Suddenlysomeonesaidwiththesubduedassuranceofapersonreadingaloudfromawrittendocument:
　　“UnlessthepeasantsofKubarovokeepawatchupontheirtimberlands，thesunwillfirethemtomorrow，andthentheBirkins’
　　forestalsowillcatchalight。“
　　Foramomentthedisputedieddown。Then，asitwerecleavingthesilence，avoicesaidstutteringly:
　　“Whocaresaboutthesignificanceoftheword’truth’？“
　　Andthewords——heavy，jumbled，andclumsy——filledmewithdespondentreflections。Thenagainthevoicesrose——thistimeinlouderandmorevenomousaccents，andwiththeirdinrecalledtome，bysomeaccident，thefoolishlines:
　　ThegodsdidgivemenwaterTowashin，andtodrink；
　　YetmanhasmadeitbutapoolInwhichhiswoestosink。
　　PresentlyImovedoutsideand，seatingmyselfonthestepsoftheveranda，felltocontemplatingthedull，blurredwindowsoftheArchpriest’shouseontheothersideofthesquare，andtowatchinghowblackshadowskeptflittingtoandfrobehindtheirpanesasthefaint，lugubriousnotesofaguitarmadethemselvesheard。Andahigh-pitched，irritablevoicekeptrepeatingatintervals:“Allowme。Pray，permitmetospeak，“andbeingansweredbyavoicewhichintermittentlyshotintothesilence，asintoabottomlesssack，thewords:“No，doyouwaitamoment，doyouwaitamoment。“
　　Surroundedbythedarkness，thehouseslookedstuntedlikegravestones，withalineofblacktreesabovetheirroofsthatloomedshadowyandcloud-like。Onlyinthefurthestcorneroftheexpansewasthelightofasolitarystreetlampbearingaresemblancetothediskofastationary，resplendentdandelion。
　　Overeverythingwasmelancholy。Farfrominvitingwasthegeneraloutlook。Somuchwasthisthecasethat，had，atthatmoment，anyonestolenuponmefrombehindthebushesanddealtmeasuddenblowonthehead，Ishouldmerelyhavesunktoearthwithoutattemptingtoseewhomyassailanthadbeen。
　　Often，inthosedays，wasIinthismood，foritclavetomeasfaithfullyasadog——neverdiditwhollyleaveme。
　　“ItwasformenlikeTHOSEthatthisfairearthofourswasbestoweduponus！“Ithoughttomyself。
　　Suddenly，withaclatter，someoneranoutofthedoorofthetavern，sliddownthesteps，fellheadlongattheirfoot，quicklyregainedhisequilibrium，anddisappearedinthedarknessafterexclaiminginathreateningvoice:
　　“Oh，I’LLpayyouout！I’LLskinyou，youdamned……！“
　　Whereaftertwofiguresthatalsoappearedinthedoorwaysaidastheystoodtalkingtooneanother:
　　“Youheardhimthreatentofiretheplace，didyounot？“
　　“Yes，Idid。Butwhyshouldhewanttofireit？“
　　“Becauseheisadangerousrascal。“
　　Presently，slingingmywalletuponmyback，Ipursuedmyonwardwayalongastreetthatwasfencedoneithersidewithatallpalisade。AsIproceeded，longgrasseskeptcatchingatmyfeetandrustlingdrily。Andsowarmwasthenightastorenderthepaymentofalodgingfeesuperfluous；andthemoresosinceintheneighbourhoodofthecemetery，whereanadvancedguardofyoungpineshadpushedforwardtothecemeterywallandlitteredthesandyground，withacarpetofred，drycones，thereweresleeping-placespreparedinadvance。
　　Suddenlyfromthedarknessthereemerged，torecoilagain，aman’stallfigure。
　　“Whoisthat？Whoisit？“askedthehoarse，nervousvoiceofGubinindissipationofthedeathlikestillness。
　　Whichsaid，heandIfellintostepwithoneanother。AsweproceededheinquiredwhenceIhadcome，andwhyIwasstillabroad。Whereafterheextendedtome，astoanoldacquaintance，theinvitation:
　　“Willyoucomeandsleepatmyplace？Myhouseisnearhere，andasforwork，Iwillfindyouajobtomorrow。Infact，asithappens，IamneedingamantohelpmecleanoutawellattheBirkins’place。Willthejobsuityou？Verywell，then。AlwaysI
　　liketosettlethingsovernight，asitisatnightthatIcanbestseethroughpeople。“
　　The“house“turnedouttobenothingmorethananoldone-eyed，hunchbackedwashhouseorshantywhich，bulgingofwall，stoodwedgedagainsttheclayeyslopeofaravineasthoughitwouldfainburyitselfamidtheboughsoftheneighbouringarbutustreesandelders。
　　Withoutstrikingalight，Gubinflunghimselfuponsomemouldyhaythatlitteredathresholdasnarrowasthethresholdofadog-kennel，andsaidtomewithanairofauthorityashedidso:
　　“Iwillsleepwithmyheadtowardsthedoor，fortheatmospherehereisatrifleconfined。“
