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diff --git a/44117-8.txt b/44117-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 70dc751..0000000 --- a/44117-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10995 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Duel, by A. I. Kuprin - -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/license - - -Title: The Duel - -Author: A. I. Kuprin - -Release Date: November 6, 2013 [EBook #44117] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DUEL *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - THE DUEL - - [Illustration: colophon] - - - - - BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE - - - Alexander Kuprin was born in 1870. He passed through the Cadet School -and Military College at Moscow, entered the Army as lieutenant in 1890, - and resigned after seven years to devote himself to literature. - - - - - THE DUEL - - _By_ A. KUPRIN - - [Illustration: text decoration] - - LONDON: - GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD. - RUSKIN HOUSE 40 MUSEUM STREET, W.C. - - _First published in 1916_ - - [_An abridged version was published under the title - "In Honour's Name" in 1907_] - - (_All rights reserved_) - - - - - THE DUEL - - - - -I - - -The 6th Company's afternoon drill was nearly over, and the junior -officers looked with increasing frequency at their watches, and with -growing impatience. The rank and file of the new regiment were being -instructed in garrison duty. Along the whole of the extensive -parade-ground the soldiers stood in scattered groups: by the poplars -that bordered the causeway, by the gymnastic apparatus, by the door of -the company's school, and in the neighbourhood of the butts. All these -places were to represent during the drill the most important buildings -in the garrison--the commander's residence, the headquarters, the powder -magazine, the administration department, etc. Sentries were posted and -relieved; patrols marched here and there, shouting at and saluting each -other in military fashion; harsh non-commissioned officers visited and -examined the sentries on duty, trying, sometimes by a trick, sometimes -by pretended threats, to fool the soldiers into infringing the rules, -e.g. to quit their posts, give up their rifles, to take charge of -contraband articles, etc. The older men, who had had previous experience -of such practical jokes, were very seldom taken in, but answered rudely, -"The Tsar alone gives orders here," etc., etc. The young recruits, on -the other hand, often enough fell into the snare set for them. - -"Khliabnikov!" a stout little "non-com." cried angrily in a voice which -betrayed a passion for ruling. "What did I tell you just now, simpleton? -Did I put you under arrest? What are you sticking there for, then? Why -don't you answer?" - -In the third platoon a tragi-comic scene took place. Moukhamedjinov, a -young soldier, Tartar by birth, was not yet versed in the Russian -language. He got more and more confused under the commander's irritating -and insidious questions. At last he lost his head entirely, brought his -rifle to the charge, and threatened all the bystanders with the bayonet. - -"Stop, you madman!" roared Sergeant Bobuilev. "Can't you recognize your -own commander, your own captain?" - -"Another step and you are a dead man!" shouted the Tartar, in a furious -rage. His eyes were bloodshot, and he nervously repelled with his -bayonet all who approached him. Round about him, but at a respectful -distance, a crowd of soldiers flocked together, accepting with joy and -gratitude this interesting little interlude in the wearisome drill. - -Sliva, the captain of the company, approached to see what was going on. -While he was on the opposite side of the parade-ground, where, with bent -back and dragging steps, he tottered slowly backwards and forwards, a -few young officers assembled in a small group to smoke and chatter. They -were three, all told: Lieutenant Viätkin, a bald, moustached man of -thirty-three, a jovial fellow, chatterbox, singer, and particularly fond -of his glass; Sub-Lieutenant Romashov, who had hardly served two years -in the regiment; and, lastly, Sub-Ensign Lbov, a lively, well-shaped -young man, with an expression of shrewd geniality in his pale eyes and -an eternal smile on his thick, innocent lips. He passed for a -peripatetic storehouse of anecdotes, specially crammed with old and -worn-out officers' stories. - -"This is an out-and-out scandal," said Viätkin, as he looked at his -dainty little watch, the case of which he angrily closed with a little -click. "What the devil does he mean by keeping the company all this -time?" - -"You should ask him that question, Pavel Pavlich," replied Lbov, with a -sly look. - -"Oh, go to the devil! Go and ask him yourself. But the point which I -want to emphasize is that the whole business is utterly futile; there is -always this fuss before the review, and every time they overdo it. The -soldiers are so worried and badgered, that at the review they stand like -blockheads. Do you know that story about the two captains who made a -pretty heavy bet as to which of them had in his company the best -trencher-man? When one of the 'champions' had consumed seven pounds of -bread he was obliged to acknowledge himself beaten. His Captain, furious -with indignation, sent for his sergeant-major, and said: 'What made you -send me a creature like that? After his seventh pound he had to give up, -and I've lost my wager!' The poor sergeant-major stared at his superior. -'I don't know what could have happened to him, your Excellency. This -very morning I rehearsed with him, and then he ate _eight_ pounds -without any ado.' It's the same case here, gentlemen. We rehearse -without mercy and common-sense up to the very last, and thus, when the -tug-of-war comes, the soldier drops down from sheer weariness." - -"Last night," began Lbov, who could hardly get his words out for -laughing--"last night, when the drill was over, I went to my quarters. -It was past eight, and quite dark then. As I was approaching the -barracks of the 11th Company I heard some ear-piercing music from there. -I go there and am told that the men are being taught our horn signals. -All the recruits were obliged to sing in chorus. It was a hideous -concert, and I asked Lieutenant Andrusevich how any one could put up -with such a row so late at night. He answered laughingly, 'Why shouldn't -we now and then, like the dogs, howl at the moon?'" - -"Now I can't stand this any longer," interrupted Viätkin, with a yawn. -"But who's that riding down there? It looks like Biek." - -"Yes, it's Biek-Agamalov," replied sharp-sighted Lbov. "Look how -beautifully he rides." - -"Yes, he does," chimed in Romashov. "To my thinking, he rides better -than any other of our cavalrymen. But just look at his horse dancing. -Biek is showing off." - -An officer, wearing an Adjutant's uniform and white gloves, was riding -quietly along the causeway. He was sitting on a high, slim-built horse -with a gold-coloured and short-clipped tail, after the English fashion. -The spirited animal pirouetted under his rider, and impatiently shook -its branch-bit by the violent tossings of its long and nobly formed -neck. - -"Pavel Pavlich, is it a fact that Biek is a Circassian by birth?" asked -Romashov. - -"Yes, I think so," answered Viätkin. "Armenians pretend sometimes that -they are Circassians or Lezghins,[1] but nobody can be deceived with -regard to Biek. Only look how he carries himself on horseback." - -"Wait, I'll call him," said Lbov. - -Lbov put his hands to his mouth, and tried to form out of them a sort of -speaking-tube, and shouted in a suppressed voice, so as not to be heard -by the Commander-- - -"Lieutenant Biek-Agamalov!" - -The officer on horseback pulled the reins, stopped for a second, and -swung in the saddle towards the right. Then he also turned his horse to -the right, bent slightly forward, and, with a springy and energetic -movement, jumped the ditch, and rode in a short gallop up to the -officers. - -He was a man somewhat below the medium height, lean, muscular, and very -powerful. His countenance, with its receding forehead, delicate, -aquiline nose, and strong, resolute lines about the mouth, was manly and -handsome, and had not yet got the pale and sickly hue that is so -characteristic of the Oriental when he is getting on in years. - -"Good-day, Biek," was Viätkin's greeting. "Who was the girl for whom you -were exercising your arts of seduction down there, you lady-killer?" - -Biek-Agamalov shook hands with the officers, whilst with an easy and -graceful movement he bent slightly forward in the saddle. He smiled, and -his gleaming white and even row of teeth cast a sort of lustre over the -lower part of his face, with its black and splendidly cultivated -moustache. - -"Two or three little Jewess girls were there, but what is that to do -with me? I took no notice of them." - -"Ah! we know well enough how you play the game with ladies," said -Viätkin jestingly. - -"I say!" interrupted Lbov, with a laugh; "have you heard what General -Dokturov[2] remarked about the Adjutants in the infantry? It ought to -interest you, Biek. He said they were the most dare-devil riders in the -whole world." - -"No lies, now, ensign," replied Biek, as he gave his horse the reins and -assumed an expression as if he intended to ride down the joker. - -"It's true, by God it is! 'They ride,' said he, 'the most wretched -"crocks" in the world--spavined "roarers"--and yet, only give the order, -and off they fly at the maddest speed over stocks and stones, hedges and -ditches--reins loose, stirrups dropped, cap flying, ah!--veritable -cantaurs.'" - -"What news, Biek?" asked Viätkin. - -"What news? None. Ah! stay. A little while ago the Commander of the -regiment ran across Lieutenant-Colonel Liekh at mess. Liekh, as drunk as -a lord, was wobbling against the wall with his hands behind him, and -hardly able to stammer out a syllable. Shulgovich rushed at him like an -infuriated bull, and bellowed in such a way that it might be heard over -the whole market-place: 'Please remove your hands from the small of your -back when you stand in the presence of your commanding officer.' And all -the servants witnessed this edifying scene." - -"Ah! that is detestable," chimed in Viätkin, laughing. "Yesterday, when -he favoured the 4th Company with a visit, he shouted: 'Who dares to -thrust the regulations in my face? I am your regulations. Not a word -more. Here I'm your Tsar and your God.'" - -Lbov was again laughing at his own thoughts. - -"Gentlemen, have you heard what happened to the Adjutant of the 4th -Regiment?" - -"Keep your eternal stories to yourself, Lbov," exclaimed Viätkin, -interrupting him in a severe tone. "To-day you're worse than usual." - -"I have some more news to tell," Biek-Agamalov went on to say, as he -again facetiously threatened Lbov with his horse, which, snorting and -shaking its head, beslavered all around it with foam. "The Commander has -taken it into his head that the officers of all the companies are to -practise sabre-cutting at a dummy. He has aroused a fearful animosity -against himself in the 9th Company. Epifanov was arrested for having -neglected to sharpen his sabre. But what are you frightened of, Lbov? He -isn't dangerous, and you must teach yourself to make friends with these -noble animals. It may, you know, some day fall to your lot to be -Adjutant; but then, I suppose, you will sit your horse as securely as a -roast sparrow on a dish." - -"_Retro, Satanas!_" cried Lbov, who had some difficulty in protecting -himself against the horse's froth-covered muzzle. "You've heard, I -suppose, what happened to an Adjutant of the 4th Regiment who bought -himself a circus-horse? At the review itself, right before the eyes of -the inspecting General, the well-trained beast began to exhibit its -proficiency in the 'Spanish walk.' You know, I suppose, what that is? At -every step the horse's legs are swung high in the air from one side to -the other. At last, both horse and rider alighted in the thick of the -company. Shrieks, oaths, universal confusion, and a General, half-dead -with rage, who at last, by a supreme effort, managed to hiss out: -'Lieutenant and Adjutant, for this exhibition of your skill in riding -you have twenty-one days' arrest. March!'" - -"What rot!" interrupted Viätkin in an indignant tone. "I say, Biek, the -news of the sabre-cutting was by no means a surprise to us. It means -that we do not get any free time at all. Turn round and see what an -abortion some one brought here yesterday." - -He concluded his sentence by a significant gesture towards the middle of -the parade-ground, where a monstrously ugly figure of raw clay, lacking -both arms and legs, had been erected. - -"Ha! look there--already. Well, have you tried it?" asked Biek, his -interest excited. "Have you had a go at it yet, Romashov?" - -"Not yet." - -"Don't you think I've something better to do than occupy myself with -rubbish of that sort?" exclaimed Viätkin angrily. "When am I to find -time for that? From nine in the morning to six at night I have to be -here, there, and everywhere, and hardly manage to get a bite or sup. -Besides, thank God! I've still my wits about me." - -"What silly talk! An officer ought to be able to handle his sabre." - -"Why? if I may ask. You surely know that in warfare, with the firearms -now in use, one never gets within a range of a hundred paces of the -enemy. What the devil's the use of a sabre to me? I'm not a cavalryman. -When it comes to the point, I shall seize hold of a rifle and--bang! So -the matter's simple enough. People may say what they please; the bullet -is, after all, the safest." - -"Possibly so; but, even in time of peace, there are still many occasions -when the sabre may come in useful--for instance, if one is attacked in -street riots, tumults, etc." - -"And you think I should condescend to exchange cuts with the tag-rag of -the streets? No, thank you, my good friend. In such a case I prefer to -give the command, 'Aim, fire'--and all's said and done." - -Biek-Agamalov's face darkened. - -"You are talking nonsense, Pavel Pavlich. Now answer me this: Suppose, -when you are taking a walk, or are at a theatre or restaurant, some -coxcomb insults you or a civilian boxes your ears. What will you do -then?" - -Viätkin shrugged his shoulders and protruded his under lip -contemptuously. - -"In the first place, that kind of man only attacks those who show that -they are afraid of him, and, in the second, I have my--revolver." - -"But suppose the revolver were left at home?" remarked Lbov. - -"Then, naturally, I should have to go home and fetch it. What stupid -questions! You seem to have clean forgotten the incident of a certain -cornet who was insulted at a music-hall by two civilians. He drove home -for his revolver, returned to the music-hall, and cheerfully shot down -the pair who had insulted him--simple enough." - -Biek-Agamalov made an indignant gesture. "We know--we have heard all -that, but in telling the story you forget that the cornet in question -was convicted of deliberate murder. Truly a very pretty business. If I -had found myself in a similar situation, I should have----" - -He did not finish his sentence, but the little, well-formed hand in -which he held the reins was clenched so hard that it trembled. Lbov was -seized with one of his usual paroxysms of laughter. - -"Ah! you're at it again," Viätkin remarked severely. - -"Pardon me, gentlemen, but I really couldn't--ha, ha, ha! I happened to -think of a tragi-comic scene that was enacted in the 17th Regiment. -Sub-Ensign Krause on one occasion had a row with some one in an -aristocratic club. The steward, to prevent further mischief, seized him -so violently by the shoulder-knot that the latter was torn off, -whereupon Krause drew his revolver and put a bullet through the -steward's skull. A little lawyer who incautiously mixed himself up in -the game shared the same fate. The rest of the party rushed out of the -room like so many frightened hens. But Krause quietly proceeded to the -camp, and was then challenged by the sentry. 'Who goes there?' shouted -the sentry. 'Sub-Ensign Krause, who is coming to die by the colours of -his regiment'; whereupon he walked straight up to the colours, laid -himself down on the ground, and fired a bullet through his left arm. The -court afterwards acquitted him." - -"That was a fine fellow," exclaimed Biek-Agamalov. - -Then began the young officers' usual favourite conversation on duels, -fights, and other sanguinary scenes, whereupon it was stated with great -satisfaction that such transgressions of law and municipal order always -went unpunished. Then, for instance, a story was told about how a -drunken, beardless cornet had drawn his sword at random on a small crowd -of Jews who were returning from keeping the Passover; how a -sub-lieutenant in the infantry had, at a dancing-hall, stabbed to death -an undergraduate who happened to elbow him at the buffet, how an officer -at St. Petersburg or Moscow shot down like a dog a civilian who dared to -make the impertinent observation that decent people were not in the -habit of accosting ladies with whom they are not acquainted. - -Romashov, who, up to now, had been a silent listener to these piquant -stories, now joined in the conversation; but he did so with every sign -of reluctance and embarrassment. He cleared his throat, slowly adjusted -his eyeglass, though that was not absolutely necessary then, and -finally, in an uncertain voice, spoke as follows-- - -"Gentlemen, allow me to submit to you this question: In a dispute of -that sort it might happen, you know, that the civilian chanced to be a -respectable man, even perhaps a person of noble birth. Might it not, in -that case, be more correct to demand of him an explanation or -satisfaction? We should both belong to the cultured class, so to speak." - -"You're talking nonsense, Romashov," interrupted Viätkin. "If you want -satisfaction from such scum you'll most certainly get the following -answer, which is little gratifying: 'Ah, well, my good sir, I do not -give satisfaction. That is contrary to my principles. I loathe duels and -bloodshed--and besides, you can have recourse, you know, to the Justice -of the Peace, in the event of your feeling yourself wronged.' And then, -for the whole of your life, you must carry the delightful recollection -of an unavenged box on the ears from a civilian." - -Biek-Agamalov smiled in approbation, and with more than his usual -generosity showed his whole row of gleaming white teeth. "Hark you, -Viätkin, you ought really to take some interest in this sabre-cutting. -With us at our home in the Caucasus we practise it from childhood--on -bundles of wattles, on water-spouts, the bodies of sheep." - -"And men's bodies," remarked Lbov. - -"And on men's bodies," repeated Agamalov with unruffled calm. "And such -strokes, too! In a twinkling they cleave a fellow from his shoulder to -the hip." - -"Biek, can you perform a test of strength like that?" - -Biek-Agamalov sighed regretfully. - -"No, alas! A sheep, or a calf; I can say I could cleave to the neck by a -single stroke, but to cut a full-grown man down to the waist is beyond -my power. To my father it would be a trifle." - -"Come, gentlemen, and let us try our strength and sabres on that -scarecrow," said Lbov, in a determined tone and with flashing eyes. -"Biek, my dear boy, come with us." - -The officers went up to the clay figure that had been erected a little -way off. Viätkin was the first to attack it. After endeavouring to -impart to his innocent, prosaic face an expression of wild-beast -ferocity, he struck the clay man with all his might and with an -unnecessarily big flourish of his sabre. At the same time he uttered the -characteristic sound "Khryass!" which a butcher makes when he is cutting -up beef. The weapon entered about a quarter of an inch into the clay, -and Viätkin had some trouble to extricate his brave sabre. - -"Wretchedly done," exclaimed Agamalov, shaking his head. "Now, Romashov, -it's your turn." - -Romashov drew his sabre from its sheath, and adjusted his eyeglass with -a hesitating movement. He was of medium height, lean, and fairly strong -in proportion to his build, but through constitutional timidity and lack -of interest not much accustomed to handling the weapon. Even as a pupil -at the Military Academy he was a bad swordsman, and after a year and a -half's service in the regiment he had almost completely forgotten the -art. - -He raised his sabre high above his head, but stretched out, -simultaneously and instinctively, his left arm and hand. - -"Mind your hand!" shouted Agamalov. - -But it was too late then. The point of the sabre only made a slight -scratch on the clay, and Romashov, to his astonishment, who had -mis-reckoned on a strong resistance to the steel entering the clay, lost -his balance and stumbled forward, whereupon the blade of the sabre -caught his outstretched hand and tore off a portion of skin at the lower -part of his little finger, so that the blood oozed. - -"There! See what you've done!" cried Biek angrily as he dismounted from -his charger. "How can any one handle a sabre so badly? You very nearly -cut off your hand, you know. Well, that wound is a mere trifle, but -you'd better bind it up with your handkerchief. Ensign, hold my horse. -And now, gentlemen, bear this in mind. The force or effect of a stroke -is not generated either in the shoulder or the elbow, but _here_, in the -wrist." He made, as quick as lightning, a few rotary movements of his -right hand, whereupon the point of his sabre described a scintillating -circle above his head. "Now look, I put my left hand behind my back. -When the stroke itself is to be delivered it must not be done by a -violent and clumsily directed blow, but by a vigorous cut, in which the -arm and sabre are jerked slightly backwards. Do you understand? -Moreover, it is absolutely necessary that the plane of the sabre exactly -coincides with the direction of the stroke. Look, here goes!" - -Biek took two steps backwards from the manikin, to which he seemed, as -it were, to fasten himself tightly by a sharp, penetrating glance. -Suddenly the sabre flashed in the air, and a fearful stroke, delivered -with a rapidity that the eye could not follow, struck like lightning the -clay figure, the upper part of which rolled, softly but heavily, down to -the ground. The cut made by the sabre was as smooth and even as if it -had been polished. - -"The deuce, that was something like a cut!" cried the enthusiastic Lbov -in wild delight. "Biek, my dear fellow, of your charity do that over -again." - -"Yes, do, Biek," chimed in Viätkin. - -But Agamalov, who was evidently afraid of destroying the effect he had -produced, smiled as he replaced the sabre in its scabbard. He breathed -heavily, and at that moment, by his bloodthirsty, wildly staring eyes, -his hawk's nose, and set mouth, he put one in mind of a proud, cruel, -malignant bird of prey. - -"That was really nothing remarkable," he exclaimed in a tone of assumed -contempt. "At home in the Caucasus my old father, although he is over -sixty-six, could cut off a horse's head in a trice. You see, my -children, everything can be acquired by practice and perseverance. At my -home we practise on bundles of fagots tightly twisted together, or we -try to cut through a water-spout without the least splash being -noticeable. Well, Lbov, it's your turn now." - -At that very moment, however, Bobuilev, the "non-com.," rushed up to -Viätkin, with terror depicted on every feature. - -"Your Honour! The Commander of the regiment is here." - -"Attention!" cried Captain Sliva's sharp voice from the other side of -the parade-ground. The officers hastily made their way to their -respective detachments. - -A large open carriage slowly approached the avenue and stopped at the -parade-ground. Out of it stepped the Commander with great trouble and -agony amidst a loud moaning and groaning from the side of the poor -carriage. The Commander was followed by his Adjutant, Staff-Captain -Federovski, a tall, slim officer of smart appearance. - -"Good day, 7th Company," was his greeting in a careless, indistinct -voice. An ear-splitting chorus of soldiers, dispersed over the whole -extent of the ground, replied instantly: "God preserve your Excellency!" - -The officers touched their caps. - -"Proceed with the drill," ordered the Commander, as he went up to the -nearest platoon. - -Colonel Shulgovich was evidently not in a good humour. He wandered about -the platoons, growling and swearing, all the while repeatedly trying to -worry the life out of the unhappy recruits by catch-questions from the -"Military Regulations." Time after time he was heard to reel out the -most awful strings of insults and threats, and in this he displayed an -inventive power and mastery that could hardly be surpassed. The soldiers -stood before him, transfixed with terror, stiff, motionless, scarcely -daring to breathe, and, as it were, hypnotized by the incessant, -steadfast glances, as hard as marble, from those senile, colourless, -severe eyes. Colonel Shulgovich, although much troubled with fatness and -advanced in years, nevertheless still contrived to carry his huge, -imposing figure. His broad, fleshy face, with its bloated cheeks and -deeply receding forehead, was surrounded below by a thick, silvery, -pointed beard, whereby the great head came very closely to resemble an -awe-inspiring rhomboid. The eyebrows were grey, bushy, and threatening. -He always spoke in a subdued tone, but his powerful voice--to which -alone he owed his comparatively rapid promotion--was heard all the same -as far as the most distant point of the parade-ground, nay! even out on -the highroad. - -"Who are you?" asked the Colonel, suddenly halting in front of a young -soldier named Sharafutdinov, who was on sentry duty near the gymnastic -apparatus. - -"Recruit in the 6th Company, Sharafutdinov, your Excellency," the Tartar -answered in a strained and hoarse voice. - -"Fool! I mean, of course, what post are you supposed to occupy?" - -The soldier, who was frightened by his Commander's angry tone, was -silent: he could only produce one or two nervous twitchings of the -eyebrows. - -"Well?" Shulgovich raised his voice. - -"I--am--standing--on guard," the Tartar at last spluttered out, chancing -it. "I cannot--understand, your Excellency," he went on to say, but he -relapsed into silence again, and stood motionless. - -The Colonel's face assumed a dark brick colour, a shade with a touch of -blue about it, and his bushy eyebrows began to pucker in an alarming -way. Beside himself with fury, he turned round and said in a sharp -tone-- - -"Who is the youngest officer here?" - -Romashov stepped forward and touched his cap. - -"I am, Colonel." - -"Ha--Sub-lieutenant Romashov, you evidently train your men well. Stand -at attention and stretch your legs," bawled Shulgovich suddenly, his -eyes rolling. "Don't you know how to stand in the presence of your -commanding officer? Captain Sliva, I beg to inform you that your -subaltern officer has been lacking in the respect due to his chief. And -you, you miserable cur," he now turned towards the unhappy -Sharafutdinov, "tell me the name of your Commander." - -"I don't know," replied Sharafutdinov quickly, but in a firm tone in -which, nevertheless, a melancholy resignation might be detected. - -"Oh, _I_ ask you the name of your Colonel. Do you know who I am? -I--I--I!" and Shulgovich drummed with the flat of his hand several times -on his broad chest. - -"I don't know." - -The Colonel delivered himself of a string of about twenty words of -cynical abuse. "Captain Sliva, I order you at once to exhibit this son -of a sea-cook, so that all may see him, with rifle and heavy -accoutrements, and let him stand there till he rots. And as for you, -Sub-lieutenant, I know well enough that loose women and flirtation -interest you more than the service does. In waltzing and reading Paul de -Kock you're said to be an authority, but as to performing your duties, -instructing your men--that, of course, is beneath your dignity. Just -look at this creature" (he gave Sharafutdinov a sound slap on the -mouth)--"is this a Russian soldier? No, he's a brute beast, who does not -even recognize his own commanding officer. You ought to be ashamed of -yourself." - -Romashov stared speechlessly at his chief's red and rage-distorted -countenance. He felt his heart threatening to burst with shame and -indignation. Suddenly, almost unconsciously, he burst out in a hollow -voice-- - -"Colonel, this fellow is a Tartar and does not understand a word of our -language, and besides...." - -But he did not finish his sentence. Shulgovich's features had that very -instant undergone a ghastly change. His whole countenance was as white -as a corpse's, his withered cheeks were transfused with sharp, nervous -puckers, and his eyes assumed a terrible expression. - -"Wh-at!" roared he in a voice so unnatural and awe-inspiring that a -little crowd of Jew boys, who, some distance from the causeway, were -sitting on the fence on which they had swarmed, were scattered like -sparrows--"you answer back? Silence! A raw young ensign permits himself -to---- Lieutenant Federovski, enter in my day-book that I have ordered -Sub-lieutenant Romashov four days' arrest in his room for breach of -discipline. And Captain Sliva is to be severely rebuked for neglecting -to instil into his junior officers 'a true military spirit.'" - -The Adjutant saluted respectfully without any sign of fear. Captain -Sliva stood the whole time bending slightly forward, with his hand to -his cap, and quivering with emotion, though without altering a feature -of his wooden face. - -"I cannot help being surprised at you, Captain Sliva," again grunted -Shulgovich, who had now to some extent regained his self-control. "How -is it possible that you, who are one of the best officers in the -regiment, and, moreover, old in the service, can let your youngsters run -so wild? They want breaking in. It is no use to treat them like young -ladies and being afraid of hurting them." - -With these words he turned his back on the Captain, and, followed by the -Adjutant, proceeded to the carriage awaiting him. Whilst he was getting -into the carriage, and till the latter had turned round behind the -corner of the regimental school, a dull, painful silence reigned in the -parade-ground. - -"Ah! you dear old ducky," exclaimed Captain Sliva in a dry tone and with -deep contempt, when the officers had, some minutes later, separated. -"Now, gentlemen, I suppose I, too, ought to say a couple of loving words -to you. Learn to stand at attention and hold your jaw even if the sky -falls--etc. To-day I've had a wigging for you before the whole of my -company. Who saddled me with you? Who asked for your services? Not I, at -any rate. You are, for me and my company, about as necessary as a fifth -leg is to a dog. Go to the deuce, and return to your feeding-bottle." - -He finished his bitter lecture with a weary, contemptuous movement of -his hand, and dragged himself slowly away in the direction of his dark, -dirty, cheerless bachelor quarters. Romashov cast a long glance at him, -and gazing at the tall, thin figure, already bent with age, as well as -by the affront just endured, he felt a deep pity for this lonely, -embittered man whom nobody loved, who had only two interests in the -whole world--correct "dressing" of the 6th Company when marching at a -review, and the dear little schnapps bottle which was his trusty and -sole companion till bedtime. - -And whereas Romashov also had the absurd, silly habit, which is often -peculiar to young people, viz. in his introspection to think of himself -as a third party, and then weave his noble personality into a -sentimental and stilted phrase from novelettes, our soft-hearted -lieutenant now expressed his opinion of himself in the following -touching manner-- - -"And over his kindly, expressive eyes fell the shadow of grief." - - - - -II - - -The soldiers marched home to their quarters in platoon order. The square -was deserted. Romashov stood hesitating for a moment at the causeway. It -was not the first time during the year and a half he had been in the -service he had experienced that painful feeling of loneliness, of being -lost among strangers either hostile or indifferent, or that distressful -hesitation as to where one shall spend the evening. To go home or spend -the evening at the officers' mess was equally distasteful to him. At the -latter place, at that time of day, there was hardly a soul, at most a -couple of ensigns who, whilst they drank ale and smoked to excess and -indulged in as many oaths and unseemly words as possible, played -pyramids in the wretched little narrow billiard-room; in addition to all -this, the horrible smell of food pervading all the rooms. - -"I shall go down to the railway-station," said Romashov at last. "That -will be something to do." - -In the poor little town, the population of which mainly consisted of -Jews, the only decent restaurant was that at the railway-station. There -were certainly two clubs--one for officers, the other for the civilian -"big-wigs" of the community. They were both, however, in a sorry plight, -and on these grounds the railway restaurant had become the only place -where the inhabitants assembled to shake off the dust of everyday life, -and to get a drink or a game at cards. Even the ladies of the place -accompanied their male protectors there, chiefly, however, to witness -the arrival of the trains and scrutinize the passengers, which always -offered a little change in the dreary monotony of provincial life. - -Romashov liked to go down to the railway-station of an evening at the -time when the express arrived, which made its last stop before reaching -the Prussian frontier. With a curious feeling of excitement and tension, -he awaited the moment when the train flashed round a sharp curve of the -line, the locomotive's fiery, threatening eye grew rapidly in size and -intensity, and, at the next second, thundered past him a whole row of -palatial carriages. "Like a monstrously huge giant that suddenly checks -himself in the middle of a furious leap," he thought, the train came to -an abrupt stop before the platform. From the dazzling, illuminated -carriages, that resembled a fairy palace, stepped beautiful and elegant -ladies in wonderful hats, gentlemen dressed according to the latest -Paris fashion, who, in perfect French or German, greeted one another -with compliments or pointed witticisms. None of the passengers took the -slightest notice of Romashov, who saw in them a striking little sample -of that envied and unattainable world where life is a single, -uninterrupted, triumphal feast. - -After an interval of eight minutes a bell would ring, the engine would -whistle, and the _train de luxe_ would flit away into the darkness. The -station would be soon deserted after this, and the lights lowered in the -buffet and on the platform, where Romashov would remain gazing with -melancholy eyes, after the lurid gleam of the red lamp of the rear -coach, until it disappeared in the gloom like an extinguished spark. - -"I shall go to the station for a while," Romashov repeated to himself -once more, but when he cast a glance at his big, clumsy goloshes, -bespattered with clay and filth, he experienced a keen sense of shame. -All the other officers in the regiment wore the same kind of goloshes. -Then he noticed the worn buttonholes of his shabby cloak, its many -stains, and the fearfully torn lower border that almost degenerated into -a sort of fringe at the knees, and he sighed. One day in the previous -week he had, as usual, been promenading the platform, looking with -curiosity at the express train that had just arrived, when he noticed a -tall, extraordinarily handsome lady standing at the open door of a -first-class carriage. She was bare-headed, and Romashov managed to -distinguish a little, straight, piquant nose, two charming, pouting -lips, and a splendid, gleaming black head of hair which, parted in the -middle of her forehead, stole down to her coquettish little ears. Behind -her, and looking over her shoulder, stood a gigantic young man in a -light suit, with a scornful look, and moustaches after the style -affected by Kaiser Wilhelm. In fact, he bore a certain resemblance to -Wilhelm. The lady looked at Romashov, it seemed to him with an -expression of interest, and he said to himself: "The fair unknown's eyes -rested with pleasure on the young warrior's tall, well-formed figure." -But when, after walking on a few steps, he turned round to catch the -lady's eyes again, he saw that both she and her companion were looking -after him and laughing. In that moment he saw himself from outside, as -it were--his awful goloshes, his cloak, pale face, stiff, angular -figure--and experienced a feeling of shame and indignation at the -thought of the bombastic, romantic phrase he had just applied to -himself. Ah! even at this moment, when he was walking along the road in -the gloomy spring evening, he flushed at that torturing recollection. - -"No, I shall not go to the station," he whispered to himself with bitter -hopelessness. "I'll take a little stroll and then go straight home." - -It was in the beginning of April. The dusk was deepening into night. The -poplars that bordered the road, the small white houses with their -red-tiled roofs, the few wanderers one met in the street at this -hour--all grew darker, lost colour and perspective. All objects were -changed into black shadow, the lines of which, however, still showed -distinctly against the dark sky. Far away westwards, outside the town, -the sunset still gleamed fiery red. Vast dark-blue clouds melted slowly -down into a glowing crater of streaming, flaming gold, and then assumed -a blood-red hue with rays of violet and amber. But above the volcano, -like a dome of varying green, turquoise and beryl, arose the boundless -sky of a luminous spring night. - -Romashov looked steadily at this enchanting picture whilst he slowly and -laboriously dragged himself and his goloshes along the causeway. As he -always did, even from childhood, he even now indulged in fancies of a -mysterious, marvellous world that waited for and beckoned to him in the -far distance, beyond the sunset. Just there--there behind the clouds and -the horizon--is hidden a wonderfully beautiful city lighted up by the -beams of a sun invisible from here, and protected against our eyes by -heavy, inexorable, threatening clouds. There the human eye is blinded by -streets paved with gold; there, to a dazzling height, the dome-capped -towers rise above the purple-hued roofs, where the palace windows -shimmer in the sun like innumerable gems, where countless flags and -banners resplendent with colour sway in the breeze. And in this fairy -city throng bands of rejoicing people, whose whole life is nothing but -an endless, intoxicating feast, a chord of harmony and bliss vibrating -for ever and ever. In paradisaical parks and gardens, amidst fountains -and flowers, stroll godlike men and women fair as the day, who have -never yet known an unfulfilled desire, who have never yet experienced -sorrow and struggle and shame. - -Romashov suddenly called to mind the painful scene in the parade-ground, -the Commander's coarse invectives and that outrageous insult in the -presence of his comrades and subordinates. Ah! what affected him most -bitterly of all was that a person had railed at him before the soldiers -in the same rough and ruthless way as he himself, alas! had only too -often done to his subordinates. This he felt almost as a degradation, -nay, even as a debasement of his dignity as a human being. - -Then awoke within him, exactly as was the case in his early youth--alas! -in many respects he still much resembled a big child--feelings at once -revengeful, fantastic, and intoxicating. "Stuff and nonsense!" he -shouted out to himself. "All my life is before me." And, as it were, in -keeping with his thoughts, he took firmer strides, and breathed more -deeply. "To-morrow to spite them all I shall rise with the sun, stick to -my books, and force an entrance into the Military Academy. Hard work? I -can work hard if I like. I must take myself in hand, that is all. I'll -read and cram like fury, early and late, and then, some fine day, to -every one's astonishment, I shall pass a brilliant examination. And -then, of course, every one will say: 'This was nothing unexpected, we -might have foretold that long ago. Such an energetic, talented young -man!'" - -And our Romashov already saw himself in his mind's eye with a snug Staff -appointment and unlimited possibilities in the future. His name stood -engraved on the golden tablet of the Military Academy. The professors -had predicted a brilliant career for him, tried to retain him as a -lecturer at the Academy, etc. etc.--but in vain. All his tastes were for -the practical side, for troop service. He had also first to perform his -duties as company officer, and as a matter of course--yes, _as a matter -of course_--in his old regiment. He would, therefore, have to make -another appearance here--in this disgusting little out-of-the-way -hole--as a Staff officer uncommonly learned and all-accomplished, in -every respect unsurpassable, well-bred and elegant, inexorably severe to -himself, but benevolently condescending towards others, a pattern for -all, envied by all, etc. etc. He had seen at the manoeuvres in the -previous year a similar prodigy, who stood millions of miles above the -rest of mankind, and who, therefore, kept himself far apart from his -comrades at the officers' mess. Cards, dice, heavy drinking and noisy -buffoonery were not in his line; he had higher views. Besides, he had -only honoured with a short visit that miserable place, which for him was -only a stage, a step-ladder on the road to honour--and decorations. - -And Romashov pursued his fancies. The grand manoeuvres have begun, and -the battalion is busy. Colonel Shulgovich, who never managed to make out -the strategical or tactical situation, gets more and more muddled in his -orders, commands and countermands, marches his men aimlessly here and -there, and has already got two orderlies at him, bringing severe -reprimands from the Commander of the corps. "Look here, Captain," says -Shulgovich, turning to his former sub-lieutenant, "help me out of this. -We are old and good friends, you know--well, we did have a little -difference on one occasion. Now tell me what I ought to do." His face is -red with anxiety and vexation; but Romashov sits straight in the saddle, -salutes stiffly, and in a respectful but freezing tone replies: "Pardon, -Colonel. _Your_ duty is to advance your regiment in accordance with the -Commander's order; _mine_ is only to receive your instructions and to -carry them out to the best of my ability." In the same moment a third -orderly from the Commander approaches at a furious gallop. - -Romashov, the brilliant Staff officer, rises higher and higher towards -the pinnacles of power and glory. A dangerous strike has taken place at -a steel manufactory. Romashov's company is charged with the difficult -and hazardous task of restoring peace and order amongst the rioters. -Night and gloom, incendiarism, a flaming sea of fire, an innumerable, -hooting, bloodthirsty mob, a shower of stones. A stately young officer -steps in front of the company, his name is Romashov. "Brothers," cries -he, in a strong but melodious voice, "for the third and last time I -beseech you to disperse, otherwise--I shall fire." Wild shouts, derisive -laughter, whistling. A stone hits Romashov on the shoulder, but his -frank, handsome countenance maintains its unalterable calm. Slowly he -turns towards his soldiers, whose eyes scintillate with rage at the -insolent outrage that some one had dared to commit on their idolized -Captain. A few brief, energetic words of command are heard, "Line and -aim--fire!" A crashing report of rifles, immediately followed by a roar -of rage and despair from the crowd. A few score dead and wounded lie -where they have fallen; the rest flee in disorder or beg for mercy and -are taken prisoners. The riot is quelled, and Romashov awaits a gracious -token of the Tsar's gratitude and favour, together with a special reward -for the heroism he displayed. - -Then comes the longed-for war. Nay, even before the war he is sent by -the War Office to Germany as a spy on the enemy's military power near -the frontier. Perfectly familiar with the German language, he enters -upon his hazardous career. How delightful is such an adventure to a -brave and patriotic man! Absolutely alone, with a German passport in his -pocket and a street organ on his back, he wanders from town to town, -from village to village, grinds out tunes, collects coppers, plays the -part of a simple lout, and meanwhile obtains, in all secrecy, plans and -sketches of fortresses, stores, barracks, camps, etc., etc. Foes and -perils lie in wait for him every minute. His own Government has left him -helpless and unprotected. He is virtually an outlaw. If he succeeds in -his purpose, honours and rewards of all kinds await him. Should he be -unmasked, he will be condemned straight off to be shot or hanged. He -sees himself standing in the dark and gloomy trench, confronted by his -executioners. Out of compassion they fasten a white cloth before his -eyes; but he tears it away and throws it to the ground with the proud -words, "Do you not think an officer can face death?" An old Colonel -replies, in a quivering voice: "Listen, my young friend. I have a son of -the same age as you. I will spare you. Tell us your name--tell us, at -any rate, your nationality, and the death sentence will be commuted to -imprisonment." "I thank you, Colonel; but it is useless. Do your duty." -Then he turns to the soldiers, and says to them in a firm voice in -German: "Comrades, there is only one favour I would crave: spare my -face, aim at my heart." The officer in command, deeply moved, raises his -white pocket-handkerchief--a crashing report--and Romashov's story is -ended. - -This picture made such a lively impression on his imagination that -Romashov, who was already very excited and striding along the road, -suddenly stopped short, trembling all over. His heart beat violently, -and he clenched his hands convulsively. He gained, however, command over -himself immediately, and smiling compassionately at himself, he -continued on his way in the darkness. - -But it was not long before he began to conjure up fresh pictures in his -imagination. The cruel war with Prussia and Austria, long expected and -prepared for, had come. An enormous battlefield, corpses everywhere, -havoc, annihilation, blood, and death. It was the chief battle, on the -issue of which the whole war depended. The decisive moment had arrived. -The last reserves had been brought up, and one was waiting anxiously for -the Russian flanking column to arrive in time to attack the enemy in the -rear. At any cost the enemy's frantic attack must be met without -flinching. The most important and threatened position on the field was -occupied by the Kerenski regiment, which was being decimated by the -concentrated fire of the enemy. The soldiers fight like lions without -yielding an inch, although the whole line is being mowed down by a -murderous fire of shells. Every one feels that he is passing through an -historical moment. A few more seconds of heroic endurance and victory -will be snatched out of the enemy's hands. But Colonel Shulgovich -wavers. He is a brave man--that must be admitted--but the perils of a -fight like this are too much for his nerves. He turns pale and trembles. -The next moment he signals to the bugler to sound the retreat, and the -latter has already put the bugle to his lips, when, that very moment, -Colonel Romashov, chief of the Staff, comes dashing from behind the hill -on his foaming Arab steed. "Colonel, we dare not retreat. The fate of -Russia will be decided here." Shulgovich begins blustering. "Colonel -Romashov, it is I who am in command and must answer to God and the Tsar. -The regiment must retire--blow the bugle." But Romashov snatches the -bugle from the bugler's hand and hurls it to the ground. "Forward, my -children!" he shouts; "the eyes of your Emperor and your -fellow-countrymen are fixed on you." "Hurrah!" With a deafening shout of -joy the soldiers, led by Romashov, rush at the foe. Everything -disappears in a chasm of fire and smoke. The enemy wavers, and soon his -lines are broken; but behind him gleam the Russian bayonets. "The -victory is ours! Hurrah, comrades"---- - -Romashov, who no longer walked but ran, gesticulating wildly, at last -stopped and gradually became himself again. It seemed to him as if some -one with fingers cold as ice had suddenly passed them over his back, -arms, and legs, his hair bristled, and his strong excitement had brought -tears to his eyes. He had no notion how he suddenly found himself near -his quarters, and, as he recovered from his mad fancies, he gazed with -astonishment at the street door he knew so well, at the neglected -fruit-garden within which stood the little whitewashed wing where he -lodged. - -"How does all this nonsense get into my head?" said he, with a sense of -shame and a shrug of his shoulders in self-contempt. - - - - -III - - -When Romashov reached his room he threw himself, just as he was, with -cap and sabre, on his bed, and for a long time he lay there motionless, -staring up at the ceiling. His head burned, his back ached; and he -suffered from a vacuum within him as profound as if his mind was -incapable of harbouring a feeling, a memory, or a thought. He felt -neither irritation nor sadness, but he was sensible of a suffocating -weight on his heart, of darkness and indifference. - -The shades of a balmy April night fell. He heard his servant quietly -occupied with some metal object in the hall. - -"Curiously enough," said he to himself, "I have read somewhere or other -that one cannot live a single second without thinking. But here I lie -and think about absolutely nothing. Isn't that so? Perhaps it is just -this: I am thinking that _I am thinking about nothing_. It even seems as -if a tiny wheel in my brain is in motion. And see here a new reflection, -an objective introspection--I am also thinking of----" - -He lay so long and tortured himself with such forced mental images that -returned in an eternal circle that it finally became physically -repulsive to him. It was just as if a great loathsome spider, from which -he could not extricate himself, was softly groping about _under his -brain_. At last he raised his head from the pillows and called out-- - -"Hainán." - -At that very moment was heard a tremendous crash of something falling -and rolling on the floor. It was probably the funnel belonging to the -samovar which had dropped. The door was opened hastily and shut again -with a loud bang. The servant burst into the room, making as much noise -in opening and shutting the door as if we were running away from some -one. - -"It is I, your Honour," shrieked Hainán in a fear-stricken voice. - -"Has there been any message from Lieutenant Nikoläiev?" - -"No, your Excellency," replied Hainán in the same shrieking tone. - -Between the officer and his servant there existed a certain simple, -sincere, affectionately familiar relationship. When the question only -required the usual stereotyped, official answer, e.g. "Yes, your -Excellency," "No, your Excellency," etc., then Hainán shrieked the words -in the same wooden, soulless, and unnatural way as soldiers always do in -the case of their officers, and which, from their first days in the -recruit school, becomes ineradicably ingrained in them as long as they -live. - -Hainán was by birth a Circassian, and by religion an idolater. This -latter circumstance gave great satisfaction to Romashov, because among -the young officers of the regiment the silly and boyish custom prevailed -of training their respective servants to be something unique, or of -teaching them certain semi-idiotic answers and phrases. - -For instance, when his friends paid him a visit, Viätkin used to say to -his orderly, a Moldavian, "Busioskul, have we any champagne in the -cellar?" And Busioskul would answer with imperturbable gravity, "No, -your Excellency. Last night you were pleased to drink up the last -dozen." Another officer, Sub-lieutenant Epifanov, amused himself by -putting to his servant learned and difficult questions which he himself -could hardly answer. "Listen, my friend, what are your views on the -restoration of the monarchy in France at the present day?" The servant -answers, "Your Honour, it will, I think, succeed." Lieutenant Bobetinski -had written down a whole catechism for his flunkey, and the latter -trained genius replied frankly and unhesitatingly to the most absurd -questions, e.g. "Why is this important for the third?" Answer--"For the -third this is not important." "What is Holy Church's opinion about it?" -Answer--"Holy Church has no opinion about it." The same servant would -declaim, with the quaintest, semi-tragical gestures, Pinen's rôle in -"Boris-Gudunov." It was also usual and much appreciated to make him -express himself in French: "Bong shure, musseur. Bon nuite, moussier. -Vulley vous du tay, musseur?" etc. etc., in that style. All these -follies naturally arose from the dullness of that little garrison town, -and the narrowness of a life from which all interests were excluded -except those belonging to the service. - -Romashov often talked to Hainán about his gods--about whom the -Circassian had only dim and meagre ideas; but it amused him greatly to -make Hainán tell the story of how he took the oath of allegiance to the -Tsar and Russia--a story well worth hearing now and then. At that time -the oath of allegiance was, for the Orthodox, administered by a priest -of the Greek Church; for Catholics, by the _ksends_[3]; for -Protestants, when a Lutheran pastor was not available, by Staff-Captain -Ditz; and for Mohammedans, by Lieutenant Biek-Agamalov. For Hainán and -two of his fellow-countrymen a particular and highly original form had -been authorized. The three soldiers were ordered to march in turn up to -the Adjutant of the regiment, and from the point of the sabre held -towards them they were required to bite off, with deep reverence, a -piece of bread that had been dipped in salt. Under no circumstances was -the bread to be touched by their hands. The symbolism of this curious -ceremony was as follows: When the Circassian had eaten his lord's--the -Tsar's--bread and salt in this peculiar way he was ruthlessly condemned -to die by the sword if he ever failed in loyalty and obedience. Hainán -was evidently very proud of having thus taken his oath of allegiance to -the Tsar, and he never got tired of relating the circumstance; but as -every time he told his story he adorned it with fresh inventions and -absurdities, it became at last a veritable Münchausen affair, which was -always received with Homeric laughter by Romashov and his guests. - -Hainán now thought that his master would start his usual questions about -gods and Adjutants, and stood ready to begin with a cunning smile on his -face, when Romashov said-- - -"That will do; you can go." - -"Shall I not lay out your Honour's new uniform?" asked the -ever-attentive Hainán. - -Romashov was silent and pondered. First he would say "Yes," then "No," -and again "Yes." At last, after a long, deep sigh, uttered in the -descending scale, he replied in a tone of resignation-- - -"No, Hainán, never mind about that--get the samovar ready and then run -off to the mess for my supper." - -"I will stay away to-day," whispered he to himself. "It doesn't do to -bore people to death by calling on them like that every day. And, -besides, it is plain I am not a man people long for." - -His resolution to stay at home that evening seemed fixed enough, and yet -an inner voice told him that even to-day, as on most other days during -the past three months, he would go to the Nikoläievs'. Every time he -bade these friends of his good-bye at midnight, he had, with shame and -indignation at his own weakness and lack of character, sworn to himself -on his honour that he would not pay another call there for two or three -weeks. Nay, he had even made up his mind to give up altogether these -uncalled-for visits. And all the while he was on his way home, whilst he -was undressing, ah! even up to the moment he fell asleep, he believed it -would be an easy matter for him to keep his resolution. The night went -by, the morning dawned, and the day dragged on slowly and unwillingly, -evening came, and once more an irresistible force drew him to this -handsome and elegant abode, with its warm, well-lighted, comfortable -rooms, where peace, harmony, cheerful and confidential conversation, -and, above all, the delightful enchantment of feminine beauty awaited -him. - -Romashov sat on the edge of his bed. It was already dark, but he could, -nevertheless, easily discern the various objects in his room. Oh, how he -loathed day by day his mean, gloomy dwelling, with its trumpery, -tasteless furniture! His lamp, with its ugly shade that resembled a -night-cap, on the inconvenient, rickety writing-table, looked haughtily -down on the nerve-torturing alarm-clock and the dirty, vulgar inkstand -that had the shape of a badly modelled pug-dog. Over his head something -intended to represent a wall decoration--a piece of felt on which had -been embroidered a terrible tiger and a still more terrible Arab riding -on horseback, armed with a spear. In one corner a tumbledown bookstand, -in the other the fantastic silhouette of a hideous violoncello case. -Over the only window the room could boast a curtain of plaited straw -rolled up into a tube. Behind the door a clothes-stand concealed by a -sheet that had been white in prehistoric times. Every unmarried -subaltern officer had the same articles about him, with the exception of -the violoncello which Romashov had borrowed from the band attached to -the regiment--in which it was completely unnecessary--with the intention -of developing on it his musical talent. But as soon as he had tried in -vain to teach himself the C major scale, he tired of the thing -altogether, and the 'cello had now stood for more than a year, dusty and -forgotten, in its dark corner. - -More than a year ago Romashov, who had just left the military college, -had taken both pride and joy in furnishing his modest lodgings. To have -a room of his own, his own things, to choose and buy household furniture -according to his own liking, to arrange everything according to his own -consummate taste--all that highly flattered the _amour propre_ of that -young man of two-and-twenty. It seemed only yesterday that he sat on the -school form, or marched in rank and file with his comrades off to the -general mess-room to eat, at the word of command, his frugal breakfast. -To-day he was his own master. And how many hopes and plans sprang into -his brain in the course of those never-to-be-forgotten days when he -furnished and "adorned" his new home! What a severe programme he -composed for his future! The first two years were to be devoted chiefly -to a thorough study of classical literature, French and German, and also -music. After that, a serious preparation for entering the Staff College -was to follow. It was necessary to study sociology and society life, and -to be abreast of modern science and literature. Romashov therefore felt -himself bound at least to subscribe to a newspaper and to take in a -popular monthly magazine. The bookstand was adorned with Wundt's -_Psychology_, Lewes's _Physiology_, and Smiles's _Self-Help_, etc., etc. - -But for nine long months have the books lain undisturbed on their -shelves, forgotten by Hainán, whose business it is to dust them. Heaps -of newspapers, not even stripped of their wrappers, lie cast in a pile -beneath the writing-table, and the æsthetic magazine to which we just -referred has ceased to reach Romashov on account of repeated -"irregularities" with regard to the half-yearly payment. Sub-Lieutenant -Romashov drinks a good deal of vodka at mess; he has a tedious and -loathsome liaison with a married woman belonging to the regiment, whose -consumptive and jealous husband he deceives in strict accordance with -all the rules of art; he plays _schtoss_,[4] and more and more -frequently comes into unpleasant collisions both in the service and also -in the circles of his friends and acquaintances. - -"Pardon me, your Honour," shouted his servant, entering the room -noisily. Then he added in a friendly, simple, good-natured tone: "I -forgot to mention that a letter has come from Mrs. Peterson. The -orderly who brought it is waiting for an answer." - -Romashov frowned, took the letter, tore open a long, slender, -rose-coloured envelope, in a corner of which fluttered a dove with a -letter in its beak. - -"Light the lamp, Hainán," said he to his servant. - - MY DEAR DARLING IRRESISTIBLE LITTLE GEORGI (read Romashov in the - sloping, crooked lines he knew so well),--For a whole week you have - not been to see me, and yesterday I was so miserable without you - that I lay and wept the whole night. Remember that if you fool me - or deceive me I shall not survive it. One single drop of poison and - I shall be freed from my tortures for ever; but, as for you, - conscience shall gnaw you for ever and ever. You must--must come to - me to-night at half-past seven. _He_ is not at home, he is - somewhere--on tactical duty or whatever it is called. Do come! I - kiss you a thousand thousand times. - -Yours always, -RAISA. - - P.S.-- - - Have you forgotten the river fast rushing, - Under the willow-boughs wending its way, - Kisses you gave me, dear, burning and crushing, - When in your strong arms I tremblingly lay? - - P.SS.--You must absolutely attend the soirée next Saturday at the - officers' mess. I will give you the third quadrille. You - understand. - -A long way down on the fourth page lay written-- - - I have kissed - here. - -This delightful epistle wafted the familiar perfume of Persian lilac, -and drops of that essence had, here and there, left yellow stains behind -them on the letter, in which the characters had run apart in different -directions. This stale scent, combined with the tasteless, absurdly -sentimental tone throughout this letter from a little, immoral, -red-haired woman, excited in Romashov an intolerable feeling of disgust. -With a sort of grim delight he first tore the letter into two parts, -laid them carefully together, tore them up again, laid the bits of paper -once more together, and tore them again into little bits till his -fingers got numb, and then, with clenched teeth and a broad, cynical -grin, threw the fragments under his writing-table. At the same time, -according to his old habit, he had time to think of himself in the third -person-- - -"And he burst out into a bitter, contemptuous laugh." - -A moment later he realized that he would have to go that evening to the -Nikoläievs'. "But this is the last time." After he had tried to deceive -himself by these words, he felt for once happy and calm. - -"Hainán, my clothes." - -He made his toilet hastily and impatiently, put on his elegant new -tunic, and sprinkled a few drops of eau-de-Cologne on a clean -handkerchief; but when he was dressed, and ready to go, he was stopped -suddenly by Hainán. - -"Your Honour," said the Circassian, in an unusually meek and -supplicating tone, as he began to execute a most curious sort of dance -before his master. Whilst he was performing a kind of "march on the -spot" he lifted his knees right up, one after the other, rocking his -shoulders, nodding his head, and making a series of convulsive movements -in the air with his arms and fingers. Hainán was in the habit of giving -vent to his excited feelings by curious gestures of that sort. - -"What do you want now?" - -"Your Honour," stammered Hainán, "I want to ask you something; please -give me the white gentleman." - -"The white gentleman? What white gentleman?" - -"The one you ordered me to throw away--the one standing in that corner." - -Hainán pointed with his fingers to the stove-corner, where a bust of -Pushkin was standing on the floor. This bust, which Romashov had -obtained from a wandering pedlar, really did not represent the famous -poet, but merely reproduced the forbidding features of an old Jew -broker. Badly modelled, so covered with dust and fly dirt as to be -unrecognizable, the stone image aroused Romashov's aversion to such an -extent that he had at last made up his mind to order Hainán to throw it -into the yard. - -"What do you want with it?" asked Romashov, laughing. "But take it by -all means, take it, I am only too pleased. I don't want it, only I -should like to know what you are going to do with it." - -Hainán smiled and changed from one foot to the other. - -"Well, take him, then; I wish you joy of it. By the way, do you know who -it is?" - -Hainán smiled in an embarrassed way, and infused still more energy into -his caperings. - -"No--don't know." Hainán rubbed his lips with his coat sleeve. - -"So you don't know. Well, listen. This is Pushkin--Alexander Sergievich -Pushkin. Did you understand me? Now repeat--'Alexander Sergievich----'" - -"Besiäev," repeated Hainán in a determined tone. - -"Besiäev? Well, call him Besiäev if you like. Now I am off. Should any -message come from Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, say I'm not at home, and you -don't know where I have gone. Do you understand? But if any one wants me -in the way of business connected with the regiment, run down at once for -me at Lieutenant Nikoläiev's. You may fetch my supper from the mess and -eat it yourself. Good-bye, old fellow." - -Romashov gave his servant a friendly smack on his shoulder, which was -answered by a broad, happy, familiar smile. - - - - -IV - - -When Romashov reached the yard it was quite dark. He stumbled like a -blind man into the street, his huge goloshes sank deep into the thick, -stiff mud, and every step he took was accompanied by a smacking noise. -Now and again one golosh stuck so fast in the mud of the road that it -remained there, and he had all the difficulty in the world, whilst -balancing himself wildly on his other foot, to recover his treasure. - -The little town seemed to him to be absolutely dead. Not a sound was -heard, even the dogs were silent. Here and there a gleam of light -streamed from the small, low-pitched, white house, against which the -window-sills sharply depicted their shapes in the yellowish-brown mire. -From the wet and sticky palings along which Romashov slowly worked his -way, from the raw, moist bark of the poplars, from the dirty road -itself, there arose a strong, refreshing scent of spring, which aroused -a certain unconscious sense of joy and comfort. Nay, even with the -tormenting gale which swept violently through the streets seemed mingled -a youthful, reawakened desire of life, and the gusts of wind chased one -another like boisterous and sportive children in a "merry-go-round." - -When Romashov reached the house where the Nikoläievs dwelt, he stopped, -despondent and perplexed. The close, cinnamon-coloured curtains were -let down, but behind them one could, nevertheless, distinguish the -clear, even glow of a lamp. On one side the curtain curved inwards and -formed a long, small chink against the window-sill. Romashov pressed his -face cautiously against the window, and hardly dared to breathe for fear -of betraying his presence. - -He could distinguish Alexandra Petrovna's head and shoulders. She was -sitting in a stooping attitude on that green rep divan that he knew so -well. From her bowed head and slight movements he concluded that she was -occupied with some needlework. Suddenly she straightened herself up, -raised her head, and drew a long breath. Her lips moved. - -"What is she saying?" thought Romashov. "And look! now she's smiling. -How strange to see through a window a person talking, and not to be able -to catch a word of what she says." - -The smile, however, suddenly disappeared from Alexandra Petrovna's face; -her forehead puckered, and her lips moved rapidly and vehemently. -Directly afterwards she smiled again, but wickedly and maliciously, and -with her head made a slow gesture of disapproval. - -"Perhaps they are talking about me," thought Romashov, not without a -certain disagreeable anxiety; but he knew how something pure, chaste, -agreeably soothing and benevolent beamed on him from this young woman -who, at that moment, made the same impression on him as a charming -canvas, the lovely picture of which reminded him of happy, innocent days -of long ago. "Shurochka," whispered Romashov tenderly. - -At that moment Alexandra Petrovna lifted her face from her work and cast -a rapid, searching, despondent glance at the window. Romashov thought -she was looking him straight in the face. It felt as if a cold hand had -seized his heart, and in his fright he hid himself behind a projection -of the wall. Again he was irresolute and ill at ease, and he was just -about to return home, when, by a violent effort of the will, he overcame -his pusillanimity and walked through a little back-door into the -kitchen. - -The Nikoläievs' servant relieved him of his muddy goloshes, and wiped -down his boots with a kitchen rag. When Romashov pulled out his -pocket-handkerchief to remove the mist from his eyeglass he heard -Alexandra Petrovna's musical voice from the drawing-room. - -"Stepan, have they brought the orders of the day yet?" - -"She said that with an object," thought Romashov to himself. "She knows -well enough that I'm in the habit of coming about this time." - -"No, it is I, Alexandra Petrovna," he answered aloud, but in an -uncertain voice, through the open drawing-room door. - -"Oh, it's you, Romashov. Well, come in, come in. What are you doing at -the side entrance? Volodya, Romashov is here." - -Romashov stepped in, made an awkward bow, and began, so as to hide his -embarrassment, to wipe his hands with his handkerchief. - -"I am afraid I bore you, Alexandra Petrovna." - -He tried to say this in an easy and jocose tone, but the words came out -awkwardly, and as it seemed to him, with a forced ring about them. - -"What nonsense you talk!" exclaimed Alexandra Petrovna. "Sit down, -please, and let us have some tea." - -Looking him straight in the face with her clear, piercing eyes, she -squeezed as usual his cold fingers with her little soft, warm hand. - -Nikoläiev sat with his back to them at the table that was almost hidden -by piles of books, drawings, and maps. Before the year was out he had to -make another attempt to get admitted to the Staff College, and for many -months he had been preparing with unremitting industry for this stiff -examination in which he had already twice failed. Staring hard at the -open book before him, he stretched his arm over his shoulder to Romashov -without turning round, and said, in a calm, husky voice-- - -"How do you do, Yuri[5] Alexievich? Is there any news? Shurochka, give -him some tea. Excuse me, but I am, as you see, hard at work." - -"What a fool I am!" cried poor Romashov to himself. "What business had I -here?" Then he added out loud: "Bad news. There are ugly reports -circulating at mess with regard to Lieutenant-Colonel Liech. He is said -to have been as tight as a drum. The resentment in the regiment is -widespread, and a very searching inquiry is demanded. Epifanov has been -arrested." - -"Oh!" remarked Nikoläiev in an absent tone. "But excuse my interruption. -You don't say so!" - -"I, too, have been rewarded with four days. But that is stale news." - -Romashov thought at that moment that his voice sounded peculiar and -unnatural, as if he were being throttled. "What a wretched creature I am -in their eyes!" thought he, but in the next moment consoled himself by -the help of that forced special pleading to which weak and timid persons -usually have recourse in similar predicaments. "Such you always are; -something goes wrong; you feel confused, embarrassed, and at once you -fondly imagine that others notice it, though only you yourself can be -clearly conscious of it," etc., etc. - -He sat down on a chair near Shurochka, whose quick crochet needle was in -full swing again. She never sat idle, and all the table-covers, -lamp-shades, and lace curtains were the product of her busy fingers. -Romashov cautiously took up the long crochet threads hanging from the -ball, and said-- - -"What do you call this sort of work?" - -"Guipure. This is the tenth time you have asked me that." - -Shurochka glanced quickly at him, and then let her eyes fall on her -work; but before long she looked up again and laughed. - -"Now then, now then, Yuri Alexievich, don't sit there pouting. -'Straighten your back!' and 'Head up!' Isn't that how you give your -commands?" - -But Romashov only sighed and looked out of the corner of his eye at -Nikoläiev's brawny neck, the whiteness of which was thrown into strong -relief by the grey collar of his old coat. - -"By Jove! Vladimir Yefimovich is a lucky dog. Next summer he's going to -St. Petersburg, and will rise to the heights of the Academy." - -"Oh, that remains to be seen," remarked Shurochka, somewhat tartly, -looking in her husband's direction. "He has twice been plucked at his -examination, and with rather poor credit to himself has had to return to -his regiment. This will be his last chance." - -Nikoläiev turned round suddenly; his handsome, soldierly, moustached -face flushed deeply, and his big dark eyes glittered with rage. - -"Don't talk rubbish, Shurochka. When I say I shall pass my examination, -I shall pass it, and that's enough about it." He struck the side of his -outstretched hand violently on the table. "You are always croaking. I -said I should--" - -"Yes, '_I said I should_,'" his wife repeated after him, whilst she -struck her knee with her little brown hand. "But it would be far better -if you could answer the following question: 'What are the requisites for -a good line of battle?' Perhaps you don't know" (she turned with a -roguish glance towards Romashov) "that I am considerably better up in -tactics than he. Well, Volodya--Staff-General that is to be--answer the -question now." - -"Look here, Shurochka, stop it," growled Nikoläiev in a bad temper. But -suddenly he turned round again on his chair towards his wife, and in his -wide-open, handsome, but rather stupid eyes might be read an amusing -helplessness, nay, even a certain terror. - -"Wait a bit, my little woman, and I will try to remember. 'Good fighting -order'? A good fighting order _must_ be arranged so that one does not -expose oneself too much to the enemy's fire; that one can easily issue -orders, that--that--wait a minute." - -"That waiting will be costly work for you in the future, I think," said -Shurochka, interrupting him, in a serious tone. Then, with head down and -her body rocking, she began, like a regular schoolgirl, to rattle off -the following lesson without stumbling over a single word-- - -"'The requisites of "good fighting order" are simplicity, mobility, -flexibility, and the ability to accommodate itself to the ground. It -ought to be easy to be inspected and led. It must, as far as possible, -be out of reach of the enemy's fire, easy to pass from one formation to -another, and able to be quickly changed from fighting to marching -order.' Done!" - -She opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and, as she turned her lively, -smiling countenance to Romashov, said-- - -"Was that all right?" - -"What a memory!" exclaimed Nikoläiev enviously, as he once more plunged -into his books. - -"We study together like two comrades," explained Shurochka. "I could -pass this examination at any time. The main thing"--she made an -energetic motion in the air with her crochet needle--"the main thing is -to work systematically or according to a fixed plan. Our system is -entirely my own invention, and I say so with pride. Every day we go -through a certain amount of mathematics and the science of war--I may -remark, by the way, that artillery is not my _forte_; the formulæ of -projectiles are to me specially distasteful--besides a bit out of the -Drill and Army Regulations Book. Moreover, every other day we study -languages, and on the days we do not study the latter we study history -and geography." - -"And Russian too?" asked Romashov politely. - -"Russian, do you say? Yes, that does not give us much trouble; we have -already mastered Groth's _Orthography_, and so far as the essays are -concerned, year after year they are after the eternal stereotyped -pattern: _Para pacem, para bellum_; characteristics of Onyägin and his -epoch, etc., etc." - -Suddenly she became silent, and snatched by a quick movement the -distracting crochet needle from Romashov's fingers. She evidently wanted -to monopolize the whole of his attention to what she now intended to -say. After this she began to speak with passionate earnestness of what -was at present the goal of all her thoughts and aims. - -"Romochka, please, try to understand me. I cannot--cannot stand this any -longer. To remain here is to deteriorate. To become a 'lady of the -regiment,' to attend your rowdy _soirées_, to talk scandal and intrigue, -to get into tempers every day, and wear out one's nerves over the -housekeeping, money and carriage bills, to serve in turn, according to -precedency, on ladies' committees and benevolent associations, to play -whist, to--no, enough of this. You say that our home is comfortable and -charming. But just examine this _bourgeois_ happiness. These eternal -embroideries and laces; these dreadful clothes which I have altered and -modernized God knows how often; this vulgar, 'loud'-coloured sofa rug -composed of rags from every spot on earth--all this has been hateful and -intolerable to me. Don't you understand, my dear Romochka, that it is -society--real society--that I want, with brilliant drawing-rooms, witty -conversation, music, flirtation, homage. As you are well aware, our good -Volodya is not one to set the Thames on fire, but he is a brave, -honourable, and industrious fellow. If he can only gain admission to the -Staff College I swear to procure him a brilliant career. I am a good -linguist; I can hold my own in any society whatever; I possess--I don't -know how to express it--a certain flexibility of mind or spirit that -helps me to hold my own, to adapt myself everywhere. Finally, Romochka, -look at me, gaze at me carefully. Am I, as a human being, so -uninteresting? Am I, as a woman, so devoid of all charms that I deserve -to be doomed to stay and be soured in this hateful place, in this awful -hole which has no place on the map?" - -She suddenly covered her face with her handkerchief, and burst into -tears of self-pity and wounded pride. - -Nikoläiev sprang from his chair and hastened, troubled and distracted, -to his wife; but Shurochka had already succeeded in regaining her -self-control and took her handkerchief away from her face. There were no -tears in her eyes now, but the glint of wrath and passion had not yet -died out of them. - -"It is all right, Volodya. Dear, it is nothing." She pushed him -nervously away. Immediately afterwards she turned with a little laugh to -Romashov, and whilst she was again snatching the thread from him, she -said to him coquettishly: "Answer me candidly, you clumsy thing, am I -pretty or not? Remember, though, it is the height of impoliteness not to -pay a woman the compliment she wants." - -"Shurochka, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!" exclaimed Nikoläiev -reprovingly, from his seat at the writing-table. - -Romashov smiled with a martyr's air of resignation. Suddenly he replied, -in a melancholy and quavering voice-- - -"You are very beautiful." - -Shurochka looked at him roguishly from her half-closed eyes, and a -turbulent curl got loose and fell over her forehead. - -"Romochka, how funny you are!" she twittered in a rather thin, girlish -voice. The sub-lieutenant blushed and thought according to his wont-- - -"And his heart was cruelly lacerated." - -Nobody said a word. Shurochka went on diligently crocheting. Vladimir -Yefimovich, who was bravely struggling with a German translation, now -and then mumbled out some German words. One heard the flame softly -sputtering and fizzing in the lamp, which displayed a great yellow silk -shade in the form of a tent. Romochka had again managed to possess -himself of the crochet-cotton, which, almost without thinking about it, -he softly and caressingly drew through the young woman's fingers, and it -afforded him a delightful pleasure to feel how Shurochka unconsciously -resisted his mischievous little pulls. It seemed to him as if -mysterious, magnetic currents, now and again, rushed backwards and -forwards through the delicate white threads. - -Whilst he was steadily gazing at her bent head, he whispered to himself, -without moving his lips, as if he were carrying on a tender and -impassioned conversation-- - -"How boldly you said to me, 'Am I pretty?' Ah, you are most beautiful! -Here I sit looking at you. What happiness! Now listen. I am going to -tell you how you look--how lovely you are. But listen carefully. Thy -face is as dark as the night, yet pale. It is a face full of passion. -Thy lips are red and warm and good to kiss, and thine eyes surrounded by -a light yellowish shadow. When thy glance is directed straight before -thee, the white of thine eyes acquires a bluish shade, and amidst it all -there beams on me a great dark blue mysteriously gleaming pupil. A -brunette thou art not; but thou recallest something of the gipsy. But -thy hair is silky and soft, and braided at the back in a knot so neat -and simple that one finds a difficulty in refraining from stroking it. -You little ethereal creature, I could lift you like a little child in my -arms; but you are supple and strong, your bosom is as firm as a young -girl's, and in all thy being there is something quick, passionate, -compelling. A good way down on your left ear sits a charming little -birthmark that is like the hardly distinguishable scar after a ring has -been removed. What charm----" - -"Have you read in the newspapers about the duel between two officers?" -asked Shurochka suddenly. - -Romashov started as he awoke from his dreams, but he found it hard to -remove his gaze from her. - -"No, I've not read about it, but I have heard talk of it. What about -it?" - -"As usual, of course, you read nothing. Truly, Yuri Alexeitch, you are -deteriorating. In my opinion the proceedings were ridiculous. I quite -understand that duels between officers are as necessary as they are -proper." - -Shurochka pressed her crochet to her bosom with a gesture of conviction. - -"But why all this unnecessary and stupid cruelty? Just listen. A -lieutenant had insulted another officer. The insult was gross, and the -Court of Honour considered a duel necessary. Now, there would have been -nothing to say about it, unless the conditions themselves of the duel -had been so fixed that the latter resembled an ordinary execution: -fifteen paces distance, and the fight to last till one of the duellists -was _hors de combat_. This is only on a par with ordinary slaughter, is -it not? But hear what followed. On the duelling-ground stood all the -officers of the regiment, many of them with ladies; nay, they had even -put a photographer behind the bushes! How disgusting! The unfortunate -sub-lieutenant or ensign--as Volodya usually says--a man of your -youthful age, moreover the party insulted, and not the one who offered -the insult--received, after the third shot, a fearful wound in the -stomach, and died some hours afterwards in great torture. By his -deathbed stood his aged mother and sister, who kept house for him. Now -tell me why a duel should be turned into such a disgusting spectacle. -Of course the immediate consequence" (Shurochka almost shrieked these -words) "was that all those sentimental opponents of duelling--eugh, how -I despise these 'liberal' weaklings and poltroons!--at once began making -a noise and fuss about 'barbarism,' 'fratricide,' how 'duels are a -disgrace to our times,' and more nonsense of that sort." - -"Good God! I could never believe that you were so bloodthirsty, -Alexandra Petrovna," exclaimed Romashov, interrupting her. - -"I am by no means bloodthirsty," replied Shurochka, sharply. "On the -contrary, I am very tender-hearted. If a beetle crawls on to my neck I -remove it with the greatest caution so as not to inflict any hurt on -it--but try and understand me, Romashov. This is my simple process of -reasoning: 'Why have we officers?' Answer: 'For the sake of war.' 'What -are the most necessary qualities of an officer in time of war?' Answer: -'Courage and a contempt of death.' 'How are these qualities best -acquired in time of peace?' Answer: 'By means of duels.' How can that be -proved? Duels are not required to be obligatory in the French Army, for -a sense of honour is innate in the French officer; he knows what respect -is due to himself and to others. Neither is duelling obligatory in the -German Army, with its highly developed and inflexible discipline. But -with us--us, as long as among our officers are to be found notorious -card-sharpers such as, for instance, Artschakovski; or hopeless sots, as -our own Nasanski, when, in the officers' mess or on duty, violent scenes -are of almost daily occurrence--then, such being the case, duels are -both necessary and salutary. An officer must be a pattern of -correctness; he is bound to weigh every word he utters. And, moreover, -this delicate squeamishness, the fear of a shot! Your vocation is to -risk your life--which is precisely the point." - -All at once she brought her long speech to a close, and with redoubled -energy resumed her work. - -"Shurochka, what is 'rival' in German?" asked Nikoläiev, lifting his -head from the book. - -"Rival?" Shurochka stuck her crochet-needle in her soft locks. "Read out -the whole sentence." - -"It runs--wait--directly--directly--ah! it runs: 'Our rival abroad.'" - -"_Unser ausländischer Nebenbuhler_" translated Shurochka straight off. - -"_Unser_," repeated Romashov in a whisper as he gazed dreamily at the -flame of the lamp. "When she is moved," thought he, "her words come like -a torrent of hail falling on a silver tray. _Unser_--what a funny word! -_Unser--unser--unser._" - -"What are you mumbling to yourself about, Romashov?" asked Alexandra -Petrovna severely. "Don't dare to sit and build castles in the air -whilst I am present." - -He smiled at her with a somewhat embarrassed air. - -"I was not building castles in the air, but repeating to myself -'_Unser--unser._' Isn't it a funny word?" - -"What rubbish you are talking! _Unser._ Why is it funny?" - -"You see" (he made a slight pause as if he really intended to think -about what he meant to say), "if one repeats the same word for long, and -at the same time concentrates on it all his faculty of thought, the word -itself suddenly loses all its meaning and becomes--how can I put it?" - -"I know, I know!" she interrupted delightedly. "But it is not easy to -do it now. When I was a child, now--how we used to love doing it!" - -"Yes--yes--it belongs to childhood--yes." - -"How well I remember it! I remember the word 'perhaps' particularly -struck me. I could sit for a long time with eyes shut, rocking my body -to and fro, whilst I was repeatedly saying over and over again, -'Perhaps, perhaps.' And suddenly I quite forgot what the word itself -meant. I tried to remember, but it was no use. I saw only a little -round, reddish blotch with two tiny tails. Are you attending?" Romashov -looked tenderly at her. - -"How wonderful that we should think the same thoughts!" he exclaimed in -a dreamy tone. "But let us return to our _unser_. Does not this word -suggest the idea of something long, thin, lanky, and having a sting--a -long, twisting insect, poisonous and repulsive?" - -"_Unser_, did you say?" Shurochka lifted up her head, blinked her eyes, -and stared obstinately at the darkest corner of the room. She was -evidently striving to improve on Romashov's fanciful ideas. - -"No, wait. _Unser_ is something green and sharp. Well, we'll suppose it -is an insect--a grasshopper, for instance--but big, disgusting, and -poisonous. But how stupid we are, Romochka!" - -"There's another thing I do sometimes, only it was much easier when I -was a child," resumed Romashov in a mysterious tone. "I used to take a -word and pronounce it slowly, extremely slowly. Every letter was drawn -out and emphasized interminably. All of a sudden I was seized by a -strangely inexpressible feeling: all--everything near me sank into an -abyss, and I alone remained, marvelling that I lived, thought, and -spoke." - -"I, too, have had a similar sensation," interrupted Shurochka gaily, -"yet not exactly the same. Sometimes I made violent efforts to hold my -breath all the time I was thinking. 'I am not breathing, and I won't -breathe again till, till'--then all at once I felt as if time was -running past me. No, time no longer existed; it was as if--oh, I can't -explain!" - -Romashov gazed into her enthusiastic eyes, and repeated in a low tone, -thrilling with happiness-- - -"No, you can't explain it. It is strange--inexplicable." - -Nikoläiev got up from the table where he had been working. His back -ached, and his legs had gone dead from long sitting in the same -uncomfortable position. The arteries of his strong, muscular body -throbbed when, with arms raised high, he stretched himself to his full -length. - -"Look here, my learned psychologists, or whatever I should call you, it -is supper-time." - -A cold collation had been laid in the comfortable little dining-room, -where, suspended from the ceiling, a china lamp with frosted glass shed -its clear light. Nikoläiev never touched spirits, but a little decanter -of schnapps had been put on the table for Romashov. Shurochka, -contorting her pretty face by a contemptuous grimace, said, in the -careless tone she so often adopted-- - -"Of course, you can't do without that poison?" - -Romashov smiled guiltily, and in his confusion the schnapps went the -wrong way, and set him coughing. - -"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" scolded his young hostess. "You can't -even drink it without choking over it. I can forgive it in your adored -Nasanski, who is a notorious drunkard, but for you, a handsome, -promising young man, not to be able to sit down to table without vodka, -it is really melancholy. But that is Nasanski's doing too!" - -Her husband, who was glancing through the regimental orders that had -just come in, suddenly called out-- - -"Just listen! 'Lieutenant Nasanski has received a month's leave from the -regiment to attend to his private affairs.' Tut, tut! What does that -mean? He has been tippling again? You, Yuri Alexievich, are said, you -know, to visit him. Is it a fact that he has begun to drink heavily?" - -Romashov looked embarrassed and lowered his gaze. - -"No, I have not observed it, but he certainly does drink a little now -and again, you know." - -"Your Nasanski is offensive to me," remarked Shurochka in a low voice, -trembling with suppressed bitterness. "If it were in my power I would -have a creature like that shot as if he were a mad dog. Such officers -are a disgrace to their regiment." - -Almost directly after supper was over, Nikoläiev, who in eating had -displayed no less energy than he had just done at his writing-table, -began to gape, and at last said quite plainly-- - -"Do you know, I think I'll just take a little nap. Or if one were to go -straight off to the Land of Nod, as they used to express it in our good -old novels----" - -"A good idea, Vladimir Yefimovich," said Romashov, interrupting him in, -as he thought, a careless, dreamy tone, but as he rose from table he -thought sadly, "They don't stand on ceremony with me here. Why on earth -do I come?" - -It seemed to him that it afforded Nikoläiev a particular pleasure to -turn him out of the house; but just as he was purposely saying good-bye -to his host first, he was already dreaming of the delightful moment -when, in taking leave of Shurochka, he would feel at the same time the -strong yet caressing pressure of a beloved one's hand. When this -longed-for moment at length arrived he found himself in such a state of -happiness that he did not hear Shurochka say to him-- - -"Don't quite forget us. You know you are always welcome. Besides, it is -far more healthy for you to spend your evenings with us than to sit -drinking with that dreadful Nasanski. Also, don't forget we stand on no -ceremony with you." - -He heard her last words as it were in a dream, but he did not realize -their meaning till he reached the street. - -"Yes, that is true indeed; they don't stand on ceremony with me," -whispered he to himself with the painful bitterness in which young and -conceited persons of his age are so prone to indulge. - - - - -V - - -Romashov was still standing on the doorstep. The night was rather warm, -but very dark. He began to grope his way cautiously with his hand on the -palings whilst waiting until his eyes got accustomed to the darkness. -Suddenly the kitchendoor of Nikoläiev's dwelling was thrown open, and a -broad stream of misty yellow light escaped. Heavy steps sounded in the -muddy street, the next moment Romashov heard Stepan's, the Nikoläievs' -servant's, angry voice-- - -"He comes here every blessed day, and the deuce knows what he comes -for." - -Another soldier, whose voice Romashov did not recognize, answered -indifferently with a lazy, long-drawn yawn-- - -"What business can it be of yours, my dear fellow? Good-night, Stepan." - -"Good-night to you, Baúlin; look in when you like." - -Romashov's hands suddenly clung to the palings. An unendurable feeling -of shame made him blush, in spite of the darkness. All his body broke -out into a perspiration, and, in his back and the soles of his feet, he -felt the sting of a thousand red-hot, pointed nails. "This chapter's -closed; even the soldiers laugh at me," thought he with indescribable -pain. Directly afterwards it flashed on his mind that that very evening, -in many expressions used, in the tones of the replies, in glances -exchanged between man and wife, he had seen a number of trifles that he -had hitherto not noticed, but which he now thought testified only to -contempt of him, and ridicule, impatience and indignation at the -persistent visits of that insufferable guest. - -"What a disgrace and scandal this is to me!" he whispered without -stirring from the spot. "Things have reached such a pitch that it is as -much as the Nikoläievs can do to endure my company." - -The lights in their drawing-room were now extinguished. "They are in -their bedroom now," thought Romashov, and at once he began fancying that -Nikoläiev and Shurochka were then talking about him whilst making their -toilet for the night with the indifference and absence of bashfulness at -each other's presence that is characteristic of married couples. The -wife is sitting in her petticoat in front of the mirror, combing her -hair. Vladimir Yefimovitch is sitting in his night-shirt at the edge of -the bed, and saying in a sleepy but angry tone, whilst flushed with the -exertion of taking off his boots: "Hark you, Shurochka, that infernal -bore, your dear Romashov, will be the death of me with his insufferable -visits. And I really can't understand how you can tolerate him." Then to -this frank and candid speech Shurochka replies, without turning round, -and with her mouth full of hairpins: "Be good enough to remember, sir, -he is not _my_ Romochka, but _yours_." - -Another five minutes elapsed before Romashov, still tortured by these -bitter and painful thoughts, made up his mind to continue his journey. -Along the whole extent of the palings belonging to the Nikoläievs' house -he walked with stealthy steps, cautiously and gently dragging his feet -from the mire, as if he feared he might be discovered and arrested as a -common vagrant. To go straight home was not to his liking at all. Nay, -he dared not even think of his gloomy, low-pitched, cramped room with -its single window and repulsive furniture. "By Jove! why shouldn't I -look up Nasanski, just to annoy _her_?" thought he all of a sudden, -whereupon he experienced the delightful satisfaction of revenge. - -"She reproached me for my friendship with Nasanski. Well, I shall just -for that very reason pay him a visit." - -He raised eyes to heaven, and said to himself passionately, as he -pressed his hands against his heart-- - -"I swear--I swear that to-day I have visited them for the last time. I -will no longer endure this mortification." - -And immediately afterwards he added mentally, as was his ingrained -habit-- - -"His expressive black eyes glistened with resolution and contempt." - -But Romashov's eyes, unfortunately, were neither "black" nor -"expressive," but of a very common colour, slightly varying between -yellow and green. - -Nasanski tenanted a room in a comrade's--Lieutenant Siégerscht's--house. -This Siégerscht was most certainly the oldest lieutenant in the whole -Russian Army. Notwithstanding his unimpeachable conduct as an officer -and the fact of his having served in the war with Turkey, through some -unaccountable disposition of fate, his military career seemed closed, -and every hope of further advancement was apparently lost. He was a -widower, with four little children and forty-eight roubles a month, on -which sum, strangely enough, he managed to get along. It was his -practice to hire large flats which he afterwards, in turn, let out to -his brother officers. He took in boarders, fattened and sold fowls and -turkeys, and no one understood better than he how to purchase wood and -other necessaries cheap and at the right time. He bathed his children -himself in a common trough, prescribed for them from his little -medicine-chest when they were ill, and, with his sewing-machine, made -them tiny shirts, under-vests, and drawers. Like many other officers, -Siégerscht had, in his bachelor days, interested himself in woman's -work, and acquired a readiness with his needle that proved very useful -in hard times. Malicious tongues went so far as to assert that he -secretly and stealthily sold his handiwork. - -Notwithstanding all his economy and closeness, his life was full of -troubles. Epidemic diseases ravaged his fowl-house, his numerous rooms -stood unlet for long periods; his boarders grumbled at their bad food -and refused to pay. The consequence of this was that, three or four -times a year, Siégerscht--tall, thin, and unshaven, with cheerless -countenance and a forehead dripping with cold sweat--might be seen on -his way to the town to borrow some small sum. And all recognized the -low, regimental cap that resembled a pancake, always with its peak -askew, as well as the antiquated cloak, modelled on those worn in the -time of the Emperor Nicholas, which waved in the breeze like a couple of -huge wings. - -A light was burning in Siégerscht's flat, and as Romashov approached the -window, he saw him sitting by a round table under a hanging-lamp. The -bald head, with its gentle, worn features, was bent low over a little -piece of red cloth which was probably destined to form an integral part -of a Little Russian _roubashka_.[6] Romashov went up and tapped at the -window. Siégerscht started up, laid aside his work, rose from the table, -and went up to the window. - -"It is I, Adam Ivanich--open the window a moment." - -Siégerscht opened a little pane and looked out. - -"Well, it's you, Sub-Lieutenant Romashov. What's up?" - -"Is Nasanski at home?" - -"Of course he's at home--where else should he be? Ah! your friend -Nasanski cheats me nicely, I can tell you. For two months I have kept -him in food, but, as for his paying for it, as yet I've only had grand -promises. When he moved here, I asked him most particularly that, to -avoid unpleasantness and misunderstandings, he should----" - -"Yes, yes, we know all about that," interrupted Romashov; "but tell me -now how he is. Will he see me?" - -"Yes, certainly, that he will; he does nothing but walk up and down his -room." Siégerscht stopped and listened for a second. "You yourself can -hear him tramping about. You see, I said to him, 'To prevent -unpleasantness and misunderstandings, it will be best for----'" - -"Excuse me, Adam Ivanich; but we'll talk of that another time. I'm in a -bit of a hurry," said Romashov, interrupting him for the second time, -and meanwhile continuing his way round the corner. A light was burning -in one of Nasanski's windows; the other was wide open. Nasanski himself -was walking, in his shirt sleeves and without a collar, backwards and -forwards with rapid steps. Romashov crept nearer the wall and called him -by name. - -"Who's there?" asked Nasanski in a careless tone, leaning out of the -window. "Oh, it's you, Georgie Alexievich. Come in through the window. -It's a long and dark way round through that door. Hold out your hand and -I'll help you." - -Nasanski's dwelling was if possible more wretched that Romashov's. Along -the wall by the window stood a low, narrow, uncomfortable bed, the -bulging, broken bottom of which was covered by a coarse cotton coverlet; -on the other wall one saw a plain unpainted table with two common chairs -without backs. High up in one corner of the room was a little cupboard -fixed to the wall. A brown leather trunk, plastered all over with -address labels and railway numbers, lay in state. There was not a single -thing in the room except these articles and the lamp. - -"Good-evening, my friend," said Nasanski, with a hearty hand-shake and a -warm glance from his beautiful, deep blue eyes. "Please sit down on this -bed. As you've already heard, I have handed in my sick-report." - -"Yes, I heard it just now from Nikoläiev." - -Again Romashov called to mind Stepan's insulting remark, the painful -memory of which was reflected in his face. - -"Oh, you come from the Nikoläievs," cried Nasanski and with visible -interest. "Do you often visit them?" - -The unusual tone of the question made Romashov uneasy and suspicious, -and he instinctively uttered a falsehood. He answered carelessly-- - -"No, certainly not often. I just happened to look them up." - -Nasanski, who had been walking up and down the room during the -conversation, now stopped before the little cupboard, the door of which -he opened. On one of its shelves stood a bottle of vodka, and beside it -lay an apple cut up into thin, even slices. Standing with his back to -his guest, Nasanski poured out for himself a glass, and quickly drained -it. Romashov noticed how Nasanski's back, under its thin linen shirt, -quivered convulsively. - -"Would you like anything?" asked Nasanski, with a gesture towards the -cupboard. "My larder is, as you see, poor enough; but if you are hungry -one can always try and procure an omelette. Anyhow, that's more than our -father Adam had to offer." - -"Thanks, not now. Perhaps later on." - -Nasanski stuck his hands in his pockets, and walked about the room. -After pacing up and down twice he began talking as though resuming an -interrupted conversation. - -"Yes, I am always walking up and down and thinking. But I am quite -happy. To-morrow, of course, they will say as usual in the regiment, -'He's a drunkard.' And that is true in a sense, but it is not the whole -truth. All the same, at this moment, I'm happy; I feel neither pain nor -ailments. It is different, alas! in ordinary circumstances. My mind and -will-power are paralysed; I shall again become a cowardly and despicably -mean creature, vain, shabby, hypocritical--a curse to myself and every -one else. I loathe my profession, but, nevertheless, I remain in it. And -why? Ah! the devil himself could not explain that. Because I had it -knocked into me in my childhood, and have lived since in a set where it -is held that the most important thing in life is to serve the State, to -be free from anxiety as to one's clothes and daily bread. And -philosophy, people say, is mere rubbish, good enough for one who has -nothing else to do or who has come into a goodly heritage from his dear -mamma. - -"Thus I, too, occupy myself with things in which I don't take the -slightest interest, or issue orders that seem to me both harsh and -unmeaning. My daily life is as monotonous and cheerless as an old deal -board, as rough and hard as a soldier's regulation cap. I dare scarcely -think of, far less talk of, love, beauty, my place in the scheme of -creation, of freedom and happiness, of poetry and God. They would only -laugh ha! ha! ha! at me, and say: 'Oh, damn it! That, you know, is -philosophy. It is not only ridiculous but even dangerous for an officer -to show he holds any high views,' and at best the officer escapes with -being dubbed a harmless, hopeless ass." - -"And yet it is this that alone gives life any value," sighed Romashov. - -"And now the happy hour is drawing nigh about which they tattle so -heartlessly and with so much contempt," Nasanski went on to say without -listening to Romashov's words. He walked incessantly backwards and -forwards, and interpolated his speech, every now and then, with striking -gestures, which were not, however, addressed to Romashov, but were -always directed to the two corners of the room which he visited in turn. -"Now comes my turn of freedom, Romashov--freedom for soul, thought, and -will. Then I shall certainly live a peculiar, but nevertheless rich, -inner life. All that I have seen, heard, and read will then gain a -deeper meaning, will appear in a clear and more distinct light, and -receive a deep, infinite significance. My memory will then be like a -museum of rare curiosities. I shall be a very Rothschild. I take the -first object within my reach, gaze at it long, closely, and with -rapture. Persons, events, characters, books, women, love--nay, first and -last, women and love--all this is interwoven in my imagination. Now and -then I think of the heroes and geniuses of history, of the countless -martyrs of religion and science. I don't believe in God, Romashov, but -sometimes I think of the saints and martyrs and call to mind the Holy -Scriptures and canticles." - -Romashov got up quietly from his seat at the edge of the bed and walked -away to the open window, and then he sat down with his back resting -against the sill. From that spot, from the lighted room, the night -seemed to him still darker and more fraught with mystery. Tepid breezes -whispered just beneath the window, amongst the dark foliage of the -shrubs. And in this mild air, charged with the sharp, aromatic perfume -of spring, under those gleaming stars, in this dead silence of the -universe, one might fancy he felt the hot breath of reviving, -generating, voluptuous Nature. - -Nasanski continued all along his eternal wandering, and indulged in -building castles in the air, without looking at Romashov, as if he were -talking to the walls. - -"In these moments my thoughts--seething, motley, original--chase one -another. My senses acquire an unnatural acuteness; my imagination -becomes an overwhelming flood. Persons and things, living or dead, which -are evoked by me stand before me in high relief and also in an -extraordinarily intense light, as if I saw them in a _camera obscura_. I -know, I know now, that all that is merely a super-excitation of the -senses, an emanation of the soul flaming up like lightning, but in the -next instant flickering out, being produced by the physiological -influence of alcohol on the nervous system. In the beginning I thought -such psychic phenomena implied an elevation of my inner, spiritual Ego, -and that even I might have moments of inspiration. But no; there was -nothing permanent or of any value in this, nothing creative or -fructifying. Altogether it was only a morbid, physiological process, a -river wave that at every ebb that occurs sucks away with it and destroys -the beach. Yes, this, alas! is a fact. But it is also equally -indisputable that these wild imaginings procured me moments of ineffable -happiness. And besides, let the devil keep for his share your -much-vaunted high morality, your hypocrisy, and your insufferable rules -of health. I don't want to become one of your pillar-saints nor do I -wish to live a hundred years so as to figure as a physiological miracle -in the advertisement columns of the newspapers. I am happy, and that -suffices." - -Nasanski again went up to the little cupboard, poured out and swallowed -a "nip," after which he shut the cupboard door with much ceremony and an -expression on his face as if he had fulfilled a religious duty. Romashov -walked listlessly up from the window to the cupboard, the life-giving -contents of which he sampled with a gloomy and _blasé_ air. This done, -he returned to his seat on the window-bench. - -"What were you thinking about just before I came, Vasili Nilich?" asked -Romashov, as he made himself as comfortable as possible. - -Nasanski, however, did not hear his question. "How sweet it is to dream -of women!" he exclaimed with a grand and eloquent gesture. "But away -with all unclean thoughts! And why? Ah! because no one has any right, -even in imagination, to make a human being a culprit in what is low, -sinful, and impure. How often I think of chaste, tender, loving women, -of their bright tears and gracious smiles; of young, devoted, -self-sacrificing mothers, of all those who have faced death for love; of -proud, bewitching maidens with souls as pure as snow, knowing all, yet -afraid of nothing. But such women do not exist--yet I am wrong, -Romashov; such women do exist although neither you nor I have seen them. -This may possibly be vouchsafed you; but to me--never!" - -He was now standing right in front of Romashov and staring him straight -in the face, but by the far-off expression in his eyes, by the -enigmatical smile that played on his lips, any one could observe that he -did not even see to whom he was talking. Never had Nasanski's -countenance--even in his better and sober moments--seemed to Romashov so -attractive and interesting as at this instant. His golden hair fell in -luxuriant curls around his pure and lofty brow; his blond, closely -clipped beard was curled in light waves, and his strong, handsome head -on his bare, classically shaped neck reminded one of the sages and -heroes of Greece, whose busts Romashov had seen in engravings and at -museums. Nasanski's bright, clever blue eyes glistened with moisture, -and his well-formed features were rendered still more engaging by the -fresh colour of his complexion, although a keen eye could not, I -daresay, avoid noticing a certain flabbiness--the infallible mark of -every person addicted to drink. - -"Love--what an abyss of mystery is contained in the word, and what bliss -lies hidden in its tortures!" Nasanski went on to say in an enraptured -voice. In his violent excitement he caught hold of his hair with both -hands, and took two hasty strides towards the other end of the room, but -suddenly stopped, and turned round sharply to Romashov with a merry -laugh. The latter observed him with great interest, but likewise not -without a certain uneasiness. - -"Just this moment I remember an amusing story" (Nasanski now dropped -into his usual good-tempered tone), "but, ugh! how my wits go -wool-gathering--now here, now there. Once upon a time I sat waiting for -the train at Ryasan, and wait I did--I suppose half a day, for it was -right in the middle of the spring floods, and the train had met with -real obstacles. Well, you must know, I built myself a little nest in the -waiting-room. Behind the counter stood a girl of eighteen--not pretty, -being pockmarked, but brisk and pleasant. She had black eyes and a -charming smile. In fact, she was a very nice girl. We were three, all -told, at the station: she, I, and a little telegraphist with white -eyebrows and eyelashes. Ah! excuse me, there was another person -there--the girl's father, a fat, red-faced, grey-haired brute, who put -me in mind of a rough old mastiff. But this attractive figure kept -itself, as a rule, behind the scenes. Only rarely and for a few minutes -did he put in an appearance behind the counter, to yawn, scratch himself -under his waistcoat, and immediately afterwards disappear for a longish -time. He spent his life in bed, and his eyes were glued together by -eternally sleeping. The little telegraphist paid frequent and regular -visits to the waiting-room, laid his elbows on the counter, but was, for -the most part, as mute as the grave. She, too, was silent and looked -dreamily out of the window at the floods. All of a sudden our youngster -began humming-- - - "'Love--love. - What is love? - Something celestial - That drives us wild.' - -"After this, again silence. A pause of five minutes, she begins, in her -turn-- - - "'Love--love. - What is love?' etc. - -"Both the sentimental words as well as the melody were taken from some -musty old operetta that had perhaps been performed in the town, and had -become a pleasant recollection to both the young people. Then again the -same wistful song and significant silence. At last she steals softly a -couple of paces to the window, all the while keeping one hand on the -counter. Our Celadon quietly lays hold of the delicate fingers, one by -one, and with visible trepidation gazes at them in profound devotion. -And again the _motif_ of that hackneyed operetta is heard from his lips. -It was spring with all its yearning. Then all this cloying 'love' only -awoke in me nausea and disgust, but, since then, I have often thought -with deep emotion of the vast amount of happiness this innocent -love-making could bestow, and how it was most certainly the only ray of -light in the dreary lives of these two human beings--lives, very likely, -even more empty and barren than my own. But, I beg your pardon, -Romashov; why should I bore you with my silly, long-winded stories?" - -Nasanski again betook himself to the little cupboard, but he did not -fetch out the schnapps bottle, but stood motionless with his back turned -to Romashov. He scratched his forehead, pressed his right hand lightly -to his temple, and maintained this position for a considerable while, -evidently a prey to conflicting thoughts. - -"You were speaking of women, love, abysses, mystery, and joy," remarked -Romashov, by way of reminder. - -"Yes, love," cried Nasanski in a jubilant voice. He now took out the -bottle, poured some of its contents out, and drained the glass quickly, -as he turned round with a fierce glance, and wiped his mouth with his -shirt sleeve. "Love! who do you suppose understands the infinite meaning -of this holy word? And yet--from it men have derived subjects for -filthy, rubbishy operettas; for lewd pictures and statues, shameless -stories and disgusting 'rhymes.' That is what we officers do. Yesterday -I had a visit from Ditz. He sat where you are sitting now. He toyed with -his gold pince-nez and talked about women. Romashov, my friend, I tell -you that if an animal, a dog, for instance, possessed the faculty of -understanding human speech, and had happened to hear what Ditz said -yesterday, it would have fled from the room ashamed. Ditz, as you know, -Romashov, is a 'good fellow,' and even the others are 'good,' for really -bad people do not exist; but for fear of forfeiting his reputation as a -cynic, 'man about town,' and 'lady-killer,' he dares not express himself -about women otherwise than he does. Amongst our young men there is a -universal confusion of ideas that often finds expression in bragging -contempt, and the cause of this is that the great majority seek in the -possession of women only coarse, sensual, brutish enjoyment, and that -is the reason why love becomes to them only something contemptible, -wanton--well, I don't know, damn it! how to express exactly what I -mean--and, when the animal instincts are satisfied, coldness, disgust, -and enmity are the natural result. The man of culture has said -good-night to love, just as he has done to robbery and murder, and seems -to regard it only as a sort of snare set by Nature for the destruction -of humanity." - -"That is the truth about it," agreed Romashov quietly and sadly. - -"No, that is _not_ true!" shouted Nasanski in a voice of thunder. "Yes, -I say it once more--it is a lie. In this, as in everything else, Nature -has revealed her wisdom and ingenuity. The fact is merely that whereas -Lieutenant Ditz finds in love only brutal enjoyment, disgust, and -surfeit, Dante finds in it beauty, felicity, and harmony. True love is -the heritage of the elect, and to understand this let us take another -simile. All mankind has an ear for music, but, in the case of millions, -this is developed about as much as in stock-fish or Staff-Captain -Vasilichenko. Only one individual in all these millions is a Beethoven. -And the same is the case in everything--in art, science, poetry. And so -far as love is concerned, I tell you that even this has its peaks which -only one out of millions is able to climb." - -He walked to the window, and leaned his forehead against the sill where -Romashov sat gazing out on the warm, dark, spring night. At last he said -in a voice low, but vibrating with strong inward excitement-- - -"Oh, if we could see and grasp Love's innermost being, its supernatural -beauty and charm--we gross, blind earth-worms! How many know and feel -what happiness, what delightful tortures exist in an undying, hopeless -love? I remember, when I was a youth, how all my yearning took form and -shape in this single dream: to fall in love with an ideally beautiful -and noble woman far beyond my reach, and standing so high above me that -every thought of possessing her I might harbour was mad and criminal; to -consecrate to her all my life, all my thoughts, without her even -suspecting it, and to carry my delightful, torturing secret with me to -the grave; to be her slave, her lackey, her protector, or to employ a -thousand arts just to see her once a year, to come close to her, -and--oh, maddening rapture!--to touch the hem of her garment or kiss the -ground on which she had walked----" - -"And to wind up in a mad-house," exclaimed Romashov in a gloomy tone. - -"Oh, my dear fellow, what does that matter?" cried Nasanski -passionately. "Perhaps--who knows?--one might then attain to that state -of bliss one reads of in stories. Which is best--to lose your wits -through a love which can never be realized, or, like Ditz, to go stark -mad from shameful, incurable diseases or slow paralysis? Just think what -felicity--to stand all night in front of her window on the other side of -the street. Look, there's a shadow visible behind the drawn curtain--can -it be _she_? What's she doing? What's she thinking of? The light is -lowered--sleep, my beloved, sleep in peace, for Love is keeping vigil. -Days, months, years pass away; the moment at last arrives when Chance, -perhaps, bestows on you her glove, handkerchief, the concert programme -she has thrown away. She is not acquainted with you, does not even know -that you exist. Her glance passes over you without seeing you; but -there you stand with the same unchangeable, idolatrous adoration, ready -to sacrifice yourself for her--nay, even for her slightest whim, for her -husband, lover, her pet dog, to sacrifice life, honour, and all that you -hold dear. Romashov, a bliss such as this can never fall to the lot of -our Don Juans and lady-killers." - -"Ah, how true this is! how splendidly you speak!" cried Romashov, -carried away by Nasanski's passionate words and gestures. Long before -this he had got up from the window, and now he was walking, like his -eccentric host, up and down the long, narrow room, pacing the floor with -long, quick strides. "Listen, Nasanski. I will tell you something--about -myself. Once upon a time I fell in love with a woman--oh, not here; no, -in Moscow. I was then a mere stripling. Ah, well, she had no inkling of -it, and it was enough for me to be allowed to sit near her when she -sewed, and to draw quietly and imperceptibly, the threads towards me. -That was all, and she noticed nothing; but it was enough to turn my head -with joy." - -"Ah, yes, how well I understand this!" replied Nasanski with a friendly -smile, nodding his head all the time. "A delicate white thread charged -with electrical currents. What a store of poetry is enshrined in that! -My dear fellow, life is so beautiful!" - -Nasanski, absorbed in profound reverie, grew silent, and his blue eyes -were bright with tears. Romashov also felt touched, and there was -something nervous, hysterical, and spontaneous about this melancholy of -his, but these expressions of pity were not only for Nasanski, but -himself. - -"Vasili Nilich, I admire you," cried he as he grasped and warmly pressed -both Nasanski's hands. "But how can so gifted, far-sighted, and -wide-awake a man as you rush, with his eyes open, to his own -destruction? But I am the last person on earth who ought to read you a -lesson on morals. Only one more question: supposing in the course of -your life you happened to meet a woman worthy of you, and capable of -appreciating you, would you then----? I've thought of this so often." - -Nasanski stopped and stared for a long time through the open window. - -"A woman----" he uttered the word slowly and dreamily. "I'll tell you a -story," he continued suddenly and in an energetic tone. "Once in my life -I met an exceptional--ah! wonderful--woman, a young girl, but as Heine -somewhere says: 'She was worthy of being loved, and he loved her; but he -was not worthy, and she did not love him.' Her love waned because I -drank, or perhaps it was I drank because she did not love me. _She_--by -the way, it was not here that this happened. It was a long time ago, and -you possibly know that I first served in the infantry for three years, -after that for four years with the reserves, and for a second time, -three years ago, I came here. Well, to continue, between her and me -there was no romance whatever. We met and had five or six chats -together--that was all. But have you ever thought what an irresistible, -bewitching might there is in the past, in our recollections? The memory -of these few insignificant episodes of my life constitutes the whole of -my wealth. I love her even to this very day. Wait, Romashov, you deserve -to hear it--I will read out to you the first and only letter I ever -received from her." He crouched down before the old trunk, opened it, -and began rummaging impatiently among a mass of old papers, during -which he kept on talking. "I know she never loved any one but herself. -There was a depth of pride, imperiousness, even cruelty about her, yet, -at the same time, she was so good, so genuinely womanly, so infinitely -pleasant and lovable. She had two natures--the one egoistical and -calculating, the other all heart and passionate tenderness. See here, I -have it. Read it now, Romashov. The beginning will not interest you -much" (Nasanski turned over a few lines of the letter), "but read from -here; read it all." - -Romashov felt as if some one had struck him a stunning blow on the head, -and the whole room seemed to dance before his eyes, for the letter was -written in a large but nervous and compressed hand, that could only -belong to Alexandra Petrovna--quaint, irregular, but by no means -unsympathetic. Romashov, who had often received cards from her with -invitations to small dinners and card parties, recognized this hand at -once. - -"It is a bitter and hard task for me to write this," read Romashov under -Nasanski's hand; "but only you yourself are to blame for our -acquaintance coming to this tragic end. Lying I abominate more than -anything else in life. It always springs from cowardice and weakness, -and this is the reason why I shall also tell you the whole truth. I -loved you up to now; yes, I love you even now, and I know it will prove -very hard for me to master this feeling. But I also know that, in the -end, I shall gain the victory. What do you suppose our lot would be if I -acted otherwise? I confess I lack the energy and self-denial requisite -for becoming the housekeeper, nurse-girl, or sister of mercy to a -weakling with no will of his own. I loathe above everything -self-sacrifice and pity for others, and I shall let neither you nor any -one else excite these feelings in me. I will not have a husband who -would only be a dog at my feet, incessantly craving alms or proofs of -affection. And you would never be anything else, in spite of your -extraordinary talents and noble qualities. Tell me now, with your hand -upon your heart, if you are capable of it. Alas! my dear Vasili Nilich, -if you could. All my heart, all my life yearns for you. I love you. What -is the obstacle, then? No one but yourself. For a person one loves, one -can, you know, sacrifice the whole world, and now I ask of you only this -one thing; but can you? No, you cannot, and now I bid you good-bye for -ever. In thought I kiss you on your forehead as one kisses a corpse, and -you are dead to me--for ever. I advise you to destroy this letter, not -that I blush for or fear its contents, but because I think it will be a -source to you of tormenting recollections. I repeat once more----" - -"The rest is of little interest to you," said Nasanski abruptly, as he -took the letter from Romashov's hand. "This, as I have just told you, -was her only letter to me." - -"What happened afterwards?" stammered Romashov awkwardly. - -"Afterwards? We never saw one another afterwards. She went her way and -is reported to have married an engineer. That, however, is another -matter." - -"And you never visit Alexandra Petrovna?" - -Romashov uttered these words in a whisper, but both officers started at -the sound of them, and gazed at each other a long time without speaking. -During these few seconds all the barriers raised by human guile and -hypocrisy fell away, and the two men read each other's soul as an open -book. Hundreds of things that had hitherto been for them a profound -secret stood before them that moment in dazzling light, and the whole of -the conversation that evening suddenly took a peculiar, deep, nay, -almost tragic, significance. - -"What? you too?" exclaimed Nasanski at last, with an expression -bordering on fear in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and -exclaimed with a laugh, "Ugh! what a misunderstanding! We were -discussing something quite different. That letter which you have just -read was written hundreds of years ago, and the woman in question lived -in Transcaucasia. But where was it we left off?" - -"It is late, Vasili Nilich, and time to say good-night," replied -Romashov, rising. - -Nasanski did not try to keep him. They separated neither in a cold or -unfriendly way, but they were, as it seemed, ashamed of each other. -Romashov was now more convinced than ever that the letter was from -Shurochka. During the whole of his way home he thought of nothing except -this letter, but he could not make out what feelings it aroused in him. -They were a mingling of jealousy of Nasanski--jealousy on account of -what had been--but also a certain exultant pity for Nasanski, and in -himself there awoke new hopes, dim and indefinite, but delicious and -alluring. It was as if this letter had put into his hand a mysterious, -invisible clue that was leading him into the future. - -The breeze had subsided. The tepid night's intense darkness and silence -reminded one of soft, warm velvet. One felt, as it were, life's mystic -creative force in the never-slumbering air, in the dumb stillness of the -invisible trees, in the smell of the earth. Romashov walked without -seeing which way he went, and it seemed to him as if he felt the hot -breath of something strong and powerful, but, at the same time, sweet -and caressing. His thoughts went back with dull, harrowing pain to -bygone happy springs that would never more return--to the blissful, -innocent days of his childhood. - -When he reached home he found on the table another letter from Raisa -Alexandrovna Peterson. In her usual bad taste she complained, in turgid, -extravagant terms, of his "deceitful conduct" towards her. She "now -understood everything," and the "injured woman" within her invoked on -him all the perils of hatred and revenge. - - Now I know what I have to do (the letter ran). If I survive the - sorrow and pain of your abominable conduct, you may be quite - certain I shall cruelly avenge this insult. You seem to think that - nobody knows where you are in the habit of spending your evenings. - You are watched! and even walls have ears. Every step you take is - known to me. But all the same, you will never get anything _there_ - with all your soft, pretty speeches, unless N. flings you - downstairs like a puppy. So far as I am concerned, you will be wise - not to lull yourself into fancied security. I am not one of those - women who let themselves be insulted with impunity. - - A Caucasian woman am I - Who knows how to handle a knife. - - --Once yours, now nobody's, - -RAISA. - - PS.--I command you to meet me at the soirée on Saturday and explain - your conduct. The third quadrille will be kept for you; but mind, - there is no special importance _now_ in that. - -R. P. - -To Romashov this ill-spelled, ungrammatical letter was a breath of the -stupidity, meanness, and spiteful tittle-tattle of a provincial town. He -felt for ever soiled from head to foot by this disgusting _liaison_, -scarcely of six months' standing, with a woman he had never loved. He -threw himself on his bed with an indescribable feeling of depression. He -even felt as if he were torn to tatters by the events of the day, and he -involuntarily called to mind Nasanski's words that very night: "his -thoughts were as grey as a soldier's cloak." - -He soon fell into a deep, heavy sleep. As he had always done of late, -when he had had bitter moments, he saw himself, even now in his dreams, -as a little child. There were no impure impulses in him, no sense of -something lacking, no weariness of life; his body was light and healthy, -and his soul was luminous and full of joy and hope; and in this world of -radiance and happiness he saw dear old Moscow's streets in the dazzling -brightness that is presented to the eyes in dreamland. But far away by -the horizon, at the very verge of this sky that was saturated with -light, there arose quickly and threateningly a dark, ill-boding wall of -cloud, behind which was hidden a horrible provincial hole of a place -with cruel and unbearable slavery, drills, recruit schools, drinking, -false friends, and utterly corrupt women. His life was nothing but joy -and gladness, but the dark cloud was waiting patiently for the moment -when it was to fold him in its deadly embrace. And it so happened that -little Romashov, amidst his childish babble and innocent dreams, -bewailed in silence the fate of his "double." - -He awoke in the middle of the night, and noticed that his pillow was wet -with tears. Then he wept afresh, and the warm tears again ran down his -cheeks in rapid streams. - - - - -VI - - -With the exception of a few ambitious men bent on making a career for -themselves, all the officers regarded the service as an intolerable -slavery to which they must needs submit. The younger of them behaved -like veritable schoolboys; they came late to the drills, and wriggled -away from them as soon as possible, provided that could be done without -risk of serious consequences to themselves afterwards. The captains, -who, as a rule, were burdened with large families, were immersed in -household cares, scandals, money troubles, and were worried the whole -year through with loans, promissory notes, and other methods of raising -the wind. Many ventured--often at the instigation of their -wives--secretly to divert to their own purposes the moneys belonging to -the regiment and the soldiers' pay--nay, they even went so far as -"officially" to withhold their men's private letters when the latter -were found to contain money. Some lived by gambling--vint, schtoss, -lansquenet--and certain rather ugly stories were told in connection with -this--stories which high authorities had a good deal of trouble to -suppress. In addition to all this, heavy drinking, both at mess and in -their own homes, was widespread amongst the officers. - -With regard to the officers' sense of duty, that, too, was, as a rule, -altogether lacking. The non-commissioned officers did all the work; the -pay-sergeants set in motion and regulated the inner mechanism of the -company, and were held responsible for the despatch of it; hence very -soon, and quite imperceptibly, the commander became a mere marionette in -the coarse, experienced hands of his subordinates. The senior officers, -moreover, regarded the exercises of the troops with the same aversion as -did their junior comrades, and if at any time they displayed their zeal -by punishing an ensign, they only did it to gain prestige or--which was -more seldom the case--to satisfy their lust of power or desire for -revenge. - -Captains of brigades and battalions had, as a rule, absolutely nothing -to do in the winter. During the summer it was their duty to inspect the -exercises of the battalion, to assist at those of the regiment and -division, and to undergo the hardships of the field-manoeuvres. During -their long freedom from duty they used to sit continually in their -mess-room, eagerly studying the _Russki Invalid_,[7] and savagely -criticizing all new appointments; but cards were, however, their alpha -and omega, and they most readily permitted their juniors to be their -hosts, though they but very rarely exercised a cautious hospitality in -their own homes, and then only with the object of getting their numerous -daughters married. - -But when the time for the great review approached, it was quite another -tune. All, from the highest to the lowest, were seized by a sort of -madness. There was no talk of peace and quiet then; every one tried, by -additional hours of drill and an almost maniacal activity, to make up -for previous negligence. The soldiers were treated with the most -heartless cruelty, and overtaxed to the last degree of sheer exhaustion. -Every one was tyrant over some wretch; the company commanders, with -endless curses, threatened their "incompetent" subalterns, and the -latter, in turn, poured the vials of their wrath over the "non-coms.," -and the "non-coms.," hoarse with shouting orders, oaths, and the most -frightful insults, struck and misused the soldiers in the most ferocious -manner. The whole camp and parade-ground were changed into a hell, and -Sundays, with their indispensable rest and peace, loomed like a heavenly -paradise in the eyes of the poor tortured recruits. - -This spring the regiment was preparing for the great May parade. It was -at this time common knowledge that the review was to take place before -the commander of the corps--a strict old veteran, known throughout -military literature by his works on the Carlist War and the -Franco-German Campaign of 1870, in which he took part as a volunteer. -Besides, he was known throughout the kingdom for his eccentric general -orders and manifestoes that were invariably couched in a lapidary style -à la Savóroff. The reckless, sharp, and coarse sarcasm he always infused -into his criticism was feared by the officers more than even the -severest disciplinary punishment. - -It was not to be wondered at that for a fortnight the whole regiment -worked with feverish energy, and Sunday was no less longed for by the -utterly worn-out officers than by the men, who were well-nigh tortured -to death. - -But to Romashov, who sat idle under arrest, Sunday brought neither joy -nor repose. As he had tried in vain to sleep during the night, he got up -early, dressed slowly and unwillingly, drank his tea with undisguised -repugnance, and refreshed himself at last by hurling a few insults at -Hainán, who did not heed them in the least, but continued to stalk about -the room as happy, active, and clumsy as a puppy. - -Romashov sauntered up and down his narrow room in his unbuttoned, -carelessly donned undress uniform. Now he bumped his knee against the -foot of the bed, now his elbow against the rickety bookcase. It was the -first time now for half a year--thanks to a somewhat unpleasant -accident--that he found himself alone in his own abode. He had always -been occupied with drill, sentry duty, card-playing, and libations to -Bacchus, dancing attendance on the Peterson woman, and evening calls on -the Nikoläievs. Sometimes, if he happened to be free and had nothing -particular in view, Romashov might, if worried by moping and laziness, -and as if he feared his own company, rush aimlessly off to the club, or -some acquaintance, or simply to the street, in hopes of finding some -bachelor comrade--a meeting which infallibly ended with a drinking-bout -in the mess-room. Now he contemplated with dread the long, unendurable -day of loneliness and boredom before him, and a crowd of stupid, -extraordinary fancies and projects buzzed in his brain. - -The bells in the town were ringing for High Mass. Through the inner -window, which had not been removed since the winter began, forced their -way into the room these trembling tones that were produced, as it were, -one from the other, and in the melancholy clang of which, on this -sentimental spring morning, there lay a peculiar power of charm. -Immediately outside Romashov's window lay a garden in which many -cherry-trees grew in rich abundance, all white with blooms, and all -soft and round as a flock of snow-white sheep whose wool was fine. -Between them, here and there, arose slim but gigantic poplars that -stretched their boughs beseechingly towards heaven, and ancient, -venerable chestnut-trees with their dome-like crests. The trees were -still bare, with black, naked boughs, but on these, though the eye could -hardly discern them, the first yellowish verdure, fresh as the dew, -began to be visible. In the pure, moisture-laden air of the -newly-awakened spring day, the trees rocked softly here and there before -the cool, sportive breezes that murmured from time to time among the -flowers, and bowed them to the ground with a roguish kiss. - -From the windows one could discern, on the left, through a gateway, a -part of the dirty street, which on one side was fenced off. People -passed alongside of the fence from time to time, walking slowly as they -picked out a dry place for their next step. "Lucky people," thought -Romashov, as he enviously followed them with his eyes, "they need not -hurry. They have the whole of the long day before them--ah! a whole, -free, glorious day." - -And suddenly there came over him a longing for freedom so intense and -passionate that tears rushed to his eyes, and he had great difficulty in -restraining himself from running out of the house. Now, however, it was -not the mess-room that attracted him, but only the yard, the street, -fresh air. It was as if he had never understood before what freedom was, -and he was astonished at the amount of happiness that is comprised in -the simple fact that one may go where one pleases, turn into this or -that street, stop in the middle of the square, peep into a half-opened -church door, etc., etc., all at one's own sweet will and without having -to fear the consequences. The right to do, and the possibility of doing, -all this would be enough to fill a man's heart with an exultant sense of -joy and bliss. - -He remembered in connection with this how, in his earliest youth, long -before he entered the Cadet School, his mother used to punish him by -tying him tightly to the foot of the bed with fine thread, after which -she left him by himself; and little Romashov sat for whole hours -submissively still. But never for an instant did it occur to him to flee -from the house, although, under ordinary circumstances, he never stood -on ceremony--for instance, to slide down the water-pipe from other -storys to the street; to dangle, without permission, after a military -band or a funeral procession as far as the outskirts of Moscow; or to -steal from his mother lumps of sugar, jam, and cigarettes for older -playfellows, etc. But this brittle thread exercised a remarkable -hypnotizing influence on his mind as a child. He was even afraid of -breaking it by some sudden, incautious movement. In that case he was -influenced by no fear whatsoever of punishment, neither by a sense of -duty, nor by regret, but by pure hypnosis, a superstitious dread of the -unfathomable power and superiority of grown-up or older persons, which -reminds one of the savage who, paralysed by fright, dares not take a -step beyond the magic circle that the conjurer has drawn. - -"And here I am sitting now like a schoolboy, like a little helpless, -mischievous brat tied by the leg," thought Romashov as he slouched -backwards and forwards in his room. "The door is open, I can go when I -please, can do what I please, can talk and laugh--but I am kept back by -a thread. _I_ sit here; _I_ and nobody else. Some one has ordered me to -sit here, and I shall sit here; but who has authorized him to order -this? Certainly not _I_. - -"I"--Romashov stood in the middle of the room with his legs straddling -and his head hanging down, thinking deeply. "_I, I, I!