"
"I love him," whispered the mother.
"I'm filled with astonishment; but love him--no. I respect him
highly. He's sort of dry, although good and even, if you please,
sometimes soft; but not sufficiently human--it seems to me we're
being followed. Come, let's part. Don't enter Liudmila's place
if you think a spy is after you."
"I know," said the mother. Sasha, however, persistently added:
"Don't enter. In that case, come to me. Good-by for the present."
She quickly turned around and walked back. The mother called
"Good-by" after her.
Within a few minutes she sat all frozen through at the stove in
Liudmila's little room. Her hostess, Liudmila, in a black dress
girded up with a strap, slowly paced up and down the room, filling
it with a rustle and the sound of her commanding voice. A fire
was crackling in the stove and drawing in the air from the room.
The woman's voice sounded evenly.
"People are a great deal more stupid than bad. They can see only
what's near to them, what it's possible to grasp immediately; but
everything that's near is cheap; what's distant is dear. Why, in
reality, it would be more convenient and pleasanter for all if life
were different, were lighter, and the people were more sensible.
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