memories of the past, and expectations from the future, which might
be realized at any moment, and for the realization of which only a
very little was required; but this little they did not possess, it
was nowhere to be obtained, and this had been ruining their whole
future life in vain, in the case of one man, for a year, of a second
for five years, and of a third for thirty years. All one needed was
merely to dress respectably, so that he could present himself to a
certain personage, who was well-disposed towards him another only
needed to be able to dress, pay off his debts, and get to Orel; a
third required to redeem a small property which was mortgaged, for
the continuation of a law-suit, which must be decided in his favor,
and then all would be well once more. They all declare that they
merely require something external, in order to stand once more in the
position which they regard as natural and happy in their own case.

Had my mind not been obscured by my pride as a benefactor, a glance
at their faces, both old and young, which were mostly weak and
sensitive, but amiable, would have given me to understand that their
misfortunes were irreparable by any external means, that they could
not be happy in any position whatever, if their views of life were to
remain unchanged, that they were in no wise remarkable people, in
remarkably unfortunate circumstances, but that they were the same
people who surround us on all sides, and just like ourselves. I
remember that intercourse with this sort of unfortunates was
peculiarly difficult for me. I now understand why this was so; in
them I beheld myself, as in a mirror. If I had reflected on my own
life and on the life of the people in our circle, I should have seen
that no real difference existed between them.

If those about me dwell in spacious quarters, and in their own houses