The Complete Works of Leo Tolstoy (25+ Works with active table of contents)

by Leo Tolstoy

  "Well, may I go?" she asked, noticing the Englishman who was waiting for him.

  "I am not yet taking leave of you," said Nekhludoff, holding out his hand to her.

  "Pardon me," she said in a low tone.

  Their eyes met, and in that strange, stern look, and in that pitiful smile, with which she said not "good-by," but "pardon me," Nekhludoff understood, that of the two suppositions concerning her decision the latter was the right one. She still loved him and thought she would mar his life by a union with him, and would free him by living with Simonson.

  She pressed his hand, turned quickly, and left the room.

  CHAPTER IX.

  Passing through the hall and the ill-smelling corridors, the superintendent passed into the first building of the prison in which those condemned to hard labor were confined. Entering the first room in that building they found the prisoners stretched on their berths, which occupied the middle of the room. Hearing the visitors enter they all jumped down, and, clinking their chains, placed themselves beside their berths, while their half-shaven heads were distinctly set off against the gloom of the prison. Only two of the prisoners remained at their places. One of them was a young man whose face was evidently heated with fever; the other was an old man, who never left off groaning.

  The Englishman asked whether the young man had been sick for a long time. The superintendent replied that he had been taken sick that very same morning, that the old man had had convulsions for a long time, and that they kept him in prison because there was no place for him in the hospital.

  The Englishman shook his head discontentedly, said that he would like to say a few words to the prisoners, and asked Nekhludoff to translate his remarks. It turned out that, besides the aim of his journey, which was the description of the exile system--he had another one--the preaching of the gospel, of salvation through faith.

  "Tell them that Christ pitied and loved them," he said to Nekhludoff, "and that He died for them. He who will believe in Him will be saved."

  While he was saying this, all the prisoners were standing erect with their hands by their sides.

  "Tell them," continued the Englishman, "that all I said will be found in this book. Are there any among them who can read?" It turned out that there were more than twenty who could.

  The Englishman took out a few leather-bound Bibles from his traveling bag, and soon a number of muscular hands, terminating in long black nails, were stretched out toward him, pushing each other aside in order to reach the Testaments. He left two Testaments in this room, and went to the next one.

  There the same thing occurred. There prevailed the same dampness and ill-smells. But in this room, between the windows, an image of the Virgin, before which a small lamp burned dimly, was hung up. To the left side of the door stood the large vat. Here the prisoners were stretched out on their berths, and in the same way they rose and placed themselves in a row. Three of them remained in their places. Two of these three lifted themselves and sat up, but the third one remained stretched out, and did not even look at the visitors. These latter ones were sick. The Englishman addressed them in the same manner, and left two Testaments.

  From the cells in which those condemned to hard labor were imprisoned, they passed over to the cells of the exiles, and finally those in which the relatives who escorted the prisoners to Siberia were awaiting the day appointed to start hence.

  Everywhere the same cold, hungry, idling, sickly, degraded, brutalized human beings could be seen.

  The Englishman distributed his Bibles, and, being tired out, he walked through the rooms saying "All right" to whatever the superintendent told him concerning the prisons.

  They went out into the corridor.

  The Englishman, pointing to an open door, asked what that room was for.

  "This is the prison morgue."

  "Oh!" exclaimed the Englishman, and he expressed a desire to enter. This room was an ordinary room. A small lamp, fastened to the wall, lit up the four bodies which were stretched on berths, with their heads toward the wall and the feet protruding toward the door. The first body, in a plain shirt, was that of a tall young man, with a small, pointed beard and half-shaven head. The corpse was already chilled, and its blue hands were folded over the breast. Beside him, in a white dress and jacket, lay a bare-footed old woman, with thin hair and wrinkled, yellowish face. Beside this old woman lay a corpse, attired in blue.

  This color recalled something in Nekhludoff's memory.

  "And who is this third one?" he asked, mistrusting his own eyesight.

  "This one is a gentleman who was sent hither from the hospital," replied the superintendent.

  Nekhludoff walked up to the body and touched the icy cold feet of Kryltzoff.

  CHAPTER X.

  Nekhludoff, after parting with the Englishman, went straight to his hotel, and walked about his room for a long time. The affair with Katiousha was at an end. There was something ugly in the very memory of it. But it was not that which grieved him. Some other affair of his was yet unsettled--an affair which tortured him and required his attention. In his imagination rose the gloomy scenes of the hundreds and thousands of human beings pent up in the pestiferous air. The laughter of the prisoners resounded in his ears. He saw again among the dead bodies the beautiful, angry, waxen face of the dead Kryltzoff; and the question whether he was mad, or all those who commit those evils and think themselves wise were mad, bore in upon his mind with renewed power, and he found no answer to it. The principal difficulty consisted in finding an answer to the principal question, which was: What should be done with those who became brutalized in the struggle for life?

