in prison among the politicals, her present life,
notwithstanding the hard conditions, seemed to Katiousha very
satisfactory. The journeys of fifteen or twenty miles on foot between
stopping places, the food and day's rest after two days' tramp,
strengthened her physically, while her association with her new
comrades opened up to her new phases of life of which she had formerly
no conception.

She was charmed with all her new comrades. But above all, with Maria
Pablovna--nay, she even came to love her with a respectful and
exulting love. She was struck by the fact that a beautiful girl of a
rich and noble family, and speaking three languages, should conduct
herself like a common workingwoman, distribute everything sent her by
her rich brother, dress herself not only simply, but poorly, and pay
no attention to her appearance. This entire absence of coquetry
surprised and completely captivated Maslova. She saw that Maria
Pablovna knew, and that it even pleased her to know, that she was
pretty, but that so far from rejoicing at the impression she was
making on the men, she only feared it, and rather looked at love with
disgust and dread. If her male comrades, who knew her, felt any
attraction toward her they never showed it. But strangers often
attempted familiarities with her, and in such cases her great physical
strength stood her in good stead. "Once," she laughingly related, "I
was approached by a stranger on the street, whom I could not get rid
of. I then gave him such a shaking up that he ran away in fright."

She also said that from childhood she had felt an aversion for the
life of the gentry, but loved the common folks, and was often chidden
for staying in the servants' quarters, the kitchen and the stable,
instead of the parlor.

"But among the cooks and drivers I was always cheerful, while our
ladies and gentlemen used to worry me. Afterward, when I began to
understand, I saw that we were leading a wicked life. I had no mother,
and I did not like my father. At nineteen I left the house with a girl
friend and went to work in a factory," she said.

From the factory she went to the country, then returned to the city,
where she was arrested and sentenced to hard labor. Maria Pablovna
never related it herself, but Katiousha learned from others that she
was sentenced to hard labor because she assumed the guilt of another.

Since Katiousha came to know her she saw that Maria Pablovna,
everywhere and under all ci