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DIAMONDS TO SIT ON

‘ Eh, you’ll soon get sick of it all. Just look at yourself in the mirror.’ He looked and saw a rather daring face, two bright black eyes, a small, wild beard, and a stupid, drooping moustache. They trimmed his moustache and made it a decent size. What followed simply amazed his wife. He announced that this very evening he had to go away on business, and insisted that she should run to her brother, the baker, and borrow his brown suit for a week and his coat with the astrakhan collar. I shan t dream of going,’ she said, beginning to cry. For half an hour the priest marched up and down the room, frightening his wife with his face, that looked so different, and with the absolute rubbish that he talked. All she could understand was that he had cut off his beard for no reason at aU, that he wanted to travel goodness knows where in a ridiculous coat, and that he wanted to leave her, his wife. I’m not throwing you over,’ he said. ‘ I tell you I’ll be back in a week’s time for certain. After all, a man can have business, can’t he ? ’ No, he can’t,’ she retorted, and began to weep. Father Theodore, who was usually a very mild man when dealing with others, brought his fist down on to the table with a loud bang that so terrified his wife that she threw a shawl over her head and ran out to borrow the clothes. Left alone, the priest thought for a moment, and then said to himself, as he pulled out a small tin trunk from under his bed ; * Of course it is rather hard on a woman.’ He opened the trunk and tossed out a number of magazines that were lying on the top : The Russian Pilgrim for the year 1903; a fairly bulky volume. The History of the Schism ; and a pam­ phlet called Russians in Italy, which had a picture of Vesuvius in eruption on the cover. He thrust his hand down to the bottom of the trunk and pulled out