Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - The Russian Drama - Maxim Gorki - A Night's Lodging
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
296 Maxim Gorki
Vaska. From childhood, I have been only a thief.
. . . Always I was called Vaska the pickpocket, Vaska
the son of a thief! See, it was of no consequence to me,
as long as they would have it so ... so they would have
it. ... I was a thief, perhaps, only out of spite ... be
cause nobody came along to call me anything thief.
. . . You call me something else, Natasha. ... It is
no easy life that I lead friendless ; pursued like a wolf.
... I sink like a man in a swamp . . . whatever I touch
is slimy and rotten . . . nothing is firm . . . but you are
like a young fir-tree; you are prickly, but you give sup
port.
There is another humane figure illuminating the
dark picture in
"
A Night s Lodging ",
Luka.
He is the type of an old pilgrim, a man whom the
experiences of life have taught wisdom. He has
tramped through Russia and Siberia, and con
sorted with all sorts of people; but disappointment
and grief have not robbed him of his faith in
beauty, in idealism. He believes that every man,
however low, degraded, or demoralized can yet be
reached, if we but know how to touch his soul.
Luka inspires courage and hope in everyone he
meets, urging each to begin life anew. To the
former actor, now steeped in drink, he says :
Luka. The drunkard, I have heard, can now be cured,
without charge. They realize now, you see, that the
drunkard is also a man. You must begin to make ready.
Begin a new life!
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
