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diff --git a/44237-0.txt b/44237-0.txt index 17d734e..cb36e33 100644 --- a/44237-0.txt +++ b/44237-0.txt @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44237 *** +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44237 *** A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN @@ -12477,5 +12477,4 @@ THE END End of Project Gutenberg's A Family of Noblemen, by Mikhaïl Saltykov - *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44237 *** diff --git a/44237-h/44237-h.htm b/44237-h/44237-h.htm index fcc999c..358b94a 100644 --- a/44237-h/44237-h.htm +++ b/44237-h/44237-h.htm @@ -85,9 +85,9 @@ hr.r65 {width: 65%; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em;} </style> </head> <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44237 ***</div> -<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44237 ***</div> <h1>A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN</h1> @@ -12563,7 +12563,7 @@ taking place at Golovliovo.</p> -<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44237 ***</div> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44237 ***</div> </body> </html> diff --git a/44237.json b/44237.json deleted file mode 100644 index 261dcce..0000000 --- a/44237.json +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5 +0,0 @@ -{
- "DATA": {
- "CREDIT": "Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe (Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.)"
- }
-}
diff --git a/old/44237-8.txt b/old/44237-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b189dde..0000000 --- a/old/44237-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12869 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Family of Noblemen, by Mikhaïl Saltykov - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Family of Noblemen - The Gentlemen Golovliov - -Author: Mikhaïl Saltykov - -Translator: A. Yarmolinsky - -Release Date: November 20, 2013 [EBook #44237] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN *** - - - - -Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe at -http://www.freeliterature.org (Images generously made -available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - -A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN - -BY - -MIKHAÏL Y. SALTYKOV - -(N. SHCHEDRIN) - - -TRANSLATED BY A. YARMOLINSKY - - - -BONI & LIVERIGHT, INC. - -NEW YORK - -1917 - - - - - CONTENTS - - - - Book I - THE FAMILY COUNCIL - Book II - AS BECOMES GOOD KINSFOLK - Book III - FAMILY ACCOUNTS SETTLED - Book IV - THE GOOD LITTLE NIECE - Book V - FORBIDDEN FAMILY JOYS - Book VI - THE DESERTED MANOR-HOUSE - Book VII - THE SETTLEMENT - - - - - -BOOK I - -THE FAMILY COUNCIL - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Anton Vasilyev, the manager of a remote estate, was giving his -mistress, Arina Petrovna Golovliov, an account of his trip to Moscow. -He had gone there to collect the money due from those of her peasant -serfs who bought the right to live in the city by paying her a tax. -When he had finished with his report, she told him he might retire, but -he lingered on irresolutely, as though he had something else to say, -yet could not make up his mind to say it. - -Arina Petrovna knew her servants through and through; she knew the -meaning of their slightest gestures, she could even divine their inmost -thoughts. And her steward's manner immediately aroused her disquietude. - -"What else?" she asked, looking at him keenly. - -"That's all," he replied evasively. - -"Don't lie. There is something else. I can see it by your eyes." - -Anton Vasilyev still hesitated and continued to shift from one foot to -the other. - -"What is it? Tell me!" she shouted imperiously. "Out with it, out with -it! And don't wag your whole body like a dog, Telltale!" - -Arina Petrovna liked to call her managers and domestics by nicknames. -She used Telltale for Anton Vasilyev, not because she had found him to -carry gossip treacherously, but simply because he had a loose tongue. - -The centre of the estate that he managed was an important trading -village in which there were many taverns. He liked to take a glass -of tea in a tavern and boast of his mistress's great power. And in -the course of his boasting he would sometimes unconsciously blab out -secrets. His mistress was always with a lawsuit on her hands, so that -her trusty's garrulousness sometimes brought her sly stratagems to the -surface before they could be executed. - -"Yes, I have got something else to say," Anton finally mumbled. - -"What is it?" Arina Petrovna asked excitedly. - -An imperious woman, with an extraordinarily lively imagination, she -instantly pictured all sorts of disagreeable opposition and antagonism, -and the thought so instantly took complete possession of her that she -turned white and jumped up from her chair. - -"Stepan Vladimirych's house in Moscow has been sold," Anton said after -a pause. - -"Well?" - -"It's been sold." - -"Why? How? Tell me." - -"For debts, I suppose. Of course it can't be because of something nice." - -"The police, the court, sold it, I suppose?" - -"I suppose so. They say it was sold at auction for 8,000 rubles." - -Arina Petrovna dropped back heavily into her armchair and gazed fixedly -at the window panes. She was so stunned by the news that she seemed -to have lost consciousness for a while. Had she heard that Stepan -Vladimirych had killed somebody, or that the Golovliov peasant serfs -had risen in revolt and refused to render the service due her on her -estates, or that serfdom had been abolished, she would not have been so -shocked. Her lips trembled, her eyes stared vacantly into the distance, -but she saw nothing. She did not even see the little girl, Duniashka, -run past the window carrying something hidden under her apron; she did -not see the child stop suddenly on beholding her mistress and wheel -round and then dart back guiltily to where she had come from. Such -suspicious conduct at any other time would have led to a thorough -investigation. Finally Arina Petrovna came to herself and managed to -bring out: - -"A good joke, I must say." After which there again followed several -minutes of ominous silence. - -"So the police sold the house for eight thousand?" she asked again. - -"Yes, madam." - -"So that's what he's done with his patrimony! Splendid! The blackguard!" - -Arina Petrovna felt that the news called for a prompt decision, but -nothing occurred to her. Her thoughts ran confusedly in exactly -opposite directions. On the one hand she thought: "The police sold it. -But the police could not have sold it in a minute. An inventory must -first have been taken, then an appraisal made, and then the sale must -have been advertised. Sold for eight thousand when I myself two years -ago paid twelve thousand rubles for it, not a penny less. Had I only -known it was going to be up for sale, I could have bought it myself for -eight thousand rubles." - -Her other thoughts ran: "The police sold it for eight thousand. That's -what he's done with his patrimony. To sell one's patrimony for eight -thousand rubles!" - -"Who told you?" she asked, realizing finally that the house had been -sold and the chance to secure it cheaply was gone forever. - -"Ivan Mikhailov, the inn-keeper." - -"Why didn't he let me know in time?" - -"I suppose he was afraid." - -"Afraid? I'll teach him to be afraid. I'll make him come here from -Moscow, and the moment he comes I'll have him drafted into the army. He -was afraid!" - -Although on the decline, serfdom still existed. Anton Vasilyev had -known his mistress to impose the most peculiar punishments, but, even -so, her present decision was so unexpected that it made him miserable. -He thought of his nickname Telltale. Ivan Mikhailov was an upright -peasant, and Anton never dreamed that misfortune would touch him. -Besides, Ivan Mikhailov was his friend and godfather. Now, all of a -sudden, he was to be made a soldier just because he, Anton Vasilyev, -the Telltale, could not hold his tongue. - -"Forgive him--Ivan Mikhailov, I mean," he pleaded. - -"Go away, you mollycoddler," she shouted in a voice so loud that he -lost all desire to intercede any further for his friend. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Arina Petrovna was sixty years old, still of sound health and -accustomed to have her own way in everything. Her manner was severe. -She lived alone, and managed the huge Golovliov estate all by herself, -without having to answer to any one else. She calculated closely, -almost parsimoniously, was not intimate with her neighbors, was -gracious to the local authorities, and exacted implicit obedience -from her children. They were not to do anything without first asking -themselves, "What would mamenka say about it?" She was independent, -inflexible, even stubborn, though her stubbornness was not so much -native as due chiefly to the circumstance that there was not one person -in the whole Golovliov family that could oppose her. Her husband was -a trifling creature, and drank. Arina Petrovna used to say of herself -that she was neither a widow nor a married woman. Some of the children -were in St. Petersburg, the others took after their father and were -relegated to the class of "horrid creatures," who were unfit for -household duties. In these circumstances Arina Petrovna soon began to -feel all left alone, and grew totally disaccustomed to family life, -although the word "family" was constantly on her lips, and outwardly -she seemed to be exclusively guided in all her work by the desire to -build up the family estate and keep the family affairs in order. - -The head of the family, Vladimir Mikhailych Golovliov, was known from -his youth as a dissolute, quarrelsome fellow, with nothing in his -character that would be sympathetic to a serious, active woman like -Arina Petrovna. He led a lazy, good-for-nothing existence, usually -stayed locked up in his room, where he imitated the warble of the -starlings, the crowing of cocks, and the like, and composed ribald -doggerel. In bursts of confidence he would boast that he had been a -friend of the poet Barkov, intimating that the poet had blessed him -on his deathbed. Arina Petrovna disliked her husband's verses from -the very first. "Nasty stuff!" "Trash!" she called them. And since -Vladimir Mikhailych's very object in marrying had been to have someone -ever at hand to listen to his poetry, the result was that quarrels -soon began, which grew worse and worse and more frequent until they -ended with Arina Petrovna utterly indifferent and contemptuous of her -clown husband, and Vladimir Mikhailych hating his wife sincerely, with -a hatred considerably mixed with fear. The husband called the wife a -"hag" and a "devil"; the wife called the husband a "windmill" and a -"balalaika without strings." - -They lived together in this way for more than forty years, and it never -occurred to either of them that there was anything unnatural in such a -life. Time did not diminish Vladimir Mikhailych's quarrelsomeness; on -the contrary, it took on a still sharper edge. Apart from the poetical -exercising in Barkov's spirit that he did, he began to drink and to -lie in wait eagerly for the servant girls in the corridors. At first -Arina Petrovna looked on this new occupation of her husband's with -repugnance. She even got wrought up over it, not so much from jealousy -as that she felt it to be an interference with her authority. After a -while, however, she shrugged her shoulders, and merely watched out that -the "dirty wenches" should not fetch brandy for their master. - -From that time on, having said to herself once for all that her -husband was not a companion, she directed her efforts exclusively to -one object, the building up of the estate. And in the forty years of -her married life she actually succeeded in multiplying her property -tenfold. With astonishing patience and acumen she kept her eye on the -near and distant villages, found out in secret ways the relations that -existed between the neighboring landowners and the board of trustees, -and always appeared at the auctions like snow on the head. In this -fantastic hunt for new acquisitions Vladimir Mikhailych receded more -and more into the background, turned seedy and at last dropped out of -social life completely. He was now a decrepit old man already, keeping -his bed almost the whole time. On the rare occasions that he left his -room it was only to stick his head through the half-open door of his -wife's bedroom and shout: "Devil!" After which he would go back and -close himself up in his own room again. - -Arina Petrovna was not much happier in her children. She was of a -celibate nature, so to speak, independent and self-sufficient, and her -children were nothing to her but a useless burden. The only times when -she breathed freely was when she was alone with her accounts and her -household affairs, and when no one interfered with her business talks -with her managers, stewards, housekeepers, and so on. In her eyes, -children were one of the preordained things in life that she felt she -had no right to protest against. Nevertheless they did not touch a -single chord in her inner being, which was given over wholly to the -numberless details of the household. - -There were four children, one daughter and three sons. Of the oldest -son and the daughter she did not even like to speak; toward the -youngest son she was indifferent. It was only for the middle one, -Porfisha, that she cherished any feeling at all, a feeling not of love, -but of something very akin to fear. - -Stepan Vladimirych, the oldest son, passed in the family by the name -of Simple Simon, or The Saucebox. He was very young when he was put -into the class of "horrid creatures," and from childhood up played the -rôle of half pariah, half clown. Unfortunately he was a bright child, -susceptible to the impressions of his environment. From his father he -inherited an irresistible inclination to play tricks, from his mother -the ability to divine the weak sides of people's natures. The first -characteristic soon made him his father's favorite, which still further -intensified his mother's dislike of him. Often when the mother was -absent on business, the father and the boy would betake themselves -into the study adorned with the portrait of Barkov, read ribald poems, -and gossip, the chief butt of their raillery being the "hag," that -is to say, Arina Petrovna. The "hag," instinctively divining their -occupation, would drive up to the front steps very quietly, then -tiptoe to the study door and listen to their fun-making. The murderous -punishment of Simple Simon followed swift and cruel. But Stiopka was -not subdued. He was impervious either to blows or to admonitions, -and in half an hour was back again at his tricks. He would cut up -Aniutka's, the servant girl's, scarf, or he would stick flies into -Vasiutka's mouth while he slept, or he would run into the kitchen and -carry off a cake (Arina Petrovna kept her children half hungry), which -he always divided with his brothers. - -"You ought to be killed," his mother said. "I'll kill you, and I won't -have to answer for it either. Even God won't punish me for it." - -This humiliation, constantly put upon a nature soft, yielding and -forgetful, did not remain without its effect. It did not embitter -him, nor did it make him rebellious. It made him servile, disposed to -buffoonery, with no sense of the fitness of things, and devoid of all -foresight and prudence. Such natures yield to all influences and may -become almost anything--drunkards, beggars, buffoons, even criminals. - -At the age of twenty Stepan Golovliov graduated from the gymnasium -in Moscow and entered the university. But his student's life was a -bitter one. In the first place, his mother gave him just enough money -to keep him from dying of hunger. Secondly, he did not show the least -inclination to work. Instead, he developed an accursed talent, which -expressed itself chiefly in mimickry. And he suffered from a desire -for constant companionship. He hated to be alone a single instant. -So he played the light rôle of hanger-on and parasite, and thanks to -his readiness for any prank he soon became the favorite of the rich -students. However, though they received him into their society, they -looked on him, not as one of them, but as a clown; and the reputation -clung to him. Once placed on such a plane, he naturally slid down lower -and lower, and at the end of the fourth year was thoroughly confirmed -in his clownship. Nevertheless, thanks to his receptive ability and -good memory, he passed the examinations successfully and received his -bachelor's degree. - -When he appeared before his mother with the diploma, she merely -shrugged her shoulders and said: "Well, that's funny." Then, after -letting him spend a month in the country, she shipped him back to St. -Petersburg with an allowance of a hundred rubles a month. Now there -began for him endless visits to various government offices. He had -neither patrons nor the determination to make his own way by hard work. -The lad's mind had lost so completely the habit of concentration that -bureaucratic tasks such as the drawing up of briefs and case abstracts -were beyond his power. After four years of struggle Stepan was forced -to admit that there was no hope of his ever rising above the rank of a -government clerk. In reply to his lamentations, Arina Petrovna wrote -him a stern letter which began with the words: "I was sure that would -happen," and wound up with a command to return at once to Moscow. -There, at the conclave of Arina Petrovna's favorite peasants, it was -decided to place Simple Simon in the Aulic Court, entrusting him to -the care of a pettifogger who from time immemorial had been the legal -adviser of the Golovliov family. - -What Stepan Vladimirych did in the Aulic Court and how he behaved there -is a mystery. What is certain is that at the end of the third year he -was there no longer. Then Arina Petrovna took a heroic measure. She -"threw her son a bone," which was also supposed to fill the part of -the "parental blessing," that is to say, the patrimony. "The bone" -consisted of a house in Moscow, for which she had paid twelve thousand -rubles. - -For the first time in his life Stepan Golovliov breathed freely. The -house promised to bring him an income of a thousand silver rubles, a -sum which in comparison with his former income, seemed like genuine -prosperity. He kissed his mamma's hand effusively, and promised to -justify her kindness, whereupon Arina Petrovna said: "That's better; -but mind you, you numskull, that's all you get from me!" But, alas! -so little was he used to handling money, so absurd was his estimation -of real values in life, that before long what he thought to be a -fabulous revenue proved insufficient. In five or six years he was -totally ruined, and was only too glad to enter the militia, which was -then being organized. No sooner, however, did the militia troops reach -Kharkov than peace was concluded, and Golovliov went back to Moscow, -dressed in a somewhat threadbare uniform and high boots. By this time -his house had already been sold, and the only thing he owned was a -hundred rubles. He began "speculating" with this capital, that is, he -tried his luck at cards, but in a short time he lost all he had. Then -he conceived the plan of visiting his mother's well-to-do peasants who -lived in Moscow. Some of them invited him to dinner, others, yielding -to his importunings, gave him tobacco or lent him small sums of money. -At last the hour came when he found himself before a blind wall, as -it were. He was already almost forty years old, and had to confess to -himself that his nomadic existence was too much for his strength. There -was only one thing left to him, to take the road leading to Golovliovo. - -After Stepan Vladimirych, the oldest child, came Anna Vladimirovna, -about whom Arina Petrovna did not like to speak either. The truth -of the matter was, the old lady had placed definite expectations -in Annushka, but she, far from fulfilling her mother's hopes, had -perpetrated a scandal which set the whole district agog. When Annushka -left the girls' boarding-school, Arina Petrovna installed her at the -village, hoping to make of her a sort of unpaid private secretary and -bookkeeper, but instead Annushka eloped one fine night with cornet -Ulanov and married him. - -"They have married like dogs, without a parent's blessing!" complained -Arina Petrovna. "Lucky, though, that he submitted to a wedding ceremony -at all. Another man would have taken advantage of her--and vanished -into thin air. A fine chance for catching a bird." - -With her daughter Arina Petrovna dealt as peremptorily as she had with -her hated son. She bestowed "a bone" upon her too, in the shape of five -thousand rubles and a wretched little village of thirty souls and a -manor-house going with it, so dilapidated that the wind blew through -the gaping paneless windows and there was not one sound board in the -flooring. In two years the young couple had gone through the money, and -the cornet took himself off, deserting his wife and two twin girls, -Anninka and Lubinka. Three months later the mother died, and Arina -Petrovna, willy-nilly, had to take the little orphans into her own -house. She installed them in a side-wing and entrusted them to the care -of Palashka, old and one-eyed. "The Lord's mercy is great," remarked -Arina Petrovna. "The little orphans won't eat much of my bread, but -they'll be a solace to me in my old age. God has given me two daughters -instead of one." At the same time she wrote to her son, Porfiry -Vladimirych: "Your dear sister died as she lived, indecently, and now -her two children are hanging round my neck." - -What we are going to say may seem cynical, but we feel it our duty to -state that the granting of the heritage to Stepan and Anna did not by -any means impair Arina Petrovna's financial condition. On the contrary, -in reducing the number of shareholders it contributed indirectly to the -rounding out of the family estate. For Arina Petrovna was a woman of -strict principles, and once having "thrown them a bone," she considered -her obligations toward her unloved children completely and definitely -settled. In regard to her grandchildren it never entered her mind that -in due time she would have to part with something for them. All she -cared for was to draw all the income possible from the small estate of -her deceased daughter and deposit it in the Chamber of Trustees. "There -I am," she would say, "laying by money for the orphans. For feeding and -bringing them up I take nothing from them. For the bread they eat it is -God who will pay me." - -As for the younger children, Porfiry and Pavel, they served in St. -Petersburg, the former in a civil capacity, the latter in the army. -Porfiry was married; Pavel was an old bachelor. - -Porfiry Vladimirych was known in the family by three nicknames, -Yudushka (diminutive of Judas), Bloodsucker, and Goody-goody Boy, which -had been invented by Simple Simon. From his early childhood Porfiry -had been oddly intent upon currying favor with his "dear mamma" and -showed a tendency to play the sycophant. He would open the door of his -mother's room softly, creep noiselessly into a corner, and sit there, -as if entranced, with his eyes fixed on his mother while she wrote -or busied herself with accounts. Even in those days Arina Petrovna -regarded her son's efforts to insinuate himself into her good graces -with vague suspicion. His stare puzzled her. She could not decide what -his eyes expressed, whether venom or filial reverence. "I cannot make -out what is in his eyes," she sometimes argued with herself. "His -glance is like a noose which he is getting ready to throw. He might -look like that handing a person poison or enticing him into a pitfall." - -In this connection she often recollected highly significant details -of the time she was carrying Porfisha. An old man called Porfisha the -Saint was at that time living in the manor. He had the reputation -of a seer, and Arina Petrovna turned to him whenever she wanted to -learn something about the future. She had asked him when she would be -delivered of the child and whether it would be a boy or a girl; but the -pious old man gave no direct answer. Instead he crowed three times like -a cock and then mumbled: - -"Cockerel, cockerel, sharp claw! The cock crows and threatens the -brood-hen; the brood-hen--cluck! cluck!--but it will be too late!" - -That was all he said. Three days later (the seer crowed three times!) -Arina Petrovna gave birth to a son ("cockerel! cockerel!") and named -him Porfiry in honor of the old soothsayer. The first half of the -prophecy had been fulfilled; but what could be the hidden meaning of -the mysterious words, "the brood-hen--cluck! cluck!--but it will be too -late?" Arina Petrovna often pondered over it, whenever her eyes fell on -Porfisha, who sat in his nook with his enigmatic gaze fixed on her. - -Meanwhile Porfisha kept on staring, quiet and meek, staring so intently -that his wide-open, motionless eyes began to swim in tears, as if -he vaguely sensed the doubts that tormented his mother's soul, and -wished to behave so as to disarm her most persistent suspicion. At the -risk of annoying his mother, he constantly hovered about her, and the -expression in his eyes seemed to say: "Look at me! I conceal nothing -from you. I am all obedience and devotion, and, mind you, I am obedient -and devoted not only from fear but also from loyalty." And although an -inner voice constantly sounded warning that the young scoundrel was -dangerous in spite of his wheedling and fawning, her heart could not -resist such unremitting devotion and her hand involuntarily felt for -the best piece in the dish to bestow upon the affectionate child. And -yet the very sight of him at times awakened a vague fear of something -puzzling and eery. - -The exact opposite of Porfiry was his brother, Pavel, the most perfect -embodiment of absolute passivity. As a boy he manifested no inclination -whatever for study, or games, or playing with other boys, but liked -to keep to himself. He would get into a corner, pout, and set to work -building air castles, dreaming that he had gorged himself with oatmeal -so that his legs had become thin and he had no lessons to learn, or -else that he was Davidka, the shepherd, with a growing lump on his -forehead, just like David's, and cracked a whip and had no lessons to -learn. Arina Petrovna would gaze at him for a long time, and then her -motherly feelings would well up: - -"Why do you sit there like a mouse on groats?" she would scold. "Is the -poison working in you already? Why don't you come over to your mother -and say: 'Mamenka darling, hug me?'" - -Pavel would leave his place of refuge and slowly approach his mother, -as if someone were pushing him from behind. "Mamenka darling," he would -repeat in a bass voice unnatural in a child, "hug me." - -"Get out of my sight, you sneak. You think if you get into your corner -I don't understand. You are mistaken, my darling. I see through and -through you. Your plans and projects are as clear as if they were -spread on the palm of my hand." - -And Pavel would just as slowly retrace his steps and bury himself again -in his corner. - -Years passed by, and Pavel Vladimirych gradually developed that -apathetic, unaccountably gloomy character which often goes with -absolute passivity. He was, perhaps, good, but he had done nobody any -good; he was, perhaps, not without some intelligence, but he had not -achieved anything intelligent in his life. He was hospitable, but -people did not like to avail themselves of his hospitality. He spent -money readily, but nothing good or pleasant came of his lavishness to -anybody. He never harmed anybody, but that was not considered a merit. -He was honest, but no one had ever heard it said: "How honorably Pavel -Golovliov dealt in that affair!" It must be added that sometimes, not -often, he snarled at his mother, although he feared her like poison. I -repeat, he was an ill-tempered person, but back of his moroseness was -nothing but sheer inertness. - -When the brothers reached maturity, the difference in their characters -was most conspicuous in their relation to their mother. Yudushka -punctually every week sent a lengthy epistle to "mother dear," in -which he informed her in the greatest detail of all the minutiæ of his -life in St. Petersburg, and assured her of his disinterested filial -devotion in the most carefully selected terms. As for Pavel, he wrote -rarely, laconically, and sometimes even enigmatically, pulling every -word out of himself with a pair of tongs, as it were. - -"My adorable friend and dear mother," is what Porfiry Vladimirych -wrote, for instance, "I have received the money from the peasant -Yerofeyev, and I send you my most heartfelt thanks for forwarding the -sum, which, according to your gracious wish, dearest mamenka, is to be -spent for my maintenance. I also kiss your hands with sincere filial -devotion. What worries and grieves me is the thought that you are -straining your precious health all too much by your ceaseless efforts -to satisfy not only our needs, but our whims as well. I don't know what -brother thinks, but I----" etc., etc. - -As for Pavel, what he wrote on a similar occasion was: "Dear mother, am -in receipt of the money, and, according to my calculations, you still -owe six and a half rubles, for which I beg to be graciously forgiven." - -When Arina Petrovna wrote reprimanding the children for their -extravagance--she did so rather frequently, although there was no -serious necessity for it--Porfisha invariably received her rebuke -submissively and replied: "I am well aware, my dearest friend and -mother, that you bear the heaviest burdens for the sake of us, your -unworthy children. I know that often our behavior does not justify -your motherly solicitude, and what is worse, erring humans that we -are, we often forget it, for which I apologize most devotedly and -sincerely, in the hope that in the course of time I will overcome my -weakness and be more prudent in my expenditure of the funds that you -send, my adorable friend and mother, for my maintenance and for other -purposes." Pavel would answer back: "Dearest mother, though you have -not as yet paid any of my debts, I accept most submissively the name -of spendthrift which you choose to bestow upon me, whereof I beg most -sincerely to accept my assurance." - -Even the replies that the brothers made to the letter announcing the -death of their sister, Anna Vladimirovna, were quite different from -each other. Porfiry Vladimirych said: "The news of the death of my dear -sister and good playmate, Anna Vladimirovna, has filled my heart with -sorrow, a sorrow aggravated by the thought that a new cross has been -given you to bear, dearest little mother, in the shape of two little -orphans. Is it not sufficient that you, common benefactress to us all, -deny yourself everything and, without sparing your health, concentrate -all your power on the sole object of assuring the family not only -the necessaries of life but also the luxuries? Believe me, it is a -wicked thing to do, but now and then, I confess, I cannot refrain from -grumbling. As far as I can see, the only solace for you, my dearest, -in this state of affairs is to remember as often as you can all that -Christ himself had to undergo." Pavel's reply ran: "The news of my -sister, who has fallen a victim, I have received. I hope, however, that -the Most High will rest her in His celestial tent, although this is -uncertain." - -Arina Petrovna reading these letters would try to guess which of the -two sons would be her destruction. At times she felt certain the -danger was coming from Porfiry Vladimirych. - -"Look how he wags his tongue, a regular fiend at writing!" she would -exclaim. "Simple Simon's nickname suits to a tee--Yudushka! Not a word -of truth in all this stuff about my burdens, my cross, and the rest. -Sheer lies! Not an ounce of feeling in his heart!" - -At other times Pavel Vladimirych seemed to be her real enemy. - -"A fool, and yet look how deftly he tries to make love to mother on -the sly. 'Whereof I beg most sincerely to accept my assurance!' Wait a -while! I'll teach you what 'accept assurances' means! I shall deal with -you as I did with Simple Simon, and you'll find out what I mean by your -'assurances'!" - -In the end a truly tragical cry would burst from her lips. "And for -whom am I hoarding all this wealth? For whom am I gathering all this? I -deny myself sleep and food--for whom?" - -Such were the domestic circumstances of the Golovliovs at the time that -the bailiff, Anton Vasilyev, reported to Arina Petrovna that Simple -Simon had dissipated "the bone" flung to him, which, in view of its -loss, might now be called with especial significance the "parental -blessing." - -Arina Petrovna sat in her bedroom, all her senses dazed. A vague, -unaccountable feeling stirred within her, whether pity, born suddenly -and miraculously, for her hated offspring, who, after all, was her son, -or whether merely thwarted despotism, the most expert psychologist -would have been unable to decide. Her sensations were utterly confused -and succeeded each other with bewildering swiftness. Finally, out of -the welter of her thoughts there crystallized one emotion, the fear -that "the horrid creature" would again be hanging round her neck. - -"Aniutka has forced her whelps on me, and now this dunderhead is coming -here," she pondered deeply. - -Long she sat silent, her eyes fixed and intent. Dinner was brought in, -but she hardly touched it; a servant came and said the master wanted -brandy. Without looking up she threw him the keys of the store-room. -After the meal she ordered the bath to be prepared for her. Then she -went into the oratory, ordered all the image lamps to be lit, and -shut herself in. These were all clear signs that the mistress was -"in a temper," and so the house turned as quiet as a churchyard. The -chambermaids walked on tiptoe; Akulina, the housekeeper, ran back and -forth like a lunatic. The preparations for preserving had been set -for after dinner; the berries had been rinsed and made ready, but the -mistress gave no orders either to go ahead or to wait. The gardener, -Matvey, came to ask whether it was time to gather the peaches, but such -was his reception in the maids' room that he fled precipitately. - -Prayers and bath over, Arina Petrovna felt almost reconciled with the -world and had the bailiff summoned again. - -"Now tell me, what is the numskull doing?" she asked. - -"Well, Moscow is big, it would take more than a year to walk through -it." - -"But he needs something to fill his stomach with, doesn't he?" - -"Our peasants feed him. He eats with one, gets money for tobacco from -another." - -"And who permits them to give him anything?" - -"Goodness me, madam! The people don't complain. They give alms to -strangers. Should they refuse a mite to their own master's son?" - -"I'll teach them to give mites! I'll have the blockhead deported to -your estate, and the community will have to maintain him at its own -expense." - -"As you command, madam." - -"What? What did you say?" - -"As you command, my lady. If you order it, we shall feed him." - -"That's better. But talk sensibly." - -A pause ensued. Then the bailiff, true to his nature and his nickname, -lost patience and began to shift from one leg to another, obviously -burning with the desire to unburden his mind of something. - -"He's a clever one, though," he finally blurted out. "People say he -brought back a hundred rubles from the campaign. It isn't a fortune, -but still one can live on it for a time." - -"Well?" - -"He thought he might improve his situation and went in for a shady -business." - -"Go on, go on, and don't give me any lies." - -"He went to the German Club. He thought he would find a fool to beat at -cards, but instead he happened on a cunning hawk. He tried to get away, -but was held up in the lobby. Of course, he was plucked clean." - -"I suppose he was roughly handled, too." - -"Of course. The next morning he came to our man, Ivan Mikhailych, and -told the tale himself. It's queer, he was in high spirits and laughed -as if they had treated him like a lord." - -"Things run from him like water off a duck's back. But I won't grieve -over it, provided he does not come within sight of me." - -"But I believe he will." - -"Nonsense, I will not allow him to cross my threshold." - -"But I'm sure he will," insisted Anton Vasilyev. "He said so in plain -words to Ivan Mikhailych. 'Enough,' he says, 'I am going back to the -old woman to eat her dry crusts.' And, madam, to speak the truth, where -can he lay his head but here? He cannot keep on forever feeding on our -men in Moscow. And besides, he needs clothing and comforts." - -That was exactly the thing Arina Petrovna dreaded. It was the very -essence of the obscure thought that so deeply alarmed her. "Yes, he -will turn up," she said to herself, "he has no other place to go to, -there's no doubt of it." He would always be there, within her sight, -that accursed, hated stranger of a son. What had been the good of -throwing his portion to him? She had thought that, having received "his -due," he would drop into eternity. And there he was, rising from the -dead. He would come, make insolent demands, and hang on like a leech, -shocking everybody by his beggarly appearance. And she would have to -meet his demands, because he was a brazen-faced bully, capable of any -violence. You cannot put such a man under restraint; he is capable of -parading in tatters before strangers, of the wildest debauchery, of -running away to the neighbors and telling them the ins and outs of the -family affairs. Should she have him deported to the Suzdal Monastery, -which was said to be a place for ridding parents in distress of the -sight of their refractory children? But the Lord knows whether that -fabulous institution existed at all. People said there were such -things as houses of correction. But how could one get an overgrown dolt -into one of them? - -In short, Arina Petrovna was altogether upset by the thought of how the -arrival of Simple Simon was going to disturb her peaceful existence. - -"I shall billet him upon you," was her threat to the bailiff. "Feed him -at your own expense." - -"Why so, madam?" - -"Because you stand there croaking: 'He's sure to come,'" she mimicked. -"Get out of my sight, you raven!" - -Anton Vasilyev turned to go, but Arina Petrovna stopped him: - -"Wait a minute. Is it true that he is starting out for Golovliovo?" - -"I'm not in the habit of telling lies, madam. He said so plainly--'I am -going back to the old woman to eat her dry crusts.'" - -"He'll soon find out what kind of crusts the old woman has prepared for -him." - -"But, madam, he won't live with you long." - -"Why not?" - -"Well, madam, he coughs very badly and keeps on clutching the left side -of his chest. He won't live long." - -"That kind generally lives very long. He'll outlive us all. The -coughing doesn't hurt him. Well, we shall see about it later. Leave me -now. I have several matters to attend to." - -Arina Petrovna spent the whole evening pondering over this problem. -Finally she found it best to convoke the family council for the -purpose of deciding what was to be done with Simple Simon. Such -constitutionalism was not her habit. She made up her mind to digress -from the traditions of autocracy solely for the purpose of shielding -herself from public censure, and as she did not doubt the outcome of -the conference, she sat down with a light heart to write to Porfiry and -Pavel asking them to come to Golovliovo immediately. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Meanwhile, the cause of all this mess, Simple Simon, was on his way -to Golovliovo. In Moscow he engaged a seat in one of the so-called -"diligences," in which small merchants and peasant traders used to -travel, and which are still seen in some districts. The diligence -had the city of Vladimir as its point of destination, and Stepan -was enabled to travel in it through the liberality of the aforesaid -innkeeper Ivan Mikhailych, who also paid for his master's meals on the -journey. - -"Listen," said Ivan Mikhailych, with the air of an accomplice. "Do -this, get off at the station and go straight up to your mother just as -you are." - -"Yes, yes, yes," answered Stepan Vladimirych approvingly. "The house is -only about fifteen versts from there. I can walk it in no time. I shall -appear before her all dirty and dusty." - -"When your mother sees you in that rig, perhaps she'll take pity on -you." - -"She will, she will. Mother, after all, is a kindly old woman." - -Stepan Golovliov was not quite forty, but he looked like fifty. Life -had so thoroughly worn him out that there was not a vestige of his -noble origin left, not a single trace of his university education nor -of the enlightening word of science which in days bygone had been -addressed to him, too. He was tall as a Maypole, racked by hunger, -unkempt, untidy, with a sunken chest and long bony arms. His bloated -face, his dishevelled hair, streaked with grey, his loud, hoarse voice, -his bulging, bloodshot eyes were unmistakable signs of heavy drinking -and a weather-beaten life. He wore an old, threadbare uniform, with the -galloons gone--they had been sold to a smelter--and a pair of reddish -boots, patched and sadly worn. Beneath his coat, when unbuttoned, -peeped a dirty shirt, as black as if it had been smeared with soot. -With the cynicism of a militiaman, he called it "a flea nest." - -His glance was stealthy and gloomy, the expression not of inner -discontent, but rather of a vague anxiety which seemed to come from -an ever-present fear of death by starvation. He talked ceaselessly -and disconnectedly, passing without transition from one subject to -another. He spoke whether Ivan Mikhailych listened or dozed off under -the soporific of his garrulousness. He was dreadfully uncomfortable, -because there were four people in the diligence and he had to sit with -his legs bent, so that at the end of three or four versts he had an -intolerable pain in his knee-joints. Nevertheless the pain did not -prevent him from talking. Clouds of dust entered through the side -windows of the vehicle, at times flooded by a flaming, scorching sheet -of sunlight. But Stepan Golovliov kept on talking. - -"Yes, brother," he held forth, "I have lived hard all my life. It is -high time to rest. I shan't be eating her out of house and home, shall -I? She has enough and to spare. What d'you think, Ivan Mikhailych?" - -"Oh, your mother has plenty to eat." - -"Yes, but not for me, you mean to say? Yes, friend, she has heaps of -money, but not a copper for me. And to think the hag has always hated -me. Why? But now I'll sing her a different song. I've made up my mind. -I'm desperate. If she tries to drive me out, I won't go. If she doesn't -give me food, I'll take it. I've served my country, brother. Now it's -everyone's duty to help me. There's only one thing I'm afraid of, that -she won't give me tobacco." - -"Yes, you'll have to say good-by to tobacco." - -"Then I'll put the screw on the bailiff. The devil can well afford to -give his master a present now and then." - -"Oh, yes, he may do that, but what if your mother forbids him to?" - -"Well, in that case I'll be done for. Tobacco is the only luxury that -has remained of my former style. When I had money I used to smoke not -less than a quarter of a pound of Zhukov's tobacco every day." - -"I guess you'll have to do without brandy, too." - -"Another calamity. Brandy does me a lot of good. It breaks up my -phlegm. When we were marching to Sebastopol, we had hardly reached -Serpukhov, when each man had already been given three gallons of -brandy." - -"You must have lost your senses." - -"I don't remember. We marched as far as Kharkov, but I'll be hanged -if I remember anything else. The only thing I can recall is that we -passed through villages and towns and that at Tula an _otkupshchik_ -made a speech. He shed tears, the scoundrel did. Yes, our holy mother -Russia drank from the cup of sorrow in those days. _Otkupshchiki,_ -contractors, receivers--it's a wonder God succeeded in saving the -country from them." - -"Oh, your mother came in for some of the profits. In our village hardly -half of the soldiers returned home. A recruit's receipt is now given -for each man lost in the campaign, and the government rates such a -quittance at more than four hundred rubles." - -"Yes, my mater is a cunning blade. She ought to be a minister of state -instead of housekeeper at Golovliovo. Let me tell you, she has been -unjust to me and she has insulted me, but I respect her. The main thing -is, she's clever as the devil. If not for her, where would we have been -now? We would have had nothing but Golovliovo with its one hundred and -one and a half souls. Just think what an enormous pile she has made." - -"Well, your brothers will certainly be rich." - -"Yes. But I'll have nothing, that's just as certain. Yes, friend, I've -gone to rack and ruin. But my brothers, they'll be rich, especially the -Bloodsucker. He can ensnare a person in no time, and it won't be long -before he'll undo her, too. He'll pump the estate and the money out of -her. I have an eye for these things. But Pavel, he's a fine chap. He -will send my tobacco on the sly. You'll see if he doesn't. As soon as I -reach Golovliovo, I'll send a note off to him: 'Dear brother, it's so -and so with me. Ease my soul.' Ah, if I were rich!" - -"What would you do?" - -"In the first place, I'd make you roll in wealth." - -"Why me? First think of yourself. I'm contented, living as I do under -your mother's rule." - -"Oh, no, brother, _attendez!_ I would make you the chief marshal of all -my estates. Yes, my dear friend, you have fed and warmed a soldier, -accept my thanks. If not for your generosity, I should now be footing -it all the way to the home of my fathers. And, of course, I would free -you on the spot and open up all my treasury to you--drink, eat and be -merry. What did you think I would do?" - -"You'd better stop worrying about me, sir. What else would you do if -you were rich?" - -"In the second place, I'd get a mistress at once. At Kursk I went to -mass once and saw one--a queen! She was very fidgety and restless." - -"But maybe she would object to becoming your mistress." - -"And how about hard cash? What's the filthy lucre for? If a hundred -thousand is not enough for her, she'll take two hundred thousand. When -I have money, no expense is too great for me, if it is a question of -getting a bit of pleasure out of life. I must confess that at the time -I let her know through our corporal that I would give her three rubles. -But the wench asked five." - -"That was too much for you, of course!" - -"Well, I can't tell. As I said, I was in a dream the whole time. -Maybe she came to me, but I forget. Those two months of marching have -gone completely out of my mind. No such thing has happened to you, I -suppose?" - -Ivan Mikhailych was silent. Stepan Vladimirych looked at him -attentively and discovered that his fellow-traveller was sound asleep. - -"Umph," he said. "He has nodded off, the sleepy-head. You have grown -fat, brother, on the tea and fare of your eating-house. I can't sleep, -not a wink. A good chance for a lark." - -Golovliov looked around and saw that everybody was asleep. The merchant -at his side was constantly striking his head against a cross-beam, but -kept on sleeping. His face shone as if veneered, and flies swarmed -about his mouth. A splendid idea, Stepan thought, to cram all the flies -down the merchant's throat. His hand began to move toward the merchant, -but halfway he repented and gave up the idea. "No more pranks," he -said, "enough. Sleep, friends, and rest." Meanwhile--where had he -hidden the bottle? Here, the darling! "Let me see you. Lord, save Thy -creatures," he hummed, taking out a bottle from a bag fastened to the -side of the vehicle and applying it to his mouth. "Ah, that's better. -It warms your insides, you know. Shall I have some more? Well, no. The -station is about twenty versts from here. I'll have time to get as -drunk as a lord. But shan't I have just one drop more? The deuce take -it, the vodka. The bottle simply acts like a charm. It's wicked to -drink, but how can you help it, if it is the only way of getting some -sleep? I wish the vodka, the deuce take it, would do for me quick." - -He gulped down some more vodka, returned the bottle to its place, and -began to fill his pipe. - -"We are all right," he said, talking to himself. "First, we had a sip, -and here we are smoking. She won't let me have any tobacco, the old -hag, sure as fate she won't, the man is right. Will she give me food? -She may send me what is left over from her meals. Well, we, too, had -money, but now we have none. Such is life. To-day you eat and drink -your fill, you enjoy yourself and smoke a pipe, - - - "'And to-morrow--where art thou, man?' - - -Still it would not be a bad thing to have a bite now. I drink like a -fish and I hardly ever have a square meal. Doctors say drinking does -you good only when followed by a hearty meal, as the Most Reverend -Smaragd said when we passed through Oboyan. Was it Oboyan? The deuce -knows, it may have been Kromy. But that's immaterial now. The main -question is, how to get something to eat. I recollect that my man put a -sausage and three rolls into the bag. Caviar is too expensive for the -rascal. Look at the fellow--sleeps like a log and sings through his -nose. I wouldn't be surprised if he were sitting on the bag." - -He rummaged about in search of the bag, but could not find it. - -"Ivan Mikhailych, Ivan Mikhailych," he shouted to the sleeping -innkeeper. The man woke up and for a while could not make out where he -was and how he happened to be sitting opposite his master. - -"I was just beginning to nap," he said finally. - -"Sleep, friend, sleep. I only want to know where the bag with the food -is." - -"Are you hungry? But you would like a drink first, I suppose." - -"Right. Where is the bottle?" - -Stepan Vladimirych took a drink, and then attacked the sausage, which -happened to be as salty as salt itself and as hard as stone, so that he -had to use the point of his knife to pierce it. - -"Some whitefish would taste good now," he remarked. - -"Excuse me, sir, I clean forgot about the whitefish. All morning I kept -saying to my wife: 'Be sure to remind me of the whitefish.' I am very -sorry." - -"Oh, it doesn't matter. The sausage is good enough for me. When we -were on the campaign, we ate worse things. Father used to tell that two -Englishmen made a bet. One of them was to eat a dead cat, and he ate -it." - -"You don't say!" - -"He did. And he was as sick as a dog afterwards. He cured himself with -rum. He guzzled two bottles as fast as he could, and that set him right -at once. Another Englishman made a bet that he would live a whole year -on nothing but sugar." - -"Did he win?" - -"No. He kicked the bucket two days before the end of the year. And how -about you, why don't you take a drink?" - -"I never touch it." - -"So you swill nothing but tea. No good, brother. That's why your belly -has grown so big. One must be careful with tea. A cup of tea must be -followed by a glass of vodka. Tea gathers phlegm, vodka breaks it up. -Isn't that so?" - -"Well, I don't know. You are learned; you know better." - -"True. On the campaign we had no time to bother with tea or coffee. But -vodka--that's a holy affair. You unscrew the flask, pour the vodka into -a cup, drink, and that's all. At that time we had to march so fast that -for ten days I went without washing." - -"You certainly roughed it, sir." - -"Yes, marching on the highroad is not a joke. Still, on our way forward -it was not so bad. People gave us money, and there was plenty to eat -and drink. But when we marched back there was no more fêting." - -Golovliov gnawed at the sausage and finally chewed up a piece. - -"It is very salty, this sausage is," he said. "But I'm not squeamish. -After all, mother won't feed me on tid-bits. A plate of cabbage soup -and some gruel--that's all she'll let me have." - -"God is merciful. Maybe she'll give you pie on holidays." - -"No, I imagine there'll be no tea, no tobacco, no vodka. People say she -has become fond of playing fool, so she may call me in to take a hand -at the game and give me some tea. As for the rest, there is no hope." - -There was a four-hour rest to feed the horses. Golovliov had finished -the bottle and was tormented by hunger. The travellers entered the inn -and settled down to a hearty meal. - -Stepan Vladimirych took a stroll in the court, paid a visit to the -backyard, the stables and the dovecote, and even tried to sleep. -Finally he came to the conclusion that the best thing for him to do -was to join his fellow-travellers in the inn. There the cabbage soup -was already steaming and on a wooden tray on the sideboard lay a great -chunk of beef, which Ivan Mikhailych was just then engaged in carving. -Golovliov seated himself a little way from the table, lighted his pipe, -and sat silent for quite a while pondering over the way in which he -could allay the pangs of hunger. - -"I wish you a good appetite, gentlemen," he said finally, "the soup -seems to be good and rich." - -"The soup is all right," answered Ivan Mikhailych. "Why don't you order -a portion for yourself?" - -"Oh, it was only a remark on my part. I'm not hungry." - -"Impossible. All you've eaten is a bit of sausage, and the damned -thing only teases one's appetite. Please eat something. I'll have a -separate table laid for you. My dear woman," he turned to the hostess, -"a place for the gentleman." - -The passengers silently attacked their meal and now and then exchanged -meaningful looks. Golovliov felt his fellow-travellers suspected how -matters stood, although he had played master throughout the journey, -not without some arrogance, and had addressed the faithful innkeeper as -if he had merely entrusted him with his cash. His brows knitted, and -a thick cloud of smoke escaped from his mouth. In the depths of his -heart he felt he ought to refuse, but so imperative are the dictates -of hunger that he set upon the bowl of cabbage soup like a beast of -prey and emptied it in a trice. Along with satiety came his customary -self-assurance and, as if nothing were the matter, he said, turning to -Ivan Mikhailych: - -"Well, my cashier, you will pay up for me, and I am off for the hayloft -to have a talk with Mr. Khrapovitzky." - -He jogged over to the hayloft, and as his stomach was full he was soon -fast asleep. He woke up at five o'clock in the morning. Noticing that -the horses stood at their empty bins rubbing their noses against the -edges, he roused the driver. "He sleeps like a top, the rascal," he -shouted. "We're in a hurry, and he's having pleasant dreams." - -Soon the travellers reached the station at which the road turned -off to Golovliovo. Here at last Stepan Vladimirych lost some of his -devil-may-care attitude and became crestfallen and taciturn. Ivan -Mikhailych tried to cheer him up and insisted that he part with his -pipe. - -"You'd better throw the pipe into the nettles, sir, when you come to -the manor-house," he coaxed. "You will find it later on." - -Finally the horses that were to take the innkeeper to the end of his -journey were ready, and the moment of parting came. - -"Good-by, brother," said Golovliov in a tremulous voice, kissing Ivan -Mikhailych. "She'll plague the life out of me." - -"The Lord is merciful. Keep up a stout heart." - -"She'll eat me up alive," repeated Stepan Vladimirych, with such -conviction that the innkeeper involuntarily lowered his eyes. - -With these words Golovliov turned sharply along the country road, -walking in a shuffle and leaning on a gnarled stick which he had cut -off a tree. - -Ivan Mikhailych followed him with his eyes for a while, and then ran -after him. - -"Listen, master," he said. "When I was cleaning your uniform a few -minutes ago, I saw three rubles in your side pocket. Please don't lose -them." - -Stepan Vladimirych was visibly irresolute and could not make up his -mind how to act in this contingency. Finally, he stretched out his hand -to the peasant and said, with tears in his eyes: - -"I understand--to buy tobacco for the old trooper? Thanks. But she'll -eat me up alive, friend. Sure as hell." - -Golovliov found the country road again and several minutes later his -grey soldier's cap showed afar off, now vanishing, now appearing above -the young wood. It was early in the day. The morning mist, touched into -gold by the first rays of the sun, hovered above the country road. The -grass glistened with the dew, and the air was redolent of fir-trees, -mushrooms, and wild berries. The road meandered across a plain swarming -with birds. - -Stepan Vladimirych, however, noticed nothing of the beauty about him. -All his frivolity had suddenly gone, and he walked as if to the Last -Judgment. One thought filled his mind to the exclusion of everything -else. In three or four hours he would have reached his goal. He -recalled his life at Golovliovo, and he felt as if the doors of a damp -cellar were opening to let him in, and no sooner would he penetrate -into the gloomy interior than the doors would close behind him and -everything would be over. Memories prophetic of what awaited him at -Golovliovo surged in his mind. There had been uncle Mikhail Petrovich, -popularly known as Mishka the Squabbler, one of the "horrid" members of -the family, whom grandfather Piotr Ivanych had exiled to Golovliovo, -where he had lived in the servants' quarters and eaten out of the -same dish with Trezorka, the house dog. There had been Aunt Vera -Mikhailovna, who had lived on the estate by her brother's favor and -died of "moderate living"; for Arina Petrovna had begrudged her every -mouthful at dinner and every billet of wood for the stove in her room. -And a similar fate awaited him. - -He foresaw an endless succession of joyless days losing themselves in -a grey yawning abyss, and he involuntarily shut his eyes. Henceforth -he would have to be alone with a wicked old woman, half dead in the -stagnation of despotism. She would be the death of him before long, as -sure as fate. Not a soul to speak to, not a place to visit. She would -be everywhere, scornful, despotic, deadening. The thought of that -inevitable future made his heart so heavy that he stopped under a -tree in desperation, and struck his head against it several times. His -entire life with all its farcical strutting, idleness, and buffoonery -loomed up as if flooded with sudden light. Then he started on his way -again. He felt there was nothing else left for him. The least of men -can make some effort, can earn his bread. He alone was helpless. It -was a new thought. He had been accustomed in thinking of his future to -picture various prospects, but always prospects of wealth coupled with -idleness, never prospects of work. And now the time had come when he -had to pay for the wickedness and aimlessness of his existence. It was -a bitter settlement, summed up in the terrible phrase: "She will be the -end of me." - -It was about nine o'clock in the morning when the white Golovliovo -belfry showed above the forest. The traveller's face grew pale, and his -hands began to tremble. He took off his cap and crossed himself. The -parable of the prodigal son and his return occurred to him, but he at -once rejected the idea as a bit of self-delusion. - -Finally, he noticed the boundary-post standing by the wayside, and -presently he was treading the Golovliovo soil, the hateful soil that -had borne him, an unloved child, that had reared him, sent him, hated, -into the wide world, and was now receiving him, the unloved one, back -into its arms again. The sun was high in the heavens and was ruthlessly -scorching the boundless fields of Golovliovo. But Stepan Vladimirych -was growing paler and shivering with ague. - -At length he reached the churchyard, and here his courage failed -utterly. The manor-house looked out from behind the trees as if nothing -unpleasant had ever happened there; yet the sight of it worked on him -like the vision of a Medusa head. His paternal abode seemed to be a -tomb. "A tomb, tomb, tomb," he repeated unconsciously. He had not the -courage to go straight to the house, but first called on the priest -and sent him to break the news of his arrival and inquire whether his -mother would receive him. - -The priest's wife was very sympathetic and hastened to prepare an -omelette. The village children gathered about him and stared at the -master with wondering eyes. The peasants passing by lifted their hats -in silence and looked at him curiously. One old servant ran up with -the intention of kissing the master's hand. Everyone understood that a -wastrel was before them, an unloved son who had returned to his hated -home never to leave it except for the graveyard. At the thought of it -the people were overwhelmed with a mingled feeling of pity and dread. - -At last the priest returned and announced that the lady of the manor -was ready to receive Stepan Vladimirych. Ten minutes later he was -standing in her presence. Arina Petrovna met him severely and solemnly, -and measured him icily from head to foot, but allowed herself no -useless reproaches. She received him, not in the living room, but on -the porch, and ordered the young master to be taken to his father -through another entrance. The old man was dozing in his bed, under a -white coverlet, in a white nightcap, all white like a corpse. When he -felt the presence of his son he woke up and began to laugh idiotically. - -"Well, friend, so now you are under the hag's paw," he cried, while his -son kissed his hand. Then he crowed like a cock, burst out laughing -again, and repeated several times: "She'll eat him up! She'll eat him -up!" The phrase found echo in Stepan's soul. - -His fears were justified. He was installed in a separate room in -the wing that also housed the counting-room. He was given homespun -underwear and an old discarded dressing-gown of his father's, which he -put on immediately. The doors of the burial vault had opened, let him -in, and closed again. - -There now began a long succession of dull, ugly days, which Time's -grey, yawning abyss swallowed up, one after the other. Arina Petrovna -never received him, nor was he allowed to see his father. Three days -after his arrival, his mother informed him through Finogey Ipatych, the -bailiff, that he would receive board and clothing and also a pound of -Faler's tobacco monthly. Stepan Vladimirych listened to the bailiff, -and merely remarked: - -"The hag! She's found out that Zhukov's tobacco costs two rubles, while -Faler's is only one ruble ninety kopeks a pound. So she pockets ten -kopeks a month." - -The symptoms of the moral sobering that had appeared during the -hours of his approaching Golovliovo on the country road, vanished. -Frivolity reasserted its rights and was followed by an acceptance of -the conditions his mother imposed upon him. The disquieting thought of -the hopeless future, which had once pierced his mind, faded gradually -away and finally was no more. The day and the evil thereof, the petty -interests of existence in all its undisguised ugliness absorbed his -entire being. What part, indeed, could his intentions and opinions play -when the course of the rest of his life in all its details was laid out -in advance in Arina Petrovna's brain? - -All day long he walked to and fro in his room, pipe in mouth, humming -bits of songs, passing unaccountably from church tunes to boisterous -airs. If the village clerk happened to be in the office, he went up to -him and engaged in a conversation, of which the chief topic was Arina -Petrovna's income. - -"What does she do with all her wealth?" he would exclaim wonderingly, -having reached the sum of more than eighty thousand rubles. "My -brothers' allowances are rather poor; she herself lives shabbily, and -she feeds cured meats to father. She deposits the money in the bank, -that's what she does with it." - -On one occasion Finogey Ipatych came to deliver the taxes he had -gathered, and the table was littered with paper money, and Stepan's -eyes glittered. - -"Ah, what a heap of money!" he exclaimed. "And it all flows right down -her throat. As for giving her son some of these nice greenbacks, no, -she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't say: 'Here, my son, you who are -visited by sorrow, here is some cash for wine and tobacco.'" - -This was usually followed by endless cynical talks about how he could -win over his mother's heart. - -"In Moscow," he held forth, "I used to meet a man who knew a magic -word. If his mother refused to give him money he would utter 'the -word,' and she instantly got cramps in her hands and feet, in fact all -over." - -"It must have been a spell, I suppose," remarked the village clerk. - -"Well, whatever it may have been, it is gospel truth that there is such -a 'word.' Another man told me this: 'Take,' he says, 'a frog, and put -it into an anthill at midnight. By morning the ants will have gnawed -it clean, so that only its skeleton will be left. Take the skeleton, -and when it is in your pocket ask anything you wish of any woman, and -she won't refuse you." - -"Well, that's easy." - -"The trouble is, one must first damn oneself forever. If it weren't for -that, the old hag would be cringing before me." - -Hours on end were spent in such talk, but no remedy was found. The -preliminary condition was that you either had to call a curse down on -yourself, or sell your soul to the devil. There was no help. Stepan -Vladimirych had to go on living under his mother's rule, the only -relief coming in the small voluntary contributions that he raised from -the village officials in the form of tobacco, tea, and sugar. His fare -consisted mainly of what remained from his mother's table, and as Arina -Petrovna was moderate to the point of avarice, his board was meagre, -to say the least; which was all the more painful because ever since -vodka had become unattainable, his appetite had grown considerably -keener. All day long hunger gnawed at him, and his sole preoccupation -was how to fill his stomach. He awaited the hour when his mother would -retire for a rest, then sneaked into the kitchen and looked into the -servants' quarters, snatching a bit here, a bit there. Sometimes he -would sit at his open window watching for passers-by. If one of the -serfs came along, he stopped him and levied toll in the form of an egg, -a curd-cake, and the like. - -At the first meeting between mother and son, Arina Petrovna briefly -explained the whole program of his life. - -"Live here," she said. "Here is a shelter for you in the -counting-house. Your meals you will get from my table. In other matters -you will have to put up with things as they are. There were never any -dainties in the house, and I shan't change my ways for your sake. Your -brothers will soon arrive. Whatever they will decide about you, I shall -carry out. I shall take no sin upon my soul. Let them dispose of your -fate." - -He looked forward to his brothers' arrival with impatience. Not that he -reflected on the influence their arrival might have on his existence, -as he had evidently decided that the matter was not worth his thought. -The only thing that interested him was whether Pavel would bring him -tobacco and how much. - -"Maybe he'll hand me over some coin, too," he mused. "Porfishka the -Bloodsucker, he won't, but Pavel ... I'll say to him: 'Brother, give a -soldier some cash for wine.' He'll give me some. He's sure to." - -He did not notice the passage of the days, nor did he feel the weight -of his absolute idleness. The only time he was lonesome was in the -evenings, because the constable left at eight, and Arina Petrovna did -not allow her son any candles, on the ground that one can walk to and -fro without light. He soon became accustomed to the dark and even began -to love it, for in the darkness his imagination had free play and -carried him far, far away from the dreary place which was his home. In -those hours only one thing disturbed him. He had a dull pain in the -chest and his heart palpitated queerly, especially when he went to bed. -Sometimes he jumped out of bed and ran about the room, clutching the -left side of his chest. - -"I wish I would die," he thought at such moments. "But, no, I shan't -die. But maybe I shall." - -One morning when the village clerk with an air of mystery reported that -his brothers had arrived the night before, he shuddered and grew pale. -Something childlike suddenly awoke in him. He felt like running to the -house to see how his brothers were dressed, and find out what beds had -been prepared for them, and whether they had travelling cases like one -he had seen a militia captain carrying, and hear how they would talk -to mother, and spy out what would be served at dinner. In short, a -desire once more arose in him to return to life, which so persistently -rejected him, to fall at "dear mamma's" knees, and obtain her pardon. -Then perhaps he would eat the fatted calf and be merry. - -The house was still quiet, but he had already visited, the kitchen and -found out that the following courses had been ordered for dinner: soup -with fresh cabbage, also some soup left over from yesterday, cured meat -served with cutlets of chopped meat for entree, fried mutton chops and -four snipes for the roast, and raspberry pie with cream for dessert. - -"Yesterday's soup, cured meat, and the chops--that, brother, is for -me," he said to the cook. "There will be no pie for me, I guess." - -"For your mother to say, sir." - -"Ah, friend, there was a time when I ate snipe. Yes, I did. Once I made -a bet with Lieutenant Gremykin that I would eat fifteen snipes one -after the other, and what do you think? I won the bet. After that I -couldn't look at snipe for a month." - -"But you won't refuse to have some now?" - -"She wouldn't let me have any. I can't see, though, what makes her -so stingy. A snipe is a free bird. You don't have to feed it or look -after it. It is self-supporting. She doesn't buy snipes any more than -she buys sheep--and yet! The hag knows snipe tastes better than mutton. -That's why she won't let me have it. She'd rather let it rot than give -it to me. What's ordered for breakfast?" - -"Liver, mushrooms in sour cream, and custard." - -"Why not send me a custard? Do, brother." - -"Well, I'll try hard. Let me tell you, sir. When the brothers sit down -to breakfast, you send the village clerk here. He'll fetch you a couple -of custards under his coat." - -Next day Stepan Vladimirych waited the entire morning for his brothers, -but they did not arrive. Finally, about eleven o'clock, the village -clerk brought the two promised custards and reported that the brothers -had just finished breakfast and were closeted with Arina Petrovna in -her bedroom. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Arina Petrovna received her sons solemnly, weighed down by grief. Two -maids supported her under the armpits. Her grey locks streamed out from -under her cap, her head drooped, and shook from side to side, and her -limbs seemed hardly able to support her. She always liked to play the -part of a venerable, careworn mother before her children, moving with -difficulty and getting her maids to assist her. Simple Simon called -such solemn receptions high mass, herself a bishop, and the maids, -Polka and Yulka, mace-bearers. As it was late at night the interview -was almost a silent one. Without saying a word she gave her sons her -hand to kiss; kissed them in turn, and made the sign of the cross over -them; and when Porfiry Vladimirych made it clear that he would gladly -spend the rest of the night with "mother dear," she merely waved her -hand and said: - -"Come now. Take a rest, you must be tired after the journey. This is -not the time for discussion. We shall talk to-morrow." - -Next morning the two sons went to kiss papa's hand, but papa refused -his hand. He lay on his bed with closed eyes, and when they entered he -cried out: - -"Have you come to judge the toll-gatherer? Get out, Pharisees! Get -out!" - -But in spite of this reception, Porfiry Vladimirych emerged from papa's -room agitated and with tears on his eyelids, while Pavel Vladimirych, -like "the heartless dolt" that he was, merely picked his nose. - -"He is very weak, mother dear, very weak!" exclaimed Porfiry -Vladimirych, throwing himself on his mother's breast. - -"Is it so bad?" - -"Yes, very bad. He won't live much longer." - -"Oh, well, it isn't as bad as that." - -"No, dear, no. And although your life has never been too joyful, yet -as I think how Fate deals you so many blows at once, upon my word, I -wonder where you get the strength to bear up under it all." - -"Well, my friend, the strength comes if such is the Lord's will. You -know what it says in the Scriptures: 'Bear one another's burdens.' It -seems that our Heavenly Father has chosen me to bear the burdens of my -family." - -Arina Petrovna shut her eyes, so delightful was this vision of the -family finding their tables covered for them and of her toiling for -them and bearing their burdens. - -"Yes, my friend," she said after a minute's pause, "it's a hard life I -lead in my old age. I have provided for my children, and it is time for -me to rest. It's no joke--four thousand souls! At my age to take care -of such an estate, to have an eye on everybody and everything, to run -back and forth! As for all those bailiffs and managers, they look you -straight in the eye, but, believe me, they are the most faithless kind. -And you," she interrupted herself, turning to Pavel, "what are you -digging in your nose for?" - -"What have I to do with it?" snarled Pavel Vladimirych, disturbed in -the very midst of his absorbing occupation. - -"What do you mean? After all, he's your father. You might find a word -of pity for him." - -"Well--a father! A father like any other father. He has been that way -for ten years. You always make things unpleasant for me." - -"Why in the world should I, my boy? I am your mother. Here is Porfisha. -He has found words of affection and pity for me as befits a good son, -but you don't even look at your mother properly. You look at her out of -the corner of your eye, as if she were not your mother, but your foe. -Please don't bite me." - -"Well, what----" - -"Stop! Hold your tongue for a minute. Let your mother say a word. Do -you remember the commandment, 'Honor thy father and thy mother, and all -will be well with thee?' Am I to understand that you don't wish to be -well?" - -Pavel Vladimirych kept silence and looked at his mother in perplexity. - -"You see, you're silenced," went on Arina Petrovna, "you are guilty. -But I shall let you alone. For the sake of this joyful meeting we shall -dispense with this talk. God, my child, sees everything. As for me, I -see you through and through, and I always have. Children, children, you -will remember your mother when she lies in her grave. You will remember -her, but it will be too late." - -"Mamma dear!" interposed Porfiry Vladimirych. "Away with such black -thoughts, away with them!" - -"We must all die," said Arina Petrovna sententiously. "These are not -black, but pious thoughts. I'm growing weak, children, oh, how weak! -Debility and ailments are the only things left of my former strength. -Even the maids have noticed it, and they don't care a rap for me. If I -say one word, they have ten in reply. I have only one threat, that I -shall complain to the young masters. That works sometimes." - -Tea was served and then breakfast, during which Arina Petrovna -continued her complaining and self-pitying. After breakfast she invited -her sons to her bedroom. - -When the door was locked, she went straight to the business for which -she had convoked the family council. - -"Simple Simon is here," she began. - -"We heard about it, mamma dear," said Porfiry Vladimirych; and it was -hard to say whether it was irony or the calm complacency of a man who -has just eaten a hearty meal that sounded in his voice. - -"He has come here as if that were the proper thing to do. Whatever he -may have done, he seems to think the old mother will always have bread -for him. Think of all his hatred for me, of all the trouble his tricks -and buffoonery have caused me. And what have I not done to get him a -good berth? It all ran off like water from a duck's back. At last, I -made up my mind. Goodness, if he cannot take care of himself, am I to -ruin my life on account of the big lout? I'll give him a piece of the -property, I decided. Perhaps, I thought, once an independent proprietor -he'll sober down. No sooner said than done. I myself found a house -for him and paid out twelve thousand silver rubles for it with my own -hands. And what's the upshot? After less than three years he's hanging -round my neck again. How long am I to stand such insults?" - -Porfisha lifted up his eyes and shook his head sorrowfully, as if to -say, "Fine doings. Why disturb mother dear so ruthlessly? Why not -live peacefully and quietly? Then dear mamma would not be angry. Fine -doings." But Porfisha's gestures did not please Arina Petrovna, who -objected to any interruption to the course of her thoughts. - -"Wait a minute," she said, "don't shake your head. Listen first. Think -of my feelings when I learned that he had thrown away his parental -blessing like a gnawed bone into a cesspool. Think how he outraged me, -me, who for years refused myself sleep and food. He has done to his -patrimony what one would do to a bauble bought at a fair." - -"Oh, mother dear, what a shame, what a shame!" began Porfiry -Vladimirych, but Arina Petrovna stopped him again. - -"Wait a minute. Let me have your opinion when I order you to. If at -least the scoundrel had come to me in time and said: 'I am guilty, -dear mamma, I couldn't restrain myself,' I might have bought the house -back for a song. The unworthy son did not know how to make use of the -property. Perhaps the worthier children would. The house easily brought -in fifteen per cent. income yearly. Maybe I would have thrown him out -another thousand rubles in his distress. But instead, he disposed of -the property without so much as saying a word to me. With my own hands, -I paid out twelve thousand rubles for the house, and it was sold at -auction for eight thousand rubles!" - -"The main thing, dear mamma, is that he has dealt so basely with the -parental blessing," Porfiry interjected hastily, as if afraid of being -stopped again. - -"Yes, that's so, too. My money does not come lightly. I have earned it -with the sweat of my brow. When I married your father, all he owned -was the estate of Golovliovo with one hundred and one souls, and a few -more souls scattered in distant estates, a hundred and fifty in all. -As for me, I had nothing at all. Now look what an estate I have built -up on that foundation. There are four thousand souls, not a single one -less. I can't take them into the grave with me. Do you think it was an -easy task to scrape four thousand souls together? No, dear child, not -easy, far from easy. I spent many a sleepless night trying to work out -a good business scheme, so that no one should smell it out and stand in -my way. And what have I not endured in my business travels? I have had -plenty of hard road and bad weather and slippery ice. It is only lately -that I allow myself the luxury of a coach. In former times I rode in a -plain two-horse peasant's cart with a cover put on extra for me. It was -in nothing but a cart that I used to go to Moscow. And the filth and -stench I had to put up with in the Moscow inns! I begrudged myself the -dime for the cabby, and I walked all the way from Rogozhskaya Street -to Solyanka. The house-porter would say to me wonderingly: "Mistress, -they say you are young and well-to-do, why do you work so hard?" But I -was silent and patient. At first all I had at my disposal were thirty -thousand rubles in bank notes. I sold your father's remote estates with -their one hundred souls, and with what I realized from the sale I set -out to buy a property with a thousand souls. I had a mass said at the -Iverska Church and went to Solyanka to try my luck. What do you think -happened? The Holy Virgin must have seen my bitter tears. She helped -me buy the estate. It was like a miracle. The instant I bid thirty -thousand rubles the auction came to an end. There had been a lot of -noise and excitement, but then the people stopped bidding, and it was -as quiet as could be. The auctioneer got up and congratulated me. I was -dumfounded. Ivan Nikolaich, the lawyer, came over to me and said: 'Let -me congratulate you, madam, on your purchase.' But I stood there stiff -as a post. How great is God's mercy! Think of it, if in my confusion -someone had called out just for spite, 'I bid thirty-five thousand,' I -should certainly have offered every bit of forty thousand. And where -would I have gotten the money from?" - -Many a time before had Arina Petrovna regaled her children with the -epical beginnings of her career of acquisition. It had never lost -the charm of novelty for them. Porfiry Vladimirych listened smiling, -sighing, turning up his eye-balls, lowering them, to the tune of the -rapid changes through which the tale passed. As for Pavel Vladimirych, -he sat with wide-open eyes, like a child, listening to a familiar, yet -ever-fascinating fairy tale. - -"Do you think your mother built up her fortune without trouble?" went -on Arina Petrovna. "It takes trouble even to make a pimple on your -nose. After the first purchase I was laid up with fever for six weeks. -So judge for yourselves how it must make my heart ache to see my -hard-earned money, money I went through torments to get, you may say, -thrown out into the gutter for no earthly reason." - -There was a minute's pause. Porfiry Vladimirych was ready to rend his -garments, but refrained, fearing there would be no one in the village -to mend them. Pavel Vladimirych, as soon as the fairy tale was over, -fell back into his wonted apathy, and his face resumed its customary -dull expression. - -"That is why I asked you to come here," began Arina Petrovna anew. "Now -judge us, me and the villain. Whatever you decide will be done. If you -condemn him, he will be guilty. If you condemn me, I shall be guilty. -Only I shall not allow the rascal to get the better of me," she added, -quite unexpectedly. - -Porfiry Vladimirych felt his turn had come, and he prepared to hold -forth, but approached the subject in a roundabout way. - -"If you will permit me, dearest mother, to express my opinion," he -said, "here it is in two words: children must obey their parents, -blindly do their bidding, cherish them in their old age. That's all! -What are children, dear mother? Children are loving creatures who owe -their parents everything, from their persons to the last rag they -possess. Therefore, parents may judge children, while children may -never judge parents. Children are in duty bound to respect, not to -judge. You say: 'Judge us.' That is magnanimous of you, dear mother, -_mag_nificent! But how can we think about it without fear, we whom from -the first day of our birth you have been clothing with kindness from -head to foot? Say what you may, it would not be judgment but blasphemy. -It would be such blasphemy, such blasphemy----" - -"Stop, wait a minute. If you say you cannot sit in judgment on me, -acquit me and condemn _him,_" Arina Petrovna interrupted. She was -listening and trying to search his meaning, but could not make out what -new plot was back of the Bloodsucker's mind. - -"No, mother dear, even that I cannot do, or rather I don't dare to. I -have no right to. I can neither acquit nor condemn. I simply cannot -judge. You are the mother; you alone know how to deal with us children. -You have the right to reward us if we deserve it, and chastise us if we -are guilty. Our duty is not to criticise, but to obey. And if at the -moment of parental wrath you exceed the measure of justice, even then -we dare not grumble, for the ways of Providence are hidden from us. Who -knows, perhaps it was necessary. Our brother Stepan has acted basely, -unspeakably, but you alone can determine the degree of punishment he -deserves." - -"Then you refuse to help me? You would have me get out of this affair -as best I can?" - -"Oh, dearest, dearest, how you misunderstood me! Goodness, goodness! I -said, that however you might be pleased to dispose of brother Stepan's -fate, so shall it be, and you--what horrible thoughts you ascribe to -me." - -"All right. And you?" she turned to Pavel Vladimirych. - -"Do you want my opinion? But what's my opinion to you?" said he, as if -only half-awake. However, he braced himself unexpectedly and went on: -"Of course, he's guilty. Have him torn to pieces--ground to dust in a -mortar--it's settled in advance. What am I in this?" - -Having mumbled these incoherent words, he stopped and stared at his -mother, his mouth wide open, as if not trusting his own ears. - -"Well, my dear, I shall speak to you later," Arina Petrovna cut him off -coldly. "I see that you are anxious to tread in Stiopka's tracks. Take -care, my child. You will repent, but it will be too late." - -"Why, what's the matter? I'm not saying anything. I say, just as you -please. What is there disrespectful in that?" said Pavel Vladimirych, -faintly. - -"I'll talk with you later on, my boy, later on. You think because you -are an army officer, you can run wild. You are greatly mistaken. Then -neither of you wants to sit in judgment?" - -"I, dearest mother----" - -"What am I in this?" said Pavel Vladimirych. "I don't care. Have him -torn to pieces." - -"Hold your tongue, for Christ's sake, you wicked man!" Arina Petrovna -felt she was fully entitled to call her son "scoundrel," but refrained -in deference to the joyous meeting. "Well, if you refuse to judge him I -shall. Here is my verdict. I shall try to treat him kindly once more. I -shall hand over to him the little Vologda village, have a cottage built -there, and let him live there and be fed by the peasants." - -Although Porfiry Vladimirych had refused to sit in judgment on his -brother, his mother's generosity was so amazing that he felt he simply -had to point out the dangerous consequences of her project. - -"Dearest mamma," he exclaimed, "you are more than magnanimous. You are -confronted by a deed--well, the vilest, meanest deed--and then you -forget and pardon. _Mag_nificent! But forgive me, I am afraid for you, -dearest. Think what you will of me, but if I were you, I wouldn't do -it." - -"Why not?" - -"I don't know. Perhaps I lack your magnanimity, that motherly feeling -of yours. But one thought comes back to me all the while--what if -brother Stepan does the same with his second legacy as he did with his -first?" - -Arina Petrovna had already thought of that, yet in the back of her mind -was another consideration. - -"The Vologda estate is father's property, it belongs to the patrimony," -she said through her teeth. "Sooner or later a portion of the patrimony -will have to be doled out to him." - -"I understand that very well, mother dear." - -"Then you also understand that on giving him the Vologda village we can -make him sign a document to the effect that he has received his full -share and that he renounces all further inheritance claims." - -"I understand that too, dearest mother. Your excessive kindness caused -you to commit a grave mistake. At the time you bought him the house you -ought to have made him give you such a document then." - -"Yes, that was a blunder." - -"At that time, in his joy, he would have signed any document. But you, -dearest, in the kindness of your heart--goodness, what a mistake! What -a mistake!" - -"Don't talk of it any more. Why didn't you speak up before it was too -late? Now you are ready to blame everything on your mother, but when it -comes to business, you are not there. However, it isn't the document -I have in mind. I can make him sign it even now. Papa, I suppose, -isn't going to die at once. Until his death the blockhead must live on -something. In case he refuses to sign, we can chase him out and bid him -wait for papa's death. No, what I want to know is, do you dislike my -idea of giving him the Vologda estate?" - -"He will squander away the village, darling, as he did the house." - -"If he does, let him blame himself." - -"He'll come back to you, again, to no one else." - -"Oh, no, I won't stand for it. I won't let him come near my threshold. -There won't be a drink of water for him in my house. And people won't -condemn me for it, nor will God punish me. To squander away first a -house, then an estate! Am I his slave? Is he the only one I have to -provide for? Have I not other children?" - -"Still, it is to you that he will come. Isn't he brazen-faced enough to -do that, darling mamma?" - -"I tell you, I won't let him come near my threshold. Why do you sit -there croaking, 'he'll come, he'll come?' I won't let him in." - -Arina Petrovna grew silent and fixed her gaze on the window. She -herself vaguely realized that the Vologda estate would only temporarily -free her from "the horrid creature," that in the end he would dispose -of it, too, and would return to her again, and that as a mother she -could not refuse him a corner in her house. But the thought that the -odious fellow would always be with her, that even though locked up in -the counting-house he would be preying on her imagination like a spook, -was so appalling that she shuddered involuntarily. - -"Not for the world!" she exclaimed, striking the table with her fist -and leaping to her feet. - -Meanwhile, Porfiry Vladimirych kept on staring at "mother dear" and -shaking his head rhythmically in token of condolence. - -"I see you are angry, dearest mamma," he said at last in a tone so -sugared that he seemed to be getting ready to tickle Arina Petrovna. - -"What would you have me do? Dance a jig?" - -"Excuse me, darling, but what do the Scriptures say about patience? -'In patience,' it says, 'possess ye your souls,' 'In patience'--that's -the word. Do you think God does not see? He sees everything, mother -dear. We perhaps don't suspect anything, we sit here proposing this and -planning that, while He may already have disposed. Oh, dearest mamma, -how unjust you are to me." - -But Arina Petrovna was fully aware that the Bloodsucker was throwing a -snare, and she flew into a rage. - -"Are you making sport of me?" she shouted. "I am discussing business, -and he's trying to hoax me. Don't pull the wool over my eyes. Speak -plainly. Do you want him to remain at Golovliovo, hanging around his -mother's neck?" - -"Just so, dearest mother, if you please. Let him be where he is and -make him sign a paper about the heritage." - -"So, so. I knew that was what you would advise. All right. God alone -knows how it will pain me always to be having that creature around. -However, it seems nobody will take pity on me. When I was young I bore -my cross. Shall I refuse it in my old age? But there is still another -point. While papa and I are alive, _he'll_ live at Golovliovo, and we -won't let him starve. But how about afterwards?" - -"Dearest mother! Darling! Why such melancholy thoughts?" cried the -Bloodsucker. - -"Melancholy or not, still one has to provide ahead. We aren't babies. -When we die, what will become of him?" - -"Dearest mother! Can't you count on us, your children? Have we not been -properly brought up by you?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych flashed on her one of those puzzling glances which -had always made her uneasy, and went on: - -"The poor man, dear mamma, I shall help with greater joy than the rich. -The rich man, Christ be with him, the rich man has enough of his own. -But the poor man--you know what Christ said of the poor." - -Porfiry Vladimirych got up and kissed his mother's hand. - -"Dearest mamma, allow me to present my brother with two pounds of -tobacco," he said entreatingly. - -Arina Petrovna did not answer. She looked at him and reflected: "Is he -really such a Bloodsucker that he would turn his own brother out on the -streets?" - -"Well, do as you please. Let him live at Golovliovo," she said finally, -turning to Porfiry. "You have trapped me. You started with 'just -as you please, dearest mamma,' and finished by dancing me on your -wire. But let me tell you this, I hate him and he has disgraced and -pestered me all his life, he has even dishonored my motherly blessing. -Nevertheless, if you turn him out into the streets or make a beggar of -him, you shall not have my blessing. No, no, no. Now you two go to him. -The idiot is wearing out his silly eyes looking for you." - -The sons left. Arina Petrovna rose and watched them stride over the -front yard to the counting-house without exchanging a word. Porfiry was -constantly taking off his cap and crossing himself, now at the sight -of the church, which shimmered afar off, now before the chapel, now -before the wooden post to which a charity box was attached. As for -Pavel, he seemed unable to take his eyes off his boot tips shining in -the sunlight. - -"For whom have I been accumulating riches? Refused myself sleep and -food--for whom?" she cried bitterly. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -The brothers departed, and the manor-house of Golovliovo was deserted. -With renewed energy, Arina Petrovna took up her work again. The -clatter of the knives in the kitchen ceased, but activities in office, -storehouses, cellars, were redoubled. Summer, the great provider, -was nearly over; preserving, canning, pickling, storing were in full -swing. Winter provisions flowed in from all quarters, dried mushrooms, -berries, eggs, vegetables. This requisition in kind imposed upon the -peasant women came in wagons from all the various family estates. -Everything was measured and added to the stores of former years. Not in -vain had the lady of Golovliovo had a long row of cellars, storehouses -and granaries built. They were full to the brim. Quite a good deal of -damaged material was along with the rest and smelt foully. At the end -of summer the stuff was all sorted and what was suspicious was sent to -the servants' quarters. - -"The pickles are still in good condition, only the skin is coming off -in some places, and they smell a little. Well, let the servants enjoy a -dainty bit," Arina Petrovna would say, pointing out the barrels to be -put aside. - -Stepan Vladimirych adapted himself admirably to his new condition. At -times he felt a strong craving to get drunk as a piper. He had money -for the purpose, as we shall see later. But he restrained himself -stoically, as if considering that the time had not yet arrived. He -was always busy now, for he took a lively part in the provisioning, -rejoicing in its successes and regretting its failures in a wholly -disinterested manner. In a sort of ecstasy, hatless, clad in his -dressing-gown, he scurried from the office to the cellars, hiding from -his mother behind trees and various small buildings that crowded the -court-yard. Arina Petrovna noticed him in this garb many times, and -felt an itching in her motherly heart to give Simple Simon a severe -scolding, but on second thought she left him alone in his escapades. -In the cellars Stepan Vladimirych with feverish impatience watched how -the carts were unloaded, how jars, barrels and tubs were brought in -from the estate, and everything was assorted and finally sent off into -the yawning abyss of cellars and storehouses. He felt satisfied in most -instances. - -"To-day two wagons of mushrooms came from Dubrovino. Ripping fine -mushrooms, brother," he informed the village clerk rapturously. "And we -were afraid we should have to get along without mushrooms this winter. -Bravo, Dubrovino fellow, much obliged! Fine fellows they are! They have -helped us out!" - -On another occasion, he said: - -"To-day mother gave an order to catch some carps in the pond. You ought -to see them! Some three feet long! It looks as if we were going to live -on carp the whole week." - -Sometimes he was worried. - -"The cucumbers failed completely this season. There is not a good one -among them--all crooked and spotty. They're just good enough to be -sent to the servants' quarters. We shall have to use last year's." - -He did not approve of Arina Petrovna's management. "Goodness, what -heaps of provisions she allows to rot! Just now she's having cured -meat, pickles, fish and what not hauled to the servants' quarters. -Is that what you call good business? Is that the right way of doing -things, I'd like to know. There are lots of fresh provisions, but she -will not touch them until the old rot is eaten up." - -The confidence entertained by Arina Petrovna that it would be easy to -induce Simple Simon to sign any paper proved wholly justified. Not only -did he not object to signing all the papers that his mother sent him, -but the same evening he even boasted about it to the village clerk. - -"Well, brother, to-day I have been doing nothing but signing papers. I -have renounced all my rights of inheritance. I am cleaned out. Not a -cent to my name, and none coming. I have set the old woman at ease." - -He parted with his brothers peaceably, and was in raptures over his -big supply of tobacco. Of course, he couldn't help calling Porfisha -Bloodsucker and Yudushka, but the disparaging terms were drowned in a -deluge of incoherent, meaningless chatter. - -In taking leave the brothers became liberal and even gave him money. -Porfiry Vladimirych accompanied his gift with the following speech: - -"This money will be handy in case you need oil for the ikon lamp or if -you want to set up a candle in the church. That's how it is, brother. -Be good and gentle, and our dear mother will be satisfied. You will -have your comforts, and all of us will be merry and happy. Our mother -is a kindly soul, you know." - -"There is no denying that she is kindly," agreed Stepan Vladimirych. -"Only she feeds me on rotten pickled meat." - -"Whose fault is it? Who treated mother's blessing with disrespect? It -is your own fault that you lost your estate. What a nice little estate -it was. If you only knew how to behave yourself and live modestly, you -would now be eating beef and veal and even ordering sauce with them. -You would have plenty of everything, potatoes, cabbage, peas. Am I not -right, brother?" - -Had Arina Petrovna heard this harangue, it would have made her -impatient, and she would have let the orator know that it did. But -Simple Simon was fortunate that his mind could not, as it were, retain -other people's words, and not a syllable of Yudushka's speech reached -its destination. - -So Stepan Vladimirych parted with his brothers amicably. And there was -some vanity in his showing Yakov, the village clerk, two twenty-five -ruble notes that had been left in his hands after the brothers had -departed. - -"This will last me a long time," he said. "We've got tobacco. We're -well provided with tea and sugar. Nothing is missing but vodka. -However, should we want vodka, we'll get vodka, too. Nevertheless, I -will restrain myself for a little while yet. I am too busy now, I have -to keep an eye on the cellars. Weaken your watch for a single instant, -and everything will be pillaged. _She_ saw me, brother, she saw me, the -hag, once, when I was gliding by along the kitchen wall. She stood at -the window looking at me and I bet she thought: 'Well, well, so that's -why I miss so many cucumbers.'" - -Then came October. It began to rain, the road turned black, into -an impassable stream of mud. Stepan Vladimirych could not go out -because his only garments were his father's old dressing-gown and -worn slippers. He sat at his window watching the tiny, humble village -drowned in mud. There, in the gray autumn mist, men were moving about -briskly, looking like black dots. - -The heavy summer work was still in full swing, but now its setting was -no longer the jubilant, sun-flooded hues of summer, but the endless -autumn twilight. The corn kilns emitted clouds of smoke far into the -night. The melancholy clatter of the flails resounded in the air. -Thrashing was also going on in the manorial barns, and in the office -they said it would hardly be possible to get through with the whole -mass of grain before Shrovetide. Everything looked gloomy and drowsy, -everything spoke of oppressiveness. The doors of the counting-house -were no longer ajar, and inside the air was filled with a bluish fog -rising from the wet fur cloaks. - -It is difficult to say what impression this spectacle of a toilsome, -rural autumn made on Stepan's mind, and whether he was at all aware of -the labors going on in the incessant rain out in the boggy fields. One -thing is certain, that the drab, tearful autumn sky oppressed him. It -seemed to hang close down over his head and threaten to drown him in a -deluge of mud. All he had to do was to look out through the window and -watch the heavy masses of clouds. From the dawn on they covered the -heavens, hanging motionless as if spellbound. Even after several hours -they were still in the same place, without the slightest apparent -change in hue or outline. In the morning, one cloud, heavy and black, -had a ragged shape resembling a priest in a cassock with outstretched -arms. It was clearly outlined on the pallid background of the upper -clouds, and at noon it still had the identically same form. The right -hand, it is true, had become shorter, and the left was stretched out in -an ugly fashion and was sending down such a flood of rain that against -the dark background of the sky there formed a streak still darker, -almost black. Another huge shaggy lump of a cloud a little farther up -hung over the village, threatening to smother it, you would think. -Hours later it was still hanging in the same place, the same shaggy -monster with outstretched paws, as though ready to pounce upon the -earth. Clouds, clouds, nothing but clouds! Around five o'clock a change -took place, darkness gradually enveloped heaven and earth, and soon -the clouds disappeared completely, vanishing beneath a black shroud. -They were the first to go, next followed the forest and the village, -then the church, the chapel, the hamlet, the orchard, and finally the -manor-house, several yards away. - -It has already become quite dark in the room, and there is no light. -So what can one do but pace up and down? A morbid languor seizes -Stepan's brain; his entire body, despite its idleness, is filled -with an incomprehensible, indescribable feeling of fatigue. Just one -thought moves in him and sucks at him--the grave, the grave, the -grave! Those black dots which have recently been moving busily on the -dark background of the boggy soil and near the village barns are not -oppressed by that thought. They will not perish under the burden of -despondency and weariness. If they do not challenge the sky directly, -at least they struggle, build, make enclosures, repair their houses. -Stepan did not question whether all this bustle was worth the while, -but he was aware that even the nameless dots were incomparably superior -to him, that he couldn't even struggle, that he had nothing to build, -nothing to repair. - -He spent the evenings in the counting-house, because Arina Petrovna -refused to supply him with candles. Several times, through the -bailiff, he asked for boots and a fur coat, and was invariably told -that boots were not kept in store for him, but that he would be given -a pair of felt shoes as soon as the cold spells arrived. Evidently, -Arina Petrovna intended to fulfill her program literally, that was, -to sustain her son in such a manner as barely to keep him from -starvation. At first he abused his mother, but then behaved as though -he had forgotten all about her. Even the light of the candles in the -counting-room annoyed him, and he began to lock himself in his room -and remain all alone in the darkness. There was just a single refuge -left, one that he still dreaded but that attracted him irresistibly, -to get drunk and forget deeply, irrevocably, to plunge into the sea -of oblivion and never emerge again. Everything drove him to it, the -debauchery of the past, the enforced idleness of the present, his -ailing body with the torturing cough, the unbearable asthma, and the -constantly increasing pains in his heart. At last the hour came. - -"You must fetch me a bottle of vodka for to-night," he said once to the -village clerk in a voice boding little good. - -That one bottle of vodka was followed by a long succession of other -bottles. After that he got drunk every night. At nine o'clock, when -the light in the counting-house had been put out and the servants had -retired to their quarters, he placed a bottle of vodka and a slice of -rye bread thickly strewn over with salt on the table. He did not attack -the liquor at once, but approached it stealthily as it were. Everybody -on the place was fast asleep. The mice scudded behind the wall paper -and the clock in the counting-house ticked ominously. Stepan threw off -his dressing-gown, and began to stride back and forth in the overheated -room, with nothing but a shirt on his back. At times he stopped, went -over to the table, searched for the bottle in the darkness, then -resumed his restless pacing. The first tumblers he emptied in a sort of -passion, voluptuously swallowing down the burning liquid. But little by -little his heart began to beat faster, the blood mounted to his head, -and he mumbled incoherently. His feeble imagination tried to create -images, his blunted memory attempted to pierce the mists of the past. -But the images were broken and meaningless, and the past remained dim -and formless. There was no recollection, either bitter or sweet, as -though an impervious wall separated the past from the present. - -He was completely filled by the present, which seemed like a prison -cell, in which he would be locked up for eternity without consciousness -of time or space. His mind took in nothing but the room, the stove, -the three windows in the front wall, the squeaking wooden bed with its -mattress worn thin, and the table with the bottle. - -As the contents of the bottle decreased and his head grew hotter and -hotter, even this boresome sense of the present gradually faded. His -mumblings, to which at first there had been a bit of form, now lost -all meaning. His pupils dilated in the attempt to pierce the engulfing -darkness. Finally, the darkness itself vanished and its place was taken -by a phosphorescent sheen. - -It was an endless void, with not a color or a sound, but radiant with -sinister splendor. The void followed him in his wanderings, trod on -his heels at every step. There were no walls, no windows, nothing -but this endless vacant splendor. Dread fell on him, coupled with an -irresistible impulse to annihilate even the void. A few more efforts, -and his goal was reached. His stumbling legs carried a benumbed body, -his chest gave forth not a murmur but an inarticulate cry, his very -existence seemingly ceased. A strange stupor took possession of him, in -which conscious life had no part, which plumbed the depths of a life -independent of and beyond the boundaries of normal existence. Groans -burst from his chest without in the least disturbing his sleep. His -organic disease continued its destructive work, without apparently -causing him any physical pain. - -He rose early in the morning, filled with agonizing longing, disgust -and hatred. It was an inarticulate hatred, without either cause -or definite object. His bloodshot eyes rolled restlessly, his -limbs trembled, his heart worked with sickening irregularity, now -stopping altogether, now hammering with such violence that his hand -involuntarily clutched at his breast. Not a thought, not a desire! -Objects of immediate perception filled his mind so completely that it -was closed to other impressions. - -He filled his pipe and lighted it. It dropped from his nerveless -fingers. His tongue mumbled something, but seemingly by force of habit -only. He sat in silence and stared at one point. He felt an intense -craving to raise the temperature of his body so that he would feel -the presence of life for at least a short while. But he had no way of -getting vodka in the daytime. He had to wait for night to attain those -blissful moments when the ground vanished from under his feet and the -four odious prison walls were replaced by a shoreless, shining void. - -Arina Petrovna had not the slightest idea of how Simple Simon spent his -time. The casual glimmer of feeling which had appeared for a moment -during the conversation with the Bloodsucker vanished so precipitately -that she was unconscious of its ever having appeared. It was not a -premeditated course of action on her part, but sheer oblivion. She -completely forgot that in the counting-house, in close proximity to -her, there lived a human being bound to her by ties of blood, who -perhaps was pining away in the yearning for life. Once having cut out -a certain channel in life and filling it almost mechanically with -the same things, she thought others ought to do likewise, it never -occurring to her that the very character of the things life holds vary -among people according to a multitude of circumstances in different -combinations, and that these things may be dear to some, herself among -these some, while they are an abomination and a tyranny to others. - -Therefore when the bailiff repeatedly reported that "something was the -matter" with Stepan Vladimirych, the words slipped by her ears, leaving -no impression on her mind. Indeed, she scarcely ever even replied, and -when she did, then only with the stereotyped reply: - -"Oh, well, he'll be all right. I bet he'll outlive you and me. Nothing -is the matter with the shambling colt. Coughing, you say! Well, some -people cough thirty years on end and they don't feel it." - -Nevertheless, one morning when they came and told her that Stepan -Vladimirych had disappeared during the night, she was aroused. -Immediately she sent out all the available men in search of him, and -herself started an investigation beginning with the room in which -Stepan had lived. The first thing that struck her was a bottle standing -on the table, with a bit of vodka in it. - -"What's this?" she asked, pretending not to understand. - -"Why, I guess--the young master indulged," stammered the bailiff. - -"Who supplied----?" she began, flaring up. But she restrained herself, -and continued her investigation, hiding her rage. - -The room was so filthy that even she, who did not know and did not -recognize any demands of comfort, began to feel awkward. The ceiling -was smutty, the wall paper in many places was hanging in tatters, the -window-sills were black with a thick layer of tobacco ashes, pillows -were lying about on the floor beslimed with viscous mud, on the bed lay -a crumpled sheet, gray with accumulated dirt. In one window the winter -frame had been taken, or, rather, torn out, and the window itself was -left half open. Apparently it was through this opening that Simple -Simon had disappeared. Arina Petrovna instinctively looked out on the -road and became more frightened. It was already the first of November, -but the autumn that year had lasted long, and the cold spells had not -yet arrived. Both the road and the field were one black sea of mud. How -had he got away? Where had he gone to? Here it occurred to her that he -had nothing on but a dressing-gown and a slipper. The other slipper had -been found under the window. And the night before it had been pouring -ceaselessly. - -"It's a long, long time since I've been here," she said, inhaling -instead of air a foul mixture of vodka, tobacco and sheepskin -evaporations. - -All day long, while the servants were searching the forest, she stood -at the window staring dully out upon the naked fields unrolled before -her eyes. So much ado on account of Simple Simon! It seemed like a -preposterous dream. She had _said_ he ought to have been shipped off to -the Vologda village. "No," that cursed Yudushka had wheedled, "leave -him here, dearest mother, at Golovliovo." Now handle him, if you -please, Yudushka. - -"I wish he had lived there, out of my sight, as he pleased--Christ -be with him!" Arina Petrovna mused. "But I did my part. If he wasted -one good thing, well, I would throw him another. If he'd have wasted -the other, too, well, what could I do then? Even God can't fill a -bottomless belly. Everything would have been peaceful and quiet here. -But now--who knows what he has been up to? Go, look in the forest and -whistle for him. It would be good if he were brought home alive, but -with drunken eyes one is liable to run into a noose--take a rope, tie -it to a branch, put it round his neck, and no more Stiopka. His mother -denied herself sleep and food, and he has invented a new style--hanging -himself. There would be some excuse for him if he had had it hard -here. But goodness, what did he have to do but walk about in his -room all day and eat and drink? Another son would not have known how -to thank his mother enough. And how does this precious son repay his -mother? Goes and hangs himself. The idea!" - -Arina Petrovna's surmises about Simple Simon's violent death were not -justified. Toward evening he was brought back in a peasant wagon, still -alive. He was in a semi-conscious state, all bruised and cut, his face -blue and swollen. He had been found at the Dubrovino estate, twenty -miles away. - -The returned fugitive slept straight through the next twenty-four -hours. When he awoke, he stumbled to his feet and began to pace up and -down the room as was his habit, but he did not touch the pipe and made -no reply to the questions he was asked. Arina Petrovna's heart softened -so that on the spur of the moment she all but had him transferred -to the manor-house. Then she quieted down, and left him in the -counting-house, but gave orders for the room to be scoured and tidied -up, the bed linen changed, curtains hung, and so on. - -The following evening, when told that Stepan Vladimirych was awake, she -had him brought to the house for tea and found it possible, in talking -to him, to inject kindliness into her voice. - -"Why did you go away from your mother?" she began. "Do you know you -caused her great anxiety? It's good the news did not reach papa. It -would have been a terrible shock to the poor sick man." - -But Stepan seemed altogether indifferent to his mother's kindly words. -He kept staring at the candle with his glassy eyes, as if watching the -snuff forming on the wick. - -"My, my, aren't you a foolish boy?" continued Arina Petrovna, growing -kinder and kinder. "Just think what rumors will be spread about your -mother because of you. There are enough people who envy her. What will -they not say about her? They will say she did not give you food or -clothes. My, my, what a foolish boy you are!" - -There was the same silence and the same motionless staring glance. - -"Was your stay at mother's so bad? Thank God, you don't go hungry or -naked. What else do you want? If you are lonesome, don't fret. This -is nothing but a village, my boy. We have no entertainments or halls, -we sit in our nooks and we hardly know how to while away the time. I, -myself, would be glad to dance now and then or sing a song, but you -look out upon the road and you lose the desire to go even to church in -such weather." - -Arina Petrovna paused, hoping that Simple Simon would give utterance to -at least some sounds, but he was as dumb as a stone. She was beginning -to work up a temper, but restrained herself. - -"And if you were discontented with anything, if perhaps you lacked -food or linen, could you not explain it frankly to your mother? Could -you not say, 'Mamma, darling, won't you have some liver or curd-cakes -prepared for me?' Do you think your mother would have refused you? Or -if you wanted a drop of vodka, goodness, I wouldn't have begrudged you -a glass or two. To think of it, you were not ashamed to beg from a -serf, while it was difficult for you to say a word to your own mother." - -But her flattering words were of no avail. Simple Simon remained -impervious to either emotion (Arina Petrovna had hoped he would kiss -her hand) or repentance. In fact, he seemed to have heard nothing. - -From that time on he never spoke a single word. All day long he -walked up and down his room, his brows knit and his lips moving, -apparently never growing tired. At times he halted as if wishing to -say something, but he could not find the words. He had not lost the -capacity for thinking, but impressions left so slight a trace on his -brain that he could not hold them for any appreciable length of time. -Consequently his failure to find the necessary words did not even make -him impatient. Arina Petrovna, for her part, thought he would surely -set the house on fire. - -"He does not say a word all day long," she repeated. "Still he must be -thinking of something, the blockhead! I am sure he'll set the house on -fire one of these days." - -But the blockhead did not think of anything at all. He was deeply -immersed in absolute darkness, in which there was no room either for -reality or the illusory world of imagination. His brain did work, but -in a void, disconnected from either the past, the present, or the -future. It was as though he was completely wrapt up in a black cloud -and all he did was to scan it, to watch its imaginary fluctuations, -and, at times, to make a feeble attempt at resisting its sinister sway. -The whole physical and spiritual world dwindled down to that enigmatic -cloud. - -In December of the same year, Porfiry Vladimirych received the -following letter from his mother: - -"Yesterday morning God visited us with a new ordeal. My son and your -brother, Stepan, breathed his last. The very evening before he had been -quite well and even took his supper, but in the morning he was found -dead in bed. Such is the brevity of this earthly life! And what is most -grievous to a mother's heart is that he left this world of vanity for -the realm of the unknown without the last communion. - -"May this be a warning to us all. He who sets at naught the ties of -kinship must always await such an end. Failures in this life, untimely -death, and everlasting torments in the life to come, all these evils -spring from the one source. For, however learned and exalted we may -be, if we do not honor our parents, our learning and eminence will -be turned into nothingness. Such are the precepts which every one -inhabiting this world must commit to his mind. Besides, slaves should -revere their masters. - -"Notwithstanding this, all honors were duly given to him who had -departed into life eternal, as becomes my son. The pall was ordered -from Moscow, and the burial ceremonies were solemnly presided over by -the Father archimandrite. And according to the Christian custom, I am -having memorial services performed daily. I mourn the loss of my son, -but I do not complain, nor do I advise you, my children, to do so. For -who knows? We may be mourning and complaining here while his soul may -be rejoicing in Heaven." - - - - -BOOK II - -AS BECOMES GOOD KINSFOLK - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -A hot midday in July; the Dubrovino manor-house all deserted. Workers -and idlers alike resting in the shade. Under the canopy of a huge -willow-tree in the front yard the dogs, too, were lying stretched out, -and you could hear the sound of their jaws when they drowsily snapped -at the flies. Even the trees drooped motionless, as if exhausted. All -the windows in the manor-house and the servants' quarters were flung -wide open. The heat seemed to surge in sweltering waves and the soil -covered with short, singed grass was ablaze. The atmosphere was a -blinding haze touched into gold, so that one could scarcely distinguish -things in the distance. The manor-house, once painted gray and now -faded into white, the small flower garden in front of the house, the -birch grove, separated from the farm by the road, the pond, the village -and the corn field, which touched the outskirts of the village, all -were immersed in the dazzling torrent. The fragrance of blossoming -linden trees mingled with the noxious emanations of the cattle shed. -There was not a breath of air, not a sound. Only from the kitchen -there came the grating of knives being sharpened, which foretold the -inevitable hash and beef cutlets for dinner. - -Inside the house reigned noiseless confusion. An old lady and two young -girls were sitting in the dining room, forgetful of their crocheting, -which lay on the table. They were waiting with intense anxiety. In -the maids' room two women were busied preparing mustard plasters -and poultices, and the rhythmic tinkling of the spoons pierced the -silence like the chirping of a cricket. Barefooted girls were stealing -silently along the corridor, scurrying back and forth from the entresol -to the maids' room. At times a voice was heard from upstairs: "What -about the mustard plasters? Are you asleep there?" And a girl would -dash out of the maids' room. At last heavy footsteps sounded on the -staircase, and the regimental surgeon entered the dining room, a tall, -broad-shouldered man, with firm, ruddy cheeks, the picture of health. -His voice was sonorous, his gait steady, his eyes clear, gay and -frank, his lips full and fresh. In spite of his fifty years he was a -thoroughly fast liver and expected to see many years pass before he -would give up drinking and carousing. He wore a showy summer suit, and -his spotless piqué coat was trimmed with white buttons bearing arms. On -entering he made a clicking sound with his lips and tongue. - -"Girls!" he shouted merrily, standing on the threshold. "Bring us some -vodka and something to eat." - -"Well, doctor, how is he?" the old lady asked, her voice full of -anxiety. - -"The Lord's mercy is infinite, Arina Petrovna," answered the physician. - -"What do you mean? Then he----" - -"Just so. He will last another two or three days, and then--good-bye!" -The doctor made an expressive gesture with his hand and hummed: "Head -over heels, head over heels he will fall." - -"How's that? Doctors treated him--and now all of a sudden----" - -"What doctors?" - -"The _zemstvo_ doctor and one from the town used to come here." - -"Fine doctors! If they'd given him a good bleeding, they'd have saved -him." - -"So nothing at all can be done?" - -"Well, I said, 'The Lord's mercy is great,' and I can add nothing to -that." - -"But perhaps it will work?" - -"What will work?" - -"I mean--the mustard plasters." - -"Perhaps." - -A woman in a black dress and black shawl brought in a tray holding a -decanter of vodka, a dish of sausages and a dish of caviar. The doctor -helped himself to the vodka, held the glass to the light and smacked -his tongue. - -"Your health, mother," he said to the old lady, and gulped the liquid. - -"Drink in good health, my dear sir." - -"This is the cause of Pavel Vladimirych dying in the prime of his life, -this vodka," said the doctor, grimacing comfortably and spearing a -piece of sausage with his fork. - -"Yes, it's the ruin of many a man." - -"That's because not everyone can stand it. But I can, and I shall have -another glass. Your health, madam." - -"Drink, drink. Nothing can happen to you." - -"Nothing. My lungs and kidneys and liver and spleen are in excellent -condition. By the way," he turned to the woman in black who stood at -the door, listening to the conversation, "What will you have for dinner -to-day?" - -"Hash and beef cutlets and chicken for roast," she answered, smiling -somewhat sourly. - -"Have you any smoked fish?" - -"We have, sir. We have white sturgeon and stellated sturgeon, plenty of -it." - -"Then have a cold soup with sturgeon for our dinner, and pick out a fat -bit of sturgeon, you hear me? What is your name? Ulita?" - -"Yes, sir, people call me Ulita." - -"Well, then, hurry up, friend Ulita, hurry up." - -Ulita left the room, and for a while oppressive silence reigned. -Then Arina Petrovna rose from her seat and made sure Ulita was not -eavesdropping. - -"Andrey Osipych, have you spoken to him yet about the orphans?" she -asked the doctor. - -"Yes, I did." - -"Well?" - -"There was no change. 'When I get well' he kept on saying, 'I will make -my will and write the notes.'" - -Silence, heavier than before, filled the room. The girls took the -crocheting from the table, and their trembling hands worked one row -after the other. Arina Petrovna heaved a deep sigh of dejection. The -doctor paced up and down the room and whistled, "Head over heels, head -over heels." - -"But did you try to drive the matter home to him, doctor?" - -"Well, I said to him: 'You'll be a scoundrel if you don't make a -definite provision for the orphans.' Could I make it clearer? Yes, -mother, you certainly slipped up. If you had called me in a month ago, -I would have given him a good bleeding and I would have seen to it that -he made his will. But now everything will go to Yudushka, the lawful -heir. It certainly will." - -"Oh, grandmother, what will become of us?" said the older of the two -girls, plaintively and almost in tears. "What is uncle doing to us?" - -The girls were Anninka and Lubinka, the daughters of Anna Vladimirovna -Ulanova, to whom Arina Petrovna had once "thrown a bone." - -"I don't know, dear, I don't know. I don't even know what will become -of me. Today I am here, and tomorrow God knows where I'll be. Maybe -I'll have to sleep in a shed or at a peasant's." - -"Goodness, isn't uncle silly!" exclaimed the younger girl. - -"I wish, young lady, you would keep your mouth shut," remarked the -doctor. Turning to Arina Petrovna, he suggested, "Why not try to talk -to him yourself, mother?" - -"No, no. There's no use my talking to him. He doesn't even want to see -me. The other day I stuck my nose into his room, and he snarled, 'Have -you come to see me off to the other world?'" - -"I think Ulita is back of it all. She incites him against you." - -"She surely does, nobody but she. And then she reports everything to -Porfiry the Bloodsucker. People say he keeps a pair of horses harnessed -all day waiting for the beginning of the agony. And just imagine, the -other day Ulita went so far as to take an inventory of the furniture, -wardrobe, and dishes, so that nothing should be lost, as she said. We -are the thieves, just imagine it." - -"Why don't you treat her more severely? Head over heels, you know, head -over heels." - -But fate decreed that the doctor should not develop his thought. A -girl, all out of breath, dashed into the room and exclaimed in a fright: - -"The master! The master wants the doctor." - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Not more than ten years had passed since the death of Simple Simon, -but the condition of the various members of the Golovliov family had -so completely changed that not a trace remained of those artificial -ties which had given the family the air of an impregnable stronghold. -This stronghold, erected by the tireless hands of Arina Petrovna, had -crumbled away, but so imperceptibly that she herself was ignorant of -how it had happened, was even involved in the destruction, the leading -spirit in which, of course, had been Porfiry the Bloodsucker. - -From an irresponsible, hot-tempered ruler over the Golovliovo estate, -Arina Petrovna had descended into a mere hanger-on in the home of -her younger son, a useless hanger-on, with no voice in the household -management. Her head was bowed, her back bent, the fire in her eyes had -died out, her gait was languid, the vivacity of her movements was gone. -She had taken to knitting to occupy her idleness, but her mind was -always wandering somewhere away from her needles, and the knitting was -a failure. She would knit for a few moments, then her hands would drop -of themselves, her head would fall on the back of her chair, and she -would begin to go over bygones in her mind, until she got drowsy and -dropped off into a senile slumber. Or else she would get up and begin -to pace the rooms, always searching for something; always looking into -corners, like a good housewife hunting for her keys, which she usually -carries about with her and has now misplaced somehow. - -The first blow to her authority was not so much the abolition of -serfdom as the preparations preceding it. At first, there were simply -rumors, then came the meetings of landowners and addresses, next -followed provincial committees, and revising commissions. All these -things exhausted and confused her. Arina Petrovna's imagination, -active enough without additional stimuli, conceived numerous absurd -situations. "How am I going to call Agashka?" she'd think. "Perhaps -I'll have to tack a 'Miss' before her name." Or she would see herself -walking about in the empty rooms while the servants were taking it -easy in their quarters and were gorging themselves with all kinds of -food; and when they got tired of gorging she saw them throwing the -remnants under the table. Then she would find herself surprising Yulka -and Feshka in the cellar, devouring everything in sight, like beasts, -and she would itch to reprimand them, but would have to check herself -with the thought, "How dare one say anything to them, now that they are -free? Why one can't even appeal to the court against them!" - -However insignificant such trifles may be, a whole fantastic world is -built up of them, which holds you tight and completely paralyzes your -activity. Arina Petrovna somehow suddenly let the reins of government -slip out of her grasp, and for a space of two years did nothing from -morning until night except complain. - -"One or the other," she was fond of saying, "gains all or loses all. -But these meetings and addresses and commissions, they're nothing but -trouble." - -At that time, just when the committees were in full swing, Vladimir -Mikhailych died. On his deathbed he repudiated Barkov and his -teachings, and died appeased and reconciled to the world. His last -words were: - -"I thank my God that He did not suffer me to come into His presence on -an equal footing with the serfs." - -These words made a deep impression on his wife's receptive soul, so -that both his death and her fantastic notions about the future laid a -coloring of gloom and despair on the atmosphere of the house. It seemed -as if both the old manor and its inhabitants were getting ready for -death. - -From a few complaints that found their way into the letters of Arina -Petrovna, Porfiry Vladimirych's amazingly keen perceptions sensed the -confusion that possessed her mind. Not that Arina Petrovna actually -sermonized and moralized in her letters, but above all, she trusted -in God's help, "which in these faithless times does not abandon even -slaves, far less those who because of their means were the surest prop -and ornament of the church." Yudushka instinctively understood that if -mother dear began to put her hope in God, then there was some flaw in -the fabric of her existence. And he took advantage of the flaw with his -peculiar, subtle skill. - -Almost at the very end of the preliminaries to the emancipation, he -visited Golovliovo quite unexpectedly and found Arina Petrovna sunk -into despondency, almost to a point of prostration. - -"Well, what news? What do they say in St. Petersburg?" was her first -question, after mutual greetings had been exchanged. - -Porfiry cast down his eyes and sat speechless. - -"No, you must consider my circumstances," continued Arina Petrovna, -gathering from her son's silence that good news was not to be expected. -"Right now in the maids' room I have about thirty of these creatures. -What shall I do with them? If they remain in my care, what am I going -to feed them on? At present I have a little cabbage, a little potatoes, -some bread, enough of everything; and we manage somehow to make both -ends meet. If the potatoes give out, I order cabbage to be cooked; if -there is no cabbage, cucumbers have to do. But now, if I have to run to -market for everything and pay for everything, and buy and serve, how am -I ever to provide for such a crowd?" - -Porfiry gazed into the eyes of his "mother dear" and smiled bitterly as -a sign of sympathy. - -"And then, if the government is going to turn them loose, give them -absolute leeway--well, then, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know -what it will come to." - -Porfiry smiled as if there were something very funny in "what it was -coming to." - -"Don't you laugh. It is a serious matter, so serious that if only the -Lord grants them a little more reason, only then--Here's my case, for -instance. I am by no means an old rag, am I? I must have my bread and -butter, too, mustn't I? How am I to go about getting it? Think of the -bringing-up we received. The only thing we know is how to dance and -sing and receive guests. Then how am I going to get along without those -wretches, I'd like to know. I can't serve meals or cook. I can't do a -thing." - -"God is merciful, mother dear." - -"He used to be, but not now. When we were good, the Almighty was -merciful to us; when we became wicked, well, we mustn't complain. I'm -beginning to think that the best thing for me is to throw everything to -the dogs. Really, I'll build myself a little hut right next to father's -grave, and that's where I'll spend the rest of my days." - -Porfiry Vladimirych pricked up his ears. His mouth began to water. - -"And who will manage the estates?" he questioned, carefully throwing -his bait, as it were. - -"Why, you boys will have to manage them yourselves. Thank God, I have -provided plenty. I ought not carry the whole burden alone." - -Arina Petrovna suddenly stopped and raised her head. Her eyes fell -on Yudushka's simpering, drivelling, oily face, all suffused with a -carnivorous inner glow. - -"You seem to be getting ready to bury me," remarked Arina Petrovna -drily. "Isn't it a bit too early, darling? Look out, don't make a -mistake." - -Thus the matter ended in nothing definite. But there are discussions -which, once begun, never really come to an end. A few hours later Arina -Petrovna renewed the conversation. - -"I'll leave for the Trinity Monastery," she dreamed aloud. "I'll divide -up the estate, buy a little cottage on the grounds and settle there." - -But Porfiry Vladimirych, taught by past experience, remained silent -this time. - -"Last year, while your deceased father was still alive," continued -Arina Petrovna, "I was sitting alone in my bedroom and suddenly I -thought I heard someone whispering in my ear: 'Go to the Trinity -Monastery. Go to the Trinity.' Three times, mind you. I turned -about--there was nobody in the room. Well, then, I thought that must -have been a sign for me. 'Well,' I said, 'if God is pleased with my -faith, I am ready.' No sooner had I said that than suddenly the room -was filled with such a wonderful fragrance. Of course I immediately -ordered my things packed and by evening I was on my way." - -Tears rose in Arina Petrovna's eyes. Yudushka took advantage of this to -kiss his mother's hand, and even made free to put his arm around her -waist. - -"Now you are a good girl," he said. "Ah, how good it is, darling, when -one lives in peace with God. You come to God with a prayer, and the -Lord meets you with help. That's how it is, mother dear." - -"Wait a minute, I haven't finished. Next day, in the evening I arrived -at the monastery and went straight to the saint's chapel. Evening -service was being held, the choir was singing, candles were burning, -fragrance was wafted from the censers. I simply did not know where I -was--on earth or in Heaven. I went from the service to Father Yon, -and I said to him: 'Well, your Reverence, it was mighty good today at -church.' 'No wonder, madam,' he said, 'Father Avvakum had a vision -today at the evening service. He had just raised his arms to begin -praying when he beheld a light in the cupola and a dove looking down at -him.' Well, from that time, I came to the conclusion, sooner or later -my last days will be spent at Trinity Monastery." - -"And who will take care of us? Who will have your children's welfare at -heart? Ah, mamma, mamma!" - -"Well, you're not babies any longer, and you'll be able to look after -yourselves. As for me, I'll go to the monastery with Annushka's orphans -and live under the saint's wing. Perhaps the desire will awaken in -one of the girls to serve God. Well, then, the convent is right at -hand. I'll buy myself a little house, plant a little garden, potatoes, -cabbage--there'll be enough of everything for me." - -Such idle talk continued for several days, Arina Petrovna making the -boldest plans, withdrawing them and remaking them, and then finally -carrying the matter so far that she could not withdraw again. Within -half a year after Yudushka's visit this was the situation: Arina -Petrovna not at the monastery, nor in a little house built near her -husband's grave. Instead of that she had divided the estate, leaving -only the capital for herself. Porfiry Vladimirych received the better -part and Pavel Vladimirych the worse part. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Arina Petrovna remained at Golovliovo. This gave rise, of course, to -a domestic comedy. Yudushka shed tears and succeeded in inducing his -mother dear to manage his household without accountability to him, to -receive the income and to use it at her discretion. "And, dearest, -whatever portion of the income you give me," he added, "I shall be -satisfied with it." Pavel, on the other hand, thanked his mother coldly -("as if he wanted to bite me," were her words), immediately retired -from service ("just so, without his mother's blessing, like a madman, -he escaped to freedom") and settled down at Dubrovino. - -From that time on, Arina Petrovna's judgment became somewhat dimmed. -The image of Porfishka the Bloodsucker, whom she had once sized up so -shrewdly, now went, as it were, behind a fog. She seemed no longer to -understand anything except that, despite the division of the estate and -the emancipation of the peasants, she still lived at Golovliovo and -still owed no account to anyone. Here, at her side, lived another son, -but what a difference! While Porfisha had entrusted both himself and -his household into his mother's care, Pavel not only never consulted -her about anything, but even spoke to her through his teeth. - -And as her mind became more clouded, her heart warmed more to her -gentle son. Porfiry Vladimirych asked nothing of her. She herself -anticipated his desires. Little by little she became dissatisfied with -the shape of the Golovliovo property. At such and such a place, a -stranger's land jutted into it--it would be well to buy up that piece -of land. In such and such a place it would be fine to have a separate -farm, but there was too little meadow. And here, right next to it, -was a meadow for sale, ah, a fine bit of meadow. Arina Petrovna's -enthusiasm was that of a mother and a woman of affairs who wants her -affectionate son to view her capabilities in all their glory. But -Porfiry Vladimirych withdrew into his shell, impervious to all her -suggestions. In vain did Arina Petrovna tempt him with bargains. To all -her propositions for acquiring a piece of woodland or meadowland, he -invariably answered: "Dear mother, I am perfectly satisfied with what -you granted me in your kindness." - -These answers only spurred Arina Petrovna on. Carried away by her -household zeal, and also by indignation against the "scoundrel -Pavlusha," who lived beside her but refused to have anything to do -with her, Arina Petrovna lost sight of her actual relationship to the -estate. Her former fever for acquiring possessed her with renewed -strength, though now it was no longer aggrandizement for her own sake -but for the sake of her beloved son. The Golovliovo estate grew, -rounded out, and flourished. - -And at the very moment when Arina Petrovna's capital had dwindled -to a point at which it was almost impossible for her to live on the -interest, Yudushka sent her a most respectful letter along with an -enormous package of blank forms, which were to guide her in the future -in the making out of the annual balance sheet. Beside the principal -items of the household expenses were listed raspberries, gooseberries, -mushrooms, etc. There was a special account for every item, on the -following plan: - - -Number of raspberry bushes, year 18--, - - - - - - - - pounds -" " bushes planted this year - - - - - - - - - - " -Quantity of berries picked - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " - Out of this total you, mother dear, used for - yourself - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " -Preserves used, or to be used, in the household of - His Excellency Porfiry Vladimirych Golovliov - - - - " -Given to boy in reward for good behavior - - - - - - - " -Sold to the common people for a tidbit - - - - - - - - " -Decayed because of absence of buyers and for -other reasons - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " ------- - NOTE.--In case the crop in the year in which the account is -taken is less than that of the previous year, the reasons therefor, -like drought, rain, hail, and so forth, should be indicated. - - -Arina Petrovna fairly groaned. First of all, she was shocked at -Yudushka's avarice. She had never heard of berries forming an item in -the account of an estate, and he seemed to emphasize that item most. -Secondly, she fully realized that the blanks were a constitution -limiting her power hitherto autocratic. - -After a long controversial correspondence between them, Arina Petrovna, -humiliated and indignant, moved to Dubrovino, and Porfiry Vladimirych -subsequently retired from office and settled at Golovliovo. - -From that time on the old woman spent many wretched days in enforced -idleness. Pavel Vladimirych was particularly offensive in his treatment -of his mother. He received her in what he thought was quite a decent -manner, that is, he promised to provide food and drink for both her -and his orphan nieces, on two conditions, however, first, they were -not to enter the entresol which he occupied; secondly, they were not -to interfere in the management of the household. The second condition -was particularly galling to Arina Petrovna. The management of the house -was in the hands of the housekeeper Ulita, a viperous woman who had -been found in secret communication with Yudushka and Kirushka, the late -master's butler, a man who knew nothing about farming and whom Pavel -Vladimirych almost feared. Both of them stole relentlessly. How often -did Arina Petrovna's heart ache when she saw the house being ransacked; -how she did long to warn her son and open his eyes to the theft of -tea, sugar, butter! Loads of things were wasted, and Ulita, not in the -least shamed by the presence of the old mistress, repeatedly hid whole -handfuls of sugar in her pocket right before her eyes. Arina Petrovna -saw it all, but was forced to remain a silent witness to the plunder. -No sooner would she open her mouth to make some remark, than Pavel -Vladimirych would instantly check her, saying: - -"Mother, there should be only one person to manage a house. I'm not -alone in that opinion, everybody says so. I know my orders are foolish. -Never mind, let them be foolish. Your orders are wise. Let them be -wise. Wise you are, very wise, still Yudushka left you without house or -home, to shift for yourself." - -The last straw was the awful discovery that Pavel Vladimirych drank. -The craving had come from the loneliness of life in the country and had -crept upon him stealthily, until finally it possessed him completely, -and he was a doomed man. When his mother first came to live in the -house, he seemed to have some scruples about drinking. He would come -down from the entresol and talk to his mother quite often. She noticed -that his speech was strangely incoherent but for a long time attributed -it to his stupidity. She did not enjoy his visits. The chats with him -oppressed her extremely. In fact he always seemed to be grumbling -foolishly. Either there had been a drought for many weeks, or an -overwhelming downpour of rain, or tree beetles had overrun the garden -and ruined the trees, or moles had made their appearance and dug up -the whole field. All this afforded an endless source for grumbling. He -would come down from the entresol, seat himself opposite his mother and -begin: - -"There are clouds all around. Is Golovliovo far from here? The -Bloodsucker had a shower yesterday and we don't get a single drop. The -clouds wander about, all around here. If there were only a drop of rain -for us!" - -Or else he would say: - -"Have you ever seen such a flood? The rye has just begun to flower and -it comes pouring down. Half of the hay is rotten already, and the rain -still spouts and spurts. Is Golovliovo far from here? The Bloodsucker -has long since gathered in his crops, and here we're stuck. We'll have -to feed our cattle on rotten hay this winter." - -Arina Petrovna listened in silence to his stupid complaints, but at -times her patience gave way and she said: - -"Well, keep on sitting there with your arms folded." - -Instantly Pavel Vladimirych would flare up. - -"What would you advise me to do? Transfer the rain to Golovliovo?" - -"I'm not talking about the rain, but in general." - -"No 'in general,' please. Why don't you tell me straight out what you -think I should do? Shall I change the climate? There's Golovliovo. When -Golovliovo needs rain, it rains. When Golovliovo doesn't need rain, -then it doesn't rain. And everything grows there, while here, the very -opposite. Well, we'll see what you'll have to say when there isn't -anything to eat." - -"Then such will be the Lord's will." - -"All right, then such will be the Lord's will. But you say 'in general' -as if that were an explanation." - -Sometimes Pavel even found his property a burden. - -"Why in the world did I get the Dubrovino estate?" he would complain. -"What good is it?" - -"What's the matter with Dubrovino? The soil is good, there's plenty of -everything. What's got into your head of a sudden?" - -"This, that nowadays there's no use having any estate. Money, that's -the thing. You take your money, put it in your pocket and off you go. -But real estate----" - -"What sort of an age have we come to when there's no use owning real -estate?" - -"Yes, this is a peculiar age. You don't read the newspapers, but I do. -Nowadays the lawyers are everywhere--you can imagine the rest. If a -lawyer finds out that you have real estate, then he begins to circle -around you." - -"Well, how is he going to get at you when you have the proper deeds to -the property?" - -"Deeds or no deeds, they'll get you. Porfiry the Bloodsucker may hire a -lawyer and serve me with summons after summons." - -"What are you talking about! We're not living in a lawless country." - -"That's just why they serve summonses on you. If the country were -lawless, they would take it away without a summons. There's my friend -Gorlopiatov, for instance. His uncle died and he, fool that he was, -up and accepted the inheritance. The inheritance proved worthless, -but the debts figured up to the thousands, the bills of exchange were -all false. Now they've been suing him for three years on end. First, -they took his uncle's estate. Then they even sold his own property at -auction. That's what real estate is." - -"Can there possibly be a law like that?" - -"If there were no such law, they couldn't have sold it. There's a law -for everything. A man without a conscience finds a law to back him in -everything. But there are no laws for a man with a conscience. Try and -look for them in the books." - -Arina Petrovna always let Pavel have his way in these controversies. -Many a time she could hardly refrain from shouting, "Out of my sight, -you scoundrel." But she would think it over and keep silent. Sometimes -she would only murmur to herself: - -"Goodness, whom do these monsters take after? One is a bloodsucker, the -other is a lunatic. What did I hoard and save for? For what did I deny -myself sleep and food? For whom did I do all that?" - -The more completely drink took possession of Pavel Vladimirych, the -more fantastic and annoying his conversations became. Finally Arina -Petrovna noticed there was something wrong. A whole flask of vodka -would be put away in the dining-room cupboard in the morning, and by -dinner time there wouldn't be a drop left. Or she would be sitting in -the parlor and would hear a mysterious creaking in the dining-room -near the cupboard. She would call out, "Who's there?" and would hear -footsteps quickly but carefully withdrawing toward the entresol. - -"Goodness, can it be that he drinks?" she once asked Ulita. - -"I shouldn't deny it," answered the latter, with a vicious grin. - -When Pavel Vladimirych saw that his mother had discovered the truth, he -lost all restraint. One morning Arina Petrovna found the cupboard had -disappeared from the dining-room, and when she asked where it had gone -to, Ulita told her she had been ordered to carry it to the entresol, -because it would be more comfortable for the master to drink there. - -In the entresol, the decanters of vodka followed one after the other -with amazing rapidity. Shut up alone by himself, Pavel Vladimirych -began to hate human society. He created a peculiar fantastic reality -for himself, spinning out a long-winded nonsensical romance, in -which the main heroes were himself and the Bloodsucker. He was not -fully conscious of how, deeply rooted his hatred for Porfiry was. -It gnawed at his bones and entrails every minute of his life. The -loathed image of his brother stood lifelike before his eyes, and -Yudushka's lachrymose, hypocritical twaddle rang in his ears. In his -talk there lurked a cold, almost abstract hatred of every living thing -that did not conform to the traditional code laid down by hypocrisy. -Pavel Vladimirych drank and recalled memories, all the insults and -humiliations he had had to suffer because of Yudushka's claims to -supremacy in the house; the division of the estate in particular; how -he had calculated every kopek and compared every scrap of land. Oh, -how he detested him! Entire dramas were enacted in his imagination, -heated by alcohol. In these dramas he avenged every offense that he had -sustained, and not Yudushka but he himself was always the aggressor. He -saw himself the winner of two hundred thousand, and informed Yudushka -of his good luck in a long scene, making his brother's face writhe with -envy. At other times he imagined his grandfather had died and left a -million to him, while nothing at all to Porfiry. He also discovered a -means of becoming invisible and when unseen he played wicked tricks on -Porfiry to make him groan in agony. His genius for inventing tricks -was inexhaustible, and for a long time his idiotic laughter would ring -through the entresol, much to the delight of Ulita, who would hurry to -inform Porfiry Vladimirych of his brother's doings. - -He detested Yudushka and at the same time had a superstitious fear of -him. He imagined his eyes discharged a venom of magic effect, that -his voice crept, snake-like, into the soul and paralyzed the will. He -absolutely refused to meet him, and when the Bloodsucker occasionally -visited Dubrovino to kiss the hand of his mother dear, Pavel -Vladimirych would lock himself into the entresol and remain imprisoned -there until he left. - -So the days passed until Pavel Vladimirych found himself face to face -with a deadly malady. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -The doctor stayed at the house overnight merely for the sake of form, -and departed for the city early the next day. On taking leave he said -frankly that the patient had no more than two days to live, and it -was already too late to talk about any "arrangements" since Pavel -Vladimirych could not even sign his name properly. - -"He'll sign the document wrong and then you will have a lawsuit on your -hands," he added. "Of course, Yudushka respects his mother very highly, -but, at that, he'll commence proceedings to prove fraud, and should -'mother dear' be sent to distant regions, the only thing he'll do is to -have a mass said for the welfare of the travellers." - -All morning Arina Petrovna walked about as if in a dream. She tried to -say her prayers. Perhaps God would suggest something, but prayers would -not enter her head. Even her tongue refused to obey. There was utter -confusion in her mind. Fragments of prayers mingled with incoherent -thoughts and vague impressions. - -Finally she sat down and sobbed. The tears flowed from her dull eyes -over her aged shrivelled cheeks, lingered in the hollows of her -wrinkles, and dribbled down on the greasy collar of her old calico -waist. Her tears spoke of bitterness, despair, and feeble, but stubborn -resistance. Her age, her senile ailments, and the hopelessness of -the situation, all seemed to point to death as the only way out. At -the same time memories of the past intervened, memories of a life of -power, prosperity and unrestrained freedom, and these reminiscences -plunged their sting into her soul, dragging her down to earth. "To -die!" passed through her mind, but the thought was instantly supplanted -by a dogged desire to live. She recalled neither Yudushka nor her dying -son. It was as if both had ceased to exist for her. She thought of no -one, was indignant at no one, accused no one, even forgot whether she -had any capital or no and whether it was sufficient to provide for her -old age. A deadly anguish seized her entire being. Her tears had come -from a deep source. Drop by drop they had been accumulating since the -moment when she left Golovliovo and settled at Dubrovino. She was quite -prepared for everything that awaited her. She had expected and foreseen -everything, but somehow it had never come to her with such vividness -that her fears would be realized. And now this very end had arrived, -an end full of anguish and hopeless lonesomeness. All her life long -she had been busy building up, she had worn herself to the bone for -something, and now she felt as if she had wasted her life on a phantom. -All her life the word "family" had never left her lips. In the name -of "family" she had punished some and rewarded others. In the name of -"family" she had subjected herself to privations, torments, she had -crippled her whole life; and suddenly she discovered that "family" was -exactly what she did not have. - -"Good Lord! Can it possibly be the same everywhere?" was the thought -that kept revolving in her mind. - -She sat with her head resting on her hand and her face soaked with -tears turned to the rising sun, as if to bid it, "Look!" She neither -groaned nor cursed. She simply sobbed as if choked by her tears. At the -same time the thought seared her soul, "There is no one! No one! No -one!" - -But now her eyes were drained of tears. She washed her face and -wandered without purpose into the dining-room. Here she was assailed by -the girls with new complaints which seemed at this time particularly -importunate. - -"What is going to come of it, grandma? Is it possible that we shall be -left just so, without anything?" grumbled Anninka. - -"How silly uncle is," Lubinka chimed in. - -About midday, Arina Petrovna decided to go to her dying son. Stepping -softly she climbed the stairs and groped in the dark till she found the -door leading into the rooms. The entresol was buried in deepest gloom. -The windows were darkened by green shades, through which the light -could scarcely filter. A sickening mixture of odors pervaded the room, -which had not been ventilated for a long while. There was the smell of -berries, plaster, oil from the image-lamp, and those peculiar odors -which bespeak the presence of sickness and death. There were only two -rooms. In the first one sat Ulita, cleaning berries. The flies swarmed -about the heap of gooseberries and impudently attacked her nose and -lips, and she would keep driving them off in exasperation. Through the -half-closed door of the adjoining room came the sound of incessant -coughing which every now and then ended in painful expectoration. Arina -Petrovna stopped in an uncertain pose, searching the gloom and waiting -for the course of action that Ulita would take in view of her arrival. -But Ulita never moved an eyelash, entirely confident that every attempt -to influence the sick man would be fruitless. Her lips merely twitched -in resentment, and Arina Petrovna heard the word "hag" pronounced under -her breath. - -"You had better go down, my dear," said Arina Petrovna, turning to -Ulita. - -"Where did you get that idea from?" snapped the latter. - -"I have to talk to Pavel Vladimirych. Go down." - -"Excuse me, madam, how can I leave the master? What if something should -happen? There's no one to serve him and attend to him." - -"What's the matter?" a hollow voice called from the bedroom. - -"Order Ulita to go downstairs, my friend. I have matters to talk over -with you." - -This time Arina Petrovna pressed her point so persistently that she was -victorious. She crossed herself and entered the room. The patient's -bed stood near the inner wall far from the window. He lay on his back, -covered with a white blanket, smoking a cigarette, though almost half -unconscious. Notwithstanding the smoke, the flies pestered him with -peculiar persistence, so that he had continually to pass his hand over -his face. His arms were so weak, so bare of muscle, that they showed -the bones, of almost equal thickness from wrist to shoulder, in clear -outline. His head nestled despondently in the pillow. His whole body -and face burned in a dry fever. His large round eyes were sunken and -gazed aimlessly about, as if looking for something. The lines of his -nose had grown longer and sharper. His mouth was half open. He had -stopped coughing, but he breathed with such difficulty that it seemed -as if all his vital energy were concentrated in his chest. - -"Well, how do you feel to-day?" asked Arina Petrovna, sinking into the -armchair at his feet. - -"So--so--to-morrow--that is, to-day--when was the doctor here?" - -"He was here to-day." - -"Well, then, to-morrow----" - -The patient fumbled as if struggling to recall a word. - -"You'll be able to get up?" prompted Arina Petrovna. "God grant it, my -friend, God grant it." - -They both remained silent for a moment. Arina Petrovna found it very -difficult to open a conversation when she was face to face with Pavel -Vladimirych. - -"Yudushka--is he alive?" finally asked the sick man himself. - -"Nothing is the matter with him. He lives and prospers." - -"I bet he is thinking, 'Now brother Pavel is going to die--and with -God's help the estate will come to me.'" - -"We'll all die, some day--and after every one of us, the estates will -go to the lawful heirs." - -"Only not to the Bloodsucker! I'll throw it to the dogs, but he shan't -have it." - -The situation was turning out excellently. Pavel Vladimirych himself -was leading the conversation. Arina Petrovna did not fail to take -advantage of the opportunity. - -"You ought to consider that, my friend," she said, as if by the way, -not looking at her son and examining the color of her hands as if they -were the main object of her interest. - -"What do you mean by 'that'?" - -"Well, I mean, if you don't wish that the estate should go to your -brother." - -The patient was silent. Only his eyes widened unnaturally and his face -flushed more and more. - -"And also, my friend, you ought to take into consideration the fact -that you have orphaned nieces--and what sort of capital have they? Then -there is your mother," continued Arina Petrovna. - -"You've managed to give everything away to Yudushka!" - -"Whatever may have happened, I know that I myself am to blame. But it -wasn't such a crime after all. I thought 'he is my son.' At any rate, -it isn't kind of you to remember that against your mother." - -Silence followed. - -"Well, why don't you say something?" - -"And how soon do you expect to bury me?" - -"Oh, don't talk like that. All Christians----Everybody doesn't die -right away, still in general----" - -"There you go--'in general!' Always your 'in general!' You think I -don't see." - -"See what, my boy?" - -"I see you take me for a fool. Well, if I am a fool, let me remain a -fool. Why do you come to a fool? Don't come, don't worry about me." - -"I'm not worrying. But in general there is a term set to everybody's -life." - -"Then wait for my term." - -Arina Petrovna lowered her head and meditated. She saw clearly that her -case was almost a failure, but she was so tortured that nothing could -convince her of the fruitlessness of further attempts to influence her -son. - -"I don't know why you hate me," she declared finally. - -"Not at all--on the contrary I--not at all. In fact I--why, the -idea--you brought us all up--so impartially." - -He spoke in jerks and gasps. A broken yet triumphant laugh made its way -into his voice. His eyes sparkled. His shoulders and legs quivered. - -"Perhaps I have really sinned against you, then for Christ's sake -forgive me." - -Arina Petrovna rose and bowed till her hand touched the floor. Pavel -Vladimirych shut his eyes without replying. - -"Suppose we let the question of the estate alone. You couldn't make -any arrangement in your present condition. Porfiry is the lawful heir. -Well, let the real estate go to him. But what about your personal -property and capital?" Arina Petrovna ventured to state her point -directly. - -Pavel Vladimirych shuddered, but remained silent. It is very possible -that at the word "capital" he gave no thought whatsoever to his -mother's insinuations, but simply mused: "September is here already. I -have to collect the interest." - -"If you think I desire your death, you're very much mistaken, my -child. If you would only live I should not need to complain in my old -age. What have I to grumble about? I have food and shelter here, and -should I want a little additional pleasure, I can get it. I merely -wish to call your attention to the fact that there is a custom among -Christians, according to which, in expectation of the life to come, -we----" - -Arina Petrovna paused, searching for a suitable word. - -"We provide for the future of those related to us," she concluded, -looking out of the window. - -Pavel Vladimirych lay motionless, coughing softly. He did not betray -by a single movement whether or not he was listening. Apparently his -mother was boring him. - -"The capital may go from hand to hand during life," said Arina -Petrovna, as though passing a trivial remark and resuming the -inspection of her hands. - -The patient shuddered slightly, but Arina Petrovna did not notice it -and continued: - -"The law, my friend, expressly permits the free transfer of capital. -Money is something one acquires. Yesterday you had it. To-day it is -gone. And nobody can call you to account for it. You can give it to -whomever you choose." - -Pavel Vladimirych suddenly laughed viciously. - -"You probably remember the story about Polochkin," he hissed. "He gave -his capital to his wife 'from hand to hand' and she ran off with her -lover." - -"You may rest assured, my child, I have no lover." - -"Then you'll run off without a lover--with the money." - -"How well you understand my motives!" - -"I don't understand you at all. You gave me the reputation of a fool. -Well, I _am_ a fool. Let me be a fool. What wonderful tricks they have -invented--to pass my money from hand to hand! And where do I come in? I -suppose you'll order me to go to a monastery for my salvation, and from -there watch how you manage my money?" - -He shot these words out in a volley, in a voice full of hatred and -indignation. Then he broke down completely and burst into a fit of -coughing that lasted a full quarter of an hour. It was amazing to see -how much strength that wretched human skeleton contained. Finally he -caught his breath and closed his eyes. - -Arina Petrovna looked about in bewilderment. Until that moment she -could not believe it, somehow, but now she was fully convinced that -every attempt to persuade the dying man would only serve to hasten the -day of Yudushka's triumph. Yudushka kept dancing before her eyes. She -saw him walking behind the hearse, giving his brother the last Judas -kiss and squeezing out two foul tears. Then she had a picture of the -coffin being lowered into the grave and Yudushka exclaiming, "Farewell, -brother!" his lips twitching and his eyes rolling upward. She heard -his attempt to add a note of grief to his voice, and afterwards say, -turning to Ulita: "The kutya,[A] the kutya, don't forget to take the -kutya into the house. And be sure to put on a clean table cloth. We -must honor brother's memory in the house, too." Next she saw him -presiding over the funeral feast, chatting incessantly with the -reverend father about the virtues of the deceased. She heard him say, -"Ah, brother, brother, you didn't wish to live with us," as he rose -from the table, stretching out his hand, palm upward, to receive the -father's blessing. And lastly she saw Yudushka walking about the house -with the air of a master, taking the inventory of all the effects and -in doubtful cases casting suspicious glances at mother. - -All these inevitable scenes of the future floated before Arina -Petrovna's mental vision. In her ears rang Yudushka's shrill, unctuous -voice as he said: "Do you remember, mother dear, the little golden -shirt studs that brother had? They were so pretty. He used to wear them -on holidays. I simply can't imagine where those studs could have gone -to." - -[Footnote A: A gruel made of rice or wheat or barley, boiled with -raisins and mead. It is eaten after the mass for the dead and, in the -South, on Christmas Eve.--_Translator's Note._] - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -No sooner did Arina Petrovna come downstairs, than a carriage drawn by -a team of four horses made its appearance on a hill near the church. -In it, in the place of honor, was seated Porfiry Golovliov, who had -removed his hat and was crossing himself at the sight of the church. -Opposite him sat his two sons, Petenka and Volodenka. The very blood -froze in Arina Petrovna's veins as the thought flashed through her -mind, "Speak of the devil and he's sure to appear." The girls also -lost courage, and timidly clung closer to their grandmother. The house -hitherto peaceful was suddenly filled with alarm. Doors banged, people -ran about crying, "The master is coming, the master is coming!" and -all the occupants of the house rushed out on the porch. Some made the -sign of the cross, some stood in silent expectation, all apparently -conscious of the fact that the existing order in Dubrovino had been -only temporary, and that now the real management was to begin with -a real master at the head. Under the former master some of the old, -deserving serfs had enjoyed the privilege of a monthly allowance of -provisions. Many of them fed their cattle on the master's hay, had -kitchen gardens of their own, and altogether lived "freely." Everyone, -of course, was now vitally interested to know whether the new master -would permit the old order of things, or whether he would introduce a -new one, similar to that which prevailed at Golovliovo. - -Yudushka drove up to the house. From the reception accorded to him he -concluded that affairs at Dubrovino were fast coming to a head. Without -a sign of haste, he descended from the carriage, waved his hand to the -servants who rushed forward to kiss it, then put his palms together, -and began to climb the steps slowly, whispering a prayer. His face -expressed a feeling of mingled grief, firmness, and resignation. As a -man he grieved; as a Christian he did not dare to complain. He prayed -to God to cure his brother, but above all he put his trust in the Lord -and bowed before His will. His sons walked side by side behind him, -Volodenka mimicking his father, clasping his hands, rolling his eyes -heavenward and mumbling his lips. Petenka revelled in his brother's -performance. Behind them, in silent procession, followed the servants. - -Yudushka kissed dear mother's hand, then her lips, then her hand again -and put his arm about her waist and said, shaking his head sadly: - -"And you keep on worrying. That's bad, mother dear, very bad. Instead -of that you should ask yourself: 'And what is God going to say to -this?' He will say: 'Here have I in my infinite wisdom arranged -everything for the best, and she grumbles.' Ah, mother dear, mother -dear." - -Then he kissed both of his nieces, and with the same charming -familiarity in his voice, said: - -"And you, too, romps, you are crying your eyes out. I won't permit it. -I command you immediately to smile. And that shall be the end of it." - -And he stamped his foot at them in jesting anger. - -"Just look at me," he continued. "As a brother I am torn with grief. -More than once I have shed tears. I am sorry for brother, sorry as can -be. I weep. Then I bethink myself: 'And what is God for? Is it possible -that God knows less than we what ought to be?' This thought inspires -me with courage. That is how you all should act, you, mother dear, and -you, little nieces, and--" he turned to the servants--"you all." - -"Look at me, how well I bear up." - -And in the same charming manner he proceeded to impersonate a man who -bears up. He straightened his body, put one foot forward, expanded his -chest, and threw back his head. The audience smiled sourly. - -This performance over, Yudushka passed into the drawing-room and kissed -his mother's hand again. - -"Well, so that's how things are, mother dear," he said, seating himself -on the couch. "So brother Pavel, too." - -"Yes, Pavel, too," softly answered Arina Petrovna. - -"Yes, yes--a little too early. Although I play the brave, in my soul -I, too, suffer and grieve for my poor brother. He hated me--hated me -bitterly. Maybe that is why God is punishing him." - -"You might forget about it at such a moment. You must set old grudges -aside." - -"I have forgotten it all long ago. I only mentioned it in passing. -My brother disliked me, for what reason, I know not. I tried one way -and another, directly and indirectly. I called him 'dear' and 'kind -brother,' but he drew back and that was the end of it." - -"I asked you please not to bring all that up. The man is lying at the -point of death." - -"Yes, mother dear, death is a great mystery. 'For ye know neither -the day nor the hour.' That's the kind of mystery it is. There he -was making plans, thinking he was exalted so high, so high as to be -beyond mortal reach. But in one instant with one blow God undid all his -dreams. Perhaps he would be glad now to cover up his sins. But they are -already recorded in the Book of Life. And whatever is written in that -book, mother dear, won't be scraped off in a hurry." - -"But does not the Lord accept the sinner's repentance?" - -"That's just what I wish for him from the bottom of my heart. I -know he hated me, still I wish him forgiveness. I wish the best for -everybody--for those that hate me, those that insult me--everybody. He -was unfair to me and now God sends him an ailment--not I, but God. Does -he suffer much, mother dear?" - -"Well, not very much. The doctor was here and even gave us hopes." So -lied Arina Petrovna. - -"What splendid news! Don't you worry, dear mother, he'll pull through -yet. Here we are eating our hearts away and grumbling at the Creator, -and perhaps he is sitting quietly on his bed thanking the Lord for his -recovery." - -The idea delighted Yudushka so immensely that he even giggled softly to -himself. - -"Do you know, mother dear, that I have come to stay here a while?" he -went on, for all the world as if he were giving his mother a pleasant -surprise. "It's among good kinsmen, you know. In case something -happens--you understand, as a brother--I may console, advise, make -arrangements. You will permit me, will you not?" - -"What sort of permissions can I give when I am here myself only as -a--guest?" - -"Well, then, dearest, since this is Friday, just order them, if you -please, to prepare a fish meal for me. Some salt-fish, mushrooms, a -little cabbage--you know, I don't need much. And in the meantime, as a -relative, I shall drag myself up to the entresol. Perhaps I shall still -be in time to do some good, if not to his body, at least to his soul. -In his position, it seems to me, the soul is of much more consequence. -We can patch up the body, mother dear, with potions and poultices, but -the soul needs a more potent remedy." - -Arina Petrovna made no objection. The thought of the inevitability -of the "end" had taken such complete hold of her, that she observed -everything and listened to everything about her dazedly. She saw -Yudushka rise from the sofa, stoop and shuffle his feet. He liked to -appear invalided at times. He had an idea it added to his dignity. She -knew the unexpected appearance of the Bloodsucker in the entresol would -greatly excite the patient, might even hasten his end. But after the -day of agitation, she was so exhausted that she felt as if in a dream. - -Meanwhile Pavel Vladimirych was in an indescribable state of -excitement. Though quite alone, he was aware of an unusual stir in -the house. Every bang of a door, every hurried footstep in the hall -awakened a mysterious alarm. For a while he called with all his -might; but, soon convinced his shouts were useless, he gathered all -his strength, sat up in bed, and listened. The sound of running feet -and loud voices stopped and was followed by a dead silence. Something -unknown and fearful surrounded him. Only a few, miserly rays of light -sifted through the lowered shades and the dim light of the lamp burning -before the ikon in the corner made the dusk filling the room seem all -the darker and gloomier. Pavel fixed his gaze upon that mysterious -corner as if for the first time he found something surprising in -it. The ikon, in a gilt framework on which the rays from the lamp -fell perpendicularly, stood out of the gloom with a sort of striking -brightness, like something alive. A circle of light wavered upon the -ceiling, flaring up or dying down in proportion to the strength or -weakness of the lamplight. Strange shadows filled the room, and the -dressing-gown hanging on the wall was alive with vacillating stripes of -light and shadow. Pavel Vladimirych watched and watched, and he felt -as if right there in that corner everything were suddenly beginning -to move. Solitude, helplessness, dead silence--and shadows, a host of -shadows. The shadows seemed to be coming, coming, coming. Gripped by -an indescribable terror, he gazed into the mysterious corner, eyes and -mouth agape, uttering no cries, but simply groaning--groaning in a -stifled voice, in jerks, like the barking of a dog. He heard neither -the creak of the stairs nor the careful shuffling steps in the adjacent -room. Suddenly, beside his bed, there loomed up the detestable figure -of Yudushka, as if from that gloom which had just mysteriously hovered -before his eyes, and as if there were more, more of shadows, shadows -without end--coming, coming---- - -"What? Where did you come from? Who let you in?" he cried -instinctively, dropping back on his pillow helplessly. Yudushka -stood at the bedside, scrutinizing the sick man and shaking his head -sorrowfully. - -"Does it hurt?" he asked, putting all the oiliness of which he was -capable into his voice. - -Pavel Vladimirych was silent, but stared at him stupidly, as if making -every effort to understand him. - -Meanwhile Yudushka approached the ikon, fell to his knees, bowed three -times to the ground, arose and appeared again at the bedside. - -"Well, brother, get up. May God send you grace," he said, sitting down -in an armchair, in a voice so jovial that he actually appeared to be -carrying "grace" about with him in his pocket. - -At last Pavel Vladimirych realized that this was no shadow but the -Bloodsucker in flesh. He seemed to coil up of a sudden as if in a -cramp. Yudushka's eyes were bright with affection, but the invalid very -distinctly saw the "noose" lurking in those eyes ready any instant to -dart out and tighten round his neck. - -"Ah, brother, brother, you've become no better than an old woman," -Yudushka continued jocosely. "Come, brace up! Get up and run a little -race. Come on, come on, give mother the joy of seeing what a strong -fellow you are. Come on now! Up with you!" - -"Get out of here, Bloodsucker!" the invalid cried in desperation. - -"Ah, brother, brother! I come to you in kindness and sympathy, and -you ... what do you say in return? Oh, what a sin! And how could your -tongue say such a thing to your own brother! It's a shame, darling, -it's a shame! Wait a minute, let me arrange the pillow for you." - -Yudushka got up and poked his finger into the pillow. - -"Like this," he continued. "That's fine now. Lie quietly, now. You -won't need to touch it till tomorrow." - -"You get out!" - -"My, how cranky your illness has made you! Why, you have even become -stubborn, really. You keep chasing me, 'Get out, get out!' But how can -I go? Here, for instance, you feel thirsty and I hand you some water. -Or I see the ikon is out of order, and I set it to rights, or pour in -some oil. You just lie where you are and I'll be sitting nearby, real -quietly. So we won't even see how time flies." - -"Get out, you Bloodsucker!" - -"Look here, you are insulting me, but I am going to pray to the Lord -for you. I know it isn't you, it's your illness talking. You see, -brother, I am used to forgiving. I forgive everybody. Today, for -instance, as I was coming here I met a peasant, and he said something -about me. Well, the Lord be with him. He defiled his own tongue. And I, -why I not only was not angry at him, I even made the sign of the cross -over him, I did truly." - -"You robbed him, didn't you?" - -"Who, I? Why, no, my friend, I don't rob people; highwaymen rob, but -I--I act in accordance with the law. I caught his horse grazing in my -meadows--well, let him go to the justice of the peace. If the justice -says it's right to let your cattle graze on other people's fields, -well, then I'll give him his horse back, but if the justice says it -isn't right, I am sorry. The peasant will have to pay a fine. I act -according to the law, my friend, according to the law." - -"You Judas the traitor, you left mother a pauper." - -"I repeat, you may be angry, if you please, but you are wrong. If I -were not a Christian, I would even have cause to be angry at you for -what you've just said." - -"Yes, you did, you did make mother a pauper." - -"Now, do be quiet, please. Here, I am going to pray for you. Maybe that -will calm you down." - -Though Yudushka had restrained himself successfully throughout the -conversation, the dying man's curses affected him deeply. His lips -curled queerly and turned pale. However, hypocrisy was so ingrained -in his nature that once the comedy was begun, he could not leave it -unfinished. So he knelt before the ikon and for fully fifteen minutes -murmured prayers, his hands uplifted. Thereupon he returned to the -dying man's bed with countenance calm and serene. - -"You know, brother, I have come to talk serious matters over with you," -he said, seating himself in the armchair. "Here you are insulting -me, but I am thinking of your soul. Tell me, please, when did you -communicate last?" - -"Oh, Lord! What is all this? Take him away! Ulita, Agasha! Anybody -here?" moaned Pavel. - -"Now, now, darling, do be quiet. I know you don't like to talk about -it. Yes, brother, you always were a bad Christian and you are still. -But it wouldn't be bad, really it wouldn't, to give some thought to -your soul. We've got to be careful with our souls, my friend, oh, how -careful! Do you know what the Church prescribes? It says, 'Ye shall -offer prayers and thanks.' And again, 'The end of a Christian's earthly -life is painless, honorable and peaceable.' That's what it is, my -friend. You really ought to send for the priest and sincerely, with -penitence. All right, I won't, I won't. But really you'd better." - -Pavel Vladimirych lay livid and nearly suffocated. If he could have, -he would have dashed his head to pieces. - -"And how about the estate? Have you already made arrangements?" -continued Yudushka. "Yours is a fine little estate, a very fine one. -The soil is even better than at Golovliovo. And you have money, too, I -suppose. Of course, I don't know anything about your affairs. I only -know that you received a lump sum on freeing your serfs, but exactly -how much, I never cared to know. To-day, for instance, as I was coming -here, I said to myself, 'I suppose brother Pavel has money.' 'But -then,' I thought, 'if he has capital, he must have decided already how -to dispose of it.'" - -The patient turned away and sighed heavily. - -"You have not made any disposition? Well, so much the better, my -friend. It's even more just, according to the law. It won't be -inherited by strangers, but by your own kind. Take me, for example, I -am old, with one foot in the grave, but still I think, 'Why should I -make disposition of my property if the law will do it all for me, after -I am dead?' And it's really the right way, my friend. There will be no -quarrels, no envy, no lawsuits. It's the law." - -That was unbearable. Pavel Vladimirych felt as if he were lying in a -coffin, fettered, in lethargy, unable to move a limb, and forced to -hear the Bloodsucker revile his dead body. - -"Get out--for Christ's sake, get out!" he finally implored his torturer. - -"All right, you just be quiet, I'll go. I know you don't like me. It's -a shame, my friend, a real shame, to dislike your own brother. You see, -I do love you. And I've always been telling my children, 'Though Pavel -Vladimirych has sinned against me, yet I love him.' So you did not -make any disposition? Well, that's fine, my friend. Sometimes, though, -one's money is stolen while one is yet alive, especially when one is -without relatives, all alone. But I'll take care of it. Eh? What? Am I -annoying you? Well, well, let it be as you wish. I'll go. Let me offer -up a prayer." - -He rose, placed his palms together, and whispered a prayer hurriedly. - -"Good-by, friend, don't worry. Take a good rest, and perhaps with God's -help you will get better. I will talk the matter over with mother dear. -Maybe we'll think something up. I have ordered a fish meal for myself, -some salt-fish, some mushrooms and cabbage. So you'll pardon me. What? -Am I annoying you again? Ah, brother dear! Well, well, I'm going. Above -all, don't be alarmed, don't be excited, sleep well and take a good -rest," he said, and finally made his departure. - -"Bloodsucker!" The word came after him in such a piercing shriek that -even he felt as if he had been branded with a hot iron. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -While Porfiry Vladimirych was holding forth in the entresol, -grandmother Arina Petrovna had gathered the young folks around her -downstairs, and was talking to them, not without the hope of getting -something out of them. - -"Well, how are you?" she asked, turned to her eldest grandson, Petenka. - -"I'm pretty well, granny. Next month I'll graduate as an officer." - -"Really? How many years have you been promising that? Are the -examinations so hard? Or what?" - -"At the last examination, granny, he failed in his catechism. The -priest asked him, 'What is God?' and he answered, 'God is Spirit--is -Spirit--and Holy Spirit.'" - -"Oh, you poor thing! How is that? Look at those little orphans. I'm -sure even they know that." - -"Why, certainly. God is invisible Spirit." Anninka hurried to show off -her knowledge. - -"Whom none ever beheld," Lubinka put in. - -"Omniscient, most Gracious, Omnipotent, Omnipresent," Anninka continued. - -"Whither can I go from Thy spirit and whither can I flee from Thy face? -Should I rise to Heaven, there wouldst Thou be, should I descend to -Hell, there wouldst Thou be." - -"I wish you would have answered like that. You would have epaulets by -this time. And how about you, Volodya, what are you going to do?" - -Volodya flushed and remained silent. - -"Apparently, you go no further than your brother with his 'Spirit--Holy -Spirit,' Ah, children, children! You seem to be so bright and yet -somehow you can't master your studies at all. I might understand if you -had a father who spoiled you. Tell me, how does he treat you now?" - -"Still the same old way, granny." - -"Does he beat you? Didn't I hear he stopped thrashing you?" - -"A little bit, but--the worst is, he pesters us to death." - -"I must say, I don't understand. How can a father pester his children?" - -"He does though, grandma, awfully. We can't go out without permission, -we can't take a thing. It couldn't be worse." - -"Well, then, ask permission. Your tongue wouldn't fall out in the -effort, I imagine." - -"Impossible. You just begin to talk to him, then he doesn't let go of -you. 'Don't hurry and wait a while. Gently, gently, take it easy.' -Really, granny, his talk is too tiresome for words." - -"Granny, he listens to us on the sly behind our doors. Just the other -day Piotr caught him in the act." - -"Oh, you rogues! Well, what did he say?" - -"Nothing. I said to him, 'It won't do, daddy, for you to eavesdrop at -our doors. Some day you may get your nose squashed. And all he said -was, 'Well, well, it's nothing, it's nothing. I, my child, am like a -thief in the night, as it says in the Bible.'" - -"The other day, granny, he picked up an apple in the orchard, and put -it away in a cupboard. I ate it up. So he hunted and hunted for it, and -cross-examined everybody." - -"What do you mean? Has he become a miser?" - -"No, he's not exactly stingy, but--how shall I put it? He is just -swamped head over heels in little things. He hides slips of paper, and -he hunts for wind-fallen fruit." - -"Every morning he says mass in his study, and later he gives each of us -a little piece of holy wafer, stale as stale can be." - -"But once we played a trick on him. We discovered where he keeps the -wafers, made a cut in the bottom of them, took out the pulp, and stuck -butter in." - -"Well, I must say you are regular cut-throats." - -"My, just imagine his surprise, next day. Wafers with butter!" - -"I suppose you got it good and hard afterwards." - -"No, not a bit. But he kept spitting all day and muttering to himself, -'The rascals!' Of course we made believe he didn't mean us." - -"Let me tell you, granny, he is afraid of you." - -"Of me! I'm not a scarecrow to frighten him." - -"I'm sure he's scared of you. He thinks you'll put a curse on him. He's -desperately afraid of curses." - -Arina Petrovna became lost in thought. At first the idea passed through -her mind: "What if I really should put a curse on him--just take and -curse him?" But the thought was instantly replaced by a more pressing -question, "What is Yudushka doing now? What tricks is he playing -upstairs? He must be up to one of his usual tricks." Finally a happy -idea struck her. - -"Volodya," she said, "you, dear heart, are light on your feet. Why -shouldn't you go softly and listen to what's going on up there?" - -"Gladly, granny." - -Volodya tiptoed toward the doors and disappeared through them. - -"What made you come over to us to-day?" Arina Petrovna continued with -her questioning. - -"We meant to come a long time ago, grandma, but today Ulita sent a -messenger to say the doctor had been here and uncle was going to die, -if not to-day, then surely to-morrow." - -"Tell me, is there any talk among you about the heritage?" - -"We keep talking about it the whole day, granny. Papa tells us how -it used to be before grandpa's time. He even remembers Goriushkino, -granny. 'See now,' he says, 'if Auntie Varvara Mikhailovna had no -children, then Goriushkino would be ours. And God knows,' he says, 'who -the children's father is. But let us not judge others. We see a mote in -the eye of our neighbor, but fail to notice a beam in our own. That's -how the world goes, brother.'" - -"Nonsense, nonsense. Auntie was married, was she not? Even if there had -been anything before that, the marriage made it all straight." - -"That's true, grandma, and each time we go past Goriushkino, he brings -up the same old tale: 'Grandma Natalya Vladimirovna,' he says, 'brought -Goriushkino as a dowry. By all rights it should have stayed in the -family. But your deceased grandfather gave it to sister as a dot. And -what wonderful watermelons,' he says, 'used to grow at Goriushkino! -Twenty pounds each. That's the kind of watermelons that grew there!'" - -"Twenty pounds, bosh! I never heard of such melons. Well, and what are -his intentions about Dubrovino?" - -"In the same line, granny. Watermelons and muskmelons and other -trifles. But of late he has constantly been asking us, 'What do you -think, children, has uncle Pavel much money?' He has had it all figured -out for a long time, grandma: the amount of redemption loan, and when -the property was mortgaged, and how much debt is paid off. We even saw -the paper on which he made the calculations; and guess what, granny, we -stole it. We nearly drove him crazy with that slip of paper. He'd put -it in a drawer, and we'd match the key and stick it into a holy wafer. -Once he went to take a bath, when lo and behold! he saw the paper lying -on the bath shelf." - -"You've a gay life up there." - -Volodenka returned and became the center of general attention. - -"I couldn't hear a thing," he announced in a whisper, "the only thing I -heard was father mouthing words like 'painless, untarnished, peaceful,' -and uncle shouting, 'Get out of here, you Bloodsucker!'" - -"Didn't you hear anything about the will?" - -"I think there was something said about it, but I couldn't make it out. -Father shut the door entirely too tight, granny. Only a buzzing came -through. And then suddenly uncle yelled, 'Get--get out!' Well then I -took to my heels and here I am." - -"If only the orphans were given----" anxiously thought Arina Petrovna. - -"If father gets his hands on it, granny, he'll not give a thing to -anyone," Petenka assured her. "And I have a feeling he's even going to -deprive us of the inheritance." - -"Still, he can't take it to the grave with him, can he?" - -"No, but he'll think up some scheme. It wasn't for nothing that he had -a talk with the priest not long ago. 'How does the idea of building -a tower of Babel strike you, Father?' he asked. 'Would one need much -money?'" - -"Well, he just said that perhaps out of curiosity." - -"No, granny, he has some plan in mind. If it isn't for a tower of -Babel, he'll donate the money to the St. Athos monastery; but he'll -make sure we don't get any." - -"Will father get a big estate when uncle dies?" asked Volodya, -curiously. - -"Well, God alone knows which of them will die first." - -"Father is sure he'll outlive uncle. The other day, just as soon as -we reached the boundary of the Dubrovino estate, he took off his cap, -crossed himself, and said, 'Thank God we'll be riding again on our own -land!"' - -"He's made arrangements for everything already, granny. He noticed the -woods. 'There,' he says, 'if there were a good landlord, that would be -a ripping fine forest.' Then he looked at the meadows. 'What a meadow! -Just look! Look at all those hay stacks!'" - -"Yes, indeed, both the woods and the meadows, everything will be yours, -my darlings," sighed Arina Petrovna. "Goodness! Wasn't that a squeak on -the stairs?" - -"Hush, granny, hush! That's he--'like a thief in the night,' listening -behind the doors." - -There was a silence, but it proved to be a false alarm. Arina Petrovna -sighed and muttered to herself, "Ah, children, children!" - -The boys stared at the orphans, fairly swallowing them with their gaze, -while the little orphans sat in silent envy. - -"Did you see Mademoiselle Lotar, cousin?" Petenka started a -conversation. - -Anninka and Lubinka exchanged glances as if they had been asked a -question in history or geography. - -"In _Fair Helen_ she plays the part of Helen on the stage." - -"Oh, yes--Helen--Paris--'Beautiful and young; he set the hearts of the -goddesses aflame--' I know, I know it," cried Lubinka joyfully. - -"Exactly. And how she sings 'Cas-ca-ader, ca-as-cader.' It's great." - -"The doctor who was just here keeps humming '_Head over heels._'" - -"That is Lyadova's song. Wasn't she splendid, cousin? When she died, -nearly two thousand persons followed the hearse. People thought there -would be a revolution." - -"Is it about theatres you're chattering?" broke in Arina Petrovna. -"Well, their destiny lies far from theatres, my boys. It leads rather -to the convent." - -"Granny, you've set your mind on burying us in a convent," complained -Anninka. - -"Come, cousin, let's go to St. Petersburg instead of to a convent. -We'll show you everything to be seen there." - -"Their minds should not be occupied with thoughts of pleasure, but -rather with thoughts of God," continued Arina Petrovna sententiously. - -"We will teach you everything under the sun. In St. Petersburg there -are lots of girls like you. They walk about swinging their skirts." - -"Stop bothering them, for Christ's sake, you teachers," Arina Petrovna -interjected. "Nice things you can teach them." - -"I'm going to take them to Khotkov, after Uncle Pavel's death, and -we'll settle down comfortably there." - -"So you're still at your blabbing," a voice at the door suddenly broke -in. - -Engrossed in conversation nobody had heard Yudushka steal up "like a -thief in the night." He was all in tears, his head was bowed, his face -pale, his hands crossed on his breast, his lips mumbling in prayer. -For a few moments his eyes sought the ikons, then found them and for a -brief while he prayed. - -"He's very ill. Ah, how ill he is!" he finally exclaimed, embracing his -mother dear. - -"Is he?" - -"Very, very ill, dear heart. And do you recollect what a strong fellow -he was?" - -"Well, he was never exactly strong. I can't remember that, somehow." - -"Ah no, mother dear, don't say that. He was, always. I remember -perfectly when he left the cadets corps how well shaped he was, broad -shouldered, glowing with health. Yes, yes, mother dear, that's how -it is. We're all in God's hands. To-day we're strong, in the best of -health, we want to enjoy life to have a good meal, and tomorrow.... - -He shrugged his shoulders and assumed deep emotion. - -"Did he say anything at least?" - -"Very little, dearest. The only thing he said was, 'Good-by, brother.' -And yet, mother dear, he can feel. He feels that he is in a bad way." - -"Well, no wonder he feels he is in a bad way when he can hardly catch -his breath." - -"No, mother dear, that's not what I mean. I have in mind the inner -vision which is given to the righteous and which allows them to foresee -their death." - -"Yes, yes! Didn't he say anything about his will?" - -"No, mother. He wanted to say something about it, but I stopped him. -'No,' I said, 'don't talk about that! Whatever you leave me, brother, -out of the kindness of your heart, I shall be satisfied. And even if -you leave me nothing, I'll have mass said for you at my own expense.' -And yet, mother dear, how he wants to live! How he longs for life!" - -"Of course, who doesn't want to live?" - -"No, mother. Take myself, for example. If it pleased the Lord God to -call me to Himself, I'm ready on the spot." - -"All well and good if you go to Heaven, but what if Satan gets you -between his fangs?" - -In this vein the talk continued till supper, during supper, and -after supper. Arina Petrovna was very restless. While Yudushka was -expatiating on various subjects, the thought entered her mind at -shorter and shorter intervals, "What if I should really curse him?" But -Yudushka had not the slightest suspicion of the storm raging in his -mother's heart. He had an air of serenity, and continued slowly and -gently to torture his "mother dear" with his endless twaddle. - -"I'll curse him! I'll curse him! Curse him!" Arina Petrovna repeated -inwardly, with greater and greater determination. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -An odor of incense pervaded the rooms, the sing-song of funeral chants -was heard in the house, the doors were thrown open, those wishing to -pay their last respects to the deceased came and went. While Pavel -Vladimirych lived, nobody had paid any attention to him; at his death -everybody mourned. People recalled that he "had never hurt a single -person," that "he had never uttered a cross word to anyone," nor -thrown anyone a look of ill-will--all qualities that had appeared -purely negative, but now assumed a positive character. Many seemed -to repent that at times they had taken advantage of the dead man's -simplicity--but after all, who knew that the simple soul was destined -to so speedy an end? One peasant brought Yudushka three silver rubles -and said: "Here's a little debt I owe Pavel Vladimirych. No writing -passed between us. Here, take it." - -Yudushka took the money, praised the peasant, and said he would donate -the three silver rubles for oil to burn forever before an ikon in the -church. - -"You, my dear friend, will see the flame, and everybody will see it, -and the soul of my deceased brother will rejoice. Maybe he will obtain -something for you in Heaven. You won't be expecting anything--and -suddenly the Lord will send you luck." - -Very probably the high estimate of the deceased's virtues was largely -based on a comparison between him and his brother. People did not like -Yudushka. Not that they couldn't get the better of him, but that he -was entirely too much of a nuisance with his scrape-penny ways. Very -few could bring themselves to lease land from him. They were afraid of -his passion for litigation. He dragged any number of people to court, -wasted their time, and won nothing, because his pettifogging habits -were so well known in the district that almost without listening to the -case the courts dismissed his claims. - -Since meanness, or, to be more exact, a kind of moral hardness, -especially when under the mask of hypocrisy, always inspires a sort of -superstitious fear, Yudushka's neighbors bowed waist low as they passed -by the Bloodsucker, standing all in black beside the coffin with palms -crossed and eyes raised upward. - -As long as the deceased lay in the house, the family walked about on -tip-toe, stole glances into the dining-room, where the coffin stood -on the table, wagged their heads, and talked in whispers. Yudushka -pretended to be overcome by the disaster, and shuffled painfully along -the corridor, paid a visit to the "dear deceased," affected deep -emotional stress, arranged the pall on the coffin, and whispered to the -commissioner of police, who was taking the inventory and affixing the -seal. Petenka and Volodenka busied themselves about the coffin, placing -and lighting the candles, handing over the censer, and so forth. -Anninka and Lubinka cried and through their tears helped the chanters -sing the mass for the dead in thin little voices. The woman servants, -dressed in black calico, wiped their noses red from weeping on their -aprons. - -Immediately after the death of Pavel Vladimirych, Arina Petrovna -went up to her room and locked herself in. She was not disposed -to weep, for she realized that she had to decide upon a course of -action immediately. To remain at Dubrovino was out of the question. -Consequently, she had only one choice, to go to Pogorelka, the orphans' -estate, the "bone" that she had once thrown to her disrespectful -daughter, Anna Vladimirovna. Arriving at this decision, she felt -relieved, as though Yudushka had suddenly and forever lost all power -over her. Calmly she counted her five per cent. Government bonds. They -totalled fifteen thousand rubles of her own, and as much belonging -to the orphans, which she had saved up for them. And she went on -composedly to calculate how much money she would have to spend to put -the Pogorelka manor-house in order. Then she immediately sent for the -bailiff of Pogorelka, gave the necessary orders about hiring carpenters -and sending a horse and cart to Dubrovino for her and the orphans' -belongings, ordered the coach to be made ready (the coach was her own, -and she had evidence that it was her very own), and began to pack. -She felt neither hatred nor goodwill toward Yudushka. It suddenly -became disgusting to her to have any dealings with him. She even ate -unwillingly and little, because from that day she had to eat not -Pavel's but Yudushka's food. Several times Porfiry Vladimirych peeped -into her room to have a chat with his "mother dear." He understood the -meaning of her packing clearly, but pretended to notice nothing. Arina -Petrovna refused to see him. - -"Go, my friend, go," she said. "I have no time." - -In three days, Arina Petrovna had everything in readiness for -departure. They heard mass, performed the funeral service, and buried -Pavel Vladimirych. At the funeral everything happened just as Arina -Petrovna had imagined on the morning when Yudushka came to Dubrovino. -In the very way she had foreseen Yudushka cried out, "Farewell, -brother!" when they lowered the coffin into the grave, and turned to -Ulita and said hastily: "Don't forget--don't forget to take the kutya, -and put it in the dining-room on a clean table cloth. We will honor -brother's memory in the house, too." - -Three churchmen, the Father Provost and a deacon, were invited to the -dinner served, as is the custom, immediately on the return from the -funeral ceremony. A special table was laid in the entrance hall for -the sextons. Arina Petrovna and the orphans entered clad in travelling -clothes, but Yudushka pretended even then not to understand. He went -over to the table, requested the Father Provost to bless the food and -drink, poured a glassful of vodka for himself and the churchmen, put -on an air of deep emotion and said, "Everlasting memory to the late -deceased! Ah, brother, brother, you have forsaken us! Who of us more -than you was fit to live a happy life? How sad, brother, how sad!" - -Then he crossed himself, and emptied the glass. He crossed himself -again and swallowed a piece of caviar, crossed himself again and took a -taste of dried sturgeon. - -"Eat, Father," he urged the Provost. "All this is my late brother's -stock. How the deceased loved good fare! Not only that he ate well -himself, but he even liked treating others better. Ah, brother, -brother, you have forsaken us! How wrong it was of you, brother, how -very wrong!" - -He was so carried away by his incessant chatter that he even forgot -about his dear mother. But suddenly she came to his mind as he scooped -up a spoonful of mushrooms and was about to send it down his mouth. - -"Mother, dearest, darling!" he exclaimed. "I, the fool, am here, -gorging myself. What a sin! Mother dear, help yourself. Some mushrooms. -These are Dubrovino mushrooms. The famous ones." - -But Arina Petrovna did not stir. She only shook her head in silence. -She seemed listening to something with intense curiosity, a new light -seemed to fill her eyes, as if the comedy to which she had long since -become accustomed and in which she had always taken active part, -suddenly presented itself to her in a changed light. - -The dinner commenced with a brief, pathetic discussion. Yudushka -insisted that Arina Petrovna should take the hostess's place at the -head of the table. Arina Petrovna refused. - -"No, you are the host here, so sit where you please," she said drily. - -"You are the hostess. You, mother dear, are the hostess everywhere, -both at Golovliovo and Dubrovino, everywhere," said Yudushka, trying to -convince her. - -"Do stop and sit down. Wherever it will be the Lord's will to place me -as a mistress, I will sit where I choose. Here you are master--so you -take the seat." - -"Then this is what we'll do," said Yudushka, much moved. "We'll leave -the cover at the host's seat untouched, as if our brother were with -us, an invisible companion. He shall be host, and we shall all be his -guests." - -That is how they arranged it. While the soup was being served, -Yudushka chose a proper subject and started a conversation with the -priests, addressing most of his remarks, however, to the Father Provost. - -"There are many people nowadays who do not believe in the immortality -of the soul, but I do," he said. - -"Well, they must be desperadoes," answered the Father Provost. - -"Not, not that they are desperadoes, but there is is a science about -the soul not being immortal. It says that man exists all by himself. He -lives and then suddenly--dies." - -"There are too many sciences nowadays--if only there were less of -them. People believe in sciences and don't believe in God. Take the -peasants--even the peasants want to become learned." - -"Yes, Father, you are right. They do long to become learned. Take my -Naglovo peasants. They have nothing to eat, and still the other day -they passed a resolution--they want to open up a school. The scholars!" - -"Nowadays there is a science for everything under the sun. One science -for rain, another science for fine weather, and so on. Formerly it was -a very simple matter. People would come and sing a Te Deum--and the -Lord would grant them their prayer. If they needed fine weather, God -would grant fine weather; if they needed rain, the Lord had enough of -it to go round. God has enough of everything. But since people have -begun to live according to science, everything has changed, everything -happens out of season. You sow--there is drought; you mow--there is -rain." - -"You speak the truth, Father, the gospel truth. Formerly people used -to pray more to God, and the earth was more plentiful. The harvests -were not like now. They were four times, five times, richer. The earth -produced in abundance. Doesn't mother remember? Don't you remember, -mother dear?" asked Yudushka, turning to Arina Petrovna with the -intention of drawing her into the discussion. - -"I never heard anything like that in our parts. Maybe you're speaking -of the land of Canaan. It is said that was really the case there," -drily responded Arina Petrovna. - -"Yes, yes, yes," said Yudushka, as if he had not heard his mother's -remark, "they don't believe in God, they don't believe in the -immortality of the soul, but they want to eat all the same." - -"That's just it--all they want is to eat and drink," repeated the -Father Provost, rolling up the sleeves of his cassock to reach a piece -of the funeral pie and put it on his plate. - -Everybody attacked the soup. For a while nothing was heard but the -clink of the spoons on the plates and the puffing of the priests as -they blew upon the hot liquid. - -"Now as for the Roman Catholics," continued Yudushka, stopping to eat, -"although they do not deny the immortality of the soul, yet they claim -the soul does not land straight in hell or in heaven, but stays for a -while in a sort of middle place." - -"That, too, is preposterous." - -"To tell you the truth, Father," said Porfiry Vladimirych, deep in -thought, "if we take the point of view of----" - -"There is no use discussing nonsense. How goes the song of our Holy -Church? It says, 'In a grassy place, in a cool place, in which there -is neither sighing nor sorrow.' So of what use is it to talk of a -'middle' place?" - -Yudushka did not fully agree and wanted to make some sort of objection, -but Arina Petrovna, growing annoyed at the conversation, stopped him. - -"Well, eat, eat, you theologian. I guess your soup is cold by now," she -said, and to change the topic she turned to the Father Provost. "Have -you gathered in the rye yet, Father?" - -"Yes, madam. This time the rye is good, but the spring wheat doesn't -promise well. The young oat seeds are ripening too soon. Neither straw -nor oats can be expected." - -"They are complaining everywhere about the oats," sighed Arina -Petrovna, watching Yudushka scoop up the last dregs of his soup. - -Another dish was served, ham and peas. Yudushka took advantage of the -opportunity to resume the broken conversation. - -"I'll wager the Jews don't eat this," he said. - -"Jews are dirty," responded the Father Provost. "So people mock them, -calling them 'pig's ears.'" - -"But the Tartars don't eat ham either. There must be some reason for -it." - -"The Tartars are dirty, too. That's the reason." - -"We don't eat horse flesh, and the Tartars refuse pigs' meat. They say -rats were eaten during the siege in Paris." - -"Well, they were--French!" - -The whole supper passed in this way. When carp in cream was served, -Yudushka expatiated: "Fall to, Father. These are not ordinary carp. -They were a favorite dish of my departed brother." - -Asparagus being served, Yudushka said: - -"Just look at that asparagus! You'd have to pay a silver ruble for -asparagus like that in St. Petersburg. My deceased brother was so fond -of it. Bless it, look how thick it is." - -Arina Petrovna was boiling with impatience. A whole hour gone and only -half the supper eaten. Yudushka seemed to hold it back on purpose. He -would eat something, put down his knife and fork, chatter a while, eat -a bit again, and chatter again. How often, in bygone days, had Arina -Petrovna scolded him for it. "Why don't you eat, you devil--God forgive -me." But he seemed to have forgotten her instructions. Or perhaps he -had not forgotten them, but was acting that way on purpose, to avenge -himself. Or maybe he wasn't even avenging himself consciously. He might -just be letting his devilish inner self have free play. Finally the -roast was served. - -At the very moment that all rose and the Father Provost was beginning -to intone the hymn about "the beatific deceased," a noise broke out in -the corridor. Shouts were heard that entirely spoiled the effect of the -prayer. - -"What's that noise?" shouted Porfiry Vladimirych. "Do they take this -for a public-house?" - -"For mercy's sake, don't yell. That is my--those are my trunks. They -are being transferred," responded Arina Petrovna. Then she added with a -touch of sarcasm: "Perhaps you intend to inspect them?" - -A sudden silence fell. Even Yudushka turned pale and became confused. -He realized instantly, however, that somehow he had to soften the -effect of his mother's unpleasant words. Turning to the Father Provost, -he began: - -"Take woodcocks for instance. They are plentiful in Russia, but in -other lands----" - -"For Christ's sake, why don't you eat? We've got twenty-five versts to -go and make them before dark," Arina Petrovna cut him short. "Petenka, -dear, go hurry them in there, and see that they serve the pastry." - -For a few moments there was silence. Porfiry Vladimirych quickly -finished his piece of woodcock. His face was pale, his lips trembled, -and he sat tapping his foot on the floor. - -"You insult me, mother dear. You hurt me deeply," he declared, finally, -but avoided his mother's eyes. - -"Who is insulting you? And how am I hurting you--so deeply?" - -"It is very--very insulting. So insulting, so very insulting! To think -of your going away--at such a moment! You have lived here all the -time--and suddenly--and then you mention the trunks--inspection--what -an insult!" - -"Well, then, if you're anxious to know all about it, why, I'll satisfy -you. I lived here as long as my son Pavel was alive. He died--and I -leave. And if you want to know about the trunks, why, Ulita has been -watching me for a long time at your orders. And concerning myself--it's -better to tell your mother straight to her face that she's under -suspicion than to hiss at her behind her back like a snake." - -"Mother dear! But you--but I----" groaned Yudushka. - -"You've said enough," Arina Petrovna cut him short. "And I've had my -say." - -"But, how could I, mother dear----" - -"I tell you, I'm through. For Christ's sake, let me go in peace. The -coach is ready, I hear." - -The sound of tinkling bells and an approaching vehicle came from the -courtyard. Arina Petrovna was the first to arise from the table. The -others followed. - -"Now let us sit down for a moment, and then we're off," she said, going -towards the parlor. - -They sat a while in silence. By that time Yudushka had entirely -recovered his presence of mind. - -"After all, why shouldn't you live at Dubrovino, mother dear? Just see -how nice it is here," he said, looking into his mother's eyes with the -caressing expression of a guilty cur. - -"No, my friend, that's enough. I don't want to leave you with -unpleasant words, but I can't stay here. What for? Father, let us pray." - -Everybody rose in prayer, then Arina Petrovna kissed everybody good-by, -blessed them all, and with a heavy step went toward the door. Porfiry -Vladimirych, at the head of the company of relatives, went with her to -the porch. There on seeing the coach, he was struck by a devilish idea. -"Why, the coach belongs to my brother," was the thought that flashed -through his mind. - -"So we'll see each other, mother dear?" he said, helping his mother in -and casting side glances at the coach. - -"If it's the Lord's will--and why shouldn't we see each other?" - -"Ah, mother, dear mother, that was a good joke, really! You had better -leave the coach--and, with God's help, in your old nest--indeed," urged -Yudushka in a wheedling tone. - -Arina Petrovna made no answer. She had already seated herself and made -the sign of the cross, but the orphans seemed to hesitate. - -Yudushka, all the while, kept throwing glance after glance at the coach. - -"How about the coach, mother dear? Will you send it back yourself or -shall I send for it?" he blurted out, unable to retain himself longer. - -Arina Petrovna shook with indignation. - -"The coach is--mine!" she cried in a voice so full of pain that -everyone felt embarrassed and ashamed. "It's mine! Mine! My coach! I--I -have testimony--witnesses. And you--may you----No, I'll wait----We -shall see what becomes of you. Children, are you ready?" - -"For mercy's sake, mother dear! I have no grievance against you. Even -if the coach belonged to this estate----" - -"It is my coach--mine! It does not belong to Dubrovino, it belongs to -me! Don't you dare to say it--do you hear me?" - -"Yes, mother dear. Don't forget us, dear heart. Simply, you know, -without ceremony. We will come to you, you will come to us, as becomes -good kinsfolk." - -"Are you seated, children? Coachman, go on!" cried Arina Petrovna, -hardly able to restrain herself. - -The coach quivered and rolled off quickly down the road. Yudushka stood -on the porch waving his handkerchief and calling until the coach had -entirely disappeared from view: - -"As becomes good kinsfolk! We will come to you, and you to us--as -becomes good kinsfolk!" - - - - -BOOK III - -FAMILY ACCOUNTS SETTLED - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -It had never occurred to Arina Petrovna that there might come a time -when she would become "one mouth too many." Now that moment had stolen -upon her just when for the first time in her life her physical and -moral strength was undermined. Such moments always arrive suddenly. -Though one may long have been on the verge of breaking down, one may -still hold out and stave off the end, till suddenly the last blow -strikes from a quarter least expected. To be aware of its approach and -dodge it, is difficult. One has to resign oneself without complaint, -for it is the very blow that in an instant shatters one who till -recently has been hale and healthy. - -When Arina Petrovna took up her abode in Dubrovino, after having broken -with Yudushka, she had labored under great difficulties. But then, at -least, she had known that Pavel Vladimirych, though looking askance at -her intrusion, was still a well-to-do man to whom another morsel meant -little. Now things were very different. She stood at the head of a -household that counted every crumb. And she knew the value of crumbs, -having spent all her life in the country in constant intercourse with -peasants and having assimilated the peasant's notions of the harm a -"superfluous mouth" does to a house in which stores are already scanty. - -Nevertheless, in the first days after the removal to Pogorelka, she -still maintained her usual attitude, busied herself with putting things -in shape in the new place, and exercised her former clarity of judgment -in household management. But the affairs of the estate were troublesome -and petty, and demanded her constant personal supervision; and though -on first thought she did not see much sense in keeping accurate -accounts in a place where farthings are put together to make up kopek -pieces and these in turn to make ten-kopek pieces, she was soon forced -to admit that she had been wrong in this. To be sure, there really was -no sense in keeping careful accounts; but the point was, she no longer -possessed her former industry and strength. Then, too, it was autumn, -the busiest time of reckoning up accounts and taking inventories, and -the incessant bad weather imposed inevitable limits to Arina Petrovna's -energy. Ailments of old age came upon her and prevented her from -leaving the house. The long dreary fall evenings set in and doomed her -to enforced idleness. The old woman was all upset and exerted herself -to the utmost, but succeeded in accomplishing nothing. - -Another thing. She could not help noticing that something queer was -coming over the orphans. They suddenly became dull and dispirited -and were agitated by some vague plans for the future, plans in which -notions of work were interspersed with notions of pleasures of the most -innocent kind, of course--reminiscences of the boarding-school where -they had been brought up, mingled with stray notions about men of toil, -which they retained from their fragmentary reading, and timid hopes of -clutching at some thread through their boarding-school connections, -and so entering the bright kingdom of human life. One tormenting hope -stood out definitely from the other vague longings, to leave hateful -Pogorelka at whatever costs. - -And at length one fine day Anninka and Lubinka actually announced to -grandma that they simply could not stay at Pogorelka a moment longer; -they led a beastly life there, met nobody but the priest, and he, when -he met them, felt it incumbent upon him to tell of the virgins who had -extinguished their lamps. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair. - -The girls spoke sharply, afraid of their grandmother and simulating -courage in order to overcome the anger and resistance they expected. -But to their surprise Arina Petrovna listened without anger, without -even a disposition toward the useless sermonizing that impotent old age -is so given to. - -Alas, she was no longer that dominating woman who used to say so -confidently: "I am going to Khotkov and will take the little orphans -with me." The change was due, not to senile impotence alone, but also -to an acquired sense of something better and truer. The last buffets -of fortune had not only tamed Arina Petrovna; they had also lighted up -some corners of her mental horizon into which her thoughts evidently -had never before entered. Now, she knew, there were certain forces -in the human being that can remain dormant a long while, but once -awakened, they carry one irresistibly on to the glimmering ray of life, -that cheering ray for whose appearance one's eyes have been yearning -so long amidst the hopeless darkness of the present. Once realizing -the legitimacy of such a striving, she was powerless to oppose it. It -is true, she tried to dissuade her granddaughters from their purpose, -but feebly, without conviction. She was uneasy about the future in -store for them; all the more so since she herself had no connections in -so-called "society." Yet she felt that the parting with the girls was -a proper and inevitable thing. What would become of them? frequently -pressed on her mind; but she was now fully aware that neither this -question nor others more terrible would restrain one who was struggling -for release from captivity. - -The girls insisted on one thing, on shaking the dust of Pogorelka from -their feet. And finally, after some hesitating and postponing to please -grandmother, they left. - -The Pogorelka manor-house was now steeped in a forlorn quiet. -Self-centered as Arina Petrovna was by nature, yet the proximity of -human breath had its calming effect even upon her. For the first time, -perhaps, she felt that something had torn itself away from her being, -and the freedom with which she herself was now confronted was so -boundless that all she saw was empty space. To hide the void from her -eyes, she ordered the state-rooms and the attic where the orphans had -lived to be nailed up. - -"Incidentally, there will be less firewood burned," she said to herself. - -She retained only two rooms, in one of which a large ikon case with -images was stowed away. The other was a combined bedroom, study -and dining-room. For the sake of economy she dismissed her retinue -of servants, retaining only her housekeeper Afimyushka, an old, -broken-down woman, and Markovna, one-eyed, the soldier's wife, who did -the cooking and washing. - -All these precautions, however, were of little help. The sensation -of emptiness was not slow to penetrate into the two rooms that were -meant to be guarded from it. Helpless solitude and dreary idleness -were the two enemies Arina Petrovna now confronted. And she was to be -bound to these two enemies the rest of her days. Physical and mental -disintegration were not slow to follow in the wake of loneliness -and idleness, and the less the resistance, the crueller, the more -destructive its work. - -Days dragged on in the oppressive monotony peculiar to rural life when -there are no comforts or there is no executive work to be done, and -there is no material for mental occupation. In addition to the external -causes at work to take the management of household affairs away from -her, was an inner aversion that Arina Petrovna now felt to the petty -cares and bustle coming at the sunset of her life. Perhaps she would -have overcome her repugnance had she had an aim in view to justify her -efforts, but that very aim was wanting. Everybody was sick and weary -of her, and she was sick and weary of everybody and everything. Her -feverish activity of old suddenly yielded to idleness, and idleness -little by little corrupted her will and induced propensities of which -Arina Petrovna could never have dreamed only a few months ago. - -The strong, reserved woman, whom no one would have thought of calling -old, turned into a wreck of her former self. There was neither past -nor future for her, but only the immediate moment to live through. -The greater part of the day she dozed, sitting in an easy-chair by -the table, on which ill-smelling cards were arranged. She would doze -for hours on end. Then her body would shudder convulsively, she would -wake up, look out of the window, and for a long time stare into the -distance, without a single conscious thought. - -Pogorelka was a dreary manor-house. It stood all alone, without orchard -or shade, or the least indication of comfort. There was not even a -flower garden in front of the house. It was a one-story structure, -squat, weather-beaten, all black with age. Back of it were the many -out-buildings, also half worn-out, and all around was one vast stretch -of fields--fields without end. Not even the glimpse of forest anywhere -on the horizon. But from her very childhood Arina Petrovna had hardly -ever left the country, and this monotonous landscape did not seem -dreary to her. It even appealed to her heart and awakened remnants of -emotion still glowing within her. The best part of her being lived in -these naked fields, and her gaze sought them instinctively. - -She stared at the expanse of fields; she stared at the drenched hamlets -making black specks on the landscape; she stared at the white churches -of the rural parishes; she stared at the motley spots that the cloud -shadows formed on the plains; she stared at the peasant unknown to her -who walked along the ploughed furrows, and she thought him slow and -stiff. While staring, she had no conscious thoughts, or, rather, her -thoughts were so fragmentary and disconnected that they could not stay -with any one thing for even a short time. She just gazed, gazed till -senile slumber again hummed dully in her ears, and the fields, the -churches, the hamlets and the peasant in the distance became wrapped in -mist. - -At times, apparently, she recollected something; but the memories of -the past came incoherently, in fragments. Her attention could not -concentrate on one point. It jumped from one remote memory to another. -Yet sometimes she would be struck by something singular, not joy--her -past was very scant in joys--but some grievance, some abuse, bitter -and unbearable. Then sudden anger would flare up, anguish would creep -into her heart, and tears come to her eyes. She would weep grievously, -painfully, the weeping of piteous old age, when tears flow as if under -the load of a nightmare. But even while her tears were flowing, her -mind unconsciously continued to work in its usual way, and her thoughts -drifted imperceptibly away from the cause of her mood, so that in a few -minutes the old woman was wondering what had been the matter with her. - -Altogether, she lived as if not participating in life personally, but -solely because in those ruins there were still left a few odds and ends -which had to be collected, recorded, and accounted for. While these -odds and ends were present, life went its way compelling the ruin to -perform all the external functions necessary to keep that half-asleep -existence from crumbling to dust. - -But if the days passed in unconscious slumber, the nights were sheer -torment. At night Arina Petrovna was _afraid;_ she was afraid of -thieves, of ghosts, of devils, of all that was the product of her -education and life. And the defenses of the place were very poor, for -beside the two tottering women domestics Pogorelka had a night-watch in -the person of the lame little peasant Fedoseyushka, who for two rubles -a month came from the village to guard the manor-house, and usually -slept in the vestibule, coming out at the appointed hours to strike the -steel plate. In the cattle-yard, it is true, there lived a few farm -hands, men and women, but the cattle house was about fifty yards away -and it was not easy to summon any one from there. - -There is something exceedingly dreary and oppressive in a sleepless -night in the country. At nine, or at latest ten o'clock, life ceases. -A weird stillness sets in that is full of terrors. There is nothing to -do, and it is a waste to burn candles. Willy-nilly one must go to bed. -As soon as the samovar was removed from the table Afimyushka, from an -old habit acquired during serfdom, spread a felt blanket in front of -the door leading to the mistress's bedroom, scratched her head, yawned, -flopped down on the floor, and fell dead asleep. Markovna always -fumbled in the maids' room a trifle longer, muttering something to -herself as if scolding somebody. But at last she, too, got quiet, and a -moment later you could hear her snoring and raving intermittently. The -watchman banged on the plate several times to announce his presence, -then kept quiet for a long time. Arina Petrovna, sitting in front of a -snuffy tallow candle, tried to stave off sleep by playing "patience," -but scarcely did she have the cards arranged when she fell into a doze. - -"It is as easy as not for a fire to start while one is asleep," she -would say to herself, and decide to go to bed. But no sooner did she -sink into the down pillows than another trouble set in. Her sleepiness, -so inviting and insistent all evening long, now left her completely. -The room was a close one at the best, and now, from the open flue the -heat came thick, and the down pillows were insufferable. Arina Petrovna -tossed restlessly. She wanted to call someone, but knew no one would -come in answer to her summons. A mysterious quiet reigned all around, -a quiet in which the delicate ear could distinguish a multitude of -sounds. Now something crackled somewhere, now a whining was audible, -now it seemed as if somebody were walking through the corridor, now a -puff of wind swept through the room and even touched her face. The ikon -lamp burned in front of an image, and the light gave the objects in the -room a kind of elusiveness, as if they were not actual things, but only -the contours of things. Another bit of light strayed from the open door -of the adjacent room, where four or five ikon lamps were burning before -the image case. A mouse squeaked behind the wall paper. "Sh-sh-sh, -you nasty thing," said Arina Petrovna, and all was silent again. And -shadows again, whisperings again coming from no one knew where. The -greater part of the night passed in that half-awake senile slumber. -Real sleep did not set in and do its work until nearly morning. By -six o'clock Arina Petrovna was already on her feet, tired out after a -sleepless night. - -Other things to add to the misery of this miserable existence of -Arina Petrovna's were the poor food she ate and the discomfort of her -home. She ate little and used poor food, wishing, probably, to make -up for the loss caused by insufficient supervision. And the Pogorelka -manor-house was dilapidated and damp. The room into which Arina -Petrovna locked herself was never ventilated and remained without -cleaning for weeks on end. In this complete helplessness and the -absence of all comfort and care, decrepitude began slowly to set in. -But her desire to live grew stronger, or, rather, her desire for "a -dainty bit" asserted itself. With this came coupled a total absence of -the thought of death. Previously, she had been afraid of death; now -she seemed to have quite forgotten about it. And with ideals of life -differing but little from a peasant's, her conception of a "comfortable -life" was of rather a base kind. Everything she had formerly denied -herself, dainties, rest, association with wide-awake people, now forced -itself upon her in an insistent craving. All the propensities of a -regular sponger and hanger-on, idle talk, subservience for the sake of -a prospective gift, gluttony, grew in her with astounding rapidity. -Like the servants, she fed on cabbage-soup and cured bacon of doubtful -quality, and at the same time dreamed of the stores of provisions at -Golovliovo, of the German carps that swarmed in the Dubrovino ponds, -of the mushrooms that filled the Golovliovo woods, of the fowl that -fattened in the Golovliovo poultry-yard. - -"Some soup with giblets, or some garden-cress in cream would not be a -bad thing," would cross her mind so vividly that her mouth watered. At -night when she tossed about rigid with fright at the least rustling, -she would think: "Yes, at Golovliovo the locks are secure and the -watchmen reliable. They keep banging on the steel plates all the time, -and you can sleep in perfect safety." During the day, from sheer lack -of human companionship, she was compelled to be silent for hours, and -during these spells of compulsory taciturnity, she could not help -thinking: "At Golovliovo there are lots of people. There you can talk -your troubles away." In fact, Golovliovo kept constantly recurring to -her mind, and the reminiscences of her former estate became a radiant -spot in which "comfortable living" concentrated itself. - -The more frequently the vision of Golovliovo came back to her mind, -the stronger became her will to live again, and the farther the deadly -affronts she had recently sustained sank into oblivion. The Russian -woman, by the very nature of her life and bringing-up, too quickly -acquiesces in the lot of a hanger-on. Even Arina Petrovna did not -escape that fate, though her past, it would seem, should have tended -to warn and guard her against such a yoke. Had she not made a mistake -"at that time," had she not portioned out her estate to her sons, -had she not trusted Yudushka, she would to this very day have been a -harsh, exacting old woman, with everybody under her thumb. But since -the mistake was fatal, the transition from a testy, arbitrary mistress -to an obedient, obsequious parasite was only a matter of time. As long -as she still retained remnants of former vigor, the change was not -evident, but as soon as she realized that she was irrevocably doomed to -helplessness and solitude, all the pusillanimous propensities began to -make their way into her soul, and her will, already weakened, became -completely shattered. Yudushka, who used to be received most coldly -when he visited Pogorelka, suddenly ceased to be hateful to her. The -old injuries were somehow forgotten, and Arina Petrovna was the first -to court intimacy. - -It began with begging. Messengers from Pogorelka would come to -Yudushka, at first rarely, but then with increasing frequency. Now -there had been a poor crop of garden-cress at Pogorelka, now the rains -had ruined the gherkins, now the turkey-poults had died--there's -freedom for you! And then it came to: "Would you mind, my dear friend, -ordering some German carps caught in Dubrovino? My late son Pavel never -refused them to me." Yudushka frowned, but thought it best not to show -open displeasure. The carps were an item, to be sure, but he was filled -with terror at the thought that his mother might put her curse upon -him. He well remembered her once saying: "I will come to Golovliovo, -order the church opened, call in the priest and shout: 'I curse you!'" -It was the recollection of this that held him back from many dastardly -acts that quite accorded with his nature. But in fulfilling the wish -of his "mother dear" he did not omit to hint casually to the people -around him that God had ordained that every man bear his cross, and -that He did so not without divine purpose, for he who bears not his -cross wanders from the righteous path and becomes corrupted. To his -mother he wrote: "I am sending you some gherkins, mother dear, as many -as my resources allow. As to the turkeys, I am sorry to inform you that -besides those left for breeding, there remain only turkey-cocks, which -in view of their size and the limited needs of your table are quite -useless to you. And will it not be your pleasure to let me welcome you -to Golovliovo and share my paltry viands with you? Then we can have one -of those idlers (idlers, indeed, for my cook Matvey caponizes them most -skilfully) roasted, and you and I, my dearest friend, shall feast on -him to our heart's content." - -From that day Arina Petrovna became a frequent guest at Golovliovo. -Assisted by Yudushka she tasted of turkeys and ducks; she slept her -fill both by night and by day, and after dinner she eased her heart -with copious small talk, in which Yudushka was proficient by nature, -she proficient because of old age. Her visits were not discontinued -even when it reached her ears that Yudushka, weary of solitude, had -taken in a damsel named Yevpraksia, from among the clergy, as his -housekeeper. On the contrary, she made off right for Golovliovo and -before alighting from the carriage called to Yudushka with childish -impatience: "Well, well, you old sinner, let's see your queen, let's -see your queen." That entire day she spent most pleasurably, because -Yevpraksia herself waited upon her at table and made her bed after -dinner, and because in the evening she played fool with Yudushka and -his queen. - -Yudushka himself was pleased with this dénouement, and in token of -filial gratitude ordered a pound of caviar, among other things, to be -put into Arina Petrovna's carriage as she was about to depart. That was -the highest token of esteem, for caviar is not a home product; one has -to buy it. The courtesy so touched the old woman that she could refrain -no longer and said: "Well, I do thank you for this. And God, too, will -love you, because you cherish and sustain your mother in her old age. -Now, when I get back to Pogorelka, I shall not be bored any more. I -always did like caviar. Well, thanks to you, I'll have a dainty morsel -now." - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Five years had passed since Arina Petrovna took up her abode at -Pogorelka. Yudushka struck root in Golovliovo and would not budge. He -became considerably older, faded and tarnished greatly, but was more -of a knave, liar and babbler than ever, for now his "mother dear" was -nearly always with him, and for the sake of dainties, she became a -ready and indispensable listener to his empty talk. - -One must not think of Yudushka as a hypocrite in the sense of Tartuffe, -for instance, or some modern French bourgeois, mellifluous and fond of -expatiating on "the foundations of society." No, he was a hypocrite of -the purely Russian breed, simply a man devoid of moral standards and -ignorant of any except the most elementary truths. His ignorance was -profound. He was mendacious, had a passion for litigation and empty -talk, and was afraid of the devil, too--all negative traits that are -not the material for the making of a genuine hypocrite. - -In France hypocrisy is a result of education; it constitutes, so to -say, a part of "good manners," and always has a distinct political -or social coloring. There are hypocrites of religion, hypocrites of -"the foundations of society," of property, of family, of politics. -And lately there have come up even hypocrites of "law and order." -Though this sort of hypocrisy cannot be termed conviction, still it -is a banner around which those people rally who find it profitable to -play the hypocrite in that way and no other. They sham consciously, -that is they know they are hypocrites, and they also know that others -know. According to the notions of a French bourgeois, the universe is -nothing but a large stage on which is played an endless drama with one -hypocrite taking his cue from the other. Hypocrisy is an invitation to -decency, decorum, outward elegance and politeness. And what is most -important, hypocrisy is a restraint, not for those, of course, who -play the hypocrite, hovering in the rarified atmosphere of the social -heights, but for those who swarm at the bottom of the social caldron. -Hypocrisy keeps society from the debauchery of passion and makes -passion the privilege of a very limited minority. When licentiousness -keeps within the limits of a small, well-organized corporation, it is -not only harmless, but even supports and nourishes the traditions of -elegance. The exquisite would perish if there were not a certain number -of _cabinets particuliers,_ in which licentiousness is cultivated in -the moments that are free from the worship of official hypocrisy. But -licentiousness becomes really dangerous as soon as it is accessible to -all and is combined with the general extension of the right to make -demands and insist upon the legitimacy and naturalness of such demands. -New social stratifications form, which endeavor to crowd out the old -ones, or, at least, limit them considerably. The demand for _cabinets -particuliers_ grows to such an extent that the question arises: Would -it not be simpler in the future to get along without them? It is -against these unwelcome questions and formulations of demands that -the ruling classes of French society guard the systematic hypocrisy -that begins by being an accident of manners and ends by becoming a -compulsory law. - -The modern French theatre is based on this reverence for hypocrisy. -The first four acts of a popular French play are realistic, depicting -the decay and disintegration of all standards of marital fidelity. -But the fifth act always ends up with some sentimental ringing phrase -eulogizing the sweet atmosphere of the fireside and the supreme triumph -of virtue over vice. Which is the truth? Which is the sham? Both and -neither. In the first four acts the audience sees itself mirrored in -the realistic portrayal on the stage, but the fifth act is an equally -faithful portrayal of the audience's conception of ideal virtue and -pure matrimonial life. So, if French hypocrisy is a superstructure upon -the body of public immorality, it is so completely a part of the entire -fabric of morality that it keeps the edifice from toppling over. - -We Russians have no system of social bringing up. We are not mustered -or drilled to become champions of "social principles" or other -principles, but simply left to grow wild, like nettles by the fence. -That is why there are few hypocrites among us, but many liars, -empty-headed bigots, and babblers. We have no need of playing the -hypocrite for the sake of social principles, for we know of no such -thing as social principles. We exist in perfect liberty, that is, we -vegetate, lie, chatter quite naturally, without regard for principle. -Whether we ought to rejoice over it or regret it, I cannot say. I -think, though, that if hypocrisy breeds resentment and fear, useless -lying causes boredom and repugnance. The best thing, therefore, is to -ignore the question of the advantages of conscious over unconscious -hypocrisy, and vice versa, and have nothing to do with either -hypocrites or liars. - -Yudushka was more of a chatterbox, liar and rascal than hypocrite. On -shutting himself up on his country estate, he at once felt at perfect -liberty. In no other environment could his propensities find so vast -a field for operation. At Golovliovo he encountered neither direct -resistance nor even indirect restraints that would make him think: "I -should like to do something mean, but what will people say?" There -was none to disturb him with disapproval, no one to intrude into his -affairs. Consequently there was no reason for controlling himself. -Extreme slovenliness became the dominating feature of his attitude -toward himself. He had long had a craving for this perfect freedom -from any moral restraint, and the fact that he had not gone to live in -the country earlier was entirely due to his fear of idleness. Having -spent over thirty years in the dull atmosphere of the bureaucratic -department, he had acquired all the habits and appetites of an -inveterate official, who does not allow a single moment of his life to -pass without being busily engaged in doing nothing. But on studying the -matter more closely, he came to the conclusion that the realm of busy -idleness can easily be transposed to any sphere. - -In fact, scarcely settled at Golovliovo but he at once created a world -of trifles in which to rummage without the slightest risk of them ever -being exhausted. In the morning he would seat himself at his desk and -attend to business matters. First he would carefully check the accounts -of the housekeeper, the cattle-yard woman, and the steward. He had -established a very complicated accounting system, both for money and -inventory. Every kopek, every bit of produce, was entered in twenty -books, and on checking up he would find the total either half a kopek -behind, or a whole kopek ahead. Lastly he would take up his pen and -write complaints to the justice of the peace and the judge of appeals. -This took up all his time and had the appearance of assiduous hard -work. Yudushka often complained that he had no time to do everything -that had to be done, though he pored over the ledgers all day long and -did not even stop to take off his dressing-gown. Heaps of well filed -but unexamined reports were always lying about on his desk, and among -them was the annual report of the cattle-house woman, Fekla, whose -activity had long seemed suspicious, though he had had no time to check -up her accounts. - -All connections with the outside world were completely severed. He -received no books, no newspapers, not even letters. One of his sons, -Volodya, committed suicide. With the other, Petenka, he corresponded -briefly and only on sending him a remittance. He was caught in an -atmosphere thick with ignorance, superstition and industrious idleness, -and felt no desire to rescue himself from it. Even the fact that -Napoleon III. was no longer emperor came to him through the local -chief of police a year after the emperor's death. On hearing of it -he expressed no particular interest, but only crossed himself and -murmured: "May he enter the Kingdom of Heaven," and then said aloud: -"And how proud he was! My, my! This was no good, and that did not -suit him. Kings went to do him homage, princes kept watch in his -antechamber. So the Lord, you see, in one moment cast down all his -proud dreams." - -The truth of the matter was that for all his reckoning and checking up -he was far from knowing what was going on on his own estate. In this -respect he was a typical official. Imagine a chief clerk to whom his -superior says: "My friend, it is necessary to my plans for me to know -exactly how large a crop of potatoes Russia can produce annually. Will -you kindly compute this for me?" You think a question like that would -baffle the chief clerk? You think he would at least ponder over the -methods to be employed in the execution of such a task? Not at all. All -he would do is this. He would draw a map of Russia, rule it out into -perfect squares, and find out how many acres each square represents. -Then he would go to the greengrocer's, would find out the quantity -of potatoes each acre requires for seed and what the average ratio -is of yield to seed, and, finally, with the help of God and the four -fundamental operations of arithmetic, he would arrive at the conclusion -that Russia under favorable circumstances could yield so and so many -potatoes and under unfavorable circumstances, so and so many. And his -work would not only please the chief, but would also be placed in -Volume CII of some "Proceedings." - -Yudushka even chose a housekeeper who exactly fitted the environment -he had created. The maiden Yevpraksia was the daughter of the sexton -at the church of St. Nicholas-in-Drops. She was an all-round treasure. -Not alert in thinking, not ingenious, not even handy, but diligent, -submissive, in no sense exigent. When Yudushka "drew her nearer" to his -person, her one request was to be permitted to take some cold cider -without asking leave. Such disinterestedness touched even Yudushka. He -immediately put at her disposal two tubs of pickled apples beside the -cider, and freed her from accountability for any of these items. Her -exterior had nothing attractive in it to a connoisseur, but she was -quite satisfactory to a man who was not fastidious and knew what he -wanted. She had a broad white face, a low forehead bordered with thin -yellowish hair, large lack-lustre eyes, a perfectly straight nose, a -flat mouth on which there played a mysterious elusive smile, such as -one sees in the portraits painted by homebred artists. In short there -was nothing remarkable about her, except, perhaps, her back between her -shoulder-blades, which was so broad and powerful that even the most -indifferent man felt like giving her a good, hearty slap there. She -knew it, but did not mind it, so that when Yudushka for the first time -patted the fat nape of her neck, she only twitched her shoulders. - -Amidst these drab surroundings days wore on, one exactly like the -other, without the slightest change, without the least hope of a -brightening ray. The arrival of Arina Petrovna was the one thing that -brought a bit of animation. At first, when Porfiry Vladimirych had seen -his mother's carriage approaching he had frowned, but in time he grew -accustomed to her visits and even got to like them. They catered to his -loquacity, for even he found it impossible to chatter to himself when -all alone. To babble about various records and reports with "mother -dear" was very pleasant, and, once together, they talked from morning -till night without having enough. They discussed everything--the -harvests of long ago and of the present; the way the landed gentry -had lived in "those days;" the salt that had been so strong in former -years; and the gherkins that were not what they had been in days gone -by. - -These chats had the advantage of flowing on like water and being -forgotten without effort, so that they could be renewed with interest -_ad infinitum,_ and enjoyed each time as if just put into circulation. -Yevpraksia was present at these talks. Arina Petrovna came to love her -so well that she would not have her away for a moment. At times, when -tired of talking, the three of them would sit down to play fool, and -they would keep on playing till long after midnight. They tried to -teach Yevpraksia how to play whist with the dummy, but she could not -understand the game. On such evenings the enormous Golovliovo mansion -became animated. Lights shone in all the windows, shadows appeared here -and there, so that a chance passer-by might think Heaven knows what -celebration was going on. Samovars, coffee pots, refreshments took -their turn on the table, which was never empty. Arina Petrovna's heart -brimmed over with joy and merriment and instead of remaining for one -day, she would spend three or four days at Golovliovo. And on the way -back to Pogorelka she would think up a pretext for returning as soon as -possible to the temptations of the "good living" there. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -It was the end of November. As far as eye could see the ground was -covered with a white shroud. A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; -the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an -instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and -filling the air with a wailing. The village, the church, the nearby -woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist. The wind howled in the -trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard. But inside the landlord's -manor it was warm and cozy. In the dining-room there was a samovar on -the table. Around it were Arina Petrovna, Porfiry Vladimirych, and -Yevpraksia. To one side stood a card-table with tattered cards on it. -The open door from the dining-room led on one side to the ikon room, -all flooded with light from the ikon lamps, on the other, to the -master's study, where an ikon lamp was also burning before an image. -The rooms were overheated and stuffy, the odor of olive oil and of the -charcoal burning in the samovar filled the air. Yevpraksia, seated in -front of the samovar, was engaged in rinsing the cups and drying them -with a dish towel. The samovar made spirited music, now humming aloud -with all its might, now falling into a doze, as it were, and snoring. -Clouds of steam escaped from under the cover and wrapped the tea-pot in -a mist. The three at the table were conversing. - -"Well, how many times were you the 'fool' to-day?" Arina Petrovna asked -Yevpraksia. - -"I shouldn't have been fool once if I hadn't given in. I wanted to -please you, you see," answered Yevpraksia. - -"Fiddlesticks! I remember how pleased you were last time when I -bombarded you with threes and fives. You see, I am not Porfiry -Vladimirych. He makes it easy for you, hands only one at a time, but I, -my dear, have no reason to." - -"Yes, indeed! You were playing foul!" - -"Well, I say! I never do such things." - -"No? Who was it I caught a little while ago? Who wanted to slip through -a seven of clubs and an eight of hearts and call them a pair? Well, I -saw it myself and I myself showed you up!" While talking Yevpraksia -rose to remove the tea-pot from the samovar and turned her back to -Arina Petrovna. - -"My, what a back you have! God bless you!" Arina Petrovna exclaimed, in -involuntary admiration. - -"Yes, a wonderful back," Yudushka repeated mechanically. - -"My back again! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? What has my back done -to you?" Yevpraksia turned her back first to the right, then to the -left, and smiled. Her back was her joy. A few days before even the -cook Savelich, an old man, had looked at her admiringly and said: -"Well, well, what a back! Just like a hearth-plate!" She did not, be it -noticed, complain to Porfiry Vladimirych about the cook's remark. - -The cups were filled with tea over and over again, and the samovar grew -silent. Meanwhile the snowstorm became fiercer and fiercer. A veritable -cataract of snow struck the windowpanes every now and then, and wild -sobs ran at intervals down the chimney flue. - -"The storm seems to be in real earnest," said Arina Petrovna. "Listen -to it howling and whining." - -"Oh, well, let it whine. The blizzard keeps on whining and we keep -on drinking tea. That's how it is, mother dear," replied Porfiry -Vladimirych. - -"It must be a terrible thing for one to be out in the fields now." - -"Yes, it may be terrible to some, but what do we care? Some feel cold -and dreary, but we are bright and cheery. We sit here and sip our tea, -with sugar, and cream, and lemon. And should we want tea with rum, we -can have it with rum." - -"Yes, but suppose----" - -"Just a moment, mother dear. I say, it is very bad in the open now. -There is no road or path. Everything is wiped out. And then--wolves! -But here we are warm and cozy, afraid of nothing. We just keep sitting -here, quietly and peacefully. If we want to play a little game of -cards, we play cards; if we want to have some hot tea, well, then we -have tea. We won't drink more than we want to, but we may drink to our -heart's content. And why all this? Because, mother dear, God's mercy is -with us. Were it not for Him, the King of Kings, maybe we, too, would -now be wandering in the fields, in the cold and the darkness, in a -shabby little coat, a flimsy little girdle, bast shoes." - -"Oh, come now, what do you mean--bast shoes? We are gentlefolk, surely. -In any circumstances we can afford decent footwear." - -"Do you know why we were born in the gentry, mother dear? All because -God's mercy was with us. Were it not for that we would now be in a hut -and it would be lighted not by a candle but by a _luchina_ and as to -tea or coffee, we wouldn't dare dream about them. I would be patching -my miserable little bast shoes, and you would be getting ready to sup -off thin cabbage soup, and Yevpraksia would be weaving tick, and on top -of it all, maybe the _desyatsky_ would come to press us and the wagon -into service." - -"Yes, catch the _desyatsky_ coming on a night like this!" - -"Who knows, mother dear? And maybe the regiments would come! Maybe -there would be war or mutiny. The regiments must be there on the -dot. The other day, for instance, the chief of police was telling me -Napoleon III. had died. So you may be sure the French will be up to -some mischief again. Naturally, our soldiers will have to make for the -front at once, and you, friend peasant, will have to get your wagon -out, quick! Never mind cold, blizzard, and snowdrifts. You go if the -authorities tell you to, and if you know what is good for you. But we, -don't you see, will be spared a while. They won't turn us out with the -wagon." - -"Yes, who dares deny it? The mercy the Lord has shown us is great." - -"That's just what I say. God, mother dear, is everything. He gives -us wood to burn and food to eat. It's all His doing. We think we buy -things ourselves, and pay our own hard cash, but when you look into it -more deeply, and reckon it up, and figure it out, it's all He, it's all -God. If it be His will, we'll have nothing. Here, for instance, I would -like to have some fine little oranges, I would have some myself, would -offer one to my mother dear, would give an orange to everyone. I have -the money to buy oranges. Suppose I produce some coin and say, 'Here, -let me have some oranges,' but God says, 'Halt, man!' Then here I am, -a philosopher without cucumbers." - -They laughed. - -"That's all talk," said Yevpraksia. "My uncle was sexton at the Uspenye -Church in Pesochnoye. You may be sure he was as pious a man as ever -was. So I think God ought to have done something for him. But he was -caught in a snowstorm out in the fields and froze to death all the -same." - -"That's just my point. If such is God's will, you will freeze to death, -and if such is not His will, you will remain alive. There are prayers -that please God and there are prayers that do not please Him. If a -prayer pleases God it will reach Him, if it does not, you may as well -not pray at all." - -"I remember in 1824 I was travelling and was pregnant with Pavel. It -was in the month of December, and I was going to Moscow----" - -"Just a moment, mother dear. Let me finish about the prayers. A man -prays for everything, for he needs everything. He needs some butter and -some cabbage, and some gherkins, well, in a word, he needs everything. -Sometimes he doesn't need the thing, but in his human weakness he -prays for it all the same. But God from above sees better. You pray -for butter, and he gives you cabbage or onions. You are after fair and -warm weather and he sends you rain and hail. What you have to do is to -understand it all and not complain. Last September, for example, we -prayed God for frost, so that the winter corn might not rot, but God, -you see, sent no frosts, and our winter corn rotted away." - -"It certainly did rot away," remarked Arina Petrovna commiseratingly. -"The peasants' winter fields at Novinky weren't worth a straw. They'll -have to plow them all over and plant spring corn." - -"That's just it. Here we are planning and philosophizing, and figuring -it one way, and trying it another way, but God in a trice reduces -all our plots and plans to dust. You, mother dear, wanted to tell us -something that happened to you in 1824?" - -"What was it? I really don't remember. I suppose I wanted to tell you -again about God's mercy. I don't remember, my friend, I don't." - -"Well, you'll recall it some other time, if God is willing. And while -the blizzard is whirling out there you'd better have some jam, my dear. -This is cherry jam from the Golovliovo orchard. Yevpraksia herself put -it up." - -"I am already helping myself to some. I must admit cherry jam is a rare -thing with me now. Years ago I used to indulge every now and then, but -now----! Your Golovliovo cherries are fine, so large and juicy. No -matter how hard I tried to grow them at Dubrovino, they wouldn't come. -Did you add some French brandy to the jam, Yevpraksia?" - -"Of course I did. Followed your directions. Another thing I meant to -ask you, how do you pickle cucumbers, do you use cardamoms?" - -Arina Petrovna thought a bit, then made a gesture of perplexity. - -"I don't remember, my dear. I think I used to put cardamoms in. Now I -don't. My pickling now is not much. But I used to put cardamoms in, -yes, I remember very well now. When I get home I'll look among the -recipes, maybe I'll find it. When I had my strength I used to make a -note of everything. If I liked something somewhere, I would ask how -it was made, write it on a piece of paper, and then try it at home. -I once learned a secret, such a secret that the man who knew it was -offered a thousand rubles to tell. He wouldn't do it. And I gave the -housekeeper a quarter, and she told me every bit of it." - -"Yes, mother dear, in your day you certainly were a wizard." - -"Well, I don't know if I was a wizard, but I can thank the Lord, I -didn't squander my fortune. I kept adding to it. Even now I taste of my -righteous labors. It was I who planted the cherry trees in Golovliovo." - -"Thanks for it, mother dear, many thanks. Eternal thanks from me and my -descendants. That's what I say." - -Yudushka rose, went to mother dear and kissed her hand. - -"And thanks to you, too, that you take your mother's welfare to heart. -Yes, your provisions are fine, very fine." - -"Well, how do my provisions compare? You used to have -provisions--perfectly stunning! My, what cellars! And not an empty -spot!" - -"Yes, I used to have provisions, I may as well be frank about it. Mine -was a well-stocked house. And as to the many cellars I had, well, the -household was much larger, ten times as many mouths as you have to-day. -Take the domestics alone. Everyone had to be fed and provided for. -Gherkins for one, cider for another, little by little, bit by bit, and -it mounts up." - -"Yes, those were good times. Plenty of everything. Grain and fruit, all -in abundance." - -"We used to save more manure, that is why." - -"No, mother dear, that is not the reason. It was God's blessing, that's -what it was. I remember father once brought an apple from the orchard, -and it surprised everybody, it was too big to be put on a plate." - -"Well, I don't remember that. I know generally that apples used to be -fine, but that they were the size of a plate, that I don't remember. -I do remember though, that we caught a carp in the Dubrovino pond -weighing twenty pounds, yes, I remember that." - -"Carps and fruit--everything was large then. I remember the watermelons -the gardener Ivan used to get. They were as big as this!" - -Yudushka stretched out his arms in a circle, pretending he could not -embrace the imaginary watermelon. - -"Yes, those were watermelons. Watermelons, my friend, are according -to the year. One year you get lots of them and they are good. Another -year they are poor and few. And some years you don't get any at -all. Well, it depends upon the lucky ground, too. On the estate of -Grigory Aleksandrovich, for example, nothing came up, no fruit and no -berries--nothing. Only melons. Nothing but melons used to come up." - -"Then he had God's blessing for melons." - -"Why, yes, certainly. You can't get along without God's mercy. You -can't run away from it either." - -Arina Petrovna finished her second cup and cast glances at the card -table. Yevpraksia, too, was burning with impatience to have a hand -at cards. But the plans were thwarted by Arina Petrovna herself. She -suddenly recollected something. - -"I have a bit of news for you," she declared. "I received a letter from -the orphans yesterday." - -"And you kept it to yourself all this time, and only just thought of -it? I suppose they are hard up. Do they ask for money?" - -"No, they do not. Here, read it. You'll like it." - -Arina Petrovna produced a letter from her pocket and gave it to -Yudushka, who read aloud: - -/# - "Please, grandma, don't send us any more turkeys or hens. Don't - send us money, either, but invest the money. We are not at - Moscow but at Kharkov. We've gone on the stage, and in summer - we are going to travel to the fairs. I, Anninka, made my début - in _Pericola,_ and Lubinka in _Pansies_. I was called out - several times, especially after the scene where Pericola comes - out and sings 'I am ready, ready, read-d-d-y!' Lubinka made a - hit, too. The director put me on a salary of one hundred rubles - a month and a benefit performance at Kharkov; and Lubinka, at - seventy-five a month and a benefit the coming summer, at a - fair. Besides, we get gifts from army officers and lawyers. - The lawyers sometimes, though, give you counterfeit money, - and you have to be careful. And you, dear granny, can have - Pogorelka all to yourself, we will never come there again, we - don't understand how people can live there. We had the first - snow here yesterday, and we had troika rides with the lawyers. - One looks like Plevako--my! just stunning! He put a glass of - champagne on his head and danced a trepak. It's jolly, beats - anything I've seen! The other one isn't so handsome, he looks a - little like Yazikov from St. Petersburg. Just think, after he - read "The Collection of the Best Russian Songs and Romances," - his imagination became unstrung and he got so weak that he - fainted in the court-room. And so we spend almost every day in - the company of army officers and lawyers. We go on rides and - dine and sup in the best restaurants, and pay nothing. And you, - granny dear, don't be stingy and use up everything growing in - Pogorelka, corn, chickens, mushrooms. We shall be very glad to - send some money. Good-by. Our gentlemen have just arrived. They - have come to take us driving again. Darling! Divine! Farewell! - -/$ - ANNINKA. - And I, too--LUBINKA." -$/ - -#/ - -Yudushka spat in disgust and returned the letter. For a while Arina -Petrovna was pensive and silent. - -"Mother dear, you haven't answered them yet?" - -"No, not yet. I just got the letter yesterday. I came here on purpose -to show it to you, but between this and that I almost forgot all about -it." - -"Don't answer it. It's best not to." - -"How can I? I must account to them. Pogorelka is theirs, you know." - -Yudushka also became pensive. A sinister plan flashed through his mind. - -"And I keep wondering how they will preserve themselves in that -foul den," Arina Petrovna continued. "You know how it is in these -things--once you stumble, you can't get your maiden honor back! Go hunt -for it!" - -"Much they need it!" Yudushka snarled back. - -"Still, you know. Honor is a girl's best treasure, one may say. Who -will marry a girl without it?" - -"Nowadays, mother dear, unmarried people live like married ones. -Nowadays they laugh at the precepts of religion. They get married -without benefit of clergy, like heathens. They call it civil marriage." - -Yudushka suddenly recollected that he, too, was living in sinful -relationship with a daughter of the clergy. - -"Of course, sometimes you can't help it," he hastened to add. "If a -man, let us say, is in full vigor and a widower--in an emergency the -law itself is often modified." - -"Yes, of course. When hard pressed a snipe sings like a nightingale. -Even saints sin when sorely tried, let alone us mortals." - -"Yes, that's just it. Do you know what I would do if I were you?" - -"Yes, tell me, please tell me." - -"I would insist that they make Pogorelka over to you in full legal -fashion." - -Arina Petrovna looked at him in fright. - -"Well, I have a deed giving me the full powers and rights of a manager." - -"Manager is not enough. You ought to get a deed that would entitle you -to sell and mortgage it, in a word, to dispose of the property as you -see fit." - -Arina Petrovna lowered her eyes and remained silent. - -"Of course, it is a matter that requires deliberation. Think it over, -mother dear," Yudushka insisted. - -But Arina Petrovna said nothing. Though age had considerably dulled -her powers of judgment, she was somehow uneasy about Yudushka's -insinuations. She was afraid of Yudushka, and loath to part with the -warmth, spaciousness, and abundance that reigned at Golovliovo, but -at the same time she felt that Yudushka had something up his sleeve -when he spoke of the Pogorelka deed, and was casting a new snare. -The situation grew so embarrassing that she began to scold herself -inwardly for having shown him the letter. Happily Yevpraksia came to -the rescue. - -"Well, are we going to play cards or not?" she asked. - -"Yes, come on, come on!" Arina Petrovna hurried them and jumped up -quickly. On her way to the card table a new thought dawned upon her. - -"Do you know what day it is?" she turned to Porfiry Vladimirych. - -"The twenty-third of November," Yudushka replied, somewhat nonplussed. - -"Yes, the twenty-third. Do you remember what happened on the -twenty-third of November? You have forgotten about the requiem, haven't -you?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych turned pale and made the sign of the cross. - -"Oh, Lord! Did you ever!" he exclaimed. "Really? Is that so? Just a -moment. Let's look at the calendar." - -In a few minutes he had brought the calendar and taken out a sheet of -paper inserted in it, on which was written. - -"November 23. The death of my dear son Vladimir." - -"Rest in peace, beloved dust, till the joyous morn. And pray the -Lord for your father, who will never fail to have memorial services -performed on this day." - -"There, now!" said Porfiry Vladimirych. "Ah, Volodya! You are not a -good son. You are a wicked son. You haven't prayed for your papa in -Heaven, it seems, and so he has lost his memory. What are we going to -do about it, mother dear?" - -"It is not so terrible, after all. You can have the requiem service -tomorrow. A requiem and a mass--we'll have both of them sung. It is -all my fault, I am old and have lost my memory. I came on purpose to -remind you, but on my way it slipped my mind." - -"Ah, what a sin! It is a good thing the ikon lamps are burning. It is -as if it had dawned on me from above. To-day is not a holiday, but the -lamps have been left burning ever since the day of Presentation. The -other day Yevpraksia came over to me and asked: 'Do you think I ought -to put out the side ikon lamps?' And I, as if a voice were speaking to -me from within, thought a while and said: 'Don't touch them. Let them -burn.' And now I see what it all meant." - -"Well, it is good at least the lamps have been burning. It is some -relief to the soul. Where will you sit? Will you be my partner, or will -you join your queen?" - -"But, mother dear, I don't know if it's proper." - -"Yes, it is. Sit down. God will forgive you. It wasn't done on purpose, -with evil intentions. It was just because you forgot. It may happen -even to saints. To-morrow, you see, we'll rise with the sun, and stand -throughout the mass and have the requiem sung--all as it should be. -His soul will rejoice that good people remembered him, and we will be -at peace because we did our duty. That's the way to do, my friend. No -use worrying. I'll always say, in the first place, worry will not bring -back your son, and, in the second place, it is a sin before God." - -Yudushka yielded to the persuasiveness of these words, and kissed his -mother's hands. - -"Ah, mother, mother, you have a golden soul, really! If not for you -what would I do now? It would be the end of me, that's all. I just -wouldn't know what to do and would go under." - -Porfiry Vladimirych gave orders for to-morrow's ceremony, and all sat -down to play. They played one hand out, then another. Arina Petrovna -became heated and denounced Yudushka because he had been handing -Yevpraksia only one card at a time. In the intervals between the deals, -Yudushka abandoned himself to reminiscences of his dead son. - -"And how kind he was," he said. "He wouldn't take a thing without -permission. If he needed paper, 'May I have some paper, papa?' 'Yes, -you may, my friend,' Or, 'Won't you be so kind, father dear, as to -order carps for breakfast?' 'If you wish it, my friend.' Ah, Volodya, -my son, you were a good lad in every way, but it was not good of you to -leave your father." - -A few more hands were played, and Yudushka again gave vent to his -reminiscences. - -"And, pray, what in the world happened to him? I really can't -understand it. He lived quietly and nicely, was a joy to me--it -couldn't have been better. And all of a sudden--bang! What a sin, what -a sin! Just think of it, mother dear, what a deed! His very life, the -gift of the Heavenly Father. Why? What for? What did he lack? Was it -money? I think I never held back his allowance. Even my enemies will -not dare say that about me. Well, and if his allowance was not enough, -I couldn't help it. Your father's money wasn't stolen money. If you -haven't enough money, well, learn to restrain yourself. You can't -always be eating cookies, you must sometimes be content with simpler -fare. Yes, you must. Your father, for example, expected some money the -other day, and then the manager comes and says, 'The Torpenlovskoye -peasants won't pay their rent.' Well, I couldn't help it, I wrote a -complaint to the Justice of the Peace. Ah, Volodya, Volodya! No, you -were not a good boy. You deserted your poor father. Left him an orphan." - -The livelier the game the more copious and sentimental Yudushka's -reminiscences. - -"And how bright he was! I remember once, he was laid up with the -measles. He was no more than seven years old. My late Sasha came over -to him, and he says, 'Mother, mother, is it true that only angels have -wings?' 'Well,' she said, 'yes, only angels.' 'Why?' he asked. 'Did -father have wings when he came here a while ago?'" - -Yudushka remained the fool with as many as eight cards on his hands, -among them the ace, king and queen of trumps. Peals of laughter rose, -Yudushka was displeased, but he affably joined in the merriment. In the -midst of the general excitement, Arina Petrovna suddenly grew silent -and listened attentively. - -"Stop, be quiet. Somebody is coming," she said. - -Yudushka and Yevpraksia listened, but heard no sound. - -"I tell you, somebody is coming. Listen, listen! Someone is coming and -he is not far off." - -They listened again, and surely there was a faint tinkling in the -distance, which the wind brought nearer one moment and carried away the -next. Five minutes later the bells were distinctly heard. The sound of -them was followed by voices in the court-yard. - -"The young master, Piotr Porfirych, has arrived," came from the -antechamber. - -Yudushka rose, and remained standing, dumfounded and pale as death. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Petenka walked in looking flabby and dispirited, kissed his father's -hand, observed the same ceremony with his grandmother, then bowed -to Yevpraksia, and sat down. He was about twenty-five, rather -good-looking, in an army officer's travelling uniform. That was all one -could say about him. Even Yudushka knew scarcely more. The relations -of father and son were not of the kind one could call strained. There -simply were no relations, you might say. Yudushka knew Petenka to be a -man who in the eyes of the law was his son and to whom he had to send a -certain allowance determined by Yudushka himself, in consideration of -which he was entitled to homage and obedience. Petenka, on the other -hand, knew that he had a father who could make things unpleasant for -him at any time he wished. He made trips to Golovliovo quite willingly, -especially since he had become a commissioned officer, not because he -greatly enjoyed his father's company, but simply because every man who -is not clearly conscious of his aim in life instinctively gravitates -to his native place. But now, apparently, he had come because he had -been obliged to come, and consequently manifested not a single sign -of the joyous perplexity with which every prodigal son of the gentry -celebrates his arrival home. Petenka was not talkative. - -All his father's ejaculations of pleasant surprise were met with -silence, or a forced smile, and when Yudushka asked, "Why did it occur -to you all of a sudden?" he answered even crossly, "It just occurred to -me and here I am." - -"Well, thank you, thank you for remembering your father. I am glad you -came. I suppose you thought of grandmother, too?" - -"Yes, I thought of grandmother, too." - -"Hold on! Maybe you recollected that today is the Anniversary of your -brother Volodenka's death?" - -"Yes, I thought of that, too." - -Thus the conversation went for about half an hour, so that it was -impossible to tell whether Petenka were answering or dodging the -questions. So, in spite of Yudushka's tolerance of his children's -indifference to him, he could not refrain from remarking: - -"Well, my child, you are not affectionate. One could hardly call you an -affectionate son!" - -Had Petenka kept silence this time also, had he taken his father's -remark meekly, or better still, had he kissed his father's hand and -said, "Excuse me, father dear, you know I am tired from the journey," -things would have passed off pleasantly. But Petenka behaved like an -ungrateful child. - -"Yes, that's what I am," he answered gruffly. "Let me alone, please." - -Then Porfiry Vladimirych felt so hurt, so wounded that he could not -keep quiet any longer. - -"To think of the pains I have taken for your sake!" he said, with -bitterness. "Even here I never stop thinking how to improve this and -that, so that you may be comfortable and cozy, and suffer no lack, and -have no worry. And all of you fight shy of me." - -"Who is 'all of you'?" - -"Well, you. And the deceased, too, may his soul rest in peace, he was -just the same." - -"Well, I am grateful to you." - -"I don't see your gratitude--neither gratitude nor affection--nothing." - -"I'm not affectionate--that's all. But you speak in the plural all the -time. One of us is dead already." - -"Yes, he is dead. God punished him. God punishes disobedient children. -Still, I remember him. He was unruly, but I remember him. Tomorrow, you -see, we shall have the memorial services performed. He offended me, -but I, notwithstanding, remember my duty. Lord! The sort of thing that -goes on these days! Here a son comes to his father and snarls at the -very first word. Is that how we acted in our days? I remember we used -to come to Golovliovo, and when we were thirty versts away, we began -to shiver in our boots. Well, here is mother dear, a live witness, she -will tell you. And nowadays. I don't understand it. I don't understand -it." - -"I don't either. I came quietly, greeted you, kissed your hand and -now I sit here and don't bother you. I drink tea, and if you give me -supper, I'll have my supper. Why did you raise all this fuss?" - -Arina Petrovna sat in her chair listening attentively. She seemed to -be hearing the same old familiar tale that had begun long, long ago, -time out of mind. Aware that such a meeting of father and son foreboded -no good, she considered it her duty to intervene and put in a word of -reconciliation: - -"Well, well, you turkey-cocks!" she said, trying to give the situation -a humorous turn. "Just met and already quarreling. Look at them jumping -at each other, look at them! Feathers will soon be flying. My, my, how -naughty! Why don't you fellows sit down quietly and properly and have -a friendly chat, and let your old mother enjoy it, too? Petenka, you -give in. My child, you must always give in to your father, because he -is your father. Even if at times father gives you bitter medicine, take -it without complaint, with obedience, with respect, because you are his -son. Who knows, maybe the bitter medicine will turn sweet--so it will -be to your good. And you, Porfiry Vladimirych, come down from your high -perch. He is your son, young, delicate. He has made seventy-five versts -over hollows and snow-drifts, he is tired, and chilled, and sleepy. We -are through with the tea now, suppose you order supper and then let's -all go to bed. So, my friend. We'll all go to our nooks and offer up -a prayer, and maybe our temper will pass away. And then we'll rise -early in the morning and pray for Volodya's soul. We'll have a memorial -service performed, and then we'll go home and have a talk. Both of you -will be rested and you'll state your affairs in a clear, orderly way. -Petenka, you will tell us about St. Petersburg and you, Porfiry, about -your country life. And now, let's have supper and to bed!" - -The exhortation had its effect not because it was convincing but -because Yudushka himself saw he had gone too far and it would be best -to end the day peacefully. He rose from his seat, kissed his mother's -hand, thanked her for the "lesson," and ordered supper. - -The meal was eaten in morose silence. Then they left the dining-room -and went to their rooms. Little by little the house became still. The -dead quiet crept from room to room and finally reached the study -of the Golovliovo master. Having finished the required number of -genuflexions before the ikons, Yudushka, too, went to bed. - -Porfiry Vladimirych lay in bed, but was unable to shut his eyes. He -felt his son's arrival portended something unusual, and various absurd -sermons already rose in his mind. Yudushka's harangues had the merit of -being good for all occasions and did not consist of a connected chain -of thoughts, but came to him in the shape of fragmentary aphorisms. -Whenever confronted by an extraordinary situation, such a flood of -aphorisms overwhelmed him that even sleep could not drive them from his -consciousness. - -He could not fall asleep. He was a prey to his absurd sermonizings, -though, as a matter of fact, he was not much perturbed by Petenka's -mysterious arrival. He was prepared for no matter what happened. He -knew nothing would catch him napping and nothing would make him recede -in the slightest from the web of empty, musty aphorisms in which he -was entangled. For him there existed neither sorrow nor joy, neither -hatred, nor love. To him the entire world was a vast coffin which -served him as a pretext for endless prattling. - -What greater grief could there be for a father than for his son to -commit suicide? But even with respect to Volodya's suicide he remained -true to himself. It had been a very sad story, which had lasted two -years. For two years Volodya had held out, at first showing a pride -and determination not to ask his father's aid. Then he weakened, began -to implore, to expostulate, to threaten. In reply he always received -a ready aphorism, the stone given to the hungry man. It is doubtful -whether Yudushka realized that he had handed his son a stone and not -bread. At any rate a stone was all he had to give, and so he gave it. -When Volodya shot himself he had a requiem service performed, entered -the day of his death in the calendar, and promised himself to have -memorial services performed on the 23rd of November of every year. -Sometimes a dull voice muttered in his ears that the solution of a -family quarrel by suicide is rather a questionable method, to say the -least; and even then he brought into play a train of aphorisms, such as -"God punishes disobedient children," "God is against the proud," and -was at peace again. - -And now! There was no doubt that something sinister had happened to -Petenka. But whatever had happened, he, Porfiry Vladimirych, must be -above those chance happenings. "You knew how to get in, then know how -to get out." "If the cat wants the fish, let her wet her feet." Just -so. That is what he would say to his son the next day, no matter what -Petenka told him. And suppose Petenka, like Volodya, were also to -refuse to take a stone instead of bread? What if he, too----Yudushka -drove the thought from him. It was a diabolical suggestion. He tossed -about and tried in vain to fall asleep. Whenever sleep seemed about -to come, there flashed across his mind maxims such as "I should like -to reach the sky but my arms are too short," or "You can't stretch -more than the length of your bed," or "Speed is good for nothing but -catching fleas." - -Twaddle surrounded him on all sides, crawled upon him, crept over him, -embraced him. Under this load of nonsensicality, with which he hoped to -regale his soul tomorrow, he could not fall asleep. - -Nor could Petenka find sleep, though the journey had tired him -exceedingly. He had an affair that could not be settled anywhere -except at Golovliovo, but it was a situation of such a nature that -he did not know how to meet it. Petenka, indeed, realized full well -that his case was hopeless and his trip to Golovliovo would only add -to the difficulties of his situation. But the primitive instinct of -self-preservation in man overcomes all reason and urges him on to try -everything to the very last straw. That's why he had come. But instead -of hardening himself so as to be prepared for whatever might come, he -had almost from the first word got into a quarrel with his father. What -would be the outcome of this trip? Would a miracle happen? Would stone -turn into bread? Would it not have been simpler to put the revolver to -his temple and say, "Gentlemen, I am unworthy of wearing your uniform. -I have embezzled crown money and I pronounce a just, though severe -sentence upon myself"? Bang! And all is over. The deceased Lieutenant -Golovliov is hereby struck off the list of officers. Yes, how radical -that would be and--how beautiful! The comrades would say, "You were -unfortunate, you went too far, still you were an honorable man." - -But instead of acting that way at once, he had brought the affair to -a point where it became a matter of common knowledge; and then he -had been given leave of absence for a fixed time on condition that -within that time he would refund the embezzled sum. If not--out of the -regiment! The disgraceful end of his early career! So he had come to -Golovliovo, though he knew full well that he would be given a stone -instead of bread. - -But perhaps a miracle would come to change things. Miracles sometimes -happen. Perhaps the present Golovliovo would vanish and a new -Golovliovo would arise, in which he might----And perhaps grandmother -would--hadn't she money? Maybe, if he told her he was in great trouble, -she might give him some. Who could tell? "Here," she might say, "hurry, -so that you get back before the time is up." - -And he rode fast, fast--hurried the driver, just made the train and got -to the regiment two hours before the respite was over. "Good for you, -Golovliov," his comrades would say, "your hand, honorable young man! -Let's forget the matter." And he not only remained in the regiment, but -was even promoted to staff-captain, then captain, after that adjutant -of the regiment (he had been bursar, already) and, finally, on the -anniversary day of the regiment----Ah, if only the night would pass -quickly! Tomorrow--well, let happen what may tomorrow. But what he -would have to listen to! Gods, what would he not be told! Tomorrow--but -why tomorrow? He had a whole day yet. He asked for two days just -because he wanted to have enough time to move "him." A likely chance! A -fine prospect of persuading and touching him! No use---- - -Here his thoughts became confused and sank, one after the other, into -the mist of sleep. In a few minutes the Golovliovo manor was steeped in -heavy slumber. - -The next day the whole household was up early in the morning. Everybody -went to church except Petenka, who pleaded fatigue. They listened to -the mass and the requiem and returned home. Petenka, as usual, came -up to kiss his father's hand, but Yudushka extended it sidewise, and -everyone noticed that he did not even make the sign of the cross over -his son. Tea was served, then _kutya._ Yudushka was dismal, scraped -the floor with his feet, avoided conversation, sighed, folded his -hands incessantly as if for inner prayer, and never once looked at his -son. Petenka, for his part, bristled up and smoked one cigarette after -another. The strained situation of yesterday, so far from relaxing, -became still more acute. It made Arina Petrovna very uneasy, and she -decided to find out from Yevpraksia if anything had happened. - -"Has anything happened," she asked, "that makes them look daggers at -each other like that?" - -"How do I know? I don't interfere in their private affairs," the girl -snapped back. - -"Maybe it's on account of you. Perhaps my grandson is running after you -too?" - -"Why should he run after me? A little while ago he tried to catch hold -of me in the corridor, and Porfiry Vladimirych saw him." - -"Oh. So that's what it is." - -In fact, in spite of his critical situation, Petenka had not lost -a bit of his levity. His eyes riveted themselves on Yevpraksia's -powerful back and he determined to let her know about it. That was -the real reason he had not gone to church, hoping Yevpraksia, as the -housekeeper, would stay home. So, when the house had turned silent, -he had thrown his cloak over his shoulders and hidden himself in the -corridor. A minute or two passed, the door of the maids' room banged, -and Yevpraksia appeared at the other end of the corridor, carrying a -tray with a butter-cake to be served with the tea. Petenka struck her -between the shoulder-blades and said, "A wonderful back you've got!" -and that instant the dining-room door opened and his father appeared. - -"You, scoundrel! If you came here to behave in a nasty way, I'll throw -you down the stairs!" Yudushka hissed venomously. - -Naturally, Petenka vanished in a moment. He could not fail to realize -that the incident of the morning was scarcely likely to improve his -case. So he decided to be silent and postpone the explanation until the -morrow. Nevertheless he did nothing to allay his father's irritation; -on the contrary, he behaved in a foolish, unguarded manner, smoking -cigarettes incessantly, heedless of his father's energetically fanning -away the clouds of smoke that filled the room; and every now and -then making sheep's eyes at Yevpraksia, who smiled queerly under the -influence of his glances. Yudushka noticed that, too. - -The day dragged on slowly. Arina Petrovna tried to play fool with -Yevpraksia, but nothing came of it. No one felt like playing or -talking; they could not even think of small talk, though everyone had -stores of this merchandise. At last dinner time came. But dinner passed -in silence also. After dinner Arina Petrovna made preparations for -returning to Pogorelka. But this intention of his "mother dear" alarmed -Yudushka. - -"God bless you, darling!" he exclaimed. "Do you mean to say you'll -leave me here alone with this--this wicked son? No, no, don't think of -it. I won't allow it." - -"But what is the matter? Has anything happened between the two of you? -Why don't you tell me?" she asked. - -"No, nothing has happened--as yet, but you'll see. No, please don't -go! Be present at----There is something behind his coming here in such -a hurry. So, if anything happens--you be the witness." - -Arina Petrovna shook her head and decided to stay. - -After dinner Porfiry Vladimirych retired, having first sent Yevpraksia -to the village priest, and Arina Petrovna also went to her room and -dozed off in her easy-chair. - -Petenka thought it the most favorable time to try his luck with -grandmother, and went to her room. - -"What is the matter? Have you come to play a game of fool with an old -woman?" she asked. - -"No, granny, I am on business." - -"Well, what is your business? Tell me." - -Petenka hesitated a minute, then blurted out: - -"I lost crown money at cards." - -Arina Petrovna's eyes grew dim from the shock. - -"Much?" she asked in a frightened voice, staring at him. - -"Three thousand." - -For a moment both were silent. Arina Petrovna looked around restlessly, -as if expecting somebody to come to her rescue. - -"Do you know they can send you to Siberia for that?" she said at last. - -"Yes, I know." - -"Poor fellow!" - -"Granny, I meant to borrow it from you. I'll pay good interest." - -Arina Petrovna became thoroughly frightened. - -"Oh no, no!" she protested. "I have only enough money for my coffin and -memorial prayers. It's my granddaughters that keep me a-going, and my -son, too. No, no, no! You'd better let me alone. Let me see--why not -ask your papa?" - -"Oh, well, you can't squeeze blood out of an onion. All my hope was in -you, granny." - -"Just think of what you are saying. I would gladly do it, but where am -I to get the money from? I have no money at all. But suppose you ask -father, you know, affectionately, respectfully. 'Here, father dear, -such is the case. I know I am guilty, I am young and I made a blunder.' -You know, with a smile and a laugh. Kiss his hand and fall on your -knees, and cry a bit. He likes it. Then maybe father will untie his -purse for his sonny dear." - -"So you really think it's worth trying? Just a moment. See here, -granny, suppose you say to him, 'If you don't give him the money I'll -lay a curse on you!' He has always been afraid of your curse, you know." - -"No, why curse? You can ask right out. Do ask him, my dear. There is no -harm if you bow before your father once too many. He will understand -your position, you know. Do it. Be sure to do it." - -Petenka, his arms akimbo, walked back and forth as if deliberating. -Finally he halted and said: - -"No, I won't. He is not likely to give it--it's no use. No matter what -I do, even if I smash my head in bowing--he won't do it. But you see, -if you threatened him with your curse. What am I to do, granny?" - -"I don't know, really. Try and perhaps you'll soften him a bit. How -did you come to take such liberties? To lose crown money is no small -matter. Did anybody inveigle you into it?" - -"It just happened. I took it and lost it at cards. Well, if you have -no money of your own, give me some of the orphans'." - -"What is the matter with you? Have you lost your wits? How can I let -you have the orphans' money? No, no, I can't. Don't talk to me about -it, for Christ's sake." - -"So you won't. Too bad. And I would pay good interest. Do you want five -per cent. per month? No? Well, double the principal in a year?" - -"Don't you tempt me!" shouted Arina Petrovna, throwing up her hands. -"Leave me alone, for Christ's sake! It won't surprise me if father -hears us and says I urged you on! Oh, Lord! I am an old woman, I wanted -to rest a bit. I had just dozed off and then he comes with such an -offer." - -"Very well, then. I am going. So it's impossible? Very good. Just like -kinsfolk. On account of three thousand rubles your grandson will go to -Siberia. Don't forget to have a Te Deum sung when I go." - -Petenka left the room, closing the door with a bang. One of his flimsy -hopes was gone. What was he to do next? Only one way out was left--to -confess all to father. Who knows, perhaps, perhaps, something would---- - -"I'll go at once and be done with it," he said to himself. "Or no! What -can I hope for? Better tomorrow. Yes, I think tomorrow is better. I'll -tell him and leave at once." So he decided. Tomorrow would see and end -it all. - -After the talk with grandmother the evening dragged on still more -slowly. Even Arina Petrovna grew silent after she had learned the real -cause of Petenka's arrival. Yudushka tried to be jocular with mother, -but perceiving she was absorbed in her own thoughts, also grew silent. -Petenka did nothing but smoke. At supper Porfiry Vladimirych asked him: - -"Are you going to tell me at last why you have honored me with this -visit?" - -"I will tell you tomorrow," answered Petenka morosely. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -Petenka rose early after a sleepless night. His harassed mind -vacillated between hope and utter despair. Perhaps he did not really -know his father, but one thing he was sure of, that there was not in -him a single feeling, a single weak spot that could be grasped at -and made use of. When face to face with his father, all he felt was -something inexplicable. He did not know how to approach him, what to -say first, and this made him very uneasy in his presence. It had been -like that since his childhood. As far back as he could remember, it -always seemed better not to attempt any forecast at all than to make a -matter depend upon his father's decision. So now, too. How was he to -begin? How was he to approach the matter? What was he to say first? And -why had he come here at all? - -A feeling of disgust seized him. Nevertheless he realized he had only -a few hours left and something had to be done. Having worked himself -up into a fair state of courage, he buttoned up his coat, and walked -firmly to his father's study, whispering something to himself. Yudushka -was saying prayers. He was pious, and every day gladly devoted a few -hours to prayer, not because he loved God and hoped through prayer to -enter into communion with Him, but because he feared the devil and -hoped God would deliver him from the Evil One. - -He knew many prayers and was especially versed in the technique of the -poses and gestures of worship. He knew how to move his lips, how to -roll his eyes, when it was proper to place the hands palm inward, and -when they were to be lifted up, when to be moved with feeling, and when -to stand with reverential calm and slowly make the sign of the cross. -Even his eyes and his nostrils moistened at the proper moments. But -prayer did not rejuvenate him, did not ennoble his feelings, or bring -a single ray into his dull existence. He could pray and go through all -the requisite bodily movements, and at the same time be looking out -of the window to see if someone was entering the cellar without his -permission. It was quite a distinct, particular function of life, which -was self-sufficient and could exist outside of the general scheme of -life. - -When Petenka entered the study, Porfiry Vladimirych was on his knees -with his hands raised. He did not change his position, but made a -jerky movement with one of his hands to indicate that he had not yet -finished. Petenka seated himself in the dining-room, where the table -was already set for tea, and waited. The half hour that passed seemed -like eternity, especially as he was sure his father was prolonging -the wait intentionally. The studied coolness with which he had armed -himself little by little gave way to vexation. At first he sat stiff, -then began to walk to and fro, and finally fell to whistling airs. As -a result, the door of the study opened, and Yudushka's irritated voice -was heard calling: - -"Whoever wants to whistle may do so in the stables." - -After a while Porfiry Vladimirych came out clad all in black, in -clean linen, as if prepared for a solemn occasion. His countenance was -radiant, glowing, breathing meekness and joy, as if he had just been at -communion. He approached his son, made the sign of the cross over him, -and then kissed him. - -"Good morning, friend," he said. - -"Good morning." - -"Did you sleep well? Was your bed made properly? Were there no little -fleas and bedbugs to bother you?" - -"Thank you. I slept well." - -"Well, thanks to God, if you slept well. It's only at one's parents' -home that one can sleep really well. I know it from my own experience. -No matter how comfortable I might be at St. Petersburg, I could never -sleep so well as at Golovliovo. You feel just as if you were rocked in -a cradle. So what are we going to do? Shall we have some tea first, or -do you want to say something now?" - -"Let's talk it over now. I have to leave in six hours, and maybe we'll -need some time for deliberation." - -"Oh, well. But, my dear, I tell you directly, I never deliberate, my -answer is always ready. If your request is a proper one, well, I never -refuse anything proper. It may be hard on me at times, and I can't -always afford it, but if it is proper, I can't refuse it. That's the -kind of man I am. But if you ask for something that isn't right, I am -sorry. Though I feel for you, I shall have to refuse. You observe, my -son, I have no underhand ways. I am exactly as you see me. Well, then, -let's go into the study. Speak and I will listen. Let's hear, let's -hear what the matter is." - -On entering the study, Porfiry left the door ajar and instead of -seating himself and asking his son to be seated, he began pacing the -room, as if instinctively feeling that the matter was delicate and it -would be easier to discuss it while walking. The expression of one's -face may be more easily concealed, and if the conversation takes a -disagreeable turn it may be more readily cut off, and the door half -ajar makes it possible to appeal to witnesses; for mother dear and -Yevpraksia were sure to come into the dining-room before long to have -tea. - -"Papa," blurted out Petenka, "I lost some crown money at cards." - -Yudushka said nothing, but his lips quivered, and he immediately fell -to muttering, as was his habit. - -"I lost three thousand," explained Petenka, "and if I don't return -the money the day after tomorrow, there may be very disagreeable -consequences for me." - -"Well, refund the money," said Porfiry Vladimirych affably. - -Father and son made a few turns around the room in silence. Petenka -wished to make further explanations, but felt a lump rising in his -throat. - -"Yes, but where am I to get the money from?" he said at last. - -"My dear friend, I don't know your resources. Pay it back from the -resources you figured on when you gambled crown money away." - -"You know very well that in such cases people forget about their -resources." - -"I don't know a thing, my friend. I never played cards, except with -mother, when I play fool to amuse the old woman. And please don't drag -me into this dirty business, and let's go and have tea. We'll have tea -and sit around, maybe we'll talk about something, but, for the Lord's -sake, not about that." - -Yudushka started to make for the door and into the dining-room, but -Petenka stopped him. - -"Look here," he said, "I have to get out of this predicament somehow." - -Yudushka grinned and stared at Petenka. - -"Yes, my dear, you have to," he agreed. - -"Then help me." - -"Ah, that's a different matter. You have to get out of the difficulty -somehow, to be sure, but how to get out of it--well, that's none of my -business." - -"But why don't you want to help me?" - -"First, because I have no money to cover up your dastardly deeds, and -secondly because the entire matter does not concern me in the least. -You knew how to get in, then know how to get out. The cat likes fish, -then let her wet her feet. You see, my boy, that's just what I said at -the start, that if your request is a proper one----" - -"I know. You've got a lot of words on the tip of your tongue." - -"Wait, save your impudent remarks, and let me say what I wish to say. -That they are not mere words I'll prove to you in a minute. So, as I -said a while ago, if your request is a proper, a sensible one, all -right, my boy. I am always ready to satisfy you. But if you come to -me with an unreasonable request, I am very sorry, I have no money for -stuff and nonsense. No sir, never. And you won't get any--you may as -well be sure of it. And don't dare tell me I use mere words. My words -are mighty near deeds." - -"But think what will become of me." - -"Whatever pleases God, that will happen," answered Yudushka, slightly -lifting up his arms and looking sideways at the ikon. - -Father and son again made a few turns across the room. Yudushka paced -reluctantly, as if in complaint that his son was holding him in -captivity. Petenka, his arms akimbo, followed him, biting his moustache -and smiling nervously. - -"I am your last son," he said. "Don't forget that." - -"My boy, God bereft Job of everything, and Job did not complain, but -only said: 'God hath given and God hath taken away--may thy will be -done, oh, Lord!' So, my boy." - -"In the Bible it was God that took, and here you take away from -yourself. Volodya----" - -"Oh, well, you are talking nonsense." - -"No, it isn't nonsense, it's the truth. Everybody knows that -Volodya----" - -"No, no, no! I don't want to listen to your preposterous remarks. -Enough! You've said everything necessary. I have given you my answer. -And now let's go and have tea. We'll chat a while, then we'll have a -bite, then a drink before you go--and then God speed you! You see how -good the Lord is to you? The weather has abated and the road become -smoother. Little by little, bit by bit, one, two, and you'll hardly -notice when you get to the station." - -"Now, listen, I implore you. If you have a drop of feeling----" - -"No, no, no! Don't let us talk about it. Let's go into the dining-room. -I dare say mother dear must be dull without her tea. It isn't proper to -keep the dear old woman waiting." - -Yudushka made a sharp turn and almost ran to the door. - -"You may go or not, it's all the same to me, but I am not going to drop -this conversation," Petenka shouted after him. "It will be worse if we -begin talking in the presence of witnesses." - -Yudushka came back and planted himself squarely before his son. - -"What do you want of me, you scoundrel? Speak up!" - -"I want you to pay the money that I lost." - -"Never!" - -"Is that your last word?" - -"You see," exclaimed Yudushka solemnly, pointing at the ikon that hung -in the corner, "You see that? It is grandfather's benediction. So, in -the presence of that image I say, Never!" - -And with a firm step he left the study. - -"Murderer!" was hurled after him. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -Arina Petrovna was already at the table, and Yevpraksia was busy -arranging the tea things. The old woman was silent and thoughtful, and -looked as if she were ashamed of Petenka. In the customary way Yudushka -kissed her hand, and she made the sign of the cross over him. Then came -the usual questions, whether everybody felt well, and had had a good -night's rest, followed by the customary monosyllabic answers. Petenka's -asking Arina Petrovna for money and awakening the memory of the "curse" -had put her into a state of peculiar uneasiness. She was pursued by the -thought, "What if I threaten him with my curse?" When she had heard -that explanations in the study had begun, she had turned to Yevpraksia -with the request: - -"Suppose, my dear, you go to the door quietly and listen to what they -say." - -Yevpraksia went to eavesdrop, but was so stupid she could understand -nothing. - -"Oh, they're just having a chat," she explained upon her return. - -Then Arina Petrovna could not hold out any longer and went to the -dining-room, where the samovar had already been brought in. But the -interview was nearing its end, and all she noted was that Petenka's -voice was loud and angry, and Porfiry Vladimirych's replies were given -in a nagging voice. - -"He's nagging him, that just it, nagging!" ran in her head. "I remember -he used to nag that way, and how is it I did not understand him then?" - -At last, father and son appeared in the dining-room. Petenka's face -was red and he was breathing heavily. His eyes were staring widely, -his hair was disheveled, his forehead was covered with beads of -perspiration. Yudushka, on the contrary, entered pale and cross. -He wanted to appear indifferent but, in spite of all his efforts, -his lower lip trembled. He could hardly utter the customary morning -greetings to his mother dear. - -All took their places at the table. Petenka seated himself at some -distance, leaned against the back of his chair, crossed his legs, -lighted a cigarette, and looked at his father ironically. - -"You see, mother, the storm has abated," Yudushka began. "Yesterday -there was such an uproar, but God only had to will it, and here we have -a nice, bright, quiet day. Am I right, mother dear?" - -"I don't know. I haven't been out to-day." - -"By the way, we are going to see our dear guest off," continued -Yudushka. "I rose early this morning, looked out of the window--it -was still and quiet outdoors, as if God's angel had flown by and in a -moment allayed the riot with his wings." - -But no one answered Yudushka's kindly words. Yevpraksia sipped her tea -from the saucer, blowing and puffing. Arina Petrovna looked into her -cup and was silent. Petenka, swaying in his chair, continued to eye -his father with an ironical, defiant air, as if he had to exert great -efforts to keep from bursting out laughing. - -"Even if Petenka does not ride fast, he will reach the railway station -toward night," Porfiry Vladimirych resumed. "Our horses are not -overworked. They will feed for a couple of hours at Muravyevo, and they -will get him to the place in a jiffy. Ah, Petka, you are a bad boy! -Suppose you stay with us a while longer--really. We would enjoy your -company, and you would improve greatly in a week." - -But Petenka continued to sway in his chair and eye his father. - -"Why do you stare at me?" Yudushka flared up at last. "Do you see -pictures on me?" - -"I'm just looking at you waiting for what's coming next." - -"No use waiting, my son. It will be as I said. I will not change my -mind." - -A minute of silence followed, after which a whisper could be distinctly -heard. - -"Yudushka!" - -Porfiry Vladimirych undoubtedly heard it, he even turned pale, but he -pretended the exclamation did not concern him. - -"Ah, my dear little children," he said. "I should like to caress and -fondle you, but it seems it can't be done--ill luck! You run away from -your parents, you've got bosom friends who are dearer to you than -father and mother. Well, it can't be helped. One ponders a bit over it, -then resigns oneself. You are young folk, and youth, of course, prefers -the company of youth to that of an old grouch. So, I resign myself and -don't complain. I only pray to Our Father in Heaven, 'Do Thy will, oh -Lord!'" - -"Murderer!" Petenka whispered, but this time so distinctly that Arina -Petrovna looked at him in fright. Something passed before her eyes. It -looked like the shadow of Simple Simon. - -"Whom do you mean?" asked Yudushka, trembling with excitement. - -"Oh, just an acquaintance of mine." - -"I see. Well, you'd better make that clear. Lord knows what's in your -head. Maybe it is one of us that you style so." - -Everybody became silent. The glasses of tea remained untouched. -Yudushka leaned against the back of his chair, swaying nervously. -Petenka, seeing that all hope was gone, had a sensation of deadly -anguish, under the influence of which he was ready to go to any -lengths. But father and son looked at each other with an indescribable -smile. Hardened though Porfiry Vladimirych was, the minute was nearing -when he would be unable to control himself. - -"You'd better go, while the going's good," he burst out, finally. "You -better had." - -"I'm going." - -"Then why wait? I see you're trying to pick a quarrel, and I don't -want to quarrel with anybody. We live here quietly and in good order, -without disputes. Your old grandmother is here. You ought to have -regard for her at least. Well, tell us why you came here?" - -"I told you why." - -"If it's only for that, you are wasting your efforts. Go at once, my -son. Hey, who's there? Have the horses ready for the young master. And -some fried chicken, and caviar, and other things, eggs, I suppose. Wrap -them up well in paper. You'll take a bite at the station, my son, while -they feed the horses. Godspeed!" - -"No, I am not going yet. I'm going to church first to have a memorial -service performed for the murdered servant of God, Vladimir." - -"That is, for the suicide." - -"No, for the murdered." - -Father and son stared at each other. It looked as if in a moment both -would jump up. But Yudushka made a superhuman effort and, turning his -chair, faced the table again. - -"Wonderful!" he said in a strained voice. "Wonderful!" - -"Yes, for the murdered!" Petenka persisted brutally. - -"Who murdered him?" Yudushka asked with curiosity, still hoping, -apparently, that his son would come to his senses. - -But Petenka, unperturbed, whipped out: - -"You!" - -"I?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych was astounded. It was a few moments before he came -to himself. He rose hastily from his seat, faced the ikon and began to -pray. - -"You, you, you!" Petenka repeated. - -"Well, now! Thank God, I feel better after praying," said Yudushka, -seating himself at table again. "Just a minute, though. I, as your -father, should not take you up on your talk, but we'll pursue the -matter this time. Then you mean to say that I killed Volodenka?" - -"Yes, you did." - -"And I beg leave to differ. I consider he shot himself. At that time -I was at Golovliovo and in St. Petersburg. So what could I have to do -with it? How could I kill him when he was seven hundred versts away?" - -"As if you don't understand!" - -"I don't understand, by the Lord, I don't!" - -"And who left Volodya without a penny? Who discontinued his allowances? -Who?" - -"Stuff and nonsense! Why did he marry against his father's will?" - -"But you gave him your permission." - -"Who? I? What are you talking about? I never did anything of the kind. -Nev-v-v-er!" - -"Oh, of course, you acted as you always do. Everyone of your words has -ten meanings. Go, guess the right one." - -"I never gave my permission. He wrote to me, 'Papa, I want to marry -Lida,' you understand, 'I want to,' not 'I beg your permission.' Well, -I answered him, 'If you want to marry, you can marry. I cannot stand in -your way.' That's all there was to it." - -"That's all there was to it," Petenka said jeeringly. "And wasn't that -giving your permission?" - -"That's exactly what it wasn't. What did I say? I said, 'I cannot stand -in your way.' That's all. But whether I give my permission or not, is -a different question. He did not ask my permission, he simply wrote, -'Papa, I want to marry Lida.' Well, and as to permission he kept mum. -You want to marry. Well, my friend, may God be with you, marry Lida or -Fida, I cannot stand in your way!" - -"But you could leave him without a crust of bread. So why didn't you -write this way, 'I do not approve of your intention, and therefore, -though I will not hinder you, I warn you that you can not longer rely -on financial aid from me.' That, at least, would have been clear." - -"No, I shall never permit myself to do such things, to make threats -against a grown son--never! I have a rule never to be in anybody's way. -If you want to marry--marry! Well, and as to consequences--I am sorry. -It was your business to foresee them yourself. That's why God gave you -reason. And as to me, brother, I don't like to thrust myself into other -people's affairs. I not only keep from meddling myself, but I don't -invite others to meddle in my affairs, I don't invite it, I don't, I -don't, I even forbid it! Do you hear me, you wicked, disrespectful son, -I f-o-r-b-i-d it!" - -"You may forbid it, if you like, but you can't muzzle everybody." - -"If at least he had repented! And if at least he had realized that he -offended his father! Well, you committed a folly--say you are sorry. -Ask forgiveness! 'Forgive me, dear papa, for the mortification I caused -you.' But he wouldn't!" - -"But he did write to you. He made it clear to you that he had nothing -to live on, that he could not endure it any longer." - -"That's not the kind of thing to write to a father. From a father one -asks pardon, that's all." - -"He did so. He was so tortured that he begged forgiveness, too. He did -everything, he did." - -"And even if he did, he was wrong. You ask forgiveness once, you see -your father does not forgive you, you ask again!" - -"Oh, you!" - -At this Petenka suddenly ceased swaying his chair, turned about, faced -the table and rested both elbows on it. - -"And here I, too----" he whispered. - -His face gradually became disfigured. - -"And here I too----" he repeated, and burst into hysterical sobbing. - -"Whose fault----" - -But Yudushka had no chance to finish his sermon. At that moment -something quite unexpected took place. During their skirmish the man -had almost forgotten about Arina Petrovna. But she had not remained -an indifferent spectator. On the contrary, you could tell at a glance -that something quite unusual was taking place within her, and that -the moment perhaps had arrived when the ruthless vision of her entire -life appeared before her spiritual eye in a glaring light. Her face -livened up, her eyes widened and glittered, her lips moved as if they -were struggling to utter some word and could not. Suddenly, just at the -moment when Petenka's bitter weeping resounded in the dining-room she -rose heavily from her arm-chair, stretched her arms forward, and a loud -wail broke out from her breast. - -"My cu-r-r-se upon you!" - - - - -BOOK IV - -THE GOOD LITTLE NIECE - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Yudushka did not give the money to Petenka, though, kind father that -he was, he gave orders just before the moment of departure for some -chicken, veal and pie to be placed in the carriage. Then he went out -on the porch in the chilling wind to see his son off, and inquired -whether Petenka was seated comfortably and whether he had wrapped his -feet up well. Re-entering the house, he stood at the window in the -dining-room a long time making the sign of the cross and sending his -blessings after the vehicle that was carrying Petenka away. In a word, -he performed the farewell ceremony fittingly, as becomes good kinsfolk. - -"Oh, Petka, Petka," he said, "you are a bad, bad son. Look at the -mischief you have done. My, my, my! And what could have been better -than to live on quietly and peacefully, nicely and easily with father -and old granny? But no! Crash! Bang! I am my own master, I've got a -head on my shoulders, too! Well, there's your head! My, what trouble!" - -Not a muscle quivered in his wooden face, not a note in his voice -sounded like an appeal to a prodigal son. But, then, there was nobody -to hear his words, for Arina Petrovna was the only one beside himself -in the room, and as a result of the shock she had just gone through -she seemed to have lost all vitality, and sat near the samovar, her -mouth open, looking straight ahead, without hearing anything, without a -single thought in her mind. - -Then life flowed on as usual, full of idle bustle and babbling. -Contrary to Petenka's expectations, Porfiry Vladimirych took the -maternal curse quite coolly and did not recede a hair's breadth from -the decision that had come from his head full-formed, as it were. - -It is true he turned slightly pale and rushed toward his mother with a -cry: - -"Mother, dear! Darling! Lord be with you! Be calm, dear! God is -merciful. All will be well." - -But his words were expressive of alarm for her rather than for himself. -Her act had been so unexpected that Yudushka even forgot to pretend -to be frightened. Only last night his mother had been affectionate, -had jested, and played fool with Yevpraksia. Evidently, then, it -had all happened in a moment of sudden anger, and there was nothing -premeditated, nothing real about it all. - -Indeed, he had been very much afraid of his mother's curse but he -had pictured it quite differently. In his idle mind he had built -an elaborate staging for the occasion, ikons, burning candles, his -mother standing in the center of the room, terrible, with a darkened -face as she hurled the curse. Then, thunder, candles going out, the -veil tearing asunder, darkness covering the earth, and above, amidst -the clouds the wrathful countenance of Jehovah illumined by a flash -of lightning. But nothing of the sort had happened, so his mother -had simply done something rash and silly. And she had had no reason -to curse him in earnest, because of late there had been no cause -for quarreling. Many changes had occurred since Yudushka expressed -his doubt as to whether a certain coach belonged to his mother dear -(Yudushka admitted to _himself_ that _then_ he had been wrong and -deserved damnation). Arina Petrovna had become more submissive, and -Porfiry Vladimirych had but one thought in his head: how to placate his -mother dear. - -"The old woman is doing poorly, my, how poorly! At times she even -raves," he consoled himself. "The darling sits down to play fool and -before you know it, she dozes off." - -In justice to Yudushka it must be admitted that his mother's -decrepitude gave him some alarm. Even he was not quite ready for her -death, had not made any plans, had had no time to make estimates--how -much capital mother had when she left Dubrovino, what that capital -might bring in annually, how much of the interest she had spent, and -how much she had added to the principal. In a word, he had not gone -through an infinity of useless trifles, without which he always felt as -if he were caught unawares. - -"The old woman is hale and hearty," he would muse at times. "Still she -won't spend it all--impossible. When she shared us out, she had a neat -sum. Maybe she transferred some to the orphans. Oh, the old woman is -rich. Yes, she is." - -But these musings were not so very serious, and vanished without -leaving an impress on his mind. The mass of daily trivialities was -already great, and there was as yet no urgent need to augment them by -the addition of new trivialities. Porfiry Vladimirych kept putting the -matter off, and did not realize it was time to begin until after the -damnation scene. - -The catastrophe came sooner than he expected. On the second day after -Petenka's departure Arina Petrovna left for Pogorelka, and never again -visited Golovliovo. She spent a month in total solitude, keeping to her -room and scarcely exchanging a word with her servants. From force of -habit she rose early in the morning, sat down at her desk, and began -to play patience, but hardly ever brought the game to an end, and sat -in frozen rigidity--with her glazed eyes fixed on the window. What she -thought about or whether she thought at all, even the keenest judge of -the deep-lying mysteries of the human soul could not have divined. She -seemed to be trying to recollect something, perhaps how she came to be -within those walls, and could not. Alarmed by her mistress's silence, -Afimyushka would appear in the room, arrange the pillows lining her -easy-chair, and try to open a conversation on this or that, but -received only impatient monosyllabic replies. - -Once or twice Porfiry Vladimirych came to Pogorelka, invited mother -dear to Golovliovo, tried to kindle her imagination with the prospect -of mushrooms, German carp, and the other allurements of Golovliovo, but -his overtures evoked nothing but an enigmatic smile. - -One morning she tried to leave her bed as usual, but could not, though -she felt no particular pain, and complained of nothing. She took it, -apparently, as a matter of course, without any sign of alarm. The very -day before she had been sitting at the table and even walked, though -with difficulty, and now she was in bed "feeling indisposed." It was -even more comfortable. But Afimyushka became thoroughly frightened -and without the mistress's knowledge sent a messenger to Porfiry -Vladimirych. - -Yudushka came early the next morning. Arina Petrovna was considerably -worse. He put the servants through a cross-examination as to what -mother had eaten and whether she had not overeaten. But Arina Petrovna -had eaten almost nothing for a whole month, and had refused all food -the previous day. Yudushka expressed his grief, waved his hands, and -like a good son, warmed himself at the oven in the maids' room so that -he would not bring the cold into the patient's room. At the same time -he began to give orders and make arrangements. He had an extraordinary -keenness for scenting death. He made inquiries as to whether the priest -was home and arranged that in case of emergency he should be sent for -at once. He informed himself where mother's chest with her papers was, -whether it was locked, and having satisfied himself concerning the -state of things, he called in the cook and ordered dinner for himself. - -"I need but little," he said. "Have you got a chicken? Well, prepare -some chicken soup. If you have some cured beef, get a bit of cured beef -ready. Then something fried, and I'll have enough." - -Arina Petrovna lay prostrate on her back with her mouth open, breathing -heavily. Her eyes were staring wide. One hand projected from under the -quilt of hare's fur and hung stiff. She was evidently alive to the -commotion incident upon her son's arrival, and perhaps his orders even -reached her ears. The lowered window-shades put the room in twilight. -The wicks were flickering their last at the bottom of the ikon lamps -and sputtered audibly at contact with the water. The air was close -and fetid, unbearably suffocating from the overheated stoves, the -sickening smell of the ikon lamps, and the breath of illness. Porfiry -Vladimirych, in his felt boots, glided to his mother's bed like a -snake. His tall, lean figure wrapped in twilight swayed uncannily. -Arina Petrovna with a look half of surprise and half of fright followed -his movements and huddled under her quilt. - -"It is I, mother dear," he said. "What's the matter with you? You are -all out of gear today. My, my, my! No wonder I could not sleep all -night. Something seemed to urge me on. 'Let's go and see,' I thought, -'how our Pogorelka friends are getting along.' I got up in the morning, -hitched a couple of horses to the pony cart, and here I am!" - -Porfiry Vladimirych tittered affably, but Arina Petrovna did not -answer, and drew herself together in a closer coil under her quilt. - -"Well, God is merciful, mother dear," continued Yudushka. "The main -thing is to stand up for yourself. Don't put any stock in the ailment. -Get up and take a walk through the room, like a sound, hale person. You -see, just like this." - -Porfiry Vladimirych rose from his seat and demonstrated how sound, hale -persons walk. - -"Oh, just a moment. I'll raise the window-shade and take a good look -at you. Oh, but you are first rate, my darling. Just pluck up some -courage, say your prayers, doll up, get into your Sunday best, and -you'll be ready for a dance. There, I have brought you some jolly good -holy water, just taste some." - -Porfiry Vladimirych took a flask out of his pocket, found a wine glass -on the table, filled it and gave it to the patient. Arina Petrovna made -an effort to lift her head, but in vain. - -"I wish the orphans were here," she moaned. - -"Well, much need you have of the orphans here. Oh, mother, mother! How -is it all of a sudden you--really! Just a little bad turn, and at -once you are ready to give up the ship. We'll attend to it all. We'll -send a special messenger to the orphans and we'll do everything else -in due time. Now, what's the hurry, really? We are going to live yet, -yes indeed we are. And we'll have a fine time of it, too. Wait till -summer is here, we'll both of us go to the woods to pick mushrooms, -and raspberries, and nice juicy black currants. Or else, we'll go -to Dubrovino to catch German carps. We'll bring out the horse and -carriage, get into it, and one, two, three--there we go. Nicely and -easily." - -"I wish the orphans were here," repeated Arina Petrovna in anguish. - -"We'll bring the orphans, too. Give us time. We'll call them together, -all of them. We'll all be here and sit by you. You will be the -brood-hen and we'll be your chicks. We'll have it all, if you behave. -Now you are a naughty girl, because you went and took sick. That's -the kind of mischief you're up to. My, my! Instead of being good and -serving as an example for others, look what you're doing. That's bad, -my dear, very bad." - -But no matter how hard Porfiry Vladimirych tried to cheer up his mother -dear with banter, her strength waned from hour to hour. A messenger was -dispatched to town to fetch a doctor, and since the patient persisted -in moaning and calling the orphans, Yudushka in his own hand wrote -a letter to Anninka and Lubinka in which he compared his and their -conduct, called himself a Christian and them ungrateful. At night the -doctor arrived, but it was too late. Arina Petrovna's fate was sealed. -At about four o'clock in the morning the death agony set in and at six -Porfiry Vladimirych was kneeling at his mother's bed wailing: - -"Mother dear! My friend! Give me your blessing!" - -But Arina Petrovna did not hear him. Her wide-open eyes stared dimly -into space as if she were trying to understand something and could not. - -Yudushka, too, did not understand. He did not understand that the -yawning grave was to carry off the last creature that linked him to the -living world. - -With his usual bustle he delved into the mass of trifles and details -that were incident upon the ceremonial of burial. He had requiems -chanted, ordered memorial masses for the future, discussed matters -with the priest, hurried from room to room with his shambling gait. -Every now and then he peeped into the dining-room where the deceased -lay, crossed himself, lifted his hands heavenward, and late at night -stole quietly to the door to listen to the sexton's monotonous reading -of the Psalms. He was pleasantly surprised that his expenses upon the -occasions would be very slight, for Arina Petrovna long before her -death had put away a sum of money for her burial and itemized in detail -the various expenditures. - -Having buried his mother, Porfiry Vladimirych at once began to -familiarize himself with her effects. Examining the papers he -found about a dozen various wills (in one of them she called him -"undutiful"); but all of them had been written when Arina Petrovna was -still the domineering, despotic mistress, and were incomplete--in the -form of tentative drafts. - -So Yudushka was quite pleased that he had no need to play foul in order -to declare himself the sole legitimate heir to his mother's property. -The latter consisted of a capital of fifteen thousand rubles and of a -scanty movable estate which included the famous coach that had nearly -become the cause of dissension between mother and son. Arina Petrovna -kept her own accounts quite separate and distinct from those of her -wards, so that one could see at a glance what belonged to her and what -to the orphans. Yudushka lost no time in declaring himself heir at the -proper legal places. He sealed the papers bearing on the guardianship, -gave the servants his mother's scanty wardrobe, and sent the coach and -two cows to Golovliovo, which were placed in the inventory under the -heading "mine." Then he had the last requiem performed and went his way. - -"Wait for the owners," he told the people gathered in the hallway to -see him off. "If they come, they'll be welcome; if they don't--just as -they please. For my part, I did all I could. I straightened out the -guardianship accounts and hid nothing. Everything was done in plain -view, in front of everybody. The money that mother left belongs to me -legally. The coach and the two cows that I sent to Golovliovo are mine -_by law._ Maybe some of my property is left _here._ However, I won't -insist on it. God Himself commands us to give to orphans. I am sorry to -have lost mother, she was a good old woman, a kindly soul. Oh, mother -dear, it was not right of you, darling, to have left us poor orphans. -But if it had pleased God to take you, it befits us to submit to His -holy will. May, at least, your soul rejoice in heaven, and as for -us--well, we are not to be considered." - -The first death was soon followed by another. - -Yudushka's attitude toward his son's fate was quite puzzling. Since he -did not receive newspapers and was not in correspondence with anybody, -he could not learn anything of the trial in which Petenka figured. And -he hardly wished to. Above all things, he shunned disturbance of every -kind. He was buried up to his ears in a swamp of petty details, all -centering around the welfare and preservation of his precious self. -There are many such people in this world. They live apart from the rest -of humanity, having neither the desire nor the knowledge to identify -themselves with a "cause," and bursting in the end like so many soap -bubbles. They have no ties of friendship, for friendship presupposes -the existence of common interests; nor do they have any business -connections. For thirty years at a stretch Porfiry Vladimirych had -marked time in a government office. Then, one fine day he disappeared, -and no one noticed the fact. - -He learned of his son's fate after his domestics had. But even then -he feigned ignorance, so that when Yevpraksia once tried to mention -Petenka, he waved her off and said: - -"No, no, no! I don't know, I did not hear anything, and I don't want to -hear anything. I don't want to know a thing about his dirty affairs." - -But finally he did learn about Petenka. He received a letter from him -saying he was about to leave for one of the remote provinces and asking -his father to continue to send him an allowance in his new position. -The whole of the next day Porfiry Vladimirych was in a state of visible -perplexity. He darted from room to room, peeped into the oratory, -crossed himself, and sighed. But toward evening he plucked up courage -and wrote the following letter: - -/# - "My criminal son Piotr: - - "As a faithful and law-abiding subject I should not even - answer your letter. But as a father given to human weaknesses, - I cannot, from a sense of compassion, refuse good advice to - a child who, through his own fault, plunged himself into a - whirlpool of evil. - - "Here, in short, is my opinion on the subject. The punishment - that has been meted out to you is severe, but you quite deserve - it. That is the first and most important consideration that - should always accompany you in your new life from now on. - All your other vagaries and even the memory thereof you must - forget, for in your present situation all this will only tend - to irritate you and urge you on to impious complaint. You have - already tasted of the bitter fruits of haughtiness of spirit. - Try now to taste of the fruits of humility, all the more so - since there is nothing else left for you in the future. Do not - complain of the punishment, for the authorities do not even - punish you, but only provide means for your correction. To be - grateful for this, and to endeavor to make amends for what - you did--that is what you must incessantly bear in mind, and - not the luxurious frittering away of time, which I myself, by - the way, never did, although I was never under indictment. - So follow this prudent advice of mine and turn over a new - leaf, satisfied with what the authorities, in their kindness, - will deem it necessary to allot to you. I, for my part, will - pray the Giver of all things good to grant you firmness and - humility. Even on the very day on which I write these lines I - have been to church and offered up fervent prayers for you. And - now, I bless you for the new journey and remain, your indignant - but still loving father, Porfiry Golovliov." -#/ - -It is uncertain whether the letter ever reached Petenka, but no more -than a month after it was sent, Porfiry Vladimirych was officially -notified that his son, while on his way to the place of exile, had -fallen ill and died in a hospital. - -Yudushka remained alone, but at first did not realize that this -new loss had made his life an absolute void. The realization came -soon after the death of Arina Petrovna, when he was all absorbed in -reckoning and figuring. He read every paper of the deceased, took into -account every kopek, traced the relation of this kopek to the kopeks -of the guardianship, not wishing, as he put it, either to acquire -another's, or to lose his own. Amidst this bustle the question never -once arose in his mind: To what end was he doing all this, and who was -to enjoy the fruits of his busy hoarding? - -From morning to night he bent over his desk musing and criticizing the -arrangements of the deceased. Engrossed in these cares he began little -by little to neglect the bookkeeping of his own estate. - -The manor fell into profound silence. The domestics, who had always -preferred the servants' quarters, abandoned the house almost entirely, -and when in the master's rooms would walk on tiptoe and speak in a -whisper. There was an air of desertion and death about the place and -about the man, something eery. The gloom enveloping Yudushka was to -grow denser every day. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -During Lent, when no theatrical performances were given, Anninka came -to Golovliovo. Lubinka had been unable to accompany her because she -had been engaged for the entire Lent and had gone to Romny, Izum, -Kremenchug, etc., where she was to give concerts and sing her entire -music-hall repertoire. - -During her brief artistic career Anninka had greatly improved in looks. -She was no longer the simple, anæmic, somewhat sluggish girl who in -Dubrovino or Pogorelka had walked from room to room humming and swaying -awkwardly, as if she could not find a place for herself. She was now -quite developed, with confident, even dashing manners. At the very -first glance one could tell she was quick at repartee. The change in -her appearance gave Porfiry Vladimirych a pleasant surprise. Before him -stood a tall, well-built woman with a lovely pink complexion, high, -well-developed bust, full eyes, and abundant ash-colored hair, which -she wore braided low on her neck--a woman evidently aware of her own -attractiveness. - -She arrived at Golovliovo early in the morning and at once retired to a -room, from which she emerged in a splendid silk gown. She entered the -dining-room with a swish of her train, manipulating it skilfully among -the chairs. Though Yudushka loved God above all, it did not prevent him -from having a taste for beautiful and, especially, tall, plump women. -So he crossed Anninka first, then kissed her so emphatically on both -cheeks, casting queer glances at her bust meanwhile, that Anninka could -not refrain from smiling faintly. - -They sat down at the tea table. Anninka raised her arms and stretched. - -"Oh, uncle, how dull it is here!" she began, yawning slightly. - -"There you are! Here only a minute and dull already. You stay with us -some time, then we'll see, perhaps you won't find it so dull after -all," answered Porfiry Vladimirych, his eyes suddenly taking on an oily -glitter. - -"No, there isn't an interesting thing here. What is there? Snow all -around, no neighbors. Is there a regiment quartered anywhere near here?" - -"Yes, there is a regiment and there are neighbors; but, to tell the -truth, it doesn't interest me. Yet, if you----" - -Porfiry Vladimirych looked at her and did not end his sentence, but -coughed. Perhaps he had stopped intentionally, wishing to excite -her feminine curiosity. At any rate the same faint smile as before -glided over her lips. She leaned her elbows on the table and looked -at Yevpraksia fixedly. The, girl all flushed, was drying the glasses, -casting sly glances at Anninka with her large, heavy eyes. - -"My new housekeeper--very industrious," said Porfiry Vladimirych. - -Anninka nodded slightly and began to purr softly: - -_"Ah, ah! que j'aime--que j'aime--que j'aime--les -mili-mili-mili-taires!"_ and her hips quivered as she sang. - -Silence set in, during which Yudushka, his eyes meekly lowered, sipped -his tea from a glass. - -"My, it's dull!" said Anninka, yawning again. - -"It's dull, and it's dull! You never get tired of saying that. You wait -a while, stay here a bit longer. We'll order the sleigh set to rights, -and you'll ride to your heart's content." - -"Uncle, why didn't you become a hussar?" - -"Because, my friend, every man has his station ordained by the Lord. -Some are to become hussars, others functionaries, others merchants; -some are----" - -"Oh, yes, and so on, and so forth. Who can keep track of it all? And -God ordained all that, did He?" - -"Why, yes, my friend, God. And it is not proper to scoff. Do you know -what the Scriptures say? 'Without the will of God----'" - -"Is it about the hair? Yes, I know that, too. But the trouble is, -everybody wears false hair now, and I don't think that was foreseen. -By the way, uncle, look what wonderful braids I have! Don't you think -they're fine?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych came nearer, for some reason, on tiptoe, and -fingered her braids for some time. And Yevpraksia, without relaxing her -hold on the saucer filled with tea and holding a bit of toast between -her teeth, leaned forward and said, "False, I suppose?" - -"Oh, no, my own. Some day I'll let my hair down for you, uncle." - -"Yes, your hair is fine," said Yudushka, his lips parting in a -repulsive smile. Then he recalled that one must turn his back on such -temptations and added, "Oh, you hoyden! Always thinking about braids -and trains, but you'd never think of inquiring about the main thing, -the real thing?" - -"Oh, about grandmother? She is dead, isn't she?" - -"Yes, my friend, she died. And how she died! Peacefully, calmly, not a -soul heard it. That's what I call a worthy end to one's earthly life. -She thought of everybody, gave everybody her blessing, called a priest, -received her last communion, and suddenly became so calm, so calm! Then -she began to sigh. Sighed once, twice, three times, and before we knew -it, she was no more." - -Yudushka rose, turned toward the ikon, folded his hands, and offered up -a prayer. Tears rose to his eyes, so well did he simulate. But Anninka -apparently was not of the sentimental kind. It is true she remained -pensive for a while but for quite a different reason. - -"Do you remember, uncle, how she used to feed my sister and me on sour -milk when we were little ones? Not later. Later she was splendid. I -mean when she was still rich." - -"Oh, well, let bygones be bygones. She fed you on sour milk, but you -look none the worse for it, may the Lord be with you. Do you think you -would care to visit her grave?" - -"Yes, I wouldn't mind." - -"But you know, it would be well if you purified yourself first." - -"What do you mean, purified?" - -"You know--an actress. You think it was easy for the old woman? So -before you go to her grave I think you should attend a mass to purify -yourself, you know. You see, I'll order a mass early tomorrow morning, -and then--Godspeed!" - -Absurd as Yudushka's proposition was, it confused Anninka for a minute. -But she soon knitted her brows angrily and said sharply: - -"No, I'll go now--as I am!" - -"Well, I don't know, do as you please. But my advice is: let's attend -the mass tomorrow morning, then take tea and have a pair of swift -little horses hitched to a pony cart, and then go together. You see, -you would become cleansed of your sins, and your grandmother's soul -would----" - -"Oh, uncle, how foolish you are, though. Lord knows what nonsense you -talk. And you even insist on it." - -"So you don't like it? Well, don't hold it against me, my dear. I am -straight from the shoulder, you know. When it comes to truth, I'll -tell it to others and take it from others as well. Though at times it -goes against the grain, though truth is hard at times, but I'll always -listen to it. And one must listen to it, because--it's the truth. So, -my dear. You stay with us a while and live the way we do. Then you'll -see that it's better than going with a guitar from fair to fair." - -"Heaven knows what you're talking about, uncle. 'With a guitar!'" - -"Well, if it isn't a guitar, then it's a bagpipe or something. Besides, -you offended me first, called me foolish. So I, an old man, surely have -a right to tell you the truth to your face." - -"All right, let it be the truth. We won't argue about it. But tell me, -please, did grandmother leave anything?" - -"Why, of course, she did. But the legitimate heir was present in -person." - -"That is you. All the better. Was she buried here in Golovliovo?" - -"No, near Pogorelka, at the St. Nicholas Church. It was her own wish." - -"I'll go. Can I hire horses here, uncle?" - -"Why hire? I've got my own. You are not a stranger, I dare say, a -niece, my little niece." - -Porfiry Vladimirych began to liven up, and put on an _en famille_ grin. -"A pony cart, a pair of fine little horses--thank God, I am not poor, I -dare say! And wouldn't it be well for me to go with you? We would visit -the grave, you see, and then would go to Pogorelka and peep in here and -there, and we would think matters over, talk things over--about this -and that. Yours is a fine little estate, you know. It has some very -good spots." - -"No, I'll go alone, I think. Why should you go? By the way, Petenka's -dead, too, I hear?" - -"Yes, my dear friend, Petenka is dead, too. I am sorry for him in -one way, very sorry--to the point of tears; but then--it was all his -own fault. He was always disrespectful to his father, that's why God -punished him. And what God, in His great wisdom, did, you and I cannot -undo." - -"Of course, we can't. But what makes me wonder is, why you don't find -it too horrible to live." - -"Why should I fear? You see how much succor I have all around." -Yudushka made a gesture, pointing to the ikons. "Succor here and succor -in my study. The ikon room is a veritable paradise. You see how many -protectors I have." - -"But still, you are always alone. It's frightful." - -"And if I am afraid, I fall on my knees, say a prayer, and the fear is -all gone. And why be afraid? It's light during the day, and at night -I have ikon lamps burning in every room. From outside in the dark it -looks as if there were a ball in the house. And what ball? Who are the -guests? Holy protectors, God's chosen. Those are my guests!" - -"You know, Petenka wrote to us before his death." - -"Well, of course, he is a relative. It's a good thing he did not lose -his feelings of kinship." - -"Yes, he wrote to us. It was after the trial, when sentence had been -pronounced. He wrote he had lost three thousand rubles in cards and you -would not give him the money. But you are rich, uncle, aren't you?" - -"Ah, my dear, it's easy to count money in another man's pocket. -Sometimes we think a man has mountains of gold, and when you come -closer you see he has barely enough for oil and a candle--not for -himself--for God." - -"Well, then, we are richer than you. We gave some of our own money -and took up a collection among our gentlemen friends. We scraped six -hundred rubles together and sent it to him." - -"What do you mean 'gentlemen friends?'" - -"Oh, uncle, we are actresses, you know. Didn't you yourself suggest -that I purify myself?" - -"I don't like it when you speak that way." - -"What can you do? Whether you like it or not, you can't undo what has -been done. According to you, God is in that, too." - -"Don't blaspheme at least. You may say anything you want, but don't -blaspheme. I won't stand for it. Where did you send the money to?" - -"I don't remember. To a little town of some sort. He wrote us the name." - -"I didn't know. If there was money, I should have gotten it after his -death. It is not possible that he spent it all at once. Well, I don't -know, I didn't get any. I suppose the jailers and guards were on to it." - -"I'm not asking for it, uncle. I just mentioned it while we were on the -subject. It's awful, uncle, for a man to perish on account of three -thousand rubles." - -"It wasn't all on account of the three thousand. Haven't you something -else to say than to keep on repeating 'three thousand, three thousand?' -But God----" - -Yudushka had got his cue and was about to explain in detail -how God--Providence--by unseen ways--and all that, but Anninka -unceremoniously yawned and said: - -"Oh, uncle, how boring it is here." - -This time Porfiry Vladimirych was truly offended and became silent. -For a long time they both paced up and down the dining room. Anninka -yawned, Porfiry Vladimirych crossed himself at every step. At last the -carriage was announced and the usual comedy of seeing relations off -began. Golovliov put on his fur coat, went out on the porch, kissed -Anninka and shouted to the servants, "Her feet! Wrap up her feet well!" -and "What about the blankets, have you taken the blankets along? See -you don't forget them!" all the while making signs of the cross in the -air. - -Anninka visited her grandmother's grave, asked the priest to say the -mass, and when the choir began to chant the "Eternal memory," she cried -a bit. The background of the ceremony was rather sad. The church near -which Arina Petrovna had been buried was of the poorest kind. In some -places the plaster had fallen off its walls and exposed large patches -of brick. The sound of the bells was feeble and hollow, the priest's -robe was threadbare. The cemetery was snowed under, so that the path to -the grave had to be shovelled clear. No monument had yet been placed. -Nothing but a plain white cross, even without an inscription, marked -the grave. The cemetery was in a lonely spot removed from any dwelling. -Not far from the church stood the houses of the priest and the church -officials and all around the cheerless, snow-covered plains stretched -as far as the eye could reach. Here and there one could see brushwood -jutting out from the snow. A sharp March wind was sweeping over the -churchyard, wafting away the chanting of the churchmen and lashing the -priest's robe. - -"Who would have thought, madam, that the richest landlady in the -district would rest here under this modest cross in our poor parish?" -said the priest when he was through with the requiem. - -At these words Anninka cried again. She recalled the poet's line: -"Where feasts once reigned a hearse now stands!" And the tears kept -streaming down her cheeks. Then she went to the priest's house, had tea -there, and talked with his wife. Another line came back to her: "And -pallid death on all doth stare," and again she wept, long and bitterly. - -Nobody had notified the people at Pogorelka that the young lady was -coming, so that the rooms were not even heated. Anninka, with her -fur coat on, walked through all the rooms, remaining a moment in -grandmother's bedroom and the ikon room. In the former she found -a bedstead with a heap of soiled, greasy pillows, some without -pillow-cases. Scraps of paper lay on the desk in disorder, the floor -had not been swept and a thick coat of dust covered everything. Anninka -sat down in the easy-chair where her grandmother used to sit, and -became lost in thought. At first came up reminiscences of the past; -then they were crowded out by images of the present. The former came in -the shape of fleeting patches and fragments, pausing in her mind for no -more than a moment; the latter were more persistent. It was but a brief -while ago that she had longed to flee from Pogorelka and it had seemed -a hateful place. Now her heart suddenly filled with a morbid desire to -live there again. - -"It is quiet here, it is not cozy, and it is unsightly; but it is -quiet, so quiet, as if everything around were dead. There is much air -and much room." - -She looked out over the endless fields and felt a desire to dash -straight across them, without aim or purpose, just to breathe fast -and feel a pain in her chest. And _there,_ in the half-nomadic life -from which she had just escaped and to which she _must_ return--what -awaited her there? What had she gained by it? Nothing but recollections -of hotels permeated with stench, of an everlasting din coming from -the dining and billiard rooms, of unkempt porters, of rehearsals on -the stage in the twilight and among the scenes of painted linen, the -feel of which was abominable, in the draught and in the dampness. And -then, army officers, lawyers, obscene language, and the eternal uproar! -What hadn't the men told her! With what obscenity hadn't they touched -her! Especially the one with the mustache, with a voice hoarse from -drink, inflamed eyes, and a perpetual smell of the stable about him. -Lord, what he had told her! Anninka shivered at the very recollection -and shut her eyes. Then she came to, sighed, and went into the ikon -room. There were now only a few ikons in the image-case, only those -which had unquestionably belonged to her mother. The rest of them, -her grandmother's, Yudushka, as the legitimate heir, had removed to -Golovliovo. The empty spaces where they had stood stared like the -hollow eye-sockets in a deathshead. Nor were there any ikon lamps. -Yudushka had taken all of them. Only one yellow bit of wax candle -stood out, orphan-like, from a miniature tin candlestick that had been -forgotten. - -"His Excellency wanted to take the image case, too. He was trying -to make sure if it really was a part of madam's dowry," reported -Afimyushka. - -"Well, he could have taken it. Tell me, Afimyushka, did grandma suffer -much before she died?" - -"No, not much, she was laid up for only a day or so. She just went out, -of her own self. She wasn't really sick or anything. She didn't talk -either, just mentioned you and your sister once or twice." - -"So Porfiry Vladimirych carried off the ikons?" - -"Yes, he did. He said they were his mother's personal property. He also -took the coach and two cows. From the mistress's papers he gathered, I -suppose, that they belonged to your grandmother, not to you. He also -wanted to take away a horse, but Fedulych would not give it to him. -'It's our horse,' he said, 'an old-timer in Pogorelka.' So Porfiry -Vladimirych left it here. He was afraid." - -Anninka walked through the yard, peeped into the servants' quarters, -the barn, and the cattle yard. In a swamp of manure stood about twenty -lean cows and three horses. She ordered some bread to be brought, -saying, "I'll pay for it," and gave every cow a piece of bread. - -Then the cattle-house woman invited the young lady into the house. -There was a jug of milk on the table, and in the corner near the oven, -behind a low wainscot screening, a new-born calf was sheltered. - -Anninka tasted some milk, ran to the little calf, kissed his snout, -but quickly wiped her lips, saying the calf had a horrid snout, -all slabbery. At the end, she produced three yellow bills from her -pocketbook, distributed them to the old domestics, and prepared to go. - -"What are you going to do?" she asked, while she made herself -comfortable in the pony cart, of old Fedulych, who, as the _starosta,_ -followed the young owner, with his hands crossed on his breast. - -"Well, what can we do? We'll live," answered Fedulych simply. - -Anninka became sad again for a moment. There seemed to be irony in -Fedulych's words. She waited a while, sighed, and said: - -"Well, good-by." - -"We thought that you would come back and live with us," said Fedulych. - -"No, what's the use? Anyway--you live on!" - -Tears flowed from her eyes again and the others cried, too. It seemed -peculiar to her; there was nothing to regret in leaving the place, -nothing sentimental to remember it by, and yet she was crying. And -those people, too. She had not said anything out of the ordinary to -them--just the usual questions and answers--and yet their hearts were -heavy, they were sorry to see her go. She was seated in the cart, -wrapped up and well covered. Everybody heaved a sigh. "Good luck!" came -running after her when the cart started. Passing the churchyard she -stopped again and went to the grave alone without the ecclesiastics, -following the path that had been cleared. It was quite dark, and -lights began to appear in the houses of the church officials. She -stood there with one hand holding on to the cross rising from the -grave. She did not cry, but only swayed slightly, thinking of nothing -in particular, unable to formulate any definite thought. But she was -unhappy, in every way unhappy. Not because of grandmother, but on her -own account. So she stood for a quarter of an hour, and suddenly before -her eyes rose the image of Lubinka, who perhaps at that very moment was -singing merrily in a rollicking company, somewhere in Kremenchug: - -/$ - "_Ah, ah, que j'aime, que j'aime! - Que j'aime, les mili-mili-mili-taires!"_ -$/ - -She almost broke down. She ran to her cart, seated herself, and ordered -the coachman to drive to Golovliovo as fast as possible. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -When Anninka returned to her uncle's, she was dull and silent, though -she did feel a bit hungry (in the hurry, uncle had not given her some -chicken to take along) and was very glad the table was already set for -tea. Of course, Porfiry Vladimirych was not slow to open a conversation. - -"Well, were you there?" - -"Yes, I was." - -"Did you pray at the grave? Did you have the requiem sung?" - -"Yes." - -"So the priest was at home?" - -"Of course he was, or who would have performed the requiem?" - -"Oh, yes, certainly. And the two sextons, were they there? Did they -sing: 'Eternal memory?'" - -"Yes, they did." - -"Yes, eternal memory! May she rest in peace. She was a good, kind -woman." - -Yudushka rose from his seat, faced the ikon and offered up a prayer. - -"Well, and how did you find things in Pogorelka, everything in good -shape?" - -"I don't know, really. I think everything is in its proper place." - -"Indeed, 'I think.' You always 'think,' but when you take a good look -you find this is wrong and that is wrong. That's how we judge of other -people's business. We 'think' and we 'guess!' But anyway, you've got -a nice little estate. My late mother fixed it all up very nicely. She -even spent a good deal of her own money on it. Well, it's only right to -help orphans along." - -Listening to these chants of praise, Anninka could not refrain from -teasing her kindhearted uncle. - -"Uncle, why did you take two cows away from Pogorelka?" she asked. - -"Cows, what cows? Oh, you mean the black and the spotted one? Well, my -dear, they belonged to my mother." - -"And you are her legitimate heir? Oh, well, you can have them. Do you -want me to send you a little calf? I will, if you want me to." - -"Now, there! Look at her getting excited! Let's talk business, whom do -you think the cows belong to?" - -"How do I know? They were in Pogorelka." - -"And I do know. I have proof that the cows belonged to mother. I found -a memorandum written in her own hand. 'Mine,' is plainly written there." - -"Oh, let's drop it. It isn't worth talking about." - -"There's a pony at Pogorelka, too, little old Baldy, you know. Well, -about Baldy I am not sure. I think Baldy belonged to mother, but I'm -not sure. And I can't speak of what I don't know." - -"Let's drop it, uncle." - -"No, why drop it? I'm straight from the shoulder, my dear, I like to -bring out the truth of things. Why not talk it over? Nobody wants to -part with his own. I don't, you don't. Well, then, let's talk it over -and see who's right. And when it comes to talking, I'll tell you -plainly: I don't want what's yours and I won't let go of mine, either. -Because, though you are not a stranger to me, still I----" - -"And you even took the ikons," Anninka could not refrain from remarking. - -"Yes, the ikons, too. I took everything that belonged to me by law." - -"Now the image case looks as if it has holes in it." - -"What can you do? You'll have to pray before it as it is. God, you -know, does not want your image case, but your prayers. If you are -sincere about it, your prayer will reach Him, even if it's done before -poor ikons. And if you just pray without meaning it, and look around -and make a courtesy, then the best images will be of no avail." - -Nevertheless, Yudushka rose and offered thanks to God for the fact that -his images were "good." - -"Well, and if you don't like the old image case, have a new one built -and put in new ikons instead of those taken out. My deceased mother -acquired the old ikons at her own cost, and now it's up to you to get -new ones." - -Porfiry Vladimirych even tittered, so clear and simple did his -reasoning seem to him. - -"But tell me, please, what am I to do now?" Anninka asked. - -"Well, wait a while. Rest up first, loll around, get some sleep. We'll -talk the matter over and examine it from every angle, and we'll see -what can be done. Both of us together may think up something." - -"Sister and I are of age, I think?" - -"Yes, of age. Quite so. You can now manage yourself and your estate." - -"Thank God at least for that." - -"I have the honor to congratulate you." - -Porfiry Vladimirych rose to kiss her. - -"How funny you are, uncle, always kissing." - -"Why shouldn't I kiss you? You are not a stranger, I may say, you are -my niece. I like kinsfolk, my dear. I am always for my relatives, near -or distant, second, third, or fourth cousins, I'm always with them." - -"You'd better tell me what I am to do. Must I go to town and see all -the officials?" - -"Yes, and we'll go to town and we'll attend to the matter--all in due -time. But before we do that, rest up a bit. Stay here a while. You are -not stopping at an inn but at your uncle's, I may say. You'll have -enough to eat and drink, and for your sweet tooth we've got plenty of -everything. If you don't like a dish, ask for a different one. Demand, -insist! If you don't care for cabbage soup, ask for chicken soup. Order -cutlets, duck, pork. Get after Yevpraksia. Here I boasted about pork -and I don't really know if we've got any. Have we?" - -Yevpraksia, holding the saucer with the hot tea to her mouth, nodded -affirmatively. - -"Well, you see, we've got pork too, and all in all you can have -whatever your heart desires." - -Yudushka approached Anninka again and like a good relative clapped her -on the knee and quite inadvertently let his hand rest there a little, -so that Anninka instinctively recoiled. - -"But I've got to go," she said. - -"That's just what I've been saying. We'll discuss matters and talk -things over and then we'll go with a prayer and a benediction, but -not--hop! jump! run! The more haste the less speed. You may hurry to a -fire, but our house is not ablaze. Well, Lubinka has got to hurry to -the fair, but what is your hurry? Another thing I meant to ask you, Are -you going to live in Pogorelka?" - -"No, there's nothing for me to do there." - -"That's just what I was going to say. Move here, to my house. We'll -live here and have a fine time of it." - -Yudushka looked at Anninka with such oily eyes that she became -embarrassed. - -"No, uncle, I don't want to stay here with you. It's too dull." - -"Oh, you silly little thing! Why do you keep repeating 'dull, dull?' -You speak of dullness and I'll bet you don't know what's dull around -here. If you have something to keep you busy, and if you know how to -manage yourself, you'll never feel dull. Take me, for example, I don't -notice how time flies. On week days I'm busy with the affairs of the -estate. I look at this and take a peep into that, and figure out one -thing and discuss another thing. Before I know it, the day is gone. -And on a holiday--to church! You will do the same thing. Stay with us -for a while. We'll find something for you to do. In your leisure time -you may play fool with Yevpraksia, or go sleigh-riding--slide along as -fast as you wish. And when summer comes we'll go to the woods picking -mushrooms. And we'll have tea on the lawn." - -"No, uncle, it's no use trying to persuade me." - -"Really, you ought to stay." - -"No. But the journey has tired me, so I should like to go to bed if -possible." - -"Yes, you can go rock-a-by. I've got a nice little bed ready for you, -everything in proper fashion. If you want to go rock-a-by, go right -ahead. But I should advise you to think the matter over. I think it -would be best for you to stay with us at Golovliovo." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Anninka spent a restless night. The hysterical mood that had overtaken -her at Pogorelka still persisted. There are moments when a person -who has been merely existing suddenly realizes that there is a vile -ulcer of some kind festering in his life. Where it came from, how it -formed itself--one cannot always explain to oneself. In most cases it -is not ascribed to the causes that have really brought it on. But an -explanation is not even needed. It is sufficient that such an ulcer -exists. The effects of such a sudden discovery, while equally painful -to everyone, vary in their practical results, with the individual's -temperament. Some are rejuvenated and inspired with a determination to -begin a new life on new foundations. Others feel but a passing pain -that will not bring a profound change for the better, but is even -sharper than when the disturbed conscience sees the faint hope of a -brighter future. - -Anninka was not of those in whom the consciousness of ulcers produces -the impulse to rejuvenation. Nevertheless, she realized, being an -intelligent person, that there was an abyss between the vague dreams -of honest toil which had impelled her to leave Pogorelka forever and -her position of provincial actress. Instead of a life of quiet and -toil, she had fallen upon a stormy existence, filled with perpetual -debauchery, shameless obscenity and cynicism, with vain and -everlasting bustle. Instead of the privations and stern surroundings -in which she had once lived, she had met comparative ease and comfort. -She could not think of it now without a blush of shame. She had -hardly noticed the gradual transformation. She had wanted to go to a -good place but had entered the wrong door. Her desires had been very -modest, indeed. How often she had dreamed, in the attic of Pogorelka, -of becoming an earnest girl, working, thirsting for education, bearing -hardships with fortitude, all for the sake of the good. (It is true, -"good" hardly had definite meaning to her.) But as soon as she had -stepped out on to the highroad of independent activity, bitter reality -had shattered her dreams at once. An honest livelihood does not come -of itself, but is attained only by persistent search and previous -training which help in the quest to some extent. But neither Anninka's -temperament nor education provided her with this. Her temperament -was not marked by passion, it was simply sensitive. The material -that her education had given her and on which she meant to build up -her life of honest toil was so unreliable and poor that it could -hardly serve as a basis for serious work. Her education was of the -boarding-school, music-hall kind, with the balance tipping to the side -of the music-hall. It was a chaotic heap in which problems were piled -up about a flock of geese, dancing steps with a shawl, the sermons of -Peter of Picardy, the exploits of Fair Helen, the _Ode to Felitza,_ and -the prescribed feeling of gratitude to the instructors and patrons of -the institution. What was left clear of this chaotic jumble in her soul -might quite properly be called a _tabula rasa_. There was scarcely a -thing to be read in it; it certainly offered no possibility of finding -a starting-point in her for better things. Whatever preparation she -had had inspired not love for work but love for a "society" life, the -desire to be surrounded by admirers and listen to their flattery, the -desire to plunge into the social din, glamor and whirlwind. - -If she had listened to herself, she would have discovered that even in -Pogorelka, when just beginning to make plans for a life of honest toil -as a deliverance from Egyptian bondage, she could have caught herself -dreaming not so much of work as of being surrounded by a society of -congenial people, frittering her time away in empty talk. Of course, -the people of her dreams were clever, and their conversation was honest -and serious, but the idle side of life was always in the foreground. -Poverty was distinguished by neatness, privations amounted merely to -a lack of luxuries. So, when her dreams of a life of work came to a -head and she was offered a part in one of the provincial theatres, -she hesitated little, though the contrast between dream and reality -was great. She hastily freshened up her school information about the -relations of Helen and Menelaus, supplemented it by some biographical -details from the life of the splendid Prince of Tauris and decided -that that was quite sufficient to produce _Fair Helen_ and _Episodes -from the Life of the Duchess of Herolstein_ in the provincial theatres -and at the fairs. To clear her conscience she recalled the words of a -student she had met in Moscow who used to exclaim repeatedly, "Sacred -Art!" She made this her slogan, because it was the easiest way out, -and gave at least outward decorum to the path she had chosen--the path -toward which the whole of her being was instinctively tending. - -The life of an actress upset her. Alone, without the guidance of proper -preparation, without a conscious aim, with only a temperament craving -for din, glamor, and applause, she soon found herself surrounded by -a chaos in which many persons thronged, some coming, others going, -without apparent order or connection. There were people of the most -diverse characters and views, so that the motives for becoming intimate -with this one or that one were not the same. Nevertheless, they were -all integral parts of her circle, so that there really could be no -question of motives. - -Her life had become like the gate to an inn, at which every gay, -wealthy, young man could knock and claim entrance. Clearly it was -not a matter of selecting a congenial company, but of fitting into -any kind of company so as not to die of ennui. Her "sacred art" had -really thrown her into a mire, but her head was turned, and she did not -notice her position. Neither the dirty faces of the porters nor the -slimy, dilapidated stage properties, nor the din, stench, and noise of -the hotels and inns, nor the obscene behavior of her admirers--none -of these things produced a sobering effect. She did not even notice -that she was always in the society of men only, and that there was a -permanent barrier between her and the women of _established position._ - -The visit to Golovliovo sobered her for a moment. - -In the morning, almost immediately after her arrival, she began to feel -uneasy. Highly impressionable, she quickly absorbed new sensations and -quickly adapted herself to new situations. Consequently, as soon as she -reached Golovliovo, she felt herself a "lady." She suddenly recalled -that she had something of her own: her own home, her own graves. She -became filled with a desire to see herself in her former surroundings, -to breathe the air from which she had only recently fled. But her -impression was immediately dispelled by contact with the reality she -found there. Her experience in this was like that of a person who -enters with a smile among friends he has not seen for a long time, -and suddenly notices that everybody responds to his cordial greetings -coldly. The nasty glances Yudushka cast at her figure reminded her -that her position was questionable and not easy to change. When she -remained alone, after the naïve questions of the Pogorelka servants, -after the pious sighs of warning of the Pogorelka priest and his wife, -after the fresh sermons of Yudushka, when she examined her impressions -of the day at leisure, she became convinced that the former "lady" -was gone forever and that from now on she was only an actress in a -miserable provincial theatre, and the position of a Russian actress was -not far removed from that of a street woman. Until now she had lived -as if in a dream. She would go out half-naked in _Fair Helen,_ would -appear intoxicated in _Pericola,_ would sing all sorts of indecencies -in the _Episodes from the Life of the Duchess of Herolstein,_ and -would even regret that it was not the custom to represent _la chose_ -and _l'amour_ on the stage, imagining how enticingly her hips would -quiver and how alluring her every movement would be. But it had never -occurred to her to give earnest thought to what she was doing. She had -only tried to make everything appear "charming" and _chic_ and at the -same time please the army officers of the town regiment. But what it -all meant, and what the sensation was that her quivering hips produced -in the army officers, she did not consider. The army officers were -the element that set the tone for the town, and she realized that her -success depended upon them. They would intrude behind the scenes, would -unceremoniously knock at the door of her dressing-room when she was yet -half-clad, would address her in endearing terms--and she looked upon -it all as a simple formality, an inevitable feature incidental to her -profession. All she asked herself was whether she rendered a feature -"charmingly" or not. - -Until now she had not thought of her body or her soul as being public, -but for a moment feeling herself a "lady" again, she looked on her past -in utter disgust and abhorrence, as if she had been stripped naked and -were being exposed on the public square; as if all those vile creatures -infected with the odors of wine and the stable had suddenly gripped -her in their embrace, as her body felt the contact of hands moist with -perspiration, of slabbery lips and the dull, greedy, brutal eyes that -lingered animal-like over the curved lines of her nude body. - -Where was she to go? How was she to throw off that accumulated load, -which began to leave its mark on her shoulders? The question tossed -in her head desperately--tossed, indeed, for she neither found nor, -as a matter of fact, sought an answer. This stay in Golovliovo, too, -was a kind of dream. Her past life had been a dream, and her present -awakening was a dream. Something had made the little girl ill at ease, -and she had become sentimental--that was all. It would pass. There -are pleasant moments and there are unpleasant ones--that is how they -go. Both merely glide past but do not alter the course of life once -determined upon. To give life a new course, to divert its channel, -one needs not only moral but also physical courage. It is almost the -same as suicide. Before attempting suicide a man may denounce his life, -he may be certain that death is the only salvation, yet the weapon -of death trembles in his hands, the knife slides harmlessly over the -neck, the bullet, instead of striking the forehead, hits lower and -only cripples. That is what happened in Anninka's case. She had to -kill her former life, but though killing it, she herself had to remain -alive. The "nothingness" that in regular suicide is attained by merely -pressing the trigger, was to be attained in the peculiar suicide called -rejuvenation only after many stern almost ascetic efforts. - -A pampered person already undermined by the habit of easy living will -turn dizzy at the mere perspective of a rejuvenation. He instinctively -turns his head away and shuts his eyes. Then filled with shame and -accusing himself of lack of courage, he will take the easy way again. - -Oh, the life of toil is a glorious thing! Yet none but strong people -can live it and those who are destined for it because of original sin. -They are the only ones it does not frighten; the former because they -realize the significance and resources of toil and can find pleasure in -it; the latter, because to them toil is first a duty, then a habit. - -Anninka did not think of remaining at Golovliovo or Pogorelka for even -a moment. In this she was fortified by the business routine of her -circumstances, to which she clung instinctively. She had been given -leave of absence and had arranged her schedule ahead of time, even -designating the day on which she was to leave Golovliovo. For people -of weak wills the external checks upon their life considerably lighten -its burdens. In difficult cases they cling to them instinctively and -use them as a justification for their acts. - -Anninka decided to leave Golovliovo as soon as possible, and if uncle -persisted in his coaxing, to counter him by invoking the necessity of -reporting for duty on the set date. - -When she arose in the morning she walked leisurely through all -the rooms of the vast Golovliovo mansion. She found them dreary, -uninviting, deserted. There was an air of decay and haunting -unfriendliness about them. The thought of living there indefinitely -quite frightened her. "Never!" she kept repeating in a state of -inexplicable agitation, "Never!" - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -The next day Porfiry Vladimirych greeted her again with his ambiguous -geniality, from which it was impossible to gather whether he wanted to -show her affection or suck her blood dry. - -"Well, you 'always-in-a-hurry-to-get-there,' did you sleep well? And -where are you hurrying to now?" he asked her jestingly. - -"Yes, uncle, I am in a hurry, indeed. I am on leave of absence, you -know, and I must report on time." - -"Is it to play the clown again? I won't let you." - -"Whether you let me or not, I am going." - -Yudushka shook his head sadly. "And what would your deceased grandma -say?" he asked in a tone of kindly reproach. - -"Grandma knew about it when she was alive. But why do you use those -expressions, uncle? Yesterday you were sending me to the fairs with a -guitar and today you speak of playing the clown. I won't allow you to -talk like that to me, you hear?" - -"Eh-eh! The truth hurts! Well, and I like the truth. I think that if -the truth----" - -"No, no, I won't listen, I won't listen. I don't want your truth or -your untruth. Do you hear me? I don't want you to talk like that to me." - -"Well, well! Look at her flaring up! Oh, you romp! Suppose we go in to -tea while the drinking is good. I suppose the samovar is making music -on the table by now." - -Porfiry Vladimirych wanted by joke and jest to make amends for having -said "playing the clown," and even tried to embrace her as a sign of -reconciliation. But it all seemed so stupid to Anninka, so abominable, -that she declined his advance with repugnance. - -"I tell you seriously, uncle, I am in a hurry," she said. - -"Well, then, let's go and have tea first, then we'll talk." - -"But why talk after tea? Why not now?" - -"Because. Because everything has got to be done in its proper time. -First one, then the other, first we'll have tea and a chat, then we'll -talk business. Plenty of time." - -She could not help but yield. His prattle was not to be overcome. They -went in to tea, and Yudushka temporized maliciously, sipping his tea -with deliberation, crossing himself, slapping his thigh, babbling about -his late mother dear, and so on. - -"Well, now we can talk," he said at last. "Do you intend making a long -visit here?" - -"Not more than a week. I have to be in Moscow before returning to the -company." - -"A week is a long time, my dear. You can accomplish a lot in a week, -and you can accomplish little. It depends on how you go about it." - -"We'd better try and accomplish a great deal, uncle." - -"That's just what I say. You can do a lot and you can do little, and -sometimes you think you are doing little but before you look around, -all the work is attended to. Here, for instance, you are in a hurry to -go to Moscow, you've got business there, you say; and what the business -is, you yourself don't know, I dare say. But the way I look on it is -this, that you spend all your time here in real business instead of -going to Moscow." - -"No, I must go to Moscow because I want to see if I can't get on the -stage there. And as to business, didn't you say we could accomplish a -lot in a week?" - -"Depending on how you go about it, my friend. If you go about it -properly, all will be well and smooth, but if you don't go about it in -a proper way, well, you'll strike a snag, and the thing will drag on." - -"Well, you guide me, uncle." - -"That's just it. When in need then 'You guide me, uncle,' but when not -in need, then 'It's dull here, uncle, and I want to go away.' You can't -say I'm not right." - -"But please do tell me just what I am to do." - -"Wait, don't be in a hurry! So, as I was saying, when uncle is needed, -he is a dear and darling and a sweety, and when he is not needed he is -no good. But you would never trust your uncle and ask him, 'What do you -think, uncle dear, ought I to go to Moscow or not?'" - -"How funny you are, uncle! I _must_ go to Moscow, and suppose I ask -your advice and you say no?" - -"Well, if I say no, then stay here! It is not a stranger who says so. -It's your uncle, and you may as well take your own uncle's advice. -Oh, my friend! It's a good thing you've got an uncle. At least there -is somebody to feel with you and to warn you when necessary. Think of -others who have nobody. Nobody to feel with them, nobody to warn them. -And they live all by themselves. And things happen to them--many -things that happen in life, my dear." - -Anninka wanted to reply, but realized it would be adding fuel to the -fire, and remained silent. She sat there, her eyes turned despairingly -at her uncle, who was going ahead under full steam. - -"I wanted to tell you," Yudushka continued, "I don't like your going -to those fairs, no, I don't like it a bit. Though you didn't relish my -talking about guitars, I still must say--" - -"But it is not enough to say 'I don't like.' Show me a way out." - -"Stay with me. That's the way out." - -"No, that never!" - -"Why?" - -"Because I have nothing to do here. What can I do here? Get up in the -morning, have tea, at tea think that breakfast is coming, at breakfast -think about dinner, and at dinner about afternoon tea. Then supper and -then to sleep. No, one can die here." - -"They all do it, my friend. First people have tea, after tea those who -like to breakfast do so. I, for instance, don't like to have breakfast, -so I don't. Then dinner, then afternoon tea, then to bed. Well, I don't -see anything ridiculous or objectionable in it. But if I--" - -"Nothing objectionable; but it is not after my heart." - -"But if I had offended somebody, or misjudged or spoken ill, well, -then, really it would be objectionable. But to have tea and breakfast -and dinner--goodness! I guess, no matter how clever you are, you can't -get along without food." - -"Yes, well and good, but it is not after my heart." - -"But don't measure things by your own yardstick. Take the advice of -your elders. 'This I like, and that I don't like.' Now, you mustn't -talk that way! You ought to say instead, 'If it please God, or 'if it -does not please God'. That would be the proper kind of talk. Let's say, -for instance, in Golovliovo we don't live according to God, if we go -against Him, if we sin or question His wisdom, if we envy and do other -evil things, well, then we are really guilty and deserve to be blamed. -But here, too, it would have to be proved first that we really do not -act according to God. And you come and say, 'It is not my style.' Now, -take me as an example. There are many things that aren't my style. -Here, for instance, I don't like the way you talk to me, the way you -pooh-pooh my hospitality. Yet I keep mum. I want to persuade you in a -quiet way, maybe you'll come to your senses. Maybe while I am jesting -and talking lightly, along will come your guardian angel and lead you -along the right path. You know, my friend, I am solicitous not of my -welfare, but of yours. Ah, my friend, how bad of you! If, so to speak, -I had offended you by word or deed, well, then you would have reason -to complain. Though it behooves young people to heed even a sermon -when it comes from their elders, yet had I offended you, I wouldn't -mind your being angry. But here I am calm and quiet and easy. I don't -say a word, but only try to figure out how to make things better and -more comfortable for you and for others so that all may rejoice and -be happy. And look how you greet my kindness! What you want to do, my -dear, is not to be rash in your speech. First think, then pray to the -Lord and implore His guidance. And then if, let's say for example--" - -Porfiry Vladimirych expatiated in this strain for a long time. His -words flowed like thick saliva. Anninka looked at him with instinctive -fear and thought, "How is it that the gush of words does not choke -him?" And for all his talk, her dear uncle did not utter a word of -advice as to what she was to do in connection with the death of Arina -Petrovna. She tried to bring the matter up at dinner and later at -afternoon tea, but every time Yudushka spun a different web, so that -Anninka was sorry she had resumed the conversation, and thought in -anguish, "Will it ever end?" - -After dinner, when Porfiry Vladimirych retired for his afternoon nap, -Anninka remained alone with Yevpraksia and suddenly felt a desire to -have a talk with her uncle's housekeeper. - -She wanted to know why Yevpraksia did not find it horrible to live at -Golovliovo and what gave her the strength to endure the torrents of -meaningless words that uncle's mouth belched forth from morning to -night. - -"Do you find it dull here at Golovliovo, Yevpraksia?" - -"Why should we find it dull? We are not of the gentlefolk." - -"But still--always alone--no diversion, no pleasures--" - -"What pleasures do I need? When it's dull, I look out of the window. I -didn't have much merriment when I lived with father." - -"Still, I suppose, it was better at home. You had friends, went -visiting, played." - -"Ah, what's the use!" - -"And here with uncle. He says such dull things and he is so -long-winded. Is he always like that?" - -"Always, all day long the same way." - -"And it doesn't bore you?" - -"Why should it? I don't listen to him." - -"But it's impossible not to listen at all. He may notice it and become -offended." - -"How can he tell? I look at him. He keeps on talking and I keep on -looking and at the same time I think my own thoughts." - -"What do you generally think about?" - -"Different things. If I have to pickle gherkins, I think about -gherkins. If I have to send someone to town, I think about town. -Whatever the household needs, that's what I think about." - -"So, I see, you live with uncle, but you are always alone?" - -"Yes, as good as alone. Unless he sometimes wishes to play cards. Well, -then we play cards. But even then he often stops in the middle of the -game, puts the cards away and begins to talk. And I look at him. It was -much livelier when Arina Petrovna was alive. When she was around he -was afraid to talk too much, because the old woman would often cut him -short. But now the liberties he takes are the limit." - -"Well, you see, Yevpraksia, that's just the horror of it. It is -frightful when a man talks and does not know what he says, why he talks -and whether he'll ever get through. Doesn't it scare you?" - -Yevpraksia looked at her as if struck by a new, wonderful idea. - -"You're not the only one," she said. "Many people around here don't -like him for the same thing." - -"Is that so?" - -"Yes. Even the servants. Not one of them can stay here long. He changes -them almost every month. The clerks, too. And all on account of that." - -"He annoys them?" - -"Terribly. The drunkards--they stay because drunkards don't hear. You -may blow a bugle, but it's as if they had their ears stuffed. But the -trouble is, he doesn't like drunkards." - -"Oh, Yevpraksia, and he is trying to persuade me to stay here." - -"Well, madam, it really would be nice of you to stay a while. Maybe in -your presence he would be ashamed." - -"No. Thank you. I haven't the patience to look at him." - -"Yes, of course, you are of the gentlefolk. You can have your own way, -and at that I suppose you've got to dance to somebody's music." - -"Oh, I should say so." - -"Yes, I thought so. I meant to ask you another thing. Is it nice to be -an actress?" - -"You earn your own bread and butter. That's one good thing." - -"And is it true, as Porfiry Vladimirych was telling me, that strangers -embrace actresses about the waist?" - -Anninka flushed up an instant. - -"Porfiry Vladimirych does not understand," she said with irritation. -"That's why he talks nonsense. He seems to have no notion that it's -only play and not reality on the stage." - -"And yet, even he, that is, Porfiry Vladimirych, when he saw you first, -his mouth began to water. 'My niece,' and 'dear,' and 'darling,' like a -gay blade. And his shameless eyes just devour you." - -"Yevpraksia, why do you talk nonsense?" - -"I? Oh, I don't care. You stay here and you'll see. And I--I don't -care. I'll give up my position, and go back to father. It's dull here, -anyway, you were right about it." - -"It is silly for you to suppose that I am going to stay here. But -you're right about one thing, Golovliovo certainly _is_ a dull place. -And the longer you stay here the duller you feel." - -Yevpraksia turned pensive, then yawned and said: - -"When I stayed with father I was very, very slim. Now, you see how -stout I am, like an oven. So dullness does one good, after all." - -"You won't stand it long, anyway. Remember what I say--you won't." - -With this the conversation ended. - -Luckily Porfiry Vladimirych did not hear it, otherwise he would have -obtained a new and fruitful theme for his endless sermonizing. - -Porfiry Vladimirych tortured Anninka for two whole days. He kept on -saying, "Wait, don't be in a hurry! Quietly, easily. Say your prayers -and receive your benediction," and so on. He tired her to death. -Finally, on the fifth day, he was ready to go to town with her, though -he found another way of tormenting his dear niece. - -She was in her fur coat waiting for him in the vestibule, and he, as if -to spite her, lingered a whole hour, dressing and washing and clapping -his thighs and crossing himself, and walking back and forth, and -sitting down, and giving orders. "Here--, or see to it--you know what I -mean. See that nothing happens--you know." - -He behaved as if he were leaving Golovliovo not for a few hours, but -forever. Having tired everybody out, the men and horses who had been -waiting at the porch for an hour and a half, his own throat at last got -dry from gabbling, and he decided to start out. - -The entire affair in town was concluded while the horses were eating -their oats at the inn. Porfiry Vladimirych produced an account book, -from which it appeared that when Arina Petrovna died the orphans had -twenty thousand rubles or a trifle less in five per cent securities. -Then the petition to remove the guardianship was filed, along with the -papers testifying to the majority of the orphans, and the order was -immediately issued to remove the guardianship and transfer both capital -and land to the rightful owners. In the evening of the same day Anninka -signed all the papers and inventories that Yudushka had prepared and -when all was done, heaved a sigh of relief. - -The remaining few days Anninka spent in the greatest agitation. She -wanted to leave Golovliovo at once, but her uncle met her attempts with -a jest, which, good-natured as it sounded, screened a stupid obstinacy -that no human power could overcome. - -"You yourself said you were going to stay a week. Then stay," he said. -"I don't understand why you are in such a hurry. You don't have to pay -rent, you are welcome without pay. You will have tea and dinner and -anything your heart may desire." - -"But, uncle, I must go," Anninka pleaded. - -"You are on pins and needles, but I am not going to give you horses," -jested Yudushka. "I just won't give you horses, and you'll have to be -my prisoner. When the week is up, I won't say a word. We'll attend -mass, and have a bite, and some tea, and a chat, and we'll take a good -look at each other, and then--God speed you! But, see here, suppose -we visit the grave at Voplino again. It would be best to take leave of -your grandmother, you know. Maybe her soul will be of guidance to you." - -"I shouldn't mind it," Anninka consented. - -"So that's what we'll do. Early in the morning on Wednesday we'll -attend mass here, then we'll have a bite before you go, and then my -team will take you to Pogorelka. From there to Dvoriky you will go with -your own team. You are a landlady yourself, I dare say. You've got your -own horses." - -She had to consent. There is something tremendously powerful in -vulgarity. It catches a person unawares, and while he is staring in -bewilderment, it has him in its clutches. When we pass a cesspool -we close our noses and try not to breathe. We have to do the same -violence to ourselves in an atmosphere saturated with idle chatter -and vulgarity, deaden our sight, hearing, smell and taste, overcome -all sensibility, turn into stone. Otherwise we run the danger of -suffocation from the miasma of vulgarity. - -Anninka understood this, a bit late, perhaps. At any rate, she decided -to let the process of her liberation from the Golovliovo captivity -take its own course. She was so thoroughly overcome by Yudushka's -irresistible twaddle that she dared not resist when he, like a good -relative, embraced her and stroked her back, saying as he did so: - -"You see, now you are a good little girl." - -She recoiled instinctively at the touch of his trembling bony hand -creeping over her back, but was held back from any other expression of -loathing by the hope that he might release her when the week was up. - -Luckily for her Yudushka was not at all squeamish. He perhaps observed -her impatient gestures but paid no attention to them. Evidently he -adhered to the theory of sexual relationship epitomized in the saying, -"Kiss me, whether you love me or not." - -At last came the long expected day of departure. Anninka rose at about -six o'clock, but Yudushka was already up and about. He had already -performed the ceremonial of his morning prayers, and was sauntering -from room to room in dressing-gown and slippers without any plan or -purpose. He was visibly agitated, and when he met Anninka looked at -her askew. It was almost full daylight, but the weather was bad. The -sky was covered with massive dark clouds, from which a chilling sleet -was drizzling. The road along the hamlet had turned black and was full -of puddles--a forecast of roads impassable because of the thaw. A -strong south wind was blowing, another indication of thawing weather. -The trees had cast off their snowy mantles, and their nude wet tops -swayed drearily. The barns in the yard looked black and slimy. Porfiry -Vladimirych led Anninka to the window and pointed out the picture of -spring's awakening. - -"Does it really pay to go?" he asked. "Would it not be better to stay, -after all?" - -"Oh no, no!" she cried in a frightened voice. "The bad weather will -soon be over." - -"Hardly. If you start now I doubt if you will reach Pogorelka before -seven o'clock. And in this thawing weather you cannot travel at night, -you know. So you'll have to spend a night at Pogorelka anyway." - -"Oh, no! I'll travel at night. I'll leave at once. I am brave, you -know. And wait till one o'clock? Uncle, darling! Let me leave at once." - -"And what would grandma say? 'That's the kind of granddaughter I -have!' she'll say. 'She came here, romped about, and wouldn't even come -to ask my blessing.'" - -Porfiry Vladimirych stopped. For a while he shifted from one foot to -the other, then looked at Anninka, then lowered his eyes. Apparently he -was making up his mind about something. - -"Wait, I'll show you something," he said at last, took a folded note -from his pocket and gave it to Anninka. "Here, read this." - -Anninka read: - -"I was praying to-day, and I asked my good, kind God to leave me my -good little Anninka. And the good, kind God said, 'Put your arm around -good little Anninka's plump waist and press her close to your heart.'" - -"Yes?" he asked turning slightly pale. - -"Fi, how nasty!" she answered, looking at him in bewilderment. - -Porfiry Vladimirych turned still paler and hissed through his teeth: - -"I suppose, we must have hussars!" then crossed himself and shuffled -out of the room. - -In about fifteen minutes he returned and resumed his jesting as if -nothing had happened. - -"Well?" he asked. "Are you going to stop at Voplino? Will you go and -say good-by to your old granny? Do, my dear, do. It is very good of you -to have thought of your grandma. Never forget your kinsfolk, my dear, -especially those who, in a manner of speaking, were willing to die for -us." - -They attended the mass and requiem services, ate some kutya in the -church, then came home, ate some more kutya and sat down at the tea -table. Porfiry Vladimirych, as if to spite her, sipped his tea more -slowly than usual, and dragged his words out wearisomely, discoursing -in the intervals between gulps. About ten o'clock they finished tea, -and Anninka said imploringly: - -"May I leave now, uncle?" - -"And what about a bite? What about dinner? Did you really think your -uncle would let you leave on an empty stomach? Nay, nay. We are not -used to such things at Golovliovo. Why, mother dear would have refused -to look at me again if she knew I let my own niece go without a morsel. -Don't dare think of it. Why, it's impossible." - -Again she had to surrender. An hour and a half passed, but there were -no signs of preparation for dinner. Everybody was going about his -business. Yevpraksia, her bunch of keys jingling, was seen in the -yard darting between the pantry and the cellar. Porfiry Vladimirych -was explaining things to his clerk, wearying him with meaningless -orders and incessantly slapping his own thighs in an effort to while -away the time. Anninka, left to herself, walked up and down the -dining-room, looked at the clock, counted her steps, then the ticks of -the clock--one, two, three. At times she glanced out of the window and -noticed the puddles were growing larger and larger. - -Finally knives, forks and plates began to rattle. The butler Stepan -entered the dining-room and spread a cloth upon the table. It seemed as -if a part of Yudushka's idle bustle had communicated itself to him. He -shuffled the plates sluggishly, breathed on the drinking glasses, and -examined them, holding them up to the light. Dinner began just at one -o'clock. - -"Well, so you are going," Porfiry Vladimirych opened the conversation, -in a manner befitting the occasion. Before him was a plate of soup, but -he did not touch it. He looked at Anninka so affectionately that the -tip of his nose turned red. - -Anninka swallowed her soup hastily. At last he took up his spoon and -dipped it in the soup, but changed his mind, and placed it back on the -tablecloth. - -"I am an old man, you'll have to pardon me," he began nagging, "you -swallowed your soup in a gulp, but I must take it slowly. I don't like -it when people are careless with God's gifts. God gave us bread for -sustenance, and look how much of it you have wasted. Look at all the -crumbs you scattered. Altogether, I like to do things thoroughly and -carefully. It comes out safer in the end. Maybe it annoys you that I -am not quick enough, that I can't jump through a hoop, or whatever -you call it. Well, what can I do? If you feel like being annoyed, go -ahead. I know you will be cross a little while and then forgive the old -man. Remember, _you_ are not going to be young always. You will not be -jumping through hoops all of your life. Life will give you experience -and teach you wisdom. Then you will say, 'Maybe uncle was right after -all.' So, my dear, now while you listen to me, you probably think, -'Uncle is no good. Uncle is an old grouch.' But if you live to my old -age, you'll pipe a different tune. You'll say, 'Uncle was nice. Uncle -was a dear. Uncle taught me right.'" - -Porfiry Vladimirych crossed himself and swallowed two spoonfuls of -soup, then put his spoon down and leaned back in his chair as a sign of -an ensuing monologue. - -"Bloodsucker!" was on the tip of her tongue, but she pulled herself up, -poured out a glass of water, and drank it at a gulp. Yudushka sensed -her mental state. - -"So, you don't like it? Well, like it or not, you'd better take uncle's -advice. I've been long meaning to talk to you about your hasty way of -doing things, but I could not find the time to do it. I don't like that -haste in you. There is fickleness in it, a lack of judgment. When you -left your old grandmother, you had no business to leave her and cause -the old woman anxiety. I really don't see why you did it." - -"Oh, uncle, why recall it? It's done. It isn't kind of you." - -"Wait. That's not the point I'm making--kind or unkind--what I want to -say is that even when a thing has been done, it can be undone, or done -all over again. Not only we mortals, but even God alters His deeds. -Now He sends rain, now He sends fair weather. So, suppose--really, the -theatre isn't a good place--suppose you decide to stay." - -"No, uncle, let's not speak about it, I beg of you." - -"And there's another thing I want to tell you. Your fickleness is bad -enough, but what is still worse is the way you slight the advice of -your elders. I speak for your own good and you say, 'Let's not speak -about it.' Uncle is kind and tender, and you snap at him. But do you -know who gave you your uncle? Well, tell me--who?" - -Anninka looked at him in perplexity. - -"God gave you your uncle, that is who. God did it. If not for God, you -would now be all alone in the world, you would not know how to manage -things, or how to file a petition or where to file it, and what to -expect from it. You would be lost in the woods. Anybody could deceive -you, abuse you or even disgrace you. You see? And with the aid of God -and your uncle the whole deal went through in one day. We went to -town, and filed a petition and got the necessary mandates. You see, my -dear, what uncle can do?" - -"Yes, uncle, I am grateful to you." - -"Well, if you are, don't snap at me, and do as I tell you. I mean your -good, though at times it seems to you that----" - -Anninka could hardly control herself. There was one way left to rid -herself of uncle's sermons--to feign that in principle she accepted his -proposal to remain at Golovliovo. - -"All right, uncle," she said, "I'll think it over. I myself feel it is -not quite proper to live alone, far from relatives. But I can't make up -my mind now--I'll have to think it over." - -"Well, I am glad to see you have understood me, but what is there to -think over? We'll have the horses unhitched, your trunks taken out of -the cart--that's all the thinking there is to be done." - -"No, uncle, you forget I have a sister." - -Whether her argument convinced Porfiry Vladimirych or whether the whole -scene had been staged for the mere show of it, it is hard to say. -Porfiry Vladimirych himself did not know whether Anninka really ought -to stay at Golovliovo or whether it was simply a whim of his. At any -rate, from that moment on dinner proceeded at a livelier pace. Anninka -agreed to everything he said and answered his questions in a manner -that did not provoke much nagging and babbling. Nevertheless, the clock -showed half past two when dinner was over. Anninka jumped up from the -table as if she had been sitting in a steam bath, and ran to her uncle -to say good-by. - -In ten minutes Yudushka, in his fur coat and bear-skin boots, saw her -to the porch and in person supervised the process of seating the young -mistress in the pony cart. - -"Easy when you go downhill--you hear? And see that you don't drop her -out at the Senkino slope!" he shouted to the driver. - -Finally Anninka was seated, wrapped up, and the leather cover of the -cart was fastened. - -"Suppose you stay!" Yudushka shouted again, wishing that in the -presence of the servants gathered about, all go off properly as befits -good kinsfolk. But Anninka already felt free, and was suddenly seized -with a desire to play a girlish prank. She stood up in the cart and -emphasizing every word, said, "No, uncle, I will not! You are a fright!" - -Yudushka pretended not to hear, but his lips turned pale. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -Anninka was so overjoyed at her liberation from the Golovliovo bondage, -that she did not even stop to think of the man who at her departure -lost all contact with the world of living beings. She thought only -of herself. She enjoyed the feeling of escape. And the sensation of -freedom was so strong that when she visited the grave at Voplino again -there was no longer a trace of that nervous sensibility which she had -betrayed the first time. She listened to the requiem quietly, bowed -before the grave without shedding a tear, and quite willingly accepted -the priest's invitation to have tea with him. - -The house of the Voplino priest was very scantily furnished. The -only room of state in the house, which served as the reception room, -looked naked and dreary. Along the walls were arranged about a dozen -painted chairs, upholstered with haircloth, in holes here and there, -and a sofa of the same kind with its back bulging out, like the chest -of an old-time general. Against one of the walls between two windows -stood a plain table covered with a soiled cloth, on which lay several -confession books of the parish. From behind them peeped an inkpot with -a quill stuck in it. An image case containing an ikon handed down as a -family heirloom and a burning ikon lamp were suspended in the eastern -corner of the room. Underneath the image case stood two trunks covered -with a drab faded cloth holding the family linen, the dowry of the lady -of the house. The walls were not papered. A few daguerreotype portraits -of bishops hung in the center of one wall. There was a peculiar odor -in the room, as if many generations of flies and black beetles had met -their fate there. The priest himself, though a young man, had become -considerably faded amidst these surroundings. His thin flaxen hair hung -from his head in long, straight locks, like the boughs of a weeping -willow. His eyes, once blue, were now lifeless. His voice trembled, his -beard had taken on a wedge-like shape, his merino cassock hung on him -loosely. His wife, also young, looked even more faded than her husband, -because of frequent child bearing. - -Nevertheless, Anninka could not help noticing that even these poor -timid, worn-out people looked upon her not as at a real parishioner, -but in pity, as if she were a lost sheep. - -"You were visiting at your uncle's?" began the priest, carefully -removing a cup of tea from the tray held by his wife. - -"Yes, I stayed there about a week." - -"Porfiry Vladimirych is now the chief landowner in the district, and -has the greatest power. But it looks as if luck is not with him. First -one son died, then the other, and now his mother has departed. I am -surprised he did not insist on your staying with him." - -"Uncle wanted me to stay, but I did not care to." - -"Why so?" - -"I prefer to live in freedom." - -"Freedom, madam, is not a bad thing, of course, but it has its -dangers. And when you think you are the nearest relative to Porfiry -Vladimirych, you could forego a bit of that freedom, I imagine." - -"No, father, one's own bread tastes better. It's easier to live when -you know you are under no obligations to anyone." - -The priest looked at her with his extinguished eyes, as if he meant to -ask, "Come now, do you really know what 'one's own bread is?'" but he -had not the courage to hurt her, so he only drew his cassock closer -about him. - -"Do you receive much salary as an actress?" inquired the priest's wife. - -The priest became thoroughly frightened, and even began to wink at his -wife. He expected Anninka to be offended, but Anninka was not offended -and answered without a waver, "At present I get a hundred and fifty -rubles a month, and my sister earns one hundred. But then we have -benefit performances. All told, the two of us net about six thousand a -year." - -"Why does sister get less? Is she of inferior merit, or what?" -continued the priest's wife. - -"No, hers is a different _genre._ I have a voice and I sing. The -audience likes it more. Sister's voice is a little weaker. So she plays -in vaudeville mostly." - -"So even in acting some are priests, some deacons and others just -sextons?" - -"Yes, but we share our income equally. That was our understanding from -the very beginning--to share all money equally." - -"Like good sisters? Well, there is nothing better than that. How much -will that be, father? If you divide six thousand by months, how much -will that make?" - -"Five hundred rubles a month, and divided by two it makes two hundred -and fifty rubles a month each." - -"My, what a heap of money! We could not spend that much in a year. -Another thing I meant to ask you, is it true that actresses are treated -as if they were not real women?" - -The priest became so alarmed that his cassock flew open; but seeing -that Anninka took the question quite indifferently, he said to himself, -"Eh--eh--she is really a hard nut to crack," and felt reassured. - -"What do you mean 'not real women?'" she asked. - -"Well, they kiss and embrace. I heard they must do it whether they want -to or not." - -"No, they don't kiss--they only pretend to. And as to whether they want -to or not, that is out of the question entirely, because everything is -done according to the play. They must act whatever is written in the -play." - -"Yes, but even if it's in the play--you know--sometimes a man with a -slabbery snout sidles up to you. He is loathsome to look at, but you've -got to hold your lips ready to let him kiss you." - -A blush suffused Anninka's face. There suddenly flashed up in her -memory the slabbery face of the brave Captain Papkov, who had actually -"sidled up to her" and, alas! not even in accordance with the play. - -"You have a wrong notion of what takes place on the stage," she said -drily. - -"Of course, we've never been to the theatre, but I am sure many things -happen there. Father and I have often been speaking about you, madam. -We are sorry for you, very sorry, indeed." - -Anninka was silent. The priest tugged at his beard as if he, too, had -finally gathered up enough courage to say something. - -"Of course, it must be admitted, madam, that every calling has its -agreeable and disagreeable sides," he at last delivered himself, "but -we humans in our failings extol the former and try to forget the -latter. And why do we try to forget? Because, madam, we want as far as -possible to avoid even the remembrance of duty and of the virtuous life -we formerly led." He heaved a sigh and added, "And above all, madam, -you must guard your treasure." - -The priest glanced at Anninka admonishingly, and his wife shook her -head sadly, as much as to say, "Not much chance of that." - -"And it is very doubtful whether you can preserve your treasure while -an actress," he continued. - -Anninka was at a loss what answer to make to these warnings. Little -by little she began to see that the talk of these simple-minded folk -about her "treasure" was of the same value as the pointed remarks of -the officers of the regiments stationed in the various towns about _la -chose._ Now it became quite clear to her that both at her uncle's and -at the priest's she was considered a peculiar individual to whom one -may condescend, but from a distance, so as not to soil oneself. - -"Father, why is your church so poor?" she asked to change the subject. - -"There is nothing here to make it rich--that's why it's poor. The -landlords are all away in the government service, and the peasants -haven't much to thrive on. In all there are a little over two hundred -parishioners." - -"Our bell, you see, is a very poor one," sighed the priest's wife. - -"Yes, the bell and everything. Our bell, madam, weighs only five -hundred pounds, and to make matters worse, it is cracked. It does not -ring, it coughs. To be so poor is even sinful. The late Arina Petrovna -promised to erect a new bell and, if she were alive we would most -likely have a new bell by now." - -"Why don't you tell uncle that grandmother promised you one?" - -"I did tell him, madam, and I must admit he listened very kindly to my -grievance, but he could not give me a satisfactory answer. He said he -had heard nothing about it from mother; that his late dear mother had -never spoken about the matter. He would gladly carry out her wishes, he -said, if he had only heard mother express them." - -"He could not help hearing them," said the priest's wife. "It was known -throughout the district." - -"So we live on in this wise. At first we had hopes, at least, now we -have no hopes left. Not to mention our own personal needs, there is -nothing to perform the service with sometimes--neither host nor red -wine." - -Anninka wanted to rise and take leave, but a new tray appeared on the -table, with two dishes on it, one of mushrooms, the other with bits of -caviar, and a bottle of Madeira. - -"Do oblige us and have a bite--it's the best we have." - -Anninka obeyed and quickly swallowed some mushrooms, but refused the -Madeira. - -"Another thing I meant to ask," continued the priest's wife, "we -have a girl in our parish, the daughter of a peasant in the service -of Lyshechevsky. She was the chambermaid of a certain actress in St. -Petersburg. She says the life of an actress is very easy and pleasant, -but an actress must produce a special passport every month. Is that -true?" - -Anninka stared at her and did not understand. - -"That is for the greater freedom," explained the priest. "But I -think she did not tell the truth. On the contrary, I heard that many -actresses even get pensions from the government for their services." - -Anninka became convinced that matters were going from bad to worse, and -she rose to take leave. - -"We thought you would give up acting now," the priest's wife persisted. - -"Why should I?" - -"Yes, but--you are a lady. You have reached your majority, you have an -estate of your own--what could be better?" - -"And you are your uncle's heiress, you know," added the priest. - -"No, I sha'n't live here." - -"And how we were hoping for it! The father and I would often speak -about our little mistress. We thought you would surely come to live at -Pogorelka. In the summer it is very nice here. You can go to the woods -and pick mushrooms," tempted the priest's wife. - -"We have mushrooms even in a dry summer, plenty of mushrooms," chimed -the priest. - -At last Anninka left. When she reached Pogorelka, her first word was, -"Horses! Please have the horses ready at once!" But Fedulych only -shrugged his shoulders. - -"What's the use of shouting horses? We haven't fed them yet," he -grumbled. - -"But why? Oh, my God, as if everybody were conspiring against me!" - -"That's it, we have conspired. How can you help conspiring if it's -clear as day that we can't ride at night in thawing weather? Anyway, -you'll get stranded in the mud a whole night, so it is better to be -stranded at home, I think." - -Grandmother's apartments had been well heated. The bedroom had been -prepared, and a samovar was puffing on the table. Afimyushka scraped -together the remnants of tea at the bottom of Arina Petrovna's -tea-caddy. While the tea was drawing, Fedulych stood at the door, his -arms folded, facing the young mistress. Beside him stood the cattle -woman and Morkovna looking as if at the first wave of the hand they -were ready to flee for their lives. - -Fedulych was first to begin the conversation. - -"The tea is grandmother's--just a bit left in the bottom of the box. -Porfiry Vladimirych was going to take the box away, too, but I wouldn't -let him. 'Maybe,' I say, 'the young mistress will come and will want -to have some hot tea. So let it stay here till she gets some of her -own.' Well, I had no trouble with him--he even joked. 'You old rascal,' -he says, 'you will use it up yourself! Be sure,' he says, 'to bring -the box to Golovliovo.' I wouldn't be surprised if he sends for it -tomorrow." - -"You should have given it to him then." - -"Why should we? He has enough tea of his own. And now, at least, we, -too, will have some after you. Another thing, madam, are you going to -make us over to Porfiry Vladimirych?" - -"Why, I never meant to." - -"Just so. We were going to mutiny, you know. If, supposing, let's say, -we are put under the rule of the Golovliovo master, we will all hand in -our resignations." - -"Why? Is uncle really so terrible?" - -"No, he is not terrible, but he tortures you, he is all words. He can -talk a man into his grave." - -Anninka smiled involuntarily. It was vile dirt indeed, that oozed from -Yudushka's orations, not mere babble. It was an ill-smelling wound from -which the pus flowed incessantly. - -"And what have you decided, about yourself?" Fedulych continued to -question. - -"Why, what was there to decide about myself?" said Anninka, a bit -confused, feeling that she would again be compelled to listen to -orations on the "treasure." - -"Aren't you really going to give up acting?" - -"No--that is, I haven't thought of it so far. But what harm is there in -my earning my own bread?" - -"I don't see any good in going with a bagpipe from fair to fair to -amuse drunkards. Surely you are a lady." - -Anninka did not reply, only knitting her brows. A painful thought -drummed in her head, "God, when will I leave this place?" - -"Of course, you know better how to take care of yourself. But we -thought you would come back to live with us. The house is warm, -and roomy enough to play tag in. The late mistress looked after -the building herself. And if you feel dull, why then you can go -sleigh-riding. In the summer you can go to the woods to pick mushrooms." - -"We have all kinds of mushrooms here--lots of them," lisped Afimyushka -temptingly. - -Anninka leaned her elbows on the table and tried not to listen. - -"There was a girl here," continued Fedulych cruelly. "She was a -chambermaid in St. Petersburg. She says all actresses must have special -passports. Every month they have to present their license at the police -station." - -Anninka could bear it no longer. She had had to listen to such speeches -all day long. - -"Fedulych!" she shouted in pain. "What have I done to you? Why do you -take pleasure in insulting me?" - -It was all she could stand. She felt as if something was strangling -her. Another word--and she would break down. - - - - -BOOK V - -FORBIDDEN FAMILY JOYS - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Not long before the catastrophe that befell Petenka, Arina Petrovna, -on one of her visits to Golovliovo, noticed a change in Yevpraksia. -Brought up in the practices of serfdom, where the pregnancy of -a domestic was the subject of a detailed and not uninteresting -investigation, and was even considered an item of income, Arina -Petrovna had a keen eye for such matters. She merely looked at -Yevpraksia, and the girl, without saying a word, turned away her -flushed face in full cognizance of her guilt. - -"Come now, come now, my lady. Look at me. Pregnant, eh?" the -experienced old woman asked the young culprit. However, there was no -reproach in her voice, on the contrary, it sounded jocose, almost gay, -as if the old woman scented a whiff of the dear, good, old times. - -Yevpraksia, bashful and complacent, kept silence, but under Arina -Petrovna's inquisitive look, the red of her cheeks deepened. - -"For some time I have been noticing that you walk kind of stiff, -strutting about and twirling your skirts as if you were a respectable -lady! But, my dear, you can't fool me with your strutting and twirling. -I can see your girlish tricks five versts ahead! Is it the wind that -puffed you up? Since when is it? Out with it now. Tell me all about -it." - -A detailed inquiry ensued, followed by a no less detailed explanation. -When had the first symptoms appeared? Had she a midwife in view? Did -Porfiry Vladimirych know of the joy in store for him? Was Yevpraksia -taking good care of herself? Was she careful not to lift anything -heavy? The findings were that it was now the fifth month since -Yevpraksia had been pregnant; that she had no midwife in view as yet; -that Porfiry Vladimirych had been informed of the matter, but had said -nothing. He had only folded his hands, mumbled something, and glanced -at the ikon, to intimate that all is from God and that He, the Heavenly -Father, provides for all occasions. Yevpraksia had been careless; she -had lifted a samovar and had then and there felt that something inside -of her snapped. - -"You've got brains, I must say," said Arina Petrovna in a grieved -tone when the confession was out. "I see I'll have to look into the -matter myself. Did you ever! A woman in the fifth month and hasn't even -provided for a midwife! But why at least didn't you see Ulita about it, -you fool, you?" - -"I was going to, but the master doesn't like Ulita, you know." - -"Nonsense, girl, nonsense! Whether Ulita offended the master or not has -nothing at all to do with the case. He doesn't have to kiss her, does -he? No, there is no way out of it. I'll have to take this thing in hand -myself." - -It was on the tip of her tongue to complain that even in her old age -she had hardships to bear, but the subject of the conversation was so -attractive that she only parted her lips with a smack and continued: - -"Well, my girl, you are in for it. Take your medicine, try it and see -how it tastes. Go ahead, just try it. I myself raised three sons and -a daughter, and I buried five little ones--I ought to know. We are no -better than slaves to those nasty men!" she added, slapping herself on -the nape of her neck. - -Suddenly, she stopped, struck by a new idea. "Holy saints! If it isn't -going to be in Lent! Wait, just a moment, let's figure it out." - -They began to figure on their fingers, they figured once, twice, a -third time--it surely came out on a Lenten day. - -"So that's how it is. That's the kind of saint he is. Just wait, I'll -tease the life out of him. A pretty mess for him! I'll tease him. My -name is mud if I won't," jested Arina Petrovna. - -And truly, that very day, when all were gathered at evening tea, Arina -Petrovna began to poke fun at Yudushka. - -"See what a trick our saint has played. Maybe it really is the wind -that puffed your queen up. Well, brother, you've surprised me, I must -say." - -At first Yudushka answered his mother's banter with grimaces of -aversion, but seeing that Arina Petrovna spoke good-naturedly and meant -no harm, he brightened up little by little. - -"You are wag, mother dear, you certainly are," he jested in his turn, -though evading the real point. - -"Why call me a wag? We had better speak seriously about the matter. -It's no joke, you know. It's a 'sacrament,' that's what it is. Though -not a proper one but still----No, we've got to give it serious thought. -What do you think; is she to stay here, or will you send her to the -town?" - -"I don't know, mother, I don't know a thing, darling," said Porfiry -Vladimirych evasively. "You are a wag, you certainly are." - -"Well, my girl, never mind, then. We'll talk it over, just the two of -us, at leisure. We'll figure it out, and arrange things properly. These -mean men--all they need is to satisfy their lust, and we, poor devils, -we get the worst of it." - -Arina Petrovna felt in her element. She spent a whole evening -discussing things with Yevpraksia and could have gone on indefinitely. -Even her cheeks began to glow and her eyes to glitter youthfully. - -"You know, my dear, what it is? It's something divine, it is," she -insisted. "Because, even if it isn't in the proper way, still it's the -natural way. But you had better look out. If it comes during Lent--God -save you! I'll tease you to death, I'll make this world too hot for -you." - -Ulita was also called into the council. First matters of real -importance were taken up; whether an injection was to be made or -whether the abdomen was to be massaged with quicksilver salve. Then -they turned to the favorite theme and figured on their fingers -again--it came out on a Lenten day! Yevpraksia turned as red as a peony -and did not deny it, but pleaded her subordinate position. - -"What could I do?" she said. "I must do what he wants me to do. If the -master orders us to do something, we, poor devils, can't help but obey." - -"Look at her playing the goody-goody. I'll bet, you yourself---" jested -Arina Petrovna. - -The woman fairly revelled in the affair. Arina Petrovna recalled a -number of incidents from her past, and did not fail to narrate them. -First she told of her own pregnancies, what tortures she had had to -stand from Simple Simon; how, while carrying Pavel Vladimirych, she -travelled by post to Moscow, changing horses at every stage so as not -to miss the Dubrovino auction, and as a result nearly departed to the -better world, etc., etc. All her deliveries had been remarkable for -something or other. Yudushka's was the only one that had come easy. - -"I didn't feel the least bit of heaviness," she said. "I would sit and -think, 'Lord, am I really pregnant?' And when the time came I just lay -down to rest for a few minutes and I don't know how it happened--I gave -birth to him. He was the easiest son to me, the very, very easiest." - -Then followed stories about domestics, how she herself "caught some of -them in the act," how others were spied upon by her trusties, Ulita -being generally the leader. Her old woman's memory faithfully guarded -these remarkably distinct recollections. In all her drab past--always -devoted to hoarding on both a petty and a large scale, the tracking of -lust-stricken domestics was the only romantic element that touched a -living chord in her. - -It was as if in a dull magazine where the reader expects to find -treatises on dry fogs and Ovid's grave, he suddenly comes upon "See -the troika, gaily dashing," or some such spirited song of gaiety or -sadness. The dénouement of these simple love affairs of the maids' room -was generally drastic and even cruel. The woman was married off into -a remote village, by all means to a widower with a large family, the -male culprit was degraded to the position of a cattle tender or even -pressed into military service. Arina Petrovna's recollection of the -closing chapters of such romances had faded (cultured people have a -memory indulgent of their own past), but the spying out of the amorous -intrigues passed before her eyes in all its vividness. And no wonder. -In those days there was the same absorbing interest in spying of that -sort as there is nowadays in the serial "evening story," in which the -author, instead of at once crowning the mutual longing of the hero and -the heroine, breaks off at the most pathetic place and writes, "to be -continued." - -"Those girls gave me no end of trouble. Some would keep up the pretense -to the last minute, and would feign and sham in the hope of eluding me. -But no, my dear, you can't fool me. I am an old hand at it myself," she -added almost sternly, as if threatening some one. - -Finally came the stories of diplomatic pregnancies, so to speak, in -which Arina Petrovna had figured not as the chastiser, but as the -accomplice and concealer. - -For example, her father Piotr Ivanych, when he was an old, tottering -man of seventy, had also had a "mistress," who had also been discovered -with an "increment"; and for higher considerations it had been -necessary to conceal the "increment" from the old man. As ill luck -would have it, Arina Petrovna was then at odds with her brother Piotr -Petrovich who, also for some diplomatic reasons, had wanted to spy upon -the pregnancy and leave his father in no doubt as to his lady-love's -position. - -"And what do you think? We carried the whole thing through almost in -front of father's nose. The old dear slept in his bedroom, and the two -of us, alongside of him, went on with our work, quietly, in a whisper -and on tiptoe. I myself with my own hands closed up her mouth, so she -could not scream, disposed of the linen, and then grabbed hold of her -baby--he was a fine, big fellow--and dispatched him to the foundling -asylum. When brother learned about it a week later he only gasped." - -There had been another diplomatic pregnancy. Her cousin Varvara -Mikhailovna had been involved in the case. Her husband had left on a -campaign against the Turks, and she had not been sufficiently careful. -She came galloping to Golovliovo like one possessed and had shouted -"Save me, cousin!" - -"Well, though we were on the outs with her at that time, I did not make -her feel it. I welcomed her in the most hospitable way, calmed her, -reassured her, pretended she had just come to us on a visit, and fixed -the matter up so that her husband did not know a thing about it till -his dying day." - -Thus ran the tales of Arina Petrovna, and seldom has a narrator found -more attentive listeners. Yevpraksia swallowed every word as if the -incidents of a wonderful fairy tale were actually passing before her -eyes. As to Ulita, she as an erstwhile participant in most of it, only -made smacking sounds with the corners of her lips. - -Ulita also brightened up and felt more comfortable than she had for a -long time. Hers was a restless life. Even in childhood she had burned -with servile ambitions. Sleeping and waking, she would dream about -gaining favor in her master's eyes and getting the whiphand over those -in her own station in life. But her dreams never came true. As soon -as she set foot on the rung higher up, she would be tugged back and -plunged into the inferno by an unseen, mysterious power. She possessed -in perfection the qualities of an all-round servant of the gentlefolk. -She was venomous, evil-tongued and always ready for treachery, but -also slavishly ready to go anywhere and do anything that neutralized -her viciousness. In former days, when it was necessary to follow up an -event in the maid servants' room, or settle any dubious affair, Arina -Petrovna had gladly made use of her services, though she had never -appreciated them and had not admitted her to any office of trust. -Ulita would then make loud complaints, and sting with her tongue, -but no one paid attention to her grumblings, for she was well known -as a malevolent woman, ready to curse herself and others to eternal -damnation, but the next moment at a mere wink willing to come running -and sit up on her hind legs prepared to do her master's bidding. - -And so she had been knocked about, always trying to get somewhere and -never getting there, till the abolition of serfdom put an end to her -slavish ambitions. - -One event in Ulita's youth had kindled in her great hopes. Porfiry -Vladimirych, on one of his visits to Golovliovo, had become intimate -with her, and, as tradition had it, had even had a child by her. That -had brought down upon him the wrath of Arina Petrovna. It is uncertain -whether the relationship had been kept up on his subsequent visits; at -any rate, when Yudushka decided to establish himself permanently at -Golovliovo, Ulita's hopes had been shattered grievously. Immediately -after his arrival she came to him with a heap of gossip, in which -Arina Petrovna was accused of all sorts of fraud. The master listened -very affably to her gossip, but gave Ulita a cold look, evidently -failing to remember her former "good services." Offended and deceived -in her hopes, Ulita transferred herself to Dubrovino, where Pavel -Vladimirych, because of his hatred for his dear brother Porfiry -Vladimirych, received her gladly and even made her his housekeeper. -Here for a long time her condition seemed to improve. Pavel Vladimirych -would sit in the entresol and sip one glass of vodka after another, -and she would run busily from storeroom to cellar, clanging a bunch -of keys, and rattling her tongue. She had even quarrelled with Arina -Petrovna, whom the sly wench nearly drove to her grave. - -But Ulita loved treachery too well to be content with the peace and -quiet that had come with her "good living." That was when Pavel -Vladimirych had become so addicted to drink that his end could readily -be foreseen. Porfiry Vladimirych was alive to Ulita's priceless value -at this juncture, and he snapped his fingers again and summoned her. -He ordered her never for a moment to leave his prey, not to contradict -Pavel in anything, not even in his hatred of his brother Porfiry, and -by all means to eliminate the interference of Arina Petrovna. This -had been one of those domestic crimes which Yudushka had a gift of -perpetrating without previous deliberation, spontaneously, and as a -matter of course. Needless to say, Ulita carried out his orders most -faithfully. Pavel Vladimirych never ceased to hate his brother, and the -more he hated him, the more he drank his vodka, and the less capable -he became of heeding the remarks and advice of Arina Petrovna as to -"making provisions." Every moment of the dying man, every word uttered -were at once reported to Golovliovo, so that Yudushka, equipped with a -full knowledge of the facts, could determine the exact moment he should -have to leave his ambush and step in as master of the situation that -he had created. And so he had! He had come to Dubrovino at the very -moment that he could get the estate for the asking. Porfiry Vladimirych -had rewarded Ulita's services by making her a gift of cloth for a -woolen dress, but he never admitted her close to him. - -Again Ulita had been plunged from the heights of grandeur into the -depths of inferno. It seemed to be her last fall. No one would snap his -fingers again and summon her for service. As a sign of special favor -and in consideration of her "nursing dear brother in his last days," -she had been allotted a nook in the house where all the deserving old -servants, who had remained after the abolition of serfdom, had found -shelter. Here Ulita had become completely cowed, and when Porfiry -Vladimirych made his choice of Yevpraksia, she not only had not shown -any obstinacy, but had even been first to come to do homage to the -master's love and had kissed her shoulder. - -And now, when she had given herself up as forgotten and abandoned, -she struck luck once more in Yevpraksia's pregnancy. It was suddenly -recalled that somewhere in the servants' room there was a handy person. -Somebody snapped her fingers and summoned Ulita. True, it was not the -master who had snapped his fingers. But that he offered no obstacles -was in itself sufficient grace. Ulita celebrated her entry into the -Golovliovo manor by taking the samovar from Yevpraksia's hands. -Bending sidewise a bit, with the weight of it, she walked smartly into -the dining-room, where Porfiry Vladimirych was already seated. The -master said not a word. He even smiled, she thought, when upon another -occasion, as she was bringing in the samovar, she shouted from a -distance, "Step to one side, master, or I'll scald you." - -When Ulita answered the summons to the family council she made wry -faces at first and refused to be seated. But when Arina Petrovna -shouted at her in a kindly way, "Sit down,--will you? What's the use of -your tricks? God made us all equal--be seated." Ulita sat down and kept -silence a while. Very shortly, however, her tongue unloosened. - -She, too, had her reminiscences. Her memory was stuffed with filth -from the days of her serfdom. Beside the carrying out of delicate -commissions like dogging the amorous doings of the maids' room, Ulita -had also held the office of leech and apothecary in the Golovliovo -manor. It was she who made all the injections, and applied the -cupping-glasses and mustard plasters. She had given even the old -master, Vladimir Mikhailych and Arina Petrovna injections, and the -young master, too--every one of them. She retained the most grateful -memories, and now there was a boundless field for all her reminiscences. - -A new mysterious life animated the Golovliovo manor. Arina Petrovna -would come over from Pogorelka every now and then to pay her "good son" -a visit and supervise preparations that as yet were given no name. -After the evening, the three women would go into Yevpraksia's room, -would eat some homemade jam, play fool, and, till late into the night, -would revel in reminiscences that would often make the heroine of the -occasion blush. The least incident, the smallest trifle, served as -a pretext for endless narrations. Yevpraksia brought some raspberry -jam, and Arina Petrovna began a story that when she was carrying her -daughter Sonya she could not stand even the smell of raspberries. - -"No sooner did a raspberry come into the house than I began to yell -at the top of my voice, 'Out, out with that damned thing!' After my -confinement it was all right again; I liked raspberries again." - -Yevpraksia brought some caviar--and Arina Petrovna had an incident to -recall in connection with caviar, too. - -"A really wonderful thing happened to me in connection with caviar. It -was a month or two after I was married and suddenly I was seized with -such a strong desire for caviar that I simply had to have it at any -cost. I would sneak into the cellar and eat as much as I could. And -once I said to my husband, 'Vladimir Mikhailych, why is it that I eat -caviar all the time?' He smiled at me, you know, and said, 'My dear, -it is because you are pregnant.' And surely enough, just nine months -afterward I gave birth to Simple Simon." - -But Porfiry Vladimirych continued to be noncommittal, never once -admitting that he had anything to do with Yevpraksia's condition. Quite -naturally this attitude of his embarrassed the women and dampened their -effusions in his presence, so that he came to be completely abandoned. -They chased him without ceremony from Yevpraksia's room when he came in -the evening to rest up and have a chat. - -"Be gone, you fine fellow!" Arina Petrovna said gaily. "You did your -part. Now it's none of your business any more, it's the women's -business. It's our turn now." - -Yudushka took himself off in all meekness. Though not neglecting to -reproach his mother dear for being unkind to him, he rejoiced inwardly -that she was taking so much interest in the embarrassing affair, and -that he was left alone. If not for his mother's participation, God -knows what he would have had to undergo in order to hush up the nasty -affair, the very thought of which made him spit out in disgust. Now, -thanks to the experience of Arina Petrovna and the skill of Ulita, -he hoped the "trouble" would pass without gaining publicity, and he -himself, perhaps, would learn of the results after all was over. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Porfiry Vladimirych's hopes were not realized. First occurred the -catastrophe with Petenka, then Arina Petrovna's death. And there was no -possibility in sight of his extricating himself by means of some ugly -machinations. He could not dismiss Yevpraksia for dissolute conduct, -because Arina Petrovna had carried the affair too far and made it too -widely known. Nor was Ulita so very reliable. Dexterous woman though -she was, yet if he put his trust in her, he might have to deal with -the coroner. For the first time in his life Yudushka seriously and -sincerely regretted his loneliness; for the first time he realized -vaguely that the people around him were not mere pawns to be played -with. - -"Why didn't she wait a while to die?" Yudushka reproached his mother -dear. "She should have fixed it all up quietly and with good sense, -and then--as she pleased! If it's time to die--you can't help it. I am -sorry for the old woman. But if God wills it so, all our tears, and the -doctors, and the cures, and all of us are naught before the power of -God. The old woman lived long enough. She had her day--was herself a -mistress all her life, and left her children a gentry estate. She lived -to old age--well that's enough." - -And as usual his idle mind, not used to dwell on a matter presenting -practical obstacles, skipped to the easier topic that gave occasion to -endless, unhampered verbiage. - -"And to think how she died! Why, her death was worthy of a saint," he -lied to himself, not knowing, though, whether he lied or spoke the -truth. "Without ailment, without trouble--just so. She heaved a sigh, -and before we knew it, she was no more. Oh, mother dear! And her smile, -and the glow of her cheeks! Her hands placed together as if she wanted -to confer a blessing. She shut her eyes and--good-by!" - -But in the very heat of his sentimental babblings, something would -suddenly prick him. That filthy business again. Fi, fi! "And really why -didn't she wait a while! It was only a matter of a month or so, and -now, look what she did!" - -For some time he attempted to pretend ignorance, and answered Ulita's -inquiries just as he had answered his mother's, "I don't know, I don't -know anything." - -But Ulita, an impudent woman, who had suddenly become conscious of her -power, could not be dismissed like that. - -"Do _I_ know? Have I brought this business on?" she cut him short. And -then he realized that from that moment on the happy combination of the -rôle of adulterer with the rôle of the unconcerned observer of the -consequences of his adultery had become quite impossible. - -Nearer and nearer came the disaster, inevitable, tangible. It pursued -him relentlessly and--what was worst of all--it paralyzed his idle -mind. He exerted all possible efforts to rid himself of the thought of -the approaching calamity, to drown it in a torrent of idle words, but -he succeeded only in part. He tried to hide behind the infallibility -of the law of Providence and, as was his custom, turned it into a ball -of thread which he could wind and unwind without end. There was the -parable of the hair falling from a man's head, and the legend of the -house built on sand; but just at the moment when his idle thoughts were -about to roll down into a kind of mysterious abyss, when the endless -winding of the ball seemed quite assured, a single word suddenly -jumped out from the ambush and broke the thread. Alas! That one word -was "adultery" and designated an act of which Yudushka did not wish to -confess himself guilty even to himself. - -When all his efforts to forget the disaster or to do away with it -proved futile, when he realized at last that he was caught, his soul -became filled with anguish. He walked back and forth in the room, -thinking of nothing, and he felt that something inside of him trembled -and ached. It was a check that his idle mind felt for the first time. -Up to now, wherever his idle and empty imagination carried him, it -always found boundless space, space that gave room to all possible -kinds of combinations. Even the deaths of Volodka and Petka, even the -death of Arina Petrovna had not baffled his flow of idle thoughts and -words. Those were common, well recognized situations, met by well -recognized, well established forms--requiems, funeral dinners, and -the like. All this he had done in strict accordance with the custom -and thus vindicated himself, so to speak, before the laws of man and -Providence. But adultery--what was that? Why, that meant an arraignment -of his entire life, the showing up of its inner sham. Though he had -formerly been known as a pettifogger, even as a Bloodsucker, gossip -had had so little legal background that he could safely retort, "Prove -it!" - -And now, all of a sudden--adulterer! A known, convicted adulterer. He -had not even resorted to "measures," so great had been his confidence -in Arina Petrovna; he had not even worked up a story to cover the -thing. And on a Lenten day at that. The shame of it! - -In these inner talks with himself, in spite of their confusion, there -was something like an awakening of conscience. But the question was -whether Yudushka would continue along that path or whether his idle -mind would even in this grave matter perform its usual function -of finding a loophole through which he could crawl out and emerge -unscathed. - -While Yudushka was thus smarting under his own mental vacuity, -Yevpraksia was undergoing an unexpected inner change. Evidently the -anticipation of motherhood untied the mental fetters that had hitherto -held her bound. Up to that time she had been indifferent to everything -and regarded Porfiry Vladimirych as a "master" in relation to whom she -was a mere subordinate. Now, for the first time, she grasped a definite -idea. It began to dawn on her that here was a state of affairs where -she was the most important figure, and where she could not be driven -about with impunity. As a consequence, even her face, usually blank and -stolid, became lighted up and intelligent. - -The death of Arina Petrovna had been the first fact in her -semi-conscious life that produced a sobering effect upon her. No -matter how peculiar the attitude of the old mistress to Yevpraksia's -prospective motherhood was, still there were glimpses of sympathy -in it and nothing of the disgusting evasiveness of Yudushka. So -Yevpraksia had begun to see a protector in Arina Petrovna, as if -expecting that some kind of attack was being planned against her. The -forebodings of that attack were all the more persistent since they were -not illuminated by consciousness, but merely filled the whole of her -being with vague anxiety. Her mind was not vigorous enough to tell her -definitely the point from which the attack would come and the form it -would take; but her instincts had already been so aroused that the very -sight of Yudushka filled her with an inexplicable fear. "Yes, that's -where it will come from," reverberated in the inner chambers of her -soul--from that coffin filled with dead dust, from that coffin she had -so long been tending like a hireling, from that coffin which by some -miracle had become the father and lord of _her_ child! The feeling -this thought awakened in her was akin to hatred and would inevitably -have passed into hatred had it not been diverted by the sympathy and -interest of Arina Petrovna, who, by constant chatter, never gave -Yevpraksia a chance to think. - -But Arina Petrovna retired to Pogorelka, and then vanished entirely. -The feeling of anxiety and uneasiness in Yevpraksia became still more -intense. - -The stillness in which the Golovliovo manor became engulfed was broken -only by a rustle announcing that Yudushka was stealing through the -corridors, listening at the doors. Or sometimes, some one of the -servants would come running from the yard and bang the door of the -maids' room. But then stillness would again creep in from all sides. It -was a dead stillness that filled Yevpraksia's being with superstitions -and anguish. And since she was nearing her time, she had not even the -sleepy feeling to look forward to that came in the evening after a day -of household chores. - -She tried once or twice to be affectionate with Porfiry Vladimirych and -engage his kindly sympathies. Her attempts only resulted in brief but -mean scenes that reacted painfully even on her crude sensibilities. -All that was left to her was to sit with her arms folded and think, -that is, be alarmed. And as to the causes for alarm, they multiplied -daily. The death of Arina Petrovna had untied Yudushka's hands and -introduced into the Golovliovo manor a new element of tale-bearing, -which thereafter became the one thing in which Yudushka's soul reveled. - -Ulita was aware that Porfiry Vladimirych was afraid and that with his -idle, empty, perfidious character fear bordered on hatred. Besides, she -knew very well that he was incapable not only of attachment but even of -simple pity, and he kept Yevpraksia only because, thanks to her, his -daily life flowed on in an undeviating rut. Equipped with these simple -data, Ulita was in a position to nurse the feeling of hatred that arose -in Yudushka whenever he was reminded of the coming "disaster." - -Soon Yevpraksia became entangled in a web of gossip. Ulita every now -and then "reported" to the master. In one instance she complained about -the wasteful disposal of house provisions. - -"I am afraid, master, your stuff is spent a bit too fast. I went to the -cellar a while ago to get cured beef. I remembered a new tub had been -begun not long ago, and--would you believe it? I look into the tub and -find only two or three slices at the bottom." - -"Is it possible?" said Porfiry Vladimirych, staring at her. - -"If I had not seen it myself, I shouldn't have believed it, either. -It's surprising what heaps of stuff are used up! Butter, barley, -pickles--everything. Other folk feed their servants on gruel and -goose-fat, but our servants must have it with butter, and sweet butter -at that." - -"Is that so?" exclaimed Porfiry Vladimirych, almost frightened. - -At another time she entered casually and "reported" about the master's -linen. - -"Master, I think you ought to stop Yevpraksia, really. Of course, she -is a girl, inexperienced, but still, take the linen for instance. She -wasted piles of it on bed sheets and swaddling clothes, and it's all -fine linen, you know." - -Porfiry Vladimirych merely cast a fiery glance, but the whole of his -empty being was thrown into convulsions by her "report." - -"Of course, she cares for her infant," continued Ulita, in a -mellifluous voice. "She thinks Lord knows what, a prince is going to -be born. And I think that he, I mean the infant, could well sleep on -fustian bedding--with such a mother." - -At times she simply teased Yudushka. - -"Do you know, master, what I was going to ask you?" she began. "What -are you going to do about the infant? Are you going to make him your -son, or will you, like other folk, put him in the foundling asylum." - -At this Porfiry Vladimirych flashed such a fierce glance at her that -she was instantly silenced. - -And amidst the hatred that was rising from every corner, the moment -drew nearer and nearer when the appearance of a tiny, crying, "servant -of God" would in one way or another bring order into the moral chaos -of the Golovliovo manor, and would increase the number of the "servants -of God" that inhabit this universe. - -It was seven o'clock in the evening. Porfiry Vladimirych had had his -after-dinner nap and was in his study filling up sheets of paper with -columns of figures. He was busy with the following problem: How much -money would he now have had, if his dear mother Arina Petrovna had not -appropriated the hundred ruble note his grandfather had given him on -the day of his birth, but had placed it in the bank to the credit of -the minor Porfiry? It came out not much--only eight hundred rubles in -notes. - -"It isn't a lot of money, let's say," Yudushka mused idly, "but still -it's good to know that you have it for a rainy day. Any time you need -it--you can just go and get it. You don't have to bow to anybody, or -ask favors--just take your own money, given to you by your grandfather. -Oh, mother dear! How could you have acted so rashly?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych had allayed the fears that had only recently -paralyzed his capacity for thinking idle nonsense. The glimmerings of -conscience awakened by the difficult position in which Yevpraksia's -pregnancy put him, and by the sudden death of Arina Petrovna, little -by little faded away. His idle mind had done its work, and Yudushka -had finally succeeded by great effort, it is true, in drowning all -thought of the impending "disaster" in his bottomless pit of verbiage. -One could not say he had made up his mind consciously, but rather -intuitively. It was instinct in him that made him revert to his -favorite formula: "I don't know anything, I allow nothing, I forbid -everything," which he applied in every difficulty. On this occasion, -too, it put an end to the inner turbulence that had briefly agitated -him. - -Now, this matter of the coming birth was of no concern to him, and -his face assumed an indifferent, impenetrable look. He almost ignored -Yevpraksia, not even calling her by name. If ever he did inquire about -her he would say, "How about that woman--still sick?" He proved to be -so strong that eyen Ulita, who had been through the school of serfdom -and had learned quite a lot about reading people's minds, realized -that to battle with a man who had no scruples and who would go to any -lengths was quite impossible. - -The Golovliovo manor was plunged in darkness. Only Yudushka's study and -the side room occupied by Yevpraksia were illuminated by a glimmering -light. Stillness reigned in Yudushka's rooms, broken only by the rattle -of the beads on the counting board and the faint squeak of Yudushka's -pencil. - -Suddenly, in the dead stillness he heard a distant but piercing groan. -Yudushka trembled, his lips quivered, his pencil jerked. - -"One hundred and twenty rubles plus twelve rubles and ten kopeks," -whispered Porfiry Vladimirych, endeavoring to stifle the unpleasant -sensation produced by the groan. - -But the groans were now coming with increasing frequency. Finally they -got to be annoying. It became so difficult for him to work that he -left the desk. First he paced back and forth trying not to hear; but -little by little curiosity gained the upper hand. He opened the door -cautiously, put his head into the darkness of the adjacent room and -listened in an attitude of watchful expectation. - -"My, I think I forgot to light the lamp before the ikon of the Holy -Virgin, the Assuager of Our Sorrows," flashed through his mind. - -Suddenly he heard quick footsteps in the corridor, and he darted back -into his study, cautiously closing the door and mincing on tiptoe to -the ikon. - -A moment later he was already in "proper form," so that when the door -opened wide and Ulita rushed into the room, she found him in a pose of -prayer with folded hands. - -"I am afraid Yevpraksia's life is in danger," said Ulita, not -hesitating to interrupt Yudushka's prayers. But Porfiry Vladimirych did -not even turn his face; he began to move his lips faster than before, -and instead of answering waved his hand in the air as if to chase away -an annoying fly. - -"What's the use of waving your hand? I say Yevpraksia is doing poorly. -She may die any moment," Ulita insisted gruffly. - -This time Yudushka turned toward her, but his face was as calm and -unctuous as if he had just been in communion with the Deity, and had -cast off all earthly cares, and did not even understand what could make -people disturb him. - -"Though it's sinful to chide after prayer, still as a human being I -cannot keep from complaining. How many times have I not asked you not -to disturb me when I say my prayers?" he said in a voice befitting his -worshipful mood, and permitting himself only a shake of his head as a -sign of Christian reproach. "Well, what has happened?" - -"What could have happened? Yevpraksia is in labor and cannot give -birth. As if you haven't heard it before. Oh, you! Go and look at her -at least." - -"What is there to look at? Am I a doctor? Can I give her advice, or -what? I don't know anything, I don't know any of your business. I know -there is a sick woman in the house, but why she is sick and what her -sickness is, that, I confess, I never had the curiosity to find out. -Send for the priest if the patient is in danger. That's one piece of -advice I can give you. Send for the priest, pray with him, light the -ikon lamps. And then I'll have tea with the parson." - -Porfiry Vladimirych was glad that he expressed himself so well in this -most decisive moment. He looked at Ulita firmly as if he meant to say, -"Well refute me, if you can." - -Even she was baffled by his equanimity. "Suppose you do come and take a -look," she repeated. - -"I will not go because I have nothing to do there. If it were business, -I would go without being called. If I have to go five versts on -business, I'll go five versts, and if ten versts, I'll go ten. It may -be in wind and storm, but I'll go. For I know there is business to -attend to and I've got to go whether I want to or not." - -Ulita thought she was asleep and that in her sleep she saw Satan -himself standing before her and discoursing. - -"To send for the priest--that's business! A prayer--do you know what -the Scriptures say about a prayer? 'A prayer cures the afflicted.' -That's what it says. So see to it. Send for the priest, pray together, -and I, too, will pray in the meantime. You will pray there, in the ikon -room, and I will invoke God's mercy here in my study. By joint effort, -you on one side, I on the other, we may after all succeed in making our -prayers heard in Heaven." - -The priest was sent for, but before he came, Yevpraksia, in agony, -delivered herself of the child. From the hurried steps and banging -doors, Porfiry Vladimirych understood that something decisive had -happened. And, indeed, in a few minutes hurried steps were heard in the -corridor, and Ulita rushed in holding a tiny creature wrapped up in -linen. - -"Here! Look at it!" she exclaimed triumphantly, bringing the child -close to the face of Porfiry Vladimirych. - -For a moment it looked as if Yudushka were hesitating. His body swayed -forward and a bright spark flashed in his eyes. But only for a moment. -The next instant he turned up his nose squeamishly and waved his hand. - -"No, no! I am afraid. I don't like them. Go away, go away!" he began to -stammer, with infinite aversion in his face. - -"Why don't you at least ask if it's a boy or a girl?" Ulita pleaded -with him. - -"No, no! What for? It's none of my business. It's your affair, and I -don't know anything. I don't know anything, and I don't want to know -either. Go away, for Christ's sake, be gone!" - -Again Ulita felt as though she were in a nightmare with Satan standing -in front of her. It exasperated her. - -"I'll take him and put him on your sofa. Go nurse him!" That was a -threat. - -But Yudushka was not the man to be moved. While Ulita was threatening, -he was already facing the ikon, with hands stretched upward. Evidently -he was imploring God to forgive all people, those who sinned knowingly, -and those who sinned unknowingly; those who sinned in word and those -who sinned in deed; and he thanked the Lord that he himself was not a -sinner or an adulterer, and that the Lord in His grace had led him in -the righteous path. Even his nose trembled with the solemnity of his -feeling. Ulita observed him for some time, blew out her lips in disgust -and left. - -"God took one Volodka and gave another Volodka," flashed up in -Yudushka's mind quite irrelevantly; but he at once became aware of this -sudden play of thought and spat inwardly in annoyance. - -Soon the priest came and chanted and burned incense. Yudushka heard -the drawl of the sexton as he was chanting, "Oh, Zealous Protectress!" -and gladly chimed in. Soon Ulita came running to the door again and -shouted, "He was christened Volodimir!" - -Yudushka was moved by the strange coincidence of this circumstance and -his recent aberration of mind. He saw the will of God in it, and this -time he did not spit, but said to himself: - -"Well, then, thank God! He took one Volodka and gave another. That's -what God can do. You lose something in one place and you think it's -gone, but God, if He wishes, rewards you for it a hundredfold." - -At last it was announced that the samovar was on the table and the -priest was waiting in the dining-room. Porfiry Vladimirych became quite -peaceful and solemn. The Golovliovo priest, Father Aleksandr, was a -polite man, and he endeavored to give his intercourse with Yudushka -a worldly tone. In the landlord's manor there were all-night vigils -every week and on the eve of every principal holiday, in addition to -the ceremonial services performed every first of the month. That meant -an income of over a hundred rubles a year. Father Aleksandr was not -unmindful of this, nor of the fact that the landmarks between the -church lands and Yudushka's lands had not yet been settled upon, and -Yudushka, on passing the church meadows, would many times exclaim, "My, -what fine meadows!" So the priest's worldly behavior toward Yudushka -was tempered by fear, which came out every time the priest visited the -manor. He would work himself up into gay spirits, though he really had -no occasion to feel happy. And when Porfiry Vladimirych gave expression -to heresies concerning the ways of Providence, the after-life, and so -forth, the priest, though not quite approving of the heresies, still -did not consider them sacrilegious and blasphemous, but ascribed them -to the temerity of spirit characteristic of the gentry. - -When Yudushka entered, the priest hurriedly gave him his blessing and -just as hurriedly pulled his hand back as if afraid the Bloodsucker -would bite it. He wanted to congratulate his spiritual son on the birth -of the new little Vladimir, but uncertain how Yudushka was taking the -matter, he decided not to congratulate him. - -"It's misty outdoors," the priest began. "By popular signs, in which -one may say there seems to be a great deal of superstition, such a -state of the atmosphere signifies that thawing weather is near." - -"And maybe it will turn out to be a frost. We are foretelling thawing -weather and God will go ahead and send us a frost," retorted Yudushka, -with a bustling; air of gaiety, and seated himself at the table, this -time attended by the butler Prokhor. - -"It is true that man in his aspirations strives to attain the -unattainable and to gain access to the inaccessible; and as a -consequence he incurs cause for penance, or even veritable grief." - -"That is why we ought to refrain from guessing and foretelling and -be satisfied with what God sends us. If He sends us warm weather, we -ought to be satisfied with warm weather; if He send us frost, let us -welcome the frost. We'll order the stoves heated more than usual, and -those who travel will wrap themselves tight in fur coats, and there you -are--we're all warm." - -"Quite true." - -"There are many nowadays who go circling round. They don't like this -and they are dissatisfied with that, and the other thing is not after -their heart, but I don't approve. I don't make forecasts myself, and I -don't care for it in others. It is haughtiness of spirit--that's what I -call it." - -"That's true, too." - -"We are all pilgrims here, that's how I look at it. Well, as to having -a glass of tea, or a light bite, or something, we are allowed to do -that, for God gave us our body and limbs. Even the government would not -forbid us that. 'You can eat, if you want to,' it says, 'but hold your -tongue.'" - -"Also perfectly true," exclaimed the priest, tapping the saucer with -the bottom of his empty tea-glass in exultation over the harmony -between them. - -"As I understand it, God gave man reason not to explore the unknown, -but to refrain from sin. If I, for instance, feel a craving of the -flesh or a temptation of some kind, I call my reason to the rescue -and say, 'Show me, forsooth, the ways by which I may overcome this -craving,' and I am quite right, for in such cases reason can really be -of great use." - -"Still, faith is superior, in a way," the priest offered in slight -correction. - -"Faith is one thing and reason is another. Faith points out the -goal, and reason finds the way. It goes searching in every direction -till at last it finds something. Take, for instance, all these drugs -and plasters and healing herbs and potions--all of them have been -invented by reason. But we ought to see to it that such invention is in -accordance with faith, to our salvation and not to our ruin." - -"I cannot disagree with you in this, either." - -"There is a certain book, father, that I read some time ago. It says -that one must not disdain the offices of reason if the latter is -guided by faith, for a man without reason soon becomes the plaything -of passion; and I even think that the first downfall of man came about -because the devil in the shape of the serpent beclouded the human -reason." - -The reverend father did not object to this either, though he refrained -from assent, since it was not yet clear to him what Yudushka had up his -sleeve. - -"We often see that people not only fall into sinful thought, but even -commit crimes, all because of lack of reason. The flesh tempts, and -if there is no reason, man falls into the abyss. Man craves something -sweet, he craves gaiety and pleasure, especially when it comes through -women. How will you preserve yourself without the aid of reason? And -if, let's say, for instance, I do possess reason, I'll take some -camphor and rub it in where necessary, and put some in other parts, and -before you know, the craving is over as if it had never been there." - -Yudushka became silent as if waiting to hear what the priest had to -say in response, but the priest was still uncertain what Yudushka was -driving at and therefore he only coughed and said quite irrelevantly: - -"There are hens in my yard--very restless on account of the change of -season. They run and jump about, and can't find a place for themselves." - -"All because neither birds nor beasts nor reptiles possess reason. What -is a bird? It has no worry, no cares--just flies about. The other day, -for instance, I looked out of the window and saw some sparrows pecking -at manure. Manure is enough for them but not for man." - -"Yet in some cases even the Scriptures take birds as examples." - -"In some cases, that's true. Where faith without reason can be a man's -salvation, we must do as the birds do, pray to God, compose verses." - -Porfiry Vladimirych grew silent. Though talkative by nature and though -the event of the day naturally lent itself to a lengthy discussion, the -most suitable form for the remarks on the subject had evidently not yet -ripened in his mind. - -"Birds need no reason," he said at last, "because they have no -temptations. Or, rather, they have temptations but they are never -called to answer for their doings. Birds lead a natural life. They -have no property to take care of, no legitimate marriages, hence no -widowhood. They are responsible neither to God nor to the authorities. -They have only one lord--the cock." - -"The cock! That's true. The cock is a sort of Sultan of Turkey to them." - -"But man has so arranged his life, that he has given up the liberties -granted to him by nature, and therefore he needs much reason: first, to -keep himself from falling into sin, and second, not to tempt others. Am -I right, father?" - -"It is gospel truth. The Scriptures advise us to pluck out the tempting -eye." - -"That is, if you understand it literally, but there may be a way of -avoiding sin not by plucking out the eyes, but by seeing to it that the -eye is not tempted. One must have more frequent recourse to prayer, and -curb the unruly flesh. Take me, for instance. I am in good health and -vigor, I dare say. Well, I have female servants. Still that does not -disturb me in the least. I know I can't get along without servants, -well then, I keep them. I keep male servants, and female servants of -every kind. A maid is needed in the household to fetch something from -the cellar, to pour the tea, bring in something to eat--well--God bless -her!