“Ihadjustbeengoingtoresorttothecarpenters，fortheywouldhavegivenussomebread，Isuppose？LongisitsinceI
　　tastedanything。“
　　Thesamewordsherepeatedonourapproachingtheex-soldier；
　　muchasthoughhetookapleasureintheirphraseology。
　　“Yousupposethattheywouldhavegivenusbread？“echoedtheex-
　　soldierasheunfastenedhiswallet。“Notthey！Noloveislostbetweenthemandourselves。“
　　“Whomdoyoumeanby’ourselves’？“
　　“Ushere——youandmyself——allRussianfolkwhomayhappentobeintheseparts。Fromthewayinwhichthosefellowskeepsingingaboutpalms，IshouldjudgethemtobesectariansofthesortcalledMennonites。“
　　“OrMolokans，rather？“theothermansuggestedasheseatedhimselfinfrontofthefire。
　　“Yes，orMolokans。MolokansorMennonites——they’reallone。ItisaGermanfaithandthoughsuchfellowsloveaTeuton，theydonotexactlywelcomeUS。“
　　UponthisthemanwiththeCossackforelocktookasliceofbreadwhichtheex-soldiercutfromaloaf，withanonionandapinchofsalt。Then，asheregardeduswithapairofgood-humouredeyes，hesaid，balancinghisfoodonthepalmsofhishands:
　　“ThereisaspotontheSunzha，nearhere，wherethosefellowshaveacolonyoftheirown。Yes，Imyselfhavevisitedit。True，thosefellowsarehardenough，butatthesametimetospeakplainly，NOONEinthesepartshasanyregardforussinceonlytoomanyofthesortofRussianfolkwhocomehereinsearchofworkarenotoverly-desirable。“
　　“Wheredoyouyourselfcomefrom？“Theex-soldier’stonewassevere。
　　“FromKursk，wemightsay。“
　　“FromRussia，then？“
　　“Yes，Isupposeso。ButIhavenogreatopinionevenofmyself。“
　　Theex-soldierglanceddistrustfullyatthenewcomer。Thenheremarked:
　　“Whatyousayiscant，sheerJesuitism。ItisfellowslikeTHOSE，rather，thatoughttohaveapooropinionofthemselves。“
　　Tothistheothermadenoreply——merelyheputapieceofbreadintohismouth。Foramomentortwotheex-soldiereyedhimfrowningly。Thenhecontinued:
　　“YouseemtometobeanativeoftheDoncountry？“
　　“Yes，IhavelivedontheDonaswell。“
　　“Andalsoservedinthearmy？“
　　“No。Iwasanonlyson。“
　　“Ofamiestchanin？“[Amemberofthesmallcommercialclass。]
　　“No，ofamerchant。“
　　“Andyourname——？“
　　“IsVasili。“
　　Thelastreplycameonlyafterapause，andreluctantly；
　　wherefore，perceivingthattheKurskanhadnoparticulardesiretodiscusshisownaffairs，theex-soldiersaidnomoreonthesubject，butliftedthekettlefromthefire。
　　TheMolokansalsohadkindledablazebehindthecornerofthebarraque，andnowitsglowwaslickingtheyellowboardsofthestructureuntiltheyseemedalmosttobeliquescent，tobeabouttodissolveandflowoverthegroundinagoldenstream。
　　Presently，astheirfervourincreased，thecarpenters，invisibleamidtheobscurity，felltosinginghymns——thebassesintoningmonotonously，“Sing，thouHolyAngel！“andvoicesofhigherpitchresponding，coldlyandformally。
　　“Singye！
　　SinggloryuntoChrist，thouAngelofHoliness！
　　Singye！
　　OursingingwillweadduntoThine，ThouAngelofHoliness！“
　　Andthoughthechorusfailedaltogethertodullthesplashingoftherivuletandthebabblingoftheby-cutoverabedofstones，itseemedoutofplaceinthisparticularspot；itarousedresentmentagainstmenwhocouldnotthinkofalaymoreatunewiththeparticularliving，breathingobjectsaroundus。
　　Graduallydarknessenvelopedthedefileuntilonlyoverthemouthofthepass，overthespotwhere，gleamingabrilliantblue，therivuletescapedintoacleftthatwasoverhungwithamistofadeepershade，wastherenotyetsuspendedthecurtainoftheSouthernnight。
