she brooded she played with the sumptuous lace on the parasol she had
taken out of her mother's hands.

"Poverty," said Rodion, "a great deal of anxiety--you see no end to it.
Here, God sends no rain... our life is not easy, there is no denying
it."

"You have a hard time in this life," said Elena Ivanovna, "but in the
other world you will be happy."

Rodion did not understand her, and simply coughed into his clenched hand
by way of reply. Stepanida said:

"Dear lady, the rich men will be all right in the next world, too. The
rich put up candles, pay for services; the rich give to beggars, but
what can the poor man do? He has no time to make the sign of the cross.
He is the beggar of beggars himself; how can he think of his soul? And
many sins come from poverty; from trouble we snarl at one another like
dogs, we haven't a good word to say to one another, and all sorts of
things happen, dear lady--God forbid! It seems we have no luck in this
world nor the next. All the luck has fallen to the rich."

She spoke gaily; she was evidently used to talking of her hard life. And
Rodion smiled, too; he was pleased that his old woman was so clever, so
ready of speech.

"It is only on the surface that the rich seem to be happy," said Elena
Ivanovna. "Every man has his sorrow. Here my husband and I do not live
poorly, we have means, but are we happy? I am young, but I have had
four children; my children are always being ill. I am ill, too, and