INTO MALO RUSSIA. 151 



poor little sallow-faced chap, who looked the very 

 picture of misery. Suspecting that he was, probably, 

 more sinned against than sinning, and she likely to turn 

 out the finest specimen of " mother-in-law " we should 

 stumble upon, we asked him what was the trouble 

 between him and his wife's mother. He replied that 

 the old lady never gave him a moment's peace ; that 

 she wanted him to work night and day, and was for- 

 ever accusing him of being unkind to her daughter. 



" My wife," said he, " is a good deal bigger and 

 stronger than I am, as you can see for yourselves ; how, 

 then, can I be unkind to her? Is it possible that a 

 small, weak dog, should treat unkindly one that is 

 half as big again, and twice as strong, as it ? " 



The mother sometimes kicked up such a row, he 

 added, that there was nothing left for him but to try 

 and take his own part ; in which case, sometimes, 

 mother and daughter got him down on the floor and 

 beat him. The daughter, who had also returned to the 

 house, was of a truth the bigger and stronger of the 

 two, and in the matter of energy she seemed a worthy 

 chip off the maternal block. We asked the son-in-law 

 why he didn't seek happiness in flight, and the answer 

 we received appeared to indicate that the mothers-in- 

 law of Russia, like the police, have a powerful ally in 

 the passport regulations of the country. He couldn't 

 leave without a passport, he said, and this it would be 

 quite impossible for him to obtain without the consent 

 of his wife and mother-in-law. 



" But your mother-in-law wishes you were dead," we 

 protested ; " surely she would place no obstacle in the 

 way, if you wished to clear out." 



