a mistake, at least this"—and she laid her hand upon her heart—"does not convict me of guilt. God knows that I never desired such a fate! And I had been so happy!" She broke off abruptly.

"Then be happy again," urged Oblomov.

"No. Rather, go you whither you have always been wishing to go," she said softly.

"You are wiser than I am," he murmured, twisting a sprig of acacia between his fingers.

"No, I am simpler and more daring than you. What are you afraid of? Do you really think that I should cease to love you?"

"With you by my side I fear nothing," he replied. "With you by my side nothing terrible can fall to my lot."