Lit -Y CALIFORNIA SAN D16SO .y- r . IVAN TURGENIEFF Volume IV A NOBLEMAN'S NEST THE NOVELS AND STORIES OF IVAN TURGENIEFF A NOBLEMAN'S NEST •&&$■:•$•<£«• TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN BY ISABEL F. HAPGOOD NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1903 Copyright, 1903, by Charles Scribner's Sons PREFACE a t A Nobleman's Nest,' says Turgenieff, 1 " was the greatest success which ever fell to my lot. Dating from the appearance of that ro- mance, I began to reckon myself as belonging to the ranks of the authors who merited the attention of the public." In fact, it stands quite apart among his writ- ings. No other of his romances is permeated with such bold, such ardent faith; no other can be re- garded as so sincere a creation. Here we have depicted the purest feminine type in all Russian literature, after Pushkin's Tatyana, — and in some respects Liza is superior to Tatyana. Here, also, Turgenieff presents to us that one of his heroes in whom he had the most complete faith, with whom he most sympathised, on whom he set his highest hopes — Lavretzky. The fundamental ideas of the novel, according to Russian critics, are as follows: The thirst for enjoyment, the thirst for personal happiness, is deceptive ; it not only does not give happiness, but it cannot even furnish stable support for life. — 1 In the preface to the edition of his romances issued in 1880. PREFACE The superficial, one-sided education and culture which was in vogue at the period indicated, in the class of nobility to which the acting personages belong, was incapable of developing a full, active, and moral character ; rather did it produce mental " dislocation," as Lavretzky himself expresses it; and to counteract this dislocation much strength was required, with but small probability of suc- cess. But thanks to the mighty reformation ef- fected by the hand of the sovereign in Russian life, — that is, the Emancipation, — a new and vital spirit took up its abode in noble circles, and those conditions vanished under which the education of a man proceeded at random from his youth up. The generation which followed the Lavretzkys was able to develop regularly, and live a life which is full, social, and happy. Lavretzky is the complete expression of the author's protest on behalf of the good, the simple, the meek, as opposed to the rapacious, the com- plexly-passionate, the strainedly-developed. In fact, Lavretzky is, from head to foot, a " country gentleman," just as Shakespeare's King Lear is, " from head to foot, a king." He is, moreover, a thoroughly Russian gentleman, which was re- garded as a fairly great rarity at the epoch of his creation, and had been a still greater rarity in former days. Contrary to all TurgeniefT's heroes who pre- ceded him, Lavretzky has one distinguishing vi PREFACE characteristic: he is a Slavyanophil. Turgenieff himself calls him so. But the type of slavyano- philism is very mild and entirely foreign to the narrow, sectarian views which the Slavyanophils of Lavretzky's period served. In order to impart greater significance to this slavyanophilism on Lavretzky's part, the author drew Panshin, in complete contrast, setting forth in him, according to his own assertion, " all the comic and trivial sides of Westernism." Lavretzky may be considered another example of Turgenieff's " superfluous men "; but he does not in the least resemble his comrades in misfor- tune, although he shares their general fate. In this novel Turgenieff gives an entirely new an- swer to the great question of that day: " What is to be done? " on which theme Tchernyshevsky, in particular, wrote a " tendency-novel ' ; with a communistic and free-love solution, and to which other Russian writers contributed more or less revolutionary suggestions. Turgenieff's answer was, in essence: Renunciation, self-control, for- titude. Lavretzky is a man native to the Russian soil, neither sceptical nor argumentative, like Riidin. Neither is he restless of nature nor weak-willed, like several other heroes of Turgenieff. He is a simple Russian man, somewhat distorted by an absurd education. He is a sympathetic and dig- nified representative of the rural nobility, which vn PREFACE TurgeniefF has elsewhere depicted in a ridiculous light. Though something of a drone, as Mikha- levitch calls him, and not gifted with a brilliant aptitude for phrase-making, like Rudin, nor ad- dicted to fruitless self-analysis, he is a well- balanced man, who would have lived a peaceful, useful, uneventful life, had fate decreed him a suitable wife, like Liza, for example; — for Liza was not brilliant in any way. Turgenieff was, evidently, of the opinion that there was no place or work for such people as La- vretzky in Russia. But other Russian writers have thought differently: — Count L. N. Tol- stoy's Pierre Bezukhoff (in " War and Peace ") and Levin (in " Anna Karenin ") are very simi- lar to Lavretzky in character, but they found work enough at home. Lavretzky is a genuinely healthy native hero, yet endowed with plenty of romanticism, so that, while he is sensitive to the charms of music, and of nature, and profoundly impressionable on the side of love and passion, he accepts the situation quite simply when the catastrophe comes, and does not even try to dissuade Liza from en- tering a monastery. This new solution to the question, "What is to be done?" under certain circumstances, evoked violent comments and op- position from several of the leading critics of the period. Liza is, in the highest degree, a sympathetic viii PREFACE and notable type of the educated young girl of that time — of the provincial young gentlewoman. As attractive as Pushkin's Tatyana (in "Evgeniy Onyegin ") , she excels Tatyana in her solid moral character. A concentrated and somewhat ecstatic creature, the influence of her typically Russian nurse upon her confirms and strengthens these features of her character. A profound and note- worthy trait in the Russian character is self -chas- tisement, that voluntary self -martyrdom to which a man condemns himself because of the few joys which he experiences in life, while, by his nature, he has every right to happiness. It is always the gifted people who condemn themselves thus to penance — people who have endured every possible sort of flouting by Fate. Agafya, the nurse, be- longs to this category. Hence, both in her quality of a Russian woman, and in that of Agafya's pupil, the entirely natural thing for Liza to do, after the catastrophe, was to betake herself to a monastery. She is the victim of a false concep- tion of duty, and of false, mystical religious views. The strictly Russian peculiarity of these views consists in the fact, that they are not inocu- lated by a directly clerical education, but have made their way down to the populace from the spiritual and ascetic teachings of ancient times, and from the populace have made their way up- ward and infected the superior classes, and have been accepted by some people who are more hon- ix PREFACE ourable and kind-hearted than keen-witted as an essential and revered attribute of Russian na- tionality. Liza is the perfect Russian ideal of a woman. As Marianna (in " Virgin Soil ") is the most ra- tional feminine type, Liza is the most irrational, the most completely consonant with the " eternal feminine " conception. Panshin is, also, a vivid and, in his own way, a notable Russian type: a wonderful representa- tive of that Russian semi-culture and Russian fictitious development which so amazes foreign- ers. He is of the same class as Moltchalin (in Griboyedoff's " Woe from Wit ") and Tchitchi- koff (in Gogol's "The Dead Souls"), though more decorous than either of them, and incom- parably more clever than the first-named. In short, he is the incarnation of the false side of the tendency to imitate Western ideas. No less typical than Liza, no less veracious as a Russian feminine type, is Lavretzky's wife, Liza's exact opposite; while Lemm, Mikhale- vitch, Liza's mother, and the latter's aunt are equally well drawn. I. F. H. A NOBLEMAN'S NEST (1858) A NOBLEMAN'S NEST THE brilliant, spring day was inclining toward the evening, tiny rose-tinted cloud- lets hung high in the heavens, and seemed not to be floating past, but retreating into the very depths of the azure. In front of the open window of a handsome house, in one of the outlying streets of O * * * the capital of a Government, sat two women ; one fifty years of age, the other seventy years old, and already aged. The former was named Marya Dmitrievna Kalftin. Her husband, formerly the govern- mental procurator, well known in his day as an active official — a man of energetic and decided character, splenetic and stubborn— had died ten years previously. He had received a fairly good education, had studied at the university, but, hav- ing been born in a poverty-stricken class of so- ciety, he had early comprehended the necessity of opening up a way for himself, and of accumu- lating money. Marya Dmitrievna had married 3 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST him for love; he was far from uncomely in ap- pearance, he was clever, and, when he chose, he could be very amiable. Marya Dmitrievna (her maiden name had been PestofF) had lost her pa- rents in early childhood, had spent several years in Moscow, in a government educational institute, and, on returning thence, had lived fifty versts from O * * *, in her native village, Pokrovskoe, with her aunt and her elder brother. This bro- ther soon removed to Petersburg on service, and kept his sister and his aunt on short commons, until his sudden death put an end to his career. Marya Dmitrievna inherited Pokrovskoe, but did not live there long ; during the second year after her marriage to Kalitin, who succeeded in con- quering her heart in the course of a few days, Po- krovskoe was exchanged for another estate, much more profitable, but ugly and without a manor- house, and, at the same time, Kalitin acquired a house in the town of O * * *, and settled down there permanently with his wife. A large gar- den was attached to the house; on one side, it joined directly on to the open fields, beyond the town. Kalitin, — who greatly disliked the stagna- tion of the country, — had evidently made up his mind, that there was no reason for dragging out existence on the estate. Marya Dmitrievna, many a time, in her own mind regretted her pretty Po- krovskoe, with its merry little stream, its broad meadows, and verdant groves; but she opposed 4 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST ner husband in nothing, and worshipped his clev- erness and knowledge of the world. But when, after fifteen years of married life, he died, leav- ing a son and two daughters, Marya Dmitrievna had become so wonted to her house, and to town life, that she herself did not wish to leave O * * *. In her youth, Marya Dmitrievna had enjoyed the reputation of being a pretty blonde, and at the age of fifty her features were not devoid of attraction, although they had become some- what swollen and indefinite in outline. She was more sentimental than kind, and even in her ma- ture age she had preserved the habits of her school-days ; she indulged herself, was easily irri- tated, and even wept when her ways were inter- fered with; on the other hand, she was very af- fectionate and amiable, when all her wishes were complied with, and when no one contradicted her. Her house was one of the most agreeable in the town. Her fortune was very considerable, not so much her inherited fortune, as that acquired by her husband. Both her daughters lived with her; her son was being educated at one of the best government institutions in Petersburg. The old woman, who was sitting by the window with Marya Dmitrievna, was that same aunt, her father's sister, with whom she had spent several years, in days gone by, at Pokrovskoe. Her name was Marfa Timofeevna Pestoff\ She bore the reputation of being eccentric, had an independent 5 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST character, told the entire truth to every one, straight in the face, and, with the most scanty resources, bore herself as though she possessed thousands. She had not been able to endure the deceased Kalitin, and as soon as her niece married him, she retired to her tiny estate, where she lived for ten whole years in the hen-house of a peasant. Marya Dmitrievna was afraid of her. Black- haired and brisk-eyed even in her old age, tiny, sharp-nosed Marfa Timofeevna walked quickly, held herself upright, and talked rapidly and in- telligibly, in a shrill, ringing voice. She always wore a white cap and a white jacket. " What art thou doing that for? — " she sud- denly inquired of Marya Dmitrievna. — " What art thou sighing about, my mother? " " Because," said the other. — " What wonder- fully beautiful clouds ! M " So, thou art sorry for them, is that it? ' Marya Dmitrievna made no reply. " Is n't that Gedeonovsky coming yonder?" — said Marfa Timofeevna, briskly moving her knit- ting-needles (she was knitting a huge, motley- hued scarf) . " He might keep thee company in sighing, — or, if not, he might tell us some lie or other." " How harshly thou always speakest about him! Sergyei Petrovitch is an — estimable man." " Estimable I' repeated the old woman re- proachfully. 6 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " And how devoted he was to my dead hus- band! " remarked Marya Dmitrievna; — " to this day, I cannot think of it with indifference." " I should think not! he pulled him out of the mire by his ears," — growled Marfa Timofeevna, and her knitting-needles moved still more swiftly in her hands. " He looks like such a meek creature," — she began again, — " his head is all grey, but no sooner does he open his mouth, than he lies or calumni- ates. And he 's a State Councillor, to boot ! Well, he 's a priest's son : and there 's nothing more to be said! " "Who is without sin, aunty? Of course, he has that weakness. Sergyei Petrovitch received no education, — of course he does not speak French ; but, say what you will, he is an agreeable man." " Yes, he 's always licking thy hand. He does n't talk French, — what a calamity ! I 'm not strong on the French ' dialect ' myself. 'T would be better if he did not speak any language at all : then he would n't lie. But there he is, by the way — speak of the devil, — " added Marfa Timo- feevna, glancing into the street. — " There he strides, thine agreeable man. What a long-legged fellow, just like a stork." Marya Dmitrievna adjusted her curls. Marfa Timofeevna watched her with a grin. " Hast thou not a grey hair there, my mother? 7 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Thou shouldst scold thy Palashka. Why does n't she see it? " " Oh, aunty, you're always so ... " muttered Marya Dmitrievna, with vexation, and drummed on the arm of her chair with her fingers. " Sergyei Petrovitch Gedeonovsky!" squeaked a red-cheeked page-lad, springing in through the door. 8 II There entered a man of lofty stature, in a neat coat, short trousers, grey chamois-skin gloves, and two neckties — one black, on top, and the other white, underneath. Everything about him ex- haled decorum and propriety, beginning with his good-looking face and smoothly brushed temple- curls, and ending with his boots, which had neither heels nor squeak. He bowed first to the mistress of the house, then to Marfa Timofeevna, and slowly drawing off his gloves, took Marya Dmi- trievna's hand. After kissing it twice in suc- cession, with respect, he seated himself, without haste, in an arm-chair, and said with a smile, as he rubbed the very tips of his fingers : "And is Elizaveta Mikhailovna well?" Yes," — replied Marya Dmftrievna, — " she is in the garden." " And Elena Mikhailovna? " ' Lyenotchka is in the garden also. Is there anything new? " 1 How could there fail to be, ma'am, how could there fail to be," — returned the visitor, slowlv blinking his eyes, and protruding his lips. " Hm ! 9 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST . . . now, here 's a bit of news, if you please, and a very astounding bit: Lavretzky, Feodor Iva- nitch, has arrived." "Fedya?" — exclaimed Marfa Timofeevna. — " But come now, my father, art not thou in- venting that? " ' Not in the least, ma'am, I saw him myself." " Well, that 's no proof." ' He has recovered his health finely," — went on Gedeonovsky, pretending not to hear Marfa Timofeevna's remark: — "he has grown broader in the shoulders, and the rosy colour covers the whole of his cheeks." " He has recovered his health," — ejaculated Marya Dmitrievna, with pauses: — "that means, that he had something to recover from? ' "Yes, ma'am," — returned Gedeonovsky: — " Any other man, in his place, would have been ashamed to show himself in the world." ' Why so? " — interrupted Marfa Timofeevna; — " what nonsense is this? A man returns to his native place — what would you have him do with himself? And as if he were in any way to blame !" " The husband is always to blame, madam, I venture to assure you, when the wife behaves badly." " Thou sayest that, my good sir, because thou hast never been married thyself." Gedeonovsky smiled in a constrained way. " Permit me to inquire," he asked, after a brief 10 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST pause, — " for whom is that very pretty scarf destined? " Marfa Timofeevna cast a swift glance at him. " It is destined " — she retorted, — "for the man who never gossips, nor uses craft, nor lies, if such a man exists in the world. I know Fedya well; his sole fault is, that he was too indulgent to his wife. Well, he married for love, and nothing good ever comes of those love-marriages," — added the old woman, casting a sidelong glance at Marya Dmitrievna, and rising. — "And now, dear little father, thou mayest whet thy teeth on whomsoever thou wilt, only not on me ; I 'm going away, I won't interfere." — And Marfa Timo- feevna withdrew. ' There, she is always like that," — said Marya Dmitrievna, following her aunt with her eyes: — "Always!" ' It 's her age! There 's no help for it, ma'am!" remarked Gedeonovsky. — " There now, she per- mitted herself to say : ' the man who does not use craft.' But who does n't use craft nowadays? it 's the spirit of the age. One of my friends, a very estimable person, and, I must tell you, a man of no mean rank, was wont to say : that ' now- adays, a hen approaches a grain of corn craftily — she keeps watching her chance to get to it from one side.' But when I look at you, my lady, you have a truly angelic disposition ; please to favour me with your snow-white little hand." 11 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Marya Dmitrievna smiled faintly, and ex- tended her plump hand, with the little finger standing out apart, to Gedeonovsky. He applied his lips to it, and she moved her arm-chair closer to him, and bending slightly toward him, she asked in a low tone : " So, you have seen him? Is he really — all right, well, cheerful? " ' He is cheerful, ma'am; all right, ma'am," returned Gedeonovsky, in a whisper. ' And you have not heard where his wife is now? " " She has recently been in Paris, ma'am; now, I hear, she has removed to the kingdom of Italy." "It is dreadful, really, — Fedya's position; I do not know how he can endure it. Accidents do happen, with every one, in fact; but he, one may say, has been advertised all over Europe." Gedeonovsky sighed. " Yes, ma'am ; yes, ma'am. Why, she, they say, has struck up acquaintance with artists, and pianists, and, as they call it in their fashion, with lions and wild beasts. She has lost her shame, completely. . ." " It is very, very sad," — said Marya Dmi- trievna: — "on account of the relationship; for you know, Sergyei Petrovitch, he 's my nephew, once removed." " Of course, ma'am; of course, ma'am. How could I fail to be aware of everything which 12 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST relates to your family? Upon my word, ma'am! " " Will he come to see us, — what do you think? " ' We must assume that he will, ma'am ; but I hear, that he is going to his country estate." Marya Dmitrievna cast her eyes heavenward. ' Akh, Sergyei Petrovitch, when I think of it, how circumspectly we women must behave ! " " There are different sorts of women, Marya Dmitrievna. Unfortunatelv, there are some of fickle character . . . well, and it 's a question of age, also ; then, again, the rules have not been in- culcated in their childhood." (Sergyei Petro- vitch pulled a checked blue handkerchief out of his pocket, and began to unfold it). — "Such women exist, of course," (Sergyei Petrovitch raised a corner of the handkerchief to his eyes, one after the other), — " but, generally speaking, if we take into consideration, that is . . . There is an unusual amount of dust in town," he con- cluded. ff Maman, maman " — screamed a pretty little girl of eleven, as she rushed into the room: — " Vladimir Nikolaitch is coming to our house on horseback! " Marya Dmitrievna rose; Sergyei Petrovitch also rose and bowed: — " Our most humble salute to Elena Mikhailovna," he said, and withdrawing into a corner, out of propriety, he began to blow his long and regularly-formed nose. 13 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST "What a splendid horse he has! — " went on the little girl. — " He was at the gate just now, and told Liza and me, that he would ride up to the porch." The trampling of hoofs became audible ; and a stately horseman, on a fine brown steed, made his appearance in the street, and halted in front of the open window. 14 Ill " Good afternoon, Marya Dmitrievna! " — ex- claimed the horseman, in a ringing, agreeable voice. — " How do you like my new purchase? ' Marya Dmitrievna went to the window. " Good afternoon, Woldemar! Akh, what a magnificent horse ! From whom did you buy it ? ' " From the remount officer. . . He asked a high price, the robber! " " What is its name? " " Orlando. . . . But that 's a stupid name ; I want to change it. . . Eh bien, eh bien, rnon gar con. . . What a turbulent beast ! ' The horse snorted, shifted from foot to foot, and tossed his foaming muzzle. " Pat him, Lenotchka, have no fears. . . ' The little girl stretched her hand out of the window, but Orlando suddenly reared up, and leaped aside. The rider did not lose control, gripped the horse with his knees, gave him a lash on the neck with his whip, and, despite his oppo- sition, placed him once more in front of the window. "Prenez garde! prenez garde!" — Marya Dmi- trievna kept repeating. 15 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Pat him, Lyenotchka," — returned the rider, — " I will not permit him to be wilful." Again the little girl stretched forth her hand, and timidly touched the quivering nostrils of Or- lando, who trembled incessantly and strained at the bit. ' Bravo ! " — exclaimed Marya Dmitrievna, — " and now, dismount, and come in." The horseman turned his steed round adroitly, gave him the spurs, and after dashing along the street at a brisk gallop, rode into the yard. A minute later, he ran in through the door of the anteroom into the drawing-room, flourishing his whip; at the same moment, on the threshold of another door, a tall, graceful, black-haired girl of nineteen — Marya Dmitrievna's eldest daugh- ter, Liza — made her appearance. 16 IV The young man, with whom we have just made the reader acquainted, was named Vladimir Niko- laitch Panshin. He served in Petersburg, as an official for special commissions, in the Ministry of the Interior. He had come to the town of O * * * to execute a temporary governmental commission, and was under the command of Governor-General Zonnenberg, to whom he was distantly related. Panshin's father, a staff-cap- tain of cavalry on the retired list, a famous gam- bler, a man with a crumpled visage and a nervous twitching of the lips, had passed his whole life in the society of people of quality, had frequented the English Clubs in both capitals, and bore the reputation of an adroit, not very trustworthy, but charming and jolly fellow. In spite of his adroit- ness, he found himself almost constantly on the very verge of indigence, and left behind him to his only son a small and impaired fortune. On the other hand, he had, after his own fashion, taken pains with his education: Vladimir Niko- laitch spoke French capitally, English well, and German badly; but it is permissible to let fall a German word in certain circumstances — chiefly 17 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST humorous, — " cest meme tres chic" as the Peters- burg Parisians express themselves. Vladimir Nikolaitch already understood, at the age of fif- teen, how to enter any drawing-room whatever without embarrassment, how to move about in it agreeably, and to withdraw at the proper time. Panshin's father had procured for his son many influential connections; as he shuffled the cards between two rubbers, or after a successful capture of all the tricks, he let slip no opportunity to drop a nice little word about his " Volodka " to some important personage who was fond of social games. On his side, Vladimir Nikolaitch, during his stay in the university, whence he emerged with the rank of actual student, made acquaintance with several young men of quality, and became a frequenter of the best houses. He was received gladly everywhere; he was extremely good-look- ing, easy in his manners, entertaining, always well and ready for everything ; where it was requisite, he was respectful; where it was possible, he was insolent, a capital companion, un charmant garcon. The sacred realm opened out before him. Panshin speedily grasped the secret of the science of society; he understood how to imbue himself with genuine respect for its decrees; he under- stood how, with half -bantering gravity, to busy himself with nonsense and assume the appear- ance of regarding everything serious as trivial; he danced exquisitely, he dressed in English style. 