_" he shouted in a -loud voice, in which there lay a certain note of astonishment, as if he -now was first beginning to comprehend the meaning of this short word. -"Who is standing here and gaping at that black crack in the floor?--Is -it really I? How curious--I"--he paused slowly and with emphasis on the -monosyllable, just as if it were only by such means that he could grasp -its significance. - -He smiled unnaturally; but, in the next instant, he frowned, and turned -pale with emotion and strain of thought. Such small crises had not -infrequently happened to him during the last five or six years, as is -nearly always the case with young people during that period of life when -the mind is in course of development. A simple truth, a saying, a common -phrase, with the meaning of which he has long ago been familiar, -suddenly, by some mysterious impulse from within, stands in a new light, -and so receives a particular philosophical meaning. Romashov could still -remember the first time this happened to him. It was at school during a -catechism lesson, when the priest tried to explain the parable of the -labourers who carried away stones. One of them began with the light -stones, and afterwards took the heavier ones, but when at last he came -to the very heaviest of all his strength was exhausted. The other worked -according to a diametrically different plan, and luckily fulfilled his -duty. To Romashov was opened the whole abyss of practical wisdom that -lay hidden in this simple picture that he had known and understood ever -since he could read a book. Likewise with the old saying: "Seven times -shalt thou measure, once shalt thou cut." In a happy moment he suddenly -perceived the full, deep import of this maxim; wisdom, understanding, -wise economy, calculation. A tremendous experience of life lay concealed -in these few words. Such was the case now. All his mental individuality -stood suddenly before him with the distinctness of a lightning flash. - -"My Ego," thought Romashov, "is only that which is within me, the very -kernel of my being; all the rest is the non-Ego--that is, only secondary -things. This room, street, trees, sky, the commander of my regiment, -Lieutenant Andrusevich, the service, the standard, the soldiers--all -this is non-Ego. No, no, this is non-Ego--my hands and feet." Romashov -lifted up his hands to the level of his face, and looked at them with -wonder and curiosity, as if he saw them now for the first time in his -life. "No, all this is non-Ego. But look--I pinch my arm--that is the -Ego. I see my arm, I lift it up--_this_ is the Ego. And what I am -thinking now is also Ego. If I now want to go my way, that is the Ego. -And even if I stop, that is the Ego. - -"Oh, how wonderful, how mysterious is this. And so simple too. Is it -true that all individuals possess a similar Ego? Perhaps it is only I -who have it? Or perhaps nobody has it. Down there hundreds of soldiers -stand drawn up in front of me. I give the order: 'Eyes to the right,' to -hundreds of human beings who has each his own Ego, and who see in me -something foreign, distant, i.e. non-Ego--then turn their heads at once -to the right. But I do not distinguish one from the other; they are to -me merely a mass. And to Colonel Schulgovich both I and Viätkin and -Lbov, and all the captains and lieutenants, are likewise perhaps merely -a 'mass,' viz., he does not distinguish one of us from the other, or, in -other words, we are entirely outside his ken as individuals to him." - -The door was opened, and Hainán stole into the room. He began at once -his usual dance, threw up his legs into the air, rocked his shoulders, -and shouted-- - -"Your Honour, I got no cigarettes. They said that Lieutenant Skriabin -gave orders that you were not to have any more on credit." - -"Oh, damn! You can go, Hainán. What am I to do without cigarettes? -However, it is of no consequence. You can go, Hainán." - -"What was it I was thinking of?" Romashov asked himself, when he was -once more alone. He had lost the threads, and, unaccustomed as he was to -think, he could not pick them up again at once. "What was I thinking of -just now? It was something important and interesting. Well, let us turn -back and take the questions in order. Also, I am under arrest; out in -the street I see people at large; my mother tied me up with a -thread--_me, me_. Yes, so it was. The soldier perhaps has an Ego, -perhaps even Colonel Shulgovich. Ha, he! now I remember; go on. Here I -am sitting in my room. I am arrested, but my door is open. I want to go -out, but I dare not. Why do I not dare? Have I committed any -crime--theft--murder? No. All I did was merely omitting to keep my heels -together when I was talking to another man. Possibly I was wrong. Yet, -why? Is it anything important? Is it the chief thing in life? In about -twenty or thirty years--a second in eternity--my life, my Ego, will go -out like a lamp does when one turns the wick down. They will light -life--the lamp--afresh, over and over again; but my Ego is gone for -ever. Likewise this room, this sky, the regiment, the whole army, all -stars, this dirty globe, my hands and feet--all, all--shall be -annihilated for ever. Yes, yes; that is so. Well, all right--but wait a -bit. I must not be in too much of a hurry. I shall not be in existence. -Ah, wait. I found myself in infinite darkness. Somebody came and lighted -my life's lamp, but almost immediately he blew it out again, and once -more I was in darkness, in the eternity of eternities. What did I do? -What did I utter during this short moment of my existence? I held my -thumb on the seam of my trousers and my heels together. I shrieked as -loud as I could: 'Shoulder arms!' and immediately afterwards I thundered -'Use your butt ends, you donkeys!' I trembled before a hundred tyrants, -now miserable ghosts in eternity like my own remarkable, lofty Ego. But -why did I tremble before those ghosts and why could they compel me to do -such a lot of unnecessary, idiotic, unpleasant things? How could they -venture to annoy and insult my Ego--these miserable spectres?" - -Romashov sat down by the table, put his elbows on it, and leaned his -head on his hands. It was hard work for him to keep in check these wild -thoughts which raced through his mind. - -"H'm!--my friend Romashov, what a lot you have forgotten--your -fatherland, the ashes of your sire, the altar of honour, the warrior's -oath and discipline. Who shall preserve the land of your sires when the -foe rushes over its boundaries? Ah! when I am dead there will be no -more fatherland, no enemy, no honour. They will disappear at the same -time as my consciousness. But if all this be buried and brought to -naught--country, enemies, honour, and all the other big words--what has -all this to do with _my Ego_? I am more important than all these phrases -about duty, honour, love, etc. Assume that I am a soldier and my Ego -suddenly says, 'I won't fight,' and not only _my own_ Ego, but millions -of other Egos that constitute the whole of the army, the whole of -Russia, the entire world; all these say, 'We won't!' Then it will be all -over so far as war is concerned, and never again will any one have to -hear such absurdities as 'Open order,' 'Shoulder arms,' and all the rest -of that nonsense. - -"Well, well, well. It must be so some day," shouted an exultant voice in -Romashov. "All that talk about 'warlike deeds,' 'discipline,' 'honour of -the uniform,' 'respect for superiors,' and, first and last, the whole -science of war exists only because humanity will not, or cannot, or dare -not, say, 'I won't.'" - -"What do you suppose all this cunningly reared edifice that is called -the profession of arms really is? Nothing, humbug, a house hanging in -midair, which will tumble down directly mankind pronounces three short -words: 'I will not.' My Ego will never say, 'I will not eat,' 'I will -not breathe,' 'I will not see,' But if any one proposes to my Ego that -it shall die, it infallibly replies: 'I will not.' What, then, is war -with all its hecatombs of dead and the science of war, which teaches us -the best methods of murdering? Why, a universal madness, an illusion. -But wait. Perhaps I am mistaken. No, I cannot be mistaken, for this 'I -will not' is so simple, so natural, that everybody must, in the end, say -it. Let us, however, examine the matter more closely. Let us suppose -that this thought is pronounced this very moment by all Russians, -Germans, Englishmen, and Japanese. Ah, well, what would be the -consequence? Why, that war would cease for ever, and the officers and -soldiers would go, every man, to his home. And what would happen after -that? I know: Shulgovich would answer; Shulgovich would immediately get -querulous and say: 'Now we are done for; they can attack us now whenever -they please, take away our hearths and homes, trample down our fields, -and carry off our wives and sisters.' And what about rioters, -socialists, revolutionaries? But when the whole of mankind without -exception has shouted: 'We will no longer tolerate bloodshed,' who will -then dare to assail us? No one! All enemies would be reconciled, submit -to each other, forgive everything, and justly divide among themselves -the abundance of the earth. Gracious God, when shall this dream be -fulfilled?" - -Whilst Romashov was indulging in these fancies, he failed to notice that -Hainán had quietly stolen in behind his back and suddenly stretched his -arm over his shoulder. Romashov started in terror, and roared out -angrily-- - -"What the devil do you want?" - -Hainán laid before him on the table a cinnamon-coloured packet. "This is -for you," he replied in a friendly, familiar tone, and Romashov felt -behind him his servant's jovial smile. "They are cigarettes; smoke now." - -Romashov looked at the packet. On it was printed, "The Trumpeter, -First-class Cigarettes. Price 3 kopecks for 20." - -"What does this mean?" he asked in astonishment. "Where did this come -from?" - -"I saw that you had no cigarettes, so I bought these with my own money. -Please smoke them. It is nothing. Just a little present." - -After this, to conceal his confusion, Hainán ran headlong to the door, -which he slammed after him with a deafening bang. Romashov lighted a -cigarette, and the room was soon filled with a perfume that strongly -reminded one of melted sealing-wax and burnt feathers. - -"Oh, you dear!" thought Romashov, deeply moved. "I get cross with you -and scold you and make you pull off my muddy boots every evening, and -yet you go and buy me cigarettes with your few last coppers. 'Please -smoke them.' What made you do it?" - -Again he got up and walked up and down the room with his hands behind -him. - -"Our company consists of at least a hundred men, and each of them is a -creature with thoughts, feelings, experience of life, personal -sympathies and antipathies. Do I know anything about them? No, nothing, -except their faces. I see them before me as they stand in line every -day, drawn up from right to left: Sóltyss, Riaboschápka, Yégoroff, -Yaschtschischin, etc., etc.--mere sorry, grey figures. What have I done -to bring my soul nearer to their souls, my Ego to theirs? Nothing." - -He involuntarily called to mind a rough night at the end of autumn, when -(as was his custom) he was sitting drinking in the mess-room with a few -comrades. Suddenly the pay-sergeant Goumeniuk, of the 9th Company, -rushed into the room, and breathlessly called to his commander-- - -"Your Excellency, the recruits are here." - -Yes, there they stood in the rain, in the barrack-yard, driven together -like a herd of frightened animals without any will of their own, which -with cowed, suspicious glances gazed at their tormentors. "Each -individual," thought Romashov, as he slowly and carefully inspected -their appearance, "has his own characteristic expression of countenance. -This one, for instance, is most certainly a smith; that is, doubtless, a -jolly chap who plays his accordion with some talent; that one with the -shrewd features can both read and write, and looks as if he were a -_polevói_."[8] And one felt that these poor recruits who, a few days -ago, had been violently seized whilst their wives and children were -crying and lamenting, had tried, with tears in their voices, to join in -the coarse songs of their wild, drunken brothers in misfortune. But a -year later they stood like soldiers in long rigid rows--grey, sluggish, -apathetic figures, all cast, as it were, in the same mould. But they -never left their homes of their own free will. Their Ego resented it. -And yet they went. Why all this inconsistency? How can one not help -thinking of that old and well-known story about the cock who fought -desperately with his wings and resisted to the uttermost when his beak -was pressed against a table, but who stood motionless, hypnotized, when -some one drew a thick line with a piece of chalk across the table from -the tip of his beak. - -Romashov threw himself on the bed. - -"What is there left for you to do under the circumstances?" he asked -himself in bitter mockery. "Do you think of resigning? But, in that -case, where do you think of going? What does the sum of knowledge amount -to that you have learnt at the infants' school, the Cadet School, at -the Military Academy, at mess? Have you tried the struggle and -seriousness of life? No, you have been looked after and your wants -supplied, as if you were a little child, and you think perhaps, like a -certain schoolgirl, that rolls grow on trees. Go out into the world and -try. At the very first step you would slip and fall; people would -trample you in the dust, and you would drown your misery in drink. And -besides, have you ever heard of an officer leaving the service of his -own free will? No, never. Just because he is unfit for anything he will -not give up his meagre bread-and-butter. And if any one is forced into -doing this, you will soon see him wearing a greasy old regimental cap, -and accepting alms from people in the street. I am a Russian officer of -gentle birth, _comprenez-vous_? Alas, where shall I go--what will become -of me?" - -"Prisoner, prisoner!" cried a clear female voice beneath the window. - -Romashov jumped up from his bed and rushed to the window. Opposite him -stood Shurochka. She was protecting her eyes from the sun with the palm -of her hand, and pressing her rosy face against the window pane, -exclaiming in a mocking tone:-- - -"Oh, give a poor beggar a copper!" - -Romashov fumbled at the window-catch in wild eagerness to open it, but -he remembered in the same moment that the inner window had not been -removed. With joyous resolution he seized the window-frame with both -hands, and dragged it to him with a tremendous tug. A loud noise was -heard, and the whole window fell into the room, besprinkling Romashov -with bits of lime and pieces of dried putty. The outer window flew up, -and a stream of fresh air, charged with joy and the perfume of flowers, -forced its way into the room. - -"Ha, at last! Now I'll go out, cost what it may," shouted Romashov in a -jubilant voice. - -"Romashov, you mad creature! what are you doing?" - -He caught her outstretched hand through the window; it was closely -covered by a cinnamon-coloured glove, and he began boldly to kiss it, -first upwards and downwards, and after that from the finger-tips to the -wrist. Last of all, he kissed the hole in the glove just below the -buttons. He was astonished at his boldness; never before had he ventured -to do this. Shurochka submitted as though unconscious to this passionate -burst of affection, and smilingly accepted his kisses whilst gazing at -him in shy wonderment. - -"Alexandra Petrovna, you are an angel. How shall I ever be able to thank -you?" - -"Gracious, Romochka! what has come to you? And why are you so happy?" -she asked laughingly as she eyed Romashov with persistent curiosity. -"But wait, my poor prisoner, I have brought you from home a splendid -_kalátsch_ and the most delicious apple puffs." - -"Stepan, bring the basket here." - -He looked at her with devotion in his eyes, and without letting go her -hand, which she allowed to remain unresistingly in his, he said -hurriedly-- - -"Oh, if you knew all I have been thinking about this morning--if you -only knew! But of this, later on." - -"Yes, later on. Look, here comes my lord and master. Let go my hand. How -strange you look to-day! I even think you have grown handsome." - -Nikoläiev now came up to the window. He frowned, and greeted Romashov -in a rather cool and reserved way. - -"Come, Shurochka," he said to his wife, "what in the world are you -thinking about? You must both be mad. Only think, if the Commander were -to see us. Good-bye, Romashov; come and see us." - -"Yes, come and see us, Yuri Alexievich," repeated Shurochka. She left -the window, but returned almost at once and whispered rapidly to -Romashov. "Don't forget us. You are the only man here whom I can -associate with--as a friend--do you hear? And another thing. Once for -all I forbid you to look at me with such sheep's eyes, remember that. -Besides, you have no right to imagine anything. You are not a coxcomb -yet, you know." - - - - -VII - - -At 3.30 p.m. Lieutenant Federovski, the Adjutant of the regiment, drove -up to Romashov's house. He was a tall, stately, and (as the ladies of -the regiment used to say) presentable young man, with freezingly cold -eyes and an enormous moustache that almost grazed his shoulder. Towards -the younger officers he was always excessively polite, but, at the same -time, officially correct in his conduct. He was not familiar with any -one, and had a very high opinion of himself and his position. Nearly all -the captains flattered and paid court to him. - -As he entered the door, he rapidly scanned with his blinking eyes the -whole of the scanty furniture in Romashov's room. The latter, who lay -resting on his bed, jumped off, and, blushing, began to button up his -undress tunic. - -"I am here by orders of the commander, who wishes to speak to you," said -Federovski in a dry tone. "Be good enough to dress and accompany me as -soon as possible." - -"I shall be ready at once. Shall I put on undress or parade uniform?" - -"Don't, please, stand on ceremony. A frock-coat, if you like, that would -be quite sufficient. Meanwhile, with your permission, I will take a -seat." - -"Oh, I beg your pardon--will you have some tea?" said Romashov fussily. - -"No, thanks. My time is short, and I must ask you to be as quick as -possible about changing your clothes." - -And without taking off his cloak or gloves, he sat down whilst Romashov -changed his clothes in nervous haste and with painful glances at his not -particularly clean shirt. Federovski sat the whole time with his hands -resting on the hilt of his sabre, as motionless as a stone image. - -"I suppose you do not happen to know why I am sent for?" - -The Adjutant shrugged his shoulders. - -"A singular question! How should I know? You ought to know the reason -better than I. But if I may give you a bit of friendly advice, put the -sabre-belt under--not over--the shoulder strap. The Colonel is, as you -are aware, particular about such matters. And now, if you please, we -will start." - -Before the steps stood a common _calèche_, attached to which were a -couple of high, lean army horses. Romashov was polite enough to encroach -as little as possible on the narrow seat, so as not to cause his -attendant any discomfort, but the latter did not, so it seemed, take the -slightest notice of that. On the way they met Viätkin; the latter -exchanged a chilly and correct salute with the Adjutant, but honoured -Romashov, who for a second turned round, with a comic but enigmatical -gesture that might probably mean: "Ah, poor fellow, you are on your way -to Pontius Pilate." They met other officers, some of whom regarded -Romashov with a sort of solemn interest, others with unfeigned -astonishment, and some bestowed on him only a derisive smile. Romashov -tried to avoid their glances and felt himself shrinking beneath them. - -The Colonel did not receive him at once. He had some one in his private -room. Romashov had to wait in a half-dark hall that smelt of apples, -naphtha, newly-polished furniture and, besides that, of something which -not at all unpleasantly reminded him of the odour which seems -particularly inseparable from clothes and furniture in well-to-do German -families that are pedantically careful about their goods and chattels. - -As he walked slowly up and down the hall, he glanced at himself several -times in a mirror in a light ashwood frame which was fixed to the wall; -and each time he looked his face struck him as being unhealthily pale, -ugly, and queer. His uniform, too, was shabby, and his epaulettes -soiled. - -Out in the hall might be heard the incessant rumbling of the Colonel's -deep bass voice. The words themselves could not be distinguished, but -the ferocious tone told the tale clearly enough that Colonel Shulgovich -was scolding some one with implacable and sustained rage. This went on -for about five minutes; after which Schulgovich suddenly became silent, -a trembling, supplicating voice succeeded his, and, after a moment's -pause, Romashov clearly heard the following frightful tirade uttered -with a terrible accent of pride, indignation, and contempt: - -"What nonsense is it that you dare to talk about your wife and your -children? What the devil have I to do with them? Before you brought your -children into the world you ought to have considered how you could -manage to feed them. What? So now you are trying to throw the blame on -your Colonel, are you? But it has nothing to do with him. You know too -well, Captain, that if I do not deliver you into the hands of justice I -shall fail in my duty as your commander. Be good enough not to -interrupt me. Here there is no question of an offence against -discipline, but a glaring crime, and _your_ place henceforward will -certainly not be in the regiment, but you yourself best know _where_." -Again he heard that miserable, beseeching voice, so pitiful that it did -not sound human. - -"Good Lord! what is it all about?" thought Romashov, who, as if he were -glued to the looking-glass, gazed at his pale face without seeing it, -and felt his heart throbbing painfully. "Good Lord! how horrible!" - -The plaintive, beseeching voice again replied, and spoke at some length. -When it ceased, the Colonel's deep bass began thundering, but now -evidently a trifle more calmly and gently than before, as if his rage -had spent itself, and his desire to witness the humiliation of another -were satisfied. - -Shulgovich said abruptly: "Engrave it for ever on your red nose. All -right! But this is the last time. Remember now! The last time! Do you -hear? If it ever comes to my ears that you have been drunk, -the--silence!--I know what you intend to say, but I won't hear any more -of your promises. In a week's time I shall inspect your company. You -understand? And as to the troops' pay, that matter must be settled -to-morrow. You hear? _To-morrow._ And now I shall not detain you longer, -Captain. I have the honour----" - -The last words were interrupted by a scraping on the floor, and a few -tottering steps towards the door; but, suddenly, the Colonel's voice was -again heard, though this time its wrathful and violent tone did not -sound quite natural. - -"Wait a moment! Come here, you devil's pepper-box! Where are you off -to? To the Jews, of course--to get a bill signed. Ah, you fool--you -blockhead! Here you are! One, two, three, four--three hundred. I can't -do more. Take them and be off with you. Pay me back when you can. What a -mess you have made of things, Captain! Now be off with you! Go to the -devil--your servant, sir!" - -The door sprang open, and into the hall staggered little Captain -Sviatovidov, red and perspiring, with harassed, nay, ravaged, features. -His right hand grasped convulsively his new, rustling bundle of -banknotes. He made a sort of pirouette directly he recognized Romashov, -tried, but failed miserably in the attempt, to assume a sportive, -free-and-easy look, and clutched tight hold of Romashov's fingers with -his hot, moist, trembling hand. His wandering, furtive glances rested at -last on Romashov as if he would ask the question: "Have you heard -anything or have you not?" - -"He's a tiger, a bloodhound!" he whispered, pointing to the door of the -Colonel's room; "but what the deuce does it matter?" Sviatovidov twice -crossed himself quickly. "The Lord be praised! the Lord be praised!" - -"Bon-da-ren-ko!" roared Shulgovich from his room, and his powerful voice -that moment filled every nook and corner of the house. "Bondarenko, who -is out there still? Bring him in." - -"Hold your own, my young lion," whispered Sviatovidov with a false -smile. "_Au revoir_, Lieutenant. Hope you'll have a good time." - -Bondarenko glided through the door. He was a typical Colonel's servant, -with an impudently condescending look, hair pomaded and parted in the -middle, dandified, with white gloves. He addressed Romashov in a -respectful tone, but eyed him, at the same time, in a very bold way. - -"His Excellency begs your Honour to step in." - -He opened the door and stepped aside. Romashov walked in. - -Colonel Shulgovich sat at a table in a corner of the room, to the left -of the door. He was wearing his fatigue tunic, under which appeared his -gleaming white shirt. His red, sinewy hands rested on the arm of his -easy chair. His unnaturally big, old face, with short tufts of hair on -the top of his head, and the white pointed beard, gave an impression of -a certain hardness and coldness. The bright colourless eyes gleamed -almost aggressively at the visitor, whose salutation was returned with a -brief nod. Romashov at that moment noticed a crescent-shaped ring in the -Colonel's ear, and thought to himself: "Strange that I never saw that -ring before." - -"This is very serious," began Shulgovich, in a gruff bass that seemed to -proceed from the depths of his diaphragm, after which he made a long -pause. "Shame on you!" he continued in a raised voice. "Because you've -served a year all but one week you begin to put on airs. Besides this, I -have many other reasons to be annoyed with you. For instance: I come to -the parade-ground and make a justifiable remark about you. At once you -are ready to answer your commanding officer in a silly, insolent manner. -Can that be called military tact and discipline? No. Such a thing is -incredible, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself." The latter words -were roared by Shulgovich with such deafening violence that his victim -felt a tremor under his knee-cap. - -Romashov looked gloomily away, and no power in the world, thought he, -should induce him to look at the Colonel straight in his basilisk face. - -"Where's my _Ego_ now?" he asked himself ironically. "Here the only -thing to do is to suffer, keep silent, and stand at attention." - -"It does not matter now how I obtained my information about you. It is -quite sufficient I know all your sins. _You drink._ You, a mere boy--a -callow creature that has but lately left school--swig schnapps like a -cobbler's apprentice. Hold your tongue, don't try to defend yourself, I -know everything--and much more than you think. Well, God forbid!--if you -are bent on going down the broad path you are welcome to do it, so far -as I'm concerned. Still, I'll give you a warning: drink has made more -than one of your sort acquainted with the inside of a prison. Lay these -words of mine to heart. My long-suffering is great, but even an angel's -patience can be exhausted. The officers of a regiment are mutually -related as members of one family; but don't forget that an unworthy -member who tarnishes the honour of the family is ruthlessly cast out." - -"Here I stand paralysed with fright, and my tongue is numbed," thought -Romashov, as he stared, as though hypnotized, at the little silver ring -in the Colonel's ear. "At this moment I ought to tell him straight out -that I do not in the least degree value the honour of belonging to this -worthy family, and that I shall be delighted to leave it to enter the -reserves; but have I the courage to say so?" His lips moved, he found a -difficulty in swallowing, but he stood still, as he had throughout the -interview. - -"But let us," continued Shulgovich in the same harsh tone, "examine more -closely your conduct in the past. In the previous year--practically as -soon as you entered the service, you requested leave on account of your -mother's illness, nay, you even produced a sort of letter about it. -Well, in such cases an officer cannot, you know, openly express his -doubts as to the truth of a comrade's word. But I take this opportunity -of telling you in private that I had my own opinion then about that -story. You understand?" - -Romashov had for a long time felt a tremor in his right knee. This -tremor was at first very slight, in fact scarcely noticeable, but it -very soon assumed alarming proportions, and finally extended over the -whole of his body. This feeling grew very painful at the thought that -Shulgovich might possibly regard his nervousness as proceeding from -fear; but when his mother's name was mentioned, a consuming heat coursed -through Romashov's veins, and his intense nervous tremor ceased -immediately. For the first time during all this painful scene he raised -his eyes to his torturer and looked him defiantly straight in the face. -And in this look glittered a hatred, menace, and imperious lust of -vengeance from the insulted man, so intense and void of all fear that -the illimitable distance between the omnipotent commander and the -insignificant sub-lieutenant, who had no rights at all, was absolutely -annihilated. A mist arose before Romashov's eyes, the various objects in -the room lost their shape, and the Colonel's gruff voice sounded to him -as if from a deep abyss. Then there suddenly came a moment of darkness -and ominous silence, devoid of thoughts, will, or external perception, -nay, even without consciousness. He experienced only a horrible -certainty that, in another moment, something terrible and maniacal, -something irretrievably disastrous, would happen. A strange, unfamiliar -voice whispered in his ear: "Next moment I will kill him," and Romashov -was slowly but irresistibly forced to fix his eyes on the Colonel's bald -head. - -Afterwards, as if in a dream, he became aware, although he could not -understand the reason, of a curious change in his enemy's eyes, which, -in rapid succession, reflected wonder, dread, helplessness, and pity. -The wave of destruction that had just whelmed through Romashov's soul, -by the violence of natural force, subsided, sank, and disappeared in -space. He tottered, and now everything appeared to him commonplace and -uninteresting. Shulgovich, in nervous haste, placed a chair before him, -and said, with unexpected but somewhat rough kindness-- - -"The Devil take you! what a touchy fellow you are! Sit down and be -damned to you! But you are all alike. You look at me as if I were a wild -beast. 'The old fossil goes for us without rhyme or reason.' And all the -time God knows I love you as if you were my own children. Do you think I -have nothing to put up with, either? Ah, gentlemen, how little you know -me! It is true I scold you occasionally, but, damn it all! an old fellow -has a right to be angry sometimes. Oh, you youngsters! Well, let us make -peace. Give me your hand and come to dinner." - -Romashov bowed without uttering a syllable, and pressed the coarse, -cold, hairy hand. His recollection of the past insult to some extent -faded, but his heart was none the lighter for this. He remembered his -proud, inflated fancies of that very morning, and he now felt like a -little pale, pitiful schoolboy, like a shy, abandoned, scarcely -tolerated brat, and he thought of all this with shame and -mortification. Also, whilst accompanying Shulgovich to the dining-room, -he could not help addressing himself, as his habit was, in the third -person-- - -"And a shadow rested on his brow." - -Shulgovich was childless. In the dining-room, his wife--a fat, coarse, -self-important, and silent woman--awaited him. She had not a vestige of -neck, but displayed a whole row of chins. Notwithstanding her -_pince-nez_ and her scornful mien, there was a certain air of vulgarity -about her countenance, which gave the impression of its being formed, at -the last minute, hurriedly and negligently, out of dough, with raisins -or currants instead of eyes. Behind her waddled, dragging her feet, the -Colonel's old mother--a little deaf, but still an active, domineering, -venomous old hag. While she closely and rudely examined Romashov over -her spectacles, she clawed hold of his fingers and coolly pressed to his -lips her black, shrivelled, bony hand, that reminded one most of an -anatomical specimen. This done, she turned to the Colonel and asked him, -just as if they had been absolutely alone in the dining-room-- - -"Who is this? I don't remember seeing him here before?" - -Shulgovich formed his hands into a sort of speaking-tube, and bawled -into the old woman's ear: - -"Sub-lieutenant Romashov, mamma. A capital officer, a smart fellow, and -an ornament to his regiment--comes from the Cadet School. By the way, -Sub-lieutenant," he exclaimed abruptly, "we are certainly from the same -province. Aren't you from Pevsa?"[9] - -"Yes, Colonel, I was born in Pevsa." - -"To be sure, to be sure; now I remember. You are from the Narovtschátski -district?" - -"Quite right, Colonel." - -"Ah, yes--how could I have forgotten it! Mamma," he again trumpeted into -his mother's ear, "mamma, Sub-lieutenant Romashov is from our province; -he's from Narovtschátski." - -"Ah, ah," and the old woman raised her eyebrows as a sign that she -understood. "Well, then, you're, of course, a son of Sergei Petrovich -Shishkin?" - -"No, dear mother," roared the Colonel, "you are wrong. His name is -Romashov, not Shishkin." - -"Yes, didn't I say so? I never knew Sergei Petrovich except by hearsay; -but I often met Peter Petrovich. He was a charming young man. We were -near neighbours, and I congratulate you, my young friend, on your -relationship." - -"Well, as you will have it, you old deaf-as-a-post," exclaimed the -Colonel, interrupting her with good-humoured cynicism." But now, let's -sit down; please take a seat, Sub-lieutenant. Lieutenant Federovski," he -shrieked towards the door, "stop your work and come and have a -schnapps." The Adjutant, who, according to the custom in many regiments, -dined every day with his chief, hurriedly entered the dining-room. He -clicked his spurs softly and discreetly, walked straight up to the -little majolica table with the _sakuska_,[10] calmly helped himself to a -schnapps, and ate with extreme calmness and enjoyment. Romashov noticed -all that with an absurd, envious feeling of admiration. - -"You'll take one, won't you?" said Shulgovich to Romashov. "You're no -teetotaller, you know." - -"No, thank you very much," replied Romashov hoarsely; and, with a slight -cough, "I do not usually----" - -"Bravo, my young friend. Stick to that in future." - -They sat down to table. The dinner was good and abundant. Any one could -observe that, in this childless family, both host and hostess had an -innocent little weakness for good living. Dinner consisted of chicken -soup with vegetables, roast bream with _kascha_,[11] a splendid fat duck -and asparagus. On the table stood three remarkable decanters containing -red wine, white wine, and madeira, resplendent with embossed silver -stoppers bearing elegant foreign marks. The Colonel, whose violent -explosion of wrath but a short time previously had evidently given him -an excellent appetite, ate with an elegance and taste that struck the -spectator with pleasure and surprise. He joked all the time with a -certain rough humour. When the asparagus was put on the table, he -crammed a corner of his dazzlingly white serviette well down under his -chin, and exclaimed in a lively way-- - -"If I were the Tsar, I would eat asparagus every day of my life." - -Only once, at the fish course, he fell into his usual domineering tone, -and shouted almost harshly to Romashov-- - -"Sub-lieutenant, be good enough to put your knife down. Fish and cutlets -are eaten only with a fork. An officer must know how to eat properly; he -may, at any time, you know, be invited to the palace. Don't forget -that." - -Romashov was uncomfortable and constrained the whole time. He did not -know what to do with his hands, which, for the most part, he kept under -the table plaiting the fringe of the tablecloth. He had long got out of -the habit of observing what was regarded as "good form" in an elegant -and wealthy house. And, during the whole time he was at table, one sole -thought tortured him: "How disagreeable this is, and what weakness and -cowardice on my part not to have the courage to refuse this humiliating -invitation to dinner. Now I shall not stand this any longer. I'll get up -and bow to the company, and go my way. They may think what they please -about it. They can hardly eat me up for that--nor rob me of my soul, my -thoughts, my consciousness. Shall I go?" And again he was obliged to -acknowledge to himself, with a heart overflowing with pain and -indignation, that he lacked the moral courage necessary to assert his -individuality and self-respect. - -Twilight was falling when at last coffee was served. The red, slanting -beams of the setting sun filtered in through the window blinds, and -sportively cast little copper-coloured spots or rays on the dark -furniture, on the white tablecloth, and the clothes and countenances of -those present. Conversation gradually languished. All sat silent, as -though hypnotized by the mystic mood of the dying day. - -"When I was an ensign," said Shulgovich, breaking the silence, "we had -for the chief of our brigade a General named Fofanov. He was just one of -those gentle and simple old fogies who had risen from the ranks during a -time of war, and, as I believe, belonged at the start to what we call -Kantonists.[12] I remember how at reviews he always went straight up to -the big drum--he was insanely enamoured of that instrument--and said to -the drummer, 'Come, come, my friend, play me something really -melancholy.' This same General had also the habit of going to bed -directly the clock struck eleven. When the clock was just on the stroke -of the hour, he invariably said to his guests, 'Well, well, gentlemen, -eat, drink, and enjoy yourselves, but I'm going to throw myself into the -arms of Neptune.' Somebody once remarked, 'Your Excellency, you mean the -arms of Morpheus?' 'Oh, that's the same thing. They both belong to the -same mineralogy.' Well, that's just what I am going to do, gentlemen." - -Shulgovich got up and placed his serviette on the arm of his chair. "I, -too, am going to throw myself into the arms of Neptune. I release you, -gentlemen." - -Both officers got up and stretched themselves. "A bitter, ironical smile -played on his thin lips," thought Romashov about himself--only -_thought_, however, for at that moment his countenance was pale, -wretched, and by no means prepossessing to look at. - -Once more Romashov was on his way home, and once more he felt himself -lonely, abandoned, and helpless in this gloomy and hostile place. Once -more the sun flamed in the west, amidst heavy, dark blue thunder-clouds, -and once more before Romashov's eyes, in the distance, behind houses and -fields, at the verge of the horizon, there loomed a fantastic fairy city -beckoning to him with promises of marvellous beauty and happiness. - -The darkness fell suddenly between the rows of houses. A few little -Jewish children ran, squealing, along the path. Here and there in -doorways, in the embrasures of windows, and in the dusk of gardens there -were sounds of women's laughter, provocative and unintermittent, and -with a quiver of warm animalistic gladness which is heard only when -spring is near. With the deep yet calm melancholy that now lay heavy on -Romashov's heart there were mingled strange, dim memories of a bliss -miraged but never enjoyed in youth's still lovelier spring, and there -arose in his heart a delicious presentiment of a strong, invincible love -that at last gained its object. - -When Romashov reached his abode he found Hainán in his dark and dirty -cupboard in front of Pushkin's bust. The great bard was smeared all over -with grease, and before him burning candles cast bright blurs on the -statue's nose, its thick lips and muscular neck. Hainán sat, in the -Turkish style, cross-legged on the three boards that constituted his -bed, rocked his body to and fro, and mumbled out in a sing-song tone -something weird, melancholy, and monotonous. - -"Hainán," shouted Romashov. - -The servant started, jumped up, and stood at attention. Fear and -embarrassment were displayed on his countenance. - -"Allah?" asked Romashov in the most friendly way. - -The Circassian's shaven boyish mouth expanded in a broad grin which -showed his beautiful white teeth in the candle-light. - -"Allah, your Honour." - -"It is all the same, Hainán. Allah is in you. Allah is in me. There is -one Allah for us all." - -"My excellent Hainán," thought Romashov to himself as he went into his -room. "And I dare not shake hands with him. Dare not! Damn it all! from -to-day I will dress and undress myself. It's a disgrace that some one -else should do it for me." - -That evening he did not go to the mess-room, but stayed at home and -brought out of a drawer a thick, ruled book, nearly entirely filled with -elegant, irregular handwriting. He wrote far into the night. It was the -third in order of Romashov's novels, and its title ran: _A Fatal -Beginning_. - -But our lieutenant blushed furiously at his literary efforts, and he -would not have been induced for anything in the world to acknowledge his -authorship. - - - - -VIII - - -Barracks had just begun to be built for the garrison troops on what was -called the "Cattle Square," outside the town, on the other side of the -railway. Meanwhile the companies were quartered here and there in the -town. The officers' mess-room was situated in a rather small house. The -drawing-room and ballroom had their windows over the street. The other -rooms, the windows of which overlooked a dark, dirty backyard, were set -apart for kitchen, dining-room, billiard-room, guest-chamber, and -ladies'-room. A long narrow corridor with doors to all the rooms in the -house ran the whole length of the building. In the rooms that were -seldom used, and not often cleaned or aired, a musty, sour smell greeted -the visitor as he entered. - -Romashov reached the mess at 9 p.m. Five or six unmarried officers had -already assembled for the appointed soirée, but the ladies had not yet -arrived. For some time past there had been a keen rivalry amongst the -latter to display their acquaintance with the demands of fashion, -according to which it was incumbent on a lady with pretensions to -elegance scrupulously to avoid being among the first to reach the -ballroom. The musicians were already in their places in a sort of -gallery that was connected with the room by means of a large window -composed of many panes of glass. Three-branched candelabra on the -pillars between the windows shed their radiance, and lamps were -suspended from the roof. The bright illumination on the scanty -furniture, consisting only of Viennese chairs, the bare walls, and the -common white muslin window-curtains, gave the somewhat spacious room a -very empty and deserted air. - -In the billiard-room the two Adjutants of the battalion, Biek-Agamalov -and Olisár--the only count in the regiment--were engaged in a game of -"Carolina." The stakes were only ale. Olisár--tall, gaunt, sleek, and -pomaded--an "old, young man" with wrinkled face and bald crown, -scattered freely billiard-room jests and slang. Biek-Agamalov lost both -his game and his temper in consequence. In the seat by the window sat -Staff-Captain Lieschtschenko--a melancholy individual of forty-five, an -altogether miserable figure, the mere sight of which could bore people -to death--watching the game. His whole appearance gave the impression of -hopeless melancholy. Everything about him was limp: his long, fleshy, -wrinkled red nose; his dim, dark-brown thread-like moustache that -reached down below his chin. His eyebrows, which grew a good way down to -the bridge of his nose, made his eyes look as if he were just about to -weep, and his thin, lean body with his sunken chest and sloping -shoulders looked like a clothes-horse in its worn and shiny uniform. -Lieschtschenko neither smoked, drank, nor played; but he found a strange -pleasure in looking at the cards from behind the players' backs, and in -following the movements of the balls in the billiard-room. He likewise -delighted in listening, huddled up in a dining-room window, to the row -and vulgarities of the wildest drinking-bouts. He could thus sit, for -hours at a time, motionless as a stone statue, and without uttering a -single word. All the officers were so accustomed to this that they -almost regarded the silent Lieschtschenko as one of the inevitable -fixtures of a normal gambling or drinking bout. - -After saluting the three officers, Romashov sat down by Lieschtschenko, -who courteously made room for him, as with a deep sigh he fixed his -sorrowful and friendly, dog-like eyes on him. - -"How is Maria Viktorovna?" asked Romashov in the careless and -intentionally loud voice which is generally employed in conversation -with deaf or rather stupid people, and which all the regiment (including -the ensigns) used when they happened to address Lieschtschenko. - -"Quite well, thanks," replied Lieschtschenko with a still deeper sigh. -"You understand--her nerves; but, you know, at this time of year----" - -"But why did she not come with you? But perhaps Maria Viktorovna is not -coming to the soirée to-night?" - -"What do you mean? of course she's coming; but you see, my dear fellow, -there was no room for me in the cab. She and Raisa Peterson took a trap -between them, and as you'll understand, my dear fellow, they said to me, -'Don't come here with your dirty, rough boots, they simply ruin our -clothes.'" - -"Croisez in the middle--a nice 'kiss.' Pick up the ball, Biek," cried -Olisár. - -"I am not a lackey. Do you think I'll pick up your balls?" replied -Biek-Agamalov in a furious tone. - -Lieschtschenko caught in his mouth the tips of his long moustaches, and -thereupon began sucking and chewing them with an extremely thoughtful -and troubled air. - -"Yuri Alexievich, my dear fellow, I have a favour to ask you," he -blurted out at last in a shy and deprecating tone. "You lead the dance -to-night, eh?" - -"Yes, damn it all! They have so arranged it among themselves. I did try -to get off it, kow-towed to the Adjutant--ah, pretty nearly reported -myself ill. 'In that case,' said he, 'you must be good enough to hand in -a medical certificate.'" - -"This is what I want you to do for me," Lieschtschenko went on in the -same humble voice. "For God's sake see that she does not have to sit out -many dances." - -"Maria Viktorovna?" - -"Yes, please----" - -"Double with the yellow in the corner," said Biek-Agamalov, indicating -the stroke he intended to make. Being short, he often found billiards -very troublesome. To reach the ball now he was obliged to lie lengthways -on the table. He became quite red in the face through the effort, and -two veins in his forehead swelled to such an extent that they converged -at the top of his nose like the letter V.[13] - -"What a conjurer!" said Olisár in a jeering, ironical tone. "I could not -do that." - -Agamalov's cue touched the ball with a dry, scraping sound. The ball did -not move from its place. - -"Miss!" cried Olisár jubilantly, as he danced a _cancan_ round the -billiard table. "Do you snore when you sleep, my pretty creature?" - -Agamalov banged the thick end of his cue on the floor. - -"If you ever again speak when I am making a stroke," he roared, his -black eyes glittering, "I'll throw up the game." - -"Don't, whatever you do, get excited. It's so bad for your health. Now -it's my turn." - -Just at that moment in rushed one of the soldiers stationed in the hall -for the service of the ladies, and came to attention in front of -Romashov. - -"Your Honour, the ladies would like you to come into the ballroom." - -Three ladies who had just arrived were already pacing up and down the -ballroom. They were none of them exactly young; the eldest of them, the -wife of the Club President--Anna Ivanovna Migunov--turned to Romashov -and exclaimed in a prim, affected tone, drawling out the words and -tossing her head: - -"Sub-lieutenant Romashov, please order the band to play something whilst -we are waiting." - -"With pleasure, ladies," replied Romashov with a polite bow. He then -went up to the orchestra and called to the conductor, "Zisserman, play -us something pretty." - -The first thundering notes of the overture to "Long live the Tsar" -rolled through the open windows of the music gallery across the -ballroom, and the flames of the candelabra vibrated to the rhythm of the -drum beats. - -The ladies gradually assembled. A year ago, Romashov had felt an -indescribable pleasure in those very minutes before the ball when, in -accordance with his duties as director of the ball, he received the -ladies as they arrived in the hall. Oh, what mystic witchery those -enchantresses possessed when, fired by the strains of the orchestra, by -the glare of many lights, and by the thought of the approaching ball, -they suffered themselves, in delicious confusion, to be divested of -their boas, fur cloaks, wraps, etc. Women's silvery laughter, -high-pitched chatter, mysterious whispers, the freezing perfume from -furs covered with hoar-frost, essences, powder, kid gloves, etc. All -this commingled constituted the mystic, intoxicating atmosphere that is -only found where beautiful women in evening dress crowd one another -immediately before entering a ballroom. What a charm in their lovely -eyes, beaming with the certainty of victory, that cast a last, swift, -scrutinizing glance in the mirror at their hair! What music in the -_frou-frou_ of trains and silken skirts! What bliss in the touch of -delicate little hands, shawls, and fans! - -All this enchantment, Romashov felt, had now ceased for ever. He now -understood, and not without a certain sense of shame, that much of this -enchantment had owed its origin to the perusal of bad French novels, in -which occurred the inevitable description of how "Gustave and Armand -cross the vestibule when invited to a ball at the Russian Embassy." He -also knew that the ladies of his regiment wore for years the same -evening dress, which, on certain festive occasions, was pathetically -remodelled, and that the white gloves very often smelt of benzine. The -generally prevailing passion for different sorts of aigrettes, scarves, -sham diamonds, feathers, and ribbons of loud and gaudy colours, struck -him as being highly ridiculous and pretentious. The same lack of taste -and shabby-genteel love of display were shown even in their homes. They -"made up" shamelessly, and some faces by this means had acquired a -bluish tint; but the most unpleasant part of the affair, in Romashov's -opinion, was what he and others in the regiment, on the day after the -ball, discovered as having happened behind the scenes--gossip, -flirtations, and big and little scandals. And he also knew how much -poverty, envy, love of intrigue, petty provincial pride, and low -morality were hidden behind all this splendid misery. - -Now Captain Taliman and his wife entered the room. They were both tall -and compact. She was a delicate, fragile blonde; he, dark, with the face -of a veritable brigand, and affected with a chronic hoarseness and -cough. Romashov knew beforehand that Taliman would very soon whisper his -usual phrase, and, sure enough, the latter directly afterwards -exclaimed, as his gipsy eyes wandered spy-like over the ballroom-- - -"Have you started cards yet, Lieutenant?" - -"No, not yet, they are all together in the dining-room." - -"Ah, really, do you know, Sonochka, I think I'll go into the dining-room -for a minute just to glance at the _Russki Invalid_. And you, my dear -Romashov, kindly look after my wife here for a bit--they are starting -the quadrille there." - -After this the Lykatschev family--a whole caravan of pretty, laughing, -lisping young ladies, always chattering--made its appearance. At the -head walked the mother, a lively little woman, who, despite her forty -years, danced every dance, and brought children into the world "between -the second and third quadrille," as Artschakovski, the wit of the -regiment, liked to put it. - -The young ladies instantly threw themselves on Romashov, laughing and -chattering in the attempt to talk one another down. - -"Lieutenant Romashov, why do you never come to thee uth?" - -"You wicked man!" - -"Naughty, naughty, naughty!" - -"Wicked man!" - -"I will give you the firtht quadwille." - -"Mesdames, mesdames," said Romashov in self-defence, bowing and scraping -in all directions, and forced against his will to do the polite. - -At that very moment he happened to look in the direction of the street -door. He recognized, silhouetted against the glass, Raisa Alexandrovna's -thin face and thick, prominent lips, which, however, were almost hidden -by a white kerchief tied over her hat. - -Romashov, like a schoolboy caught in the act, slipped into the -reception-room as quick as lightning, but however much he might try to -convince himself that he escaped Raisa's notice, he felt a certain -anxiety. In his quondam mistress's small eyes lay a new expression, -hard, menacing, and revengeful, that foreboded a bad time for him. - -He walked into the dining-room, where a crowd of officers were -assembled. Nearly all the chairs round the long oilcloth-covered table -were engaged. The blue tobacco smoke curled slowly along the roof and -walls. A rancid smell of fried butter emanated from the kitchen. Two or -three groups of officers had already made inroads on the cold collation -and schnapps. A few were reading the newspapers. A loud, multitudinous -murmur of voices blended with the click of billiard balls, the rattle of -knives, and the slamming of the kitchen door. A cold, unpleasant draught -from the vestibule caught one's feet and legs. - -Romashov looked for Lieutenant Bobetinski and went to him. - -Bobetinski was standing, with his hands in his trousers pockets, quite -near the long table. He was rocking backwards and forwards, first on -his toes, then on his heels, and his eyes were blinking from the smoke. -Romashov gently touched his arm. - -"I beg your pardon!" said Bobetinski as he turned round and drew one -hand out of his pocket; but he continued peering with his eyes, -squinting at Romashov, and screwing his moustache with a superior air -and his elbows akimbo. "Ha! it is you? This is very delightful!" - -He always assumed an affected, mincing air, and spoke in short, broken -sentences, thinking, by so doing, that he imitated the aristocratic -Guardsmen and the _jeunesse dorée_ of St. Petersburg. He had a very high -opinion of himself, regarded himself as unsurpassed as a dancer and -connoisseur of women and horses, and loved to play the part of a _blasé_ -man of the world, although he was hardly twenty-four. He always shrugged -his shoulders coquettishly high, jabbered horrible French, pattered -along the streets with limp, crooked knees and trailing gait, and -invariably accompanied his conversation with careless, weary gestures. - -"My good Peter Taddeevich," implored Romashov in a piteous voice, "do, -please, conduct the ball to-night instead of me." - -"_Mais, mon ami_"--Bobetinski shrugged his shoulders, raised his -eyebrows, and assumed a stupid expression. "But, my friend," he -translated into Russian, "why so? _Pourquoi donc?_ Really, how shall I -say it? You--you astonish me." - -"Well, my dear fellow, please----" - -"Stop! No familiarities, if you please. My dear fellow, indeed!" - -"But I beg you, Peter Taddeevich. You see, my head aches, and I have a -pain in my throat; it is absolutely impossible for me to----" - -In this way Romashov long and fruitlessly assailed his brother officer. -Finally, as a last expedient, he began to deluge him with gross -flattery. - -"Peter Taddeevich, there is no one in the whole regiment so capable as -yourself of conducting a ball with good taste and genius, and, moreover, -a lady has specially desired----" - -"A lady!" Bobetinski assumed a blank, melancholy expression. "A lady, -did you say? Ah, my friend, at my age----" he smiled with a studied -expression of hopeless resignation. "Besides, what is woman? Ha, ha! an -enigma. However, I'll do what you want me to do." And in the same -doleful tone he added suddenly, "_Mon cher ami_, do you happen to -have--what do you call it--three roubles?" - -"Ah, no, alas!" sighed Romashov. - -"Well, one rouble, then?" - -"But----" - -"_Désagréable._ The old, old story. At any rate, I suppose we can take a -glass of vodka together?" - -"Alas, alas! Peter Taddeevich, I have no further credit." - -"Oh! _O pauvre enfant!_ But it does not matter, come along!" Bobetinski -waved his hand with an air of magnanimity. "I will treat you." - -Meanwhile, in the dining-room the conversation had become more and more -high-pitched and interesting for some of those present. The talk was -about certain officers' duels that had lately taken place, and opinions -were evidently much divided. - -The speaker at that moment was Artschakovski, a rather obscure -individual who was suspected, not without reason, of cheating at cards. -There was a story current about him, which was whispered about, to the -effect that, before he entered the regiment, when he still belonged to -the reserves, he had been head of a posting-station, and was arrested -and condemned for killing a post-boy by a blow of his fist. - -"Duels may often be necessary among the fools and dandies of the -Guards," exclaimed Artschakovski roughly, "but it is not the same thing -with us. Let us assume for an instance that I and Vasili Vasilich Lipski -get blind drunk at mess, and that I, who am a bachelor, whilst drunk, -box his ears. What will be the result? Well, either he refuses to -exchange a couple of bullets with me, and is consequently turned out of -the regiment, or he accepts the challenge and gets a bullet in his -stomach; but in either case his children will die of starvation. No, all -that sort of thing is sheer nonsense." - -"Wait a bit," interrupted the old toper, Lieutenant-Colonel Liech, as he -held his glass with one hand and with the other made several languid -motions in the air; "do you understand what the honour of the uniform -is? It is the sort of thing, my dear fellow, which---- But speaking of -duels, I remember an event that happened in 1862 in the Temriukski -Regiment." - -"For God's sake," exclaimed Artschakovski, interrupting him in turn, -"spare us your old stories or tell us something that took place after -the reign of King Orre." - -"What cheek! you are only a little boy compared with me. Well, as I was -saying----" - -"Only blood can wipe out the stain of an insult," stammered Bobetinski, -who plumed himself on being a cock, and now took part in the -conversation in a bragging tone. - -"Well, gentlemen, there was at that time a certain ensign--Solúcha," -said Liech, making one more attempt. - -Captain Osadchi, commander of the 1st Company, approached from the -buffet. - -"I hear that you are talking about duels--most interesting," he began in -a gruff, rolling bass that reminded one of a lion's roar, and -immediately drowned every murmur in the room. "I have the honour, -Lieutenant-Colonel. Good-evening, gentlemen." - -"Ah! what do I see--the Colossus of Rhodes? Come and sit down," replied -Liech affably. "Come and have a glass with me, you prince of giants." - -"All right," answered Osadchi in an octave lower. - -This officer always had a curiously unnerving effect on Romashov, and at -the same time aroused in him a mingled feeling of fear and curiosity. -Osadchi was no less famous than Shulgovich, not only in the regiment but -also in the whole division, for his deafening voice when giving the word -of command, his gigantic build, and tremendous physical strength. He was -also renowned for his remarkable knowledge of the service and its -requirements. Now and then it even happened that Osadchi was, in the -interests of the service, removed from his own regiment to another, and -he usually succeeded, in the course of half a year, in turning the most -backward, good-for-nothing troops into exemplary war-machines. His magic -power seemed much more incomprehensible to his brother officers inasmuch -as he never--or at least in very rare instances--had recourse to blows -or insults. Romashov always thought he could perceive, behind those -handsome, gloomy, set features, the extreme paleness of which was thrown -into stronger relief by the bluish-black hair, something strained, -masterly, alluring, and cruel--a gigantic, bloodthirsty wild beast. -Often whilst observing Osadchi unseen from a distance, Romashov would -try to imagine what the man would be like if he were in a rage, and, at -the very thought of it, his limbs froze with fear. And now, without a -thought of protesting, he saw how Osadchi, with the careless calm that -enormous physical strength always lends, coolly sat down on the seat -intended for himself. - -Osadchi drained his glass, nibbled a crisp radish, and said in a tone of -indifference-- - -"Well, what is the verdict?" - -"That story, my dear friend," Liech put in, "I will tell you at once. It -was at the time when I was serving in the Temriukski Regiment, a -Lieutenant von Zoon--the soldiers called him 'Pod-Zvoon'--who, on a -certain occasion, happened to be at mess----" - -Here, however, Liech was interrupted by Lipski, a red-faced, thick-set -staff captain who, in spite of his good forty years, did not think it -beneath him to be the Jack-pudding in ordinary and butt of the men, and -by virtue thereof had assumed the insolent, jocular tone of a spoilt -favourite. - -"Allow me, Captain, to put the matter in a nutshell. Lieutenant -Artschakovski says that duels are nothing but madness and folly. For -such heresy he ought to be sent with a bursary to a seminary for -priests--but enough of that. But to get on with the story, Lieutenant -Bobetinski took up the debate and demanded _blood_. Then came -Lieutenant-Colonel Liech with his hoary chestnuts, which, on that -occasion, by a wonderful dispensation of Providence, we managed to -escape. After that, Sub-lieutenant Michin tried, in the midst of the -general noise, to expound his views, which were more and more -undistinguishable both from the speaker's insufficient strength of lungs -and his well-known bashfulness." - -Sub-lieutenant Michin--an undersized youth with sunken chest, dark, -pock-marked, freckled face and two timid, almost frightened -eyes--blushed till the tears came into his eyes. - -"Gentlemen, I only--gentlemen, I may be mistaken," he said, "but, in my -opinion--I mean in other words, as I look at the matter, every -particular case ought necessarily to be considered by itself." He now -began to bow and stammer worse and worse, at the same time grabbing -nervously with the tips of his fingers at his invisible moustaches. "A -duel may occasionally be useful, even necessary, nobody can deny, and I -suppose there is no one among us who will not approach the lists--when -honour demands it. That is, as I have said, indisputable; but, -gentlemen, sometimes the highest honour might also be found in--in -holding out the hand of reconciliation. Well, of course, I cannot now -say on what occasions this----" - -"Ugh! you wretched Ivanovich," exclaimed Artschakovski, interrupting him -in a rude and contemptuous tone, "don't stand here mumbling. Go home to -your dear mamma and the feeding-bottle." - -"Gentlemen, won't you allow me to finish what I was going to say?" - -But Osadchi with his powerful bass voice put a stop to the dispute. In a -second there was silence in the room. - -"Every duel, gentlemen, must, above all, end in death for at least one -of the parties, otherwise it is _absurd_. Directly coddling or humanity, -so-called, comes in, the whole thing is turned into a farce. 'Fifteen -paces distance and only one shot.' How damnably pitiful! Such a -deplorable event only happens in such tomfooleries as are called French -duels, which one reads about, now and then, in our papers. They meet, -each fires a bullet out of a toy pistol, and the thing is over. Then -come the cursed newspaper hacks with their report on the duel, which -invariably winds up thus: 'The duel went off satisfactorily. Both -adversaries exchanged shots without inflicting any injury on either -party, and both displayed the greatest courage during the whole time. At -the breakfast, after the champagne, both the former mortal enemies fell -into each other's arms, etc.' A duel like that, gentlemen, is nothing -but a scandal, and does nothing to raise the tone of our society." - -Several of the company tried to speak at once. Liech, in particular, -made a last despairing attack on those present to finish his story: - -"Well, well, my friends, it was like this--but listen, you puppies." - -Nobody, however, did listen to his adjurations, and his supplicating -glances wandered in vain over the gathering, seeking for a deliverer and -ally. All turned disrespectfully away, eagerly engrossed in that -interesting subject, and Liech shook his head sorrowfully. At last he -caught sight of Romashov. The young officer had the same miserable -experience as his comrades with regard to the old Lieutenant-Colonel's -talents as a story-teller, but his heart grew soft, and he determined to -sacrifice himself. Liech dragged his prey away with him to the table. - -"This--well--come and listen to me, Ensign. Ah, sit here and drink a -glass with me. All the others are mere asses and loons." Liech, with -considerable difficulty, raised his languid arm and made a contemptuous -gesture towards the group of officers. "Buzz, buzz, buzz! What -understanding or experience is there amongst such things? But wait a -bit, you shall hear." - -Glass in one hand, the other waving in the air as if he were the -conductor of a big orchestra, Liech began one of his interminable -stories with which he was larded--like sausages with liver--and which he -never brought to a conclusion because of an endless number of -divagations from the subject, parentheses, embroideries, and analogues. -The anecdote in question was about an American duel, Heaven only knows -how many years ago, between two officers who, playing for their lives, -guessed odd and even on the last figure of a date on a rouble-note. But -one of them--it was never quite cleared up as to whether it was a -certain Pod-Zvoon or his friend Solúcha--was blackguard enough to paste -together two rouble-notes of different dates of issue, whereby the front -had always an even date, but the back an odd one--"or perhaps it was the -other way about," pondered Liech long and conscientiously. "You see, my -dear fellow, they of course then began to dispute. One of them said----" - -Alas, however, Liech did not even this time get to the end of his story. -Madame Raisa Alexandrovna Peterson had glided into the buffet. Standing -at the door, but not entering, which was, moreover, not permitted to -ladies, she shouted with the roguishness and audacity of a privileged -young lady: - -"Gentlemen, what do I see? The ladies have arrived long ago, and here -you are sitting and having a good old time. We want to dance." - -Two or three young officers arose to go into the ballroom. The rest -coolly remained sitting where they were, chatting, drinking, and -smoking, without taking the slightest notice of the coquettish lady. -Only Liech, the chivalrous old professional flirt, strutted up with -bandy, uncertain legs to Raisa, with hands crossed over his chest--and -pouring the contents of his glass over his uniform, cried with a drunken -emotion: - -"Most divine among women, how can any one forget his duties to a queen -of beauty? Your hand, my charmer; just one kiss----" - -"Yuri Alexievich," Raisa babbled, "it's your turn to-day to arrange the -dancing. You are a nice one to do that." - -"_Mille pardons, madame. C'est ma faute._ This is my fault," cried -Bobetinski, as he flew off to her. On the way he improvised a sort of -ballet with scrapes, bounds, genuflections, and a lot of wonderful -attitudes and gestures. "Your hand. _Votre main, madame._ Gentlemen, to -the ballroom, to the ballroom!" - -He offered his arm to Raisa Alexandrovna, and walked out of the room as -proud as a peacock. Directly afterwards he was heard shouting in his -well-known, affected tone: - -"_Messieurs_, take partners for a waltz. Band! a waltz!" - -"Excuse me, Colonel, I am obliged to go now. Duty calls me," said -Romashov. - -"Ah, my dear fellow," replied Liech, as his head drooped with a dejected -look--"are you, too, such a coxcomb as the others? But wait just a -moment, Ensign; have you heard the story of Moltke--about the great -Field-Marshal Moltke, the strategist?" - -"Colonel, on my honour, I must really go--I----" - -"Well, well, don't get excited. I won't be long. You see, it was like -this: the great Man of Silence used to take his meals in the officers' -mess, and every day he laid in front of him on the table a purse full of -gold with the intention of bestowing it on the first officer from whose -lips he heard a single intelligent word. Well, at last, you know, the -old man died after having borne with this world for ninety years, -but--you see--the purse had always been in safe keeping. Now run along, -my boy. Go and hop about like a sparrow." - - - - -IX - - -In the ballroom, the walls of which seemed to vibrate in the same rhythm -as the deafening music, two couples were dancing. Bobetinski, whose -elbows flapped like a pair of wings, pirouetted with short, quick steps -around his partner, Madame Taliman, who was dancing with the stately -composure of a stone monument. The gigantic Artschakovski of the fair -locks made the youngest of the Lykatschev girls, a little thing with -rosy cheeks, rotate round him, whereas he, leaning forward, and closely -observing his partner's hair and shoulders, moved his legs as if he were -dancing with a child. Fifteen ladies lined the walls quite deserted, and -trying to look as if they did not mind it. As, which was always the case -at these soirées, the gentlemen numbered less than a quarter of the -ladies, the prospect of a lively and enjoyable evening was not -particularly promising. - -Raisa Alexandrovna, who had just opened the ball, and was, therefore, -the object of the other ladies' envy, was now dancing with the slender, -ceremonious Olisár. He held one of her hands as if it had been fixed to -his left side. She supported her chin in a languishing way against her -other hand, which rested on his right shoulder. She kept her head far -thrown back in an affected and unnatural attitude. When the dance was -over she sat purposely near Romashov, who was leaning against the -doorpost of the ladies' dressing-room. She fanned herself violently, and -looking up to Olisár, who was leaning over her, lisped in a soft -_dolcissimo_: - -"Tell me, Count, tell me, please, why do I always feel so hot? Do tell -me." - -Olisár made a slight bow, clicked his spurs, stroked his moustache -several times. - -"Dear lady, that is a question which I don't think even Martin Sadek -could answer." - -When Olisár cast a scrutinizing glance at the fair Raisa's _décolleté_ -bosom, pitiable and bare as the desert itself, she began at once to -breathe quickly and deeply. - -"Ah, I have always an abnormally high temperature," Raisa Alexandrovna -went on to say with a significant expression, insinuating by her smile -that her words had a double meaning. "I suffer, too, from an unusually -fiery temperament." - -Olisár gave vent to a short, soft chuckle. - -Romashov stood looking sideways at Raisa, thinking with disgust, "Oh, -how loathsome she is." And at the thought that he had once enjoyed her -favours, he experienced the sensation as if he had not changed his linen -for months. - -"Well, well, Count, don't laugh. Perhaps you do not know that my mother -was a Greek?" - -"And how horribly she speaks, too," thought Romashov. "Curious that I -never noticed this before. It sounds as if she had a chronic cold or a -polypus in her nose--'by buther was a Greek.'" - -Now Raisa turned to Romashov and threw him a challenging glance. - -Romashov mentally said, "His face became impassive like a mask." - -"How do you do, Yuri Alexievich? Why don't you come and speak to me?" -Romashov went up to her. With a venomous glance from her small, sharp -eyes she pressed his hand. The pupils of her eyes stood motionless. - -"At your desire I have kept the third quadrille for you. I hope you have -not forgotten that." - -Romashov bowed. - -"You are very polite! At least you might say _Enchanté, madame!_" -("Edchadté, badabe" was what Romashov heard.) "Isn't he a blockhead, -Count?" - -"Of course, I remember," mumbled Romashov insincerely. "I thank you for -the great honour." - -Bobetinski did nothing to liven up the evening. He conducted the ball -with an apathetic, condescending look, just as if he was performing, -from a strict sense of duty, something very distasteful and -uninteresting to himself, but of infinite importance to the rest of -mankind. When, however, the third quadrille was about to begin, he got, -as it were, a little new life, and, as he hurried across the room with -the long gliding steps of a skater, he shouted in a loud voice: - -"_Quadrille monstre! Cavaliers, engagez vos dames!_" - -Romashov and Raisa Alexandrovna took up a position close to the window -of the music gallery, with Michin and Madame Lieschtschenko for their -_vis-à-vis_. The latter hardly reached up to her partner's shoulders. -The number of dancers had now very noticeably increased, and the couples -stood up for the third quadrille. Every dance had therefore to be -repeated twice. - -"There must be an explanation; this must be put a stop to," thought -Romashov, almost deafened by the noise of the big drums and the braying -brass instruments in his immediate proximity. "I have had enough! 'And -in his countenance you could read fixed resolution.'" - -The "dancing-masters" and those who arranged the regimental balls had -preserved by tradition certain fairly innocent frolics and jokes for -such soirées, which were greatly appreciated by the younger dancers. For -instance, at the third quadrille it was customary, as it were -accidentally, by changing the dances, to cause confusion among the -dancers, who with uproar and laughter did their part in increasing the -general disorder. Bobetinski's device that evening consisted in the -gentlemen pretending to forget their partners and dancing the figure by -themselves. Suddenly a "galop all round" was ordered, the result of -which was a chaos of ladies and gentlemen rushing about in fruitless -search for their respective partners. - -"_Mesdames, avancez--pardon, reculez._ Gentlemen, alone. -_Pardon--balancez avec vos dames!_" - -Raisa Alexandrovna kept talking to Romashov in the most virulent tone -and panting with fury, but smiling all the while as if her conversation -was wholly confined to pleasant and joyous subjects. - -"I will not allow any one to treat me in such a manner, do you hear? I -am not a good-for-nothing girl you can do as you like with. Besides, -decent people don't behave as you are behaving." - -"Raisa Alexandrovna, for goodness' sake try to curb your temper," begged -Romashov in a low, imploring tone. - -"Angry with you? No, sir, that would be to pay you too high a -compliment. I despise you, do you hear? Despise you; but woe to him who -dares to play with my feelings! You left my letter unanswered. How dare -you?" - -"But your letter did not reach me, I assure you." - -"Ha! don't try to humbug me. I know your lies, and I also know where you -spend your time. Don't make any mistake about that. - -"Do you think I don't know this woman, this Lilliput queen, and her -intrigues? Rather, you may be sure of that," Raisa went on to say. "She -fondly imagines she's a somebody; yes, she does! Her father was a -thieving notary." - -"I must beg you, in my presence, to express yourself in a more decent -manner in regard to my friends," interrupted Romashov sharply. - -Then and there a painful scene occurred. Raisa stormed and broke out in -a torrent of aspersions on Shurochka. The fury within her had now the -mastery; her artificial smiles were banished, and she even tried to -drown the music by her snuffly voice. Romashov, conscious of his -impotence to try to put in a word in defence of the grossly insulted -Shurochka, was distracted with shame and wrath. In addition to this were -the intolerable din of the band and the disagreeable attention of the -bystanders, which his partner's unbridled fury was beginning to attract. - -"Yes, her father was a common thief; she has nothing to stick her nose -in the air about and she ought, to be sure, to be very careful not to -give herself airs!" shrieked Raisa. "And for a thing like that to dare -to look down on us! We know something else about her, too!" - -"I implore you!" whispered Romashov. - -"Don't make any mistake about it; both you and she shall feel my claws. -In the first place, I shall open her husband's eyes--the eyes of that -fool Nikoläiev, who has, for the third time, been 'ploughed' in his -exam. But what else can one expect from a fool like that, who does not -know what is going on under his nose? And it is certainly no longer any -secret who the lover is." - -"_Mazurka générale! Promenade!_" howled Bobetinski, who at that moment -was strutting through the room with the pomp of an archangel. - -The floor rocked under the heavy tramping of the dancers, and the muslin -curtains and coloured lamps moved in unison with the notes of the -mazurka. - -"Why cannot we part as friends?" Romashov asked in a shy tone. He felt -within himself that this woman not only caused him indescribable -disgust, but also aroused in his heart a cowardice he could not subdue, -and which filled him with self-contempt. "You no longer love me; let us -part good friends." - -"Ha! ha! You're frightened; you're trying to cut my claws. No, my fine -fellow. I am not one of those who are thrown aside with impunity. It is -I, mind you, who throw aside one who causes me disgust and loathing--not -the other way about. And as for your baseness----" - -"That's enough; let's end all this talk," said Romashov, interrupting -her in a hollow voice and with clenched teeth. - -"Five minutes' _entr'acte_. _Cavaliers, occupez vos dames!_" shouted -Bobetinski. - -"I'll end it when I think fit. You have deceived me shamefully. For you -I have sacrificed all that a virtuous woman can bestow. It is your fault -that I dare not look my husband in the face--my husband, the best and -noblest man on earth. It's you who made me forget my duties as wife and -mother. Oh, why, why did I not remain true to him!" - -Romashov could not, however, now refrain from a smile. Raisa -Alexandrovna's innumerable amours with all the young, new-fledged -officers in the regiment were an open secret, and both by word of mouth -and in her letters to Romashov she was in the habit of referring to her -"beloved husband" in the following terms: "my fool," or "that despicable -creature," or "this booby who is always in the way," etc., etc. - -"Ah, you have even the impudence to laugh," she hissed; "but look out -now, sir, it is my turn." - -With these words she took her partner's arm and tripped along, with -swaying hips and smiling a vinegary smile on all sides. When the dance -was over her face resumed its former expression of hatred. Again she -began to buzz savagely--"like an angry wasp," thought Romashov. - -"I shall never forgive you this, do you hear? _Never._ I know the reason -why you have thrown me over so shamelessly and in such a blackguardly -fashion; but don't fondly imagine that a new love-intrigue will be -successful. No; never, as long as I live, shall that be the case. -Instead of acknowledging in a straightforward and honourable way that -you no longer love me, you have preferred to cloak your treachery and -treat me like a vulgar harlot, reasoning, I suppose, like this: 'If it -does not come off with the other, I always have her, you know.' Ha! ha! -ha!" - -"All right, you may perhaps allow me to speak decently," began Romashov, -with restrained wrath. His face grew paler and paler, and he bit his -lips nervously. "You have asked for it, and now I tell you straight. I -do _not_ love you." - -"Oh, what an insult!" - -"I have never loved you; nor did you love me. We have both played an -unworthy and false game, a miserable, vulgar farce with a nauseous plot -and disgusting _rôles_. Raisa Alexandrovna, I have studied you, and I -know you, very likely, better than you do yourself. You lack every -requisite of love, tenderness, nay, even common affection. The cause of -it is your absolutely superficial character, your narrow, petty outlook -on life. And, besides" (Romashov happened to remember at this point -Nasanski's words), "only elect, refined natures can know what a great or -real love is." - -"Such elect, refined natures, for instance, as your own." - -Once more the band thundered forth. Romashov looked almost with hatred -at the trombone's wide, shining mouth, that, with the most cynical -indifference, flung out its hoarse, howling notes over the whole of the -room. And its fellow-culprit--the poor soldier who, with the full force -of his lungs, gave life to the instrument--was with his bulging eyes and -blue, swollen cheeks, no less an object of his dislike and disgust. - -"Don't let us quarrel about it. It is likely enough that I am not worthy -of a great and real love, but we are not discussing that now. The fact -is that you, with your narrow, provincial views and silly vanity, must -needs always be surrounded by men dancing attendance on you, so that you -may be able to boast about it to your lady friends in what you are -pleased to call 'Society.' And possibly you think I have not understood -the purpose of your ostentatiously familiar manner with me at the -regimental soirées, your tender glances, etc., the intimately -dictatorial tone you always assume when we are seen together. Yes, -precisely the chief object was that people should notice the -free-and-easy way in which you treated me. Except for this all your game -would not have had the slightest meaning, for no real love or affection -on my part has ever formed part of your--programme." - -"Even if such had been the case I might well have chosen a better and -more worthy object than you," replied Raisa, in a haughty and scornful -tone. - -"Such an answer from _you_ is too ridiculous to insult me; for, listen, -I repeat once more, your absurd vanity demands that some slave should -always be dancing attendance on you. But the years come and go, and the -number of your slaves diminishes. Finally, in order not to be entirely -without admirers, you are forced to sacrifice your plighted troth, your -duties as wife and mother." - -"No; but that's quite sufficient. You shall most certainly hear from -me," whispered Raisa, in a significant tone and with glittering eyes. - -At that moment, Captain Peterson came across the room with many absurd -skips and shuffles in order to avoid colliding with the dancers. He was -a thin, consumptive man with a yellow complexion, bald head, and black -eyes, in the warm and moist glance of which lurked treachery and malice. -It was said of him that, curiously enough, he was to such an extent -infatuated with his wife that he played the part of intimate friend, in -an unctuous and sickening way, with all her lovers. It was likewise -common knowledge that he had tried by means of acrimonious perfidy and -the most vulgar intrigues to be revenged on every single person who had, -with joy and relief, turned his back on the fair Raisa's withered -charms. - -He smiled from a distance at his wife and Romashov with his bluish, -pursed lips. - -"Are you dancing, Romashov? Well, how are you, my dear Georgi? Where -have you been all this time? My wife and I were so used to your company -that we have been quite dull without you." - -"Been awfully busy," mumbled Romashov. - -"Ah, yes, we all know about those military duties," replied Captain -Peterson, with a little insinuating whistle that was directly changed -into an amicable smile. His black eyes with their yellow pupils -wandered, however, from Raisa to Romashov inquisitively. - -"I have an idea that you two have been quarrelling. Why do you both look -so cross? What has happened?" - -Romashov stood silent whilst he gazed, worried and embarrassed, at -Raisa's skinny, dark, sinewy neck. Raisa answered promptly, with the -easy insolence she invariably displayed when lying: - -"Yuri Alexievich is playing the philosopher. He declares that dancing is -both stupid and ridiculous, and that he has seen his best days." - -"And yet he dances?" replied the Captain, with a quick, snake-like -glance at Romashov. "Dance away, my children, and don't let me disturb -you." - -He had scarcely got out of earshot before Raisa Alexandrovna, in a -hypocritical, pathetic tone, burst out with, "And I have deceived this -saint, this noblest of husbands. And for whom?--Oh, if he knew all, if -he only knew!" - -"_Mazurka générale_," shrieked Bobetinski. "Gentlemen, resume your -partners." - -The violently perspiring bodies of the dancers and the dust arising from -the parquet floor made the air of the ballroom close, and the lights in -the lamps and candelabra took a dull yellow tint. The dancing was now in -full swing, but as the space was insufficient, each couple, who every -moment squeezed and pushed against one another, was obliged to tramp on -the very same spot. This figure--the last in the quadrille--consisted in -a gentleman, who was without a partner, pursuing a couple who were -dancing. If he managed to come face to face with a lady he clapped her -on the hand, which meant that the lady was now his booty. The lady's -usual partner tried, of course, to prevent this, but by this arose a -disorder and uproar which often resulted in some very brutal incidents. - -"Actress," whispered Romashov hoarsely, as he bent nearer to Raisa. -"You're as pitiable as you are ridiculous." - -"And you are drunk," the worthy lady almost shrieked, giving Romashov at -the same time a glance resembling that with which the heroine on the -stage measures the villain of the piece from head to foot. - -"It only remains for me to find out," pursued Romashov mercilessly, "the -exact reason why I was chosen by you. But this, however, is a question -which I can answer myself. You gave yourself to me in order to get a -hold on me. Oh, if this had been done out of love or from sentiment -merely! But you were actuated by a base vanity. Are you not frightened -at the mere thought of the depths into which we have both sunk, without -even a spark of love that might redeem the crime? You must understand -that this is even more wretched than when a woman sells herself for -money. Then dire necessity is frequently the tempter. But in this -case--the memory of this senseless, unpardonable crime will always be -to me a source of shame and loathing." - -With cold perspiration on his forehead and distraction in his weary -eyes, he gazed on the couples dancing. Past him--hardly lifting her feet -and without looking at her partner--sailed the majestic Madame Taliman, -with motionless shoulders and an ironical, menacing countenance, as if -she meant to protect herself against the slightest liberty or insult. -Epifanov skipped round her like a little frisky goat. Then glided little -Miss Lykatschev, flushed of face, with gleaming eyes, and bare, white, -virginal bosom. Then came Olisár with his slender, elegant legs, -straight and stiff as a sparrow's. Romashov felt a burning headache and -a strong, almost uncontrollable desire to weep; but beside him still -stood Raisa, pale with suppressed rage. With an exaggerated theatrical -gesture she fired at him the following sarcasm-- - -"Did any one ever hear such a thing before? A Russian Infantry -lieutenant playing the part of the chaste Joseph? Ha, ha, ha!" - -"Yes, quite so, my lady. Precisely that part," replied Romashov, glaring -with wrath. "I know too well that it is humiliating and ridiculous. -Nevertheless, I am not ashamed to express my sorrow that I should have -so degraded myself. With our eyes open we have both flung ourselves into -a cesspool, and I know that I shall never again deserve a pure and noble -woman's love. Who is to blame for this? Well, you. Bear this well in -mind--you, you, you--for you were the older and more experienced of us -two, especially in affairs of that sort." - -Raisa Alexandrovna got up hurriedly from her chair. "That will do," she -replied in a dramatic tone. "You have got what you wanted. _I hate -you._ I hope henceforward you will cease to visit a home where you were -received as a friend and relation, where you were entertained and fed, -and where, too, you were found out to be the scoundrel you are. Oh, that -I had the courage to reveal everything to my husband--that incomparable -creature, that saint whom I venerate. Were he only convinced of what has -happened he would, I think, know how to avenge the wounded honour of a -helpless, insulted woman. He would kill you." - -Romashov looked through his eyeglass at her big, faded mouth, her -features distorted by hate and rage. The infernal music from the open -windows of the gallery continued with unimpaired strength; the -intolerable bassoon howled worse than ever, and, thought Romashov, the -bass drum had now come into immediate contact with his brain. - -Raisa shut her fan with a snap that echoed through the ballroom. "Oh, -you--lowest of all blackguards on earth," whispered she, with a -theatrical gesture, and then disappeared into the ladies' retiring-room. - -All was now over and done with, but Romashov did not experience the -relief he expected. This long-nourished hope to feel his soul freed from -a heavy, unclean burthen was not fulfilled. His strict, avenging -conscience told him that he had acted in a cowardly, low, and boorish -way when he cast all the blame on a weak, narrow, wretched woman who, -most certainly at that moment, in the ladies'-room, was, through him, -shedding bitter, hysterical tears of sorrow, shame, and impotent rage. - -"I am sinking more and more deeply," thought he, in disgust at himself. -What had his life been? what had it consisted of? An odious and wanton -_liaison_, gambling, drinking, soul-killing, monotonous regimental -routine, with never a single inspiriting word, never a ray of light in -this black, hopeless darkness. Salutary, useful work, music, art, -science, where were they? - -He returned to the dining-room. There he met Osadchi and his friend -Viätkin, who with much trouble was making his way in the direction of -the street door. Liech, now quite drunk, was helplessly wobbling in -different directions, whilst in a fuddled voice he kept asserting that -he was--an archbishop. Osadchi intoned in reply with the most serious -countenance and a low, rolling bass, whilst carefully following the -ecclesiastical ritual-- - -"Your high, refulgent Excellency, the hour of burial has struck. Give us -your blessing, etc." - -As the soirée approached its end, the gathering in the dining-room grew -more noisy and lively. The room was already so full of tobacco smoke -that those sitting at opposite sides of the table could not recognize -each other. Cards were being played in one corner; by the window a small -but select set had assembled to edify one another by racy stories--the -spice most appreciated at officers' dinners and suppers. - -"No, no, no, gentlemen," shrieked Artschakovski, "allow me to put in a -word. You see it was this way: a soldier was quartered at the house of a -_khokhol_[14] who had a pretty wife. Ho, ho, thought the soldier, that -is something for me." - -Then, however, he was interrupted by Vasili Vasilievich, who had been -waiting long and impatiently-- - -"Shut up with your old stories, Artschakovski. You shall hear this. Once -upon a time in Odessa there----" - -But even he was not allowed to speak very long. The generality of the -stories were rather poor and devoid of wit, but, to make up for that, -they were interspersed with coarse and repulsive cynicisms. Viätkin, who -had now returned from the street, where he had been paying his respects -to Liech's "interment" and holy "departure," invited Romashov to sit -down at the table. - -"Sit you here, my dear Georginka.[15] We will watch them. To-day I am as -rich as a Jew. I won yesterday, and to-day I shall take the bank again." - -Romashov only longed to lighten his heart, for a friend to whom he might -tell his sorrow and his disgust at life. After draining his glass he -looked at Viätkin with beseeching eyes, and began to talk in a voice -quivering with deep, inward emotion. - -"Pavel Pavlich, we all seem to have completely forgotten the existence -of another life. _Where_ it is I cannot say; I only know that it exists. -Even in that men must struggle, suffer, and love, but that life is -rich--rich in great thoughts and noble deeds. For here, my friend, what -do you suppose our life is, and how will such a miserable existence as -ours end some day?" - -"Well, yes, old fellow--but it's life," replied Viätkin in a sleepy way. -"Life after all is--only natural philosophy and energy. And what is -energy?" - -"Oh, what a wretched existence," Romashov went on to say with increasing -emotion, and without listening to Viätkin. "To-day we booze at mess -till we are drunk; to-morrow we meet at drill--'one, two, left, -right'--in the evening we again assemble round the bottle. Just the -same, year in, year out. That's what makes up our life. How disgusting!" - -Viätkin peered at him with sleepy eyes, hiccoughed, and then suddenly -started singing in a weak falsetto:-- - - "In the dark, stilly forest - There once dwelt a maiden, - She sat at her distaff - By day and by night. - -"Take care of your health, my angel, and to the deuce with the rest. - -"Romashevich! Romaskovski! let's go to the board of green cloth. I'll -lend you a----" - -"No one understands me, and I have not a single friend here," sighed -Romashov mournfully. The next moment he remembered Shurochka--the -splendid, high-minded Shurochka, and he felt in his heart a delicious -and melancholy sensation, coupled with hopelessness and quiet -resignation. - -He stayed in the mess-room till daybreak, watched them playing schtoss, -and now and then took a hand at the game, yet without feeling the -slightest pleasure or interest in it. Once he noticed how Artschakovski, -who was playing at a little private table with two ensigns, made rather -a stupid, but none the less successful, attempt to cheat. Romashov -thought for a moment of taking up the matter and exposing the fraud, but -checked himself suddenly, saying to himself: "Oh, what's the use! I -should not improve matters by interfering." - -Viätkin, who had lost, in less than five minutes, his boasted -"millions," sat sleeping on a chair, with his eyes wide open and his -face as white as a sheet. Beside Romashov sat the eternal Lieschtschenko -with his mournful eyes fixed on the game. Day began to dawn. The -guttering candle-ends' half-extinguished, yellowish flames flickered -dully in their sticks, and illumined by their weak and uncertain light -the pale, emaciated features of the gamblers. But Romashov kept staring -at the cards, the heaps of silver and notes, and the green cloth -scrawled all over with chalk; and in his heavy, weary head the same -cruel, torturing thoughts of a worthless, unprofitable life ran -incessantly. - - - - -X - - -It was a splendid, though somewhat chilly, spring morning. The hedges -were in bloom. Romashov, who was still, as a rule, a slave to his -youthful, heavy sleep, had, as usual, overslept himself, and was late -for the morning drill. With an unpleasant feeling of shyness and -nervousness, he approached the parade-ground, and his spirits were not -cheered by the thought of Captain Sliva's notorious habit of making a -humiliating and painful situation still worse by his abuse and rudeness. - -This officer was a survival of the barbaric times when an iron -discipline, idiotic pedantry--parade march in three time--and inhuman -martial laws were virtually epidemic. Even in the 4th Regiment, which, -from being quartered in a God-forsaken hole, seldom came into contact -with civilization, and, moreover, did not bear the reputation for much -culture, Captain Sliva was looked upon as a rough and boorish person, -and the most incredible anecdotes were current about him. Everything -outside the company, service, and drill-book, and which he was -accustomed to call "rot" or "rubbish," had no existence so far as he was -concerned. After having borne for nearly all his life the heavy burden -of military service, he had arrived at such a state of savagery that he -never opened a book, and, as far as newspapers were concerned, he only -looked at the official and military notices in the _Invalid_. He -despised with all his innate cynicism the meetings and amusements of -society, and there were no oaths, no insulting terms too gross and crude -for him to incorporate in his "Soldier's Lexicon." One story about him -was that one lovely summer evening, when sitting at his open window, -occupied, as usual, with his registers and accounts, a nightingale began -to warble. Captain Sliva got up instantly, and shouted in a towering -rage to his servant Sachartschuk, "Get a stone and drive away that -damned bird; it's disturbing me." - -This apparently sleepy and easy-going man was unmercifully severe to the -soldiers, whom he not only abandoned to the ferocity of the "non-coms.," -but whom he himself personally whipped till they fell bleeding to the -ground; but in all that concerned their food, clothing, and pay, he -displayed the greatest consideration and honesty, and in this he was -only surpassed by the commander of the 5th Company. - -To the junior officers Captain Sliva was always harsh and stiff, and a -certain native, crabbed humour imparted an additional sharpness to his -biting sarcasms. If, for instance, a subaltern officer happened, during -the march, to step out with the wrong foot, he instantly bellowed-- - -"Damnation! What the devil are you doing? All the company _except_ -Lieutenant N. is marching with the wrong foot!" - -He was particularly rude and merciless on occasions when some young -officer overslept himself or, for some other cause, came too late to -drill, which not unfrequently was the case with Romashov. - -Captain Sliva had a habit then of celebrating the victim's advent by -forming the whole company into line, and, in a sharp voice, commanding -"Attention!" After this he took up a position opposite the front rank, -and in death-like silence waited, watch in hand and motionless, while -the unpunctual officer, crushed with shame, sought his place in the -line. Now and then Sliva increased the poor sinner's torture by putting -to him the sarcastic question: "Will your Honour allow the company to go -on with the drill?" For Romashov he had, moreover, certain dainty -phrases specially stored up, e.g. "I hope you slept well," or "Your -Honour has, I suppose, as usual, had pleasant dreams?" etc., etc. When -all these preludes were finished, he began to shower abuse and -reproaches on his victim. - -"Oh, I don't care," thought Romashov to himself in deep disgust as he -approached his company. "It is no worse to be here than in other places. -All my life is ruined." - -Sliva, Viätkin, Lbov, and the ensign were standing in the middle of the -parade-ground, and all turned at once to Romashov as he arrived. Even -the soldiers turned their heads towards him, and with veritable torture -Romashov pictured to himself what a sorry figure he cut at that moment. - -"Well, the shame I am now feeling is possibly unnecessary or excessive," -he reasoned to himself, trying, as is habitual with timid or bashful -persons, to console himself. "Possibly that which seems so shameful and -guilty to me is regarded by others as the veriest trifle. Suppose, for -instance, that it was Lbov, not I, who came too late, and that I am now -in the line and see him coming up. Well, what more--what is there to -make a fuss about? Lbov comes--that's all it amounts to. How stupid to -grieve and get uncomfortable at such a petty incident, which within a -month, perhaps even in a week, will be forgotten by all here present. -Besides, what is there in this life which is not forgotten?" Romashov -remarked as he finished his argument with himself, and felt in some -degree calm and consoled. - -To every one's astonishment this time Sliva spared Romashov from -personal insults, nay, he even seemed not to have noticed him in the -least. When Romashov went up to him and saluted, with his heels together -and his hand at his cap, he only said, pointing his red, withered -fingers, which strongly resembled five little cold sausages: - -"I must beg you, Sub-lieutenant, to remember that it is your duty to be -with your company _five_ minutes before the senior subaltern officers, -and _ten_ minutes before the chief of your company." - -"I am very sorry, Captain," replied Romashov in a composed tone. - -"That's all very well, Sub-lieutenant, but you are always asleep and you -seem to have quite forgotten the old adage: 'He who is seldom awake must -go about shabby.' And I must now ask you, gentlemen, to retire to your -respective companies." - -The whole company was split up into small groups, each of which was -instructed in gymnastics. The soldiers stood drawn up in open file at a -distance of a pace apart, and with their uniforms unbuttoned in order to -enable them to perform their gymnastic exercises. Bobyliev, the smart -subaltern officer stationed in Romashov's platoon, cast a respectful -glance at his commander, who was approaching, his lower jaw stuck out -and his eyes squinting, and giving orders in a resonant voice-- - -"Hips steady. Rise on your toes. Bend your knees." - -And directly after that, very softly and in a sing-song voice-- - -"Begin." - -"One," sang out the soldiers in unison, and they simultaneously -performed in slow time the order to bend the knees till the whole -division found itself on its haunches. - -Bobyliev, who likewise performed the same movement, scrutinized the -soldiers with severe, critical, and aggressive eyes. Immediately beside -him cried the little spasmodic corporal, Syeroshtán, in his sharp, -squeaky voice that reminded one of a cockerel squabbling for food-- - -"Stretch your arms to the right--and left--salute. Begin, one, two, one, -two," and directly afterwards ten smart young fellows were heard yelling -at the top of their voices the regulation-- - -"_Haú, haú, haú._" - -"Halt," shouted Syeroshtán, red of face from rage and over-exertion. -"La-apschin, you great ass, you toss about, give yourself airs, and -twist your arm like some old woman from Riasan--_choú_, _choú_. Do the -movements properly, or by all that's unholy I'll----" - -After this the subalterns led their respective divisions at quick march -to the gymnastic apparatus, which had been set up in different parts of -the parade-ground. Sub-lieutenant Lbov--young, strong, and agile, and -also an expert gymnast--threw down his sabre and cap, and ran before the -others to one of the bars. Grasping the bar with both his hands, after -three violent efforts he made a somersault in the air, threw himself -forward and finally landed himself on all fours two yards and a half -from the bar. - -"Sub-lieutenant Lbov, at your everlasting circus tricks again," shrieked -Captain Sliva in a tone meant to be severe. In his heart the old warrior -cherished a sneaking affection for Lbov, who was a thoroughly efficient -soldier, and, by his brave bearing, invaluable at parades. "Be good -enough to observe the regulation, and keep the other thing till Carnival -comes round." - -"Right, Captain!" yelled Lbov in reply; "but I shan't obey," he -whispered to Romashov with a wink. - -The 4th platoon exercised on the inclined ladder. The soldiers walked in -turn to the ladder, gripped hold of the steps, and climbed up them with -arms bent. Shapovalenko stood below and made remarks-- - -"Keep your feet still. Up with your soles." - -The turn now came to a little soldier in the left wing, whose name was -Khliabnikov, who served as a butt to the entire company. Whenever -Romashov caught sight of him, he wondered how this emaciated, sorry -figure, in height almost a dwarf, whose dirty little beardless face was -but a little larger than a man's fist, could have been admitted into the -army. And when he met Khliabnikov's soulless eyes, which looked as if -they had expressed nothing but a dull submissive fear ever since he was -born, he felt in his heart a heavy, oppressive feeling of disgust and -prick of conscience. - -Khliabnikov hung motionless on the ladder like a dead, shapeless mass. - -"Take a grip and raise yourself on your arms, you miserable dog!" -shrieked the sergeant. "Up with you, I say." - -Khliabnikov made a violent effort to show his obedience, but in vain. He -remained in the same position, and his legs swung from side to side. For -the space of a second he turned downwards and sideways his ashen grey -face, in which the dirty little turned-up nose obstinately turned -upwards. Suddenly he let go of the ladder and fell like a sack to the -ground. - -"Ho, ho, you refuse to obey orders, to make the movement you were -ordered to do," roared the sergeant; "but a scoundrel like you shall not -destroy discipline. Now you shall----" - -"Shapovalenko, don't touch him!" shouted Romashov, beside himself with -anger and shame. "I forbid you to strike him now and always." Romashov -rushed up and pulled the sergeant's arm. - -Shapovalenko instantaneously became stiff and erect, and raised his hand -to his cap. In his eyes, which at once resumed their ordinary lifeless -expression, and on his lips there gleamed a faint mocking smile. - -"I will obey, your Honour, but permit me to report that that fellow is -utterly impossible." - -Khliabnikov took his place once more in the ranks. He looked lazily out -of the corner of his eyes at the young officer, and stroked his nose -with the back of his hand. Romashov turned his back on him and went off, -meditating painfully over this fruitless pity, to inspect the 3rd -platoon. - -After the gymnastics the soldiers had ten minutes' rest. The officers -forgathered at the bars, almost in the middle of the exercise-ground. -Their conversation turned on the great May parade, which was -approaching. - -"Well, it now remains for us to guess where the shoe pinches," began -Sliva, as he swung his arms, and opened wide his watery blue eyes, "for -I'll tell you one thing, every General has his special little hobby. I -remember we once had a Lieutenant-General Lvovich for the commander of -our corps. He came to us direct from the Engineers. The natural -consequence was we never did anything except dig and root up earth. -Drill, marching, and keeping time--all such were thrown on the -dust-heap. From morning to night we built cottages and quarters--in -summer, of earth; in winter, of snow. The whole regiment looked like a -collection of clodhoppers, dirty beyond recognition. Captain Aleinikov, -the commander of the 10th Company--God rest his soul!--became a Knight -of St. Anne, because he had somehow constructed a little redoubt in two -hours." - -"That was clever of him," observed Lbov. - -"Wait, I have more to remind you of. You remember, Pavel Pavlich, -General Aragonski and his everlasting gunnery instructions?" - -"And the story of Pontius Pilate," laughed Viätkin. - -"What was that?" asked Romashov. - -Captain Sliva made a contemptuous gesture with his hand. - -"At that time we did nothing but read Aragonski's 'Instructions in -Shooting.' One day it so happened that one of the men had to pass an -examination in the Creed. When the soldier got to the clause 'suffered -under Pontius Pilatus,' there was a full stop. But the fellow did not -lose his head, but went boldly on with a lot of appropriate excerpts -from Aragonski's 'Instructions in Shooting,' and came out with flying -colours. Ah, you may well believe, those were grand times for idiocy. -Things went so far that the first finger was not allowed to retain its -good old name, but was called the 'trigger finger,' etc., etc." - -"Do you remember, Athanasi Kirillich, what cramming and -theorizing--'range,' elevation, etc.--went on from morning to night? If -you gave the soldier a rifle and said to him: 'Look down the barrel. -What do you see there?' you got for an answer: 'I see a tense line which -is the gun's axis,' etc. And what practice in shooting there was in -those days, you remember, Athanasi Kirillich!" - -"_Do_ I remember! The shooting in our division was the talk of the whole -country, ah, even the foreign newspapers had stories about it. At the -shooting competitions regiments borrowed 'crack' shots from each other. -Down at the butts stood young officers hidden behind a screen, who -helped the scoring by their revolvers. On another occasion it so -happened that a certain company made more hits in the target than could -be accounted for by the shots fired, whereupon the ensign who was -marking got severely 'called over the coals.'" - -"Do you recollect the Schreiberovsky gymnastics in Slesarev's time?" - -"Rather! It was like a ballet. Ah, may the devil take all those old -Generals with their hobbies and eccentricities. And yet, gentlemen, all -that sort of thing--all the old-time absurdities, were as nothing -compared with what is done in our days. It might be well said that -discipline has received its quietus. The soldier, if you please, is now -to be treated 'humanely.' He is our 'fellow-creature,' our 'brother'; -his 'mind is to be developed,' he is to be taught 'to think,' etc., etc. -What absolute madness! No, he shall have a thrashing, the scoundrel. And -oh, my saintly Suvorov, tell me if a single individual nowadays knows -how a soldier ought to be treated, and what one should teach him. -Nothing but new-fangled arts and rubbish. That invention in regard to -cavalry charges, for instance." - -"Yes, one might have something more amusing," Viätkin chimed in. - -"There you stand," continued Sliva, "in the middle of the field, like a -decoy-bird, and the Cossacks rush at you in full pelt. Naturally, like a -sensible man, you make room for them in good time. Directly after comes: -'You have bad nerves, Captain; one should not behave in that way in the -army. Be good enough to recollect that,' etc., etc., in the same style." - -"The General in command of the K---- Regiment," interrupted Viätkin, -"once had a brilliant idea. He had a company marched to the edge of an -awful cesspool, and then ordered the Captain to order the men to lie -down. The latter hesitated for an instant, but obeyed the command. The -soldiers were chapfallen, gazing at one another in a questioning way. -All thought they had heard incorrectly; but they got their information -right enough. The General thundered away at the poor Captain in the -presence of all. 'What training do you give your company? Miserable lot -of weaklings. Pretty heroes to take into the field. No, you are cravens, -every one of you, and you, Captain, not the least among them. March to -arrest.'" - -"That 'takes the cake,'" laughed Lbov. - -"And what's the use of it? First one insults the officers in the -presence of the men, and then complaints are made of lack of discipline. -But to give a scamp his deserts is a thing one dare not do. He is, if -you please, a 'human being,' a 'personage'; but in the good old times -there were no 'personages' in the army. Then the cattle got what they -needed, and then there was the Italian Campaign, Sebastopol, and several -other trifles. Well, all the same thing, so far as I am concerned. I'll -do my duty even if it costs me my commission, and as far as my arm -reaches every scoundrel shall get his deserts." - -"There's no honour in striking a soldier," exclaimed Romashov, in a -muffled voice. Up to this he had been merely a silent listener. "One -can't hit a man who is not allowed to raise a hand in self-defence. It -is as cowardly as it is cruel." - -Captain Sliva bestowed on Romashov an annihilating look, pressed his -underlip against his little grey, bristling moustache, and at length -exclaimed, with an expression of the deepest contempt-- - -"Wha-at's that?" - -Romashov stood as white as a corpse, his pulse beat violently, and a -cold shudder ran through his body. - -"I said that such a method of treatment was cruel and cowardly, and -I--retain my opinion," answered Romashov nervously, but without -flinching. - -"You don't say so!" twittered Sliva. "Listen to my young cockerel. -Should you, against all likelihood, be another year with the regiment, -you shall be provided with a muzzle. That you may rely on. Thank God, I -know how to deal with such germs of evil. Don't worry yourself about -that." - -Romashov fearlessly directed at him a glance of hatred, straight in his -eyes, and said, almost in a whisper-- - -"If ever I see you maltreat a soldier I will report it at once to the -commander of the regiment." - -"What, do you dare?" shrieked Sliva in a threatening voice, but checked -himself instantly. "Enough of this," he went on to say dryly; "you -ensigns are a little too young to teach veterans who have smelt powder, -and who have, for more than a quarter of a century, served their Tsar -without incurring punishment. Officers, return to your respective -posts." - -Captain Sliva turned his back sharply on the officers and went away. - -"Why do you poke your nose into all that?" asked Viätkin as he took -Romashov by the arm and left the place. "As you know, that old plum[16] -isn't one of the sweetest; besides, you don't know him yet as well as I -do. Be careful what you are about; he is not to be played with, and some -fine day he'll put you in the lock-up in earnest." - -"Listen, Pavel Pavlich," cried Romashov, with tears of rage in his -voice. "Do you think views such as Captain Sliva's are worthy of an -officer? And is it not revolting that such old bags of bones should be -suffered to insult their subordinates with impunity? Who can put up with -it in the long run?" - -"Well, yes--to a certain extent you are right," replied Viätkin, in a -tone of indifference. The rest of what he thought of saying died away in -a gape, and Romashov continued, in increasing excitement-- - -"Tell me, what is the use of all this shouting and yelling at the men? I -never could imagine when I became an officer that such barbarism was -tolerated in our time in a Russian regiment. Ah! never shall I forget my -first impressions and experiences here. One incident remains very -clearly graven in my memory. It was the third day after my arrival here. -I was sitting at mess in company with that red-haired libertine, -Artschakovski. I addressed him in conversation as 'lieutenant,' because -he called me 'sub-lieutenant.' Suddenly he began showering insults and -abuse on me. Although we sat at the same table and drank ale together, -he shouted at me: 'In the first place, I am not lieutenant to you, but -_Mr._ Lieutenant, and, secondly, be good enough to stand up when you are -speaking to your superior.' And there I stood in the room, like a -schoolboy under punishment, until Lieutenant-Colonel Liech came and sat -between us. No, no, pray don't say anything, Pavel Pavlich. I am just -sick of all that goes on here." - - - - -XI - - -The 22nd of April was for Romashov not only an uncomfortable and -tiresome day, but a very remarkable one. At 10 a.m., before Romashov had -got out of bed, Nikoläiev's servant, Stepan, arrived with a letter from -Alexandra Petrovna. - - MY DEAR ROMOTCHKA (she wrote), I should not be in the least - surprised if you have forgotten that to-day is my name-day, of - which I also take the liberty to remind you. And in spite of all - your transgressions, I should like to see you at my house to-day. - But don't come at the conventional hour of congratulation, but at 5 - p.m. We are going to a little picnic at Dubetschnaia.--Yours, - -A. N. - -The letter trembled in Romashov's hands as he read it. For a whole week -he had not once seen Shurochka's saucy, smiling, bewitching face; had -not felt the delicious enchantment he always experienced in her -presence. "To-day," a joyful voice sang exultant in his heart. - -"To-day," shouted Romashov, in a ringing voice, as he jumped out of bed. -"Hainán, my bathwater, quick." - -Hainán rushed in. - -"Your Honour, the servant is waiting for an answer." - -"Oh--yes, of course." Romashov dropped, with eyes wide open, on a -chair. "The deuce, he is waiting for a 'tip,' and I haven't a single -copeck." Romashov stared at his trusty servant with a look of absolute -helplessness. - -Hainán returned his look with a broad grin of delight. - -"No more have I either, your Excellency. You have nothing, and I have -nothing--what's to be done? _Nichevó!_" - -At that moment Romashov called to mind that dark spring night when he -stood in the dirty road, leaning against the wet, sticky fence, and -heard Stepan's scornful remark: "That man hangs about here every day." -Now he remembered the intolerable feeling of shame he experienced at -that moment, and what would he not give if only he could conjure up a -single silver coin, a twenty-copeck piece, wherewith to stop the mouth -of Shurochka's messenger. - -He pressed his hands convulsively against his temples and almost cried -from annoyance. - -"Hainán," he whispered, looking shyly askance at the door, "Hainán, go -and tell him he shall have his 'tip' to-night--for certain, do you hear? -For certain." - -Romashov was just then as hard up as it was possible to be. His credit -was gone everywhere--at mess, with the buffet proprietor, at the -regimental treasury, etc. He certainly still drew his dinner and supper -rations, but without sakuska. He had not even tea and sugar in his room; -only a tremendous tin can containing coffee grounds--a dark, awesome -mixture which, when diluted with water, was heroically swallowed every -morning by Romashov and his trusty servant. - -With grimaces of the deepest disgust, Romashov sat and absorbed this -bitter, nauseous morning beverage. His brain was working at high -pressure as to how he should find some escape from the present desperate -situation. First, where and how was he to obtain a name-day present for -Shurochka? It would be an impossibility for him to show up at her house -without one. And, besides, what should he give her? Sweets or gloves? -But he did not know what size she wore--sweets, then? But in the town -the sweets were notoriously nasty, therefore something else--scent--a -fan? No, scent would, he thought, be preferable. She liked "Ess -Bouquet," so "Ess Bouquet" it should be. Moreover, the expense of the -evening's picnic. A trap there and back, "tip" to Stepan, incidental -expenses. "Ah, my good Romashov, you won't do it for less than ten -roubles." - -After this he reviewed his resources. His month's pay--every copeck of -that was spent and receipted. Advance of pay perhaps. Alas, he had tried -that way quite thirty times, but always with an unhappy result. The -paymaster to the regiment, Staff-Captain Doroshenko, was known far and -wide as the most disobliging "swine," especially to sub-lieutenants. He -had taken part in the Turkish War, and was there, alas! wounded in the -most mortifying and humiliating spot--in his heel. This had not happened -during retreat, but on an occasion when he was turning to his troops to -order an attack. None the less he was, on account of his ill-omened -wound, the object of everlasting flings and sarcasms, with the result -that Doroshenko, who went to the campaign a merry ensign, was now -changed into a jealous, irritable hypochondriac. No, Doroshenko would -not advance a single copeck, least of all to a sub-lieutenant who, with -uncommon eagerness, had long since drawn all the pay that was due to -him. - -"But one need not hang oneself, I suppose, for that," Romashov consoled -himself by thinking, after he had finished the foregoing meditation. -"One must try and borrow. Let us now take the victims in turn. Well, the -1st Company, Osadchi?" - -Before Romashov's mind's eye appeared Osadchi's peculiar but well-formed -features and his heavy, brutal expression. "No, anybody else in the -world except him. Second Company, Taliman? Ah, that poor devil, who is -borrowing all the year round, even from the ensigns. He won't do. Take -another name--Khutinski?" - -But just at that moment a mad boyish idea crossed Romashov's mind. -"Suppose I go and borrow money from the Colonel himself. What then would -be likely to happen? First he would be numbed with horror at such a -piece of impudence; next he would begin trembling with rage, then he -would fire, as if from a mortar, the words: 'Wha-at! Si-lence!'" - -Romashov burst out laughing. "How in the world can a day that began so -happily as this ever end sadly and sorrowfully? Yes, I don't know yet -how the problem is to be solved, but an inward voice has told me that -all will go well. Captain Duvernois? No, Duvernois is a skinflint, and, -besides, he can't bear me. I know that." - -In this way he went through all the officers of his company, from the -first to the sixteenth, without getting a step nearer his goal. He was -just about to despair altogether when suddenly a new name sprang up in -his head--Lieutenant-Colonel Rafalski. - -"Rafalski! What an ass I am! Hainán, my coat, gloves, cap. Make haste!" - -Lieutenant-Colonel Rafalski, commander of the 4th Battalion, was an -incorrigible old bachelor, and, in addition, a most eccentric character, -who was called by his comrades "Colonel Brehm." He associated with no -one, was seen among the circle of his brother officers only on occasions -of ceremony, i.e. at Easter and on New Year's Day, and he neglected his -duties to such a degree that at drill he was the constant object of -furious invectives on the part of the higher authorities. All his time, -all his attention, and all his unconsumed funds of love and tenderness, -which he really possessed, were devoted to his idolized _protégés_, his -wild creatures--brutes, birds, and fishes, of which he owned almost an -entire menagerie. The ladies of the regiment, who in the depths of their -hearts were highly incensed with Rafalski for his unconcealed contempt -of women, used to say of him: "Such a dreadful man, and what dreadful -animals he keeps! Such dirtiness in his house, and, pardon the -expression, what a nasty smell he carries with him wherever he goes." - -All his savings went to the menagerie. This most eccentric individual -had succeeded in reducing his temporal needs to a minimum. He wore a cap -and uniform that dated from prehistoric times, he slept and dwelt God -knows how, he shared the soldiers' fare, and he ate in the 15th -Company's kitchen, towards the staff of which he displayed a certain -liberality. To his comrades--particularly the younger of them--he seldom -refused a small loan if he was in funds, but to remain in debt to -"Colonel Brehm" was not regarded as _comme il faut_, and he who did so -was inevitably exposed to his comrades' ridicule and contempt. - -Frivolous and impudent individuals as, e.g. Lbov, were occasionally not -averse from extracting a few silver roubles from Rafalski, and they -always introduced the business by a request to be allowed to see the -menagerie. This was generally an infallible way to the old hermit's -heart and cash-box. "Good morning, Ivan Antonovich, have you got any -fresh animals? Oh, how interesting! Come and show us them," etc., in the -same style. After this the loan was a simple matter. - -Romashov had many times visited Rafalski, but never up to then with an -ulterior motive. He too was particularly fond of animals, and when he -was a cadet at Moscow, nay, even when he was a lad, he much preferred a -circus to a theatre, and the zoological gardens or some menagerie to -either. In his dreams as a child there always hovered a St. Bernard. Now -his secret dream was to be appointed Adjutant to a battalion--so that he -might become the possessor of a horse. But neither of his dreams was -fulfilled. - -The poverty of his parents proved an insuperable obstacle to the -realization of the former, and, as far as his adjutancy was concerned, -his prospects were exceedingly small, as Romashov lacked the most -important qualifications for it, viz. a fine figure and carriage. - -Romashov went into the street. A warm spring breeze caressed his cheeks, -and the ground that had just dried after the rain gave to his steps, -through its elasticity, a pleasant feeling of buoyancy and power. -Hagberry and lilac pointed and nodded at him with their rich-scented -bunches of blossom over the street fences. A suddenly awakened joy of -life expanded his chest, and he felt as if he was about to fly. After he -had looked round the street and convinced himself that he was alone, he -took Shurochka's letter out of his pocket, read it through once more, -and then pressed her signature passionately to his lips. - -"Oh, lovely sky! Beautiful trees!" he whispered with moist eyes. - -"Colonel Brehm" lived at the far end of a great enclosure hedged round -by a green lattice-like hedge. Over the gate might be read: "Ring the -bell. Beware of the dogs!" - -Romashov pulled the bell. The servant's sallow, sleepy face appeared at -the wicket. - -"Is the Colonel at home?" - -"Yes. Please step in, your Honour." - -"No. Go and take in my name first." - -"It is not necessary. Walk in." The servant sleepily scratched his -thigh. "The Colonel does not like standing on ceremony, you know." - -Romashov strode on, and followed a sort of path of bricks which led -across the yard to the house. A couple of enormous, mouse-coloured young -bull-dogs ran out of a corner, and one of them greeted him with a rough -but not unfriendly bark. Romashov snapped his fingers at it, which was -answered in delight by awkward, frolicsome leaps and still noisier -barking. The other bull-dog followed closely on Romashov's heels, and -sniffed with curiosity between the folds of his cape. Far away in the -court, where the tender, light green grass had already sprouted up, -stood a little donkey philosophizing, blinking in delight at the sun, -and lazily twitching its long ears. Here and there waddled ducks of -variegated hues, fowls and Chinese geese with large excrescences over -their bills. A bevy of peacocks made their ear-splitting cluck heard, -and a huge turkey-cock with trailing wings and tail-feathers high in -the air was courting the favourite sultana of his harem. A massive pink -sow of genuine Yorkshire breed wallowed majestically in a hole. - -"Colonel Brehm," dressed in a Swedish leather jacket, stood at a window -with his back to the door, and he did not notice Romashov as the latter -entered the room. He was very busy with his glass aquarium, into which -he plunged one arm up to the elbow, and he was so absorbed by this -occupation that Romashov was obliged to cough loudly twice before -Rafalski turned round and presented his long, thin, unshaven face and a -pair of old-fashioned spectacles with tortoise-shell rims. - -"Ah, ha--what do I see?--Sub-lieutenant Romashov? Very welcome, very -welcome!" rang his friendly greeting. "Excuse my not being able to shake -hands, but, as you see, I am quite wet. I am now testing a new siphon. I -have simplified the apparatus, which will act splendidly. Will you have -some tea?" - -"I am very much obliged to you, but I have just breakfasted. I have -come, Colonel, to----" - -"Of course you have heard the rumour that our regiment is to be moved to -garrison another town," interrupted Rafalski, in a tone as if he had -only resumed a conversation just dropped. "You may well imagine my -despair. How shall I manage to transport all my fishes? At least half of -them will die on the journey. And this aquarium too; look at it -yourself. Wholly of glass and a yard and a half long. Ah, my dear -fellow" (here he suddenly sprang into a wholly different train of -thought), "what an aquarium they have in Sebastopol! A cistern of -continually flowing seawater, big as this room, and entirely of stone. -And lighted by electricity too. You stand and gaze down on all those -wonderful fishes--sturgeons, sharks, rays, sea-cocks--nay, God forgive -me my sins! sea-cats, I mean. Imagine in your mind a gigantic pancake, -an _arshin_[17] and a half in diameter, which moves and wags--and behind -it a tail shaped like an arrow. My goodness, I stood there staring for a -couple of hours--but what are you laughing at?" - -"I beg your pardon, but I just noticed a little white rat sitting on -your shoulder." - -"Oh, you little rascal! Who gave you leave?" Rafalski twisted his head -and produced with his lips a whistling but extraordinarily delicate -sound that was remarkably like the cheeping noise of a rat. The little -white, red-eyed beast, trembling all over its body, snuggled up to -Rafalski's cheek, and began groping with its nose after its master's -mouth and chin-tuft. - -"How tame your animals are, and how well they know you!" exclaimed -Romashov. - -"Yes, they always know me well enough," replied Rafalski. After this he -drew a deep sigh and sorrowfully shook his grey head. "It is unfortunate -that mankind troubles itself and knows so little about animals. We have -trained and tamed for our use or good pleasure the dog, the horse, and -the cat, but how much do we know about the real nature and being of -these animals? Now and then, of course, some professor--a marvel of -learning--comes along--may the devil devour them all!