“And can you read and write?”

“Very well.”

“And haven’t you read books about strong drink?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Well, but wouldn’t it be better not to drink at all?”

“Of course. Little good comes of it.”

“Then why not give it up?”

He is silent, evidently understanding, and thinking it over.

“It can be done, you know,” say I, “and what a good thing it would be!⁠ ⁠… The day before yesterday I went to Ívino. When I reached one of the houses, the master came out to greet me, calling me by name. It turned out that we had met twelve years before.⁠ ⁠… It was Koúzin⁠—do you know him?”