{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_38616/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_38616","id":"gutenberg_38616","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38616","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Novels","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Russian Literature","Christian fiction","Shoemakers -- Fiction","Short stories","Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910 -- Translations into English"],"text":"Produced by Gerard Arthus, Charlene Taylor, Jana Srna and\nthe Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttps://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images\ngenerously made available by The Internet Archive/American\nLibraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  [ Transcriber's Notes:\n\n    Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as\n    possible, including any non-standard spelling.\n\n    Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.\n  ]\n\n\n\n\n  WHERE LOVE IS\n  THERE GOD IS ALSO\n\n  BY\n  LYOF N. TOLSTOI\n\n  TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN\n  BY\n  NATHAN HASKELL DOLE\n\n  NEW YORK\n  THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY\n  PUBLISHERS\n\n\n  Copyright, 1887,\n  By Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.\n\n\n\n\nWHERE LOVE IS THERE GOD IS ALSO\n\n\nIn the city lived the shoemaker, Martuin Avdyeitch. He lived in a\nbasement, in a little room with one window. The window looked out on the\nstreet. Through the window he used to watch the people passing by;\nalthough only their feet could be seen, yet by the boots, Martuin\nAvdyeitch recognized the people. Martuin Avdyeitch had lived long in one\nplace, and had many acquaintances. Few pairs of boots in his district\nhad not been in his hands once and again. Some he would half-sole, some\nhe would patch, some he would stitch around, and occasionally he would\nalso put on new uppers. And through the window he often recognized his\nwork.\n\nAvdyeitch had plenty to do, because he was a faithful workman, used good\nmaterial, did not make exorbitant charges, and kept his word. If it was\npossible for him to finish an order by a certain time, he would accept\nit; otherwise, he would not deceive you,--he would tell you so\nbeforehand. And all knew Avdyeitch, and he was never out of work.\n\nAvdyeitch had always been a good man; but as he grew old, he began to\nthink more about his soul, and get nearer to God. Martuin's wife had\ndied when he was still living with his master. His wife left him a boy\nthree years old. None of their other children had lived. All the eldest\nhad died in childhood. Martuin at first intended to send his little son\nto his sister in the village, but afterward he felt sorry for him; he\nthought to himself:--\n\n\"It will be hard for my Kapitoshka to live in a strange family. I shall\nkeep him with me.\"\n\nAnd Avdyeitch left his master, and went into lodgings with his little\nson. But God gave Avdyeitch no luck with his children. As Kapitoshka\ngrew older, he began to help his father, and would have been a delight\nto him, but a sickness fell on him, he went to bed, suffered a week, and\ndied. Martuin buried his son, and fell into despair. So deep was this\ndespair that he began to complain of God. Martuin fell into such a\nmelancholy state, that more than once he prayed to God for death, and\nreproached God because He had not taken him who was an old man, instead\nof his beloved only son. Avdyeitch also ceased to go to church.\n\nAnd once a little old man from the same district came from Troitsa(1) to\nsee Avdyeitch; for seven years he had been wandering about. Avdyeitch\ntalked with him, and began to complain about his sorrows.\n\n  (1) Trinity, a famous monastery, pilgrimage to which is reckoned a\n  virtue. Avdyeitch calls this _zemlyak-starichok_, _Bozhi chelovyek_,\n  God's man.--Ed.\n\n\"I have no desire to live any longer,\" he said, \"I only wish I was dead.\nThat is all I pray God for. I am a man without anything to hope for\nnow.