"I showed it to father;
he said, 'Take it and pawn it to the diamond-merchant'! What do you
think, would they give us anything for it? What do we want a telescope
for? To look at ourselves in the looking-glass and see what beauties
we are? But we haven't a looking-glass, unluckily." And Raissa suddenly laughed aloud. Her sister, of course, could not
hear her. But most likely she felt the shaking of her body: she clung
to Raissa's hand and her little face worked with a look of terror as
she raised her big eyes to her sister and burst into tears. "That's how she always is," said Raissa, "she
doesn't like one to laugh. "Come, I won't, Lyubotchka, I won't," she added, nimbly squatting on
her heels beside the child and passing her fingers through her hair. The laughter vanished from Raissa's face and her lips, the corners of
which twisted upwards in a particularly charming way, became
motionless again. The child was pacified. Raissa got up. "So you will do what you can, about the glass I mean, Davidushka. But
I do regret the wood, and the goose, too, however old it may be." "They would certainly give you ten roubles," said David, turning the
telescope in all directions. "I will buy it of you, what could be
better? And here, meanwhile, are fifteen kopecks for the chemist's....
Is that enough?" "I'll borrow that from you," whispered Raissa, taking the fifteen
kopecks from him. "What next? Perhaps you would like to pay interest? But you see I have
a pledge here, a very fine thing.... First-rate people, the English." "They say we are going to war with them." "No," answered David, "we are fighting the French now." "Well, you know best. Take care of it, then. Good-bye, friends." XIV

Here is another conversation that took place beside the same fence. Raissa seemed more worried than usual. "Five kopecks for a cabbage, and a tiny little one, too," she said,
propping her chin on her hand. "Isn't it dear? And I haven't had the
money for my sewing yet." "Who owes it you?" asked David. "Why, the merchant's wife who lives beyond the rampart." "The fat woman who goes about in a green blouse?" "Yes, yes." "I say, she is fat! She can hardly breathe for fat. She positively
steams in church, and doesn't pay her debts!" "She will pay, only when? And do you know, Davidushka, I have fresh
troubles. Father has taken it into his head to tell me his dreams--you
know he cannot say what he means: if he wants to say one word, it
comes out another. About food or any everyday thing we have got used
to it and understand; but it is not easy to understand the dreams even
of healthy people, and with him, it's awful! 'I am very happy,' he
says; 'I was walking about all among white birds to-day; and the Lord
God gave me a nosegay and in the nosegay was Andryusha with a little
knife,' he calls our Lyubotchka, Andryusha; 'now we shall both be
quite well,' he says. 'We need only one stroke with the little knife,
like this!' and he points to his throat. I don't understand him, but I
say, 'All right, dear, all right,' but he gets angry and tries to
explain what he means. He even bursts into tears." "But you should have said something to him," I put in; "you should
have made up some lie." "I can't tell lies," answered Raissa, and even flung up her hands. And indeed she could not tell lies. "There is no need to tell lies," observed David, "but there is no need
to kill yourself, either. No one will say thank you for it, you know." Raissa looked at him intently. "I wanted to ask you something, Davidushka; how ought I to spell
'while'?" "What sort of 'while'?" "Why, for instance: I hope you will live a long _while_." "Spell: w-i-l-e."

"No," I put in, "w-h-i-l-e."

"Well, it does not matter. Spell it with an h, then! What does matter
is, that you should live a long while." "I should like to write correctly," observed Raissa, and she flushed a
little. When she flushed she was amazingly pretty at once. "It may be of use.... How father wrote in his day ... wonderfully! He
taught me. Well, now he can hardly make out the letters." "You only live, that's all I want," David repeated, dropping his voice
and not taking his eyes off her. Raissa glanced quickly at him and
flushed still more. "You live and as for spelling, spell as you like.... Oh, the devil,
the witch is coming!" (David called my aunt the witch.) "What ill-luck
has brought her this way? You must go, darling." Raissa glanced at David once more and ran away. David talked to me of Raissa and her family very rarely and
unwillingly, especially from the time when he began to expect his
father's return. He thought of nothing but him and how we should live
together afterwards. He had a vivid memory of him and used to describe
him to me with particular pleasure. "He is big and strong; he can lift three hundred-weight with one
hand.... When he shouted: 'Where's the lad?' he could be heard all
over the house. He's so jolly and kind ... and a brave man! Nobody can
intimidate him. We lived so happily together before we were ruined. They say he has gone quite grey, and in old days his hair was as red
as mine. He was a strong man." David would never admit that we might remain in Ryazan. "You will go away," I observed, "but I shall stay." "Nonsense, we shall take you with us." "And how about my father?" "You will cast off your father. You will be ruined if you don't." "How so?" David made me no answer but merely knitted his white brows. "So when we go away with father," he began again, "he will get a good
situation and I shall marry." "Well, that won't be just directly," I said. "No, why not? I shall marry soon." "You?" "Yes, I; why not?" "You haven't fixed on your wife, I suppose." "Of course, I have." "Who is she?" David laughed. "What a senseless fellow you are, really? Raissa, of course." "Raissa!" I repeated in amazement; "you are joking!" "I am not given to joking, and don't like it." "Why, she is a year older than you are." "What of it? but let's drop the subject." "Let me ask one question," I said. "Does she know that you mean to
marry her?" "Most likely." "But haven't you declared your feelings?" "What is there to declare? When the time comes I shall tell her. Come,
that's enough." David got up and went out of the room. When I was alone, I pondered ...
and pondered ... and came to the conclusion that David would act
like a sensible and practical man; and indeed I felt flattered at the
thought of being the friend of such a practical man! And Raissa in her everlasting black woollen dress suddenly seemed to
me charming and worthy of the most devoted love. XV

David's father still did not come and did not even send a letter. It
had long been summer and June was drawing to its end. We were wearing
ourselves out in suspense. Meanwhile there began to be rumours that Latkin had suddenly become
much worse, and that his family were likely to die of hunger or else
the house would fall in and crush them all under the roof.