ved me; they ought
to remember me in their prayers forever," said the old man, with
conviction, but touched by Yulia's tone of sincerity, and anxious
to give her pleasure, he said: "Very well; bring my grandchildren
to-morrow. I will tell them to buy me some little presents for
them."

The old man was slovenly in his dress, and there was cigar ash on
his breast and on his knees; apparently no one cleaned his boots,
or brushed his clothes. The rice in the pies was half cooked, the
tablecloth smelt of soap, the servants tramped noisily about the
room. And the old man and the whole house had a neglected look, and
Yulia, who felt this, was ashamed of herself and of her husband.

"I will be sure to come and see you to-morrow," she said.

She walked through the rooms, and gave orders for the old man's
bedroom to be set to rights, and the lamp to be lighted under the
ikons in it. Fyodor, sitting in his own room, was looking at an
open book without reading it. Yulia talked to him and told the
servants to tidy his room, too; then she went downstairs to the
clerks. In the middle of the room where the clerks used to dine,
there was an unpainted wooden post to support the ceiling and to
prevent its coming down. The ceilings in the basement were low, the
walls covered with cheap paper, and there was a smell of charcoal
fumes and cooking. As it was a holiday, all the clerks were at home,
sitting on their bedsteads waiting for dinner. When Yulia went in
they jumped up, and answered her questions timidly, looking up at
her from under their brows like convicts.

"Good heavens! What a horrid room you have!" she said, throwing up
her hands. "Aren't you crowded here?"

"Crowded, but not aggrieved," said Makeitchev. "We are greatly
indebted to you, and will offer up our prayers for you to our
Heavenly Father."

"The congruity of life with the conceit of the personality," said
Potchatkin.

And noticing that Yulia did not understand Potchatkin, Makeitchev
hastened to explain:

"We are humble people and must live according to our position."

She inspected the boys' quarters, and then the kitchen, made
acquaintance with the housekeeper, and was thoroughly dissatisfied.

When she got home she said to her husband:

"We ought to move into your father's house and settle there for
good as soon as possible. And you will go every day to the warehouse."

Then they both sat side by side in the study without speaking. His
heart was heavy