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diff --git a/38781.txt b/38781.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f7cc6f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/38781.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7856 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Russian Gentleman, by S. T. (Sergei +Timofeevich) Aksakov, Translated by J. D. Duff + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Russian Gentleman + + +Author: S. T. (Sergei Timofeevich) Aksakov + + + +Release Date: February 6, 2012 [eBook #38781] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RUSSIAN GENTLEMAN*** + + +E-text prepared by Hunter Monroe and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by +Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) + + + +Note: Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + http://www.archive.org/details/russiangentleman00aksauoft + + +Transcriber's note: + + In Footnote 1, [=a] and [)a] are used to denote that the + letters have, respectively, a macron and a breve over them + in the original book. + + + + + +A RUSSIAN GENTLEMAN + +---- + +_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_ + +1 Vol. Demy 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net +A RUSSIAN SCHOOLBOY + +1 Vol. Demy 8vo. 10_s._ 6_d._ net +YEARS OF CHILDHOOD + +BY +SERGE AKSAKOFF + +Translated from the Russian by +J. D. DUFF +FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE + +LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD + +---- + + +A RUSSIAN GENTLEMAN + +by + +SERGE AKSAKOFF + +Translated from the Russian by J. D. Duff + +Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge + +SECOND IMPRESSION + + + + + + + +London +Edward Arnold +1917 + +All rights reserved + + + +---- + +TO J. F. D. + +---- + + + + +TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE + + +Serge Aksakoff,[1] the author of this Russian classic, was born at Ufa, +in the district of Orenburg, on September 20, 1791. His father held some +office in the law-court of the town, and his grandfather lived in the +country as the owner of large estates, to which Aksakoff ultimately +succeeded. His grandfather had migrated about 1760 from Simbirsk to Ufa, +where the population consisted mainly of Tatars and a number of Finnish +tribes--Mordvinians, Choovashes, and others. + + [1] The name is pronounced Aks[=a]koff, not Aks[)a]koff, and his + birthplace is called by Russians _Oo-fa_, not _Yew-fa_. + +Aksakoff was educated at Kazan, and entered the Civil Service in 1808. +After serving in many different capacities--he was censor of the Press +at Moscow for some years--he retired in 1839 and devoted himself +exclusively to literature. He married in 1816; and his two sons, +Constantine and Ivan, both played a conspicuous part in the public life +of Russia. He died at Moscow, after a long and painful illness, on April +30, 1859. + +His high and secure place among Russian writers Aksakoff owes to three +works--his _Years of Childhood_ and _Recollections_, which are +autobiography, and his _Family History_, which is here translated under +the title of _A Russian Gentleman_. This is his most famous work: his +portrait of his grandfather is his masterpiece, and his descriptions of +his parents' courtship and marriage are as vivid and minute as his +pictures of his own early childhood. + +He began to write this book soon after his retirement from the public +service. Portions of it were published in a Moscow magazine in 1846; and +the whole work appeared, with the addition of a short Epilogue, in 1856. +He published _Recollections_ in the same volume; and _Years of +Childhood_--which should have preceded _Recollections_--followed in +1858, the last year of his life. + +_A Russian Gentleman_ seems a suitable title for this book, because the +whole scene, in which a multitude of characters appear, is entirely +dominated and permeated by the tremendous personality of Aksakoff's +grandfather, Stepan Mihailovitch. Plain and rough in his appearance and +habits, but proud of his long descent; hardly able to read or write, but +full of natural intelligence; capable of furious anger and extreme +violence in his anger, but equally capable of steadfast and even +chivalrous affection; a born leader of men and the very incarnation of +truth, honour, and honesty--Stepan Mihailovitch is more like a Homeric +hero than a man of modern times. + +The reader, when he reflects that Aksakoff's present narrative ends with +the day of his own birth, will be inclined to think that the author must +have had a lively imagination. I therefore translate the sentence with +which Skabichevsky, a critic of reputation, begins his review of +Aksakoff's work:-- + +"Aksakoff's books are remarkable, first of all, on this ground: you will +find in them no trace of creative or inventive power." + +I suppose myself that he derived his information chiefly from his +mother; but there are certainly scenes in the book which he cannot have +owed to this source. + +This translation has been made from the Moscow edition of 1900. I should +say here: (1) that I have abridged some of the topographical detail at +the beginning of the book; (2) that I have dealt freely with the Notes +which Aksakoff added, sometimes promoting them to the text, and +sometimes omitting them wholly or in part. I know of two previous +translations. A German translation, _Russische Familienchronik_, by +Sergius Raczynski, was published at Leipzig in 1858. This seems to me a +good translation, and I have found it useful in some difficulties. An +English translation "by a Russian Lady" was published at Calcutta in +1871; and there is a copy in the British Museum. I have not seen this; +but I have heard that it is inadequate, and the first few sentences, +which were copied out for me, seem to bear this out. + +I have completed a translation of Aksakoff's remaining book of +Memoirs--his _Recollections_ of school and college; and I hope that it +may be published after a short interval. + + J. D. DUFF. + + _Cambridge._ + _Jan. 11, 1917._ + + ---- + + + + +CONTENTS + + + TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE + FRAGMENT I: STEPAN MIHAILOVITCH BAGROFF + 1. _The Migration_ + 2. _The Government of Orenburg_ + 3. _Fresh Scenes._ + 4. _My Grandfather, on one of his Good Days_ + FRAGMENT II: MIHAIL MAXIMOVITCH KUROLYESSOFF + FRAGMENT III: THE MARRIAGE OF THE YOUNG BAGROFF + FRAGMENT IV: THE YOUNG COUPLE AT BAGROVO + FRAGMENT V: LIFE AT UFA + + ---- + + A RUSSIAN GENTLEMAN + + + + +FRAGMENT I: STEPAN MIHAILOVITCH BAGROFF + +1. _The Migration_ + + +When my grandfather lived in the Government of Simbirsk, on the +ancestral estate granted to his forefathers by the Tsars of Muscovy, he +felt cramped and confined. Not that there was really want of room; for +he had arable land and pasture, timber and other necessaries in +abundance; but the trouble was, that the estate which his +great-grandfather had held in absolute possession, had ceased to belong +to one owner. This happened quite simply: for three successive +generations the family consisted of one son and several daughters; and, +when some of these daughters were married, their portions took the shape +of a certain number of serfs and a certain amount of land. Though their +shares were not large, yet, as the land had never been properly +surveyed, at this time four intruders asserted their right to share in +the management of it. To my grandfather, life under these conditions was +intolerable: there was no patience in his passionate temperament; he +loved plain dealing and hated complications and wrangles with his kith +and kin. + +For some time past, he had heard frequent reports about the district of +Ufa--how there was land there without limit for the plough and for +stock, with an indescribable abundance of game and fish and all the +fruit of the earth; and how easy it was to acquire whole tracts of land +for a very trifling sum of money. If tales were true, you had only to +invite a dozen of the native Bashkir chiefs in certain districts to +partake of your hospitality; you provided two or three fat sheep, for +them to kill and dress in their own fashion; you produced a bucket of +whisky, with several buckets of strong fermented Bashkir mead and a +barrel of home-made country beer--which proves, by the way, that even in +old days the Bashkirs were not strict Mahometans--and the rest was as +simple as A B C. It was said, indeed, that an entertainment of this kind +might last a week or even a fortnight: it was impossible for Bashkirs to +do business in a hurry, and every day it was necessary to ask the +question, "Well, good friend, is it time now to discuss my business?" +The guests had been eating and drinking, without exaggeration, all day +and all night; but, if they were not completely satisfied with the +entertainment, if they had not had enough of their monotonous singing +and playing on the pipe, and their singular dances in which they stood +up or crouched down on the same spot of ground, then the greatest of the +chiefs, clicking his tongue and wagging his head, would answer with much +dignity and without looking his questioner in the face: "The time has +not come; bring us another sheep!" The sheep was forthcoming, as a +matter of course, with fresh supplies of beer and spirits; and the tipsy +Bashkirs began again to sing and dance, dropping off to sleep wherever +they felt inclined. But everything in the world has an end; and a day +came at last when the chief would look his host straight in the face and +say: "We are obliged to you, _batyushka_,[2] ever so much obliged! And +now, what is it that you want?" The rest of the transaction followed a +regular fashion. The customer began with the shrewdness native to your +true Russian: he assured the Bashkir that he did not want anything at +all; but, having heard that the Bashkirs were exceedingly kind people, +he had come to Ufa on purpose to form a friendship with them, and so on. +Then the conversation would somehow come round to the vast extent of the +Bashkir territory and the unsatisfactory ways of the present tenants, +who might pay their rent for a year or two and then pay no more and yet +continue to live on the land, as if they were its rightful owners; it +was rash to evict them, and a lawsuit became unavoidable. These remarks, +which were true enough to the facts, were followed up by an obliging +offer to relieve the kind Bashkirs of some part of the land which was +such a burden to them; and in the end whole districts were bought and +sold for a mere song. The bargain was clinched by a legal document, but +the amount of land was never stated in it, and could not be, as it had +never been surveyed. As a rule, the boundaries were settled by landmarks +of this kind: "from the mouth of such and such a stream as far as the +dead beech-tree on the wolf-track, and from the dead beech-tree in a +bee-line to the watershed, and from the watershed to the fox-earths, and +from the fox-earths to the hollow tree at Soltamratka," and so on. So +precise and permanent were the boundaries enclosing ten or twenty or +thirty thousand _dessyatines_[3] of land! And the price of all this +might be about one hundred _roubles_[4] and presents worth another +hundred, not including the cost of the entertainments. + + [2] "Father," a title of respect or affection. + + [3] 100 _dessyatines_ = 270 acres. + + [4] A _rouble_ is worth about 2_s._ + +Stories of this kind had a great attraction for my grandfather. As a man +of strict integrity, he disapproved of the deception practised on the +simple Bashkirs; but he considered that the harm lay, not in the +business itself, but in the method of transacting it, and believed that +it was possible to deal fairly and yet to buy a great stretch of land at +a low price. In that case he could migrate with his family and transfer +half of his serfs to the new estate; and thus he would secure the main +object of this design. For the fact was, that for some time past he had +been so much worried by unending disputes over the management of the +land--disputes between himself and the relations who owned a small part +of it--that his desire to leave the place where his ancestors had lived +and he himself was born, had become a fixed idea. There was no other +means of securing a quiet life; and to him, now that his youth was past, +a quiet life seemed more desirable than anything else. + +So he scraped together several thousand _roubles_, and said good-bye to +his wife, whom he called Arisha when he was in a good humour and Arina +when he was not; he kissed his children and gave them his blessing--his +four young daughters and the infant son who was the single scion and +sole hope of an ancient and noble family. The daughters he thought of no +importance: "What's the good of them? They look out of the house, not +in; if their name is Bagroff[5] to-day, it may be anything on earth +to-morrow; my hopes rest entirely on my boy, Alexyei"--such were my +grandfather's parting words, when he started to cross the Volga on his +way to the district of Ufa. + + [5] Bagroff is a pseudonym for Aksakoff. + +But perhaps I had better begin by telling you what sort of a man my +grandfather was. + +Stepan Mihailovitch Bagroff--this was his name--was under the middle +height; but his prominent chest, uncommonly broad shoulders, sinewy +arms, and wiry muscular frame, gave proof of his extraordinary +strength. When it happened, in the rough-and-tumble amusements of +young men, that a number of his brother-officers fastened on him at +once, he would hurl them from him, as a sturdy oak hurls off the +rain-drops, when its branches rock in the breeze after a shower. He +had fair hair and regular features; his eyes were large and dark-blue, +quick to light up with anger but friendly and kind in his hours of +composure; his eyebrows were thick and the lines of his mouth pleasant +to look at. The general expression of his features was singularly +frank and open: no one could help trusting him; his word or his +promise was better than any bond, and more sacred than any document +guaranteed by Church or State. His natural intelligence was clear and +strong. All landowners of that time were ignorant men, and he had +received no sort of education; indeed he could hardly read and write +his native language. But, while serving in the Army, and before he was +promoted from the ranks, he had mastered the elementary rules of +arithmetic and the use of the reckoning-board--acquirements of which +he liked to speak even when he was an old man. It is probable that his +period of service was not long; for he was only quarter-master of the +regiment when he retired. But in those days even nobles served for +long in the ranks or as non-commissioned officers, unless indeed they +passed through this stage in their cradles, first enrolled as +sergeants in the Guards and then making a sudden appearance as +captains in line regiments. Of the career of Stepan Mihailovitch in +the Army I know little; but I have been told that he was often +employed in the capture of the highwaymen who infested the Volga, and +always showed good sense in the formation of his plans and reckless +courage in their execution; that the outlaws knew him well by sight +and feared him like fire. On retiring from the Army, he lived for some +years on his hereditary estate of Bagrovo[6] and became very skilful +in the management of land. It was not his way to be present from +morning to night where his labourers were at work, nor did he stand +like a sentry over the grain, when it was coming in and going out; +but, when he was on the spot, he looked to some purpose, and, if he +noticed anything amiss, especially any attempt to deceive him, he +never failed to visit the offender with a summary form of punishment +which may rouse the displeasure of my readers. But my grandfather, +while acting in accordance with the spirit of his age, reasoned in a +fashion of his own. In his view, to punish a peasant by fines or by +forced labour on the estate made the man less substantial and +therefore less useful to his owner; and to separate him from his +family and banish him to a distant estate was even worse, for a man +deprived of family ties was sure to go downhill. But to have recourse +to the police was simply out of the question; that would have been +considered the depth of disgrace and shame; every voice in the village +would have been raised to mourn for the offender as if he were dead, +and he would have considered himself as disgraced and ruined beyond +redemption. And it must be said for my grandfather, that he was never +severe except when his anger was hot; when the fit had passed away, +the offence was forgotten. Advantage was often taken of this: +sometimes the offender had time to hide, and the storm passed by +without hurting any one. Before long, his people became so +satisfactory that none of them gave him any cause to lose his temper. + + [6] Bagrovo is a pseudonym for Aksakovo. + +After getting his estate into good order, my grandfather married; his +bride was Arina Vassilyevna Nyeklyoodoff, a young lady of little fortune +but, like himself, of ancient descent. This gives me an opportunity to +explain that his pedigree was my grandfather's foible: he was moderately +well-to-do, owning only 180 serfs, but his descent, which he traced +back, by means of Heaven knows what documents, for six hundred years all +the way to a Varyag[7] prince called Shimon, he valued far more than any +riches or office in the State. At one time he was much attracted by a +rich and beautiful girl, but he would not marry her, merely because her +great-grandfather was not a noble. + + [7] The earliest Russian chronicles report that the Russian empire was + founded in the 8th century by certain foreign princes called + _Varyags_. The nationality of these princes has been a subject of + endless controversy, some historians maintaining that they were + Norsemen, others denying it. + +After this account of Stepan Mihailovitch, let us go back to the course +of the narrative. + +My grandfather first crossed the Volga by the ferry near Simbirsk, and +then struck across the steppe on the further side, and travelled on till +he came to Sergievsk, which stands on a hill at the meeting of two +rivers and gives a name to the sulphur springs twelve _versts_[8] from +the town. The deeper he plunged into the district of Ufa, the more he +was impressed by the spaciousness and fertility of that country. The +first place where he found trees growing was the district of +Boogoorooslan; and in the town of that name, perched on a high hill +above the river, he made a halt, wishing to make inquiries and learn +more particulars of the lands that were for sale. Of land belonging to +the Bashkirs there was little left in this district: some of the +occupiers were tenants of the Crown, whom the Government had settled on +lands confiscated for rebellion, though later they granted a general +pardon and restored their territory to the Bashkir owners; part of the +land had been let to tenants by the Bashkirs themselves; and part had +been bought up by migrating landowners. Using Boogoorooslan as a centre, +my grandfather made expeditions to the surrounding districts and spent +some time in the beautiful country watered by the Ik and the Dyoma.[9] +It is an enchanting region; and even in his old age Stepan Mihailovitch +often spoke with enthusiasm of the first impression produced on him by +the astonishing richness of that soil. But he did not allow himself to +be carried away. Ascertaining on the spot that any purchaser of Bashkir +land was quite sure to be involved in endless disputes and lawsuits--for +it was impossible for the acquirer to make sure either of his own title +or of the number of the former owners--my grandfather, who feared and +hated like poison the very name of a lawsuit, resolved to buy no land +direct from the Bashkirs or without formal legal documents to confirm +his ownership. Thus he hoped to exclude the possibility of disputes, and +surely he had reason for such a hope; but things turned out very +differently, and the last claim was only settled by his youngest +grandson when he was forty years old. + + [8] A _verst_ is two-thirds of a mile. + + [9] Pronounce Dyaw-ma. + +My grandfather returned reluctantly from the banks of the Ik and the +Dyoma to Boogoorooslan, where he bought land from a Russian lady near +the river of that name and distant twenty-five _versts_ from the town. +The river is rapid and deep and never runs dry. For forty _versts_, from +the town of Boogoorooslan to the Crown settlement of Fair Bank, the +country on both sides of the river was uninhabited, so that there was +ample room; and the amenities of the spot were wonderful. The river was +so transparent that, if you threw in a copper coin, you could see it +resting on the bottom even in pools fifteen feet deep. In some places +there was a thick border of trees and bushes--birches, poplars, +service-trees, guelder-roses, and bird-cherries, where the hop-bines +trailed their green festoons and hung their straw-coloured clusters from +tree to tree; in other places, the grass grew tall and strong, with an +infinite profusion of flowers, including tall Meadow Sweet, Lords' Pride +(the scarlet Lychnis), Kings' Curls (the Martagon lily), and Cat-grass +or Valerian. The river flows along a valley varying in breadth and +bordered on both sides by sloping hills with a steep cliff here and +there; the slopes were thickly covered with hard-wood trees of all +sorts. As you got out of the valley, the level steppe spread out before +you, a black virgin soil over two feet in depth. Along the river and in +the neighbouring marshes, wild ducks of all kinds, and geese, woodcocks, +and snipe made their nests and filled the air with their different notes +and calls; while on the table-land above, where the grass grew thick and +strong, the music in the air was as rich and quite distinct. Every kind +of bird that lives in the steppe bred there in multitudes--bustards, +cranes, and hawks; and on the wooded slopes there were quantities of +black-game. The river swarmed with every variety of fish that could +endure its ice-cold water--pike, perch, chub, dace, and even salmon. +Both steppe and forest were filled beyond belief with wild creatures. In +a word, the place was, and still is, a paradise for the sportsman. + +My grandfather bought about 12,000 acres for 2500 _roubles_. That was a +large sum in those days, and the price was much higher than was +generally paid. When he had assured his title by legal documents, he +went back with a light heart to his expectant family in the Government +of Simbirsk. There he set to work with fierce energy and made all +preparations for transferring at once a portion of his serfs to the new +estate. It was an anxious and troublesome job, because the distance was +considerable--about 400 _versts_. That same autumn twenty families of +serfs started for the district of Boogoorooslan, taking with them +ploughs and harrows with rye for sowing. They chose their ground and set +to work on the virgin soil. Two thousand acres were lightly ploughed, +then harrowed, and sown with winter rye; two thousand more were ploughed +in preparation for the spring sowing; and some cottages were built. When +this was done, the men travelled back to spend the winter at home. When +winter was over, twenty more labourers again went forth; and, as the +spring advanced, they sowed the two thousand acres with spring wheat, +erected fences round the cottages and byres, and made stoves for the +cottages out of clay. The second party then returned home. These were +distinct from the actual settlers, who remained at home, preparing for +their move and selling off what they did not need--their houses and +kailyards, stock and corn, and all sorts of odds and ends. + +The date fixed was the middle of June, that the colonists might reach +their destination before St. Peter's Day,[10] when hay-cutting begins. +The carts were packed with the women and children and old people, and +awnings of bast bent over them to protect them from the sun and rain; +the indispensable pots and pans were piled up inside, the cocks and hens +perched on the top, and the cows tied on behind; and off they started. +The poor settlers shed bitter tears as they parted for ever with their +past life, with the church in which they had been christened and +married, and with the graves of their fathers and grandfathers. Nobody +likes moving, and a Russian peasant least of all; but to move in those +days to an unknown land inhabited by unbelievers, where the churches +were so distant that a man might die without confession and infants +remain long unchristened, a land of which rumour reported evil as well +as good--this seemed a terrible ordeal. When the peasants had gone, my +grandfather started after them. He had taken a vow that, when +circumstances allowed, he would build a church dedicated to the +Presentation of Our Lady--it was actually built by his son--and he named +the new settlement after the festival. But the peasants, whose example +was followed by their neighbours, called it New Bagrovo, after their +master and in memory of Old Bagrovo, from which they had come; and to +this day the formal name is only used in legal documents. No one knows +the village, with its fine stone church and high manor-house, by any +other name than Bagrovo. With unremitting care and attention my +grandfather watched the labour of the people on their own land and on +his; the hay was mown, the winter rye and spring corn were cut down and +carried, and the right moment was chosen for each operation. The yield +of the crops was fabulous. The peasants thought things were not so bad +after all. By November, cottages were built for them all, and the +beginning of a house for the owner was run up. All this was not done +without help from neighbours. In spite of the long distances, they came +willingly to lend a hand to the new landowner, who proved to be sensible +and friendly; they ate and drank and turned to with a will, and sang as +they worked. In that winter my grandfather went to Simbirsk and brought +back his wife and children with him. + + [10] June 29. + +Next year forty more serfs were transferred and set up in their new +abodes; and this proved an easier job. My grandfather's first operation +in this year was to build a mill; without it, it had been necessary to +drive forty _versts_ to get his corn ground. A spot was chosen where the +river was not deep, the bottom sound, and the banks high and solid. Then +a dam of earth and brushwood was started from each bank, like a pair of +hands ready to clasp; next, the dam was wattled with osiers, to make it +more substantial; and all that remained was to stop the swift strong +current and force it to fill the basin intended for it. The mill itself, +with two pairs of millstones, was built beforehand on the lower bank. +All the machinery was ready and even greased. It was the business of the +river, when checked in its natural course, to fill the broad dam and +pour through wooden pipes down upon the great wheel. When all was ready +and four long oaken piles had been firmly driven into the clay bottom of +the river, my grandfather invited his neighbours to lend him their +assistance for two days; and they came, bringing horses and carts, +spades, forks, and axes. On the first day, great piles of brushwood, +straw, manure, and fresh-cut sods were heaped up on both banks of the +Boogoorooslan, while the river continued to pour down its waters at its +own sweet will. Hardly any one slept that night, and next morning at +sunrise about a hundred men set to work to dam the stream; they all +looked solemn and serious, as if they had important business before +them. They began on both sides at the same moment. With loud cries they +hurled with sturdy arms faggots of brushwood into the water; part was +carried down by the stream, but part stuck against the piles and sank +across the channel. Next came bundles of straw weighted with stones, +then soil and manure, then more brushwood, followed by more straw and +manure, and, on the top of all, a thick layer of sods. All this +accumulation was swallowed up till it rose at last above the surface of +the water. At once, a dozen strong and active men sprang on to the +barrier and began to tread it and stamp it down. The operation was +performed with the utmost speed; and the general excitement was so great +and the noise so vociferous, that a passer-by, if he had not known the +reason of it, might have been frightened. But there was no one there to +be frightened by it: only the uninhabited steppes and dark forests and +all the region round re-echoed the shouts of the labourers. The voices +of women and children swelled the chorus; for such an important affair +aroused interest in every breast, and the noise and excitement were +universal. The resistance of the river was not overcome at once. For +long it tore away and carried down brushwood and straw, manure and turf; +but man at last conquered. The baffled water stopped, as if reflecting; +then it turned back, and rose till it poured over its banks and +inundated the fields. By evening the mill-pond had taken shape; or one +might call it a floating lake, where the banks and all the green grass +and bushes had disappeared; only the tops of submerged trees, doomed to +die, stuck up here and there. Next day the mill began to work, and goes +on working and grinding to this day. + + +2. _The Government of Orenburg_ + +How wonderful in those days was that region, in its wild and virginal +richness! It is different now; it is not even what it was when I first +knew it, when it was still fresh and blooming and undeflowered by hordes +of settlers from every quarter. It is changed; but it is still beautiful +and spacious, fertile and infinitely various, the Government of +Orenburg. The name sounds strange, and the termination "burg" is +inappropriate enough. But when I first knew that earthly paradise, it +was still called the "Province of Ufa." + +Thirty years ago, one who was born within it[11] expressed in verse his +fears for the future of the land; and these have been realised in part, +and the process still goes on. But still hast thou power to charm, +wondrous land! Bright and clear, like great deep cups, are thy +lakes--Kandry and Karatabyn. Full of water and full of all manner of +fish are thy rivers, whether they race down the valleys and rocky gorges +of the Ural Mountains, or steal softly, glittering like a string of +jewels, through the prairie-grass of the steppes. Wondrous are these +rivers of the steppe, formed by the union of countless little streams +flowing from deep water-holes--streams so tiny that you can hardly see +the trickle of water in them. And thy rivers that flow swift from +fountain-heads and run under the shade of trees and bushes are +transparent and cold as ice even in the heat of summer; and all kinds of +trout, good to eat and beautiful to see, live there; but they soon die +out, when man begins to defile with unclean hands the virgin streams of +their clear cool retreats. Fertile is the black soil of thy corn-land, +and rich thy pastures; and thy fields are covered in spring with the +milk-white blossom of the cherry-tree and wild peach, while in summer +the fragrant strawberries spread over them like a scarlet cloth, and the +small cherries that turn purple later when they ripen in autumn. Rich is +the harvest that rewards the peasant, however idle and ignorant, when he +scratches with his rude ploughshare the surface of thy soil. Fresh and +green and mighty stand thy forests of all manner of trees; and buzzing +swarms of wild bees fill their self-chosen nests among the leaves with +the fragrant honey of the lime blossom. The Ufa marten, with its +priceless fur, is still to be found in the wooded head-waters of the +great rivers. + + [11] Aksakoff himself. + +The original inhabitants of the land are men of peace, the wandering +tribes of Bashkirs. Their herds of horses and cattle and flocks of +sheep, though far smaller than they were once, are still numerous. When +the fierce storms of winter are over, the Bashkirs crawl forth, thin and +wasted like flies in winter. With the first warmth and the first +sprouting of the grass they drive out into the open their half-starved +herds and flocks, and drag themselves after them, with their wives and +children. A few weeks change them beyond recognition, both men and +animals. What were mere skeletons have become spirited and tireless +horses; and the stallion proudly guards his mares as they graze, and +keeps both man and beast at a distance. The meagre cattle have grown +fat, and their udders swell with milk. But for cow's milk the Bashkir +cares nothing. For the _koumiss_[12] is now in season and already +fermenting in the bags of horse-hide; and every creature that can drink, +from the infant in arms to the tottering old man, swallows the +health-giving beverage, a drink for heroes. And the result is +marvellous: all the traces of winter and starvation soon disappear, and +even the troubles of old age; their faces fill out, and pale sunken +cheeks take on the hue of health. But their deserted villages are a sad +and even alarming sight. A traveller unfamiliar with the country might +well start, appalled by the emptiness and deadness of the place. There +stand the deserted huts with their white chimneys, and the empty +window-frames look mournfully at him like human faces with no eyes in +the sockets. He may hear the bark of a half-starved watch-dog, whom his +master visits and feeds at long intervals, or the mewing of a cat that +has run wild and finds food for herself; but that is all: not one human +being remains. + + [12] Mare's milk, fermented. + +How varied and picturesque, each in its own way, are the different +regions of the land--the forests, the steppes, and, more than all, the +hills, where all metals, even gold, are found along the slopes of the +Ural ridge! How vast the expanse, from the borders of Vyatka and Perm, +where the mercury often freezes in winter, to the little town of Guryeff +on the edge of Astrakhan, where small grapes ripen in the open +air--grapes whose wine the Cossack trades in and drinks himself for +coolness in summer and warmth in winter. How noble is the fishing in the +Urals, unlike any other both in the fish that are caught and in the +manner of catching them! It only needs a faithful and lively description +to attract general attention. + +But I must ask pardon. I have gone too far in the description of the +beautiful country where I was born. Now let us go back and observe the +life and unwearied activity of my grandfather. + + +3. _Fresh Scenes._ + +Stepan Mihailovitch had peace at last. Many a time he thanked God from +the bottom of his heart, when the move was completed and he found +elbow-room on the banks of the Boogoorooslan. His spirits rose, and even +his health was better. No petitions, no complaints, no disputes, no +disturbance! No tiresome relations, no divided ownership! No thieves to +fell his trees, no trespassers to trample down his corn and meadows! He +was undisputed master at last in his own house, and beyond it: he might +feed sheep, or mow grass, or cut firewood where he pleased without a +word from any one. + +The peasants too soon became accustomed to the new habitation and soon +grew to love it. And that was but natural. Old Bagrovo had wood, but +little water; meadow-land was so scarce that it was hard for them to +find grazing for one horse and one cow apiece; and, though the natural +soil was good, it had been cropped over and over from time immemorial +till its fertility was exhausted. The new site gave them wide and +fertile fields and meadows, never touched till now by ploughshare or +scythe; it gave them a rapid river with good fresh water, and springs in +abundance; it gave them a broad pond with fish in it and the river +running through it; and it gave them a mill at their very doors, whereas +before they had to travel twenty-five _versts_ to have a load of corn +ground, and perhaps to wait after all a couple of days till their turn +came. + +It surprises you perhaps that I called Old Bagrovo waterless; and you +may blame my ancestors for choosing such a spot to settle in. But they +were not to blame, and things were different in old days. Once on a time +Old Bagrovo stood on a pretty stream, the Maina, which took its rise +from the Mossy Lakes three _versts_ distant; and also along the whole +settlement there stretched a lake, not broad but long and clear, and +deep in the middle, with a bottom of white sand; and another streamlet, +called The White Spring, issued from this lake. So it was in former +times, but it is quite another story now. Tradition tells that the Mossy +Lakes were once deep round pools surrounded by trees, with ice-cold +water and treacherous banks, and no one ventured near them except in +winter, because the banks were said to give way under foot and engulf +the bold disturber of the water-spirit's solitary reign. But man is the +sworn foe of Nature, and she can never withstand his treacherous warfare +against her beauty. Ancient tradition, unsupported by modern instances, +ceased to be believed. The people steeped their flax on the banks and +drove their herds there to water; and the Mossy Lakes were polluted by +degrees, and grew shallow at the edges, and even dried up in places +where the wood all round was cut. Then a thick scurf formed on the top; +moss grew over it, and the vein-like roots of water-plants bound it +together, till it was covered with tussocks and bushes and even +fir-trees of some size. One of the pools is now entirely covered; of the +other are left two deep water-holes, which even now are formidable for a +stranger to approach, because the soil, with all its covering of plants +and bushes and trees, rises and falls beneath the foot like a wave at +sea. Owing to the dwindling of these lakes, the Maina now issues from +the ground some distance below the settlement, and its upper waters have +dried up. The lake by the village has become a filthy stinking canal; +the sandy bottom is covered to a depth of over seven feet by mud and +refuse of all kinds from the peasants' houses; of the White Spring not a +trace is left, and the memory of it will soon be forgotten. + +When my grandfather had settled down at New Bagrovo, he set to work, +with all his natural activity and energy, to grow corn and breed stock. +The peasants caught the contagion of his enthusiasm and worked so hard +and steadily that they were soon as well set up and provided for as if +they had been old inhabitants. After a few years, their stackyards took +up thrice as much room as the village-street; and their drove of stout +horses, their herds and flocks and pigs, would have done honour to a +large and prosperous settlement. + +After the success of Stepan Mihailovitch, migration to Ufa or Orenburg +became more fashionable every year. Native tribes came streaming from +every quarter--Mordvinians, Choovashes, Tatars, and Meshchers, and +plenty of Russian settlers too--Crown-tenants from different districts, +and landowners, large and small. My grandfather began to have +neighbours. His brother-in-law, Ivan Nyeklyoodoff, bought land within +twelve _versts_ of Bagrovo, transferred his serfs there, built a wooden +church, named his estate Nyeklyoodovo, and came to live there with his +family. This afforded no gratification to my grandfather, who had a +strong dislike to all his wife's relations--all "Nyeklyoodovdom," as he +used to call them. Then a landowner called Bakmetyeff bought land still +closer, about ten _versts_ from Bagrovo, on the upper waters of the +Sovrusha, which runs to the south-west like the Boogoorooslan. On the +other side, twelve _versts_ along the river Nasyagai, another settlement +was planted, Polibino, which now belongs to the Karamzin family. The +Nasyagai is a larger and finer river than the Boogoorooslan, with more +water and more fish in it, and birds still breed there much more freely. +On the road to Polibino, and eight _versts_ from Bagrovo, a number of +Mordvinians settled in a large village called Noikino, and built a mill +on the streamlet of Bokla. Close to the mill, the Bokla runs into the +Nasyagai, which rolls its swift strong current straight to the +south-west, and is reinforced by the Boogoorooslan not far from the town +of that name. Then the Nasyagai unites with the Great Kinel, and loses +thenceforth its sounding and significant[13] name. + + [13] Na-sya-gai = "Pursuer." + +The latest arrivals were some Mordvinian colonists, a detachment from +the larger settlement at Mordovsky Boogoorooslan, nine _versts_ from +Bagrovo. This smaller settlement, called Kivatsky, was within two +_versts_ of my grandfather, down the river; and he made a wry face at +first; for it reminded him of old times in Simbirsk. But the result was +quite different. They were good-tempered, quiet people, who respected my +grandfather as much as the official in charge of them. + +Before many years had passed, Stepan Mihailovitch had gained the deep +respect and love too of the whole district. He was a real benefactor to +his neighbours, near or far, old or new, and especially to the latter, +owing to their ignorance of the place and lack of supplies, and the +various difficulties which always befall settlers. Too often people +start off on this difficult job without due preparation, without even +providing themselves with bread and corn or the means to buy them. My +grandfather's full granaries were always open to such people. "Take what +you want, and pay me back next harvest, if you can; and if you +can't--well, never mind!"--with such words as these he used to +distribute with a generous hand corn seed and flour. And more than this: +he was so sensible, so considerate towards petitioners, and so +inflexibly strict in the keeping of his word, that he soon became quite +an oracle in that newly settled corner of the spacious district of +Orenburg. Not only did he help his neighbours by his generosity, but he +taught them how to behave. To speak the truth was the only key to his +favour: a man who had once lied to him and deceived him was ill advised +if he came again to Bagrovo: he would be certain to depart with empty +hands, and might think himself lucky if he came off with a whole skin. +My grandfather settled many family disputes and smothered many lawsuits +at their first birth. People travelled from every quarter to seek his +advice and hear his decision; and both were punctiliously followed. I +have known grandsons and great-grandsons of that generation and heard +them speak of Stepan Mihailovitch; and the figure of the strict master +but kind benefactor is still unforgotten. I have often heard striking +facts told about him by simple people, who shed tears and crossed +themselves as they ejaculated a prayer for his soul's rest. It is not +surprising that his peasants loved so excellent a master; but he was +loved also by his personal servants who had often to endure the terrible +storms of his furious rage. Many of his younger servants spent their +last days under my roof; and in their old age they liked to talk of +their late master--of his strict discipline and passionate temper, and +also of his goodness and justice; and they never spoke of him with dry +eyes. + +Yet this kind, helpful, and even considerate man was subject at times to +fearful explosions of anger which utterly defaced the image of humanity +in him and made him capable, for the time, of repulsive and ferocious +actions. I once saw him in this state when I was a child--it was many +years after the time I am writing about--and the fear that I felt has +left a lively impression on my mind to this day. I seem to see him +before me now. He was angry with one of his daughters; I believe she had +told him a lie and persisted in it. It was impossible to recognise his +former self. He was trembling all over and supported on each side by a +servant; his face was convulsed, and a fierce fire shot from his eyes +which were clouded and darkened with fury. "Let me get at her!"--he +called out in a strangled voice. (So far, my recollection is clear; and +the rest I have often heard others tell.) My grandmother tried to throw +herself at his feet, to intercede for the culprit; but in an instant her +kerchief and cap flew to a distance, and Stepan Mihailovitch was +dragging his wife though she was now old and stout, over the floor by +her hair. Meantime, not only the offender, but all her sisters, and even +their brother with his young wife and little son,[14] had fled out of +doors and sought concealment in the wood that grew round the house. The +rest of them spent the whole night there; but the daughter-in-law, +fearing that her child would catch cold, went back and passed the night +in a servant's cottage. For a long time my grandfather raged at large +through the deserted house. At last, when he was weary of dragging his +wife about by the hair, and weary of striking his servants, Mazan and +Tanaichonok, he dropped upon his bed utterly exhausted and soon fell +into a deep sleep which lasted till the following morning. + + [14] _I.e._ the author, who in childhood was called Seryozha (short for + Serghei). + +At dawn Stepan Mihailovitch woke up. His face was bright and clear, and +his voice cheerful as he hailed his wife. She hurried in at once from +the next room, looking as if nothing had happened the day before. "I +want my tea! Where are the children, and Alexyei and his wife? I want to +see Seryozha"--thus spoke the madman on his waking, and all the family +appeared, composed and cheerful, in his presence. But there was one +exception. His daughter-in-law was a woman of strong character herself, +and no entreaties could induce her to smile so soon upon the wild beast +of the day before; and her little son kept constantly saying, "I won't +go to grandfather! I'm frightened!" She really did not feel well and +excused herself on that ground; and she kept her child in her room. The +family were horrified and expected a renewal of the storm. But the wild +beast of yesterday had wakened up as a human being. He talked playfully +over his tea and then went himself to visit the invalid. She was really +unwell and was lying in bed, looking thin and altered. The old man sat +down beside her, kissed her, said kind things to her, and caressed his +grandson; then he left the room, saying that he would find the day long +"without his dear daughter-in-law." Half an hour later she entered his +room, wearing a pretty dress which he used to say especially became her, +and holding her son by the hand. My grandfather welcomed her almost in +tears: "Just see!" he said fondly; "though she was not well, she got up +and dressed, regardless of herself, and came to cheer up an old man." +His wife and daughters bit their lips and looked down; for they all +disliked his favourite; but she answered his affectionate greeting with +cheerful respect, and looked proudly and triumphantly at her +ill-wishers. + +But I will say no more of the dark side of my grandfather's character. I +would rather dwell on his bright side and describe one of his good days, +which I have often and often heard spoken of. + + +4. _My Grandfather, on one of his Good Days_ + +It was the end of June, and the weather was very hot. After a stifling +night, a fresh breeze set in from the East at dawn, the breeze which +always flags when the sun grows hot. At sunrise my grandfather awoke. It +was hot in his bedroom; for the room was not large, and, though the +window with its narrow old-fashioned sash was raised as high as it would +go, he had curtains of home-made muslin round his bed. This precaution +was indispensable: without it, the wicked mosquitos would have kept him +awake and devoured him. The winged musicians swarmed round the bed, +drove their long probosces into the fine fabric which protected him, and +kept up their monotonous serenade all through the night. It sounds +absurd, but I cannot conceal the fact that I like the shrill high note +and even the bite of the mosquito; for it reminds me of sleepless nights +in high summer on the banks of the Boogoorooslan, where the bushes grew +thick and green and all round the nightingales called; and I remember +the beating heart of youth and that vague feeling, half pleasure and +half pain, for which I would now give up all that remains of the sinking +fire of life. + +My grandfather woke up, rubbed the sweat off his high forehead with a +hot hand, put his head out between the curtains, and burst out laughing. +His two servants, Mazan and Tanaichonok, lay stretched on the floor; +their attitudes might have made any one laugh, and they snored lustily. +"Confound the rascals! How they snore!" said my grandfather, and smiled +again. You could never be sure about Stepan Mihailovitch. It might have +been expected that such forcible language would have been followed up by +a blow in the ribs from the blackthorn staff which always stood by his +bed, or a kick, or even a salutation in the form of a stool. But no: my +grandfather had laughed on opening his eyes, and he kept up that mood +throughout the day. He rose quickly, crossed himself once or twice, and +thrust his bare feet into a pair of old rusty leather slippers; then, +wearing only his shirt of coarse home-made linen--my grandmother would +not give him any better--he went out upon the stoop,[15] to enjoy the +freshness and moisture of the morning all round him. + + [15] This word from S. Africa seems best for an unroofed veranda, such + as this was. + +I said just now that Arina Vassilyevna would not give her husband finer +linen; and the reader will remark with justice that this is inconsistent +with the relations between the two. I am sorry, but I cannot help it. It +is really true that female persistence triumphed, as it always does, +over male violence. My grandmother got more than one beating over the +coarse linen, but she continued to supply him with it till at last her +husband got used to it. He resorted once to extreme measures: he took an +axe and chopped up all his objectionable shirts on the threshold of his +room, while my grandmother howled at the sight and implored him to beat +_her_ rather than spoil his good clothes. But even this device failed: +the coarse shirts appeared once more, and the victim submitted. I must +apologise for interrupting my narrative, in order to meet an imaginary +objection on the part of the reader. + +Without troubling any one, he went himself to the store-room, fetched a +woollen mat, and spread it out on the top step of the stoop; then he sat +down upon it, meaning to follow his regular custom of watching the sun +rise. To see sunrise gives every man a kind of half-conscious pleasure; +and my grandfather felt an added satisfaction when he looked down over +his courtyard, by this time sufficiently equipped with all the buildings +necessary for his farming operations. The court was not, indeed, fenced; +and the animals, when turned out of the peasants' yards, used to pay it +passing visits, before they were all gathered together and driven to the +common pasture. So it was on this morning; and the same thing was +repeated every evening. Some pigs, fresh from the mire, rubbed and +scratched themselves against the very stoop on which my grandfather was +sitting, while they feasted with grunts of satisfaction on crab-shells +and other refuse from the table which that unsophisticated household +deposited close to the steps. Cows and sheep also looked in, and it was +inevitable that these visitors should leave uncleanly tokens behind +them. But to this my grandfather did not object in the least. On the +contrary, he looked with pleasure at the fine beasts, taking them as a +certain indication that his peasants were doing well. The loud cracking +of the herdsman's long whip soon evicted the trespassers. Now the +servants began to stir. The stout groom, Spiridon--known even in +advanced old age as "little Spirka"--led out, one after another, three +colts, two bays and one brown. He tied them to a post, rubbed them down, +and exercised them at the end of a long halter, while my grandfather +admired their paces and also admired in fancy the stock he hoped to +raise from them--a dream which he realised with entire success. Then the +old housekeeper came forth from the cellar in which she slept, and went +down to the river to wash. First she sighed and groaned, according to +her invariable custom; then she turned towards the sunrise and said a +prayer, before she set to work at washing and scrubbing plates and +dishes. Swallows and martins twittered cheerfully as they cut circles in +the air, quails called loudly in the fields, the song of the larks +rained down from the sky, the hoarse note of the sitting landrails came +from the bushes, and the bleat of the snipe from the neighbouring marsh, +the mocking-birds imitated the nightingales with all their might; and +forth from behind the hill issued the bright sun! Blue smoke rose in +columns from the peasants' houses and then swayed in the breeze like the +fluttering flags of a line of ships; and soon the labourers were +plodding towards the fields. + +My grandfather began to feel a desire for cold water to wash in and then +for his tea. He roused his two servants from their ungainly attitudes; +and they jumped up in a great fright at first, but were soon reassured +by his good-humoured voice: "Mazan, my washing things! Tanaichonok, wake +Aksyutka and your mistress, and then tea!" There was no need to repeat +these orders: clumsy Mazan was already flying at top speed to the spring +for water, carrying a glittering copper basin, while handy Tanaichonok +woke up Aksyutka, a young but ugly maid; and she, while she put straight +the kerchief on her head, called her mistress, Arina Vassilyevna, now +grown old and stout. In a few minutes all the household were on their +legs, and all knew by this time that the old master had got out of bed +on the right side! A quarter of an hour later, a table was standing by +the stoop--the white tablecloth was home-made and adorned with a +pattern--a _samovar_,[16] in the shape of a large copper teapot, was +hissing on the table, and Aksyutka was busy about the tea. Meanwhile +Arina Vassilyevna was greeting her husband. On some mornings it was the +etiquette to sigh and look sorrowful; but to-day she asked after his +health in a loud cheerful voice: "How had he slept? What dreams had he +had?" Stepan Mihailovitch greeted his wife affectionately and called her +"Arisha"; he never kissed her hand, but sometimes gave her his to kiss +as a sign of favour. Arina Vassilyevna, in her pleasure, looked quite +young and pretty; one forgot her stout awkward figure. She brought a +stool at once and sat down on the stoop beside my grandfather, which she +never ventured to do unless he was in a very good humour. "Come, Arisha, +let us have a cup of tea together before it gets hot," said Stepan +Mihailovitch; "it was a stifling night, but I slept so sound that I have +forgotten all my dreams. How did you sleep?" This question was a signal +mark of favour, and my grandmother replied at once that, when Stepan +Mihailovitch had a good night, she of course had one too, but that +Tanyusha[17] was restless all night. Tanyusha was the youngest daughter +and, as often happens, her father's favourite. He was vexed to hear this +account of her, and ordered that she was not to be called but to sleep +on till she woke. She had been called at the same time as her sisters +Alexandra and Elizabeth, and was dressed already; but no one ventured to +mention this fact. She made haste to undress, got back into bed, and had +the shutters drawn. She could not get to sleep, but she lay in the dark +for two hours; and her father was pleased that Tanyusha had had her +sleep out. The only son,[18] who was now nine, was never wakened early. +But the two elder daughters appeared immediately; and Stepan +Mihailovitch gave them his hand to kiss and called them by their pet +names, Lexanya and Lizanka. They were both clever girls, and Alexandra +had also inherited her father's active mind and violent temper but none +of his good qualities. My grandmother, a very simple woman, was entirely +under the thumb of her daughters; and, whenever she ventured to play +tricks upon Stepan Mihailovitch, it was because they had put her up to +it; but she was so clumsy that she seldom succeeded, and her husband +knew very well who was at the bottom of it. He knew also that his +daughters were prepared to deceive him whenever they got the +chance--though, for the sake of a quiet life, he let them suppose that +he was blind to their goings-on. But this only lasted while he was in a +good temper: as soon as he got angry, he stated his view of their +conduct in the most unsparing and uncomplimentary terms, and sometimes +even chastised them. But, like true daughters of Eve, they were not +discouraged. When the fit of anger passed and the cloud lifted from +their father's brow, they started again upon their underhand schemes, +and pretty often they were successful in carrying them out. + + [16] An urn, with a central receptacle for hot charcoal. In this case, + the receptacle is inserted where the teapot lid should be. + + [17] A diminutive form of Tatyana. + + [18] The author's father, called throughout Alexyei; his real name was + Timofei (Timothy). So his mother, whose name was Marya (Mary) is + called Sofya (Sophia). + +When he had drunk his tea and talked about things in general with his +womankind, my grandfather got ready to drive out. Some time before, he +had said to Mazan, "My horse!"--and an old brown gelding was already +standing by the steps, harnessed to a long car, a very comfortable +conveyance, with an outer frame-work of netting and a plank, covered +with felt, to sit on. Spiridon, the driver, wore a simple livery: he had +bare feet and nothing on but his shirt, with a red woollen belt, from +which hung a key and a copper comb. On a similar occasion on the +previous day, he had worn no hat; but this had been disapproved of, and +he now wore some head-gear which he had woven out of broad strips of +bast.