18 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST In a short time he became renowned as one of the most agreeable and adroit young men in Peters- burg. Panshin was, in reality, very adroit, — no less so than his father: but he was, also, very gifted. He could do everything : he sang prettily, he drew dashingly, he wrote verses, he acted very far from badly on the stage. He had only just passed his twenty-eighth birthday, but he was al- ready Junior Gentleman of the Emperor's bed- chamber, and had a very tolerable rank. Panshin firmly believed in himself, in his brains, in his penetration; he advanced boldly and cheerfully, at full swing; his life flowed along as on oil. He was accustomed to please everybody, old and young, and imagined that he was a judge of peo- ple, especially of women: he did know well their everyday weaknesses. As a man not a stranger to art, he felt within him both fervour, and some enthusiasm, and rapture, and in consequence of this he permitted himself various deviations from the rules : he caroused, he picked up acquaintance with persons who did not belong to society, and, in general, maintained a frank and simple de- meanour ; but in soul he was cold and cunning, and in the midst of the wildest carouse his clever little brown eye was always on guard, and watching; this bold, this free young man could never for- get himself and get completely carried away. To his honour it must be said, that he never bragged of his conquests. He had hit upon Marya Dmi- 19 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST trievna's house immediately on his arrival in O * * *, and had promptly made himself en- tirely at home there. Marya Dmitrievna fairly adored him. Panshin amiably saluted all who were in the room, shook hands with Marya Dmitrievna and Lizaveta Mikhailovna, lightly tapped Gedeonov- sky on the shoulder, and whirling round on his heels, caught Lyenotchka by the head, and kissed her on the brow. " And you are not afraid to ride such a vicious horse? " — Marya Dmitrievna asked him. " Good gracious! it is a very peaceable beast; but 1 11 tell you what I am afraid of : I 'm afraid to play preference with Sergyei Petrovitch; last night, at the Byelenitzyns', he won my last farthing." Gedeonovsky laughed a shrill and servile laugh: he fawned on the brilliant young official from Petersburg, the pet of the governor. In his conversations with Marya Dmitrievna, he fre- quently alluded to Panshin's remarkable capaci- ties. " For why should not I praise him? " he ar- gued. " The young man is making a success in the highest sphere of life, discharges his service in an exemplary manner, and is not the least bit proud." Moreover, even in Petersburg Panshin was considered an energetic official: he got through an immense amount of work ; he alluded to it jestingly, as is befitting a fashionable man 20 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST who attaches no particular importance to his la- bours, but he was " an executor." The higher officials love such subordinates; he never had the slightest doubt himself, that, if he so wished, he could become a Minister in course of time. You are pleased to say that I beat you at cards," — remarked Gedeonovsky: — "but who was it that won twelve rubles from me last week? and besides . . . ." : Villain, villain," Panshin interrupted him, with a caressing but almost disdainful careless- ness, and without paying any further attention to him, he stepped up to Liza. ' I have not been able to find the overture of 'Oberon' here," he began: — " Mme. Byelenit- zyn was merely boasting, that she had all the classical music, — as a matter of fact, she has no- thing except polkas and waltzes; but I have al- ready written to Moscow, and within a week I shall have that overture. By the way," — he con- tinued, — " I wrote a new romance yesterday; the words also are my own. Would you like to have me sing it for you? I do not know how it has turned out; Mme. Byelenitzyn thought it ex- tremely charming, but her words signify no- thing, — I wish to know your opinion. However, I think it will be better later on " 'Why later on?" — interposed Mary a Dmi- trievna: — " Why not now? " ' I obey, ma'am," — said Panshin, with a cer- 21 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST tain bright, sweet smile, which was wont to appear on his face, and suddenly to vanish, — pushed for- ward a chair with his knee, seated himself at the piano, and after striking several chords, he began to sing, clearly enunciating the words, the follow- ing romance : The moon floats high above the earth Amid the clouds so pale; But from the crest of the sea surge moveth A magic ray. The sea of my soul hath acknowledged thee To be its moon, And 't is moved, — in joy and in sorrow, — By thee alone. With the anguish of love, the anguish of dumb aspira- tions, The soul is full; I suffer pain. . . But thou from agitation art as free As that moon. Panshin sang the second couplet with peculiar expression and force; the surging of the waves could be heard in the tempestuous accompani- ment. After the words: " I suffer pain. . ." he heaved a slight sigh, dropped his eyes, and low- ered his voice, — morendo. When he had finished, Liza praised the motive, Marya Dmitrievna said : "It is charming;" — while Gedeonovsky even shouted: " Ravishing! both poetry and harmony are equally ravishing! . . . Lyenotchka, with 22 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST childish adoration, gazed at the singer. In a word, the composition of the youthful dilettante pleased all present extremely; but outside of the door of the drawing-room, in the anteroom, stood an elderly man, who had just arrived, to whom, judging by the expression of his downcast face and the movement of his shoulders, Panshin's ro- mance, charming as it was, afforded no pleasure. After waiting a while, and whisking the dust from his boots with a coarse handkerchief, this man suddenly screwed up his eyes, pressed his lips together grimly, bent his back, which was al- ready sufficiently bowed without that, and slowly entered the drawing-room. 'Ah! Christofor Feodoritch, good after- noon ! " — Panshin was the first of all to exclaim, and sprang hastily from his seat. — " I had no sus- picion that you were here, — I could not, on any account, have made up my mind to sing my ro- mance in your presence. I know that you do not care for frivolous music." ' I vas not listening," remarked the new- comer, in imperfect Russian, and having saluted all, he remained awkwardly standing in the mid- dle of the room. 1 Have you come, Monsieur Lemm," — said Mary a Dmitrievna, — " to give a music lesson to Liza?" ' No, not to Lisaf eta Mikhailovna, but to Elena Mikhailovna." 23 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST "Ah! Well, — very good. Lyenotchka, go upstairs with Monsieur Lemm." The old man was on the point of following the little girl, but Panshin stopped him. " Do not go away after the lesson, Christofor Feodoritch," — he said: — " Lizaveta Mikhailovna and I will play a Beethoven sonata for four hands." The old man muttered something, but Panshin went on in German, pronouncing his words badly : " Lizaveta Mikhailovna has shown me the spiritual cantata which you presented to her — 't is a very fine thing ! Please do not think that I am incapable of appreciating serious music, — quite the contrary : it is sometimes tiresome, but, on the other hand, it is very beneficial." The old man crimsoned to his very ears, cast a sidelong glance at Liza, and hastily left the room. Marya Dmitrievna requested Panshin to re- peat the romance; but he declared, that he did not wish to wound the ears of the learned Ger- man, and proposed to Liza that they should oc- cupy themselves with the Beethoven sonata. Then Marya Dmitrievna sighed, and in her turn, proposed to Gedeonovsky that he should take a stroll in the garden with her. — " I wish," — she said, " to talk and take counsel with you still fur- ther, over our poor Fedya." Gedeonovsky grinned, bowed, took up — with two fingers, his 24 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST hat, and his gloves neatly laid on its brim, and withdrew, in company with Marya Dmitrievna. Panshin and Liza were left alone in the room; she fetched the sonata, and opened it ; both seated themselves, in silence, at the piano. — From above, the faint sounds of scales, played by Lye- notchka's uncertain little fingers, were wafted to them. 25 V Christopher-Theodore-Gottlieb Lemm was born in the year 1786, in the kingdom of Sax- ony, in the town of Chemnitz, of poor musicians. His father played the French horn, his mother the harp; he himself, at the age of five, was already practising on three different instruments. At eight years of age he became an orphan, and at the age of ten he began to earn a bit of bread for himself by his art. For a long time he led a wan- dering life, played everywhere — in inns, at fairs, and at peasant weddings and at balls; at last, he got into an orchestra, and rising ever higher and higher, he attained to the post of director. He was rather a poor executant; but he possessed a thorough knowledge of music. At the age of twenty-eight he removed to Russia. He was im- ported by a great gentleman, who himself could not endure music, but maintained an orchestra as a matter of pride. Lemm lived seven years with him, in the capacity of musical conductor, and left him with empty hands; the gentleman was ruined, and wished to give him a note of hand, but afterward refused him even this, — in a word, did not pay him a farthing. People advised him 26 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST to leave the country: but he was not willing to return home in poverty from Russia, from great Russia, that gold-mine of artists; he decided to remain, and try his luck. For the space of twenty years he did try his luck: he sojourned with vari- ous gentry, he lived in Moscow and in the capitals of various governments, he suffered and endured a great deal, he learned to know want, he floun- dered like a fish on the ice ; but the idea of return- ing to his native land never abandoned him in the midst of all these calamities to which he was subjected; it alone upheld him. But it did not suit Fate to render him happy with this last and first joy: at the age of fifty, ill, prematurely in- firm, he got stranded in the town of O * * * and there remained for good, having finally lost all hope of quitting the Russia which he detested, and managing, after a fashion, to support his scanty existence by giving lessons. Lemm's ex- ternal appearance did not predispose one in his favour. He was small of stature, round-shoul- dered, with shoulder-blades which projected crookedly, and a hollow chest, with huge, flat feet, with pale-blue nails on the stiff, unbend- ing fingers of his sinewy, red hands; he had a wrinkled face, sunken cheeks, and tightly-com- pressed lips, that he was incessantly moving as though chewing, which, added to his customary taciturnity, produced an almost malevolent im- pression ; his grey hair hung in elf-locks over his 27 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST low brow; his tiny, motionless eyes smouldered like coals which had just been extinguished; he walked heavily, swaying his clumsy body from side to side at every step. Some of his move- ments were suggestive of the awkward manner in which an owl in a cage plumes itself when it is conscious that it is being watched, though it itself hardly sees anything with its huge, yellow, timorously and dozily blinking eyes. Confirmed, inexorable grief had laid upon the poor musician its ineffaceable seal, had distorted and disfigured his already ill-favoured figure; but for any one who knew enough not to stop at first impres- sions, something unusual was visible in this half- wrecked being. A worshipper of Bach and Handel, an expert in his profession, gifted with a lively imagination, and with that audacity of thought which is accessible only to the German race, Lemm, in course of time — who knows? — might have entered the ranks of the great com- posers of his native land, if life had led him differently; but he had not been born under a fortunate star! He had written a great deal in his day — and he had not succeeded in seeing a single one of his compositions published; he had not understood how to set about the matter in the proper way, to cringe opportunely, to bustle at the right moment. Once, long, long ago, one of his admirers and friends, also a German and also poor, had published two of his sonatas at 28 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST his own expense, — and the whole edition re- mained in the cellars of the musical shops; they had vanished dully, without leaving a trace, as though some one had flung them into the river by night. At last Lemm gave up in despair; moreover, his years were making themselves felt : he had begun to grow rigid, to stiffen, as his fingers stiffened also. Alone, with an aged cook, whom he had taken from the almshouse (he had never been married), he lived on in O * * *, in a tiny house, not far from the Kalitin residence ; he walked a great deal, read the Bible and col- lections of Protestant psalms, and Shakespeare in Schlegel's translation. It was long since he had composed anything; but, evidently, Liza, his best pupil, understood how to arouse him : he had written for her the cantata to which Panshin had alluded. He had taken the words for this cantata from the psalms ; several verses he had composed himself; it was to be sung by two choruses, — the chorus of the happy, and the chorus of the un- happy; both became reconciled, in the end, and sang together: " O merciful God, have mercy upon us sinners, and purge out of us by fire all evil thoughts and earthly hopes ! " — On the title- page, very carefully written, and even drawn, stood the following: " Only the Just are Right. A Spiritual Cantata. Composed and dedicated to Miss Elizaveta Kalitin, my beloved pupil, by her teacher, C. T. G. Lemm." The words: 20 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Only the Just are Right," and " Elizaveta Kalitin," were surrounded by rays. Below was added: "For you alone," — " Fur Sie allein." — Therefore Lemm had crimsoned and had cast a sidelong glance at Liza; it pained him greatly when Panshin spoke of his cantata in his presence. 30 VI Panshin struck the opening chords of the sonata loudly, and with decision (he was playing the second hand), but Liza did not begin her part. He stopped, and looked at her. Liza's eyes, fixed straight upon him, expressed displeasure; her lips were not smiling, her whole face was stern, almost sad. ' What is the matter with you? " — he inquired. " Why did not you keep your word? " said she. — " I showed you Christofor Feodoritch's cantata on condition that you would not mention it to him." ' Pardon me, Lizaveta Mikhailovna, it was a slip of the tongue." You have wounded him — and me also. Now he will not trust me any more." 1 What would you have me do, Lizaveta Mi- khailovna! From my earliest childhood, I have never been able to endure the sight of a German : something simply impels me to stir him up." ' Why do you say that, Vladimir Nikolaitch ! This German is a poor, solitary, broken man — and you feel no pity for him? You want to stir him up? " 31 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Panshin was disconcerted. " You are right, Lizaveta Mikhailovna," — he said. " My eternal thoughtlessness is responsible for the whole thing. No, do not say a word; I know myself well. My thoughtlessness has done me many an ill turn. Thanks to it, I have won the reputation of an egoist." Panshin paused for a moment. No matter how he began a conversation, he habitually wound up by speaking of himself, and he did it in a charm- ing, soft, confidential, almost involuntary way. " And here in your house," — he went on : — " your mother likes me, of course, — she is so kind; you . . . however, I do not know your opinion of me; but your aunt, on the contrary, cannot bear me. I must have offended her, also, by some thoughtless, stupid remark. For she does not like me, does she? " " No," said Liza, with some hesitation: — " you do not please her." Panshin swept his ringers swiftly over the keys; a barely perceptible smile flitted across his lips. "Well, and you?" — he said: — "Do I seem an egoist to you also? " " I know you very slightly," — returned Liza: — " but I do not consider you an egoist; on the contrary, I ought to feel grateful to you. . . . ' " I know, I know, what you mean to say," — Panshin interrupted her, and again ran his fin- 32 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST gers over the keys : — " for the music, for the books which I bring you, for the bad drawings with which I decorate your album, and so forth and so on. I can do all that — and still be an egoist. I venture to think, that you are not bored in my company, and that you do not regard me as a bad man, but still you assume, that I — how in the world shall I express it ? — would not spare my own father or friend for the sake of a jest." " You are heedless and forgetful, like all worldly people," — said Liza: — "that is all." Panshin frowned slightly. " Listen," he said: — " let us not talk any more about me ; let us play our sonata. One thing only I will ask of you," — he said, as with his hand he smoothed out the leaves of the bound volume which stood on the music-rack: — " think what you will of me, call me an egoist even, — so be it! but do not call me a worldly man : that appellation is intolerable to me. . . . Anch'io son pittore. I also am an artist, — and I will immediately prove it to you in action. Let us begin." " We will begin, if you please," — said Liza. The first adagio went quite successfully, al- though Panshin made more than one mistake. He played his own compositions and those which he had practised very prettily, but he read music badly. On the other hand, the second part of the sonata — a rather brisk allegro — did not go at all : at the twentieth measure, Panshin, who had got 33 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST two measures behind, could hold out no longer, and pushed back his chair with a laugh. "No!" — he exclaimed: — "I cannot play to- day; it is well that Leram does not hear us: he would fall down in a swoon." Liza rose, shut the piano, and turned to Panshin. " What shall we do now? " — she asked. " I recognise you in that question! You can- not possibly sit with folded hands. Come, if you like, let us draw, before it has grown completely dark. Perhaps the other muse, — the muse of drawing .... what 's her name ? I 've forgot- ten .... will be more gracious to me. Where is your album? Do you remember? — my land- scape there is not finished." Liza went into the next room for her album, and Panshin, when he was left alone, pulled a batiste handkerchief from his pocket, polished his nails, and gazed somewhat askance at his hands. They were very handsome and white; on the thumb of the left hand he wore a spiral gold ring. Liza returned ; Panshin seated himself near the window, and opened the album. "Aha! " — he exclaimed: — "I see that you have begun to copy my landscape — and that is fine. Very good! Only here — give me a pencil — the shadows are not put on thickly enough. . . . Look." And Panshin, with a bold sweep, prolonged 34 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST several long strokes. He constantly drew one and the same landscape: in the foreground were large, dishevelled trees, in the distance, a meadow, and saw-toothed mountains on the horizon. Liza looked over his shoulder at his work. " In drawing, and in life in general," — said Panshin, bending his head now to the right, now to the left: — "lightness and boldness are the principal thing." At that moment, Lemm entered the room, and, with a curt inclination, was on the point of de- parting; but Panshin flung aside the album and pencil, and barred his way. " Whither are you going, my dear Christofor Feodoritch ? Are not you going to stay and drink tea?" ' I must go home," — said Lemm in a surly voice: — " my head aches." "Come, what nonsense! — stay. You and I will have a dispute over Shakespeare." " My head aches," — repeated the old man. ' We tried to play a Beethoven sonata without you," — went on Panshin, amiably encircling his waist with his arm, and smiling brightly: — ' but we could n't make it go at all. Just ima- gine, I could n't play two notes in succession correctly." " You vould haf done better to sing your ro- mantz," — retorted Lemm, pushing aside Pan- shin's arm, and left the room. 35 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Liza ran after him. She overtook him on the steps. " Christofor Feodoritch, listen," — she said to him in German, as she accompanied him to the gate, across the close-cropped green grass of the yard: — "I am to blame toward you — forgive me." Lemm made no reply. " I showed your cantata to Vladimir Niko- laitch ; I was convinced that he would appreciate it, — and it really did please him greatly." Lemm halted. " Zat is nozing," — he said in Russian, and then added in his native tongue: — " but he can- not understand anything; how is it that you do not perceive that ? — he is a dilettante — and that 's all there is to it ! " " You are unjust to him," — returned Liza: — " he understands everything, and can do nearly everything himself." " Yes, everything is second-class, light-weight, hasty work. That pleases, and he pleases, and he is content with that — well, and bravo! But I am not angry; that cantata and I — we are old fools ; I am somewhat ashamed, but that does not matter." " Forgive me, Christofor Feodoritch," — said Liza again. " It does not mattair, it does not mattair," he repeated again in Russian: — "you are a goot 36 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST girl . . . but see yonder, some vun is coming to your house. Good-bye. You are a fery goot girl." And Lemm, with hasty strides, betook himself toward the gate, through which was entering a gentleman with whom he was not acquainted, clad in a grey coat and a broad-brimmed straw hat. Courteously saluting him (he bowed to all newcomers in the town of O * * * ; he turned away from his acquaintances on the street — that was the rule which he had laid down for himself) , Lemm passed him, and disappeared behind the hedge. The stranger looked after him in amaze- ment, and, exchanging a glance with Liza, ad- vanced straight toward her. 37 VII " You do not recognise me," — he said, removing his hat, — " but I recognise you, although eight years have passed since I saw you last. You were a child then. I am Lavretzky. Is your mother at home? Can I see her? " " Mamma will be very glad," — replied Liza: — " she has heard of your arrival." " Your name is Elizaveta, I believe? " — said Lavretzky, as he mounted the steps of the porch. " Yes." " I remember you well; you had a face, at that time, such as one does not forget ; I used to bring you bonbons then." Liza blushed and thought, " What a strange man he is! ' Lavretzky paused for a minute in the anteroom. Liza entered the drawing-room, where Panshin's voice and laughter were re- sounding; he had imparted some gossip of the town to Marya Dmitrievna and Gedeonovsky, who had already returned from the garden, and was himself laughing loudly at what he had nar- rated. At the name of Lavretzky, Marya Dmi- trievna started in utter trepidation, turned pale, and advanced to meet him. 38 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST ' How do you do, how do you do, my dear cousin! " — she exclaimed, in a drawling and al- most tearful voice : — " how glad I am to see you! ' " How do you do, my kind cousin," — returned Lavretzky; and shook her proffered hand in a friendly way: — " how does the Lord show mercy on you? " "Sit down, sit down, my dear Feodor Ivanitch. Akh, how delighted I am ! Permit me, in the first place, to present to you my daughter Liza. . . ' ' I have already introduced myself to Lizaveta Mikhailovna," — Lavretzky interrupted her. ' Monsieur Panshin .... Sergyei Petro- vitch Gedeonovsky .... But pray sit down! I look at you, and I simply cannot believe my eyes. How is your health? " " As you see, I am blooming. And you, cousin, — I don't want to cast the evil eye on you — you have not grown thin during these eight years." " Just think, what a long time it is since we saw each other," — remarked Marya Dmitrievna, dreamily. — " Whence come you now? Where have you left .... that is, I meant to say " — she hastily caught herself up — " I meant to say, are you to be with us long? " " I have just come from Berlin," — returned Lavretzky, — " and to-morrow I set out for my estate — probably to remain there a long time." ' Of course, you will live at Lavriki ? ' 39 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST a No, not at Lavriki, but I have a tiny village about twenty-five versts from here; I am going there." " The village which you inherited from Glafira Petrovna? " " The same." " Good gracious, Feodor Ivanitch ! You have a splendid house at Lavriki! " Lavretzky scowled slightly. " Yes .... but in that little estate there is a small wing ; and, for the present, I need nothing more. That place is the most convenient for me just now." Marya Dmitrievna again became so perturbed, that she even straightened herself up, and flung her hands apart. Panshin came to her assistance, and entered into conversation with Lavretzky. Marya Dmitrievna recovered her composure, leaned back in her chair, and only interjected a word from time to time; but, all the while, she gazed so compassionately at her visitor, she sighed so significantly, and shook her head so mourn- fully, that the latter, at last, could endure it no longer, and asked her, quite sharply: was she well? "Thank God, yes,"— replied Marya Dmi- trievna, — " why? " " Because it seemed to me that you were not quite yourself." Marya Dmitrievna assumed a dignified and 40 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST somewhat offended aspect. — " If that 's the way you take it," — she said to herself,—" I don't care in the least ; evidently, my good man, nothing af- fects thee any more than water does a goose ; any one else would have pined away with grief, but it swells thee up more than ever." Mary a Dmi- trievna did not stand on ceremony with herself; she expressed herself more elegantly aloud. As a matter of fact, Lavretzky did not resemble a victim of fate. His rosy-cheeked, purely-Rus- sian face, with its large, white brow, rather thick nose, and broad, regular lips, fairly overflowed with native health, with strong, durable force. He was magnificently built, — and his blond hair curled all over his head, like a young man's. Only in his eyes, which were blue and prominent and fixed, was there to be discerned something which was not revery, nor yet weariness, and his voice sounded rather too even. In the meantime, Pan shin had continued to keep up the conversation. He turned it on the profits of sugar-refining, concerning which two French pamphlets had recently made their ap- pearance, and with calm modesty undertook to set forth their contents, but without saying one word about them. ' Why, here 's Fedya ! ' suddenly rang out Marfa Timofeevna's voice in the adjoining room, behind the half -closed door: — "Actually, Fe- dya!' And the old woman briskly entered the 41 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST room. Before Lavretzky could rise from his chair, she clasped him in her embrace. — " Come, show thyself, show thyself," — she said, moving back from his face. — " Eh! What a splendid fel- low thou art! Thou hast grown older, but hast not grown in the least less comely, really! But why art thou kissing my hands, — kiss me myself, if my wrinkled cheeks are not repulsive to thee. Can it be, that thou didst not ask after me : ' Well, tell me, is aunty alive ? ' Why, thou wert born into my arms, thou rogue! Well, never mind that; why shouldst thou have remembered me? Onlv, thou art a sensible fellow, to have come. Well, my mother," — she added, addressing Ma- ry a Dmitrievna, — " hast thou given him any re- freshments? " " I want nothing," — said Lavretzky, hastily. " Come, drink some tea, at least, my dear little father. O Lord my God! He has come, no one knows whence, and they don't give him a cup of tea! Go, Liza, and see about it, as quickly as possible. I remember that, as a little fellow, he was a dreadful glutton, and he must be fond of eating even now." " My respects, Marfa Timofeevna," — said Panshin, approaching the angry old woman from one side, and bowing low. " Excuse me, sir," — retorted Marfa Timo- feevna, — " I did not notice you for joy. — Thou hast grown to resemble thy mother, the darling," 42 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST — she went on, turning again to Lavretzky: — " only, thy nose was and remains like thy fa- ther's. Well — and art thou to be long with us? ' " I am going away to-morrow, aunty." " Whither? " " Home, to Vasilievskoe." " To-morrow? " " Yes." " Well, if it must be to-morrow, it must. God be with thee, — thou knowest best. Only, see here, thou must come to say farewell." — The old woman tapped him on the cheek. — " I did not think I should live to see thee; and that not be- cause I was preparing to die ; no — I am good for another ten years, probably: all we PestofYs are tenacious of life; thy deceased grandfather used to call us double-lived; but the Lord only knew how much longer thou wouldst ramble about abroad. Well, but thou art a dashing fine fel- low, a fine fellow; thou canst still lift ten puds in one hand as of yore, I suppose? Thy deceased father, excuse me, was cranky in some respects, but he did well when he hired a Swiss for thee; thou rememberest, how thou and he had fist- fights; that's called gymnastics, isn't it? — But why have I been cackling thus ? I have only been keeping Mr. Panshin" (she never called him Panshin, as she ought) " from arguing. But we had better drink tea ; let us go and drink it on the terrace, my dear ; our cream — is not like what you 43 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST get in your Londons and Parises. Let us go, let us go, and do thou, Fediusha, give me thy arm. O ! how thick it is ! There 's no danger of falling with thee." All rose and betook themselves to the terrace, with the exception of Gedeonovsky, who quietly departed. During the entire duration of La- vretzky's conversation with the mistress of the house, Panshin, and Marfa Timofeevna, he had sat in a corner, attentively blinking, and sticking out his lips, in childish curiosity : he now hastened to carry the news about the new visitor through- out the town. On that same day, at eleven o'clock in the even- ing, this is what was going on at Mme. Kalitin's house. Down-stairs, on the threshold of the drawing-room, Vladimir Nikolaitch, having seized a favourable moment, was saying farewell to Liza, and telling her, as he held her hand: " You know who it is that attracts me hither ; you know why I am incessantly coming to your house ; what is the use of words, when everything is so plain? ' Liza made him no reply, and without a smile, and with eyebrows slightly elevated, and blushing, she stared at the floor, but did not withdraw her hand; and up-stairs, in Marfa Timofeevna's chamber, by the light of the shrine-lamp, which hung in front of the dim, ancient holy pictures, Lavretzky was sitting in an arm-chair, with his 44 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST elbows on his knees, and his face in his hands ; the old woman, standing before him, was silently stroking his hair, from time to time. He spent more than an hour with her, after taking leave of the mistress of the house; he said almost nothing to his kind old friend, and she did not interrogate him. . . And what was the use of talking, what was there to interrogate him about ? She understood everything as it was, and she sympathised with everything wherewith his heart was full to overflowing. 45 VIII Feodor Ivanovitch Lavretzky (we must ask the reader's permission to break the thread of our narrative for a time) was descended from an an- cient family of the nobility. The ancestral foun- der of the Lavretzkys had come out of Prussia during the princely reign of Vasily the Blind, and had been granted two hundred quarters 1 of land, on Byezhetsk Heights. Many of his de- scendants were members of various branches of the public service, and sat under princes and dis- tinguished personages in distant governorships, but not one of them ever rose above the rank of table-decker at the Court of the Tzars, or ac- quired any considerable fortune. The most opu- lent and noteworthy of all the Lavretzkys had been Feodor Ivanitch's great-grandfather, An- drei, a harsh, insolent, clever, and crafty man. Down to the day of which we are speaking, the fame of his arbitrary violence, of his fiendish dis- position, his mad lavishness, and unquenchable thirst had not died out. He had been very stout and lofty of stature, swarthy of visage, and 'An ancient land-measure, varying in different localities; the average " quarter " being about thirty by forty fathoms. — Trans- lator. 4G A NOBLEMAN'S NEST beardless; he lisped, and appeared to be sleepy; but the more softly he spoke, the more did every one around him tremble. He obtained for him- self a wife to match. Goggle-eyed, with hawk- like nose, with a round, sallow face, a gipsy by birth, quick-tempered and revengeful, she was not a whit behind her husband, who almost starved her to death, and whom she did not survive, al- though she was eternally snarling at him. Andrei's son, Piotr, Feodor's grandfather, did not resemble his father : he was a simple squire of the steppes, decidedly hare-brained, a swash- buckler and dawdler, rough but not malicious, hospitable, and fond of dogs. He was more than thirty years old when he inherited from his fa- ther two thousand souls in capital order; but he speedily dispersed them, sold a part of his es- tate, and spoiled his house-servants. Petty little people, acquaintances and non-acquaintances, crawled from all sides, like black-beetles, to his spacious, warm, and slovenly mansion; all these ate whatever came to hand, but ate their fill, drank themselves drunk, and carried off what they could, lauding and magnifying the amiable host; and the host, when he was not in a good humour, also magnified his guests — as drones and blackguards — but he was bored without them. Piotr Andreitch's wife was a meek person: he took her from a neighbouring family, at his fa- ther's choice and command; her name was Anna 47 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Pavlovna. She never interfered with anything, received visitors cordially, and was fond of going out herself, although powdering her hair, accord- ing to her own words, was death to her. They put a felt hood on your head, she was wont to narrate in her old age, combed your hair all up on top, smeared it with tallow, sprinkled on flour, stuck in iron pins, — and you could not wash yourself afterward ; but to go visiting without powder was impossible — people would take offence; — tor- ture ! — She was fond of driving after trotters, was ready to play cards from morning until night, and always covered up with her hand the few farthings of winnings set down to her when her husband approached the card-table ; but she gave her dowry and all her money to him, and required no accounting for its use. She bore him two children: a son, Ivan, Feodor's father, and a daughter, Glafira. Ivan was not brought up at home, but at the house of a wealthy old aunt, Princess Kuben- skoy; she had designated him as her heir (had it not been for that, his father would not have let him go) ; she dressed him like a doll, hired every sort of teacher for him, provided him with a governor, a Frenchman, a former abbe, a disci- ple of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a certain M. Courtin de Vaucelles, an adroit and subtle in- triguer, — the most fine fleur of the emigration, as she expressed it, — and ended by marrying this 48 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " fine-fleur " when she was almost seventy years of age ; she transferred to his name her entire for- tune, and soon afterward, rouged, scented with amber, a la Richelieu,, surrounded by small ne- groes, slender-legged dogs, and screeching par- rots, she died on a crooked little couch of the time of Louis XV, with an enamelled snuff-box, the work of Petitot, in her hands, — and died, deserted by her husband: the sneaking M. Courtin had preferred to retire to Paris with her money. Ivan was only in his twentieth year when this blow (we are speaking of the Princess's marriage, not of her death) descended upon him; he did not wish to remain in his aunt's house, where from a wealthy heir he had suddenly been converted into a parasite ; in Petersburg, the society in which he had been reared, was closed to him ; to service, be- ginning with the lowest ranks, difficult and dark, he felt repugnance (all this took place at the very beginning of the reign of the Emperor Alexander). He was compelled, perforce, to return to the country, to his father. Dirty, poor, tattered did his native nest appear to him: the dulness and soot of existence on the steppes of- fended him at every step ; he was tormented with boredom; on the other hand, every one in the house, with the exception of his mother, looked upon him with unfriendly eyes. His father did not like his habits of the capital ; his dress-suits, frilled shirts, books, his flute, his cleanliness, in which, 49 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST not without reason, they scented his fastidious- ness; he was constantly complaining and grum- bling at his son. — " Nothing here suits him," he was wont to say: " at table he is dainty, he does not eat, he cannot endure the odour of the ser- vants, the stifling atmosphere; the sight of drunken men disturbs him, and you must n't dare to fight in his presence, either; he will not enter government service : he 's frail in health, for- sooth ; phew, what an effeminate creature ! And all because Voltaire sticks in his head! ' The old man cherished a particular dislike for Voltaire, and for the " fanatic ' Diderot, al- though he had never read a single line of their writings: reading was not in his line. Piotr An- dreitch was not mistaken: Diderot and Voltaire really were sticking in his son's head, and not they only, — but Rousseau and Raynal and Helvetius, and many other writers of the same sort, were sticking in his head, — but only in his head. Ivan Petrovitch's former tutor, the retired abbe and encyclopedist, had contented himself with pour- ing the whole philosophy of the XVIII century into his pupil in a mass, and the latter went about brimful of it; it gained lodgment within him, without mingling with his blood, without penetra- ting into his soul, without making itself felt as a firm conviction. . . And could convictions be de- manded of a young fellow of fifty years ago, when we have not even yet grown up to them? 50 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST He also embarrassed the visitors to his father's house : he loathed them, and thev feared him ; and with his sister, Glafira, who was twelve years older than he, he did not get on at all. This Glafira was a strange being; homely, hunchbacked, gaunt, with stern, staring eyes and thin, tightly compressed lips; in face, voice, and quick, angular movements, she recalled her grand- mother, the gipsy, the wife of Andrei. Per- sistent, fond of power, she would not even hear of marriage. The return of Ivan Petrovitch did not please her ; so long as the Princess Kubenskoy had kept him with her, she had cherished the hope of receiving at least half of the parental estate: she resembled her grandmother in her avarice. Moreover, Glafira was envious of her brother: he was so cultivated, he spoke French so well, with a Parisian accent, while she was scarcely able to say : " bon jour" and "comment vous portez vous? J To tell the truth, her parents did not un- derstand any French at all, — but that did not render it any the more pleasant for her. Ivan Petrovitch did not know what to do with himself for tedium and melancholy; he spent nearly a year in the country, and it seemed to him like ten years. — Only with his mother did he re- lieve his heart, and he was wont to sit, by the hour, in her low-ceiled rooms, listening to the simple prattle of the good woman, and gorging himself with preserves. It so happened, that among 51 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Anna Pavlovna's maids there was one very pretty girl, with clear, gentle eyes and delicate features, named Malanya, both clever and modest. She pleased Ivan Petrovitch at first sight, and he fell in love with her: he fell in love with her timid walk, her shy answers, her soft voice, her gentle smile ; with every passing day she seemed to him more charming. And she became attached to Ivan Petrovitch with her whole soul, as only Russian girls can become attached — and gave herself to him. In the country manor-house of a landed pro- prietor, no secret can be kept long: every one soon knew of the bond between the young master and Malanya; the tidings of this connection at last reached Piotr Andreitch himself. At any other time, he would, in all probability, have paid no heed to such an insignificant matter; but he had long been in a rage with his son, and rejoiced at the opportunity to put to shame the Peters- burg philosopher and dandy. Tumult, shrieks, and uproar arose : Malanya was locked up in the lumber-room; Ivan Petrovitch was summoned to his parent. Anna Pavlovna also hastened up at the outcry. She made an effort to pacify her hus- band, but Piotr Andreitch no longer listened to anything. Like a vulture he pounced upon his son, upbraided him with immorality, with im- piety, with hypocrisy; incidentally, he vented on him all his accumulated wrath against the 52 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Princess Kubenskoy, and overwhelmed him with insulting epithets. At first, Ivan Petrovitch held his peace, and stood firm, but when his father took it into his head to threaten him with a disgrace- ful chastisement, he lost patience. " The fa- natic Diderot has come on the stage again," he thought, — " so just wait, I'll put him in action; I '11 astonish you all." Thereupon, in a quiet voice, although trem- bling in every limb, Ivan Petrovitch announced to his father, that there was no necessity for up- braiding him with immorality, that, although he did not intend to justify his fault, yet he was ready to rectify it, and that the more willingly be- cause he felt himself superior to all prejudices — in short, he was ready to marry Malanya. By uttering these words, Ivan Petrovitch did, un- doubtedly, attain his object: he astounded Piotr Andreitch to such a degree, that the latter stared with all his eyes, and was rendered dumb for a moment; but he immediately recovered himself, and just as he was, clad in a short coat lined with squirrel-skin, and with slippers on his bare feet, he flung himself with clenched fists upon Ivan Petrovitch, who that day, as though expressly, had his hair dressed a la Titus, and had donned a new blue English dress-coat, boots with tassels, and dandified chamois trousers, skin-tight. Anna Pavlovna shrieked at the top of her voice, and covered her face with her hands, but her son ran 53 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST through the whole house, sprang out into the yard, rushed into the vegetable garden, across the garden, flew out upon the highway, and kept run- ning, without looking behind him, until, at last, he ceased to hear behind him the heavy tramp of his father's footsteps, and his violent, broken shouts. . . . ' Stop, rascal! " he roared, — " stop! I '11 curse thee! " Ivan Petrovitch hid himself in the house of a neighbouring peasant proprietor, while Piotr An- dreitch returned home utterly exhausted and perspiring, and announcing almost before he had recovered his breath, that he would deprive his son of his blessing and his heritage, ordered all his idiotic books to be burned, and the maid Ma- lanya to be sent forthwith to a distant village. Kind people turned up, who sought out Ivan Pe- trovitch and informed him of all. Mortified, en- raged, he vowed that he would take revenge on his father; and that very night, lying in wait for the peasant cart in which Malanya was being car- ried off, he rescued her by force, galloped off with her to the nearest town, and married her. He was supplied with money by a neighbour, an eternally intoxicated and extremely good-natured retired naval officer, a passionate lover of every sort of noble adventure, as he expressed it. On the fol- lowing day, Ivan Petrovitch wrote a caustically- cold and courteous letter to Piotr Andreitch, and betook himself to an estate where dwelt his sec- 54 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST ond cousin, Dmitry PestofF, and his sister, Marf a Timofeevna, already known to the reader. He told them everything, announced that he intended to go to Petersburg to seek a place, and requested them to give shelter to his wife, for a time at least. At the word " wife " he fell to weeping bitterly, and, despite his city breeding and his philosophy, he prostrated himself humbly, after the fashion of a Russian beggar, before the feet of his relatives, and even beat his brow against the floor. The PestofFs, kind and compassionate people, gladly acceded to his request; he spent three weeks with them, in secret expectation of a reply from his father; but no reply came, — and none could come. Piotr Andreitch, on learning of his son's marriage, had taken to his bed, and had forbidden the name of Ivan Petrovitch to be mentioned in his presence; but his mother, without the knowledge of her husband, borrowed five hundred rubles from the ecclesiastical super- visor of the diocese, and sent them to him, to- gether with a small holy picture for his wife ;* she was afraid to write, but she gave orders that Ivan Petrovitch was to be told, by the lean peasant her envoy, who managed to walk sixty versts in the course of twenty-four hours, that he must not grieve too much, that, God willing, everything would come right, and his father would convert wrath into mercy ; that she, also, would have pre- 1 That is to say, she sent her maternal blessing. — Translator. 55 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST f erred a different daughter-in-law, but that, evi- dently, God had so willed it, and she sent her ma- ternal blessing to Malanya Sergyeevna. The lean little peasant received a ruble, requested per- mission to see his new mistress, to whom he was related as co-sponsor at a baptism, kissed her hand, and hastened off homeward. And Ivan Petrovitch set off for Petersburg with a light heart. The unknown future awaited him ; poverty, perhaps, menaced him, but he had bidden farewell to the life in the country which he detested, and, most important of all, he had not betrayed his teachers, he really had " put in ac- tion ' and justified in fact Rousseau, Diderot, and la declaration des droits de Vhomme. . A sense of duty accomplished, of triumph, of pride, filled his soul; and his separation from his wife did not greatly alarm him ; the necessity of living uninterruptedly with his wife would have per- turbed him more. That affair was ended; he must take up other affairs. In Petersburg, con- trary to his own expectation, fortune smiled on him: Princess Kubenskoy — whom Monsieur Courtin had already succeeded in abandoning, but who had not yet succeeded in dying, — by way, in some measure, of repairing the injury which she had done to her nephew, recommended him to the good graces of all her friends, and gave him five thousand rubles, — almost her last farthing, — and a Lepikovsky watch with his coat of arms 56 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST in a garland of cupids. Three months had not elapsed, when he had already obtained a place in the Russian mission to London, and he went to sea on the first English ship which sailed (there was no thought of steamers in those days). A few months later, he received a letter from Pes- toff. The kind-hearted squire congratulated Ivan Petrovitch on the birth of a son, who had made his appearance in the world, in the village of Pokrovskoe, on August 20, 1807, and was named Feodor, in honour of the holy martyr, Feodor the Strategist. Owing to her extreme weakness, Malanya Sergyeevna added only a few lines; but those few lines astonished Ivan Petro- vitch: he was not aware that Marfa Timofeevna had taught his wife to read and write. However, Ivan Petrovitch did not give himself up for long to the sweet agitation of paternal emotions: he was paying court to one of the most famous Phrynes or Laises of the period ( classical appel- lations were still flourishing at that epoch) ; the peace of Tilsit had just been concluded, and everybody was making haste to enjoyment, every- thing was whirling round in a sort of mad whirl- wind. He had very little money; but he played luckily at cards, he picked up acquaintances, he took part in all the merrymakings, — in a word, he was dashing along under full sail. 57 IX It was long before old Lavretzky could forgive his son for his marriage; if, after the lapse of half a year, Ivan Petrovitch had presented him- self in contrition, and had flung himself at his feet, he would, probably, have pardoned him, af- ter first scolding him roundly, and administering a few taps with his crutch, by way of inspiring awe ; but Ivan Petrovitch was living abroad, and, evidently, cared not a rap. — " Hold your tongue! Don't dare ! " Piotr Andreitch kept repeating to his wife, as soon as she tried to incline him to mercy: " He ought to pray to God for me for- ever, the pup, for not having laid my curse upon him ; my late father would have slain him with his own hands, the good-for-nothing, and he would have done right." At such terrible speeches, Anna Pavlovna merely crossed herself furtively. As for Ivan Petrovitch's wife, Piotr Andreitch, at first, would not allow her to be mentioned, and even in reply to a letter of Pestoff, wherein the latter alluded to his daughter-in-law, he gave or- ders to say to him, that he knew nothing whatever about any daughter-in-law of his, and that it was prohibited by the laws to harbour runaway maids, 58 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST on which point he regarded it as his duty to warn him; but later on, when he learned of the birth of a grandson, he softened, gave orders that in- quiries should be made on the sly concerning the health of the young mother, and sent her, also as though it did not come from him, a little money. Fedya had not reached his first birthday, when Anna Pavlovna was seized with a fatal illness. A few days before her end, when she could no longer leave her bed, she declared to her husband, in the presence of the priest, that she wished to see and bid farewell to her daughter-in-law, and to bestow her blessing on her grandchild. The afflicted old man soothed her, and immediately sent his own equipage for his daughter-in-law, for the first time calling her Malanya Sergyeevna. 