--and talks a lot -of antediluvian rubbish that no sensible person either understands or -has the least profit from. Moreover, he gives the poor innocent beasts a -number of Latin nicknames as idiotic as they are unnecessary, and to -crown it all, he has the impudence to demand to be immortalized for all -this tomfoolery, and pretty nearly venerated as a saint. But what can he -teach us, and what does he know himself, of animals and their inner -life? No! take any dog you like, live together with it for a time, side -by side, and, by the study of this intelligent, reflecting creature, you -will get more matter for your psychology than all the professors and -teachers could dream." - -"But perhaps there are works of that nature, though we do not yet know -them?" suggested Romashov shyly. - -"Books, did you say? Yes, of course, there are plenty. Just glance over -there. I have a whole library of them." - -Rafalski pointed to a long row of shelves standing along the walls. -"Those learned gentlemen write a whole lot of clever things, and show -great profundity in their studies. Yes, their learning is absolutely -overwhelming. What wonderful scientific instruments, and what acuteness -of intellect! But all that is quite different from what I mean. Not one -of all these great celebrities has hit upon the idea of observing -carefully, only for a single day, for instance, a dog or cat in its -private life. And yet how interesting and instructive that is. To watch -closely how a dog lives, thinks, intrigues, makes itself happy or -miserable. Just think, for example, what all those clowns and showmen -can effect. One might sometimes think that one was subjected to an -extraordinary hypnosis. Never in all my life shall I forget a clown I -saw in the hotel at Kiev--a mere clown. What results might have been -attained by a scientifically educated investigator, armed with all the -wonderful apparatus and resources of our time! What interesting things -one might hear about a dog's psychology, his character, docility, etc. A -new world of marvels would be opened to human knowledge. For my part, -you should know that I am quite certain that dogs possess a language -and, moreover, a very rich and developed speech." - -"But, Ivan Antonovich, tell me why the learned have never made such an -attempt?" asked Romashov. - -Rafalski replied by a sarcastic smile. - -"He, he, he! the thing is clear enough. What do you suppose a dog is to -such a learned bigwig? A vertebrate animal, a mammal, a carnivorous -animal, etc, and that's the end of it. Nothing more. How could he -condescend to treat a dog as if it were an intelligent, rational being? -Never. No, these haughty university despots are in reality but a trifle -higher than the peasant who thought that the dog had steam instead of a -soul." - -He stopped short and began snorting and splashing angrily whilst he -fussed and fumed with a gutta-percha tube that he was trying to apply to -the bottom of the aquarium. Romashov summoned all his courage, made a -violent effort of will, and succeeded in blurting out-- - -"Ivan Antonovich, I have come on an important--very important -business----" - -"Money?" - -"Yes, I am ashamed to trouble you. I don't require much--only ten -roubles--but I can't promise to repay you just yet." - -Ivan Antonovich pulled his hands out of the water and began slowly to -dry them on a towel. - -"I can manage ten roubles--I have not more, but these I'll lend you with -the greatest pleasure. You're wanting to be off, I suppose, on some -spree or dissipation? Well, well, don't be offended; I'm merely -jesting. Come, let us go." - -"Colonel Brehm" took Romashov through his suite of apartments, which -consisted of five or six rooms, in which every trace of furniture and -curtains was lacking. Everywhere one's nose was assailed by the curious, -pungent odour that is always rife in places where small animals are -freely allowed to run riot. The floors were so filthy that one stumbled -at nearly every step. In all the corners, small holes and lairs, formed -of wooden boxes, hollow stubble, empty casks without bottoms, etc., -etc., were arranged. Trees with bending branches stood in another room. -The one room was intended for birds, the other for squirrels and -martens. All the arrangements witnessed to a love of animals, careful -attention, and a great faculty for observation. - -"Look here," Rafalski pointed to a little cage, surrounded by a thick -railing of barbed wire; from the semicircular opening, which was no -larger than the bottom of a drinking-glass, glowed two small, keen black -eyes. "That's a polecat, the cruellest and most bloodthirsty beast in -creation. You may not believe me, but it's none the less true, that, in -comparison with it, the lion and panther are as tame as lambs. When a -lion has eaten his thirty-four pounds or so of flesh, and is resting -after his meal, he looks on good-humouredly at the jackals gorging on -the remains of the banquet. But if that little brute gets into a -hen-house it does not spare a single life. There are no limits to its -murderous instinct, and, besides, it is the wildest beast in the world -and the one hardest to tame. Fie, you little monster." - -Rafalski put his hand behind the bars, and at once, in the narrow outlet -to the cage, an open jaw with sharp, white teeth was displayed. The -polecat accompanied its rapid movements backwards and forwards by a -spiteful, cough-like sound. - -"Have you ever seen such a nasty brute? And yet I myself have fed it -every day for a whole year." - -"Colonel Brehm" had now evidently forgotten Romashov's business. He took -him from cage to cage, and showed him all his favourites, and he spoke -with as much enthusiasm, knowledge, and tenderness of the animals' -tempers and habits, as if the question concerned his oldest and most -intimate friends. Rafalski's collection of animals was really an -extraordinarily large and fine one for a private individual to own, who -was, moreover, compelled to live in an out-of-the-way and wretched -provincial hole. There were rabbits, white rats, otters, hedgehogs, -marmots, several venomous snakes in glass cases, ant-bears, several -sorts of monkeys, a black Australian hare, and an exceedingly fine -specimen of an Angora cat. - -"Well, what do you say to this?" asked Rafalski, as he exhibited the -cat. "Isn't he charming? And yet he does not stand high in my favour, -for he is awfully stupid--much more stupid than our ordinary cats." -Rafalski then exclaimed hotly: "Another proof of the little we know and -how wrongly we value our ordinary domestic animals. What do we know -about the cat, horse, cow, and pig? The pig is a remarkably clever -animal. You're laughing, I see, but wait and you shall hear." (Romashov -had not shown the least signs of amusement.) "Last year I had in my -possession a wild boar which invented the following trick. I had got -home from the sugar factory four bushels of waste, intended for my pigs -and hot-beds. Well, my big boar could not, of course, wait patiently. -Whilst the foreman went to find my servant, the boar with his tusks tore -the bung out of the cask, and, in a few seconds, was in his seventh -heaven. What do you say of a chap like that? But listen -further"--Rafalski peered out of one eye, and assumed a crafty -expression--"I am at present engaged in writing a treatise on my -pigs--for God's sake, not a whisper of this to any one. Just fancy if -people got to hear that a Lieutenant-Colonel in the glorious Russian -Army was writing a book, and one about pigs into the bargain; but the -fact is, I managed to obtain a genuine Yorkshire sow. Have you seen her? -Come, let me show you her. Besides, I have down in the yard a young -beagle, the dearest little beast. Come!" - -"Pardon me, Ivan Antonovich," stammered Romashov, "I should be only too -pleased to accompany you, but--but I really haven't the time now." - -Rafalski struck his forehead with the palm of his hand. - -"Oh, yes, what an incorrigible old gossip I am. Excuse me--I'll go and -get it--come along." - -They went into a little bare room in which there was literally nothing -but a low tent-bedstead which, with its bottom composed of a sheet -hanging down to the floor, reminded one of a boat; a little night-table, -and a chair without a back. Rafalski pulled out a drawer of the little -table and produced the money. - -"I am very glad to be able to help you, ensign, very glad. If you -please, no thanks or such nonsense. It's a pleasure, you know. Look me -up when convenient, and we'll have a chat. Good-bye." - -When Romashov reached the street, he ran into Viätkin. Pavel Pavlich's -moustaches were twisted up ferociously, _à la_ Kaiser, and his -regimental cap, stuck on one side in a rakish manner, lay carelessly -thrown on one ear. - -"Ha, look at Prince Hamlet," shouted Viätkin, "whence and whither? -You're beaming like a man in luck." - -"Yes, that's exactly what I am," replied Romashov smilingly. - -"Ah-ah! splendid; come and give me a big hug." - -With the enthusiasm of youth, they fell into each other's arms in the -open street. - -"Ought we not to celebrate this remarkable event by just a peep into the -mess-room?" proposed Viätkin. "'Come and take a nip in the deepest -loneliness,' as our noble friend Artschakovski is fond of saying." - -"Impossible, Pavel Pavlich, I am in a hurry. But what's up with you? You -seem to-day as if you meant kicking over the traces?" - -"Yes, rather, that's quite on the cards," Viätkin stuck his chin out -significantly. "To-day I have brought off a 'combination' so ingenious -that it would make our Finance Minister green with envy." - -"Really?" - -Viätkin's "combination" appeared simple enough, but testified, however, -to a certain ingenuity. The chief _rôle_ in the affair was played by -Khaim, the regimental tailor, who took from Pavel Pavlich a receipt for -a uniform supposed to have been delivered, but, instead of that, handed -over to Viätkin thirty roubles in cash. - -"The best of it all is," exclaimed Viätkin, "that both Khaim and I are -equally satisfied with the deal. The Jew gave me thirty roubles and -became entitled through my receipt to draw forty-five from the clothing -department's treasury. I am at last once more in a position to chuck -away a few coppers at mess. A masterstroke, eh?" - -"Viätkin, you're a great man, and another time I'll bear in mind your -'patent.' But good-bye for the present. I hope you will have good luck -at cards." They separated, but, after a minute, Viätkin called out to -his comrade again. Romashov stopped and turned round. - -"Have you been to the menagerie?" asked Viätkin, with a cunning wink, -making a gesture in the direction of Rafalski's house. - -Romashov replied by a nod, and said in a tone of conviction, "Brehm is a -downright good fellow--the best of the lot of us." - -"You're right," agreed Viätkin, "bar that frightful smell." - - - - -XII - - -When Romashov reached Nikoläiev's house about five o'clock, he noticed -with surprise that his happy humour of the morning and confidence that -the day would be a success had given place to an inexplicable, painful -nervousness. He felt assured that this nervousness had not come over him -all at once, but had begun much earlier in the day, though he did not -know when. It was likewise clear to him that this feeling of nervousness -had gradually and imperceptibly crept over him. What did it mean? But -such incidents were not new to him; even from his early childhood he had -experienced them, and he knew, too, that he would not regain his mental -balance until he had discovered the cause of the disturbance. He -remembered, for instance, how he had worried himself for a whole day, -and that it was not till evening that he called to mind that, in the -forenoon, when passing a railway crossing, he had been startled and -alarmed by a train rushing past, and this had disturbed his balance. -Directly, however, the cause was discovered he at once became happy and -light-hearted. The question now was to review in inverted order the -events and experiences of the day. Svidierski's millinery shop and its -perfumes; the hire and payment of Leib, the best cab-driver in the town; -the visit to the post-office to set his watch correctly; the lovely -morning; Stepan? No, impossible. In Romashov's pocket lay a rouble laid -by for him. But what could it be then? - -In the street, opposite to the Nikoläievs', stood three two-horse -carriages, and two soldiers held by the reins a couple of -saddle-horses--the one, Olisár's, a dark-brown old gelding, newly -purchased from a cavalry officer; the other Biek-Agamalov's chestnut -mare, with fierce bright eyes. - -"I know! The letter!" flashed through Romashov's brain. That strange -expression "in spite of that"--what could it mean? That Nikoläiev was -angry or jealous? Perhaps mischief had been made. Nikoläiev's manner had -certainly been rather cold lately. - -"Drive on!" he shouted to the driver. - -At that moment, though he had neither seen nor heard anything, he knew -that the door of the house had opened, he knew it by the sweet and -stormy beating of his heart. - -"Romochka! where are you going?" he heard Alexandra Petrovna's clear, -happy voice behind him. - -Romashov, by a strong pull, drew the driver, who was sitting opposite -him, back by the girdle, and jumped out of the fly. Shurochka stood in -the open door as if she were framed in a dark room. She wore a smooth -white dress with red flowers in the sash. The same sort of red flowers -were twined in her hair. How wonderful! Romashov felt instantly and -infallibly that this was _she_, but, nevertheless, did not recognize -her. To him it was a new revelation, radiant and in festal array. - -While Romashov was mumbling his felicitations, Shurochka forced him, -without letting go his hands, softly and with gentle violence, to enter -the gloomy hall with her. At the same time she uttered half-aloud, in a -hurried and nervous tone-- - -"Thanks, Romochka, for coming. Ah, how much I was afraid that you would -plead some excuse! But remember now, to-day you are to be jolly and -amiable. Don't do anything which will attract attention. Now, how absurd -you are! Directly any one touches you, you shrivel up like a -sensitive-plant." - -"Alexandra Petrovna, your letter has upset me. There is an expression -you make use of...." - -"My dear boy! what nonsense!" she grasped both his hands and pressed -them hard, gazing into the depths of his eyes. In that glance of hers -there was something which Romashov had never seen before--a caressing -tenderness, an intensity, and something besides, which he could not -interpret. In the mysterious depths of her dark pupils fixed so long and -earnestly on him he read a strange, elusive significance, a message -uttered in the mysterious language of the soul. - -"Please--don't let us talk of this to-day! No doubt you will be pleased -to hear that I have been watching for you. I know what a coward you are, -you see. Don't you dare to look at me like that, now!" - -She laughed in some confusion and released his hands. - -"That will do now--Romochka, you awkward creature! again you've -forgotten to kiss my hand. That's right! Now the other. But don't -forget," she added in a hot whisper, "that to-day is our day. Tsarina -Alexandra and her trusty knight, Georgi. Come." - -"One instant--look here--you'll allow me? It's a very modest gift." - -"What? Scent? What nonsense is this? No, forgive me; I'm only joking. -Thanks, thanks, dear Romochka. Volodya," she called out loudly in an -unconstrained tone as she entered the room, "here is another friend to -join us in our little picnic." - -As is always the case before dispersing for a general excursion, there -was much noise and confusion in the drawing-room. The thick tobacco -smoke formed here and there blue eddies when met by the sunbeams on its -way out of the window. Seven or eight officers stood in the middle of -the room, in animated conversation. The loudest among them was the -hoarse-voiced Taliman with his everlasting cough. There were Captain -Osadchi and the two inseparable Adjutants, Olisár and Biek-Agamalov; -moreover, Lieutenant Andrusevich--a little, lithe, and active man, who, -in his sharp-nosed physiognomy, resembled a rat--and Sofia Pavlovna -Taliman, who, smiling, powdered, and painted, sat, like a dressed-up -doll, in the middle of the sofa, between Ensign Michin's two sisters. -These girls were very prepossessing in their simple, home-made but -tasteful dresses with white and green ribbons. They were both dark-eyed, -black-haired, with a few summer freckles on their fresh, rosy cheeks. -Both had dazzlingly white teeth which, perhaps from their not -irreproachable form and evenness, gave the fresh lips a particular, -curious charm. Both were extraordinarily like, not only each other, but -also their brother, although the latter was certainly not a "beauty" -man. Of the ladies belonging to the regiment who were invited were Mrs. -Andrusevich--a little, fat, podgy, simple, laughing woman, very much -addicted to doubtful anecdotes--and, lastly, the really pretty, but -gossiping and lisping, Misses Lykatschev. - -As is always the case at military parties, the ladies formed a circle by -themselves. Quite near them, and sitting by himself, Staff-Captain Ditz, -the coxcomb, was lolling indolently in an easy chair. This officer, who, -with his tight-laced figure and aristocratic looks, strongly reminded -one of the well-known _Fliegende Blätter_ type of lieutenants, had been -cashiered from the Guards on account of some mysterious, scandalous -story. He distinguished himself by his unfailing ironical confidence in -his intercourse with men, and his audacious boldness with women, and he -pursued, carefully and very lucratively, card-playing on a big scale, -not, however, in the mess-room, but in the Townsmen's Club, with the -civilian officials of the place, as well as with the Polish landowners -in the neighbourhood. Nobody in the regiment liked him, but he was -feared, and all felt within themselves a certain rough conviction that -some day a terrible, dirty scandal would bring Ditz's military career to -an abrupt conclusion. It was reported that he had a _liaison_ with the -young wife of an old, retired Staff-Captain who lived in the town, and -also that he was very friendly with Madame Taliman. It was also purely -for her sake he was invited to officers' families, according to the -curious conceptions of good tone and good breeding that still hold sway -in military circles. - -"Delighted--delighted!" was Nikoläiev's greeting as he went up to -Romashov. "Why didn't you come this morning and taste our pasty?" - -Nikoläiev uttered all this in a very jovial and friendly tone, but in -his voice and glance Romashov noticed the same cold, artificial, and -harsh expression which he had felt almost unconsciously lately. - -"He does not like me," thought Romashov. "But what is the matter with -him? Is he angry--or jealous, or have I bored him to death?" - -"As you perhaps are aware, we had inspection of rifles in our company -this morning," lied Romashov boldly. "When the Great Inspection -approaches, one is never free either Sundays or week-days, you know. -However, may I candidly admit that I am a trifle embarrassed? I did not -know in the least that you were giving a picnic. I invited myself, so to -speak. And truly, I feel some qualms----" - -Nikoläiev smiled broadly, and clapped Romashov on the shoulder with -almost insulting familiarity. - -"How you talk, my friend! The more the merrier, and we don't want any -Chinese ceremonies here. But there is one awkward thing--I mean, will -there be sufficient carriages? But we shall be able to manage -something." - -"I brought my own trap," said Romashov, to calm him, whilst he, quite -unnoticeably, released his shoulder from Nikoläiev's caressing hand, -"and I shall be very pleased to put it at your service." - -Romashov turned round and met Shurochka's eye. "Thank you, my dear," -said her ardent, curiously intent look. - -"How strange she is to-day," thought Romashov. - -"That's capital!" Nikoläiev looked at his watch. "What do you say, -gentlemen; shall we start?" - -"'Let us start,' said the parrot when the cat dragged it out of its cage -by the tail," said Olisár jokingly. - -All got up, noisy and laughing. The ladies went in search of their hats -and parasols, and began to put on their gloves. Taliman, who suffered -from bronchitis, croaked and screamed that, above everything, the -company should wrap up well; but his voice was drowned in the noise and -confusion. Little Michin took Romashov aside and said to him-- - -"Yuri Alexievich, I have a favour to ask you. Let my sisters ride in -your carriage, otherwise Ditz will come and force his society on them--a -thing I would prevent at any price. He is in the habit of conversing -with young girls in such a way that they can hardly restrain their tears -of shame and indignation. I am not, God knows! a man fond of violence, -but some day I shall give that scoundrel what he deserves." - -Romashov would naturally have much liked to ride with Shurochka, but -Michin had always been his friend, and it was impossible to withstand -the imploring look of those clear, true-hearted eyes. Besides, Romashov -was so full of joy at that moment that he could not refuse. - -At last, after much noise and fun, they were all seated in the -carriages. Romashov had kept his word, and sat stowed away between the -two Michin girls. Only Staff-Captain Lieschtschenko, whose presence -Romashov now noticed for the first time, kept wandering here and there -among the carriages with a countenance more doleful and woebegone than -ever. All avoided him like the plague. At last Romashov took pity and -called to him, and offered him a place on the box-seat of his trap. The -Staff-Captain thankfully accepted the invitation, fixed on Romashov a -long, grateful look from sad, moist dog's eyes, and climbed up with a -sigh to the box. - -They started. At their head rode Olisár on his lazy old horse, -repeatedly performing clown tricks, and bawling out a hackneyed -operetta air: "Up on the roof of the omnibus," etc. - -"Quick--march!" rang Osadchi's stentorian voice. The cavalcade increased -its pace, and was gradually lost sight of amidst the dust of the high -road. - - - - -XIII - - -The picnic gave no promise of being anything like so pleasant and -cheerful as one might have expected from the party's high spirits at the -start. After driving three _versts_, they halted and got out at -Dubetschnaia. By this name was designated a piece of ground hardly -fifteen _dessyatins_ in extent, which, sparsely covered with proud, -century-old oaks, slowly slanted down towards the strand of a little -river. Close thickets of bushes were arrayed beside the mighty trees, -and these, here and there, formed a charming frame for the small open -spaces covered by the fresh and delicate greenery of spring. In a -similar idyllic spot in the oak-woods, servants and footmen, sent on in -advance, waited with samovars and baskets. - -The company assembled around the white tablecloths spread on the grass. -The ladies produced plates and cold meat, and the gentlemen helped them, -amidst jokes and flirtations. Olisár dressed himself up as a cook by -putting on a couple of serviettes as cap and apron. After much fun and -ceremony, the difficult problem of placing the guests was solved, in -which entered the indispensable condition that the ladies should have a -gentleman on each side. The guests half-reclined or half-sat in rather -uncomfortable positions, which was appreciated by all as being something -new and interesting, and which finally caused the ever-silent -Lieschtschenko to astonish those present, amidst general laughter, by -the following famous utterance: "Here we lie, just like the old Greek -Romans." - -Shurochka had on one side Taliman, on the other side Romashov. She was -unusually cheerful and talkative, nay, sometimes in such high spirits -that the attention of many was called to it. Romashov had never found -her so bewitching before. He thought he noticed in her something new, -something emotional and passionate, which feverishly sought an outlet. -Sometimes she turned without a word to Romashov and gazed at him -intently for half a second longer than was strictly proper, and he felt -then that a force, mysterious, consuming, and overpowering, gleamed from -her eyes. - -Osadchi, who sat by himself at the end of the improvised table, got on -his knees. After tapping his knife against the glass and requesting -silence, he said, in a deep bass voice, the heavy waves of sound from -which vibrated in the pure woodland air-- - -"Gentlemen, let us quaff the first beaker in honour of our fair hostess, -whose name-day it is. May God vouchsafe her every good--and the rank of -a General's consort." - -And after he had raised the great glass, he shouted with all the force -of his powerful voice-- - -"Hurrah!" - -It seemed as if all the trees in the vicinity sighed and drooped under -this deafening howl, which resembled the thunder's boom and the lion's -roar, and the echo of which died away between the oaks' thick trunks. -Andrusevich, who sat next to Osadchi, fell backwards with a comic -expression of terror, and pretended to be slightly deaf during the -remainder of the banquet. The gentlemen got up and clinked their glasses -with Shurochka's. Romashov purposely waited to the last, and she -observed it. Whilst Shurochka turned towards him, she, silently and with -a passionate smile, held forward her glass of white wine. In that moment -her eyes grew wider and darker, and her lips moved noiselessly, just as -if she had clearly uttered a certain word; but, directly afterwards, she -turned round laughing to Taliman, and began an animated conversation -with him. "What did she say?" thought Romashov. "What word was it that -she would not or dared not say aloud?" He felt nervous and agitated, -and, secretly, he made an attempt to give his lips the same form and -expression as he had just observed with Shurochka, in order, by that -means, to guess what she said; but it was fruitless. "Romochka?" -"Beloved?" "I love?" No, that wasn't it. Only one thing he knew for -certain, viz., that the mysterious word had three syllables. - -After that he drank with Nikoläiev, and wished him success on the -General Staff, as if it were a matter of course that Nikoläiev would -pass his examination. Then came the usual, inevitable toasts of "the -ladies present," of "women in general," the "glorious colours of the -regiment," of the "ever-victorious Russian Army," etc. - -Now up sprang Taliman, who was already very elevated, and screamed in -his hoarse, broken falsetto, "Gentlemen, I propose the health of our -beloved, idolized sovereign, for whom we are all ready at any time to -sacrifice our lives to the last drop of our blood." - -At the last words his voice failed him completely. The bandit look in -his dark brown, gipsy eyes faded, and tears moistened his brown cheeks. - -"The hymn to the Tsar," shouted little fat Madame Andrusevich. All -arose. The officers raised their hands to the peaks of their caps. -Discordant, untrained, exultant voices rang over the neighbourhood, but -worse and more out of tune than all the rest screamed the sentimental -Staff-Captain Lieschtschenko, whose expression was even more melancholy -than usual. - -They now began drinking hard, as, for the matter of that, the officers -always did when they forgathered at mess, at each other's homes, at -excursions and picnics, official dinners, etc. All talked at once, and -individual voices could no longer be distinguished. Shurochka, who had -drunk a good deal of white wine, suddenly leaned her head near Romashov. -Her cheeks and lips glowed, and the dark pupils of her beaming eyes had -now attained an almost black hue. - -"I can't stand these provincial picnics," she exclaimed. "They are -always so vulgar, mean, and wearisome. I was, of course, obliged to give -a party before my husband started for his examination, but, good -gracious! why could we not have stayed at home and enjoyed ourselves in -our pretty, shady garden? Such a stupid notion. And yet to-day, I don't -know why, I am so madly happy. Ah, Romochka, I know the reason; I know -it, and will tell you afterwards. Oh, no! No, no, Romochka, that is not -true. I know nothing--absolutely nothing." - -Her beautiful eyes were half-closed, and her face, full of alluring, -promising, and tormenting impatience, had become shamelessly beautiful, -and Romashov, though he hardly understood what it meant, was -instinctively conscious of the passionate emotion which possessed -Shurochka and felt a sweet thrill run down his arms and legs and through -his heart. - -"You are so wonderful to-day--has anything happened?" he asked in a -whisper. - -She answered straightway with an expression of innocent helplessness. "I -have already told you--I don't know--I can't explain it. Look at the -sky. It's blue, but why? It is the same with me. Romochka, dear boy, -pour me out some more wine." - -At the opposite side of the tablecloth an exciting conversation was -carried on with regard to the intended war with Germany, which was then -regarded by many as almost a certainty. Soon an irritable, senseless -quarrel arose about it, which was, however, suddenly interrupted by -Osadchi's furious, thundering, dictatorial voice. He was almost drunk, -but the only signs of it were the terrible pallor of his handsome face -and the lowering gaze of his large black eyes. - -"Rubbish!" he screamed wildly. "What do you really mean by war nowadays? -War has been spoilt, transmogrified, and everything else, for the matter -of that. Children are born idiots, women are stunted, badly brought-up -creatures, and men have--nerves. 'Ugh, blood, blood! Oh, I shall -faint,'" he imitated in an insulting, mockingly pitiful tone. "And all -this only because the real, ferocious and merciless character of war has -changed. Now, can this be called war when you fire a couple of shots at -the enemy at a distance of fifteen _versts_, and then return home in -triumph as a hero? Pretty heroes! You are taken prisoner, and then they -say to you: 'My poor friend, how are you? Are you cold? Would you like -a cigarette? Are you quite comfortable?' Damn it all!" Osadchi gave vent -to a few inarticulate roars and lowered his head like a mad bull ready -to attack. "In the Middle Ages, gentlemen, things were quite different. -Night attacks--storming ladders and naked weapons--murder and -conflagration everywhere. 'Soldiers, the town is yours for three days.' -The slaughter begins, torch and sword perform their office; in the -streets streams of blood and wine. Oh, glorious festival of brave men -amidst bleeding corpses and smoking ruins, beautiful, naked, weeping -women dragged by their hair to the victor's feet." - -"Anyhow, you haven't changed much," interrupted Sofia Pavlovna Taliman -jokingly. - -"All the town a river of fire, the tempest sporting at night with the -bodies of hanged men; vultures shriek and the victor lords it by the -campfires beneath the gallows tree. Why take prisoners and waste time -and strength for them? Ugh!" Osadchi, with teeth clenched, groaned like -a wild beast. "Grand and glorious days! What fights! Eye to eye and -chest to chest. An uninterrupted slaughter for hours, till the -cold-blooded tenacity and discipline of one party, coupled with -invincible fury, brought victory. And what fights then! What courage, -what physical strength, and what superior dexterity in the use of -weapons! Gentlemen"--Osadchi arose in all his gigantic stature and in -his terrible voice insolence and cold-bloodedness reigned--"gentlemen, I -know that from your military colleges have issued morbid, crazy phrases -about what's called 'humanity in war,' etc., etc. But I drink at this -moment--even if I am to drain my glass by myself--to the wars of bygone -days and the joyful, bloody cruelty of old times." - -All were silent, hypnotized and cowed by this unexpected horrible -ecstasy of an otherwise reserved and taciturn man, whom they now -regarded with a feeling of terror and curiosity. At that moment -Biek-Agamalov jumped up from where he was sitting. He did this so -quickly and suddenly that he alarmed several who were present, and one -of the ladies uttered a cry of terror. His widely staring eyes flashed -wildly, and his white, clenched teeth resembled a beast of prey's. He -seemed to be nearly stifled, and he could not find words. - -"Oh, see! here's one who understands and rejoices at what you have said. -Ugh!" With convulsive energy, nay, almost furiously, he grasped and -shook Osadchi's hand. "To hell with all these weak, cowardly, squeamish -wretches! Out with the sabre and hew them down!" - -His bloodshot eyes sought an object suitable as a vent for his flaming -rage. His naturally cruel instincts had at this moment thrown off their -mask. Like a madman he slashed at the oak-copse with his naked sword. -Mutilated branches and young leaves rained down on the tablecloth and -guests. - -"Lieutenant Biek! Madman! Are you out of your mind?" screamed the -ladies. - -Biek-Agamalov pulled himself together and returned to his place, visibly -much ashamed of his barbaric behaviour; but his delicate nostrils rose -and fell with his quick breathings, and his black eyes, wild with -suppressed rage, looked loweringly and defiantly at the company. - -Romashov had heard, and yet not heard, Osadchi's speech. He felt, as it -were, stupefied by a narcotic, but celestially delightful, intoxicating -drink, and he thought that a warm spider, as soft as velvet, had been -spinning softly and cautiously round him with its web, and gently -tickled his body till he almost died of an inward, exultant laughter. His -hand lightly brushed--and each time as though unintentionally--Shurochka's -arm, but neither she nor he attempted to look at each other. Romashov -was quite lost in the land of dreams, when the sound of Biek-Agamalov's -and Osadchi's voices reached him, but as though they came from a -distant, fantastic mist. The actual words he could understand, but they -seemed to him empty and devoid of any intelligent meaning. - -"Osadchi is a cruel man and he does not like me," thought Romashov. -"Osadchi's wife is a creature to be pitied--small, thin, and every year -in an interesting condition. He never takes her out with him. Last year -a young soldier in Osadchi's company hanged himself--Osadchi? Who is -this Osadchi? See now, Biek, too, is shrieking and making a row. What -sort of a man is he? Do I know him? Ah, of course I know him, and yet he -is so strange to me, so wonderful and incomprehensible. But who are you -who are sitting beside me?--from whom such joy and happiness beam that I -am intoxicated with this happiness. There sits Nikoläiev opposite me. He -looks displeased, and sits there in silence all the time. He glances -here as if accidentally, and his eyes glide over me with cold contempt. -He is, methinks, much embittered. Well, I have no objection--may he have -his revenge! Oh, my delicious happiness!" - -It began to grow dark. The lilac shadows of the trees stole slowly over -the plain. The youngest Miss Michin suddenly called out-- - -"Gentlemen, where are the violets? Here on this very spot they are said -to grow in profusion. Come, let us find some and gather them." - -"It's too late," some one objected. "It's impossible to see them in the -grass now." - -"Yes, it is easier to lose a thing now than to find it," interposed -Ditz, with a cynical laugh. - -"Well, anyhow, let us light a bonfire," proposed Andrusevich. - -They at once set about eagerly collecting and forming into a pile an -enormous quantity of dry branches, twigs, and leaves that had been lying -there from last year. The bonfire was lighted, and a huge pillar of -merrily-crackling, sparkling flame arose against the sky. At the same -instant, as though terror-stricken, the last glimpse of daylight left -the place a prey to the darkness which swiftly arose from the forest -gloom. Purple gleaming spots shyly trembled in the oaks' leafy crests, -and the trees seemed at one time to hurry forward with curiosity in the -full illumination from the fire, at another time to hasten as quickly -back to the dark coverts of the grove. - -All got up from their places on the grass. The servants lighted the -candles in the many-coloured Chinese lanterns. The young officers played -and raced like schoolboys. Olisár wrestled with Michin, and to the -astonishment of all the insignificant, clumsy Michin threw his tall, -well-built adversary twice in succession on his back. After this the -guests began leaping right across the fire. Andrusevich displayed some -of his tricks. At one time he imitated the noise of a fly buzzing -against a window, at another time he showed how a poultry-maid attempted -to catch a fugitive cock, lastly, he disappeared in the darkness among -the bushes, from which was heard directly afterwards the sharp rustle of -a saw or grindstone. Even Ditz condescended to show his dexterity, as a -juggler, with empty bottles. - -"Allow me, ladies and gentlemen," cried Taliman, "to perform a little -innocent conjuring trick. This is no question of a marvellous -witchcraft, but only quickness and dexterity. I will ask the -distinguished audience to convince themselves that I have not hidden -anything in my hands or coat-sleeves. Well, now we begin, one, two, -three--hey, presto!" - -With a rapid movement, and, amidst general laughter, he took from his -pocket two new packs of cards, which, with a little bang, he quickly and -deftly freed from their wrapper. - -"_Preference_, gentlemen," he suggested. "A little game, if you like, in -the open air. How would that do, eh?" - -Osadchi, Nikoläiev, and Andrusevich sat down to cards, and with a deep -and sorrowful sigh, Lieschtschenko stationed himself, as usual, behind -the players. Nikoläiev refused to join the game, and stood out for some -time, but gave way at last. As he sat down he looked about him several -times in evident anxiety, searching with his eyes for Shurochka, but the -gleam of the fire blinded him, and a scowling, worried expression became -fixed on his face. - -Romashov pursued a narrow path amongst the trees. He neither understood -nor knew what was awaiting him, but he felt in his heart a vaguely -oppressive but, nevertheless, delicious anguish whilst waiting for -something that was to happen. He stopped. Behind him he heard a slight -rustling of branches, and, after that, the sound of quick steps and the -_frou-frou_ of a silken skirt. Shurochka was approaching him with -hurried steps. She resembled a dryad when, in her white dress, she -glided softly forth between the dark trunks of the mighty oaks. Romashov -went up and embraced her without uttering a word. Shurochka was -breathing heavily and in gasps. Her warm breath often met Romashov's -cheeks and lips, and he felt beneath his hand her heart's violent -throbs. - -"Let's sit here," whispered Shurochka. - -She sank down on the grass, and began with both hands to arrange her -hair at the back. Romashov laid himself at her feet, but, as the ground -just there sloped downwards, he saw only the soft and delicate outlines -of her neck and chin. - -Suddenly she said to him in a low, trembling voice-- - -"Romochka, are you happy?" - -"Yes--happy," he answered. Then, after reviewing in his mind, for an -instant, all the events of that day, he repeated fervently: "Oh, yes--so -happy, but tell me why you are to-day so, so?..." - -"So? What do you mean?" - -She bent lower towards him, gazed into his eyes, and all her lovely -countenance was for once visible to Romashov. - -"Wonderful, divine Shurochka, you have never been so beautiful as now. -There is something about you that sings and shines--something new and -mysterious which I cannot understand. But, Alexandra Petrovna, don't be -angry now at the question. Are you not afraid that some one may come?" - -She smiled without speaking, and that soft, low, caressing laugh aroused -in Romashov's heart a tremor of ineffable bliss. - -"My dearest Romochka--my good, faint-hearted, simple, timorous -Romochka--have I not already told you that this day is ours? Think only -of that, Romochka. Do you know why I am so brave and reckless to-day? -No, you do not know the reason. Well, it's because I am in love with you -to-day--nothing else. No, no--don't, please, get any false notions into -your head. To-morrow it will have passed." - -Romashov tried to take her in his arms. - -"Alexandra Petrovna--Shurochka--Sascha,"[18] he moaned beseechingly. - -"Don't call me Shurochka--do you hear? I don't like it. Anything but -that. By the way," she stopped abruptly as if considering something, -"what a charming name you have--Georgi. It's much prettier than -Yuri--oh, much, much, much prettier. Georgi," she pronounced the name -slowly with an accent on each syllable as though it afforded her delight -to listen to the sound of every letter in the word. "Yes, there is a -proud ring about that name." - -"Oh, my beloved," Romashov exclaimed, interrupting her with passionate -fervour. - -"Wait and listen. I dreamt of you last night--a wonderful, enchanting -dream. I dreamt we were dancing together in a very remarkable room. Oh, -I should at any time recognize that room in its minutest details. It was -lighted by a red lamp that shed its radiance on handsome rugs, a bright -new cottage piano, and two windows with drawn red curtains. All within -was red. An invisible orchestra played, we danced close-folded in each -other's arms. No, no. It's only in dreams that one can come so -intoxicatingly close to the object of one's love. Our feet did not touch -the floor; we hovered in the air in quicker and quicker circles, and -this ineffably delightful enchantment lasted so very, very long. Listen, -Romochka, do you ever fly in your dreams?" - -Romashov did not answer immediately. He was in an exquisitely beautiful -world of wonders, at the same time magic and real. And was not all this -then merely a dream, a fairy tale? This warm, intoxicating spring night; -these dark, silent, listening trees; this rare, beautiful, white-clad -woman beside him. He only succeeded, after a violent effort of will, in -coming back to consciousness and reality. - -"Yes, sometimes, but, with every passing year my flight gets weaker and -lower. When I was a child, I used to fly as high as the ceiling, and how -funny it seemed to me to look down on the people on the floor. They -walked with their feet up, and tried in vain to reach me with the long -broom. I flew off, mocking them with my exultant laughter. But now the -force in my wings is broken," added Romashov, with a sigh. "I flap my -wings about for a few strokes, and then fall flop on the floor." - -Shurochka sank into a semi-recumbent position, with her elbow resting on -the ground and her head resting in the palm of her hand. After a few -moments' silence she continued in an absent tone-- - -"This morning, when I awoke, a mad desire came over me to meet you. So -intense was my longing that I do not know what would have happened if -you had not come. I almost think I should have defied convention, and -looked you up at your house. That was why I told you not to come before -five o'clock. I was afraid of myself. Darling, do you understand me -now?" - -Hardly half an _arshin_ from Romashov's face lay her crossed feet--two -tiny feet in very low shoes, and stockings clocked with white embroidery -in the form of an arrow over the instep. With his temples throbbing and -a buzzing in his ears, he madly pressed his eager lips against this -elastic, live, cool part of her body, which he felt through the -stocking. - -"No, Romochka--stop." He heard quite close above his head her weak, -faltering, and somewhat lazy voice. - -Romashov raised his head. Once more he was the fairy-tale prince in the -wonderful wood. In scattered groups along the whole extensive slope in -the dark grass stood the ancient, solemn oaks, motionless, but attentive -to every sound that disturbed Nature's holy, dream-steeped slumbers. -High up, above the horizon and through the dense mass of tree trunks and -crests, one could still discern a slender streak of twilight glow, not, -as usual, light red or changing into blue, but of dark purple hue, -reminiscent of the last expiring embers in the hearth, or the dull -flames of deep red wine drawn out by the sun's rays. And as it were, -framed in all this silent magnificence, lay a young, lovely, white-clad -woman--a dryad lazily reclining. - -Romashov came closer to her. To him it seemed as if from Shurochka's -countenance there streamed a pale, faint radiance. He could not -distinguish her eyes; he only saw two large black spots, but he felt -that she was gazing at him steadily. - -"This is a poem, a fairy-tale--a fairy-tale," he whispered, scarcely -moving his lips. - -"Yes, my friend, it is a fairy-tale." - -He began to kiss her dress; he hid his face in her slender, warm, -sweet-smelling hand, and, at the same time, stammered in a hollow -voice-- - -"Sascha--I love you--love you." - -When she now raised herself somewhat up, he clearly saw her eyes, black, -piercing, now unnaturally dilated, at another moment closed altogether, -by which the whole of her face was so strangely altered that it became -unrecognizable. His eager, thirsty lips sought her mouth, but she turned -away, shook her head sadly, and at last whispered again and again-- - -"No, no, no, my dear, my darling--not that." - -"Oh, my adored one, what bliss--I love you," Romashov again interrupted -her, intoxicated with love. "See, this night--this silence, and no one -here, save ourselves. Oh, my happiness, how I love you!" - -But again she replied, "No, no," and sank back into her former attitude -on the grass. She breathed heavily. At last she said in a scarcely -audible voice, and it was plain that every word cost her a great effort: - -"Romochka, it's a pity that you are so weak. I will not deny that I feel -myself drawn to you, and that you are dear to me, in spite of your -awkwardness, your simple inexperience of life, your childish and -sentimental tenderness. I do not say I love you, but you are always in -my thoughts, in my dreams, and your presence, your caresses set my -senses, my thoughts, working. But why are you always so pitiable? -Remember that pity is the sister of contempt. You see it is unfortunate -I cannot look up to you. Oh, if you were a strong, purposeful man----" -She took off Romashov's cap and put her fingers softly and caressingly -through his soft hair. "If you could only win fame--a high -position----" - -"I promise to do so; I will do so," exclaimed Romashov, in a strained -voice. "Only be mine, come to me ... all my life shall...." - -She interrupted him with a tender and sorrowful smile, of which there -was an echo in her voice. - -"I believe you, dear; I believe you mean what you say, and I also know -you will never be able to keep your promise. Oh, if I could only cherish -the slightest hope of that, I would abandon everything and follow you. -Ah, Romochka, my handsome boy, I call to mind a certain legend which -tells how God from the beginning created every human being whole, but -afterwards broke it into two pieces and threw the bits broadcast into -the world. And ever afterward the one half seeks in vain its fellow. -Dear, we are both exactly two such unhappy creatures. With us there are -so many sympathies, antipathies, thoughts, dreams, and wishes in common. -We understand each other by means of only half a hint, half a word--nay, -even without words. And yet our ways must lie apart. Alas! this is now -the second time in my life----" - -"Yes, I know it." - -"Has he told you this?" asked Shurochka eagerly. - -"No; it was only by accident I got to know it." - -They were both silent. In the sky the first stars began to light up and -display themselves to the eye as little, trembling, emerald, sparkling -points. From the right you might hear a weak echo of voices, laughter -and the strains of a song; but in all the rest of the wood, which was -sunk in soft, caressing darkness, reigned a deep, mysterious silence. -The great blazing pyre was not visible from this spot in the woods, but -the crests from the nearest oaks now and then reflected the flaming red -glow that, by its rapid changes from darkness to light, reminded one of -distant and vivid sheet-lightning. Shurochka softly and silently -caressed Romashov's hair and face. When he succeeded in seizing her -fingers between his lips, she herself pressed the palm of her hand -against his mouth. - -"I do not love my husband," she said slowly and in an absent voice. "He -is rough, indelicate, and devoid of any trace of fine feeling. Ah, I -blush when I speak of it--we women never forget how a man first takes -forcible possession of us. Besides, he is so insanely jealous. Even -to-day he worries me about that wretched Nasanski. He forces confessions -from me, and makes the most insignificant events of those times the -ground for the wildest conclusions. Ah--shame, he has unblushingly dared -to put the most disgusting questions to me. Good God! all that was only -an innocent, childish romance, but the mere mention of Nasanski's name -makes him furious." - -Now and then, whilst she spoke, a nervous trembling was noticeable in -her voice, and her hand, still continuing its caress, was thrilled, as -it were, by a shudder. - -"Are you cold?" asked Romashov. - -"No, dear--not at all," she replied gently. "The night is so -bewitchingly beautiful, you know." Suddenly, with a burst of -uncontrollable passion, she exclaimed, "Oh, my beloved, how sweet to be -here with you." - -Romashov took her hand, softly caressed the delicate fingers, and said -in a shy, diffident tone: - -"Tell me, I beg you. You have just said yourself that you do not love -your husband. Why, then, do you live together?" - -She arose with a rapid movement, sat up, and began nervously to pass her -hands over her forehead and cheeks, as if she had awakened from a dream. - -"It's late; let us go. Perhaps they are even now looking for us," she -answered in a calm and completely altered voice. - -They got up from the grass, and both stood for a while silent, listening -to each other's breathings, eye to eye, but with lowered gaze. - -"Good-bye," she suddenly cried in a silvery voice. "Good-bye, my -bliss--my brief bliss." - -She twined her arms round his neck and pressed her moist, burning-hot -lips to his mouth. With clenched teeth and a sigh of intense passion she -pressed her body to his. To Romashov's eyes the black trunks of the oaks -seemed to reel and softly bend towards the ground, where the objects ran -into each other and disappeared before his eyes. Time stood still.... - -By a violent jerk she released herself from his arms, and said in a firm -voice: - -"Farewell--enough. Let us go." - -Romashov without a sound sank down on the grass at her feet, embracing -her knees, and pressing his lips against her dress in long, hot kisses. - -"Sascha--Saschenka," he whispered, having now lost all self-command, -"have pity on me." - -"Get up, Georgi Alexandrovich! Come--they might take us unawares. Let us -return to the others." - -They proceeded on their way in the direction from which they heard the -sound of voices. Romashov's temples throbbed, his knees gave way, and -he stumbled like a drunken man. - -"No, I will not," Shurochka answered at last in a fevered, panting -voice. "I will not betray him. Besides, it would be something even worse -than betrayal--it would be cowardice. Cowardice enters into every -betrayal. I'll tell you the whole truth. I have never deceived my -husband, and I shall remain faithful to him until the very moment when I -shall release myself from him--for ever. His kisses and caresses are -disgusting to me, and listen, now--no, even before--when I thought of -you and your kisses, I understood what ineffable bliss it would be to -surrender myself wholly to the man I love. But to steal such a -joy--never. I hate deceit and treacherous ways." - -They were approaching the spot where the picnic had taken place, and the -flames from the pyre shone from between the trees, the coarse, -bark-covered trunks of which were sharply outlined against the fire, and -looked as if they were molten in some black metal. - -"Well," resumed Romashov, "if I shake off my sluggishness, if I succeed -in attaining the same goal as that for which your husband is striving, -or perhaps even something still higher--would you then ...?" - -She pressed her cheek hard against his shoulder, and answered -impetuously and passionately-- - -"Yes, then, then!" - -They gained the open. All the vast, burning pyre was visible; around it -a crowd of small, dark figures were moving. - -"Listen, Romochka, to still another last word." Shurochka spoke fast, -and there was a note of sorrow and anguish in her voice. "I did not -like to spoil this evening for you, but now it must be told. You must -not call at my house any more." - -He stopped abruptly before her with a look of intense astonishment. "Not -call? But tell me the reason, Sascha. What has happened?" - -"Come, come; I don't know, but somebody is writing anonymous letters to -my husband. He has not shown them to me, only casually mentioned several -things about them. The foulest and most disgusting stories are being -manufactured about you and me. In short, I beg you not to come to us any -more." - -"Sascha," he moaned, as he stretched out his arms to her. - -"O my friend, my dearest and most beloved. Who will suffer more from -this than I? But it is unavoidable. And listen to this, too. I am afraid -he is going to speak to you about this. I beseech you, for God's sake, -not to lose your temper. Promise me you won't." - -"That is all right; don't be afraid," Romashov replied in a gloomy tone. - -"That is all. Farewell, poor friend. Give me your hand once more and -squeeze mine tight, quite tight, till it hurts. Oh! good-bye, darling, -darling." - -They separated without going closer to the fire. Shurochka walked -straight up the slope. Romashov took a devious path downwards along the -shore. The card-playing was still going on, but their absence had been -remarked, and when Romashov approached the fire, Ditz greeted him so -insolently, and with such a vulgar attack of coughing in order to draw -attention, that Romashov could hardly restrain himself from flinging a -firebrand at his face. - -Directly after this he noticed that Nikoläiev left his game, took -Shurochka aside, and talked to her for some time with angry gestures and -looks of hatred. Suddenly she pulled herself together, and answered him -in a few words with an indescribable expression of indignation and -contempt on her features. And that big, strong man all at once -shrivelled up humbly in her presence, like a whipped hound which -obediently goes its way, but gnashes its teeth with suppressed fury. - -The party broke up soon after this. The night felt chilly, and a raw -mist rose from the little river. The common stock of good humour and -merriment had long been exhausted, and all separated, weary, drowsy, and -without hiding their yawns. Romashov was soon once more sitting in his -trap, opposite the Misses Michin, but he never uttered a word during the -course of the journey. Before his mind's eye still stood the mighty dark -and silent trees and the blood-red sunset over the brow of the woodland -hill. There, too, in the soft, scented grass, he saw beside him a female -shape robed in white, but during all his intense, consuming pain and -longing, he did not fail to say of himself, pathetically-- - -"And over his handsome countenance swept a cloud of sorrow." - - - - -XIV - - -In May the regiment went into camp, which, year after year, was pitched -in the same spot outside the town, and not far from the railway. The -young officers had, whilst the camp was on, according to the -regulations, to live in wooden barracks near their respective companies; -but Romashov continued to enjoy his own dwelling in the town, as the -officers' barracks of the 6th Company had long been in a ruinous and -uninhabitable condition, on account of there being no money available -for repairs. Every day he had to journey four times between the town and -the camp. In the morning off to the camp for drill, thence back to the -officers' mess in the town for his dinner; after that, off to the -afternoon exercises, and, finally, at night, his last walk back to his -home. This fatiguing life was seriously affecting his health. After the -first fortnight he began to get thin and hollow-eyed, and soon lost the -fresh colour of his cheeks. - -Even the rest, officers as well as men, fared little better. -Preparations were being made for the great General Review, and nobody -ventured to speak of fatigue or weariness. The Captains of companies -exhausted the utmost strength of their men by two or three hours' extra -drill every day. During all the drill the smacking sound of ears being -boxed and other maltreatment was heard all over the plain. More than -once Romashov noticed how the Captains, in a furious rage, like wild -beasts, attacked the poor recruits, and boxed the ears of the entire -line from first to last; but, nevertheless, the "non-coms." displayed -the greatest cruelty. They punished with unbridled rage the slightest -mistake in marching or manual exercise; teeth were knocked out, drums of -the ears were broken, and the defenceless victims were thrown down -senseless. But none of all these martyrs ever entertained the thought of -drawing a sword. It was just as if the whole regiment had become the -prey of a wild hypnosis or had been attacked by nightmare. And all these -terrors and sufferings were multiplied by a fearful heat, for May this -year was unusually hot. - -Wherever you went an unnatural nervousness was discernible. The most -absurd quarrels would, all of a sudden, break out during meals at the -officers' mess. They insulted each other, and sought quarrels without -rhyme or reason. The soldiers, with their sunken cheeks and sallow eyes, -looked like idiots. Never, during the few hours' rest they were allowed -to enjoy, was a laugh heard from the tents; never a joke. At night, -after bugle-call, the rank and file were ordered to get into line for -games and singing, and with an absolutely apathetic expression of voice -and features they howled the old campsong-- - - "Oh, the gallant Russian soldier, - Fear with him can find no place; - He, when bombs are bursting round him, - Calls them 'brother' to their face." - -Then a dance would be played on the harmonium, and the ensign would roar -out-- - -"Gregorash, Skvortzov, up and dance, you hounds!" - -The two recruits obeyed the order without a murmur, but in both their -song and dance there lay something dead, mechanical, and resigned, at -which one was inclined to weep. - -Only in the 5th Company were they easy-going and free, and there the -drills began every day an hour later than the rest and were concluded an -hour earlier. You might have fancied that every member of it had been -specially chosen, for they all looked lively, well-fed. The lads of the -5th Company looked their officers bravely and openly in the face, and -the very _rubashka_[19] was worn with a certain aristocratic elegance. -Their commander, Stelikovski--a very eccentric old bachelor and -comparatively rich (he drew from some unknown quarter two hundred -roubles every month), was of an independent character, with a dry -manner, who stood aloof from his comrades, and lastly, was in bad odour -on account of his dissolute life. He attracted and hired young girls -from the lower class, often minors, and these he paid handsomely, and -sent back to their native places after the lapse of a month. Corporal -punishment--nay, even threats and insulting words--were strictly -forbidden in his company, although, as far as that goes, there was by no -means any coddling of the men, who, however, in appearance, and -readiness, and capability, were not inferior to any company of guardsmen -in existence. Being himself masterful, cool, and self-reliant in the -highest degree, he was also able to implant those qualities firmly in -his subordinates. What, in other companies, could not be attained after -a whole week's drill amid threats, yells, and oaths, blows and stripes, -Stelikovski attained with the greatest calm in a single day. He was a -man of few words, seldom raised his voice, and when, on occasion, he did -speak, the soldiers stood as if carved in stone. Among the officers he -was shunned and hated, but worshipped by his men--a state of things -that, most certainly, was unique in the whole of the Russian Army. - -At length the 15th of May arrived, when the Great Review, ordered by the -Brigadier-General, was to take place. In all the companies, except the -5th, the non-coms. had their men drawn up by 4 a.m. The poor, tortured, -drowsy, gaping soldiers were trembling as though with cold in their -coarse shirts, although the air was mild and balmy and the weather -serene, and their gloomy, depressed glances and sallow, greyish, chalky -faces gave a painful impression in the gleaming, bright summer morning. - -When the clock struck six, the officers began to join their companies. -The regiment had not to be assembled and in line before 10 a.m., but, -with the exception of Stelikovski, not one of the Captains thought of -letting their poor wearied soldiers have their proper sleep and gain -strength for the toils awaiting them that day. On the contrary, never -had their fussiness and zeal been greater than on this morning. The air -was thick with oaths, threats, and insults; ear-boxing, slaps on the -mouth, kicks, and blows with the fist rained down, at each slightest -blunder, on the miserable, utterly exhausted soldiers. - -At 9 a.m. the companies marched to the parade-ground, about five hundred -paces in front of the camp. Sixteen outposts, provided with small, -multi-coloured flags for signalling, were stationed in an absolutely -straight line about half a verst long, so as to mark out, with -mathematical accuracy, the points where each company's right wing should -be placed at the parade past the Brigadier-General. Lieutenant Kováko, -who had been allotted this highly important task, was, of course, one of -the heroes of the day, and, conscious of this, he galloped, like a -madman--red, perspiring, and with his cap on his neck--backwards and -forwards along the line, shouting and swearing, and also belabouring -with his sabre the ribs of his lean white charger. The poor beast, grown -grey with age and having a cataract in its right eye, waved its short -tail convulsively. Yes, on Lieutenant Kováko and his outposts depended -the whole regiment's weal and woe, for it was he who bore the awful -responsibility of the sixteen companies' respective "gaps" and -"dressing." - -Precisely at ten minutes to 10 a.m., the 5th Company marched out of -camp. With brisk, long, measured steps, that made the earth tremble, -these hundred men marched past all the other companies and took their -place in the line. They formed a splendid, select corps; lithe, muscular -figures with straight backs and brave bearing, clean, shining faces, and -the little peakless cap tipped coquettishly over the right ear. Captain -Stelikovski--a little thin man, displaying himself in tremendously wide -breeches--carelessly promenaded, without troubling himself in the least -about the time his troops kept when marching, five paces on the side of -the right flank, peering amusedly, and now and then shaking his head -whimsically now to the right, now to the left, as though to control the -troops' "dressing" and attention. Colonel Liech, the commander of the -battalion, who, like the rest of the officers, had been, ever since -dawn, in a state of examination-fever and nervous irritability, rushed -up to Stelikovski with furious upbraidings for having "come too late." -The latter slowly and coolly took out his watch, glanced at it, and -replied in a dry, almost contemptuous tone: - -"The commander of the regiment ordered me to be here by ten o'clock. It -still wants three minutes to that hour. I do not consider I am justified -in worrying and exerting my men unnecessarily." - -"Don't, if you please," croaked Liech, gesticulating and pulling his -reins. "I must ask you to be silent when your superior officer makes a -remark." - -But he only too well understood that he was wrong and would get the -worst of it, and he rode quickly on, and visited his wrath on the 8th -Company, whose officers had ordered the knapsacks to be opened. - -"What the deuce are you about? What is this foolery? Are you thinking of -opening a bazaar or a general shop? This is just like beginning a hunt -by cramming the hounds with food. Close your knapsacks and put them on -quickly. You ought to have thought of this before." - -At a quarter to eleven they began dressing the companies on the lines -laid down. This was for all a very minute, tedious, and troublesome -task. Between the _échelons_ long ropes were tightly stretched along the -ground. Every soldier in the front rank was obliged to see, with the -most painful accuracy, that his toes just grazed the tightly-stretched -rope, for in that lay the fundamental condition of the faultless -dressing of the long front. Moreover, the distance between the toes, -like the breadth of the gun-stock and the somewhat inclined position of -the upper part of the body, had to be the same along the whole line. -While anxiously superintending these details the Captains often flew -into a towering rage. Frantic shouts and angry words of command were -heard everywhere: "Ivanoff, more forward, you--Syaroschtan, right -shoulder forward, left back!" - -At 10.30 a.m. the commander of the regiment arrived. He rode on a -powerful chestnut-brown gelding with white legs. Colonel Shulgovich was -an imposing, almost majestic, figure on horseback. He had a firm "seat," -although he rode in infantry style, with stirrups far too short. In -greeting his regiment he yelled in his tremendous voice, in which a -certain jubilant heroic note in honour of the occasion was audible-- - -"Good morning, my fine fellows." - -Romashov, who remembered his 4th platoon and especially Kliabnikov's -wretched appearance, could not refrain from smiling. "Pretty choice -specimens, in all truth," thought he. - -The standards were unfurled amidst the strident notes of the regimental -band. After this came a long and trying moment. Straight away to the -station, from which the Brigadier-General was expected, were posted a -number of signallers who, by certain arranged signs, were to prepare the -regiment for the approach of the Generals. More than once they were -disturbed by a false alarm. The loose, slack ropes were once more -tightened in mad haste, "dressings" and "lines" were ordered, and all -stood for several minutes at the most painful "attention," until -weariness once more asserted its claims, and the poor soldiers -collapsed, yet, at the very last, striving to keep the position of their -feet, at any rate, unmoved. Out in the plain, about three hundred paces -off, the ladies displayed their clothes, parasols, and hats of -variegated and loud colours. Romashov knew very well that Shurochka was -not in that bright, festive group. But every time he glanced in that -direction he felt, as it were, an icy-cold shudder in the region of his -heart, and his quick, nervous breathing bore witness to a strong inward -excitement. - -Suddenly, like a strong gust of wind, a rumour ran through the ranks, -and a timorous cry was heard: "He's coming; he's coming!" It was clear -to all that the important, eventful moment was approaching. The -soldiers, who had been since dawn the victims of the prevailing -excitement, dressed in their ranks without orders, but with a certain -nervous haste, and became rigid in apparently lifeless immobility. Now -and then a nervous coughing was heard. - -"Ranks, attention!" rang out Shulgovich's order. - -Romashov, glancing to the right, discovered, at a good distance down the -plain, a small but dense group of horsemen who, now and then obscured -for an instant by a faint yellow cloud of dust, were rapidly approaching -the front. Shulgovich rode, with a severe and solemn countenance, from -his place in front of the middle company, right out into the plain, most -certainly a good fourth further than the regulations demanded. The -tremendous importance of the moment was reflected in his features. With -a gesture of noble dignity, he first glanced upwards, then calmed the -dark, motionless mass of soldiers by a glance, withering, it is true, -but mingled with tremulous exultation, and then let his stentorian voice -roll over the plain, when commanding-- - -"Attention! Should--er----" - -He purposely kept back the last syllable of that longest word of -command--the so-called "effective" word, just as if an infinite power -and sanctity lay hidden in the pronunciation of those few wretched -letters. His countenance became a bluish-red, the veins in his neck were -strained like thick cords, and, finally, the releasing word was -discernible in the wild-beast-like roar-- - -"---- arms!" - -One--two. A thousand slamming and rattling of hard blows from soldiers' -fists on the stocks of their rifles, and the violent contact of locks -with the coarse metal clasps of belts echoed through the air. At the -same moment the electrifying strains of the regimental march were -audible from the right wing. Like wild, excited, undisciplined children -let loose, the flutes and cornets ran riot, trying by their shrill, -ear-piercing voices to drown the coarse bellowing of trombones and -ophicleides, whilst the thunder of drums and kettledrums, warning and -threatening, exhorted frivolous, thoughtless young men of the -consideration due to the seriousness and supreme importance of the -moment. From the station there rang out, almost like a soothing -piccolo-strain, the whistle of the engine, mingling harmoniously with -the joyful music of the band. - -Romashov suddenly felt himself caught, as it were, by a mighty, roaring -wave that, irresistibly and exultingly, carried him away. With a -sensation of joy and courage such as he had never experienced before, -his glance met the sun's gold-steeped rays, and it seemed to him as if, -at that moment, he was, for the first time, conscious of the blue sky -paled by the heat, and the warm verdure of the plain that disappeared in -the far distance. For once he felt young and strong and eager to -distinguish himself; proud, too, of belonging to this magnificent, -motionless, imposing mass of men, gathered together and quelled by an -invisible, mysterious will. - -Shulgovich, with his sabre drawn to a level with his face, rode in a -ponderous gallop to meet the General. - -Directly the band's rough martial, triumphant strains had ceased, the -General's calm, musical voice rang out-- - -"Good-day, 1st Company." - -The soldiers answered his salutation promptly and joyfully. Again the -locomotive made its voice heard, but this time in the form of a sharp, -defiant signal. The Brigadier-General rode slowly along the line, -saluting the companies in their proper order. Romashov could already -distinguish his heavy, obese figure with the thin linen jacket turned up -in deep folds across his chest and fat belly; his big square face turned -towards the troops; the gorgeous saddle-cloth with his monogram -embroidered in bright colours, the majestic grey charger, the ivory -rings on the martingale, and patent-leather riding boots. - -"Good-day, 6th Company." - -The soldiers round Romashov replied with a shout that was pretty nearly -destructive both to throats and ear-drums. The General sat his horse -with the careless grace of an accomplished rider. His noble charger, -with the gentle, steadfast glance from his handsome, though slightly -bloodshot eyes, tugged hard at its bit, from which, now and then, a few -white foam-drops fell to the ground, and careered gently on with short, -quick, dancing steps. - -"He's grey about the temples, but his moustache is black--dyed, -perhaps," was Romashov's reflection just then. - -Through his gold-rimmed _pince-nez_ the General answered with his dark, -clever, youthful and satirically questioning eyes the soldiers' glances -directed at him. When he came up to Romashov he touched the peak of his -cap with his hand. Romashov stood quite still, with every muscle -strained in the most correct attitude of "attention," and he clasped the -hilt of his sabre with such a hard, crushing grip that it almost caused -him pain. A shudder of infinite, enthusiastic devotion rushed through -his whole being, and whilst looking fixedly at the General's face, he -thought to himself in his old naïve, childish way-- - -"The grey-haired old warrior's glances noted with delight the young -ensign's slender, well-built figure." - -The General continued his slow ride along the front, saluting company -after company. Behind him moved his suite--a promiscuous, resplendent -group of staff officers, whose horses shone with profuse rubbing down -and dressing. Romashov glanced at them, too, benevolently, but not one -of them took the slightest notice of him. These spoilt favourites of -fortune had long since had more than enough of parades, reviews, and the -boundless enthusiasm of little, insignificant infantry officers, and -Romashov felt in his heart a bitter, rebellious feeling at the thought -that these superior people belonged to a world quite beyond his reach. - -The band suddenly received a sign to stop playing. The General returned -at a sharp trot to the right wing, and after him, in a long, variegated -line, his mounted suite. Colonel Shulgovich galloped off to the 1st -Company. Pulling his reins and throwing all his enormous body back in -the saddle, he yelled in a hoarse and trembling voice-- - -"Captain Osadchi, advance company. Quick, march!" - -Between the commander of the regiment and Captain Osadchi there was an -incessant rivalry, during drill hours, to outdo each other in lung -power, and not many seconds elapsed before the latter was heard to order -in his mighty, rolling bass-- - -"Company, shoulder arms! Dress in the middle. Forward, march!" Osadchi -had, with fearful sacrifice of time and labour, succeeded in introducing -in his company a new kind of marching. This consisted in the soldiers -raising their foot high in the air in very slow time, and afterwards -putting it down on the ground with the greatest possible force. This -wonderful and imposing manner of moving along the ground excited not -only much interest, but also a certain envy among the other captains of -companies. - -But the 1st Company had hardly marched fifty paces before they heard the -General's angry and impatient voice exclaim-- - -"What the deuce is this? Halt with the company. Halt, halt! Come here to -me, Captain. Tell me, sir, what in the name of goodness that is supposed -to represent. Is it a funeral or a torch procession? Say. March in -three-time. Listen, sir, we're not living in the days of Nicholas, when -a soldier served for twenty-five years. How many precious days have you -wasted in practising this _corps de ballet_? Answer me." - -Osadchi stood gloomy, still and silent before his angry chief, with his -drawn sabre pointing to the ground. The General was silent for an -instant, and then resumed his harangue with an expression of sorrow and -irony in his voice-- - -"By this sort of insanity you will soon succeed in extinguishing the -last spark of life in your soldiers. Don't you think so yourself? Oh, -you luckless ghosts from Ivan the Cruel's days! But enough of this. -Allow me instead to ask you, Captain, the name of this young lad." - -"Ignati Mikhailovich, your Excellency," replied Osadchi in the dry, -sepulchral, regulation voice. - -"Well and good. But what do you know about him? Is he a bachelor, or has -he a wife and children? Perhaps he has some trouble at home? Or he is -very poor? Answer me." - -"I can't say, your Excellency? I have a hundred men under my command. It -is hard to remember all about them." - -"Hard to remember, did you say?" repeated the General in a sad and -serious voice. "Ah, gentlemen, gentlemen. You must certainly know what -the Scripture says: 'Do not destroy the soul,' and what are you doing? -That poor, grey, wretched creature standing there, may, perhaps, some -day, in the hour of battle, protect you by his body, carry you on his -shoulders out of a hail of bullets, may, with his ragged cloak, protect -you against snow and frost, and yet you have nothing to say about him, -but 'I can't say!'" - -In his nervous excitement the General pulled in the reins and shouted -over Osadchi's head, in an angry voice, to the commander of the -regiment-- - -"Colonel, get this company out of my way. I have had enough. Nothing but -marionettes and blockheads." - -From that moment the fate of the regiment was sealed. The terrified -soldiers' absolute exhaustion, the non-coms.' lunatical cruelty, the -officers' incapacity, indifference, and laziness--all this came out -clearly as the review proceeded. In the 2nd Company the soldiers did not -even know the Lord's Prayer. In the 3rd, the officers ran like wild -fowls when the company was to be drilled in "open order." In the 4th, -the manual exercise was below criticism, etc. The worst of all was, -however, that none of the companies, with the exception of the 5th, knew -how to meet a sudden charge of cavalry. Now, this was precisely the -General's hobby; he had published independently copious instructions on -this, in which he pointed out minutely the vital importance of the -troops' mobility and quickness, and of their leader's resolution and -deliberation. - -After each company had in turn been reviewed, the General commanded the -officers, both commissioned and non-commissioned, to go out of ear-shot, -after which he questioned the soldiers with regard to their wishes and -grounds of complaint; but everywhere he met with the same good-humoured -reply: "Satisfied with everything, your Excellency." When that question -was put to No. 1 Company, Romashov heard an ensign in it remark in a -threatening voice-- - -"Just let me hear any one daring to complain; I'll give him -'complaints'!" - -For the 5th Company only was the whole review a complete triumph. The -brave, young, lusty soldiers executed all their movements with life and -energy, and with such facility, mobility, and absence of all pedantry -that the whole of the review seemed to officers and men, not a severe, -painful examination, but like a jolly and amusing game. The General -smiled his satisfaction, and soon could not refrain from a "Well done, -my lads"--the first words of approval he uttered during the whole time. - -When, however, the ominous pretended charge was to be met, Stelikovski -literally took the old General by storm. The General himself started the -exercise by suddenly shouting to the commander of the company: "Cavalry -from the right, eight hundred paces." Stelikovski formed, without a -second's hesitation and with the greatest calm and precision, his -company to meet the supposed enemy, which seemed to approach at a -furious gallop. With compactly closed ranks--the fore-rank in a kneeling -position--the troops fired two or three rounds, immediately after which -was heard the fateful command: "Quick fire!" - -"Thanks, my children," cried the old General joyously--"that's the way -it should be done. Thanks, thanks." - -After the oral examination the company was drawn up in open file; but -the General delayed his final dismissal. It was as if it seemed hard to -him to say good-bye to this company. Passing as slowly as possible along -the front, he observed every soldier with particular and deep interest, -and a very delighted smile gleamed through the _pince-nez_ from the -clever eyes beneath the heavy, prominent eyebrows. Suddenly he stopped -his charger, turned round on his saddle to the head of his staff, and -exclaimed-- - -"No; come here and look, Colonel, what muzzles the rascals have. What do -you feed them on, Captain? Pies? Hi, you thick nose" (he pointed to a -young soldier in the ranks), "your name's Kovál?" - -"Mikhail Borichuk, your Excellency," boldly replied the young recruit -with a frank, happy smile. - -"Oh, you scamp, I thought you were called Kovál. Well, this time I was -out of my reckoning," said the General in fun, "but there's no harm -done; better luck next time," he added, with the same good-humour. - -At these words the soldier's countenance puckered in a broad grin. - -"No, your Excellency, you are not wrong at all," shouted the soldier in -a raised voice. "At home, in the village, I am employed as a farrier, -and, therefore, they call me Kovál." - -The General nodded in delight, and he was evidently very proud of his -memory. "Well, Captain, is he a good soldier?" - -"Very good, General. All my soldiers are good," replied Stelikovski in -his usual confident tone. - -The General's eyebrows were knitted, but his lips kept smiling, and the -crabbed old face gradually resumed its light and friendly expression. -"Well, well, Captain; we will see about that. How is the -punishment-list?" - -"Your Excellency, for five years not a single man in my company has been -punished." - -The General bent forward heavily and held out to Stelikovski his hairy -hand in the white, unbuttoned glove that had slipped down to the -knuckles. - -"I heartily thank you, my friend," he replied in a trembling voice, and -tears glistened in his eyes. The General, like many old warriors, liked, -now and then, to shed a slight tear. "Again my thanks for having given -an old man pleasure. And you, too, my brave boys, accept my thanks," he -shouted in a loud and vigorous voice to the soldiers. - -Thanks to the good impression left behind from Stelikovski's -inspection, the review of the 6th Company also went off nearly -satisfactorily; the General did certainly not bestow praise, but neither -were any reproaches heard. At the bayonet attack on the straw mannikin -this company even went astray. - -"Not that way, not that way, not that way!" screamed the General, -shaking with wrath in the saddle. "Hold, stop! that's damnable. You go -to work as if you were making a hole in soft bread. Listen, boys. That's -not the way to deal with an enemy. The bayonet should be driven in -forcibly and furiously right in the waist up to the muzzle of your -rifle. Don't forget." - -The remaining companies made, one after the other, a hopeless "hash" of -everything. At last the General's outburst of anger ceased. Tired and -listless, he watched the miserable spectacle with gloomy looks, and, -without uttering a word, he entirely excused himself from inspecting the -15th and 16th Companies, exclaiming with a gesture of disgust-- - -"Enough, enough of such abortions." - -There still remained the grand march past, and the parade. The whole -regiment was formed into columns with half companies in front, and -reduced gaps. Again the everlasting markers were ordered out to set the -line of march by their ropes. The heat was now almost unbearable, and -the soldiers could hardly bear any longer the fearful stench that exuded -from their own freely perspiring bodies. - -But for the forthcoming "solemn" march past, the men now made a final -effort to pull themselves together. The officers almost besought their -subordinates to strain every nerve for this final proof of their -endurance and discipline. "Brothers, for the honour of the regiment, do -your best. Save yourselves and us from disgracing ourselves before the -General." In this humble recourse on the part of the officers to their -subordinates there lay--besides much else that was little edifying--too, -an indirect recognition of their own faults and shortcomings. The wrath -aroused in such a great personage as the General of the regiment was -felt to be equally painful and oppressive to officers and troops alike, -and it had, to some extent, a levelling effect, so that all were, in an -equally high degree, dispirited, nervous, and apathetic. - -"Attention! The band in front!" ordered Colonel Shulgovich, in the far -distance. - -And all these fifteen hundred human beings for a second suppressed their -faint inward murmurings; all muscles were once more strained, and again -they stood in nervous, painful expectation. - -Shulgovich could not be detected by any eye, but his tremendous voice -again rang across the field-- - -"Stand at ease!" - -Four battalion Captains turned in their saddles to their respective -divisions, and each uttered the command-- - -"Battalion, stand at----" after which they awaited with feverish -nervousness the word of command. - -Somewhere, far away on the field, a sabre suddenly gleamed like -lightning in the air. This was the desired signal, and all the Captains -at once roared-- - -"---- ease!" whereupon all the regiment, with a dull thud, grounded -their rifles. Here and there was heard the click of a few unfortunate -bayonets which, in the movement, happened to clash together. - -But now, at last, the solemn, never-to-be-forgotten moment had arrived, -when the commander of the regiment's tremendous lungs were to be heard -by the world in all their awful majesty. Solemnly, confidently, but, at -the same time, menacingly, like slow rumblings of thunder, the strongly -accentuated syllables rolled across the plain in the command-- - -"March past!" - -In the next moment you might hear sixteen Captains risking their lives -in mad attempt to shout each other down, when they repeated all at -once-- - -"March past!" - -One single poor sinner far away in detail of the column managed to come -too late. He whined in a melancholy falsetto: - -"March pa--!" - -The rest of the word was unfortunately lost to the men, and probably -drowned in the oaths and threats of the bystanders. - -"Column in half companies!" roared Colonel Shulgovich. - -"Column in half companies!" repeated the Captains. - -"With double platoon--hollow!" chanted Shulgovich. - -"With double platoon--hollow!" answered the choir. - -"Dress-ing--ri-ight!" thundered the giant. - -"Dress-ing--ri-ight!" came from the dwarfs. - -Shulgovich now took breath for two or three seconds, after which he once -more gave vent to his voice of thunder in the command-- - -"First half company--forward--march!" - -Rolling heavily through the dense ranks across the level plain came -Osadchi's dull roar-- - -"First half company, dress to the right--forward--march!" - -Away in the front was heard the merry rattle of drums. Seen from the -rear, the column resembled a forest of bayonets which often enough waved -backwards and forwards. - -"Second half company to the middle!" Romashov recognized Artschakovski's -squeaky falsetto. - -A new line of bayonets assumed a leaning position and departed. The -thunder of the drums grew more and more faint, and was just about to -sink down, as it were, and be absorbed in the ground, when suddenly the -last sounds of drum-beats were dispersed by the rhythmically jubilant, -irresistible waves of music from the wind instruments. The sleepy -marching time of the companies filing past at once caught fire and life; -languid eyes and greyish cheeks regained their colour, and tired muscles -were once more braced to save the honour of the regiment. - -The half companies proceeded to march, one after the other, and at every -step the soldiers' torpid spirits were revived under the influence of -the band's cheerful strains. The 1st Battalion's last company had -already got some distance when, lo! Lieutenant-Colonel Liech advanced -gently on his thin, raven-black horse, followed close at his heels by -Olisár. Both had their sabres ready for the salute, with their -sabre-hilts' knots dangling on a level with their mouths. Soon -Stelikovski's quiet, nonchalant command was heard. High above the -bayonets, the standard lorded on its long pole, and it was now the 6th -Company's turn to march. Captain Sliva stepped to the front and -inspected his men by a glance from his pale, prominent, fishy eyes. With -his miserable shrunken figure stooping, and his long arms, he had a -striking resemblance to an ugly old monkey. - -"F-irst half company--forward!" - -With a light and elegant step Romashov hurried to his place right in -front of the second half company's pivot. A blissful, intoxicating -feeling of pride came over him whilst he allowed his glance to glide -quickly over the first row of his division. "The old swashbuckler viewed -with an eagle's eyes the brave band of veterans," he declaimed silently, -after which in a prolonged sing-song he gave the order-- - -"Second half company--forward!" - -"One, two," Romashov counted softly to himself, marking time with a soft -stamping on the spot. Pronouncing the word at the right moment was of -infinite importance, as upon it depended the exact carrying out of the -inexorable command that the half company should begin marching with the -proper foot, i.e., with the same foot as the preceding division, "left, -right; left, right." At last a start was made. With head erect, and -beaming with a smile of boundless happiness, he cried in a loud, -resonant voice-- - -"March!" - -A second afterwards he made, as quick as lightning, a complete turn on -one foot towards his men, and commanded, two tones lower in the scale-- - -"Dress--right!" - -The profound solemnity and "infinite beauty" of the moment almost took -away his breath. At that instant it seemed to him as if the music's -waves of melody surrounded him, and were changed into a seething, -blinding ocean of light and fire; as if these deafening brazen peals had -descended on him from on high, from heaven, from the sun. Even now, as -at his last never-to-be-forgotten tryst with Shurochka, he was thrilled -by a freezing, petrifying shudder that made the very hair on his head -stand up. - -With joy in their voices and in time with the music, the 5th Company -replied to the General's salute. Nearer and nearer to Romashov sounded -the jubilant notes of the parade march. On the right and onwards, he -could now distinguish the General's heavy figure on his grey horse, and, -somewhat farther off, the ladies' brilliant dresses, which, in the -blinding glare of the noon-day sun, reminded him of the flaming -flower-petals in the old sagas. On the left gleamed the bandsmen's gold -instruments, and it seemed to Romashov as if, between the General and -the band, was drawn an invisible, enchanted thread, the passing of which -was combined peril and bliss. - -At this moment the first half company reached "the thread." - -"Good, my lads," rang the General's delighted voice. "Ah, ah, ah, ah!" -was the soldiers' rapid, joyous answer. Stronger and stronger at every -second grew the alluring influence of the parade march, and Romashov -could hardly restrain his feelings any longer. "O thou, my ideal," -thought he of the General, with deep emotion. - -The blissful moment had come. With elastic strides that scarcely touched -the ground, Romashov approached his "enchanted thread." He threw his -head bravely back with a proud and defiant twist to the left. So potent -a feeling of lightness, freedom, and bliss rushed through his being that -he fancied he could at any moment whirl himself into space. And while he -felt he was an object of delight and admiration to the eyes of all--a -centre of all the universe contains of strength, beauty, and delight, he -said to himself, as though under the witchery of a heavenly dream-- - -"Look, look, there goes Romashov! The ladies' eyes are shining with love -and admiration. One, two; left, right, 'Colonel Shulgovich,' shouts the -General, 'your Romashov is a priceless jewel; he must be my Adjutant.' -Left, right! One, two!" - -Another second and Romashov knew he had started and passed his mystic -"thread." The parade march had changed to a joyous peal of trumpets -announcing victory. "Now comes the General's salute and thanks," thought -Romashov, and his soul returns to the regions of bliss; but he fancies -he hears the Colonel's voice and certain other voices. - -"What has happened; what is the matter? Of course the General has -saluted, but why don't my men respond?--What's this?" - -Romashov turned round, and his face became white. Instead of a -well-ordered troop in two lines as straight as an arrow, his men formed -a shapeless mass--a crowd--resembling a flock of sheep--of individuals -mad with imbecility and misery, pushing and jolting each other. The -cause of this was that Romashov, whilst he was in his paradisaical world -of dreams and intoxication of victory, failed to notice that, step by -step, he deviated from the line of march, and more and more approached -the right wing of his division. His trusty, unfortunate "markers" -followed close on the heels of their leader, and, of course, in -consequence of this the whole of the half company finally got into the -wildest confusion. Romashov saw all this at the very moment he became -aware that the wretched Khliabnikov was stalking, on his own account, -twenty paces behind the division, right under the very nose of the -General. - -Romashov immediately let his wings droop. Covered with dust, he stood -quite still to await and collect his poor veterans, who, absolutely dead -beaten with the weight of their knapsacks and ammunition, were now -hardly able to crawl along on all-fours with one hand still grasping the -rifle and the other fumbling in the air or in the region of their -perspiring noses. - -To Romashov it seemed as if the glorious May sun had suddenly lost its -radiance; as if he had been buried under an infinite weight, under sand -and gravel, and that the music that so lately sounded such triumphant -strains now rang softly and ominously in his ears, like a funeral march. -And he felt so small and weak and wretched, so loathsome in every -respect, that it was all he could do to keep himself upright on his -leaden, palsied legs. - -The Colonel's Adjutant at that moment rushed up to him. Federovski's -face was as red as fire and distorted with passion. His lower jaw -trembled, and he was panting with rage and his hard riding. Even at a -distance he began shrieking like a man possessed, and uttering -inarticulate and incomprehensible words. - -"Sub-lieutenant Romashov, the commander of your regiment condemns, in -the strongest terms, your behaviour to-day. Seven days' arrest in the -staff cells. What a monstrous scandal! The whole regiment--on account of -you. Oh, such an abortion!" - -Romashov did not make the slightest reply, nor did he even turn his -head. And, besides, what answer could he make? Federovski had, most -certainly, a right to be furious. But the troops, the soldiers who heard -every single insulting word of the Adjutant's--what would they think? -Romashov felt at that moment a boundless hatred and contempt of -himself. "I am lost; I am dishonoured for ever. I'll shoot myself. Can I -suppose I am worthy to live! What am I? An insignificant, ridiculous, -contemptible wretch--a caricature, an ugly, disgusting, idiotic -creature. My own soldiers will laugh at me, and, behind my back, they -will make merry with nudges and secret signs, at my expense. Or, -perhaps, they will pity me. All the same, everything is lost, and -I--I'll shoot myself." - -After passing the General, all the companies made a half-turn to the -left, and then went back to their original places, where they were -successively drawn up again and in open file. Whilst waiting for the -return of the last companies to march past, the men were allowed to -"stand easy," and the officers utilized the occasion to smoke a -cigarette and chat with one another. Only Romashov stood quite alone, -silent and motionless in front of his half company. He dug the earth -incessantly with the point of his sabre, and though he cast his eyes -down fixedly, he felt he was, on all sides, a mark for curious, -sarcastic, and contemptuous glances. - -Captain Sliva purposely passed by Romashov without stopping except to -look at him, and spoke, as it were, to himself through his clenched -teeth, and in a voice hoarse and unrecognizable through hatred and -fury-- - -"Be good enough to send in to-day a request to be transferred to another -company." - -A little while afterwards Viätkin came. In his kindly, frank glance and -the drawn corners of his mouth, Romashov read that expression of pity -and compassion with which people usually regard a dog that has been run -over and crushed in the street. And, at the same time, Romashov felt -with disgust that he had, half mechanically, twisted his mouth into an -unmeaning, pitiful smile. - -"Yuri Alexievich," exclaimed Viätkin, "come and smoke a cigarette with -me," and with a click of the tongue and slightly throwing his head back, -he added in a despondent tone-- - -"Well, well, old chap!" - -Romashov's chin and the corners of his mouth twitched, and a lump came -into his throat. Tears were not far off, and he replied in the faltering -and fretful voice of an aggrieved child-- - -"No, no; not now!--I don't want to!" - -Viätkin withdrew. - -"Suppose I were to go and give that fellow Sliva a bang on his ear," -thought Romashov, buffeted here and there by his melancholy -introspections. "Or to go up to that grey-bearded General and say: -'Aren't you ashamed, at your age, to play with soldiers and torture men? -Release us from here instantly, and let us rest. For two long weeks the -soldiers have been ill-treated solely on account of you.'" - -Romashov, however, remembered his own proud, stuck-up thoughts only a -brief while ago--of the young ensign as handsome as a picture, of the -ladies' ideal, of the General's favourite future Adjutant, etc., -etc.--and he felt so much shame and pain that a deep blush overspread, -not only his face, but even his chest and back. - -"You wretched, absurd, contemptible being!" he shrieked to himself in -thought. "Let all know that I shall shoot myself to-day." - - * * * * * - -The review was over. The regiment had, nevertheless, to parade several -times before the General, first by companies in the ordinary march, -afterwards in quick march, and finally in close columns. The General -became a little less severe, as it were, and he even praised the -soldiers several times. At last the clock was close upon 4 p.m. Then at -length the men got a little rest whilst the officers assembled to -criticize them. - -The staff-trumpeter blew a signal. "The officers are summoned to the -General," it shouted through the companies. - -The officers left the ranks, and formed themselves into a dense circle -round the General, who remained on horseback, stooping and visibly -extremely tired; but he peered through his glasses as shrewdly and -scornfully as before. - -"I shall be brief," said he in an abrupt and decisive tone. "The -regiment is inefficient, but that's not the fault of the soldiers, but -of the officers. When the coachman is bad the horses will not go. -Gentlemen, you have no heart, no mind or sympathy, so far as the men's -needs and interests are concerned. Don't forget, 'Blessed is he who lays -down his life for his friend.' With you there is only one thought, 'How -shall I best please the General at the review?' You treat your men like -plough horses. The appearance of the officers witnesses to moral -slovenliness and barbarism. Here and there an officer puts me in mind of -a village sexton dressed in an officer's uniform. Moreover, I will refer -to my orders of the day in writing. An ensign, belonging probably to the -sixth or seventh company, lost his head entirely and hopelessly muddled -up his division. Such a thing is a disgrace. I do not want a jog-trot -march in three-time, but, before everything else, a sound and calm -judgment." - -"That last referred to me," thought Romashov, and he fancied he felt all -the glances of those present turned towards him at once. But nobody even -stirred: all stood speechless, petrified, with their eyes immovably -fixed on the General's face. - -"My very heartiest thanks to the Captain of the 5th Company. Where are -you, Captain? Oh, there you are!" The General, a little theatrically, -took off his cap with both hands and bared his powerfully shaped bald -head, whilst making a profound bow to Stelikovski. "Once more I thank -you, and it is a pleasure for me to shake you by the hand. If God should -ordain that this corps is to fight under my command, remember, Captain, -that the first dangerous task belongs to you. And now, gentlemen, -good-bye. Your work for the day is finished, and it will be a pleasure -for me to see you again, but under different and more pleasing -circumstances. Make way for my horse now." - -Colonel Shulgovich stepped out of the circle. - -"Your Excellency, in the officers' name, I invite you respectfully to -dine at our mess. We shall be----" - -"No, I see no reason for that," interrupted the General dryly. "I thank -you, as I am in duty bound to do, but I am invited to Count -Liedochovski's." - -The officers cleared a way, and the General galloped off to the place -where the regiment was awaiting the officers' return. - -"I thank you, my lads," he shouted lustily and kindly to the soldiers. -"I give you two days' leave. And now, off with you to your tents. Quick -march, hurrah!" - -It was just as if he had, by this last brief shout, turned the whole -regiment topsy-turvy. With a deafening yell of delight, fifteen hundred -men dispersed, in an instant, in all directions, and the ground shook -beneath the feet of the fugitives. - - * * * * * - -Romashov separated himself from the other officers, who returned, in -groups, to the town, and took a long circuit through the camp. He felt -just then like a banned, excommunicated fugitive; like an unworthy -member expelled from the circle of his comrades--nay, even like a -creature beyond the pale of humanity, in soul and body stunted and -despised. - -When he at length found himself behind the camp, near his own mess, he -heard a few cries of sudden but restrained rage. He stood an instant and -saw how his ensign, Rynda--a small, red-faced, powerful fellow--was, -with frightful invectives and objurgations, belabouring with his fists -Khliabnikov's nose and cheeks. In the poor victim's almost bestially -dull eyes one could see an indescribable terror, and, at every blow, -Khliabnikov staggered now to the right, now to the left. - -Romashov hurried away from the spot almost at running speed. In his -present state of mind, it was beyond his power to protect Khliabnikov -from further ill-treatment. It seemed to Romashov as if this wretched -soldier's fate had to-day become linked with his own. They were both, he -thought, cripples, who aroused in mankind the same feeling of compassion -and disgust. This similarity in their position certainly excited, on -Romashov's part, an intolerable feeling of shame and disgust at himself, -but also a consciousness that in this lay something singularly deep and -truly human. - - - - -XV - - -Only one way led from the camp to the town, viz. over the railway-line, -which at this spot crossed a deep and declivitous ravine. Romashov ran -briskly down the narrow, well-trodden, almost precipitous pathway, and -was beginning, after that, a toilsome clamber up the other slope. He had -not reached more than half-way to the top of the ravine before he -noticed a figure there in uniform with a cloak over his shoulders. After -a few seconds' close examination, Romashov recognized his friend -Nikoläiev. - -"Now," thought Romashov, "comes the most disagreeable of all," and he -could not suppress a certain unpleasant feeling of anxiety; but he -continued on his way resigned to his fate, and was soon on the plateau. - -The two officers had not seen each other for five days, but neither of -them made even an intimation of greeting, and it seemed, at any rate to -Romashov, as if this were quite the correct thing on this memorable, -miserable day. - -"I have purposely waited for you here, Yuri Alexievich," began -Nikoläiev, whilst he looked over Romashov's shoulder into the distance, -towards the camp. - -"I am at your service, Vladimir Yefimovich," replied Romashov in a -strained, unconcerned tone, and with a slight tremor in his voice. He -stooped down to the ground and broke off a dry, brown stalk of grass -from the previous year. Whilst absently biting the stalk of grass, he -stared obstinately at the bright buttons on Nikoläiev's cape, and he saw -in them his own distorted figure--a little narrow head upwards; -downwards two stunted legs, and between them an abnormally broad big -belly. - -"I shall not keep you long waiting--only a few words," said Nikoläiev. -He spoke with a strikingly peculiar softness in his voice and with the -forced politeness of an angry and hot-tempered person who has made up -his mind not to forget himself. But whilst both tried to shun the -other's glances, the situation became every moment more and more -intolerable, so that Romashov in a questioning tone proposed-- - -"It would be best perhaps if we went on our way together?" - -The winding steps, worn by foot-passengers, cut through a large field of -white beet. In the distance the town, with its white houses and -red-tiled roofs, might be distinguished. Both officers walked side by -side, yet with an evident effort to keep as far as possible from each -other, and the beets' thick, luxuriant, and juicy leaves were crushed -and bruised beneath their feet. Both observed, for a long time, an -obstinate silence. Finally, after taking a deep breath, Nikoläiev -managed, with a visible effort, to blurt out-- - -"First of all, I must ask you a question. Have you invariably shown my -wife, Alexandra Petrovna, due regard and respect?" - -"I don't understand what you mean, Vladimir Yefimovich," replied -Romashov; "but I, too, have a question...." - -"Excuse me," interrupted Nikoläiev in a sharp tone, "our questions -ought, to avoid confusion, to be put in turn--first I, then you. And now -let us talk openly and without restraint. Answer me this question first. -Is it a matter of supreme indifference to you that my wife--that her -good name--has been the subject of scandal and slander? No, no, don't -interrupt me. You can hardly deny, I suppose, that on my part you have -never experienced anything but goodwill, and that, in our house, you -have always been received as an intimate friend--nay, almost as a -relation." - -Romashov made a false step and stumbled on the loose ground. In an -embarrassed tone he mumbled in reply-- - -"Be assured, Vladimir Yefimovich, that I shall always feel grateful to -you and Alexandra Petrovna." - -"Ah, that's not the question," said Nikoläiev, angrily interrupting him. -"I am not soliciting your gratitude. I'll only tell you that my wife has -been the victim of dirty, lying scandal in which" (Nikoläiev almost -panted out the words, and he wiped his face with his handkerchief)--"well, -to put it shortly, a scandal in which you, too, are mixed up. We -both--she and I--are greeted almost every day with the most shameless -anonymous letters. It is too disgusting to me to put these letters -before you, but you shall know a good deal of their contents." -Nikoläiev broke off his speech, but, in the next minute, he continued -with a stammer. "By all the devils--now listen--they say that you are -Alexandra Petrovna's lover, and that--how horrible!--secret meetings -daily take place in your room. The whole regiment is talking about it. -What a scandal!" - -He bit his teeth in rage and spat. - -"I know who has written these letters," answered Romashov in a lowered -voice, and turned away. - -"Do you?" Nikoläiev stopped suddenly and clutched Romashov's arm -tightly. It was quite plain now that his forced calm was quite -exhausted. His bestial eyes grew bigger, his face became blood-red, foam -began to appear at the corners of his mouth, and, as he bent in a -threatening manner towards Romashov, he shrieked madly-- - -"So you know this, and you even dare to keep silence! Don't you -understand that it is quite plainly your bounden duty to slay this -serpent brood, to put a stop at once to this insidious slander? -My--noble Don Juan, if you are an honourable man and not a ----" - -Romashov turned pale, and he eyed Nikoläiev with a glance of hatred. He -felt that moment that his hands and feet were as heavy as lead, his -brain empty, that the abnormal and violent beating of his heart had sunk -still lower in his chest, and that his whole body was trembling. - -"I must ask you to lower your voice when you address me," he interrupted -him by saying in a hollow voice. "Speak civilly; you know well enough I -do not allow any one to shout at me." - -"I'm not shouting," replied Nikoläiev, still speaking in a rough and -coarse, though somewhat subdued tone. "I'm only trying to make you see -what your duty is, although I have a right to demand it. Our former -intimate relations give me this right. If Alexandra Petrovna's -unblemished name is still of any value to you, then, without delay, put -a stop to these infamies." - -"All right. I will do all I can as regards that," was Romashov's dry -answer. - -He turned away and went on. In the middle of the pathway, Nikoläiev -caught him up in a few steps. - -"Please wait a moment." Nikoläiev's voice sounded more gentle, and -seemed even to have lost some of its assertiveness and force. "I submit, -now the matter has at last been talked about, we ought also to cease our -acquaintance. What do you say yourself?" - -"Perhaps so." - -"You must yourself have noticed the kindness and sympathy with which -we--that is to say, Alexandra Petrovna and I--received you at our house. -But if I should now be forced to--I need say no more; you know well -enough how scandal rankles in this wretched little provincial hole." - -"Very well," replied Romashov gloomily. "I shall cease my visits. That, -I take it, was what you wished. I may tell you, moreover, that I had -already made up my mind not to enter your door again. A few days ago I -paid Alexandra Petrovna a very short call to return her some books, but -you may be absolutely certain that was the last time." - -"Yes, that is best so; I think----" - -Nikoläiev did not finish the sentence, and was evidently anything but -easy in his mind. The two officers reached the road at this moment. -There still remained some three hundred yards before they came to the -town. Without uttering another word or even deigning to glance at each -other, they continued on their way, side by side. Neither of them could -make up his mind either to stop or turn back, and the situation became -more awkward every minute. - -At length they reached the furthest houses of the town. An _isvostschik_ -drove up and was at once hailed by Nikoläiev. - -"That's agreed then, Yuri Alexievich." Nikoläiev uttered these words in -a vulgar, unpleasant tone, and then got into the _droshky_. "Good-bye -and _au revoir_." - -The two officers did not shake hands, and their salute at parting was -very curt. Romashov stood still for a moment, and stared, through the -cloud of dust, at the hurrying _droshky_ and Nikoläiev's strong, white -neck. He suddenly felt like the most lonely and forsaken man in the wide -world, and it seemed to him as if he had, then and there, despoiled -himself of all that had hitherto made his life at all worth living. - -Slowly he made his way home. Hainán met him in the yard, and saluted -him, from a distance, with his broad grin. His face beamed with -benevolence and delight as he took off his master's cloak, and, after a -few minutes, he began his usual curious dance. - -"Have you had dinner?" he asked in a sympathetic, familiar tone. "Oh, -you have not. Then I'll run to the club at once and fetch some food. -I'll be back again directly." - -"Go to the devil!" screamed Romashov, "and don't dare to come into my -room. I'm not at home to anybody--not even to the Tsar himself." - -He threw himself on the bed, and buried his face in the pillow. His -teeth closed over the linen, his eyes burned, and he felt a curious -stabbing sensation in his throat. He wanted to cry. With eager longing -he waited for the first hot, bitter tears which would, he hoped, afford -him consolation and relief in this dark hour of torture and misery. -Without pity on himself, he recalled once more in his mind the cruel -events of the day; he purposely magnified and exaggerated his shame and -ignominy, and he regarded, as it were, from outside, his own wretched -Ego with pity and contempt. - -Then something very strange happened. It did not seem to Romashov that -he slept or even slumbered for an instant, but simply that he was for -some moments wholly incapable of thinking. His eyes were shut, but, all -of a sudden, he felt he had regained full consciousness, and was -suffering the same anguish as before. It was completely dark in the room -now. He looked at his watch and discovered to his indescribable -astonishment that this mysterious trance had lasted more than five -hours. - -He began to feel hungry. He got up, put on his sabre, threw his cloak -over his shoulder and started for the officers' mess. The distance there -from Romashov's door was scarcely two hundred yards, and besides, he -always made use of a short cut through unbuilt-upon plots and fenced-in -kitchen-gardens, etc. - -A bright gleam issued from the half-open windows of the -_salle-à-manger_, billiard-room, and kitchen, but the dirty backyard, -blocked up with and partly covered by all sorts of rubbish, was in thick -darkness. Every moment one heard loud chatter and laughter, singing, and -the sharp click of billiard balls. - -Romashov had already reached the courtyard steps when he recognized his -Captain's angry and sneering voice. Romashov stopped at once, and -cautiously glancing into one of the open windows of the -_salle-à-manger_, he caught sight of Captain Sliva's humped back. - -He was stammering: "All my c-c-company m-m-marches as one man." Sliva -marked time by raising and lowering the palm of his hand. "But th-that -d-d-damned fool m-must upset everything." Sliva made with his first -finger several clumsy and silly motions in the air. "But, g-gentlemen, -I s-said to him, 'M-march to another c-c-company, my f-fine f-f-fellow, -or s-still b-better m-march out of the regiment. Who the devil will have -s-such an officer?'" - -Romashov shut his eyes, and shrivelled up with shame and rage. He feared -that, at the next movement on his part, all the officers at mess would -rush to the window and discover him. For one or two minutes he did not -stir; then with his head hidden in his cloak, and scarcely venturing to -breathe, he stole on tip-toe along the wall, out through the gate to the -street, the moonlit portion of which he crossed by a couple of brisk -jumps so as to reach the deep protecting shadow of the high hoarding on -the other side. - -Romashov sauntered for a long time that evening about the streets of the -town. Often he did not even know where he was. Once he stopped in the -shadow right under Nikoläiev's house, the green-painted sheet-iron roof -and white walls of which were brilliantly illumined by the moon's clear -bright rays. Not a soul was in the street, not a sound was audible. The -sharply marked outlines of the shadows from the houses opposite divided -the street into two halves. - -Behind the thick dark-red curtains in one of the rooms at the -Nikoläievs' a lamp was burning. "My beloved," whispered Romashov, "don't -you feel how near I am to you, how much I love you?" He pressed his -hands to his chest, and had much difficulty in restraining his tears. - -Suddenly, however, he got the idea that, in spite of the distance and -the house's thick walls, he might possibly make Shurochka notice his -presence. With closed teeth and hands so tightly clenched that the -nails were driven into the flesh, and with a sensation as if icy-cold -ants were creeping over his body, he began to concentrate all his -will-power to a single object. "Get up from your sofa. Come to the -window. Draw the curtain. Look, look through the window out into the -street. Obey. I command you; come to the window at once." - -But the curtain remained motionless. "You don't hear me, then," -whispered Romashov, with sorrow and indignation in his heart. "You are -sitting by the lamp beside him, calm, indifferent, and as beautiful as -ever. Oh, my God, my God, how wretched I am!" - -He sighed deeply, and with bowed head and crippled with weariness he -continued his melancholy wandering. - -He even passed Nasanski's place, but it was dark there. It seemed to -Romashov as if a white spectre had quickly fluttered past one of the -house's dark windows. A shudder ran through him, and he dared not call -to Nasanski. - -Some days later Romashov remembered this fantastic--nay, idiotic--ramble -as a strange, far-off dream which, nevertheless, could not be forgotten. -He had even been in the Jewish cemetery, but how he got there he could -not tell himself. This silent and mysterious burial-ground lay beyond -the town, on a height, and was surrounded by a low white wall. From the -luxuriant, slumbering grass arose the icy-cold gravestones, simple, -unadorned, like each other, and casting behind them long, narrow -shadows. And over all this gloomy place reigned the grave, solemn, -austere note of solitude. - -After this he saw himself in another quarter of the town, but this, -nevertheless, was perhaps only a dream. He stood in the middle of a -long, carefully constructed dam that divided the River Bug across its -entire breadth. The dark-hued water ran slowly and lazily away beneath -his feet, and now and then it, as it were, strove to render a well-known -melody by its capricious splashing. The moon was mirrored on the lightly -curled surface of the river, like an infinitely long, trembling pillar, -around which you might fancy you saw millions of fishes playing in the -water whilst they slowly withdrew and disappeared in the direction of -the distant shore, which lay afar off, silent, dark, and deserted. -Wherever he might be, whether in or out of the town, he was followed by -a faint, sweet, aromatic scent from the white acacia flower. - -Wonderful thoughts entered his brain this night--thoughts sometimes sad -and melancholy, at other times childishly ridiculous. Most frequently he -reasoned like the inexperienced gambler who with the frivolity and -optimism of youth pondered upon the fact that he had in a single night -played away all he possessed. Thus Romashov tried again and again to -delude himself into believing that the wretched events of the past day -had absolutely no importance--nay, he even succeeded in resuscitating -that "irresistible" Sub-lieutenant Romashov who so ideally conducts his -parade march under the General's critical eyes, who at the front is the -object of the General's thanks and admiration, and who afterwards drains -his goblet of wine among his rejoicing comrades. But the next moment he -hears Federovski's furious threats, his chief's insulting words, -Nikoläiev's painful questions and complaints, and he is once more the -disgraced and hopelessly ruined Sub-lieutenant Romashov. - -An irresistible force from within brought him back in the course of his -nocturnal wandering to the place where he came upon Nikoläiev after the -review. Here he walked about meditating suicide, though by no means -seriously, but only--according to his ingrained habit--to pose in his -own worthy person as a martyr and hero. - -Hainán comes rushing out of Romashov's room. His countenance is -distorted with terror. Pale and trembling all over, he hurries on to the -officers' _salle-à-manger_, which is full of people. At the sight of -Hainán all spontaneously get up from their places. "Your -Excellencies--the lieutenant has--shot himself," Hainán at last stammers -out. General uproar; dismay is to be read in the faces of all. "Who has -shot himself? Where? What lieutenant?" Finally somebody recognizes -Hainán. "Gentlemen, this is Hainán, you know--Lieutenant Romashov's -servant. It's the Circassian, you know." All hurry to Romashov's house; -some do not even give themselves time to put on their caps. Romashov is -discovered lying on his bed; on the floor beside him is a large pool of -blood, in which is found a revolver of the Smith and Wesson celebrated -make. Through a crowd of officers, who occupy every corner of the little -room, Znoiko, the regimental surgeon, pushes his way with some -difficulty. "Shot in the temple," he says amidst a general hush. "All is -over, nothing can be done." Some one among the bystanders says in a -lowered voice, "Gentlemen, uncover your heads before the majesty of -Death!" Many make the sign of the Cross. Viätkin finds on the table a -note on which the deceased has written in a firm hand a few lines in -pencil. Viätkin reads them out-- - - I forgive all. I die of my own free will. My life is intolerable. - Break the news gently to my mother. - -GEORGI ROMASHOV. - -All gaze at one another, and each reads on his neighbour's countenance -the unuttered thought: "We are his murderers." Softly rocks the coffin -covered with gold brocade and carried by eight comrades. The entire -corps of officers takes part in the procession. After the officers comes -the 6th Company. Captain Sliva frowns gloomily. Viätkin's kind face is -disfigured by tears, but now in the street he makes an effort to compose -himself. Lbov--oh, heart of gold!--weeps incessantly without blushing -for his emotion. Like deep, heavy sighs sound the hollow strains of the -Dead March. There stand all the ladies of the regiment, including -Shurochka. "I kissed him," she thinks with despair in her heart. "I -loved him--I might have saved him." "Too late!" thinks Romashov, with a -bitter smile. The officers accompanying their dead comrade to the grave -softly converse with each other. "Ah," thinks each of them to himself, -"how sorry I am for him, poor fellow. What an excellent comrade, what a -handsome and capable officer!--Yes, yes, that is true, but we did not -appreciate him." Loud and more touching sound the strains of the Dead -March. It is Beethoven's immortal music, "By a Hero's Bier." But -Romashov is lying in his coffin, cold and still, with an everlasting -smile on his lips. On his chest rests a modest bouquet of violets, but -no one knows from where they came. He has forgiven all--Shurochka, -Sliva, Federovski, Shulgovich--all. But they waste no tears. He is -better off where he is now; he was too pure, too good for this world. - -This gloomy, silent monologue forced tears from Romashov's eyes, but he -did not wipe them away. It was so delicious to imagine himself a martyr, -an innocent victim to the malignity of mankind. - -He had now reached the white-beet field, the extensive surface of which -had an almost oppressive influence on Romashov. He climbed on to a -little hillock just beside the ravine in which the railway ran. - -There he stood. This side of the ravine lay in deep shadow, but the -opposite one was so powerfully illuminated that one might fancy it -possible to distinguish every blade of grass. The ravine was very -precipitous near the place where Romashov was now standing, and at the -bottom of it the rails, worn bright by traffic, shone. Far away in the -field on the other side of the railway the white, pyramid-like tents -could be seen in even rows. - -A little way down the slope of the ravine was a small platform. Romashov -glided down to it and sat on the grass. He felt nearly sick from hunger -and weariness, and his legs shook from exhaustion. The great deserted -field behind him, the air, clear and transparent in spite of the shades -of night, the dew-soaked grass--all was sunk in a deep, insidious, -luminous silence, the intensity of which was felt by Romashov like a -strong buzzing in his ear. Rarely indeed might be heard from a -locomotive manoeuvring at the railway station a shrill whistling -which, in the solemn stillness of the night, brought with it something -impetuous, impatient, and threatening. - -Romashov laid himself on his back in the grass. The fleecy white clouds -right above him stood motionless, but over them the round moon glided -rapidly on in the dark firmament which, cold and bare and boundless, -riveted Romashov's gaze. All the illimitable space between earth and -heaven seemed to him fraught with eternal terror and eternal longing. -"There dwells--God," thought Romashov, and suddenly, with a naïve -outburst of sorrow, anger, and self-pity, he whispered passionately and -bitterly-- - -"God, why hast Thou turned Thy countenance from me? What offence can -I--a miserable worm, a grain of sand--have committed against Thee? Thou -art almighty, Thou art good, Thou seest and hearest everything--why hast -Thou suffered injustice and malice so to triumph over me?" - -But instantly afterwards he was filled with alarm at his blasphemous -speech, and he went on to say in fervour and anguish-- - -"No, no; forgive and forget my sinful words. I know Thou art as wise as -Thou art merciful, and I shall never murmur any more. Do with me what -seems best in Thy sight. I will always submit to Thy will with gratitude -and a meek heart." - -Simultaneously with these pious words of penance and reformation there -stirred in the depth of his soul a secret calculating thought that his -solemnly promised submission to our Lord's will would move the -All-seeing God suddenly to work, on his behalf, a miracle whereby all -the bitter sorrows and trials of this day would appear only as a hideous -dream. - -"Where are you?" shrieked just then a locomotive down at the station -with a short, angry, impatient whistle. Another engine at once answered, -in a hollow, threatening tone, "I am coming." - -From the moonlit crest of the ravine's opposite slope a soft rustle was -heard. In order more easily to detect the cause, Romashov raised his -head from the ground. A grey, shapeless, scarcely human figure was -sliding down to the bottom of the ravine. In spite of the bright -moonlight, it was difficult to distinguish the night-walker in the high -grass, and only by the movements of his shadow was it possible for any -one to follow with the eye his course down the declivity. - -Now he was crossing the railway-line. "Judging from everything," guessed -Romashov, "he is a soldier. Anyhow it's a human being; but who can it -be? A drunkard or a sleep-walker?" - -The strange figure had already crossed the railway, stepped into the -shade, and was climbing toilsomely up the slope on which Romashov was. -The latter now saw distinctly that the wanderer was a soldier, who, -however, immediately afterwards disappeared from Romashov's sight. Two -or three minutes elapsed before he again became visible. A round-clipped -head without a cap was slowly lifted in Romashov's direction, who now -recognized, without difficulty, the left wing soldier in his own -half-company--the unfortunate Khliabnikov. - -Khliabnikov went on his way bareheaded and with his cap in his hand, -looking fixedly before him. It was evident that he was labouring under -the influence of a mysterious inward force. He passed so near Romashov -that the latter's cloak almost grazed his own. The moon's keen rays were -reflected in the motionless pupils beneath the unnaturally wide-open -eyelids. - -"Khliabnikov, is it you?" cried Romashov. - -"A-ah!" shouted the soldier, who stopped immediately, and began to shake -all over. - -Romashov jumped up from the ground. He saw before him a disfigured face, -as pale as a corpse's, with severed, bleeding lips, and one eye almost -closed up by a tremendous bump turning blue. In the uncertain evening -light the traces of the disgusting violence that had been perpetrated -gained a still more horrible appearance. And as Romashov gazed at -Khliabnikov, his thoughts ran thus: "Behold the man who with me brought -shame on the entire regiment to-day. We are both equally to be pitied." - -"Where were you going, my friend? what's the matter?" asked Romashov, in -his tenderest tone, and, without thinking, he put both his hands on the -soldier's shoulders. Khliabnikov stared at him out of his uninjured eye -with the wild look of one who had been frightened out of his wits, but -he turned away at once. His bleeding lips, welded together, slowly -opened with a soft, smacking sound, but all he could utter was a hoarse -rattle. Romashov suddenly experienced an intolerable feeling of -sickness, and he thought he felt in his chest and abdomen certain -symptoms which usually precede fainting. - -"Has some one beaten you, eh? Tell me! Come and sit down beside me." He -pulled the soldier by the sleeve of his coat down to the ground. -Khliabnikov obediently collapsed, like a dummy fallen in a heap, and -sank noiselessly down on the damp grass beside Romashov. - -"Where were you going?" asked the latter. Khliabnikov did not answer a -word where he sat, in a very unnatural and uncomfortable position, with -his legs straddling. Romashov noticed that his head sank slowly, with -scarcely perceptible little nods, on his chest. Again Romashov heard the -same short, hoarse, rattling sound, and his whole soul was filled by an -unspeakable pity. "Do I understand that you wanted to run away? Put on -your cap and listen, Khliabnikov. At this moment I am not your officer -or superior, but, like yourself, only a lonely, unlucky, ruined -creature. I can understand how hard and burdensome it is for you to -live, therefore speak to me frankly, tell me all. Perhaps you meant to -kill yourself?" he added in a hollow, whispering tone. - -A gurgling noise was again heard in the soldier's throat, but not a word -passed his lips. At the same moment Romashov noticed that his companion -in misfortune was shaking from head to foot as if from a chill, and he -was himself now attacked by an unconquerable terror. This sleepless -night passed in feverish excitement; this feeling of loneliness and -desertion; the moon's unchangeable, oppressive, cold gleam; the ravine's -black depth beneath his feet; the dumb, cruelly maltreated soldier at -his side--all this seemed to him like a mad, insufferable dream--one of -those dreams that are wont to herald the approach of death. But directly -afterwards he was again seized by the same infinite pity for the -unfortunate victim beside him, and it was clear to him at once how petty -and insignificant was his own sorrow in comparison with Khliabnikov's -cruel fate. With sincere tenderness he threw his arm round the soldier's -neck, drew him forcibly to him, and said, with the warmth that belongs -to conviction-- - -"Khliabnikov, you find life unsupportable, but, my friend, believe me, -even I am an exceedingly unhappy man. The whole world wherein I live is -to me a puzzle. Everything is so savage, cruel, and senseless. However, -one must be patient, one must learn to suffer." - -Khliabnikov's bowed head fell suddenly on Romashov's knee, which he -embraced with both arms. All his being shook with suppressed weeping. - -"I can't stand any more," he uttered at last, "I'll bear it no longer. -Oh, my God! They beat me, they mock me; the sergeants shriek for -schnapps and money. Where is a poor devil like me to get money? And then -they beat me again--me, who have suffered from childhood from an -incurable pain--a severe rupture." - -Romashov bent down over his head, which shook convulsively backwards and -forwards against Romashov's knee. He perceived the smell of the -soldier's dirty, unhealthy body, and the rank stench of his cloak, which -also served as a counterpane during the cold nights in his tent. An -infinite sorrow for and disgust at himself, his profession, and the -whole world harrowed the young officer's soul. With overflowing heart he -rested his forehead against Khliabnikov's burning head and stubbly hair, -at the same time whispering scarcely audibly-- - -"My brother!" - -Khliabnikov grasped Romashov's hand, on which a few warm tears fell. -Romashov even felt two cold, clammy lips kissing his fingers, but he did -not withdraw his hand, and he spoke simple, calming, touching words, -just as when one talks to a weeping, injured child. - -Then he escorted Khliabnikov back to the camp, and then sent for -Shapovalenko, the sergeant on duty that day in the 6th Company. The -latter came out hurriedly, clad in an obviously imperfect costume, -peered for a while with a pair of drowsy eyes, scratched himself both -back and front with an earnestness that was probably more than -justified. After several tremendous yawns he became gradually awake to -the situation. - -Romashov ordered him to release Khliabnikov from any duties he might -happen to have just then. - -"Your Honour, this may perhaps be a little premature." - -"No arguing!" shrieked Romashov in a furious tone. "Tell the Captain -to-morrow that you acted on my instructions." Then turning to -Khliabnikov, he added: "We meet to-morrow, you know, at my house," and -received in reply a long, shy, grateful look. - -Romashov slowly turned his steps homewards along the camp. A few words -caught from a whispered conversation in one of the tents caused him to -stop and listen: "You see, comrades," says a subdued voice, "that this -same devil sends the soldier his very chief magician. When the magician -catches sight of the soldier, he roars at him like this: 'What's a -soldier to me? I'll eat him!' 'No,' replies the soldier, 'you can't do -that, old chap, for I myself am a magician----'" - -Romashov soon reached the ravine again. Once more that indescribable -feeling of disgust at life and contempt of the inanity and senselessness -of the work of creation. Whilst descending the declivity he stopped -suddenly and raised his eyes to heaven. Again he was met by the same -infinite, icy-cold firmament; again he experienced the same longing, -mingled with fear and anguish, and almost unconsciously he raised his -fists threateningly against heaven, and in the voice of a man foaming -with rage, in words of unspeakable blasphemy, challenged his Maker's -omnipotence, and dared Him, in proof of it, to break off his arms and -legs. - -Romashov, deliberately and with his eyes shut, threw himself down the -precipice, and alighted unscathed on the railway bank. With two leaps he -gained the opposite slope, the top of which he reached without stopping -or taking breath. His nostrils were dilated, and his chest heaved -violently under convulsive efforts to regain his breath, but in the -depths of his soul there blazed a proud, triumphant feeling of malicious -joy and defiance. - - - - -XVI - - -There was a lesson on military drill going on in the school of recruits. -In a close room, on benches arranged in a square, sat the soldiers of -the 3rd platoon facing one another. In the middle of this square -Corporal Syeroshtán walked to and fro. Close by, walking backwards and -forwards in the centre of a similar square, was the non-commissioned -officer Shapovalenko. - -"Bondarenko!" cried Syeroshtán in a piercing voice. - -Bondarenko brought his feet down on the floor with a bang, and jumped up -just like a jack-in-the-box. - -"Now, Bondarenko, suppose that you were standing at arms, and the -commander came to you and asked: 'What is that in your hands, -Bondarenko?' What ought you to answer?" - -"A gun," replied Bondarenko after reflection. - -"Wrong! Do you mean to tell me you would call it a gun? At home you -might call it a gun, certainly, but in the service it is called simply a -sharp-shooting infantry rifle of small calibre, maker Berdan, number -two, with a sliding bolt. Repeat that now, you son of a----!" - -Bondarenko gabbled over the words, which he evidently knew by heart. - -"Sit down!" commanded Syeroshtán graciously. "And for what purpose is -the rifle given you?" His stern gaze wandered round the class. -"Shevchuk! you answer this question." - -Shevchuk stood up with a morose expression, and answered in a deep bass -voice, speaking through his nose, and very slowly, and in detached -phrases, as if there were a full stop after each: - -"It is given to me in order that in time of peace I may practise with -it. But in time of war that I may protect my Emperor and my country from -enemies." He stopped, scratched his nose, and added obscurely: "Whether -they be external or internal." - -"Right! You know that very well, Shevchuk, only you mumble. Sit down. -And now, Ovechkin, tell me, whom do we call external enemies?" - -Ovechkin, a sprightly soldier from Orlov, answered rapidly and with -great animation, spluttering with excitement: - -"External enemies are all those nations with whom we might go to war; -the French, Germans, Italians, Turks, Europeans----" - -"Wait," Syeroshtán cut him short. "All that is not in the text. Sit -down. And now tell me--Arkhipov! Who are our internal enemies?" - -He uttered the last two words very loudly, as if to emphasize them, and -threw a meaning glance at the volunteer, Markouson. - -The clumsy, pock-marked Arkhipov was obstinately silent, and stood -gazing out of the window. Outside the service he was an active, -intelligent, clever fellow; but in class he behaved like an imbecile. -Obviously the trouble lay in the fact that his healthy mind, accustomed -to observe and think about the simple, straightforward affairs of -village life, was quite unable to grasp the connection between -hypothetical problems and real life. For this reason he could not -understand nor learn the simplest things, to the great astonishment and -indignation of his platoon commander. - -"We-ll! How much longer am I to wait while you get ready to answer?" -cried Syeroshtán, beginning to get angry. - -"Internal enemies--enemies----" - -"You don't know it?" cried Syeroshtán in a threatening tone, and he -would have fallen upon Arkhipov, but, glancing with a side glance at the -officer, he contented himself with shaking his head and rolling his eyes -terribly. "Well, listen. Internal enemies are those who resist the law; -for example, who shall we----?" He glanced at Ovechkin's sharp eyes. -"You tell us, Ovechkin." - -Ovechkin jumped up and cried joyfully: - -"Such as rebels, students, horse-stealers, Jews and Poles." - -Shapovalenko was occupied with his platoon close by. Pacing up and down -between the benches, he asked questions from the "Soldier's Manual," -which he held in his hand. - -"Soltuis, what is a sentry?" - -Soltuis, a Lithuanian, cried, opening and shutting his eyes rapidly in -the effort to think: "A sentry must be incorruptible." - -"Well, and what else?" - -"A sentry is a soldier placed at a certain post with a rifle in his -hand." - -"Right. I see, Soltuis, that you are beginning to try. And why is he -placed there, Pakhorukov?" - -"That he may neither sleep, nor doze, nor smoke, nor accept bribes." - -"And the pass-word?" - -"And that he may give the pass-word to the officers who pass in and -out." - -"Right. Sit down." - -Shapovalenko had noticed some time ago the ironical smile on the face of -the volunteer Fokin, and for this reason he cried with extra severity: - -"Now, volunteer! But is that the way to stand? When your chief asks a -question you should stand as straight as a ramrod. What do you mean by -the Colours?" - -The volunteer Fokin, with a University badge on his breast, stood in -front of the non-commissioned officer in a respectful attitude, but his -young, grey eyes sparkled with laughter. - -"By the Colours is meant the sacred Standard of War under which----" - -"Wrong!" broke in Shapovalenko angrily, bringing the Manual down hard on -the palm of his hand. - -"No, that is quite right," replied Fokin calmly. - -"Wh-a-at? If your chief says it is wrong, it is wrong." - -"Look in the book and see for yourself." - -"I am your officer, and as such I must know better than you. A fine -thing, indeed! Perhaps you think that I want to enter a cadet school for -instruction? What do you know about anything? What's a St-a-a-n-dard? -Ste-ndard! There's no such word as Sta-a-andard. The sacred Stendard of -War----" - -"Don't quarrel now, Shapovalenko," put in Romashov. "Get on with the -lesson." - -"Very good, your Honour!" drawled Shapovalenko. "Only allow me to inform -your Honour that all these volunteers are far too clever." - -"That will do, that will do! get on with the lesson." - -"Very good, your Honour--Khliabnikov! Who is the commander of this -corps?" - -Khliabnikov stared with wild eyes at the "non-com." All the sound which -came from his open mouth was a croak, which might have been made by a -hoarse crow. - -"Answer!" cried Shapovalenko furiously. - -"His----" - -"Well! 'His.' What else?" - -Romashov, who had just turned away, heard him mutter in a low voice: -"You wait! Won't I just give you a stroking down after the lesson." But -directly Romashov turned back to him he said loudly and kindly: "His -Excellency--well, how does it go on, Khliabnikov?" - -"His--infantry--lieutenant," muttered Khliabnikov in a broken, terrified -voice. - -"A-a-a!" cried Shapovalenko, grinding his teeth. "Whatever shall we do -with you, Khliabnikov? I am really afraid to think what will become of -you; you are just like a camel, except that you can't even make yourself -heard. You don't make the slightest attempt to learn. Stand there until -the end of the lesson, and after dinner come to me, and I'll take you -alone. Grechenko! Who is the commander of this corps?" - -"As it is to-day, so it will be to-morrow, and so on to the end of my -life," thought Romashov, as he passed from platoon to platoon. "Shall I -throw it all up? Shall I leave the service? I don't know what to do!" - -After the instruction the men were kept busy in the yard, which was -arranged as a shooting range. While one party practised shooting in a -looking-glass, another learned to hit a target with a shot, and a third -learned rifle-shooting. Ensign Lbov's clear, animated tenor voice giving -orders to the 2nd platoon could be heard at a distance. - -"Right--turn--firing company--one, two!" "Compan-y!" he dragged out the -last syllable, paused, and then, abruptly: "Fire!" - -There was a loud report, and Lbov in his joyful, inspiring voice, cried -again: - -"Present!" - -Sliva went from platoon to platoon, stooping and walking slowly, finding -fault and making coarse remarks: - -"Is that the way to hold a rifle? Any one would think you were a deacon -holding a candle! What are you keeping your mouth open for, Kartashov? -Do you want some porridge? Sergeant-major, put Kartashov under arms for -an hour after drill. How do you fold up a cloak, Vedenyeev? Look at it, -you lazy fellow!" - -After the shooting practice the men piled their rifles and threw -themselves down beside them on the young spring grass, already trampled -on by the soldiers' boots. It was a warm, clear day. The air smelled of -the leaves of young poplar trees, of which there were two rows planted -round the causeway. Viätkin again approached Romashov: - -"Dreaming again, Yuri Alexeich," he said. "What is the use of it? As -soon as the drill is over we will go to the club, and after a drink or -two you will be all right." - -"I am bored, my dear Pavel Pavlich," said Romashov wearily. - -"It is not very cheerful, I admit," said Viätkin. "But how can it be -helped? The men must be taught their business, or what would happen if -war suddenly broke out?" - -"What is war after all?" said Romashov sadly, "and why----? Perhaps it -is nothing more than a mistake made by all, a universal error, a -madness. Do you mean to tell me that it is natural to kill?" - -"Oh, the devil take your philosophy! If the Germans were to attack us -suddenly, who would defend Russia?" - -"I know nothing about it, so I can't talk about it," said Romashov -shortly. "I know nothing, and yet, take----" - -"For my part," said Viätkin, "I think that if those are your ideas about -war, it would be better for you to be out of the service. We are not -supposed to think in our profession. The only question is, What could we -do if we were not in the service? What use should we be anywhere when we -know nothing but 'Left! Right!' We can die, of course, that is true. And -die we should, as soon as we began to be in want, for food is not -provided gratis, you know. And so, Mr. Philosopher, come to the club -with me after drill." - -"Very well," agreed Romashov indifferently. "If you ask me, I should say -that it's a hog's life that we are leading; but, as you say, if one -thinks so it is better to leave the service altogether." - -While they talked they walked up and down, and at length halted close to -the 4th platoon. The soldiers were sitting or lying around their piled -arms; some of them were eating bread, for soldiers eat bread all day -long, and under all circumstances, at reviews, at halting-places in the -manoeuvres, in church before confession, and even before physical -punishment. - -Romashov heard a quietly provocative voice say: - -"Khliabnikov! I say, Khliabnikov!" - -"Yes?" said Khliabnikov gruffly, through his nose. - -"What do you do at home?" - -"Work," answered the other sleepily. - -"What kind of work, you blockhead?" - -"All kinds--ploughing, cattle driving." - -Romashov glanced at the grey, pitiful face of Khliabnikov, and again was -seized by an uneasy pain at his heart. - -"Rifle practice!" cried Sliva from the centre. "Officers to their -places." - -They unpiled their arms and took their places with much bustle. - -"Close up!" commanded Sliva. "Stand at ease!" - -And then, coming nearer to the company, he shouted: - -"Manual exercise--count aloud. On guard!" - -"One!" cried the soldiers, and held their guns aloft. - -Sliva went amongst them in a leisurely manner, making abrupt remarks: -"Bayonets higher.--Hold the butt-end to you." - -Then he again took up his position in front of the company and gave the -order: "Two!" - -"Two!" cried the soldiers. - -And once more Sliva went amongst them to see if they were doing the -exercises correctly. - -After the manual exercise by division they had exercise by company, then -turnings, form fours, fixing and unfixing bayonets and other forms. -Romashov performed like an automaton all that was required of him, but -all the time the words so carelessly uttered by Viätkin were running -through his mind: "If I thought that, I would not stay in the service." -And all the arts of war--the skilful evolutions, the cleverness of the -rifle exercise, and all those tactics and fortifications on which he had -wasted nine of the best years of his life, which would fill the rest of -his life, and which not so very long ago had seemed to him important and -so full of wisdom--all had suddenly become deadly dull, unnatural, -inventions without value, a universal self-deceit resembling an absurd -dream. - -When the drill was finished he and Viätkin went to the club and drank a -lot of vodka together. Romashov, hardly knowing what he was doing, -kissed Viätkin and wept hysterically on his shoulder, complained of his -empty, miserable life, and also that no one understood him, also that a -certain woman did not love him--who she was no one should ever know. As -for Viätkin, he drank glass after glass, only saying from time to time -with contemptuous pity: - -"The worst of you is, Romashov, that you can't drink. You take one glass -and you are all over the place." - -Then suddenly he struck his fist on the table threateningly, and cried: -"If they want us to die, we'll die!" - -"We'll die," answered Romashov pitifully. "What is dying? A mere trifle! -Oh, how my heart aches!" - -Romashov did not remember going home and getting into bed. It seemed to -him that he was floating on a thick blue cloud, upon which were -scattered milliards and milliards of microscopic diamonds. His head -seemed swollen to a tremendous size, and a pitiless voice was calling -out in a tone which made him feel sick: - -"One! Two!" - - - - -XVII - - -From this night Romashov underwent a profound inward change. He cut -himself entirely adrift from the company of his comrades, usually took -his dinner at home, never frequented the _soirées dansantes_ of his -regiment, and ceased to indulge in drink. He had grown older, riper, and -more serious, and he noticed this himself in the calm resignation with -which he bore the trials and adversities of life. Often, too, he -recalled to mind the assertion he had long ago picked up from books or -in the way of conversation, that human life is made up of periods of -seven years, and that, in the course of each period, not only the -organism, but also the character, views taken of life, and inclinations -are completely renewed. And it was not so long since Romashov had -completed his twenty-first year. - -The soldier Khliabnikov used to visit him, but at first, however, only -after being again urged to do so. Afterwards his visits became more and -more frequent. During the first period he put one in mind of a starved -and whipped dog which flinches from the hand held out caressingly; but -Romashov's kindness and goodness gradually drove away his fear and -embarrassment and restored to him the faculty of gratitude and -confidence. With something akin to remorse and shame, Romashov learned -more of Khliabnikov's sad conditions of life and family circumstances. -At home lived his mother, his father--a confirmed drunkard--a -semi-idiotic brother, and four young sisters. The family's little plot -of land had been confiscated, contrary to all law and justice, by the -commune, which afterwards was kind enough to shelter the poor wretches -in a miserable hut. The elder members were journeymen employed by -strange and occasional employers, the younger ones went out to beg. -Khliabnikov could, therefore, not reckon on any support from his people, -and, on account of his delicate health, was not in a position to -undertake any remunerative manual labour in such leisure as the service -left him. But the soldier's life is unendurable without money. He -receives twenty-two and a half copecks a month from the State, and out -of this he must defray the costs of tea, sugar, soap, etc., and in -addition, the indispensable presents to greedy and unconscionable -sergeants. Woe betide the soldier who cannot, by presents, money, or -schnapps, bribe his torturers. He becomes a helpless victim to insult -and gross maltreatment, and all the heavy and disgusting work in the -camp falls unmercifully to his lot. - -With surprise, terror, and pain Romashov realized that Fate had daily -united him by the closest ties with hundreds of these grey -"Khliabnikovs," with those defenceless victims of their own ignorance -and brutal coarseness, of the officers' heartless indifference and -cruelty, of a humiliating, systematic slavery; but the most horrible of -all, however, was the fact that not a single officer--and, up to that -day, not even Romashov himself--saw in these stereotyped crowds of -slaves anything beyond mechanical quantities bracketed under the name of -companies, battalions, regiments, etc. - -Romashov did his best to procure Khliabnikov, now and then, a little -income. Of course it was not very long before both this and other -unaccustomed marks of humanity on the part of an officer became noticed -in the company. Romashov noticed very frequently how the "non-coms." in -his presence acted towards Khliabnikov with comical, exaggerated -politeness in manner and tone. That even Captain Sliva had got scent of -Romashov's changed attitude as regards the treatment of soldiers was -palpable enough, and more than once, from remarks made by him-- - -"D-d-damned Liberals--come here to ruin the people--ought to be -thrashed--f-f-flayed alive, every man Jack of 'em!" - -Now, as Romashov more and more abandoned himself to loneliness and -self-examination, those curious, entangling contemplations, which a -month previously, at the time of his arrest, had such a disturbing -effect on him, now assailed him with even greater frequency. These -generally happened after his duties for the day had been done, when he -strolled silently backwards and forwards, beneath the thick, slumbering -foliage of the trees near his dwelling, and when, lonely and oppressed, -he listened to the solemn bass of the booming beetles or, with dreamy -eyes, gazed at the roseate and rapidly darkening sky. - -This new life of his surprised him by the richness of its shifting -impression. In days gone by he would never have even dared to entertain -a notion of what pure and calm joy, what potency and secret depths, lie -hidden in something so simple and common as human thought. - -Romashov had already determined irrevocably not to remain on active -service, but to join the reserves as soon as his period of service as an -officer by examination had expired, but he did not yet know where he -would find suitable employment and an income on which he might exist. He -went over in his mind all possible occupations--post-office, customs, -telegraph service, railway, etc., etc. He pondered on whether he might -seek the post of estate-manager, or enter the Civil Service. And now he -was astounded at the thought of all the innumerable different trades and -professions that exist in the world. "How have they arisen," thought he, -"all these absurd, comical, wonderful and more or less repulsive -occupations--prison-warders, acrobats, chiropodists, professors, actors, -dog-barbers, policemen, jugglers, prostitutes, bath-men, veterinary -surgeons, grave-diggers, beadles, etc., etc? And perhaps there's not a -human invention or caprice, however idiotic, paradoxical, barbarous, and -immoral it may be, that does not at once find ready and willing hands to -bring it to completion and realization." - -So, too, in meditating more profoundly, it struck him what a countless -number of "intelligent" means of bread-winning there are, which are all -based on mistrust of the honour and morality of mankind--supervisors and -officials of all sorts, controllers, inspectors, policemen, custom-house -officers, bookkeepers, revising-officers, etc., whose existence has, -without exception, found justification in man's weakness for or lack of -resistance against crime and corruption. - -He also called to mind priests, schoolmasters, lawyers and judges--in -short, all those persons who, according to the nature of their work, are -in continual and intimate contact with other men's ideas, strivings, -sorrows, and sufferings. At the thought of these, Romashov came to the -tragic conclusion that these individuals become more quickly than -others hard, heartless egoists, who, wrapping themselves in the -dressing-gown of selfishness, very soon grow frozen for ever in dead -formalism. He knew that there also exists another class, i.e. those who -create and look after the external conditions of human luxury and -enjoyment--engineers, architects, inventors, manufacturers, and all -those who, by their united efforts, can render mankind inestimable -temporal services, and place themselves solely at the disposal of the -rich and powerful. They think only of their own skin, of their own nest, -of their own brood, and they become, in consequence of this, the slaves -of gold and tyranny. Who is there then to raise up, instruct, and -console the brutally used slave, Khliabnikov, and say to him, "Shake -hands with me, brother"? - -Pondering over similar subjects, Romashov certainly probed slowly and -fumblingly, but more and more deeply, into the great problem of life. -Formerly everything seemed to him as simple as simple could be. The -world was divided into two categories very different in size and -importance. The one, the guild of officers, constituting the military -caste, which alone attains power, honour, and glory, the fine uniform of -which confers an uncontested monopoly of bravery, physical strength, and -unbounded contempt for all other living creatures; the other, the -civilian element of society--an enormous number of indeterminable petty -insects; another race, a pariah class hardly worthy to live, obscure -individuals to be thrashed and insulted without rhyme or reason, whose -nose every little gilded popinjay may tweak, unless he prefers, to the -huge delight of his comrades, to crush their tall silk hats over his -victims' ears. - -When Romashov thought, he stood apart from reality; when he viewed -military life, as it were, from a secret corner through a chink in the -wall, he gradually began to understand that the army and all that -pertains to it, with its false glamour and borrowed plumes, came into -the world through a mad, cruel confusion of ideas in mankind. "How," -Romashov asked himself, "can so large a class of society, in profound -peace, and without doing the country the least good, be suffered to -exist, to eat the bread of others, to walk in other men's clothes, to -dwell in other men's houses, only with the obligation, in the event of -war, to kill and maim living creatures of the same race as themselves?" - -And more and more clearly it dawned on his mind that only the two -following domains of activity are worthy of man, viz. science and art -and free manual labour. And with new force the old dreams and hopes of a -future literary career arose in him. Now and again, when Chance put into -his hand a valuable book rich in noble and fructifying ideas, he thought -with bitter melancholy of himself: "Good gracious, how simple, clear and -true all this is which I myself, moreover, have known and experienced! -Why cannot I, too, compose something similar?" He wished he could write -a novel or a great romance, the _leitmotiv_ of which should be his -contempt and disgust for military life. In his imagination everything -fell so excellently into groups, his descriptions of scenery became true -and splendid, his puppets woke to life, the story developed, and his -treatment of it made him so boisterously cheerful and happy. But when he -sat down to write, everything suddenly became so pale and feeble, so -childish, so artificial and stereotyped. As long as his pen ran quickly -and boldly over the paper he noticed none of these defects; but -directly he compared his own work with that of some of the great Russian -authors--if only with a small, detached piece from them--he was seized -at once by a deep despair, and by shame and disgust at his own work. - -He often wandered, harassed by such thoughts, about the streets in the -balmy nights of the latter part of May. Without noticing it himself, he -invariably selected for these promenades the same way--i.e. from the -Jewish cemetery to the great dam, and thence to the high railway bank. -It happened occasionally that, entirely absorbed in his dreams, he -failed to notice the way he took, and, suddenly waking up, he found -himself, much to his astonishment, in a wholly different part of the -town. - -Every night he passed by Shurochka's window. With stealthy steps, bated -breath, and beating heart, he prowled along the opposite side of the -street. He felt like a thief who, in shame and anguish, tries hard to -leave the scene of his crime as unobserved as possible. When the lamp -was extinguished in the Nikoläiev's drawing-room, in the black -window-panes of which there was only a weak reflection of the moon's -faint rays, Romashov hid himself in the deep shade of the high hoarding, -pressed his crossed arms convulsively against his breast, and uttered in -a hot whisper-- - -"Sleep, sleep, my beloved one, my queen! I am here watching over you." - -In such moments he felt tears in his eyes, but in his soul stirred, -besides love, tenderness and self-sacrificing affection, and also the -human animal's blind jealousy and lust. - -One evening Nikoläiev was invited to a whist party at the commander's. -Romashov was aware of this. When, as usual of a night, he passed -Nikoläiev's dwelling, he smelt, from the little flower-bed behind the -hoarding, the fragrant, disturbing perfume of daffodils. He jumped over -the hedge, soiled his hands with the sticky mould of the bed, and -plucked a whole armful of soft, moist, pale flowers. - -The window of Shurochka's bedroom was open. It was dark within, and not -a sound could be heard from it. With a boldness that astonished himself, -Romashov approached the wall, and threw the flowers into the room. Still -the same mysterious silence. He stood quite still for three minutes, -listening and waiting. His heart-beats, so it seemed to him, echoed -along the whole of the long, dead-silent street; but no answer. Not the -faintest sound reached the listener's ears. With bent back, and blushing -for shame, he stole away on tip-toe. - -The next day he received the following curt and angry letter from -Shurochka-- - - Never dare to repeat what you did yesterday. Courting in the Romeo - and Juliet style is always absurd, particularly in this little hole - of a place. - -In the daytime Romashov tried to obtain a distant glimpse of Shurochka -in the street, but he never succeeded. He often thought he recognized -the mistress of his heart in some lady walking along. With beating heart -and thrills of bliss he hurried nearer, but every time this turned out a -bitter disappointment; and when he found out his mistake he felt in his -soul an abandonment and deadly void that caused him pain. - - - - -XVIII - - -One day towards the end of May, a young soldier belonging to Captain -Osadchi's company hanged himself. Curiously enough, this suicide -happened on the same date as a similar dreadful event in the previous -year, and that, too, in Osadchi's company. - -About this time drinking-bouts were arranged in the regiment. These, in -spite of their quasi-official character, were not one whit inferior in -coarseness to the regular and more private gatherings _inter pocula_. It -is highly probable that such stimulating entertainments were felt a -special necessity when men, who have been tied to one another by fate, -through a soul-destructive inactivity or senseless cruelty towards their -kind, have chanced to look somewhat more deeply into each other's -hearts, and then--in spite of prejudices, unscrupulousness, and -spiritual darkness--suddenly realize in what a bottomless pit of -darkness they all are. In order to deaden the pangs of conscience and -remorse at a life ruined and thrown away, all their insidious, brutish -instincts have to be let loose at once and all their passions satisfied. - -Shortly after the suicide in question, a similar crisis occurred among -the officers. Osadchi, as might be expected, became the instigator and -high-priest of the orgies. In the course of several days he organized in -the mess, games of hazard more recklessly than ever, during which -fearful quantities of spirit were consumed. Strangely enough, this wild -beast in human form soon managed to entice pretty nearly all the -officers of his regiment into a whirl of mad dissipations. And during -all these carousals Osadchi, with unparalleled cynicism, insolence, and -heartlessness, tried to provoke expressions of disapproval and -opposition, by invoking all the powers of the nether-world to insult the -name and memory of the unhappy man who had taken his own life. - -It was about 6 p.m., Romashov was sitting at his window with his legs -resting on the window-sill, and whistling softly a waltz out of _Faust_. -The sparrows and magpies were making a noise and laughing at each other -in the garden. It was not yet evening, but the shadows beneath the trees -grew longer and fainter. - -Suddenly a powerful voice was heard outside singing, not without a -certain spirit, but out of tune-- - - "The chargers are champing, snorting, and neighing. - The foam-covered bridle still holds them in sway." - -Immediately afterwards the door was flung wide open, and Viätkin rolled -into Romashov's room with a loud peal of laughter. Although it was all -he could do to stand on his legs, he kept on singing-- - - "Matrons and maidens with sorrowful glances - Watch till their hero is lost to their sight." - -Viätkin was still completely intoxicated from the libations of the -preceding day, and his eyelids were red and swollen from a night -without sleep. His hat was half off his head, and his long, waxed -moustache hung down like the tusks of a walrus. - -"R-romuald, Syria's holy hermit, come, let me kiss you!" he roared in a -way that echoed through the whole house. "How long do you intend to sit -brooding here? Come, let us go. There's wine and play and jolly fellows -down there. Come!" - -Viätkin gave Romashov a sounding kiss and rubbed his face with his wet -moustache. - -"Well, well, that will do, Pavel Pavlich. Is that the way to go on?" -Romashov tried to defend himself against Viätkin's repeated caresses, -but in vain. - -"Hold out your hand, my friend. Osadchi is kicking up a row down there, -so there's not a pane of glass unbroken. Romashevich, I love you. Come -here and let me give you a real Russian kiss, right on the mouth--do you -hear?" - -Viätkin with his swollen face, glassy eyes, and stinking breath was -unspeakably forbidding to Romashov, but, as usual, the latter could not -ward off such caresses, to which he now responded by a sickly and -submissive smile. - -"Wait and you shall hear why I came," shrieked Viätkin, hiccupping and -stumbling about the room. "Something important, you may well believe. -Bobetinski was cleaned out by me to his last copeck. Then he wanted, of -course, to give an IOU. 'Much obliged, dear boy, but that cock won't -fight. But perhaps you have something left to pledge.' Then he drew out -his revolver--here it is, by the way." Viätkin drew from his breeches -pocket, which followed, turned inside out, a choice little, -well-constructed revolver protected by a chamois-leather case. "As you -see, dear boy, the Mervin type. 'Well,' I said to him, 'how much will -you venture on that--twenty--ten--fifteen?' And can you imagine such a -curmudgeon? The first time only a rouble, on the 'colour,' of course. -But all the same--hey, presto! slap-bang! After five raisings the -revolver was mine and the cartridges too. And now you shall have it, -Romashevich, as a keepsake of our old friendship. Some day you will -always think of me thus: 'Viätkin was always a brave and generous -officer.' But what are you doing? Are you writing verses?" - -"Well, well, what have you brought this for, Pavel Pavlich? Put it -away." - -"All right. Perhaps you think it's no good? I could kill an elephant -with it. Will experiment with it at once. Where's that slave of yours? -He shall get us a target on the spot. Wait a second. -Hainán!--slave!--squire-at-arms!--hi!" - -Viätkin rolled out of the door and then into Hainán's closet, where for -several minutes he was heard kicking up a row. Suddenly he returned in -triumph with Pushkin's bust under his arm. - -"Well I never, Pavel Pavlich! Don't make a fool of yourself. Let that -alone." But there was not sufficient force in Romashov's objections, and -Viätkin went on as he pleased. - -"Rubbish! You chatter like a starling. Now we'll put this on the -_tabouret_. Stand up, you ass. I'll teach you, by Jove!" - -With these adjurations to poor Pushkin, Viätkin returned to Romashov, -took his stand at the window-sill, and cocked his revolver. As he was -not sober, he swung the muzzle of the weapon here and there, and -Romashov expected every second that one of them would be killed. - -The distance was about five paces. Viätkin was long in taking aim, -during which the muzzle described some dangerous curves in the air. At -last the shot rang out, and in Pushkin's right cheek appeared a big -black, irregular hole. Romashov was for some moments deafened by the -report. - -"Well aimed!" shrieked Viätkin, rejoicing. "Here's your revolver, and -don't forget my friendship. Hurry on now with your uniform jacket and -come with us to the mess. Long live the glorious Russian Army!" - -"Pavel Pavlich, I really cannot to-day," protested Romashov weakly. He -could not defend himself. In his resistance to the other's strenuous -pressing, he neither found the proper decisive word nor the tone of -voice requisite for enforcing respect, and, blaming himself inwardly for -his despicable passive weakness, he wearily followed Viätkin, who with -his shaky legs bravely stumbled among the cucumbers and turnips in the -kitchen-garden. - - * * * * * - -The officers' meeting that night was more than usually noisy and stormy, -and finally assumed an absolutely mad character. First they caroused at -mess, then drove to the railway station to drink wine, after which the -orgy proceeded in the officers' casino. Romashov held aloof at first, -was angry with himself for yielding, and experienced the feeling of -loathing that overcomes every sober individual in a company of -drunkards. The laughter struck him as being artificial, the witticisms -poor, and the singing out of tune. But the hot red wine he drank at the -station mounted to his head and produced in him a noisy, nervous -merriment. A curtain of millions, as it were, of grains of sand dancing -round each other was spread before his eyes, which were heavy with wine, -and at the same time everything seemed to him so enjoyable, comic, and -humorous. - -The hours flew like seconds, and it was only when the lamps of the -_salle-à-manger_ were lighted that Romashov began to realize how the -time had sped and that night had set in. - -"Gentlemen," called some one, "the ladies are waiting for us. Let us be -off to Schleyfer's." - -"Hurrah!--to Schleyfer's, to Schleyfer's." - -The proposal was hailed with laughter and jubilation. All got up and the -chairs danced along the floor. This evening everything, moreover, went -off, as it were, automatically. Outside the mess-room door stood a whole -row of phaetons, but nobody knew who ordered them and how they came -there. Romashov was for some time tossed between moments of -semi-consciousness and the fully wide-awake state and alertness of mind -of a sober man. Suddenly he found himself sitting in a carriage beside -Viätkin. On the front seat sat a third person whose features Romashov -could not distinguish in the darkness of the night, however much he -might, by violent jerks of his body sidewards, bend forward to look -closely at the unknown. The latter's face was quite dark. Now it shrunk -up to the size of a man's fist, at another time it stretched itself out -awry, and then seemed to Romashov extraordinarily familiar. Romashov -suddenly burst out into a roar of laughter that sounded unnatural and -idiotic, and did not seem to come from himself, but from some stranger -in his immediate vicinity. - -"You're lying, Viätkin. I know very well, my dear fellow, where we are -going to," babbled Romashov, in a drunken, chaffing tone. "You're taking -me to the girls, you rascal." - -At that moment a carriage passed them with a deafening noise. By the -light of the lamp the outlines of a couple of brown country horses -dragging quickly along in an awkward and ridiculous gallop an open -carriage with a drunken coachman slashing his whip in a frantic way, and -four no less intoxicated officers, were reproduced for a second. - -Consciousness and the faculty of reflection returned to Romashov for a -moment. Yes, it could not be disputed; he was actually on his way to a -place where women surrendered their bodies to caresses and embraces for -payment in cash. "Ugh! after all, it's perhaps the same thing in the -end. Women are women," shouted a wild, brutish, impatient voice within -him. At the same time, there rang in his soul a lovely, far-away, -scarcely audible music--the memory of Shurochka, but in this unconscious -coincidence there was nothing low, defiling, or insulting. On the -contrary, the thought of her at this moment had a refreshing, soothing, -and at the same time exciting and inflaming effect on his heart. - -In a short time he would then find himself in close contact with that -curious, mysterious, and much-vaunted species of women that he had never -gazed on before. He dreamt of how he would meet their glances, take -their hands, and listen to their merry laughter and joyous songs, and he -felt that all this would bring him relief and consolation in his -incessant longing and torturing desire for Shurochka, the only woman in -the world who existed for him. In all these dreams, however, there was -not a trace of degraded, sensual lust. As a dead-tired bird on the wing -rushes, in the cold and darkness of an autumn night, blindly against the -irresistibly attractive flood of light from the lighthouse, so, too, -his soul, tortured by a cruel and capricious woman, was drawn into this -sphere of undisguised, sensual tenderness and careless, boisterous -merriment. - -Suddenly the horses made a sharp swerve to the right, and at once the -noise of the carriage and the squeaking of the wheel-tyres ceased. The -carriage rocked here and there in the shallow cavities of the deep, -sandy road. Romashov opened his eyes. Far beneath him and on a wide -stretch of land, a multitude of small lights or lamps here and there -cast their faint, uncertain glimmer. Now they disappeared behind -invisible trees and houses, now they bobbed up before his eyes, and it -looked as if a huge, fantastic, disordered crowd of people or a -procession with torches and lanterns was moving forward down the road. -An acrid smell of wormwood, a big dark branch slowly waved up and down -over the heads of the parties who were being driven along, and, at the -same time, they found themselves suddenly environed by a new -atmosphere--cold, raw, and moist, as if it had arisen from a vault. - -"Where are we?" asked Romashov. - -"At Savalie," shrieked in reply the dark figure sitting on the box-seat, -in whom Romashov now recognized Lieutenant Epifanov. "We're at -Schleyfer's, you know. Haven't you ever been here before?" - -"Go to hell," grumbled Romashov. Epifanov kept on laughing. - -"Hark you, Yuri Alexievich, shall we tell the little darlings in a -whisper what an innocent you are? Later on, you'll put all our noses out -of joint." - -Again Romashov felt, half-unconsciously, that he had sunk back into -impenetrable darkness, until he, as suddenly, found himself standing in -a large room with parqueted floor and Vienna chairs along the walls. -Over the entrance to the room, and over three other doors leading to -small, dark chambers, lay hangings of red and yellow flowered cotton. -Curtains of the same stuff and colour flickered in the draught from the -windows opened on a gloomy backyard. Lamps were burning on the walls, -but the great room was filled with smoke and the smell of meat from the -adjacent kitchen; and the fumes were only dispersed occasionally by the -balmy spring air entering through the window, and by the fresh scent of -the white acacias that bloomed outside the house. - -About ten officers took part in this excursion. All seemed bent on -solving the delicate problem of contriving to shriek, laugh, and bawl at -the same time. Romashov strolled about the room with a feeling of naïve, -unreflecting enjoyment, and, with a certain astonishment and delight, -gradually recognized all his boon-companions--Biek-Agamalov, Lbov, -Viätkin, Epifanov, Artschakovski, Olisár, etc. Even Staff-Captain -Lieschtschenko was discovered there. He sat huddled up in a window with -his usual, eternal, resigned _Weltschmerz_ grin. On a table stood a -respectable row of bottles containing ale and a dark, thick, syrupy -cherry-cordial. No one knew who had ordered all these bottles. They were -thought--like so much else that night--to have come of their own accord. -Romashov drank, proposed healths, and embraced every one he met, and -began to feel sticky and messy about his lips and fingers. - -There were five or six women in the room. One of them--a girl of -fourteen dressed as a page, with rose-coloured stockings--sat on -Biek-Agamalov's knee and played with his epaulettes. Another--a big, -coarse blonde in a red silk _basquine_ and dark skirt, and with powdered -face, and broad, black, painted eyebrows--went straight up to Romashov. - -"Gracious, my good sir, why do you look so miserable? Come with me into -that room," she added in a whisper. - -She threw herself carelessly on a table, and there sat with one leg over -the other. Romashov noticed how the strong outlines of her well-formed -knee were shown off by the thin skirt. A shudder thrilled him, and his -hands trembled. - -"What's your name?" - -"Mine? Malvina." She turned away with an air of indifference, and began -swinging her legs. "Order me a cigarette." - -Two Jewish musicians came on the scene, one with a violin, the other -with a tambourine. Soon a vulgar, hackneyed, screeching polka tune was -heard in the room, whereupon Olisár and Artschakovski at once began to -dance the _cancan_. They hopped round the room first on one leg, then on -the other, snapped their fingers, wagged their hips, and bent backwards -and forwards with vulgar, cynical gestures. This unattractive ballet was -suddenly interrupted by Biek-Agamalov, who jumped off the table, -shrieking in his sharp, penetrating voice-- - -"To hell with the _starar_! Out with the ragtag and bobtail!" - -Down by the door stood two young exquisites, both of whom had many -acquaintances among officers, and had even been guests at the regimental -soirées. One of them was a Treasury official, the other a landed -proprietor and brother of the police magistrate of the town. They both -belonged to the so-called "cream" of Society. - -The Treasury official turned white, but forced a smile, and answered in -an affable tone-- - -"Excuse me, gentlemen, but can't we join? We are old acquaintances, you -know. My name is Dubiezki. We should not interfere with you at all." - -"Possibly in making love, but not when the fight begins," added the -magistrate's brother, who tried to adopt a good-humoured tone. - -"Out of this!" screamed Biek-Agamalov. "March to the door!" - -"Gentlemen, by all means, put the _starar_ out," sneered Artschakovski. - -A horrible confusion arose in the room. Tables and chairs were thrown -over; the men shrieked, laughed, and stamped with all their might. The -flames of the lamps rose like fiery tongues on high. The cold night air -penetrated through the open windows, but without any cooling or calming -effect on all these half-demented fighting-cocks. The two civilians had -already been thrown into the backyard, where they were heard fiercely -screeching and threatening with tears in their voices-- - -"_Opritschniker_,[20] brigands! This affair will cost you dear. We shall -lodge a complaint with your commander, with the Governor." - -"Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo," Viätkin sneered in mockery, whilst stretching out of -the window. "Go to blazes!" - -It seemed to Romashov as if all the events of the day had followed one -another without a break, but also without the least intelligible -connection, just as if a series of wild pictures in loud and motley -colours had been unrolled before his eyes. Again were heard the scraping -of the violin and the tambourine's blustering noise. One of the -"partners" had now gone so far as to pirouette on the floor with nothing -but his shirt on. A pretty, slender woman, who had up to then escaped -Romashov's notice, with dishevelled hair over her bare neck, and sharp, -prominent shoulder-blades, wound her arms round poor Lieschtschenko's -neck and sang in his ear in her shrill soprano, and in unison with the -violin's awful melody: - - "When consumption sets its mark, - And you're lying pale and stark, - And doctors are seen fumbling round your couch." - -Bobetinski slung a glass of ale between the curtains of one of the -little, dark _cabinets_, whence very soon proceeded an angry, but -sleepy, thick voice-- - -"Aren't you ashamed, sir? Who dares ...? Such a low swine!" - -"I say! how long have you been here?" asked Romashov of the lady in the -red _basquine_, whilst, as it were, in an absent-minded way, he rested -his hand on her strong, warm knee. - -She made some answer, but he did not hear it. A fresh scene of savagery -had absorbed all his attention. Sub-lieutenant Lbov was driving before -him one of the musicians, and banging him on the head all the time with -the tambourine. The poor Jew, terrified out of his wits, ran from corner -to corner, screaming and babbling his unintelligible jargon, with wholly -ineffectual attempts to catch his long, fluttering coat-tails, and -incessantly glancing behind him from the corners of his eyes at his -unmerciful persecutor. Everybody was laughing. Artschakovski fell flat -on the floor, and wriggled with tears in his eyes and in alarming -convulsions of laughter. Directly afterwards the other Jew's piercing -yells were audible. Another of the company had snatched the violin, and -thrown it down with fearful violence. With a crashing sound that -harmonized, in an almost touching way, with the musician's desperate -cries for help, the instrument broke into a thousand fragments. What -followed this Romashov never perceived, inasmuch as, for several -minutes, he was in a sort of dark "nirvana." When he had somewhat -regained the use of his reason, he saw, as though in a fever-dream, that -all in the room were running round each other with wild shrieks and -gestures of despair. For an instant the whole swarm gathered round -Biek-Agamalov, only in the next instant to be scattered like chaff in -all directions. The majority sought safety in the little, dark -_cabinets_. - -"Out of it! I won't stand a single one!" shrieked Biek-Agamalov in -Berserker fury. He ground his teeth, stamped on the floor, and struck -about him with his clenched fists. His face was crimson; the veins in -his forehead from the roots of his hair to his nose stood like strained -ropes; his head was lowered like a bull's, and his unnaturally prominent -eyes with their bloodshot whites were terrifying. He was unable to utter -any human sounds, but groaned, like a wild beast, in a vibrating voice-- - -"Ah-ah-ah-ah!" - -Suddenly, whilst bending the upper part of his body to the left with the -suppleness of a panther, he drew his sabre, as quick as lightning, from -its sheath. The broad, sharp blade described, with a whistling sound, -several rapid circles over his head. - -In frantic terror every living creature fled helter-skelter from the -room through doors and windows, the women screaming hysterically, the -men trampling down all that lay in their way. Romashov was carried by -the current irresistibly towards the door, where an officer rushing past -caused him, by the sharp facet of his uniform-button, a long, bleeding -scratch on his face. The next moment all stood whooping and yelling in -the yard, except Romashov, who alone remained by the door of the room. -He felt his heart beating with increased force and quickness; but the -murderous, unbridled scene filled him not only with terror, but also -with an intoxicating feeling of savage, exulting defiance. - -"I will have blood!" screamed Biek-Agamalov, with gnashing teeth. The -sight of the terror he inspired deprived him of the last remains of -understanding and reflection. With frantic strength and rage he smashed, -with a few strokes, all the furniture nearest to him, and, after that, -hurled his sabre with such force at a large mirror that the glass -splinters hailed on all sides. With another blow he laid waste the -table, which was crowded with a number of bottles and glasses, the -fragments and contents of which were thrown all over the floor. - -But just at that moment cried a piercing voice of indescribable fury and -boldness-- - -"Fool! Cad!" - -This insult was hurled by the same bare-headed woman with naked arms as -had just embraced Lieschtschenko. This was the first time that Romashov -had noticed her. She was standing in a recess behind the stove, leaning -forward with clenched hands tightly pressed against her hips, and -pouring out an uninterrupted flow of "Billingsgate" with a rapidity and -readiness which the vilest market-woman might have envied. - -"Fool! Cad! Scum! I am not afraid of you! Fool! Fool! Fool!" - -Biek-Agamalov lowered his sabre, and seemed, for a moment, to lose all -power over himself. Romashov saw how his face grew whiter and whiter, -how his eyebrows puckered, and how the yellow pupils first darkened and -then hurled a blinding flash of diabolical hatred and rage which no -longer knew bounds. His knees gave way, and his head fell on his chest. -At that moment, Biek-Agamalov was no longer a human being. He was -transformed into a bloodthirsty wild beast straining every nerve for the -fatal leap. - -"Silence!" It sounded as if he had spat out the word. Speak he could -not. - -"Scoundrel, brute, beast, I shall not be silent!" shrieked the fury in -the stove corner, her body trembling all over at every word she hurled. - -Romashov felt himself getting whiter and whiter every moment. He felt a -sensation of void in his brain, a sensation of release from every -oppressive act of thought or reflection. A curious mixture of joy and -terror arose in his soul, just as the bubbles of sparkling wine ascend -to the edge of a goblet. He saw Biek-Agamalov, whilst continually -following the woman with his eyes, slowly raise his sabre above his -head. An irresistible flow of frantic jubilation, fear, inconsiderate -boldness, carried Romashov away. He rushed forward so rapidly that he -did not even hear Biek-Agamalov hiss his last question-- - -"Will you be silent? For the last time----" - -Romashov, with a force he never thought he was capable of, gripped -Agamalov's wrist. During the course of a few seconds and at a distance -of a couple of inches between their faces, the two officers eyed one -another without moving, stiff as if carved out of stone. Romashov heard -his comrade's quick, panting breath; he saw his eyes glitter with hate -and a thirst for revenge, and his lips foam with the spasmodic movements -of his lower jaw; but he felt that the fire of wrath would, in a few -minutes, be extinguished in this man who had never yet sought, of his -own accord, to curb his passions. But to Romashov this feeling of proud -triumph in a game of life and death, from which he now knew he should -come out the victor, was almost intolerable. He knew that all those who -were anxiously watching this scene from outside also realized in what -deadly danger he stood. Out in the yard and by the open windows there -brooded such a hush and quiet that, all of a sudden, a nightingale a few -paces off began to trill her joyous lay. - -"Let me go," came at last like a hoarse whisper from Biek-Agamalov's -bitten lips. - -"Biek, you must never strike a woman," replied Romashov calmly. "You -would blush for it as long as you lived." - -The last sparks of rage and madness now died out in Agamalov's eyes. -Romashov drew a deep breath as if from a long swoon. His heart beat -irregularly and quick, and his head was again heavy and feverishly hot. - -"Let me go!" shrieked Biek-Agamalov once more in a fierce tone, and -tried to release himself. Romashov felt he would no longer be able to -keep his hold of him; but he had no further dread of his wrath. He said -in a caressing brotherly tone, as he laid his hand on his comrade's -shoulder-- - -"Forgive me, Biek, but I know that a day will come when you will thank -me for this." - -Biek-Agamalov with a loud snap stuck his sabre into its sheath. - -"All right, confound you!" he screamed in an angry tone, in which, -however, there was a note of shame and confusion. "We'll settle this -matter afterwards. But what right have you----?" - -The valiant crowd in the yard now understood that all danger was over -for the present. With loud, but not quite natural, peals of laughter, -the lot now rushed into the room. But he now seemed extinguished, his -strength exhausted, and there was something apathetic and ironically -contemptuous about him. - -Now Madame Schleyfer herself--a massive lady with a hard look, small -dark pouches under her eyes, disappearing eyelashes, and great layers of -fat on her neck and bosom--entered the room. She attacked first one and -then the other of the officers; took tight hold of one by a button, of -another by a sleeve, and howled to each of them who could stand and -listen her everlasting song-- - -"Gentlemen, gentlemen, who will make good all this? Who will pay for the -mirror, the furniture, the bottles, the girls?" - -All this meanwhile was settled to the satisfaction of the authorities by -the same mysterious "benefactor" who had provided for everything else in -the course of this memorable excursion. The officers left the room in -groups. Every one of them inhaled with delight the mild, pure air of the -May night. Romashov felt all his being thrilled with a certain joyous -agitation. It seemed to him as if all traces of the day's orgies had -vanished from his brain, as if a pair of innocent fresh lips had -repurified and refreshed him by a soft kiss on his brow. - -Biek-Agamalov came up to him, took his hand, and said-- - -"Romashov, come and ride in my carriage. I wish you to do so." - -And when Romashov, on one occasion during the journey home, turned -towards the right to observe the awkward gallop of the horses, -Biek-Agamalov seized his hand and pressed it for a long time -warmly--nay, so hard that it almost caused pain. Not a word, however, -passed between the two officers during the whole way. - - - - -XIX - - -The violent emotion felt by every member of the company during the wild -scene we have just depicted found expression in a nervous irritability -which, on their return to the mess-room, took the form of reckless -arrogance and gross misbehaviour to all who happened to come across the -officers on their way home. A poor Jew coming along was stopped and -deprived of his cap. Olisár got up in the carriage, and insulted, in the -outskirts of the town, in the middle of the street, all passers-by in a -manner which cannot be decently described. Bobetinski whipped his -coachman for no reason whatever. The others sang and bawled with all -their might; only Biek-Agamalov, who rode beside Romashov, sat all the -time angry, silent, and taciturn. - -Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, the mess-rooms were -brilliantly illuminated and full of people. In the card and -billiard-rooms and at the buffet creatures with unbuttoned coats, -flaming faces, vacantly staring eyes and of uncertain gait, helplessly -collided with each other, heavily fuddled by the fumes of wine and -tobacco smoke. Romashov, who was walking about and nodding to several of -the officers, also found among them, to his great astonishment, -Nikoläiev. He was sitting by Osadchi, red in face and intoxicated, but -holding himself upright. On seeing Romashov approaching he eyed him -sharply for a few seconds, but afterwards turned abruptly aside, so as -to avoid holding out his hand to the latter, meanwhile conversing with -his neighbour with increased interest. - -"Viätkin, come here and sing," bellowed Osadchi over the heads of the -rest. - -"Yes, come let us sing," chanted Viätkin, in reply, parodying, -imitating, and caricaturing a melody from the Church ritual-- - - "Three small boys found lurching - Got an awful birching - At the parson's stile." - -Viätkin imitated in quick succession and in the same tone the strophes -recited in the remainder of the antiphon at Mass-- - - "Sexton, parson, and his clerk - Thought the smacking quite a lark. - Then the beadle said, 'By hell, - Nikifor, you smack right well.'" - - "Nikifor, you smack right well!" - -answered _pianissimo_ in complete harmony the hastily improvised choir -of drunken officers, seconded by Osadchi's softly rumbling bass voice. - -Viätkin conducted the singing, standing on a table in the middle of the -room, whilst stretching his arms in an attitude of benediction over the -heads of the "congregation." Now his eyes flashed terrifying glances of -threat and condemnation; at another time they were raised to heaven with -a languishing expression of infinite beatitude; then he hissed with rage -at those who sang out of tune; again he stopped in time by a scarcely -perceptible _tremolo_ of the palm of his hand a run to a misplaced -_crescendo_. - -"Staff-Captain Lieschtschenko, you're singing damnably. Damn it, what a -wretched ear!" roared Osadchi. "Keep quiet in the room, gentlemen. No -noise, please, when there's singing." - - "Once on a time a farmer so rich-- - Who used to like iced punch"-- - -continued Viätkin, in his improvised service of the Church. His eyes, -however, now began to smart dreadfully from the dense tobacco smoke. -Romashov was reminded by the wet and sticky tablecloth that he had not -washed his hands since dinner. He went out and made his way across the -yard to a side room called the "Officers' Shelter," which served as a -sort of lavatory. It was a cold, dismal little crib with only one -window. Several common cupboards stood along the wall, and between them, -in hospital fashion, were placed two beds, the sheets, etc., of which -were never changed. Not a man in the entire regiment could recollect -when this room was swept and cleaned. There was an intolerable stench -there, the main ingredients of which were rotting bedclothes, stinking -boots, and bad tobacco. The room was originally intended for officers of -other regiments who happened to be visiting the garrison town, but it -gradually became converted into a sort of _morgue_ for those who got -dead drunk at mess. It was almost officially designated as "the -mortuary," which name, by a dreadful irony of fate, received its full -justification from the fact that no less than two officers and one -soldier had committed suicide in it during the few years the regiment -had been garrisoned in the town. Moreover, not a year elapsed without -one suicide taking place among the officers of this regiment. - -When Romashov entered "the mortuary" he found two men sitting there on a -bed near the window. The room was dark, and it was some time before -Romashov recognized in one of the "guests" ex-Staff-Captain Klodt, -alcoholist and thief, and on those grounds expelled from the command of -his company. The other was a certain Ensign Solotuchin--a tall, lean, -bald-headed, worn-out rake and gambler, feared and despised wherever he -went for his evil, lying tongue and his conversation interlarded with -coarse cynicisms and improprieties--a veritable type of the ensigns of -the storybooks. - -Between these two worthy "birds of a feather" might be seen on the table -the dim outline of a schnapps bottle, an empty plate, and two full -glasses. The pair of boon companions were silent when Romashov entered -the room, and tried, as it were, to hide themselves in the darkness; but -when he leaned over them, they looked at him with a sly smile. - -"What, in the name of goodness, are you two doing here?" asked Romashov, -in alarm. - -"Hush!" Solotuchin made a mysterious warning gesture with his -forefinger. "Wait here, and don't disturb us." - -"Hold your jaw!" ordered Klodt in a whisper. - -At the same moment the rattling noise of a _telega_ was heard somewhere -in the distance. Then the two strangers raised their glasses, clicked -them together, and drained the contents. - -"But answer me. What is the meaning of it all?" repeated Romashov in the -same anxious tone. - -"My little greenhorn," replied Klodt in a significant whisper, "if you -must know, it's only our usual little morning repast; but now I hear -the _telega_, Ensign," Klodt went on to say as he turned to Solotuchin. -"It's time then to finish our drink and be off. What do you think of the -moonlight? Will it suit?" - -"My glass is empty already," replied Solotuchin, glancing out of the -window at the moon's slender, pointed sickle that stood drowsy and -sleepy in the sky, and hung down over the little slumbering town. "But -let's just wait a wee bit. S-sh! I thought I heard a dog barking." - -And again they bent towards one another to resume their mysterious -conversation, carried on in a low voice; the spluttering tone and -evident lack of coherence witnessed clearly enough that the schnapps had -begun to take effect. From the _salle-à-manger_ hard by came now and -then the melancholy, hollow tones of Viätkin's and Osadchi's improvised -Mass for the Dead, which had a weird and threatening ring about it in -the silent night. - -Romashov seized his head with both hands. - -"I beseech you, gentlemen, to stop this. I can't stand it any longer." - -"Go to the devil!" roared Solotuchin. "No, stop, dear boy--whither away? -But, by all that's unholy, you shall first drink a glass with two fine -fellows. Catch tight hold of him, Captain, I'll shut the door." - -With a yell of laughter the two scoundrels jumped up to seize Romashov; -but the latter's self-command was exhausted. The whole hideous -situation--this disgusting drinking-bout in the weird, dark room with -its insufferable, stifling atmosphere--this mysterious midnight meeting -between two individuals who were a danger to society--the vulgar -bellowing of the drunken officers and their blasphemous parody of the -Russian Mass--all this filled him with frantic terror and nausea. With -a piercing shriek, he thrust Solotuchin from him, and, trembling in -every limb, rushed deliberately from the mortuary. - -Common sense now urged him to go home, but a strange, unfathomable -inward force again drove him, against his will, to the mess-room. There -some of the wine-soaked company were asleep on the window-sills and -chairs. A stifling heat prevailed, and, in spite of the wide-open -windows, the drowsily burning lights and lamps were never reached by a -quickening draught of air. The poor, dead-tired soldiers who attended to -the waiting could scarcely stand on their legs, and every moment stifled -a yawn, but as yet none of the champion boozers had entertained a -thought of breaking up. - -Viätkin had again taken his place on a table, and was singing in his -high, caressive tenor voice-- - - "Swift as the ocean's - Roaring billows, - Vanishes life in eternity." - -There were several officers in the regiment with really beautiful -voices, which even now were very effective in spite of the drink. - -This simple, plaintive melody exercised, at this moment, an ennobling -influence on all, and more than one of them experienced a pricking, -remorseful feeling at the thought of his worthless, sinful life. - - "Once you're in your coffin, - Soon the world forgets your name," - -continued Viätkin in a voice of emotion, and his sleepy but good eyes -were dimmed with tears. Artschakovski seconded him with unimpeachable -care. To make his voice thrill he grasped his larynx with two fingers -and shook it. Osadchi accompanied it all with his heavy, long-drawn, -organ notes. - -After the singing there reigned a deep silence for a few moments. -Suddenly Osadchi began again to recite in a subdued tone and eyes cast -down-- - - "All ye who wander in sorrow's heavy, narrow road----" - -"No, that's enough of it," a voice exclaimed. "This is now, I suppose, -the tenth time we have taken up this cursed Mass of Requiem----" - -But the rest had already intoned the solemn melody that divides the -recitative of the antiphon, and once more, in the reeking and dirty -room, resounded the requiem over St. John of Damascus in clear, -full-voiced strains that express in so masterly a way the inconsolable -sorrow for death's inexorable cruelty-- - - "All ye who believe in Me enter into the joy of My Father." - -Artschakovski, who was as familiar with the ritual as the most -experienced choir-singer, at once repeated the following answer in -accordance with the text-- - - "With our whole soul we all praise," etc. - -And so the whole antiphon was chanted; but when Osadchi's turn came to -take up the recitation for the last time, he lowered his head like an -infuriated bull, the veins in his neck swelled, and as he directed his -melancholy, cruel, and threatening glances towards those present, he -declaimed in a half-singing tone, and in a voice that resembled the roar -of distant thunder-- - - "Give, O Lord, Thy departed slave, Nikifor, - A blessed departure hence and eternal rest." - -In the midst of this lofty and pious invocation he stopped short, and, -to the horror of the bystanders, uttered two words of the most -blasphemous, cynical, and disgusting import. - -Romashov jumped up, and thumped his fist, like a madman, on the table. - -"Be silent! I forbid this," he roared in a voice trembling with anger -and pain. "What are you laughing at, Captain Osadchi? You ought to be -ashamed. Your eyes are mocking, but I see and know that remorse, terror, -and the tortures of hell are raging in your heart." - -A hideous silence on the part of all followed this outbreak of temper. -Then a voice from the crowd was heard to exclaim-- - -"Is he drunk?" - -These three words relaxed all the terrible tension of the situation; but -at the same moment let loose afresh--just as a few hours previously in -Schleyfer's den of infamy--all the evil spirits of orgy. There was -shrieking, hooting, stamping, jumping, and dancing; the whole room was -turned in a trice into an indescribable, savage, motley chaos. Viätkin, -who jumped on to a table, hit his head against the big hanging lamp, -which then swayed in awful zigzag curves, producing for some time a -fantastic series of dissolving views on the ceiling and walls, on which -drunken, frantic human beings were depicted as marvellous, gigantic -shapes, or as huddled, dwarfish figures resembling embryos. - -The debauch seemed at last to reach its height. All these wretched -creatures were possessed, as it were, by a savage, exultant, ruthless -fiend who, mocking at all the laws of sense and decency, forced his -victims, by blasphemies, oaths, and all kinds of shamelessness, to -abdicate the last shreds of their human dignity. - -Romashov, in the smoke and stuffiness, suddenly caught sight of a person -with features distorted by rage and incessant hooting, which for that -reason seemed to him, in the first instant, unrecognizable. It was none -other than Nikoläiev, who, now foaming with hate and fury, roared to his -enemy: - -"You're a disgrace to the whole regiment, you and Nasanski! Not a word -or, by God! I'll----" - -Romashov felt that some one was pulling him, gently and cautiously, a -few paces backwards. He turned round and recognized Agamalov, but at the -same instant forgot him, and turned quickly round to Nikoläiev. White -with suppressed rage, he answered in a low, hoarse voice and a forced -and bitter smile-- - -"What reason have you to mention Nasanski's name? But perhaps you have -some private, secret cause for hating him?" - -"Rascal, scoundrel, your hour is come!" screamed Nikoläiev in a loud, -trembling voice. With flashing eyes he raised his tightly clenched fist -to Romashov's face, but the expected blow never fell. Romashov -experienced a momentary fear, together with a torturing, sickening -sensation in his chest and ribs, and he now noticed, for the first time, -that he was grasping some object with the fingers of his right hand. -Then with a rapid movement he threw the remains of his half-emptied -glass of ale into Nikoläiev's face. - -Instantly after this a violent blow in the region of his left eye struck -him like a deafening thunderclap, and with the howl of a wounded wild -beast, Romashov rushed at his foe. A heavy fall, and the two rolled over -one another on the ground with furious blows and kicks. A thick cloud of -dust eddied round the combatants; chairs and tables were flung in all -directions, but the two continued, with unabated fury, to force, in -turn, each other's head against the filthy floor, and panting and with -rattling throats, tried to tear each other to pieces. Romashov knew he -had managed somehow or other to get his fingers well into Nikoläiev's -mouth at one of the corners, and he strove with all his might to rend -Nikoläiev's cheek, with the object of destroying those hateful features -for all time. He himself, however, felt no pain when his head and elbows -were bumped time after time, in the course of the fight, against the -hard floor. - -He had not the slightest notion as to how the battle finally ended. He -suddenly found himself standing in a corner, plucked from the fight by -kindly hands, and, by the same well-meaning helper, prevented from -renewing his attack on Nikoläiev. Biek-Agamalov handed Romashov a glass -of water, and his teeth could be heard chattering, through the -convulsive twitchings of his lower jaw, against the side of the glass. -His uniform was torn to tatters in the back and elbows, and one -shoulder-strap swung hither and thither on its torn fastening. Romashov -was unable to speak, but his silent lips moved incessantly in fruitless -efforts to whisper audibly-- - -"I'll--show--him. I challenge him." - -Old Liech, who had been in a delightful slumber at the edge of his table -during all that fearful row, now arose fully awake, sober, and severe in -countenance, and, in a bitter and hectoring tone rarely employed by him, -said-- - -"Gentlemen, in my capacity as the eldest here present, I order you all -to leave the mess instantly, and to go to your respective quarters. A -report of what has taken place here to-night is to be handed in to the -commander of the regiment to-morrow." - -The order was obeyed without the slightest demur. All departed, cowed -and shamefaced, and consequently shy at meeting each other's glances. -Each individual dreaded to read in his comrade's eyes his own shame and -self-contempt, and they all gave one the impression of dirty little -malicious animals, to whose dim and undeveloped brains a gleam of human -understanding had suddenly managed to grope its way. - -Day began to dawn. A delightful, glorious morning with a clear, -fleckless sky, refreshing coolness, and infinite harmony and peace. The -moist trees, wrapped in thin, curling exhalations arising from the -earth, and scarcely visible to the eye, had just awakened silently and -imperceptibly from their deep, mysterious, nocturnal sleep. And when -Romashov, on his way home, glanced at them, at the sky, and at the grass -faintly sparkling like silver in the dew, he felt himself so low, vile, -degenerate, and disgusting that he realized, with unutterable -melancholy, how unworthy he was to be greeted by the innocent, smiling -child-eyes of awakening Nature. - - - - -XX - - -On that same day--it was Wednesday--Romashov received the following curt -official communication-- - - The Court of Honour of the--th Infantry Regiment hereby requests - Sub-lieutenant Romashov to attend at 6 p.m. the officers' - common-room. Dress: ordinary uniform. - -LIEUTENANT-COLONEL MIGUNOV, -_President of the Court_. - -On perusing the letter, Romashov could not restrain an ironical smile. -This so-called "ordinary uniform," i.e. undress uniform with -shoulder-knots and belt, was to be worn, under the most _extraordinary_ -circumstances, before the Court, for public reprimand, when appearing -for examination by the commander of his regiment, etc., etc. - -At 6 p.m. Romashov put in an appearance at the mess, and told the -orderly to send in his name to the president. The answer was to the -effect that he was to wait. Romashov sat down by an open window in the -dining-room, took up a paper and began to read; but he did not -understand a word of the contents: everything seemed to him so -uninteresting as he cast his eyes mechanically down one column after -another. Three officers who were in the mess before Romashov returned -his salutation with marked coldness, and continued their conversation in -a low voice, with the obvious intention of preventing Romashov from -catching what they were saying. Only one of them, Michin, pressed -Romashov's hand long and warmly, with moist eyes, blushing and -tongue-tied. He at once turned away, put on his cloak and hat hurriedly -and awkwardly, and ran out of the room. - -Nikoläiev shortly afterwards entered through the buffet. He was pale, -his eyelids were of a bluish hue, his left hand was shaking with -spasmodic twitches, and just below his temples a bluish swelling was -visible. At once the recollection of the fight on the previous day came -to Romashov with painful distinctness. He hung his head, frowned, and, -almost annihilated with shame, hid himself behind his newspaper. He -closed his eyes, and listened in nervous tension to every sound in the -room. - -Romashov heard Nikoläiev order a glass of cognac from the waiter, and -then greet one of the company. After that he walked up to where Romashov -was sitting, and passed him quite closely. Somebody left the room, the -door of which was shut again. A few seconds later Romashov heard in a -whispering tone behind him-- - -"Don't look back. Sit still and listen carefully to what I have to say." - -It was Nikoläiev. The newspaper shook in Romashov's hands. - -"As you're aware, all conversation between us is now forbidden; but damn -all these French niceties. What occurred yesterday can never be put -straight again, made little of, or be consigned to oblivion. In spite of -everything, however, I regard you as a man of conscience and honour. I -implore you--do you hear?--I implore you, not a word about my wife and -the anonymous letters. You understand me?" - -Romashov, who was hidden by the newspaper from the eyes of his brother -officer, made a slow inclination of his head. The sound of steps -crunching the sand was audible from the courtyard. Romashov allowed a -few minutes to elapse, after which he turned round and glanced through -the window. Nikoläiev had gone. - -"Your Honour!" the orderly suddenly stood, as if he had risen from the -earth, at Romashov's side. "I am ordered to ask you to walk in." - -Along one side of the wall were placed several card tables, over which a -green cloth had been spread. Behind these tables sat the members of the -court, with their backs to the window. In consequence of this, it was -difficult to distinguish their faces. In the midst of them, in an -arm-chair, was seated Lieutenant-Colonel Migunov, the president--a fat, -pursy man without a neck, but with big, round shoulders which protruded -in quite an unnatural manner. On each side of Migunov sat -Lieutenant-Colonels Rafalski and Liech, and moreover, on the right, -Osadchi and Peterson; on the left, Captain Duvernois and the commissary -to the regiment, Staff-Captain Doroshenko. The table in front of all -these gentlemen was virtually empty, except that before Doroshenko, the -court prosecutor-in-ordinary, lay a heap of papers. It was cold and dark -in the great, bare room, although out-of-doors the sunshine was -gloriously warm. Everywhere the nose was assailed by a drowsy smell of -mustiness and rotting, moth-eaten furniture. - -The president laid his big, white, fat hands on the tablecloth, examined -them minutely, and then began in a dry, official tone-- - -"Sub-lieutenant Romashov, the Officers' Court of Honour, which meets -to-day by order of the commander of the regiment, is directed to -examine closely into the circumstances of the deplorable and, to the -officers as a body, disgraceful scene that took place between you and -Lieutenant Nikoläiev last night, and it is incumbent on you to render to -us a most punctilious account of what you have to say with regard to -this painful affair." - -Romashov stood before his judges with his arms hanging down, and plucked -at the fur lining of his cap. He felt like a hunted animal, but at the -same time as clumsy, feeble, and indifferent to everything as a -schoolboy just "ploughed" at an examination is to his teachers' threats -and his school-fellows' jeers. Coughing and stammering, in unconnected -phrases and with contradictions and repetitions, Romashov began his -report. At the same time, and whilst slowly observing the high -"tribunal" seated before him, he made a sort of appraisement of the -private or personal feelings of its individual members towards him. -"Migunov has a heart of stone, and it is a matter of supreme -indifference to him how the affair turns out; but the place of honour as -president and the great responsibility attached to it are, in the -highest degree, flattering to his vanity. Lieutenant-Colonel 'Brehm' is -looking miserable. Oh, you good old chap, perhaps you are sitting -thinking of that ten-rouble note which was never returned to you? Old -Liech looks glum. He's sober to-day in honour of the occasion, but the -pouches under his eyes are bigger than usual. He's not my enemy, but has -so many sins of his own to answer that he must take advantage of the -occasion, and play the part of guardian and protector of morality and -the 'honour of an officer.' So far as Osadchi and Peterson are -concerned, they are both notoriously my enemies. By invoking the law, I -might certainly challenge Osadchi--the whole of the row began through -his blasphemously parodying the Mass for the Dead--but what then? The -result in any case will be the same. Peterson smiles out of one corner -of his mouth in his usual snake-like way. I am just wondering what share -he had in those anonymous letters. Duvernois--a sleepy beast, whose -great, troubled eyes put one in mind of a cuttlefish's. Ah, yes, I've -never been one of Duvernois's favourites, and just as little of -Doroshenko's. Yuri Alexievich, my dear boy, the prospect does indeed -look gloomy for you." - -"One instant, if you please," interrupted Osadchi. "President, will you -permit me to put a question?" - -"Certainly," replied Migunov, with a gracious nod. - -"Tell me, Sub-lieutenant Romashov," began Osadchi, in an affectedly -imposing and drawling tone, "where were you before you came to the mess -in such an inexcusable condition?" - -Romashov blushed deeply, and felt big drops of sweat on his forehead. - -"I was--I was," he stammered, "I was in a brothel," he added almost in a -whisper. - -"Ha, ha--in a brothel," repeated Osadchi, as he purposely raised his -voice and pronounced every word with unsparing distinctness. "And no -doubt you had drinks there." - -"Yes, I had been drinking," answered Romashov, in an abrupt tone. - -"I have no wish to put any more questions," said Osadchi, turning with a -bow to the president. - -"Sub-lieutenant, be good enough to continue your report," resumed -Migunov, "You remember you have acknowledged that you threw the glass -of ale at Nikoläiev--well?" - -Romashov began his story again as unmethodically and unconnectedly as -before, but honourably endeavouring not to give any details. He had -already, in an indirect way and with much shame, succeeded in expressing -the regret he felt at his unworthy conduct, when he was once more -interrupted, this time by Captain Peterson. The latter was rubbing his -long, yellow-wax coloured hands with their sharp, dirty finger-nails -just as if he were washing himself, and said in his studiously -polite--nay, almost friendly--thin, wheedling voice-- - -"Ah, all that is quite fit and proper, and such a voluntary confession, -in a way, does you credit; but tell me, were you not, before this -painful story began, in the habit of visiting Lieutenant Nikoläiev's -house?" - -Romashov drew himself up and, looking straight, not at Captain Peterson, -but at Migunov, replied bluntly: - -"That is true, but I cannot understand what that has to do with the -matter." - -"Pray don't get excited," exclaimed Peterson. "I only want you to answer -my questions. Tell me then, was there any special cause of mutual enmity -between you and Lieutenant Nikoläiev? I do not mean any difference in -the service, but a cause of a quite--er--if I may so put it, domestic -nature?" - -Romashov pulled himself up to his full height, and his glance pierced -with undisguised hatred his enemy's treacherous, black, consumptive -eyes. - -"I have not visited Lieutenant Nikoläiev's home more frequently than -those of my other acquaintances," he replied in a hard and cutting tone. -"No previous enmity has existed between us. The whole thing happened -unexpectedly and accidentally, when we were both the worse for liquor." - -"Heh, heh, heh, we have already heard about the insobriety," Captain -Peterson chimed in; "but I will ask you once more, had not an unfriendly -meeting already taken place between you and Lieutenant Nikoläiev? I do -not for an instant suggest that you had quarrelled or come to blows, but -quite simply that--how shall I put it?--you were a little at variance in -your views of certain scandalous reports and intrigues?" - -"President, am I bound to reply to all questions that are put to me?" -exclaimed Romashov. - -"That rests entirely with you," replied Migunov coldly. "You can, if you -wish, absolutely refuse to answer. You can also commit your answer to -writing. That is your privilege." - -"In such case I hereby declare that I will not answer any of Captain -Peterson's questions, and that not only in my interest but in his." - -After Romashov had answered a few questions of minor importance the -examination was declared closed. Nevertheless, he had on two occasions -to give the court supplementary information, first in the evening of the -same day, and then again on the day following, viz., Thursday morning. -However careless and inexperienced Romashov might be in all the -practical circumstances of life, he nevertheless saw soon enough that -the court was performing its functions in the most negligent and -indiscreet way, and had therefore been guilty, not only of a revolting -lack of tact, but also of utter illegality. In defiance of Section 149 -of the "Statute concerning Discipline," by which every communication to -unauthorized persons of what takes place at such examinations is in -plain language strictly forbidden, the members of the "Court of Honour" -did not scruple to relate everything straight off to their wives and -relations. The latter spread the scandal still further among the other -ladies of "Society," who in their turn discussed the matter with their -maidservants, charwomen, etc. Before twenty-four hours had elapsed -Romashov was the talk of the entire town and "hero of the day." When he -passed along the street he was gazed at from windows and doors, between -the hedge-posts of backyards, and from the vantage of garden-bushes and -arbours. Women from a good distance off pointed at him with their -finger, and he often heard his name whispered behind his back. Nobody in -the town doubted that a duel between him and Nikoläiev was -inevitable--nay, they even began to bet about the upshot of it. - -As Romashov was passing Lykatschev's house on Thursday morning he -suddenly heard his name shouted. - -"Yuri Alexievich, Yuri Alexievich, come here." - -Romashov stopped, and soon discovered Katya Lykatschev standing on a -bench inside the fence. She was still in morning dress, which chiefly -consisted of a _kimono_, the triangular arrangement of which in front -left the delicate virginal neck wholly exposed. And she was altogether -so fresh and rosy that for an instant Romashov even felt light at heart. - -Katya leant over the fence to enable Romashov to reach her hand, which -was still cool and moist from the morning bath. She began at once to -chatter and lisp at her usual pace: - -"Where have you been all this time? You ought to be ashamed of yourself, -forgetting your friends in that way! _Zoi, zoi, zoi_--hush! I have long -known everything, everything." She stared at Romashov with great -terror-stricken eyes. "Take this and hang it round your throat. Hear and -obey at once. Look, if you please." - -From the fold of her _kimono_, straight from her bosom, she drew out an -amulet that hung by a silk cord, and shyly put it into Romashov's hand. -The amulet still felt balmy from its nest against the young woman's warm -body. - -"Will it help?" asked Romashov, in a jesting tone. "What is it?" - -"That's a secret, and don't you dare to laugh, you ungodly creature. -_Zoi, zoi!_" - -"Hang it, if I'm not beginning to be a man of note," thought Romashov, -as he said good-bye to Katya. "Splendid girl!" But he could not prevent -himself, though it might be for the last time, from thinking of himself -in the third person: - -"And over the old warrior's rugged features stole a melancholy smile." - -On that same evening he and Nikoläiev were again summoned to the Court. -The two enemies stood before the green table almost side by side. They -did not once look at each other, but they equally felt each other's -high-strung emotion, and were, in consequence, still more excited. Their -eyes were fixed, as though by magnetism, on the president's face when he -at last began to read the verdict of the Court. - -"The members of the Officers' Court of Honour of the--th Regiment" (here -followed their Christian and surnames in full), "under the presidency of -Lieutenant-Colonel Migunov, have inquired into the matter of the fight, -in the mess, between Lieutenant Nikoläiev and Sub-lieutenant Romashov, -and the Court, by reason of the serious nature of the case, finds a duel -is necessary to satisfy the wounded honour of the regiment. This decree -of the Court is ratified by the commander of the regiment." - -Lieutenant-Colonel Migunov took off his spectacles, and replaced them in -their case. - -"It is incumbent on you, gentlemen," he went on to say in a sepulchral -voice, "to choose two seconds apiece, who are to meet here at 9 p.m. to -agree as to the conditions of the duel. Moreover," added Migunov, as he -got up and put his spectaclecase in his back-pocket, "moreover, I must -tell you that the verdict just read possesses only a conditionally -binding force on you, viz. it rests in your free discretion either to -submit to the decree of the Court or"--Migunov paused and made a gesture -by which he meant to express his absolute indifference--"leave the -regiment. You ought, gentlemen, to keep apart. However, one thing more. -Not in my capacity as president of the Court, but as an old comrade, I -must advise you, gentlemen, for the avoidance of further unpleasantness -and complications prior to the duel, not to visit the mess. _Au -revoir._" - -Nikoläiev made a sharp, military "Face-about," and walked with rapid -steps out of the room. Romashov followed slowly after. He had no fear, -but he felt at once utterly lonely, abandoned, and shut off from the -entire world. When he reached the steps he gazed for some time, calm and -astonished, at the sky, the trees, a cow grazing on the other side of -the fence, the sparrows burrowing in the high road, and thought, "So -everything lives, struggles, and worries about its existence, except -myself. I require nothing and I have no interests. I am doomed; I am -alone, and dead already to this world." - -With a feeling of sickness and disgust he went to find Biek-Agamalov and -Viätkin, whom he had chosen for his seconds. Both granted his request; -Biek-Agamalov with a gloomy, solemn countenance, Viätkin with many -hearty handshakes. - -It was impossible for Romashov to return home. - -Never had the thought of his uncomfortable abode seemed so repulsive to -him as at the present moment. In these gloomy hours of spiritual -depression, abandonment, and weariness of life, he needed a trusty, -intelligent, and sympathetic friend--a man with brains and heart. - -Then he thought of Nasanski. - - - - -XXI - - -Nasanski was, as always, at home. He had only just awakened from a heavy -sleep following intoxication, and was lying on his back with only his -underclothing on and his hands under his head. In his troubled eyes -might be read sickness of life and physical weariness. His face had not -yet lost its sleepy and lifeless expression when Romashov, stooping over -his friend, said in a troubled and uncertain voice-- - -"Good-day, Vasili Nilich. Perhaps I have come at an inconvenient time?" - -"Good-day," replied Nasanski, in a hoarse and weak voice. "Any news? Sit -down." - -He offered Romashov his hot, clammy hand, but looked at him, not as at a -dear and ever-welcome friend, but as it were a troublous dream-picture -that still lingered after his drunken sleep. - -"Aren't you well?" asked Romashov shyly, as he threw himself down on the -corner of the bed. "In that case I'll go at once, I won't disturb you." - -Nasanski lifted his head a couple of inches from the pillow, and by an -effort he peered, with deeply puckered forehead, at Romashov. - -"No--wait. Oh, how my head aches! Listen, Georgi Alexievich. I see that -something unusual has happened. If I could only collect my thoughts! -What is it?" - -Romashov looked at him with silent pity. Nasanski's whole appearance -had undergone a terrible change since the two friends had last seen each -other. His eyes were sunken and surrounded by black rings; his temples -had a yellow hue; the rough, wrinkled skin over his cheek-bones hung -limply down, and was partly concealed by the sticky, wet tufts of hair -that drooped. - -"Nothing particular. I only wanted to see you. To-morrow I am to fight a -duel with Nikoläiev, and I was loath to go home. But nothing matters -now. _Au revoir._ You see--I had nobody else to talk to and my heart is -heavy." - -Nasanski closed his eyes, and his features made a still more painful -impression. It was evident that he had, by a really abnormal effort of -will, tried to recover consciousness, and now, when he opened his eyes, -a spark of keen understanding was at last visible in his glance. - -"Well, well, I'll tell you what we'll do----" Nasanski turned on his -side by an effort and raised himself on his elbow. "But first give -me--out of the cupboard, you know---- No, let the apples be--there -should be a few peppermint drops--thanks, my friend. I'll tell you what -we'll do---- Faugh, how disgusting! Take me out into the fresh air. Here -it's intolerable. Always the same hideous hallucinations. Come with me; -we'll get a boat, then we can chat. Will you?" - -With a stern face, and an expression of utter loathing on his -countenance, he drained glass after glass. Romashov observed Nasanski's -ashy complexion gradually assume a deeper hue, and his beautiful blue -eyes regain life and brilliancy. - -When they reached the street they took a fly and drove to the river -flowing past the very outskirts of the town, which there swells out to a -dam, on one side of which stood a mill driven by turbines, an enormous -red building belonging to a Jew. On the other shore stood a few -bathing-houses, and there, too, boats might be hired. Romashov sat by -the oars, and Nasanski assumed a half-recumbent position in the stern. - -The river was very broad here, the stream weak, the banks low and -overgrown with long, juicy grass that hung down over the water, and out -of it rose tall green reeds and masses of big, white water-lilies. - -Romashov related the particulars of his fight with Nikoläiev. Nasanski -listened abstractedly and gazed down at the river, which in lazy, -sluggish eddies flowed away like molten glass in the wake of the boat. - -"Tell me candidly, Romashov, have you any fear?" asked Nasanski, in a -low voice. - -"Of the duel? No, I'm not afraid of that," replied Romashov irritably, -but he became abruptly silent, whilst, in the flash of a second, he saw -himself standing face to face with Nikoläiev, and with hypnotized eyes -gazing at the black, threatening muzzle of his revolver. "No, no," added -Romashov hastily, "I will not lie and boast that I'm not afraid. On the -contrary, I think it terrible; but I also know that I shall not behave -like a coward, and that I shall never apologize." - -Nasanski dipped the tips of his fingers in the softly rippling water, -warm with the evening glow, and said slowly, in a weak voice often -interrupted by coughing: - -"Ah, my friend, my dear Romashov, why will you do this thing? Only think -if what you say is true, and you are not a coward. Why not then show -your moral courage in a still higher degree by refusing to fight this -duel?" - -"He has insulted me, struck me--on the face," replied Romashov, with -newly kindled, burning indignation. - -"Well, admitting that," resumed Nasanski gently, with his tender, -sorrowful eyes fixed on Romashov, "what does that signify? Time heals -all wounds; everything in the world is buried and disappears, even the -recollection of this scandal. You yourself will in time forget both your -hatred and your sufferings; but you'll never forget a man you have -killed. He will stand ever at your side, at the head of your bed, at -your dinner-table, when you are alone, and when you are amidst the -bustle of the world. Empty-heads, idiots, pretentious imitators and -parrots will, of course, at all times solemnly assure you that a murder -in the course of a _duel_ is no murder. What madmen! No, a murder is, -and always will be, a murder. And the most horrible thing about it is -not in death and suffering, in pools of blood or in corpses, but -inasmuch as it deprives a human being of _the joys of life_. Oh, how -priceless is life!" exclaimed Nasanski suddenly, in a high voice and -with tears in his eyes. "Who do you suppose believes in the reality of -an existence after this one? Not you, or I, or any other man of sound -reason. Therefore death is feared by all. Only half-demented, ecstatic -barbarians or 'the foolish in the Lord' allow themselves to be deluded -into the notion that they will be greeted on the other side of the -grave, in the garden of Paradise, by the beatific hymns of celestial -eunuchs. Moreover, we have those who, silently despising such old wives' -fables and puerilities, cross the threshold of death. Others again -picture the empire of the grave as a cold, dark, bare room. No, my -friend, there is no such future state. In death there is neither cold, -nor darkness, nor space, nor even fear--nothing but absolute -annihilation." - -Romashov shipped his oars, and it was only by observing the green shore -gently stealing by that one could tell that the boat was moving onwards. - -"Yes--annihilation," Romashov repeated slowly, in a dreamy tone. - -"But why cudgel your brains over this? Gaze instead at the living -landscape around you. How exquisite is life!" shouted Nasanski, with a -powerful and eloquent gesture. "Oh, thou beauty of the Godhead--thou -infinite beauty! Look at this blue sky, this calm and silent water, and -you will tremble with joy and rapture. Look at yon water-mill far in the -distance, softly moving its sails. Look at the fresh verdure of the bank -and the mischievous play of the sunbeams on the water. How wonderfully -lovely and peaceful is all this!" Nasanski suddenly buried his face in -his hands and burst out weeping; but he recovered his self-possession -immediately, and, without any shame for his tears, he went on to say, -while looking at Romashov with moist, glistening eyes: - -"No, even if I were to fall under the railway train, and were left lying -on the line with broken and bleeding limbs, and any one were to ask me -if life were beautiful, I should none the less, and even by summoning my -last remains of strength, answer enthusiastically, 'Ah, yes, even now -life is glorious.' How much joy does not sight alone give us, and so, -too, music, the scent of flowers, and woman's love? And then the human -understanding: thought which alone is our life's golden sun--the eternal -source of noble pleasure and imperishable bliss. Yurochka--pardon me -calling you so, my friend"--Nasanski held out his trembling hand to -Romashov as though entreating forgiveness--"suppose you were shut up in -prison, and you were doomed all your life to stare at crumbling bricks -of the wall of your cell--no, let us suppose that in your prison dungeon -there never penetrated a ray of light or a sound from the outer world. -Well, what more? What would that be in comparison with all the -mysterious terrors of death? Yet if thought, memory, imagination, the -spirit's faculty of creation remained, you would not only be able to -live, but even find moments of enthusiasm and the joy of life." - -"Yes, life is priceless," exclaimed Romashov, interrupting him. - -"It's magnificent," Nasanski went on to say hotly, "yet people wish two -rational creatures to kill each other for a woman's sake, or to -re-establish their so-called honour! But who is it then he kills?--this -miserable living clod of earth that arrogates to himself the proud name -of _man?_ Is it himself or his neighbour? No, he kills the gracious -warmth and lifegiving sun, the bright sky, and all nature with its -infinite beauty and charm. He kills that which never, never, never will -return. Oh, what madmen!" - -Nasanski ceased, shook his head sorrowfully, and collapsed. The boat -glided into the reeds. Romashov again took the oars. High, hard, green -stalks bowed slowly and gravely, gently scraping the boat's gunwale. -Amid the tall rushes there was shade and coolness. - -"What shall I do?" asked Romashov, scowling and angry. "Shall I enter -the reserves? Where shall I go?" - -Nasanski looked at him with a gentle smile. - -"Listen, Romashov, and look me straight in the face--that's right. No, -don't turn away, look at me, and answer on your honour and conscience. -Do you really think that you are now serving any good, useful, and -reasonable purposes? I know you much better than all the rest--yes, I -know your inmost soul, and I know you do _not_ think so." - -"No," replied Romashov, in a firm voice, "you are right. But what will -become of me?" - -"Well, be calm. Only look at our officers. Oh, I'm not talking now of -the fops of the Emperor's lifeguards who dance at the Court balls, talk -French, and are kept by their parents or by their more or less lawful -wives. No, I'm thinking of ourselves--poor officers in the line who, -nevertheless, constitute the very 'pick' of the irresistible and -glorious Russian Army. What are we? Well, mere fag-ends--_le beau -reste_, despised pariahs; at best the sons of poor, poverty-stricken -infantry Captains, ruined in body and soul, but for, by far, the most -part consisting of collegians, seminarists, etc., who have failed. Look, -for instance, at our regiment. What are they who remain for any time in -the service? Poor devils burdened with large families, veritable beggars -ready for every villainy and cruelty--ah, even for murder--and are not -even ashamed of abstracting the poor soldier's scanty pay so that, at -any rate, cabbage soup may not be lacking on their table at home. Such -an individual is commanded to shoot. Whom? And for what? It is all the -same to him. He only knows that at home there are hungry mouths, dirty, -scrofulous, rickety children, and with dull countenance he splutters, -like another woodpecker, his eternal, unvarying answer, 'My oath.' And -if there's a spark of ability or talent in any one, it is extinguished -in schnapps. Seventy-five per cent. of our officers are diseased through -vice. If any one in the regiment happens to scrape through his entrance -examination for the Staff College--which, by the way, hardly happens -with us once in five years--he is pursued by hatred. The most servile -and fawning individuals, or those who have managed to obtain a little -patronage, as a rule, get into the police or gendarmes. Should they have -in their veins a few drops of noble blood, they may perhaps get a -circuit-judgeship in the country. Let us suppose that a man of -education, fine feeling, and heart is forced to remain in the regiment. -What do you suppose is his fate? To him the service is an intolerable -yoke and a perpetual source of humiliation, suffering, and -self-contempt. Every one tries to procure an occupation of another sort -which soon entirely engrosses him. One is seized with a mania for -collecting; another watches impatiently for the evening so that he may, -with great trouble and waste of time, embroider small crosses and other -gewgaws for an absolutely unnecessary ornamental mat. A third fills his -life by the help of a little metal saw, and produces at last an -exquisite, perforated frame for his own portrait. And the thought of all -this absurd and worthless work secretly occupies their minds during the -insufferable hours of drill. Cards, drinking-bouts, disgusting swagger -about the favours women have bestowed on them--all this I might be able -to pass over in silence. The most repulsive thing, however, is the cruel -eagerness, conspicuous in so many officers, to gain a name as martinets -and brutes to their men, as, for instance, Osadchi and Company, who with -impunity knock out the teeth and eyes of their young recruits. Perhaps -you are not aware that Artschakovski so maltreated his servant in my -presence that it was all I could do to help the victim away alive. Blood -splashed over the floor and walls. Well, how do you think the affair -ended? You shall hear. The soldier complained to the Captain of his -company; the latter sent him with a sealed order to the pay-sergeant, -who, in strict obedience to his superior's orders, further belaboured -with his fists the soldier's swollen and bleeding face for the space of -half an hour. The same soldier complained twice at the General -Inspection, but without redress." - -Nasanski stopped and began nervously rubbing his temples with the palm -of his hand. - -"Wait," he went on to say. "Ah, how one's thoughts fly! Isn't it an -unpleasant sensation to know that our thoughts lead us, and not we our -thoughts? Well, to resume what we were talking about. Among our senior -remaining officers we have also other types, for instance, Captain -Plavski. On his petroleum stove he cooks his own beastly food, goes -about in rags, and, out of his monthly forty-eight roubles twelve times -a year, he puts twenty-five in the bank, where he has a sum of 2,000 -roubles on deposit, which he lends to his brother officers at an -outrageously usurious rate of interest. And you think, perhaps, that -this is innate or inherited greed? Certainly not; it is only a means of -filling up the soul-destroying hours of garrison service. Then we have -Captain Stelikovski, a strong, able, talented man. Of what does his life -consist? Oh, in seducing young, inexperienced peasant girls. Finally, -our famous oddity, Lieutenant-Colonel 'Brehm.' A good-natured, kindly -ass--a thoroughly good fellow, who has but one interest in life--the -care of his animals. What to him signify the service, the colours, the -parades, censures of his superiors, or the honour of the warrior? Less -than nothing." - -"'Brehm' is a fine fellow. I like him," interrupted Romashov. - -"He certainly is that, my friend," Nasanski admitted in a weary tone, -"and yet," he went on to say with a lowering countenance, "if you knew -what I once saw at the manoeuvres. After a night march we were -directly afterwards to advance to attack. Both officers and men were -utterly done up. 'Brehm' was in command, and ordered the buglers to -sound the charge, but the latter, goodness knows why, signalled the -reserve to advance. 'Brehm' repeated his order once, twice, thrice, but -in vain; the result was the same. Then our excellent, kind-hearted -'Brehm' gallops up to the unsuspecting bugler, and bangs his fist, with -all his force, against the bell of the trumpet. I saw with my own eyes -the trumpeter spitting out blood and broken teeth." - -"Oh, my God!" groaned Romashov in disgust. - -"Yes, they are all alike, even the best and most tender-hearted among -them. At home they are splendid fathers of families and excellent -husbands; but as soon as they approach the barracks they become -low-minded, cowardly, and idiotic barbarians. You ask me why this is, -and I answer: Because nobody can find a grain of sense in what is called -military service. You know how all children like to play at war. Well, -the human race has had its childhood--a time of incessant and bloody -war; but war was not then one of the scourges of mankind, but a -continued, savage, exultant national feast to which daring bands of -youths marched forth, meeting victory or death with joy and pleasure. -The bravest, strongest, and most cunning was chosen as leader, and so -long as success attended his banner, he was almost accorded divine -worship, until at last he was killed by his subjects, in order to make -room for a luckier and more powerful rival. Mankind, however, grew in -age and wisdom; people got weary of the former rowdy, bloody games, and -became more serious, thoughtful, and cautious. The old Vikings of song -and saga were designated and treated as pirates. The soldier no longer -regarded war as a bloody but enjoyable occupation, and he had often to -be dragged to the enemy with a noose round his neck. The former -terrifying, ruthless, adored _atamens_ have been changed into cowardly, -cautious _chinóvniks_,[21] who get along painfully enough on never -adequate pay. Their courage is inspired by drink. Military discipline -still exists, but it is based on threats and dread, and undermined by a -dull, mutual hatred. To make a long story short, the whilom fine, proud -'pheasants' are of faded hue and look ruffled. Only one more parallel -resembling the foregoing can I adduce from universal history, to wit, -monasticism. The legend of its origin is touching and beautiful, its -mission was peaceful, benevolent, and civilizing, and its existence most -certainly an historic necessity. But centuries pass away, and what do we -see now? Hundreds of thousands of impostors, idle, licentious, and -impudent, who are hated and despised even by those who think they need -their religious aid. And all this abomination is carefully hidden under -a close veil of tinsel and finery, and foolish, empty ceremonies, in all -ages the charlatan's _conditio sine quâ non_. Is not this comparison of -mine between the monastic orders and the military caste logical? Here -the cassock and the censer; there the gold-laced uniform and the clank -of arms. Here bigotry, hypocritical humility, sighs, and sugary, -sanctimonious, unmeaning phrases; there the same odious affectations, -although of another kind--swaggering manners, bold, and scornful -looks--'God help the man who dares to insult me!'--padded shoulders, -cock-a-hoop defiance. Both the former and the latter class live like -parasites on society, and are profoundly conscious of that fact, but -fear--especially for their bellies' sake--to publish it. And both remind -one of certain little blood-sucking animals which eat their way most -obstinately into the surface of a foreign body in proportion as it is -decomposed." - -Nasanski stopped and spat with withering contempt. - -"Go on, go on," exclaimed Romashov eagerly. - -"But other times are coming, indeed have come. Yes, tremendous surprises -and changes are about to take place. You remember my saying on one -occasion that for a thousand years there has existed a genius of -humanity that seldom reveals itself, but whose laws are as inexorable as -they are ruthless; but the wiser men become, so much more deeply do they -penetrate the spirit of those laws. And I am convinced that, sooner or -later, everything in this world must be brought into equilibrium in -accordance with these immutable laws. Justice will then be dispensed. -The longer and more cruel the slavery has been, so much more terrible -will be the day of reckoning for tyrants. The greater the violence, -injustice, and brutality, so much more bloody will be the retribution. -Oh, I am firmly convinced that the day will dawn when we 'superior -officers,' we 'almighty swells,' darlings of the women, drones and -brainless swaggerers, will have our ears boxed with impunity in streets -and lanes, in vestibules and corridors, when women will turn their backs -on us in contempt, and when our own affectionate soldiers will cease to -obey us. And all this will happen, not because we have brutally -ill-treated men deprived of every possibility of self-defence; not -because we have, for the 'honour' of the uniform, insulted women; not -because we have committed, when in a state of intoxication, scandalous -acts in public-houses and public places; and not even because we, the -privileged lick-spittles of the State, have, in innumerable battlefields -and in pretty nearly every country, covered our standards with shame, -and been driven by our own soldiers out of the maize-fields in which we -had taken shelter. Well, of course, we shall also be punished for that. -No, our most monstrous and unpardonable sin consists in our being blind -and deaf to everything. For long, long periods past--and, naturally, far -away from our polluted garrisons--people have discerned the dawn of a -new life resplendent with light and freedom. Far-seeing, high-minded, -and noble spirits, free from prejudices and human fear, have arisen to -sow among the nations burning words of liberation and enlightenment. -These heroes remind one of the last scene in a melodrama, when the dark -castles and prison towers of tyranny fall down and are buried, in order, -as it were, by magic, to be succeeded by freedom's dazzling light and -hailed by exultant throngs. We alone--crass idiots, irredeemable victims -of pride and blindness--still stick up our tail-feathers, like angry -turkey-cocks, and yell in savage wrath, 'What? Where? Silence! Obey! -Shoot!' etc., etc. And it's just this turkey-cock's contempt for the -fight for freedom by awakening humanity that shall never, never be -forgiven us." - -The boat glided gently over the calm, open, mirroring surface of the -river, which was garlanded round by the tall, dark green, motionless -reeds. The little vessel was, as it were, hidden from the whole world. -Over it hovered, now and then uttering a scream, the white gulls, -occasionally so closely that, as they almost brushed Romashov with the -tips of their wings, they made him feel the breeze arising from their -strong, swift flights. Nasanski lay on his back in the stern of the boat -and kept staring, for a long time, at the bright sky, where a few golden -clouds sailing gently by had already begun to change to rose colour. - -Romashov said in a shy tone: - -"Are you tired? Oh, keep on talking." - -It seemed as if Nasanski continued to think and dream aloud when he once -more picked up the threads of his monologue. - -"Yes, a new, glorious, and wonderful time is at hand. I venture to say -this, for I myself have lived a good deal in the world, read, seen, -experienced, and suffered much. When I was a schoolboy, the old crows -and jackdaws croaked into our ears: 'Love your neighbour as yourself, -and know that gentleness, obedience, and the fear of God are man's -fairest adornments.' Then came certain strong, honest, fanatical men who -said: 'Come and join us, and we'll throw ourselves into the abyss so -that the coming race shall live in light and freedom.' But I never -understood a word of this. Who do you suppose is going to show me, in a -convincing way, in what manner I am linked to this 'neighbour' of -mine--damn him! who, you know, may be a miserable slave, a Hottentot, a -leper, or an idiot? Of all the holy legends there is none which I hate -and despise with my whole soul so much as that of John the Almoner.[22] -The leper says: 'I am shivering with cold; lie beside me in my bed and -warm my body with thy limbs. Lay thy lips close to my fetid mouth and -breathe on me!' Oh, how disgusting! How I hate this victim of leprosy, -and, for the matter of that, also all other similar choice examples of -my 'neighbour.' Can any reasonable being tell me why I should crush my -head so that the generation in the year 3200 may attain a higher -standard of happiness? Be quiet! I, too, once upon a time, sympathized -with the silly, babyish cackle about 'the world-soul,' 'man's sacred -duty,' etc. But even if these high-falutin phrases did find a place then -in my brain, they never forced their way into my heart. Do you follow -me, Romashov?" - -Romashov looked at Nasanski with a mixture of gratitude and shame. - -"I understand you fully. When I come to 'send in my checks' and die, -then the universe dies with me. That's what you meant, eh?" - -"Exactly, but listen further. Love of humanity is burnt out and has -vanished from the heart of man. In its stead shall come a new creed, a -new view of life that shall last to the world's end; and this view of -life consists in the individual's love for himself, for his own powerful -intelligence and the infinite riches of his feelings and perceptions. -Think, Romashov, just this way and in no other. Who is nearer and dearer -to me than myself? No one. You, and none other, are the Tsar and -autocrat of your own soul, its pride and ornament. You are the god of -all that lives. To you alone belongs all that you see, hear, and feel. -Take what you want and do what you please. Fear nobody and nothing, for -there is no one in the whole universe above you or can even be your -rival. Ah, a time will come when the fixed belief in one's own Ego will -cast its blessed beams over mankind as did once the fiery tongues of the -Holy Ghost over the Apostles' heads. Then there will be no longer slaves -and masters; no maimed or cripples; no malice, no vices, no pity, no -hate. Men will be gods. How shall I dare to deceive, insult, or -ill-treat another man, in whom I see and feel my fellow, who, like -myself, is a god? Then, and then only, shall life be rich and beautiful. -Over the whole habitable portion of our earth shall tall, airy, lovely -buildings be raised. Nothing vulgar, common, low, and impure shall any -longer torture the eye. Our daily life shall become a pleasurable toil, -an enfranchised science, a wonderful music, an everlasting merry-making. -Love, free and sovereign, shall become the world's _religion_. No longer -shall it be forced in shame to hide its countenance; no longer shall it -be coupled with sin, disgrace, and darkness. And our own bodies shall -glow with health, strength, and beauty, and go clad in bright, -shimmering robes. Just as certainly as I believe in an eternal sky above -me," shouted Nasanski, "so do I just as firmly believe in this -paradisaical life to come." - -Romashov, agitated and no longer master of himself, whispered with white -lips: - -"Nasanski, these are dreams, fancies." - -Nasanski's smile was silent and compassionate. - -"Yes," he at last uttered with a laugh still lingering in his voice, -"you may perhaps be right. A professor of Dogmatic Theology or Classical -Philology would, with arms and legs extended and head bent on one side -in profound thought, say something like this: 'This is merely an -outburst of the most unbridled Individualism.' But, my dear fellow, -luckily the thing does not depend on more or less categorical phrases -and comminations fulminated in a loud voice, but on the fact that there -is nothing in the world more real, practical and irrefutable than these -so-called 'fancies,' which are certainly only the property of some few -people. These fancies will some day more strongly and completely weld -together the whole of mankind to a complete homogeneous body. But let us -forget now that we are warriors. We are merely defenceless _starar_. -Suppose we go up the street; there we see right before us a wonderful, -merry-looking, two-headed monster[23] that attacks all who come within -its reach, no matter who they be. It has not yet touched me, but the -mere thought that this brute might ill-treat me, or insult a woman I -loved, or deprive me of my liberty is enough to make me mad. I cannot -overpower this creature by myself, but beside me walks another man -filled with the same thirst for vengeance as I, and I say to him: 'Come, -shall we go and kill the monster, so that he may not be able to dig his -claws into any one!' You understand that all I have just been telling -you is only a drastic simile, a hyperbole; but the truth is that I see, -in this two-headed monster that which holds my soul captive, limits my -individual freedom, and robs me of my manhood. And when that day dawns, -then no more lamb-like love for one's neighbour, but the divine love to -one's own Ego will be preached among men. Then, too, the double-headed -monster's reign will be over." - -Nasanski stopped. This violent outburst had evidently been too much for -his nerves. After a few minutes, he went on in a hollow voice: - -"My dear Georgi Alexievich, there rushes past us incessantly a brawling -stream of divinely inspired, lofty, flaming thoughts and new and -imperishable ideas which are to crush and bury for ever the bulwarks and -golden idols of tyranny and darkness. We, however, keep on stamping in -our old stalls and neighing: 'Ah, you poor jades, you ought to have a -taste of the whip!'--And once more I say: This will never be forgiven -us." - -Nasanski got up, wrapped his cloak round him with a slight shiver, and -remarked in a weary voice: - -"I'm cold--let's go home." - -Romashov rowed out of the rushes. The sun was setting behind the roofs -of the distant town, the dark outlines of which were sharply defined -against the red evening sky. Here and there the sunrays were reflected -by a gleaming window-pane. The greater part of the river's surface was -as even as a mirror, and faded away in bright, sportive colours; but -behind the boat the water was already dark, opaque, and curled by little -light waves. - -Romashov suddenly exclaimed, as if he were answering his own thoughts: - -"You are right. I'll enter the reserves. I do not yet know how I shall -do it, but I had thought of it before." - -Nasanski shivered with the cold and wrapped his cloak more closely round -him. - -"Come, come," replied he in a melancholy and tender tone. "There's a -certain inward light in you, Georgi Alexievich; I don't know what to -call it properly; but in this bear-pit it will soon go out. Yes, they -would spit at it and put it out. Then get away from here! Don't be -afraid to struggle for your existence. Don't fear life--the warm, -wonderful life that's so rich in changes. Let's suppose you cannot hold -yourself up; that you sink deep--deep; that you become a victim to -crime and poverty. What then? I tell you that the life of a beggar or -vagrant is tenfold richer than Captain Sliva's and those of his kidney. -You wander round the world here and there, from village to village, from -town to town. You make acquaintance with quaint, careless, homeless, -humorous specimens of humanity. You see and hear, suffer and enjoy; you -sleep on the dewy grass; you shiver with cold in the frosty hours of the -morning. But you are as free as a bird; you're afraid of no one, and you -worship life with all your soul. Oh, how little men understand after -all! What does it matter whether you eat _vobla_[24] or saddle of buck -venison with truffles; if you drink vodka or champagne; whether you die -in a police-cell or under a canopy? All this is the veriest trifle. I -often stand and watch funeral processions. There lies, overshadowed by -enormous plumes, in its silver-mounted coffin, a rotting ape accompanied -to the grave by a number of other apes, bedizened, behind and before, -with orders, stars, keys, and other worthless finery. And afterwards all -those visits and announcements! No, my friend, in all the world there is -only one thing consistent and worth possessing, viz, an emancipated -spirit with imaginative, creative force, and a cheerful temperament. One -can have truffles or do without them. All that sort of thing is a matter -of luck; it does not signify anything. A common guard, provided he is -not an absolute beast, might in six months be trained to act as Tsar, -and play his part admirably; but a well-fattened, sluggish, and stupid -ape, that throws himself into his carriage with his big belly in the -air, will never succeed in grasping what liberty is, will never feel the -bliss of inspiration, or shed sweet tears of enthusiasm. - -"Travel, Romashov. Go away from here. I advise you to do so, for I -myself have tasted freedom, and if I crept into my dirty cage again, -whose fault was it? But enough of this. Dive boldly into life. It will -not deceive you. Life resembles a huge building with thousands of rooms -in which you will find light, joy, singing, wonderful pictures, handsome -and talented men and women, games and frolic, dancing, love, and all -that is great and mighty in art. Of this castle you have hitherto seen -only a dark, narrow, cold, and raw cupboard, full of scourings and -spiders' webs, and yet you hesitate to leave it." - -Romashov made fast the boat and helped Nasanski to land. It was already -dusk when they reached Nasanski's abode. Romashov helped him to bed and -spread the cloak and counterpane over him. - -Nasanski trembled so much from his chill that his teeth chattered. He -rolled himself up like a ball, bored his head right into his pillow, and -whimpered helplessly as a child. - -"Oh, how frightened I am of my room! What dreams! What dreams!" - -"Perhaps you would like me to stay with you?" said Romashov. - -"No, no; that's not necessary. But get me, please, some bromide and a -little--vodka. I have no money." - -Romashov sat by him till eleven. Nasanski's fits of ague gradually -subsided. Suddenly he opened his great eyes gleaming with fever, and -uttered with some difficulty, but in a determined, abrupt tone: - -"Go, now--good-bye." - -"Good-bye," replied Romashov sadly. He wanted to say, "Good-bye, my -teacher," but was ashamed of the phrase, and he merely added with an -attempt at joking: - -"Why did you merely say 'good-bye'? Why not say _do svidánia_?"[25] - -Nasanski burst into a weird, senseless laugh. - -"Why not _do svishvezia_?"[26] he screamed in a wild, mad voice. - -Romashov felt that his body was shaken by violent shudders. - - - - -XXII - - -On approaching his abode, Romashov noticed, to his astonishment, that a -faint gleam of light poured from the dark window of his room. "What can -that be?" he thought, not without a certain uneasiness, whilst he -involuntarily quickened his steps. "Perhaps it is my seconds waiting to -communicate to me the conditions of the duel?" In the hall he ran into -Hainán, but he did not recognize him immediately in the dark, and being -startled, cried angrily: - -"What the devil----! Oh, it's you, Hainán--and who's in there?" - -In spite of the darkness, Romashov realized that Hainán was doing his -usual dance. - -"It's a lady, your Honour. She's sitting in there." - -Romashov opened the door. The lamp, the kerosene of which had long come -to an end, was still flickering feebly and was just ready to go out. On -the bed was seated a female figure, the outlines of which could scarcely -be distinguished in the half-dark room. - -"Shurochka!"--Romashov, who for a second was unable to breathe, slowly -approached the bed on tip-toe--"Shurochka, you here?" - -"S-sh; sit down," she replied in a rapid whisper. "Put out the lamp." - -Romashov blew sharply into the chimney of the lamp. The little -flickering, blue flame went out, and the room was at once dark and -silent, but, in the next moment, the alarum on the table went off -loudly. Romashov sat down by Alexandra Petrovna, but could not -distinguish her features. A curious feeling of pain, nervousness, and -faintness of heart took possession of him. He was unable to speak. - -"Who is on the other side of that wall?" asked Shurochka. "Can we be -overheard?" - -"No, there's no one there, only old furniture. My landlord is a joiner. -One can speak out loud." - -But both spoke, all the same, in a low voice, and those shyly uttered -words acquired, in the darkness, something in addition awful, -disquieting, treacherously stealthy. Romashov sat so close to Shurochka -that he almost touched her dress. There was a buzzing in his ears, and -the blood throbbed in his veins with dull, heavy beats. - -"Why, oh, why have you done this?" she asked quietly, but in a -passionately reproachful tone. Shurochka laid her hand on his knee. -Romashov felt through the cloth this light touch of her feverishly -burning finger-tips. He drew a deep breath, his eyes closed, and big -black ovals, the sides of which sparkled with a dazzling, bluish gleam, -took shape and ran into each other before his eyes, reminding him of the -legend of the wonderful lakes. "Did you forget that I told you to keep -your self-control when you met _him_? No, no--I don't reproach you. You -did not do it on purpose, I know that; but in that moment, when the wild -beast within you was aroused, you had not even one thought of me. There -was nothing to stay your arm. You never loved me." - -"I love you," said Romashov softly, as with a shy movement he put his -trembling fingers on her hand. Shurochka withdrew her hand, though not -hastily, but at once and slowly, as though she were afraid of hurting -him. - -"I know that neither you nor he mixed my name up with this scandal; but -I can tell you that all this chivalry has been wasted. There's not a -house in the town where they are not gossiping about it." - -"Forgive me; I could not control myself. I was blinded, beside myself -with jealousy," stammered Romashov. - -Shurochka laughed for a while to herself. At last she answered him: - -"You talk about 'jealousy.' Did you really think that my husband, after -his fight with you, was high-minded enough to deny himself the pleasure -of telling me where you had come from when you returned to the mess? He -also told me one or two things about Nasanski." - -"Forgive me," repeated Romashov. "It's true I was there--but I did -nothing to blush for in your presence. Pardon me." - -Shurochka suddenly raised her voice. Her voice acquired an energetic, -almost severe accent, when she answered him. - -"Listen, Georgi Alexievich, the minutes are precious. I waited here -nearly half an hour for you. Let us, therefore, talk briefly and to the -point. You know what Volodya is to me--I don't love him, but, for his -sake, I killed a part of my soul. I cherish greater ambition than he -does. Twice he has failed to pass for the Staff College. This caused me -far greater sorrow and disappointment than it did him. All this idea of -trying to get on the Staff is mine, only mine. I have literally dragged -him, whipped him on, crammed lessons into him, gone over them with him, -filed and sharpened him, screwed up his pride and ambition, and cheered -him in hours of apathy and depression. I live only for this, and I -cannot even bear the thought of these hopes of mine being blighted. -Whatever the cost, Volodya must pass his examination." - -Romashov sat with his head in his hands. Suddenly he felt Shurochka -softly and caressingly drawing her fingers through his hair. Sorrowful -and bewildered, he said to her: - -"What can I do?" - -She laid her arm round his neck and drew his head to her bosom. She was -not wearing a corset, and Romashov felt her soft, elastic bosom pressed -against his cheek, and inhaled the delicious, aromatic perfume that came -from her young, absolutely healthy body. When she spoke he felt in his -hair her irregular, nervous breathing. - -"You remember, that evening--at the picnic? I told you then the whole -truth: I did not love him; but think, now, only think, three -years--three whole long years of the most arduous, repulsive work--of -fancies, dreams, hopes. You know how I hate and despise this wretched -little provincial hole, the odious set of officers. I always wanted to -be dressed expensively and elegantly. I love power, flattery--slaves. -And then comes this regimental scandal, this stupid fight between two -drunken, irresponsible men accidentally brought together. Then all is -over--all my dreams and hopes turned to ashes. Isn't this dreadful? I -have never been a mother; but I think I can imagine what it would be if -I had a son--a son petted, idolized, even madly worshipped. He -represents, so to speak, an incarnation or embodiment of my life's -dreams, sorrows, tears, sleepless nights, and then, suddenly, occurs a -senseless accident. My little son is sitting playing at the window; the -nurse turns away for a few minutes, and the child falls out on to the -pavement. My dear, my sorrow and indignation can only be compared to -this mother's despair. But I am not blaming you." - -Romashov was sitting in a very cramped and uncomfortable position, and -he was afraid that his heavy head might cause Shurochka pain or -discomfort. But he had, however, for hours been used to sitting without -moving, and, in a sort of intoxication, listen to the quick and regular -beatings of his heart. - -"Do you hear what I say?" she asked, stooping down to him. - -"Yes, yes--talk, talk. You know I'll do all you wish. Oh, if I could -only----" - -"No, no; but only listen till I have finished. If you kill him or if -they prevent him from sitting for the examination, then it is all, all -over. That very day I shall cast him off as a worthless thing, and go my -own way--where? No matter where. To St. Petersburg, Odessa, Kiev. Don't -imagine this is one of those common, untrue, 'penny-novelette' phrases. -Cheap effects I despise, and I will spare you them. But I know I am -young, intelligent, and well-educated. I am not pretty, but I know the -art of catching men far better than all those famous charmers who, at -our official balls, receive the prize for beauty in the form of an -elegant card-tray or something between a musical-box and an alarum. I -can stand in the background; I can, by coldness and contempt, be bitter -to myself and others. But I can flame up into a consuming passion and -burn like a firework." - -Romashov glanced towards the window. His eyes had now begun to be used -to the darkness, and he could distinguish the outlines of the framework -of the window. - -"Don't talk like that, please. It pains me so; but, tell me, do you wish -me to avoid the duel, and send him an apology? Tell me." - -Shurochka did not reply at once. The clock again made its monotonous, -metallic voice heard, and filled every corner of the dark room with its -infernal din. At last Shurochka answered as softly as if she were -talking to herself in thought, and with an expression in her voice which -Romashov was not in a condition to interpret. - -"I knew you would offer to do this." - -"I do not feel afraid," he exclaimed in a stern but soft tone. - -"No, no, no," she said hastily in an eager, beseeching whisper. "You -misunderstood me, you do not understand me. Come nearer to me. Come and -sit as you did just now. Come!" - -She threw both her arms round his neck, and whispered to him tender -words, tickling his face with her soft hair, and flooding his cheeks -with her hot breath. - -"You quite misunderstood me. I meant something quite different, but I am -ashamed to tell you all. You are so good, so pure-hearted. I, alas! am -the opposite, and, therefore, it's so difficult for me to mention it." - -"No, no. Tell me everything. I love you." - -"Listen to me," she began, and Romashov guessed what she would say -before she could utter the words. "If you refuse to fight with him, how -much shame and persecution, how many sufferings will be your lot. No, -no, this must not be done. Oh, my God, at this moment I will not lie to -you, dear. I have already weighed everything carefully. Suppose you -refuse the duel. In that case my husband will certainly be -rehabilitated; but, you understand, after a duel that ends in -reconciliation, there is always something left--how shall I put -it?--something covered by a certain obscurity, and which, therefore, -leaves room for malice and slander. Do you understand me now?" she added -with melancholy tenderness, pressing, at the same time, a light kiss on -his brow. - -"Yes, but go on." - -"The consequence, of course, is that they would never allow my husband -even to present himself for a fresh examination. The reputation of an -officer on the Staff must be unblemished. On the other hand, if a duel -actually takes place, it will put you both in a dignified, heroic light. -Men who can conduct themselves fittingly in front of the muzzle of a -revolver--very much will be forgiven them in this world. Besides--after -the duel--you can, if you like, offer an apology; but that I leave to -your own discretion." - -Tightly clasped in each other's arms, they continued their conversation -in a whisper, but Romashov felt as if something mysterious, unclean, and -nauseous had crept in between him and Shurochka, and he felt a freezing -chill at heart. Again he tried to tear himself away from her arms, but -she would not let him go. In his effort to hide from her the nervous -excitement he was in, he exclaimed in a rough tone: - -"For Heaven's sake, put an end to this! Say what you want, and I'll -agree to everything." - -Then she put her mouth so close to his that her words affected him like -hot, thrilling kisses. - -"The duel must take place, but neither of you will run any risk. Don't -misunderstand me, I implore you, and don't condemn me. Like all women, I -loathe cowards, but, for _my_ sake, you must do this. No, Georgi, don't -ask me if my husband--for the matter of that, he already knows all." - -Now at last Romashov managed to release himself from the tight grip of -her soft, strong arms. He stood straight up before her, and answered in -a curt, rough voice: - -"That's all right. It shall be as you wish! I consent." - -Shurochka also rose. Romashov could not see in the dark room that she -was putting her hair straight, but he felt or guessed it. - -"Are you going now?" he asked. - -"Good-bye," she replied in a faint voice, "and kiss me now for the last -time." - -Romashov's heart was shaken by pity and love. Groping in the darkness, -he caught her head in his hands, and began kissing her eyes and cheeks, -which were wet with big, silent tears. This took away his self-control. - -"Don't cry like that, Sascha, my darling," he implored in a sad and -tender tone. - -Suddenly throwing her arms round his neck, she pressed herself tightly -to him by a strong, passionate movement, and, without ceasing her -kisses, she whispered the words in short, broken sentences. She was -breathing heavily and trembling all over. - -"I can't part from you like this. We shall never see each other again. -Some presentiment tells me that, so at this only moment we must not fear -anything in the world. Let us be happy!" - -And at that moment the pair, the room, the entire world, were filled -with an ineffable bliss--stupefying, suffocating, consuming. For the -space of a second Romashov fancied he saw, as it were by miracle, -Shurochka's eyes shining on him with an expression of mad joy. Her lips -sought his. - - * * * * * - -"May I accompany you home?" asked Romashov, as he escorted her to the -street. - -"No, my darling, don't. I have not the least idea how long I've been -with you. What is the time?" - -"I don't know. I have not a watch." - -She stood lingering there, leaning against the gate. A powerful scent -arose from the earth in the warm, languishing summer night. It was still -dark, but, notwithstanding the darkness, Romashov could clearly -distinguish Shurochka's features, motionless and pale as a marble -statue's. - -"Good-bye, my darling," she uttered at last in a weary voice. -"Good-bye." They embraced each other, but their lips were cold and -lifeless. Shurochka departed quickly and was swallowed up by the dark -night. - -Romashov remained a while listening till the last faint sounds of her -light steps could no longer be caught, and then returned to his room. A -feeling of utter, yet pleasant, weariness took possession of him. He had -hardly undressed before he fell asleep. And the last impression left on -his mind was a faint, delicious odour of perfume proceeding from his -pillow--the scent from Shurochka's hair and her fair young body. - - - - -XXIII - - -_June 2, 18--._ -Z. - -To his Excellency the Colonel and Commander of the--th Infantry Regiment -from Ditz, Staff-Captain of the same regiment. - - - REPORT. - -Herewith allow me respectfully to report to your Excellency that the -duel between Lieutenant Nikoläiev and Sub-lieutenant Romashov took place -to-day, according to the conditions settled by you on the 1st inst. - -The two adversaries met at 5.55 a.m. in the wood called "Oakwood," -situated three and a quarter versts beyond the town. The duel was -decided in the space of one minute ten seconds, including the time for -placing the parties and giving the signal. The places taken by the -duellists were determined by lot. When the command "Forward" was given -the fight began. As the two officers approached each other, a shot from -Lieutenant Nikoläiev struck Sub-lieutenant Romashov high on the right -side. After this Lieutenant Nikoläiev stopped to await his adversary's -bullet, but, after the lapse of half a minute, it was evident that -Sub-lieutenant Romashov was not in a condition to return the shot, by -reason of which Sub-lieutenant Romashov's seconds declared the duel was -ended, as to which other witnesses were agreed. Sub-lieutenant -Romashov, on being carried to his carriage, fell into a deep swoon, and -died in five minutes through internal hæmorrhage. - -The seconds on Lieutenant Nikoläiev's side were the undersigned and -Lieutenant Vasin; on Sub-lieutenant Romashov's, Lieutenants -Biek-Agamalov and Viätkin. The further arrangements for the duel were, -by general agreement, made by me. - -A certificate from Dr. Znoiko is enclosed herein. - -_Ditz_, -_Staff-Captain._ - - UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON - - * * * * * - -_Crown 8vo._ FICTION _6s. each_ - -Moll Davis - -BY BERNARD CAPES - -A very light-hearted Comedy of the Stuart period, elaborated from an -incident in the Grammont Memoirs. With the more than doubtful reputation -of the lady of the title-rôle Mr. Capes has taken some additional -liberties, but only with a view to helping it to a kindlier estimate -than it perhaps deserved. Moll will be remembered as Pepys's little -jigging shepherdess, who, as Celania in Davenant's play of "The Rivals," -won the royal heart by her singing of "My Lodging is on the Cold -Ground." She was one of the many then foundresses of noble houses. Her -early history was so obscure as to lend itself very legitimately to the -purposes of romance. Only dates in this case have been a little freely -dealt with. - -Through Stained Glass - -BY GEORGE AGNEW CHAMBERLAIN - -Author of "Home" - -"Brilliantly witty, always interesting, distinctly new in its -characterisation."--_Land and Water._ - -"Has a flavour of high romance ... with an imaginative skill."--_Daily -News._ - -"Very clever, very interesting, and extremely well written."--_Sunday -Times._ - -His Father's Wife - -BY J. E. PATTERSON - -"This is the best book that Mr. Patterson has yet given us."--_New -Witness._ - -"One of the cleverest novels of the present day."--_Pioneer._ - -"Is intensely human ... is drawn with much detail and convincing -knowledge"--_The Queen._ - -Fate the Marplot - -SECOND IMPRESSION. - -BY F. THICKNESSE-WOODINGTON - -"Clear-cut character studies."--_Birmingham Gazette._ - -"Grips the reader's attention throughout."--_Pall Mall Gazette._ - -"Admirably told ... has not a dull moment in its pages."--_World._ - -Sanpriel: The Promised Land - -BY ALVILDE PRYDZ - -Author of "The Heart of the Northern Sea" - -Authorized Translation from the Norwegian - -_By_ HESTER CODDINGTON - -"Sanpriel" is an unusual story in which the translator has retained the -foreign flavour of its picturesque Norwegian setting. It deals with -intimate human relations without the hectic touch, is readable, has a -true poetic quality, and carries the cool, refreshing air of Norway's -mountains and streams into every moment of the story. - -A recent issue of the American Library Association Bulletin lists 176 -books. Only 13 of this number are especially recommended for purchase by -all libraries, large or small. "Sanpriel" is one of the 13. Still more -significant is the fact that of 21 volumes of fiction listed, only three -have the distinction of being specially recommended. "Sanpriel" is one -of the three. - -Oblomov - -BY IVAN GONCHAROV - -Translated by C. J. HOGARTH - -Mr. MAURICE BARING says: "In Oblomov Goncharov created a type which has -become immortal, and Oblomov has passed into the Russian tongue, just as -Tartuffe has passed into the French language, or Pecksniff into the -English tongue." - -Collins & Co. - -BY CAPTAIN JACK ELLIOTT - -"Is an excellent tale of adventure."--_Athenæum._ - -"There is a general sense of rollicking adventure about the whole book -that is quite captivating."--_Truth._ - -"It goes with quite a merry swing."--_Times._ - -It's an Ill Wind-- - -BY DOUGLAS GOLDRING - -Author of "Streets": a book of London Verses, "The Loire," "Ways of -Escape," etc. - -"A clever and lifelike picture ... brightly written. A pleasant story -and one to read."--_Ladies' Field._ - -"Is distinctly one to read, and as clever a novel as any to be -found."--_Tatler._ - -"The combination of realistic style and romantic substance is quite -piquant."--_Westminster Gazette._ - - * * * * * - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The Lezghins are among the medley of mountain tribes living in -Daghestan and part of the Terek province. These mountaineers of the -Eastern Caucasus are nearly all Sun'i Mohammedans. - -[2] One of Russia's bravest and greatest generals in the war with -Napoleon, 1812. - -[3] Roman Catholic priests are so called in Lithuania and Poland. - -[4] _Schtoss_ is a sort of Russian hazard. - -[5] Yuri = George. - -[6] _Roubashka_ (blouse). - -[7] The official newspaper of the Russian Army. - -[8] Professional floor-polisher. - -[9] A town and "government" in East Russia. - -[10] Corresponds to the Swedish _smörgåsbord_, and consists of a number -of cold dishes and delicacies. - -[11] A national dish in Russia, consisting of a sort of buckwheat -porridge baked in the oven in fire-proof earthen vessels, which are put -on the table. - -[12] In the time of Nicholas, sons of soldiers quartered or garrisoned -in certain districts. They were liable to be called on to serve. - -[13] An old Slavonic character (l'schiza), only occurring in the Russian -Bible and Ritual. - -[14] Nickname for Little Russians on account of their curious habit of -cutting and fashioning their hair into a tuft (_khokhol_) on the crown. - -[15] An affectionate diminutive of George. - -[16] Sliva is the Russian for plum. - -[17] Arshin = 2·33 feet. - -[18] Pet name for Alexandra. - -[19] A light jacket worn in the hot weather. - -[20] The name given to Ivan the Terrible's lifeguards and executioners. - -[21] _Chinóvnik_, Russian word for official. - -[22] Ivan Milostivni, one of the innumerable saints of the Greek Church. - -[23] The allusion is to the double eagle in the arms of Russia. - -[24] _Vobla_ is a kind of fish of the size of Prussian carp, and is -caught in the Volga. - -[25] _Au revoir._ - -[26] Untranslatable pun on the two last syllables of _svidánia_; Dania -means Denmark, _Schvezia_, Sweden. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - - -Agamalov-Biek Biek-Agamalov=> {pg 9} - -Nikolaiev=> Nikoläiev {pg 37} - -Vladimir Yefimovisch=> Vladimir Yefimovich {pg 51} - -Nikkoläiev=> Nikoläiev {pg 61} - -Nasanski stuck his hands in his pocket=> Nasanski stuck his hands in his -pockets {pg 70} - -they call me Koval=> they call me Kovál {pg 228} - -Yuri Alekseich,=> Yuri Alexeich, {pg 267} - -by the name mysterious "benefactor"=> by the same mysterious -"benefactor" {pg 295} - -non-commisioned=> non-commissioned {pg 362} - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Duel, by A. I. Kuprin - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DUEL *** - -***** This file should be named 44117-8.txt or 44117-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/1/1/44117/ - -Produced by sp1nd, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -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. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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