[19] My grandfather made merry over this "sunbonnet." Then he put +on his own cap and long coat of unbleached home-made cloth, placed +beneath him his heavy cloak in case of rain, and took his seat on the +car. Spiridon also folded his coat and sat upon it; it was made of +unbleached cloth but dyed bright red with madder. Madder grew freely in +the fields round Bagrovo, and was so much used that the servants about +the house were called by the neighbours "redbreasts"; I have heard the +nickname myself fifteen years after my grandfather's death. + + [19] The inner bark of the lime-tree, used for many purposes in Russia. + +In the fields, Stepan Mihailovitch found everything to his mind. He +examined the rye-crop; it was now past flowering and stood up like a +wall, as high as a man; a light breeze was blowing, and bluish-purple +waves went over it, now lighter and now darker in the sunlight; and the +sight gladdened his heart. He visited the young oats and millet and all +the spring-sown crops, and then went to the fallow, where he ordered his +car to be driven backwards and forwards over the field. This was his +regular way of testing the goodness of the work: any spot of ground that +had not been properly ploughed and harrowed gave the light car a jolt; +and, when my grandfather was not in a good humour, he stuck a twig or a +stick in the ground at the place, sent for the bailiff if he was not +present, and settled accounts with him on the spot. But to-day all went +well: his wheels may have encountered such obstacles, but he took no +notice of them. His next point was the hay-fields, where he admired the +tall thick steppe-grass which was to fall beneath the scythe before many +days were past. He paid a visit to the peasants' fields also, to see for +himself, who had a good crop and who had not; and he drove over their +fallow to test it. He noticed everything and forgot nothing. Passing +over an untilled strip, he saw some wild strawberries nearly ripe; he +stopped and, with Mazan's help, picked a large handful of splendid big +berries, which he took home as a present for his "Arisha." In spite of +the great heat, he was out till nearly noon. + +As soon as my grandfather's car was seen descending the hill, dinner was +set on the table, and all the family stood on the steps to receive him. +"Well, Arisha," he called out cheerfully, "what splendid crops God is +giving us this year! Great is His goodness! And here are some +strawberries for you; they are nearly ripe; the pickers must go out +to-morrow." This attention was almost too much for my grandmother. As he +spoke, he walked into the house, and the smell of the hot cabbage-soup +came to meet him from the parlour. "Ah! I see dinner's ready; good!" +said Stepan Mihailovitch more cheerfully than before, and walked +straight into the parlour and sat down at table, without visiting his +own room. I should mention that my grandfather had a rule: at whatever +hour, early or late, he returned from the fields, dinner must be on the +table, and Heaven help the women, if they did not notice him coming and +failed to serve the meal in time! There were occasions when such neglect +gave rise to sad consequences; but, on this happy day, everything went +without a hitch. Behind my grandfather's chair stood a stout lad, +holding a birch-bough with the leaves on, to drive away the flies. The +hottest weather will not make a true Russian refuse cabbage-soup, and my +grandfather supped his with a wooden spoon, because silver would have +burnt his lips. Soup was followed by a fish-salad, made of kippered +sturgeon, as yellow as wax, and shelled crayfish. All the courses were +of this light kind, and were washed down with _kvass_[20] and home-made +beer; the drinks were iced and so was the salad. There were days when +dinner was eaten in terrible stillness and silent dread of an explosion; +but this was a cheerful meal, with much loud talking and laughing. Every +boy and girl about the place had heard that the master was in a cheerful +temper, and they all crowded into the parlour in hopes of a "piece." He +gave them all something good to eat; for there was five times as much +food on the table as the family could eat. + + [20] A drink made of malt and rye. + +Immediately after dinner he went to lie down. All flies were expelled +from the bed-curtains, and the curtains drawn round him with the ends +tucked under the mattress; and soon his mighty snoring proclaimed that +the master was asleep. All the rest went to their rooms to lie down. +Mazan and Tanaichonok, when they had had their dinner and swallowed +their share of the remnants from the dining-room table, also lay down in +the passage, close to the door of my grandfather's bedroom. Though they +had slept before dinner, they went to sleep again at once; but they were +soon wakened by the heat and the burning rays of the sun coming through +the windows. They felt a strong desire to cool their parched throats +with some of their master's iced beer; and the bold scamps managed to +get it in the following way. My grandfather's dressing-gown and nightcap +were lying on a chair near the half-open door of his room. Tanaichonok +put them on and sat down on the stoop, while Mazan went off to the +cellar with a jug and wakened the old housekeeper, who like every soul +in the house was fast asleep. He said his master was awake and wanted an +iced tankard at once. She was surprised at his waking so soon; but Mazan +then pointed to the figure in the dressing-gown and nightcap sitting on +the stoop. The beer was drawn at once and ice added; and Mazan went +quickly back with his prize. The cronies shared the jug between them and +then replaced the garments. An hour later their master awoke in +excellent humour, and his first words were, "Iced beer!" This frightened +the rascals; and, when Tanaichonok hurried off to the cellar, the +housekeeper guessed at once where the previous jug had gone. She +produced the liquor, but followed the messenger back herself, and found +the real Simon Pure sitting on the stoop and wearing the dressing-gown. +The truth came out at once; and Mazan and Tanaichonok shaking with fear +fell at their master's feet. And what do you think my grandfather did? +He burst out laughing, sent for his wife and daughters, and told them +the story with loud bursts of laughter. The culprits breathed again, and +one of them even ventured to grin. But Stepan Mihailovitch noticed this +and very nearly grew angry: he frowned, but the composing effect of his +good day was so strong that his face cleared up, and he said with a +significant look, "Well, I forgive you this once; but, if it happens +again ..."--there was no need to end the sentence. + +It is certainly strange that the servants of a man so passionate and so +violent in his moments of passion should dare to be so impudent. But I +have often noticed in the course of my life that the strictest masters +have the most venturesome and reckless servants. My grandfather had +other experiences of a similar kind. This same servant, Mazan, was +sweeping out his master's room one day and preparing to make the bed, +when he was suddenly tempted by the soft down of the bedding and +pillows. He thought he would like a little taste of luxury; so down he +lay on his master's bed and fell asleep. My grandfather himself came +upon him sound asleep, and only laughed! He did, indeed, give the man +one good rap with his staff; but that was nothing--he only did it in +order to see how frightened Mazan would be. Worse tricks than these were +played upon Stepan Mihailovitch in his time. During his absence from +home, his cousin and ward, Praskovya Ivanovna Bagroff, was given in +marriage to a dangerous and disreputable man whom he detested; the girl, +who was only fourteen and a great heiress, was an inmate of Bagrovo and +very dear to its owner. It is true that the plot was executed by the +girl's relations on her mother's side; but Arina Vassilyevna gave her +consent, and her daughters were actively engaged in it. But I shall +return to my narrative for the present and leave this incident to be +told later. + +He woke up at five in the afternoon and drank his iced beer. Soon +afterwards he wanted his tea, in spite of the sultry heat of the day; +for he believed that a very hot drink makes hot weather more bearable. +But first he went down to bathe in the cool waters of the river, which +flowed under the windows of the house. When he came back, the whole +family were waiting for him at the tea-table--the same table set in the +shade, with the same hissing teapot and the same Aksyutka. When he had +drunk his fill of his favourite sudorific beverage, with cream so thick +that the curd on it was yellow, my grandfather proposed that the whole +party should make an expedition to the mill. The plan was received with +joy; and Alexandra and Tatyana, who were fond of angling, took +fishing-rods with them. Two cars were brought round in a minute. Stepan +Mihailovitch and his wife took their seats on one, and placed between +them their one boy,[21] the precious scion of their ancient and noble +line; while the other carried the three daughters, with a boy to dig for +worms on the mill-dam and bait their hooks for the young ladies. When +they reached the mill, a seat was brought out for Arina Vassilyevna, and +she sat down in the shade of the building, not far from the mill-race +where her daughters were fishing. Meanwhile Elizabeth, the eldest, +partly to please her father and partly from her own interest in such +matters, went with Stepan Mihailovitch to inspect the mill and the +pounding-machine. The little boy either watched his sisters fishing--he +was not allowed to fish himself in deep places--or played beside his +mother, who never took her eyes off him, in her fear that the child +would somehow tumble in. + + [21] The author's father. + +Both sets of millstones were at work, one making wheat-flour for the +master's table, and the other grinding rye for a neighbour; and there +was millet under the pounding-machine. My grandfather was well +acquainted with all farming operations: he understood a mill thoroughly +and explained all the details to his attentive and intelligent +companion. He saw in a moment any defect in the machinery or mistake in +the position of the stones. One of them he ordered to be lowered half a +notch, and the rye-meal came out finer, to the great satisfaction of its +owner. At the other stone, his ear detected at once that one of the cogs +on the small wheel was getting worn. He stopped the current, and +Boltunyonok,[22] the miller, jumped down beside the wheel. He looked at +it and felt it and then said, "You are quite right, _batyushka_ Stepan +Mihailovitch! One of the cogs is a little worn." "A little you call +it!"--said my grandfather, not at all vexed: "but for my coming, the +wheel would have snapped this very night!" "I am sorry I did not notice +it, Stepan Mihailovitch." "Well, never mind! Bring a new wheel, and take +the worn cog off the other; and mind the new cog is neither thicker nor +thinner than the rest; the whole secret lies in that." The new wheel, +fitted and tested beforehand, was fixed at once and greased with tar; +and the current was turned on by degrees, also by my grandfather's +instructions; at once the stone began to hum and grind smoothly and +evenly, with no stumbling or knocking. The visitors went next to the +pounding-machine, where my grandfather took a handful of millet from the +mortar. He blew the chaff away and said to the man who had brought the +grain to the mill, a Mordvinian and an old acquaintance: "Have a care, +friend Vaska! If you look, every grain is pounded already, and, if you +go on, you will have less of it." Vaska tried it himself and saw that my +grandfather was right. He said, "Thank you," ducked his head by way of +bowing, and ran off to stop the current. Their last visit was to the +poultry-yard, where a large number of ducks and geese, hens and turkeys, +were looked after by an old woman and her little grand-daughter. +Everything here was in excellent order. As a sign of special favour, my +grandfather gave both of them his hand to kiss, and ordered that the +hen-wife should get an extra allowance of 20 lbs. of wheat-flour every +month to make pies with. Stepan Mihailovitch rejoined his wife in good +spirits. Everything had gone right: his daughter had shown intelligence, +the mill was working well, and the hen-wife, Tatyana Gorozhana,[23] was +attending to her duties. + + [22] A nickname: "Little Chatterer," a diminutive of _boltun_. + + [23] She had got this nickname ("the town-woman") because she had spent + part of her youth in some town. + +The heat had long been abating; coolness came from the water and from +the approach of evening; a long cloud of dust drifted along the road and +came nearer the village with the bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle; +the sun was losing light and sinking behind the steep hill. Stepan +Mihailovitch stood on the mill-dam and surveyed the wide mirror of the +pond as it lay motionless in the frame of its sloping banks. A fish +jumped from time to time; but my grandfather was no fisherman. "Time to +go home, Arisha," he said at last: "I expect the bailiff is waiting for +me." Seeing his good humour, his daughters asked leave to fish on: they +said the fish would take better at sunset, and they would walk home in +half an hour. Leave was given, and the old couple started for home on +one of the cars, while Elizabeth took her little brother in the other. +As Stepan Mihailovitch had expected, the bailiff was waiting for him by +the stoop, and some peasants and their wives were there with him; they +had got a hint from the bailiff, who knew already that his master was in +the right mood, and now seized the opportunity to state some exceptional +needs or prefer some exceptional requests. Not one of them was +disappointed. To one my grandfather gave corn, and forgave an old debt +which the man could have paid; another was allowed to marry his son +before the winter[24] and to a girl of their own choosing; he gave leave +to a soldier's wife,[25] who was to be turned out of the village for +misconduct, to go on living with her father; and so on. Nor was that +all: strong home-made spirits were offered to each of them, in a silver +cup which held more than an ordinary dram. Then my grandfather gave his +orders to the bailiff, shortly and clearly, and went off to his supper +which had been standing ready some time. The evening meal did not differ +much from the midday dinner; but the cooler air probably gave a keener +edge to appetite. It was a custom with Stepan Mihailovitch to send his +family off to bed and sit up for half an hour or so on the stoop, with +nothing on but his shirt, for the sake of coolness. This day he stayed +there longer than usual, laughing and jesting with Mazan and +Tanaichonok; he made them wrestle and fight with their fists, and urged +them on till they began to hit out in earnest and even clutched each +other by the hair. He had laughed his fill; and now a word of command, +and the tone it was spoken in, brought them to their senses and parted +them. + +All the landscape lay before him, still and wonderful, enfolded by the +short summer night. The glow of sunset had not yet disappeared, and +would go on till it gave place to the glow of dawn. Hour by hour, the +depths of the vault of heaven grew darker; hour by hour, the stars +flashed brighter, and the cries of the night birds grew louder, as if +they were becoming more familiar with man; the clack of the mill sounded +nearer in the misty damp of the night air. My grandfather rose from his +stoop, and crossed himself once or twice, looking at the starry sky. +Then, though the heat in his bedroom was stifling, he lay down on the +hot feather-bed and ordered his curtains to be drawn round him. + + [24] After harvest is the normal time for peasants' marriages. + + [25] A _soldatka_ is a woman whose husband is away serving in the Army. + + + + +FRAGMENT II: MIHAIL MAXIMOVITCH KUROLYESSOFF + + +I promised to give a separate account of Mihail Maximovitch Kurolyessoff +and his marriage with my grandfather's cousin, Praskovya Ivanovna +Bagroff. This story begins about 1760, earlier than the time described +in the First Fragment of this history, and ends much later. I shall now +fulfil my promise. + +Stepan Mihailovitch was the only son of Mihail Bagroff; Mihail had a +brother Peter, whose only daughter was Praskovya Ivanovna. As she was +his only cousin and the sole female representative of the Bagroff family +in that generation, my grandfather was much attached to her. While still +in the cradle she lost her mother, and her father died when she was ten. +Her mother, one of the Bakteyeff family, was very rich and left to her +daughter 900 serfs, a quantity of money, and still more in silver and +valuables; and her father's death added 300 serfs to her property. +Praskovya Ivanovna was therefore a rich orphan, and would bring a great +fortune to her future husband. After her father's death she lived at +first with her grandmother, Mme. Bakteyeff; then she paid a long visit +to Bagrovo; and finally Stepan Mihailovitch took her to his house as a +permanent inmate. He was quite as fond of his orphan cousin as of his +daughters and was very affectionate to her in his own way. But she was +too young, too babyish, one might say, to appreciate her cousin's love +and tenderness, which never took the form of spoiling, while, under her +grandmother's roof, where she had spent some time, she had grown +accustomed to indulgence. So it is not surprising that she grew tired of +Bagrovo and wished to go back to old Mme. Bakteyeff. Praskovya Ivanovna, +though she was not beautiful, had regular features and fine intelligent +grey eyes; her dark eyebrows, long and rather thick, were a sign of her +masculine strength of character; she was tall and well-made, and looked +eighteen when she was only fourteen. But, in spite of her physical +maturity, her mind and feelings were still those of a mere child: always +lively and merry, she capered and frisked, gambolled and sang, from +morning till night. She had a remarkable voice and was passionately fond +of joining with the maids in their singing or dancing or swinging; or, +when nothing of that kind was to be had, she played with her dolls all +day, invariably accompanying her occupation with popular songs of all +sorts, of which she knew even then an immense number. + +A year before Praskovya Ivanovna went to live at Bagrovo, Mihail +Kurolyessoff, an officer in the Army, came on leave to the Government of +Simbirsk. He belonged to a noble family in the district, and was then +twenty-eight years old. He was a fine-looking fellow, and many people +called him handsome; but some said that, in spite of his regular +features, there was something unpleasing about him; and I remember to +have heard as a child debates on this point between my grandmother and +her daughters. Entering the Army at fifteen, he had served in a regiment +of high reputation in those days and had risen to the rank of major. He +did not often come home on leave, and he had little reason to come, +because the serfs--about 150 in all--who formed his property, owned +little land and were scattered about. As a matter of course, he had +received no proper education, but he had a ready tongue and wrote in an +easy correct style. Many of his letters have passed through my hands; +and they prove clearly that he was a man of sense and tact and also firm +of purpose and business-like. I don't know his exact relationship to our +immortal Suvoroff;[26] but I found in the correspondence some letters +from the great captain, which always begin thus-- + + "Dear Sir and cousin, Mihail Maximovitch," + and end-- + + "With all proper respect for you and my worthy cousin, Praskovya + Ivanovna, + + "I have the honour to be," etc. + + [26] A famous general in the reign of Catherine II. and a great popular + hero. + +Kurolyessoff was little known in the Government of Simbirsk. But "rumour +runs all over the earth," and perhaps the young officer on leave +permitted himself some "distractions" as they are called; or perhaps the +soldier servant whom he brought with him, in spite of his master's +severity, let something leak out at odd times. Whatever the reason, an +opinion gradually took shape about him, which may be summed up in the +following statements--"Toe the line, when you parade before the +Major"--"Mind your P's and Q's, when talking to Kurolyessoff"--"When one +of his men is caught out, he shows no mercy, though he may try to shield +him"--"When he says a thing, he means it"--"He's the very devil when his +temper's up." People called him "a dark horse" and "a rum customer"; but +every one admitted his ability as a man of business. There were also +rumours, probably proceeding from the same sources, that the Major had +certain weaknesses, which, however, he gratified with due regard to time +and place. But these failings were excused by the charitable +proverbs--"A young man must sow his wild oats," and "It's no crime in a +man to drink," and "The man who drinks and keeps his head, Scores two +points, it must be said." So Kurolyessoff had not a positively bad +reputation; on the contrary many people thought highly of him. +Insinuating and courteous in his address, and respectful to all persons +of rank and position, he was a welcome guest in every house. As he was a +near neighbour of the Bakteyeff family, and indeed a distant connexion, +he soon managed to make his way into their good graces; they took a +great liking to him and sounded his praises everywhere. At first he had +no special object, but was merely following his invariable rule--to make +himself agreeable to persons of rank and wealth; but later, when he met +in their house Praskovya Ivanovna, lively, laughing, and rich, and +looking quite old enough to be married, he formed a plan of marrying her +himself and getting her wealth into his hands. With this definite object +in view, he redoubled his attentions to her grandmother and aunt, till +the two ladies quite lost their heads about him; and at the same time he +paid court so cleverly to the girl herself, that she soon had a liking +for him, as she naturally would for a man who agreed to everything she +said, gave her everything she asked, and spoiled her in every possible +way. Next he showed his hand to her relations: he professed that he had +fallen in love with the orphan girl, and they believed that he was +suffering all a passionate lover's pangs, mad with longing, and haunted +by his darling's image day and night. They approved of his plan and took +the poor victim of love under their protection. The favour and +connivance of her relations made it easy for him to proceed along his +path: he did everything he could to entertain and amuse the +child--taking her out for drives behind his spirited horses, pushing her +in the swing and sitting beside her in it himself, singing with her the +popular songs which he sang very well, giving her many trifling +presents, and ordering amusing toys for her from Moscow. + +Kurolyessoff knew, however, that the consent of her cousin and guardian +was a necessary preliminary to complete success, and therefore tried to +get into the good graces of Stepan Mihailovitch. Under various pretexts +and provided with introductory letters from Praskovya Ivanovna's +relations, he paid a visit at Bagrovo; but the visit proved a failure. +At first sight this may seem strange; for some of the young officer's +qualities were likely to appeal to Stepan Mihailovitch. But my +grandfather, as well as his quick eye and sound sense, had that +instinct, peculiar to men who are perfectly honest and straightforward +themselves, which is instantly conscious of the hidden guile and crooked +ways even of a complete stranger--the instinct which detects evil under +a plausible exterior and surmises its future development. Kurolyessoff's +respectful manner and polite speeches did not take him in for a moment: +he guessed at once that there was some knavery underneath. There were +other objections. My grandfather's own life was very strict, and the +reports of the Major's peccadilloes which had casually come to his ear, +though many people treated them lightly enough, filled his honest breast +with disgust; and, though he was himself capable of furious anger, he +hated deliberate unkindness and cold cruelty. For all these reasons his +reception of his guest was cool and dry, though Kurolyessoff talked in a +sensible practical way on all subjects and especially the management of +land. Praskovya Ivanovna had now come to live with my grandfather; and, +when the Major began, on the strength of their old acquaintance, to pay +her compliments which she accepted with pleasure, his host's head bent a +little to one side, his eyebrows met, and he shot a look at his guest +which was hardly hospitable. Arina Vassilyevna, on the contrary, and her +daughters, had been charmed straight off by the young man's seductions +and were quite inclined to say kind things to him; but the storm-signals +on the face of Stepan Mihailovitch quenched their ardour and made them +all hold their tongues. The guest tried to restore the harmony of the +party and to resume their agreeable conversation. But it was no use: he +received short answers from them all, and his host was not even quite +polite. Though it was getting late and an invitation to stay the night +would have been the natural thing, there was nothing for it but to take +his leave. "The man is a knave and rotten all through," said Stepan +Mihailovitch to his family; "but perhaps he won't come here again." No +voice was raised to contradict him; but, behind his back, the women went +on for a long time praising the dashing young officer; and one who liked +to listen to his merits and to tell of them herself, was the orphan girl +with the large fortune. + +With the taste of this rebuff in his mouth, Kurolyessoff went back and +told Mme. Bakteyeff of his failure. The people there knew my grandfather +well, and at once abandoned all hope that he would give his consent. +Long consideration brought no solution of the difficulty. The bold Major +suggested that her grandmother should invite the girl on a visit, and +that the marriage should take place without the consent of Stepan +Mihailovitch; but both Mme. Bakteyeff and her daughter, Mme. Kurmysheff, +were convinced that Stepan Mihailovitch would not let his cousin go +alone, or, if he did, would be slow about it, and the Major's leave was +nearly at an end. Then he proposed a desperate scheme--to induce +Praskovya Ivanovna to elope with him, and to get married in the nearest +church; but her relations would not hear of such a scandalous expedient, +and Kurolyessoff went back to his regiment. The ways of Providence are +past finding out, and we cannot judge why it came about that this +nefarious scheme was crowned with success. Six months later, Mme. +Bakteyeff heard one day that Stepan Mihailovitch was called away to some +distance by very important business and would not return for some time. +His destination and errand I do not know; but it was some distant place, +Astrakhan or Moscow, and the business was certainly legal, because he +took with him his man of business. A letter was sent at once to Stepan +Mihailovitch, begging that the child, during the absence of her cousin +and guardian, might stay with her grandmother. A curt answer was +received--that Parasha was very well where she was, and, if they wished +to see her, they were welcome to visit Bagrovo and stay as long as they +liked. Stepan Mihailovitch sent this plain answer, and gave the +strictest injunctions to his always submissive wife, that she was to +watch Parasha as the apple of her eye and never let her out of the house +alone; and then he started on his journey. + +Mme. Bakteyeff was constantly sending letters and messages to Praskovya +Ivanovna and my grandfather's womankind; and she sent news of his +departure at once to Kurolyessoff, adding that the absence would be a +long one, and asking whether the Major could not come on leave, to take +a personal share in the promotion of their scheme. She herself and her +daughter went at once to Bagrovo. She had always been on friendly terms +with Arina Vassilyevna, and now, on discovering that she also liked +Kurolyessoff, revealed the fact that the young officer was passionately +in love with Parasha; she launched out into praise of the suitor, and +said, "There is nothing I wish so much as to see the poor little orphan +comfortably settled in my lifetime; I am sure she will be happy. I feel +that I have not long to live, and therefore I should like to hurry on +the business." Arina Vassilyevna, on her side, entirely approved of the +plan but expressed doubts whether Stepan Mihailovitch would consent: +"Heaven knows why," she said, "but he took a strong dislike to that +delightful Kurolyessoff." Arina Vassilyevna's elder daughters were +summoned to a council presided over by Mme. Bakteyeff and her daughter, +a strong partisan of the Major's; and it was settled that the +grandmother, as the girl's nearest relation, should manage the affair, +without involving Arina Vassilyevna and her daughters; it was to appear +that they knew nothing about it and took no hand in it. I have said +already that Arina Vassilyevna was a kind-hearted and very simple woman; +her daughters sympathised entirely with Mme. Bakteyeff, and it is not +surprising that she was persuaded by them to promote a scheme which was +sure to provoke the furious rage of Stepan Mihailovitch. + +Meantime the innocent victim laughed and sang, with no suspicion that +her fate was being decided. They often spoke of Kurolyessoff in her +presence, praised him to the skies, and assured her that he loved her +more than his own life, was constantly studying how to please her, and +would certainly bring her a number of presents from Moscow on his next +visit. All this she heard with pleasure, and often said that she loved +Kurolyessoff better than any one in the world. While Mme. Bakteyeff was +at Bagrovo, she had a letter forwarded to her, in which Kurolyessoff +assured her that he would come, as soon as he could get leave. Arina +Vassilyevna promised to say nothing when writing to her husband, and +also to send Parasha to her grandmother's house, in spite of her +husband's strict orders to the contrary, on the pretext that her nearest +relative was dangerously ill. When the two ladies left Bagrovo and went +home, Praskovya Ivanovna cried and asked to go with them; the Major was +expected soon, and that was an additional attraction; but permission was +refused, out of respect, it was said, to her guardian's strict orders. +Kurolyessoff had some difficulty in getting leave, and it was two months +before he arrived. Immediately afterwards a special messenger was +despatched to Bagrovo, with a letter from Mme. Kurmysheff to Arina +Vassilyevna; the lady wrote that her mother was desperately ill and +wished to see her grand-daughter and give her her blessing; she +therefore asked that Parasha might be sent, with an escort. She also +wrote that Stepan Mihailovitch would certainly have sent the child to +see the last of her grandmother, and could not possibly resent this +infraction of his commands. The letter was clearly intended to be shown +by Arina Vassilyevna, in order to protect herself from her husband's +displeasure. True to her promise and reassured by this letter, Arina +Vassilyevna made her preparations at once and took Parasha herself to +the place where the grandmother was supposed to be dying; she stayed +there a week and returned home charmed by the politeness of Kurolyessoff +and also by some presents which he had brought from Moscow for her, and +for her daughters as well. Praskovya Ivanovna was very happy: her +grandmother took a sudden turn for the better; that fairy godmother, the +Major, had brought her a number of presents and toys from Moscow and +stayed in the house continuously. He flattered her in every possible +way, and soon took her fancy so completely, that, when her grandmother +told her he wished to marry her, she was charmed. She ran up and down +through the house like a perfect child, telling every one she met that +she was going to marry the Major and would have capital fun--driving all +day with him behind his fine trotters, swinging on a swing of immense +height, singing, or playing with dolls, not little dolls, but big ones +that were able to walk and bow. You can judge by this, how far the poor +little bride realised her position. Fearing that reports might reach +Stepan Mihailovitch, the plotters went to work quickly: they invited the +neighbours to a formal betrothal, at which the pair exchanged rings and +kisses, sat side by side at table, and had their healths drunk. At +first, the bride got tired of the ceremony where she had to sit still so +long and listen to so many congratulations; but, when she was allowed to +have her new doll from Moscow beside her, she quite cheered up, +introducing the doll to every one as her daughter, and making it curtsey +when she did, in acknowledgment of their kind wishes. A week later, the +marriage took place with all due formality; the bride's age was given as +seventeen instead of fifteen, but no one would have guessed the truth, +to look at her. + +Though Arina Vassilyevna and her daughters knew what the end must be, +yet the news of the marriage, which came sooner than they expected, +filled them with horror. The scales fell from their eyes, and they now +realised what they had been about, and that neither the grandmother's +sham illness nor her letter would serve to cover them from the just +wrath of Stepan Mihailovitch. Before she heard of the marriage, Arina +Vassilyevna had written to her husband that she had taken the child to +her grandmother: "It was quite necessary," she wrote, "because the old +lady was in a dying state. I stayed there a whole week, and mercifully +the invalid took a good turn; but they insisted on keeping Parasha till +her grandmother got well. I was helpless: I could not take her by force, +so I agreed against my will and hurried back to our own children, who +were quite alone at Bagrovo. And now I am afraid that you will be +angry." In answering, he said she had done a foolish thing and told her +to go back and fetch Parasha home at all costs. Arina Vassilyevna sighed +and shed tears over this letter, and was puzzled how to act. The young +couple soon came to pay her a visit. Parasha seemed perfectly happy and +cheerful, though some of her childish gaiety had gone. Her husband +seemed happy too, and at the same time so composed and sensible that his +clever arguments had power to lull Arina Vassilyevna's fears to rest. He +proved to her convincingly that her husband's wrath must all fall upon +the grandmother: "And she," said he, "owing to that dangerous +illness--though now, thank God! she is better--had a perfect right not +to wait for the consent of Stepan Mihailovitch; she knew that he would +be slow in giving it, though of course he must have given it in time. It +was impossible for her to delay, owing to her critical condition, and it +would have been hard for her to die without seeing her orphan +grand-daughter settled in life; her place could not be filled even by a +brother, far less by a mere cousin." Many soothing assurances of this +kind were forthcoming, backed by some very handsome presents which were +received by the Bagrovo ladies with great satisfaction and some sinking +of heart. Other presents were left, to be given to Stepan Mihailovitch. +Kurolyessoff advised Arina Vassilyevna not to write to her husband till +he answered the letter of intimation from the young couple; and he +assured her that he and his wife would write this at once. He did not +really dream of writing: his sole object was to delay the explosion and +get time to take root in his new position. Immediately after his +marriage, he applied for leave to retire from the Army, and got it very +soon. He then began by paying a round of visits with his bride to all +the relations and friends on both sides. At Simbirsk he began by calling +on the Governor and neglected no one of any importance who could be +useful to him. All were enthusiastic in praise of the handsome young +couple, and they were so popular everywhere, that the marriage was soon +sanctioned by public opinion. Thus several months passed away. + +Stepan Mihailovitch had had no news from home for a long time, and his +lawsuit dragged on interminably. He was suddenly seized by a longing to +see his family again, and returned one fine day to Bagrovo. Arina +Vassilyevna trembled all over when she heard the awful words, "The +master has come!" Hearing that all were alive and well, he entered his +house in high spirits, kissed his Arisha and daughters and son, and then +asked in an easy tone, "But where on earth is Parasha[27]?" Encouraged +by her husband's kind manner, Arina Vassilyevna answered: "I don't know +for certain where she is; perhaps, with her grandmother. Of course you +heard long ago, _batyushka_, that she was married." I shall not describe +my grandfather's amazement and fury; but his fury became twice as hot, +when he heard the name of the bridegroom. He was proceeding to settle +accounts with his wife on the spot, when she and all her daughters fell +at his feet and showed him Mme. Bakteyeff's letter; thus she had time to +convince him that she knew nothing about it and had been deceived +herself. The fury of Stepan Mihailovitch was now diverted to Mme. +Bakteyeff; he ordered fresh horses to be ready, rested two hours, and +then galloped straight off to her house. The battle royal that took +place between the two may be imagined. The old lady stood his first +torrent of unmeasured abuse without flinching; then she drew herself up, +grew hot in her turn, and delivered her own attack upon my grandfather. +"How dare you make this furious assault on me," she asked, "as if I was +your bond-slave? Do you forget that my birth is quite as good as yours, +and that my late husband held a much higher rank than you? I am a nearer +relation to Parasha, I am her own grandmother, and her guardian as much +as you are. I arranged for her settlement without waiting for your +consent, because I was dangerously ill and did not wish to leave her +dependent upon you. I knew your infernal temper; under your roof, the +child would have had a taste of the stick some day. Kurolyessoff is an +excellent match for her, and Parasha fell in love with him of herself. +Everybody likes him and praises him. I know he did not take your fancy; +but just ask your own family, and you will soon find out that they can't +say enough in his praise!" + + [27] A short form of Praskovya, which itself represents the Greek name + Paraskeva. + +"You lie, you old swindler!" roared my grandfather; "you deceived my +wife by pretending that you were dying! Kurolyessoff has bewitched you +and your daughter by the power of the devil, and you have sold your +grand-daughter into his hands!" + +This was too much for Mme. Bakteyeff, and she let out in her rage that +Arina Vassilyevna and her daughters were in league with her and had +themselves accepted presents at different times from Kurolyessoff. This +disclosure turned the whole force of my grandfather's rage back upon his +own family. He threatened that he would dissolve the marriage on the +ground that Parasha was not of age, and then started home. On the way he +turned aside to visit the priest who had performed the ceremony, and +called him to account. But the priest met his attack very coolly, and +showed him with no hesitation the certificate of affinity, the +signatures of the grandmother, the bride, and the witnesses, and also +the baptismal certificate which alleged that Praskovya Ivanovna was +seventeen. This was a fresh blow to my grandfather, for it deprived him +of all hope of breaking the hateful marriage; and it increased +enormously his anger against his wife and daughters. I shall not dwell +upon his behaviour when he got home: it would be too painful and +repulsive. Thirty years later, my aunts could never speak of that day +without trembling. I shall only say, that the culprits made a full +confession, that he sent back all the presents, including those intended +for himself, to Mme. Bakteyeff, to be forwarded to the proper quarter, +that the elder daughters long kept their beds, and that my grandmother +lost all her hair and went about for a whole year with her head +bandaged. He sent a message to the Kurolyessoffs forbidding them to dare +to appear before him, and ordered that their names should never be +mentioned in his house. + +Time rolled on, healing wounds whether of mind or body, and calming +passions. Within a year Arina Vassilyevna's head was healed, and the +anger in the heart of Stepan Mihailovitch had cooled. At first he +refused either to see or hear of the Kurolyessoffs, and would not even +write to Praskovya Ivanovna; but, when a year had passed and he heard +from all quarters good accounts of her way of life, and was told that +she had suddenly become sensible beyond her years, his heart softened +and he became anxious to see the cousin whom he had loved. He reasoned +that she, as a perfect child, was less to blame than any of the rest, +and gave her leave to come, without her husband, to Bagrovo; and, as a +matter of course, she came at once. The reports were true: one year of +marriage had wrought such a change in Praskovya Ivanovna, that Stepan +Mihailovitch could hardly believe it. It was puzzling also, that she now +showed towards her cousin a kind of love and gratitude which she had +never felt in her girlhood, and was still less likely, one would think, +to feel after her marriage. In his eyes, which filled with tears when +they met, did she read how much love was concealed under that harsh +exterior and that arbitrary violence? Had she any dark foreboding of the +future, or did she dimly realise that here was her one support and stay? +Or did she feel unconsciously, that the rough cousin who had opposed her +happiness and still disliked her husband, loved her better than all the +women who had indulged her by falling in with all her childish wishes? I +cannot answer these questions; but all were struck by the change. In her +careless childhood she had been indifferent to her cousin, thinking +little of his rights and her duties; and now she had every reason to +resent his treatment of her grandmother; yet she felt to him now as a +devoted daughter feels to a tender father when both have long known and +loved one another. Whatever the cause of it, this sudden feeling ended +only with her life. + +But what was the remarkable change that had come over so young a woman +as Praskovya Ivanovna, after one year of married life? The foolish child +had turned into a sensible but cheerful woman. She frankly confessed +that they had all behaved badly to Stepan Mihailovitch. For herself only +she pleaded youth and ignorance, and, for her grandmother, her husband, +and the rest, their blind devotion to her. She did not ask him to pardon +the chief criminal at once; but she hoped that in time, when he saw her +happiness and the unwearied care with which her husband managed her +property and looked after her estates, her cousin would forgive the +culprit and admit him at Bagrovo. My grandfather, though he made no +answer at the time, was completely conquered by this appeal. He did not +keep his "clever cousin"--as he now began to call her--long at his +house; he said that her place was now elsewhere, and soon sent her back +to her husband. At parting, he said: "If you are as well satisfied with +your husband a year hence, and if he behaves as well to you as he does +now, I shall be reconciled to him." A year later, as he knew that +Kurolyessoff was behaving well and paying the utmost attention to the +management of his wife's property, and found his cousin, when he saw +her, looking healthy and happy and cheerful, Stepan Mihailovitch told +her to bring her husband with her to Bagrovo. He received Kurolyessoff +cordially, frankly confessed his former doubts, and ended by promising +to treat him as a kinsman and friend, on condition of continued good +conduct. The guest behaved very cleverly: he was less furtive and less +insinuating than he used to be, but just as respectful, attentive, and +tactful. His bearing was clearly more confident and self-assured; he was +giving the closest attention to agricultural problems, on which he asked +advice from my grandfather--advice which he took in very quickly and +followed with remarkable skill. He was connected in some distant way +with Stepan Mihailovitch, and addressed him as "uncle" and treated the +rest of the family as relations. Even before the scene of reconciliation +or forgiveness, he had rendered a service of some kind to Stepan +Mihailovitch; my grandfather was aware of this and thanked him for it +now; he even gave him a similar commission to execute. In fact, the +visit passed off very well. But, though all the circumstances seemed to +speak in favour of Kurolyessoff, my grandfather still said: "The lad is +all right: he is clever and sensible; but somehow I don't take to him." + +It was in the course of the next year that Stepan Mihailovitch made his +move to the district of Ufa. For three years after his marriage, +Kurolyessoff behaved with discretion and moderation, or at least +concealed his conduct with such care that nothing got round. Besides, he +was constantly moving about and spent little time at home. There was +only one report, which spread everywhere with exaggeration--that the +young landowner was a very strict master. During the next two years he +did wonders in the way of improving his wife's property, and established +his character for unceasing activity, bold enterprise, and steadfast +perseverance in the execution of his schemes. The property had been +mismanaged previously: the land had been injured by neglect, and the +peasants brought in very little income, not because there was no market +for their grain, but because they were spoilt and lazy, and had too +little land; and another difficulty was that some of them belonged to +three different owners--Mme. Bakteyeff and her daughter as well as +Praskovya Ivanovna. Kurolyessoff began by transferring some of the +peasants to new ground, while he sold the old land at a good profit. He +bought about 20,000 acres of steppe in the Government of Simbirsk (now +Samara) and the district of Stavropolsk--excellent arable land, level +and easy to plough, with over three feet of black soil. The land lay on +the river Berlya, which had some coppices on its banks near the source; +and there was also "Bear Hollow," which was left untouched for some time +and is now the only forest on the property. He settled 350 serfs here. +This estate turned out highly profitable, because it was only a hundred +_versts_ from Samara and about fifty from a number of ports on the +Volga. It is well known that the value of an estate in our country +depends entirely upon the market for grain. + +Next, Kurolyessoff went off to the district of Ufa and bought from the +Bashkirs 60,000 acres. The soil, though good, was not as productive as +that in Simbirsk, but there was a considerable quantity of wood, not +only firewood, but timber for building. He planted two colonies there, +one of 450 serfs and the other of 50; and he called the larger +"Parashino" and the smaller "Ivanovka." As the Simbirsk estate was +called "Kurolyessovo," each of the properties bore one of the names of +his wife. Such a romantic fancy has always seemed to me curious, +considering the sort of man that Kurolyessoff turned out to be; but some +will maintain that these inconsistencies are common enough. He also made +a seat for himself and his wife in the village of Choorassovo, fifty +_versts_ from Simbirsk; this was a separate property of 350 serfs which +his wife had inherited from her mother. He built there a splendid +mansion, according to the ideas of those days, with all the usual +appurtenances; it was finely decorated and furnished, and painted with +frescoes inside and out; the chandeliers and bronzes, the silver plate +and china, were a wonder to behold. The house was situated on the slope +of a hill, from which more than twenty excellent springs came bubbling +out. The house and the hill stood in the centre of an orchard, very +large and productive, stocked with apple-trees and cherry-trees of every +possible sort. The internal arrangements--the service and cooking, the +horses and carriages--were luxurious and substantial. There was a +constant succession of visitors at Choorassovo, either country +neighbours, of whom there were a good many, or people from Simbirsk; +they ate and drank, took walks and played cards, sang and talked, and +were generally noisy and merry. Kurolyessoff dressed his wife up like a +doll, anticipated all her wishes, and entertained her from morning till +night, that is, when he happened to be at home. In short, after a few +years, he had attained such a position all round, that good people +admired him and bad people envied him. Nor did he forget the claims of +religion: in place of an old tumbledown wooden erection, he built a new +church of stone and equipped it splendidly; he even formed an excellent +choir out of the household servants. Praskovya Ivanovna was quite +contented and happy. She gave birth to a daughter in the fourth year of +her marriage, and to a son a year later, but she soon lost them, the +girl in infancy, and the boy when he was three. She had become so +attached to the boy that this loss cost her dear. For a whole year her +eyes were never dry, her excellent constitution was seriously affected, +and she had no more children. Meanwhile her husband's reputation and +influence grew by leaps and bounds. It is true that his behaviour to the +small landowners was arbitrary and harsh; yet they, if they did not like +him, were exceedingly afraid of him; and people of importance thought it +only to his credit, that he made his inferiors know their proper place. +His absences from home became more frequent and longer, from year to +year, especially after the sad year in which Praskovya Ivanovna lost her +son and would not be comforted. It is probable that he grew weary of +tears and sighs and solitude; for she refused to have any visitors for a +whole year. But indeed the most cheerful and noisy society at +Choorassovo was no attraction to Kurolyessoff. + +Little by little, certain rumours began to spread abroad and gain +strength. According to these reports, the Major was not merely strict, +as was said before, but cruel; in the privacy of his estates at Ufa he +gave himself up to drink and debauchery; he had gathered round him a +band, with whom he drank and committed excesses of every kind; and, +worse still, several victims had already been killed by him in the fury +of his drunken violence. The police and magistrates of the district, it +was said, were all his creatures: he had bribed some with money and +others with drink and terrorised them all. The small landowners and +inferior officials went in terror of their lives: if any dared to act or +speak against him, they were seized in broad daylight and imprisoned in +cellars or corn-kilns, where they were fed on bread and water and +suffered the pangs of cold and hunger; and some were unmercifully +flogged with an instrument called a "cat." Kurolyessoff had a special +fancy for this implement, which was merely a leather whip with seven +tails and knots at the end of each tail. They remained for some time +after Kurolyessoff's death in a store-room at Parashino, for show, not +for use; and I saw them there myself; they were burnt by my father when +he inherited the property. These reports were only too well founded: the +reality far surpassed the timid whisper of rumour. Kurolyessoff's thirst +for blood, inflamed to madness by strong drink, grew unchecked to its +full proportions, till it presented one of those horrible spectacles at +which humanity shudders and turns sick. The instinct of the tiger is +terrible indeed, when combined with the reasoning power of a man. + +At last the rumours were changed into certain knowledge; and of all the +people with whom Praskovya Ivanovna lived--relations, neighbours, and +servants, every one knew the real truth about Kurolyessoff. When he +returned to Choorassovo from the scene of his exploits, he always showed +the same respect to rank, the same friendly attention to his equals, the +same anxiety to please his wife. She had now got over her loss and had +recovered health and spirits; the house was as full of visitors as it +used to be, and something was always going on. At Choorassovo, +Kurolyessoff never struck any of the servants, leaving the bailiff and +the butler in sole possession of this amusement; but they all knew about +him and trembled at a mere look. Even relations and intimate friends +showed some discomfort and embarrassment in his company. But Praskovya +Ivanovna noticed nothing, or, if she did, ascribed it to a quite +different cause--the involuntary respect which every one felt for her +husband's remarkable success as a landowner, his splendid establishment, +and his general intelligence and firmness of purpose. Sensible people +who loved Praskovya Ivanovna, when they saw her perfectly composed and +happy, were glad of her ignorance and hoped it might last as long as +possible. There were, no doubt, some women among her dependants and +humble neighbours whose tongues itched uncommonly, and who felt a strong +desire to pay the Major out for his contemptuous treatment of them, by +disclosing the truth; but, apart from the fear they could not help +feeling, which would probably not have deterred them, there was another +obstacle which prevented the fulfilment of their kind intentions. It was +simply impossible to bring any tales against her husband to Praskovya +Ivanovna. She was clever, keen-sighted, and determined; and, as soon as +she detected any hidden innuendo to the detriment of Kurolyessoff, she +knitted her dark eyebrows and said in her downright way that any offence +of the kind would be punished by perpetual exclusion from her house. As +the natural result of such a significant warning, nobody ventured to +interfere in what was not their business. There were two servants in the +house, a favourite attendant of her late father's and her own old nurse, +whom she specially favoured, though they were not admitted to such close +intimacy as old servants often were in those days; but they too were +powerless. To them it was a matter of life and death that their mistress +should know the real truth about her husband; for they had near +relations who were personal attendants of Kurolyessoff's and were +suffering beyond endurance from their master's cruelty. At last they +determined to tell the whole story to their mistress. They chose a time +when she was alone, and went together to her room; but the old nurse had +hardly mentioned Kurolyessoff's name, when Praskovya Ivanovna flew into +a violent passion. She told the woman that, if she ever again ventured +to open her mouth against her master, she would banish her from her +presence for ever and send her to live at Parashino. Thus all possible +channels were blocked, and all mouths were stopped, that might have +informed against the criminal. Praskovya Ivanovna loved her husband and +trusted him absolutely. She knew that people like to meddle with what +does not concern them, and like to trouble the water, that they may +catch fish; and she had made up her mind at once and laid down an +absolute rule, to listen to no tales against her husband. It is an +excellent rule, and indispensable for the preservation of domestic +peace. But there is no rule that does not admit of exceptions; and +perhaps, in the present case, the resolute temper and strong will of the +wife, added to the fact that all the wealth belonged to her, might have +checked the husband at the outset of his career. As a sensible man, he +would not have cared to deprive himself of all the advantages of a +luxurious life; he would not have gone to such extremes or given such +free play to his monstrous passions. It is more likely that, like many +other men, he would have taken his pleasures in moderation and with +precaution. + +Thus several years went by, during which Kurolyessoff gave himself up +without restraint to his evil tendencies. His degeneration was rapid, +and at last he began to commit incredible crimes, and always with +impunity. I shall not describe in detail the kind of life he led on his +estates, especially at Parashino, and also in the villages of the +district; the story would be too repulsive. I shall say no more than is +necessary to convey a true conception of this formidable man. During the +early years when his whole attention was given to organising his wife's +estates, he deserved to be called the most far-seeing, practical, and +watchful of agents. To all the infinitely various and troublesome +business, involved in removing peasants and settling them down in +distant holdings, he gave his personal and unremitting attention. He +kept constantly in view one object only, the well-being of his +dependants. He could spend money where it was needed; he saw that it +came to hand at the right time and in the right quantity; he anticipated +all the wants and requirements of the settlers. He accompanied them +himself for a great part of their journey, and met them himself at the +end of it, where they found everything prepared for their reception. It +is true that he was too severe and even cruel in the punishment of +culprits; but he was just, and could keep his eyes shut at times. From +time to time he allowed himself a little relaxation, when he disappeared +for a day or two to amuse himself; but he could throw off the effects of +his debauchery like water off a duck's back, and come to work again with +fresh vigour. + +So long as he had the burden of his work upon his shoulders, it took up +all his powers of mind and kept him from the fatal passion for drink, +which robbed him of his senses and removed the curb from his monstrous +inhuman passions. Work was his salvation; but, when he had got both the +new estates, Kurolyessovo and Parashino, into order, and built +manor-houses at both, with a second smaller house at Parashino, then +came the season of little work and much leisure. Drunkenness, with its +usual consequences, and violence, gained complete mastery over him, and +developed by degrees into an insatiable thirst for human blood and human +suffering. Encouraged by the passive fear of all around him, he soon +ceased to set any limit to his arbitrary violence. He chose from among +his dependants a score of ruffians, fit instruments for his purposes, +and formed them into a band of robbers. They saw that their master bore +a charmed life, and believed in his power; drunken and debauched +themselves, they carried out all his insane orders willingly and boldly. +If any man offended Kurolyessoff by the slightest independence in word +or action--if, for example, he failed to turn up when invited to one of +their drunken revels--the gang set off at once at a sign from their +master, seized the culprit either secretly or openly wherever they found +him, and brought him back to Parashino, where he was treated with insult +and chained up in a cellar underground or flogged by their master's +orders. Kurolyessoff was a man of taste: he liked good horses, and he +liked good pictures--he thought them good at least--to adorn his walls. +If anything of the kind took his fancy in a neighbour's house or in any +house where he happened to be, he at once proposed an exchange; in case +of a refusal, he would sometimes, if he was in a good humour, offer +money; but, if this also was refused, he gave warning that he would take +it and give nothing for it. And he did actually turn up with his gang a +short time after, pack up whatever he wanted, and carry it off. +Complaints were made, and the preliminary steps for an inquiry were +taken. But Kurolyessoff saw this must be stopped at once. He sent a +message to the district magistrate, that he would flay with the "cat" +any officer of the law who dared to present himself; and he remained +master of the situation. Meantime the man who had dared to complain was +seized and beaten, on his own estate and in his own house, with his wife +and children kneeling round and imploring mercy. It was Kurolyessoff's +custom to make it up with his victims after a time: sometimes he offered +them pecuniary compensation, but more often he restored peace by +terrorising them; in any case, the stolen goods remained his lawful +property. During his carouses he liked to boast that he had taken "that +pretty thing in the gilt frame" from so-and-so, and that inlaid +writing-table from some one else; and often these very people were +sitting at the table, pretending to be deaf or plucking up heart to +laugh at their own losses. There were even worse acts of violence, but +these also went scot free. + +Kurolyessoff had a very powerful constitution: though he drank a great +deal, it never disabled him but only put him on the move and roused a +horrible activity in his clouded brain and inflamed body. One of his +favourite amusements was to harness teams of spirited horses to a +miscellaneous assortment of carriages, to pack the carriages with his +ragtag and bobtail of men and women, and then scour over the fields and +through the villages at full gallop, with the jingling of bells and the +singing and shouting of his drunken rabble. He took a stock of liquor +with him on these occasions and made every one he met, without regard to +calling or sex or age, drink till they were intoxicated; and any one who +dared to refuse was first flogged, and then tied to a tree or a post, +though it might be raining or freezing at the time. Of more revolting +acts of violence I say nothing. One day he was driving in this state of +mind through a village, and, as he passed a threshing-floor, noticed a +woman of remarkable beauty. "Stop!" he called out. "Petrushka, what do +you think of that woman?" "She's uncommonly pretty," said Petrushka. +"Would you like to marry her?" "How can I marry another man's wife?" +asked Petrushka with a grin on his face. "I'll show you how! Seize her, +my lads, and put her in the carriage beside me!" They did so; the woman +was taken straight to the parish church, and there, though she protested +that she had a husband living and two children, was married to +Petrushka; and no complaints were made either in Kurolyessoff's lifetime +or in that of his widow. When the estate came into my father's hands, he +restored this woman with her husband and children to her former owner; +her first husband had long been dead. My father also distributed various +articles of property to their former owners when they asked for them; +but many of the things had got worn out by tossing about in +lumber-rooms. It is hard to believe that such things could happen in +Russia, even eighty years ago; but the truth of the narrative it is +impossible to dispute. + +This life of drunken and criminal violence, horrible and disgusting +enough in itself, led on to worse, till the man's natural cruelty became +a ferocious thirst for blood. To inflict torture became with him a +necessity as well as a pleasure. On the days when he could not gratify +this passion, he was depressed and listless, uneasy and even ill; and +this was why his visits to Choorassovo grew steadily rarer and his stay +there shorter. But, on his return to the solitude of Parashino, he made +haste to reward himself for his abstinence. He had only to watch the +labourers at their work, to secure a sufficient number of victims; no +excuses were accepted, and it is always possible to find trifling cases +of neglect on the land if you are determined to hunt for them. Yet it +was the personal servants and people about the house who suffered most +from his ferocity. He seldom flogged a peasant, unless the man had +committed a serious offence or was personally known to him; but his +bailiffs and clerks suffered as much at his hands as the household +servants. He spared no one: every one of his favourites had, some time +or other, been flogged within an inch of his life, and some of them many +times. It is remarkable that, when Kurolyessoff got violently angry, +which seldom happened, he did not use violence; but, when he had got +hold of a man and intended to torture him for his own amusement, he +would say in a quiet and even affectionate tone: "Well, my good friend +Grigori Kuzmitch,"--Grishka[28] being his usual name--"it can't be +helped; come, and I will settle accounts with you." Thus he would speak +to his head-groom, who for some unknown reason was put to the torture +more often than others. "Scratch him up a bit with the cat," said the +master with a smile, and then the torture went on for hours, while the +master drank tea with brandy in it, smoked his pipe, and from time to +time passed jests on his victim till unconsciousness supervened. +Trustworthy witnesses have assured me that only one expedient proved +successful in saving life after such an ordeal: the lacerated body of +the victim was wrapped up in sheepskins taken warm from the animals' +backs as soon as they were slaughtered. Kurolyessoff would carefully +examine his victim; then, if content, he would say, "Well, that's +enough; take him away"--and then he became cheerful, jocular, and +amiable for the whole day and sometimes for several days. In order to +complete the portrait of this monster, I shall quote his own words which +he repeated more than once among his boon-companions: "Don't talk to me +of the knout or the stick! They kill a man before you mean it. The 'cat' +is the thing for me: it gives pain without taking life!" I have told +here only a tithe of what I know, but perhaps I have said enough. It is +remarkable, as an instance of the inexplicable inconsistencies of +corrupt human nature, that Kurolyessoff, at a time when he had reached +the extreme limit of debauchery and cruelty, was zealously engaged in +building a stone church at Parashino. At the time I am about to +describe, the outside of the church was finished, and workmen had been +hired for the internal decoration: carpenters, carvers, gilders, and +_ikon_[29]-painters had been at work for some months and were occupying +all the smaller manor-house of Parashino. + + [28] A diminutive form of Grigori (Gregory). + + [29] An _ikon_ is a sacred image, kept in a church or hung on the wall + of a room. + +Praskovya Ivanovna had now been married fourteen years. She noticed +something strange about her husband, whom for two years she had only +seen at long intervals for a few days at a time, but she did not even +suspect anything like the truth. She went on with her easy cheerful way +of life: in summer she gave great attention to her orchard and the +water-springs which she left in their natural state and liked to clean +out with her own hands; at other seasons she spent her time with her +visitors and became a great lover of cards. Suddenly she received, by +post or special messenger, a letter from an old lady for whom she had +great respect, a distant relation of her husband's. This letter gave a +full description of Kurolyessoff's life, and ended in this way, that it +would be sinful not to open the eyes of the mistress of a thousand +serfs, when they were suffering such monstrous cruelty and she could +protect them by cancelling the legal authority she had given her husband +to manage her estates. "Their blood cries to heaven," she wrote, "and at +this moment a servant known to you, Ivan Onufrieff, is dying in +consequence of cruel maltreatment. You have nothing to fear yourself +from Kurolyessoff: he will not venture to show his face at Choorassovo, +and your good neighbours and the Governor himself will protect you." + +This letter fell like a thunderbolt on Praskovya Ivanovna. I have heard +her say myself that she was quite stunned for some minutes; but she was +supported by her firm faith in God and the uncommon strength of her +will, and soon determined on a step from which most brave men would have +shrunk. She ordered horses to be harnessed, saying that she was going to +Simbirsk, and then, with one maid and a man and the coachman, drove +straight to Parashino. It was a long journey of 400 _versts_, and she +had plenty of leisure to think over what she was doing. She used to say +herself that she had formed no plan of action whatever; she merely +wished to see with her own eyes and find out for certain what her +husband was doing and how he lived. She did not entirely trust the +letter from his kinswoman, who lived at a distance and might have been +deceived by false reports; and she did not choose to question her old +nurse at Choorassovo. The thought of danger never entered her head: her +husband had always been so gentle and respectful with her, that it +seemed to her quite natural and quite possible to induce him to return +in her carriage to Choorassovo. She timed herself to arrive at Parashino +in the evening, left her carriage outside the village, and walked +unrecognised--few of the people there knew her--accompanied by her maid +and man, to the court of the mansion-house. She passed through the back +entrance, made her way to a wing from which loud sounds of singing and +laughter were issuing, and opened the door with a steady hand. + +Fortune, as if on purpose, had brought together everything that could +reveal at one flash the kind of life her husband was leading. More +intoxicated than usual, he was carousing with his boon-companions. +Dressed in a shirt of red silk, he held a glass of punch in one hand[30] +while a tipsy herd of servants, retainers, and country women danced and +sang before him. Praskovya Ivanovna nearly fainted at the sight. She +understood all now. Unnoticed, because the room was crowded with people, +she shut the door and left the house. On the steps she came face to face +with one of Kurolyessoff's servants, not a young man, and, fortunately, +sober. He recognised his mistress and was just calling out, +"_Matushka_[31] Praskovya Ivanovna, is it you?"