became younger from the kisses of
the youth.

In Perm, Foma found a letter waiting for him. It was from his godfather,
who notified him that Ignat, out of anxiety for his son, had begun to
drink heavily, and that it was harmful to drink thus, for a man of his
age. The letter concluded with advice to hurry up matters in order
to return home the sooner. Foma felt alarmed over this advice, and it
clouded the clear holiday of his heart. But this shadow soon melted in
his worries over his affairs, and in the caresses of Pelageya. His life
streamed on with the swiftness of a river wave, and each day brought to
him new sensations, awakening in him new thoughts. Pelageya's relations
with him contained all the passion of a mistress, all that power of
feeling which women of her age put into their passion when drinking the
last drops from the cup of life. But at times a different feeling awoke
in her, a feeling not less powerful, and by which Foma became still more
attached to her--something similar to a mother's yearning to guard her
beloved son from errors, to teach him the wisdom of life. Oftentimes at
night, sitting in his embraces on the deck, she spoke to him tenderly
and sadly:

"Mind me as an older sister of yours. I have lived, I know men. I have
seen a great deal in my life! Choose your companions with care, for
there are people just as contagious as a disease. At first you cannot
tell them even when you see them; he looks to be a man like everybody
else, and, suddenly, without being aware of it yourself, you will start
to imitate him in life. You look around--and you find that you have
contracted his scabs. I myself have lost everything on account of a
friend. I had a husband and two children. We lived well. My husband was
a clerk at a volost." She became silent and looked for a long time at
the water, which was stirred by the vessel. Then she heaved a sigh and
spoke to him again:

"May the Holy Virgin guard you from women of my kind--be careful. You
are tender as yet, your heart has not become properly hardened. And
women are fond of such as you--strong, handsome, rich. And most of all
beware of the quiet women. They stick to a man like blood-suckers, and
suck and suck. And at the same time they are always so kind, so gentle.
They will keep on sucking your juice, but will preserve themselves.
They'll only break your heart in vain. You had better have dealings with
those that are bold, like myself. These live not for