10 The Brothers Karamazov
broke into rapid, short sobs, which he tried at first to smoth-
er, but at last he sobbed aloud. When they began taking
leave of the dead and closing the coffin, he flung his arms
about, as though he would not allow them to cover Ilusha,
and began greedily and persistently kissing his dead boy on
the lips. At last they succeeded in persuading him to come
away from the step, but suddenly he impulsively stretched
out his hand and snatched a few flowers from the coffin. He
looked at them and a new idea seemed to dawn upon him,
so that he apparently forgot his grief for a minute. Gradual-
ly he seemed to sink into brooding and did not resist when
the coffin was lifted up and carried to the grave. It was an
expensive one in the churchyard close to the church, Kat-
erina Ivanovna had paid for it. After the customary rites the
grave-diggers lowered the coffin. Snegiryov with his flowers
in his hands bent down so low over the open grave that the
boys caught hold of his coat in alarm and pulled him back.
He did not seem to understand fully what was happening.
When they began filling up the grave, he suddenly point-
ed anxiously at the falling earth and began trying to say
something, but no one could make out what he meant, and
he stopped suddenly. Then he was reminded that he must
crumble the bread and he was awfully excited, snatched up
the bread and began pulling it to pieces — and flinging the
morsels on the grave.
‘Come, fly down, birds, fly down, sparrows!’ he muttered
anxiously.
One of the boys observed that it was awkward for him
to crumble the bread with the flowers in his hands and