\"\n\nAnd the little old man said to him:--\n\n\"You don't talk right, Martuin, we must not judge God's doings. The\nworld moves, not by our skill, but by God's will. God decreed for your\nson to die,--for you--to live. So it is for the best. And you are in\ndespair, because you wish to live for your own happiness.\"\n\n\"But what shall one live for?\" asked Martuin.\n\nAnd the little old man said:--\n\n\"We must live for God, Martuin. He gives you life, and for His sake you\nmust live. When you begin to live for Him, you will not grieve over\nanything, and all will seem easy to you.\"\n\nMartuin kept silent for a moment, and then said, \"But how can one live\nfor God?\"\n\nAnd the little old man said:--\n\n\"Christ has taught us how to live for God. You know how to read? Buy a\nTestament, and read it; there you will learn how to live for God.\nEverything is explained there.\"\n\nAnd these words kindled a fire in Avdyeitch's heart. And he went that\nvery same day, bought a New Testament in large print, and began to read.\n\nAt first Avdyeitch intended to read only on holidays; but as he began to\nread, it so cheered his soul that he used to read every day. At times he\nwould become so absorbed in reading, that all the kerosene in the lamp\nwould burn out, and still he could not tear himself away. And so\nAvdyeitch used to read every evening.\n\nAnd the more he read, the clearer he understood what God wanted of him,\nand how one should live for God; and his heart kept growing easier and\neasier. Formerly, when he lay down to sleep, he used to sigh and groan,\nand always thought of his Kapitoshka; and now his only exclamation\nwas:--\n\n\"Glory to Thee! glory to Thee, Lord! Thy will be done.\"\n\nAnd from that time Avdyeitch's whole life was changed. In other days he,\ntoo, used to drop into a public-house(2) as a holiday amusement, to\ndrink a cup of tea; and he was not averse to a little brandy, either. He\nwould take a drink with some acquaintance, and leave the saloon, not\nintoxicated, exactly, yet in a happy frame of mind, and inclined to talk\nnonsense, and shout, and use abusive language at a person. Now he left\noff that sort of thing. His life became quiet and joyful. In the morning\nhe would sit down to work, finish his allotted task, then take the\nlittle lamp from the hook, put it on the table, get his book from the\nshelf, open it, and sit down to read. And the more he read, the more he\nunderstood, and the brighter and happier it grew in his heart.\n\n  (2) _Traktir._\n\nOnce it happened that Martuin read till late into the night. He was\nreading the Gospel of Luke. He was reading over the sixth chapter; and\nhe was reading the verses:--\n\n\"_And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other;\nand him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.\nGive to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy\ngoods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do\nye also to them likewise._\"\n\nHe read farther also those verses, where God speaks:\n\n\"_And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?\nWhosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will\nshew you to whom he is like: he is like a man which built an house, and\ndigged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood\narose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake\nit; for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not,\nis like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth;\nagainst which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell;\nand the ruin of that house was great._\"\n\nAvdyeitch read these words, and joy filled his soul. He took off his\nspectacles, put them down on the book, leaned his elbows on the table,\nand became lost in thought. And he began to measure his life by these\nwords. And he thought to himself:--\n\n\"Is my house built on the rock, or on the sand? 'Tis well if on the\nrock. It is so easy when you are alone by yourself; it seems as if you\nhad done everything as God commands; but when you forget yourself, you\nsin again. Yet I shall still struggle on. It is very good. Help me,\nLord!