A LONG EXILE
(Early title, “God Sees the Truth, but Bides His Time”)
By Lyoff Tolstoi
In the town of Vladimir there lived a young merchant, Aksenof by name. He owned two shops and a home.
Aksenof was a fair, curly-headed, handsome fellow, always jolly and singing. In his youth, Aksenof drank much, and when he was intoxicated his ways were rough. Since his marriage, however, he had stopped drinking, except upon rare occasions.
One day, in summer, Aksenof prepared to go to Nijni Novgorod, to the fair. When he was bidding good-by to his wife she said to him:
“Ivan Dmitrievich,[4] don’t go this time. I dreamt a bad dream about you.”
Aksenof laughed and replied:
“You are always afraid that I might get a bit jolly at the fair!”
His wife said: