But I did not laugh; I was interested. Something, the cause of which he himself could not explain or express in words, was evidently weighing on him, and his unusually poor command of language added to this difficulty. In order to help him I re-assured him by telling him that I was in no hurry, as my work was not urgent and there would therefore be no harm in our having an hour's talk, and so on.--The Jew thanked me with a glance, and after a moment's thought opened the conversation thus: 'When did you leave Warsaw, Sir?' 'According to the Russian calendar, at the end of April.' 'Was it cold there then or warm?' 'Quite warm. I travelled in a summer suit at first.' 'Well, just fancy, Sir! Here it was freezing!' 'Then you have forgotten, is that it? Anyway, with us the fields are sown in April, and all the trees are green.' 'Green?' Joy shone in Srul's eyes. 'Why, yes, yes--green:--and here it was freezing!' Now at last I knew why he had come to me. Wishing to make certain, however, I was silent: the Jew was evidently getting animated. 'Well, Sir, you might tell me if there is any--with us now ... but you see, I don't know what it's called; I have already forgotten Polish,' he apologized shyly, as if he had ever known it--'it's white like a pea blossom, yet it's not a pea, and in summer it grows in gardens round houses, on those tall stalks?' 'Kidney beans?' 'That's just it! Kidney beans! Kidney beans!' he repeated to himself several times, as if wishing to impress those words on his memory for ever. 'Of course there are plenty of those. But are there none here?' 'Here! I have never seen a single pod all these past three years. Here the peas are what at home we should not expect the ... the....' 'The pigs to eat,' I suggested. 'Well, yes! Here they sell them by the pound, and it's not always possible to get them.' 'Are you so fond of kidney beans?' 'It's not that I am so fond of them, but they are so beautiful that ... I don't know why ... I often get thinking and thinking how they may be growing round my house. Here there's nothing!' 'And now, Sir,' he recommenced, 'will you tell me, if those small grey birds are still there in the winter,--like this--' and he measured with his hand. 'I have forgotten their names too. Formerly there were a great many, when I used to pray by the window. They used to swarm round! Well, whoever even looked at them there? Do you know, Sir, I could never have believed that I should ever think about them! But here, where it's so cold that even the crows won't stop, you can't expect to see little things like that. But they are sure to be there with us? They are there, aren't they, Sir?...' But I did not answer him now. I no longer doubted that this old fanatical Jew was pining for his country just as much as I was, and that we were both sick with the same sickness. This unexpected discovery moved me deeply, and I seized him by the hand, and asked in my turn: