with the youngster. I have had children of my own, and
know how to manage them." The woman crossed herself, sat down at the
table, and began to eat, and Avdyeeich sat down on the bed with the
child. Avdyeeich smacked his lips at him again and again, but his lack
of teeth made it a clumsy joke at best. And all the time the child never
left off shrieking. Then Avdyeeich hit upon the idea of shaking his
finger at him, so he snapped his fingers up and down, backwards and
forwards, right in front of the child's mouth. He did not put his finger
into its mouth, because his finger was black and sticky with cobbler's
wax. And the child stared at the finger and was silent, and presently it
began to laugh. And Avdyeeich was delighted. But the woman went on
eating, and told him who she was and whence she came.

"I am a soldier's wife," she said: "my eight months' husband they drove
right away from me, and nothing has been heard of him since. I took a
cook's place till I became a mother. They could not keep me _and_ the
child. It is now three months since I have been drifting about without
any fixed resting-place. I have eaten away my all. I wanted to be a
wet-nurse, but people wouldn't have me: 'Thou art too thin,' they said.
I have just been to the merchant's wife where our grandmother lives, and
there they promised to take me in. I thought it was all right, but she
told me to come again in a week. But she lives a long way off. I am
chilled to death, and he is quite tired out. But God be praised! our
landlady has compassion on us, and gives us shelter for Christ's sake.
But for that I don't know how we could live through it all."

Avdyeeich sighed, and said, "And have you no warm clothes?"

"Ah, kind friend! this is indeed warm-clothes time, but yesterday I
pawned away my last shawl for two _grivenki_."

The woman went to the bed and took up the child, but Avdyeeich stood up,
went to the wall cupboard, rummaged about a bit, and then brought back
with him an old jacket.

"Look!" said he, "'tis a shabby thing, 'tis true, but it will do to wrap
up in."

The woman looked at the old jacket, then she gazed at the old man, and,
taking the jacket, fell a-weeping. Avdyeeich also turned away, crept
under the bed, drew out a trunk and seemed to be very busy about it,
whereupon he again sat down opposite the woman.

Then the woman said: "Christ requite thee, dear little father! It is
plain that it was He who sent me by thy window. When