--when she put her hand +over his mouth and led him to the centre of the courtyard. She said in +an ominous voice, "Is this the way you go on behind my back? The days of +your feasting and dancing are done." The man fell at her feet weeping +and said: "_Matushka_, do you suppose that _we_ find pleasure in his +goings-on, that _we_ are responsible? God himself has brought you here." +She told him to be silent and take her to see Ivan Onufrieff; she had +heard that he was still living. She found him in a dying state, lying in +a cow-byre in the backyard. He was too weak to tell her anything; but +his brother, Alexyei, a mere lad, who had been flogged only the day +before, crawled somehow from his pallet, fell on his knees, and told her +what had befallen his brother and himself and others as well. Praskovya +Ivanovna's heart swelled with pity and horror. She felt that she also +was to blame, and she formed a firm resolve to put an end to the crimes +and atrocities of Kurolyessoff. She thought there would be no +difficulty. She gave strict orders that her presence should be kept +secret. Then, as she heard that the smaller house, which had been built +some years before, but, from some caprice of her husband's, never +furnished, contained one habitable room unoccupied by the workmen, she +went off, intending to pass the remainder of the night there and to +speak next morning to her husband when he was sober. But the secret of +her arrival was not strictly kept. The report reached the ear of one of +the most desperate of Kurolyessoff's gang, and he, moved by devotion or +by fear, whispered it to his master. Kurolyessoff was dumbfounded by the +news; it sobered him in a moment; he felt uneasy and scented danger +ahead. His wife's firm and masculine temper had found few opportunities +to display itself hitherto, but he guessed that it was there. Dismissing +his band of revellers, he had two buckets of cold water poured over his +head; and then, braced up and invigorated by this expedient, he changed +into ordinary clothing and went to see if his wife was asleep. He had +had time to reflect and fix on a line of action. He guessed the truth, +that Praskovya Ivanovna had received from some quarter information as to +his way of life, but that she was incredulous and had come to Parashino +to ascertain the truth herself. He knew that her eye had rested for a +moment on his revels, but he did not know that she had seen Onufrieff +and that Alexyei had told her the whole story. He intended to play the +repentant sinner, to excuse himself as best he could for his riotous +debauch, to pour oil on the troubled waters by his delicate attentions, +and to take his wife away as soon as possible from Parashino. + + [30] The asterisks apparently imply that the author is unwilling to + report some details of this orgy. + + [31] _I.e_. mother, a term of affection and respect. + +It was morning by now, and the sun had actually risen. Kurolyessoff +stole on tiptoe to the room occupied by Praskovya Ivanovna and softly +opened the door. A bed had been made for her on the top of a chest, but +the sheets were still smooth and no one had lain down on them. He looked +all round the room and saw Praskovya Ivanovna. She was kneeling in +prayer; there was no _ikon_ in the room, and her eyes, full of tears, +were fixed upon the Cross on the church, which was just opposite the +window and glittered in the rays of the rising sun. He remained standing +a few moments, and then said in a playful voice: "You have prayed long +enough, my dear! I am delighted to see you. What made you think of +coming?" Praskovya Ivanovna rose from her knees with no sign of +confusion; she refused her husband's embrace; then, concealing the flame +of her just anger under a cold determined manner, she told him that she +knew all and had seen Ivan Onufrieff. She expressed in plain terms her +aversion to the monster whom she could no longer regard as her husband, +and she passed sentence upon him: he was to return the document which +gave him authority over her estates, to leave Parashino at once, never +to appear before her again, and never to set foot on any of her lands; +if he refused, she would petition the Governor of the province, and +reveal all his crimes; and his fate would be Siberia and penal +servitude. Kurolyessoff was taken by surprise; he foamed at the mouth +with rage and anger. "So that is the way you talk to me, my beauty! Then +I shall change my tune too!" roared the infuriated ruffian. "You shall +not leave Parashino till you sign a document transferring all your +estates to me; if you refuse, I shall shut you up in a cellar and starve +you to death." Then he caught up a stick from a corner of the room, +felled his wife to the floor with his first blows, and went on beating +her till she lost her senses. Next he ordered some of his trusted +servants to carry their mistress to a stone cellar, which he locked with +a huge padlock and put the key in his pocket. He was a formidable figure +when he appeared before the assembled household; he had summoned them +all, in order to discover the culprit who had led his mistress to the +cow-byre; but the man had already sought safety in flight, accompanied +by the coachman and manservant who had come from Choorassovo. The +fugitives were pursued at once. Kurolyessoff did no injury to the maid, +who had refused to desert her mistress: he gave her directions for +exhorting the prisoner to submission, and then locked her up with his +own hands in the same cellar. What did Kurolyessoff do next? He began to +drink and riot more furiously than before. But alas! in vain did he +swallow brandy like water, in vain did his revel rout dance and sing +before him--he had turned gloomy and sullen. Yet this did not prevent +him from working indefatigably for the attainment of his purpose. He +procured from the local town a legal document by which Praskovya +Ivanovna professed to sell Parashino and Kurolyessovo to one of his +disreputable friends--Choorassovo he was kind enough to leave to +her--and twice a day he went down to the cellar and pressed his wife to +sign the paper; he begged pardon for his violence in the heat of the +moment, promised that if she consented she should never see him again, +and took an oath that he would restore all her property to her by his +will. But Praskovya Ivanovna, though bruised and half-starved and +suffering from fever, refused even to listen to any compromise whatever. +So things went on for five days, and God only knows how it would all +have ended. + +All this time my grandfather Stepan Mihailovitch was living and +prospering on his estate of New Bagrovo, which was 120 _versts_ distant +from Parashino. As I have mentioned already, he had frankly made it up +with Kurolyessoff and was satisfied with him in general, though he felt +no fancy for him. Kurolyessoff, on his side, showed great deference to +Stepan Mihailovitch and all his family, and was ready to perform any +services for them. When he had planted his colony at Parashino and was +engaged in organising it, he came every year to Bagrovo and made himself +very agreeable. He appealed to Stepan Mihailovitch, as a man of +practical experience in colonising, for his advice; he received it +gratefully, wrote it all down word for word, and really followed it. He +even invited Stepan Mihailovitch twice to Parashino, to judge of his +pupil's proficiency; and each time my grandfather approved entirely of +what he saw; and on his last visit, when he had inspected the arable +land and all the farming arrangements, he said to Kurolyessoff, "You are +young, friend, but you've got on fast; I can teach you nothing." And, as +a matter of fact, everything at Parashino was in excellent order. Of +course the host received the old man as if he had been his own father, +with all possible deference and attention. As years went on, ugly +rumours about Kurolyessoff found their way to Bagrovo. As my grandfather +disliked gossip, nothing was said to him at first; but the rumours grew +steadily. The womankind at Bagrovo knew of them; and Arina Vassilyevna +ventured at last to tell her husband that Kurolyessoff was leading a +terribly wicked life. He would not believe it. He said: "Once you +believe what people say, you will soon accuse your neighbour of robbing +a church! I know what the Bakteyeff servants were like--thieves and +shirkers, to a man! And my cousin's serfs too got spoilt, with no master +to look after them. It's not surprising if they're terrified of honest +work and decent order. Friend Mihail may have gone to work too fast: +what of that? they'll learn to bear it. As to his drinking--if he takes +a glass after his work, a man's none the worse for that, provided he +doesn't neglect his business. There _are_ beastly things a man shouldn't +do; but there, I fancy, they're lying. You women are too fond of +listening to gossip." For a long time after this, Stepan Mihailovitch +heard nothing more of the rumours. At last, some Bagroff serfs, who had +been transferred from the Government of Simbirsk to Parashino together +with the serfs of the Bakteyeff family, came to visit their relations at +New Bagrovo and told terrible stories of their master. Arina Vassilyevna +again appealed to her husband, and begged that he would himself question +one of these men who was now at Bagrovo; he was an old man with an +established character for speaking the truth; and Stepan Mihailovitch +had known him all his life. My grandfather consented. He sent for the +man and questioned him, and heard a story which made his hair stand on +end. He could not think what to do, or how to mend matters. Praskovya +Ivanovna's occasional letters showed that she was quite happy and +undisturbed; and he concluded that she knew nothing of her husband's +conduct. In the old days he had warned her himself never to listen to +tales against her husband; and he felt sure that she was following his +advice only too well. He reflected, that, if she learnt the truth, it +was doubtful if she could do anything; she would distress herself +terribly, all to no purpose. It was therefore desirable that her eyes +should never be opened. He could not now interfere; and he thought +interference useless in the case of such a man. "I hope he will break +his neck or be tried for a murder; he deserves it. No hand but God's can +mend a man like that. He is not so hard upon his peasants and labourers, +and the house-servants are a pack of scoundrels; let them suffer for +their sins! I have no mind to soil my fingers with this dirty business." +Thus Stepan Mihailovitch reasoned in his own way. He broke off all +relations with Kurolyessoff, however, and ceased to answer his letters. +This hint was understood, and the correspondence came to an end. But to +Praskovya Ivanovna, Stepan Mihailovitch began to write oftener and more +intimately than before. + +So matters remained till the morning, when the three fugitives from +Parashino made their appearance before my grandfather as he sat on his +stoop. They had spent the first day concealed in an inaccessible swamp +which joined on to the stackyards of Parashino; in the evening they +learnt from some one in the village exactly what had happened, and made +their way straight to Bagrovo, considering Stepan Mihailovitch as the +only possible protector and champion of Praskovya Ivanovna. His feelings +may be imagined when he heard what had happened at Parashino. He loved +his one cousin not less, perhaps more, than his own daughters. The image +of Parasha half-killed by her ruffian of a husband, of Parasha confined +in a cellar for three days and perhaps dead already, presented itself so +vividly to his lively imagination that he sprang up like one demented, +and rushed down the courtyard and through the village, summoning his +retainers and labourers in accents of frenzy. Those who were not in the +cottages came running from the fields. When all were assembled, they +were full of sympathy for their master's passionate despair, and cried +with one voice that they would go on foot, if need be, to the rescue of +Praskovya Ivanovna. In a short time three cars, drawn by teams of +spirited horses from the stables of Bagrovo, and carrying a dozen men +chosen for strength and courage, were galloping along the road to +Parashino. The party included the fugitives from Parashino, and were +armed with guns and swords, pikes and pitchforks. Later in the day two +more cars followed to reinforce Stepan Mihailovitch; the men were armed +in the same way; the horses were the best the peasants could produce. By +the evening of the second day, the vanguard was within seven _versts_ of +Parashino. They fed the jaded horses, and in the first light of the +summer dawn dashed into the wide courtyard and drove straight up to the +cellar. It was close to the rooms occupied by Kurolyessoff. Stepan +Mihailovitch jumped out and began to beat his fist against the wooden +door of the cellar. A voice faintly asked, "Who is there?" My +grandfather recognised his cousin's voice; dropping a tear of joy that +he had found her alive, and crossing himself, he called out in a loud +voice, "Thank God! It is your cousin, Stepan Mihailovitch; you are safe +now!" He sent off the servants from Choorassovo to get ready Praskovya +Ivanovna's carriage, and posted six armed men to defend the gate, while +he himself and the rest of his men applied axes and crowbars to the +cellar-door. It gave way in a moment; and Stepan Mihailovitch himself +carried out Praskovya Ivanovna, placed her on a car between himself and +her faithful maid, and drove unmolested out of the courtyard with all +his retainers. The sun was rising as they drove past the church, and his +first beams lit up the Cross on the roof. It was just six days since +Praskovya Ivanovna had prayed with her eyes fixed on that Cross; and now +she prayed again and thanked God for her deliverance. The carriage +caught them up, when they were five _versts_ from Parashino; and Stepan +Mihailovitch moved his cousin into the carriage and drove with her back +to Bagrovo. + +But I shall be asked, "How did all this happen? did no one see it? what +had become of Kurolyessoff and his trusty retainers? is it possible that +he was unaware of it or absent at the time?" No: the liberation of +Praskovya Ivanovna took place before many witnesses; and Kurolyessoff +was at home and knew what was going on, but did not venture to show his +face. + +The explanation is quite simple. His men had spent the whole evening +carousing with their master, and some of them were so drunk that they +could not be roused. There was one sober man, a complete abstainer and a +favourite. He wakened his master with some difficulty, and, trembling +with fear, told him of the raid of Stepan Mihailovitch and the guns +pointing straight at the windows. "But where are all our fellows?" asked +Kurolyessoff. "Some are asleep, and others are hiding," said the man; +but this was not true; for the drunken rabble was mustering near the +outside steps. Kurolyessoff thought a moment; then with a gesture of +despair he said, "Let her go, and the devil go with her! Lock the door, +go to the window, and watch what happens." In a few minutes, the man +cried out, "They are carrying away the mistress!--They're off!"--"Go to +your bed," said his master; then he rolled himself up in his blankets +and either fell asleep or made a pretence of it. + +Yes, right has a moral strength before which wrong must bend, for all +its boldness. Kurolyessoff knew the stout heart and fearless courage of +Stepan Mihailovitch, and he knew that he himself was in the wrong; and +therefore, in spite of his furious temper and unscrupulous impudence, he +let his victim go without a struggle. + +Tenderly and carefully Stepan Mihailovitch conveyed the sufferer, whom +he had always loved and who now roused in him deep sympathy and a still +greater affection. No question passed his lips on the journey; and, when +he brought her in safety to Bagrovo, he forbade his womankind to trouble +her with inquiries. But in a fortnight Praskovya Ivanovna was herself +again, thanks to her strong constitution and high spirit; and then +Stepan Mihailovitch determined to cross-examine her. In order to act, he +must know the real truth, and he never trusted secondhand information. +She told him the whole truth with perfect frankness, but begged that he +would keep it from his family and that she should be asked no questions +by any one else. She put herself altogether in his hands; but she feared +his hot temper and implored him not to take vengeance on Kurolyessoff. +She said positively that, on reflection, she had decided not to bring +shame on her husband, or to stain the name which she must continue to +bear throughout her life. She added that she now repented of the words +which had burst from her lips at her first interview with Kurolyessoff +at Parashino, and that nothing would induce her to make a complaint to +the Governor against him. Yet she considered it her duty to rescue her +serfs from his cruelty, and therefore intended to cancel the document +which gave him authority over her estates. She asked Stepan Mihailovitch +to take over the management himself, and also to write to Kurolyessoff +demanding the document and stating that, if he refused to give it up, +she would take legal steps to cancel it. She asked Stepan Mihailovitch +to express this in plain terms but without any abusive epithets; and she +offered to sign the letter herself, to make it more convincing. I should +mention that she could hardly read and write her native language. Stepan +Mihailovitch loved his cousin so well that he bridled his rage and +assented to her wishes. But he would not hear of taking over the +management. "No, my dear," he said; "I don't care to meddle in other +people's affairs, and I don't want your relations to be saying that I +feather my own nest while looking after your multitude of serfs. The +land will be badly managed in your hands, I don't doubt; but you are +rich and will have enough. I don't mind saying in the letter that I am +to take over the management; that will give your sweet pet a turn! All +the rest you ask shall be done." + +Strict orders were accordingly issued to the womankind to ask no +questions of the lady. My grandfather wrote the letter to Kurolyessoff +with his own hand, Praskovya Ivanovna added her signature, and a special +messenger was despatched with it to Parashino. But, while they were +considering and wondering and writing at Bagrovo, all was already over +at Parashino. The messenger returned on the fourth day and reported +that, by God's will, Kurolyessoff had died suddenly and was already +buried. + +Stepan Mihailovitch heard the news first. Involuntarily he crossed +himself and said, "Thank God!" And so said all his family: in spite of +their former weakness for Kurolyessoff, they had long looked on him with +horror as a criminal and a ruffian. With Praskovya Ivanovna it was +different. Judging by their own feelings, they all supposed she would +welcome the news, and told her at once. But, to the surprise of every +one, she was utterly prostrated by it and became ill again; and, when +her strength got the better of the illness, her depression and +wretchedness were extreme: for some weeks she wept from morning till +night, and she grew so thin that Stepan Mihailovitch was alarmed. No one +could understand the cause of such intense sorrow for a husband whom she +could not love and who had treated her so brutally--"a disgrace to human +nature," as they called him. But there was an explanation, and this is +it. + +Many years later, my mother, who was a great favourite with Praskovya +Ivanovna, was talking with her of past days--a thing which Praskovya +Ivanovna generally avoided--and in the openhearted frankness of their +conversation she asked: "Please tell me, aunt, why you took on so after +your husband's death. In your place, I should have said a prayer for his +soul, and felt quite cheerful." "You are a little fool, my dear," +answered Praskovya Ivanovna: "I had loved him for fourteen years and +could not unlearn my feeling in one month, even though I had found out +what he was; and, above all, I grieved for his soul: he had no time to +repent before he died." + +After six weeks, Praskovya Ivanovna's good sense mastered her grief to +some extent; and she consented, or, I should rather say, did not refuse, +to travel with all the Bagroff family to Parashino, in order to attend a +memorial service at Kurolyessoff's grave. To the general surprise, she +dropped no tear at Parashino or during the sad ceremony; but one may +imagine how much this effort cost her, in her condition of sorrow and +bodily weakness. By her wish, only a few hours were spent at Parashino, +and she did not enter that part of the house where her husband had lived +and died. + +It is not difficult to guess the cause of Kurolyessoff's sudden death. +When Stepan Mihailovitch had rescued his cousin from the cellar, the +people at Parashino all plucked up heart, believing that the end of +Kurolyessoff's rule had come. They all supposed that the owner of +Bagrovo, who was in the position of a father to their mistress, would +turn her husband neck and crop out of a place that did not belong to +him. No one dreamed that their young mistress, insulted and beaten and +half-starved in an underground cellar in her own house, would fail to +appeal to the law for redress. Every day they expected an irruption from +Stepan Mihailovitch with the sheriff at his back; but week followed +week, and no one came. Kurolyessoff was as drunken and violent as ever: +every one of his retainers he flogged till they were half-dead, for +having betrayed him, not sparing even the sober man who had wakened him +on the night of the rescue; and he boasted that Praskovya Ivanovna had +given up to him the title-deeds of her estates. It was past the power of +human endurance; and the future seemed hopeless.[32] Two of the +scoundrels, who had been favourites, and, strangely enough, two who had +suffered less than the rest from his cruelty, ventured upon a horrible +crime. They poisoned him with arsenic, putting it into a decanter of +_kvass_, which Kurolyessoff generally emptied during the night; and they +put in so much, that he was dead in two hours. As they had taken no one +into their confidence, the catastrophe startled and terrified the whole +household. The servants suspected one another, but the real criminals +remained unknown for some time. Six months later one of them became +desperately ill and confessed his crime before he died; and his +accomplice, though the dying man had not betrayed him, made off and was +never seen again. + + [32] From here to the end of the paragraph was removed by the censor + from the early editions of the work. + +The sudden death of Kurolyessoff would certainly have been followed by +an inquest, but for the presence at Parashino of a young clerk called +Mihaila Maximitch, who had only lately come to the place. By cleverness +and good management, he contrived to get the affair hushed up. He became +later Praskovya Ivanovna's man of business and the chief agent on all +her estates, and enjoyed her full confidence. Under the name of +"Mihailushka" he was known to all and sundry in the Governments of +Simbirsk and Orenburg. He was a man of remarkable ability; though he +made a large fortune, he lived discreetly and modestly for many years; +but, when he received his freedom on the death of his mistress and lost +his wife to whom he was much attached, he took to drinking and died in +poverty. One of his sons, if I remember rightly, entered the official +class and was eventually ennobled. + +I should not conceal the fact, that forty years later, when I became the +owner of Parashino, I found the recollection of Kurolyessoff's +management still fresh among the peasants, and they spoke of him with +gratitude, because they felt every day the advantage of many of his +arrangements. His cruelty they had forgotten, and they had felt it less +than his personal attendants; but they remembered his power of +distinguishing guilt and innocence, the honest workman and the shirker; +they remembered his perfect knowledge of their needs and his constant +readiness to give them help. The old men smiled as they told me that +Kurolyessoff used often to say: "Steal and rob as you please, if you +keep it dark; but, if I catch you, then look out!" + +When she went back to Bagrovo, Praskovya Ivanovna, soothed by the +sincere and tender love of her cousin and by the assiduous attentions of +his womankind (whom she did not much like but who expected great favours +and benefits from her) gradually got over the terrible blow she had +suffered. Her good health came back, and her peace of mind; and at the +end of a year she resolved to go back to Choorassovo. It was painful to +Stepan Mihailovitch to part with his favourite: her whole nature +appealed to him, and he had become thoroughly accustomed to her society. +Not once in his whole life was he in a rage with Praskovya Ivanovna. But +he did not try to keep her: on the contrary, he pressed her to go as +soon as possible. "It's no sort of life for you here, my dear," he used +to say; "it's a dull place, though we have got accustomed to it. You are +young still"--she was thirty--"and rich and used to something different. +You should go back to Choorassovo, and enjoy your fine house and +splendid garden and the springs. You have plenty of kind neighbours +there, rich people who live a gay life. It is possible that God will +send you better fortune in a second venture; you won't want for offers." +Praskovya Ivanovna put off her departure from day to day--so hard did +she find it to part from the cousin who had saved her life and been her +benefactor from her childhood. At last the day was fixed. Early on the +previous morning, she came out to join Stepan Mihailovitch, who was +sitting on his stoop and thinking sad thoughts. She kissed and embraced +him; the tears came to her eyes as she said: "I feel all your love for +me, and I love and respect you like a daughter. God sees my gratitude; +but I wish that men should see it too. Will you let me bequeath to your +family all my mother's property? What I have from my father will come to +your son in any case. My relations on my mother's side are rich, and you +know that they have given me no reason to reward them with my wealth. I +shall never marry. I wish the Bagroff family to be rich. Say yes, my +dear cousin, and you will comfort me and set my mind at rest." She threw +herself at his feet and covered with kisses the hands with which he was +trying to raise her up. "Listen, my dear," said Stepan Mihailovitch in a +rather stern voice: "You don't know me aright. That I should covet what +does not belong to me, and cut out the rightful heirs to your +estates--no! that shall never be, and never shall any one be able to say +that of Stepan Bagroff! Mind you don't ever mention it again. If you do, +we shall quarrel; and it will be the first time in our lives." + +Next day Praskovya Ivanovna left Bagrovo and began her own independent +life at Choorassovo. + + + + +FRAGMENT III: THE MARRIAGE OF THE YOUNG BAGROFF + + +Many years passed by and much happened during that time--famine and +plague, and the rebellion of Pugatchoff.[33] The landowners of the +Orenburg district scattered before the bands of the usurper, and Stepan +Mihailovitch also made off with his family, first to Samara, and then +down the Volga to Saratoff and as far off as Astrakhan. But by degrees +all disturbances passed over and calmed down and were forgotten. +Children became boys, boys became men, and men came to grey hairs; and +among these last was Stepan Mihailovitch. He saw this himself, but he +hardly believed it. He would sometimes allude to the ravages of time, +but he did so without uneasiness, as if there were no personal reference +to himself. Yet my grandfather had ceased to be his old self: his +herculean strength and tireless activity had gone for ever. This +sometimes surprised him; but he went on living precisely in the old +way--eating and drinking to his heart's content, and dressing with no +regard to the weather, though he sometimes suffered for this neglect. +Little by little, his keen clear eye became clouded and his great voice +lost its power; his fits of anger were rarer, but so were his bright and +happy moods. His elder daughters had all married, and the oldest had +been dead some time, leaving a daughter of three years old. Aksinya,[34] +the second, had lost one husband and married again; Elizabeth, a clever +but arrogant woman, had somehow married a General Yerlykin, who was old +and poor and given to drinking; and Alexandra had found herself a +husband in Ivan Karatayeff, well-born, young, and rich, but a passionate +lover of the Bashkirs and their wandering life--a true Bashkir himself +in mind and body. The youngest daughter, Tanyusha, had not married. The +only son[35] was now twenty-six, a handsome youth with a complexion of +lilies and roses: his own father used to say of him, "Put a petticoat on +him, and he'd be a prettier girl than any of his sisters!" Though his +wife, Arina Vassilyevna, shed bitter tears and would not be comforted, +Stepan Mihailovitch sent his son into the Army as soon as he was +sixteen. He served for three years, and, owing to the influence of +Mihail Kurolyessoff, acted as aide-de-camp for part of the time to +Suvoroff. But Suvoroff left the district of Orenburg and was succeeded +by a German general (I think his name was Treubluth); and he sentenced +the young man to a severe flogging, from which his entire innocence, if +not his noble birth, should have protected him. His mother nearly died +of grief, when she heard it; and even my grandfather thought this was +going too far. He withdrew his son from the Army and got him a place in +the law court at Ufa, where he earned promotion by long and zealous +service. + + [33] Pugatchoff was a Cossack, who raised a formidable rebellion in East + Russia; taken prisoner by Suvoroff, he was executed at Moscow in + 1775. + + [34] The popular form of Xenia; the diminutive is Aksyutka. + + [35] The author's father. + +I cannot pass over in silence a strange fact that I have noticed: most +of the Germans and foreigners in general who held posts in the Russian +service in those days were notorious for their cruelty and love of +inflicting corporal punishment. The German who punished young Bagroff so +cruelly was a Lutheran himself, but at the same time a great stickler +for all the rites and ceremonies of the Russian Church. This historic +incident in the annals of the Bagroff family happened in the following +way. The general ordered a service to be performed in the regimental +chapel on the eve of some unimportant saint's-day; he was always present +himself on these occasions, and all officers were expected to attend. It +was summer, and the chapel windows were open. Suddenly, a voice in the +street outside struck up a popular song. The general rushed to the +window: three subalterns were walking along the street, and one of them +was singing. He ordered them under arrest and sentenced each of them to +300 lashes. My unfortunate father, who was not singing but merely +walking with his friends, pleaded his noble birth; but the general said +with a sneer, "A noble is bound to show special respect to divine +service"; and then the brute himself looked on till the last stripe was +inflicted on the innocent youth. This took place in a room next the +chapel, where the solemn singing of the choir could be distinctly heard; +and the tyrant forbade his victim to cry out, "for fear of disturbing +divine worship." After his punishment, he was carried off unconscious to +hospital, where it was found necessary to cut off his uniform, owing to +the swelling of his tender young body. It was two months before his back +and shoulders healed up. What must it have cost his mother to hear such +news of her only son whom she simply worshipped! My grandfather lodged a +complaint in some quarter; and his son, who had sent in his papers at +once, got his discharge from the Army before he left the hospital, and +entered the Civil Service as an official of the fourteenth or lowest +class. Eight years had now gone by, and the incident was by this time +forgotten. + +Alexyei Stepanitch was now living peacefully at Ufa and performing his +duties there. Twice a year he paid a visit to his parents at Bagrovo, +240 _versts_ away. His life was quite uneventful. Quiet, bashful, and +unassuming, this young heir to a landed estate lived on good terms with +all the world, till suddenly the modest course of his existence became +disturbed. + +There was a permanent military administration in the town of Ufa, and +next in authority the Lieutenant-Governor was Nikolai Zubin, who +resided regularly in the town. M. Zubin was an honest and able man, +but his character was weak. His wife had died, leaving three +children--Sonitchka,[36] a girl of twelve, and two younger boys. He +was devoted to his daughter; and it was no wonder he should love a +child so beautiful and so clever, who, in spite of her tender years, +soon became her father's companion and assisted him in the management +of the household. Eighteen months after the death of his first wife, +whom he had loved and sincerely mourned, M. Zubin found consolation by +falling in love with the daughter of M. Rychkoff, a landowner in +Orenburg, well-known for his descriptions of that country. The +marriage soon took place; and the young wife, Alexandra, by her +intelligence and beauty, soon gained entire control over her +submissive husband. But she was hard and unfeeling, and conceived a +hatred for her stepdaughter, her father's darling, who bade fair to +grow up into a beautiful woman. The thing is common enough. The name +of stepmother has long been proverbial for cruelty, and it fitted Mme. +Zubin precisely. But it was by no means easy to tear Sonitchka from +her place in her father's heart: she was not a girl who could be put +down easily, and the contest which followed inflamed the stepmother's +anger to an extraordinary pitch. She swore that this hussy of +thirteen, who was the idol of her father and all the town, should some +day live in the maids' room, wear the coarsest clothes, and carry the +slops out of the children's nursery. She kept her oath to the letter: +after two or three years, Sonitchka was living with the servants and +clothed like a scullion, and she scrubbed and cleaned the nursery +which was now inhabited by two half-sisters. But what was the father +doing? He had once loved her dearly; but now for whole months he never +saw her; and when he did meet her going about in rags, he turned away +with a sigh, wiped away a furtive tear, and made off as soon as +possible. It is the way of many elderly men who have married again and +are dominated by young wives. As I do not know exactly the ways and +methods by which Mme. Zubin attained her object, I shall not speak of +them; nor shall I dwell upon the cruelties and sufferings inflicted +upon the bereaved girl, with her sensitive temper and strong will; +nothing was spared her, not even the most humiliating punishments and +beatings for imaginary offences. I shall only say, that the +stepdaughter was not far from suicide, and was only saved from it by a +miracle. It happened thus. When she had decided to put an end to an +intolerable existence, the poor child wished to say her last prayer +before an image of Our Lady of Smolensk, the image with which her +mother on her deathbed had blessed her. She fell on her knees in her +garret before the _ikon_, and, with floods of bitter tears, pressed +her face on the dirt-stained floor. Suffering deprived her of +consciousness for some minutes; when she recovered and got up, she saw +the candle, which she had put out the night before, still burning +before the image. At first she cried out with surprise and involuntary +fear; but soon she recognised that she had seen a miracle wrought by +Divine Power. She took courage; she was conscious of a strength and +composure she had never felt before; and she firmly resolved to suffer +and endure and live. From that day the helpless child wore armour of +proof against the increasing exasperation of her stepmother: whatever +she was told to do, she did; whatever was inflicted upon her, she +bore. Degrading punishment no longer forced the tears from her eyes, +no longer made her turn sick and faint, as it used to do. "Mean slut" +had long been her title, and "desperate wretch" was now added to it. +But the measure of God's patience now brimmed over, and His thunder +pealed: Mme. Zubin, in the prime of life and in the pride of her +health and beauty, died ten days after giving birth to a son. +Twenty-four hours before the end, knowing that she must die, she was +eager to take the load off her conscience. Sonitchka was suddenly +wakened in the night and summoned to her stepmother's bedside. The +dying woman confessed in the presence of witnesses her guilty conduct +towards her stepdaughter, begged her forgiveness, and conjured her in +the name of God to be good to the children. The girl forgave her and +promised to care for the orphans; and she kept that promise. Mme. +Zubin confessed also to her husband that the accusations which had +been brought against his daughter were all calumnies and falsehoods. + + [36] A pet name for Sofya (Sophia). This is the author's mother, whose + real name was Marya. + +Her death caused a complete reversal of affairs. M. Zubin also had a +paralytic stroke, and, though he survived for some years, never left his +bed again. The oppressed and ragged Cinderella, whom the servants--and +especially those belonging to Mme. Zubin--had been mean enough to +humiliate and insult to their heart's content, suddenly became the +absolute mistress of the household, her sick father having put +everything under her control. The reconciliation between the guilty +father and the injured daughter was touching and even distressing to the +daughter and all who saw it. For long, M. Zubin was wrung by remorse: +his tears flowed day and night, and he repeated the same words over and +over, "No, Sonitchka, it is impossible you should forgive me!" To each +one of his acquaintance in the town he formally confessed his misconduct +towards his daughter; and "Sofya Nikolayevna," as she was now called, +became the object of general respect and admiration. Made wise by years +of suffering, this girl of seventeen developed into a grown woman, a +mother to the children, and the manager of the household. She even +discharged public duties; for, owing to her father's illness, she +received all heads of departments, officials, and private citizens; she +discussed matters with them, wrote letters and official documents, and +at last became the real manager of the business in her father's office. +Sofya Nikolayevna nursed her father with anxious care and tenderness; +she looked after her three brothers and two sisters, and even took +trouble about the education of the elder children. Her own brothers, +Serghei and Alexander, were now boys of twelve and ten; and she +contrived to find teachers for them--a kind old Frenchman called +Villemer, whom fortune had somehow stranded at Ufa, and a half-educated +Little Russian who had been exiled to the town for an attempted fraud. +She availed herself of the opportunity to study with her brothers, and +worked so hard that she could soon understand a French book or +conversation and even talk French a little herself. Eighteen months +later she sent her brothers to Moscow for their education. Through a +certain M. Anitchkoff who lived at Ufa, she had become acquainted with +his cousin who lived at Moscow, and they often corresponded. The +well-known writer, Novikoff, shared a house at Moscow with this M. +Anitchkoff; and both friends were so struck by the letters from this +young lady on the banks of the river Byelaya, that they sent her +regularly all new and important books in the way of Russian literature; +and this did much for her mental development. This M. Anitchkoff had a +special respect for her, and considered it an honour to carry out her +request. He undertook to receive both her brothers and place them at a +boarding-school connected with Moscow University, and performed his +undertaking punctiliously. The boys got on well at school, but their +studies were broken off when the summons came for them to enter the +Guards, in which they had been enrolled while still in the cradle. + +All clever and educated people who came to Ufa hastened to make the +acquaintance of Sofya Nikolayevna, were attracted by her, and never +forgot her. Many of these acquaintances became in course of time the +intimate friends of her children, and the relation was severed only by +death. I shall name only those of them whom I knew myself--V. +Romanovsky, A. Avenarius, Peter Chichagoff, Dmitri Myortvavo, and V. +Itchansky. Scholars also and travellers, attracted by the novelty and +beauty of the district, invariably made the young lady's acquaintance +and left written testimony of their admiration for her beauty and wit. +It is true that her position in society and her home helped her, and +served, one might say, as a pedestal for the statue; but the statue +itself was a noble figure. I remember especially the verses of Count +Manteuffel, a traveller; he sent them to Sofya Nikolayevna with a most +respectful letter in French; and he also sent a copy of an immense work +in five quarto volumes, by a Dr. Buchan,[37] which had just been +translated from English into Russian and made a great sensation in the +medical world of that day. Buchan's _Domestic Medicine_ was a real +treasure to Sofya Nikolayevna: she was able to make use of its +directions to make up medicines for her father's benefit. In his verses +Count Manteuffel compared the fair lady of Ufa to both Venus and +Minerva. + + [37] Buchan's _Domestic Medicine_ was published in 1769; the author died + in 1805. + +In spite of his enfeebled state, M. Zubin did not resign his office for +several years. Twice a year he gave a ball; he did not appear himself, +in order to welcome the ladies, but the men went to see him where he lay +in his study; and the young hostess had to receive the whole town. +Several times a year, her father insisted on her going out to balls in +the houses of the leading people, and she yielded to his earnest +entreaties and put in a short appearance at the ball. She wore fine +dresses and was an excellent dancer in the fashion of the time. When she +had gone through a Polish minuet and a single country-dance or +schottische, she went away at once, after flashing through the room like +a meteor. All who had the right to be so, were in love with Sofya +Nikolayevna, but they sighed at a respectful distance; for this young +lady gave none of them any encouragement whatever. + +And with this peerless creature the son of Stepan Mihailovitch fell in +love! He could not understand and appreciate her fully, but her +appearance alone and her lively cheerful temper were enough to bewitch a +man; and bewitched he accordingly was. He saw her first in church, and +the first sight was enough for his susceptible heart. Alexyei +Stepanitch--henceforth we shall give him both his names--soon discovered +that the fair lady received all officials who visited at her father's +house; and, being himself an official in the law-court, he began to +appear regularly in her drawing-room, to pay his respects on high days +and holidays. He saw her every time, and his passion grew steadily. His +calls were so regular and so prolonged--though he hardly opened his +mouth--that they soon attracted general notice; and it is probable that +the first person to notice them was the young hostess herself. Rapturous +looks, flaming cheeks, helpless confusion--these are the symbols by +which love has always spoken. A frank passion has been an object of +ridicule from time immemorial, and all Ufa laughed at Alexyei +Stepanitch. He was humble and shy and as bashful as a country girl; and +his only reply to all jests and allusions to the subject was to blush +the colour of a peony. But Sofya Nikolayevna, so cold and even snubbing +in her manner to her fashionable admirers, was surprisingly indulgent to +this speechless worshipper. Perhaps she was sorry for this young man who +had no armour against all the ridicule he suffered on her behalf; +perhaps she understood that his was no idle or passing fancy and that +his whole life was at stake; anyhow, the severe young beauty not only +bowed graciously and looked kindly at him, but tried also to start +conversation; and his timid, incoherent replies and agitated voice did +not seem to her ridiculous or repulsive. I should say, however, that +Sofya Nikolayevna, though she stood on her dignity with self-assertive +people, was always kind and condescending to humility and modesty. + +Things went on thus for some time. Suddenly, a bold thought flashed on +the brain of Alexyei Stepanitch--the thought of getting Sofya +Nikolayevna for his wife. At first he was frightened by his own +ambition, so bold and so unlikely to be realised. How could he raise his +eyes to Sofya Nikolayevna, the chief personage in Ufa, and, in his +opinion, the cleverest and most beautiful woman in the world? He +abandoned his intention entirely for a time. But by degrees the lady's +constant goodwill and attention, her friendly glances which seemed to +him to hold out some encouragement, and, above all, the passion which +mastered his whole being, recalled the abandoned ideal; and it soon grew +familiar and became part of his life. There was an old lady called Mme. +Alakayeff, then living at Ufa to look after a lawsuit, who used to visit +at the Zubins' house; she was distantly related to Alexyei Stepanitch +and had always taken a great interest in him. He now began to visit her +oftener, and did his best to please her; and at last he confessed his +love for a certain person, and his intention to seek her hand. His love +was the talk of the town and therefore no news to Mme. Alakayeff; but +his intention of marrying her was a surprise. "She won't have you," said +the old lady, shaking her head; "she's too clever, too proud, too highly +educated. Plenty of people have been in love with her, but not one has +ever dared to ask the question. You're a handsome lad, certainly, +well-born and fairly well-off, and you will be rich in course of +time--everybody knows that; but then you're a plain country fellow, no +scholar or man of the world, and you're terribly bashful in society." +Alexyei Stepanitch was aware of all this himself; but love had entirely +confused his brain, and a voice whispered in his ear day and night that +Sofya Nikolayevna would accept him. Though the young man's hopes seemed +to her unfounded, Mme. Alakayeff consented to go to Sofya Nikolayevna's +house, where, without making any allusion to his wishes, she would turn +the conversation on to him and take note of all that was said. She +started at once, and Alexyei Stepanitch remained in the house till she +should come back. She was absent for some time, and the lover became so +distressed and despondent that he began to cry and then fell asleep, +tired out, with his head leaning against the window. When the old lady +came back, she wakened him and said with a cheerful air: "Well, Alexyei +Stepanitch, there is really something in it! When I began to speak about +you, and was rather hard upon you, Sofya Nikolayevna took up the cudgels +in earnest on your behalf, and ended by saying that she was sure you +were very kind and modest and gentle, and respectful to your parents; +and she said that God sent his blessing on such people, and they were +much better than your pert and forward talkers." Alexyei Stepanitch was +so enraptured by this report that he hardly knew where he was. Mme. +Alakayeff gave him time to recover, and then said with decision: "If +your mind is quite made up about this, I will tell you what you had +better do. Go home at once, tell the whole story to your parents, and +ask for their consent and blessing, before kind people put their oar in. +If they give you one and the other, I don't refuse to work in your +cause. Only don't be in a hurry: begin by getting on the soft side of +your sisters; your mother won't go against your wishes. Of course, your +father's consent matters most of all. I know him: he is masterful to a +degree, but he has good sense; have a talk to him when he is in a good +humour." Alexyei Stepanitch did not see the need of all this caution and +manoeuvring: he said that his parents would be delighted, and asked what +possible flaw could be found in Sofya Nikolayevna. "Two terrible flaws," +said the shrewd old lady: "she has only twopence to her fortune, and her +grandfather was a simple sergeant in a Cossack regiment." The +significance of her words was entirely lost upon Alexyei Stepanitch, but +the old lady was not wrong in her presentiment, and her warning came too +late. + +Within a week Alexyei Stepanitch got leave of absence. He called on +Sofya Nikolayevna to say "good-bye," and she treated him kindly, wishing +him a pleasant journey, and hoping he might find his parents in good +health and happy to see him. Her kind words encouraged him to hope, and +off he went home. The old people were glad to see him, but they were +puzzled by the time of his visit and looked at him inquiringly. His +sisters--who lived near Bagrovo and came there in hot haste on a summons +from their mother--kissed their brother and made much of him, but kept +on smiling for some reason. The youngest sister, Tatyana, was his +favourite, and he revealed his passion to her ears first. Being a rather +romantic girl and fonder of her brother than the older sisters were, she +listened to him with sympathy, and at last went so far as to confide to +him a great secret: the family knew already of his love-affair and were +opposed to it. It had happened in this way. + +Two months before, Ivan Karatayeff had travelled to Ufa on business and +brought back this piece of news to his wife. Alexandra Karatayeff--I +have spoken already of her character--boiled over with rage and +indignation. She took the lead in the family, and could twist them all, +except, of course, her father, round her little finger. She set one of +her brother's servants to spy on his master, and made him report to her +every detail concerning his love-affair and his life at Ufa; and she +found a female friend in the town, who first rummaged and ferreted +about, and then, with the help of a discarded attorney's clerk, sent her +a long letter composed of town talk and servants' gossip. As her chief +authorities were the servants of the late Mme. Zubin, it is easy to +guess the kind of portrait which these enemies drew of Sofya +Nikolayevna. + +It is a well-known fact that in the good old days of the Empress +Catherine--perhaps it is the case still--there was little love lost +between a man's wife and his sisters; and the case was worse when the +sisters had only one brother, because his wife must become the sole and +undisputed mistress of the household. A great deal of selfishness +underlies human nature; it often works without our knowledge, and no one +is exempt from it; honourable and kind people, not recognising selfish +motives in themselves, quite honestly attribute their actions to other +and more presentable causes; but they deceive themselves and others +unintentionally. Where there is no kindness of heart or refinement of +manners, selfishness shows itself without any concealment or apology; +and so it was with the womankind of Stepan Mihailovitch. It was +inevitable that they should all resent their brother's marriage, +irrespective of his choice. "Alosha will change towards us and love us +less than before; his bride will be a cuckoo in the nest and push out +the birds born there"--such would certainly have been the language of +the sisters, even if Alexyei Stepanitch had chosen a bird of their own +feather; but Sofya Nikolayevna was worse than anything they could +imagine. Alexandra summoned her sister Elizabeth and hurried to Bagrovo, +to communicate to her mother and sisters--of course, with suitable +embellishments--all the information she had received of her brother's +goings on. They believed every word she said, and their opinion of Sofya +Nikolayevna was to the following effect. In the first place, the Zubin +girl--this was her regular name in the secret meetings of the family +council--was of mean birth: her grandfather had been a Ural Cossack, and +her mother, Vyera Ivanovna Kandalintsoff, had belonged to the merchant +class; the alliance was therefore a degradation to an ancient and noble +family. In the second place, the Zubin girl was a mere pauper: if her +father died or was dismissed from his post, she would depend on charity +for her bread, and all her brothers and sisters would be a stone round +her husband's neck. Thirdly, the Zubin girl was proud and fashionable, a +crafty adventuress who was accustomed to lord it over the town of Ufa; +and she would turn up her nose with no ceremony at plain people living +in the country, however long their pedigree. Fourthly and lastly, the +Zubin girl was a witch who used magic herbs to keep all the men running +after her with their tongues hanging out; and their poor brother was one +of her victims; she had scented out his future wealth and his easy +temper, and had determined to marry into a noble family by hook or by +crook. Alexandra managed the whole affair; her glib and wicked tongue +frightened them all and soon proved to them, beyond all possibility of +doubt, that such a marriage was a terrible misfortune for them. "Likely +enough, she will get round Stepan Mihailovitch himself, and then we're +all done for; we must leave no stone unturned to prevent the marriage." +It was clearly of the first importance to impress upon Stepan +Mihailovitch the worst possible opinion of Sofya Nikolayevna; but who +was to bell the cat? Their conscience was not clear, and they dared not +go to work openly. If their father suspected that they had any concealed +purpose, he would not believe even the truth in that case; once before, +when there had been some talk of choosing a daughter-in-law, he had seen +through their repugnance to the scheme and had told them so plainly. + +They had recourse therefore to the following stratagem. Arina +Vassilyevna had a married niece living near; her name was Flona +Lupenevsky; she was short and stout, a notorious fool and gossip, and +not averse to strong liquors. She was instructed to come to Bagrovo as +if on an ordinary visit, and to bring in, among other topics, the +love-affairs of Alexyei Stepanitch; she was, of course, to represent +Sofya Nikolayevna in the most unfavourable light. Alexandra spent a long +time coaching this lady in what she was to say and how she was to say +it. When she had learnt it as well as she could, Mme. Lupenevsky turned +up at Bagrovo and had dinner there; after dinner, hosts and guests slept +for three hours and then assembled for tea. The master of the house was +in good humour and himself gave his guest an opening to begin her +performance. "Come now, Flona," he said, "tell us the news you got from +the travellers to Ufa"--her sister, Mme. Kalpinsky, had just been there +with her husband--"I warrant they brought home a good budget, and you +will add as much more out of your own head." + +"You will always have your joke, dear uncle," said the lady; "but they +brought plenty of news, and I have no need to invent." Then off she +started on a string of silly gossip, true and untrue, which I shall +spare my readers. My grandfather pretended to disbelieve her throughout, +even when she was telling the truth; he made fun of her stories, threw +her out on purpose, and teased her till all the hearers laughed +heartily. The stupid woman, who had taken a stiff glass on waking to +give her courage, got vexed at last and said with some heat: "Uncle, why +do you keep on laughing and believe nothing I say? Wait a moment; I have +kept one special bit of news for the end, and that won't make you laugh, +though you can't help believing it." The family exchanged glances, and +my grandfather laughed. "Come, out with it!" he said coolly; "I shan't +believe it; and, if I don't laugh at it, it's because I'm bored by your +stories." "O uncle, uncle," she began, "you're quite in the dark about +my dear cousin, Alexyei Stepanitch. He's a perfect wreck: the witch of +Ufa, the daughter of a great man there, Governor or Commander-in-Chief, +I don't know which, has used devilish arts to fascinate him. She's a +perfect beauty, they say, and has captivated all the men, young and old; +she has bewitched them with magic herbs, and they all run after her. And +my poor cousin, Alexyei Stepanitch, is so bad that he can neither eat +nor drink nor sleep. He's constantly sitting beside her, he can't take +his eyes off her, he just looks and sighs; and at night he's always +walking past her house, carrying a gun and a sword and keeping guard +over her. They say that the Zubin girl is very sweet upon him; of course +he's handsome and well-born; she knows what she's about and means to +marry him. It's natural enough: she has no money, and her father is a +Cossack's son who rose from the ranks; though he has worked his way up +and held great posts, he has put nothing by; he has spent every penny on +dinners and fine parties and dresses for his daughter. The old man is at +death's door, and there is a swarm of children--half a dozen of them by +his two wives. They will all settle on your shoulders, uncle, if my +cousin marries her; she has no portion but the clothes she wears; they +have silk to their backs but nothing to put in their bellies. And +Alexyei Stepanitch, they say, is changed out of all knowledge: he looks +terrible; the very servants weep to see him and dare not inform you. +Believe me, uncle, every single word is gospel truth. Question his +servants, and they won't deny it." + +At this, Arina Vassilyevna began to cry and her daughters to rub their +eyes. My grandfather was rather taken aback, but soon recovered himself. +Then he smiled and said coolly: "Plenty of lies there, and perhaps a +grain of truth. I have heard myself that the young lady is pretty and +clever; and that's all the magic there is about it.[38] It's little +wonder if Alexyei's eyes were dazzled. All the rest is rubbish. Mlle. +Zubin has no idea of marrying Alexyei; he is no match for her; she will +find a better man and a more pushing man to marry her. And now, that's +enough: not a word more on the subject! Let us go and drink tea out of +doors." As a matter of course, neither Mme. Lupenevsky nor any one else +dared to refer again to the news from Ufa. The visitor departed in the +evening. After supper, when Arina Vassilyevna and her daughters were +about to take a silent farewell of Stepan Mihailovitch, he stopped them +and said: "Well, Arisha, what do you think about it? Though that stupid +Flona added plenty of lies, yet it seems to me there is truth in the +story too. The boy's letters have been quite different of late. The +thing needs some looking into. The best plan would be to summon Alosha +here; we shall learn all the truth from him." At this point Alexandra +offered to send a special messenger to Ufa to find out the truth through +a relation of her husband's: "She is a very honest woman," she said, +"and nothing would make her tell a lie." Her father agreed not to send +for his son till the fresh report arrived. Alexandra started at once for +her own house, which was not more than 30 _versts_ from Bagrovo, and +returned in a week, bringing with her the letter I have mentioned +already, which she had received long before from her gossiping female +friend at Ufa. This letter was shown and read aloud to Stepan +Mihailovitch; and, though he put little faith in the women as detectives +and informers, some statements in the letter seemed to him probable, and +he was displeased. He said positively, that, if Mlle. Zubin did wish to +marry Alosha, he would forbid it, on the ground of her birth. "Write by +the next post to Alosha," he said, "and tell him to come home." A few +days passed, and were used by the women to prejudice Stepan Mihailovitch +as strongly as possible against the marriage; and then, as we know +already, the young man turned up at Bagrovo without having received the +letter. + + [38] In general, my grandfather had little belief in witchcraft. A + wizard once told him that a gun was charmed and would not go off. + He took out the shot secretly and fired at the wizard, who got a + great fright. But he recovered and said that my grandfather himself + was "a man of power"; and this was generally believed, except by + Stepan Mihailovitch. (_Author's note._) + +Alexyei Stepanitch heard the whole of this story from Tatyana, and it +made him very serious and uneasy. He was not by nature strong-willed, +and had been brought up in blind obedience to his family and his father. +In his alarm, he did not know what to do. At last he decided to speak to +his mother. Arina Vassilyevna was devoted to her only son; but, as she +was accustomed to look on him as still a child and convinced that this +child had taken a fancy to a dangerous toy, she met his avowal of strong +feeling with the words one would use to a child who begged to hold the +hot poker; and, when this treatment brought the tears to his eyes, she +tried to comfort him in the way that a child is comforted for the loss +of a favourite toy. He might say what he pleased, he might try as he +pleased to refute the slander brought against Sofya Nikolayevna--his +mother either did not listen at all or listened without attending. Two +more days passed by; the young man's heart was breaking; though his love +and longing for Sofya Nikolayevna increased every hour, it is probable +that he would not easily have plucked up courage to broach the subject +to his father; but Stepan Mihailovitch took the first step. Early one +fine morning, he was sitting as usual on his stoop, when Alexyei +Stepanitch, looking rather pale and worn after an almost sleepless +night, came out to join his father. The old man was in a cheerful mood; +he greeted his son affectionately, and then, looking attentively at his +face, he read what was going on within. He gave him his hand to kiss, +and then said, not in anger but with energy: "Listen to me, Alexyei! I +know the burden on your mind, and I see that this fancy has taken a +strong hold of you. Just tell me the story now, the whole truth and +nothing but the truth." Alexyei Stepanitch felt more fear than love for +his father, and was not in the way of speaking to him frankly; but his +love for Sofya Nikolayevna lent him courage. He threw himself at his +father's feet and repeated the whole story, omitting no details and +keeping nothing back. Stepan Mihailovitch listened with patience and +attention. When one of the family appeared in the distance and evidently +meant to come and say "good morning," he waved his blackthorn staff with +a significant gesture, and then nobody, not even Aksyutka with the tea, +dared approach before he summoned them. Though his son's story was +ill-arranged, confused, long, and unconvincing, yet Stepan Mihailovitch +with his clear head made out the gist of the matter. But unfortunately +he did not and could not approve of it. Of the romantic side of love he +had small appreciation, and his masculine pride was offended by his +son's susceptibility, which seemed to him degrading weakness in a man +and a sign of worthlessness; and yet at the same time he saw that Sofya +Nikolayevna was not in the least to blame, and that all the evil he had +heard about her was merely malicious falsehood, due to the ill will of +his own womankind. After a little reflection, he said, with no sign of +anger, even affectionately, but firmly: "Listen to me, Alexyei! You are +just at the time of life when a pretty girl may easily take a man's +fancy. In that there is no harm whatever; but I see that you have gone +too far, and that does not do. I don't blame Sofya Nikolayevna in the +least; she seems to me a very worthy girl; but she's not a good match +for you, and she won't suit us. In the first place, her nobility dates +from yesterday, while you are the descendant of an ancient and noble +line. Then she is accustomed to town life, highly educated, and +independent; since her stepmother died she has ruled a household; and, +though poor herself, she is used to luxury; but we are plain country +people, and you know yourself how we live. And you ought to know your +own character; you're too compliant. But her cleverness is the chief +objection to her; to marry a wife cleverer than one's self is a mistake; +she is sure to rule her husband; and you are so much in love that you +are certain to spoil her at first. Well, as your father, I now bid you +clear your head of this notion. I confess I don't believe myself that +Sofya Nikolayevna would accept you. Choose your shoe of the right size, +and it won't pinch your foot. We will find out a wife for you here--some +gentle, quiet girl, well-born and with some money. Then you can give up +your office and live here in comfort. You know, my boy, we're not +rolling in wealth. We get enough to eat, but very little money comes in. +As to the Kurolyessoff legacy, about which people made such a noise, I +never give it a thought; we can't count on it: Praskovya Ivanovna is +young enough to marry and have children of her own. Now, mind what I +say, Alosha: throw all this off like water off a duck's back, and don't +let me hear again of Sofya Nikolayevna." Then Stepan Mihailovitch gave +his hand graciously to his son, who kissed it as respectfully as usual. +The old man ordered tea to be served and the family to be summoned; he +was more than usually cheerful and friendly to them all, but Alexyei +Stepanitch was terribly depressed. No anger on his father's part would +have produced such an effect; that was soon over and was always followed +by indulgence and kindness, but the old man's quiet determination +deprived him of all hope. There was a change in his expression, so +sudden and complete, that his mother was frightened to see it and plied +him with questions--"Was he unwell? What had happened to him?" His +sisters noticed the change also, but they were more cunning and held +their tongues. None of this was lost on Stepan Mihailovitch. He looked +askance at Arina Vassilyevna and muttered through his teeth, "Don't +worry the boy!" So they took no more notice of him but left him in +peace, and the day went on with its usual routine. + +The conversation with his father made a deep impression on Alexyei +Stepanitch; one may say that it crushed him. His appetite and sleep +failed, he lost interest in everything, even his bodily strength was +affected. His mother shed tears, and even his sisters were uneasy. Next +day his mother found it difficult to get from him any account of the +interview with his father. To all inquiries he returned the same answer: +"My father won't hear of it; I am a lost man, and life will soon be over +for me." And within a week he did really take to his bed; he was very +weak and often half-conscious; and, though his skin was not hot, he was +constantly delirious. No one could understand what was the matter with +him; but it was simply a nervous fever. The family were terribly +alarmed. As there were no doctors in the neighbourhood, they treated him +with domestic remedies; but he grew steadily worse till he was so weak +that his death was expected hourly. His mother and sisters screamed and +tore their hair. Stepan Mihailovitch, though he shed no tears and was +not always sitting by the bedside, probably suffered more than any one; +he understood perfectly what had caused this illness. But youth at last +asserted itself, and the turn came after exactly six weeks. Alexyei +Stepanitch woke up to life an absolute child, and life was slow in +resuming its normal course with him; his convalescence lasted two +months, and all the past seemed to have been blotted out from his +memory. Everything that he saw, both indoors and out, pleased him as +much as if it were new and strange. At last he got perfectly well; his +face filled out and got back the healthy colour which it had lost for +more than a year; he went out fishing and shooting quails, ate and drank +heartily, and was in good spirits. His parents felt more joy than they +could express, and were convinced that the illness had expelled all +former thoughts and feelings from his head and heart. And perhaps this +would really have been the case if they had taken him away from Ufa, +kept him a whole year at home, and found a pretty girl for him to marry. +But their fears were lulled to rest by his present condition, and they +sent him back to the same place and the same duties after six months. +This settled his fate once for all. The old passion revived and blazed +up with far greater power. I do not know whether love came back to his +heart all at once or by degrees; I only know that he went seldom at +first to the Zubins' house, and then oftener, and at last as often as he +could. I know also that his old friend, Mme. Alakayeff, continued her +visits to Sofya Nikolayevna, sounding her cautiously as to her +sentiments and bringing back favourable reports, which confirmed her own +hope that the proud beauty was not indifferent to her humble worshipper. +A few months after Alexyei Stepanitch had returned to Ufa, a letter from +him suddenly arrived at Bagrovo, in which he declared to his parents, +with his usual affection and respect, but also with a firmness not +characteristic of him, that he loved Sofya Nikolayevna more than his own +life and could not live without her; he had hopes of her accepting him, +and asked his parents to give him their blessing and their consent to +the match. This letter was a great surprise and shock to the old people. +Stepan Mihailovitch knitted his brows but did not express his feelings +by a single word. The family all sat round in perfect silence till he +dismissed them by a gesture. When he was alone, my grandfather sat there +a long time, tracing patterns on the floor of his room with his +blackthorn staff. He soon realised that it was a bad business, that they +had been mistaken, and that no fever would cure the lad of his passion. +His impulsive and kindly nature shook his resolve and made him inclined +to give his consent, as may be inferred from what he said to his wife. +When they were alone together next morning, he said: "Well, Arisha, what +do you think of it? If we refuse, we shall see no more of Alosha than of +our own ears. He will die of grief, or go off to the wars, or become a +monk--and that's the end of the Bagroff family!" But Arina Vassilyevna +had been primed already by her daughters, and she answered, as if her +son ran no risk: "As you please, Stepan Mihailovitch; your will is mine +too. But how can you hope they will respect you in future, if they +resist your positive commands now?" This mean and cunning trick was +successful: the old man's pride was touched, and he resolved to stand +firm. He dictated a letter, in which he expressed surprise that his son +should begin the old business over again, and repeated what he had +already said by word of mouth. In short, the letter contained a positive +refusal. + +Two or three weeks passed, and brought no reply from Alexyei Stepanitch. +Then there came one stormy autumn morning, when my grandfather was +sitting across his bed in his own room; he was wearing his favourite +dressing-gown of fine camel's hair over a shirt buttoning up at the +side, and had slippers on his bare feet. Arina Vassilyevna was sitting +near him with her spinning-wheel, spinning goat's down and carefully +drawing out the fine long threads with which she intended to make +cloth--cloth to provide her son with light, warm, comfortable garments. +Tanyusha was sitting by the window, reading a book. Elizabeth, who was +on a visit to Bagrovo, was sitting on the bed near her father, telling +him of her troubles--her husband's poor prospects, and the shifts they +had to practise at home to make ends meet. The old man listened sadly, +with his hands on his knees, and his head, now turning white, bent down +over his breast. Suddenly the door opened; and Ivan, a tall, handsome +lad, wearing a travelling jacket, entered the room with a quick step and +delivered a letter which he had brought from the post-town 25 _versts_ +away. The stir among the party showed that the letter was eagerly +expected. "From Alosha?" asked the old man quickly and uneasily. "From +my brother," answered Tanyusha, who had gone to meet Ivan, taken the +letter quickly from him, and looked at the address. "You have lost no +time, and I thank you. A dram for Ivan! Then go and have your dinner and +rest." The spirit-case was opened at once; Tanyusha took out a long, +cut-glass decanter, filled a silver cup with brandy, and handed it to +Ivan. Ivan crossed himself and drank it, then coughed, bowed, and left +the room. "Read it aloud, Tanyusha," said her father; she did his +reading and writing for him. She placed herself by the window; her +father left his bed and her mother her spinning-wheel, and all crowded +round the reader, who had unsealed the letter by this time but dared not +take a preliminary peep. After a moment's silence, the letter was read +slowly and audibly. It began with the form of address usual in those +days--"Dear and honoured Father, and dear and honoured Mother," and then +went on in this fashion-- + +"In answer to my last letter, I had the misfortune to receive a refusal +of my request, my dearest parents. I cannot go against your will; I +submit to it, but I cannot long drag the burden of my life without my +adored Sofya Nikolayevna; and therefore a fatal bullet shall ere long +pierce the head of your unhappy son."[39] + + [39] I know the letter nearly by heart. It probably still exists among + the old papers of one of my brothers. Some expressions in it are + clearly borrowed from the novels which Alexyei Stepanitch was fond + of reading. (_Author's note._) + +The letter produced a powerful effect. My aunts began to whimper; my +grandmother, who was taken utterly by surprise, turned pale, threw out +her hands, and flopped down on the ground like a corn-sheaf. Even in +those days fainting-fits were not unknown. Stepan Mihailovitch never +stirred; but his head bent a little to one side, as it used to do when a +fit of anger was coming on, and began to tremble slightly; and that +tremulous motion went on from that hour till his death. The daughters +rushed to their mother's aid and soon brought her back to her senses. At +once, Arina Vassilyevna threw herself at her husband's feet, raising the +cry of mourning for the dead; and her daughters followed her example. +Taking no notice of the storm-signals on his brow, and quite forgetting +that she herself had egged him on to disappoint his son, she cried at +the top of her voice: "_Batyushka_ Stepan Mihailovitch! have pity and do +not be the death of your own child, our only son! Give Alosha leave to +marry! If anything happens to him, I will not live one hour longer!" The +old man never stirred. At last he said in an unsteady voice: "Enough of +that howling! Alosha deserves a good whipping. But we'll leave it till +to-morrow; morning brings good counsel. Now go and order dinner to be +served." Dinner my grandfather regarded as a sedative at every domestic +crisis. Arina Vassilyevna tried to begin again--"Mercy! Mercy!"--but +Stepan Mihailovitch called out loudly, "Leave the room, all of +you!"--and in his voice was audible the roar that goes before a storm. +The room was cleared instantly, and no one ventured near him before the +dinner-hour. + +It is hard to imagine the thoughts that passed through his mind in the +interval, the struggle that took place in that iron heart between love +and prudence, and the final defeat of the stubborn spirit; but, when +Mazan's voice was heard outside the door, announcing dinner, my +grandfather came out of his room quite composed. His face was rather +pale, but his wife and daughters, who were standing, each by her own +chair, till he appeared, could not see the faintest sign of anger; on +the contrary, he was quieter and more cheerful than he had been in the +morning, and made a hearty meal. Arina Vassilyevna had to harden her +heart and suit her conversation to his mood; she dared not even sigh, +far less ask questions; in vain she tried to guess what was passing +through her husband's mind; the little chestnut-brown eyes in her fat +face might ask what questions they pleased, but the dark-blue eyes of +Stepan Mihailovitch, for all their frank good-humoured expression, gave +no answer. After dinner he lay down as usual, and woke in a still more +cheerful mood, but not a syllable did he utter about his son or the +letter. Yet it was clear that no wrath was brooding in the old man's +heart. When he said "good night"; to his wife after supper, she ventured +to say, "Please say something about Alosha." He smiled and answered: +"Did I not say that morning thoughts are best? Go to sleep, and God +bless you!" + +Morning did indeed bring good counsel and kindly action. My grandfather +got up at four o'clock when Mazan was kindling his fire, and his first +words were: "Tanaichonok, you are to take a letter at once to Ufa for +Alexyei Stepanitch. Get ready immediately, and no one is to know your +errand or where you are going. Put the young brown horse in the shafts, +and the roarer abreast of him. Take six bushels of oats with you and a +loaf of bread. Ask the housekeeper for two _roubles_ in copper for your +expenses. See that all is ready when my letter is written, and don't +lose a moment!" When my grandfather demanded haste, he always got it. +Then he opened the oak desk which served him as a writing-table, got +writing materials, and with some effort--for ten years past he had +written nothing but his signature--he wrote as follows in a stiff, +old-fashioned hand:-- + + "_Dear Son Alexyei_, + + "Your mother, Arina Vassilyevna, and I, give you our permission + to marry Sofya Nikolayevna Zubin, if that be God's will, and we + send you our blessing. + + "Your father, + + "_Stepan Bagroff_." + +Half an hour later, long before it was light, Tanaichonok had reached +the top of the long hill and passed the stackyard, and was trotting +briskly along the road to Ufa. At six o'clock Stepan Mihailovitch +ordered Aksyutka to bring the _samovar_ but to wake no one in the house. +In spite of this, the mistress was called and told in confidence that +Tanaichonok had started very early with a pair of horses from the +stable; he was carrying a letter from the master, but his destination +was unknown. She did not venture to join her husband at once: she waited +an hour or so, and appeared when he had finished his tea and was +chatting with Aksyutka, the maid, who had been plain as a child and was +now still plainer in middle life. "Well, what did they wake you for?" +said Stepan Mihailovitch, holding out his hand to his wife. "I dare say +you had a bad night." Arina Vassilyevna kissed his hand respectfully: +"No," she said, "no one called me, I woke of myself; and I had a good +night, for I hoped you would be kind to our poor boy." He looked +attentively at her; but her face was accustomed to wear a mask, and he +could not read her thoughts. "In that case," he said, "I have good news +for you. I have sent a special messenger to Ufa and written to Alexyei +that he has permission from us both to marry Sofya Nikolayevna." + +Arina Vassilyevna had been horrified by her son's tragic intentions, and +had sincerely begged and prayed her stern husband to consent to the +marriage. Yet, when she heard how Stepan Mihailovitch had decided, she +felt more fear than joy; or rather, she did not dare to feel joy, +because she feared her daughters. She knew already what Elizabeth +thought of the letter, and guessed what Alexandra would say. For these +reasons she received the decision, which her husband hoped would delight +her, rather coldly and strangely; and this did not escape him. Elizabeth +expressed no satisfaction whatever, but merely respectful submission to +her father's will; but Tanyusha, who took her brother's letter quite +seriously, rejoiced with all her heart. Elizabeth was not alarmed even +at first by her brother's threat; she shed tears and interceded for him, +merely because it would not look well to act differently from her mother +and youngest sister. She wrote at once to Alexandra, who was furious +when she heard of the decision and came with all speed to Bagrovo. She +too treated her brother's letter as an empty threat, a trick suggested +by Sofya Nikolayevna; and the two together soon converted their mother +and even Tanyusha to this belief. But the matter was settled, and open +rebellion was now out of the question. Stepan Mihailovitch had thought +that Sofya Nikolayevna would refuse his son; but no one else at Bagrovo +believed this. But it is time now to leave Bagrovo and see what was +going on at Ufa. + +I will not take upon myself to decide positively whether Alexyei +Stepanitch really intended to shoot himself, if his parents were +obdurate, or took a hint from some incident in a novel and tried to +excite their fears by suggesting the awful result of their refusal. +Judging by the later development of his character--and I knew it well--I +cannot think him capable of either course of action. Therefore, as I +suppose, the young man was not playing a trick in order to frighten his +parents; on the contrary, he sincerely intended to blow out his brains, +if he was forbidden to marry Sofya Nikolayevna. But at the same time I +do not think he could ever have brought himself to carry out his fatal +purpose, although your mild quiet people, who are often called +faint-hearted, are sometimes more capable of desperate actions than men +of bold and energetic temperament. The idea of suicide was certainly +borrowed from some novel: it was quite out of keeping with the character +of Alexyei Stepanitch, his view of life, and the circle of ideas in +which he had been born and brought up. However that may be, when he had +launched the fatal letter, he became greatly agitated and was soon laid +up with fever. His friend and confidante, Mme. Alakayeff, knew nothing +of the letter; she came to see him daily and soon perceived that his +illness and his love-affair were not enough to account for his excessive +agitation. She was sitting beside him one day, knitting a stocking and +talking about trifles, in order to amuse the invalid and distract his +mind from his hopeless passion; he was lying on the sofa, with his hands +behind his head, looking out of the window. Suddenly he turned as white +as a sheet. A cart with a pair of horses had turned off the street into +the courtyard, and he recognised the horses and Tanaichonok. He sprang +to his feet, cried out, "A message from my father, from Bagrovo!" and +made for the door. Mme. Alakayeff seized his arm, and, with the help of +a servant, prevented him from hurrying to the steps; it was wet and cold +autumn weather. Meanwhile Tanaichonok came quickly into the room and +delivered the letter. Alexyei Stepanitch broke the seal with trembling +fingers, read the few lines, burst into tears, and fell on his knees +before the _ikon_. Mme. Alakayeff was puzzled until he handed her the +letter; but, when she had read it, she too shed tears of joy. The young +man was beside himself with happiness. He now confessed the nature of +the letter he had written to his parents, and she shook her head when +she heard it. Tanaichonok was called in and closely questioned; when he +told how he had been sent off, they saw that Stepan Mihailovitch had +settled the matter by himself, without the knowledge of his womankind +and probably against their wishes. + +Mme. Alakayeff was entirely taken by surprise: even when she had read +the letter over again she could not believe her own eyes, because she +knew Stepan Mihailovitch of old and quite realised the opposition of the +family. But, when the first excitement of surprise and joy was over, the +two began to discuss how they should set to work. So long as opposition +from their own side made the marriage seem remote and impossible, they +had been sanguine as to the feelings of the lady; but now a doubt seized +on Mme. Alakayeff. When she recalled and examined all the favourable +signs, she felt that perhaps she had attached more importance to them +than they deserved; and, like a sensible woman, she made haste to +moderate the young man's confident hopes, prudently calculating that, if +he were seduced by them, he would find it harder to bear the sudden +collapse of those radiant dreams. A refusal now seemed to her quite +possible, and her fears had effect upon her companion. Still, she did +not back out of her promise to help him: on the contrary, she went next +day and laid his proposal before Sofya Nikolayevna. + +Simply, clearly, and with no exaggeration, she described the constant +and ardent attachment of Alexyei Stepanitch--all the town had long known +it, and certainly Sofya Nikolayevna did; she spoke warmly of the fine +character of her young relative, his kind heart, his rare modesty; she +gave true and exact details of his financial position and prospects; she +told the facts about his family, not forgetting to state that he had +received by letter yesterday his parents' blessing and their full +consent to seek the hand of a lady so worthy and highly respected as +Sofya Nikolayevna; she added, that the young man had caught a fever in +the excitement of waiting for his parents' reply, but found it +impossible to postpone the decision of his fate, and therefore had asked +her, as his kinswoman and a friend of Sofya Nikolayevna's, to find out +whether a formal proposal for her hand, laid before her father, would be +distasteful to her or not. + +Sofya Nikolayevna had long been accustomed to act for herself: without +confusion and without any of the affectation and prudery expected of +women in those days, she replied as follows:-- + +"I thank Alexyei Stepanitch for the honour he has done me, and you, dear +lady, for your interest in the matter. I say frankly that I noticed long +ago his partiality for me and have long expected that he would make me a +proposal; but I have never decided whether I would accept or reject it. +His last visit to his parents, the suddenness--you told me this +yourself--of his long and dangerous illness at home, and the change in +him when he came back to Ufa--these were signs that his parents +disapproved of me as a daughter-in-law. This, I confess, I did not +expect; it seemed more natural to fear opposition on the part of my +father. Later I saw that Alexyei Stepanitch had revived his former +feeling for me; and now I suppose that he has been able to induce his +father and mother to consent. But you must admit yourself, my dear lady, +that the matter now assumes quite a new aspect. To enter a family where +one is not welcome, is too great a risk. Certainly, my father would not +oppose my choice; but can I venture to conceal the truth from him? If he +were to learn that an obscure country squire thought twice before +admitting me to the honour of alliance with his family, he would +consider it a degradation, and nothing would induce him to consent. I am +not in love with Alexyei Stepanitch: I only respect his good qualities +and his constant affection, and I believe he might make the woman he +loved happy. Allow me, therefore, to think it over; and also, before I +speak of this to my father and trouble him in his feeble state with such +news, I wish to speak myself to Alexyei Stepanitch. Let him come and see +us, when he is well enough." + +Mme. Alakayeff reported this answer exactly to the young man. He did not +think it promising, but she disagreed with him and tried to sooth his +anxiety. + +After parting on very friendly terms with her visitor, Sofya Nikolayevna +sat for a long time alone in her drawing-room, and thought hard. Her +bright lively eyes were clouded; sombre thoughts raced through her brain +and were reflected on the mirror of her beautiful face. All that she had +said to Mme. Alakayeff was perfectly true: the question, whether she +should marry Alexyei Stepanitch or not, was really not settled. But the +proposal had now been made, and it was necessary to make the great +decision, so critical in every woman's life. Sofya Nikolayevna had an +unusually clear head; in later years, the trials of life and her own +passionate temperament may have warped her judgment, but she was able +then to see everything exactly in its true light. Her prospects were not +bright. Her father was a hopeless invalid, and Zanden, their best +doctor, declared he could not live more than a year. His property +consisted of two villages near Ufa, Zubkova and Kasimofka--forty serfs +in all and a small amount of land; he had also scraped together a sum of +10,000 _roubles_ which he intended as a portion for his daughter. To see +her married was his constant and eager desire; but strange things do +happen, and Sofya Nikolayevna had never before received a formal offer. +He would leave behind him six orphans, the children of his two +marriages, and separate guardians would have to be appointed. The three +youngest would go to their grandmother, Mme. Rychkoff; their mother's +fortune consisted of a small estate of fifty serfs. Sofya Nikolayevna's +own brothers were at a boarding-school in Moscow; she would be left +absolutely alone, without even distant relations to take her under their +roof. In short, she had no where to lay her head. To face poverty and +want, to live on the charity of strangers and in complete dependence +upon strangers--such a fate might distress any one; but to a girl who +had lived in comfort and held a high position in society, a girl proud +by nature and flattered by general attention and popularity, a girl who +had experienced all the burden of dependence and then all the charm of +authority--such a change might well seem intolerable. And here was a +young man, good-looking, honest, modest, the heir of an ancient line and +an only son, whose father possessed 180 serfs and who was himself to +inherit wealth from an aunt; and this young man worshipped her and +offered her his hand and heart. At first sight, hesitation seemed out of +the question. But, on the other hand, they were ill-matched in mind and +temperament. No one in the town could believe that Sofya Nikolayevna +would accept Alexyei Stepanitch, and she realised the justice of public +opinion and could not but attach importance to it. She was considered a +marvel of beauty and intelligence: her suitor was certainly pretty in a +boyish way--which was no recommendation to Sofya Nikolayevna--but rather +simple and stupid, and passed with every one for a plain country lad. +She was quick and enterprising: he was timid and slow. She was educated +and might almost be called learned, had read much, and had a wide range +of intellectual interests: he was quite ignorant, had read nothing but a +few silly novels and a song-book, and cared for little beyond snaring +quails and flying his hawks. She was witty and tactful and shone in +society: he could not string three words together; clumsy, shy, abject, +and ridiculous, he could only blush and bow and squeeze into a corner or +against a door, to escape from the talkative and sociable young men whom +he positively feared, though he was in truth far cleverer than many of +them. She had a firm, positive, unbending temper: he was humble and +wanting in energy, easily silenced and easily discomfited. Was he the +man to support and defend his wife in society and in domestic life? + +Such were the contradictory thoughts and ideas and fancies which swarmed +in the young girl's mind, mingling and jostling one another. Long after +darkness had come down, she was still sitting there alone. At last a +feeling of extreme misery, a terrible certainty that her reason was +utterly baffled and growing less and less able to solve her problem, +turned her thoughts to prayer. She hurried to her room to beg for the +light of reason from on high, and fell on her knees before the image of +Our Lady of Smolensk, who had once before by a miracle lightened her +darkness and pointed out to her the path of life. For a long time she +prayed, and her hot tears fell. But by degrees she felt a kind of +relief, a measure of strength, a power of resolve, though she did not +know yet what her resolve would be; and even this feeling helped her. +She went downstairs to look at her father in his sleep; then she came +back to her own room, lay down, and went peacefully to sleep. When she +woke next morning, she was perfectly composed; she reflected for a few +minutes, gave a thought to her hesitation and perplexity of the night +before, and then kept quietly to her purpose, which was, first to have a +conversation with her suitor, and then to settle the matter definitely, +in accordance with the impression left on her mind by their interview. + +Alexyei Stepanitch, wishing to know his fate as soon as possible, sent +for the doctor and begged to be put on his legs without delay. The +doctor promised to let him out soon and kept his promise for once. +Within a week Alexyei Stepanitch, though still pale, thin, and feeble, +was sitting in Sofya Nikolayevna's drawing-room. Touched by the loss of +colour and change in his young face, she was not quite as outspoken and +rigorous as she meant to be. In substance she repeated to him what she +had said to Mme. Alakayeff, but she added two points--that she would not +part from her father while he lived, and that she would not live in the +country. She wished to live in a town, in Ufa, for choice, where she was +acquainted with many worthy and cultivated people, and hoped to enjoy +their society after her marriage. She ended by saying that she would +like to see her husband in the public service and holding a position in +the town, which, if not brilliant, should at least secure deference and +respect. To all these conditions and anticipations of a wife's rights, +Alexyei Stepanitch replied, with abject humility, that her will was law +to him, and that his happiness would consist in the fulfilment of all +her wishes. Such an answer no man should have given: it proved that his +love was not to be depended on, and that he could not assure a woman's +happiness; yet it pleased Sofya Nikolayevna, clever as she was. +Reluctantly I must confess that love of power was one of her ruling +passions; and the germs of this passion, now that she had been released +from the cruel oppression of her stepmother, were sprouting actively at +this time. Love of power did really, though she herself did not know it, +help her to her decision. + +She expressed a wish to see the letter of consent which he had received +from his parents; and he produced it from his pocket. She read it and +was convinced that she was right in guessing that his wishes had at +first been opposed. The young man was incapable of dissimulation, and +also so much in love that he could not resist a kind look or word from +his idol. So, when Sofya Nikolayevna demanded perfect frankness, he made +a clean breast of everything; and I believe that this frankness finally +settled the question in his favour. Sofya Nikolayevna was clever, but +still she was a woman; and she was filled with the idea of reshaping and +remoulding in her own way this good-tempered young man, so modest and +sincere and uncorrupted by society. How delightful to think of the +gradual awakening and enlightenment of this Orson! Orson had no lack of +sense; and feeling, though wrapt in unbroken slumber, was there too. +Orson would love her still better, if that were possible, in gratitude +for his transformation. This vision took hold of her eager imagination; +and she parted very graciously from her adorer, promising to talk the +matter over with her father and communicate the result through Mme. +Alakayeff. Alexyei Stepanitch was "swimming in bliss"--to use an +expression of that day. That evening Sofya Nikolayevna again had +recourse to prayer, and prayed for a long time with great mental strain +and fervour. She was exhausted when she went to sleep; and she had a +dream which she interpreted, as people often do, as a confirmation of +her purpose. Men are clever enough to interpret anything according to +their desires. This dream I forget; but I remember that it was capable, +with much more probability and much less forcing, of the opposite +interpretation. Next morning Sofya Nikolayevna lost no time in telling +her father, who was now in a very feeble state, of the proposal she had +received. M. Zubin did not know Alexyei Stepanitch, but had somehow come +to think of him as a person of no importance; and he was not pleased, in +spite of his eager desire to see his daughter settled before he died. +But she proved to him, with her usual eagerness and convincing +eloquence, that it was unwise to show the door to such a suitor. She +urged all the advantages of the match which we know already, and, above +all, that, far from parting with him, she would continue to live in the +same house. She painted her helpless condition when it should please God +to remove her father, till the sick man shed a tear and said: "Do as you +please, my dear clever child. I consent to everything. Bring your future +husband to see me soon: I wish to become better acquainted with him. And +I insist on receiving a proposal in writing from his parents." + +Sofya Nikolayevna then sent a note to Mme. Alakayeff, asking Alexyei +Stepanitch to call on her father at a fixed hour. He was still "swimming +in bliss," which he shared only with his old friend and supporter; but +he was much disconcerted by this invitation which he had never expected +from such a confirmed invalid. M. Zubin, in the absence of the +Lieutenant-Governor the most important and powerful personage in the +whole district of Ufa! M. Zubin, whom he had always approached with +reverence and awe! His name seemed now more formidable than ever. What +if he frowned on this proposal for his daughter's hand from one of the +humblest of his subordinates? Might he not treat it as insolence, and +thunder out: "How dared you think of my daughter? Are you a fit match +for her? Off with him to prison and to judgment!" However wild these +notions may appear, they did really pass through the young man's head; +and he often told the story afterwards himself. Plucking up his spirits +and encouraged by Mme. Alakayeff, he put on his uniform which hung +loosely on his limbs from loss of flesh, and set off to wait on the +great man. With his three-cornered hat under his arm, and clutching his +troublesome sword in a trembling hand, he entered M. Zubin's study, so +nervous that he could hardly breathe. M. Zubin, who had once been +clever, lively, and energetic, now lay on his couch hardly able to move +and shrunk to a mere skeleton. The visitor bowed low and remained +standing by the door. This in itself was enough to annoy the invalid. +"Step this way, M. Bagroff, and take a chair near my bed; I am too weak +to talk loud." Alexyei Stepanitch, with a profusion of bows, sat down on +the edge of a chair close to the bed. "I understand that you seek my +daughter's hand," the old man went on. The suitor jumped up, bowed, and +said that he did in fact venture to seek this happiness. + +I could report the whole of this interview in detail, as I have often +heard it fully described by Alexyei Stepanitch himself; but part of it +would be a repetition of what we know already, and I am afraid of +wearying my readers. The important points are these. M. Zubin questioned +the young man about his family, his means, and his intentions with +regard to his profession and place of residence; he said that Sofya +Nikolayevna would have nothing but her portion of 10,000 _roubles_, two +families of serfs as servants, and 3000 _roubles_ in cash for initial +expenses; and he added: "Though I am quite sure that you, as a dutiful +son, would not have made such a proposal without the consent of your +parents, yet they may change their minds; and social usage requires that +they should write to me personally on the subject; and I cannot give you +a positive answer till I receive a letter to that effect." Alexyei +Stepanitch got up repeatedly, bowed, and sat down again. He agreed to +everything and promised to write that very day to his parents. In half +an hour the invalid said that he was tired--which was perfectly +true--and dismissed the young man rather drily. The moment he left, +Sofya Nikolayevna entered her father's study; he was lying with closed +eyes, and his face expressed weariness and also anxiety. Hearing his +daughter's approach, he threw an imploring glance at her, pressed his +hands to his breast, and ejaculated: "Is it possible, Sonitchka, that +you intend to marry him!" But Sofya Nikolayevna had anticipated the +result of the interview and was prepared for an even worse impression. +"I warned you, father," she said in a gentle but firm voice, "that +Alexyei Stepanitch, owing to utter ignorance of society, awkwardness, +and timidity, was bound to appear to you at first somewhat of a +simpleton; but I, who have seen him often and had long conversations +with him, will vouch for it that he is no fool and has more sense than +most people. I beg you to have two more interviews with him; and I am +sure you will agree with me." M. Zubin looked long at his daughter with +a keen and penetrating gaze, as if he wished to read some secret hidden +in her heart; then he sighed heavily and consented to do what she asked. + +By the next post Alexyei Stepanitch sent a very affectionate and +respectful letter to his parents. He thanked them for having given him +life a second time, and humbly begged them to write at once to M. Zubin +and request the hand of his daughter for their son; he added that this +was the regular custom, and without such a letter the father would not +give a positive answer. The fulfilment of this simple request gave some +trouble to the old people at Bagrovo. They were no hands at composition, +and, for want of previous experience, had no idea how to set about it, +while they were exceedingly loath to commit themselves before the +Governor's Deputy and their future relation, who was sure to be a +skilful man of business and a practised writer. It took them a whole +week to compose their letter; at last it got written somehow and was +dispatched to Alexyei Stepanitch. It was not a skilful production, +having none of those polite phrases and expressions of affection which +are indispensable in such cases. + +While waiting for the answer from home, Alexyei Stepanitch received two +more invitations from M. Zubin. The second visit did not remove the +unfavourable impression produced by the first. On the next occasion, +however, Sofya Nikolayevna was present. Returning from a call earlier +than usual, she walked into her father's room, as if she did not know +that her suitor was sitting there. Her presence made all the difference. +She could make him talk and knew what he could talk about, so as to +display to advantage his natural good sense, high principle, and +goodness of heart. M. Zubin was obviously pleased: he spoke kindly to +the young man and invited him to come to the house as often as he could. +When they were alone, the old man embraced his daughter with tears, +called her by many fond names, and said she was a witch whose spells +could draw out a man's good qualities, even when they were so deeply +hidden that no one suspected their existence. She too was much pleased; +for she had not dared to hope that Alexyei Stepanitch would do so much +to support her favourable opinion and justify the character she had +given him. + +The letter containing the formal proposal arrived at last, and Alexyei +Stepanitch delivered it in person to M. Zubin. Alas! without the magic +presence and aid of Sofya Nikolayevna the suitor failed again to please +his future father-in-law, who was also far from satisfied with the +letter. Next day he had a long conversation with his daughter, in which +he set before her all the disadvantages of marrying a man inferior to +herself in intelligence, education, and force of character; he said that +the Bagroff family would not take her to their hearts--they would be +much more likely to hate her, because coarse and cruel ignorance always +hates refinement; he warned her not to rely on the promises of a lover; +for these as a rule are not kept after marriage, and Alexyei Stepanitch, +even if he wished, would not have the power to keep them. To all this +sage advice, drawn directly from the experience of life, she had an +answer of surprising adroitness; and at the same time she depicted in +such lively colours the advantages of marrying a man who, if he lacked +energy and refinement, was at least kind-hearted, honourable, loving, +and no fool, that her father was carried away by her confidence and gave +his full consent. She clasped her father in her arms and kissed his +wasted hands; then she gave him the _ikon_ and received his +blessing,[40] kneeling by his bed and weeping. "Father," she cried in +her excitement, "with God's help, I hope that in a year's time Alexyei +Stepanitch will be a different creature: the reading of good books, the +society of clever people, and constant conversation with his wife--these +will make up for defects of education; his bashfulness will pass away, +and the power to take a place in society will come of itself." "May it +be so!" he answered. "Now send for the priest. I wish that we should +pray together for your happiness." + + [40] The sacred image is often held by the person giving the blessing. + +That same evening Alexyei Stepanitch was invited to the house, with Mme. +Alakayeff and some old friends of the Zubins'--M. Anitchkoff and the +Misailoffs; and the favourable answer was given. The young man's bliss +no words can describe: Sofya Nikolayevna, even in extreme old age, used +to speak of his joy at that moment. He threw himself at M. Zubin's feet +and kissed his hands, cried and sobbed like a child, and nearly fainted +from the effect of this immense good-fortune which down to the last +moment had seemed beyond his reach. She too was deeply moved by such a +frank expression of ardent and entire devotion. + +The official betrothal came two days later, and all the town was invited +to the ceremony. There was general surprise, because many had +disbelieved the reports of the engagement. But all sceptics were +convinced at last, and came to express their congratulations and good +wishes. Alexyei Stepanitch was radiant with happiness; he was quite +unaware of any hidden meaning in congratulations, of any mockery in +looks and smiles. But Sofya Nikolayevna let nothing pass unnoticed: she +saw everything and heard everything, though, in speaking to her, every +one was cautious and polite. Though she knew beforehand the view society +would take of her action, she could not help being vexed by this +expression of their opinion. But no one detected her vexation; for she +was cheerful and affectionate with every one and especially with her +suitor, and seemed perfectly happy and content with her choice. The pair +were soon summoned into M. Zubin's study, and the betrothal took place +there before a few witnesses. While the priest read the prayers, the old +man shed tears; when the rite was over, he told the bridegroom to kiss +the bride and embraced them both himself with a great effort; then he +gazed earnestly at Alexyei Stepanitch and said, "Love her always as you +do now; God is giving you such a treasure ..." and then he broke down. +The engaged couple and the witnesses returned to the drawing-room, where +all the men embraced the bridegroom and kissed the bride's hand, while +all the ladies embraced the bride and had their hands kissed by the +bridegroom. When this fuss was over, the pair were made to sit on a sofa +side by side, and exchange kisses again; and then the company, holding +glasses in their hands, repeated their congratulations and good wishes. +Anitchkoff acted as host, and Mme. Alakayeff as hostess. Alexyei +Stepanitch, who had never in his life drunk anything but water, was +forced to take a glass of wine, and the unfamiliar stimulant had a +strong effect upon him, weakened as he was by recent illness and +constant agitation. He became uncommonly lively, laughed and cried, and +talked a great deal, to the amusement of the company and the +mortification of the bride. The guests soon grew merry: glass followed +glass, and a fine supper was served. All ate and drank heartily, and at +last the party broke up amid noise and merriment. The bridegroom's head +was beginning to ache; and Mme. Alakayeff took him home in her carriage. + +M. Zubin felt that he was in great danger and therefore wished to have +the wedding as soon as possible; but, as he also wished his daughter's +outfit to be rich and splendid, it was necessary to postpone the +ceremony for some months. Her mother's diamonds and emeralds had to be +sent to Moscow, to be reset and restrung in the newest fashion; silver +had to be ordered from Moscow, and some dresses and presents; the other +dresses, curtains for the state bed, and a sumptuous black-brown fur +cloak which cost 500 _roubles_ then and could not be bought now for +5000--all these were made in Kazan; a quantity of table-linen and +Holland sheets were also provided. Ten thousand roubles, the amount +fixed for the dowry, was a great sum in those days; and, as many +valuable things were provided as well, the inventory of the bride's +outfit assumed such splendid proportions, that when I read it now I can +hardly believe in the simple life of our ancestors at the end of last +century. + +The first business after the formal betrothal was to send complimentary +letters to all relations on both sides. One of Sofya Nikolayevna's gifts +was her remarkable skill in letter-writing; and her letter to her future +husband's parents was such that Stepan Mihailovitch, though no +letter-writer himself, set a high value on it. First he listened to it +with great attention; then he took it out of Tanyusha's hand, praised +the distinct handwriting, and read it through twice himself. "Well, +she's a clever girl," he said, "and I make sure she has a warm heart." +This enraged the family, but they had the sense to keep silent. +Alexandra alone could not restrain herself: her gooseberry eyes flashed +with rage as she said: "She can write a fine letter, father, I admit; +but all is not gold that glitters." The old man scowled at her and said +in his dangerous voice: "How do you know? You're snarling at her +already, and you've never even seen her! Take care! Keep your tongue +from wagging, and don't stir up the rest!" All sat as silent as mice, +and, of course, hated Sofya Nikolayevna worse than ever. Meanwhile +Stepan Mihailovitch, under the influence of that warm and affectionate +letter, took the pen himself and wrote as follows, in defiance of all +established etiquette:-- + + "_My dear, precious, sensible Daughter-in-Law to be_, + + "If you, without seeing us, have learnt to love and respect us + old people, we feel the same for you. And when, by God's + blessing, we meet, we shall love you still better; and you will + be to us as our own daughter, and we shall rejoice in the + happiness of our son Alexyei." + +On her side, Sofya Nikolayevna valued the old man's simple words as they +deserved; from what she had heard, she had already taken a fancy to him. +As she had no relations living, the bridegroom had no letters to write; +but she asked Alexyei Stepanitch to write a letter of intimation to M. +Anitchkoff, the friend at Moscow whom she had never seen and who had +taken her brothers under his care. The bridegroom of course gladly +consented. Not having much confidence in his power to express himself on +paper, she asked to see the letter before it was sent. When she read it, +she was horrified! Alexyei Stepanitch, who had heard a great deal of M. +Anitchkoff as a wit, took it into his head to adopt an elaborate style. +Therefore he had recourse to some novel of the day, and filled two sides +with phrases which, under other circumstances, would have made Sofya +Nikolayevna laugh outright; as it was, the blood rushed to her face, and +then the tears poured from her eyes. When she grew calmer, she wondered +how she was to get out of such an awkward situation. She did not wonder +long, however. She wrote a rough draft of a letter herself, and then +said to her betrothed, that, not being in the habit of writing to +strangers, he had written in a way that might not please Anitchkoff; and +therefore she had written a rough draft, which she asked him to copy out +and send off. She felt shame and pain, and was hurt on his account; her +voice shook, and she nearly broke down. But he welcomed her suggestion +with enthusiasm; when she read him the letter, he was charmed with it, +praised her wonderful skill, and covered her hands with kisses. This was +the first step in disrespect for her future husband, the first step +towards realising her dream of complete domination over him; and she did +not find it easy to take. + +Knowing that his parents had little money and were forced to be chary in +spending any, Alexyei Stepanitch wrote to ask for a very moderate sum; +and, to strengthen his request, he asked Mme. Alakayeff to write to his +father, to assure him that the request was reasonable and that some +expense was inevitable in view of the marriage. He asked only 800 +_roubles_, but Mme. Alakayeff stated the necessary sum at 1500. The old +people replied that they had not got such a sum; they sent him all they +had--300 _roubles_, and suggested that, if the other 500 were necessary, +he should borrow them; but they promised to send him a team of four +horses with a coachman and postilion, and provisions of all kinds. They +did not even answer Mme. Alakayeff: so indignant were they with her for +demanding such a huge sum. It could not be helped: Alexyei Stepanitch +thanked them for their kindness and borrowed 500 _roubles_; when even +this proved insufficient, Mme. Alakayeff gave him 500 more, without the +knowledge of his parents. + +Meantime, as the engaged couple met more often and were together longer, +they became more intimate. Sofya Nikolayevna for the first time saw her +husband as he really was, and realised for the first time what a heavy +task lay before her! She had made no mistake in thinking that he +possessed natural intelligence, a very kind heart, strict principles of +honour, and perfect integrity in official life; but otherwise she found +such a limitation of ideas, such a pettiness of interests, such an +absence of self-esteem and independence, that her courage and firmness +in the execution of her purpose were more than once severely shaken. +More than once, in despair, she took the engagement-ring off her finger, +laid it before the image of Our Lady of Smolensk, and prayed with tears +that her feeble intelligence might be enlightened by divine wisdom. As +we know already, she was accustomed to act thus at each crisis in her +life. When she had prayed, she felt braver and calmer. Interpreting this +feeling as heavenly guidance, she would put her ring on again and go +back, composed and cheerful, to join her lover in the drawing-room. Her +father felt that he was losing strength daily; and she was able to +assure him that she was constantly discovering fresh merits in her +lover, that she was quite content and looked forward to happiness in her +marriage. By this time disease had dulled M. Zubin's perspicacity: he +not only believed that she was sincere, but was convinced himself that +his daughter would be happy. "Thank God!" he used to say; "now I can die +happy." + +And now the wedding-day drew near. The bride's outfit was all ready. The +bridegroom too made his preparations, being guided by the advice of Mme. +Alakayeff, who assumed the entire management of him. The old lady, in +spite of her shrewdness, was surprised by his profound ignorance of the +customs of polite society. But for her, he would have been guilty of +many blunders which would have made his bride blush for shame. Thus he +intended to give her as a birthday-present a kind of cloth for a dress +which would only have been suitable as a present to her maid; and he +thought of driving to the church in an old shandrydan without springs, +which would have made all the town laugh; and so on. The things were not +of importance in themselves; but it would have tried Sofya Nikolayevna +too hard to see her bridegroom the laughing-stock of Ufa society. All +such things were put right by Mme. Alakayeff, or rather by the bride +herself, for the two women discussed every point together. Sofya +Nikolayevna told her lover in time, that he must not think of giving her +a present for her birthday, because she loathed birthday-presents in +general. For the wedding, she made him buy a new English carriage which +had lately been ordered from Petersburg by a local landowner; his name +was Murzahanoff,[41] and he had managed to run through his fortune in a +few months. The price paid for the carriage was 350 _roubles_; Sofya +Nikolayevna bought it herself as a present from her father to the +bridegroom, and begged him not to trouble the dying man by thanking him. +And the other difficulties were got over in the same fashion. + + [41] The Russianised form of an oriental name, Mirza Khan. + +Then the bride and bridegroom wrote, for themselves and M. Zubin, to +Stepan Mihailovitch and Arina Vassilyevna, pressing them to honour the +wedding by their presence; but the old people, as a matter of course, +declined the invitation. They had lived so long in their country +solitude that town and town society seemed to them something strange and +formidable. None of the daughters wished to go either; but Stepan +Mihailovitch thought this awkward, and desired Elizabeth and Alexandra +to attend the wedding. The latter was accompanied by her husband, +Karatayeff; but Yerlykin was detained by his duties at Orenburg. + +The presence of these uninvited and unexpected guests was the cause of +much annoyance to Sofya Nikolayevna. Her future sisters-in-law were +clever and cunning women; they were determined to dislike her, and their +behaviour to her was cold, unfriendly, and even rude. Though Sofya +Nikolayevna knew very well the sort of attitude they were likely to +adopt, yet she thought it her duty to be friendly and even cordial to +them at first; but when she saw that all her efforts were vain, and that +the better she treated them the worse they treated her, she retired +behind a wall of cold civility. But this did not protect her from those +mean hints and innuendoes which it is impossible not to understand and +not to resent, though it is awkward to do either, because you lay +yourself open to the retort--"If the cap fits, wear it!" This odious +form of attack, now banished to the servants' hall by the advance of +refinement, was formidable in those days, and much used in the houses of +rural landowners, many of whom differed little from their own servants +in their manners and customs. But is it true that it has really been +banished? Does it not still live on among us, concealed under more +decent and artistic forms? + +The good people of Ufa made fun, as might be expected, of the country +clothes and manners of the two ladies. As to Karatayeff, who had now +adopted all the Bashkir habits and began drinking Bashkir decoctions at +eight in the morning, when he was first introduced to Sofya Nikolayevna, +he kissed her hand with a sounding smack three times over, and cried out +with real Bashkir enthusiasm, "My word! what a dazzler brother Alexyei +has hooked!" The coarse jests and compliments of the man were as +distressing as the malicious sallies of the women; and both forced Sofya +Nikolayevna to swallow many tears. But worse than all was the blindness +of Alexyei Stepanitch: he seemed perfectly satisfied with the relations +between his sisters and his bride, and this was not only a mortification +for the present but also a peril for the future. These venomous +creatures, who were staying with their brother, began at once to drop +their poison into his simple soul, and did it so artfully that he did +not suspect their manoeuvres. Allusions to the young lady's pride, to +the poverty which she hid under jewels and fine clothes, to her caprices +and his meek submission to them, were dinned into his ears all day long. +Much passed unnoticed, but much also went straight to the mark and made +him thoughtful and vaguely uneasy. All their attacks, whether secret or +open, were accompanied by a pretence of sympathy and sisterly affection. +"What makes you look so worn, my dear boy?" Elizabeth would ask; "Sofya +Nikolayevna wears you out with all her commissions. You've just got back +from the other end of the town, tired and hungry, and off you run again, +without eating a morsel, to dance attendance on her. As your sisters, we +can't help being sorry for you"; and then sham tears, or at least some +play with the pocket-handkerchief, completed the crafty sentence. Then +Alexandra would make a furious entry into the conversation. "No, my +dear, I really cannot stand it! I know you will be angry, and perhaps +you will cease to love us; but I can't help it, I must tell you the +truth. You are quite changed: you're ashamed of us and have forgotten us +altogether; your one wish is to mumble that girl's hand; your one fear, +to get into her black books. You have become her lackey, her slave! Then +it cuts us to the heart to see that old witch, Mme. Alakayeff, ordering +you about like a servant and making you fetch and carry for her; and +she's not content with that, but finds fault with you and urges you to +greater activity." Alexyei Stepanitch could think of no answer to all +this, except that he loved his sisters and would continue to do so, +and--it was time to go and see Sofya Nikolayevna; whereupon he took his +hat and hurried off. "Oh, go by all means!" Alexandra called after him, +"and go quick; or else she will be angry and perhaps withhold her hand +from your lips!" Scenes like this took place again and again and +undoubtedly left their impression. + +Sofya Nikolayevna could not help noticing that his sisters' visit had +brought about a certain change in her lover. He seemed depressed, was +less exact in keeping his engagements, and spent less time with her. The +reason for this she herself understood very well; and Mme. Alakayeff, +who had become a very intimate friend and also knew all that went on in +the Bagroffs' lodgings, did not fail to provide her with detailed +information. Her impulsive nature made her unwilling to let things drag +on. She reasoned justly, that she ought not to give time for the +sisters' influence to take root at leisure, that she must open her +lover's eyes and put the strength of his character and affection to a +decisive test. If they proved too weak, it was better to part before +marriage than to unite her fate to such a feeble creature, who was, to +use her own expression, "neither a shield from the sun nor a cloak to +keep out the rain." She summoned him early one morning and ordered that +no visitors should be admitted to the drawing-room where they were +sitting. Then she turned to Alexyei Stepanitch, who was looking pale and +frightened, and addressed him as follows:-- + +"I wish to have a frank explanation with you and to make a clean breast +of what I am feeling; and I ask you to do the same. Your sisters detest +me and did their best to rouse your parents against me. That I know from +yourself. But your love overcame all obstacles: your parents gave you +their approval, and I resolved to accept you and brave the hatred of all +your family. I hoped to find protection in your love for me and in my +endeavour to prove to your parents that I don't deserve their +displeasure. But now I see that I was mistaken. You saw yourself how I +received your sisters, how friendly I was and how hard I tried to please +them; and, though their rudeness made me draw back, yet I never once +failed in politeness to them. And what has been the result? It is only a +week since they came, and you treat me differently already: you make me +promises and then forget to keep them; you spend less time with me; you +are depressed and anxious, and even less affectionate to me than you +used to be. Don't defend yourself, or deny it; that would not be +honourable on your part. I know that you love me still, but you are +afraid to show it; you fear your sisters, and that is why you are +depressed and even avoid opportunities of being alone with me. You know +yourself that all this is quite true. Well, then, tell me, how can I +hope that your love will stand firm? It is a strange kind of love that +turns coward and hides, because your sisters disapprove of your bride, +as you knew they did long ago. Suppose your parents disapprove of me and +turn up their noses at me? What then? Then you will really cease to love +me. No, Alexyei Stepanitch, honourable men do not behave so to the woman +they love. The knowledge that your sisters disliked me should have made +you twice as attentive and twice as devoted in their presence; and then +they would not have dared to utter a syllable; but you have suffered +them to use insulting language in your presence. I know just how they +speak to you. From all this I conclude that your love is not love at +all, but love-making, that I cannot rely on you, and that we had better +part now than be unhappy for life. Consider carefully what I have said; +I shall give you two days to think it over. Come to the house as usual, +but I shall not see you alone and shall not refer to this interview. +After two days, I shall ask for an honest answer to these questions: +'Have you sufficient firmness to be my defender against your relations +and any one else who chooses to insult me? Can you shut your sisters' +mouths and prevent them from uttering in your presence a single +insulting word or allusion against me?' To break her engagement a week +before her marriage is a great misfortune for any girl; but it is better +to bear it once for all than to suffer all one's life. You know that I +am not in love with you, but I was beginning to love you; and I believe +my love would have been stronger and more constant than yours. Now, +good-bye! For to-day and to-morrow we are strangers." + +Long before she ended, Alexyei Stepanitch had been in tears, and he +tried several times to interrupt; but, before he could open his mouth, +she had left the room and shut the door behind her. It was some time +before he recovered from this tremendous blow. But at last the terrible +thought of losing his adored mistress presented itself to him with +appalling reality, and summoned up that energy and vigour of which the +mildest and gentlest of men are capable, though they cannot keep it up +for long. He hurried home; and, when his sisters, with no pity for his +evident disturbance and distress, greeted him with the usual malicious +jests, he flew into such a rage and attacked them with such fury that +they were frightened. The wrath of a gentle patient man is a formidable +thing. Among other things he told his sisters that, if they ventured to +say another insulting word about his bride or about himself, he would +instantly move to other lodgings, from which, as well as from M. Zubin's +house, they would be excluded; and he would write to his father and tell +him the whole story. That was enough. Alexandra had a clear recollection +of her father's warning-"Keep your tongue quiet, and don't stir up the +rest of the family!" She knew very well what a thunder-cloud her +brother's complaint would call up, and what alarming consequences she +might expect. Both the sisters fell on their brother's neck and begged +forgiveness with tears; they solemnly declared that it should never +happen again; they were really very fond of Sofya Nikolayevna, and it +was only out of pity for his health and fear that he was doing too much +that they had ventured on these foolish jests. They called on Sofya +Nikolayevna that same day and paid court to her with the utmost +servility. The meaning of all this was not lost upon her, and she felt +she had prevailed. + +The position of her lover really deserved pity. His feelings, which had +been calmed and composed to some extent by frequent interviews with +Sofya Nikolayevna, her simple friendly behaviour to him, and the near +prospect of the marriage, had then been rather alarmed and abashed by +the sneers of his sisters; and now they flamed up so fiercely, that at +the present moment he was capable of any self-sacrifice, of any +desperate action, a true knight-errant! His state of mind was clearly +reflected on his handsome young face during those two endless days. The +lovers met several times, and Sofya Nikolayevna could not look at his +face without pain; but she had the firmness to support the test she had +imposed. The agitation and pity which she felt were a surprise to +herself. She felt that she did really love this simple, modest young +man, who was absolutely devoted to her and would not have hesitated to +put an end to his existence if she made up her mind to refuse him. At +last the two long days were over. Early on the third day Alexyei +Stepanitch sat in the drawing-room, waiting for his mistress to appear. +The door opened softly, and in she came, more beautiful, more charming +than ever. She was smiling, and her eyes expressed such tenderness that, +when he looked at her and saw her kind hand stretched out towards him, +the excess of his emotion deprived him for an instant of the power of +speech. He soon recovered, and then, instead of taking her hand, fell at +her feet and poured forth a torrent of burning heartfelt eloquence. She +interrupted him and raised him to his feet. Then she said: "I see and +feel your love, and I share it; I believe all your promises; I put my +fate in your hands without fear." She had never been so affectionate to +him before, and she used words of tenderness which he had never before +heard from her lips. + +Only five days remained before the marriage. All their preparations were +complete, and the lovers were free to spend most of their time together. +For five whole months Sofya Nikolayevna had been true to her intention +of educating her future husband over again. She never lost a suitable +moment, but did her best to impart those ideals which he did not +possess, to clear up and develop feelings of which he was dimly +conscious, and to root out the notions which he had derived from his +early surroundings. She even made him read, and discussed with him the +books he had read, explaining what puzzled him, filling up gaps in his +memory, and illustrating fiction from real life. But it is probable that +she got on faster with her task during these five days than in the +course of five long months; for the recent incident which I have +described had raised her lover's mind to a higher level of refinement, +and he was in an unusually receptive and impressionable mood. How far +the teacher succeeded on the whole in impressing her ideas upon the +pupil, I cannot venture to decide. It is hard to know how much weight to +attach to the opinions of the two persons concerned; but it is certain +that in later years they both maintained--and they appealed to the +evidence of disinterested persons in confirmation of the statement--that +a great change took place in Alexyei Stepanitch, and even a complete +transformation. I am very willing to believe it; but I have a proof that +his proficiency in social etiquette left something to be desired. I know +that he made his bride very angry the day before the marriage, and that +her vehemence left a strong and painful impression on his mind. It +happened in the following way. Two ladies were calling on Sofya +Nikolayevna when a servant brought in a paper parcel and handed it to +his mistress, with the explanation that Alexyei Stepanitch had sent it +by his coachman and wished her at once to make a cap for his sister +Alexandra. Her lover had left her half an hour before without saying one +word about this commission, and Sofya Nikolayevna was exceedingly +annoyed. The ladies, who were of some importance, had supposed at first +that the parcel contained a present from the bridegroom; and now they +did not try to conceal their amusement. Sofya Nikolayevna lost patience: +she ordered the parcel to be returned, with a message that Alexyei +Stepanitch had better apply to a milliner; it was no doubt a mistake to +have brought the thing to her. The explanation was quite simple. On +going home, he had found his sister in a great difficulty, because the +milliner, who had engaged to make her a cap for the wedding, had fallen +ill and returned the materials. As he had seen with his own eyes the +skill with which Sofya Nikolayevna could trim hats and caps, he offered +to help his sister out of her trouble, and told his servant to carry the +parcel to his bride, with a humble request that she would trim a cap for +Alexandra. But the servant was busy, and, instead of going himself, sent +the coachman; and the humble request became, in the coachman's mouth, an +imperious demand. Alexyei Stepanitch hastened back to explain matters, +and carried with him the same unlucky parcel. Sofya Nikolayevna had not +yet cooled down, when she saw him coming into the room with the odious +parcel under his arm; and she flared up worse than ever, and said many +violent and unkind things which she had better have left unspoken. The +culprit, utterly dumbfounded, tried to defend himself, but did it very +badly; he was seriously hurt by this onslaught. She sent the materials +for the cap to some milliner she knew of; and then, repenting of her +violence, she tried to put matters right. But, to her surprise, Alexyei +Stepanitch could not get over it: he felt that he had been unjustly +treated, and she had frightened him. He became very depressed, and her +efforts to calm and cheer him were unsuccessful. + +The wedding-day, the 10th of May, 1788, arrived, and the bridegroom paid +an early visit to his bride. After her excitement of the previous day, +she was distressed to see that Alexyei Stepanitch still wore the same +pained expression. She felt hurt; for she had always supposed that he +would be in an ecstasy of joy on the day when he led her to the altar; +and here he was, looking demure and even depressed! She expressed her +feelings, and that made matters worse. Of course, he assured her that he +considered himself the happiest man in the world, and so on; but the +pompous and trivial phrases, which he had repeated many a time before +and she had heard with satisfaction, were now distasteful to her ear, +because they lacked the fire of inward conviction. They soon parted, to +meet next in church, where the bridegroom was to be in waiting for her +at six in the evening. + +Sofya Nikolayevna was assailed by a terrible misgiving--would she be +happy in her marriage? A host of dark forebodings passed before her +heated imagination. She blamed herself for her hot temper and violent +language; she recognised that the offence was trifling, and that she +must expect many slips of the kind on her lover's part, and must take +them calmly. They had happened often enough before; but, on this +occasion, the unlucky combination of circumstances and the presence of +the two unfriendly visitors had pricked her vanity and irritated her +natural impetuosity. Conscious that she had frightened her lover, she +repented of her fault; but at the same time she was aware in the depth +of her heart that she was quite capable of committing the same fault +again. And now she realised afresh all the difficulty of the tremendous +task she had undertaken--the reformation and regeneration of a man of +twenty-seven. Her whole life--and it might be long--must be spent with a +husband whom she loved indeed but could not entirely respect; there +would be constant collision between utterly different ideas and opposite +qualities, and they would often misunderstand one another. Doubts of +success, doubts of her own strength, doubts of her power to command the +qualities of firmness and calmness so foreign to her nature--these rose +before her for the first time in their appalling truth, and she shrank +back in terror. But what could she do? If she broke off the marriage at +the eleventh hour, what would be the consequences? It would be a +terrible blow to her dying father, who took comfort in the conviction +that his daughter would be happy in the care of a kind husband; her +rivals in society and enemies would mock at her; she would be the talk +of the town and the laughing-stock of the district, perhaps even a mark +for calumny; and, above all, she would kill, literally kill, her devoted +lover. And all for what? Merely because she was afraid she might lack +firmness to carry out a purpose which she had deliberately formed and +which was beginning to take shape with triumphant success. "No! that +shall never be! God will help me; Our Lady of Smolensk will be my +intercessor and will give me strength to conquer my impetuous nature." +Thus Sofya Nikolayevna thought, and thus she decided. She wept and +prayed and regained her stability. + +The Church of the Assumption was quite close to the Zubins' house, and +there was then an empty space round it. Long before six o'clock, it was +surrounded by a crowd of curious spectators. The high steps projecting +from the house into the street were blocked by the carriages of the +privileged persons who had been invited to escort the bride. The bride +was dressed, and her little brother, Nikolinka, whose birth had cost his +mother her life three years before, put on the stockings and shoes, +according to established custom, though of course the maids lent their +assistance. By six the bride was ready; she received her father's +blessing and came into the drawing-room. The rich bridal-dress lent an +added lustre to her beauty. The bridegroom, on his way to church, had to +pass right under the drawing-room windows, and Sofya Nikolayevna saw him +drive past in the English carriage drawn by the four fine horses bred at +Bagrovo; he had his head out and was looking up at the open windows; she +smiled and nodded. Next came the bridegroom's sisters with Mme. +Alakayeff, and all the men who were escorting him to church. She did not +wish to keep him waiting, and insisted, in spite of various hindrances, +that they should start at once. Sofya Nikolayevna was calm and composed +when she entered the church; she gave her arm cheerfully and smilingly +to the bridegroom; but she was vexed to see that his face still wore the +same sad expression; and it was generally remarked that they both looked +depressed during the ceremony. The church was brilliantly lighted and +full of people; the cathedral choir did not spare their voices. +Altogether, it was a dignified and splendid ceremony. When the rite was +over, the young couple were escorted to the Zubins' house by the +bridegroom's sisters, the whole train of friends and relations on both +sides, and all the important people of Ufa. Dancing began at once and +went on till an early but sumptuous supper was served. Privileged guests +paid a visit to M. Zubin in his study and congratulated him on his +daughter's marriage. The usual festivities took place on the next and +following days--balls, dinners, and calls, in fact, the regular routine +which we see nowadays even in Moscow and Petersburg. + +The shade of sadness soon vanished from the faces of the young couple. +They were perfectly happy. Kind people could not look at them without +pleasure; and every one said, "What a handsome couple!" A week later, +they prepared for a visit to Bagrovo; the bridegroom's sisters had gone +back there three days after the wedding, and Sofya Nikolayevna had sent +by them an affectionate letter to the old people. + +Startled by their brother's explosion, Elizabeth and Alexandra had been +cautious of late. They refrained from all hints and sneers and grimaces +in his presence, and were even polite to Sofya Nikolayevna. She, of +course, was not taken in by this; but their brother entirely believed in +the sincerity of their devotion to his bride. At the wedding and the +festivities which followed, they were, naturally, somewhat out of place, +and therefore hastened their departure. On arriving at Bagrovo, they +determined to do nothing rash and to hide their hostility towards Sofya +Nikolayevna from their father; but to their mother and two sisters they +described the marriage and events at Ufa in such a way as to fill their +minds with a strong prejudice against the bride; and they did not forget +to mention their brother's threats and his fury excited by their attacks +upon Sofya Nikolayevna. It was agreed to treat her kindly in the +presence of Stepan Mihailovitch, and to say nothing bad about her to him +directly; at the same time they were to use every opportunity to excite +by indirect means his displeasure against their enemy. It was a highly +delicate operation; and Elizabeth and Alexandra could not trust it to +any hands but their own. + +My grandfather questioned them minutely about the wedding, the people +they had seen there, the health of M. Zubin, and so on. They praised +everything, but the poison under their praises could be smelt and +tasted, and they failed to deceive their father. By way of a joke, and +perhaps also for the sake of comparison, he turned to Karatayeff and +said: "Well, now, friend Ivan, what say you of the daughter-in-law? As a +man, you are a better judge of the point than the women are." +Karatayeff, disregarding a signal from his wife, burst out with +enthusiasm: "I do assure you, _batyushka_, that such another +dazzler"--he always used this phrase of a beautiful woman--"as brother +Alexyei has bagged is not to be found in the whole world. A look from +her is as good as a shilling. And her cleverness! it's past all telling. +But there's one thing, _batyushka_: she's proud; she can't stand a joke. +When you try to have a little fun with her, she gives you a look that +makes you bite off the end of your tongue." "I see, my friend, that she +made short work with your nonsense," said the old man with an amused +look; then he laughed and added, "Not much amiss there, so far." In +fact, Stepan Mihailovitch, from what he had heard and the bride's +letters and Karatayeff's description, had formed in his own mind a +highly favourable opinion of Sofya Nikolayevna. + +The expected visit of the young couple produced bustle and confusion in +the quiet or, one might say, stagnant waters of life at Bagrovo. They +had to bestir themselves, to clean things up, and bring out their best +clothes. The bride was a fine town lady, poor, perhaps, but accustomed +to live in luxury; she would be critical and contemptuous--so they all +thought, and so they all said, except the master of the house. As there +were no separate rooms in the house unoccupied, Tanyusha had to turn out +of her bedroom, one corner of which overlooked the garden and the clear +waters of the Boogoorooslan with its green bushes and loud nightingales. +Tanyusha was very unwilling to move to the bath-house, but there was no +other place: all her sisters were put up in the house, and Karatayeff +and Yerlykin slept in the hayloft. The day before the visitors' arrival +brought their state-bed and bed-hangings and curtains for the windows, +and with them a man who knew how to put everything up properly. +Tanyusha's room was completely furnished in a few hours. Stepan +Mihailovitch came to see it and expressed his admiration, but the women +bit their lips with envy. At last a messenger galloped up and announced +that the couple had stopped at the village of Noikino, eight _versts_ +from Bagrovo; they were to change their dress there and would arrive in +two hours. This caused a general stir. The priest had been summoned +hours before; but, as he had not yet arrived, Stepan Mihailovitch sent a +mounted messenger to hasten his steps. + +Meantime the following scene was taking place in the Mordvinian village +of Noikino. The travellers were making their way along side roads and +had always to send a man ahead to arrange about fresh horses. The people +of Noikino had all known Alexyei Stepanitch from childhood, and had a +great regard and respect for his father. Every one of the six hundred +inhabitants of the village, men and women, old and young, gathered +before the cottage where the young people were to make their halt. Sofya +Nikolayevna had probably never seen people of this tribe close at hand; +and therefore the dress of the women and the uncommonly tall stout +girls--their white shifts embroidered with red wool, their black woollen +girdles, and the silver coins and little bells which hung from their +heads over their breasts and backs--was very interesting to her. But, +when she heard them all break out into joyful greetings and compliments +and good wishes, childish enough and expressed in bad Russian, but +coming from the heart, then she both laughed and cried. "What a fine +wife God has given you, Alosha! How glad our father Stepan Mihailovitch +will be! Good luck! Good luck!" But, when the bride, arrayed in her fine +city clothes, came out to take her seat in the carriage, there was such +a roar of enthusiastic applause that the horses actually shied. The +travellers made a present of ten _roubles_, to be spent on whisky, to +the whole village, and went on their way. + +The stackyard at Bagrovo was at the top of a hill, and now the high +carriage was seen emerging from behind it. The cry, "They're coming! +they're coming!" flew from room to room, and house-servants and +labourers soon gathered in the large courtyard, while the young people +and children ran to meet the carriage. The master and mistress, attended +by all their family, came out upon the steps. Arina Vassilyevna wore a +silk jacket and skirt and a silk handkerchief adorned with gold sprigs +upon her head; Stepan Mihailovitch was clean-shaved and wore an +old-fashioned frock-coat and a stock round his neck. Husband and wife +stood on the top step; and he held in his hands an ikon representing the +Presentation of the Virgin, while she carried a loaf of bread and a +silver salt-cellar. Their daughters and two sons-in-law were grouped +round them. The carriage drove up to the steps. The young couple got +out, knelt down before the old people, and received their blessing; then +they exchanged embraces with each member of the family. Hardly had the +bride completed this ceremony and turned again towards her +father-in-law, when he caught her by the hand and looked keenly at her +eyes from which the tears were falling. His own eyes grew wet; he +clasped her in a tight embrace, kissed her, and said, "I thank God. Let +us go and thank Him together!" He took her by the hand and led her +through the crowd of people into the parlour. There he made her sit near +him; and the priest, who was waiting for them with his robes on, +pronounced the solemn words-- + +"We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord." + + + + +FRAGMENT IV: THE YOUNG COUPLE AT BAGROVO + + +Stepan Mihailovitch joined fervently in the prayers, and so did his +daughter-in-law. When the service was over, all kissed the Cross, and +the priest sprinkled the young pair and the rest of the company with +holy water. Then the kissing and embracing began over again, with the +phrases customary on such occasions--"We beg that you will regard us as +relations and love us," and so on--said of course by those to whom the +bride was still a stranger. Stepan Mihailovitch said nothing: he only +looked affectionately at the tearful eyes and flaming cheeks of Sofya +Nikolayevna, listened attentively to every word she spoke, and noted her +every movement. Then he took her by the hand and led her to the +drawing-room, where he sat down on the sofa and made the pair sit near +him. Arina Vassilyevna seated herself next to her son at the other end +of the sofa, while her daughters with their husbands sat round the +central group. It should be said that Stepan Mihailovitch never sat in +the drawing-room: he entered it very seldom and never stayed long. There +were only two parts of the house which he used--his own room, and the +outside stoop, a very simple contrivance of beams and boards; there he +was thoroughly at home, but in the drawing-room he was never quite at +his ease. For once he put constraint upon himself and carried on a +friendly conversation with his daughter-in-law. He began by asking about +her father's health, and expressed sincere regret on hearing that he +grew weaker daily: "In that case, my dear," he said, "I must not keep +you too long at Bagrovo." It need not be said that the bride was at no +loss for words: she was not merely polite, but cordial and eager to make +a good impression. Arina Vassilyevna, naturally a very simple woman, +took her tone from her husband, as far as her intelligence and her dread +of disobeying her daughters would let her. She was friendly to her son's +wife and had taken a real liking to her at first sight; but the others +were silent, and it was not hard to guess their feelings from their +faces. After half an hour the bride whispered to her husband, who rose +at once and went to the bedroom which had been specially prepared for +them, near the drawing-room. Stepan Mihailovitch looked on with +surprise; but the bride's lively talk engaged his attention, and he was +so much interested by it that he was startled when presently the folding +doors of the bedroom opened and his son came in, holding a large silver +salver so loaded with presents for the family that it actually bent +under their weight. Sofya Nikolayevna sprang to her feet; she took from +the salver and presented to her father-in-law a piece of fine English +broadcloth, and a waistcoat of watered silk, richly laced with gold +thread and embroidered all over with spangles; and she told him quite +truly that she had worked it all with her own hands. Stepan Mihailovitch +looked uneasily at his son standing with the salver in his arms, but he +accepted the presents graciously and kissed his daughter-in-law. Next, +Arina Vassilyevna was presented with a silk handkerchief covered with +gold embroidery, to wear over her head, and a complete length of +excellent China silk, which even then was considered a rarity; each +sister-in-law received a piece of costly silk, and each of their +husbands a piece of English broadcloth; but these presents were +naturally rather less valuable. All got up, kissed the hands of the +donor, and bowed their thanks. Meanwhile the door leading to the parlour +was cracking with the pressure of curious spectators of both sexes, and +the well-oiled heads of the maids kept peeping timidly out of the +bedroom door, which they had to themselves, because none of the outdoor +servants dared to enter the elegant apartment of the young couple. In +the parlour there was a great noise; for the menservants were prevented +by the intruders from laying the table, and were unable to turn them +out. Stepan Mihailovitch guessed what was going on; he got up and +glanced through the door; one look and one quiet word was enough: "Off," +he said, and the parlour was empty in a moment. + +The dinner passed off in the usual fashion. The young pair sat side by +side between the old couple; there were a great many courses, one richer +and more indigestible than another; the cook Stepan had been lavish with +his spice, cloves, and pepper, and especially with his butter. The bride +ate the dainties pressed upon her by Stepan Mihailovitch, and prayed +that she might not die in the night. There was little talking, partly +because every mouth was otherwise occupied, and also because the party +were not good at conversation. Indeed they were all uncomfortable in +their own ways. Yerlykin in his sober intervals drank nothing but water, +and hardly spoke at all at such times, which gained him a reputation for +exceptional intelligence; and Karatayeff dared not open his mouth in the +presence of Stepan Mihailovitch except to answer a question, and went no +further than repeating the last words of other people's remarks. If they +said: "The hay crop will be good, if we get no rain," or "The rye made a +good start till that sudden frost came"--Karatayeff came in like an +echo, "if we get no rain," "till the frost came"; and his repetitions +were sometimes ill-timed. As the hosts had not thought of procuring +sparkling wine from Ufa, the health of the bride and bridegroom was +drunk in strawberry wine, three years old and as thick as oil, which +diffused about the room the delicious perfume of the wild strawberry. +Mazan, with long boots smelling of tar on his feet, and wearing a long +coat which made him look like a bear dressed up in sacking, handed round +the loving-cup; it was ornamented with a white pattern and had a +dark-blue spiral inside its glass stalk. When the young pair had to +return thanks, Sofya Nikolayevna was not much pleased to drink from the +cup which had just left Karatayeff's greasy lips; but she made no wry +faces. Indeed she was intending to drain the cup, when her father-in-law +stopped her: "Don't drink it all, my dear," he said; "the liquor is good +and sweet but strong; you are not accustomed to it, and your little head +would ache." She declared that such a noble drink could not hurt her, +and begged to be allowed a little more, till Stepan Mihailovitch allowed +her one sip from the cup which he held in his hands. + +It was clear to all the family that the old man was pleased with his +daughter-in-law and liked all that she said. And she could see this +herself, though she had been surprised twice over by a shadow of +displeasure passing over his face. But more than once during the meal +she had encountered his expressive look, as his eyes rested with +satisfaction on her. At last the long and solemn dinner came to an end. +Sofya Nikolayevna, unlike the rest, had found this rustic feast very +wearisome, but she had done her best to enliven it by cheerful +conversation. When they rose from table, his son and daughters kissed +their father's hand, and Sofya Nikolayevna tried to do so too, but the +old man embraced and kissed her instead. It was the second time this had +happened, and Sofya Nikolayevna, with her natural impulsiveness, asked +him in a lively affectionate tone: "Why do you not give me your hand, +_batyushka_? I am your daughter too, and I wish to kiss your hand out of +love and respect, like the rest." The old man looked at her keenly and +attentively; then he said in a kind voice: "I love you, my dear, but I +am not a priest,[42] and no one kisses my hand except my own children." + + [42] Devout Russians kiss a priest's hand. + +The party went back to the drawing-room and sat down where they were +before. The maid Aksyutka brought in coffee, which was only served on +very solemn occasions; the old man did not drink it, but all his family +were very fond of it; they always called it "coff," never "coffee." When +it was swallowed, Stepan Mihailovitch rose and said: "Now it is time to +have a good sleep, and the young people too would be none the worse of a +rest after their journey"; then he went off to his own room, escorted by +his son and daughter-in-law. "This is my den, my dear," said the old man +cheerfully; "sit down and be my guest. As your husband knows, it was an +exception for me to sit in the drawing-room with you all, with this +bearing-rein on, as well," and he pointed to his stock: "and in future, +if any one wants my society, I shall welcome them here." Then he kissed +her, gave his hand to his son to kiss, and let them go. When alone, he +undressed and lay down, to rest from the unusual bodily exertions and +mental excitement of the day. He was soon sound asleep; and his powerful +snoring echoed through the house and swayed to and fro the curtains +which Mazan had drawn round his old master. + +His example was followed by the rest. Yerlykin and Karatayeff went off +to the stable to lie down on the haymow; both their faces showed that +they had done well at dinner, and Karatayeff had also drunk too much. +The daughters assembled in their mother's room which was separate from +their father's; and now began such a debate and discussion, carried on +in whispers, that not one of the party even lay down to sleep that +afternoon. Poor Sofya Nikolayevna was their theme, and her +sisters-in-law simply tore her to pieces; they were enraged beyond all +bounds by their father's evident partiality for her. But there was one +kind heart there--Aksinya, the eldest sister, who was now a widow for +the second time; she stood up for Sofya Nikolayevna and brought down +their wrath on her own head: they turned her out of the room and +banished her for the future from their family councils; and to her old +nickname of "Miss Simplicity," they now added another offensive title +which she still bore in advanced old age. Yet, for all the persecution +of her sisters, her kind heart never swerved from its devotion to her +sister-in-law. + +Meanwhile the young pair went off to their own fine bedroom. With the +help of her own maid Parasha, a brisk, black-eyed girl, Sofya +Nikolayevna unpacked the large number of boxes and trunks which the +English coach had brought from Ufa. Parasha was able already to run +through a list of outdoor servants and old people among the peasants who +deserved special notice; and her mistress, who had brought with her a +goodly store of trifles, fixed the present to be given to each, taking +account of their age and services, and the respect which their owners +had for them. The husband and wife were not tired and did not think it +necessary to rest. Sofya Nikolayevna changed into a simpler dress, and +left Parasha to finish the unpacking and arrangement of the bedroom, +while she went out with her young husband, who was very anxious, in +spite of the heat, to show her all his favourite haunts--the beech-wood, +the island with its lime-trees just coming into leaf, and the +transparent waters of the river where it made a bend round the island. +And how delightful it was there at that season, when the freshness of +spring combines with the warmth of summer! Alexyei Stepanitch was +passionately in love with his adored wife, and time had not yet blunted +the edge of his happiness; but he was disconcerted to find that she was +not charmed either by wood or island, and indeed took little notice of +either. She sat down in the shade on the bank of the rapid river, and +began at once to speak to her husband of his relations. She discussed +their reception. "I like your father so much," she went on, "and I could +see at the first glance that he liked me; perhaps your mother liked me, +but she seemed afraid to show it. Aksinya seems the kindest of them, but +she is afraid of something too. Oh, I understand it all perfectly; I +know in what quarter the damp wood is smouldering. I did not miss a +single word or a single glance; I know what I am bound to expect. God +will judge your sisters, Elizabeth and Alexandra!" But Alexyei +Stepanitch was hardly listening to her words. The fresh shade, the green +of the boughs bending over the stream, the low ripple of the running +water, the fish jumping, his adored wife sitting beside him with one arm +round his waist--in such surroundings how was it possible to find fault +or make objections or express discontent? How was it possible even to +take in what was said? And in fact Alexyei Stepanitch did not take in +what his young wife was saying to him: he was so happy that nothing but +silence and oblivion of the world around him could serve as a full +expression of his intoxicating bliss. But Sofya Nikolayevna went on: she +said a great deal, with warmth and feeling; and then she noticed that +her husband was not listening and was nearly asleep. She sprang up at +once, and then followed a scene of conflict and mutual misunderstanding, +more pronounced than any they had ever had before, though there had been +premonitory symptoms once or twice already. Sofya Nikolayevna kept +nothing back this time: the tears rushed from her eyes as she poured +forth a torrent of reproaches for his indifference and inattention. +Alexyei Stepanitch was puzzled and distressed: he felt as if he had +fallen from the skies or awakened from a delightful dream. Thinking to +calm his wife, he assured her with perfect sincerity, that there was +nothing wrong at all, that it was all her imagination, and that all the +family loved her; how could any one help loving her, he asked. That he +was honestly convinced of this was clear as day; and his eyes and face +and voice all expressed his devoted love to his wife; yet Sofya +Nikolayevna, for all her cleverness and lively sensibility, did not +understand her husband, and found in his words only a fresh proof of the +same indifference and inattention. Statements and explanations went on +with increasing heat, and I do not know how far they would have gone; +but suddenly Alexyei Stepanitch caught sight of his sister Tatyana's +maid crossing the high gangway and hastening towards them. He guessed +that they were being searched for because his father had got up, and +told his wife at once what he feared. She regained her self-control in a +moment, caught his arm, and hastened home with him; but he was not in +good spirits as he walked behind her. + +Preparations had been made beforehand at Bagrovo to celebrate the day of +the young people's arrival by an entertainment given to the outdoor +servants and all the serfs on the estate; and, if serfs from +neighbouring estates chose to come on foot or on wheels, they were +welcome too. A quantity of beer had been brewed, and some twenty buckets +of strong home-made spirits distilled; and drinking vessels of all kinds +were ready. Before he lay down after dinner, Stepan Mihailovitch had +asked whether many had come from the neighbouring villages. When he was +told that the whole population, from the old men and women to the +babies, had assembled, he smiled and said, "Well, we shall not stint +them; tell the housekeeper and steward to have everything ready." He did +not sleep long, but he woke in even better spirits than when he lay +down. "Is all ready?" he asked at once, and was told that all was ready +long ago. The old man dressed quickly; instead of his ceremonial +frock-coat, he put on his familiar dressing-gown of fine camel's hair, +and went out to the stoop to superintend the entertainment in person. On +the broad lawn which was not fenced off from the road, tables had been +put up on trestles, and the tables were laden with barrels of beer, +casks of whisky, and piles of buns to eat with the liquor; these buns, +made of wheat-flour, were cut in halves. The outdoor servants stood in a +group apart near the house; a great crowd of serfs and their wives stood +further off, and beyond them a still greater crowd of Mordvinians of +both sexes. Stepan Mihailovitch threw a hasty glance over the scene, saw +that all was in order, and went back to his stoop. The family had +collected round him, and he was just going to ask where the young couple +were, when they appeared together. He greeted his daughter-in-law even +more affectionately than before, and treated her with no more formality +than if she had been his own daughter. "Now then, Alosha," he said, +"take your wife's arm and lead her round to greet the people; they are +all anxious to see her and kiss the hand of their young mistress. Let us +start!" He went in front himself; then came Alexyei Stepanitch, leading +his wife, and last, at a little distance, Arina Vassilyevna with her +daughters and their husbands. The sisters-in-law, except Aksinya, found +it hard to restrain their wrath. The signs of growing affection on their +father's part, his mention of Sofya Nikolayevna as "the young mistress," +the triumph of this hated intruder, her beauty and pretty clothes, her +ready easy tongue, her charming respect and affection for her +father-in-law--all these things rankled in their jealous bosoms. They +felt at once that they had sunk in importance. "It matters less to us," +whispered Alexandra; "we are severed branches; but I can't look at +Tanyusha without crying. She is nothing now in the household but Sofya +Nikolayevna's maid. And you, mother--no one will respect you any more: +the servants will all look to her for orders." Her voice shook, and the +tears gathered in her round rolling eyes. Meanwhile Stepan Mihailovitch +had got to the outdoor servants and was calling the peasants to come +nearer: "Why don't you all stand together? You all belong to the same +family. Well," he went on, "here you see your young mistress; the young +master you know already. When the time comes, serve them as faithfully +and zealously as you have served me and Arina Vassilyevna, and you will +earn their love and favour." All the people bowed to the ground. The +bride, unaccustomed to such demonstrations, felt disconcerted, not +knowing where to go or what to do. Noticing this, her father-in-law +said: "Don't be frightened! Their heads may bend, but they won't come +off. Well, my friends, first kiss your young mistress's hand, and then +drink to her health." The people all got up and came near Sofya +Nikolayevna. She looked round and signed to her man Theodore and handy +Parasha, who were standing at one side, holding the presents. In a +moment they handed her a large parcel and a well-filled box. It felt +strange to her to stretch out her hand to be kissed while standing +motionless as a statue; and she began to kiss them all herself. This +ceremony was repeated, as each received a gift from her hands. But +Stepan Mihailovitch interfered at this point: he saw that at that rate +he would not get his tea till supper-time. "My dear," he said, "you +can't possibly kiss them all once, let alone twice! There are too many. +The old people are a different matter; but it will be enough if they +kiss your hand." This simplified and shortened the rather tiresome +ceremony, but even so it lasted a long time. Stepan Mihailovitch +sometimes spun it out himself, because he could not refrain from naming +some of the people and praising them to her. Many of the old people +spoke some simple words of love and devotion, some shed tears, and all +looked at the bride with pleasure and cordiality. Sofya Nikolayevna was +much moved. "These good people are ready to love me, and some love me +already," she thought; "how have I deserved it?" At last, when young and +old had kissed her hand and she had kissed some of them, and when all +had received handsome presents, Stepan Mihailovitch took her hand and +led her to the crowd of Mordvinians. "I am glad to see you, neighbours," +he cried in a hearty cheerful voice; "and thank you for coming. I ask +your goodwill for this young lady who is coming to live near you. You +are welcome to eat and drink what God has given us." The Mordvinians +showed their pleasure by shouting, "Many thanks, Stepan Mihailovitch! +Thank God, for giving such a wife to your son! You deserve such luck for +your goodness, Stepan Mihailovitch." + +When the drinking began, Stepan Mihailovitch surrounded by his family +hastened back to his beloved stoop. He was conscious that his tea-time +was long past: it was now past seven, and tea was invariably served at +six. The long shadow of the house was sloping towards the south, and its +edges touched the storehouse and stable; the _samovar_ had long been +hissing on a large table close to the stoop, and Aksyutka was in +attendance. While the rest sat down round the table, Stepan Mihailovitch +stuck to his favourite place: he first spread out his invariable woollen +mat to sit on, and then sat down on the stoop. Tatyana, assisted by +Aksyutka, poured out tea. Then Sofya Nikolayevna asked leave of her +father-in-law to sit beside him, and he consented with obvious +satisfaction. She sprang up from the table, carried her half-finished +cup of tea to the stoop, and sat down beside the old man. He caressed +her and ordered a mat to be put down for her, that she might not spoil +her dress. Then they began a lively, cheerful talk; but at the tea-table +angry looks and even whispers were exchanged, in spite of the presence +of the young husband. He could not help noticing this, and his spirits, +which had not been high before, fell yet lower. Suddenly the old man's +loud voice rang out: "Come and join us, Alosha; it's livelier over +here." Alosha started; but the change of place seemed to improve his +spirits. When tea was over, they remained where they were and went on +talking till supper, which was served at nine--an hour later than usual. +All the time the loud singing and hearty laughter of the revellers rang +out far and wide as the darkness slowly gathered round; but they all +departed to their own homes as soon as the family had finished supper. +On saying "good night" Sofya Nikolayevna asked her father-in-law to give +her his blessing, and the old man at once signed her with the Cross and +kissed her with a father's tenderness. + +The young couple were escorted to their room by the lady of the house +and her eldest daughter, who sat there a few minutes; and then it was +the turn of Alexyei Stepanitch to escort his mother and sister to rest. +Sofya Nikolayevna hastily dismissed her maid and sat down by one of the +open windows fronting the river, which was fringed at that point by a +thick border of osier and alder. It was a lovely night: the freshness +from the river and the scent of the young leaves came through the open +windows, together with the trills and calls of the nightingales. But +Sofya Nikolayevna had something else to think of. As a clever woman who +knew in advance what awaited her in her husband's family, she had +naturally formed a plan of action beforehand. She had always lived in a +town and had no conception of the sort of life led by landowners of +moderate means on their scattered estates in that vast country. She had +not expected much, but the reality was far worse than she had imagined. +Nothing was to her taste, neither house, nor garden, nor wood, nor +island. In the neighbourhood of Ufa she had been accustomed to admire +noble views from the mountainous bank of the river Byelaya; and this +little village in a hollow, the time-stained and weather-beaten wooden +house, the pond surrounded by swamps, and the unending clack of the +mill--all this seemed to her actually repulsive. And the people were no +better: from her husband's family to the peasants' children, she could +love none of them. But there was one exception, and that was Stepan +Mihailovitch. But for him, she would have been in despair. She had +formed a favourable opinion of him from the beginning; then, when she +first saw him, she was frightened by his rough exterior; but she soon +read in his intelligent eyes and kindly smile, and heard in his voice, +that this old man had a tender heart which beat kindly to her, that he +was ready to love her and would love her. Knowing from the first that +all her hopes depended upon him, she had firmly resolved to gain his +love by all means; but now she had learnt to love him herself, and her +deliberate plan coincided with the impulse of her heart. In this respect +Sofya Nikolayevna was satisfied with herself: she saw that she had +reached her goal at once. But she was distressed by the thought that by +her impetuosity she had hurt her kind husband. She waited impatiently +for him, but, as if to spite her, he did not return. Had she known where +he was, she would have hurried off in search of him long ago. She longed +to throw herself into his arms and beg his forgiveness with tears, and +to remove the last trace of dissatisfaction from his mind by a torrent +of loving words and caresses. But Alexyei Stepanitch still did not +return; and the happy moment, when she was penitent and loving and +filled with a passionate desire to atone for her fault, went by to no +purpose. An impulse soon passes, and Sofya Nikolayevna first grew +alarmed and then angry at her husband's long