V

I am going to pass over a long time--resumed the old man later.
There was much traveling and many stops; much tramping on foot, with
legs swollen; but all that has nothing to do with the subject.

Once in a while our guard would get angry at us, curse us bitterly,
and strike us with his whip. "You cursed Jews," he would say, "do I
owe you anything that I should suffer so much on your account, and
undergo all the hardships of travel?"

Indeed, there was a good deal of truth in what he said. For,
willingly or unwillingly, we did give him much trouble. Had we
died, say the year before, or even at that very moment, he would not
have been put to the necessity of leading a crowd of half-dumb boys.
He would not have had to stand the hardships of travel, and would
not have been compelled to listen to the wailings of children torn
from the arms of their parents. Or do you think it is agreeable to
feel that little children consider you a hard and cruel man? When I
grew up and served in the army myself, and had people below me in
age and position under my command, I came to understand the troubles
of our guard; so that now, after having gone through many
experiences, after I have passed, as they say, through fire and
water, I may confess that I bear no malice towards all those at
whose hands I suffered. There are many ex-Cantonists who cannot
forget the birch-rod, for instance. Well, so much is true: for