  When he became tired walking about the room he sat down on the lounge, close by the lamp, and mechanically opened the Bible which the Englishman had presented him, and which he had thrown on the table while emptying his pockets. They say, he thought, that this Bible contains the solution to all questions. So, opening it, he began to read at the place at which it opened itself--Matt. x., 8. After a while he inclined close to the lamp and became like one petrified. An exultation, the like of which he had not experienced for a long time, took possession of his soul, as though, after long suffering and weariness, he found at last liberty and rest. He did not sleep the whole night. As is the case with many who read the Bible for the first time, he now, on reading it again, grasped the full meaning of words which he had known long ago, but which he had not understood before. Like a sponge that absorbs everything, so he absorbed everything that was important, necessary and joyful.

  "That is the principal thing," thought Nekhludoff. "We all live in the silly belief that we ourselves are the lords of our world, that this world has been given us for our enjoyment. But this is evidently untrue. Somebody must have sent us here for some reason. And for this reason it is plain that we will suffer like those laborers suffer who do not fulfill the wishes of their Master. The will of the Lord is expressed in the teachings of Christ. Let man obey Him, and the Kingdom of the Lord will come on earth, and man will derive the greatest possible good.

  "_Seek the truth and the Kingdom of God, and the rest will come of itself._ We seek that which is to come, and do not find it, and not only do we not build the Kingdom of God, but we destroy it.

  "So this will henceforth be the task of my life!"

  And indeed, from that night a new life began for Nekhludoff; not so much because he had risen into a new stage of existence, but because all that had happened to him till then assumed for him an altogether new meaning.

  THE END.

  * * * * *

  TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: (Not part of the original book.)

  Below are listed the spelling inconsistencies in the names of certain characters. The names were transcribed to match the original text except where typos are assumed to have caused the variations. Changes from the original are noted below, except for minor punctuation corrections.

  Absence changed to absent from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. VI, Pg. 25):

&n
bsp; He was postponing the case against the Skoptzy, although the absence witness was an entirely unnecessary one.

  Birukova (Theodosia) (1 time) Brinkova (Theodosia) (1 time)

  Borki (village) (1 time) Borkoff (village) (1 time) Barkoff (village) (1 time)

  Chapter (3 times) Chepter (1 time), changed to Chapter from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XLIII, Pg. 153):

  "To the Department of Cassation, etc., etc., Katherine, etc. Petition. By the decision, etc., of the etc., rendered, etc., a certain Maslova was found guilty of taking the life, by poisoning, of a certain merchant Smelkoff, and in pursuance of Chepter 1,454 of the Code, was sentenced to etc., with hard labor, etc."

  Daus changed to dans, from original sentence (Part 2, Ch. IX, Pg. 229):

  Il donne daus le spiritisme.

  Dmitri (22 times) Dimitri (3 times)

  Dvorianskaia (1 time) Dvorinskaia (1 time)

  Fanarin (11 times) Fanirin (19 times)

  Fomer changed to former, from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XLIII, Pg. 151):

  Not only was the old arrangement of things continued, but, as in fomer times, the house received a general cleaning.

  Gerasimovich (7 times) Gerasimovitch (8 times)

  Ivanova (Bochkova) (1 time) Ivanovna (Bochkova) (1 time)

  Ivanovich (Dmitri) (14 times) Ivanovitch (Dmitri) (3 time)

  Kamensky (2 times) Kanesky (1 time)

  Katherine (Michaelovna Maslova) (15 times) Catherine (Michaelovna Maslova) (3 times)

  Katiousha (122 times) Katiusha (3 times)

  Korableva (39 times) Korabeva (1 time), changed to Korableva from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XLVI, Pg. 164):

  "Well, girl, good times are coming," said Korabeva to Maslova when the latter returned to the cell.

  Kornei (8 times) Kornci (1 time), changed to Kornei from original sentence (Part 2, Ch. VI, Pg. 215):

  The odor of camphor still hung in the air through all the rooms, and Agrippina, Petrovna and Kornci seemed tired out and dissatisfied, and even quarreled about the packing of the things, the use of which seemed to consist chiefly in being hung out, dried and packed away again.

  Kryltzoff (22 times) Kyrltzoff (1 time), changed to Kryltzoff from original sentence (Part 3, Ch. V, Pg. 301):

  "I cannot talk to them," Kyrltzoff said in a whisper, and became silent.

  Kusminskoie (8 times) Kusminskoi (1 time), changed to Kusminskoie from original sentence (Part 2, Ch. V, Pg. 215):

  Recalling now the feeling of pity over the loss of his property which he had experienced in Kusminskoi, Nekhludoff wondered how he could have done so.

  Kusminskoe (1 time), changed to Kusminskoie from original sentence (Part 2, Ch. XXIV, Pg. 286):

  "I have not yet given the Kusminskoe land to the peasants."

  Maslova (294 times) Moslova (3 times)

  Two occurrences of Moslova kept as in original, as they could be interpreted as her name misspelled on the prison list, and Nekhludoff asking for her by that name. The third was considered a typo and changed from the original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XI, Pg. 41):

  "What took place?" suddenly said Moslova.

