PART TWO
CHAPTER I.
Even to this day, after a lapse of ten years, the erstwhile
inhabitants of the Yamkas recall that year, abounding in unhappy,
foul, bloody events, which began with a series of trifling, small
affrays, but terminated in the administration's, one fine day,
taking and destroying completely the ancient, long-warmed nest of
legalized prostitution, which nest it had itself created--
scattering its remains over the hospitals, jails and streets of
the big city. Even to this day a few of the former proprietresses
who have remained alive and have reached the limit of decrepitude,
and quondam housekeepers, fat and hoarse, like pug-dogs grown old,
recall this common destruction with sorrow, horror, and stolid
perplexity.
Just like potatoes out of a sack, brawls, robberies, diseases,
murders and suicides began to pour down, and, it seemed, no one
was to blame for this. All these misfortunes just simply began to
be more frequent of their own accord, to pile one upon the other,
to expand and grow; just as a small lump of snow, pushed by the
feet of urchins, becomes constantly bigger and bigger by itself
from the thawing snow sticking to it, grows bigger than the
stature of a man, and, finally, with one last, small effort is
precipitated into a ravine and rolls down as an enormous
avalanche.
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