1 She came with her son and with Marfa Timofeevna, who would not let her go alone on any terms, and would not have allowed her to be affronted. Half dead with terror, Malanya entered Piotr Andre- itch's study. The nurse carried Fedya after her. Piotr Andreitch gazed at her in silence; she ap- proached to kiss his hand; her quivering lips hardly met in a noiseless kiss. ' Well, new-ground, undried noblewoman," — he said at last: — " how do you do; let us go to the mistress." He rose and bent over Fedya ; the baby smiled, 1 Serfs were not addressed with their patronymic by their superiors. — Translator. 59 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST and stretched out his little, white arms. The old man was completely upset. " Okh," he said,—" thou orphan! Thou hast plead thy father's cause with me ; I will not aban- don thee, my birdling! " As soon as Malanya Sergyeevna entered the bedchamber of Anna Pavlovna, she knelt down near the door. Anna Pavlovna beckoned her to the bed, embraced her, blessed her son ; then, turn- ing her countenance, ravaged by disease, to her husband, she tried to speak. . . " I know, I know what entreaty thou desirest to make," — said Piotr Andreitch: — "do not worry: she shall stay with us, and I will pardon Vanka for her sake." Anna Pavlovna, with an effort, grasped her husband's hand, and pressed it to her lips. On that same evening she died. Piotr Andreitch kept his word. He informed his son, that, for the sake of his mother's dying hour, for the sake of baby Feodor, he restored to him his blessing, and would keep Malanya Ser- gyeevna in his own house. Two rooms were set apart for her use in the entresol, he introduced her to his most respected visitor, one-eyed Briga- dier Skuryokhin, and to his wife; he presented her with two maids and a page-boy for errands. Marfa Timofeevna bade her farewell; she de- tested Glafira, and quarrelled with her thrice in the course of one day. 60 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST At first the poor woman found her situation painful and awkward ; but afterward, she learned to bear things patiently, and became accustomed to her father-in-law. He, also, became accus- tomed to her, he even grew to love her, although he almost never spoke to her, although in his ca- resses a certain involuntary disdain toward her was perceptible. Malanya Sergyeevna had most of all to endure from her sister-in-law. Gla- fira, already during her mother's lifetime, had succeeded in getting gradually the entire house into her hands : every one, beginning with her fa- ther, was subject to her; not a lump of sugar was given out without her permission ; she would have consented to die, rather than to share the power with any other mistress of the house! Her bro- ther's marriage had angered her even more than it had Piotr Andreitch: she took it upon herself to teach the upstart a lesson, and from the very first hour Malanya Sergyeevna became her slave. And how could she contend with the self- willed, arrogant Glafira, she who was mild, con- stantly agitated, and terrified, and also weak in health ? Not a day passed, that Glafira did not re- mind her of her former position, did not praise her for not forgetting her place. Malanya Ser- gyeevna would gladly have reconciled herself to these reminders and praises, however bitter they might be ... . but they took Fedya away from her: that was what broke her heart. Under the 61 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST pretext that she was not competent to take charge of his education, she was hardly permitted to see him; Glaffra took this matter upon herself; the child passed under her full control. Malanya Sergyeevna began, out of grief, to entreat Ivan Petrovitch, in her letters, to come home as speed- ily as possible ; Piotr Andreitch himself wished to see his son ; but he merely wrote in reply, thanking his father about his wife, and for the money sent, and promising to come soon, — and did not come. The year '12 recalled him, at last, to his father- land from abroad. On meeting again, for the first time, after their six years' separation, the father and son ex- changed embraces, and did not allude, by so much as a word, to their former dissensions; they were not in the mood for it then: all Russia had risen against the enemy, and both of them felt that Russian blood was flowing in their veins. Piotr Andreitch, at his own expense, clothed an entire regiment of soldiers. But the war came to an end, the danger passed; again Ivan Petrovitch began to feel bored, again he longed for far-away places, for the world to which he had grown fast, and where he felt himself at home. Malanya Ser- gyeevna could not hold him back ; she counted for too little with him. Even her hopes had not been realised : her husband, also, deemed it much more fitting that Fedya's education should be entrusted to Glafira. Ivan Petrovitch's poor wife could 62 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST not withstand this blow, could not endure this sec- ond parting: without a murmur, in a few days she expired. During the whole course of her life, she had never been able to offer resistance, and she did not combat her malady. She could no longer speak, the shadows of the tomb had al- ready descended upon her face, but her features, as of old, expressed patient perplexity, and the steadfast gentleness of submission ; with the same dumb humility she gazed at Glafira, and, like Anna Pavlovna on her deathbed, she kissed the hand of Piotr Andreitch, and pressed her lips to Glafira's hand also, entrusting to her, Glafira, her only son. Thus ended its earthly career a kind and gentle being, torn, God alone knows why, from its native soil and immediately flung aside, like an uprooted sapling, with its roots to the sun; it faded away, it vanished, without a trace, that being, and no one mentioned it. Those who grieved for Malanya Sergyeevna were her maid and Piotr Andreitch. The old man missed her silent presence. ' Forgive — farewell, my pa- tient one! " he whispered, as he made her the part- ing reverence in church. He wept as he threw a handful of earth into the grave. He did not long survive her — nofT ore than five years. In the winter of 1819, he died peace- fully in Moscow, whither he had removed with Glafira and his grandson, and left orders in his will, that he should be buried by the side of Anna 63 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Pavlovna and " Malasha." Ivan Petrovitch was in Paris at the time, for his pleasure ; he had re- signed from the service soon after 1815. On hearing of his father's death, he decided to return to Russia. It was necessary to consider the or- ganisation of the estate . . . and Fedya, ac- cording to Glaffra's letter, had reached the age of twelve years, and the time had arrived for oc- cupying himself seriously with the boy's educa tion. 64 X Ivan Petrovitch: returned to Russia an Anglo- maniac. His closely-clipped hair, starched neck- cloth, long-skirted, yellowish-gray overcoat with a multitude of capes, his sour expression of vis- age, a certain harshness and also indifference of demeanour, his manner of talking through his teeth, a wooden, abrupt laugh, the absence of smiles, a conversation exclusively political and politico-economical, a passion for bloody roast beef and port wine, — everything about him fairly reeked of Great Britain; he seemed thoroughly imbued with her spirit. But — strange to say! while he had turned into an Anglomaniac, Ivan Petrovitch had simultaneously become a patriot; at all events, he called himself a patriot, although he was but badly acquainted with Russia, was not wedded to a single Russian habit, and expressed himself queerly in Russian: in ordinary conver- sation, his speech was clumsy and pithless, studded all over with Gallicisms ; but no sooner did the dis- cussion touch upon important topics, than Ivan Petrovitch instantly brought out such expressions as: " to show new proofs of self -zeal," 1 " that doth 1 That is to say, he used such fundamentally national words as oc- cur only in the Old Church Slavonic, well-nigh untranslatable here, also employed upon occasions of ceremony. — Translator. 65 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST not agree with the nature of the circumstances," and so forth. Ivan Petrovitch brought with him several manuscript plans touching the organisa- tion and amelioration of the empire; he was ex- tremely dissatisfied with everything he saw, — the absence of system, in particular, stirred up his bile. On meeting his sister, he announced to her, with his very first words, that he intended to in- troduce radical reforms, that henceforth every- thing on his estate should proceed upon a new system. Glaf ira Petrovna made no reply to Ivan Petrovitch, but merely set her teeth, and said to herself: " And what is to become of me? " — But when she reached the country estate, in company with her brother and her nephew, she speedily re- gained her composure. In the house, several changes actually took place : the female hangers- on and drones were subjected to instant expul- sion; among their number two old women suf- fered, one who was blind and the other crippled with paralysis, also a decrepit Major of the Otchakoff period, who, on account of his truly astonishing voracity, was fed on nothing but black bread and lentils. A decree was also issued, that the former guests were not to be received: they were superseded by a distant neighbour, a fair- haired, scrofulous baron, a very well educated and very stupid man. New furniture from Mos- cow made its appearance; cuspidors, and bells, and wash-stands were introduced and they began 66 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST to serve the noon breakfast differently; for- eign wines took the place of vodka and home- made liqueurs; new liveries were made for the servants; the motto, " in recto virtus," was added to the family coat of arms. . . . But, in reality, Glaffra's power was not diminished: all the dis- bursements and purchases depended on her, as before; the imported Alsatian valet made an at- tempt to vie with her — and lost his place, in spite of the fact that his master took his side. So far as the management, the administration, of the estates was concerned (Glafira Petrovna entered into all these matters), despite Ivan Petrovitch's frequently expressed intention ' to infuse new life into this chaos," everything remained as of yore, except that, here and there, the quit-rents were augmented, and the husbandry-service be- came more oppressive, and the peasants were for- bidden to apply directly to Ivan Petrovitch. The patriot heartily despised his fellow-citizens. Ivan Petrovitch's system was applied, in its full force, to Fedya only: his education actually was sub- jected to " radical reform " ; his father had ex- clusive charge of it. 67 XI Up to the time of Ivan Petrovitch's return from abroad, Fedya had been, as we have already said, in the hands of Glafira Petrovna. He was less than eight years of age when his mother died, he had not seen her every day, and he had loved her passionately : the memory of her, of her pale and gentle face, her melancholy glances and timid caresses, had forever imprinted itself upon his heart; but he dimly comprehended her position in the house; he was conscious that between him and her there existed a barrier which she dared not and could not overthrow. He shunned his father, and Ivan Petrovitch never petted him; his grandfather occasionally stroked his head, and permitted him to kiss his hand, but he called him and considered him a little fool. After the death of Malanya Sergyeevna, his aunt took him in hand definitively. Fedya feared her, — feared her bright, keen eyes, her sharp voice; he dared not utter a sound in her presence; it sometimes hap- pened that when he had merely fidgeted on his chair, she would scream out: "Where art thou going? sit still! ' On Sundays, after the Liturgy, he was permitted to play, — that is to say, he was 68 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST given a thick book, a mysterious book, the work of a certain Maximovitch-Ambodik, entitled: " Symbols and Emblems." This book contained about a thousand in part very puzzling pictures, with equally puzzling explanations in five lan- guages. Cupid, with a plump, naked body, played a great part in these pictures. To one of them, labelled " Saffron and Rainbow," was ap- pended the explanation: "The action of this is great . . . "; opposite another, which represented " A Heron flying with a violet blossom in his mouth," stood the inscription: " All of them are known unto thee." Cupid and a bear licking its cub was designated as: " Little by little." Fedya contemplated these pictures ; he was familiar with the most minute details of them all ; some of them — always the same ones — set him to thinking and excited his imagination; he knew no other diver- sions. When the time came to teach him lan- guages and music, Glaffra Petrovna hired, for a paltry sum, an elderly spinster, a Swede, with frightened, hare-like eyes, who spoke French and German indifferently, played the piano after a fashion, and, in addition, knew how to salt cu- cumbers in first-class style. In the society of this instructress, of his aunt, and of an old chamber- maid, Vasilievna, Fedya passed four whole years. He used to sit in the corner with his " Emblems " — and sit . . . and sit . . . while the low-ceiled room smelled of geraniums, a solitary tallow 69 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST candle burned dimly, a cricket chirped monoto- nously, as though it were bored, the little clock ticked hastily on the wall, a mouse stealthily scratched and gnawed behind the wall-hangings, and the three old maids, like the Parcse, moved their knitting-needles silently and swiftly to and fro, the shadows cast by their hands now flitted, again quivered strangely in the semi -darkness, and strange thoughts, also half -dark, swarmed in the child's head. No one would have called Fedya an interesting child: he was quite pallid, but fat, awkwardly built, and clumsy, — " a regular peas- ant," according to Glaf ira Petrovna's expression ; the pallor would speedily have disappeared from his face if he had been permitted to go out of doors more frequently. He studied tolerably well, although he frequently idled; he never wept; on the other hand, at times a fierce obsti- nacy came over him; then no one could do any- thing with him. Fedya loved none of the per- sons around him Woe to the heart which loves not in its youth ! Thus did Ivan Petrovitch find him, and with- out loss of time he set to work to apply his sys- tem to him. — " I want to make a man of him first of all, un homme" — he said to Glaf ira Petrovna : — " and not only a man, but a Spartan." Ivan Petrovitch began the execution of his intention by dressing his son in Highland garb: the lad of twelve began to go about with bare knees, 70 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST and with a cock's feather in his crush-cap; the Swede was superseded by a young Swiss man, who had learned gymnastics to perfection ; music, as an occupation unworthy of a man, was ban- ished forever; the natural sciences, international law, mathematics, the carpenter's trade after the advice of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and heraldry, for the maintenance of knightly sentiments — • these were the things wherewith the future " man " was to occupy himself; he was waked at four o'clock in the morning, was immediately drenched with cold water, and made to run around a tall pillar, at the end of a rope; he ate once a day, one dish, rode on horseback, practised firing a cross-bow; on every convenient opportunity he exercised his strength of will, after the model of his parent, and every evening he noted down in a special book an account of the past day and his impressions; and Ivan Petrovitch, on his side, wrote him precepts in French, in which he called him mon filSj, and addressed him as vous. In Rus- sian Fedya called his father " thou," but he dared not sit down in his presence. The " system " be- wildered the boy, introduced confusion into his head, squeezed it ; but, on the other hand, the new mode of life acted beneficially on his health: at first he caught a fever, but soon recovered, and became a fine, dashing fellow. His father was proud of him, and called him, in his strange jar- gon: "A son of nature, my product." When 71 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Fedya reached the age of sixteen, Ivan Petro- vitch regarded it as his duty to instil into him be- times scorn for the fair sex, — and the youthful Spartan, with timidity in his soul, with the first down upon his lips, full of vigour, strength, and blood, attempted to appear indifferent, cold, and harsh. Meanwhile, time passed and passed. Ivan Pe- trovitch spent the greater part of the year at Lavriki (that was the name of his paternal es- tate), and in the winters he went alone to Mos- cow, stopped at an inn, diligently frequented the club, orated and set forth his plans in drawing- rooms, and conducted himself more like an An- glomaniac, a grumbler, and a statesman than ever. But the year 1825 arrived, and brought with it much woe. 1 Ivan Petrovitch's intimate friends and acquaintances were subjected to se- vere trials. Ivan Petrovitch made haste to re- treat to his country estate, and locked himself up in his house. Another year elapsed, and Ivan Petrovitch suddenly grew feeble, weakened, de- clined, his health deserted him. A free-thinker — he took to going to church, and to ordering ser- vices of prayer; a European — he began to steam himself at the bath, to dine at two o'clock, to go to bed at nine, to fall asleep to the chatter of the aged butler; a statesman — he burned all his plans, all his correspondence, trembled before the gov- ' At the accession to the throne of Nicholas I. — Translator. 72 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST ernor, and fidgeted in the presence of the rural chief of police; a man with a will of iron — he whimpered and complained when an abscess broke out on him, when he was served with a plate of cold soup. Glafira Petrovna again reigned over everything in the house ; again clerks, village bailiffs, common peasants, began to creep through the back entrance to the " ill-tempered old hag," — that was what the house-servants called her. The change in Ivan Petrovitch gave his son a great shock ; he was already in his nineteenth year, and had begun to reason and to free himself from the weight of the hand which oppressed him. He had noticed, even before this, a dis- crepancy between his father's words and deeds, between his broad and liberal theories and his harsh, petty despotism ; but he had not anticipated such a sudden break. The inveterate egoist sud- denly revealed himself at full length. Young Lavretzky was getting ready to go to Moscow, to prepare himself for the university, — when an unforeseen, fresh calamity descended upon the head of Ivan Petrovitch: he became blind, and that hopelessly, in one day. Not trusting in the skill of Russian physicians, he began to take measures to obtain permission to go abroad. It was refused. Then he took his son with him, and for three whole years he roamed over Russia, from one doctor to another, incessantly journeying from town to town and 73 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST driving the physicians, his son, his servants, to despair by his pusillanimity and impatience. He returned to Lavriki a perfect rag, a tearful and capricious child. Bitter days ensued, every one endured much at his hands. Ivan Petrovitch calmed down only while he was eating his dinner ; he had never eaten so greedily, nor so much; all the rest of the time he never gave himself or others any peace. He prayed, grumbled at fate, railed at himself, reviled politics, his system, — re- viled everything which he had made his boast and upon which he had prided himself, everything which he had held up as an example for his son; he insisted that he believed in nothing, and then prayed again; he could not bear to be left alone for a single moment, and demanded from the members of his household, that they should sit uninterruptedly, day and night, beside his arm- chair, and amuse him with stories, which he in- cessantly interrupted with the exclamation: "You are inventing the whole of it — what trash! ' Glaf fra Petrovna had a particularly hard time ; he positively could not get along without her — and to the end she complied with all the invalid's whims, although sometimes she could not make up her mind on the instant to answer him, lest the sound of her voice should betray her inward wrath. In this manner he lingered on two years, and died in the beginning of May, when he had been carried out upon the balcony, in the sunshine. 