visiting day--the men's ward.
nekhludoff left home early. a peasant from the country was still driving along the side street and calling out in a voice peculiar to his trade, "milk! milk! milk!"
the first warm spring rain had fallen the day before, and now wherever the ground was not paved the grass shone green. the birch trees in the gardens looked as if they were strewn with green fluff, the wild cherry and the poplars unrolled their long, balmy buds, and in shops and dwelling-houses the double window-frames were being removed and the windows cleaned.
in the tolkoochi [literally, jostling market, where second-hand clothes and all sorts of cheap goods are sold] market, which nekhludoff had to pass on his way, a dense crowd was surging along the row of booths, and tattered men walked about selling top-boots, which they carried under their arms, and renovated trousers and waistcoats, which hung over their shoulders.
men in clean coats and shining boots, liberated from the factories, it being sunday, and women with bright silk kerchiefs on their heads and cloth jackets trimmed with jet, were already thronging at the door of the traktir. policemen, with yellow cords to their uniforms and carrying pistols, were on duty, looking out for some disorder which might distract the ennui that oppressed them. on the paths of the boulevards and on the newly-revived grass, children and dogs ran about, playing, and the nurses sat merrily chattering on the benches. along the streets, still fresh and damp on the shady side, but dry in the middle, heavy carts rumbled unceasingly, cabs rattled and tramcars passed ringing by. the air vibrated with the pealing and clanging of church bells, that were calling the people to attend to a service like that which was now being conducted in the prison. and the people, dressed in their sunday best, were passing on their way to their different parish churches.
the isvostchik did not drive nekhludoff up to the prison itself, but to the last turning that led to the prison.
several persons--men and women--most of them carrying small bundles, stood at this turning, about 100 steps from the prison. to the right there were several low wooden buildings; to the left, a two-storeyed house with a signboard. the huge brick building, the prison proper, was just in front, and the visitors were not allowed to come up to it. a sentinel was pacing up and down in front of it, and shouted at any one who tried to pass him.
at the gate of the wooden buildings, to the right, opposite the sentinel, sat a warder on a bench, dressed in uniform, with gold cords, a notebook in his hands. the visitors came up to him, and named the persons they wanted to see, and he put the names down. nekhludoff also went up, and named katerina maslova. the warder wrote down the name.
"why--don't they admit us yet?" asked nekhludoff.
"the service is going on. when the mass is over, you'll be admitted."
nekhludoff stepped aside from the waiting crowd. a man in tattered clothes, crumpled hat, with bare feet and red stripes all over his face, detached himself from the crowd, and turned towards the prison.
"now, then, where are you going?" shouted the sentinel with the gun.
"and you hold your row," answered the tramp, not in the least abashed by the sentinel's words, and turned back. "well, if you'll not let me in, i'll wait. but, no! must needs shout, as if he were a general."
the crowd laughed approvingly. the visitors were, for the greater part, badly-dressed people; some were ragged, but there were also some respectable-looking men and women. next to nekhludoff stood a clean-shaven, stout, and red-cheeked man, holding a bundle, apparently containing under-garments. this was the doorkeeper of a bank; he had come to see his brother, who was arrested for forgery. the good-natured fellow told nekhludoff the whole story of his life, and was going to question him in turn, when their attention was aroused by a student and a veiled lady, who drove up in a trap, with rubber tyres, drawn by a large thoroughbred horse. the student was holding a large bundle. he came up to nekhludoff, and asked if and how he could give the rolls he had brought in alms to the prisoners. his fiancee wished it (this lady was his fiancee), and her parents had advised them to take some rolls to the prisoners.
"i myself am here for the first time," said nekhludoff, "and don't know; but i think you had better ask this man," and he pointed to the warder with the gold cords and the book, sitting on the right.
as they were speaking, the large iron door with a window in it opened, and an officer in uniform, followed by another warder, stepped out. the warder with the notebook proclaimed that the admittance of visitors would now commence. the sentinel stepped aside, and all the visitors rushed to the door as if afraid of being too late; some even ran. at the door there stood a warder who counted the visitors as they came in, saying aloud, 16, 17, and so on. another warder stood inside the building and also counted the visitors as they entered a second door, touching each one with his hand, so that when they went away again not one visitor should be able to remain inside the prison and not one prisoner might get out. the warder, without looking at whom he was touching, slapped nekhludoff on the back, and nekhludoff felt hurt by the touch of the warder's hand; but, remembering what he had come about, he felt ashamed of feeling dissatisfied and taking offence.
the first apartment behind the entrance doors was a large vaulted room with iron bars to the small windows. in this room, which was called the meeting-room, nekhludoff was startled by the sight of a large picture of the crucifixion.