\"\n\nThus ran his thoughts; he wanted to go to bed, but he felt loath to tear\nhimself away from the book. And he began to read farther in the seventh\nchapter. He read about the centurion, he read about the widow's son, he\nread about the answer given to John's disciples, and finally he came to\nthat place where the rich Pharisee desired the Lord to sit at meat with\nhim; and he read how the woman that was a sinner anointed His feet, and\nwashed them with her tears, and how He forgave her. He reached the\nforty-fourth verse, and began to read:--\n\n\"_And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this\nwoman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet:\nbut she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of\nher head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came\nin hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not\nanoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment._\"\n\nHe finished reading these verses, and thought to himself:--\n\n\"_Thou gavest me no water for my feet, thou gavest me no kiss. My head\nwith oil thou didst not anoint._\"\n\nAnd again Avdyeitch took off his spectacles, put them down on the book,\nand again he became lost in thought.\n\n\"It seems that Pharisee must have been such a man as I am. I, too,\napparently have thought only of myself,--how I might have my tea, be\nwarm and comfortable, but never to think about my guest. He thought\nabout himself, but there was not the least care taken of the guest. And\nwho was his guest? The Lord Himself. If He had come to me, should I have\ndone the same way?\"\n\nAvdyeitch rested his head upon both his arms, and did not notice that he\nfell asleep.\n\n\"Martuin!\" suddenly seemed to sound in his ears.\n\nMartuin started from his sleep:--\n\n\"Who is here?\"\n\nHe turned around, glanced toward the door--no one.\n\nAgain he fell into a doze. Suddenly, he plainly heard:--\n\n\"Martuin! Ah, Martuin! look to-morrow on the street. I am coming.\"\n\nMartuin awoke, rose from the chair, began to rub his eyes. He himself\ncould not tell whether he heard those words in his dream, or in reality.\nHe turned down his lamp, and went to bed.\n\nAt daybreak next morning, Avdyeitch rose, made his prayer to God,\nlighted the stove, put on the shchi(3) and the kasha,(4) put the water\nin the samovar, put on his apron, and sat down by the window to work.\n\n  (3) Cabbage-soup.\n\n  (4) Gruel.\n\nAnd while he was working, he kept thinking about all that had happened\nthe day before. It seemed to him at one moment that it was a dream, and\nnow he had really heard a voice.\n\n\"Well,\" he said to himself, \"such things have been.\"\n\nMartuin was sitting by the window, and looking out more than he was\nworking. When anyone passed by in boots which he did not know, he would\nbend down, look out of the window, in order to see, not only the feet,\nbut also the face.\n\nThe dvornik(5) passed by in new felt boots,(6) the water-carrier passed\nby; then there came up to the window an old soldier of Nicholas's time,\nin an old pair of laced felt boots, with a shovel in his hands.\nAvdyeitch recognized him by his felt boots. The old man's name was\nStepanuitch; and a neighboring merchant, out of charity, gave him a home\nwith him. He was required to assist the dvornik. Stepanuitch began to\nshovel away the snow from in front of Avdyeitch's window. Avdyeitch\nglanced at him, and took up his work again.\n\n  (5) House-porter.\n\n  (6) _Valenki._\n\n\"Pshaw! I must be getting crazy in my old age,\" said Avdyeitch, and\nlaughed at himself. \"Stepanuitch is clearing away the snow, and I\nimagine that Christ is coming to see me. I was entirely out of my mind,\nold dotard that I am!\"\n\nAvdyeitch sewed about a dozen stitches, and then felt impelled to look\nthrough the window again. He looked out again through the window, and\nsaw that Stepanuitch had leaned his shovel against the wall, and was\nwarming himself, and resting. He was an old, broken-down man; evidently\nhe had not strength enough even to shovel the snow. Avdyeitch said to\nhimself:--\n\n\"I will give him some tea; by the way, the samovar has only just gone\nout.\" Avdyeitch laid down his awl, rose from his seat, put the samovar\non the table, poured out the tea, and tapped with his finger at the\nglass. Stepanuitch turned around, and came to the window. Avdyeitch\nbeckoned to him, and went to open the door.