become youths and maidens, and plight their

troth to one another, and marry one another, and produce individuals similar to them- selves. Thus life stretched qut_Jn a cori^ jinuous, unifomTjdiain which broke off imperceptibly only when the tomb had been reached.

True", there were times when other cares overtook the good folk of Oblomovka, but always they faced the situation with stoical immobility, and the said cares, after circling; over their heads, flew away like birds which, having sought to cling to a smooth, perpendicular wall, find that they are flutter- ing their wings in vain against the stubborn stone, and therefore spread those pinions and depart. For instance, on one occasion a portion of the gallery around the house fell upon, and buried under its ruins, a hen- coop full of poultry, as well as, in doing so, narrowly missed a serving-woman who happened to be sitting near the spot with her husband. At once the establish- ment was in an uproar. Every one came running to the scene, under the impression that not only the hencoop, but also the barinia and little Ilya, were lying under the debris. Every one held up his or her hands

in horror, and fell to blaming every one else