"what's that for?" he thought, his mind involuntarily connecting the subject of the picture with liberation and not with imprisonment.
he went on, slowly letting the hurrying visitors pass before, and experiencing a mingled feeling of horror at the evil-doers locked up in this building, compassion for those who, like katusha and the boy they tried the day before, must be here though guiltless, and shyness and tender emotion at the thought of the interview before him. the warder at the other end of the meeting-room said something as they passed, but nekhludoff, absorbed by his own thoughts, paid no attention to him, and continued to follow the majority of the visitors, and so got into the men's part of the prison instead of the women's.
letting the hurrying visitors pass before him, he was the last to get into the interviewing-room. as soon as nekhludoff opened the door of this room, he was struck by the deafening roar of a hundred voices shouting at once, the reason of which he did not at once understand. but when he came nearer to the people, he saw that they were all pressing against a net that divided the room in two, like flies settling on sugar, and he understood what it meant. the two halves of the room, the windows of which were opposite the door he had come in by, were separated, not by one, but by two nets reaching from the floor to the ceiling. the wire nets were stretched 7 feet apart, and soldiers were walking up and down the space between them. on the further side of the nets were the prisoners, on the nearer, the visitors. between them was a double row of nets and a space of 7 feet wide, so that they could not hand anything to one another, and any one whose sight was not very good could not even distinguish the face on the other side. it was also difficult to talk; one had to scream in order to be heard.
on both sides were faces pressed close to the nets, faces of wives, husbands, fathers, mothers, children, trying to see each other's features and to say what was necessary in such a way as to be understood.
but as each one tried to be heard by the one he was talking to, and his neighbour tried to do the same, they did their best to drown each other's voices' and that was the cause of the din and shouting which struck nekhludoff when he first came in. it was impossible to understand what was being said and what were the relations between the different people. next nekhludoff an old woman with a kerchief on her head stood trembling, her chin pressed close to the net, and shouting something to a young fellow, half of whose head was shaved, who listened attentively with raised brows. by the side of the old woman was a young man in a peasant's coat, who listened, shaking his head, to a boy very like himself. next stood a man in rags, who shouted, waving his arm and laughing. next to him a woman, with a good woollen shawl on her shoulders, sat on the floor holding a baby in her lap and crying bitterly. this was apparently the first time she saw the greyheaded man on the other side in prison clothes, and with his head shaved. beyond her was the doorkeeper, who had spoken to nekhludoff outside; he was shouting with all his might to a greyhaired convict on the other side.
when nekhludoff found that he would have to speak in similar conditions, a feeling of indignation against those who were able to make and enforce these conditions arose in him; he was surprised that, placed in such a dreadful position, no one seemed offended at this outrage on human feelings. the soldiers, the inspector, the prisoners themselves, acted as if acknowledging all this to be necessary.
nekhludoff remained in this room for about five minutes, feeling strangely depressed, conscious of how powerless he was, and at variance with all the world. he was seized with a curious moral sensation like seasickness.
