CHAPTER IV.
Elissey turned the knob and entered the vestibule, where he found the door of the room wide open. On the left side of the apartment was the oven, and directly opposite the visitor was the "sacred corner," which contained the holy pictures. In the centre of the room was a table, and behind it stood a bench, on which sat an old woman with hair unkempt resting her head upon the table. By her side was an emaciated little boy, who was catching the woman's sleeve and pleading piteously that she would give him something.
When Elissey entered the room he found the air very oppressive. On a bed by the stove lay another woman prone upon her face. She did not even look up and seemed to be suffering intensely. She turned restlessly from side to
