time at first, but ended by
relating to me his story. He must have taken a liking to me for some
reason or other. Otherwise he would not have been so frank with me.

I shall endeavour to transmit his story in his own words. Father Alexyei
talked very simply and intelligently, without any seminary or provincial
tricks and turns of speech. It was not the first time I had noticed that
Russians, of all classes and callings, who have been violently shattered
and humbled express themselves precisely in such language.

... I had a good and sedate wife [thus he began], I loved her heartily,
and we begat eight children. One of my sons became a bishop, and died
not so very long ago, in his diocese. I shall now tell you about my
other son,--Yakoff was his name. I sent him to the seminary in the town
of T----, and soon began to receive the most comforting reports about
him. He was the best pupil in all the branches! Even at home, in his
boyhood, he had been distinguished for his diligence and discretion; a
whole day would sometimes pass without one's hearing him ... he would be
sitting all the time over his book, reading. He never caused me and my
wife[17] the slightest displeasure; he was a meek lad. Only sometimes he
was thoughtful beyond his years, and his health was rather weak. Once
something remarkable happened to him. He left the house at daybreak, on
St. Peter's day,[18] and was gone almost all the morning. At last he
returned. My wife and I ask him: "Where hast thou been?"

"I have been for a ramble in the forest," says he, "and there I met a
certain little green old man, who talked a great deal with me, and gave
me such savoury nuts!"

"What little green old man art thou talking about?" we ask him.

"I don't know," says he; "I never saw him before. He was a little old
man with a hump, and he kept shifting from one to the other of his
little feet, and laughing--and he was all green, just like a leaf."

"What," say we, "and was his face green also?"

"Yes, his face, and his hair, and even his eyes."

Our son had never lied to us; but this time my wife and I had our
doubts.

"Thou must have fallen asleep in the forest, in the heat of the day, and
have seen that old man in thy dreams."

"I wasn't asleep at all," says he. "Why, don't you believe me?" says
he. "See here, I have one of the nuts left in my pocket."

Yakoff pulled the nut out of his pocket and showed it to us.--The kernel
was small, in the nature of a