74 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Glashka, Glashka! the bouillon, the bouillon, you old foo " lisped his stiffening tongue, and without finishing the last word, it became si- lent forever. Glafira Petrovna, who had just snatched the cup of bouillon from the hands of the butler, stopped short, stared her brother in the face, crossed herself slowly and broadly, and withdrew in silence ; and his son, who was present, said nothing, either, but leaned against the railing of the balcony, and gazed for a long time into the garden, all fragrant and verdant, all glittering in the rays of the golden sun of spring. He was twenty-three years old; how terribly, how im- perceptibly fast those three and twenty years had sped past ! Life was opening before him. 75 XII After having buried his father, and entrusted to the immutable Glaf ira Petrovna the management of the farming and the oversight over the clerks, young Lavretzky betook himself to Moscow, whither he was drawn by an obscure but powerful sentiment. He recognised the defects of his edu- cation, and intended to repair omissions, so far as possible. During the last five years, he had read a great deal, and had seen some things ; many thoughts had been seething in his brain ; any pro- fessor might have envied him some of his know- ledge, but, at the same time, he did not know much with which every gymnasium lad has long been familiar. The Anglomaniac had played his son an evil trick; his whimsical education had borne its fruits. For long years, he had abased himself before his father without a question ; but when, at last, he had divined him, the deed was done, the habits had become rooted. He did not know how to make acquaintance with people: at twenty-three years of age, with an indomitable thirst for love in his shame-stricken heart, he did not dare to look a single woman in the eye. With his clear, solid but somewhat heavy sense, with 76 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST his inclination to stubbornness, contemplation, and indolence, he ought, from his earliest years, to have been cast into the whirlpool of life, but he had been kept in an artificial isolation. . . . And now the charmed circle was broken, yet he continued to stand in one spot, locked up, tightly compressed in himself. It was ridiculous, at his age, to don a student's uniform; but he was not afraid of ridicule : his Spartan training had served its turn to this extent at least, that it had devel- oped in him scorn for other people's remarks, — and so, unabashed, he donned the uniform of a student. He entered the physico-mathematical department. Healthy, rosj^-cheeked, with a well- grown beard, taciturn, he produced a strange im- pression upon his comrades ; they did not suspect that in this surly man, who punctually drove to the lectures in a roomy country sledge and pair, there was concealed almost a child. He seemed to them some sort of wise pedant; they did not need him and did not seek his society, he avoided them. In the course of the first two years which he spent at the university, he came into close con- tact with only one student, from whom he took lessons in Latin. This student, Mikhalevitch by name, an enthusiast and a poet, sincerely loved Lavretzky, and quite innocently became the cause of an important change in his fate. One day, at the theatre (Motchaloff was then at the height of his fame, and Lavretzky never 77 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST missed a performance), he saw a young girl in a box of the bel-etage, — and, although no woman ever passed his surly figure without causing his heart to quiver, it never yet had beaten so vio- lently. With her elbows resting on the velvet of the box, the young girl sat motionless; alert, young life sparkled in every feature of her pretty, round, dark-skinned face; an elegant mind was expressed in the beautiful eyes which gazed at- tentively and softly from beneath slender brows, in the swift smile of her expressive lips, in the very attitude of her head, her arms, her neck ; she was charmingly dressed. Beside her sat a wrin- kled, sallow woman, forty-five years of age, with a toothless smile on her constrainedly-anxious and empty countenance, and in the depths of the box an elderly man was visible, wearing an ample coat and a tall neckcloth, with an expression of feeble stateliness and a certain obsequious sus- picion in his little eyes, with dyed moustache and side-whiskers, an insignificant, huge forehead, and furrowed cheeks, — a retired General, by all the signs. Lavretzky could not take his eyes from the young girl who had startled him; all at once, the door of the box opened, and Mikhalevitch en- tered. The appearance of that man, almost his sole acquaintance in all Moscow, — his appearance in the company of the only young girl who had engrossed his whole attention, seemed to La- vretzky strange and significant. As he continued 78 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST to gaze at the box, he noticed that all the persons in it treated Mikhalevitch like an old friend. The performance on the stage ceased to interest Lavretzky; MotchalofF himself, although that evening he was " in high feather," did not pro- duce upon him the customary impression. In one very pathetic passage, Lavretzky involuntarily glanced at his beauty : she was bending her whole body forward, her cheeks were aflame ; under the influence of his persistent gaze, her eyes, which were riveted on the stage, turned slowly, and rested upon him. . . . All night long, those eyes flitted before his vision. At last, the artificially erected dam had given way: he trembled and burned, and on the following day he betook him- self to Mikhalevitch. From him he learned, that the beauty's name was Varvara Pavlovna Ko- robyn ; that the old man and woman who had sat with her in the box were her father and mother, and that he himself, Mikhalevitch, had made their acquaintance a year previously, during his stay in the suburbs of Moscow, " on contract ser- vice ' (as tutor) with Count N. The enthusiast expressed himself in the most laudatory manner concerning Varvara Pavlovna — " My dear fel- low," he exclaimed, with the impetuous harmony in his voice which was peculiar to him, — " that young girl is an amazing, a talented being, an artist in the genuine sense of the word, and ex- tremely amiable to boot." — Perceiving from La- 79 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST vretzky's question what an impression Varvara Pavlovna had produced upon him, he himself pro- posed to introduce him to her, adding that he was quite at home in their house ; that the General was not at all a proud man, and the mother was so stupid that she all but sucked a rag. Lavret- zky blushed, muttered something unintelligible, and fled. For five whole days he wrestled with his timidity; on the sixth day the young Spartan donned a new uniform, and placed himself at the disposition of Mikhalevitch, who being his own valet, confined himself to brushing his hair, — and the two set out for the Korobyns'. 80 XIII The father of Varvara Pavlovna, Pavel Petro- vitch Korobyn, Major-General on the retired list, had spent his whole life in Petersburg, in the service ; had borne the reputation, in his youth, of being an accomplished dancer and officer of the line; found himself, owing to poverty, the adjutant of two or three ill-favoured Generals; married the daughter of one of them, receiv- ing twenty-five thousand rubles as her dowry ; ac- quired, in its finest details, the love of drills and reviews ; toiled, and toiled hard, for his liveli- hood, and at last, at the end of twenty years, at- tained to the rank of General, and received a regiment. It was time for him to rest, and with- out delay to establish his prosperity on a firm ba- sis; this was what he calculated on doing, but he managed the matter somewhat incautiously: he hit upon a new method of putting the coin of the realm into circulation, — the method proved to be a capital one, but he did not get out in sea- son: a complaint was made against him; a more than unpleasant, an ugly scandal ensued. The General managed to wriggle out of the scandal, after a fashion, but his career was ruined: he was 81 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST advised to resign. He hung about in Petersburg for a couple of years longer in the hope that some snug little place would get stranded on him : but the place did not strand on him, and his daughter came out of the government school, and his expenses increased every day. . . . Repress- ing his wrath, he decided to remove to Moscow for the sake of economy, hired a tiny, low-roofed house on Old Stable Street, with a coat of arms a fathom tall on the roof, and began to live the life of a Moscow General on the retired list, spending 2750 rubles a year. Moscow is a hos- pitable town, glad to welcome everybody who comes along, and more particularly, Generals; Pavel Petrovitch's heavy figure, which yet was not lacking in military mien, speedily began to make its appearance in the best drawing-rooms of Moscow. His bald nape, with tufts of dyed hair, and the dirty ribbon of the order of St. Anna on a neckcloth the hue of the raven's wing, began to be well known to all the easily bored and pallid young men who morosely hovered around the gambling-tables while dancing was in progress. Pavel Petrovitch understood how to place himself in society; he talked little, but, by force of old habit, through his nose, — of course, not with indi- viduals belonging to the higher ranks ; he played cards cautiously, at home he ate sparingly, but when visiting he ate for six. Concerning his wife, there is hardly anything to say: her name was 82 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Kalliope Karlovna; a tear oozed from her left eye, by virtue of which Kalliope Karlovna (she was, moreover, of German extraction) regarded herself as a woman of sentiment ; she lived in con- stant fear of something, never seemed to have had quite enough to eat, and wore tight velvet gowns, a turban, and dull bracelets of hollow metal. Varvara Pavlovna, the only daughter of Pavel Petrovitch and Kalliope Karlovna, had just passed her seventeenth birthday when she came out of the * * * Institute, where she had been considered, if not the greatest beauty, certainly the cleverest girl and the best musician, and where she had received the chiffre; 1 she was not yet nineteen when Lavretzky beheld her for the first time. 1 In the Government Institutes for girls, the chief prize is the Empress's initial, in jewels. — Translator. 83 XIV The legs of the Spartan gave way beneath him when Mikhalevitch conducted him into the rather shabbily furnished drawing-room of the Koro- byns, and presented him to the master and mis- tress of the house. But the feeling of timidity which had taken possession of him promptly dis- appeared: in the General the kindliness of na- ture innate in all Russians was greatly increased by that special sort of courtesy which is peculiar to all besmirched people; the Generaless soon disappeared, somehow ; as for Varvara Pavlovna, she was so calm and self -possessedly amiable, that any one would immediately have felt himself at home in her presence; moreover, from the whole of her enchanting person, from her smiling eyes, from her innocently-sloping shoulders and faintly-rosy hands, from her light and, at the same time, rather languid gait, from the very sound of her voice, which was low and sweet, — there breathed forth an insinuating charm, as intangible as a delicate perfume, a soft and as yet modest intoxication, something which it is difficult to express in words, but which touched and excited, — and, of course, excited something which was not timidity. Lavretzky turned the 84 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST conversation on the theatre, on the performance of the preceding evening ; she immediately began, herself, to speak of Motchaloff , and did not con- fine herself merely to exclamations and sighs, but uttered several just and femininely-penetrating remarks concerning his acting. Mikhalevitch alluded to music; without any affectation she seated herself at the piano, and played with pre- cision several mazurkas by Chopin, which had only just come into fashion. The dinner-hour arrived ; Lavretzky made a motion to depart, but they kept him; at table, the General treated him to good claret, for which the General's lackey had galloped in a cab to Depre's. Late at night, Lavretzky returned home, and sat for a long time, without undressing, his eyes covered with his hand, in dumb enchantment. It seemed to him, that only now had he come to understand why life was worth living ; all his hypotheses, his intentions, all that nonsense and rubbish, van- ished instantaneously ; his whole soul was merged in one sentiment, in one desire, in the desire for happiness, possession, love, the sweet love of woman. From that day forth, he began to go often to the Korobyns'. Six months later, he declared himself to Varvara Pavlovna, and of- fered her his hand. His proposal was accepted ; the General had long since, almost on the eve of his first visit, inquired of Mikhalevitch how many serfs he, Lavretzky, had ; and Varvara Pavlovna 85 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST also, who, during the whole period of the young man's courtship and even at the moment of his declaration, had preserved her habitual tranquil- lity and clearness of soul, — Varvara Pavlovna also was well aware that her lover was rich; and Kalliope Karlovna said to herself: " Meine Tochter macht eine schone Partie " — and bought herself a new turban. 86 XV So his proposal was accepted, but on certain con- ditions. In the first place, Lavretzky must im- mediately leave the university: who marries a student ? and what a dreadful idea, — for a landed proprietor, rich, and twenty-six years old, to take lessons like a school-boy! In the second place, Varvara Pavlovna took upon herself the labour of ordering and purchasing the trousseau, even of choosing the bridegroom's gifts. She had a great deal of practical sense, much taste, much love for comfort, and a great knack for secur- ing for herself that comfort. This knack partic- ularly astonished Lavretzky when, immediately after the wedding, he and his wife set out in a commodious carriage, which she had bought, for Lavrfki. How everything which surrounded him had been planned, foreseen, provided for by Var- vara Pavlovna! What charming travelling re- quisites, what fascinating toilet-boxes and coffee- pots, made their appearance in divers snug nooks, and how prettily Varvara Pavlovna herself boiled the coffee in the mornings! But Lavretzky was not then in a mood for observation: he was in a beatific state, he was intoxicating himself with 87 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST happiness; he gave himself up to it like a child. . . . And he was as innocent as a child, that young Alcides. Not in vain did witchery exhale from the whole being of his young wife; not in vain did she promise to the senses the secret luxury of unknown delights; she fulfilled more than she had promised. On arriving at Lavriki, in the very hottest part of the summer, she found the house dirty and dark, the servants ridiculous and antiquated, but she did not find it necessary even to hint at this to her husband. If she had been making preparations to settle down at La- vriki, she would have made over everything about it, beginning, of course, with the house; but the idea of remaining in that God-forsaken corner of the steppes never entered her mind for one mo- ment; she lived in it, as though camping out, gently enduring all the inconveniences and mak- ing amusing jests over them. Marfa Timofeevna came to see her nursling ; Varvara Pavlovna took a great liking for her, but she did not take a liking for Varvara Pavlovna. Neither did the new mistress of the house get on well with Glaf ira Petrovna; she would have left her in peace, but old Korobyn wanted to feather his nest from his son-in-law's affairs; " it was no shame, even for a General," said he, " to manage the estate of so near a relative." It must be assumed that Pavel Petrovitch would not have disdained to busy him- self with the estate of an entire stranger. Var- 88 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST vara Pavlovna conducted her attack in a very art- ful manner: without thrusting herself forward, and still, to all appearances, wholly absorbed in the felicity of the honeymoon, in quiet country life, in music and reading, she little by little drove Glaffra Petrovna to such a state, that one morn- ing the latter rushed like a madwoman into Lavretzky's study, and, hurling her bunch of keys on the table, announced that it was beyond her power to occupy herself with the housekeeping, and that she did not wish to remain in the country. Having been properly prepared in advance, La- vretzky immediately consented to her departure. — Glaffra Petrovna had not expected this. "Very well," said she, and her eyes grew dark, — " I see that I am not wanted here ! I know who it is that is driving me hence — from my native nest. But do thou remember my words, nephew : thou shalt never be able to build thyself a nest anywhere, thou must wander all thy life. That is my legacy to thee." — That very day she departed to her own little estate, and a week later General Korobyn arrived, and with agreeable melancholy in his gaze and movements, took the management of the entire estate into his hands. In September, Varvara Petrovna carried her husband off to Petersburg. She spent two win- ters in Petersburg (they removed to Tzarskoe Selo for the summer), in a beautiful, light, ele- gantly furnished apartment; they made many 89 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST acquaintances in middle-class and even in the higher circles of society, they went out and re- ceived a great deal, and gave most charming mu- sical and dancing parties. Varvara Pavlovna at- tracted guests as a flame attracts moths. Such a dissipated life did not altogether please Feodor Ivanitch. His wife advised him to enter the ser- vice; owing to his father's old memories, and his own conceptions, he would not serve, but to please his wife he remained in Petersburg. But he speedily divined that no one prevented his iso- lating himself, that it was not for nothing that he had the quietest and most comfortable study in all Petersburg, that his solicitous wife was even ready to help him to isolate himself, — and from that time forth all went splendidly. Once more he took up his own education, which, in his opin- ion, was unfinished, once more he began to read, he even began to study the English language. It was strange to see his mighty, broad-shouldered figure, eternally bent over his writing-table, his full, hairy, ruddy face half concealed by the pages of a dictionary or an exercise-book. Every morn- ing he spent in work, dined capitally (Varvara Pavlovna was an excellent housewife ) , and in the evening he entered an enchanting, fragrant, bril- liant world, all populated with young, merry faces, — and the central point of that world was also the zealous hostess, his wife. She gladdened him with the birth of a son, but the poor boy did 90 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST not live long: he died in the spring, and in the summer, by the advice of the physicians, La- vretzky took his wife abroad, to the baths. Di- version was indispensable to her, after such a bereavement, and her health required a warm climate. They spent the summer and autumn in Germany and Switzerland, and in the winter, as might have been expected, they went to Paris. In Paris Varvara Pavlovna blossomed out like a rose, and managed to build a little nest for her- self as promptly and as adroitly as in Petersburg. She found an extremely pretty apartment, in one of the quiet but fashionable Paris streets; she made her husband such a dressing-gown as he had never owned before; she hired a trim maid, a capital cook, a smart footman; she got an en- chanting carriage, a charming little piano. A week had not passed before she crossed a street, wore her shawl, opened her parasol, and put on her gloves in a style equal to that of the purest- blooded Parisienne. And she soon provided her- self with acquaintances. At first, only Russians went to her house, then Frenchmen began to make their appearance, very amiable, courteous, unmarried, with beautiful manners and euphoni- ous family names ; they all talked fast and much, bowed with easy grace, and screwed up their eyes in a pleasing way; all of them had white teeth which gleamed beneath rosy lips, — and how they did understand the art of smiling! Every one of 91 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST them brought his friends, and " la belle Madame de Lavretzki ' soon became known from the Chaussee d'Antin to the Rue de Lille. In those days (this took place in 1836), that tribe of f euilleton and chronicle writers, which now swarm everywhere, like ants in an ant-hill which has been cut open, had not multiplied ; but even then, a certain M — r Jules presented himself in Var- vara Pavlovna's salon, a gentleman of insignifi- cant appearance, with a scandalous reputation, insolent and base, like all duellists and beaten men. This M — r Jules was extremely repulsive to Varvara Pavlovna, but she received him be- cause he scribbled for various journals, and inces- santly alluded to her, calling her now " Mme. de L * * * tzki" now " Mme. de * * * cette grande dame Russe si distinguee, qui demeure rue de P." ; narrating to all the world, that is to say, to a few hundred subscribers, who cared nothing whatever about cc Mme. de L * * * tzki" how that pretty and charming lady was a real Frenchwoman in mind (une vraie francaise par V esprit), — there is no higher encomium for the French, — what a re- markable musician she was, and how wonderfully she waltzed (Varvara Pavlovna, in reality, did waltz in such a manner as to draw all hearts after the hem of her light, fluttering gown) ... in a word, he spread her fame throughout the world, — and assuredly that is agreeable, say what you will. Mile. Mars had already left the stage, and 92 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Mile. Rachel had not yet made her appearance; nevertheless, Varvara Pavlovna diligently fre- quented the theatres. She went into ecstasies over Italian music, and laughed at the ruins of Odra, yawned decorously at the Comedie Fran- chise, and wept at the acting of Mme. Dorval in some ultra-romantic melodrama or other; but, chief of all, Liszt played a couple of times at her house, and was so nice, so simple — it was de- lightful! In such pleasant sensations passed a winter, at the end of which Varvara Pavlovna was even presented at Court. Feodor Ivanitch, on his side, was not bored, although life, at times, weighed heavily on his shoulders, — heavily, be- cause it was empty. He read the newspapers, he listened to lectures at the Sorbonne and the Col- lege de France, he kept track of the debates in parliament, he undertook the translation of a well-known scientific work on irrigation. " I am not wasting time," — he said to himself, — " all this is useful; but next winter I must, without fail, return to Russia and set to work." It is dif- ficult to say, whether he was clearly conscious in what that work consisted, and God knows whether he would have succeeded in returning to Russia for the winter, — in the meantime, he went with his wife to Baden-Baden. . . An unex- pected event destroyed all his plans. 93 XVI One day, on entering Varvara Pavlovna's bou- doir in her absence, Lavretzky beheld on the floor a tiny, carefully-folded scrap of paper. He mechanically picked it up, mechanically unfolded it, and read the following, written in French: " Dear angel Betsy! (I cannot possibly bring myself to call thee Barbe or Varvara). I waited in vain for thee at the corner of the Boulevard; come to-morrow, at half-past one, to our little apartment. Thy good fatty (ton gros bonhomme de mari) generally buries himself in his books at that hour; again we will sing the song of your poet Puskin (de votre poete Pous- Tcine) which thou hast taught me : ' Old husband, men- acing husband ! ' — A thousand kisses on thy hands and feet! I await thee." " Ernest." Lavretzky did not, on the instant, understand what sort of thing it was he had read ; he perused it a second time — and his head reeled, the floor swayed beneath his feet, like the deck of a steamer when it is pitching — he cried out, and sobbed and wept simultaneously. He lost his senses. He had so blindly trusted 94 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST his wife, that the possibility of deception, of treachery, had never presented itself to his mind. That Ernest, that lover of his wife's was a fair- haired, good-looking boy of three and twenty, with a small snub nose and thin moustache, almost the most insignificant of all her admirers. Sev- eral minutes passed, half an hour passed ; Lavret- zky still stood, crushing the fatal missive in his hand and staring senselessly at the floor ; through a sort of dark whirlwind, visions of pale faces flitted before him; his heart sank within him, in anguish; it seemed to him that he was falling, falling, falling . . . and that there was no end to it. The light, familiar rustle of a silken robe aroused him from his state of stupefaction ; Var- vara Pavlovna, in bonnet and shawl, had hastily returned from her stroll. Lavretzky trembled all over, and rushed out of the room ; he felt that at that moment he was capable of tearing her to pieces, of beating her until she was half dead, in peasant fashion, of strangling her with his hands. The astonished Varvara Pavlovna tried to stop him; he could only whisper: " Betsy " — and fled from the house. Lavretzky took a carriage, and ordered the man to drive him out of town. The entire re- mainder of the day, and the whole night long until the morning, he roamed about, incessantly halt- ing and wringing his hands : now he raged, again it seemed rather ridiculous to him, even rather 95 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST amusing. In the morning he was chilled through, and entered a wretched suburban inn, asked for a room, and seated himself on a chair by the win- dow. A convulsive yawning seized hold upon him. He could hardly stand on his feet, his body was exhausted, — but he was conscious of no fatigue, — yet fatigue claimed its rights: he sat and stared, and understood nothing; he did not understand what had happened to him, why he found himself alone, with benumbed limbs, with a bitterness in his mouth, with a stone on his breast, in a bare, strange room ; he did not under- stand what had made her, Varya, give herself to that Frenchman, and how she had been able, knowing herself to be unfaithful, to be as calm, amiable, and confiding toward him as before ! ' I understand nothing! " whispered his parched lips. " Who will guarantee me now, that in Peters- burg . . . ." And he did not finish the question, and yawned again, quivering and writhing all over. The bright and the dark memories tor- mented him equally ; it suddenly occurred to him, that a few days previous^, in his presence and in that of Ernest, she had seated herself at the piano and had sung: "Old husband, menacing hus- band!" He recalled the expression of her face, the strange glitter of her eyes, and the flush on her cheeks, — and he rose from his chair; he wanted to go and to