LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF 15 



women slapped an officer's face. Furious, he ordered 

 the soldiers to fill her mouth with earth ; she was 

 thrown on the ground ; the new arrivals in their 

 turn attacked the soldiers, and a regular battle raged. 



Ilia was alarmed, shaken, and profoundly disgusted 

 with that exhibition of brutality. The coachman and 

 postilion, their bonds unloosed, hastened to put the 

 horses in, and whilst reprisals were still going on, the 

 family hurried away. They reached Slaviansk with- 

 out further trouble, excitedly talking over their adven- 

 ture. This episode was the first deep and definite 

 impression which remained on little Ilia's mind ; it 

 struck him so much that he kept the memory of it 

 during his whole life. 



From that moment he held crowds, violence, and 

 all manifestations of brute force in the utmost horror, 

 whatever their cause might be. 