聂赫留朵夫一清早从家里出来，看见一个乡下人赶着一辆大车在巷子里走，怪腔怪调地叫道：
“卖牛奶，卖牛奶，卖牛奶！”
昨晚下了第一场温暖的春雨。凡是没有修马路的地方一下子都长出了嫩绿的青草。花园里的桦树枝上布满了翠绿的绒毛，稠李和杨树抽出了芳香的细长叶子。住宅和商店都卸去了套窗，把窗子擦得干干净净。在聂赫留朵夫乘车经过的旧货市场上，一座座货棚旁边密密麻麻地挤满了人群。有些衣服褴褛的人腋下夹着皮靴，肩上搭着熨得笔挺的长裤和背心，在市场上走来走去。
小饭馆周围挤满了不上工的男人，他们穿着干净的腰部打褶的上衣和擦得发亮的皮靴；还有些女人，头上包着花花绿绿的绸头巾，身上穿着钉有玻璃珠的外套。警察挎着用黄丝带系住的手枪，站着岗，窥察什么地方有纠纷，好借此排遣他们难堪的无聊。在林荫道上，在一片新绿的草地上，孩子们和狗在奔跑嬉戏；保姆们兴致勃勃地坐在长凳上聊天。
大街上，左面半边路面没有照到阳光，还很潮湿阴凉，中间的路面已经干了。沉重的载货马车不停地在街上隆隆驶过，四轮轻便马车辘辘地行驶着，公共马车不断发出叮噹的响声。四面八方响起教堂参差错落的钟声，震得空气不住地颤抖，号召人们去参加和监狱教堂一样的礼拜。人们打扮得漂漂亮亮，向各自的教区走去。
聂赫留朵夫所雇的马车没有把他送到监狱门口，而在通往监狱的路口停下。
在这通往监狱的路口，在离监狱大约一百步的地方，站着一些男人和女人，手里多半拿着包袱。右边有几所不高的木屋，左边是一座两层的楼房，门口挂着招牌。用石块砌成的巨大监狱就在前面，但探监的人不准走近。一个持枪的哨兵走来走去，谁想从他身旁绕过，他就向谁吆喝。
木屋小门旁边，在岗哨对面的右边长凳上坐着一个看守。他身穿镶丝绦的制服，手里拿着一个小本子。来探监的人都走到他跟前，报了他们要探望的人的姓名，他就记下来。聂赫留朵夫也走到他跟前，报了玛丝洛娃的姓名，穿制服的看守也记了下来。
“为什么还不让人进去？”聂赫留朵夫问。
“他们正在做礼拜。等做完礼拜，就放你们进去。”
聂赫留朵夫走到探监的人群那里。人群中走出一个人，衣服褴褛，帽子揉皱，光脚上套着一双破鞋，脸上布满一道道伤痕，向监狱走去。
“你往哪儿溜？”持枪的哨兵对他吆喝道。
“你嚷嚷什么呀？”衣服褴褛的人全没被哨兵的吆喝吓倒，顶嘴说，然后走回来。“你不放，我等着就是。何必大声嚷嚷，简直象个将军似的。”
人群发出赞许的笑声。探监的人大都穿得很寒酸，甚至破破烂烂，但也有一些男女衣着很体面。聂赫留朵夫旁边站着一个服饰讲究的男人，脸色红润，胡子刮得精光，手里拿着一个包袱，显然是衬衣裤。聂赫留朵夫问他是不是第一次来探监。那人回答说，他每星期日都来。他们就这样攀谈起来。原来他是银行的看门人，是来探望犯制造伪证罪的弟弟的。这人和蔼可亲，把自己的身世全都讲给聂赫留朵夫听，还想打听聂赫留朵夫的情况，但这时来了一辆橡胶轮胎的轻便马车，由一匹高大的良种黑马拉着，车上坐着一个大学生和一个戴面纱的小姐。这样，他们的注意力就被吸引过去了。大学生手里抱着一个大包袱，走到聂赫留朵夫跟前，向他打听，可不可以散发施舍物（他带来的白面包），以及为此要办什么手续。
“这是未婚妻要我来办的。她就是我的未婚妻。她的爹妈要我们把东西散发给犯人。”
“我也是头一次来，我不知道，但我想应该问问那个人，”
聂赫留朵夫说，指指身穿制服、手里拿着小本子的看守。