absence. When he came in at +last, looking rather upset and distressed, instead of rushing into his +arms and begging to be forgiven, his wife called out to him in an +excited and somewhat irritated voice, as soon as he crossed the +threshold: "Where on earth have you been? Why did you leave me alone? I +am quite worn out with waiting for you two whole hours!" "I sat a +quarter of an hour or so with my mother and sisters," he answered. "And +that was time enough for them to complain of me and invent calumnies +against me, and you believed them! Why are you so depressed and sad?" +Sofya Nikolayevna's face expressed strong emotion, and her beautiful +eyes filled with tears. The young husband was startled and even alarmed; +he was beginning to dread her tears. "Sonitchka," he said, "calm +yourself; no one complained of you; why should they, when you have +injured no one?" This was not quite a true statement. If nobody had +complained openly or attacked her in plain terms, they had implied by +hints and allusions that his wife was singling out her father-in-law to +pay court to, with the object of trampling on the rest of the family; +but they saw through her tricks, and so would her husband some day when +he found himself under her feet! Alexyei Stepanitch did not believe +these innuendoes; but the feeling of sadness, which had never left him +since the scene on the island, became heavier and lay like lead on his +kind heart. He only said, "It is no use talking like that," and left the +room. But, instead of returning at once to his bedroom, he spent some +time in walking alone up and down the parlour which was now dark and +empty. Through the seven open windows he looked at the Jackdaw Wood +sleeping in darkness, and at the dark line of trees by the river, the +scene of his childhood's amusements and occupations; and he listened to +the sound of the mill, the whistles of the nightingales, and the +screeching of the owls. Feeling somewhat relieved, he went off to the +bedroom, entirely unconscious of the reception he was to meet there. + +But Sofya Nikolayevna soon grew calmer: the voice of penitence began to +speak again in her heart, though not with the same force as before; she +changed her tone and turned to her husband with a genuine feeling of +love and pity; she caressed him and begged his forgiveness. She spoke +with unfeigned warmth of her happiness in finding that she loved his +father, and begged him to be perfectly frank with her: frankness, she +said, was essential between them. Her husband was soothed and comforted; +and in the fullness of his heart he told her all he had determined to +keep secret at all costs, lest he should make a quarrel between his wife +and his sisters. He lay down and went to sleep at once, but Sofya +Nikolayevna lay awake for long, and her brain worked busily. At last she +remembered that she had to get up early, because she intended to join +her father-in-law on the stoop at sunrise, long before the family +assembled; she wished to cheer the old man by her presence and to speak +her mind to him at leisure. At last, with a strong effort, she fell +asleep. + +Sofya Nikolayevna woke with the first rays of the sun. Though she had +not slept long, she rose fresh and vigorous. She dressed quickly, kissed +her husband and told him she was going to his father and he might sleep +on another hour or so, and then hurried off. Stepan Mihailovitch, after +sleeping longer than usual, had just washed himself and gone out to the +stoop. It was a lovely May morning, with all the charm of late spring, +fresh and yet deliciously warm; all living things sang together for joy, +and the long morning shadows still hid the coolness and moisture from +the conquering rays of the sun. The feeling of the morning took hold of +Sofya Nikolayevna and breathed life into her, though she was not +accustomed to be moved by natural beauty or the charms of the country. +Her father-in-law was surprised and pleased to see her. Her fresh face +and shining eyes, her neat hair and pretty dress, made it impossible to +guess that she had sprung out of bed after little sleep and had spent +but little time over her toilet before she hurried out. Stepan +Mihailovitch liked people to be lively and quick and clever; and all +these requirements he was pleased to find in Sofya Nikolayevna. He +kissed her and said good-humouredly: "What made you get up so early? You +can't have had your sleep out. I'm sure you're not accustomed to rise so +early; you will have a headache." "No, _batyushka_," she replied, +embracing the old man with genuine tenderness; "I am used to early +rising. From childhood I have had much to do and many cares, with a sick +father and a whole family to look after. Of late I have been spoilt and +have lain in bed longer. But I woke early this morning, and Alexyei told +me"--here the old man frowned--"that you were up already; so I came out +here, hoping that you would not drive me away but allow me to give you +your tea." The words were ordinary enough, but they came from the heart +and were spoken so earnestly that the old man was touched. He kissed her +forehead and said: "Well, in that case, thank you, my dear child. You +shall give me my tea, and we shall have a leisurely talk together." +Aksyutka had already set the _samovar_ on the table. Stepan Mihailovitch +gave orders that no one else should be called, and Sofya Nikolayevna +began to arrange about the tea. All her actions were as quick and neat +as if she had done nothing else all her life. The old man was pleased, +as he watched that young and pretty figure so unlike what he was +accustomed to, and those busy active fingers. The tea was made strong, +and served exactly as he liked it: that is, the teapot, covered with a +napkin, was placed on the top of the _samovar_; his cup was filled close +up to the brim; Sofya Nikolayevna handed it without spilling a single +drop in the saucer; and the fragrant beverage was so hot that it burnt +his lips. The old man took his cup and tasted the tea. With surprise and +pleasure he said: "I declare you are a witch: you know all my tastes and +fancies. Well, if you make yourself as pleasant to your husband, he will +be a happy man." He generally drank his tea alone, and the family did +not begin theirs till he had finished; but this morning, when he had got +his second cup, he told his daughter-in-law to pour one out for herself +and drink it sitting beside him. "I never drink more than two, but I +will take a third cup to-day; the tea tastes better somehow," he said in +the kindest of tones. And indeed, the pleasure which Sofya Nikolayevna +felt in her occupation was so visible on her expressive face that it +could not but communicate itself to the susceptible nature of Stepan +Mihailovitch; and his spirits rose unusually high. He made her take a +second cup and eat a scone, of the kind for which the ovens at Bagrovo +were long famous. The tea was cleared away, and a conversation began, +most lively and animated, most frank and affectionate. Sofya Nikolayevna +gave free course to her eager feelings; she talked easily and +charmingly; her conquest of the old man was complete. In the middle of +their talk he suddenly asked, "What of your husband? Is he asleep?" +"Alexyei was waking when I left him," she said quickly; "but I told him +to sleep on." The old man frowned severely and was silent. After a +moment's reflexion, he spoke, not angrily but seriously. "Listen to me, +my dear little daughter-in-law; you are so clever that I can tell you +the truth without beating about the bush. I don't like to keep a thing +on my mind. If you take my advice--well and good; if you don't--well, +you are not my daughter and can please yourself. I don't like your +calling your husband 'Alexyei,' as his parents might; he has got another +name;[43] 'Alexyei' is a name you might address to a servant. A wife +must treat her husband with respect if she wishes other people to +respect him. There was another thing yesterday I did not like: you sent +him to fetch the presents, and he stood there holding the tray like a +footman. Then again just now, you said you had 'told' him to go to +sleep. A wife ought not to give orders to her husband; if she does, +mischief comes of it. That may be the fashion with you in the town, but, +according to our old-fashioned country notions, all that is a great +mistake." Sofya Nikolayevna listened respectfully, and then she spoke, +so frankly and feelingly, that every word made its way to the old man's +heart: "I thank you, _batyushka_, for not keeping back from me what +displeased you. I shall gladly do what you wish, and I begin to see +myself that I was wrong. I am still young, _batyushka_, and I have had +no one to guide me: my own father has not left his bed for six years. I +caught up that way of addressing my husband from others; but it shall +never happen again, either in your presence or behind your back. +_Batyushka_," she went on, and the large tears welled from her eyes, "I +have come to love you like a father; treat me always as a daughter: stop +me, scold me, whenever I do wrong, but forgive me and do not keep +displeasure in your heart against me. I am young and hasty, and I may go +wrong at every step. Remember that I am a stranger in this house, where +nobody knows me and I know nobody. Do not you fail me." Then she fell on +his neck and embraced him like a daughter, kissing his breast and even +his hands; and the old man's own eyes filled with tears. He let her keep +hold of his hands and said, "Well, that is all right." As we know +already, Stepan Mihailovitch had a natural sagacity which divined the +presence of evil and was attracted by goodness; and he never made a +mistake in either case. He had taken a fancy to his daughter-in-law at +first sight; and now that he understood her and appreciated her, he +loved her for better and for worse. That love was exposed to many trials +in later years, and any other man might have wavered, but he never +wavered in his love for her to his last breath. + + [43] _I.e._ Stepanitch, son of Stephen, which should be used in public + by the wife. + +Alexyei Stepanitch soon appeared, and was followed by all the family. +Her daughters had urged Arina Vassilyevna to go out long before, but she +did not dare to appear, because, when Stepan Mihailovitch gave orders +"that no one should be called," it was taken to mean that he did not +wish to see any one. She only came out now because her husband had told +Mazan to summon all the family. There was no trace of tears on Sofya +Nikolayevna's face; and she greeted the newcomers with more than usual +cordiality. Nor could one tell from Stepan Mihailovitch that anything +unusual had happened; but the bride could not conceal her high spirits, +and the two sisters-in-law noticed this at once and guessed the alarming +truth pretty accurately. + +Stepan Mihailovitch had settled that the young couple were to visit +their relations in order of seniority; and it was therefore arranged +that they should go to Aksinya's house next day. Aksinya herself went +home that afternoon, accompanied by her sister Elizabeth, who was to +help her in entertaining the guests. The distance was only 50 _versts_, +and the strong Bagrovo horses could go all the way without baiting. The +start was fixed for six o'clock next morning. + +Stepan Mihailovitch did not in the least conceal his feelings towards +his daughter-in-law. He kept her beside him and talked with her +repeatedly, asking questions about her family affairs, or making her +speak of her life at Ufa; and he listened to her with attentive +interest, now and then giving his opinion in some pithy phrase. She +eagerly caught up his pertinent remarks; but it was clear that she was +moved, not by obsequious concurrence with the old man's ways of +thinking, but by a full comprehension of his words and a conviction of +their truth. Then in his turn he initiated her into the past and present +history of her new relations; and his whole description was so simple +and true, so frank and lifelike, that she realised it as few could have +done, and was charmed by it. Never in her life had she met his equal. +Her own father was intelligent and kind, emotional and unselfish; but at +the same time he was weak, falling in with the prevailing tone of his +surroundings, and bearing the stamp of the evasive time-serving official +who had worked his way up from a clerk's stool to the position of +Governor's Deputy. Here she saw before her an old man of little +education and uncouth exterior, and report said of him that he was +ruthless when angry; and yet he was sensible, kind, and honest, and +inflexible in his clear judgment of right and wrong--a man who was +upright in all his actions and truthful in every word he spoke. Her +quick intellect conceived a noble type of manly worth, which set aside +her old ideas and opened up new possibilities. And what happiness that +this man was her husband's father! On him depended her peace of mind in +her husband's family, and perhaps even the happiness of her marriage! + +Dinner was a much more lively and cheerful affair than on the previous +day. The bride sat as before between her husband and her father-in-law; +but Arina Vassilyevna now took her usual place opposite Stepan +Mihailovitch. Immediately after dinner, Aksinya left, accompanied by +her sister Elizabeth. As the old man was lying down to rest as +usual, he said, "Well, Arisha, I think God has given us a splendid +daughter-in-law; it would be a sin not to take her to our hearts." "True +indeed, Stepan Mihailovitch," she answered; "if you approve of Sofya +Nikolayevna, of course I do." The old man made a wry face but said +nothing; and she hurried away, fearing to make a slip of the tongue, and +anxious to report to her daughters the remarkable words of Stepan +Mihailovitch, which must be accepted as law and obeyed, in appearance at +least, to the letter. + +Though she had slept little at night, Sofya Nikolayevna could not sleep +after dinner. She went out with her husband, and they walked, by his +wish, to the old beech-wood, where the jackdaws built, and down the +course of the river. There was no repetition of the old disagreements. +She had been charmed and captivated by her father-in-law, and she now +tried to convey to her husband the feelings of her own eager +impressionable mind. As all people of her temperament are apt to do, she +transferred to her handsome young husband some part of the merits she +had found in his father, and loved him more than ever. He listened with +surprise and pleasure to the enthusiasm of his beautiful wife, and said +to himself, "Thank God that my father and she have become such friends! +There will be no further trouble." He kissed her hands, and said that he +was the happiest man on all the earth, and she a peerless goddess before +whom all should bow down. He did not quite understand his wife nor +appreciate her estimate of his father, so acute and profound; he only +felt, as he had always felt, perfectly convinced that Stepan +Mihailovitch was the kind of man whom all must respect and even fear. +This time Sofya Nikolayevna found no faults: his feelings were her +feelings and his language hers: she praised the deep river and the +beech-wood with all its uneven stumps; even of her sisters-in-law she +spoke kindly. + +When he woke up in the afternoon, Stepan Mihailovitch at once summoned +all the family. It was a long time since he had been seen in such a +bright and gentle mood: whether it was due to a good sleep or to happy +feelings, it was clear to every one that the old master was satisfied +and cheerful beyond his wont. After their father's pronouncement, +Alexandra and Elizabeth were on their guard, while Tanyusha (as she was +always called) and her mother were very willing to be more friendly and +conversational. At a sign from his wife Karatayeff began with more +boldness to echo what was said, even when he was not addressed; but his +brother-in-law, the General, persisted in his gloomy silence and frowned +significantly. The conversation became unusually brisk and animated. The +old man expressed a wish to have his tea early, in the shade near the +stoop, of course; and the privilege of pouring it out was conferred on +Sofya Nikolayevna exclusively. Tanyusha was quite willing to hand over +the office. After tea Stepan Mihailovitch ordered two cars to be brought +round, took his daughter-in-law in one, and drove off with all his +family to the mill. It should be said that a mill was a special hobby of +my grandfather's, and that he understood the working of it thoroughly. +The mill itself was not much to look at, and the weed grew round it in +an untidy way; but the stones did their work thoroughly well. He liked +to show off his mill, and now displayed it in detail to his +daughter-in-law, taking pleasure in her utter ignorance and +astonishment, which sometimes turned to fear, when he suddenly turned on +a strong current of water upon all the four wheels, till the machinery +began to move and swing and rattle, the stones to whirl round, creaking +and whizzing, and the building, filled with flour-dust, to quiver and +shake under foot. All this was an entire novelty to Sofya Nikolayevna, +and she did not like it at all, though out of politeness she asked many +questions and expressed surprise and admiration at everything. He was +much pleased, and kept her there a long time. When the pair went out +upon the dam, where Alexyei Stepanitch and his sisters were fishing, +they were hailed with laughter by the anglers: they were both covered +with flour. Stepan Mihailovitch was accustomed to this; besides he had +given a shake and a brush to his clothes on leaving the mill; but Sofya +Nikolayevna had no suspicion that she was so completely and artistically +powdered. When he looked at her, her father-in-law himself laughed +heartily; and she laughed more than any one, and was very merry, +regretting only that she had no looking-glass to consult, to find out if +her ball-dress became her. Seeing the anglers intent upon their sport, +Stepan Mihailovitch next drove his companion round the pond and over the +bridge; and, after visiting the stream higher up, he came back along the +dam to the place where the anglers were engaged, while Arina +Vassilyevna, who was very stout, sat on the ground and watched them. The +whole course of their drive was over bog and swamp; it was hardly safe +to cross the crazy little bridge, and difficult to make way over the dam +which was made of manure and sank under the wheels. Though Sofya +Nikolayevna found all this distasteful, it was impossible for Stepan +Mihailovitch to detect her. He saw neither mire nor swamp, and he was +impervious to the unpleasant smell from the stagnant water and the +material of the dam. He had planned and constructed it all himself, and +he enjoyed it all. It grew damp at sunset, and all set off for home in +good spirits. The anglers carried their spoil with them, perch and other +kinds. The bailiff was waiting for his master by the stoop; and orders +were given about work on the land, while the bride put her dress in +order. Meanwhile the fish was boiled or fried in sour cream, while the +largest perch were baked in their skins and scales; and all these were +pronounced very good at supper. + +So the second day passed, and the party broke up early, because the +young couple had to make an early start next morning for their visit. +When alone with her mother and youngest sister, Alexandra threw off the +mask with relief and gave full play to her infernal temper and cruel +tongue. She saw perfectly that all was lost and all her forebodings +realised: that her father was taken in the toils and infatuated with the +adventuress, and there was nothing to be done now except to dismiss the +pair to Ufa as soon as possible and devise some scheme in their absence. +She abused her mother and sister for being too affectionate: "But for +me," she said, "you would have been taken in too by that dressed-up +doll, that pauper with a Cossack for her grandfather." + +At six exactly next morning the young couple started in their English +coach drawn by six of the fine horses bred at Bagrovo. Sofya Nikolayevna +was up in time to give his tea to her father-in-law; and he embraced her +at starting, and even signed her with the Cross, because she was to be +absent for the night. They drove down the river and across it, and then +uphill to the little town of Boogoorooslan. Without a halt our +travellers crossed the river Great Kinel, and the horses trotted at the +rate of ten _versts_ an hour along the rutty road on the flat side of +the river, where the grass grew tall and thick and there was no sign of +habitation. It was long since Alexyei Stepanitch had been across the +Kinel; and he was delighted by the greenness and fragrance of the +steppe. Bustards constantly rose off the road, and solitary snipe kept +up with the carriage, wheeling over it and flying on ahead, or perching +on the guide-posts and filling the air with their notes. Alexyei +Stepanitch was very sorry that he had not taken his gun. In those days +the steppe was alive with birds of every kind, and the sound of their +myriad voices was so attractive to him, and indeed absorbed his +attention so completely, that his ears were generally deaf to the lively +and clever conversation of his wife. She soon noticed this and became +thoughtful; her high spirits gave place to displeasure, and she began to +talk to her maid, Parasha, who was with them in the coach. After +crossing a district of high level land, they arrived at their +destination exactly at noon. The little wooden house, an even greater +contrast than Bagrovo to the houses of Ufa, stood on the flat bank of +the Little Kinel, divided from it only by a kitchen-garden containing a +few sunflowers and young vegetables and rows of peeled pea-stakes. I +still recall with pleasure this unpretending spot, which I first saw ten +years after this time; and I understand why my father liked it and my +mother was bound to dislike it. It was a bare empty spot, quite flat and +fully exposed to the sun, without a bush or a tree; the level steppe +with its marmot-burrows lay all round; and the quiet river flowed by, +deep in places and overgrown with reeds. It had nothing striking or +picturesque to attract any one; yet Alexyei Stepanitch preferred it even +to Bagrovo. I don't agree with him, but I had a strong liking for that +quiet little house on the river-bank, the clear stream, the weed swaying +in the current, the wide stretch of grassy steppe, and the ferry which +started from close to the door and took you across to a yet wilder +steppe, where the prairie-grass stretched straight southwards to what +seemed an illimitable distance. + +The hostess, with her two little boys and a daughter of two years old, +met her guests at the door; her sister Elizabeth and her husband were +there also. In spite of the unpromising aspect of the simple rooms, +everything was very clean and nice, much more so indeed than at Bagrovo. +Though "Miss Simplicity," as her sisters called her, was a widow with +small children, there was a neatness and order in the place which showed +that it was managed entirely by a female hand. I have said already that +Aksinya was a kind woman and had taken a fancy to her sister-in-law; it +was therefore very natural that she did honour to her guests and +received them with cordiality in her own house. This had been foreseen +at Bagrovo, and Elizabeth had been sent on purpose to restrain the +excessive friendliness of her sister by means of her superior +intelligence and higher position in society, due to her husband's rank. +But that simple soul held out against her clever, cunning sister: to all +her urgent admonitions her answer was short and plain: "Do as you please +at Bagrovo; you may hate and abuse Sofya Nikolayevna, but I like her; +she has always been polite and kind to me, and therefore I intend to +make her and my brother happy in my house." And she carried out her +purpose with sincere affection and satisfaction, showing every attention +to her sister-in-law and pressing her good things on both guests. But +the proud Elizabeth and even her husband--though he drank so much +towards evening that he had to be shut up in an empty bath-house--were +much colder and more distant in their behaviour than at Bagrovo. Sofya +Nikolayevna took no notice of them, and was charming to her hostess and +the children. After dinner the party rested for a little and then went +out for a walk by the river; they crossed by a ferry to the far bank and +drank tea there. Sofya Nikolayevna was asked to fish, but she declined, +saying that she hated fishing and was quite happy sitting with her +sisters-in-law. But Alexyei Stepanitch, much pleased to see how well his +wife got on with his eldest sister, eagerly accepted the proposal and +sat till supper-time on the bank, hidden in the thick reeds; he landed +several of the large bream which abounded in the quiet waters of the +Kinel. The servants used constantly to fish for their own amusement and +for that of their young masters. The guests determined to start next +morning at six, and were half inclined to depart even earlier, so as not +to keep Stepan Mihailovitch waiting for his dinner. Their hostess and +her sister were to wait till the evening, spending a night at +Boogoorooslan to rest the horses, and reaching Bagrovo the following +day. + +Sofya Nikolayevna was still a little vexed with her husband. For all her +intelligence she could not understand how a man who loved her dearly +could also love his damp Bagrovo, with its stump-strewn woods, unsavoury +dam, and stagnant pools; how he could gaze with delight at the tiresome +steppe with its stupid snipe; and, above all, how he could desert his +wife for hours for the sake of a fishing-rod and those bream which smelt +so damp and disgusting! So she felt almost offended when Alexyei +Stepanitch tried to communicate to her his delight in nature and in +sport. She was wise enough, however, not to start upon explanations or +reproofs this time; the scene on the island was still fresh in her +memory. + +The young couple passed a peaceful night in Aksinya's own bedroom which +she had given up to them; and she had done it up for them to the best of +her ability, undeterred by the caustic remarks of her sister. They left +the house half an hour earlier than the time originally fixed; and +nothing particular happened on their way back, except that Alexyei +Stepanitch was not quite so much absorbed by the steppe and the snipe, +and did not call out quite so loud when bustards rose off the road, so +that he could listen with more attention to his wife and look at her +more tenderly. They reached Bagrovo before they were expected. But +preparations were making for dinner, and Alexandra had had time to say: +"Poor papa will have to wait for dinner to-day; but how can you expect +town-people to get up so early several days running?" The old man saw +through this perfectly. He astonished them all by saying very +good-humouredly, "Well, never mind; we can wait for our guests." This +caused a sensation, because Stepan Mihailovitch had never in his life +sat down to dinner later than twelve o'clock, though sometimes, when he +felt hungry, he had it earlier, and the slightest delay or unpunctuality +made him exceedingly angry. "You see what Sofya Nikolayevna can do," +whispered Alexandra to her mother and youngest sister; "if _she_ keeps +him waiting, there is no complaint; but if you had come back from +Nyeklyoodovo late for dinner, you would never have heard the end of it, +nor should we." The malicious whisper was hardly ended when the carriage +dashed up to the steps; while the tired horses snorted, the old man +kissed his daughter-in-law and praised her for being in time; then his +voice rang through the house, "Mazan, Tanaichonok, dinner at once!" + +The day passed off as before. After tea Stepan Mihailovitch, whose +affection for his daughter-in-law seemed to grow with every hour, +ordered the drove of horses to be driven in from the steppe. He wished +to show it to Sofya Nikolayevna, who happened to say that she had never +seen such a thing and would like to see it. When the animals were driven +into the yard, the old man took his daughter-in-law round himself, +pointing out the best brood-mares, the yearlings and two-year-olds and +young geldings, all fat and healthy from the steppe where they grazed +together all summer. He gave her two fine mares with foals at foot, and +hoped she would have good fortune with their stock. Sofya Nikolayevna +was much pleased by the foals, and liked to watch them as they started +and bounded and then nuzzled against their mothers; and she expressed +much gratitude for the gift. Then Stepan Mihailovitch gave strict orders +to his head groom, Spirka: "See," he said, "that special care is taken +of Sofya Nikolayevna's mares; and we shall put a special mark on the +foals by splitting one ear rather lower; and later we must make a brand +with the young mistress's name on it." Then he turned to her: "I wish +you were a lover of horses, my dear," he went on; "Alexyei does not care +for them in the least." The old man was very fond of them himself, and, +though he was not rich, by endless trouble he had got together a large +stud and owned a breed which was the admiration of fanciers and good +judges. He was pleased by her interest in his stud; though her only +motive was to please him, he believed that she meant what she said, and +carried her off to see how the carriage-horses, his own and those of his +guests, were fed; of the latter there were often a large number in the +stables at Bagrovo. + +I am afraid of wearying the reader by such a minute description of the +young couple's visit, and shall only say that the next day, which was +the fifth, was spent just like the preceding day. According to the order +of seniority the next formal visit should have been to the Yerlykins; +but, as their estate was 170 _versts_ from Bagrovo and much nearer Ufa, +it was settled to take them on the return journey to the town. There was +this other reason, that General Yerlykin, Elizabeth's silent, gloomy +husband, having broken out at Aksinya's house, had started on one of his +regular drinking bouts which generally lasted at least a week, so that +his wife had been forced to leave him with some friends at +Boogoorooslan, and give out that he was ill. So Alexandra was to receive +the next visit, and started off home with her husband on the previous +day; with her father's consent, she invited the oldest and youngest of +the sisters for the occasion, while Elizabeth remained behind, +ostensibly to be near her sick husband, though her real object was to +bring her influence to bear on her parents. The Karatayeffs lived about +50 _versts_ from Bagrovo; the distance was the same as to Aksinya's +house, but the road ran in the opposite direction, due north, and passed +through woods and hills in the second half of the journey. The visitors +started after an early lunch. As the road was little used and heavy for +the horses, they halted half-way for two hours in the open field, and +reached Karatayevka about tea-time. The house was infinitely worse than +Aksinya's: the small dark windows caught the eye at once; the floors +were uneven, riddled with rat-holes, and so dirty as to defy soap and +water. Sofya Nikolayevna felt fear and disgust as she entered this +inhospitable and repulsive dwelling. Alexandra was haughty in her +reception of them; she was profuse in sarcastic apologies of this kind: +"We are glad to see our guests and bid them welcome; my brother, I know, +will not be critical, but I doubt if Sofya Nikolayevna will deign to +enter our poor house after her father's grand mansion at Ufa. Of course +we are poor people, with no official rank; living on our own property, +_we_ have no lucrative salaries to maintain us." But Sofya Nikolayevna +gave as good as she got: she replied that the way people lived depended +as much on their tastes as on their money, and that it was all one to +her where her husband's relations lived and how they lived. When supper +was over, the young couple were shown to their bedroom, which was the +so-called drawing-room. As soon as the candle was out, a great +disturbance began in the room; the pattering and noise increased, and +swarms of rats soon assailed them with such boldness that the poor bride +lay awake all night, shaking with fear and disgust. Alexyei Stepanitch +was forced to light a candle and arm himself with a window-prop for the +defence of the bed, on which the rats kept jumping up as long as it was +dark. He felt neither fear nor disgust; it was no novelty to him; at +first he was rather amused by the ceaseless activity and bold springs of +the repulsive creatures, and then he fell asleep, lying across the bed +and still holding the window-prop. But his wife woke him again and again +and only fell asleep herself at sunrise, when the enemy sought the +concealment of his trenches. She got up with a headache, but her hostess +only laughed at the fright the rats had given her, and added that they +only attacked strangers, and the people of the house were used to them. +Tanyusha was afraid of rats herself; and she and Aksinya could not look +unmoved at the signs of suffering on their sister-in-law's face. They +expressed sympathy with her, and Aksinya even scolded Alexandra for not +taking the ordinary precautions by placing the bed in the centre of the +room, attaching curtains to it, and tucking the ends under the mattress; +but the hostess said with an angry laugh, "It is a pity they did not +bite off her nose." "You had better look out!" said her sister; "if this +gets to our father's ears, you will catch it." + +Karatayevka was situated on the slope of a hill, above a little +spring-fed stream which was dammed up at the end of the village and +turned a small mill. The position was not bad, but the owners and all +their ways were so objectionable that the place had no attraction for +any one. M. Karatayeff, who was afraid of Stepan Mihailovitch at Bagrovo +and of his wife at home, would have liked to pay some attentions to +Sofya Nikolayevna when his wife was out of the room; but he only found +courage to ask leave from time to time to kiss her hand, and generally +added that she was the most beautiful creature in the world. When he +repeated his request, it was refused. His was a strange existence. Most +of his summer was spent in visiting wandering Bashkir tribes, and +drinking _koumiss_ every day till he was intoxicated; he spoke the +Bashkir language like a native; he rode on horseback whole days without +dismounting, and had become as bow-legged as a Bashkir; he had their +skill with the bow and could smash an egg at long range with the best of +them. All the rest of the year he spent in a kind of lumber-room warmed +by a stove, near the house-door; he wore a skin coat, and kept the +little window always open even in the hardest frosts; and there he +remained all day with his head stuck out of the window, humming Bashkir +songs and taking a sip now and then of Bashkir mead or some decoction of +herbs. Why Karatayeff looked out of his window over the empty yard with +a rough path running across it, what he saw and noted there, what +thoughts passed through the brain at the top of that big body--these are +problems which no ingenuity can solve. Sometimes, it is true, his +philosophic meditations were disturbed: when some plump woman or girl +appeared from the servants' quarters and walked mincingly along the path +towards the cattle-shed, then a pantomime of nods and signals took place +between the window and the yard; but soon the fair vision turned out of +sight and vanished like a ghost, and Karatayeff was left staring into +empty void. + +Sofya Nikolayevna was eager to escape from this horrible place: after an +early dinner, during which the horses were already standing at the door, +they said "good-bye" at once and started. The hostess kissed her +sister-in-law on both cheeks and on the shoulders, and thanked her +significantly for her kind visit; and Sofya Nikolayevna, just as +significantly, thanked the lady for her kind hospitality. + +When alone with her husband in the carriage, Sofya Nikolayevna gave vent +to her anger. Aksinya in her simplicity had let out accidentally that +the hostess had purposely taken no precautions against the rats; and the +bride, though she had refrained from an outburst in her enemy's house, +was unable any longer to control her excitable nature. Forgetting that +Alexandra was her husband's sister, and that Parasha was in the carriage +with them, she was lavish in her terms of abuse. Alexyei Stepanitch, a +straightforward and kindly man himself, could not believe that there was +any intention on the part of his sister: attributing what had happened +to mere carelessness, he was hurt by his wife's violent language which +was really inexcusable under any provocation. The young husband was +angry for the first time with his young wife: saying that she should be +ashamed to speak so, he turned from her and was silent. Such was their +state of mind when they arrived at Mertovshchina, where Mme. Myortvavo, +a remarkably intelligent old lady, was then living with her daughter +Katherine who had lately been married to Peter Chichagoff. Sofya +Nikolayevna was warmly attached to both the Chichagoffs. She did not in +the least expect to find them there, and soon forgot all her displeasure +in this agreeable surprise; she became very lively and cheerful, but no +one could fail to notice that Alexyei Stepanitch remained silent and +sad. + +Chichagoff's history, and especially his second marriage, is quite a +romance; and I shall tell it as briefly as I can, because we shall often +come across this family in future, and especially because the life of +the young Bagroffs was a good deal influenced by this pair. Peter +Chichagoff was a man of exceptional ability or, I should rather say, +exceptional acuteness, and had received what was for those days an +advanced education in many subjects: he knew several languages, could +draw and understood architecture, and wrote both in prose and verse. In +his hot youth he fell in love at Moscow with a young lady of the +Rimsko-Korsakoff family, and went so far as to misrepresent his +position, in order to win her hand. This was discovered after the +marriage, and he was banished to Ufa. His wife soon died. Within a year +he consoled himself and fell in love with Katherine Myortvavo, who was +attracted by his gay and amiable temper, his intelligence and +acquirements; his face was so very plain that it could exercise no +attraction. She was no longer a girl and had too strong a character to +be controlled by her mother and brothers: they let her marry Chichagoff, +and he was pardoned soon afterwards but not allowed to leave the +Government of Ufa. Sofya Nikolayevna liked him for two reasons: because +he was the husband of her dearest friend, and perhaps still more for his +own cleverness and wide information. Mme. Myortvavo had just settled to +leave Ufa and live in the country, and the Chichagoffs had come on +purpose to help her in building a house and a church. After a week's +experience of her husband's relations, this meeting was a spring in the +desert to Sofya Nikolayevna; it was like a breath of fresh air in which +her heart and quick intelligence expanded; she talked on with her +friends till near midnight. But Alexyei Stepanitch would have sat there +in silence and solitude, had not the old lady grasped the situation and +entertained him by her pleasant talk. After supper, however, he said +"good-night," and went off to the bedroom allotted to the visitors; when +Sofya Nikolayevna came she found him fast asleep. They started for +Bagrovo early next day without disturbing their hosts. + +During their drive Alexyei Stepanitch was still sullen and silent. In +reply to direct questions from his wife, his answers were so cold and +short that she gave up speaking to him. Her lively and impatient temper +resented this treatment, but she did not care to clear up matters in +Parasha's presence, preferring to wait till the after-dinner rest when +she would be alone with her husband. For the present she started a +conversation with her maid about their life at Ufa, while Alexyei +Stepanitch squeezed into a corner of the carriage and either fell asleep +or pretended to. They reached Bagrovo two hours before dinner. Stepan +Mihailovitch was obviously pleased to see his daughter-in-law again, and +even said that he had missed her. "My dear," he added; "you really must +not stay here too long, or I shan't be able to let you go; as it is, I +shall miss you, likely enough." He made her give him a minute account of +their expedition. He praised Mme. Myortvavo whom he knew well, and said +that he would send her an invitation next day to come with her daughter +and son-in-law and dine at Bagrovo; he fixed on the following Sunday, +which was four days ahead, for the entertainment. "You must visit the +Kalpinskys and Lupenevskys the day after to-morrow," he said; "and then +you can invite them too for Sunday; and then, three days later, you had +better be off home to Ufa. Your father has never been parted from you +before, and must miss you terribly; and I am sure, my dear, that you are +even more anxious to see him, poor suffering old man!" + +Stepan Mihailovitch was not long in finding out that something +disagreeable had happened on this expedition. In the course of +conversation, he said, "Well, were the Karatayeffs glad to see you?" The +answer was of course in the affirmative; but Sofya Nikolayevna happened +to mention that she had been kept awake all night by rats. This +surprised the old man: he had only been there once, long ago, and had +heard nothing of the kind. But here Arina Vassilyevna unsuspiciously +joined in, in spite of the warning signs of her daughter Elizabeth; she +suffered for it afterwards, poor lady, at the hands of her daughters. "O +yes, yes, _batyushka_ Stepan Mihailovitch!" she cried; "the rats there +are perfectly awful! Without bed-curtains, it's impossible to get a wink +of sleep." "Had you no curtains to your bed, then?" asked the old man, +and there was an ominous change in his voice as he spoke. "No," was the +only possible answer. "An excellent hostess!" he said, and looked at his +wife and daughter in such a way that a cold shiver ran down their backs. + +The Karatayeff party had not yet returned, but were expected by +tea-time. Dinner was not a cheerful meal: all were out of spirits, and +each had his or her own reasons. Arina Vassilyevna and Elizabeth were +conscious of the approaching storm, and feared that the thunderbolt +might smite them also. It was long since Stepan Mihailovitch had been in +a rage, and the prospect was more alarming to them because they had +become unused to such outbreaks. Sofya Nikolayevna noted the frown on +her father-in-law's face; she did not object to his giving a good fright +to his daughter, whom she detested as her avowed enemy; but she feared +she might somehow get involved herself. She had no unkind intention in +speaking about the rats: she never supposed that her father-in-law would +take any special notice of this circumstance or attach serious +importance to it. Nevertheless, a stone lay on her heart also: she could +not determine how to act towards her husband. He had been angry with her +for the first time, when she used insulting language about his sister: +was it best to wait till he appealed to her voluntarily, or to put an +end to the uncomfortable situation by begging him to forgive her? Her +love and her tender caresses might then cause him to forget her +regrettable impulsiveness. And she certainly would have chosen this +course; for she was passionately in love with her kind young husband. +She blamed herself severely: she ought to have foreseen everything and +been prepared for everything. She knew that Alexyei Stepanitch would not +hesitate to die for her, but she knew also that she ought not to demand +of him what he could not give--a tender and constant observation, and a +full comprehension of all the trifling occurrences that might give her +pain. And this was hard for her, with her hot blood and sensitive +nerves, her eager, excitable brain and impressionable nature. Such were +the poor woman's thoughts and feelings as she walked up and down her +room waiting for her husband; his mother had stopped him on his way +there after dinner and asked him to come to her bedroom. The minutes +seemed to her like hours. The thought that he was loitering on purpose, +fearing a scene and unwilling to be alone with her; the thought, that +without relieving her heart of its many troubles and without a +reconciliation with her husband, she would see him again in the presence +of her enemies and must play a part the whole evening--this thought +oppressed her heart and threw her into a fever. Suddenly the door +opened, and Alexyei Stepanitch walked in. There was no hesitation in his +movements; he was no longer timid and sad, but fearless and even +displeased. He began at once to reproach her for complaining to his +father and getting Alexandra into trouble. "They are all trembling and +crying now, and God only knows what will come of it," he said, primed +with all that his mother and sister had been impressing upon him. "It is +wrong and a sin on your part to cause trouble and quarrels in your +husband's family. I told you what my father is like when he is angry; +and you, knowing this and seeing his love for you, took advantage of +it!" Sofya Nikolayevna's patience snapped instantly, and she fired up at +once; love was silent, and of pity and contrition not a trace was left; +and her poor husband discovered that Stepan Mihailovitch was not the +only person who could fly into a passion. An irresistible flood of +complaints, accusations, and reproaches poured down upon him. He was +utterly crushed and confounded; he could make no defence, and was all +but a monster in his own eyes. Soon he was kneeling at her feet and +begging forgiveness with tears. It was not surprising that Alexyei +Stepanitch was powerless before that volcanic eruption of feeling and +intelligence, that heartfelt conviction and wonderful power of +eloquence. A man entirely in the right, a man much more resolute than +Alexyei Stepanitch, would have pleaded guilty before the youth and +beauty of a woman whom he loved. And Alexyei Stepanitch was certainly +not in the right. + +When the storm had calmed down in the bedroom of the young couple, it +was still brewing at the other end of the house, in the smallish room +which belonged to Stepan Mihailovitch. Sleep had not brought peace to +him or smoothed the frown from his high forehead. He sat for some time +across his bed in gloomy silence, and then called out, "Mazan!" Mazan +had long been lying outside the door, breathing heavily according to his +wont, and looking in through a chink; he had been placed there as a +sentry, while the family were sitting in the parlour, full of gloomy +apprehensions. He called out at the top of his voice, "What is your +pleasure, sir?"--and hurried into the room. "Has my daughter Alexandra +arrived? Yes? Then bring her here." Alexandra entered on his heels, for +on such occasions delay was more dangerous than anything. "How dared +you, Madam," began the old man in the voice she knew and dreaded--"how +dared you set rats on your brother and his wife?" "I am sorry, father," +humbly answered Alexandra, while her knees trembled beneath her, and +fear kept down her own infernal temper. "I put my guests on purpose in +the drawing-room, and I never thought of putting curtains to their bed. +I was so busy and so glad to see them that it slipped my memory." "You +were so glad to see them! Do you expect me to believe _that_? How did +you dare to act so to your brother and to me? How did you dare to bring +shame on your father in his old age?" The affair would perhaps have gone +no further than angry words and loud threats and possibly a rap from his +fist; but Alexandra, stung by the thought that she was suffering on +account of Sofya Nikolayevna, and hoping that the storm would still blow +over, forgot that any sort of answer was a new offence. She could not +resist saying, "I am punished for nothing on her account." A fresh and +terrible fit of rage seized Stepan Mihailovitch, that rage which +invariably ended in painful and shocking violence. Words of fury were on +the point of rushing from his lips, when Arina Vassilyevna, with her +daughters Aksinya and Tanyusha, ran into the room and fell at the old +man's feet, with tears and cries; they had been standing outside the +door and had seen what was coming. Karatayeff had been standing there +with them; but he ran out of the house and into the wood, where he +slashed furiously at the innocent birch-branches with his stick, +punishing them for the wrong done to his wife. Elizabeth did not venture +to enter the room, knowing that her own conscience was not clear, and +that her father was quite aware of the part she had played. "_Batyushka_ +Stepan Mihailovitch!" cried Arina Vassilyevna, "your will is law, you +are our master, do what pleases you! Only do not shame us and disgrace +your family in the sight of your daughter-in-law! You will frighten her +out of her life; all this is new to her." The words seemed to have some +effect on the old man. He was silent for a moment; then he pushed +Alexandra from him with his foot, crying, "Begone, and don't venture to +show yourself till I send for you!" No one waited for any further +orders: in a moment the room was cleared, and all was silence round +Stepan Mihailovitch; but his blue eyes long remained dark and clouded, +and his chest rose and fell with his heavy breathing, as he restrained +his passionate anger which had been aroused and not satisfied. + +The _samovar_ had long been hissing on the drawing-room table, not in +the shade of the stoop, because heavy rain had just ceased falling and +it was damp out of doors. Nature seemed to sympathise with what was +passing in the house of Bagrovo. Soon after dinner two clouds of intense +blackness had met in the zenith and long remained there motionless, +emitting from time to time flashes of lightning and shaking the air with +peals of thunder. At last the rain came down in torrents, the clouds +shifted to the east, and the setting sun shone out. Fields and woods +smelt sweeter, refreshed by the rain, and the birds began to sing +louder; but alas! the storms of human passion are not followed by such a +calm. + +Alexandra pretended illness, but the other daughters came with their +mother to the drawing-room; Karatayeff also was there, but Yerlykin was +still absent from the house, on the pretext of ill-health. Stepan +Mihailovitch had tea in his room and gave orders that he was not to be +disturbed. The door of the young couple's room was locked; after a short +delay, tapping was tried and brought them out at once. Sofya Nikolayevna +looked cheerful, and her husband really was more cheerful than before; +but it was easy to guess from their faces that something unusual had +been happening in their room. Of what had passed in the bedroom of +Stepan Mihailovitch, they knew nothing. As for Arina Vassilyevna and her +daughters, they looked like people who had just been pulled out of the +water or snatched from the fire. It is a pity that there was no one to +observe the scene; for it is certain that the different expressions on +the faces of the company would have afforded an entertaining spectacle. +All attempts to keep up a conversation were unsuccessful. The absence of +the father and of one daughter puzzled Sofya Nikolayevna beyond +endurance: she invented some pretext for going to her own room, where +she summoned Parasha and got to the bottom of the mystery. They knew all +about it in the maids' room: not only had Mazan and Tanaichonok been +listening all the time, but the old lady and her daughter were in the +habit of keeping nothing back from their waiting-women. Thus Parasha was +able to give her mistress an exact and detailed report. Sofya +Nikolayevna was much disturbed. She had never expected such alarming +consequences; she heartily regretted having told her father-in-law about +the wretched rats; and she was sincerely sorry for Alexandra. She went +back to the drawing-room and asked leave to visit the invalid, but was +told she was asleep. During her absence, Alexyei Stepanitch had heard +the whole story. After a hasty supper they separated to their rooms at +ten o'clock. When alone with her husband, Sofya Nikolayevna, with much +agitation and many tears, fell on his neck, and again asked his +forgiveness with heartfelt penitence, blaming herself much more than she +really deserved. But he did not understand the delicacy of feeling which +prompted her genuine grief and drew from her tears. He was only sorry to +see her distress herself about trifles; and he tried to console her by +saying that all was well that ends well, that the family were accustomed +to such scenes, that his father would wake in a good temper to-morrow +and forgive Alexandra, and all would go on as well as at first. Only he +begged her not to have any explanations with any of the family, and not +to beg pardon, as she wished to do, for her unintentional slip; and he +advised her not to visit his father in the morning but to wait till he +sent for her. Sofya Nikolayevna understood her husband's character +better than she had ever done before; and the knowledge hurt her deeply. +While he slept peacefully all night, she never closed an eye. + +Stepan Mihailovitch was the worse for his fit of anger and also disliked +the thought that his daughter-in-law might have heard of it. His honest +nature resented every underhand action and deliberate unkindness; and +also he saw, in what his daughter had done, disregard to his own +authority and position. He was on the brink of an illness; he ate no +supper, stayed indoors instead of going to sit on the stoop, and, when +he should have seen his bailiff, sent his orders by a servant. But the +benign darkness of night which gives light to the eye of our mind, the +stillness, and then sleep, which calms the passions of men and rains +down blessings upon them--all these did their kindly office. Early next +day he summoned Arina Vassilyevna and gave her his instructions to +convey to his daughters--they were intended mainly for Alexandra, but in +part also for Elizabeth--that Sofya Nikolayevna was not to know of any +unpleasantness, and they were to behave accordingly. In a short time the +_samovar_ was placed on the table, and all the family summoned. Arina +Vassilyevna fortunately had time to send a message by her son to Sofya +Nikolayevna, begging her to do her best to cheer up the master of the +house: "He is not quite well," she said, "and in low spirits for some +reason." In spite of her sleepless night and the aching of her own +heart, Sofya Nikolayevna carried out this request to admiration; all the +party, and she herself more than any, were anxious that it should be +done. + +Sofya Nikolayevna was an astonishing woman! Lively, impressionable, and +excitable, she could be carried away in a moment by impulses of the head +or heart, and was capable of very sudden and complete transformations of +behaviour. In later years stupid people accused her of insincerity on +this ground, but no one else did. It was really a kind of artistic +power, which enabled her to adapt herself instantly to a new atmosphere +and a new position, and to act absolutely in accordance with her +immediate purpose; and this purpose, being entirely sincere, acted like +a spell on others. In this case, she laid herself out to calm the +agitation of her father-in-law, for whom she had conceived a warm +affection, and who had championed her cause at the cost of his peace of +mind and at the risk of his health; and she wished to relieve her +husband and his family, who had been terrified and assailed owing to her +slip of the tongue. Her imagination and feelings were so completely +mastered by this purpose that she exercised a kind of magical power over +the party and soon subdued them all by the irresistible spell of her +personality. She poured out tea herself and handed the cups herself, +first to her father-in-law and then to the rest; she talked to every one +so easily and pleasantly and brightly that the old man, quite convinced +that she had caught no glimpse of the skeleton in the cupboard, soon +relaxed his features. Of him also it was true that his cheerfulness was +infectious; and, before an hour had passed, all traces of the storm of +yesterday had disappeared. + +Immediately after dinner the young couple started off to pay two +ceremonial visits--to Ilarion Kalpinsky and his wife Catherine at +Nyeklyoodovo, and to our old acquaintance Mme. Lupenevsky, who lived +within two _versts_ of the Kalpinskys. Kalpinsky was in his own way a +remarkable man: though he had received no regular education, he was very +intelligent and well-read; his origin was obscure--it was said that he +was of Mordvinian descent--but he had risen to a considerable rank in +the public service, and had made a marriage of interest with the +daughter of a country gentleman of good family. His present pursuit was +farming, and his object to save money. He set up for a freethinker; and +his few neighbours who had heard of Voltaire called him a Voltairian. He +lived at home without taking any part in the life of the family, and +reserved to himself complete freedom in the gratification of his +somewhat Epicurean tastes and habits. Though she had heard of him, Sofya +Nikolayevna had never seen him, because he had only recently removed to +Orenburg from his public office at Petersburg. She was surprised to find +in him a man possessed of intelligence and culture according to the +standards of the time, and dressed like a gentleman living in the +capital. She was pleased with him at first; but he soon began to show +off before such an attractive visitor, and then his profanity and the +shameless immorality of his family life made her feel a disgust for him +which she never afterwards got over. His wife was far more intelligent +than her sister, Mme. Lupenevsky, but not her superior in any other +respect. The visit lasted for an hour, and was followed by a visit to +Mme. Lupenevsky. In both houses tea was given to the guests and +home-made jam, and the meal was seasoned with a kind of conversation +which horrified Sofya Nikolayevna. Both families were invited to dine at +Bagrovo on the following Sunday. By one of those striking +inconsistencies in human nature which it is impossible to explain, Mme. +Lupenevsky fell in love at first sight with Sofya Nikolayevna, and used +such language to her at parting that her guest must needs either blush +or laugh aloud; nevertheless her words were the expression of sincere +and even enthusiastic attachment. + +The pair reached home an hour before supper-time, and were welcomed with +unusual cordiality and pleasure by Stepan Mihailovitch, whom they found +sitting on the familiar stoop. He was much amused when he was told that +Mme. Lupenevsky had conceived such a passion for his daughter-in-law, +kissing her repeatedly, claiming that they were kindred spirits, and +lavishing terms of affection upon her. Contrary to custom, the whole +family went out again to the stoop after supper, and spent a long time +there in cheerful conversation with the master of the household, in the +cool of the night and under the starry sky. Stepan Mihailovitch, though +he could not have explained why, was fond of the faint colourless light +that follows the glow of sunset. + +The solemn feast on the Sunday was to be something beyond what had ever +been seen at Bagrovo, but nothing special happened on either of the +intervening days. Yerlykin came back from Boogoorooslan looking yellow +and ill, as he always did after a drinking-bout. Stepan Mihailovitch +knew of his son-in-law's unfortunate weakness or disease, and tried to +cure him by dosing him with unpalatable drinks, but without success. +When sober, Yerlykin had a loathing for alcohol and could not raise a +glass of wine to his lips without a shudder; but he was seized four +times a year with a sudden and irresistible craving for spirits. If the +attempt was made to keep drink from him, he became a most pitiable and +wretched object, talking constantly and weeping, and begging abjectly +for the poison; and if it was still refused, he became frantic and even +capable of attempts at suicide. Sofya Nikolayevna, who had heard the +whole story, was exceedingly sorry for him. She spoke kindly to him and +tried to make him talk to her. But it was no good: the General persisted +in his sullen silence and gloomy pride. Instead of being grateful to her +sister-in-law, Elizabeth resented these advances to her husband, and +expressed her resentment in bitter terms. But Stepan Mihailovitch +noticed this and addressed a stern reproof to his clever daughter, who +did not love her sister-in-law any the better in consequence. + +Stepan Mihailovitch twice took his daughter-in-law out to see his crops +of rye and spring-sown wheat, and drove with her to all his favourite +water-springs in the hills, and the "Sacred Wood" where the trees had +been protected from the axe by a religious service. The old man believed +that all these sights were interesting and agreeable to her; but in fact +she positively disliked them all. Her sole support was in the thought +that she would soon leave Bagrovo and would do her best never to set +eyes on it again. If any one had told her that she would spend most of +her life there, grow old there, and even die there, she would not have +believed it: she would have said that death was preferable, and would +have meant what she said. But whatever God decrees, to that man can +become accustomed, and that he can endure. + +Sunday came and the guests began to assemble. Mme. Myortvavo came, and +the Kalpinskys and Lupenevskys, and two old bachelors, the judge and the +mayor of Boogoorooslan. Another guest was Afrosinya Andreyevna (her +surname, which was never used, I forget), a spare little old lady and a +great talker; she had a small estate near Bagrovo. She was famous for +her powers of invention, and Stepan Mihailovitch liked at times to +listen to her, as a grown man sometimes listens with pleasure to a fairy +tale intended for children. + +But Afrosinya Andreyevna deserves that the reader should have at least a +bowing acquaintance with her. At one time in her life she had spent ten +years in Petersburg to watch a lawsuit; when she won it, she came back +to her little estate in the country. She brought back with her from +Petersburg a store of anecdotes whose extravagance made Stepan +Mihailovitch laugh till he cried. For instance, she used to represent +herself as a bosom friend of the Empress Catherine, adding by way of +explanation that two people could not live ten years in the same town +without being thrown together. "I was in church one day"--she talked +this way when she was in the vein--"the people were going out, and the +Empress walked past me, and I made a low curtsey and ventured to +congratulate her on the festival; and then Her Majesty was so very kind +and condescending as to say: 'How are you, Afrosinya Andreyevna? How is +your suit going? Why don't you come to see me of an evening and bring +your knitting with you? We could chat together and pass the time +pleasantly.' Of course I never missed an evening after that. I got to +know the people about the court, and every one in the palace without a +single exception knew me and liked me. Suppose a royal footman was sent +anywhere, to buy something it might be, he never failed to look in at my +house and tell me all about it. As a matter of course, I always offered +him a glass of something good; I kept a bottle of whisky in the cupboard +on purpose. I was sitting by my window one evening when I saw a royal +footman in red uniform, with the coat of arms on it, ride past at a +gallop; he was soon followed by a second and a third. That was too much +for me: I threw up the window and called out, 'Philip Petrovitch! Philip +Petrovitch! what are you all galloping for, and why don't you pay me a +visit?' 