"
Pavel rose, lifted his hand, and was about to say something, but the
mother took his other hand, and pulling him down whispered in his ear:
"Don't disturb him!"
"Do you know?" said the Little Russian, standing in the doorway,
his eyes aglow with a bright flame, "there is still much suffering
in store for the people, much of their blood will yet flow, squeezed
out by the hands of greed; but all that--all my suffering, all my
blood, is a small price for that which is already stirring in my
breast, in my mind, in the marrow of my bones! I am already rich,
as a star is rich in golden rays. And I will bear all, I will
suffer all, because there is within me a joy which no one, which
nothing can ever stifle! In this joy there is a world of strength!"
They drank tea and sat around the table until midnight, and
conversed heart to heart and harmoniously about life, about people,
and about the future.
CHAPTER XVI
Whenever a thought was clear to the mother, she would find confirmation
of the idea by drawing upon some of her rude, coarse experiences.
She now felt as on that day when her father said to her roughly:
"What are you making a wry face about? A fool has been found who
wants to marry you.
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