就在聂赫留朵夫同大学生谈话的时候，正中开有小窗洞的监狱大铁门开了，里面走出一个穿军服的军官和另一个看守。那个手拿小本子的看守就宣布探监开始。哨兵退到一边，所有探监的人都争先恐后，有的甚至跑步，纷纷向监狱大门涌去。站在门口的看守高声数着从他身边走过的探监人：“十六，十七……”在监狱里面，另一个看守用手拍着每个进入二道门的人，也在点数，目的是免得让一个探监的人留在狱里，也不致跑掉一个犯人。这个点数的看守，眼睛不看走过去的人，在聂赫留朵夫的背上重重地拍了一下。看守这一拍起初使聂赫留朵夫感到屈辱，但他立刻想到他到这里来是为了什么事。这种屈辱的情绪使他感到害臊。
二道门里面首先看到的是一个拱形大房间，房间里有几个不大的窗子，上面装着铁栅栏。在这个称为聚会厅的房子里，聂赫留朵夫怎么也没有料到，壁龛里竟会有耶稣钉在十字架上的巨像。
“挂这个干什么？”他想，情不自禁地把耶稣像同自由人联系起来，却怎么也无法把他同囚犯联系在一起。
聂赫留朵夫慢吞吞地走着，让急于探监的人走在前面。他百感交集，想到关在这里的恶人就感到不寒而栗，对昨天的男孩和卡秋莎那样的无辜者则满怀同情，而想到即将同卡秋莎见面，不禁又觉得胆怯和爱怜。他走出这个房间的时候，听见看守在那一头说着些什么。但聂赫留朵夫满腹心事，没有理会看守的话，继续往多数探监人走的方向走去，也就是走往男监，而不是他要去的女监。
聂赫留朵夫让性急的人走在前头，自己最后一个走进会面的房间。他推开门，走进这个房间，首先使他吃惊的是一片喧闹声，那是由几百个人的叫嚷声汇合成的震耳欲聋的声音。直到他走过去，看见房间被一道铁丝网隔成两半，人们象苍蝇钉在糖上那样紧贴在铁丝网上，他才明白是怎么一回事。原来这个后墙上开有几个窗洞的房间，不是由一道铁丝网而是由两道铁丝网隔成两半，而且铁丝网都是从天花板一直挂到地板上。有几个看守在这两道铁丝网之间来回监视。铁丝网那边是囚犯，这边是探监的人，中间隔着两道铁丝网，距离有三俄尺1宽，因此双方不但无法私相授受什么东西，连要看清对方的脸都很困难，特别是近视眼。谈话也很困难，一定要拚命叫嚷，才能使对方听见。两边的人都把脸贴在铁丝网上，做妻子的，做丈夫的，做父母的，做子女的，大家都想看清对方的脸，说出要说的话。大家都想让对方听见，但他们的声音相互干扰，因此大家都放开嗓门叫，要压倒别人的声音。聂赫留朵夫一走进这个房间，就被这片大叫大嚷的喧闹声吓呆了。要听清他们在说些什么，那是根本不可能的。只能从脸部表情上判断他们在谈些什么，彼此是什么关系。聂赫留朵夫旁边有个扎头巾的老太婆，脸贴紧铁丝网，下巴哆嗦，正对一个脸色苍白、剃阴阳头的年轻人大声说话。那男犯扬起眉毛，皱紧眉头，用心听着她的话。老太婆旁边是一个穿农民外衣的年轻人，双手遮在耳朵后边，听一个面貌同他相象、脸色憔悴、胡子花白的男犯说话，不住地摇头。再过去一点，站着一个衣衫褴褛的人，挥动一条胳膊，一边叫嚷一边笑。他旁边的地上坐着一个手抱婴儿的女人，头上包着一块上等羊毛头巾，放声痛哭，显然是第一次看到对面那个头发花白的男人穿着囚衣，剃了阴阳头，戴着脚镣。这个女人后边站着同聂赫留朵夫谈过话的银行看门人，他正用尽力气向对面一个头上光秃、眼睛明亮的男犯叫嚷着。当聂赫留朵夫明白他只能在这样的条件下说话时，对规定并实行这套办法的人不由得产生了满腔愤恨。他感到奇怪的是，这种可怕的状况，这种对人类感情的亵渎，竟没有人感到屈辱。士兵也罢，典狱长也罢，探监的人也罢，囚犯也罢，都在这样做，仿佛认为这样做是天经地义的。
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13俄尺等于2．13米。
聂赫留朵夫在这个房间里待了五分钟，心里感到说不出的痛苦，觉得自己软弱无能，同整个世界格格不入。他在精神上感到极其厌恶，难过得仿佛晕船一般。