\n\n\"Come in, warm yourself a little,\" he said. \"You must be cold.\"\n\n\"May Christ reward you for this! my bones ache,\" said Stepanuitch.\n\nStepanuitch came in, and shook off the snow, tried to wipe his feet, so\nas not to soil the floor, but staggered.\n\n\"Don't trouble to wipe your feet. I will clean it up myself; we are used\nto such things. Come in and sit down,\" said Avdyeitch. \"Here, drink a\ncup of tea.\"\n\nAnd Avdyeitch lifted two glasses, and handed one to his guest; while he\nhimself poured his tea into a saucer, and began to blow it.\n\nStepanuitch finished drinking his glass of tea, turned the glass upside\ndown,(7) put the half-eaten lump of sugar on it, and began to express\nhis thanks. But it was evident he wanted some more.\n\n  (7) To signify he was satisfied; a custom among the Russians.--Ed.\n\n\"Have some more,\" said Avdyeitch, filling both his own glass and his\nguest's. Avdyeitch drank his tea, but from time to time glanced out into\nthe street.\n\n\"Are you expecting anyone?\" asked his guest.\n\n\"Am I expecting anyone? I am ashamed even to tell whom I expect. I am,\nand I am not, expecting someone; but one word has kindled a fire in my\nheart. Whether it is a dream, or something else, I do not know. Don't\nyou see, brother, I was reading yesterday the Gospel about Christ the\nBatyushka; how He suffered, how He walked on the earth. I suppose you\nhave heard about it?\"\n\n\"Indeed I have,\" replied Stepanuitch; \"but we are people in darkness, we\ncan't read.\"\n\n\"Well, now, I was reading about that very thing,--how He walked on the\nearth; I read, you know, how He came to the Pharisee, and the Pharisee\ndid not treat Him hospitably. Well, and so, my brother, I was reading\nyesterday, about this very thing, and was thinking to myself how he did\nnot receive Christ, the Batyushka, with honor. Suppose, for example, He\nshould come to me, or anyone else, I said to myself, I should not even\nknow how to receive Him. And he gave Him no reception at all. Well!\nwhile I was thus thinking, I fell asleep, brother, and I heard someone\ncall me by name. I got up; the voice, just as if someone whispered,\nsaid, 'Be on the watch; I shall come to-morrow.' And this happened\ntwice. Well! would you believe it, it got into my head? I scolded\nmyself--and yet I am expecting Him, the Batyushka.\"\n\nStepanuitch shook his head, and said nothing; he finished drinking his\nglass of tea, and put it on the side; but Avdyeitch picked up the glass\nagain, and filled it once more.\n\n\"Drink some more for your good health. You see, I have an idea that,\nwhen the Batyushka went about on this earth, He disdained no one, and\nhad more to do with the simple people. He always went to see the simple\npeople. He picked out His disciples more from among folk like such\nsinners as we are, from the working class. Said He, whoever exalts\nhimself, shall be humbled, and he who is humbled shall become exalted.\nSaid He, you call me Lord, and, said He, I wash your feet. Whoever\nwishes, said He, to be the first, the same shall be a servant to all.\nBecause, said He, blessed are the poor, the humble, the kind, the\ngenerous.\"\n\nAnd Stepanuitch forgot about his tea; he was an old man, and easily\nmoved to tears. He was listening, and the tears rolled down his face.\n\n\"Come, now, have some more tea,\" said Avdyeitch; but Stepanuitch made\nthe sign of the cross, thanked him, turned down his glass, and arose.\n\n\"Thanks to you,\" he says, \"Martuin Avdyeitch, for treating me kindly,\nand satisfying me, soul and body.\"\n\n\"You are welcome; come in again; always glad to see a friend,\" said\nAvdyeitch.\n\nStepanuitch departed; and Martuin poured out the rest of the tea, drank\nit up, put away the dishes, and sat down again by the window to work, to\nstitch on a patch. He kept stitching away, and at the same time looking\nthrough the window. He was expecting Christ, and was all the while\nthinking of Him and His deeds, and his head was filled with the\ndifferent speeches of Christ.