--She does her work and I do mine, and so we get along very nicely -indeed." - -While speaking Yudushka tried to look into the priest's eyes, and the -latter in his turn, tried to look into Yudushka's. But happily, there -was a burning candle between them, so that they could look at each -other to their hearts' content and see nothing but the flame of the -candle. - -"And then again, I take it this way. If you become intimate with your -female servants, they'll begin to have their way in the house. And -you'll have squabbles and disorder and quarrels and impertinence. I -like to keep away from such things." - -The priest stared so steadily that his eyes began to swim. Good -manners, he knew, demanded that in a general conversation one should -every now and then join in with at least a word. So he shook his head -and muttered: - -"Tss----" - -"And if, at that, one behaves as other folks do, as my dear neighbor, -Mr. Anpetov, for example, or my other neighbor, Mr. Utrobin, then you -can fall into sin before you know it. Utrobin has six offspring on his -place begot in that disgraceful way. But I don't want it. I say that if -God took away my guardian angel, it means that such was His holy will, -that He wanted me to be a widower. And if I am a widower by the grace -of God, I must observe my widowerhood honestly and not contaminate my -bed. Am I right, father?" - -"It's hard, sir." - -"I know it's hard, but still I observe it. Some say it's hard, and I -say the harder the better, provided God is with you! We can't all have -it sweet and easy. Some of us must bear hardships in the name of God. -If you deny yourself something _here,_ you will obtain it _there. Here_ -it is called hardship and _there,_ virtue. Am I right?" - -"As right as can be." - -"And talking about virtues--they are not all of the same kind. Some -virtues are great, others are small. What do you think?" - -"Yes, quite possible, there may be small virtues and great virtues." - -"That's just what I say. If a man is careful in his behavior, if he -does not speak vile words, if he does not speak vain words, if he does -not judge others, if, in addition to all this, he does not vex anybody -or take away what is not his--that man will have a clear conscience, -and no mud can soil him. And if anyone secretly speaks ill of a man -like that, give it no heed. Spit at his insinuations--that's the long -and short of it." - -"In such cases the precepts of Christianity recommend forgiveness." - -"Yes, forgive also. That's what I always do. If someone speaks ill -of me, I forgive him and even pray to God for him. He is the gainer -because a prayer on his behalf goes to Heaven, and I, too, am the -gainer, for after I have prayed I forget about the whole matter." - -"That's correct. Nothing lightens one's heart as much as a prayer. -Sorrow and anger, and even ailment, all run before it as does the -darkness of night before the sun." - -"Well, thank God, then. And we should always conduct ourselves so that -our life is like a candle in a lantern--seen from every side. Then -we will not be misjudged, for there will be no cause. Take us, for -example. We sat down here a while ago, have been chatting and talking -things over--who could find fault with us? And now let us go and pray -to the Lord, and then--to bed. And tomorrow we shall rise again. Isn't -that so, father?" - -Yudushka rose noisily, shoving his chair aside in sign that the -conversation was at an end. The priest also rose and made ready to -raise his arm to bless, but Porfiry Vladimirych, as an indication of -special favor, caught the priest's hand and pressed it in his own. - -"So he was christened Vladimir, father?" said Yudushka, shaking his -head sadly in the direction of Yevpraksia's room. - -"In honor of the saintly Prince Vladimir, sir." - -"Well, God be praised. She is a good and faithful servant, but as to -intelligence--well, she hasn't much of it. That's why they fall into -adultery." - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -The whole of the next day Porfiry Vladimirych remained in his study, -praying to God for guidance. On the third day he emerged for morning -tea, not in his dressing gown, as usual, but in full holiday attire, -the way he always dressed when he intended to transact important -business. His face was pale, but radiated inner serenity; a benign -smile played upon his lips; his eyes looked kindly and all-forgiving. -The tip of his nose was slightly red with elation. - -He drank his three glasses of tea in silence, and between gulps moved -his lips, folded his hands, and looked at the ikon as if, in spite -of yesterday's vigil, he still expected speedy aid and intercession -from it. Finally he sent for Ulita, and while waiting for her, kneeled -again before the ikon, that he might once more strengthen himself by -communion with God, and also that Ulita might see plainly that what was -about to happen was not his doing, but the work of God. Ulita, however, -as soon as she glanced at Yudushka, perceived there was treachery in -the depth of his soul. - -"Well, now I have prayed to God," began Porfiry Vladimirych, and in -token of obedience to His holy will, he lowered his head and spread his -arms. - -"That's fine," answered Ulita, but her voice expressed such deep -comprehension that Yudushka involuntarily raised his eyes. - -She stood before him in her usual pose, one hand upon her breast, -the other supporting her chin. But her face sparkled with suppressed -laughter. Yudushka shook his head in sign of Christian reproach. - -"I suppose God bestowed His grace upon you," continued Ulita, -unperturbed by his gesture of warning. - -"You always blaspheme," Yudushka blustered. "How many times have I -warned you with kindness, and you are the same as ever. Yours is an -evil tongue, a malicious tongue." - -"It seems to me I haven't said anything. Generally when people have -prayed to God, it means that God's grace is visited upon them." - -"That's just it--'it seems!' But why do you prate about all that -'seems' to you? Why don't you learn how to hold your tongue when -necessary? I am talking business and she--'it seems to me!'" - -Instead of replying Ulita shifted from one foot to the other, as if to -indicate that she knew everything Porfiry Vladimirych had to tell her -by heart. - -"Listen to me, you!" Yudushka began. "I prayed to the Lord all day -yesterday, and to-day too, and--look at it from whatever angle you -wish--we've got to provide for Volodka." - -"Of course, you've got to provide for him. He is not a puppy, I dare -say. You can't throw him into a pond." - -"Wait a while! Let me say a word. You plague. So this is what I say. -Take it any way you please, we've got to provide for Volodka. First, we -must do it out of consideration for Yevpraksia and then we've got to -make a man of him." - -Porfiry Vladimirych glanced at Ulita in the hope that she might show -her willingness to have a good long chat with him, but she took the -matter plainly and even cynically. - -"You mean me to take him to the foundling asylum?" she asked, looking -straight at him. - -"Oh, oh," exclaimed Yudushka, "you are very quick to decide. Oh, Ulita, -Ulita! You always do things in a hurry and without due consideration. -You're always ready to say something rash. How do you know? Maybe I -don't intend to send him to the foundling asylum. Maybe I thought of -something else for Volodka." - -"Well, if you did, there's nothing bad about it." - -"This is what I was going to say. On the one hand I feel for Volodka, -but on the other hand, if you think the matter over and weigh it -carefully, you see it's impossible to keep him here." - -"Of course, what will people say? They'll say, 'How did a little baby -boy come to the Golovliovo manor?'" - -"Yes, they'll say that and other things. And besides, to stay here will -be of no benefit to him. His mother is young, and she'll spoil him. -I am old, and though I have nothing to do with the matter, still, in -consideration of his mother's faithful service, I would also be easy -with him. You can't help it, you know, the little fellow will have to -be flogged for doing mischief, but how can you? It's this and that, and -a woman's tears, and screams, and all. Am I right?" - -"Yes, quite right. It is annoying." - -"What I want is, that all should be well in our house. I want to -see Volodka become a real man in time, a servant of God and a good -subject of the Czar. If God wants him to be a peasant, I should like -him to know how to plow, mow, chop wood--a little of everything. And -if it will be his lot to be of a more exalted station, I want him to -know some trade, some profession. Children from the foundling asylum -sometimes rise to be teachers." - -"From the foundling asylum? They are made generals at once, I suppose." - -"Well, I wouldn't say generals, but still--maybe Volodka will live to -be a famous man. And as to the manner they are brought up in there, -it's excellent. I know all about it myself. Clean beds, healthy -wet-nurses, white linen clothes, nipples, bottles, diapers, in a word, -everything." - -"Yes, it couldn't be better--for illegitimates!" - -"And if he is placed in the country as a fosterchild, well, that will -be just as good. He will get used to toil from his young days. Toil, -you know, is as good as prayer. We, you see, pray in the regular way. -We stand before the ikon, make the sign of the cross, and if our prayer -pleases God, He rewards us for it. But the peasant--he toils. Sometimes -he would be glad to pray in the proper way, but he hasn't the time -for it. But God sees his labors and rewards him for his toil just as -He rewards us for our prayers. We can't all live in palaces and go to -balls and dances. Some of us must live in smoky hovels and take care -of Mother Earth and nurse her. And as to where happiness lies, there -are two guesses to it. Some live in palaces and in luxury, and yet shed -tears; others live behind clay walls on bread and cider, yet feel as if -they were in paradise. Am I right?" - -"Nothing better if you feel as if you were in paradise." - -"So, my dear, that's what we will do. Take that little rascal Volodka, -wrap him up warm and cosy and go to Moscow at once with him. I'll -order a roofed cart for you and a pair of good horses. The road is -smooth, straight, fair, no puddles, no pitfalls. You'll roll along -merrily. But see to it that everything is done in the best fashion, in -Golovliovo fashion, just the way I like things to be done. The nipple -should be clean, and the bottle, clothes, and sheets, and blankets, and -diapers--take enough of everything. And if they won't give it all to -you, come and tell me. When you get to Moscow, stop at an inn. Ask for -enough to eat and a samovar and tea and all that. Oh, Volodka, dear! -What trouble you are to me! It breaks my heart to part with you, but it -can't be helped, my child. When you grow up, you'll see that it was for -your own good, and you'll thank me for it." - -Yudushka raised his hands slightly and moved his lips in sign of inner -prayer. But that did not prevent him from glancing sideways at Ulita -and noticing the sarcastic quivering of her face. - -"Well, what--did you want to say something?" - -"No, nothing. Of course, you know--he'll thank his benefactors--if he -finds them." - -"Oh, you wicked thing! You think we'll place him there without a proper -card? Why, of course, you'll take out a card, from which document we'll -be able to find him. They'll bring him up and teach him sense, and then -we'll come with the card and say, 'Here, now, let's have our fellow, -our Volodka.' With the card we'll get him from the bottom of the sea. -Am I right?" - -Ulita made no reply. The caustic quivering of her face showed more -distinctly than before and it exasperated Porfiry Vladimirych. - -"You are a mean thing," he said. "The devil dwells in you. Fi, fi! -Well, enough. To-morrow, before the sun is up, you'll take Volodka and -quickly, so that Yevpraksia does not hear you, and set out for Moscow. -You know where the Foundling Asylum is?" - -"I've carried them," Ulita answered laconically, as if hinting at -something in the past. - -"Well, if you are used to it--all the better for you. You must know all -the ins and outs of the place. Be sure to place him there and bow low -before the authorities--like this." Yudushka rose and bowed, touching -the floor with his hands. - -"Beg of them to make him comfortable. And be sure to get the card, -don't forget! The card will help us find him anywhere. I'll allow you -two twenty-five ruble bills for expenses. I know how it is--you'll -have to give some here and put a couple of rubles there. Ah, ah, how -sinful man is! We are all human beings, nothing but human beings! We -all like sweets and dainties. Why, even our Volodka! Look at him--he is -no bigger than my finger nail--and see the money I've already spent on -him." - -Yudushka crossed himself and bowed low before Ulita, silently begging -her to take good care of the little rascal. - -Thus, in the simplest way, was the future of the little illegitimate -arranged for. - -The next morning, while the young mother was tossing about in delirium, -Porfiry Vladimirych was standing at the window in the dining-room, -moving his lips and making the sign of the cross on the window pane. -A cart, roofed over with mats, was leaving the front yard. It was -carrying Volodka away. - -It climbed up the hill, drove by the church, turned to the left and -vanished in the village. Yudushka made another sign of the cross and -sighed: - -"The other day the priest was speaking about thawing weather," he -said to himself, "but God sent us a frost instead. And a fine frost, -at that. So it always is with us. We dream, we build castles in the -air, we philosophize proudly and think we'll excel God Himself in -His wisdom, but God in a trice turns our haughtiness of spirit into -nothingness." - - - - -BOOK VI - -THE DESERTED MANOR-HOUSE - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Yudushka's agony commenced when the resources of loquaciousness, -in which he had so freely indulged, began to give out. A void had -formed around him. Some had died, others had deserted him. Even -Anninka preferred the miserable future of a nomadic actress to the -flesh-pots of Golovliovo. Yevpraksia alone remained. But Yevpraksia's -conversational gifts were limited, and, more than that, Yevpraksia was -now a changed person. It was the difference that had occurred in her -which convinced Yudushka that his halcyon days were gone forever. - -Till then Yevpraksia had been so helpless that Porfiry Vladimirych -could tyrannize over her without the slightest risk, and her mental -development was so backward and her character so flabby that she had -not even felt the oppression. During Yudushka's harangues she would -look into his eyes apathetically, and think of something else. But now -suddenly she grasped something important, and the first consequence of -awakened understanding was repugnance, sudden and half-conscious, but -vicious and insuperable. - -Anninka's stay had evidently not been without results for Yevpraksia. -The casual conversations with the young actress had quite upset her. -Previously she would never have dreamed of wondering why Porfiry -Vladimirych, as soon as he met a man, instantly started to weave around -him an oppressive net of words, sinister in their emptiness. Now she -perceived it was not talking that Yudushka did, but tyrannizing, and -it would be well worth the while to pull him up short and make him -feel the time had come for him, too, to go easy. So, from now on, she -listened to his endless flow of words and soon realized that the one -purpose of Yudushka's talk was to worry, annoy, nag. - -"The mistress herself said she didn't know why he talked so much," -Yevpraksia reasoned. "No, it's his meanness working in him. He knows -who is unprotected and at his mercy. And so he turns and twists them -anyway he wants to." - -But that was only secondary. The main effect of Anninka's visit was -that it stirred up the instincts of youth in Yevpraksia, which had -hitherto smouldered in her undeveloped mind and now suddenly flared up -in a blaze. Many things became clear to her--for instance, why Anninka -had refused to remain at Golovliovo and why she had said flatly, "It's -horrible here!" She had acted that way because she was young and wanted -to enjoy life. Yevpraksia, too, was young, indeed she was! It only -seemed that her youth was crushed under a load of fat, in reality it -manifested itself quite boldly. It called and lured her; its flame -now died down, now flared up. She had thought Yudushka would do for -her, but now she perceived her mistake. "The old, rotten stump, how he -got round me!" ran through her mind. "Wouldn't it be fine now to live -with a real lover, young and handsome? He would hug me and kiss me and -whisper caressing words in my ear. The old scarecrow, how did he ever -tempt me? The Pogorelka lady must have a lover, I'm sure. That's why -she gathered up her skirts and sailed away so rapidly. And I must sit -here, in a jail, chained to that old man." - -Of course, some time passed before Yevpraksia mutinied openly; but once -on the road of revolt she did not halt. A storm was brewing within -her, and her hatred grew each minute. Yudushka, for his part, remained -in ignorance of her state of mind. Yevpraksia began with general -complaints, such as "he has spoiled my life." Then came comparisons. -"In Mazulina," she reflected, "Pelageyushka lives with her master as a -housekeeper. She never does a stroke of work, and wears silk dresses. -She sits in a cosy little room doing bead embroidery. How I hate you -now, you old fright; How I hate you, I hate you!" she wound up with a -cry. - -In addition to this, the main cause of irritation, there was another -one, one that was valuable because it could serve as a good occasion -for the declaration of war against Yudushka. It was her confinement and -the disappearance of her son Volodya. - -At the time of the child's removal Yevpraksia had been rather -indifferent. Porfiry Vladimirych had curtly announced that the baby -had been entrusted to reliable people, and he presented her with a new -shawl by way of solace. Then life resumed its course, and Yevpraksia -plunged into the mire of household affairs with greater industry than -before, as if to atone for her unsuccessful motherhood. But whether the -mother feeling continued to smoulder in her, or whether it was merely a -whim, at any rate, the memory of Volodka came back to her, and at the -precise moment when Yevpraksia felt the breath of freedom and it began -to dawn upon her that there existed another life different from that -at Golovliovo. The occasion was too good not to be taken advantage of. - -"To think of what the scoundrel has done!" she reflected, trying -consciously to work herself into a rage. "He has robbed me of my own -child. Just as one drowns a pup in the pond." - -Little by little the thought filled her mind completely. She came to -believe that she had always longed for her child passionately. Her -hatred of Porfiry Vladimirych fed on this new and rapidly growing -obsession. - -"At least, I should have had something to amuse me now. Volodya, -Volodyushka! My dear little son! Where are you now? He must have -shipped you to some wretched peasant woman. God curse them, the damned -gentry. They bring children in the world and then throw them like pups -into a ditch, and no one takes them to account. It would have been -better for me to cut my throat than to allow that shameless old brute -to outrage me." - -Her hatred was now ripe. She felt a desire to vex and pester him and -spoil life for him. War began, the most unbearable of wars, squabbles -and provocations, and petty pricking. It was the only form of warfare -that could have subdued Porfiry Vladimirych. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -One morning when Porfiry Vladimirych was sitting at tea, he was -unpleasantly surprised. He was discharging masses of verbal pus, while -Yevpraksia, with a saucer of tea in her hand and a piece of sugar -between her teeth, was listening in silence, snorting from time to -time. Warm, fresh-baked bread had been served, and he had just begun -to develop a theory of his own to the effect that there are two kinds -of bread, visible bread which we eat and thereby sustain our bodies, -and the invisible, spiritual bread of which we partake for the good -of our soul. Suddenly Yevpraksia broke in upon his discourse most -unceremoniously. - -"People say Palageyushka lives so well at Mazulino," she began, turning -her entire body round to the window and swinging her crossed feet with -impudent nonchalance. - -Yudushka was somewhat startled by the unexpected remark, but attributed -no peculiar importance to it. - -"In case we don't eat visible bread for a long time," he went on, "we -feel bodily hunger; and if we don't partake of the spiritual bread for -some length of time----" - -"I say, Palageyushka certainly lives well at Mazulino," Yevpraksia -interrupted again. - -Porfiry Vladimirych, somewhat startled, looked at her in amazement, but -refrained from scolding, evidently smelling a rat. - -"If Palageyushka has a fine life, let her," he replied meekly. - -"Her master," Yevpraksia kept on provokingly, "makes it nice and easy -for her, he does not compel her to work, and dresses her in silk." - -Yudushka's amazement grew. Yevpraksia's words were so preposterous that -he was taken completely by surprise. - -"A different dress every day, one to-day, one to-morrow, and another -for holidays. She drives to church in a four-horse carriage. She goes -first, and the master follows. When the priest sees her carriage, he -has the bells rung. Then she sits in her own room. If her master wishes -to spend some time with her, she receives him in her room. And her maid -entertains her, or she does bead embroidery." - -"Well, what of it?" asked Porfiry Vladimirych, at last coming to his -senses. - -"I was just telling what a pleasant life Palageyushka leads." - -"And you, is your life worse? My, my, aren't you insatiable!" - -Had Yevpraksia left his remark unanswered, Porfiry Vladimirych would -have belched forth a torrent of empty words to drown her foolish hints. -He would have resumed his twaddle. But apparently Yevpraksia had no -intention of holding her tongue. - -"I can't say that," she snapped back. "My life is not a sad one. Thank -goodness I don't wear tick. Last year you bought me two calico dresses -and paid five rubles for each. How generous!" - -"And how about the woolen dress? And for whom was a shawl bought -lately? My, my!" - -Instead of answering, Yevpraksia placed her elbows on the table and -flashed on Yudushka a side glance brimming over with such deep contempt -that, unaccustomed to such looks, he was overcome with something like -dread. - -"Do you know how the Lord punishes ingratitude?" he mumbled feebly, -hoping the reference to God would bring the woman to her senses. But -his remark did not placate the mutineer. She cut him short at once. - -"Don't talk me blind!" she exclaimed, "and don't drag in God. I'm not a -baby. Enough! I've had enough of your tyranny." - -Porfiry Vladimirych grew silent. His glass of tea stood untouched. His -face grew pale, his lips trembled, as if trying vainly to curl up into -a grin. - -"These are Anninka's tricks," he said finally, though without a clear -perception of what he was saying. "It's she, the snake, who has incited -you." - -"What tricks do you mean?" - -"I mean the way you are talking to me. She, she taught you. No one -else!" he foamed in a rage. "Give her silk dresses! The impudence! -Do you know, you shameless creature, who in your position wears silk -dresses?" - -"Tell me and I will know." - -"The most--the most dissolute ones. They are the only ones who wear -silk dresses." - -But Yevpraksia was not impressed. On the contrary, she answered him -back with saucy arguments. - -"I don't know why you call them dissolute. Everybody knows it's the -masters that insist upon it. If a master seduces one of us, well, she -lives with him. You and I are not so saintly either, we are doing the -same as the Mazulina master and his queen." - -"Oh, you! Fie, fie, for shame!" - -Yudushka stared at his rebellious companion in utter consternation. A -flow of empty words came tripping to his tongue, but for the first time -in his life he felt a vague suspicion that there are occasions when -even talk is useless. - -"Well, my friend, I see there's no use talking to you to-day," he said, -rising from the table. - -"Neither to-day, nor to-morrow--never! No more of your tyranny! I've -listened to you enough; now it's time for you to listen to me." - -Porfiry Vladimirych made a movement as if to throw himself at her with -clenched fists, but she protruded her chest with such determination -that he lost heart. He turned his face to the ikon, lifted up his hands -prayerfully, mumbled a prayer, and trudged slowly away into his room. - -The whole day he felt uneasy. He had no definite fears for the future, -but the feeling that something had broken in upon his well-ordered life -and had passed unpunished greatly upset him. He did not go to dinner, -pleading ill health, and in a meek, feeble voice asked that his food -be brought into his room. In the evening after tea, which passed in -silence for the first time in his life, he rose, as was his habit, to -say his prayers. In vain did his lips seek to whisper the customary -words. His agitated mind refused to follow the prayer. A persistent -enervating anxiety pervaded his being, and he involuntarily strained -his ear to catch the dying echoes of the day, which were lingering -in the various corners of the vast manor-house. Finally, when even -the yawning of the people could be heard no more, and the house was -plunged in the profoundest quiet, he could not hold out any longer. -Stealing noiselessly along the corridor, he went to Yevpraksia's room -and put his ear to the door to listen. She was alone, and Yudushka -heard her yawning and saying, "Lord! Savior! Holy Virgin," as she -scratched her back. - -Porfiry Vladimirych tried the knob, but the door was locked. - -"Yevpraksia, darling, are you there?" he called. - -"Yes, but not for you!" she snapped, so rudely that he immediately -retreated to his room. - -The next morning there was another conversation. Yevpraksia -intentionally selected morning tea for launching her attacks on Porfiry -Vladimirych. She felt instinctively that a spoiled morning would fill -the entire day with anxiety and pain. - -"I'd like to see how some people live," she began in a rather enigmatic -manner. - -Yudushka changed countenance. "It's beginning," flashed through his -mind; but he held his tongue and waited for what would come next. - -"It's fine to live with a handsome young friend, upon my word. You walk -about in the rooms and look at each other. Not a cross word exchanged. -'My darling' and 'my heart'--that's your whole conversation. Lovely and -noble!" - -The subject was peculiarly hateful to Porfiry Vladimirych. Although of -necessity he tolerated adultery within strict limits, he nevertheless -considered lovemaking a diabolical temptation. This time, however, he -restrained himself, all the more so because he wanted his tea. The -tea-pot had been boiling on the samovar for quite some time, but -Yevpraksia seemed to have forgotten about filling the glasses. - -"Of course, many of us women are foolish," she went on, impudently -swinging in her chair and drumming on the table with her fingers. "Some -are so silly that they are ready to do anything for a calico dress; -others give themselves away for nothing at all. 'Cider,' you said, -'drink as much as you please,' A fine thing to seduce a woman with!" - -"Is it from interest alone that----" Yudushka risked a timid remark, -watching the tea-pot from which steam had begun to escape. - -"Who says from interest alone? Is it I who am a selfish woman?" cried -Yevpraksia heatedly, suddenly shifting the conversation. "Do you mean -to reproach me for the bread I eat?" - -"I don't reproach you. I only said that not from interest alone do -people----" - -"'I said'! Talk, but talk sensibly. The idea! I serve from interest! -Kindly permit me to ask you what particular advantage I have derived -except cider and gherkins?" - -"Well, cider and gherkins are not the only things----" ventured -Yudushka, unable to restrain himself. - -"What else have I gotten? Let me hear, let me hear!" - -"Who sends four sacks of flour to your parents every month?" - -"Four sacks. What else?" - -"Groats, hemp-seed oil and other things----" - -"So you are begrudging my poor parents the wretched groats and oil you -send them? Oh, you!" - -"I am not begrudging them. It's you----" - -"Now you are accusing me. I can't eat a crust of bread without being -reproached for it, and it's I who am blamed for everything." - -Yevpraksia could hold out no longer and burst into tears. Meanwhile -the tea kept on boiling, so that Porfiry Vladimirych became seriously -alarmed. So he suppressed his growing temper, seated himself beside -Yevpraksia and patted her on her back. - -"Well, well. All right. Pour the tea. What is all this crying for?" - -Yevpraksia emitted a few more sobs, pouted and looked into space with -her dull eyes. "You have just been speaking of young fellows," he -went on, trying to lend his voice as caressing a ring as possible. -"Well--after all, I'm not so old, am I?" - -"The idea! Leave me alone." - -"Come, come. I--do you know--when I served in St. Petersburg, our -director wanted to give me his daughter in marriage?" - -"Must have been an old maid--or a cripple." - -"No, she was quite a presentable young lady. And how she sang, how she -sang!" - -"Maybe she sang well, but you accompanied her badly," she retorted. - -"No, I----" - -Porfiry Vladimirych was completely put out. He was ready to act against -his conscience and show that he, too, was skilled in the art of -love-making. So he began to rock his body rather clumsily and went so -far as to make an attempt to embrace Yevpraksia round her waist. But -she drew back firmly from his outstretched arms and cried out angrily: - -"Do me a favor and leave me, you goblin! Else I'll scald you with this -boiling water. And I don't want your tea. I don't want anything. The -idea--to reproach me for the piece of bread I eat. I'll go away from -here! By Jesus, I will!" - -She banged the door and ran out, leaving Porfiry Vladimirych alone in -the dining-room. - -Yudushka was completely puzzled. He began to pour the tea himself, but -his hands trembled so violently that he had to call a servant to his -assistance. - -"No, this is impossible. I must think up something, arrange matters," -he whispered, pacing up and down the dining-room in excitement. - -But he turned out to be quite unable "to think up something" or "to -arrange matters." His mind was so accustomed to leaping unrestrainedly -from one fantastic subject to another, that the simplest problem of -workaday reality threw him off his balance. No sooner did he make an -effort to concentrate than a swarm of futile trifles attacked him from -all sides and shut actuality out from his consideration. A strange -stupor, a kind of mental and moral anæmia possessed his being. He was -constantly lured away from the hard realities of life to the pleasant -softness of phantoms, which he could shift and rearrange at will and -without any hindrance whatever. - -He spent the entire day in solitude, for Yevpraksia did not make her -appearance at dinner or at evening tea. She stayed at the priest's -the entire time and returned late in the evening. Yudushka's distress -was extreme. He could not apply himself to any task, he even lost his -wonted interest in trifles. One irrepressible thought tormented him: -"I must somehow arrange matters, I must." He could not engage in idle -calculations, nor even say prayers. He felt that a strange ailment was -about to attack him. Many a time he halted before the window in the -hope of concentrating his wavering mind on something, or distracting -his attention, but all in vain. - -It was early spring. The trees stood naked and the new grass had not -yet appeared. Black fields, spotted here and there with white cakes of -snow, stretched far away. The road was black and boggy and glittered -with puddles. Yudushka saw it all as through a mist. There was no -one round the rain-soaked servants' buildings, though all the doors -were ajar. Nor could he reach anyone in the manor-house, although he -constantly heard sounds as of doors banging in the distance. "How fine -it would be," he mused, "to turn invisible and overhear what the knaves -are saying about me. Do the rascals appreciate my favors or do they -return abuse for my kindness? You stuff their bellies from morning till -night, and still they squeal for more. Only the other day we opened a -barrel of pickled cucumbers, and----" But no sooner did his thoughts -embark upon the exploration of some fantastic subject, no sooner did -he began to calculate how many pickles the barrel held and how many -pickles one man could consume, than the piercing thought of Yevpraksia -brought him back to harsh reality and upset all his calculations. - -"She went away without so much as saying a word to me," he reflected, -while his eyes scanned the distance, endeavoring to sight the priest's -house, in which Yevpraksia was in all probability chatting away at that -moment. - -Dinner was served. Yudushka sat at table alone slowly sipping thin -soup (_she_ knew he hated thin soup and had had it cooked watery on -purpose). "I imagine the Father must be distressed by Yevpraksia's -unbidden visit," he reflected. "She's a hearty eater and an extra -dish, perhaps a roast, will have to be served for the guest." His -imagination began to run away with him once more, and his mind began to -ponder over questions like these: How many spoonfuls of cabbage-soup -will Yevpraksia swallow? How many spoonfuls of gruel? What would the -Father say to his wife about Yevpraksia's visit? How do they abuse her -when alone? All this, the food and the conversation, hovered before his -eyes with corporeal vividness. - -"I fancy they all guzzle the soup from the same dish. The idea! A -fine place she found to hunt for knick-knacks. Outside it's wet and -slushy--just the kind of weather that breeds disease. Soon she will -return, her skirt all dripping with mud, the disgusting creature. Yes, -I must, I must do something!" All his musings inevitably ended with -this phrase. - -After dinner, he lay down for his nap, as usual, but tossed from side -to side, unable to fall asleep. Yevpraksia came back after dark and -stole into her nook so quietly that he did not observe her entrance. He -had ordered the servants to let him know when she returned, but none -of them said a word, as if they had agreed among themselves. He made -another attempt to penetrate into her room, but again found the door -locked. - -Next morning Yevpraksia made her appearance at tea, but now her words -were even more alarming and threatening. - -"Dear me, where is my little Volodya?" she began, speaking in a -studiously tearful tone. - -Porfiry Vladimirych shuddered. - -"If I could have the tiniest glimpse of him, if I could see how the -darling suffers away from his mother! But maybe he is dead already." - -Yudushka's lips whispered a prayer. - -"It isn't the same as at other people's here. When Palageyushka gave -birth to a daughter, they dressed the baby in batiste and silks and -made a pink little bed for her. The nurse received more sarafans and -frontlets than I ever had. And here--oh, you!" - -Yevpraksia abruptly turned her head toward the window and sighed -noisily. - -"It is true what they say, that all the gentry are an abomination," she -went on. "They make children and then throw them in the swamp, like -puppies. What does it matter to them? They owe no account to anybody. -Is there no God in Heaven? Even a wolf would not act like that." - -Porfiry Vladimirych felt like a man sitting on pins and needles. He -restrained himself for a long time, but finally could stand it no -longer and said through clenched teeth: - -"This is the third day that I've been listening to your talk." - -"Well, why should _you_ do all the talking? Other people have a right -to say a word, too. Yes, sir! You've had a child. What have you done -with it? I bet you let him rot in the hands of a wretched peasant woman -in a dirty hut. I suppose the baby is lying somewhere in filth, sucking -at a bottle turned sour, with no one to take care of it, and feed and -clothe it." - -She shed tears and dried her eyes with the end of her neckerchief. - -"The Pogorelka lady was right; she said it's horrible here with you. It -_is_ horrible. No pleasures, no joy, nothing but mean, underhand ways. -Prisoners in jail are better off. At least, if I had a baby now, there -would be something to amuse me. But you have taken it away from me." - -Porfiry Vladimirych sat shaking his head in torture. From time to time -he groaned. - -"Oh, how painful!" he finally said. - -"Painful? Well, you have made the bed, lie on it. Upon my word, I -shall go to Moscow and have a look at my dear little Volodya. Volodya, -Volodya! Da-a-ar-ling! Master, shall I take a trip to Moscow?" - -"It's no use," answered Porfiry Vladimirych in a hollow voice. - -"Then I'll go without asking your permission, and no one can stop me. -Because I am--a mother!" - -"What sort of mother are you? You are a strumpet--that's what you are," -Yudushka finally burst out. "Tell me plainly what you want of me." - -Yevpraksia, apparently, was not prepared for this question. She stared -at Yudushka and kept silence, as if wondering what she really wanted of -him. - -"So you call me a strumpet already?" she exclaimed, bursting into tears. - -"Yes, a strumpet, a strumpet, a strumpet! Fie, fie, fie!" - -Utterly enraged, Porfiry Vladimirych leapt to his feet and ran out of -the room. - -That was the last flicker of energy. Then he began rapidly to collapse, -while Yevpraksia kept up her campaign. She had enormous power at her -disposal, the stubbornness of stupidity, sometimes truly appalling -because always trained upon the same point with the sole object of -annoying, teasing, plaguing. Little by little the confines of the -dining-room became too narrow for her. She invaded the study and -attacked Yudushka within the precincts of that sanctuary, into which -she would not even have thought of entering formerly when her master -was "busy." She would come in, seat herself at the window, stare -into space, scratch her shoulder blades on the post of the window, -and begin to storm at him. She was especially fond of harping on the -threat of leaving Golovliovo. As a matter of fact, she had never -seriously thought of carrying out her threat, and she would have been -astonished had anyone suggested to her that she return to her parental -roof. But she suspected that Porfiry Vladimirych feared her desertion -more than anything else, and she spared neither time nor energy in -taking advantage of this. She approached the subject cautiously and -in a roundabout way. She would sit a while, scratch her ear, and then -remark, as if in a reminiscent frame of mind: - -"To-day, I suppose, they are baking pancakes at father's." - -At this prefatory remark Yudushka would grow green with rage. He was -just getting ready to plunge into a complicated computation of how much -he would get for his milk if all the cows of the neighborhood perished -and none but his own, with God's help, remained unharmed and doubled -their yield of milk. - -"Why are they baking pancakes there?" he asked, trying to force a -smile. "Goodness, to-day is Memorial Day! Isn't it stupid of me to have -forgotten about it? And there's nothing in the house with which to -honor the memory of my late mother. What a sin!" - -"I should like to eat father's pancakes." - -"Why not? Give orders to have them baked. Get hold of cook Marya or -Ulita. Ulita cooks delicious pancakes." - -"Maybe she has pleased you in some other way, too," remarked Yevpraksia -acidly. - -"No, but, oh, she's a witch at cooking pancakes, Ulita is. She cooks -them light, soft--a sheer delight!" - -Porfiry Vladimirych was evidently trying to mollify Yevpraksia, but to -no avail. - -"What I want is not yours, but father's pancakes," she answered, -playing the spoiled darling. - -"Well, that's not difficult. Get hold of the coachman, have him put a -pair of horses to the carriage, and drive over to father's." - -"No, sir, that won't do. If I've fallen in the trap, that's my own -fault. Who has any use for one like me? You yourself called me a -strumpet the other day. It's no use!" - -"My, my! Isn't it a sin in you to accuse me falsely? Do you know how -God punishes false accusations?" - -"You did call me strumpet! You did! You did it in the presence of this -ikon. How I hate your Golovliovo! I shall run away from here. I shall, -by God!" - -In the course of this spirited dialogue Yevpraksia behaved in a rather -unconstrained manner. She swung about on the chair, picked her nose, -and scratched her back. She was obviously playing comedy. - -"Porfiry Vladimirych, I should like to tell you something," she went on -mischievously. "I want to go home." - -"Do you wish to pay a visit to your parents?" - -"No, I mean to stay there altogether." - -"What's the matter? Has anybody offended you?" - -"No, but--I'm not going to stay here forever. Besides, it's too dull -here--it's frightful. The house is like a deserted place. The servants -poke themselves away in the kitchens and their own quarters, and I sit -in the house all alone. Some of these days I shall be murdered. At -night, when I go to bed, strange whispers come from every corner." - -Days went by, but Yevpraksia never thought of carrying out her threat; -which did not lessen its effect on Porfiry Vladimirych. It dawned upon -him that in spite of his labors, so-called, he was utterly helpless, -that if there were not someone to take care of his household affairs, -he would have no dinner, no clean linen, no decent clothing. Hitherto -he had not been aware of the fact that his surroundings had been -artificially created. His day had passed in a manner established once -and for all. Everything in the house centered around his person and -existed for him; everything was done in its proper time, everything was -in its proper place; in short, there reigned such mechanical precision -everywhere that he gave no thought to it. Owing to this clock-work -orderliness he could indulge in idle talk and thought without running -against the sharp corners of reality. Of course, this artificial -paradise held together only by a hair; but Yudushka, always centered -in himself, did not know it. His life seemed to him to be built on a -rock-bottom foundation, unchangeable, eternal. And suddenly the edifice -was about to collapse because of Yevpraksia's foolish whim. Yudushka -was completely taken aback. "What if she really leaves?" he reflected -panic-stricken. And he began to frame all sorts of preposterous plans -to keep her from going. He even decided on concessions to Yevpraksia's -rebellious youth which would never before have entered his mind. - -"Ugh, ugh, ugh!" he thought, and spat out in disgust when the -possibility of having anything to do with the coachman Arkhip or the -clerk Ignat presented itself to him in all its offensive nakedness. - -Soon, however, he became convinced that his fears were groundless. -Thereupon his existence entered a new and quite unexpected phase. -Yevpraksia did not leave him, she even abated her attacks, but, to -compensate, deserted him altogether. May set in, the weather was fair, -and Yevpraksia scarcely ever put in appearance. She ran in for a moment -and the next moment had disappeared. In the morning Yudushka did not -find his clothing in its usual place, and he had to engage in lengthy -negotiations with the servants before he got clean linen. His tea and -meals were served either too early or too late, and he was waited upon -by the tipsy lackey Prokhor, who came in a stained coat emanating a -peculiarly disgusting odor of fish and vodka. - -Nevertheless, Porfiry Vladimirych was glad that Yevpraksia left him -in peace. He even reconciled himself to the disorder as long as he -knew that there was someone to bear the responsibility for it. What -frightened him was not so much the disorder as the thought that it -might be necessary for him to interfere personally in the details of -everyday life. He pictured with horror the minute he would have to -administer, give orders and supervise. In anticipation of that awful -moment, he endeavored to stifle the voice of protest that at times rose -in him, tried to shut his eyes to the confusion reigning in the house, -and keep in the background and hold his tongue. - -In the meantime open debauchery made its nest in the manor-house. With -the coming of fair weather a new life pervaded the estate, hitherto -quiet and gloomy. In the evening all the servants, both young and old, -went out in the village streets. The young people sang, played the -accordion, laughed merrily, screamed and played tag. - -The clerk Ignat appeared in a flaming red shirt and an astonishingly -narrow jacket, that never closed over his chest, thrown out like a -pouter-pigeon's, while the coachman Arkhip took possession of the silk -shirt and plush sleeveless jacket worn on holidays, obviously vying -with Ignat in the conquest of Yevpraksia's heart. The maiden herself -ran from one to the other, bestowing her favors now on the clerk, now -on the coachman. Porfiry Vladimirych dared not look out of the window -for fear of witnessing a love scene; but he could not help hearing -what was going on outside. At times he caught the resounding blow that -Arkhip bestowed playfully upon Yevpraksia's back while playing tag. At -other times he would catch fragments of conversation such as this: - -"Yevpraksia Nikitishna! Yevpraksia Nikitishna! Madam!" the drunken -Prokhor would call from the steps of the mansion. - -"What do you want?" - -"The key of the tea-chest, please. The master is asking for tea." - -"Let him wait, the scarecrow!" - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -In a short time Porfiry had completely lost all habits of sociability. -He no longer paid any attention to the confusion that had come into -his existence. He demanded nothing better of life than to be left -alone in his last refuge, his study. He had lost all his former ways -of cavilling with and pestering those about him, and he was timorous -and glumly meek. All ties between him and reality were cut. To hear -nothing, to see nothing, that was his heart's desire. The behavior of -Yevpraksia and the servants no longer concerned him. Formerly, had the -clerk allowed himself the least inaccuracy in presenting his reports -on the various branches of the household management, he would have -talked him to death. Now at times the reports were weeks late, and -he was unresentful except when he needed some data for his fantastic -computations. But when alone in his study he felt himself absolute -master, free to give himself over nonchalantly to inane musings. Both -of his brothers had died from drink. He, too, fell into the clutches -of drunkenness. But his intoxication was mental. Shut up in his study, -he racked his brains from early morning till far into the night over -fantastic problems. He elaborated various fabulous schemes, made -speeches before imaginary audiences, and wove whole scenes about the -first person that crossed his mind. - -In this wild maze of fantastic acts and images a morbid passion for -gain played the most important part. - -Porfiry Vladimirych had always had a strong leaning toward the -petty annoyance of people and litigation, but because of his lack -of practicality he had derived no direct profit from it. Sometimes -he was even the first to suffer. This proclivity of his was now -transferred to a world of abstractions and phantoms, where there was -no scope for resistance on the part of the oppressed and no need for -self-justification. The dividing line between the weak and the powerful -vanished. In that world there were no police or justices of the peace, -or rather, there were, but they existed solely for the purpose of -protecting his own interests. On this fantastic plane he could freely -enmesh the whole universe in his net of intriguing, cavilling, and -petty oppression. - -He loved to torment people, ruin them, make them unhappy, suck their -blood--at least, in his imagination. He would look over the various -branches of his establishment and on each build up a fantastic -structure of all manner of oppression and plunder--a veritable -paradise, but the foulest ever conceived by a landed proprietor. And -everything depended here on overpayments and underpayments assumed -arbitrarily, each overpaid or underpaid kopek served as a pretext for -remodelling the entire edifice, which thus passed through endless -changes. - -When his tired thoughts were no longer capable of following out all -the details of the intricate computations on which his imaginary -operations were based, he applied his imagination to a more plastic -material. He recalled every conflict and altercation he had had not -only in recent times, but far back in his youth, and he so manipulated -his reminiscences as always to come out the victor. He took revenge on -those of his former colleagues who had gone over his head in service -and had so deeply wounded his self-love that he renounced his official -career. He revenged himself on his schoolmates who had taken advantage -of their physical strength to tease or persecute him; on the neighbors -that had opposed his claims and stood up for their rights; on the -servants who had offended him or simply had not treated him with -sufficient respect; on "dearest mamma" Arina Petrovna for having wasted -too much of the money that "by law" belonged to him on the repairs -of Pogorelka; on his brother Simple Simon for having nicknamed him -Yudushka; on aunt Varvara Mikhailovna for having unexpectedly given -birth to children, with the result that the property of Gavryushkino -was forever lost to the family. He revenged himself on the living and -he revenged himself on the dead. - -Gradually he worked himself into a state of actual intoxication. The -ground vanished from under his feet, wings grew on his shoulders, his -eyes shone, his lips trembled and foamed, his face grew ghastly pale, -and took on a threatening air. The atmosphere around him swarmed with -ghosts, and he fought them in imaginary battles. - -His existence became so ample and independent that there was nothing -left for him to desire. The whole universe was at his feet, that -is, the universe of which his wretched mind could conceive. It was -something in the nature of ecstatic clairvoyance, not unlike the -phenomena that take place at the seances of mediums. His untrammeled -imagination created an illusory reality, rendered concrete and almost -tangible by his constant mental frenzy. It was not faith or conviction, -but unrestrained mental debauchery, a sort of trance in which his -tongue involuntarily uttered words and his body made automatic gestures. - -Porfiry Vladimirych was happy. He locked up the windows and doors -that he might not hear, he drew down the curtains that he might not -see. He went through the customary functions and duties which had no -connection with the world of his imagination, in haste, almost with -disgust. When the ever-drunken Prokhor rapped at his door and announced -that dinner was served, he ran into the dining-room impatiently, -hurriedly swallowed his three courses and disappeared again into his -study. Something new showed in his manners--a mixture of timidity and -derision, as if he both feared and defied the few people whom he met. -He rose very early and immediately set to work. He cut down the time -devoted to worship, said his prayers indifferently, without thinking of -their meaning, crossed himself and went through the other gestures of -worship mechanically and carelessly. Apparently even the notion of a -hell with its complicated system of punishments was no longer present -in his mind. - -Meanwhile Yevpraksia reveled in the satisfaction of carnal desires. -Dancing between the clerk Ignat and the coachman Arkhip, and also -casting glances at the red-faced carpenter Ilyusha, who was mending the -cellars at the head of a gang of workmen, she did not notice what was -going on in the manor-house. She thought the master was playing "a new -comedy," and many a light remark about the master was passed in the -jolly gatherings of the servants. But one day she happened to enter the -dining-room when Yudushka was hurriedly despatching the remnants of -roast goose, and suddenly a kind of dread fell upon her. - -Porfiry Vladimirych wore a greasy dressing-gown, through the holes of -which the cotton interlining peeped out. He was pale, unkempt, and his -face bristled with a many days' growth. - -"Dear master, what is it? What is the matter?" she turned to him in -fright. - -Porfiry Vladimirych only smiled half sheepishly, half derisively, and -the meaning of his smile was: "I'd like to see how you could get at me -now." - -"Darling master, what is the matter? Tell me, what has happened to -you?" repeated Yevpraksia. - -He rose, fixed on her a gaze brimming over with hatred, and said, -pausing after each word: - -"If you, you hussy, ever dare--enter my study--I will kill you!" - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -As a result of this scene Yudushka's life outwardly changed for -the better. Distracted by no material hindrances, he gave himself -completely over to his solitude, so that he did not even notice how the -summer passed away. - -It was late in August, the days grew shorter; it drizzled ceaselessly -and the soil became boggy. The trees looked mournful, with their -yellow leaves bestrewing the ground. Absolute silence reigned in the -court-yard and about the servants' quarters. The domestics sat quietly -under cover, partly because of the weather, partly because they finally -perceived that something was the matter with the master. Yevpraksia -came completely to her senses, forgot the silk dresses and her lovers, -and sat in the maids' room for hours on end, brooding and wondering -what she could do. The drunken Prokhor teased her that she had designs -on the master's life, that she had poisoned him and she could not -escape the road to Siberia. - -Meanwhile, Yudushka sat in his study, deep in reveries. The ceaseless -patter of the rain on the window-panes lulled him half to sleep--the -most favorable state for the play of his fancy. He imagined he was -invisible and was inspecting his possessions, accompanied by old Ilya, -who had served as bailiff under Yudushka's father, and whose bones had -long since been rotting in the village churchyard. - -"Ilya is a clever fellow," argued Porfiry Vladimirych with himself, -glad that Ilya had arisen from the dead. "An old servant! Nowadays his -kind is getting rare. Nowadays they know how to chat and fidget, but -when it comes to business, they're good for nothing." - -After saying an appropriate prayer, Yudushka and Ilya pick their way -leisurely across meadows and ravines, dales and hills, and soon reach -the Ukhovshchina waste. For a while they stand dazed, unable to believe -their own eyes. Straight before them looms up a magnificent pine -forest, their tops tossing in the wind. Some of the trees are so big in -circumference that two or even three men could not embrace them. Their -trunks are straight, naked, crowned with mighty, spreading tops--all -signs of vigor and longevity. - -"What a forest, brother!" exclaims Yudushka, enraptured. - -"This wood has been protected from felling," explains Ilya. "Under your -late grandfather Mikhail Vasilyevich, a procession with holy ikons went -around it. And look how tall the trees have grown." - -"How large do you think the forest is?" - -"At that time it held just seventy desyatins, and the desyatin was -then, as you know, one and a half times the present size." - -"And how many trees, d'you think, are there on one desyatin?" - -"I can't tell. Only God has counted them." - -"I reckon there are no less than six or seven hundred trees to a -desyatin. I mean the desyatin now used. Wait! If we take the number to -be six hundred--or, let us say, six hundred and fifty trees, how many -trees are there on one hundred and five desyatins?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych takes a sheet of paper and multiplies 105 by 65 and -gets 6,825 trees. - -"Now, see here, if I were to sell all this timber, do you think I can -get ten rubles a tree?" - -Old Ilya shakes his head. - -"Ten is little," he says. "Look at these trees. Each trunk will give -two mill beams and some planks and boards and firewood. What do you -think is the price of a mill-wheel beam?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych makes believe he does not know, although he figured -out everything to a kopek long ago. - -"Here," continues the peasant, "a beam is worth ten rubles, but if -we take it to Moscow it will be worth its weight in gold. It is a -tremendous beam. You will hardly haul it on a three-horse team. And -think of the second beam that can be made out of the stem, and the -boards and laths and firewood, and branches. Twenty rubles, I should -think, is the lowest price for a tree." - -Porfiry Vladimirych listens and takes in his words greedily. A clever, -faithful servant this Ilya. And how well he has picked out his help! -Old Vavilo, Ilya's assistant--he too has been resting in the churchyard -for a good many years--is quite worthy of his superior. The foresters, -too, are all tried, stalwart men, and the hounds at the corn lofts are -fierce. Both the men and the dogs are ready to grapple with the devil -himself for the master's good. - -"Let's figure out, brother. If we sell the whole forest, what will it -come to?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych again makes a mental calculation of the value of -a large beam, a smaller beam, a plank, a lath, the firewood and the -branches. He adds up, multiplies, now omitting fractions, now adding -them. Columns of numbers fill the sheet. - -"Here is the total, brother," says Yudushka, showing Ilya's phantom an -altogether fabulous sum. The old servant is dazed. - -"Is it not a little too large?" he says, pensively shrugging his -shoulders. - -But Porfiry Vladimirych has already cast off all doubts and giggles -gleefully. - -"You are a queer fellow, brother!" he exclaims. "It isn't I who say it, -it's the number that says it. There is a science called arithmetic. -It never tells a lie, brother! Well, this will do for Ukhovshchina. -Now let's have a look at Lisy-Yamy, brother. It's a long time since I -have been there. I have a strong suspicion the peasants have become -thievish. There's Garanka, the guard--I know, I know. Garanka is a -good, faithful guard, that's true enough. Still, you know. It seems to -me he is not what he used to be either." - -They plough noiselessly and unseen through a birch thicket, and stop -suddenly, holding their breath. A peasant's cart lies sprawling across -the road on its side, and the peasant is standing by, looking at the -broken axle in perplexity. He has been standing there for some time, -cursing the axle and himself and whipping the horse now and then. -Finally he sees he cannot loaf there all day long. He looks around -and pricks up his ears to make sure no one is coming along the road. -Then he selects a suitable birch tree, and takes out an axe. Meanwhile -Yudushka stands motionless and watches. The young birch shudders, sways -and suddenly sinks to the ground like a sheaf of corn, reaped by the -sickle. The thief is about to lop off the length of an axle from the -trunk, but Yudushka has decided that the moment has come. He steals -upon him and in a trice snatches the axe from his hand. - -"Ah!" is all the thief, taken red-handed, has time to exclaim. - -"Ah!" Yudushka mimics him. "Are you allowed to steal timber? 'Ah!' Is -it your birch-tree you have just felled?" - -"Forgive me, sir!" - -"I forgave everyone long ago, brother. I am myself a sinner before the -Lord and I dare not judge another. It is the law, not I, that condemns -you. Take the tree you have felled to the manor-house and pay up a fine -of one ruble. In the meantime, I shall keep your axe. Don't you worry, -it is in good hands, brother." - -Glad that he was able to prove to Ilya how well-grounded were his -suspicions in regard to Garanka, Yudushka transports himself in -imagination to the forester's cottage and reprimands him soundly. On -his way back home he catches three hens belonging to peasants in the -act of feeding on his oats. - -Back in his study, he falls again to work, and a peculiar system of -household management is suddenly born in his brain. The system is based -on the assumption that all mankind suddenly has begun to steal his wood -and damage his fields by letting cattle graze upon them. But this does -not grieve Yudushka, on the contrary he rubs his hands in delight. - -"Let your cattle graze on my fields, fell my trees. I shall be the -better off for it," he repeats, hugely pleased. Then he takes a fresh -sheet of paper and resumes his ciphering and reckoning. The problems -to be solved are these: First, how much oats grows on one desyatin and -what will the fines amount to if the peasants' hens scratch the oats -up? And, second, how many birches grow in Lisy-Yamy and how much money -can they bring in if the peasants fell them illegally and pay the fine? -"A birch, though felled," reflects Yudushka gleefully, "will in the end -get to the house and be used as firewood--firewood free of charge, mind -you!" - -Long rows of figures appear on the paper. Yudushka becomes so tired -and excited that he rises from the table all perspiring and lies down -on the sofa to rest. Here his imagination does not cease its work, it -merely selects an easier theme. - -"Mamma was a clever woman, mamma was," muses Porfiry Vladimirych. "She -knew how to be exacting and how to set one at ease--that is why people -served her so willingly. Still she was not without sins. Oh, yes, she -had plenty of them." - -No sooner does Yudushka think of Arina Petrovna than she appears before -him in person, coming straight from the grave. - -"I don't know, my friend, I don't know what fault you have to find with -me," she says dejectedly, "it seems to me that I----" - -"I know, I know," Yudushka cuts her short unceremoniously. "Let me be -frank and thrash out the matter with you. For instance, why did you not -stop Aunt Varvara Mikhailovna that time?" - -"But how in the world could I stop her? She was of age, and she had the -full right to dispose of herself." - -"Oh, no, permit me, mother dear. What sort of a husband had she? An old -drunkard, not much of a man, I should say. Nevertheless, they had four -children. Where did they come from, I'm asking you?" - -"But how strangely you speak, my friend. As if I were the cause of it -all." - -"Cause or no cause, you could have influenced her. You ought to have -treated her kindly, she would have been shamed by you. But you did the -contrary. You kept on scolding her and calling her shameless, and you -suspected almost every man in the neighborhood of being her lover. Of -course, she kicked up the dust. It's a pity. The Goryushkino estate -would have been ours now." - -"You cannot forget that Goryushkino," says Arina Petrovna, evidently -brought to a standstill. - -"What do I care for Goryushkino? I don't need anything. If I have -enough to buy a church candle and some oil for the image lamp, I am -satisfied. But what about justice, dear mamma, justice? Yes, mother -dear, I would be glad to hold my tongue, but I cannot help being frank -with you. There's a sin on your conscience, a great sin, indeed." - -Arina Petrovna does not answer, and it is impossible to tell whether -she is dejected or merely perplexed. - -"Another thing," Yudushka goes on, evidently reveling in mother dear's -embarrassment. "Why did you buy a house for brother Stepan?" - -"I had to, my friend. I had to give him some share," says Arina -Petrovna, trying to defend herself. - -"And he squandered it away, of course. As if you did not know him! You -knew he was a loafer, a disrespectful, foul-mouthed scamp. And to think -that you wanted to give him the Vologda village, too. A neat little -estate with a nice little forest and a tiny lake, lying like a shelled -egg--Christ be with it! It is well that I happened to be around and -kept you from taking that imprudent step. Ah, mamma dear, mamma dear, -how could you?" - -"But he was a son of mine, you understand? A son!" - -"I know, I understand very well. And still, I repeat, you ought not -to have done it. You paid twelve thousand for the house--where is the -money? And Goryushkino is worth at least fifteen thousand. So the loss -comes to quite a sum." - -"Well, that will do, that will do. Don't be angry with me, please -don't!" - -"I am not angry, dearest mother, I am only upholding the cause of -justice. What's true is true--and I loathe falsehood. I was born with -truth, have lived with truth, and with truth I shall die. God loves -truth and He would have us, too, love it. Take the case of Pogorelka, -for instance. I shall always say you invested too much money in it." - -"But I myself lived there." - -Yudushka clearly reads "You silly Bloodsucker!" on his mother's face; -but he makes believe he does not see. - -"Well, yes, you lived there--still--the image-case is in Pogorelka. -Whose is it, I'd like to know. And the pony and the tea-caddy. I saw -that tea-caddy at Golovliovo with my own eyes, when papa was still -alive. What a beautiful little box!" - -"Well, but----" - -"No, dearest mother, let me speak. Of course it looks like a trifling -matter, but a ruble here, half a ruble there, come to quite a sum in -the end. Let me use exact figures and make it clear to you. Figures -are holy, they never lie." - -Porfiry Vladimirych runs over to the table with the intention of -finally determining the exact amount of loss that his mother dear had -caused him to sustain. He manipulates the counting-board, covers sheets -of paper with rows of figures, arms himself to convict Arina Petrovna. -But fortunately for her his wavering thoughts cannot remain fixed on -one subject for a long time. Unnoticed by himself a new thought enters -his mind and, as if by magic, gives an entirely different trend to his -ideas. The image of his mother, a minute ago so clear before his eyes, -suddenly drops away. He forgets her, his notions become confused, other -notions enter his mind. - -Porfiry Vladimirych has long had the intention of figuring out what his -crops could bring him in. The opportune moment is here. He knows the -peasant is always in want, is always on the lookout to borrow provender -and always pays his debts with interest. He knows also that the peasant -is especially generous with his work, which "costs him nothing," and -is not considered as possessing any value in settling accounts. There -are many needy people in Russia, oh, how many! There are many people -who do not know what the next day will bring them, who see nothing but -despair and emptiness wherever they turn their weary eyes, and who -hear everywhere only one clamor: "Pay your debt! Pay your debt!" It is -around these shiftless, utterly destitute men that Yudushka weaves his -net, with a delight passing sometimes into an orgy. - -It is April, and the peasant as usual has nothing to eat. "You have -gobbled up all your crops, my dear fellows," Porfiry Vladimirych muses. -"All winter you feasted, and in spring your stomach is shrivelled from -hunger." He has just settled the accounts of last year's crops. The -threshing was completed in February, the grain was in the granaries in -March, and the amount was recorded in the numerous books the other day. -Yudushka stands at the window and waits. On the bridge afar off the -peasant Foka appears in his cart. At the bend of the road leading to -Golovliovo he shakes the reins rather hastily, and for want of a whip -hits his battered jade with his fist. - -"He's heading here," whispers Yudushka. "Look at the horse. A wonder it -can drag its feet. But if you had fed it well a month or two, it would -become quite a horse. You might get twenty-five rubles for it, or even -as much as thirty." - -Meanwhile Foka drives up to the servants' house. He ties the animal to -the hedge, throws it a handful of hay, and a minute later stands in the -maids' quarters, shifting from one foot to another. It is in the maids' -quarters that Porfiry Vladimirych usually receives such visitors. - -"Well, friend, how are things going?" - -"Please sir, what I need is some corn." - -"How's that? Are you through with your own? What a pity! If you drank -less vodka, and worked more, and prayed to God, the soil would feel it. -Where one grain grows now, two grains would grow. Then there would be -no need for you to borrow." - -Foka smiles vaguely, instead of replying. - -"You think if God is far from us, He does not see?" Porfiry Vladimirych -goes on moralizing. "God is here and there and everywhere, he is with -us while we are talking here. He sees everything and hears everything, -he only pretends not to see things. 'Let my creatures live after -their own way, and we shall see whether they will remember me.' And we -sinners take advantage of that, and instead of buying a candle for God -from our meager means, we keep on going to the public-house. That's why -God gives us no corn. Am I not right, friend?" - -"You are quite right, sir. There's no denying it." - -"Well, you see, you understand it now. And why is it that you -understand it? Because the Lord withdrew His mercy from you. If you -had had an abundant crop of corn, you would carry on again, but since -God----" - -"Right, sir, and if----" - -"Wait a minute. Let me say a word. The Lord recalls Himself to those -who forgot Him. That is always the case. And we must not grumble over -it, but understand that God does it for our good. Were we to remember -God, He would never forget us. He would grant us everything, corn and -oats and potatoes--more than we need. And He would take care of our -animals. Look at your horse. It is skin and bones. And if you have -chickens, He would keep them in condition, too." - -"You are quite right, sir." - -"Man's first duty is to honor God, man's second duty is to honor -his superiors, those who have been distinguished by the czars -themselves--the gentry, for instance." - -"It seems to me, sir, that I----" - -"That's just it, 'it seems to me.' But give a little thought to the -matter, and you will find out that it's all different. Now when you -have come to borrow corn you are very respectful and bland. But two -years ago, you remember, when I needed harvesters and came to you -peasants to ask for help, what did you answer? 'We have to harvest -ourselves,' you said. 'It is not the way it used to be,' you said, -'when we worked for the landlords. Now we are free!' Free, and no corn!" - -Yudushka looks at Foka, but Foka does not stir. - -"You are very proud, that's why you have no luck. Take me, for example. -The Lord has blessed me, and the Czar has distinguished me. But I am -not proud. How can I be? What am I but a worm, a moth, a nothing. God -took and blessed me for my humility. He loaded me with favors, and put -it into the Czar's mind to favor me, too." - -"Porfiry Vladimirych, I think that under serfdom we were far better -off," Foka remarks, playing the flatterer. - -"Yes, brother, those were fine days for you peasants. You had plenty of -everything, corn and hay and potatoes. But why recall the old times? I -am not rancorous. I have long forgotten about the harvesters. I only -mentioned them in passing. Let me see--did you say you needed corn?" - -"Yes, I did, sir." - -"You have come to buy some, have you?" - -"How can I? I should like to borrow some until the new corn comes." - -"My, my! Corn is not to be had for money nowadays. I really don't know -what to do with you." - -Porfiry Vladimirych ponders for a while, as if really perplexed. - -"I can lend you some corn, my friend," he finally says. "I have none -for sale, for I loathe to traffic in God's gifts. But I will gladly -lend you some corn. To-day I'll lend to you, to-morrow you'll lend to -me. To-day I have plenty. Take some, help yourself. You want a measure -of corn? Take a measure. You want half a measure? Take half a measure. -Tomorrow may find me knocking at your window saying, 'Dear Foka, lend -me half a measure of corn, I have nothing to eat.'" - -"Oh, sir, will you come to me?" - -"I shall not. That was merely an example. The world has seen greater -reverses. There was Napoleon, about whom the newspapers have written so -much. That's how it is, brother. So how much corn do you want?" - -"A measure, if you please." - -"Well, I can let you have a measure. Only let me warn you, corn is -tremendously dear nowadays. This is what we are going to do: I shall -give you six chetveriks, and in eight months you will deliver a measure -to me. I don't take any interest, but an additional chetverik or -two----" - -Yudushka's offer makes Foka gasp. For some time he says nothing, only -shrugs his shoulders. "Won't that be a bit too much, sir?" he says at -last, evidently alarmed. - -"If it's too much, go to others. You see, my friend, I am not forcing -you, I am only making you an offer in a friendly way. I didn't send for -you, did I? You came here yourself. You came to ask for something and -that's my answer. Isn't it so, friend?" - -"Yes, quite so, but don't you think it's too much interest?" - -"Ah, ah, ah! And I thought you were a just, respectable peasant. Well, -you will say to me, what am I going to live on? How will I meet my -expenses? Do you know what expenses I have? My dear man, there is no -end to them. I've got to pay here, and meet my obligations there, and -produce cash in a third place. I've got to satisfy every one. All are -after Porfiry Vladimirych, all ask something of him, and I've got to -get along with them as best I can. And then again, if I sold the corn -to the dealer, I should get money at once. And money, my friend, is -a sacred thing. With money I can buy securities, put them in a safe -place, and draw interest. No worry, you know, of any kind, no trouble -at all. Just clip the coupon and get your money. But with the corn -you've got to go carefully about it, and look after it, and all that. -A lot of it will dry up, and be wasted, and the mice will eat it up. -No, brother, money is the best thing--nothing like it! It would be high -time for me to become sensible and turn everything into money and leave -you folks." - -"Oh, Porfiry Vladimirych, stay with us." - -"Well, my dear man, I should like to, but I can't stand it any longer. -If I had the strength of my youth, of course I would stay with you -and keep at it. But no, it's time to rest. I will go to the Trinity -Monastery, I will find shelter under the wing of the saints, and not a -soul will hear from me. And how good I'll feel! All will be peaceful -and quiet and honest; no noise, no quarrels--like in Heaven." - -In a word, in spite of all of Foka's protestations, Porfiry Vladimirych -arranges the bargain to suit himself. But that is not enough. At the -very moment that Foka consents to the terms of the loan, a thought -flashes through Yudushka's mind. A certain Shelepikha meadow appears on -the scene. It doesn't amount to much, hardly a desyatin to mow. - -"You see, I am doing you a favor, so you do me one in turn," says -Porfiry Vladimirych. "This is not interest, but just a favor. God does -favors to us all, and we've got to do likewise to one another. You will -mow this desyatin in no time, and I'll be much obliged to you. You see, -brother, I am a plain man. You'll do me a ruble's worth of service, and -I----" - -Porfiry Vladimirych rises, faces the church, and makes the sign of the -cross to show that the transaction is at an end. Foka also rises and -makes the sign of the cross. - -Foka has disappeared. Porfiry Vladimirych produces a sheet of paper, -arms himself with the counting-board, and the beads begin jumping -fast under his skilful fingers. Little by little an orgy of numbers -commences. The whole world becomes enwrapped in mist. With feverish -haste Yudushka passes from the paper to the counting-board and from the -counting-board to the paper. The rows of figures keep growing larger -and larger. - - - - -BOOK VII - -THE SETTLEMENT - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -It is the middle of December. The country stretches still and benumbed, -covered with a mantle of snow as far as the eye can reach. The -horses, though pulling empty carts, wade with difficulty through the -snow-drifts that the wind has driven during the night. There is not the -trace of a path to the Golovliovo estate. - -Porfiry Vladimirych had grown so unaccustomed to visits that in the -beginning of autumn he barred the front entrance to the house and the -main gateways leading to it, leaving only the servants' entrance and -the side gates for the domestics to communicate with the outer world. - -One morning as the clock was striking eleven, Yudushka in his -dressing-gown was standing at the window staring aimlessly before him. -Since early morning he had been walking to and fro in the room, deep -in thought about a certain momentous matter, and ceaselessly counting -imaginary profits. Finally, he became mixed in the ciphering and grew -tired. Both the magnificent orchard in front of the manor and the -village behind it were lost to view in the snow. After yesterday's -blizzard the air was frosty, and the snow shimmered and sparkled in the -sun, so that Porfiry Vladimirych had to blink. The court was silent and -deserted. There was not the least movement, either in the servants' -quarters or near the cattle yard. Even the village itself was so silent -that it seemed as if death had suddenly stolen upon the people. The -only thing that attracted Yudushka's attention was a curl of thin smoke -floating upward from the priest's house. - -"Eleven o'clock, and the parson's wife has not yet finished cooking," -he thinks. "Those black coats are always gorging." - -With this as a point of departure, his mind wandered on. Was it a -weekday or a holiday, a fast day or not, and what can the parson's -wife be cooking? But suddenly his attention was diverted. On the hill -at the very beginning of the road from the village of Pogorelka a -black dot appeared, approached gradually and grew larger and larger. -Porfiry Vladimirych looked intently. "Who could be coming, a peasant or -somebody else? Who could it be but a peasant? Yes, a peasant! What was -he coming for? If for wood, why, then, the Naglovka forest was on the -other side of the village. The knave must be intending to steal some -wood. If he was making for the mill, why, then, he ought to have turned -to the right. Perhaps he was coming to fetch the priest. Someone dying, -or, perhaps, already dead? Or maybe a child had been born? Who could it -be? In autumn Nenila walked about pregnant, but it was too early for -her. If it should be a boy, he would get into the census. What was the -population of Naglovka at the last census? But if a girl, she would -not get into the census, and----Still, it is impossible to get along -without the female sex. Fie!" - -Yudushka spat and looked at the ikon in the corner, as if seeking its -protection from the Evil One. - -It is quite possible that he would have continued wandering in thought -had the black speck been lost to view, but it kept on growing and at -last turned toward the marsh road leading to the church. Then Yudushka -saw quite clearly that it was a small wagon pulled by two horses, one -behind the other. Next it went up the hill, and drove past the church. -"Perhaps it is the bishop," passed through his mind. "That's why they -have not yet finished cooking at the parson's house." Then the vehicle -turned to the right and made straight for the manor-house. Porfiry -Vladimirych instinctively drew his dressing-gown together and stepped -away from the window, as if afraid of being seen by the traveller. - -He had guessed correctly. The wagon drove up to the house and stopped -at the side gate. A young woman jumped out of it quickly. She was -dressed out of season in a large cotton-lined greatcoat trimmed with -lamb's fur, more for show than for warmth. She was apparently frozen. -No one appearing to receive her, the stranger hopped over to the maids' -entrance. In a few seconds the outer door in the women's quarters -banged shut, then another door, and another, until all the rooms -adjacent to the maids' entrance were filled with a noise of hurried -footsteps and banging doors. - -Porfiry Vladimirych stood at his study door listening intently. It was -so long since he had seen any strangers, and altogether he had become -so unaccustomed to the company of human beings, that he was somewhat -bewildered. Nearly a quarter of an hour passed, the running and the -banging of the doors continued, and yet he was not told who had come. -It was clear that the guest was a relative, who did not doubt her -right to the host's hospitality. But what relatives had he? He tried to -recall them, but his memory was dull. He had had two sons, Volodka and -Petka; he had had a mother, Arina Petrovna--long, long ago! Last autumn -Nadka Galkina, daughter of his late aunt Varvara Mikhailovna, had taken -up her residence at Goryushkino. Could it be she? Why, no. She had -already tried to make her way into the Golovliovo temple, but to no -avail. - -"She will not dare to, she will not dare to!" reiterated Yudushka, -burning with indignation at the very thought of her intrusion. "But who -else can it be?" - -While he was busy guessing, Yevpraksia approached the door cautiously -and announced: - -"The young lady of Pogorelka, Anna Semyonovna, has arrived." - -It was indeed Anninka, but changed beyond recognition. She was no -longer the beautiful, lively, buoyant girl with rosy cheeks, full -gray eyes, high breast and heavy, ash-colored tresses massed low on -her head, who had come to Golovliovo shortly after the death of Arina -Petrovna, but a weak, wasted creature with a sunken chest, hollow -cheeks, a hectic face and languid movements--a bent creature, almost -hunch-backed. Even her splendid braids looked miserable, and her eyes, -blazing feverishly, seemed larger than ever in her emaciated face. Her -eyes alone retained something of their former beauty. Yevpraksia stared -long at her as at a stranger, then finally recognized her. - -"You?" she cried out, clapping her hands. - -"I. Well?" - -Anninka laughed quietly, as if to add, "Yes, life has played me a dirty -trick." - -"Is uncle well?" - -"Uncle? Nothing is the matter with him. He is alive, there is no doubt -about that, but we hardly ever see him." - -"What's the matter with him?" - -"Just so--it's all because of lonesomeness." - -"Don't tell me he has stopped haranguing?" - -"He is real quiet now, miss. He used to talk and talk, but suddenly he -became silent. Occasionally we hear him in his study talking to himself -and sometimes even laughing, but as soon as he comes out of the room he -is quiet. People say his late brother, Stepan Vladimirych, had the same -trouble. At first he was gay, then suddenly he became quiet. And you, -madam, are you well?" - -Anninka only waved her hand in reply. - -"And is your sister well?" - -"She has been lying in her grave at the wayside at Krechetovo a month." - -"Lord be merciful! At the wayside!" - -"Of course, that's how they bury all suicides." - -"Goodness! A lady--and to take her own life! How is that?" - -"Yes, at first she was a 'lady,' and then she took poison, that's all. -And I, I am a coward, I want to live, and here I have come to you. Not -for long, oh, don't be afraid. I shall die soon, too." - -Yevpraksia stared at her, as if she did not understand. - -"Why are you looking at me? Am I such a fright? Well, never mind my -looks. However, I'll tell you later--later. Now pay the coachman and -announce me to uncle." - -She produced an old pocketbook and took out two yellow bills. - -"And here is all my property," she added, pointing to a small trunk. -"Here's everything, both my inheritance and my own acquisitions. I am -cold, Yevpraksia, very cold. I am quite sick, there's not a bone in my -body that doesn't ache, and here as if to spite me, it is so cold. As I -was riding, I thought of only one thing, to get to Golovliovo, and die -there, at least in warmth. I'd like to have some vodka. Have you any?" - -"You had better have some tea, madam. The samovar will soon be ready." - -"No, I shall have tea later. Now I'd like to have some vodka. However, -don't tell uncle about the vodka yet. It will all come out later." - -While they set the table for tea in the dining-room Porfiry Vladimirych -appeared. Now Anninka in her turn was completely surprised at her -uncle's emaciation and wild, faded looks. Porfiry received Anninka in -a strange manner, not coldly, but as if altogether indifferent. He -spoke little, as if under compulsion, like an actor trying to recall -sentences of parts acted in days gone by, and was absent-minded, as -though his mind were absorbed in some grave, urgent business from which -he had been torn away to attend to trifles. - -"So you have arrived?" he said. "What will you have, tea, coffee? Order -the servants to fetch it." - -In former days, at family meetings, Yudushka always played the -sentimental part. This time it was Anninka who was filled with -emotions, genuine emotions. The claw of sorrow must have sunk deep -into her being, for she threw herself on Porfiry Vladimirych's breast -and embraced him ardently. - -"Uncle, I have come to you!" she cried, and burst into tears. - -"Well, you are welcome. I have enough rooms. Live here." - -"I am sick, uncle, very, very sick." - -"If you are sick, you must pray to God! Whenever I am not well, I -always heal myself through prayer." - -"I have come to you, uncle, to die." - -Porfiry Vladimirych looked at her with questioning eyes, and an almost -imperceptible smile stole over his lips. - -"So that is where your acting has brought you?" - -"Yes, that is where my acting has brought me. Lubinka is dead and I--I -am alive," - -At the news of Lubinka's death Yudushka piously crossed himself and -whispered a prayer. Anninka seated herself at table, her chin in her -hands, looking toward the church and continuing to cry bitterly. - -"See here, as for weeping and being in despair, it is surely a sin," -remarked Porfiry Vladimirych sententiously. "And do you know what -a Christian must do on such an occasion? Not cry, but submit and -hope--that's how a Christian has to act." - -But Anninka threw herself back on the chair and repeated, her arms -drooping helplessly: - -"Ah, I do not know, I do not know, I do not know!" - -"If you are crying your eyes out on account of your sister," Yudushka -continued to sermonize, "that is a sin, too. For although it is -praiseworthy to love one's sisters and brothers, yet, if it be the will -of God to take one or several of them to Himself----" - -"Oh, no, no! Uncle, are you kind? Are you kind? Tell me!" - -Anninka threw herself on him again and embraced him. - -"Well, I am kind, kind. Tell me, do you wish anything? Will you have a -bite, or tea, or coffee? Ask for what you want. Order it." - -Anninka suddenly remembered how during her first visit her uncle used -to ask her, "Will you have beef, pork, potatoes?" And she realized that -she would find no other consolation. - -"Thank you, uncle," she said, seating herself at the table again. "I do -not want anything in particular. I am sure I shall be contented with -anything you offer me." - -"If so, well and good. Will you go to Pogorelka?" - -"No, uncle, for the time being I shall stay with you. You have nothing -against it, have you?" - -"Christ be with you, of course I don't object. I asked about Pogorelka -only because in case you do wish to go there, it would be necessary to -arrange for a wagon and horses." - -"No, later, later." - -"Very well, then. You will go there later on. Meanwhile you can stay -with us. You will help about the house, for I'm all alone, you see. -This queen," said Yudushka, almost in hatred, pointing to Yevpraksia -pouring the tea, "is all the time running about in the servants' -quarters, so that sometimes you can never get any service, not a soul -in the whole house. Well, good-by for the present. I shall go to my -room. I shall pray, do some work and pray again. So, my friend. Is it -long since Lubinka died?" - -"About a month, uncle." - -"Then tomorrow we shall go to church early and order a mass to be -read for God's recently deceased servant Lubinka. So good-by for the -present. Have some tea, and if you want a bit of luncheon, have the -servant bring it to you. At dinner we shall meet again, have a talk, -a chat. And if anything has to be done, we shall attend to it, if -not--not." - -Such was the first family meeting. When it was over, Anninka entered -upon her new life in that disgusting Golovliovo, where she was stranded -for the second time in her short life. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Anninka had gone downhill very fast. It was true that her first visit -to Golovliovo had aroused the consciousness of being a "lady," of -having her own nest and her own graves, of not being confined in her -life to the squalor and uproar of hotels and inns, and of having a -shelter where she would be safe from vile breaths infected with the -odor of wine and the stable, from hoarse voices, bloodshot eyes, -indecent gestures. But alas! No sooner did Golovliovo disappear from -sight than this purifying consciousness vanished from her mind. - -Anninka had gone from Golovliovo straight to Moscow, and solicited a -position on the government stage both for herself and her sister. With -this in view she turned for aid to _maman,_ that is, the directress of -the boarding-school where she had been educated, and to several of her -classmates. _Maman_ was at first quite kind to her, but as soon as she -discovered that her former pupil had acted on the provincial stage, -her pleasant manner changed to one of haughtiness and sternness. As -for Anninka's classmates, who were mostly married women, they eyed her -with an impertinent astonishment that quite frightened her. Only one -of them, better-natured than the rest, asked her, evidently wishing to -show sympathy: - -"Tell me, darling, is it true that when you actresses dress for the -stage, officers lace your corsets?" - -In a word, her attempts to gain a foothold in Moscow remained -unsuccessful. The truth of the matter was, she did not possess the -necessary qualifications for theatrical success in the capital. She -and her sister Lubinka belonged to that class of lively, but not very -talented actresses who play one part all their lives. Anninka had made -a hit in _Pericola,_ Lubinka in _Pansies_ and _Old-time Colonels,_ and -whatever new rôles they studied strangely resembled their successful -parts, or, in the majority of cases, were a complete failure. Anninka -often had to play _Fair Helen_ also. She would wear a flaming red wig -over her ash-colored hair, and cut her tunic down to her waist line, -but she was mediocre and dull, not even cynical. From _Fair Helen_ she -passed to the _Duchess of Herolstein._ In this her colorless acting -was coupled with a completely preposterous _mise en scène_, and the -outcome was altogether miserable. At last she undertook to play the -role of Clairette in _The White Slave._ But she overdid her part to -such an extent that even the none too refined provincial public was -shocked by her behavior on the stage, which she turned into a mire of -corruption. Anninka gained the reputation of being a clever actress -with a fairly good voice, and since she was pretty, she could get an -audience in the provinces. But that was all. Lacking individuality, she -could not attain permanent success. Even among the provincial public -she was popular mainly with army officers, whose chief ambition was to -obtain access behind the scenes. She could have got an engagement in -the capital only if she had been forced upon some manager by a powerful -patron, and even then the public would have given her the unenviable -nickname of "a tavern singer." - -Thus the two girls had to go back to the provinces. In Moscow Anninka -received a letter from Lubinka, saying that their company had removed -from Krechetov to the city of Samovarnov, which made Lubinka quite -glad, because there she had become friendly with a certain zemstvo -leader, who was so infatuated that he was almost, in his own words, -"ready to steal the zemstvo funds, if that were necessary to gratify -all her desires." - -In fact, on her arrival in Samovarnov, Anninka found her sister quite -luxuriously situated and planning to give up the stage. Lubinka's -admirer, the zemstvo official Gavrilo Stepanych Lyulkin, was a retired -captain of the Hussars, recently a _bel homme,_ but now somewhat -corpulent. His appearance and manners and views taken separately were -conspicuously noble, but taken together they gave one the strong -impression that the man was altogether free from scruples. Lubinka -received Anninka with open arms and told her a room had been prepared -for her at the lodgings. - -Anninka, still under the influence of her trip to Golovliovo, bridled -up at the suggestion. The sisters exchanged tart words, and soon -afterwards they separated. Involuntarily Anninka recalled the words -of the Volpino parson, who had told her it was hard to safeguard a -maiden's "honor" in the acting profession. - -Anninka went to live at a hotel and broke off all relations with her -sister. Easter passed. The next week the theatres opened, and Anninka -found out that her sister's place was already filled by Nalimova, a -girl from Kazan, a mediocre actress, but utterly unconstrained in -the movements of her body. As usual, Anninka played _Pericola_ and -enchanted the Samovarnov theatregoers. On her return to the hotel, -she found an envelope in her room containing a hundred ruble bill and -a laconic note which read: "Should anything happen, you get as much. -Merchant Kukishev, dealer in fancy goods." Anninka was enraged and went -to complain to the hotel-keeper. He told her Kukishev had this peculiar -habit of greeting the newly arrived actresses, and otherwise was a -harmless man and it did not pay to take offence. Anninka sealed up the -letter and the money in an envelope, sent it back the very next day, -and regained her composure. - -But Kukishev was more persistent than the hotel-keeper had reported -him to be. He was among Lyulkin's friends and was on good terms with -Lubinka. He was quite well-to-do and, besides, as a member of the city -administration was in a most convenient position with regard to the -city treasury. And like Lyulkin, boldness was not his least virtue. -According to the taste of market people he possessed a seductive -appearance, reminding one of the beetle, which, as the song has it, -Masha found in the fields instead of berries: - -/$ - "A beetle black, and on his crown - Nice curly hair, with whiskers smart, - His eyebrows colored a dark-brown, - The picture of my own sweetheart." -$/ - -Being the happy possessor of such looks he thought he had the right to -be aggressive, all the more so as Lubinka explicitly promised him her -cooperation. - -Lubinka, apparently, had burned all her bridges, and her reputation was -by no means a pleasant topic in her sister's ears. Every night, it was -said, a merry band caroused in her rooms from midnight till morning, -Lubinka presiding and appearing as a "gypsy," half naked (at this, -Lyulkin, addressing his intoxicated friends, would cry out, "Look, -there's a breast!") and with loosened hair. She would sing to the -accompaniment of a guitar: - -/$ - "How I did love it with my mash, - Who had the darlingest mustache!" -$/ - -Anninka listened to the stories about her sister and became greatly -worried. What surprised her most was that Lubinka sang the ditty about -the "mash who had the darlingest mustache" in a gypsy-like manner, -just like the celebrated Matryusha of Moscow. Anninka always gave her -sister due credit, and had she been told that Lubinka sang couplets -from _Old-time Colonels_ with unsurpassed excellence, she would have -considered it quite natural and would have readily believed it. The -theatergoers of Kursk, Tambov and Penza had not yet forgotten with what -inimitable naïveté Lubinka sang the most atrocious ambiguities in her -soft little voice. But that Lubinka could sing like a gypsy--pardon -me! A lie! She, Anninka, could sing like that, no doubt of it. It was -her genre, her business, and everyone in Kursk who had seen her in the -play, _Russian Romances Personified,_ would willingly testify to it. - -Anninka would take the guitar, sling the striped sash over her -shoulder, sit down on a chair, cross her legs and begin: "I-ekh! -I-akh!" It was the very manner of Matryusha the gypsy. - -However that may have been, one thing was certain, that Lubinka was -extravagant. And Lyulkin, for fear of introducing a discordant note -into the drunken bliss, had already resorted to borrowing from the -zemstvo treasury. Not to speak of the tremendous amount of champagne -which was both consumed and poured out on the floor in Lubinka's -quarters, all sorts of things had to be provided to feed her growing -capriciousness and extravagance. First it was dresses from Mme. -Minangois of Moscow, then jewelry from Fuld. Lubinka was rather thrifty -and did not scorn valuables. Her licentiousness by no means interfered -with her love of gold, diamonds and especially lottery bonds. At any -rate, it was a life not of gaiety, but of boisterous debauchery and -continuous intoxication. - -There was one thorn in the rose-bush. It was necessary for Lubinka to -curry favor with the chief of police. Although a friend of Lyulkin's, -he sometimes liked to make his power felt, and Lubinka always guessed -when he was dissatisfied with her hospitality, for the next day the -police warden would come to ask for her passport. And she yielded. In -the morning she would treat the district chief of police to vodka and -a light repast, while in the evening she would personally prepare a -"Swedish" punch of which he was very fond. - -Kukishev watched this ocean of luxury and burned with envy. He -conceived a desire to lead a similar life and have just such a -mistress. That would put an end to the monotony of provincial life. One -night he would spend with Lyulkin's queen, the next night with his own -queen. That was the dream of his life, the ambition of an imbecile, -who is the more obstinate in his strivings the greater his stupidity. -Anninka seemed to be the most suitable person for the realization of -his hopes. - -But Anninka would not surrender. She was still new to the stir of -passion, although she had had numerous suitors and had been rather -free in her relations with them. At one time she even thought she was -ready to fall in love with the local tragedian Miloslavsky X, who was -consumed with passion for her. But Miloslavsky X was so hare-brained -and so persistently drunk that he never told her of his love, only -stared at her and stolidly hiccoughed when she passed by. So the love -affair never ripened. The other suitors Anninka considered as something -in the nature of indispensable furniture, to which a provincial actress -is doomed by the very conditions of her profession. She submitted to -these conditions, and took advantage of their minor privileges, such as -applause, bouquets, drives, picnics, etc., but further than this so to -speak external dissipation, she did not go. - -She persisted in this manner of conduct. During the whole summer she -had kept to the path of virtue, jealously guarding her honor, as if -anxious to show the Volpino priest that moral strength can be found -even among actresses. Once she even decided to complain about Kukishev -to the governor, who listened to her with kindly favor and commended -her for her heroism. But seeing that her complaint was an indirect -attack on his own person as the governor of the province, he added -that, having spent all his strength against the internal enemy, he -strongly doubted whether he could be of any use. Hearing this, Anninka -blushed and went away. - -Meanwhile Kukishev acted so artfully that he succeeded in making -the public take an interest in his efforts. People suddenly became -convinced that Kukishev was right and that Pogorelskaya I, as she was -dubbed on the posters, only looked as if butter would not melt in her -mouth. A whole clique was formed with the express purpose of taming -the refractory upstart. The campaign was started by several habitués -of the theatre who gradually began to hang around her dressing-room -and made their nest in the adjoining room belonging to Miss Nalimova. -Then, without exhibiting direct enmity, the audiences began to receive -Pogorelskaya I, when she appeared on the stage, with a disheartening -reserve, as if she were not the star actress, but some insignificant -dumb performer. At last the clique insisted that the manager take some -parts away from Anninka and give them to Nalimova. And what was most -curious, the most important part in this underhand intrigue was played -by Lubinka, whose confidant was Nalimova. - -Toward autumn Anninka was surprised to find that she was compelled to -play the rôle of Orestes in _Fair Helen_, and only Pericola had been -left to her of all her main parts. That was because Nalimova would not -dare to vie with her in the rôle. In addition, the manager notified her -that in view of her cold reception by the audiences, her salary would -be reduced to seventy-five rubles a month, with only half the proceeds -of one benefit during the year. - -Anninka lost courage, because with so small a salary she would have -to move from the hotel to an inn. She wrote letters to two or three -managers offering her services, but invariably received the answer -that they were actually flooded with applicants for the Pericola rôle, -and besides, they had learned of her shrewish obstinacy from reliable -sources, and so could not foresee any hopes of her success. - -Anninka was now living on her last savings. Another week and she would -have to move to the inn and live with Khoroshavina, who was playing -_Parthenis_ and was favored with the attention of a constable. She -began to yield to despair, especially since a mysterious hand put a -note into her room every day containing the same words, "Pericola, -submit. Your Kukishev." And at the critical moment Lubinka most -unexpectedly rushed in. - -"Tell me, please, for what prince are you saving your treasure?" she -asked curtly. - -Anninka was taken aback. First of all she was amazed to find that both -the Volpino priest and Lubinka employed the same word "treasure" for -maidenly honor. Only the priest had regarded it as the "foundation of -life," while Lubinka looked upon it as a mere trifle over which the -"rascally males" go mad. - -Then she involuntarily questioned herself, What is this "treasure," -anyhow? Is it really a treasure and is it really worth hoarding? Alas, -she could find no satisfactory answer to her questions. On one hand, it -is rather shameful to remain without honor, and on the other----Ah, the -devil take it! And could it be that the whole purpose, the whole merit -of her existence consisted in struggling every moment of her life to -maintain this treasure? - -"In only six months I have succeeded in getting thirty bonds," Lubinka -continued, "and lots of things. Look what a dress I have on!" - -Lubinka turned about, pulled at the front, then at the sides, letting -herself be examined. The dress was really an expensive one and -unusually well made. It came straight from Minangois in Moscow. - -"Kukishev is a kind sort," Lubinka resumed. "He will dress you up like -a doll, and he will give you money. You'll be able to send the theatre -to the devil. You have had enough of it." - -"Never!" cried Anninka heatedly. She had not as yet forgotten the -phrase, "sacred art." - -"You may remain if you wish to. You will get your former salary again -and outstrip Nalimova." - -Anninka was silent. - -"Well, good-by. They are waiting for me downstairs. Kukishev is there, -too. Will you come?" - -But Anninka maintained her silence. - -"Well, think it over, if there is anything to think about. And when you -have done thinking, come to see me. Good-by." - -On the seventeenth of September, Lubinka's birthday, the posters of -the Samovarnov theatre announced a gala performance. Anninka appeared -as _Fair Helen_ again, and the same evening the part of Orestes was -performed by Pogorelskaya II, Lubinka. To complete the triumph of the -sisters, Nalimova was given the part of Cleon, the blacksmith. She -appeared on the stage dressed in tights and a short coat, her face -touched with soot, and a sheet of iron in her hands. The audience -was elated. Hardly did Anninka appear on the stage when the audience -raised such a clamor that, already unaccustomed to ovations, she nearly -broke into tears. And when, in the third act, in the scene where she -is awakened at night, she stood up on the sofa almost naked, the house -was one groaning mass of humanity. One man in the audience was so -thoroughly worked up that he shouted to Menelaus, who was entering -the stage, "Get out, damn you!" Anninka understood that the public -had pardoned her. As for Kukishev, he was in full dress, white tie -and white gloves. In the entr'actes he generously treated friends and -strangers alike to champagne and spoke of his triumph with dignity. -At last the manager of the theatre, brimming over with jubilation, -appeared in Anninka's room and, kneeling before her, said, "Now, madam, -you are a good girl and you will get your previous salary with the -corresponding number of benefits." - -Everybody praised her and congratulated her and protested their -sympathy, so that she, who at first was timid, restless, and haunted -with a feeling of oppressive melancholy, grew suddenly convinced that -she had fulfilled her mission. - -After the theatre the whole company went to Lubinka's birthday -celebration, and there the congratulations were reiterated. So large -a crowd gathered in Lubinka's quarters that the tobacco smoke made it -hard to breathe. They sat down to supper, and champagne began to flow -freely. Kukishev kept close to Anninka. This made her somewhat shy, but -she was no longer oppressed by his attentions. It seemed rather funny, -but also flattering, that she had so easily gotten hold of this big, -powerful man, who could bend and straighten out a horseshoe without -effort, and whom she could order about and do with as she wished. -The supper was crowned by that drunken, disorderly gaiety in which -neither the head nor the heart takes a part, and which results only in -headaches and nausea. The tragedian Miloslavsky X was the only one who -looked gloomy and declined champagne, preferring plain vodka, which he -gulped down glass after glass. As to Anninka, she abstained from drink -for some time, but Kukishev was insistent. He went down on his knees -and implored her: - -"Anna Semyonovna, it is your turn. I beseech you. For your happiness, -for friendship and love. Do us a favor." - -She was annoyed by his foolish figure and foolish talk, yet she could -not refuse, and before she had time to collect her thoughts, she was -already dizzy. Lubinka, for her part, was so magnanimous that she -herself asked her sister to sing, "How I did love it with my mash." -Anninka performed it so well that everybody exclaimed, "Ah, that was -just like Matryusha the gypsy." Then Lubinka sang an obscene song of -a different kind, and at once convinced everybody that that kind of -singing was her real genre, in which she had no rivals, just as Anninka -had none in the gypsy songs. In conclusion, Miloslavsky X and Nalimova -presented a "masquerade scene" in which the tragedian recited parts -from _Ugolino_ (a tragedy in five acts, by Polevoy), and Nalimova -followed with a scene from an unpublished tragedy of Barkov. The result -was so unexpected that Nalimova nearly eclipsed the two sisters and -almost became the heroine of the evening. - -It was already dawn when Kukishev, leaving the charming hostess, helped -Anninka into her carriage. Pious townspeople were coming from matins. -At the sight of Anninka, elaborately attired and somewhat unsteady on -her feet, they muttered darkly, "People are coming out of church, and -they are gulping wine. A curse on them!" - -On leaving her sister's, Anninka went not to the hotel but to her own -quarters, small but snug and nicely furnished. She was followed by -Kukishev. - -The whole winter passed in an indescribable hurly-burly. Anninka was -completely in the swing, and if she ever reminded herself of her -"treasure," it was only in order to laugh it off with "How foolish I -was!" Kukishev, very proud of the fact that his "idea" of securing a -mistress like Lubinka had materialized, made ducks and drakes of his -money. Instigated by emulation, he ordered two gowns to Lyulkin's one, -and two dozen bottles of champagne to his one dozen. Lubinka herself -began to envy her sister, because she succeeded in laying by forty -lottery bonds during the winter in addition to a considerable amount of -jewelry. However, they became friendly again and decided to pool their -hoardings. - -Anninka always hoped for something, and during an intimate talk with -her sister, said: - -"When all this will be over, we will go back to Pogorelka. We will have -money and establish a home for ourselves." - -"And you think this will ever end? Fool!" Lubinka retorted cynically. - -To Anninka's misfortune, Kukishev soon came upon a new "idea," which -he began to pursue with his usual obstinacy. A vulgar and eminently -shallow-pated man, he imagined he would reach the pinnacle of bliss if -his queen would "accompany" him, that is, if she would drink vodka with -him. - -Anninka for some time declined, referring to the fact that Lyulkin -never compelled Lubinka to drink vodka. - -"And yet she drinks out of love for Lyulkin," Kukishev retorted. "And -may I ask you, darling, do you take the Lyulkins as an example? They -are Lyulkins, while you and I, we are Kukishevs. Therefore we will -drink in our own Kukishev way." - -Kukishev had his way. Once Anninka took a small glass of green liquid -from the hands of her "beloved" and gulped it down. Of course she saw -stars, choked, coughed, became dizzy, thereby putting Kukishev in -transports of delight. - -"Permit me to remark, darling, that you do not drink well! You did -it too fast," he instructed her, as she quieted down somewhat. "The -wineglass should be held in the tiny hands, so! Then you bring it over -to the lips, slowly--one, two, three--the Lord bless us!" - -And he calmly and gravely gulped down the contents of the glass, as if -he were pouring vodka into a barrel. He did not even frown, but only -took a bit of black bread, dipped it in the salt cellar, and chewed it. - -And so Kukishev succeeded in realizing his second "idea" and even began -to plan another one, which would beat the Lyulkins hollow. Of course he -succeeded in inventing one. - -"You know," he suddenly announced, "as soon as summer comes we will go -to my mill with the Lyulkins, take along some provisions and bathe in -the river." - -"Never!" Anninka objected indignantly. - -"Why not? We will bathe, then have a cocktail, rest a little, and bathe -again. That would be delightful." - -It is not known whether Kukishev's third idea materialized or not, but -it is certain that this drunken debauchery lasted a whole year, during -which time neither the zemstvo nor the city administration exhibited -the slightest anxiety concerning Messrs. Kukishev and Lyulkin. For -appearance's sake Lyulkin visited Moscow twice, and on his return -declared he had sold one of his forests. On being reminded that he had -sold the same forest four years before when living with Domashka the -gypsy, he answered it was another forest that he had sold that time, -and, to give his tale the appearance of veracity, he added detailed -information concerning the name of his newly sold forest-estate. As for -Kukishev, he gave currency to the story that he had smuggled in a large -stock of embroidery from abroad, thereby earning a great deal of money. - -In September of the next year the chief of police asked Kukishev for a -"loan" of a thousand rubles and, Kukishev was foolish enough to refuse. -Then the police superintendent began to confer secretly with the -assistant attorney. ("Both of them guzzled champagne in my house every -evening," Kukishev testified later at the trial.) On September 17th, -at the anniversary of Kukishev's _liaison,_ when he and the others -celebrated Lubinka's birthday again, a member of the city council came -running in and announced to Kukishev that a warrant was being made out -at the City Board for his arrest. - -"They must have found out something!" Kukishev exclaimed rather -pluckily, and without further comment followed the messenger to the -council-hall, and from there to prison. - -The next day the zemstvo council also took fright. The members -assembled and ordered the money in the treasury counted and recounted, -and at last came to the conclusion that their treasury, too, had been -drained by somebody. Lyulkin was present at the examination, pale, -gloomy, but "noble"! When the loss had been discovered, and when it -became apparent to Lyulkin that he had no hope of escaping, he walked -to the window, drew a revolver from his pocket, and fired a bullet into -his temple. - -The event created quite a turmoil in the town. The people pitied -Lyulkin, saying, "At least he ended nobly!" But the general opinion -about Kukishev was, "He was born a shopkeeper, and a shopkeeper he -will die!" Concerning Anninka and Lubinka they simply said that "they -were the cause of it all," and that it would not do any harm to put -them behind the bars, too, so that in future matters might not be very -inviting for such wretches. - -The prosecutors, however, did not arrest them, but terrorized them so -mercilessly that they were completely dismayed. Of course there were -some kind people who advised them to conceal all their valuables, but -they listened and understood nothing. Owing to this, the attorney -for the plaintiffs (both councils hired the same attorney), a daring -fellow, wishing to satisfy his clients, came to the sisters one day, -accompanied by the process server, to take an inventory. He seized -and sealed everything except their dresses and such gold and silver -things as bore inscriptions showing they had been the gifts of the -appreciative public. Lubinka, however, succeeded in hiding a roll of -bank-notes, presented to her the previous evening, in her corset. It -was a thousand rubles, on which the sisters would have to exist for an -indefinite time. - -In expectation of Kukishev's trial, they were kept in the town -about four months. Then the trial began, and the sisters, Anninka -particularly, had to undergo a ruthless ordeal. Kukishev was cynical -in the extreme. He revelled in the disclosure of details, for which -there was really no need, but apparently he was desirous of striking -a pose before the ladies of Samovarnov and exposed everything -indiscreetly. The attorney and the private prosecutor, young and -anxious to afford pleasure to the ladies, took advantage of this and -endeavored to lend the proceeding a frivolous character, in which -they succeeded, of course. Anninka fainted a number of times, but -the private prosecutor paid no attention to this and bombarded her -with questions. At last the investigation ended, and both sides had -their say. Late at night the jurors announced that Kukishev was -guilty, but that there were alleviating circumstances. In view of -this he was sentenced to be deported to Western Siberia. When the -trial was over, the sisters obtained permission to leave Samovarnov. -And it was high time, for the thousand rubles were nearly exhausted. -Besides, the manager of the Kretchetov theatre, with whom they had -made arrangements, demanded that they appear in Kretchetov at once, -threatening to discontinue negotiations if they delayed. Nothing was -seen or heard of the valuables and documents sealed at the demand of -the private prosecutor. - -Such were the consequences of their disregard for their "treasure." -Tormented, crushed, despised by everybody, the sisters lost all faith -in their own strength and all hope for a brighter future. They became -emaciated, slovenly, cowardly. And Anninka, to boot, having been in -Kukishev's school, had learned to drink. - -Matters grew worse. No sooner did they alight from the train at -Kretchetov than they at once found "protectors." Lubinka was taken -by Captain Popkov, Anninka by the merchant Zabvenny. But the jolly -times were no more. Both Popkov and Zabvenny were coarse, quarrelsome, -and rather close-fisted. After three or four months they became -considerably colder. The sisters were even less successful on the -stage than in love affairs. The manager who had accepted the sisters -on the strength of the scandal they had caused at Samovarnov quite -unexpectedly found himself out of his reckoning. At the very first -performance somebody in the gallery shouted when the two girls made -their appearance on the stage, "You convicts!" And the name stuck. It -decided Anninka's and Lubinka's theatrical fate. - -They now lived a dull, drowsy life, devoid of all intellectual -interest. The public was cold, the managers scowled at them, the -"protectors" would not intercede. Zabvenny dreamed, as once Kukishev -had, of how he would "compel" his queen to have a cocktail with him, -how she would at first affect horror, and gradually submit. But he was -very angry when he found out that she was already past mistress in the -art of drinking. The only satisfaction left him was to show his friends -how Anninka "guzzled vodka." Popkov, too, was dissatisfied and declared -Lubinka had grown thin. - -"You once had flesh on your bones," he would say, "tell me, where did -you lose it?" - -On account of this, he was not only unceremonious with her, but often -even beat her when he was drunk. - -Toward the end of the winter the sisters had neither "real" admirers -nor a "permanent position." They still stuck to the theatre, but -there could be no question now either of _Pericola_ or the _Old-time -Colonels._ Lubinka was more cheerful, but Anninka, being more -high-strung, broke down completely. She seemed to have forgotten the -past and was not aware of the present. In addition, she began to cough -suspiciously, apparently on her way toward an enigmatic malady. - -Next summer was terrible. Gradually the sisters were taken to hotels -and were given to travelling gentlemen for a moderate fixed price. -Scandals and beatings followed one another, but the sisters clung to -life desperately, with the tenacity of cats. They reminded one of those -wretched dogs who, in spite of being crippled by a beating, crawl back -to their favorite place, whining as they go. It was not proper to keep -women like that on the stage. - -In those dark days only once did a ray of light find its way into -Anninka's existence. Miloslavsky X, the tragedian, sent her a letter -from Samovarnov in which he persistently offered her his hand and -heart. Anninka read the letter and cried. The night long she tossed -about in bed, and in the morning she sent a curt reply, "Why? Only that -we may drink together?" Then darkness closed down upon her intenser -than ever, and endless, base debauchery began again. - -Lubinka was the first to wake up, or if not to wake up, at least to -feel instinctively that she had lived long enough. There was no work in -sight. Her youth, her beauty, and her embryonic talent, all had somehow -vanished. That they had a shelter in Pogorelka, she never remembered. -It was something distant, vague, long-forgotten. They never did have -much of a liking for Pogorelka, and now their hatred toward the place -was only intensified. Even when they were almost starving the place -attracted her less than ever. And what sort of a figure would she cut -there? A figure which all sorts of drunken, lustful breaths had branded -as a "creature." Those accursed breaths saturated her entire body. -She felt them everywhere, in every place. And what is more horrible, -she grew so accustomed to those disgusting breaths that they became -a part of her very being. So with Anninka, too. Neither the stench -of eating-houses, nor the din of the inns, nor the obscene language -of the drunkards seemed abominable to them, so that had they gone to -Pogorelka, they would surely have missed the "life." Besides, even in -Pogorelka they must have something to live on. All these many years -that they had wandered about the world they had heard nothing of the -revenue that Pogorelka brought. Perhaps the estate was a myth. Perhaps -the folks had all died, all those witnesses of the distant and yet -ever-present years, when they had been brought up by their grandmother, -Arina Petrovna, on sour milk and stale cured meat. - -It was clear that it was best for Lubinka to die. Once this thought -dawns on one's consciousness, it becomes an obsession. The sisters not -infrequently had moments of awakening, but in the case of Anninka they -were accompanied by hysterics, sobs, tears, and so passed away faster. -Lubinka was colder by nature. She did not cry or curse, but the thought -that she was a "hussy" constantly preyed on her mind. And Lubinka was -more reasonable and saw quite clearly that there was not even any -profit in their mode of living. For the future she expected nothing but -shame, poverty and the street. Shame is a matter of habit, it can be -tolerated, but poverty--never! It is better to end it all at once. - -"We must die," she once said to Anninka in that same cool and -deliberate tone in which two years ago she had asked her for whom she -was saving her "treasure." - -"Why?" Anninka objected, somewhat frightened. - -"I mean it seriously. We must die," Lubinka repeated. "Understand, wake -up, think!" - -"Well--let us die," Anninka assented, hardly realizing the dismal -meaning of her decision. - -That same day Lubinka cut off the tips of some matches and prepared two -glasses of the mixture. One of these she drank herself, the other she -offered her sister. But Anninka immediately lost courage and refused to -drink. - -"Drink, you slut," Lubinka cried out. "Sister, dearest, darling, drink!" - -Anninka, almost insane with fear, ran about the room, instinctively -clutching at her throat as if trying to choke herself. - -"Drink, drink--you street-walker!" - -The artistic career of the two sisters was ended. That same evening -Lubinka's corpse was taken into the field and buried. Anninka remained -alive. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Anninka soon introduced an atmosphere of Bohemian life into Yudushka's -nest. She rose late and would roam about the house until dinner-time, -undressed, uncombed, with an aching head, and coughing in such agony -that each time it would send a shudder through Porfiry Vladimirych -in his study and quite frighten him. Her room was always untidy, the -bedding in disorder, and her clothes lying about on the chairs and -floor. At first she saw her uncle only at dinner and evening tea. -The master of Golovliovo came out of his room all dressed in black, -spoke little, and ate with his old-time exasperating slowness. He -was apparently observing her. After dinner came the early December -twilight. Anninka loved to watch the glimmer of the gray winter day -gradually die out and the fields grow dim; she loved to see the -shadows flood the rooms until finally the whole house was plunged in -impenetrable darkness. In the darkness she always felt at ease and -hardly ever lit the candles. The only one she allowed to burn was at -one end of the sitting-room. It was of cheap palm wax, and sputtered -and dripped, its feeble flame formed a tiny circle of light. For some -time the house would be astir with the usual after-dinner noises. -Plates would rattle in the hands of the dish-washers, and drawers open -and close with a clatter; but soon the sound of receding steps would -be heard and a dead silence begin to reign. Porfiry Vladimirych would -take his after-dinner nap and Yevpraksia bury herself in the bedding in -her room. Prokhor would go into the servants' room, and Anninka would -remain entirely alone. - -She would pace from room to room, humming, trying to tire herself out, -but chiefly endeavoring to drive her thoughts away. In walking toward -the sitting-room she would fix her eyes upon the circle of light about -the candle, and walking away from it, she would try to single out some -point in the darkness and keep her eyes fixed on it. But in spite of -her efforts reminiscences surged up in her mind irresistibly. She saw -the dressing-room with its cheap wall paper, the inevitable pier-glass -and the equally inevitable bouquet from Lieutenant Pankov II; the stage -with the stage-properties, sooty, slippery from the damp; the hall with -its pieces of furniture picked up at random and its boxes upholstered -in threadbare purple plush,--the hall which, seen from the stage, -looked trim and even splendid, but in reality was dark and miserable. -And finally--officers, officers, officers without end. Then she saw the -hotel with the vile-smelling corridor, dimly lit by the smoky kerosene -lamp; the room she would dart into in order to change her dress for -further triumphs, the room with the bed in disorder from the morning; -the wash-stand full of dirty water, the bed-sheet lying on the floor, -her cast-off underwear forgotten on a chair. Next she saw herself in -the general dining-room, filled with kitchen odors, the tables set for -supper, with its tobacco smoke, noise, crowds, drinking, debauchery. -And again officers, officers, officers without end. - -Such were her memories of the time she had once called the years of -her successes, triumphs, prosperity. - -These reminiscences were followed by others, the prominent part in -which was played by the inn, filled with a foul stench, with walls on -which the vapor froze in the winter time, insecure flooring, and board -partitions, the glossy bellies of bed-bugs showing in the crevices. -Nights of drinking and brawls, travelling squires hastily taking -greenbacks out of their meager pocket-books, merchants encouraging the -"actresses" almost with a whip in hand. And in the morning--headaches, -nausea, and utter dejection. At last--Golovliovo. - -Golovliovo was death itself, relentless, hollow-wombed death, -constantly lying in wait for new victims. Two uncles had died there, -two cousins had received mortal wounds. And Lubinka! Although Lubinka, -to be sure, had died somewhere in Kretchetov because of her "own -affairs," yet the origin of her wounds went back to her life at -Golovliovo. All the deaths, all the poisonings, all the pestilence, -came from there. There the orphans had been fed on rotten cured -meats, there they heard the first words of hatred and contempt for -human dignity. Not the slightest childish misdeed had passed without -punishment. Nothing could be hidden from the stony-hearted, eccentric -old woman, not an extra bite of bread, not a broken clay doll, not a -torn rag, not a worn shoe. Each breach of law and order was instantly -punished either with a reproach or a slap. And then, when they had -been permitted to dispose of themselves, when they had understood that -they might run away from the disgusting place, they ran--there! And -nobody kept them from running away, nor could they have been kept -from running away, because they could imagine nothing worse or more -repulsive than Golovliovo. - -Ah, if all that could only be forgotten, if one could create a -different existence in one's dreams, a magic world that would supplant -both the past and the present! But alas, the reality Anninka had lived -through had so powerful a hold, that the clutch of it suppressed the -feeble efforts of her imagination. In vain did fancy endeavor to -imagine angels with silvery wings. From behind those angels peeped -inexorably the legions of Kukishevs, Lyulkins, Zabvennys, Popkovs. -Lord! Was all lost? Even the ability to deceive and beguile herself? -Had that been lost forever in the night revels, in wine, and in -debauchery? Yet that past had to be killed somehow, so as not to poison -her blood and rend her heart. It had to be crushed, utterly annihilated. - -How strange and ruthless was that which had happened! It was impossible -even to conceive of some future, of some door by which to escape from -the situation, of anything at all that might occur to change things. -Nothing could occur. And what was even more unbearable was the fact -that to all intents and purposes she was already dead, with the outward -signs of life yet present. She should have ended it then, along with -Lubinka. Somehow she had remained alive. How was it that the mass of -shame which had come upon her then from all sides had not crushed her? -And what an insignificant worm she must have been to have crept out -from underneath that heap of heavy stones piled up on top of her! - -She groaned in agony, and ran about the sitting-room, trying to kill -the burning memories. Before her eyes swam familiar images, the -Duchess of Herolstein shaking a pelisse, Clairette Angot in her wedding -gown with a slit in front up to her waist-line, Fair Helen with slits -in front, behind and at the sides. Nothing but obscenity and nakedness. -That was what her life had consisted of. Could all that possibly have -occurred? - -About seven o'clock the house came to life again. The sounds of the -preparations for tea were heard, and at last came the voice of Porfiry -Vladimirych. Uncle and niece sat down at the tea table and exchanged -remarks about the day just ended; but the daily happenings were scanty -and so the conversation was brief. Having taken tea and kissed Anninka -on the forehead, Yudushka crept back into his den, while Anninka went -into Yevpraksia's room to play cards. - -At eleven o'clock the debauchery began. Having ascertained that Porfiry -Vladimirych was fast asleep, Yevpraksia set the table with various -country corned meats and a bottle of vodka. Now came meaningless and -obscene songs, strumming on the guitar, and Anninka drinking between -the songs and the shameless talk. At first she drank after Kukishev's -manner, coolly, with a "Lord bless us" to each glass, but then she -gradually sank into gloom and began to moan and curse. Yevpraksia -looked at her and pitied her: - -"As I look at you, lady," she said, "I am so sorry for you, so sorry." - -"Drink with me and you won't be sorry," Anninka retorted. - -"No, how can I? They nearly chased me out of the clergy estate because -of your uncle, and now if I become----" - -"Well, then it can't be helped. Let me sing you _The Mustache._" - -She strummed the guitar again, and again came the cry, "I-akh! I-okh!" -Late at night sleep would suddenly overtake her, obliterating her past -and allaying her sufferings for a few hours. The next day, broken down, -half-insane, she would again creep out from beneath the deadening load -of sleep and live anew. - -One of those vile nights when Anninka was singing her filthy songs to -Yevpraksia, Yudushka's pale face, ghastly and harassed, appeared in the -doorway. His lips were quivering, his sunken eyes looked like sightless -cavities by the light of the candle. His hands were folded for prayer. -For a few seconds he stood in front of the dumfounded women, and then -slowly faced round and passed out. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -There are families that are weighed down by an inevitable fate. They -are frequent among that portion of the nobility which once lived idle, -useless, and uninfluential, under the wing of serfdom in all parts of -Russia and is now passing its last days helpless and unprotected in -dilapidated manor-houses. In the life of these wretched families both -success and failure come unexpectedly and as if by sheer accident. - -Sometimes it happens that a shower of good luck, as it were, suddenly -comes streaming down on such a family. The ruined cornet and his wife, -peacefully fading away in an out-of-the-way village, will suddenly be -blessed with a brood of young people, strong, clean, alert, pushing, -adaptable to the new conditions of life--the boys as well as the -girls--in a word, "knowing ones." The boys pass examinations with -flying colors and even establish connections and procure patrons -while still at school. In the nick of time they exhibit their modesty -(_"j'aime cette modestie"_ their superiors say about them), and in the -nick of time they show that they can be independent (_"j'aime cette -indépendance!"_) They quickly scent the direction from which the wind -blows, but they never burn their bridges, so that retreat is free -and easy. These successful makers of our modern history begin with -obsequious cringing, and almost invariably end with perfidy. As to -the girls, they, too, in their line, contribute to the regeneration of -the family, that is, they all marry successfully and then exhibit so -much tact in the art of dressing that they experience no difficulty in -gaining prominent places in so-called society. - -From this combination of circumstances, success fairly pours down upon -the impoverished family. The first successful members who struggle -through courageously, bring up another clean generation, which is still -better off because the main paths have not only been broken but also -well trodden. Other generations succeed until at last a family comes -that has no preliminary struggles and deems it has an inborn right to -lifelong rejoicing. - -Lately, on account of a modern demand for so-called "new men" resulting -from the gradual degeneration of the old men, there have been frequent -instances of successful families. Even in earlier days a comet would -now and then make its appearance on the horizon, but it was a rare -occurrence, the reason being that, first, there were no cracks in the -wall surrounding that blissful region over the gateway to which is -inscribed: "Here pies are eaten daily," and, secondly, because in order -to penetrate into that region, one had to have genuine ability. But now -quite a number of cracks have appeared and the matter of penetration is -considerably simplified, since great merits are no longer demanded of -the newcomer, but only "newness" and nothing else. - -Besides these lucky families there is a great multitude of families -upon whose members the household gods bestow nothing but misfortune -and despair. Like a baleful blight, vice and ill-luck beset them and -devour their substance. The malignant influences attack the whole -stock, eating their way into the very heart and laying waste generation -after generation. There is born a race of weaklings, drunkards, petty -rakes, idlers and shiftless ne'er-do-wells. As time goes on the race -degenerates more and more, until finally there appear miserable -weaklings, like Yudushka's two sons, who perish at the first onslaught -of life. - -Such a sinister fate pursued the Golovliovo family. For several -generations, their history was marked by three characteristics, -idleness, utter uselessness, and habitual hard drinking, the last -coming as the sorry crown to a chaotic life. The Golovliovo family -would have run to seed completely but for the fact that Arina Petrovna -flashed like a casual meteor through this drunken confusion. By her -personal energy alone this woman brought the family to an unprecedented -height of prosperity. Nevertheless her labors were in vain. Not only -did she not transmit any of her qualities to her children, but she -herself died ensnared by idleness, empty talk and mental vacuity. - -Until now Porfiry Vladimirych had held out against the temptation of -drink. It may be that he had been frightened off by the fate of his -brothers and had consciously abstained from drink, or that he had -been satisfied by the intoxication of his frenzied day dreams. But it -was not for nothing that he had the reputation of a drunkard among -his neighbors. At times he himself felt something was lacking in his -existence. Idle musings gave him much, but not all. They did not supply -that sharp, stupefying sensation which would completely do away with -his sense of reality and plunge him headlong into the void forever. - -And now the long-wished-for opportunity presented itself. Ever since -Anninka's arrival, Yudushka had been aware of a vague noise at night -coming from the other end of the house. For a long time he had puzzled -his head over the significance of the mysterious sounds. At last he -discovered what they were. - -Anninka expected a reprimand the next day. None came. Porfiry -Vladimirych spent the morning locked up in his study as usual, but when -he appeared at the midday meal, he poured out two wineglasses of vodka -instead of only one for himself, and pointed to one with a sheepish -smile. Anninka accepted the silent invitation. - -"So you say Lubinka is dead?" said Yudushka when the dinner was well -under way, as if recalling something. - -"Yes, uncle, she is dead." - -"Well, God rest her soul! To grumble is a sin, but to honor her memory -is quite fitting. Shall we?" - -"Yes, uncle, let's honor her memory." - -They emptied one more glass, and then Yudushka grew silent. He was -evidently still unaccustomed to the society of human beings. When the -meal was over, Anninka, performing a family rite, kissed uncle's cheek, -and in response he patted her on her cheek and said: - -"So that's the kind you are." - -The evening of the same day, at tea, which lasted longer this time -than usual, Porfiry Vladimirych looked at his niece for a while with a -quizzical smile, and finally said: - -"Shall we have some corned meats served?" - -"Well, if you wish." - -"Yes. It's better you should do it in uncle's sight than on the sly. At -least, uncle will----" - -Yudushka did not finish the sentence. Perhaps he had wanted to say that -uncle would keep her from drinking, but something prevented him from -saying it. - -From that time on cold cuts were served in the dining-room every -evening. The outer window shutters were closed, the servants retired, -and uncle and niece remained all alone. In the beginning Yudushka did -not keep pace with Anninka, but with a little practice he came up to -her. They sat slowly sipping their vodka and talking. The conversation, -at first dull and indifferent, became more and more animated as their -heads grew hotter, and invariably passed into a chaotic quarrel, at -the bottom of which were always reminiscences about the victims of -Golovliovo. - -Anninka started the quarrels. She dug up the family archives with -ruthless persistence and delighted in teasing Yudushka by arguing that -he along with Arina Petrovna had been the chief cause of the Golovliovo -tragedies. Every word breathed such cynicism and such burning hatred -that it was difficult to understand how so much vitality could still -exist in that worn-out, shattered body. Anninka's attacks galled -Yudushka immensely, but he defended himself feebly, angrily sputtering -ejaculations of discomfiture. At times, when Anninka went too far in -her insolence, he shouted and cursed. - -Such scenes repeated themselves day in, day out, without change. Every -detail of the pitiful family chronicle was speedily exhausted, but it -still held the minds of the two riveted. Every episode of the past -lacerated some wound in their hearts, and they felt a bitter delight -in constantly evoking, scrutinizing and exaggerating painful memories. -Neither the past nor the present contained any moral mainstay on which -Anninka could lean. Nothing but sordid stinginess on one side, and -mental vacuity on the other. Her youthful heart had thirsted for warmth -and love, but had received a stone instead of bread, blows instead of -instruction. By the irony of fate, the cruel school in which she had -been taught implanted in her not an austere attitude toward life, but a -passionate yearning to partake of its sweet poisons. Youth had wrought -the miracle of oblivion, it kept her heart from hardening and the germs -of hatred from developing. Youth had made her drunk with the thirst for -life. That was why a turbulent, furtive debauchery had held her in its -sway for several years, and had pushed Golovliovo into the background. -Now, when the end was drawing close, her heart began to ache. Now for -the first time did Anninka grasp the significance of her past and begin -to hate it truly. - -The drinking lasted far into the night, and had it not been for the -drunken confusion of both thoughts and words, it might have resulted in -something frightful. But if alcohol opened the well-springs of pain in -these shattered hearts, it also appeased them. The further the night -advanced, the more incoherent became their talk and the more impotent -their hatred. Toward the end of the debauch, the aching disappeared and -their surroundings vanished from their eyes, supplanted by a shining -void. They faltered, their eyes closed, they grew muscle-bound. Uncle -and niece would then rise from their places and retire to their rooms -with tottering steps. - -Of course, these night adventures could not remain a secret. Before -long the notion of crime became associated with them in the minds of -the servants. Life abandoned the vast Golovliovo manor-house. Nothing -stirred even in the morning. Uncle and niece rose late and till the -midday meal Anninka's racking cough, accompanied by curses, rang from -one end of the house to the other. Yudushka listened to the harrowing -sounds in terror and a vague presentiment of his own impending doom -stirred in him. - -It seemed that all the Golovliovo victims were now creeping from out of -the nooks and crannies of the deserted house. Gray apparitions stirred -everywhere. Here was old Vladimir Mikhailovich, in his white nightcap, -making wry faces and citing Barkov; here was Simple Simon and Pavel -the Sneak; here were Lubinka and the last offshoots of the Golovliovo -stock, Volodya and Petka. All were drunk, lustful, weary and bleeding. -And over all these ghosts there brooded a living phantom, Porfiry -Vladimirych Golovliov, the last representative of the decadent family. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -The continual reverting to the past and its victims was bound to have -its effect on Yudushka. The natural outcome--was it fear?--No, rather -the awakening of conscience. He discovered he had a conscience, and -oblivion and contempt, although blunting its sensitiveness, could not -destroy it. - -The awakening of a torpid conscience is usually fraught with pain. It -brings no peace, holds no promise of a new life, but merely tortures, -endlessly and fruitlessly. Man sees himself immured in a narrow prison, -a helpless victim of the agonies of repentance, with no hope of ever -returning to life. And he perceives no other way of allaying his -gnawing pain than to break his head against the stony walls of the -prison cell. - -Never in the course of his long, useless life had it occurred to -Yudushka that dire tragedies were interwoven with his existence. He had -lived peacefully and calmly, with a constant prayer on his lips, and -the thought had been far from him that this manner of life had caused -so much sorrow. Least of all could he imagine that he himself had been -the source of these tragedies. Suddenly the terrible truth was revealed -to his conscience, but all too late--too late for him to make amends -for the crimes of his life. He was unsociable, old, with one foot -in the grave, and there was not a single human being who approached -him with loving pity. Why was he alone? Why did he see nothing but -indifference and hatred around him? Why was it that everything he -touched had perished? This estate of Golovliovo was once so full, a -human nest. How had it happened that now there was not a trace, not a -feather left? Of the fledgelings nursed there his niece was the only -one that remained alive, and she had come back only to sneer at him and -deal him his deathblow. Even Yevpraksia, simple as she was, hated him. -She lived at Golovliovo because Porfiry sent her father, the sacristan, -provisions every month, but undoubtedly she hated him. He had made her -unhappy, too, by robbing her of her child. What was the outcome of his -existence? Wherefore had he lied, babbled, persecuted, hoarded? Who -would inherit his wealth? Who was to enjoy the fruits of his life? Who? - -I repeat, his conscience had awakened. Yudushka waited for the evening -with feverish impatience not only in order to get bestially drunk, -but also to drown his conscience. He hated the "dissolute wench," who -lacerated his wounds with such cold cynicism, yet he was drawn to -her irresistibly, as if there was still something to be said between -them and some wounds to be torn open. Every evening he made Anninka -retell the story of Lubinka's death, and every evening the idea of -self-destruction became riper in his mind. At first, the idea occurred -to him casually. But as his iniquities became more apparent to him, it -sank deeper and deeper into his being and soon was the sole shining -spot in all the gloom he saw ahead of him. - -And his health began to decline rapidly. He coughed violently and at -times had spells of asthma that in themselves were sufficient to make -life intolerable, let alone the moral pangs from which he suffered. -All the symptoms of the malady that had sent his brothers to their -graves were present. He heard the groans of his brother Pavel, as he -choked in the entresol of the Dubrovino manor-house. Still Yudushka -was doggedly tenacious of life. His sunken, emaciated chest held out -against the pain that grew from hour to hour. It was as if his body too -were resisting with unexpected vigor so as to take revenge on him for -his crimes. - -"Is this the end?" he would wonder hopefully, whenever he felt the -approach of a paroxysm. But death was slow in coming. Evidently it -would be necessary to use violence to hasten the end. All his accounts -with life were settled--it was both painful and useless to him. What he -needed was death, but, to his sorrow, death was slow in coming. There -is something mean and treacherous in the teasing hesitancy of death -when it is called upon with all the strength of one's soul. - - * * * * * - -It was late in March and Passion Week was nearing its end. However -abject Yudushka's condition was, he preserved an attitude of reverence -toward the sanctity of these days implanted in him in his childhood. -His thoughts of themselves took a serious turn, and there was no other -desire in his heart than complete silence. In this mood the evenings -were no longer spent in wild drinking, but passed in gloomy silence. - -Porfiry Vladimirych and Anninka were sitting all alone in the -dining-room. The evening service, accompanied by the reading of the -gospel, had just ended, and the odor of incense still lingered in the -room. The clock struck ten, the servants had retired, and deep, pensive -quiet settled over the house. Anninka, her hands clasping her head, was -deep in thought. Porfiry Vladimirych sat opposite, silent and sad. - -Upon Anninka the Passion Week evening service always made an -overwhelming impression. As a child she had wept bitterly at the -priest's words: "And when they plaited a crown of thorns, they put it -upon His head, and a reed in His right hand," and in a tremulous treble -she used to sing after the sexton: "Glory be to Thy long-suffering, -oh, Lord! Glory be to Thee!" After the service she used to run, all -a-quiver with emotion, to the maids' room, and there, in the growing -twilight (Arina Petrovna allowed no candles in that room when there -was no work being done), she related "The Passion of our Lord" to the -servants. Silent tears flowed from the eyes of the slaves, and they -heaved deep sighs. The poor servants felt their Master and Redeemer -with their whole hearts and believed He would arise from the dead, -arise from the dead in truth. Anninka, too, felt and believed. Beyond -the gloom of their life of suffering and persecution, all these poor -in spirit beheld the radiant kingdom of freedom. Even the old lady, -usually so redoubtable, was gentle during Passion Week. She did not -grumble or remind Anninka that she was an orphan. On the contrary, she -fondled her and soothed her with kindly words. But Anninka was restless -even in bed, she tossed about and talked to herself in her sleep. - -Then came her school years and wanderings, the first empty, the second -painful. But even as a nomadic actress, Anninka had jealously observed -the "holy days," calling back echoes of her distant past and moods of -childlike devotion. But now when she saw her life clearly to its last -detail, when she had cursed her life and when it became obvious that -the future promised neither repentance nor forgiveness, when the source -of devotion and the well-spring of tears had dried up, the effect -of the tale of the Crucifixion upon her was truly overwhelming. In -childhood a gloomy night had surrounded her, but beyond the darkness -she had sensed the presence of light. Now nothing but interminable -everlasting night stretched ahead endlessly. She neither sighed, -nor was agitated, nor even thought. She merely sank into a state of -profound torpor. - -Porfiry Vladimirych, too, from his very childhood, had revered the -"holy days," but, true idol-worshipper that he was, he had observed -merely the rites. Every year on the eve of Good Friday he had had -the priest come and read the gospel, had sighed, lifted up his arms, -touched the ground with his forehead, marked the number of chapters -read by means of wax balls, but had understood nothing. Not until now, -when his conscience was awakened, had he grasped the fact that the -gospel contained the story of how Untruth visited a bloody judgment on -Truth. - -Of course, it would be an exaggeration to say that this discovery led -him to definite conclusions about his own life, yet there is no doubt -that it produced in him a commotion bordering on despair. This state of -mind was the more painful the more unconsciously he lived through the -past which was the source of his commotion. - -There was something terrible in his past, he could not tell exactly -what. It was as if a mountainous mass, hitherto motionless and hidden -by an impenetrable veil, had suddenly moved upon him, threatening every -moment to crush him. What he feared was that he might not be crushed, -and he felt he must hasten the climax. He had been brooding over the -idea for quite some time. "We shall have communion on Saturday," -suddenly flashed through his mind. "It would be well to visit dear -mother's grave and take leave of her." - -"Shall we walk over to the cemetery?" he turned to Anninka and -explained his idea to her. - -"Why, if you wish, we'll drive out there." - -"No, not drive, but----" started Porfiry Vladimirych, but halted -abruptly, as if struck by the thought that Anninka might be in his way. - -"I have sinned against my dear departed mother. I, I was the cause of -her death!" - -The thought preyed on him, and the desire to "take leave" grew stronger -in his heart, to take leave not by mere conventional words, but by -throwing himself on her grave and bursting out in the sobs of a death -agony. - -"So you say no one is to be blamed for Lubinka's death?" he suddenly -asked, as if trying to cheer himself up. - -At first Anninka paid no attention to his question. Two or three -minutes later, however, she felt an irresistible impulse to return to -the subject of Lubinka's death and torment herself with it. - -"And her words were, 'Drink, you street-walker,'" he said, after she -had repeated the story in detail. - -"Yes, her very words." - -"And you didn't drink?" - -"I didn't. I am alive, as you see." - -He rose and paced up and down the room several times, visibly affected. -At last he went over to Anninka and stroked her head. - -"My poor, poor Anninka!" he said softly. - -At the touch of his hands a startling change took place in her. At -first she was amazed, then her face began to work, and suddenly a -violent torrent of hysterical, inhuman sobs burst from her chest. - -"Uncle, are you good? Tell me, are you good?" she fairly shrieked. - -In a broken voice, through tears and sobs, she kept on reiterating her -query, the same she had asked him the day of her return to Golovliovo, -to which he had given such an absurd reply. - -"You are good? Tell me, answer me, are you good?" - -"Did you hear what the priest read at the evening service?" he said, -when she finally grew calm. "Oh, what sufferings He underwent! Only -such sufferings can----And yet He forgave, forgave forever!" - -He resumed his pacing, his very soul rent with suffering and his face -covered with beads of perspiration. - -"He pardoned every one," he reflected aloud. "Not only those who at -that time gave Him vinegar mingled with gall to drink, but also those -who are doing the same thing now and will do it again in future ages. -What a horror!" - -Suddenly he stopped before her and said: - -"And you--have you forgiven?" - -Instead of replying she threw herself on him and clasped him firmly. - -"You must forgive me," he went on. "For every one--on your own -account--and for those who are no longer here. What has happened?" he -cried, looking round distractedly. "Where are they all?" - - * * * * * - -Utterly shaken and exhausted, they retired to their rooms. But Porfiry -Vladimirych could not sleep. He tossed in his bed, all the while trying -to recall an obligation that lay on him. Suddenly he clearly remembered -the words that had flashed through his mind about two hours before, "I -must walk to mother's grave and take leave of her." - -An exhausting restlessness seized his being. At last he got up and -donned his dressing-gown. It was still dark, and unbroken silence -reigned in the house. For a while Porfiry Vladimirych paced back and -forth in the room, stopped before the lighted ikon of the Saviour -with a thorny crown, and scanned his face. Finally he determined upon -a course of action, perhaps half-unconsciously. He stole into the -antechamber and opened the outer door. - -Outside a March blizzard was raging and blinded him with a torrent of -sleet. Porfiry Vladimirych struggled along the road, splashing through -the puddles, insensible to the wind and the snow. Instinctively he drew -together the skirts of his dressing-gown. - - * * * * * - -Early next morning a messenger came speeding from the village near -the churchyard where Arina Petrovna was buried. He brought the news -that the frozen body of the Golovliovo master had been found by the -roadside. The servants rushed into Anninka's room. She lay in her bed -unconscious in delirium. A messenger was hastily dispatched to Nadezhda -Ivanovna Galkina (daughter of Aunt Varvara Mikhailovna), who ever since -the previous autumn had been keeping a watchful eye on everything -taking place at Golovliovo. - - -THE END - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Family of Noblemen, by Mikhaïl Saltykov - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN *** - -***** This file should be named 44237-8.txt or 44237-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/2/3/44237/ - -Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe at -http://www.freeliterature.org (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. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Family of Noblemen - The Gentlemen Golovliov - -Author: Mikhaïl Saltykov - -Translator: A. Yarmolinsky - -Release Date: November 20, 2013 [EBook #44237] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN *** - - - - -Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe at -http://www.freeliterature.org (Images generously made -available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<h1>A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN</h1> - -<h3>BY</h3> - -<h2>MIKHAÏL Y. SALTYKOV</h2> - -<h4>(N. SHCHEDRIN)</h4> - - -<h4>TRANSLATED BY A. YARMOLINSKY</h4> - - - -<h5>BONI & LIVERIGHT, INC.</h5> - -<h5>NEW YORK</h5> - -<h5>1917</h5> - -<hr class="full" /> - - -<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em;">CONTENTS<br /> -<br /> -<a href="#BOOK_I">Book I</a><br /> -THE FAMILY COUNCIL<br /> -<a href="#BOOK_II">Book II</a><br /> -AS BECOMES GOOD KINSFOLK<br /> -<a href="#BOOK_III">Book III</a><br /> -FAMILY ACCOUNTS SETTLED<br /> -<a href="#BOOK_IV">Book IV</a><br /> -THE GOOD LITTLE NIECE<br /> -<a href="#BOOK_V">Book V</a><br /> -FORBIDDEN FAMILY JOYS<br /> -<a href="#BOOK_VI">Book VI</a><br /> -THE DESERTED MANOR-HOUSE<br /> -<a href="#BOOK_VII">Book VII</a><br /> -THE SETTLEMENT<br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<h4><a id="BOOK_I"></a>BOOK I</h4> - -<h3>THE FAMILY COUNCIL</h3> - -<hr class="tb" /> -<h4>CHAPTER I</h4> - - -<p>Anton Vasilyev, the manager of a remote estate, was giving his -mistress, Arina Petrovna Golovliov, an account of his trip to Moscow. -He had gone there to collect the money due from those of her peasant -serfs who bought the right to live in the city by paying her a tax. -When he had finished with his report, she told him he might retire, but -he lingered on irresolutely, as though he had something else to say, -yet could not make up his mind to say it.</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna knew her servants through and through; she knew the -meaning of their slightest gestures, she could even divine their inmost -thoughts. And her steward's manner immediately aroused her disquietude.</p> - -<p>"What else?" she asked, looking at him keenly.</p> - -<p>"That's all," he replied evasively.</p> - -<p>"Don't lie. There is something else. I can see it by your eyes."</p> - -<p>Anton Vasilyev still hesitated and continued to shift from one foot to -the other.</p> - -<p>"What is it? Tell me!" she shouted imperiously. "Out with it, out with -it! And don't wag your whole body like a dog, Telltale!"</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna liked to call her managers and domestics by nicknames. -She used Telltale for Anton Vasilyev, not because she had found him to -carry gossip treacherously, but simply because he had a loose tongue.</p> - -<p>The centre of the estate that he managed was an important trading -village in which there were many taverns. He liked to take a glass -of tea in a tavern and boast of his mistress's great power. And in -the course of his boasting he would sometimes unconsciously blab out -secrets. His mistress was always with a lawsuit on her hands, so that -her trusty's garrulousness sometimes brought her sly stratagems to the -surface before they could be executed.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I have got something else to say," Anton finally mumbled.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" Arina Petrovna asked excitedly.</p> - -<p>An imperious woman, with an extraordinarily lively imagination, she -instantly pictured all sorts of disagreeable opposition and antagonism, -and the thought so instantly took complete possession of her that she -turned white and jumped up from her chair.</p> - -<p>"Stepan Vladimirych's house in Moscow has been sold," Anton said after -a pause.</p> - -<p>"Well?"</p> - -<p>"It's been sold."</p> - -<p>"Why? How? Tell me."</p> - -<p>"For debts, I suppose. Of course it can't be because of something nice."</p> - -<p>"The police, the court, sold it, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose so. They say it was sold at auction for 8,000 rubles."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna dropped back heavily into her armchair and gazed fixedly -at the window panes. She was so stunned by the news that she seemed -to have lost consciousness for a while. Had she heard that Stepan -Vladimirych had killed somebody, or that the Golovliov peasant serfs -had risen in revolt and refused to render the service due her on her -estates, or that serfdom had been abolished, she would not have been so -shocked. Her lips trembled, her eyes stared vacantly into the distance, -but she saw nothing. She did not even see the little girl, Duniashka, -run past the window carrying something hidden under her apron; she did -not see the child stop suddenly on beholding her mistress and wheel -round and then dart back guiltily to where she had come from. Such -suspicious conduct at any other time would have led to a thorough -investigation. Finally Arina Petrovna came to herself and managed to -bring out:</p> - -<p>"A good joke, I must say." After which there again followed several -minutes of ominous silence.</p> - -<p>"So the police sold the house for eight thousand?" she asked again.</p> - -<p>"Yes, madam."</p> - -<p>"So that's what he's done with his patrimony! Splendid! The blackguard!"</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna felt that the news called for a prompt decision, but -nothing occurred to her. Her thoughts ran confusedly in exactly -opposite directions. On the one hand she thought: "The police sold it. -But the police could not have sold it in a minute. An inventory must -first have been taken, then an appraisal made, and then the sale must -have been advertised. Sold for eight thousand when I myself two years -ago paid twelve thousand rubles for it, not a penny less. Had I only -known it was going to be up for sale, I could have bought it myself for -eight thousand rubles."</p> - -<p>Her other thoughts ran: "The police sold it for eight thousand. That's -what he's done with his patrimony. To sell one's patrimony for eight -thousand rubles!"</p> - -<p>"Who told you?" she asked, realizing finally that the house had been -sold and the chance to secure it cheaply was gone forever.</p> - -<p>"Ivan Mikhailov, the inn-keeper."</p> - -<p>"Why didn't he let me know in time?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose he was afraid."</p> - -<p>"Afraid? I'll teach him to be afraid. I'll make him come here from -Moscow, and the moment he comes I'll have him drafted into the army. He -was afraid!"</p> - -<p>Although on the decline, serfdom still existed. Anton Vasilyev had -known his mistress to impose the most peculiar punishments, but, even -so, her present decision was so unexpected that it made him miserable. -He thought of his nickname Telltale. Ivan Mikhailov was an upright -peasant, and Anton never dreamed that misfortune would touch him. -Besides, Ivan Mikhailov was his friend and godfather. Now, all of a -sudden, he was to be made a soldier just because he, Anton Vasilyev, -the Telltale, could not hold his tongue.</p> - -<p>"Forgive him—Ivan Mikhailov, I mean," he pleaded.</p> - -<p>"Go away, you mollycoddler," she shouted in a voice so loud that he -lost all desire to intercede any further for his friend.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER II</h4> - - -<p>Arina Petrovna was sixty years old, still of sound health and -accustomed to have her own way in everything. Her manner was severe. -She lived alone, and managed the huge Golovliov estate all by herself, -without having to answer to any one else. She calculated closely, -almost parsimoniously, was not intimate with her neighbors, was -gracious to the local authorities, and exacted implicit obedience -from her children. They were not to do anything without first asking -themselves, "What would mamenka say about it?" She was independent, -inflexible, even stubborn, though her stubbornness was not so much -native as due chiefly to the circumstance that there was not one person -in the whole Golovliov family that could oppose her. Her husband was -a trifling creature, and drank. Arina Petrovna used to say of herself -that she was neither a widow nor a married woman. Some of the children -were in St. Petersburg, the others took after their father and were -relegated to the class of "horrid creatures," who were unfit for -household duties. In these circumstances Arina Petrovna soon began to -feel all left alone, and grew totally disaccustomed to family life, -although the word "family" was constantly on her lips, and outwardly -she seemed to be exclusively guided in all her work by the desire to -build up the family estate and keep the family affairs in order.</p> - -<p>The head of the family, Vladimir Mikhailych Golovliov, was known from -his youth as a dissolute, quarrelsome fellow, with nothing in his -character that would be sympathetic to a serious, active woman like -Arina Petrovna. He led a lazy, good-for-nothing existence, usually -stayed locked up in his room, where he imitated the warble of the -starlings, the crowing of cocks, and the like, and composed ribald -doggerel. In bursts of confidence he would boast that he had been a -friend of the poet Barkov, intimating that the poet had blessed him -on his deathbed. Arina Petrovna disliked her husband's verses from -the very first. "Nasty stuff!" "Trash!" she called them. And since -Vladimir Mikhailych's very object in marrying had been to have someone -ever at hand to listen to his poetry, the result was that quarrels -soon began, which grew worse and worse and more frequent until they -ended with Arina Petrovna utterly indifferent and contemptuous of her -clown husband, and Vladimir Mikhailych hating his wife sincerely, with -a hatred considerably mixed with fear. The husband called the wife a -"hag" and a "devil"; the wife called the husband a "windmill" and a -"balalaika without strings."</p> - -<p>They lived together in this way for more than forty years, and it never -occurred to either of them that there was anything unnatural in such a -life. Time did not diminish Vladimir Mikhailych's quarrelsomeness; on -the contrary, it took on a still sharper edge. Apart from the poetical -exercising in Barkov's spirit that he did, he began to drink and to -lie in wait eagerly for the servant girls in the corridors. At first -Arina Petrovna looked on this new occupation of her husband's with -repugnance. She even got wrought up over it, not so much from jealousy -as that she felt it to be an interference with her authority. After a -while, however, she shrugged her shoulders, and merely watched out that -the "dirty wenches" should not fetch brandy for their master.</p> - -<p>From that time on, having said to herself once for all that her -husband was not a companion, she directed her efforts exclusively to -one object, the building up of the estate. And in the forty years of -her married life she actually succeeded in multiplying her property -tenfold. With astonishing patience and acumen she kept her eye on the -near and distant villages, found out in secret ways the relations that -existed between the neighboring landowners and the board of trustees, -and always appeared at the auctions like snow on the head. In this -fantastic hunt for new acquisitions Vladimir Mikhailych receded more -and more into the background, turned seedy and at last dropped out of -social life completely. He was now a decrepit old man already, keeping -his bed almost the whole time. On the rare occasions that he left his -room it was only to stick his head through the half-open door of his -wife's bedroom and shout: "Devil!" After which he would go back and -close himself up in his own room again.</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna was not much happier in her children. She was of a -celibate nature, so to speak, independent and self-sufficient, and her -children were nothing to her but a useless burden. The only times when -she breathed freely was when she was alone with her accounts and her -household affairs, and when no one interfered with her business talks -with her managers, stewards, housekeepers, and so on. In her eyes, -children were one of the preordained things in life that she felt she -had no right to protest against. Nevertheless they did not touch a -single chord in her inner being, which was given over wholly to the -numberless details of the household.</p> - -<p>There were four children, one daughter and three sons. Of the oldest -son and the daughter she did not even like to speak; toward the -youngest son she was indifferent. It was only for the middle one, -Porfisha, that she cherished any feeling at all, a feeling not of love, -but of something very akin to fear.</p> - -<p>Stepan Vladimirych, the oldest son, passed in the family by the name -of Simple Simon, or The Saucebox. He was very young when he was put -into the class of "horrid creatures," and from childhood up played the -rôle of half pariah, half clown. Unfortunately he was a bright child, -susceptible to the impressions of his environment. From his father he -inherited an irresistible inclination to play tricks, from his mother -the ability to divine the weak sides of people's natures. The first -characteristic soon made him his father's favorite, which still further -intensified his mother's dislike of him. Often when the mother was -absent on business, the father and the boy would betake themselves -into the study adorned with the portrait of Barkov, read ribald poems, -and gossip, the chief butt of their raillery being the "hag," that -is to say, Arina Petrovna. The "hag," instinctively divining their -occupation, would drive up to the front steps very quietly, then -tiptoe to the study door and listen to their fun-making. The murderous -punishment of Simple Simon followed swift and cruel. But Stiopka was -not subdued. He was impervious either to blows or to admonitions, -and in half an hour was back again at his tricks. He would cut up -Aniutka's, the servant girl's, scarf, or he would stick flies into -Vasiutka's mouth while he slept, or he would run into the kitchen and -carry off a cake (Arina Petrovna kept her children half hungry), which -he always divided with his brothers.</p> - -<p>"You ought to be killed," his mother said. "I'll kill you, and I won't -have to answer for it either. Even God won't punish me for it."</p> - -<p>This humiliation, constantly put upon a nature soft, yielding and -forgetful, did not remain without its effect. It did not embitter -him, nor did it make him rebellious. It made him servile, disposed to -buffoonery, with no sense of the fitness of things, and devoid of all -foresight and prudence. Such natures yield to all influences and may -become almost anything—drunkards, beggars, buffoons, even criminals.</p> - -<p>At the age of twenty Stepan Golovliov graduated from the gymnasium -in Moscow and entered the university. But his student's life was a -bitter one. In the first place, his mother gave him just enough money -to keep him from dying of hunger. Secondly, he did not show the least -inclination to work. Instead, he developed an accursed talent, which -expressed itself chiefly in mimickry. And he suffered from a desire -for constant companionship. He hated to be alone a single instant. -So he played the light rôle of hanger-on and parasite, and thanks to -his readiness for any prank he soon became the favorite of the rich -students. However, though they received him into their society, they -looked on him, not as one of them, but as a clown; and the reputation -clung to him. Once placed on such a plane, he naturally slid down lower -and lower, and at the end of the fourth year was thoroughly confirmed -in his clownship. Nevertheless, thanks to his receptive ability and -good memory, he passed the examinations successfully and received his -bachelor's degree.</p> - -<p>When he appeared before his mother with the diploma, she merely -shrugged her shoulders and said: "Well, that's funny." Then, after -letting him spend a month in the country, she shipped him back to St. -Petersburg with an allowance of a hundred rubles a month. Now there -began for him endless visits to various government offices. He had -neither patrons nor the determination to make his own way by hard work. -The lad's mind had lost so completely the habit of concentration that -bureaucratic tasks such as the drawing up of briefs and case abstracts -were beyond his power. After four years of struggle Stepan was forced -to admit that there was no hope of his ever rising above the rank of a -government clerk. In reply to his lamentations, Arina Petrovna wrote -him a stern letter which began with the words: "I was sure that would -happen," and wound up with a command to return at once to Moscow. -There, at the conclave of Arina Petrovna's favorite peasants, it was -decided to place Simple Simon in the Aulic Court, entrusting him to -the care of a pettifogger who from time immemorial had been the legal -adviser of the Golovliov family.</p> - -<p>What Stepan Vladimirych did in the Aulic Court and how he behaved there -is a mystery. What is certain is that at the end of the third year he -was there no longer. Then Arina Petrovna took a heroic measure. She -"threw her son a bone," which was also supposed to fill the part of -the "parental blessing," that is to say, the patrimony. "The bone" -consisted of a house in Moscow, for which she had paid twelve thousand -rubles.</p> - -<p>For the first time in his life Stepan Golovliov breathed freely. The -house promised to bring him an income of a thousand silver rubles, a -sum which in comparison with his former income, seemed like genuine -prosperity. He kissed his mamma's hand effusively, and promised to -justify her kindness, whereupon Arina Petrovna said: "That's better; -but mind you, you numskull, that's all you get from me!" But, alas! -so little was he used to handling money, so absurd was his estimation -of real values in life, that before long what he thought to be a -fabulous revenue proved insufficient. In five or six years he was -totally ruined, and was only too glad to enter the militia, which was -then being organized. No sooner, however, did the militia troops reach -Kharkov than peace was concluded, and Golovliov went back to Moscow, -dressed in a somewhat threadbare uniform and high boots. By this time -his house had already been sold, and the only thing he owned was a -hundred rubles. He began "speculating" with this capital, that is, he -tried his luck at cards, but in a short time he lost all he had. Then -he conceived the plan of visiting his mother's well-to-do peasants who -lived in Moscow. Some of them invited him to dinner, others, yielding -to his importunings, gave him tobacco or lent him small sums of money. -At last the hour came when he found himself before a blind wall, as -it were. He was already almost forty years old, and had to confess to -himself that his nomadic existence was too much for his strength. There -was only one thing left to him, to take the road leading to Golovliovo.</p> - -<p>After Stepan Vladimirych, the oldest child, came Anna Vladimirovna, -about whom Arina Petrovna did not like to speak either. The truth -of the matter was, the old lady had placed definite expectations -in Annushka, but she, far from fulfilling her mother's hopes, had -perpetrated a scandal which set the whole district agog. When Annushka -left the girls' boarding-school, Arina Petrovna installed her at the -village, hoping to make of her a sort of unpaid private secretary and -bookkeeper, but instead Annushka eloped one fine night with cornet -Ulanov and married him.</p> - -<p>"They have married like dogs, without a parent's blessing!" complained -Arina Petrovna. "Lucky, though, that he submitted to a wedding ceremony -at all. Another man would have taken advantage of her—and vanished -into thin air. A fine chance for catching a bird."</p> - -<p>With her daughter Arina Petrovna dealt as peremptorily as she had with -her hated son. She bestowed "a bone" upon her too, in the shape of five -thousand rubles and a wretched little village of thirty souls and a -manor-house going with it, so dilapidated that the wind blew through -the gaping paneless windows and there was not one sound board in the -flooring. In two years the young couple had gone through the money, and -the cornet took himself off, deserting his wife and two twin girls, -Anninka and Lubinka. Three months later the mother died, and Arina -Petrovna, willy-nilly, had to take the little orphans into her own -house. She installed them in a side-wing and entrusted them to the care -of Palashka, old and one-eyed. "The Lord's mercy is great," remarked -Arina Petrovna. "The little orphans won't eat much of my bread, but -they'll be a solace to me in my old age. God has given me two daughters -instead of one." At the same time she wrote to her son, Porfiry -Vladimirych: "Your dear sister died as she lived, indecently, and now -her two children are hanging round my neck."</p> - -<p>What we are going to say may seem cynical, but we feel it our duty to -state that the granting of the heritage to Stepan and Anna did not by -any means impair Arina Petrovna's financial condition. On the contrary, -in reducing the number of shareholders it contributed indirectly to the -rounding out of the family estate. For Arina Petrovna was a woman of -strict principles, and once having "thrown them a bone," she considered -her obligations toward her unloved children completely and definitely -settled. In regard to her grandchildren it never entered her mind that -in due time she would have to part with something for them. All she -cared for was to draw all the income possible from the small estate of -her deceased daughter and deposit it in the Chamber of Trustees. "There -I am," she would say, "laying by money for the orphans. For feeding and -bringing them up I take nothing from them. For the bread they eat it is -God who will pay me."</p> - -<p>As for the younger children, Porfiry and Pavel, they served in St. -Petersburg, the former in a civil capacity, the latter in the army. -Porfiry was married; Pavel was an old bachelor.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych was known in the family by three nicknames, -Yudushka (diminutive of Judas), Bloodsucker, and Goody-goody Boy, which -had been invented by Simple Simon. From his early childhood Porfiry -had been oddly intent upon currying favor with his "dear mamma" and -showed a tendency to play the sycophant. He would open the door of his -mother's room softly, creep noiselessly into a corner, and sit there, -as if entranced, with his eyes fixed on his mother while she wrote -or busied herself with accounts. Even in those days Arina Petrovna -regarded her son's efforts to insinuate himself into her good graces -with vague suspicion. His stare puzzled her. She could not decide what -his eyes expressed, whether venom or filial reverence. "I cannot make -out what is in his eyes," she sometimes argued with herself. "His -glance is like a noose which he is getting ready to throw. He might -look like that handing a person poison or enticing him into a pitfall."</p> - -<p>In this connection she often recollected highly significant details -of the time she was carrying Porfisha. An old man called Porfisha the -Saint was at that time living in the manor. He had the reputation -of a seer, and Arina Petrovna turned to him whenever she wanted to -learn something about the future. She had asked him when she would be -delivered of the child and whether it would be a boy or a girl; but the -pious old man gave no direct answer. Instead he crowed three times like -a cock and then mumbled:</p> - -<p>"Cockerel, cockerel, sharp claw! The cock crows and threatens the -brood-hen; the brood-hen—cluck! cluck!—but it will be too late!"</p> - -<p>That was all he said. Three days later (the seer crowed three times!) -Arina Petrovna gave birth to a son ("cockerel! cockerel!") and named -him Porfiry in honor of the old soothsayer. The first half of the -prophecy had been fulfilled; but what could be the hidden meaning of -the mysterious words, "the brood-hen—cluck! cluck!—but it will be too -late?" Arina Petrovna often pondered over it, whenever her eyes fell on -Porfisha, who sat in his nook with his enigmatic gaze fixed on her.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Porfisha kept on staring, quiet and meek, staring so intently -that his wide-open, motionless eyes began to swim in tears, as if -he vaguely sensed the doubts that tormented his mother's soul, and -wished to behave so as to disarm her most persistent suspicion. At the -risk of annoying his mother, he constantly hovered about her, and the -expression in his eyes seemed to say: "Look at me! I conceal nothing -from you. I am all obedience and devotion, and, mind you, I am obedient -and devoted not only from fear but also from loyalty." And although an -inner voice constantly sounded warning that the young scoundrel was -dangerous in spite of his wheedling and fawning, her heart could not -resist such unremitting devotion and her hand involuntarily felt for -the best piece in the dish to bestow upon the affectionate child. And -yet the very sight of him at times awakened a vague fear of something -puzzling and eery.</p> - -<p>The exact opposite of Porfiry was his brother, Pavel, the most perfect -embodiment of absolute passivity. As a boy he manifested no inclination -whatever for study, or games, or playing with other boys, but liked -to keep to himself. He would get into a corner, pout, and set to work -building air castles, dreaming that he had gorged himself with oatmeal -so that his legs had become thin and he had no lessons to learn, or -else that he was Davidka, the shepherd, with a growing lump on his -forehead, just like David's, and cracked a whip and had no lessons to -learn. Arina Petrovna would gaze at him for a long time, and then her -motherly feelings would well up:</p> - -<p>"Why do you sit there like a mouse on groats?" she would scold. "Is the -poison working in you already? Why don't you come over to your mother -and say: 'Mamenka darling, hug me?'"</p> - -<p>Pavel would leave his place of refuge and slowly approach his mother, -as if someone were pushing him from behind. "Mamenka darling," he would -repeat in a bass voice unnatural in a child, "hug me."</p> - -<p>"Get out of my sight, you sneak. You think if you get into your corner -I don't understand. You are mistaken, my darling. I see through and -through you. Your plans and projects are as clear as if they were -spread on the palm of my hand."</p> - -<p>And Pavel would just as slowly retrace his steps and bury himself again -in his corner.</p> - -<p>Years passed by, and Pavel Vladimirych gradually developed that -apathetic, unaccountably gloomy character which often goes with -absolute passivity. He was, perhaps, good, but he had done nobody any -good; he was, perhaps, not without some intelligence, but he had not -achieved anything intelligent in his life. He was hospitable, but -people did not like to avail themselves of his hospitality. He spent -money readily, but nothing good or pleasant came of his lavishness to -anybody. He never harmed anybody, but that was not considered a merit. -He was honest, but no one had ever heard it said: "How honorably Pavel -Golovliov dealt in that affair!" It must be added that sometimes, not -often, he snarled at his mother, although he feared her like poison. I -repeat, he was an ill-tempered person, but back of his moroseness was -nothing but sheer inertness.</p> - -<p>When the brothers reached maturity, the difference in their characters -was most conspicuous in their relation to their mother. Yudushka -punctually every week sent a lengthy epistle to "mother dear," in -which he informed her in the greatest detail of all the minutiæ of his -life in St. Petersburg, and assured her of his disinterested filial -devotion in the most carefully selected terms. As for Pavel, he wrote -rarely, laconically, and sometimes even enigmatically, pulling every -word out of himself with a pair of tongs, as it were.</p> - -<p>"My adorable friend and dear mother," is what Porfiry Vladimirych -wrote, for instance, "I have received the money from the peasant -Yerofeyev, and I send you my most heartfelt thanks for forwarding the -sum, which, according to your gracious wish, dearest mamenka, is to be -spent for my maintenance. I also kiss your hands with sincere filial -devotion. What worries and grieves me is the thought that you are -straining your precious health all too much by your ceaseless efforts -to satisfy not only our needs, but our whims as well. I don't know what -brother thinks, but I——" etc., etc.</p> - -<p>As for Pavel, what he wrote on a similar occasion was: "Dear mother, am -in receipt of the money, and, according to my calculations, you still -owe six and a half rubles, for which I beg to be graciously forgiven."</p> - -<p>When Arina Petrovna wrote reprimanding the children for their -extravagance—she did so rather frequently, although there was no -serious necessity for it—Porfisha invariably received her rebuke -submissively and replied: "I am well aware, my dearest friend and -mother, that you bear the heaviest burdens for the sake of us, your -unworthy children. I know that often our behavior does not justify -your motherly solicitude, and what is worse, erring humans that we -are, we often forget it, for which I apologize most devotedly and -sincerely, in the hope that in the course of time I will overcome my -weakness and be more prudent in my expenditure of the funds that you -send, my adorable friend and mother, for my maintenance and for other -purposes." Pavel would answer back: "Dearest mother, though you have -not as yet paid any of my debts, I accept most submissively the name -of spendthrift which you choose to bestow upon me, whereof I beg most -sincerely to accept my assurance."</p> - -<p>Even the replies that the brothers made to the letter announcing the -death of their sister, Anna Vladimirovna, were quite different from -each other. Porfiry Vladimirych said: "The news of the death of my dear -sister and good playmate, Anna Vladimirovna, has filled my heart with -sorrow, a sorrow aggravated by the thought that a new cross has been -given you to bear, dearest little mother, in the shape of two little -orphans. Is it not sufficient that you, common benefactress to us all, -deny yourself everything and, without sparing your health, concentrate -all your power on the sole object of assuring the family not only -the necessaries of life but also the luxuries? Believe me, it is a -wicked thing to do, but now and then, I confess, I cannot refrain from -grumbling. As far as I can see, the only solace for you, my dearest, -in this state of affairs is to remember as often as you can all that -Christ himself had to undergo." Pavel's reply ran: "The news of my -sister, who has fallen a victim, I have received. I hope, however, that -the Most High will rest her in His celestial tent, although this is -uncertain."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna reading these letters would try to guess which of the -two sons would be her destruction. At times she felt certain the -danger was coming from Porfiry Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>"Look how he wags his tongue, a regular fiend at writing!" she would -exclaim. "Simple Simon's nickname suits to a tee—Yudushka! Not a word -of truth in all this stuff about my burdens, my cross, and the rest. -Sheer lies! Not an ounce of feeling in his heart!"</p> - -<p>At other times Pavel Vladimirych seemed to be her real enemy.</p> - -<p>"A fool, and yet look how deftly he tries to make love to mother on -the sly. 'Whereof I beg most sincerely to accept my assurance!' Wait a -while! I'll teach you what 'accept assurances' means! I shall deal with -you as I did with Simple Simon, and you'll find out what I mean by your -'assurances'!"</p> - -<p>In the end a truly tragical cry would burst from her lips. "And for -whom am I hoarding all this wealth? For whom am I gathering all this? I -deny myself sleep and food—for whom?"</p> - -<p>Such were the domestic circumstances of the Golovliovs at the time that -the bailiff, Anton Vasilyev, reported to Arina Petrovna that Simple -Simon had dissipated "the bone" flung to him, which, in view of its -loss, might now be called with especial significance the "parental -blessing."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna sat in her bedroom, all her senses dazed. A vague, -unaccountable feeling stirred within her, whether pity, born suddenly -and miraculously, for her hated offspring, who, after all, was her son, -or whether merely thwarted despotism, the most expert psychologist -would have been unable to decide. Her sensations were utterly confused -and succeeded each other with bewildering swiftness. Finally, out of -the welter of her thoughts there crystallized one emotion, the fear -that "the horrid creature" would again be hanging round her neck.</p> - -<p>"Aniutka has forced her whelps on me, and now this dunderhead is coming -here," she pondered deeply.</p> - -<p>Long she sat silent, her eyes fixed and intent. Dinner was brought in, -but she hardly touched it; a servant came and said the master wanted -brandy. Without looking up she threw him the keys of the store-room. -After the meal she ordered the bath to be prepared for her. Then she -went into the oratory, ordered all the image lamps to be lit, and -shut herself in. These were all clear signs that the mistress was -"in a temper," and so the house turned as quiet as a churchyard. The -chambermaids walked on tiptoe; Akulina, the housekeeper, ran back and -forth like a lunatic. The preparations for preserving had been set -for after dinner; the berries had been rinsed and made ready, but the -mistress gave no orders either to go ahead or to wait. The gardener, -Matvey, came to ask whether it was time to gather the peaches, but such -was his reception in the maids' room that he fled precipitately.</p> - -<p>Prayers and bath over, Arina Petrovna felt almost reconciled with the -world and had the bailiff summoned again.</p> - -<p>"Now tell me, what is the numskull doing?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Well, Moscow is big, it would take more than a year to walk through -it."</p> - -<p>"But he needs something to fill his stomach with, doesn't he?"</p> - -<p>"Our peasants feed him. He eats with one, gets money for tobacco from -another."</p> - -<p>"And who permits them to give him anything?"</p> - -<p>"Goodness me, madam! The people don't complain. They give alms to -strangers. Should they refuse a mite to their own master's son?"</p> - -<p>"I'll teach them to give mites! I'll have the blockhead deported to -your estate, and the community will have to maintain him at its own -expense."</p> - -<p>"As you command, madam."</p> - -<p>"What? What did you say?"</p> - -<p>"As you command, my lady. If you order it, we shall feed him."</p> - -<p>"That's better. But talk sensibly."</p> - -<p>A pause ensued. Then the bailiff, true to his nature and his nickname, -lost patience and began to shift from one leg to another, obviously -burning with the desire to unburden his mind of something.</p> - -<p>"He's a clever one, though," he finally blurted out. "People say he -brought back a hundred rubles from the campaign. It isn't a fortune, -but still one can live on it for a time."</p> - -<p>"Well?"</p> - -<p>"He thought he might improve his situation and went in for a shady -business."</p> - -<p>"Go on, go on, and don't give me any lies."</p> - -<p>"He went to the German Club. He thought he would find a fool to beat at -cards, but instead he happened on a cunning hawk. He tried to get away, -but was held up in the lobby. Of course, he was plucked clean."</p> - -<p>"I suppose he was roughly handled, too."</p> - -<p>"Of course. The next morning he came to our man, Ivan Mikhailych, and -told the tale himself. It's queer, he was in high spirits and laughed -as if they had treated him like a lord."</p> - -<p>"Things run from him like water off a duck's back. But I won't grieve -over it, provided he does not come within sight of me."</p> - -<p>"But I believe he will."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense, I will not allow him to cross my threshold."</p> - -<p>"But I'm sure he will," insisted Anton Vasilyev. "He said so in plain -words to Ivan Mikhailych. 'Enough,' he says, 'I am going back to the -old woman to eat her dry crusts.' And, madam, to speak the truth, where -can he lay his head but here? He cannot keep on forever feeding on our -men in Moscow. And besides, he needs clothing and comforts."</p> - -<p>That was exactly the thing Arina Petrovna dreaded. It was the very -essence of the obscure thought that so deeply alarmed her. "Yes, he -will turn up," she said to herself, "he has no other place to go to, -there's no doubt of it." He would always be there, within her sight, -that accursed, hated stranger of a son. What had been the good of -throwing his portion to him? She had thought that, having received "his -due," he would drop into eternity. And there he was, rising from the -dead. He would come, make insolent demands, and hang on like a leech, -shocking everybody by his beggarly appearance. And she would have to -meet his demands, because he was a brazen-faced bully, capable of any -violence. You cannot put such a man under restraint; he is capable of -parading in tatters before strangers, of the wildest debauchery, of -running away to the neighbors and telling them the ins and outs of the -family affairs. Should she have him deported to the Suzdal Monastery, -which was said to be a place for ridding parents in distress of the -sight of their refractory children? But the Lord knows whether that -fabulous institution existed at all. People said there were such -things as houses of correction. But how could one get an overgrown dolt -into one of them?</p> - -<p>In short, Arina Petrovna was altogether upset by the thought of how the -arrival of Simple Simon was going to disturb her peaceful existence.</p> - -<p>"I shall billet him upon you," was her threat to the bailiff. "Feed him -at your own expense."</p> - -<p>"Why so, madam?"</p> - -<p>"Because you stand there croaking: 'He's sure to come,'" she mimicked. -"Get out of my sight, you raven!"</p> - -<p>Anton Vasilyev turned to go, but Arina Petrovna stopped him:</p> - -<p>"Wait a minute. Is it true that he is starting out for Golovliovo?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not in the habit of telling lies, madam. He said so plainly—'I am -going back to the old woman to eat her dry crusts.'"</p> - -<p>"He'll soon find out what kind of crusts the old woman has prepared for -him."</p> - -<p>"But, madam, he won't live with you long."</p> - -<p>"Why not?"</p> - -<p>"Well, madam, he coughs very badly and keeps on clutching the left side -of his chest. He won't live long."</p> - -<p>"That kind generally lives very long. He'll outlive us all. The -coughing doesn't hurt him. Well, we shall see about it later. Leave me -now. I have several matters to attend to."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna spent the whole evening pondering over this problem. -Finally she found it best to convoke the family council for the -purpose of deciding what was to be done with Simple Simon. Such -constitutionalism was not her habit. She made up her mind to digress -from the traditions of autocracy solely for the purpose of shielding -herself from public censure, and as she did not doubt the outcome of -the conference, she sat down with a light heart to write to Porfiry and -Pavel asking them to come to Golovliovo immediately.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER III</h4> - - -<p>Meanwhile, the cause of all this mess, Simple Simon, was on his way -to Golovliovo. In Moscow he engaged a seat in one of the so-called -"diligences," in which small merchants and peasant traders used to -travel, and which are still seen in some districts. The diligence -had the city of Vladimir as its point of destination, and Stepan -was enabled to travel in it through the liberality of the aforesaid -innkeeper Ivan Mikhailych, who also paid for his master's meals on the -journey.</p> - -<p>"Listen," said Ivan Mikhailych, with the air of an accomplice. "Do -this, get off at the station and go straight up to your mother just as -you are."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, yes," answered Stepan Vladimirych approvingly. "The house is -only about fifteen versts from there. I can walk it in no time. I shall -appear before her all dirty and dusty."</p> - -<p>"When your mother sees you in that rig, perhaps she'll take pity on -you."</p> - -<p>"She will, she will. Mother, after all, is a kindly old woman."</p> - -<p>Stepan Golovliov was not quite forty, but he looked like fifty. Life -had so thoroughly worn him out that there was not a vestige of his -noble origin left, not a single trace of his university education nor -of the enlightening word of science which in days bygone had been -addressed to him, too. He was tall as a Maypole, racked by hunger, -unkempt, untidy, with a sunken chest and long bony arms. His bloated -face, his dishevelled hair, streaked with grey, his loud, hoarse voice, -his bulging, bloodshot eyes were unmistakable signs of heavy drinking -and a weather-beaten life. He wore an old, threadbare uniform, with the -galloons gone—they had been sold to a smelter—and a pair of reddish -boots, patched and sadly worn. Beneath his coat, when unbuttoned, -peeped a dirty shirt, as black as if it had been smeared with soot. -With the cynicism of a militiaman, he called it "a flea nest."</p> - -<p>His glance was stealthy and gloomy, the expression not of inner -discontent, but rather of a vague anxiety which seemed to come from -an ever-present fear of death by starvation. He talked ceaselessly -and disconnectedly, passing without transition from one subject to -another. He spoke whether Ivan Mikhailych listened or dozed off under -the soporific of his garrulousness. He was dreadfully uncomfortable, -because there were four people in the diligence and he had to sit with -his legs bent, so that at the end of three or four versts he had an -intolerable pain in his knee-joints. Nevertheless the pain did not -prevent him from talking. Clouds of dust entered through the side -windows of the vehicle, at times flooded by a flaming, scorching sheet -of sunlight. But Stepan Golovliov kept on talking.</p> - -<p>"Yes, brother," he held forth, "I have lived hard all my life. It is -high time to rest. I shan't be eating her out of house and home, shall -I? She has enough and to spare. What d'you think, Ivan Mikhailych?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, your mother has plenty to eat."</p> - -<p>"Yes, but not for me, you mean to say? Yes, friend, she has heaps of -money, but not a copper for me. And to think the hag has always hated -me. Why? But now I'll sing her a different song. I've made up my mind. -I'm desperate. If she tries to drive me out, I won't go. If she doesn't -give me food, I'll take it. I've served my country, brother. Now it's -everyone's duty to help me. There's only one thing I'm afraid of, that -she won't give me tobacco."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you'll have to say good-by to tobacco."</p> - -<p>"Then I'll put the screw on the bailiff. The devil can well afford to -give his master a present now and then."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, he may do that, but what if your mother forbids him to?"</p> - -<p>"Well, in that case I'll be done for. Tobacco is the only luxury that -has remained of my former style. When I had money I used to smoke not -less than a quarter of a pound of Zhukov's tobacco every day."</p> - -<p>"I guess you'll have to do without brandy, too."</p> - -<p>"Another calamity. Brandy does me a lot of good. It breaks up my -phlegm. When we were marching to Sebastopol, we had hardly reached -Serpukhov, when each man had already been given three gallons of -brandy."</p> - -<p>"You must have lost your senses."</p> - -<p>"I don't remember. We marched as far as Kharkov, but I'll be hanged -if I remember anything else. The only thing I can recall is that we -passed through villages and towns and that at Tula an <i>otkupshchik</i> -made a speech. He shed tears, the scoundrel did. Yes, our holy mother -Russia drank from the cup of sorrow in those days. <i>Otkupshchiki,</i> -contractors, receivers—it's a wonder God succeeded in saving the -country from them."</p> - -<p>"Oh, your mother came in for some of the profits. In our village hardly -half of the soldiers returned home. A recruit's receipt is now given -for each man lost in the campaign, and the government rates such a -quittance at more than four hundred rubles."</p> - -<p>"Yes, my mater is a cunning blade. She ought to be a minister of state -instead of housekeeper at Golovliovo. Let me tell you, she has been -unjust to me and she has insulted me, but I respect her. The main thing -is, she's clever as the devil. If not for her, where would we have been -now? We would have had nothing but Golovliovo with its one hundred and -one and a half souls. Just think what an enormous pile she has made."</p> - -<p>"Well, your brothers will certainly be rich."</p> - -<p>"Yes. But I'll have nothing, that's just as certain. Yes, friend, I've -gone to rack and ruin. But my brothers, they'll be rich, especially the -Bloodsucker. He can ensnare a person in no time, and it won't be long -before he'll undo her, too. He'll pump the estate and the money out of -her. I have an eye for these things. But Pavel, he's a fine chap. He -will send my tobacco on the sly. You'll see if he doesn't. As soon as I -reach Golovliovo, I'll send a note off to him: 'Dear brother, it's so -and so with me. Ease my soul.' Ah, if I were rich!"</p> - -<p>"What would you do?"</p> - -<p>"In the first place, I'd make you roll in wealth."</p> - -<p>"Why me? First think of yourself. I'm contented, living as I do under -your mother's rule."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, brother, <i>attendez!</i> I would make you the chief marshal of all -my estates. Yes, my dear friend, you have fed and warmed a soldier, -accept my thanks. If not for your generosity, I should now be footing -it all the way to the home of my fathers. And, of course, I would free -you on the spot and open up all my treasury to you—drink, eat and be -merry. What did you think I would do?"</p> - -<p>"You'd better stop worrying about me, sir. What else would you do if -you were rich?"</p> - -<p>"In the second place, I'd get a mistress at once. At Kursk I went to -mass once and saw one—a queen! She was very fidgety and restless."</p> - -<p>"But maybe she would object to becoming your mistress."</p> - -<p>"And how about hard cash? What's the filthy lucre for? If a hundred -thousand is not enough for her, she'll take two hundred thousand. When -I have money, no expense is too great for me, if it is a question of -getting a bit of pleasure out of life. I must confess that at the time -I let her know through our corporal that I would give her three rubles. -But the wench asked five."</p> - -<p>"That was too much for you, of course!"</p> - -<p>"Well, I can't tell. As I said, I was in a dream the whole time. -Maybe she came to me, but I forget. Those two months of marching have -gone completely out of my mind. No such thing has happened to you, I -suppose?"</p> - -<p>Ivan Mikhailych was silent. Stepan Vladimirych looked at him -attentively and discovered that his fellow-traveller was sound asleep.</p> - -<p>"Umph," he said. "He has nodded off, the sleepy-head. You have grown -fat, brother, on the tea and fare of your eating-house. I can't sleep, -not a wink. A good chance for a lark."</p> - -<p>Golovliov looked around and saw that everybody was asleep. The merchant -at his side was constantly striking his head against a cross-beam, but -kept on sleeping. His face shone as if veneered, and flies swarmed -about his mouth. A splendid idea, Stepan thought, to cram all the flies -down the merchant's throat. His hand began to move toward the merchant, -but halfway he repented and gave up the idea. "No more pranks," he -said, "enough. Sleep, friends, and rest." Meanwhile—where had he -hidden the bottle? Here, the darling! "Let me see you. Lord, save Thy -creatures," he hummed, taking out a bottle from a bag fastened to the -side of the vehicle and applying it to his mouth. "Ah, that's better. -It warms your insides, you know. Shall I have some more? Well, no. The -station is about twenty versts from here. I'll have time to get as -drunk as a lord. But shan't I have just one drop more? The deuce take -it, the vodka. The bottle simply acts like a charm. It's wicked to -drink, but how can you help it, if it is the only way of getting some -sleep? I wish the vodka, the deuce take it, would do for me quick."</p> - -<p>He gulped down some more vodka, returned the bottle to its place, and -began to fill his pipe.</p> - -<p>"We are all right," he said, talking to himself. "First, we had a sip, -and here we are smoking. She won't let me have any tobacco, the old -hag, sure as fate she won't, the man is right. Will she give me food? -She may send me what is left over from her meals. Well, we, too, had -money, but now we have none. Such is life. To-day you eat and drink -your fill, you enjoy yourself and smoke a pipe,</p> - -<p> -"'And to-morrow—where art thou, man?'<br /> -</p> - -<p>Still it would not be a bad thing to have a bite now. I drink like a -fish and I hardly ever have a square meal. Doctors say drinking does -you good only when followed by a hearty meal, as the Most Reverend -Smaragd said when we passed through Oboyan. Was it Oboyan? The deuce -knows, it may have been Kromy. But that's immaterial now. The main -question is, how to get something to eat. I recollect that my man put a -sausage and three rolls into the bag. Caviar is too expensive for the -rascal. Look at the fellow—sleeps like a log and sings through his -nose. I wouldn't be surprised if he were sitting on the bag."</p> - -<p>He rummaged about in search of the bag, but could not find it.</p> - -<p>"Ivan Mikhailych, Ivan Mikhailych," he shouted to the sleeping -innkeeper. The man woke up and for a while could not make out where he -was and how he happened to be sitting opposite his master.</p> - -<p>"I was just beginning to nap," he said finally.</p> - -<p>"Sleep, friend, sleep. I only want to know where the bag with the food -is."</p> - -<p>"Are you hungry? But you would like a drink first, I suppose."</p> - -<p>"Right. Where is the bottle?"</p> - -<p>Stepan Vladimirych took a drink, and then attacked the sausage, which -happened to be as salty as salt itself and as hard as stone, so that he -had to use the point of his knife to pierce it.</p> - -<p>"Some whitefish would taste good now," he remarked.</p> - -<p>"Excuse me, sir, I clean forgot about the whitefish. All morning I kept -saying to my wife: 'Be sure to remind me of the whitefish.' I am very -sorry."</p> - -<p>"Oh, it doesn't matter. The sausage is good enough for me. When we -were on the campaign, we ate worse things. Father used to tell that two -Englishmen made a bet. One of them was to eat a dead cat, and he ate -it."</p> - -<p>"You don't say!"</p> - -<p>"He did. And he was as sick as a dog afterwards. He cured himself with -rum. He guzzled two bottles as fast as he could, and that set him right -at once. Another Englishman made a bet that he would live a whole year -on nothing but sugar."</p> - -<p>"Did he win?"</p> - -<p>"No. He kicked the bucket two days before the end of the year. And how -about you, why don't you take a drink?"</p> - -<p>"I never touch it."</p> - -<p>"So you swill nothing but tea. No good, brother. That's why your belly -has grown so big. One must be careful with tea. A cup of tea must be -followed by a glass of vodka. Tea gathers phlegm, vodka breaks it up. -Isn't that so?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't know. You are learned; you know better."</p> - -<p>"True. On the campaign we had no time to bother with tea or coffee. But -vodka—that's a holy affair. You unscrew the flask, pour the vodka into -a cup, drink, and that's all. At that time we had to march so fast that -for ten days I went without washing."</p> - -<p>"You certainly roughed it, sir."</p> - -<p>"Yes, marching on the highroad is not a joke. Still, on our way forward -it was not so bad. People gave us money, and there was plenty to eat -and drink. But when we marched back there was no more fêting."</p> - -<p>Golovliov gnawed at the sausage and finally chewed up a piece.</p> - -<p>"It is very salty, this sausage is," he said. "But I'm not squeamish. -After all, mother won't feed me on tid-bits. A plate of cabbage soup -and some gruel—that's all she'll let me have."</p> - -<p>"God is merciful. Maybe she'll give you pie on holidays."</p> - -<p>"No, I imagine there'll be no tea, no tobacco, no vodka. People say she -has become fond of playing fool, so she may call me in to take a hand -at the game and give me some tea. As for the rest, there is no hope."</p> - -<p>There was a four-hour rest to feed the horses. Golovliov had finished -the bottle and was tormented by hunger. The travellers entered the inn -and settled down to a hearty meal.</p> - -<p>Stepan Vladimirych took a stroll in the court, paid a visit to the -backyard, the stables and the dovecote, and even tried to sleep. -Finally he came to the conclusion that the best thing for him to do -was to join his fellow-travellers in the inn. There the cabbage soup -was already steaming and on a wooden tray on the sideboard lay a great -chunk of beef, which Ivan Mikhailych was just then engaged in carving. -Golovliov seated himself a little way from the table, lighted his pipe, -and sat silent for quite a while pondering over the way in which he -could allay the pangs of hunger.</p> - -<p>"I wish you a good appetite, gentlemen," he said finally, "the soup -seems to be good and rich."</p> - -<p>"The soup is all right," answered Ivan Mikhailych. "Why don't you order -a portion for yourself?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, it was only a remark on my part. I'm not hungry."</p> - -<p>"Impossible. All you've eaten is a bit of sausage, and the damned -thing only teases one's appetite. Please eat something. I'll have a -separate table laid for you. My dear woman," he turned to the hostess, -"a place for the gentleman."</p> - -<p>The passengers silently attacked their meal and now and then exchanged -meaningful looks. Golovliov felt his fellow-travellers suspected how -matters stood, although he had played master throughout the journey, -not without some arrogance, and had addressed the faithful innkeeper as -if he had merely entrusted him with his cash. His brows knitted, and -a thick cloud of smoke escaped from his mouth. In the depths of his -heart he felt he ought to refuse, but so imperative are the dictates -of hunger that he set upon the bowl of cabbage soup like a beast of -prey and emptied it in a trice. Along with satiety came his customary -self-assurance and, as if nothing were the matter, he said, turning to -Ivan Mikhailych:</p> - -<p>"Well, my cashier, you will pay up for me, and I am off for the hayloft -to have a talk with Mr. Khrapovitzky."</p> - -<p>He jogged over to the hayloft, and as his stomach was full he was soon -fast asleep. He woke up at five o'clock in the morning. Noticing that -the horses stood at their empty bins rubbing their noses against the -edges, he roused the driver. "He sleeps like a top, the rascal," he -shouted. "We're in a hurry, and he's having pleasant dreams."</p> - -<p>Soon the travellers reached the station at which the road turned -off to Golovliovo. Here at last Stepan Vladimirych lost some of his -devil-may-care attitude and became crestfallen and taciturn. Ivan -Mikhailych tried to cheer him up and insisted that he part with his -pipe.</p> - -<p>"You'd better throw the pipe into the nettles, sir, when you come to -the manor-house," he coaxed. "You will find it later on."</p> - -<p>Finally the horses that were to take the innkeeper to the end of his -journey were ready, and the moment of parting came.</p> - -<p>"Good-by, brother," said Golovliov in a tremulous voice, kissing Ivan -Mikhailych. "She'll plague the life out of me."</p> - -<p>"The Lord is merciful. Keep up a stout heart."</p> - -<p>"She'll eat me up alive," repeated Stepan Vladimirych, with such -conviction that the innkeeper involuntarily lowered his eyes.</p> - -<p>With these words Golovliov turned sharply along the country road, -walking in a shuffle and leaning on a gnarled stick which he had cut -off a tree.</p> - -<p>Ivan Mikhailych followed him with his eyes for a while, and then ran -after him.</p> - -<p>"Listen, master," he said. "When I was cleaning your uniform a few -minutes ago, I saw three rubles in your side pocket. Please don't lose -them."</p> - -<p>Stepan Vladimirych was visibly irresolute and could not make up his -mind how to act in this contingency. Finally, he stretched out his hand -to the peasant and said, with tears in his eyes:</p> - -<p>"I understand—to buy tobacco for the old trooper? Thanks. But she'll -eat me up alive, friend. Sure as hell."</p> - -<p>Golovliov found the country road again and several minutes later his -grey soldier's cap showed afar off, now vanishing, now appearing above -the young wood. It was early in the day. The morning mist, touched into -gold by the first rays of the sun, hovered above the country road. The -grass glistened with the dew, and the air was redolent of fir-trees, -mushrooms, and wild berries. The road meandered across a plain swarming -with birds.</p> - -<p>Stepan Vladimirych, however, noticed nothing of the beauty about him. -All his frivolity had suddenly gone, and he walked as if to the Last -Judgment. One thought filled his mind to the exclusion of everything -else. In three or four hours he would have reached his goal. He -recalled his life at Golovliovo, and he felt as if the doors of a damp -cellar were opening to let him in, and no sooner would he penetrate -into the gloomy interior than the doors would close behind him and -everything would be over. Memories prophetic of what awaited him at -Golovliovo surged in his mind. There had been uncle Mikhail Petrovich, -popularly known as Mishka the Squabbler, one of the "horrid" members of -the family, whom grandfather Piotr Ivanych had exiled to Golovliovo, -where he had lived in the servants' quarters and eaten out of the -same dish with Trezorka, the house dog. There had been Aunt Vera -Mikhailovna, who had lived on the estate by her brother's favor and -died of "moderate living"; for Arina Petrovna had begrudged her every -mouthful at dinner and every billet of wood for the stove in her room. -And a similar fate awaited him.</p> - -<p>He foresaw an endless succession of joyless days losing themselves in -a grey yawning abyss, and he involuntarily shut his eyes. Henceforth -he would have to be alone with a wicked old woman, half dead in the -stagnation of despotism. She would be the death of him before long, as -sure as fate. Not a soul to speak to, not a place to visit. She would -be everywhere, scornful, despotic, deadening. The thought of that -inevitable future made his heart so heavy that he stopped under a -tree in desperation, and struck his head against it several times. His -entire life with all its farcical strutting, idleness, and buffoonery -loomed up as if flooded with sudden light. Then he started on his way -again. He felt there was nothing else left for him. The least of men -can make some effort, can earn his bread. He alone was helpless. It -was a new thought. He had been accustomed in thinking of his future to -picture various prospects, but always prospects of wealth coupled with -idleness, never prospects of work. And now the time had come when he -had to pay for the wickedness and aimlessness of his existence. It was -a bitter settlement, summed up in the terrible phrase: "She will be the -end of me."</p> - -<p>It was about nine o'clock in the morning when the white Golovliovo -belfry showed above the forest. The traveller's face grew pale, and his -hands began to tremble. He took off his cap and crossed himself. The -parable of the prodigal son and his return occurred to him, but he at -once rejected the idea as a bit of self-delusion.</p> - -<p>Finally, he noticed the boundary-post standing by the wayside, and -presently he was treading the Golovliovo soil, the hateful soil that -had borne him, an unloved child, that had reared him, sent him, hated, -into the wide world, and was now receiving him, the unloved one, back -into its arms again. The sun was high in the heavens and was ruthlessly -scorching the boundless fields of Golovliovo. But Stepan Vladimirych -was growing paler and shivering with ague.</p> - -<p>At length he reached the churchyard, and here his courage failed -utterly. The manor-house looked out from behind the trees as if nothing -unpleasant had ever happened there; yet the sight of it worked on him -like the vision of a Medusa head. His paternal abode seemed to be a -tomb. "A tomb, tomb, tomb," he repeated unconsciously. He had not the -courage to go straight to the house, but first called on the priest -and sent him to break the news of his arrival and inquire whether his -mother would receive him.</p> - -<p>The priest's wife was very sympathetic and hastened to prepare an -omelette. The village children gathered about him and stared at the -master with wondering eyes. The peasants passing by lifted their hats -in silence and looked at him curiously. One old servant ran up with -the intention of kissing the master's hand. Everyone understood that a -wastrel was before them, an unloved son who had returned to his hated -home never to leave it except for the graveyard. At the thought of it -the people were overwhelmed with a mingled feeling of pity and dread.</p> - -<p>At last the priest returned and announced that the lady of the manor -was ready to receive Stepan Vladimirych. Ten minutes later he was -standing in her presence. Arina Petrovna met him severely and solemnly, -and measured him icily from head to foot, but allowed herself no -useless reproaches. She received him, not in the living room, but on -the porch, and ordered the young master to be taken to his father -through another entrance. The old man was dozing in his bed, under a -white coverlet, in a white nightcap, all white like a corpse. When he -felt the presence of his son he woke up and began to laugh idiotically.</p> - -<p>"Well, friend, so now you are under the hag's paw," he cried, while his -son kissed his hand. Then he crowed like a cock, burst out laughing -again, and repeated several times: "She'll eat him up! She'll eat him -up!" The phrase found echo in Stepan's soul.</p> - -<p>His fears were justified. He was installed in a separate room in -the wing that also housed the counting-room. He was given homespun -underwear and an old discarded dressing-gown of his father's, which he -put on immediately. The doors of the burial vault had opened, let him -in, and closed again.</p> - -<p>There now began a long succession of dull, ugly days, which Time's -grey, yawning abyss swallowed up, one after the other. Arina Petrovna -never received him, nor was he allowed to see his father. Three days -after his arrival, his mother informed him through Finogey Ipatych, the -bailiff, that he would receive board and clothing and also a pound of -Faler's tobacco monthly. Stepan Vladimirych listened to the bailiff, -and merely remarked:</p> - -<p>"The hag! She's found out that Zhukov's tobacco costs two rubles, while -Faler's is only one ruble ninety kopeks a pound. So she pockets ten -kopeks a month."</p> - -<p>The symptoms of the moral sobering that had appeared during the -hours of his approaching Golovliovo on the country road, vanished. -Frivolity reasserted its rights and was followed by an acceptance of -the conditions his mother imposed upon him. The disquieting thought of -the hopeless future, which had once pierced his mind, faded gradually -away and finally was no more. The day and the evil thereof, the petty -interests of existence in all its undisguised ugliness absorbed his -entire being. What part, indeed, could his intentions and opinions play -when the course of the rest of his life in all its details was laid out -in advance in Arina Petrovna's brain?</p> - -<p>All day long he walked to and fro in his room, pipe in mouth, humming -bits of songs, passing unaccountably from church tunes to boisterous -airs. If the village clerk happened to be in the office, he went up to -him and engaged in a conversation, of which the chief topic was Arina -Petrovna's income.</p> - -<p>"What does she do with all her wealth?" he would exclaim wonderingly, -having reached the sum of more than eighty thousand rubles. "My -brothers' allowances are rather poor; she herself lives shabbily, and -she feeds cured meats to father. She deposits the money in the bank, -that's what she does with it."</p> - -<p>On one occasion Finogey Ipatych came to deliver the taxes he had -gathered, and the table was littered with paper money, and Stepan's -eyes glittered.</p> - -<p>"Ah, what a heap of money!" he exclaimed. "And it all flows right down -her throat. As for giving her son some of these nice greenbacks, no, -she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't say: 'Here, my son, you who are -visited by sorrow, here is some cash for wine and tobacco.'"</p> - -<p>This was usually followed by endless cynical talks about how he could -win over his mother's heart.</p> - -<p>"In Moscow," he held forth, "I used to meet a man who knew a magic -word. If his mother refused to give him money he would utter 'the -word,' and she instantly got cramps in her hands and feet, in fact all -over."</p> - -<p>"It must have been a spell, I suppose," remarked the village clerk.</p> - -<p>"Well, whatever it may have been, it is gospel truth that there is such -a 'word.' Another man told me this: 'Take,' he says, 'a frog, and put -it into an anthill at midnight. By morning the ants will have gnawed -it clean, so that only its skeleton will be left. Take the skeleton, -and when it is in your pocket ask anything you wish of any woman, and -she won't refuse you."</p> - -<p>"Well, that's easy."</p> - -<p>"The trouble is, one must first damn oneself forever. If it weren't for -that, the old hag would be cringing before me."</p> - -<p>Hours on end were spent in such talk, but no remedy was found. The -preliminary condition was that you either had to call a curse down on -yourself, or sell your soul to the devil. There was no help. Stepan -Vladimirych had to go on living under his mother's rule, the only -relief coming in the small voluntary contributions that he raised from -the village officials in the form of tobacco, tea, and sugar. His fare -consisted mainly of what remained from his mother's table, and as Arina -Petrovna was moderate to the point of avarice, his board was meagre, -to say the least; which was all the more painful because ever since -vodka had become unattainable, his appetite had grown considerably -keener. All day long hunger gnawed at him, and his sole preoccupation -was how to fill his stomach. He awaited the hour when his mother would -retire for a rest, then sneaked into the kitchen and looked into the -servants' quarters, snatching a bit here, a bit there. Sometimes he -would sit at his open window watching for passers-by. If one of the -serfs came along, he stopped him and levied toll in the form of an egg, -a curd-cake, and the like.</p> - -<p>At the first meeting between mother and son, Arina Petrovna briefly -explained the whole program of his life.</p> - -<p>"Live here," she said. "Here is a shelter for you in the -counting-house. Your meals you will get from my table. In other matters -you will have to put up with things as they are. There were never any -dainties in the house, and I shan't change my ways for your sake. Your -brothers will soon arrive. Whatever they will decide about you, I shall -carry out. I shall take no sin upon my soul. Let them dispose of your -fate."</p> - -<p>He looked forward to his brothers' arrival with impatience. Not that he -reflected on the influence their arrival might have on his existence, -as he had evidently decided that the matter was not worth his thought. -The only thing that interested him was whether Pavel would bring him -tobacco and how much.</p> - -<p>"Maybe he'll hand me over some coin, too," he mused. "Porfishka the -Bloodsucker, he won't, but Pavel ... I'll say to him: 'Brother, give a -soldier some cash for wine.' He'll give me some. He's sure to."</p> - -<p>He did not notice the passage of the days, nor did he feel the weight -of his absolute idleness. The only time he was lonesome was in the -evenings, because the constable left at eight, and Arina Petrovna did -not allow her son any candles, on the ground that one can walk to and -fro without light. He soon became accustomed to the dark and even began -to love it, for in the darkness his imagination had free play and -carried him far, far away from the dreary place which was his home. In -those hours only one thing disturbed him. He had a dull pain in the -chest and his heart palpitated queerly, especially when he went to bed. -Sometimes he jumped out of bed and ran about the room, clutching the -left side of his chest.</p> - -<p>"I wish I would die," he thought at such moments. "But, no, I shan't -die. But maybe I shall."</p> - -<p>One morning when the village clerk with an air of mystery reported that -his brothers had arrived the night before, he shuddered and grew pale. -Something childlike suddenly awoke in him. He felt like running to the -house to see how his brothers were dressed, and find out what beds had -been prepared for them, and whether they had travelling cases like one -he had seen a militia captain carrying, and hear how they would talk -to mother, and spy out what would be served at dinner. In short, a -desire once more arose in him to return to life, which so persistently -rejected him, to fall at "dear mamma's" knees, and obtain her pardon. -Then perhaps he would eat the fatted calf and be merry.</p> - -<p>The house was still quiet, but he had already visited, the kitchen and -found out that the following courses had been ordered for dinner: soup -with fresh cabbage, also some soup left over from yesterday, cured meat -served with cutlets of chopped meat for entree, fried mutton chops and -four snipes for the roast, and raspberry pie with cream for dessert.</p> - -<p>"Yesterday's soup, cured meat, and the chops—that, brother, is for -me," he said to the cook. "There will be no pie for me, I guess."</p> - -<p>"For your mother to say, sir."</p> - -<p>"Ah, friend, there was a time when I ate snipe. Yes, I did. Once I made -a bet with Lieutenant Gremykin that I would eat fifteen snipes one -after the other, and what do you think? I won the bet. After that I -couldn't look at snipe for a month."</p> - -<p>"But you won't refuse to have some now?"</p> - -<p>"She wouldn't let me have any. I can't see, though, what makes her -so stingy. A snipe is a free bird. You don't have to feed it or look -after it. It is self-supporting. She doesn't buy snipes any more than -she buys sheep—and yet! The hag knows snipe tastes better than mutton. -That's why she won't let me have it. She'd rather let it rot than give -it to me. What's ordered for breakfast?"</p> - -<p>"Liver, mushrooms in sour cream, and custard."</p> - -<p>"Why not send me a custard? Do, brother."</p> - -<p>"Well, I'll try hard. Let me tell you, sir. When the brothers sit down -to breakfast, you send the village clerk here. He'll fetch you a couple -of custards under his coat."</p> - -<p>Next day Stepan Vladimirych waited the entire morning for his brothers, -but they did not arrive. Finally, about eleven o'clock, the village -clerk brought the two promised custards and reported that the brothers -had just finished breakfast and were closeted with Arina Petrovna in -her bedroom.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER IV</h4> - - -<p>Arina Petrovna received her sons solemnly, weighed down by grief. Two -maids supported her under the armpits. Her grey locks streamed out from -under her cap, her head drooped, and shook from side to side, and her -limbs seemed hardly able to support her. She always liked to play the -part of a venerable, careworn mother before her children, moving with -difficulty and getting her maids to assist her. Simple Simon called -such solemn receptions high mass, herself a bishop, and the maids, -Polka and Yulka, mace-bearers. As it was late at night the interview -was almost a silent one. Without saying a word she gave her sons her -hand to kiss; kissed them in turn, and made the sign of the cross over -them; and when Porfiry Vladimirych made it clear that he would gladly -spend the rest of the night with "mother dear," she merely waved her -hand and said:</p> - -<p>"Come now. Take a rest, you must be tired after the journey. This is -not the time for discussion. We shall talk to-morrow."</p> - -<p>Next morning the two sons went to kiss papa's hand, but papa refused -his hand. He lay on his bed with closed eyes, and when they entered he -cried out:</p> - -<p>"Have you come to judge the toll-gatherer? Get out, Pharisees! Get -out!"</p> - -<p>But in spite of this reception, Porfiry Vladimirych emerged from papa's -room agitated and with tears on his eyelids, while Pavel Vladimirych, -like "the heartless dolt" that he was, merely picked his nose.</p> - -<p>"He is very weak, mother dear, very weak!" exclaimed Porfiry -Vladimirych, throwing himself on his mother's breast.</p> - -<p>"Is it so bad?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, very bad. He won't live much longer."</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, it isn't as bad as that."</p> - -<p>"No, dear, no. And although your life has never been too joyful, yet -as I think how Fate deals you so many blows at once, upon my word, I -wonder where you get the strength to bear up under it all."</p> - -<p>"Well, my friend, the strength comes if such is the Lord's will. You -know what it says in the Scriptures: 'Bear one another's burdens.' It -seems that our Heavenly Father has chosen me to bear the burdens of my -family."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna shut her eyes, so delightful was this vision of the -family finding their tables covered for them and of her toiling for -them and bearing their burdens.</p> - -<p>"Yes, my friend," she said after a minute's pause, "it's a hard life I -lead in my old age. I have provided for my children, and it is time for -me to rest. It's no joke—four thousand souls! At my age to take care -of such an estate, to have an eye on everybody and everything, to run -back and forth! As for all those bailiffs and managers, they look you -straight in the eye, but, believe me, they are the most faithless kind. -And you," she interrupted herself, turning to Pavel, "what are you -digging in your nose for?"</p> - -<p>"What have I to do with it?" snarled Pavel Vladimirych, disturbed in -the very midst of his absorbing occupation.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean? After all, he's your father. You might find a word -of pity for him."</p> - -<p>"Well—a father! A father like any other father. He has been that way -for ten years. You always make things unpleasant for me."</p> - -<p>"Why in the world should I, my boy? I am your mother. Here is Porfisha. -He has found words of affection and pity for me as befits a good son, -but you don't even look at your mother properly. You look at her out of -the corner of your eye, as if she were not your mother, but your foe. -Please don't bite me."</p> - -<p>"Well, what——"</p> - -<p>"Stop! Hold your tongue for a minute. Let your mother say a word. Do -you remember the commandment, 'Honor thy father and thy mother, and all -will be well with thee?' Am I to understand that you don't wish to be -well?"</p> - -<p>Pavel Vladimirych kept silence and looked at his mother in perplexity.</p> - -<p>"You see, you're silenced," went on Arina Petrovna, "you are guilty. -But I shall let you alone. For the sake of this joyful meeting we shall -dispense with this talk. God, my child, sees everything. As for me, I -see you through and through, and I always have. Children, children, you -will remember your mother when she lies in her grave. You will remember -her, but it will be too late."</p> - -<p>"Mamma dear!" interposed Porfiry Vladimirych. "Away with such black -thoughts, away with them!"</p> - -<p>"We must all die," said Arina Petrovna sententiously. "These are not -black, but pious thoughts. I'm growing weak, children, oh, how weak! -Debility and ailments are the only things left of my former strength. -Even the maids have noticed it, and they don't care a rap for me. If I -say one word, they have ten in reply. I have only one threat, that I -shall complain to the young masters. That works sometimes."</p> - -<p>Tea was served and then breakfast, during which Arina Petrovna -continued her complaining and self-pitying. After breakfast she invited -her sons to her bedroom.</p> - -<p>When the door was locked, she went straight to the business for which -she had convoked the family council.</p> - -<p>"Simple Simon is here," she began.</p> - -<p>"We heard about it, mamma dear," said Porfiry Vladimirych; and it was -hard to say whether it was irony or the calm complacency of a man who -has just eaten a hearty meal that sounded in his voice.</p> - -<p>"He has come here as if that were the proper thing to do. Whatever he -may have done, he seems to think the old mother will always have bread -for him. Think of all his hatred for me, of all the trouble his tricks -and buffoonery have caused me. And what have I not done to get him a -good berth? It all ran off like water from a duck's back. At last, I -made up my mind. Goodness, if he cannot take care of himself, am I to -ruin my life on account of the big lout? I'll give him a piece of the -property, I decided. Perhaps, I thought, once an independent proprietor -he'll sober down. No sooner said than done. I myself found a house -for him and paid out twelve thousand silver rubles for it with my own -hands. And what's the upshot? After less than three years he's hanging -round my neck again. How long am I to stand such insults?"</p> - -<p>Porfisha lifted up his eyes and shook his head sorrowfully, as if to -say, "Fine doings. Why disturb mother dear so ruthlessly? Why not -live peacefully and quietly? Then dear mamma would not be angry. Fine -doings." But Porfisha's gestures did not please Arina Petrovna, who -objected to any interruption to the course of her thoughts.</p> - -<p>"Wait a minute," she said, "don't shake your head. Listen first. Think -of my feelings when I learned that he had thrown away his parental -blessing like a gnawed bone into a cesspool. Think how he outraged me, -me, who for years refused myself sleep and food. He has done to his -patrimony what one would do to a bauble bought at a fair."</p> - -<p>"Oh, mother dear, what a shame, what a shame!" began Porfiry -Vladimirych, but Arina Petrovna stopped him again.</p> - -<p>"Wait a minute. Let me have your opinion when I order you to. If at -least the scoundrel had come to me in time and said: 'I am guilty, -dear mamma, I couldn't restrain myself,' I might have bought the house -back for a song. The unworthy son did not know how to make use of the -property. Perhaps the worthier children would. The house easily brought -in fifteen per cent. income yearly. Maybe I would have thrown him out -another thousand rubles in his distress. But instead, he disposed of -the property without so much as saying a word to me. With my own hands, -I paid out twelve thousand rubles for the house, and it was sold at -auction for eight thousand rubles!"</p> - -<p>"The main thing, dear mamma, is that he has dealt so basely with the -parental blessing," Porfiry interjected hastily, as if afraid of being -stopped again.</p> - -<p>"Yes, that's so, too. My money does not come lightly. I have earned it -with the sweat of my brow. When I married your father, all he owned -was the estate of Golovliovo with one hundred and one souls, and a few -more souls scattered in distant estates, a hundred and fifty in all. -As for me, I had nothing at all. Now look what an estate I have built -up on that foundation. There are four thousand souls, not a single one -less. I can't take them into the grave with me. Do you think it was an -easy task to scrape four thousand souls together? No, dear child, not -easy, far from easy. I spent many a sleepless night trying to work out -a good business scheme, so that no one should smell it out and stand in -my way. And what have I not endured in my business travels? I have had -plenty of hard road and bad weather and slippery ice. It is only lately -that I allow myself the luxury of a coach. In former times I rode in a -plain two-horse peasant's cart with a cover put on extra for me. It was -in nothing but a cart that I used to go to Moscow. And the filth and -stench I had to put up with in the Moscow inns! I begrudged myself the -dime for the cabby, and I walked all the way from Rogozhskaya Street -to Solyanka. The house-porter would say to me wonderingly: "Mistress, -they say you are young and well-to-do, why do you work so hard?" But I -was silent and patient. At first all I had at my disposal were thirty -thousand rubles in bank notes. I sold your father's remote estates with -their one hundred souls, and with what I realized from the sale I set -out to buy a property with a thousand souls. I had a mass said at the -Iverska Church and went to Solyanka to try my luck. What do you think -happened? The Holy Virgin must have seen my bitter tears. She helped -me buy the estate. It was like a miracle. The instant I bid thirty -thousand rubles the auction came to an end. There had been a lot of -noise and excitement, but then the people stopped bidding, and it was -as quiet as could be. The auctioneer got up and congratulated me. I was -dumfounded. Ivan Nikolaich, the lawyer, came over to me and said: 'Let -me congratulate you, madam, on your purchase.' But I stood there stiff -as a post. How great is God's mercy! Think of it, if in my confusion -someone had called out just for spite, 'I bid thirty-five thousand,' I -should certainly have offered every bit of forty thousand. And where -would I have gotten the money from?"</p> - -<p>Many a time before had Arina Petrovna regaled her children with the -epical beginnings of her career of acquisition. It had never lost -the charm of novelty for them. Porfiry Vladimirych listened smiling, -sighing, turning up his eye-balls, lowering them, to the tune of the -rapid changes through which the tale passed. As for Pavel Vladimirych, -he sat with wide-open eyes, like a child, listening to a familiar, yet -ever-fascinating fairy tale.</p> - -<p>"Do you think your mother built up her fortune without trouble?" went -on Arina Petrovna. "It takes trouble even to make a pimple on your -nose. After the first purchase I was laid up with fever for six weeks. -So judge for yourselves how it must make my heart ache to see my -hard-earned money, money I went through torments to get, you may say, -thrown out into the gutter for no earthly reason."</p> - -<p>There was a minute's pause. Porfiry Vladimirych was ready to rend his -garments, but refrained, fearing there would be no one in the village -to mend them. Pavel Vladimirych, as soon as the fairy tale was over, -fell back into his wonted apathy, and his face resumed its customary -dull expression.</p> - -<p>"That is why I asked you to come here," began Arina Petrovna anew. "Now -judge us, me and the villain. Whatever you decide will be done. If you -condemn him, he will be guilty. If you condemn me, I shall be guilty. -Only I shall not allow the rascal to get the better of me," she added, -quite unexpectedly.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych felt his turn had come, and he prepared to hold -forth, but approached the subject in a roundabout way.</p> - -<p>"If you will permit me, dearest mother, to express my opinion," he -said, "here it is in two words: children must obey their parents, -blindly do their bidding, cherish them in their old age. That's all! -What are children, dear mother? Children are loving creatures who owe -their parents everything, from their persons to the last rag they -possess. Therefore, parents may judge children, while children may -never judge parents. Children are in duty bound to respect, not to -judge. You say: 'Judge us.' That is magnanimous of you, dear mother, -<i>mag</i>nificent! But how can we think about it without fear, we whom from -the first day of our birth you have been clothing with kindness from -head to foot? Say what you may, it would not be judgment but blasphemy. -It would be such blasphemy, such blasphemy——"</p> - -<p>"Stop, wait a minute. If you say you cannot sit in judgment on me, -acquit me and condemn <i>him,</i>" Arina Petrovna interrupted. She was -listening and trying to search his meaning, but could not make out what -new plot was back of the Bloodsucker's mind.</p> - -<p>"No, mother dear, even that I cannot do, or rather I don't dare to. I -have no right to. I can neither acquit nor condemn. I simply cannot -judge. You are the mother; you alone know how to deal with us children. -You have the right to reward us if we deserve it, and chastise us if we -are guilty. Our duty is not to criticise, but to obey. And if at the -moment of parental wrath you exceed the measure of justice, even then -we dare not grumble, for the ways of Providence are hidden from us. Who -knows, perhaps it was necessary. Our brother Stepan has acted basely, -unspeakably, but you alone can determine the degree of punishment he -deserves."</p> - -<p>"Then you refuse to help me? You would have me get out of this affair -as best I can?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, dearest, dearest, how you misunderstood me! Goodness, goodness! I -said, that however you might be pleased to dispose of brother Stepan's -fate, so shall it be, and you—what horrible thoughts you ascribe to -me."