"Then many and many a one would weep, and even the
wicked, the men without conscience would tremble! I would make them
taste gall, even as they made Christ drink of the cup of bitterness,
and as they now do our children. They have bruised a mother's heart!"
Nikolay rose, and pulling his little beard with trembling fingers,
he said slowly in an unfamiliar tone of voice:
"Some day you will speak to them, I think!"
He started, looked at his watch again, and asked in a hurry:
"So it's settled? You'll come over to me in the city?"
She silently nodded her head.
"When? Try to do it as soon as possible." And he added in a tender
voice: "I'll be anxious for you; yes, indeed!"
She looked at him in surprise. What was she to him? With bent
head, smiling in embarrassment, he stood before her, dressed in a
simple black jacket, stooping, nearsighted.
"Have you money?" he asked, dropping his eyes.
"No."
He quickly whipped his purse out of his pocket, opened it, and
handed it to her.
"Here, please take some."
She smiled involuntarily, and shaking her head, observed:
"Everything about all of you is different from other people. Even
money has no value for you.
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