　　And，trueenough，theplacereekedofelderberries，soap，burntstuff，anddecayedleaves。IcouldnotconceivewhyIhadcometosuchaspot。
　　Thetwistedbranchesoftheneighbouringtreeshungmotionlessathwartthesky，andconcealedfromviewthegoldendustoftheMilkyWay，whileacrosstheOkaanowlkeptscreeching，andthestrange，arrestingremarksofmycompanionpeltedmelikeshowersofpeas。
　　“DonotbesurprisedthatIshouldliveinaremoteravine，“hesaid。“I，whosehandisagainsteveryman，canatleastfeellordofwhatIsurveyhere。“
　　Toodarkwasitformetoseemyhost’sface，butmymemoryrecalledhisbaldcranium，andtheyellowlightofthelampsfallinguponanoseaslongasawoodpecker’sbeak，apairofgreyandstubblycheeks，apairofthinlipscoveredbyabristlingmoustache，amouthsharp-cutaswithaknife，andfullofblack，evil-lookingstumps，apairofpointed，sensitive，mouse-likeears，andaclean-shavenchin。Thelastfeatureinnowayconsortedwithhisvisage，orwithhiswholeappearance；butatleastitrenderedhimworthyofremark，andenabledonetorealisethatonehadtodealwithneitherapeasantnorasoldiernoratradesman，butwithamanpeculiartohimself。
　　Also，hisframewaslanky，withlongarmsandlegs，andpointedkneesandelbows。Infact，solikeapieceofstringwashisbodythattotwistitroundandround，oreventotieitintoaknot，would，seemingly，havebeeneasyenough。
　　ForawhileIfoundhisspeechdifficulttofollow；wherefore，silentlyIgazedatthesky，wherethestarsappearedtobeplayingatfollow-my-leader。
　　“Areyouasleep？“atlengthheinquired。
　　“No，Iamnot。Whydoyoushaveyourbeard？“
　　“Whydoyouask？“
　　“Because，ifyouwillpardonme，Ithinkyourfacewouldlookbetterbearded。“
　　Withashortlaughheexclaimed:
　　“Bearded？Ah，sloven！Bearded，indeed！“
　　Towhichheaddedmoregravely:
　　“BothPetertheGreatandNicholasIwerewiserthanyou，fortheyordainedthatwhosoevershouldbebeardedshouldhavehisnoseslit，andbefinedahundredroubles。Didyoueverhearofthat？“
　　“No。“
　　“Andfromthesamesource，fromthebeard，arosealsotheGreatSchism。“
　　Hismannerofspeakingwastoorapidtobearticulate，and，inleavinghismouth，hiswordscausedhislipstobarestumpsandgumsamidwhichtheylosttheirway，becamedisintegrated，andissued，asitwere，inanincompletestate。
　　“Everyone，“hecontinued，“knowsthatlifeislivedmoreeasilywithabeardthanwithoutone，sincewithabeardliesaremoreeasilytold——theycanbetold，andthenhiddeninthemassesofhair。Henceweoughttogothroughlifewithourfacesnaked，sincesuchfacesrenderuntruthfulnessmoredifficult，andpreventtheirownersfromprevaricatingwithoutthefactbecomingplaintoall。“
　　“Butwhataboutwomen？“
　　“Whataboutwomen？Well，womencanalwayslietotheirhusbandssuccessfully，butnottoallthetown，toalltheworld，tofolkingeneral。Moreover，sinceawoman’srealbusinessinlifeisthesameasthatofthehen，torearyoung，whatcanitmatterifsheDOEScackleafewfalsehoods，providedthatshebeneitherapriestnoramayornoratchinovnik，anddoesnotpossessanyauthority，andcannotestablishlaws？Forthereallyimportantpointisthatthelawitselfshouldnotlie，buteverupholdtruthpureandsimple。Longhastheprevalentillegalitydisgustedme。“
　　Thedooroftheshantywasstandingopen，andamidtheouterdarkness，asinachurch，thetreeslookedlikepillars，andthewhitestemsofthebircheslikesilvercandelabratippedwithathousandlights，ordimly-seenchoristerswithfacesshowingpaleabovesacramentalvestmentsofblack。Allmysoulwasfullofasortofpainfulrestlessness。ItwasafeelingasthoughI
　　shouldlivetoriseandgoforthintothedarkness，andofferbattletotheterrorsofthenight；yetever，asmycompanion’storrentialspeechcaughtandheldmyattention，itdetainedmewhereIwas。
　　“Myfatherwasamanofnolittleoriginalityandcharacter，“hewenton。“Wherefore，noneofthetownsfolklikedhim。Bytheageoftwentyhehadrisentobeanalderman，yetnevertotheendcouldgetthebetteroffolk’sstubbornnessandstupidity，eventhoughhemadeithiscustomtotreatallandsundrytofoodanddrink，andtoreasonwiththem。No，notevenatthelastdidheattainhisdue。Peoplefearedhimbecauseherevolutionisedeverything，revolutioniseditdowntotheveryroots；thetruthbeingthathehadgraspedtheoneessentialfactthatlawandordermustbedriven，likenails，intothepeople’sveryvitals。“