She fetched out her best vodka, and brought some bread and cheese, and sat by, not able to eat, and marvelling silently at a man's appetite. After it was satisfied, Okhrim resumed the conversation. "And now," he said, "you'll let me have that little sum I want to borrow." "What interest will you give me?" she asked timidly. "We'll settle that by and by," he answered, with a sneer. It would not be necessary now to marry the old widow. He could squeeze what money he liked out of her. Some months after Michael and Velia reached Scotland, they received the following letter from their father:— "BELOVED CHILDREN,—Grace be with you, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Let us first praise God for His tender mercies both towards you and towards us. Our kinsman in Odessa has written me concerning you. May the blessing of God Almighty rest upon him and Father Cyril! I long to hear from yourselves that you prosper and are in health, and that your souls prosper. "I charge you, my beloved son, that you use all diligence in your studies; especially that, as far as possible, you learn something of healing, that when you return to us, you may be like Luke, the beloved physician. This knowledge will be useful to you wherever your 'lost' is cast. Let my well-beloved Velia learn all that a woman should know: how to nurse the sick, teach and bring up children, make garments, guide the house, and glorify the Lord in doing little things. These things do, and you will gladden your father's heart. "For ourselves, the loving-kindness of our God towards us is marvellous. I will write you particulars. He has given us favour in the eyes of our neighbours; more especially of the police officer and Starosta, who is a Mongol, and cares nothing about our religion. I do all his writing and accounts for him; and he deals pleasantly with us. We have made a decent home—or homes, rather—of the hut and its barns; and we live in great harmony and peace together. Katerina has another child to comfort her for the babe she lost on the journey. All the rest are well both in body and soul. As we are dwelling not far from the frontier of Mongolia, Khariton Kondraty and his son Sergius are learning the Mongol language, to the intent that when our term of banishment is over, they may go forth, even as our Lord sent His first disciples, to preach the kingdom of God. He said, 'Freely ye have received, freely give.' It is the bread of life and the water of life they will give to a hungered and thirsty nation.