'No time! Afrosinya Andreyevna!' was his answer; 'a terrible +thing has happened: candles will soon be wanted at the palace, and we've +run out of them!' 'Stop!' I cried out; 'I have 5 lbs. of candles laid +in; you can come in and take them.' Philip Petrovitch was delighted; I +carried out the candles with my own hands and relieved the people from +their difficulty. So you see, _batyushka_ Stepan Mihailovitch, they +simply couldn't help being fond of me." + +Stepan Mihailovitch had many traits of character peculiar to himself; +and this was one--though he was a sworn foe to deliberate lying of every +kind, and detested the most trifling deception and even the kind of +evasion which is sometimes quite excusable, yet he liked listening to +the harmless fabrications and fictions of simple people, who were +innocently carried away by the vividness of their imagination till they +actually came to believe in their own incredible romancing. He liked +talking to Afrosinya Andreyevna, not only at a merry party, but also +when they were alone together, if he was in the right mood for it; and +she spent whole hours in pouring out for his benefit the story of her +life in Petersburg, which consisted entirely of such incidents as that +which I have already quoted. + +But it is time to go back to the guests arriving at Bagrovo. The mayor's +_kaftan_[44] and the judge's uniform were equally remarkable; but the +best sight of all was Kalpinsky: on each side of him stood a female +scarecrow in the person of his wife and of her sister, while he himself +wore an embroidered coat of French cut, a pair of watch-chains, a number +of rings, silk stockings and shoes with gold buckles. All the family +wore their best bib and tucker, and even Stepan Mihailovitch was forced +to smarten himself up. M. Chichagoff, who had a critical, satirical turn +of mind, made fun with much effect of the motley assembly and especially +of his friend Kalpinsky; he was talking all the time to his wife and to +her inseparable companion, Sofya Nikolayevna, who sat together and apart +from the rest. Sofya Nikolayevna had hard work to keep from laughing: +she tried not to listen, and begged Chichagoff either to hold his tongue +or to start a conversation with Stepan Mihailovitch, whom he would find +worthy of respect. He did so, and soon took a great fancy to the old +man; and his feeling was reciprocated. But Stepan Mihailovitch disliked +Kalpinsky, both as an upstart and also as an unbeliever and loose-liver. + + [44] The kaftan is a long cloth coat belted in at the waist. + +The splendour of the banquet may be imagined. Stepan Mihailovitch for +once resigned all his favourite dishes--haggis, roast ribs of pork, and +porridge made of green rye. A _chef_ had been procured, of special skill +in the culinary art. Materials of all sorts were provided in +abundance--a six-weeks-old calf, a pig fed to monstrous proportions, fat +sheep, and poultry of all kinds. It was the custom then to place all the +courses at once on the cloth; and the table at Bagrovo could hardly hold +them all or support their weight. Cold dishes came first--smoked hams +seasoned with garlic; next came green cabbage soup and crayfish soup, +with forcemeat balls and rolls of different kinds; then fish-salad on +ice, sturgeon kippered and sturgeon dried, and a dish heaped +mountain-high with crayfish tails. Of entrees there were only two: +salted quails _aux choux_, and stuffed ducks with a red sauce containing +raisins, plums, peaches, and apricots. These entrees were a concession +to modern fashion; Stepan Mihailovitch did not like them and called them +"kickshaws." They were followed by a turkey of enormous size and +fatness, and a hindquarter of veal; the accessories were preserved +melons and gourds, apple chips, and pickled mushrooms. The dinner ended +up with round jam-tarts and raised apple pies served with thick cream. +All this was washed down with home-made liquors, home-brewed March beer, +iced _kvass_, and foaming mead. + +Such were the meals which our heroic grandfathers and grandmothers +consumed without leaving out a single course, and even managed to digest +satisfactorily! But they took their time over it, and the meal went on +for hours. The dishes were solid, substantial affairs, as we have seen, +and there were plenty of them; and the servants also, both those of the +house and those whom the guests brought with them, had no idea of +waiting: they bustled about and collided with one another and seemed +likely at every moment to spill the sauce or the gravy over some lady's +dress. + +The dinner was a cheerful meal. The master of the house had Mme. +Myortvavo on his right, and on his left Chichagoff, who steadily rose in +his host's good graces and was quite capable, unaided, of enlivening the +dullest of parties. The young couple were near the head of the table, +with Mme. Chichagoff and Kalpinsky; the latter, while paying constant +attentions to the two young women and exchanging an occasional jest with +Alexyei Stepanitch, ate for two all the time, to make up for the +voluntary abstinence which he practised at home, in his eagerness to +save money. Yerlykin sat next to Chichagoff; unlike the rest of the +party, he ate little and drank nothing but cold water; he never spoke, +but looked gloomy and profound. The lady of the house had her daughters +and nieces with other guests near her at table. The party next adjourned +to the drawing-room, where there were two tables set out with +sweetmeats. On one stood a round cabinet of Chinese porcelain resting on +a round metal stand which was gilt and painted in bright colours. The +cabinet contained a number of closely-fitting trays, each of which held +a different sort of preserved fruit--raspberries, strawberries, +cherries, gooseberries, and blackberries; and there were crystallised +rose-petals in a small round receptacle at the top. This cabinet, which +would be considered very rare and precious nowadays, was a present sent +by the bride's father to Stepan Mihailovitch. Small plates were set out +on the other table, filled with black and white currants, apricots, +peaches, dates, raisins, nuts of many kinds, and almonds in the shell. + +Stepan Mihailovitch rose from table in such good spirits that he did not +even wish to lie down and rest. All could see--and indeed he wished it +to be seen--his pride in his daughter-in-law and his affection for her; +and her love and respect for him were as plain to see. During dinner he +often turned towards her and asked her to do him some trifling +service--to hand something, or pour out something. "Please help me +yourself," he would say, "for you and I agree in our tastes"--or, "Just +remind me of what I said to you the other day"--or, "Do repeat what you +told me yesterday; I seem to have forgotten it." After dinner it was the +same: he often asked her to give some order, or to hand him something, +and so on. The form of his address was always plain and unpretentious, +sometimes even unceremonious; but the tone of affection in which these +appeals were expressed left no doubt in the mind of any spectator that +he was entirely captivated by his daughter-in-law. And she, I need +hardly say, replied with love and gratitude to every token of the stern +old man's love for her--tokens often so slight that many would have +missed them. Stepan Mihailovitch, who was thoroughly enjoying himself, +tried to make Mme. Lupenevsky talk: pretending ignorance, he asked in a +loud voice, "Well, Flona, what say you of my daughter-in-law?" The +lady's enthusiasm had been raised to a higher pitch by the ale and +strong waters she had been drinking. She declared most positively and +solemnly that she had fallen in love at first sight with Sofya +Nikolayevna, and rather preferred her to her own daughter, Lizanka; and +that Alexyei Stepanitch was the most fortunate of men. "It used to be +quite another story," said the old man significantly; "don't change back +again, my dear!" But now Sofya Nikolayevna, perhaps from a dislike for +this topic, strongly urged her father-in-law to go and lie down, if only +for a short time. He consented, and she went with him and drew his +curtains with her own hand; he asked her to see to the entertainment of +the party, and she hurried back, pleased and flattered by this +commission. While some lay down to rest, the others crossed to the +island and sat on the river-bank in the shade of the trees. Sofya +Nikolayevna was reminded of the scene that had taken place there so +recently--her unreasonable excitement and the unjust reproaches which +had rankled in the mind of her husband. Her heart was full; and, though +she saw him now, in perfect content and happiness, laughing loudly at a +story which Kalpinsky was telling, she drew him aside, threw her arms +round him, and said with tears in her eyes, "Forgive me, my dear, and +bury in oblivion all that happened here on the day we came!" Alexyei +Stepanitch had a strong objection to tears; but he kissed both her hands +and said good-humouredly, "How can you recall such a trifle, my darling? +You are quite wrong to trouble yourself." Then he hurried back to hear +the end of the story, which was very amusing as Kalpinsky told it. +Though there was really no cause for distress, Sofya Nikolayevna felt a +momentary heartache. + +The master of the house soon woke and summoned all the party to join him +by the stoop. Tables and chairs were placed in the broad thick shadow +cast by the house; and the _samovar_ was soon hissing. Tea was poured +out by Sofya Nikolayevna; there were rolls and scones and cream so thick +that it had a golden tinge on it; and for all this some at least of the +guests still found room. The Kalpinskys and Mme. Lupenevsky went off +after tea: there was positively no room for them to sleep at Bagrovo, +and they had not far to go, only fifteen _versts_. The guests from +Boogoorooslan also took their leave. + +Mme. Myortvavo and her party left early next morning, and the Yerlykins +after dinner, to prepare for a visit from the young couple on their way +back to Ufa. The same evening Stepan Mihailovitch announced quite +frankly that the time had come for the rest of the party to disperse: he +wished to spend the last days alone with his son and daughter-in-law, +and to enjoy their society without interruption. As a matter of course, +his wishes were carried out. Alexandra said "good-bye" to her +sister-in-law as graciously as she could, and the sister-in-law said +"good-bye" to her with unfeigned satisfaction. Her secret wish to spend +some days without the hateful presence of Elizabeth and Alexandra had +been divined by Stepan Mihailovitch; and she blessed him in her thoughts +for his power of intuition. Aksinya was quite different; and Sofya +Nikolayevna parted from her with feelings of gratitude and real +affection. None of this escaped the old man's keen eyes. Tanyusha and +her mother caused no constraint, partly because they were more +good-tempered and friendly to their guest, and also because they often +withdrew and left the others to their own devices. + +The three remaining days were spent at Bagrovo in perfect peace of mind, +untroubled by malevolent observation or pretences of affection or +venomous innuendoes. The strain on Sofya Nikolayevna's nerves was +relaxed, and she was able to take her bearings with less prejudice and +study the peculiarities of the little world in which she found herself. +In spite of their complete unlikeness to herself, she could now +understand her mother-in-law and Tanyusha better, and make allowances +for them; she could form a cooler judgment of Stepan Mihailovitch, and +could understand how her husband came to be what he was. To some extent +she realised that Alexyei could not be entirely changed, and that the +time was distant--perhaps it would never come--when misunderstandings +between them would cease. But this last thought passed too lightly +through her mind; and the old dream, that she could educate her husband +over again and make a new man of him, took fresh hold of her eager +imagination. What happens to most young wives in the course of life was +happening now to Sofya Nikolayevna: she found in her husband a certain +inferiority, certain limitations of feeling and perception; and though +her love for him was none the less passionate on that account, she was +beginning to feel vaguely dissatisfied with his love for her, because he +found room in his heart for other things--the pond and the island, the +steppe and its population of snipe, the river and those horrid fish! A +feeling of jealousy, though directed to no definite object as yet, was +lurking at her heart; and she felt a dim presentiment of coming +disaster. + +Stepan Mihailovitch also had been somewhat taken up hitherto by constant +observation of the feelings and actions of his daughters; but now he was +more at leisure to attend to his daughter-in-law and his son also. For +all his want of education and rough-and-ready way of expressing himself, +his natural sagacity and power of intuition revealed to him the whole +difference of character between the two; and he found here matter for +serious reflexion. Their present love for one another was a pleasant +sight to him, and he felt happy when he saw Sofya Nikolayevna's eyes +constantly fixed on her husband and her eager desire to please him; but +his happiness had a shade of fear and of disbelief in the solidity and +permanence of a state of things in itself so charming. He would have +liked to speak his mind on the subject, to give them some hints or some +useful advice; but, whenever he began, he could not find the right words +for thoughts and feelings which he could not make clear even to himself; +and he went no further than those trivial commonplaces which, for all +their triviality, have been bequeathed to us by the practical wisdom of +past generations and are verified by our own experience. His failure +troubled him, and he said so frankly to his daughter-in-law. She was a +clever woman, yet she failed to understand the thoughts which the old +man was turning over in his brain, and the feeling hidden in his heart. +To his son he said: "Your wife is very clever and very excitable. Her +tongue will probably run away with her at times; if so, don't be weak +with her: stop her at once, and make her see her mistake. Scold her, but +forgive her at once; if she displeases you, don't be sullen or keep up +resentment; have it all out with her at once. But trust her absolutely; +she is as true as steel." Again, when he was alone with Sofya +Nikolayevna, he said to her: "My dear daughter-in-law, God has given you +many good gifts. I have only one thing to say to you: don't give the +reins to your impetuous temper. Your husband is honest and kind; his +temper is mild, and he will never willingly hurt your feelings; don't +you hurt his. Honour him and treat him with respect. If you cease to +respect your husband, things will go wrong. Suppose he says or does +something you don't like, then say nothing; don't be too exacting, and +don't expect perfection. I can see you through and through, and I love +you dearly. For God's sake, don't fill the cup till it runs over: +anything can be overdone, even a wife's devotion to her husband." + +The advice was received as always by his son with profound respect, and +by Sofya Nikolayevna with the ardent gratitude of a daughter. There was +much talk on other subjects--their future life at Ufa, the husband's +prospects in his profession, and the means of defraying their +expenditure. Definite arrangements were made on all points, and all +parties were satisfied. + +And now the day came for their departure. The silk curtains in the +bedroom were taken down; the muslin and satin pillow-cases with broad +lace edging were taken off the pillows; and all this finery was packed +up and dispatched to Ufa. Pies of different kinds were baked for the +travellers. Father Vassili was summoned once more, and the prayers for +those "travelling by land or by water" were said. Fresh horses were to +be in readiness at Korovino, forty _versts_ away; to that point they +were to be taken by the Bagrovo horses, the same fine team of six which +had conveyed the pair on their ceremonial visits. They dined together +for the last time; and for the last time Stepan Mihailovitch pressed his +favourite dishes on his daughter-in-law. The carriage was already +standing at the steps. When the party rose from table, they went to the +drawing-room and sat there in silence for some minutes. Then Stepan +Mihailovitch crossed himself and rose to his feet; the rest followed his +example, said a prayer,[45] and began their good-byes. All shed tears +except Stepan Mihailovitch, and even he had hard work to refrain. He +embraced his daughter-in-law and gave her his blessing; then he +whispered in her ear, "Mind, I look forward to a little grandson." She +blushed up to the ears and kissed his hands without speaking; and now he +did not resist her doing so. All the outdoor servants and most of the +peasants were standing by the steps. Some of them had half a mind to +come forward and say farewell to their young master and mistress; but +Stepan Mihailovitch, who hated good-byes and parting scenes, called out, +"What are you up to there? Make your bow, and that will be enough!" +Sofya Nikolayevna had only time to exchange greetings with one or two of +the people. They took their seats quickly, and the strong horses started +off with the carriage as if it had been a mere feather. Stepan +Mihailovitch shaded his eyes from the sun with his hand; for some +minutes he tried to make out the moving carriage in the cloud of dust +which followed it; and, when it had reached the stackyard at the top of +the hill, he went back to his own room and lay down to sleep. + + [45] In prayers of this kind, nothing is said aloud: the worshipper + turns towards the _ikons_ on the wall and crosses himself. + + + + +FRAGMENT V: LIFE AT UFA + + +During the first few minutes Sofya Nikolayevna felt sorry for her +father-in-law and sad to part with him. The image of the old man who had +learnt to love her and was suffering now from the separation, came +vividly before her. But before long the easy motion of the carriage, +with the fleeting glimpses of fields and coppices and the outline of the +hills along which they were driving, had a soothing effect upon her +mind; and she began to feel heartily glad that she had left Bagrovo. Her +joy was too great to be concealed, though she realised that her husband +would not like it. He, she thought, was sadder than he had any business +to be. Some explanations might possibly have followed, but were +fortunately prevented by the presence of Parasha. The carriage rolled +quickly through the village of Noikino, where it was saluted by hearty +shouts from the Mordvinians, and then crossed the river Nasyagai by a +crazy bridge. They crossed the same river again and passed through the +village of Polibino, and came at last to Korovino, where a fresh team +was waiting for their arrival; their own horses were to rest there for +some hours and return to Bagrovo in the evening. + +Sofya Nikolayevna had provided herself with writing materials, and now +she wrote a warm letter of thanks to her husband's parents. It was +intended especially for Stepan Mihailovitch; and he understood this +perfectly and hid the letter in the secret drawer of the modest +writing-desk which satisfied his needs; and there Sofya Nikolayevna came +upon her own letter unexpectedly eight years afterwards, when the old +man was in his grave. The horses were put to, good-byes were said to the +coachman and postilion--long-legged Tanaichonok was acting as postilion +on this occasion--and the pair resumed their journey. Fortune was kind +at this point to Sofya Nikolayevna: it proved impossible to get to the +Yerlykins' house, and thus she was saved from a most tiresome and +oppressive visit. A deep river on the way had to be crossed, and the +bridge had rotted and collapsed. As it would take a long time to mend +it, the young couple could keep straight on towards Ufa. As they got +near the town, Sofya Nikolayevna could think of nothing but her sick +father, who had not seen her for more than a fortnight; he had been left +in the care of servants and must be feeling lonely and eager for his +daughter's return. The travellers took a full hour to cross the river +Byelaya in a crazy ferry-boat; and the ascent of the steep hill on the +other side took time. Before it was over, Sofya Nikolayevna was very +impatient and in great agitation. At last she got to the house. In a +fever of excitement she hurried to her father's room and softly opened +the door. He was lying in his usual position; and near him, on the very +armchair which was usually occupied by Sofya Nikolayevna herself, his +servant Nikolai was sitting. + +This man was a Kalmuck, and I must tell something of his history. In +those distant times it was a common practice in the district of Ufa to +buy native boys and girls, either Kalmucks or Kirghizes, from their +parents or relations, and to make use of them later as serfs. Forty +years before the date of my story, M. Zubin had bought two Kalmuck boys. +He had them baptized, became fond of them, and made pets of them. He had +them taught to read and write; and, when they grew up, they became his +personal servants. Both of them were intelligent and neat-handed and +appeared to be very devoted; but, when Pugatchoff[46] raised the +standard of revolt, they both ran off and joined the rebels. One of them +soon lost his life; but the other, who had been his master's favourite +and was called Nikolai, now became the favourite of one Chika, who was +prominent among the rebels and stood high in the favour of Pugatchoff +himself. It is well known that one band of the revolters was encamped +for a long time near Ufa, on the opposite bank of the river Byelaya. +Nikolai was in this camp and had by this time been promoted to a +position of some authority. It was said that he was fiercer than any of +them and breathed fire and slaughter against no one so much as his old +master who had brought him up. Tradition tells that, whenever the rebels +were preparing to cross the river and fall upon the defenceless town, +they saw a great army march out to defend the heights on the opposite +bank, and an ancient warrior at their head, riding on a snow-white +horse, and holding a spear in one hand and a Cross in the other. The +cowardly band of outlaws were terrified by this vision and desisted from +all their attempts; and they had done nothing when the news came that +Pugatchoff was defeated. Of course they scattered at once. The revolt +came to an end, and the scattered rabble were seized and brought to +trial. Nikolai, who was one of these, was condemned to the gallows. I +cannot vouch for the truth of this; but I have been assured that, after +his trial at Ufa, the noose was actually round his neck, when M. Zubin +claimed the privilege which he possessed as a landholder, pardoned his +old favourite, and took him home, undertaking to be responsible himself +for the criminal's behaviour. Nikolai seemed penitent and tried by zeal +and devotion to atone for his crime. By degrees he contrived to get back +into his master's confidence; and, when Sofya Nikolayevna, after her +stepmother's death, took over the management of the household, she found +Nikolai established as butler; he had been a favourite with her +stepmother, and this now became a passport to her father's goodwill. +Nikolai had been guilty of much insolence to his young mistress during +her time of humiliation; but he was a very cunning fellow and quite +realised his present position. He played the part of the repentant +sinner, throwing all the guilt on the stepmother, and blaming himself +for the slavish spirit in which he had carried out her orders. It would +have been quite easy for Sofya Nikolayevna to get rid of him for good +and all; but her youth and generous nature made her believe that his +repentance was genuine. She pardoned him, and actually begged her father +to leave him in his old position. As time went on, she was sometimes +vexed by the way in which he settled things without consulting her, and +she felt doubts about his honesty. She noticed also that his intimacy +with her father, though concealed from her, was closer than she liked. +But he was very zealous in his attendance upon his sick master, sleeping +always in the same room, and also found time to do his work as butler +exceedingly well. She was therefore content with mild reproofs, and the +man was left free to take root at leisure in his double office. When she +became engaged, she had to see herself to the buying of her +wedding-clothes and to spend much time with her future husband; and so +she was less with her father and gave less attention to household +affairs. Nikolai took full advantage of this opportunity, and his power +over the old invalid increased daily. Hoping soon to get rid of his +mistress and to become master of the house himself, he grew more +insolent and less careful to conceal his power. Sofya Nikolayevna +sometimes snubbed him sharply; she was grieved to see her father's +increasing dependence on this man and abdication of his own authority. + + [46] See note to p. 67 (Transcriber: note 33). + +Nikolai had made full use of the few days that preceded and followed the +marriage, and of her absence for a fortnight at Bagrovo: his master, now +at death's door, was completely under his control. Sofya Nikolayevna +guessed the true state of affairs as soon as she saw the man lying +asleep in the armchair; never before had he ventured on such a liberty. +She gave him a look which sent him in some haste and confusion out of +the room. Her father was by no means as pleased to see her as she +expected; he made haste to tell her that Nikolai was not to blame: "It +is at my urgent wish," he said, "that he sometimes takes a seat at my +bedside." "It is a pity you do that, father," she said; "you will spoil +him altogether and be forced to turn him off; I know him better than you +do." Then, without entering upon further explanations, she expressed her +joy at having found him no worse. Alexyei Stepanitch soon came in, and +then the old man, touched by his daughter's unfeigned tenderness, his +son-in-law's attentive behaviour, and the love between husband and wife, +listened with pleasure to their narrative and thanked God with tears for +their happiness. + +Sofya Nikolayevna began at once the business of instalment. She chose +three rooms, quite separate from the rest, for their own occupation; and +in a few days her arrangements were so complete that she could receive +her own guests without any disturbance to her father. It was her +intention to arrange as before about the management of the house and the +attendance on her father, and to assign to Nikolai the subordinate part +of carrying out her instructions; but the man had always hated her, and +now felt himself strong enough to declare open war against his young +mistress. While attending to the father more zealously than ever, he +contrived with extraordinary cunning to insult the daughter at every +turn; and to Alexyei Stepanitch he was so insolent that the young man +lost patience, in spite of his easy and unexacting temper, and told his +wife that he could not possibly put up with the position. For some time +Sofya Nikolayevna did not trouble her father, hoping by her own +influence to keep Nikolai within the bounds of reasonable politeness; +she relied upon his intelligence, and also believed that he knew her +determined character and would not venture to drive her to extremities. +But the malicious Asiatic--this was the servants' name for him--was +convinced beforehand that he would conquer, and tried to provoke Sofya +Nikolayevna into some passionate outburst. Long ago he had been able to +instill into his master the belief that the young lady could not endure +her father's faithful servant and would certainly try to turn him out of +the house. The invalid was horrified by this prospect, and solemnly +declared that he would prefer death to such a deprivation. Sofya +Nikolayevna tried to hint to her father in very gentle and affectionate +terms that Nikolai forgot himself in his behaviour to her husband and +neglected to carry out her orders; it seemed to be his intention to +provoke her to anger. But her father became agitated and refused to +listen: he said that he was perfectly satisfied with Nikolai, and begged +her not to trouble the butler but to give her orders to some other +servant. Young and impulsive, and accustomed to undisputed authority in +her father's house, Sofya Nikolayevna found it hard to endure the +insulting behaviour of an unworthy menial; yet her love for her father, +and her desire to nurse and comfort him and alleviate his sufferings as +far as possible, kept her for long from the idea of leaving him in that +dying state to depend entirely upon such a wretch as Nikolai and other +servants. She controlled her impulsiveness and injured pride; she gave +her household orders through one of the other servants, knowing all the +time that all her instructions were altered by her enemy at his will and +pleasure. She induced her father to order that Nikolai should not enter +the sick-room while she was sitting there. But this arrangement soon +broke down: under various pretexts, the man constantly came into the +room; and indeed the invalid himself constantly asked for him. This +painful situation continued for several months. + +Sofya Nikolayevna arranged her engagements in the town in accordance +with her own wishes. The people whom she liked she often met, either in +their houses or her own; the rest she seldom saw, and was content to +exchange formal calls with them. Her husband was acquainted already with +everybody in the town; but his wife's intimate friends now became +intimate with him. He became popular with them and got on very well in +his new position--I mean, in the select society that gathered round his +wife. + +Meanwhile, soon after her return to Ufa, Sofya Nikolayevna began to feel +unpleasant symptoms of a peculiar kind, which gave great satisfaction to +Stepan Mihailovitch when he heard of them. The continuation of his +ancient line, the descendants of the great Shimon, was a constant theme +of the old man's thoughts and wishes; it troubled his peace of mind and +stuck in his head like a nail. On receiving the good news from his son, +Stepan Mihailovitch was full of happy hopes and convinced that the child +would infallibly be a boy. His family always said that his spirits were +unusually high at this time. He had prayers said in church for his +daughter-in-law's health, forgave certain sums owed him by neighbours or +dependants, asked every one to congratulate him, and made them drink +till they were dizzy. + +In his excitement and joy, it occurred to him suddenly to bestow a mark +of his favour upon Aksyutka, the maid who poured out tea and coffee, to +whom he always showed an unaccountable partiality. Aksyutka was a +peasant's daughter who had lost both parents and was brought to the +house at Bagrovo when she was seven years old, merely to save her from +starvation. She was exceedingly ugly--red-haired and freckled, with eyes +of no colour in particular; she was also bad-tempered and a horrible +sloven. This does not sound attractive; but Stepan Mihailovitch took a +great fancy to her, and never did dinner pass without his giving or +sending to the child something taken from the dishes at table. When she +grew up, he made her pour out his tea in the morning and talked to her +for hours at a time. She was now a good deal over thirty. One morning, +soon after the good news came from Ufa, Stepan Mihailovitch said to her: +"What makes you go about looking like a scarecrow? Be off, you stupid +creature, and put on your best clothes that you wear on holidays. I mean +to find you a husband." Aksyutka grinned: she thought her master was not +serious, and answered: "Why, who would marry an orphan like me, except +perhaps Kirsanka, the shepherd?" (Kirsanka, as every one knew, was +deformed and idiotic.) Stepan Mihailovitch seemed vexed; he went on, "If +I arrange the marriage, you can have your pick of the young men. Go and +dress yourself, and come back at once." Aksyutka went out surprised and +delighted; and Stepan Mihailovitch summoned Little Ivan to his presence. +We have heard something of this man already; he was now twenty-four +years old, with a complexion of lilies and roses, a very fine young +fellow, both tall and stout. At the time of Pugatchoff's revolt, when +the master himself took refuge with his family at Astrakhan, Ivan's +father had been left in charge of the serfs at Bagrovo; and it was +generally supposed that his death was due to overwork and anxiety at +that time. He left two sons, both called Ivan, and this one was known as +Little Ivan, to distinguish him from his elder brother, who inherited +his father's nickname of Weasel. Little Ivan appeared before his master, +"like a leaf before the grass."[47] Stepan Mihailovitch looked at him +with admiration, and then said in a voice so kind that the lad's heart +leaped for joy, "Ivan, I mean to give you a wife." "Your will is law, +_batyushka_ Stepan Mihailovitch," answered the man, devoted body and +soul to his master. "Well, go and dress yourself in your best, and come +back to me in less than no time." Ivan flew off to do his master's +bidding. Aksyutka was the first to reappear; she had smoothed her red +hair and greased it with oil, and put on her smartest jacket and skirt, +and her bare feet were hidden in shoes; but alas! she was no more +beautiful than before. She was much excited, and her mouth was +constantly expanding into a broad grin, which she tried to hide with her +hand, because she felt ashamed of it. Stepan Mihailovitch laughed: "Oh, +she's willing enough to take a husband," he said. Back flew Ivan; but +the sight of Aksyutka's ugly face and fine dress sent a cold shiver down +his back. "There is your bride," said Stepan Mihailovitch; "she is a +good servant to me as your father was once. You may both count on my +protection." His wife now came in, and he turned to her and said: +"Arisha, the bride's clothes are all to be made out of our stuff; I +shall give her a cow and provide everything to eat and drink at the +wedding." No one raised any objections, and the marriage took place. +Aksyutka was charmed with her handsome husband, but he detested his +repulsive wife, who was ten years older than him to boot. She was +jealous of him all day long, and not without reason; and he beat her all +day long, with some excuse on his side also; for nothing but the +stick--and not even that for long--could shut her mouth and keep her +wicked tongue from wagging. It was a pity, a great pity: Stepan +Mihailovitch did a wrong thing when he made others sad because he was +happy. + + [47] _I.e._ "instantly," though why the phrase means this I cannot + discover. In Russian fairy-tales, a witch regularly summons any one + she wants with the words, "Stand thou before me, like a leaf before + the grass!" + +Of his happiness I judge partly by tradition but more from a letter +which he wrote to Sofya Nikolayevna and which I have seen myself. We +have seen that he was capable of strong and deep affection; yet it is +hard to believe that a man with so little refinement of manner could +give verbal expression to such tender and delicate solicitude as +breathed through the whole of this letter. He begged her and commanded +her to be careful of her health, and sent her much advice on the +subject. Unfortunately, I can only remember a few words of it: "If you +were living in my house"--this was one thing the old man said--"I would +not suffer the wind to blow on you or a grain of dust to settle on your +skin." + +Sofya Nikolayevna was able to appreciate this affection, though she +understood that half of it was intended for the expected heir; and she +promised to carry out scrupulously his wishes and instructions. But it +was hard for her to keep this promise. She was one of those women who +pay for the joy of motherhood by a constant discomfort which is more +painful and distressing than any real illness; and she suffered in mind +also, because her relations with her father became daily more +humiliating and the insolence of Nikolai more unbearable. Alexyei +Stepanitch, who saw no danger in his wife's constant sufferings, and was +told that the symptoms were quite natural and would soon pass away, +though he was sorry for his wife, was not excessively put out; and this +was another cause of distress to Sofya Nikolayevna. He worked hard at +his duties in the law-court, hoping soon to be promoted. He had become +accustomed to living with his father-in-law; he avoided for the present +all contact with Nikolai, and looked forward without impatience to a +change in their position. His wife did not like this either. Things +dragged on like this, as I have said already, for several months, and it +was not a happy time for any of them. + +But Nikolai was not satisfied with this state of things: he desired a +final solution. Seeing that Sofya Nikolayevna was controlling her quick +temper and righteous indignation, he determined to force her hand. It +was necessary for his purpose that she should lose patience and complain +to her father; and he warned the invalid more than once that he was +constantly expecting Sofya Nikolayevna to complain of him and demand his +instant dismissal. He did not wait for any pretext or opportunity. One +day, in the presence of other servants, when his young mistress was +standing close to him at the open door of the next room, he began, +speaking loud and looking straight at her, to use such offensive +language of herself and her husband that Sofya Nikolayevna was struck +dumb for a moment by his insolence. But she recovered immediately, and +without a word to him rushed to her father's room, where, choking with +wrath and excitement, she repeated the insulting words which had been +said almost to her face by his favourite. Nikolai came in at her heels +and would not let her finish her story. Feigning tears and crossing +himself, he solemnly swore, that it was mere slander, that he had never +said anything of the sort, and that it was wicked of Sofya Nikolayevna +to ruin an innocent man! "You hear what he says, Sonitchka," said the +invalid in a peevish voice. This was too much for Sofya Nikolayevna: +stung to the quick, she forgot her magnanimous self-restraint and forgot +also that she might kill her father with fright. She raised her voice +with such effect that the favourite was forced to leave the room. Then +she said to her father: "After this insult I cannot live under the same +roof with Nikolai: you must choose which of us is to go, he or I!"--and +then she rushed wildly from the room. The old man had a seizure, and +Nikolai hastened to his aid. The usual remedies were applied with +success, and then master and man had a long conversation, after which +Sofya Nikolayevna was summoned to the room. "Sonitchka," he said, with +all the firmness and calmness he could muster, "my weak and suffering +state makes it impossible for me to part with Nikolai; my life depends +on him. You must buy another house; here is money for the purpose." +Sofya Nikolayevna fell fainting to the ground and was carried back to +her own room. + +To this had come the tender tie of affection between parent and child, a +tie which should surely have been made doubly strong by the temporary +coolness due to the stepmother, and then by the father's penitence and +the daughter's devotion and forgetfulness of all her wrongs. And then, +when she married, she had chosen her husband with this in view, and had +stipulated that she should not be parted from her father! And now they +were to part at a time when the doctors declared he would not live +another month! But in this forecast the doctors were mistaken, just as +they often are nowadays: he lived on for more than a year. + +When Sofya Nikolayevna recovered from her swoon and her eyes fell on the +pale anxious face of Alexyei Stepanitch, she realised that there was one +creature on earth who loved her: she threw her arms round her husband, +and floods of tears gave relief to her heart. She told him all that had +passed between her and her father. The narrative revived the smart of +her wounded feelings, and brought out more clearly the difficulty of her +position; and she would have despaired, but for the support of her kind +husband. Though weaker in character and less far-sighted than she was, +he never ran into extremes and never lost presence of mind and power of +judgment in the trying hours of life. It may seem strange that Alexyei +Stepanitch could give moral support to Sofya Nikolayevna; but, for all +her exceptional intelligence and apparent strength of will, the effect +of a sudden shock to her feelings was to make her lose courage and +become utterly bewildered. As an honest chronicler of oral tradition, I +am bound to add that she was too sensitive to the opinion of society and +paid it too much deference, in spite of her own superiority to the +people among whom she lived. What would be said by people at Ufa, and +especially by the ladies who took the lead in society there? What would +be thought by her husband's family? What, above all, would be said by +Stepan Mihailovitch when he heard that she had left her father? As she +asked herself these questions, the injury to her pride gave her as much +pain as the wound to her feelings as a daughter. To her it seemed +equally terrible that her father should be blamed for ingratitude to his +daughter, or that she should be blamed for failing in affection to a +dying father. One or other alternative was bound to be chosen; and +either he or she was bound to be condemned. + +Alexyei Stepanitch felt deep pity for her as he watched these +sufferings, and he felt puzzled also. It was no easy task to administer +consolation to Sofya Nikolayevna: her eager fancy painted appalling +pictures of disaster, and her ready tongue gave them lively expression. +She was prepared to brush aside every attempt to find an issue from the +situation, and to trample on every suggestion of a settlement. But +Alexyei Stepanitch had love to teach him, and also that sanity and +simplicity of mind which was wanting in his wife. He waited till the +first irrepressible outburst was over, the first outcry of the wounded +heart; and then he began to speak. The words were very ordinary, but +they came from a kind, simple heart; and if they did not calm Sofya +Nikolayevna, they did at least by degrees make it possible for her to +understand what was said. He told her that she had always done her duty +as a loving daughter, and that she must continue to do it by falling in +with her father's wishes. It was probably no sudden decision: her father +might have wished for a long time that they should live apart. For a +sick and dying man it was difficult or even impossible to part from the +regular attendant who nursed him so faithfully. Stepan Mihailovitch must +be told the whole truth; but to acquaintances it would be enough to say +that her father had always intended to set up the young couple in a +house of their own during his lifetime. She would be able to visit her +father twice a day and attend to him almost as much as before. Of course +people in the town would find out in time the real reason of the +separation--they had probably some idea already of the facts--but they +would only pity her and abuse Nikolai. "Besides," he added, "though your +father talked like that, when it comes to acting, he may shrink from the +separation. Talk it over with him, and lay all your case before him." +Sofya Nikolayevna made no reply: during a long silence her eyes rested +with a curious, puzzled gaze on her husband. The truth of his simple +words and his plain way of looking at things--these breathed peace and +comfort into her heart. His plan seemed to her new and ingenious, and +she wondered she had never thought of it herself. With a heart full of +love and gratitude she embraced her husband. + +So it was settled that Sofya Nikolayevna should appeal to her father to +alter his decision and let them stay on in the house, at all events +until she had entirely recovered from her confinement; their household +arrangements would be quite separate, and all collisions with Nikolai +would be avoided. In favour of this suggestion, there was one very +pressing argument--that, while it was bad for Sofya Nikolayevna in her +present condition to be jolted over the ill-paved streets of the town, +no risk to herself would prevent her from paying a daily visit to her +father. But the explanation with her father was unsuccessful. The old +man told her calmly but firmly that his decision had been carefully +considered and was no impulse of the moment. "My dear Sonitchka," he +said, "I knew beforehand that after your marriage you could not live +under the same roof as Nikolai. You are not able to judge him coolly, +and I don't blame you for it: he sinned deeply against you in old days, +and, though you forgave him, you were unable to forget his conduct. I +know that he does not behave properly to you even now; but you take an +exaggerated view of it all." At this point Sofya Nikolayevna tried to +break in, but he stopped her and said: "Wait and hear to the end what I +have to say. Let us suppose that he is as guilty as you take him to be: +that makes it all the more impossible for you to live in the same house +with him; but I cannot face parting from him. Have pity on my helpless +and suffering condition. I am no longer a man, but a lifeless corpse; +you know that Nikolai has to move me in bed ten times a day; no one can +take his place. All I ask is peace of mind. Death is hovering over me, +and every moment I must prepare for the change to eternity. I was +constantly made wretched by the thought that Nikolai was giving offence +to you. Our parting is inevitable; go, my dear, and live in a house of +your own. When you come to visit me you shall not see the object of your +dislike: he will be only too glad to keep out of the way. He has gained +his object and got you out of the house, and now he will be able to rob +me at his leisure. I know and see it all, but I forgive him everything +for his unwearied nursing of me day and night. What he undergoes in his +attendance on me is beyond the power of human endurance. Do not distress +me, but take the money and buy a house for yourselves." + +I shall not describe all the phases through which Sofya Nikolayevna +passed--her doubts and hesitations, her mental conflicts, her tears and +sufferings, her ups and downs of feeling from day to day. It is enough +to say that the money was accepted and the house bought, and husband and +wife were settled there before a fortnight had passed. The little house +was new and clean, and had never been occupied before. Sofya Nikolayevna +began with her usual ardour to put her house in order and to settle the +course of their daily life; but her health, much affected by her +condition, and still more by all the agitation she had gone through, +soon broke down altogether. She was confined to bed for a fortnight, and +did not see her father for a whole month. Their first interview was a +touching and pitiful sight. He had grown much weaker; missing his +daughter and blaming himself for her illness, he had suffered much by +her absence. Their meeting gave happiness to both, but it cost them +tears. He was especially grieved to see her so terribly thin and so +altered in looks; but this was due, not so much to grief and illness as +to her condition. The features of some women look different and even +ugly during pregnancy; and Sofya Nikolayevna was a case in point. In +course of time things settled down and her relations with her father +became easy; Nikolai never ventured to appear when she was present. +There was just one person who could not reconcile himself to the thought +that she had left a dying father to settle in a house of her own; and +that was Stepan Mihailovitch. She quite anticipated this, and wrote him +a very frank letter just before she was taken ill, in which she tried to +explain her father's action and defend it as far as possible. She might +have saved herself the trouble, for Stepan Mihailovitch blamed her and +not her father, and said that it was her duty to bear without a sign of +displeasure all the misconduct of "that scoundrel" Nikolai. He wrote to +his son to reprove him for allowing his wife to abandon her father to +the hands of servants. But Stepan Mihailovitch did not realise, either +that the separation was necessary to preserve the peace of a dying man, +or that a wife could act without the permission of her husband. In the +present case, however, husband and wife were entirely of one mind. + +To put the finishing touches to the new house and modest household +arrangements, Sofya Nikolayevna called in the assistance of a widow whom +she knew, who lived in a humble position at Ufa. This was Mme. +Cheprunoff, a very simple and kind-hearted creature. She owned a little +house in the suburbs, and a small but productive garden, which brought +her in a trifle. She had other means of maintaining herself and her +adored only child, a little one-eyed boy called Andrusha: she hawked +about small wares of different kinds, and even sold cakes in the market. +But her chief source of income was the sale of Bokhara muslin, which she +went to Orenburg every year to buy. Sofya Nikolayevna was related +through her mother to this woman; but she had the weakness to conceal +the relationship, though every one in the town knew it. Mme. Cheprunoff +was devoted to her brilliant and distinguished kinswoman. She used to +pay secret visits to Sofya Nikolayevna during the time when she was +persecuted and humiliated by her stepmother; and Sofya Nikolayevna, when +her time of triumph and influence came, became the avowed benefactress +of Mme. Cheprunoff. When they were alone together, Sofya Nikolayevna +lavished caresses upon her unselfish and devoted kinswoman; but, when +other people were present, the one was the great lady and the other the +poor _protegee_ who sold cakes in the streets. This treatment did not +offend Mme. Cheprunoff: on the contrary, she insisted on it. She loved +and admired her beautiful cousin with all her heart, and looked on her +as a superior being, and would never have forgiven herself if she had +thrown a shadow on the brilliant position of Sofya Nikolayevna. The +secret was revealed, as it had to be, to Alexyei Stepanitch; and he, in +spite of the ancient lineage which his sisters were always dinning into +his ears, received this humble friend as his wife's worthy kinswoman, +and treated her with affection and respect all his life; he even tried +to kiss the work-worn hand of the cake-seller, but she would never allow +it. He was only prevented by his wife's earnest entreaties from speaking +of this relationship in his own family and in the circle of their +acquaintance. This conduct earned him the love of the simple-minded +woman; and whenever there were differences in the household in later +years, she was his ardent champion and defender. She knew all the shops +and was a great hand at a bargain; and so, with her help, Sofya +Nikolayevna did her furnishing quickly and well. + +When the young Bagroffs bought a house and started housekeeping by +themselves, there was much talk and gossip in the town; and at first +many exaggerations and inventions were current. But Alexyei Stepanitch +had spoken the truth: the real reason came out before long. This was due +chiefly to Nikolai, who boasted among his friends that he had ousted the +pettish young lady, and took the opportunity to give a lively +description of her character. So the talk and gossip soon quieted down. + +Husband and wife had at last a house entirely to themselves. In the +morning, Alexyei Stepanitch drove down to his work at the law-courts, +dropping his wife at her father's house; and on his return he spent some +time every day with his father-in-law, before taking his wife home. A +modest dinner awaited them there. To sit alone together, at a meal of +their own ordering, in their own house, was a charming sensation for a +time; but nothing is a novelty for long, and this charm could not last +for ever. In spite of her bad health and small means, Sofya +Nikolayevna's clever hands made her little house as dainty as a toy. +Taste and care are a substitute for money; and many of their visitors +thought the furnishing splendid. The hardest problem was to arrange +about their servants. Sofya Nikolayevna had brought two servants as part +of her portion--a man named Theodore and a black-eyed maid called +Parasha; these two were now married to one another; and at the same time +Annushka, a young laundress belonging to Sofya Nikolayevna, was married +to Yephrem Yevseitch, a young servant who had been brought from Bagrovo. +This man was honest and good-natured and much attached to his young +mistress, which cannot be said of the other servants. She returned his +affection, and he well deserved it: he was one in a thousand, and his +devotion to her was proved by his whole life. + +Yevseitch (as he was always called in the family) became later the +attendant of her eldest son,[48] and watched over him like a father. I +knew this worthy man well. Fifteen years ago I saw him for the last +time; he was then blind and spending his last days in the Government of +Penza on an estate belonging to one of the grandsons of Stepan +Mihailovitch. I spent a whole month there in the summer; and every +morning I went to fish in a pool where the stream of Kakarma falls into +the river Niza. The cottage where Yevseitch was living stood right on +the bank of this pool; and every day as I came up I saw him leaning +against the angle of the cottage and facing the rising sun. He was bent +and decrepit, and his hair had turned perfectly white; pressing a long +staff to his breast, he leaned upon it with the knotted fingers of both +hands, and turned his sightless eyes towards the sun's rays. Though he +could not see the light, he could feel its warmth, so pleasant in the +fresh morning air, and his face expressed both pleasure and sadness. His +ear was so quick that he heard my step at some distance, and he always +hailed me as an old fisherman might hail a schoolboy, though I was then +myself over fifty years old. "Ah, it's you, my little falcon!"