</p> - -<p>"All right. And you?" she turned to Pavel Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>"Do you want my opinion? But what's my opinion to you?" said he, as if -only half-awake. However, he braced himself unexpectedly and went on: -"Of course, he's guilty. Have him torn to pieces—ground to dust in a -mortar—it's settled in advance. What am I in this?"</p> - -<p>Having mumbled these incoherent words, he stopped and stared at his -mother, his mouth wide open, as if not trusting his own ears.</p> - -<p>"Well, my dear, I shall speak to you later," Arina Petrovna cut him off -coldly. "I see that you are anxious to tread in Stiopka's tracks. Take -care, my child. You will repent, but it will be too late."</p> - -<p>"Why, what's the matter? I'm not saying anything. I say, just as you -please. What is there disrespectful in that?" said Pavel Vladimirych, -faintly.</p> - -<p>"I'll talk with you later on, my boy, later on. You think because you -are an army officer, you can run wild. You are greatly mistaken. Then -neither of you wants to sit in judgment?"</p> - -<p>"I, dearest mother——"</p> - -<p>"What am I in this?" said Pavel Vladimirych. "I don't care. Have him -torn to pieces."</p> - -<p>"Hold your tongue, for Christ's sake, you wicked man!" Arina Petrovna -felt she was fully entitled to call her son "scoundrel," but refrained -in deference to the joyous meeting. "Well, if you refuse to judge him I -shall. Here is my verdict. I shall try to treat him kindly once more. I -shall hand over to him the little Vologda village, have a cottage built -there, and let him live there and be fed by the peasants."</p> - -<p>Although Porfiry Vladimirych had refused to sit in judgment on his -brother, his mother's generosity was so amazing that he felt he simply -had to point out the dangerous consequences of her project.</p> - -<p>"Dearest mamma," he exclaimed, "you are more than magnanimous. You are -confronted by a deed—well, the vilest, meanest deed—and then you -forget and pardon. <i>Mag</i>nificent! But forgive me, I am afraid for you, -dearest. Think what you will of me, but if I were you, I wouldn't do -it."</p> - -<p>"Why not?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. Perhaps I lack your magnanimity, that motherly feeling -of yours. But one thought comes back to me all the while—what if -brother Stepan does the same with his second legacy as he did with his -first?"</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna had already thought of that, yet in the back of her mind -was another consideration.</p> - -<p>"The Vologda estate is father's property, it belongs to the patrimony," -she said through her teeth. "Sooner or later a portion of the patrimony -will have to be doled out to him."</p> - -<p>"I understand that very well, mother dear."</p> - -<p>"Then you also understand that on giving him the Vologda village we can -make him sign a document to the effect that he has received his full -share and that he renounces all further inheritance claims."</p> - -<p>"I understand that too, dearest mother. Your excessive kindness caused -you to commit a grave mistake. At the time you bought him the house you -ought to have made him give you such a document then."</p> - -<p>"Yes, that was a blunder."</p> - -<p>"At that time, in his joy, he would have signed any document. But you, -dearest, in the kindness of your heart—goodness, what a mistake! What -a mistake!"</p> - -<p>"Don't talk of it any more. Why didn't you speak up before it was too -late? Now you are ready to blame everything on your mother, but when it -comes to business, you are not there. However, it isn't the document -I have in mind. I can make him sign it even now. Papa, I suppose, -isn't going to die at once. Until his death the blockhead must live on -something. In case he refuses to sign, we can chase him out and bid him -wait for papa's death. No, what I want to know is, do you dislike my -idea of giving him the Vologda estate?"</p> - -<p>"He will squander away the village, darling, as he did the house."</p> - -<p>"If he does, let him blame himself."</p> - -<p>"He'll come back to you, again, to no one else."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, I won't stand for it. I won't let him come near my threshold. -There won't be a drink of water for him in my house. And people won't -condemn me for it, nor will God punish me. To squander away first a -house, then an estate! Am I his slave? Is he the only one I have to -provide for? Have I not other children?"</p> - -<p>"Still, it is to you that he will come. Isn't he brazen-faced enough to -do that, darling mamma?"</p> - -<p>"I tell you, I won't let him come near my threshold. Why do you sit -there croaking, 'he'll come, he'll come?' I won't let him in."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna grew silent and fixed her gaze on the window. She -herself vaguely realized that the Vologda estate would only temporarily -free her from "the horrid creature," that in the end he would dispose -of it, too, and would return to her again, and that as a mother she -could not refuse him a corner in her house. But the thought that the -odious fellow would always be with her, that even though locked up in -the counting-house he would be preying on her imagination like a spook, -was so appalling that she shuddered involuntarily.</p> - -<p>"Not for the world!" she exclaimed, striking the table with her fist -and leaping to her feet.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Porfiry Vladimirych kept on staring at "mother dear" and -shaking his head rhythmically in token of condolence.</p> - -<p>"I see you are angry, dearest mamma," he said at last in a tone so -sugared that he seemed to be getting ready to tickle Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>"What would you have me do? Dance a jig?"</p> - -<p>"Excuse me, darling, but what do the Scriptures say about patience? -'In patience,' it says, 'possess ye your souls,' 'In patience'—that's -the word. Do you think God does not see? He sees everything, mother -dear. We perhaps don't suspect anything, we sit here proposing this and -planning that, while He may already have disposed. Oh, dearest mamma, -how unjust you are to me."</p> - -<p>But Arina Petrovna was fully aware that the Bloodsucker was throwing a -snare, and she flew into a rage.</p> - -<p>"Are you making sport of me?" she shouted. "I am discussing business, -and he's trying to hoax me. Don't pull the wool over my eyes. Speak -plainly. Do you want him to remain at Golovliovo, hanging around his -mother's neck?"</p> - -<p>"Just so, dearest mother, if you please. Let him be where he is and -make him sign a paper about the heritage."</p> - -<p>"So, so. I knew that was what you would advise. All right. God alone -knows how it will pain me always to be having that creature around. -However, it seems nobody will take pity on me. When I was young I bore -my cross. Shall I refuse it in my old age? But there is still another -point. While papa and I are alive, <i>he'll</i> live at Golovliovo, and we -won't let him starve. But how about afterwards?"</p> - -<p>"Dearest mother! Darling! Why such melancholy thoughts?" cried the -Bloodsucker.</p> - -<p>"Melancholy or not, still one has to provide ahead. We aren't babies. -When we die, what will become of him?"</p> - -<p>"Dearest mother! Can't you count on us, your children? Have we not been -properly brought up by you?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych flashed on her one of those puzzling glances which -had always made her uneasy, and went on:</p> - -<p>"The poor man, dear mamma, I shall help with greater joy than the rich. -The rich man, Christ be with him, the rich man has enough of his own. -But the poor man—you know what Christ said of the poor."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych got up and kissed his mother's hand.</p> - -<p>"Dearest mamma, allow me to present my brother with two pounds of -tobacco," he said entreatingly.</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna did not answer. She looked at him and reflected: "Is he -really such a Bloodsucker that he would turn his own brother out on the -streets?"</p> - -<p>"Well, do as you please. Let him live at Golovliovo," she said finally, -turning to Porfiry. "You have trapped me. You started with 'just -as you please, dearest mamma,' and finished by dancing me on your -wire. But let me tell you this, I hate him and he has disgraced and -pestered me all his life, he has even dishonored my motherly blessing. -Nevertheless, if you turn him out into the streets or make a beggar of -him, you shall not have my blessing. No, no, no. Now you two go to him. -The idiot is wearing out his silly eyes looking for you."</p> - -<p>The sons left. Arina Petrovna rose and watched them stride over the -front yard to the counting-house without exchanging a word. Porfiry was -constantly taking off his cap and crossing himself, now at the sight -of the church, which shimmered afar off, now before the chapel, now -before the wooden post to which a charity box was attached. As for -Pavel, he seemed unable to take his eyes off his boot tips shining in -the sunlight.</p> - -<p>"For whom have I been accumulating riches? Refused myself sleep and -food—for whom?" she cried bitterly.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER V</h4> - - -<p>The brothers departed, and the manor-house of Golovliovo was deserted. -With renewed energy, Arina Petrovna took up her work again. The -clatter of the knives in the kitchen ceased, but activities in office, -storehouses, cellars, were redoubled. Summer, the great provider, -was nearly over; preserving, canning, pickling, storing were in full -swing. Winter provisions flowed in from all quarters, dried mushrooms, -berries, eggs, vegetables. This requisition in kind imposed upon the -peasant women came in wagons from all the various family estates. -Everything was measured and added to the stores of former years. Not in -vain had the lady of Golovliovo had a long row of cellars, storehouses -and granaries built. They were full to the brim. Quite a good deal of -damaged material was along with the rest and smelt foully. At the end -of summer the stuff was all sorted and what was suspicious was sent to -the servants' quarters.</p> - -<p>"The pickles are still in good condition, only the skin is coming off -in some places, and they smell a little. Well, let the servants enjoy a -dainty bit," Arina Petrovna would say, pointing out the barrels to be -put aside.</p> - -<p>Stepan Vladimirych adapted himself admirably to his new condition. At -times he felt a strong craving to get drunk as a piper. He had money -for the purpose, as we shall see later. But he restrained himself -stoically, as if considering that the time had not yet arrived. He -was always busy now, for he took a lively part in the provisioning, -rejoicing in its successes and regretting its failures in a wholly -disinterested manner. In a sort of ecstasy, hatless, clad in his -dressing-gown, he scurried from the office to the cellars, hiding from -his mother behind trees and various small buildings that crowded the -court-yard. Arina Petrovna noticed him in this garb many times, and -felt an itching in her motherly heart to give Simple Simon a severe -scolding, but on second thought she left him alone in his escapades. -In the cellars Stepan Vladimirych with feverish impatience watched how -the carts were unloaded, how jars, barrels and tubs were brought in -from the estate, and everything was assorted and finally sent off into -the yawning abyss of cellars and storehouses. He felt satisfied in most -instances.</p> - -<p>"To-day two wagons of mushrooms came from Dubrovino. Ripping fine -mushrooms, brother," he informed the village clerk rapturously. "And we -were afraid we should have to get along without mushrooms this winter. -Bravo, Dubrovino fellow, much obliged! Fine fellows they are! They have -helped us out!"</p> - -<p>On another occasion, he said:</p> - -<p>"To-day mother gave an order to catch some carps in the pond. You ought -to see them! Some three feet long! It looks as if we were going to live -on carp the whole week."</p> - -<p>Sometimes he was worried.</p> - -<p>"The cucumbers failed completely this season. There is not a good one -among them—all crooked and spotty. They're just good enough to be -sent to the servants' quarters. We shall have to use last year's."</p> - -<p>He did not approve of Arina Petrovna's management. "Goodness, what -heaps of provisions she allows to rot! Just now she's having cured -meat, pickles, fish and what not hauled to the servants' quarters. -Is that what you call good business? Is that the right way of doing -things, I'd like to know. There are lots of fresh provisions, but she -will not touch them until the old rot is eaten up."</p> - -<p>The confidence entertained by Arina Petrovna that it would be easy to -induce Simple Simon to sign any paper proved wholly justified. Not only -did he not object to signing all the papers that his mother sent him, -but the same evening he even boasted about it to the village clerk.</p> - -<p>"Well, brother, to-day I have been doing nothing but signing papers. I -have renounced all my rights of inheritance. I am cleaned out. Not a -cent to my name, and none coming. I have set the old woman at ease."</p> - -<p>He parted with his brothers peaceably, and was in raptures over his -big supply of tobacco. Of course, he couldn't help calling Porfisha -Bloodsucker and Yudushka, but the disparaging terms were drowned in a -deluge of incoherent, meaningless chatter.</p> - -<p>In taking leave the brothers became liberal and even gave him money. -Porfiry Vladimirych accompanied his gift with the following speech:</p> - -<p>"This money will be handy in case you need oil for the ikon lamp or if -you want to set up a candle in the church. That's how it is, brother. -Be good and gentle, and our dear mother will be satisfied. You will -have your comforts, and all of us will be merry and happy. Our mother -is a kindly soul, you know."</p> - -<p>"There is no denying that she is kindly," agreed Stepan Vladimirych. -"Only she feeds me on rotten pickled meat."</p> - -<p>"Whose fault is it? Who treated mother's blessing with disrespect? It -is your own fault that you lost your estate. What a nice little estate -it was. If you only knew how to behave yourself and live modestly, you -would now be eating beef and veal and even ordering sauce with them. -You would have plenty of everything, potatoes, cabbage, peas. Am I not -right, brother?"</p> - -<p>Had Arina Petrovna heard this harangue, it would have made her -impatient, and she would have let the orator know that it did. But -Simple Simon was fortunate that his mind could not, as it were, retain -other people's words, and not a syllable of Yudushka's speech reached -its destination.</p> - -<p>So Stepan Vladimirych parted with his brothers amicably. And there was -some vanity in his showing Yakov, the village clerk, two twenty-five -ruble notes that had been left in his hands after the brothers had -departed.</p> - -<p>"This will last me a long time," he said. "We've got tobacco. We're -well provided with tea and sugar. Nothing is missing but vodka. -However, should we want vodka, we'll get vodka, too. Nevertheless, I -will restrain myself for a little while yet. I am too busy now, I have -to keep an eye on the cellars. Weaken your watch for a single instant, -and everything will be pillaged. <i>She</i> saw me, brother, she saw me, the -hag, once, when I was gliding by along the kitchen wall. She stood at -the window looking at me and I bet she thought: 'Well, well, so that's -why I miss so many cucumbers.'"</p> - -<p>Then came October. It began to rain, the road turned black, into -an impassable stream of mud. Stepan Vladimirych could not go out -because his only garments were his father's old dressing-gown and -worn slippers. He sat at his window watching the tiny, humble village -drowned in mud. There, in the gray autumn mist, men were moving about -briskly, looking like black dots.</p> - -<p>The heavy summer work was still in full swing, but now its setting was -no longer the jubilant, sun-flooded hues of summer, but the endless -autumn twilight. The corn kilns emitted clouds of smoke far into the -night. The melancholy clatter of the flails resounded in the air. -Thrashing was also going on in the manorial barns, and in the office -they said it would hardly be possible to get through with the whole -mass of grain before Shrovetide. Everything looked gloomy and drowsy, -everything spoke of oppressiveness. The doors of the counting-house -were no longer ajar, and inside the air was filled with a bluish fog -rising from the wet fur cloaks.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to say what impression this spectacle of a toilsome, -rural autumn made on Stepan's mind, and whether he was at all aware of -the labors going on in the incessant rain out in the boggy fields. One -thing is certain, that the drab, tearful autumn sky oppressed him. It -seemed to hang close down over his head and threaten to drown him in a -deluge of mud. All he had to do was to look out through the window and -watch the heavy masses of clouds. From the dawn on they covered the -heavens, hanging motionless as if spellbound. Even after several hours -they were still in the same place, without the slightest apparent -change in hue or outline. In the morning, one cloud, heavy and black, -had a ragged shape resembling a priest in a cassock with outstretched -arms. It was clearly outlined on the pallid background of the upper -clouds, and at noon it still had the identically same form. The right -hand, it is true, had become shorter, and the left was stretched out in -an ugly fashion and was sending down such a flood of rain that against -the dark background of the sky there formed a streak still darker, -almost black. Another huge shaggy lump of a cloud a little farther up -hung over the village, threatening to smother it, you would think. -Hours later it was still hanging in the same place, the same shaggy -monster with outstretched paws, as though ready to pounce upon the -earth. Clouds, clouds, nothing but clouds! Around five o'clock a change -took place, darkness gradually enveloped heaven and earth, and soon -the clouds disappeared completely, vanishing beneath a black shroud. -They were the first to go, next followed the forest and the village, -then the church, the chapel, the hamlet, the orchard, and finally the -manor-house, several yards away.</p> - -<p>It has already become quite dark in the room, and there is no light. -So what can one do but pace up and down? A morbid languor seizes -Stepan's brain; his entire body, despite its idleness, is filled -with an incomprehensible, indescribable feeling of fatigue. Just one -thought moves in him and sucks at him—the grave, the grave, the -grave! Those black dots which have recently been moving busily on the -dark background of the boggy soil and near the village barns are not -oppressed by that thought. They will not perish under the burden of -despondency and weariness. If they do not challenge the sky directly, -at least they struggle, build, make enclosures, repair their houses. -Stepan did not question whether all this bustle was worth the while, -but he was aware that even the nameless dots were incomparably superior -to him, that he couldn't even struggle, that he had nothing to build, -nothing to repair.</p> - -<p>He spent the evenings in the counting-house, because Arina Petrovna -refused to supply him with candles. Several times, through the -bailiff, he asked for boots and a fur coat, and was invariably told -that boots were not kept in store for him, but that he would be given -a pair of felt shoes as soon as the cold spells arrived. Evidently, -Arina Petrovna intended to fulfill her program literally, that was, -to sustain her son in such a manner as barely to keep him from -starvation. At first he abused his mother, but then behaved as though -he had forgotten all about her. Even the light of the candles in the -counting-room annoyed him, and he began to lock himself in his room -and remain all alone in the darkness. There was just a single refuge -left, one that he still dreaded but that attracted him irresistibly, -to get drunk and forget deeply, irrevocably, to plunge into the sea -of oblivion and never emerge again. Everything drove him to it, the -debauchery of the past, the enforced idleness of the present, his -ailing body with the torturing cough, the unbearable asthma, and the -constantly increasing pains in his heart. At last the hour came.</p> - -<p>"You must fetch me a bottle of vodka for to-night," he said once to the -village clerk in a voice boding little good.</p> - -<p>That one bottle of vodka was followed by a long succession of other -bottles. After that he got drunk every night. At nine o'clock, when -the light in the counting-house had been put out and the servants had -retired to their quarters, he placed a bottle of vodka and a slice of -rye bread thickly strewn over with salt on the table. He did not attack -the liquor at once, but approached it stealthily as it were. Everybody -on the place was fast asleep. The mice scudded behind the wall paper -and the clock in the counting-house ticked ominously. Stepan threw off -his dressing-gown, and began to stride back and forth in the overheated -room, with nothing but a shirt on his back. At times he stopped, went -over to the table, searched for the bottle in the darkness, then -resumed his restless pacing. The first tumblers he emptied in a sort of -passion, voluptuously swallowing down the burning liquid. But little by -little his heart began to beat faster, the blood mounted to his head, -and he mumbled incoherently. His feeble imagination tried to create -images, his blunted memory attempted to pierce the mists of the past. -But the images were broken and meaningless, and the past remained dim -and formless. There was no recollection, either bitter or sweet, as -though an impervious wall separated the past from the present.</p> - -<p>He was completely filled by the present, which seemed like a prison -cell, in which he would be locked up for eternity without consciousness -of time or space. His mind took in nothing but the room, the stove, -the three windows in the front wall, the squeaking wooden bed with its -mattress worn thin, and the table with the bottle.</p> - -<p>As the contents of the bottle decreased and his head grew hotter and -hotter, even this boresome sense of the present gradually faded. His -mumblings, to which at first there had been a bit of form, now lost -all meaning. His pupils dilated in the attempt to pierce the engulfing -darkness. Finally, the darkness itself vanished and its place was taken -by a phosphorescent sheen.</p> - -<p>It was an endless void, with not a color or a sound, but radiant with -sinister splendor. The void followed him in his wanderings, trod on -his heels at every step. There were no walls, no windows, nothing -but this endless vacant splendor. Dread fell on him, coupled with an -irresistible impulse to annihilate even the void. A few more efforts, -and his goal was reached. His stumbling legs carried a benumbed body, -his chest gave forth not a murmur but an inarticulate cry, his very -existence seemingly ceased. A strange stupor took possession of him, in -which conscious life had no part, which plumbed the depths of a life -independent of and beyond the boundaries of normal existence. Groans -burst from his chest without in the least disturbing his sleep. His -organic disease continued its destructive work, without apparently -causing him any physical pain.</p> - -<p>He rose early in the morning, filled with agonizing longing, disgust -and hatred. It was an inarticulate hatred, without either cause -or definite object. His bloodshot eyes rolled restlessly, his -limbs trembled, his heart worked with sickening irregularity, now -stopping altogether, now hammering with such violence that his hand -involuntarily clutched at his breast. Not a thought, not a desire! -Objects of immediate perception filled his mind so completely that it -was closed to other impressions.</p> - -<p>He filled his pipe and lighted it. It dropped from his nerveless -fingers. His tongue mumbled something, but seemingly by force of habit -only. He sat in silence and stared at one point. He felt an intense -craving to raise the temperature of his body so that he would feel -the presence of life for at least a short while. But he had no way of -getting vodka in the daytime. He had to wait for night to attain those -blissful moments when the ground vanished from under his feet and the -four odious prison walls were replaced by a shoreless, shining void.</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna had not the slightest idea of how Simple Simon spent his -time. The casual glimmer of feeling which had appeared for a moment -during the conversation with the Bloodsucker vanished so precipitately -that she was unconscious of its ever having appeared. It was not a -premeditated course of action on her part, but sheer oblivion. She -completely forgot that in the counting-house, in close proximity to -her, there lived a human being bound to her by ties of blood, who -perhaps was pining away in the yearning for life. Once having cut out -a certain channel in life and filling it almost mechanically with -the same things, she thought others ought to do likewise, it never -occurring to her that the very character of the things life holds vary -among people according to a multitude of circumstances in different -combinations, and that these things may be dear to some, herself among -these some, while they are an abomination and a tyranny to others.</p> - -<p>Therefore when the bailiff repeatedly reported that "something was the -matter" with Stepan Vladimirych, the words slipped by her ears, leaving -no impression on her mind. Indeed, she scarcely ever even replied, and -when she did, then only with the stereotyped reply:</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, he'll be all right. I bet he'll outlive you and me. Nothing -is the matter with the shambling colt. Coughing, you say! Well, some -people cough thirty years on end and they don't feel it."</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, one morning when they came and told her that Stepan -Vladimirych had disappeared during the night, she was aroused. -Immediately she sent out all the available men in search of him, and -herself started an investigation beginning with the room in which -Stepan had lived. The first thing that struck her was a bottle standing -on the table, with a bit of vodka in it.</p> - -<p>"What's this?" she asked, pretending not to understand.</p> - -<p>"Why, I guess—the young master indulged," stammered the bailiff.</p> - -<p>"Who supplied——?" she began, flaring up. But she restrained herself, -and continued her investigation, hiding her rage.</p> - -<p>The room was so filthy that even she, who did not know and did not -recognize any demands of comfort, began to feel awkward. The ceiling -was smutty, the wall paper in many places was hanging in tatters, the -window-sills were black with a thick layer of tobacco ashes, pillows -were lying about on the floor beslimed with viscous mud, on the bed lay -a crumpled sheet, gray with accumulated dirt. In one window the winter -frame had been taken, or, rather, torn out, and the window itself was -left half open. Apparently it was through this opening that Simple -Simon had disappeared. Arina Petrovna instinctively looked out on the -road and became more frightened. It was already the first of November, -but the autumn that year had lasted long, and the cold spells had not -yet arrived. Both the road and the field were one black sea of mud. How -had he got away? Where had he gone to? Here it occurred to her that he -had nothing on but a dressing-gown and a slipper. The other slipper had -been found under the window. And the night before it had been pouring -ceaselessly.</p> - -<p>"It's a long, long time since I've been here," she said, inhaling -instead of air a foul mixture of vodka, tobacco and sheepskin -evaporations.</p> - -<p>All day long, while the servants were searching the forest, she stood -at the window staring dully out upon the naked fields unrolled before -her eyes. So much ado on account of Simple Simon! It seemed like a -preposterous dream. She had <i>said</i> he ought to have been shipped off to -the Vologda village. "No," that cursed Yudushka had wheedled, "leave -him here, dearest mother, at Golovliovo." Now handle him, if you -please, Yudushka.</p> - -<p>"I wish he had lived there, out of my sight, as he pleased—Christ -be with him!" Arina Petrovna mused. "But I did my part. If he wasted -one good thing, well, I would throw him another. If he'd have wasted -the other, too, well, what could I do then? Even God can't fill a -bottomless belly. Everything would have been peaceful and quiet here. -But now—who knows what he has been up to? Go, look in the forest and -whistle for him. It would be good if he were brought home alive, but -with drunken eyes one is liable to run into a noose—take a rope, tie -it to a branch, put it round his neck, and no more Stiopka. His mother -denied herself sleep and food, and he has invented a new style—hanging -himself. There would be some excuse for him if he had had it hard -here. But goodness, what did he have to do but walk about in his -room all day and eat and drink? Another son would not have known how -to thank his mother enough. And how does this precious son repay his -mother? Goes and hangs himself. The idea!"</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna's surmises about Simple Simon's violent death were not -justified. Toward evening he was brought back in a peasant wagon, still -alive. He was in a semi-conscious state, all bruised and cut, his face -blue and swollen. He had been found at the Dubrovino estate, twenty -miles away.</p> - -<p>The returned fugitive slept straight through the next twenty-four -hours. When he awoke, he stumbled to his feet and began to pace up and -down the room as was his habit, but he did not touch the pipe and made -no reply to the questions he was asked. Arina Petrovna's heart softened -so that on the spur of the moment she all but had him transferred -to the manor-house. Then she quieted down, and left him in the -counting-house, but gave orders for the room to be scoured and tidied -up, the bed linen changed, curtains hung, and so on.</p> - -<p>The following evening, when told that Stepan Vladimirych was awake, she -had him brought to the house for tea and found it possible, in talking -to him, to inject kindliness into her voice.</p> - -<p>"Why did you go away from your mother?" she began. "Do you know you -caused her great anxiety? It's good the news did not reach papa. It -would have been a terrible shock to the poor sick man."</p> - -<p>But Stepan seemed altogether indifferent to his mother's kindly words. -He kept staring at the candle with his glassy eyes, as if watching the -snuff forming on the wick.</p> - -<p>"My, my, aren't you a foolish boy?" continued Arina Petrovna, growing -kinder and kinder. "Just think what rumors will be spread about your -mother because of you. There are enough people who envy her. What will -they not say about her? They will say she did not give you food or -clothes. My, my, what a foolish boy you are!"</p> - -<p>There was the same silence and the same motionless staring glance.</p> - -<p>"Was your stay at mother's so bad? Thank God, you don't go hungry or -naked. What else do you want? If you are lonesome, don't fret. This -is nothing but a village, my boy. We have no entertainments or halls, -we sit in our nooks and we hardly know how to while away the time. I, -myself, would be glad to dance now and then or sing a song, but you -look out upon the road and you lose the desire to go even to church in -such weather."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna paused, hoping that Simple Simon would give utterance to -at least some sounds, but he was as dumb as a stone. She was beginning -to work up a temper, but restrained herself.</p> - -<p>"And if you were discontented with anything, if perhaps you lacked -food or linen, could you not explain it frankly to your mother? Could -you not say, 'Mamma, darling, won't you have some liver or curd-cakes -prepared for me?' Do you think your mother would have refused you? Or -if you wanted a drop of vodka, goodness, I wouldn't have begrudged you -a glass or two. To think of it, you were not ashamed to beg from a -serf, while it was difficult for you to say a word to your own mother."</p> - -<p>But her flattering words were of no avail. Simple Simon remained -impervious to either emotion (Arina Petrovna had hoped he would kiss -her hand) or repentance. In fact, he seemed to have heard nothing.</p> - -<p>From that time on he never spoke a single word. All day long he -walked up and down his room, his brows knit and his lips moving, -apparently never growing tired. At times he halted as if wishing to -say something, but he could not find the words. He had not lost the -capacity for thinking, but impressions left so slight a trace on his -brain that he could not hold them for any appreciable length of time. -Consequently his failure to find the necessary words did not even make -him impatient. Arina Petrovna, for her part, thought he would surely -set the house on fire.</p> - -<p>"He does not say a word all day long," she repeated. "Still he must be -thinking of something, the blockhead! I am sure he'll set the house on -fire one of these days."</p> - -<p>But the blockhead did not think of anything at all. He was deeply -immersed in absolute darkness, in which there was no room either for -reality or the illusory world of imagination. His brain did work, but -in a void, disconnected from either the past, the present, or the -future. It was as though he was completely wrapt up in a black cloud -and all he did was to scan it, to watch its imaginary fluctuations, -and, at times, to make a feeble attempt at resisting its sinister sway. -The whole physical and spiritual world dwindled down to that enigmatic -cloud.</p> - -<p>In December of the same year, Porfiry Vladimirych received the -following letter from his mother:</p> - -<p>"Yesterday morning God visited us with a new ordeal. My son and your -brother, Stepan, breathed his last. The very evening before he had been -quite well and even took his supper, but in the morning he was found -dead in bed. Such is the brevity of this earthly life! And what is most -grievous to a mother's heart is that he left this world of vanity for -the realm of the unknown without the last communion.</p> - -<p>"May this be a warning to us all. He who sets at naught the ties of -kinship must always await such an end. Failures in this life, untimely -death, and everlasting torments in the life to come, all these evils -spring from the one source. For, however learned and exalted we may -be, if we do not honor our parents, our learning and eminence will -be turned into nothingness. Such are the precepts which every one -inhabiting this world must commit to his mind. Besides, slaves should -revere their masters.</p> - -<p>"Notwithstanding this, all honors were duly given to him who had -departed into life eternal, as becomes my son. The pall was ordered -from Moscow, and the burial ceremonies were solemnly presided over by -the Father archimandrite. And according to the Christian custom, I am -having memorial services performed daily. I mourn the loss of my son, -but I do not complain, nor do I advise you, my children, to do so. For -who knows? We may be mourning and complaining here while his soul may -be rejoicing in Heaven."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="BOOK_II" id="BOOK_II">BOOK II</a></h4> - -<h3>AS BECOMES GOOD KINSFOLK</h3> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<h4>CHAPTER I</h4> - - -<p>A hot midday in July; the Dubrovino manor-house all deserted. Workers -and idlers alike resting in the shade. Under the canopy of a huge -willow-tree in the front yard the dogs, too, were lying stretched out, -and you could hear the sound of their jaws when they drowsily snapped -at the flies. Even the trees drooped motionless, as if exhausted. All -the windows in the manor-house and the servants' quarters were flung -wide open. The heat seemed to surge in sweltering waves and the soil -covered with short, singed grass was ablaze. The atmosphere was a -blinding haze touched into gold, so that one could scarcely distinguish -things in the distance. The manor-house, once painted gray and now -faded into white, the small flower garden in front of the house, the -birch grove, separated from the farm by the road, the pond, the village -and the corn field, which touched the outskirts of the village, all -were immersed in the dazzling torrent. The fragrance of blossoming -linden trees mingled with the noxious emanations of the cattle shed. -There was not a breath of air, not a sound. Only from the kitchen -there came the grating of knives being sharpened, which foretold the -inevitable hash and beef cutlets for dinner.</p> - -<p>Inside the house reigned noiseless confusion. An old lady and two young -girls were sitting in the dining room, forgetful of their crocheting, -which lay on the table. They were waiting with intense anxiety. In -the maids' room two women were busied preparing mustard plasters -and poultices, and the rhythmic tinkling of the spoons pierced the -silence like the chirping of a cricket. Barefooted girls were stealing -silently along the corridor, scurrying back and forth from the entresol -to the maids' room. At times a voice was heard from upstairs: "What -about the mustard plasters? Are you asleep there?" And a girl would -dash out of the maids' room. At last heavy footsteps sounded on the -staircase, and the regimental surgeon entered the dining room, a tall, -broad-shouldered man, with firm, ruddy cheeks, the picture of health. -His voice was sonorous, his gait steady, his eyes clear, gay and -frank, his lips full and fresh. In spite of his fifty years he was a -thoroughly fast liver and expected to see many years pass before he -would give up drinking and carousing. He wore a showy summer suit, and -his spotless piqué coat was trimmed with white buttons bearing arms. On -entering he made a clicking sound with his lips and tongue.</p> - -<p>"Girls!" he shouted merrily, standing on the threshold. "Bring us some -vodka and something to eat."</p> - -<p>"Well, doctor, how is he?" the old lady asked, her voice full of -anxiety.</p> - -<p>"The Lord's mercy is infinite, Arina Petrovna," answered the physician.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean? Then he——"</p> - -<p>"Just so. He will last another two or three days, and then—good-bye!" -The doctor made an expressive gesture with his hand and hummed: "Head -over heels, head over heels he will fall."</p> - -<p>"How's that? Doctors treated him—and now all of a sudden——"</p> - -<p>"What doctors?"</p> - -<p>"The <i>zemstvo</i> doctor and one from the town used to come here."</p> - -<p>"Fine doctors! If they'd given him a good bleeding, they'd have saved -him."</p> - -<p>"So nothing at all can be done?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I said, 'The Lord's mercy is great,' and I can add nothing to -that."</p> - -<p>"But perhaps it will work?"</p> - -<p>"What will work?"</p> - -<p>"I mean—the mustard plasters."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps."</p> - -<p>A woman in a black dress and black shawl brought in a tray holding a -decanter of vodka, a dish of sausages and a dish of caviar. The doctor -helped himself to the vodka, held the glass to the light and smacked -his tongue.</p> - -<p>"Your health, mother," he said to the old lady, and gulped the liquid.</p> - -<p>"Drink in good health, my dear sir."</p> - -<p>"This is the cause of Pavel Vladimirych dying in the prime of his life, -this vodka," said the doctor, grimacing comfortably and spearing a -piece of sausage with his fork.</p> - -<p>"Yes, it's the ruin of many a man."</p> - -<p>"That's because not everyone can stand it. But I can, and I shall have -another glass. Your health, madam."</p> - -<p>"Drink, drink. Nothing can happen to you."</p> - -<p>"Nothing. My lungs and kidneys and liver and spleen are in excellent -condition. By the way," he turned to the woman in black who stood at -the door, listening to the conversation, "What will you have for dinner -to-day?"</p> - -<p>"Hash and beef cutlets and chicken for roast," she answered, smiling -somewhat sourly.</p> - -<p>"Have you any smoked fish?"</p> - -<p>"We have, sir. We have white sturgeon and stellated sturgeon, plenty of -it."</p> - -<p>"Then have a cold soup with sturgeon for our dinner, and pick out a fat -bit of sturgeon, you hear me? What is your name? Ulita?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir, people call me Ulita."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, hurry up, friend Ulita, hurry up."</p> - -<p>Ulita left the room, and for a while oppressive silence reigned. -Then Arina Petrovna rose from her seat and made sure Ulita was not -eavesdropping.</p> - -<p>"Andrey Osipych, have you spoken to him yet about the orphans?" she -asked the doctor.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I did."</p> - -<p>"Well?"</p> - -<p>"There was no change. 'When I get well' he kept on saying, 'I will make -my will and write the notes.'"</p> - -<p>Silence, heavier than before, filled the room. The girls took the -crocheting from the table, and their trembling hands worked one row -after the other. Arina Petrovna heaved a deep sigh of dejection. The -doctor paced up and down the room and whistled, "Head over heels, head -over heels."</p> - -<p>"But did you try to drive the matter home to him, doctor?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I said to him: 'You'll be a scoundrel if you don't make a -definite provision for the orphans.' Could I make it clearer? Yes, -mother, you certainly slipped up. If you had called me in a month ago, -I would have given him a good bleeding and I would have seen to it that -he made his will. But now everything will go to Yudushka, the lawful -heir. It certainly will."</p> - -<p>"Oh, grandmother, what will become of us?" said the older of the two -girls, plaintively and almost in tears. "What is uncle doing to us?"</p> - -<p>The girls were Anninka and Lubinka, the daughters of Anna Vladimirovna -Ulanova, to whom Arina Petrovna had once "thrown a bone."</p> - -<p>"I don't know, dear, I don't know. I don't even know what will become -of me. Today I am here, and tomorrow God knows where I'll be. Maybe -I'll have to sleep in a shed or at a peasant's."</p> - -<p>"Goodness, isn't uncle silly!" exclaimed the younger girl.</p> - -<p>"I wish, young lady, you would keep your mouth shut," remarked the -doctor. Turning to Arina Petrovna, he suggested, "Why not try to talk -to him yourself, mother?"</p> - -<p>"No, no. There's no use my talking to him. He doesn't even want to see -me. The other day I stuck my nose into his room, and he snarled, 'Have -you come to see me off to the other world?'"</p> - -<p>"I think Ulita is back of it all. She incites him against you."</p> - -<p>"She surely does, nobody but she. And then she reports everything to -Porfiry the Bloodsucker. People say he keeps a pair of horses harnessed -all day waiting for the beginning of the agony. And just imagine, the -other day Ulita went so far as to take an inventory of the furniture, -wardrobe, and dishes, so that nothing should be lost, as she said. We -are the thieves, just imagine it."</p> - -<p>"Why don't you treat her more severely? Head over heels, you know, head -over heels."</p> - -<p>But fate decreed that the doctor should not develop his thought. A -girl, all out of breath, dashed into the room and exclaimed in a fright:</p> - -<p>"The master! The master wants the doctor."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER II</h4> - - -<p>Not more than ten years had passed since the death of Simple Simon, -but the condition of the various members of the Golovliov family had -so completely changed that not a trace remained of those artificial -ties which had given the family the air of an impregnable stronghold. -This stronghold, erected by the tireless hands of Arina Petrovna, had -crumbled away, but so imperceptibly that she herself was ignorant of -how it had happened, was even involved in the destruction, the leading -spirit in which, of course, had been Porfiry the Bloodsucker.</p> - -<p>From an irresponsible, hot-tempered ruler over the Golovliovo estate, -Arina Petrovna had descended into a mere hanger-on in the home of -her younger son, a useless hanger-on, with no voice in the household -management. Her head was bowed, her back bent, the fire in her eyes had -died out, her gait was languid, the vivacity of her movements was gone. -She had taken to knitting to occupy her idleness, but her mind was -always wandering somewhere away from her needles, and the knitting was -a failure. She would knit for a few moments, then her hands would drop -of themselves, her head would fall on the back of her chair, and she -would begin to go over bygones in her mind, until she got drowsy and -dropped off into a senile slumber. Or else she would get up and begin -to pace the rooms, always searching for something; always looking into -corners, like a good housewife hunting for her keys, which she usually -carries about with her and has now misplaced somehow.</p> - -<p>The first blow to her authority was not so much the abolition of -serfdom as the preparations preceding it. At first, there were simply -rumors, then came the meetings of landowners and addresses, next -followed provincial committees, and revising commissions. All these -things exhausted and confused her. Arina Petrovna's imagination, -active enough without additional stimuli, conceived numerous absurd -situations. "How am I going to call Agashka?" she'd think. "Perhaps -I'll have to tack a 'Miss' before her name." Or she would see herself -walking about in the empty rooms while the servants were taking it -easy in their quarters and were gorging themselves with all kinds of -food; and when they got tired of gorging she saw them throwing the -remnants under the table. Then she would find herself surprising Yulka -and Feshka in the cellar, devouring everything in sight, like beasts, -and she would itch to reprimand them, but would have to check herself -with the thought, "How dare one say anything to them, now that they are -free? Why one can't even appeal to the court against them!"</p> - -<p>However insignificant such trifles may be, a whole fantastic world is -built up of them, which holds you tight and completely paralyzes your -activity. Arina Petrovna somehow suddenly let the reins of government -slip out of her grasp, and for a space of two years did nothing from -morning until night except complain.</p> - -<p>"One or the other," she was fond of saying, "gains all or loses all. -But these meetings and addresses and commissions, they're nothing but -trouble."</p> - -<p>At that time, just when the committees were in full swing, Vladimir -Mikhailych died. On his deathbed he repudiated Barkov and his -teachings, and died appeased and reconciled to the world. His last -words were:</p> - -<p>"I thank my God that He did not suffer me to come into His presence on -an equal footing with the serfs."</p> - -<p>These words made a deep impression on his wife's receptive soul, so -that both his death and her fantastic notions about the future laid a -coloring of gloom and despair on the atmosphere of the house. It seemed -as if both the old manor and its inhabitants were getting ready for -death.</p> - -<p>From a few complaints that found their way into the letters of Arina -Petrovna, Porfiry Vladimirych's amazingly keen perceptions sensed the -confusion that possessed her mind. Not that Arina Petrovna actually -sermonized and moralized in her letters, but above all, she trusted -in God's help, "which in these faithless times does not abandon even -slaves, far less those who because of their means were the surest prop -and ornament of the church." Yudushka instinctively understood that if -mother dear began to put her hope in God, then there was some flaw in -the fabric of her existence. And he took advantage of the flaw with his -peculiar, subtle skill.</p> - -<p>Almost at the very end of the preliminaries to the emancipation, he -visited Golovliovo quite unexpectedly and found Arina Petrovna sunk -into despondency, almost to a point of prostration.</p> - -<p>"Well, what news? What do they say in St. Petersburg?" was her first -question, after mutual greetings had been exchanged.</p> - -<p>Porfiry cast down his eyes and sat speechless.</p> - -<p>"No, you must consider my circumstances," continued Arina Petrovna, -gathering from her son's silence that good news was not to be expected. -"Right now in the maids' room I have about thirty of these creatures. -What shall I do with them? If they remain in my care, what am I going -to feed them on? At present I have a little cabbage, a little potatoes, -some bread, enough of everything; and we manage somehow to make both -ends meet. If the potatoes give out, I order cabbage to be cooked; if -there is no cabbage, cucumbers have to do. But now, if I have to run to -market for everything and pay for everything, and buy and serve, how am -I ever to provide for such a crowd?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry gazed into the eyes of his "mother dear" and smiled bitterly as -a sign of sympathy.</p> - -<p>"And then, if the government is going to turn them loose, give them -absolute leeway—well, then, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know -what it will come to."</p> - -<p>Porfiry smiled as if there were something very funny in "what it was -coming to."</p> - -<p>"Don't you laugh. It is a serious matter, so serious that if only the -Lord grants them a little more reason, only then—Here's my case, for -instance. I am by no means an old rag, am I? I must have my bread and -butter, too, mustn't I? How am I to go about getting it? Think of the -bringing-up we received. The only thing we know is how to dance and -sing and receive guests. Then how am I going to get along without those -wretches, I'd like to know. I can't serve meals or cook. I can't do a -thing."</p> - -<p>"God is merciful, mother dear."</p> - -<p>"He used to be, but not now. When we were good, the Almighty was -merciful to us; when we became wicked, well, we mustn't complain. I'm -beginning to think that the best thing for me is to throw everything to -the dogs. Really, I'll build myself a little hut right next to father's -grave, and that's where I'll spend the rest of my days."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych pricked up his ears. His mouth began to water.</p> - -<p>"And who will manage the estates?" he questioned, carefully throwing -his bait, as it were.</p> - -<p>"Why, you boys will have to manage them yourselves. Thank God, I have -provided plenty. I ought not carry the whole burden alone."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna suddenly stopped and raised her head. Her eyes fell -on Yudushka's simpering, drivelling, oily face, all suffused with a -carnivorous inner glow.</p> - -<p>"You seem to be getting ready to bury me," remarked Arina Petrovna -drily. "Isn't it a bit too early, darling? Look out, don't make a -mistake."</p> - -<p>Thus the matter ended in nothing definite. But there are discussions -which, once begun, never really come to an end. A few hours later Arina -Petrovna renewed the conversation.</p> - -<p>"I'll leave for the Trinity Monastery," she dreamed aloud. "I'll divide -up the estate, buy a little cottage on the grounds and settle there."</p> - -<p>But Porfiry Vladimirych, taught by past experience, remained silent -this time.</p> - -<p>"Last year, while your deceased father was still alive," continued -Arina Petrovna, "I was sitting alone in my bedroom and suddenly I -thought I heard someone whispering in my ear: 'Go to the Trinity -Monastery. Go to the Trinity.' Three times, mind you. I turned -about—there was nobody in the room. Well, then, I thought that must -have been a sign for me. 'Well,' I said, 'if God is pleased with my -faith, I am ready.' No sooner had I said that than suddenly the room -was filled with such a wonderful fragrance. Of course I immediately -ordered my things packed and by evening I was on my way."</p> - -<p>Tears rose in Arina Petrovna's eyes. Yudushka took advantage of this to -kiss his mother's hand, and even made free to put his arm around her -waist.</p> - -<p>"Now you are a good girl," he said. "Ah, how good it is, darling, when -one lives in peace with God. You come to God with a prayer, and the -Lord meets you with help. That's how it is, mother dear."</p> - -<p>"Wait a minute, I haven't finished. Next day, in the evening I arrived -at the monastery and went straight to the saint's chapel. Evening -service was being held, the choir was singing, candles were burning, -fragrance was wafted from the censers. I simply did not know where I -was—on earth or in Heaven. I went from the service to Father Yon, -and I said to him: 'Well, your Reverence, it was mighty good today at -church.' 'No wonder, madam,' he said, 'Father Avvakum had a vision -today at the evening service. He had just raised his arms to begin -praying when he beheld a light in the cupola and a dove looking down at -him.' Well, from that time, I came to the conclusion, sooner or later -my last days will be spent at Trinity Monastery."</p> - -<p>"And who will take care of us? Who will have your children's welfare at -heart? Ah, mamma, mamma!"</p> - -<p>"Well, you're not babies any longer, and you'll be able to look after -yourselves. As for me, I'll go to the monastery with Annushka's orphans -and live under the saint's wing. Perhaps the desire will awaken in -one of the girls to serve God. Well, then, the convent is right at -hand. I'll buy myself a little house, plant a little garden, potatoes, -cabbage—there'll be enough of everything for me."</p> - -<p>Such idle talk continued for several days, Arina Petrovna making the -boldest plans, withdrawing them and remaking them, and then finally -carrying the matter so far that she could not withdraw again. Within -half a year after Yudushka's visit this was the situation: Arina -Petrovna not at the monastery, nor in a little house built near her -husband's grave. Instead of that she had divided the estate, leaving -only the capital for herself. Porfiry Vladimirych received the better -part and Pavel Vladimirych the worse part.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER III</h4> - - -<p>Arina Petrovna remained at Golovliovo. This gave rise, of course, to -a domestic comedy. Yudushka shed tears and succeeded in inducing his -mother dear to manage his household without accountability to him, to -receive the income and to use it at her discretion. "And, dearest, -whatever portion of the income you give me," he added, "I shall be -satisfied with it." Pavel, on the other hand, thanked his mother coldly -("as if he wanted to bite me," were her words), immediately retired -from service ("just so, without his mother's blessing, like a madman, -he escaped to freedom") and settled down at Dubrovino.</p> - -<p>From that time on, Arina Petrovna's judgment became somewhat dimmed. -The image of Porfishka the Bloodsucker, whom she had once sized up so -shrewdly, now went, as it were, behind a fog. She seemed no longer to -understand anything except that, despite the division of the estate and -the emancipation of the peasants, she still lived at Golovliovo and -still owed no account to anyone. Here, at her side, lived another son, -but what a difference! While Porfisha had entrusted both himself and -his household into his mother's care, Pavel not only never consulted -her about anything, but even spoke to her through his teeth.</p> - -<p>And as her mind became more clouded, her heart warmed more to her -gentle son. Porfiry Vladimirych asked nothing of her. She herself -anticipated his desires. Little by little she became dissatisfied with -the shape of the Golovliovo property. At such and such a place, a -stranger's land jutted into it—it would be well to buy up that piece -of land. In such and such a place it would be fine to have a separate -farm, but there was too little meadow. And here, right next to it, -was a meadow for sale, ah, a fine bit of meadow. Arina Petrovna's -enthusiasm was that of a mother and a woman of affairs who wants her -affectionate son to view her capabilities in all their glory. But -Porfiry Vladimirych withdrew into his shell, impervious to all her -suggestions. In vain did Arina Petrovna tempt him with bargains. To all -her propositions for acquiring a piece of woodland or meadowland, he -invariably answered: "Dear mother, I am perfectly satisfied with what -you granted me in your kindness."</p> - -<p>These answers only spurred Arina Petrovna on. Carried away by her -household zeal, and also by indignation against the "scoundrel -Pavlusha," who lived beside her but refused to have anything to do -with her, Arina Petrovna lost sight of her actual relationship to the -estate. Her former fever for acquiring possessed her with renewed -strength, though now it was no longer aggrandizement for her own sake -but for the sake of her beloved son. The Golovliovo estate grew, -rounded out, and flourished.</p> - -<p>And at the very moment when Arina Petrovna's capital had dwindled -to a point at which it was almost impossible for her to live on the -interest, Yudushka sent her a most respectful letter along with an -enormous package of blank forms, which were to guide her in the future -in the making out of the annual balance sheet. Beside the principal -items of the household expenses were listed raspberries, gooseberries, -mushrooms, etc. There was a special account for every item, on the -following plan:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 30%;"> -Number of raspberry bushes, year 18—,------------------------pounds<br /> -Number of bushes planted this year ----------------------------------"<br /> -Quantity of berries picked ---------------------------------------------"<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Out of this total you, mother dear,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;"> used for yourself----------------- ---------------------------------"</span><br /> -Preserves used, or to be used, in the household of His Excellency <br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;"> Porfiry Vladimirych Golovlio- -------------------------------------"</span><br /> -Given to boy in reward for good behavior----------------------------"<br /> -Sold to the common people for a tidbit-------------------------------"<br /> -Decayed because of absence of buyers and for<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">other reasons --------------------- ------------------------------------"</span><br /> -------<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">NOTE.—In case the crop in the year in which the account is</span><br /> -taken is less than that of the previous year, the reasons therefor,<br /> -like drought, rain, hail, and so forth, should be indicated.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna fairly groaned. First of all, she was shocked at -Yudushka's avarice. She had never heard of berries forming an item in -the account of an estate, and he seemed to emphasize that item most. -Secondly, she fully realized that the blanks were a constitution -limiting her power hitherto autocratic.</p> - -<p>After a long controversial correspondence between them, Arina Petrovna, -humiliated and indignant, moved to Dubrovino, and Porfiry Vladimirych -subsequently retired from office and settled at Golovliovo.</p> - -<p>From that time on the old woman spent many wretched days in enforced -idleness. Pavel Vladimirych was particularly offensive in his treatment -of his mother. He received her in what he thought was quite a decent -manner, that is, he promised to provide food and drink for both her -and his orphan nieces, on two conditions, however, first, they were -not to enter the entresol which he occupied; secondly, they were not -to interfere in the management of the household. The second condition -was particularly galling to Arina Petrovna. The management of the house -was in the hands of the housekeeper Ulita, a viperous woman who had -been found in secret communication with Yudushka and Kirushka, the late -master's butler, a man who knew nothing about farming and whom Pavel -Vladimirych almost feared. Both of them stole relentlessly. How often -did Arina Petrovna's heart ache when she saw the house being ransacked; -how she did long to warn her son and open his eyes to the theft of -tea, sugar, butter! Loads of things were wasted, and Ulita, not in the -least shamed by the presence of the old mistress, repeatedly hid whole -handfuls of sugar in her pocket right before her eyes. Arina Petrovna -saw it all, but was forced to remain a silent witness to the plunder. -No sooner would she open her mouth to make some remark, than Pavel -Vladimirych would instantly check her, saying:</p> - -<p>"Mother, there should be only one person to manage a house. I'm not -alone in that opinion, everybody says so. I know my orders are foolish. -Never mind, let them be foolish. Your orders are wise. Let them be -wise. Wise you are, very wise, still Yudushka left you without house or -home, to shift for yourself."</p> - -<p>The last straw was the awful discovery that Pavel Vladimirych drank. -The craving had come from the loneliness of life in the country and had -crept upon him stealthily, until finally it possessed him completely, -and he was a doomed man. When his mother first came to live in the -house, he seemed to have some scruples about drinking. He would come -down from the entresol and talk to his mother quite often. She noticed -that his speech was strangely incoherent but for a long time attributed -it to his stupidity. She did not enjoy his visits. The chats with him -oppressed her extremely. In fact he always seemed to be grumbling -foolishly. Either there had been a drought for many weeks, or an -overwhelming downpour of rain, or tree beetles had overrun the garden -and ruined the trees, or moles had made their appearance and dug up -the whole field. All this afforded an endless source for grumbling. He -would come down from the entresol, seat himself opposite his mother and -begin:</p> - -<p>"There are clouds all around. Is Golovliovo far from here? The -Bloodsucker had a shower yesterday and we don't get a single drop. The -clouds wander about, all around here. If there were only a drop of rain -for us!"</p> - -<p>Or else he would say:</p> - -<p>"Have you ever seen such a flood? The rye has just begun to flower and -it comes pouring down. Half of the hay is rotten already, and the rain -still spouts and spurts. Is Golovliovo far from here? The Bloodsucker -has long since gathered in his crops, and here we're stuck. We'll have -to feed our cattle on rotten hay this winter."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna listened in silence to his stupid complaints, but at -times her patience gave way and she said:</p> - -<p>"Well, keep on sitting there with your arms folded."</p> - -<p>Instantly Pavel Vladimirych would flare up.</p> - -<p>"What would you advise me to do? Transfer the rain to Golovliovo?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not talking about the rain, but in general."</p> - -<p>"No 'in general,' please. Why don't you tell me straight out what you -think I should do? Shall I change the climate? There's Golovliovo. When -Golovliovo needs rain, it rains. When Golovliovo doesn't need rain, -then it doesn't rain. And everything grows there, while here, the very -opposite. Well, we'll see what you'll have to say when there isn't -anything to eat."</p> - -<p>"Then such will be the Lord's will."</p> - -<p>"All right, then such will be the Lord's will. But you say 'in general' -as if that were an explanation."</p> - -<p>Sometimes Pavel even found his property a burden.</p> - -<p>"Why in the world did I get the Dubrovino estate?" he would complain. -"What good is it?"</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with Dubrovino? The soil is good, there's plenty of -everything. What's got into your head of a sudden?"</p> - -<p>"This, that nowadays there's no use having any estate. Money, that's -the thing. You take your money, put it in your pocket and off you go. -But real estate——"</p> - -<p>"What sort of an age have we come to when there's no use owning real -estate?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, this is a peculiar age. You don't read the newspapers, but I do. -Nowadays the lawyers are everywhere—you can imagine the rest. If a -lawyer finds out that you have real estate, then he begins to circle -around you."</p> - -<p>"Well, how is he going to get at you when you have the proper deeds to -the property?"</p> - -<p>"Deeds or no deeds, they'll get you. Porfiry the Bloodsucker may hire a -lawyer and serve me with summons after summons."</p> - -<p>"What are you talking about! We're not living in a lawless country."</p> - -<p>"That's just why they serve summonses on you. If the country were -lawless, they would take it away without a summons. There's my friend -Gorlopiatov, for instance. His uncle died and he, fool that he was, -up and accepted the inheritance. The inheritance proved worthless, -but the debts figured up to the thousands, the bills of exchange were -all false. Now they've been suing him for three years on end. First, -they took his uncle's estate. Then they even sold his own property at -auction. That's what real estate is."</p> - -<p>"Can there possibly be a law like that?"</p> - -<p>"If there were no such law, they couldn't have sold it. There's a law -for everything. A man without a conscience finds a law to back him in -everything. But there are no laws for a man with a conscience. Try and -look for them in the books."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna always let Pavel have his way in these controversies. -Many a time she could hardly refrain from shouting, "Out of my sight, -you scoundrel." But she would think it over and keep silent. Sometimes -she would only murmur to herself:</p> - -<p>"Goodness, whom do these monsters take after? One is a bloodsucker, the -other is a lunatic. What did I hoard and save for? For what did I deny -myself sleep and food? For whom did I do all that?"</p> - -<p>The more completely drink took possession of Pavel Vladimirych, the -more fantastic and annoying his conversations became. Finally Arina -Petrovna noticed there was something wrong. A whole flask of vodka -would be put away in the dining-room cupboard in the morning, and by -dinner time there wouldn't be a drop left. Or she would be sitting in -the parlor and would hear a mysterious creaking in the dining-room -near the cupboard. She would call out, "Who's there?" and would hear -footsteps quickly but carefully withdrawing toward the entresol.</p> - -<p>"Goodness, can it be that he drinks?" she once asked Ulita.</p> - -<p>"I shouldn't deny it," answered the latter, with a vicious grin.</p> - -<p>When Pavel Vladimirych saw that his mother had discovered the truth, he -lost all restraint. One morning Arina Petrovna found the cupboard had -disappeared from the dining-room, and when she asked where it had gone -to, Ulita told her she had been ordered to carry it to the entresol, -because it would be more comfortable for the master to drink there.</p> - -<p>In the entresol, the decanters of vodka followed one after the other -with amazing rapidity. Shut up alone by himself, Pavel Vladimirych -began to hate human society. He created a peculiar fantastic reality -for himself, spinning out a long-winded nonsensical romance, in -which the main heroes were himself and the Bloodsucker. He was not -fully conscious of how, deeply rooted his hatred for Porfiry was. -It gnawed at his bones and entrails every minute of his life. The -loathed image of his brother stood lifelike before his eyes, and -Yudushka's lachrymose, hypocritical twaddle rang in his ears. In his -talk there lurked a cold, almost abstract hatred of every living thing -that did not conform to the traditional code laid down by hypocrisy. -Pavel Vladimirych drank and recalled memories, all the insults and -humiliations he had had to suffer because of Yudushka's claims to -supremacy in the house; the division of the estate in particular; how -he had calculated every kopek and compared every scrap of land. Oh, -how he detested him! Entire dramas were enacted in his imagination, -heated by alcohol. In these dramas he avenged every offense that he had -sustained, and not Yudushka but he himself was always the aggressor. He -saw himself the winner of two hundred thousand, and informed Yudushka -of his good luck in a long scene, making his brother's face writhe with -envy. At other times he imagined his grandfather had died and left a -million to him, while nothing at all to Porfiry. He also discovered a -means of becoming invisible and when unseen he played wicked tricks on -Porfiry to make him groan in agony. His genius for inventing tricks -was inexhaustible, and for a long time his idiotic laughter would ring -through the entresol, much to the delight of Ulita, who would hurry to -inform Porfiry Vladimirych of his brother's doings.</p> - -<p>He detested Yudushka and at the same time had a superstitious fear of -him. He imagined his eyes discharged a venom of magic effect, that -his voice crept, snake-like, into the soul and paralyzed the will. He -absolutely refused to meet him, and when the Bloodsucker occasionally -visited Dubrovino to kiss the hand of his mother dear, Pavel -Vladimirych would lock himself into the entresol and remain imprisoned -there until he left.</p> - -<p>So the days passed until Pavel Vladimirych found himself face to face -with a deadly malady.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER IV</h4> - - -<p>The doctor stayed at the house overnight merely for the sake of form, -and departed for the city early the next day. On taking leave he said -frankly that the patient had no more than two days to live, and it -was already too late to talk about any "arrangements" since Pavel -Vladimirych could not even sign his name properly.</p> - -<p>"He'll sign the document wrong and then you will have a lawsuit on your -hands," he added. "Of course, Yudushka respects his mother very highly, -but, at that, he'll commence proceedings to prove fraud, and should -'mother dear' be sent to distant regions, the only thing he'll do is to -have a mass said for the welfare of the travellers."</p> - -<p>All morning Arina Petrovna walked about as if in a dream. She tried to -say her prayers. Perhaps God would suggest something, but prayers would -not enter her head. Even her tongue refused to obey. There was utter -confusion in her mind. Fragments of prayers mingled with incoherent -thoughts and vague impressions.</p> - -<p>Finally she sat down and sobbed. The tears flowed from her dull eyes -over her aged shrivelled cheeks, lingered in the hollows of her -wrinkles, and dribbled down on the greasy collar of her old calico -waist. Her tears spoke of bitterness, despair, and feeble, but stubborn -resistance. Her age, her senile ailments, and the hopelessness of -the situation, all seemed to point to death as the only way out. At -the same time memories of the past intervened, memories of a life of -power, prosperity and unrestrained freedom, and these reminiscences -plunged their sting into her soul, dragging her down to earth. "To -die!" passed through her mind, but the thought was instantly supplanted -by a dogged desire to live. She recalled neither Yudushka nor her dying -son. It was as if both had ceased to exist for her. She thought of no -one, was indignant at no one, accused no one, even forgot whether she -had any capital or no and whether it was sufficient to provide for her -old age. A deadly anguish seized her entire being. Her tears had come -from a deep source. Drop by drop they had been accumulating since the -moment when she left Golovliovo and settled at Dubrovino. She was quite -prepared for everything that awaited her. She had expected and foreseen -everything, but somehow it had never come to her with such vividness -that her fears would be realized. And now this very end had arrived, -an end full of anguish and hopeless lonesomeness. All her life long -she had been busy building up, she had worn herself to the bone for -something, and now she felt as if she had wasted her life on a phantom. -All her life the word "family" had never left her lips. In the name -of "family" she had punished some and rewarded others. In the name of -"family" she had subjected herself to privations, torments, she had -crippled her whole life; and suddenly she discovered that "family" was -exactly what she did not have.</p> - -<p>"Good Lord! Can it possibly be the same everywhere?" was the thought -that kept revolving in her mind.</p> - -<p>She sat with her head resting on her hand and her face soaked with -tears turned to the rising sun, as if to bid it, "Look!" She neither -groaned nor cursed. She simply sobbed as if choked by her tears. At the -same time the thought seared her soul, "There is no one! No one! No -one!"</p> - -<p>But now her eyes were drained of tears. She washed her face and -wandered without purpose into the dining-room. Here she was assailed by -the girls with new complaints which seemed at this time particularly -importunate.</p> - -<p>"What is going to come of it, grandma? Is it possible that we shall be -left just so, without anything?" grumbled Anninka.</p> - -<p>"How silly uncle is," Lubinka chimed in.</p> - -<p>About midday, Arina Petrovna decided to go to her dying son. Stepping -softly she climbed the stairs and groped in the dark till she found the -door leading into the rooms. The entresol was buried in deepest gloom. -The windows were darkened by green shades, through which the light -could scarcely filter. A sickening mixture of odors pervaded the room, -which had not been ventilated for a long while. There was the smell of -berries, plaster, oil from the image-lamp, and those peculiar odors -which bespeak the presence of sickness and death. There were only two -rooms. In the first one sat Ulita, cleaning berries. The flies swarmed -about the heap of gooseberries and impudently attacked her nose and -lips, and she would keep driving them off in exasperation. Through the -half-closed door of the adjoining room came the sound of incessant -coughing which every now and then ended in painful expectoration. Arina -Petrovna stopped in an uncertain pose, searching the gloom and waiting -for the course of action that Ulita would take in view of her arrival. -But Ulita never moved an eyelash, entirely confident that every attempt -to influence the sick man would be fruitless. Her lips merely twitched -in resentment, and Arina Petrovna heard the word "hag" pronounced under -her breath.</p> - -<p>"You had better go down, my dear," said Arina Petrovna, turning to -Ulita.</p> - -<p>"Where did you get that idea from?" snapped the latter.</p> - -<p>"I have to talk to Pavel Vladimirych. Go down."</p> - -<p>"Excuse me, madam, how can I leave the master? What if something should -happen? There's no one to serve him and attend to him."</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" a hollow voice called from the bedroom.</p> - -<p>"Order Ulita to go downstairs, my friend. I have matters to talk over -with you."</p> - -<p>This time Arina Petrovna pressed her point so persistently that she was -victorious. She crossed herself and entered the room. The patient's -bed stood near the inner wall far from the window. He lay on his back, -covered with a white blanket, smoking a cigarette, though almost half -unconscious. Notwithstanding the smoke, the flies pestered him with -peculiar persistence, so that he had continually to pass his hand over -his face. His arms were so weak, so bare of muscle, that they showed -the bones, of almost equal thickness from wrist to shoulder, in clear -outline. His head nestled despondently in the pillow. His whole body -and face burned in a dry fever. His large round eyes were sunken and -gazed aimlessly about, as if looking for something. The lines of his -nose had grown longer and sharper. His mouth was half open. He had -stopped coughing, but he breathed with such difficulty that it seemed -as if all his vital energy were concentrated in his chest.</p> - -<p>"Well, how do you feel to-day?" asked Arina Petrovna, sinking into the -armchair at his feet.</p> - -<p>"So—so—to-morrow—that is, to-day—when was the doctor here?"</p> - -<p>"He was here to-day."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, to-morrow——"</p> - -<p>The patient fumbled as if struggling to recall a word.</p> - -<p>"You'll be able to get up?" prompted Arina Petrovna. "God grant it, my -friend, God grant it."</p> - -<p>They both remained silent for a moment. Arina Petrovna found it very -difficult to open a conversation when she was face to face with Pavel -Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>"Yudushka—is he alive?" finally asked the sick man himself.</p> - -<p>"Nothing is the matter with him. He lives and prospers."</p> - -<p>"I bet he is thinking, 'Now brother Pavel is going to die—and with -God's help the estate will come to me.'"</p> - -<p>"We'll all die, some day—and after every one of us, the estates will -go to the lawful heirs."</p> - -<p>"Only not to the Bloodsucker! I'll throw it to the dogs, but he shan't -have it."</p> - -<p>The situation was turning out excellently. Pavel Vladimirych himself -was leading the conversation. Arina Petrovna did not fail to take -advantage of the opportunity.</p> - -<p>"You ought to consider that, my friend," she said, as if by the way, -not looking at her son and examining the color of her hands as if they -were the main object of her interest.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean by 'that'?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I mean, if you don't wish that the estate should go to your -brother."</p> - -<p>The patient was silent. Only his eyes widened unnaturally and his face -flushed more and more.</p> - -<p>"And also, my friend, you ought to take into consideration the fact -that you have orphaned nieces—and what sort of capital have they? Then -there is your mother," continued Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>"You've managed to give everything away to Yudushka!"</p> - -<p>"Whatever may have happened, I know that I myself am to blame. But it -wasn't such a crime after all. I thought 'he is my son.' At any rate, -it isn't kind of you to remember that against your mother."</p> - -<p>Silence followed.</p> - -<p>"Well, why don't you say something?"</p> - -<p>"And how soon do you expect to bury me?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, don't talk like that. All Christians——Everybody doesn't die -right away, still in general——"</p> - -<p>"There you go—'in general!' Always your 'in general!' You think I -don't see."</p> - -<p>"See what, my boy?"</p> - -<p>"I see you take me for a fool. Well, if I am a fool, let me remain a -fool. Why do you come to a fool? Don't come, don't worry about me."</p> - -<p>"I'm not worrying. But in general there is a term set to everybody's -life."</p> - -<p>"Then wait for my term."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna lowered her head and meditated. She saw clearly that her -case was almost a failure, but she was so tortured that nothing could -convince her of the fruitlessness of further attempts to influence her -son.</p> - -<p>"I don't know why you hate me," she declared finally.</p> - -<p>"Not at all—on the contrary I—not at all. In fact I—why, the -idea—you brought us all up—so impartially."</p> - -<p>He spoke in jerks and gasps. A broken yet triumphant laugh made its way -into his voice. His eyes sparkled. His shoulders and legs quivered.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps I have really sinned against you, then for Christ's sake -forgive me."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna rose and bowed till her hand touched the floor. Pavel -Vladimirych shut his eyes without replying.</p> - -<p>"Suppose we let the question of the estate alone. You couldn't make -any arrangement in your present condition. Porfiry is the lawful heir. -Well, let the real estate go to him. But what about your personal -property and capital?" Arina Petrovna ventured to state her point -directly.</p> - -<p>Pavel Vladimirych shuddered, but remained silent. It is very possible -that at the word "capital" he gave no thought whatsoever to his -mother's insinuations, but simply mused: "September is here already. I -have to collect the interest."</p> - -<p>"If you think I desire your death, you're very much mistaken, my -child. If you would only live I should not need to complain in my old -age. What have I to grumble about? I have food and shelter here, and -should I want a little additional pleasure, I can get it. I merely -wish to call your attention to the fact that there is a custom among -Christians, according to which, in expectation of the life to come, -we——"</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna paused, searching for a suitable word.</p> - -<p>"We provide for the future of those related to us," she concluded, -looking out of the window.</p> - -<p>Pavel Vladimirych lay motionless, coughing softly. He did not betray -by a single movement whether or not he was listening. Apparently his -mother was boring him.</p> - -<p>"The capital may go from hand to hand during life," said Arina -Petrovna, as though passing a trivial remark and resuming the -inspection of her hands.</p> - -<p>The patient shuddered slightly, but Arina Petrovna did not notice it -and continued:</p> - -<p>"The law, my friend, expressly permits the free transfer of capital. -Money is something one acquires. Yesterday you had it. To-day it is -gone. And nobody can call you to account for it. You can give it to -whomever you choose."</p> - -<p>Pavel Vladimirych suddenly laughed viciously.</p> - -<p>"You probably remember the story about Polochkin," he hissed. "He gave -his capital to his wife 'from hand to hand' and she ran off with her -lover."</p> - -<p>"You may rest assured, my child, I have no lover."</p> - -<p>"Then you'll run off without a lover—with the money."</p> - -<p>"How well you understand my motives!"</p> - -<p>"I don't understand you at all. You gave me the reputation of a fool. -Well, I <i>am</i> a fool. Let me be a fool. What wonderful tricks they have -invented—to pass my money from hand to hand! And where do I come in? I -suppose you'll order me to go to a monastery for my salvation, and from -there watch how you manage my money?"</p> - -<p>He shot these words out in a volley, in a voice full of hatred and -indignation. Then he broke down completely and burst into a fit of -coughing that lasted a full quarter of an hour. It was amazing to see -how much strength that wretched human skeleton contained. Finally he -caught his breath and closed his eyes.</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna looked about in bewilderment. Until that moment she -could not believe it, somehow, but now she was fully convinced that -every attempt to persuade the dying man would only serve to hasten the -day of Yudushka's triumph. Yudushka kept dancing before her eyes. She -saw him walking behind the hearse, giving his brother the last Judas -kiss and squeezing out two foul tears. Then she had a picture of the -coffin being lowered into the grave and Yudushka exclaiming, "Farewell, -brother!" his lips twitching and his eyes rolling upward. She heard -his attempt to add a note of grief to his voice, and afterwards say, -turning to Ulita: "The kutya,<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> the kutya, don't forget to take the -kutya into the house. And be sure to put on a clean table cloth. We -must honor brother's memory in the house, too." Next she saw him -presiding over the funeral feast, chatting incessantly with the -reverend father about the virtues of the deceased. She heard him say, -"Ah, brother, brother, you didn't wish to live with us," as he rose -from the table, stretching out his hand, palm upward, to receive the -father's blessing. And lastly she saw Yudushka walking about the house -with the air of a master, taking the inventory of all the effects and -in doubtful cases casting suspicious glances at mother.</p> - -<p>All these inevitable scenes of the future floated before Arina -Petrovna's mental vision. In her ears rang Yudushka's shrill, unctuous -voice as he said: "Do you remember, mother dear, the little golden -shirt studs that brother had? They were so pretty. He used to wear them -on holidays. I simply can't imagine where those studs could have gone -to." </p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> A gruel made of rice or wheat or barley, boiled with -raisins and mead. It is eaten after the mass for the dead and, in the -South, on Christmas Eve.—<i>Translator's Note.</i></p></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h4>CHAPTER V</h4> - -<p>No sooner did Arina Petrovna come downstairs, than a carriage drawn by -a team of four horses made its appearance on a hill near the church. -In it, in the place of honor, was seated Porfiry Golovliov, who had -removed his hat and was crossing himself at the sight of the church. -Opposite him sat his two sons, Petenka and Volodenka. The very blood -froze in Arina Petrovna's veins as the thought flashed through her -mind, "Speak of the devil and he's sure to appear." The girls also -lost courage, and timidly clung closer to their grandmother. The house -hitherto peaceful was suddenly filled with alarm. Doors banged, people -ran about crying, "The master is coming, the master is coming!" and -all the occupants of the house rushed out on the porch. Some made the -sign of the cross, some stood in silent expectation, all apparently -conscious of the fact that the existing order in Dubrovino had been -only temporary, and that now the real management was to begin with -a real master at the head. Under the former master some of the old, -deserving serfs had enjoyed the privilege of a monthly allowance of -provisions. Many of them fed their cattle on the master's hay, had -kitchen gardens of their own, and altogether lived "freely." Everyone, -of course, was now vitally interested to know whether the new master -would permit the old order of things, or whether he would introduce a -new one, similar to that which prevailed at Golovliovo.</p> - -<p>Yudushka drove up to the house. From the reception accorded to him he -concluded that affairs at Dubrovino were fast coming to a head. Without -a sign of haste, he descended from the carriage, waved his hand to the -servants who rushed forward to kiss it, then put his palms together, -and began to climb the steps slowly, whispering a prayer. His face -expressed a feeling of mingled grief, firmness, and resignation. As a -man he grieved; as a Christian he did not dare to complain. He prayed -to God to cure his brother, but above all he put his trust in the Lord -and bowed before His will. His sons walked side by side behind him, -Volodenka mimicking his father, clasping his hands, rolling his eyes -heavenward and mumbling his lips. Petenka revelled in his brother's -performance. Behind them, in silent procession, followed the servants.</p> - -<p>Yudushka kissed dear mother's hand, then her lips, then her hand again -and put his arm about her waist and said, shaking his head sadly:</p> - -<p>"And you keep on worrying. That's bad, mother dear, very bad. Instead -of that you should ask yourself: 'And what is God going to say to -this?' He will say: 'Here have I in my infinite wisdom arranged -everything for the best, and she grumbles.' Ah, mother dear, mother -dear."</p> - -<p>Then he kissed both of his nieces, and with the same charming -familiarity in his voice, said:</p> - -<p>"And you, too, romps, you are crying your eyes out. I won't permit it. -I command you immediately to smile. And that shall be the end of it."</p> - -<p>And he stamped his foot at them in jesting anger.</p> - -<p>"Just look at me," he continued. "As a brother I am torn with grief. -More than once I have shed tears. I am sorry for brother, sorry as can -be. I weep. Then I bethink myself: 'And what is God for? Is it possible -that God knows less than we what ought to be?' This thought inspires -me with courage. That is how you all should act, you, mother dear, and -you, little nieces, and—" he turned to the servants—"you all."</p> - -<p>"Look at me, how well I bear up."</p> - -<p>And in the same charming manner he proceeded to impersonate a man who -bears up. He straightened his body, put one foot forward, expanded his -chest, and threw back his head. The audience smiled sourly.</p> - -<p>This performance over, Yudushka passed into the drawing-room and kissed -his mother's hand again.</p> - -<p>"Well, so that's how things are, mother dear," he said, seating himself -on the couch. "So brother Pavel, too."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Pavel, too," softly answered Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes—a little too early. Although I play the brave, in my soul -I, too, suffer and grieve for my poor brother. He hated me—hated me -bitterly. Maybe that is why God is punishing him."</p> - -<p>"You might forget about it at such a moment. You must set old grudges -aside."</p> - -<p>"I have forgotten it all long ago. I only mentioned it in passing. -My brother disliked me, for what reason, I know not. I tried one way -and another, directly and indirectly. I called him 'dear' and 'kind -brother,' but he drew back and that was the end of it."</p> - -<p>"I asked you please not to bring all that up. The man is lying at the -point of death."</p> - -<p>"Yes, mother dear, death is a great mystery. 'For ye know neither -the day nor the hour.' That's the kind of mystery it is. There he -was making plans, thinking he was exalted so high, so high as to be -beyond mortal reach. But in one instant with one blow God undid all his -dreams. Perhaps he would be glad now to cover up his sins. But they are -already recorded in the Book of Life. And whatever is written in that -book, mother dear, won't be scraped off in a hurry."</p> - -<p>"But does not the Lord accept the sinner's repentance?"</p> - -<p>"That's just what I wish for him from the bottom of my heart. I -know he hated me, still I wish him forgiveness. I wish the best for -everybody—for those that hate me, those that insult me—everybody. He -was unfair to me and now God sends him an ailment—not I, but God. Does -he suffer much, mother dear?"</p> - -<p>"Well, not very much. The doctor was here and even gave us hopes." So -lied Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>"What splendid news! Don't you worry, dear mother, he'll pull through -yet. Here we are eating our hearts away and grumbling at the Creator, -and perhaps he is sitting quietly on his bed thanking the Lord for his -recovery."</p> - -<p>The idea delighted Yudushka so immensely that he even giggled softly to -himself.</p> - -<p>"Do you know, mother dear, that I have come to stay here a while?" he -went on, for all the world as if he were giving his mother a pleasant -surprise. "It's among good kinsmen, you know. In case something -happens—you understand, as a brother—I may console, advise, make -arrangements. You will permit me, will you not?"</p> - -<p>"What sort of permissions can I give when I am here myself only as -a—guest?"</p> - -<p>"Well, then, dearest, since this is Friday, just order them, if you -please, to prepare a fish meal for me. Some salt-fish, mushrooms, a -little cabbage—you know, I don't need much. And in the meantime, as a -relative, I shall drag myself up to the entresol. Perhaps I shall still -be in time to do some good, if not to his body, at least to his soul. -In his position, it seems to me, the soul is of much more consequence. -We can patch up the body, mother dear, with potions and poultices, but -the soul needs a more potent remedy."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna made no objection. The thought of the inevitability -of the "end" had taken such complete hold of her, that she observed -everything and listened to everything about her dazedly. She saw -Yudushka rise from the sofa, stoop and shuffle his feet. He liked to -appear invalided at times. He had an idea it added to his dignity. She -knew the unexpected appearance of the Bloodsucker in the entresol would -greatly excite the patient, might even hasten his end. But after the -day of agitation, she was so exhausted that she felt as if in a dream.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Pavel Vladimirych was in an indescribable state of -excitement. Though quite alone, he was aware of an unusual stir in -the house. Every bang of a door, every hurried footstep in the hall -awakened a mysterious alarm. For a while he called with all his -might; but, soon convinced his shouts were useless, he gathered all -his strength, sat up in bed, and listened. The sound of running feet -and loud voices stopped and was followed by a dead silence. Something -unknown and fearful surrounded him. Only a few, miserly rays of light -sifted through the lowered shades and the dim light of the lamp burning -before the ikon in the corner made the dusk filling the room seem all -the darker and gloomier. Pavel fixed his gaze upon that mysterious -corner as if for the first time he found something surprising in -it. The ikon, in a gilt framework on which the rays from the lamp -fell perpendicularly, stood out of the gloom with a sort of striking -brightness, like something alive. A circle of light wavered upon the -ceiling, flaring up or dying down in proportion to the strength or -weakness of the lamplight. Strange shadows filled the room, and the -dressing-gown hanging on the wall was alive with vacillating stripes of -light and shadow. Pavel Vladimirych watched and watched, and he felt -as if right there in that corner everything were suddenly beginning -to move. Solitude, helplessness, dead silence—and shadows, a host of -shadows. The shadows seemed to be coming, coming, coming. Gripped by -an indescribable terror, he gazed into the mysterious corner, eyes and -mouth agape, uttering no cries, but simply groaning—groaning in a -stifled voice, in jerks, like the barking of a dog. He heard neither -the creak of the stairs nor the careful shuffling steps in the adjacent -room. Suddenly, beside his bed, there loomed up the detestable figure -of Yudushka, as if from that gloom which had just mysteriously hovered -before his eyes, and as if there were more, more of shadows, shadows -without end—coming, coming——</p> - -<p>"What? Where did you come from? Who let you in?" he cried -instinctively, dropping back on his pillow helplessly. Yudushka -stood at the bedside, scrutinizing the sick man and shaking his head -sorrowfully.</p> - -<p>"Does it hurt?" he asked, putting all the oiliness of which he was -capable into his voice.</p> - -<p>Pavel Vladimirych was silent, but stared at him stupidly, as if making -every effort to understand him.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Yudushka approached the ikon, fell to his knees, bowed three -times to the ground, arose and appeared again at the bedside.</p> - -<p>"Well, brother, get up. May God send you grace," he said, sitting down -in an armchair, in a voice so jovial that he actually appeared to be -carrying "grace" about with him in his pocket.</p> - -<p>At last Pavel Vladimirych realized that this was no shadow but the -Bloodsucker in flesh. He seemed to coil up of a sudden as if in a -cramp. Yudushka's eyes were bright with affection, but the invalid very -distinctly saw the "noose" lurking in those eyes ready any instant to -dart out and tighten round his neck.</p> - -<p>"Ah, brother, brother, you've become no better than an old woman," -Yudushka continued jocosely. "Come, brace up! Get up and run a little -race. Come on, come on, give mother the joy of seeing what a strong -fellow you are. Come on now! Up with you!"</p> - -<p>"Get out of here, Bloodsucker!" the invalid cried in desperation.</p> - -<p>"Ah, brother, brother! I come to you in kindness and sympathy, and -you ... what do you say in return? Oh, what a sin! And how could your -tongue say such a thing to your own brother! It's a shame, darling, -it's a shame! Wait a minute, let me arrange the pillow for you."</p> - -<p>Yudushka got up and poked his finger into the pillow.</p> - -<p>"Like this," he continued. "That's fine now. Lie quietly, now. You -won't need to touch it till tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"You get out!"</p> - -<p>"My, how cranky your illness has made you! Why, you have even become -stubborn, really. You keep chasing me, 'Get out, get out!' But how can -I go? Here, for instance, you feel thirsty and I hand you some water. -Or I see the ikon is out of order, and I set it to rights, or pour in -some oil. You just lie where you are and I'll be sitting nearby, real -quietly. So we won't even see how time flies."</p> - -<p>"Get out, you Bloodsucker!"</p> - -<p>"Look here, you are insulting me, but I am going to pray to the Lord -for you. I know it isn't you, it's your illness talking. You see, -brother, I am used to forgiving. I forgive everybody. Today, for -instance, as I was coming here I met a peasant, and he said something -about me. Well, the Lord be with him. He defiled his own tongue. And I, -why I not only was not angry at him, I even made the sign of the cross -over him, I did truly."</p> - -<p>"You robbed him, didn't you?"</p> - -<p>"Who, I? Why, no, my friend, I don't rob people; highwaymen rob, but -I—I act in accordance with the law. I caught his horse grazing in my -meadows—well, let him go to the justice of the peace. If the justice -says it's right to let your cattle graze on other people's fields, -well, then I'll give him his horse back, but if the justice says it -isn't right, I am sorry. The peasant will have to pay a fine. I act -according to the law, my friend, according to the law."</p> - -<p>"You Judas the traitor, you left mother a pauper."</p> - -<p>"I repeat, you may be angry, if you please, but you are wrong. If I -were not a Christian, I would even have cause to be angry at you for -what you've just said."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you did, you did make mother a pauper."</p> - -<p>"Now, do be quiet, please. Here, I am going to pray for you. Maybe that -will calm you down."</p> - -<p>Though Yudushka had restrained himself successfully throughout the -conversation, the dying man's curses affected him deeply. His lips -curled queerly and turned pale. However, hypocrisy was so ingrained -in his nature that once the comedy was begun, he could not leave it -unfinished. So he knelt before the ikon and for fully fifteen minutes -murmured prayers, his hands uplifted. Thereupon he returned to the -dying man's bed with countenance calm and serene.</p> - -<p>"You know, brother, I have come to talk serious matters over with you," -he said, seating himself in the armchair. "Here you are insulting -me, but I am thinking of your soul. Tell me, please, when did you -communicate last?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, Lord! What is all this? Take him away! Ulita, Agasha! Anybody -here?" moaned Pavel.</p> - -<p>"Now, now, darling, do be quiet. I know you don't like to talk about -it. Yes, brother, you always were a bad Christian and you are still. -But it wouldn't be bad, really it wouldn't, to give some thought to -your soul. We've got to be careful with our souls, my friend, oh, how -careful! Do you know what the Church prescribes? It says, 'Ye shall -offer prayers and thanks.' And again, 'The end of a Christian's earthly -life is painless, honorable and peaceable.' That's what it is, my -friend. You really ought to send for the priest and sincerely, with -penitence. All right, I won't, I won't. But really you'd better."</p> - -<p>Pavel Vladimirych lay livid and nearly suffocated. If he could have, -he would have dashed his head to pieces.</p> - -<p>"And how about the estate? Have you already made arrangements?" -continued Yudushka. "Yours is a fine little estate, a very fine one. -The soil is even better than at Golovliovo. And you have money, too, I -suppose. Of course, I don't know anything about your affairs. I only -know that you received a lump sum on freeing your serfs, but exactly -how much, I never cared to know. To-day, for instance, as I was coming -here, I said to myself, 'I suppose brother Pavel has money.' 'But -then,' I thought, 'if he has capital, he must have decided already how -to dispose of it.'"</p> - -<p>The patient turned away and sighed heavily.</p> - -<p>"You have not made any disposition? Well, so much the better, my -friend. It's even more just, according to the law. It won't be -inherited by strangers, but by your own kind. Take me, for example, I -am old, with one foot in the grave, but still I think, 'Why should I -make disposition of my property if the law will do it all for me, after -I am dead?' And it's really the right way, my friend. There will be no -quarrels, no envy, no lawsuits. It's the law."</p> - -<p>That was unbearable. Pavel Vladimirych felt as if he were lying in a -coffin, fettered, in lethargy, unable to move a limb, and forced to -hear the Bloodsucker revile his dead body.</p> - -<p>"Get out—for Christ's sake, get out!" he finally implored his torturer.</p> - -<p>"All right, you just be quiet, I'll go. I know you don't like me. It's -a shame, my friend, a real shame, to dislike your own brother. You see, -I do love you. And I've always been telling my children, 'Though Pavel -Vladimirych has sinned against me, yet I love him.' So you did not -make any disposition? Well, that's fine, my friend. Sometimes, though, -one's money is stolen while one is yet alive, especially when one is -without relatives, all alone. But I'll take care of it. Eh? What? Am I -annoying you? Well, well, let it be as you wish. I'll go. Let me offer -up a prayer."</p> - -<p>He rose, placed his palms together, and whispered a prayer hurriedly.</p> - -<p>"Good-by, friend, don't worry. Take a good rest, and perhaps with God's -help you will get better. I will talk the matter over with mother dear. -Maybe we'll think something up. I have ordered a fish meal for myself, -some salt-fish, some mushrooms and cabbage. So you'll pardon me. What? -Am I annoying you again? Ah, brother dear! Well, well, I'm going. Above -all, don't be alarmed, don't be excited, sleep well and take a good -rest," he said, and finally made his departure.</p> - -<p>"Bloodsucker!" The word came after him in such a piercing shriek that -even he felt as if he had been branded with a hot iron.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER VI</h4> - - -<p>While Porfiry Vladimirych was holding forth in the entresol, -grandmother Arina Petrovna had gathered the young folks around her -downstairs, and was talking to them, not without the hope of getting -something out of them.</p> - -<p>"Well, how are you?" she asked, turned to her eldest grandson, Petenka.</p> - -<p>"I'm pretty well, granny. Next month I'll graduate as an officer."</p> - -<p>"Really? How many years have you been promising that? Are the -examinations so hard? Or what?"</p> - -<p>"At the last examination, granny, he failed in his catechism. The -priest asked him, 'What is God?' and he answered, 'God is Spirit—is -Spirit—and Holy Spirit.'"</p> - -<p>"Oh, you poor thing! How is that? Look at those little orphans. I'm -sure even they know that."</p> - -<p>"Why, certainly. God is invisible Spirit." Anninka hurried to show off -her knowledge.</p> - -<p>"Whom none ever beheld," Lubinka put in.</p> - -<p>"Omniscient, most Gracious, Omnipotent, Omnipresent," Anninka continued.</p> - -<p>"Whither can I go from Thy spirit and whither can I flee from Thy face? -Should I rise to Heaven, there wouldst Thou be, should I descend to -Hell, there wouldst Thou be."</p> - -<p>"I wish you would have answered like that. You would have epaulets by -this time. And how about you, Volodya, what are you going to do?"</p> - -<p>Volodya flushed and remained silent.</p> - -<p>"Apparently, you go no further than your brother with his 'Spirit—Holy -Spirit,' Ah, children, children! You seem to be so bright and yet -somehow you can't master your studies at all. I might understand if you -had a father who spoiled you. Tell me, how does he treat you now?"</p> - -<p>"Still the same old way, granny."</p> - -<p>"Does he beat you? Didn't I hear he stopped thrashing you?"</p> - -<p>"A little bit, but—the worst is, he pesters us to death."</p> - -<p>"I must say, I don't understand. How can a father pester his children?"</p> - -<p>"He does though, grandma, awfully. We can't go out without permission, -we can't take a thing. It couldn't be worse."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, ask permission. Your tongue wouldn't fall out in the -effort, I imagine."</p> - -<p>"Impossible. You just begin to talk to him, then he doesn't let go of -you. 'Don't hurry and wait a while. Gently, gently, take it easy.' -Really, granny, his talk is too tiresome for words."</p> - -<p>"Granny, he listens to us on the sly behind our doors. Just the other -day Piotr caught him in the act."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you rogues! Well, what did he say?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing. I said to him, 'It won't do, daddy, for you to eavesdrop at -our doors. Some day you may get your nose squashed. And all he said -was, 'Well, well, it's nothing, it's nothing. I, my child, am like a -thief in the night, as it says in the Bible.'"</p> - -<p>"The other day, granny, he picked up an apple in the orchard, and put -it away in a cupboard. I ate it up. So he hunted and hunted for it, and -cross-examined everybody."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean? Has he become a miser?"</p> - -<p>"No, he's not exactly stingy, but—how shall I put it? He is just -swamped head over heels in little things. He hides slips of paper, and -he hunts for wind-fallen fruit."</p> - -<p>"Every morning he says mass in his study, and later he gives each of us -a little piece of holy wafer, stale as stale can be."</p> - -<p>"But once we played a trick on him. We discovered where he keeps the -wafers, made a cut in the bottom of them, took out the pulp, and stuck -butter in."</p> - -<p>"Well, I must say you are regular cut-throats."</p> - -<p>"My, just imagine his surprise, next day. Wafers with butter!"</p> - -<p>"I suppose you got it good and hard afterwards."</p> - -<p>"No, not a bit. But he kept spitting all day and muttering to himself, -'The rascals!' Of course we made believe he didn't mean us."</p> - -<p>"Let me tell you, granny, he is afraid of you."</p> - -<p>"Of me! I'm not a scarecrow to frighten him."</p> - -<p>"I'm sure he's scared of you. He thinks you'll put a curse on him. He's -desperately afraid of curses."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna became lost in thought. At first the idea passed through -her mind: "What if I really should put a curse on him—just take and -curse him?" But the thought was instantly replaced by a more pressing -question, "What is Yudushka doing now? What tricks is he playing -upstairs? He must be up to one of his usual tricks." Finally a happy -idea struck her.</p> - -<p>"Volodya," she said, "you, dear heart, are light on your feet. Why -shouldn't you go softly and listen to what's going on up there?"</p> - -<p>"Gladly, granny."</p> - -<p>Volodya tiptoed toward the doors and disappeared through them.</p> - -<p>"What made you come over to us to-day?" Arina Petrovna continued with -her questioning.</p> - -<p>"We meant to come a long time ago, grandma, but today Ulita sent a -messenger to say the doctor had been here and uncle was going to die, -if not to-day, then surely to-morrow."</p> - -<p>"Tell me, is there any talk among you about the heritage?"</p> - -<p>"We keep talking about it the whole day, granny. Papa tells us how -it used to be before grandpa's time. He even remembers Goriushkino, -granny. 'See now,' he says, 'if Auntie Varvara Mikhailovna had no -children, then Goriushkino would be ours. And God knows,' he says, 'who -the children's father is. But let us not judge others. We see a mote in -the eye of our neighbor, but fail to notice a beam in our own. That's -how the world goes, brother.'"</p> - -<p>"Nonsense, nonsense. Auntie was married, was she not? Even if there had -been anything before that, the marriage made it all straight."</p> - -<p>"That's true, grandma, and each time we go past Goriushkino, he brings -up the same old tale: 'Grandma Natalya Vladimirovna,' he says, 'brought -Goriushkino as a dowry. By all rights it should have stayed in the -family. But your deceased grandfather gave it to sister as a dot. And -what wonderful watermelons,' he says, 'used to grow at Goriushkino! -Twenty pounds each. That's the kind of watermelons that grew there!'"</p> - -<p>"Twenty pounds, bosh! I never heard of such melons. Well, and what are -his intentions about Dubrovino?"</p> - -<p>"In the same line, granny. Watermelons and muskmelons and other -trifles. But of late he has constantly been asking us, 'What do you -think, children, has uncle Pavel much money?' He has had it all figured -out for a long time, grandma: the amount of redemption loan, and when -the property was mortgaged, and how much debt is paid off. We even saw -the paper on which he made the calculations; and guess what, granny, we -stole it. We nearly drove him crazy with that slip of paper. He'd put -it in a drawer, and we'd match the key and stick it into a holy wafer. -Once he went to take a bath, when lo and behold! he saw the paper lying -on the bath shelf."</p> - -<p>"You've a gay life up there."</p> - -<p>Volodenka returned and became the center of general attention.</p> - -<p>"I couldn't hear a thing," he announced in a whisper, "the only thing I -heard was father mouthing words like 'painless, untarnished, peaceful,' -and uncle shouting, 'Get out of here, you Bloodsucker!'"</p> - -<p>"Didn't you hear anything about the will?"</p> - -<p>"I think there was something said about it, but I couldn't make it out. -Father shut the door entirely too tight, granny. Only a buzzing came -through. And then suddenly uncle yelled, 'Get—get out!' Well then I -took to my heels and here I am."</p> - -<p>"If only the orphans were given——" anxiously thought Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>"If father gets his hands on it, granny, he'll not give a thing to -anyone," Petenka assured her. "And I have a feeling he's even going to -deprive us of the inheritance."</p> - -<p>"Still, he can't take it to the grave with him, can he?"</p> - -<p>"No, but he'll think up some scheme. It wasn't for nothing that he had -a talk with the priest not long ago. 'How does the idea of building -a tower of Babel strike you, Father?' he asked. 'Would one need much -money?'"</p> - -<p>"Well, he just said that perhaps out of curiosity."</p> - -<p>"No, granny, he has some plan in mind. If it isn't for a tower of -Babel, he'll donate the money to the St. Athos monastery; but he'll -make sure we don't get any."</p> - -<p>"Will father get a big estate when uncle dies?" asked Volodya, -curiously.</p> - -<p>"Well, God alone knows which of them will die first."</p> - -<p>"Father is sure he'll outlive uncle. The other day, just as soon as -we reached the boundary of the Dubrovino estate, he took off his cap, -crossed himself, and said, 'Thank God we'll be riding again on our own -land!"'</p> - -<p>"He's made arrangements for everything already, granny. He noticed the -woods. 'There,' he says, 'if there were a good landlord, that would be -a ripping fine forest.' Then he looked at the meadows. 'What a meadow! -Just look! Look at all those hay stacks!'"</p> - -<p>"Yes, indeed, both the woods and the meadows, everything will be yours, -my darlings," sighed Arina Petrovna. "Goodness! Wasn't that a squeak on -the stairs?"</p> - -<p>"Hush, granny, hush! That's he—'like a thief in the night,' listening -behind the doors."</p> - -<p>There was a silence, but it proved to be a false alarm. Arina Petrovna -sighed and muttered to herself, "Ah, children, children!"</p> - -<p>The boys stared at the orphans, fairly swallowing them with their gaze, -while the little orphans sat in silent envy.</p> - -<p>"Did you see Mademoiselle Lotar, cousin?" Petenka started a -conversation.</p> - -<p>Anninka and Lubinka exchanged glances as if they had been asked a -question in history or geography.</p> - -<p>"In <i>Fair Helen</i> she plays the part of Helen on the stage."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes—Helen—Paris—'Beautiful and young; he set the hearts of the -goddesses aflame—' I know, I know it," cried Lubinka joyfully.</p> - -<p>"Exactly. And how she sings 'Cas-ca-ader, ca-as-cader.' It's great."</p> - -<p>"The doctor who was just here keeps humming '<i>Head over heels.</i>'"</p> - -<p>"That is Lyadova's song. Wasn't she splendid, cousin? When she died, -nearly two thousand persons followed the hearse. People thought there -would be a revolution."</p> - -<p>"Is it about theatres you're chattering?" broke in Arina Petrovna. -"Well, their destiny lies far from theatres, my boys. It leads rather -to the convent."</p> - -<p>"Granny, you've set your mind on burying us in a convent," complained -Anninka.</p> - -<p>"Come, cousin, let's go to St. Petersburg instead of to a convent. -We'll show you everything to be seen there."</p> - -<p>"Their minds should not be occupied with thoughts of pleasure, but -rather with thoughts of God," continued Arina Petrovna sententiously.</p> - -<p>"We will teach you everything under the sun. In St. Petersburg there -are lots of girls like you. They walk about swinging their skirts."</p> - -<p>"Stop bothering them, for Christ's sake, you teachers," Arina Petrovna -interjected. "Nice things you can teach them."</p> - -<p>"I'm going to take them to Khotkov, after Uncle Pavel's death, and -we'll settle down comfortably there."</p> - -<p>"So you're still at your blabbing," a voice at the door suddenly broke -in.</p> - -<p>Engrossed in conversation nobody had heard Yudushka steal up "like a -thief in the night." He was all in tears, his head was bowed, his face -pale, his hands crossed on his breast, his lips mumbling in prayer. -For a few moments his eyes sought the ikons, then found them and for a -brief while he prayed.</p> - -<p>"He's very ill. Ah, how ill he is!" he finally exclaimed, embracing his -mother dear.</p> - -<p>"Is he?"</p> - -<p>"Very, very ill, dear heart. And do you recollect what a strong fellow -he was?"</p> - -<p>"Well, he was never exactly strong. I can't remember that, somehow."</p> - -<p>"Ah no, mother dear, don't say that. He was, always. I remember -perfectly when he left the cadets corps how well shaped he was, broad -shouldered, glowing with health. Yes, yes, mother dear, that's how -it is. We're all in God's hands. To-day we're strong, in the best of -health, we want to enjoy life to have a good meal, and tomorrow....</p> - -<p>He shrugged his shoulders and assumed deep emotion.</p> - -<p>"Did he say anything at least?"</p> - -<p>"Very little, dearest. The only thing he said was, 'Good-by, brother.' -And yet, mother dear, he can feel. He feels that he is in a bad way."</p> - -<p>"Well, no wonder he feels he is in a bad way when he can hardly catch -his breath."</p> - -<p>"No, mother dear, that's not what I mean. I have in mind the inner -vision which is given to the righteous and which allows them to foresee -their death."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! Didn't he say anything about his will?"</p> - -<p>"No, mother. He wanted to say something about it, but I stopped him. -'No,' I said, 'don't talk about that! Whatever you leave me, brother, -out of the kindness of your heart, I shall be satisfied. And even if -you leave me nothing, I'll have mass said for you at my own expense.' -And yet, mother dear, how he wants to live! How he longs for life!"</p> - -<p>"Of course, who doesn't want to live?"</p> - -<p>"No, mother. Take myself, for example. If it pleased the Lord God to -call me to Himself, I'm ready on the spot."</p> - -<p>"All well and good if you go to Heaven, but what if Satan gets you -between his fangs?"</p> - -<p>In this vein the talk continued till supper, during supper, and -after supper. Arina Petrovna was very restless. While Yudushka was -expatiating on various subjects, the thought entered her mind at -shorter and shorter intervals, "What if I should really curse him?" But -Yudushka had not the slightest suspicion of the storm raging in his -mother's heart. He had an air of serenity, and continued slowly and -gently to torture his "mother dear" with his endless twaddle.</p> - -<p>"I'll curse him! I'll curse him! Curse him!" Arina Petrovna repeated -inwardly, with greater and greater determination.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER VII</h4> - - -<p>An odor of incense pervaded the rooms, the sing-song of funeral chants -was heard in the house, the doors were thrown open, those wishing to -pay their last respects to the deceased came and went. While Pavel -Vladimirych lived, nobody had paid any attention to him; at his death -everybody mourned. People recalled that he "had never hurt a single -person," that "he had never uttered a cross word to anyone," nor -thrown anyone a look of ill-will—all qualities that had appeared -purely negative, but now assumed a positive character. Many seemed -to repent that at times they had taken advantage of the dead man's -simplicity—but after all, who knew that the simple soul was destined -to so speedy an end? One peasant brought Yudushka three silver rubles -and said: "Here's a little debt I owe Pavel Vladimirych. No writing -passed between us. Here, take it."</p> - -<p>Yudushka took the money, praised the peasant, and said he would donate -the three silver rubles for oil to burn forever before an ikon in the -church.</p> - -<p>"You, my dear friend, will see the flame, and everybody will see it, -and the soul of my deceased brother will rejoice. Maybe he will obtain -something for you in Heaven. You won't be expecting anything—and -suddenly the Lord will send you luck."</p> - -<p>Very probably the high estimate of the deceased's virtues was largely -based on a comparison between him and his brother. People did not like -Yudushka. Not that they couldn't get the better of him, but that he -was entirely too much of a nuisance with his scrape-penny ways. Very -few could bring themselves to lease land from him. They were afraid of -his passion for litigation. He dragged any number of people to court, -wasted their time, and won nothing, because his pettifogging habits -were so well known in the district that almost without listening to the -case the courts dismissed his claims.</p> - -<p>Since meanness, or, to be more exact, a kind of moral hardness, -especially when under the mask of hypocrisy, always inspires a sort of -superstitious fear, Yudushka's neighbors bowed waist low as they passed -by the Bloodsucker, standing all in black beside the coffin with palms -crossed and eyes raised upward.</p> - -<p>As long as the deceased lay in the house, the family walked about on -tip-toe, stole glances into the dining-room, where the coffin stood -on the table, wagged their heads, and talked in whispers. Yudushka -pretended to be overcome by the disaster, and shuffled painfully along -the corridor, paid a visit to the "dear deceased," affected deep -emotional stress, arranged the pall on the coffin, and whispered to the -commissioner of police, who was taking the inventory and affixing the -seal. Petenka and Volodenka busied themselves about the coffin, placing -and lighting the candles, handing over the censer, and so forth. -Anninka and Lubinka cried and through their tears helped the chanters -sing the mass for the dead in thin little voices. The woman servants, -dressed in black calico, wiped their noses red from weeping on their -aprons.</p> - -<p>Immediately after the death of Pavel Vladimirych, Arina Petrovna -went up to her room and locked herself in. She was not disposed -to weep, for she realized that she had to decide upon a course of -action immediately. To remain at Dubrovino was out of the question. -Consequently, she had only one choice, to go to Pogorelka, the orphans' -estate, the "bone" that she had once thrown to her disrespectful -daughter, Anna Vladimirovna. Arriving at this decision, she felt -relieved, as though Yudushka had suddenly and forever lost all power -over her. Calmly she counted her five per cent. Government bonds. They -totalled fifteen thousand rubles of her own, and as much belonging -to the orphans, which she had saved up for them. And she went on -composedly to calculate how much money she would have to spend to put -the Pogorelka manor-house in order. Then she immediately sent for the -bailiff of Pogorelka, gave the necessary orders about hiring carpenters -and sending a horse and cart to Dubrovino for her and the orphans' -belongings, ordered the coach to be made ready (the coach was her own, -and she had evidence that it was her very own), and began to pack. -She felt neither hatred nor goodwill toward Yudushka. It suddenly -became disgusting to her to have any dealings with him. She even ate -unwillingly and little, because from that day she had to eat not -Pavel's but Yudushka's food. Several times Porfiry Vladimirych peeped -into her room to have a chat with his "mother dear." He understood the -meaning of her packing clearly, but pretended to notice nothing. Arina -Petrovna refused to see him.</p> - -<p>"Go, my friend, go," she said. "I have no time."</p> - -<p>In three days, Arina Petrovna had everything in readiness for -departure. They heard mass, performed the funeral service, and buried -Pavel Vladimirych. At the funeral everything happened just as Arina -Petrovna had imagined on the morning when Yudushka came to Dubrovino. -In the very way she had foreseen Yudushka cried out, "Farewell, -brother!" when they lowered the coffin into the grave, and turned to -Ulita and said hastily: "Don't forget—don't forget to take the kutya, -and put it in the dining-room on a clean table cloth. We will honor -brother's memory in the house, too."</p> - -<p>Three churchmen, the Father Provost and a deacon, were invited to the -dinner served, as is the custom, immediately on the return from the -funeral ceremony. A special table was laid in the entrance hall for -the sextons. Arina Petrovna and the orphans entered clad in travelling -clothes, but Yudushka pretended even then not to understand. He went -over to the table, requested the Father Provost to bless the food and -drink, poured a glassful of vodka for himself and the churchmen, put -on an air of deep emotion and said, "Everlasting memory to the late -deceased! Ah, brother, brother, you have forsaken us! Who of us more -than you was fit to live a happy life? How sad, brother, how sad!"</p> - -<p>Then he crossed himself, and emptied the glass. He crossed himself -again and swallowed a piece of caviar, crossed himself again and took a -taste of dried sturgeon.</p> - -<p>"Eat, Father," he urged the Provost. "All this is my late brother's -stock. How the deceased loved good fare! Not only that he ate well -himself, but he even liked treating others better. Ah, brother, -brother, you have forsaken us! How wrong it was of you, brother, how -very wrong!"</p> - -<p>He was so carried away by his incessant chatter that he even forgot -about his dear mother. But suddenly she came to his mind as he scooped -up a spoonful of mushrooms and was about to send it down his mouth.</p> - -<p>"Mother, dearest, darling!" he exclaimed. "I, the fool, am here, -gorging myself. What a sin! Mother dear, help yourself. Some mushrooms. -These are Dubrovino mushrooms. The famous ones."</p> - -<p>But Arina Petrovna did not stir. She only shook her head in silence. -She seemed listening to something with intense curiosity, a new light -seemed to fill her eyes, as if the comedy to which she had long since -become accustomed and in which she had always taken active part, -suddenly presented itself to her in a changed light.</p> - -<p>The dinner commenced with a brief, pathetic discussion. Yudushka -insisted that Arina Petrovna should take the hostess's place at the -head of the table. Arina Petrovna refused.</p> - -<p>"No, you are the host here, so sit where you please," she said drily.</p> - -<p>"You are the hostess. You, mother dear, are the hostess everywhere, -both at Golovliovo and Dubrovino, everywhere," said Yudushka, trying to -convince her.</p> - -<p>"Do stop and sit down. Wherever it will be the Lord's will to place me -as a mistress, I will sit where I choose. Here you are master—so you -take the seat."</p> - -<p>"Then this is what we'll do," said Yudushka, much moved. "We'll leave -the cover at the host's seat untouched, as if our brother were with -us, an invisible companion. He shall be host, and we shall all be his -guests."</p> - -<p>That is how they arranged it. While the soup was being served, -Yudushka chose a proper subject and started a conversation with the -priests, addressing most of his remarks, however, to the Father Provost.</p> - -<p>"There are many people nowadays who do not believe in the immortality -of the soul, but I do," he said.</p> - -<p>"Well, they must be desperadoes," answered the Father Provost.</p> - -<p>"Not, not that they are desperadoes, but there is is a science about -the soul not being immortal. It says that man exists all by himself. He -lives and then suddenly—dies."</p> - -<p>"There are too many sciences nowadays—if only there were less of -them. People believe in sciences and don't believe in God. Take the -peasants—even the peasants want to become learned."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Father, you are right. They do long to become learned. Take my -Naglovo peasants. They have nothing to eat, and still the other day -they passed a resolution—they want to open up a school. The scholars!"</p> - -<p>"Nowadays there is a science for everything under the sun. One science -for rain, another science for fine weather, and so on. Formerly it was -a very simple matter. People would come and sing a Te Deum—and the -Lord would grant them their prayer. If they needed fine weather, God -would grant fine weather; if they needed rain, the Lord had enough of -it to go round. God has enough of everything. But since people have -begun to live according to science, everything has changed, everything -happens out of season. You sow—there is drought; you mow—there is -rain."</p> - -<p>"You speak the truth, Father, the gospel truth. Formerly people used -to pray more to God, and the earth was more plentiful. The harvests -were not like now. They were four times, five times, richer. The earth -produced in abundance. Doesn't mother remember? Don't you remember, -mother dear?" asked Yudushka, turning to Arina Petrovna with the -intention of drawing her into the discussion.</p> - -<p>"I never heard anything like that in our parts. Maybe you're speaking -of the land of Canaan. It is said that was really the case there," -drily responded Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, yes," said Yudushka, as if he had not heard his mother's -remark, "they don't believe in God, they don't believe in the -immortality of the soul, but they want to eat all the same."</p> - -<p>"That's just it—all they want is to eat and drink," repeated the -Father Provost, rolling up the sleeves of his cassock to reach a piece -of the funeral pie and put it on his plate.</p> - -<p>Everybody attacked the soup. For a while nothing was heard but the -clink of the spoons on the plates and the puffing of the priests as -they blew upon the hot liquid.</p> - -<p>"Now as for the Roman Catholics," continued Yudushka, stopping to eat, -"although they do not deny the immortality of the soul, yet they claim -the soul does not land straight in hell or in heaven, but stays for a -while in a sort of middle place."</p> - -<p>"That, too, is preposterous."</p> - -<p>"To tell you the truth, Father," said Porfiry Vladimirych, deep in -thought, "if we take the point of view of——"</p> - -<p>"There is no use discussing nonsense. How goes the song of our Holy -Church? It says, 'In a grassy place, in a cool place, in which there -is neither sighing nor sorrow.' So of what use is it to talk of a -'middle' place?"</p> - -<p>Yudushka did not fully agree and wanted to make some sort of objection, -but Arina Petrovna, growing annoyed at the conversation, stopped him.</p> - -<p>"Well, eat, eat, you theologian. I guess your soup is cold by now," she -said, and to change the topic she turned to the Father Provost. "Have -you gathered in the rye yet, Father?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, madam. This time the rye is good, but the spring wheat doesn't -promise well. The young oat seeds are ripening too soon. Neither straw -nor oats can be expected."</p> - -<p>"They are complaining everywhere about the oats," sighed Arina -Petrovna, watching Yudushka scoop up the last dregs of his soup.</p> - -<p>Another dish was served, ham and peas. Yudushka took advantage of the -opportunity to resume the broken conversation.</p> - -<p>"I'll wager the Jews don't eat this," he said.</p> - -<p>"Jews are dirty," responded the Father Provost. "So people mock them, -calling them 'pig's ears.'"</p> - -<p>"But the Tartars don't eat ham either. There must be some reason for -it."</p> - -<p>"The Tartars are dirty, too. That's the reason."</p> - -<p>"We don't eat horse flesh, and the Tartars refuse pigs' meat. They say -rats were eaten during the siege in Paris."</p> - -<p>"Well, they were—French!"</p> - -<p>The whole supper passed in this way. When carp in cream was served, -Yudushka expatiated: "Fall to, Father. These are not ordinary carp. -They were a favorite dish of my departed brother."</p> - -<p>Asparagus being served, Yudushka said:</p> - -<p>"Just look at that asparagus! You'd have to pay a silver ruble for -asparagus like that in St. Petersburg. My deceased brother was so fond -of it. Bless it, look how thick it is."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna was boiling with impatience. A whole hour gone and only -half the supper eaten. Yudushka seemed to hold it back on purpose. He -would eat something, put down his knife and fork, chatter a while, eat -a bit again, and chatter again. How often, in bygone days, had Arina -Petrovna scolded him for it. "Why don't you eat, you devil—God forgive -me." But he seemed to have forgotten her instructions. Or perhaps he -had not forgotten them, but was acting that way on purpose, to avenge -himself. Or maybe he wasn't even avenging himself consciously. He might -just be letting his devilish inner self have free play. Finally the -roast was served.</p> - -<p>At the very moment that all rose and the Father Provost was beginning -to intone the hymn about "the beatific deceased," a noise broke out in -the corridor. Shouts were heard that entirely spoiled the effect of the -prayer.</p> - -<p>"What's that noise?" shouted Porfiry Vladimirych. "Do they take this -for a public-house?"</p> - -<p>"For mercy's sake, don't yell. That is my—those are my trunks. They -are being transferred," responded Arina Petrovna. Then she added with a -touch of sarcasm: "Perhaps you intend to inspect them?"</p> - -<p>A sudden silence fell. Even Yudushka turned pale and became confused. -He realized instantly, however, that somehow he had to soften the -effect of his mother's unpleasant words. Turning to the Father Provost, -he began:</p> - -<p>"Take woodcocks for instance. They are plentiful in Russia, but in -other lands——"</p> - -<p>"For Christ's sake, why don't you eat? We've got twenty-five versts to -go and make them before dark," Arina Petrovna cut him short. "Petenka, -dear, go hurry them in there, and see that they serve the pastry."</p> - -<p>For a few moments there was silence. Porfiry Vladimirych quickly -finished his piece of woodcock. His face was pale, his lips trembled, -and he sat tapping his foot on the floor.</p> - -<p>"You insult me, mother dear. You hurt me deeply," he declared, finally, -but avoided his mother's eyes.</p> - -<p>"Who is insulting you? And how am I hurting you—so deeply?"</p> - -<p>"It is very—very insulting. So insulting, so very insulting! To think -of your going away—at such a moment! You have lived here all the -time—and suddenly—and then you mention the trunks—inspection—what -an insult!"</p> - -<p>"Well, then, if you're anxious to know all about it, why, I'll satisfy -you. I lived here as long as my son Pavel was alive. He died—and I -leave. And if you want to know about the trunks, why, Ulita has been -watching me for a long time at your orders. And concerning myself—it's -better to tell your mother straight to her face that she's under -suspicion than to hiss at her behind her back like a snake."</p> - -<p>"Mother dear! But you—but I——" groaned Yudushka.</p> - -<p>"You've said enough," Arina Petrovna cut him short. "And I've had my -say."</p> - -<p>"But, how could I, mother dear——"</p> - -<p>"I tell you, I'm through. For Christ's sake, let me go in peace. The -coach is ready, I hear."</p> - -<p>The sound of tinkling bells and an approaching vehicle came from the -courtyard. Arina Petrovna was the first to arise from the table. The -others followed.</p> - -<p>"Now let us sit down for a moment, and then we're off," she said, going -towards the parlor.</p> - -<p>They sat a while in silence. By that time Yudushka had entirely -recovered his presence of mind.</p> - -<p>"After all, why shouldn't you live at Dubrovino, mother dear? Just see -how nice it is here," he said, looking into his mother's eyes with the -caressing expression of a guilty cur.</p> - -<p>"No, my friend, that's enough. I don't want to leave you with -unpleasant words, but I can't stay here. What for? Father, let us pray."</p> - -<p>Everybody rose in prayer, then Arina Petrovna kissed everybody good-by, -blessed them all, and with a heavy step went toward the door. Porfiry -Vladimirych, at the head of the company of relatives, went with her to -the porch. There on seeing the coach, he was struck by a devilish idea. -"Why, the coach belongs to my brother," was the thought that flashed -through his mind.</p> - -<p>"So we'll see each other, mother dear?" he said, helping his mother in -and casting side glances at the coach.</p> - -<p>"If it's the Lord's will—and why shouldn't we see each other?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, mother, dear mother, that was a good joke, really! You had better -leave the coach—and, with God's help, in your old nest—indeed," urged -Yudushka in a wheedling tone.</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna made no answer. She had already seated herself and made -the sign of the cross, but the orphans seemed to hesitate.</p> - -<p>Yudushka, all the while, kept throwing glance after glance at the coach.</p> - -<p>"How about the coach, mother dear? Will you send it back yourself or -shall I send for it?" he blurted out, unable to retain himself longer.</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna shook with indignation.</p> - -<p>"The coach is—mine!" she cried in a voice so full of pain that -everyone felt embarrassed and ashamed. "It's mine! Mine! My coach! I—I -have testimony—witnesses. And you—may you——No, I'll wait——We -shall see what becomes of you. Children, are you ready?"</p> - -<p>"For mercy's sake, mother dear! I have no grievance against you. Even -if the coach belonged to this estate——"</p> - -<p>"It is my coach—mine! It does not belong to Dubrovino, it belongs to -me! Don't you dare to say it—do you hear me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, mother dear. Don't forget us, dear heart. Simply, you know, -without ceremony. We will come to you, you will come to us, as becomes -good kinsfolk."</p> - -<p>"Are you seated, children? Coachman, go on!" cried Arina Petrovna, -hardly able to restrain herself.</p> - -<p>The coach quivered and rolled off quickly down the road. Yudushka stood -on the porch waving his handkerchief and calling until the coach had -entirely disappeared from view:</p> - -<p>"As becomes good kinsfolk! We will come to you, and you to us—as -becomes good kinsfolk!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h3><a name="BOOK_III" id="BOOK_III">BOOK III</a></h3> - -<h4>FAMILY ACCOUNTS SETTLED</h4> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<h4>CHAPTER I</h4> - - -<p>It had never occurred to Arina Petrovna that there might come a time -when she would become "one mouth too many." Now that moment had stolen -upon her just when for the first time in her life her physical and -moral strength was undermined. Such moments always arrive suddenly. -Though one may long have been on the verge of breaking down, one may -still hold out and stave off the end, till suddenly the last blow -strikes from a quarter least expected. To be aware of its approach and -dodge it, is difficult. One has to resign oneself without complaint, -for it is the very blow that in an instant shatters one who till -recently has been hale and healthy.</p> - -<p>When Arina Petrovna took up her abode in Dubrovino, after having broken -with Yudushka, she had labored under great difficulties. But then, at -least, she had known that Pavel Vladimirych, though looking askance at -her intrusion, was still a well-to-do man to whom another morsel meant -little. Now things were very different. She stood at the head of a -household that counted every crumb. And she knew the value of crumbs, -having spent all her life in the country in constant intercourse with -peasants and having assimilated the peasant's notions of the harm a -"superfluous mouth" does to a house in which stores are already scanty.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, in the first days after the removal to Pogorelka, she -still maintained her usual attitude, busied herself with putting things -in shape in the new place, and exercised her former clarity of judgment -in household management. But the affairs of the estate were troublesome -and petty, and demanded her constant personal supervision; and though -on first thought she did not see much sense in keeping accurate -accounts in a place where farthings are put together to make up kopek -pieces and these in turn to make ten-kopek pieces, she was soon forced -to admit that she had been wrong in this. To be sure, there really was -no sense in keeping careful accounts; but the point was, she no longer -possessed her former industry and strength. Then, too, it was autumn, -the busiest time of reckoning up accounts and taking inventories, and -the incessant bad weather imposed inevitable limits to Arina Petrovna's -energy. Ailments of old age came upon her and prevented her from -leaving the house. The long dreary fall evenings set in and doomed her -to enforced idleness. The old woman was all upset and exerted herself -to the utmost, but succeeded in accomplishing nothing.</p> - -<p>Another thing. She could not help noticing that something queer was -coming over the orphans. They suddenly became dull and dispirited -and were agitated by some vague plans for the future, plans in which -notions of work were interspersed with notions of pleasures of the most -innocent kind, of course—reminiscences of the boarding-school where -they had been brought up, mingled with stray notions about men of toil, -which they retained from their fragmentary reading, and timid hopes of -clutching at some thread through their boarding-school connections, -and so entering the bright kingdom of human life. One tormenting hope -stood out definitely from the other vague longings, to leave hateful -Pogorelka at whatever costs.</p> - -<p>And at length one fine day Anninka and Lubinka actually announced to -grandma that they simply could not stay at Pogorelka a moment longer; -they led a beastly life there, met nobody but the priest, and he, when -he met them, felt it incumbent upon him to tell of the virgins who had -extinguished their lamps. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair.</p> - -<p>The girls spoke sharply, afraid of their grandmother and simulating -courage in order to overcome the anger and resistance they expected. -But to their surprise Arina Petrovna listened without anger, without -even a disposition toward the useless sermonizing that impotent old age -is so given to.</p> - -<p>Alas, she was no longer that dominating woman who used to say so -confidently: "I am going to Khotkov and will take the little orphans -with me." The change was due, not to senile impotence alone, but also -to an acquired sense of something better and truer. The last buffets -of fortune had not only tamed Arina Petrovna; they had also lighted up -some corners of her mental horizon into which her thoughts evidently -had never before entered. Now, she knew, there were certain forces -in the human being that can remain dormant a long while, but once -awakened, they carry one irresistibly on to the glimmering ray of life, -that cheering ray for whose appearance one's eyes have been yearning -so long amidst the hopeless darkness of the present. Once realizing -the legitimacy of such a striving, she was powerless to oppose it. It -is true, she tried to dissuade her granddaughters from their purpose, -but feebly, without conviction. She was uneasy about the future in -store for them; all the more so since she herself had no connections in -so-called "society." Yet she felt that the parting with the girls was -a proper and inevitable thing. What would become of them? frequently -pressed on her mind; but she was now fully aware that neither this -question nor others more terrible would restrain one who was struggling -for release from captivity.</p> - -<p>The girls insisted on one thing, on shaking the dust of Pogorelka from -their feet. And finally, after some hesitating and postponing to please -grandmother, they left.</p> - -<p>The Pogorelka manor-house was now steeped in a forlorn quiet. -Self-centered as Arina Petrovna was by nature, yet the proximity of -human breath had its calming effect even upon her. For the first time, -perhaps, she felt that something had torn itself away from her being, -and the freedom with which she herself was now confronted was so -boundless that all she saw was empty space. To hide the void from her -eyes, she ordered the state-rooms and the attic where the orphans had -lived to be nailed up.</p> - -<p>"Incidentally, there will be less firewood burned," she said to herself.</p> - -<p>She retained only two rooms, in one of which a large ikon case with -images was stowed away. The other was a combined bedroom, study -and dining-room. For the sake of economy she dismissed her retinue -of servants, retaining only her housekeeper Afimyushka, an old, -broken-down woman, and Markovna, one-eyed, the soldier's wife, who did -the cooking and washing.</p> - -<p>All these precautions, however, were of little help. The sensation -of emptiness was not slow to penetrate into the two rooms that were -meant to be guarded from it. Helpless solitude and dreary idleness -were the two enemies Arina Petrovna now confronted. And she was to be -bound to these two enemies the rest of her days. Physical and mental -disintegration were not slow to follow in the wake of loneliness -and idleness, and the less the resistance, the crueller, the more -destructive its work.</p> - -<p>Days dragged on in the oppressive monotony peculiar to rural life when -there are no comforts or there is no executive work to be done, and -there is no material for mental occupation. In addition to the external -causes at work to take the management of household affairs away from -her, was an inner aversion that Arina Petrovna now felt to the petty -cares and bustle coming at the sunset of her life. Perhaps she would -have overcome her repugnance had she had an aim in view to justify her -efforts, but that very aim was wanting. Everybody was sick and weary -of her, and she was sick and weary of everybody and everything. Her -feverish activity of old suddenly yielded to idleness, and idleness -little by little corrupted her will and induced propensities of which -Arina Petrovna could never have dreamed only a few months ago.</p> - -<p>The strong, reserved woman, whom no one would have thought of calling -old, turned into a wreck of her former self. There was neither past -nor future for her, but only the immediate moment to live through. -The greater part of the day she dozed, sitting in an easy-chair by -the table, on which ill-smelling cards were arranged. She would doze -for hours on end. Then her body would shudder convulsively, she would -wake up, look out of the window, and for a long time stare into the -distance, without a single conscious thought.</p> - -<p>Pogorelka was a dreary manor-house. It stood all alone, without orchard -or shade, or the least indication of comfort. There was not even a -flower garden in front of the house. It was a one-story structure, -squat, weather-beaten, all black with age. Back of it were the many -out-buildings, also half worn-out, and all around was one vast stretch -of fields—fields without end. Not even the glimpse of forest anywhere -on the horizon. But from her very childhood Arina Petrovna had hardly -ever left the country, and this monotonous landscape did not seem -dreary to her. It even appealed to her heart and awakened remnants of -emotion still glowing within her. The best part of her being lived in -these naked fields, and her gaze sought them instinctively.</p> - -<p>She stared at the expanse of fields; she stared at the drenched hamlets -making black specks on the landscape; she stared at the white churches -of the rural parishes; she stared at the motley spots that the cloud -shadows formed on the plains; she stared at the peasant unknown to her -who walked along the ploughed furrows, and she thought him slow and -stiff. While staring, she had no conscious thoughts, or, rather, her -thoughts were so fragmentary and disconnected that they could not stay -with any one thing for even a short time. She just gazed, gazed till -senile slumber again hummed dully in her ears, and the fields, the -churches, the hamlets and the peasant in the distance became wrapped in -mist.</p> - -<p>At times, apparently, she recollected something; but the memories of -the past came incoherently, in fragments. Her attention could not -concentrate on one point. It jumped from one remote memory to another. -Yet sometimes she would be struck by something singular, not joy—her -past was very scant in joys—but some grievance, some abuse, bitter -and unbearable. Then sudden anger would flare up, anguish would creep -into her heart, and tears come to her eyes. She would weep grievously, -painfully, the weeping of piteous old age, when tears flow as if under -the load of a nightmare. But even while her tears were flowing, her -mind unconsciously continued to work in its usual way, and her thoughts -drifted imperceptibly away from the cause of her mood, so that in a few -minutes the old woman was wondering what had been the matter with her.</p> - -<p>Altogether, she lived as if not participating in life personally, but -solely because in those ruins there were still left a few odds and ends -which had to be collected, recorded, and accounted for. While these -odds and ends were present, life went its way compelling the ruin to -perform all the external functions necessary to keep that half-asleep -existence from crumbling to dust.</p> - -<p>But if the days passed in unconscious slumber, the nights were sheer -torment. At night Arina Petrovna was <i>afraid;</i> she was afraid of -thieves, of ghosts, of devils, of all that was the product of her -education and life. And the defenses of the place were very poor, for -beside the two tottering women domestics Pogorelka had a night-watch in -the person of the lame little peasant Fedoseyushka, who for two rubles -a month came from the village to guard the manor-house, and usually -slept in the vestibule, coming out at the appointed hours to strike the -steel plate. In the cattle-yard, it is true, there lived a few farm -hands, men and women, but the cattle house was about fifty yards away -and it was not easy to summon any one from there.</p> - -<p>There is something exceedingly dreary and oppressive in a sleepless -night in the country. At nine, or at latest ten o'clock, life ceases. -A weird stillness sets in that is full of terrors. There is nothing to -do, and it is a waste to burn candles. Willy-nilly one must go to bed. -As soon as the samovar was removed from the table Afimyushka, from an -old habit acquired during serfdom, spread a felt blanket in front of -the door leading to the mistress's bedroom, scratched her head, yawned, -flopped down on the floor, and fell dead asleep. Markovna always -fumbled in the maids' room a trifle longer, muttering something to -herself as if scolding somebody. But at last she, too, got quiet, and a -moment later you could hear her snoring and raving intermittently. The -watchman banged on the plate several times to announce his presence, -then kept quiet for a long time. Arina Petrovna, sitting in front of a -snuffy tallow candle, tried to stave off sleep by playing "patience," -but scarcely did she have the cards arranged when she fell into a doze.</p> - -<p>"It is as easy as not for a fire to start while one is asleep," she -would say to herself, and decide to go to bed. But no sooner did she -sink into the down pillows than another trouble set in. Her sleepiness, -so inviting and insistent all evening long, now left her completely. -The room was a close one at the best, and now, from the open flue the -heat came thick, and the down pillows were insufferable. Arina Petrovna -tossed restlessly. She wanted to call someone, but knew no one would -come in answer to her summons. A mysterious quiet reigned all around, -a quiet in which the delicate ear could distinguish a multitude of -sounds. Now something crackled somewhere, now a whining was audible, -now it seemed as if somebody were walking through the corridor, now a -puff of wind swept through the room and even touched her face. The ikon -lamp burned in front of an image, and the light gave the objects in the -room a kind of elusiveness, as if they were not actual things, but only -the contours of things. Another bit of light strayed from the open door -of the adjacent room, where four or five ikon lamps were burning before -the image case. A mouse squeaked behind the wall paper. "Sh-sh-sh, -you nasty thing," said Arina Petrovna, and all was silent again. And -shadows again, whisperings again coming from no one knew where. The -greater part of the night passed in that half-awake senile slumber. -Real sleep did not set in and do its work until nearly morning. By -six o'clock Arina Petrovna was already on her feet, tired out after a -sleepless night.</p> - -<p>Other things to add to the misery of this miserable existence of -Arina Petrovna's were the poor food she ate and the discomfort of her -home. She ate little and used poor food, wishing, probably, to make -up for the loss caused by insufficient supervision. And the Pogorelka -manor-house was dilapidated and damp. The room into which Arina -Petrovna locked herself was never ventilated and remained without -cleaning for weeks on end. In this complete helplessness and the -absence of all comfort and care, decrepitude began slowly to set in. -But her desire to live grew stronger, or, rather, her desire for "a -dainty bit" asserted itself. With this came coupled a total absence of -the thought of death. Previously, she had been afraid of death; now -she seemed to have quite forgotten about it. And with ideals of life -differing but little from a peasant's, her conception of a "comfortable -life" was of rather a base kind. Everything she had formerly denied -herself, dainties, rest, association with wide-awake people, now forced -itself upon her in an insistent craving. All the propensities of a -regular sponger and hanger-on, idle talk, subservience for the sake of -a prospective gift, gluttony, grew in her with astounding rapidity. -Like the servants, she fed on cabbage-soup and cured bacon of doubtful -quality, and at the same time dreamed of the stores of provisions at -Golovliovo, of the German carps that swarmed in the Dubrovino ponds, -of the mushrooms that filled the Golovliovo woods, of the fowl that -fattened in the Golovliovo poultry-yard.</p> - -<p>"Some soup with giblets, or some garden-cress in cream would not be a -bad thing," would cross her mind so vividly that her mouth watered. At -night when she tossed about rigid with fright at the least rustling, -she would think: "Yes, at Golovliovo the locks are secure and the -watchmen reliable. They keep banging on the steel plates all the time, -and you can sleep in perfect safety." During the day, from sheer lack -of human companionship, she was compelled to be silent for hours, and -during these spells of compulsory taciturnity, she could not help -thinking: "At Golovliovo there are lots of people. There you can talk -your troubles away." In fact, Golovliovo kept constantly recurring to -her mind, and the reminiscences of her former estate became a radiant -spot in which "comfortable living" concentrated itself.</p> - -<p>The more frequently the vision of Golovliovo came back to her mind, -the stronger became her will to live again, and the farther the deadly -affronts she had recently sustained sank into oblivion. The Russian -woman, by the very nature of her life and bringing-up, too quickly -acquiesces in the lot of a hanger-on. Even Arina Petrovna did not -escape that fate, though her past, it would seem, should have tended -to warn and guard her against such a yoke. Had she not made a mistake -"at that time," had she not portioned out her estate to her sons, -had she not trusted Yudushka, she would to this very day have been a -harsh, exacting old woman, with everybody under her thumb. But since -the mistake was fatal, the transition from a testy, arbitrary mistress -to an obedient, obsequious parasite was only a matter of time. As long -as she still retained remnants of former vigor, the change was not -evident, but as soon as she realized that she was irrevocably doomed to -helplessness and solitude, all the pusillanimous propensities began to -make their way into her soul, and her will, already weakened, became -completely shattered. Yudushka, who used to be received most coldly -when he visited Pogorelka, suddenly ceased to be hateful to her. The -old injuries were somehow forgotten, and Arina Petrovna was the first -to court intimacy.</p> - -<p>It began with begging. Messengers from Pogorelka would come to -Yudushka, at first rarely, but then with increasing frequency. Now -there had been a poor crop of garden-cress at Pogorelka, now the rains -had ruined the gherkins, now the turkey-poults had died—there's -freedom for you! And then it came to: "Would you mind, my dear friend, -ordering some German carps caught in Dubrovino? My late son Pavel never -refused them to me." Yudushka frowned, but thought it best not to show -open displeasure. The carps were an item, to be sure, but he was filled -with terror at the thought that his mother might put her curse upon -him. He well remembered her once saying: "I will come to Golovliovo, -order the church opened, call in the priest and shout: 'I curse you!'" -It was the recollection of this that held him back from many dastardly -acts that quite accorded with his nature. But in fulfilling the wish -of his "mother dear" he did not omit to hint casually to the people -around him that God had ordained that every man bear his cross, and -that He did so not without divine purpose, for he who bears not his -cross wanders from the righteous path and becomes corrupted. To his -mother he wrote: "I am sending you some gherkins, mother dear, as many -as my resources allow. As to the turkeys, I am sorry to inform you that -besides those left for breeding, there remain only turkey-cocks, which -in view of their size and the limited needs of your table are quite -useless to you. And will it not be your pleasure to let me welcome you -to Golovliovo and share my paltry viands with you? Then we can have one -of those idlers (idlers, indeed, for my cook Matvey caponizes them most -skilfully) roasted, and you and I, my dearest friend, shall feast on -him to our heart's content."</p> - -<p>From that day Arina Petrovna became a frequent guest at Golovliovo. -Assisted by Yudushka she tasted of turkeys and ducks; she slept her -fill both by night and by day, and after dinner she eased her heart -with copious small talk, in which Yudushka was proficient by nature, -she proficient because of old age. Her visits were not discontinued -even when it reached her ears that Yudushka, weary of solitude, had -taken in a damsel named Yevpraksia, from among the clergy, as his -housekeeper. On the contrary, she made off right for Golovliovo and -before alighting from the carriage called to Yudushka with childish -impatience: "Well, well, you old sinner, let's see your queen, let's -see your queen." That entire day she spent most pleasurably, because -Yevpraksia herself waited upon her at table and made her bed after -dinner, and because in the evening she played fool with Yudushka and -his queen.</p> - -<p>Yudushka himself was pleased with this dénouement, and in token of -filial gratitude ordered a pound of caviar, among other things, to be -put into Arina Petrovna's carriage as she was about to depart. That was -the highest token of esteem, for caviar is not a home product; one has -to buy it. The courtesy so touched the old woman that she could refrain -no longer and said: "Well, I do thank you for this. And God, too, will -love you, because you cherish and sustain your mother in her old age. -Now, when I get back to Pogorelka, I shall not be bored any more. I -always did like caviar. Well, thanks to you, I'll have a dainty morsel -now."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER II</h4> - - -<p>Five years had passed since Arina Petrovna took up her abode at -Pogorelka. Yudushka struck root in Golovliovo and would not budge. He -became considerably older, faded and tarnished greatly, but was more -of a knave, liar and babbler than ever, for now his "mother dear" was -nearly always with him, and for the sake of dainties, she became a -ready and indispensable listener to his empty talk.</p> - -<p>One must not think of Yudushka as a hypocrite in the sense of Tartuffe, -for instance, or some modern French bourgeois, mellifluous and fond of -expatiating on "the foundations of society." No, he was a hypocrite of -the purely Russian breed, simply a man devoid of moral standards and -ignorant of any except the most elementary truths. His ignorance was -profound. He was mendacious, had a passion for litigation and empty -talk, and was afraid of the devil, too—all negative traits that are -not the material for the making of a genuine hypocrite.</p> - -<p>In France hypocrisy is a result of education; it constitutes, so to -say, a part of "good manners," and always has a distinct political -or social coloring. There are hypocrites of religion, hypocrites of -"the foundations of society," of property, of family, of politics. -And lately there have come up even hypocrites of "law and order." -Though this sort of hypocrisy cannot be termed conviction, still it -is a banner around which those people rally who find it profitable to -play the hypocrite in that way and no other. They sham consciously, -that is they know they are hypocrites, and they also know that others -know. According to the notions of a French bourgeois, the universe is -nothing but a large stage on which is played an endless drama with one -hypocrite taking his cue from the other. Hypocrisy is an invitation to -decency, decorum, outward elegance and politeness. And what is most -important, hypocrisy is a restraint, not for those, of course, who -play the hypocrite, hovering in the rarified atmosphere of the social -heights, but for those who swarm at the bottom of the social caldron. -Hypocrisy keeps society from the debauchery of passion and makes -passion the privilege of a very limited minority. When licentiousness -keeps within the limits of a small, well-organized corporation, it is -not only harmless, but even supports and nourishes the traditions of -elegance. The exquisite would perish if there were not a certain number -of <i>cabinets particuliers,</i> in which licentiousness is cultivated in -the moments that are free from the worship of official hypocrisy. But -licentiousness becomes really dangerous as soon as it is accessible to -all and is combined with the general extension of the right to make -demands and insist upon the legitimacy and naturalness of such demands. -New social stratifications form, which endeavor to crowd out the old -ones, or, at least, limit them considerably. The demand for <i>cabinets -particuliers</i> grows to such an extent that the question arises: Would -it not be simpler in the future to get along without them? It is -against these unwelcome questions and formulations of demands that -the ruling classes of French society guard the systematic hypocrisy -that begins by being an accident of manners and ends by becoming a -compulsory law.</p> - -<p>The modern French theatre is based on this reverence for hypocrisy. -The first four acts of a popular French play are realistic, depicting -the decay and disintegration of all standards of marital fidelity. -But the fifth act always ends up with some sentimental ringing phrase -eulogizing the sweet atmosphere of the fireside and the supreme triumph -of virtue over vice. Which is the truth? Which is the sham? Both and -neither. In the first four acts the audience sees itself mirrored in -the realistic portrayal on the stage, but the fifth act is an equally -faithful portrayal of the audience's conception of ideal virtue and -pure matrimonial life. So, if French hypocrisy is a superstructure upon -the body of public immorality, it is so completely a part of the entire -fabric of morality that it keeps the edifice from toppling over.</p> - -<p>We Russians have no system of social bringing up. We are not mustered -or drilled to become champions of "social principles" or other -principles, but simply left to grow wild, like nettles by the fence. -That is why there are few hypocrites among us, but many liars, -empty-headed bigots, and babblers. We have no need of playing the -hypocrite for the sake of social principles, for we know of no such -thing as social principles. We exist in perfect liberty, that is, we -vegetate, lie, chatter quite naturally, without regard for principle. -Whether we ought to rejoice over it or regret it, I cannot say. I -think, though, that if hypocrisy breeds resentment and fear, useless -lying causes boredom and repugnance. The best thing, therefore, is to -ignore the question of the advantages of conscious over unconscious -hypocrisy, and vice versa, and have nothing to do with either -hypocrites or liars.</p> - -<p>Yudushka was more of a chatterbox, liar and rascal than hypocrite. On -shutting himself up on his country estate, he at once felt at perfect -liberty. In no other environment could his propensities find so vast -a field for operation. At Golovliovo he encountered neither direct -resistance nor even indirect restraints that would make him think: "I -should like to do something mean, but what will people say?" There -was none to disturb him with disapproval, no one to intrude into his -affairs. Consequently there was no reason for controlling himself. -Extreme slovenliness became the dominating feature of his attitude -toward himself. He had long had a craving for this perfect freedom -from any moral restraint, and the fact that he had not gone to live in -the country earlier was entirely due to his fear of idleness. Having -spent over thirty years in the dull atmosphere of the bureaucratic -department, he had acquired all the habits and appetites of an -inveterate official, who does not allow a single moment of his life to -pass without being busily engaged in doing nothing. But on studying the -matter more closely, he came to the conclusion that the realm of busy -idleness can easily be transposed to any sphere.</p> - -<p>In fact, scarcely settled at Golovliovo but he at once created a world -of trifles in which to rummage without the slightest risk of them ever -being exhausted. In the morning he would seat himself at his desk and -attend to business matters. First he would carefully check the accounts -of the housekeeper, the cattle-yard woman, and the steward. He had -established a very complicated accounting system, both for money and -inventory. Every kopek, every bit of produce, was entered in twenty -books, and on checking up he would find the total either half a kopek -behind, or a whole kopek ahead. Lastly he would take up his pen and -write complaints to the justice of the peace and the judge of appeals. -This took up all his time and had the appearance of assiduous hard -work. Yudushka often complained that he had no time to do everything -that had to be done, though he pored over the ledgers all day long and -did not even stop to take off his dressing-gown. Heaps of well filed -but unexamined reports were always lying about on his desk, and among -them was the annual report of the cattle-house woman, Fekla, whose -activity had long seemed suspicious, though he had had no time to check -up her accounts.</p> - -<p>All connections with the outside world were completely severed. He -received no books, no newspapers, not even letters. One of his sons, -Volodya, committed suicide. With the other, Petenka, he corresponded -briefly and only on sending him a remittance. He was caught in an -atmosphere thick with ignorance, superstition and industrious idleness, -and felt no desire to rescue himself from it. Even the fact that -Napoleon III. was no longer emperor came to him through the local -chief of police a year after the emperor's death. On hearing of it -he expressed no particular interest, but only crossed himself and -murmured: "May he enter the Kingdom of Heaven," and then said aloud: -"And how proud he was! My, my! This was no good, and that did not -suit him. Kings went to do him homage, princes kept watch in his -antechamber. So the Lord, you see, in one moment cast down all his -proud dreams."</p> - -<p>The truth of the matter was that for all his reckoning and checking up -he was far from knowing what was going on on his own estate. In this -respect he was a typical official. Imagine a chief clerk to whom his -superior says: "My friend, it is necessary to my plans for me to know -exactly how large a crop of potatoes Russia can produce annually. Will -you kindly compute this for me?" You think a question like that would -baffle the chief clerk? You think he would at least ponder over the -methods to be employed in the execution of such a task? Not at all. All -he would do is this. He would draw a map of Russia, rule it out into -perfect squares, and find out how many acres each square represents. -Then he would go to the greengrocer's, would find out the quantity -of potatoes each acre requires for seed and what the average ratio -is of yield to seed, and, finally, with the help of God and the four -fundamental operations of arithmetic, he would arrive at the conclusion -that Russia under favorable circumstances could yield so and so many -potatoes and under unfavorable circumstances, so and so many. And his -work would not only please the chief, but would also be placed in -Volume CII of some "Proceedings."</p> - -<p>Yudushka even chose a housekeeper who exactly fitted the environment -he had created. The maiden Yevpraksia was the daughter of the sexton -at the church of St. Nicholas-in-Drops. She was an all-round treasure. -Not alert in thinking, not ingenious, not even handy, but diligent, -submissive, in no sense exigent. When Yudushka "drew her nearer" to his -person, her one request was to be permitted to take some cold cider -without asking leave. Such disinterestedness touched even Yudushka. He -immediately put at her disposal two tubs of pickled apples beside the -cider, and freed her from accountability for any of these items. Her -exterior had nothing attractive in it to a connoisseur, but she was -quite satisfactory to a man who was not fastidious and knew what he -wanted. She had a broad white face, a low forehead bordered with thin -yellowish hair, large lack-lustre eyes, a perfectly straight nose, a -flat mouth on which there played a mysterious elusive smile, such as -one sees in the portraits painted by homebred artists. In short there -was nothing remarkable about her, except, perhaps, her back between her -shoulder-blades, which was so broad and powerful that even the most -indifferent man felt like giving her a good, hearty slap there. She -knew it, but did not mind it, so that when Yudushka for the first time -patted the fat nape of her neck, she only twitched her shoulders.</p> - -<p>Amidst these drab surroundings days wore on, one exactly like the -other, without the slightest change, without the least hope of a -brightening ray. The arrival of Arina Petrovna was the one thing that -brought a bit of animation. At first, when Porfiry Vladimirych had seen -his mother's carriage approaching he had frowned, but in time he grew -accustomed to her visits and even got to like them. They catered to his -loquacity, for even he found it impossible to chatter to himself when -all alone. To babble about various records and reports with "mother -dear" was very pleasant, and, once together, they talked from morning -till night without having enough. They discussed everything—the -harvests of long ago and of the present; the way the landed gentry -had lived in "those days;" the salt that had been so strong in former -years; and the gherkins that were not what they had been in days gone -by.</p> - -<p>These chats had the advantage of flowing on like water and being -forgotten without effort, so that they could be renewed with interest -<i>ad infinitum,</i> and enjoyed each time as if just put into circulation. -Yevpraksia was present at these talks. Arina Petrovna came to love her -so well that she would not have her away for a moment. At times, when -tired of talking, the three of them would sit down to play fool, and -they would keep on playing till long after midnight. They tried to -teach Yevpraksia how to play whist with the dummy, but she could not -understand the game. On such evenings the enormous Golovliovo mansion -became animated. Lights shone in all the windows, shadows appeared here -and there, so that a chance passer-by might think Heaven knows what -celebration was going on. Samovars, coffee pots, refreshments took -their turn on the table, which was never empty. Arina Petrovna's heart -brimmed over with joy and merriment and instead of remaining for one -day, she would spend three or four days at Golovliovo. And on the way -back to Pogorelka she would think up a pretext for returning as soon as -possible to the temptations of the "good living" there.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER III</h4> - - -<p>It was the end of November. As far as eye could see the ground was -covered with a white shroud. A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; -the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an -instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and -filling the air with a wailing. The village, the church, the nearby -woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist. The wind howled in the -trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard. But inside the landlord's -manor it was warm and cozy. In the dining-room there was a samovar on -the table. Around it were Arina Petrovna, Porfiry Vladimirych, and -Yevpraksia. To one side stood a card-table with tattered cards on it. -The open door from the dining-room led on one side to the ikon room, -all flooded with light from the ikon lamps, on the other, to the -master's study, where an ikon lamp was also burning before an image. -The rooms were overheated and stuffy, the odor of olive oil and of the -charcoal burning in the samovar filled the air. Yevpraksia, seated in -front of the samovar, was engaged in rinsing the cups and drying them -with a dish towel. The samovar made spirited music, now humming aloud -with all its might, now falling into a doze, as it were, and snoring. -Clouds of steam escaped from under the cover and wrapped the tea-pot in -a mist. The three at the table were conversing.</p> - -<p>"Well, how many times were you the 'fool' to-day?" Arina Petrovna asked -Yevpraksia.</p> - -<p>"I shouldn't have been fool once if I hadn't given in. I wanted to -please you, you see," answered Yevpraksia.</p> - -<p>"Fiddlesticks! I remember how pleased you were last time when I -bombarded you with threes and fives. You see, I am not Porfiry -Vladimirych. He makes it easy for you, hands only one at a time, but I, -my dear, have no reason to."</p> - -<p>"Yes, indeed! You were playing foul!"</p> - -<p>"Well, I say! I never do such things."</p> - -<p>"No? Who was it I caught a little while ago? Who wanted to slip through -a seven of clubs and an eight of hearts and call them a pair? Well, I -saw it myself and I myself showed you up!" While talking Yevpraksia -rose to remove the tea-pot from the samovar and turned her back to -Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>"My, what a back you have! God bless you!" Arina Petrovna exclaimed, in -involuntary admiration.</p> - -<p>"Yes, a wonderful back," Yudushka repeated mechanically.</p> - -<p>"My back again! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? What has my back done -to you?" Yevpraksia turned her back first to the right, then to the -left, and smiled. Her back was her joy. A few days before even the -cook Savelich, an old man, had looked at her admiringly and said: -"Well, well, what a back! Just like a hearth-plate!" She did not, be it -noticed, complain to Porfiry Vladimirych about the cook's remark.</p> - -<p>The cups were filled with tea over and over again, and the samovar grew -silent. Meanwhile the snowstorm became fiercer and fiercer. A veritable -cataract of snow struck the windowpanes every now and then, and wild -sobs ran at intervals down the chimney flue.</p> - -<p>"The storm seems to be in real earnest," said Arina Petrovna. "Listen -to it howling and whining."</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, let it whine. The blizzard keeps on whining and we keep -on drinking tea. That's how it is, mother dear," replied Porfiry -Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>"It must be a terrible thing for one to be out in the fields now."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it may be terrible to some, but what do we care? Some feel cold -and dreary, but we are bright and cheery. We sit here and sip our tea, -with sugar, and cream, and lemon. And should we want tea with rum, we -can have it with rum."</p> - -<p>"Yes, but suppose——"</p> - -<p>"Just a moment, mother dear. I say, it is very bad in the open now. -There is no road or path. Everything is wiped out. And then—wolves! -But here we are warm and cozy, afraid of nothing. We just keep sitting -here, quietly and peacefully. If we want to play a little game of -cards, we play cards; if we want to have some hot tea, well, then we -have tea. We won't drink more than we want to, but we may drink to our -heart's content. And why all this? Because, mother dear, God's mercy is -with us. Were it not for Him, the King of Kings, maybe we, too, would -now be wandering in the fields, in the cold and the darkness, in a -shabby little coat, a flimsy little girdle, bast shoes."</p> - -<p>"Oh, come now, what do you mean—bast shoes? We are gentlefolk, surely. -In any circumstances we can afford decent footwear."</p> - -<p>"Do you know why we were born in the gentry, mother dear? All because -God's mercy was with us. Were it not for that we would now be in a hut -and it would be lighted not by a candle but by a <i>luchina</i> and as to -tea or coffee, we wouldn't dare dream about them. I would be patching -my miserable little bast shoes, and you would be getting ready to sup -off thin cabbage soup, and Yevpraksia would be weaving tick, and on top -of it all, maybe the <i>desyatsky</i> would come to press us and the wagon -into service."</p> - -<p>"Yes, catch the <i>desyatsky</i> coming on a night like this!"</p> - -<p>"Who knows, mother dear? And maybe the regiments would come! Maybe -there would be war or mutiny. The regiments must be there on the -dot. The other day, for instance, the chief of police was telling me -Napoleon III. had died. So you may be sure the French will be up to -some mischief again. Naturally, our soldiers will have to make for the -front at once, and you, friend peasant, will have to get your wagon -out, quick! Never mind cold, blizzard, and snowdrifts. You go if the -authorities tell you to, and if you know what is good for you. But we, -don't you see, will be spared a while. They won't turn us out with the -wagon."</p> - -<p>"Yes, who dares deny it? The mercy the Lord has shown us is great."</p> - -<p>"That's just what I say. God, mother dear, is everything. He gives -us wood to burn and food to eat. It's all His doing. We think we buy -things ourselves, and pay our own hard cash, but when you look into it -more deeply, and reckon it up, and figure it out, it's all He, it's all -God. If it be His will, we'll have nothing. Here, for instance, I would -like to have some fine little oranges, I would have some myself, would -offer one to my mother dear, would give an orange to everyone. I have -the money to buy oranges. Suppose I produce some coin and say, 'Here, -let me have some oranges,' but God says, 'Halt, man!' Then here I am, -a philosopher without cucumbers."</p> - -<p>They laughed.</p> - -<p>"That's all talk," said Yevpraksia. "My uncle was sexton at the Uspenye -Church in Pesochnoye. You may be sure he was as pious a man as ever -was. So I think God ought to have done something for him. But he was -caught in a snowstorm out in the fields and froze to death all the -same."</p> - -<p>"That's just my point. If such is God's will, you will freeze to death, -and if such is not His will, you will remain alive. There are prayers -that please God and there are prayers that do not please Him. If a -prayer pleases God it will reach Him, if it does not, you may as well -not pray at all."</p> - -<p>"I remember in 1824 I was travelling and was pregnant with Pavel. It -was in the month of December, and I was going to Moscow——"</p> - -<p>"Just a moment, mother dear. Let me finish about the prayers. A man -prays for everything, for he needs everything. He needs some butter and -some cabbage, and some gherkins, well, in a word, he needs everything. -Sometimes he doesn't need the thing, but in his human weakness he -prays for it all the same. But God from above sees better. You pray -for butter, and he gives you cabbage or onions. You are after fair and -warm weather and he sends you rain and hail. What you have to do is to -understand it all and not complain. Last September, for example, we -prayed God for frost, so that the winter corn might not rot, but God, -you see, sent no frosts, and our winter corn rotted away."</p> - -<p>"It certainly did rot away," remarked Arina Petrovna commiseratingly. -"The peasants' winter fields at Novinky weren't worth a straw. They'll -have to plow them all over and plant spring corn."</p> - -<p>"That's just it. Here we are planning and philosophizing, and figuring -it one way, and trying it another way, but God in a trice reduces -all our plots and plans to dust. You, mother dear, wanted to tell us -something that happened to you in 1824?"</p> - -<p>"What was it? I really don't remember. I suppose I wanted to tell you -again about God's mercy. I don't remember, my friend, I don't."</p> - -<p>"Well, you'll recall it some other time, if God is willing. And while -the blizzard is whirling out there you'd better have some jam, my dear. -This is cherry jam from the Golovliovo orchard. Yevpraksia herself put -it up."</p> - -<p>"I am already helping myself to some. I must admit cherry jam is a rare -thing with me now. Years ago I used to indulge every now and then, but -now——! Your Golovliovo cherries are fine, so large and juicy. No -matter how hard I tried to grow them at Dubrovino, they wouldn't come. -Did you add some French brandy to the jam, Yevpraksia?"</p> - -<p>"Of course I did. Followed your directions. Another thing I meant to -ask you, how do you pickle cucumbers, do you use cardamoms?"</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna thought a bit, then made a gesture of perplexity.</p> - -<p>"I don't remember, my dear. I think I used to put cardamoms in. Now I -don't. My pickling now is not much. But I used to put cardamoms in, -yes, I remember very well now. When I get home I'll look among the -recipes, maybe I'll find it. When I had my strength I used to make a -note of everything. If I liked something somewhere, I would ask how -it was made, write it on a piece of paper, and then try it at home. -I once learned a secret, such a secret that the man who knew it was -offered a thousand rubles to tell. He wouldn't do it. And I gave the -housekeeper a quarter, and she told me every bit of it."</p> - -<p>"Yes, mother dear, in your day you certainly were a wizard."</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't know if I was a wizard, but I can thank the Lord, I -didn't squander my fortune. I kept adding to it. Even now I taste of my -righteous labors. It was I who planted the cherry trees in Golovliovo."</p> - -<p>"Thanks for it, mother dear, many thanks. Eternal thanks from me and my -descendants. That's what I say."</p> - -<p>Yudushka rose, went to mother dear and kissed her hand.</p> - -<p>"And thanks to you, too, that you take your mother's welfare to heart. -Yes, your provisions are fine, very fine."</p> - -<p>"Well, how do my provisions compare? You used to have -provisions—perfectly stunning! My, what cellars! And not an empty -spot!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I used to have provisions, I may as well be frank about it. Mine -was a well-stocked house. And as to the many cellars I had, well, the -household was much larger, ten times as many mouths as you have to-day. -Take the domestics alone. Everyone had to be fed and provided for. -Gherkins for one, cider for another, little by little, bit by bit, and -it mounts up."</p> - -<p>"Yes, those were good times. Plenty of everything. Grain and fruit, all -in abundance."</p> - -<p>"We used to save more manure, that is why."</p> - -<p>"No, mother dear, that is not the reason. It was God's blessing, that's -what it was. I remember father once brought an apple from the orchard, -and it surprised everybody, it was too big to be put on a plate."</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't remember that. I know generally that apples used to be -fine, but that they were the size of a plate, that I don't remember. -I do remember though, that we caught a carp in the Dubrovino pond -weighing twenty pounds, yes, I remember that."</p> - -<p>"Carps and fruit—everything was large then. I remember the watermelons -the gardener Ivan used to get. They were as big as this!"</p> - -<p>Yudushka stretched out his arms in a circle, pretending he could not -embrace the imaginary watermelon.</p> - -<p>"Yes, those were watermelons. Watermelons, my friend, are according -to the year. One year you get lots of them and they are good. Another -year they are poor and few. And some years you don't get any at -all. Well, it depends upon the lucky ground, too. On the estate of -Grigory Aleksandrovich, for example, nothing came up, no fruit and no -berries—nothing. Only melons. Nothing but melons used to come up."</p> - -<p>"Then he had God's blessing for melons."</p> - -<p>"Why, yes, certainly. You can't get along without God's mercy. You -can't run away from it either."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna finished her second cup and cast glances at the card -table. Yevpraksia, too, was burning with impatience to have a hand -at cards. But the plans were thwarted by Arina Petrovna herself. She -suddenly recollected something.</p> - -<p>"I have a bit of news for you," she declared. "I received a letter from -the orphans yesterday."</p> - -<p>"And you kept it to yourself all this time, and only just thought of -it? I suppose they are hard up. Do they ask for money?"</p> - -<p>"No, they do not. Here, read it. You'll like it."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna produced a letter from her pocket and gave it to -Yudushka, who read aloud:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"Please, grandma, don't send us any more turkeys or hens. Don't -send us money, either, but invest the money. We are not at -Moscow but at Kharkov. We've gone on the stage, and in summer -we are going to travel to the fairs. I, Anninka, made my début -in <i>Pericola,</i> and Lubinka in <i>Pansies</i>. I was called out -several times, especially after the scene where Pericola comes -out and sings 'I am ready, ready, read-d-d-y!' Lubinka made a -hit, too. The director put me on a salary of one hundred rubles -a month and a benefit performance at Kharkov; and Lubinka, at -seventy-five a month and a benefit the coming summer, at a -fair. Besides, we get gifts from army officers and lawyers. -The lawyers sometimes, though, give you counterfeit money, -and you have to be careful. And you, dear granny, can have -Pogorelka all to yourself, we will never come there again, we -don't understand how people can live there. We had the first -snow here yesterday, and we had troika rides with the lawyers. -One looks like Plevako—my! just stunning! He put a glass of -champagne on his head and danced a trepak. It's jolly, beats -anything I've seen! The other one isn't so handsome, he looks a -little like Yazikov from St. Petersburg. Just think, after he -read "The Collection of the Best Russian Songs and Romances," -his imagination became unstrung and he got so weak that he -fainted in the court-room. And so we spend almost every day in -the company of army officers and lawyers. We go on rides and -dine and sup in the best restaurants, and pay nothing. And you, -granny dear, don't be stingy and use up everything growing in -Pogorelka, corn, chickens, mushrooms. We shall be very glad to -send some money. Good-by. Our gentlemen have just arrived. They -have come to take us driving again. Darling! Divine! Farewell!</p> - -<p> -<span style="text-align: right;">ANNINKA.</span><br /> -<span style="text-align: right;">And I, too—LUBINKA."</span><br /> -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Yudushka spat in disgust and returned the letter. For a while Arina -Petrovna was pensive and silent.</p> - -<p>"Mother dear, you haven't answered them yet?"</p> - -<p>"No, not yet. I just got the letter yesterday. I came here on purpose -to show it to you, but between this and that I almost forgot all about -it."</p> - -<p>"Don't answer it. It's best not to."</p> - -<p>"How can I? I must account to them. Pogorelka is theirs, you know."</p> - -<p>Yudushka also became pensive. A sinister plan flashed through his mind.</p> - -<p>"And I keep wondering how they will preserve themselves in that -foul den," Arina Petrovna continued. "You know how it is in these -things—once you stumble, you can't get your maiden honor back! Go hunt -for it!"</p> - -<p>"Much they need it!" Yudushka snarled back.</p> - -<p>"Still, you know. Honor is a girl's best treasure, one may say. Who -will marry a girl without it?"</p> - -<p>"Nowadays, mother dear, unmarried people live like married ones. -Nowadays they laugh at the precepts of religion. They get married -without benefit of clergy, like heathens. They call it civil marriage."</p> - -<p>Yudushka suddenly recollected that he, too, was living in sinful -relationship with a daughter of the clergy.</p> - -<p>"Of course, sometimes you can't help it," he hastened to add. "If a -man, let us say, is in full vigor and a widower—in an emergency the -law itself is often modified."</p> - -<p>"Yes, of course. When hard pressed a snipe sings like a nightingale. -Even saints sin when sorely tried, let alone us mortals."</p> - -<p>"Yes, that's just it. Do you know what I would do if I were you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, tell me, please tell me."</p> - -<p>"I would insist that they make Pogorelka over to you in full legal -fashion."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna looked at him in fright.</p> - -<p>"Well, I have a deed giving me the full powers and rights of a manager."</p> - -<p>"Manager is not enough. You ought to get a deed that would entitle you -to sell and mortgage it, in a word, to dispose of the property as you -see fit."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna lowered her eyes and remained silent.</p> - -<p>"Of course, it is a matter that requires deliberation. Think it over, -mother dear," Yudushka insisted.</p> - -<p>But Arina Petrovna said nothing. Though age had considerably dulled -her powers of judgment, she was somehow uneasy about Yudushka's -insinuations. She was afraid of Yudushka, and loath to part with the -warmth, spaciousness, and abundance that reigned at Golovliovo, but -at the same time she felt that Yudushka had something up his sleeve -when he spoke of the Pogorelka deed, and was casting a new snare. -The situation grew so embarrassing that she began to scold herself -inwardly for having shown him the letter. Happily Yevpraksia came to -the rescue.</p> - -<p>"Well, are we going to play cards or not?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Yes, come on, come on!" Arina Petrovna hurried them and jumped up -quickly. On her way to the card table a new thought dawned upon her.</p> - -<p>"Do you know what day it is?" she turned to Porfiry Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>"The twenty-third of November," Yudushka replied, somewhat nonplussed.</p> - -<p>"Yes, the twenty-third. Do you remember what happened on the -twenty-third of November? You have forgotten about the requiem, haven't -you?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych turned pale and made the sign of the cross.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Lord! Did you ever!" he exclaimed. "Really? Is that so? Just a -moment. Let's look at the calendar."</p> - -<p>In a few minutes he had brought the calendar and taken out a sheet of -paper inserted in it, on which was written.</p> - -<p>"November 23. The death of my dear son Vladimir."</p> - -<p>"Rest in peace, beloved dust, till the joyous morn. And pray the -Lord for your father, who will never fail to have memorial services -performed on this day."</p> - -<p>"There, now!" said Porfiry Vladimirych. "Ah, Volodya! You are not a -good son. You are a wicked son. You haven't prayed for your papa in -Heaven, it seems, and so he has lost his memory. What are we going to -do about it, mother dear?"</p> - -<p>"It is not so terrible, after all. You can have the requiem service -tomorrow. A requiem and a mass—we'll have both of them sung. It is -all my fault, I am old and have lost my memory. I came on purpose to -remind you, but on my way it slipped my mind."</p> - -<p>"Ah, what a sin! It is a good thing the ikon lamps are burning. It is -as if it had dawned on me from above. To-day is not a holiday, but the -lamps have been left burning ever since the day of Presentation. The -other day Yevpraksia came over to me and asked: 'Do you think I ought -to put out the side ikon lamps?' And I, as if a voice were speaking to -me from within, thought a while and said: 'Don't touch them. Let them -burn.' And now I see what it all meant."</p> - -<p>"Well, it is good at least the lamps have been burning. It is some -relief to the soul. Where will you sit? Will you be my partner, or will -you join your queen?"</p> - -<p>"But, mother dear, I don't know if it's proper."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it is. Sit down. God will forgive you. It wasn't done on purpose, -with evil intentions. It was just because you forgot. It may happen -even to saints. To-morrow, you see, we'll rise with the sun, and stand -throughout the mass and have the requiem sung—all as it should be. -His soul will rejoice that good people remembered him, and we will be -at peace because we did our duty. That's the way to do, my friend. No -use worrying. I'll always say, in the first place, worry will not bring -back your son, and, in the second place, it is a sin before God."</p> - -<p>Yudushka yielded to the persuasiveness of these words, and kissed his -mother's hands.</p> - -<p>"Ah, mother, mother, you have a golden soul, really! If not for you -what would I do now? It would be the end of me, that's all. I just -wouldn't know what to do and would go under."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych gave orders for to-morrow's ceremony, and all sat -down to play. They played one hand out, then another. Arina Petrovna -became heated and denounced Yudushka because he had been handing -Yevpraksia only one card at a time. In the intervals between the deals, -Yudushka abandoned himself to reminiscences of his dead son.</p> - -<p>"And how kind he was," he said. "He wouldn't take a thing without -permission. If he needed paper, 'May I have some paper, papa?' 'Yes, -you may, my friend,' Or, 'Won't you be so kind, father dear, as to -order carps for breakfast?' 'If you wish it, my friend.' Ah, Volodya, -my son, you were a good lad in every way, but it was not good of you to -leave your father."</p> - -<p>A few more hands were played, and Yudushka again gave vent to his -reminiscences.</p> - -<p>"And, pray, what in the world happened to him? I really can't -understand it. He lived quietly and nicely, was a joy to me—it -couldn't have been better. And all of a sudden—bang! What a sin, what -a sin! Just think of it, mother dear, what a deed! His very life, the -gift of the Heavenly Father. Why? What for? What did he lack? Was it -money? I think I never held back his allowance. Even my enemies will -not dare say that about me. Well, and if his allowance was not enough, -I couldn't help it. Your father's money wasn't stolen money. If you -haven't enough money, well, learn to restrain yourself. You can't -always be eating cookies, you must sometimes be content with simpler -fare. Yes, you must. Your father, for example, expected some money the -other day, and then the manager comes and says, 'The Torpenlovskoye -peasants won't pay their rent.' Well, I couldn't help it, I wrote a -complaint to the Justice of the Peace. Ah, Volodya, Volodya! No, you -were not a good boy. You deserted your poor father. Left him an orphan."</p> - -<p>The livelier the game the more copious and sentimental Yudushka's -reminiscences.</p> - -<p>"And how bright he was! I remember once, he was laid up with the -measles. He was no more than seven years old. My late Sasha came over -to him, and he says, 'Mother, mother, is it true that only angels have -wings?' 'Well,' she said, 'yes, only angels.' 'Why?' he asked. 'Did -father have wings when he came here a while ago?'"</p> - -<p>Yudushka remained the fool with as many as eight cards on his hands, -among them the ace, king and queen of trumps. Peals of laughter rose, -Yudushka was displeased, but he affably joined in the merriment. In the -midst of the general excitement, Arina Petrovna suddenly grew silent -and listened attentively.</p> - -<p>"Stop, be quiet. Somebody is coming," she said.</p> - -<p>Yudushka and Yevpraksia listened, but heard no sound.</p> - -<p>"I tell you, somebody is coming. Listen, listen! Someone is coming and -he is not far off."</p> - -<p>They listened again, and surely there was a faint tinkling in the -distance, which the wind brought nearer one moment and carried away the -next. Five minutes later the bells were distinctly heard. The sound of -them was followed by voices in the court-yard.</p> - -<p>"The young master, Piotr Porfirych, has arrived," came from the -antechamber.</p> - -<p>Yudushka rose, and remained standing, dumfounded and pale as death.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER IV</h4> - - -<p>Petenka walked in looking flabby and dispirited, kissed his father's -hand, observed the same ceremony with his grandmother, then bowed -to Yevpraksia, and sat down. He was about twenty-five, rather -good-looking, in an army officer's travelling uniform. That was all one -could say about him. Even Yudushka knew scarcely more. The relations -of father and son were not of the kind one could call strained. There -simply were no relations, you might say. Yudushka knew Petenka to be a -man who in the eyes of the law was his son and to whom he had to send a -certain allowance determined by Yudushka himself, in consideration of -which he was entitled to homage and obedience. Petenka, on the other -hand, knew that he had a father who could make things unpleasant for -him at any time he wished. He made trips to Golovliovo quite willingly, -especially since he had become a commissioned officer, not because he -greatly enjoyed his father's company, but simply because every man who -is not clearly conscious of his aim in life instinctively gravitates -to his native place. But now, apparently, he had come because he had -been obliged to come, and consequently manifested not a single sign -of the joyous perplexity with which every prodigal son of the gentry -celebrates his arrival home. Petenka was not talkative.</p> - -<p>All his father's ejaculations of pleasant surprise were met with -silence, or a forced smile, and when Yudushka asked, "Why did it occur -to you all of a sudden?" he answered even crossly, "It just occurred to -me and here I am."</p> - -<p>"Well, thank you, thank you for remembering your father. I am glad you -came. I suppose you thought of grandmother, too?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I thought of grandmother, too."</p> - -<p>"Hold on! Maybe you recollected that today is the Anniversary of your -brother Volodenka's death?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I thought of that, too."</p> - -<p>Thus the conversation went for about half an hour, so that it was -impossible to tell whether Petenka were answering or dodging the -questions. So, in spite of Yudushka's tolerance of his children's -indifference to him, he could not refrain from remarking:</p> - -<p>"Well, my child, you are not affectionate. One could hardly call you an -affectionate son!"</p> - -<p>Had Petenka kept silence this time also, had he taken his father's -remark meekly, or better still, had he kissed his father's hand and -said, "Excuse me, father dear, you know I am tired from the journey," -things would have passed off pleasantly. But Petenka behaved like an -ungrateful child.</p> - -<p>"Yes, that's what I am," he answered gruffly. "Let me alone, please."</p> - -<p>Then Porfiry Vladimirych felt so hurt, so wounded that he could not -keep quiet any longer.</p> - -<p>"To think of the pains I have taken for your sake!" he said, with -bitterness. "Even here I never stop thinking how to improve this and -that, so that you may be comfortable and cozy, and suffer no lack, and -have no worry. And all of you fight shy of me."</p> - -<p>"Who is 'all of you'?"</p> - -<p>"Well, you. And the deceased, too, may his soul rest in peace, he was -just the same."</p> - -<p>"Well, I am grateful to you."</p> - -<p>"I don't see your gratitude—neither gratitude nor affection—nothing."</p> - -<p>"I'm not affectionate—that's all. But you speak in the plural all the -time. One of us is dead already."</p> - -<p>"Yes, he is dead. God punished him. God punishes disobedient children. -Still, I remember him. He was unruly, but I remember him. Tomorrow, you -see, we shall have the memorial services performed. He offended me, -but I, notwithstanding, remember my duty. Lord! The sort of thing that -goes on these days! Here a son comes to his father and snarls at the -very first word. Is that how we acted in our days? I remember we used -to come to Golovliovo, and when we were thirty versts away, we began -to shiver in our boots. Well, here is mother dear, a live witness, she -will tell you. And nowadays. I don't understand it. I don't understand -it."</p> - -<p>"I don't either. I came quietly, greeted you, kissed your hand and -now I sit here and don't bother you. I drink tea, and if you give me -supper, I'll have my supper. Why did you raise all this fuss?"</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna sat in her chair listening attentively. She seemed to -be hearing the same old familiar tale that had begun long, long ago, -time out of mind. Aware that such a meeting of father and son foreboded -no good, she considered it her duty to intervene and put in a word of -reconciliation:</p> - -<p>"Well, well, you turkey-cocks!" she said, trying to give the situation -a humorous turn. "Just met and already quarreling. Look at them jumping -at each other, look at them! Feathers will soon be flying. My, my, how -naughty! Why don't you fellows sit down quietly and properly and have -a friendly chat, and let your old mother enjoy it, too? Petenka, you -give in. My child, you must always give in to your father, because he -is your father. Even if at times father gives you bitter medicine, take -it without complaint, with obedience, with respect, because you are his -son. Who knows, maybe the bitter medicine will turn sweet—so it will -be to your good. And you, Porfiry Vladimirych, come down from your high -perch. He is your son, young, delicate. He has made seventy-five versts -over hollows and snow-drifts, he is tired, and chilled, and sleepy. We -are through with the tea now, suppose you order supper and then let's -all go to bed. So, my friend. We'll all go to our nooks and offer up -a prayer, and maybe our temper will pass away. And then we'll rise -early in the morning and pray for Volodya's soul. We'll have a memorial -service performed, and then we'll go home and have a talk. Both of you -will be rested and you'll state your affairs in a clear, orderly way. -Petenka, you will tell us about St. Petersburg and you, Porfiry, about -your country life. And now, let's have supper and to bed!"</p> - -<p>The exhortation had its effect not because it was convincing but -because Yudushka himself saw he had gone too far and it would be best -to end the day peacefully. He rose from his seat, kissed his mother's -hand, thanked her for the "lesson," and ordered supper.</p> - -<p>The meal was eaten in morose silence. Then they left the dining-room -and went to their rooms. Little by little the house became still. The -dead quiet crept from room to room and finally reached the study -of the Golovliovo master. Having finished the required number of -genuflexions before the ikons, Yudushka, too, went to bed.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych lay in bed, but was unable to shut his eyes. He -felt his son's arrival portended something unusual, and various absurd -sermons already rose in his mind. Yudushka's harangues had the merit of -being good for all occasions and did not consist of a connected chain -of thoughts, but came to him in the shape of fragmentary aphorisms. -Whenever confronted by an extraordinary situation, such a flood of -aphorisms overwhelmed him that even sleep could not drive them from his -consciousness.</p> - -<p>He could not fall asleep. He was a prey to his absurd sermonizings, -though, as a matter of fact, he was not much perturbed by Petenka's -mysterious arrival. He was prepared for no matter what happened. He -knew nothing would catch him napping and nothing would make him recede -in the slightest from the web of empty, musty aphorisms in which he -was entangled. For him there existed neither sorrow nor joy, neither -hatred, nor love. To him the entire world was a vast coffin which -served him as a pretext for endless prattling.</p> - -<p>What greater grief could there be for a father than for his son to -commit suicide? But even with respect to Volodya's suicide he remained -true to himself. It had been a very sad story, which had lasted two -years. For two years Volodya had held out, at first showing a pride -and determination not to ask his father's aid. Then he weakened, began -to implore, to expostulate, to threaten. In reply he always received -a ready aphorism, the stone given to the hungry man. It is doubtful -whether Yudushka realized that he had handed his son a stone and not -bread. At any rate a stone was all he had to give, and so he gave it. -When Volodya shot himself he had a requiem service performed, entered -the day of his death in the calendar, and promised himself to have -memorial services performed on the 23rd of November of every year. -Sometimes a dull voice muttered in his ears that the solution of a -family quarrel by suicide is rather a questionable method, to say the -least; and even then he brought into play a train of aphorisms, such as -"God punishes disobedient children," "God is against the proud," and -was at peace again.</p> - -<p>And now! There was no doubt that something sinister had happened to -Petenka. But whatever had happened, he, Porfiry Vladimirych, must be -above those chance happenings. "You knew how to get in, then know how -to get out." "If the cat wants the fish, let her wet her feet." Just -so. That is what he would say to his son the next day, no matter what -Petenka told him. And suppose Petenka, like Volodya, were also to -refuse to take a stone instead of bread? What if he, too——Yudushka -drove the thought from him. It was a diabolical suggestion. He tossed -about and tried in vain to fall asleep. Whenever sleep seemed about -to come, there flashed across his mind maxims such as "I should like -to reach the sky but my arms are too short," or "You can't stretch -more than the length of your bed," or "Speed is good for nothing but -catching fleas."</p> - -<p>Twaddle surrounded him on all sides, crawled upon him, crept over him, -embraced him. Under this load of nonsensicality, with which he hoped to -regale his soul tomorrow, he could not fall asleep.</p> - -<p>Nor could Petenka find sleep, though the journey had tired him -exceedingly. He had an affair that could not be settled anywhere -except at Golovliovo, but it was a situation of such a nature that -he did not know how to meet it. Petenka, indeed, realized full well -that his case was hopeless and his trip to Golovliovo would only add -to the difficulties of his situation. But the primitive instinct of -self-preservation in man overcomes all reason and urges him on to try -everything to the very last straw. That's why he had come. But instead -of hardening himself so as to be prepared for whatever might come, he -had almost from the first word got into a quarrel with his father. What -would be the outcome of this trip? Would a miracle happen? Would stone -turn into bread? Would it not have been simpler to put the revolver to -his temple and say, "Gentlemen, I am unworthy of wearing your uniform. -I have embezzled crown money and I pronounce a just, though severe -sentence upon myself"? Bang! And all is over. The deceased Lieutenant -Golovliov is hereby struck off the list of officers. Yes, how radical -that would be and—how beautiful! The comrades would say, "You were -unfortunate, you went too far, still you were an honorable man."</p> - -<p>But instead of acting that way at once, he had brought the affair to -a point where it became a matter of common knowledge; and then he -had been given leave of absence for a fixed time on condition that -within that time he would refund the embezzled sum. If not—out of the -regiment! The disgraceful end of his early career! So he had come to -Golovliovo, though he knew full well that he would be given a stone -instead of bread.</p> - -<p>But perhaps a miracle would come to change things. Miracles sometimes -happen. Perhaps the present Golovliovo would vanish and a new -Golovliovo would arise, in which he might——And perhaps grandmother -would—hadn't she money? Maybe, if he told her he was in great trouble, -she might give him some. Who could tell? "Here," she might say, "hurry, -so that you get back before the time is up."</p> - -<p>And he rode fast, fast—hurried the driver, just made the train and got -to the regiment two hours before the respite was over. "Good for you, -Golovliov," his comrades would say, "your hand, honorable young man! -Let's forget the matter." And he not only remained in the regiment, but -was even promoted to staff-captain, then captain, after that adjutant -of the regiment (he had been bursar, already) and, finally, on the -anniversary day of the regiment——Ah, if only the night would pass -quickly! Tomorrow—well, let happen what may tomorrow. But what he -would have to listen to! Gods, what would he not be told! Tomorrow—but -why tomorrow? He had a whole day yet. He asked for two days just -because he wanted to have enough time to move "him." A likely chance! A -fine prospect of persuading and touching him! No use——</p> - -<p>Here his thoughts became confused and sank, one after the other, into -the mist of sleep. In a few minutes the Golovliovo manor was steeped in -heavy slumber.</p> - -<p>The next day the whole household was up early in the morning. Everybody -went to church except Petenka, who pleaded fatigue. They listened to -the mass and the requiem and returned home. Petenka, as usual, came -up to kiss his father's hand, but Yudushka extended it sidewise, and -everyone noticed that he did not even make the sign of the cross over -his son. Tea was served, then <i>kutya.</i> Yudushka was dismal, scraped -the floor with his feet, avoided conversation, sighed, folded his -hands incessantly as if for inner prayer, and never once looked at his -son. Petenka, for his part, bristled up and smoked one cigarette after -another. The strained situation of yesterday, so far from relaxing, -became still more acute. It made Arina Petrovna very uneasy, and she -decided to find out from Yevpraksia if anything had happened.</p> - -<p>"Has anything happened," she asked, "that makes them look daggers at -each other like that?"</p> - -<p>"How do I know? I don't interfere in their private affairs," the girl -snapped back.</p> - -<p>"Maybe it's on account of you. Perhaps my grandson is running after you -too?"</p> - -<p>"Why should he run after me? A little while ago he tried to catch hold -of me in the corridor, and Porfiry Vladimirych saw him."</p> - -<p>"Oh. So that's what it is."</p> - -<p>In fact, in spite of his critical situation, Petenka had not lost -a bit of his levity. His eyes riveted themselves on Yevpraksia's -powerful back and he determined to let her know about it. That was -the real reason he had not gone to church, hoping Yevpraksia, as the -housekeeper, would stay home. So, when the house had turned silent, -he had thrown his cloak over his shoulders and hidden himself in the -corridor. A minute or two passed, the door of the maids' room banged, -and Yevpraksia appeared at the other end of the corridor, carrying a -tray with a butter-cake to be served with the tea. Petenka struck her -between the shoulder-blades and said, "A wonderful back you've got!" -and that instant the dining-room door opened and his father appeared.</p> - -<p>"You, scoundrel! If you came here to behave in a nasty way, I'll throw -you down the stairs!" Yudushka hissed venomously.</p> - -<p>Naturally, Petenka vanished in a moment. He could not fail to realize -that the incident of the morning was scarcely likely to improve his -case. So he decided to be silent and postpone the explanation until the -morrow. Nevertheless he did nothing to allay his father's irritation; -on the contrary, he behaved in a foolish, unguarded manner, smoking -cigarettes incessantly, heedless of his father's energetically fanning -away the clouds of smoke that filled the room; and every now and -then making sheep's eyes at Yevpraksia, who smiled queerly under the -influence of his glances. Yudushka noticed that, too.</p> - -<p>The day dragged on slowly. Arina Petrovna tried to play fool with -Yevpraksia, but nothing came of it. No one felt like playing or -talking; they could not even think of small talk, though everyone had -stores of this merchandise. At last dinner time came. But dinner passed -in silence also. After dinner Arina Petrovna made preparations for -returning to Pogorelka. But this intention of his "mother dear" alarmed -Yudushka.</p> - -<p>"God bless you, darling!" he exclaimed. "Do you mean to say you'll -leave me here alone with this—this wicked son? No, no, don't think of -it. I won't allow it."</p> - -<p>"But what is the matter? Has anything happened between the two of you? -Why don't you tell me?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"No, nothing has happened—as yet, but you'll see. No, please don't -go! Be present at——There is something behind his coming here in such -a hurry. So, if anything happens—you be the witness."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna shook her head and decided to stay.</p> - -<p>After dinner Porfiry Vladimirych retired, having first sent Yevpraksia -to the village priest, and Arina Petrovna also went to her room and -dozed off in her easy-chair.</p> - -<p>Petenka thought it the most favorable time to try his luck with -grandmother, and went to her room.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter? Have you come to play a game of fool with an old -woman?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"No, granny, I am on business."</p> - -<p>"Well, what is your business? Tell me."</p> - -<p>Petenka hesitated a minute, then blurted out:</p> - -<p>"I lost crown money at cards."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna's eyes grew dim from the shock.</p> - -<p>"Much?" she asked in a frightened voice, staring at him.</p> - -<p>"Three thousand."</p> - -<p>For a moment both were silent. Arina Petrovna looked around restlessly, -as if expecting somebody to come to her rescue.</p> - -<p>"Do you know they can send you to Siberia for that?" she said at last.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I know."</p> - -<p>"Poor fellow!"</p> - -<p>"Granny, I meant to borrow it from you. I'll pay good interest."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna became thoroughly frightened.</p> - -<p>"Oh no, no!" she protested. "I have only enough money for my coffin and -memorial prayers. It's my granddaughters that keep me a-going, and my -son, too. No, no, no! You'd better let me alone. Let me see—why not -ask your papa?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, you can't squeeze blood out of an onion. All my hope was in -you, granny."</p> - -<p>"Just think of what you are saying. I would gladly do it, but where am -I to get the money from? I have no money at all. But suppose you ask -father, you know, affectionately, respectfully. 'Here, father dear, -such is the case. I know I am guilty, I am young and I made a blunder.' -You know, with a smile and a laugh. Kiss his hand and fall on your -knees, and cry a bit. He likes it. Then maybe father will untie his -purse for his sonny dear."</p> - -<p>"So you really think it's worth trying? Just a moment. See here, -granny, suppose you say to him, 'If you don't give him the money I'll -lay a curse on you!' He has always been afraid of your curse, you know."</p> - -<p>"No, why curse? You can ask right out. Do ask him, my dear. There is no -harm if you bow before your father once too many. He will understand -your position, you know. Do it. Be sure to do it."</p> - -<p>Petenka, his arms akimbo, walked back and forth as if deliberating. -Finally he halted and said:</p> - -<p>"No, I won't. He is not likely to give it—it's no use. No matter what -I do, even if I smash my head in bowing—he won't do it. But you see, -if you threatened him with your curse. What am I to do, granny?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know, really. Try and perhaps you'll soften him a bit. How -did you come to take such liberties? To lose crown money is no small -matter. Did anybody inveigle you into it?"</p> - -<p>"It just happened. I took it and lost it at cards. Well, if you have -no money of your own, give me some of the orphans'."</p> - -<p>"What is the matter with you? Have you lost your wits? How can I let -you have the orphans' money? No, no, I can't. Don't talk to me about -it, for Christ's sake."</p> - -<p>"So you won't. Too bad. And I would pay good interest. Do you want five -per cent. per month? No? Well, double the principal in a year?"</p> - -<p>"Don't you tempt me!" shouted Arina Petrovna, throwing up her hands. -"Leave me alone, for Christ's sake! It won't surprise me if father -hears us and says I urged you on! Oh, Lord! I am an old woman, I wanted -to rest a bit. I had just dozed off and then he comes with such an -offer."</p> - -<p>"Very well, then. I am going. So it's impossible? Very good. Just like -kinsfolk. On account of three thousand rubles your grandson will go to -Siberia. Don't forget to have a Te Deum sung when I go."</p> - -<p>Petenka left the room, closing the door with a bang. One of his flimsy -hopes was gone. What was he to do next? Only one way out was left—to -confess all to father. Who knows, perhaps, perhaps, something would——</p> - -<p>"I'll go at once and be done with it," he said to himself. "Or no! What -can I hope for? Better tomorrow. Yes, I think tomorrow is better. I'll -tell him and leave at once." So he decided. Tomorrow would see and end -it all.</p> - -<p>After the talk with grandmother the evening dragged on still more -slowly. Even Arina Petrovna grew silent after she had learned the real -cause of Petenka's arrival. Yudushka tried to be jocular with mother, -but perceiving she was absorbed in her own thoughts, also grew silent. -Petenka did nothing but smoke. At supper Porfiry Vladimirych asked him:</p> - -<p>"Are you going to tell me at last why you have honored me with this -visit?"</p> - -<p>"I will tell you tomorrow," answered Petenka morosely.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER V</h4> - - -<p>Petenka rose early after a sleepless night. His harassed mind -vacillated between hope and utter despair. Perhaps he did not really -know his father, but one thing he was sure of, that there was not in -him a single feeling, a single weak spot that could be grasped at -and made use of. When face to face with his father, all he felt was -something inexplicable. He did not know how to approach him, what to -say first, and this made him very uneasy in his presence. It had been -like that since his childhood. As far back as he could remember, it -always seemed better not to attempt any forecast at all than to make a -matter depend upon his father's decision. So now, too. How was he to -begin? How was he to approach the matter? What was he to say first? And -why had he come here at all?</p> - -<p>A feeling of disgust seized him. Nevertheless he realized he had only -a few hours left and something had to be done. Having worked himself -up into a fair state of courage, he buttoned up his coat, and walked -firmly to his father's study, whispering something to himself. Yudushka -was saying prayers. He was pious, and every day gladly devoted a few -hours to prayer, not because he loved God and hoped through prayer to -enter into communion with Him, but because he feared the devil and -hoped God would deliver him from the Evil One.</p> - -<p>He knew many prayers and was especially versed in the technique of the -poses and gestures of worship. He knew how to move his lips, how to -roll his eyes, when it was proper to place the hands palm inward, and -when they were to be lifted up, when to be moved with feeling, and when -to stand with reverential calm and slowly make the sign of the cross. -Even his eyes and his nostrils moistened at the proper moments. But -prayer did not rejuvenate him, did not ennoble his feelings, or bring -a single ray into his dull existence. He could pray and go through all -the requisite bodily movements, and at the same time be looking out -of the window to see if someone was entering the cellar without his -permission. It was quite a distinct, particular function of life, which -was self-sufficient and could exist outside of the general scheme of -life.</p> - -<p>When Petenka entered the study, Porfiry Vladimirych was on his knees -with his hands raised. He did not change his position, but made a -jerky movement with one of his hands to indicate that he had not yet -finished. Petenka seated himself in the dining-room, where the table -was already set for tea, and waited. The half hour that passed seemed -like eternity, especially as he was sure his father was prolonging -the wait intentionally. The studied coolness with which he had armed -himself little by little gave way to vexation. At first he sat stiff, -then began to walk to and fro, and finally fell to whistling airs. As -a result, the door of the study opened, and Yudushka's irritated voice -was heard calling:</p> - -<p>"Whoever wants to whistle may do so in the stables."</p> - -<p>After a while Porfiry Vladimirych came out clad all in black, in -clean linen, as if prepared for a solemn occasion. His countenance was -radiant, glowing, breathing meekness and joy, as if he had just been at -communion. He approached his son, made the sign of the cross over him, -and then kissed him.</p> - -<p>"Good morning, friend," he said.</p> - -<p>"Good morning."</p> - -<p>"Did you sleep well? Was your bed made properly? Were there no little -fleas and bedbugs to bother you?"</p> - -<p>"Thank you. I slept well."</p> - -<p>"Well, thanks to God, if you slept well. It's only at one's parents' -home that one can sleep really well. I know it from my own experience. -No matter how comfortable I might be at St. Petersburg, I could never -sleep so well as at Golovliovo. You feel just as if you were rocked in -a cradle. So what are we going to do? Shall we have some tea first, or -do you want to say something now?"</p> - -<p>"Let's talk it over now. I have to leave in six hours, and maybe we'll -need some time for deliberation."</p> - -<p>"Oh, well. But, my dear, I tell you directly, I never deliberate, my -answer is always ready. If your request is a proper one, well, I never -refuse anything proper. It may be hard on me at times, and I can't -always afford it, but if it is proper, I can't refuse it. That's the -kind of man I am. But if you ask for something that isn't right, I am -sorry. Though I feel for you, I shall have to refuse. You observe, my -son, I have no underhand ways. I am exactly as you see me. Well, then, -let's go into the study. Speak and I will listen. Let's hear, let's -hear what the matter is."</p> - -<p>On entering the study, Porfiry left the door ajar and instead of -seating himself and asking his son to be seated, he began pacing the -room, as if instinctively feeling that the matter was delicate and it -would be easier to discuss it while walking. The expression of one's -face may be more easily concealed, and if the conversation takes a -disagreeable turn it may be more readily cut off, and the door half -ajar makes it possible to appeal to witnesses; for mother dear and -Yevpraksia were sure to come into the dining-room before long to have -tea.</p> - -<p>"Papa," blurted out Petenka, "I lost some crown money at cards."</p> - -<p>Yudushka said nothing, but his lips quivered, and he immediately fell -to muttering, as was his habit.</p> - -<p>"I lost three thousand," explained Petenka, "and if I don't return -the money the day after tomorrow, there may be very disagreeable -consequences for me."</p> - -<p>"Well, refund the money," said Porfiry Vladimirych affably.</p> - -<p>Father and son made a few turns around the room in silence. Petenka -wished to make further explanations, but felt a lump rising in his -throat.</p> - -<p>"Yes, but where am I to get the money from?" he said at last.</p> - -<p>"My dear friend, I don't know your resources. Pay it back from the -resources you figured on when you gambled crown money away."</p> - -<p>"You know very well that in such cases people forget about their -resources."</p> - -<p>"I don't know a thing, my friend. I never played cards, except with -mother, when I play fool to amuse the old woman. And please don't drag -me into this dirty business, and let's go and have tea. We'll have tea -and sit around, maybe we'll talk about something, but, for the Lord's -sake, not about that."</p> - -<p>Yudushka started to make for the door and into the dining-room, but -Petenka stopped him.</p> - -<p>"Look here," he said, "I have to get out of this predicament somehow."</p> - -<p>Yudushka grinned and stared at Petenka.</p> - -<p>"Yes, my dear, you have to," he agreed.</p> - -<p>"Then help me."</p> - -<p>"Ah, that's a different matter. You have to get out of the difficulty -somehow, to be sure, but how to get out of it—well, that's none of my -business."</p> - -<p>"But why don't you want to help me?"</p> - -<p>"First, because I have no money to cover up your dastardly deeds, and -secondly because the entire matter does not concern me in the least. -You knew how to get in, then know how to get out. The cat likes fish, -then let her wet her feet. You see, my boy, that's just what I said at -the start, that if your request is a proper one——"</p> - -<p>"I know. You've got a lot of words on the tip of your tongue."</p> - -<p>"Wait, save your impudent remarks, and let me say what I wish to say. -That they are not mere words I'll prove to you in a minute. So, as I -said a while ago, if your request is a proper, a sensible one, all -right, my boy. I am always ready to satisfy you. But if you come to -me with an unreasonable request, I am very sorry, I have no money for -stuff and nonsense. No sir, never. And you won't get any—you may as -well be sure of it. And don't dare tell me I use mere words. My words -are mighty near deeds."</p> - -<p>"But think what will become of me."</p> - -<p>"Whatever pleases God, that will happen," answered Yudushka, slightly -lifting up his arms and looking sideways at the ikon.</p> - -<p>Father and son again made a few turns across the room. Yudushka paced -reluctantly, as if in complaint that his son was holding him in -captivity. Petenka, his arms akimbo, followed him, biting his moustache -and smiling nervously.</p> - -<p>"I am your last son," he said. "Don't forget that."</p> - -<p>"My boy, God bereft Job of everything, and Job did not complain, but -only said: 'God hath given and God hath taken away—may thy will be -done, oh, Lord!' So, my boy."</p> - -<p>"In the Bible it was God that took, and here you take away from -yourself. Volodya——"</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, you are talking nonsense."</p> - -<p>"No, it isn't nonsense, it's the truth. Everybody knows that -Volodya——"</p> - -<p>"No, no, no! I don't want to listen to your preposterous remarks. -Enough! You've said everything necessary. I have given you my answer. -And now let's go and have tea. We'll chat a while, then we'll have a -bite, then a drink before you go—and then God speed you! You see how -good the Lord is to you? The weather has abated and the road become -smoother. Little by little, bit by bit, one, two, and you'll hardly -notice when you get to the station."</p> - -<p>"Now, listen, I implore you. If you have a drop of feeling——"</p> - -<p>"No, no, no! Don't let us talk about it. Let's go into the dining-room. -I dare say mother dear must be dull without her tea. It isn't proper to -keep the dear old woman waiting."</p> - -<p>Yudushka made a sharp turn and almost ran to the door.</p> - -<p>"You may go or not, it's all the same to me, but I am not going to drop -this conversation," Petenka shouted after him. "It will be worse if we -begin talking in the presence of witnesses."</p> - -<p>Yudushka came back and planted himself squarely before his son.</p> - -<p>"What do you want of me, you scoundrel? Speak up!"</p> - -<p>"I want you to pay the money that I lost."</p> - -<p>"Never!"</p> - -<p>"Is that your last word?"</p> - -<p>"You see," exclaimed Yudushka solemnly, pointing at the ikon that hung -in the corner, "You see that? It is grandfather's benediction. So, in -the presence of that image I say, Never!"</p> - -<p>And with a firm step he left the study.</p> - -<p>"Murderer!" was hurled after him.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER VI</h4> - -<p>Arina Petrovna was already at the table, and Yevpraksia was busy -arranging the tea things. The old woman was silent and thoughtful, and -looked as if she were ashamed of Petenka. In the customary way Yudushka -kissed her hand, and she made the sign of the cross over him. Then came -the usual questions, whether everybody felt well, and had had a good -night's rest, followed by the customary monosyllabic answers. Petenka's -asking Arina Petrovna for money and awakening the memory of the "curse" -had put her into a state of peculiar uneasiness. She was pursued by the -thought, "What if I threaten him with my curse?" When she had heard -that explanations in the study had begun, she had turned to Yevpraksia -with the request:</p> - -<p>"Suppose, my dear, you go to the door quietly and listen to what they -say."</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia went to eavesdrop, but was so stupid she could understand -nothing.</p> - -<p>"Oh, they're just having a chat," she explained upon her return.</p> - -<p>Then Arina Petrovna could not hold out any longer and went to the -dining-room, where the samovar had already been brought in. But the -interview was nearing its end, and all she noted was that Petenka's -voice was loud and angry, and Porfiry Vladimirych's replies were given -in a nagging voice.</p> - -<p>"He's nagging him, that just it, nagging!" ran in her head. "I remember -he used to nag that way, and how is it I did not understand him then?"</p> - -<p>At last, father and son appeared in the dining-room. Petenka's face -was red and he was breathing heavily. His eyes were staring widely, -his hair was disheveled, his forehead was covered with beads of -perspiration. Yudushka, on the contrary, entered pale and cross. -He wanted to appear indifferent but, in spite of all his efforts, -his lower lip trembled. He could hardly utter the customary morning -greetings to his mother dear.</p> - -<p>All took their places at the table. Petenka seated himself at some -distance, leaned against the back of his chair, crossed his legs, -lighted a cigarette, and looked at his father ironically.</p> - -<p>"You see, mother, the storm has abated," Yudushka began. "Yesterday -there was such an uproar, but God only had to will it, and here we have -a nice, bright, quiet day. Am I right, mother dear?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. I haven't been out to-day."</p> - -<p>"By the way, we are going to see our dear guest off," continued -Yudushka. "I rose early this morning, looked out of the window—it -was still and quiet outdoors, as if God's angel had flown by and in a -moment allayed the riot with his wings."</p> - -<p>But no one answered Yudushka's kindly words. Yevpraksia sipped her tea -from the saucer, blowing and puffing. Arina Petrovna looked into her -cup and was silent. Petenka, swaying in his chair, continued to eye -his father with an ironical, defiant air, as if he had to exert great -efforts to keep from bursting out laughing.</p> - -<p>"Even if Petenka does not ride fast, he will reach the railway station -toward night," Porfiry Vladimirych resumed. "Our horses are not -overworked. They will feed for a couple of hours at Muravyevo, and they -will get him to the place in a jiffy. Ah, Petka, you are a bad boy! -Suppose you stay with us a while longer—really. We would enjoy your -company, and you would improve greatly in a week."</p> - -<p>But Petenka continued to sway in his chair and eye his father.</p> - -<p>"Why do you stare at me?" Yudushka flared up at last. "Do you see -pictures on me?"</p> - -<p>"I'm just looking at you waiting for what's coming next."</p> - -<p>"No use waiting, my son. It will be as I said. I will not change my -mind."</p> - -<p>A minute of silence followed, after which a whisper could be distinctly -heard.</p> - -<p>"Yudushka!"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych undoubtedly heard it, he even turned pale, but he -pretended the exclamation did not concern him.</p> - -<p>"Ah, my dear little children," he said. "I should like to caress and -fondle you, but it seems it can't be done—ill luck! You run away from -your parents, you've got bosom friends who are dearer to you than -father and mother. Well, it can't be helped. One ponders a bit over it, -then resigns oneself. You are young folk, and youth, of course, prefers -the company of youth to that of an old grouch. So, I resign myself and -don't complain. I only pray to Our Father in Heaven, 'Do Thy will, oh -Lord!'"</p> - -<p>"Murderer!" Petenka whispered, but this time so distinctly that Arina -Petrovna looked at him in fright. Something passed before her eyes. It -looked like the shadow of Simple Simon.</p> - -<p>"Whom do you mean?" asked Yudushka, trembling with excitement.</p> - -<p>"Oh, just an acquaintance of mine."</p> - -<p>"I see. Well, you'd better make that clear. Lord knows what's in your -head. Maybe it is one of us that you style so."</p> - -<p>Everybody became silent. The glasses of tea remained untouched. -Yudushka leaned against the back of his chair, swaying nervously. -Petenka, seeing that all hope was gone, had a sensation of deadly -anguish, under the influence of which he was ready to go to any -lengths. But father and son looked at each other with an indescribable -smile. Hardened though Porfiry Vladimirych was, the minute was nearing -when he would be unable to control himself.</p> - -<p>"You'd better go, while the going's good," he burst out, finally. "You -better had."</p> - -<p>"I'm going."</p> - -<p>"Then why wait? I see you're trying to pick a quarrel, and I don't -want to quarrel with anybody. We live here quietly and in good order, -without disputes. Your old grandmother is here. You ought to have -regard for her at least. Well, tell us why you came here?"</p> - -<p>"I told you why."</p> - -<p>"If it's only for that, you are wasting your efforts. Go at once, my -son. Hey, who's there? Have the horses ready for the young master. And -some fried chicken, and caviar, and other things, eggs, I suppose. Wrap -them up well in paper. You'll take a bite at the station, my son, while -they feed the horses. Godspeed!"</p> - -<p>"No, I am not going yet. I'm going to church first to have a memorial -service performed for the murdered servant of God, Vladimir."</p> - -<p>"That is, for the suicide."</p> - -<p>"No, for the murdered."</p> - -<p>Father and son stared at each other. It looked as if in a moment both -would jump up. But Yudushka made a superhuman effort and, turning his -chair, faced the table again.</p> - -<p>"Wonderful!" he said in a strained voice. "Wonderful!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, for the murdered!" Petenka persisted brutally.</p> - -<p>"Who murdered him?" Yudushka asked with curiosity, still hoping, -apparently, that his son would come to his senses.</p> - -<p>But Petenka, unperturbed, whipped out:</p> - -<p>"You!"</p> - -<p>"I?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych was astounded. It was a few moments before he came -to himself. He rose hastily from his seat, faced the ikon and began to -pray.</p> - -<p>"You, you, you!" Petenka repeated.</p> - -<p>"Well, now! Thank God, I feel better after praying," said Yudushka, -seating himself at table again. "Just a minute, though. I, as your -father, should not take you up on your talk, but we'll pursue the -matter this time. Then you mean to say that I killed Volodenka?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, you did."</p> - -<p>"And I beg leave to differ. I consider he shot himself. At that time -I was at Golovliovo and in St. Petersburg. So what could I have to do -with it? How could I kill him when he was seven hundred versts away?"</p> - -<p>"As if you don't understand!"</p> - -<p>"I don't understand, by the Lord, I don't!"</p> - -<p>"And who left Volodya without a penny? Who discontinued his allowances? -Who?"</p> - -<p>"Stuff and nonsense! Why did he marry against his father's will?"</p> - -<p>"But you gave him your permission."</p> - -<p>"Who? I? What are you talking about? I never did anything of the kind. -Nev-v-v-er!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, of course, you acted as you always do. Everyone of your words has -ten meanings. Go, guess the right one."</p> - -<p>"I never gave my permission. He wrote to me, 'Papa, I want to marry -Lida,' you understand, 'I want to,' not 'I beg your permission.' Well, -I answered him, 'If you want to marry, you can marry. I cannot stand in -your way.' That's all there was to it."</p> - -<p>"That's all there was to it," Petenka said jeeringly. "And wasn't that -giving your permission?"</p> - -<p>"That's exactly what it wasn't. What did I say? I said, 'I cannot stand -in your way.' That's all. But whether I give my permission or not, is -a different question. He did not ask my permission, he simply wrote, -'Papa, I want to marry Lida.' Well, and as to permission he kept mum. -You want to marry. Well, my friend, may God be with you, marry Lida or -Fida, I cannot stand in your way!"</p> - -<p>"But you could leave him without a crust of bread. So why didn't you -write this way, 'I do not approve of your intention, and therefore, -though I will not hinder you, I warn you that you can not longer rely -on financial aid from me.' That, at least, would have been clear."</p> - -<p>"No, I shall never permit myself to do such things, to make threats -against a grown son—never! I have a rule never to be in anybody's way. -If you want to marry—marry! Well, and as to consequences—I am sorry. -It was your business to foresee them yourself. That's why God gave you -reason. And as to me, brother, I don't like to thrust myself into other -people's affairs. I not only keep from meddling myself, but I don't -invite others to meddle in my affairs, I don't invite it, I don't, I -don't, I even forbid it! Do you hear me, you wicked, disrespectful son, -I f-o-r-b-i-d it!"</p> - -<p>"You may forbid it, if you like, but you can't muzzle everybody."</p> - -<p>"If at least he had repented! And if at least he had realized that he -offended his father! Well, you committed a folly—say you are sorry. -Ask forgiveness! 'Forgive me, dear papa, for the mortification I caused -you.' But he wouldn't!"</p> - -<p>"But he did write to you. He made it clear to you that he had nothing -to live on, that he could not endure it any longer."</p> - -<p>"That's not the kind of thing to write to a father. From a father one -asks pardon, that's all."</p> - -<p>"He did so. He was so tortured that he begged forgiveness, too. He did -everything, he did."</p> - -<p>"And even if he did, he was wrong. You ask forgiveness once, you see -your father does not forgive you, you ask again!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, you!"</p> - -<p>At this Petenka suddenly ceased swaying his chair, turned about, faced -the table and rested both elbows on it.</p> - -<p>"And here I, too——" he whispered.</p> - -<p>His face gradually became disfigured.</p> - -<p>"And here I too——" he repeated, and burst into hysterical sobbing.</p> - -<p>"Whose fault——"</p> - -<p>But Yudushka had no chance to finish his sermon. At that moment -something quite unexpected took place. During their skirmish the man -had almost forgotten about Arina Petrovna. But she had not remained -an indifferent spectator. On the contrary, you could tell at a glance -that something quite unusual was taking place within her, and that -the moment perhaps had arrived when the ruthless vision of her entire -life appeared before her spiritual eye in a glaring light. Her face -livened up, her eyes widened and glittered, her lips moved as if they -were struggling to utter some word and could not. Suddenly, just at the -moment when Petenka's bitter weeping resounded in the dining-room she -rose heavily from her arm-chair, stretched her arms forward, and a loud -wail broke out from her breast.</p> - -<p>"My cu-r-r-se upon you!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="BOOK_IV" id="BOOK_IV">BOOK IV</a></h4> - -<h3>THE GOOD LITTLE NIECE</h3> - - - -<hr class="tb" /> -<h4>CHAPTER I</h4> - - -<p>Yudushka did not give the money to Petenka, though, kind father that -he was, he gave orders just before the moment of departure for some -chicken, veal and pie to be placed in the carriage. Then he went out -on the porch in the chilling wind to see his son off, and inquired -whether Petenka was seated comfortably and whether he had wrapped his -feet up well. Re-entering the house, he stood at the window in the -dining-room a long time making the sign of the cross and sending his -blessings after the vehicle that was carrying Petenka away. In a word, -he performed the farewell ceremony fittingly, as becomes good kinsfolk.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Petka, Petka," he said, "you are a bad, bad son. Look at the -mischief you have done. My, my, my! And what could have been better -than to live on quietly and peacefully, nicely and easily with father -and old granny? But no! Crash! Bang! I am my own master, I've got a -head on my shoulders, too! Well, there's your head! My, what trouble!"</p> - -<p>Not a muscle quivered in his wooden face, not a note in his voice -sounded like an appeal to a prodigal son. But, then, there was nobody -to hear his words, for Arina Petrovna was the only one beside himself -in the room, and as a result of the shock she had just gone through -she seemed to have lost all vitality, and sat near the samovar, her -mouth open, looking straight ahead, without hearing anything, without a -single thought in her mind.</p> - -<p>Then life flowed on as usual, full of idle bustle and babbling. -Contrary to Petenka's expectations, Porfiry Vladimirych took the -maternal curse quite coolly and did not recede a hair's breadth from -the decision that had come from his head full-formed, as it were.</p> - -<p>It is true he turned slightly pale and rushed toward his mother with a -cry:</p> - -<p>"Mother, dear! Darling! Lord be with you! Be calm, dear! God is -merciful. All will be well."</p> - -<p>But his words were expressive of alarm for her rather than for himself. -Her act had been so unexpected that Yudushka even forgot to pretend -to be frightened. Only last night his mother had been affectionate, -had jested, and played fool with Yevpraksia. Evidently, then, it -had all happened in a moment of sudden anger, and there was nothing -premeditated, nothing real about it all.</p> - -<p>Indeed, he had been very much afraid of his mother's curse but he -had pictured it quite differently. In his idle mind he had built -an elaborate staging for the occasion, ikons, burning candles, his -mother standing in the center of the room, terrible, with a darkened -face as she hurled the curse. Then, thunder, candles going out, the -veil tearing asunder, darkness covering the earth, and above, amidst -the clouds the wrathful countenance of Jehovah illumined by a flash -of lightning. But nothing of the sort had happened, so his mother -had simply done something rash and silly. And she had had no reason -to curse him in earnest, because of late there had been no cause -for quarreling. Many changes had occurred since Yudushka expressed -his doubt as to whether a certain coach belonged to his mother dear -(Yudushka admitted to <i>himself</i> that <i>then</i> he had been wrong and -deserved damnation). Arina Petrovna had become more submissive, and -Porfiry Vladimirych had but one thought in his head: how to placate his -mother dear.</p> - -<p>"The old woman is doing poorly, my, how poorly! At times she even -raves," he consoled himself. "The darling sits down to play fool and -before you know it, she dozes off."</p> - -<p>In justice to Yudushka it must be admitted that his mother's -decrepitude gave him some alarm. Even he was not quite ready for her -death, had not made any plans, had had no time to make estimates—how -much capital mother had when she left Dubrovino, what that capital -might bring in annually, how much of the interest she had spent, and -how much she had added to the principal. In a word, he had not gone -through an infinity of useless trifles, without which he always felt as -if he were caught unawares.</p> - -<p>"The old woman is hale and hearty," he would muse at times. "Still she -won't spend it all—impossible. When she shared us out, she had a neat -sum. Maybe she transferred some to the orphans. Oh, the old woman is -rich. Yes, she is."</p> - -<p>But these musings were not so very serious, and vanished without -leaving an impress on his mind. The mass of daily trivialities was -already great, and there was as yet no urgent need to augment them by -the addition of new trivialities. Porfiry Vladimirych kept putting the -matter off, and did not realize it was time to begin until after the -damnation scene.</p> - -<p>The catastrophe came sooner than he expected. On the second day after -Petenka's departure Arina Petrovna left for Pogorelka, and never again -visited Golovliovo. She spent a month in total solitude, keeping to her -room and scarcely exchanging a word with her servants. From force of -habit she rose early in the morning, sat down at her desk, and began -to play patience, but hardly ever brought the game to an end, and sat -in frozen rigidity—with her glazed eyes fixed on the window. What she -thought about or whether she thought at all, even the keenest judge of -the deep-lying mysteries of the human soul could not have divined. She -seemed to be trying to recollect something, perhaps how she came to be -within those walls, and could not. Alarmed by her mistress's silence, -Afimyushka would appear in the room, arrange the pillows lining her -easy-chair, and try to open a conversation on this or that, but -received only impatient monosyllabic replies.</p> - -<p>Once or twice Porfiry Vladimirych came to Pogorelka, invited mother -dear to Golovliovo, tried to kindle her imagination with the prospect -of mushrooms, German carp, and the other allurements of Golovliovo, but -his overtures evoked nothing but an enigmatic smile.</p> - -<p>One morning she tried to leave her bed as usual, but could not, though -she felt no particular pain, and complained of nothing. She took it, -apparently, as a matter of course, without any sign of alarm. The very -day before she had been sitting at the table and even walked, though -with difficulty, and now she was in bed "feeling indisposed." It was -even more comfortable. But Afimyushka became thoroughly frightened -and without the mistress's knowledge sent a messenger to Porfiry -Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>Yudushka came early the next morning. Arina Petrovna was considerably -worse. He put the servants through a cross-examination as to what -mother had eaten and whether she had not overeaten. But Arina Petrovna -had eaten almost nothing for a whole month, and had refused all food -the previous day. Yudushka expressed his grief, waved his hands, and -like a good son, warmed himself at the oven in the maids' room so that -he would not bring the cold into the patient's room. At the same time -he began to give orders and make arrangements. He had an extraordinary -keenness for scenting death. He made inquiries as to whether the priest -was home and arranged that in case of emergency he should be sent for -at once. He informed himself where mother's chest with her papers was, -whether it was locked, and having satisfied himself concerning the -state of things, he called in the cook and ordered dinner for himself.</p> - -<p>"I need but little," he said. "Have you got a chicken? Well, prepare -some chicken soup. If you have some cured beef, get a bit of cured beef -ready. Then something fried, and I'll have enough."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna lay prostrate on her back with her mouth open, breathing -heavily. Her eyes were staring wide. One hand projected from under the -quilt of hare's fur and hung stiff. She was evidently alive to the -commotion incident upon her son's arrival, and perhaps his orders even -reached her ears. The lowered window-shades put the room in twilight. -The wicks were flickering their last at the bottom of the ikon lamps -and sputtered audibly at contact with the water. The air was close -and fetid, unbearably suffocating from the overheated stoves, the -sickening smell of the ikon lamps, and the breath of illness. Porfiry -Vladimirych, in his felt boots, glided to his mother's bed like a -snake. His tall, lean figure wrapped in twilight swayed uncannily. -Arina Petrovna with a look half of surprise and half of fright followed -his movements and huddled under her quilt.</p> - -<p>"It is I, mother dear," he said. "What's the matter with you? You are -all out of gear today. My, my, my! No wonder I could not sleep all -night. Something seemed to urge me on. 'Let's go and see,' I thought, -'how our Pogorelka friends are getting along.' I got up in the morning, -hitched a couple of horses to the pony cart, and here I am!"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych tittered affably, but Arina Petrovna did not -answer, and drew herself together in a closer coil under her quilt.</p> - -<p>"Well, God is merciful, mother dear," continued Yudushka. "The main -thing is to stand up for yourself. Don't put any stock in the ailment. -Get up and take a walk through the room, like a sound, hale person. You -see, just like this."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych rose from his seat and demonstrated how sound, hale -persons walk.</p> - -<p>"Oh, just a moment. I'll raise the window-shade and take a good look -at you. Oh, but you are first rate, my darling. Just pluck up some -courage, say your prayers, doll up, get into your Sunday best, and -you'll be ready for a dance. There, I have brought you some jolly good -holy water, just taste some."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych took a flask out of his pocket, found a wine glass -on the table, filled it and gave it to the patient. Arina Petrovna made -an effort to lift her head, but in vain.</p> - -<p>"I wish the orphans were here," she moaned.</p> - -<p>"Well, much need you have of the orphans here. Oh, mother, mother! How -is it all of a sudden you—really! Just a little bad turn, and at -once you are ready to give up the ship. We'll attend to it all. We'll -send a special messenger to the orphans and we'll do everything else -in due time. Now, what's the hurry, really? We are going to live yet, -yes indeed we are. And we'll have a fine time of it, too. Wait till -summer is here, we'll both of us go to the woods to pick mushrooms, -and raspberries, and nice juicy black currants. Or else, we'll go -to Dubrovino to catch German carps. We'll bring out the horse and -carriage, get into it, and one, two, three—there we go. Nicely and -easily."</p> - -<p>"I wish the orphans were here," repeated Arina Petrovna in anguish.</p> - -<p>"We'll bring the orphans, too. Give us time. We'll call them together, -all of them. We'll all be here and sit by you. You will be the -brood-hen and we'll be your chicks. We'll have it all, if you behave. -Now you are a naughty girl, because you went and took sick. That's -the kind of mischief you're up to. My, my! Instead of being good and -serving as an example for others, look what you're doing. That's bad, -my dear, very bad."</p> - -<p>But no matter how hard Porfiry Vladimirych tried to cheer up his mother -dear with banter, her strength waned from hour to hour. A messenger was -dispatched to town to fetch a doctor, and since the patient persisted -in moaning and calling the orphans, Yudushka in his own hand wrote -a letter to Anninka and Lubinka in which he compared his and their -conduct, called himself a Christian and them ungrateful. At night the -doctor arrived, but it was too late. Arina Petrovna's fate was sealed. -At about four o'clock in the morning the death agony set in and at six -Porfiry Vladimirych was kneeling at his mother's bed wailing:</p> - -<p>"Mother dear! My friend! Give me your blessing!"</p> - -<p>But Arina Petrovna did not hear him. Her wide-open eyes stared dimly -into space as if she were trying to understand something and could not.</p> - -<p>Yudushka, too, did not understand. He did not understand that the -yawning grave was to carry off the last creature that linked him to the -living world.</p> - -<p>With his usual bustle he delved into the mass of trifles and details -that were incident upon the ceremonial of burial. He had requiems -chanted, ordered memorial masses for the future, discussed matters -with the priest, hurried from room to room with his shambling gait. -Every now and then he peeped into the dining-room where the deceased -lay, crossed himself, lifted his hands heavenward, and late at night -stole quietly to the door to listen to the sexton's monotonous reading -of the Psalms. He was pleasantly surprised that his expenses upon the -occasions would be very slight, for Arina Petrovna long before her -death had put away a sum of money for her burial and itemized in detail -the various expenditures.</p> - -<p>Having buried his mother, Porfiry Vladimirych at once began to -familiarize himself with her effects. Examining the papers he -found about a dozen various wills (in one of them she called him -"undutiful"); but all of them had been written when Arina Petrovna was -still the domineering, despotic mistress, and were incomplete—in the -form of tentative drafts.</p> - -<p>So Yudushka was quite pleased that he had no need to play foul in order -to declare himself the sole legitimate heir to his mother's property. -The latter consisted of a capital of fifteen thousand rubles and of a -scanty movable estate which included the famous coach that had nearly -become the cause of dissension between mother and son. Arina Petrovna -kept her own accounts quite separate and distinct from those of her -wards, so that one could see at a glance what belonged to her and what -to the orphans. Yudushka lost no time in declaring himself heir at the -proper legal places. He sealed the papers bearing on the guardianship, -gave the servants his mother's scanty wardrobe, and sent the coach and -two cows to Golovliovo, which were placed in the inventory under the -heading "mine." Then he had the last requiem performed and went his way.</p> - -<p>"Wait for the owners," he told the people gathered in the hallway to -see him off. "If they come, they'll be welcome; if they don't—just as -they please. For my part, I did all I could. I straightened out the -guardianship accounts and hid nothing. Everything was done in plain -view, in front of everybody. The money that mother left belongs to me -legally. The coach and the two cows that I sent to Golovliovo are mine -<i>by law.</i> Maybe some of my property is left <i>here.</i> However, I won't -insist on it. God Himself commands us to give to orphans. I am sorry to -have lost mother, she was a good old woman, a kindly soul. Oh, mother -dear, it was not right of you, darling, to have left us poor orphans. -But if it had pleased God to take you, it befits us to submit to His -holy will. May, at least, your soul rejoice in heaven, and as for -us—well, we are not to be considered."</p> - -<p>The first death was soon followed by another.</p> - -<p>Yudushka's attitude toward his son's fate was quite puzzling. Since he -did not receive newspapers and was not in correspondence with anybody, -he could not learn anything of the trial in which Petenka figured. And -he hardly wished to. Above all things, he shunned disturbance of every -kind. He was buried up to his ears in a swamp of petty details, all -centering around the welfare and preservation of his precious self. -There are many such people in this world. They live apart from the rest -of humanity, having neither the desire nor the knowledge to identify -themselves with a "cause," and bursting in the end like so many soap -bubbles. They have no ties of friendship, for friendship presupposes -the existence of common interests; nor do they have any business -connections. For thirty years at a stretch Porfiry Vladimirych had -marked time in a government office. Then, one fine day he disappeared, -and no one noticed the fact.</p> - -<p>He learned of his son's fate after his domestics had. But even then -he feigned ignorance, so that when Yevpraksia once tried to mention -Petenka, he waved her off and said:</p> - -<p>"No, no, no! I don't know, I did not hear anything, and I don't want to -hear anything. I don't want to know a thing about his dirty affairs."</p> - -<p>But finally he did learn about Petenka. He received a letter from him -saying he was about to leave for one of the remote provinces and asking -his father to continue to send him an allowance in his new position. -The whole of the next day Porfiry Vladimirych was in a state of visible -perplexity. He darted from room to room, peeped into the oratory, -crossed himself, and sighed. But toward evening he plucked up courage -and wrote the following letter:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"My criminal son Piotr:</p> - -<p>"As a faithful and law-abiding subject I should not even -answer your letter. But as a father given to human weaknesses, -I cannot, from a sense of compassion, refuse good advice to -a child who, through his own fault, plunged himself into a -whirlpool of evil.</p> - -<p>"Here, in short, is my opinion on the subject. The punishment -that has been meted out to you is severe, but you quite deserve -it. That is the first and most important consideration that -should always accompany you in your new life from now on. -All your other vagaries and even the memory thereof you must -forget, for in your present situation all this will only tend -to irritate you and urge you on to impious complaint. You have -already tasted of the bitter fruits of haughtiness of spirit. -Try now to taste of the fruits of humility, all the more so -since there is nothing else left for you in the future. Do not -complain of the punishment, for the authorities do not even -punish you, but only provide means for your correction. To be -grateful for this, and to endeavor to make amends for what -you did—that is what you must incessantly bear in mind, and -not the luxurious frittering away of time, which I myself, by -the way, never did, although I was never under indictment. -So follow this prudent advice of mine and turn over a new -leaf, satisfied with what the authorities, in their kindness, -will deem it necessary to allot to you. I, for my part, will -pray the Giver of all things good to grant you firmness and -humility. Even on the very day on which I write these lines I -have been to church and offered up fervent prayers for you. And -now, I bless you for the new journey and remain, your indignant -but still loving father, Porfiry Golovliov."</p></blockquote> - -<p>It is uncertain whether the letter ever reached Petenka, but no more -than a month after it was sent, Porfiry Vladimirych was officially -notified that his son, while on his way to the place of exile, had -fallen ill and died in a hospital.</p> - -<p>Yudushka remained alone, but at first did not realize that this -new loss had made his life an absolute void. The realization came -soon after the death of Arina Petrovna, when he was all absorbed in -reckoning and figuring. He read every paper of the deceased, took into -account every kopek, traced the relation of this kopek to the kopeks -of the guardianship, not wishing, as he put it, either to acquire -another's, or to lose his own. Amidst this bustle the question never -once arose in his mind: To what end was he doing all this, and who was -to enjoy the fruits of his busy hoarding?</p> - -<p>From morning to night he bent over his desk musing and criticizing the -arrangements of the deceased. Engrossed in these cares he began little -by little to neglect the bookkeeping of his own estate.</p> - -<p>The manor fell into profound silence. The domestics, who had always -preferred the servants' quarters, abandoned the house almost entirely, -and when in the master's rooms would walk on tiptoe and speak in a -whisper. There was an air of desertion and death about the place and -about the man, something eery. The gloom enveloping Yudushka was to -grow denser every day.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER II</h4> - - -<p>During Lent, when no theatrical performances were given, Anninka came -to Golovliovo. Lubinka had been unable to accompany her because she -had been engaged for the entire Lent and had gone to Romny, Izum, -Kremenchug, etc., where she was to give concerts and sing her entire -music-hall repertoire.</p> - -<p>During her brief artistic career Anninka had greatly improved in looks. -She was no longer the simple, anæmic, somewhat sluggish girl who in -Dubrovino or Pogorelka had walked from room to room humming and swaying -awkwardly, as if she could not find a place for herself. She was now -quite developed, with confident, even dashing manners. At the very -first glance one could tell she was quick at repartee. The change in -her appearance gave Porfiry Vladimirych a pleasant surprise. Before him -stood a tall, well-built woman with a lovely pink complexion, high, -well-developed bust, full eyes, and abundant ash-colored hair, which -she wore braided low on her neck—a woman evidently aware of her own -attractiveness.</p> - -<p>She arrived at Golovliovo early in the morning and at once retired to a -room, from which she emerged in a splendid silk gown. She entered the -dining-room with a swish of her train, manipulating it skilfully among -the chairs. Though Yudushka loved God above all, it did not prevent him -from having a taste for beautiful and, especially, tall, plump women. -So he crossed Anninka first, then kissed her so emphatically on both -cheeks, casting queer glances at her bust meanwhile, that Anninka could -not refrain from smiling faintly.</p> - -<p>They sat down at the tea table. Anninka raised her arms and stretched.</p> - -<p>"Oh, uncle, how dull it is here!" she began, yawning slightly.</p> - -<p>"There you are! Here only a minute and dull already. You stay with us -some time, then we'll see, perhaps you won't find it so dull after -all," answered Porfiry Vladimirych, his eyes suddenly taking on an oily -glitter.</p> - -<p>"No, there isn't an interesting thing here. What is there? Snow all -around, no neighbors. Is there a regiment quartered anywhere near here?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, there is a regiment and there are neighbors; but, to tell the -truth, it doesn't interest me. Yet, if you——"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych looked at her and did not end his sentence, but -coughed. Perhaps he had stopped intentionally, wishing to excite -her feminine curiosity. At any rate the same faint smile as before -glided over her lips. She leaned her elbows on the table and looked -at Yevpraksia fixedly. The, girl all flushed, was drying the glasses, -casting sly glances at Anninka with her large, heavy eyes.</p> - -<p>"My new housekeeper—very industrious," said Porfiry Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>Anninka nodded slightly and began to purr softly:</p> - -<p><i>"Ah, ah! que j'aime—que j'aime—que j'aime—les -mili-mili-mili-taires!"</i> and her hips quivered as she sang.</p> - -<p>Silence set in, during which Yudushka, his eyes meekly lowered, sipped -his tea from a glass.</p> - -<p>"My, it's dull!" said Anninka, yawning again.</p> - -<p>"It's dull, and it's dull! You never get tired of saying that. You wait -a while, stay here a bit longer. We'll order the sleigh set to rights, -and you'll ride to your heart's content."</p> - -<p>"Uncle, why didn't you become a hussar?"</p> - -<p>"Because, my friend, every man has his station ordained by the Lord. -Some are to become hussars, others functionaries, others merchants; -some are——"</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, and so on, and so forth. Who can keep track of it all? And -God ordained all that, did He?"</p> - -<p>"Why, yes, my friend, God. And it is not proper to scoff. Do you know -what the Scriptures say? 'Without the will of God——'"</p> - -<p>"Is it about the hair? Yes, I know that, too. But the trouble is, -everybody wears false hair now, and I don't think that was foreseen. -By the way, uncle, look what wonderful braids I have! Don't you think -they're fine?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych came nearer, for some reason, on tiptoe, and -fingered her braids for some time. And Yevpraksia, without relaxing her -hold on the saucer filled with tea and holding a bit of toast between -her teeth, leaned forward and said, "False, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, my own. Some day I'll let my hair down for you, uncle."</p> - -<p>"Yes, your hair is fine," said Yudushka, his lips parting in a -repulsive smile. Then he recalled that one must turn his back on such -temptations and added, "Oh, you hoyden! Always thinking about braids -and trains, but you'd never think of inquiring about the main thing, -the real thing?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, about grandmother? She is dead, isn't she?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, my friend, she died. And how she died! Peacefully, calmly, not a -soul heard it. That's what I call a worthy end to one's earthly life. -She thought of everybody, gave everybody her blessing, called a priest, -received her last communion, and suddenly became so calm, so calm! Then -she began to sigh. Sighed once, twice, three times, and before we knew -it, she was no more."</p> - -<p>Yudushka rose, turned toward the ikon, folded his hands, and offered up -a prayer. Tears rose to his eyes, so well did he simulate. But Anninka -apparently was not of the sentimental kind. It is true she remained -pensive for a while but for quite a different reason.</p> - -<p>"Do you remember, uncle, how she used to feed my sister and me on sour -milk when we were little ones? Not later. Later she was splendid. I -mean when she was still rich."</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, let bygones be bygones. She fed you on sour milk, but you -look none the worse for it, may the Lord be with you. Do you think you -would care to visit her grave?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I wouldn't mind."</p> - -<p>"But you know, it would be well if you purified yourself first."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean, purified?"</p> - -<p>"You know—an actress. You think it was easy for the old woman? So -before you go to her grave I think you should attend a mass to purify -yourself, you know. You see, I'll order a mass early tomorrow morning, -and then—Godspeed!"</p> - -<p>Absurd as Yudushka's proposition was, it confused Anninka for a minute. -But she soon knitted her brows angrily and said sharply:</p> - -<p>"No, I'll go now—as I am!"</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't know, do as you please. But my advice is: let's attend -the mass tomorrow morning, then take tea and have a pair of swift -little horses hitched to a pony cart, and then go together. You see, -you would become cleansed of your sins, and your grandmother's soul -would——"</p> - -<p>"Oh, uncle, how foolish you are, though. Lord knows what nonsense you -talk. And you even insist on it."</p> - -<p>"So you don't like it? Well, don't hold it against me, my dear. I am -straight from the shoulder, you know. When it comes to truth, I'll -tell it to others and take it from others as well. Though at times it -goes against the grain, though truth is hard at times, but I'll always -listen to it. And one must listen to it, because—it's the truth. So, -my dear. You stay with us a while and live the way we do. Then you'll -see that it's better than going with a guitar from fair to fair."</p> - -<p>"Heaven knows what you're talking about, uncle. 'With a guitar!'"</p> - -<p>"Well, if it isn't a guitar, then it's a bagpipe or something. Besides, -you offended me first, called me foolish. So I, an old man, surely have -a right to tell you the truth to your face."</p> - -<p>"All right, let it be the truth. We won't argue about it. But tell me, -please, did grandmother leave anything?"</p> - -<p>"Why, of course, she did. But the legitimate heir was present in -person."</p> - -<p>"That is you. All the better. Was she buried here in Golovliovo?"</p> - -<p>"No, near Pogorelka, at the St. Nicholas Church. It was her own wish."</p> - -<p>"I'll go. Can I hire horses here, uncle?"</p> - -<p>"Why hire? I've got my own. You are not a stranger, I dare say, a -niece, my little niece."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych began to liven up, and put on an <i>en famille</i> grin. -"A pony cart, a pair of fine little horses—thank God, I am not poor, I -dare say! And wouldn't it be well for me to go with you? We would visit -the grave, you see, and then would go to Pogorelka and peep in here and -there, and we would think matters over, talk things over—about this -and that. Yours is a fine little estate, you know. It has some very -good spots."</p> - -<p>"No, I'll go alone, I think. Why should you go? By the way, Petenka's -dead, too, I hear?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, my dear friend, Petenka is dead, too. I am sorry for him in -one way, very sorry—to the point of tears; but then—it was all his -own fault. He was always disrespectful to his father, that's why God -punished him. And what God, in His great wisdom, did, you and I cannot -undo."</p> - -<p>"Of course, we can't. But what makes me wonder is, why you don't find -it too horrible to live."</p> - -<p>"Why should I fear? You see how much succor I have all around." -Yudushka made a gesture, pointing to the ikons. "Succor here and succor -in my study. The ikon room is a veritable paradise. You see how many -protectors I have."</p> - -<p>"But still, you are always alone. It's frightful."</p> - -<p>"And if I am afraid, I fall on my knees, say a prayer, and the fear is -all gone. And why be afraid? It's light during the day, and at night -I have ikon lamps burning in every room. From outside in the dark it -looks as if there were a ball in the house. And what ball? Who are the -guests? Holy protectors, God's chosen. Those are my guests!"</p> - -<p>"You know, Petenka wrote to us before his death."</p> - -<p>"Well, of course, he is a relative. It's a good thing he did not lose -his feelings of kinship."</p> - -<p>"Yes, he wrote to us. It was after the trial, when sentence had been -pronounced. He wrote he had lost three thousand rubles in cards and you -would not give him the money. But you are rich, uncle, aren't you?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, my dear, it's easy to count money in another man's pocket. -Sometimes we think a man has mountains of gold, and when you come -closer you see he has barely enough for oil and a candle—not for -himself—for God."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, we are richer than you. We gave some of our own money -and took up a collection among our gentlemen friends. We scraped six -hundred rubles together and sent it to him."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean 'gentlemen friends?'"</p> - -<p>"Oh, uncle, we are actresses, you know. Didn't you yourself suggest -that I purify myself?"</p> - -<p>"I don't like it when you speak that way."</p> - -<p>"What can you do? Whether you like it or not, you can't undo what has -been done. According to you, God is in that, too."</p> - -<p>"Don't blaspheme at least. You may say anything you want, but don't -blaspheme. I won't stand for it. Where did you send the money to?"</p> - -<p>"I don't remember. To a little town of some sort. He wrote us the name."</p> - -<p>"I didn't know. If there was money, I should have gotten it after his -death. It is not possible that he spent it all at once. Well, I don't -know, I didn't get any. I suppose the jailers and guards were on to it."</p> - -<p>"I'm not asking for it, uncle. I just mentioned it while we were on the -subject. It's awful, uncle, for a man to perish on account of three -thousand rubles."</p> - -<p>"It wasn't all on account of the three thousand. Haven't you something -else to say than to keep on repeating 'three thousand, three thousand?' -But God——"</p> - -<p>Yudushka had got his cue and was about to explain in detail -how God—Providence—by unseen ways—and all that, but Anninka -unceremoniously yawned and said:</p> - -<p>"Oh, uncle, how boring it is here."</p> - -<p>This time Porfiry Vladimirych was truly offended and became silent. -For a long time they both paced up and down the dining room. Anninka -yawned, Porfiry Vladimirych crossed himself at every step. At last the -carriage was announced and the usual comedy of seeing relations off -began. Golovliov put on his fur coat, went out on the porch, kissed -Anninka and shouted to the servants, "Her feet! Wrap up her feet well!" -and "What about the blankets, have you taken the blankets along? See -you don't forget them!" all the while making signs of the cross in the -air.</p> - -<p>Anninka visited her grandmother's grave, asked the priest to say the -mass, and when the choir began to chant the "Eternal memory," she cried -a bit. The background of the ceremony was rather sad. The church near -which Arina Petrovna had been buried was of the poorest kind. In some -places the plaster had fallen off its walls and exposed large patches -of brick. The sound of the bells was feeble and hollow, the priest's -robe was threadbare. The cemetery was snowed under, so that the path to -the grave had to be shovelled clear. No monument had yet been placed. -Nothing but a plain white cross, even without an inscription, marked -the grave. The cemetery was in a lonely spot removed from any dwelling. -Not far from the church stood the houses of the priest and the church -officials and all around the cheerless, snow-covered plains stretched -as far as the eye could reach. Here and there one could see brushwood -jutting out from the snow. A sharp March wind was sweeping over the -churchyard, wafting away the chanting of the churchmen and lashing the -priest's robe.</p> - -<p>"Who would have thought, madam, that the richest landlady in the -district would rest here under this modest cross in our poor parish?" -said the priest when he was through with the requiem.</p> - -<p>At these words Anninka cried again. She recalled the poet's line: -"Where feasts once reigned a hearse now stands!" And the tears kept -streaming down her cheeks. Then she went to the priest's house, had tea -there, and talked with his wife. Another line came back to her: "And -pallid death on all doth stare," and again she wept, long and bitterly.</p> - -<p>Nobody had notified the people at Pogorelka that the young lady was -coming, so that the rooms were not even heated. Anninka, with her -fur coat on, walked through all the rooms, remaining a moment in -grandmother's bedroom and the ikon room. In the former she found -a bedstead with a heap of soiled, greasy pillows, some without -pillow-cases. Scraps of paper lay on the desk in disorder, the floor -had not been swept and a thick coat of dust covered everything. Anninka -sat down in the easy-chair where her grandmother used to sit, and -became lost in thought. At first came up reminiscences of the past; -then they were crowded out by images of the present. The former came in -the shape of fleeting patches and fragments, pausing in her mind for no -more than a moment; the latter were more persistent. It was but a brief -while ago that she had longed to flee from Pogorelka and it had seemed -a hateful place. Now her heart suddenly filled with a morbid desire to -live there again.</p> - -<p>"It is quiet here, it is not cozy, and it is unsightly; but it is -quiet, so quiet, as if everything around were dead. There is much air -and much room."</p> - -<p>She looked out over the endless fields and felt a desire to dash -straight across them, without aim or purpose, just to breathe fast -and feel a pain in her chest. And <i>there,</i> in the half-nomadic life -from which she had just escaped and to which she <i>must</i> return—what -awaited her there? What had she gained by it? Nothing but recollections -of hotels permeated with stench, of an everlasting din coming from -the dining and billiard rooms, of unkempt porters, of rehearsals on -the stage in the twilight and among the scenes of painted linen, the -feel of which was abominable, in the draught and in the dampness. And -then, army officers, lawyers, obscene language, and the eternal uproar! -What hadn't the men told her! With what obscenity hadn't they touched -her! Especially the one with the mustache, with a voice hoarse from -drink, inflamed eyes, and a perpetual smell of the stable about him. -Lord, what he had told her! Anninka shivered at the very recollection -and shut her eyes. Then she came to, sighed, and went into the ikon -room. There were now only a few ikons in the image-case, only those -which had unquestionably belonged to her mother. The rest of them, -her grandmother's, Yudushka, as the legitimate heir, had removed to -Golovliovo. The empty spaces where they had stood stared like the -hollow eye-sockets in a deathshead. Nor were there any ikon lamps. -Yudushka had taken all of them. Only one yellow bit of wax candle -stood out, orphan-like, from a miniature tin candlestick that had been -forgotten.</p> - -<p>"His Excellency wanted to take the image case, too. He was trying -to make sure if it really was a part of madam's dowry," reported -Afimyushka.</p> - -<p>"Well, he could have taken it. Tell me, Afimyushka, did grandma suffer -much before she died?"</p> - -<p>"No, not much, she was laid up for only a day or so. She just went out, -of her own self. She wasn't really sick or anything. She didn't talk -either, just mentioned you and your sister once or twice."</p> - -<p>"So Porfiry Vladimirych carried off the ikons?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, he did. He said they were his mother's personal property. He also -took the coach and two cows. From the mistress's papers he gathered, I -suppose, that they belonged to your grandmother, not to you. He also -wanted to take away a horse, but Fedulych would not give it to him. -'It's our horse,' he said, 'an old-timer in Pogorelka.' So Porfiry -Vladimirych left it here. He was afraid."</p> - -<p>Anninka walked through the yard, peeped into the servants' quarters, -the barn, and the cattle yard. In a swamp of manure stood about twenty -lean cows and three horses. She ordered some bread to be brought, -saying, "I'll pay for it," and gave every cow a piece of bread.</p> - -<p>Then the cattle-house woman invited the young lady into the house. -There was a jug of milk on the table, and in the corner near the oven, -behind a low wainscot screening, a new-born calf was sheltered.</p> - -<p>Anninka tasted some milk, ran to the little calf, kissed his snout, -but quickly wiped her lips, saying the calf had a horrid snout, -all slabbery. At the end, she produced three yellow bills from her -pocketbook, distributed them to the old domestics, and prepared to go.</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do?" she asked, while she made herself -comfortable in the pony cart, of old Fedulych, who, as the <i>starosta,</i> -followed the young owner, with his hands crossed on his breast.</p> - -<p>"Well, what can we do? We'll live," answered Fedulych simply.</p> - -<p>Anninka became sad again for a moment. There seemed to be irony in -Fedulych's words. She waited a while, sighed, and said:</p> - -<p>"Well, good-by."</p> - -<p>"We thought that you would come back and live with us," said Fedulych.</p> - -<p>"No, what's the use? Anyway—you live on!"</p> - -<p>Tears flowed from her eyes again and the others cried, too. It seemed -peculiar to her; there was nothing to regret in leaving the place, -nothing sentimental to remember it by, and yet she was crying. And -those people, too. She had not said anything out of the ordinary to -them—just the usual questions and answers—and yet their hearts were -heavy, they were sorry to see her go. She was seated in the cart, -wrapped up and well covered. Everybody heaved a sigh. "Good luck!" came -running after her when the cart started. Passing the churchyard she -stopped again and went to the grave alone without the ecclesiastics, -following the path that had been cleared. It was quite dark, and -lights began to appear in the houses of the church officials. She -stood there with one hand holding on to the cross rising from the -grave. She did not cry, but only swayed slightly, thinking of nothing -in particular, unable to formulate any definite thought. But she was -unhappy, in every way unhappy. Not because of grandmother, but on her -own account. So she stood for a quarter of an hour, and suddenly before -her eyes rose the image of Lubinka, who perhaps at that very moment was -singing merrily in a rollicking company, somewhere in Kremenchug:</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"<i>Ah, ah, que j'aime, que j'aime!</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;"><i>Que j'aime, les mili-mili-mili-taires!"</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>She almost broke down. She ran to her cart, seated herself, and ordered -the coachman to drive to Golovliovo as fast as possible.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER III</h4> - - -<p>When Anninka returned to her uncle's, she was dull and silent, though -she did feel a bit hungry (in the hurry, uncle had not given her some -chicken to take along) and was very glad the table was already set for -tea. Of course, Porfiry Vladimirych was not slow to open a conversation.</p> - -<p>"Well, were you there?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I was."</p> - -<p>"Did you pray at the grave? Did you have the requiem sung?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"So the priest was at home?"</p> - -<p>"Of course he was, or who would have performed the requiem?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, certainly. And the two sextons, were they there? Did they -sing: 'Eternal memory?'"</p> - -<p>"Yes, they did."</p> - -<p>"Yes, eternal memory! May she rest in peace. She was a good, kind -woman."</p> - -<p>Yudushka rose from his seat, faced the ikon and offered up a prayer.</p> - -<p>"Well, and how did you find things in Pogorelka, everything in good -shape?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know, really. I think everything is in its proper place."</p> - -<p>"Indeed, 'I think.' You always 'think,' but when you take a good look -you find this is wrong and that is wrong. That's how we judge of other -people's business. We 'think' and we 'guess!' But anyway, you've got -a nice little estate. My late mother fixed it all up very nicely. She -even spent a good deal of her own money on it. Well, it's only right to -help orphans along."</p> - -<p>Listening to these chants of praise, Anninka could not refrain from -teasing her kindhearted uncle.</p> - -<p>"Uncle, why did you take two cows away from Pogorelka?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Cows, what cows? Oh, you mean the black and the spotted one? Well, my -dear, they belonged to my mother."</p> - -<p>"And you are her legitimate heir? Oh, well, you can have them. Do you -want me to send you a little calf? I will, if you want me to."</p> - -<p>"Now, there! Look at her getting excited! Let's talk business, whom do -you think the cows belong to?"</p> - -<p>"How do I know? They were in Pogorelka."</p> - -<p>"And I do know. I have proof that the cows belonged to mother. I found -a memorandum written in her own hand. 'Mine,' is plainly written there."</p> - -<p>"Oh, let's drop it. It isn't worth talking about."</p> - -<p>"There's a pony at Pogorelka, too, little old Baldy, you know. Well, -about Baldy I am not sure. I think Baldy belonged to mother, but I'm -not sure. And I can't speak of what I don't know."</p> - -<p>"Let's drop it, uncle."</p> - -<p>"No, why drop it? I'm straight from the shoulder, my dear, I like to -bring out the truth of things. Why not talk it over? Nobody wants to -part with his own. I don't, you don't. Well, then, let's talk it over -and see who's right. And when it comes to talking, I'll tell you -plainly: I don't want what's yours and I won't let go of mine, either. -Because, though you are not a stranger to me, still I——"</p> - -<p>"And you even took the ikons," Anninka could not refrain from remarking.</p> - -<p>"Yes, the ikons, too. I took everything that belonged to me by law."</p> - -<p>"Now the image case looks as if it has holes in it."</p> - -<p>"What can you do? You'll have to pray before it as it is. God, you -know, does not want your image case, but your prayers. If you are -sincere about it, your prayer will reach Him, even if it's done before -poor ikons. And if you just pray without meaning it, and look around -and make a courtesy, then the best images will be of no avail."</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Yudushka rose and offered thanks to God for the fact that -his images were "good."</p> - -<p>"Well, and if you don't like the old image case, have a new one built -and put in new ikons instead of those taken out. My deceased mother -acquired the old ikons at her own cost, and now it's up to you to get -new ones."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych even tittered, so clear and simple did his -reasoning seem to him.</p> - -<p>"But tell me, please, what am I to do now?" Anninka asked.</p> - -<p>"Well, wait a while. Rest up first, loll around, get some sleep. We'll -talk the matter over and examine it from every angle, and we'll see -what can be done. Both of us together may think up something."</p> - -<p>"Sister and I are of age, I think?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, of age. Quite so. You can now manage yourself and your estate."</p> - -<p>"Thank God at least for that."</p> - -<p>"I have the honor to congratulate you."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych rose to kiss her.</p> - -<p>"How funny you are, uncle, always kissing."</p> - -<p>"Why shouldn't I kiss you? You are not a stranger, I may say, you are -my niece. I like kinsfolk, my dear. I am always for my relatives, near -or distant, second, third, or fourth cousins, I'm always with them."</p> - -<p>"You'd better tell me what I am to do. Must I go to town and see all -the officials?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, and we'll go to town and we'll attend to the matter—all in due -time. But before we do that, rest up a bit. Stay here a while. You are -not stopping at an inn but at your uncle's, I may say. You'll have -enough to eat and drink, and for your sweet tooth we've got plenty of -everything. If you don't like a dish, ask for a different one. Demand, -insist! If you don't care for cabbage soup, ask for chicken soup. Order -cutlets, duck, pork. Get after Yevpraksia. Here I boasted about pork -and I don't really know if we've got any. Have we?"</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia, holding the saucer with the hot tea to her mouth, nodded -affirmatively.</p> - -<p>"Well, you see, we've got pork too, and all in all you can have -whatever your heart desires."</p> - -<p>Yudushka approached Anninka again and like a good relative clapped her -on the knee and quite inadvertently let his hand rest there a little, -so that Anninka instinctively recoiled.</p> - -<p>"But I've got to go," she said.</p> - -<p>"That's just what I've been saying. We'll discuss matters and talk -things over and then we'll go with a prayer and a benediction, but -not—hop! jump! run! The more haste the less speed. You may hurry to a -fire, but our house is not ablaze. Well, Lubinka has got to hurry to -the fair, but what is your hurry? Another thing I meant to ask you, Are -you going to live in Pogorelka?"</p> - -<p>"No, there's nothing for me to do there."</p> - -<p>"That's just what I was going to say. Move here, to my house. We'll -live here and have a fine time of it."</p> - -<p>Yudushka looked at Anninka with such oily eyes that she became -embarrassed.</p> - -<p>"No, uncle, I don't want to stay here with you. It's too dull."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you silly little thing! Why do you keep repeating 'dull, dull?' -You speak of dullness and I'll bet you don't know what's dull around -here. If you have something to keep you busy, and if you know how to -manage yourself, you'll never feel dull. Take me, for example, I don't -notice how time flies. On week days I'm busy with the affairs of the -estate. I look at this and take a peep into that, and figure out one -thing and discuss another thing. Before I know it, the day is gone. -And on a holiday—to church! You will do the same thing. Stay with us -for a while. We'll find something for you to do. In your leisure time -you may play fool with Yevpraksia, or go sleigh-riding—slide along as -fast as you wish. And when summer comes we'll go to the woods picking -mushrooms. And we'll have tea on the lawn."</p> - -<p>"No, uncle, it's no use trying to persuade me."</p> - -<p>"Really, you ought to stay."</p> - -<p>"No. But the journey has tired me, so I should like to go to bed if -possible."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you can go rock-a-by. I've got a nice little bed ready for you, -everything in proper fashion. If you want to go rock-a-by, go right -ahead. But I should advise you to think the matter over. I think it -would be best for you to stay with us at Golovliovo."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER IV</h4> - - -<p>Anninka spent a restless night. The hysterical mood that had overtaken -her at Pogorelka still persisted. There are moments when a person -who has been merely existing suddenly realizes that there is a vile -ulcer of some kind festering in his life. Where it came from, how it -formed itself—one cannot always explain to oneself. In most cases it -is not ascribed to the causes that have really brought it on. But an -explanation is not even needed. It is sufficient that such an ulcer -exists. The effects of such a sudden discovery, while equally painful -to everyone, vary in their practical results, with the individual's -temperament. Some are rejuvenated and inspired with a determination to -begin a new life on new foundations. Others feel but a passing pain -that will not bring a profound change for the better, but is even -sharper than when the disturbed conscience sees the faint hope of a -brighter future.</p> - -<p>Anninka was not of those in whom the consciousness of ulcers produces -the impulse to rejuvenation. Nevertheless, she realized, being an -intelligent person, that there was an abyss between the vague dreams -of honest toil which had impelled her to leave Pogorelka forever and -her position of provincial actress. Instead of a life of quiet and -toil, she had fallen upon a stormy existence, filled with perpetual -debauchery, shameless obscenity and cynicism, with vain and -everlasting bustle. Instead of the privations and stern surroundings -in which she had once lived, she had met comparative ease and comfort. -She could not think of it now without a blush of shame. She had -hardly noticed the gradual transformation. She had wanted to go to a -good place but had entered the wrong door. Her desires had been very -modest, indeed. How often she had dreamed, in the attic of Pogorelka, -of becoming an earnest girl, working, thirsting for education, bearing -hardships with fortitude, all for the sake of the good. (It is true, -"good" hardly had definite meaning to her.) But as soon as she had -stepped out on to the highroad of independent activity, bitter reality -had shattered her dreams at once. An honest livelihood does not come -of itself, but is attained only by persistent search and previous -training which help in the quest to some extent. But neither Anninka's -temperament nor education provided her with this. Her temperament -was not marked by passion, it was simply sensitive. The material -that her education had given her and on which she meant to build up -her life of honest toil was so unreliable and poor that it could -hardly serve as a basis for serious work. Her education was of the -boarding-school, music-hall kind, with the balance tipping to the side -of the music-hall. It was a chaotic heap in which problems were piled -up about a flock of geese, dancing steps with a shawl, the sermons of -Peter of Picardy, the exploits of Fair Helen, the <i>Ode to Felitza,</i> and -the prescribed feeling of gratitude to the instructors and patrons of -the institution. What was left clear of this chaotic jumble in her soul -might quite properly be called a <i>tabula rasa</i>. There was scarcely a -thing to be read in it; it certainly offered no possibility of finding -a starting-point in her for better things. Whatever preparation she -had had inspired not love for work but love for a "society" life, the -desire to be surrounded by admirers and listen to their flattery, the -desire to plunge into the social din, glamor and whirlwind.</p> - -<p>If she had listened to herself, she would have discovered that even in -Pogorelka, when just beginning to make plans for a life of honest toil -as a deliverance from Egyptian bondage, she could have caught herself -dreaming not so much of work as of being surrounded by a society of -congenial people, frittering her time away in empty talk. Of course, -the people of her dreams were clever, and their conversation was honest -and serious, but the idle side of life was always in the foreground. -Poverty was distinguished by neatness, privations amounted merely to -a lack of luxuries. So, when her dreams of a life of work came to a -head and she was offered a part in one of the provincial theatres, -she hesitated little, though the contrast between dream and reality -was great. She hastily freshened up her school information about the -relations of Helen and Menelaus, supplemented it by some biographical -details from the life of the splendid Prince of Tauris and decided -that that was quite sufficient to produce <i>Fair Helen</i> and <i>Episodes -from the Life of the Duchess of Herolstein</i> in the provincial theatres -and at the fairs. To clear her conscience she recalled the words of a -student she had met in Moscow who used to exclaim repeatedly, "Sacred -Art!" She made this her slogan, because it was the easiest way out, -and gave at least outward decorum to the path she had chosen—the path -toward which the whole of her being was instinctively tending.</p> - -<p>The life of an actress upset her. Alone, without the guidance of proper -preparation, without a conscious aim, with only a temperament craving -for din, glamor, and applause, she soon found herself surrounded by -a chaos in which many persons thronged, some coming, others going, -without apparent order or connection. There were people of the most -diverse characters and views, so that the motives for becoming intimate -with this one or that one were not the same. Nevertheless, they were -all integral parts of her circle, so that there really could be no -question of motives.</p> - -<p>Her life had become like the gate to an inn, at which every gay, -wealthy, young man could knock and claim entrance. Clearly it was -not a matter of selecting a congenial company, but of fitting into -any kind of company so as not to die of ennui. Her "sacred art" had -really thrown her into a mire, but her head was turned, and she did not -notice her position. Neither the dirty faces of the porters nor the -slimy, dilapidated stage properties, nor the din, stench, and noise of -the hotels and inns, nor the obscene behavior of her admirers—none -of these things produced a sobering effect. She did not even notice -that she was always in the society of men only, and that there was a -permanent barrier between her and the women of <i>established position.</i></p> - -<p>The visit to Golovliovo sobered her for a moment.</p> - -<p>In the morning, almost immediately after her arrival, she began to feel -uneasy. Highly impressionable, she quickly absorbed new sensations and -quickly adapted herself to new situations. Consequently, as soon as she -reached Golovliovo, she felt herself a "lady." She suddenly recalled -that she had something of her own: her own home, her own graves. She -became filled with a desire to see herself in her former surroundings, -to breathe the air from which she had only recently fled. But her -impression was immediately dispelled by contact with the reality she -found there. Her experience in this was like that of a person who -enters with a smile among friends he has not seen for a long time, -and suddenly notices that everybody responds to his cordial greetings -coldly. The nasty glances Yudushka cast at her figure reminded her -that her position was questionable and not easy to change. When she -remained alone, after the naïve questions of the Pogorelka servants, -after the pious sighs of warning of the Pogorelka priest and his wife, -after the fresh sermons of Yudushka, when she examined her impressions -of the day at leisure, she became convinced that the former "lady" -was gone forever and that from now on she was only an actress in a -miserable provincial theatre, and the position of a Russian actress was -not far removed from that of a street woman. Until now she had lived -as if in a dream. She would go out half-naked in <i>Fair Helen,</i> would -appear intoxicated in <i>Pericola,</i> would sing all sorts of indecencies -in the <i>Episodes from the Life of the Duchess of Herolstein,</i> and -would even regret that it was not the custom to represent <i>la chose</i> -and <i>l'amour</i> on the stage, imagining how enticingly her hips would -quiver and how alluring her every movement would be. But it had never -occurred to her to give earnest thought to what she was doing. She had -only tried to make everything appear "charming" and <i>chic</i> and at the -same time please the army officers of the town regiment. But what it -all meant, and what the sensation was that her quivering hips produced -in the army officers, she did not consider. The army officers were -the element that set the tone for the town, and she realized that her -success depended upon them. They would intrude behind the scenes, would -unceremoniously knock at the door of her dressing-room when she was yet -half-clad, would address her in endearing terms—and she looked upon -it all as a simple formality, an inevitable feature incidental to her -profession. All she asked herself was whether she rendered a feature -"charmingly" or not.</p> - -<p>Until now she had not thought of her body or her soul as being public, -but for a moment feeling herself a "lady" again, she looked on her past -in utter disgust and abhorrence, as if she had been stripped naked and -were being exposed on the public square; as if all those vile creatures -infected with the odors of wine and the stable had suddenly gripped -her in their embrace, as her body felt the contact of hands moist with -perspiration, of slabbery lips and the dull, greedy, brutal eyes that -lingered animal-like over the curved lines of her nude body.</p> - -<p>Where was she to go? How was she to throw off that accumulated load, -which began to leave its mark on her shoulders? The question tossed -in her head desperately—tossed, indeed, for she neither found nor, -as a matter of fact, sought an answer. This stay in Golovliovo, too, -was a kind of dream. Her past life had been a dream, and her present -awakening was a dream. Something had made the little girl ill at ease, -and she had become sentimental—that was all. It would pass. There -are pleasant moments and there are unpleasant ones—that is how they -go. Both merely glide past but do not alter the course of life once -determined upon. To give life a new course, to divert its channel, -one needs not only moral but also physical courage. It is almost the -same as suicide. Before attempting suicide a man may denounce his life, -he may be certain that death is the only salvation, yet the weapon -of death trembles in his hands, the knife slides harmlessly over the -neck, the bullet, instead of striking the forehead, hits lower and -only cripples. That is what happened in Anninka's case. She had to -kill her former life, but though killing it, she herself had to remain -alive. The "nothingness" that in regular suicide is attained by merely -pressing the trigger, was to be attained in the peculiar suicide called -rejuvenation only after many stern almost ascetic efforts.</p> - -<p>A pampered person already undermined by the habit of easy living will -turn dizzy at the mere perspective of a rejuvenation. He instinctively -turns his head away and shuts his eyes. Then filled with shame and -accusing himself of lack of courage, he will take the easy way again.</p> - -<p>Oh, the life of toil is a glorious thing! Yet none but strong people -can live it and those who are destined for it because of original sin. -They are the only ones it does not frighten; the former because they -realize the significance and resources of toil and can find pleasure in -it; the latter, because to them toil is first a duty, then a habit.</p> - -<p>Anninka did not think of remaining at Golovliovo or Pogorelka for even -a moment. In this she was fortified by the business routine of her -circumstances, to which she clung instinctively. She had been given -leave of absence and had arranged her schedule ahead of time, even -designating the day on which she was to leave Golovliovo. For people -of weak wills the external checks upon their life considerably lighten -its burdens. In difficult cases they cling to them instinctively and -use them as a justification for their acts.</p> - -<p>Anninka decided to leave Golovliovo as soon as possible, and if uncle -persisted in his coaxing, to counter him by invoking the necessity of -reporting for duty on the set date.</p> - -<p>When she arose in the morning she walked leisurely through all -the rooms of the vast Golovliovo mansion. She found them dreary, -uninviting, deserted. There was an air of decay and haunting -unfriendliness about them. The thought of living there indefinitely -quite frightened her. "Never!" she kept repeating in a state of -inexplicable agitation, "Never!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER V.</h4> - - -<p>The next day Porfiry Vladimirych greeted her again with his ambiguous -geniality, from which it was impossible to gather whether he wanted to -show her affection or suck her blood dry.</p> - -<p>"Well, you 'always-in-a-hurry-to-get-there,' did you sleep well? And -where are you hurrying to now?" he asked her jestingly.</p> - -<p>"Yes, uncle, I am in a hurry, indeed. I am on leave of absence, you -know, and I must report on time."</p> - -<p>"Is it to play the clown again? I won't let you."</p> - -<p>"Whether you let me or not, I am going."</p> - -<p>Yudushka shook his head sadly. "And what would your deceased grandma -say?" he asked in a tone of kindly reproach.</p> - -<p>"Grandma knew about it when she was alive. But why do you use those -expressions, uncle? Yesterday you were sending me to the fairs with a -guitar and today you speak of playing the clown. I won't allow you to -talk like that to me, you hear?"</p> - -<p>"Eh-eh! The truth hurts! Well, and I like the truth. I think that if -the truth——"</p> - -<p>"No, no, I won't listen, I won't listen. I don't want your truth or -your untruth. Do you hear me? I don't want you to talk like that to me."</p> - -<p>"Well, well! Look at her flaring up! Oh, you romp! Suppose we go in to -tea while the drinking is good. I suppose the samovar is making music -on the table by now."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych wanted by joke and jest to make amends for having -said "playing the clown," and even tried to embrace her as a sign of -reconciliation. But it all seemed so stupid to Anninka, so abominable, -that she declined his advance with repugnance.</p> - -<p>"I tell you seriously, uncle, I am in a hurry," she said.</p> - -<p>"Well, then, let's go and have tea first, then we'll talk."</p> - -<p>"But why talk after tea? Why not now?"</p> - -<p>"Because. Because everything has got to be done in its proper time. -First one, then the other, first we'll have tea and a chat, then we'll -talk business. Plenty of time."</p> - -<p>She could not help but yield. His prattle was not to be overcome. They -went in to tea, and Yudushka temporized maliciously, sipping his tea -with deliberation, crossing himself, slapping his thigh, babbling about -his late mother dear, and so on.</p> - -<p>"Well, now we can talk," he said at last. "Do you intend making a long -visit here?"</p> - -<p>"Not more than a week. I have to be in Moscow before returning to the -company."</p> - -<p>"A week is a long time, my dear. You can accomplish a lot in a week, -and you can accomplish little. It depends on how you go about it."</p> - -<p>"We'd better try and accomplish a great deal, uncle."</p> - -<p>"That's just what I say. You can do a lot and you can do little, and -sometimes you think you are doing little but before you look around, -all the work is attended to. Here, for instance, you are in a hurry to -go to Moscow, you've got business there, you say; and what the business -is, you yourself don't know, I dare say. But the way I look on it is -this, that you spend all your time here in real business instead of -going to Moscow."</p> - -<p>"No, I must go to Moscow because I want to see if I can't get on the -stage there. And as to business, didn't you say we could accomplish a -lot in a week?"</p> - -<p>"Depending on how you go about it, my friend. If you go about it -properly, all will be well and smooth, but if you don't go about it in -a proper way, well, you'll strike a snag, and the thing will drag on."</p> - -<p>"Well, you guide me, uncle."</p> - -<p>"That's just it. When in need then 'You guide me, uncle,' but when not -in need, then 'It's dull here, uncle, and I want to go away.' You can't -say I'm not right."</p> - -<p>"But please do tell me just what I am to do."</p> - -<p>"Wait, don't be in a hurry! So, as I was saying, when uncle is needed, -he is a dear and darling and a sweety, and when he is not needed he is -no good. But you would never trust your uncle and ask him, 'What do you -think, uncle dear, ought I to go to Moscow or not?'"</p> - -<p>"How funny you are, uncle! I <i>must</i> go to Moscow, and suppose I ask -your advice and you say no?"</p> - -<p>"Well, if I say no, then stay here! It is not a stranger who says so. -It's your uncle, and you may as well take your own uncle's advice. -Oh, my friend! It's a good thing you've got an uncle. At least there -is somebody to feel with you and to warn you when necessary. Think of -others who have nobody. Nobody to feel with them, nobody to warn them. -And they live all by themselves. And things happen to them—many -things that happen in life, my dear."</p> - -<p>Anninka wanted to reply, but realized it would be adding fuel to the -fire, and remained silent. She sat there, her eyes turned despairingly -at her uncle, who was going ahead under full steam.</p> - -<p>"I wanted to tell you," Yudushka continued, "I don't like your going -to those fairs, no, I don't like it a bit. Though you didn't relish my -talking about guitars, I still must say—"</p> - -<p>"But it is not enough to say 'I don't like.' Show me a way out."</p> - -<p>"Stay with me. That's the way out."</p> - -<p>"No, that never!"</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"Because I have nothing to do here. What can I do here? Get up in the -morning, have tea, at tea think that breakfast is coming, at breakfast -think about dinner, and at dinner about afternoon tea. Then supper and -then to sleep. No, one can die here."</p> - -<p>"They all do it, my friend. First people have tea, after tea those who -like to breakfast do so. I, for instance, don't like to have breakfast, -so I don't. Then dinner, then afternoon tea, then to bed. Well, I don't -see anything ridiculous or objectionable in it. But if I—"</p> - -<p>"Nothing objectionable; but it is not after my heart."</p> - -<p>"But if I had offended somebody, or misjudged or spoken ill, well, -then, really it would be objectionable. But to have tea and breakfast -and dinner—goodness! I guess, no matter how clever you are, you can't -get along without food."</p> - -<p>"Yes, well and good, but it is not after my heart."</p> - -<p>"But don't measure things by your own yardstick. Take the advice of -your elders. 'This I like, and that I don't like.' Now, you mustn't -talk that way! You ought to say instead, 'If it please God, or 'if it -does not please God'. That would be the proper kind of talk. Let's say, -for instance, in Golovliovo we don't live according to God, if we go -against Him, if we sin or question His wisdom, if we envy and do other -evil things, well, then we are really guilty and deserve to be blamed. -But here, too, it would have to be proved first that we really do not -act according to God. And you come and say, 'It is not my style.' Now, -take me as an example. There are many things that aren't my style. -Here, for instance, I don't like the way you talk to me, the way you -pooh-pooh my hospitality. Yet I keep mum. I want to persuade you in a -quiet way, maybe you'll come to your senses. Maybe while I am jesting -and talking lightly, along will come your guardian angel and lead you -along the right path. You know, my friend, I am solicitous not of my -welfare, but of yours. Ah, my friend, how bad of you! If, so to speak, -I had offended you by word or deed, well, then you would have reason -to complain. Though it behooves young people to heed even a sermon -when it comes from their elders, yet had I offended you, I wouldn't -mind your being angry. But here I am calm and quiet and easy. I don't -say a word, but only try to figure out how to make things better and -more comfortable for you and for others so that all may rejoice and -be happy. And look how you greet my kindness! What you want to do, my -dear, is not to be rash in your speech. First think, then pray to the -Lord and implore His guidance. And then if, let's say for example—"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych expatiated in this strain for a long time. His -words flowed like thick saliva. Anninka looked at him with instinctive -fear and thought, "How is it that the gush of words does not choke -him?" And for all his talk, her dear uncle did not utter a word of -advice as to what she was to do in connection with the death of Arina -Petrovna. She tried to bring the matter up at dinner and later at -afternoon tea, but every time Yudushka spun a different web, so that -Anninka was sorry she had resumed the conversation, and thought in -anguish, "Will it ever end?"</p> - -<p>After dinner, when Porfiry Vladimirych retired for his afternoon nap, -Anninka remained alone with Yevpraksia and suddenly felt a desire to -have a talk with her uncle's housekeeper.</p> - -<p>She wanted to know why Yevpraksia did not find it horrible to live at -Golovliovo and what gave her the strength to endure the torrents of -meaningless words that uncle's mouth belched forth from morning to -night.</p> - -<p>"Do you find it dull here at Golovliovo, Yevpraksia?"</p> - -<p>"Why should we find it dull? We are not of the gentlefolk."</p> - -<p>"But still—always alone—no diversion, no pleasures—"</p> - -<p>"What pleasures do I need? When it's dull, I look out of the window. I -didn't have much merriment when I lived with father."</p> - -<p>"Still, I suppose, it was better at home. You had friends, went -visiting, played."</p> - -<p>"Ah, what's the use!"</p> - -<p>"And here with uncle. He says such dull things and he is so -long-winded. Is he always like that?"</p> - -<p>"Always, all day long the same way."</p> - -<p>"And it doesn't bore you?"</p> - -<p>"Why should it? I don't listen to him."</p> - -<p>"But it's impossible not to listen at all. He may notice it and become -offended."</p> - -<p>"How can he tell? I look at him. He keeps on talking and I keep on -looking and at the same time I think my own thoughts."</p> - -<p>"What do you generally think about?"</p> - -<p>"Different things. If I have to pickle gherkins, I think about -gherkins. If I have to send someone to town, I think about town. -Whatever the household needs, that's what I think about."</p> - -<p>"So, I see, you live with uncle, but you are always alone?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, as good as alone. Unless he sometimes wishes to play cards. Well, -then we play cards. But even then he often stops in the middle of the -game, puts the cards away and begins to talk. And I look at him. It was -much livelier when Arina Petrovna was alive. When she was around he -was afraid to talk too much, because the old woman would often cut him -short. But now the liberties he takes are the limit."</p> - -<p>"Well, you see, Yevpraksia, that's just the horror of it. It is -frightful when a man talks and does not know what he says, why he talks -and whether he'll ever get through. Doesn't it scare you?"</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia looked at her as if struck by a new, wonderful idea.</p> - -<p>"You're not the only one," she said. "Many people around here don't -like him for the same thing."</p> - -<p>"Is that so?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Even the servants. Not one of them can stay here long. He changes -them almost every month. The clerks, too. And all on account of that."</p> - -<p>"He annoys them?"</p> - -<p>"Terribly. The drunkards—they stay because drunkards don't hear. You -may blow a bugle, but it's as if they had their ears stuffed. But the -trouble is, he doesn't like drunkards."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Yevpraksia, and he is trying to persuade me to stay here."</p> - -<p>"Well, madam, it really would be nice of you to stay a while. Maybe in -your presence he would be ashamed."</p> - -<p>"No. Thank you. I haven't the patience to look at him."</p> - -<p>"Yes, of course, you are of the gentlefolk. You can have your own way, -and at that I suppose you've got to dance to somebody's music."</p> - -<p>"Oh, I should say so."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I thought so. I meant to ask you another thing. Is it nice to be -an actress?"</p> - -<p>"You earn your own bread and butter. That's one good thing."</p> - -<p>"And is it true, as Porfiry Vladimirych was telling me, that strangers -embrace actresses about the waist?"</p> - -<p>Anninka flushed up an instant.</p> - -<p>"Porfiry Vladimirych does not understand," she said with irritation. -"That's why he talks nonsense. He seems to have no notion that it's -only play and not reality on the stage."</p> - -<p>"And yet, even he, that is, Porfiry Vladimirych, when he saw you first, -his mouth began to water. 'My niece,' and 'dear,' and 'darling,' like a -gay blade. And his shameless eyes just devour you."</p> - -<p>"Yevpraksia, why do you talk nonsense?"</p> - -<p>"I? Oh, I don't care. You stay here and you'll see. And I—I don't -care. I'll give up my position, and go back to father. It's dull here, -anyway, you were right about it."</p> - -<p>"It is silly for you to suppose that I am going to stay here. But -you're right about one thing, Golovliovo certainly <i>is</i> a dull place. -And the longer you stay here the duller you feel."</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia turned pensive, then yawned and said:</p> - -<p>"When I stayed with father I was very, very slim. Now, you see how -stout I am, like an oven. So dullness does one good, after all."</p> - -<p>"You won't stand it long, anyway. Remember what I say—you won't."</p> - -<p>With this the conversation ended.</p> - -<p>Luckily Porfiry Vladimirych did not hear it, otherwise he would have -obtained a new and fruitful theme for his endless sermonizing.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych tortured Anninka for two whole days. He kept on -saying, "Wait, don't be in a hurry! Quietly, easily. Say your prayers -and receive your benediction," and so on. He tired her to death. -Finally, on the fifth day, he was ready to go to town with her, though -he found another way of tormenting his dear niece.</p> - -<p>She was in her fur coat waiting for him in the vestibule, and he, as if -to spite her, lingered a whole hour, dressing and washing and clapping -his thighs and crossing himself, and walking back and forth, and -sitting down, and giving orders. "Here—, or see to it—you know what I -mean. See that nothing happens—you know."</p> - -<p>He behaved as if he were leaving Golovliovo not for a few hours, but -forever. Having tired everybody out, the men and horses who had been -waiting at the porch for an hour and a half, his own throat at last got -dry from gabbling, and he decided to start out.</p> - -<p>The entire affair in town was concluded while the horses were eating -their oats at the inn. Porfiry Vladimirych produced an account book, -from which it appeared that when Arina Petrovna died the orphans had -twenty thousand rubles or a trifle less in five per cent securities. -Then the petition to remove the guardianship was filed, along with the -papers testifying to the majority of the orphans, and the order was -immediately issued to remove the guardianship and transfer both capital -and land to the rightful owners. In the evening of the same day Anninka -signed all the papers and inventories that Yudushka had prepared and -when all was done, heaved a sigh of relief.</p> - -<p>The remaining few days Anninka spent in the greatest agitation. She -wanted to leave Golovliovo at once, but her uncle met her attempts with -a jest, which, good-natured as it sounded, screened a stupid obstinacy -that no human power could overcome.</p> - -<p>"You yourself said you were going to stay a week. Then stay," he said. -"I don't understand why you are in such a hurry. You don't have to pay -rent, you are welcome without pay. You will have tea and dinner and -anything your heart may desire."</p> - -<p>"But, uncle, I must go," Anninka pleaded.</p> - -<p>"You are on pins and needles, but I am not going to give you horses," -jested Yudushka. "I just won't give you horses, and you'll have to be -my prisoner. When the week is up, I won't say a word. We'll attend -mass, and have a bite, and some tea, and a chat, and we'll take a good -look at each other, and then—God speed you! But, see here, suppose -we visit the grave at Voplino again. It would be best to take leave of -your grandmother, you know. Maybe her soul will be of guidance to you."</p> - -<p>"I shouldn't mind it," Anninka consented.</p> - -<p>"So that's what we'll do. Early in the morning on Wednesday we'll -attend mass here, then we'll have a bite before you go, and then my -team will take you to Pogorelka. From there to Dvoriky you will go with -your own team. You are a landlady yourself, I dare say. You've got your -own horses."</p> - -<p>She had to consent. There is something tremendously powerful in -vulgarity. It catches a person unawares, and while he is staring in -bewilderment, it has him in its clutches. When we pass a cesspool -we close our noses and try not to breathe. We have to do the same -violence to ourselves in an atmosphere saturated with idle chatter -and vulgarity, deaden our sight, hearing, smell and taste, overcome -all sensibility, turn into stone. Otherwise we run the danger of -suffocation from the miasma of vulgarity.</p> - -<p>Anninka understood this, a bit late, perhaps. At any rate, she decided -to let the process of her liberation from the Golovliovo captivity -take its own course. She was so thoroughly overcome by Yudushka's -irresistible twaddle that she dared not resist when he, like a good -relative, embraced her and stroked her back, saying as he did so:</p> - -<p>"You see, now you are a good little girl."</p> - -<p>She recoiled instinctively at the touch of his trembling bony hand -creeping over her back, but was held back from any other expression of -loathing by the hope that he might release her when the week was up.</p> - -<p>Luckily for her Yudushka was not at all squeamish. He perhaps observed -her impatient gestures but paid no attention to them. Evidently he -adhered to the theory of sexual relationship epitomized in the saying, -"Kiss me, whether you love me or not."</p> - -<p>At last came the long expected day of departure. Anninka rose at about -six o'clock, but Yudushka was already up and about. He had already -performed the ceremonial of his morning prayers, and was sauntering -from room to room in dressing-gown and slippers without any plan or -purpose. He was visibly agitated, and when he met Anninka looked at -her askew. It was almost full daylight, but the weather was bad. The -sky was covered with massive dark clouds, from which a chilling sleet -was drizzling. The road along the hamlet had turned black and was full -of puddles—a forecast of roads impassable because of the thaw. A -strong south wind was blowing, another indication of thawing weather. -The trees had cast off their snowy mantles, and their nude wet tops -swayed drearily. The barns in the yard looked black and slimy. Porfiry -Vladimirych led Anninka to the window and pointed out the picture of -spring's awakening.</p> - -<p>"Does it really pay to go?" he asked. "Would it not be better to stay, -after all?"</p> - -<p>"Oh no, no!" she cried in a frightened voice. "The bad weather will -soon be over."</p> - -<p>"Hardly. If you start now I doubt if you will reach Pogorelka before -seven o'clock. And in this thawing weather you cannot travel at night, -you know. So you'll have to spend a night at Pogorelka anyway."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no! I'll travel at night. I'll leave at once. I am brave, you -know. And wait till one o'clock? Uncle, darling! Let me leave at once."</p> - -<p>"And what would grandma say? 'That's the kind of granddaughter I -have!' she'll say. 'She came here, romped about, and wouldn't even come -to ask my blessing.'"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych stopped. For a while he shifted from one foot to -the other, then looked at Anninka, then lowered his eyes. Apparently he -was making up his mind about something.</p> - -<p>"Wait, I'll show you something," he said at last, took a folded note -from his pocket and gave it to Anninka. "Here, read this."</p> - -<p>Anninka read:</p> - -<p>"I was praying to-day, and I asked my good, kind God to leave me my -good little Anninka. And the good, kind God said, 'Put your arm around -good little Anninka's plump waist and press her close to your heart.'"</p> - -<p>"Yes?" he asked turning slightly pale.</p> - -<p>"Fi, how nasty!" she answered, looking at him in bewilderment.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych turned still paler and hissed through his teeth:</p> - -<p>"I suppose, we must have hussars!" then crossed himself and shuffled -out of the room.</p> - -<p>In about fifteen minutes he returned and resumed his jesting as if -nothing had happened.</p> - -<p>"Well?" he asked. "Are you going to stop at Voplino? Will you go and -say good-by to your old granny? Do, my dear, do. It is very good of you -to have thought of your grandma. Never forget your kinsfolk, my dear, -especially those who, in a manner of speaking, were willing to die for -us."</p> - -<p>They attended the mass and requiem services, ate some kutya in the -church, then came home, ate some more kutya and sat down at the tea -table. Porfiry Vladimirych, as if to spite her, sipped his tea more -slowly than usual, and dragged his words out wearisomely, discoursing -in the intervals between gulps. About ten o'clock they finished tea, -and Anninka said imploringly:</p> - -<p>"May I leave now, uncle?"</p> - -<p>"And what about a bite? What about dinner? Did you really think your -uncle would let you leave on an empty stomach? Nay, nay. We are not -used to such things at Golovliovo. Why, mother dear would have refused -to look at me again if she knew I let my own niece go without a morsel. -Don't dare think of it. Why, it's impossible."</p> - -<p>Again she had to surrender. An hour and a half passed, but there were -no signs of preparation for dinner. Everybody was going about his -business. Yevpraksia, her bunch of keys jingling, was seen in the -yard darting between the pantry and the cellar. Porfiry Vladimirych -was explaining things to his clerk, wearying him with meaningless -orders and incessantly slapping his own thighs in an effort to while -away the time. Anninka, left to herself, walked up and down the -dining-room, looked at the clock, counted her steps, then the ticks of -the clock—one, two, three. At times she glanced out of the window and -noticed the puddles were growing larger and larger.</p> - -<p>Finally knives, forks and plates began to rattle. The butler Stepan -entered the dining-room and spread a cloth upon the table. It seemed as -if a part of Yudushka's idle bustle had communicated itself to him. He -shuffled the plates sluggishly, breathed on the drinking glasses, and -examined them, holding them up to the light. Dinner began just at one -o'clock.</p> - -<p>"Well, so you are going," Porfiry Vladimirych opened the conversation, -in a manner befitting the occasion. Before him was a plate of soup, but -he did not touch it. He looked at Anninka so affectionately that the -tip of his nose turned red.</p> - -<p>Anninka swallowed her soup hastily. At last he took up his spoon and -dipped it in the soup, but changed his mind, and placed it back on the -tablecloth.</p> - -<p>"I am an old man, you'll have to pardon me," he began nagging, "you -swallowed your soup in a gulp, but I must take it slowly. I don't like -it when people are careless with God's gifts. God gave us bread for -sustenance, and look how much of it you have wasted. Look at all the -crumbs you scattered. Altogether, I like to do things thoroughly and -carefully. It comes out safer in the end. Maybe it annoys you that I -am not quick enough, that I can't jump through a hoop, or whatever -you call it. Well, what can I do? If you feel like being annoyed, go -ahead. I know you will be cross a little while and then forgive the old -man. Remember, <i>you</i> are not going to be young always. You will not be -jumping through hoops all of your life. Life will give you experience -and teach you wisdom. Then you will say, 'Maybe uncle was right after -all.' So, my dear, now while you listen to me, you probably think, -'Uncle is no good. Uncle is an old grouch.' But if you live to my old -age, you'll pipe a different tune. You'll say, 'Uncle was nice. Uncle -was a dear. Uncle taught me right.'"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych crossed himself and swallowed two spoonfuls of -soup, then put his spoon down and leaned back in his chair as a sign of -an ensuing monologue.</p> - -<p>"Bloodsucker!" was on the tip of her tongue, but she pulled herself up, -poured out a glass of water, and drank it at a gulp. Yudushka sensed -her mental state.</p> - -<p>"So, you don't like it? Well, like it or not, you'd better take uncle's -advice. I've been long meaning to talk to you about your hasty way of -doing things, but I could not find the time to do it. I don't like that -haste in you. There is fickleness in it, a lack of judgment. When you -left your old grandmother, you had no business to leave her and cause -the old woman anxiety. I really don't see why you did it."</p> - -<p>"Oh, uncle, why recall it? It's done. It isn't kind of you."</p> - -<p>"Wait. That's not the point I'm making—kind or unkind—what I want to -say is that even when a thing has been done, it can be undone, or done -all over again. Not only we mortals, but even God alters His deeds. -Now He sends rain, now He sends fair weather. So, suppose—really, the -theatre isn't a good place—suppose you decide to stay."</p> - -<p>"No, uncle, let's not speak about it, I beg of you."</p> - -<p>"And there's another thing I want to tell you. Your fickleness is bad -enough, but what is still worse is the way you slight the advice of -your elders. I speak for your own good and you say, 'Let's not speak -about it.' Uncle is kind and tender, and you snap at him. But do you -know who gave you your uncle? Well, tell me—who?"</p> - -<p>Anninka looked at him in perplexity.</p> - -<p>"God gave you your uncle, that is who. God did it. If not for God, you -would now be all alone in the world, you would not know how to manage -things, or how to file a petition or where to file it, and what to -expect from it. You would be lost in the woods. Anybody could deceive -you, abuse you or even disgrace you. You see? And with the aid of God -and your uncle the whole deal went through in one day. We went to -town, and filed a petition and got the necessary mandates. You see, my -dear, what uncle can do?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, uncle, I am grateful to you."</p> - -<p>"Well, if you are, don't snap at me, and do as I tell you. I mean your -good, though at times it seems to you that——"</p> - -<p>Anninka could hardly control herself. There was one way left to rid -herself of uncle's sermons—to feign that in principle she accepted his -proposal to remain at Golovliovo.</p> - -<p>"All right, uncle," she said, "I'll think it over. I myself feel it is -not quite proper to live alone, far from relatives. But I can't make up -my mind now—I'll have to think it over."</p> - -<p>"Well, I am glad to see you have understood me, but what is there to -think over? We'll have the horses unhitched, your trunks taken out of -the cart—that's all the thinking there is to be done."</p> - -<p>"No, uncle, you forget I have a sister."</p> - -<p>Whether her argument convinced Porfiry Vladimirych or whether the whole -scene had been staged for the mere show of it, it is hard to say. -Porfiry Vladimirych himself did not know whether Anninka really ought -to stay at Golovliovo or whether it was simply a whim of his. At any -rate, from that moment on dinner proceeded at a livelier pace. Anninka -agreed to everything he said and answered his questions in a manner -that did not provoke much nagging and babbling. Nevertheless, the clock -showed half past two when dinner was over. Anninka jumped up from the -table as if she had been sitting in a steam bath, and ran to her uncle -to say good-by.</p> - -<p>In ten minutes Yudushka, in his fur coat and bear-skin boots, saw her -to the porch and in person supervised the process of seating the young -mistress in the pony cart.</p> - -<p>"Easy when you go downhill—you hear? And see that you don't drop her -out at the Senkino slope!" he shouted to the driver.</p> - -<p>Finally Anninka was seated, wrapped up, and the leather cover of the -cart was fastened.</p> - -<p>"Suppose you stay!" Yudushka shouted again, wishing that in the -presence of the servants gathered about, all go off properly as befits -good kinsfolk. But Anninka already felt free, and was suddenly seized -with a desire to play a girlish prank. She stood up in the cart and -emphasizing every word, said, "No, uncle, I will not! You are a fright!"</p> - -<p>Yudushka pretended not to hear, but his lips turned pale.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER VI</h4> - - -<p>Anninka was so overjoyed at her liberation from the Golovliovo bondage, -that she did not even stop to think of the man who at her departure -lost all contact with the world of living beings. She thought only -of herself. She enjoyed the feeling of escape. And the sensation of -freedom was so strong that when she visited the grave at Voplino again -there was no longer a trace of that nervous sensibility which she had -betrayed the first time. She listened to the requiem quietly, bowed -before the grave without shedding a tear, and quite willingly accepted -the priest's invitation to have tea with him.</p> - -<p>The house of the Voplino priest was very scantily furnished. The -only room of state in the house, which served as the reception room, -looked naked and dreary. Along the walls were arranged about a dozen -painted chairs, upholstered with haircloth, in holes here and there, -and a sofa of the same kind with its back bulging out, like the chest -of an old-time general. Against one of the walls between two windows -stood a plain table covered with a soiled cloth, on which lay several -confession books of the parish. From behind them peeped an inkpot with -a quill stuck in it. An image case containing an ikon handed down as a -family heirloom and a burning ikon lamp were suspended in the eastern -corner of the room. Underneath the image case stood two trunks covered -with a drab faded cloth holding the family linen, the dowry of the lady -of the house. The walls were not papered. A few daguerreotype portraits -of bishops hung in the center of one wall. There was a peculiar odor -in the room, as if many generations of flies and black beetles had met -their fate there. The priest himself, though a young man, had become -considerably faded amidst these surroundings. His thin flaxen hair hung -from his head in long, straight locks, like the boughs of a weeping -willow. His eyes, once blue, were now lifeless. His voice trembled, his -beard had taken on a wedge-like shape, his merino cassock hung on him -loosely. His wife, also young, looked even more faded than her husband, -because of frequent child bearing.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Anninka could not help noticing that even these poor -timid, worn-out people looked upon her not as at a real parishioner, -but in pity, as if she were a lost sheep.</p> - -<p>"You were visiting at your uncle's?" began the priest, carefully -removing a cup of tea from the tray held by his wife.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I stayed there about a week."</p> - -<p>"Porfiry Vladimirych is now the chief landowner in the district, and -has the greatest power. But it looks as if luck is not with him. First -one son died, then the other, and now his mother has departed. I am -surprised he did not insist on your staying with him."</p> - -<p>"Uncle wanted me to stay, but I did not care to."</p> - -<p>"Why so?"</p> - -<p>"I prefer to live in freedom."</p> - -<p>"Freedom, madam, is not a bad thing, of course, but it has its -dangers. And when you think you are the nearest relative to Porfiry -Vladimirych, you could forego a bit of that freedom, I imagine."</p> - -<p>"No, father, one's own bread tastes better. It's easier to live when -you know you are under no obligations to anyone."</p> - -<p>The priest looked at her with his extinguished eyes, as if he meant to -ask, "Come now, do you really know what 'one's own bread is?'" but he -had not the courage to hurt her, so he only drew his cassock closer -about him.</p> - -<p>"Do you receive much salary as an actress?" inquired the priest's wife.</p> - -<p>The priest became thoroughly frightened, and even began to wink at his -wife. He expected Anninka to be offended, but Anninka was not offended -and answered without a waver, "At present I get a hundred and fifty -rubles a month, and my sister earns one hundred. But then we have -benefit performances. All told, the two of us net about six thousand a -year."</p> - -<p>"Why does sister get less? Is she of inferior merit, or what?" -continued the priest's wife.</p> - -<p>"No, hers is a different <i>genre.</i> I have a voice and I sing. The -audience likes it more. Sister's voice is a little weaker. So she plays -in vaudeville mostly."</p> - -<p>"So even in acting some are priests, some deacons and others just -sextons?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, but we share our income equally. That was our understanding from -the very beginning—to share all money equally."</p> - -<p>"Like good sisters? Well, there is nothing better than that. How much -will that be, father? If you divide six thousand by months, how much -will that make?"</p> - -<p>"Five hundred rubles a month, and divided by two it makes two hundred -and fifty rubles a month each."</p> - -<p>"My, what a heap of money! We could not spend that much in a year. -Another thing I meant to ask you, is it true that actresses are treated -as if they were not real women?"</p> - -<p>The priest became so alarmed that his cassock flew open; but seeing -that Anninka took the question quite indifferently, he said to himself, -"Eh—eh—she is really a hard nut to crack," and felt reassured.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean 'not real women?'" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Well, they kiss and embrace. I heard they must do it whether they want -to or not."</p> - -<p>"No, they don't kiss—they only pretend to. And as to whether they want -to or not, that is out of the question entirely, because everything is -done according to the play. They must act whatever is written in the -play."</p> - -<p>"Yes, but even if it's in the play—you know—sometimes a man with a -slabbery snout sidles up to you. He is loathsome to look at, but you've -got to hold your lips ready to let him kiss you."</p> - -<p>A blush suffused Anninka's face. There suddenly flashed up in her -memory the slabbery face of the brave Captain Papkov, who had actually -"sidled up to her" and, alas! not even in accordance with the play.</p> - -<p>"You have a wrong notion of what takes place on the stage," she said -drily.</p> - -<p>"Of course, we've never been to the theatre, but I am sure many things -happen there. Father and I have often been speaking about you, madam. -We are sorry for you, very sorry, indeed."</p> - -<p>Anninka was silent. The priest tugged at his beard as if he, too, had -finally gathered up enough courage to say something.</p> - -<p>"Of course, it must be admitted, madam, that every calling has its -agreeable and disagreeable sides," he at last delivered himself, "but -we humans in our failings extol the former and try to forget the -latter. And why do we try to forget? Because, madam, we want as far as -possible to avoid even the remembrance of duty and of the virtuous life -we formerly led." He heaved a sigh and added, "And above all, madam, -you must guard your treasure."</p> - -<p>The priest glanced at Anninka admonishingly, and his wife shook her -head sadly, as much as to say, "Not much chance of that."</p> - -<p>"And it is very doubtful whether you can preserve your treasure while -an actress," he continued.</p> - -<p>Anninka was at a loss what answer to make to these warnings. Little -by little she began to see that the talk of these simple-minded folk -about her "treasure" was of the same value as the pointed remarks of -the officers of the regiments stationed in the various towns about <i>la -chose.</i> Now it became quite clear to her that both at her uncle's and -at the priest's she was considered a peculiar individual to whom one -may condescend, but from a distance, so as not to soil oneself.</p> - -<p>"Father, why is your church so poor?" she asked to change the subject.</p> - -<p>"There is nothing here to make it rich—that's why it's poor. The -landlords are all away in the government service, and the peasants -haven't much to thrive on. In all there are a little over two hundred -parishioners."</p> - -<p>"Our bell, you see, is a very poor one," sighed the priest's wife.</p> - -<p>"Yes, the bell and everything. Our bell, madam, weighs only five -hundred pounds, and to make matters worse, it is cracked. It does not -ring, it coughs. To be so poor is even sinful. The late Arina Petrovna -promised to erect a new bell and, if she were alive we would most -likely have a new bell by now."</p> - -<p>"Why don't you tell uncle that grandmother promised you one?"</p> - -<p>"I did tell him, madam, and I must admit he listened very kindly to my -grievance, but he could not give me a satisfactory answer. He said he -had heard nothing about it from mother; that his late dear mother had -never spoken about the matter. He would gladly carry out her wishes, he -said, if he had only heard mother express them."</p> - -<p>"He could not help hearing them," said the priest's wife. "It was known -throughout the district."</p> - -<p>"So we live on in this wise. At first we had hopes, at least, now we -have no hopes left. Not to mention our own personal needs, there is -nothing to perform the service with sometimes—neither host nor red -wine."</p> - -<p>Anninka wanted to rise and take leave, but a new tray appeared on the -table, with two dishes on it, one of mushrooms, the other with bits of -caviar, and a bottle of Madeira.</p> - -<p>"Do oblige us and have a bite—it's the best we have."</p> - -<p>Anninka obeyed and quickly swallowed some mushrooms, but refused the -Madeira.</p> - -<p>"Another thing I meant to ask," continued the priest's wife, "we -have a girl in our parish, the daughter of a peasant in the service -of Lyshechevsky. She was the chambermaid of a certain actress in St. -Petersburg. She says the life of an actress is very easy and pleasant, -but an actress must produce a special passport every month. Is that -true?"</p> - -<p>Anninka stared at her and did not understand.</p> - -<p>"That is for the greater freedom," explained the priest. "But I -think she did not tell the truth. On the contrary, I heard that many -actresses even get pensions from the government for their services."</p> - -<p>Anninka became convinced that matters were going from bad to worse, and -she rose to take leave.</p> - -<p>"We thought you would give up acting now," the priest's wife persisted.</p> - -<p>"Why should I?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, but—you are a lady. You have reached your majority, you have an -estate of your own—what could be better?"</p> - -<p>"And you are your uncle's heiress, you know," added the priest.</p> - -<p>"No, I sha'n't live here."</p> - -<p>"And how we were hoping for it! The father and I would often speak -about our little mistress. We thought you would surely come to live at -Pogorelka. In the summer it is very nice here. You can go to the woods -and pick mushrooms," tempted the priest's wife.</p> - -<p>"We have mushrooms even in a dry summer, plenty of mushrooms," chimed -the priest.</p> - -<p>At last Anninka left. When she reached Pogorelka, her first word was, -"Horses! Please have the horses ready at once!" But Fedulych only -shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"What's the use of shouting horses? We haven't fed them yet," he -grumbled.</p> - -<p>"But why? Oh, my God, as if everybody were conspiring against me!"</p> - -<p>"That's it, we have conspired. How can you help conspiring if it's -clear as day that we can't ride at night in thawing weather? Anyway, -you'll get stranded in the mud a whole night, so it is better to be -stranded at home, I think."</p> - -<p>Grandmother's apartments had been well heated. The bedroom had been -prepared, and a samovar was puffing on the table. Afimyushka scraped -together the remnants of tea at the bottom of Arina Petrovna's -tea-caddy. While the tea was drawing, Fedulych stood at the door, his -arms folded, facing the young mistress. Beside him stood the cattle -woman and Morkovna looking as if at the first wave of the hand they -were ready to flee for their lives.</p> - -<p>Fedulych was first to begin the conversation.</p> - -<p>"The tea is grandmother's—just a bit left in the bottom of the box. -Porfiry Vladimirych was going to take the box away, too, but I wouldn't -let him. 'Maybe,' I say, 'the young mistress will come and will want -to have some hot tea. So let it stay here till she gets some of her -own.' Well, I had no trouble with him—he even joked. 'You old rascal,' -he says, 'you will use it up yourself! Be sure,' he says, 'to bring -the box to Golovliovo.' I wouldn't be surprised if he sends for it -tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"You should have given it to him then."</p> - -<p>"Why should we? He has enough tea of his own. And now, at least, we, -too, will have some after you. Another thing, madam, are you going to -make us over to Porfiry Vladimirych?"</p> - -<p>"Why, I never meant to."</p> - -<p>"Just so. We were going to mutiny, you know. If, supposing, let's say, -we are put under the rule of the Golovliovo master, we will all hand in -our resignations."</p> - -<p>"Why? Is uncle really so terrible?"</p> - -<p>"No, he is not terrible, but he tortures you, he is all words. He can -talk a man into his grave."</p> - -<p>Anninka smiled involuntarily. It was vile dirt indeed, that oozed from -Yudushka's orations, not mere babble. It was an ill-smelling wound from -which the pus flowed incessantly.</p> - -<p>"And what have you decided, about yourself?" Fedulych continued to -question.</p> - -<p>"Why, what was there to decide about myself?" said Anninka, a bit -confused, feeling that she would again be compelled to listen to -orations on the "treasure."</p> - -<p>"Aren't you really going to give up acting?"</p> - -<p>"No—that is, I haven't thought of it so far. But what harm is there in -my earning my own bread?"</p> - -<p>"I don't see any good in going with a bagpipe from fair to fair to -amuse drunkards. Surely you are a lady."</p> - -<p>Anninka did not reply, only knitting her brows. A painful thought -drummed in her head, "God, when will I leave this place?"</p> - -<p>"Of course, you know better how to take care of yourself. But we -thought you would come back to live with us. The house is warm, -and roomy enough to play tag in. The late mistress looked after -the building herself. And if you feel dull, why then you can go -sleigh-riding. In the summer you can go to the woods to pick mushrooms."</p> - -<p>"We have all kinds of mushrooms here—lots of them," lisped Afimyushka -temptingly.</p> - -<p>Anninka leaned her elbows on the table and tried not to listen.</p> - -<p>"There was a girl here," continued Fedulych cruelly. "She was a -chambermaid in St. Petersburg. She says all actresses must have special -passports. Every month they have to present their license at the police -station."</p> - -<p>Anninka could bear it no longer. She had had to listen to such speeches -all day long.</p> - -<p>"Fedulych!" she shouted in pain. "What have I done to you? Why do you -take pleasure in insulting me?"</p> - -<p>It was all she could stand. She felt as if something was strangling -her. Another word—and she would break down.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="BOOK_V" id="BOOK_V">BOOK V</a></h4> - -<h3>FORBIDDEN FAMILY JOYS</h3> - - - -<hr class="tb" /> -<h4>CHAPTER I</h4> - - -<p>Not long before the catastrophe that befell Petenka, Arina Petrovna, -on one of her visits to Golovliovo, noticed a change in Yevpraksia. -Brought up in the practices of serfdom, where the pregnancy of -a domestic was the subject of a detailed and not uninteresting -investigation, and was even considered an item of income, Arina -Petrovna had a keen eye for such matters. She merely looked at -Yevpraksia, and the girl, without saying a word, turned away her -flushed face in full cognizance of her guilt.</p> - -<p>"Come now, come now, my lady. Look at me. Pregnant, eh?" the -experienced old woman asked the young culprit. However, there was no -reproach in her voice, on the contrary, it sounded jocose, almost gay, -as if the old woman scented a whiff of the dear, good, old times.</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia, bashful and complacent, kept silence, but under Arina -Petrovna's inquisitive look, the red of her cheeks deepened.</p> - -<p>"For some time I have been noticing that you walk kind of stiff, -strutting about and twirling your skirts as if you were a respectable -lady! But, my dear, you can't fool me with your strutting and twirling. -I can see your girlish tricks five versts ahead! Is it the wind that -puffed you up? Since when is it? Out with it now. Tell me all about -it."</p> - -<p>A detailed inquiry ensued, followed by a no less detailed explanation. -When had the first symptoms appeared? Had she a midwife in view? Did -Porfiry Vladimirych know of the joy in store for him? Was Yevpraksia -taking good care of herself? Was she careful not to lift anything -heavy? The findings were that it was now the fifth month since -Yevpraksia had been pregnant; that she had no midwife in view as yet; -that Porfiry Vladimirych had been informed of the matter, but had said -nothing. He had only folded his hands, mumbled something, and glanced -at the ikon, to intimate that all is from God and that He, the Heavenly -Father, provides for all occasions. Yevpraksia had been careless; she -had lifted a samovar and had then and there felt that something inside -of her snapped.</p> - -<p>"You've got brains, I must say," said Arina Petrovna in a grieved -tone when the confession was out. "I see I'll have to look into the -matter myself. Did you ever! A woman in the fifth month and hasn't even -provided for a midwife! But why at least didn't you see Ulita about it, -you fool, you?"</p> - -<p>"I was going to, but the master doesn't like Ulita, you know."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense, girl, nonsense! Whether Ulita offended the master or not has -nothing at all to do with the case. He doesn't have to kiss her, does -he? No, there is no way out of it. I'll have to take this thing in hand -myself."</p> - -<p>It was on the tip of her tongue to complain that even in her old age -she had hardships to bear, but the subject of the conversation was so -attractive that she only parted her lips with a smack and continued:</p> - -<p>"Well, my girl, you are in for it. Take your medicine, try it and see -how it tastes. Go ahead, just try it. I myself raised three sons and -a daughter, and I buried five little ones—I ought to know. We are no -better than slaves to those nasty men!" she added, slapping herself on -the nape of her neck.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, she stopped, struck by a new idea. "Holy saints! If it isn't -going to be in Lent! Wait, just a moment, let's figure it out."</p> - -<p>They began to figure on their fingers, they figured once, twice, a -third time—it surely came out on a Lenten day.</p> - -<p>"So that's how it is. That's the kind of saint he is. Just wait, I'll -tease the life out of him. A pretty mess for him! I'll tease him. My -name is mud if I won't," jested Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>And truly, that very day, when all were gathered at evening tea, Arina -Petrovna began to poke fun at Yudushka.</p> - -<p>"See what a trick our saint has played. Maybe it really is the wind -that puffed your queen up. Well, brother, you've surprised me, I must -say."</p> - -<p>At first Yudushka answered his mother's banter with grimaces of -aversion, but seeing that Arina Petrovna spoke good-naturedly and meant -no harm, he brightened up little by little.</p> - -<p>"You are wag, mother dear, you certainly are," he jested in his turn, -though evading the real point.</p> - -<p>"Why call me a wag? We had better speak seriously about the matter. -It's no joke, you know. It's a 'sacrament,' that's what it is. Though -not a proper one but still——No, we've got to give it serious thought. -What do you think; is she to stay here, or will you send her to the -town?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know, mother, I don't know a thing, darling," said Porfiry -Vladimirych evasively. "You are a wag, you certainly are."</p> - -<p>"Well, my girl, never mind, then. We'll talk it over, just the two of -us, at leisure. We'll figure it out, and arrange things properly. These -mean men—all they need is to satisfy their lust, and we, poor devils, -we get the worst of it."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna felt in her element. She spent a whole evening -discussing things with Yevpraksia and could have gone on indefinitely. -Even her cheeks began to glow and her eyes to glitter youthfully.</p> - -<p>"You know, my dear, what it is? It's something divine, it is," she -insisted. "Because, even if it isn't in the proper way, still it's the -natural way. But you had better look out. If it comes during Lent—God -save you! I'll tease you to death, I'll make this world too hot for -you."</p> - -<p>Ulita was also called into the council. First matters of real -importance were taken up; whether an injection was to be made or -whether the abdomen was to be massaged with quicksilver salve. Then -they turned to the favorite theme and figured on their fingers -again—it came out on a Lenten day! Yevpraksia turned as red as a peony -and did not deny it, but pleaded her subordinate position.</p> - -<p>"What could I do?" she said. "I must do what he wants me to do. If the -master orders us to do something, we, poor devils, can't help but obey."</p> - -<p>"Look at her playing the goody-goody. I'll bet, you yourself—-" jested -Arina Petrovna.</p> - -<p>The woman fairly revelled in the affair. Arina Petrovna recalled a -number of incidents from her past, and did not fail to narrate them. -First she told of her own pregnancies, what tortures she had had to -stand from Simple Simon; how, while carrying Pavel Vladimirych, she -travelled by post to Moscow, changing horses at every stage so as not -to miss the Dubrovino auction, and as a result nearly departed to the -better world, etc., etc. All her deliveries had been remarkable for -something or other. Yudushka's was the only one that had come easy.</p> - -<p>"I didn't feel the least bit of heaviness," she said. "I would sit and -think, 'Lord, am I really pregnant?' And when the time came I just lay -down to rest for a few minutes and I don't know how it happened—I gave -birth to him. He was the easiest son to me, the very, very easiest."</p> - -<p>Then followed stories about domestics, how she herself "caught some of -them in the act," how others were spied upon by her trusties, Ulita -being generally the leader. Her old woman's memory faithfully guarded -these remarkably distinct recollections. In all her drab past—always -devoted to hoarding on both a petty and a large scale, the tracking of -lust-stricken domestics was the only romantic element that touched a -living chord in her.</p> - -<p>It was as if in a dull magazine where the reader expects to find -treatises on dry fogs and Ovid's grave, he suddenly comes upon "See -the troika, gaily dashing," or some such spirited song of gaiety or -sadness. The dénouement of these simple love affairs of the maids' room -was generally drastic and even cruel. The woman was married off into -a remote village, by all means to a widower with a large family, the -male culprit was degraded to the position of a cattle tender or even -pressed into military service. Arina Petrovna's recollection of the -closing chapters of such romances had faded (cultured people have a -memory indulgent of their own past), but the spying out of the amorous -intrigues passed before her eyes in all its vividness. And no wonder. -In those days there was the same absorbing interest in spying of that -sort as there is nowadays in the serial "evening story," in which the -author, instead of at once crowning the mutual longing of the hero and -the heroine, breaks off at the most pathetic place and writes, "to be -continued."</p> - -<p>"Those girls gave me no end of trouble. Some would keep up the pretense -to the last minute, and would feign and sham in the hope of eluding me. -But no, my dear, you can't fool me. I am an old hand at it myself," she -added almost sternly, as if threatening some one.</p> - -<p>Finally came the stories of diplomatic pregnancies, so to speak, in -which Arina Petrovna had figured not as the chastiser, but as the -accomplice and concealer.</p> - -<p>For example, her father Piotr Ivanych, when he was an old, tottering -man of seventy, had also had a "mistress," who had also been discovered -with an "increment"; and for higher considerations it had been -necessary to conceal the "increment" from the old man. As ill luck -would have it, Arina Petrovna was then at odds with her brother Piotr -Petrovich who, also for some diplomatic reasons, had wanted to spy upon -the pregnancy and leave his father in no doubt as to his lady-love's -position.</p> - -<p>"And what do you think? We carried the whole thing through almost in -front of father's nose. The old dear slept in his bedroom, and the two -of us, alongside of him, went on with our work, quietly, in a whisper -and on tiptoe. I myself with my own hands closed up her mouth, so she -could not scream, disposed of the linen, and then grabbed hold of her -baby—he was a fine, big fellow—and dispatched him to the foundling -asylum. When brother learned about it a week later he only gasped."</p> - -<p>There had been another diplomatic pregnancy. Her cousin Varvara -Mikhailovna had been involved in the case. Her husband had left on a -campaign against the Turks, and she had not been sufficiently careful. -She came galloping to Golovliovo like one possessed and had shouted -"Save me, cousin!"</p> - -<p>"Well, though we were on the outs with her at that time, I did not make -her feel it. I welcomed her in the most hospitable way, calmed her, -reassured her, pretended she had just come to us on a visit, and fixed -the matter up so that her husband did not know a thing about it till -his dying day."</p> - -<p>Thus ran the tales of Arina Petrovna, and seldom has a narrator found -more attentive listeners. Yevpraksia swallowed every word as if the -incidents of a wonderful fairy tale were actually passing before her -eyes. As to Ulita, she as an erstwhile participant in most of it, only -made smacking sounds with the corners of her lips.</p> - -<p>Ulita also brightened up and felt more comfortable than she had for a -long time. Hers was a restless life. Even in childhood she had burned -with servile ambitions. Sleeping and waking, she would dream about -gaining favor in her master's eyes and getting the whiphand over those -in her own station in life. But her dreams never came true. As soon -as she set foot on the rung higher up, she would be tugged back and -plunged into the inferno by an unseen, mysterious power. She possessed -in perfection the qualities of an all-round servant of the gentlefolk. -She was venomous, evil-tongued and always ready for treachery, but -also slavishly ready to go anywhere and do anything that neutralized -her viciousness. In former days, when it was necessary to follow up an -event in the maid servants' room, or settle any dubious affair, Arina -Petrovna had gladly made use of her services, though she had never -appreciated them and had not admitted her to any office of trust. -Ulita would then make loud complaints, and sting with her tongue, -but no one paid attention to her grumblings, for she was well known -as a malevolent woman, ready to curse herself and others to eternal -damnation, but the next moment at a mere wink willing to come running -and sit up on her hind legs prepared to do her master's bidding.</p> - -<p>And so she had been knocked about, always trying to get somewhere and -never getting there, till the abolition of serfdom put an end to her -slavish ambitions.</p> - -<p>One event in Ulita's youth had kindled in her great hopes. Porfiry -Vladimirych, on one of his visits to Golovliovo, had become intimate -with her, and, as tradition had it, had even had a child by her. That -had brought down upon him the wrath of Arina Petrovna. It is uncertain -whether the relationship had been kept up on his subsequent visits; at -any rate, when Yudushka decided to establish himself permanently at -Golovliovo, Ulita's hopes had been shattered grievously. Immediately -after his arrival she came to him with a heap of gossip, in which -Arina Petrovna was accused of all sorts of fraud. The master listened -very affably to her gossip, but gave Ulita a cold look, evidently -failing to remember her former "good services." Offended and deceived -in her hopes, Ulita transferred herself to Dubrovino, where Pavel -Vladimirych, because of his hatred for his dear brother Porfiry -Vladimirych, received her gladly and even made her his housekeeper. -Here for a long time her condition seemed to improve. Pavel Vladimirych -would sit in the entresol and sip one glass of vodka after another, -and she would run busily from storeroom to cellar, clanging a bunch -of keys, and rattling her tongue. She had even quarrelled with Arina -Petrovna, whom the sly wench nearly drove to her grave.</p> - -<p>But Ulita loved treachery too well to be content with the peace and -quiet that had come with her "good living." That was when Pavel -Vladimirych had become so addicted to drink that his end could readily -be foreseen. Porfiry Vladimirych was alive to Ulita's priceless value -at this juncture, and he snapped his fingers again and summoned her. -He ordered her never for a moment to leave his prey, not to contradict -Pavel in anything, not even in his hatred of his brother Porfiry, and -by all means to eliminate the interference of Arina Petrovna. This -had been one of those domestic crimes which Yudushka had a gift of -perpetrating without previous deliberation, spontaneously, and as a -matter of course. Needless to say, Ulita carried out his orders most -faithfully. Pavel Vladimirych never ceased to hate his brother, and the -more he hated him, the more he drank his vodka, and the less capable -he became of heeding the remarks and advice of Arina Petrovna as to -"making provisions." Every moment of the dying man, every word uttered -were at once reported to Golovliovo, so that Yudushka, equipped with a -full knowledge of the facts, could determine the exact moment he should -have to leave his ambush and step in as master of the situation that -he had created. And so he had! He had come to Dubrovino at the very -moment that he could get the estate for the asking. Porfiry Vladimirych -had rewarded Ulita's services by making her a gift of cloth for a -woolen dress, but he never admitted her close to him.</p> - -<p>Again Ulita had been plunged from the heights of grandeur into the -depths of inferno. It seemed to be her last fall. No one would snap his -fingers again and summon her for service. As a sign of special favor -and in consideration of her "nursing dear brother in his last days," -she had been allotted a nook in the house where all the deserving old -servants, who had remained after the abolition of serfdom, had found -shelter. Here Ulita had become completely cowed, and when Porfiry -Vladimirych made his choice of Yevpraksia, she not only had not shown -any obstinacy, but had even been first to come to do homage to the -master's love and had kissed her shoulder.</p> - -<p>And now, when she had given herself up as forgotten and abandoned, -she struck luck once more in Yevpraksia's pregnancy. It was suddenly -recalled that somewhere in the servants' room there was a handy person. -Somebody snapped her fingers and summoned Ulita. True, it was not the -master who had snapped his fingers. But that he offered no obstacles -was in itself sufficient grace. Ulita celebrated her entry into the -Golovliovo manor by taking the samovar from Yevpraksia's hands. -Bending sidewise a bit, with the weight of it, she walked smartly into -the dining-room, where Porfiry Vladimirych was already seated. The -master said not a word. He even smiled, she thought, when upon another -occasion, as she was bringing in the samovar, she shouted from a -distance, "Step to one side, master, or I'll scald you."</p> - -<p>When Ulita answered the summons to the family council she made wry -faces at first and refused to be seated. But when Arina Petrovna -shouted at her in a kindly way, "Sit down,—will you? What's the use of -your tricks? God made us all equal—be seated." Ulita sat down and kept -silence a while. Very shortly, however, her tongue unloosened.</p> - -<p>She, too, had her reminiscences. Her memory was stuffed with filth -from the days of her serfdom. Beside the carrying out of delicate -commissions like dogging the amorous doings of the maids' room, Ulita -had also held the office of leech and apothecary in the Golovliovo -manor. It was she who made all the injections, and applied the -cupping-glasses and mustard plasters. She had given even the old -master, Vladimir Mikhailych and Arina Petrovna injections, and the -young master, too—every one of them. She retained the most grateful -memories, and now there was a boundless field for all her reminiscences.</p> - -<p>A new mysterious life animated the Golovliovo manor. Arina Petrovna -would come over from Pogorelka every now and then to pay her "good son" -a visit and supervise preparations that as yet were given no name. -After the evening, the three women would go into Yevpraksia's room, -would eat some homemade jam, play fool, and, till late into the night, -would revel in reminiscences that would often make the heroine of the -occasion blush. The least incident, the smallest trifle, served as -a pretext for endless narrations. Yevpraksia brought some raspberry -jam, and Arina Petrovna began a story that when she was carrying her -daughter Sonya she could not stand even the smell of raspberries.</p> - -<p>"No sooner did a raspberry come into the house than I began to yell -at the top of my voice, 'Out, out with that damned thing!' After my -confinement it was all right again; I liked raspberries again."</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia brought some caviar—and Arina Petrovna had an incident to -recall in connection with caviar, too.</p> - -<p>"A really wonderful thing happened to me in connection with caviar. It -was a month or two after I was married and suddenly I was seized with -such a strong desire for caviar that I simply had to have it at any -cost. I would sneak into the cellar and eat as much as I could. And -once I said to my husband, 'Vladimir Mikhailych, why is it that I eat -caviar all the time?' He smiled at me, you know, and said, 'My dear, -it is because you are pregnant.' And surely enough, just nine months -afterward I gave birth to Simple Simon."</p> - -<p>But Porfiry Vladimirych continued to be noncommittal, never once -admitting that he had anything to do with Yevpraksia's condition. Quite -naturally this attitude of his embarrassed the women and dampened their -effusions in his presence, so that he came to be completely abandoned. -They chased him without ceremony from Yevpraksia's room when he came in -the evening to rest up and have a chat.</p> - -<p>"Be gone, you fine fellow!" Arina Petrovna said gaily. "You did your -part. Now it's none of your business any more, it's the women's -business. It's our turn now."</p> - -<p>Yudushka took himself off in all meekness. Though not neglecting to -reproach his mother dear for being unkind to him, he rejoiced inwardly -that she was taking so much interest in the embarrassing affair, and -that he was left alone. If not for his mother's participation, God -knows what he would have had to undergo in order to hush up the nasty -affair, the very thought of which made him spit out in disgust. Now, -thanks to the experience of Arina Petrovna and the skill of Ulita, -he hoped the "trouble" would pass without gaining publicity, and he -himself, perhaps, would learn of the results after all was over.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER II</h4> - - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych's hopes were not realized. First occurred the -catastrophe with Petenka, then Arina Petrovna's death. And there was no -possibility in sight of his extricating himself by means of some ugly -machinations. He could not dismiss Yevpraksia for dissolute conduct, -because Arina Petrovna had carried the affair too far and made it too -widely known. Nor was Ulita so very reliable. Dexterous woman though -she was, yet if he put his trust in her, he might have to deal with -the coroner. For the first time in his life Yudushka seriously and -sincerely regretted his loneliness; for the first time he realized -vaguely that the people around him were not mere pawns to be played -with.</p> - -<p>"Why didn't she wait a while to die?" Yudushka reproached his mother -dear. "She should have fixed it all up quietly and with good sense, -and then—as she pleased! If it's time to die—you can't help it. I am -sorry for the old woman. But if God wills it so, all our tears, and the -doctors, and the cures, and all of us are naught before the power of -God. The old woman lived long enough. She had her day—was herself a -mistress all her life, and left her children a gentry estate. She lived -to old age—well that's enough."</p> - -<p>And as usual his idle mind, not used to dwell on a matter presenting -practical obstacles, skipped to the easier topic that gave occasion to -endless, unhampered verbiage.</p> - -<p>"And to think how she died! Why, her death was worthy of a saint," he -lied to himself, not knowing, though, whether he lied or spoke the -truth. "Without ailment, without trouble—just so. She heaved a sigh, -and before we knew it, she was no more. Oh, mother dear! And her smile, -and the glow of her cheeks! Her hands placed together as if she wanted -to confer a blessing. She shut her eyes and—good-by!"</p> - -<p>But in the very heat of his sentimental babblings, something would -suddenly prick him. That filthy business again. Fi, fi! "And really why -didn't she wait a while! It was only a matter of a month or so, and -now, look what she did!"</p> - -<p>For some time he attempted to pretend ignorance, and answered Ulita's -inquiries just as he had answered his mother's, "I don't know, I don't -know anything."</p> - -<p>But Ulita, an impudent woman, who had suddenly become conscious of her -power, could not be dismissed like that.</p> - -<p>"Do <i>I</i> know? Have I brought this business on?" she cut him short. And -then he realized that from that moment on the happy combination of the -rôle of adulterer with the rôle of the unconcerned observer of the -consequences of his adultery had become quite impossible.</p> - -<p>Nearer and nearer came the disaster, inevitable, tangible. It pursued -him relentlessly and—what was worst of all—it paralyzed his idle -mind. He exerted all possible efforts to rid himself of the thought of -the approaching calamity, to drown it in a torrent of idle words, but -he succeeded only in part. He tried to hide behind the infallibility -of the law of Providence and, as was his custom, turned it into a ball -of thread which he could wind and unwind without end. There was the -parable of the hair falling from a man's head, and the legend of the -house built on sand; but just at the moment when his idle thoughts were -about to roll down into a kind of mysterious abyss, when the endless -winding of the ball seemed quite assured, a single word suddenly -jumped out from the ambush and broke the thread. Alas! That one word -was "adultery" and designated an act of which Yudushka did not wish to -confess himself guilty even to himself.</p> - -<p>When all his efforts to forget the disaster or to do away with it -proved futile, when he realized at last that he was caught, his soul -became filled with anguish. He walked back and forth in the room, -thinking of nothing, and he felt that something inside of him trembled -and ached. It was a check that his idle mind felt for the first time. -Up to now, wherever his idle and empty imagination carried him, it -always found boundless space, space that gave room to all possible -kinds of combinations. Even the deaths of Volodka and Petka, even the -death of Arina Petrovna had not baffled his flow of idle thoughts and -words. Those were common, well recognized situations, met by well -recognized, well established forms—requiems, funeral dinners, and -the like. All this he had done in strict accordance with the custom -and thus vindicated himself, so to speak, before the laws of man and -Providence. But adultery—what was that? Why, that meant an arraignment -of his entire life, the showing up of its inner sham. Though he had -formerly been known as a pettifogger, even as a Bloodsucker, gossip -had had so little legal background that he could safely retort, "Prove -it!"</p> - -<p>And now, all of a sudden—adulterer! A known, convicted adulterer. He -had not even resorted to "measures," so great had been his confidence -in Arina Petrovna; he had not even worked up a story to cover the -thing. And on a Lenten day at that. The shame of it!</p> - -<p>In these inner talks with himself, in spite of their confusion, there -was something like an awakening of conscience. But the question was -whether Yudushka would continue along that path or whether his idle -mind would even in this grave matter perform its usual function -of finding a loophole through which he could crawl out and emerge -unscathed.</p> - -<p>While Yudushka was thus smarting under his own mental vacuity, -Yevpraksia was undergoing an unexpected inner change. Evidently the -anticipation of motherhood untied the mental fetters that had hitherto -held her bound. Up to that time she had been indifferent to everything -and regarded Porfiry Vladimirych as a "master" in relation to whom she -was a mere subordinate. Now, for the first time, she grasped a definite -idea. It began to dawn on her that here was a state of affairs where -she was the most important figure, and where she could not be driven -about with impunity. As a consequence, even her face, usually blank and -stolid, became lighted up and intelligent.</p> - -<p>The death of Arina Petrovna had been the first fact in her -semi-conscious life that produced a sobering effect upon her. No -matter how peculiar the attitude of the old mistress to Yevpraksia's -prospective motherhood was, still there were glimpses of sympathy -in it and nothing of the disgusting evasiveness of Yudushka. So -Yevpraksia had begun to see a protector in Arina Petrovna, as if -expecting that some kind of attack was being planned against her. The -forebodings of that attack were all the more persistent since they were -not illuminated by consciousness, but merely filled the whole of her -being with vague anxiety. Her mind was not vigorous enough to tell her -definitely the point from which the attack would come and the form it -would take; but her instincts had already been so aroused that the very -sight of Yudushka filled her with an inexplicable fear. "Yes, that's -where it will come from," reverberated in the inner chambers of her -soul—from that coffin filled with dead dust, from that coffin she had -so long been tending like a hireling, from that coffin which by some -miracle had become the father and lord of <i>her</i> child! The feeling -this thought awakened in her was akin to hatred and would inevitably -have passed into hatred had it not been diverted by the sympathy and -interest of Arina Petrovna, who, by constant chatter, never gave -Yevpraksia a chance to think.</p> - -<p>But Arina Petrovna retired to Pogorelka, and then vanished entirely. -The feeling of anxiety and uneasiness in Yevpraksia became still more -intense.</p> - -<p>The stillness in which the Golovliovo manor became engulfed was broken -only by a rustle announcing that Yudushka was stealing through the -corridors, listening at the doors. Or sometimes, some one of the -servants would come running from the yard and bang the door of the -maids' room. But then stillness would again creep in from all sides. It -was a dead stillness that filled Yevpraksia's being with superstitions -and anguish. And since she was nearing her time, she had not even the -sleepy feeling to look forward to that came in the evening after a day -of household chores.</p> - -<p>She tried once or twice to be affectionate with Porfiry Vladimirych and -engage his kindly sympathies. Her attempts only resulted in brief but -mean scenes that reacted painfully even on her crude sensibilities. -All that was left to her was to sit with her arms folded and think, -that is, be alarmed. And as to the causes for alarm, they multiplied -daily. The death of Arina Petrovna had untied Yudushka's hands and -introduced into the Golovliovo manor a new element of tale-bearing, -which thereafter became the one thing in which Yudushka's soul reveled.</p> - -<p>Ulita was aware that Porfiry Vladimirych was afraid and that with his -idle, empty, perfidious character fear bordered on hatred. Besides, she -knew very well that he was incapable not only of attachment but even of -simple pity, and he kept Yevpraksia only because, thanks to her, his -daily life flowed on in an undeviating rut. Equipped with these simple -data, Ulita was in a position to nurse the feeling of hatred that arose -in Yudushka whenever he was reminded of the coming "disaster."</p> - -<p>Soon Yevpraksia became entangled in a web of gossip. Ulita every now -and then "reported" to the master. In one instance she complained about -the wasteful disposal of house provisions.</p> - -<p>"I am afraid, master, your stuff is spent a bit too fast. I went to the -cellar a while ago to get cured beef. I remembered a new tub had been -begun not long ago, and—would you believe it? I look into the tub and -find only two or three slices at the bottom."</p> - -<p>"Is it possible?" said Porfiry Vladimirych, staring at her.</p> - -<p>"If I had not seen it myself, I shouldn't have believed it, either. -It's surprising what heaps of stuff are used up! Butter, barley, -pickles—everything. Other folk feed their servants on gruel and -goose-fat, but our servants must have it with butter, and sweet butter -at that."</p> - -<p>"Is that so?" exclaimed Porfiry Vladimirych, almost frightened.</p> - -<p>At another time she entered casually and "reported" about the master's -linen.</p> - -<p>"Master, I think you ought to stop Yevpraksia, really. Of course, she -is a girl, inexperienced, but still, take the linen for instance. She -wasted piles of it on bed sheets and swaddling clothes, and it's all -fine linen, you know."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych merely cast a fiery glance, but the whole of his -empty being was thrown into convulsions by her "report."</p> - -<p>"Of course, she cares for her infant," continued Ulita, in a -mellifluous voice. "She thinks Lord knows what, a prince is going to -be born. And I think that he, I mean the infant, could well sleep on -fustian bedding—with such a mother."</p> - -<p>At times she simply teased Yudushka.</p> - -<p>"Do you know, master, what I was going to ask you?" she began. "What -are you going to do about the infant? Are you going to make him your -son, or will you, like other folk, put him in the foundling asylum."</p> - -<p>At this Porfiry Vladimirych flashed such a fierce glance at her that -she was instantly silenced.</p> - -<p>And amidst the hatred that was rising from every corner, the moment -drew nearer and nearer when the appearance of a tiny, crying, "servant -of God" would in one way or another bring order into the moral chaos -of the Golovliovo manor, and would increase the number of the "servants -of God" that inhabit this universe.</p> - -<p>It was seven o'clock in the evening. Porfiry Vladimirych had had his -after-dinner nap and was in his study filling up sheets of paper with -columns of figures. He was busy with the following problem: How much -money would he now have had, if his dear mother Arina Petrovna had not -appropriated the hundred ruble note his grandfather had given him on -the day of his birth, but had placed it in the bank to the credit of -the minor Porfiry? It came out not much—only eight hundred rubles in -notes.</p> - -<p>"It isn't a lot of money, let's say," Yudushka mused idly, "but still -it's good to know that you have it for a rainy day. Any time you need -it—you can just go and get it. You don't have to bow to anybody, or -ask favors—just take your own money, given to you by your grandfather. -Oh, mother dear! How could you have acted so rashly?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych had allayed the fears that had only recently -paralyzed his capacity for thinking idle nonsense. The glimmerings of -conscience awakened by the difficult position in which Yevpraksia's -pregnancy put him, and by the sudden death of Arina Petrovna, little -by little faded away. His idle mind had done its work, and Yudushka -had finally succeeded by great effort, it is true, in drowning all -thought of the impending "disaster" in his bottomless pit of verbiage. -One could not say he had made up his mind consciously, but rather -intuitively. It was instinct in him that made him revert to his -favorite formula: "I don't know anything, I allow nothing, I forbid -everything," which he applied in every difficulty. On this occasion, -too, it put an end to the inner turbulence that had briefly agitated -him.</p> - -<p>Now, this matter of the coming birth was of no concern to him, and -his face assumed an indifferent, impenetrable look. He almost ignored -Yevpraksia, not even calling her by name. If ever he did inquire about -her he would say, "How about that woman—still sick?" He proved to be -so strong that eyen Ulita, who had been through the school of serfdom -and had learned quite a lot about reading people's minds, realized -that to battle with a man who had no scruples and who would go to any -lengths was quite impossible.</p> - -<p>The Golovliovo manor was plunged in darkness. Only Yudushka's study and -the side room occupied by Yevpraksia were illuminated by a glimmering -light. Stillness reigned in Yudushka's rooms, broken only by the rattle -of the beads on the counting board and the faint squeak of Yudushka's -pencil.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, in the dead stillness he heard a distant but piercing groan. -Yudushka trembled, his lips quivered, his pencil jerked.</p> - -<p>"One hundred and twenty rubles plus twelve rubles and ten kopeks," -whispered Porfiry Vladimirych, endeavoring to stifle the unpleasant -sensation produced by the groan.</p> - -<p>But the groans were now coming with increasing frequency. Finally they -got to be annoying. It became so difficult for him to work that he -left the desk. First he paced back and forth trying not to hear; but -little by little curiosity gained the upper hand. He opened the door -cautiously, put his head into the darkness of the adjacent room and -listened in an attitude of watchful expectation.</p> - -<p>"My, I think I forgot to light the lamp before the ikon of the Holy -Virgin, the Assuager of Our Sorrows," flashed through his mind.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he heard quick footsteps in the corridor, and he darted back -into his study, cautiously closing the door and mincing on tiptoe to -the ikon.</p> - -<p>A moment later he was already in "proper form," so that when the door -opened wide and Ulita rushed into the room, she found him in a pose of -prayer with folded hands.</p> - -<p>"I am afraid Yevpraksia's life is in danger," said Ulita, not -hesitating to interrupt Yudushka's prayers. But Porfiry Vladimirych did -not even turn his face; he began to move his lips faster than before, -and instead of answering waved his hand in the air as if to chase away -an annoying fly.</p> - -<p>"What's the use of waving your hand? I say Yevpraksia is doing poorly. -She may die any moment," Ulita insisted gruffly.</p> - -<p>This time Yudushka turned toward her, but his face was as calm and -unctuous as if he had just been in communion with the Deity, and had -cast off all earthly cares, and did not even understand what could make -people disturb him.</p> - -<p>"Though it's sinful to chide after prayer, still as a human being I -cannot keep from complaining. How many times have I not asked you not -to disturb me when I say my prayers?" he said in a voice befitting his -worshipful mood, and permitting himself only a shake of his head as a -sign of Christian reproach. "Well, what has happened?"</p> - -<p>"What could have happened? Yevpraksia is in labor and cannot give -birth. As if you haven't heard it before. Oh, you! Go and look at her -at least."</p> - -<p>"What is there to look at? Am I a doctor? Can I give her advice, or -what? I don't know anything, I don't know any of your business. I know -there is a sick woman in the house, but why she is sick and what her -sickness is, that, I confess, I never had the curiosity to find out. -Send for the priest if the patient is in danger. That's one piece of -advice I can give you. Send for the priest, pray with him, light the -ikon lamps. And then I'll have tea with the parson."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych was glad that he expressed himself so well in this -most decisive moment. He looked at Ulita firmly as if he meant to say, -"Well refute me, if you can."</p> - -<p>Even she was baffled by his equanimity. "Suppose you do come and take a -look," she repeated.</p> - -<p>"I will not go because I have nothing to do there. If it were business, -I would go without being called. If I have to go five versts on -business, I'll go five versts, and if ten versts, I'll go ten. It may -be in wind and storm, but I'll go. For I know there is business to -attend to and I've got to go whether I want to or not."</p> - -<p>Ulita thought she was asleep and that in her sleep she saw Satan -himself standing before her and discoursing.</p> - -<p>"To send for the priest—that's business! A prayer—do you know what -the Scriptures say about a prayer? 'A prayer cures the afflicted.' -That's what it says. So see to it. Send for the priest, pray together, -and I, too, will pray in the meantime. You will pray there, in the ikon -room, and I will invoke God's mercy here in my study. By joint effort, -you on one side, I on the other, we may after all succeed in making our -prayers heard in Heaven."</p> - -<p>The priest was sent for, but before he came, Yevpraksia, in agony, -delivered herself of the child. From the hurried steps and banging -doors, Porfiry Vladimirych understood that something decisive had -happened. And, indeed, in a few minutes hurried steps were heard in the -corridor, and Ulita rushed in holding a tiny creature wrapped up in -linen.</p> - -<p>"Here! Look at it!" she exclaimed triumphantly, bringing the child -close to the face of Porfiry Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>For a moment it looked as if Yudushka were hesitating. His body swayed -forward and a bright spark flashed in his eyes. But only for a moment. -The next instant he turned up his nose squeamishly and waved his hand.</p> - -<p>"No, no! I am afraid. I don't like them. Go away, go away!" he began to -stammer, with infinite aversion in his face.</p> - -<p>"Why don't you at least ask if it's a boy or a girl?" Ulita pleaded -with him.</p> - -<p>"No, no! What for? It's none of my business. It's your affair, and I -don't know anything. I don't know anything, and I don't want to know -either. Go away, for Christ's sake, be gone!"</p> - -<p>Again Ulita felt as though she were in a nightmare with Satan standing -in front of her. It exasperated her.</p> - -<p>"I'll take him and put him on your sofa. Go nurse him!" That was a -threat.</p> - -<p>But Yudushka was not the man to be moved. While Ulita was threatening, -he was already facing the ikon, with hands stretched upward. Evidently -he was imploring God to forgive all people, those who sinned knowingly, -and those who sinned unknowingly; those who sinned in word and those -who sinned in deed; and he thanked the Lord that he himself was not a -sinner or an adulterer, and that the Lord in His grace had led him in -the righteous path. Even his nose trembled with the solemnity of his -feeling. Ulita observed him for some time, blew out her lips in disgust -and left.</p> - -<p>"God took one Volodka and gave another Volodka," flashed up in -Yudushka's mind quite irrelevantly; but he at once became aware of this -sudden play of thought and spat inwardly in annoyance.</p> - -<p>Soon the priest came and chanted and burned incense. Yudushka heard -the drawl of the sexton as he was chanting, "Oh, Zealous Protectress!" -and gladly chimed in. Soon Ulita came running to the door again and -shouted, "He was christened Volodimir!"</p> - -<p>Yudushka was moved by the strange coincidence of this circumstance and -his recent aberration of mind. He saw the will of God in it, and this -time he did not spit, but said to himself:</p> - -<p>"Well, then, thank God! He took one Volodka and gave another. That's -what God can do. You lose something in one place and you think it's -gone, but God, if He wishes, rewards you for it a hundredfold."</p> - -<p>At last it was announced that the samovar was on the table and the -priest was waiting in the dining-room. Porfiry Vladimirych became quite -peaceful and solemn. The Golovliovo priest, Father Aleksandr, was a -polite man, and he endeavored to give his intercourse with Yudushka -a worldly tone. In the landlord's manor there were all-night vigils -every week and on the eve of every principal holiday, in addition to -the ceremonial services performed every first of the month. That meant -an income of over a hundred rubles a year. Father Aleksandr was not -unmindful of this, nor of the fact that the landmarks between the -church lands and Yudushka's lands had not yet been settled upon, and -Yudushka, on passing the church meadows, would many times exclaim, "My, -what fine meadows!" So the priest's worldly behavior toward Yudushka -was tempered by fear, which came out every time the priest visited the -manor. He would work himself up into gay spirits, though he really had -no occasion to feel happy. And when Porfiry Vladimirych gave expression -to heresies concerning the ways of Providence, the after-life, and so -forth, the priest, though not quite approving of the heresies, still -did not consider them sacrilegious and blasphemous, but ascribed them -to the temerity of spirit characteristic of the gentry.</p> - -<p>When Yudushka entered, the priest hurriedly gave him his blessing and -just as hurriedly pulled his hand back as if afraid the Bloodsucker -would bite it. He wanted to congratulate his spiritual son on the birth -of the new little Vladimir, but uncertain how Yudushka was taking the -matter, he decided not to congratulate him.</p> - -<p>"It's misty outdoors," the priest began. "By popular signs, in which -one may say there seems to be a great deal of superstition, such a -state of the atmosphere signifies that thawing weather is near."</p> - -<p>"And maybe it will turn out to be a frost. We are foretelling thawing -weather and God will go ahead and send us a frost," retorted Yudushka, -with a bustling; air of gaiety, and seated himself at the table, this -time attended by the butler Prokhor.</p> - -<p>"It is true that man in his aspirations strives to attain the -unattainable and to gain access to the inaccessible; and as a -consequence he incurs cause for penance, or even veritable grief."</p> - -<p>"That is why we ought to refrain from guessing and foretelling and -be satisfied with what God sends us. If He sends us warm weather, we -ought to be satisfied with warm weather; if He send us frost, let us -welcome the frost. We'll order the stoves heated more than usual, and -those who travel will wrap themselves tight in fur coats, and there you -are—we're all warm."</p> - -<p>"Quite true."</p> - -<p>"There are many nowadays who go circling round. They don't like this -and they are dissatisfied with that, and the other thing is not after -their heart, but I don't approve. I don't make forecasts myself, and I -don't care for it in others. It is haughtiness of spirit—that's what I -call it."</p> - -<p>"That's true, too."</p> - -<p>"We are all pilgrims here, that's how I look at it. Well, as to having -a glass of tea, or a light bite, or something, we are allowed to do -that, for God gave us our body and limbs. Even the government would not -forbid us that. 'You can eat, if you want to,' it says, 'but hold your -tongue.'"</p> - -<p>"Also perfectly true," exclaimed the priest, tapping the saucer with -the bottom of his empty tea-glass in exultation over the harmony -between them.</p> - -<p>"As I understand it, God gave man reason not to explore the unknown, -but to refrain from sin. If I, for instance, feel a craving of the -flesh or a temptation of some kind, I call my reason to the rescue -and say, 'Show me, forsooth, the ways by which I may overcome this -craving,' and I am quite right, for in such cases reason can really be -of great use."</p> - -<p>"Still, faith is superior, in a way," the priest offered in slight -correction.</p> - -<p>"Faith is one thing and reason is another. Faith points out the -goal, and reason finds the way. It goes searching in every direction -till at last it finds something. Take, for instance, all these drugs -and plasters and healing herbs and potions—all of them have been -invented by reason. But we ought to see to it that such invention is in -accordance with faith, to our salvation and not to our ruin."</p> - -<p>"I cannot disagree with you in this, either."</p> - -<p>"There is a certain book, father, that I read some time ago. It says -that one must not disdain the offices of reason if the latter is -guided by faith, for a man without reason soon becomes the plaything -of passion; and I even think that the first downfall of man came about -because the devil in the shape of the serpent beclouded the human -reason."</p> - -<p>The reverend father did not object to this either, though he refrained -from assent, since it was not yet clear to him what Yudushka had up his -sleeve.</p> - -<p>"We often see that people not only fall into sinful thought, but even -commit crimes, all because of lack of reason. The flesh tempts, and -if there is no reason, man falls into the abyss. Man craves something -sweet, he craves gaiety and pleasure, especially when it comes through -women. How will you preserve yourself without the aid of reason? And -if, let's say, for instance, I do possess reason, I'll take some -camphor and rub it in where necessary, and put some in other parts, and -before you know, the craving is over as if it had never been there."</p> - -<p>Yudushka became silent as if waiting to hear what the priest had to -say in response, but the priest was still uncertain what Yudushka was -driving at and therefore he only coughed and said quite irrelevantly:</p> - -<p>"There are hens in my yard—very restless on account of the change of -season. They run and jump about, and can't find a place for themselves."</p> - -<p>"All because neither birds nor beasts nor reptiles possess reason. What -is a bird? It has no worry, no cares—just flies about. The other day, -for instance, I looked out of the window and saw some sparrows pecking -at manure. Manure is enough for them but not for man."</p> - -<p>"Yet in some cases even the Scriptures take birds as examples."</p> - -<p>"In some cases, that's true. Where faith without reason can be a man's -salvation, we must do as the birds do, pray to God, compose verses."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych grew silent. Though talkative by nature and though -the event of the day naturally lent itself to a lengthy discussion, the -most suitable form for the remarks on the subject had evidently not yet -ripened in his mind.</p> - -<p>"Birds need no reason," he said at last, "because they have no -temptations. Or, rather, they have temptations but they are never -called to answer for their doings. Birds lead a natural life. They -have no property to take care of, no legitimate marriages, hence no -widowhood. They are responsible neither to God nor to the authorities. -They have only one lord—the cock."</p> - -<p>"The cock! That's true. The cock is a sort of Sultan of Turkey to them."</p> - -<p>"But man has so arranged his life, that he has given up the liberties -granted to him by nature, and therefore he needs much reason: first, to -keep himself from falling into sin, and second, not to tempt others. Am -I right, father?"</p> - -<p>"It is gospel truth. The Scriptures advise us to pluck out the tempting -eye."</p> - -<p>"That is, if you understand it literally, but there may be a way of -avoiding sin not by plucking out the eyes, but by seeing to it that the -eye is not tempted. One must have more frequent recourse to prayer, and -curb the unruly flesh. Take me, for instance. I am in good health and -vigor, I dare say. Well, I have female servants. Still that does not -disturb me in the least. I know I can't get along without servants, -well then, I keep them. I keep male servants, and female servants of -every kind. A maid is needed in the household to fetch something from -the cellar, to pour the tea, bring in something to eat—well—God bless -her!—She does her work and I do mine, and so we get along very nicely -indeed."</p> - -<p>While speaking Yudushka tried to look into the priest's eyes, and the -latter in his turn, tried to look into Yudushka's. But happily, there -was a burning candle between them, so that they could look at each -other to their hearts' content and see nothing but the flame of the -candle.</p> - -<p>"And then again, I take it this way. If you become intimate with your -female servants, they'll begin to have their way in the house. And -you'll have squabbles and disorder and quarrels and impertinence. I -like to keep away from such things."</p> - -<p>The priest stared so steadily that his eyes began to swim. Good -manners, he knew, demanded that in a general conversation one should -every now and then join in with at least a word. So he shook his head -and muttered:</p> - -<p>"Tss——"</p> - -<p>"And if, at that, one behaves as other folks do, as my dear neighbor, -Mr. Anpetov, for example, or my other neighbor, Mr. Utrobin, then you -can fall into sin before you know it. Utrobin has six offspring on his -place begot in that disgraceful way. But I don't want it. I say that if -God took away my guardian angel, it means that such was His holy will, -that He wanted me to be a widower. And if I am a widower by the grace -of God, I must observe my widowerhood honestly and not contaminate my -bed. Am I right, father?"</p> - -<p>"It's hard, sir."</p> - -<p>"I know it's hard, but still I observe it. Some say it's hard, and I -say the harder the better, provided God is with you! We can't all have -it sweet and easy. Some of us must bear hardships in the name of God. -If you deny yourself something <i>here,</i> you will obtain it <i>there. Here</i> -it is called hardship and <i>there,</i> virtue. Am I right?"</p> - -<p>"As right as can be."</p> - -<p>"And talking about virtues—they are not all of the same kind. Some -virtues are great, others are small. What do you think?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, quite possible, there may be small virtues and great virtues."</p> - -<p>"That's just what I say. If a man is careful in his behavior, if he -does not speak vile words, if he does not speak vain words, if he does -not judge others, if, in addition to all this, he does not vex anybody -or take away what is not his—that man will have a clear conscience, -and no mud can soil him. And if anyone secretly speaks ill of a man -like that, give it no heed. Spit at his insinuations—that's the long -and short of it."</p> - -<p>"In such cases the precepts of Christianity recommend forgiveness."</p> - -<p>"Yes, forgive also. That's what I always do. If someone speaks ill -of me, I forgive him and even pray to God for him. He is the gainer -because a prayer on his behalf goes to Heaven, and I, too, am the -gainer, for after I have prayed I forget about the whole matter."</p> - -<p>"That's correct. Nothing lightens one's heart as much as a prayer. -Sorrow and anger, and even ailment, all run before it as does the -darkness of night before the sun."</p> - -<p>"Well, thank God, then. And we should always conduct ourselves so that -our life is like a candle in a lantern—seen from every side. Then -we will not be misjudged, for there will be no cause. Take us, for -example. We sat down here a while ago, have been chatting and talking -things over—who could find fault with us? And now let us go and pray -to the Lord, and then—to bed. And tomorrow we shall rise again. Isn't -that so, father?"</p> - -<p>Yudushka rose noisily, shoving his chair aside in sign that the -conversation was at an end. The priest also rose and made ready to -raise his arm to bless, but Porfiry Vladimirych, as an indication of -special favor, caught the priest's hand and pressed it in his own.</p> - -<p>"So he was christened Vladimir, father?" said Yudushka, shaking his -head sadly in the direction of Yevpraksia's room.</p> - -<p>"In honor of the saintly Prince Vladimir, sir."</p> - -<p>"Well, God be praised. She is a good and faithful servant, but as to -intelligence—well, she hasn't much of it. That's why they fall into -adultery."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER III</h4> - - -<p>The whole of the next day Porfiry Vladimirych remained in his study, -praying to God for guidance. On the third day he emerged for morning -tea, not in his dressing gown, as usual, but in full holiday attire, -the way he always dressed when he intended to transact important -business. His face was pale, but radiated inner serenity; a benign -smile played upon his lips; his eyes looked kindly and all-forgiving. -The tip of his nose was slightly red with elation.</p> - -<p>He drank his three glasses of tea in silence, and between gulps moved -his lips, folded his hands, and looked at the ikon as if, in spite -of yesterday's vigil, he still expected speedy aid and intercession -from it. Finally he sent for Ulita, and while waiting for her, kneeled -again before the ikon, that he might once more strengthen himself by -communion with God, and also that Ulita might see plainly that what was -about to happen was not his doing, but the work of God. Ulita, however, -as soon as she glanced at Yudushka, perceived there was treachery in -the depth of his soul.</p> - -<p>"Well, now I have prayed to God," began Porfiry Vladimirych, and in -token of obedience to His holy will, he lowered his head and spread his -arms.</p> - -<p>"That's fine," answered Ulita, but her voice expressed such deep -comprehension that Yudushka involuntarily raised his eyes.</p> - -<p>She stood before him in her usual pose, one hand upon her breast, -the other supporting her chin. But her face sparkled with suppressed -laughter. Yudushka shook his head in sign of Christian reproach.</p> - -<p>"I suppose God bestowed His grace upon you," continued Ulita, -unperturbed by his gesture of warning.</p> - -<p>"You always blaspheme," Yudushka blustered. "How many times have I -warned you with kindness, and you are the same as ever. Yours is an -evil tongue, a malicious tongue."</p> - -<p>"It seems to me I haven't said anything. Generally when people have -prayed to God, it means that God's grace is visited upon them."</p> - -<p>"That's just it—'it seems!' But why do you prate about all that -'seems' to you? Why don't you learn how to hold your tongue when -necessary? I am talking business and she—'it seems to me!'"</p> - -<p>Instead of replying Ulita shifted from one foot to the other, as if to -indicate that she knew everything Porfiry Vladimirych had to tell her -by heart.</p> - -<p>"Listen to me, you!" Yudushka began. "I prayed to the Lord all day -yesterday, and to-day too, and—look at it from whatever angle you -wish—we've got to provide for Volodka."</p> - -<p>"Of course, you've got to provide for him. He is not a puppy, I dare -say. You can't throw him into a pond."</p> - -<p>"Wait a while! Let me say a word. You plague. So this is what I say. -Take it any way you please, we've got to provide for Volodka. First, we -must do it out of consideration for Yevpraksia and then we've got to -make a man of him."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych glanced at Ulita in the hope that she might show -her willingness to have a good long chat with him, but she took the -matter plainly and even cynically.</p> - -<p>"You mean me to take him to the foundling asylum?" she asked, looking -straight at him.</p> - -<p>"Oh, oh," exclaimed Yudushka, "you are very quick to decide. Oh, Ulita, -Ulita! You always do things in a hurry and without due consideration. -You're always ready to say something rash. How do you know? Maybe I -don't intend to send him to the foundling asylum. Maybe I thought of -something else for Volodka."</p> - -<p>"Well, if you did, there's nothing bad about it."</p> - -<p>"This is what I was going to say. On the one hand I feel for Volodka, -but on the other hand, if you think the matter over and weigh it -carefully, you see it's impossible to keep him here."</p> - -<p>"Of course, what will people say? They'll say, 'How did a little baby -boy come to the Golovliovo manor?'"</p> - -<p>"Yes, they'll say that and other things. And besides, to stay here will -be of no benefit to him. His mother is young, and she'll spoil him. -I am old, and though I have nothing to do with the matter, still, in -consideration of his mother's faithful service, I would also be easy -with him. You can't help it, you know, the little fellow will have to -be flogged for doing mischief, but how can you? It's this and that, and -a woman's tears, and screams, and all. Am I right?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, quite right. It is annoying."</p> - -<p>"What I want is, that all should be well in our house. I want to -see Volodka become a real man in time, a servant of God and a good -subject of the Czar. If God wants him to be a peasant, I should like -him to know how to plow, mow, chop wood—a little of everything. And -if it will be his lot to be of a more exalted station, I want him to -know some trade, some profession. Children from the foundling asylum -sometimes rise to be teachers."</p> - -<p>"From the foundling asylum? They are made generals at once, I suppose."</p> - -<p>"Well, I wouldn't say generals, but still—maybe Volodka will live to -be a famous man. And as to the manner they are brought up in there, -it's excellent. I know all about it myself. Clean beds, healthy -wet-nurses, white linen clothes, nipples, bottles, diapers, in a word, -everything."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it couldn't be better—for illegitimates!"</p> - -<p>"And if he is placed in the country as a fosterchild, well, that will -be just as good. He will get used to toil from his young days. Toil, -you know, is as good as prayer. We, you see, pray in the regular way. -We stand before the ikon, make the sign of the cross, and if our prayer -pleases God, He rewards us for it. But the peasant—he toils. Sometimes -he would be glad to pray in the proper way, but he hasn't the time -for it. But God sees his labors and rewards him for his toil just as -He rewards us for our prayers. We can't all live in palaces and go to -balls and dances. Some of us must live in smoky hovels and take care -of Mother Earth and nurse her. And as to where happiness lies, there -are two guesses to it. Some live in palaces and in luxury, and yet shed -tears; others live behind clay walls on bread and cider, yet feel as if -they were in paradise. Am I right?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing better if you feel as if you were in paradise."</p> - -<p>"So, my dear, that's what we will do. Take that little rascal Volodka, -wrap him up warm and cosy and go to Moscow at once with him. I'll -order a roofed cart for you and a pair of good horses. The road is -smooth, straight, fair, no puddles, no pitfalls. You'll roll along -merrily. But see to it that everything is done in the best fashion, in -Golovliovo fashion, just the way I like things to be done. The nipple -should be clean, and the bottle, clothes, and sheets, and blankets, and -diapers—take enough of everything. And if they won't give it all to -you, come and tell me. When you get to Moscow, stop at an inn. Ask for -enough to eat and a samovar and tea and all that. Oh, Volodka, dear! -What trouble you are to me! It breaks my heart to part with you, but it -can't be helped, my child. When you grow up, you'll see that it was for -your own good, and you'll thank me for it."</p> - -<p>Yudushka raised his hands slightly and moved his lips in sign of inner -prayer. But that did not prevent him from glancing sideways at Ulita -and noticing the sarcastic quivering of her face.</p> - -<p>"Well, what—did you want to say something?"</p> - -<p>"No, nothing. Of course, you know—he'll thank his benefactors—if he -finds them."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you wicked thing! You think we'll place him there without a proper -card? Why, of course, you'll take out a card, from which document we'll -be able to find him. They'll bring him up and teach him sense, and then -we'll come with the card and say, 'Here, now, let's have our fellow, -our Volodka.' With the card we'll get him from the bottom of the sea. -Am I right?"</p> - -<p>Ulita made no reply. The caustic quivering of her face showed more -distinctly than before and it exasperated Porfiry Vladimirych.</p> - -<p>"You are a mean thing," he said. "The devil dwells in you. Fi, fi! -Well, enough. To-morrow, before the sun is up, you'll take Volodka and -quickly, so that Yevpraksia does not hear you, and set out for Moscow. -You know where the Foundling Asylum is?"</p> - -<p>"I've carried them," Ulita answered laconically, as if hinting at -something in the past.</p> - -<p>"Well, if you are used to it—all the better for you. You must know all -the ins and outs of the place. Be sure to place him there and bow low -before the authorities—like this." Yudushka rose and bowed, touching -the floor with his hands.</p> - -<p>"Beg of them to make him comfortable. And be sure to get the card, -don't forget! The card will help us find him anywhere. I'll allow you -two twenty-five ruble bills for expenses. I know how it is—you'll -have to give some here and put a couple of rubles there. Ah, ah, how -sinful man is! We are all human beings, nothing but human beings! We -all like sweets and dainties. Why, even our Volodka! Look at him—he is -no bigger than my finger nail—and see the money I've already spent on -him."</p> - -<p>Yudushka crossed himself and bowed low before Ulita, silently begging -her to take good care of the little rascal.</p> - -<p>Thus, in the simplest way, was the future of the little illegitimate -arranged for.</p> - -<p>The next morning, while the young mother was tossing about in delirium, -Porfiry Vladimirych was standing at the window in the dining-room, -moving his lips and making the sign of the cross on the window pane. -A cart, roofed over with mats, was leaving the front yard. It was -carrying Volodka away.</p> - -<p>It climbed up the hill, drove by the church, turned to the left and -vanished in the village. Yudushka made another sign of the cross and -sighed:</p> - -<p>"The other day the priest was speaking about thawing weather," he -said to himself, "but God sent us a frost instead. And a fine frost, -at that. So it always is with us. We dream, we build castles in the -air, we philosophize proudly and think we'll excel God Himself in -His wisdom, but God in a trice turns our haughtiness of spirit into -nothingness."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="BOOK_VI" id="BOOK_VI">BOOK VI</a></h4> - -<h3>THE DESERTED MANOR-HOUSE</h3> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER I</h4> - - -<p>Yudushka's agony commenced when the resources of loquaciousness, -in which he had so freely indulged, began to give out. A void had -formed around him. Some had died, others had deserted him. Even -Anninka preferred the miserable future of a nomadic actress to the -flesh-pots of Golovliovo. Yevpraksia alone remained. But Yevpraksia's -conversational gifts were limited, and, more than that, Yevpraksia was -now a changed person. It was the difference that had occurred in her -which convinced Yudushka that his halcyon days were gone forever.</p> - -<p>Till then Yevpraksia had been so helpless that Porfiry Vladimirych -could tyrannize over her without the slightest risk, and her mental -development was so backward and her character so flabby that she had -not even felt the oppression. During Yudushka's harangues she would -look into his eyes apathetically, and think of something else. But now -suddenly she grasped something important, and the first consequence of -awakened understanding was repugnance, sudden and half-conscious, but -vicious and insuperable.</p> - -<p>Anninka's stay had evidently not been without results for Yevpraksia. -The casual conversations with the young actress had quite upset her. -Previously she would never have dreamed of wondering why Porfiry -Vladimirych, as soon as he met a man, instantly started to weave around -him an oppressive net of words, sinister in their emptiness. Now she -perceived it was not talking that Yudushka did, but tyrannizing, and -it would be well worth the while to pull him up short and make him -feel the time had come for him, too, to go easy. So, from now on, she -listened to his endless flow of words and soon realized that the one -purpose of Yudushka's talk was to worry, annoy, nag.</p> - -<p>"The mistress herself said she didn't know why he talked so much," -Yevpraksia reasoned. "No, it's his meanness working in him. He knows -who is unprotected and at his mercy. And so he turns and twists them -anyway he wants to."</p> - -<p>But that was only secondary. The main effect of Anninka's visit was -that it stirred up the instincts of youth in Yevpraksia, which had -hitherto smouldered in her undeveloped mind and now suddenly flared up -in a blaze. Many things became clear to her—for instance, why Anninka -had refused to remain at Golovliovo and why she had said flatly, "It's -horrible here!" She had acted that way because she was young and wanted -to enjoy life. Yevpraksia, too, was young, indeed she was! It only -seemed that her youth was crushed under a load of fat, in reality it -manifested itself quite boldly. It called and lured her; its flame -now died down, now flared up. She had thought Yudushka would do for -her, but now she perceived her mistake. "The old, rotten stump, how he -got round me!" ran through her mind. "Wouldn't it be fine now to live -with a real lover, young and handsome? He would hug me and kiss me and -whisper caressing words in my ear. The old scarecrow, how did he ever -tempt me? The Pogorelka lady must have a lover, I'm sure. That's why -she gathered up her skirts and sailed away so rapidly. And I must sit -here, in a jail, chained to that old man."</p> - -<p>Of course, some time passed before Yevpraksia mutinied openly; but once -on the road of revolt she did not halt. A storm was brewing within -her, and her hatred grew each minute. Yudushka, for his part, remained -in ignorance of her state of mind. Yevpraksia began with general -complaints, such as "he has spoiled my life." Then came comparisons. -"In Mazulina," she reflected, "Pelageyushka lives with her master as a -housekeeper. She never does a stroke of work, and wears silk dresses. -She sits in a cosy little room doing bead embroidery. How I hate you -now, you old fright; How I hate you, I hate you!" she wound up with a -cry.</p> - -<p>In addition to this, the main cause of irritation, there was another -one, one that was valuable because it could serve as a good occasion -for the declaration of war against Yudushka. It was her confinement and -the disappearance of her son Volodya.</p> - -<p>At the time of the child's removal Yevpraksia had been rather -indifferent. Porfiry Vladimirych had curtly announced that the baby -had been entrusted to reliable people, and he presented her with a new -shawl by way of solace. Then life resumed its course, and Yevpraksia -plunged into the mire of household affairs with greater industry than -before, as if to atone for her unsuccessful motherhood. But whether the -mother feeling continued to smoulder in her, or whether it was merely a -whim, at any rate, the memory of Volodka came back to her, and at the -precise moment when Yevpraksia felt the breath of freedom and it began -to dawn upon her that there existed another life different from that -at Golovliovo. The occasion was too good not to be taken advantage of.</p> - -<p>"To think of what the scoundrel has done!" she reflected, trying -consciously to work herself into a rage. "He has robbed me of my own -child. Just as one drowns a pup in the pond."</p> - -<p>Little by little the thought filled her mind completely. She came to -believe that she had always longed for her child passionately. Her -hatred of Porfiry Vladimirych fed on this new and rapidly growing -obsession.</p> - -<p>"At least, I should have had something to amuse me now. Volodya, -Volodyushka! My dear little son! Where are you now? He must have -shipped you to some wretched peasant woman. God curse them, the damned -gentry. They bring children in the world and then throw them like pups -into a ditch, and no one takes them to account. It would have been -better for me to cut my throat than to allow that shameless old brute -to outrage me."</p> - -<p>Her hatred was now ripe. She felt a desire to vex and pester him and -spoil life for him. War began, the most unbearable of wars, squabbles -and provocations, and petty pricking. It was the only form of warfare -that could have subdued Porfiry Vladimirych.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER II</h4> - - -<p>One morning when Porfiry Vladimirych was sitting at tea, he was -unpleasantly surprised. He was discharging masses of verbal pus, while -Yevpraksia, with a saucer of tea in her hand and a piece of sugar -between her teeth, was listening in silence, snorting from time to -time. Warm, fresh-baked bread had been served, and he had just begun -to develop a theory of his own to the effect that there are two kinds -of bread, visible bread which we eat and thereby sustain our bodies, -and the invisible, spiritual bread of which we partake for the good -of our soul. Suddenly Yevpraksia broke in upon his discourse most -unceremoniously.</p> - -<p>"People say Palageyushka lives so well at Mazulino," she began, turning -her entire body round to the window and swinging her crossed feet with -impudent nonchalance.</p> - -<p>Yudushka was somewhat startled by the unexpected remark, but attributed -no peculiar importance to it.</p> - -<p>"In case we don't eat visible bread for a long time," he went on, "we -feel bodily hunger; and if we don't partake of the spiritual bread for -some length of time——"</p> - -<p>"I say, Palageyushka certainly lives well at Mazulino," Yevpraksia -interrupted again.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych, somewhat startled, looked at her in amazement, but -refrained from scolding, evidently smelling a rat.</p> - -<p>"If Palageyushka has a fine life, let her," he replied meekly.</p> - -<p>"Her master," Yevpraksia kept on provokingly, "makes it nice and easy -for her, he does not compel her to work, and dresses her in silk."</p> - -<p>Yudushka's amazement grew. Yevpraksia's words were so preposterous that -he was taken completely by surprise.</p> - -<p>"A different dress every day, one to-day, one to-morrow, and another -for holidays. She drives to church in a four-horse carriage. She goes -first, and the master follows. When the priest sees her carriage, he -has the bells rung. Then she sits in her own room. If her master wishes -to spend some time with her, she receives him in her room. And her maid -entertains her, or she does bead embroidery."</p> - -<p>"Well, what of it?" asked Porfiry Vladimirych, at last coming to his -senses.</p> - -<p>"I was just telling what a pleasant life Palageyushka leads."</p> - -<p>"And you, is your life worse? My, my, aren't you insatiable!"</p> - -<p>Had Yevpraksia left his remark unanswered, Porfiry Vladimirych would -have belched forth a torrent of empty words to drown her foolish hints. -He would have resumed his twaddle. But apparently Yevpraksia had no -intention of holding her tongue.</p> - -<p>"I can't say that," she snapped back. "My life is not a sad one. Thank -goodness I don't wear tick. Last year you bought me two calico dresses -and paid five rubles for each. How generous!"</p> - -<p>"And how about the woolen dress? And for whom was a shawl bought -lately? My, my!"</p> - -<p>Instead of answering, Yevpraksia placed her elbows on the table and -flashed on Yudushka a side glance brimming over with such deep contempt -that, unaccustomed to such looks, he was overcome with something like -dread.</p> - -<p>"Do you know how the Lord punishes ingratitude?" he mumbled feebly, -hoping the reference to God would bring the woman to her senses. But -his remark did not placate the mutineer. She cut him short at once.</p> - -<p>"Don't talk me blind!" she exclaimed, "and don't drag in God. I'm not a -baby. Enough! I've had enough of your tyranny."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych grew silent. His glass of tea stood untouched. His -face grew pale, his lips trembled, as if trying vainly to curl up into -a grin.</p> - -<p>"These are Anninka's tricks," he said finally, though without a clear -perception of what he was saying. "It's she, the snake, who has incited -you."</p> - -<p>"What tricks do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"I mean the way you are talking to me. She, she taught you. No one -else!" he foamed in a rage. "Give her silk dresses! The impudence! -Do you know, you shameless creature, who in your position wears silk -dresses?"</p> - -<p>"Tell me and I will know."</p> - -<p>"The most—the most dissolute ones. They are the only ones who wear -silk dresses."</p> - -<p>But Yevpraksia was not impressed. On the contrary, she answered him -back with saucy arguments.</p> - -<p>"I don't know why you call them dissolute. Everybody knows it's the -masters that insist upon it. If a master seduces one of us, well, she -lives with him. You and I are not so saintly either, we are doing the -same as the Mazulina master and his queen."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you! Fie, fie, for shame!"</p> - -<p>Yudushka stared at his rebellious companion in utter consternation. A -flow of empty words came tripping to his tongue, but for the first time -in his life he felt a vague suspicion that there are occasions when -even talk is useless.</p> - -<p>"Well, my friend, I see there's no use talking to you to-day," he said, -rising from the table.</p> - -<p>"Neither to-day, nor to-morrow—never! No more of your tyranny! I've -listened to you enough; now it's time for you to listen to me."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych made a movement as if to throw himself at her with -clenched fists, but she protruded her chest with such determination -that he lost heart. He turned his face to the ikon, lifted up his hands -prayerfully, mumbled a prayer, and trudged slowly away into his room.</p> - -<p>The whole day he felt uneasy. He had no definite fears for the future, -but the feeling that something had broken in upon his well-ordered life -and had passed unpunished greatly upset him. He did not go to dinner, -pleading ill health, and in a meek, feeble voice asked that his food -be brought into his room. In the evening after tea, which passed in -silence for the first time in his life, he rose, as was his habit, to -say his prayers. In vain did his lips seek to whisper the customary -words. His agitated mind refused to follow the prayer. A persistent -enervating anxiety pervaded his being, and he involuntarily strained -his ear to catch the dying echoes of the day, which were lingering -in the various corners of the vast manor-house. Finally, when even -the yawning of the people could be heard no more, and the house was -plunged in the profoundest quiet, he could not hold out any longer. -Stealing noiselessly along the corridor, he went to Yevpraksia's room -and put his ear to the door to listen. She was alone, and Yudushka -heard her yawning and saying, "Lord! Savior! Holy Virgin," as she -scratched her back.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych tried the knob, but the door was locked.</p> - -<p>"Yevpraksia, darling, are you there?" he called.</p> - -<p>"Yes, but not for you!" she snapped, so rudely that he immediately -retreated to his room.</p> - -<p>The next morning there was another conversation. Yevpraksia -intentionally selected morning tea for launching her attacks on Porfiry -Vladimirych. She felt instinctively that a spoiled morning would fill -the entire day with anxiety and pain.</p> - -<p>"I'd like to see how some people live," she began in a rather enigmatic -manner.</p> - -<p>Yudushka changed countenance. "It's beginning," flashed through his -mind; but he held his tongue and waited for what would come next.</p> - -<p>"It's fine to live with a handsome young friend, upon my word. You walk -about in the rooms and look at each other. Not a cross word exchanged. -'My darling' and 'my heart'—that's your whole conversation. Lovely and -noble!"</p> - -<p>The subject was peculiarly hateful to Porfiry Vladimirych. Although of -necessity he tolerated adultery within strict limits, he nevertheless -considered lovemaking a diabolical temptation. This time, however, he -restrained himself, all the more so because he wanted his tea. The -tea-pot had been boiling on the samovar for quite some time, but -Yevpraksia seemed to have forgotten about filling the glasses.</p> - -<p>"Of course, many of us women are foolish," she went on, impudently -swinging in her chair and drumming on the table with her fingers. "Some -are so silly that they are ready to do anything for a calico dress; -others give themselves away for nothing at all. 'Cider,' you said, -'drink as much as you please,' A fine thing to seduce a woman with!"</p> - -<p>"Is it from interest alone that——" Yudushka risked a timid remark, -watching the tea-pot from which steam had begun to escape.</p> - -<p>"Who says from interest alone? Is it I who am a selfish woman?" cried -Yevpraksia heatedly, suddenly shifting the conversation. "Do you mean -to reproach me for the bread I eat?"</p> - -<p>"I don't reproach you. I only said that not from interest alone do -people——"</p> - -<p>"'I said'! Talk, but talk sensibly. The idea! I serve from interest! -Kindly permit me to ask you what particular advantage I have derived -except cider and gherkins?"</p> - -<p>"Well, cider and gherkins are not the only things——" ventured -Yudushka, unable to restrain himself.</p> - -<p>"What else have I gotten? Let me hear, let me hear!"</p> - -<p>"Who sends four sacks of flour to your parents every month?"</p> - -<p>"Four sacks. What else?"</p> - -<p>"Groats, hemp-seed oil and other things——"</p> - -<p>"So you are begrudging my poor parents the wretched groats and oil you -send them? Oh, you!"</p> - -<p>"I am not begrudging them. It's you——"</p> - -<p>"Now you are accusing me. I can't eat a crust of bread without being -reproached for it, and it's I who am blamed for everything."</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia could hold out no longer and burst into tears. Meanwhile -the tea kept on boiling, so that Porfiry Vladimirych became seriously -alarmed. So he suppressed his growing temper, seated himself beside -Yevpraksia and patted her on her back.</p> - -<p>"Well, well. All right. Pour the tea. What is all this crying for?"</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia emitted a few more sobs, pouted and looked into space with -her dull eyes. "You have just been speaking of young fellows," he -went on, trying to lend his voice as caressing a ring as possible. -"Well—after all, I'm not so old, am I?"</p> - -<p>"The idea! Leave me alone."</p> - -<p>"Come, come. I—do you know—when I served in St. Petersburg, our -director wanted to give me his daughter in marriage?"</p> - -<p>"Must have been an old maid—or a cripple."</p> - -<p>"No, she was quite a presentable young lady. And how she sang, how she -sang!"</p> - -<p>"Maybe she sang well, but you accompanied her badly," she retorted.</p> - -<p>"No, I——"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych was completely put out. He was ready to act against -his conscience and show that he, too, was skilled in the art of -love-making. So he began to rock his body rather clumsily and went so -far as to make an attempt to embrace Yevpraksia round her waist. But -she drew back firmly from his outstretched arms and cried out angrily:</p> - -<p>"Do me a favor and leave me, you goblin! Else I'll scald you with this -boiling water. And I don't want your tea. I don't want anything. The -idea—to reproach me for the piece of bread I eat. I'll go away from -here! By Jesus, I will!"</p> - -<p>She banged the door and ran out, leaving Porfiry Vladimirych alone in -the dining-room.</p> - -<p>Yudushka was completely puzzled. He began to pour the tea himself, but -his hands trembled so violently that he had to call a servant to his -assistance.</p> - -<p>"No, this is impossible. I must think up something, arrange matters," -he whispered, pacing up and down the dining-room in excitement.</p> - -<p>But he turned out to be quite unable "to think up something" or "to -arrange matters." His mind was so accustomed to leaping unrestrainedly -from one fantastic subject to another, that the simplest problem of -workaday reality threw him off his balance. No sooner did he make an -effort to concentrate than a swarm of futile trifles attacked him from -all sides and shut actuality out from his consideration. A strange -stupor, a kind of mental and moral anæmia possessed his being. He was -constantly lured away from the hard realities of life to the pleasant -softness of phantoms, which he could shift and rearrange at will and -without any hindrance whatever.</p> - -<p>He spent the entire day in solitude, for Yevpraksia did not make her -appearance at dinner or at evening tea. She stayed at the priest's -the entire time and returned late in the evening. Yudushka's distress -was extreme. He could not apply himself to any task, he even lost his -wonted interest in trifles. One irrepressible thought tormented him: -"I must somehow arrange matters, I must." He could not engage in idle -calculations, nor even say prayers. He felt that a strange ailment was -about to attack him. Many a time he halted before the window in the -hope of concentrating his wavering mind on something, or distracting -his attention, but all in vain.</p> - -<p>It was early spring. The trees stood naked and the new grass had not -yet appeared. Black fields, spotted here and there with white cakes of -snow, stretched far away. The road was black and boggy and glittered -with puddles. Yudushka saw it all as through a mist. There was no -one round the rain-soaked servants' buildings, though all the doors -were ajar. Nor could he reach anyone in the manor-house, although he -constantly heard sounds as of doors banging in the distance. "How fine -it would be," he mused, "to turn invisible and overhear what the knaves -are saying about me. Do the rascals appreciate my favors or do they -return abuse for my kindness? You stuff their bellies from morning till -night, and still they squeal for more. Only the other day we opened a -barrel of pickled cucumbers, and——" But no sooner did his thoughts -embark upon the exploration of some fantastic subject, no sooner did -he began to calculate how many pickles the barrel held and how many -pickles one man could consume, than the piercing thought of Yevpraksia -brought him back to harsh reality and upset all his calculations.</p> - -<p>"She went away without so much as saying a word to me," he reflected, -while his eyes scanned the distance, endeavoring to sight the priest's -house, in which Yevpraksia was in all probability chatting away at that -moment.</p> - -<p>Dinner was served. Yudushka sat at table alone slowly sipping thin -soup (<i>she</i> knew he hated thin soup and had had it cooked watery on -purpose). "I imagine the Father must be distressed by Yevpraksia's -unbidden visit," he reflected. "She's a hearty eater and an extra -dish, perhaps a roast, will have to be served for the guest." His -imagination began to run away with him once more, and his mind began to -ponder over questions like these: How many spoonfuls of cabbage-soup -will Yevpraksia swallow? How many spoonfuls of gruel? What would the -Father say to his wife about Yevpraksia's visit? How do they abuse her -when alone? All this, the food and the conversation, hovered before his -eyes with corporeal vividness.</p> - -<p>"I fancy they all guzzle the soup from the same dish. The idea! A -fine place she found to hunt for knick-knacks. Outside it's wet and -slushy—just the kind of weather that breeds disease. Soon she will -return, her skirt all dripping with mud, the disgusting creature. Yes, -I must, I must do something!" All his musings inevitably ended with -this phrase.</p> - -<p>After dinner, he lay down for his nap, as usual, but tossed from side -to side, unable to fall asleep. Yevpraksia came back after dark and -stole into her nook so quietly that he did not observe her entrance. He -had ordered the servants to let him know when she returned, but none -of them said a word, as if they had agreed among themselves. He made -another attempt to penetrate into her room, but again found the door -locked.</p> - -<p>Next morning Yevpraksia made her appearance at tea, but now her words -were even more alarming and threatening.</p> - -<p>"Dear me, where is my little Volodya?" she began, speaking in a -studiously tearful tone.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych shuddered.</p> - -<p>"If I could have the tiniest glimpse of him, if I could see how the -darling suffers away from his mother! But maybe he is dead already."</p> - -<p>Yudushka's lips whispered a prayer.</p> - -<p>"It isn't the same as at other people's here. When Palageyushka gave -birth to a daughter, they dressed the baby in batiste and silks and -made a pink little bed for her. The nurse received more sarafans and -frontlets than I ever had. And here—oh, you!"</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia abruptly turned her head toward the window and sighed -noisily.</p> - -<p>"It is true what they say, that all the gentry are an abomination," she -went on. "They make children and then throw them in the swamp, like -puppies. What does it matter to them? They owe no account to anybody. -Is there no God in Heaven? Even a wolf would not act like that."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych felt like a man sitting on pins and needles. He -restrained himself for a long time, but finally could stand it no -longer and said through clenched teeth:</p> - -<p>"This is the third day that I've been listening to your talk."</p> - -<p>"Well, why should <i>you</i> do all the talking? Other people have a right -to say a word, too. Yes, sir! You've had a child. What have you done -with it? I bet you let him rot in the hands of a wretched peasant woman -in a dirty hut. I suppose the baby is lying somewhere in filth, sucking -at a bottle turned sour, with no one to take care of it, and feed and -clothe it."</p> - -<p>She shed tears and dried her eyes with the end of her neckerchief.</p> - -<p>"The Pogorelka lady was right; she said it's horrible here with you. It -<i>is</i> horrible. No pleasures, no joy, nothing but mean, underhand ways. -Prisoners in jail are better off. At least, if I had a baby now, there -would be something to amuse me. But you have taken it away from me."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych sat shaking his head in torture. From time to time -he groaned.</p> - -<p>"Oh, how painful!" he finally said.</p> - -<p>"Painful? Well, you have made the bed, lie on it. Upon my word, I -shall go to Moscow and have a look at my dear little Volodya. Volodya, -Volodya! Da-a-ar-ling! Master, shall I take a trip to Moscow?"</p> - -<p>"It's no use," answered Porfiry Vladimirych in a hollow voice.</p> - -<p>"Then I'll go without asking your permission, and no one can stop me. -Because I am—a mother!"</p> - -<p>"What sort of mother are you? You are a strumpet—that's what you are," -Yudushka finally burst out. "Tell me plainly what you want of me."</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia, apparently, was not prepared for this question. She stared -at Yudushka and kept silence, as if wondering what she really wanted of -him.</p> - -<p>"So you call me a strumpet already?" she exclaimed, bursting into tears.</p> - -<p>"Yes, a strumpet, a strumpet, a strumpet! Fie, fie, fie!"</p> - -<p>Utterly enraged, Porfiry Vladimirych leapt to his feet and ran out of -the room.</p> - -<p>That was the last flicker of energy. Then he began rapidly to collapse, -while Yevpraksia kept up her campaign. She had enormous power at her -disposal, the stubbornness of stupidity, sometimes truly appalling -because always trained upon the same point with the sole object of -annoying, teasing, plaguing. Little by little the confines of the -dining-room became too narrow for her. She invaded the study and -attacked Yudushka within the precincts of that sanctuary, into which -she would not even have thought of entering formerly when her master -was "busy." She would come in, seat herself at the window, stare -into space, scratch her shoulder blades on the post of the window, -and begin to storm at him. She was especially fond of harping on the -threat of leaving Golovliovo. As a matter of fact, she had never -seriously thought of carrying out her threat, and she would have been -astonished had anyone suggested to her that she return to her parental -roof. But she suspected that Porfiry Vladimirych feared her desertion -more than anything else, and she spared neither time nor energy in -taking advantage of this. She approached the subject cautiously and -in a roundabout way. She would sit a while, scratch her ear, and then -remark, as if in a reminiscent frame of mind:</p> - -<p>"To-day, I suppose, they are baking pancakes at father's."</p> - -<p>At this prefatory remark Yudushka would grow green with rage. He was -just getting ready to plunge into a complicated computation of how much -he would get for his milk if all the cows of the neighborhood perished -and none but his own, with God's help, remained unharmed and doubled -their yield of milk.</p> - -<p>"Why are they baking pancakes there?" he asked, trying to force a -smile. "Goodness, to-day is Memorial Day! Isn't it stupid of me to have -forgotten about it? And there's nothing in the house with which to -honor the memory of my late mother. What a sin!"</p> - -<p>"I should like to eat father's pancakes."</p> - -<p>"Why not? Give orders to have them baked. Get hold of cook Marya or -Ulita. Ulita cooks delicious pancakes."</p> - -<p>"Maybe she has pleased you in some other way, too," remarked Yevpraksia -acidly.</p> - -<p>"No, but, oh, she's a witch at cooking pancakes, Ulita is. She cooks -them light, soft—a sheer delight!"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych was evidently trying to mollify Yevpraksia, but to -no avail.</p> - -<p>"What I want is not yours, but father's pancakes," she answered, -playing the spoiled darling.</p> - -<p>"Well, that's not difficult. Get hold of the coachman, have him put a -pair of horses to the carriage, and drive over to father's."</p> - -<p>"No, sir, that won't do. If I've fallen in the trap, that's my own -fault. Who has any use for one like me? You yourself called me a -strumpet the other day. It's no use!"</p> - -<p>"My, my! Isn't it a sin in you to accuse me falsely? Do you know how -God punishes false accusations?"</p> - -<p>"You did call me strumpet! You did! You did it in the presence of this -ikon. How I hate your Golovliovo! I shall run away from here. I shall, -by God!"</p> - -<p>In the course of this spirited dialogue Yevpraksia behaved in a rather -unconstrained manner. She swung about on the chair, picked her nose, -and scratched her back. She was obviously playing comedy.</p> - -<p>"Porfiry Vladimirych, I should like to tell you something," she went on -mischievously. "I want to go home."</p> - -<p>"Do you wish to pay a visit to your parents?"</p> - -<p>"No, I mean to stay there altogether."</p> - -<p>"What's the matter? Has anybody offended you?"</p> - -<p>"No, but—I'm not going to stay here forever. Besides, it's too dull -here—it's frightful. The house is like a deserted place. The servants -poke themselves away in the kitchens and their own quarters, and I sit -in the house all alone. Some of these days I shall be murdered. At -night, when I go to bed, strange whispers come from every corner."</p> - -<p>Days went by, but Yevpraksia never thought of carrying out her threat; -which did not lessen its effect on Porfiry Vladimirych. It dawned upon -him that in spite of his labors, so-called, he was utterly helpless, -that if there were not someone to take care of his household affairs, -he would have no dinner, no clean linen, no decent clothing. Hitherto -he had not been aware of the fact that his surroundings had been -artificially created. His day had passed in a manner established once -and for all. Everything in the house centered around his person and -existed for him; everything was done in its proper time, everything was -in its proper place; in short, there reigned such mechanical precision -everywhere that he gave no thought to it. Owing to this clock-work -orderliness he could indulge in idle talk and thought without running -against the sharp corners of reality. Of course, this artificial -paradise held together only by a hair; but Yudushka, always centered -in himself, did not know it. His life seemed to him to be built on a -rock-bottom foundation, unchangeable, eternal. And suddenly the edifice -was about to collapse because of Yevpraksia's foolish whim. Yudushka -was completely taken aback. "What if she really leaves?" he reflected -panic-stricken. And he began to frame all sorts of preposterous plans -to keep her from going. He even decided on concessions to Yevpraksia's -rebellious youth which would never before have entered his mind.</p> - -<p>"Ugh, ugh, ugh!" he thought, and spat out in disgust when the -possibility of having anything to do with the coachman Arkhip or the -clerk Ignat presented itself to him in all its offensive nakedness.</p> - -<p>Soon, however, he became convinced that his fears were groundless. -Thereupon his existence entered a new and quite unexpected phase. -Yevpraksia did not leave him, she even abated her attacks, but, to -compensate, deserted him altogether. May set in, the weather was fair, -and Yevpraksia scarcely ever put in appearance. She ran in for a moment -and the next moment had disappeared. In the morning Yudushka did not -find his clothing in its usual place, and he had to engage in lengthy -negotiations with the servants before he got clean linen. His tea and -meals were served either too early or too late, and he was waited upon -by the tipsy lackey Prokhor, who came in a stained coat emanating a -peculiarly disgusting odor of fish and vodka.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Porfiry Vladimirych was glad that Yevpraksia left him -in peace. He even reconciled himself to the disorder as long as he -knew that there was someone to bear the responsibility for it. What -frightened him was not so much the disorder as the thought that it -might be necessary for him to interfere personally in the details of -everyday life. He pictured with horror the minute he would have to -administer, give orders and supervise. In anticipation of that awful -moment, he endeavored to stifle the voice of protest that at times rose -in him, tried to shut his eyes to the confusion reigning in the house, -and keep in the background and hold his tongue.</p> - -<p>In the meantime open debauchery made its nest in the manor-house. With -the coming of fair weather a new life pervaded the estate, hitherto -quiet and gloomy. In the evening all the servants, both young and old, -went out in the village streets. The young people sang, played the -accordion, laughed merrily, screamed and played tag.</p> - -<p>The clerk Ignat appeared in a flaming red shirt and an astonishingly -narrow jacket, that never closed over his chest, thrown out like a -pouter-pigeon's, while the coachman Arkhip took possession of the silk -shirt and plush sleeveless jacket worn on holidays, obviously vying -with Ignat in the conquest of Yevpraksia's heart. The maiden herself -ran from one to the other, bestowing her favors now on the clerk, now -on the coachman. Porfiry Vladimirych dared not look out of the window -for fear of witnessing a love scene; but he could not help hearing -what was going on outside. At times he caught the resounding blow that -Arkhip bestowed playfully upon Yevpraksia's back while playing tag. At -other times he would catch fragments of conversation such as this:</p> - -<p>"Yevpraksia Nikitishna! Yevpraksia Nikitishna! Madam!" the drunken -Prokhor would call from the steps of the mansion.</p> - -<p>"What do you want?"</p> - -<p>"The key of the tea-chest, please. The master is asking for tea."</p> - -<p>"Let him wait, the scarecrow!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER III</h4> - - -<p>In a short time Porfiry had completely lost all habits of sociability. -He no longer paid any attention to the confusion that had come into -his existence. He demanded nothing better of life than to be left -alone in his last refuge, his study. He had lost all his former ways -of cavilling with and pestering those about him, and he was timorous -and glumly meek. All ties between him and reality were cut. To hear -nothing, to see nothing, that was his heart's desire. The behavior of -Yevpraksia and the servants no longer concerned him. Formerly, had the -clerk allowed himself the least inaccuracy in presenting his reports -on the various branches of the household management, he would have -talked him to death. Now at times the reports were weeks late, and -he was unresentful except when he needed some data for his fantastic -computations. But when alone in his study he felt himself absolute -master, free to give himself over nonchalantly to inane musings. Both -of his brothers had died from drink. He, too, fell into the clutches -of drunkenness. But his intoxication was mental. Shut up in his study, -he racked his brains from early morning till far into the night over -fantastic problems. He elaborated various fabulous schemes, made -speeches before imaginary audiences, and wove whole scenes about the -first person that crossed his mind.</p> - -<p>In this wild maze of fantastic acts and images a morbid passion for -gain played the most important part.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych had always had a strong leaning toward the -petty annoyance of people and litigation, but because of his lack -of practicality he had derived no direct profit from it. Sometimes -he was even the first to suffer. This proclivity of his was now -transferred to a world of abstractions and phantoms, where there was -no scope for resistance on the part of the oppressed and no need for -self-justification. The dividing line between the weak and the powerful -vanished. In that world there were no police or justices of the peace, -or rather, there were, but they existed solely for the purpose of -protecting his own interests. On this fantastic plane he could freely -enmesh the whole universe in his net of intriguing, cavilling, and -petty oppression.</p> - -<p>He loved to torment people, ruin them, make them unhappy, suck their -blood—at least, in his imagination. He would look over the various -branches of his establishment and on each build up a fantastic -structure of all manner of oppression and plunder—a veritable -paradise, but the foulest ever conceived by a landed proprietor. And -everything depended here on overpayments and underpayments assumed -arbitrarily, each overpaid or underpaid kopek served as a pretext for -remodelling the entire edifice, which thus passed through endless -changes.</p> - -<p>When his tired thoughts were no longer capable of following out all -the details of the intricate computations on which his imaginary -operations were based, he applied his imagination to a more plastic -material. He recalled every conflict and altercation he had had not -only in recent times, but far back in his youth, and he so manipulated -his reminiscences as always to come out the victor. He took revenge on -those of his former colleagues who had gone over his head in service -and had so deeply wounded his self-love that he renounced his official -career. He revenged himself on his schoolmates who had taken advantage -of their physical strength to tease or persecute him; on the neighbors -that had opposed his claims and stood up for their rights; on the -servants who had offended him or simply had not treated him with -sufficient respect; on "dearest mamma" Arina Petrovna for having wasted -too much of the money that "by law" belonged to him on the repairs -of Pogorelka; on his brother Simple Simon for having nicknamed him -Yudushka; on aunt Varvara Mikhailovna for having unexpectedly given -birth to children, with the result that the property of Gavryushkino -was forever lost to the family. He revenged himself on the living and -he revenged himself on the dead.</p> - -<p>Gradually he worked himself into a state of actual intoxication. The -ground vanished from under his feet, wings grew on his shoulders, his -eyes shone, his lips trembled and foamed, his face grew ghastly pale, -and took on a threatening air. The atmosphere around him swarmed with -ghosts, and he fought them in imaginary battles.</p> - -<p>His existence became so ample and independent that there was nothing -left for him to desire. The whole universe was at his feet, that -is, the universe of which his wretched mind could conceive. It was -something in the nature of ecstatic clairvoyance, not unlike the -phenomena that take place at the seances of mediums. His untrammeled -imagination created an illusory reality, rendered concrete and almost -tangible by his constant mental frenzy. It was not faith or conviction, -but unrestrained mental debauchery, a sort of trance in which his -tongue involuntarily uttered words and his body made automatic gestures.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych was happy. He locked up the windows and doors -that he might not hear, he drew down the curtains that he might not -see. He went through the customary functions and duties which had no -connection with the world of his imagination, in haste, almost with -disgust. When the ever-drunken Prokhor rapped at his door and announced -that dinner was served, he ran into the dining-room impatiently, -hurriedly swallowed his three courses and disappeared again into his -study. Something new showed in his manners—a mixture of timidity and -derision, as if he both feared and defied the few people whom he met. -He rose very early and immediately set to work. He cut down the time -devoted to worship, said his prayers indifferently, without thinking of -their meaning, crossed himself and went through the other gestures of -worship mechanically and carelessly. Apparently even the notion of a -hell with its complicated system of punishments was no longer present -in his mind.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Yevpraksia reveled in the satisfaction of carnal desires. -Dancing between the clerk Ignat and the coachman Arkhip, and also -casting glances at the red-faced carpenter Ilyusha, who was mending the -cellars at the head of a gang of workmen, she did not notice what was -going on in the manor-house. She thought the master was playing "a new -comedy," and many a light remark about the master was passed in the -jolly gatherings of the servants. But one day she happened to enter the -dining-room when Yudushka was hurriedly despatching the remnants of -roast goose, and suddenly a kind of dread fell upon her.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych wore a greasy dressing-gown, through the holes of -which the cotton interlining peeped out. He was pale, unkempt, and his -face bristled with a many days' growth.</p> - -<p>"Dear master, what is it? What is the matter?" she turned to him in -fright.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych only smiled half sheepishly, half derisively, and -the meaning of his smile was: "I'd like to see how you could get at me -now."</p> - -<p>"Darling master, what is the matter? Tell me, what has happened to -you?" repeated Yevpraksia.</p> - -<p>He rose, fixed on her a gaze brimming over with hatred, and said, -pausing after each word:</p> - -<p>"If you, you hussy, ever dare—enter my study—I will kill you!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER IV</h4> - - -<p>As a result of this scene Yudushka's life outwardly changed for -the better. Distracted by no material hindrances, he gave himself -completely over to his solitude, so that he did not even notice how the -summer passed away.</p> - -<p>It was late in August, the days grew shorter; it drizzled ceaselessly -and the soil became boggy. The trees looked mournful, with their -yellow leaves bestrewing the ground. Absolute silence reigned in the -court-yard and about the servants' quarters. The domestics sat quietly -under cover, partly because of the weather, partly because they finally -perceived that something was the matter with the master. Yevpraksia -came completely to her senses, forgot the silk dresses and her lovers, -and sat in the maids' room for hours on end, brooding and wondering -what she could do. The drunken Prokhor teased her that she had designs -on the master's life, that she had poisoned him and she could not -escape the road to Siberia.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Yudushka sat in his study, deep in reveries. The ceaseless -patter of the rain on the window-panes lulled him half to sleep—the -most favorable state for the play of his fancy. He imagined he was -invisible and was inspecting his possessions, accompanied by old Ilya, -who had served as bailiff under Yudushka's father, and whose bones had -long since been rotting in the village churchyard.</p> - -<p>"Ilya is a clever fellow," argued Porfiry Vladimirych with himself, -glad that Ilya had arisen from the dead. "An old servant! Nowadays his -kind is getting rare. Nowadays they know how to chat and fidget, but -when it comes to business, they're good for nothing."</p> - -<p>After saying an appropriate prayer, Yudushka and Ilya pick their way -leisurely across meadows and ravines, dales and hills, and soon reach -the Ukhovshchina waste. For a while they stand dazed, unable to believe -their own eyes. Straight before them looms up a magnificent pine -forest, their tops tossing in the wind. Some of the trees are so big in -circumference that two or even three men could not embrace them. Their -trunks are straight, naked, crowned with mighty, spreading tops—all -signs of vigor and longevity.</p> - -<p>"What a forest, brother!" exclaims Yudushka, enraptured.</p> - -<p>"This wood has been protected from felling," explains Ilya. "Under your -late grandfather Mikhail Vasilyevich, a procession with holy ikons went -around it. And look how tall the trees have grown."</p> - -<p>"How large do you think the forest is?"</p> - -<p>"At that time it held just seventy desyatins, and the desyatin was -then, as you know, one and a half times the present size."</p> - -<p>"And how many trees, d'you think, are there on one desyatin?"</p> - -<p>"I can't tell. Only God has counted them."</p> - -<p>"I reckon there are no less than six or seven hundred trees to a -desyatin. I mean the desyatin now used. Wait! If we take the number to -be six hundred—or, let us say, six hundred and fifty trees, how many -trees are there on one hundred and five desyatins?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych takes a sheet of paper and multiplies 105 by 65 and -gets 6,825 trees.</p> - -<p>"Now, see here, if I were to sell all this timber, do you think I can -get ten rubles a tree?"</p> - -<p>Old Ilya shakes his head.</p> - -<p>"Ten is little," he says. "Look at these trees. Each trunk will give -two mill beams and some planks and boards and firewood. What do you -think is the price of a mill-wheel beam?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych makes believe he does not know, although he figured -out everything to a kopek long ago.</p> - -<p>"Here," continues the peasant, "a beam is worth ten rubles, but if -we take it to Moscow it will be worth its weight in gold. It is a -tremendous beam. You will hardly haul it on a three-horse team. And -think of the second beam that can be made out of the stem, and the -boards and laths and firewood, and branches. Twenty rubles, I should -think, is the lowest price for a tree."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych listens and takes in his words greedily. A clever, -faithful servant this Ilya. And how well he has picked out his help! -Old Vavilo, Ilya's assistant—he too has been resting in the churchyard -for a good many years—is quite worthy of his superior. The foresters, -too, are all tried, stalwart men, and the hounds at the corn lofts are -fierce. Both the men and the dogs are ready to grapple with the devil -himself for the master's good.</p> - -<p>"Let's figure out, brother. If we sell the whole forest, what will it -come to?"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych again makes a mental calculation of the value of -a large beam, a smaller beam, a plank, a lath, the firewood and the -branches. He adds up, multiplies, now omitting fractions, now adding -them. Columns of numbers fill the sheet.</p> - -<p>"Here is the total, brother," says Yudushka, showing Ilya's phantom an -altogether fabulous sum. The old servant is dazed.</p> - -<p>"Is it not a little too large?" he says, pensively shrugging his -shoulders.</p> - -<p>But Porfiry Vladimirych has already cast off all doubts and giggles -gleefully.</p> - -<p>"You are a queer fellow, brother!" he exclaims. "It isn't I who say it, -it's the number that says it. There is a science called arithmetic. -It never tells a lie, brother! Well, this will do for Ukhovshchina. -Now let's have a look at Lisy-Yamy, brother. It's a long time since I -have been there. I have a strong suspicion the peasants have become -thievish. There's Garanka, the guard—I know, I know. Garanka is a -good, faithful guard, that's true enough. Still, you know. It seems to -me he is not what he used to be either."</p> - -<p>They plough noiselessly and unseen through a birch thicket, and stop -suddenly, holding their breath. A peasant's cart lies sprawling across -the road on its side, and the peasant is standing by, looking at the -broken axle in perplexity. He has been standing there for some time, -cursing the axle and himself and whipping the horse now and then. -Finally he sees he cannot loaf there all day long. He looks around -and pricks up his ears to make sure no one is coming along the road. -Then he selects a suitable birch tree, and takes out an axe. Meanwhile -Yudushka stands motionless and watches. The young birch shudders, sways -and suddenly sinks to the ground like a sheaf of corn, reaped by the -sickle. The thief is about to lop off the length of an axle from the -trunk, but Yudushka has decided that the moment has come. He steals -upon him and in a trice snatches the axe from his hand.</p> - -<p>"Ah!" is all the thief, taken red-handed, has time to exclaim.</p> - -<p>"Ah!" Yudushka mimics him. "Are you allowed to steal timber? 'Ah!' Is -it your birch-tree you have just felled?"</p> - -<p>"Forgive me, sir!"</p> - -<p>"I forgave everyone long ago, brother. I am myself a sinner before the -Lord and I dare not judge another. It is the law, not I, that condemns -you. Take the tree you have felled to the manor-house and pay up a fine -of one ruble. In the meantime, I shall keep your axe. Don't you worry, -it is in good hands, brother."</p> - -<p>Glad that he was able to prove to Ilya how well-grounded were his -suspicions in regard to Garanka, Yudushka transports himself in -imagination to the forester's cottage and reprimands him soundly. On -his way back home he catches three hens belonging to peasants in the -act of feeding on his oats.</p> - -<p>Back in his study, he falls again to work, and a peculiar system of -household management is suddenly born in his brain. The system is based -on the assumption that all mankind suddenly has begun to steal his wood -and damage his fields by letting cattle graze upon them. But this does -not grieve Yudushka, on the contrary he rubs his hands in delight.</p> - -<p>"Let your cattle graze on my fields, fell my trees. I shall be the -better off for it," he repeats, hugely pleased. Then he takes a fresh -sheet of paper and resumes his ciphering and reckoning. The problems -to be solved are these: First, how much oats grows on one desyatin and -what will the fines amount to if the peasants' hens scratch the oats -up? And, second, how many birches grow in Lisy-Yamy and how much money -can they bring in if the peasants fell them illegally and pay the fine? -"A birch, though felled," reflects Yudushka gleefully, "will in the end -get to the house and be used as firewood—firewood free of charge, mind -you!"</p> - -<p>Long rows of figures appear on the paper. Yudushka becomes so tired -and excited that he rises from the table all perspiring and lies down -on the sofa to rest. Here his imagination does not cease its work, it -merely selects an easier theme.</p> - -<p>"Mamma was a clever woman, mamma was," muses Porfiry Vladimirych. "She -knew how to be exacting and how to set one at ease—that is why people -served her so willingly. Still she was not without sins. Oh, yes, she -had plenty of them."</p> - -<p>No sooner does Yudushka think of Arina Petrovna than she appears before -him in person, coming straight from the grave.</p> - -<p>"I don't know, my friend, I don't know what fault you have to find with -me," she says dejectedly, "it seems to me that I——"</p> - -<p>"I know, I know," Yudushka cuts her short unceremoniously. "Let me be -frank and thrash out the matter with you. For instance, why did you not -stop Aunt Varvara Mikhailovna that time?"</p> - -<p>"But how in the world could I stop her? She was of age, and she had the -full right to dispose of herself."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, permit me, mother dear. What sort of a husband had she? An old -drunkard, not much of a man, I should say. Nevertheless, they had four -children. Where did they come from, I'm asking you?"</p> - -<p>"But how strangely you speak, my friend. As if I were the cause of it -all."</p> - -<p>"Cause or no cause, you could have influenced her. You ought to have -treated her kindly, she would have been shamed by you. But you did the -contrary. You kept on scolding her and calling her shameless, and you -suspected almost every man in the neighborhood of being her lover. Of -course, she kicked up the dust. It's a pity. The Goryushkino estate -would have been ours now."</p> - -<p>"You cannot forget that Goryushkino," says Arina Petrovna, evidently -brought to a standstill.</p> - -<p>"What do I care for Goryushkino? I don't need anything. If I have -enough to buy a church candle and some oil for the image lamp, I am -satisfied. But what about justice, dear mamma, justice? Yes, mother -dear, I would be glad to hold my tongue, but I cannot help being frank -with you. There's a sin on your conscience, a great sin, indeed."</p> - -<p>Arina Petrovna does not answer, and it is impossible to tell whether -she is dejected or merely perplexed.</p> - -<p>"Another thing," Yudushka goes on, evidently reveling in mother dear's -embarrassment. "Why did you buy a house for brother Stepan?"</p> - -<p>"I had to, my friend. I had to give him some share," says Arina -Petrovna, trying to defend herself.</p> - -<p>"And he squandered it away, of course. As if you did not know him! You -knew he was a loafer, a disrespectful, foul-mouthed scamp. And to think -that you wanted to give him the Vologda village, too. A neat little -estate with a nice little forest and a tiny lake, lying like a shelled -egg—Christ be with it! It is well that I happened to be around and -kept you from taking that imprudent step. Ah, mamma dear, mamma dear, -how could you?"</p> - -<p>"But he was a son of mine, you understand? A son!"</p> - -<p>"I know, I understand very well. And still, I repeat, you ought not -to have done it. You paid twelve thousand for the house—where is the -money? And Goryushkino is worth at least fifteen thousand. So the loss -comes to quite a sum."</p> - -<p>"Well, that will do, that will do. Don't be angry with me, please -don't!"</p> - -<p>"I am not angry, dearest mother, I am only upholding the cause of -justice. What's true is true—and I loathe falsehood. I was born with -truth, have lived with truth, and with truth I shall die. God loves -truth and He would have us, too, love it. Take the case of Pogorelka, -for instance. I shall always say you invested too much money in it."</p> - -<p>"But I myself lived there."</p> - -<p>Yudushka clearly reads "You silly Bloodsucker!" on his mother's face; -but he makes believe he does not see.</p> - -<p>"Well, yes, you lived there—still—the image-case is in Pogorelka. -Whose is it, I'd like to know. And the pony and the tea-caddy. I saw -that tea-caddy at Golovliovo with my own eyes, when papa was still -alive. What a beautiful little box!"</p> - -<p>"Well, but——"</p> - -<p>"No, dearest mother, let me speak. Of course it looks like a trifling -matter, but a ruble here, half a ruble there, come to quite a sum in -the end. Let me use exact figures and make it clear to you. Figures -are holy, they never lie."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych runs over to the table with the intention of -finally determining the exact amount of loss that his mother dear had -caused him to sustain. He manipulates the counting-board, covers sheets -of paper with rows of figures, arms himself to convict Arina Petrovna. -But fortunately for her his wavering thoughts cannot remain fixed on -one subject for a long time. Unnoticed by himself a new thought enters -his mind and, as if by magic, gives an entirely different trend to his -ideas. The image of his mother, a minute ago so clear before his eyes, -suddenly drops away. He forgets her, his notions become confused, other -notions enter his mind.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych has long had the intention of figuring out what his -crops could bring him in. The opportune moment is here. He knows the -peasant is always in want, is always on the lookout to borrow provender -and always pays his debts with interest. He knows also that the peasant -is especially generous with his work, which "costs him nothing," and -is not considered as possessing any value in settling accounts. There -are many needy people in Russia, oh, how many! There are many people -who do not know what the next day will bring them, who see nothing but -despair and emptiness wherever they turn their weary eyes, and who -hear everywhere only one clamor: "Pay your debt! Pay your debt!" It is -around these shiftless, utterly destitute men that Yudushka weaves his -net, with a delight passing sometimes into an orgy.</p> - -<p>It is April, and the peasant as usual has nothing to eat. "You have -gobbled up all your crops, my dear fellows," Porfiry Vladimirych muses. -"All winter you feasted, and in spring your stomach is shrivelled from -hunger." He has just settled the accounts of last year's crops. The -threshing was completed in February, the grain was in the granaries in -March, and the amount was recorded in the numerous books the other day. -Yudushka stands at the window and waits. On the bridge afar off the -peasant Foka appears in his cart. At the bend of the road leading to -Golovliovo he shakes the reins rather hastily, and for want of a whip -hits his battered jade with his fist.</p> - -<p>"He's heading here," whispers Yudushka. "Look at the horse. A wonder it -can drag its feet. But if you had fed it well a month or two, it would -become quite a horse. You might get twenty-five rubles for it, or even -as much as thirty."</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Foka drives up to the servants' house. He ties the animal to -the hedge, throws it a handful of hay, and a minute later stands in the -maids' quarters, shifting from one foot to another. It is in the maids' -quarters that Porfiry Vladimirych usually receives such visitors.</p> - -<p>"Well, friend, how are things going?"</p> - -<p>"Please sir, what I need is some corn."</p> - -<p>"How's that? Are you through with your own? What a pity! If you drank -less vodka, and worked more, and prayed to God, the soil would feel it. -Where one grain grows now, two grains would grow. Then there would be -no need for you to borrow."</p> - -<p>Foka smiles vaguely, instead of replying.</p> - -<p>"You think if God is far from us, He does not see?" Porfiry Vladimirych -goes on moralizing. "God is here and there and everywhere, he is with -us while we are talking here. He sees everything and hears everything, -he only pretends not to see things. 'Let my creatures live after -their own way, and we shall see whether they will remember me.' And we -sinners take advantage of that, and instead of buying a candle for God -from our meager means, we keep on going to the public-house. That's why -God gives us no corn. Am I not right, friend?"</p> - -<p>"You are quite right, sir. There's no denying it."</p> - -<p>"Well, you see, you understand it now. And why is it that you -understand it? Because the Lord withdrew His mercy from you. If you -had had an abundant crop of corn, you would carry on again, but since -God——"</p> - -<p>"Right, sir, and if——"</p> - -<p>"Wait a minute. Let me say a word. The Lord recalls Himself to those -who forgot Him. That is always the case. And we must not grumble over -it, but understand that God does it for our good. Were we to remember -God, He would never forget us. He would grant us everything, corn and -oats and potatoes—more than we need. And He would take care of our -animals. Look at your horse. It is skin and bones. And if you have -chickens, He would keep them in condition, too."</p> - -<p>"You are quite right, sir."</p> - -<p>"Man's first duty is to honor God, man's second duty is to honor -his superiors, those who have been distinguished by the czars -themselves—the gentry, for instance."</p> - -<p>"It seems to me, sir, that I——"</p> - -<p>"That's just it, 'it seems to me.' But give a little thought to the -matter, and you will find out that it's all different. Now when you -have come to borrow corn you are very respectful and bland. But two -years ago, you remember, when I needed harvesters and came to you -peasants to ask for help, what did you answer? 'We have to harvest -ourselves,' you said. 'It is not the way it used to be,' you said, -'when we worked for the landlords. Now we are free!' Free, and no corn!"</p> - -<p>Yudushka looks at Foka, but Foka does not stir.</p> - -<p>"You are very proud, that's why you have no luck. Take me, for example. -The Lord has blessed me, and the Czar has distinguished me. But I am -not proud. How can I be? What am I but a worm, a moth, a nothing. God -took and blessed me for my humility. He loaded me with favors, and put -it into the Czar's mind to favor me, too."</p> - -<p>"Porfiry Vladimirych, I think that under serfdom we were far better -off," Foka remarks, playing the flatterer.</p> - -<p>"Yes, brother, those were fine days for you peasants. You had plenty of -everything, corn and hay and potatoes. But why recall the old times? I -am not rancorous. I have long forgotten about the harvesters. I only -mentioned them in passing. Let me see—did you say you needed corn?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I did, sir."</p> - -<p>"You have come to buy some, have you?"</p> - -<p>"How can I? I should like to borrow some until the new corn comes."</p> - -<p>"My, my! Corn is not to be had for money nowadays. I really don't know -what to do with you."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych ponders for a while, as if really perplexed.</p> - -<p>"I can lend you some corn, my friend," he finally says. "I have none -for sale, for I loathe to traffic in God's gifts. But I will gladly -lend you some corn. To-day I'll lend to you, to-morrow you'll lend to -me. To-day I have plenty. Take some, help yourself. You want a measure -of corn? Take a measure. You want half a measure? Take half a measure. -Tomorrow may find me knocking at your window saying, 'Dear Foka, lend -me half a measure of corn, I have nothing to eat.'"</p> - -<p>"Oh, sir, will you come to me?"</p> - -<p>"I shall not. That was merely an example. The world has seen greater -reverses. There was Napoleon, about whom the newspapers have written so -much. That's how it is, brother. So how much corn do you want?"</p> - -<p>"A measure, if you please."</p> - -<p>"Well, I can let you have a measure. Only let me warn you, corn is -tremendously dear nowadays. This is what we are going to do: I shall -give you six chetveriks, and in eight months you will deliver a measure -to me. I don't take any interest, but an additional chetverik or -two——"</p> - -<p>Yudushka's offer makes Foka gasp. For some time he says nothing, only -shrugs his shoulders. "Won't that be a bit too much, sir?" he says at -last, evidently alarmed.</p> - -<p>"If it's too much, go to others. You see, my friend, I am not forcing -you, I am only making you an offer in a friendly way. I didn't send for -you, did I? You came here yourself. You came to ask for something and -that's my answer. Isn't it so, friend?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, quite so, but don't you think it's too much interest?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, ah, ah! And I thought you were a just, respectable peasant. Well, -you will say to me, what am I going to live on? How will I meet my -expenses? Do you know what expenses I have? My dear man, there is no -end to them. I've got to pay here, and meet my obligations there, and -produce cash in a third place. I've got to satisfy every one. All are -after Porfiry Vladimirych, all ask something of him, and I've got to -get along with them as best I can. And then again, if I sold the corn -to the dealer, I should get money at once. And money, my friend, is -a sacred thing. With money I can buy securities, put them in a safe -place, and draw interest. No worry, you know, of any kind, no trouble -at all. Just clip the coupon and get your money. But with the corn -you've got to go carefully about it, and look after it, and all that. -A lot of it will dry up, and be wasted, and the mice will eat it up. -No, brother, money is the best thing—nothing like it! It would be high -time for me to become sensible and turn everything into money and leave -you folks."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Porfiry Vladimirych, stay with us."</p> - -<p>"Well, my dear man, I should like to, but I can't stand it any longer. -If I had the strength of my youth, of course I would stay with you -and keep at it. But no, it's time to rest. I will go to the Trinity -Monastery, I will find shelter under the wing of the saints, and not a -soul will hear from me. And how good I'll feel! All will be peaceful -and quiet and honest; no noise, no quarrels—like in Heaven."</p> - -<p>In a word, in spite of all of Foka's protestations, Porfiry Vladimirych -arranges the bargain to suit himself. But that is not enough. At the -very moment that Foka consents to the terms of the loan, a thought -flashes through Yudushka's mind. A certain Shelepikha meadow appears on -the scene. It doesn't amount to much, hardly a desyatin to mow.</p> - -<p>"You see, I am doing you a favor, so you do me one in turn," says -Porfiry Vladimirych. "This is not interest, but just a favor. God does -favors to us all, and we've got to do likewise to one another. You will -mow this desyatin in no time, and I'll be much obliged to you. You see, -brother, I am a plain man. You'll do me a ruble's worth of service, and -I——"</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych rises, faces the church, and makes the sign of the -cross to show that the transaction is at an end. Foka also rises and -makes the sign of the cross.</p> - -<p>Foka has disappeared. Porfiry Vladimirych produces a sheet of paper, -arms himself with the counting-board, and the beads begin jumping -fast under his skilful fingers. Little by little an orgy of numbers -commences. The whole world becomes enwrapped in mist. With feverish -haste Yudushka passes from the paper to the counting-board and from the -counting-board to the paper. The rows of figures keep growing larger -and larger.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="BOOK_VII" id="BOOK_VII">BOOK VII</a></h4> - -<h3>THE SETTLEMENT</h3> - - - -<hr class="tb" /> -<h4>CHAPTER I</h4> - - -<p>It is the middle of December. The country stretches still and benumbed, -covered with a mantle of snow as far as the eye can reach. The -horses, though pulling empty carts, wade with difficulty through the -snow-drifts that the wind has driven during the night. There is not the -trace of a path to the Golovliovo estate.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych had grown so unaccustomed to visits that in the -beginning of autumn he barred the front entrance to the house and the -main gateways leading to it, leaving only the servants' entrance and -the side gates for the domestics to communicate with the outer world.</p> - -<p>One morning as the clock was striking eleven, Yudushka in his -dressing-gown was standing at the window staring aimlessly before him. -Since early morning he had been walking to and fro in the room, deep -in thought about a certain momentous matter, and ceaselessly counting -imaginary profits. Finally, he became mixed in the ciphering and grew -tired. Both the magnificent orchard in front of the manor and the -village behind it were lost to view in the snow. After yesterday's -blizzard the air was frosty, and the snow shimmered and sparkled in the -sun, so that Porfiry Vladimirych had to blink. The court was silent and -deserted. There was not the least movement, either in the servants' -quarters or near the cattle yard. Even the village itself was so silent -that it seemed as if death had suddenly stolen upon the people. The -only thing that attracted Yudushka's attention was a curl of thin smoke -floating upward from the priest's house.</p> - -<p>"Eleven o'clock, and the parson's wife has not yet finished cooking," -he thinks. "Those black coats are always gorging."</p> - -<p>With this as a point of departure, his mind wandered on. Was it a -weekday or a holiday, a fast day or not, and what can the parson's -wife be cooking? But suddenly his attention was diverted. On the hill -at the very beginning of the road from the village of Pogorelka a -black dot appeared, approached gradually and grew larger and larger. -Porfiry Vladimirych looked intently. "Who could be coming, a peasant or -somebody else? Who could it be but a peasant? Yes, a peasant! What was -he coming for? If for wood, why, then, the Naglovka forest was on the -other side of the village. The knave must be intending to steal some -wood. If he was making for the mill, why, then, he ought to have turned -to the right. Perhaps he was coming to fetch the priest. Someone dying, -or, perhaps, already dead? Or maybe a child had been born? Who could it -be? In autumn Nenila walked about pregnant, but it was too early for -her. If it should be a boy, he would get into the census. What was the -population of Naglovka at the last census? But if a girl, she would -not get into the census, and——Still, it is impossible to get along -without the female sex. Fie!"</p> - -<p>Yudushka spat and looked at the ikon in the corner, as if seeking its -protection from the Evil One.</p> - -<p>It is quite possible that he would have continued wandering in thought -had the black speck been lost to view, but it kept on growing and at -last turned toward the marsh road leading to the church. Then Yudushka -saw quite clearly that it was a small wagon pulled by two horses, one -behind the other. Next it went up the hill, and drove past the church. -"Perhaps it is the bishop," passed through his mind. "That's why they -have not yet finished cooking at the parson's house." Then the vehicle -turned to the right and made straight for the manor-house. Porfiry -Vladimirych instinctively drew his dressing-gown together and stepped -away from the window, as if afraid of being seen by the traveller.</p> - -<p>He had guessed correctly. The wagon drove up to the house and stopped -at the side gate. A young woman jumped out of it quickly. She was -dressed out of season in a large cotton-lined greatcoat trimmed with -lamb's fur, more for show than for warmth. She was apparently frozen. -No one appearing to receive her, the stranger hopped over to the maids' -entrance. In a few seconds the outer door in the women's quarters -banged shut, then another door, and another, until all the rooms -adjacent to the maids' entrance were filled with a noise of hurried -footsteps and banging doors.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych stood at his study door listening intently. It was -so long since he had seen any strangers, and altogether he had become -so unaccustomed to the company of human beings, that he was somewhat -bewildered. Nearly a quarter of an hour passed, the running and the -banging of the doors continued, and yet he was not told who had come. -It was clear that the guest was a relative, who did not doubt her -right to the host's hospitality. But what relatives had he? He tried to -recall them, but his memory was dull. He had had two sons, Volodka and -Petka; he had had a mother, Arina Petrovna—long, long ago! Last autumn -Nadka Galkina, daughter of his late aunt Varvara Mikhailovna, had taken -up her residence at Goryushkino. Could it be she? Why, no. She had -already tried to make her way into the Golovliovo temple, but to no -avail.</p> - -<p>"She will not dare to, she will not dare to!" reiterated Yudushka, -burning with indignation at the very thought of her intrusion. "But who -else can it be?"</p> - -<p>While he was busy guessing, Yevpraksia approached the door cautiously -and announced:</p> - -<p>"The young lady of Pogorelka, Anna Semyonovna, has arrived."</p> - -<p>It was indeed Anninka, but changed beyond recognition. She was no -longer the beautiful, lively, buoyant girl with rosy cheeks, full -gray eyes, high breast and heavy, ash-colored tresses massed low on -her head, who had come to Golovliovo shortly after the death of Arina -Petrovna, but a weak, wasted creature with a sunken chest, hollow -cheeks, a hectic face and languid movements—a bent creature, almost -hunch-backed. Even her splendid braids looked miserable, and her eyes, -blazing feverishly, seemed larger than ever in her emaciated face. Her -eyes alone retained something of their former beauty. Yevpraksia stared -long at her as at a stranger, then finally recognized her.</p> - -<p>"You?" she cried out, clapping her hands.</p> - -<p>"I. Well?"</p> - -<p>Anninka laughed quietly, as if to add, "Yes, life has played me a dirty -trick."</p> - -<p>"Is uncle well?"</p> - -<p>"Uncle? Nothing is the matter with him. He is alive, there is no doubt -about that, but we hardly ever see him."</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with him?"</p> - -<p>"Just so—it's all because of lonesomeness."</p> - -<p>"Don't tell me he has stopped haranguing?"</p> - -<p>"He is real quiet now, miss. He used to talk and talk, but suddenly he -became silent. Occasionally we hear him in his study talking to himself -and sometimes even laughing, but as soon as he comes out of the room he -is quiet. People say his late brother, Stepan Vladimirych, had the same -trouble. At first he was gay, then suddenly he became quiet. And you, -madam, are you well?"</p> - -<p>Anninka only waved her hand in reply.</p> - -<p>"And is your sister well?"</p> - -<p>"She has been lying in her grave at the wayside at Krechetovo a month."</p> - -<p>"Lord be merciful! At the wayside!"</p> - -<p>"Of course, that's how they bury all suicides."</p> - -<p>"Goodness! A lady—and to take her own life! How is that?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, at first she was a 'lady,' and then she took poison, that's all. -And I, I am a coward, I want to live, and here I have come to you. Not -for long, oh, don't be afraid. I shall die soon, too."</p> - -<p>Yevpraksia stared at her, as if she did not understand.</p> - -<p>"Why are you looking at me? Am I such a fright? Well, never mind my -looks. However, I'll tell you later—later. Now pay the coachman and -announce me to uncle."</p> - -<p>She produced an old pocketbook and took out two yellow bills.</p> - -<p>"And here is all my property," she added, pointing to a small trunk. -"Here's everything, both my inheritance and my own acquisitions. I am -cold, Yevpraksia, very cold. I am quite sick, there's not a bone in my -body that doesn't ache, and here as if to spite me, it is so cold. As I -was riding, I thought of only one thing, to get to Golovliovo, and die -there, at least in warmth. I'd like to have some vodka. Have you any?"</p> - -<p>"You had better have some tea, madam. The samovar will soon be ready."</p> - -<p>"No, I shall have tea later. Now I'd like to have some vodka. However, -don't tell uncle about the vodka yet. It will all come out later."</p> - -<p>While they set the table for tea in the dining-room Porfiry Vladimirych -appeared. Now Anninka in her turn was completely surprised at her -uncle's emaciation and wild, faded looks. Porfiry received Anninka in -a strange manner, not coldly, but as if altogether indifferent. He -spoke little, as if under compulsion, like an actor trying to recall -sentences of parts acted in days gone by, and was absent-minded, as -though his mind were absorbed in some grave, urgent business from which -he had been torn away to attend to trifles.</p> - -<p>"So you have arrived?" he said. "What will you have, tea, coffee? Order -the servants to fetch it."</p> - -<p>In former days, at family meetings, Yudushka always played the -sentimental part. This time it was Anninka who was filled with -emotions, genuine emotions. The claw of sorrow must have sunk deep -into her being, for she threw herself on Porfiry Vladimirych's breast -and embraced him ardently.</p> - -<p>"Uncle, I have come to you!" she cried, and burst into tears.</p> - -<p>"Well, you are welcome. I have enough rooms. Live here."</p> - -<p>"I am sick, uncle, very, very sick."</p> - -<p>"If you are sick, you must pray to God! Whenever I am not well, I -always heal myself through prayer."</p> - -<p>"I have come to you, uncle, to die."</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych looked at her with questioning eyes, and an almost -imperceptible smile stole over his lips.</p> - -<p>"So that is where your acting has brought you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, that is where my acting has brought me. Lubinka is dead and I—I -am alive,"</p> - -<p>At the news of Lubinka's death Yudushka piously crossed himself and -whispered a prayer. Anninka seated herself at table, her chin in her -hands, looking toward the church and continuing to cry bitterly.</p> - -<p>"See here, as for weeping and being in despair, it is surely a sin," -remarked Porfiry Vladimirych sententiously. "And do you know what -a Christian must do on such an occasion? Not cry, but submit and -hope—that's how a Christian has to act."</p> - -<p>But Anninka threw herself back on the chair and repeated, her arms -drooping helplessly:</p> - -<p>"Ah, I do not know, I do not know, I do not know!"</p> - -<p>"If you are crying your eyes out on account of your sister," Yudushka -continued to sermonize, "that is a sin, too. For although it is -praiseworthy to love one's sisters and brothers, yet, if it be the will -of God to take one or several of them to Himself——"</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, no! Uncle, are you kind? Are you kind? Tell me!"</p> - -<p>Anninka threw herself on him again and embraced him.</p> - -<p>"Well, I am kind, kind. Tell me, do you wish anything? Will you have a -bite, or tea, or coffee? Ask for what you want. Order it."</p> - -<p>Anninka suddenly remembered how during her first visit her uncle used -to ask her, "Will you have beef, pork, potatoes?" And she realized that -she would find no other consolation.</p> - -<p>"Thank you, uncle," she said, seating herself at the table again. "I do -not want anything in particular. I am sure I shall be contented with -anything you offer me."</p> - -<p>"If so, well and good. Will you go to Pogorelka?"</p> - -<p>"No, uncle, for the time being I shall stay with you. You have nothing -against it, have you?"</p> - -<p>"Christ be with you, of course I don't object. I asked about Pogorelka -only because in case you do wish to go there, it would be necessary to -arrange for a wagon and horses."</p> - -<p>"No, later, later."</p> - -<p>"Very well, then. You will go there later on. Meanwhile you can stay -with us. You will help about the house, for I'm all alone, you see. -This queen," said Yudushka, almost in hatred, pointing to Yevpraksia -pouring the tea, "is all the time running about in the servants' -quarters, so that sometimes you can never get any service, not a soul -in the whole house. Well, good-by for the present. I shall go to my -room. I shall pray, do some work and pray again. So, my friend. Is it -long since Lubinka died?"</p> - -<p>"About a month, uncle."</p> - -<p>"Then tomorrow we shall go to church early and order a mass to be -read for God's recently deceased servant Lubinka. So good-by for the -present. Have some tea, and if you want a bit of luncheon, have the -servant bring it to you. At dinner we shall meet again, have a talk, -a chat. And if anything has to be done, we shall attend to it, if -not—not."</p> - -<p>Such was the first family meeting. When it was over, Anninka entered -upon her new life in that disgusting Golovliovo, where she was stranded -for the second time in her short life.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER II</h4> - - -<p>Anninka had gone downhill very fast. It was true that her first visit -to Golovliovo had aroused the consciousness of being a "lady," of -having her own nest and her own graves, of not being confined in her -life to the squalor and uproar of hotels and inns, and of having a -shelter where she would be safe from vile breaths infected with the -odor of wine and the stable, from hoarse voices, bloodshot eyes, -indecent gestures. But alas! No sooner did Golovliovo disappear from -sight than this purifying consciousness vanished from her mind.</p> - -<p>Anninka had gone from Golovliovo straight to Moscow, and solicited a -position on the government stage both for herself and her sister. With -this in view she turned for aid to <i>maman,</i> that is, the directress of -the boarding-school where she had been educated, and to several of her -classmates. <i>Maman</i> was at first quite kind to her, but as soon as she -discovered that her former pupil had acted on the provincial stage, -her pleasant manner changed to one of haughtiness and sternness. As -for Anninka's classmates, who were mostly married women, they eyed her -with an impertinent astonishment that quite frightened her. Only one -of them, better-natured than the rest, asked her, evidently wishing to -show sympathy:</p> - -<p>"Tell me, darling, is it true that when you actresses dress for the -stage, officers lace your corsets?"</p> - -<p>In a word, her attempts to gain a foothold in Moscow remained -unsuccessful. The truth of the matter was, she did not possess the -necessary qualifications for theatrical success in the capital. She -and her sister Lubinka belonged to that class of lively, but not very -talented actresses who play one part all their lives. Anninka had made -a hit in <i>Pericola,</i> Lubinka in <i>Pansies</i> and <i>Old-time Colonels,</i> and -whatever new rôles they studied strangely resembled their successful -parts, or, in the majority of cases, were a complete failure. Anninka -often had to play <i>Fair Helen</i> also. She would wear a flaming red wig -over her ash-colored hair, and cut her tunic down to her waist line, -but she was mediocre and dull, not even cynical. From <i>Fair Helen</i> she -passed to the <i>Duchess of Herolstein.</i> In this her colorless acting -was coupled with a completely preposterous <i>mise en scène</i>, and the -outcome was altogether miserable. At last she undertook to play the -role of Clairette in <i>The White Slave.</i> But she overdid her part to -such an extent that even the none too refined provincial public was -shocked by her behavior on the stage, which she turned into a mire of -corruption. Anninka gained the reputation of being a clever actress -with a fairly good voice, and since she was pretty, she could get an -audience in the provinces. But that was all. Lacking individuality, she -could not attain permanent success. Even among the provincial public -she was popular mainly with army officers, whose chief ambition was to -obtain access behind the scenes. She could have got an engagement in -the capital only if she had been forced upon some manager by a powerful -patron, and even then the public would have given her the unenviable -nickname of "a tavern singer."</p> - -<p>Thus the two girls had to go back to the provinces. In Moscow Anninka -received a letter from Lubinka, saying that their company had removed -from Krechetov to the city of Samovarnov, which made Lubinka quite -glad, because there she had become friendly with a certain zemstvo -leader, who was so infatuated that he was almost, in his own words, -"ready to steal the zemstvo funds, if that were necessary to gratify -all her desires."</p> - -<p>In fact, on her arrival in Samovarnov, Anninka found her sister quite -luxuriously situated and planning to give up the stage. Lubinka's -admirer, the zemstvo official Gavrilo Stepanych Lyulkin, was a retired -captain of the Hussars, recently a <i>bel homme,</i> but now somewhat -corpulent. His appearance and manners and views taken separately were -conspicuously noble, but taken together they gave one the strong -impression that the man was altogether free from scruples. Lubinka -received Anninka with open arms and told her a room had been prepared -for her at the lodgings.</p> - -<p>Anninka, still under the influence of her trip to Golovliovo, bridled -up at the suggestion. The sisters exchanged tart words, and soon -afterwards they separated. Involuntarily Anninka recalled the words -of the Volpino parson, who had told her it was hard to safeguard a -maiden's "honor" in the acting profession.</p> - -<p>Anninka went to live at a hotel and broke off all relations with her -sister. Easter passed. The next week the theatres opened, and Anninka -found out that her sister's place was already filled by Nalimova, a -girl from Kazan, a mediocre actress, but utterly unconstrained in -the movements of her body. As usual, Anninka played <i>Pericola</i> and -enchanted the Samovarnov theatregoers. On her return to the hotel, -she found an envelope in her room containing a hundred ruble bill and -a laconic note which read: "Should anything happen, you get as much. -Merchant Kukishev, dealer in fancy goods." Anninka was enraged and went -to complain to the hotel-keeper. He told her Kukishev had this peculiar -habit of greeting the newly arrived actresses, and otherwise was a -harmless man and it did not pay to take offence. Anninka sealed up the -letter and the money in an envelope, sent it back the very next day, -and regained her composure.</p> - -<p>But Kukishev was more persistent than the hotel-keeper had reported -him to be. He was among Lyulkin's friends and was on good terms with -Lubinka. He was quite well-to-do and, besides, as a member of the city -administration was in a most convenient position with regard to the -city treasury. And like Lyulkin, boldness was not his least virtue. -According to the taste of market people he possessed a seductive -appearance, reminding one of the beetle, which, as the song has it, -Masha found in the fields instead of berries:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A beetle black, and on his crown</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Nice curly hair, with whiskers smart,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">His eyebrows colored a dark-brown,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">The picture of my own sweetheart."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Being the happy possessor of such looks he thought he had the right to -be aggressive, all the more so as Lubinka explicitly promised him her -cooperation.</p> - -<p>Lubinka, apparently, had burned all her bridges, and her reputation was -by no means a pleasant topic in her sister's ears. Every night, it was -said, a merry band caroused in her rooms from midnight till morning, -Lubinka presiding and appearing as a "gypsy," half naked (at this, -Lyulkin, addressing his intoxicated friends, would cry out, "Look, -there's a breast!") and with loosened hair. She would sing to the -accompaniment of a guitar:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"How I did love it with my mash,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Who had the darlingest mustache!"</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Anninka listened to the stories about her sister and became greatly -worried. What surprised her most was that Lubinka sang the ditty about -the "mash who had the darlingest mustache" in a gypsy-like manner, -just like the celebrated Matryusha of Moscow. Anninka always gave her -sister due credit, and had she been told that Lubinka sang couplets -from <i>Old-time Colonels</i> with unsurpassed excellence, she would have -considered it quite natural and would have readily believed it. The -theatergoers of Kursk, Tambov and Penza had not yet forgotten with what -inimitable naïveté Lubinka sang the most atrocious ambiguities in her -soft little voice. But that Lubinka could sing like a gypsy—pardon -me! A lie! She, Anninka, could sing like that, no doubt of it. It was -her genre, her business, and everyone in Kursk who had seen her in the -play, <i>Russian Romances Personified,</i> would willingly testify to it.</p> - -<p>Anninka would take the guitar, sling the striped sash over her -shoulder, sit down on a chair, cross her legs and begin: "I-ekh! -I-akh!" It was the very manner of Matryusha the gypsy.</p> - -<p>However that may have been, one thing was certain, that Lubinka was -extravagant. And Lyulkin, for fear of introducing a discordant note -into the drunken bliss, had already resorted to borrowing from the -zemstvo treasury. Not to speak of the tremendous amount of champagne -which was both consumed and poured out on the floor in Lubinka's -quarters, all sorts of things had to be provided to feed her growing -capriciousness and extravagance. First it was dresses from Mme. -Minangois of Moscow, then jewelry from Fuld. Lubinka was rather thrifty -and did not scorn valuables. Her licentiousness by no means interfered -with her love of gold, diamonds and especially lottery bonds. At any -rate, it was a life not of gaiety, but of boisterous debauchery and -continuous intoxication.</p> - -<p>There was one thorn in the rose-bush. It was necessary for Lubinka to -curry favor with the chief of police. Although a friend of Lyulkin's, -he sometimes liked to make his power felt, and Lubinka always guessed -when he was dissatisfied with her hospitality, for the next day the -police warden would come to ask for her passport. And she yielded. In -the morning she would treat the district chief of police to vodka and -a light repast, while in the evening she would personally prepare a -"Swedish" punch of which he was very fond.</p> - -<p>Kukishev watched this ocean of luxury and burned with envy. He -conceived a desire to lead a similar life and have just such a -mistress. That would put an end to the monotony of provincial life. One -night he would spend with Lyulkin's queen, the next night with his own -queen. That was the dream of his life, the ambition of an imbecile, -who is the more obstinate in his strivings the greater his stupidity. -Anninka seemed to be the most suitable person for the realization of -his hopes.</p> - -<p>But Anninka would not surrender. She was still new to the stir of -passion, although she had had numerous suitors and had been rather -free in her relations with them. At one time she even thought she was -ready to fall in love with the local tragedian Miloslavsky X, who was -consumed with passion for her. But Miloslavsky X was so hare-brained -and so persistently drunk that he never told her of his love, only -stared at her and stolidly hiccoughed when she passed by. So the love -affair never ripened. The other suitors Anninka considered as something -in the nature of indispensable furniture, to which a provincial actress -is doomed by the very conditions of her profession. She submitted to -these conditions, and took advantage of their minor privileges, such as -applause, bouquets, drives, picnics, etc., but further than this so to -speak external dissipation, she did not go.</p> - -<p>She persisted in this manner of conduct. During the whole summer she -had kept to the path of virtue, jealously guarding her honor, as if -anxious to show the Volpino priest that moral strength can be found -even among actresses. Once she even decided to complain about Kukishev -to the governor, who listened to her with kindly favor and commended -her for her heroism. But seeing that her complaint was an indirect -attack on his own person as the governor of the province, he added -that, having spent all his strength against the internal enemy, he -strongly doubted whether he could be of any use. Hearing this, Anninka -blushed and went away.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Kukishev acted so artfully that he succeeded in making -the public take an interest in his efforts. People suddenly became -convinced that Kukishev was right and that Pogorelskaya I, as she was -dubbed on the posters, only looked as if butter would not melt in her -mouth. A whole clique was formed with the express purpose of taming -the refractory upstart. The campaign was started by several habitués -of the theatre who gradually began to hang around her dressing-room -and made their nest in the adjoining room belonging to Miss Nalimova. -Then, without exhibiting direct enmity, the audiences began to receive -Pogorelskaya I, when she appeared on the stage, with a disheartening -reserve, as if she were not the star actress, but some insignificant -dumb performer. At last the clique insisted that the manager take some -parts away from Anninka and give them to Nalimova. And what was most -curious, the most important part in this underhand intrigue was played -by Lubinka, whose confidant was Nalimova.</p> - -<p>Toward autumn Anninka was surprised to find that she was compelled to -play the rôle of Orestes in <i>Fair Helen</i>, and only Pericola had been -left to her of all her main parts. That was because Nalimova would not -dare to vie with her in the rôle. In addition, the manager notified her -that in view of her cold reception by the audiences, her salary would -be reduced to seventy-five rubles a month, with only half the proceeds -of one benefit during the year.</p> - -<p>Anninka lost courage, because with so small a salary she would have -to move from the hotel to an inn. She wrote letters to two or three -managers offering her services, but invariably received the answer -that they were actually flooded with applicants for the Pericola rôle, -and besides, they had learned of her shrewish obstinacy from reliable -sources, and so could not foresee any hopes of her success.</p> - -<p>Anninka was now living on her last savings. Another week and she would -have to move to the inn and live with Khoroshavina, who was playing -<i>Parthenis</i> and was favored with the attention of a constable. She -began to yield to despair, especially since a mysterious hand put a -note into her room every day containing the same words, "Pericola, -submit. Your Kukishev." And at the critical moment Lubinka most -unexpectedly rushed in.</p> - -<p>"Tell me, please, for what prince are you saving your treasure?" she -asked curtly.</p> - -<p>Anninka was taken aback. First of all she was amazed to find that both -the Volpino priest and Lubinka employed the same word "treasure" for -maidenly honor. Only the priest had regarded it as the "foundation of -life," while Lubinka looked upon it as a mere trifle over which the -"rascally males" go mad.</p> - -<p>Then she involuntarily questioned herself, What is this "treasure," -anyhow? Is it really a treasure and is it really worth hoarding? Alas, -she could find no satisfactory answer to her questions. On one hand, it -is rather shameful to remain without honor, and on the other——Ah, the -devil take it! And could it be that the whole purpose, the whole merit -of her existence consisted in struggling every moment of her life to -maintain this treasure?</p> - -<p>"In only six months I have succeeded in getting thirty bonds," Lubinka -continued, "and lots of things. Look what a dress I have on!"</p> - -<p>Lubinka turned about, pulled at the front, then at the sides, letting -herself be examined. The dress was really an expensive one and -unusually well made. It came straight from Minangois in Moscow.</p> - -<p>"Kukishev is a kind sort," Lubinka resumed. "He will dress you up like -a doll, and he will give you money. You'll be able to send the theatre -to the devil. You have had enough of it."</p> - -<p>"Never!" cried Anninka heatedly. She had not as yet forgotten the -phrase, "sacred art."</p> - -<p>"You may remain if you wish to. You will get your former salary again -and outstrip Nalimova."</p> - -<p>Anninka was silent.</p> - -<p>"Well, good-by. They are waiting for me downstairs. Kukishev is there, -too. Will you come?"</p> - -<p>But Anninka maintained her silence.</p> - -<p>"Well, think it over, if there is anything to think about. And when you -have done thinking, come to see me. Good-by."</p> - -<p>On the seventeenth of September, Lubinka's birthday, the posters of -the Samovarnov theatre announced a gala performance. Anninka appeared -as <i>Fair Helen</i> again, and the same evening the part of Orestes was -performed by Pogorelskaya II, Lubinka. To complete the triumph of the -sisters, Nalimova was given the part of Cleon, the blacksmith. She -appeared on the stage dressed in tights and a short coat, her face -touched with soot, and a sheet of iron in her hands. The audience -was elated. Hardly did Anninka appear on the stage when the audience -raised such a clamor that, already unaccustomed to ovations, she nearly -broke into tears. And when, in the third act, in the scene where she -is awakened at night, she stood up on the sofa almost naked, the house -was one groaning mass of humanity. One man in the audience was so -thoroughly worked up that he shouted to Menelaus, who was entering -the stage, "Get out, damn you!" Anninka understood that the public -had pardoned her. As for Kukishev, he was in full dress, white tie -and white gloves. In the entr'actes he generously treated friends and -strangers alike to champagne and spoke of his triumph with dignity. -At last the manager of the theatre, brimming over with jubilation, -appeared in Anninka's room and, kneeling before her, said, "Now, madam, -you are a good girl and you will get your previous salary with the -corresponding number of benefits."</p> - -<p>Everybody praised her and congratulated her and protested their -sympathy, so that she, who at first was timid, restless, and haunted -with a feeling of oppressive melancholy, grew suddenly convinced that -she had fulfilled her mission.</p> - -<p>After the theatre the whole company went to Lubinka's birthday -celebration, and there the congratulations were reiterated. So large -a crowd gathered in Lubinka's quarters that the tobacco smoke made it -hard to breathe. They sat down to supper, and champagne began to flow -freely. Kukishev kept close to Anninka. This made her somewhat shy, but -she was no longer oppressed by his attentions. It seemed rather funny, -but also flattering, that she had so easily gotten hold of this big, -powerful man, who could bend and straighten out a horseshoe without -effort, and whom she could order about and do with as she wished. -The supper was crowned by that drunken, disorderly gaiety in which -neither the head nor the heart takes a part, and which results only in -headaches and nausea. The tragedian Miloslavsky X was the only one who -looked gloomy and declined champagne, preferring plain vodka, which he -gulped down glass after glass. As to Anninka, she abstained from drink -for some time, but Kukishev was insistent. He went down on his knees -and implored her:</p> - -<p>"Anna Semyonovna, it is your turn. I beseech you. For your happiness, -for friendship and love. Do us a favor."</p> - -<p>She was annoyed by his foolish figure and foolish talk, yet she could -not refuse, and before she had time to collect her thoughts, she was -already dizzy. Lubinka, for her part, was so magnanimous that she -herself asked her sister to sing, "How I did love it with my mash." -Anninka performed it so well that everybody exclaimed, "Ah, that was -just like Matryusha the gypsy." Then Lubinka sang an obscene song of -a different kind, and at once convinced everybody that that kind of -singing was her real genre, in which she had no rivals, just as Anninka -had none in the gypsy songs. In conclusion, Miloslavsky X and Nalimova -presented a "masquerade scene" in which the tragedian recited parts -from <i>Ugolino</i> (a tragedy in five acts, by Polevoy), and Nalimova -followed with a scene from an unpublished tragedy of Barkov. The result -was so unexpected that Nalimova nearly eclipsed the two sisters and -almost became the heroine of the evening.</p> - -<p>It was already dawn when Kukishev, leaving the charming hostess, helped -Anninka into her carriage. Pious townspeople were coming from matins. -At the sight of Anninka, elaborately attired and somewhat unsteady on -her feet, they muttered darkly, "People are coming out of church, and -they are gulping wine. A curse on them!"</p> - -<p>On leaving her sister's, Anninka went not to the hotel but to her own -quarters, small but snug and nicely furnished. She was followed by -Kukishev.</p> - -<p>The whole winter passed in an indescribable hurly-burly. Anninka was -completely in the swing, and if she ever reminded herself of her -"treasure," it was only in order to laugh it off with "How foolish I -was!" Kukishev, very proud of the fact that his "idea" of securing a -mistress like Lubinka had materialized, made ducks and drakes of his -money. Instigated by emulation, he ordered two gowns to Lyulkin's one, -and two dozen bottles of champagne to his one dozen. Lubinka herself -began to envy her sister, because she succeeded in laying by forty -lottery bonds during the winter in addition to a considerable amount of -jewelry. However, they became friendly again and decided to pool their -hoardings.</p> - -<p>Anninka always hoped for something, and during an intimate talk with -her sister, said:</p> - -<p>"When all this will be over, we will go back to Pogorelka. We will have -money and establish a home for ourselves."</p> - -<p>"And you think this will ever end? Fool!" Lubinka retorted cynically.</p> - -<p>To Anninka's misfortune, Kukishev soon came upon a new "idea," which -he began to pursue with his usual obstinacy. A vulgar and eminently -shallow-pated man, he imagined he would reach the pinnacle of bliss if -his queen would "accompany" him, that is, if she would drink vodka with -him.</p> - -<p>Anninka for some time declined, referring to the fact that Lyulkin -never compelled Lubinka to drink vodka.</p> - -<p>"And yet she drinks out of love for Lyulkin," Kukishev retorted. "And -may I ask you, darling, do you take the Lyulkins as an example? They -are Lyulkins, while you and I, we are Kukishevs. Therefore we will -drink in our own Kukishev way."</p> - -<p>Kukishev had his way. Once Anninka took a small glass of green liquid -from the hands of her "beloved" and gulped it down. Of course she saw -stars, choked, coughed, became dizzy, thereby putting Kukishev in -transports of delight.</p> - -<p>"Permit me to remark, darling, that you do not drink well! You did -it too fast," he instructed her, as she quieted down somewhat. "The -wineglass should be held in the tiny hands, so! Then you bring it over -to the lips, slowly—one, two, three—the Lord bless us!"</p> - -<p>And he calmly and gravely gulped down the contents of the glass, as if -he were pouring vodka into a barrel. He did not even frown, but only -took a bit of black bread, dipped it in the salt cellar, and chewed it.</p> - -<p>And so Kukishev succeeded in realizing his second "idea" and even began -to plan another one, which would beat the Lyulkins hollow. Of course he -succeeded in inventing one.</p> - -<p>"You know," he suddenly announced, "as soon as summer comes we will go -to my mill with the Lyulkins, take along some provisions and bathe in -the river."</p> - -<p>"Never!" Anninka objected indignantly.</p> - -<p>"Why not? We will bathe, then have a cocktail, rest a little, and bathe -again. That would be delightful."</p> - -<p>It is not known whether Kukishev's third idea materialized or not, but -it is certain that this drunken debauchery lasted a whole year, during -which time neither the zemstvo nor the city administration exhibited -the slightest anxiety concerning Messrs. Kukishev and Lyulkin. For -appearance's sake Lyulkin visited Moscow twice, and on his return -declared he had sold one of his forests. On being reminded that he had -sold the same forest four years before when living with Domashka the -gypsy, he answered it was another forest that he had sold that time, -and, to give his tale the appearance of veracity, he added detailed -information concerning the name of his newly sold forest-estate. As for -Kukishev, he gave currency to the story that he had smuggled in a large -stock of embroidery from abroad, thereby earning a great deal of money.</p> - -<p>In September of the next year the chief of police asked Kukishev for a -"loan" of a thousand rubles and, Kukishev was foolish enough to refuse. -Then the police superintendent began to confer secretly with the -assistant attorney. ("Both of them guzzled champagne in my house every -evening," Kukishev testified later at the trial.) On September 17th, -at the anniversary of Kukishev's <i>liaison,</i> when he and the others -celebrated Lubinka's birthday again, a member of the city council came -running in and announced to Kukishev that a warrant was being made out -at the City Board for his arrest.</p> - -<p>"They must have found out something!" Kukishev exclaimed rather -pluckily, and without further comment followed the messenger to the -council-hall, and from there to prison.</p> - -<p>The next day the zemstvo council also took fright. The members -assembled and ordered the money in the treasury counted and recounted, -and at last came to the conclusion that their treasury, too, had been -drained by somebody. Lyulkin was present at the examination, pale, -gloomy, but "noble"! When the loss had been discovered, and when it -became apparent to Lyulkin that he had no hope of escaping, he walked -to the window, drew a revolver from his pocket, and fired a bullet into -his temple.</p> - -<p>The event created quite a turmoil in the town. The people pitied -Lyulkin, saying, "At least he ended nobly!" But the general opinion -about Kukishev was, "He was born a shopkeeper, and a shopkeeper he -will die!" Concerning Anninka and Lubinka they simply said that "they -were the cause of it all," and that it would not do any harm to put -them behind the bars, too, so that in future matters might not be very -inviting for such wretches.</p> - -<p>The prosecutors, however, did not arrest them, but terrorized them so -mercilessly that they were completely dismayed. Of course there were -some kind people who advised them to conceal all their valuables, but -they listened and understood nothing. Owing to this, the attorney -for the plaintiffs (both councils hired the same attorney), a daring -fellow, wishing to satisfy his clients, came to the sisters one day, -accompanied by the process server, to take an inventory. He seized -and sealed everything except their dresses and such gold and silver -things as bore inscriptions showing they had been the gifts of the -appreciative public. Lubinka, however, succeeded in hiding a roll of -bank-notes, presented to her the previous evening, in her corset. It -was a thousand rubles, on which the sisters would have to exist for an -indefinite time.</p> - -<p>In expectation of Kukishev's trial, they were kept in the town -about four months. Then the trial began, and the sisters, Anninka -particularly, had to undergo a ruthless ordeal. Kukishev was cynical -in the extreme. He revelled in the disclosure of details, for which -there was really no need, but apparently he was desirous of striking -a pose before the ladies of Samovarnov and exposed everything -indiscreetly. The attorney and the private prosecutor, young and -anxious to afford pleasure to the ladies, took advantage of this and -endeavored to lend the proceeding a frivolous character, in which -they succeeded, of course. Anninka fainted a number of times, but -the private prosecutor paid no attention to this and bombarded her -with questions. At last the investigation ended, and both sides had -their say. Late at night the jurors announced that Kukishev was -guilty, but that there were alleviating circumstances. In view of -this he was sentenced to be deported to Western Siberia. When the -trial was over, the sisters obtained permission to leave Samovarnov. -And it was high time, for the thousand rubles were nearly exhausted. -Besides, the manager of the Kretchetov theatre, with whom they had -made arrangements, demanded that they appear in Kretchetov at once, -threatening to discontinue negotiations if they delayed. Nothing was -seen or heard of the valuables and documents sealed at the demand of -the private prosecutor.</p> - -<p>Such were the consequences of their disregard for their "treasure." -Tormented, crushed, despised by everybody, the sisters lost all faith -in their own strength and all hope for a brighter future. They became -emaciated, slovenly, cowardly. And Anninka, to boot, having been in -Kukishev's school, had learned to drink.</p> - -<p>Matters grew worse. No sooner did they alight from the train at -Kretchetov than they at once found "protectors." Lubinka was taken -by Captain Popkov, Anninka by the merchant Zabvenny. But the jolly -times were no more. Both Popkov and Zabvenny were coarse, quarrelsome, -and rather close-fisted. After three or four months they became -considerably colder. The sisters were even less successful on the -stage than in love affairs. The manager who had accepted the sisters -on the strength of the scandal they had caused at Samovarnov quite -unexpectedly found himself out of his reckoning. At the very first -performance somebody in the gallery shouted when the two girls made -their appearance on the stage, "You convicts!" And the name stuck. It -decided Anninka's and Lubinka's theatrical fate.</p> - -<p>They now lived a dull, drowsy life, devoid of all intellectual -interest. The public was cold, the managers scowled at them, the -"protectors" would not intercede. Zabvenny dreamed, as once Kukishev -had, of how he would "compel" his queen to have a cocktail with him, -how she would at first affect horror, and gradually submit. But he was -very angry when he found out that she was already past mistress in the -art of drinking. The only satisfaction left him was to show his friends -how Anninka "guzzled vodka." Popkov, too, was dissatisfied and declared -Lubinka had grown thin.</p> - -<p>"You once had flesh on your bones," he would say, "tell me, where did -you lose it?"</p> - -<p>On account of this, he was not only unceremonious with her, but often -even beat her when he was drunk.</p> - -<p>Toward the end of the winter the sisters had neither "real" admirers -nor a "permanent position." They still stuck to the theatre, but -there could be no question now either of <i>Pericola</i> or the <i>Old-time -Colonels.</i> Lubinka was more cheerful, but Anninka, being more -high-strung, broke down completely. She seemed to have forgotten the -past and was not aware of the present. In addition, she began to cough -suspiciously, apparently on her way toward an enigmatic malady.</p> - -<p>Next summer was terrible. Gradually the sisters were taken to hotels -and were given to travelling gentlemen for a moderate fixed price. -Scandals and beatings followed one another, but the sisters clung to -life desperately, with the tenacity of cats. They reminded one of those -wretched dogs who, in spite of being crippled by a beating, crawl back -to their favorite place, whining as they go. It was not proper to keep -women like that on the stage.</p> - -<p>In those dark days only once did a ray of light find its way into -Anninka's existence. Miloslavsky X, the tragedian, sent her a letter -from Samovarnov in which he persistently offered her his hand and -heart. Anninka read the letter and cried. The night long she tossed -about in bed, and in the morning she sent a curt reply, "Why? Only that -we may drink together?" Then darkness closed down upon her intenser -than ever, and endless, base debauchery began again.</p> - -<p>Lubinka was the first to wake up, or if not to wake up, at least to -feel instinctively that she had lived long enough. There was no work in -sight. Her youth, her beauty, and her embryonic talent, all had somehow -vanished. That they had a shelter in Pogorelka, she never remembered. -It was something distant, vague, long-forgotten. They never did have -much of a liking for Pogorelka, and now their hatred toward the place -was only intensified. Even when they were almost starving the place -attracted her less than ever. And what sort of a figure would she cut -there? A figure which all sorts of drunken, lustful breaths had branded -as a "creature." Those accursed breaths saturated her entire body. -She felt them everywhere, in every place. And what is more horrible, -she grew so accustomed to those disgusting breaths that they became -a part of her very being. So with Anninka, too. Neither the stench -of eating-houses, nor the din of the inns, nor the obscene language -of the drunkards seemed abominable to them, so that had they gone to -Pogorelka, they would surely have missed the "life." Besides, even in -Pogorelka they must have something to live on. All these many years -that they had wandered about the world they had heard nothing of the -revenue that Pogorelka brought. Perhaps the estate was a myth. Perhaps -the folks had all died, all those witnesses of the distant and yet -ever-present years, when they had been brought up by their grandmother, -Arina Petrovna, on sour milk and stale cured meat.</p> - -<p>It was clear that it was best for Lubinka to die. Once this thought -dawns on one's consciousness, it becomes an obsession. The sisters not -infrequently had moments of awakening, but in the case of Anninka they -were accompanied by hysterics, sobs, tears, and so passed away faster. -Lubinka was colder by nature. She did not cry or curse, but the thought -that she was a "hussy" constantly preyed on her mind. And Lubinka was -more reasonable and saw quite clearly that there was not even any -profit in their mode of living. For the future she expected nothing but -shame, poverty and the street. Shame is a matter of habit, it can be -tolerated, but poverty—never! It is better to end it all at once.</p> - -<p>"We must die," she once said to Anninka in that same cool and -deliberate tone in which two years ago she had asked her for whom she -was saving her "treasure."</p> - -<p>"Why?" Anninka objected, somewhat frightened.</p> - -<p>"I mean it seriously. We must die," Lubinka repeated. "Understand, wake -up, think!"</p> - -<p>"Well—let us die," Anninka assented, hardly realizing the dismal -meaning of her decision.</p> - -<p>That same day Lubinka cut off the tips of some matches and prepared two -glasses of the mixture. One of these she drank herself, the other she -offered her sister. But Anninka immediately lost courage and refused to -drink.</p> - -<p>"Drink, you slut," Lubinka cried out. "Sister, dearest, darling, drink!"</p> - -<p>Anninka, almost insane with fear, ran about the room, instinctively -clutching at her throat as if trying to choke herself.</p> - -<p>"Drink, drink—you street-walker!"</p> - -<p>The artistic career of the two sisters was ended. That same evening -Lubinka's corpse was taken into the field and buried. Anninka remained -alive.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER III</h4> - - -<p>Anninka soon introduced an atmosphere of Bohemian life into Yudushka's -nest. She rose late and would roam about the house until dinner-time, -undressed, uncombed, with an aching head, and coughing in such agony -that each time it would send a shudder through Porfiry Vladimirych -in his study and quite frighten him. Her room was always untidy, the -bedding in disorder, and her clothes lying about on the chairs and -floor. At first she saw her uncle only at dinner and evening tea. -The master of Golovliovo came out of his room all dressed in black, -spoke little, and ate with his old-time exasperating slowness. He -was apparently observing her. After dinner came the early December -twilight. Anninka loved to watch the glimmer of the gray winter day -gradually die out and the fields grow dim; she loved to see the -shadows flood the rooms until finally the whole house was plunged in -impenetrable darkness. In the darkness she always felt at ease and -hardly ever lit the candles. The only one she allowed to burn was at -one end of the sitting-room. It was of cheap palm wax, and sputtered -and dripped, its feeble flame formed a tiny circle of light. For some -time the house would be astir with the usual after-dinner noises. -Plates would rattle in the hands of the dish-washers, and drawers open -and close with a clatter; but soon the sound of receding steps would -be heard and a dead silence begin to reign. Porfiry Vladimirych would -take his after-dinner nap and Yevpraksia bury herself in the bedding in -her room. Prokhor would go into the servants' room, and Anninka would -remain entirely alone.</p> - -<p>She would pace from room to room, humming, trying to tire herself out, -but chiefly endeavoring to drive her thoughts away. In walking toward -the sitting-room she would fix her eyes upon the circle of light about -the candle, and walking away from it, she would try to single out some -point in the darkness and keep her eyes fixed on it. But in spite of -her efforts reminiscences surged up in her mind irresistibly. She saw -the dressing-room with its cheap wall paper, the inevitable pier-glass -and the equally inevitable bouquet from Lieutenant Pankov II; the stage -with the stage-properties, sooty, slippery from the damp; the hall with -its pieces of furniture picked up at random and its boxes upholstered -in threadbare purple plush,—the hall which, seen from the stage, -looked trim and even splendid, but in reality was dark and miserable. -And finally—officers, officers, officers without end. Then she saw the -hotel with the vile-smelling corridor, dimly lit by the smoky kerosene -lamp; the room she would dart into in order to change her dress for -further triumphs, the room with the bed in disorder from the morning; -the wash-stand full of dirty water, the bed-sheet lying on the floor, -her cast-off underwear forgotten on a chair. Next she saw herself in -the general dining-room, filled with kitchen odors, the tables set for -supper, with its tobacco smoke, noise, crowds, drinking, debauchery. -And again officers, officers, officers without end.</p> - -<p>Such were her memories of the time she had once called the years of -her successes, triumphs, prosperity.</p> - -<p>These reminiscences were followed by others, the prominent part in -which was played by the inn, filled with a foul stench, with walls on -which the vapor froze in the winter time, insecure flooring, and board -partitions, the glossy bellies of bed-bugs showing in the crevices. -Nights of drinking and brawls, travelling squires hastily taking -greenbacks out of their meager pocket-books, merchants encouraging the -"actresses" almost with a whip in hand. And in the morning—headaches, -nausea, and utter dejection. At last—Golovliovo.</p> - -<p>Golovliovo was death itself, relentless, hollow-wombed death, -constantly lying in wait for new victims. Two uncles had died there, -two cousins had received mortal wounds. And Lubinka! Although Lubinka, -to be sure, had died somewhere in Kretchetov because of her "own -affairs," yet the origin of her wounds went back to her life at -Golovliovo. All the deaths, all the poisonings, all the pestilence, -came from there. There the orphans had been fed on rotten cured -meats, there they heard the first words of hatred and contempt for -human dignity. Not the slightest childish misdeed had passed without -punishment. Nothing could be hidden from the stony-hearted, eccentric -old woman, not an extra bite of bread, not a broken clay doll, not a -torn rag, not a worn shoe. Each breach of law and order was instantly -punished either with a reproach or a slap. And then, when they had -been permitted to dispose of themselves, when they had understood that -they might run away from the disgusting place, they ran—there! And -nobody kept them from running away, nor could they have been kept -from running away, because they could imagine nothing worse or more -repulsive than Golovliovo.</p> - -<p>Ah, if all that could only be forgotten, if one could create a -different existence in one's dreams, a magic world that would supplant -both the past and the present! But alas, the reality Anninka had lived -through had so powerful a hold, that the clutch of it suppressed the -feeble efforts of her imagination. In vain did fancy endeavor to -imagine angels with silvery wings. From behind those angels peeped -inexorably the legions of Kukishevs, Lyulkins, Zabvennys, Popkovs. -Lord! Was all lost? Even the ability to deceive and beguile herself? -Had that been lost forever in the night revels, in wine, and in -debauchery? Yet that past had to be killed somehow, so as not to poison -her blood and rend her heart. It had to be crushed, utterly annihilated.</p> - -<p>How strange and ruthless was that which had happened! It was impossible -even to conceive of some future, of some door by which to escape from -the situation, of anything at all that might occur to change things. -Nothing could occur. And what was even more unbearable was the fact -that to all intents and purposes she was already dead, with the outward -signs of life yet present. She should have ended it then, along with -Lubinka. Somehow she had remained alive. How was it that the mass of -shame which had come upon her then from all sides had not crushed her? -And what an insignificant worm she must have been to have crept out -from underneath that heap of heavy stones piled up on top of her!</p> - -<p>She groaned in agony, and ran about the sitting-room, trying to kill -the burning memories. Before her eyes swam familiar images, the -Duchess of Herolstein shaking a pelisse, Clairette Angot in her wedding -gown with a slit in front up to her waist-line, Fair Helen with slits -in front, behind and at the sides. Nothing but obscenity and nakedness. -That was what her life had consisted of. Could all that possibly have -occurred?</p> - -<p>About seven o'clock the house came to life again. The sounds of the -preparations for tea were heard, and at last came the voice of Porfiry -Vladimirych. Uncle and niece sat down at the tea table and exchanged -remarks about the day just ended; but the daily happenings were scanty -and so the conversation was brief. Having taken tea and kissed Anninka -on the forehead, Yudushka crept back into his den, while Anninka went -into Yevpraksia's room to play cards.</p> - -<p>At eleven o'clock the debauchery began. Having ascertained that Porfiry -Vladimirych was fast asleep, Yevpraksia set the table with various -country corned meats and a bottle of vodka. Now came meaningless and -obscene songs, strumming on the guitar, and Anninka drinking between -the songs and the shameless talk. At first she drank after Kukishev's -manner, coolly, with a "Lord bless us" to each glass, but then she -gradually sank into gloom and began to moan and curse. Yevpraksia -looked at her and pitied her:</p> - -<p>"As I look at you, lady," she said, "I am so sorry for you, so sorry."</p> - -<p>"Drink with me and you won't be sorry," Anninka retorted.</p> - -<p>"No, how can I? They nearly chased me out of the clergy estate because -of your uncle, and now if I become——"</p> - -<p>"Well, then it can't be helped. Let me sing you <i>The Mustache.</i>"</p> - -<p>She strummed the guitar again, and again came the cry, "I-akh! I-okh!" -Late at night sleep would suddenly overtake her, obliterating her past -and allaying her sufferings for a few hours. The next day, broken down, -half-insane, she would again creep out from beneath the deadening load -of sleep and live anew.</p> - -<p>One of those vile nights when Anninka was singing her filthy songs to -Yevpraksia, Yudushka's pale face, ghastly and harassed, appeared in the -doorway. His lips were quivering, his sunken eyes looked like sightless -cavities by the light of the candle. His hands were folded for prayer. -For a few seconds he stood in front of the dumfounded women, and then -slowly faced round and passed out.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER IV</h4> - -<p>There are families that are weighed down by an inevitable fate. They -are frequent among that portion of the nobility which once lived idle, -useless, and uninfluential, under the wing of serfdom in all parts of -Russia and is now passing its last days helpless and unprotected in -dilapidated manor-houses. In the life of these wretched families both -success and failure come unexpectedly and as if by sheer accident.</p> - -<p>Sometimes it happens that a shower of good luck, as it were, suddenly -comes streaming down on such a family. The ruined cornet and his wife, -peacefully fading away in an out-of-the-way village, will suddenly be -blessed with a brood of young people, strong, clean, alert, pushing, -adaptable to the new conditions of life—the boys as well as the -girls—in a word, "knowing ones." The boys pass examinations with -flying colors and even establish connections and procure patrons -while still at school. In the nick of time they exhibit their modesty -(<i>"j'aime cette modestie"</i> their superiors say about them), and in the -nick of time they show that they can be independent (<i>"j'aime cette -indépendance!"</i>) They quickly scent the direction from which the wind -blows, but they never burn their bridges, so that retreat is free -and easy. These successful makers of our modern history begin with -obsequious cringing, and almost invariably end with perfidy. As to -the girls, they, too, in their line, contribute to the regeneration of -the family, that is, they all marry successfully and then exhibit so -much tact in the art of dressing that they experience no difficulty in -gaining prominent places in so-called society.</p> - -<p>From this combination of circumstances, success fairly pours down upon -the impoverished family. The first successful members who struggle -through courageously, bring up another clean generation, which is still -better off because the main paths have not only been broken but also -well trodden. Other generations succeed until at last a family comes -that has no preliminary struggles and deems it has an inborn right to -lifelong rejoicing.</p> - -<p>Lately, on account of a modern demand for so-called "new men" resulting -from the gradual degeneration of the old men, there have been frequent -instances of successful families. Even in earlier days a comet would -now and then make its appearance on the horizon, but it was a rare -occurrence, the reason being that, first, there were no cracks in the -wall surrounding that blissful region over the gateway to which is -inscribed: "Here pies are eaten daily," and, secondly, because in order -to penetrate into that region, one had to have genuine ability. But now -quite a number of cracks have appeared and the matter of penetration is -considerably simplified, since great merits are no longer demanded of -the newcomer, but only "newness" and nothing else.</p> - -<p>Besides these lucky families there is a great multitude of families -upon whose members the household gods bestow nothing but misfortune -and despair. Like a baleful blight, vice and ill-luck beset them and -devour their substance. The malignant influences attack the whole -stock, eating their way into the very heart and laying waste generation -after generation. There is born a race of weaklings, drunkards, petty -rakes, idlers and shiftless ne'er-do-wells. As time goes on the race -degenerates more and more, until finally there appear miserable -weaklings, like Yudushka's two sons, who perish at the first onslaught -of life.</p> - -<p>Such a sinister fate pursued the Golovliovo family. For several -generations, their history was marked by three characteristics, -idleness, utter uselessness, and habitual hard drinking, the last -coming as the sorry crown to a chaotic life. The Golovliovo family -would have run to seed completely but for the fact that Arina Petrovna -flashed like a casual meteor through this drunken confusion. By her -personal energy alone this woman brought the family to an unprecedented -height of prosperity. Nevertheless her labors were in vain. Not only -did she not transmit any of her qualities to her children, but she -herself died ensnared by idleness, empty talk and mental vacuity.</p> - -<p>Until now Porfiry Vladimirych had held out against the temptation of -drink. It may be that he had been frightened off by the fate of his -brothers and had consciously abstained from drink, or that he had -been satisfied by the intoxication of his frenzied day dreams. But it -was not for nothing that he had the reputation of a drunkard among -his neighbors. At times he himself felt something was lacking in his -existence. Idle musings gave him much, but not all. They did not supply -that sharp, stupefying sensation which would completely do away with -his sense of reality and plunge him headlong into the void forever.</p> - -<p>And now the long-wished-for opportunity presented itself. Ever since -Anninka's arrival, Yudushka had been aware of a vague noise at night -coming from the other end of the house. For a long time he had puzzled -his head over the significance of the mysterious sounds. At last he -discovered what they were.</p> - -<p>Anninka expected a reprimand the next day. None came. Porfiry -Vladimirych spent the morning locked up in his study as usual, but when -he appeared at the midday meal, he poured out two wineglasses of vodka -instead of only one for himself, and pointed to one with a sheepish -smile. Anninka accepted the silent invitation.</p> - -<p>"So you say Lubinka is dead?" said Yudushka when the dinner was well -under way, as if recalling something.</p> - -<p>"Yes, uncle, she is dead."</p> - -<p>"Well, God rest her soul! To grumble is a sin, but to honor her memory -is quite fitting. Shall we?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, uncle, let's honor her memory."</p> - -<p>They emptied one more glass, and then Yudushka grew silent. He was -evidently still unaccustomed to the society of human beings. When the -meal was over, Anninka, performing a family rite, kissed uncle's cheek, -and in response he patted her on her cheek and said:</p> - -<p>"So that's the kind you are."</p> - -<p>The evening of the same day, at tea, which lasted longer this time -than usual, Porfiry Vladimirych looked at his niece for a while with a -quizzical smile, and finally said:</p> - -<p>"Shall we have some corned meats served?"</p> - -<p>"Well, if you wish."</p> - -<p>"Yes. It's better you should do it in uncle's sight than on the sly. At -least, uncle will——"</p> - -<p>Yudushka did not finish the sentence. Perhaps he had wanted to say that -uncle would keep her from drinking, but something prevented him from -saying it.</p> - -<p>From that time on cold cuts were served in the dining-room every -evening. The outer window shutters were closed, the servants retired, -and uncle and niece remained all alone. In the beginning Yudushka did -not keep pace with Anninka, but with a little practice he came up to -her. They sat slowly sipping their vodka and talking. The conversation, -at first dull and indifferent, became more and more animated as their -heads grew hotter, and invariably passed into a chaotic quarrel, at -the bottom of which were always reminiscences about the victims of -Golovliovo.</p> - -<p>Anninka started the quarrels. She dug up the family archives with -ruthless persistence and delighted in teasing Yudushka by arguing that -he along with Arina Petrovna had been the chief cause of the Golovliovo -tragedies. Every word breathed such cynicism and such burning hatred -that it was difficult to understand how so much vitality could still -exist in that worn-out, shattered body. Anninka's attacks galled -Yudushka immensely, but he defended himself feebly, angrily sputtering -ejaculations of discomfiture. At times, when Anninka went too far in -her insolence, he shouted and cursed.</p> - -<p>Such scenes repeated themselves day in, day out, without change. Every -detail of the pitiful family chronicle was speedily exhausted, but it -still held the minds of the two riveted. Every episode of the past -lacerated some wound in their hearts, and they felt a bitter delight -in constantly evoking, scrutinizing and exaggerating painful memories. -Neither the past nor the present contained any moral mainstay on which -Anninka could lean. Nothing but sordid stinginess on one side, and -mental vacuity on the other. Her youthful heart had thirsted for warmth -and love, but had received a stone instead of bread, blows instead of -instruction. By the irony of fate, the cruel school in which she had -been taught implanted in her not an austere attitude toward life, but a -passionate yearning to partake of its sweet poisons. Youth had wrought -the miracle of oblivion, it kept her heart from hardening and the germs -of hatred from developing. Youth had made her drunk with the thirst for -life. That was why a turbulent, furtive debauchery had held her in its -sway for several years, and had pushed Golovliovo into the background. -Now, when the end was drawing close, her heart began to ache. Now for -the first time did Anninka grasp the significance of her past and begin -to hate it truly.</p> - -<p>The drinking lasted far into the night, and had it not been for the -drunken confusion of both thoughts and words, it might have resulted in -something frightful. But if alcohol opened the well-springs of pain in -these shattered hearts, it also appeased them. The further the night -advanced, the more incoherent became their talk and the more impotent -their hatred. Toward the end of the debauch, the aching disappeared and -their surroundings vanished from their eyes, supplanted by a shining -void. They faltered, their eyes closed, they grew muscle-bound. Uncle -and niece would then rise from their places and retire to their rooms -with tottering steps.</p> - -<p>Of course, these night adventures could not remain a secret. Before -long the notion of crime became associated with them in the minds of -the servants. Life abandoned the vast Golovliovo manor-house. Nothing -stirred even in the morning. Uncle and niece rose late and till the -midday meal Anninka's racking cough, accompanied by curses, rang from -one end of the house to the other. Yudushka listened to the harrowing -sounds in terror and a vague presentiment of his own impending doom -stirred in him.</p> - -<p>It seemed that all the Golovliovo victims were now creeping from out of -the nooks and crannies of the deserted house. Gray apparitions stirred -everywhere. Here was old Vladimir Mikhailovich, in his white nightcap, -making wry faces and citing Barkov; here was Simple Simon and Pavel -the Sneak; here were Lubinka and the last offshoots of the Golovliovo -stock, Volodya and Petka. All were drunk, lustful, weary and bleeding. -And over all these ghosts there brooded a living phantom, Porfiry -Vladimirych Golovliov, the last representative of the decadent family.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4>CHAPTER V</h4> - - -<p>The continual reverting to the past and its victims was bound to have -its effect on Yudushka. The natural outcome—was it fear?—No, rather -the awakening of conscience. He discovered he had a conscience, and -oblivion and contempt, although blunting its sensitiveness, could not -destroy it.</p> - -<p>The awakening of a torpid conscience is usually fraught with pain. It -brings no peace, holds no promise of a new life, but merely tortures, -endlessly and fruitlessly. Man sees himself immured in a narrow prison, -a helpless victim of the agonies of repentance, with no hope of ever -returning to life. And he perceives no other way of allaying his -gnawing pain than to break his head against the stony walls of the -prison cell.</p> - -<p>Never in the course of his long, useless life had it occurred to -Yudushka that dire tragedies were interwoven with his existence. He had -lived peacefully and calmly, with a constant prayer on his lips, and -the thought had been far from him that this manner of life had caused -so much sorrow. Least of all could he imagine that he himself had been -the source of these tragedies. Suddenly the terrible truth was revealed -to his conscience, but all too late—too late for him to make amends -for the crimes of his life. He was unsociable, old, with one foot -in the grave, and there was not a single human being who approached -him with loving pity. Why was he alone? Why did he see nothing but -indifference and hatred around him? Why was it that everything he -touched had perished? This estate of Golovliovo was once so full, a -human nest. How had it happened that now there was not a trace, not a -feather left? Of the fledgelings nursed there his niece was the only -one that remained alive, and she had come back only to sneer at him and -deal him his deathblow. Even Yevpraksia, simple as she was, hated him. -She lived at Golovliovo because Porfiry sent her father, the sacristan, -provisions every month, but undoubtedly she hated him. He had made her -unhappy, too, by robbing her of her child. What was the outcome of his -existence? Wherefore had he lied, babbled, persecuted, hoarded? Who -would inherit his wealth? Who was to enjoy the fruits of his life? Who?</p> - -<p>I repeat, his conscience had awakened. Yudushka waited for the evening -with feverish impatience not only in order to get bestially drunk, -but also to drown his conscience. He hated the "dissolute wench," who -lacerated his wounds with such cold cynicism, yet he was drawn to -her irresistibly, as if there was still something to be said between -them and some wounds to be torn open. Every evening he made Anninka -retell the story of Lubinka's death, and every evening the idea of -self-destruction became riper in his mind. At first, the idea occurred -to him casually. But as his iniquities became more apparent to him, it -sank deeper and deeper into his being and soon was the sole shining -spot in all the gloom he saw ahead of him.</p> - -<p>And his health began to decline rapidly. He coughed violently and at -times had spells of asthma that in themselves were sufficient to make -life intolerable, let alone the moral pangs from which he suffered. -All the symptoms of the malady that had sent his brothers to their -graves were present. He heard the groans of his brother Pavel, as he -choked in the entresol of the Dubrovino manor-house. Still Yudushka -was doggedly tenacious of life. His sunken, emaciated chest held out -against the pain that grew from hour to hour. It was as if his body too -were resisting with unexpected vigor so as to take revenge on him for -his crimes.</p> - -<p>"Is this the end?" he would wonder hopefully, whenever he felt the -approach of a paroxysm. But death was slow in coming. Evidently it -would be necessary to use violence to hasten the end. All his accounts -with life were settled—it was both painful and useless to him. What he -needed was death, but, to his sorrow, death was slow in coming. There -is something mean and treacherous in the teasing hesitancy of death -when it is called upon with all the strength of one's soul.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was late in March and Passion Week was nearing its end. However -abject Yudushka's condition was, he preserved an attitude of reverence -toward the sanctity of these days implanted in him in his childhood. -His thoughts of themselves took a serious turn, and there was no other -desire in his heart than complete silence. In this mood the evenings -were no longer spent in wild drinking, but passed in gloomy silence.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych and Anninka were sitting all alone in the -dining-room. The evening service, accompanied by the reading of the -gospel, had just ended, and the odor of incense still lingered in the -room. The clock struck ten, the servants had retired, and deep, pensive -quiet settled over the house. Anninka, her hands clasping her head, was -deep in thought. Porfiry Vladimirych sat opposite, silent and sad.</p> - -<p>Upon Anninka the Passion Week evening service always made an -overwhelming impression. As a child she had wept bitterly at the -priest's words: "And when they plaited a crown of thorns, they put it -upon His head, and a reed in His right hand," and in a tremulous treble -she used to sing after the sexton: "Glory be to Thy long-suffering, -oh, Lord! Glory be to Thee!" After the service she used to run, all -a-quiver with emotion, to the maids' room, and there, in the growing -twilight (Arina Petrovna allowed no candles in that room when there -was no work being done), she related "The Passion of our Lord" to the -servants. Silent tears flowed from the eyes of the slaves, and they -heaved deep sighs. The poor servants felt their Master and Redeemer -with their whole hearts and believed He would arise from the dead, -arise from the dead in truth. Anninka, too, felt and believed. Beyond -the gloom of their life of suffering and persecution, all these poor -in spirit beheld the radiant kingdom of freedom. Even the old lady, -usually so redoubtable, was gentle during Passion Week. She did not -grumble or remind Anninka that she was an orphan. On the contrary, she -fondled her and soothed her with kindly words. But Anninka was restless -even in bed, she tossed about and talked to herself in her sleep.</p> - -<p>Then came her school years and wanderings, the first empty, the second -painful. But even as a nomadic actress, Anninka had jealously observed -the "holy days," calling back echoes of her distant past and moods of -childlike devotion. But now when she saw her life clearly to its last -detail, when she had cursed her life and when it became obvious that -the future promised neither repentance nor forgiveness, when the source -of devotion and the well-spring of tears had dried up, the effect -of the tale of the Crucifixion upon her was truly overwhelming. In -childhood a gloomy night had surrounded her, but beyond the darkness -she had sensed the presence of light. Now nothing but interminable -everlasting night stretched ahead endlessly. She neither sighed, -nor was agitated, nor even thought. She merely sank into a state of -profound torpor.</p> - -<p>Porfiry Vladimirych, too, from his very childhood, had revered the -"holy days," but, true idol-worshipper that he was, he had observed -merely the rites. Every year on the eve of Good Friday he had had -the priest come and read the gospel, had sighed, lifted up his arms, -touched the ground with his forehead, marked the number of chapters -read by means of wax balls, but had understood nothing. Not until now, -when his conscience was awakened, had he grasped the fact that the -gospel contained the story of how Untruth visited a bloody judgment on -Truth.</p> - -<p>Of course, it would be an exaggeration to say that this discovery led -him to definite conclusions about his own life, yet there is no doubt -that it produced in him a commotion bordering on despair. This state of -mind was the more painful the more unconsciously he lived through the -past which was the source of his commotion.</p> - -<p>There was something terrible in his past, he could not tell exactly -what. It was as if a mountainous mass, hitherto motionless and hidden -by an impenetrable veil, had suddenly moved upon him, threatening every -moment to crush him. What he feared was that he might not be crushed, -and he felt he must hasten the climax. He had been brooding over the -idea for quite some time. "We shall have communion on Saturday," -suddenly flashed through his mind. "It would be well to visit dear -mother's grave and take leave of her."</p> - -<p>"Shall we walk over to the cemetery?" he turned to Anninka and -explained his idea to her.</p> - -<p>"Why, if you wish, we'll drive out there."</p> - -<p>"No, not drive, but——" started Porfiry Vladimirych, but halted -abruptly, as if struck by the thought that Anninka might be in his way.</p> - -<p>"I have sinned against my dear departed mother. I, I was the cause of -her death!"</p> - -<p>The thought preyed on him, and the desire to "take leave" grew stronger -in his heart, to take leave not by mere conventional words, but by -throwing himself on her grave and bursting out in the sobs of a death -agony.</p> - -<p>"So you say no one is to be blamed for Lubinka's death?" he suddenly -asked, as if trying to cheer himself up.</p> - -<p>At first Anninka paid no attention to his question. Two or three -minutes later, however, she felt an irresistible impulse to return to -the subject of Lubinka's death and torment herself with it.</p> - -<p>"And her words were, 'Drink, you street-walker,'" he said, after she -had repeated the story in detail.</p> - -<p>"Yes, her very words."</p> - -<p>"And you didn't drink?"</p> - -<p>"I didn't. I am alive, as you see."</p> - -<p>He rose and paced up and down the room several times, visibly affected. -At last he went over to Anninka and stroked her head.</p> - -<p>"My poor, poor Anninka!" he said softly.</p> - -<p>At the touch of his hands a startling change took place in her. At -first she was amazed, then her face began to work, and suddenly a -violent torrent of hysterical, inhuman sobs burst from her chest.</p> - -<p>"Uncle, are you good? Tell me, are you good?" she fairly shrieked.</p> - -<p>In a broken voice, through tears and sobs, she kept on reiterating her -query, the same she had asked him the day of her return to Golovliovo, -to which he had given such an absurd reply.</p> - -<p>"You are good? Tell me, answer me, are you good?"</p> - -<p>"Did you hear what the priest read at the evening service?" he said, -when she finally grew calm. "Oh, what sufferings He underwent! Only -such sufferings can——And yet He forgave, forgave forever!"</p> - -<p>He resumed his pacing, his very soul rent with suffering and his face -covered with beads of perspiration.</p> - -<p>"He pardoned every one," he reflected aloud. "Not only those who at -that time gave Him vinegar mingled with gall to drink, but also those -who are doing the same thing now and will do it again in future ages. -What a horror!"</p> - -<p>Suddenly he stopped before her and said:</p> - -<p>"And you—have you forgiven?"</p> - -<p>Instead of replying she threw herself on him and clasped him firmly.</p> - -<p>"You must forgive me," he went on. "For every one—on your own -account—and for those who are no longer here. What has happened?" he -cried, looking round distractedly. "Where are they all?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Utterly shaken and exhausted, they retired to their rooms. But Porfiry -Vladimirych could not sleep. He tossed in his bed, all the while trying -to recall an obligation that lay on him. Suddenly he clearly remembered -the words that had flashed through his mind about two hours before, "I -must walk to mother's grave and take leave of her."</p> - -<p>An exhausting restlessness seized his being. At last he got up and -donned his dressing-gown. It was still dark, and unbroken silence -reigned in the house. For a while Porfiry Vladimirych paced back and -forth in the room, stopped before the lighted ikon of the Saviour -with a thorny crown, and scanned his face. Finally he determined upon -a course of action, perhaps half-unconsciously. He stole into the -antechamber and opened the outer door.</p> - -<p>Outside a March blizzard was raging and blinded him with a torrent of -sleet. Porfiry Vladimirych struggled along the road, splashing through -the puddles, insensible to the wind and the snow. Instinctively he drew -together the skirts of his dressing-gown.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Early next morning a messenger came speeding from the village near -the churchyard where Arina Petrovna was buried. He brought the news -that the frozen body of the Golovliovo master had been found by the -roadside. The servants rushed into Anninka's room. She lay in her bed -unconscious in delirium. A messenger was hastily dispatched to Nadezhda -Ivanovna Galkina (daughter of Aunt Varvara Mikhailovna), who ever since -the previous autumn had been keeping a watchful eye on everything -taking place at Golovliovo.</p> - - -<h4>THE END</h4> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Family of Noblemen, by Mikhaïl Saltykov - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN *** - -***** This file should be named 44237-h.htm or 44237-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/2/3/44237/ - -Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe at -http://www.freeliterature.org (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. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Family of Noblemen - The Gentlemen Golovliov - -Author: Mikhail Saltykov - -Translator: A. Yarmolinsky - -Release Date: November 20, 2013 [EBook #44237] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN *** - - - - -Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe at -http://www.freeliterature.org (Images generously made -available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - -A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN - -BY - -MIKHAIL Y. SALTYKOV - -(N. SHCHEDRIN) - - -TRANSLATED BY A. YARMOLINSKY - - - -BONI & LIVERIGHT, INC. - -NEW YORK - -1917 - - - - - CONTENTS - - - - Book I - THE FAMILY COUNCIL - Book II - AS BECOMES GOOD KINSFOLK - Book III - FAMILY ACCOUNTS SETTLED - Book IV - THE GOOD LITTLE NIECE - Book V - FORBIDDEN FAMILY JOYS - Book VI - THE DESERTED MANOR-HOUSE - Book VII - THE SETTLEMENT - - - - - -BOOK I - -THE FAMILY COUNCIL - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Anton Vasilyev, the manager of a remote estate, was giving his -mistress, Arina Petrovna Golovliov, an account of his trip to Moscow. -He had gone there to collect the money due from those of her peasant -serfs who bought the right to live in the city by paying her a tax. -When he had finished with his report, she told him he might retire, but -he lingered on irresolutely, as though he had something else to say, -yet could not make up his mind to say it. - -Arina Petrovna knew her servants through and through; she knew the -meaning of their slightest gestures, she could even divine their inmost -thoughts. And her steward's manner immediately aroused her disquietude. - -"What else?" she asked, looking at him keenly. - -"That's all," he replied evasively. - -"Don't lie. There is something else. I can see it by your eyes." - -Anton Vasilyev still hesitated and continued to shift from one foot to -the other. - -"What is it? Tell me!" she shouted imperiously. "Out with it, out with -it! And don't wag your whole body like a dog, Telltale!" - -Arina Petrovna liked to call her managers and domestics by nicknames. -She used Telltale for Anton Vasilyev, not because she had found him to -carry gossip treacherously, but simply because he had a loose tongue. - -The centre of the estate that he managed was an important trading -village in which there were many taverns. He liked to take a glass -of tea in a tavern and boast of his mistress's great power. And in -the course of his boasting he would sometimes unconsciously blab out -secrets. His mistress was always with a lawsuit on her hands, so that -her trusty's garrulousness sometimes brought her sly stratagems to the -surface before they could be executed. - -"Yes, I have got something else to say," Anton finally mumbled. - -"What is it?" Arina Petrovna asked excitedly. - -An imperious woman, with an extraordinarily lively imagination, she -instantly pictured all sorts of disagreeable opposition and antagonism, -and the thought so instantly took complete possession of her that she -turned white and jumped up from her chair. - -"Stepan Vladimirych's house in Moscow has been sold," Anton said after -a pause. - -"Well?" - -"It's been sold." - -"Why? How? Tell me." - -"For debts, I suppose. Of course it can't be because of something nice." - -"The police, the court, sold it, I suppose?" - -"I suppose so. They say it was sold at auction for 8,000 rubles." - -Arina Petrovna dropped back heavily into her armchair and gazed fixedly -at the window panes. She was so stunned by the news that she seemed -to have lost consciousness for a while. Had she heard that Stepan -Vladimirych had killed somebody, or that the Golovliov peasant serfs -had risen in revolt and refused to render the service due her on her -estates, or that serfdom had been abolished, she would not have been so -shocked. Her lips trembled, her eyes stared vacantly into the distance, -but she saw nothing. She did not even see the little girl, Duniashka, -run past the window carrying something hidden under her apron; she did -not see the child stop suddenly on beholding her mistress and wheel -round and then dart back guiltily to where she had come from. Such -suspicious conduct at any other time would have led to a thorough -investigation. Finally Arina Petrovna came to herself and managed to -bring out: - -"A good joke, I must say." After which there again followed several -minutes of ominous silence. - -"So the police sold the house for eight thousand?" she asked again. - -"Yes, madam." - -"So that's what he's done with his patrimony! Splendid! The blackguard!" - -Arina Petrovna felt that the news called for a prompt decision, but -nothing occurred to her. Her thoughts ran confusedly in exactly -opposite directions. On the one hand she thought: "The police sold it. -But the police could not have sold it in a minute. An inventory must -first have been taken, then an appraisal made, and then the sale must -have been advertised. Sold for eight thousand when I myself two years -ago paid twelve thousand rubles for it, not a penny less. Had I only -known it was going to be up for sale, I could have bought it myself for -eight thousand rubles." - -Her other thoughts ran: "The police sold it for eight thousand. That's -what he's done with his patrimony. To sell one's patrimony for eight -thousand rubles!" - -"Who told you?" she asked, realizing finally that the house had been -sold and the chance to secure it cheaply was gone forever. - -"Ivan Mikhailov, the inn-keeper." - -"Why didn't he let me know in time?" - -"I suppose he was afraid." - -"Afraid? I'll teach him to be afraid. I'll make him come here from -Moscow, and the moment he comes I'll have him drafted into the army. He -was afraid!" - -Although on the decline, serfdom still existed. Anton Vasilyev had -known his mistress to impose the most peculiar punishments, but, even -so, her present decision was so unexpected that it made him miserable. -He thought of his nickname Telltale. Ivan Mikhailov was an upright -peasant, and Anton never dreamed that misfortune would touch him. -Besides, Ivan Mikhailov was his friend and godfather. Now, all of a -sudden, he was to be made a soldier just because he, Anton Vasilyev, -the Telltale, could not hold his tongue. - -"Forgive him--Ivan Mikhailov, I mean," he pleaded. - -"Go away, you mollycoddler," she shouted in a voice so loud that he -lost all desire to intercede any further for his friend. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Arina Petrovna was sixty years old, still of sound health and -accustomed to have her own way in everything. Her manner was severe. -She lived alone, and managed the huge Golovliov estate all by herself, -without having to answer to any one else. She calculated closely, -almost parsimoniously, was not intimate with her neighbors, was -gracious to the local authorities, and exacted implicit obedience -from her children. They were not to do anything without first asking -themselves, "What would mamenka say about it?" She was independent, -inflexible, even stubborn, though her stubbornness was not so much -native as due chiefly to the circumstance that there was not one person -in the whole Golovliov family that could oppose her. Her husband was -a trifling creature, and drank. Arina Petrovna used to say of herself -that she was neither a widow nor a married woman. Some of the children -were in St. Petersburg, the others took after their father and were -relegated to the class of "horrid creatures," who were unfit for -household duties. In these circumstances Arina Petrovna soon began to -feel all left alone, and grew totally disaccustomed to family life, -although the word "family" was constantly on her lips, and outwardly -she seemed to be exclusively guided in all her work by the desire to -build up the family estate and keep the family affairs in order. - -The head of the family, Vladimir Mikhailych Golovliov, was known from -his youth as a dissolute, quarrelsome fellow, with nothing in his -character that would be sympathetic to a serious, active woman like -Arina Petrovna. He led a lazy, good-for-nothing existence, usually -stayed locked up in his room, where he imitated the warble of the -starlings, the crowing of cocks, and the like, and composed ribald -doggerel. In bursts of confidence he would boast that he had been a -friend of the poet Barkov, intimating that the poet had blessed him -on his deathbed. Arina Petrovna disliked her husband's verses from -the very first. "Nasty stuff!" "Trash!" she called them. And since -Vladimir Mikhailych's very object in marrying had been to have someone -ever at hand to listen to his poetry, the result was that quarrels -soon began, which grew worse and worse and more frequent until they -ended with Arina Petrovna utterly indifferent and contemptuous of her -clown husband, and Vladimir Mikhailych hating his wife sincerely, with -a hatred considerably mixed with fear. The husband called the wife a -"hag" and a "devil"; the wife called the husband a "windmill" and a -"balalaika without strings." - -They lived together in this way for more than forty years, and it never -occurred to either of them that there was anything unnatural in such a -life. Time did not diminish Vladimir Mikhailych's quarrelsomeness; on -the contrary, it took on a still sharper edge. Apart from the poetical -exercising in Barkov's spirit that he did, he began to drink and to -lie in wait eagerly for the servant girls in the corridors. At first -Arina Petrovna looked on this new occupation of her husband's with -repugnance. She even got wrought up over it, not so much from jealousy -as that she felt it to be an interference with her authority. After a -while, however, she shrugged her shoulders, and merely watched out that -the "dirty wenches" should not fetch brandy for their master. - -From that time on, having said to herself once for all that her -husband was not a companion, she directed her efforts exclusively to -one object, the building up of the estate. And in the forty years of -her married life she actually succeeded in multiplying her property -tenfold. With astonishing patience and acumen she kept her eye on the -near and distant villages, found out in secret ways the relations that -existed between the neighboring landowners and the board of trustees, -and always appeared at the auctions like snow on the head. In this -fantastic hunt for new acquisitions Vladimir Mikhailych receded more -and more into the background, turned seedy and at last dropped out of -social life completely. He was now a decrepit old man already, keeping -his bed almost the whole time. On the rare occasions that he left his -room it was only to stick his head through the half-open door of his -wife's bedroom and shout: "Devil!" After which he would go back and -close himself up in his own room again. - -Arina Petrovna was not much happier in her children. She was of a -celibate nature, so to speak, independent and self-sufficient, and her -children were nothing to her but a useless burden. The only times when -she breathed freely was when she was alone with her accounts and her -household affairs, and when no one interfered with her business talks -with her managers, stewards, housekeepers, and so on. In her eyes, -children were one of the preordained things in life that she felt she -had no right to protest against. Nevertheless they did not touch a -single chord in her inner being, which was given over wholly to the -numberless details of the household. - -There were four children, one daughter and three sons. Of the oldest -son and the daughter she did not even like to speak; toward the -youngest son she was indifferent. It was only for the middle one, -Porfisha, that she cherished any feeling at all, a feeling not of love, -but of something very akin to fear. - -Stepan Vladimirych, the oldest son, passed in the family by the name -of Simple Simon, or The Saucebox. He was very young when he was put -into the class of "horrid creatures," and from childhood up played the -role of half pariah, half clown. Unfortunately he was a bright child, -susceptible to the impressions of his environment. From his father he -inherited an irresistible inclination to play tricks, from his mother -the ability to divine the weak sides of people's natures. The first -characteristic soon made him his father's favorite, which still further -intensified his mother's dislike of him. Often when the mother was -absent on business, the father and the boy would betake themselves -into the study adorned with the portrait of Barkov, read ribald poems, -and gossip, the chief butt of their raillery being the "hag," that -is to say, Arina Petrovna. The "hag," instinctively divining their -occupation, would drive up to the front steps very quietly, then -tiptoe to the study door and listen to their fun-making. The murderous -punishment of Simple Simon followed swift and cruel. But Stiopka was -not subdued. He was impervious either to blows or to admonitions, -and in half an hour was back again at his tricks. He would cut up -Aniutka's, the servant girl's, scarf, or he would stick flies into -Vasiutka's mouth while he slept, or he would run into the kitchen and -carry off a cake (Arina Petrovna kept her children half hungry), which -he always divided with his brothers. - -"You ought to be killed," his mother said. "I'll kill you, and I won't -have to answer for it either. Even God won't punish me for it." - -This humiliation, constantly put upon a nature soft, yielding and -forgetful, did not remain without its effect. It did not embitter -him, nor did it make him rebellious. It made him servile, disposed to -buffoonery, with no sense of the fitness of things, and devoid of all -foresight and prudence. Such natures yield to all influences and may -become almost anything--drunkards, beggars, buffoons, even criminals. - -At the age of twenty Stepan Golovliov graduated from the gymnasium -in Moscow and entered the university. But his student's life was a -bitter one. In the first place, his mother gave him just enough money -to keep him from dying of hunger. Secondly, he did not show the least -inclination to work. Instead, he developed an accursed talent, which -expressed itself chiefly in mimickry. And he suffered from a desire -for constant companionship. He hated to be alone a single instant. -So he played the light role of hanger-on and parasite, and thanks to -his readiness for any prank he soon became the favorite of the rich -students. However, though they received him into their society, they -looked on him, not as one of them, but as a clown; and the reputation -clung to him. Once placed on such a plane, he naturally slid down lower -and lower, and at the end of the fourth year was thoroughly confirmed -in his clownship. Nevertheless, thanks to his receptive ability and -good memory, he passed the examinations successfully and received his -bachelor's degree. - -When he appeared before his mother with the diploma, she merely -shrugged her shoulders and said: "Well, that's funny." Then, after -letting him spend a month in the country, she shipped him back to St. -Petersburg with an allowance of a hundred rubles a month. Now there -began for him endless visits to various government offices. He had -neither patrons nor the determination to make his own way by hard work. -The lad's mind had lost so completely the habit of concentration that -bureaucratic tasks such as the drawing up of briefs and case abstracts -were beyond his power. After four years of struggle Stepan was forced -to admit that there was no hope of his ever rising above the rank of a -government clerk. In reply to his lamentations, Arina Petrovna wrote -him a stern letter which began with the words: "I was sure that would -happen," and wound up with a command to return at once to Moscow. -There, at the conclave of Arina Petrovna's favorite peasants, it was -decided to place Simple Simon in the Aulic Court, entrusting him to -the care of a pettifogger who from time immemorial had been the legal -adviser of the Golovliov family. - -What Stepan Vladimirych did in the Aulic Court and how he behaved there -is a mystery. What is certain is that at the end of the third year he -was there no longer. Then Arina Petrovna took a heroic measure. She -"threw her son a bone," which was also supposed to fill the part of -the "parental blessing," that is to say, the patrimony. "The bone" -consisted of a house in Moscow, for which she had paid twelve thousand -rubles. - -For the first time in his life Stepan Golovliov breathed freely. The -house promised to bring him an income of a thousand silver rubles, a -sum which in comparison with his former income, seemed like genuine -prosperity. He kissed his mamma's hand effusively, and promised to -justify her kindness, whereupon Arina Petrovna said: "That's better; -but mind you, you numskull, that's all you get from me!" But, alas! -so little was he used to handling money, so absurd was his estimation -of real values in life, that before long what he thought to be a -fabulous revenue proved insufficient. In five or six years he was -totally ruined, and was only too glad to enter the militia, which was -then being organized. No sooner, however, did the militia troops reach -Kharkov than peace was concluded, and Golovliov went back to Moscow, -dressed in a somewhat threadbare uniform and high boots. By this time -his house had already been sold, and the only thing he owned was a -hundred rubles. He began "speculating" with this capital, that is, he -tried his luck at cards, but in a short time he lost all he had. Then -he conceived the plan of visiting his mother's well-to-do peasants who -lived in Moscow. Some of them invited him to dinner, others, yielding -to his importunings, gave him tobacco or lent him small sums of money. -At last the hour came when he found himself before a blind wall, as -it were. He was already almost forty years old, and had to confess to -himself that his nomadic existence was too much for his strength. There -was only one thing left to him, to take the road leading to Golovliovo. - -After Stepan Vladimirych, the oldest child, came Anna Vladimirovna, -about whom Arina Petrovna did not like to speak either. The truth -of the matter was, the old lady had placed definite expectations -in Annushka, but she, far from fulfilling her mother's hopes, had -perpetrated a scandal which set the whole district agog. When Annushka -left the girls' boarding-school, Arina Petrovna installed her at the -village, hoping to make of her a sort of unpaid private secretary and -bookkeeper, but instead Annushka eloped one fine night with cornet -Ulanov and married him. - -"They have married like dogs, without a parent's blessing!" complained -Arina Petrovna. "Lucky, though, that he submitted to a wedding ceremony -at all. Another man would have taken advantage of her--and vanished -into thin air. A fine chance for catching a bird." - -With her daughter Arina Petrovna dealt as peremptorily as she had with -her hated son. She bestowed "a bone" upon her too, in the shape of five -thousand rubles and a wretched little village of thirty souls and a -manor-house going with it, so dilapidated that the wind blew through -the gaping paneless windows and there was not one sound board in the -flooring. In two years the young couple had gone through the money, and -the cornet took himself off, deserting his wife and two twin girls, -Anninka and Lubinka. Three months later the mother died, and Arina -Petrovna, willy-nilly, had to take the little orphans into her own -house. She installed them in a side-wing and entrusted them to the care -of Palashka, old and one-eyed. "The Lord's mercy is great," remarked -Arina Petrovna. "The little orphans won't eat much of my bread, but -they'll be a solace to me in my old age. God has given me two daughters -instead of one." At the same time she wrote to her son, Porfiry -Vladimirych: "Your dear sister died as she lived, indecently, and now -her two children are hanging round my neck." - -What we are going to say may seem cynical, but we feel it our duty to -state that the granting of the heritage to Stepan and Anna did not by -any means impair Arina Petrovna's financial condition. On the contrary, -in reducing the number of shareholders it contributed indirectly to the -rounding out of the family estate. For Arina Petrovna was a woman of -strict principles, and once having "thrown them a bone," she considered -her obligations toward her unloved children completely and definitely -settled. In regard to her grandchildren it never entered her mind that -in due time she would have to part with something for them. All she -cared for was to draw all the income possible from the small estate of -her deceased daughter and deposit it in the Chamber of Trustees. "There -I am," she would say, "laying by money for the orphans. For feeding and -bringing them up I take nothing from them. For the bread they eat it is -God who will pay me." - -As for the younger children, Porfiry and Pavel, they served in St. -Petersburg, the former in a civil capacity, the latter in the army. -Porfiry was married; Pavel was an old bachelor. - -Porfiry Vladimirych was known in the family by three nicknames, -Yudushka (diminutive of Judas), Bloodsucker, and Goody-goody Boy, which -had been invented by Simple Simon. From his early childhood Porfiry -had been oddly intent upon currying favor with his "dear mamma" and -showed a tendency to play the sycophant. He would open the door of his -mother's room softly, creep noiselessly into a corner, and sit there, -as if entranced, with his eyes fixed on his mother while she wrote -or busied herself with accounts. Even in those days Arina Petrovna -regarded her son's efforts to insinuate himself into her good graces -with vague suspicion. His stare puzzled her. She could not decide what -his eyes expressed, whether venom or filial reverence. "I cannot make -out what is in his eyes," she sometimes argued with herself. "His -glance is like a noose which he is getting ready to throw. He might -look like that handing a person poison or enticing him into a pitfall." - -In this connection she often recollected highly significant details -of the time she was carrying Porfisha. An old man called Porfisha the -Saint was at that time living in the manor. He had the reputation -of a seer, and Arina Petrovna turned to him whenever she wanted to -learn something about the future. She had asked him when she would be -delivered of the child and whether it would be a boy or a girl; but the -pious old man gave no direct answer. Instead he crowed three times like -a cock and then mumbled: - -"Cockerel, cockerel, sharp claw! The cock crows and threatens the -brood-hen; the brood-hen--cluck! cluck!--but it will be too late!" - -That was all he said. Three days later (the seer crowed three times!) -Arina Petrovna gave birth to a son ("cockerel! cockerel!") and named -him Porfiry in honor of the old soothsayer. The first half of the -prophecy had been fulfilled; but what could be the hidden meaning of -the mysterious words, "the brood-hen--cluck! cluck!--but it will be too -late?" Arina Petrovna often pondered over it, whenever her eyes fell on -Porfisha, who sat in his nook with his enigmatic gaze fixed on her. - -Meanwhile Porfisha kept on staring, quiet and meek, staring so intently -that his wide-open, motionless eyes began to swim in tears, as if -he vaguely sensed the doubts that tormented his mother's soul, and -wished to behave so as to disarm her most persistent suspicion. At the -risk of annoying his mother, he constantly hovered about her, and the -expression in his eyes seemed to say: "Look at me! I conceal nothing -from you. I am all obedience and devotion, and, mind you, I am obedient -and devoted not only from fear but also from loyalty." And although an -inner voice constantly sounded warning that the young scoundrel was -dangerous in spite of his wheedling and fawning, her heart could not -resist such unremitting devotion and her hand involuntarily felt for -the best piece in the dish to bestow upon the affectionate child. And -yet the very sight of him at times awakened a vague fear of something -puzzling and eery. - -The exact opposite of Porfiry was his brother, Pavel, the most perfect -embodiment of absolute passivity. As a boy he manifested no inclination -whatever for study, or games, or playing with other boys, but liked -to keep to himself. He would get into a corner, pout, and set to work -building air castles, dreaming that he had gorged himself with oatmeal -so that his legs had become thin and he had no lessons to learn, or -else that he was Davidka, the shepherd, with a growing lump on his -forehead, just like David's, and cracked a whip and had no lessons to -learn. Arina Petrovna would gaze at him for a long time, and then her -motherly feelings would well up: - -"Why do you sit there like a mouse on groats?" she would scold. "Is the -poison working in you already? Why don't you come over to your mother -and say: 'Mamenka darling, hug me?'" - -Pavel would leave his place of refuge and slowly approach his mother, -as if someone were pushing him from behind. "Mamenka darling," he would -repeat in a bass voice unnatural in a child, "hug me." - -"Get out of my sight, you sneak. You think if you get into your corner -I don't understand. You are mistaken, my darling. I see through and -through you. Your plans and projects are as clear as if they were -spread on the palm of my hand." - -And Pavel would just as slowly retrace his steps and bury himself again -in his corner. - -Years passed by, and Pavel Vladimirych gradually developed that -apathetic, unaccountably gloomy character which often goes with -absolute passivity. He was, perhaps, good, but he had done nobody any -good; he was, perhaps, not without some intelligence, but he had not -achieved anything intelligent in his life. He was hospitable, but -people did not like to avail themselves of his hospitality. He spent -money readily, but nothing good or pleasant came of his lavishness to -anybody. He never harmed anybody, but that was not considered a merit. -He was honest, but no one had ever heard it said: "How honorably Pavel -Golovliov dealt in that affair!" It must be added that sometimes, not -often, he snarled at his mother, although he feared her like poison. I -repeat, he was an ill-tempered person, but back of his moroseness was -nothing but sheer inertness. - -When the brothers reached maturity, the difference in their characters -was most conspicuous in their relation to their mother. Yudushka -punctually every week sent a lengthy epistle to "mother dear," in -which he informed her in the greatest detail of all the minutiae of his -life in St. Petersburg, and assured her of his disinterested filial -devotion in the most carefully selected terms. As for Pavel, he wrote -rarely, laconically, and sometimes even enigmatically, pulling every -word out of himself with a pair of tongs, as it were. - -"My adorable friend and dear mother," is what Porfiry Vladimirych -wrote, for instance, "I have received the money from the peasant -Yerofeyev, and I send you my most heartfelt thanks for forwarding the -sum, which, according to your gracious wish, dearest mamenka, is to be -spent for my maintenance. I also kiss your hands with sincere filial -devotion. What worries and grieves me is the thought that you are -straining your precious health all too much by your ceaseless efforts -to satisfy not only our needs, but our whims as well. I don't know what -brother thinks, but I----" etc., etc. - -As for Pavel, what he wrote on a similar occasion was: "Dear mother, am -in receipt of the money, and, according to my calculations, you still -owe six and a half rubles, for which I beg to be graciously forgiven." - -When Arina Petrovna wrote reprimanding the children for their -extravagance--she did so rather frequently, although there was no -serious necessity for it--Porfisha invariably received her rebuke -submissively and replied: "I am well aware, my dearest friend and -mother, that you bear the heaviest burdens for the sake of us, your -unworthy children. I know that often our behavior does not justify -your motherly solicitude, and what is worse, erring humans that we -are, we often forget it, for which I apologize most devotedly and -sincerely, in the hope that in the course of time I will overcome my -weakness and be more prudent in my expenditure of the funds that you -send, my adorable friend and mother, for my maintenance and for other -purposes." Pavel would answer back: "Dearest mother, though you have -not as yet paid any of my debts, I accept most submissively the name -of spendthrift which you choose to bestow upon me, whereof I beg most -sincerely to accept my assurance." - -Even the replies that the brothers made to the letter announcing the -death of their sister, Anna Vladimirovna, were quite different from -each other. Porfiry Vladimirych said: "The news of the death of my dear -sister and good playmate, Anna Vladimirovna, has filled my heart with -sorrow, a sorrow aggravated by the thought that a new cross has been -given you to bear, dearest little mother, in the shape of two little -orphans. Is it not sufficient that you, common benefactress to us all, -deny yourself everything and, without sparing your health, concentrate -all your power on the sole object of assuring the family not only -the necessaries of life but also the luxuries? Believe me, it is a -wicked thing to do, but now and then, I confess, I cannot refrain from -grumbling. As far as I can see, the only solace for you, my dearest, -in this state of affairs is to remember as often as you can all that -Christ himself had to undergo." Pavel's reply ran: "The news of my -sister, who has fallen a victim, I have received. I hope, however, that -the Most High will rest her in His celestial tent, although this is -uncertain." - -Arina Petrovna reading these letters would try to guess which of the -two sons would be her destruction. At times she felt certain the -danger was coming from Porfiry Vladimirych. - -"Look how he wags his tongue, a regular fiend at writing!" she would -exclaim. "Simple Simon's nickname suits to a tee--Yudushka! Not a word -of truth in all this stuff about my burdens, my cross, and the rest. -Sheer lies! Not an ounce of feeling in his heart!" - -At other times Pavel Vladimirych seemed to be her real enemy. - -"A fool, and yet look how deftly he tries to make love to mother on -the sly. 'Whereof I beg most sincerely to accept my assurance!' Wait a -while! I'll teach you what 'accept assurances' means! I shall deal with -you as I did with Simple Simon, and you'll find out what I mean by your -'assurances'!" - -In the end a truly tragical cry would burst from her lips. "And for -whom am I hoarding all this wealth? For whom am I gathering all this? I -deny myself sleep and food--for whom?" - -Such were the domestic circumstances of the Golovliovs at the time that -the bailiff, Anton Vasilyev, reported to Arina Petrovna that Simple -Simon had dissipated "the bone" flung to him, which, in view of its -loss, might now be called with especial significance the "parental -blessing." - -Arina Petrovna sat in her bedroom, all her senses dazed. A vague, -unaccountable feeling stirred within her, whether pity, born suddenly -and miraculously, for her hated offspring, who, after all, was her son, -or whether merely thwarted despotism, the most expert psychologist -would have been unable to decide. Her sensations were utterly confused -and succeeded each other with bewildering swiftness. Finally, out of -the welter of her thoughts there crystallized one emotion, the fear -that "the horrid creature" would again be hanging round her neck. - -"Aniutka has forced her whelps on me, and now this dunderhead is coming -here," she pondered deeply. - -Long she sat silent, her eyes fixed and intent. Dinner was brought in, -but she hardly touched it; a servant came and said the master wanted -brandy. Without looking up she threw him the keys of the store-room. -After the meal she ordered the bath to be prepared for her. Then she -went into the oratory, ordered all the image lamps to be lit, and -shut herself in. These were all clear signs that the mistress was -"in a temper," and so the house turned as quiet as a churchyard. The -chambermaids walked on tiptoe; Akulina, the housekeeper, ran back and -forth like a lunatic. The preparations for preserving had been set -for after dinner; the berries had been rinsed and made ready, but the -mistress gave no orders either to go ahead or to wait. The gardener, -Matvey, came to ask whether it was time to gather the peaches, but such -was his reception in the maids' room that he fled precipitately. - -Prayers and bath over, Arina Petrovna felt almost reconciled with the -world and had the bailiff summoned again. - -"Now tell me, what is the numskull doing?" she asked. - -"Well, Moscow is big, it would take more than a year to walk through -it." - -"But he needs something to fill his stomach with, doesn't he?" - -"Our peasants feed him. He eats with one, gets money for tobacco from -another." - -"And who permits them to give him anything?" - -"Goodness me, madam! The people don't complain. They give alms to -strangers. Should they refuse a mite to their own master's son?" - -"I'll teach them to give mites! I'll have the blockhead deported to -your estate, and the community will have to maintain him at its own -expense." - -"As you command, madam." - -"What? What did you say?" - -"As you command, my lady. If you order it, we shall feed him." - -"That's better. But talk sensibly." - -A pause ensued. Then the bailiff, true to his nature and his nickname, -lost patience and began to shift from one leg to another, obviously -burning with the desire to unburden his mind of something. - -"He's a clever one, though," he finally blurted out. "People say he -brought back a hundred rubles from the campaign. It isn't a fortune, -but still one can live on it for a time." - -"Well?" - -"He thought he might improve his situation and went in for a shady -business." - -"Go on, go on, and don't give me any lies." - -"He went to the German Club. He thought he would find a fool to beat at -cards, but instead he happened on a cunning hawk. He tried to get away, -but was held up in the lobby. Of course, he was plucked clean." - -"I suppose he was roughly handled, too." - -"Of course. The next morning he came to our man, Ivan Mikhailych, and -told the tale himself. It's queer, he was in high spirits and laughed -as if they had treated him like a lord." - -"Things run from him like water off a duck's back. But I won't grieve -over it, provided he does not come within sight of me." - -"But I believe he will." - -"Nonsense, I will not allow him to cross my threshold." - -"But I'm sure he will," insisted Anton Vasilyev. "He said so in plain -words to Ivan Mikhailych. 'Enough,' he says, 'I am going back to the -old woman to eat her dry crusts.' And, madam, to speak the truth, where -can he lay his head but here? He cannot keep on forever feeding on our -men in Moscow. And besides, he needs clothing and comforts." - -That was exactly the thing Arina Petrovna dreaded. It was the very -essence of the obscure thought that so deeply alarmed her. "Yes, he -will turn up," she said to herself, "he has no other place to go to, -there's no doubt of it." He would always be there, within her sight, -that accursed, hated stranger of a son. What had been the good of -throwing his portion to him? She had thought that, having received "his -due," he would drop into eternity. And there he was, rising from the -dead. He would come, make insolent demands, and hang on like a leech, -shocking everybody by his beggarly appearance. And she would have to -meet his demands, because he was a brazen-faced bully, capable of any -violence. You cannot put such a man under restraint; he is capable of -parading in tatters before strangers, of the wildest debauchery, of -running away to the neighbors and telling them the ins and outs of the -family affairs. Should she have him deported to the Suzdal Monastery, -which was said to be a place for ridding parents in distress of the -sight of their refractory children? But the Lord knows whether that -fabulous institution existed at all. People said there were such -things as houses of correction. But how could one get an overgrown dolt -into one of them? - -In short, Arina Petrovna was altogether upset by the thought of how the -arrival of Simple Simon was going to disturb her peaceful existence. - -"I shall billet him upon you," was her threat to the bailiff. "Feed him -at your own expense." - -"Why so, madam?" - -"Because you stand there croaking: 'He's sure to come,'" she mimicked. -"Get out of my sight, you raven!" - -Anton Vasilyev turned to go, but Arina Petrovna stopped him: - -"Wait a minute. Is it true that he is starting out for Golovliovo?" - -"I'm not in the habit of telling lies, madam. He said so plainly--'I am -going back to the old woman to eat her dry crusts.'" - -"He'll soon find out what kind of crusts the old woman has prepared for -him." - -"But, madam, he won't live with you long." - -"Why not?" - -"Well, madam, he coughs very badly and keeps on clutching the left side -of his chest. He won't live long." - -"That kind generally lives very long. He'll outlive us all. The -coughing doesn't hurt him. Well, we shall see about it later. Leave me -now. I have several matters to attend to." - -Arina Petrovna spent the whole evening pondering over this problem. -Finally she found it best to convoke the family council for the -purpose of deciding what was to be done with Simple Simon. Such -constitutionalism was not her habit. She made up her mind to digress -from the traditions of autocracy solely for the purpose of shielding -herself from public censure, and as she did not doubt the outcome of -the conference, she sat down with a light heart to write to Porfiry and -Pavel asking them to come to Golovliovo immediately. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Meanwhile, the cause of all this mess, Simple Simon, was on his way -to Golovliovo. In Moscow he engaged a seat in one of the so-called -"diligences," in which small merchants and peasant traders used to -travel, and which are still seen in some districts. The diligence -had the city of Vladimir as its point of destination, and Stepan -was enabled to travel in it through the liberality of the aforesaid -innkeeper Ivan Mikhailych, who also paid for his master's meals on the -journey. - -"Listen," said Ivan Mikhailych, with the air of an accomplice. "Do -this, get off at the station and go straight up to your mother just as -you are." - -"Yes, yes, yes," answered Stepan Vladimirych approvingly. "The house is -only about fifteen versts from there. I can walk it in no time. I shall -appear before her all dirty and dusty." - -"When your mother sees you in that rig, perhaps she'll take pity on -you." - -"She will, she will. Mother, after all, is a kindly old woman." - -Stepan Golovliov was not quite forty, but he looked like fifty. Life -had so thoroughly worn him out that there was not a vestige of his -noble origin left, not a single trace of his university education nor -of the enlightening word of science which in days bygone had been -addressed to him, too. He was tall as a Maypole, racked by hunger, -unkempt, untidy, with a sunken chest and long bony arms. His bloated -face, his dishevelled hair, streaked with grey, his loud, hoarse voice, -his bulging, bloodshot eyes were unmistakable signs of heavy drinking -and a weather-beaten life. He wore an old, threadbare uniform, with the -galloons gone--they had been sold to a smelter--and a pair of reddish -boots, patched and sadly worn. Beneath his coat, when unbuttoned, -peeped a dirty shirt, as black as if it had been smeared with soot. -With the cynicism of a militiaman, he called it "a flea nest." - -His glance was stealthy and gloomy, the expression not of inner -discontent, but rather of a vague anxiety which seemed to come from -an ever-present fear of death by starvation. He talked ceaselessly -and disconnectedly, passing without transition from one subject to -another. He spoke whether Ivan Mikhailych listened or dozed off under -the soporific of his garrulousness. He was dreadfully uncomfortable, -because there were four people in the diligence and he had to sit with -his legs bent, so that at the end of three or four versts he had an -intolerable pain in his knee-joints. Nevertheless the pain did not -prevent him from talking. Clouds of dust entered through the side -windows of the vehicle, at times flooded by a flaming, scorching sheet -of sunlight. But Stepan Golovliov kept on talking. - -"Yes, brother," he held forth, "I have lived hard all my life. It is -high time to rest. I shan't be eating her out of house and home, shall -I? She has enough and to spare. What d'you think, Ivan Mikhailych?" - -"Oh, your mother has plenty to eat." - -"Yes, but not for me, you mean to say? Yes, friend, she has heaps of -money, but not a copper for me. And to think the hag has always hated -me. Why? But now I'll sing her a different song. I've made up my mind. -I'm desperate. If she tries to drive me out, I won't go. If she doesn't -give me food, I'll take it. I've served my country, brother. Now it's -everyone's duty to help me. There's only one thing I'm afraid of, that -she won't give me tobacco." - -"Yes, you'll have to say good-by to tobacco." - -"Then I'll put the screw on the bailiff. The devil can well afford to -give his master a present now and then." - -"Oh, yes, he may do that, but what if your mother forbids him to?" - -"Well, in that case I'll be done for. Tobacco is the only luxury that -has remained of my former style. When I had money I used to smoke not -less than a quarter of a pound of Zhukov's tobacco every day." - -"I guess you'll have to do without brandy, too." - -"Another calamity. Brandy does me a lot of good. It breaks up my -phlegm. When we were marching to Sebastopol, we had hardly reached -Serpukhov, when each man had already been given three gallons of -brandy." - -"You must have lost your senses." - -"I don't remember. We marched as far as Kharkov, but I'll be hanged -if I remember anything else. The only thing I can recall is that we -passed through villages and towns and that at Tula an _otkupshchik_ -made a speech. He shed tears, the scoundrel did. Yes, our holy mother -Russia drank from the cup of sorrow in those days. _Otkupshchiki,_ -contractors, receivers--it's a wonder God succeeded in saving the -country from them." - -"Oh, your mother came in for some of the profits. In our village hardly -half of the soldiers returned home. A recruit's receipt is now given -for each man lost in the campaign, and the government rates such a -quittance at more than four hundred rubles." - -"Yes, my mater is a cunning blade. She ought to be a minister of state -instead of housekeeper at Golovliovo. Let me tell you, she has been -unjust to me and she has insulted me, but I respect her. The main thing -is, she's clever as the devil. If not for her, where would we have been -now? We would have had nothing but Golovliovo with its one hundred and -one and a half souls. Just think what an enormous pile she has made." - -"Well, your brothers will certainly be rich." - -"Yes. But I'll have nothing, that's just as certain. Yes, friend, I've -gone to rack and ruin. But my brothers, they'll be rich, especially the -Bloodsucker. He can ensnare a person in no time, and it won't be long -before he'll undo her, too. He'll pump the estate and the money out of -her. I have an eye for these things. But Pavel, he's a fine chap. He -will send my tobacco on the sly. You'll see if he doesn't. As soon as I -reach Golovliovo, I'll send a note off to him: 'Dear brother, it's so -and so with me. Ease my soul.' Ah, if I were rich!" - -"What would you do?" - -"In the first place, I'd make you roll in wealth." - -"Why me? First think of yourself. I'm contented, living as I do under -your mother's rule." - -"Oh, no, brother, _attendez!_ I would make you the chief marshal of all -my estates. Yes, my dear friend, you have fed and warmed a soldier, -accept my thanks. If not for your generosity, I should now be footing -it all the way to the home of my fathers. And, of course, I would free -you on the spot and open up all my treasury to you--drink, eat and be -merry. What did you think I would do?" - -"You'd better stop worrying about me, sir. What else would you do if -you were rich?" - -"In the second place, I'd get a mistress at once. At Kursk I went to -mass once and saw one--a queen! She was very fidgety and restless." - -"But maybe she would object to becoming your mistress." - -"And how about hard cash? What's the filthy lucre for? If a hundred -thousand is not enough for her, she'll take two hundred thousand. When -I have money, no expense is too great for me, if it is a question of -getting a bit of pleasure out of life. I must confess that at the time -I let her know through our corporal that I would give her three rubles. -But the wench asked five." - -"That was too much for you, of course!" - -"Well, I can't tell. As I said, I was in a dream the whole time. -Maybe she came to me, but I forget. Those two months of marching have -gone completely out of my mind. No such thing has happened to you, I -suppose?" - -Ivan Mikhailych was silent. Stepan Vladimirych looked at him -attentively and discovered that his fellow-traveller was sound asleep. - -"Umph," he said. "He has nodded off, the sleepy-head. You have grown -fat, brother, on the tea and fare of your eating-house. I can't sleep, -not a wink. A good chance for a lark." - -Golovliov looked around and saw that everybody was asleep. The merchant -at his side was constantly striking his head against a cross-beam, but -kept on sleeping. His face shone as if veneered, and flies swarmed -about his mouth. A splendid idea, Stepan thought, to cram all the flies -down the merchant's throat. His hand began to move toward the merchant, -but halfway he repented and gave up the idea. "No more pranks," he -said, "enough. Sleep, friends, and rest." Meanwhile--where had he -hidden the bottle? Here, the darling! "Let me see you. Lord, save Thy -creatures," he hummed, taking out a bottle from a bag fastened to the -side of the vehicle and applying it to his mouth. "Ah, that's better. -It warms your insides, you know. Shall I have some more? Well, no. The -station is about twenty versts from here. I'll have time to get as -drunk as a lord. But shan't I have just one drop more? The deuce take -it, the vodka. The bottle simply acts like a charm. It's wicked to -drink, but how can you help it, if it is the only way of getting some -sleep? I wish the vodka, the deuce take it, would do for me quick." - -He gulped down some more vodka, returned the bottle to its place, and -began to fill his pipe. - -"We are all right," he said, talking to himself. "First, we had a sip, -and here we are smoking. She won't let me have any tobacco, the old -hag, sure as fate she won't, the man is right. Will she give me food? -She may send me what is left over from her meals. Well, we, too, had -money, but now we have none. Such is life. To-day you eat and drink -your fill, you enjoy yourself and smoke a pipe, - - - "'And to-morrow--where art thou, man?' - - -Still it would not be a bad thing to have a bite now. I drink like a -fish and I hardly ever have a square meal. Doctors say drinking does -you good only when followed by a hearty meal, as the Most Reverend -Smaragd said when we passed through Oboyan. Was it Oboyan? The deuce -knows, it may have been Kromy. But that's immaterial now. The main -question is, how to get something to eat. I recollect that my man put a -sausage and three rolls into the bag. Caviar is too expensive for the -rascal. Look at the fellow--sleeps like a log and sings through his -nose. I wouldn't be surprised if he were sitting on the bag." - -He rummaged about in search of the bag, but could not find it. - -"Ivan Mikhailych, Ivan Mikhailych," he shouted to the sleeping -innkeeper. The man woke up and for a while could not make out where he -was and how he happened to be sitting opposite his master. - -"I was just beginning to nap," he said finally. - -"Sleep, friend, sleep. I only want to know where the bag with the food -is." - -"Are you hungry? But you would like a drink first, I suppose." - -"Right. Where is the bottle?" - -Stepan Vladimirych took a drink, and then attacked the sausage, which -happened to be as salty as salt itself and as hard as stone, so that he -had to use the point of his knife to pierce it. - -"Some whitefish would taste good now," he remarked. - -"Excuse me, sir, I clean forgot about the whitefish. All morning I kept -saying to my wife: 'Be sure to remind me of the whitefish.' I am very -sorry." - -"Oh, it doesn't matter. The sausage is good enough for me. When we -were on the campaign, we ate worse things. Father used to tell that two -Englishmen made a bet. One of them was to eat a dead cat, and he ate -it." - -"You don't say!" - -"He did. And he was as sick as a dog afterwards. He cured himself with -rum. He guzzled two bottles as fast as he could, and that set him right -at once. Another Englishman made a bet that he would live a whole year -on nothing but sugar." - -"Did he win?" - -"No. He kicked the bucket two days before the end of the year. And how -about you, why don't you take a drink?" - -"I never touch it." - -"So you swill nothing but tea. No good, brother. That's why your belly -has grown so big. One must be careful with tea. A cup of tea must be -followed by a glass of vodka. Tea gathers phlegm, vodka breaks it up. -Isn't that so?" - -"Well, I don't know. You are learned; you know better." - -"True. On the campaign we had no time to bother with tea or coffee. But -vodka--that's a holy affair. You unscrew the flask, pour the vodka into -a cup, drink, and that's all. At that time we had to march so fast that -for ten days I went without washing." - -"You certainly roughed it, sir." - -"Yes, marching on the highroad is not a joke. Still, on our way forward -it was not so bad. People gave us money, and there was plenty to eat -and drink. But when we marched back there was no more feting." - -Golovliov gnawed at the sausage and finally chewed up a piece. - -"It is very salty, this sausage is," he said. "But I'm not squeamish. -After all, mother won't feed me on tid-bits. A plate of cabbage soup -and some gruel--that's all she'll let me have." - -"God is merciful. Maybe she'll give you pie on holidays." - -"No, I imagine there'll be no tea, no tobacco, no vodka. People say she -has become fond of playing fool, so she may call me in to take a hand -at the game and give me some tea. As for the rest, there is no hope." - -There was a four-hour rest to feed the horses. Golovliov had finished -the bottle and was tormented by hunger. The travellers entered the inn -and settled down to a hearty meal. - -Stepan Vladimirych took a stroll in the court, paid a visit to the -backyard, the stables and the dovecote, and even tried to sleep. -Finally he came to the conclusion that the best thing for him to do -was to join his fellow-travellers in the inn. There the cabbage soup -was already steaming and on a wooden tray on the sideboard lay a great -chunk of beef, which Ivan Mikhailych was just then engaged in carving. -Golovliov seated himself a little way from the table, lighted his pipe, -and sat silent for quite a while pondering over the way in which he -could allay the pangs of hunger. - -"I wish you a good appetite, gentlemen," he said finally, "the soup -seems to be good and rich." - -"The soup is all right," answered Ivan Mikhailych. "Why don't you order -a portion for yourself?" - -"Oh, it was only a remark on my part. I'm not hungry." - -"Impossible. All you've eaten is a bit of sausage, and the damned -thing only teases one's appetite. Please eat something. I'll have a -separate table laid for you. My dear woman," he turned to the hostess, -"a place for the gentleman." - -The passengers silently attacked their meal and now and then exchanged -meaningful looks. Golovliov felt his fellow-travellers suspected how -matters stood, although he had played master throughout the journey, -not without some arrogance, and had addressed the faithful innkeeper as -if he had merely entrusted him with his cash. His brows knitted, and -a thick cloud of smoke escaped from his mouth. In the depths of his -heart he felt he ought to refuse, but so imperative are the dictates -of hunger that he set upon the bowl of cabbage soup like a beast of -prey and emptied it in a trice. Along with satiety came his customary -self-assurance and, as if nothing were the matter, he said, turning to -Ivan Mikhailych: - -"Well, my cashier, you will pay up for me, and I am off for the hayloft -to have a talk with Mr. Khrapovitzky." - -He jogged over to the hayloft, and as his stomach was full he was soon -fast asleep. He woke up at five o'clock in the morning. Noticing that -the horses stood at their empty bins rubbing their noses against the -edges, he roused the driver. "He sleeps like a top, the rascal," he -shouted. "We're in a hurry, and he's having pleasant dreams." - -Soon the travellers reached the station at which the road turned -off to Golovliovo. Here at last Stepan Vladimirych lost some of his -devil-may-care attitude and became crestfallen and taciturn. Ivan -Mikhailych tried to cheer him up and insisted that he part with his -pipe. - -"You'd better throw the pipe into the nettles, sir, when you come to -the manor-house," he coaxed. "You will find it later on." - -Finally the horses that were to take the innkeeper to the end of his -journey were ready, and the moment of parting came. - -"Good-by, brother," said Golovliov in a tremulous voice, kissing Ivan -Mikhailych. "She'll plague the life out of me." - -"The Lord is merciful. Keep up a stout heart." - -"She'll eat me up alive," repeated Stepan Vladimirych, with such -conviction that the innkeeper involuntarily lowered his eyes. - -With these words Golovliov turned sharply along the country road, -walking in a shuffle and leaning on a gnarled stick which he had cut -off a tree. - -Ivan Mikhailych followed him with his eyes for a while, and then ran -after him. - -"Listen, master," he said. "When I was cleaning your uniform a few -minutes ago, I saw three rubles in your side pocket. Please don't lose -them." - -Stepan Vladimirych was visibly irresolute and could not make up his -mind how to act in this contingency. Finally, he stretched out his hand -to the peasant and said, with tears in his eyes: - -"I understand--to buy tobacco for the old trooper? Thanks. But she'll -eat me up alive, friend. Sure as hell." - -Golovliov found the country road again and several minutes later his -grey soldier's cap showed afar off, now vanishing, now appearing above -the young wood. It was early in the day. The morning mist, touched into -gold by the first rays of the sun, hovered above the country road. The -grass glistened with the dew, and the air was redolent of fir-trees, -mushrooms, and wild berries. The road meandered across a plain swarming -with birds. - -Stepan Vladimirych, however, noticed nothing of the beauty about him. -All his frivolity had suddenly gone, and he walked as if to the Last -Judgment. One thought filled his mind to the exclusion of everything -else. In three or four hours he would have reached his goal. He -recalled his life at Golovliovo, and he felt as if the doors of a damp -cellar were opening to let him in, and no sooner would he penetrate -into the gloomy interior than the doors would close behind him and -everything would be over. Memories prophetic of what awaited him at -Golovliovo surged in his mind. There had been uncle Mikhail Petrovich, -popularly known as Mishka the Squabbler, one of the "horrid" members of -the family, whom grandfather Piotr Ivanych had exiled to Golovliovo, -where he had lived in the servants' quarters and eaten out of the -same dish with Trezorka, the house dog. There had been Aunt Vera -Mikhailovna, who had lived on the estate by her brother's favor and -died of "moderate living"; for Arina Petrovna had begrudged her every -mouthful at dinner and every billet of wood for the stove in her room. -And a similar fate awaited him. - -He foresaw an endless succession of joyless days losing themselves in -a grey yawning abyss, and he involuntarily shut his eyes. Henceforth -he would have to be alone with a wicked old woman, half dead in the -stagnation of despotism. She would be the death of him before long, as -sure as fate. Not a soul to speak to, not a place to visit. She would -be everywhere, scornful, despotic, deadening. The thought of that -inevitable future made his heart so heavy that he stopped under a -tree in desperation, and struck his head against it several times. His -entire life with all its farcical strutting, idleness, and buffoonery -loomed up as if flooded with sudden light. Then he started on his way -again. He felt there was nothing else left for him. The least of men -can make some effort, can earn his bread. He alone was helpless. It -was a new thought. He had been accustomed in thinking of his future to -picture various prospects, but always prospects of wealth coupled with -idleness, never prospects of work. And now the time had come when he -had to pay for the wickedness and aimlessness of his existence. It was -a bitter settlement, summed up in the terrible phrase: "She will be the -end of me." - -It was about nine o'clock in the morning when the white Golovliovo -belfry showed above the forest. The traveller's face grew pale, and his -hands began to tremble. He took off his cap and crossed himself. The -parable of the prodigal son and his return occurred to him, but he at -once rejected the idea as a bit of self-delusion. - -Finally, he noticed the boundary-post standing by the wayside, and -presently he was treading the Golovliovo soil, the hateful soil that -had borne him, an unloved child, that had reared him, sent him, hated, -into the wide world, and was now receiving him, the unloved one, back -into its arms again. The sun was high in the heavens and was ruthlessly -scorching the boundless fields of Golovliovo. But Stepan Vladimirych -was growing paler and shivering with ague. - -At length he reached the churchyard, and here his courage failed -utterly. The manor-house looked out from behind the trees as if nothing -unpleasant had ever happened there; yet the sight of it worked on him -like the vision of a Medusa head. His paternal abode seemed to be a -tomb. "A tomb, tomb, tomb," he repeated unconsciously. He had not the -courage to go straight to the house, but first called on the priest -and sent him to break the news of his arrival and inquire whether his -mother would receive him. - -The priest's wife was very sympathetic and hastened to prepare an -omelette. The village children gathered about him and stared at the -master with wondering eyes. The peasants passing by lifted their hats -in silence and looked at him curiously. One old servant ran up with -the intention of kissing the master's hand. Everyone understood that a -wastrel was before them, an unloved son who had returned to his hated -home never to leave it except for the graveyard. At the thought of it -the people were overwhelmed with a mingled feeling of pity and dread. - -At last the priest returned and announced that the lady of the manor -was ready to receive Stepan Vladimirych. Ten minutes later he was -standing in her presence. Arina Petrovna met him severely and solemnly, -and measured him icily from head to foot, but allowed herself no -useless reproaches. She received him, not in the living room, but on -the porch, and ordered the young master to be taken to his father -through another entrance. The old man was dozing in his bed, under a -white coverlet, in a white nightcap, all white like a corpse. When he -felt the presence of his son he woke up and began to laugh idiotically. - -"Well, friend, so now you are under the hag's paw," he cried, while his -son kissed his hand. Then he crowed like a cock, burst out laughing -again, and repeated several times: "She'll eat him up! She'll eat him -up!" The phrase found echo in Stepan's soul. - -His fears were justified. He was installed in a separate room in -the wing that also housed the counting-room. He was given homespun -underwear and an old discarded dressing-gown of his father's, which he -put on immediately. The doors of the burial vault had opened, let him -in, and closed again. - -There now began a long succession of dull, ugly days, which Time's -grey, yawning abyss swallowed up, one after the other. Arina Petrovna -never received him, nor was he allowed to see his father. Three days -after his arrival, his mother informed him through Finogey Ipatych, the -bailiff, that he would receive board and clothing and also a pound of -Faler's tobacco monthly. Stepan Vladimirych listened to the bailiff, -and merely remarked: - -"The hag! She's found out that Zhukov's tobacco costs two rubles, while -Faler's is only one ruble ninety kopeks a pound. So she pockets ten -kopeks a month." - -The symptoms of the moral sobering that had appeared during the -hours of his approaching Golovliovo on the country road, vanished. -Frivolity reasserted its rights and was followed by an acceptance of -the conditions his mother imposed upon him. The disquieting thought of -the hopeless future, which had once pierced his mind, faded gradually -away and finally was no more. The day and the evil thereof, the petty -interests of existence in all its undisguised ugliness absorbed his -entire being. What part, indeed, could his intentions and opinions play -when the course of the rest of his life in all its details was laid out -in advance in Arina Petrovna's brain? - -All day long he walked to and fro in his room, pipe in mouth, humming -bits of songs, passing unaccountably from church tunes to boisterous -airs. If the village clerk happened to be in the office, he went up to -him and engaged in a conversation, of which the chief topic was Arina -Petrovna's income. - -"What does she do with all her wealth?" he would exclaim wonderingly, -having reached the sum of more than eighty thousand rubles. "My -brothers' allowances are rather poor; she herself lives shabbily, and -she feeds cured meats to father. She deposits the money in the bank, -that's what she does with it." - -On one occasion Finogey Ipatych came to deliver the taxes he had -gathered, and the table was littered with paper money, and Stepan's -eyes glittered. - -"Ah, what a heap of money!" he exclaimed. "And it all flows right down -her throat. As for giving her son some of these nice greenbacks, no, -she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't say: 'Here, my son, you who are -visited by sorrow, here is some cash for wine and tobacco.'" - -This was usually followed by endless cynical talks about how he could -win over his mother's heart. - -"In Moscow," he held forth, "I used to meet a man who knew a magic -word. If his mother refused to give him money he would utter 'the -word,' and she instantly got cramps in her hands and feet, in fact all -over." - -"It must have been a spell, I suppose," remarked the village clerk. - -"Well, whatever it may have been, it is gospel truth that there is such -a 'word.' Another man told me this: 'Take,' he says, 'a frog, and put -it into an anthill at midnight. By morning the ants will have gnawed -it clean, so that only its skeleton will be left. Take the skeleton, -and when it is in your pocket ask anything you wish of any woman, and -she won't refuse you." - -"Well, that's easy." - -"The trouble is, one must first damn oneself forever. If it weren't for -that, the old hag would be cringing before me." - -Hours on end were spent in such talk, but no remedy was found. The -preliminary condition was that you either had to call a curse down on -yourself, or sell your soul to the devil. There was no help. Stepan -Vladimirych had to go on living under his mother's rule, the only -relief coming in the small voluntary contributions that he raised from -the village officials in the form of tobacco, tea, and sugar. His fare -consisted mainly of what remained from his mother's table, and as Arina -Petrovna was moderate to the point of avarice, his board was meagre, -to say the least; which was all the more painful because ever since -vodka had become unattainable, his appetite had grown considerably -keener. All day long hunger gnawed at him, and his sole preoccupation -was how to fill his stomach. He awaited the hour when his mother would -retire for a rest, then sneaked into the kitchen and looked into the -servants' quarters, snatching a bit here, a bit there. Sometimes he -would sit at his open window watching for passers-by. If one of the -serfs came along, he stopped him and levied toll in the form of an egg, -a curd-cake, and the like. - -At the first meeting between mother and son, Arina Petrovna briefly -explained the whole program of his life. - -"Live here," she said. "Here is a shelter for you in the -counting-house. Your meals you will get from my table. In other matters -you will have to put up with things as they are. There were never any -dainties in the house, and I shan't change my ways for your sake. Your -brothers will soon arrive. Whatever they will decide about you, I shall -carry out. I shall take no sin upon my soul. Let them dispose of your -fate." - -He looked forward to his brothers' arrival with impatience. Not that he -reflected on the influence their arrival might have on his existence, -as he had evidently decided that the matter was not worth his thought. -The only thing that interested him was whether Pavel would bring him -tobacco and how much. - -"Maybe he'll hand me over some coin, too," he mused. "Porfishka the -Bloodsucker, he won't, but Pavel ... I'll say to him: 'Brother, give a -soldier some cash for wine.' He'll give me some. He's sure to." - -He did not notice the passage of the days, nor did he feel the weight -of his absolute idleness. The only time he was lonesome was in the -evenings, because the constable left at eight, and Arina Petrovna did -not allow her son any candles, on the ground that one can walk to and -fro without light. He soon became accustomed to the dark and even began -to love it, for in the darkness his imagination had free play and -carried him far, far away from the dreary place which was his home. In -those hours only one thing disturbed him. He had a dull pain in the -chest and his heart palpitated queerly, especially when he went to bed. -Sometimes he jumped out of bed and ran about the room, clutching the -left side of his chest. - -"I wish I would die," he thought at such moments. "But, no, I shan't -die. But maybe I shall." - -One morning when the village clerk with an air of mystery reported that -his brothers had arrived the night before, he shuddered and grew pale. -Something childlike suddenly awoke in him. He felt like running to the -house to see how his brothers were dressed, and find out what beds had -been prepared for them, and whether they had travelling cases like one -he had seen a militia captain carrying, and hear how they would talk -to mother, and spy out what would be served at dinner. In short, a -desire once more arose in him to return to life, which so persistently -rejected him, to fall at "dear mamma's" knees, and obtain her pardon. -Then perhaps he would eat the fatted calf and be merry. - -The house was still quiet, but he had already visited, the kitchen and -found out that the following courses had been ordered for dinner: soup -with fresh cabbage, also some soup left over from yesterday, cured meat -served with cutlets of chopped meat for entree, fried mutton chops and -four snipes for the roast, and raspberry pie with cream for dessert. - -"Yesterday's soup, cured meat, and the chops--that, brother, is for -me," he said to the cook. "There will be no pie for me, I guess." - -"For your mother to say, sir." - -"Ah, friend, there was a time when I ate snipe. Yes, I did. Once I made -a bet with Lieutenant Gremykin that I would eat fifteen snipes one -after the other, and what do you think? I won the bet. After that I -couldn't look at snipe for a month." - -"But you won't refuse to have some now?" - -"She wouldn't let me have any. I can't see, though, what makes her -so stingy. A snipe is a free bird. You don't have to feed it or look -after it. It is self-supporting. She doesn't buy snipes any more than -she buys sheep--and yet! The hag knows snipe tastes better than mutton. -That's why she won't let me have it. She'd rather let it rot than give -it to me. What's ordered for breakfast?" - -"Liver, mushrooms in sour cream, and custard." - -"Why not send me a custard? Do, brother." - -"Well, I'll try hard. Let me tell you, sir. When the brothers sit down -to breakfast, you send the village clerk here. He'll fetch you a couple -of custards under his coat." - -Next day Stepan Vladimirych waited the entire morning for his brothers, -but they did not arrive. Finally, about eleven o'clock, the village -clerk brought the two promised custards and reported that the brothers -had just finished breakfast and were closeted with Arina Petrovna in -her bedroom. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Arina Petrovna received her sons solemnly, weighed down by grief. Two -maids supported her under the armpits. Her grey locks streamed out from -under her cap, her head drooped, and shook from side to side, and her -limbs seemed hardly able to support her. She always liked to play the -part of a venerable, careworn mother before her children, moving with -difficulty and getting her maids to assist her. Simple Simon called -such solemn receptions high mass, herself a bishop, and the maids, -Polka and Yulka, mace-bearers. As it was late at night the interview -was almost a silent one. Without saying a word she gave her sons her -hand to kiss; kissed them in turn, and made the sign of the cross over -them; and when Porfiry Vladimirych made it clear that he would gladly -spend the rest of the night with "mother dear," she merely waved her -hand and said: - -"Come now. Take a rest, you must be tired after the journey. This is -not the time for discussion. We shall talk to-morrow." - -Next morning the two sons went to kiss papa's hand, but papa refused -his hand. He lay on his bed with closed eyes, and when they entered he -cried out: - -"Have you come to judge the toll-gatherer? Get out, Pharisees! Get -out!" - -But in spite of this reception, Porfiry Vladimirych emerged from papa's -room agitated and with tears on his eyelids, while Pavel Vladimirych, -like "the heartless dolt" that he was, merely picked his nose. - -"He is very weak, mother dear, very weak!" exclaimed Porfiry -Vladimirych, throwing himself on his mother's breast. - -"Is it so bad?" - -"Yes, very bad. He won't live much longer." - -"Oh, well, it isn't as bad as that." - -"No, dear, no. And although your life has never been too joyful, yet -as I think how Fate deals you so many blows at once, upon my word, I -wonder where you get the strength to bear up under it all." - -"Well, my friend, the strength comes if such is the Lord's will. You -know what it says in the Scriptures: 'Bear one another's burdens.' It -seems that our Heavenly Father has chosen me to bear the burdens of my -family." - -Arina Petrovna shut her eyes, so delightful was this vision of the -family finding their tables covered for them and of her toiling for -them and bearing their burdens. - -"Yes, my friend," she said after a minute's pause, "it's a hard life I -lead in my old age. I have provided for my children, and it is time for -me to rest. It's no joke--four thousand souls! At my age to take care -of such an estate, to have an eye on everybody and everything, to run -back and forth! As for all those bailiffs and managers, they look you -straight in the eye, but, believe me, they are the most faithless kind. -And you," she interrupted herself, turning to Pavel, "what are you -digging in your nose for?" - -"What have I to do with it?" snarled Pavel Vladimirych, disturbed in -the very midst of his absorbing occupation. - -"What do you mean? After all, he's your father. You might find a word -of pity for him." - -"Well--a father! A father like any other father. He has been that way -for ten years. You always make things unpleasant for me." - -"Why in the world should I, my boy? I am your mother. Here is Porfisha. -He has found words of affection and pity for me as befits a good son, -but you don't even look at your mother properly. You look at her out of -the corner of your eye, as if she were not your mother, but your foe. -Please don't bite me." - -"Well, what----" - -"Stop! Hold your tongue for a minute. Let your mother say a word. Do -you remember the commandment, 'Honor thy father and thy mother, and all -will be well with thee?' Am I to understand that you don't wish to be -well?" - -Pavel Vladimirych kept silence and looked at his mother in perplexity. - -"You see, you're silenced," went on Arina Petrovna, "you are guilty. -But I shall let you alone. For the sake of this joyful meeting we shall -dispense with this talk. God, my child, sees everything. As for me, I -see you through and through, and I always have. Children, children, you -will remember your mother when she lies in her grave. You will remember -her, but it will be too late." - -"Mamma dear!" interposed Porfiry Vladimirych. "Away with such black -thoughts, away with them!" - -"We must all die," said Arina Petrovna sententiously. "These are not -black, but pious thoughts. I'm growing weak, children, oh, how weak! -Debility and ailments are the only things left of my former strength. -Even the maids have noticed it, and they don't care a rap for me. If I -say one word, they have ten in reply. I have only one threat, that I -shall complain to the young masters. That works sometimes." - -Tea was served and then breakfast, during which Arina Petrovna -continued her complaining and self-pitying. After breakfast she invited -her sons to her bedroom. - -When the door was locked, she went straight to the business for which -she had convoked the family council. - -"Simple Simon is here," she began. - -"We heard about it, mamma dear," said Porfiry Vladimirych; and it was -hard to say whether it was irony or the calm complacency of a man who -has just eaten a hearty meal that sounded in his voice. - -"He has come here as if that were the proper thing to do. Whatever he -may have done, he seems to think the old mother will always have bread -for him. Think of all his hatred for me, of all the trouble his tricks -and buffoonery have caused me. And what have I not done to get him a -good berth? It all ran off like water from a duck's back. At last, I -made up my mind. Goodness, if he cannot take care of himself, am I to -ruin my life on account of the big lout? I'll give him a piece of the -property, I decided. Perhaps, I thought, once an independent proprietor -he'll sober down. No sooner said than done. I myself found a house -for him and paid out twelve thousand silver rubles for it with my own -hands. And what's the upshot? After less than three years he's hanging -round my neck again. How long am I to stand such insults?" - -Porfisha lifted up his eyes and shook his head sorrowfully, as if to -say, "Fine doings. Why disturb mother dear so ruthlessly? Why not -live peacefully and quietly? Then dear mamma would not be angry. Fine -doings." But Porfisha's gestures did not please Arina Petrovna, who -objected to any interruption to the course of her thoughts. - -"Wait a minute," she said, "don't shake your head. Listen first. Think -of my feelings when I learned that he had thrown away his parental -blessing like a gnawed bone into a cesspool. Think how he outraged me, -me, who for years refused myself sleep and food. He has done to his -patrimony what one would do to a bauble bought at a fair." - -"Oh, mother dear, what a shame, what a shame!" began Porfiry -Vladimirych, but Arina Petrovna stopped him again. - -"Wait a minute. Let me have your opinion when I order you to. If at -least the scoundrel had come to me in time and said: 'I am guilty, -dear mamma, I couldn't restrain myself,' I might have bought the house -back for a song. The unworthy son did not know how to make use of the -property. Perhaps the worthier children would. The house easily brought -in fifteen per cent. income yearly. Maybe I would have thrown him out -another thousand rubles in his distress. But instead, he disposed of -the property without so much as saying a word to me. With my own hands, -I paid out twelve thousand rubles for the house, and it was sold at -auction for eight thousand rubles!" - -"The main thing, dear mamma, is that he has dealt so basely with the -parental blessing," Porfiry interjected hastily, as if afraid of being -stopped again. - -"Yes, that's so, too. My money does not come lightly. I have earned it -with the sweat of my brow. When I married your father, all he owned -was the estate of Golovliovo with one hundred and one souls, and a few -more souls scattered in distant estates, a hundred and fifty in all. -As for me, I had nothing at all. Now look what an estate I have built -up on that foundation. There are four thousand souls, not a single one -less. I can't take them into the grave with me. Do you think it was an -easy task to scrape four thousand souls together? No, dear child, not -easy, far from easy. I spent many a sleepless night trying to work out -a good business scheme, so that no one should smell it out and stand in -my way. And what have I not endured in my business travels? I have had -plenty of hard road and bad weather and slippery ice. It is only lately -that I allow myself the luxury of a coach. In former times I rode in a -plain two-horse peasant's cart with a cover put on extra for me. It was -in nothing but a cart that I used to go to Moscow. And the filth and -stench I had to put up with in the Moscow inns! I begrudged myself the -dime for the cabby, and I walked all the way from Rogozhskaya Street -to Solyanka. The house-porter would say to me wonderingly: "Mistress, -they say you are young and well-to-do, why do you work so hard?" But I -was silent and patient. At first all I had at my disposal were thirty -thousand rubles in bank notes. I sold your father's remote estates with -their one hundred souls, and with what I realized from the sale I set -out to buy a property with a thousand souls. I had a mass said at the -Iverska Church and went to Solyanka to try my luck. What do you think -happened? The Holy Virgin must have seen my bitter tears. She helped -me buy the estate. It was like a miracle. The instant I bid thirty -thousand rubles the auction came to an end. There had been a lot of -noise and excitement, but then the people stopped bidding, and it was -as quiet as could be. The auctioneer got up and congratulated me. I was -dumfounded. Ivan Nikolaich, the lawyer, came over to me and said: 'Let -me congratulate you, madam, on your purchase.' But I stood there stiff -as a post. How great is God's mercy! Think of it, if in my confusion -someone had called out just for spite, 'I bid thirty-five thousand,' I -should certainly have offered every bit of forty thousand. And where -would I have gotten the money from?" - -Many a time before had Arina Petrovna regaled her children with the -epical beginnings of her career of acquisition. It had never lost -the charm of novelty for them. Porfiry Vladimirych listened smiling, -sighing, turning up his eye-balls, lowering them, to the tune of the -rapid changes through which the tale passed. As for Pavel Vladimirych, -he sat with wide-open eyes, like a child, listening to a familiar, yet -ever-fascinating fairy tale. - -"Do you think your mother built up her fortune without trouble?" went -on Arina Petrovna. "It takes trouble even to make a pimple on your -nose. After the first purchase I was laid up with fever for six weeks. -So judge for yourselves how it must make my heart ache to see my -hard-earned money, money I went through torments to get, you may say, -thrown out into the gutter for no earthly reason." - -There was a minute's pause. Porfiry Vladimirych was ready to rend his -garments, but refrained, fearing there would be no one in the village -to mend them. Pavel Vladimirych, as soon as the fairy tale was over, -fell back into his wonted apathy, and his face resumed its customary -dull expression. - -"That is why I asked you to come here," began Arina Petrovna anew. "Now -judge us, me and the villain. Whatever you decide will be done. If you -condemn him, he will be guilty. If you condemn me, I shall be guilty. -Only I shall not allow the rascal to get the better of me," she added, -quite unexpectedly. - -Porfiry Vladimirych felt his turn had come, and he prepared to hold -forth, but approached the subject in a roundabout way. - -"If you will permit me, dearest mother, to express my opinion," he -said, "here it is in two words: children must obey their parents, -blindly do their bidding, cherish them in their old age. That's all! -What are children, dear mother? Children are loving creatures who owe -their parents everything, from their persons to the last rag they -possess. Therefore, parents may judge children, while children may -never judge parents. Children are in duty bound to respect, not to -judge. You say: 'Judge us.' That is magnanimous of you, dear mother, -_mag_nificent! But how can we think about it without fear, we whom from -the first day of our birth you have been clothing with kindness from -head to foot? Say what you may, it would not be judgment but blasphemy. -It would be such blasphemy, such blasphemy----" - -"Stop, wait a minute. If you say you cannot sit in judgment on me, -acquit me and condemn _him,_" Arina Petrovna interrupted. She was -listening and trying to search his meaning, but could not make out what -new plot was back of the Bloodsucker's mind. - -"No, mother dear, even that I cannot do, or rather I don't dare to. I -have no right to. I can neither acquit nor condemn. I simply cannot -judge. You are the mother; you alone know how to deal with us children. -You have the right to reward us if we deserve it, and chastise us if we -are guilty. Our duty is not to criticise, but to obey. And if at the -moment of parental wrath you exceed the measure of justice, even then -we dare not grumble, for the ways of Providence are hidden from us. Who -knows, perhaps it was necessary. Our brother Stepan has acted basely, -unspeakably, but you alone can determine the degree of punishment he -deserves." - -"Then you refuse to help me? You would have me get out of this affair -as best I can?" - -"Oh, dearest, dearest, how you misunderstood me! Goodness, goodness! I -said, that however you might be pleased to dispose of brother Stepan's -fate, so shall it be, and you--what horrible thoughts you ascribe to -me." - -"All right. And you?" she turned to Pavel Vladimirych. - -"Do you want my opinion? But what's my opinion to you?" said he, as if -only half-awake. However, he braced himself unexpectedly and went on: -"Of course, he's guilty. Have him torn to pieces--ground to dust in a -mortar--it's settled in advance. What am I in this?" - -Having mumbled these incoherent words, he stopped and stared at his -mother, his mouth wide open, as if not trusting his own ears. - -"Well, my dear, I shall speak to you later," Arina Petrovna cut him off -coldly. "I see that you are anxious to tread in Stiopka's tracks. Take -care, my child. You will repent, but it will be too late." - -"Why, what's the matter? I'm not saying anything. I say, just as you -please. What is there disrespectful in that?" said Pavel Vladimirych, -faintly. - -"I'll talk with you later on, my boy, later on. You think because you -are an army officer, you can run wild. You are greatly mistaken. Then -neither of you wants to sit in judgment?" - -"I, dearest mother----" - -"What am I in this?" said Pavel Vladimirych. "I don't care. Have him -torn to pieces." - -"Hold your tongue, for Christ's sake, you wicked man!" Arina Petrovna -felt she was fully entitled to call her son "scoundrel," but refrained -in deference to the joyous meeting. "Well, if you refuse to judge him I -shall. Here is my verdict. I shall try to treat him kindly once more. I -shall hand over to him the little Vologda village, have a cottage built -there, and let him live there and be fed by the peasants." - -Although Porfiry Vladimirych had refused to sit in judgment on his -brother, his mother's generosity was so amazing that he felt he simply -had to point out the dangerous consequences of her project. - -"Dearest mamma," he exclaimed, "you are more than magnanimous. You are -confronted by a deed--well, the vilest, meanest deed--and then you -forget and pardon. _Mag_nificent! But forgive me, I am afraid for you, -dearest. Think what you will of me, but if I were you, I wouldn't do -it." - -"Why not?" - -"I don't know. Perhaps I lack your magnanimity, that motherly feeling -of yours. But one thought comes back to me all the while--what if -brother Stepan does the same with his second legacy as he did with his -first?" - -Arina Petrovna had already thought of that, yet in the back of her mind -was another consideration. - -"The Vologda estate is father's property, it belongs to the patrimony," -she said through her teeth. "Sooner or later a portion of the patrimony -will have to be doled out to him." - -"I understand that very well, mother dear." - -"Then you also understand that on giving him the Vologda village we can -make him sign a document to the effect that he has received his full -share and that he renounces all further inheritance claims." - -"I understand that too, dearest mother. Your excessive kindness caused -you to commit a grave mistake. At the time you bought him the house you -ought to have made him give you such a document then." - -"Yes, that was a blunder." - -"At that time, in his joy, he would have signed any document. But you, -dearest, in the kindness of your heart--goodness, what a mistake! What -a mistake!" - -"Don't talk of it any more. Why didn't you speak up before it was too -late? Now you are ready to blame everything on your mother, but when it -comes to business, you are not there. However, it isn't the document -I have in mind. I can make him sign it even now. Papa, I suppose, -isn't going to die at once. Until his death the blockhead must live on -something. In case he refuses to sign, we can chase him out and bid him -wait for papa's death. No, what I want to know is, do you dislike my -idea of giving him the Vologda estate?" - -"He will squander away the village, darling, as he did the house." - -"If he does, let him blame himself." - -"He'll come back to you, again, to no one else." - -"Oh, no, I won't stand for it. I won't let him come near my threshold. -There won't be a drink of water for him in my house. And people won't -condemn me for it, nor will God punish me. To squander away first a -house, then an estate! Am I his slave? Is he the only one I have to -provide for? Have I not other children?" - -"Still, it is to you that he will come. Isn't he brazen-faced enough to -do that, darling mamma?" - -"I tell you, I won't let him come near my threshold. Why do you sit -there croaking, 'he'll come, he'll come?' I won't let him in." - -Arina Petrovna grew silent and fixed her gaze on the window. She -herself vaguely realized that the Vologda estate would only temporarily -free her from "the horrid creature," that in the end he would dispose -of it, too, and would return to her again, and that as a mother she -could not refuse him a corner in her house. But the thought that the -odious fellow would always be with her, that even though locked up in -the counting-house he would be preying on her imagination like a spook, -was so appalling that she shuddered involuntarily. - -"Not for the world!" she exclaimed, striking the table with her fist -and leaping to her feet. - -Meanwhile, Porfiry Vladimirych kept on staring at "mother dear" and -shaking his head rhythmically in token of condolence. - -"I see you are angry, dearest mamma," he said at last in a tone so -sugared that he seemed to be getting ready to tickle Arina Petrovna. - -"What would you have me do? Dance a jig?" - -"Excuse me, darling, but what do the Scriptures say about patience? -'In patience,' it says, 'possess ye your souls,' 'In patience'--that's -the word. Do you think God does not see? He sees everything, mother -dear. We perhaps don't suspect anything, we sit here proposing this and -planning that, while He may already have disposed. Oh, dearest mamma, -how unjust you are to me." - -But Arina Petrovna was fully aware that the Bloodsucker was throwing a -snare, and she flew into a rage. - -"Are you making sport of me?" she shouted. "I am discussing business, -and he's trying to hoax me. Don't pull the wool over my eyes. Speak -plainly. Do you want him to remain at Golovliovo, hanging around his -mother's neck?" - -"Just so, dearest mother, if you please. Let him be where he is and -make him sign a paper about the heritage." - -"So, so. I knew that was what you would advise. All right. God alone -knows how it will pain me always to be having that creature around. -However, it seems nobody will take pity on me. When I was young I bore -my cross. Shall I refuse it in my old age? But there is still another -point. While papa and I are alive, _he'll_ live at Golovliovo, and we -won't let him starve. But how about afterwards?" - -"Dearest mother! Darling! Why such melancholy thoughts?" cried the -Bloodsucker. - -"Melancholy or not, still one has to provide ahead. We aren't babies. -When we die, what will become of him?" - -"Dearest mother! Can't you count on us, your children? Have we not been -properly brought up by you?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych flashed on her one of those puzzling glances which -had always made her uneasy, and went on: - -"The poor man, dear mamma, I shall help with greater joy than the rich. -The rich man, Christ be with him, the rich man has enough of his own. -But the poor man--you know what Christ said of the poor." - -Porfiry Vladimirych got up and kissed his mother's hand. - -"Dearest mamma, allow me to present my brother with two pounds of -tobacco," he said entreatingly. - -Arina Petrovna did not answer. She looked at him and reflected: "Is he -really such a Bloodsucker that he would turn his own brother out on the -streets?" - -"Well, do as you please. Let him live at Golovliovo," she said finally, -turning to Porfiry. "You have trapped me. You started with 'just -as you please, dearest mamma,' and finished by dancing me on your -wire. But let me tell you this, I hate him and he has disgraced and -pestered me all his life, he has even dishonored my motherly blessing. -Nevertheless, if you turn him out into the streets or make a beggar of -him, you shall not have my blessing. No, no, no. Now you two go to him. -The idiot is wearing out his silly eyes looking for you." - -The sons left. Arina Petrovna rose and watched them stride over the -front yard to the counting-house without exchanging a word. Porfiry was -constantly taking off his cap and crossing himself, now at the sight -of the church, which shimmered afar off, now before the chapel, now -before the wooden post to which a charity box was attached. As for -Pavel, he seemed unable to take his eyes off his boot tips shining in -the sunlight. - -"For whom have I been accumulating riches? Refused myself sleep and -food--for whom?" she cried bitterly. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -The brothers departed, and the manor-house of Golovliovo was deserted. -With renewed energy, Arina Petrovna took up her work again. The -clatter of the knives in the kitchen ceased, but activities in office, -storehouses, cellars, were redoubled. Summer, the great provider, -was nearly over; preserving, canning, pickling, storing were in full -swing. Winter provisions flowed in from all quarters, dried mushrooms, -berries, eggs, vegetables. This requisition in kind imposed upon the -peasant women came in wagons from all the various family estates. -Everything was measured and added to the stores of former years. Not in -vain had the lady of Golovliovo had a long row of cellars, storehouses -and granaries built. They were full to the brim. Quite a good deal of -damaged material was along with the rest and smelt foully. At the end -of summer the stuff was all sorted and what was suspicious was sent to -the servants' quarters. - -"The pickles are still in good condition, only the skin is coming off -in some places, and they smell a little. Well, let the servants enjoy a -dainty bit," Arina Petrovna would say, pointing out the barrels to be -put aside. - -Stepan Vladimirych adapted himself admirably to his new condition. At -times he felt a strong craving to get drunk as a piper. He had money -for the purpose, as we shall see later. But he restrained himself -stoically, as if considering that the time had not yet arrived. He -was always busy now, for he took a lively part in the provisioning, -rejoicing in its successes and regretting its failures in a wholly -disinterested manner. In a sort of ecstasy, hatless, clad in his -dressing-gown, he scurried from the office to the cellars, hiding from -his mother behind trees and various small buildings that crowded the -court-yard. Arina Petrovna noticed him in this garb many times, and -felt an itching in her motherly heart to give Simple Simon a severe -scolding, but on second thought she left him alone in his escapades. -In the cellars Stepan Vladimirych with feverish impatience watched how -the carts were unloaded, how jars, barrels and tubs were brought in -from the estate, and everything was assorted and finally sent off into -the yawning abyss of cellars and storehouses. He felt satisfied in most -instances. - -"To-day two wagons of mushrooms came from Dubrovino. Ripping fine -mushrooms, brother," he informed the village clerk rapturously. "And we -were afraid we should have to get along without mushrooms this winter. -Bravo, Dubrovino fellow, much obliged! Fine fellows they are! They have -helped us out!" - -On another occasion, he said: - -"To-day mother gave an order to catch some carps in the pond. You ought -to see them! Some three feet long! It looks as if we were going to live -on carp the whole week." - -Sometimes he was worried. - -"The cucumbers failed completely this season. There is not a good one -among them--all crooked and spotty. They're just good enough to be -sent to the servants' quarters. We shall have to use last year's." - -He did not approve of Arina Petrovna's management. "Goodness, what -heaps of provisions she allows to rot! Just now she's having cured -meat, pickles, fish and what not hauled to the servants' quarters. -Is that what you call good business? Is that the right way of doing -things, I'd like to know. There are lots of fresh provisions, but she -will not touch them until the old rot is eaten up." - -The confidence entertained by Arina Petrovna that it would be easy to -induce Simple Simon to sign any paper proved wholly justified. Not only -did he not object to signing all the papers that his mother sent him, -but the same evening he even boasted about it to the village clerk. - -"Well, brother, to-day I have been doing nothing but signing papers. I -have renounced all my rights of inheritance. I am cleaned out. Not a -cent to my name, and none coming. I have set the old woman at ease." - -He parted with his brothers peaceably, and was in raptures over his -big supply of tobacco. Of course, he couldn't help calling Porfisha -Bloodsucker and Yudushka, but the disparaging terms were drowned in a -deluge of incoherent, meaningless chatter. - -In taking leave the brothers became liberal and even gave him money. -Porfiry Vladimirych accompanied his gift with the following speech: - -"This money will be handy in case you need oil for the ikon lamp or if -you want to set up a candle in the church. That's how it is, brother. -Be good and gentle, and our dear mother will be satisfied. You will -have your comforts, and all of us will be merry and happy. Our mother -is a kindly soul, you know." - -"There is no denying that she is kindly," agreed Stepan Vladimirych. -"Only she feeds me on rotten pickled meat." - -"Whose fault is it? Who treated mother's blessing with disrespect? It -is your own fault that you lost your estate. What a nice little estate -it was. If you only knew how to behave yourself and live modestly, you -would now be eating beef and veal and even ordering sauce with them. -You would have plenty of everything, potatoes, cabbage, peas. Am I not -right, brother?" - -Had Arina Petrovna heard this harangue, it would have made her -impatient, and she would have let the orator know that it did. But -Simple Simon was fortunate that his mind could not, as it were, retain -other people's words, and not a syllable of Yudushka's speech reached -its destination. - -So Stepan Vladimirych parted with his brothers amicably. And there was -some vanity in his showing Yakov, the village clerk, two twenty-five -ruble notes that had been left in his hands after the brothers had -departed. - -"This will last me a long time," he said. "We've got tobacco. We're -well provided with tea and sugar. Nothing is missing but vodka. -However, should we want vodka, we'll get vodka, too. Nevertheless, I -will restrain myself for a little while yet. I am too busy now, I have -to keep an eye on the cellars. Weaken your watch for a single instant, -and everything will be pillaged. _She_ saw me, brother, she saw me, the -hag, once, when I was gliding by along the kitchen wall. She stood at -the window looking at me and I bet she thought: 'Well, well, so that's -why I miss so many cucumbers.'" - -Then came October. It began to rain, the road turned black, into -an impassable stream of mud. Stepan Vladimirych could not go out -because his only garments were his father's old dressing-gown and -worn slippers. He sat at his window watching the tiny, humble village -drowned in mud. There, in the gray autumn mist, men were moving about -briskly, looking like black dots. - -The heavy summer work was still in full swing, but now its setting was -no longer the jubilant, sun-flooded hues of summer, but the endless -autumn twilight. The corn kilns emitted clouds of smoke far into the -night. The melancholy clatter of the flails resounded in the air. -Thrashing was also going on in the manorial barns, and in the office -they said it would hardly be possible to get through with the whole -mass of grain before Shrovetide. Everything looked gloomy and drowsy, -everything spoke of oppressiveness. The doors of the counting-house -were no longer ajar, and inside the air was filled with a bluish fog -rising from the wet fur cloaks. - -It is difficult to say what impression this spectacle of a toilsome, -rural autumn made on Stepan's mind, and whether he was at all aware of -the labors going on in the incessant rain out in the boggy fields. One -thing is certain, that the drab, tearful autumn sky oppressed him. It -seemed to hang close down over his head and threaten to drown him in a -deluge of mud. All he had to do was to look out through the window and -watch the heavy masses of clouds. From the dawn on they covered the -heavens, hanging motionless as if spellbound. Even after several hours -they were still in the same place, without the slightest apparent -change in hue or outline. In the morning, one cloud, heavy and black, -had a ragged shape resembling a priest in a cassock with outstretched -arms. It was clearly outlined on the pallid background of the upper -clouds, and at noon it still had the identically same form. The right -hand, it is true, had become shorter, and the left was stretched out in -an ugly fashion and was sending down such a flood of rain that against -the dark background of the sky there formed a streak still darker, -almost black. Another huge shaggy lump of a cloud a little farther up -hung over the village, threatening to smother it, you would think. -Hours later it was still hanging in the same place, the same shaggy -monster with outstretched paws, as though ready to pounce upon the -earth. Clouds, clouds, nothing but clouds! Around five o'clock a change -took place, darkness gradually enveloped heaven and earth, and soon -the clouds disappeared completely, vanishing beneath a black shroud. -They were the first to go, next followed the forest and the village, -then the church, the chapel, the hamlet, the orchard, and finally the -manor-house, several yards away. - -It has already become quite dark in the room, and there is no light. -So what can one do but pace up and down? A morbid languor seizes -Stepan's brain; his entire body, despite its idleness, is filled -with an incomprehensible, indescribable feeling of fatigue. Just one -thought moves in him and sucks at him--the grave, the grave, the -grave! Those black dots which have recently been moving busily on the -dark background of the boggy soil and near the village barns are not -oppressed by that thought. They will not perish under the burden of -despondency and weariness. If they do not challenge the sky directly, -at least they struggle, build, make enclosures, repair their houses. -Stepan did not question whether all this bustle was worth the while, -but he was aware that even the nameless dots were incomparably superior -to him, that he couldn't even struggle, that he had nothing to build, -nothing to repair. - -He spent the evenings in the counting-house, because Arina Petrovna -refused to supply him with candles. Several times, through the -bailiff, he asked for boots and a fur coat, and was invariably told -that boots were not kept in store for him, but that he would be given -a pair of felt shoes as soon as the cold spells arrived. Evidently, -Arina Petrovna intended to fulfill her program literally, that was, -to sustain her son in such a manner as barely to keep him from -starvation. At first he abused his mother, but then behaved as though -he had forgotten all about her. Even the light of the candles in the -counting-room annoyed him, and he began to lock himself in his room -and remain all alone in the darkness. There was just a single refuge -left, one that he still dreaded but that attracted him irresistibly, -to get drunk and forget deeply, irrevocably, to plunge into the sea -of oblivion and never emerge again. Everything drove him to it, the -debauchery of the past, the enforced idleness of the present, his -ailing body with the torturing cough, the unbearable asthma, and the -constantly increasing pains in his heart. At last the hour came. - -"You must fetch me a bottle of vodka for to-night," he said once to the -village clerk in a voice boding little good. - -That one bottle of vodka was followed by a long succession of other -bottles. After that he got drunk every night. At nine o'clock, when -the light in the counting-house had been put out and the servants had -retired to their quarters, he placed a bottle of vodka and a slice of -rye bread thickly strewn over with salt on the table. He did not attack -the liquor at once, but approached it stealthily as it were. Everybody -on the place was fast asleep. The mice scudded behind the wall paper -and the clock in the counting-house ticked ominously. Stepan threw off -his dressing-gown, and began to stride back and forth in the overheated -room, with nothing but a shirt on his back. At times he stopped, went -over to the table, searched for the bottle in the darkness, then -resumed his restless pacing. The first tumblers he emptied in a sort of -passion, voluptuously swallowing down the burning liquid. But little by -little his heart began to beat faster, the blood mounted to his head, -and he mumbled incoherently. His feeble imagination tried to create -images, his blunted memory attempted to pierce the mists of the past. -But the images were broken and meaningless, and the past remained dim -and formless. There was no recollection, either bitter or sweet, as -though an impervious wall separated the past from the present. - -He was completely filled by the present, which seemed like a prison -cell, in which he would be locked up for eternity without consciousness -of time or space. His mind took in nothing but the room, the stove, -the three windows in the front wall, the squeaking wooden bed with its -mattress worn thin, and the table with the bottle. - -As the contents of the bottle decreased and his head grew hotter and -hotter, even this boresome sense of the present gradually faded. His -mumblings, to which at first there had been a bit of form, now lost -all meaning. His pupils dilated in the attempt to pierce the engulfing -darkness. Finally, the darkness itself vanished and its place was taken -by a phosphorescent sheen. - -It was an endless void, with not a color or a sound, but radiant with -sinister splendor. The void followed him in his wanderings, trod on -his heels at every step. There were no walls, no windows, nothing -but this endless vacant splendor. Dread fell on him, coupled with an -irresistible impulse to annihilate even the void. A few more efforts, -and his goal was reached. His stumbling legs carried a benumbed body, -his chest gave forth not a murmur but an inarticulate cry, his very -existence seemingly ceased. A strange stupor took possession of him, in -which conscious life had no part, which plumbed the depths of a life -independent of and beyond the boundaries of normal existence. Groans -burst from his chest without in the least disturbing his sleep. His -organic disease continued its destructive work, without apparently -causing him any physical pain. - -He rose early in the morning, filled with agonizing longing, disgust -and hatred. It was an inarticulate hatred, without either cause -or definite object. His bloodshot eyes rolled restlessly, his -limbs trembled, his heart worked with sickening irregularity, now -stopping altogether, now hammering with such violence that his hand -involuntarily clutched at his breast. Not a thought, not a desire! -Objects of immediate perception filled his mind so completely that it -was closed to other impressions. - -He filled his pipe and lighted it. It dropped from his nerveless -fingers. His tongue mumbled something, but seemingly by force of habit -only. He sat in silence and stared at one point. He felt an intense -craving to raise the temperature of his body so that he would feel -the presence of life for at least a short while. But he had no way of -getting vodka in the daytime. He had to wait for night to attain those -blissful moments when the ground vanished from under his feet and the -four odious prison walls were replaced by a shoreless, shining void. - -Arina Petrovna had not the slightest idea of how Simple Simon spent his -time. The casual glimmer of feeling which had appeared for a moment -during the conversation with the Bloodsucker vanished so precipitately -that she was unconscious of its ever having appeared. It was not a -premeditated course of action on her part, but sheer oblivion. She -completely forgot that in the counting-house, in close proximity to -her, there lived a human being bound to her by ties of blood, who -perhaps was pining away in the yearning for life. Once having cut out -a certain channel in life and filling it almost mechanically with -the same things, she thought others ought to do likewise, it never -occurring to her that the very character of the things life holds vary -among people according to a multitude of circumstances in different -combinations, and that these things may be dear to some, herself among -these some, while they are an abomination and a tyranny to others. - -Therefore when the bailiff repeatedly reported that "something was the -matter" with Stepan Vladimirych, the words slipped by her ears, leaving -no impression on her mind. Indeed, she scarcely ever even replied, and -when she did, then only with the stereotyped reply: - -"Oh, well, he'll be all right. I bet he'll outlive you and me. Nothing -is the matter with the shambling colt. Coughing, you say! Well, some -people cough thirty years on end and they don't feel it." - -Nevertheless, one morning when they came and told her that Stepan -Vladimirych had disappeared during the night, she was aroused. -Immediately she sent out all the available men in search of him, and -herself started an investigation beginning with the room in which -Stepan had lived. The first thing that struck her was a bottle standing -on the table, with a bit of vodka in it. - -"What's this?" she asked, pretending not to understand. - -"Why, I guess--the young master indulged," stammered the bailiff. - -"Who supplied----?" she began, flaring up. But she restrained herself, -and continued her investigation, hiding her rage. - -The room was so filthy that even she, who did not know and did not -recognize any demands of comfort, began to feel awkward. The ceiling -was smutty, the wall paper in many places was hanging in tatters, the -window-sills were black with a thick layer of tobacco ashes, pillows -were lying about on the floor beslimed with viscous mud, on the bed lay -a crumpled sheet, gray with accumulated dirt. In one window the winter -frame had been taken, or, rather, torn out, and the window itself was -left half open. Apparently it was through this opening that Simple -Simon had disappeared. Arina Petrovna instinctively looked out on the -road and became more frightened. It was already the first of November, -but the autumn that year had lasted long, and the cold spells had not -yet arrived. Both the road and the field were one black sea of mud. How -had he got away? Where had he gone to? Here it occurred to her that he -had nothing on but a dressing-gown and a slipper. The other slipper had -been found under the window. And the night before it had been pouring -ceaselessly. - -"It's a long, long time since I've been here," she said, inhaling -instead of air a foul mixture of vodka, tobacco and sheepskin -evaporations. - -All day long, while the servants were searching the forest, she stood -at the window staring dully out upon the naked fields unrolled before -her eyes. So much ado on account of Simple Simon! It seemed like a -preposterous dream. She had _said_ he ought to have been shipped off to -the Vologda village. "No," that cursed Yudushka had wheedled, "leave -him here, dearest mother, at Golovliovo." Now handle him, if you -please, Yudushka. - -"I wish he had lived there, out of my sight, as he pleased--Christ -be with him!" Arina Petrovna mused. "But I did my part. If he wasted -one good thing, well, I would throw him another. If he'd have wasted -the other, too, well, what could I do then? Even God can't fill a -bottomless belly. Everything would have been peaceful and quiet here. -But now--who knows what he has been up to? Go, look in the forest and -whistle for him. It would be good if he were brought home alive, but -with drunken eyes one is liable to run into a noose--take a rope, tie -it to a branch, put it round his neck, and no more Stiopka. His mother -denied herself sleep and food, and he has invented a new style--hanging -himself. There would be some excuse for him if he had had it hard -here. But goodness, what did he have to do but walk about in his -room all day and eat and drink? Another son would not have known how -to thank his mother enough. And how does this precious son repay his -mother? Goes and hangs himself. The idea!" - -Arina Petrovna's surmises about Simple Simon's violent death were not -justified. Toward evening he was brought back in a peasant wagon, still -alive. He was in a semi-conscious state, all bruised and cut, his face -blue and swollen. He had been found at the Dubrovino estate, twenty -miles away. - -The returned fugitive slept straight through the next twenty-four -hours. When he awoke, he stumbled to his feet and began to pace up and -down the room as was his habit, but he did not touch the pipe and made -no reply to the questions he was asked. Arina Petrovna's heart softened -so that on the spur of the moment she all but had him transferred -to the manor-house. Then she quieted down, and left him in the -counting-house, but gave orders for the room to be scoured and tidied -up, the bed linen changed, curtains hung, and so on. - -The following evening, when told that Stepan Vladimirych was awake, she -had him brought to the house for tea and found it possible, in talking -to him, to inject kindliness into her voice. - -"Why did you go away from your mother?" she began. "Do you know you -caused her great anxiety? It's good the news did not reach papa. It -would have been a terrible shock to the poor sick man." - -But Stepan seemed altogether indifferent to his mother's kindly words. -He kept staring at the candle with his glassy eyes, as if watching the -snuff forming on the wick. - -"My, my, aren't you a foolish boy?" continued Arina Petrovna, growing -kinder and kinder. "Just think what rumors will be spread about your -mother because of you. There are enough people who envy her. What will -they not say about her? They will say she did not give you food or -clothes. My, my, what a foolish boy you are!" - -There was the same silence and the same motionless staring glance. - -"Was your stay at mother's so bad? Thank God, you don't go hungry or -naked. What else do you want? If you are lonesome, don't fret. This -is nothing but a village, my boy. We have no entertainments or halls, -we sit in our nooks and we hardly know how to while away the time. I, -myself, would be glad to dance now and then or sing a song, but you -look out upon the road and you lose the desire to go even to church in -such weather." - -Arina Petrovna paused, hoping that Simple Simon would give utterance to -at least some sounds, but he was as dumb as a stone. She was beginning -to work up a temper, but restrained herself. - -"And if you were discontented with anything, if perhaps you lacked -food or linen, could you not explain it frankly to your mother? Could -you not say, 'Mamma, darling, won't you have some liver or curd-cakes -prepared for me?' Do you think your mother would have refused you? Or -if you wanted a drop of vodka, goodness, I wouldn't have begrudged you -a glass or two. To think of it, you were not ashamed to beg from a -serf, while it was difficult for you to say a word to your own mother." - -But her flattering words were of no avail. Simple Simon remained -impervious to either emotion (Arina Petrovna had hoped he would kiss -her hand) or repentance. In fact, he seemed to have heard nothing. - -From that time on he never spoke a single word. All day long he -walked up and down his room, his brows knit and his lips moving, -apparently never growing tired. At times he halted as if wishing to -say something, but he could not find the words. He had not lost the -capacity for thinking, but impressions left so slight a trace on his -brain that he could not hold them for any appreciable length of time. -Consequently his failure to find the necessary words did not even make -him impatient. Arina Petrovna, for her part, thought he would surely -set the house on fire. - -"He does not say a word all day long," she repeated. "Still he must be -thinking of something, the blockhead! I am sure he'll set the house on -fire one of these days." - -But the blockhead did not think of anything at all. He was deeply -immersed in absolute darkness, in which there was no room either for -reality or the illusory world of imagination. His brain did work, but -in a void, disconnected from either the past, the present, or the -future. It was as though he was completely wrapt up in a black cloud -and all he did was to scan it, to watch its imaginary fluctuations, -and, at times, to make a feeble attempt at resisting its sinister sway. -The whole physical and spiritual world dwindled down to that enigmatic -cloud. - -In December of the same year, Porfiry Vladimirych received the -following letter from his mother: - -"Yesterday morning God visited us with a new ordeal. My son and your -brother, Stepan, breathed his last. The very evening before he had been -quite well and even took his supper, but in the morning he was found -dead in bed. Such is the brevity of this earthly life! And what is most -grievous to a mother's heart is that he left this world of vanity for -the realm of the unknown without the last communion. - -"May this be a warning to us all. He who sets at naught the ties of -kinship must always await such an end. Failures in this life, untimely -death, and everlasting torments in the life to come, all these evils -spring from the one source. For, however learned and exalted we may -be, if we do not honor our parents, our learning and eminence will -be turned into nothingness. Such are the precepts which every one -inhabiting this world must commit to his mind. Besides, slaves should -revere their masters. - -"Notwithstanding this, all honors were duly given to him who had -departed into life eternal, as becomes my son. The pall was ordered -from Moscow, and the burial ceremonies were solemnly presided over by -the Father archimandrite. And according to the Christian custom, I am -having memorial services performed daily. I mourn the loss of my son, -but I do not complain, nor do I advise you, my children, to do so. For -who knows? We may be mourning and complaining here while his soul may -be rejoicing in Heaven." - - - - -BOOK II - -AS BECOMES GOOD KINSFOLK - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -A hot midday in July; the Dubrovino manor-house all deserted. Workers -and idlers alike resting in the shade. Under the canopy of a huge -willow-tree in the front yard the dogs, too, were lying stretched out, -and you could hear the sound of their jaws when they drowsily snapped -at the flies. Even the trees drooped motionless, as if exhausted. All -the windows in the manor-house and the servants' quarters were flung -wide open. The heat seemed to surge in sweltering waves and the soil -covered with short, singed grass was ablaze. The atmosphere was a -blinding haze touched into gold, so that one could scarcely distinguish -things in the distance. The manor-house, once painted gray and now -faded into white, the small flower garden in front of the house, the -birch grove, separated from the farm by the road, the pond, the village -and the corn field, which touched the outskirts of the village, all -were immersed in the dazzling torrent. The fragrance of blossoming -linden trees mingled with the noxious emanations of the cattle shed. -There was not a breath of air, not a sound. Only from the kitchen -there came the grating of knives being sharpened, which foretold the -inevitable hash and beef cutlets for dinner. - -Inside the house reigned noiseless confusion. An old lady and two young -girls were sitting in the dining room, forgetful of their crocheting, -which lay on the table. They were waiting with intense anxiety. In -the maids' room two women were busied preparing mustard plasters -and poultices, and the rhythmic tinkling of the spoons pierced the -silence like the chirping of a cricket. Barefooted girls were stealing -silently along the corridor, scurrying back and forth from the entresol -to the maids' room. At times a voice was heard from upstairs: "What -about the mustard plasters? Are you asleep there?" And a girl would -dash out of the maids' room. At last heavy footsteps sounded on the -staircase, and the regimental surgeon entered the dining room, a tall, -broad-shouldered man, with firm, ruddy cheeks, the picture of health. -His voice was sonorous, his gait steady, his eyes clear, gay and -frank, his lips full and fresh. In spite of his fifty years he was a -thoroughly fast liver and expected to see many years pass before he -would give up drinking and carousing. He wore a showy summer suit, and -his spotless pique coat was trimmed with white buttons bearing arms. On -entering he made a clicking sound with his lips and tongue. - -"Girls!" he shouted merrily, standing on the threshold. "Bring us some -vodka and something to eat." - -"Well, doctor, how is he?" the old lady asked, her voice full of -anxiety. - -"The Lord's mercy is infinite, Arina Petrovna," answered the physician. - -"What do you mean? Then he----" - -"Just so. He will last another two or three days, and then--good-bye!" -The doctor made an expressive gesture with his hand and hummed: "Head -over heels, head over heels he will fall." - -"How's that? Doctors treated him--and now all of a sudden----" - -"What doctors?" - -"The _zemstvo_ doctor and one from the town used to come here." - -"Fine doctors! If they'd given him a good bleeding, they'd have saved -him." - -"So nothing at all can be done?" - -"Well, I said, 'The Lord's mercy is great,' and I can add nothing to -that." - -"But perhaps it will work?" - -"What will work?" - -"I mean--the mustard plasters." - -"Perhaps." - -A woman in a black dress and black shawl brought in a tray holding a -decanter of vodka, a dish of sausages and a dish of caviar. The doctor -helped himself to the vodka, held the glass to the light and smacked -his tongue. - -"Your health, mother," he said to the old lady, and gulped the liquid. - -"Drink in good health, my dear sir." - -"This is the cause of Pavel Vladimirych dying in the prime of his life, -this vodka," said the doctor, grimacing comfortably and spearing a -piece of sausage with his fork. - -"Yes, it's the ruin of many a man." - -"That's because not everyone can stand it. But I can, and I shall have -another glass. Your health, madam." - -"Drink, drink. Nothing can happen to you." - -"Nothing. My lungs and kidneys and liver and spleen are in excellent -condition. By the way," he turned to the woman in black who stood at -the door, listening to the conversation, "What will you have for dinner -to-day?" - -"Hash and beef cutlets and chicken for roast," she answered, smiling -somewhat sourly. - -"Have you any smoked fish?" - -"We have, sir. We have white sturgeon and stellated sturgeon, plenty of -it." - -"Then have a cold soup with sturgeon for our dinner, and pick out a fat -bit of sturgeon, you hear me? What is your name? Ulita?" - -"Yes, sir, people call me Ulita." - -"Well, then, hurry up, friend Ulita, hurry up." - -Ulita left the room, and for a while oppressive silence reigned. -Then Arina Petrovna rose from her seat and made sure Ulita was not -eavesdropping. - -"Andrey Osipych, have you spoken to him yet about the orphans?" she -asked the doctor. - -"Yes, I did." - -"Well?" - -"There was no change. 'When I get well' he kept on saying, 'I will make -my will and write the notes.'" - -Silence, heavier than before, filled the room. The girls took the -crocheting from the table, and their trembling hands worked one row -after the other. Arina Petrovna heaved a deep sigh of dejection. The -doctor paced up and down the room and whistled, "Head over heels, head -over heels." - -"But did you try to drive the matter home to him, doctor?" - -"Well, I said to him: 'You'll be a scoundrel if you don't make a -definite provision for the orphans.' Could I make it clearer? Yes, -mother, you certainly slipped up. If you had called me in a month ago, -I would have given him a good bleeding and I would have seen to it that -he made his will. But now everything will go to Yudushka, the lawful -heir. It certainly will." - -"Oh, grandmother, what will become of us?" said the older of the two -girls, plaintively and almost in tears. "What is uncle doing to us?" - -The girls were Anninka and Lubinka, the daughters of Anna Vladimirovna -Ulanova, to whom Arina Petrovna had once "thrown a bone." - -"I don't know, dear, I don't know. I don't even know what will become -of me. Today I am here, and tomorrow God knows where I'll be. Maybe -I'll have to sleep in a shed or at a peasant's." - -"Goodness, isn't uncle silly!" exclaimed the younger girl. - -"I wish, young lady, you would keep your mouth shut," remarked the -doctor. Turning to Arina Petrovna, he suggested, "Why not try to talk -to him yourself, mother?" - -"No, no. There's no use my talking to him. He doesn't even want to see -me. The other day I stuck my nose into his room, and he snarled, 'Have -you come to see me off to the other world?'" - -"I think Ulita is back of it all. She incites him against you." - -"She surely does, nobody but she. And then she reports everything to -Porfiry the Bloodsucker. People say he keeps a pair of horses harnessed -all day waiting for the beginning of the agony. And just imagine, the -other day Ulita went so far as to take an inventory of the furniture, -wardrobe, and dishes, so that nothing should be lost, as she said. We -are the thieves, just imagine it." - -"Why don't you treat her more severely? Head over heels, you know, head -over heels." - -But fate decreed that the doctor should not develop his thought. A -girl, all out of breath, dashed into the room and exclaimed in a fright: - -"The master! The master wants the doctor." - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Not more than ten years had passed since the death of Simple Simon, -but the condition of the various members of the Golovliov family had -so completely changed that not a trace remained of those artificial -ties which had given the family the air of an impregnable stronghold. -This stronghold, erected by the tireless hands of Arina Petrovna, had -crumbled away, but so imperceptibly that she herself was ignorant of -how it had happened, was even involved in the destruction, the leading -spirit in which, of course, had been Porfiry the Bloodsucker. - -From an irresponsible, hot-tempered ruler over the Golovliovo estate, -Arina Petrovna had descended into a mere hanger-on in the home of -her younger son, a useless hanger-on, with no voice in the household -management. Her head was bowed, her back bent, the fire in her eyes had -died out, her gait was languid, the vivacity of her movements was gone. -She had taken to knitting to occupy her idleness, but her mind was -always wandering somewhere away from her needles, and the knitting was -a failure. She would knit for a few moments, then her hands would drop -of themselves, her head would fall on the back of her chair, and she -would begin to go over bygones in her mind, until she got drowsy and -dropped off into a senile slumber. Or else she would get up and begin -to pace the rooms, always searching for something; always looking into -corners, like a good housewife hunting for her keys, which she usually -carries about with her and has now misplaced somehow. - -The first blow to her authority was not so much the abolition of -serfdom as the preparations preceding it. At first, there were simply -rumors, then came the meetings of landowners and addresses, next -followed provincial committees, and revising commissions. All these -things exhausted and confused her. Arina Petrovna's imagination, -active enough without additional stimuli, conceived numerous absurd -situations. "How am I going to call Agashka?" she'd think. "Perhaps -I'll have to tack a 'Miss' before her name." Or she would see herself -walking about in the empty rooms while the servants were taking it -easy in their quarters and were gorging themselves with all kinds of -food; and when they got tired of gorging she saw them throwing the -remnants under the table. Then she would find herself surprising Yulka -and Feshka in the cellar, devouring everything in sight, like beasts, -and she would itch to reprimand them, but would have to check herself -with the thought, "How dare one say anything to them, now that they are -free? Why one can't even appeal to the court against them!" - -However insignificant such trifles may be, a whole fantastic world is -built up of them, which holds you tight and completely paralyzes your -activity. Arina Petrovna somehow suddenly let the reins of government -slip out of her grasp, and for a space of two years did nothing from -morning until night except complain. - -"One or the other," she was fond of saying, "gains all or loses all. -But these meetings and addresses and commissions, they're nothing but -trouble." - -At that time, just when the committees were in full swing, Vladimir -Mikhailych died. On his deathbed he repudiated Barkov and his -teachings, and died appeased and reconciled to the world. His last -words were: - -"I thank my God that He did not suffer me to come into His presence on -an equal footing with the serfs." - -These words made a deep impression on his wife's receptive soul, so -that both his death and her fantastic notions about the future laid a -coloring of gloom and despair on the atmosphere of the house. It seemed -as if both the old manor and its inhabitants were getting ready for -death. - -From a few complaints that found their way into the letters of Arina -Petrovna, Porfiry Vladimirych's amazingly keen perceptions sensed the -confusion that possessed her mind. Not that Arina Petrovna actually -sermonized and moralized in her letters, but above all, she trusted -in God's help, "which in these faithless times does not abandon even -slaves, far less those who because of their means were the surest prop -and ornament of the church." Yudushka instinctively understood that if -mother dear began to put her hope in God, then there was some flaw in -the fabric of her existence. And he took advantage of the flaw with his -peculiar, subtle skill. - -Almost at the very end of the preliminaries to the emancipation, he -visited Golovliovo quite unexpectedly and found Arina Petrovna sunk -into despondency, almost to a point of prostration. - -"Well, what news? What do they say in St. Petersburg?" was her first -question, after mutual greetings had been exchanged. - -Porfiry cast down his eyes and sat speechless. - -"No, you must consider my circumstances," continued Arina Petrovna, -gathering from her son's silence that good news was not to be expected. -"Right now in the maids' room I have about thirty of these creatures. -What shall I do with them? If they remain in my care, what am I going -to feed them on? At present I have a little cabbage, a little potatoes, -some bread, enough of everything; and we manage somehow to make both -ends meet. If the potatoes give out, I order cabbage to be cooked; if -there is no cabbage, cucumbers have to do. But now, if I have to run to -market for everything and pay for everything, and buy and serve, how am -I ever to provide for such a crowd?" - -Porfiry gazed into the eyes of his "mother dear" and smiled bitterly as -a sign of sympathy. - -"And then, if the government is going to turn them loose, give them -absolute leeway--well, then, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know -what it will come to." - -Porfiry smiled as if there were something very funny in "what it was -coming to." - -"Don't you laugh. It is a serious matter, so serious that if only the -Lord grants them a little more reason, only then--Here's my case, for -instance. I am by no means an old rag, am I? I must have my bread and -butter, too, mustn't I? How am I to go about getting it? Think of the -bringing-up we received. The only thing we know is how to dance and -sing and receive guests. Then how am I going to get along without those -wretches, I'd like to know. I can't serve meals or cook. I can't do a -thing." - -"God is merciful, mother dear." - -"He used to be, but not now. When we were good, the Almighty was -merciful to us; when we became wicked, well, we mustn't complain. I'm -beginning to think that the best thing for me is to throw everything to -the dogs. Really, I'll build myself a little hut right next to father's -grave, and that's where I'll spend the rest of my days." - -Porfiry Vladimirych pricked up his ears. His mouth began to water. - -"And who will manage the estates?" he questioned, carefully throwing -his bait, as it were. - -"Why, you boys will have to manage them yourselves. Thank God, I have -provided plenty. I ought not carry the whole burden alone." - -Arina Petrovna suddenly stopped and raised her head. Her eyes fell -on Yudushka's simpering, drivelling, oily face, all suffused with a -carnivorous inner glow. - -"You seem to be getting ready to bury me," remarked Arina Petrovna -drily. "Isn't it a bit too early, darling? Look out, don't make a -mistake." - -Thus the matter ended in nothing definite. But there are discussions -which, once begun, never really come to an end. A few hours later Arina -Petrovna renewed the conversation. - -"I'll leave for the Trinity Monastery," she dreamed aloud. "I'll divide -up the estate, buy a little cottage on the grounds and settle there." - -But Porfiry Vladimirych, taught by past experience, remained silent -this time. - -"Last year, while your deceased father was still alive," continued -Arina Petrovna, "I was sitting alone in my bedroom and suddenly I -thought I heard someone whispering in my ear: 'Go to the Trinity -Monastery. Go to the Trinity.' Three times, mind you. I turned -about--there was nobody in the room. Well, then, I thought that must -have been a sign for me. 'Well,' I said, 'if God is pleased with my -faith, I am ready.' No sooner had I said that than suddenly the room -was filled with such a wonderful fragrance. Of course I immediately -ordered my things packed and by evening I was on my way." - -Tears rose in Arina Petrovna's eyes. Yudushka took advantage of this to -kiss his mother's hand, and even made free to put his arm around her -waist. - -"Now you are a good girl," he said. "Ah, how good it is, darling, when -one lives in peace with God. You come to God with a prayer, and the -Lord meets you with help. That's how it is, mother dear." - -"Wait a minute, I haven't finished. Next day, in the evening I arrived -at the monastery and went straight to the saint's chapel. Evening -service was being held, the choir was singing, candles were burning, -fragrance was wafted from the censers. I simply did not know where I -was--on earth or in Heaven. I went from the service to Father Yon, -and I said to him: 'Well, your Reverence, it was mighty good today at -church.' 'No wonder, madam,' he said, 'Father Avvakum had a vision -today at the evening service. He had just raised his arms to begin -praying when he beheld a light in the cupola and a dove looking down at -him.' Well, from that time, I came to the conclusion, sooner or later -my last days will be spent at Trinity Monastery." - -"And who will take care of us? Who will have your children's welfare at -heart? Ah, mamma, mamma!" - -"Well, you're not babies any longer, and you'll be able to look after -yourselves. As for me, I'll go to the monastery with Annushka's orphans -and live under the saint's wing. Perhaps the desire will awaken in -one of the girls to serve God. Well, then, the convent is right at -hand. I'll buy myself a little house, plant a little garden, potatoes, -cabbage--there'll be enough of everything for me." - -Such idle talk continued for several days, Arina Petrovna making the -boldest plans, withdrawing them and remaking them, and then finally -carrying the matter so far that she could not withdraw again. Within -half a year after Yudushka's visit this was the situation: Arina -Petrovna not at the monastery, nor in a little house built near her -husband's grave. Instead of that she had divided the estate, leaving -only the capital for herself. Porfiry Vladimirych received the better -part and Pavel Vladimirych the worse part. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Arina Petrovna remained at Golovliovo. This gave rise, of course, to -a domestic comedy. Yudushka shed tears and succeeded in inducing his -mother dear to manage his household without accountability to him, to -receive the income and to use it at her discretion. "And, dearest, -whatever portion of the income you give me," he added, "I shall be -satisfied with it." Pavel, on the other hand, thanked his mother coldly -("as if he wanted to bite me," were her words), immediately retired -from service ("just so, without his mother's blessing, like a madman, -he escaped to freedom") and settled down at Dubrovino. - -From that time on, Arina Petrovna's judgment became somewhat dimmed. -The image of Porfishka the Bloodsucker, whom she had once sized up so -shrewdly, now went, as it were, behind a fog. She seemed no longer to -understand anything except that, despite the division of the estate and -the emancipation of the peasants, she still lived at Golovliovo and -still owed no account to anyone. Here, at her side, lived another son, -but what a difference! While Porfisha had entrusted both himself and -his household into his mother's care, Pavel not only never consulted -her about anything, but even spoke to her through his teeth. - -And as her mind became more clouded, her heart warmed more to her -gentle son. Porfiry Vladimirych asked nothing of her. She herself -anticipated his desires. Little by little she became dissatisfied with -the shape of the Golovliovo property. At such and such a place, a -stranger's land jutted into it--it would be well to buy up that piece -of land. In such and such a place it would be fine to have a separate -farm, but there was too little meadow. And here, right next to it, -was a meadow for sale, ah, a fine bit of meadow. Arina Petrovna's -enthusiasm was that of a mother and a woman of affairs who wants her -affectionate son to view her capabilities in all their glory. But -Porfiry Vladimirych withdrew into his shell, impervious to all her -suggestions. In vain did Arina Petrovna tempt him with bargains. To all -her propositions for acquiring a piece of woodland or meadowland, he -invariably answered: "Dear mother, I am perfectly satisfied with what -you granted me in your kindness." - -These answers only spurred Arina Petrovna on. Carried away by her -household zeal, and also by indignation against the "scoundrel -Pavlusha," who lived beside her but refused to have anything to do -with her, Arina Petrovna lost sight of her actual relationship to the -estate. Her former fever for acquiring possessed her with renewed -strength, though now it was no longer aggrandizement for her own sake -but for the sake of her beloved son. The Golovliovo estate grew, -rounded out, and flourished. - -And at the very moment when Arina Petrovna's capital had dwindled -to a point at which it was almost impossible for her to live on the -interest, Yudushka sent her a most respectful letter along with an -enormous package of blank forms, which were to guide her in the future -in the making out of the annual balance sheet. Beside the principal -items of the household expenses were listed raspberries, gooseberries, -mushrooms, etc. There was a special account for every item, on the -following plan: - - -Number of raspberry bushes, year 18--, - - - - - - - - pounds -" " bushes planted this year - - - - - - - - - - " -Quantity of berries picked - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " - Out of this total you, mother dear, used for - yourself - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " -Preserves used, or to be used, in the household of - His Excellency Porfiry Vladimirych Golovliov - - - - " -Given to boy in reward for good behavior - - - - - - - " -Sold to the common people for a tidbit - - - - - - - - " -Decayed because of absence of buyers and for -other reasons - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " ------- - NOTE.--In case the crop in the year in which the account is -taken is less than that of the previous year, the reasons therefor, -like drought, rain, hail, and so forth, should be indicated. - - -Arina Petrovna fairly groaned. First of all, she was shocked at -Yudushka's avarice. She had never heard of berries forming an item in -the account of an estate, and he seemed to emphasize that item most. -Secondly, she fully realized that the blanks were a constitution -limiting her power hitherto autocratic. - -After a long controversial correspondence between them, Arina Petrovna, -humiliated and indignant, moved to Dubrovino, and Porfiry Vladimirych -subsequently retired from office and settled at Golovliovo. - -From that time on the old woman spent many wretched days in enforced -idleness. Pavel Vladimirych was particularly offensive in his treatment -of his mother. He received her in what he thought was quite a decent -manner, that is, he promised to provide food and drink for both her -and his orphan nieces, on two conditions, however, first, they were -not to enter the entresol which he occupied; secondly, they were not -to interfere in the management of the household. The second condition -was particularly galling to Arina Petrovna. The management of the house -was in the hands of the housekeeper Ulita, a viperous woman who had -been found in secret communication with Yudushka and Kirushka, the late -master's butler, a man who knew nothing about farming and whom Pavel -Vladimirych almost feared. Both of them stole relentlessly. How often -did Arina Petrovna's heart ache when she saw the house being ransacked; -how she did long to warn her son and open his eyes to the theft of -tea, sugar, butter! Loads of things were wasted, and Ulita, not in the -least shamed by the presence of the old mistress, repeatedly hid whole -handfuls of sugar in her pocket right before her eyes. Arina Petrovna -saw it all, but was forced to remain a silent witness to the plunder. -No sooner would she open her mouth to make some remark, than Pavel -Vladimirych would instantly check her, saying: - -"Mother, there should be only one person to manage a house. I'm not -alone in that opinion, everybody says so. I know my orders are foolish. -Never mind, let them be foolish. Your orders are wise. Let them be -wise. Wise you are, very wise, still Yudushka left you without house or -home, to shift for yourself." - -The last straw was the awful discovery that Pavel Vladimirych drank. -The craving had come from the loneliness of life in the country and had -crept upon him stealthily, until finally it possessed him completely, -and he was a doomed man. When his mother first came to live in the -house, he seemed to have some scruples about drinking. He would come -down from the entresol and talk to his mother quite often. She noticed -that his speech was strangely incoherent but for a long time attributed -it to his stupidity. She did not enjoy his visits. The chats with him -oppressed her extremely. In fact he always seemed to be grumbling -foolishly. Either there had been a drought for many weeks, or an -overwhelming downpour of rain, or tree beetles had overrun the garden -and ruined the trees, or moles had made their appearance and dug up -the whole field. All this afforded an endless source for grumbling. He -would come down from the entresol, seat himself opposite his mother and -begin: - -"There are clouds all around. Is Golovliovo far from here? The -Bloodsucker had a shower yesterday and we don't get a single drop. The -clouds wander about, all around here. If there were only a drop of rain -for us!" - -Or else he would say: - -"Have you ever seen such a flood? The rye has just begun to flower and -it comes pouring down. Half of the hay is rotten already, and the rain -still spouts and spurts. Is Golovliovo far from here? The Bloodsucker -has long since gathered in his crops, and here we're stuck. We'll have -to feed our cattle on rotten hay this winter." - -Arina Petrovna listened in silence to his stupid complaints, but at -times her patience gave way and she said: - -"Well, keep on sitting there with your arms folded." - -Instantly Pavel Vladimirych would flare up. - -"What would you advise me to do? Transfer the rain to Golovliovo?" - -"I'm not talking about the rain, but in general." - -"No 'in general,' please. Why don't you tell me straight out what you -think I should do? Shall I change the climate? There's Golovliovo. When -Golovliovo needs rain, it rains. When Golovliovo doesn't need rain, -then it doesn't rain. And everything grows there, while here, the very -opposite. Well, we'll see what you'll have to say when there isn't -anything to eat." - -"Then such will be the Lord's will." - -"All right, then such will be the Lord's will. But you say 'in general' -as if that were an explanation." - -Sometimes Pavel even found his property a burden. - -"Why in the world did I get the Dubrovino estate?" he would complain. -"What good is it?" - -"What's the matter with Dubrovino? The soil is good, there's plenty of -everything. What's got into your head of a sudden?" - -"This, that nowadays there's no use having any estate. Money, that's -the thing. You take your money, put it in your pocket and off you go. -But real estate----" - -"What sort of an age have we come to when there's no use owning real -estate?" - -"Yes, this is a peculiar age. You don't read the newspapers, but I do. -Nowadays the lawyers are everywhere--you can imagine the rest. If a -lawyer finds out that you have real estate, then he begins to circle -around you." - -"Well, how is he going to get at you when you have the proper deeds to -the property?" - -"Deeds or no deeds, they'll get you. Porfiry the Bloodsucker may hire a -lawyer and serve me with summons after summons." - -"What are you talking about! We're not living in a lawless country." - -"That's just why they serve summonses on you. If the country were -lawless, they would take it away without a summons. There's my friend -Gorlopiatov, for instance. His uncle died and he, fool that he was, -up and accepted the inheritance. The inheritance proved worthless, -but the debts figured up to the thousands, the bills of exchange were -all false. Now they've been suing him for three years on end. First, -they took his uncle's estate. Then they even sold his own property at -auction. That's what real estate is." - -"Can there possibly be a law like that?" - -"If there were no such law, they couldn't have sold it. There's a law -for everything. A man without a conscience finds a law to back him in -everything. But there are no laws for a man with a conscience. Try and -look for them in the books." - -Arina Petrovna always let Pavel have his way in these controversies. -Many a time she could hardly refrain from shouting, "Out of my sight, -you scoundrel." But she would think it over and keep silent. Sometimes -she would only murmur to herself: - -"Goodness, whom do these monsters take after? One is a bloodsucker, the -other is a lunatic. What did I hoard and save for? For what did I deny -myself sleep and food? For whom did I do all that?" - -The more completely drink took possession of Pavel Vladimirych, the -more fantastic and annoying his conversations became. Finally Arina -Petrovna noticed there was something wrong. A whole flask of vodka -would be put away in the dining-room cupboard in the morning, and by -dinner time there wouldn't be a drop left. Or she would be sitting in -the parlor and would hear a mysterious creaking in the dining-room -near the cupboard. She would call out, "Who's there?" and would hear -footsteps quickly but carefully withdrawing toward the entresol. - -"Goodness, can it be that he drinks?" she once asked Ulita. - -"I shouldn't deny it," answered the latter, with a vicious grin. - -When Pavel Vladimirych saw that his mother had discovered the truth, he -lost all restraint. One morning Arina Petrovna found the cupboard had -disappeared from the dining-room, and when she asked where it had gone -to, Ulita told her she had been ordered to carry it to the entresol, -because it would be more comfortable for the master to drink there. - -In the entresol, the decanters of vodka followed one after the other -with amazing rapidity. Shut up alone by himself, Pavel Vladimirych -began to hate human society. He created a peculiar fantastic reality -for himself, spinning out a long-winded nonsensical romance, in -which the main heroes were himself and the Bloodsucker. He was not -fully conscious of how, deeply rooted his hatred for Porfiry was. -It gnawed at his bones and entrails every minute of his life. The -loathed image of his brother stood lifelike before his eyes, and -Yudushka's lachrymose, hypocritical twaddle rang in his ears. In his -talk there lurked a cold, almost abstract hatred of every living thing -that did not conform to the traditional code laid down by hypocrisy. -Pavel Vladimirych drank and recalled memories, all the insults and -humiliations he had had to suffer because of Yudushka's claims to -supremacy in the house; the division of the estate in particular; how -he had calculated every kopek and compared every scrap of land. Oh, -how he detested him! Entire dramas were enacted in his imagination, -heated by alcohol. In these dramas he avenged every offense that he had -sustained, and not Yudushka but he himself was always the aggressor. He -saw himself the winner of two hundred thousand, and informed Yudushka -of his good luck in a long scene, making his brother's face writhe with -envy. At other times he imagined his grandfather had died and left a -million to him, while nothing at all to Porfiry. He also discovered a -means of becoming invisible and when unseen he played wicked tricks on -Porfiry to make him groan in agony. His genius for inventing tricks -was inexhaustible, and for a long time his idiotic laughter would ring -through the entresol, much to the delight of Ulita, who would hurry to -inform Porfiry Vladimirych of his brother's doings. - -He detested Yudushka and at the same time had a superstitious fear of -him. He imagined his eyes discharged a venom of magic effect, that -his voice crept, snake-like, into the soul and paralyzed the will. He -absolutely refused to meet him, and when the Bloodsucker occasionally -visited Dubrovino to kiss the hand of his mother dear, Pavel -Vladimirych would lock himself into the entresol and remain imprisoned -there until he left. - -So the days passed until Pavel Vladimirych found himself face to face -with a deadly malady. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -The doctor stayed at the house overnight merely for the sake of form, -and departed for the city early the next day. On taking leave he said -frankly that the patient had no more than two days to live, and it -was already too late to talk about any "arrangements" since Pavel -Vladimirych could not even sign his name properly. - -"He'll sign the document wrong and then you will have a lawsuit on your -hands," he added. "Of course, Yudushka respects his mother very highly, -but, at that, he'll commence proceedings to prove fraud, and should -'mother dear' be sent to distant regions, the only thing he'll do is to -have a mass said for the welfare of the travellers." - -All morning Arina Petrovna walked about as if in a dream. She tried to -say her prayers. Perhaps God would suggest something, but prayers would -not enter her head. Even her tongue refused to obey. There was utter -confusion in her mind. Fragments of prayers mingled with incoherent -thoughts and vague impressions. - -Finally she sat down and sobbed. The tears flowed from her dull eyes -over her aged shrivelled cheeks, lingered in the hollows of her -wrinkles, and dribbled down on the greasy collar of her old calico -waist. Her tears spoke of bitterness, despair, and feeble, but stubborn -resistance. Her age, her senile ailments, and the hopelessness of -the situation, all seemed to point to death as the only way out. At -the same time memories of the past intervened, memories of a life of -power, prosperity and unrestrained freedom, and these reminiscences -plunged their sting into her soul, dragging her down to earth. "To -die!" passed through her mind, but the thought was instantly supplanted -by a dogged desire to live. She recalled neither Yudushka nor her dying -son. It was as if both had ceased to exist for her. She thought of no -one, was indignant at no one, accused no one, even forgot whether she -had any capital or no and whether it was sufficient to provide for her -old age. A deadly anguish seized her entire being. Her tears had come -from a deep source. Drop by drop they had been accumulating since the -moment when she left Golovliovo and settled at Dubrovino. She was quite -prepared for everything that awaited her. She had expected and foreseen -everything, but somehow it had never come to her with such vividness -that her fears would be realized. And now this very end had arrived, -an end full of anguish and hopeless lonesomeness. All her life long -she had been busy building up, she had worn herself to the bone for -something, and now she felt as if she had wasted her life on a phantom. -All her life the word "family" had never left her lips. In the name -of "family" she had punished some and rewarded others. In the name of -"family" she had subjected herself to privations, torments, she had -crippled her whole life; and suddenly she discovered that "family" was -exactly what she did not have. - -"Good Lord! Can it possibly be the same everywhere?" was the thought -that kept revolving in her mind. - -She sat with her head resting on her hand and her face soaked with -tears turned to the rising sun, as if to bid it, "Look!" She neither -groaned nor cursed. She simply sobbed as if choked by her tears. At the -same time the thought seared her soul, "There is no one! No one! No -one!" - -But now her eyes were drained of tears. She washed her face and -wandered without purpose into the dining-room. Here she was assailed by -the girls with new complaints which seemed at this time particularly -importunate. - -"What is going to come of it, grandma? Is it possible that we shall be -left just so, without anything?" grumbled Anninka. - -"How silly uncle is," Lubinka chimed in. - -About midday, Arina Petrovna decided to go to her dying son. Stepping -softly she climbed the stairs and groped in the dark till she found the -door leading into the rooms. The entresol was buried in deepest gloom. -The windows were darkened by green shades, through which the light -could scarcely filter. A sickening mixture of odors pervaded the room, -which had not been ventilated for a long while. There was the smell of -berries, plaster, oil from the image-lamp, and those peculiar odors -which bespeak the presence of sickness and death. There were only two -rooms. In the first one sat Ulita, cleaning berries. The flies swarmed -about the heap of gooseberries and impudently attacked her nose and -lips, and she would keep driving them off in exasperation. Through the -half-closed door of the adjoining room came the sound of incessant -coughing which every now and then ended in painful expectoration. Arina -Petrovna stopped in an uncertain pose, searching the gloom and waiting -for the course of action that Ulita would take in view of her arrival. -But Ulita never moved an eyelash, entirely confident that every attempt -to influence the sick man would be fruitless. Her lips merely twitched -in resentment, and Arina Petrovna heard the word "hag" pronounced under -her breath. - -"You had better go down, my dear," said Arina Petrovna, turning to -Ulita. - -"Where did you get that idea from?" snapped the latter. - -"I have to talk to Pavel Vladimirych. Go down." - -"Excuse me, madam, how can I leave the master? What if something should -happen? There's no one to serve him and attend to him." - -"What's the matter?" a hollow voice called from the bedroom. - -"Order Ulita to go downstairs, my friend. I have matters to talk over -with you." - -This time Arina Petrovna pressed her point so persistently that she was -victorious. She crossed herself and entered the room. The patient's -bed stood near the inner wall far from the window. He lay on his back, -covered with a white blanket, smoking a cigarette, though almost half -unconscious. Notwithstanding the smoke, the flies pestered him with -peculiar persistence, so that he had continually to pass his hand over -his face. His arms were so weak, so bare of muscle, that they showed -the bones, of almost equal thickness from wrist to shoulder, in clear -outline. His head nestled despondently in the pillow. His whole body -and face burned in a dry fever. His large round eyes were sunken and -gazed aimlessly about, as if looking for something. The lines of his -nose had grown longer and sharper. His mouth was half open. He had -stopped coughing, but he breathed with such difficulty that it seemed -as if all his vital energy were concentrated in his chest. - -"Well, how do you feel to-day?" asked Arina Petrovna, sinking into the -armchair at his feet. - -"So--so--to-morrow--that is, to-day--when was the doctor here?" - -"He was here to-day." - -"Well, then, to-morrow----" - -The patient fumbled as if struggling to recall a word. - -"You'll be able to get up?" prompted Arina Petrovna. "God grant it, my -friend, God grant it." - -They both remained silent for a moment. Arina Petrovna found it very -difficult to open a conversation when she was face to face with Pavel -Vladimirych. - -"Yudushka--is he alive?" finally asked the sick man himself. - -"Nothing is the matter with him. He lives and prospers." - -"I bet he is thinking, 'Now brother Pavel is going to die--and with -God's help the estate will come to me.'" - -"We'll all die, some day--and after every one of us, the estates will -go to the lawful heirs." - -"Only not to the Bloodsucker! I'll throw it to the dogs, but he shan't -have it." - -The situation was turning out excellently. Pavel Vladimirych himself -was leading the conversation. Arina Petrovna did not fail to take -advantage of the opportunity. - -"You ought to consider that, my friend," she said, as if by the way, -not looking at her son and examining the color of her hands as if they -were the main object of her interest. - -"What do you mean by 'that'?" - -"Well, I mean, if you don't wish that the estate should go to your -brother." - -The patient was silent. Only his eyes widened unnaturally and his face -flushed more and more. - -"And also, my friend, you ought to take into consideration the fact -that you have orphaned nieces--and what sort of capital have they? Then -there is your mother," continued Arina Petrovna. - -"You've managed to give everything away to Yudushka!" - -"Whatever may have happened, I know that I myself am to blame. But it -wasn't such a crime after all. I thought 'he is my son.' At any rate, -it isn't kind of you to remember that against your mother." - -Silence followed. - -"Well, why don't you say something?" - -"And how soon do you expect to bury me?" - -"Oh, don't talk like that. All Christians----Everybody doesn't die -right away, still in general----" - -"There you go--'in general!' Always your 'in general!' You think I -don't see." - -"See what, my boy?" - -"I see you take me for a fool. Well, if I am a fool, let me remain a -fool. Why do you come to a fool? Don't come, don't worry about me." - -"I'm not worrying. But in general there is a term set to everybody's -life." - -"Then wait for my term." - -Arina Petrovna lowered her head and meditated. She saw clearly that her -case was almost a failure, but she was so tortured that nothing could -convince her of the fruitlessness of further attempts to influence her -son. - -"I don't know why you hate me," she declared finally. - -"Not at all--on the contrary I--not at all. In fact I--why, the -idea--you brought us all up--so impartially." - -He spoke in jerks and gasps. A broken yet triumphant laugh made its way -into his voice. His eyes sparkled. His shoulders and legs quivered. - -"Perhaps I have really sinned against you, then for Christ's sake -forgive me." - -Arina Petrovna rose and bowed till her hand touched the floor. Pavel -Vladimirych shut his eyes without replying. - -"Suppose we let the question of the estate alone. You couldn't make -any arrangement in your present condition. Porfiry is the lawful heir. -Well, let the real estate go to him. But what about your personal -property and capital?" Arina Petrovna ventured to state her point -directly. - -Pavel Vladimirych shuddered, but remained silent. It is very possible -that at the word "capital" he gave no thought whatsoever to his -mother's insinuations, but simply mused: "September is here already. I -have to collect the interest." - -"If you think I desire your death, you're very much mistaken, my -child. If you would only live I should not need to complain in my old -age. What have I to grumble about? I have food and shelter here, and -should I want a little additional pleasure, I can get it. I merely -wish to call your attention to the fact that there is a custom among -Christians, according to which, in expectation of the life to come, -we----" - -Arina Petrovna paused, searching for a suitable word. - -"We provide for the future of those related to us," she concluded, -looking out of the window. - -Pavel Vladimirych lay motionless, coughing softly. He did not betray -by a single movement whether or not he was listening. Apparently his -mother was boring him. - -"The capital may go from hand to hand during life," said Arina -Petrovna, as though passing a trivial remark and resuming the -inspection of her hands. - -The patient shuddered slightly, but Arina Petrovna did not notice it -and continued: - -"The law, my friend, expressly permits the free transfer of capital. -Money is something one acquires. Yesterday you had it. To-day it is -gone. And nobody can call you to account for it. You can give it to -whomever you choose." - -Pavel Vladimirych suddenly laughed viciously. - -"You probably remember the story about Polochkin," he hissed. "He gave -his capital to his wife 'from hand to hand' and she ran off with her -lover." - -"You may rest assured, my child, I have no lover." - -"Then you'll run off without a lover--with the money." - -"How well you understand my motives!" - -"I don't understand you at all. You gave me the reputation of a fool. -Well, I _am_ a fool. Let me be a fool. What wonderful tricks they have -invented--to pass my money from hand to hand! And where do I come in? I -suppose you'll order me to go to a monastery for my salvation, and from -there watch how you manage my money?" - -He shot these words out in a volley, in a voice full of hatred and -indignation. Then he broke down completely and burst into a fit of -coughing that lasted a full quarter of an hour. It was amazing to see -how much strength that wretched human skeleton contained. Finally he -caught his breath and closed his eyes. - -Arina Petrovna looked about in bewilderment. Until that moment she -could not believe it, somehow, but now she was fully convinced that -every attempt to persuade the dying man would only serve to hasten the -day of Yudushka's triumph. Yudushka kept dancing before her eyes. She -saw him walking behind the hearse, giving his brother the last Judas -kiss and squeezing out two foul tears. Then she had a picture of the -coffin being lowered into the grave and Yudushka exclaiming, "Farewell, -brother!" his lips twitching and his eyes rolling upward. She heard -his attempt to add a note of grief to his voice, and afterwards say, -turning to Ulita: "The kutya,[A] the kutya, don't forget to take the -kutya into the house. And be sure to put on a clean table cloth. We -must honor brother's memory in the house, too." Next she saw him -presiding over the funeral feast, chatting incessantly with the -reverend father about the virtues of the deceased. She heard him say, -"Ah, brother, brother, you didn't wish to live with us," as he rose -from the table, stretching out his hand, palm upward, to receive the -father's blessing. And lastly she saw Yudushka walking about the house -with the air of a master, taking the inventory of all the effects and -in doubtful cases casting suspicious glances at mother. - -All these inevitable scenes of the future floated before Arina -Petrovna's mental vision. In her ears rang Yudushka's shrill, unctuous -voice as he said: "Do you remember, mother dear, the little golden -shirt studs that brother had? They were so pretty. He used to wear them -on holidays. I simply can't imagine where those studs could have gone -to." - -[Footnote A: A gruel made of rice or wheat or barley, boiled with -raisins and mead. It is eaten after the mass for the dead and, in the -South, on Christmas Eve.--_Translator's Note._] - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -No sooner did Arina Petrovna come downstairs, than a carriage drawn by -a team of four horses made its appearance on a hill near the church. -In it, in the place of honor, was seated Porfiry Golovliov, who had -removed his hat and was crossing himself at the sight of the church. -Opposite him sat his two sons, Petenka and Volodenka. The very blood -froze in Arina Petrovna's veins as the thought flashed through her -mind, "Speak of the devil and he's sure to appear." The girls also -lost courage, and timidly clung closer to their grandmother. The house -hitherto peaceful was suddenly filled with alarm. Doors banged, people -ran about crying, "The master is coming, the master is coming!" and -all the occupants of the house rushed out on the porch. Some made the -sign of the cross, some stood in silent expectation, all apparently -conscious of the fact that the existing order in Dubrovino had been -only temporary, and that now the real management was to begin with -a real master at the head. Under the former master some of the old, -deserving serfs had enjoyed the privilege of a monthly allowance of -provisions. Many of them fed their cattle on the master's hay, had -kitchen gardens of their own, and altogether lived "freely." Everyone, -of course, was now vitally interested to know whether the new master -would permit the old order of things, or whether he would introduce a -new one, similar to that which prevailed at Golovliovo. - -Yudushka drove up to the house. From the reception accorded to him he -concluded that affairs at Dubrovino were fast coming to a head. Without -a sign of haste, he descended from the carriage, waved his hand to the -servants who rushed forward to kiss it, then put his palms together, -and began to climb the steps slowly, whispering a prayer. His face -expressed a feeling of mingled grief, firmness, and resignation. As a -man he grieved; as a Christian he did not dare to complain. He prayed -to God to cure his brother, but above all he put his trust in the Lord -and bowed before His will. His sons walked side by side behind him, -Volodenka mimicking his father, clasping his hands, rolling his eyes -heavenward and mumbling his lips. Petenka revelled in his brother's -performance. Behind them, in silent procession, followed the servants. - -Yudushka kissed dear mother's hand, then her lips, then her hand again -and put his arm about her waist and said, shaking his head sadly: - -"And you keep on worrying. That's bad, mother dear, very bad. Instead -of that you should ask yourself: 'And what is God going to say to -this?' He will say: 'Here have I in my infinite wisdom arranged -everything for the best, and she grumbles.' Ah, mother dear, mother -dear." - -Then he kissed both of his nieces, and with the same charming -familiarity in his voice, said: - -"And you, too, romps, you are crying your eyes out. I won't permit it. -I command you immediately to smile. And that shall be the end of it." - -And he stamped his foot at them in jesting anger. - -"Just look at me," he continued. "As a brother I am torn with grief. -More than once I have shed tears. I am sorry for brother, sorry as can -be. I weep. Then I bethink myself: 'And what is God for? Is it possible -that God knows less than we what ought to be?' This thought inspires -me with courage. That is how you all should act, you, mother dear, and -you, little nieces, and--" he turned to the servants--"you all." - -"Look at me, how well I bear up." - -And in the same charming manner he proceeded to impersonate a man who -bears up. He straightened his body, put one foot forward, expanded his -chest, and threw back his head. The audience smiled sourly. - -This performance over, Yudushka passed into the drawing-room and kissed -his mother's hand again. - -"Well, so that's how things are, mother dear," he said, seating himself -on the couch. "So brother Pavel, too." - -"Yes, Pavel, too," softly answered Arina Petrovna. - -"Yes, yes--a little too early. Although I play the brave, in my soul -I, too, suffer and grieve for my poor brother. He hated me--hated me -bitterly. Maybe that is why God is punishing him." - -"You might forget about it at such a moment. You must set old grudges -aside." - -"I have forgotten it all long ago. I only mentioned it in passing. -My brother disliked me, for what reason, I know not. I tried one way -and another, directly and indirectly. I called him 'dear' and 'kind -brother,' but he drew back and that was the end of it." - -"I asked you please not to bring all that up. The man is lying at the -point of death." - -"Yes, mother dear, death is a great mystery. 'For ye know neither -the day nor the hour.' That's the kind of mystery it is. There he -was making plans, thinking he was exalted so high, so high as to be -beyond mortal reach. But in one instant with one blow God undid all his -dreams. Perhaps he would be glad now to cover up his sins. But they are -already recorded in the Book of Life. And whatever is written in that -book, mother dear, won't be scraped off in a hurry." - -"But does not the Lord accept the sinner's repentance?" - -"That's just what I wish for him from the bottom of my heart. I -know he hated me, still I wish him forgiveness. I wish the best for -everybody--for those that hate me, those that insult me--everybody. He -was unfair to me and now God sends him an ailment--not I, but God. Does -he suffer much, mother dear?" - -"Well, not very much. The doctor was here and even gave us hopes." So -lied Arina Petrovna. - -"What splendid news! Don't you worry, dear mother, he'll pull through -yet. Here we are eating our hearts away and grumbling at the Creator, -and perhaps he is sitting quietly on his bed thanking the Lord for his -recovery." - -The idea delighted Yudushka so immensely that he even giggled softly to -himself. - -"Do you know, mother dear, that I have come to stay here a while?" he -went on, for all the world as if he were giving his mother a pleasant -surprise. "It's among good kinsmen, you know. In case something -happens--you understand, as a brother--I may console, advise, make -arrangements. You will permit me, will you not?" - -"What sort of permissions can I give when I am here myself only as -a--guest?" - -"Well, then, dearest, since this is Friday, just order them, if you -please, to prepare a fish meal for me. Some salt-fish, mushrooms, a -little cabbage--you know, I don't need much. And in the meantime, as a -relative, I shall drag myself up to the entresol. Perhaps I shall still -be in time to do some good, if not to his body, at least to his soul. -In his position, it seems to me, the soul is of much more consequence. -We can patch up the body, mother dear, with potions and poultices, but -the soul needs a more potent remedy." - -Arina Petrovna made no objection. The thought of the inevitability -of the "end" had taken such complete hold of her, that she observed -everything and listened to everything about her dazedly. She saw -Yudushka rise from the sofa, stoop and shuffle his feet. He liked to -appear invalided at times. He had an idea it added to his dignity. She -knew the unexpected appearance of the Bloodsucker in the entresol would -greatly excite the patient, might even hasten his end. But after the -day of agitation, she was so exhausted that she felt as if in a dream. - -Meanwhile Pavel Vladimirych was in an indescribable state of -excitement. Though quite alone, he was aware of an unusual stir in -the house. Every bang of a door, every hurried footstep in the hall -awakened a mysterious alarm. For a while he called with all his -might; but, soon convinced his shouts were useless, he gathered all -his strength, sat up in bed, and listened. The sound of running feet -and loud voices stopped and was followed by a dead silence. Something -unknown and fearful surrounded him. Only a few, miserly rays of light -sifted through the lowered shades and the dim light of the lamp burning -before the ikon in the corner made the dusk filling the room seem all -the darker and gloomier. Pavel fixed his gaze upon that mysterious -corner as if for the first time he found something surprising in -it. The ikon, in a gilt framework on which the rays from the lamp -fell perpendicularly, stood out of the gloom with a sort of striking -brightness, like something alive. A circle of light wavered upon the -ceiling, flaring up or dying down in proportion to the strength or -weakness of the lamplight. Strange shadows filled the room, and the -dressing-gown hanging on the wall was alive with vacillating stripes of -light and shadow. Pavel Vladimirych watched and watched, and he felt -as if right there in that corner everything were suddenly beginning -to move. Solitude, helplessness, dead silence--and shadows, a host of -shadows. The shadows seemed to be coming, coming, coming. Gripped by -an indescribable terror, he gazed into the mysterious corner, eyes and -mouth agape, uttering no cries, but simply groaning--groaning in a -stifled voice, in jerks, like the barking of a dog. He heard neither -the creak of the stairs nor the careful shuffling steps in the adjacent -room. Suddenly, beside his bed, there loomed up the detestable figure -of Yudushka, as if from that gloom which had just mysteriously hovered -before his eyes, and as if there were more, more of shadows, shadows -without end--coming, coming---- - -"What? Where did you come from? Who let you in?" he cried -instinctively, dropping back on his pillow helplessly. Yudushka -stood at the bedside, scrutinizing the sick man and shaking his head -sorrowfully. - -"Does it hurt?" he asked, putting all the oiliness of which he was -capable into his voice. - -Pavel Vladimirych was silent, but stared at him stupidly, as if making -every effort to understand him. - -Meanwhile Yudushka approached the ikon, fell to his knees, bowed three -times to the ground, arose and appeared again at the bedside. - -"Well, brother, get up. May God send you grace," he said, sitting down -in an armchair, in a voice so jovial that he actually appeared to be -carrying "grace" about with him in his pocket. - -At last Pavel Vladimirych realized that this was no shadow but the -Bloodsucker in flesh. He seemed to coil up of a sudden as if in a -cramp. Yudushka's eyes were bright with affection, but the invalid very -distinctly saw the "noose" lurking in those eyes ready any instant to -dart out and tighten round his neck. - -"Ah, brother, brother, you've become no better than an old woman," -Yudushka continued jocosely. "Come, brace up! Get up and run a little -race. Come on, come on, give mother the joy of seeing what a strong -fellow you are. Come on now! Up with you!" - -"Get out of here, Bloodsucker!" the invalid cried in desperation. - -"Ah, brother, brother! I come to you in kindness and sympathy, and -you ... what do you say in return? Oh, what a sin! And how could your -tongue say such a thing to your own brother! It's a shame, darling, -it's a shame! Wait a minute, let me arrange the pillow for you." - -Yudushka got up and poked his finger into the pillow. - -"Like this," he continued. "That's fine now. Lie quietly, now. You -won't need to touch it till tomorrow." - -"You get out!" - -"My, how cranky your illness has made you! Why, you have even become -stubborn, really. You keep chasing me, 'Get out, get out!' But how can -I go? Here, for instance, you feel thirsty and I hand you some water. -Or I see the ikon is out of order, and I set it to rights, or pour in -some oil. You just lie where you are and I'll be sitting nearby, real -quietly. So we won't even see how time flies." - -"Get out, you Bloodsucker!" - -"Look here, you are insulting me, but I am going to pray to the Lord -for you. I know it isn't you, it's your illness talking. You see, -brother, I am used to forgiving. I forgive everybody. Today, for -instance, as I was coming here I met a peasant, and he said something -about me. Well, the Lord be with him. He defiled his own tongue. And I, -why I not only was not angry at him, I even made the sign of the cross -over him, I did truly." - -"You robbed him, didn't you?" - -"Who, I? Why, no, my friend, I don't rob people; highwaymen rob, but -I--I act in accordance with the law. I caught his horse grazing in my -meadows--well, let him go to the justice of the peace. If the justice -says it's right to let your cattle graze on other people's fields, -well, then I'll give him his horse back, but if the justice says it -isn't right, I am sorry. The peasant will have to pay a fine. I act -according to the law, my friend, according to the law." - -"You Judas the traitor, you left mother a pauper." - -"I repeat, you may be angry, if you please, but you are wrong. If I -were not a Christian, I would even have cause to be angry at you for -what you've just said." - -"Yes, you did, you did make mother a pauper." - -"Now, do be quiet, please. Here, I am going to pray for you. Maybe that -will calm you down." - -Though Yudushka had restrained himself successfully throughout the -conversation, the dying man's curses affected him deeply. His lips -curled queerly and turned pale. However, hypocrisy was so ingrained -in his nature that once the comedy was begun, he could not leave it -unfinished. So he knelt before the ikon and for fully fifteen minutes -murmured prayers, his hands uplifted. Thereupon he returned to the -dying man's bed with countenance calm and serene. - -"You know, brother, I have come to talk serious matters over with you," -he said, seating himself in the armchair. "Here you are insulting -me, but I am thinking of your soul. Tell me, please, when did you -communicate last?" - -"Oh, Lord! What is all this? Take him away! Ulita, Agasha! Anybody -here?" moaned Pavel. - -"Now, now, darling, do be quiet. I know you don't like to talk about -it. Yes, brother, you always were a bad Christian and you are still. -But it wouldn't be bad, really it wouldn't, to give some thought to -your soul. We've got to be careful with our souls, my friend, oh, how -careful! Do you know what the Church prescribes? It says, 'Ye shall -offer prayers and thanks.' And again, 'The end of a Christian's earthly -life is painless, honorable and peaceable.' That's what it is, my -friend. You really ought to send for the priest and sincerely, with -penitence. All right, I won't, I won't. But really you'd better." - -Pavel Vladimirych lay livid and nearly suffocated. If he could have, -he would have dashed his head to pieces. - -"And how about the estate? Have you already made arrangements?" -continued Yudushka. "Yours is a fine little estate, a very fine one. -The soil is even better than at Golovliovo. And you have money, too, I -suppose. Of course, I don't know anything about your affairs. I only -know that you received a lump sum on freeing your serfs, but exactly -how much, I never cared to know. To-day, for instance, as I was coming -here, I said to myself, 'I suppose brother Pavel has money.' 'But -then,' I thought, 'if he has capital, he must have decided already how -to dispose of it.'" - -The patient turned away and sighed heavily. - -"You have not made any disposition? Well, so much the better, my -friend. It's even more just, according to the law. It won't be -inherited by strangers, but by your own kind. Take me, for example, I -am old, with one foot in the grave, but still I think, 'Why should I -make disposition of my property if the law will do it all for me, after -I am dead?' And it's really the right way, my friend. There will be no -quarrels, no envy, no lawsuits. It's the law." - -That was unbearable. Pavel Vladimirych felt as if he were lying in a -coffin, fettered, in lethargy, unable to move a limb, and forced to -hear the Bloodsucker revile his dead body. - -"Get out--for Christ's sake, get out!" he finally implored his torturer. - -"All right, you just be quiet, I'll go. I know you don't like me. It's -a shame, my friend, a real shame, to dislike your own brother. You see, -I do love you. And I've always been telling my children, 'Though Pavel -Vladimirych has sinned against me, yet I love him.' So you did not -make any disposition? Well, that's fine, my friend. Sometimes, though, -one's money is stolen while one is yet alive, especially when one is -without relatives, all alone. But I'll take care of it. Eh? What? Am I -annoying you? Well, well, let it be as you wish. I'll go. Let me offer -up a prayer." - -He rose, placed his palms together, and whispered a prayer hurriedly. - -"Good-by, friend, don't worry. Take a good rest, and perhaps with God's -help you will get better. I will talk the matter over with mother dear. -Maybe we'll think something up. I have ordered a fish meal for myself, -some salt-fish, some mushrooms and cabbage. So you'll pardon me. What? -Am I annoying you again? Ah, brother dear! Well, well, I'm going. Above -all, don't be alarmed, don't be excited, sleep well and take a good -rest," he said, and finally made his departure. - -"Bloodsucker!" The word came after him in such a piercing shriek that -even he felt as if he had been branded with a hot iron. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -While Porfiry Vladimirych was holding forth in the entresol, -grandmother Arina Petrovna had gathered the young folks around her -downstairs, and was talking to them, not without the hope of getting -something out of them. - -"Well, how are you?" she asked, turned to her eldest grandson, Petenka. - -"I'm pretty well, granny. Next month I'll graduate as an officer." - -"Really? How many years have you been promising that? Are the -examinations so hard? Or what?" - -"At the last examination, granny, he failed in his catechism. The -priest asked him, 'What is God?' and he answered, 'God is Spirit--is -Spirit--and Holy Spirit.'" - -"Oh, you poor thing! How is that? Look at those little orphans. I'm -sure even they know that." - -"Why, certainly. God is invisible Spirit." Anninka hurried to show off -her knowledge. - -"Whom none ever beheld," Lubinka put in. - -"Omniscient, most Gracious, Omnipotent, Omnipresent," Anninka continued. - -"Whither can I go from Thy spirit and whither can I flee from Thy face? -Should I rise to Heaven, there wouldst Thou be, should I descend to -Hell, there wouldst Thou be." - -"I wish you would have answered like that. You would have epaulets by -this time. And how about you, Volodya, what are you going to do?" - -Volodya flushed and remained silent. - -"Apparently, you go no further than your brother with his 'Spirit--Holy -Spirit,' Ah, children, children! You seem to be so bright and yet -somehow you can't master your studies at all. I might understand if you -had a father who spoiled you. Tell me, how does he treat you now?" - -"Still the same old way, granny." - -"Does he beat you? Didn't I hear he stopped thrashing you?" - -"A little bit, but--the worst is, he pesters us to death." - -"I must say, I don't understand. How can a father pester his children?" - -"He does though, grandma, awfully. We can't go out without permission, -we can't take a thing. It couldn't be worse." - -"Well, then, ask permission. Your tongue wouldn't fall out in the -effort, I imagine." - -"Impossible. You just begin to talk to him, then he doesn't let go of -you. 'Don't hurry and wait a while. Gently, gently, take it easy.' -Really, granny, his talk is too tiresome for words." - -"Granny, he listens to us on the sly behind our doors. Just the other -day Piotr caught him in the act." - -"Oh, you rogues! Well, what did he say?" - -"Nothing. I said to him, 'It won't do, daddy, for you to eavesdrop at -our doors. Some day you may get your nose squashed. And all he said -was, 'Well, well, it's nothing, it's nothing. I, my child, am like a -thief in the night, as it says in the Bible.'" - -"The other day, granny, he picked up an apple in the orchard, and put -it away in a cupboard. I ate it up. So he hunted and hunted for it, and -cross-examined everybody." - -"What do you mean? Has he become a miser?" - -"No, he's not exactly stingy, but--how shall I put it? He is just -swamped head over heels in little things. He hides slips of paper, and -he hunts for wind-fallen fruit." - -"Every morning he says mass in his study, and later he gives each of us -a little piece of holy wafer, stale as stale can be." - -"But once we played a trick on him. We discovered where he keeps the -wafers, made a cut in the bottom of them, took out the pulp, and stuck -butter in." - -"Well, I must say you are regular cut-throats." - -"My, just imagine his surprise, next day. Wafers with butter!" - -"I suppose you got it good and hard afterwards." - -"No, not a bit. But he kept spitting all day and muttering to himself, -'The rascals!' Of course we made believe he didn't mean us." - -"Let me tell you, granny, he is afraid of you." - -"Of me! I'm not a scarecrow to frighten him." - -"I'm sure he's scared of you. He thinks you'll put a curse on him. He's -desperately afraid of curses." - -Arina Petrovna became lost in thought. At first the idea passed through -her mind: "What if I really should put a curse on him--just take and -curse him?" But the thought was instantly replaced by a more pressing -question, "What is Yudushka doing now? What tricks is he playing -upstairs? He must be up to one of his usual tricks." Finally a happy -idea struck her. - -"Volodya," she said, "you, dear heart, are light on your feet. Why -shouldn't you go softly and listen to what's going on up there?" - -"Gladly, granny." - -Volodya tiptoed toward the doors and disappeared through them. - -"What made you come over to us to-day?" Arina Petrovna continued with -her questioning. - -"We meant to come a long time ago, grandma, but today Ulita sent a -messenger to say the doctor had been here and uncle was going to die, -if not to-day, then surely to-morrow." - -"Tell me, is there any talk among you about the heritage?" - -"We keep talking about it the whole day, granny. Papa tells us how -it used to be before grandpa's time. He even remembers Goriushkino, -granny. 'See now,' he says, 'if Auntie Varvara Mikhailovna had no -children, then Goriushkino would be ours. And God knows,' he says, 'who -the children's father is. But let us not judge others. We see a mote in -the eye of our neighbor, but fail to notice a beam in our own. That's -how the world goes, brother.'" - -"Nonsense, nonsense. Auntie was married, was she not? Even if there had -been anything before that, the marriage made it all straight." - -"That's true, grandma, and each time we go past Goriushkino, he brings -up the same old tale: 'Grandma Natalya Vladimirovna,' he says, 'brought -Goriushkino as a dowry. By all rights it should have stayed in the -family. But your deceased grandfather gave it to sister as a dot. And -what wonderful watermelons,' he says, 'used to grow at Goriushkino! -Twenty pounds each. That's the kind of watermelons that grew there!'" - -"Twenty pounds, bosh! I never heard of such melons. Well, and what are -his intentions about Dubrovino?" - -"In the same line, granny. Watermelons and muskmelons and other -trifles. But of late he has constantly been asking us, 'What do you -think, children, has uncle Pavel much money?' He has had it all figured -out for a long time, grandma: the amount of redemption loan, and when -the property was mortgaged, and how much debt is paid off. We even saw -the paper on which he made the calculations; and guess what, granny, we -stole it. We nearly drove him crazy with that slip of paper. He'd put -it in a drawer, and we'd match the key and stick it into a holy wafer. -Once he went to take a bath, when lo and behold! he saw the paper lying -on the bath shelf." - -"You've a gay life up there." - -Volodenka returned and became the center of general attention. - -"I couldn't hear a thing," he announced in a whisper, "the only thing I -heard was father mouthing words like 'painless, untarnished, peaceful,' -and uncle shouting, 'Get out of here, you Bloodsucker!'" - -"Didn't you hear anything about the will?" - -"I think there was something said about it, but I couldn't make it out. -Father shut the door entirely too tight, granny. Only a buzzing came -through. And then suddenly uncle yelled, 'Get--get out!' Well then I -took to my heels and here I am." - -"If only the orphans were given----" anxiously thought Arina Petrovna. - -"If father gets his hands on it, granny, he'll not give a thing to -anyone," Petenka assured her. "And I have a feeling he's even going to -deprive us of the inheritance." - -"Still, he can't take it to the grave with him, can he?" - -"No, but he'll think up some scheme. It wasn't for nothing that he had -a talk with the priest not long ago. 'How does the idea of building -a tower of Babel strike you, Father?' he asked. 'Would one need much -money?'" - -"Well, he just said that perhaps out of curiosity." - -"No, granny, he has some plan in mind. If it isn't for a tower of -Babel, he'll donate the money to the St. Athos monastery; but he'll -make sure we don't get any." - -"Will father get a big estate when uncle dies?" asked Volodya, -curiously. - -"Well, God alone knows which of them will die first." - -"Father is sure he'll outlive uncle. The other day, just as soon as -we reached the boundary of the Dubrovino estate, he took off his cap, -crossed himself, and said, 'Thank God we'll be riding again on our own -land!"' - -"He's made arrangements for everything already, granny. He noticed the -woods. 'There,' he says, 'if there were a good landlord, that would be -a ripping fine forest.' Then he looked at the meadows. 'What a meadow! -Just look! Look at all those hay stacks!'" - -"Yes, indeed, both the woods and the meadows, everything will be yours, -my darlings," sighed Arina Petrovna. "Goodness! Wasn't that a squeak on -the stairs?" - -"Hush, granny, hush! That's he--'like a thief in the night,' listening -behind the doors." - -There was a silence, but it proved to be a false alarm. Arina Petrovna -sighed and muttered to herself, "Ah, children, children!" - -The boys stared at the orphans, fairly swallowing them with their gaze, -while the little orphans sat in silent envy. - -"Did you see Mademoiselle Lotar, cousin?" Petenka started a -conversation. - -Anninka and Lubinka exchanged glances as if they had been asked a -question in history or geography. - -"In _Fair Helen_ she plays the part of Helen on the stage." - -"Oh, yes--Helen--Paris--'Beautiful and young; he set the hearts of the -goddesses aflame--' I know, I know it," cried Lubinka joyfully. - -"Exactly. And how she sings 'Cas-ca-ader, ca-as-cader.' It's great." - -"The doctor who was just here keeps humming '_Head over heels._'" - -"That is Lyadova's song. Wasn't she splendid, cousin? When she died, -nearly two thousand persons followed the hearse. People thought there -would be a revolution." - -"Is it about theatres you're chattering?" broke in Arina Petrovna. -"Well, their destiny lies far from theatres, my boys. It leads rather -to the convent." - -"Granny, you've set your mind on burying us in a convent," complained -Anninka. - -"Come, cousin, let's go to St. Petersburg instead of to a convent. -We'll show you everything to be seen there." - -"Their minds should not be occupied with thoughts of pleasure, but -rather with thoughts of God," continued Arina Petrovna sententiously. - -"We will teach you everything under the sun. In St. Petersburg there -are lots of girls like you. They walk about swinging their skirts." - -"Stop bothering them, for Christ's sake, you teachers," Arina Petrovna -interjected. "Nice things you can teach them." - -"I'm going to take them to Khotkov, after Uncle Pavel's death, and -we'll settle down comfortably there." - -"So you're still at your blabbing," a voice at the door suddenly broke -in. - -Engrossed in conversation nobody had heard Yudushka steal up "like a -thief in the night." He was all in tears, his head was bowed, his face -pale, his hands crossed on his breast, his lips mumbling in prayer. -For a few moments his eyes sought the ikons, then found them and for a -brief while he prayed. - -"He's very ill. Ah, how ill he is!" he finally exclaimed, embracing his -mother dear. - -"Is he?" - -"Very, very ill, dear heart. And do you recollect what a strong fellow -he was?" - -"Well, he was never exactly strong. I can't remember that, somehow." - -"Ah no, mother dear, don't say that. He was, always. I remember -perfectly when he left the cadets corps how well shaped he was, broad -shouldered, glowing with health. Yes, yes, mother dear, that's how -it is. We're all in God's hands. To-day we're strong, in the best of -health, we want to enjoy life to have a good meal, and tomorrow.... - -He shrugged his shoulders and assumed deep emotion. - -"Did he say anything at least?" - -"Very little, dearest. The only thing he said was, 'Good-by, brother.' -And yet, mother dear, he can feel. He feels that he is in a bad way." - -"Well, no wonder he feels he is in a bad way when he can hardly catch -his breath." - -"No, mother dear, that's not what I mean. I have in mind the inner -vision which is given to the righteous and which allows them to foresee -their death." - -"Yes, yes! Didn't he say anything about his will?" - -"No, mother. He wanted to say something about it, but I stopped him. -'No,' I said, 'don't talk about that! Whatever you leave me, brother, -out of the kindness of your heart, I shall be satisfied. And even if -you leave me nothing, I'll have mass said for you at my own expense.' -And yet, mother dear, how he wants to live! How he longs for life!" - -"Of course, who doesn't want to live?" - -"No, mother. Take myself, for example. If it pleased the Lord God to -call me to Himself, I'm ready on the spot." - -"All well and good if you go to Heaven, but what if Satan gets you -between his fangs?" - -In this vein the talk continued till supper, during supper, and -after supper. Arina Petrovna was very restless. While Yudushka was -expatiating on various subjects, the thought entered her mind at -shorter and shorter intervals, "What if I should really curse him?" But -Yudushka had not the slightest suspicion of the storm raging in his -mother's heart. He had an air of serenity, and continued slowly and -gently to torture his "mother dear" with his endless twaddle. - -"I'll curse him! I'll curse him! Curse him!" Arina Petrovna repeated -inwardly, with greater and greater determination. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -An odor of incense pervaded the rooms, the sing-song of funeral chants -was heard in the house, the doors were thrown open, those wishing to -pay their last respects to the deceased came and went. While Pavel -Vladimirych lived, nobody had paid any attention to him; at his death -everybody mourned. People recalled that he "had never hurt a single -person," that "he had never uttered a cross word to anyone," nor -thrown anyone a look of ill-will--all qualities that had appeared -purely negative, but now assumed a positive character. Many seemed -to repent that at times they had taken advantage of the dead man's -simplicity--but after all, who knew that the simple soul was destined -to so speedy an end? One peasant brought Yudushka three silver rubles -and said: "Here's a little debt I owe Pavel Vladimirych. No writing -passed between us. Here, take it." - -Yudushka took the money, praised the peasant, and said he would donate -the three silver rubles for oil to burn forever before an ikon in the -church. - -"You, my dear friend, will see the flame, and everybody will see it, -and the soul of my deceased brother will rejoice. Maybe he will obtain -something for you in Heaven. You won't be expecting anything--and -suddenly the Lord will send you luck." - -Very probably the high estimate of the deceased's virtues was largely -based on a comparison between him and his brother. People did not like -Yudushka. Not that they couldn't get the better of him, but that he -was entirely too much of a nuisance with his scrape-penny ways. Very -few could bring themselves to lease land from him. They were afraid of -his passion for litigation. He dragged any number of people to court, -wasted their time, and won nothing, because his pettifogging habits -were so well known in the district that almost without listening to the -case the courts dismissed his claims. - -Since meanness, or, to be more exact, a kind of moral hardness, -especially when under the mask of hypocrisy, always inspires a sort of -superstitious fear, Yudushka's neighbors bowed waist low as they passed -by the Bloodsucker, standing all in black beside the coffin with palms -crossed and eyes raised upward. - -As long as the deceased lay in the house, the family walked about on -tip-toe, stole glances into the dining-room, where the coffin stood -on the table, wagged their heads, and talked in whispers. Yudushka -pretended to be overcome by the disaster, and shuffled painfully along -the corridor, paid a visit to the "dear deceased," affected deep -emotional stress, arranged the pall on the coffin, and whispered to the -commissioner of police, who was taking the inventory and affixing the -seal. Petenka and Volodenka busied themselves about the coffin, placing -and lighting the candles, handing over the censer, and so forth. -Anninka and Lubinka cried and through their tears helped the chanters -sing the mass for the dead in thin little voices. The woman servants, -dressed in black calico, wiped their noses red from weeping on their -aprons. - -Immediately after the death of Pavel Vladimirych, Arina Petrovna -went up to her room and locked herself in. She was not disposed -to weep, for she realized that she had to decide upon a course of -action immediately. To remain at Dubrovino was out of the question. -Consequently, she had only one choice, to go to Pogorelka, the orphans' -estate, the "bone" that she had once thrown to her disrespectful -daughter, Anna Vladimirovna. Arriving at this decision, she felt -relieved, as though Yudushka had suddenly and forever lost all power -over her. Calmly she counted her five per cent. Government bonds. They -totalled fifteen thousand rubles of her own, and as much belonging -to the orphans, which she had saved up for them. And she went on -composedly to calculate how much money she would have to spend to put -the Pogorelka manor-house in order. Then she immediately sent for the -bailiff of Pogorelka, gave the necessary orders about hiring carpenters -and sending a horse and cart to Dubrovino for her and the orphans' -belongings, ordered the coach to be made ready (the coach was her own, -and she had evidence that it was her very own), and began to pack. -She felt neither hatred nor goodwill toward Yudushka. It suddenly -became disgusting to her to have any dealings with him. She even ate -unwillingly and little, because from that day she had to eat not -Pavel's but Yudushka's food. Several times Porfiry Vladimirych peeped -into her room to have a chat with his "mother dear." He understood the -meaning of her packing clearly, but pretended to notice nothing. Arina -Petrovna refused to see him. - -"Go, my friend, go," she said. "I have no time." - -In three days, Arina Petrovna had everything in readiness for -departure. They heard mass, performed the funeral service, and buried -Pavel Vladimirych. At the funeral everything happened just as Arina -Petrovna had imagined on the morning when Yudushka came to Dubrovino. -In the very way she had foreseen Yudushka cried out, "Farewell, -brother!" when they lowered the coffin into the grave, and turned to -Ulita and said hastily: "Don't forget--don't forget to take the kutya, -and put it in the dining-room on a clean table cloth. We will honor -brother's memory in the house, too." - -Three churchmen, the Father Provost and a deacon, were invited to the -dinner served, as is the custom, immediately on the return from the -funeral ceremony. A special table was laid in the entrance hall for -the sextons. Arina Petrovna and the orphans entered clad in travelling -clothes, but Yudushka pretended even then not to understand. He went -over to the table, requested the Father Provost to bless the food and -drink, poured a glassful of vodka for himself and the churchmen, put -on an air of deep emotion and said, "Everlasting memory to the late -deceased! Ah, brother, brother, you have forsaken us! Who of us more -than you was fit to live a happy life? How sad, brother, how sad!" - -Then he crossed himself, and emptied the glass. He crossed himself -again and swallowed a piece of caviar, crossed himself again and took a -taste of dried sturgeon. - -"Eat, Father," he urged the Provost. "All this is my late brother's -stock. How the deceased loved good fare! Not only that he ate well -himself, but he even liked treating others better. Ah, brother, -brother, you have forsaken us! How wrong it was of you, brother, how -very wrong!" - -He was so carried away by his incessant chatter that he even forgot -about his dear mother. But suddenly she came to his mind as he scooped -up a spoonful of mushrooms and was about to send it down his mouth. - -"Mother, dearest, darling!" he exclaimed. "I, the fool, am here, -gorging myself. What a sin! Mother dear, help yourself. Some mushrooms. -These are Dubrovino mushrooms. The famous ones." - -But Arina Petrovna did not stir. She only shook her head in silence. -She seemed listening to something with intense curiosity, a new light -seemed to fill her eyes, as if the comedy to which she had long since -become accustomed and in which she had always taken active part, -suddenly presented itself to her in a changed light. - -The dinner commenced with a brief, pathetic discussion. Yudushka -insisted that Arina Petrovna should take the hostess's place at the -head of the table. Arina Petrovna refused. - -"No, you are the host here, so sit where you please," she said drily. - -"You are the hostess. You, mother dear, are the hostess everywhere, -both at Golovliovo and Dubrovino, everywhere," said Yudushka, trying to -convince her. - -"Do stop and sit down. Wherever it will be the Lord's will to place me -as a mistress, I will sit where I choose. Here you are master--so you -take the seat." - -"Then this is what we'll do," said Yudushka, much moved. "We'll leave -the cover at the host's seat untouched, as if our brother were with -us, an invisible companion. He shall be host, and we shall all be his -guests." - -That is how they arranged it. While the soup was being served, -Yudushka chose a proper subject and started a conversation with the -priests, addressing most of his remarks, however, to the Father Provost. - -"There are many people nowadays who do not believe in the immortality -of the soul, but I do," he said. - -"Well, they must be desperadoes," answered the Father Provost. - -"Not, not that they are desperadoes, but there is is a science about -the soul not being immortal. It says that man exists all by himself. He -lives and then suddenly--dies." - -"There are too many sciences nowadays--if only there were less of -them. People believe in sciences and don't believe in God. Take the -peasants--even the peasants want to become learned." - -"Yes, Father, you are right. They do long to become learned. Take my -Naglovo peasants. They have nothing to eat, and still the other day -they passed a resolution--they want to open up a school. The scholars!" - -"Nowadays there is a science for everything under the sun. One science -for rain, another science for fine weather, and so on. Formerly it was -a very simple matter. People would come and sing a Te Deum--and the -Lord would grant them their prayer. If they needed fine weather, God -would grant fine weather; if they needed rain, the Lord had enough of -it to go round. God has enough of everything. But since people have -begun to live according to science, everything has changed, everything -happens out of season. You sow--there is drought; you mow--there is -rain." - -"You speak the truth, Father, the gospel truth. Formerly people used -to pray more to God, and the earth was more plentiful. The harvests -were not like now. They were four times, five times, richer. The earth -produced in abundance. Doesn't mother remember? Don't you remember, -mother dear?" asked Yudushka, turning to Arina Petrovna with the -intention of drawing her into the discussion. - -"I never heard anything like that in our parts. Maybe you're speaking -of the land of Canaan. It is said that was really the case there," -drily responded Arina Petrovna. - -"Yes, yes, yes," said Yudushka, as if he had not heard his mother's -remark, "they don't believe in God, they don't believe in the -immortality of the soul, but they want to eat all the same." - -"That's just it--all they want is to eat and drink," repeated the -Father Provost, rolling up the sleeves of his cassock to reach a piece -of the funeral pie and put it on his plate. - -Everybody attacked the soup. For a while nothing was heard but the -clink of the spoons on the plates and the puffing of the priests as -they blew upon the hot liquid. - -"Now as for the Roman Catholics," continued Yudushka, stopping to eat, -"although they do not deny the immortality of the soul, yet they claim -the soul does not land straight in hell or in heaven, but stays for a -while in a sort of middle place." - -"That, too, is preposterous." - -"To tell you the truth, Father," said Porfiry Vladimirych, deep in -thought, "if we take the point of view of----" - -"There is no use discussing nonsense. How goes the song of our Holy -Church? It says, 'In a grassy place, in a cool place, in which there -is neither sighing nor sorrow.' So of what use is it to talk of a -'middle' place?" - -Yudushka did not fully agree and wanted to make some sort of objection, -but Arina Petrovna, growing annoyed at the conversation, stopped him. - -"Well, eat, eat, you theologian. I guess your soup is cold by now," she -said, and to change the topic she turned to the Father Provost. "Have -you gathered in the rye yet, Father?" - -"Yes, madam. This time the rye is good, but the spring wheat doesn't -promise well. The young oat seeds are ripening too soon. Neither straw -nor oats can be expected." - -"They are complaining everywhere about the oats," sighed Arina -Petrovna, watching Yudushka scoop up the last dregs of his soup. - -Another dish was served, ham and peas. Yudushka took advantage of the -opportunity to resume the broken conversation. - -"I'll wager the Jews don't eat this," he said. - -"Jews are dirty," responded the Father Provost. "So people mock them, -calling them 'pig's ears.'" - -"But the Tartars don't eat ham either. There must be some reason for -it." - -"The Tartars are dirty, too. That's the reason." - -"We don't eat horse flesh, and the Tartars refuse pigs' meat. They say -rats were eaten during the siege in Paris." - -"Well, they were--French!" - -The whole supper passed in this way. When carp in cream was served, -Yudushka expatiated: "Fall to, Father. These are not ordinary carp. -They were a favorite dish of my departed brother." - -Asparagus being served, Yudushka said: - -"Just look at that asparagus! You'd have to pay a silver ruble for -asparagus like that in St. Petersburg. My deceased brother was so fond -of it. Bless it, look how thick it is." - -Arina Petrovna was boiling with impatience. A whole hour gone and only -half the supper eaten. Yudushka seemed to hold it back on purpose. He -would eat something, put down his knife and fork, chatter a while, eat -a bit again, and chatter again. How often, in bygone days, had Arina -Petrovna scolded him for it. "Why don't you eat, you devil--God forgive -me." But he seemed to have forgotten her instructions. Or perhaps he -had not forgotten them, but was acting that way on purpose, to avenge -himself. Or maybe he wasn't even avenging himself consciously. He might -just be letting his devilish inner self have free play. Finally the -roast was served. - -At the very moment that all rose and the Father Provost was beginning -to intone the hymn about "the beatific deceased," a noise broke out in -the corridor. Shouts were heard that entirely spoiled the effect of the -prayer. - -"What's that noise?" shouted Porfiry Vladimirych. "Do they take this -for a public-house?" - -"For mercy's sake, don't yell. That is my--those are my trunks. They -are being transferred," responded Arina Petrovna. Then she added with a -touch of sarcasm: "Perhaps you intend to inspect them?" - -A sudden silence fell. Even Yudushka turned pale and became confused. -He realized instantly, however, that somehow he had to soften the -effect of his mother's unpleasant words. Turning to the Father Provost, -he began: - -"Take woodcocks for instance. They are plentiful in Russia, but in -other lands----" - -"For Christ's sake, why don't you eat? We've got twenty-five versts to -go and make them before dark," Arina Petrovna cut him short. "Petenka, -dear, go hurry them in there, and see that they serve the pastry." - -For a few moments there was silence. Porfiry Vladimirych quickly -finished his piece of woodcock. His face was pale, his lips trembled, -and he sat tapping his foot on the floor. - -"You insult me, mother dear. You hurt me deeply," he declared, finally, -but avoided his mother's eyes. - -"Who is insulting you? And how am I hurting you--so deeply?" - -"It is very--very insulting. So insulting, so very insulting! To think -of your going away--at such a moment! You have lived here all the -time--and suddenly--and then you mention the trunks--inspection--what -an insult!" - -"Well, then, if you're anxious to know all about it, why, I'll satisfy -you. I lived here as long as my son Pavel was alive. He died--and I -leave. And if you want to know about the trunks, why, Ulita has been -watching me for a long time at your orders. And concerning myself--it's -better to tell your mother straight to her face that she's under -suspicion than to hiss at her behind her back like a snake." - -"Mother dear! But you--but I----" groaned Yudushka. - -"You've said enough," Arina Petrovna cut him short. "And I've had my -say." - -"But, how could I, mother dear----" - -"I tell you, I'm through. For Christ's sake, let me go in peace. The -coach is ready, I hear." - -The sound of tinkling bells and an approaching vehicle came from the -courtyard. Arina Petrovna was the first to arise from the table. The -others followed. - -"Now let us sit down for a moment, and then we're off," she said, going -towards the parlor. - -They sat a while in silence. By that time Yudushka had entirely -recovered his presence of mind. - -"After all, why shouldn't you live at Dubrovino, mother dear? Just see -how nice it is here," he said, looking into his mother's eyes with the -caressing expression of a guilty cur. - -"No, my friend, that's enough. I don't want to leave you with -unpleasant words, but I can't stay here. What for? Father, let us pray." - -Everybody rose in prayer, then Arina Petrovna kissed everybody good-by, -blessed them all, and with a heavy step went toward the door. Porfiry -Vladimirych, at the head of the company of relatives, went with her to -the porch. There on seeing the coach, he was struck by a devilish idea. -"Why, the coach belongs to my brother," was the thought that flashed -through his mind. - -"So we'll see each other, mother dear?" he said, helping his mother in -and casting side glances at the coach. - -"If it's the Lord's will--and why shouldn't we see each other?" - -"Ah, mother, dear mother, that was a good joke, really! You had better -leave the coach--and, with God's help, in your old nest--indeed," urged -Yudushka in a wheedling tone. - -Arina Petrovna made no answer. She had already seated herself and made -the sign of the cross, but the orphans seemed to hesitate. - -Yudushka, all the while, kept throwing glance after glance at the coach. - -"How about the coach, mother dear? Will you send it back yourself or -shall I send for it?" he blurted out, unable to retain himself longer. - -Arina Petrovna shook with indignation. - -"The coach is--mine!" she cried in a voice so full of pain that -everyone felt embarrassed and ashamed. "It's mine! Mine! My coach! I--I -have testimony--witnesses. And you--may you----No, I'll wait----We -shall see what becomes of you. Children, are you ready?" - -"For mercy's sake, mother dear! I have no grievance against you. Even -if the coach belonged to this estate----" - -"It is my coach--mine! It does not belong to Dubrovino, it belongs to -me! Don't you dare to say it--do you hear me?" - -"Yes, mother dear. Don't forget us, dear heart. Simply, you know, -without ceremony. We will come to you, you will come to us, as becomes -good kinsfolk." - -"Are you seated, children? Coachman, go on!" cried Arina Petrovna, -hardly able to restrain herself. - -The coach quivered and rolled off quickly down the road. Yudushka stood -on the porch waving his handkerchief and calling until the coach had -entirely disappeared from view: - -"As becomes good kinsfolk! We will come to you, and you to us--as -becomes good kinsfolk!" - - - - -BOOK III - -FAMILY ACCOUNTS SETTLED - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -It had never occurred to Arina Petrovna that there might come a time -when she would become "one mouth too many." Now that moment had stolen -upon her just when for the first time in her life her physical and -moral strength was undermined. Such moments always arrive suddenly. -Though one may long have been on the verge of breaking down, one may -still hold out and stave off the end, till suddenly the last blow -strikes from a quarter least expected. To be aware of its approach and -dodge it, is difficult. One has to resign oneself without complaint, -for it is the very blow that in an instant shatters one who till -recently has been hale and healthy. - -When Arina Petrovna took up her abode in Dubrovino, after having broken -with Yudushka, she had labored under great difficulties. But then, at -least, she had known that Pavel Vladimirych, though looking askance at -her intrusion, was still a well-to-do man to whom another morsel meant -little. Now things were very different. She stood at the head of a -household that counted every crumb. And she knew the value of crumbs, -having spent all her life in the country in constant intercourse with -peasants and having assimilated the peasant's notions of the harm a -"superfluous mouth" does to a house in which stores are already scanty. - -Nevertheless, in the first days after the removal to Pogorelka, she -still maintained her usual attitude, busied herself with putting things -in shape in the new place, and exercised her former clarity of judgment -in household management. But the affairs of the estate were troublesome -and petty, and demanded her constant personal supervision; and though -on first thought she did not see much sense in keeping accurate -accounts in a place where farthings are put together to make up kopek -pieces and these in turn to make ten-kopek pieces, she was soon forced -to admit that she had been wrong in this. To be sure, there really was -no sense in keeping careful accounts; but the point was, she no longer -possessed her former industry and strength. Then, too, it was autumn, -the busiest time of reckoning up accounts and taking inventories, and -the incessant bad weather imposed inevitable limits to Arina Petrovna's -energy. Ailments of old age came upon her and prevented her from -leaving the house. The long dreary fall evenings set in and doomed her -to enforced idleness. The old woman was all upset and exerted herself -to the utmost, but succeeded in accomplishing nothing. - -Another thing. She could not help noticing that something queer was -coming over the orphans. They suddenly became dull and dispirited -and were agitated by some vague plans for the future, plans in which -notions of work were interspersed with notions of pleasures of the most -innocent kind, of course--reminiscences of the boarding-school where -they had been brought up, mingled with stray notions about men of toil, -which they retained from their fragmentary reading, and timid hopes of -clutching at some thread through their boarding-school connections, -and so entering the bright kingdom of human life. One tormenting hope -stood out definitely from the other vague longings, to leave hateful -Pogorelka at whatever costs. - -And at length one fine day Anninka and Lubinka actually announced to -grandma that they simply could not stay at Pogorelka a moment longer; -they led a beastly life there, met nobody but the priest, and he, when -he met them, felt it incumbent upon him to tell of the virgins who had -extinguished their lamps. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair. - -The girls spoke sharply, afraid of their grandmother and simulating -courage in order to overcome the anger and resistance they expected. -But to their surprise Arina Petrovna listened without anger, without -even a disposition toward the useless sermonizing that impotent old age -is so given to. - -Alas, she was no longer that dominating woman who used to say so -confidently: "I am going to Khotkov and will take the little orphans -with me." The change was due, not to senile impotence alone, but also -to an acquired sense of something better and truer. The last buffets -of fortune had not only tamed Arina Petrovna; they had also lighted up -some corners of her mental horizon into which her thoughts evidently -had never before entered. Now, she knew, there were certain forces -in the human being that can remain dormant a long while, but once -awakened, they carry one irresistibly on to the glimmering ray of life, -that cheering ray for whose appearance one's eyes have been yearning -so long amidst the hopeless darkness of the present. Once realizing -the legitimacy of such a striving, she was powerless to oppose it. It -is true, she tried to dissuade her granddaughters from their purpose, -but feebly, without conviction. She was uneasy about the future in -store for them; all the more so since she herself had no connections in -so-called "society." Yet she felt that the parting with the girls was -a proper and inevitable thing. What would become of them? frequently -pressed on her mind; but she was now fully aware that neither this -question nor others more terrible would restrain one who was struggling -for release from captivity. - -The girls insisted on one thing, on shaking the dust of Pogorelka from -their feet. And finally, after some hesitating and postponing to please -grandmother, they left. - -The Pogorelka manor-house was now steeped in a forlorn quiet. -Self-centered as Arina Petrovna was by nature, yet the proximity of -human breath had its calming effect even upon her. For the first time, -perhaps, she felt that something had torn itself away from her being, -and the freedom with which she herself was now confronted was so -boundless that all she saw was empty space. To hide the void from her -eyes, she ordered the state-rooms and the attic where the orphans had -lived to be nailed up. - -"Incidentally, there will be less firewood burned," she said to herself. - -She retained only two rooms, in one of which a large ikon case with -images was stowed away. The other was a combined bedroom, study -and dining-room. For the sake of economy she dismissed her retinue -of servants, retaining only her housekeeper Afimyushka, an old, -broken-down woman, and Markovna, one-eyed, the soldier's wife, who did -the cooking and washing. - -All these precautions, however, were of little help. The sensation -of emptiness was not slow to penetrate into the two rooms that were -meant to be guarded from it. Helpless solitude and dreary idleness -were the two enemies Arina Petrovna now confronted. And she was to be -bound to these two enemies the rest of her days. Physical and mental -disintegration were not slow to follow in the wake of loneliness -and idleness, and the less the resistance, the crueller, the more -destructive its work. - -Days dragged on in the oppressive monotony peculiar to rural life when -there are no comforts or there is no executive work to be done, and -there is no material for mental occupation. In addition to the external -causes at work to take the management of household affairs away from -her, was an inner aversion that Arina Petrovna now felt to the petty -cares and bustle coming at the sunset of her life. Perhaps she would -have overcome her repugnance had she had an aim in view to justify her -efforts, but that very aim was wanting. Everybody was sick and weary -of her, and she was sick and weary of everybody and everything. Her -feverish activity of old suddenly yielded to idleness, and idleness -little by little corrupted her will and induced propensities of which -Arina Petrovna could never have dreamed only a few months ago. - -The strong, reserved woman, whom no one would have thought of calling -old, turned into a wreck of her former self. There was neither past -nor future for her, but only the immediate moment to live through. -The greater part of the day she dozed, sitting in an easy-chair by -the table, on which ill-smelling cards were arranged. She would doze -for hours on end. Then her body would shudder convulsively, she would -wake up, look out of the window, and for a long time stare into the -distance, without a single conscious thought. - -Pogorelka was a dreary manor-house. It stood all alone, without orchard -or shade, or the least indication of comfort. There was not even a -flower garden in front of the house. It was a one-story structure, -squat, weather-beaten, all black with age. Back of it were the many -out-buildings, also half worn-out, and all around was one vast stretch -of fields--fields without end. Not even the glimpse of forest anywhere -on the horizon. But from her very childhood Arina Petrovna had hardly -ever left the country, and this monotonous landscape did not seem -dreary to her. It even appealed to her heart and awakened remnants of -emotion still glowing within her. The best part of her being lived in -these naked fields, and her gaze sought them instinctively. - -She stared at the expanse of fields; she stared at the drenched hamlets -making black specks on the landscape; she stared at the white churches -of the rural parishes; she stared at the motley spots that the cloud -shadows formed on the plains; she stared at the peasant unknown to her -who walked along the ploughed furrows, and she thought him slow and -stiff. While staring, she had no conscious thoughts, or, rather, her -thoughts were so fragmentary and disconnected that they could not stay -with any one thing for even a short time. She just gazed, gazed till -senile slumber again hummed dully in her ears, and the fields, the -churches, the hamlets and the peasant in the distance became wrapped in -mist. - -At times, apparently, she recollected something; but the memories of -the past came incoherently, in fragments. Her attention could not -concentrate on one point. It jumped from one remote memory to another. -Yet sometimes she would be struck by something singular, not joy--her -past was very scant in joys--but some grievance, some abuse, bitter -and unbearable. Then sudden anger would flare up, anguish would creep -into her heart, and tears come to her eyes. She would weep grievously, -painfully, the weeping of piteous old age, when tears flow as if under -the load of a nightmare. But even while her tears were flowing, her -mind unconsciously continued to work in its usual way, and her thoughts -drifted imperceptibly away from the cause of her mood, so that in a few -minutes the old woman was wondering what had been the matter with her. - -Altogether, she lived as if not participating in life personally, but -solely because in those ruins there were still left a few odds and ends -which had to be collected, recorded, and accounted for. While these -odds and ends were present, life went its way compelling the ruin to -perform all the external functions necessary to keep that half-asleep -existence from crumbling to dust. - -But if the days passed in unconscious slumber, the nights were sheer -torment. At night Arina Petrovna was _afraid;_ she was afraid of -thieves, of ghosts, of devils, of all that was the product of her -education and life. And the defenses of the place were very poor, for -beside the two tottering women domestics Pogorelka had a night-watch in -the person of the lame little peasant Fedoseyushka, who for two rubles -a month came from the village to guard the manor-house, and usually -slept in the vestibule, coming out at the appointed hours to strike the -steel plate. In the cattle-yard, it is true, there lived a few farm -hands, men and women, but the cattle house was about fifty yards away -and it was not easy to summon any one from there. - -There is something exceedingly dreary and oppressive in a sleepless -night in the country. At nine, or at latest ten o'clock, life ceases. -A weird stillness sets in that is full of terrors. There is nothing to -do, and it is a waste to burn candles. Willy-nilly one must go to bed. -As soon as the samovar was removed from the table Afimyushka, from an -old habit acquired during serfdom, spread a felt blanket in front of -the door leading to the mistress's bedroom, scratched her head, yawned, -flopped down on the floor, and fell dead asleep. Markovna always -fumbled in the maids' room a trifle longer, muttering something to -herself as if scolding somebody. But at last she, too, got quiet, and a -moment later you could hear her snoring and raving intermittently. The -watchman banged on the plate several times to announce his presence, -then kept quiet for a long time. Arina Petrovna, sitting in front of a -snuffy tallow candle, tried to stave off sleep by playing "patience," -but scarcely did she have the cards arranged when she fell into a doze. - -"It is as easy as not for a fire to start while one is asleep," she -would say to herself, and decide to go to bed. But no sooner did she -sink into the down pillows than another trouble set in. Her sleepiness, -so inviting and insistent all evening long, now left her completely. -The room was a close one at the best, and now, from the open flue the -heat came thick, and the down pillows were insufferable. Arina Petrovna -tossed restlessly. She wanted to call someone, but knew no one would -come in answer to her summons. A mysterious quiet reigned all around, -a quiet in which the delicate ear could distinguish a multitude of -sounds. Now something crackled somewhere, now a whining was audible, -now it seemed as if somebody were walking through the corridor, now a -puff of wind swept through the room and even touched her face. The ikon -lamp burned in front of an image, and the light gave the objects in the -room a kind of elusiveness, as if they were not actual things, but only -the contours of things. Another bit of light strayed from the open door -of the adjacent room, where four or five ikon lamps were burning before -the image case. A mouse squeaked behind the wall paper. "Sh-sh-sh, -you nasty thing," said Arina Petrovna, and all was silent again. And -shadows again, whisperings again coming from no one knew where. The -greater part of the night passed in that half-awake senile slumber. -Real sleep did not set in and do its work until nearly morning. By -six o'clock Arina Petrovna was already on her feet, tired out after a -sleepless night. - -Other things to add to the misery of this miserable existence of -Arina Petrovna's were the poor food she ate and the discomfort of her -home. She ate little and used poor food, wishing, probably, to make -up for the loss caused by insufficient supervision. And the Pogorelka -manor-house was dilapidated and damp. The room into which Arina -Petrovna locked herself was never ventilated and remained without -cleaning for weeks on end. In this complete helplessness and the -absence of all comfort and care, decrepitude began slowly to set in. -But her desire to live grew stronger, or, rather, her desire for "a -dainty bit" asserted itself. With this came coupled a total absence of -the thought of death. Previously, she had been afraid of death; now -she seemed to have quite forgotten about it. And with ideals of life -differing but little from a peasant's, her conception of a "comfortable -life" was of rather a base kind. Everything she had formerly denied -herself, dainties, rest, association with wide-awake people, now forced -itself upon her in an insistent craving. All the propensities of a -regular sponger and hanger-on, idle talk, subservience for the sake of -a prospective gift, gluttony, grew in her with astounding rapidity. -Like the servants, she fed on cabbage-soup and cured bacon of doubtful -quality, and at the same time dreamed of the stores of provisions at -Golovliovo, of the German carps that swarmed in the Dubrovino ponds, -of the mushrooms that filled the Golovliovo woods, of the fowl that -fattened in the Golovliovo poultry-yard. - -"Some soup with giblets, or some garden-cress in cream would not be a -bad thing," would cross her mind so vividly that her mouth watered. At -night when she tossed about rigid with fright at the least rustling, -she would think: "Yes, at Golovliovo the locks are secure and the -watchmen reliable. They keep banging on the steel plates all the time, -and you can sleep in perfect safety." During the day, from sheer lack -of human companionship, she was compelled to be silent for hours, and -during these spells of compulsory taciturnity, she could not help -thinking: "At Golovliovo there are lots of people. There you can talk -your troubles away." In fact, Golovliovo kept constantly recurring to -her mind, and the reminiscences of her former estate became a radiant -spot in which "comfortable living" concentrated itself. - -The more frequently the vision of Golovliovo came back to her mind, -the stronger became her will to live again, and the farther the deadly -affronts she had recently sustained sank into oblivion. The Russian -woman, by the very nature of her life and bringing-up, too quickly -acquiesces in the lot of a hanger-on. Even Arina Petrovna did not -escape that fate, though her past, it would seem, should have tended -to warn and guard her against such a yoke. Had she not made a mistake -"at that time," had she not portioned out her estate to her sons, -had she not trusted Yudushka, she would to this very day have been a -harsh, exacting old woman, with everybody under her thumb. But since -the mistake was fatal, the transition from a testy, arbitrary mistress -to an obedient, obsequious parasite was only a matter of time. As long -as she still retained remnants of former vigor, the change was not -evident, but as soon as she realized that she was irrevocably doomed to -helplessness and solitude, all the pusillanimous propensities began to -make their way into her soul, and her will, already weakened, became -completely shattered. Yudushka, who used to be received most coldly -when he visited Pogorelka, suddenly ceased to be hateful to her. The -old injuries were somehow forgotten, and Arina Petrovna was the first -to court intimacy. - -It began with begging. Messengers from Pogorelka would come to -Yudushka, at first rarely, but then with increasing frequency. Now -there had been a poor crop of garden-cress at Pogorelka, now the rains -had ruined the gherkins, now the turkey-poults had died--there's -freedom for you! And then it came to: "Would you mind, my dear friend, -ordering some German carps caught in Dubrovino? My late son Pavel never -refused them to me." Yudushka frowned, but thought it best not to show -open displeasure. The carps were an item, to be sure, but he was filled -with terror at the thought that his mother might put her curse upon -him. He well remembered her once saying: "I will come to Golovliovo, -order the church opened, call in the priest and shout: 'I curse you!'" -It was the recollection of this that held him back from many dastardly -acts that quite accorded with his nature. But in fulfilling the wish -of his "mother dear" he did not omit to hint casually to the people -around him that God had ordained that every man bear his cross, and -that He did so not without divine purpose, for he who bears not his -cross wanders from the righteous path and becomes corrupted. To his -mother he wrote: "I am sending you some gherkins, mother dear, as many -as my resources allow. As to the turkeys, I am sorry to inform you that -besides those left for breeding, there remain only turkey-cocks, which -in view of their size and the limited needs of your table are quite -useless to you. And will it not be your pleasure to let me welcome you -to Golovliovo and share my paltry viands with you? Then we can have one -of those idlers (idlers, indeed, for my cook Matvey caponizes them most -skilfully) roasted, and you and I, my dearest friend, shall feast on -him to our heart's content." - -From that day Arina Petrovna became a frequent guest at Golovliovo. -Assisted by Yudushka she tasted of turkeys and ducks; she slept her -fill both by night and by day, and after dinner she eased her heart -with copious small talk, in which Yudushka was proficient by nature, -she proficient because of old age. Her visits were not discontinued -even when it reached her ears that Yudushka, weary of solitude, had -taken in a damsel named Yevpraksia, from among the clergy, as his -housekeeper. On the contrary, she made off right for Golovliovo and -before alighting from the carriage called to Yudushka with childish -impatience: "Well, well, you old sinner, let's see your queen, let's -see your queen." That entire day she spent most pleasurably, because -Yevpraksia herself waited upon her at table and made her bed after -dinner, and because in the evening she played fool with Yudushka and -his queen. - -Yudushka himself was pleased with this denouement, and in token of -filial gratitude ordered a pound of caviar, among other things, to be -put into Arina Petrovna's carriage as she was about to depart. That was -the highest token of esteem, for caviar is not a home product; one has -to buy it. The courtesy so touched the old woman that she could refrain -no longer and said: "Well, I do thank you for this. And God, too, will -love you, because you cherish and sustain your mother in her old age. -Now, when I get back to Pogorelka, I shall not be bored any more. I -always did like caviar. Well, thanks to you, I'll have a dainty morsel -now." - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Five years had passed since Arina Petrovna took up her abode at -Pogorelka. Yudushka struck root in Golovliovo and would not budge. He -became considerably older, faded and tarnished greatly, but was more -of a knave, liar and babbler than ever, for now his "mother dear" was -nearly always with him, and for the sake of dainties, she became a -ready and indispensable listener to his empty talk. - -One must not think of Yudushka as a hypocrite in the sense of Tartuffe, -for instance, or some modern French bourgeois, mellifluous and fond of -expatiating on "the foundations of society." No, he was a hypocrite of -the purely Russian breed, simply a man devoid of moral standards and -ignorant of any except the most elementary truths. His ignorance was -profound. He was mendacious, had a passion for litigation and empty -talk, and was afraid of the devil, too--all negative traits that are -not the material for the making of a genuine hypocrite. - -In France hypocrisy is a result of education; it constitutes, so to -say, a part of "good manners," and always has a distinct political -or social coloring. There are hypocrites of religion, hypocrites of -"the foundations of society," of property, of family, of politics. -And lately there have come up even hypocrites of "law and order." -Though this sort of hypocrisy cannot be termed conviction, still it -is a banner around which those people rally who find it profitable to -play the hypocrite in that way and no other. They sham consciously, -that is they know they are hypocrites, and they also know that others -know. According to the notions of a French bourgeois, the universe is -nothing but a large stage on which is played an endless drama with one -hypocrite taking his cue from the other. Hypocrisy is an invitation to -decency, decorum, outward elegance and politeness. And what is most -important, hypocrisy is a restraint, not for those, of course, who -play the hypocrite, hovering in the rarified atmosphere of the social -heights, but for those who swarm at the bottom of the social caldron. -Hypocrisy keeps society from the debauchery of passion and makes -passion the privilege of a very limited minority. When licentiousness -keeps within the limits of a small, well-organized corporation, it is -not only harmless, but even supports and nourishes the traditions of -elegance. The exquisite would perish if there were not a certain number -of _cabinets particuliers,_ in which licentiousness is cultivated in -the moments that are free from the worship of official hypocrisy. But -licentiousness becomes really dangerous as soon as it is accessible to -all and is combined with the general extension of the right to make -demands and insist upon the legitimacy and naturalness of such demands. -New social stratifications form, which endeavor to crowd out the old -ones, or, at least, limit them considerably. The demand for _cabinets -particuliers_ grows to such an extent that the question arises: Would -it not be simpler in the future to get along without them? It is -against these unwelcome questions and formulations of demands that -the ruling classes of French society guard the systematic hypocrisy -that begins by being an accident of manners and ends by becoming a -compulsory law. - -The modern French theatre is based on this reverence for hypocrisy. -The first four acts of a popular French play are realistic, depicting -the decay and disintegration of all standards of marital fidelity. -But the fifth act always ends up with some sentimental ringing phrase -eulogizing the sweet atmosphere of the fireside and the supreme triumph -of virtue over vice. Which is the truth? Which is the sham? Both and -neither. In the first four acts the audience sees itself mirrored in -the realistic portrayal on the stage, but the fifth act is an equally -faithful portrayal of the audience's conception of ideal virtue and -pure matrimonial life. So, if French hypocrisy is a superstructure upon -the body of public immorality, it is so completely a part of the entire -fabric of morality that it keeps the edifice from toppling over. - -We Russians have no system of social bringing up. We are not mustered -or drilled to become champions of "social principles" or other -principles, but simply left to grow wild, like nettles by the fence. -That is why there are few hypocrites among us, but many liars, -empty-headed bigots, and babblers. We have no need of playing the -hypocrite for the sake of social principles, for we know of no such -thing as social principles. We exist in perfect liberty, that is, we -vegetate, lie, chatter quite naturally, without regard for principle. -Whether we ought to rejoice over it or regret it, I cannot say. I -think, though, that if hypocrisy breeds resentment and fear, useless -lying causes boredom and repugnance. The best thing, therefore, is to -ignore the question of the advantages of conscious over unconscious -hypocrisy, and vice versa, and have nothing to do with either -hypocrites or liars. - -Yudushka was more of a chatterbox, liar and rascal than hypocrite. On -shutting himself up on his country estate, he at once felt at perfect -liberty. In no other environment could his propensities find so vast -a field for operation. At Golovliovo he encountered neither direct -resistance nor even indirect restraints that would make him think: "I -should like to do something mean, but what will people say?" There -was none to disturb him with disapproval, no one to intrude into his -affairs. Consequently there was no reason for controlling himself. -Extreme slovenliness became the dominating feature of his attitude -toward himself. He had long had a craving for this perfect freedom -from any moral restraint, and the fact that he had not gone to live in -the country earlier was entirely due to his fear of idleness. Having -spent over thirty years in the dull atmosphere of the bureaucratic -department, he had acquired all the habits and appetites of an -inveterate official, who does not allow a single moment of his life to -pass without being busily engaged in doing nothing. But on studying the -matter more closely, he came to the conclusion that the realm of busy -idleness can easily be transposed to any sphere. - -In fact, scarcely settled at Golovliovo but he at once created a world -of trifles in which to rummage without the slightest risk of them ever -being exhausted. In the morning he would seat himself at his desk and -attend to business matters. First he would carefully check the accounts -of the housekeeper, the cattle-yard woman, and the steward. He had -established a very complicated accounting system, both for money and -inventory. Every kopek, every bit of produce, was entered in twenty -books, and on checking up he would find the total either half a kopek -behind, or a whole kopek ahead. Lastly he would take up his pen and -write complaints to the justice of the peace and the judge of appeals. -This took up all his time and had the appearance of assiduous hard -work. Yudushka often complained that he had no time to do everything -that had to be done, though he pored over the ledgers all day long and -did not even stop to take off his dressing-gown. Heaps of well filed -but unexamined reports were always lying about on his desk, and among -them was the annual report of the cattle-house woman, Fekla, whose -activity had long seemed suspicious, though he had had no time to check -up her accounts. - -All connections with the outside world were completely severed. He -received no books, no newspapers, not even letters. One of his sons, -Volodya, committed suicide. With the other, Petenka, he corresponded -briefly and only on sending him a remittance. He was caught in an -atmosphere thick with ignorance, superstition and industrious idleness, -and felt no desire to rescue himself from it. Even the fact that -Napoleon III. was no longer emperor came to him through the local -chief of police a year after the emperor's death. On hearing of it -he expressed no particular interest, but only crossed himself and -murmured: "May he enter the Kingdom of Heaven," and then said aloud: -"And how proud he was! My, my! This was no good, and that did not -suit him. Kings went to do him homage, princes kept watch in his -antechamber. So the Lord, you see, in one moment cast down all his -proud dreams." - -The truth of the matter was that for all his reckoning and checking up -he was far from knowing what was going on on his own estate. In this -respect he was a typical official. Imagine a chief clerk to whom his -superior says: "My friend, it is necessary to my plans for me to know -exactly how large a crop of potatoes Russia can produce annually. Will -you kindly compute this for me?" You think a question like that would -baffle the chief clerk? You think he would at least ponder over the -methods to be employed in the execution of such a task? Not at all. All -he would do is this. He would draw a map of Russia, rule it out into -perfect squares, and find out how many acres each square represents. -Then he would go to the greengrocer's, would find out the quantity -of potatoes each acre requires for seed and what the average ratio -is of yield to seed, and, finally, with the help of God and the four -fundamental operations of arithmetic, he would arrive at the conclusion -that Russia under favorable circumstances could yield so and so many -potatoes and under unfavorable circumstances, so and so many. And his -work would not only please the chief, but would also be placed in -Volume CII of some "Proceedings." - -Yudushka even chose a housekeeper who exactly fitted the environment -he had created. The maiden Yevpraksia was the daughter of the sexton -at the church of St. Nicholas-in-Drops. She was an all-round treasure. -Not alert in thinking, not ingenious, not even handy, but diligent, -submissive, in no sense exigent. When Yudushka "drew her nearer" to his -person, her one request was to be permitted to take some cold cider -without asking leave. Such disinterestedness touched even Yudushka. He -immediately put at her disposal two tubs of pickled apples beside the -cider, and freed her from accountability for any of these items. Her -exterior had nothing attractive in it to a connoisseur, but she was -quite satisfactory to a man who was not fastidious and knew what he -wanted. She had a broad white face, a low forehead bordered with thin -yellowish hair, large lack-lustre eyes, a perfectly straight nose, a -flat mouth on which there played a mysterious elusive smile, such as -one sees in the portraits painted by homebred artists. In short there -was nothing remarkable about her, except, perhaps, her back between her -shoulder-blades, which was so broad and powerful that even the most -indifferent man felt like giving her a good, hearty slap there. She -knew it, but did not mind it, so that when Yudushka for the first time -patted the fat nape of her neck, she only twitched her shoulders. - -Amidst these drab surroundings days wore on, one exactly like the -other, without the slightest change, without the least hope of a -brightening ray. The arrival of Arina Petrovna was the one thing that -brought a bit of animation. At first, when Porfiry Vladimirych had seen -his mother's carriage approaching he had frowned, but in time he grew -accustomed to her visits and even got to like them. They catered to his -loquacity, for even he found it impossible to chatter to himself when -all alone. To babble about various records and reports with "mother -dear" was very pleasant, and, once together, they talked from morning -till night without having enough. They discussed everything--the -harvests of long ago and of the present; the way the landed gentry -had lived in "those days;" the salt that had been so strong in former -years; and the gherkins that were not what they had been in days gone -by. - -These chats had the advantage of flowing on like water and being -forgotten without effort, so that they could be renewed with interest -_ad infinitum,_ and enjoyed each time as if just put into circulation. -Yevpraksia was present at these talks. Arina Petrovna came to love her -so well that she would not have her away for a moment. At times, when -tired of talking, the three of them would sit down to play fool, and -they would keep on playing till long after midnight. They tried to -teach Yevpraksia how to play whist with the dummy, but she could not -understand the game. On such evenings the enormous Golovliovo mansion -became animated. Lights shone in all the windows, shadows appeared here -and there, so that a chance passer-by might think Heaven knows what -celebration was going on. Samovars, coffee pots, refreshments took -their turn on the table, which was never empty. Arina Petrovna's heart -brimmed over with joy and merriment and instead of remaining for one -day, she would spend three or four days at Golovliovo. And on the way -back to Pogorelka she would think up a pretext for returning as soon as -possible to the temptations of the "good living" there. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -It was the end of November. As far as eye could see the ground was -covered with a white shroud. A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; -the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an -instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and -filling the air with a wailing. The village, the church, the nearby -woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist. The wind howled in the -trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard. But inside the landlord's -manor it was warm and cozy. In the dining-room there was a samovar on -the table. Around it were Arina Petrovna, Porfiry Vladimirych, and -Yevpraksia. To one side stood a card-table with tattered cards on it. -The open door from the dining-room led on one side to the ikon room, -all flooded with light from the ikon lamps, on the other, to the -master's study, where an ikon lamp was also burning before an image. -The rooms were overheated and stuffy, the odor of olive oil and of the -charcoal burning in the samovar filled the air. Yevpraksia, seated in -front of the samovar, was engaged in rinsing the cups and drying them -with a dish towel. The samovar made spirited music, now humming aloud -with all its might, now falling into a doze, as it were, and snoring. -Clouds of steam escaped from under the cover and wrapped the tea-pot in -a mist. The three at the table were conversing. - -"Well, how many times were you the 'fool' to-day?" Arina Petrovna asked -Yevpraksia. - -"I shouldn't have been fool once if I hadn't given in. I wanted to -please you, you see," answered Yevpraksia. - -"Fiddlesticks! I remember how pleased you were last time when I -bombarded you with threes and fives. You see, I am not Porfiry -Vladimirych. He makes it easy for you, hands only one at a time, but I, -my dear, have no reason to." - -"Yes, indeed! You were playing foul!" - -"Well, I say! I never do such things." - -"No? Who was it I caught a little while ago? Who wanted to slip through -a seven of clubs and an eight of hearts and call them a pair? Well, I -saw it myself and I myself showed you up!" While talking Yevpraksia -rose to remove the tea-pot from the samovar and turned her back to -Arina Petrovna. - -"My, what a back you have! God bless you!" Arina Petrovna exclaimed, in -involuntary admiration. - -"Yes, a wonderful back," Yudushka repeated mechanically. - -"My back again! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? What has my back done -to you?" Yevpraksia turned her back first to the right, then to the -left, and smiled. Her back was her joy. A few days before even the -cook Savelich, an old man, had looked at her admiringly and said: -"Well, well, what a back! Just like a hearth-plate!" She did not, be it -noticed, complain to Porfiry Vladimirych about the cook's remark. - -The cups were filled with tea over and over again, and the samovar grew -silent. Meanwhile the snowstorm became fiercer and fiercer. A veritable -cataract of snow struck the windowpanes every now and then, and wild -sobs ran at intervals down the chimney flue. - -"The storm seems to be in real earnest," said Arina Petrovna. "Listen -to it howling and whining." - -"Oh, well, let it whine. The blizzard keeps on whining and we keep -on drinking tea. That's how it is, mother dear," replied Porfiry -Vladimirych. - -"It must be a terrible thing for one to be out in the fields now." - -"Yes, it may be terrible to some, but what do we care? Some feel cold -and dreary, but we are bright and cheery. We sit here and sip our tea, -with sugar, and cream, and lemon. And should we want tea with rum, we -can have it with rum." - -"Yes, but suppose----" - -"Just a moment, mother dear. I say, it is very bad in the open now. -There is no road or path. Everything is wiped out. And then--wolves! -But here we are warm and cozy, afraid of nothing. We just keep sitting -here, quietly and peacefully. If we want to play a little game of -cards, we play cards; if we want to have some hot tea, well, then we -have tea. We won't drink more than we want to, but we may drink to our -heart's content. And why all this? Because, mother dear, God's mercy is -with us. Were it not for Him, the King of Kings, maybe we, too, would -now be wandering in the fields, in the cold and the darkness, in a -shabby little coat, a flimsy little girdle, bast shoes." - -"Oh, come now, what do you mean--bast shoes? We are gentlefolk, surely. -In any circumstances we can afford decent footwear." - -"Do you know why we were born in the gentry, mother dear? All because -God's mercy was with us. Were it not for that we would now be in a hut -and it would be lighted not by a candle but by a _luchina_ and as to -tea or coffee, we wouldn't dare dream about them. I would be patching -my miserable little bast shoes, and you would be getting ready to sup -off thin cabbage soup, and Yevpraksia would be weaving tick, and on top -of it all, maybe the _desyatsky_ would come to press us and the wagon -into service." - -"Yes, catch the _desyatsky_ coming on a night like this!" - -"Who knows, mother dear? And maybe the regiments would come! Maybe -there would be war or mutiny. The regiments must be there on the -dot. The other day, for instance, the chief of police was telling me -Napoleon III. had died. So you may be sure the French will be up to -some mischief again. Naturally, our soldiers will have to make for the -front at once, and you, friend peasant, will have to get your wagon -out, quick! Never mind cold, blizzard, and snowdrifts. You go if the -authorities tell you to, and if you know what is good for you. But we, -don't you see, will be spared a while. They won't turn us out with the -wagon." - -"Yes, who dares deny it? The mercy the Lord has shown us is great." - -"That's just what I say. God, mother dear, is everything. He gives -us wood to burn and food to eat. It's all His doing. We think we buy -things ourselves, and pay our own hard cash, but when you look into it -more deeply, and reckon it up, and figure it out, it's all He, it's all -God. If it be His will, we'll have nothing. Here, for instance, I would -like to have some fine little oranges, I would have some myself, would -offer one to my mother dear, would give an orange to everyone. I have -the money to buy oranges. Suppose I produce some coin and say, 'Here, -let me have some oranges,' but God says, 'Halt, man!' Then here I am, -a philosopher without cucumbers." - -They laughed. - -"That's all talk," said Yevpraksia. "My uncle was sexton at the Uspenye -Church in Pesochnoye. You may be sure he was as pious a man as ever -was. So I think God ought to have done something for him. But he was -caught in a snowstorm out in the fields and froze to death all the -same." - -"That's just my point. If such is God's will, you will freeze to death, -and if such is not His will, you will remain alive. There are prayers -that please God and there are prayers that do not please Him. If a -prayer pleases God it will reach Him, if it does not, you may as well -not pray at all." - -"I remember in 1824 I was travelling and was pregnant with Pavel. It -was in the month of December, and I was going to Moscow----" - -"Just a moment, mother dear. Let me finish about the prayers. A man -prays for everything, for he needs everything. He needs some butter and -some cabbage, and some gherkins, well, in a word, he needs everything. -Sometimes he doesn't need the thing, but in his human weakness he -prays for it all the same. But God from above sees better. You pray -for butter, and he gives you cabbage or onions. You are after fair and -warm weather and he sends you rain and hail. What you have to do is to -understand it all and not complain. Last September, for example, we -prayed God for frost, so that the winter corn might not rot, but God, -you see, sent no frosts, and our winter corn rotted away." - -"It certainly did rot away," remarked Arina Petrovna commiseratingly. -"The peasants' winter fields at Novinky weren't worth a straw. They'll -have to plow them all over and plant spring corn." - -"That's just it. Here we are planning and philosophizing, and figuring -it one way, and trying it another way, but God in a trice reduces -all our plots and plans to dust. You, mother dear, wanted to tell us -something that happened to you in 1824?" - -"What was it? I really don't remember. I suppose I wanted to tell you -again about God's mercy. I don't remember, my friend, I don't." - -"Well, you'll recall it some other time, if God is willing. And while -the blizzard is whirling out there you'd better have some jam, my dear. -This is cherry jam from the Golovliovo orchard. Yevpraksia herself put -it up." - -"I am already helping myself to some. I must admit cherry jam is a rare -thing with me now. Years ago I used to indulge every now and then, but -now----! Your Golovliovo cherries are fine, so large and juicy. No -matter how hard I tried to grow them at Dubrovino, they wouldn't come. -Did you add some French brandy to the jam, Yevpraksia?" - -"Of course I did. Followed your directions. Another thing I meant to -ask you, how do you pickle cucumbers, do you use cardamoms?" - -Arina Petrovna thought a bit, then made a gesture of perplexity. - -"I don't remember, my dear. I think I used to put cardamoms in. Now I -don't. My pickling now is not much. But I used to put cardamoms in, -yes, I remember very well now. When I get home I'll look among the -recipes, maybe I'll find it. When I had my strength I used to make a -note of everything. If I liked something somewhere, I would ask how -it was made, write it on a piece of paper, and then try it at home. -I once learned a secret, such a secret that the man who knew it was -offered a thousand rubles to tell. He wouldn't do it. And I gave the -housekeeper a quarter, and she told me every bit of it." - -"Yes, mother dear, in your day you certainly were a wizard." - -"Well, I don't know if I was a wizard, but I can thank the Lord, I -didn't squander my fortune. I kept adding to it. Even now I taste of my -righteous labors. It was I who planted the cherry trees in Golovliovo." - -"Thanks for it, mother dear, many thanks. Eternal thanks from me and my -descendants. That's what I say." - -Yudushka rose, went to mother dear and kissed her hand. - -"And thanks to you, too, that you take your mother's welfare to heart. -Yes, your provisions are fine, very fine." - -"Well, how do my provisions compare? You used to have -provisions--perfectly stunning! My, what cellars! And not an empty -spot!" - -"Yes, I used to have provisions, I may as well be frank about it. Mine -was a well-stocked house. And as to the many cellars I had, well, the -household was much larger, ten times as many mouths as you have to-day. -Take the domestics alone. Everyone had to be fed and provided for. -Gherkins for one, cider for another, little by little, bit by bit, and -it mounts up." - -"Yes, those were good times. Plenty of everything. Grain and fruit, all -in abundance." - -"We used to save more manure, that is why." - -"No, mother dear, that is not the reason. It was God's blessing, that's -what it was. I remember father once brought an apple from the orchard, -and it surprised everybody, it was too big to be put on a plate." - -"Well, I don't remember that. I know generally that apples used to be -fine, but that they were the size of a plate, that I don't remember. -I do remember though, that we caught a carp in the Dubrovino pond -weighing twenty pounds, yes, I remember that." - -"Carps and fruit--everything was large then. I remember the watermelons -the gardener Ivan used to get. They were as big as this!" - -Yudushka stretched out his arms in a circle, pretending he could not -embrace the imaginary watermelon. - -"Yes, those were watermelons. Watermelons, my friend, are according -to the year. One year you get lots of them and they are good. Another -year they are poor and few. And some years you don't get any at -all. Well, it depends upon the lucky ground, too. On the estate of -Grigory Aleksandrovich, for example, nothing came up, no fruit and no -berries--nothing. Only melons. Nothing but melons used to come up." - -"Then he had God's blessing for melons." - -"Why, yes, certainly. You can't get along without God's mercy. You -can't run away from it either." - -Arina Petrovna finished her second cup and cast glances at the card -table. Yevpraksia, too, was burning with impatience to have a hand -at cards. But the plans were thwarted by Arina Petrovna herself. She -suddenly recollected something. - -"I have a bit of news for you," she declared. "I received a letter from -the orphans yesterday." - -"And you kept it to yourself all this time, and only just thought of -it? I suppose they are hard up. Do they ask for money?" - -"No, they do not. Here, read it. You'll like it." - -Arina Petrovna produced a letter from her pocket and gave it to -Yudushka, who read aloud: - -/# - "Please, grandma, don't send us any more turkeys or hens. Don't - send us money, either, but invest the money. We are not at - Moscow but at Kharkov. We've gone on the stage, and in summer - we are going to travel to the fairs. I, Anninka, made my debut - in _Pericola,_ and Lubinka in _Pansies_. I was called out - several times, especially after the scene where Pericola comes - out and sings 'I am ready, ready, read-d-d-y!' Lubinka made a - hit, too. The director put me on a salary of one hundred rubles - a month and a benefit performance at Kharkov; and Lubinka, at - seventy-five a month and a benefit the coming summer, at a - fair. Besides, we get gifts from army officers and lawyers. - The lawyers sometimes, though, give you counterfeit money, - and you have to be careful. And you, dear granny, can have - Pogorelka all to yourself, we will never come there again, we - don't understand how people can live there. We had the first - snow here yesterday, and we had troika rides with the lawyers. - One looks like Plevako--my! just stunning! He put a glass of - champagne on his head and danced a trepak. It's jolly, beats - anything I've seen! The other one isn't so handsome, he looks a - little like Yazikov from St. Petersburg. Just think, after he - read "The Collection of the Best Russian Songs and Romances," - his imagination became unstrung and he got so weak that he - fainted in the court-room. And so we spend almost every day in - the company of army officers and lawyers. We go on rides and - dine and sup in the best restaurants, and pay nothing. And you, - granny dear, don't be stingy and use up everything growing in - Pogorelka, corn, chickens, mushrooms. We shall be very glad to - send some money. Good-by. Our gentlemen have just arrived. They - have come to take us driving again. Darling! Divine! Farewell! - -/$ - ANNINKA. - And I, too--LUBINKA." -$/ - -#/ - -Yudushka spat in disgust and returned the letter. For a while Arina -Petrovna was pensive and silent. - -"Mother dear, you haven't answered them yet?" - -"No, not yet. I just got the letter yesterday. I came here on purpose -to show it to you, but between this and that I almost forgot all about -it." - -"Don't answer it. It's best not to." - -"How can I? I must account to them. Pogorelka is theirs, you know." - -Yudushka also became pensive. A sinister plan flashed through his mind. - -"And I keep wondering how they will preserve themselves in that -foul den," Arina Petrovna continued. "You know how it is in these -things--once you stumble, you can't get your maiden honor back! Go hunt -for it!" - -"Much they need it!" Yudushka snarled back. - -"Still, you know. Honor is a girl's best treasure, one may say. Who -will marry a girl without it?" - -"Nowadays, mother dear, unmarried people live like married ones. -Nowadays they laugh at the precepts of religion. They get married -without benefit of clergy, like heathens. They call it civil marriage." - -Yudushka suddenly recollected that he, too, was living in sinful -relationship with a daughter of the clergy. - -"Of course, sometimes you can't help it," he hastened to add. "If a -man, let us say, is in full vigor and a widower--in an emergency the -law itself is often modified." - -"Yes, of course. When hard pressed a snipe sings like a nightingale. -Even saints sin when sorely tried, let alone us mortals." - -"Yes, that's just it. Do you know what I would do if I were you?" - -"Yes, tell me, please tell me." - -"I would insist that they make Pogorelka over to you in full legal -fashion." - -Arina Petrovna looked at him in fright. - -"Well, I have a deed giving me the full powers and rights of a manager." - -"Manager is not enough. You ought to get a deed that would entitle you -to sell and mortgage it, in a word, to dispose of the property as you -see fit." - -Arina Petrovna lowered her eyes and remained silent. - -"Of course, it is a matter that requires deliberation. Think it over, -mother dear," Yudushka insisted. - -But Arina Petrovna said nothing. Though age had considerably dulled -her powers of judgment, she was somehow uneasy about Yudushka's -insinuations. She was afraid of Yudushka, and loath to part with the -warmth, spaciousness, and abundance that reigned at Golovliovo, but -at the same time she felt that Yudushka had something up his sleeve -when he spoke of the Pogorelka deed, and was casting a new snare. -The situation grew so embarrassing that she began to scold herself -inwardly for having shown him the letter. Happily Yevpraksia came to -the rescue. - -"Well, are we going to play cards or not?" she asked. - -"Yes, come on, come on!" Arina Petrovna hurried them and jumped up -quickly. On her way to the card table a new thought dawned upon her. - -"Do you know what day it is?" she turned to Porfiry Vladimirych. - -"The twenty-third of November," Yudushka replied, somewhat nonplussed. - -"Yes, the twenty-third. Do you remember what happened on the -twenty-third of November? You have forgotten about the requiem, haven't -you?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych turned pale and made the sign of the cross. - -"Oh, Lord! Did you ever!" he exclaimed. "Really? Is that so? Just a -moment. Let's look at the calendar." - -In a few minutes he had brought the calendar and taken out a sheet of -paper inserted in it, on which was written. - -"November 23. The death of my dear son Vladimir." - -"Rest in peace, beloved dust, till the joyous morn. And pray the -Lord for your father, who will never fail to have memorial services -performed on this day." - -"There, now!" said Porfiry Vladimirych. "Ah, Volodya! You are not a -good son. You are a wicked son. You haven't prayed for your papa in -Heaven, it seems, and so he has lost his memory. What are we going to -do about it, mother dear?" - -"It is not so terrible, after all. You can have the requiem service -tomorrow. A requiem and a mass--we'll have both of them sung. It is -all my fault, I am old and have lost my memory. I came on purpose to -remind you, but on my way it slipped my mind." - -"Ah, what a sin! It is a good thing the ikon lamps are burning. It is -as if it had dawned on me from above. To-day is not a holiday, but the -lamps have been left burning ever since the day of Presentation. The -other day Yevpraksia came over to me and asked: 'Do you think I ought -to put out the side ikon lamps?' And I, as if a voice were speaking to -me from within, thought a while and said: 'Don't touch them. Let them -burn.' And now I see what it all meant." - -"Well, it is good at least the lamps have been burning. It is some -relief to the soul. Where will you sit? Will you be my partner, or will -you join your queen?" - -"But, mother dear, I don't know if it's proper." - -"Yes, it is. Sit down. God will forgive you. It wasn't done on purpose, -with evil intentions. It was just because you forgot. It may happen -even to saints. To-morrow, you see, we'll rise with the sun, and stand -throughout the mass and have the requiem sung--all as it should be. -His soul will rejoice that good people remembered him, and we will be -at peace because we did our duty. That's the way to do, my friend. No -use worrying. I'll always say, in the first place, worry will not bring -back your son, and, in the second place, it is a sin before God." - -Yudushka yielded to the persuasiveness of these words, and kissed his -mother's hands. - -"Ah, mother, mother, you have a golden soul, really! If not for you -what would I do now? It would be the end of me, that's all. I just -wouldn't know what to do and would go under." - -Porfiry Vladimirych gave orders for to-morrow's ceremony, and all sat -down to play. They played one hand out, then another. Arina Petrovna -became heated and denounced Yudushka because he had been handing -Yevpraksia only one card at a time. In the intervals between the deals, -Yudushka abandoned himself to reminiscences of his dead son. - -"And how kind he was," he said. "He wouldn't take a thing without -permission. If he needed paper, 'May I have some paper, papa?' 'Yes, -you may, my friend,' Or, 'Won't you be so kind, father dear, as to -order carps for breakfast?' 'If you wish it, my friend.' Ah, Volodya, -my son, you were a good lad in every way, but it was not good of you to -leave your father." - -A few more hands were played, and Yudushka again gave vent to his -reminiscences. - -"And, pray, what in the world happened to him? I really can't -understand it. He lived quietly and nicely, was a joy to me--it -couldn't have been better. And all of a sudden--bang! What a sin, what -a sin! Just think of it, mother dear, what a deed! His very life, the -gift of the Heavenly Father. Why? What for? What did he lack? Was it -money? I think I never held back his allowance. Even my enemies will -not dare say that about me. Well, and if his allowance was not enough, -I couldn't help it. Your father's money wasn't stolen money. If you -haven't enough money, well, learn to restrain yourself. You can't -always be eating cookies, you must sometimes be content with simpler -fare. Yes, you must. Your father, for example, expected some money the -other day, and then the manager comes and says, 'The Torpenlovskoye -peasants won't pay their rent.' Well, I couldn't help it, I wrote a -complaint to the Justice of the Peace. Ah, Volodya, Volodya! No, you -were not a good boy. You deserted your poor father. Left him an orphan." - -The livelier the game the more copious and sentimental Yudushka's -reminiscences. - -"And how bright he was! I remember once, he was laid up with the -measles. He was no more than seven years old. My late Sasha came over -to him, and he says, 'Mother, mother, is it true that only angels have -wings?' 'Well,' she said, 'yes, only angels.' 'Why?' he asked. 'Did -father have wings when he came here a while ago?'" - -Yudushka remained the fool with as many as eight cards on his hands, -among them the ace, king and queen of trumps. Peals of laughter rose, -Yudushka was displeased, but he affably joined in the merriment. In the -midst of the general excitement, Arina Petrovna suddenly grew silent -and listened attentively. - -"Stop, be quiet. Somebody is coming," she said. - -Yudushka and Yevpraksia listened, but heard no sound. - -"I tell you, somebody is coming. Listen, listen! Someone is coming and -he is not far off." - -They listened again, and surely there was a faint tinkling in the -distance, which the wind brought nearer one moment and carried away the -next. Five minutes later the bells were distinctly heard. The sound of -them was followed by voices in the court-yard. - -"The young master, Piotr Porfirych, has arrived," came from the -antechamber. - -Yudushka rose, and remained standing, dumfounded and pale as death. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Petenka walked in looking flabby and dispirited, kissed his father's -hand, observed the same ceremony with his grandmother, then bowed -to Yevpraksia, and sat down. He was about twenty-five, rather -good-looking, in an army officer's travelling uniform. That was all one -could say about him. Even Yudushka knew scarcely more. The relations -of father and son were not of the kind one could call strained. There -simply were no relations, you might say. Yudushka knew Petenka to be a -man who in the eyes of the law was his son and to whom he had to send a -certain allowance determined by Yudushka himself, in consideration of -which he was entitled to homage and obedience. Petenka, on the other -hand, knew that he had a father who could make things unpleasant for -him at any time he wished. He made trips to Golovliovo quite willingly, -especially since he had become a commissioned officer, not because he -greatly enjoyed his father's company, but simply because every man who -is not clearly conscious of his aim in life instinctively gravitates -to his native place. But now, apparently, he had come because he had -been obliged to come, and consequently manifested not a single sign -of the joyous perplexity with which every prodigal son of the gentry -celebrates his arrival home. Petenka was not talkative. - -All his father's ejaculations of pleasant surprise were met with -silence, or a forced smile, and when Yudushka asked, "Why did it occur -to you all of a sudden?" he answered even crossly, "It just occurred to -me and here I am." - -"Well, thank you, thank you for remembering your father. I am glad you -came. I suppose you thought of grandmother, too?" - -"Yes, I thought of grandmother, too." - -"Hold on! Maybe you recollected that today is the Anniversary of your -brother Volodenka's death?" - -"Yes, I thought of that, too." - -Thus the conversation went for about half an hour, so that it was -impossible to tell whether Petenka were answering or dodging the -questions. So, in spite of Yudushka's tolerance of his children's -indifference to him, he could not refrain from remarking: - -"Well, my child, you are not affectionate. One could hardly call you an -affectionate son!" - -Had Petenka kept silence this time also, had he taken his father's -remark meekly, or better still, had he kissed his father's hand and -said, "Excuse me, father dear, you know I am tired from the journey," -things would have passed off pleasantly. But Petenka behaved like an -ungrateful child. - -"Yes, that's what I am," he answered gruffly. "Let me alone, please." - -Then Porfiry Vladimirych felt so hurt, so wounded that he could not -keep quiet any longer. - -"To think of the pains I have taken for your sake!" he said, with -bitterness. "Even here I never stop thinking how to improve this and -that, so that you may be comfortable and cozy, and suffer no lack, and -have no worry. And all of you fight shy of me." - -"Who is 'all of you'?" - -"Well, you. And the deceased, too, may his soul rest in peace, he was -just the same." - -"Well, I am grateful to you." - -"I don't see your gratitude--neither gratitude nor affection--nothing." - -"I'm not affectionate--that's all. But you speak in the plural all the -time. One of us is dead already." - -"Yes, he is dead. God punished him. God punishes disobedient children. -Still, I remember him. He was unruly, but I remember him. Tomorrow, you -see, we shall have the memorial services performed. He offended me, -but I, notwithstanding, remember my duty. Lord! The sort of thing that -goes on these days! Here a son comes to his father and snarls at the -very first word. Is that how we acted in our days? I remember we used -to come to Golovliovo, and when we were thirty versts away, we began -to shiver in our boots. Well, here is mother dear, a live witness, she -will tell you. And nowadays. I don't understand it. I don't understand -it." - -"I don't either. I came quietly, greeted you, kissed your hand and -now I sit here and don't bother you. I drink tea, and if you give me -supper, I'll have my supper. Why did you raise all this fuss?" - -Arina Petrovna sat in her chair listening attentively. She seemed to -be hearing the same old familiar tale that had begun long, long ago, -time out of mind. Aware that such a meeting of father and son foreboded -no good, she considered it her duty to intervene and put in a word of -reconciliation: - -"Well, well, you turkey-cocks!" she said, trying to give the situation -a humorous turn. "Just met and already quarreling. Look at them jumping -at each other, look at them! Feathers will soon be flying. My, my, how -naughty! Why don't you fellows sit down quietly and properly and have -a friendly chat, and let your old mother enjoy it, too? Petenka, you -give in. My child, you must always give in to your father, because he -is your father. Even if at times father gives you bitter medicine, take -it without complaint, with obedience, with respect, because you are his -son. Who knows, maybe the bitter medicine will turn sweet--so it will -be to your good. And you, Porfiry Vladimirych, come down from your high -perch. He is your son, young, delicate. He has made seventy-five versts -over hollows and snow-drifts, he is tired, and chilled, and sleepy. We -are through with the tea now, suppose you order supper and then let's -all go to bed. So, my friend. We'll all go to our nooks and offer up -a prayer, and maybe our temper will pass away. And then we'll rise -early in the morning and pray for Volodya's soul. We'll have a memorial -service performed, and then we'll go home and have a talk. Both of you -will be rested and you'll state your affairs in a clear, orderly way. -Petenka, you will tell us about St. Petersburg and you, Porfiry, about -your country life. And now, let's have supper and to bed!" - -The exhortation had its effect not because it was convincing but -because Yudushka himself saw he had gone too far and it would be best -to end the day peacefully. He rose from his seat, kissed his mother's -hand, thanked her for the "lesson," and ordered supper. - -The meal was eaten in morose silence. Then they left the dining-room -and went to their rooms. Little by little the house became still. The -dead quiet crept from room to room and finally reached the study -of the Golovliovo master. Having finished the required number of -genuflexions before the ikons, Yudushka, too, went to bed. - -Porfiry Vladimirych lay in bed, but was unable to shut his eyes. He -felt his son's arrival portended something unusual, and various absurd -sermons already rose in his mind. Yudushka's harangues had the merit of -being good for all occasions and did not consist of a connected chain -of thoughts, but came to him in the shape of fragmentary aphorisms. -Whenever confronted by an extraordinary situation, such a flood of -aphorisms overwhelmed him that even sleep could not drive them from his -consciousness. - -He could not fall asleep. He was a prey to his absurd sermonizings, -though, as a matter of fact, he was not much perturbed by Petenka's -mysterious arrival. He was prepared for no matter what happened. He -knew nothing would catch him napping and nothing would make him recede -in the slightest from the web of empty, musty aphorisms in which he -was entangled. For him there existed neither sorrow nor joy, neither -hatred, nor love. To him the entire world was a vast coffin which -served him as a pretext for endless prattling. - -What greater grief could there be for a father than for his son to -commit suicide? But even with respect to Volodya's suicide he remained -true to himself. It had been a very sad story, which had lasted two -years. For two years Volodya had held out, at first showing a pride -and determination not to ask his father's aid. Then he weakened, began -to implore, to expostulate, to threaten. In reply he always received -a ready aphorism, the stone given to the hungry man. It is doubtful -whether Yudushka realized that he had handed his son a stone and not -bread. At any rate a stone was all he had to give, and so he gave it. -When Volodya shot himself he had a requiem service performed, entered -the day of his death in the calendar, and promised himself to have -memorial services performed on the 23rd of November of every year. -Sometimes a dull voice muttered in his ears that the solution of a -family quarrel by suicide is rather a questionable method, to say the -least; and even then he brought into play a train of aphorisms, such as -"God punishes disobedient children," "God is against the proud," and -was at peace again. - -And now! There was no doubt that something sinister had happened to -Petenka. But whatever had happened, he, Porfiry Vladimirych, must be -above those chance happenings. "You knew how to get in, then know how -to get out." "If the cat wants the fish, let her wet her feet." Just -so. That is what he would say to his son the next day, no matter what -Petenka told him. And suppose Petenka, like Volodya, were also to -refuse to take a stone instead of bread? What if he, too----Yudushka -drove the thought from him. It was a diabolical suggestion. He tossed -about and tried in vain to fall asleep. Whenever sleep seemed about -to come, there flashed across his mind maxims such as "I should like -to reach the sky but my arms are too short," or "You can't stretch -more than the length of your bed," or "Speed is good for nothing but -catching fleas." - -Twaddle surrounded him on all sides, crawled upon him, crept over him, -embraced him. Under this load of nonsensicality, with which he hoped to -regale his soul tomorrow, he could not fall asleep. - -Nor could Petenka find sleep, though the journey had tired him -exceedingly. He had an affair that could not be settled anywhere -except at Golovliovo, but it was a situation of such a nature that -he did not know how to meet it. Petenka, indeed, realized full well -that his case was hopeless and his trip to Golovliovo would only add -to the difficulties of his situation. But the primitive instinct of -self-preservation in man overcomes all reason and urges him on to try -everything to the very last straw. That's why he had come. But instead -of hardening himself so as to be prepared for whatever might come, he -had almost from the first word got into a quarrel with his father. What -would be the outcome of this trip? Would a miracle happen? Would stone -turn into bread? Would it not have been simpler to put the revolver to -his temple and say, "Gentlemen, I am unworthy of wearing your uniform. -I have embezzled crown money and I pronounce a just, though severe -sentence upon myself"? Bang! And all is over. The deceased Lieutenant -Golovliov is hereby struck off the list of officers. Yes, how radical -that would be and--how beautiful! The comrades would say, "You were -unfortunate, you went too far, still you were an honorable man." - -But instead of acting that way at once, he had brought the affair to -a point where it became a matter of common knowledge; and then he -had been given leave of absence for a fixed time on condition that -within that time he would refund the embezzled sum. If not--out of the -regiment! The disgraceful end of his early career! So he had come to -Golovliovo, though he knew full well that he would be given a stone -instead of bread. - -But perhaps a miracle would come to change things. Miracles sometimes -happen. Perhaps the present Golovliovo would vanish and a new -Golovliovo would arise, in which he might----And perhaps grandmother -would--hadn't she money? Maybe, if he told her he was in great trouble, -she might give him some. Who could tell? "Here," she might say, "hurry, -so that you get back before the time is up." - -And he rode fast, fast--hurried the driver, just made the train and got -to the regiment two hours before the respite was over. "Good for you, -Golovliov," his comrades would say, "your hand, honorable young man! -Let's forget the matter." And he not only remained in the regiment, but -was even promoted to staff-captain, then captain, after that adjutant -of the regiment (he had been bursar, already) and, finally, on the -anniversary day of the regiment----Ah, if only the night would pass -quickly! Tomorrow--well, let happen what may tomorrow. But what he -would have to listen to! Gods, what would he not be told! Tomorrow--but -why tomorrow? He had a whole day yet. He asked for two days just -because he wanted to have enough time to move "him." A likely chance! A -fine prospect of persuading and touching him! No use---- - -Here his thoughts became confused and sank, one after the other, into -the mist of sleep. In a few minutes the Golovliovo manor was steeped in -heavy slumber. - -The next day the whole household was up early in the morning. Everybody -went to church except Petenka, who pleaded fatigue. They listened to -the mass and the requiem and returned home. Petenka, as usual, came -up to kiss his father's hand, but Yudushka extended it sidewise, and -everyone noticed that he did not even make the sign of the cross over -his son. Tea was served, then _kutya._ Yudushka was dismal, scraped -the floor with his feet, avoided conversation, sighed, folded his -hands incessantly as if for inner prayer, and never once looked at his -son. Petenka, for his part, bristled up and smoked one cigarette after -another. The strained situation of yesterday, so far from relaxing, -became still more acute. It made Arina Petrovna very uneasy, and she -decided to find out from Yevpraksia if anything had happened. - -"Has anything happened," she asked, "that makes them look daggers at -each other like that?" - -"How do I know? I don't interfere in their private affairs," the girl -snapped back. - -"Maybe it's on account of you. Perhaps my grandson is running after you -too?" - -"Why should he run after me? A little while ago he tried to catch hold -of me in the corridor, and Porfiry Vladimirych saw him." - -"Oh. So that's what it is." - -In fact, in spite of his critical situation, Petenka had not lost -a bit of his levity. His eyes riveted themselves on Yevpraksia's -powerful back and he determined to let her know about it. That was -the real reason he had not gone to church, hoping Yevpraksia, as the -housekeeper, would stay home. So, when the house had turned silent, -he had thrown his cloak over his shoulders and hidden himself in the -corridor. A minute or two passed, the door of the maids' room banged, -and Yevpraksia appeared at the other end of the corridor, carrying a -tray with a butter-cake to be served with the tea. Petenka struck her -between the shoulder-blades and said, "A wonderful back you've got!" -and that instant the dining-room door opened and his father appeared. - -"You, scoundrel! If you came here to behave in a nasty way, I'll throw -you down the stairs!" Yudushka hissed venomously. - -Naturally, Petenka vanished in a moment. He could not fail to realize -that the incident of the morning was scarcely likely to improve his -case. So he decided to be silent and postpone the explanation until the -morrow. Nevertheless he did nothing to allay his father's irritation; -on the contrary, he behaved in a foolish, unguarded manner, smoking -cigarettes incessantly, heedless of his father's energetically fanning -away the clouds of smoke that filled the room; and every now and -then making sheep's eyes at Yevpraksia, who smiled queerly under the -influence of his glances. Yudushka noticed that, too. - -The day dragged on slowly. Arina Petrovna tried to play fool with -Yevpraksia, but nothing came of it. No one felt like playing or -talking; they could not even think of small talk, though everyone had -stores of this merchandise. At last dinner time came. But dinner passed -in silence also. After dinner Arina Petrovna made preparations for -returning to Pogorelka. But this intention of his "mother dear" alarmed -Yudushka. - -"God bless you, darling!" he exclaimed. "Do you mean to say you'll -leave me here alone with this--this wicked son? No, no, don't think of -it. I won't allow it." - -"But what is the matter? Has anything happened between the two of you? -Why don't you tell me?" she asked. - -"No, nothing has happened--as yet, but you'll see. No, please don't -go! Be present at----There is something behind his coming here in such -a hurry. So, if anything happens--you be the witness." - -Arina Petrovna shook her head and decided to stay. - -After dinner Porfiry Vladimirych retired, having first sent Yevpraksia -to the village priest, and Arina Petrovna also went to her room and -dozed off in her easy-chair. - -Petenka thought it the most favorable time to try his luck with -grandmother, and went to her room. - -"What is the matter? Have you come to play a game of fool with an old -woman?" she asked. - -"No, granny, I am on business." - -"Well, what is your business? Tell me." - -Petenka hesitated a minute, then blurted out: - -"I lost crown money at cards." - -Arina Petrovna's eyes grew dim from the shock. - -"Much?" she asked in a frightened voice, staring at him. - -"Three thousand." - -For a moment both were silent. Arina Petrovna looked around restlessly, -as if expecting somebody to come to her rescue. - -"Do you know they can send you to Siberia for that?" she said at last. - -"Yes, I know." - -"Poor fellow!" - -"Granny, I meant to borrow it from you. I'll pay good interest." - -Arina Petrovna became thoroughly frightened. - -"Oh no, no!" she protested. "I have only enough money for my coffin and -memorial prayers. It's my granddaughters that keep me a-going, and my -son, too. No, no, no! You'd better let me alone. Let me see--why not -ask your papa?" - -"Oh, well, you can't squeeze blood out of an onion. All my hope was in -you, granny." - -"Just think of what you are saying. I would gladly do it, but where am -I to get the money from? I have no money at all. But suppose you ask -father, you know, affectionately, respectfully. 'Here, father dear, -such is the case. I know I am guilty, I am young and I made a blunder.' -You know, with a smile and a laugh. Kiss his hand and fall on your -knees, and cry a bit. He likes it. Then maybe father will untie his -purse for his sonny dear." - -"So you really think it's worth trying? Just a moment. See here, -granny, suppose you say to him, 'If you don't give him the money I'll -lay a curse on you!' He has always been afraid of your curse, you know." - -"No, why curse? You can ask right out. Do ask him, my dear. There is no -harm if you bow before your father once too many. He will understand -your position, you know. Do it. Be sure to do it." - -Petenka, his arms akimbo, walked back and forth as if deliberating. -Finally he halted and said: - -"No, I won't. He is not likely to give it--it's no use. No matter what -I do, even if I smash my head in bowing--he won't do it. But you see, -if you threatened him with your curse. What am I to do, granny?" - -"I don't know, really. Try and perhaps you'll soften him a bit. How -did you come to take such liberties? To lose crown money is no small -matter. Did anybody inveigle you into it?" - -"It just happened. I took it and lost it at cards. Well, if you have -no money of your own, give me some of the orphans'." - -"What is the matter with you? Have you lost your wits? How can I let -you have the orphans' money? No, no, I can't. Don't talk to me about -it, for Christ's sake." - -"So you won't. Too bad. And I would pay good interest. Do you want five -per cent. per month? No? Well, double the principal in a year?" - -"Don't you tempt me!" shouted Arina Petrovna, throwing up her hands. -"Leave me alone, for Christ's sake! It won't surprise me if father -hears us and says I urged you on! Oh, Lord! I am an old woman, I wanted -to rest a bit. I had just dozed off and then he comes with such an -offer." - -"Very well, then. I am going. So it's impossible? Very good. Just like -kinsfolk. On account of three thousand rubles your grandson will go to -Siberia. Don't forget to have a Te Deum sung when I go." - -Petenka left the room, closing the door with a bang. One of his flimsy -hopes was gone. What was he to do next? Only one way out was left--to -confess all to father. Who knows, perhaps, perhaps, something would---- - -"I'll go at once and be done with it," he said to himself. "Or no! What -can I hope for? Better tomorrow. Yes, I think tomorrow is better. I'll -tell him and leave at once." So he decided. Tomorrow would see and end -it all. - -After the talk with grandmother the evening dragged on still more -slowly. Even Arina Petrovna grew silent after she had learned the real -cause of Petenka's arrival. Yudushka tried to be jocular with mother, -but perceiving she was absorbed in her own thoughts, also grew silent. -Petenka did nothing but smoke. At supper Porfiry Vladimirych asked him: - -"Are you going to tell me at last why you have honored me with this -visit?" - -"I will tell you tomorrow," answered Petenka morosely. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -Petenka rose early after a sleepless night. His harassed mind -vacillated between hope and utter despair. Perhaps he did not really -know his father, but one thing he was sure of, that there was not in -him a single feeling, a single weak spot that could be grasped at -and made use of. When face to face with his father, all he felt was -something inexplicable. He did not know how to approach him, what to -say first, and this made him very uneasy in his presence. It had been -like that since his childhood. As far back as he could remember, it -always seemed better not to attempt any forecast at all than to make a -matter depend upon his father's decision. So now, too. How was he to -begin? How was he to approach the matter? What was he to say first? And -why had he come here at all? - -A feeling of disgust seized him. Nevertheless he realized he had only -a few hours left and something had to be done. Having worked himself -up into a fair state of courage, he buttoned up his coat, and walked -firmly to his father's study, whispering something to himself. Yudushka -was saying prayers. He was pious, and every day gladly devoted a few -hours to prayer, not because he loved God and hoped through prayer to -enter into communion with Him, but because he feared the devil and -hoped God would deliver him from the Evil One. - -He knew many prayers and was especially versed in the technique of the -poses and gestures of worship. He knew how to move his lips, how to -roll his eyes, when it was proper to place the hands palm inward, and -when they were to be lifted up, when to be moved with feeling, and when -to stand with reverential calm and slowly make the sign of the cross. -Even his eyes and his nostrils moistened at the proper moments. But -prayer did not rejuvenate him, did not ennoble his feelings, or bring -a single ray into his dull existence. He could pray and go through all -the requisite bodily movements, and at the same time be looking out -of the window to see if someone was entering the cellar without his -permission. It was quite a distinct, particular function of life, which -was self-sufficient and could exist outside of the general scheme of -life. - -When Petenka entered the study, Porfiry Vladimirych was on his knees -with his hands raised. He did not change his position, but made a -jerky movement with one of his hands to indicate that he had not yet -finished. Petenka seated himself in the dining-room, where the table -was already set for tea, and waited. The half hour that passed seemed -like eternity, especially as he was sure his father was prolonging -the wait intentionally. The studied coolness with which he had armed -himself little by little gave way to vexation. At first he sat stiff, -then began to walk to and fro, and finally fell to whistling airs. As -a result, the door of the study opened, and Yudushka's irritated voice -was heard calling: - -"Whoever wants to whistle may do so in the stables." - -After a while Porfiry Vladimirych came out clad all in black, in -clean linen, as if prepared for a solemn occasion. His countenance was -radiant, glowing, breathing meekness and joy, as if he had just been at -communion. He approached his son, made the sign of the cross over him, -and then kissed him. - -"Good morning, friend," he said. - -"Good morning." - -"Did you sleep well? Was your bed made properly? Were there no little -fleas and bedbugs to bother you?" - -"Thank you. I slept well." - -"Well, thanks to God, if you slept well. It's only at one's parents' -home that one can sleep really well. I know it from my own experience. -No matter how comfortable I might be at St. Petersburg, I could never -sleep so well as at Golovliovo. You feel just as if you were rocked in -a cradle. So what are we going to do? Shall we have some tea first, or -do you want to say something now?" - -"Let's talk it over now. I have to leave in six hours, and maybe we'll -need some time for deliberation." - -"Oh, well. But, my dear, I tell you directly, I never deliberate, my -answer is always ready. If your request is a proper one, well, I never -refuse anything proper. It may be hard on me at times, and I can't -always afford it, but if it is proper, I can't refuse it. That's the -kind of man I am. But if you ask for something that isn't right, I am -sorry. Though I feel for you, I shall have to refuse. You observe, my -son, I have no underhand ways. I am exactly as you see me. Well, then, -let's go into the study. Speak and I will listen. Let's hear, let's -hear what the matter is." - -On entering the study, Porfiry left the door ajar and instead of -seating himself and asking his son to be seated, he began pacing the -room, as if instinctively feeling that the matter was delicate and it -would be easier to discuss it while walking. The expression of one's -face may be more easily concealed, and if the conversation takes a -disagreeable turn it may be more readily cut off, and the door half -ajar makes it possible to appeal to witnesses; for mother dear and -Yevpraksia were sure to come into the dining-room before long to have -tea. - -"Papa," blurted out Petenka, "I lost some crown money at cards." - -Yudushka said nothing, but his lips quivered, and he immediately fell -to muttering, as was his habit. - -"I lost three thousand," explained Petenka, "and if I don't return -the money the day after tomorrow, there may be very disagreeable -consequences for me." - -"Well, refund the money," said Porfiry Vladimirych affably. - -Father and son made a few turns around the room in silence. Petenka -wished to make further explanations, but felt a lump rising in his -throat. - -"Yes, but where am I to get the money from?" he said at last. - -"My dear friend, I don't know your resources. Pay it back from the -resources you figured on when you gambled crown money away." - -"You know very well that in such cases people forget about their -resources." - -"I don't know a thing, my friend. I never played cards, except with -mother, when I play fool to amuse the old woman. And please don't drag -me into this dirty business, and let's go and have tea. We'll have tea -and sit around, maybe we'll talk about something, but, for the Lord's -sake, not about that." - -Yudushka started to make for the door and into the dining-room, but -Petenka stopped him. - -"Look here," he said, "I have to get out of this predicament somehow." - -Yudushka grinned and stared at Petenka. - -"Yes, my dear, you have to," he agreed. - -"Then help me." - -"Ah, that's a different matter. You have to get out of the difficulty -somehow, to be sure, but how to get out of it--well, that's none of my -business." - -"But why don't you want to help me?" - -"First, because I have no money to cover up your dastardly deeds, and -secondly because the entire matter does not concern me in the least. -You knew how to get in, then know how to get out. The cat likes fish, -then let her wet her feet. You see, my boy, that's just what I said at -the start, that if your request is a proper one----" - -"I know. You've got a lot of words on the tip of your tongue." - -"Wait, save your impudent remarks, and let me say what I wish to say. -That they are not mere words I'll prove to you in a minute. So, as I -said a while ago, if your request is a proper, a sensible one, all -right, my boy. I am always ready to satisfy you. But if you come to -me with an unreasonable request, I am very sorry, I have no money for -stuff and nonsense. No sir, never. And you won't get any--you may as -well be sure of it. And don't dare tell me I use mere words. My words -are mighty near deeds." - -"But think what will become of me." - -"Whatever pleases God, that will happen," answered Yudushka, slightly -lifting up his arms and looking sideways at the ikon. - -Father and son again made a few turns across the room. Yudushka paced -reluctantly, as if in complaint that his son was holding him in -captivity. Petenka, his arms akimbo, followed him, biting his moustache -and smiling nervously. - -"I am your last son," he said. "Don't forget that." - -"My boy, God bereft Job of everything, and Job did not complain, but -only said: 'God hath given and God hath taken away--may thy will be -done, oh, Lord!' So, my boy." - -"In the Bible it was God that took, and here you take away from -yourself. Volodya----" - -"Oh, well, you are talking nonsense." - -"No, it isn't nonsense, it's the truth. Everybody knows that -Volodya----" - -"No, no, no! I don't want to listen to your preposterous remarks. -Enough! You've said everything necessary. I have given you my answer. -And now let's go and have tea. We'll chat a while, then we'll have a -bite, then a drink before you go--and then God speed you! You see how -good the Lord is to you? The weather has abated and the road become -smoother. Little by little, bit by bit, one, two, and you'll hardly -notice when you get to the station." - -"Now, listen, I implore you. If you have a drop of feeling----" - -"No, no, no! Don't let us talk about it. Let's go into the dining-room. -I dare say mother dear must be dull without her tea. It isn't proper to -keep the dear old woman waiting." - -Yudushka made a sharp turn and almost ran to the door. - -"You may go or not, it's all the same to me, but I am not going to drop -this conversation," Petenka shouted after him. "It will be worse if we -begin talking in the presence of witnesses." - -Yudushka came back and planted himself squarely before his son. - -"What do you want of me, you scoundrel? Speak up!" - -"I want you to pay the money that I lost." - -"Never!" - -"Is that your last word?" - -"You see," exclaimed Yudushka solemnly, pointing at the ikon that hung -in the corner, "You see that? It is grandfather's benediction. So, in -the presence of that image I say, Never!" - -And with a firm step he left the study. - -"Murderer!" was hurled after him. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -Arina Petrovna was already at the table, and Yevpraksia was busy -arranging the tea things. The old woman was silent and thoughtful, and -looked as if she were ashamed of Petenka. In the customary way Yudushka -kissed her hand, and she made the sign of the cross over him. Then came -the usual questions, whether everybody felt well, and had had a good -night's rest, followed by the customary monosyllabic answers. Petenka's -asking Arina Petrovna for money and awakening the memory of the "curse" -had put her into a state of peculiar uneasiness. She was pursued by the -thought, "What if I threaten him with my curse?" When she had heard -that explanations in the study had begun, she had turned to Yevpraksia -with the request: - -"Suppose, my dear, you go to the door quietly and listen to what they -say." - -Yevpraksia went to eavesdrop, but was so stupid she could understand -nothing. - -"Oh, they're just having a chat," she explained upon her return. - -Then Arina Petrovna could not hold out any longer and went to the -dining-room, where the samovar had already been brought in. But the -interview was nearing its end, and all she noted was that Petenka's -voice was loud and angry, and Porfiry Vladimirych's replies were given -in a nagging voice. - -"He's nagging him, that just it, nagging!" ran in her head. "I remember -he used to nag that way, and how is it I did not understand him then?" - -At last, father and son appeared in the dining-room. Petenka's face -was red and he was breathing heavily. His eyes were staring widely, -his hair was disheveled, his forehead was covered with beads of -perspiration. Yudushka, on the contrary, entered pale and cross. -He wanted to appear indifferent but, in spite of all his efforts, -his lower lip trembled. He could hardly utter the customary morning -greetings to his mother dear. - -All took their places at the table. Petenka seated himself at some -distance, leaned against the back of his chair, crossed his legs, -lighted a cigarette, and looked at his father ironically. - -"You see, mother, the storm has abated," Yudushka began. "Yesterday -there was such an uproar, but God only had to will it, and here we have -a nice, bright, quiet day. Am I right, mother dear?" - -"I don't know. I haven't been out to-day." - -"By the way, we are going to see our dear guest off," continued -Yudushka. "I rose early this morning, looked out of the window--it -was still and quiet outdoors, as if God's angel had flown by and in a -moment allayed the riot with his wings." - -But no one answered Yudushka's kindly words. Yevpraksia sipped her tea -from the saucer, blowing and puffing. Arina Petrovna looked into her -cup and was silent. Petenka, swaying in his chair, continued to eye -his father with an ironical, defiant air, as if he had to exert great -efforts to keep from bursting out laughing. - -"Even if Petenka does not ride fast, he will reach the railway station -toward night," Porfiry Vladimirych resumed. "Our horses are not -overworked. They will feed for a couple of hours at Muravyevo, and they -will get him to the place in a jiffy. Ah, Petka, you are a bad boy! -Suppose you stay with us a while longer--really. We would enjoy your -company, and you would improve greatly in a week." - -But Petenka continued to sway in his chair and eye his father. - -"Why do you stare at me?" Yudushka flared up at last. "Do you see -pictures on me?" - -"I'm just looking at you waiting for what's coming next." - -"No use waiting, my son. It will be as I said. I will not change my -mind." - -A minute of silence followed, after which a whisper could be distinctly -heard. - -"Yudushka!" - -Porfiry Vladimirych undoubtedly heard it, he even turned pale, but he -pretended the exclamation did not concern him. - -"Ah, my dear little children," he said. "I should like to caress and -fondle you, but it seems it can't be done--ill luck! You run away from -your parents, you've got bosom friends who are dearer to you than -father and mother. Well, it can't be helped. One ponders a bit over it, -then resigns oneself. You are young folk, and youth, of course, prefers -the company of youth to that of an old grouch. So, I resign myself and -don't complain. I only pray to Our Father in Heaven, 'Do Thy will, oh -Lord!'" - -"Murderer!" Petenka whispered, but this time so distinctly that Arina -Petrovna looked at him in fright. Something passed before her eyes. It -looked like the shadow of Simple Simon. - -"Whom do you mean?" asked Yudushka, trembling with excitement. - -"Oh, just an acquaintance of mine." - -"I see. Well, you'd better make that clear. Lord knows what's in your -head. Maybe it is one of us that you style so." - -Everybody became silent. The glasses of tea remained untouched. -Yudushka leaned against the back of his chair, swaying nervously. -Petenka, seeing that all hope was gone, had a sensation of deadly -anguish, under the influence of which he was ready to go to any -lengths. But father and son looked at each other with an indescribable -smile. Hardened though Porfiry Vladimirych was, the minute was nearing -when he would be unable to control himself. - -"You'd better go, while the going's good," he burst out, finally. "You -better had." - -"I'm going." - -"Then why wait? I see you're trying to pick a quarrel, and I don't -want to quarrel with anybody. We live here quietly and in good order, -without disputes. Your old grandmother is here. You ought to have -regard for her at least. Well, tell us why you came here?" - -"I told you why." - -"If it's only for that, you are wasting your efforts. Go at once, my -son. Hey, who's there? Have the horses ready for the young master. And -some fried chicken, and caviar, and other things, eggs, I suppose. Wrap -them up well in paper. You'll take a bite at the station, my son, while -they feed the horses. Godspeed!" - -"No, I am not going yet. I'm going to church first to have a memorial -service performed for the murdered servant of God, Vladimir." - -"That is, for the suicide." - -"No, for the murdered." - -Father and son stared at each other. It looked as if in a moment both -would jump up. But Yudushka made a superhuman effort and, turning his -chair, faced the table again. - -"Wonderful!" he said in a strained voice. "Wonderful!" - -"Yes, for the murdered!" Petenka persisted brutally. - -"Who murdered him?" Yudushka asked with curiosity, still hoping, -apparently, that his son would come to his senses. - -But Petenka, unperturbed, whipped out: - -"You!" - -"I?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych was astounded. It was a few moments before he came -to himself. He rose hastily from his seat, faced the ikon and began to -pray. - -"You, you, you!" Petenka repeated. - -"Well, now! Thank God, I feel better after praying," said Yudushka, -seating himself at table again. "Just a minute, though. I, as your -father, should not take you up on your talk, but we'll pursue the -matter this time. Then you mean to say that I killed Volodenka?" - -"Yes, you did." - -"And I beg leave to differ. I consider he shot himself. At that time -I was at Golovliovo and in St. Petersburg. So what could I have to do -with it? How could I kill him when he was seven hundred versts away?" - -"As if you don't understand!" - -"I don't understand, by the Lord, I don't!" - -"And who left Volodya without a penny? Who discontinued his allowances? -Who?" - -"Stuff and nonsense! Why did he marry against his father's will?" - -"But you gave him your permission." - -"Who? I? What are you talking about? I never did anything of the kind. -Nev-v-v-er!" - -"Oh, of course, you acted as you always do. Everyone of your words has -ten meanings. Go, guess the right one." - -"I never gave my permission. He wrote to me, 'Papa, I want to marry -Lida,' you understand, 'I want to,' not 'I beg your permission.' Well, -I answered him, 'If you want to marry, you can marry. I cannot stand in -your way.' That's all there was to it." - -"That's all there was to it," Petenka said jeeringly. "And wasn't that -giving your permission?" - -"That's exactly what it wasn't. What did I say? I said, 'I cannot stand -in your way.' That's all. But whether I give my permission or not, is -a different question. He did not ask my permission, he simply wrote, -'Papa, I want to marry Lida.' Well, and as to permission he kept mum. -You want to marry. Well, my friend, may God be with you, marry Lida or -Fida, I cannot stand in your way!" - -"But you could leave him without a crust of bread. So why didn't you -write this way, 'I do not approve of your intention, and therefore, -though I will not hinder you, I warn you that you can not longer rely -on financial aid from me.' That, at least, would have been clear." - -"No, I shall never permit myself to do such things, to make threats -against a grown son--never! I have a rule never to be in anybody's way. -If you want to marry--marry! Well, and as to consequences--I am sorry. -It was your business to foresee them yourself. That's why God gave you -reason. And as to me, brother, I don't like to thrust myself into other -people's affairs. I not only keep from meddling myself, but I don't -invite others to meddle in my affairs, I don't invite it, I don't, I -don't, I even forbid it! Do you hear me, you wicked, disrespectful son, -I f-o-r-b-i-d it!" - -"You may forbid it, if you like, but you can't muzzle everybody." - -"If at least he had repented! And if at least he had realized that he -offended his father! Well, you committed a folly--say you are sorry. -Ask forgiveness! 'Forgive me, dear papa, for the mortification I caused -you.' But he wouldn't!" - -"But he did write to you. He made it clear to you that he had nothing -to live on, that he could not endure it any longer." - -"That's not the kind of thing to write to a father. From a father one -asks pardon, that's all." - -"He did so. He was so tortured that he begged forgiveness, too. He did -everything, he did." - -"And even if he did, he was wrong. You ask forgiveness once, you see -your father does not forgive you, you ask again!" - -"Oh, you!" - -At this Petenka suddenly ceased swaying his chair, turned about, faced -the table and rested both elbows on it. - -"And here I, too----" he whispered. - -His face gradually became disfigured. - -"And here I too----" he repeated, and burst into hysterical sobbing. - -"Whose fault----" - -But Yudushka had no chance to finish his sermon. At that moment -something quite unexpected took place. During their skirmish the man -had almost forgotten about Arina Petrovna. But she had not remained -an indifferent spectator. On the contrary, you could tell at a glance -that something quite unusual was taking place within her, and that -the moment perhaps had arrived when the ruthless vision of her entire -life appeared before her spiritual eye in a glaring light. Her face -livened up, her eyes widened and glittered, her lips moved as if they -were struggling to utter some word and could not. Suddenly, just at the -moment when Petenka's bitter weeping resounded in the dining-room she -rose heavily from her arm-chair, stretched her arms forward, and a loud -wail broke out from her breast. - -"My cu-r-r-se upon you!" - - - - -BOOK IV - -THE GOOD LITTLE NIECE - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Yudushka did not give the money to Petenka, though, kind father that -he was, he gave orders just before the moment of departure for some -chicken, veal and pie to be placed in the carriage. Then he went out -on the porch in the chilling wind to see his son off, and inquired -whether Petenka was seated comfortably and whether he had wrapped his -feet up well. Re-entering the house, he stood at the window in the -dining-room a long time making the sign of the cross and sending his -blessings after the vehicle that was carrying Petenka away. In a word, -he performed the farewell ceremony fittingly, as becomes good kinsfolk. - -"Oh, Petka, Petka," he said, "you are a bad, bad son. Look at the -mischief you have done. My, my, my! And what could have been better -than to live on quietly and peacefully, nicely and easily with father -and old granny? But no! Crash! Bang! I am my own master, I've got a -head on my shoulders, too! Well, there's your head! My, what trouble!" - -Not a muscle quivered in his wooden face, not a note in his voice -sounded like an appeal to a prodigal son. But, then, there was nobody -to hear his words, for Arina Petrovna was the only one beside himself -in the room, and as a result of the shock she had just gone through -she seemed to have lost all vitality, and sat near the samovar, her -mouth open, looking straight ahead, without hearing anything, without a -single thought in her mind. - -Then life flowed on as usual, full of idle bustle and babbling. -Contrary to Petenka's expectations, Porfiry Vladimirych took the -maternal curse quite coolly and did not recede a hair's breadth from -the decision that had come from his head full-formed, as it were. - -It is true he turned slightly pale and rushed toward his mother with a -cry: - -"Mother, dear! Darling! Lord be with you! Be calm, dear! God is -merciful. All will be well." - -But his words were expressive of alarm for her rather than for himself. -Her act had been so unexpected that Yudushka even forgot to pretend -to be frightened. Only last night his mother had been affectionate, -had jested, and played fool with Yevpraksia. Evidently, then, it -had all happened in a moment of sudden anger, and there was nothing -premeditated, nothing real about it all. - -Indeed, he had been very much afraid of his mother's curse but he -had pictured it quite differently. In his idle mind he had built -an elaborate staging for the occasion, ikons, burning candles, his -mother standing in the center of the room, terrible, with a darkened -face as she hurled the curse. Then, thunder, candles going out, the -veil tearing asunder, darkness covering the earth, and above, amidst -the clouds the wrathful countenance of Jehovah illumined by a flash -of lightning. But nothing of the sort had happened, so his mother -had simply done something rash and silly. And she had had no reason -to curse him in earnest, because of late there had been no cause -for quarreling. Many changes had occurred since Yudushka expressed -his doubt as to whether a certain coach belonged to his mother dear -(Yudushka admitted to _himself_ that _then_ he had been wrong and -deserved damnation). Arina Petrovna had become more submissive, and -Porfiry Vladimirych had but one thought in his head: how to placate his -mother dear. - -"The old woman is doing poorly, my, how poorly! At times she even -raves," he consoled himself. "The darling sits down to play fool and -before you know it, she dozes off." - -In justice to Yudushka it must be admitted that his mother's -decrepitude gave him some alarm. Even he was not quite ready for her -death, had not made any plans, had had no time to make estimates--how -much capital mother had when she left Dubrovino, what that capital -might bring in annually, how much of the interest she had spent, and -how much she had added to the principal. In a word, he had not gone -through an infinity of useless trifles, without which he always felt as -if he were caught unawares. - -"The old woman is hale and hearty," he would muse at times. "Still she -won't spend it all--impossible. When she shared us out, she had a neat -sum. Maybe she transferred some to the orphans. Oh, the old woman is -rich. Yes, she is." - -But these musings were not so very serious, and vanished without -leaving an impress on his mind. The mass of daily trivialities was -already great, and there was as yet no urgent need to augment them by -the addition of new trivialities. Porfiry Vladimirych kept putting the -matter off, and did not realize it was time to begin until after the -damnation scene. - -The catastrophe came sooner than he expected. On the second day after -Petenka's departure Arina Petrovna left for Pogorelka, and never again -visited Golovliovo. She spent a month in total solitude, keeping to her -room and scarcely exchanging a word with her servants. From force of -habit she rose early in the morning, sat down at her desk, and began -to play patience, but hardly ever brought the game to an end, and sat -in frozen rigidity--with her glazed eyes fixed on the window. What she -thought about or whether she thought at all, even the keenest judge of -the deep-lying mysteries of the human soul could not have divined. She -seemed to be trying to recollect something, perhaps how she came to be -within those walls, and could not. Alarmed by her mistress's silence, -Afimyushka would appear in the room, arrange the pillows lining her -easy-chair, and try to open a conversation on this or that, but -received only impatient monosyllabic replies. - -Once or twice Porfiry Vladimirych came to Pogorelka, invited mother -dear to Golovliovo, tried to kindle her imagination with the prospect -of mushrooms, German carp, and the other allurements of Golovliovo, but -his overtures evoked nothing but an enigmatic smile. - -One morning she tried to leave her bed as usual, but could not, though -she felt no particular pain, and complained of nothing. She took it, -apparently, as a matter of course, without any sign of alarm. The very -day before she had been sitting at the table and even walked, though -with difficulty, and now she was in bed "feeling indisposed." It was -even more comfortable. But Afimyushka became thoroughly frightened -and without the mistress's knowledge sent a messenger to Porfiry -Vladimirych. - -Yudushka came early the next morning. Arina Petrovna was considerably -worse. He put the servants through a cross-examination as to what -mother had eaten and whether she had not overeaten. But Arina Petrovna -had eaten almost nothing for a whole month, and had refused all food -the previous day. Yudushka expressed his grief, waved his hands, and -like a good son, warmed himself at the oven in the maids' room so that -he would not bring the cold into the patient's room. At the same time -he began to give orders and make arrangements. He had an extraordinary -keenness for scenting death. He made inquiries as to whether the priest -was home and arranged that in case of emergency he should be sent for -at once. He informed himself where mother's chest with her papers was, -whether it was locked, and having satisfied himself concerning the -state of things, he called in the cook and ordered dinner for himself. - -"I need but little," he said. "Have you got a chicken? Well, prepare -some chicken soup. If you have some cured beef, get a bit of cured beef -ready. Then something fried, and I'll have enough." - -Arina Petrovna lay prostrate on her back with her mouth open, breathing -heavily. Her eyes were staring wide. One hand projected from under the -quilt of hare's fur and hung stiff. She was evidently alive to the -commotion incident upon her son's arrival, and perhaps his orders even -reached her ears. The lowered window-shades put the room in twilight. -The wicks were flickering their last at the bottom of the ikon lamps -and sputtered audibly at contact with the water. The air was close -and fetid, unbearably suffocating from the overheated stoves, the -sickening smell of the ikon lamps, and the breath of illness. Porfiry -Vladimirych, in his felt boots, glided to his mother's bed like a -snake. His tall, lean figure wrapped in twilight swayed uncannily. -Arina Petrovna with a look half of surprise and half of fright followed -his movements and huddled under her quilt. - -"It is I, mother dear," he said. "What's the matter with you? You are -all out of gear today. My, my, my! No wonder I could not sleep all -night. Something seemed to urge me on. 'Let's go and see,' I thought, -'how our Pogorelka friends are getting along.' I got up in the morning, -hitched a couple of horses to the pony cart, and here I am!" - -Porfiry Vladimirych tittered affably, but Arina Petrovna did not -answer, and drew herself together in a closer coil under her quilt. - -"Well, God is merciful, mother dear," continued Yudushka. "The main -thing is to stand up for yourself. Don't put any stock in the ailment. -Get up and take a walk through the room, like a sound, hale person. You -see, just like this." - -Porfiry Vladimirych rose from his seat and demonstrated how sound, hale -persons walk. - -"Oh, just a moment. I'll raise the window-shade and take a good look -at you. Oh, but you are first rate, my darling. Just pluck up some -courage, say your prayers, doll up, get into your Sunday best, and -you'll be ready for a dance. There, I have brought you some jolly good -holy water, just taste some." - -Porfiry Vladimirych took a flask out of his pocket, found a wine glass -on the table, filled it and gave it to the patient. Arina Petrovna made -an effort to lift her head, but in vain. - -"I wish the orphans were here," she moaned. - -"Well, much need you have of the orphans here. Oh, mother, mother! How -is it all of a sudden you--really! Just a little bad turn, and at -once you are ready to give up the ship. We'll attend to it all. We'll -send a special messenger to the orphans and we'll do everything else -in due time. Now, what's the hurry, really? We are going to live yet, -yes indeed we are. And we'll have a fine time of it, too. Wait till -summer is here, we'll both of us go to the woods to pick mushrooms, -and raspberries, and nice juicy black currants. Or else, we'll go -to Dubrovino to catch German carps. We'll bring out the horse and -carriage, get into it, and one, two, three--there we go. Nicely and -easily." - -"I wish the orphans were here," repeated Arina Petrovna in anguish. - -"We'll bring the orphans, too. Give us time. We'll call them together, -all of them. We'll all be here and sit by you. You will be the -brood-hen and we'll be your chicks. We'll have it all, if you behave. -Now you are a naughty girl, because you went and took sick. That's -the kind of mischief you're up to. My, my! Instead of being good and -serving as an example for others, look what you're doing. That's bad, -my dear, very bad." - -But no matter how hard Porfiry Vladimirych tried to cheer up his mother -dear with banter, her strength waned from hour to hour. A messenger was -dispatched to town to fetch a doctor, and since the patient persisted -in moaning and calling the orphans, Yudushka in his own hand wrote -a letter to Anninka and Lubinka in which he compared his and their -conduct, called himself a Christian and them ungrateful. At night the -doctor arrived, but it was too late. Arina Petrovna's fate was sealed. -At about four o'clock in the morning the death agony set in and at six -Porfiry Vladimirych was kneeling at his mother's bed wailing: - -"Mother dear! My friend! Give me your blessing!" - -But Arina Petrovna did not hear him. Her wide-open eyes stared dimly -into space as if she were trying to understand something and could not. - -Yudushka, too, did not understand. He did not understand that the -yawning grave was to carry off the last creature that linked him to the -living world. - -With his usual bustle he delved into the mass of trifles and details -that were incident upon the ceremonial of burial. He had requiems -chanted, ordered memorial masses for the future, discussed matters -with the priest, hurried from room to room with his shambling gait. -Every now and then he peeped into the dining-room where the deceased -lay, crossed himself, lifted his hands heavenward, and late at night -stole quietly to the door to listen to the sexton's monotonous reading -of the Psalms. He was pleasantly surprised that his expenses upon the -occasions would be very slight, for Arina Petrovna long before her -death had put away a sum of money for her burial and itemized in detail -the various expenditures. - -Having buried his mother, Porfiry Vladimirych at once began to -familiarize himself with her effects. Examining the papers he -found about a dozen various wills (in one of them she called him -"undutiful"); but all of them had been written when Arina Petrovna was -still the domineering, despotic mistress, and were incomplete--in the -form of tentative drafts. - -So Yudushka was quite pleased that he had no need to play foul in order -to declare himself the sole legitimate heir to his mother's property. -The latter consisted of a capital of fifteen thousand rubles and of a -scanty movable estate which included the famous coach that had nearly -become the cause of dissension between mother and son. Arina Petrovna -kept her own accounts quite separate and distinct from those of her -wards, so that one could see at a glance what belonged to her and what -to the orphans. Yudushka lost no time in declaring himself heir at the -proper legal places. He sealed the papers bearing on the guardianship, -gave the servants his mother's scanty wardrobe, and sent the coach and -two cows to Golovliovo, which were placed in the inventory under the -heading "mine." Then he had the last requiem performed and went his way. - -"Wait for the owners," he told the people gathered in the hallway to -see him off. "If they come, they'll be welcome; if they don't--just as -they please. For my part, I did all I could. I straightened out the -guardianship accounts and hid nothing. Everything was done in plain -view, in front of everybody. The money that mother left belongs to me -legally. The coach and the two cows that I sent to Golovliovo are mine -_by law._ Maybe some of my property is left _here._ However, I won't -insist on it. God Himself commands us to give to orphans. I am sorry to -have lost mother, she was a good old woman, a kindly soul. Oh, mother -dear, it was not right of you, darling, to have left us poor orphans. -But if it had pleased God to take you, it befits us to submit to His -holy will. May, at least, your soul rejoice in heaven, and as for -us--well, we are not to be considered." - -The first death was soon followed by another. - -Yudushka's attitude toward his son's fate was quite puzzling. Since he -did not receive newspapers and was not in correspondence with anybody, -he could not learn anything of the trial in which Petenka figured. And -he hardly wished to. Above all things, he shunned disturbance of every -kind. He was buried up to his ears in a swamp of petty details, all -centering around the welfare and preservation of his precious self. -There are many such people in this world. They live apart from the rest -of humanity, having neither the desire nor the knowledge to identify -themselves with a "cause," and bursting in the end like so many soap -bubbles. They have no ties of friendship, for friendship presupposes -the existence of common interests; nor do they have any business -connections. For thirty years at a stretch Porfiry Vladimirych had -marked time in a government office. Then, one fine day he disappeared, -and no one noticed the fact. - -He learned of his son's fate after his domestics had. But even then -he feigned ignorance, so that when Yevpraksia once tried to mention -Petenka, he waved her off and said: - -"No, no, no! I don't know, I did not hear anything, and I don't want to -hear anything. I don't want to know a thing about his dirty affairs." - -But finally he did learn about Petenka. He received a letter from him -saying he was about to leave for one of the remote provinces and asking -his father to continue to send him an allowance in his new position. -The whole of the next day Porfiry Vladimirych was in a state of visible -perplexity. He darted from room to room, peeped into the oratory, -crossed himself, and sighed. But toward evening he plucked up courage -and wrote the following letter: - -/# - "My criminal son Piotr: - - "As a faithful and law-abiding subject I should not even - answer your letter. But as a father given to human weaknesses, - I cannot, from a sense of compassion, refuse good advice to - a child who, through his own fault, plunged himself into a - whirlpool of evil. - - "Here, in short, is my opinion on the subject. The punishment - that has been meted out to you is severe, but you quite deserve - it. That is the first and most important consideration that - should always accompany you in your new life from now on. - All your other vagaries and even the memory thereof you must - forget, for in your present situation all this will only tend - to irritate you and urge you on to impious complaint. You have - already tasted of the bitter fruits of haughtiness of spirit. - Try now to taste of the fruits of humility, all the more so - since there is nothing else left for you in the future. Do not - complain of the punishment, for the authorities do not even - punish you, but only provide means for your correction. To be - grateful for this, and to endeavor to make amends for what - you did--that is what you must incessantly bear in mind, and - not the luxurious frittering away of time, which I myself, by - the way, never did, although I was never under indictment. - So follow this prudent advice of mine and turn over a new - leaf, satisfied with what the authorities, in their kindness, - will deem it necessary to allot to you. I, for my part, will - pray the Giver of all things good to grant you firmness and - humility. Even on the very day on which I write these lines I - have been to church and offered up fervent prayers for you. And - now, I bless you for the new journey and remain, your indignant - but still loving father, Porfiry Golovliov." -#/ - -It is uncertain whether the letter ever reached Petenka, but no more -than a month after it was sent, Porfiry Vladimirych was officially -notified that his son, while on his way to the place of exile, had -fallen ill and died in a hospital. - -Yudushka remained alone, but at first did not realize that this -new loss had made his life an absolute void. The realization came -soon after the death of Arina Petrovna, when he was all absorbed in -reckoning and figuring. He read every paper of the deceased, took into -account every kopek, traced the relation of this kopek to the kopeks -of the guardianship, not wishing, as he put it, either to acquire -another's, or to lose his own. Amidst this bustle the question never -once arose in his mind: To what end was he doing all this, and who was -to enjoy the fruits of his busy hoarding? - -From morning to night he bent over his desk musing and criticizing the -arrangements of the deceased. Engrossed in these cares he began little -by little to neglect the bookkeeping of his own estate. - -The manor fell into profound silence. The domestics, who had always -preferred the servants' quarters, abandoned the house almost entirely, -and when in the master's rooms would walk on tiptoe and speak in a -whisper. There was an air of desertion and death about the place and -about the man, something eery. The gloom enveloping Yudushka was to -grow denser every day. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -During Lent, when no theatrical performances were given, Anninka came -to Golovliovo. Lubinka had been unable to accompany her because she -had been engaged for the entire Lent and had gone to Romny, Izum, -Kremenchug, etc., where she was to give concerts and sing her entire -music-hall repertoire. - -During her brief artistic career Anninka had greatly improved in looks. -She was no longer the simple, anaemic, somewhat sluggish girl who in -Dubrovino or Pogorelka had walked from room to room humming and swaying -awkwardly, as if she could not find a place for herself. She was now -quite developed, with confident, even dashing manners. At the very -first glance one could tell she was quick at repartee. The change in -her appearance gave Porfiry Vladimirych a pleasant surprise. Before him -stood a tall, well-built woman with a lovely pink complexion, high, -well-developed bust, full eyes, and abundant ash-colored hair, which -she wore braided low on her neck--a woman evidently aware of her own -attractiveness. - -She arrived at Golovliovo early in the morning and at once retired to a -room, from which she emerged in a splendid silk gown. She entered the -dining-room with a swish of her train, manipulating it skilfully among -the chairs. Though Yudushka loved God above all, it did not prevent him -from having a taste for beautiful and, especially, tall, plump women. -So he crossed Anninka first, then kissed her so emphatically on both -cheeks, casting queer glances at her bust meanwhile, that Anninka could -not refrain from smiling faintly. - -They sat down at the tea table. Anninka raised her arms and stretched. - -"Oh, uncle, how dull it is here!" she began, yawning slightly. - -"There you are! Here only a minute and dull already. You stay with us -some time, then we'll see, perhaps you won't find it so dull after -all," answered Porfiry Vladimirych, his eyes suddenly taking on an oily -glitter. - -"No, there isn't an interesting thing here. What is there? Snow all -around, no neighbors. Is there a regiment quartered anywhere near here?" - -"Yes, there is a regiment and there are neighbors; but, to tell the -truth, it doesn't interest me. Yet, if you----" - -Porfiry Vladimirych looked at her and did not end his sentence, but -coughed. Perhaps he had stopped intentionally, wishing to excite -her feminine curiosity. At any rate the same faint smile as before -glided over her lips. She leaned her elbows on the table and looked -at Yevpraksia fixedly. The, girl all flushed, was drying the glasses, -casting sly glances at Anninka with her large, heavy eyes. - -"My new housekeeper--very industrious," said Porfiry Vladimirych. - -Anninka nodded slightly and began to purr softly: - -_"Ah, ah! que j'aime--que j'aime--que j'aime--les -mili-mili-mili-taires!"_ and her hips quivered as she sang. - -Silence set in, during which Yudushka, his eyes meekly lowered, sipped -his tea from a glass. - -"My, it's dull!" said Anninka, yawning again. - -"It's dull, and it's dull! You never get tired of saying that. You wait -a while, stay here a bit longer. We'll order the sleigh set to rights, -and you'll ride to your heart's content." - -"Uncle, why didn't you become a hussar?" - -"Because, my friend, every man has his station ordained by the Lord. -Some are to become hussars, others functionaries, others merchants; -some are----" - -"Oh, yes, and so on, and so forth. Who can keep track of it all? And -God ordained all that, did He?" - -"Why, yes, my friend, God. And it is not proper to scoff. Do you know -what the Scriptures say? 'Without the will of God----'" - -"Is it about the hair? Yes, I know that, too. But the trouble is, -everybody wears false hair now, and I don't think that was foreseen. -By the way, uncle, look what wonderful braids I have! Don't you think -they're fine?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych came nearer, for some reason, on tiptoe, and -fingered her braids for some time. And Yevpraksia, without relaxing her -hold on the saucer filled with tea and holding a bit of toast between -her teeth, leaned forward and said, "False, I suppose?" - -"Oh, no, my own. Some day I'll let my hair down for you, uncle." - -"Yes, your hair is fine," said Yudushka, his lips parting in a -repulsive smile. Then he recalled that one must turn his back on such -temptations and added, "Oh, you hoyden! Always thinking about braids -and trains, but you'd never think of inquiring about the main thing, -the real thing?" - -"Oh, about grandmother? She is dead, isn't she?" - -"Yes, my friend, she died. And how she died! Peacefully, calmly, not a -soul heard it. That's what I call a worthy end to one's earthly life. -She thought of everybody, gave everybody her blessing, called a priest, -received her last communion, and suddenly became so calm, so calm! Then -she began to sigh. Sighed once, twice, three times, and before we knew -it, she was no more." - -Yudushka rose, turned toward the ikon, folded his hands, and offered up -a prayer. Tears rose to his eyes, so well did he simulate. But Anninka -apparently was not of the sentimental kind. It is true she remained -pensive for a while but for quite a different reason. - -"Do you remember, uncle, how she used to feed my sister and me on sour -milk when we were little ones? Not later. Later she was splendid. I -mean when she was still rich." - -"Oh, well, let bygones be bygones. She fed you on sour milk, but you -look none the worse for it, may the Lord be with you. Do you think you -would care to visit her grave?" - -"Yes, I wouldn't mind." - -"But you know, it would be well if you purified yourself first." - -"What do you mean, purified?" - -"You know--an actress. You think it was easy for the old woman? So -before you go to her grave I think you should attend a mass to purify -yourself, you know. You see, I'll order a mass early tomorrow morning, -and then--Godspeed!" - -Absurd as Yudushka's proposition was, it confused Anninka for a minute. -But she soon knitted her brows angrily and said sharply: - -"No, I'll go now--as I am!" - -"Well, I don't know, do as you please. But my advice is: let's attend -the mass tomorrow morning, then take tea and have a pair of swift -little horses hitched to a pony cart, and then go together. You see, -you would become cleansed of your sins, and your grandmother's soul -would----" - -"Oh, uncle, how foolish you are, though. Lord knows what nonsense you -talk. And you even insist on it." - -"So you don't like it? Well, don't hold it against me, my dear. I am -straight from the shoulder, you know. When it comes to truth, I'll -tell it to others and take it from others as well. Though at times it -goes against the grain, though truth is hard at times, but I'll always -listen to it. And one must listen to it, because--it's the truth. So, -my dear. You stay with us a while and live the way we do. Then you'll -see that it's better than going with a guitar from fair to fair." - -"Heaven knows what you're talking about, uncle. 'With a guitar!'" - -"Well, if it isn't a guitar, then it's a bagpipe or something. Besides, -you offended me first, called me foolish. So I, an old man, surely have -a right to tell you the truth to your face." - -"All right, let it be the truth. We won't argue about it. But tell me, -please, did grandmother leave anything?" - -"Why, of course, she did. But the legitimate heir was present in -person." - -"That is you. All the better. Was she buried here in Golovliovo?" - -"No, near Pogorelka, at the St. Nicholas Church. It was her own wish." - -"I'll go. Can I hire horses here, uncle?" - -"Why hire? I've got my own. You are not a stranger, I dare say, a -niece, my little niece." - -Porfiry Vladimirych began to liven up, and put on an _en famille_ grin. -"A pony cart, a pair of fine little horses--thank God, I am not poor, I -dare say! And wouldn't it be well for me to go with you? We would visit -the grave, you see, and then would go to Pogorelka and peep in here and -there, and we would think matters over, talk things over--about this -and that. Yours is a fine little estate, you know. It has some very -good spots." - -"No, I'll go alone, I think. Why should you go? By the way, Petenka's -dead, too, I hear?" - -"Yes, my dear friend, Petenka is dead, too. I am sorry for him in -one way, very sorry--to the point of tears; but then--it was all his -own fault. He was always disrespectful to his father, that's why God -punished him. And what God, in His great wisdom, did, you and I cannot -undo." - -"Of course, we can't. But what makes me wonder is, why you don't find -it too horrible to live." - -"Why should I fear? You see how much succor I have all around." -Yudushka made a gesture, pointing to the ikons. "Succor here and succor -in my study. The ikon room is a veritable paradise. You see how many -protectors I have." - -"But still, you are always alone. It's frightful." - -"And if I am afraid, I fall on my knees, say a prayer, and the fear is -all gone. And why be afraid? It's light during the day, and at night -I have ikon lamps burning in every room. From outside in the dark it -looks as if there were a ball in the house. And what ball? Who are the -guests? Holy protectors, God's chosen. Those are my guests!" - -"You know, Petenka wrote to us before his death." - -"Well, of course, he is a relative. It's a good thing he did not lose -his feelings of kinship." - -"Yes, he wrote to us. It was after the trial, when sentence had been -pronounced. He wrote he had lost three thousand rubles in cards and you -would not give him the money. But you are rich, uncle, aren't you?" - -"Ah, my dear, it's easy to count money in another man's pocket. -Sometimes we think a man has mountains of gold, and when you come -closer you see he has barely enough for oil and a candle--not for -himself--for God." - -"Well, then, we are richer than you. We gave some of our own money -and took up a collection among our gentlemen friends. We scraped six -hundred rubles together and sent it to him." - -"What do you mean 'gentlemen friends?'" - -"Oh, uncle, we are actresses, you know. Didn't you yourself suggest -that I purify myself?" - -"I don't like it when you speak that way." - -"What can you do? Whether you like it or not, you can't undo what has -been done. According to you, God is in that, too." - -"Don't blaspheme at least. You may say anything you want, but don't -blaspheme. I won't stand for it. Where did you send the money to?" - -"I don't remember. To a little town of some sort. He wrote us the name." - -"I didn't know. If there was money, I should have gotten it after his -death. It is not possible that he spent it all at once. Well, I don't -know, I didn't get any. I suppose the jailers and guards were on to it." - -"I'm not asking for it, uncle. I just mentioned it while we were on the -subject. It's awful, uncle, for a man to perish on account of three -thousand rubles." - -"It wasn't all on account of the three thousand. Haven't you something -else to say than to keep on repeating 'three thousand, three thousand?' -But God----" - -Yudushka had got his cue and was about to explain in detail -how God--Providence--by unseen ways--and all that, but Anninka -unceremoniously yawned and said: - -"Oh, uncle, how boring it is here." - -This time Porfiry Vladimirych was truly offended and became silent. -For a long time they both paced up and down the dining room. Anninka -yawned, Porfiry Vladimirych crossed himself at every step. At last the -carriage was announced and the usual comedy of seeing relations off -began. Golovliov put on his fur coat, went out on the porch, kissed -Anninka and shouted to the servants, "Her feet! Wrap up her feet well!" -and "What about the blankets, have you taken the blankets along? See -you don't forget them!" all the while making signs of the cross in the -air. - -Anninka visited her grandmother's grave, asked the priest to say the -mass, and when the choir began to chant the "Eternal memory," she cried -a bit. The background of the ceremony was rather sad. The church near -which Arina Petrovna had been buried was of the poorest kind. In some -places the plaster had fallen off its walls and exposed large patches -of brick. The sound of the bells was feeble and hollow, the priest's -robe was threadbare. The cemetery was snowed under, so that the path to -the grave had to be shovelled clear. No monument had yet been placed. -Nothing but a plain white cross, even without an inscription, marked -the grave. The cemetery was in a lonely spot removed from any dwelling. -Not far from the church stood the houses of the priest and the church -officials and all around the cheerless, snow-covered plains stretched -as far as the eye could reach. Here and there one could see brushwood -jutting out from the snow. A sharp March wind was sweeping over the -churchyard, wafting away the chanting of the churchmen and lashing the -priest's robe. - -"Who would have thought, madam, that the richest landlady in the -district would rest here under this modest cross in our poor parish?" -said the priest when he was through with the requiem. - -At these words Anninka cried again. She recalled the poet's line: -"Where feasts once reigned a hearse now stands!" And the tears kept -streaming down her cheeks. Then she went to the priest's house, had tea -there, and talked with his wife. Another line came back to her: "And -pallid death on all doth stare," and again she wept, long and bitterly. - -Nobody had notified the people at Pogorelka that the young lady was -coming, so that the rooms were not even heated. Anninka, with her -fur coat on, walked through all the rooms, remaining a moment in -grandmother's bedroom and the ikon room. In the former she found -a bedstead with a heap of soiled, greasy pillows, some without -pillow-cases. Scraps of paper lay on the desk in disorder, the floor -had not been swept and a thick coat of dust covered everything. Anninka -sat down in the easy-chair where her grandmother used to sit, and -became lost in thought. At first came up reminiscences of the past; -then they were crowded out by images of the present. The former came in -the shape of fleeting patches and fragments, pausing in her mind for no -more than a moment; the latter were more persistent. It was but a brief -while ago that she had longed to flee from Pogorelka and it had seemed -a hateful place. Now her heart suddenly filled with a morbid desire to -live there again. - -"It is quiet here, it is not cozy, and it is unsightly; but it is -quiet, so quiet, as if everything around were dead. There is much air -and much room." - -She looked out over the endless fields and felt a desire to dash -straight across them, without aim or purpose, just to breathe fast -and feel a pain in her chest. And _there,_ in the half-nomadic life -from which she had just escaped and to which she _must_ return--what -awaited her there? What had she gained by it? Nothing but recollections -of hotels permeated with stench, of an everlasting din coming from -the dining and billiard rooms, of unkempt porters, of rehearsals on -the stage in the twilight and among the scenes of painted linen, the -feel of which was abominable, in the draught and in the dampness. And -then, army officers, lawyers, obscene language, and the eternal uproar! -What hadn't the men told her! With what obscenity hadn't they touched -her! Especially the one with the mustache, with a voice hoarse from -drink, inflamed eyes, and a perpetual smell of the stable about him. -Lord, what he had told her! Anninka shivered at the very recollection -and shut her eyes. Then she came to, sighed, and went into the ikon -room. There were now only a few ikons in the image-case, only those -which had unquestionably belonged to her mother. The rest of them, -her grandmother's, Yudushka, as the legitimate heir, had removed to -Golovliovo. The empty spaces where they had stood stared like the -hollow eye-sockets in a deathshead. Nor were there any ikon lamps. -Yudushka had taken all of them. Only one yellow bit of wax candle -stood out, orphan-like, from a miniature tin candlestick that had been -forgotten. - -"His Excellency wanted to take the image case, too. He was trying -to make sure if it really was a part of madam's dowry," reported -Afimyushka. - -"Well, he could have taken it. Tell me, Afimyushka, did grandma suffer -much before she died?" - -"No, not much, she was laid up for only a day or so. She just went out, -of her own self. She wasn't really sick or anything. She didn't talk -either, just mentioned you and your sister once or twice." - -"So Porfiry Vladimirych carried off the ikons?" - -"Yes, he did. He said they were his mother's personal property. He also -took the coach and two cows. From the mistress's papers he gathered, I -suppose, that they belonged to your grandmother, not to you. He also -wanted to take away a horse, but Fedulych would not give it to him. -'It's our horse,' he said, 'an old-timer in Pogorelka.' So Porfiry -Vladimirych left it here. He was afraid." - -Anninka walked through the yard, peeped into the servants' quarters, -the barn, and the cattle yard. In a swamp of manure stood about twenty -lean cows and three horses. She ordered some bread to be brought, -saying, "I'll pay for it," and gave every cow a piece of bread. - -Then the cattle-house woman invited the young lady into the house. -There was a jug of milk on the table, and in the corner near the oven, -behind a low wainscot screening, a new-born calf was sheltered. - -Anninka tasted some milk, ran to the little calf, kissed his snout, -but quickly wiped her lips, saying the calf had a horrid snout, -all slabbery. At the end, she produced three yellow bills from her -pocketbook, distributed them to the old domestics, and prepared to go. - -"What are you going to do?" she asked, while she made herself -comfortable in the pony cart, of old Fedulych, who, as the _starosta,_ -followed the young owner, with his hands crossed on his breast. - -"Well, what can we do? We'll live," answered Fedulych simply. - -Anninka became sad again for a moment. There seemed to be irony in -Fedulych's words. She waited a while, sighed, and said: - -"Well, good-by." - -"We thought that you would come back and live with us," said Fedulych. - -"No, what's the use? Anyway--you live on!" - -Tears flowed from her eyes again and the others cried, too. It seemed -peculiar to her; there was nothing to regret in leaving the place, -nothing sentimental to remember it by, and yet she was crying. And -those people, too. She had not said anything out of the ordinary to -them--just the usual questions and answers--and yet their hearts were -heavy, they were sorry to see her go. She was seated in the cart, -wrapped up and well covered. Everybody heaved a sigh. "Good luck!" came -running after her when the cart started. Passing the churchyard she -stopped again and went to the grave alone without the ecclesiastics, -following the path that had been cleared. It was quite dark, and -lights began to appear in the houses of the church officials. She -stood there with one hand holding on to the cross rising from the -grave. She did not cry, but only swayed slightly, thinking of nothing -in particular, unable to formulate any definite thought. But she was -unhappy, in every way unhappy. Not because of grandmother, but on her -own account. So she stood for a quarter of an hour, and suddenly before -her eyes rose the image of Lubinka, who perhaps at that very moment was -singing merrily in a rollicking company, somewhere in Kremenchug: - -/$ - "_Ah, ah, que j'aime, que j'aime! - Que j'aime, les mili-mili-mili-taires!"_ -$/ - -She almost broke down. She ran to her cart, seated herself, and ordered -the coachman to drive to Golovliovo as fast as possible. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -When Anninka returned to her uncle's, she was dull and silent, though -she did feel a bit hungry (in the hurry, uncle had not given her some -chicken to take along) and was very glad the table was already set for -tea. Of course, Porfiry Vladimirych was not slow to open a conversation. - -"Well, were you there?" - -"Yes, I was." - -"Did you pray at the grave? Did you have the requiem sung?" - -"Yes." - -"So the priest was at home?" - -"Of course he was, or who would have performed the requiem?" - -"Oh, yes, certainly. And the two sextons, were they there? Did they -sing: 'Eternal memory?'" - -"Yes, they did." - -"Yes, eternal memory! May she rest in peace. She was a good, kind -woman." - -Yudushka rose from his seat, faced the ikon and offered up a prayer. - -"Well, and how did you find things in Pogorelka, everything in good -shape?" - -"I don't know, really. I think everything is in its proper place." - -"Indeed, 'I think.' You always 'think,' but when you take a good look -you find this is wrong and that is wrong. That's how we judge of other -people's business. We 'think' and we 'guess!' But anyway, you've got -a nice little estate. My late mother fixed it all up very nicely. She -even spent a good deal of her own money on it. Well, it's only right to -help orphans along." - -Listening to these chants of praise, Anninka could not refrain from -teasing her kindhearted uncle. - -"Uncle, why did you take two cows away from Pogorelka?" she asked. - -"Cows, what cows? Oh, you mean the black and the spotted one? Well, my -dear, they belonged to my mother." - -"And you are her legitimate heir? Oh, well, you can have them. Do you -want me to send you a little calf? I will, if you want me to." - -"Now, there! Look at her getting excited! Let's talk business, whom do -you think the cows belong to?" - -"How do I know? They were in Pogorelka." - -"And I do know. I have proof that the cows belonged to mother. I found -a memorandum written in her own hand. 'Mine,' is plainly written there." - -"Oh, let's drop it. It isn't worth talking about." - -"There's a pony at Pogorelka, too, little old Baldy, you know. Well, -about Baldy I am not sure. I think Baldy belonged to mother, but I'm -not sure. And I can't speak of what I don't know." - -"Let's drop it, uncle." - -"No, why drop it? I'm straight from the shoulder, my dear, I like to -bring out the truth of things. Why not talk it over? Nobody wants to -part with his own. I don't, you don't. Well, then, let's talk it over -and see who's right. And when it comes to talking, I'll tell you -plainly: I don't want what's yours and I won't let go of mine, either. -Because, though you are not a stranger to me, still I----" - -"And you even took the ikons," Anninka could not refrain from remarking. - -"Yes, the ikons, too. I took everything that belonged to me by law." - -"Now the image case looks as if it has holes in it." - -"What can you do? You'll have to pray before it as it is. God, you -know, does not want your image case, but your prayers. If you are -sincere about it, your prayer will reach Him, even if it's done before -poor ikons. And if you just pray without meaning it, and look around -and make a courtesy, then the best images will be of no avail." - -Nevertheless, Yudushka rose and offered thanks to God for the fact that -his images were "good." - -"Well, and if you don't like the old image case, have a new one built -and put in new ikons instead of those taken out. My deceased mother -acquired the old ikons at her own cost, and now it's up to you to get -new ones." - -Porfiry Vladimirych even tittered, so clear and simple did his -reasoning seem to him. - -"But tell me, please, what am I to do now?" Anninka asked. - -"Well, wait a while. Rest up first, loll around, get some sleep. We'll -talk the matter over and examine it from every angle, and we'll see -what can be done. Both of us together may think up something." - -"Sister and I are of age, I think?" - -"Yes, of age. Quite so. You can now manage yourself and your estate." - -"Thank God at least for that." - -"I have the honor to congratulate you." - -Porfiry Vladimirych rose to kiss her. - -"How funny you are, uncle, always kissing." - -"Why shouldn't I kiss you? You are not a stranger, I may say, you are -my niece. I like kinsfolk, my dear. I am always for my relatives, near -or distant, second, third, or fourth cousins, I'm always with them." - -"You'd better tell me what I am to do. Must I go to town and see all -the officials?" - -"Yes, and we'll go to town and we'll attend to the matter--all in due -time. But before we do that, rest up a bit. Stay here a while. You are -not stopping at an inn but at your uncle's, I may say. You'll have -enough to eat and drink, and for your sweet tooth we've got plenty of -everything. If you don't like a dish, ask for a different one. Demand, -insist! If you don't care for cabbage soup, ask for chicken soup. Order -cutlets, duck, pork. Get after Yevpraksia. Here I boasted about pork -and I don't really know if we've got any. Have we?" - -Yevpraksia, holding the saucer with the hot tea to her mouth, nodded -affirmatively. - -"Well, you see, we've got pork too, and all in all you can have -whatever your heart desires." - -Yudushka approached Anninka again and like a good relative clapped her -on the knee and quite inadvertently let his hand rest there a little, -so that Anninka instinctively recoiled. - -"But I've got to go," she said. - -"That's just what I've been saying. We'll discuss matters and talk -things over and then we'll go with a prayer and a benediction, but -not--hop! jump! run! The more haste the less speed. You may hurry to a -fire, but our house is not ablaze. Well, Lubinka has got to hurry to -the fair, but what is your hurry? Another thing I meant to ask you, Are -you going to live in Pogorelka?" - -"No, there's nothing for me to do there." - -"That's just what I was going to say. Move here, to my house. We'll -live here and have a fine time of it." - -Yudushka looked at Anninka with such oily eyes that she became -embarrassed. - -"No, uncle, I don't want to stay here with you. It's too dull." - -"Oh, you silly little thing! Why do you keep repeating 'dull, dull?' -You speak of dullness and I'll bet you don't know what's dull around -here. If you have something to keep you busy, and if you know how to -manage yourself, you'll never feel dull. Take me, for example, I don't -notice how time flies. On week days I'm busy with the affairs of the -estate. I look at this and take a peep into that, and figure out one -thing and discuss another thing. Before I know it, the day is gone. -And on a holiday--to church! You will do the same thing. Stay with us -for a while. We'll find something for you to do. In your leisure time -you may play fool with Yevpraksia, or go sleigh-riding--slide along as -fast as you wish. And when summer comes we'll go to the woods picking -mushrooms. And we'll have tea on the lawn." - -"No, uncle, it's no use trying to persuade me." - -"Really, you ought to stay." - -"No. But the journey has tired me, so I should like to go to bed if -possible." - -"Yes, you can go rock-a-by. I've got a nice little bed ready for you, -everything in proper fashion. If you want to go rock-a-by, go right -ahead. But I should advise you to think the matter over. I think it -would be best for you to stay with us at Golovliovo." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Anninka spent a restless night. The hysterical mood that had overtaken -her at Pogorelka still persisted. There are moments when a person -who has been merely existing suddenly realizes that there is a vile -ulcer of some kind festering in his life. Where it came from, how it -formed itself--one cannot always explain to oneself. In most cases it -is not ascribed to the causes that have really brought it on. But an -explanation is not even needed. It is sufficient that such an ulcer -exists. The effects of such a sudden discovery, while equally painful -to everyone, vary in their practical results, with the individual's -temperament. Some are rejuvenated and inspired with a determination to -begin a new life on new foundations. Others feel but a passing pain -that will not bring a profound change for the better, but is even -sharper than when the disturbed conscience sees the faint hope of a -brighter future. - -Anninka was not of those in whom the consciousness of ulcers produces -the impulse to rejuvenation. Nevertheless, she realized, being an -intelligent person, that there was an abyss between the vague dreams -of honest toil which had impelled her to leave Pogorelka forever and -her position of provincial actress. Instead of a life of quiet and -toil, she had fallen upon a stormy existence, filled with perpetual -debauchery, shameless obscenity and cynicism, with vain and -everlasting bustle. Instead of the privations and stern surroundings -in which she had once lived, she had met comparative ease and comfort. -She could not think of it now without a blush of shame. She had -hardly noticed the gradual transformation. She had wanted to go to a -good place but had entered the wrong door. Her desires had been very -modest, indeed. How often she had dreamed, in the attic of Pogorelka, -of becoming an earnest girl, working, thirsting for education, bearing -hardships with fortitude, all for the sake of the good. (It is true, -"good" hardly had definite meaning to her.) But as soon as she had -stepped out on to the highroad of independent activity, bitter reality -had shattered her dreams at once. An honest livelihood does not come -of itself, but is attained only by persistent search and previous -training which help in the quest to some extent. But neither Anninka's -temperament nor education provided her with this. Her temperament -was not marked by passion, it was simply sensitive. The material -that her education had given her and on which she meant to build up -her life of honest toil was so unreliable and poor that it could -hardly serve as a basis for serious work. Her education was of the -boarding-school, music-hall kind, with the balance tipping to the side -of the music-hall. It was a chaotic heap in which problems were piled -up about a flock of geese, dancing steps with a shawl, the sermons of -Peter of Picardy, the exploits of Fair Helen, the _Ode to Felitza,_ and -the prescribed feeling of gratitude to the instructors and patrons of -the institution. What was left clear of this chaotic jumble in her soul -might quite properly be called a _tabula rasa_. There was scarcely a -thing to be read in it; it certainly offered no possibility of finding -a starting-point in her for better things. Whatever preparation she -had had inspired not love for work but love for a "society" life, the -desire to be surrounded by admirers and listen to their flattery, the -desire to plunge into the social din, glamor and whirlwind. - -If she had listened to herself, she would have discovered that even in -Pogorelka, when just beginning to make plans for a life of honest toil -as a deliverance from Egyptian bondage, she could have caught herself -dreaming not so much of work as of being surrounded by a society of -congenial people, frittering her time away in empty talk. Of course, -the people of her dreams were clever, and their conversation was honest -and serious, but the idle side of life was always in the foreground. -Poverty was distinguished by neatness, privations amounted merely to -a lack of luxuries. So, when her dreams of a life of work came to a -head and she was offered a part in one of the provincial theatres, -she hesitated little, though the contrast between dream and reality -was great. She hastily freshened up her school information about the -relations of Helen and Menelaus, supplemented it by some biographical -details from the life of the splendid Prince of Tauris and decided -that that was quite sufficient to produce _Fair Helen_ and _Episodes -from the Life of the Duchess of Herolstein_ in the provincial theatres -and at the fairs. To clear her conscience she recalled the words of a -student she had met in Moscow who used to exclaim repeatedly, "Sacred -Art!" She made this her slogan, because it was the easiest way out, -and gave at least outward decorum to the path she had chosen--the path -toward which the whole of her being was instinctively tending. - -The life of an actress upset her. Alone, without the guidance of proper -preparation, without a conscious aim, with only a temperament craving -for din, glamor, and applause, she soon found herself surrounded by -a chaos in which many persons thronged, some coming, others going, -without apparent order or connection. There were people of the most -diverse characters and views, so that the motives for becoming intimate -with this one or that one were not the same. Nevertheless, they were -all integral parts of her circle, so that there really could be no -question of motives. - -Her life had become like the gate to an inn, at which every gay, -wealthy, young man could knock and claim entrance. Clearly it was -not a matter of selecting a congenial company, but of fitting into -any kind of company so as not to die of ennui. Her "sacred art" had -really thrown her into a mire, but her head was turned, and she did not -notice her position. Neither the dirty faces of the porters nor the -slimy, dilapidated stage properties, nor the din, stench, and noise of -the hotels and inns, nor the obscene behavior of her admirers--none -of these things produced a sobering effect. She did not even notice -that she was always in the society of men only, and that there was a -permanent barrier between her and the women of _established position._ - -The visit to Golovliovo sobered her for a moment. - -In the morning, almost immediately after her arrival, she began to feel -uneasy. Highly impressionable, she quickly absorbed new sensations and -quickly adapted herself to new situations. Consequently, as soon as she -reached Golovliovo, she felt herself a "lady." She suddenly recalled -that she had something of her own: her own home, her own graves. She -became filled with a desire to see herself in her former surroundings, -to breathe the air from which she had only recently fled. But her -impression was immediately dispelled by contact with the reality she -found there. Her experience in this was like that of a person who -enters with a smile among friends he has not seen for a long time, -and suddenly notices that everybody responds to his cordial greetings -coldly. The nasty glances Yudushka cast at her figure reminded her -that her position was questionable and not easy to change. When she -remained alone, after the naive questions of the Pogorelka servants, -after the pious sighs of warning of the Pogorelka priest and his wife, -after the fresh sermons of Yudushka, when she examined her impressions -of the day at leisure, she became convinced that the former "lady" -was gone forever and that from now on she was only an actress in a -miserable provincial theatre, and the position of a Russian actress was -not far removed from that of a street woman. Until now she had lived -as if in a dream. She would go out half-naked in _Fair Helen,_ would -appear intoxicated in _Pericola,_ would sing all sorts of indecencies -in the _Episodes from the Life of the Duchess of Herolstein,_ and -would even regret that it was not the custom to represent _la chose_ -and _l'amour_ on the stage, imagining how enticingly her hips would -quiver and how alluring her every movement would be. But it had never -occurred to her to give earnest thought to what she was doing. She had -only tried to make everything appear "charming" and _chic_ and at the -same time please the army officers of the town regiment. But what it -all meant, and what the sensation was that her quivering hips produced -in the army officers, she did not consider. The army officers were -the element that set the tone for the town, and she realized that her -success depended upon them. They would intrude behind the scenes, would -unceremoniously knock at the door of her dressing-room when she was yet -half-clad, would address her in endearing terms--and she looked upon -it all as a simple formality, an inevitable feature incidental to her -profession. All she asked herself was whether she rendered a feature -"charmingly" or not. - -Until now she had not thought of her body or her soul as being public, -but for a moment feeling herself a "lady" again, she looked on her past -in utter disgust and abhorrence, as if she had been stripped naked and -were being exposed on the public square; as if all those vile creatures -infected with the odors of wine and the stable had suddenly gripped -her in their embrace, as her body felt the contact of hands moist with -perspiration, of slabbery lips and the dull, greedy, brutal eyes that -lingered animal-like over the curved lines of her nude body. - -Where was she to go? How was she to throw off that accumulated load, -which began to leave its mark on her shoulders? The question tossed -in her head desperately--tossed, indeed, for she neither found nor, -as a matter of fact, sought an answer. This stay in Golovliovo, too, -was a kind of dream. Her past life had been a dream, and her present -awakening was a dream. Something had made the little girl ill at ease, -and she had become sentimental--that was all. It would pass. There -are pleasant moments and there are unpleasant ones--that is how they -go. Both merely glide past but do not alter the course of life once -determined upon. To give life a new course, to divert its channel, -one needs not only moral but also physical courage. It is almost the -same as suicide. Before attempting suicide a man may denounce his life, -he may be certain that death is the only salvation, yet the weapon -of death trembles in his hands, the knife slides harmlessly over the -neck, the bullet, instead of striking the forehead, hits lower and -only cripples. That is what happened in Anninka's case. She had to -kill her former life, but though killing it, she herself had to remain -alive. The "nothingness" that in regular suicide is attained by merely -pressing the trigger, was to be attained in the peculiar suicide called -rejuvenation only after many stern almost ascetic efforts. - -A pampered person already undermined by the habit of easy living will -turn dizzy at the mere perspective of a rejuvenation. He instinctively -turns his head away and shuts his eyes. Then filled with shame and -accusing himself of lack of courage, he will take the easy way again. - -Oh, the life of toil is a glorious thing! Yet none but strong people -can live it and those who are destined for it because of original sin. -They are the only ones it does not frighten; the former because they -realize the significance and resources of toil and can find pleasure in -it; the latter, because to them toil is first a duty, then a habit. - -Anninka did not think of remaining at Golovliovo or Pogorelka for even -a moment. In this she was fortified by the business routine of her -circumstances, to which she clung instinctively. She had been given -leave of absence and had arranged her schedule ahead of time, even -designating the day on which she was to leave Golovliovo. For people -of weak wills the external checks upon their life considerably lighten -its burdens. In difficult cases they cling to them instinctively and -use them as a justification for their acts. - -Anninka decided to leave Golovliovo as soon as possible, and if uncle -persisted in his coaxing, to counter him by invoking the necessity of -reporting for duty on the set date. - -When she arose in the morning she walked leisurely through all -the rooms of the vast Golovliovo mansion. She found them dreary, -uninviting, deserted. There was an air of decay and haunting -unfriendliness about them. The thought of living there indefinitely -quite frightened her. "Never!" she kept repeating in a state of -inexplicable agitation, "Never!" - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -The next day Porfiry Vladimirych greeted her again with his ambiguous -geniality, from which it was impossible to gather whether he wanted to -show her affection or suck her blood dry. - -"Well, you 'always-in-a-hurry-to-get-there,' did you sleep well? And -where are you hurrying to now?" he asked her jestingly. - -"Yes, uncle, I am in a hurry, indeed. I am on leave of absence, you -know, and I must report on time." - -"Is it to play the clown again? I won't let you." - -"Whether you let me or not, I am going." - -Yudushka shook his head sadly. "And what would your deceased grandma -say?" he asked in a tone of kindly reproach. - -"Grandma knew about it when she was alive. But why do you use those -expressions, uncle? Yesterday you were sending me to the fairs with a -guitar and today you speak of playing the clown. I won't allow you to -talk like that to me, you hear?" - -"Eh-eh! The truth hurts! Well, and I like the truth. I think that if -the truth----" - -"No, no, I won't listen, I won't listen. I don't want your truth or -your untruth. Do you hear me? I don't want you to talk like that to me." - -"Well, well! Look at her flaring up! Oh, you romp! Suppose we go in to -tea while the drinking is good. I suppose the samovar is making music -on the table by now." - -Porfiry Vladimirych wanted by joke and jest to make amends for having -said "playing the clown," and even tried to embrace her as a sign of -reconciliation. But it all seemed so stupid to Anninka, so abominable, -that she declined his advance with repugnance. - -"I tell you seriously, uncle, I am in a hurry," she said. - -"Well, then, let's go and have tea first, then we'll talk." - -"But why talk after tea? Why not now?" - -"Because. Because everything has got to be done in its proper time. -First one, then the other, first we'll have tea and a chat, then we'll -talk business. Plenty of time." - -She could not help but yield. His prattle was not to be overcome. They -went in to tea, and Yudushka temporized maliciously, sipping his tea -with deliberation, crossing himself, slapping his thigh, babbling about -his late mother dear, and so on. - -"Well, now we can talk," he said at last. "Do you intend making a long -visit here?" - -"Not more than a week. I have to be in Moscow before returning to the -company." - -"A week is a long time, my dear. You can accomplish a lot in a week, -and you can accomplish little. It depends on how you go about it." - -"We'd better try and accomplish a great deal, uncle." - -"That's just what I say. You can do a lot and you can do little, and -sometimes you think you are doing little but before you look around, -all the work is attended to. Here, for instance, you are in a hurry to -go to Moscow, you've got business there, you say; and what the business -is, you yourself don't know, I dare say. But the way I look on it is -this, that you spend all your time here in real business instead of -going to Moscow." - -"No, I must go to Moscow because I want to see if I can't get on the -stage there. And as to business, didn't you say we could accomplish a -lot in a week?" - -"Depending on how you go about it, my friend. If you go about it -properly, all will be well and smooth, but if you don't go about it in -a proper way, well, you'll strike a snag, and the thing will drag on." - -"Well, you guide me, uncle." - -"That's just it. When in need then 'You guide me, uncle,' but when not -in need, then 'It's dull here, uncle, and I want to go away.' You can't -say I'm not right." - -"But please do tell me just what I am to do." - -"Wait, don't be in a hurry! So, as I was saying, when uncle is needed, -he is a dear and darling and a sweety, and when he is not needed he is -no good. But you would never trust your uncle and ask him, 'What do you -think, uncle dear, ought I to go to Moscow or not?'" - -"How funny you are, uncle! I _must_ go to Moscow, and suppose I ask -your advice and you say no?" - -"Well, if I say no, then stay here! It is not a stranger who says so. -It's your uncle, and you may as well take your own uncle's advice. -Oh, my friend! It's a good thing you've got an uncle. At least there -is somebody to feel with you and to warn you when necessary. Think of -others who have nobody. Nobody to feel with them, nobody to warn them. -And they live all by themselves. And things happen to them--many -things that happen in life, my dear." - -Anninka wanted to reply, but realized it would be adding fuel to the -fire, and remained silent. She sat there, her eyes turned despairingly -at her uncle, who was going ahead under full steam. - -"I wanted to tell you," Yudushka continued, "I don't like your going -to those fairs, no, I don't like it a bit. Though you didn't relish my -talking about guitars, I still must say--" - -"But it is not enough to say 'I don't like.' Show me a way out." - -"Stay with me. That's the way out." - -"No, that never!" - -"Why?" - -"Because I have nothing to do here. What can I do here? Get up in the -morning, have tea, at tea think that breakfast is coming, at breakfast -think about dinner, and at dinner about afternoon tea. Then supper and -then to sleep. No, one can die here." - -"They all do it, my friend. First people have tea, after tea those who -like to breakfast do so. I, for instance, don't like to have breakfast, -so I don't. Then dinner, then afternoon tea, then to bed. Well, I don't -see anything ridiculous or objectionable in it. But if I--" - -"Nothing objectionable; but it is not after my heart." - -"But if I had offended somebody, or misjudged or spoken ill, well, -then, really it would be objectionable. But to have tea and breakfast -and dinner--goodness! I guess, no matter how clever you are, you can't -get along without food." - -"Yes, well and good, but it is not after my heart." - -"But don't measure things by your own yardstick. Take the advice of -your elders. 'This I like, and that I don't like.' Now, you mustn't -talk that way! You ought to say instead, 'If it please God, or 'if it -does not please God'. That would be the proper kind of talk. Let's say, -for instance, in Golovliovo we don't live according to God, if we go -against Him, if we sin or question His wisdom, if we envy and do other -evil things, well, then we are really guilty and deserve to be blamed. -But here, too, it would have to be proved first that we really do not -act according to God. And you come and say, 'It is not my style.' Now, -take me as an example. There are many things that aren't my style. -Here, for instance, I don't like the way you talk to me, the way you -pooh-pooh my hospitality. Yet I keep mum. I want to persuade you in a -quiet way, maybe you'll come to your senses. Maybe while I am jesting -and talking lightly, along will come your guardian angel and lead you -along the right path. You know, my friend, I am solicitous not of my -welfare, but of yours. Ah, my friend, how bad of you! If, so to speak, -I had offended you by word or deed, well, then you would have reason -to complain. Though it behooves young people to heed even a sermon -when it comes from their elders, yet had I offended you, I wouldn't -mind your being angry. But here I am calm and quiet and easy. I don't -say a word, but only try to figure out how to make things better and -more comfortable for you and for others so that all may rejoice and -be happy. And look how you greet my kindness! What you want to do, my -dear, is not to be rash in your speech. First think, then pray to the -Lord and implore His guidance. And then if, let's say for example--" - -Porfiry Vladimirych expatiated in this strain for a long time. His -words flowed like thick saliva. Anninka looked at him with instinctive -fear and thought, "How is it that the gush of words does not choke -him?" And for all his talk, her dear uncle did not utter a word of -advice as to what she was to do in connection with the death of Arina -Petrovna. She tried to bring the matter up at dinner and later at -afternoon tea, but every time Yudushka spun a different web, so that -Anninka was sorry she had resumed the conversation, and thought in -anguish, "Will it ever end?" - -After dinner, when Porfiry Vladimirych retired for his afternoon nap, -Anninka remained alone with Yevpraksia and suddenly felt a desire to -have a talk with her uncle's housekeeper. - -She wanted to know why Yevpraksia did not find it horrible to live at -Golovliovo and what gave her the strength to endure the torrents of -meaningless words that uncle's mouth belched forth from morning to -night. - -"Do you find it dull here at Golovliovo, Yevpraksia?" - -"Why should we find it dull? We are not of the gentlefolk." - -"But still--always alone--no diversion, no pleasures--" - -"What pleasures do I need? When it's dull, I look out of the window. I -didn't have much merriment when I lived with father." - -"Still, I suppose, it was better at home. You had friends, went -visiting, played." - -"Ah, what's the use!" - -"And here with uncle. He says such dull things and he is so -long-winded. Is he always like that?" - -"Always, all day long the same way." - -"And it doesn't bore you?" - -"Why should it? I don't listen to him." - -"But it's impossible not to listen at all. He may notice it and become -offended." - -"How can he tell? I look at him. He keeps on talking and I keep on -looking and at the same time I think my own thoughts." - -"What do you generally think about?" - -"Different things. If I have to pickle gherkins, I think about -gherkins. If I have to send someone to town, I think about town. -Whatever the household needs, that's what I think about." - -"So, I see, you live with uncle, but you are always alone?" - -"Yes, as good as alone. Unless he sometimes wishes to play cards. Well, -then we play cards. But even then he often stops in the middle of the -game, puts the cards away and begins to talk. And I look at him. It was -much livelier when Arina Petrovna was alive. When she was around he -was afraid to talk too much, because the old woman would often cut him -short. But now the liberties he takes are the limit." - -"Well, you see, Yevpraksia, that's just the horror of it. It is -frightful when a man talks and does not know what he says, why he talks -and whether he'll ever get through. Doesn't it scare you?" - -Yevpraksia looked at her as if struck by a new, wonderful idea. - -"You're not the only one," she said. "Many people around here don't -like him for the same thing." - -"Is that so?" - -"Yes. Even the servants. Not one of them can stay here long. He changes -them almost every month. The clerks, too. And all on account of that." - -"He annoys them?" - -"Terribly. The drunkards--they stay because drunkards don't hear. You -may blow a bugle, but it's as if they had their ears stuffed. But the -trouble is, he doesn't like drunkards." - -"Oh, Yevpraksia, and he is trying to persuade me to stay here." - -"Well, madam, it really would be nice of you to stay a while. Maybe in -your presence he would be ashamed." - -"No. Thank you. I haven't the patience to look at him." - -"Yes, of course, you are of the gentlefolk. You can have your own way, -and at that I suppose you've got to dance to somebody's music." - -"Oh, I should say so." - -"Yes, I thought so. I meant to ask you another thing. Is it nice to be -an actress?" - -"You earn your own bread and butter. That's one good thing." - -"And is it true, as Porfiry Vladimirych was telling me, that strangers -embrace actresses about the waist?" - -Anninka flushed up an instant. - -"Porfiry Vladimirych does not understand," she said with irritation. -"That's why he talks nonsense. He seems to have no notion that it's -only play and not reality on the stage." - -"And yet, even he, that is, Porfiry Vladimirych, when he saw you first, -his mouth began to water. 