say to them : : You have made a mistake in trifling with me; my great- 96 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST grandfather used to hang the peasants up by the ribs, and my grandfather himself was a peasant " — and kill them both. Then, all of a sudden, it seemed to him, that everything which was taking place with him was a dream, and not even a dream, but merely some nonsense or other: that all he had to do was to shake himself, to look about him. . . . He did look about him, and as the hawk buries his claws in the bird he has captured, anguish pierced more and more deeply into his heart. To crown all, Lavretzky was hoping at the end of a few months to become a father. . . The past, the future, his whole life was poisoned. He returned, at last, to Paris, put up at a hotel, and sent Varvara Pavlovna the note of M — r Ernest, with the following letter: " The accompanying document will explain everything to you. I will say to you, by the way, that I did not recognise you: you, always such a precise person, to drop such an important paper ! " ( This phrase poor La- vretzky had prepared and cherished for the space of sev- eral hours. ) "I can see you no more ; I assume that you, also, cannot wish to meet me. I have assigned fifteen thousand francs a year to you; I cannot give more. Send your address to the office of the estate. Do what you will, live where you please. I wish you happiness. No answer is necessary." Lavretzky wrote to his wife, that no answer was necessary . . . but he waited, he thirsted for 97 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST an answer, an explanation of this incomprehensi- ble, this incredible affair. Varvara Pavlovna, that very day, sent him a long letter in French. It made an end of him; his last doubts vanished, — and he felt ashamed that he had still cherished doubts. Varvara Pavlovna did not defend her- self: she merely wished to see him, she entreated him not to condemn her irrevocably. The letter was cold and constrained, although the traces of tears were visible here and there. Lavretzky ut- tered a bitter laugh, and bade the messenger say that it was all very good. Three days later, he had quitted Paris : but he went, not to Russia, but to Italy. He himself did not know why he had chosen Italy, in particular; in reality, it made no difference to him whither he went, — provided it were not home. He sent instructions to his peas- ant-steward in regard to his wife's pension, or- dered him, at the same time, to take all matters pertaining to the estate instantly out of the hands of General Korobyn, without awaiting the sur- render of the accounts, and to make arrangements for the departure of His Excellency from La- vriki ; he formed a vivid picture to himself, of the consternation, the fruitless haughtiness of the ejected General, and, with all his grief, he felt a certain malicious satisfaction. Then he invited Glafira Petrovna, in a letter also, to return to Lavrfki, and sent her a power of attorney. Glafira Petrovna did not return to Lavriki, 98 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST and herself published in the newspapers that she had destroyed the power of attorney, which was quite superfluous. Hiding himself in a small Italian town, it was a long time still before La- vretzky could force himself not to watch his wife. He learned from the newspapers, that she had quitted Paris, as it was supposed, for Baden- Baden : her name soon made its appearance in an article written by that same M'sieu Jules. In this article, a sort of friendly condolence pierced through the customary playfulness; Feodor Ivanitch's soul was in a very ugly state when he read that article. Later on, he learned that a daughter had been born to him; at the end of a couple of months, he was informed by his peasant- steward, that Varvara Pavlovna had demanded the first third of her allowance. Then more and more evil reports began to arrive ; at last, a tragi- comic tale made the rounds — creating a sensa- tion — of the newspapers, wherein his wife played an unenviable part. All was at an end : Varvara Pavlovna had become " a celebrity." Lavretzky ceased to follow her career; but he was not able speedily to conquer himself. At times, he was seized with such a longing for his wife, that it seemed to him, he would give every- thing — he would even, if necessary . . . forgive her — if only he might again hear her caressing voice, again feel her hand in his hand. But time went on, and not in vain. He was not born to 99 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST be a martyr ; his healthy nature asserted its rights. Much became clear to him; the very blow which had assailed him, no longer seemed to him un- foreseen; he understood his wife, — one under- stands a person who is near to one, when parted from him. Again he was able to occupy himself, to work, although with far less zeal than of yore : scepticism, for which the way had been prepared by the experiences of life, by his education, defin- itively took possession of his soul. He became extremely indifferent to everything. Four years elapsed, and he felt himself strong enough to re- turn to his native land, to meet his own people. Without halting either in Petersburg or Moscow, he arrived in the town of O * * * where we took leave of him, and whither we now beg the indul- gent reader to return with us. 100 it XVII On the morning following the day which we have described, at nine o'clock, Lavretzky as- cended the porch of the Kalitin house. Liza emerged to meet him, in hat and gloves. ' Where are you going? " he asked her. " To church. To-day is Sunday." ' And do you really care to go to the Liturgy?" Liza said nothing, but gazed at him in amaze- ment. Pardon me, please," — said Lavretzky, — I ... I did not mean to say that. I came to say good-bye to you: I am going to my country place an hour hence." "It is not far from here, is it? " — inquired Liza. " Twenty-five versts." Lyenotchka made her appearance on the threshold of the door, accompanied by a maid. " See that you do not forget us," — said Liza, and descended the steps. " And do not you forget me. And see here," — he added, — " you are going to church: pray for me also, by the way." Liza paused and turned toward him. ' Certainly," — she said, looking him straight in 101 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST the face: — " I will pray for you. Come along, Lyenotchka." Lavretzky found Marya Dmitrievna alone in the drawing-room. An odour of eau de cologne and mint emanated from her. She had a head- ache, according to her own account, and she had passed a restless night. She welcomed him with her customary languid amiability, and gradually got to talking. " What an agreeable young man Vladimir Nikolaitch is," she inquired: — " is he not? " " What Vladimir Nikolaitch? " ' Why, Panshin, you know, — the one who was here yesterday evening. He took an immense liking to you ; I will tell you, as a secret, mon cher cousin, he is simply beside himself over my Liza. What do you think of that? He comes of a good family, he discharges his service splendidly, he is clever, well, and a Junior Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and if it be God's will .... I, on my side, as a mother, shall be very glad. It is a great responsibility, of course: up to the present time, whether it be for good or evil, you see, I am always, everywhere, entirely alone: I have reared my children, I have taught them, I have done everything .... and now I have ordered a governess from Mme. Bolius " Marya Dmitrievna launched out into a de- scription of her toils, her efforts, and her ma- ternal feelings. Lavretzky listened to her in si- 102 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST lence, and twirled his hat in his hands. His cold, heavy gaze disconcerted the loquacious lady. " And how do you like Liza? " — she asked. " Lizaveta Mikhailovna is an extremely beau- tiful girl," — replied Lavretzky, rose, bowed, and went to Marfa Timofeevna. Marya Dmitrievna gazed after him with displeasure, and said to herself; "What a dolt, what a peasant! Well, now I understand why his wife could not remain faithful to him." Marfa Timofeevna was sitting in her own room, surrounded by her suite. It consisted of five beings, almost equally near to her heart : a f at- jowled trained bullfinch, which she loved because he had ceased to whistle and draw water; a tiny, very timorous and peaceable dog, Roska; an an- gry cat Matros (Sailor) ; a black-visaged nimble little girl of nine, with huge eyes and a sharp little nose, who was named Schiirotchka; and an elderly woman, fifty years of age, in a white cap, and a light brown, bob-tailed jacket over a dark gown, by name Nastasya Karpovna Ogar- koff. Schurotchka was of the petty burgher class, a full orphan. Marfa Timofeevna had taken charge of her out of pity, as she had of Roska: she had picked up both the dog and the girl in the street ; both were thin and hungry, both were being drenched by the autumnal rain, no one had hunted up Roska, and Schiirotchka's uncle, a drunken shoemaker, who had not enough 103 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST to eat himself, and who did not feed his niece, though he beat her over the head with his last, gladly surrendered her to Marfa Timofeevna. With Nastasya Karpovna, Marfa Timofeevna had made acquaintance on a pilgrimage, in a monastery; she herself had gone up to her in church (Marfa Timofeevna liked her because, to use her own words, "she prayed tastily"), had herself begun the conversation, and had invited her to come to her for a cup of tea. From that day forth, she had never parted with her. Nasta- sya Karpovna was a woman of the merriest and gentlest disposition, a childless widow, member of a poverty-stricken family of the petty no- bility; she had a round, grey head, soft white hands, a soft face, with large, kindly features, and a rather ridiculous snub nose; she fairly wor- shipped Marfa Timofeevna, and the latter loved her greatly, although she jeered at her tender heart : Nastasya Karpovna felt a weakness for all young people, and involuntarily blushed like a girl at the most innocent jest. Her entire capital consisted of twelve hundred paper rubles; she lived at the expense of Marfa Timofeevna, but on equal terms with her: Marfa Timofeevna would not have tolerated servility. " Ah, Fedya! " she began, as soon as she caught sight of him: — " last night, thou didst not see my family : admire it. We are all assembled for tea ; this is our second, feast-day tea. Thou mayest 104 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST pet all: only Schiirotchka will not allow thee, and the cat scratches. Art thou going away to-day? ' Yes," — Lavretzky seated himself on a nar- row little chair. — " I have already said farewell to Marya Dmitrievna. I have also seen Lizaveta Mikhailovna." " Call her Liza, my father, — why should she be Mikhailovna to thee! And sit still, or thou wilt break Schurotchka's chair." " She has gone to church," — pursued La- vretzky. " Is she pious? " " Yes, Fedya, — very. More than thou and I, Fedya." " But are not you pious? " — remarked Nasta- sya Karpovna, in a whisper. ' And to-day : you did not get to the early Liturgy, but you will go to the later one." " Not a bit of it — thou wilt go alone : I am lazy, my mother," — retorted Marfa Timofeevna, — " I am pampering myself greatly with my tea." — She called Nastasya thou, although she lived on equal terms with her, — she was not a Pestoff for nothing: three Pestoffs are recorded with distinction in the Book of Remembrance of Ivan Vasilievitch, the Terrible; 1 Marfa Timo- feevna knew it. 1 Ivan the Terrible left a long record of his distinguished victims, for the repose of whose souls he ordered prayers to be said in per- petuity. " Book of Remembrance " contains the names of per- sons who are to be prayed for at the general requiem services, and so forth. — Translator. 105 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Tell me, please," — began Lavretzky again: — " Marya Dmitrievna has just been talking about that .... what 's his name .... Panshin. What sort of a person is he? " " What a chatterbox, the Lord forgive her! " — grumbled Marfa Timofeevna: — " I suppose she imparted to you, as a secret, what a fine suitor has turned up. She might do her whispering with her priest's son; but no, that is not enough for her. But there 's nothing in it, as yet, and thank God for that! but she 's babbling already." " Why ' thank God ' ? "—asked Lavretzky. " Why, because the young fellow does not please me; and what is there to rejoice about? ' " He does not please you? " " Yes, he cannot fascinate everybody. It 's enough that Nastasya Karpovna here should be in love with him." The poor widow was thoroughly startled. " What makes you say that, Marfa Timo- feevna? You do not fear God! " — she exclaimed, and a blush instantly suffused her face and neck. " And he certainly knows the rogue," — Marfa Timofeevna interrupted her: — " he knows how to captivate her: he presented her with a snuff-box. Fedya, ask her to give thee a pinch of snuff ; thou wilt see what a splendid snuff-box it is: on the lid is depicted a hussar on horseback. Thou hadst better not defend thyself, my mother." 106 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Nastasya Karpovna merely repelled the sug- gestion with a wave of her hands. " Well," — inquired Lavretzky, — " and is Liza not indifferent to him? " " Apparently, she likes him, — however, the Lord only knows. Another man's soul, thou knowest, is a dark forest, much more the soul of a young girl. Now, there 's Schurotchka's soul — try to dissect that ! Why has she been hiding her- self, and yet does not go away, ever since thou earnest? " Schiirotchka snorted with suppressed laughter and ran out of the room, and Lavretzky rose from his seat. Yes," — he said slowly: — "a maiden's soul is not to be divined." He began to take leave. "Well? Shall we see thee again soon?" — asked Marfa Timofeevna. ' That 's as it may happen, aunty ; it is not far off." : Yes, but thou art going to Vasilievskoe. Thou wilt not live at Lavriki: — well, that is thy affair; only, go and salute the tomb of thy mother, and the tomb of thy grandmother too, by the bye. Thou hast acquired all sorts of learning yonder abroad, and who knows, perchance they will feel it in their graves that thou hast come to them. And don't forget, Fedya, to have a re- quiem service celebrated for Glafira Petrovna 107 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST also ; here 's a silver ruble for thee. Take it, take it, I want to pay for having a requiem service f oi- lier. During her lifetime I did not like her, but there 's no denying it, the woman had plenty of character. She was a clever creature; and she did not wrong thee, either. And now go, with God's blessing, or thou wilt grow weary of me." And Marfa Timofeevna embraced her nephew. " And Liza shall not marry Panshin, — don't worry about that ; that 's not the sort of husband she deserves." " Why, I am not worrying in the least," replied Lavretzky, and withdrew. 108 XVIII Four hours later, he was driving homeward. His tarantas rolled swiftly along the soft country road. There had been a drought for a fortnight ; a thin milky cloud was diffused through the air, and veiled the distant forests; it reeked with the odour of burning. A multitude of small, dark cloudlets, with indistinctly delineated edges, were creeping across the pale-blue sky ; a fairly strong wind was whisking along in a dry, uninterrupted stream, without dispelling the sultriness. Lean- ing his head against a cushion, and folding his arms on his breast, Lavretzky gazed at the strips of ploughed land, in fan-shape, which flew past, at the willow-trees slowly flitting by, at the stupid crows and daws gazing with dull suspicion askance at the passing equipage, at the long strips of turf between the cultivated sections, overgrown with artemisia, wormwood, and wild tansy; he gazed .... and that fresh, fertile nakedness and wildness of the steppe, that verdure, those long hillocks, the ravines with stubby oak bushes, the grey hamlets, the flexible birch-trees, — this whole Russian picture, which he had not seen for a long time, wafted into his soul sweet and, at 109 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST the same time, painful sensations, weighed on his breast with a certain agreeable oppression. His thoughts slowly roved about; their outlines were as indistinct and confused as the outlines of those lofty cloudlets, which, also, seemed to be roving. He recalled his childhood, his mother; he remem- bered how she died, how they had carried him to her, and how she, pressing his head to her bosom, had begun to sing feebly over him, but had cast a glance at Glafira Petrovna — and had relapsed into silence. He recalled his father, at first alert, dissatisfied with every one, and with a brazen voice, — then blind, tearful, and with a dirty grey beard; he recalled how, one day, at table, after drinking an extra glass of wine, and spilling the sauce over his napkin, he had suddenly burst out laughing, and had begun, winking his sightless eyes and flushing crimson, to tell stories of his conquests; he recalled Varvara Pavlovna, — and involuntarily screwed up his eyes, as a man does from momentary inward pain, and shook his head. Then his thoughts came to a pause on Liza. " Here," he thought, " is a new being, who is only just entering upon life. A splendid young girl, what will become of her? She is comely. A pale, fresh face, such serious eyes and lips, and an honest and innocent gaze. It is a pity that she seems to be somewhat enthusiastic. A splendid figure, and she walks so lightly, and 110 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST her voice is soft. I greatly like to see her pause suddenly, listen attentively, without a smile, and then meditate, and toss back her hair. Really, it strikes me that Panshin is not worthy of her. But what is there wrong about him? She will traverse the road which all traverse. I had better take a nap." And Lavretzky closed his eyes. He could not get to sleep, but plunged into the dreamy stupor of the road. Images of the past, as before, arose in leisurely fashion, floated through his soul, mingling and entangling them- selves with other scenes. Lavretzky, God knows why, began to think about Robert Peel . . . about French history . . . about how he would win a battle if he were a general; he thought he heard shots and shrieks. . . His head sank to one side, he opened his eyes. . . The same fields, the same views of the steppe; the polished shoes of the trace-horse flashed in turn through the billow- ing dust; the shirt of the postilion, yellow, with red gussets at the armpits, puffed out in the wind. ..." A pretty way to return to my na- tive land " — flashed through Lavretzky 's head ; and he shouted: " Faster! " wrapped himself up in his cloak, and leaned back harder against his pillow. The tarantas gave a jolt: Lavretzky sat upright, and opened his eyes wide. Before him, on a hillock, a tiny hamlet lay outspread; a little to the right, a small, ancient manor-house was to be seen, with closed shutters and a crooked 111 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST porch; all over the spacious yard, from the very gates, grew nettles, green and thick as hemp; there, also, stood a small oaken store-house, still sound. This was Vasilievskoe. The postilion turned up to the gate, and brought the horses to a standstill; Lavretzky's footman rose on the box, and, as though prepar- ing to spring down, shouted: " Hey! ' A hoarse, dull barking rang out, but not even the dog showed himself; the lackey again prepared to leap down, and again shouted: " Hey! ' The de- crepit barking was renewed, and, a moment later, a man ran out into the yard, no one could tell whence, — a man in a nankeen kaftan, with a head as white as snow ; shielding his eyes with his hand, he stared at the tarantas, suddenly slapped him- self on both thighs, at first danced about a little on one spot, then ran to open the gate. The ta- rantas drove into the yard, the wheels rustling against the nettles, and halted in front of the porch. The white-headed man, very nimble, to all appearances, was already standing, with his feet planted very wide apart and very crooked, on the last step; and having unbuttoned the apron, convulsively held up the leather and aided the master to descend to the earth, and then kissed his hand. " Good-day, good-day, brother," — said La- vretzky, — " I think thy name is Anton? Thou art still alive? " 112 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST The old man bowed in silence, and ran to fetch the keys. While he was gone, the postilion sat motionless, bending sideways and gazing at the locked door; but Lavretzky's lackey remained standing as he had sprung down, in a picturesque pose, with one hand resting on the box. The old man brought the keys, and quite unnecessarily writhing like a serpent, raising his elbows on high, he unlocked the door, stepped aside, and again bowed to his girdle. " Here I am at home, here I have got back," — said Lavretzky to himself, as he entered the tiny anteroom, while the shutters were opened, one after the other, with a bang and a squeak, and the daylight penetrated into the deserted rooms. 113 XIX The tiny house where Lavretzky had arrived, and where, two years previously, Glafira Pe- trovna had breathed her last, had been built in the previous century, out of sturdy pine lumber; in appearance it was decrepit, but was capable of standing another fifty years or more. La- vretzky made the round of all the rooms, and, to the great discomfiture of the aged, languid flies, with white dust on their backs, who were sitting motionless under the lintels of the doors, he or- dered all the windows to be opened; no one had opened them since the death of Glafira Petrovna. Everything in the house remained as it had been: the small, spindle-legged couches in the drawing- room, covered with glossy grey material, worn through and flattened down, vividly recalled the days of Katherine II ; in the drawing-room, also, stood the mistress's favourite chair, with a tall, straight back, against which, even in her old age, she had not leaned. On the principal wall hung an ancient portrait of Feodor's great-grand- father, Andrei Lavretzky; the dark, sallow face was barely discernible against the warped and blackened background; the small, vicious eyes 114 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST gazed surlily from beneath pendent, swollen lids ; the black hair, devoid of powder, rose in a brush over the heavy, deeply-seamed brow. On the corner of the portrait hung a wreath of dusty immortelles. " Glafira Petrovna herself was pleased to weave it," announced Anton. In the bedchamber rose a narrow bed, under a tester of ancient, striped material, of very excellent quality; a mountain of faded pillows, and a thin quilted coverlet, lay on the bed, and by the head of the bed hung an image of the Presentation in the Temple of the All-Holy Birthgiver of God, the very same image to which the old spinster, as she lay dying alone and forgotten by every one, had pressed for the last time, her lips which were already growing cold. The toilet-table, of inlaid wood with brass trimmings and a crooked mirror with tarnished gilding, stood by the window. Alongside the bedroom was the room for the holy pictures, a tiny cham- ber, with bare walls and a heavy shrine of images in the corner ; on the floor lay a small, threadbare rug, spotted with wax; Glafira Petrovna had been wont to make her prostrations upon it. Anton went off with Lavretzky's lackey to open the stable and carriage-house; in his stead, there presented herself an old woman, almost of the same age as he, with a kerchief bound round her head, down to her very brows ; her head trembled, and her eyes gazed dully, but expressed zeal, and 115 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST a long-established habit of serving with assiduity, and, at the same time, a certain respectful com- miseration. She kissed Lavretzky's hand, and paused at the door, in anticipation of orders. He positively was unable to recall her name ; he could not even remember whether he had ever seen her. It turned out that her name was Apraxyeya; forty years before, that same Glafira Petrovna had banished her from the manor-house service, and had ordered her to attend to the fowls ; how- ever, she said little, — as though she had outlived her mind, — and only looked on cringingly. In addition to these two old people, and three pot- bellied brats in long shirts, Anton's great-grand- children, there dwelt in the service-rooms of the manor a one-armed little old peasant, who was exempt from compulsory service; he made a drumming noise like a woodcock when he spoke, and was not capable of doing anything. Not much more useful than he was the decrepit dog, who had welcomed Lavretzky's home-coming with his bark : it had already been fastened up for ten years with a heavy chain, bought by order of Glafira Petrovna, and