--he used +to call me this when I was a child--"you're late this morning! God send +you a full basket!" He died two years later in the arms of his son and +daughter and his wife, who survived him several years. + + [48] _I.e._ the Author. + +Meantime life at Ufa took a very regular and unvarying course. Owing to +her state of health and spirits, Sofya Nikolayevna paid few visits and +only to intimate friends, whose small number was made smaller by the +absence of the Chichagoffs. Autumn was nearly over before those dearest +of friends returned from the country with Mme. Myortvavo. The disordered +nerves and consequent low spirits of his wife were at first a source of +great uneasiness to Alexyei Stepanitch. He was completely puzzled: he +had never in his life met people who were ill without anything definite +the matter, or sad with no cause for sadness; he could make nothing of +illness due to some inexplicable grief, or grief due to some imaginary +or imperceptible illness. But he saw that there was no serious danger, +and his anxiety calmed down by degrees. He was convinced that it was all +the effect of imagination, which had always been his way of accounting +for his wife's moods of excitement and distress, whenever he found it +impossible to arrive at any reason within his comprehension. If he +ceased to be uneasy, he began to be rather bored at times; and this was +very natural, in spite of his love for his wife and pity for her +constant suffering. To listen for whole hours every day to constant +complaints about her condition, which was not after all so very +exceptional; to hear gloomy presentiments, or even prophecies, of the +fatal results which were sure to follow (and Sofya Nikolayevna, thanks +to her reading of medical works, was extraordinarily ingenious in +discovering ominous symptoms); to endure her reproaches and constant +demands for those trifling services which a man can seldom render--all +this was wearisome enough. Sofya Nikolayevna saw what he felt, and was +deeply hurt. If she had found him in general incapable of deep feeling +and strong passion, she would have reconciled herself sooner to her +situation. She used often to say herself, "A man cannot give you what he +has not got"; and she would have recognised the truth of the saying and +submitted to her fate. But the misfortune was that she remembered the +depth and ardour of her husband's passion in the days of his courtship, +and believed that he might have continued to love her in the same +fashion, had not something occurred to cool his feelings. This unlucky +notion by degrees took hold of her imagination, and her ingenuity soon +discovered many reasons to account for this coolness and much evidence +of its truth. As to reasons--there was the hostile influence of his +family, her own ill-health, and, worst of all, her loss of beauty; for +her looking-glass forced upon her the sad change in her appearance. Her +proofs were these--that her husband was not disquieted by her danger, +took insufficient notice of her condition, did not try to cheer and +interest her, and, above all, found more pleasure in talking to other +women. And then a passion, which hitherto had lurked unrecognised, the +torturing passion of jealousy, as keen-sighted as it is blind, flashed +up like gunpowder in her heart. Every day there were scenes--tears and +reproaches, quarrels and reconciliations. And all the time Alexyei +Stepanitch was entirely innocent. To the insinuations of his sisters he +paid no attention at all; to his father's opinion he attached great +importance, and that was so favourable to Sofya Nikolayevna that she had +even risen in her husband's eyes in consequence. He was sincerely, if +not deeply, distressed about her sufferings; and her loss of beauty he +regarded as temporary, and looked forward with pleasure to the time when +his young wife would get back her good looks. Though the sight of her +suffering distressed him, he could not sympathise with all her +presentiments and prognostications which he believed to be quite +imaginary. He was incapable, as most men would be, of paying her the +sort of attention she expected. It was really a ticklish business to +administer consolation to Sofya Nikolayevna in her present condition: +you were quite likely to put your foot in it and make matters worse; it +required much tact and dexterity, and these were qualities which her +husband did not possess. If he found more pleasure in talking to other +women, it was probably because he was not afraid that some casual remark +might cause annoyance and irritation. + +But Sofya Nikolayevna could not look at the matter in this light. Her +view of it was dictated by her nature, whose fine qualities were apt to +run to extremes. But what was to be done, if the nerves of one were +tough and strong and those of the other sensitive and morbid, if hers +were jarred by what had no effect upon his? The Chichagoffs alone +understood the causes of this uncomfortable situation; and, though they +received no confidences from either husband or wife, they took a warm +interest in both and did much to calm Sofya Nikolayevna's excitement by +their friendship, their frequent visits, and their rational and sensible +conversation. Both husband and wife owed much to them at this period. + +So things went on till the time that Sofya Nikolayevna became a mother. +Though she was often troubled in mind, her health improved during the +last two months, and she was safely delivered of a daughter. She +herself, and her husband still more, would have preferred a son; but, +when the mother pressed the child to her heart, she thought no more of +any distinction between boy and girl. A passion of maternal love filled +her heart and mind and whole being. Alexyei Stepanitch thanked God for +his wife's safety, rejoiced at her relief, and soon reconciled himself +to the fact that his child was a girl. + +But at Bagrovo it was quite another story! Stepan Mihailovitch was so +confident that he was to have a grandson to carry on the line of the +Bagroffs, that he would not believe at first in the birth of a +grand-daughter. When at last he read through his son's letter with his +own eyes and was convinced that there was no doubt about it, he was +seriously annoyed. He put off the entertainment planned for his +labourers, and refused to write himself to the parents; he would only +send a message of congratulation to the young mother, with instructions +that the infant was to be christened Praskovya, in compliment to his +cousin and favourite, Praskovya Ivanovna Kurolyessova. His vexation over +this disappointment was a touching and amusing sight. Even his womankind +derived a little secret amusement from it. His good sense told him that +he had no business to be angry with any one, but for a few days he could +not control his feelings--so hard was it for him to give up the hope, or +rather the certainty, that a grandson would be born, to continue the +famous line of Shimon. In the expectation of the happy news, he had kept +his family tree on his bed, ready any day to enter his grandson's name; +but now he ordered this document to be hidden out of sight. He would not +allow his daughter Aksinya to travel to Ufa in order to stand godmother +to the babe; he said impatiently, "Take that journey for a girl's +christening? Nonsense! If she brings a girl every year, you would have +travelling enough!" Time did its work, however, and the frown, never a +formidable frown this time, vanished from the brow of Stepan +Mihailovitch, as he consoled himself with the thought that he might have +a grandson before a year was out. Then he wrote a kind and playful +letter to his daughter-in-law, pretending to scold her for her mistake +and bidding her present him with a grandson within a twelvemonth. + +Sofya Nikolayevna was so entirely absorbed by the revelation of +maternity and by devotion to her child, that she did not even notice the +signs of the old man's displeasure, and was quite unaffected by +Aksinya's absence from the christening. It proved difficult to keep her +in bed for nine days after her confinement. She felt so well and strong +that she could have danced on the fourth day. But she had no wish to +dance; she wanted to be on her feet day and night, attending to her +little Parasha. The infant was feeble and sickly; the mother's constant +distress of body and mind had probably affected the child. The doctor +would not allow her to nurse the child herself. Andrei Avenarius was the +name of this doctor; he was a very clever, cultivated, and amiable man, +an intimate friend of the young people and a daily visitor at their +house. As soon as possible Sofya Nikolayevna took her baby to her +father's house, hoping that it would please the invalid to see this +mite, and that he would find in it a resemblance to his first wife. This +resemblance was probably imaginary; for, in my opinion, it is impossible +for an infant to be like a grown-up person; but Sofya Nikolayevna never +failed to assert that her first child was the very image of its +grandmother. Old M. Zubin was approaching the end of his earthly career; +both body and mind were breaking fast. He looked at the baby with little +interest, and had hardly strength to sign it with the Cross. All he said +was, "I congratulate you, Sonitchka." Sofya Nikolayevna was distressed +by her father's critical condition--it was more than a month since she +had seen him--and also by his indifference to her little angel, Parasha. + +But soon the young mother forgot all the world around her, as she hung +over her daughter's cradle. All other interests and attachments grew +pale in comparison, and she surrendered herself with a kind of frenzy to +this new sensation. No hands but hers might touch the child. She handed +it herself to the foster-mother and held it at the breast, and it was +pain to her to watch it drawing life, not from its mother, but from a +stranger. It is hard to believe, but it is true, and Sofya Nikolayevna +admitted it herself later, that, if the child sucked too long, she used +to take it away before it was satisfied, and rock it herself in her arms +or in the cradle, and sing it to sleep. She saw nothing of her friends, +not even of her dear Mme. Chichagoff. Naturally they all thought her +eccentric or absurd and her chief intimates were vexed by her conduct. +She paid a hasty visit every day to her father, and returned every day +with fear in her heart that she would find the child ill. She left her +husband perfectly free to spend his time as he liked. For some days he +stopped at home; but his wife never stirred from the cradle and took no +notice of him, except to turn him out of the little nursery, because she +feared that twice-breathed air might hurt the baby. After this, he began +to go out alone, till at last he went to some party every day; and he +began to play cards to relieve his boredom. The Ufa ladies were amused +at the sight of the deserted husband, and some of them flirted with him, +saying that it was a charity to console the widower, and that Sofya +Nikolayevna would thank them for it when she recovered from her maternal +passion and reappeared in society. Sofya Nikolayevna did not hear of +these good Samaritans till later; when she did, she was vexed. Mme. +Cheprunoff, who came often to the house, watched Sofya Nikolayevna with +astonishment, pity, and displeasure. She was a tender mother herself to +her little boy with the one eye, but this devotion to one object and +disregard of everything else seemed to her to border on insanity. With +groans and sighs she struck her fists against her own body--this was a +regular trick of hers--and said that such love was a mortal sin which +God would punish. Sofya Nikolayevna resented this so much that she kept +Mme. Cheprunoff out of the nursery in future. No one but Dr. Avenarius +was admitted there, and he came pretty often. The mother was constantly +discovering symptoms of different diseases in the child; for these she +began by consulting Buchan's _Domestic Medicine_, and then, when that +did not answer, she called in Avenarius. He found it impossible to argue +her out of her beliefs: all he could do was to prescribe harmless +medicines. Yet the child was really feeble, and at times he was obliged +to prescribe for it in real earnest. + +It is difficult to say what would have been the upshot of all this; but, +by the inscrutable designs of Providence, a thunderbolt burst over the +head of Sofya Nikolayevna: her adored child died suddenly. The cause of +death was uncertain: it may have been too much care, or too much +medicine, or too feeble a constitution; at any rate, the child +succumbed, when four months old, to a very slight attack of a common +childish ailment. Sofya Nikolayevna was sitting by the cradle when she +saw the infant start and a spasm pass over the little face; she caught +it up and found that it was dead. + +Sofya Nikolayevna must have had a marvellous constitution to support +this blow. For some days she knew no one and the doctors feared for her +reason; there were three of them, Avenarius, Zanden, and Klauss; all +three were much attached to their patient, and one of them was always +with her. But, by God's blessing and thanks to her youth and strength, +that terrible time passed by. The unhappy mother recovered her senses, +and her love for her husband, whose own distress was great, asserted +itself for the time and saved her. On the fourth day she became +conscious of her surroundings; she recognised Alexyei Stepanitch, so +changed by grief that he was hard to recognise, and her bosom friend, +Mme. Chichagoff; a terrible cry burst from her lips and a healing flood +of tears gushed from the eyes which had been dry till then. She silently +embraced her husband and sobbed for long on his breast, while he sobbed +himself like a child. The danger of insanity was past, but the +exhaustion of her bodily strength was still alarming. For four days and +nights she had neither eaten nor drunk, and now she could swallow no +food nor medicine nor even water. Her condition was so critical that the +doctors did not oppose her wish to make her confession and receive the +sacraments. The performance of this Christian duty was beneficial to the +patient: she slept for the first time, and, when she woke after two +hours looking bright and happy, she told her husband that she had seen +in her sleep a vision of Our Lady of Iberia, exactly as she was +represented on the _ikon_ of their parish church; and she believed that, +if she could put her lips to this _ikon_, the Mother of God would surely +have mercy on her. The image was brought from the church, and the priest +read the service for the Visitation of the Sick. When the choir sang, "O +mighty Mother of God, look down in mercy on my sore bodily +suffering!"--all present fell on their knees and repeated the words of +the prayer. Alexyei Stepanitch sobbed aloud; and the sufferer too shed +tears throughout the service and pressed her lips to the image. When it +was over, she felt so much relief that she was able to drink some water; +and from that time she began to take food and medicine. Her two dear +friends, Mme. Chichagoff and Mme. Cheprunoff, were with her constantly; +she was soon pronounced out of danger, and her husband's troubled heart +had rest. The doctors set to work with fresh zeal to restore her +strength, and their great anxiety was in a way dangerous to their +patient; for one of them found traces of consumption, another of +_marasmus_, and the third was apprehensive of an aneurysm. But +fortunately they were unanimous on one point: the patient should go at +once to the country, to enjoy pure air and, preferably, forest air, and +take a course of _koumiss_. At the beginning of June it was not too late +to drink mare's milk, as the grass on the steppes was still fresh and in +full growth. + +Stepan Mihailovitch took the news of his grand-daughter's death very +coolly: he even said, "No reason to tear one's hair over _that_! There +will be plenty more girls." But when he heard later of the dangerous +illness of Sofya Nikolayevna, the old man was much disturbed. When a +third message came, that she was out of immediate danger but very ill, +and that the doctors were baffled and prescribed a course of _koumiss_, +he was exceedingly angry with the doctors: "Those bunglers murder our +bodies," he said, "and defile our souls by making us swallow the drink +of heathens. If a Russian is forbidden by his Church to eat horseflesh, +then he has no business to drink the milk of the unclean animal." Then +he added with a heavy sigh and a gesture of disgust: "I don't like it at +all: her life may perhaps be saved, but she will never be right again, +and there will be no children." Stepan Mihailovitch was deeply grieved +and remained for a long time in a state of depression. + +Twenty-nine _versts_ to the south-west of Ufa, on the road to Kazan, +where the Uza falls into that noble river, the Dyoma, there lay in a +rich valley a little Tatar village called by the Russians Alkino, +surrounded by forests. The houses nestled in picturesque disorder at the +foot of a hill called Bairam-Tau[49] which gave them shelter from the +north; and another hill, Zein-Tau,[50] rose on the west. The Uza, +fringed with bushes, flowed to the south-west; the forest-glades were +fragrant with grasses and flowers; and, all round, oaks and limes and +maples cleft the air and imparted to it an invigorating virtue. To this +charming spot Alexyei Stepanitch brought his wife, weak and pale and +thin, a mere shadow of her old self; Avenarius, their friend and doctor, +came with them, and they had some difficulty in getting the patient to +the end of the journey. The owner of the village received them with +cordial hospitality; he had a comfortable house, but Sofya Nikolayevna +was unwilling to install herself there, and one of the outbuildings was +cleared out for her occupation. The family were only too kind in their +attentions to her, so that the doctor was obliged to forbid their visits +for a time. They spoke Russian fairly well, though they professed the +Mohammedan creed; and, though their dress and habits were then partly +Russian and partly Tatar, _koumiss_ was their invariable drink from +morning till night. For Sofya Nikolayevna, the health-giving beverage +was prepared in a cleanly, civilised manner: the mare's milk was +fermented in a clean, new wooden bucket and not in the usual bag of raw +horse-hide. The natives declared that _koumiss_ made in their fashion +tasted better, and was more effective; but Sofya Nikolayevna felt an +unconquerable aversion to the horse-hide bag. When the doctor had laid +down rules for the cure, he went back to Ufa, leaving Alexyei +Stepanitch, with Parasha and Annushka, in charge of the invalid. The air +and the _koumiss_, of which small doses were taken at first; the daily +drives with Alexyei Stepanitch through the forest which surrounded the +village--Yevseitch, who was now a favourite with Sofya Nikolayevna, +acted as coachman; the woods, where the patient lay for whole hours in +the cool shade on a leather mattress with pillows, breathing the +fragrant air into her lungs, listening sometimes to an entertaining +book, and often sinking into refreshing sleep--the whole life was so +beneficial to Sofya Nikolayevna that in a fortnight she was able to get +up and could walk about. When Avenarius came again he was delighted by +the effect of the _koumiss_, and increased the doses; but, as the +patient could not endure it in large quantities, he thought it necessary +to prescribe vigorous exercise in the form of riding on horseback. For a +Russian lady to ride was in those days a startling novelty: Alexyei +Stepanitch did not like it, and Sofya Nikolayevna herself was shocked by +the notion. Their host's daughters presented an instructive example, for +they constantly rode far and wide over the country on their Bashkir +ponies; but Sofya Nikolayevna turned a deaf ear for long to all +persuasions, and even to the entreaties of her husband, whom the doctor +had speedily and completely convinced of the necessity of the exercise. +At last the Chichagoffs came on a visit to Alkino, and Sofya +Nikolayevna's resistance was overcome by a joint effort. What appealed +to her most strongly was the example of Mme. Chichagoff, who, in the +spirit of true friendship, sacrificed her own prejudices and began to +ride, at first alone, and then with the patient. This hard exercise +required a change of diet; and fat mutton, which Sofya Nikolayevna did +not like either, was prescribed. Avenarius probably took a hint from the +habits of the Bashkirs and Tatars, who, while moving from place to place +throughout the summer, drink _koumiss_ and eat hardly anything but fat +mutton, not even bread; and they ride all day long over the broad +steppes, until the prairie grass turns from green to grey and veils +itself with a soft, silvery down. The treatment answered admirably. They +sometimes rode out in a large party with the sons and daughters of their +host. There was a potash factory which they sometimes visited, about two +_versts_ from Alkino, situated in the depth of the forest and on the +bank of a stream; and Sofya Nikolayevna looked with interest at the iron +cauldrons full of burning wood-ash, the wooden troughs in which the +dross was deposited, and the furnaces in which the product was refined +and converted into porous white lumps of the vegetable salt called +"potash." She admired the rapidity with which the work was carried on, +and the activity of the Tatars, whose skull-caps were a novelty to her, +and also the long shirts which came down to their feet and yet left them +free command of their limbs. In general her hosts were very kind, and +tried to amuse their guest by making the natives sing and dance before +her, or wrestle, or run races on horseback. + + [49] Hill of Feasting. + + [50] Hill of Meeting. + +At first Alexyei Stepanitch was always present at these expeditions and +entertainments; but, when he ceased to feel anxious about his wife's +health, and saw her surrounded by troops of attentive friends, he began +by degrees to find some time on his hands. Country life and country air, +with the beauty of that landscape, roused in him a desire for his old +amusements. He made fishing-lines and began to angle for the wily trout +in the clear mountain streams round Alkino; and he went out sometimes to +catch quails with a net. Theodore, Parasha's young husband, was a +capital hand at this sport and could make pipes to decoy the birds. With +sportsmen in general, netting for quails does not rank high; but really +I do not know why they despise it. To lie on the fragrant meadow grass +with your net hanging in front of you on the tall stalks; to hear the +quails calling beside you and at a distance; to imitate their low, sweet +note on the pipe; to hear the excited birds reply and watch them run, or +even fly, from all sides towards you; to watch their curious antics, and +to get excited yourself over the success or failure of your +strategy--all this gave me much pleasure at one time, and even now I +cannot recall it with indifference. But it was impossible to make this +pleasure intelligible to Sofya Nikolayevna. + +In two months she was well on the way to recovery: her face filled out, +and a bright colour began to play again upon her cheeks. When Avenarius +paid a third visit, he was entirely satisfied; and he had a perfect +right to triumph; for he was the first to prescribe _koumiss_ and +directed the treatment himself. He had always been attached to his +patient; and now that he had succeeded in saving her life, he loved her +like a daughter. + +Alexyei Stepanitch sent a weekly bulletin to his father at Bagrovo. +Stepan Mihailovitch was glad to hear that his daughter-in-law was +getting better; but of course he disbelieved in the healing power of the +_koumiss_, and was very angry about the riding, which they were rash +enough to mention in writing to him. His wife and daughters made use of +this opportunity, and the sneering remarks, which they let fall on +purpose in the course of conversation, worked him up to such a pitch +that he wrote his son a rather offensive letter which gave pain to Sofya +Nikolayevna. But, when he was convinced that his daughter-in-law had +quite recovered and had even grown stout, pleasing hopes began to stir +again in his breast, and he grew reconciled in some degree to the +_koumiss_ and the riding. + +The young Bagroffs returned to Ufa at the beginning of autumn. Old M. +Zubin was very far gone by that time, and his daughter's wonderful +recovery produced no sort of impression on him. All his earthly business +was done, and all ties broken; every thread that held him to life was +severed, and the soul could hardly find shelter in the disruption of the +body. + +The normal course of relations between the young couple had been, so to +speak, arrested in its development by a number of events: first, by the +birth of the child and the mother's extravagant devotion to it; then, by +the child's death which nearly deprived the mother of her reason and her +life; and, finally, by the long course of treatment and residence in the +Tatar village. In the stormy season of her distress and sickness, Sofya +Nikolayevna had ever before her eyes the genuine love and self-sacrifice +of her husband. At that time there were none of those collisions, which +constantly occur at ordinary times between ill-matched characters; and, +even if there were occasions for such misunderstandings, they passed +unnoticed. When gold is in circulation, small change is of little +importance. In exceptional circumstances and critical moments, nothing +but gold passes; but the daily expenditure of uneventful life is mainly +carried on with small change. Now Alexyei Stepanitch, though he was not +poor in gold, was often hard up for small change. When a man, if he sees +distress and danger threatening the health and life of one whom he +loves, himself suffers in every fibre of his being; when he forgets +sleep and food and himself altogether; when the nerves are strung up and +the moral nature uplifted--at such times there is no room for small +exactions, no room for small services and attentions. But when the time +of tragic events has gone by, everything quiets down again; the nerves +are relaxed and the spirit contracts; the material life of flesh and +blood asserts itself, in all its triviality; habits resume their lost +power; and then comes the turn of those exactions and demands we spoke +of, the turn of small services and polite attentions and all the other +trifles which make up the web of actual ordinary life. Time will again +apply the test and bring back the necessity of self-sacrifice; but +meanwhile life runs on without a stop in the ordinary groove, and its +peace and adornment and pleasure--what we call happiness, in fact--is +made up entirely of trivial things, of small change. + +For these reasons, when Sofya Nikolayevna began to recover and Alexyei +Stepanitch ceased to fear for her life and health, there began by +degrees to reappear, on one side, the old exacting temper, and, on the +other side, the old incapacity to satisfy its demands. Gentle reproaches +and expostulations had become tiresome to the husband, and fierce +explosions frightened him. Fear at once banished perfect frankness, and +loss of frankness between husband and wife, especially in the less +assertive and independent of the two, leads straight to the destruction +of domestic happiness. After the return to Ufa, this evil would probably +have grown worse in the trivial, idle atmosphere of town life; but Sofya +Nikolayevna's father was now actually dying, and his sad, suffering +condition banished all other anxieties and monopolised his daughter's; +thoughts and feelings. Obedient to the law of her moral nature, she gave +herself up without reserves to her duty as a daughter. Thus the process +which was unveiling every corner of their domestic life, was again +brought to a standstill. Sofya Nikolayevna spent her days and nights +with her father. Nikolai, as before, waited on his sick master, nursing +him with wonderful devotion and indefatigable care; and, as before, he +kept out of sight of Sofya; Nikolayevna, though he had now the right and +the power to appear before her with impunity. Touched by his behaviour, +she had sent for him; a reconciliation took place, and she gave him +leave to be present with her in the sick-room. The dying man, in spite +of his apparent insensibility to all around him, noticed this change: he +pressed his daughter's hand in his feeble grasp, and said in a hardly +audible whisper, "I thank you." Sofya Nikolayevna never left her father +after this time. + +I said that when Stepan Mihailovitch received the good news of his +daughter-in-law's recovery, fond hopes awoke once more in his breast. +They were not disappointed: before long Sofya Nikolayevna wrote to him +herself, that she hoped, if God was good to her, to give birth to a son, +to be the comfort of his old age. At the instant Stepan Mihailovitch was +overjoyed, but he soon controlled his feelings and hid his happiness +from his womankind. Perhaps it occurred to him that this second child +might be a daughter, that Sofya Nikolayevna and the doctors between them +might kill it too with too much love and too much medicine, and that the +mother might lose her health over again; or perhaps Stepan Mihailovitch +was like many other people, who deliberately prophesy calamities with a +secret hope that fortune will reverse their prognostications. He +pretended that he was not in the least glad, and said coolly: "No, no! +I'm too old a bird to look at _that_ chaff. When the thing happens, it +will be time enough to believe it and rejoice over it." His family were +surprised to hear him speak so, and said nothing in reply. But, as a +matter of fact, the old man for some unknown reason became convinced +once more in his heart that he would have a grandson: he gave +instructions again to Father Vassili to repeat in church the prayer for +"women labouring of child"; and he fished out once more the family tree +from its hiding-place, and kept it always beside him. + +Meanwhile M. Zubin's last hour on earth came quietly on. He had suffered +much for many years; it seemed hardly natural that life should linger on +in a body which had lost all force and motion; and the ending of such a +bare and pitiful existence could distress no one. Even Sofya Nikolayevna +had only one prayer--that her father's soul might depart in peace. And +there _was_ peace, and even happiness, at the moment of death. The face +of the dying man lit up suddenly, and this expression remained long upon +the features, though the eyes were shut and the body had grown cold. The +funeral was a solemn and splendid ceremony. M. Zubin had once been very +popular; but he had become forgotten by degrees, and sympathy for his +suffering had become gradually weaker. But now, when the news of his +death flew round the town, old memories revived and evoked a fresh +feeling of love and pity for him. On the day of his funeral every house +was empty, and all the population of Ufa lined the streets between the +Church of the Assumption and the cemetery. May he rest in peace! If he +had the weakness of human nature, he had also its goodness. + +After M. Zubin's death, guardians were appointed for the children of his +two marriages; and Alexyei Stepanitch became guardian of his wife's two +brothers, who, before finishing their education at the Moscow +boarding-school, were summoned to Petersburg to enter the Guards. I +forgot to mention that M. Zubin, shortly before his death, was +successful in obtaining for Alexyei Stepanitch his promotion to a higher +office at the law-courts. + +Sofya Nikolayevna wept and prayed for a long time, and Alexyei +Stepanitch wept and prayed at her side; but those tears and prayers were +not painful or violent and had no ill effect on the recently restored +health of Sofya Nikolayevna. Her husband's entreaties and the advice of +her friends and doctors prevailed with her, and she began to take care +of herself and to pay due attention to her condition. They convinced her +that the health and even the life of the unborn child depended on the +state of her own health and spirits. Their arguments were confirmed by +bitter experience, and she resolutely submitted to all that was required +of her. When her father-in-law wrote to her and expressed in simple +words his sympathy with her loss and his fear that she might again +injure her own health by excess of grief, she sent a very reassuring +letter in reply; and she did in fact attend carefully to her bodily +health and composure of mind. A regular but not monotonous plan of life +was laid down. The two doctors, Klauss--who was becoming very intimate +with the Bagroffs--and Avenarius, made her go out every day before +dinner, and sometimes on foot; and each evening they had an +unceremonious party of pleasant people at home, or went out themselves, +generally to the Chichagoffs' house. Mme. Chichagoff's brothers became +great friends of the Bagroffs, especially the younger, Dmitri, who asked +that, when the time came, he might stand godfather. Both brothers were +well-bred men and well-educated, according to the standards of the time; +and they came often to the house and passed the time there with +pleasure. In the Bagroffs' house, reading aloud was a favourite +occupation. But, as no one can read or listen to reading without +intervals, Sofya Nikolayevna was taught to play cards. Klauss took the +chief part in initiating her into this science; and, whenever the +Bagroffs were alone of an evening, he never failed to make up their +table. Avenarius could not take part in this pastime, because he never +in his life knew the difference between the five and the ace. + +Spring set in early that year, but in all its beauty. The ice on the +Byelaya broke up, and the blocks were carried down by the stream; the +river broke its banks and spread till it was six _versts_ across. The +whole of this expanse could be clearly seen from the windows of the +Bagroffs' little house; their orchard burst into leaf and flower, and +the fragrance of bird-cherries and apple-blossom filled the air. They +used this orchard as a drawing-room, and the warm weather did good to +Sofya Nikolayevna and made her stronger. + +At this time an event happened at Ufa which caused a great sensation +there and was especially interesting to the young Bagroffs, because the +hero of the story was an intimate friend of theirs, and, if I am not +mistaken, distantly related to Alexyei Stepanitch. Sofya Nikolayevna, as +one would expect from her character, took a lively interest in such a +romantic affair. A young man, named Timasheff, one of the most prominent +and richest nobles of the district, fell in love with a Tatar girl, the +daughter of a rich Tatar landowner. Her family, just like the Alkins, +had altered their way of living to a certain extent in conformity with +European customs, and they spoke Russian well; but they strictly +observed the Moslem faith in all its purity. The beautiful Salme +returned the love of the handsome Russian officer, who was a captain in +the regiment stationed near Ufa. As she could not be married to a +Russian without changing her religion, it was perfectly certain that her +parents and grown-up brothers would never give their consent to such a +union. Salme struggled long against her love, and love burns more +fiercely in the hearts of women of Asia. At last, as is the rule in such +cases, Mahomet was defeated, and Salme made up her mind to elope with +her lover, meaning to be baptised first and then married. The commander +of Timasheff's regiment was General Mansuroff, a universal favourite and +the kindest of men, who gained distinction afterwards when he crossed +"The Devil's Bridge" in the Alps with Suvoroff. He had lately married +for love himself, and he knew and sympathised with Timasheff's +enterprise, and promised to take the lovers under his protection. One +dark, rainy night Salme sallied forth from her father's house, and found +Timasheff waiting for her in a wood close by with a pair of +saddle-horses; they had to gallop about 100 _versts_ to reach Ufa. Salme +was a skilful rider; every ten or fifteen _versts_ they found fresh +horses, guarded by soldiers of Timasheff's regiment; he was very popular +with his men. Thus the fugitives flew along "on the wings of love," as a +poet of that day would infallibly have said. Meanwhile Salme's absence +was quickly noticed: her passion for Timasheff had long been suspected, +and a strict watch was kept over her movements. A band of armed Tatars +assembled instantly, and followed the enraged father[51] and brothers in +furious pursuit of the lovers, uttering fierce shouts and threats of +vengeance. They took the right track and would probably have captured +the fugitives--at any rate blood would have been spilt, because a number +of soldiers, eagerly interested in the affair, were posted at different +points along the road--had not the pursuit been delayed by a stratagem. +The bridge over a deep and dangerous river was broken down behind the +lovers; and the Tatars were forced to swim across, and thus lost some +two hours. Even so, the boat which carried Timasheff and Salme across +the Byelaya under the walls of Ufa, had hardly reached mid-stream, when +the old Tatar galloped up to the bank, attended by his sons and half of +his faithful company; the other half had stopped when their horses fell +dead under them. A whole regiment of Russian soldiers were in possession +of all the punts and ferry-boats, on the pretence of crossing to the +town. The unhappy father gnashed his teeth in fury, cursed his daughter, +and rode off home. Half dead with weariness and fear, Salme was placed +in a carriage and taken to the house of Timasheff's mother. The affair +now assumed a legal and official character: here was a Mahometan woman +asking of her own free will to be received into the Christian Church, +and the authorities of the town took her under their protection, +informed the _mufti_, who lived at Ufa and was always called "the Tatar +bishop," of all that had passed, and called upon him to stop the injured +family or any other Mahometans from all attempts to recover by violence +a person who had deliberately preferred the Christian faith. In a few +days the clergy prepared the convert to receive the sacraments of +baptism and unction. The rite was celebrated with great pomp in the +Cathedral: Salme was christened Seraphima, and immediately afterwards, +without leaving the church, the young lovers were married. All Ufa was +interested in the affair. The young people and all the men naturally +stood up for the beautiful Salme; but the women, some of whom, perhaps, +had personal reasons for disappointment, judged her conduct severely. +Very few stretched out the hand of sincere friendship to the convert, +whom her husband's station admitted to the inner circle of Ufa society. +The young couple had no warmer sympathisers than Sofya Nikolayevna and +Alexyei Stepanitch; and they were actively assisted by the wife of +General Mansuroff, an amiable young woman whose maiden name was +Bulgakoff. Before long the Timasheffs had a firm footing in their new +sphere. The bride's education was taken in hand; she had much natural +ability, and soon became a success in society, where she aroused both +sympathy and envy, due in some degree to her beauty and the peculiarity +of her position. Sofya Nikolayevna kept up a steady friendship with +Seraphima Timasheff till death divided them. To the general regret, Mme. +Timasheff died of consumption three years after her marriage. She left +two sons; her husband nearly went out of his mind with grief; he left +the Army, gave up his life to the care of his children, and never +married again. It was currently reported, though I cannot vouch for the +truth of the reports, that her illness and death were due to secret +pining after the kinsfolk she had abandoned and remorse for her change +of religion. + + [51] Another version of the story tells that the mother led the pursuit. + (_Author's note_.) + +These events did nothing to arrest the quick flight of time. The day +came when Sofya Nikolayevna was forbidden to go out to parties, or even +to take drives in the country. In fine weather she walked up and down +the garden for half an hour twice a day; if it was wet, she opened all +the doors in the house and followed the same routine under cover. It is +probable that all this seclusion and strict regimen did more harm than +good; yet my opinion is contradicted by the facts, for Sofya Nikolayevna +was in perfect health. Alexyei Stepanitch found it necessary to let the +doctors have their way; for he was constantly receiving instructions +from his father to watch over his wife like the apple of his eye. Her +friends also, and especially the doctors who felt a strong personal +attachment for her, kept such a close watch on Sofya Nikolayevna that +she could neither take a step nor swallow a morsel or drink a drop +without their permission. As Avenarius had to leave the town on some +official business, it fell on Klauss, who was the other leading lady's +doctor at Ufa, to undertake the personal supervision of her health. +Klauss was a German, a very kind man, clever and well-educated, but +singularly grotesque in his appearance. Though he was still of middle +age, he wore a bright yellow wig; and people asked where he could have +got human hair of a colour never beheld on any human head; his eyebrows +also were yellowish, and so were the whites of his small brown eyes; but +his face, which was round and rather small, was as red as burning coal. +His habits in society were very odd: though he liked kissing the hands +of ladies, he would never allow himself to be kissed on the cheek, +maintaining that it was a gross breach of manners on the part of a man +to permit such a greeting. He had a great fondness for small children +which he showed in this way: he took the child on his knees, placed its +hand on the palm of his own left hand and stroked it for hours at a time +with his right hand. His special favourites he constantly addressed as +"Monster!" or "Turk!"--and Sofya Nikolayevna naturally came in for her +share of these endearments.[52] + + [52] Klauss became lecturer on midwifery in the Foundling Hospital at + Moscow in 1791, and died in 1821 after the conscientious discharge + of his duties for thirty years. He never left off the yellow wig. + He was an enthusiastic and well-known numismatist. (_Author's + note._) + +Owing to his intimacy with the young Bagroffs, Klauss knew all about +Stepan Mihailovitch--his eager desire for a grandson, and the impatience +with which he was awaiting the event. As Klauss wrote Russian well, he +wrote out a forecast, for whose accuracy he vouched, in a distinct +handwriting for the old man's benefit: he foretold that Sofya +Nikolayevna would give birth to a son between the 15th and 22nd of +September. When the forecast was sent to Stepan Mihailovitch, "German +liar!" was his only comment; but in his heart he believed it; for his +excitement and joy could be seen in his face and heard in every word he +spoke. About this time, our old acquaintance, Afrosinya Andreyevna, paid +him a visit at Bagrovo. He let her see more than others of his main +anxiety, that he might have another grand-daughter; and she told him +that, when passing through Moscow, she had gone to Trinity Church there, +to say her prayers to St. Sergius; and there she heard that some +well-known lady, the mother of several daughters, had taken a vow that +if her next child was a boy, it should be christened Serghei; and she +did give birth to a son before the year was out. Stepan Mihailovitch +said nothing at the time; but he wrote a letter himself to his son and +daughter-in-law by the next post, expressing his desire that they should +say prayers in church to St. Sergius the Wonder-worker, and take a vow +to call their child Serghei if it were a boy. In explanation of his wish +he added: "There has never yet been a Serghei in the Bagroff family." +These instructions were carried out to the letter. Sofya Nikolayevna +spared no pains to provide everything that a careful mother could think +of for her expected child; above all, an admirable foster-mother was +found at Kasimofka, one of the villages that had belonged to her father. +Marya Vassilyevna, a peasant woman, had every qualification for her +office that one could wish for; and she was perfectly willing to +undertake the duty, and moved to Ufa in good time, bringing her own +infant with her. + +The crisis was now approaching. By this time Sofya Nikolayevna was +forbidden to walk. Catherine Chichagoff was kept to her own house by +ill-health, and no other visitors were admitted. But Mme. Cheprunoff was +constantly with her cousin, never leaving her except to see her own +beloved little boy, Andrusha. Klauss came to breakfast every morning, +and again for tea, which he drank with rum in it, in the evening; then +he played cards with husband and wife; and, as the stakes were too small +to buy cards with, the prudent German procured some used packs which he +brought with him. Reading sometimes took the place of cards, and Klauss +was present on these occasions. Alexyei Stepanitch, who had gained some +experience and skill in the art, was the regular reader; and sometimes +Klauss brought a German book and translated it aloud, which gave +pleasure to his hearers, especially to Sofya Nikolayevna, who wished to +get some knowledge, if only a smattering, of German literature. + +Sofya Nikolayevna had experienced already the absorbing and unlimited +power of maternal affection, the strongest of all our feelings, and she +was filled with awe by her present condition. She accepted it as a +sacred duty to maintain mental composure, and so to preserve the health +of her unborn infant and secure its existence, on which depended all her +hopes, all her future, and all her life. We know Sofya Nikolayevna +pretty well already; we know how apt she was to be carried away; and +therefore we shall not be surprised to hear that she gave herself up +wholly to her feeling for the child she bore. Every hour of the day and +night was devoted to the task of taking care of herself in all possible +ways. Her mind and her thoughts were so entirely concentrated upon this +one object that she noticed nothing else and was, apparently, quite +satisfied with her husband, though it is probable that things happened +which might have made her dissatisfied. The more Alexyei Stepanitch got +to know his wife, the more she surprised him. He was a man singularly +unable to appreciate excessive display of feeling, or to sympathise with +it, from whatever object it arose. Thus his wife's power of passionate +devotion frightened him; he dreaded it, just as he used to dread his +father's furious fits of anger. Excessive feeling always produces an +unpleasant impression upon quiet unemotional people; they cannot +recognise such a state of mind to be natural, and regard it as a kind of +morbid condition which some persons are liable to at times. They +disbelieve in the permanence of a mental composure which may break down +at any moment; and they are afraid of people with such a temperament. +And fear is fatal to love, even to a child's love for his parents. In +general I must say that, in point of mutual understanding and sympathy, +the relations between Alexyei Stepanitch and his wife, instead of +becoming closer, as might have been expected, grew less intimate. This +may seem strange, but it often happens thus in life. + +Just at this time Klauss was transferred to an official post at Moscow. +He had already taken leave of his colleagues and all his acquaintance; +and he waited on solely with a view to Sofya Nikolayevna's confinement, +hoping to be of service to her in case of necessity. He calculated that +he might be able to get away on the 17th or 18th of September, and hired +horses for that date. Hiring was necessary, because he intended to break +his journey to visit a German friend, who lived at some distance from +the post-road, so that the coach would not serve his purpose. The 15th +of September passed, but the expected event did not take place. Sofya +Nikolayevna felt better and more enterprising than usual; and it was +only the pedantry of the doctor, she said, that kept her to the sofa. +When the 16th, 17th, and 18th had all gone by, the German, in spite of +his love for Sofya Nikolayevna, got very angry, because he had to pay a +_rouble_ a day to the driver he had hired--a terribly high price, +according to the ideas of those days; and the Bagroffs bantered him +about this in a friendly way. The reading and card-playing went on every +evening; and if the doctor won 60 _kopecks_[53] from his hosts, he was +much pleased, and said that his driver would not cost him much _that_ +day. The 19th passed off with no change. On the 20th, when Klauss came +in the morning, Sofya Nikolayevna stood at her bedroom door and greeted +him with a curtsey. He got very angry: "Monster!" he said, "you are +treating me abominably"; but he kissed as usual the hand she held out to +him. "It is too bad, Alexyei Stepanitch," he went on; "your wife is +ruining me. Her baby ought to have been born on the 15th, and here she +is, dropping curtseys on the 20th!" "Never mind, my dear fellow," said +Alexyei Stepanitch, patting him on the shoulder; "you must rob us at +cards to-night. But the packs are nearly worn out." Klauss promised to +bring a new pack; he lunched there, and, after sitting on till two +o'clock, took his leave. He called again at six in the evening, punctual +to the minute. Finding no one in the hall, or parlour, or drawing-room, +he tried to get into the bedroom, but the door was locked; he knocked, +and it was opened by Mme. Cheprunoff. The doctor went in and stood dumb +with astonishment. The floor of the room was covered with rugs; green +silk curtains hung by the windows, and a fine silk canopy over the +double bed; a candle, shaded by a book, was burning in a corner; and in +the bed, resting on embroidered pillows and wearing a dainty, easy +morning wrapper, lay Sofya Nikolayevna. Her face looked fresh, and her +eyes were radiant with happiness. "Congratulate me, my dear friend!" she +said in a strong, audible voice; "I am the happy mother of a son!" The +doctor, when he looked at her face and heard her voice, took the whole +thing to be a mystification and a hoax. "Monster! don't try to play +tricks on so old a bird as I am!" he said. "Better get up; I have +brought a new pack of cards. It will be a present for the baby," he +added, coming up to the bed and shoving the cards under a pillow. "My +dear friend," said Sofya Nikolayevna, "I swear to you I have got a son! +Look at him; there he is!" And there, resting on a large down-pillow +trimmed with lace, and wrapped in a pink velvet coverlet, he really saw +a newborn infant, a strong boy; and Alyona Maksimovna, the midwife, was +standing near the bed. + + [53] 1 _rouble_ = 100 _kopecks_. + +The doctor flew into a furious rage. He sprang back from the bed as if +he had burnt himself, and roared out, "What! in my absence! after my +staying on here for a week and losing money every day, you did not send +for me!" His face turned from red to purple, his wig came half off, and +his whole stumpy figure looked so ridiculous that the lady in the bed +burst out laughing. Then the midwife tried to soothe him: "_Batyushka_," +she said, "we had no time to think of anything at the moment; then, when +we had got things straight, we meant to send for your Honour, but Sofya +Nikolayevna said you would be here at once." The worthy man soon +recovered from his vexation; tears of joy started to his eyes; he caught +hold of the infant in his practised hands and began to examine it by the +candle-light, turning it round and feeling it till it squalled loudly. +Then he thrust a finger into its mouth, and, when the infant began to +suck lustily, the doctor was pleased and called out, "How fine and +healthy he is, the little Turk!" Sofya Nikolayevna was frightened when +she saw her priceless treasure so freely handed; and the midwife tried +to take it from him, fearing it would be "overlooked." But Klauss was +inexorable: he ran about the room, holding the child, and called for a +tub of warm water with a sponge and some soap, and a binder. Then he +turned back his sleeves, tied on an apron, threw down his wig, and began +to wash the babe, talking to it like this: "Ah, my little Turk, that +stops your crying; you like the feel of the warm water!" + +Then Alexyei Stepanitch hurried into the room, almost beside himself +with joy. He had been dispatching a special messenger to carry the good +news to Stepan Mihailovitch, and writing letters to his parents; and +there was a separate letter for his sister Aksinya, begging her to come +as soon as possible and stand godmother to his son. Before the doctor +had time to dry himself, the happy father embraced him till he nearly +choked him; he had already exchanged greetings with every one in the +house, and many tears of joy had been shed. And Sofya Nikolayevna--but, +what _she_ felt, I dare not try to express in words: her bliss was such +as few on earth ever feel and no one can feel for long. + +The event produced extraordinary rejoicing within the house, and even +the neighbours shared in it. The intoxication of joy was prolonged by +liquor; and soon all the servants were singing and dancing in the court. +Some who never drank at other times now took a drop too much; and one of +these was Yevseitch. They found it impossible to control him: he was +always begging to go to his mistress's bedroom to see the little son. At +last his wife, with Parasha's help, tied him tightly to a heavy bench; +and even then he went on kicking out his legs, cracking his fingers, and +attempting to articulate the chorus of a song. + +Tired out by his exertions and by joyful excitement, Klauss at last sat +down in an armchair and much enjoyed a cup of tea. He was somewhat too +liberal with the rum that evening, and felt a buzzing in his head after +the third cup. So he gave instructions that the baby was to have no milk +but only syrup of rhubarb till the morning, and took leave of his happy +host and hostess. He kissed the baby's hand, promised to call early the +next morning, and went off to spend the night at his own house. As he +passed through the court, he saw the dancing, and the sound of singing +came from every window of the kitchen and servants' quarter. He stood +still; and, though he was sorry to interfere with the good people's +merriment, yet he advised them to stop their singing and dancing, +because their mistress needed rest. To his surprise, they all took his +hint and lay down at once, intending to sleep. As he passed out of the +gate he muttered to himself: "Well, he's a lucky child! How glad they +all are to have him!" + +And it is really true that this child was born under a happy star. His +mother, who had suffered constantly before her former confinement, had +perfect health before his birth; his parents lived in peace together +during those halcyon days; a foster-mother was found for him who proved +to be more devoted than most real mothers; he was the answer to prayers +and the object of fond desires, and the joy over his coming into the +world spread far beyond his parents. The very day of his birth, though +the season was autumn, was warm as summer. + +But what happened at Bagrovo, when the good news came that God had given +a son and heir to Alexyei Stepanitch? This is what happened at Bagrovo. +From the 15th of September, Stepan Mihailovitch counted the days and +hours, and waited for the special messenger from Ufa. The man had been +told to gallop day and night with relays of horses. This method of +travelling was new, and Stepan Mihailovitch disapproved of it as a +foolish waste of money and an unnecessary tax on the country people. He +preferred to use his own horses; but the importance and solemnity of +this occasion made him depart from his regular practice. Fortune did not +keep him in suspense too long: on the 22nd of September, when he was +sleeping after dinner, the messenger arrived, bearing letters and the +good news. The old man woke from a sound sleep, and had hardly had time +to stretch himself and clear his throat when Mazan rushed into the room +and, stammering with joyful excitement, got out the words, "A grandson, +_batyushka_ Stepan Mihailovitch! Hearty congratulations!" + +The first movement of Stepan Mihailovitch was to cross himself. Then he +sprang out of bed, went barefoot to his desk, snatched from it the +family tree, took the pen from the ink-bottle, drew a line from the +circle containing the name Alexyei, traced a fresh circle at the end of +the line, and wrote in the centre of the circle, "_Serghei_." + + ---- + +Farewell! my figures, bright or dark, my people, good or bad--I should +rather say, figures that have their bright and dark sides, and people +who have both virtues and vices. You are not great heroes, not imposing +personalities; you trod your path on earth in silence and obscurity, and +it is long, very long, since you left it. But you were men and women, +and your inward and outward life was not mere dull prose, but as +interesting and instructive to us as we and our life in turn will be +interesting and instructive to our descendants. You were actors in that +mighty drama which mankind has played on this earth since time +immemorial; you played your parts as conscientiously as others, and you +deserve as well to be remembered. By the mighty power of the pen and of +print, your descendants have now been made acquainted with you.[54] They +have greeted you with sympathy and recognised you as brothers, whenever +and however you lived, and whatever clothes you wore. May no harsh +judgment and no flippant tongue ever wrong your memory! + + [54] This work first appeared in parts in a Moscow magazine. When they + were collected in a book, this epilogue was added. + + THE END. + + + + + + ---- + + PRINTED BY + + WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, + + LONDON AND BECCLES + + ---- + + _By SERGE AKSAKOFF_. + + YEARS OF CHILDHOOD + + By SERGE AKSAKOFF. + + Translated, for the first time, from the Russian by J. D. DUFF, + Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. + + _Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net._ + + ---- + +"We are grateful to Mr. Duff for translating for the first time into +English this remarkable book. 'Years of Childhood' becomes the more +fascinating the more one reads and thinks about it. Aksakoff read a new +and ecstatic meaning into things which are banal and tame to most men +and women, and the eager eye of his mind scanned deep into the lives and +loves of the people round about him."--_Morning Post._ + +"Serge Aksakoff holds a distinct and, one might say, delightful position +in Russian literature. He placed himself, almost without an effort, in +the ranks of the great masters of his nation by instinctively obeying +the precept that men of letters should look in their own hearts and +write. One can hardly thank the translator sufficiently for this first +rendering of the book in any other language than Russian."--_The Times._ + +"English readers may well be grateful to Mr. J. D. Duff for his +translation of a very unusual book. He promises us a translation of 'A +Family History,' which carries on the narrative of Aksakoff's life and +gives some account of his family. In the original the two make one book, +and all who read this first instalment will welcome the completion of +it."--_Spectator._ + +"A book of rare charm."--_Observer._ + +"Mr. Duff, with this admirable rendering, has unearthed a treasure for +the English reader. Let us hope that the other portion of these memoirs +will appear without delay. For this is Russia herself--convincingly real +and intimate." --_English Review._ + +"Apart from its great artistic value, Aksakoff's work has the +attractiveness that belongs to all origins. What Mr. Maurice Baring once +said, that the story of Aksakoff's memoirs is as vivid and interesting +as any novel, is quite true. And it is not only true but remarkable; for +reminiscences, especially of childhood, do not usually have the sort of +interest that a novel has, however vivid they may be.... The fact is, +Aksakoff succeeded in solving perhaps the hardest problem in +literature,--the problem of working a child's consciousness as a medium +for all it is worth. The book has, for us, this advantage over the other +major works of Russian literature, that it has found in Mr. Duff a +translator who is not only a scholar, but an artist skilful enough never +to force the note for a moment." --_New Statesman._ + +"A charming Russian book. At this time when so many translations from +the Russian are appearing, well advised and ill advised, it is good to +be able to put the hand on one superlatively good book. Here is a +refreshment for tired eyes and tired souls. It is put into beautiful +English, and the book can be read aloud with much profit and +pleasure."--_Country Life._ + +"Of an extraordinary richness and novelty."--_Westminster Gazette._ + + LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RUSSIAN GENTLEMAN*** + + +******* This file should be named 38781.txt or 38781.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/8/7/8/38781 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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