did. Once I even stole a half ruble from the office of the village

elder. So far had it gone with me.

Once something special happened to me. Olga went up to me, put her delicate arms on my shoulders, and said:

"Matvei, as surely as God's alive, I love you more than anything in the world."

She spoke these holy words wonderfully simply, as a child would say, "Mother." Like the hero in the fairy tale, I felt myself grow strong, and from that hour she became indescribably dear to me. It was the first time she had said she loved me, and it was the first time that I had embraced her and kissed her, so that I lost myself in her and forgot myself--as when I used to pray with all my heart.

Toward October our house was finished. It looked like a plaid where the logs showed blackened by the fire. Soon we celebrated the wedding, and my father-in-law became duly drunk and laughed with a full throat, like Satan at some success. My mother-in-law was silent and smiled at us through her tears.

"Stop crying!" Titoff roared at her. "What a son-in-law we have! Such a righteous one!"

Then he swore at her thoroughly.

We had important guests--the priest was there, of course, and the land commissioner, and two district elders, and various other pike among the carp. The village people had assembled under our windows, and among them Savelko made himself popular, for he was gay up to his last days. I sat at the window and heard the jingling of his balalaika and his thin voice pierced my ear. For though he was afraid to make his jokes too loud, still I heard him sing distinctly:

"Hurry and drink till you burst, Eat yourself full till you split."

His jokes amused me, though I had something else to think about then. Olga nestled up to me and whispered:

"If only all this eating and drinking were over!"

The gluttony went against her, and to me, too, the sight of it was disgusting.

When we were alone we burst into tears, sitting and embracing each other on the bed; we wept and laughed together at our great unforeseen happiness in our marriage. All night we did not sleep, but kissed each other and planned how we would live with each other. We lit the candle in order to see each other better.

"We will live so that all will love us. It is good to be with you, Matvei."

We were drunk with our unutterable happiness, and I said to Olga:

"May the Lord strike me dead, Olga, if on account of me you should weep other tears."

But she said to me:

"I will bear everything from you. I will be your mother and your sister, my lonely one."