\n\nTwo soldiers passed by: one wore boots furnished by the crown, and the\nother one, boots that he had made; then the master(8) of the next house\npassed by in shining galoshes; then a baker with a basket passed by. All\npassed by; and now there came also by the window a woman in woolen\nstockings and rustic bashmaks on her feet. She passed by the window, and\nstood still near the window-case.\n\n  (8) _Khozyain._\n\nAvdyeitch looked up at her from the window, and saw it was a stranger, a\nwoman poorly clad, and with a child; she was standing by the wall with\nher back to the wind, trying to wrap up the child, and she had nothing\nto wrap it up in. The woman was dressed in shabby summer clothes; and\nfrom behind the frame, Avdyeitch could hear the child crying, and the\nwoman trying to pacify it; but she was not able to pacify it.\n\nAvdyeitch got up, went to the door, ascended the steps, and cried:--\n\n\"My good woman. Hey! my good woman!\"(9)\n\n  (9) _Umnitsa aumnitsa!_ literally, clever one.\n\nThe woman heard him and turned around.\n\n\"Why are you standing in the cold with the child? Come into my room,\nwhere it is warm; you can manage it better. Here, this way!\"\n\nThe woman was astonished. She saw an old, old man in an apron, with\nspectacles on his nose, calling her to him. She followed him. They\ndescended the steps and entered the room; the old man led the woman to\nhis bed.\n\n\"There,\" says he, \"sit down, my good woman, nearer to the stove; you can\nget warm, and nurse the little one.\"\n\n\"I have no milk for him. I myself have not eaten anything since\nmorning,\" said the woman; but, nevertheless, she took the baby to her\nbreast.\n\nAvdyeitch shook his head, went to the table, brought out the bread and a\ndish, opened the oven door, poured into the dish some cabbage soup, took\nout the pot with the gruel, but it was not cooked as yet; so he filled\nthe dish with shchi only, and put it on the table. He got the bread,\ntook the towel down from the hook, and spread it upon the table.\n\n\"Sit down,\" he says, \"and eat, my good woman; and I will mind the little\none. You see, I once had children of my own; I know how to handle them.\"\n\nThe woman crossed herself, sat down at the table, and began to eat;\nwhile Avdyeitch took a seat on the bed near the infant. Avdyeitch kept\nsmacking and smacking to it with his lips; but it was a poor kind of\nsmacking, for he had no teeth. The little one kept on crying. And it\noccured to Avdyeitch to threaten the little one with his finger; he\nwaved, waved his finger right before the child's mouth, and hastily\nwithdrew it. He did not put it to its mouth, because his finger was\nblack, and soiled with wax. And the little one looked at his finger, and\nbecame quiet; then it began to smile, and Avdyeitch also was glad. While\nthe woman was eating, she told who she was, and whither she was going.\n\nSaid she:--\n\n\"I am a soldier's wife. It is now seven months since they sent my\nhusband away off, and no tidings. I lived out as cook; the baby was\nborn; no one cared to keep me with a child. This is the third month that\nI have been struggling along without a place. I ate up all I had. I\nwanted to engage as a wet-nurse--no one would take me--I am too thin,\nthey say. I have just been to the merchant's wife, where lives a young\nwoman I know, and so they promised to take us in. I thought that was the\nend of it. But she told me to come next week. And she lives a long way\noff. I got tired out; and it tired him, too, my heart's darling.\nFortunately, our landlady takes pity on us for the sake of Christ, and\ngives us a room, else I don't know how I should manage to get along.\"\n\nAvdyeitch sighed, and said:\n\n\"Haven't you any warm clothes?\"\n\n\"Now is the time, friend, to wear warm clothes; but yesterday I pawned\nmy last shawl for a twenty-kopek piece.\"(10)\n\n  (10) _Dvagrivennui_, silver, worth sixteen cents.\n\nThe woman came to the bed, and took the child; and Avdyeitch rose, went\nto the partition, rummaged round, and succeeded in finding an old coat.\n\n\"Na!\" says he; \"It is a poor thing, yet you may turn it to some use.