear door. + +"Well, I thank you for coming here," she said, pressing Nekhludoff's +hand. "You remember me? Let us sit down." + +"I did not expect to find you here." + +"Oh, I am doing excellently--so well, indeed, that I desire nothing +better," said Vera Efremovna, looking frightened, as usual, with her +kindly, round eyes at Nekhludoff, and turning her very thin, sinewy +neck, which projected from under the crumpled, dirty collar of her +waist. + +Nekhludoff asked her how she came to be in prison. She related her +case to him with great animation. Her discourse was interspersed with +foreign scientific terms about propaganda, disorganization, groups, +sections and sub-sections, which, she was perfectly certain, everybody +knew, but of which Nekhludoff had never even heard. + +She was evidently sure that it was both interesting and pleasant to +him to know all that she was relating. Nekhludoff, however, looked at +her pitiful neck, her thin, tangled hair, and wondered why she was +telling him all that. He pitied her, but not as he pitied the peasant +Menshov with his hands and face white as potato sprouts, and +innocently languishing in an ill-smelling prison. He pitied her on +account of the evident confusion that reigned in her head. She seemed +to consider herself a heroine, and showed off before him. And this +made her particularly pitiful. This trait Nekhludoff noticed in other +people then in the room. His arrival attracted their attention, and he +felt that they changed their demeanor because of his presence. This +trait was also present in the young man in the rubber jacket, in the +woman in prison clothes, and even in the actions of the two lovers. +The only people who did not possess this trait were the consumptive +young man, the beautiful girl with sheep eyes, and the dark-featured +man who was talking to the beardless man who resembled a Skopetz. + +The affair of which Vera Efremovna wished to speak to Nekhludoff +consisted of the following: A chum of hers, Shustova, who did not even +belong to her sub-section, was arrested because in her dwelling were +found books and papers which had been left with her for safe keeping. +Vera Efremovna thought that it was partly her fault that Shustova was +imprisoned, and implored Nekhludoff, who was well connected, to do +everything in his power to effect her release. + +Of herself, she related that, after having graduated as midwife, she +joined some party. At first everything went on smoothly, but afterward +one of the party was caught, the papers were seized, and then all were +taken in a police drag-net. + +"They also took me, and now I am going to be transported," she wound +up her story. "But that is nothing. I feel excellently," and she +smiled piteously. + +Nekhludoff asked her about the girl with the sheep eyes, and Vera +Efremovna told him that she was the daughter of a general, that she +had assumed the guilt of another person, and was now going to serve at +hard labor in Siberia. + +"An altruistic, honest person," said Vera Efremovna. + +The other case of which Vera Efremovna wished to speak concerned +Maslova. As the history of every prisoner was known to everyone in +prison, she knew Maslova's history, and advised him to procure her +removal to the ward for politicals, or, at least, to the hospital, +which was just now crowded, requiring a larger staff of nurses. + +Nekhludoff said that he could hardly do anything, but promised to make +an attempt when he reached St. Petersburg. + + + + +CHAPTER LIV. + + +Their conversation was interrupted by the inspector, who announced +that it was time to depart. Nekhludoff rose, took leave of Vera +Efremovna, and strode to the door, where he stopped to observe what +was taking place before him. + +"Ladies and gentlemen, the time is up," said the inspector as he was +going out. But neither visitors nor prisoners stirred. + +The inspector's demand only called forth greater animation, but no one +thought of departing. Some got up and talked standing; some continued +to talk sitting; others began to cry and take leave. The young man +continued to crumple the bit of paper, and he made such a good effort +to remain calm that his face seemed to bear an angry expression. His +mother, hearing that the visit was over, fell on his shoulder and +began to sob. The girl with the sheep eyes--Nekhludoff involuntarily +followed her movements--stood before the sobbing mother, pouring words +of consolation into her ear. The old man with the blue eye-glasses +held his daughter by the hand and nodded affirmatively to her words. +The young lovers rose, holding each other's hands and silently looking +into each other's eyes. + +"Those are the only happy people here," said the young man in the +rubber jacket who stood near Nekhludoff, pointing to the young lovers. + +Seeing the glances of Nekhludoff and the young man, the lovers--the +convict and the flaxen-haired girl--stretched their clasping hands, +threw back their heads, and began to dance in a circle. + +"They will be married this evening in the prison, and she will go with +him to Siberia," said the young man. + +"Who is he, then?" + +"He is a penal convict. Although they are making merry, it is very +painful to listen," added the young man, listening to the sobbing of +the old man with the blue eye-glasses. + +"Please, please don't compel me to take severe measures," said the +inspector, several times repeating the same thing. "Please, please," +he said, weakly and irresolutely. "Well, now, this cannot go on. +Please, now come. For the last time I repeat it," he said, in a sad +voice, seating himself and rising again; lighting and then +extinguishing his cigarette. + +Finally the prisoners and visitors began to depart--the former passing +through the inner, the latter through the outer, door. First the man +in the rubber coat passed out; then the consumptive and the +dark-featured convict; next Vera Efremovna and Maria Pavlovna, and the +boy who was born in the prison. + +The visitors also filed out. The old man with the blue eye-glasses +started with a heavy gait, and after him came Nekhludoff. + +"What a peculiar state of things!" said the talkative young man to +Nekhludoff on the stairs, as though continuing the interrupted +conversation. "It is fortunate that the captain is a kind-hearted +man, and does not enforce the rules. But for him it would be +tantalizing. As it is, they talk together and relieve their feelings." + +When Nekhludoff, talking to this man, who gave his name as Medyntzev, +reached the entrance-hall, the inspector, with weary countenance, +approached him. + +"So, if you wish to see Maslova, then please call to-morrow," he said, +evidently desiring to be pleasant. + +"Very well," said Nekhludoff, and hastened away. As on the former +occasion, besides pity he was seized with a feeling of doubt and a +sort of moral nausea. + +"What is all that for?" he asked himself, but found no answer. + + + + +CHAPTER LV. + + +On the following day Nekhludoff drove to the lawyer and told him of +the Menshovs' case, asking him to take up their defense. The lawyer +listened to him attentively, and said that if the facts were really as +told to Nekhludoff, he would undertake their defense without +compensation. Nekhludoff also told him of the hundred and thirty men +kept in prison through some misunderstanding, and asked him whose +fault he thought it was. The lawyer was silent for a short while, +evidently desiring to give an accurate answer. + +"Whose fault it is? No one's," he said decisively. "If you ask the +prosecutor, he will tell you that it is Maslenikoff's fault, and if +you ask Maslenikoff, he will tell you that it is the prosecutor's +fault. It is no one's fault." + +"I will go to Maslenikoff and tell him." + +"That is useless," the lawyer retorted, smiling. "He is--he is not +your friend or relative, is he? He is such a blockhead, and, saving +your presence, at the same time such a sly beast!" + +Nekhludoff recalled what Maslenikoff had said about the lawyer, made +no answer, and, taking leave, directed his steps toward Maslenikoff's +residence. + +Two things Nekhludoff wanted of Maslenikoff. First, to obtain +Maslova's transfer to the hospital, and to help, if possible, the +hundred and thirty unfortunates. Although it was hard for him to be +dealing with this man, and especially to ask favors of him, yet it was +the only way of gaining his end, and he had to go through it. + +As Nekhludoff approached Maslenikoff's house, he saw a number of +carriages, cabs and traps standing in front of it, and he recalled +that this was the reception day to which he had been invited. While +Nekhludoff was approaching the house a carriage was standing near the +curb, opposite the door, and a lackey in a cockaded silk hat and cape, +was seating a lady, who, raising the long train of her skirt, +displayed the sharp joints of her toes through the thin slippers. +Among the carriages he recognized the covered landau of the +Korchagins. The gray-haired, rosy-cheeked driver deferentially raised +his hat. Nekhludoff had scarcely asked the porter where Michael +Ivanovich (Maslenikoff) was, when the latter appeared on the carpeted +stairway, escorting a very important guest, such as he usually +escorted not to the upper landing, but to the vestibule. This very +important military guest, while descending the stairs, was conversing +in French about a lottery for the benefit of orphan asylums, giving +his opinion that it was a good occupation for ladies. "They enjoy +themselves while they are raising money." + +"Qu'elles s'amusent et que le bon Dieu les benisse. Ah, Nekhludoff, +how do you do? You haven't shown yourself for a long time," he greeted +Nekhludoff. "Allez presenter vos devoirs a madame. The Korchagins are +here, too. Toutes les jolies femmes de la ville," he said, holding out +and somewhat raising his military shoulders for his overcoat, which +was being placed on him by his own magnificent lackey in gold-braided +uniform. "Au revoir, mon cher." Then he shook Maslenikoff's hand. + +"Well, now let us go upstairs. How glad I am," Maslenikoff began +excitedly, seizing Nekhludoff by the arm, and, notwithstanding his +corpulence, nimbly leading him up the stairs. Maslenikoff was in a +particularly happy mood, which Nekhludoff could not help ascribing to +the attention shown him by the important person. Every attention shown +him by an important person put him into such an ecstasy as may be +observed in a fawning little dog when its master pats it, strokes it, +and scratches under its ears. It wags its tail, shrinks, wriggles, +and, straightening its ears, madly runs in a circle. Maslenikoff was +ready to do the same thing. He did not notice the grave expression on +Nekhludoff's face, nor hear what he was saying, but irresistibly +dragged him into the reception-room. Nekhludoff involuntarily +followed. + +"Business afterward. I will do anything you wish," said Maslenikoff, +leading him through the parlor. "Announce Prince Nekhludoff to Her +Excellency," he said on the way to a lackey. The lackey, in an ambling +gait, ran ahead of them. "Vous n'avez qu'a ordonner. But you must see +my wife without fail. She would not forgive my failure to present you +last time you were here." + +The lackey had already announced him when they entered, and Anna +Ignatievna, the vice-governess--Mrs. General, as she called +herself--sat on a couch surrounded by ladies. As Nekhludoff approached +she was already leaning forward with a radiant smile on her face. At +the other end of the reception-room women sat around a table, while +men in military uniforms and civil attire stood over them. An +incessant cackle came from that direction. + +"Enfin! Why do you estrange yourself? Have we offended you in any +way?" + +With these words, presupposing an intimacy between her and Nekhludoff, +which never existed, Anna Ignatievna greeted him. + +"Are you acquainted? Madam Beliavskaia--Michael Ivanovich Chernoff. +Take a seat here." + +"Missy, venez donc a notre table. On vous opportera votre the. And +you," she turned to the officer who was conversing with Missy, +evidently forgetting his name, "come here, please. Will you have some +tea, Prince?" + +"No, no; I will never agree with you. She simply did not love him," +said a woman's voice. + +"But she loved pie." + +"Eternally those stupid jests," laughingly interfered another lady in +a high hat and dazzling with gold and diamonds. + +"C'est excellent, these waffles, and so light! Let us have some more." + +"Well, how soon are you going to leave us?" + +"Yes, this is the last day. That is why we came here." + +"Such a beautiful spring! How pleasant it is in the country!" + +Missy in her hat and some dark, striped dress which clasped her waist +without a wrinkle, was very pretty. She blushed when she saw +Nekhludoff. + +"I thought you had left the city," she said to him. + +"Almost. Business keeps me here. I come here also for business." + +"Call on mamma. She is very anxious to see you," she said, and, +feeling that she was lying, and that he understood it, her face turned +a still deeper purple. + +"I shall hardly have the time," gloomily answered Nekhludoff, +pretending not to see that she was blushing. + +Missy frowned angrily, shrugged her shoulders, and turned to an +elegant officer, who took from her hands the empty teacup and +valiantly carried it to another table, his sword striking every object +it encountered. + +"You must also contribute toward the asylum." + +"I am not refusing, only I wish to keep my contribution for the +lottery. There I will show all my liberality." + +"Don't forget, now," a plainly dissimulating laugh was heard. + +The reception day was brilliant, and Anna Ignatievna was delighted. + +"Mika told me that you busy yourself in the prisons. I understand it +very well," she said to Nekhludoff. "Mika"--she meant her stout +husband, Maslenikoff--"may have his faults, but you know that he is +kind. All these unfortunate prisoners are his children. He does not +look on them in any other light. Il est d'une bonte----" + +She stopped, not finding words to express bonte of a husband, and +immediately, smiling, turned to an old, wrinkled woman in +lilac-colored bows who had just entered. + +Having talked as much and as meaninglessly as it was necessary to +preserve the decorum, Nekhludoff arose and went over to Maslenikoff. + +"Will you please hear me now?" + +"Ah! yes. Well, what is it?" + +"Come in here." + +They entered a small Japanese cabinet and seated themselves near the +window. + + + + +CHAPTER LVI. + + +"Well, je suis a vous. Will you smoke a cigarette? But wait; we must +not soil the things here," and he brought an ash-holder. "Well?" + +"I want two things of you." + +"Is that so?" + +Maslenikoff's face became gloomy and despondent. All traces of that +animation of the little dog whom its master had scratched under the +ears entirely disappeared. Voices came from the reception-room. One, a +woman's voice, said: "Jamais, jamais je ne croirais;" another, a man's +voice from the other corner, was telling something, constantly +repeating: "La Comtesse Vorouzoff" and "Victor Apraksine." From the +third side only a humming noise mingled with laughter was heard. +Maslenikoff listened to the voices; so did Nekhludoff. + +"I want to talk to you again about that woman." + +"Yes; who was innocently condemned. I know, I know." + +"I would like her to be transferred to the hospital. I was told that +it can be done." + +Maslenikoff pursed up his lips and began to meditate. + +"It can hardly be done," he said. "However, I will consult about it, +and will wire you to-morrow." + +"I was told that there are many sick people in the hospital, and they +need assistants." + +"Well, yes. But I will let you know, as I said." + +"Please do," said Nekhludoff. + +There was a burst of general and even natural laughter in the +reception-room. + +"That is caused by Victor," said Maslenikoff, smiling. "He is +remarkably witty when in high spirits." + +"Another thing," said Nekhludoff. "There are a hundred and thirty men +languishing in prison for the only reason that their passports were +not renewed in time. They have been in prison now for a month." + +And he related the causes that kept them there. + +"How did you come to know it?" asked Nekhludoff, and his face showed +disquietude and displeasure. + +"I was visiting a prisoner, and these people surrounded me and +asked----" + +"What prisoner were you visiting?" + +"The peasant who is innocently accused, and for whom I have obtained +counsel. But that is not to the point. Is it possible that these +innocent people are kept in prison only because they failed to renew +their passports?" + +"That is the prosecutor's business," interrupted Maslenikoff, somewhat +vexed. "Now, you say that trials must be speedy and just. It is the +duty of the assistant prosecutor to visit the prisons and see that no +one is innocently kept there. But these assistants do nothing but play +cards." + +"So you can do nothing for them?" Nekhludoff asked gloomily, recalling +the words of the lawyer, that the governor would shift the +responsibility. + +"I will see to it. I will make inquiries immediately." + +"So much the worse for her. C'est un souffre-douleur," came from the +reception-room, the voice of a woman apparently entirely indifferent +to what she was saying. + +"So much the better; I will take this," from the other side was heard +a man's playful voice, and the merry laughter of a woman who refused +him something. + +"No, no, for no consideration," said a woman's voice. + +"Well, then, I will do everything," repeated Maslenikoff, +extinguishing the cigarette with his white hand, on which was a +turquoise ring. "Now, let us go to the ladies." + +"And yet another question," said Nekhludoff, without going into the +reception-room, and stopping at the door. "I was told that some people +in the prison were subjected to corporal punishment. Is it true?" + +Maslenikoff's face flushed. + +"Ah! you have reference to that affair? No, mon cher, you must +positively not be admitted there--you want to know everything. Come, +come; Annette is calling us," he said, seizing Nekhludoff's arm with +the same excitement he evinced after the attention shown him by the +important person, but this time alarming, and not joyful. + +Nekhludoff tore himself loose, and, without bowing or saying +anything, gloomily passed through the reception-room, the parlor and +by the lackeys, who sprang to their feet in the ante-chamber, to the +street. + +"What is the matter with him? What did you do to him?" Annette asked +her husband. + +"That is a la francaise," said some one. + +"Rather a la zoulon." + +"Oh, he has always been queer." + +Some one arose, some one arrived, and the chirping continued. + +The following morning Nekhludoff received from Maslenikoff a letter on +heavy, glossy paper, bearing a coat-of-arms and seals, written in a +fine, firm hand, in which he said that he had written to the prison +physician asking that Maslova be transferred, and that he hoped his +request would be acceded to. It was signed, "Your loving senior +comrade," followed by a remarkably skillful flourish. + +"Fool!" Nekhludoff could not help exclaiming, especially because he +felt that by the word "comrade" Maslenikoff was condescending, i. e., +although he considered himself a very important personage, he +nevertheless was not too proud of his greatness, and called himself +his comrade. + + + + +CHAPTER LVII. + + +One of the most popular superstitions consists in the belief that +every man is endowed with definite qualities--that some men are kind, +some wicked; some wise, some foolish; some energetic, some apathetic, +etc. This is not true. We may say of a man that he is oftener kind +than wicked; oftener wise than foolish; oftener energetic than +apathetic, and vice versa. But it would not be true to say of one man +that he is always kind or wise, and of another that he is always +wicked or foolish. And yet we thus divide people. This is erroneous. +Men are like rivers--the water in all of them, and at every point, is +the same, but every one of them is now narrow, now swift, now wide, +now calm, now clear, now cold, now muddy, now warm. So it is with +men. Every man bears within him the germs of all human qualities, +sometimes manifesting one quality, sometimes another; and often does +not resemble himself at all, manifesting no change. With some people +these changes are particularly sharp. And to this class Nekhludoff +belonged. These changes in him had both physical and spiritual causes; +and one of these changes he was now undergoing. + +That feeling of solemnity and joy of rejuvenation which he had +experienced after the trial and after his first meeting with Katiousha +had passed away, and, after the last meeting, fear and even disgust +toward her had taken its place. He was also conscious that his duty +was burdensome to him. He had decided not to leave her, to carry out +his intention of marrying her, if she so desired; but this was painful +and tormenting to him. + +On the day following his visit to Maslenikoff he again went to the +prison to see her. + +The inspector permitted him to see her; not in the office, however, +nor in the lawyer's room, but in the women's visiting-room. +Notwithstanding his kind-heartedness, the inspector was more reserved +than formerly. Evidently Nekhludoff's conversations with Maslenikoff +had resulted in instructions being given to be more careful with this +visitor. + +"You may see her," he said, "only please remember what I told you as +to giving her money. And as to her transfer to the hospital, about +which His Excellency has written, there is no objection to it, and the +physician also consented. But she herself does not wish it. 'I don't +care to be chambermaid to that scurvy lot,' she said. That is the kind +of people they are, Prince," he added. + +Nekhludoff made no answer and asked to be admitted to her. The +inspector sent the warden, and Nekhludoff followed him into the empty +visiting-room. + +Maslova was already there, quietly and timidly emerging from behind +the grating. She approached close to Nekhludoff, and, looking past +him, quietly said: + +"Forgive me, Dmitri Ivanovich; I have spoken improperly the other +day." + +"It is not for me to forgive you----" Nekhludoff began. + +"But you must leave me," she added, and in the fearfully squinting +eyes with which she glanced at him Nekhludoff again saw a strained and +spiteful expression. + +[Illustration: EASTER SERVICES.] + +"But why should I leave you?" + +"So." + +"Why so?" + +She again looked at him with that spiteful glance, as it seemed to +him. + +"Well, then, I will tell you," she said. "You leave me--I tell you +that truly. I cannot. You must drop that entirely," she said, with +quivering lips, and became silent. "That is true. I would rather hang +myself." + +Nekhludoff felt that in this answer lurked a hatred for him, an +unforgiven wrong, but also something else--something good and +important. This reiteration of her refusal in a perfectly calm state +destroyed in Nekhludoff's soul all his doubts, and brought him back to +his former grave, solemn and benign state of mind. + +"Katiousha, I repeat what I said," he said, with particular gravity. +"I ask you to marry me. If, however, you do not wish to, and so long +as you do not wish to, I will be wherever you will be, and follow you +wherever you may be sent." + +"That is your business. I will speak no more," she said, and again her +lips quivered. + +He was also silent, feeling that he had no strength to speak. + +"I am now going to the country, and from there to St. Petersburg," he +said finally. "I will press your--our case, and with God's help the +sentence will be set aside." + +"I don't care if they don't. I deserved it, if not for that, for +something else," she said, and he saw what great effort she had to +make to repress her tears. + +"Well, have you seen Menshova?" she asked suddenly, in order to hide +her agitation. "They are innocent, are they not?" + +"Yes, I think so." + +"Such a wonderful little woman!" she said. + +He related everything he had learned from Menshova, and asked her if +she needed anything. She said she needed nothing. + +They were silent again. + +"Well, and as to the hospital," she said suddenly, casting on him her +squinting glance, "if you wish me to go, I will go; and I will stop +wine drinking, too." + +Nekhludoff silently looked in her eyes. They were smiling. + +"That is very good," was all he could say. + +"Yes, yes; she is an entirely different person," thought Nekhludoff, +for the first time experiencing, after his former doubts, the to him +entirely new feeling of confidence in the invincibility of love. + + * * * * * + +Returning to her ill-smelling cell, Maslova removed her coat and sat +down on her cot, her hands resting on her knees. In the cell were only +the consumptive with her babe, the old woman, Menshova, and the +watch-woman with her two children. The deacon's daughter had been +removed to the hospital; the others were washing. The old woman lay on +the cot sleeping; the children were in the corridor, the door to which +was open. The consumptive with the child in her arms and the +watch-woman, who did not cease knitting a stocking with her nimble +fingers, approached Maslova. + +"Well, have you seen him?" they asked. + +Maslova dangled her feet, which did not reach the floor, and made no +answer. + +"What are you whimpering about?" said the watch-woman. "Above all, +keep up your spirits. Oh, Katiousha! Well?" she said, rapidly moving +her fingers. + +Maslova made no answer. + +"The women went washing. They say that to-day's alms were larger. Many +things have been brought, they say," said the consumptive. + +"Finashka!" shouted the watch-woman. "Where are you, you little +rogue?" She drew out one of the knitting needles, stuck it into the +ball of thread and stocking, and went out into the corridor. + +At this moment the inmates of the cell, with bare feet in their prison +shoes, entered, each bearing a loaf of twisted bread, some even two. +Theodosia immediately approached Maslova. + +"Why, anything wrong?" she asked, lovingly, looking with her bright, +blue eyes at Maslova. "And here is something for our tea," and she +placed the leaves on the shelf. + +"Well, has he changed his mind about marrying you?" asked Korableva. + +"No, he has not, but I do not wish to," answered Maslova, "and I told +him so." + +"What a fool!" said Korableva, in her basso voice. + +"What is the good of marrying if they cannot live together?" asked +Theodosia. + +"Is not your husband going with you?" answered the watch-woman. + +"We are legally married," said Theodosia. "But why should he marry her +legally if he cannot live with her?" + +"What a fool! Why, if he marries her he will make her rich!" + +"He said: 'Wherever you may be, I will be with you,'" said Maslova. + +"He may go if he likes; he needn't if he don't. I will not ask him. He +is now going to St. Petersburg to try to get me out. All the ministers +there are his relatives," she continued, "but I don't care for them." + +"Sure enough," Korableva suddenly assented, reaching down into her +bag, and evidently thinking of something else. "What do you say--shall +we have some wine?" + +"Not I," answered Maslova. "Drink yourselves." + + + + +PART SECOND. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +The Senate could hear the case in two weeks, and by that time +Nekhludoff intended to be in St. Petersburg, and, in case of an +adverse decision, to petition the Emperor, as the lawyer had advised. +In case the appeal failed, for which, his lawyer had told him, he must +be prepared, as the grounds of appeal were very weak, the party of +convicts to which Maslova belonged would be transported in May. It was +therefore necessary, in order to be prepared to follow Maslova to +Siberia, upon which Nekhludoff was firmly resolved, to go to the +villages and arrange his affairs there. + +First of all, he went to the Kusminskoie estate, the nearest, largest +black-earth estate, which brought the greatest income. He had lived on +the estate in his childhood and youth, and had also twice visited it +in his manhood, once when, upon the request of his mother, he brought +a German manager with whom he went over the affairs of the estate. So +that he knew its condition and the relations the peasants sustained +toward the office, i. e., the landowner. Their relations toward the +office were such that they have always been in absolute dependence +upon it. Nekhludoff had already known it when as a student he +professed and preached the doctrines of Henry George, and in carrying +out which he had distributed his father's estate among the peasants. +True, after his military career, when he was spending twenty thousand +rubles a year, those doctrines ceased to be necessary to the life he +was leading, were forgotten, and not only did he not ask himself where +the money came from, but tried not to think of it. But the death of +his mother, the inheritance, and the necessity of taking care of his +property, i. e., his lands, again raised the question in his mind of +his relation to private ownership of land. A month before Nekhludoff +would have argued that he was powerless to change the existing order +of things; that he was not managing the estate, and living and +receiving his income far away from the estate, would feel more or less +at ease. But now he resolved that, although there was before him a +trip to Siberia and complex and difficult relations to the prison +world, for which social standing, and especially money, were +necessary, he could not, nevertheless, leave his affairs in their +former condition, but must, to his own detriment, change them. For +this purpose he had decided not to work the land himself, but, by +renting it at a low price to the peasants, to make it possible for +them to live independent of the landlord. Often, while comparing the +position of the landlord with that of the owner of serfs, Nekhludoff +found a parallel in the renting of the land to the peasants, instead +of working it by hired labor, to what the slave-owners did when they +substituted tenancy for serfdom. That did not solve the question, but +it was a step toward its solution; it was a transition from a grosser +to a less gross form of ownership of man. He also intended to act +thus. + +Nekhludoff arrived at Kusminskoie about noon. In everything +simplifying his life, he did not wire from the station of his arrival, +but hired a two-horse country coach. The driver was a young fellow in +a nankeen regulation coat, belted below the waist, sitting sidewise on +the box. He was the more willing to carry on a conversation because +the broken-down, lame, emaciated, foaming shaft-horse could then walk, +which these horses always preferred. + +The driver spoke about the manager of the Kusminskoie estate, not +knowing that he was carrying its master, Nekhludoff purposely +refrained from enlightening him. + +"A dandy German," he said, turning half around, cracking his long whip +now over the heads, now under the horses. "There is nothing here to +compare with his fine team of three bay horses. You ought to see him +driving out with his wife! I took some guests to his house last +Christmas--he had a fine tree. You couldn't find the like of it in the +whole district! He robbed everybody, right and left. But what does he +care? He is bossing everybody. They say he bought a fine estate." + +Nekhludoff thought that he was indifferent to the manner of the +German's management, and to the way he was profiting by it. But the +story of the driver with the long waist was unpleasant to him. He was +enchanted with the fine weather; the darkening clouds, sometimes +obscuring the sun; the fields over which the larks soared; the woods, +just covering up the top and bottom with green; the meadows on which +the flocks and horses browsed, and the fields on which plowmen were +already seen--but a feeling of dissatisfaction crept over him. And +when he asked himself the reason for it, he recalled the driver's +account of the German's management. + +But by the time he was busying himself with the affairs of Kusminskoie +he had forgotten it. + +After an examination of the books and his conversation with the clerk, +who artlessly set forth the advantages of the peasants having small +holdings and the fact that they were hemmed in by the master's land, +Nekhludoff grew only more determined to put an end to his ownership, +and give the land to the peasants. From the books and his +conversations with the clerk he learned that, as before, two-thirds of +the best arable land was cultivated by his own men, and the rest by +peasants who were paid five rubles per acre--that is to say, for five +rubles the peasant undertook to plow, harrow and sow an acre of land +three times, then mow it, bind or press it, and carry it to the barn. +In other words, he was paid five rubles for what hired, cheap labor +would cost at least ten rubles. Again, the prices paid by the peasants +to the office for necessaries were enormous. They worked for meadow, +for wood, for potatoe seed, and they were almost all in debt to the +office. Thus, the rent charged the peasants for lands beyond the +fields was four times as great as it could bring on a five per cent. +basis. + +Nekhludoff knew all that before, but he was now learning it as +something new, and only wondered why he and all those who stood in a +similar position could fail to see the enormity of such relations. The +arguments of the clerk that not one-fourth of the value of the stock +could be realized on a sale, that the peasants would permit the land +to run to waste, only strengthened his determination and confirmed +him in his belief that he was doing a good deed by giving the land to +the peasants, and depriving himself of the greater part of his income. +Desiring to dispose of the land forthwith, he asked the manager to +call together the peasants of the three villages surrounded by his +lands the very next day, for the purpose of declaring to them his +intention and agreeing with them as to the price. + +With a joyful consciousness of his firmness, in spite of the arguments +of the manager, and his readiness to make sacrifices for the peasants, +Nekhludoff left the office, and, reflecting on the coming arrangement, +he strolled around the house, through the flower-garden, which lay +opposite the manager's house, and was neglected this year; over the +lawn-tennis ground, overgrown with chicory, and through the alleys +lined with lindens, where it had been his wont to smoke his cigar, and +where, three years before, the pretty visitor, Kirimova, flirted with +him. Having made an outline of a speech, which he was to deliver to +the peasants the following day, Nekhludoff went to the manager's +house, and after further deliberating upon the proper disposition of +the stock, he calmly and contentedly retired to a room prepared for +him in the large building. + +In this clean room, the walls of which were covered with views of +Venice, and with a mirror hung between two windows, there was placed a +clean spring bedstead and a small table with water and matches. On a +large table near the mirror lay his open traveling-bag with toilet +articles and books which he brought with him; one Russian book on +criminology, one in German, and a third in English treating of the +same subject. He intended to read them in spare moments while +traveling through the villages, but as he looked on them now he felt +that his mind was far from these subjects. Something entirely +different occupied him. + +In one corner of the room there stood an ancient arm-chair with +incrustations, and the sight of this chair standing in his mother's +bed-room suddenly raised in his soul an unexpected feeling. He +suddenly felt sorry for the house that would decay, the gardens which +would be neglected, the woods which would be cut down, and all the +cattle-houses, courts, stables, sheds, machinery, horses, cows which +had been accumulated with such effort, although not by him. At first +it seemed to him easy to abandon all that, but now he was loth to part +with it, as well as the land and one-half of the income which would be +so useful now. And immediately serviceable arguments come to his aid, +by which it appeared that it was not wise to give the land to the +peasants and destroy his estate. + +"I have no right to own the land. And if I do not own the land, I +cannot keep the property intact. Besides, I will now go to Siberia, +and for that reason I need neither the house nor the estate," +whispered one voice. "All that is true," whispered another voice, "but +you will not pass all your life in Siberia. If you should marry, you +may have children. And you must hand over the estate to them in the +same condition in which you found it. There are duties toward the +land. It is easy to give away the land, to destroy everything; but it +is very hard to accumulate it. Above all, you must mark out a plan of +your life, and dispose of your property accordingly. And, then, are +you acting as you do in order to satisfy conscientious scruples, or +for the praise you expect of people?" Nekhludoff asked himself, and +could not help acknowledging that the talk that it would occasion +influenced his decision. And the more he thought the more questions +raised themselves, and the more perplexing they appeared. To rid +himself of these thoughts he lay down on the fresh-made bed, intending +to go over them again the next day with a clearer mind. But he could +not fall asleep for a long time. Along with the fresh air, through the +open window, came the croaking of frogs, interrupted by the whistling +of nightingales, one of which was in a lilac bush under the window. +Listening to the nightingales and the frogs, Nekhludoff recalled the +music of the inspector's daughter; and, thinking of that music, he +recalled Maslova--how, like the croaking of a frog, her lips trembled +when she said, "You must drop that." Then the German manager descended +to the frogs. He should have been held back, but not only did he come +down, but he was transformed into Maslova and started to taunt him: "I +am a convict, and you are a Prince." "No, I shall not yield," thought +Nekhludoff, and came to. "Am I acting properly or improperly?" he +asked himself. "I don't know; I will know to-morrow." And he began to +descend to where the manager and Maslova were. And there everything +ended. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +With a feeling of timidity and shame Nekhludoff the following morning, +walked out to meet the peasants who had gathered at a small square in +front of the house. As he approached them the peasants removed their +caps, and for a long time Nekhludoff could not say anything. Although +he was going to do something for the peasants which they never dared +even to think of, his conscience was troubled. The peasants stood in a +fine, drizzling rain, waiting to hear what their master had to say, +and Nekhludoff was so confused that he could not open his mouth. The +calm, self-confident German came to his relief. This strong, overfed +man, like Nekhludoff himself, made a striking contrast to the +emaciated, wrinkled faces of the peasants, and the bare shoulder-bones +sticking out from under their caftans. + +"The Prince came to befriend you--to give you the land, but you are +not worthy of it," said the German. + +"Why not worthy, Vasily Karlych? Have we not labored for you? We are +much satisfied with our late mistress--may she enjoy eternal +life!--and we are grateful to the young Prince for thinking of us," +began a red-haired peasant with a gift of gab. + +"We are not complaining of our masters," said a broad-faced peasant +with a long beard. "Only we are too crowded here." + +"That is what I called you here for--to give you the land, if you wish +it," said Nekhludoff. + +The peasants were silent, as if misunderstanding him, or incredulous. + +"In what sense do you mean to give us the land?" asked a middle-aged +peasant in a caftan. + +"To rent it to you, that you might use it at a low price." + +"That is the loveliest thing," said an old man. + +"If the payment is not above our means," said another. + +"Of course we will take the land." + +"It is our business--we get our sustenance from the land." + +"So much the better for you. All you have to do is to take the money. +And what sins you will spare yourself----" + +"The sin is on you," said the German. "If you would only work and keep +things in order----" + +"We cannot, Vasily Karlych," said a lean old man with a pointed nose. +"You ask, Who let the horse feed in the field? But who did it? Day in +and day out--and every day is as long as a year--I worked with the +scythe, and as I fell asleep the horse went among the oats. And now +you are fleecing me." + +"You should keep order." + +"It is easy for you to say keep order. But we have no strength," +retorted a middle-aged peasant, all covered with hair. + +"I told you to fence it in." + +"You give us the timber," said an unsightly little peasant. "When I +cut a joist last summer, intending to make a fence, you locked me up +for three months in the castle to feed the insects. There was a fence +for you!" + +"Is that true?" asked Nekhludoff of the manager. + +"Der erste dich im dorfe," said the manager in German. "He was caught +every year in the woods. You must learn to respect other people's +property." + +"Do we not respect you?" said an old man. "We cannot help respecting +you, because you have us in your hands, and you are twisting us into +rope." + +"If you would only abstain from doing wrong," said the manager. "It is +pretty hard to wrong you." + +"And who battered my face last summer? Of course, there is no use +going to law with a rich man." + +"You only keep within bounds of the law." + +This was evidently a wordy tourney of which the participants hardly +knew the purpose. Nekhludoff tried to get back to business. + +"Well, what do you say? Do you wish the land, and what price do you +set on it?" + +"It is your goods; you name the price." + +Nekhludoff set the price, and though much lower than the prevailing +price, the peasants began to bargain, finding it high. He expected +that his offer would be accepted with pleasure, but there was no sign +of satisfaction. Only when the question was raised whether the whole +community would take the land, or have individual arrangements did he +know that it was profitable for them. For there resulted fierce +quarrels between those who wished to exclude the weak ones and bad +payers from participating in the land, and those whom it was sought to +exclude. But the German finally arranged the price and time of +payment, and the peasants, noisily talking, returned to the village. + +The price was about thirty per cent. lower than the one prevailing in +the district, and Nekhludoff's income was reduced to almost one-half, +but, with money realized from the sale of the timber and yet to be +realized from the sale of the stock, it was amply sufficient for him. +Everything seemed to be satisfactory, and yet Nekhludoff felt sad and +lonesome, but, above all, his conscience troubled him. He saw that +although the peasants spoke words of thanks, they were not satisfied +and expected something more. The result was that while he deprived +himself of much, he failed to do that which the peasants expected. + +On the following day, after the contract was signed, Nekhludoff, with +an unpleasant feeling of having left something undone, seated himself +in the "dandy" three-horse team and took leave of the peasants, who +were shaking their heads in doubt and dissatisfaction. Nekhludoff was +dissatisfied with himself--he could not tell why, but he felt sad, and +was ashamed of something. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +From Kusminskoie Nekhludoff went to Panovo, the estate left him by his +aunts, and where he had first seen Katiousha. He intended to dispose +of this land in the same manner as he disposed of the other, and also +desired to learn all there was known about Katiousha, and to find out +if it was true that their child had died. + +As he sat at the window observing the familiar scenery of the now +somewhat neglected estate, he not only recalled, but felt himself as +he was fourteen years ago; fresh, pure and filled with the hope of +endless possibilities. But as it happens in a dream, he knew that that +was gone, and he became very sad. + +Before breakfast he made his way to the hut of Matrena Kharina, +Katiousha's aunt, who was selling liquor surreptitiously, for +information about the child, but all he could learn from her was that +the child had died on the way to a Moskow asylum; in proof of which +the midwife had brought a certificate. + +On his way back he entered the huts of some peasants, and inquired +about their mode of living. The same complaints of the paucity of +land, hunger and degradation he heard everywhere. He saw the same +pinched faces, threadbare homespuns, bare feet and bent shoulders. + +In front of a particularly dilapidated hut stood a number of women +with children in their arms, and among them he noticed a lean, +pale-faced woman, easily holding a bloodless child in a short garment +made of pieces of stuff. This child was incessantly smiling. +Nekhludoff knew that it was the smile of suffering. He asked who that +woman was. + +It transpired that the woman's husband had been in prison for the past +six months--"feeding the insects"--as they termed it, for cutting down +two lindens. + +Nekhludoff turned to the woman, Anisia. + +"How do you fare?" he asked. "What do you live on?" + +"How do I live? I sometimes get some food," and she began to sob. + +The grave face of the child, however, spread into a broad smile, and +its thin legs began to wriggle. + +Nekhludoff produced his pocketbook and gave the woman ten rubles. He +had scarcely made ten steps when he was overtaken by another woman +with a child; then an old woman, and again another woman. They all +spoke of their poverty and implored his help. Nekhludoff distributed +the sixty rubles that were in his pocketbook and returned home, i. e., +to the wing inhabited by the clerk. The clerk, smiling, met Nekhludoff +with the information that the peasants would gather in the evening, +as he had ordered. Nekhludoff thanked him and strolled about the +garden, meditating on what he had seen. "The people are dying in large +numbers, and are used to it; they have acquired modes of living +natural to a people who are becoming extinct--the death of children, +exhausting toil for women, insufficiency of food for all, especially +for the aged--all comes and is received naturally. They were reduced +to this condition gradually, so that they cannot see the horror of it, +and bear it uncomplainingly. Afterward, we, too, come to consider this +condition natural; that it ought to be so." + +All this was so clear to him now that he could not cease wondering how +it was that people could not see it; that he himself could not see +that which is so patent. It was perfectly clear that children and old +people were dying for want of milk, and they had no milk because they +had not land enough to feed the cattle and also raise bread and hay. +And he devised a scheme by which he was to give the land to the +people, and they were to pay an annual rent which was to go to the +community, to be used for common utilities and taxes. This was not the +single-tax, but it was the nearest approach to it under present +conditions. The important part consisted in that he renounced his +right to own land. + +When he returned to the house, the clerk, with a particularly happy +smile on his face, offered him dinner, expressing his fear that it +might spoil. + +The table was covered with a gloomy cloth, an embroidered towel +serving as a napkin, and on the table, in vieux-saxe, stood a +soup-bowl with a broken handle, filled with potato soup and containing +the same rooster that he had seen carried into the house on his +arrival. After the soup came the same rooster, fried with feathers, +and cakes made of cheese-curds, bountifully covered with butter and +sugar. Although the taste of it all was poor, Nekhludoff kept on +eating, being absorbed in the thoughts which relieved him of the +sadness that oppressed him on his return from the village. + +After dinner Nekhludoff with difficulty seated the superserviceable +clerk, and in order to make sure of himself and at the same time to +confide to some one the thoughts uppermost in his mind, told him of +his project and asked his opinion. The clerk smiled, as though he had +been thinking of the same thing, and was very glad to hear it, but in +reality did not understand it, not because Nekhludoff did not express +himself plainly enough, but because, according to this project, +Nekhludoff deprived himself of advantages for the benefit of others, +whereas the truth that every man strives to obtain advantages at the +expense of others, was so firmly rooted in the clerk's mind, that he +thought that he misunderstood Nekhludoff when the latter said that the +entire income of the land was to go into the community's treasury. + +"I understand. So you will draw the interest on the capital?" he said, +becoming radiant. + +"No, no. I transfer the land to them entirely." + +"In that case you will get no income?" asked the clerk and he ceased +to smile. + +"I relinquish that." + +The clerk sighed deeply, then began to smile again. Now he understood. +He understood that Nekhludoff's mind was not entirely sound, and he +immediately tried to find a way of profiting by Nekhludoff's project, +and endeavored to so construe it that he might turn it to his own +advantage. + +When, however, he understood that there was no such opportunity, he +ceased to take interest in the projects, and continued to smile only +to please his master. Seeing that the clerk could not understand him, +Nekhludoff dismissed him from his presence, seated himself at the +ink-stained table and proceeded to commit his project to paper. + +The sun was already descending behind the unfolding lindens, and the +mosquitos filled the room, stinging him. While he was finishing his +notes, Nekhludoff heard the lowing of cattle in the village, the +creaking of the opening gates and the voices of the peasants who were +coming to meet their master. Nekhludoff told the clerk not to call +them before the office, that he would go and meet them at any place in +the village, and gulping down a glass of tea offered him by the clerk, +he went to the village. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +The crowd stood talking in front of the house of the bailiff, and as +Nekhludoff approached, the conversation ceased and the peasants, like +those of Kusminskoie, removed their caps. It was a coarser crowd than +the peasants of Kusminskoie, and almost all the peasants wore bast +shoes and homespun shirts and caftans. Some of them were bare-footed +and only in their shirts. + +With some effort Nekhludoff began his speech by declaring that he +intended to surrender the land to them. The peasants were silent, and +there was no change in the expression of their faces. + +"Because I consider," said Nekhludoff, blushing, "that every man ought +to have the right to use the land." + +"Why, certainly." "That is quite right," voices of peasants were +heard. + +Nekhludoff continued, saying that the income from the land should be +distributed among all, and he therefore proposed that they take the +land and pay into the common treasury such rent as they may decide +upon, such money to be used for their own benefit. Exclamations of +consent and approbation continued to be heard, but the faces of the +peasants became more and more grave, and the eyes that at first were +fixed on the master were lowered, as if desiring not to shame him with +the fact that his cunning was understood by all, and that he could not +fool anybody. + +Nekhludoff spoke very clearly, and the peasants were sensible folks; +but he was not understood, and could not be understood by them for the +same reason which prevented the clerk from understanding him for a +long time. They were convinced that it was natural for every man to +look out for his own interest. And as to the land owners, the +experience of several generations had taught them long ago that these +were always serving their own interests. + +"Well, what rate do you intend to assess," asked Nekhludoff. + +"Why assess? We cannot do that? The land is yours; it is for you to +say," some in the crowd said. + +"But understand that you are to use the money for the common wants." + +"We cannot do it. The community is one thing, and this is another +thing." + +"You must understand," said the smiling clerk, wishing to explain the +offer, "that the Prince is giving you the land for money which is to +go into the community's treasury." + +"We understand it very well," said a toothless old man without raising +his eyes. "Something like a bank, only we must pay in time. We cannot +do it; it is hard enough as it is. That will ruin us entirely." + +"That is to no purpose. We would rather continue as before," said +several dissatisfied and even rough voices. + +The resistance was particularly hot when Nekhludoff mentioned that he +would draw a contract which he himself and they would have to sign. + +"What is the good of a contract? We will keep on working as we did +before. We don't care for it. We are ignorant people." + +"We cannot consent, because that is an uncustomary thing. Let it be as +it was before. If you would only do away with the seed," several +voices were heard. + +"Doing away with the seed" meant that under the present regime the +sowing-seed was chargeable to the peasants, and they asked that it be +furnished by the master. + +"So you refuse to take the land?" asked Nekhludoff, turning to a +middle-aged, bare-footed peasant in tattered caftan and with a radiant +face who held his cap straight in front of him, like a soldier hearing +"Hats off!" + +"Yes, sir," said this peasant. + +"Then you have enough land?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"No, sir," said the ex-soldier, with artificial cheerfulness, holding +his torn cap before him, as though offering it to anyone deserving to +take it. + +"Think it over at your leisure," said the surprised Nekhludoff, again +repeating his offer. + +"There is nothing to think over; as we said, so it will be," the +toothless, gloomy old man said angrily. + +"I will stay here all day to-morrow. If you alter your decision, let +me know." + +The peasants made no answer. + +On their return to the office the clerk explained to Nekhludoff that +it was not a want of good sense that prevented their acceptance of the +offer; that when gathered in assembly they always acted in that +stubborn manner. + +Nekhludoff then asked him to summon for the following day several of +the most intelligent peasants to whom he would explain his project at +greater length. + +Immediately after the departure of the smiling clerk, Nekhludoff heard +angry women's voices interrupted by the voice of the clerk. He +listened. + +"I have no more strength. You want the cross on my breast," said an +exasperated voice. + +"She only ran in," said another voice. "Give her up, I say. Why do you +torture the beast, and keep the milk from the children?" + +Nekhludoff walked around the house where he saw two disheveled women, +one of whom was evidently pregnant, standing near the staircase. On +the stairs, with his hands in the pockets of his crash overcoat, stood +the clerk. Seeing their master, the women became silent and began to +arrange their 'kerchiefs, which had fallen from their heads, while the +clerk took his hands out of his pockets and began to smile. + +The clerk explained that the peasants purposely permitted their +calves, and even cows, to roam over the master's meadows. That two +cows belonging to these women had been caught on the meadow and driven +into an inclosure. The clerk demanded from the women thirty copecks +per cow, or two days' work. + +"Time and again I told them," said the smiling clerk, looking around +at Nekhludoff, as if calling him to witness, "to look out for cows +when driving them to feed." + +"I just went to see to the child, and they walked away." + +"Don't leave them when you undertake to look after them." + +"And who would feed my child?" + +"If they had only grazed, at least, they would have no pains in their +stomachs. But they only walked in." + +"All the meadows are spoiled," the clerk turned to Nekhludoff. "If +they are not made to pay there will be no hay left." + +"Don't be sinning," cried the pregnant woman. "My cow was never +caught." + +"But now that she was caught, pay for her, or work." + +"Well, then, I will work. But return me the cow; don't torture her," +she cried angrily. "It is bad enough as it is; I get no rest, either +day or night. Mother-in-law is sick; my husband is drunk. +Single-handed I have to do all the work, and I have no strength. May +you choke yourself!" she shouted and began to weep. + +Nekhludoff asked the clerk to release the cows and returned to the +house, wondering why people do not see what is so plain. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +Whether it was because there were fewer peasants present, or because +he was not occupied with himself, but with the matter in hand, +Nekhludoff felt no agitation when the seven peasants chosen from the +villagers responded to the summons. + +He first of all expressed his views on private ownership of land. + +"As I look upon it," he said, "land ought not to be the subject of +purchase and sale, for if land can be sold, then those who have money +will buy it all in and charge the landless what they please for the +use of it. People will then be compelled to pay for the right to stand +on the earth," he added, quoting Spencer's argument. + +"There remains to put on wings and fly," said an old man with smiling +eyes and gray beard. + +"That's so," said a long-nosed peasant in a deep basso. + +"Yes, sir," said the ex-soldier. + +"The old woman took some grass for the cow. They caught her, and to +jail she went," said a good-natured, lame peasant. + +"There is land for five miles around, but the rent is higher than the +land can produce," said the toothless, angry old man. + +"I am of the same opinion as you," said Nekhludoff, "and that is the +reason I want to give you the land." + +"Well, that would be a kind deed," said a broad-shouldered old peasant +with a curly, grayish beard like that of Michael Angelo's Moses, +evidently thinking that Nekhludoff intended to rent out the land. + +"That is why I came here. I do not wish to own the land any longer, +but it is necessary to consider how to dispose of it." + +"You give it to the peasants--that's all," said the toothless, angry +peasant. + +For a moment Nekhludoff was confused, seeing in these words doubt of +the sincerity of his purpose. But he shook it off, and took advantage +of the remark to say what he intended. + +"I would be only too glad to give it," he said, "but to whom and how +shall I give it? Why should I give it to your community rather than to +the Deminsky community?" Deminsky was a neighboring village with very +little land. + +They were all silent. Only the ex-soldier said, "Yes, sir." + +"And now tell me how would you distribute the land?" + +"How? We would give each an equal share," said an oven-builder, +rapidly raising and lowering his eyebrows. + +"How else? Of course divide it equally," said a good-natured, lame +peasant, whose feet, instead of socks, were wound in a white strip of +linen. + +This decision was acquiesced in by all as being satisfactory. + +"But how?" asked Nekhludoff, "are the domestics also to receive equal +shares?" + +"No, sir," said the ex-soldier, assuming a cheerful mood. But the +sober-minded tall peasant disagreed with him. + +"If it is to be divided, everybody is to get an equal share," after +considering awhile, he said in a deep basso. + +"That is impossible," said Nekhludoff, who was already prepared with +his objection. "If everyone was to get an equal share, then those who +do not themselves work would sell their shares to the rich. Thus the +land would again get into the hands of the rich. Again, the people +that worked their own shares would multiply, and the landlords would +again get the landless into their power." + +"Yes, sir," the ex-soldier hastily assented. + +"The selling of land should be prohibited; only those that cultivate +it themselves should be allowed to own it," said the oven-builder, +angrily interrupting the soldier. + +To this Nekhludoff answered that it would be difficult to determine +whether one cultivated the land for himself or for others. + +Then the sober-minded old man suggested that the land should be given +to them as an association, and that only those that took part in +cultivating it should get their share. + +Nekhludoff was ready with arguments against this communistic scheme, +and he retorted that in such case it would be necessary that all +should have plows, that each should have the same number of horses, +and that none should lag behind, or that everything should belong to +society, for which the consent of every one was necessary. + +"Our people will never agree," said the angry old man. + +"There will be incessant fighting among them," said the white-bearded +peasant with the shining eyes. "The women will scratch each other's +eyes out." + +"The next important question is," said Nekhludoff, "how to divide the +land according to quality. You cannot give black soil to some and clay +and sand to others." + +"Let each have a part of both," said the oven-builder. + +To this Nekhludoff answered that it was not a question of dividing the +land in one community, but of the division of land generally among all +the communities. If the land is to be given gratis to the peasants, +then why should some get good land, and others poor land? There would +be a rush for the good land. + +"Yes, sir," said the ex-soldier. + +The others were silent. + +"You see, it is not as simple as it appears at first sight," said +Nekhludoff. "We are not the only ones, there are other people thinking +of the same thing. And now, there is an American, named George, who +devised the following scheme, and I agree with him." + +"What is that to you? You are the master; you distribute the land, +and there is an end to it," said the angry peasant. + +This interruption somewhat confused Nekhludoff, but he was glad to see +that others were also dissatisfied with this interruption. + +"Hold on, Uncle Semen; let him finish," said the old man in an +impressive basso. + +This encouraged Nekhludoff, and he proceeded to explain the single-tax +theory of Henry George. + +"The land belongs to no one--it belongs to the Creator." + +"That's so!" + +"Yes, sir." + +"The land belongs to all in common. Every one has an equal right to +it. But there is good land, and there is poor land. And the question +is, how to divide the land equally. The answer to this is, that those +who own the better land should pay to those who own the poorer the +value of the better land. But as it is difficult to determine how much +anyone should pay, and to whom, and as society needs money for common +utilities, let every land owner pay to society the full value of his +land--less, if it is poorer; more, if it is better. And those who do +not wish to own land will have their taxes paid by the land owners." + +"That's correct," said the oven-builder. "Let the owner of the better +land pay more." + +"What a head that Jhorga had on him!" said the portly old peasant with +the curls. + +"If only the payments were reasonable," said the tall peasant, +evidently understanding what it was leading to. + +"The payments should be such that it would be neither too cheap nor +too dear. If too dear, it would be unprofitable; if too cheap, people +would begin to deal in land. This is the arrangement I would like you +to make." + +Voices of approval showed that the peasants understood him perfectly. + +"What a head!" repeated the broad-shouldered peasant with the curls, +meaning "Jhorga." + +"And what if I should choose to take land?" said the clerk, smiling. + +"If there is an unoccupied section, take and cultivate it," said +Nekhludoff. + +"What do you want land for? You are not hungering without land," said +the old man with the smiling eyes. + +Here the conference ended. + +Nekhludoff repeated his offer, telling the peasants to consult the +wish of the community, before giving their answer. + +The peasants said that they would do so, took leave of Nekhludoff and +departed in a state of excitement. For a long time their loud voices +were heard, and finally died away about midnight. + + * * * * * + +The peasants did not work the following day, but discussed their +master's proposition. The community was divided into two factions. One +declared the proposition profitable and safe; the other saw in the +proposition a plot which it feared the more because it could not +understand it. On the third day, however, the proposition was +accepted, the fears of the peasants having been allayed by an old +woman who explained the master's action by the suggestion that he +began to think of saving his soul. This explanation was confirmed by +the large amount of money Nekhludoff had distributed while he remained +in Panov. These money gifts were called forth by the fact that here, +for the first time, he learned to what poverty the peasants had been +reduced and though he knew that it was unwise, he could not help +distributing such money as he had, which was considerable. + +As soon as it became known that the master was distributing money, +large crowds of people from the entire surrounding country came to him +asking to be helped. He had no means of determining the respective +needs of the individuals, and yet he could not help giving these +evidently poor people money. Again, to distribute money +indiscriminately was absurd. His only way out of the difficulty was to +depart, which he hastened to do. + +On the third day of his visit to Panov, Nekhludoff, while looking over +the things in the house, in one of the drawers of his aunt's +chiffonnier, found a picture representing a group of Sophia Ivanovna, +Catherine Ivanovna, himself, as student, and Katiousha--neat, fresh, +beautiful and full of life. Of all the things in the house Nekhludoff +removed this picture and the letters. The rest he sold to the miller +for a tenth part of its value. + +Recalling now the feeling of pity over the loss of his property which +he had experienced in Kusminskoie, Nekhludoff wondered how he could +have done so. Now he experienced the gladness of release and the +feeling of novelty akin to that experienced by an explorer who +discovers new lands. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +It was evening when Nekhludoff arrived in the city, and as he drove +through the gas-lit streets to his house, it looked to him like a new +city. The odor of camphor still hung in the air through all the rooms, +and Agrippina, Petrovna and Kornei seemed tired out and dissatisfied, +and even quarreled about the packing of the things, the use of which +seemed to consist chiefly in being hung out, dried and packed away +again. His room was not occupied, but was not arranged for his coming, +and the trunks blocked all the passages, so that his coming interfered +with those affairs which, by some strange inertia, were taking place +in this house. This evident foolishness, to which he had once been a +party, seemed so unpleasant to Nekhludoff, after the impressions he +had gained of the want in the villages, that he decided to move to a +hotel the very next day, leaving the packing to Agrippina until the +arrival of his sister. + +He left the house in the morning, hired two modest and not over-clean +furnished rooms near the prison, and went to his lawyer. + +After the storms and rains came those cold, piercing winds that +usually occur in the fall. Protected only by a light overcoat, +Nekhludoff was chilled to the bone. He walked quickly in order to warm +himself. + +The village scenes came to his mind--the women, children and old men, +whose poverty and exhaustion he had noticed as if for the first time, +especially that oldish child which twisted its little calfless +legs--and he involuntarily compared them with the city folks. Passing +by the butcher, fish and clothing shops, he was struck, as if it was +the first time he looked upon them--by the physical evidences of the +well-being of such a large number of clean, well-fed shopkeepers which +was not to be seen anywhere in the villages. Equally well fed were the +drivers in quilted coats and buttons on their backs, porters, servant +girls, etc. In all these people he now involuntarily saw those same +village folks whom privation had driven to the city. Some of them were +able to take advantage of the conditions in the city and became happy +proprietors themselves; others were reduced to even greater straits +and became even more wretched. Such wretchedness Nekhludoff saw in a +number of shoemakers that he saw working near the window of a +basement; in the lean, pale, disheveled washerwomen ironing with bare +hands before open windows from which soap-laden steam poured out; in +two painters, aproned and bare-footed, who were covered with paint +from temple to heel. In their sunburnt, sinewy, weak hands, bared +above the elbows, they carried a bucket of paint and incessantly +cursed each other. Their faces were wearied and angry. The same +expression of weariness and anger he saw in the dusty faces of the +truck drivers; on the swollen and tattered men, women and children who +stood begging on the street corners. Similar faces were seen in the +windows of the tea-houses which Nekhludoff passed. Around the dirty +tables, loaded with bottles and tea services, perspiring men with red, +stupefied faces sat shouting and singing, and white-aproned servants +flitted to and fro. + +"Why have they all gathered here?" thought Nekhludoff, involuntarily +inhaling, together with the dust, the odor of rancid oil spread by the +fresh paint. + +On one of the streets he suddenly heard his name called above the +rattling of the trucks. It was Shenbok, with curled and stiffened +mustache and radiant face. Nekhludoff had lost sight of him long ago, +but heard that on leaving his regiment and joining the cavalry, +notwithstanding his debts he managed to hold his own in rich society. + +"I am glad I met you. There is not a soul in the city. How old you +have grown, my boy! I only recognized you by your walk. Well, shall +we have dinner together? Where can we get a good meal here?" + +"I hardly think I will have the time," answered Nekhludoff, who wished +to get rid of his friend without offending him. "What brings you +here?" he asked. + +"Business, my boy. Guardianship affairs. I am a guardian, you know. I +have charge of Samanoff's business--the rich Samanoff, you know. He is +a spendthrift, and there are fifty-four thousand acres of land!" he +said with particular pride, as if he had himself made all these acres. +"The affairs were fearfully neglected. The land was rented to the +peasants, who did not pay anything and were eighty thousand rubles in +arrears. In one year I changed everything, and realized seventy per +cent. more for the estate. Eh?" he asked, with pride. + +Nekhludoff recalled a rumor that for the very reason that Shenbok +squandered his own wealth and was inextricably in debt, he was +appointed guardian over a rich old spendthrift, and was now evidently +obtaining an income from the guardianship. + +Nekhludoff refused to take dinner with Shenbok, or accompany him to +the horse races, to which the latter invited him, and after an +exchange of commonplaces the two parted. + +"Is it possible that I was like him?" thought Nekhludoff. "Not +exactly, but I sought to be like him, and thought that I would thus +pass my life." + + * * * * * + +The lawyer received him immediately on his arrival, although it was +not his turn. The lawyer expressed himself strongly on the detention +of the Menshovs, declaring that there was not a particle of evidence +against them on record. + +"If the case is tried here, and not in the district, I will stake +anything on their discharge. And the petition in behalf of Theodosia +Brinkova is ready. You had better take it with you to St. Petersburg +and present it there. Otherwise there will begin an inquiry which will +have no end. Try to reach some people who have influence with the +commission on petitions. Well, that's all, isn't it?" + +"No. Here they write me----" + +"You seem to be the funnel into which all the prison complaints are +poured. I fear you will not hold them all." + +"But this case is simply shocking," said Nekhludoff, and related the +substance of it. + +"What is it that surprises you?" + +"Everything. I can understand the orderly who acted under orders, but +the assistant prosecutor who drew the indictment is an educated man----" + +"That is the mistake. We are used to think that the prosecuting +officers--the court officers generally--are a kind of new, liberal +men. And so they were at one time, but not now. The only thing that +concerns these officers is to draw their salaries on the 20th of every +month. Their principles begin and end with their desire to get more. +They will arrest, try and convict anybody----. I am always telling these +court officers that I never look upon them without gratitude," +continued the lawyer, "because it is due to their kindness that I, you +and all of us are not in jail. To deprive any one of us of all civil +rights and send him to Siberia is the easiest thing imaginable." + +"But if everything depends on the pleasure of the prosecutor, who can +enforce the law or not, then what is the use of the courts?" + +The lawyer laughed merrily. + +"That is the question you are raising. Well, my dear sir, that is +philosophy. However, we can discuss that. Come to my house next +Saturday. You will find there scholars, litterateurs, artists. We will +have a talk on social questions," said the lawyer, pronouncing the +words "social questions" with ironical pathos. "Are you acquainted +with my wife? Call on Saturday." + +"I will try," answered Nekhludoff, feeling that he was saying an +untruth; that if there was anything he would try hard to do it was not +to be present at the lawyer's amid the scholars, litterateurs and +artists. + +The laughter with which the lawyer met Nekhludoff's remark concerning +the uselessness of courts if the prosecutors can do what they please, +and the intonation with which he pronounced the words "philosophy" and +"social questions," showed how utterly unlike himself were the lawyer +and the people of his circle, both in character and in views of life. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +It was late and the distance to the prison was long, so Nekhludoff +hired a trap. On one of the streets the driver, who was a middle-aged +man with an intelligent and good-natured face, turned to Nekhludoff +and pointed to an immense building going up. + +"What a huge building there is going up!" he said with pride, as if he +had a part in the building of it. + +It was really a huge structure, built in a complex, unusual style. A +scaffolding of heavy pine logs surrounded the structure, which was +fenced in by deal boards. It was as busy a scene as an ant hill. + +Nekhludoff wondered that these people, while their wives were killing +themselves with work at home, and their children starving, should +think it necessary to build that foolish and unnecessary house for +some foolish and unnecessary man. + +"Yes, a foolish building," he spoke his thought aloud. + +"How foolish?" retorted the offended driver. "Thanks to them, the +people get work. It is not foolish." + +"But the work is unnecessary." + +"It must be necessary if they are building it," said the driver. "It +gives the people food." + +Nekhludoff became silent, the more so because it was too noisy to be +heard. When they had reached the macadamized road near the prison the +driver again turned to Nekhludoff. + +"And what a lot of people are coming to the city--awful," he said, +turning around on the box and pointing to a party of laborers with +saws, axes, coats and sacks thrown over their shoulders, and coming +from the opposite direction. + +"More than in former years?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"No comparison. The masters are kicking them about like shavings. The +market places are glutted with them." + +"What is the reason?" + +"They have multiplied. They have no homes." + +"And what if they have multiplied! Why do they not remain in the +villages?" + +"There is nothing to do there. There is no land." + +Nekhludoff experienced that which happens with a sore place--it is +struck oftener than any other part of the body. But it only seems so +because it is more noticeable. + +"Can it be possible that it is everywhere the same?" he thought, and +asked the driver how much land there was in his village; how much he +himself owned, and why he lived in the city. + +"There is but an acre to every person. We are renting three acres. +There is my father and brother. Another brother is in the army. They +are managing it. But there is really nothing to manage, and my brother +intended to go to Moskow." + +"Is there no land for rent?" + +"Where could one get land nowadays? The masters' children have +squandered theirs. The merchants have it all in their hands. One +cannot rent it from them; they cultivate it themselves. Our lands are +held by a Frenchman who bought them of the former landlord. He won't +rent any of it, and that is all." + +"What Frenchman?" + +"Dufar, the Frenchman--you may have heard. He is making wigs for the +actors. He is now our master, and does what he pleases with us. He is +a good man himself, but his wife is Russian--and what a cur! She is +robbing the people--simply awful! But here is the prison. Shall I +drive up to the front? I think they don't admit through the front." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +With a faint heart and with horror at the thought that he might find +Maslova in an inebriate condition and persistently antagonistic, and +at the mystery which she was to him, Nekhludoff rang the bell and +inquired of the inspector about Maslova. She was in the hospital. + +A young physician, impregnated with carbolic acid, came out into the +corridor and sternly asked Nekhludoff what he wanted. The physician +indulged the prisoners' shortcomings and often relaxed the rules in +their favor, for which he often ran afoul of the prison officials and +even the head physician. Fearing that Nekhludoff might ask something +not permitted by the rules, and, moreover, desiring to show that he +made no exceptions in favor of anybody, he feigned anger. + +"There are no women here; this is the children's ward," he said. + +"I know it, but there is a nurse here who had been transferred from +the prison." + +"Yes, there are two. What do you wish, then?" + +"I am closely related to one of them, Maslova," said Nekhludoff, "and +would like to see her. I am going to St. Petersburg to enter an appeal +in her case. I would like to hand her this; it is only a photograph," +and he produced an envelope from his pocket. + +"Yes, you may do that," said the softened physician, and turning to an +old nurse in a white apron, told her to call Maslova. "Won't you take +a seat, or come into the reception-room?" + +"Thank you," said Nekhludoff, and taking advantage of the favorable +change in the physician's demeanor, asked him what they thought of +Maslova in the hospital. + +"Her work is fair, considering the conditions amid which she had +lived," answered the physician. "But there she comes." + +The old nurse appeared at one of the doors, and behind her came +Maslova. She wore a white apron over a striped skirt; a white cap on +her head hid her hair. Seeing Nekhludoff she flushed, stopped +waveringly, then frowned, and with downcast eyes approached him with +quick step. Coming near him she stood for a moment without offering +her hand, then she did offer her hand and became even more flushed. +Nekhludoff had not seen her since the conversation in which she +excused herself for her impetuosity, and he expected to find her in a +similar mood. But she was entirely different to-day; there was +something new in the expression of her face; something timid and +reserved, and, as it seemed to him, malevolent toward him. He repeated +the words he had said to the physician and handed her the envelope +with the photograph which he had brought from Panov. + +"It is an old picture which I came across in Panov. It may please you +to have it. Take it." + +Raising her black eyebrows she looked at him with her squinting eyes, +as though asking, "What is that for?" Then she silently took the +envelope and tucked it under her apron. + +"I saw your aunt there," said Nekhludoff. + +"Did you?" she said, with indifference. + +"How do you fare here?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"Fairly well," she said. + +"It is not very hard?" + +"Not very. I am not used to it yet." + +"I am very glad. At any rate, it is better than there." + +"Than where?" she said, and her face became purple. + +"There, in the prison," Nekhludoff hastened to say. + +"Why better?" she asked. + +"I think the people here are better. There are no such people here as +there." + +"There are many good people there." + +"I did what I could for the Menshovs and hope they will be freed," +said Nekhludoff. + +"May God grant it. Such a wonderful little woman," she said, repeating +her description of the old woman, and slightly smiled. + +"I am going to-day to St. Petersburg. Your case will be heard soon, +and, I hope, will be reversed." + +"It is all the same now, whether they reverse it or not," she said. + +"Why now?" + +"So," she answered, and stealthily glanced at him inquiringly. + +Nekhludoff understood this answer and this glance as a desire on her +part to know if he were still holding to his decision, or had changed +it since her refusal. + +"I don't know why it is all the same to you," he said, "but to me it +really is all the same whether you are acquitted or not. In either +case, I am ready to do what I said," he said, with determination. + +She raised her head, and her black, squinting eyes fixed themselves on +his face and past it, and her whole face became radiant with joy. But +her words were in an entirely different strain. + +"Oh, you needn't talk that way," she said. + +"I say it that you may know." + +"Everything has been already said, and there is no use talking any +more," she said, with difficulty repressing a smile. + +There was some noise in the ward. A child was heard crying. + +"I think I am called," she said, looking around with anxiety. + +"Well, then, good-by," he said. + +She pretended not to see his extended hand, turned round, and +endeavoring to hide her elation, she walked away with quick step. + +"What is taking place in her? What is she thinking? What are her +feelings? Is she putting me to a test, or is she really unable to +forgive me? Can she not say what she thinks and feels, or simply will +not? Is she pacified or angered?" Nekhludoff asked himself, but could +give no answer. One thing he knew, however, and that was that she had +changed; that a spiritual transformation was taking place in her, and +this transformation united him not only to her, but to Him in whose +name it was taking place. And this union caused him joyful agitation. + +Returning to the ward where eight children lay in their beds, Maslova +began to remake one of the beds, by order of the Sister, and, leaning +over too far with the sheet, slipped and nearly fell. The convalescing +boy, wound in bandages to his neck, began to laugh. Maslova could +restrain herself no longer, and seating herself on the bedstead she +burst into loud laughter, infecting several children, who also began +to laugh. The Sister angrily shouted: + +"What are you roaring about? Think you this is like the place you came +from? Go fetch the rations." + +Maslova stopped laughing, and taking a dish went on her errand, but +exchanging looks with the bandaged boy, who giggled again. + +Several times during the day, when Maslova remained alone, she drew +out a corner of the picture and looked at it with admiration, but in +the evening, when she and another nurse retired for the night, she +removed the picture from the envelope and immovably looked with +admiration at the faces; her own, his and the aunt's, their dresses, +the stairs of the balcony, the bushes in the background, her eyes +feasting especially on herself, her young, beautiful face with the +hair hanging over her forehead. She was so absorbed that she failed to +notice that the other nurse had entered. + +"What is that? Did he give it you?" asked the stout, good-natured +nurse, leaning over the photograph. + +"Is it possible that that is you?" + +"Who else?" Maslova said, smiling and looking into her companion's +face. + +"And who is that? He himself? And that is his mother?" + +"His aunt. Couldn't you recognize me?" asked Maslova. + +"Why, no. I could never recognize you. The face is entirely different. +That must have been taken about ten years ago." + +"Not years, but a lifetime," said Maslova, and suddenly her face +became sullen and a wrinkle formed between her eyebrows. + +"Yours was an easy life, wasn't it?" + +"Yes, easy," Maslova repeated, closing her eyes and shaking her head. +"Worse than penal servitude." + +"Why so?" + +"Because. From eight in the evening to four in the morning--every day +the same." + +"Then why don't they get out?" + +"They like to, but cannot. But what is the use of talking!" cried +Maslova, and she sprang to her feet, threw the photograph into the +drawer of the table, and suppressing her angry tears, ran into the +corridor, slamming the door. Looking on the photograph she imagined +herself as she had been at the time the photograph was made, and +dreamed how happy she had been and might still be with him. The words +of her companion reminded her what she was now--reminded her of all +the horror of that life which she then felt but confusedly, and would +not allow herself to admit. Only now she vividly recalled all those +terrible nights, particularly one Shrovetide night. She recalled how +she, in a low-cut, wine-bespattered, red silk dress, with a red bow in +her dishevelled hair, weak, jaded and tipsy, after dancing attendance +upon the guest, had seated herself, at two in the morning, near the +thin, bony, pimpled girl-pianist and complained of her hard life. The +girl said that her life was also disagreeable to her, and that she +wished to change her occupation. Afterward their friend Clara joined +them, and all three suddenly decided to change their life. They were +about to leave the place when the drunken guests became noisy, the +fiddler struck up a lively song of the first figure of a Russian +quadrille, the pianist began to thump in unison, a little drunken man +in a white necktie and dress coat caught her up. Another man, stout +and bearded, and also in a dress coat, seized Clara, and for a long +time they whirled, danced, shouted and drank. Thus a year passed, a +second and a third. How could she help changing! And the cause of it +all was he. And suddenly her former wrath against him rose in her; and +she felt like chiding and reproving him. She was sorry that she had +missed the opportunity of telling him again that she knew him, and +would not yield to him; that she would not allow him to take advantage +of her spiritually as he had done corporeally; that she would not +allow him to make her the subject of his magnanimity. And in order to +deaden the painful feeling of pity for herself and the useless +reprobation of him, she yearned for wine. And she would have broken +her word and drunk some wine had she been in the prison. But here wine +could only be obtained from the assistant surgeon, and she was afraid +of him, because he pursued her with his attentions, and all relations +with men were disgusting to her. For some time she sat on a bench in +the corridor, and returning to her closet, without heeding her +companion's questions, she wept for a long time over her ruined life. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +Nekhludoff had four cases in hand: Maslova's appeal, the petition of +Theodosia Birukova, the case of Shustova's release, by request of Vera +Bogodukhovskaia, and the obtaining of permission for a mother to visit +her son kept in a fortress, also by Bogodukhovskaia's request. + +Since his visit to Maslenikoff, especially since his trip to the +country, Nekhludoff felt an aversion for that sphere in which he had +been living heretofore, and in which the sufferings borne by millions +of people in order to secure the comforts and pleasures of a few, were +so carefully concealed that the people of that sphere did not and +could not see these sufferings, and consequently the cruelty and +criminality of their own lives. + +Nekhludoff could no longer keep up relations with these people without +reproving himself. And yet the habits of his past life, the ties of +friendship and kinship, and especially his one great aim of helping +Maslova and the other unfortunates, drew him into that sphere against +his will; and he was compelled to ask the aid and services of people +whom he had not only ceased to respect but who called forth his +indignation and contempt. + +Arriving at St. Petersburg, and stopping at his aunt's, the wife of an +ex-Minister of State, he found himself in the very heart of the +aristocratic circle. It was unpleasant to him, but he could do no +different. Not to stop at his aunt's was to offend her. Besides, +through her connections she could be of great service to him in those +affairs for the sake of which he came to St. Petersburg. + +"What wonders I hear about you!" said Countess Catherine Ivanovna +Charskaia, while Nekhludoff was drinking the coffee brought him +immediately after his arrival. "Vous posez pour un Howard. You are +helping the convicts; making the rounds of the prisons; reforming +them." + +"You are mistaken; I never had such intentions." + +"Why, that is not bad. Only, I understand, there is some love +affair--come, tell me." + +Nekhludoff related the story of Maslova, exactly as it happened. + +"Yes, yes, I remember. Poor Hellen told me at the time you lived at +the old maids' house that, I believe, they wished you to marry their +ward." Countess Catherine Ivanovna always hated Nekhludoff's aunts on +his father's side. "So, that is she? Elle est encore jolie?" + +Aunt Catherine Ivanovna was a sixty-year-old, healthy, jolly, +energetic, talkative woman. She was tall, very stout, with a black, +downy mustache on her upper lip. Nekhludoff loved her, and since +childhood had been accustomed to get infected with her energy and +cheerfulness. + +"No, ma tante, all that belongs to the past. I only wish to help her, +because she is innocent, and it is my fault that she was condemned, +her whole wrecked life is upon my conscience. I feel it to be my duty +to do for her what I can." + +"But how is it? I was told that you wish to marry her." + +"I do wish it, it is true; but she doesn't." + +Catherine Ivanovna raised her eyebrows and silently looked at +Nekhludoff in surprise. Suddenly her face changed and assumed a +pleased expression. + +"Well, she is wiser than you are. Ah! what a fool you are! And you +would marry her?" + +"Certainly." + +"After what she has been?" + +"The more so--is it not all my fault?" + +"Well, you are simply a crank," said the aunt, suppressing a smile. +"You are an awful crank, but I love you for the very reason that you +are such an awful crank," she repeated, the word evidently well +describing, according to her view, the mental and moral condition of +her nephew. "And how opportune. You know, Aline has organized a +wonderful asylum for Magdalens. I visited it once. How disgusting they +are! I afterward washed myself from head to foot. But Aline is corps +et ame in this affair. So we will send her, your Magdalen, to her. If +any one will reform her, it is Aline." + +"But she was sentenced to penal servitude. I came here for the +express purpose of obtaining a reversal of her sentence. That is my +first business to you." + +"Is that so? Where is the case now?" + +"In the Senate." + +"In the Senate? Why, my dear cousin Levoushka is in the Senate. +However, he is in the Heraldry Department. Let me see. No, of the real +ones I do not know any. Heaven knows what a mixture they are: either +Germans, such as Ge, Fe, De--tout l'alphabet--or all sorts of Ivanvas, +Semenovs, Nikitins, or Ivaneukos, Semeneukos, Nikitenkas pour varier. +Des gens de l'autre monde. However, I will tell my husband. He knows +all sorts of people. I will tell him. You explain it to him, for he +never understands me. No matter what I may say, he always says that he +cannot understand me. C'est un parti pris. Everybody understands, only +he does not understand." + +At that moment a servant in knee-breeches entered with a letter on a +silver tray. + +"Ah, that is from Aline. Now you will have an opportunity to hear +Kisiweather." + +"Who is that Kisiweather?" + +"Kisiweather? Come around to-day and you will find out who he is. He +speaks so that the most hardened criminals fall on their knees and +weep, and repent." + +Countess Catherine Ivanovna, however strange it might be, and how so +little it agreed with her character, was a follower of that teaching +which held that essence of Christianity consisted in a belief in +redemption. She visited the meetings where sermons were delivered on +this teaching then in vogue, and invited the adherents to her own +house. Although this teaching rejected all rites, images and even the +sacraments, the Princess had images hanging in all her rooms, even +over her bedstead, and she complied with all the ritual requirements +of the church, seeing nothing contradictory in that. + +"Your Magdalen ought to hear him; she would become converted," said +the Countess. "Don't fail to come to-night. You will hear him then. He +is a remarkable man." + +"It is not interesting to me, ma tante." + +"I tell you it is interesting. You must come to-night. Now, what else +do you want me to do? Videz votre sac." + +"There is the man in the fortress." + +"In the fortress? Well, I can give you a note to Baron Kriegmuth. +C'est un tres-brave homme. But you know him yourself. He was your +father's comrade. Il donne dans le spiritisme. But that is nothing. He +is a kind man. What do you want there?" + +"It is necessary to obtain permission for a mother to visit her son +who is incarcerated there. But I was told that Cherviansky and not +Kriegmuth is the person to be applied to." + +"I do not like Cherviansky, but he is Mariette's husband. I will ask +her; she will do it for me. Elle est tres gentille." + +"There is another woman I wish you would speak to her about. She has +been in prison for several months, and no one knows for what." + +"Oh, no; she herself surely knows for what. They know very well. And +it serves them right, those short-haired ones." + +"I do not know whether it serves them right or not. But they are +suffering. You are a Christian, and believe in the Gospel, and yet are +so pitiless." + +"That has nothing to do with it. The Gospel is one thing; what I +dislike is another thing. It would be worse if I pretended to like the +Nihilists, especially the female Nihilists, when as a matter of fact I +hate them." + +"Why do you hate them?" + +"Why do they meddle in other people's affairs? It is not a woman's +business." + +"But you have nothing against Mariette occupying herself with +business," said Nekhludoff. + +"Mariette? Mariette is Mariette, but who is she? A conceited ignoramus +who wants to teach everybody." + +"They do not wish to teach; they only wish to help the people." + +"We know without them who should and who should not be helped." + +"But the people are impoverished. I have just been in the country. Is +it proper that peasants should overwork themselves without getting +enough to eat, while we are living in such wasteful luxury?" + +"What do you wish me to do? You would like to see me work and not eat +anything?" + +"No, I do not wish you not to eat," smiling involuntarily, answered +Nekhludoff. "I only wish that we should all work, and all have enough +to eat." + +The aunt again raised her eyebrows and gazed at him with curiosity. + +"Mon cher, vous finirez mal," she said. + +At that moment a tall, broad-shouldered general entered the room. It +was Countess Charskaia's husband, a retired Minister of State. + +"Ah, Dmitri, how do you do?" he said, putting out his clean-shaven +cheek. "When did you get here?" + +He silently kissed his wife on the forehead. + +"Non, il est impayable." Countess Catherine Ivanovna turned to her +husband. "He wants me to do washing on the river and feast on +potatoes. He is an awful fool, but, nevertheless, do for him what he +asks. An awful crank," she corrected herself. "By the way, they say +that Kamenskaia is in a desperate condition; her life is despaired +of," she turned to her husband. "You ought to visit her." + +"Yes, it is awful," said the husband. + +"Go, now, and have a talk together; I must write some letters." + +Nekhludoff had just reached the room next to the reception-room when +she shouted after him: + +"Shall I write then to Mariette?" + +"If you please, ma tante." + +"I will learn that which you want to say about the short-haired en +blanc, and she will have her husband attend to it. Don't think that I +am angry. They are hateful, your protegees, but--je ne leur veux pas +de mal. But God forgive them. Now, go, and don't forget to come in the +evening; you will hear Kisiweather. We will also pray. And if you do +not resist, ca vous fera beaucoup de bien. I know that Hellen and all +of you are very backward in that respect. Now, au revoir." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +The man in whose power it was to lighten the condition of the +prisoners in St. Petersburg had earned a great number of medals, +which, except for a white cross in his button-hole, he did not wear, +however. The old general was of the German barons, and, as it was said +of him, had become childish. He had served in the Caucasus, where he +had received this cross; then in Poland and in some other place, and +now he held the office which gave him good quarters, maintenance and +honor. He always strictly carried out the orders of his superiors, and +considered their execution of great importance and significance, so +much so that while everything in the world could be changed, these +orders, according to him, were above the possibility of any +alteration. + +As Nekhludoff was approaching the old general's house the tower clock +struck two. The general was at the time sitting with a young artist in +the darkened reception-room, at a table, the top of which was of +inlaid work, both of them turning a saucer on a sheet of paper. +Holding each others fingers over the saucer, placed face downward, +they pulled in different directions over the paper on which were +printed all the letters of the alphabet. The saucer was answering the +general's question. How would souls recognize each other after death? + +At the moment one of the servants entered with Nekhludoff's card, the +soul of Jeanne D'Arc was speaking through the saucer. The soul had +already said, "They will recognize each other," which was duly entered +on a sheet of paper. When the servant entered, the saucer, stopping +first on the letter p, then on the letter o, reached the letter s and +began to jerk one way and another. That was because, as the general +thought, the next letter was to be l, that is to say, Jeanne D'Arc, +according to his idea, intended to say that souls would recognize each +other only after they had been purged of everything mundane, or +something to that effect, and that therefore the next letter ought to +be l (_posl, i. e._, after); the artist, on the other hand, thought +that the next letter would be v; that the soul intended to say that +souls would recognize each other by the light--_posv_ (_ietu_) that +would issue from the ethereal body of the souls. The general, gloomily +knitting his brow, gazed fixedly on the hands, and imagining that the +saucer moved itself, pulled it toward the letter l. The young, anaemic +artist, with his oily hair brushed behind his ears, looked into the +dark corner of the room, with his blue, dull eyes, and nervously +twitching his lips, pulled toward the letter v. The general frowned at +the interruption, and, after a moment's silence, took the card, put on +his pince-nez and, groaning from pain in his loins, rose to his full +height, rubbing his benumbed fingers. + +"Show him into the cabinet." + +"Permit me, Your Excellency, to finish it myself," said the artist, +rising. "I feel a presence." + +"Very well; finish it," said the general with austerity, and went, +with firm, long strides, into the cabinet. + +"Glad to see you," said the general in a rough voice to Nekhludoff, +pointing to an arm-chair near the desk. "How long have you been in St. +Petersburg?" + +Nekhludoff said that he had but lately arrived. + +"Is your mother, the Princess, well?" + +"My mother is dead." + +"Beg pardon; I was very sorry. My son told me that he had met you." + +The general's son was making the same career as his father, and was +very proud of the business with which he was entrusted. + +"Why, I served with your father. We were friends, comrades. Are you in +service?" + +"No, I am not." + +The general disapprovingly shook his head. + +"I have a request to make of you, general," said Nekhludoff. + +"Very glad. What can I do for you?" + +"If my request be out of season, please forgive me. But I must state +it." + +"What is it?" + +"There is a man, Gurkevitch, kept in prison under your jurisdiction. +His mother asks to be permitted to visit him, or, at least to send him +books." + +The general expressed neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction at +Nekhludoff's request, but, inclining his head to one side, seemed to +reflect. As a matter of fact he was not reflecting; Nekhludoff's +question did not even interest him, knowing very well that his answer +would be as the law requires. He was simply resting mentally without +thinking of anything. + +"That is not in my discretion, you know," he said, having rested +awhile. "There is a law relating to visits, and whatever that law +permits, that is permitted. And as to books, there is a library, and +they are given such books as are allowed." + +"Yes, but he wants scientific books; he wishes to study." + +"Don't believe that." The general paused. "It is not for study that +they want them, but so, it is simply unrest." + +"But their time must be occupied somehow?" + +"They are always complaining," retorted the general. "We know them." + +He spoke of them in general as of some peculiar race of people. + +"They have such conveniences here as is seldom seen in a prison," he +continued. + +And as though justifying himself, he began to recount all the +conveniences enjoyed by the prisoners in a manner to make one believe +that the chief aim of the institution consisted in making it a +pleasant place of abode. + +"Formerly, it is true, the regulations were very harsh, but now their +condition is excellent. They get three dishes, one of which is always +of meat--chopped meat or cutlet. Sundays they get a fourth +dish--dessert. May God grant that every Russian could feed so well." + +The general, like all old men, evidently having committed to memory +the oft-repeated words, proceeded to prove how exacting and ungrateful +the prisoners were by repeating what he had told many times before. + +"They are furnished books on spiritual topics, also old journals. We +have a library of suitable books, but they seldom read them. At first +they appear to be interested, and then it is found that the pages of +all the new books are barely half cut, and of the old ones there is no +evidence of any thumb-marks at all. We even tried," with a remote +semblance of a smile the general continued, "to put a piece of paper +between the pages, and it remained untouched. Writing, too, is +allowed. A slate is given them, also a slate-pencil, so that they may +write for diversion. They can wipe it out and write again. And yet +they don't write. No, they become quiet very soon. At first they are +uneasy, but afterward they even grow stout and become very quiet." + +Nekhludoff listened to the hoarse, feeble voice; looked on that +fleshless body, those faded eyes under the gray eyebrows, those +sunken, shaved cheeks, supported by a military collar, that white +cross, and understood that to argue and explain to him the meaning of +those words were futile. But, making another effort, he asked him +about the prisoner, Shustova, whose release, he had received +information, had been ordered, through the efforts of Mariette. + +"Shustova? Shustova--I don't remember them all by name. There are so +many of them," he said, evidently reproving them for being so +numerous. He rang the bell and called for the secretary. + +While a servant was going after the secretary he admonished Nekhludoff +to go into service, saying that the country was in need of honest, +noble men. + +"I am old, and yet I am serving to the extent of my ability." + +The secretary came and reported that there were no papers received +relating to Shustova, who was still in prison. + +"As soon as we receive an order we release them the very same day. We +do not keep them; we do not particularly value their presence," said +the general, again with a waggish smile, which had the effect only of +making his face wry. + +"Good-by, my dear," he continued. "Don't be offended for advising you, +for I do so only because I love you. Have nothing to do with the +prisoners. You will never find innocent people among them. They are +the most immoral set. We know them," he said, in a tone of voice which +did not permit the possibility of doubt. "You had better take an +office. The Emperor and the country need honest people. What if I and +such as you refused to serve? Who would be left? We are complaining +of conditions, but refuse to aid the government." + +Nekhludoff sighed deeply, made a low bow, pressed the bony hand +condescendingly extended, and departed. + +The general disapprovingly shook his head, and, rubbing his loins, +went to the reception-room, where the artist awaited him with the +answer of Jeanne D'Arc. The general put on his pince-nez and read: +"They will recognize each other by the light issuing from the ethereal +bodies." + +"Ah!" said the general, approvingly, closing his eyes. "But how will +one recognize another when all have the same light?" he asked, and +again crossing his fingers with those of the artist, seated himself at +the table. + + * * * * * + +Nekhludoff's driver drove up to the gate. + +"It is very dull here, sir," he said, turning to Nekhludoff. "It was +very tiresome, and I was about to drive away." + +"Yes, tiresome," assented Nekhludoff with a deep sigh, resting his +eyes on the clouds and the Neva, dotted with variegated boats and +steamers. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +With a note from Prince Ivan Michaelovitch, Nekhludoff went to Senator +Wolf--un homme tres comme il faut, as the Prince had described him. + +Wolf had just breakfasted and, as usual, was smoking a cigar, to aid +his digestion, when Nekhludoff arrived. Vladimir Vasilievitch Wolf was +really un homme tres comme il faut, and this quality he placed above +all else; from the height of it he looked upon all other people, and +could not help valuing this quality, because, thanks to it, he had +gained a brilliant career--the same career he strove for; that is to +say, through marriage he obtained a fortune, which brought him a +yearly income of eighteen thousand rubles, and by his own efforts he +obtained a senatorship. He considered himself not only un homme tres +comme il faut, but a man of chivalric honesty. By honesty he +understood the refusal to take bribes from private people. But to do +everything in his power to obtain all sorts of traveling expenses, +rents and disbursements he did not consider dishonest. Nor did he +consider it dishonest to rob his wife and sister-in-law of their +fortunes. On the contrary, he considered that a wise arrangement of +his family affairs. + +The home circle of Vladimir Vasilievitch consisted of his +characterless wife, her sister, whose fortune he managed to get into +his own hands by selling her property and depositing the money in his +own name, and his gentle, scared, homely daughter, who was leading a +solitary, hard life, and whose only diversion consisted in visiting +the religious meetings at Aline's and Countess Catherine Ivanovna's. + +The son of Vladimir Vasilievitch, a good-natured, bearded boy of +fifteen, who at that age had already commenced to drink and lead a +depraved life which lasted till he was twenty years old, was driven +from the house for the reason that he did not pass examinations in any +school, and keeping bad company, and, running into debt, he had +compromised his father. The father paid once for his son two hundred +and thirty rubles, and paid six hundred rubles a second time, but +declared that that was the last time, and if the son did not reform he +would drive him from the house and have nothing to do with him. Not +only did the son not reform, but contracted another debt of a thousand +rubles, and told his father that he did not care if he was driven from +the house, since life at home was torture to him. Then Vladimir +Vasilievitch told his son that he could go where he pleased; that he +was no longer his son. Since then no one in the house dared to speak +of his son to him. And Vladimir Vasilievitch was quite certain that he +had arranged his family affairs in the best possible manner. + +Wolf, with a flattering and somewhat derisive smile--it was an +involuntary expression of his consciousness of his comme il faut +superiority--halted in his exercise long enough to greet Nekhludoff +and read the note. + +"Please take a seat, but you must excuse me. If you have no objection +I will walk," he said, putting his hands in the pockets of his +jacket, and treading lightly up and down the diagonal of the large +cabinet, furnished in an austere style. "Very glad to make your +acquaintance, and, of course, to please the Count Ivan Michaelovitch," +emitting the fragrant, blue smoke, and carefully removing the cigar +from his mouth so as not to lose the ashes. + +"I would like to ask you to hasten the hearing of the appeal, because +if the prisoner is to go to Siberia, it would be desirable that she go +as soon as possible," said Nekhludoff. + +"Yes, yes, with the first steamer from Nijhni; I know," said Wolf, +with his condescending smile, who always knew everything in advance, +whatever the subject mentioned to him. "What is the name of the +prisoner?" + +"Maslova." + +Wolf walked to the table and looked into the papers. + +"That's right--Maslova. Very well; I will ask my associates. We will +hear the case Wednesday." + +"May I wire my lawyer?" + +"So you have a lawyer? What for? But if you wish it, all right." + +"The grounds of appeal may be insufficient," said Nekhludoff, "but I +think it may be seen from the case that the sentence was the result of +a misunderstanding." + +"Yes, yes; that may be so, but the Senate cannot enter into the merits +of the case," said Vladimir Vasilievitch, sternly, glancing at the +ashes of his cigar. "The Senate only looks after the proper +interpretation and application of the law." + +"This, I think, is an exceptional case." + +"I know; I know. All cases are exceptional. We will do what the law +requires. That is all." The ashes were still intact, but had already +cracked and were in danger of collapse. "And do you often visit St. +Petersburg?" asked Wolf, holding the cigar so that the ashes would not +fall. The ashes were unstable, however, and Wolf carefully carried +them to the ash-holder, into which they were finally precipitated. + +"What an awful catastrophe Kamensky met with," said Wolf. "A fine +young man, and an only son. Especially the condition of the +mother"--he went on repeating almost word for word the story of a duel +of which all St. Petersburg was talking at the time. After a few more +words about Countess Catherine Ivanovna and her passion for the new +religious tendency which Vladimir Vasilievitch neither praised nor +condemned, but which, for un homme tres comme il faut, was evidently +superfluous, he rang the bell. + +Nekhludoff bowed himself out. + +"If it is convenient for you, come to dinner," said Wolf, extending +his hand, "say on Wednesday. I will then give you a definite answer." + +It was already late, and Nekhludoff drove home, that is, to his +aunt's. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +Maslova's case was to be heard the following day, and Nekhludoff went +to the Senate. He met Fanirin at the entrance to the magnificent +Senate building, where several carriages were already waiting. Walking +up the grand, solemn staircase to the second floor, the lawyer, who +was familiar with all the passages, turned into a room to the left, on +the door of which was carved the year of the institution of the Code. +The lawyer removed his overcoat, remaining in his dress-coat and black +tie on a white bosom, and with cheerful self-confidence walked into +the next room. There were about fifteen spectators present, among whom +were a young woman in a pince-nez, and a gray-haired lady. A +gray-haired old man of patriarchal mien, wearing a box-coat and gray +trousers, and attended by two men, attracted particular attention. He +crossed the room and entered a wardrobe. + +An usher, a handsome man with red cheeks and in a pompous uniform, +approached Fanirin with a piece of paper in his hand and asked him in +what case he appeared. Being told that in Maslova's case, the usher +made a note of something and went away. At that time the door of the +wardrobe opened and the patriarchal looking old man came forth, no +longer in the coat, but in a brilliant uniform which made him resemble +a bird. His uniform evidently embarrassed the old man, and he walked +into the room opposite the entrance with quicker than his ordinary +step. + +Fanirin pointed him out to Nekhludoff as Be, "a most honorable +gentleman." The spectators, including Fanirin, went into the next room +and seated themselves behind the grating on benches reserved for +spectators. Only the St. Petersburg lawyer took a seat behind a desk +on the other side of the grating. + +The session room of the Senate was smaller than the room of the +Circuit Court, was furnished in simpler style, only the table behind +which the Senators sat was of crimson plush instead of green cloth, +bordered with gold lace. + +There were four Senators. The President, Nikitin, with a closely +shaved, narrow face and steel-gray eyes; Wolf, with thin lips and +small white hands, with which he was turning over the papers before +him; then Skovorodnikoff, stout, massive and pock-marked, and a very +learned jurist, and finally, Be, the same partriarchal old man, who +was the last to arrive. Immediately behind the Senators came the Chief +Secretary and Associate Attorney General. He was a young man of medium +height, shaved, lean, with a very dark face and black, sad eyes. +Nekhludoff recognized him, notwithstanding his strange uniform and the +fact that he had not seen him for about six years, as one of his best +friends during his student life. + +"Is the associate's name Selenin?" he asked the lawyer. + +"Yes, why?" + +"I know him very well; he is an excellent man----" + +"And a good associate of the Attorney General--very sensible. It would +have been well to see him," said Fanirin. + +"At all events, he will follow the dictates of his conscience," said +Nekhludoff, remembering his close relations with and friendship for +Selenin, and the latter's charming qualities of purity, honesty and +good breeding, in the best sense of the word. + +The first case before the Senate was an appeal from the decision of +the Circuit Court of Appeals affirming a judgment in favor of the +publisher of a newspaper in a libel suit brought against him. + +Nekhludoff listened and tried to understand the arguments in the +case, but as in the Circuit Court, the chief difficulty in +understanding what was going on was found in the fact that the +discussion centered not on what appeared naturally to be the main +point, but on side issues. + +The libel consisted in an article accusing the president of a stock +company of swindling. It seemed, then, that the main point to consider +was, whether or not the president was guilty of swindling the +stockholders, and what was to be done to stop his swindling. But this +was never mentioned. The questions discussed were: Had the publisher +the legal right to print the article of its reporter? What crime has +he committed by printing it--defamation or libel? And does defamation +include libel, or libel defamation? And a number of other things +unintelligible to ordinary people, including various laws and +decisions of some "General Department." + +The only thing Nekhludoff did understand was that, though Wolf had +sternly suggested but yesterday that the Senate could not consider the +substance of a case, in the case at bar he argued with evident +partiality in favor of reversing the judgment, and that Selenin, in +spite of his characteristic reserve, argued in favor of affirming the +judgment with unexpected fervor. The cause of Selenin's ardor lay in +the fact that he knew the president of the stock company to be +dishonest in money affairs, while he accidentally learned that Wolf, +almost on the eve of the hearing of the case, had attended a sumptuous +dinner at the president's house. And now, when Wolf, though with great +caution, showed undoubted partiality, Selenin became excited and +expressed his opinion with more nervousness than an ordinary case +would justify. Wolf was evidently offended by the speech; he twitched +nervously, changed color, made silent gestures of wonder, and with an +haughty air of being offended he departed with the other Senators into +the deliberation-room. + +"What case are you interested in?" the usher again asked Fanirin, as +soon as the Senators had left the room. + +"I have already told you that I am here in behalf of Maslova." + +"That is so. The case will be heard to-day. But----" + +"What is that?" asked the lawyer. + +"You see, the case was to be argued without counsel, so that the +Senators would hardly consider it in open session. But--I will +announce----" and he made a note on the piece of paper. + +The Senators really intended, after announcing their decision in the +libel case, to consider the other cases, including Maslova's, while +drinking their tea and smoking cigarettes in the consultation-room. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +As soon as the Senators seated themselves at the table in the +consultation-room, Wolf began to set forth in an animated manner the +grounds upon which he thought the case ought to be reversed. + +The President, always an ill-natured man, was in a particularly bad +humor to-day. While listening to the case during the session he formed +his opinion, and sat, absorbed in his thoughts, without listening to +Wolf. These thoughts consisted in a recollection of what note he had +made the other day in his memoirs anent the appointment of Velianoff +to an important post which he desired for himself. The President, +Nikitin, quite sincerely thought that the officials with whom his +duties brought him in contact were worthy of a place in history. +Having written an article the other day in which some of these +officials were vehemently denounced for interfering with his plan to +save Russia from ruin, as he put it, but in reality for interfering +with his getting a larger salary than he was now getting, he was now +thinking that posterity would give an entirely new interpretation to +that incident. + +"Why, certainly," he said to Wolf, who was addressing him, although he +did not hear what Wolf said. + +Be listened to Wolf with a sad face, drawing garlands on a piece of +paper which lay before him. Be was a liberal of the deepest dye. He +scarcely held to the traditions of the sixties, and if he ever +deviated from strict impartiality, it was invariably in favor of +liberality. Thus, in this case, besides the consideration that the +complaining president of the stock company was an unclean man, Be was +in favor of affirming the judgment, also because this charge of libel +against a journalist was a restriction on the freedom of the press. +When Wolf had finished his argument, Be, leaving the garland +unfinished, in a sad--it was sad for him to be obliged to prove such +truisms--soft, pleasant voice, convincingly proved in a few simple +words that the charge had no foundation, and, again drooping his hoary +head, continued to complete the garland. + +Skovorodnikoff, who was sitting opposite Wolf, continually gathering +with his thick fingers his beard and mustache into his mouth, as soon +as Be was through with his argument, stopped chewing his beard, and, +in a loud, rasping voice, said that although the president of the +stock company was a villain, he should favor a reversal if there were +legal grounds to sustain it, but as there were none, he joined in the +opinion of Ivan Semenovitch (Be), and he invariably rejoiced at this +shot aimed at Wolf. The President supported Skovorodnikoff's opinion, +and the judgment was confirmed. + +Wolf was dissatisfied, especially because by this judgment he seemed +to stand convicted of arguing in bad faith; but, feigning +indifference, he opened his papers in the next case, Maslova's, and +began to peruse it attentively. The other Senators in the meantime +called for tea, and began a talk about Kamensky's duel and his death, +which was then the subject of conversation throughout the city. + +The usher entered and announced the desire of the lawyer and +Nekhludoff to be present at the hearing of the case. + +"This case here," said Wolf, "is a whole romantic story," and he +related what he knew of Nekhludoff's relations to Maslova. + +After talking awhile of the story, smoking cigarettes and finishing +their tea, the Senators returned to the session-room, announced their +decision in the preceding case, and began to consider Maslova's case. + +Wolf very circumstantially set forth Maslova's appeal from the +sentence, and again not without partiality, but with the evident +desire to reverse the judgment. + +"Have you anything to add?" the President asked Fanirin. + +Fanirin rose, and, projecting his broad, starched front, with +remarkable precision of expression began to discuss the errors of the +court below in the application of the law on the six points raised, +and permitted himself, though briefly, to touch upon the merits of the +case and the crying injustice of the decision. By the tone of his +short but strong speech, he seemed to excuse himself, to insist that +the honorable Senators with their power of penetration and judicial +wisdom saw and understood better than he, but that he was speaking +only because his duties demanded it. After Fanirin's speech there +seemed to be no doubt left that the Senate had to reverse the +judgment. When he was through, Fanirin smiled triumphantly. Looking at +his lawyer and seeing that smile, Nekhludoff was convinced that the +case was won. But as he looked at the Senators Nekhludoff saw that +Fanirin alone was smiling and triumphant. The Senators and Associate +Attorney General were neither smiling nor triumphant, but wore the air +of people suffering from ennui and saying: "Oh, we know these cases! +You are wasting your time." They were all evidently relieved only when +the lawyer had finished, and they were no longer unnecessarily +detained. After the speech the President turned to Selenin, who +plainly, briefly and accurately expressed himself against a reversal. +Then the Senators arose and went to consult. + +The Senators were divided. Wolf favored a reversal. Be, who thoroughly +understood the case, warmly argued also in favor of a reversal, and in +glowing terms pictured the court scene and the misunderstanding of the +jury. Nikitin, who, as usual, stood for severity and for strict +formality, was against it. The whole case, then, depended on +Skovorodnikoff's vote. And his vote was thrown against a reversal, +principally for the reason that Nekhludoff's determination to marry +the girl on moral grounds was extremely repugnant to him. + +Skovorodnikoff was a materialist, a Darwinist, and considered every +manifestation of abstract morality, or, worse still, piety, not only +as contemptible and absurd but as an affront to his person. All this +bustle about a fallen girl, and the presence there in the Senate of +her famous counsel and Nekhludoff himself, was to him simply +disgusting. And, stuffing his mouth with his beard, and making +grimaces, he in a very natural manner pretended to know nothing of the +entire affair, except that the grounds of appeal were insufficient, +and therefore agreed with the President to affirm the judgment. + +The appeal was denied. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +"It is awful!" said Nekhludoff to the lawyer, as they entered the +waiting-room. "In the plainest possible case they cavil at idle forms. +It is awful!" + +"The case was spoiled at the trial," said Fanirin. + +"Selenin, too, was against reversal. It is awful, awful!" Nekhludoff +continued to repeat. "What is to be done now?" + +"We will petition the Emperor. Head it yourself while you are here. I +will prepare the petition." + +At that moment Wolf in his uniform and stars hung on his breast +entered the waiting-room and approached Nekhludoff. + +"I am sorry, my dear Prince, but the grounds were insufficient," he +said, shrugging his narrow shoulders; and, closing his eyes, he +proceeded on his way. + +After Wolf came Selenin, who had learned from the Senators that +Nekhludoff, his former friend, was present. + +"I did not expect to meet you here," he said, approaching Nekhludoff +and smiling with his lips, while his eyes remained sad. + +"And I did not know that you were the Attorney General." + +"Associate," Selenin corrected him. "But what brought you to the +Senate?" + +"I came here hoping to find justice, and to save an innocent woman." + +"What woman?" + +"The case that has just been decided." + +"Oh, the Maslova case!" said Selenin. "An entirely groundless +appeal." + +"The question is not of the appeal, but of the woman, who is innocent +and undergoing punishment." + +Selenin sighed. + +"Quite possible, but----" + +"It is not merely possible, but certain." + +"How do you know?" + +"I know because I was on the jury. I know wherein we made the +mistake." + +Selenin became thoughtful. + +"It should have been declared on the trial," he said. + +"I did so." + +"It should have been made part of the record. If that had appeared in +the appeal----" + +Selenin, who was always busy, and did not mingle in society, had +evidently not heard of Nekhludoff's romance. Nekhludoff, however, +decided not to speak to him of his relations to Maslova. + +"But it is evident even now that the verdict was preposterous," he +said. + +"The Senate has no right to say so. If the Senate attempted to +interfere with the verdicts of the courts upon its own view of the +justness of the verdicts themselves, there would be greater risks of +justice being miscarried than established," he said, recalling the +preceding case. "Besides, the verdicts of juries would lose their +significance." + +"I only know one thing, and that is that the woman is entirely +innocent, and the last hope of saving her from an undeserved +punishment is gone. The highest judicial institution has affirmed what +was absolutely unjust." + +"It has not affirmed because it has not and could not consider the +merits of the case," said Selenin, blinking his eyes. "You have +probably stopped at your aunts," he added, evidently wishing to change +the subject of conversation. "I learned yesterday that you were in St. +Petersburg. Countess Catherine Ivanovna had invited me and you to be +present at the meeting of the English preacher," said Selenin, smiling +only with his lips. + +"Yes, I was present, but left with disgust," Nekhludoff said angrily, +vexed at Selenin's leading away from the conversation. + +"Why should you be disgusted? At all events it is a manifestation of +religious feeling, although one-sided and sectarian," said Selenin. + +"It is such strange nonsense," said Nekhludoff. + +"Well, no. The only strange thing here is that we know so little of +the teachings of our church that we receive an exposition of its +fundamental dogmas as a new revelation," said Selenin, as though +hastening to tell his former friends his new views. + +Nekhludoff gazed at Selenin with wonder. Selenin did not lower his +eyes, in which there was an expression not only of sadness, but of +ill-will. + +"But we will discuss it later," said Selenin. "I am coming," he turned +to the usher who approached him deferentially. "We must meet again," +he added, sighing; "but you can never be found. You will always find +me at home at seven. I live on Nadeghinskaia," and he mentioned the +number. "It is a long time since we met," he added, again smiling with +his lips. + +"I will come if I have the time," said Nekhludoff, feeling that the +man whom he had once loved was made strange and incomprehensible to +him, if not hostile, by this short conversation. + + * * * * * + +As student Nekhludoff knew Selenin as a dutiful son, a true friend, +and, for his years, an educated, worldly man, with great tact, always +elegant and handsome, and uncommonly truthful and honest withal. He +studied diligently, without any difficulty and without the slightest +ostentation, receiving gold medals for his compositions. + +He had made it the aim of his young life, not merely by word, but in +reality, to serve others, and thought he saw his chance of doing so in +government service. Systematically looking over the various activities +to which he might devote his energies, he decided that he could be +most useful in the legislative department, and entered it. But +notwithstanding his most accurate and conscientious attention to his +duties, he found nothing in them to satisfy his desire to be useful. +His discontent, due to the pettiness and vanity of his immediate +superiors, grew until an opportunity offered to enter the Senate. He +was better off in the Senate, but the same feeling of dissatisfaction +pursued him. He constantly felt that things were not what he expected +them to be, and what they should be. During his service in the Senate, +his relations obtained for him the post of gentleman of the Emperor's +bed-chamber, and he was obliged to drive around in gorgeous uniform to +thank various people. In this post he felt even more than before out +of place. At the same time, on the one hand, he could not refuse the +appointment, because he would not disappoint those who thought they +were pleasing him by it, and, on the other hand, the appointment +flattered his vanity. It pleased him to see himself in a looking-glass +in a gold embroidered uniform, and to receive the tokens of respect +shown him by some people on his appointment. + +The same thing happened with respect to his marriage. A brilliant +match was arranged for him, as it is regarded from the world's +standpoint. And he married principally because to refuse would have +been to offend and cause pain to the bride and those who had arranged +the match. Hence the marriage to a young, pretty, distinguished girl +flattered his vanity and gave him pleasure. But the marriage soon +turned out to be "not the thing, you know," more so even than Court +service. After her first child, his wife did not wish to have any +more, and plunged into luxurious social life, in which he was obliged +to participate nolens volens. Although this poisoned the life of her +husband, and brought her only exertion and fatigue, she nevertheless +diligently pursued it. All his efforts to change her mode of life +could not alter her confidence, supported by all her relatives and +acquaintances, that it was quite proper. + +The child, a girl with long, golden curls, was an entire stranger to +her father, mainly because she was brought up not in accord with his +desires. The result was the customary misunderstanding between the +husband and wife, and even in a want of desire to understand each +other, and a quiet, silent struggle, hidden from strangers and +tempered by propriety, which made Selenin's life at home very +burdensome. So that his family life turned out to be "not the thing, +you know," in still greater degree than his service or the Court +appointment. + +These were the reasons why his eyes were always sad. And this was why, +seeing Nekhludoff, whom he had known before all these lies had +fastened themselves upon him, he thought of himself as he had been +then, and more than ever felt the discord between his character and +his surroundings, and he became painfully sad. The same feeling came +over Nekhludoff, after the first impression of joy at meeting an old +friend. + +That was why, having promised that they would meet each other, neither +sought that meeting, nor had they seen each other on this visit of +Nekhludoff to St. Petersburg. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +On leaving the Senate, Nekhludoff and his lawyer walked along the +sidewalk. Fanirin told his driver to follow him, and he began to +relate to Nekhludoff how the mistress of so-and-so had made millions +on 'Change, how so-and-so had sold, and another had bought, his wife. +He also related some stories of swindling and all sorts of crimes +committed by well-known people who were not occupying cells in prison, +but presidents' chairs in various institutions. These stories, of +which he seemed to possess an inexhaustible source, afforded the +lawyer great pleasure, as showing most conclusively that the means +employed by him as a lawyer to make money were perfectly innocent in +comparison with those used by the more noted public men of St. +Petersburg. And the lawyer was greatly surprised when Nekhludoff, in +the middle of one of these stories, hailed a trap, took leave and +drove home. Nekhludoff was very sad. He was sad because the Senate's +judgment continued the unreasonable suffering of the innocent Maslova, +and also because it made it more difficult for him to carry out his +unalterable intention of joining his fate to hers. His sadness +increased as the lawyer related with so much pleasure the frightful +stories of the prevailing wickedness. Besides, the unkind, cold, +repelling gaze of the once charming, open-hearted and noble Selenin +constantly recurred to his mind. Nekhludoff, after the impressions of +his stay in St. Petersburg, was almost in despair of ever reaching any +results. All the plans he had laid out in Moskow seemed to him like +those youthful dreams which usually end in disappointment. However, he +considered it his duty, while in St. Petersburg, to exhaust his +resources in endeavoring to fulfill his mission. + +Soon after he reached his room, a servant called him upstairs for tea. +Mariette, in a multi-colored dress, was sitting beside the Countess, +sipping tea. On Nekhludoff's entering the room, Mariette had just +dropped some funny, indecent joke. Nekhludoff noticed it by the +character of their laughter. The good-natured, mustached Countess +Catherine Ivanovna was shaking in all her stout body with laughter, +while Mariette, with a particularly mischievous expression, and her +energetic and cheerful face somewhat bent to one side, was silently +looking at her companion. + +"You will be the death of me," said the Countess, in a fit of +coughing. + +No sooner had Nekhludoff seated himself than Mariette, noticing the +serious and slightly displeased expression on his face, immediately +changed not only her expression, but her frame of mind. This was with +the intention she had in mind since she first saw him--to get him to +like her. She suddenly became grave, dissatisfied with her life, +seeking something, striving after something. She not merely feigned, +but actually induced in herself a state of mind similar to that in +which Nekhludoff was, although she would not be able to say what it +consisted of. In a sympathetic conversation about the injustice of the +strong, the poverty of the people, the awful condition of the +prisoners, she succeeded in rousing in him the least expected feeling +of physical attraction, and under the din of conversation their eyes +plainly queried, "Can you love me?" and they answered, "Yes, I can." + +On leaving, she told him that she was always ready to be of service to +him, and asked him to visit her at the theatre the next day, if only +for a minute, saying that she wished to have a talk with him on a +matter of importance. + +"When will I see you again?" she added, sighing, and carefully +putting the gloves on her ring-bedecked hand. "Tell me that you will +come." + +Nekhludoff promised to come. + +For a long time that night Nekhludoff could not fall asleep. When he +recalled Maslova, the decision of the Senate, and his determination to +follow her; when he recalled his relinquishment of his right to the +land, there suddenly appeared before him, as if in answer to these +questions, the face of Mariette; her sigh and glance when she said, +"When will I see you again?" and her smile--all so distinct that she +seemed to stand before him, and he smiled himself. "Would it be proper +for me to follow her to Siberia? And would it be proper to deprive +myself of my property?" he asked himself. + +And the answers to these questions on that bright St. Petersburg night +were indefinite. His mind was all in confusion. He called forth his +former trend of thought, but those thoughts had lost their former +power of conviction. + +"And what if all my ideas are due to an over-wrought imagination, and +I should be unable to live up to them? If I should repent of what I +have done?" he asked himself, and, being unable to find answers to +these questions, he was stricken with such sadness and despair as he +had rarely experienced before, and he fell into that deep slumber +which had been habitual with him after heavy losses at cards. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +Nekhludoff's first feeling on rising the following morning was that he +had committed something abominable the preceding evening. + +He began to recall what had happened. There was nothing abominable; he +had done nothing wrong. He had only thought that all his present +intentions--that of marrying Katiousha, giving the land to the +peasants--artificial, unnatural, and that he must continued to live as +he had lived before. + +He could recall no wrong act, but he remembered what was worse than a +wrong act--there were the bad thoughts in which all bad acts have +their origin. Bad acts may not be repeated; one may repent of them, +while bad thoughts give birth to bad acts. + +A bad act only smooths the way to other bad acts, while bad thoughts +irresistibly lead toward them. + +Recalling his thoughts of the day before, Nekhludoff wondered how he +could have believed them. How so novel and difficult might be that +which he intended to do, he knew that it was the only life possible to +him now, and that, however easy it might be for him to return to his +old mode of life, he knew that that was death, not life. This +temptation of the day before was similar to that of a man who, after a +night's sound sleep, feels like taking his ease on the soft mattress +for a while, although he knows that it is time to be up and away on an +important affair. + + * * * * * + +Nekhludoff would have left the same evening but for his promise to +Mariette to visit her at the theatre. Though he knew that it was wrong +to do it, he went there, contrary to the dictates of his own +conscience, considering himself bound to keep his word. Besides his +wish to see Mariette again, he also wished, as he thought, to measure +himself against that world lately so near, but now so strange to him. + +"Could I withstand these temptations?" he thought, but not with entire +sincerity. "I will try it for the last time." + +Attired in a dress-coat, he arrived in the theatre where the eternal +"Dame aux Camelias" was being played. A French actress was showing in +a novel way how consumptive women die. + +Nekhludoff was shown to the box occupied by Mariette. In the corridor +a liveried servant bowed and opened the door for him. + +All the spectators in the circle of boxes--sitting and standing, +gray-haired, bald and pomaded heads--were intently following the +movements of a slim actress making wry faces and in an unnatural voice +reading a monologue. Some one hissed when the door was opened, and +two streams of cold and warm air were wafted on Nekhludoff's face. + +In the box he found Mariette and a strange lady with a red mantle over +her shoulders and high head-dress, and two men--a general, Mariette's +husband, a handsome, tall man with a high, artificial, military +breast, and a flaxen haired, bald-headed man with shaved chin and +solemn side-whiskers. Mariette, graceful, slim, elegant, decolette, +with her strong, muscular shoulders sloping down from the neck, at the +jointure of which was a darkening little mole, immediately turned +around, and, pointing with her fan to a chair behind her, greeted him +with a welcome, grateful, and, as it seemed to Nekhludoff, significant +smile. Her husband calmly, as was his wont, looked at Nekhludoff and +bowed his head. In the glance which he exchanged with his wife, as in +everything else, he looked the master, the owner, of a beautiful +woman. + +There was a thunder of applause when the monologue ended. Mariette +rose, and, holding in one hand her rustling silk skirt, walked to the +rear of the box and introduced Nekhludoff to her husband. The general +incessantly smiled with his eyes, said he was glad, and remained calm +and mute. + +"I had to leave to-day, but I promised you," said Nekhludoff, turning +to Mariette. + +"If you don't wish to see me, you will see a remarkable actress," +Mariette said, answering the meaning of his words. "Wasn't she great +in the last scene?" she turned to her husband. + +The general bowed his head. + +"That does not affect me," said Nekhludoff. "I have seen so much real +misfortune to-day that----" + +"Sit down and tell us what you have seen." + +The husband listened, and ironically smiled with his eyes. + +"I went to see that woman who has been released. She is entirely +broken down." + +"That is the woman of whom I have spoken to you," Mariette said to her +husband. + +"Yes; I was very glad that she could be released," he calmly said, +nodding his head and smiling ironically, as it seemed to Nekhludoff, +under his mustache. "I will go to the smoking-room." + +Nekhludoff waited, expecting that Mariette would tell him that +something which she said she had to tell him, but instead she only +jested and talked of the performance, which, she thought, ought to +affect him particularly. + +Nekhludoff understood that the only purpose for which she had brought +him to the theatre was to display her evening toilet with her +shoulders and mole, and he was both pleased and disgusted. Now he saw +what was under the veil of the charm that at first attracted him. +Looking on Mariette, he admired her, but he knew that she was a +prevaricator who was living with her career-making husband; that what +she had said the other day was untrue, and that she only wished--and +neither knew why--to make him love her. And, as has been said, he was +both pleased and disgusted. Several times he attempted to leave, took +his hat but still remained. But finally, when the general, his thick +mustache reeking with tobacco, returned to the box and glanced at +Nekhludoff patronizingly disdainful, as if he did not recognize him, +Nekhludoff walked out before the door closed behind the general, and, +finding his overcoat, left the theatre. + +On his way home he suddenly noticed before him a tall, well-built, +loudly-dressed woman. Every passer-by turned to look at her. +Nekhludoff walked quicker than the woman, and also involuntarily +looked her in the face. Her face, probably rouged, was pretty; her +eyes flashed at him, and she smiled. Nekhludoff involuntarily thought +of Mariette, for he experienced the same feeling of attraction and +disgust which took hold of him in the theatre. Passing her hastily, +Nekhludoff turned the corner of the street, and, to the surprise of +the policeman, began to walk up and down the water-front. + +"That one in the theatre also smiled that way when I entered," he +thought, "and the smile of the former conveyed the same meaning as +that of the latter. The only difference between them is that this one +speaks openly and plainly, while the other pretends to be exercising +higher and refined feelings. But in reality they are alike. This one +is at least truthful, while the other is lying." Nekhludoff recalled +his relations with the wife of the district commander, and a flood of +shameful recollections came upon him. "There is a disgusting +bestiality in man," he thought; "but when it is in a primitive state, +one looks down upon and despises it, whether he is carried away with +or withstands it. But when this same bestiality hides itself under a +so-called aesthetic, poetic cover, and demands to be worshiped, then, +deifying the beast, one gives himself up to it, without distinguishing +between the good and the bad. Then it is horrible." + +As there was no soothing, rest-giving darkness that night, but instead +there was a hazy, cheerless, unnatural light, so even was there no +rest-giving darkness--ignorance--for Nekhludoff's soul. Everything was +clear. It was plain that all that is considered important and useful +is really insignificant and wicked, and that all that splendor and +luxury were hiding old crimes, familiar to every one, and not only +stalking unpunished, but triumphing and adorned with all the +allurements man is capable of conceiving. + +Nekhludoff wished to forget it, not to see it, but he could no longer +help seeing it. Although he did not see the source of the light which +revealed these things to him, as he did not see the source of the +light which spread over St. Petersburg, and though this light seemed +to him hazy, cheerless and unnatural, he could not help seeing that +which the light revealed to him, and he felt at the same time both joy +and alarm. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +Immediately upon his arrival in Moskow, Nekhludoff made his way to the +prison hospital, intending to make known to Maslova the Senate's +decision and to tell her to prepare for the journey to Siberia. + +Of the petition which he brought for Maslova's signature, he had +little hope. And, strange to say, he no longer wished to succeed. He +had accustomed himself to the thought of going to Siberia, and living +among the exiles and convicts, and it was difficult for him to imagine +how he should order his life and that of Maslova if she were freed. + +The door-keeper at the hospital, recognizing Nekhludoff, immediately +informed him that Maslova was no longer there. + +"Where is she, then?" + +"Why, again in the prison." + +"Why was she transferred?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"Your Excellency knows their kind," said the door-keeper, with a +contemptuous smile. "She was making love to the assistant, so the +chief physician sent her back." + +Nekhludoff did not suspect that Maslova and her spiritual condition +were so close to him. This news stunned him. The feeling he +experienced was akin to that which people experience when hearing +suddenly of some great misfortune. He was deeply grieved. The first +feeling he experienced was that of shame. His joyful portraying of her +spiritual awakening now seemed to him ridiculous. Her reluctance to +accept his sacrifice, the reproaches and the tears, were the mere +cunning, he thought, of a dissolute woman who wished to make the most +use of him. It seemed to him now that at his last visit he had seen in +her the symptoms of incorrigibility which were now evident. All this +flashed through his mind at the time he instinctively donned his hat +and left the hospital. + +"But what's to be done now?" he asked himself. "Am I bound to her? Am +I not released now by this, her act?" + +But no sooner did he form the question than he understood that in +considering himself released and leaving her to her fate he would be +punishing not her, which he desired, but himself, and he was +terrified. + +"No! That will not alter my decision--it will only strengthen it. Let +her do whatever her soul prompts her to do; if she would make love to +the assistant, let her do so. It is her business. It is my business to +do what my conscience demands," he said to himself. "And my conscience +demands that I sacrifice my liberty in expiation of my sin, and my +decision to marry her, although but fictitiously, and follow her +wherever she may be sent, remains unaltered," he said to himself, with +spiteful obstinacy, and, leaving the hospital, he made his way with +resolute step to the prison gate. + +Coming to the gate, he asked the officer on duty to tell the +inspector that he wished to see Maslova. The officer knew Nekhludoff, +and told him an important piece of prison news. The captain had +resigned, and another man, who was very strict, had taken his place. + +The inspector, who was in the prison at the time, soon made his +appearance. He was tall, bony, very slow in his movements, and gloomy. + +"Visitors are allowed only on certain days," he said, without looking +at Nekhludoff. + +"But I have a petition here which she must sign." + +"You may give it to me." + +"I must see the prisoner myself. I was always permitted to see her +before." + +"That was before," said the inspector, glancing at Nekhludoff. + +"I have a pass from the Governor," Nekhludoff insisted, producing his +pocket-book. + +"Let me see it," said the inspector, without looking in Nekhludoff's +eyes, and taking the document with his skinny, long, white hand, on +the index finger of which there was a gold ring, he slowly read it. +"Walk into the office, please," he said. + +On this occasion there was no one in the office. The inspector seated +himself at the table, looking through the papers that lay on it, +evidently intending to stay through the meeting. When Nekhludoff asked +him if Bogodukhovskaia could be seen, he answered: "Visiting the +politicals is not allowed," and again buried his head in the papers. + +When Maslova entered the room, the inspector raised his eyes, and, +without looking either at Maslova or Nekhludoff, said: "You may go +ahead," and continued to busy himself with his papers. + +Maslova was again dressed in a white skirt, waist and 'kerchief. +Coming near Nekhludoff and seeing his cold, angry face, her own turned +a purple color, and, with downcast eyes, she began to pick a corner of +her waist. Her confusion Nekhludoff considered as confirmation of the +hospital porter's words. + +So abhorent was she to him now that he _could not_ extend his hand to +her, as he desired. + +[Illustration: WARDEN AND MATRON.] + +"I bring you bad news," he said in an even voice, without looking at +her. "The Senate affirmed the verdict." + +"I knew it would be so," she said in a strange voice, as if choking. + +If it had happened before, Nekhludoff would have asked her why she +knew it; now he only looked at her. Her eyes were filled with tears, +but this not only did not soften him, but made him even more inflamed +against her. + +The inspector rose and began to walk up and down the room. + +Notwithstanding the abhorence Nekhludoff felt for Maslova, he thought +it proper to express his regret at the Senate's action. + +"Do not despair," he said. "This petition may be more successful, and +I hope that----" + +"Oh, it is not that," she said, looking at him with the tearful and +squinting eyes. + +"What, then?" + +"You have been in the hospital, and they must have told you there +about me." + +"What of it? That is your business," frowning, Nekhludoff said with +indifference. The cruel feeling of offended pride rose in him with +greater force at her mention of the hospital. "I, a man of the world, +whom any girl of the upper class would be only too happy to marry, +offered to become the husband of that woman, and she could not wait, +but made love to the assistant surgeon," he thought, looking at her +with hatred. + +"Sign this petition," he said, and, taking from his pocket a large +envelope, placed it on the table. She wiped her tears with a corner of +her 'kerchief, seated herself at the table, and asked him where to +sign. + +He showed her where, and she, seating herself, smoothed with her left +hand the sleeve of the right. He stood over her, silently looking at +her back bent over the table, and now and then shaking from the sobs +she tried to suppress, and his soul was convulsed by a struggle +between good and evil, between offended pride and pity for her +sufferings. The feeling of pity conquered. + +Whether it was the feeling of pity that first asserted itself, or the +recollection of his own deeds of the same character for which he +reproached her, he scarcely knew, but suddenly he felt himself guilty +and pitied her. + +Having signed the petition and wiped her soiled fingers on her skirt, +she rose and glanced at him. + +"Whatever the result, and no matter what happens, I shall keep my +word," said Nekhludoff. + +The thought that he was forgiving her strengthened in him the feeling +of pity and tenderness for her, and he wished to console her. + +"I will do what I said. I will be with you wherever you may be." + +"That's no use," she hastened to say, and her face became radiant. + +"Make note of what you need for the road." + +"Nothing particular, I think. Thank you." + +The inspector approached them, and Nekhludoff, without waiting to be +told that the time was up, took leave of her, experiencing a new +feeling of quiet happiness, calmness and love for all mankind. It was +the consciousness that no act of Maslova could alter his love for her +that raised his spirit and made him feel happy. Let her make love to +the assistant--that was her business. He loved her not for himself, +but for her and for God. + + * * * * * + +The love-making for which Maslova was expelled from the hospital, and +to which Nekhludoff gave credence, consisted only in that, when +Maslova, coming to the drug department for some pectoral herbs, +prescribed by her superior, she found there an assistant, named +Ustinoff. This Ustinoff had been pursuing her with his attentions for +a long time, and as he tried to embrace her she pushed him away with +such force that he struck the shelving, and two bottles came crashing +to the floor. + +The chief physician was passing at the time, and, hearing the sound of +the breaking glass, and seeing Maslova running out, all flushed, he +angrily shouted to her: + +"Well, girl, if you begin to flirt here, I will send you back. What is +the matter?" he turned to the assistant, sternly looking over his +spectacles. + +The assistant, smiling, began to apologize. The doctor, without +hearing him to the last, raised his head so that he began to look +through the glasses, and walked into the ward. On the same day he +asked the inspector to send a more sedate nurse in place of Maslova. +Maslova's expulsion from the hospital on the ground of flirting was +particularly painful to her by reason of the fact that, after her +meeting with Nekhludoff, all association with men, which had _been_ so +repugnant to her, became even more disgusting. + +The fact that, judging her by her past and present condition, +everybody, including the pimpled assistant, thought that they had the +right to insult her, and were surprised when she refused their +attentions, was very painful to her and called forth her tears and +pity for herself. Now, coming out to see Nekhludoff, she wished to +explain the injustice of the charge which he had probably heard. But +as she attempted to do so, she felt that he would not believe her; +that her explanation would only tend to corroborate the suspicion, and +her tears welled up in her throat, and she became silent. + +Maslova was still thinking, and continued to assure herself that, as +she had told him on his second visit, she had not forgiven him; that +she hated him, but, in reality, she had long since begun to love him +again, and loved him so that she involuntarily carried out his wishes. +She ceased to drink and smoke, she gave up flirting, and willingly +went as servant to the hospital. All this she did because she knew he +wished it. Her repeated refusal to accept his sacrifice was partly due +to the fact that she wished to repeat those proud words which she had +once told him, and mainly because she knew that their marriage would +make him unhappy. She was firmly resolved not to accept his sacrifice, +and yet it was painful for her to think that he despised her; that he +thought her to be the same as she had been, and did not see the change +she was undergoing. The fact that he was at that moment thinking that +she did something wrong in the hospital pained her more than the news +that she was finally sentenced to hard labor. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +Maslova might be sent away with the first party of exiles; hence +Nekhludoff was preparing for departure. But he had so many things to +attend to that he felt that he could never get through with them, no +matter how much time there might be left for preparations. It was +different in former times. Then it was necessary to devise something +to do, and the interest in all his affairs centered in Dmitri +Ivanovich Nekhludoff. But though all interest in life centered in +Dmitri Ivanovich, he always suffered from ennui. Now, however, all his +affairs related to people other than Dmitri Ivanovich, and were all +interesting and attractive, as well as inexhaustible. + +Besides, formerly the occupation with the affairs of Dmitri Ivanovich +always caused vexation and irritation; while these affairs of others +for the most part put him in a happy mood. + +Nekhludoff's affairs were now divided into three parts. He himself, in +his habitual pedantism, thus divided them, and according placed them +in three different portfolios. + +The first was that of Maslova. This consisted in efforts to obtain a +successful result in the pending petition, and preparations for +departure to Siberia. + +The second part related to the settlement of his estates. The Panov +land was granted to the peasants on condition of their paying a rent +to be used for common necessities. But, in order to complete that +arrangement, it was necessary to sign an agreement and also make his +will. The arrangement made for the Kusminskoie estate was to remain in +force, only there remained to be determined what part of the rent he +was to appropriate to himself, and what was to be left for the benefit +of the peasants. Without knowing what his necessary disbursements +would be on his trip to Siberia, he could not make up his mind to +deprive himself of his income, although he reduced it by one-half. + +The third part related to aid to prisoners, who were now applying to +him more and more frequently. + +At first, when written to for aid, he proceeded immediately to +intercede for the applicants, endeavoring to relieve their condition, +but in the end their number became so great that he found it +impossible to help every one, and was involuntarily brought to a +fourth matter, which had of late occupied him more than either of the +others. + +His fourth concern consisted in solving the question, Why, how and +whence came that remarkable institution called the Criminal Court, to +which was due the existence of that prison, with the inmates of which +he had become somewhat familiar, and all those places of confinement, +beginning with the fortress dedicated to two saints, Peter and Paul, +and ending with the island of Saghalin, where hundreds and thousands +of victims of that wonderful criminal law were languishing? + +From personal contact with prisoners, and from information received +from the lawyer, the prison chaplain, the inspector, and from the +prison register, Nekhludoff came to the conclusion that the prisoners, +so-called criminals, could be divided into five classes. The first +class consisted of people entirely innocent, victims of judicial +mistakes, such as that would-be incendiary, Menshov, or Maslova, and +others. There were comparatively few people of this class, according +to the observations of the chaplain--about seven per cent.--but their +condition attracted particular attention. The second class consisted +of people convicted for offenses committed under exceptional +circumstances, such as anger, jealousy, drunkenness, etc.--offenses +which, under similar circumstances, would almost invariably have been +committed by all those who judged and punished them. This class made +up, according to Nekhludoff's observations, more than one-half of all +the prisoners. To the third class belonged those who committed, +according to their own ideas, the most indifferent or even good acts, +but which were considered criminal by people--entire strangers to +them--who were making the laws. To this class belonged all those who +carried on a secret trade in wine, or were bringing in contraband +goods, or were picking herbs, or gathering wood, in private or +government forests. To this class also belonged the predatory +mountaineers. + +The fourth class consisted of people who, according to Nekhludoff, +were reckoned among the criminals only because they were morally above +the average level of society. Among these the percentage of those who +resisted interference with their affairs, or were sentenced for +resisting the authorities, was very large. + +The fifth class, finally, was composed of people who were more sinned +against by society than they sinned themselves. These were the +helpless people, blunted by constant oppression and temptation, like +that boy with the mats, and hundreds of others whom Nekhludoff saw +both in and out of prison, and the conditions of those whose lives +systematically drove them to the necessity of committing those acts +which are called crimes. To these people belonged, according to +Nekhludoff's observations, many thieves and murderers, with some of +whom Nekhludoff had come in contact. Among these Nekhludoff found, on +close acquaintance, those spoiled and depraved people whom the new +school calls the criminal type, and the existence of which in society +is given as the reason for the necessity of criminal law and +punishment. These so-called depraved types, deviating from the normal, +were, according to Nekhludoff, none other than those very people who +have sinned less against society than society has sinned against them, +and against whom society has sinned, not directly, but through their +ancestors. + +Nekhludoff's attention was attracted by a habitual thief, Okhotin, who +came under this head. He was the son of a fallen woman; had grown up +in lodging-houses, and till the age of thirty had never met a moral +man. In childhood he had fallen in with a gang of thieves, but he +possessed a humorous vein which attracted people to him. While asking +Nekhludoff for aid he jested at himself, the judges, the prison and +all the laws, not only criminal, but even divine. There was also a +fine-looking man, Fedorff, who, in company with a gang of which he was +the leader, had killed and robbed an old official. This one was a +peasant whose father's house had been illegally taken from him, and +who, while in the army, suffered for falling in love with an officer's +mistress. He was attractive and passionate. His sole desire in life +was to enjoy himself, and he had never met any people who, out of any +consideration, tempered their passions, nor had he ever heard that +there was any other aim in life than personal enjoyment. It was plain +to Nekhludoff that these two were richly endowed by nature, and were +only neglected and mutilated as plants are sometimes neglected and +mutilated. He also came across a vagabond, and a woman, whose +stupidity and apparent cruelty were repulsive, but he failed to find +in them that criminal type spoken of by the Italian school. He only +saw in them people who were disagreeable to him personally, like some +he had met in dress-coats, uniforms, and laces. + +Thus the investigation of the question: Why are people of such great +variety of character confined in prisons, while others, no different +than those, enjoy freedom and even judge those people? was the fourth +concern of Nekhludoff. + +At first he hoped to find an answer to this question in books, and +bought every book bearing on the subject. He bought the works of +Lombroso, Garofalo, Ferri, Mandsley and Tard, and read them carefully. +But the more he read them, the greater was his disappointment. The +same thing happened with him that happens with people who appeal to +science with direct, simple, vital questions, and not with a view of +playing the part of an expounder, writer or teacher in it. Science +solved a thousand and one various abstruse, complicated questions +bearing on criminal law, but failed to give an answer to the question +he had formed. His question was very simple: Why and by what right do +some people confine, torture, exile, flog and kill other people no +different than they are themselves? And in answer they argued the +questions: Whether or not man is a free agent? Can a criminal be +distinguished by the measurements of his cranium? To what extent is +crime due to heredity? What is morality? What is insanity? What is +degeneracy? What is temperament? How does climate, food, ignorance, +emulation, hypnotism, passion affect crime? What is society? What are +its duties? etc., etc. + +These arguments reminded Nekhludoff of an answer he had once received +from a schoolboy. He asked the boy whether he had learned the +declension of nouns. "Yes," answered the boy. "Well, then decline +'Paw.'" "What paw? A dog's paw?" the boy answered, with a sly +expression on his face. Similar answers in the form of questions +Nekhludoff found in scientific books to his one basic question. + +He found there many wise, learned and interesting things, but there +was no answer to his principal question: By what right do some people +punish others? Not only was there no answer, but all reasoning tended +to explain and justify punishment, the necessity of which was +considered an axiom. Nekhludoff read much, but only by fits and +starts, and the want of an answer he ascribed to such superficial +reading. He, therefore, refused to believe in the justice of the +answer which constantly occurred to him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +The deportation of the party of convicts to which Maslova belonged was +set for the fifth of July, and Nekhludoff was prepared to follow her +on that day. The day before his departure his sister, with her +husband, arrived in town to see him. + +Nekhludoff's sister, Natalie Ivanovna Ragojhinsky, was ten years his +senior. He had grown up partly under her influence. She loved him when +he was a boy, and before her marriage they treated each other as +equals; she was twenty-five and he was fifteen. She had been in love +then with his deceased friend, Nikolenka Irtenieff. They both loved +Nikolenka, and loved in him and in themselves the good that was in +them, and which unifies all people. + +Since that time they had both became corrupted--he by the bad life he +was leading; she by her marriage to a man whom she loved sensually, +but who not only did not love all that which she and Dimitri at one +time considered most holy and precious, but did not even understand +it, and all those aspirations to moral perfection and to serving +others, to which she had once devoted herself, he ascribed to +selfishness and a desire to show off before people. + +Ragojhinsky was a man without reputation or fortune, but a clever +fortune hunter, who, by skillful manoeuvering between liberalism and +conservatism, availing himself of that dominating tendency which +promised bitter results in life, but principally by something peculiar +which attracted women to him, he succeeded in making a relatively +brilliant judicial career. He was already past his youth when he met +Nekhludoff abroad, made Natalie, who was also not very young, to fall +in love with him, and married her almost against the wish of her +mother, who said that it would be a mesalliance. Nekhludoff, although +he concealed it from himself and struggled against the feeling, hated +his brother-in-law. He disliked his vulgar feelings, his +self-confident narrowness of mind, but, principally, because of his +sister, who should so passionately, egotistically and sensually love +such a poor nature, and to please whom she should stifle all her noble +sentiments. It was always painful to Nekhludoff to think of Natalie as +the wife of that hairy, self-confident man, with shining bald head. He +could not even suppress his aversion to his children. And whenever he +heard that she was about to become a mother, he experienced a feeling +of compassion for her being again infected with something bad by the +man who was so unlike all of them. + +The Ragojhinskys arrived without their children, and engaged the best +suite in the best hotel. Natalie Ivanovna immediately went to the old +home of her mother, and learning there that her brother had moved to +furnished rooms, she went to his new home. The dirty servant, meeting +her in the dark, ill-smelling corridor, which was lit up by a lamp +during the day, announced that the Prince was away. + +Desiring to leave a note, Natalie Ivanovna was shown into his +apartments. She closely examined the two small rooms. She noticed in +every corner the familiar cleanliness and order, and she was struck by +the modesty of the appointments. On the writing table she saw a +familiar paper-press, with the bronze figure of a dog, neatly arranged +portfolios, papers, volumes of the Criminal Code and an English book +of Henry George, and a French one by Tard, between the leaves of which +was an ivory paper knife. + +She left a note asking him to call on her the same evening, and, +shaking her head in wonder at what she had seen, returned to her +hotel. + +There were two questions relating to her brother that interested +Natalie Ivanovna--his marriage to Katiousha, of which she had heard in +her city, where it was a matter of common gossip, and the distribution +by him of his land to the peasants, upon which some people looked as +something political and dangerous. From one point of view, she rather +liked the idea of his marrying Katiousha. She admired his resolution, +seeing in it herself and him as they had been before her marriage. At +the same time, she was horror-stricken at the thought that her brother +was to marry such an awful woman. The latter feeling was the stronger, +and she decided to dissuade him from marrying her, although she knew +how hard that would be. + +The other affair, that of his parting with his land, she did not take +so close to heart, but her husband was indignant at such folly, and +demanded that she influence her brother to abandon the attempt. +Ignatius Nikiforovitch said that it was the height of inconsistency, +foolhardiness and pride; that such an act could only be explained, if +at all, by a desire to be odd, to have something to brag about, and to +make people talk about one's self. + +"What sense is there in giving the land to the peasants and making +them pay rent to themselves?" he said. "If his mind was set on doing +it, he could sell them the land through the bank. There would be some +sense in that. Taking all in all, his act is very eccentric," said +Ignatius Nikiforovitch, already considering the necessity of a +guardianship, and he demanded that his wife should seriously speak to +her brother of this, his strange intention. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +In the evening Nekhludoff went to his sister. Ignatius Nikiforovitch +was resting in another room, and Natalie Ivanovna alone met him. She +wore a tight-fitting black silk dress, with a knot of red ribbon, and +her hair was done up according to the latest fashion. She was +evidently making herself look young for her husband. Seeing her +brother, she quickly rose from the divan, and, rustling with her silk +skirt, she went out to meet him. They kissed and, smiling, looked at +each other. There was an exchange of those mysterious, significant +glances in which everything was truth; then followed an exchange of +words in which that truth was lacking. They had not met since the +death of their mother. + +"You have grown stout and young," he said. + +Her lips contracted with pleasure. + +"And you have grown thin." + +"Well, how is Ignatius Nikiforovitch?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"He is resting. He has not slept all night." + +A great deal should have been said here, but their words said nothing, +and their glances said that that which interested them most was left +unsaid. + +"I have been at your lodging." + +"Yes, I know it. I have moved from the house. I am so lonely and +weary. I do not need any of those things, so you take them--the +furniture--everything." + +"Yes, Agrippina Petrovna told me. I have been there. I thank you very +much. But----" + +At that moment the servant brought in a silver tea service. Natalie +Ivanovna busied herself with making the tea. Nekhludoff was silent. + +"Well, Dimitri, I know everything," Natalie said, resolutely, glancing +at him. + +"I am very glad that you know." + +"Do you think it possible to reform her after such a life?" + +He was sitting erect on a small chair, attentively listening to her, +prepared to answer satisfactorily her every question. He was still in +that frame of mind which, after his last meeting with Maslova, filled +his soul with tranquil happiness and love for all mankind. + +"It is not her that I intend to reform, but myself," he answered. + +Natalie Ivanovna sighed. + +"There are other means besides marriage." + +"And I think that that is the best. Besides, that will bring me into +that world in which I can be useful." + +"I do not think," said Natalie Ivanovna, "that you could be happy." + +"It is not a question of my happiness." + +"Of course; but if she possesses a heart, she cannot be happy--she +cannot even desire it." + +"She does not." + +"I understand, but life--demands something different." + +"Life only demands that we do what is right," said Nekhludoff, looking +at her face, still beautiful, although covered with fine wrinkles +around the eyes and mouth. + +"Poor dear! How she has changed!" thought Nekhludoff, recalling +Natalie as she had been before her marriage, and a tender feeling, +woven of countless recollections of their childhood, rose in his +breast toward her. + +At that moment Ignatius Nikiforovitch, as usual holding his head high +and projecting his broad chest, entered the room, with shining +eye-glasses, bald head and black beard. + +"How do you do? How do you do?" he greeted Nekhludoff, unnaturally +accentuating his words. + +They pressed each other's hand, and Ignatius Nikiforovitch lowered +himself into an arm-chair. + +"Am I disturbing you?" + +"No, I do not conceal anything I say or do from anybody." + +As soon as Nekhludoff saw that face, those hairy hands and heard that +patronizing tone, his gentle disposition immediately disappeared. + +"Yes, we have been speaking about his intention," said Natalie +Ivanovna. "Shall I pour out some tea for you?" she added, taking the +tea-pot. + +"Yes, if you please. What intention do you refer to?" + +"My intention of going to Siberia with that party of convicts, among +whom there is a woman I have wronged," said Nekhludoff. + +"I heard that you intended more than that." + +"Yes, and marry her, if she only desires it." + +"I see! And may I ask you to explain your motives, if it is not +unpleasant to you? I do not understand them." + +"My motives are that that woman--that the first step on her downward +career----" Nekhludoff became angry because he could not find the proper +expression. "My motives are that I am guilty, while she is punished." + +"If she is punished, then she is also, probably, guilty." + +"She is perfectly innocent." + +And, with unnecessary agitation, Nekhludoff related the whole case. + +"Yes, that was an omission by the presiding justice. But in such cases +there is the Senate." + +"The Senate sustained the verdict." + +"Ah, then there were no grounds of appeal," said Ignatius +Nikiforovitch, evidently sharing the well-known opinion that truth is +the product of court proceedings. "The Senate cannot go into the +merits of a case. But if there is really a judicial error, a petition +should be made to the Emperor." + +"That was done, but there is no chance of success. Inquiries will be +made at the Ministry, which will refer them to the Senate, and the +Senate will repeat its decision, and, as usual, the innocent will be +punished." + +"In the first place, the Ministry will not refer to the Senate," and +Ignatius Nikiforovitch smiled condescendingly, "but will call for all +the documents in the case, and, if it finds an error, will so decide. +In the second place, an innocent person is never, or, at least, very +seldom punished. Only the guilty is punished." + +"And I am convinced that the contrary is true," said Nekhludoff, with +an unkind feeling toward his brother-in-law. "I am convinced that the +majority of the people convicted by courts are innocent." + +"How so?" + +"They are innocent in the ordinary sense of the word, as that woman +was innocent of poisoning; as that peasant is innocent of the murder +which he has not committed; as that mother and son are innocent of the +arson which was committed by the owner himself, and for which they +came near being convicted." + +"Of course, there always have been and always will be judicial errors. +Human institutions cannot be perfect." + +"And, then, a large part of the innocent, because they have been +brought up amid certain conditions, do not consider the acts committed +by them criminal." + +"Pardon me; that is unfair. Every thief knows that stealing is wrong; +that theft is immoral," Ignatius Nikiforovitch said, with the calm, +self-confident, and, at the same time, somewhat contemptuous, smile +which particularly provoked Nekhludoff. + +"No, he does not know. He is told not to steal, but he sees and knows +that the employers steal his labor, keep back his pay, and that the +officials are constantly robbing him." + +"That is anarchism," Ignatius calmly defined the meaning of his +brother-in-law's words. + +"I do not know what it is, but I am speaking of facts," Nekhludoff +continued. "He knows that the officials are robbing him. He knows that +we, the landlords, own the land which ought to be common property, and +when he gathers some twigs for his oven we send him to jail and try to +convince him that he is a thief." + +"I do not understand, and if I do, I cannot agree with you. The land +cannot be nobody's property. If you divide it," Ignatius Nikiforovitch +began, being fully convinced that Nekhludoff was a socialist, and that +the theory of socialism demands that all the land should be divided +equally; that such division is foolish, and that he can easily refute +it. "If you should divide the land to-day, giving each inhabitant an +equal share, to-morrow it will again find its way into the hands of +the more industrious and able among them----" + +"Nobody even thinks of dividing the land into equal shares. There +ought to be no property in land, and it ought not to be the subject of +purchase and sale or renting." + +"The right of property is a natural right. Without property right +there would be no interest in cultivating the land. Destroy property +right and we will return to the condition of the savage," +authoritatively said Ignatius Nikiforovitch. + +"On the contrary, only then will land not lie idle, as it is now." + +"But, Dimitri Ivanovich, it is perfect madness! Is it possible in our +time to destroy property in land? I know it is your old hobby. But +permit me to tell you plainly----" Ignatius Nikiforovitch turned pale +and his voice trembled. The question was evidently of particular +concern to him. "I would advise you to consider that question well +before attempting its practical solution." + +"You are speaking of my personal affairs?" + +"Yes. I assume that we are all placed in a certain position, and must +assume the duties that result from that position, must support those +conditions of existence into which we were born, which we have +inherited from our forefathers, and which we must hand over to our +posterity." + +"I consider it my duty----" + +"Excuse me," continued Ignatius Nikiforovitch, who would not be +interrupted. "I am not speaking of myself and my children. The fortune +of my children is secure, and I earn enough to live in easy +circumstances, and, therefore, my protest against your, permit me to +say, ill-considered actions is not based on personal interest, but on +principle. And I would advise you to give it a little more thought, to +read----" + +"You had better let me decide my own affairs. I think I know what to +read and what not to read," said Nekhludoff, turning pale, and, +feeling that he could not control himself, became silent and began to +drink his tea. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +"Well, how are the children?" Nekhludoff asked his sister, having +calmed down. + +Thus the unpleasant conversation was changed. Natalie became calm and +talked about her children. She would not speak, however, about those +things which only her brother understood in the presence of her +husband, and in order to continue the conversation she began to talk +of the latest news, the killing of Kanesky in the duel. + +Ignatius Nikiforovitch expressed his disapproval of the condition of +things which excluded the killing in a duel from the category of +crimes. + +His remark called forth Nekhludoff's reply, and a hot discussion +followed on the same subject, neither expressing fully his opinion, +and in the end they were again at loggerheads. + +Ignatius Nikiforovitch felt that Nekhludoff condemned him, hating all +his activity, and he wished to prove the injustice of his reasoning. +Nekhludoff, on the other hand, to say nothing of the vexation caused +him by his brother-in-law's interference in his affairs (in the depth +of his soul he felt that his brother-in-law, his sister and their +children, as heirs, had the right to do so), was indignant at the calm +and confident manner of that narrow-minded man who continued to +consider legal and just that which to Nekhludoff was undoubtedly +foolish. This self-confidence irritated him. + +"What should the court do?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"Sentence one of the duelists, as it would a common murderer, to hard +labor." + +Nekhludoff's hands again turned cold, and he continued with warmth: + +"Well, what would be then?" + +"Justice would be done." + +"As if the aim of courts was to do justice!" said Nekhludoff. + +"What else?" + +"Their aim is to support class interests. Courts, according to my +idea, are only instruments for the perpetuation of conditions +profitable to our class." + +"That is an entirely new view," said Ignatius Nikiforovitch, smiling +calmly. "Usually somewhat different aims are ascribed to courts." + +"In theory, but not in practice, as I have learned. The only aim of +the courts is to preserve the existing state of things, and for this +reason they persecute and kill all those who are above the common +level and who wish to raise it as well as those who are below it." + +"I cannot agree with the view that criminals are executed because they +are above the level of the average. For the most part they are the +excrescence of society, just as perverted, though in a different +manner, as are those criminal types whom you consider below the level +of the average." + +"And I know people who are far above their judges." + +But Ignatius Nikiforovitch, not accustomed to being interrupted when +speaking, did not listen to Nekhludoff, which was particularly +irritating to the latter, and continued to talk while Nekhludoff was +talking. + +"I cannot agree with you that the aim of courts is to support the +existing order of things. The courts have their aims: either the +correction----" + +"Prisons are great places for correction," Nekhludoff put in. + +"Or the removal," persistently continued Ignatius Nikiforovitch, "of +those depraved and savage people who threaten the existence of +society." + +"That is just where the trouble is. Courts can do neither the one nor +the other. Society has no means of doing it." + +"How is that? I don't understand----" asked Ignatius Nikiforovitch, with +a forced smile. + +"I mean to say that there are only two sensible modes of +punishment--those that have been used in olden times: corporal +punishment and capital punishment. But with the advance of +civilization they have gone out of existence." + +"That is both new and surprising to hear from you." + +"Yes, there is sense in inflicting pain on a man that he might not +repeat that for which the pain was inflicted; and it is perfectly +sensible to cut the head off a harmful and dangerous member of +society. But what sense is there in imprisoning a man, who is depraved +by idleness and bad example, and keeping him in secure and compulsory +idleness in the society of the most depraved people? Or to transport +him, for some reason, at an expense to the government of five hundred +roubles, from the District of Tula to the District of Irkutsk, or from +Kursk----" + +"But people seem to fear these journeys at government expense. And +were it not for these journeys, we would not be sitting here as we are +sitting now." + +"Prisons cannot secure our safety, because people are not imprisoned +for life, but are released. On the contrary, these institutions are +the greatest breeders of vice and corruption--_i. e._, they increase +the danger." + +"You mean to say that the penitentiary system ought to be perfected?" + +"It cannot be perfected. Perfected prisons would cost more than is +spent on popular education and would be a new burden on the populace." + +"But the deficiencies of the penitentiary system do not invalidate the +judicial system," Ignatius Nikiforovitch again continued, without +listening to his brother-in-law. + +"These deficiencies cannot be corrected," said Nekhludoff, raising +his voice. + +"What then? Would you kill? Or, as a certain statesman suggested, +pluck out their eyes?" said Ignatius Nikiforovitch, smiling +triumphantly. + +"Yes; that would be cruel, but expedient. What we are doing now is +both cruel and inexpedient." + +"And I am taking part in it," said Ignatius Nikiforovitch, paling. + +"That is your business. But I do not understand it." + +"I think there are many things you do not understand," said Ignatius +Nikiforovitch, with a quiver in his voice. + +"I saw a public prosecutor in court trying his utmost to convict an +unfortunate boy, who could only arouse compassion in any unperverted +man----" + +"If I thought so, I should give up my position," said Ignatius +Nikiforovitch, rising. + +Nekhludoff noticed a peculiar glitter under his brother-in-law's +eye-glasses. "Can it be tears?" thought Nekhludoff. They really were +tears. Ignatius Nikiforovitch was offended. Going toward the window, +he drew a handkerchief from his pocket, coughed, and began to wipe his +eye-glasses, and, removing them, he also wiped his eyes. Returning to +the couch, Ignatius Nikiforovitch lit a cigar and spoke no more. +Nekhludoff was pained and ashamed at the grief that he had caused his +brother-in-law and sister, especially as he was leaving the next day +and would not see them again. In great agitation he took leave of them +and departed. + +"It is quite possible that what I said was true. At any rate, he did +not refute me. But it was wrong to speak that way. Little have I +changed if I could insult him and grieve poor Natalie," he thought. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +The party of convicts, which included Maslova, was to leave on the +three o'clock train, and in order to see them coming out of the prison +and follow them to the railroad station Nekhludoff decided to get to +the prison before twelve. + +While packing his clothes and papers, Nekhludoff came across his +diary and began to read the entry he had made before leaving for St. +Petersburg. "Katiusha does not desire my sacrifice, but is willing to +sacrifice herself," it ran. "She has conquered, and I have conquered. +I am rejoicing at that inner change which she seems to me to be +undergoing. I fear to believe it, but it appears to me that she is +awakening." Immediately after this was the following entry: "I have +lived through a very painful and very joyous experience. I was told +that she had misbehaved in the hospital. It was very painful to hear +it. Did not think it would so affect me. Have spoken to her with +contempt and hatred, but suddenly remembered how often I myself have +been guilty--am even now, although only in thought, of that for which +I hated her, and suddenly I was seized with disgust for myself and +pity for her, and I became very joyful. If we would only see in time +the beam in our own eye, how much kinder we would be." Then he made +the following entry for the day: "Have seen Katiusha, and, because of +my self-content, was unkind and angry, and departed with a feeling of +oppression. But what can I do? A new life begins to-morrow. Farewell +to the old life! My mind is filled with numberless impressions, but I +cannot yet reduce them to order." + +On awakening the following morning, Nekhludoff's first feeling was one +of sorrow for the unpleasant incident with his brother-in-law. + +"I must go to see them," he thought, "and smooth it over." + +But, looking at the clock, he saw that there was no time left, and +that he must hasten to the prison to see the departure of the +convicts. Hastily packing up his things and sending them to the depot, +Nekhludoff hired a trap and drove to the prison. + + * * * * * + +The hot July days had set in. The stones of the street, the houses, +and the tins of the roofs, failing to cool off during the suffocating +night, exhaled their warmth into the hot, still air. There was no +breeze, and such as rose every now and then was laden with dust and +the stench of oil paint. The few people that were on the streets +sought shelter in the shade of the houses. Only sun-burnt +street-pavers in bast shoes were sitting in the middle of the street, +setting boulders into the hot sand; gloomy policemen in unstarched +blouses and carrying revolvers attached to yellow cords, were lazily +shuffling about, and tram-cars with drawn blinds on the sides exposed +to the sun, and drawn by white-hooded horses, were running up and down +the street. + +When Nekhludoff arrived at the prison, the formal delivery and +acceptance of the departing convicts, which began at four in the +morning, were still going on. The party consisted of six hundred and +twenty-three men and sixty-four women; all had to be counted, the weak +and sick had to be separated, and they were to be delivered to the +convoy. The new inspector, two assistants, a physician, his assistant, +the officer of the convoy and a clerk were sitting in the shade around +a table with papers and documents, calling and examining each convict +and making entries in their books. + +One-half of the table was already exposed to the sun. It was getting +warm and close from want of air, and from the breathing of the +convicts standing near by. + +"Will there ever be an end?" said a tall, stout, red-faced captain of +the convoy, incessantly smoking a cigarette and blowing the smoke +through the moustache which covered his mouth. "I am exhausted. Where +have you taken so many? How many more are there?" + +The clerk consulted the books. + +"Twenty-four men and the women." + +"Why are you standing there? Come forward!" shouted the captain to the +crowding convicts. + +The convicts had already been standing three hours in a broiling sun, +waiting their turn. + +All this was taking place in the court-yard of the prison, while +without the prison stood the usual armed soldier, about two dozen +trucks for the baggage, and the infirm convicts, and on the corner a +crowd of relatives and friends of the convicts, waiting for a chance +to see the exiles as they emerged from the prison, and, if possible, +to have a last few words with them, or deliver some things they had +brought for them. Nekhludoff joined this crowd. + +He stood there about an hour. At the end of the hour, from behind the +gates came the clatter of chains, the tramping of feet, voices of +command, coughing and the low conversation of a large crowd. This +lasted about five minutes, during which time prison officers flitted +in and out through the wicket. Finally there was heard a sharp +command. + +The gates were noisily flung open, the clatter of the chains became +more distinct, and a detachment of guardsmen in white blouses and +shouldering guns marched forth and arranged themselves, evidently as a +customary manoeuvre, in a large semi-circle before the gates. Again +a command was heard, and the hard-labor convicts, in pairs, began to +pour out. With pancake-shaped caps on their shaved heads, and sacks on +their shoulders, they dragged their fettered legs, holding up the +sacks with one hand and waving the other. First came the men convicts, +all in gray trousers and long coats with diamond aces on their backs. +All of them--young, old, slim, stout, pale, and red-faced, +dark-haired, moustached, bearded and beardless, Russians, Tartars, +Jews--came, clanging their chains and briskly waving their hands as +though going on a long journey; but after making about ten steps they +stopped and humbly arranged themselves in rows of four. Immediately +behind these came another contingent, also with shaved heads and +similarly dressed, without leg-fetters, but handcuffed to each other. +These were exiles. They walked as briskly as the others, stopped, and +formed in rows of four. Then came the women in the same order, in gray +coats and 'kerchiefs, those sentenced to hard labor coming first; then +the exiles, and finally those voluntarily following their husbands, in +their native costumes. Some of the women carried infants under the +skirts of their coats. + +Children--boys and girls--followed them on foot, hanging on to the +skirts of their mothers. The men stood silently, coughing now and +then, or exchanging remarks, while the women carried on incessant +conversation. Nekhludoff thought that he saw Maslova as she was coming +out, but she was soon lost in the large crowd, and he only saw a lot +of gray creatures almost deprived of all womanly features, with their +children and sacks, grouping themselves behind the men. + +Although the convicts had been counted within the walls of the prison, +the guard began to count them over again. This counting took a long +time, because the convicts, moving from one place to another, confused +the count of the officers. The officers cursed and pushed the humbly +but angrily compliant convicts and counted them again. When the +counting was finally over, the officer of the guard gave some command, +and suddenly all became confusion in the crowd. Infirm men, women and +children hastened to the trucks, on which they first placed their +sacks, then climbed in themselves, the infants crying in their +mothers' arms, the children quarreling about the places, the men +looking gloomy and despondent. + +Some of the convicts, removing their caps, approached the officer and +made some request. As Nekhludoff afterward learned, they were asking +to be taken on the wagons. The guard officer, without looking at the +applicants, silently inhaled the smoke of his cigarette, then suddenly +swung his short hand at one of the convicts that approached him, who +dodged and sprang back. + +"I will elevate you to the nobility with a rope! You can walk!" +shouted the officer. + +Only a tall, staggering old man in irons was permitted to ride on a +wagon. The old man removed his cap, and making the sign of the cross, +dragged himself to the wagon; but his fettered legs prevented his +climbing up until an old woman, sitting on the wagon, took his hand +and helped him in. + +When all the wagons were loaded with sacks and those that were +permitted to ride, the guard officer uncovered his bald head, wiped +with a handkerchief his pate, forehead and red, stout neck, made the +sign of the cross, and gave command to proceed. + +There was a clatter of weapons; the convicts, removing their caps, +began to make the sign of the cross, some with their left hands; the +escorting crowd shouted something, the convicts shouted in answer; a +great wailing arose among the women, and the party, surrounded by +soldiers in white blouses moved forward, raising a cloud of dust with +their fettered feet. They marched in the order in which they formed at +the prison gates, in rows of four, preceded by a detachment of +soldiers. The rear was brought up by the wagons loaded with the sacks +and the infirm. On top of one of the wagons, above all the others, sat +a woman, wrapped up in her coat and sobbing incessantly. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + +When Nekhludoff reached the railroad station the prisoners were +already seated in the cars, behind grated windows. There were a few +people on the platform, come to see their departing relatives, but +they were not allowed to come near the cars. The guards were greatly +troubled this day. On the way from the prison to the station five men +had died from sunstroke. Three of them had been taken to the nearest +police station from the street, while two were stricken at the +railroad station.[F] They were troubled not because five men had died +while under their guard. That did not bother them; but they were +chiefly concerned with doing all that the law required them to do +under the circumstances--to make proper transfer of the dead, their +papers and belongings, and to exclude them from the list of those that +were to be transferred to Nijhni, which was very troublesome, +especially on such a warm day. + +This it was that occupied the convoy, and this was the reason why +Nekhludoff and others were not permitted to approach the cars while +the formalities were unfinished. However, upon bribing one of the +sergeants, Nekhludoff was permitted to come near the cars, the +sergeant asking him to do his errand so that the captain would not see +him. There were eighteen cars, and all, except the one reserved for +the authorities, were literally packed with prisoners. Passing by the +windows, Nekhludoff listened to the sounds within. Everywhere he heard +the rattling of chains, bustle, and the hum of conversation, +interspersed with stupid profanity; but nowhere did he hear, as he +expected, any reference to the dead comrades. Their conversation +related more to sacks, drinking-water, and the choice of seats. +Looking into the window of one of the cars, Nekhludoff saw some +guardsmen removing the handcuffs from the wrists of the prisoners. The +prisoners stretched out their hands, while one of the guards with a +key opened the locks of the handcuffs, which were collected by +another. When Nekhludoff reached the second car occupied by the women +he heard a woman's moan, "Oh, heavens! Oh, heavens!" + +Nekhludoff passed by and approached one of the windows of the third +car, pointed out to him by one of the guards. Overheated air, +impregnated with a thick odor of perspiration, assailed his nostrils, +and shrill women's voices were distinctly heard. All the benches were +occupied by flushed, perspiring women in waists and coats, loudly +conversing. His approach attracted their attention. Those sitting +nearest to the grated window became silent. Maslova, in a waist and +without headgear, was sitting near the opposite window. The smiling +Theodosia, who was sitting near Maslova, seeing Nekhludoff, pushed her +with her elbow and pointed to Nekhludoff. Maslova hurriedly rose, +threw a 'kerchief over her black hair, and, with an animated, red, +perspiring and smiling face, came near the window and placed her hands +on the grating. + +"But how warm it is!" she said, smiling joyously. + +"Did you get the things?" + +"I did, thank you." + +"Do you need anything?" asked Nekhludoff, feeling the heat issuing +from the window as from a steam bath. + +"I do not need anything. Thank you." + +"If we could only get some water," said Theodosia. + +"Yes, some water," repeated Maslova. + +"I will ask one of the guards," said Nekhludoff. "We will not meet now +until we reach Nijhni." + +"Why, are you going there?" she said, as if she did not know it, but +joyously glancing at Nekhludoff. + +"I am going on the next train." + +Maslova was silent for a few moments; then sighed deeply. + +"Is it true, master, that twelve people have died from the heat?" said +a churlish old woman in a hoarse voice. + +It was Korableva. + +"I don't know that twelve have died. I have seen two," said +Nekhludoff. + +"They say twelve. They ought to be punished for it, the devils!" + +"How is it with the women?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"Women are stronger," said another prisoner, smiling. "Only there is +one who has taken it into her head to give birth to a child. Listen to +her wailing," she said, pointing to the adjacent car, from which the +moaning proceeded. + +"You asked if anything was needed," said Maslova, endeavoring to +restrain a happy smile. "Could not that woman be taken off the train? +She suffers so. Won't you tell the authorities?" + +"Yes, I will." + +"Another thing--could you not get her to see her husband, Tarass?" she +added, pointing to the smiling Theodosia. "He is going with you, isn't +he?" + +At this point the voice of a sergeant was heard reminding Nekhludoff +that talking with the prisoners was prohibited. It was not the +sergeant who passed Nekhludoff. + +Nekhludoff walked off to find the captain, intending to see him about +the sick woman and Tarass, but for a long time could not find him, the +guards being too busy to answer his inquiries. Some were leading away +one of the convicts; others were hurrying away to buy their +provisions; still others were attending a lady who was traveling with +the captain of the convoy. + +Nekhludoff found the captain after the second bell. The captain, +wiping his thick moustache with his short hand and raising his +shoulders, was reprimanding one of the sergeants. + +"What is it you want?" he asked Nekhludoff. + +"There is a woman giving birth to a child, so I thought it would be +well----" + +"Well, let her. When the child is born we will see to it," said the +captain, passing to his car. + +The conductor came with a whistle in his hand. The third bell +sounded, and a loud wailing rose among the female prisoners and their +friends and relatives on the platform. Nekhludoff was standing beside +Tarass, and watched the cars passing before him, with the grated +windows and the shaved heads seen through them. As the one in which +Maslova was passed, he saw her standing with others at the window, +looking at him and smiling piteously. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote F: Early in the eighties five prisoners died from sunstroke +while being transferred from the Boutyr prison to the Nijhni railroad +station.--L. T.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + +The passenger train which was to carry away Nekhludoff was to start in +two hours. Nekhludoff at first thought of utilizing these two hours in +visiting his sister, but after the impressions of the morning he felt +so excited and exhausted that he seated himself on a sofa in the +saloon for first-class passengers. But he unexpectedly felt so drowsy +that he turned on his side, placed his palm under his cheek, and +immediately fell asleep. + +He was awakened by a servant in dress-coat holding a napkin in his +hand. + +"Mister, mister, are you not Prince Nekhludoff? A lady is looking for +you." + +Nekhludoff quickly raised himself, rubbing his eyes, and the incidents +of the morning passed before his mind's eye--the procession of the +convicts, the men who had died from the heat, the grated windows of +the cars, and the women huddled behind them, one of whom was laboring +in child-birth without aid, and another piteously smiling to him from +behind the iron grating. But in reality he saw a table covered with +bottles, vases, chandeliers, and fruit stands; nimble servants +bustling around the table, and in the depth of the saloon, before the +lunch-counter, loaded with viands and fruits, the backs of passengers +leisurely eating their luncheon. + +While Nekhludoff was raising himself and shaking off the slumber, he +noticed that everybody in the saloon was curiously watching the +entrance. He turned his eyes in the same direction, and saw a +procession of people who bore an arm-chair in which was seated a lady, +her head covered with tulle. The first bearer was a lackey who seemed +familiar to Nekhludoff. The one behind was also a familiar porter, +with white crown lace around his cap. Behind the arm-chair came an +elegantly dressed maid-servant with curly hair, carrying a round +leather box and a sunshade. Further behind came the short-necked +Prince Korchagin, his shoulders thrown back; then Missy, Misha, their +cousin, and a diplomat Osten, unfamiliar to Nekhludoff, with his long +neck and prominent Adam's apple and an ever cheerful appearance. He +walked impressively, but evidently jestingly talking to the smiling +Missy. Behind them came the doctor, angrily smoking a cigarette. + +The Korchagins were moving from their estate to the Prince's sister, +whose estate was situated on the Nijhni road. + +The procession passed into the ladies' room. The old Prince, however, +seating himself at the table, immediately called over a waiter and +began to order something. Missy with Osten also stopped in the +dining-room, and were about to sit down when they saw an acquaintance +in the doorway and went to meet her. It was Natalia Ivanovna. She was +escorted by Agrippina Petrovna, and as she entered the dining-room she +looked around. At almost the same moment she noticed Missy and her +brother. She first approached Missy, only nodding her head to +Nekhludoff. But after kissing Missy she immediately turned to him. + +"At last I have found you," she said. + +After greeting his sister, Nekhludoff entered into conversation with +Missy, who told him that their house had burned down, necessitating +their removal to her aunt's. Osten began to relate a droll anecdote +anent the fire. Nekhludoff, without listening to Osten, turned to his +sister: + +"How glad I am that you came!" + +In the course of their conversation he told her how sorry he felt for +having fallen out with her husband; that he had intended to return and +confess that he was at fault, but that he knew not how her husband +would take it. + +"I spoke improperly to him, and it tortured me," he said. + +"I knew it. I was sure you didn't intend it," said his sister. "Don't +you know----" + +The tears welled up in her eyes, and she touched her brother's hand. +It was spoken tenderly; he understood her, and was affected. The +meaning of her words was that, besides her love for her husband, her +love for her brother was dear and important to her, and that any +disagreement with him caused her suffering. + +"Thank you, thank you. Oh, what I have seen to-day!" he said, suddenly +recalling the two dead convicts. "Two convicts have been killed." + +"How killed?" + +"So, simply killed. They have been brought here in this heat, and two +of them died from sunstroke." + +"Impossible! How? To-day? Just now?" + +"Yes, just now. I have seen their corpses." + +"Why were they killed? Who killed them?" asked Natalia Ivanovna. + +"Those who forcibly brought them here," said Nekhludoff excitedly, +feeling that she took the same view of this as her husband. + +"Oh, my God!" said Agrippina Petrovna, coming nearer to them. + +"Yes, we have no conception of the life these unfortunates are +leading, and it is necessary to know it," Nekhludoff added, looking at +the old Prince, who, sitting at the table with a napkin tucked under +his chin and a large glass before him, at that moment glanced at +Nekhludoff. + +"Nekhludoff," he shouted. "Won't you take sauce to cool off? It is +excellent stuff." + +Nekhludoff refused and turned away. + +"But what will you do?" continued Natalia Ivanovna. + +"I will do what I can. I do not know what, but I feel that I must do +something. And I will do what I can." + +"Yes, yes, I understand that. And what about him?" she said, smiling +and nodding in the direction of Korchagin. "Is it really all over?" + +"Yes, it is and I think without regret on either side." + +"I am very sorry. I like her. But I suppose it must be so. But why +should you bind yourself? Why are you following her?" + +"Because it is proper that I should," Nekhludoff said dryly, as +though desiring to change the subject. + +But he immediately felt ashamed of his coldness to his sister. "Why +should I not tell her what I think?" he thought; "and let Agrippina +Petrovna also know it," he said to himself, looking at the old +servant. + +The presence of Agrippina Petrovna only encouraged him to repeat his +decision to his sister. + +"You are speaking of my intention to marry Katiusha. You see, I have +decided to do it, but she firmly and decidedly refused me," he said, +and his voice trembled, as it always did when he spoke of it. "She +does not desire my sacrifice, and in her position she sacrifices very +much, and I could not accept her sacrifice, even if it were only +momentary. That is why I am following her, and I will be near her, and +will endeavor to relieve her condition as far as I am able." + +Natalia Ivanovna was silent. Agrippina Petrovna looked inquiringly at +Natalia Ivanovna, shaking her head. At that moment the procession +started again from the ladies' room. The same handsome Phillip and the +porter were bearing the Princess. She stopped the bearers, beckoned +Nekhludoff to her side, and in a piteously languid manner extended her +white, ring-bedecked hand, with horror anticipating the hard pressure +of his. + +"_Epouvantable!_" she said of the heat. "It is unbearable. _Ce climat +me tue._" And having said a few words of the horrors of the Russian +climate, and invited Nekhludoff to visit them, she gave a sign to the +bearers. "Don't fail to come, now," she added, turning her long face +to Nekhludoff. + +Nekhludoff went out on the platform. The procession turned to the +right, toward the first-class coaches. Nekhludoff, with a porter who +carried his baggage, and Tarass, with his bags, turned to the left. + +"That is my comrade," Nekhludoff said to his sister, pointing to +Tarass, whose story he had told her before. + +"What, are you taking the third class?" asked Natalia Ivanovna, when +Nekhludoff stopped before a third-class car and the porter, with +Tarass, entered it. + +"Yes, I will have it more convenient then. Tarass is with me. Another +thing," he added. "I have not yet given the Kusminskoie land to the +peasants. So that, in case of my death, your children will inherit +it." + +"Dmitri, don't talk that way," said Natalia Ivanovna. + +"And if I do give it away, then all I have to tell you is that the +remainder will be theirs, for I shall hardly marry. And if I do, there +will be no children--so that----" + +"Dmitri, please stop it," said Natalia Ivanovna; but Nekhludoff saw +that she was glad to hear what he was saying. + +The time for parting had come. The conductors were closing the doors, +inviting the passengers to take seats, others to leave the cars. + +Nekhludoff entered the heated and ill-smelling car and immediately +appeared on its platform. Natalia Ivanovna was standing opposite, and +evidently wished to say something, but could not find words. She could +not say "_ecrivez_," because they had long been ridiculing the +customary phrase of parting friends. The conversation about financial +affairs and the inheritance at once destroyed the tender relations +they had resumed. They now felt themselves estranged from each other. +So that Natalia Ivanovna was glad when the train began to move and she +could say, with a smile: "Well, Dmitri, good-by!" As soon as the train +left she began to think how to tell her husband of her conversation +with her brother, and her face became grave and worried. + +And though Nekhludoff entertained the best sentiments toward his +sister, and he concealed nothing from her, he now felt estranged from +her, and was glad to be rid of her. He felt that the Natasha of old +was no more; that there was only a slave of an unpleasant, dark, hairy +man with whom he had nothing in common. He plainly saw this, because +her face became illumined with peculiar animation only when he spoke +of that which interested her husband--of the distribution of the land +among the peasants, and of the inheritance. This made him sad. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + +The heat in the large car of the third class, due to its exposure to +the scorching sun rays and the large crowd within, was so suffocating +that Nekhludoff remained on the platform. But there was no relief even +there, and he drew in long breaths when the train rolled out beyond +the houses and the movement of the train created a draught. "Yes, +killed," he repeated to himself. And to his imagination appeared with +unusual vividness the beautiful face of the second dead convict, with +a smile on his lips, the forbidding expression of his forehead, and +the small, strong ear under the shaved, bluish scalp. "And the worst +part of it is that he was killed, and no one knows who killed him. Yet +he was killed. He was forwarded, like the others, at the order of +Maslenikoff. Maslenikoff probably signed the usual order with his +foolish flourish, on a printed letter-head, and, of course, does not +consider himself guilty. The prison physician, who inspected the +convicts, has still less reason for considering himself guilty. He +carefully fulfilled his duties, separated the weak ones, and could not +possibly foresee either the terrible heat, or that they would be taken +away so late and in such a crowd. The inspector? But the inspector +only carried out the order that on such a day so many men and women +prisoners should be sent away. No more guilty was the officer of the +convoy, whose duty consisted in receiving so many people at such a +place and delivering them at another place. He led the party in the +usual way, according to instructions, and could not possibly foresee +that such strong men, like the two whom Nekhludoff had seen, would +succumb and die. No one was guilty, and yet the men were killed by +these very people who were innocent of their death. + +"All this happened," thought Nekhludoff, "because all those +people--the governor, inspector and the other officers--saw before +them, not human beings and their duties toward them, but the service +and its requirements. Therein lies the difficulty." + +In his meditation Nekhludoff did not notice how the weather had +changed. The sun had hidden behind a low strip of cloud, and from the +southern sky a light-gray mass, from which a slanting rain was already +pouring in the distance over the fields and forests, was coming on. +Now and then a flash of lightning rent the clouds, and the rattle of +the train mingled with the rattle of thunder. The clouds came nearer +and nearer, the slanting drops of rain, driven by the wind, pattered +on the platform of the car and stained Nekhludoff's overcoat. He moved +to the other side, and drawing in the fresh, humid air and the odor of +the wheat coming from the parched ground, he looked on the passing +gardens, forests; the rye fields just turning yellow, the emerald +streaks of oats, and the furrows of the dark-green, flowering potato. +Everything looked as if covered with varnish: the green and yellow +colors became brighter; the black became blacker. + +"More, more," said Nekhludoff, rejoicing at the reviving fields and +gardens under the abundant rain. + +The heavy rain did not last long. The clouds partly dissipated, and +the last fine shower fell straight on the wet ground. The sun came +forth again, the earth brightened, and a low but brilliant violet +tinged rainbow, broken at one end, appeared in the eastern horizon. + +"What was I thinking of?" Nekhludoff asked himself, when all these +changes of nature came to an end and the train descended into a vale. +"Yes, I was thinking that all those people--the inspector, the guard +and all those servants, for the most part gentle, kind people--have +become wicked." + +He recalled the indifference of Maslenikoff when he told the latter of +what was going on in the prison, of the severity of the inspector, the +cruelty of the sergeant who refused the use of the wagons to the weak +convicts and paid no attention to the suffering of the woman in +child-birth. All those people were evidently proof against the feeling +of sympathy, "as is this paved ground against rain," he thought, +looking at the incline paved with multi-colored stone, from which the +water streamed off. "May be it is necessary to lay the stones on the +incline, but it is sad to see the soil deprived of vegetation when it +could be made to grow grain, grass, shrubs and trees like those seen +on those heights. It is the same with people," thought Nekhludoff. +"The whole trouble lies in that people think that there are conditions +excluding the necessity of love in their intercourse with man, but +such conditions do not exist. Things may be treated without love; one +may chop wood, make bricks, forge iron without love, but one can no +more deal with people without love than one can handle bees without +care. The nature of bees is such that if you handle them carelessly +you will harm them as well as yourself. It is the same with people. +And it cannot be different, because mutual love is the basic law of +human life. True, man cannot compel himself to love, as he can compel +himself to work, but it does not follow from this that in his dealings +with men he can leave love out of consideration, especially if he +wants something from them. If you feel no love for people, then keep +away from them," Nekhludoff said to himself. "Occupy yourself with +things, yourself--anything; only keep away from people. As it is +harmful to eat except when one is hungry, so is it harmful to have +intercourse with people when one does not love them. If one permits +himself to deal with people without having any love for them, as I did +yesterday with my brother-in-law, there is no limit to the cruelty and +brutality one is liable to display toward others, as I have seen +to-day, and there is no limit to one's own suffering, as I have +learned from all the experiences of my own life. Yes, yes, that is +so," thought Nekhludoff, experiencing the double pleasure of a cool +breeze after the intolerable heat, and the consciousness of having +reached the highest degree of lucidity in the question which had so +long occupied him. + + + + +PART THIRD. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +The party of convicts to which Maslova belonged had gone about +thirty-five hundred miles. It was not until Perm was reached that +Nekhludoff succeeded in obtaining Maslova's transfer to the contingent +of politicals, as he was advised to do by Bogodukhovskaia, who was +among them. + +The journey to Perm was very burdensome to Maslova, both physically +and morally--physically because of the crowded condition of their +quarters, the uncleanliness and disgusting insects, which gave her no +rest; morally because of the equally loathsome men who, though they +changed at every stopping place, were like the insects, always +insolent, intrusive and gave her little rest. The cynicism prevailing +among the convicts and their overseers was such that every woman, +especially the young women, had to be on the alert. Maslova was +particularly subject to these attacks because of her attractive looks +and her well-known past. This condition of constant dread and struggle +was very burdensome to her. The firm repulse with which she met the +impertinent advances of the men was taken by them as an insult and +exasperated them. Her condition in this respect was somewhat relieved +by the presence of Theodosia and Tarass, who, learning that his wife +was subjected to these insults, had himself included among the +prisoners, and riding as such from Nijhni, was able to protect her to +some extent. + +Maslova's transfer to the division of the politicals bettered her +situation in every respect. Besides the improvement in the quarters, +food and treatment, her condition was also made easier by the fact +that the persecution of the men ceased and she was no longer reminded +of her past, which she was so anxious to forget now. The principal +advantage of the transfer, however, lay in the acquaintance she made +of some people who exerted a decisive influence over her. + +At stopping places she was permitted to mingle with the politicals, +but, being a strong woman, she was compelled to walk with the other +prisoners. She thus walked from Tomsk. There were two politicals who +traveled on foot with her--Maria Pablovna Stchetinina, the same pretty +girl with the sheepish eyes who had attracted Nekhludoff's attention +when visiting Bogodukhovskaia, and one Simonson, banished to +Yakoutsk--that same shaggy man with deep-set eyes whom Nekhludoff had +noticed on the same occasion. Maria Pablovna walked, because she +yielded her place on the wagon to a pregnant woman; Simonson, because +he would not profit by class advantages. These three started on foot +with the other convicts in the early morning, the politicals following +them later in wagons. It was at the last stopping place, near a large +city, where the party was handed over to another convoy officer. + +It was a chill September morning. Snow and rain fell alternately +between cold blasts of wind. All the prisoners--400 men and 50 +women--were already in the court-yard, some crowding around the chief +officer of the convoy, who was paying out money to the overseers for +the day's rations; others were buying food of the hucksters who had +been admitted into the court-yard. There were a din of prisoners' +voices counting money and the shrill conversation of the hucksters. + +Katiousha and Maria Pablovna, both in boots and short fur coats and +girdled with 'kerchiefs, came into the court-yard from the house and +walked toward the hucksters, who were sitting under the northern wall +and calling out their wares--fresh meat-pies, fish, boiled shred +paste, buckwheat mush, meat, eggs, milk; one woman even offered +roasted pig. + +Simonson, in rubber jacket and similar galoshes, bound with whip-cord +over woolen socks (he was a vegetarian and did not use the skin of +animals), was also awaiting the departure of the party. He stood near +the entrance of the house, writing down in a note-book a thought that +occurred to him. "If," he wrote, "a bacterium were to observe and +analyze the nail of a man, it would declare him an inorganic being. +Similarly, from an observation of the earth's surface, we declare it +to be inorganic. That is wrong." + +Having bought eggs, buns, fish and fresh wheat bread, Maslova packed +them away in a bag while Maria Pablovna settled for the food, when +among the prisoners there arose a commotion. Every one became silent, +and the prisoners began to form into ranks. An officer came forth and +gave final orders. + +Everything proceeded as usual--the prisoners were counted over, the +chains were examined and men were handcuffed in pairs. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +After six years of luxurious and pampered life in the city and two +months in prison among the politicals, her present life, +notwithstanding the hard conditions, seemed to Katiousha very +satisfactory. The journeys of fifteen or twenty miles on foot between +stopping places, the food and day's rest after two days' tramp, +strengthened her physically, while her association with her new +comrades opened up to her new phases of life of which she had formerly +no conception. + +She was charmed with all her new comrades. But above all, with Maria +Pablovna--nay, she even came to love her with a respectful and +exulting love. She was struck by the fact that a beautiful girl of a +rich and noble family, and speaking three languages, should conduct +herself like a common workingwoman, distribute everything sent her by +her rich brother, dress herself not only simply, but poorly, and pay +no attention to her appearance. This entire absence of coquetry +surprised and completely captivated Maslova. She saw that Maria +Pablovna knew, and that it even pleased her to know, that she was +pretty, but that so far from rejoicing at the impression she was +making on the men, she only feared it, and rather looked at love with +disgust and dread. If her male comrades, who knew her, felt any +attraction toward her they never showed it. But strangers often +attempted familiarities with her, and in such cases her great physical +strength stood her in good stead. "Once," she laughingly related, "I +was approached by a stranger on the street, whom I could not get rid +of. I then gave him such a shaking up that he ran away in fright." + +She also said that from childhood she had felt an aversion for the +life of the gentry, but loved the common folks, and was often chidden +for staying in the servants' quarters, the kitchen and the stable, +instead of the parlor. + +"But among the cooks and drivers I was always cheerful, while our +ladies and gentlemen used to worry me. Afterward, when I began to +understand, I saw that we were leading a wicked life. I had no mother, +and I did not like my father. At nineteen I left the house with a girl +friend and went to work in a factory," she said. + +From the factory she went to the country, then returned to the city, +where she was arrested and sentenced to hard labor. Maria Pablovna +never related it herself, but Katiousha learned from others that she +was sentenced to hard labor because she assumed the guilt of another. + +Since Katiousha came to know her she saw that Maria Pablovna, +everywhere and under all circumstances, never thought of herself, but +was always occupied in helping some one else. One of her present +comrades, jesting, said of her that she had given herself up to the +sport of charity. And that was true. Like a sportsman looking for +game, her entire activity consisted in finding occasion for serving +others. And this sport became a habit with her, her life's aim. And +she did it so naturally that all those that knew her ceased to +appreciate it, and demanded it as by right. + +When Maslova entered their ranks, Maria Pablovna felt a disgust and +loathing for her. Katiousha noticed it. But she also noticed afterward +that Maria Pablovna, making some effort, became particularly kind and +gentle toward her. The kindness and gentleness of such an uncommon +person so affected Maslova that she gave herself up to her with her +whole soul, unconsciously acquired her glance and involuntarily +imitated her in everything. + +They were also drawn together by that disgust which both felt toward +physical love. The one hated it, because she had experienced all the +horror of it; the other, because not having experienced it, she looked +upon it as something strange and at the same time disgusting and +offensive to human dignity. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +The influence exerted by Maria Pablovna over Katiousha was due to the +fact that Katiousha loved Maria Pablovna. There was another +influence--that of Simonson, and that was due to the fact that +Simonson loved Katiousha. + +Simonson decided everything by the light of his reason, and having +once decided upon a thing, he never swerved. While yet a student he +made up his mind that the wealth of his father, who was an officer of +the Commissary Department, was dishonestly accumulated. He then +declared to him that his wealth ought to be returned to the people. +And when he was reprimanded he left the house and refused to avail +himself of his father's means. Having come to the conclusion that all +evil can be traced to the people's ignorance, he joined the Democrats, +on leaving the university, and obtaining the position of village +teacher, he boldly preached before his pupils and the peasants that +which he considered to be just, and denounced that which he considered +unjust and false. + +He was arrested and prosecuted. + +During the trial he decided that the court had no right to judge him, +and said so. The judges disagreeing with him and proceeding with the +trial, he concluded not to answer their questions and remained silent. +He was sentenced to exile in the Government of Archangel. There he +formulated a religious creed defining all his actions. According to +this religious teaching nothing in the world is dead, there is life in +everything; all those things which we consider dead, inorganic, are +but parts of a huge organic body which we cannot embrace, and that, as +a part of a huge organism, man's aim should be to conserve the life of +that organism and the lives of all its parts. He therefore considered +it a crime to destroy life; was against war, executions, the killing +in any manner not only of human beings, but of animals. He also had +his theory of marriage, according to which the breeding of people was +man's lower function, his higher function consisting in conserving +life already existing. He found confirmation of this idea in the +existence of phagocites in the blood. Bachelors, according to him, +were the same phagocites whose function was to help the weak, sickly +parts of the organism. And true to his convictions, he had been +performing this function since he became convinced of the truth of the +theory, although as a youth he had led a different life. He called +himself, as well as Maria Pablovna, a phagocite of the world. + +His love for Katiousha did not violate this theory, since it was +purely platonic. He assumed that such love not only did not prevent +his phagocite activity, but aided it. + +And it was this man who, falling in love with Katiousha, had a +decisive influence over her. With the instincts of a woman, Maslova +soon discovered it, and the consciousness that she could arouse the +feeling of love in such a remarkable man raised her in her own +estimation. Nekhludoff offered to marry her out of magnanimity, and +the obligation for the past, but Simonson loved her as she was now, +and loved her simply because he loved her. She felt, besides, that he +considered her an unusual woman, distinguished from all other women, +and possessing high moral qualities. She did not know exactly what +those qualities were, but, at all events, not to deceive him, she +endeavored with all her power to call forth her best qualities and, +necessarily, be as good as she could be. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +Nekhludoff managed to see Maslova only twice between Nijhni and +Perm--once in Nijhni while the prisoners were being placed on a +net-covered lighter, and again in the office of the Perm prison. On +both occasions he found her secretive and unkind. When he asked her +about her prison conditions, or whether she wanted anything, she +became confused and answered evasively and, as it seemed to him, with +that hostile feeling of reproach which she had manifested before. And +this gloomy temper, due only to the persecutions to which she was +being subjected by the men, tormented him. + +But at their very first meeting in Tomsk she became again as she was +before her departure. She no longer frowned or became confused when +she saw him, but, on the contrary, met him cheerfully and simply, +thanking him for what he had done for her, especially for bringing her +in contact with her present company. + +After two months of journey from prison to prison, this change also +manifested itself in her appearance. She became thin, sun-burnt and +apparently older; wrinkles appeared on her temples and around her +mouth; she no longer curled her hair on her forehead, but wore a +'kerchief on her head, and neither in her dress, coiffure, nor in her +conduct were there any signs of her former coquetry. And this change +called forth in Nekhludoff a particularly joyous feeling. The feeling +he now experienced toward her was unlike any he had experienced +before. It had nothing in common with his first poetic impulse, nor +with that sentimental love which he felt afterward, nor even with that +consciousness of a duty performed, coupled with self-admiration, which +impelled him, after the trial, to resolve on marrying her. It was that +same simple feeling of pity and contrition which he experienced at +their first meeting in the prison and afterward, with greater force, +when he conquered his disgust and forgave her conduct with the +physician's assistant in the hospital (the injustice he had done her +had subsequently become plain). It was the same feeling with the +difference that, while it was temporary then, now it was permanent. + +During this period, because of Maslova's transfer to the politicals, +Nekhludoff became acquainted with many political prisoners. On closer +acquaintance he was convinced that they were not all villains, as many +people imagined them to be, nor all heroes, as some of them considered +the members of their party, but that they were ordinary people, among +whom, as in other parties, some were good, some bad, the others +indifferent. + +He became particularly attached to a consumptive young man who was on +his way to a life term at hard labor. The story of the young man was a +very short one. His father, a rich Southern landlord, died while he +was a child. He was the only son, and was brought up by his mother. He +was the best scholar in the university, making his specialty +mathematics. He was offered a chair in the university and a course +abroad. But he hesitated. There was a girl of whom he became enamored, +so he contemplated marriage and political activity. He wished +everything, but resolved on nothing. At that time his college chums +asked him for money for a common cause. He knew what that common cause +was, and at the time took no interest in it whatever, but from a +feeling of fellowship and egoism gave the money, that it might not be +thought that he was afraid. Those who took the money were arrested; a +note was found from which it was learned that the money had been given +by Kryltzoff. He was arrested, taken to the police station, then to +the prison. + +After his discharge he traveled now South, now to St. Petersburg, then +abroad, and again to Kieff and to Odessa. He was denounced by a man in +whom he placed great faith. He was arrested, tried, kept in prison two +years and finally death sentence was imposed on him, but was afterward +commuted to hard labor for life. + +He was stricken with consumption while in prison, and under the +present circumstances had but a few months to live, and he knew it. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +At last Nekhludoff succeeded in obtaining permission to visit Maslova +in her cell among the politicals. + +While passing the dimly-lighted court-yard from the officers' +headquarters to "No. 5," escorted by a messenger, he heard a stir and +buzzing of voices coming from the one-story dwelling occupied by the +prisoners. And when he came nearer and the door was opened, the +buzzing increased and turned into a Babel of shouting, cursing and +laughing. A rattling of chains was heard, and a familiar noisome air +was wafted from the doorway. The din of voices with the rattle of +chains, and the dreadful odor always produced in Nekhludoff the +tormenting feeling of some moral nausea, turning into physical +nausea. These two impressions, mingling, strengthened each other. + +The apartment occupied by the political prisoners consisted of two +small cells, the doors of which opened into the corridor, partitioned +off from the rest. As Nekhludoff got beyond the partition he noticed +Simonson feeding a billet of pine wood into the oven. + +Spying Nekhludoff he looked up without rising and extended his hand. + +"I am glad you came; I want to see you!" he said, with a significant +glance, looking Nekhludoff straight in the eyes. + +"What is it?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"I will tell you later; I am busy now." + +And Simonson again occupied himself with making the fire, which he did +according to his special theory of the greatest conservation of heat +energy. + +Nekhludoff was about to enter the first door when Maslova, broom in +hand, and sweeping a heap of dirt and dust toward the oven, emerged +from the second door. She wore a white waist and white stockings and +her skirt was tucked up under the waist. A white 'kerchief covered her +head to her very eyebrows. Seeing Nekhludoff, she unbent herself and, +all red and animated, put aside the broom, and wiping her hands on her +skirt, she stood still. + +"You are putting things in order?" asked Nekhludoff, extending his +hand. + +"Yes, my old occupation," she answered and smiled. "There is such dirt +here; there is no end to our cleaning." + +"Well, is the plaid dry?" she turned to Simonson. + +"Almost," said Simonson, glancing at her in a manner which struck +Nekhludoff as very peculiar. + +"Then I will fetch the furs to dry. All our people are there," she +said to Nekhludoff, going to the further room and pointing to the +nearest door. + +Nekhludoff opened the door and walked into a small cell, dimly lighted +by a little metallic lamp standing on a low bunk. The cell was cold +and there was an odor of dust, dampness and tobacco. The tin lamp +threw a bright light on those around it, but the bunks were in the +shade and vacillating shadows moved along the walls. In the small +room were all the prisoners, except two men who had gone for boiling +water and provisions. There was an old acquaintance of Nekhludoff, the +yellow-faced and thin Vera Efremovna, with her large, frightened eyes +and a big vein on her forehead. She was sitting nervously rolling +cigarettes from a heap of tobacco lying on a newspaper in front of +her. + +In the far corner there was also Maria Pablovna. + +"How opportune your coming! How you seen Katia?" she asked Nekhludoff. + +There was also Anatolie Kryltzoff. Pale and wasted, his legs crossed +under him, bending forward and shivering, he sat in the far corner, +his hands hidden in the sleeves of his fur jacket, and with feverish +eyes looked at Nekhludoff. Nekhludoff was about to approach him, but +to the right of the entrance, sorting something in a bag and talking +to the pretty and smiling Grabetz, sat a man with curly red hair, in a +rubber jacket and with spectacles. His name was Novodvoroff, and +Nekhludoff hastened to greet him. Of all political prisoners, +Nekhludoff liked him best. Novodvoroff glanced over his spectacles at +Nekhludoff and, frowning, he extended his thin hand. + +"Well, are you enjoying your journey?" he said, evidently in irony. + +"Yes, there are many interesting things," answered Nekhludoff, +pretending not to see the irony, and treating it as a civility. Then +he went over to Kryltzoff. In appearance Nekhludoff seemed to be +indifferent, but in reality he was far from being so to Novodvoroff. +These words of Novodvoroff, and his evident desire to say something +unpleasant, jarred upon his kindly sentiments, and he became gloomy +and despondent. + +"Well, how is your health?" he said, pressing Kryltzoff's cold and +trembling hand. + +"Pretty fair, only I cannot get warm; I am all wet," said Kryltzoff, +hastily hiding his hand in the sleeve of his coat. "Those windows are +broken." He pointed to the windows behind the iron gratings. "Why did +you not come before?" + +Expecting to have a private conversation with Katiousha, Nekhludoff +sat conversing with Kryltzoff. Kryltzoff listened attentively, fixedly +gazing at Nekhludoff. + +"Yes," he said, suddenly, "I have often thought that we were going +into exile with those very people on account of whom we were banished. +And yet we not only do not know them, but do not wish to know them. +And, worse of all, they hate us and consider us their enemies. This is +dreadful." + +"There is nothing dreadful about it," said Novodvoroff, overhearing +the conversation. "The masses are always churlish and ignorant." + +At that moment there was an outburst of curses behind the partition +wall, followed by a jostling and banging against walls, a clatter of +chains, screaming and shouting. Some one was being beaten; some one +shouted "Help!" + +"See those beasts! What have they in common with us?" calmly asked +Novodvoroff. + +"You call them beasts, but you should have heard Nekhludoff telling of +the conduct of one of them," Kryltzoff said excitedly. + +"You are sentimental!" Novodvoroff said, ironically. "It is hard for +us to understand the emotions of these people and the motives of their +acts. Where you see magnanimity, there may only be envy." + +"Why is it you do not wish to see good in others?" said Maria +Pablovna, suddenly becoming excited. + +"I cannot see that which does not exist." + +"How can you say it does not exist when a man risks a terrible death?" + +"I think," said Novodvoroff, "that if we wish to serve our cause +effectively it is necessary that we stop dreaming and look at things +as they are. We must do everything for the masses, and expect nothing +from them. The masses are the object of our activity, but they cannot +be our collaborators while they are as inert as they are now. And it +is, therefore, perfectly illusive to expect aid from them before they +have gone through the process of development--that process of +development for which we are preparing them." + +"What process of development?" said Kryltzoff, becoming red in the +face. "We say that we are against the use of force, but is this not +force in its worst form?" + +"There is no force here," calmly said Novodvoroff. "I only said that +I know the path the people must follow, and can point it out." + +"But how do you know that yours is the right path? Is it not the same +despotism which gave rise to the Inquisition and the executions of the +Great Revolution? They, too, knew the only scientific path." + +"The fact that people erred does not prove that I am erring. Besides, +there is a great difference between the ravings of ideologists and the +data of positive economic science." + +Novodvoroff's voice filled the entire cell. He alone was speaking; all +the others were silent. + +"Those eternal discussions!" said Maria Pablovna at a momentary lull. + +"And what do you think of it?" Nekhludoff asked Maria Pablovna. + +"I think that Anatolie is right--that we have no right to force our +ideas on the people." + +"That is a strange conception of our ideas," said Novodvoroff, and he +began to smoke angrily. + +"I cannot talk to them," Kryltzoff said in a whisper, and became +silent. + +"And it is much better not to talk," said Nekhludoff. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +An officer entered the cell and announced that the time for departing +had arrived. He counted every prisoner, pointing at every one with his +finger. When he reached Nekhludoff he said, familiarly: + +"It is too late to remain now, Prince; it is time to go." + +Nekhludoff, knowing what that meant, approached him and thrust three +rubles into his hand. + +"Nothing can be done with you--stay here a while longer." + +Simonson, who was all the while silently sitting on his bunk, his +hands clasped behind his head, firmly arose, and carefully making his +way through those sitting around the bunk, went over to Nekhludoff. + +"Can you hear me now?" asked Simonson. + +"Certainly," said Nekhludoff, also rising to follow him. + +Maslova saw Nekhludoff rising, and their eyes meeting, she turned red +in the face and doubtfully, as it seemed, shook her head. + +"My business with you is the following," began Simonson, when they +reached the corridor. "Knowing your relations toward Catherine +Michaelovna," and he looked straight into Nekhludoff's face, "I +consider it my duty----" But at the very door two voices were shouting +at the same time. + +"I tell you, heathen, they are not mine," shouted one voice. + +"Choke yourself, you devil!" the other said, hoarsely. + +At that moment Maria Pablovna entered the corridor. + +"You cannot talk here," she said. "Walk in here; only Verotchka is +there." And she opened the door of a tiny cell, evidently intended for +solitary confinement, and now at the disposal of the political +prisoners. On one of the bunks lay Vera Efremovna, with her head +covered. + +"She is ill and asleep; she cannot hear you, and I will go," said +Maria Pablovna. + +"On the contrary, stay here," said Simonson. "I keep nothing secret, +especially from you." + +"Very well," said Maria Pablovna, and childishly moving her whole body +from side to side, and thus getting into a snug corner of the bunks, +she prepared to listen, at the same time looking somewhere in the +distance with her beautiful, sheepish eyes. + +"Well, then, knowing your relations toward Catherine Michaelovna, I +consider it my duty to let you know my relations to her." + +"Well, go on," said Nekhludoff, involuntarily admiring Simonson's +simplicity and straightforwardness. + +"I wished to tell you that I would like to marry Catherine +Michaelovna----" + +"Remarkable!" exclaimed Maria Pablovna, fixing her gaze on Simonson. + +"And I have decided to ask her to be my wife," continued Simonson. + +"What, then, can I do? It depends on her," said Nekhludoff. + +"Yes; but she would not decide the matter without you." + +"Why?" + +"Because, while the question of your relations remains undecided, she +cannot choose." + +"On my part the question is definitely decided. I only wished to do +that which I considered it my duty to do, and also to relieve her +condition, but in no case did I intend to influence her choice." + +"Yes; but she does not wish your sacrifice." + +"There is no sacrifice." + +"And I also know that her decision is irrevocable." + +"Why, then, talk to me?" said Nekhludoff. + +"It is necessary for her that you should also approve of it." + +"I can only say that I am not free, but she is free to do what she +wishes." + +Simonson began to ponder. + +"Very well, I will tell her so. Do not think that I am in love with +her," he continued. "I admire her as a good, rare person who has +suffered much. I wish nothing from her, but I would very much like to +help her, to relieve her----" + +Simonson's trembling voice surprised Nekhludoff. + +"To relieve her condition," continued Simonson. "If she does not wish +to accept your help, let her accept mine. If she consented, I would +ask permission to join her in prison. Four years is not an eternity. I +would live near her, and perhaps lighten her fate----" His emotion again +compelled him to stop. + +"What can I say?" said Nekhludoff. "I am glad that she has found such +a protector." + +"That is just what I wanted to know," continued Simonson. "I wished to +know whether you, loving her and seeking her good, could approve of +her marrying me?" + +"Oh, yes," Nekhludoff answered, decisively. + +"It is all for her; all I wish is that that woman, who had suffered so +much, should have some rest," said Simonson, with a childlike +gentleness that no one would expect from a man of such gloomy aspect. + +Simonson rose, took Nekhludoff's hand, smiled bashfully and embraced +him. + +"Well, I will so tell her," he said, and left the room. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +"What do you think of him?" said Maria Pablovna. "In love, and +earnestly in love! I never thought that Vladimir Simonson could fall +in love in such a very stupid, childish fashion. It is remarkable, and +to tell the truth, sad," she concluded, sighing. + +"But Katia? How do you think she will take it?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"She?" Maria Pablovna stopped, evidently desiring to give a precise +answer. "She? You see, notwithstanding her past, she is naturally of a +most moral character. And her feelings are so refined. She loves +you--very much so--and is happy to be able to do you the negative good +of not binding you to herself. Marriage with you would be a dreadful +fall to her, worse than all her past. For this reason she would never +consent to it. At the same time, your presence perplexes her." + +"Ought I then to disappear?" asked Nekhludoff. + +Maria Pablovna smiled in her pleasant, childish way. + +"Yes, partly." + +"How can I partly disappear?" + +"I take it back. But I will tell you that she probably sees the +absurdity of that exalted love of his (he has not spoken to her about +it), is flattered by it, and fears it. You know that I am not +competent in these matters, but I think that his love is that of the +ordinary man, although it is masked. He says that it rouses his energy +and that it is a platonic love; but it has nothing but nastiness for +its basis." + +"But what am I to do?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"I think it is best that you have a talk with her. It is always better +to make everything clear. Shall I call her?" said Maria Pablovna. + +"If you please," answered Nekhludoff, and Maria Pablovna went out. + +Nekhludoff was seized with a strange feeling when, alone in the small +cell, he listened to the quiet breathing of Vera Efremovna, +interrupted by an occasional moan, and the constant din coming from +the cells of the convicts. + +That which Simonson had told him freed him from his self-imposed +obligation, which, in a moment of weakness, seemed to him burdensome +and dreadful; and yet it was not only unpleasant, but painful. The +offer of Simonson destroyed the exclusiveness of his act, minimized in +his own and other people's eyes the value of the sacrifice he was +making. If such a good man as Simonson, who was under no obligation to +her, wished to join his fate to hers, then his own sacrifice was no +longer so important. Maybe there was also the ordinary feeling of +jealousy; he was so used to her love that he could not think that she +was capable of loving any one else. Besides, his plans were now +shattered, especially the plan of living near her while she served her +sentence. If she married Simonson, his presence was no longer +necessary, and that required a rearrangement of his projects. He could +scarcely collect his thoughts, when Katiousha entered the cell. + +With quick step she approached him. + +"Maria Pablovna sent me," she said, stopping near him. + +"Yes, I would like to talk with you. Take a seat. Vladimir Ivanovitch +spoke to me." + +She seated herself, crossed her hands on her knees, and seemed calm. +But as soon as Nekhludoff pronounced Simonson's name, her face turned +a purple color. + +"What did he tell you?" she asked. + +"He told me that he wishes to marry you." + +Her face suddenly became wrinkled, evidencing suffering, but she +remained silent, only looking at the floor. + +"He asked my consent or advice. I told him that it all rests with you; +that you must decide." + +"Oh, what is it all for?" she said, and looked at Nekhludoff with that +squinting glance that always peculiarly affected him. For a few +seconds they looked silently at each other. That glance was +significant to both. + +"You must decide," repeated Nekhludoff. + +"Decide what?" she said. "It has all been decided long ago. It is you +who must decide whether you will accept the offer of Vladimir +Ivanovitch," she continued, frowning. + +"But if a pardon should come?" said Nekhludoff. + +"Oh, leave me alone. It is useless to talk any more," she answered, +and, rising, left the cell. + +Gaining the street, Nekhludoff stopped, and, expanding his chest, drew +in the frosty air. + +The following morning a soldier brought him a note from Maria +Pablovna, in which she said that Kryltzoff's condition was worse than +they thought it to be. + +"At one time we intended to remain here with him, but they would not +allow it. So we are taking him with us, but we fear the worst. Try to +so arrange in town that if he is left behind some one of us shall +remain with him. If it is necessary for that purpose that I should +marry him, then, of course, I am ready to do it." + +Nekhludoff obtained horses and hastened to catch up with the party of +prisoners. He stopped his team near the wagon carrying Kryltzoff on a +bed of hay and pillows. Beside Kryltzoff sat Maria Pablovna. +Kryltzoff, in a fur coat and lambskin cap, seemed thinner and more +pale than before. His beautiful eyes seemed particularly larger and +sparkling. Weakly rolling from side to side from the jostling of the +wagon, he steadily looked at Nekhludoff, and in answer to questions +about his health, he only closed his eyes and angrily shook his head. +It required all his energy to withstand the jostling of the wagon. +Maria Pablovna exchanged glances with Nekhludoff, expressing +apprehension concerning Kryltzoff's condition. + +"The officer seems to have some shame in him," she shouted, so as to +be heard above the rattling of the wheels. "He removed the handcuffs +from Bouzovkin, who is now carrying his child. With him are Katia, +Simonson and, in my place, Verotchka." + +Kryltzoff, pointing at Maria Pablovna, said something which could not, +however, be heard. Nekhludoff leaned over him in order to hear him. +Then Kryltzoff removed the handkerchief, which was tied around his +mouth, and whispered: + +"Now I am better. If I could only keep from catching cold." + +Nekhludoff nodded affirmatively and glanced at Maria Pablovna. + +"Have you received my note, and will you do it?" asked Maria Pablovna. + +"Without fail," said Nekhludoff, and seeing the dissatisfied face of +Kryltzoff, went over to his own team, climbed into the wagon, and +holding fast to the sides of it, drove along the line of gray-coated +and fettered prisoners which stretched for almost a mile. + +Nekhludoff crossed the river to a town, and his driver took him to a +hotel, where, notwithstanding the poor appointments, he found a +measure of comfort entirely wanting in the inns of his stopping +places. He took a bath, dressed himself in city clothes and drove to +the governor of the district. He alighted at a large, handsome +building, in front of which stood a sentry and a policeman. + +The general was ill, and did not receive. Nekhludoff, nevertheless, +asked the porter to take his card to the general, and the porter +returned with a favorable answer: + +"You are asked to step in." + +The vestibule, the porter, the messenger, the shining floor of the +hall--everything reminded him of St. Petersburg, only it was somewhat +dirtier and more majestic. Nekhludoff was admitted to the cabinet. + +The general, bloated, with a potato nose and prominent bumps on his +forehead, hairless pate and bags under his eyes, a man of sanguine +temperament, was reclining in a silk morning gown, and with a +cigarette in his hand, was drinking tea from a silver saucer. + +"How do you do, sir? Excuse my receiving you in a morning gown; it is +better than not receiving at all," he said, covering his stout, +wrinkled neck with the collar of his gown. "I am not quite well, and +do not go out. What brought you into these wilds?" + +"I was following a party of convicts, among whom is a person near to +me," said Nekhludoff. "And now I come to see Your Excellency about +that person, and also another affair." + +The general inhaled the smoke of his cigarette, took a sip of tea, +placed his cigarette in a malachite ash-holder, and steadily gazing +with his watery, shining eyes at Nekhludoff, listened gravely. He only +interrupted Nekhludoff to ask him if he wished to smoke. + +Nekhludoff told the general that the person in whom he was interested +was a woman, that she was unjustly convicted, and that His Majesty's +clemency had been appealed to. + +"Yes. Well?" said the general. + +"I was promised in St. Petersburg that the news of this woman's fate +would be sent to this place not later than this month." + +Looking steadily at Nekhludoff, the general asked: + +"Anything else?" + +"My second request would be concerning the political prisoner who is +going to Siberia with this detachment." + +"Is that so?" said the general. + +"He is very sick--he is a dying man. And he will probably be left here +in the hospital; for this reason one of the female prisoners would +like to remain with him." + +"Is she a relative of his?" + +"No. But she wishes to marry him, if it will allow her to stay with +him." + +The general looked sharply at Nekhludoff from his shining eyes, and, +smoking continually, he kept silence, as if wishing to confound his +companion. + +When Nekhludoff had finished he took a book from the table, and +frequently wetting the fingers with which he turned the leaves, he +lighted on the chapter treating of marriage and perused it. + +"What's her sentence?" he asked, lifting his eyes from the book. + +"Hers? Hard labor." + +"If this is the case, the sentence cannot be changed by marriage." + +"But----" + +"I beg your pardon! If a free man would marry her she would have to +serve her sentence all the same. Whose sentence is harder, his or +hers?" + +"Both are sentenced to hard labor." + +"So they are quits," the general said, laughing. "An equal share for +both of them. He may be left here on account of his sickness," he +continued, "and, of course, everything will be done to ameliorate his +condition, but she, even if she should marry him, cannot remain here. +Anyhow, I will think it over. What are their names? Write them down +here." + +Nekhludoff did as he was asked. + +"And this I cannot do either," said the general, concerning his +request to see the patient. "Of course I don't suspect you, but you +are interested in them and in others. You have money, and the people +here are corrupt. How, then, is it possible for me to watch a person +who is five thousand miles distant from me? There he is king, as I am +here," and he began to laugh. "You have surely seen the political +prisoners. You have surely given them money," he added, smiling. +"Isn't it so?" + +"Yes, it is true." + +"I understand that you must act in this way. You want to see the +political prisoner, and you all sorrow for him, and the soldier on +guard will surely take money, because he has a family, and his salary +amounts to something less than nothing; he cannot afford to refuse. I +would do the same were I in yours or his place. But, being situated as +I am now, I cannot permit myself to disobey one iota of the law, for +the very reason that I, too, am no more than a man, and am liable to +yield to pity. They confide in me under certain conditions, and I, by +my actions, must prove that I am trustworthy. So this question is +settled. Well, now tell me what is going on at the metropolis?" + +Then the general put various questions, as if he would like to learn +some news. + +"Well, tell me now whom you are stopping with--at Duke's? It is +unpleasant there. Come to us to dinner," he said, finally, dismissing +Nekhludoff, "at five. Do you speak English?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, that is good. You see, there is an English traveler here. He is +studying the exile system, and the prisons in Siberia. So he will dine +with us, and you come, too. We dine at five, and madam wants us to be +punctual. I will let you know what will be done with that woman, and +also with the patient. Maybe it will be possible to leave somebody +with him." + +Having taken leave of the general, Nekhludoff drove to the +postoffice. Receiving his mail, he walked up to a wooden bench, on +which a soldier was sitting, probably waiting for something; he sat +down beside him, and started to look through the letters. Among them +he found a registered letter in a beautiful, large envelope, with a +large seal of red wax on it. He tore open the envelope, and, seeing a +letter from Selenin with some official document, he felt the blood +mounting to his cheeks, and his heart grow weak. This document was the +decision concerning Katiousha's trial. What was it? Was it possible +that it contained a refusal? Nekhludoff hastily ran over the letter, +written in small, hardly legible, broken handwriting, and breathed +freely. The decision was a favorable one. + +"Dear friend," wrote Selenin, "our last conversation made a strong +impression upon me. You were right concerning Maslova. I have looked +through the accusation. This could be corrected only through the +Commission for Petitions, to which you sent your petition. They let me +have a copy of the pardon, and here I send it to you, to the address +which the Countess Catherine Ivanovna gave me. I press your hand in +friendship." + +The news was pleasant and important. All that Nekhludoff could wish +for Katiousha and himself was realized. True, those changes in his +life changed his relations to her. But now, he thought, all that was +most important was to see her as quick as possible and bring her the +good news of her freedom. He thought that the copy he had in his hand +was sufficient for that. So he bade the cabman drive at once to the +prison. + +The superintendent of the prison told him that he could not admit him +without a permit from the general. The copy of the petition from their +majesty's bureau also did not prevail with the superintendent. He +positively refused admittance. He also refused to admit him to see +Kryltzoff. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +After the disappointment at the prison, Nekhludoff drove down to the +Governor's Bureau to find out whether they had received there any news +concerning the pardon of Maslova. There was no news there, so he drove +back to his hotel, and wrote at once to the lawyer and to Selenin +concerning it. Having finished the letters, he glanced at his watch; +it was already time to go to the general. + +On the way he thought again of how he might hand over the pardon to +Katiousha; of the place she would be sent to, and how he would live +with her. + +At dinner in the general's house all were not only very friendly to +Nekhludoff, but, as it seemed, very favorably inclined to him, as he +was a new, interesting personality. The general, who came in to dinner +with a white cross on his breast, greeted Nekhludoff like an old +friend. On the general's inquiry as to what he had done since he saw +him in the morning, Nekhludoff answered that he had been at the +postoffice, that he had found out the facts concerning the pardoning +of the person they were talking of in the morning, and he asked +permission to visit her. + +The general seemed displeased, began to frown and said nothing. + +"Will you have some whisky?" he said in French to the Englishman who +had walked up to him. The Englishman took some, and related that he +had been to see the cathedral of the city, and the factory, and +expressed the desire to see the great jail in which criminals were +confined on their way to Siberia. + +"This idea is excellent!" exclaimed the general, turning to +Nekhludoff. "You may go together. Give them a pass!" he added, turning +to his lieutenant. + +"What time do you wish to go?" Nekhludoff asked the Englishman. + +"I prefer to visit prisons in the evening," the Englishman replied. +"All are then at home, and there are no preparations." + +After dinner, Nekhludoff followed her into the ante-chamber, where +the Englishman was already waiting for him to visit the prison, as +they had agreed. Having taken leave of the whole family, he walked +out, followed by the Englishman. + +The sombre looking prison, the soldier on guard, the lantern behind +the gate, notwithstanding the pure white layer of snow which had +covered everything--the sidewalk, the roof and the walls--made a +gloomy impression. The proud looking superintendent, walking out to +the gate and glancing at Nekhludoff's pass in the light of the +lantern, shrugged his broad shoulders, but obeyed the order and +invited the visitors to follow him. He first led them to the yard, and +then to a door on the right hand and up the stairs leading to the +office. Offering them seats, he asked them in what way he could serve +them, and learning from Nekhludoff that he wished to see Maslova, he +sent the jailer for her and prepared himself to answer the questions +which the Englishman wished to ask him, before going to the cell. + +Nekhludoff translated the Englishman's questions. While they were +conversing they heard approaching footsteps, the door opened and the +jailer entered, followed by Katiousha in her prison garb, with a scarf +tied around her head. + +Nekhludoff rose and made a few steps toward her. She said nothing, but +her excited expression surprised him. Her face was lit up with a +wonderful decision. He had never seen her look like that. Now the +blood rushed to her face, and now she turned pale; now her fingers +twisted convulsively the edges of her jacket, now she looked at him, +and now she dropped her eyes. + +"You know what I called you for?" asked Nekhludoff. + +"Yes, he told me. But now I am decided. I will ask permission to go +with Vladimir Ivanovitch." She said this quickly, as if she had made +up her mind before what to say. + +"How with Vladimir Ivanovitch?" asked Nekhludoff. But she interrupted +him. + +"But if he wants me to live with him?" Here she stopped in fear, and +added, "I mean to stay with him. I could expect nothing better, and +perhaps I may be useful to him and others. What difference does it +make to me?" + +One of the two things had happened--either she had fallen in love +with Simonson and did not wish his sacrifice, which weighed so heavily +on him, or she was still in love with Nekhludoff and renounced him for +his own good, burning all bridges behind her, and throwing her +fortunes in the same scale with those of Simonson. Nekhludoff +understood it, and felt ashamed. + +"If you are in love with him," he said. + +"I never knew such people, you know. It is impossible not to love +them. And Vladimir is entirely unlike any person I have ever known." + +"Yes, certainly," said Nekhludoff. "He is an excellent man, and I +think----" + +Here she interrupted him, as if she were afraid that he would speak +too much, or she would not say everything. + +"You will forgive me for doing that which you did not wish. You, too, +must love." + +She said the very thing that he had just said to himself. + +But now he was no longer thinking so, but felt altogether different. +He felt not only shame, but pity. + +"Is it possible that all is at an end between us?" he said. + +"Yes, it looks like it," she answered, with a strange smile. + +"But nevertheless I would like to be useful to you." + +"To us," she said, glancing at Nekhludoff. "We don't need anything. I +am very much obliged to you. If it were not for you"--she wished to +say something, but her voice began to tremble. + +"I don't know which of us is under greater obligation to the other. +God will settle our accounts," said Nekhludoff. + +"Yes, God will settle them," she whispered. + +"Are you ready?" asked the Englishman. + +"Directly," answered Nekhludoff, and then he inquired of her what she +knew of Kryltzoff. + +She quieted down and calmly told him: + +"Kryltzoff became very weak on the road and was taken to the hospital. +Maria Pablovna wanted to become a nurse, but there is no answer yet." + +"Well, may I go?" she asked, noticing the Englishman who was waiting +for him. + +"I am not yet taking leave of you," said Nekhludoff, holding out his +hand to her. + +"Pardon me," she said in a low tone. + +Their eyes met, and in that strange, stern look, and in that pitiful +smile, with which she said not "good-by," but "pardon me," Nekhludoff +understood, that of the two suppositions concerning her decision the +latter was the right one. She still loved him and thought she would +mar his life by a union with him, and would free him by living with +Simonson. + +She pressed his hand, turned quickly, and left the room. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +Passing through the hall and the ill-smelling corridors, the +superintendent passed into the first building of the prison in which +those condemned to hard labor were confined. Entering the first room +in that building they found the prisoners stretched on their berths, +which occupied the middle of the room. Hearing the visitors enter they +all jumped down, and, clinking their chains, placed themselves beside +their berths, while their half-shaven heads were distinctly set off +against the gloom of the prison. Only two of the prisoners remained at +their places. One of them was a young man whose face was evidently +heated with fever; the other was an old man, who never left off +groaning. + +The Englishman asked whether the young man had been sick for a long +time. The superintendent replied that he had been taken sick that very +same morning, that the old man had had convulsions for a long time, +and that they kept him in prison because there was no place for him in +the hospital. + +The Englishman shook his head discontentedly, said that he would like +to say a few words to the prisoners, and asked Nekhludoff to translate +his remarks. It turned out that, besides the aim of his journey, which +was the description of the exile system--he had another one--the +preaching of the gospel, of salvation through faith. + +"Tell them that Christ pitied and loved them," he said to Nekhludoff, +"and that He died for them. He who will believe in Him will be saved." + +While he was saying this, all the prisoners were standing erect with +their hands by their sides. + +"Tell them," continued the Englishman, "that all I said will be found +in this book. Are there any among them who can read?" It turned out +that there were more than twenty who could. + +The Englishman took out a few leather-bound Bibles from his traveling +bag, and soon a number of muscular hands, terminating in long black +nails, were stretched out toward him, pushing each other aside in +order to reach the Testaments. He left two Testaments in this room, +and went to the next one. + +There the same thing occurred. There prevailed the same dampness and +ill-smells. But in this room, between the windows, an image of the +Virgin, before which a small lamp burned dimly, was hung up. To the +left side of the door stood the large vat. Here the prisoners were +stretched out on their berths, and in the same way they rose and +placed themselves in a row. Three of them remained in their places. +Two of these three lifted themselves and sat up, but the third one +remained stretched out, and did not even look at the visitors. These +latter ones were sick. The Englishman addressed them in the same +manner, and left two Testaments. + +From the cells in which those condemned to hard labor were imprisoned, +they passed over to the cells of the exiles, and finally those in +which the relatives who escorted the prisoners to Siberia were +awaiting the day appointed to start hence. + +Everywhere the same cold, hungry, idling, sickly, degraded, brutalized +human beings could be seen. + +The Englishman distributed his Bibles, and, being tired out, he walked +through the rooms saying "All right" to whatever the superintendent +told him concerning the prisons. + +They went out into the corridor. + +The Englishman, pointing to an open door, asked what that room was +for. + +"This is the prison morgue." + +"Oh!" exclaimed the Englishman, and he expressed a desire to enter. +This room was an ordinary room. A small lamp, fastened to the wall, +lit up the four bodies which were stretched on berths, with their +heads toward the wall and the feet protruding toward the door. The +first body, in a plain shirt, was that of a tall young man, with a +small, pointed beard and half-shaven head. The corpse was already +chilled, and its blue hands were folded over the breast. Beside him, +in a white dress and jacket, lay a bare-footed old woman, with thin +hair and wrinkled, yellowish face. Beside this old woman lay a corpse, +attired in blue. + +This color recalled something in Nekhludoff's memory. + +"And who is this third one?" he asked, mistrusting his own eyesight. + +"This one is a gentleman who was sent hither from the hospital," +replied the superintendent. + +Nekhludoff walked up to the body and touched the icy cold feet of +Kryltzoff. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +Nekhludoff, after parting with the Englishman, went straight to his +hotel, and walked about his room for a long time. The affair with +Katiousha was at an end. There was something ugly in the very memory +of it. But it was not that which grieved him. Some other affair of his +was yet unsettled--an affair which tortured him and required his +attention. In his imagination rose the gloomy scenes of the hundreds +and thousands of human beings pent up in the pestiferous air. The +laughter of the prisoners resounded in his ears. He saw again among +the dead bodies the beautiful, angry, waxen face of the dead +Kryltzoff; and the question whether he was mad, or all those who +commit those evils and think themselves wise were mad, bore in upon +his mind with renewed power, and he found no answer to it. The +principal difficulty consisted in finding an answer to the principal +question, which was: What should be done with those who became +brutalized in the struggle for life? + +When he became tired walking about the room he sat down on the +lounge, close by the lamp, and mechanically opened the Bible which the +Englishman had presented him, and which he had thrown on the table +while emptying his pockets. They say, he thought, that this Bible +contains the solution to all questions. So, opening it, he began to +read at the place at which it opened itself--Matt. x., 8. After a +while he inclined close to the lamp and became like one petrified. An +exultation, the like of which he had not experienced for a long time, +took possession of his soul, as though, after long suffering and +weariness, he found at last liberty and rest. He did not sleep the +whole night. As is the case with many who read the Bible for the first +time, he now, on reading it again, grasped the full meaning of words +which he had known long ago, but which he had not understood before. +Like a sponge that absorbs everything, so he absorbed everything that +was important, necessary and joyful. + +"That is the principal thing," thought Nekhludoff. "We all live in the +silly belief that we ourselves are the lords of our world, that this +world has been given us for our enjoyment. But this is evidently +untrue. Somebody must have sent us here for some reason. And for this +reason it is plain that we will suffer like those laborers suffer who +do not fulfill the wishes of their Master. The will of the Lord is +expressed in the teachings of Christ. Let man obey Him, and the +Kingdom of the Lord will come on earth, and man will derive the +greatest possible good. + +"_Seek the truth and the Kingdom of God, and the rest will come of +itself._ We seek that which is to come, and do not find it, and not +only do we not build the Kingdom of God, but we destroy it. + +"So this will henceforth be the task of my life!" + +And indeed, from that night a new life began for Nekhludoff; not so +much because he had risen into a new stage of existence, but because +all that had happened to him till then assumed for him an altogether +new meaning. + + +THE END. + + + * * * * * + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: +(Not part of the original book.) + +Below are listed the spelling inconsistencies in the names of certain +characters. The names were transcribed to match the original text +except where typos are assumed to have caused the variations. Changes +from the original are noted below, except for minor punctuation +corrections. + +Absence changed to absent from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. VI, + Pg. 25): + + He was postponing the case against the Skoptzy, although + the absence witness was an entirely unnecessary one. + +Birukova (Theodosia) (1 time) +Brinkova (Theodosia) (1 time) + +Borki (village) (1 time) +Borkoff (village) (1 time) +Barkoff (village) (1 time) + +Chapter (3 times) +Chepter (1 time), changed to Chapter from original sentence (Part 1, + Ch. XLIII, Pg. 153): + + "To the Department of Cassation, etc., etc., Katherine, etc. + Petition. By the decision, etc., of the etc., rendered, etc., + a certain Maslova was found guilty of taking the life, by + poisoning, of a certain merchant Smelkoff, and in pursuance + of Chepter 1,454 of the Code, was sentenced to etc., with + hard labor, etc." + +Daus changed to dans, from original sentence (Part 2, Ch. IX, Pg. 229): + + Il donne daus le spiritisme. + +Dmitri (22 times) +Dimitri (3 times) + +Dvorianskaia (1 time) +Dvorinskaia (1 time) + +Fanarin (11 times) +Fanirin (19 times) + +Fomer changed to former, from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XLIII, + Pg. 151): + + Not only was the old arrangement of things continued, but, + as in fomer times, the house received a general cleaning. + +Gerasimovich (7 times) +Gerasimovitch (8 times) + +Ivanova (Bochkova) (1 time) +Ivanovna (Bochkova) (1 time) + +Ivanovich (Dmitri) (14 times) +Ivanovitch (Dmitri) (3 time) + +Kamensky (2 times) +Kanesky (1 time) + +Katherine (Michaelovna Maslova) (15 times) +Catherine (Michaelovna Maslova) (3 times) + +Katiousha (122 times) +Katiusha (3 times) + +Korableva (39 times) +Korabeva (1 time), changed to Korableva from original sentence (Part 1, + Ch. XLVI, Pg. 164): + + "Well, girl, good times are coming," said Korabeva to + Maslova when the latter returned to the cell. + +Kornei (8 times) +Kornci (1 time), changed to Kornei from original sentence (Part 2, + Ch. VI, Pg. 215): + + The odor of camphor still hung in the air through all the + rooms, and Agrippina, Petrovna and Kornci seemed tired out + and dissatisfied, and even quarreled about the packing of + the things, the use of which seemed to consist chiefly in + being hung out, dried and packed away again. + +Kryltzoff (22 times) +Kyrltzoff (1 time), changed to Kryltzoff from original sentence + (Part 3, Ch. V, Pg. 301): + + "I cannot talk to them," Kyrltzoff said in a whisper, and + became silent. + +Kusminskoie (8 times) +Kusminskoi (1 time), changed to Kusminskoie from original sentence + (Part 2, Ch. V, Pg. 215): + + Recalling now the feeling of pity over the loss of his + property which he had experienced in Kusminskoi, Nekhludoff + wondered how he could have done so. + +Kusminskoe (1 time), changed to Kusminskoie from original sentence + (Part 2, Ch. XXIV, Pg. 286): + + "I have not yet given the Kusminskoe land to the peasants." + +Maslova (294 times) +Moslova (3 times) + +Two occurrences of Moslova kept as in original, as they could be +interpreted as her name misspelled on the prison list, and Nekhludoff +asking for her by that name. The third was considered a typo and +changed from the original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XI, Pg. 41): + + "What took place?" suddenly said Moslova. + +Menshov (9 times) +Menshova (5 times) +Menshoff (1 time) + +Michaelovna (5 times) +Michaelova (1 time), changed to Michaelovna from original sentence + (Part 1, Ch. XXIII, Pg. 82): + + 3. Is the burgess Katherine Michaelova Maslova, twenty-seven + years of age, guilty of the crime mentioned in the first + question? + +Natalie (15 times) +Natalia (10 times) +Natasha (3 times) + +Nekhludoff (970 times) +Nekludoff (1 time), changed to Nekhludoff from original sentence + (Part 1, Ch. XXV, Pg. 90): + + Nekludoff called to mind these two well-known lawyers. + +Nekhuldoff (1 time), changed to Nekhludoff from original sentence + (Part 1, Ch. XLII, Pg. 149): + + Nekhuldoff expected that at the first meeting Katiousha, + learning of his intention to serve her, and of his + repentance, would be moved to rejoicing, would become again + Katiousha, but to his surprise and horror, he saw that + Katiousha was no more; that only Maslova remained. + +Nikiforovitch (26 times) +Nikiforvitch (1 time), changed to Nikiforovitch from original sentence + (Part 2, Ch. XX, Pg. 269): + + "In the first place, the Ministry will not refer to the + Senate," and Ignatius Nikiforvitch smiled condescendingly, + "but will call for all the documents in the case, and, if it + finds an error, will so decide." + +Panov (5 times) +Panovo (1 time) +Panoff (1 time) + +Petrovna (25 times) +Petrovana (1 time), changed to Petrovna from original sentence (Part 1, + Ch. III, Pg. 15): + + "Then I will bid her wait," and Agrippina Petrovana glided + out of the dining-room, first replacing the crumb-brush, + which lay on the table, in its holder. + +Replusive was changed to repulsive from the original sentence (Part 1, + Ch. XLI, Pg. 148): + + "Because I wish to efface, to expiate my sin. Katiousha----" + he began, and was about to tell her that he would marry her, + but he met her eyes in which he read something so terrible, + rude and replusive that he could not finish. + +Selenin (21 times) +Selinin (1 time), changed to Selenin from original sentence (Part 3, + Ch. VIII, Pg. 311): + + There was no news there, so he drove back to his hotel, and + wrote at once to the lawyer and to Selinin concerning it. + +Silenin (3 times), changed to Selenin from original sentences (Part 2, + Ch. XII, Pg. 239 and Part 3, Ch. VII, Pg. 310): + + "Is the associate's name Silenin?" he asked the lawyer. + + He tore open the envelope, and, seeing a letter from Silenin + with some official document, he felt the blood mounting to + his cheeks, and his heart grow weak. + + "Dear friend," wrote Silenin, "our last conversation made a + strong impression upon me." + +Shouleds was changed to shoulders from the original sentence (Part 2, + Ch. XVI, Pg. 252): + + In the box he found Mariette and a strange lady with a red + mantle over her shouleds and high head-dress, and two men--a + general, Mariette's husband, a handsome, tall man with a + high, artificial, military breast, and a flaxen haired, + bald-headed man with shaved chin and solemn side-whiskers. + +Simonson (31 times) +Simsonson (1 time), changed to Simonson from the original sentence + (Part 3, Ch. VII, Pg. 304): + + I never thought that Vladimir Simsonson could fall in love in + such a very stupid, childish fashion. + +Smelkoff (34 times) +Smeldoff (1 time), changed to Smelkoff from the original sentence + (Part 1, Ch. XI, Pg. 39): + + "You are charged, together with Euphemia Bochkova and + Katherine Maslova, with stealing from the trunk of the + merchant Smeldoff money belonging to him, and subsequently + brought arsenic and induced Maslova to administer it to + Smelkoff, by reason of which he came to his death." + +Smothly changed to smoothly from the original sentence + (Part 1, Ch. LIII, Pg. 183): + + At first everything went on smothly, but afterward one of + the party was caught, the papers were seized, and then all + were taken in a police drag-net. + +Tarass (7 times) +Taras (1 time), changed to Tarass from original sentence (Part 3, + Ch. 1, Pg. 290): + + Her condition in this respect was somewhat relieved by the + presence of Theodosia and Taras, who, learning that his wife + was subjected to these insults, had himself included among + the prisoners, and riding as such from Nijhni, was able to + protect her to some extent. + +Therapout (1 time) +Therapont (1 time) + +TOLSTOY (Count Leo, author) (correct spelling) (0 times) +TOLSTOI (Count Leo, author) (2 times) left variation as in original. + +Tourgenieff (1 time) (correct spelling.) +Tourgeniff (1 time) Could be misquoted by character, left as original. + +Vasilevna (Maria) (1 time) +Vasilieona (Maria) (1 time) + +Vodk changed to vodka from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XLIV, + Pg. 157): + + Korableva, Miss Dandy, Theodosia and Maslova, flushed and + animated, for they had already partaken of vodk which Maslova + now had in abundance, were sitting in their corner, talking + of the same thing. + +Maslenikoff, Nekhludoff character error: + +Nekhludoff was kept in the following sentence to match the original, +and because it wasn't a simple printer's typo. It should have been +Maslenikoff speaking in place of Nekhludoff as can be seen by the +surrounding paragraphs (Part 1, Ch. LVI, Pg. 190): + + "How did you come to know it?" asked Nekhludoff, and his + face showed disquietude and displeasure. + + "I was visiting a prisoner, and these people surrounded me + and asked----" + + "What prisoner were you visiting?" + + "The peasant who is innocently accused, and for whom I have + obtained counsel. But that is not to the point. Is it + possible that these innocent people are kept in prison only + because they failed to renew their passports?" + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE AWAKENING*** + + +******* This file should be named 17352.txt or 17352.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/5/17352 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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