Chapter 44 Part 1 - Forty-one

Nekhludoff came out early in the morning and saw a countryman driving a cart in a lane, and exclaimed in a strange voice: "Sell milk, sell milk, sell milk!" The first warm spring rain fell last night.Where there is no road repair, green grass suddenly grows.In the garden, the branches of birches were covered with verdant down, and the plums and poplars pulled out their fragrant, slender leaves.Homes and shops have had their windows removed and wiped clean.At the flea market where Nekhludoff drove by, crowds of people crowded around the sheds.Ragged men walked about the market with leather boots tucked under their armpits and crisply pressed trousers and waistcoats slung over their shoulders.

Around the tavern were men who were not working, in clean pleated blouses and polished boots; coat.The policeman, holding a pistol tied with a yellow ribbon, stood guarding the compilation of works of Mozi and Mohism.The old title was written by Mo Zhai in the Warring States Period, and it was actually to see where there were disputes, so as to relieve their embarrassing boredom.On the avenue, in a patch of fresh green grass, children and dogs ran and played; nannies chatted cheerfully on benches. On the street, the left half of the road didn't see the sun, it was still damp and cool, and the road in the middle was already dry.Heavy carts rumbled incessantly through the streets, buggies rattled, and stagecoaches clanked incessantly.The jagged bells of churches sounded from all directions, shaking the air uncontrollably, calling people to attend the same services as those in prison churches.People dressed up and went to their respective parishes.

Nekhludoff's carriage did not take him to the prison gate, but stopped at the entrance to the prison. At this junction leading to the prison, about a hundred paces from the prison, stood some men and women, probably carrying bundles in their hands.There are several low-rise wooden houses on the right, and on the left is a two-story building DellaFVolpe, 1897-1968), Colletti (Lucio Colletti, 1924-, with a signboard at the door. The huge prison made of stone is in front, but Visitors were not allowed to come near. A sentry with a gun walked up and down, shouting at anyone who tried to get past him.

Next to the little door of the cabin, on a bench on the right, opposite the sentry post, sat a watchman.He was wearing a uniform with silk lace, and he carried a small book in his hand.Those who came to visit the prison came up to him and reported the name of the person they wanted to visit, and he wrote it down.Nekhludoff also went up to him and announced Maslova's name, which was also noted by the uniformed guard. "Why aren't people allowed in?" asked Nekhludoff. "They're praying. When it's over, I'll let you in." Nekhludoff went up to the visiting crowd.A man walked out of the crowd, with ragged clothes, a crumpled hat, a pair of worn shoes on his bare feet, and scars on his face, walking towards the prison.

"Where are you slipping?" the sentinel with a gun yelled at him. "What are you yelling about?" The man in ragged clothes was not intimidated by the sentinel's yelling, he retorted, and then walked back. "If you don't let me go, I'll just wait. Why bother shouting loudly, just like a general." The crowd laughed approvingly.Most of the prison visitors were dressed poorly, even in tatters, but there were also some men and women who were well dressed.Next to Nekhludoff stood a well-dressed, ruddy, clean-shaven man, who was holding a bundle, apparently a shirt and trousers.Nekhludoff asked him if this was his first visit to the prison.The man replied that he came every Sunday.And so they chatted.It turned out that he was the janitor of the bank and had come to visit his younger brother who had committed perjury.He was an amiable man, and told Nekhludoff all about himself, and wanted to know about Nekhludoff, when a buggy with rubber tyres, drawn by a tall, well-bred black horse, arrived. Then, a college student and a veiled lady were sitting in the car.In this way, their attention is drawn to it.The student, carrying a large bundle in his hand, went up to Nekhludoff and asked him if it was possible to distribute alms (the white bread he had brought) and what was the procedure for it.

