What's happening to the children?

If you have ever seen the Tret'iakov Gallery's charming girlhood portrait M. Lopukhina by V. L. Borovikovskii, the painter of the era of Catherine, you won't find it hard to envision my neighbor. She lives next door on the thirteenth floor of a dilapidated apartment building. Iulia is not yet 14 years old. She has a quick, easy walk, lovely curls, and a lively, intelligent gaze. You can't help turning around to look at her. In just a few years this jewel might well become what the old-time novels used to call the "true happiness" of any suitor for her hand.... Right now, though, no such suitor is at hand.