was barely in a condition to move and drag its burden. After inspecting the house, Lavretzky went out into the park, and was satisfied with it. It was all overgrown with tall grass, burdock, and gooseberry and rasp- berry bushes; but there was much shade in it: there were many old linden-trees, which surprised 116 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST the beholder by their huge size and the strange arrangement of their branches ; they had been too closely planted, and at some time or other — a hundred years before — had been pollarded. The park ended in a small, clear pond, with a rim of tall, reddish reeds. The traces of human life fade away very quickly : Glaf ira Petrovna's farm had not succeeded in running wild, but it already seemed plunged in that tranquil dream where- with everything on earth doth dream, where the restless infection of people does not exist. Feo- dor Ivanitch also strolled through the village ; the women stared at him from the thresholds of their cottages, each with her cheek propped on one hand ; the peasant men saluted him from afar ; the children ran away ; the dogs barked indifferently. At last he felt hungry, but he did not expect his servants and cook until toward evening; the cart with provisions from Lavriki had not yet arrived, — he was compelled to appeal to Anton. Anton immediately arranged matters: he caught an old hen, cut its throat, and plucked it; Apraxyeya rubbed and scrubbed it for a long time, and washed it, like linen, before she placed it in the stew-pan ; when, at last, it was cooked, Anton put on the table-cloth and set the table, placed in front of the plate a blackened salt-cellar of plated ware on three feet, and a small faceted carafe with a round glass stopper and a narrow neck; then he announced to Lavretzky, in a chanting 117 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST voice, that the meal was ready, — and took up his post behind his chair, having wound a napkin around his right fist, and disseminating some strong, ancient odour, which resembled the odour of cypress wood. Lavretzky tasted the soup, and came upon the hen; its skin was all covered with big pimples, a thick tendon ran down each leg, its flesh had a flavour of charcoal and lye. When he had finished his dinner, Lavretzky said that he would like some tea, if " This very moment, sir, I will serve it, sir," — interrupted the old man, — and he kept his promise. A pinch of tea was hunted up, wrapped in a scrap of red paper, a small but very mettlesome and noisy samovar was searched out, also sugar, in very tiny bits, that seemed to have been melted around the edges. Lavretzky drank his tea out of a large cup; he remembered that cup in his childhood: playing- cards were depicted on it, only visitors drank out of it, — and he now drank out of it, like a visitor. Toward evening, his servants arrived; La- vretzky did not wish to sleep in his aunt's bed; he gave orders that a bed should be made up for him in the dining-room. Extinguishing the candle, he stared about him for a long time, and meditated on cheerless thoughts; he experienced the sensation familiar to every man who chances to pass the night, for the first time, in a place which has long been uninhabited; it seemed to him that the darkness which surrounded him on 118 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST all sides could not accustom itself to the new in- habitant, that the very walls of the house were waxing indignant. At last he sighed, drew the coverlet up over him, and fell asleep. Anton re- mained afoot longer than the rest; for a long time he whispered with Apraxyeya, groaned in a low tone, and crossed himself a couple of times. Neither of them expected that the master would settle down among them at Vasilievskoe, when, near at hand, he owned such a magnificent estate, with a capitally-organised manor-house ; they did not even suspect that it was precisely that manor- house which was repugnant to Lavretzky: it evoked in him oppressive memories. After hav- ing whispered his fill, Anton took his staff, and beat upon the board at the store-house which had long been hanging silent, 1 and immediately lay down for a nap in the yard, without covering up his grey head with anything. The May night was tranquil and caressing — and the old man slumbered sweetly. 1 It is the duty of the night-watchman to beat upon the board at regular intervals, to show that he is vigilant. — Translator. 119 XX The next morning Lavretzky rose quite early, had a talk with the overseer, visited the threshing- floor, ordered the chain to be removed from the watch-dog, who only barked a little, but did not even move away from his kennel; — and on his return home, sank into a sort of peaceful torpor, from which he did not emerge all day. ' I have sunk down to the very bottom of the river now," he said to himself more than once. He sat by the window, made no movement, and seemed to be listening to the current of tranquil life which sur- rounded him, to the infrequent noises of the country solitudes. Yonder, somewhere beyond the nettles, some one began to sing, in the shrillest of voices; a gnat seemed to be chiming in with the voice. Now it ceased, but the gnat still squeaked on; athwart the energetic, insistently- plaintive buzzing of the flies resounded the boom- ing of a fat bumble-bee, which kept bumping its head against the ceiling ; a cock on the road began to crow, hoarsely prolonging the last note; a peasant cart rumbled past; the gate toward the village creaked. " Well? " suddenly quavered a woman's voice. — "Okh, thou my dear little sweet- 120 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST heart," said Anton to a little girl of two years, whom he was dandling in his arms. " Fetch some kvas," repeats the same female voice, — and all at once a deathlike silence ensues; nothing makes any noise, nothing stirs; the breeze does not flutter a leaf; the swallows dart along near the ground, one after the other, without a cry, and sadness descends upon the soul from their silent flight. — " Here I am, sunk down to the bottom of the river," Lavretzky says to himself again. — " And life is at all times tranquil, leisurely here," he thinks: — "whoever enters its circle must be- come submissive: here there is nothing to agitate one's self about, nothing to disturb; here success awaits only him who lays out his path without haste, as the husbandman lays the furrow with his plough." And what strength there is all around, what health there is in this inactive calm ! Yonder now, under the window, a sturdy burdock is making its way out from among the thick grass; above it, the lovage is stretching forth its succu- lent stalk, the Virgin's-tears * toss still higher their rosy tendrils; and yonder, further away, in the fields, the rye is gleaming, and the oats are beginning to shoot up their stalks, and every leaf on every tree, every blade of grass on its stalk, spreads itself out to its fullest extent. " My best years have been spent on the love of a woman," 1 This plant bears round seed -pods of mottled-grey, which are often used to make very pretty rosaries. — Translator. 121 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Lavretzky pursued his meditations: — "may the irksomeness here sober me, may it soothe me, pre- pare me so that I may understand how to do my work without haste " ; and again he began to lend an ear to the silence, expecting nothing, — and, at the same time, as it were incessantly expecting something: the silence enfolds him on all sides, the sun glides quietly across the calm blue sky, a cloud floats gently in its wake; it seems as though they know whither and why they are floating. At that same moment, in other spots on earth, life was seething, bustling, roaring ; here the same life was flowing on inaudibly, like water amid marsh-grass; and until the very evening, Lavretzky could not tear himself from the con- templation of that life fleeting, flowing onward; grief for the past melted in his soul like snows of springtime, — and, strange to say! — never had the feeling of his native land been so deep and strong within him. 122 XXI In the course of a fortnight, Feodor Ivanitch brought Glaffra Petrovna's little house into or- der ; cleaned up the yard, the garden ; comfortable furniture was brought to him from Lavriki, wine, books, newspapers from the town; horses made their appearance in the stables ; in a word, Feodor Ivanitch provided himself with everything that was necessary and began to live — not exactly like a country squire, nor yet exactly like a re- cluse. His days passed monotonously, but he was not bored, although he saw no one; he occupied himself diligently and attentively with the farm- ing operations, he rode about the neighbourhood on horseback, he read. He read but little, how- ever: it was more agreeable for him to listen to the tales of old Anton. As a rule, Lavretzky would seat himself with a pipe of tobacco and a cup of cold tea near the window ; Anton would stand near the door, with his hands clasped behind him, and begin his leisurely stories of olden times, — of those fabulous times — when the oats and barley were sold not by measures but by huge sacks, at two or three kopeks the sack ; when in all directions, even close to the town, stretched im- 123 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST penetrable forests, untouched steppes. " And now," wailed the old man, who was already over eighty years of age: — "they have felled and ploughed up everything until there is no place to drive through." Anton, also, related many things concerning his mistress Glafira Petrovna: how sagacious and economical she had been ; how a certain gentleman, a youthful neighbour, had attempted to gain her good-will, had taken to calling frequently, — and how she had been pleased, for his benefit, even to don her cap with rose-purple ribbons, and her yellow gown of tru- tru levantine ; but how, later on, having flown into a rage with her neighbour, on account of the unseemly question: "What might your capital amount to, madam?" she had given orders that he should not be admitted, and how she had then commanded, that everything, down to the very smallest scrap, should be given to Feodor Ivanitch after her death. And, in fact, Lavretzky found all his aunt's effects intact, not excepting the festival cap, with the rose-purple ribbons, and the gown of yellow tru-tru levantine. The ancient papers and curious documents, which Lavretzky had counted upon, proved not to exist, with the exception of one tattered little old book, in which his grandfather, Piotr Andreitch, had jotted down, now — " Celebration in the city of Saint Petersburg of the peace concluded with the Turk- ish Empire by his Illustriousness Prince Alexan- 124 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST der Alexandrovitch Prozorovsky " ; now a recipe for a decoction for the chest, with the comment : " This instruction was given to Generaless Pras- kovya Feodorovna Saltykoff, by Feodor Avksen- tievitch, Archpriest of the Church of the Life- giving Trinity " ; again, some item of political news, like the following: "In the 'Moscow News/ it is announced that Premier-Major Mi- khail Petrovitch Kolytcheff has died. Was not he the son of Piotr Vasilievitch Kolytcheff? " Lavretzky also found several ancient calendars and dream-books, and the mystical works of Mr. Ambodik ; many memories were awakened in him by the long-forgotten but familiar " Symbols and Emblems." In Glafira Petrovna's toilet- table Lavretzky found a small packet, tied with black ribbon, and sealed with black wax, thrust into the remotest recesses of the drawer. In the packet, face to face, lay a pastel portrait of his father in his youth, with soft curls tumbling over his brow, with long, languid eyes, and mouth half opened, — and the almost effaced portrait of a pale woman in a white gown, with a white rose in her hand, — his mother. Glafira Petrovna had never permitted her own portrait to be made. — " Dear little father Feodor Ivanitch," — Anton was wont to say to Lavretzky: — " although I did not then have my residence in the manor-house of the masters, yet I remember your great-grand- father, Andrei Afanasievitch, — that I do; I was 125 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST eighteen years of age when he died. Once I met him in the garden, — my very hamstrings shook; but he did nothing, only inquired my name, — and sent me to his chamber for a pocket-handker- chief. He was a real gentleman, there 's no gain- saying that, — and he recognised no superior over him. For I must inform you, that your great- grandfather had a wonderful amulet, — a monk from Mount Athos gave him that amulet. And that monk said to him : ' I give thee this for thine affability, Boyarin; wear it — and fear not fate.' Well, and of course, dear little father, you know, what sort of times those were; what the master took a notion to do, that he did. Once in a while, some one, even one of the gentry, would take it into his head to thwart him; but no sooner did he look at him, than he would say : ' You 're sailing in shoal water ' — that was his favourite expression. And he lived, your great-grandfather of blessed memory, in a tiny wooden mansion; but what property he left be- hind him, what silver, and all sorts of supplies, — all the cellars were filled to the brim ! He was a master. That little carafe, which you were pleased to praise, — belonged to him: he drank vodka from it. And then your grandfather, Piotr Ivanitch, built himself a stone mansion ; but he acquired no property; with him everything went at sixes and sevens ; and he lived worse than his papa, and got no pleasure for himself, — but 126 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST wasted all the money, and there was none to pay for requiems for his soul ; he left not even a silver spoon behind him, so it was lucky that Glafira Petrovna brought things into order." " And is it true," — Lavretzky interrupted him, — " that she was called an ill-tempered old hag? ' 'Why, surely, some did call her that!" — re- turned Anton, in displeasure. " Well, little father," — the old man one day summoned the courage to ask ; — " and how about our young mistress; where is she pleased to have her residence? " " I have separated from my wife," — said La- vretzky, with an effort: — " please do not inquire about her." " I obey, sir," — replied the old man, sadly. After the lapse of three weeks, Lavretzky rode into O * * * on horseback, to the Kalitins', and passed the evening with them. Lemm was there ; Lavretzky conceived a great liking for him. Al- though, thanks to his father, he did not play on any instrument, yet he was passionately fond of music, — intelligent, classical music. Panshin was not at the Kalitins' that evening. The Governor had sent him off somewhere, out of town. Liza played alone, and with great precision; Lemm grew animated, excited, rolled a piece of paper into a baton, and beat time. Marya Dmitrievna laughed, at first, as she watched him, and then 127 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST went off to bed; as she said, Beethoven was too agitating for her nerves. At midnight, La- vretzky escorted Lemm to his lodgings, and sat with him until three o'clock in the morning. Lemm talked a great deal; his bent shoulders straightened up, his eyes opened widely and sparkled; his very hair stood upright above his brow. It was such a very long time since any one had taken an interest in him, but Lavretzky evidently did take an interest, and interrogated him solicitously and attentively. This touched the old man; he ended by showing his visitor his music, he even played and sang to him, with his ghost of a voice, several selections from his com- positions, — among others, the whole of Schiller's ballad ' Fridolin," which he had set to music. Lavretzky lauded it, made him repeat portions of it, and invited him to visit him for a few days. Lemm, who was escorting him to the street, im- mediately accepted, and shook his hand warmly; but when he was left alone, in the cool, damp air of the day which was just beginning to dawn, he glanced around him, screwed up his eyes, writhed, and went softly to his tiny chamber, like a guilty creature: " Ich bin wohl nicht klug ' ( I 'm not in my right mind ) , — he muttered, as he lay down on his hard, short bed. He tried to assert that he was ill when, a few days later, La- vretzky came for him in a calash; but Feodor Ivanitch went to him, in his room, and persuaded 128 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST him. The circumstance which operated most powerfully of all on Lemm was, that Lavretzky had ordered a piano to be sent to his country- house from the town : a piano for his — Lemm's — use. Together they went to the Kalitins', and spent the evening, but not so agreeably as on the former occasion. Panshin was there, had a great deal to narrate about his journey, and very amus- ingly mimicked and illustrated in action the coun- try squires he had seen; Lavretzky laughed, but Lemm did not emerge from his corner, main- tained silence, quietly quivered all over like a spider, looked glum and dull, and grew animated only when Lavretzky began to take his leave. Even when he was seated in the calash, the old man continued to be shy and to fidget; but the quiet, warm air, the light breeze, the delicate shadows, the perfume of the grass, of the birch buds, the peaceful gleam of the starry, moonless heaven, the energetic hoof -beats and snorting of the horses, all the charms of the road, of spring, of night, — descended into the heart of the poor German, and he himself was the first to address Lavretzky. 129 XXII He began to talk of music, of Liza, then again of music. He seemed, somehow, to utter his words more slowly when he spoke of Liza. La- vretzky turned the conversation on his composi- tions, and, half in jest, proposed to write a libretto for him. " H'm, a libretto!" — rejoined Lemm: — "no, that is beyond me : I have not that animation, that play of fancy, which is indispensable for an opera ; I have already lost my powers But if I could still do something, — I would be satis- fied with a romance ; of course, I should like some good words. . . ." He relapsed into silence, and sat for a long time motionless, with his eyes raised heavenward. " For example," he said at last: — " something of this sort : ' Ye stars, O ye pure stars ' ? ' ... Lavretzky turned his face slightly toward him and began to stare at him. " ' Ye stars, ye pure stars,' " — repeated Lemm. . . . " ' Ye gaze alike upon the just and upon the guilty .... but only the innocent of heart,' — or something of that sort . . . ' understand you,' that is to say, no, — ' love you.' However, I am 130 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST not a poet . . how should I be ! But something in that style, something lofty." Lemm pushed his hat back on the nape of his neck ; in the delicate gloom of the light night, his face seemed whiter and more youthful. " ' And ye also,' " — he went on, with a voice which gradually grew quieter: — " ' ye know who loves, who knows how to love, for ye are pure, ye, alone, can comfort.' . . . No, that 's not right yet! I am not a poet," — he said: — "but something of that sort. ..." " I regret that I am not a poet," — remarked Lavretzky. " Empty visions!" retorted Lemm, and huddled in the corner of the calash. He closed his eyes, as though preparing to go to sleep. Several moments elapsed. . . . Lavretzky lis- tened. . . . "' Stars, pure stars, love,' " — the old man was whispering. " Love," — Lavretzky repeated to himself, be- came thoughtful, and his soul grew heavy within him. " You have written some very beautiful music for ' Fridolin,' Christofor Feodoritch," — he said aloud: — " and what think you; did that Fridolin, after the Count had led him to his wife, become her lover — hey? " " That is what you think," — returned Lemm: " because, probably, experience . . . . " He sud- denly fell silent, and turned away in confusion. 131 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Lavretzky laughed in a constrained way, turned away also, and began to stare along the road. The stars had already begun to pale, and the sky was grey, when the calash rolled up to the porch of the little house at Vasilievskoe. La- vretzky conducted his guest to the chamber which had been assigned to him, returned to his study, and sat down by the window. In the park, a nightingale was singing its last lay before the dawn. Lavretzky remembered that a nightingale had been singing in the Kalitins' garden also; he recalled, too, the tranquil movement of Liza's eyes when, at the first sounds of it, they had turned toward the dark window. He began to think of her, and his heart grew calm within him. " Pure little star," — he said to himself, in a low tone: — "pure stars," — he added, with a smile, and calmly lay down to sleep. But Lemm sat, for a long time, on his bed, with a book of music-paper on his knees. It seemed as though a strange, sweet melody were about to visit him: he was already burning and growing agitated, he already felt the lassitude and sweetness of its approach . . . but it did not come. " I am not a poet, and not a musician! " — he whispered at last And his weary head sank back heavily on the pillow. 132 XXIII On the following morning, host and guest drank tea in the garden, under an ancient linden-tree. "Maestro!" — said Lavretsky, among other things: — " you will soon have to compose a tri- umphal cantata." " On what occasion? " " On the occasion of the marriage of Mr. Panshin to Liza. Did you notice how he was paying court to her last evening? It seems as though everything were going smoothly with them." " That shall not be! " exclaimed Lemm. " Why not? " " Because it is impossible. However," — he added, after a pause: — "everything is possible in this world. Especially here, with you, in Russia." " Let us leave Russia out of the question for the present ; but what evil do you see in that mar- nage ( . " All is evil, all. Lizaveta Mikhaflovna is an upright, serious maiden, with exalted senti- ments, — but he he is a di-let-tante, in one word." 133 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST "But surely she loves him? " Lemm rose from the bench. " No, she does not love him, that is to say, she is very pure in heart, and does not know herself what ' love ' means. Madam von Kalftin tells her, that he is a nice young man, and she listens to Madam von Kalitin, because she is still a perfect child, although she is nineteen years of age: she says her prayers in the morning, she says her prayers in the evening, — and that is very praiseworthy; but she does not love him. She can love only the fine, but he is not fine; that is, his soul is not fine." Lemm uttered this whole speech coherently and with fervour, pacing back and forth, with short strides, in front of the tea-table, and with his eyes flitting over the ground. "My dearest Maestro!" — exclaimed Lavret- zky all at once : — " it strikes me, that you are in love with my cousin yourself." Lemm came to a sudden halt. " Please," — he began in an uncertain voice: — " do not jest thus with me. I am not a lunatic." Lavretzky felt sorry for the old man; he en- treated his forgiveness. After tea, Lemm played him his cantata, and at dinner, being instigated thereto by Lavretzky himself, he again began to talk about Liza. Lavretzky lis- tened to him with attention and curiosity. " What think you, Christof or Feodoritch," — 134 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST he said at last — " everything appears to be in order with us now, the garden is in full bloom. .... Shall not we invite her here for the day, together with her mother and my old aunt, — hey? Would that be agreeable to you? " Lemm bent his head over his plate. " Invite her," — he said, almost inaudibly. " And Panshin need not be asked? ' " He need not," — replied the old man, with a half -childlike smile. Two days later, Feodor Ivanitch set out for the town, to the Kalitins. 