Leo Tolstoy

“ She did not recognize Nekhludoff, and gazed at him in surprise. However, judging by his dress that he was a rich man, she smiled.
“What are you?” she asked, pressing her smiling face with squinting eyes against the net.
“I wish to see—­” He did not know whether to use the respectful “you” or the endearing “thou,” and decided on the former. He spoke no louder than usual. “I wish to see you—­I——­”
“Don’t give me any of your song and dance——­” the tramp beside him shouted. “Did you take it, or did you not?”
“She is dying; she is very weak,” some one shouted on the other side. ”

“ The inspector who directed Nekhludoff to the women’s ward, evidently becoming interested in him, came into the room, and, seeing him in the middle of the passage, asked him why he was not speaking with the prisoner he had inquired about. Nekhludoff blew his nose, and, endeavoring to assume an air of calmness, said:
“I can’t speak through the net; nothing can be heard.” ”

“ This room, like the one in the men’s ward, was also divided in three, by two nets, but it was considerably smaller. There were also fewer visitors and fewer prisoners, but the noise was as great as in the men’s room. ”