and
murmurs, trembling:

"'No, it is not that! It is not that!'

"'Good-bye, Serge,' says his father.

"They shake hands, and give each other a brief but hearty kiss.

"'You...' begins Serge.

"'What's that?' asks his father in a jerky voice.

"'No, not like that. No, no! What was I going to say?' repeats his
mother, shaking her head.

"She was again seated, trembling.

"'You...' continues Serge.

"Suddenly, his face took on a pitiful expression, and he made a
grimace like a child. The tears then came to his eyes.

"'Father, you are a strong man!'

"'What are you saying? What are you saying?' the colonel cries,
frightened.

"Then, as if he had been struck, the colonel's head sank down upon
his son's shoulder. And they kissed each other, again and again, the
one with white hair and the other with the prisoner's 'capote.'

"'And I?' a hoarse voice brusquely asked.

"They looked: the mother was standing, her head thrown back, and she
was watching them with anger, almost hate.

"'What is the matter, dear?' cried the colonel.

"'And I?' she repeated. 'You two kiss each other, and I? You are
men, aren't you? And I?'

"'Mother!'

"And Serge threw himself into his mother's arms....

"The last words of the colonel were:

"'I consecrate you to death, my boy! Die with courage, like a
soldier!'"

These few lines retrace one of the thousands of daily dramas which
compose modern Russian history. The work of Andreyev brings to us a
sad vibrant echo of the sobs which ring out in Russian dungeons. And
this faithful portrayal of events, events so frequent that they no
longer move us from our indifference, when we find the echo of them
in the press, will raise in the conscience of Andreyev's readers a
cry of horror and pity.

* * * * *

It is principally in the dramas which he has written in the last few
years[11] that Andreyev has developed with most force and clearness
his favorite themes: the fear of living and dying, the madness of
believing in free-will, and the nonsense of life, the weakness and
vanity of which he depicts for us.

[11] Mention should be made of some of Andreyev's other dramas:
"To the Stars," "Anfissa," "Gaudeamus," and "Sava," plays of
uneven value, but with a strength of observation and analysis
which is not inferior to that shown in some of his best stories.

The first of these works to appear was "The Life of Man," which is a
tragic illustra