11
The Consolation
For the third week now Shevchenko was going through his exhaustive life as a soldier. Now he knew all the commands well, and brought his whole sole down onto the ground when he marched in the ranks. During firing practice and soldiers’ “colloquy” he even earned a commendation. But he himself was far from having developed that stalwart bearing which Meshkov demanded of him so insistently.
He lived a double life. One was for everyone to see: on the parade ground, in the stenchy, noisy barracks, and during the soldiers’ “colloquy.” Yet he also had another, deep-bosomed, sustaining love which only his friends could have surmised. An outsider did not suspect that in his heart inaudible songs rang out, verses rhymed into poems, images were conjured up, and observations cro
