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He felt this at the mere sight of Ignat and the horses; but when

he had put on the sheepskin brought for him, had sat down wrapped

up in the sledge, and had driven off pondering on the work that

lay before him in the village, and staring at the side-horse,

that had been his saddle-horse, past his prime now, but a

spirited beast from the Don, he began to see what had happened to

him in quite a different light. He felt himself, and did not want

to be anyone else. All he wanted now was to be better than

before. In the first place he resolved that from that day he

would give up hoping for any extraordinary happiness, such as

marriage must have given him, and consequently he would not so

disdain what he really had. Secondly, he would never again let

himself give way to low passion, the memory of which had so

tortured him when he had been making up his mind to make an

offer.