Amaterialrefuge。Hehadnothing。Hehadnotevenamoralrefuge——therefugeofconfidence。Towhomcouldhegowiththistale——inallthisgreat，greatland？
Razumovstampedhisfoot——andunderthesoftcarpetofsnowfeltthehardgroundofRussia，inanimate，cold，inert，likeasullenandtragicmotherhidingherfaceunderawinding—sheet——hisnativesoil!——hisveryown——withoutafireside，withoutaheart!
Hecasthiseyesupwardsandstoodamazed。Thesnowhadceasedtofall，andnow，asifbyamiracle，hesawabovehisheadtheclearblackskyofthenorthernwinter，decoratedwiththesumptuousfiresofthestars。Itwasacanopyfitfortheresplendentpurityofthesnows。
Razumovreceivedanalmostphysicalimpressionofendlessspaceandofcountlessmillions。
HerespondedtoitwiththereadinessofaRussianwhoisborntoaninheritanceofspaceandnumbers。Underthesumptuousimmensityofthesky，thesnowcoveredtheendlessforests，thefrozenrivers，theplainsofanimmensecountry，obliteratingthelandmarks，theaccidentsoftheground，levellingeverythingunderitsuniformwhiteness，likeamonstrousblankpageawaitingtherecordofaninconceivablehistory。ItcoveredthepassivelandwithitslivesofcountlesspeoplelikeZiemianitchanditshandfulofagitatorslikethisHaldin——murderingfoolishly。