pitude, and quondam housekeepers, fat and hoarse, like
pug-dogs grown old, recall this common destruction with sorrow, horror,
and stolid perplexity.

Just like potatoes out of a sack, brawls, robberies, diseases, murders
and suicides began to pour down, and, it seemed, no one was to blame
for this. All these misfortunes just simply began to be more frequent
of their own accord, to pile one upon the other, to expand and grow;
just as a small lump of snow, pushed by the feet of urchins, becomes
constantly bigger and bigger by itself from the thawing snow sticking
to it, grows bigger than the stature of a man, and, finally, with one
last, small effort is precipitated into a ravine and rolls down as an
enormous avalanche. The old proprietresses and housekeepers, of course,
had never heard of fatality; but inwardly, with the soul, they sensed
its mysterious presence in the inevitable calamities of that terrible
year.

And, truly, everywhere in life where people are bound by common
interests, blood relationship, or the benefits of a profession into
close, individualized groups--there inevitably can be observed this
mysterious law of sudden accumulation, of a piling up, of events; their
epidemicity, their strange succession and connectedness, their
incomprehensible lingering. This occurs, as popular wisdom has long ago
noted, in isolated families, where disease or death suddenly falls upon
the near ones in an inevitable, enigmatic order. "Misfortune does not
come alone." "Misfortune without waits--open wide the gates." This is
to be noticed also in monasteries, banks, governmental departments,
regiments, places of learning and other public institutions, where for
a long time, almost for decades, life flows evenly, like a marshy
river; and, suddenly, and after some altogether insignificant incident
or other, there begin transfers, changes in positions, expulsions from
service, losses, sicknesses. The members of society, just as though
they had conspired, die, go insane, are caught thieving, shoot or hang
themselves; vacancy after vacancy is freed; promotions follow
promotions, new elements flow in, and, behold, after two years there is
not a one of the previous people on the spot; everything is new, if
only the institution has not fallen into pieces completely, has not
crept apart. And is it not the same astounding destiny which overtakes
enormous social, universal organizations--cities, empires, nations,
countries, and, who