　　Presently，thegloomcausedoneoftherocksinourvicinitytoassumetheguiseofamonkwho，kneelinginprayer，hadhisheadadornedwithapointedskull-cap，andhisfaceburiedinhishands。Similarly，thestemsofthetreesstirredinthefirelightuntiltheydevelopedthesemblanceofafileoffriarsentering，forearlyMass，theporchoftheirchapel-of-ease。
　　Tomymindtherethenrecurredacertainoccasionwhen，onjustsuchadarkandsultrynightasthis，Ihadbeenseatedtale-
　　tellingundertheboundary-wallofarowofmonasticcellsintheDoncountry。SuddenlyIhadheardawindowabovemyheadopen，andsomeoneexclaiminakindly，youthfulvoice:
　　“TheMotherofGodbeblessedforallthisgoodlyworldofours！“
　　AndthoughthewindowhadclosedagainbeforeIhadhadtimetodiscernthespeaker，Ihadknownthattherewasresidentinthemonasteryafriarwhohadlargeeyes，andalimp，andjustsuchafaceashadVasilihere；wherefore，inallprobabilityithadbeenhewhohadbreathedthebenedictionuponmankindatlarge，forthereasonthatmomentstherearewhenallhumanityseemstobeone’sownbody，andinoneselfthereseemstobeattheheartofallhumanity……
　　Vasiliconsumedhisfooddeliberatelyas，breakingoffmorselsfromhisslice，andneatlypartinghismoustache，heplacedthemorselsinhismouthwithacuriousstirringoftwoglobuleswhichunderlaytheskinneartheears。
　　Theex-soldier，however，merelynibbledathisfood——heatebutlittle，andthatlazily。Thenheextractedapipefromhisbreastpocket，filleditwithtobacco，lititwithafaggottakenfromthefire，andsaidashesethimselftolistentothesingingoftheMolokans:
　　“Theyarefilledfull，andhavestartedbleating。AlwaysfolklikethemseektobeontherightsideoftheAlmighty。“
　　“Doesthathurtyouinanyway？“Vasiliaskedwithasmile。
　　“No，butIdonotrespectthem——theyarelesssaintsthanhumbugs，thanprevaricatorswhosefirstwordisGod，andsecondwordrouble。“
　　“Howdoyouknowthat？“criedVasiliamusedly。“AndeveniftheirfirstwordISGod，andtheirsecondwordrouble，wehadbestnotbetooharduponthem，sinceiftheychosetobeharduponUS，whereshouldWEbe？Yes，wehaveonlytoopenourmouthstospeakawordortwoforourselves，andweshouldfindeveryfistatourteeth。“
　　“Quiteso，“theex-soldieragreedas，takingupasquareofscantling，heexamineditattentively。
　　“WhomDOyourespect？“Vasilicontinuedafterapause。
　　“Irespect，“theex-soldiersaidwithsomeemphasis，“onlytheRussianpeople，thetrueRussianpeople，thefolkwholabouronlandwhereonlabourishard。YetwhoarethefolkwhomyoufindHERE？Inthispartoftheworldthebusinessoflivingisaneasyone。Muchofeverysortofnaturalproduceistobehad，andthesoilisgenerousandlight——youneedbuttoscratchitforittobear，andforyourselftoreap。Yes，itisindulgenttoafault。
　　Rather，itislikeamaiden。Dobuttouchher，andachildwillarrive。“
　　“Agreed，“wasVasili’sremarkashedrankteafromatinmug。
　　“YettothisverypartoftheworldisitthatIshouldliketotransporteverysoulinRussia。“
　　“Andwhy？“
　　“Becauseheretheycouldearnaliving。“
　　“ThenisnotthatpossibleinRussia？“
　　“Well，whyareyouyourselfhere？“
　　“BecauseIamamanlackingties。“
　　“Andwhyareyoulackingties？“
　　“Becauseithasbeensoordered——itis，sotospeak，mylot。“
　　“ThenhadyounotbetterconsiderWHYitisyourlot？“
　　Theex-soldiertookhispipefromhismouth，letfallthehandwhichheldit，andsmoothedhisplainfeaturesinsilentamazement。Thenheexclaimedinuncouth，queruloustones: