Every chance
remark she happened to overhear she took to be meant for herself.
Well, this same sensitiveness one may find in most of the
Cantonists. For instance, in the regiment of General Luders, in
which I served once, we had many Tatars, some Karaites, and a goodly
number of Jews. To all appearances there was no trouble; but let
one soldier call another "Antichrist," and every Jew in the regiment
would get excited. The Tatars and the Karaites rather liked to call
their comrades Antichrist, even if they happened to be Christians.
But it was only the Jews whom the word set a-shivering. It is as I
tell you--the Jew is painfully sensitive. Well, to cut my story
short, Anna did not have a happy time of it. She was all alone,
surrounded though she was by many people. She became taciturn in
spite of herself. And this is a great misfortune when it happens
with womenfolk. Women are naturally great talkers, and you may do
them much harm, if you do not give them a chance to talk. So I
became her crony as soon as I discovered her secret. Then she tried
to make up for the many years of silence by chattering incessantly.
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