erved his late mother as a chapel. He ordered vodka,
seated himself by the table and began to drink sternly, listening to the
alarm in the house and to the moans of his wife that came from above. In
the corner of the room, the images of the ikons, indifferent and dark,
stood out confusedly, dimly illumined by the glimmering light of the
image lamp. There was a stamping and scraping of feet over his head,
something heavy was moved from one side of the floor to the other, there
was a clattering of dishes, people were bustling hurriedly, up and down
the staircase. Everything was being done in haste, yet time was creeping
slowly. Ignat could hear a muffled voice from above,

"As it seems, she cannot be delivered that way. We had better send to
the church to open the gates of the Lord."

Vassushka, one of the hangers-on in his house, entered the room next to
Ignat's and began to pray in a loud whisper:

"God, our Lord, descend from the skies in Thy benevolence, born of
the Holy Virgin. Thou dost divine the helplessness of human creatures.
Forgive Thy servant."

And suddenly drowning all other sounds, a superhuman, soul-rending cry
rang out, and a continuous moan floated softly over the room and died
out in the corners, which were filled now with the twilight. Ignat cast
stern glances at the ikons, heaved a deep sigh and thought:

"Is it possible that it's again a daughter?"

At times he arose, stupidly stood in the middle of the room, and crossed
himself in silence, bowing before the ikons; then he went back to the
table, drank the vodka, which had not made him dizzy during these hours,
dozed off, and thus passed the whole night and following morning until
noon.

And then, at last, the midwife came down hastily, crying to him in a
thin, joyous voice.

"I congratulate you with a son, Ignat Matveyich!"

"You lie!" said he in a dull voice. "What's the matter with you,
batushka!" Heaving a sigh with all the strength of his massive chest,
Ignat went down on his knees, and clasping his hands firmly to his
breast, muttered in a trembling voice:

"Thank God! Evidently Thou didst not want that my stem should be
checked! My sins before Thee shall not remain without repentance. I
thank Thee, Oh Lord. Oh!" and, rising to his feet, he immediately began
to command noisily:

"Eh! Let someone go to St. Nicholas for a priest. Tell him that Ignat
Matveyich asked him to come! Let him come to make a prayer for the
woman."

The c