But it so happened that this discomfort began to increase andturn, not into pain yet, but into the consciousness of a constant heaviness in his side and into ill humor. This ' ill humor, growing stronger and stronger, began to spoil the pleasantness of the easy and decent life that had just been established in the Golovin family. The husband and wife began to quarrel more and more often, and soon the ease and pleasantness fell away, and d.ecency alone was maintained with difficulty. Scenes again became frequent. Again only litde islands were left, and few of them, where the husband and wife could . come together without an explosion.