"This is what my fiancée asked me to do. She is my fiancée. Her parents want us to distribute things to prisoners." "It's my first time here too, I don't know, but I guess I should ask the guy," said Nekhludoff, pointing to the guard in uniform with a small book in his hand. While Nekhludoff was talking to the student, the large iron prison door with a small window in the middle opened, and an officer in military uniform and another guard walked out.The guard with a small notebook in his hand announced the start of the prison visit.The sentry retreated to the side, and all the visitors rushed to the prison gate, some even ran.The guard standing at the door counted the visitors who passed by him in a loud voice: "Sixteen, seventeen..." Inside the prison, another guard patted every person who entered the second gate and counted them, The purpose is to prevent a visitor from remaining in the prison and prevent a prisoner from running away.The guard at this point, without looking at the passers-by, slapped Nekhludoff hard on the back.Nekhludoff was at first humiliated by the guard's beat, but he immediately thought of what he had come here for.This humiliating emotion made him feel ashamed.

Inside the second door, the first thing you see is a large vaulted room with a few small windows and iron bars on it.Never in Nekhludoff's mind did Nekhludoff in this room, which was called the Assembly Hall, find a colossal figure of Jesus crucified in a niche. "What's the use of hanging this?" he thought, unable to help linking the statue of Jesus to a free man, but he couldn't connect him to a prisoner. Nekhludoff walked slowly, letting the eager visitors go ahead.He felt mixed feelings, shuddering at the thought of the villains imprisoned here, full of sympathy for the boy of yesterday and innocents like Katyusha, and timid and loving at the thought of meeting Katyusha soon.When he walked out of this room, he heard the guard talking at the other end.But Nekhludoff, full of thoughts, ignored the guard's words and continued walking in the direction in which most visitors went, that is, to the men's prison, not to the women's prison to which he was going.

Nekhludoff let the impatient person go first, and he was the last to enter the interview room.When he opened the door and entered the room, the first thing that surprised him was the noise, a deafening sound made up of hundreds of shouts.He didn't understand what was going on until he walked over and saw that the room was divided in two by a barbed wire fence, and people were clinging to the wire fence like flies to sugar.It turned out that the room with several window holes on the back wall was divided into two halves not by one barbed wire but by two barbed wires, and the barbed wires were hung from the ceiling to the floor.Several guards were watching back and forth between the two barbed wire fences.There are prisoners on the other side of the barbed wire, and visitors on the other side. There are two barbed wires in between, with a distance of three argentinas. Therefore, not only can the two parties not give or receive anything privately, but it is even difficult to see each other's faces clearly, especially myopia.Conversation is also very difficult. You have to yell desperately to make the other party hear you.People on both sides put their faces on the barbed wire fence, wives, husbands, parents, children, everyone wanted to see each other's faces clearly and say what they wanted to say.Everyone wanted to hear each other, but their voices interfered with each other, so everyone shouted to drown out the other's voice.As soon as Nekhludoff entered the room, he was overwhelmed by the uproar.It was impossible to hear what they were saying.You can only judge what they are talking about and what relationship they have with each other from the facial expressions.Next to Nekhludoff an old woman in a kerchief, her face pressed against the wire fence, her jaw trembling, was talking loudly to a pale young man with a shaved head.The male prisoner raised his eyebrows and frowned, listening to her attentively.Beside the old woman, a young man in a peasant's coat, with his hands behind his ears, was shaking his head as he listened to a gaunt, gray-bearded male prisoner who looked like him.A little further on stood a man in rags, waving an arm, shouting and laughing.Sitting on the ground next to him was a woman holding a baby in her arms, with a high-quality wool turban wrapped around her head, crying bitterly. It was obviously the first time she saw the gray-haired man opposite him wearing prison clothes, with a shaved head and fetters. .Behind this woman stood the bank janitor, who had spoken to Nekhludoff, and was shouting with all his might at a male prisoner opposite, with a bald head and bright eyes.When Nekhludoff realized that he could only speak under such conditions, he could not help feeling full of resentment against those who had prescribed and enforced the system.He wondered that no one should feel humiliated by this dreadful condition, this profanation of human feeling.Soldiers, wardens, visitors, and prisoners all do it, as if they take it for granted.

-------- ① 3 Russian feet are equal to 2.13 meters. Nekhludoff remained in this room for five minutes, feeling an unspeakable pain in his heart, feeling impotent and alienated from the whole world.He was mentally disgusted, as if he were seasick.