'My niece,' and 'dear,' and 'darling,' like a -gay blade. And his shameless eyes just devour you." - -"Yevpraksia, why do you talk nonsense?" - -"I? Oh, I don't care. You stay here and you'll see. And I--I don't -care. I'll give up my position, and go back to father. It's dull here, -anyway, you were right about it." - -"It is silly for you to suppose that I am going to stay here. But -you're right about one thing, Golovliovo certainly _is_ a dull place. -And the longer you stay here the duller you feel." - -Yevpraksia turned pensive, then yawned and said: - -"When I stayed with father I was very, very slim. Now, you see how -stout I am, like an oven. So dullness does one good, after all." - -"You won't stand it long, anyway. Remember what I say--you won't." - -With this the conversation ended. - -Luckily Porfiry Vladimirych did not hear it, otherwise he would have -obtained a new and fruitful theme for his endless sermonizing. - -Porfiry Vladimirych tortured Anninka for two whole days. He kept on -saying, "Wait, don't be in a hurry! Quietly, easily. Say your prayers -and receive your benediction," and so on. He tired her to death. -Finally, on the fifth day, he was ready to go to town with her, though -he found another way of tormenting his dear niece. - -She was in her fur coat waiting for him in the vestibule, and he, as if -to spite her, lingered a whole hour, dressing and washing and clapping -his thighs and crossing himself, and walking back and forth, and -sitting down, and giving orders. "Here--, or see to it--you know what I -mean. See that nothing happens--you know." - -He behaved as if he were leaving Golovliovo not for a few hours, but -forever. Having tired everybody out, the men and horses who had been -waiting at the porch for an hour and a half, his own throat at last got -dry from gabbling, and he decided to start out. - -The entire affair in town was concluded while the horses were eating -their oats at the inn. Porfiry Vladimirych produced an account book, -from which it appeared that when Arina Petrovna died the orphans had -twenty thousand rubles or a trifle less in five per cent securities. -Then the petition to remove the guardianship was filed, along with the -papers testifying to the majority of the orphans, and the order was -immediately issued to remove the guardianship and transfer both capital -and land to the rightful owners. In the evening of the same day Anninka -signed all the papers and inventories that Yudushka had prepared and -when all was done, heaved a sigh of relief. - -The remaining few days Anninka spent in the greatest agitation. She -wanted to leave Golovliovo at once, but her uncle met her attempts with -a jest, which, good-natured as it sounded, screened a stupid obstinacy -that no human power could overcome. - -"You yourself said you were going to stay a week. Then stay," he said. -"I don't understand why you are in such a hurry. You don't have to pay -rent, you are welcome without pay. You will have tea and dinner and -anything your heart may desire." - -"But, uncle, I must go," Anninka pleaded. - -"You are on pins and needles, but I am not going to give you horses," -jested Yudushka. "I just won't give you horses, and you'll have to be -my prisoner. When the week is up, I won't say a word. We'll attend -mass, and have a bite, and some tea, and a chat, and we'll take a good -look at each other, and then--God speed you! But, see here, suppose -we visit the grave at Voplino again. It would be best to take leave of -your grandmother, you know. Maybe her soul will be of guidance to you." - -"I shouldn't mind it," Anninka consented. - -"So that's what we'll do. Early in the morning on Wednesday we'll -attend mass here, then we'll have a bite before you go, and then my -team will take you to Pogorelka. From there to Dvoriky you will go with -your own team. You are a landlady yourself, I dare say. You've got your -own horses." - -She had to consent. There is something tremendously powerful in -vulgarity. It catches a person unawares, and while he is staring in -bewilderment, it has him in its clutches. When we pass a cesspool -we close our noses and try not to breathe. We have to do the same -violence to ourselves in an atmosphere saturated with idle chatter -and vulgarity, deaden our sight, hearing, smell and taste, overcome -all sensibility, turn into stone. Otherwise we run the danger of -suffocation from the miasma of vulgarity. - -Anninka understood this, a bit late, perhaps. At any rate, she decided -to let the process of her liberation from the Golovliovo captivity -take its own course. She was so thoroughly overcome by Yudushka's -irresistible twaddle that she dared not resist when he, like a good -relative, embraced her and stroked her back, saying as he did so: - -"You see, now you are a good little girl." - -She recoiled instinctively at the touch of his trembling bony hand -creeping over her back, but was held back from any other expression of -loathing by the hope that he might release her when the week was up. - -Luckily for her Yudushka was not at all squeamish. He perhaps observed -her impatient gestures but paid no attention to them. Evidently he -adhered to the theory of sexual relationship epitomized in the saying, -"Kiss me, whether you love me or not." - -At last came the long expected day of departure. Anninka rose at about -six o'clock, but Yudushka was already up and about. He had already -performed the ceremonial of his morning prayers, and was sauntering -from room to room in dressing-gown and slippers without any plan or -purpose. He was visibly agitated, and when he met Anninka looked at -her askew. It was almost full daylight, but the weather was bad. The -sky was covered with massive dark clouds, from which a chilling sleet -was drizzling. The road along the hamlet had turned black and was full -of puddles--a forecast of roads impassable because of the thaw. A -strong south wind was blowing, another indication of thawing weather. -The trees had cast off their snowy mantles, and their nude wet tops -swayed drearily. The barns in the yard looked black and slimy. Porfiry -Vladimirych led Anninka to the window and pointed out the picture of -spring's awakening. - -"Does it really pay to go?" he asked. "Would it not be better to stay, -after all?" - -"Oh no, no!" she cried in a frightened voice. "The bad weather will -soon be over." - -"Hardly. If you start now I doubt if you will reach Pogorelka before -seven o'clock. And in this thawing weather you cannot travel at night, -you know. So you'll have to spend a night at Pogorelka anyway." - -"Oh, no! I'll travel at night. I'll leave at once. I am brave, you -know. And wait till one o'clock? Uncle, darling! Let me leave at once." - -"And what would grandma say? 'That's the kind of granddaughter I -have!' she'll say. 'She came here, romped about, and wouldn't even come -to ask my blessing.'" - -Porfiry Vladimirych stopped. For a while he shifted from one foot to -the other, then looked at Anninka, then lowered his eyes. Apparently he -was making up his mind about something. - -"Wait, I'll show you something," he said at last, took a folded note -from his pocket and gave it to Anninka. "Here, read this." - -Anninka read: - -"I was praying to-day, and I asked my good, kind God to leave me my -good little Anninka. And the good, kind God said, 'Put your arm around -good little Anninka's plump waist and press her close to your heart.'" - -"Yes?" he asked turning slightly pale. - -"Fi, how nasty!" she answered, looking at him in bewilderment. - -Porfiry Vladimirych turned still paler and hissed through his teeth: - -"I suppose, we must have hussars!" then crossed himself and shuffled -out of the room. - -In about fifteen minutes he returned and resumed his jesting as if -nothing had happened. - -"Well?" he asked. "Are you going to stop at Voplino? Will you go and -say good-by to your old granny? Do, my dear, do. It is very good of you -to have thought of your grandma. Never forget your kinsfolk, my dear, -especially those who, in a manner of speaking, were willing to die for -us." - -They attended the mass and requiem services, ate some kutya in the -church, then came home, ate some more kutya and sat down at the tea -table. Porfiry Vladimirych, as if to spite her, sipped his tea more -slowly than usual, and dragged his words out wearisomely, discoursing -in the intervals between gulps. About ten o'clock they finished tea, -and Anninka said imploringly: - -"May I leave now, uncle?" - -"And what about a bite? What about dinner? Did you really think your -uncle would let you leave on an empty stomach? Nay, nay. We are not -used to such things at Golovliovo. Why, mother dear would have refused -to look at me again if she knew I let my own niece go without a morsel. -Don't dare think of it. Why, it's impossible." - -Again she had to surrender. An hour and a half passed, but there were -no signs of preparation for dinner. Everybody was going about his -business. Yevpraksia, her bunch of keys jingling, was seen in the -yard darting between the pantry and the cellar. Porfiry Vladimirych -was explaining things to his clerk, wearying him with meaningless -orders and incessantly slapping his own thighs in an effort to while -away the time. Anninka, left to herself, walked up and down the -dining-room, looked at the clock, counted her steps, then the ticks of -the clock--one, two, three. At times she glanced out of the window and -noticed the puddles were growing larger and larger. - -Finally knives, forks and plates began to rattle. The butler Stepan -entered the dining-room and spread a cloth upon the table. It seemed as -if a part of Yudushka's idle bustle had communicated itself to him. He -shuffled the plates sluggishly, breathed on the drinking glasses, and -examined them, holding them up to the light. Dinner began just at one -o'clock. - -"Well, so you are going," Porfiry Vladimirych opened the conversation, -in a manner befitting the occasion. Before him was a plate of soup, but -he did not touch it. He looked at Anninka so affectionately that the -tip of his nose turned red. - -Anninka swallowed her soup hastily. At last he took up his spoon and -dipped it in the soup, but changed his mind, and placed it back on the -tablecloth. - -"I am an old man, you'll have to pardon me," he began nagging, "you -swallowed your soup in a gulp, but I must take it slowly. I don't like -it when people are careless with God's gifts. God gave us bread for -sustenance, and look how much of it you have wasted. Look at all the -crumbs you scattered. Altogether, I like to do things thoroughly and -carefully. It comes out safer in the end. Maybe it annoys you that I -am not quick enough, that I can't jump through a hoop, or whatever -you call it. Well, what can I do? If you feel like being annoyed, go -ahead. I know you will be cross a little while and then forgive the old -man. Remember, _you_ are not going to be young always. You will not be -jumping through hoops all of your life. Life will give you experience -and teach you wisdom. Then you will say, 'Maybe uncle was right after -all.' So, my dear, now while you listen to me, you probably think, -'Uncle is no good. Uncle is an old grouch.' But if you live to my old -age, you'll pipe a different tune. You'll say, 'Uncle was nice. Uncle -was a dear. Uncle taught me right.'" - -Porfiry Vladimirych crossed himself and swallowed two spoonfuls of -soup, then put his spoon down and leaned back in his chair as a sign of -an ensuing monologue. - -"Bloodsucker!" was on the tip of her tongue, but she pulled herself up, -poured out a glass of water, and drank it at a gulp. Yudushka sensed -her mental state. - -"So, you don't like it? Well, like it or not, you'd better take uncle's -advice. I've been long meaning to talk to you about your hasty way of -doing things, but I could not find the time to do it. I don't like that -haste in you. There is fickleness in it, a lack of judgment. When you -left your old grandmother, you had no business to leave her and cause -the old woman anxiety. I really don't see why you did it." - -"Oh, uncle, why recall it? It's done. It isn't kind of you." - -"Wait. That's not the point I'm making--kind or unkind--what I want to -say is that even when a thing has been done, it can be undone, or done -all over again. Not only we mortals, but even God alters His deeds. -Now He sends rain, now He sends fair weather. So, suppose--really, the -theatre isn't a good place--suppose you decide to stay." - -"No, uncle, let's not speak about it, I beg of you." - -"And there's another thing I want to tell you. Your fickleness is bad -enough, but what is still worse is the way you slight the advice of -your elders. I speak for your own good and you say, 'Let's not speak -about it.' Uncle is kind and tender, and you snap at him. But do you -know who gave you your uncle? Well, tell me--who?" - -Anninka looked at him in perplexity. - -"God gave you your uncle, that is who. God did it. If not for God, you -would now be all alone in the world, you would not know how to manage -things, or how to file a petition or where to file it, and what to -expect from it. You would be lost in the woods. Anybody could deceive -you, abuse you or even disgrace you. You see? And with the aid of God -and your uncle the whole deal went through in one day. We went to -town, and filed a petition and got the necessary mandates. You see, my -dear, what uncle can do?" - -"Yes, uncle, I am grateful to you." - -"Well, if you are, don't snap at me, and do as I tell you. I mean your -good, though at times it seems to you that----" - -Anninka could hardly control herself. There was one way left to rid -herself of uncle's sermons--to feign that in principle she accepted his -proposal to remain at Golovliovo. - -"All right, uncle," she said, "I'll think it over. I myself feel it is -not quite proper to live alone, far from relatives. But I can't make up -my mind now--I'll have to think it over." - -"Well, I am glad to see you have understood me, but what is there to -think over? We'll have the horses unhitched, your trunks taken out of -the cart--that's all the thinking there is to be done." - -"No, uncle, you forget I have a sister." - -Whether her argument convinced Porfiry Vladimirych or whether the whole -scene had been staged for the mere show of it, it is hard to say. -Porfiry Vladimirych himself did not know whether Anninka really ought -to stay at Golovliovo or whether it was simply a whim of his. At any -rate, from that moment on dinner proceeded at a livelier pace. Anninka -agreed to everything he said and answered his questions in a manner -that did not provoke much nagging and babbling. Nevertheless, the clock -showed half past two when dinner was over. Anninka jumped up from the -table as if she had been sitting in a steam bath, and ran to her uncle -to say good-by. - -In ten minutes Yudushka, in his fur coat and bear-skin boots, saw her -to the porch and in person supervised the process of seating the young -mistress in the pony cart. - -"Easy when you go downhill--you hear? And see that you don't drop her -out at the Senkino slope!" he shouted to the driver. - -Finally Anninka was seated, wrapped up, and the leather cover of the -cart was fastened. - -"Suppose you stay!" Yudushka shouted again, wishing that in the -presence of the servants gathered about, all go off properly as befits -good kinsfolk. But Anninka already felt free, and was suddenly seized -with a desire to play a girlish prank. She stood up in the cart and -emphasizing every word, said, "No, uncle, I will not! You are a fright!" - -Yudushka pretended not to hear, but his lips turned pale. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -Anninka was so overjoyed at her liberation from the Golovliovo bondage, -that she did not even stop to think of the man who at her departure -lost all contact with the world of living beings. She thought only -of herself. She enjoyed the feeling of escape. And the sensation of -freedom was so strong that when she visited the grave at Voplino again -there was no longer a trace of that nervous sensibility which she had -betrayed the first time. She listened to the requiem quietly, bowed -before the grave without shedding a tear, and quite willingly accepted -the priest's invitation to have tea with him. - -The house of the Voplino priest was very scantily furnished. The -only room of state in the house, which served as the reception room, -looked naked and dreary. Along the walls were arranged about a dozen -painted chairs, upholstered with haircloth, in holes here and there, -and a sofa of the same kind with its back bulging out, like the chest -of an old-time general. Against one of the walls between two windows -stood a plain table covered with a soiled cloth, on which lay several -confession books of the parish. From behind them peeped an inkpot with -a quill stuck in it. An image case containing an ikon handed down as a -family heirloom and a burning ikon lamp were suspended in the eastern -corner of the room. Underneath the image case stood two trunks covered -with a drab faded cloth holding the family linen, the dowry of the lady -of the house. The walls were not papered. A few daguerreotype portraits -of bishops hung in the center of one wall. There was a peculiar odor -in the room, as if many generations of flies and black beetles had met -their fate there. The priest himself, though a young man, had become -considerably faded amidst these surroundings. His thin flaxen hair hung -from his head in long, straight locks, like the boughs of a weeping -willow. His eyes, once blue, were now lifeless. His voice trembled, his -beard had taken on a wedge-like shape, his merino cassock hung on him -loosely. His wife, also young, looked even more faded than her husband, -because of frequent child bearing. - -Nevertheless, Anninka could not help noticing that even these poor -timid, worn-out people looked upon her not as at a real parishioner, -but in pity, as if she were a lost sheep. - -"You were visiting at your uncle's?" began the priest, carefully -removing a cup of tea from the tray held by his wife. - -"Yes, I stayed there about a week." - -"Porfiry Vladimirych is now the chief landowner in the district, and -has the greatest power. But it looks as if luck is not with him. First -one son died, then the other, and now his mother has departed. I am -surprised he did not insist on your staying with him." - -"Uncle wanted me to stay, but I did not care to." - -"Why so?" - -"I prefer to live in freedom." - -"Freedom, madam, is not a bad thing, of course, but it has its -dangers. And when you think you are the nearest relative to Porfiry -Vladimirych, you could forego a bit of that freedom, I imagine." - -"No, father, one's own bread tastes better. It's easier to live when -you know you are under no obligations to anyone." - -The priest looked at her with his extinguished eyes, as if he meant to -ask, "Come now, do you really know what 'one's own bread is?'" but he -had not the courage to hurt her, so he only drew his cassock closer -about him. - -"Do you receive much salary as an actress?" inquired the priest's wife. - -The priest became thoroughly frightened, and even began to wink at his -wife. He expected Anninka to be offended, but Anninka was not offended -and answered without a waver, "At present I get a hundred and fifty -rubles a month, and my sister earns one hundred. But then we have -benefit performances. All told, the two of us net about six thousand a -year." - -"Why does sister get less? Is she of inferior merit, or what?" -continued the priest's wife. - -"No, hers is a different _genre._ I have a voice and I sing. The -audience likes it more. Sister's voice is a little weaker. So she plays -in vaudeville mostly." - -"So even in acting some are priests, some deacons and others just -sextons?" - -"Yes, but we share our income equally. That was our understanding from -the very beginning--to share all money equally." - -"Like good sisters? Well, there is nothing better than that. How much -will that be, father? If you divide six thousand by months, how much -will that make?" - -"Five hundred rubles a month, and divided by two it makes two hundred -and fifty rubles a month each." - -"My, what a heap of money! We could not spend that much in a year. -Another thing I meant to ask you, is it true that actresses are treated -as if they were not real women?" - -The priest became so alarmed that his cassock flew open; but seeing -that Anninka took the question quite indifferently, he said to himself, -"Eh--eh--she is really a hard nut to crack," and felt reassured. - -"What do you mean 'not real women?'" she asked. - -"Well, they kiss and embrace. I heard they must do it whether they want -to or not." - -"No, they don't kiss--they only pretend to. And as to whether they want -to or not, that is out of the question entirely, because everything is -done according to the play. They must act whatever is written in the -play." - -"Yes, but even if it's in the play--you know--sometimes a man with a -slabbery snout sidles up to you. He is loathsome to look at, but you've -got to hold your lips ready to let him kiss you." - -A blush suffused Anninka's face. There suddenly flashed up in her -memory the slabbery face of the brave Captain Papkov, who had actually -"sidled up to her" and, alas! not even in accordance with the play. - -"You have a wrong notion of what takes place on the stage," she said -drily. - -"Of course, we've never been to the theatre, but I am sure many things -happen there. Father and I have often been speaking about you, madam. -We are sorry for you, very sorry, indeed." - -Anninka was silent. The priest tugged at his beard as if he, too, had -finally gathered up enough courage to say something. - -"Of course, it must be admitted, madam, that every calling has its -agreeable and disagreeable sides," he at last delivered himself, "but -we humans in our failings extol the former and try to forget the -latter. And why do we try to forget? Because, madam, we want as far as -possible to avoid even the remembrance of duty and of the virtuous life -we formerly led." He heaved a sigh and added, "And above all, madam, -you must guard your treasure." - -The priest glanced at Anninka admonishingly, and his wife shook her -head sadly, as much as to say, "Not much chance of that." - -"And it is very doubtful whether you can preserve your treasure while -an actress," he continued. - -Anninka was at a loss what answer to make to these warnings. Little -by little she began to see that the talk of these simple-minded folk -about her "treasure" was of the same value as the pointed remarks of -the officers of the regiments stationed in the various towns about _la -chose._ Now it became quite clear to her that both at her uncle's and -at the priest's she was considered a peculiar individual to whom one -may condescend, but from a distance, so as not to soil oneself. - -"Father, why is your church so poor?" she asked to change the subject. - -"There is nothing here to make it rich--that's why it's poor. The -landlords are all away in the government service, and the peasants -haven't much to thrive on. In all there are a little over two hundred -parishioners." - -"Our bell, you see, is a very poor one," sighed the priest's wife. - -"Yes, the bell and everything. Our bell, madam, weighs only five -hundred pounds, and to make matters worse, it is cracked. It does not -ring, it coughs. To be so poor is even sinful. The late Arina Petrovna -promised to erect a new bell and, if she were alive we would most -likely have a new bell by now." - -"Why don't you tell uncle that grandmother promised you one?" - -"I did tell him, madam, and I must admit he listened very kindly to my -grievance, but he could not give me a satisfactory answer. He said he -had heard nothing about it from mother; that his late dear mother had -never spoken about the matter. He would gladly carry out her wishes, he -said, if he had only heard mother express them." - -"He could not help hearing them," said the priest's wife. "It was known -throughout the district." - -"So we live on in this wise. At first we had hopes, at least, now we -have no hopes left. Not to mention our own personal needs, there is -nothing to perform the service with sometimes--neither host nor red -wine." - -Anninka wanted to rise and take leave, but a new tray appeared on the -table, with two dishes on it, one of mushrooms, the other with bits of -caviar, and a bottle of Madeira. - -"Do oblige us and have a bite--it's the best we have." - -Anninka obeyed and quickly swallowed some mushrooms, but refused the -Madeira. - -"Another thing I meant to ask," continued the priest's wife, "we -have a girl in our parish, the daughter of a peasant in the service -of Lyshechevsky. She was the chambermaid of a certain actress in St. -Petersburg. She says the life of an actress is very easy and pleasant, -but an actress must produce a special passport every month. Is that -true?" - -Anninka stared at her and did not understand. - -"That is for the greater freedom," explained the priest. "But I -think she did not tell the truth. On the contrary, I heard that many -actresses even get pensions from the government for their services." - -Anninka became convinced that matters were going from bad to worse, and -she rose to take leave. - -"We thought you would give up acting now," the priest's wife persisted. - -"Why should I?" - -"Yes, but--you are a lady. You have reached your majority, you have an -estate of your own--what could be better?" - -"And you are your uncle's heiress, you know," added the priest. - -"No, I sha'n't live here." - -"And how we were hoping for it! The father and I would often speak -about our little mistress. We thought you would surely come to live at -Pogorelka. In the summer it is very nice here. You can go to the woods -and pick mushrooms," tempted the priest's wife. - -"We have mushrooms even in a dry summer, plenty of mushrooms," chimed -the priest. - -At last Anninka left. When she reached Pogorelka, her first word was, -"Horses! Please have the horses ready at once!" But Fedulych only -shrugged his shoulders. - -"What's the use of shouting horses? We haven't fed them yet," he -grumbled. - -"But why? Oh, my God, as if everybody were conspiring against me!" - -"That's it, we have conspired. How can you help conspiring if it's -clear as day that we can't ride at night in thawing weather? Anyway, -you'll get stranded in the mud a whole night, so it is better to be -stranded at home, I think." - -Grandmother's apartments had been well heated. The bedroom had been -prepared, and a samovar was puffing on the table. Afimyushka scraped -together the remnants of tea at the bottom of Arina Petrovna's -tea-caddy. While the tea was drawing, Fedulych stood at the door, his -arms folded, facing the young mistress. Beside him stood the cattle -woman and Morkovna looking as if at the first wave of the hand they -were ready to flee for their lives. - -Fedulych was first to begin the conversation. - -"The tea is grandmother's--just a bit left in the bottom of the box. -Porfiry Vladimirych was going to take the box away, too, but I wouldn't -let him. 'Maybe,' I say, 'the young mistress will come and will want -to have some hot tea. So let it stay here till she gets some of her -own.' Well, I had no trouble with him--he even joked. 'You old rascal,' -he says, 'you will use it up yourself! Be sure,' he says, 'to bring -the box to Golovliovo.' I wouldn't be surprised if he sends for it -tomorrow." - -"You should have given it to him then." - -"Why should we? He has enough tea of his own. And now, at least, we, -too, will have some after you. Another thing, madam, are you going to -make us over to Porfiry Vladimirych?" - -"Why, I never meant to." - -"Just so. We were going to mutiny, you know. If, supposing, let's say, -we are put under the rule of the Golovliovo master, we will all hand in -our resignations." - -"Why? Is uncle really so terrible?" - -"No, he is not terrible, but he tortures you, he is all words. He can -talk a man into his grave." - -Anninka smiled involuntarily. It was vile dirt indeed, that oozed from -Yudushka's orations, not mere babble. It was an ill-smelling wound from -which the pus flowed incessantly. - -"And what have you decided, about yourself?" Fedulych continued to -question. - -"Why, what was there to decide about myself?" said Anninka, a bit -confused, feeling that she would again be compelled to listen to -orations on the "treasure." - -"Aren't you really going to give up acting?" - -"No--that is, I haven't thought of it so far. But what harm is there in -my earning my own bread?" - -"I don't see any good in going with a bagpipe from fair to fair to -amuse drunkards. Surely you are a lady." - -Anninka did not reply, only knitting her brows. A painful thought -drummed in her head, "God, when will I leave this place?" - -"Of course, you know better how to take care of yourself. But we -thought you would come back to live with us. The house is warm, -and roomy enough to play tag in. The late mistress looked after -the building herself. And if you feel dull, why then you can go -sleigh-riding. In the summer you can go to the woods to pick mushrooms." - -"We have all kinds of mushrooms here--lots of them," lisped Afimyushka -temptingly. - -Anninka leaned her elbows on the table and tried not to listen. - -"There was a girl here," continued Fedulych cruelly. "She was a -chambermaid in St. Petersburg. She says all actresses must have special -passports. Every month they have to present their license at the police -station." - -Anninka could bear it no longer. She had had to listen to such speeches -all day long. - -"Fedulych!" she shouted in pain. "What have I done to you? Why do you -take pleasure in insulting me?" - -It was all she could stand. She felt as if something was strangling -her. Another word--and she would break down. - - - - -BOOK V - -FORBIDDEN FAMILY JOYS - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Not long before the catastrophe that befell Petenka, Arina Petrovna, -on one of her visits to Golovliovo, noticed a change in Yevpraksia. -Brought up in the practices of serfdom, where the pregnancy of -a domestic was the subject of a detailed and not uninteresting -investigation, and was even considered an item of income, Arina -Petrovna had a keen eye for such matters. She merely looked at -Yevpraksia, and the girl, without saying a word, turned away her -flushed face in full cognizance of her guilt. - -"Come now, come now, my lady. Look at me. Pregnant, eh?" the -experienced old woman asked the young culprit. However, there was no -reproach in her voice, on the contrary, it sounded jocose, almost gay, -as if the old woman scented a whiff of the dear, good, old times. - -Yevpraksia, bashful and complacent, kept silence, but under Arina -Petrovna's inquisitive look, the red of her cheeks deepened. - -"For some time I have been noticing that you walk kind of stiff, -strutting about and twirling your skirts as if you were a respectable -lady! But, my dear, you can't fool me with your strutting and twirling. -I can see your girlish tricks five versts ahead! Is it the wind that -puffed you up? Since when is it? Out with it now. Tell me all about -it." - -A detailed inquiry ensued, followed by a no less detailed explanation. -When had the first symptoms appeared? Had she a midwife in view? Did -Porfiry Vladimirych know of the joy in store for him? Was Yevpraksia -taking good care of herself? Was she careful not to lift anything -heavy? The findings were that it was now the fifth month since -Yevpraksia had been pregnant; that she had no midwife in view as yet; -that Porfiry Vladimirych had been informed of the matter, but had said -nothing. He had only folded his hands, mumbled something, and glanced -at the ikon, to intimate that all is from God and that He, the Heavenly -Father, provides for all occasions. Yevpraksia had been careless; she -had lifted a samovar and had then and there felt that something inside -of her snapped. - -"You've got brains, I must say," said Arina Petrovna in a grieved -tone when the confession was out. "I see I'll have to look into the -matter myself. Did you ever! A woman in the fifth month and hasn't even -provided for a midwife! But why at least didn't you see Ulita about it, -you fool, you?" - -"I was going to, but the master doesn't like Ulita, you know." - -"Nonsense, girl, nonsense! Whether Ulita offended the master or not has -nothing at all to do with the case. He doesn't have to kiss her, does -he? No, there is no way out of it. I'll have to take this thing in hand -myself." - -It was on the tip of her tongue to complain that even in her old age -she had hardships to bear, but the subject of the conversation was so -attractive that she only parted her lips with a smack and continued: - -"Well, my girl, you are in for it. Take your medicine, try it and see -how it tastes. Go ahead, just try it. I myself raised three sons and -a daughter, and I buried five little ones--I ought to know. We are no -better than slaves to those nasty men!" she added, slapping herself on -the nape of her neck. - -Suddenly, she stopped, struck by a new idea. "Holy saints! If it isn't -going to be in Lent! Wait, just a moment, let's figure it out." - -They began to figure on their fingers, they figured once, twice, a -third time--it surely came out on a Lenten day. - -"So that's how it is. That's the kind of saint he is. Just wait, I'll -tease the life out of him. A pretty mess for him! I'll tease him. My -name is mud if I won't," jested Arina Petrovna. - -And truly, that very day, when all were gathered at evening tea, Arina -Petrovna began to poke fun at Yudushka. - -"See what a trick our saint has played. Maybe it really is the wind -that puffed your queen up. Well, brother, you've surprised me, I must -say." - -At first Yudushka answered his mother's banter with grimaces of -aversion, but seeing that Arina Petrovna spoke good-naturedly and meant -no harm, he brightened up little by little. - -"You are wag, mother dear, you certainly are," he jested in his turn, -though evading the real point. - -"Why call me a wag? We had better speak seriously about the matter. -It's no joke, you know. It's a 'sacrament,' that's what it is. Though -not a proper one but still----No, we've got to give it serious thought. -What do you think; is she to stay here, or will you send her to the -town?" - -"I don't know, mother, I don't know a thing, darling," said Porfiry -Vladimirych evasively. "You are a wag, you certainly are." - -"Well, my girl, never mind, then. We'll talk it over, just the two of -us, at leisure. We'll figure it out, and arrange things properly. These -mean men--all they need is to satisfy their lust, and we, poor devils, -we get the worst of it." - -Arina Petrovna felt in her element. She spent a whole evening -discussing things with Yevpraksia and could have gone on indefinitely. -Even her cheeks began to glow and her eyes to glitter youthfully. - -"You know, my dear, what it is? It's something divine, it is," she -insisted. "Because, even if it isn't in the proper way, still it's the -natural way. But you had better look out. If it comes during Lent--God -save you! I'll tease you to death, I'll make this world too hot for -you." - -Ulita was also called into the council. First matters of real -importance were taken up; whether an injection was to be made or -whether the abdomen was to be massaged with quicksilver salve. Then -they turned to the favorite theme and figured on their fingers -again--it came out on a Lenten day! Yevpraksia turned as red as a peony -and did not deny it, but pleaded her subordinate position. - -"What could I do?" she said. "I must do what he wants me to do. If the -master orders us to do something, we, poor devils, can't help but obey." - -"Look at her playing the goody-goody. I'll bet, you yourself---" jested -Arina Petrovna. - -The woman fairly revelled in the affair. Arina Petrovna recalled a -number of incidents from her past, and did not fail to narrate them. -First she told of her own pregnancies, what tortures she had had to -stand from Simple Simon; how, while carrying Pavel Vladimirych, she -travelled by post to Moscow, changing horses at every stage so as not -to miss the Dubrovino auction, and as a result nearly departed to the -better world, etc., etc. All her deliveries had been remarkable for -something or other. Yudushka's was the only one that had come easy. - -"I didn't feel the least bit of heaviness," she said. "I would sit and -think, 'Lord, am I really pregnant?' And when the time came I just lay -down to rest for a few minutes and I don't know how it happened--I gave -birth to him. He was the easiest son to me, the very, very easiest." - -Then followed stories about domestics, how she herself "caught some of -them in the act," how others were spied upon by her trusties, Ulita -being generally the leader. Her old woman's memory faithfully guarded -these remarkably distinct recollections. In all her drab past--always -devoted to hoarding on both a petty and a large scale, the tracking of -lust-stricken domestics was the only romantic element that touched a -living chord in her. - -It was as if in a dull magazine where the reader expects to find -treatises on dry fogs and Ovid's grave, he suddenly comes upon "See -the troika, gaily dashing," or some such spirited song of gaiety or -sadness. The denouement of these simple love affairs of the maids' room -was generally drastic and even cruel. The woman was married off into -a remote village, by all means to a widower with a large family, the -male culprit was degraded to the position of a cattle tender or even -pressed into military service. Arina Petrovna's recollection of the -closing chapters of such romances had faded (cultured people have a -memory indulgent of their own past), but the spying out of the amorous -intrigues passed before her eyes in all its vividness. And no wonder. -In those days there was the same absorbing interest in spying of that -sort as there is nowadays in the serial "evening story," in which the -author, instead of at once crowning the mutual longing of the hero and -the heroine, breaks off at the most pathetic place and writes, "to be -continued." - -"Those girls gave me no end of trouble. Some would keep up the pretense -to the last minute, and would feign and sham in the hope of eluding me. -But no, my dear, you can't fool me. I am an old hand at it myself," she -added almost sternly, as if threatening some one. - -Finally came the stories of diplomatic pregnancies, so to speak, in -which Arina Petrovna had figured not as the chastiser, but as the -accomplice and concealer. - -For example, her father Piotr Ivanych, when he was an old, tottering -man of seventy, had also had a "mistress," who had also been discovered -with an "increment"; and for higher considerations it had been -necessary to conceal the "increment" from the old man. As ill luck -would have it, Arina Petrovna was then at odds with her brother Piotr -Petrovich who, also for some diplomatic reasons, had wanted to spy upon -the pregnancy and leave his father in no doubt as to his lady-love's -position. - -"And what do you think? We carried the whole thing through almost in -front of father's nose. The old dear slept in his bedroom, and the two -of us, alongside of him, went on with our work, quietly, in a whisper -and on tiptoe. I myself with my own hands closed up her mouth, so she -could not scream, disposed of the linen, and then grabbed hold of her -baby--he was a fine, big fellow--and dispatched him to the foundling -asylum. When brother learned about it a week later he only gasped." - -There had been another diplomatic pregnancy. Her cousin Varvara -Mikhailovna had been involved in the case. Her husband had left on a -campaign against the Turks, and she had not been sufficiently careful. -She came galloping to Golovliovo like one possessed and had shouted -"Save me, cousin!" - -"Well, though we were on the outs with her at that time, I did not make -her feel it. I welcomed her in the most hospitable way, calmed her, -reassured her, pretended she had just come to us on a visit, and fixed -the matter up so that her husband did not know a thing about it till -his dying day." - -Thus ran the tales of Arina Petrovna, and seldom has a narrator found -more attentive listeners. Yevpraksia swallowed every word as if the -incidents of a wonderful fairy tale were actually passing before her -eyes. As to Ulita, she as an erstwhile participant in most of it, only -made smacking sounds with the corners of her lips. - -Ulita also brightened up and felt more comfortable than she had for a -long time. Hers was a restless life. Even in childhood she had burned -with servile ambitions. Sleeping and waking, she would dream about -gaining favor in her master's eyes and getting the whiphand over those -in her own station in life. But her dreams never came true. As soon -as she set foot on the rung higher up, she would be tugged back and -plunged into the inferno by an unseen, mysterious power. She possessed -in perfection the qualities of an all-round servant of the gentlefolk. -She was venomous, evil-tongued and always ready for treachery, but -also slavishly ready to go anywhere and do anything that neutralized -her viciousness. In former days, when it was necessary to follow up an -event in the maid servants' room, or settle any dubious affair, Arina -Petrovna had gladly made use of her services, though she had never -appreciated them and had not admitted her to any office of trust. -Ulita would then make loud complaints, and sting with her tongue, -but no one paid attention to her grumblings, for she was well known -as a malevolent woman, ready to curse herself and others to eternal -damnation, but the next moment at a mere wink willing to come running -and sit up on her hind legs prepared to do her master's bidding. - -And so she had been knocked about, always trying to get somewhere and -never getting there, till the abolition of serfdom put an end to her -slavish ambitions. - -One event in Ulita's youth had kindled in her great hopes. Porfiry -Vladimirych, on one of his visits to Golovliovo, had become intimate -with her, and, as tradition had it, had even had a child by her. That -had brought down upon him the wrath of Arina Petrovna. It is uncertain -whether the relationship had been kept up on his subsequent visits; at -any rate, when Yudushka decided to establish himself permanently at -Golovliovo, Ulita's hopes had been shattered grievously. Immediately -after his arrival she came to him with a heap of gossip, in which -Arina Petrovna was accused of all sorts of fraud. The master listened -very affably to her gossip, but gave Ulita a cold look, evidently -failing to remember her former "good services." Offended and deceived -in her hopes, Ulita transferred herself to Dubrovino, where Pavel -Vladimirych, because of his hatred for his dear brother Porfiry -Vladimirych, received her gladly and even made her his housekeeper. -Here for a long time her condition seemed to improve. Pavel Vladimirych -would sit in the entresol and sip one glass of vodka after another, -and she would run busily from storeroom to cellar, clanging a bunch -of keys, and rattling her tongue. She had even quarrelled with Arina -Petrovna, whom the sly wench nearly drove to her grave. - -But Ulita loved treachery too well to be content with the peace and -quiet that had come with her "good living." That was when Pavel -Vladimirych had become so addicted to drink that his end could readily -be foreseen. Porfiry Vladimirych was alive to Ulita's priceless value -at this juncture, and he snapped his fingers again and summoned her. -He ordered her never for a moment to leave his prey, not to contradict -Pavel in anything, not even in his hatred of his brother Porfiry, and -by all means to eliminate the interference of Arina Petrovna. This -had been one of those domestic crimes which Yudushka had a gift of -perpetrating without previous deliberation, spontaneously, and as a -matter of course. Needless to say, Ulita carried out his orders most -faithfully. Pavel Vladimirych never ceased to hate his brother, and the -more he hated him, the more he drank his vodka, and the less capable -he became of heeding the remarks and advice of Arina Petrovna as to -"making provisions." Every moment of the dying man, every word uttered -were at once reported to Golovliovo, so that Yudushka, equipped with a -full knowledge of the facts, could determine the exact moment he should -have to leave his ambush and step in as master of the situation that -he had created. And so he had! He had come to Dubrovino at the very -moment that he could get the estate for the asking. Porfiry Vladimirych -had rewarded Ulita's services by making her a gift of cloth for a -woolen dress, but he never admitted her close to him. - -Again Ulita had been plunged from the heights of grandeur into the -depths of inferno. It seemed to be her last fall. No one would snap his -fingers again and summon her for service. As a sign of special favor -and in consideration of her "nursing dear brother in his last days," -she had been allotted a nook in the house where all the deserving old -servants, who had remained after the abolition of serfdom, had found -shelter. Here Ulita had become completely cowed, and when Porfiry -Vladimirych made his choice of Yevpraksia, she not only had not shown -any obstinacy, but had even been first to come to do homage to the -master's love and had kissed her shoulder. - -And now, when she had given herself up as forgotten and abandoned, -she struck luck once more in Yevpraksia's pregnancy. It was suddenly -recalled that somewhere in the servants' room there was a handy person. -Somebody snapped her fingers and summoned Ulita. True, it was not the -master who had snapped his fingers. But that he offered no obstacles -was in itself sufficient grace. Ulita celebrated her entry into the -Golovliovo manor by taking the samovar from Yevpraksia's hands. -Bending sidewise a bit, with the weight of it, she walked smartly into -the dining-room, where Porfiry Vladimirych was already seated. The -master said not a word. He even smiled, she thought, when upon another -occasion, as she was bringing in the samovar, she shouted from a -distance, "Step to one side, master, or I'll scald you." - -When Ulita answered the summons to the family council she made wry -faces at first and refused to be seated. But when Arina Petrovna -shouted at her in a kindly way, "Sit down,--will you? What's the use of -your tricks? God made us all equal--be seated." Ulita sat down and kept -silence a while. Very shortly, however, her tongue unloosened. - -She, too, had her reminiscences. Her memory was stuffed with filth -from the days of her serfdom. Beside the carrying out of delicate -commissions like dogging the amorous doings of the maids' room, Ulita -had also held the office of leech and apothecary in the Golovliovo -manor. It was she who made all the injections, and applied the -cupping-glasses and mustard plasters. She had given even the old -master, Vladimir Mikhailych and Arina Petrovna injections, and the -young master, too--every one of them. She retained the most grateful -memories, and now there was a boundless field for all her reminiscences. - -A new mysterious life animated the Golovliovo manor. Arina Petrovna -would come over from Pogorelka every now and then to pay her "good son" -a visit and supervise preparations that as yet were given no name. -After the evening, the three women would go into Yevpraksia's room, -would eat some homemade jam, play fool, and, till late into the night, -would revel in reminiscences that would often make the heroine of the -occasion blush. The least incident, the smallest trifle, served as -a pretext for endless narrations. Yevpraksia brought some raspberry -jam, and Arina Petrovna began a story that when she was carrying her -daughter Sonya she could not stand even the smell of raspberries. - -"No sooner did a raspberry come into the house than I began to yell -at the top of my voice, 'Out, out with that damned thing!' After my -confinement it was all right again; I liked raspberries again." - -Yevpraksia brought some caviar--and Arina Petrovna had an incident to -recall in connection with caviar, too. - -"A really wonderful thing happened to me in connection with caviar. It -was a month or two after I was married and suddenly I was seized with -such a strong desire for caviar that I simply had to have it at any -cost. I would sneak into the cellar and eat as much as I could. And -once I said to my husband, 'Vladimir Mikhailych, why is it that I eat -caviar all the time?' He smiled at me, you know, and said, 'My dear, -it is because you are pregnant.' And surely enough, just nine months -afterward I gave birth to Simple Simon." - -But Porfiry Vladimirych continued to be noncommittal, never once -admitting that he had anything to do with Yevpraksia's condition. Quite -naturally this attitude of his embarrassed the women and dampened their -effusions in his presence, so that he came to be completely abandoned. -They chased him without ceremony from Yevpraksia's room when he came in -the evening to rest up and have a chat. - -"Be gone, you fine fellow!" Arina Petrovna said gaily. "You did your -part. Now it's none of your business any more, it's the women's -business. It's our turn now." - -Yudushka took himself off in all meekness. Though not neglecting to -reproach his mother dear for being unkind to him, he rejoiced inwardly -that she was taking so much interest in the embarrassing affair, and -that he was left alone. If not for his mother's participation, God -knows what he would have had to undergo in order to hush up the nasty -affair, the very thought of which made him spit out in disgust. Now, -thanks to the experience of Arina Petrovna and the skill of Ulita, -he hoped the "trouble" would pass without gaining publicity, and he -himself, perhaps, would learn of the results after all was over. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Porfiry Vladimirych's hopes were not realized. First occurred the -catastrophe with Petenka, then Arina Petrovna's death. And there was no -possibility in sight of his extricating himself by means of some ugly -machinations. He could not dismiss Yevpraksia for dissolute conduct, -because Arina Petrovna had carried the affair too far and made it too -widely known. Nor was Ulita so very reliable. Dexterous woman though -she was, yet if he put his trust in her, he might have to deal with -the coroner. For the first time in his life Yudushka seriously and -sincerely regretted his loneliness; for the first time he realized -vaguely that the people around him were not mere pawns to be played -with. - -"Why didn't she wait a while to die?" Yudushka reproached his mother -dear. "She should have fixed it all up quietly and with good sense, -and then--as she pleased! If it's time to die--you can't help it. I am -sorry for the old woman. But if God wills it so, all our tears, and the -doctors, and the cures, and all of us are naught before the power of -God. The old woman lived long enough. She had her day--was herself a -mistress all her life, and left her children a gentry estate. She lived -to old age--well that's enough." - -And as usual his idle mind, not used to dwell on a matter presenting -practical obstacles, skipped to the easier topic that gave occasion to -endless, unhampered verbiage. - -"And to think how she died! Why, her death was worthy of a saint," he -lied to himself, not knowing, though, whether he lied or spoke the -truth. "Without ailment, without trouble--just so. She heaved a sigh, -and before we knew it, she was no more. Oh, mother dear! And her smile, -and the glow of her cheeks! Her hands placed together as if she wanted -to confer a blessing. She shut her eyes and--good-by!" - -But in the very heat of his sentimental babblings, something would -suddenly prick him. That filthy business again. Fi, fi! "And really why -didn't she wait a while! It was only a matter of a month or so, and -now, look what she did!" - -For some time he attempted to pretend ignorance, and answered Ulita's -inquiries just as he had answered his mother's, "I don't know, I don't -know anything." - -But Ulita, an impudent woman, who had suddenly become conscious of her -power, could not be dismissed like that. - -"Do _I_ know? Have I brought this business on?" she cut him short. And -then he realized that from that moment on the happy combination of the -role of adulterer with the role of the unconcerned observer of the -consequences of his adultery had become quite impossible. - -Nearer and nearer came the disaster, inevitable, tangible. It pursued -him relentlessly and--what was worst of all--it paralyzed his idle -mind. He exerted all possible efforts to rid himself of the thought of -the approaching calamity, to drown it in a torrent of idle words, but -he succeeded only in part. He tried to hide behind the infallibility -of the law of Providence and, as was his custom, turned it into a ball -of thread which he could wind and unwind without end. There was the -parable of the hair falling from a man's head, and the legend of the -house built on sand; but just at the moment when his idle thoughts were -about to roll down into a kind of mysterious abyss, when the endless -winding of the ball seemed quite assured, a single word suddenly -jumped out from the ambush and broke the thread. Alas! That one word -was "adultery" and designated an act of which Yudushka did not wish to -confess himself guilty even to himself. - -When all his efforts to forget the disaster or to do away with it -proved futile, when he realized at last that he was caught, his soul -became filled with anguish. He walked back and forth in the room, -thinking of nothing, and he felt that something inside of him trembled -and ached. It was a check that his idle mind felt for the first time. -Up to now, wherever his idle and empty imagination carried him, it -always found boundless space, space that gave room to all possible -kinds of combinations. Even the deaths of Volodka and Petka, even the -death of Arina Petrovna had not baffled his flow of idle thoughts and -words. Those were common, well recognized situations, met by well -recognized, well established forms--requiems, funeral dinners, and -the like. All this he had done in strict accordance with the custom -and thus vindicated himself, so to speak, before the laws of man and -Providence. But adultery--what was that? Why, that meant an arraignment -of his entire life, the showing up of its inner sham. Though he had -formerly been known as a pettifogger, even as a Bloodsucker, gossip -had had so little legal background that he could safely retort, "Prove -it!" - -And now, all of a sudden--adulterer! A known, convicted adulterer. He -had not even resorted to "measures," so great had been his confidence -in Arina Petrovna; he had not even worked up a story to cover the -thing. And on a Lenten day at that. The shame of it! - -In these inner talks with himself, in spite of their confusion, there -was something like an awakening of conscience. But the question was -whether Yudushka would continue along that path or whether his idle -mind would even in this grave matter perform its usual function -of finding a loophole through which he could crawl out and emerge -unscathed. - -While Yudushka was thus smarting under his own mental vacuity, -Yevpraksia was undergoing an unexpected inner change. Evidently the -anticipation of motherhood untied the mental fetters that had hitherto -held her bound. Up to that time she had been indifferent to everything -and regarded Porfiry Vladimirych as a "master" in relation to whom she -was a mere subordinate. Now, for the first time, she grasped a definite -idea. It began to dawn on her that here was a state of affairs where -she was the most important figure, and where she could not be driven -about with impunity. As a consequence, even her face, usually blank and -stolid, became lighted up and intelligent. - -The death of Arina Petrovna had been the first fact in her -semi-conscious life that produced a sobering effect upon her. No -matter how peculiar the attitude of the old mistress to Yevpraksia's -prospective motherhood was, still there were glimpses of sympathy -in it and nothing of the disgusting evasiveness of Yudushka. So -Yevpraksia had begun to see a protector in Arina Petrovna, as if -expecting that some kind of attack was being planned against her. The -forebodings of that attack were all the more persistent since they were -not illuminated by consciousness, but merely filled the whole of her -being with vague anxiety. Her mind was not vigorous enough to tell her -definitely the point from which the attack would come and the form it -would take; but her instincts had already been so aroused that the very -sight of Yudushka filled her with an inexplicable fear. "Yes, that's -where it will come from," reverberated in the inner chambers of her -soul--from that coffin filled with dead dust, from that coffin she had -so long been tending like a hireling, from that coffin which by some -miracle had become the father and lord of _her_ child! The feeling -this thought awakened in her was akin to hatred and would inevitably -have passed into hatred had it not been diverted by the sympathy and -interest of Arina Petrovna, who, by constant chatter, never gave -Yevpraksia a chance to think. - -But Arina Petrovna retired to Pogorelka, and then vanished entirely. -The feeling of anxiety and uneasiness in Yevpraksia became still more -intense. - -The stillness in which the Golovliovo manor became engulfed was broken -only by a rustle announcing that Yudushka was stealing through the -corridors, listening at the doors. Or sometimes, some one of the -servants would come running from the yard and bang the door of the -maids' room. But then stillness would again creep in from all sides. It -was a dead stillness that filled Yevpraksia's being with superstitions -and anguish. And since she was nearing her time, she had not even the -sleepy feeling to look forward to that came in the evening after a day -of household chores. - -She tried once or twice to be affectionate with Porfiry Vladimirych and -engage his kindly sympathies. Her attempts only resulted in brief but -mean scenes that reacted painfully even on her crude sensibilities. -All that was left to her was to sit with her arms folded and think, -that is, be alarmed. And as to the causes for alarm, they multiplied -daily. The death of Arina Petrovna had untied Yudushka's hands and -introduced into the Golovliovo manor a new element of tale-bearing, -which thereafter became the one thing in which Yudushka's soul reveled. - -Ulita was aware that Porfiry Vladimirych was afraid and that with his -idle, empty, perfidious character fear bordered on hatred. Besides, she -knew very well that he was incapable not only of attachment but even of -simple pity, and he kept Yevpraksia only because, thanks to her, his -daily life flowed on in an undeviating rut. Equipped with these simple -data, Ulita was in a position to nurse the feeling of hatred that arose -in Yudushka whenever he was reminded of the coming "disaster." - -Soon Yevpraksia became entangled in a web of gossip. Ulita every now -and then "reported" to the master. In one instance she complained about -the wasteful disposal of house provisions. - -"I am afraid, master, your stuff is spent a bit too fast. I went to the -cellar a while ago to get cured beef. I remembered a new tub had been -begun not long ago, and--would you believe it? I look into the tub and -find only two or three slices at the bottom." - -"Is it possible?" said Porfiry Vladimirych, staring at her. - -"If I had not seen it myself, I shouldn't have believed it, either. -It's surprising what heaps of stuff are used up! Butter, barley, -pickles--everything. Other folk feed their servants on gruel and -goose-fat, but our servants must have it with butter, and sweet butter -at that." - -"Is that so?" exclaimed Porfiry Vladimirych, almost frightened. - -At another time she entered casually and "reported" about the master's -linen. - -"Master, I think you ought to stop Yevpraksia, really. Of course, she -is a girl, inexperienced, but still, take the linen for instance. She -wasted piles of it on bed sheets and swaddling clothes, and it's all -fine linen, you know." - -Porfiry Vladimirych merely cast a fiery glance, but the whole of his -empty being was thrown into convulsions by her "report." - -"Of course, she cares for her infant," continued Ulita, in a -mellifluous voice. "She thinks Lord knows what, a prince is going to -be born. And I think that he, I mean the infant, could well sleep on -fustian bedding--with such a mother." - -At times she simply teased Yudushka. - -"Do you know, master, what I was going to ask you?" she began. "What -are you going to do about the infant? Are you going to make him your -son, or will you, like other folk, put him in the foundling asylum." - -At this Porfiry Vladimirych flashed such a fierce glance at her that -she was instantly silenced. - -And amidst the hatred that was rising from every corner, the moment -drew nearer and nearer when the appearance of a tiny, crying, "servant -of God" would in one way or another bring order into the moral chaos -of the Golovliovo manor, and would increase the number of the "servants -of God" that inhabit this universe. - -It was seven o'clock in the evening. Porfiry Vladimirych had had his -after-dinner nap and was in his study filling up sheets of paper with -columns of figures. He was busy with the following problem: How much -money would he now have had, if his dear mother Arina Petrovna had not -appropriated the hundred ruble note his grandfather had given him on -the day of his birth, but had placed it in the bank to the credit of -the minor Porfiry? It came out not much--only eight hundred rubles in -notes. - -"It isn't a lot of money, let's say," Yudushka mused idly, "but still -it's good to know that you have it for a rainy day. Any time you need -it--you can just go and get it. You don't have to bow to anybody, or -ask favors--just take your own money, given to you by your grandfather. -Oh, mother dear! How could you have acted so rashly?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych had allayed the fears that had only recently -paralyzed his capacity for thinking idle nonsense. The glimmerings of -conscience awakened by the difficult position in which Yevpraksia's -pregnancy put him, and by the sudden death of Arina Petrovna, little -by little faded away. His idle mind had done its work, and Yudushka -had finally succeeded by great effort, it is true, in drowning all -thought of the impending "disaster" in his bottomless pit of verbiage. -One could not say he had made up his mind consciously, but rather -intuitively. It was instinct in him that made him revert to his -favorite formula: "I don't know anything, I allow nothing, I forbid -everything," which he applied in every difficulty. On this occasion, -too, it put an end to the inner turbulence that had briefly agitated -him. - -Now, this matter of the coming birth was of no concern to him, and -his face assumed an indifferent, impenetrable look. He almost ignored -Yevpraksia, not even calling her by name. If ever he did inquire about -her he would say, "How about that woman--still sick?" He proved to be -so strong that eyen Ulita, who had been through the school of serfdom -and had learned quite a lot about reading people's minds, realized -that to battle with a man who had no scruples and who would go to any -lengths was quite impossible. - -The Golovliovo manor was plunged in darkness. Only Yudushka's study and -the side room occupied by Yevpraksia were illuminated by a glimmering -light. Stillness reigned in Yudushka's rooms, broken only by the rattle -of the beads on the counting board and the faint squeak of Yudushka's -pencil. - -Suddenly, in the dead stillness he heard a distant but piercing groan. -Yudushka trembled, his lips quivered, his pencil jerked. - -"One hundred and twenty rubles plus twelve rubles and ten kopeks," -whispered Porfiry Vladimirych, endeavoring to stifle the unpleasant -sensation produced by the groan. - -But the groans were now coming with increasing frequency. Finally they -got to be annoying. It became so difficult for him to work that he -left the desk. First he paced back and forth trying not to hear; but -little by little curiosity gained the upper hand. He opened the door -cautiously, put his head into the darkness of the adjacent room and -listened in an attitude of watchful expectation. - -"My, I think I forgot to light the lamp before the ikon of the Holy -Virgin, the Assuager of Our Sorrows," flashed through his mind. - -Suddenly he heard quick footsteps in the corridor, and he darted back -into his study, cautiously closing the door and mincing on tiptoe to -the ikon. - -A moment later he was already in "proper form," so that when the door -opened wide and Ulita rushed into the room, she found him in a pose of -prayer with folded hands. - -"I am afraid Yevpraksia's life is in danger," said Ulita, not -hesitating to interrupt Yudushka's prayers. But Porfiry Vladimirych did -not even turn his face; he began to move his lips faster than before, -and instead of answering waved his hand in the air as if to chase away -an annoying fly. - -"What's the use of waving your hand? I say Yevpraksia is doing poorly. -She may die any moment," Ulita insisted gruffly. - -This time Yudushka turned toward her, but his face was as calm and -unctuous as if he had just been in communion with the Deity, and had -cast off all earthly cares, and did not even understand what could make -people disturb him. - -"Though it's sinful to chide after prayer, still as a human being I -cannot keep from complaining. How many times have I not asked you not -to disturb me when I say my prayers?" he said in a voice befitting his -worshipful mood, and permitting himself only a shake of his head as a -sign of Christian reproach. "Well, what has happened?" - -"What could have happened? Yevpraksia is in labor and cannot give -birth. As if you haven't heard it before. Oh, you! Go and look at her -at least." - -"What is there to look at? Am I a doctor? Can I give her advice, or -what? I don't know anything, I don't know any of your business. I know -there is a sick woman in the house, but why she is sick and what her -sickness is, that, I confess, I never had the curiosity to find out. -Send for the priest if the patient is in danger. That's one piece of -advice I can give you. Send for the priest, pray with him, light the -ikon lamps. And then I'll have tea with the parson." - -Porfiry Vladimirych was glad that he expressed himself so well in this -most decisive moment. He looked at Ulita firmly as if he meant to say, -"Well refute me, if you can." - -Even she was baffled by his equanimity. "Suppose you do come and take a -look," she repeated. - -"I will not go because I have nothing to do there. If it were business, -I would go without being called. If I have to go five versts on -business, I'll go five versts, and if ten versts, I'll go ten. It may -be in wind and storm, but I'll go. For I know there is business to -attend to and I've got to go whether I want to or not." - -Ulita thought she was asleep and that in her sleep she saw Satan -himself standing before her and discoursing. - -"To send for the priest--that's business! A prayer--do you know what -the Scriptures say about a prayer? 'A prayer cures the afflicted.' -That's what it says. So see to it. Send for the priest, pray together, -and I, too, will pray in the meantime. You will pray there, in the ikon -room, and I will invoke God's mercy here in my study. By joint effort, -you on one side, I on the other, we may after all succeed in making our -prayers heard in Heaven." - -The priest was sent for, but before he came, Yevpraksia, in agony, -delivered herself of the child. From the hurried steps and banging -doors, Porfiry Vladimirych understood that something decisive had -happened. And, indeed, in a few minutes hurried steps were heard in the -corridor, and Ulita rushed in holding a tiny creature wrapped up in -linen. - -"Here! Look at it!" she exclaimed triumphantly, bringing the child -close to the face of Porfiry Vladimirych. - -For a moment it looked as if Yudushka were hesitating. His body swayed -forward and a bright spark flashed in his eyes. But only for a moment. -The next instant he turned up his nose squeamishly and waved his hand. - -"No, no! I am afraid. I don't like them. Go away, go away!" he began to -stammer, with infinite aversion in his face. - -"Why don't you at least ask if it's a boy or a girl?" Ulita pleaded -with him. - -"No, no! What for? It's none of my business. It's your affair, and I -don't know anything. I don't know anything, and I don't want to know -either. Go away, for Christ's sake, be gone!" - -Again Ulita felt as though she were in a nightmare with Satan standing -in front of her. It exasperated her. - -"I'll take him and put him on your sofa. Go nurse him!" That was a -threat. - -But Yudushka was not the man to be moved. While Ulita was threatening, -he was already facing the ikon, with hands stretched upward. Evidently -he was imploring God to forgive all people, those who sinned knowingly, -and those who sinned unknowingly; those who sinned in word and those -who sinned in deed; and he thanked the Lord that he himself was not a -sinner or an adulterer, and that the Lord in His grace had led him in -the righteous path. Even his nose trembled with the solemnity of his -feeling. Ulita observed him for some time, blew out her lips in disgust -and left. - -"God took one Volodka and gave another Volodka," flashed up in -Yudushka's mind quite irrelevantly; but he at once became aware of this -sudden play of thought and spat inwardly in annoyance. - -Soon the priest came and chanted and burned incense. Yudushka heard -the drawl of the sexton as he was chanting, "Oh, Zealous Protectress!" -and gladly chimed in. Soon Ulita came running to the door again and -shouted, "He was christened Volodimir!" - -Yudushka was moved by the strange coincidence of this circumstance and -his recent aberration of mind. He saw the will of God in it, and this -time he did not spit, but said to himself: - -"Well, then, thank God! He took one Volodka and gave another. That's -what God can do. You lose something in one place and you think it's -gone, but God, if He wishes, rewards you for it a hundredfold." - -At last it was announced that the samovar was on the table and the -priest was waiting in the dining-room. Porfiry Vladimirych became quite -peaceful and solemn. The Golovliovo priest, Father Aleksandr, was a -polite man, and he endeavored to give his intercourse with Yudushka -a worldly tone. In the landlord's manor there were all-night vigils -every week and on the eve of every principal holiday, in addition to -the ceremonial services performed every first of the month. That meant -an income of over a hundred rubles a year. Father Aleksandr was not -unmindful of this, nor of the fact that the landmarks between the -church lands and Yudushka's lands had not yet been settled upon, and -Yudushka, on passing the church meadows, would many times exclaim, "My, -what fine meadows!" So the priest's worldly behavior toward Yudushka -was tempered by fear, which came out every time the priest visited the -manor. He would work himself up into gay spirits, though he really had -no occasion to feel happy. And when Porfiry Vladimirych gave expression -to heresies concerning the ways of Providence, the after-life, and so -forth, the priest, though not quite approving of the heresies, still -did not consider them sacrilegious and blasphemous, but ascribed them -to the temerity of spirit characteristic of the gentry. - -When Yudushka entered, the priest hurriedly gave him his blessing and -just as hurriedly pulled his hand back as if afraid the Bloodsucker -would bite it. He wanted to congratulate his spiritual son on the birth -of the new little Vladimir, but uncertain how Yudushka was taking the -matter, he decided not to congratulate him. - -"It's misty outdoors," the priest began. "By popular signs, in which -one may say there seems to be a great deal of superstition, such a -state of the atmosphere signifies that thawing weather is near." - -"And maybe it will turn out to be a frost. We are foretelling thawing -weather and God will go ahead and send us a frost," retorted Yudushka, -with a bustling; air of gaiety, and seated himself at the table, this -time attended by the butler Prokhor. - -"It is true that man in his aspirations strives to attain the -unattainable and to gain access to the inaccessible; and as a -consequence he incurs cause for penance, or even veritable grief." - -"That is why we ought to refrain from guessing and foretelling and -be satisfied with what God sends us. If He sends us warm weather, we -ought to be satisfied with warm weather; if He send us frost, let us -welcome the frost. We'll order the stoves heated more than usual, and -those who travel will wrap themselves tight in fur coats, and there you -are--we're all warm." - -"Quite true." - -"There are many nowadays who go circling round. They don't like this -and they are dissatisfied with that, and the other thing is not after -their heart, but I don't approve. I don't make forecasts myself, and I -don't care for it in others. It is haughtiness of spirit--that's what I -call it." - -"That's true, too." - -"We are all pilgrims here, that's how I look at it. Well, as to having -a glass of tea, or a light bite, or something, we are allowed to do -that, for God gave us our body and limbs. Even the government would not -forbid us that. 'You can eat, if you want to,' it says, 'but hold your -tongue.'" - -"Also perfectly true," exclaimed the priest, tapping the saucer with -the bottom of his empty tea-glass in exultation over the harmony -between them. - -"As I understand it, God gave man reason not to explore the unknown, -but to refrain from sin. If I, for instance, feel a craving of the -flesh or a temptation of some kind, I call my reason to the rescue -and say, 'Show me, forsooth, the ways by which I may overcome this -craving,' and I am quite right, for in such cases reason can really be -of great use." - -"Still, faith is superior, in a way," the priest offered in slight -correction. - -"Faith is one thing and reason is another. Faith points out the -goal, and reason finds the way. It goes searching in every direction -till at last it finds something. Take, for instance, all these drugs -and plasters and healing herbs and potions--all of them have been -invented by reason. But we ought to see to it that such invention is in -accordance with faith, to our salvation and not to our ruin." - -"I cannot disagree with you in this, either." - -"There is a certain book, father, that I read some time ago. It says -that one must not disdain the offices of reason if the latter is -guided by faith, for a man without reason soon becomes the plaything -of passion; and I even think that the first downfall of man came about -because the devil in the shape of the serpent beclouded the human -reason." - -The reverend father did not object to this either, though he refrained -from assent, since it was not yet clear to him what Yudushka had up his -sleeve. - -"We often see that people not only fall into sinful thought, but even -commit crimes, all because of lack of reason. The flesh tempts, and -if there is no reason, man falls into the abyss. Man craves something -sweet, he craves gaiety and pleasure, especially when it comes through -women. How will you preserve yourself without the aid of reason? And -if, let's say, for instance, I do possess reason, I'll take some -camphor and rub it in where necessary, and put some in other parts, and -before you know, the craving is over as if it had never been there." - -Yudushka became silent as if waiting to hear what the priest had to -say in response, but the priest was still uncertain what Yudushka was -driving at and therefore he only coughed and said quite irrelevantly: - -"There are hens in my yard--very restless on account of the change of -season. They run and jump about, and can't find a place for themselves." - -"All because neither birds nor beasts nor reptiles possess reason. What -is a bird? It has no worry, no cares--just flies about. The other day, -for instance, I looked out of the window and saw some sparrows pecking -at manure. Manure is enough for them but not for man." - -"Yet in some cases even the Scriptures take birds as examples." - -"In some cases, that's true. Where faith without reason can be a man's -salvation, we must do as the birds do, pray to God, compose verses." - -Porfiry Vladimirych grew silent. Though talkative by nature and though -the event of the day naturally lent itself to a lengthy discussion, the -most suitable form for the remarks on the subject had evidently not yet -ripened in his mind. - -"Birds need no reason," he said at last, "because they have no -temptations. Or, rather, they have temptations but they are never -called to answer for their doings. Birds lead a natural life. They -have no property to take care of, no legitimate marriages, hence no -widowhood. They are responsible neither to God nor to the authorities. -They have only one lord--the cock." - -"The cock! That's true. The cock is a sort of Sultan of Turkey to them." - -"But man has so arranged his life, that he has given up the liberties -granted to him by nature, and therefore he needs much reason: first, to -keep himself from falling into sin, and second, not to tempt others. Am -I right, father?" - -"It is gospel truth. The Scriptures advise us to pluck out the tempting -eye." - -"That is, if you understand it literally, but there may be a way of -avoiding sin not by plucking out the eyes, but by seeing to it that the -eye is not tempted. One must have more frequent recourse to prayer, and -curb the unruly flesh. Take me, for instance. I am in good health and -vigor, I dare say. Well, I have female servants. Still that does not -disturb me in the least. I know I can't get along without servants, -well then, I keep them. I keep male servants, and female servants of -every kind. A maid is needed in the household to fetch something from -the cellar, to pour the tea, bring in something to eat--well--God bless -her!--She does her work and I do mine, and so we get along very nicely -indeed." - -While speaking Yudushka tried to look into the priest's eyes, and the -latter in his turn, tried to look into Yudushka's. But happily, there -was a burning candle between them, so that they could look at each -other to their hearts' content and see nothing but the flame of the -candle. - -"And then again, I take it this way. If you become intimate with your -female servants, they'll begin to have their way in the house. And -you'll have squabbles and disorder and quarrels and impertinence. I -like to keep away from such things." - -The priest stared so steadily that his eyes began to swim. Good -manners, he knew, demanded that in a general conversation one should -every now and then join in with at least a word. So he shook his head -and muttered: - -"Tss----" - -"And if, at that, one behaves as other folks do, as my dear neighbor, -Mr. Anpetov, for example, or my other neighbor, Mr. Utrobin, then you -can fall into sin before you know it. Utrobin has six offspring on his -place begot in that disgraceful way. But I don't want it. I say that if -God took away my guardian angel, it means that such was His holy will, -that He wanted me to be a widower. And if I am a widower by the grace -of God, I must observe my widowerhood honestly and not contaminate my -bed. Am I right, father?" - -"It's hard, sir." - -"I know it's hard, but still I observe it. Some say it's hard, and I -say the harder the better, provided God is with you! We can't all have -it sweet and easy. Some of us must bear hardships in the name of God. -If you deny yourself something _here,_ you will obtain it _there. Here_ -it is called hardship and _there,_ virtue. Am I right?" - -"As right as can be." - -"And talking about virtues--they are not all of the same kind. Some -virtues are great, others are small. What do you think?" - -"Yes, quite possible, there may be small virtues and great virtues." - -"That's just what I say. If a man is careful in his behavior, if he -does not speak vile words, if he does not speak vain words, if he does -not judge others, if, in addition to all this, he does not vex anybody -or take away what is not his--that man will have a clear conscience, -and no mud can soil him. And if anyone secretly speaks ill of a man -like that, give it no heed. Spit at his insinuations--that's the long -and short of it." - -"In such cases the precepts of Christianity recommend forgiveness." - -"Yes, forgive also. That's what I always do. If someone speaks ill -of me, I forgive him and even pray to God for him. He is the gainer -because a prayer on his behalf goes to Heaven, and I, too, am the -gainer, for after I have prayed I forget about the whole matter." - -"That's correct. Nothing lightens one's heart as much as a prayer. -Sorrow and anger, and even ailment, all run before it as does the -darkness of night before the sun." - -"Well, thank God, then. And we should always conduct ourselves so that -our life is like a candle in a lantern--seen from every side. Then -we will not be misjudged, for there will be no cause. Take us, for -example. We sat down here a while ago, have been chatting and talking -things over--who could find fault with us? And now let us go and pray -to the Lord, and then--to bed. And tomorrow we shall rise again. Isn't -that so, father?" - -Yudushka rose noisily, shoving his chair aside in sign that the -conversation was at an end. The priest also rose and made ready to -raise his arm to bless, but Porfiry Vladimirych, as an indication of -special favor, caught the priest's hand and pressed it in his own. - -"So he was christened Vladimir, father?" said Yudushka, shaking his -head sadly in the direction of Yevpraksia's room. - -"In honor of the saintly Prince Vladimir, sir." - -"Well, God be praised. She is a good and faithful servant, but as to -intelligence--well, she hasn't much of it. That's why they fall into -adultery." - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -The whole of the next day Porfiry Vladimirych remained in his study, -praying to God for guidance. On the third day he emerged for morning -tea, not in his dressing gown, as usual, but in full holiday attire, -the way he always dressed when he intended to transact important -business. His face was pale, but radiated inner serenity; a benign -smile played upon his lips; his eyes looked kindly and all-forgiving. -The tip of his nose was slightly red with elation. - -He drank his three glasses of tea in silence, and between gulps moved -his lips, folded his hands, and looked at the ikon as if, in spite -of yesterday's vigil, he still expected speedy aid and intercession -from it. Finally he sent for Ulita, and while waiting for her, kneeled -again before the ikon, that he might once more strengthen himself by -communion with God, and also that Ulita might see plainly that what was -about to happen was not his doing, but the work of God. Ulita, however, -as soon as she glanced at Yudushka, perceived there was treachery in -the depth of his soul. - -"Well, now I have prayed to God," began Porfiry Vladimirych, and in -token of obedience to His holy will, he lowered his head and spread his -arms. - -"That's fine," answered Ulita, but her voice expressed such deep -comprehension that Yudushka involuntarily raised his eyes. - -She stood before him in her usual pose, one hand upon her breast, -the other supporting her chin. But her face sparkled with suppressed -laughter. Yudushka shook his head in sign of Christian reproach. - -"I suppose God bestowed His grace upon you," continued Ulita, -unperturbed by his gesture of warning. - -"You always blaspheme," Yudushka blustered. "How many times have I -warned you with kindness, and you are the same as ever. Yours is an -evil tongue, a malicious tongue." - -"It seems to me I haven't said anything. Generally when people have -prayed to God, it means that God's grace is visited upon them." - -"That's just it--'it seems!' But why do you prate about all that -'seems' to you? Why don't you learn how to hold your tongue when -necessary? I am talking business and she--'it seems to me!'" - -Instead of replying Ulita shifted from one foot to the other, as if to -indicate that she knew everything Porfiry Vladimirych had to tell her -by heart. - -"Listen to me, you!" Yudushka began. "I prayed to the Lord all day -yesterday, and to-day too, and--look at it from whatever angle you -wish--we've got to provide for Volodka." - -"Of course, you've got to provide for him. He is not a puppy, I dare -say. You can't throw him into a pond." - -"Wait a while! Let me say a word. You plague. So this is what I say. -Take it any way you please, we've got to provide for Volodka. First, we -must do it out of consideration for Yevpraksia and then we've got to -make a man of him." - -Porfiry Vladimirych glanced at Ulita in the hope that she might show -her willingness to have a good long chat with him, but she took the -matter plainly and even cynically. - -"You mean me to take him to the foundling asylum?" she asked, looking -straight at him. - -"Oh, oh," exclaimed Yudushka, "you are very quick to decide. Oh, Ulita, -Ulita! You always do things in a hurry and without due consideration. -You're always ready to say something rash. How do you know? Maybe I -don't intend to send him to the foundling asylum. Maybe I thought of -something else for Volodka." - -"Well, if you did, there's nothing bad about it." - -"This is what I was going to say. On the one hand I feel for Volodka, -but on the other hand, if you think the matter over and weigh it -carefully, you see it's impossible to keep him here." - -"Of course, what will people say? They'll say, 'How did a little baby -boy come to the Golovliovo manor?'" - -"Yes, they'll say that and other things. And besides, to stay here will -be of no benefit to him. His mother is young, and she'll spoil him. -I am old, and though I have nothing to do with the matter, still, in -consideration of his mother's faithful service, I would also be easy -with him. You can't help it, you know, the little fellow will have to -be flogged for doing mischief, but how can you? It's this and that, and -a woman's tears, and screams, and all. Am I right?" - -"Yes, quite right. It is annoying." - -"What I want is, that all should be well in our house. I want to -see Volodka become a real man in time, a servant of God and a good -subject of the Czar. If God wants him to be a peasant, I should like -him to know how to plow, mow, chop wood--a little of everything. And -if it will be his lot to be of a more exalted station, I want him to -know some trade, some profession. Children from the foundling asylum -sometimes rise to be teachers." - -"From the foundling asylum? They are made generals at once, I suppose." - -"Well, I wouldn't say generals, but still--maybe Volodka will live to -be a famous man. And as to the manner they are brought up in there, -it's excellent. I know all about it myself. Clean beds, healthy -wet-nurses, white linen clothes, nipples, bottles, diapers, in a word, -everything." - -"Yes, it couldn't be better--for illegitimates!" - -"And if he is placed in the country as a fosterchild, well, that will -be just as good. He will get used to toil from his young days. Toil, -you know, is as good as prayer. We, you see, pray in the regular way. -We stand before the ikon, make the sign of the cross, and if our prayer -pleases God, He rewards us for it. But the peasant--he toils. Sometimes -he would be glad to pray in the proper way, but he hasn't the time -for it. But God sees his labors and rewards him for his toil just as -He rewards us for our prayers. We can't all live in palaces and go to -balls and dances. Some of us must live in smoky hovels and take care -of Mother Earth and nurse her. And as to where happiness lies, there -are two guesses to it. Some live in palaces and in luxury, and yet shed -tears; others live behind clay walls on bread and cider, yet feel as if -they were in paradise. Am I right?" - -"Nothing better if you feel as if you were in paradise." - -"So, my dear, that's what we will do. Take that little rascal Volodka, -wrap him up warm and cosy and go to Moscow at once with him. I'll -order a roofed cart for you and a pair of good horses. The road is -smooth, straight, fair, no puddles, no pitfalls. You'll roll along -merrily. But see to it that everything is done in the best fashion, in -Golovliovo fashion, just the way I like things to be done. The nipple -should be clean, and the bottle, clothes, and sheets, and blankets, and -diapers--take enough of everything. And if they won't give it all to -you, come and tell me. When you get to Moscow, stop at an inn. Ask for -enough to eat and a samovar and tea and all that. Oh, Volodka, dear! -What trouble you are to me! It breaks my heart to part with you, but it -can't be helped, my child. When you grow up, you'll see that it was for -your own good, and you'll thank me for it." - -Yudushka raised his hands slightly and moved his lips in sign of inner -prayer. But that did not prevent him from glancing sideways at Ulita -and noticing the sarcastic quivering of her face. - -"Well, what--did you want to say something?" - -"No, nothing. Of course, you know--he'll thank his benefactors--if he -finds them." - -"Oh, you wicked thing! You think we'll place him there without a proper -card? Why, of course, you'll take out a card, from which document we'll -be able to find him. They'll bring him up and teach him sense, and then -we'll come with the card and say, 'Here, now, let's have our fellow, -our Volodka.' With the card we'll get him from the bottom of the sea. -Am I right?" - -Ulita made no reply. The caustic quivering of her face showed more -distinctly than before and it exasperated Porfiry Vladimirych. - -"You are a mean thing," he said. "The devil dwells in you. Fi, fi! -Well, enough. To-morrow, before the sun is up, you'll take Volodka and -quickly, so that Yevpraksia does not hear you, and set out for Moscow. -You know where the Foundling Asylum is?" - -"I've carried them," Ulita answered laconically, as if hinting at -something in the past. - -"Well, if you are used to it--all the better for you. You must know all -the ins and outs of the place. Be sure to place him there and bow low -before the authorities--like this." Yudushka rose and bowed, touching -the floor with his hands. - -"Beg of them to make him comfortable. And be sure to get the card, -don't forget! The card will help us find him anywhere. I'll allow you -two twenty-five ruble bills for expenses. I know how it is--you'll -have to give some here and put a couple of rubles there. Ah, ah, how -sinful man is! We are all human beings, nothing but human beings! We -all like sweets and dainties. Why, even our Volodka! Look at him--he is -no bigger than my finger nail--and see the money I've already spent on -him." - -Yudushka crossed himself and bowed low before Ulita, silently begging -her to take good care of the little rascal. - -Thus, in the simplest way, was the future of the little illegitimate -arranged for. - -The next morning, while the young mother was tossing about in delirium, -Porfiry Vladimirych was standing at the window in the dining-room, -moving his lips and making the sign of the cross on the window pane. -A cart, roofed over with mats, was leaving the front yard. It was -carrying Volodka away. - -It climbed up the hill, drove by the church, turned to the left and -vanished in the village. Yudushka made another sign of the cross and -sighed: - -"The other day the priest was speaking about thawing weather," he -said to himself, "but God sent us a frost instead. And a fine frost, -at that. So it always is with us. We dream, we build castles in the -air, we philosophize proudly and think we'll excel God Himself in -His wisdom, but God in a trice turns our haughtiness of spirit into -nothingness." - - - - -BOOK VI - -THE DESERTED MANOR-HOUSE - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Yudushka's agony commenced when the resources of loquaciousness, -in which he had so freely indulged, began to give out. A void had -formed around him. Some had died, others had deserted him. Even -Anninka preferred the miserable future of a nomadic actress to the -flesh-pots of Golovliovo. Yevpraksia alone remained. But Yevpraksia's -conversational gifts were limited, and, more than that, Yevpraksia was -now a changed person. It was the difference that had occurred in her -which convinced Yudushka that his halcyon days were gone forever. - -Till then Yevpraksia had been so helpless that Porfiry Vladimirych -could tyrannize over her without the slightest risk, and her mental -development was so backward and her character so flabby that she had -not even felt the oppression. During Yudushka's harangues she would -look into his eyes apathetically, and think of something else. But now -suddenly she grasped something important, and the first consequence of -awakened understanding was repugnance, sudden and half-conscious, but -vicious and insuperable. - -Anninka's stay had evidently not been without results for Yevpraksia. -The casual conversations with the young actress had quite upset her. -Previously she would never have dreamed of wondering why Porfiry -Vladimirych, as soon as he met a man, instantly started to weave around -him an oppressive net of words, sinister in their emptiness. Now she -perceived it was not talking that Yudushka did, but tyrannizing, and -it would be well worth the while to pull him up short and make him -feel the time had come for him, too, to go easy. So, from now on, she -listened to his endless flow of words and soon realized that the one -purpose of Yudushka's talk was to worry, annoy, nag. - -"The mistress herself said she didn't know why he talked so much," -Yevpraksia reasoned. "No, it's his meanness working in him. He knows -who is unprotected and at his mercy. And so he turns and twists them -anyway he wants to." - -But that was only secondary. The main effect of Anninka's visit was -that it stirred up the instincts of youth in Yevpraksia, which had -hitherto smouldered in her undeveloped mind and now suddenly flared up -in a blaze. Many things became clear to her--for instance, why Anninka -had refused to remain at Golovliovo and why she had said flatly, "It's -horrible here!" She had acted that way because she was young and wanted -to enjoy life. Yevpraksia, too, was young, indeed she was! It only -seemed that her youth was crushed under a load of fat, in reality it -manifested itself quite boldly. It called and lured her; its flame -now died down, now flared up. She had thought Yudushka would do for -her, but now she perceived her mistake. "The old, rotten stump, how he -got round me!" ran through her mind. "Wouldn't it be fine now to live -with a real lover, young and handsome? He would hug me and kiss me and -whisper caressing words in my ear. The old scarecrow, how did he ever -tempt me? The Pogorelka lady must have a lover, I'm sure. That's why -she gathered up her skirts and sailed away so rapidly. And I must sit -here, in a jail, chained to that old man." - -Of course, some time passed before Yevpraksia mutinied openly; but once -on the road of revolt she did not halt. A storm was brewing within -her, and her hatred grew each minute. Yudushka, for his part, remained -in ignorance of her state of mind. Yevpraksia began with general -complaints, such as "he has spoiled my life." Then came comparisons. -"In Mazulina," she reflected, "Pelageyushka lives with her master as a -housekeeper. She never does a stroke of work, and wears silk dresses. -She sits in a cosy little room doing bead embroidery. How I hate you -now, you old fright; How I hate you, I hate you!" she wound up with a -cry. - -In addition to this, the main cause of irritation, there was another -one, one that was valuable because it could serve as a good occasion -for the declaration of war against Yudushka. It was her confinement and -the disappearance of her son Volodya. - -At the time of the child's removal Yevpraksia had been rather -indifferent. Porfiry Vladimirych had curtly announced that the baby -had been entrusted to reliable people, and he presented her with a new -shawl by way of solace. Then life resumed its course, and Yevpraksia -plunged into the mire of household affairs with greater industry than -before, as if to atone for her unsuccessful motherhood. But whether the -mother feeling continued to smoulder in her, or whether it was merely a -whim, at any rate, the memory of Volodka came back to her, and at the -precise moment when Yevpraksia felt the breath of freedom and it began -to dawn upon her that there existed another life different from that -at Golovliovo. The occasion was too good not to be taken advantage of. - -"To think of what the scoundrel has done!" she reflected, trying -consciously to work herself into a rage. "He has robbed me of my own -child. Just as one drowns a pup in the pond." - -Little by little the thought filled her mind completely. She came to -believe that she had always longed for her child passionately. Her -hatred of Porfiry Vladimirych fed on this new and rapidly growing -obsession. - -"At least, I should have had something to amuse me now. Volodya, -Volodyushka! My dear little son! Where are you now? He must have -shipped you to some wretched peasant woman. God curse them, the damned -gentry. They bring children in the world and then throw them like pups -into a ditch, and no one takes them to account. It would have been -better for me to cut my throat than to allow that shameless old brute -to outrage me." - -Her hatred was now ripe. She felt a desire to vex and pester him and -spoil life for him. War began, the most unbearable of wars, squabbles -and provocations, and petty pricking. It was the only form of warfare -that could have subdued Porfiry Vladimirych. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -One morning when Porfiry Vladimirych was sitting at tea, he was -unpleasantly surprised. He was discharging masses of verbal pus, while -Yevpraksia, with a saucer of tea in her hand and a piece of sugar -between her teeth, was listening in silence, snorting from time to -time. Warm, fresh-baked bread had been served, and he had just begun -to develop a theory of his own to the effect that there are two kinds -of bread, visible bread which we eat and thereby sustain our bodies, -and the invisible, spiritual bread of which we partake for the good -of our soul. Suddenly Yevpraksia broke in upon his discourse most -unceremoniously. - -"People say Palageyushka lives so well at Mazulino," she began, turning -her entire body round to the window and swinging her crossed feet with -impudent nonchalance. - -Yudushka was somewhat startled by the unexpected remark, but attributed -no peculiar importance to it. - -"In case we don't eat visible bread for a long time," he went on, "we -feel bodily hunger; and if we don't partake of the spiritual bread for -some length of time----" - -"I say, Palageyushka certainly lives well at Mazulino," Yevpraksia -interrupted again. - -Porfiry Vladimirych, somewhat startled, looked at her in amazement, but -refrained from scolding, evidently smelling a rat. - -"If Palageyushka has a fine life, let her," he replied meekly. - -"Her master," Yevpraksia kept on provokingly, "makes it nice and easy -for her, he does not compel her to work, and dresses her in silk." - -Yudushka's amazement grew. Yevpraksia's words were so preposterous that -he was taken completely by surprise. - -"A different dress every day, one to-day, one to-morrow, and another -for holidays. She drives to church in a four-horse carriage. She goes -first, and the master follows. When the priest sees her carriage, he -has the bells rung. Then she sits in her own room. If her master wishes -to spend some time with her, she receives him in her room. And her maid -entertains her, or she does bead embroidery." - -"Well, what of it?" asked Porfiry Vladimirych, at last coming to his -senses. - -"I was just telling what a pleasant life Palageyushka leads." - -"And you, is your life worse? My, my, aren't you insatiable!" - -Had Yevpraksia left his remark unanswered, Porfiry Vladimirych would -have belched forth a torrent of empty words to drown her foolish hints. -He would have resumed his twaddle. But apparently Yevpraksia had no -intention of holding her tongue. - -"I can't say that," she snapped back. "My life is not a sad one. Thank -goodness I don't wear tick. Last year you bought me two calico dresses -and paid five rubles for each. How generous!" - -"And how about the woolen dress? And for whom was a shawl bought -lately? My, my!" - -Instead of answering, Yevpraksia placed her elbows on the table and -flashed on Yudushka a side glance brimming over with such deep contempt -that, unaccustomed to such looks, he was overcome with something like -dread. - -"Do you know how the Lord punishes ingratitude?" he mumbled feebly, -hoping the reference to God would bring the woman to her senses. But -his remark did not placate the mutineer. She cut him short at once. - -"Don't talk me blind!" she exclaimed, "and don't drag in God. I'm not a -baby. Enough! I've had enough of your tyranny." - -Porfiry Vladimirych grew silent. His glass of tea stood untouched. His -face grew pale, his lips trembled, as if trying vainly to curl up into -a grin. - -"These are Anninka's tricks," he said finally, though without a clear -perception of what he was saying. "It's she, the snake, who has incited -you." - -"What tricks do you mean?" - -"I mean the way you are talking to me. She, she taught you. No one -else!" he foamed in a rage. "Give her silk dresses! The impudence! -Do you know, you shameless creature, who in your position wears silk -dresses?" - -"Tell me and I will know." - -"The most--the most dissolute ones. They are the only ones who wear -silk dresses." - -But Yevpraksia was not impressed. On the contrary, she answered him -back with saucy arguments. - -"I don't know why you call them dissolute. Everybody knows it's the -masters that insist upon it. If a master seduces one of us, well, she -lives with him. You and I are not so saintly either, we are doing the -same as the Mazulina master and his queen." - -"Oh, you! Fie, fie, for shame!" - -Yudushka stared at his rebellious companion in utter consternation. A -flow of empty words came tripping to his tongue, but for the first time -in his life he felt a vague suspicion that there are occasions when -even talk is useless. - -"Well, my friend, I see there's no use talking to you to-day," he said, -rising from the table. - -"Neither to-day, nor to-morrow--never! No more of your tyranny! I've -listened to you enough; now it's time for you to listen to me." - -Porfiry Vladimirych made a movement as if to throw himself at her with -clenched fists, but she protruded her chest with such determination -that he lost heart. He turned his face to the ikon, lifted up his hands -prayerfully, mumbled a prayer, and trudged slowly away into his room. - -The whole day he felt uneasy. He had no definite fears for the future, -but the feeling that something had broken in upon his well-ordered life -and had passed unpunished greatly upset him. He did not go to dinner, -pleading ill health, and in a meek, feeble voice asked that his food -be brought into his room. In the evening after tea, which passed in -silence for the first time in his life, he rose, as was his habit, to -say his prayers. In vain did his lips seek to whisper the customary -words. His agitated mind refused to follow the prayer. A persistent -enervating anxiety pervaded his being, and he involuntarily strained -his ear to catch the dying echoes of the day, which were lingering -in the various corners of the vast manor-house. Finally, when even -the yawning of the people could be heard no more, and the house was -plunged in the profoundest quiet, he could not hold out any longer. -Stealing noiselessly along the corridor, he went to Yevpraksia's room -and put his ear to the door to listen. She was alone, and Yudushka -heard her yawning and saying, "Lord! Savior! Holy Virgin," as she -scratched her back. - -Porfiry Vladimirych tried the knob, but the door was locked. - -"Yevpraksia, darling, are you there?" he called. - -"Yes, but not for you!" she snapped, so rudely that he immediately -retreated to his room. - -The next morning there was another conversation. Yevpraksia -intentionally selected morning tea for launching her attacks on Porfiry -Vladimirych. She felt instinctively that a spoiled morning would fill -the entire day with anxiety and pain. - -"I'd like to see how some people live," she began in a rather enigmatic -manner. - -Yudushka changed countenance. "It's beginning," flashed through his -mind; but he held his tongue and waited for what would come next. - -"It's fine to live with a handsome young friend, upon my word. You walk -about in the rooms and look at each other. Not a cross word exchanged. -'My darling' and 'my heart'--that's your whole conversation. Lovely and -noble!" - -The subject was peculiarly hateful to Porfiry Vladimirych. Although of -necessity he tolerated adultery within strict limits, he nevertheless -considered lovemaking a diabolical temptation. This time, however, he -restrained himself, all the more so because he wanted his tea. The -tea-pot had been boiling on the samovar for quite some time, but -Yevpraksia seemed to have forgotten about filling the glasses. - -"Of course, many of us women are foolish," she went on, impudently -swinging in her chair and drumming on the table with her fingers. "Some -are so silly that they are ready to do anything for a calico dress; -others give themselves away for nothing at all. 'Cider,' you said, -'drink as much as you please,' A fine thing to seduce a woman with!" - -"Is it from interest alone that----" Yudushka risked a timid remark, -watching the tea-pot from which steam had begun to escape. - -"Who says from interest alone? Is it I who am a selfish woman?" cried -Yevpraksia heatedly, suddenly shifting the conversation. "Do you mean -to reproach me for the bread I eat?" - -"I don't reproach you. I only said that not from interest alone do -people----" - -"'I said'! Talk, but talk sensibly. The idea! I serve from interest! -Kindly permit me to ask you what particular advantage I have derived -except cider and gherkins?" - -"Well, cider and gherkins are not the only things----" ventured -Yudushka, unable to restrain himself. - -"What else have I gotten? Let me hear, let me hear!" - -"Who sends four sacks of flour to your parents every month?" - -"Four sacks. What else?" - -"Groats, hemp-seed oil and other things----" - -"So you are begrudging my poor parents the wretched groats and oil you -send them? Oh, you!" - -"I am not begrudging them. It's you----" - -"Now you are accusing me. I can't eat a crust of bread without being -reproached for it, and it's I who am blamed for everything." - -Yevpraksia could hold out no longer and burst into tears. Meanwhile -the tea kept on boiling, so that Porfiry Vladimirych became seriously -alarmed. So he suppressed his growing temper, seated himself beside -Yevpraksia and patted her on her back. - -"Well, well. All right. Pour the tea. What is all this crying for?" - -Yevpraksia emitted a few more sobs, pouted and looked into space with -her dull eyes. "You have just been speaking of young fellows," he -went on, trying to lend his voice as caressing a ring as possible. -"Well--after all, I'm not so old, am I?" - -"The idea! Leave me alone." - -"Come, come. I--do you know--when I served in St. Petersburg, our -director wanted to give me his daughter in marriage?" - -"Must have been an old maid--or a cripple." - -"No, she was quite a presentable young lady. And how she sang, how she -sang!" - -"Maybe she sang well, but you accompanied her badly," she retorted. - -"No, I----" - -Porfiry Vladimirych was completely put out. He was ready to act against -his conscience and show that he, too, was skilled in the art of -love-making. So he began to rock his body rather clumsily and went so -far as to make an attempt to embrace Yevpraksia round her waist. But -she drew back firmly from his outstretched arms and cried out angrily: - -"Do me a favor and leave me, you goblin! Else I'll scald you with this -boiling water. And I don't want your tea. I don't want anything. The -idea--to reproach me for the piece of bread I eat. I'll go away from -here! By Jesus, I will!" - -She banged the door and ran out, leaving Porfiry Vladimirych alone in -the dining-room. - -Yudushka was completely puzzled. He began to pour the tea himself, but -his hands trembled so violently that he had to call a servant to his -assistance. - -"No, this is impossible. I must think up something, arrange matters," -he whispered, pacing up and down the dining-room in excitement. - -But he turned out to be quite unable "to think up something" or "to -arrange matters." His mind was so accustomed to leaping unrestrainedly -from one fantastic subject to another, that the simplest problem of -workaday reality threw him off his balance. No sooner did he make an -effort to concentrate than a swarm of futile trifles attacked him from -all sides and shut actuality out from his consideration. A strange -stupor, a kind of mental and moral anaemia possessed his being. He was -constantly lured away from the hard realities of life to the pleasant -softness of phantoms, which he could shift and rearrange at will and -without any hindrance whatever. - -He spent the entire day in solitude, for Yevpraksia did not make her -appearance at dinner or at evening tea. She stayed at the priest's -the entire time and returned late in the evening. Yudushka's distress -was extreme. He could not apply himself to any task, he even lost his -wonted interest in trifles. One irrepressible thought tormented him: -"I must somehow arrange matters, I must." He could not engage in idle -calculations, nor even say prayers. He felt that a strange ailment was -about to attack him. Many a time he halted before the window in the -hope of concentrating his wavering mind on something, or distracting -his attention, but all in vain. - -It was early spring. The trees stood naked and the new grass had not -yet appeared. Black fields, spotted here and there with white cakes of -snow, stretched far away. The road was black and boggy and glittered -with puddles. Yudushka saw it all as through a mist. There was no -one round the rain-soaked servants' buildings, though all the doors -were ajar. Nor could he reach anyone in the manor-house, although he -constantly heard sounds as of doors banging in the distance. "How fine -it would be," he mused, "to turn invisible and overhear what the knaves -are saying about me. Do the rascals appreciate my favors or do they -return abuse for my kindness? You stuff their bellies from morning till -night, and still they squeal for more. Only the other day we opened a -barrel of pickled cucumbers, and----" But no sooner did his thoughts -embark upon the exploration of some fantastic subject, no sooner did -he began to calculate how many pickles the barrel held and how many -pickles one man could consume, than the piercing thought of Yevpraksia -brought him back to harsh reality and upset all his calculations. - -"She went away without so much as saying a word to me," he reflected, -while his eyes scanned the distance, endeavoring to sight the priest's -house, in which Yevpraksia was in all probability chatting away at that -moment. - -Dinner was served. Yudushka sat at table alone slowly sipping thin -soup (_she_ knew he hated thin soup and had had it cooked watery on -purpose). "I imagine the Father must be distressed by Yevpraksia's -unbidden visit," he reflected. "She's a hearty eater and an extra -dish, perhaps a roast, will have to be served for the guest." His -imagination began to run away with him once more, and his mind began to -ponder over questions like these: How many spoonfuls of cabbage-soup -will Yevpraksia swallow? How many spoonfuls of gruel? What would the -Father say to his wife about Yevpraksia's visit? How do they abuse her -when alone? All this, the food and the conversation, hovered before his -eyes with corporeal vividness. - -"I fancy they all guzzle the soup from the same dish. The idea! A -fine place she found to hunt for knick-knacks. Outside it's wet and -slushy--just the kind of weather that breeds disease. Soon she will -return, her skirt all dripping with mud, the disgusting creature. Yes, -I must, I must do something!" All his musings inevitably ended with -this phrase. - -After dinner, he lay down for his nap, as usual, but tossed from side -to side, unable to fall asleep. Yevpraksia came back after dark and -stole into her nook so quietly that he did not observe her entrance. He -had ordered the servants to let him know when she returned, but none -of them said a word, as if they had agreed among themselves. He made -another attempt to penetrate into her room, but again found the door -locked. - -Next morning Yevpraksia made her appearance at tea, but now her words -were even more alarming and threatening. - -"Dear me, where is my little Volodya?" she began, speaking in a -studiously tearful tone. - -Porfiry Vladimirych shuddered. - -"If I could have the tiniest glimpse of him, if I could see how the -darling suffers away from his mother! But maybe he is dead already." - -Yudushka's lips whispered a prayer. - -"It isn't the same as at other people's here. When Palageyushka gave -birth to a daughter, they dressed the baby in batiste and silks and -made a pink little bed for her. The nurse received more sarafans and -frontlets than I ever had. And here--oh, you!" - -Yevpraksia abruptly turned her head toward the window and sighed -noisily. - -"It is true what they say, that all the gentry are an abomination," she -went on. "They make children and then throw them in the swamp, like -puppies. What does it matter to them? They owe no account to anybody. -Is there no God in Heaven? Even a wolf would not act like that." - -Porfiry Vladimirych felt like a man sitting on pins and needles. He -restrained himself for a long time, but finally could stand it no -longer and said through clenched teeth: - -"This is the third day that I've been listening to your talk." - -"Well, why should _you_ do all the talking? Other people have a right -to say a word, too. Yes, sir! You've had a child. What have you done -with it? I bet you let him rot in the hands of a wretched peasant woman -in a dirty hut. I suppose the baby is lying somewhere in filth, sucking -at a bottle turned sour, with no one to take care of it, and feed and -clothe it." - -She shed tears and dried her eyes with the end of her neckerchief. - -"The Pogorelka lady was right; she said it's horrible here with you. It -_is_ horrible. No pleasures, no joy, nothing but mean, underhand ways. -Prisoners in jail are better off. At least, if I had a baby now, there -would be something to amuse me. But you have taken it away from me." - -Porfiry Vladimirych sat shaking his head in torture. From time to time -he groaned. - -"Oh, how painful!" he finally said. - -"Painful? Well, you have made the bed, lie on it. Upon my word, I -shall go to Moscow and have a look at my dear little Volodya. Volodya, -Volodya! Da-a-ar-ling! Master, shall I take a trip to Moscow?" - -"It's no use," answered Porfiry Vladimirych in a hollow voice. - -"Then I'll go without asking your permission, and no one can stop me. -Because I am--a mother!" - -"What sort of mother are you? You are a strumpet--that's what you are," -Yudushka finally burst out. "Tell me plainly what you want of me." - -Yevpraksia, apparently, was not prepared for this question. She stared -at Yudushka and kept silence, as if wondering what she really wanted of -him. - -"So you call me a strumpet already?" she exclaimed, bursting into tears. - -"Yes, a strumpet, a strumpet, a strumpet! Fie, fie, fie!" - -Utterly enraged, Porfiry Vladimirych leapt to his feet and ran out of -the room. - -That was the last flicker of energy. Then he began rapidly to collapse, -while Yevpraksia kept up her campaign. She had enormous power at her -disposal, the stubbornness of stupidity, sometimes truly appalling -because always trained upon the same point with the sole object of -annoying, teasing, plaguing. Little by little the confines of the -dining-room became too narrow for her. She invaded the study and -attacked Yudushka within the precincts of that sanctuary, into which -she would not even have thought of entering formerly when her master -was "busy." She would come in, seat herself at the window, stare -into space, scratch her shoulder blades on the post of the window, -and begin to storm at him. She was especially fond of harping on the -threat of leaving Golovliovo. As a matter of fact, she had never -seriously thought of carrying out her threat, and she would have been -astonished had anyone suggested to her that she return to her parental -roof. But she suspected that Porfiry Vladimirych feared her desertion -more than anything else, and she spared neither time nor energy in -taking advantage of this. She approached the subject cautiously and -in a roundabout way. She would sit a while, scratch her ear, and then -remark, as if in a reminiscent frame of mind: - -"To-day, I suppose, they are baking pancakes at father's." - -At this prefatory remark Yudushka would grow green with rage. He was -just getting ready to plunge into a complicated computation of how much -he would get for his milk if all the cows of the neighborhood perished -and none but his own, with God's help, remained unharmed and doubled -their yield of milk. - -"Why are they baking pancakes there?" he asked, trying to force a -smile. "Goodness, to-day is Memorial Day! Isn't it stupid of me to have -forgotten about it? And there's nothing in the house with which to -honor the memory of my late mother. What a sin!" - -"I should like to eat father's pancakes." - -"Why not? Give orders to have them baked. Get hold of cook Marya or -Ulita. Ulita cooks delicious pancakes." - -"Maybe she has pleased you in some other way, too," remarked Yevpraksia -acidly. - -"No, but, oh, she's a witch at cooking pancakes, Ulita is. She cooks -them light, soft--a sheer delight!" - -Porfiry Vladimirych was evidently trying to mollify Yevpraksia, but to -no avail. - -"What I want is not yours, but father's pancakes," she answered, -playing the spoiled darling. - -"Well, that's not difficult. Get hold of the coachman, have him put a -pair of horses to the carriage, and drive over to father's." - -"No, sir, that won't do. If I've fallen in the trap, that's my own -fault. Who has any use for one like me? You yourself called me a -strumpet the other day. It's no use!" - -"My, my! Isn't it a sin in you to accuse me falsely? Do you know how -God punishes false accusations?" - -"You did call me strumpet! You did! You did it in the presence of this -ikon. How I hate your Golovliovo! I shall run away from here. I shall, -by God!" - -In the course of this spirited dialogue Yevpraksia behaved in a rather -unconstrained manner. She swung about on the chair, picked her nose, -and scratched her back. She was obviously playing comedy. - -"Porfiry Vladimirych, I should like to tell you something," she went on -mischievously. "I want to go home." - -"Do you wish to pay a visit to your parents?" - -"No, I mean to stay there altogether." - -"What's the matter? Has anybody offended you?" - -"No, but--I'm not going to stay here forever. Besides, it's too dull -here--it's frightful. The house is like a deserted place. The servants -poke themselves away in the kitchens and their own quarters, and I sit -in the house all alone. Some of these days I shall be murdered. At -night, when I go to bed, strange whispers come from every corner." - -Days went by, but Yevpraksia never thought of carrying out her threat; -which did not lessen its effect on Porfiry Vladimirych. It dawned upon -him that in spite of his labors, so-called, he was utterly helpless, -that if there were not someone to take care of his household affairs, -he would have no dinner, no clean linen, no decent clothing. Hitherto -he had not been aware of the fact that his surroundings had been -artificially created. His day had passed in a manner established once -and for all. Everything in the house centered around his person and -existed for him; everything was done in its proper time, everything was -in its proper place; in short, there reigned such mechanical precision -everywhere that he gave no thought to it. Owing to this clock-work -orderliness he could indulge in idle talk and thought without running -against the sharp corners of reality. Of course, this artificial -paradise held together only by a hair; but Yudushka, always centered -in himself, did not know it. His life seemed to him to be built on a -rock-bottom foundation, unchangeable, eternal. And suddenly the edifice -was about to collapse because of Yevpraksia's foolish whim. Yudushka -was completely taken aback. "What if she really leaves?" he reflected -panic-stricken. And he began to frame all sorts of preposterous plans -to keep her from going. He even decided on concessions to Yevpraksia's -rebellious youth which would never before have entered his mind. - -"Ugh, ugh, ugh!" he thought, and spat out in disgust when the -possibility of having anything to do with the coachman Arkhip or the -clerk Ignat presented itself to him in all its offensive nakedness. - -Soon, however, he became convinced that his fears were groundless. -Thereupon his existence entered a new and quite unexpected phase. -Yevpraksia did not leave him, she even abated her attacks, but, to -compensate, deserted him altogether. May set in, the weather was fair, -and Yevpraksia scarcely ever put in appearance. She ran in for a moment -and the next moment had disappeared. In the morning Yudushka did not -find his clothing in its usual place, and he had to engage in lengthy -negotiations with the servants before he got clean linen. His tea and -meals were served either too early or too late, and he was waited upon -by the tipsy lackey Prokhor, who came in a stained coat emanating a -peculiarly disgusting odor of fish and vodka. - -Nevertheless, Porfiry Vladimirych was glad that Yevpraksia left him -in peace. He even reconciled himself to the disorder as long as he -knew that there was someone to bear the responsibility for it. What -frightened him was not so much the disorder as the thought that it -might be necessary for him to interfere personally in the details of -everyday life. He pictured with horror the minute he would have to -administer, give orders and supervise. In anticipation of that awful -moment, he endeavored to stifle the voice of protest that at times rose -in him, tried to shut his eyes to the confusion reigning in the house, -and keep in the background and hold his tongue. - -In the meantime open debauchery made its nest in the manor-house. With -the coming of fair weather a new life pervaded the estate, hitherto -quiet and gloomy. In the evening all the servants, both young and old, -went out in the village streets. The young people sang, played the -accordion, laughed merrily, screamed and played tag. - -The clerk Ignat appeared in a flaming red shirt and an astonishingly -narrow jacket, that never closed over his chest, thrown out like a -pouter-pigeon's, while the coachman Arkhip took possession of the silk -shirt and plush sleeveless jacket worn on holidays, obviously vying -with Ignat in the conquest of Yevpraksia's heart. The maiden herself -ran from one to the other, bestowing her favors now on the clerk, now -on the coachman. Porfiry Vladimirych dared not look out of the window -for fear of witnessing a love scene; but he could not help hearing -what was going on outside. At times he caught the resounding blow that -Arkhip bestowed playfully upon Yevpraksia's back while playing tag. At -other times he would catch fragments of conversation such as this: - -"Yevpraksia Nikitishna! Yevpraksia Nikitishna! Madam!" the drunken -Prokhor would call from the steps of the mansion. - -"What do you want?" - -"The key of the tea-chest, please. The master is asking for tea." - -"Let him wait, the scarecrow!" - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -In a short time Porfiry had completely lost all habits of sociability. -He no longer paid any attention to the confusion that had come into -his existence. He demanded nothing better of life than to be left -alone in his last refuge, his study. He had lost all his former ways -of cavilling with and pestering those about him, and he was timorous -and glumly meek. All ties between him and reality were cut. To hear -nothing, to see nothing, that was his heart's desire. The behavior of -Yevpraksia and the servants no longer concerned him. Formerly, had the -clerk allowed himself the least inaccuracy in presenting his reports -on the various branches of the household management, he would have -talked him to death. Now at times the reports were weeks late, and -he was unresentful except when he needed some data for his fantastic -computations. But when alone in his study he felt himself absolute -master, free to give himself over nonchalantly to inane musings. Both -of his brothers had died from drink. He, too, fell into the clutches -of drunkenness. But his intoxication was mental. Shut up in his study, -he racked his brains from early morning till far into the night over -fantastic problems. He elaborated various fabulous schemes, made -speeches before imaginary audiences, and wove whole scenes about the -first person that crossed his mind. - -In this wild maze of fantastic acts and images a morbid passion for -gain played the most important part. - -Porfiry Vladimirych had always had a strong leaning toward the -petty annoyance of people and litigation, but because of his lack -of practicality he had derived no direct profit from it. Sometimes -he was even the first to suffer. This proclivity of his was now -transferred to a world of abstractions and phantoms, where there was -no scope for resistance on the part of the oppressed and no need for -self-justification. The dividing line between the weak and the powerful -vanished. In that world there were no police or justices of the peace, -or rather, there were, but they existed solely for the purpose of -protecting his own interests. On this fantastic plane he could freely -enmesh the whole universe in his net of intriguing, cavilling, and -petty oppression. - -He loved to torment people, ruin them, make them unhappy, suck their -blood--at least, in his imagination. He would look over the various -branches of his establishment and on each build up a fantastic -structure of all manner of oppression and plunder--a veritable -paradise, but the foulest ever conceived by a landed proprietor. And -everything depended here on overpayments and underpayments assumed -arbitrarily, each overpaid or underpaid kopek served as a pretext for -remodelling the entire edifice, which thus passed through endless -changes. - -When his tired thoughts were no longer capable of following out all -the details of the intricate computations on which his imaginary -operations were based, he applied his imagination to a more plastic -material. He recalled every conflict and altercation he had had not -only in recent times, but far back in his youth, and he so manipulated -his reminiscences as always to come out the victor. He took revenge on -those of his former colleagues who had gone over his head in service -and had so deeply wounded his self-love that he renounced his official -career. He revenged himself on his schoolmates who had taken advantage -of their physical strength to tease or persecute him; on the neighbors -that had opposed his claims and stood up for their rights; on the -servants who had offended him or simply had not treated him with -sufficient respect; on "dearest mamma" Arina Petrovna for having wasted -too much of the money that "by law" belonged to him on the repairs -of Pogorelka; on his brother Simple Simon for having nicknamed him -Yudushka; on aunt Varvara Mikhailovna for having unexpectedly given -birth to children, with the result that the property of Gavryushkino -was forever lost to the family. He revenged himself on the living and -he revenged himself on the dead. - -Gradually he worked himself into a state of actual intoxication. The -ground vanished from under his feet, wings grew on his shoulders, his -eyes shone, his lips trembled and foamed, his face grew ghastly pale, -and took on a threatening air. The atmosphere around him swarmed with -ghosts, and he fought them in imaginary battles. - -His existence became so ample and independent that there was nothing -left for him to desire. The whole universe was at his feet, that -is, the universe of which his wretched mind could conceive. It was -something in the nature of ecstatic clairvoyance, not unlike the -phenomena that take place at the seances of mediums. His untrammeled -imagination created an illusory reality, rendered concrete and almost -tangible by his constant mental frenzy. It was not faith or conviction, -but unrestrained mental debauchery, a sort of trance in which his -tongue involuntarily uttered words and his body made automatic gestures. - -Porfiry Vladimirych was happy. He locked up the windows and doors -that he might not hear, he drew down the curtains that he might not -see. He went through the customary functions and duties which had no -connection with the world of his imagination, in haste, almost with -disgust. When the ever-drunken Prokhor rapped at his door and announced -that dinner was served, he ran into the dining-room impatiently, -hurriedly swallowed his three courses and disappeared again into his -study. Something new showed in his manners--a mixture of timidity and -derision, as if he both feared and defied the few people whom he met. -He rose very early and immediately set to work. He cut down the time -devoted to worship, said his prayers indifferently, without thinking of -their meaning, crossed himself and went through the other gestures of -worship mechanically and carelessly. Apparently even the notion of a -hell with its complicated system of punishments was no longer present -in his mind. - -Meanwhile Yevpraksia reveled in the satisfaction of carnal desires. -Dancing between the clerk Ignat and the coachman Arkhip, and also -casting glances at the red-faced carpenter Ilyusha, who was mending the -cellars at the head of a gang of workmen, she did not notice what was -going on in the manor-house. She thought the master was playing "a new -comedy," and many a light remark about the master was passed in the -jolly gatherings of the servants. But one day she happened to enter the -dining-room when Yudushka was hurriedly despatching the remnants of -roast goose, and suddenly a kind of dread fell upon her. - -Porfiry Vladimirych wore a greasy dressing-gown, through the holes of -which the cotton interlining peeped out. He was pale, unkempt, and his -face bristled with a many days' growth. - -"Dear master, what is it? What is the matter?" she turned to him in -fright. - -Porfiry Vladimirych only smiled half sheepishly, half derisively, and -the meaning of his smile was: "I'd like to see how you could get at me -now." - -"Darling master, what is the matter? Tell me, what has happened to -you?" repeated Yevpraksia. - -He rose, fixed on her a gaze brimming over with hatred, and said, -pausing after each word: - -"If you, you hussy, ever dare--enter my study--I will kill you!" - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -As a result of this scene Yudushka's life outwardly changed for -the better. Distracted by no material hindrances, he gave himself -completely over to his solitude, so that he did not even notice how the -summer passed away. - -It was late in August, the days grew shorter; it drizzled ceaselessly -and the soil became boggy. The trees looked mournful, with their -yellow leaves bestrewing the ground. Absolute silence reigned in the -court-yard and about the servants' quarters. The domestics sat quietly -under cover, partly because of the weather, partly because they finally -perceived that something was the matter with the master. Yevpraksia -came completely to her senses, forgot the silk dresses and her lovers, -and sat in the maids' room for hours on end, brooding and wondering -what she could do. The drunken Prokhor teased her that she had designs -on the master's life, that she had poisoned him and she could not -escape the road to Siberia. - -Meanwhile, Yudushka sat in his study, deep in reveries. The ceaseless -patter of the rain on the window-panes lulled him half to sleep--the -most favorable state for the play of his fancy. He imagined he was -invisible and was inspecting his possessions, accompanied by old Ilya, -who had served as bailiff under Yudushka's father, and whose bones had -long since been rotting in the village churchyard. - -"Ilya is a clever fellow," argued Porfiry Vladimirych with himself, -glad that Ilya had arisen from the dead. "An old servant! Nowadays his -kind is getting rare. Nowadays they know how to chat and fidget, but -when it comes to business, they're good for nothing." - -After saying an appropriate prayer, Yudushka and Ilya pick their way -leisurely across meadows and ravines, dales and hills, and soon reach -the Ukhovshchina waste. For a while they stand dazed, unable to believe -their own eyes. Straight before them looms up a magnificent pine -forest, their tops tossing in the wind. Some of the trees are so big in -circumference that two or even three men could not embrace them. Their -trunks are straight, naked, crowned with mighty, spreading tops--all -signs of vigor and longevity. - -"What a forest, brother!" exclaims Yudushka, enraptured. - -"This wood has been protected from felling," explains Ilya. "Under your -late grandfather Mikhail Vasilyevich, a procession with holy ikons went -around it. And look how tall the trees have grown." - -"How large do you think the forest is?" - -"At that time it held just seventy desyatins, and the desyatin was -then, as you know, one and a half times the present size." - -"And how many trees, d'you think, are there on one desyatin?" - -"I can't tell. Only God has counted them." - -"I reckon there are no less than six or seven hundred trees to a -desyatin. I mean the desyatin now used. Wait! If we take the number to -be six hundred--or, let us say, six hundred and fifty trees, how many -trees are there on one hundred and five desyatins?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych takes a sheet of paper and multiplies 105 by 65 and -gets 6,825 trees. - -"Now, see here, if I were to sell all this timber, do you think I can -get ten rubles a tree?" - -Old Ilya shakes his head. - -"Ten is little," he says. "Look at these trees. Each trunk will give -two mill beams and some planks and boards and firewood. What do you -think is the price of a mill-wheel beam?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych makes believe he does not know, although he figured -out everything to a kopek long ago. - -"Here," continues the peasant, "a beam is worth ten rubles, but if -we take it to Moscow it will be worth its weight in gold. It is a -tremendous beam. You will hardly haul it on a three-horse team. And -think of the second beam that can be made out of the stem, and the -boards and laths and firewood, and branches. Twenty rubles, I should -think, is the lowest price for a tree." - -Porfiry Vladimirych listens and takes in his words greedily. A clever, -faithful servant this Ilya. And how well he has picked out his help! -Old Vavilo, Ilya's assistant--he too has been resting in the churchyard -for a good many years--is quite worthy of his superior. The foresters, -too, are all tried, stalwart men, and the hounds at the corn lofts are -fierce. Both the men and the dogs are ready to grapple with the devil -himself for the master's good. - -"Let's figure out, brother. If we sell the whole forest, what will it -come to?" - -Porfiry Vladimirych again makes a mental calculation of the value of -a large beam, a smaller beam, a plank, a lath, the firewood and the -branches. He adds up, multiplies, now omitting fractions, now adding -them. Columns of numbers fill the sheet. - -"Here is the total, brother," says Yudushka, showing Ilya's phantom an -altogether fabulous sum. The old servant is dazed. - -"Is it not a little too large?" he says, pensively shrugging his -shoulders. - -But Porfiry Vladimirych has already cast off all doubts and giggles -gleefully. - -"You are a queer fellow, brother!" he exclaims. "It isn't I who say it, -it's the number that says it. There is a science called arithmetic. -It never tells a lie, brother! Well, this will do for Ukhovshchina. -Now let's have a look at Lisy-Yamy, brother. It's a long time since I -have been there. I have a strong suspicion the peasants have become -thievish. There's Garanka, the guard--I know, I know. Garanka is a -good, faithful guard, that's true enough. Still, you know. It seems to -me he is not what he used to be either." - -They plough noiselessly and unseen through a birch thicket, and stop -suddenly, holding their breath. A peasant's cart lies sprawling across -the road on its side, and the peasant is standing by, looking at the -broken axle in perplexity. He has been standing there for some time, -cursing the axle and himself and whipping the horse now and then. -Finally he sees he cannot loaf there all day long. He looks around -and pricks up his ears to make sure no one is coming along the road. -Then he selects a suitable birch tree, and takes out an axe. Meanwhile -Yudushka stands motionless and watches. The young birch shudders, sways -and suddenly sinks to the ground like a sheaf of corn, reaped by the -sickle. The thief is about to lop off the length of an axle from the -trunk, but Yudushka has decided that the moment has come. He steals -upon him and in a trice snatches the axe from his hand. - -"Ah!" is all the thief, taken red-handed, has time to exclaim. - -"Ah!" Yudushka mimics him. "Are you allowed to steal timber? 'Ah!' Is -it your birch-tree you have just felled?" - -"Forgive me, sir!" - -"I forgave everyone long ago, brother. I am myself a sinner before the -Lord and I dare not judge another. It is the law, not I, that condemns -you. Take the tree you have felled to the manor-house and pay up a fine -of one ruble. In the meantime, I shall keep your axe. Don't you worry, -it is in good hands, brother." - -Glad that he was able to prove to Ilya how well-grounded were his -suspicions in regard to Garanka, Yudushka transports himself in -imagination to the forester's cottage and reprimands him soundly. On -his way back home he catches three hens belonging to peasants in the -act of feeding on his oats. - -Back in his study, he falls again to work, and a peculiar system of -household management is suddenly born in his brain. The system is based -on the assumption that all mankind suddenly has begun to steal his wood -and damage his fields by letting cattle graze upon them. But this does -not grieve Yudushka, on the contrary he rubs his hands in delight. - -"Let your cattle graze on my fields, fell my trees. I shall be the -better off for it," he repeats, hugely pleased. Then he takes a fresh -sheet of paper and resumes his ciphering and reckoning. The problems -to be solved are these: First, how much oats grows on one desyatin and -what will the fines amount to if the peasants' hens scratch the oats -up? And, second, how many birches grow in Lisy-Yamy and how much money -can they bring in if the peasants fell them illegally and pay the fine? -"A birch, though felled," reflects Yudushka gleefully, "will in the end -get to the house and be used as firewood--firewood free of charge, mind -you!" - -Long rows of figures appear on the paper. Yudushka becomes so tired -and excited that he rises from the table all perspiring and lies down -on the sofa to rest. Here his imagination does not cease its work, it -merely selects an easier theme. - -"Mamma was a clever woman, mamma was," muses Porfiry Vladimirych. "She -knew how to be exacting and how to set one at ease--that is why people -served her so willingly. Still she was not without sins. Oh, yes, she -had plenty of them." - -No sooner does Yudushka think of Arina Petrovna than she appears before -him in person, coming straight from the grave. - -"I don't know, my friend, I don't know what fault you have to find with -me," she says dejectedly, "it seems to me that I----" - -"I know, I know," Yudushka cuts her short unceremoniously. "Let me be -frank and thrash out the matter with you. For instance, why did you not -stop Aunt Varvara Mikhailovna that time?" - -"But how in the world could I stop her? She was of age, and she had the -full right to dispose of herself." - -"Oh, no, permit me, mother dear. What sort of a husband had she? An old -drunkard, not much of a man, I should say. Nevertheless, they had four -children. Where did they come from, I'm asking you?" - -"But how strangely you speak, my friend. As if I were the cause of it -all." - -"Cause or no cause, you could have influenced her. You ought to have -treated her kindly, she would have been shamed by you. But you did the -contrary. You kept on scolding her and calling her shameless, and you -suspected almost every man in the neighborhood of being her lover. Of -course, she kicked up the dust. It's a pity. The Goryushkino estate -would have been ours now." - -"You cannot forget that Goryushkino," says Arina Petrovna, evidently -brought to a standstill. - -"What do I care for Goryushkino? I don't need anything. If I have -enough to buy a church candle and some oil for the image lamp, I am -satisfied. But what about justice, dear mamma, justice? Yes, mother -dear, I would be glad to hold my tongue, but I cannot help being frank -with you. There's a sin on your conscience, a great sin, indeed." - -Arina Petrovna does not answer, and it is impossible to tell whether -she is dejected or merely perplexed. - -"Another thing," Yudushka goes on, evidently reveling in mother dear's -embarrassment. "Why did you buy a house for brother Stepan?" - -"I had to, my friend. I had to give him some share," says Arina -Petrovna, trying to defend herself. - -"And he squandered it away, of course. As if you did not know him! You -knew he was a loafer, a disrespectful, foul-mouthed scamp. And to think -that you wanted to give him the Vologda village, too. A neat little -estate with a nice little forest and a tiny lake, lying like a shelled -egg--Christ be with it! It is well that I happened to be around and -kept you from taking that imprudent step. Ah, mamma dear, mamma dear, -how could you?" - -"But he was a son of mine, you understand? A son!" - -"I know, I understand very well. And still, I repeat, you ought not -to have done it. You paid twelve thousand for the house--where is the -money? And Goryushkino is worth at least fifteen thousand. So the loss -comes to quite a sum." - -"Well, that will do, that will do. Don't be angry with me, please -don't!" - -"I am not angry, dearest mother, I am only upholding the cause of -justice. What's true is true--and I loathe falsehood. I was born with -truth, have lived with truth, and with truth I shall die. God loves -truth and He would have us, too, love it. Take the case of Pogorelka, -for instance. I shall always say you invested too much money in it." - -"But I myself lived there." - -Yudushka clearly reads "You silly Bloodsucker!" on his mother's face; -but he makes believe he does not see. - -"Well, yes, you lived there--still--the image-case is in Pogorelka. -Whose is it, I'd like to know. And the pony and the tea-caddy. I saw -that tea-caddy at Golovliovo with my own eyes, when papa was still -alive. What a beautiful little box!" - -"Well, but----" - -"No, dearest mother, let me speak. Of course it looks like a trifling -matter, but a ruble here, half a ruble there, come to quite a sum in -the end. Let me use exact figures and make it clear to you. Figures -are holy, they never lie." - -Porfiry Vladimirych runs over to the table with the intention of -finally determining the exact amount of loss that his mother dear had -caused him to sustain. He manipulates the counting-board, covers sheets -of paper with rows of figures, arms himself to convict Arina Petrovna. -But fortunately for her his wavering thoughts cannot remain fixed on -one subject for a long time. Unnoticed by himself a new thought enters -his mind and, as if by magic, gives an entirely different trend to his -ideas. The image of his mother, a minute ago so clear before his eyes, -suddenly drops away. He forgets her, his notions become confused, other -notions enter his mind. - -Porfiry Vladimirych has long had the intention of figuring out what his -crops could bring him in. The opportune moment is here. He knows the -peasant is always in want, is always on the lookout to borrow provender -and always pays his debts with interest. He knows also that the peasant -is especially generous with his work, which "costs him nothing," and -is not considered as possessing any value in settling accounts. There -are many needy people in Russia, oh, how many! There are many people -who do not know what the next day will bring them, who see nothing but -despair and emptiness wherever they turn their weary eyes, and who -hear everywhere only one clamor: "Pay your debt! Pay your debt!" It is -around these shiftless, utterly destitute men that Yudushka weaves his -net, with a delight passing sometimes into an orgy. - -It is April, and the peasant as usual has nothing to eat. "You have -gobbled up all your crops, my dear fellows," Porfiry Vladimirych muses. -"All winter you feasted, and in spring your stomach is shrivelled from -hunger." He has just settled the accounts of last year's crops. The -threshing was completed in February, the grain was in the granaries in -March, and the amount was recorded in the numerous books the other day. -Yudushka stands at the window and waits. On the bridge afar off the -peasant Foka appears in his cart. At the bend of the road leading to -Golovliovo he shakes the reins rather hastily, and for want of a whip -hits his battered jade with his fist. - -"He's heading here," whispers Yudushka. "Look at the horse. A wonder it -can drag its feet. But if you had fed it well a month or two, it would -become quite a horse. You might get twenty-five rubles for it, or even -as much as thirty." - -Meanwhile Foka drives up to the servants' house. He ties the animal to -the hedge, throws it a handful of hay, and a minute later stands in the -maids' quarters, shifting from one foot to another. It is in the maids' -quarters that Porfiry Vladimirych usually receives such visitors. - -"Well, friend, how are things going?" - -"Please sir, what I need is some corn." - -"How's that? Are you through with your own? What a pity! If you drank -less vodka, and worked more, and prayed to God, the soil would feel it. -Where one grain grows now, two grains would grow. Then there would be -no need for you to borrow." - -Foka smiles vaguely, instead of replying. - -"You think if God is far from us, He does not see?" Porfiry Vladimirych -goes on moralizing. "God is here and there and everywhere, he is with -us while we are talking here. He sees everything and hears everything, -he only pretends not to see things. 'Let my creatures live after -their own way, and we shall see whether they will remember me.' And we -sinners take advantage of that, and instead of buying a candle for God -from our meager means, we keep on going to the public-house. That's why -God gives us no corn. Am I not right, friend?" - -"You are quite right, sir. There's no denying it." - -"Well, you see, you understand it now. And why is it that you -understand it? Because the Lord withdrew His mercy from you. If you -had had an abundant crop of corn, you would carry on again, but since -God----" - -"Right, sir, and if----" - -"Wait a minute. Let me say a word. The Lord recalls Himself to those -who forgot Him. That is always the case. And we must not grumble over -it, but understand that God does it for our good. Were we to remember -God, He would never forget us. He would grant us everything, corn and -oats and potatoes--more than we need. And He would take care of our -animals. Look at your horse. It is skin and bones. And if you have -chickens, He would keep them in condition, too." - -"You are quite right, sir." - -"Man's first duty is to honor God, man's second duty is to honor -his superiors, those who have been distinguished by the czars -themselves--the gentry, for instance." - -"It seems to me, sir, that I----" - -"That's just it, 'it seems to me.' But give a little thought to the -matter, and you will find out that it's all different. Now when you -have come to borrow corn you are very respectful and bland. But two -years ago, you remember, when I needed harvesters and came to you -peasants to ask for help, what did you answer? 'We have to harvest -ourselves,' you said. 'It is not the way it used to be,' you said, -'when we worked for the landlords. Now we are free!' Free, and no corn!" - -Yudushka looks at Foka, but Foka does not stir. - -"You are very proud, that's why you have no luck. Take me, for example. -The Lord has blessed me, and the Czar has distinguished me. But I am -not proud. How can I be? What am I but a worm, a moth, a nothing. God -took and blessed me for my humility. He loaded me with favors, and put -it into the Czar's mind to favor me, too." - -"Porfiry Vladimirych, I think that under serfdom we were far better -off," Foka remarks, playing the flatterer. - -"Yes, brother, those were fine days for you peasants. You had plenty of -everything, corn and hay and potatoes. But why recall the old times? I -am not rancorous. I have long forgotten about the harvesters. I only -mentioned them in passing. Let me see--did you say you needed corn?" - -"Yes, I did, sir." - -"You have come to buy some, have you?" - -"How can I? I should like to borrow some until the new corn comes." - -"My, my! Corn is not to be had for money nowadays. I really don't know -what to do with you." - -Porfiry Vladimirych ponders for a while, as if really perplexed. - -"I can lend you some corn, my friend," he finally says. "I have none -for sale, for I loathe to traffic in God's gifts. But I will gladly -lend you some corn. To-day I'll lend to you, to-morrow you'll lend to -me. To-day I have plenty. Take some, help yourself. You want a measure -of corn? Take a measure. You want half a measure? Take half a measure. -Tomorrow may find me knocking at your window saying, 'Dear Foka, lend -me half a measure of corn, I have nothing to eat.'" - -"Oh, sir, will you come to me?" - -"I shall not. That was merely an example. The world has seen greater -reverses. There was Napoleon, about whom the newspapers have written so -much. That's how it is, brother. So how much corn do you want?" - -"A measure, if you please." - -"Well, I can let you have a measure. Only let me warn you, corn is -tremendously dear nowadays. This is what we are going to do: I shall -give you six chetveriks, and in eight months you will deliver a measure -to me. I don't take any interest, but an additional chetverik or -two----" - -Yudushka's offer makes Foka gasp. For some time he says nothing, only -shrugs his shoulders. "Won't that be a bit too much, sir?" he says at -last, evidently alarmed. - -"If it's too much, go to others. You see, my friend, I am not forcing -you, I am only making you an offer in a friendly way. I didn't send for -you, did I? You came here yourself. You came to ask for something and -that's my answer. Isn't it so, friend?" - -"Yes, quite so, but don't you think it's too much interest?" - -"Ah, ah, ah! And I thought you were a just, respectable peasant. Well, -you will say to me, what am I going to live on? How will I meet my -expenses? Do you know what expenses I have? My dear man, there is no -end to them. I've got to pay here, and meet my obligations there, and -produce cash in a third place. I've got to satisfy every one. All are -after Porfiry Vladimirych, all ask something of him, and I've got to -get along with them as best I can. And then again, if I sold the corn -to the dealer, I should get money at once. And money, my friend, is -a sacred thing. With money I can buy securities, put them in a safe -place, and draw interest. No worry, you know, of any kind, no trouble -at all. Just clip the coupon and get your money. But with the corn -you've got to go carefully about it, and look after it, and all that. -A lot of it will dry up, and be wasted, and the mice will eat it up. -No, brother, money is the best thing--nothing like it! It would be high -time for me to become sensible and turn everything into money and leave -you folks." - -"Oh, Porfiry Vladimirych, stay with us." - -"Well, my dear man, I should like to, but I can't stand it any longer. -If I had the strength of my youth, of course I would stay with you -and keep at it. But no, it's time to rest. I will go to the Trinity -Monastery, I will find shelter under the wing of the saints, and not a -soul will hear from me. And how good I'll feel! All will be peaceful -and quiet and honest; no noise, no quarrels--like in Heaven." - -In a word, in spite of all of Foka's protestations, Porfiry Vladimirych -arranges the bargain to suit himself. But that is not enough. At the -very moment that Foka consents to the terms of the loan, a thought -flashes through Yudushka's mind. A certain Shelepikha meadow appears on -the scene. It doesn't amount to much, hardly a desyatin to mow. - -"You see, I am doing you a favor, so you do me one in turn," says -Porfiry Vladimirych. "This is not interest, but just a favor. God does -favors to us all, and we've got to do likewise to one another. You will -mow this desyatin in no time, and I'll be much obliged to you. You see, -brother, I am a plain man. You'll do me a ruble's worth of service, and -I----" - -Porfiry Vladimirych rises, faces the church, and makes the sign of the -cross to show that the transaction is at an end. Foka also rises and -makes the sign of the cross. - -Foka has disappeared. Porfiry Vladimirych produces a sheet of paper, -arms himself with the counting-board, and the beads begin jumping -fast under his skilful fingers. Little by little an orgy of numbers -commences. The whole world becomes enwrapped in mist. With feverish -haste Yudushka passes from the paper to the counting-board and from the -counting-board to the paper. The rows of figures keep growing larger -and larger. - - - - -BOOK VII - -THE SETTLEMENT - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -It is the middle of December. The country stretches still and benumbed, -covered with a mantle of snow as far as the eye can reach. The -horses, though pulling empty carts, wade with difficulty through the -snow-drifts that the wind has driven during the night. There is not the -trace of a path to the Golovliovo estate. - -Porfiry Vladimirych had grown so unaccustomed to visits that in the -beginning of autumn he barred the front entrance to the house and the -main gateways leading to it, leaving only the servants' entrance and -the side gates for the domestics to communicate with the outer world. - -One morning as the clock was striking eleven, Yudushka in his -dressing-gown was standing at the window staring aimlessly before him. -Since early morning he had been walking to and fro in the room, deep -in thought about a certain momentous matter, and ceaselessly counting -imaginary profits. Finally, he became mixed in the ciphering and grew -tired. Both the magnificent orchard in front of the manor and the -village behind it were lost to view in the snow. After yesterday's -blizzard the air was frosty, and the snow shimmered and sparkled in the -sun, so that Porfiry Vladimirych had to blink. The court was silent and -deserted. There was not the least movement, either in the servants' -quarters or near the cattle yard. Even the village itself was so silent -that it seemed as if death had suddenly stolen upon the people. The -only thing that attracted Yudushka's attention was a curl of thin smoke -floating upward from the priest's house. - -"Eleven o'clock, and the parson's wife has not yet finished cooking," -he thinks. "Those black coats are always gorging." - -With this as a point of departure, his mind wandered on. Was it a -weekday or a holiday, a fast day or not, and what can the parson's -wife be cooking? But suddenly his attention was diverted. On the hill -at the very beginning of the road from the village of Pogorelka a -black dot appeared, approached gradually and grew larger and larger. -Porfiry Vladimirych looked intently. "Who could be coming, a peasant or -somebody else? Who could it be but a peasant? Yes, a peasant! What was -he coming for? If for wood, why, then, the Naglovka forest was on the -other side of the village. The knave must be intending to steal some -wood. If he was making for the mill, why, then, he ought to have turned -to the right. Perhaps he was coming to fetch the priest. Someone dying, -or, perhaps, already dead? Or maybe a child had been born? Who could it -be? In autumn Nenila walked about pregnant, but it was too early for -her. If it should be a boy, he would get into the census. What was the -population of Naglovka at the last census? But if a girl, she would -not get into the census, and----Still, it is impossible to get along -without the female sex. Fie!" - -Yudushka spat and looked at the ikon in the corner, as if seeking its -protection from the Evil One. - -It is quite possible that he would have continued wandering in thought -had the black speck been lost to view, but it kept on growing and at -last turned toward the marsh road leading to the church. Then Yudushka -saw quite clearly that it was a small wagon pulled by two horses, one -behind the other. Next it went up the hill, and drove past the church. -"Perhaps it is the bishop," passed through his mind. "That's why they -have not yet finished cooking at the parson's house." Then the vehicle -turned to the right and made straight for the manor-house. Porfiry -Vladimirych instinctively drew his dressing-gown together and stepped -away from the window, as if afraid of being seen by the traveller. - -He had guessed correctly. The wagon drove up to the house and stopped -at the side gate. A young woman jumped out of it quickly. She was -dressed out of season in a large cotton-lined greatcoat trimmed with -lamb's fur, more for show than for warmth. She was apparently frozen. -No one appearing to receive her, the stranger hopped over to the maids' -entrance. In a few seconds the outer door in the women's quarters -banged shut, then another door, and another, until all the rooms -adjacent to the maids' entrance were filled with a noise of hurried -footsteps and banging doors. - -Porfiry Vladimirych stood at his study door listening intently. It was -so long since he had seen any strangers, and altogether he had become -so unaccustomed to the company of human beings, that he was somewhat -bewildered. Nearly a quarter of an hour passed, the running and the -banging of the doors continued, and yet he was not told who had come. -It was clear that the guest was a relative, who did not doubt her -right to the host's hospitality. But what relatives had he? He tried to -recall them, but his memory was dull. He had had two sons, Volodka and -Petka; he had had a mother, Arina Petrovna--long, long ago! Last autumn -Nadka Galkina, daughter of his late aunt Varvara Mikhailovna, had taken -up her residence at Goryushkino. Could it be she? Why, no. She had -already tried to make her way into the Golovliovo temple, but to no -avail. - -"She will not dare to, she will not dare to!" reiterated Yudushka, -burning with indignation at the very thought of her intrusion. "But who -else can it be?" - -While he was busy guessing, Yevpraksia approached the door cautiously -and announced: - -"The young lady of Pogorelka, Anna Semyonovna, has arrived." - -It was indeed Anninka, but changed beyond recognition. She was no -longer the beautiful, lively, buoyant girl with rosy cheeks, full -gray eyes, high breast and heavy, ash-colored tresses massed low on -her head, who had come to Golovliovo shortly after the death of Arina -Petrovna, but a weak, wasted creature with a sunken chest, hollow -cheeks, a hectic face and languid movements--a bent creature, almost -hunch-backed. Even her splendid braids looked miserable, and her eyes, -blazing feverishly, seemed larger than ever in her emaciated face. Her -eyes alone retained something of their former beauty. Yevpraksia stared -long at her as at a stranger, then finally recognized her. - -"You?" she cried out, clapping her hands. - -"I. Well?" - -Anninka laughed quietly, as if to add, "Yes, life has played me a dirty -trick." - -"Is uncle well?" - -"Uncle? Nothing is the matter with him. He is alive, there is no doubt -about that, but we hardly ever see him." - -"What's the matter with him?" - -"Just so--it's all because of lonesomeness." - -"Don't tell me he has stopped haranguing?" - -"He is real quiet now, miss. He used to talk and talk, but suddenly he -became silent. Occasionally we hear him in his study talking to himself -and sometimes even laughing, but as soon as he comes out of the room he -is quiet. People say his late brother, Stepan Vladimirych, had the same -trouble. At first he was gay, then suddenly he became quiet. And you, -madam, are you well?" - -Anninka only waved her hand in reply. - -"And is your sister well?" - -"She has been lying in her grave at the wayside at Krechetovo a month." - -"Lord be merciful! At the wayside!" - -"Of course, that's how they bury all suicides." - -"Goodness! A lady--and to take her own life! How is that?" - -"Yes, at first she was a 'lady,' and then she took poison, that's all. -And I, I am a coward, I want to live, and here I have come to you. Not -for long, oh, don't be afraid. I shall die soon, too." - -Yevpraksia stared at her, as if she did not understand. - -"Why are you looking at me? Am I such a fright? Well, never mind my -looks. However, I'll tell you later--later. Now pay the coachman and -announce me to uncle." - -She produced an old pocketbook and took out two yellow bills. - -"And here is all my property," she added, pointing to a small trunk. -"Here's everything, both my inheritance and my own acquisitions. I am -cold, Yevpraksia, very cold. I am quite sick, there's not a bone in my -body that doesn't ache, and here as if to spite me, it is so cold. As I -was riding, I thought of only one thing, to get to Golovliovo, and die -there, at least in warmth. I'd like to have some vodka. Have you any?" - -"You had better have some tea, madam. The samovar will soon be ready." - -"No, I shall have tea later. Now I'd like to have some vodka. However, -don't tell uncle about the vodka yet. It will all come out later." - -While they set the table for tea in the dining-room Porfiry Vladimirych -appeared. Now Anninka in her turn was completely surprised at her -uncle's emaciation and wild, faded looks. Porfiry received Anninka in -a strange manner, not coldly, but as if altogether indifferent. He -spoke little, as if under compulsion, like an actor trying to recall -sentences of parts acted in days gone by, and was absent-minded, as -though his mind were absorbed in some grave, urgent business from which -he had been torn away to attend to trifles. - -"So you have arrived?" he said. "What will you have, tea, coffee? Order -the servants to fetch it." - -In former days, at family meetings, Yudushka always played the -sentimental part. This time it was Anninka who was filled with -emotions, genuine emotions. The claw of sorrow must have sunk deep -into her being, for she threw herself on Porfiry Vladimirych's breast -and embraced him ardently. - -"Uncle, I have come to you!" she cried, and burst into tears. - -"Well, you are welcome. I have enough rooms. Live here." - -"I am sick, uncle, very, very sick." - -"If you are sick, you must pray to God! Whenever I am not well, I -always heal myself through prayer." - -"I have come to you, uncle, to die." - -Porfiry Vladimirych looked at her with questioning eyes, and an almost -imperceptible smile stole over his lips. - -"So that is where your acting has brought you?" - -"Yes, that is where my acting has brought me. Lubinka is dead and I--I -am alive," - -At the news of Lubinka's death Yudushka piously crossed himself and -whispered a prayer. Anninka seated herself at table, her chin in her -hands, looking toward the church and continuing to cry bitterly. - -"See here, as for weeping and being in despair, it is surely a sin," -remarked Porfiry Vladimirych sententiously. "And do you know what -a Christian must do on such an occasion? Not cry, but submit and -hope--that's how a Christian has to act." - -But Anninka threw herself back on the chair and repeated, her arms -drooping helplessly: - -"Ah, I do not know, I do not know, I do not know!" - -"If you are crying your eyes out on account of your sister," Yudushka -continued to sermonize, "that is a sin, too. For although it is -praiseworthy to love one's sisters and brothers, yet, if it be the will -of God to take one or several of them to Himself----" - -"Oh, no, no! Uncle, are you kind? Are you kind? Tell me!" - -Anninka threw herself on him again and embraced him. - -"Well, I am kind, kind. Tell me, do you wish anything? Will you have a -bite, or tea, or coffee? Ask for what you want. Order it." - -Anninka suddenly remembered how during her first visit her uncle used -to ask her, "Will you have beef, pork, potatoes?" And she realized that -she would find no other consolation. - -"Thank you, uncle," she said, seating herself at the table again. "I do -not want anything in particular. I am sure I shall be contented with -anything you offer me." - -"If so, well and good. Will you go to Pogorelka?" - -"No, uncle, for the time being I shall stay with you. You have nothing -against it, have you?" - -"Christ be with you, of course I don't object. I asked about Pogorelka -only because in case you do wish to go there, it would be necessary to -arrange for a wagon and horses." - -"No, later, later." - -"Very well, then. You will go there later on. Meanwhile you can stay -with us. You will help about the house, for I'm all alone, you see. -This queen," said Yudushka, almost in hatred, pointing to Yevpraksia -pouring the tea, "is all the time running about in the servants' -quarters, so that sometimes you can never get any service, not a soul -in the whole house. Well, good-by for the present. I shall go to my -room. I shall pray, do some work and pray again. So, my friend. Is it -long since Lubinka died?" - -"About a month, uncle." - -"Then tomorrow we shall go to church early and order a mass to be -read for God's recently deceased servant Lubinka. So good-by for the -present. Have some tea, and if you want a bit of luncheon, have the -servant bring it to you. At dinner we shall meet again, have a talk, -a chat. And if anything has to be done, we shall attend to it, if -not--not." - -Such was the first family meeting. When it was over, Anninka entered -upon her new life in that disgusting Golovliovo, where she was stranded -for the second time in her short life. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Anninka had gone downhill very fast. It was true that her first visit -to Golovliovo had aroused the consciousness of being a "lady," of -having her own nest and her own graves, of not being confined in her -life to the squalor and uproar of hotels and inns, and of having a -shelter where she would be safe from vile breaths infected with the -odor of wine and the stable, from hoarse voices, bloodshot eyes, -indecent gestures. But alas! No sooner did Golovliovo disappear from -sight than this purifying consciousness vanished from her mind. - -Anninka had gone from Golovliovo straight to Moscow, and solicited a -position on the government stage both for herself and her sister. With -this in view she turned for aid to _maman,_ that is, the directress of -the boarding-school where she had been educated, and to several of her -classmates. _Maman_ was at first quite kind to her, but as soon as she -discovered that her former pupil had acted on the provincial stage, -her pleasant manner changed to one of haughtiness and sternness. As -for Anninka's classmates, who were mostly married women, they eyed her -with an impertinent astonishment that quite frightened her. Only one -of them, better-natured than the rest, asked her, evidently wishing to -show sympathy: - -"Tell me, darling, is it true that when you actresses dress for the -stage, officers lace your corsets?" - -In a word, her attempts to gain a foothold in Moscow remained -unsuccessful. The truth of the matter was, she did not possess the -necessary qualifications for theatrical success in the capital. She -and her sister Lubinka belonged to that class of lively, but not very -talented actresses who play one part all their lives. Anninka had made -a hit in _Pericola,_ Lubinka in _Pansies_ and _Old-time Colonels,_ and -whatever new roles they studied strangely resembled their successful -parts, or, in the majority of cases, were a complete failure. Anninka -often had to play _Fair Helen_ also. She would wear a flaming red wig -over her ash-colored hair, and cut her tunic down to her waist line, -but she was mediocre and dull, not even cynical. From _Fair Helen_ she -passed to the _Duchess of Herolstein._ In this her colorless acting -was coupled with a completely preposterous _mise en scene_, and the -outcome was altogether miserable. At last she undertook to play the -role of Clairette in _The White Slave._ But she overdid her part to -such an extent that even the none too refined provincial public was -shocked by her behavior on the stage, which she turned into a mire of -corruption. Anninka gained the reputation of being a clever actress -with a fairly good voice, and since she was pretty, she could get an -audience in the provinces. But that was all. Lacking individuality, she -could not attain permanent success. Even among the provincial public -she was popular mainly with army officers, whose chief ambition was to -obtain access behind the scenes. She could have got an engagement in -the capital only if she had been forced upon some manager by a powerful -patron, and even then the public would have given her the unenviable -nickname of "a tavern singer." - -Thus the two girls had to go back to the provinces. In Moscow Anninka -received a letter from Lubinka, saying that their company had removed -from Krechetov to the city of Samovarnov, which made Lubinka quite -glad, because there she had become friendly with a certain zemstvo -leader, who was so infatuated that he was almost, in his own words, -"ready to steal the zemstvo funds, if that were necessary to gratify -all her desires." - -In fact, on her arrival in Samovarnov, Anninka found her sister quite -luxuriously situated and planning to give up the stage. Lubinka's -admirer, the zemstvo official Gavrilo Stepanych Lyulkin, was a retired -captain of the Hussars, recently a _bel homme,_ but now somewhat -corpulent. His appearance and manners and views taken separately were -conspicuously noble, but taken together they gave one the strong -impression that the man was altogether free from scruples. Lubinka -received Anninka with open arms and told her a room had been prepared -for her at the lodgings. - -Anninka, still under the influence of her trip to Golovliovo, bridled -up at the suggestion. The sisters exchanged tart words, and soon -afterwards they separated. Involuntarily Anninka recalled the words -of the Volpino parson, who had told her it was hard to safeguard a -maiden's "honor" in the acting profession. - -Anninka went to live at a hotel and broke off all relations with her -sister. Easter passed. The next week the theatres opened, and Anninka -found out that her sister's place was already filled by Nalimova, a -girl from Kazan, a mediocre actress, but utterly unconstrained in -the movements of her body. As usual, Anninka played _Pericola_ and -enchanted the Samovarnov theatregoers. On her return to the hotel, -she found an envelope in her room containing a hundred ruble bill and -a laconic note which read: "Should anything happen, you get as much. -Merchant Kukishev, dealer in fancy goods." Anninka was enraged and went -to complain to the hotel-keeper. He told her Kukishev had this peculiar -habit of greeting the newly arrived actresses, and otherwise was a -harmless man and it did not pay to take offence. Anninka sealed up the -letter and the money in an envelope, sent it back the very next day, -and regained her composure. - -But Kukishev was more persistent than the hotel-keeper had reported -him to be. He was among Lyulkin's friends and was on good terms with -Lubinka. He was quite well-to-do and, besides, as a member of the city -administration was in a most convenient position with regard to the -city treasury. And like Lyulkin, boldness was not his least virtue. -According to the taste of market people he possessed a seductive -appearance, reminding one of the beetle, which, as the song has it, -Masha found in the fields instead of berries: - -/$ - "A beetle black, and on his crown - Nice curly hair, with whiskers smart, - His eyebrows colored a dark-brown, - The picture of my own sweetheart." -$/ - -Being the happy possessor of such looks he thought he had the right to -be aggressive, all the more so as Lubinka explicitly promised him her -cooperation. - -Lubinka, apparently, had burned all her bridges, and her reputation was -by no means a pleasant topic in her sister's ears. Every night, it was -said, a merry band caroused in her rooms from midnight till morning, -Lubinka presiding and appearing as a "gypsy," half naked (at this, -Lyulkin, addressing his intoxicated friends, would cry out, "Look, -there's a breast!") and with loosened hair. She would sing to the -accompaniment of a guitar: - -/$ - "How I did love it with my mash, - Who had the darlingest mustache!" -$/ - -Anninka listened to the stories about her sister and became greatly -worried. What surprised her most was that Lubinka sang the ditty about -the "mash who had the darlingest mustache" in a gypsy-like manner, -just like the celebrated Matryusha of Moscow. Anninka always gave her -sister due credit, and had she been told that Lubinka sang couplets -from _Old-time Colonels_ with unsurpassed excellence, she would have -considered it quite natural and would have readily believed it. The -theatergoers of Kursk, Tambov and Penza had not yet forgotten with what -inimitable naivete Lubinka sang the most atrocious ambiguities in her -soft little voice. But that Lubinka could sing like a gypsy--pardon -me! A lie! She, Anninka, could sing like that, no doubt of it. It was -her genre, her business, and everyone in Kursk who had seen her in the -play, _Russian Romances Personified,_ would willingly testify to it. - -Anninka would take the guitar, sling the striped sash over her -shoulder, sit down on a chair, cross her legs and begin: "I-ekh! -I-akh!" It was the very manner of Matryusha the gypsy. - -However that may have been, one thing was certain, that Lubinka was -extravagant. And Lyulkin, for fear of introducing a discordant note -into the drunken bliss, had already resorted to borrowing from the -zemstvo treasury. Not to speak of the tremendous amount of champagne -which was both consumed and poured out on the floor in Lubinka's -quarters, all sorts of things had to be provided to feed her growing -capriciousness and extravagance. First it was dresses from Mme. -Minangois of Moscow, then jewelry from Fuld. Lubinka was rather thrifty -and did not scorn valuables. Her licentiousness by no means interfered -with her love of gold, diamonds and especially lottery bonds. At any -rate, it was a life not of gaiety, but of boisterous debauchery and -continuous intoxication. - -There was one thorn in the rose-bush. It was necessary for Lubinka to -curry favor with the chief of police. Although a friend of Lyulkin's, -he sometimes liked to make his power felt, and Lubinka always guessed -when he was dissatisfied with her hospitality, for the next day the -police warden would come to ask for her passport. And she yielded. In -the morning she would treat the district chief of police to vodka and -a light repast, while in the evening she would personally prepare a -"Swedish" punch of which he was very fond. - -Kukishev watched this ocean of luxury and burned with envy. He -conceived a desire to lead a similar life and have just such a -mistress. That would put an end to the monotony of provincial life. One -night he would spend with Lyulkin's queen, the next night with his own -queen. That was the dream of his life, the ambition of an imbecile, -who is the more obstinate in his strivings the greater his stupidity. -Anninka seemed to be the most suitable person for the realization of -his hopes. - -But Anninka would not surrender. She was still new to the stir of -passion, although she had had numerous suitors and had been rather -free in her relations with them. At one time she even thought she was -ready to fall in love with the local tragedian Miloslavsky X, who was -consumed with passion for her. But Miloslavsky X was so hare-brained -and so persistently drunk that he never told her of his love, only -stared at her and stolidly hiccoughed when she passed by. So the love -affair never ripened. The other suitors Anninka considered as something -in the nature of indispensable furniture, to which a provincial actress -is doomed by the very conditions of her profession. She submitted to -these conditions, and took advantage of their minor privileges, such as -applause, bouquets, drives, picnics, etc., but further than this so to -speak external dissipation, she did not go. - -She persisted in this manner of conduct. During the whole summer she -had kept to the path of virtue, jealously guarding her honor, as if -anxious to show the Volpino priest that moral strength can be found -even among actresses. Once she even decided to complain about Kukishev -to the governor, who listened to her with kindly favor and commended -her for her heroism. But seeing that her complaint was an indirect -attack on his own person as the governor of the province, he added -that, having spent all his strength against the internal enemy, he -strongly doubted whether he could be of any use. Hearing this, Anninka -blushed and went away. - -Meanwhile Kukishev acted so artfully that he succeeded in making -the public take an interest in his efforts. People suddenly became -convinced that Kukishev was right and that Pogorelskaya I, as she was -dubbed on the posters, only looked as if butter would not melt in her -mouth. A whole clique was formed with the express purpose of taming -the refractory upstart. The campaign was started by several habitues -of the theatre who gradually began to hang around her dressing-room -and made their nest in the adjoining room belonging to Miss Nalimova. -Then, without exhibiting direct enmity, the audiences began to receive -Pogorelskaya I, when she appeared on the stage, with a disheartening -reserve, as if she were not the star actress, but some insignificant -dumb performer. At last the clique insisted that the manager take some -parts away from Anninka and give them to Nalimova. And what was most -curious, the most important part in this underhand intrigue was played -by Lubinka, whose confidant was Nalimova. - -Toward autumn Anninka was surprised to find that she was compelled to -play the role of Orestes in _Fair Helen_, and only Pericola had been -left to her of all her main parts. That was because Nalimova would not -dare to vie with her in the role. In addition, the manager notified her -that in view of her cold reception by the audiences, her salary would -be reduced to seventy-five rubles a month, with only half the proceeds -of one benefit during the year. - -Anninka lost courage, because with so small a salary she would have -to move from the hotel to an inn. She wrote letters to two or three -managers offering her services, but invariably received the answer -that they were actually flooded with applicants for the Pericola role, -and besides, they had learned of her shrewish obstinacy from reliable -sources, and so could not foresee any hopes of her success. - -Anninka was now living on her last savings. Another week and she would -have to move to the inn and live with Khoroshavina, who was playing -_Parthenis_ and was favored with the attention of a constable. She -began to yield to despair, especially since a mysterious hand put a -note into her room every day containing the same words, "Pericola, -submit. Your Kukishev." And at the critical moment Lubinka most -unexpectedly rushed in. - -"Tell me, please, for what prince are you saving your treasure?" she -asked curtly. - -Anninka was taken aback. First of all she was amazed to find that both -the Volpino priest and Lubinka employed the same word "treasure" for -maidenly honor. Only the priest had regarded it as the "foundation of -life," while Lubinka looked upon it as a mere trifle over which the -"rascally males" go mad. - -Then she involuntarily questioned herself, What is this "treasure," -anyhow? Is it really a treasure and is it really worth hoarding? Alas, -she could find no satisfactory answer to her questions. On one hand, it -is rather shameful to remain without honor, and on the other----Ah, the -devil take it! And could it be that the whole purpose, the whole merit -of her existence consisted in struggling every moment of her life to -maintain this treasure? - -"In only six months I have succeeded in getting thirty bonds," Lubinka -continued, "and lots of things. Look what a dress I have on!" - -Lubinka turned about, pulled at the front, then at the sides, letting -herself be examined. The dress was really an expensive one and -unusually well made. It came straight from Minangois in Moscow. - -"Kukishev is a kind sort," Lubinka resumed. "He will dress you up like -a doll, and he will give you money. You'll be able to send the theatre -to the devil. You have had enough of it." - -"Never!" cried Anninka heatedly. She had not as yet forgotten the -phrase, "sacred art." - -"You may remain if you wish to. You will get your former salary again -and outstrip Nalimova." - -Anninka was silent. - -"Well, good-by. They are waiting for me downstairs. Kukishev is there, -too. Will you come?" - -But Anninka maintained her silence. - -"Well, think it over, if there is anything to think about. And when you -have done thinking, come to see me. Good-by." - -On the seventeenth of September, Lubinka's birthday, the posters of -the Samovarnov theatre announced a gala performance. Anninka appeared -as _Fair Helen_ again, and the same evening the part of Orestes was -performed by Pogorelskaya II, Lubinka. To complete the triumph of the -sisters, Nalimova was given the part of Cleon, the blacksmith. She -appeared on the stage dressed in tights and a short coat, her face -touched with soot, and a sheet of iron in her hands. The audience -was elated. Hardly did Anninka appear on the stage when the audience -raised such a clamor that, already unaccustomed to ovations, she nearly -broke into tears. And when, in the third act, in the scene where she -is awakened at night, she stood up on the sofa almost naked, the house -was one groaning mass of humanity. One man in the audience was so -thoroughly worked up that he shouted to Menelaus, who was entering -the stage, "Get out, damn you!" Anninka understood that the public -had pardoned her. As for Kukishev, he was in full dress, white tie -and white gloves. In the entr'actes he generously treated friends and -strangers alike to champagne and spoke of his triumph with dignity. -At last the manager of the theatre, brimming over with jubilation, -appeared in Anninka's room and, kneeling before her, said, "Now, madam, -you are a good girl and you will get your previous salary with the -corresponding number of benefits." - -Everybody praised her and congratulated her and protested their -sympathy, so that she, who at first was timid, restless, and haunted -with a feeling of oppressive melancholy, grew suddenly convinced that -she had fulfilled her mission. - -After the theatre the whole company went to Lubinka's birthday -celebration, and there the congratulations were reiterated. So large -a crowd gathered in Lubinka's quarters that the tobacco smoke made it -hard to breathe. They sat down to supper, and champagne began to flow -freely. Kukishev kept close to Anninka. This made her somewhat shy, but -she was no longer oppressed by his attentions. It seemed rather funny, -but also flattering, that she had so easily gotten hold of this big, -powerful man, who could bend and straighten out a horseshoe without -effort, and whom she could order about and do with as she wished. -The supper was crowned by that drunken, disorderly gaiety in which -neither the head nor the heart takes a part, and which results only in -headaches and nausea. The tragedian Miloslavsky X was the only one who -looked gloomy and declined champagne, preferring plain vodka, which he -gulped down glass after glass. As to Anninka, she abstained from drink -for some time, but Kukishev was insistent. He went down on his knees -and implored her: - -"Anna Semyonovna, it is your turn. I beseech you. For your happiness, -for friendship and love. Do us a favor." - -She was annoyed by his foolish figure and foolish talk, yet she could -not refuse, and before she had time to collect her thoughts, she was -already dizzy. Lubinka, for her part, was so magnanimous that she -herself asked her sister to sing, "How I did love it with my mash." -Anninka performed it so well that everybody exclaimed, "Ah, that was -just like Matryusha the gypsy." Then Lubinka sang an obscene song of -a different kind, and at once convinced everybody that that kind of -singing was her real genre, in which she had no rivals, just as Anninka -had none in the gypsy songs. In conclusion, Miloslavsky X and Nalimova -presented a "masquerade scene" in which the tragedian recited parts -from _Ugolino_ (a tragedy in five acts, by Polevoy), and Nalimova -followed with a scene from an unpublished tragedy of Barkov. The result -was so unexpected that Nalimova nearly eclipsed the two sisters and -almost became the heroine of the evening. - -It was already dawn when Kukishev, leaving the charming hostess, helped -Anninka into her carriage. Pious townspeople were coming from matins. -At the sight of Anninka, elaborately attired and somewhat unsteady on -her feet, they muttered darkly, "People are coming out of church, and -they are gulping wine. A curse on them!" - -On leaving her sister's, Anninka went not to the hotel but to her own -quarters, small but snug and nicely furnished. She was followed by -Kukishev. - -The whole winter passed in an indescribable hurly-burly. Anninka was -completely in the swing, and if she ever reminded herself of her -"treasure," it was only in order to laugh it off with "How foolish I -was!" Kukishev, very proud of the fact that his "idea" of securing a -mistress like Lubinka had materialized, made ducks and drakes of his -money. Instigated by emulation, he ordered two gowns to Lyulkin's one, -and two dozen bottles of champagne to his one dozen. Lubinka herself -began to envy her sister, because she succeeded in laying by forty -lottery bonds during the winter in addition to a considerable amount of -jewelry. However, they became friendly again and decided to pool their -hoardings. - -Anninka always hoped for something, and during an intimate talk with -her sister, said: - -"When all this will be over, we will go back to Pogorelka. We will have -money and establish a home for ourselves." - -"And you think this will ever end? Fool!" Lubinka retorted cynically. - -To Anninka's misfortune, Kukishev soon came upon a new "idea," which -he began to pursue with his usual obstinacy. A vulgar and eminently -shallow-pated man, he imagined he would reach the pinnacle of bliss if -his queen would "accompany" him, that is, if she would drink vodka with -him. - -Anninka for some time declined, referring to the fact that Lyulkin -never compelled Lubinka to drink vodka. - -"And yet she drinks out of love for Lyulkin," Kukishev retorted. "And -may I ask you, darling, do you take the Lyulkins as an example? They -are Lyulkins, while you and I, we are Kukishevs. Therefore we will -drink in our own Kukishev way." - -Kukishev had his way. Once Anninka took a small glass of green liquid -from the hands of her "beloved" and gulped it down. Of course she saw -stars, choked, coughed, became dizzy, thereby putting Kukishev in -transports of delight. - -"Permit me to remark, darling, that you do not drink well! You did -it too fast," he instructed her, as she quieted down somewhat. "The -wineglass should be held in the tiny hands, so! Then you bring it over -to the lips, slowly--one, two, three--the Lord bless us!" - -And he calmly and gravely gulped down the contents of the glass, as if -he were pouring vodka into a barrel. He did not even frown, but only -took a bit of black bread, dipped it in the salt cellar, and chewed it. - -And so Kukishev succeeded in realizing his second "idea" and even began -to plan another one, which would beat the Lyulkins hollow. Of course he -succeeded in inventing one. - -"You know," he suddenly announced, "as soon as summer comes we will go -to my mill with the Lyulkins, take along some provisions and bathe in -the river." - -"Never!" Anninka objected indignantly. - -"Why not? We will bathe, then have a cocktail, rest a little, and bathe -again. That would be delightful." - -It is not known whether Kukishev's third idea materialized or not, but -it is certain that this drunken debauchery lasted a whole year, during -which time neither the zemstvo nor the city administration exhibited -the slightest anxiety concerning Messrs. Kukishev and Lyulkin. For -appearance's sake Lyulkin visited Moscow twice, and on his return -declared he had sold one of his forests. On being reminded that he had -sold the same forest four years before when living with Domashka the -gypsy, he answered it was another forest that he had sold that time, -and, to give his tale the appearance of veracity, he added detailed -information concerning the name of his newly sold forest-estate. As for -Kukishev, he gave currency to the story that he had smuggled in a large -stock of embroidery from abroad, thereby earning a great deal of money. - -In September of the next year the chief of police asked Kukishev for a -"loan" of a thousand rubles and, Kukishev was foolish enough to refuse. -Then the police superintendent began to confer secretly with the -assistant attorney. ("Both of them guzzled champagne in my house every -evening," Kukishev testified later at the trial.) On September 17th, -at the anniversary of Kukishev's _liaison,_ when he and the others -celebrated Lubinka's birthday again, a member of the city council came -running in and announced to Kukishev that a warrant was being made out -at the City Board for his arrest. - -"They must have found out something!" Kukishev exclaimed rather -pluckily, and without further comment followed the messenger to the -council-hall, and from there to prison. - -The next day the zemstvo council also took fright. The members -assembled and ordered the money in the treasury counted and recounted, -and at last came to the conclusion that their treasury, too, had been -drained by somebody. Lyulkin was present at the examination, pale, -gloomy, but "noble"! When the loss had been discovered, and when it -became apparent to Lyulkin that he had no hope of escaping, he walked -to the window, drew a revolver from his pocket, and fired a bullet into -his temple. - -The event created quite a turmoil in the town. The people pitied -Lyulkin, saying, "At least he ended nobly!" But the general opinion -about Kukishev was, "He was born a shopkeeper, and a shopkeeper he -will die!" Concerning Anninka and Lubinka they simply said that "they -were the cause of it all," and that it would not do any harm to put -them behind the bars, too, so that in future matters might not be very -inviting for such wretches. - -The prosecutors, however, did not arrest them, but terrorized them so -mercilessly that they were completely dismayed. Of course there were -some kind people who advised them to conceal all their valuables, but -they listened and understood nothing. Owing to this, the attorney -for the plaintiffs (both councils hired the same attorney), a daring -fellow, wishing to satisfy his clients, came to the sisters one day, -accompanied by the process server, to take an inventory. He seized -and sealed everything except their dresses and such gold and silver -things as bore inscriptions showing they had been the gifts of the -appreciative public. Lubinka, however, succeeded in hiding a roll of -bank-notes, presented to her the previous evening, in her corset. It -was a thousand rubles, on which the sisters would have to exist for an -indefinite time. - -In expectation of Kukishev's trial, they were kept in the town -about four months. Then the trial began, and the sisters, Anninka -particularly, had to undergo a ruthless ordeal. Kukishev was cynical -in the extreme. He revelled in the disclosure of details, for which -there was really no need, but apparently he was desirous of striking -a pose before the ladies of Samovarnov and exposed everything -indiscreetly. The attorney and the private prosecutor, young and -anxious to afford pleasure to the ladies, took advantage of this and -endeavored to lend the proceeding a frivolous character, in which -they succeeded, of course. Anninka fainted a number of times, but -the private prosecutor paid no attention to this and bombarded her -with questions. At last the investigation ended, and both sides had -their say. Late at night the jurors announced that Kukishev was -guilty, but that there were alleviating circumstances. In view of -this he was sentenced to be deported to Western Siberia. When the -trial was over, the sisters obtained permission to leave Samovarnov. -And it was high time, for the thousand rubles were nearly exhausted. -Besides, the manager of the Kretchetov theatre, with whom they had -made arrangements, demanded that they appear in Kretchetov at once, -threatening to discontinue negotiations if they delayed. Nothing was -seen or heard of the valuables and documents sealed at the demand of -the private prosecutor. - -Such were the consequences of their disregard for their "treasure." -Tormented, crushed, despised by everybody, the sisters lost all faith -in their own strength and all hope for a brighter future. They became -emaciated, slovenly, cowardly. And Anninka, to boot, having been in -Kukishev's school, had learned to drink. - -Matters grew worse. No sooner did they alight from the train at -Kretchetov than they at once found "protectors." Lubinka was taken -by Captain Popkov, Anninka by the merchant Zabvenny. But the jolly -times were no more. Both Popkov and Zabvenny were coarse, quarrelsome, -and rather close-fisted. After three or four months they became -considerably colder. The sisters were even less successful on the -stage than in love affairs. The manager who had accepted the sisters -on the strength of the scandal they had caused at Samovarnov quite -unexpectedly found himself out of his reckoning. At the very first -performance somebody in the gallery shouted when the two girls made -their appearance on the stage, "You convicts!" And the name stuck. It -decided Anninka's and Lubinka's theatrical fate. - -They now lived a dull, drowsy life, devoid of all intellectual -interest. The public was cold, the managers scowled at them, the -"protectors" would not intercede. Zabvenny dreamed, as once Kukishev -had, of how he would "compel" his queen to have a cocktail with him, -how she would at first affect horror, and gradually submit. But he was -very angry when he found out that she was already past mistress in the -art of drinking. The only satisfaction left him was to show his friends -how Anninka "guzzled vodka." Popkov, too, was dissatisfied and declared -Lubinka had grown thin. - -"You once had flesh on your bones," he would say, "tell me, where did -you lose it?" - -On account of this, he was not only unceremonious with her, but often -even beat her when he was drunk. - -Toward the end of the winter the sisters had neither "real" admirers -nor a "permanent position." They still stuck to the theatre, but -there could be no question now either of _Pericola_ or the _Old-time -Colonels._ Lubinka was more cheerful, but Anninka, being more -high-strung, broke down completely. She seemed to have forgotten the -past and was not aware of the present. In addition, she began to cough -suspiciously, apparently on her way toward an enigmatic malady. - -Next summer was terrible. Gradually the sisters were taken to hotels -and were given to travelling gentlemen for a moderate fixed price. -Scandals and beatings followed one another, but the sisters clung to -life desperately, with the tenacity of cats. They reminded one of those -wretched dogs who, in spite of being crippled by a beating, crawl back -to their favorite place, whining as they go. It was not proper to keep -women like that on the stage. - -In those dark days only once did a ray of light find its way into -Anninka's existence. Miloslavsky X, the tragedian, sent her a letter -from Samovarnov in which he persistently offered her his hand and -heart. Anninka read the letter and cried. The night long she tossed -about in bed, and in the morning she sent a curt reply, "Why? Only that -we may drink together?" Then darkness closed down upon her intenser -than ever, and endless, base debauchery began again. - -Lubinka was the first to wake up, or if not to wake up, at least to -feel instinctively that she had lived long enough. There was no work in -sight. Her youth, her beauty, and her embryonic talent, all had somehow -vanished. That they had a shelter in Pogorelka, she never remembered. -It was something distant, vague, long-forgotten. They never did have -much of a liking for Pogorelka, and now their hatred toward the place -was only intensified. Even when they were almost starving the place -attracted her less than ever. And what sort of a figure would she cut -there? A figure which all sorts of drunken, lustful breaths had branded -as a "creature." Those accursed breaths saturated her entire body. -She felt them everywhere, in every place. And what is more horrible, -she grew so accustomed to those disgusting breaths that they became -a part of her very being. So with Anninka, too. Neither the stench -of eating-houses, nor the din of the inns, nor the obscene language -of the drunkards seemed abominable to them, so that had they gone to -Pogorelka, they would surely have missed the "life." Besides, even in -Pogorelka they must have something to live on. All these many years -that they had wandered about the world they had heard nothing of the -revenue that Pogorelka brought. Perhaps the estate was a myth. Perhaps -the folks had all died, all those witnesses of the distant and yet -ever-present years, when they had been brought up by their grandmother, -Arina Petrovna, on sour milk and stale cured meat. - -It was clear that it was best for Lubinka to die. Once this thought -dawns on one's consciousness, it becomes an obsession. The sisters not -infrequently had moments of awakening, but in the case of Anninka they -were accompanied by hysterics, sobs, tears, and so passed away faster. -Lubinka was colder by nature. She did not cry or curse, but the thought -that she was a "hussy" constantly preyed on her mind. And Lubinka was -more reasonable and saw quite clearly that there was not even any -profit in their mode of living. For the future she expected nothing but -shame, poverty and the street. Shame is a matter of habit, it can be -tolerated, but poverty--never! It is better to end it all at once. - -"We must die," she once said to Anninka in that same cool and -deliberate tone in which two years ago she had asked her for whom she -was saving her "treasure." - -"Why?" Anninka objected, somewhat frightened. - -"I mean it seriously. We must die," Lubinka repeated. "Understand, wake -up, think!" - -"Well--let us die," Anninka assented, hardly realizing the dismal -meaning of her decision. - -That same day Lubinka cut off the tips of some matches and prepared two -glasses of the mixture. One of these she drank herself, the other she -offered her sister. But Anninka immediately lost courage and refused to -drink. - -"Drink, you slut," Lubinka cried out. "Sister, dearest, darling, drink!" - -Anninka, almost insane with fear, ran about the room, instinctively -clutching at her throat as if trying to choke herself. - -"Drink, drink--you street-walker!" - -The artistic career of the two sisters was ended. That same evening -Lubinka's corpse was taken into the field and buried. Anninka remained -alive. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Anninka soon introduced an atmosphere of Bohemian life into Yudushka's -nest. She rose late and would roam about the house until dinner-time, -undressed, uncombed, with an aching head, and coughing in such agony -that each time it would send a shudder through Porfiry Vladimirych -in his study and quite frighten him. Her room was always untidy, the -bedding in disorder, and her clothes lying about on the chairs and -floor. At first she saw her uncle only at dinner and evening tea. -The master of Golovliovo came out of his room all dressed in black, -spoke little, and ate with his old-time exasperating slowness. He -was apparently observing her. After dinner came the early December -twilight. Anninka loved to watch the glimmer of the gray winter day -gradually die out and the fields grow dim; she loved to see the -shadows flood the rooms until finally the whole house was plunged in -impenetrable darkness. In the darkness she always felt at ease and -hardly ever lit the candles. The only one she allowed to burn was at -one end of the sitting-room. It was of cheap palm wax, and sputtered -and dripped, its feeble flame formed a tiny circle of light. For some -time the house would be astir with the usual after-dinner noises. -Plates would rattle in the hands of the dish-washers, and drawers open -and close with a clatter; but soon the sound of receding steps would -be heard and a dead silence begin to reign. Porfiry Vladimirych would -take his after-dinner nap and Yevpraksia bury herself in the bedding in -her room. Prokhor would go into the servants' room, and Anninka would -remain entirely alone. - -She would pace from room to room, humming, trying to tire herself out, -but chiefly endeavoring to drive her thoughts away. In walking toward -the sitting-room she would fix her eyes upon the circle of light about -the candle, and walking away from it, she would try to single out some -point in the darkness and keep her eyes fixed on it. But in spite of -her efforts reminiscences surged up in her mind irresistibly. She saw -the dressing-room with its cheap wall paper, the inevitable pier-glass -and the equally inevitable bouquet from Lieutenant Pankov II; the stage -with the stage-properties, sooty, slippery from the damp; the hall with -its pieces of furniture picked up at random and its boxes upholstered -in threadbare purple plush,--the hall which, seen from the stage, -looked trim and even splendid, but in reality was dark and miserable. -And finally--officers, officers, officers without end. Then she saw the -hotel with the vile-smelling corridor, dimly lit by the smoky kerosene -lamp; the room she would dart into in order to change her dress for -further triumphs, the room with the bed in disorder from the morning; -the wash-stand full of dirty water, the bed-sheet lying on the floor, -her cast-off underwear forgotten on a chair. Next she saw herself in -the general dining-room, filled with kitchen odors, the tables set for -supper, with its tobacco smoke, noise, crowds, drinking, debauchery. -And again officers, officers, officers without end. - -Such were her memories of the time she had once called the years of -her successes, triumphs, prosperity. - -These reminiscences were followed by others, the prominent part in -which was played by the inn, filled with a foul stench, with walls on -which the vapor froze in the winter time, insecure flooring, and board -partitions, the glossy bellies of bed-bugs showing in the crevices. -Nights of drinking and brawls, travelling squires hastily taking -greenbacks out of their meager pocket-books, merchants encouraging the -"actresses" almost with a whip in hand. And in the morning--headaches, -nausea, and utter dejection. At last--Golovliovo. - -Golovliovo was death itself, relentless, hollow-wombed death, -constantly lying in wait for new victims. Two uncles had died there, -two cousins had received mortal wounds. And Lubinka! Although Lubinka, -to be sure, had died somewhere in Kretchetov because of her "own -affairs," yet the origin of her wounds went back to her life at -Golovliovo. All the deaths, all the poisonings, all the pestilence, -came from there. There the orphans had been fed on rotten cured -meats, there they heard the first words of hatred and contempt for -human dignity. Not the slightest childish misdeed had passed without -punishment. Nothing could be hidden from the stony-hearted, eccentric -old woman, not an extra bite of bread, not a broken clay doll, not a -torn rag, not a worn shoe. Each breach of law and order was instantly -punished either with a reproach or a slap. And then, when they had -been permitted to dispose of themselves, when they had understood that -they might run away from the disgusting place, they ran--there! And -nobody kept them from running away, nor could they have been kept -from running away, because they could imagine nothing worse or more -repulsive than Golovliovo. - -Ah, if all that could only be forgotten, if one could create a -different existence in one's dreams, a magic world that would supplant -both the past and the present! But alas, the reality Anninka had lived -through had so powerful a hold, that the clutch of it suppressed the -feeble efforts of her imagination. In vain did fancy endeavor to -imagine angels with silvery wings. From behind those angels peeped -inexorably the legions of Kukishevs, Lyulkins, Zabvennys, Popkovs. -Lord! Was all lost? Even the ability to deceive and beguile herself? -Had that been lost forever in the night revels, in wine, and in -debauchery? Yet that past had to be killed somehow, so as not to poison -her blood and rend her heart. It had to be crushed, utterly annihilated. - -How strange and ruthless was that which had happened! It was impossible -even to conceive of some future, of some door by which to escape from -the situation, of anything at all that might occur to change things. -Nothing could occur. And what was even more unbearable was the fact -that to all intents and purposes she was already dead, with the outward -signs of life yet present. She should have ended it then, along with -Lubinka. Somehow she had remained alive. How was it that the mass of -shame which had come upon her then from all sides had not crushed her? -And what an insignificant worm she must have been to have crept out -from underneath that heap of heavy stones piled up on top of her! - -She groaned in agony, and ran about the sitting-room, trying to kill -the burning memories. Before her eyes swam familiar images, the -Duchess of Herolstein shaking a pelisse, Clairette Angot in her wedding -gown with a slit in front up to her waist-line, Fair Helen with slits -in front, behind and at the sides. Nothing but obscenity and nakedness. -That was what her life had consisted of. Could all that possibly have -occurred? - -About seven o'clock the house came to life again. The sounds of the -preparations for tea were heard, and at last came the voice of Porfiry -Vladimirych. Uncle and niece sat down at the tea table and exchanged -remarks about the day just ended; but the daily happenings were scanty -and so the conversation was brief. Having taken tea and kissed Anninka -on the forehead, Yudushka crept back into his den, while Anninka went -into Yevpraksia's room to play cards. - -At eleven o'clock the debauchery began. Having ascertained that Porfiry -Vladimirych was fast asleep, Yevpraksia set the table with various -country corned meats and a bottle of vodka. Now came meaningless and -obscene songs, strumming on the guitar, and Anninka drinking between -the songs and the shameless talk. At first she drank after Kukishev's -manner, coolly, with a "Lord bless us" to each glass, but then she -gradually sank into gloom and began to moan and curse. Yevpraksia -looked at her and pitied her: - -"As I look at you, lady," she said, "I am so sorry for you, so sorry." - -"Drink with me and you won't be sorry," Anninka retorted. - -"No, how can I? They nearly chased me out of the clergy estate because -of your uncle, and now if I become----" - -"Well, then it can't be helped. Let me sing you _The Mustache._" - -She strummed the guitar again, and again came the cry, "I-akh! I-okh!" -Late at night sleep would suddenly overtake her, obliterating her past -and allaying her sufferings for a few hours. The next day, broken down, -half-insane, she would again creep out from beneath the deadening load -of sleep and live anew. - -One of those vile nights when Anninka was singing her filthy songs to -Yevpraksia, Yudushka's pale face, ghastly and harassed, appeared in the -doorway. His lips were quivering, his sunken eyes looked like sightless -cavities by the light of the candle. His hands were folded for prayer. -For a few seconds he stood in front of the dumfounded women, and then -slowly faced round and passed out. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -There are families that are weighed down by an inevitable fate. They -are frequent among that portion of the nobility which once lived idle, -useless, and uninfluential, under the wing of serfdom in all parts of -Russia and is now passing its last days helpless and unprotected in -dilapidated manor-houses. In the life of these wretched families both -success and failure come unexpectedly and as if by sheer accident. - -Sometimes it happens that a shower of good luck, as it were, suddenly -comes streaming down on such a family. The ruined cornet and his wife, -peacefully fading away in an out-of-the-way village, will suddenly be -blessed with a brood of young people, strong, clean, alert, pushing, -adaptable to the new conditions of life--the boys as well as the -girls--in a word, "knowing ones." The boys pass examinations with -flying colors and even establish connections and procure patrons -while still at school. In the nick of time they exhibit their modesty -(_"j'aime cette modestie"_ their superiors say about them), and in the -nick of time they show that they can be independent (_"j'aime cette -independance!"_) They quickly scent the direction from which the wind -blows, but they never burn their bridges, so that retreat is free -and easy. These successful makers of our modern history begin with -obsequious cringing, and almost invariably end with perfidy. As to -the girls, they, too, in their line, contribute to the regeneration of -the family, that is, they all marry successfully and then exhibit so -much tact in the art of dressing that they experience no difficulty in -gaining prominent places in so-called society. - -From this combination of circumstances, success fairly pours down upon -the impoverished family. The first successful members who struggle -through courageously, bring up another clean generation, which is still -better off because the main paths have not only been broken but also -well trodden. Other generations succeed until at last a family comes -that has no preliminary struggles and deems it has an inborn right to -lifelong rejoicing. - -Lately, on account of a modern demand for so-called "new men" resulting -from the gradual degeneration of the old men, there have been frequent -instances of successful families. Even in earlier days a comet would -now and then make its appearance on the horizon, but it was a rare -occurrence, the reason being that, first, there were no cracks in the -wall surrounding that blissful region over the gateway to which is -inscribed: "Here pies are eaten daily," and, secondly, because in order -to penetrate into that region, one had to have genuine ability. But now -quite a number of cracks have appeared and the matter of penetration is -considerably simplified, since great merits are no longer demanded of -the newcomer, but only "newness" and nothing else. - -Besides these lucky families there is a great multitude of families -upon whose members the household gods bestow nothing but misfortune -and despair. Like a baleful blight, vice and ill-luck beset them and -devour their substance. The malignant influences attack the whole -stock, eating their way into the very heart and laying waste generation -after generation. There is born a race of weaklings, drunkards, petty -rakes, idlers and shiftless ne'er-do-wells. As time goes on the race -degenerates more and more, until finally there appear miserable -weaklings, like Yudushka's two sons, who perish at the first onslaught -of life. - -Such a sinister fate pursued the Golovliovo family. For several -generations, their history was marked by three characteristics, -idleness, utter uselessness, and habitual hard drinking, the last -coming as the sorry crown to a chaotic life. The Golovliovo family -would have run to seed completely but for the fact that Arina Petrovna -flashed like a casual meteor through this drunken confusion. By her -personal energy alone this woman brought the family to an unprecedented -height of prosperity. Nevertheless her labors were in vain. Not only -did she not transmit any of her qualities to her children, but she -herself died ensnared by idleness, empty talk and mental vacuity. - -Until now Porfiry Vladimirych had held out against the temptation of -drink. It may be that he had been frightened off by the fate of his -brothers and had consciously abstained from drink, or that he had -been satisfied by the intoxication of his frenzied day dreams. But it -was not for nothing that he had the reputation of a drunkard among -his neighbors. At times he himself felt something was lacking in his -existence. Idle musings gave him much, but not all. They did not supply -that sharp, stupefying sensation which would completely do away with -his sense of reality and plunge him headlong into the void forever. - -And now the long-wished-for opportunity presented itself. Ever since -Anninka's arrival, Yudushka had been aware of a vague noise at night -coming from the other end of the house. For a long time he had puzzled -his head over the significance of the mysterious sounds. At last he -discovered what they were. - -Anninka expected a reprimand the next day. None came. Porfiry -Vladimirych spent the morning locked up in his study as usual, but when -he appeared at the midday meal, he poured out two wineglasses of vodka -instead of only one for himself, and pointed to one with a sheepish -smile. Anninka accepted the silent invitation. - -"So you say Lubinka is dead?" said Yudushka when the dinner was well -under way, as if recalling something. - -"Yes, uncle, she is dead." - -"Well, God rest her soul! To grumble is a sin, but to honor her memory -is quite fitting. Shall we?" - -"Yes, uncle, let's honor her memory." - -They emptied one more glass, and then Yudushka grew silent. He was -evidently still unaccustomed to the society of human beings. When the -meal was over, Anninka, performing a family rite, kissed uncle's cheek, -and in response he patted her on her cheek and said: - -"So that's the kind you are." - -The evening of the same day, at tea, which lasted longer this time -than usual, Porfiry Vladimirych looked at his niece for a while with a -quizzical smile, and finally said: - -"Shall we have some corned meats served?" - -"Well, if you wish." - -"Yes. It's better you should do it in uncle's sight than on the sly. At -least, uncle will----" - -Yudushka did not finish the sentence. Perhaps he had wanted to say that -uncle would keep her from drinking, but something prevented him from -saying it. - -From that time on cold cuts were served in the dining-room every -evening. The outer window shutters were closed, the servants retired, -and uncle and niece remained all alone. In the beginning Yudushka did -not keep pace with Anninka, but with a little practice he came up to -her. They sat slowly sipping their vodka and talking. The conversation, -at first dull and indifferent, became more and more animated as their -heads grew hotter, and invariably passed into a chaotic quarrel, at -the bottom of which were always reminiscences about the victims of -Golovliovo. - -Anninka started the quarrels. She dug up the family archives with -ruthless persistence and delighted in teasing Yudushka by arguing that -he along with Arina Petrovna had been the chief cause of the Golovliovo -tragedies. Every word breathed such cynicism and such burning hatred -that it was difficult to understand how so much vitality could still -exist in that worn-out, shattered body. Anninka's attacks galled -Yudushka immensely, but he defended himself feebly, angrily sputtering -ejaculations of discomfiture. At times, when Anninka went too far in -her insolence, he shouted and cursed. - -Such scenes repeated themselves day in, day out, without change. Every -detail of the pitiful family chronicle was speedily exhausted, but it -still held the minds of the two riveted. Every episode of the past -lacerated some wound in their hearts, and they felt a bitter delight -in constantly evoking, scrutinizing and exaggerating painful memories. -Neither the past nor the present contained any moral mainstay on which -Anninka could lean. Nothing but sordid stinginess on one side, and -mental vacuity on the other. Her youthful heart had thirsted for warmth -and love, but had received a stone instead of bread, blows instead of -instruction. By the irony of fate, the cruel school in which she had -been taught implanted in her not an austere attitude toward life, but a -passionate yearning to partake of its sweet poisons. Youth had wrought -the miracle of oblivion, it kept her heart from hardening and the germs -of hatred from developing. Youth had made her drunk with the thirst for -life. That was why a turbulent, furtive debauchery had held her in its -sway for several years, and had pushed Golovliovo into the background. -Now, when the end was drawing close, her heart began to ache. Now for -the first time did Anninka grasp the significance of her past and begin -to hate it truly. - -The drinking lasted far into the night, and had it not been for the -drunken confusion of both thoughts and words, it might have resulted in -something frightful. But if alcohol opened the well-springs of pain in -these shattered hearts, it also appeased them. The further the night -advanced, the more incoherent became their talk and the more impotent -their hatred. Toward the end of the debauch, the aching disappeared and -their surroundings vanished from their eyes, supplanted by a shining -void. They faltered, their eyes closed, they grew muscle-bound. Uncle -and niece would then rise from their places and retire to their rooms -with tottering steps. - -Of course, these night adventures could not remain a secret. Before -long the notion of crime became associated with them in the minds of -the servants. Life abandoned the vast Golovliovo manor-house. Nothing -stirred even in the morning. Uncle and niece rose late and till the -midday meal Anninka's racking cough, accompanied by curses, rang from -one end of the house to the other. Yudushka listened to the harrowing -sounds in terror and a vague presentiment of his own impending doom -stirred in him. - -It seemed that all the Golovliovo victims were now creeping from out of -the nooks and crannies of the deserted house. Gray apparitions stirred -everywhere. Here was old Vladimir Mikhailovich, in his white nightcap, -making wry faces and citing Barkov; here was Simple Simon and Pavel -the Sneak; here were Lubinka and the last offshoots of the Golovliovo -stock, Volodya and Petka. All were drunk, lustful, weary and bleeding. -And over all these ghosts there brooded a living phantom, Porfiry -Vladimirych Golovliov, the last representative of the decadent family. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -The continual reverting to the past and its victims was bound to have -its effect on Yudushka. The natural outcome--was it fear?--No, rather -the awakening of conscience. He discovered he had a conscience, and -oblivion and contempt, although blunting its sensitiveness, could not -destroy it. - -The awakening of a torpid conscience is usually fraught with pain. It -brings no peace, holds no promise of a new life, but merely tortures, -endlessly and fruitlessly. Man sees himself immured in a narrow prison, -a helpless victim of the agonies of repentance, with no hope of ever -returning to life. And he perceives no other way of allaying his -gnawing pain than to break his head against the stony walls of the -prison cell. - -Never in the course of his long, useless life had it occurred to -Yudushka that dire tragedies were interwoven with his existence. He had -lived peacefully and calmly, with a constant prayer on his lips, and -the thought had been far from him that this manner of life had caused -so much sorrow. Least of all could he imagine that he himself had been -the source of these tragedies. Suddenly the terrible truth was revealed -to his conscience, but all too late--too late for him to make amends -for the crimes of his life. He was unsociable, old, with one foot -in the grave, and there was not a single human being who approached -him with loving pity. Why was he alone? Why did he see nothing but -indifference and hatred around him? Why was it that everything he -touched had perished? This estate of Golovliovo was once so full, a -human nest. How had it happened that now there was not a trace, not a -feather left? Of the fledgelings nursed there his niece was the only -one that remained alive, and she had come back only to sneer at him and -deal him his deathblow. Even Yevpraksia, simple as she was, hated him. -She lived at Golovliovo because Porfiry sent her father, the sacristan, -provisions every month, but undoubtedly she hated him. He had made her -unhappy, too, by robbing her of her child. What was the outcome of his -existence? Wherefore had he lied, babbled, persecuted, hoarded? Who -would inherit his wealth? Who was to enjoy the fruits of his life? Who? - -I repeat, his conscience had awakened. Yudushka waited for the evening -with feverish impatience not only in order to get bestially drunk, -but also to drown his conscience. He hated the "dissolute wench," who -lacerated his wounds with such cold cynicism, yet he was drawn to -her irresistibly, as if there was still something to be said between -them and some wounds to be torn open. Every evening he made Anninka -retell the story of Lubinka's death, and every evening the idea of -self-destruction became riper in his mind. At first, the idea occurred -to him casually. But as his iniquities became more apparent to him, it -sank deeper and deeper into his being and soon was the sole shining -spot in all the gloom he saw ahead of him. - -And his health began to decline rapidly. He coughed violently and at -times had spells of asthma that in themselves were sufficient to make -life intolerable, let alone the moral pangs from which he suffered. -All the symptoms of the malady that had sent his brothers to their -graves were present. He heard the groans of his brother Pavel, as he -choked in the entresol of the Dubrovino manor-house. Still Yudushka -was doggedly tenacious of life. His sunken, emaciated chest held out -against the pain that grew from hour to hour. It was as if his body too -were resisting with unexpected vigor so as to take revenge on him for -his crimes. - -"Is this the end?" he would wonder hopefully, whenever he felt the -approach of a paroxysm. But death was slow in coming. Evidently it -would be necessary to use violence to hasten the end. All his accounts -with life were settled--it was both painful and useless to him. What he -needed was death, but, to his sorrow, death was slow in coming. There -is something mean and treacherous in the teasing hesitancy of death -when it is called upon with all the strength of one's soul. - - * * * * * - -It was late in March and Passion Week was nearing its end. However -abject Yudushka's condition was, he preserved an attitude of reverence -toward the sanctity of these days implanted in him in his childhood. -His thoughts of themselves took a serious turn, and there was no other -desire in his heart than complete silence. In this mood the evenings -were no longer spent in wild drinking, but passed in gloomy silence. - -Porfiry Vladimirych and Anninka were sitting all alone in the -dining-room. The evening service, accompanied by the reading of the -gospel, had just ended, and the odor of incense still lingered in the -room. The clock struck ten, the servants had retired, and deep, pensive -quiet settled over the house. Anninka, her hands clasping her head, was -deep in thought. Porfiry Vladimirych sat opposite, silent and sad. - -Upon Anninka the Passion Week evening service always made an -overwhelming impression. As a child she had wept bitterly at the -priest's words: "And when they plaited a crown of thorns, they put it -upon His head, and a reed in His right hand," and in a tremulous treble -she used to sing after the sexton: "Glory be to Thy long-suffering, -oh, Lord! Glory be to Thee!" After the service she used to run, all -a-quiver with emotion, to the maids' room, and there, in the growing -twilight (Arina Petrovna allowed no candles in that room when there -was no work being done), she related "The Passion of our Lord" to the -servants. Silent tears flowed from the eyes of the slaves, and they -heaved deep sighs. The poor servants felt their Master and Redeemer -with their whole hearts and believed He would arise from the dead, -arise from the dead in truth. Anninka, too, felt and believed. Beyond -the gloom of their life of suffering and persecution, all these poor -in spirit beheld the radiant kingdom of freedom. Even the old lady, -usually so redoubtable, was gentle during Passion Week. She did not -grumble or remind Anninka that she was an orphan. On the contrary, she -fondled her and soothed her with kindly words. But Anninka was restless -even in bed, she tossed about and talked to herself in her sleep. - -Then came her school years and wanderings, the first empty, the second -painful. But even as a nomadic actress, Anninka had jealously observed -the "holy days," calling back echoes of her distant past and moods of -childlike devotion. But now when she saw her life clearly to its last -detail, when she had cursed her life and when it became obvious that -the future promised neither repentance nor forgiveness, when the source -of devotion and the well-spring of tears had dried up, the effect -of the tale of the Crucifixion upon her was truly overwhelming. In -childhood a gloomy night had surrounded her, but beyond the darkness -she had sensed the presence of light. Now nothing but interminable -everlasting night stretched ahead endlessly. She neither sighed, -nor was agitated, nor even thought. She merely sank into a state of -profound torpor. - -Porfiry Vladimirych, too, from his very childhood, had revered the -"holy days," but, true idol-worshipper that he was, he had observed -merely the rites. Every year on the eve of Good Friday he had had -the priest come and read the gospel, had sighed, lifted up his arms, -touched the ground with his forehead, marked the number of chapters -read by means of wax balls, but had understood nothing. Not until now, -when his conscience was awakened, had he grasped the fact that the -gospel contained the story of how Untruth visited a bloody judgment on -Truth. - -Of course, it would be an exaggeration to say that this discovery led -him to definite conclusions about his own life, yet there is no doubt -that it produced in him a commotion bordering on despair. This state of -mind was the more painful the more unconsciously he lived through the -past which was the source of his commotion. - -There was something terrible in his past, he could not tell exactly -what. It was as if a mountainous mass, hitherto motionless and hidden -by an impenetrable veil, had suddenly moved upon him, threatening every -moment to crush him. What he feared was that he might not be crushed, -and he felt he must hasten the climax. He had been brooding over the -idea for quite some time. "We shall have communion on Saturday," -suddenly flashed through his mind. "It would be well to visit dear -mother's grave and take leave of her." - -"Shall we walk over to the cemetery?" he turned to Anninka and -explained his idea to her. - -"Why, if you wish, we'll drive out there." - -"No, not drive, but----" started Porfiry Vladimirych, but halted -abruptly, as if struck by the thought that Anninka might be in his way. - -"I have sinned against my dear departed mother. I, I was the cause of -her death!" - -The thought preyed on him, and the desire to "take leave" grew stronger -in his heart, to take leave not by mere conventional words, but by -throwing himself on her grave and bursting out in the sobs of a death -agony. - -"So you say no one is to be blamed for Lubinka's death?" he suddenly -asked, as if trying to cheer himself up. - -At first Anninka paid no attention to his question. Two or three -minutes later, however, she felt an irresistible impulse to return to -the subject of Lubinka's death and torment herself with it. - -"And her words were, 'Drink, you street-walker,'" he said, after she -had repeated the story in detail. - -"Yes, her very words." - -"And you didn't drink?" - -"I didn't. I am alive, as you see." - -He rose and paced up and down the room several times, visibly affected. -At last he went over to Anninka and stroked her head. - -"My poor, poor Anninka!" he said softly. - -At the touch of his hands a startling change took place in her. At -first she was amazed, then her face began to work, and suddenly a -violent torrent of hysterical, inhuman sobs burst from her chest. - -"Uncle, are you good? Tell me, are you good?" she fairly shrieked. - -In a broken voice, through tears and sobs, she kept on reiterating her -query, the same she had asked him the day of her return to Golovliovo, -to which he had given such an absurd reply. - -"You are good? Tell me, answer me, are you good?" - -"Did you hear what the priest read at the evening service?" he said, -when she finally grew calm. "Oh, what sufferings He underwent! Only -such sufferings can----And yet He forgave, forgave forever!" - -He resumed his pacing, his very soul rent with suffering and his face -covered with beads of perspiration. - -"He pardoned every one," he reflected aloud. "Not only those who at -that time gave Him vinegar mingled with gall to drink, but also those -who are doing the same thing now and will do it again in future ages. -What a horror!" - -Suddenly he stopped before her and said: - -"And you--have you forgiven?" - -Instead of replying she threw herself on him and clasped him firmly. - -"You must forgive me," he went on. "For every one--on your own -account--and for those who are no longer here. What has happened?" he -cried, looking round distractedly. "Where are they all?" - - * * * * * - -Utterly shaken and exhausted, they retired to their rooms. But Porfiry -Vladimirych could not sleep. He tossed in his bed, all the while trying -to recall an obligation that lay on him. Suddenly he clearly remembered -the words that had flashed through his mind about two hours before, "I -must walk to mother's grave and take leave of her." - -An exhausting restlessness seized his being. At last he got up and -donned his dressing-gown. It was still dark, and unbroken silence -reigned in the house. For a while Porfiry Vladimirych paced back and -forth in the room, stopped before the lighted ikon of the Saviour -with a thorny crown, and scanned his face. Finally he determined upon -a course of action, perhaps half-unconsciously. He stole into the -antechamber and opened the outer door. - -Outside a March blizzard was raging and blinded him with a torrent of -sleet. Porfiry Vladimirych struggled along the road, splashing through -the puddles, insensible to the wind and the snow. Instinctively he drew -together the skirts of his dressing-gown. - - * * * * * - -Early next morning a messenger came speeding from the village near -the churchyard where Arina Petrovna was buried. He brought the news -that the frozen body of the Golovliovo master had been found by the -roadside. The servants rushed into Anninka's room. She lay in her bed -unconscious in delirium. A messenger was hastily dispatched to Nadezhda -Ivanovna Galkina (daughter of Aunt Varvara Mikhailovna), who ever since -the previous autumn had been keeping a watchful eye on everything -taking place at Golovliovo. - - -THE END - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Family of Noblemen, by Mikhail Saltykov - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAMILY OF NOBLEMEN *** - -***** This file should be named 44237.txt or 44237.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/2/3/44237/ - -Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe at -http://www.freeliterature.org (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. 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