Page:Leskov - The Sentry and other Stories.djvu/268

 252 water in the sea than in your hand, but when the time comes for the world to be destroyed, and out of the present sun another emerges discharging fire, then it will dry up all the waters in the world, both the large and the small ones, and the seas, and the rivers, and the streams, and even Atlas will crumble away, but whoever in his lifetime has given the thirsty to drink from his hand, or whoever has washed the wounds of the beggars with his hand, even seven suns will not dry up his handful of water, but on the contrary they will multiply and increase it."

"Well, gentlemen, what do you truly think of this? It is not so very stupid?" asked the narrator, pausing for a moment. "Eh? No, really, what do you think of it?"

"It is not at all stupid, Vladyko, not at all stupid."

I must own, to me too, it seems more intelligent than many a lengthy sermon about justification. Well, it was not only of this we talked. After that we had long discussions about the best method to convert the heathen to Christianity. Kiriak was of the opinion that for them it was best to have the least possible amount of ceremony, because otherwise they would even surpass Kirika himself with questions like, "Can one administer the Communion to one who taps his teeth with