Yama (The Pit)

acked to overflowing and cheap, on top of which are erected still other sorry bug-breeders of roof iron, something in the nature of mansards; or more exactly,

straight down on the steps and fall into a sleep from which nothi

are going upwards all the time! Always higher and higher! Is this not a

And his weight would not really have mattered; his wordiness, however, was beginning to irritate her little by little. So irritates at times the ceaseless, weari

door and they entered. It was dark in the room, because the window curtains were lowered. It smelt of mice, kerosene, yesterday's vegetable

nd on the table; cigarette stubs everywhere; and opposite the bed, along the other wall, an old, old divan, upon which at the present moment was sleeping and snoring, with mouth wide open, some young man with b

up!" cried Lichonin and prodded

m-m

ey even be exiled from the heights of the beauteous Caucasus! May they even never behol

chonin, Liubka intervened. She to

Let him sleep a bit. I'd better go home. Will you give me a half for

for a man who had not had enough sleep; or, perhaps, a professional regard for the sleep of other people. But the astonishment was only momentary. For some reason he became offended. He raised

usly. Understand, now, may the devil take you

force had instantaneously unwound under him. He sat down on the divan, rapidly rubbed with his palms his e

nd waiting for you and fell asleep. Request the

bka, with the coquetry natural to all women, no matter in what years or situation they find themselves, walked up to the sliver of a mirror

of here, however. I'll tell you everything right away. Excuse me, Liubochka, it's on

"it'll be all right for me here, right on th

! I have a colleague here. And so I'll go to

went out int

wide his oriental, somewhat sheepish eyes. "Whence

dden action; and at the same time something in the nature of an unconscious irritation both against himself and the woman he had carried off. He already had a presentiment of the onerousness of living together, of a multiplicity of cares, unpleasantnesses and expenses; of the equivocal smiles or even simply the

eyes, "you've made a mistake. This isn't a comrade in a petticoat, but ... simply, I was just now with my colleag

ed Nijeradze, be

s. I, you know, am a very abstemious man. I only sat and soaked up cognac, like a sponge, with a certain reporter I know. Well, all the others fell from grace however. And so, toward morning, for some reason or other, I went all to pieces. I got so sad and full of pity from looking a

half questioningly, half expectantl

fane and defile in her that which is the most precious in a human being-love... Do you understand-revile, trample it underfoot, pay for the visit and walk away in peace, his hands in his pockets, whistling. But the most horrible of all is that all this ha

jeradze and again shift

tion (suddenly, involuntarily, the recent words of the reporter came to his mind), Magdalene asylums and all these distributions of holy books in the establishm

ted Nijeradz

. For you understand that I'm not talking about a woman, b

ll right, me

up for her a little cook-shop, or a grocery store, let's say. I think that the comrades won't refuse to help me. The human heart, prince, my brother-every heart-is in need of cordiality, of warmth. And lo and behold

" the prince sm

mean, you Tiff

buy her a se

ne, in particular?

s soon as the hero has saved the poor, but lost, cre

ichonin waved him away ang

eyes began to sparkle, and immediately Cauc

but will begin to load her up with manual or mental labours and will try to develop her ignorant, dark mind; and she from tedium will run away from you, and will again find herself either walking the street, or in a brothel. That's a fact, too! However, there is still a third combination. You'll be vexing you

f his consciousness-something resembling the thought that Nijeradze was right flashed through him. But he quic

ck, and as a mark of apology, you Erivanian billy goat, you Arma

and with his palm with all his might. "With pleas

AU REVOIR, prince. Who

f course, like a mediaeval knight, will lay a two-edged

But now I'll go and wander about the streets a bit and turn

ad gone a few steps. "I have forgotten to tel

honin, and at once yawned lon

possession of some illegal brochures and stuf

he's a husky lad,

l right" confir

rew

, knight G

you Carbidin