\"\n\nThe woman looked at the coat and looked at the old man; she took the\ncoat, and burst into tears; and Avdyeitch turned away his head; crawling\nunder the bed, he pushed out a little trunk, rummaged in it, and sat\ndown again opposite the woman.\n\nAnd the woman said:--\n\n\"May Christ bless you, little grandfather!(11) He must have sent me to\nyour window. My little baby would have frozen to death. When I started\nout it was warm, but now it has grown cold. And He, the Batyushka, led\nyou to look through the window and take pity on me, an unfortunate.\"\n\n  (11) _Diedushka._\n\nAvdyeitch smiled, and said:--\n\n\"Indeed, He did that! I have been looking through the window, my good\nwoman, for some wise reason.\"\n\nAnd Martuin told the soldier's wife his dream, and how he heard the\nvoice,--how the Lord promised to come and see him that day.\n\n\"All things are possible,\" said the woman. She rose, put on the coat,\nwrapped up her little child in it; and, as she started to take leave,\nshe thanked Avdyeitch again.\n\n\"Take this, for Christ's sake,\" said Avdyeitch, giving her a\ntwenty-kopek piece; \"redeem your shawl.\"\n\nShe made the sign of the cross, and Avdyeitch made the sign of the cross\nand went with her to the door.\n\nThe woman went away. Avdyeitch ate some shchi, washed the dishes, and\nsat down again to work. While he was working he still remembered the\nwindow; when the window grew darker he immediately looked out to see who\nwas passing by. Acquaintances passed by and strangers passed by, and\nthere was nothing out of the ordinary.\n\nBut here Avdyeitch saw that an old apple woman had stopped in front of\nhis window. She carried a basket with apples. Only a few were left, as\nshe had evidently sold them nearly all out; and over her shoulder she\nhad a bag full of chips. She must have gathered them up in some new\nbuilding, and was on her way home. One could see that the bag was heavy\non her shoulder; she tried to shift it to the other shoulder. So she\nlowered the bag on the sidewalk, stood the basket with the apples on a\nlittle post, and began to shake down the splinters in the bag. And while\nshe was shaking her bag, a little boy in a torn cap came along, picked\nup an apple from the basket, and was about to make his escape; but the\nold woman noticed it, turned around, and caught the youngster by his\nsleeve. The little boy began to struggle, tried to tear himself away;\nbut the old woman grasped him with both hands, knocked off his cap, and\ncaught him by the hair.\n\nThe little boy was screaming, the old woman was scolding. Avdyeitch lost\nno time in putting away his awl; he threw it upon the floor, sprang to\nthe door,--he even stumbled on the stairs, and dropped his\nspectacles,--and rushed out into the street.\n\nThe old woman was pulling the youngster by his hair, and was scolding\nand threatening to take him to the policeman; the youngster was\ndefending himself, and denying the charge.\n\n\"I did not take it,\" he said; \"What are you licking me for? Let me go!\"\n\nAvdyeitch tried to separate them. He took the boy by his arm, and\nsaid:--\n\n\"Let him go, babushka; forgive him, for Christ's sake.\"\n\n\"I will forgive him so that he won't forget it till the new broom grows.\nI am going to take the little villain to the police.\"\n\nAvdyeitch began to entreat the old woman:--\n\n\"Let him go, babushka,\" he said, \"he will never do it again. Let him go,\nfor Christ's sake.\"\n\nThe old woman let him loose; the boy started to run, but Avdyeitch kept\nhim back.\n\n\"Ask the babushka's forgiveness,\" he said, \"and don't you ever do it\nagain; I saw you take the apple.\"\n\nThe boy burst into tears, and began to ask forgiveness.\n\n\"There now! that's right; and here's an apple for you.\"\n\nAnd Avdyeitch took an apple from the basket, and gave it to the boy.\n\n\"I will pay you for it, babushka,\" he said to the old woman.\n\n\"You ruin them that way, the good-for-nothings,\" said the old woman. \"He\nought to be treated so that he would remember it for a whole week.\"\n\n\"Eh, babushka, babushka,\" said Avdyeitch, \"that is right according to\nour judgment, but not according to God's. If he is to be whipped for an\napple, then what ought to be done to us for our sins?\"\n\nThe old woman was silent.\n\nAnd Avdyeitch told her the parable of the master who forgave a debtor\nall that he owed him, and how the debtor went and began to choke one who\nowed him.\n\nThe old woman listened, and the boy stood listening.\n\n\"God has commanded us to forgive,\" said Avdyeitch, \"else we, too, may\nnot be forgiven. All should be forgiven, and the thoughtless\nespecially.\"\n\nThe old woman shook her head, and sighed.\n\n\"That's so,\" said she; \"but the trouble is that they are very much\nspoiled.\"\n\n\"Then we who are older must teach them,\" said Avdyeitch.\n\n\"That's just what I say,\" remarked the old woman. \"I myself have had\nseven of them,--only one daughter is left.\"\n\nAnd the old woman began to relate where and how she lived with her\ndaughter, and how many grandchildren she had. \"Here,\" she says, \"my\nstrength is only so-so, and yet I have to work. I pity the\nyoungsters--my grandchildren--but what nice children they are! No one\ngives me such a welcome as they do. Aksintka won't go to anyone but me.\n'Babushka, dear babushka, lovliest.'\"\n\nAnd the old woman grew quite sentimental.\n\n\"Of course, it is a childish trick. God be with him,\" said she, pointing\nto the boy.\n\nThe woman was just about to lift the bag up on her shoulder, when the\nboy ran up, and said:--\n\n\"Let me carry it, babushka; it is on my way.\"\n\nThe old woman nodded her head, and put the bag on the boy's back.\n\nAnd side by side they passed along the street.\n\nAnd the old woman even forgot to ask Avdyeitch to pay for the apple.\nAvdyeitch stood motionless, and kept gazing after them; and he heard\nthem talking all the time as they walked away. After Avdyeitch saw them\ndisappear, he returned to his room; he found his eye-glasses on the\nstairs,--they were not broken; he picked up his awl, and sat down to\nwork again.\n\nAfter working a little while, it grew darker, so that he could not see\nto sew; he saw the lamplighter passing by to light the street-lamps.\n\n\"It must be time to make a light,\" he said to himself; so he got his\nlittle lamp ready, hung it up, and he took himself again to his work. He\nhad one boot already finished; he turned it around, looked at it: \"Well\ndone.\" He put away his tools, swept off the cuttings, cleared off the\nbristles and ends, took the lamp, set it on the table, and took down the\nGospels from the shelf. He intended to open the book at the very place\nwhere he had yesterday put a piece of leather as a mark, but it happened\nto open at another place; and the moment Avdyeitch opened the Testament,\nhe recollected his last night's dream. And as soon as he remembered it,\nit seemed as if he heard someone stepping about behind him. Avdyeitch\nlooked around, and saw--there, in the dark corner, it seemed as if\npeople were standing; he was at a loss to know who they were. And a\nvoice whispered in his ear:--\n\n\"Martuin--ah, Martuin! did you not recognize me?\"\n\n\"Who?\" exclaimed Avdyeitch.\n\n\"Me,\" repeated the voice. \"It was I;\" and Stepanuitch stepped forth from\nthe dark corner; he smiled, and like a little cloud faded away, and soon\nvanished.\n\n\"And it was I,\" said the voice.\n\nFrom the dark corner stepped forth the woman with her child; the woman\nsmiled, the child laughed, and they also vanished,\n\n\"And it was I,\" continued the voice; both the old woman and the boy with\nthe apple stepped forward; both smiled and vanished.\n\nAvdyeitch's soul rejoiced; he crossed himself, put on his spectacles,\nand began to read the Evangelists where it happened to open. On the\nupper part of the page he read:--\n\n\"_For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave\nme drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in._\"\n\nAnd on the lower part of the page he read this:--\n\n\"_Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my\nbrethren, ye have done it unto me._\"--St. Matthew, Chap. xxv.\n\nAnd Avdyeitch understood that his dream had not deceived him; that the\nSaviour really called on him that day, and that he really received Him.","title":"Where Love is There God is Also","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":5189}