Book 3 Chapter 26 The English Visitor

When they had passed the anteroom and the sickening, stinking
corridor, the Englishman and Nekhludoff, accompanied by the
inspector, entered the first cell, where those sentenced to hard
labour were confined. The beds took up the middle of the cell and
the prisoners were all in bed. There were about 70 of them. When
the visitors entered all the prisoners jumped up and stood beside
the beds, excepting two, a young man who was in a state of high
fever, and an old man who did nothing but groan.

The Englishman asked if the young man had long been ill. The
inspector said that he was taken ill in the morning, but that the
old man had long been suffering with pains in the stomach, but
could not be removed, as the infirmary had been overfilled for a
long time. The Englishman shook his head disapprovingly, said he
would like to say a few words to these people, asking Nekhludoff
to interpret. It turned out that besides studying the places of
exile and the prisons of Siberia, the Englishman had another
object in view, that of preaching salvation through faith and by
the redemption.

"Tell them," he said, "that Christ died for them. If they believe
in this they shall be saved." While he spoke, all the prisoners
stood silent with their arms at their sides. "This book, tell
them," he continued, "says all about it. Can any of them read?"

There were more than 20 who could.

The Englishman took several bound Testaments out of a hang-bag,
and many strong hands with their hard, black nails stretched out
from beneath the coarse shirt-sleeves towards him. He gave away
two Testaments in this cell.