  Menshov (9 times) Menshova (5 times) Menshoff (1 time)

  Michaelovna (5 times) Michaelova (1 time), changed to Michaelovna from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XXIII, Pg. 82):

  3. Is the burgess Katherine Michaelova Maslova, twenty-seven years of age, guilty of the crime mentioned in the first question?

  Natalie (15 times) Natalia (10 times) Natasha (3 times)

  Nekhludoff (970 times) Nekludoff (1 time), changed to Nekhludoff from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XXV, Pg. 90):

  Nekludoff called to mind these two well-known lawyers.

  Nekhuldoff (1 time), changed to Nekhludoff from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XLII, Pg. 149):

  Nekhuldoff expected that at the first meeting Katiousha, learning of his intention to serve her, and of his repentance, would be moved to rejoicing, would become again Katiousha, but to his surprise and horror, he saw that Katiousha was no more; that only Maslova remained.

  Nikiforovitch (26 times) Nikiforvitch (1 time), changed to Nikiforovitch from original sentence (Part 2, Ch. XX, Pg. 269):

  "In the first place, the Ministry will not refer to the Senate," and Ignatius Nikiforvitch smiled condescendingly, "but will call for all the documents in the case, and, if it finds an error, will so decide."

  Panov (5 times) Panovo (1 time) Panoff (1 time)

  Petrovna (25 times) Petrovana (1 time), changed to Petrovna from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. III, Pg. 15):

  "Then I will bid her wait," and Agrippina Petrovana glided out of the dining-room, first replacing the crumb-brush, which lay on the table, in its holder.

  Replusive was changed to repulsive from the original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XLI, Pg. 148):

  "Because I wish to efface, to expiate my sin. Katiousha----" he began, and was about to tell her that he would marry her, but he met her eyes in which he read something so terrible, rude and replusive that he could not finish.

  Selenin (21 times) Selinin (1 time), changed to Selenin from original sentence (Part 3, Ch. VIII, Pg. 311):

  There was no news there, so he drove back to his hotel, and wrote at once to the lawyer and to Selinin concerning it.

  Silenin (3 times), changed to Selenin from original sentences (Part 2, Ch. XII, Pg. 239 and Part 3, Ch. VII, Pg. 310):

  "Is the associate's name Silenin?" he asked the lawyer.

  He tore open the envelope, and, seeing a letter from Silenin with some official document, he felt the blood mounting to his cheeks, and his heart grow weak.

  "Dear friend," wrote Silenin, "our last conversation made a strong impression upon me."

  Shouleds was changed to shoulders from the original sentence (Part 2, Ch. XVI, Pg. 252):

  In the box he found Mariette and a strange lady with a red mantle over her shouleds and high head-dress, and two men--a general, Mariette's husband, a handsome, tall man with a high, artificial, military breast, and a flaxen haired, bald-headed man with shaved chin and solemn side-whiskers.

  Simonson (31 times) Simsonson (1 time), changed to Simonson from the original sentence (Part 3, Ch. VII, Pg. 304):

  I never thought that Vladimir Simsonson could fall in love in such a very stupid, childish fashion.

  Smelkoff (34 times) Smeldoff (1 time), changed to Smelkoff from the original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XI, Pg. 39):

  "You are charged, together with Euphemia Bochkova and Katherine Maslova, with stealing from the trunk of the merchant Smeldoff money belonging to him, and subsequently brought arsenic and induced Maslova to administer it to Smelkoff, by reason of which he came to his death."

  Smothly changed to smoothly from the original sentence (Part 1, Ch. LIII, Pg. 183):

  At first everything went on smothly, but afterward one of the party was caught, the papers were seized, and then all were taken in a police drag-net.

  Tarass (7 times) Taras (1 time), changed to Tarass from original sentence (Part 3, Ch. 1, Pg. 290):

  Her condition in this respect was somewhat relieved by the presence of Theodosia and Taras, who, learning that his wife was subjected to these insults, had himself included among the prisoners, and riding as such from Nijhni, was able to protect her to some extent.

  Therapout (1 time) Therapont (1 time)

  TOLSTOY (Count Leo, author) (correct spelling) (0 times) TOLSTOI (Count Leo, author) (2 times) left variation as in original.

  Tourgenieff (1 time) (correct spelling.) Tourgeniff (1 time) Could be misquoted by character, left as original.

  Vasilevna (Maria) (1 time) Vasilieona (Maria) (1 time)

  Vodk changed to vodka from original sentence (Part 1, Ch. XLIV, Pg. 157):

  Korableva, Miss Dandy, Theodosia and Maslova, flushed and animated, for they had already partaken of vodk which Maslova now had in abundance, were sitting in their corner, talking of the same thing.

  Maslenikoff, Nekhludoff character error:

 
Nekhludoff was kept in the following sentence to match the original, and because it wasn't a simple printer's typo. It should have been Maslenikoff speaking in place of Nekhludoff as can be seen by the surrounding paragraphs (Part 1, Ch. LVI, Pg. 190):

  "How did you come to know it?" asked Nekhludoff, and his face showed disquietude and displeasure.

  "I was visiting a prisoner, and these people surrounded me and asked----"

  "What prisoner were you visiting?"