135 XXIV He found them all at home, but he did not im- mediately announce to them his intention: he wished, first, to have a talk alone with Liza. Chance aided him: they were left alone together in the drawing-room. They fell into conversa- tion : she had succeeded in getting used to him, — and, in general, she was not shy of any one. He listened to her, looked her straight in the face, and mentally repeated Lemm's words, and agreed with him. It sometimes happens, that two persons who are already acquainted, but not intimate, suddenly and swiftly draw near to each other in the course of a few minutes, — and the consciousness of this approach is immediately re- flected in their glances, in their friendly, quiet smiles, in their very movements. Precisely this is what took place with Lavretzky and Liza. " So that 's what he is like," she thought, gazing caressingly at him; "so that's what thou art like," he said to himself also. And therefore, he was not greatly surprised when she, not with- out a slight hesitation, however, announced to him, that she had long had it in her heart to say something to him, but had been afraid of annoy- ing him. 130 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST 'Have no fear; speak out," — he said, and halted in front of her. Liza raised her clear eyes to his. " You are so kind," — she began, and, at the same time, she said to herself: — " ' yes, he really is kind ' . . . you will pardon me, but I ought not to speak of this to you .... but how could you . . . why did you separate from your wife? " Lavretzky shuddered, glanced at Liza, and seated himself beside her. 1 My child," he began, — " please do not touch that wound ; your hands are tender, but neverthe- less I shall suffer pain." ' I know," — went on Liza, as though she had not heard him: — " she is culpable toward you, I do not wish to defend her; but how is it possible to put asunder that which God has joined to- gether? " ' Our convictions on that point are too dis- similar, Lizaveta Mikhailovna," — said Lavret- zky, rather sharply; — "we shall not understand each other." Liza turned pale; her whole body quivered slightly ; but she did not hold her peace. "You ought to forgive," — she said softly: — " if you wish to be forgiven." 'Forgive!" — Lavretzky caught her up: — ' Ought not you first to know for whom you are pleading? Forgive that woman, take her back into my house, — her, — that empty, heartless crea- 137 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST ture! And who has told you, that she wishes to return to me? Good heavens, she is entirely sat- isfied with her position But what is the use of talking about it! Her name ought not to be uttered by you. You are too pure, you are not even in a position to understand what sort of a being she is." ' Why vilify her? " — said Liza, with an effort. The trembling of her hands became visible. " It was you yourself who abandoned her, Feodor Ivanitch." " But I tell you," — retorted Lavretzky, with an involuntary outburst of impatience: — "that you do not know what sort of a creature she is! " " Then why did you marry her? " — whispered Liza, and dropped her eyes. Lavretzky sprang up hastily from his seat. ' Why did I marry? I was young and inex- perienced then; I was deceived, I was carried away by a beautiful exterior. I did not know women, I did not know anything. God grant that you may make a happier marriage ! But, be- lieve me, it is impossible to vouch for anything." " And I may be just as unhappy," — said Liza (her voice began to break) : " but, in that case, I must submit; I do not know how to talk, but if we do not submit ..." Lavretzky clenched his fists and stamped his foot. 138 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST "Be not angry; forgive me!" — ejaculated Liza, hastily. At that moment, Marya Dmitrievna entered. Liza rose, and started to leave the room. " Stop! " — Lavretzky unexpectedly called after her. " I have a great favour to ask of your mother and of you: make me a visit to celebrate my new home. You know, I have set up a piano ; Lemm is staying with me; the lilacs are now in bloom; you will get a breath of the country air, and can return the same day, — do you accept? " Liza glanced at her mother, and Marya Dmi- trievna assumed an air of suffering, but Lavret- zky, without giving her a chance to open her mouth, instantly kissed both her hands. Marya Dmitrievna, who was always susceptible to en- dearments, and had not expected such amiability from " the dolt," was touched to the soul, and consented. While she was considering what day to appoint, Lavretzky approached Liza, and, still greatly agitated, furtively whispered to her: ' Thank you, you are a good girl, I am to blame." .... And her pale face flushed crimson with a cheerful — bashful smile; her eyes also smiled, — up to that moment, she had been afraid that she had offended him. ' May Vladimir Nikolaitch go with us?" — asked Marya Dmitrievna. " Certainly," — responded Lavretzky: — "but 139 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST would it not be better if we confined ourselves to our own family circle? " " Yes, certainly, but you see . . . ." Mary a Dmitrievna began. " However, as you like," she added. It was decided to take Lyenotchka and Schii- rotchka. Marfa Timofeevna declined to make the journey. ' It is too hard for me, my dear," — she said, — " my old bones ache: and I am sure there is no place at your house where I can spend the night ; and I cannot sleep in a strange bed. Let these young people do the gallivanting." Lavretzky did not succeed in being alone again with Liza; but he looked at her in such a way, that she felt at ease, and rather ashamed, and sorry for him. On taking leave of her, he pressed her hand warmly; when she was left alone, she fell into thought. 140 XXV When Lavretzky reached home, he was met on the threshold of the drawing-room by a tall, thin man, in a threadbare blue coat, with frowzy grey side-whiskers, a long, straight nose, and small, inflamed eyes. This was Mikhalevitch, his former comrade at the university. Lavretzky did not recognise him at first, but embraced him warmly as soon as he mentioned his name. They had not seen each other since the Moscow days. There was a shower of exclamations, of ques- tions; long-smothered memories came forth into the light of day. Hurriedly smoking pipe after pipe, drinking down tea in gulps, and flour- ishing his long arms, Mikhalevitch narrated his adventures to Lavretzky ; there was nothing very cheerful about them, he could not boast of success in his enterprises, — but he laughed incessantly, with a hoarse, nervous laugh. A month pre- viously, he had obtained a situation in the private counting-house of a wealthy distiller, about three hundred versts from the town of O * * *, and, on learning of Lavretzky's return from abroad, he had turned aside from his road, in order to see 141 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST his old friend. Mikhalevitch talked as abruptly as in his younger days, was as noisy and effer- vescent as ever. Lavretzky was about to allude to his circumstances, but Mikhalevitch inter- rupted him, hastily muttering : " I 've heard, brother, I 've heard about it, — who could have anticipated it? " — and immediately turned the conversation into the region of general com- ments. 'I, brother," — he said: — "must leave thee to-morrow; to-day, thou must excuse me — we will go to bed late — I positively must find out what are thy opinions, convictions, what sort of a person thou hast become, what life has taught thee." (Mikhalevitch still retained the phrase- ology of the '30s.) " So far as I myself am con- cerned, I have changed in many respects, bro- ther: the billows of life have fallen upon my breast, — who the dickens was it that said that? — although, in important, essential points, I have not changed; I believe, as of yore, in the good, in the truth; but I not only believe, — I am now a believer, yes — I am a believer, a religious be- liever. Hearken, thou knowest that I write verses; there is no poetry in them, but there is truth. I will recite to thee my last piece: in it I have given expression to my most sincere convic- tions. Listen." — Mikhalevitch began to recite a poem; it was rather long, and wound up with the following lines: 142 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " To new feeling I have surrendered myself with all my heart, I have become like a child in soul: And I have burned all that I worshipped. I have worshipped all that I burned." As he declaimed these last two lines, Mikha- levitch was on the verge of tears; slight convul- sive twitchings, the signs of deep feeling — flitted across his broad lips, his ugly face lighted up. Lavretzky listened and listened to him ; the spirit of contradiction began to stir within him: the ever-ready, incessantly-seething enthusiasm of the Moscow student irritated him. A quarter of an hour had not elapsed, before a dispute flared up between them, one of those intermina- ble disputes, of which only Russians are capable. After a separation of many years' duration, spent in two widely-different spheres, under- standing clearly neither other people's thoughts nor their own, — cavilling at words and retorting with mere words, they argued about the most ab- stract subjects, — and argued as though it were a matter of life and death to both of them : they shouted and yelled so, that all the people in the house took fright, and poor Lemm, who, from the moment of Mikhalevitch's arrival, had locked himself up in his room, became bewildered, and began, in a confused way, to be afraid. "But what art thou after this? disillusioned? " 143 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST — shouted Mikhalevitch at one o'clock in the morning. " Are there any such disillusioned people? " — retorted Lavretzky: — " they are all poor and ill, — and I '11 pick thee up with one hand, shall I ? ' " Well, if not a disillusioned man, then a scep- tuikj and that is still worse." (Mikhalevitch's pronunciation still smacked of his native Little Russia.) "And what right hast thou to be a sceptic? Thou hast had bad luck in life, granted; that was no fault of thine: thou wert born with a passionate, loving soul, and thou wert forcibly kept away from women: the first woman that came in thy way was bound to deceive thee." " And she did deceive me," — remarked La- vretzky, gloomily. " Granted, granted ; I was the instrument of fate there, — »but what nonsense am I talking? — there 's no fate about it ; it 's merely an old habit of expressing myself inaccurately. But what does that prove? " " It proves, that they dislocated me in my childhood." " But set thy joints! to that end thou art a human being, a man; thou hast no need to borrow energy! But, at any rate, is it possible, is it per- missible, to erect a private fact, so to speak, into a general law, into an immutable law? ' " Where is the rule? " — interrupted Lavret- zky, — " I do not admit . . 144 »5 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Yes, it is thy rule, thy rule," Mikhalevitch interrupted him in his turn. . . . " Thou art an egoist, that 's what thou art! ' — he thundered, an hour later: — " thou hast de- sired thine own personal enjoyment, thou hast desired happiness in life, thou hast desired to live for thyself alone. ..." " What dost thou mean by personal enjoy- ment?" "And everything has deceived thee; every- thing has crumbled away beneath thy feet." " What is personal enjoyment, — I ask thee? ' " And it was bound to crumble. For thou hast sought support where it was not to be found, for thou hast built thy house on a quicksand. . ." " Speak more plainly, without metaphors, be- cause I do not understand thee." " Because, — laugh if it pleases thee, — because there is no faith in thee, no warmth of heart; mind, merely a farthing mind; thou art simply a pitiful, lagging Voltairian — that 's what thou art!" Who — I am a Voltairian? " Yes, just the same sort as thy father was, and dost not suspect it thyself." "After that,"— cried Lavretzky — " I have a right to say that thou art a fanatic! ' : " Alas! " — returned Mikhalevitch, with contri- tion: — "unhappily, as yet I have in no way earned so lofty an appellation. . ." 145 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Now I have discovered what to call thee," — shouted this same Mikhalevitch, at three o'clock in the morning; — " thou art not a sceptic, not a disillusioned man, not a Voltairian, — thou art a trifler, and thou art an evil-minded trifler, a con- scious trifler, not an ingenuous trifler. Ingenuous triflers lie around on the oven and do nothing, because they do not know how to do anything; and they think of nothing. But thou art a thinking man, — and thou liest around; thou mightest do something — and thou dost nothing; thou liest with thy well-fed belly upward and sayest: ' It is proper to lie thus, because every- thing that men do is nonsense, and twaddle which leads to nothing.' " " But what makes thee think that I trifle," — insisted Lavretzky: — "why dost thou assume such thoughts on my part? " " And more than that, all of you, all the people of your sort," — pursued the obstreperous Mikha- levitch: — "are erudite triflers. You know on what foot the German limps, you know what is bad about the English and the French, — and your knowledge comes to your assistance, justifies your shameful laziness, your disgusting inactivity. Some men will even pride themselves, and say, ' What a clever fellow I am ! — I lie around, but the others, the fools, bustle about.' Yes! — And there are such gentlemen among us, — I am not saying this with reference to thee, however,— 146 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST who pass their whole lives in a sort of stupor of tedium, grow accustomed to it, sit in it like .... like a mushroom in sour cream," Mikhalevitch caught himself up, and burst out laughing at his own comparison. — " Oh, that stupor of tedium is the ruin of the Russians ! The repulsive trifler, all his life long, is getting ready to work " " Come, what art thou calling names for? " — roared Lavretzkv, in his turn. — " Work . . . act . . . Tell me, rather, what to do, but don't call names, you Poltava Demosthenes! " " Just see what a freak he has taken! I '11 not tell thee that, brother ; every one must know that himself," retorted Demosthenes, ironically. — " A landed proprietor, a nobleman — and he does n't know what to do! Thou hast no faith, or thou wouldst know; thou hast no faith — and there is no revelation." " Give me a rest, at any rate, you devil: give me a chance to look around me," — entreated Lavretzky. " Not a minute, not a second of respite ! " — retorted Mikhalevitch, with an imperious gesture of the hand. — "Not one second! — Death does not wait, and life ought not to wait." . . . ' And when, where did men get the idea of becoming triflers? " — he shouted, at four o'clock in the morning, but his voice had now begun to be rather hoarse: "among us! now! in Russia! when on every separate individual a duty, a great 147 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST obligation is incumbent toward God, toward the nation, toward himself! We are sleeping, but time is passing on; we are sleeping. . . ." " Permit me to observe to thee," — said La- vretzky, — " that we are not sleeping at all, now, but are, rather, preventing others from sleeping. We are cracking our throats like cocks. Hark, is n't that the third cock-crow? " This sally disconcerted and calmed down Mikhalevitch. " Farewell until to-morrow," — he said, with a smile, — and thrust his pipe into his tobacco-pouch. " Farewell until to-morrow," repeated Lavretzky. But the friends conversed for an hour longer. However, their voices were no longer raised, and their speeches were quiet, sad, and kind. Mikhalevitch departed on the following day, in spite of all Lavretzky's efforts to detain him. Feodor Ivanitch did not succeed in persuading him to remain; but he talked with him to his heart's content. It came out, that Mikhalevitch had not a penny in the world. Already, on the preceding evening, Lavretzky, with compassion, had observed in him all the signs and habits of confirmed poverty; his boots were broken, a but- ton was missing from the back of his coat, his hands were guiltless of gloves, down was visible in his hair; on his arrival, it had not occurred to him to ask for washing materials, and at supper he ate like a shark tearing the meat apart with 148 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST his hands, and cracking the bones noisily with his strong, black teeth. It appeared, also, that the service had been of no benefit to him, that he had staked all his hopes on the revenue-farmer, who had engaged him simply with the object of having in his counting-house " an educated man." In spite of all this, Mikhalevitch was not de- jected, and lived on as a cynic, an idealist, a poet, sincerely rejoicing and grieving over the lot of mankind, over his own calling, — and troubled himself very little as to how he was to keep him- self from dying with hunger. Mikhalevitch had not married, but had been in love times without number, and wrote verses about all his lady-loves ; with especial fervour did he sing the praises of one mysterious " panna "* with black and curling locks. . . . Rumours were in circulation, it is true, to the effect that the " panna " in question was a plain Jewess, well known to many cavalry offi- cers . . . but, when you come to think of it, — does that make any difference? Mikhalevitch did not get on well with Lemm: his vociferous speeches, his harsh manners, fright- ened the German, who was not used to such things. . . An unfortunate wretch always scents another unfortunate wretch from afar, but rarely makes up to him in old age, — and this is not in the least to be wondered at : he has nothing to share with him, — not even hopes. 1 Polish for " gentlewoman." — Translator. 149 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Before his departure, Mikhalevitch had an- other long talk with Lavretzky, prophesied per- dition to him, if he did not come to a sense of his errors, entreated him to occupy himself seriously with the existence of his peasants, set himself up as an example, saying, that he had been purified in the furnace of affliction, — and immediately thereafter, several times mentioned himself as a happy man, compared himself to the birds of heaven, the lilies of the field " " A black lily, at any rate," — remarked La- vretzky. " Eh, brother, don't put on any of your aristocratic airs," — retorted Mikhalevitch, good- naturedly: — " but thank God, rather, that in thy veins flows honest, plebeian blood. But I per- ceive, that thou art now in need of some pure, unearthly being, who shall wrest thee from this apathy of thine." "Thanks, brother," — said Lavretzky: — "I have had enough of those unearthly beings." ' Shut up, cuinuik! " — exclaimed Mikhale- vitch. ' Cynic," — Lavretzky corrected him. ' " Just so, cuinuik'' — repeated Mikhalevitch, in no wise disconcerted. Even as he took his seat in the tarantas, to which his flat, yellow, strangely light trunk was carried forth, he continued to talk; wrapped up in some sort of a Spanish cloak with a rusty col- 150 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST lar, and lion's paws in place of clasps, he still went on setting forth his views as to the fate of Russia, and waving his swarthy hand through the air, as though he were sowing the seeds of its future welfare. At last the horses started. . . . " Bear in mind my last three words," — he shouted, thrusting his whole body out of the ta- rantas, and balancing himself: — " religion, prog- ress, humanity! .... Farewell! " His head, with its cap pulled down to the very eyes, vanished. Lavretzky remained standing alone on the porch and staring down the road until the tarantas dis- appeared from his sight. " But I think he probably is right," — he said to himself, as he re- entered the house: — "probably I am a trifler." Many of Mikhalevitch's words had sunk indelibly into his soul, although he had disputed and had not agreed with him. If only a man be kindly, no one can repulse him. 151 XXVI Two days later, Marya Dmitrievna arrived with all her young people at Vasilievskoe, in accord- ance with her promise. The little girls imme- diately ran out into the garden, while Marya Dmitrievna languidly traversed the rooms, and languidly praised everything. Her visit to La- vretzky she regarded as a token of great con- descension, almost in the light of a good deed. She smiled affably when Anton and Apraxyeya, after the ancient custom of house-serfs, came to kiss her hand, — and in an enervated voice, through her nose, she asked them to give her some tea. To the great vexation of Anton, who had donned white knitted gloves, the newly-arrived lady was served with tea not by him, but by La- vretzky's hired valet, who, according to the as- sertion of the old man, knew nothing whatever about proper forms. On the other hand, Anton reasserted his rights at dinner: firm as a post he stood behind Marya Dmitrievna's chair — and yielded his place to no one. The long-unpre- cedented arrival of visitors at Vasilievskoe both agitated and rejoiced the old man: it pleased him to see, that his master knew nice people. How- 152 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST ever, he was not the only one who was excited on that day: Lemm, also, was excited. He put on a short, snuff-coloured frock-coat, with a sharp-pointed collar, bound his neckerchief tightly, and incessantly coughed and stepped aside, with an agreeable and courteous mien. La- vretzky noted, with satisfaction, that the close relations between himself and Liza still contin- ued : no sooner did she enter, than she offered him her hand, in friendly wise. After dinner, Lemm drew forth, from the back pocket of his coat, into which he had been constantly thrusting his hand, a small roll of music, and pursing up his lips, he silently laid it on the piano. It was a romance, which he had composed on the preceding day to old-fashioned German words, in which the stars were alluded to. Liza immediately seated her- self at the piano and began to decipher the romance- . . . Alas, the music turned out to be complicated, and disagreeably strained; it was obvious that the composer had attempted to ex- press some passionate, profound sentiment, but nothing had come of it : so the attempt remained merely an attempt. . Lavretzky and Liza both felt this, — and Lemm understood it: he said not a word, put his romance back in his pocket, and in reply to Liza's proposal to play it over again, he merely said significantly, with a shake of his head: "Enough — for the present!" — bent his shoulders, shrank together, and left the room. 153 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Toward evening, they all went fishing to- gether. The pond beyond the garden contained a quantity of carp and loach. They placed Marya Dmitrievna in an arm-chair near the bank, in the shade, spread a rug under her feet, and gave her the best hook; Anton, in the quality of an old and expert fisherman, offered his services. He assiduously spitted worms on the hook, slapped them down with his hand, spat on them, and even himself flung the line and hook, bend- ing forward with his whole body. That same day, Marya Dmitrievna expressed herself to Feodor Ivanitch, with regard to him, in the fol- lowing phrase, in the French language of girls' institutes : " II ny a plus maintenant de ces gens comme fa comme autrefois." Lemm, with the two little girls, went further away, to the dam; Lavretzky placed himself beside Liza. The fish bit incessantly, the carp which were caught were constantly flashing their sides, now gold, now silver, in the air; the joyous exclamations of the little girls were unceasing; Marya Dmitrievna herself gave vent to a couple of shrill, feminine shrieks. Lavretzky and Liza caught fewer than the others; this, probably, resulted from the fact that they paid less attention than the rest to their fishing, and allowed their floats to drift close in- shore. The tall, reddish reeds rustled softly around them, in front of them the motionless water gleamed softly, and their conversation was 154 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST soft also. Liza stood on a small raft ; Lavretzky sat on the inclined trunk of a willow ; Liza wore a white gown, girt about the waist with a broad ribbon, also white in hue ; her straw hat was hang- ing from one hand, with the other, she supported, with some effort, the curved fishing-rod. La- vretzky gazed at the pure, rather severe profile, at her hair tucked behind her ears, at her soft cheeks, which were as sunburned as those of a child, — and said to himself: " O how charm- ingly thou standest on my pond! ' Liza did not turn toward him, but stared at the water, — and half smiled, half screwed up her eyes. The shadow of a linden-tree near at hand fell upon both of them. " Do you know," — began Lavretzky: — " I have been thinking a great deal about my last conversation with you, and have come to the con- elusion, that you are extraordinarily kind." " I did not mean it in that way at all . . . ." Liza began, — and was overcome with shame. " You are kind," — repeated Lavretzky. ' I am a rough man, but I feel that every one must love you. There 's Lemm now, for example : he is simply in love with you." Liza's brows quivered, rather than contracted; this always happened with her when she heard something disagreeable. " I felt very sorry for him to-day," — Lavret- zky resumed: — "with his unsuccessful romance. 155 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST To be young, and be able to do a tbing — tbat can be borne; but to grow old, and not have the power — is painful. And the offensive thing about it is, that you are not conscious when your powers begin to wane. It is difficult for an old man to endure these shocks! .... Look out, the fish are biting at your hook. . . They say," — added Lavretzky, after a brief pause, — " that Vladimir Nikolaitch has written a very pretty romance." " Yes," — replied Liza; — " it is a trifle, but it is not bad." " And what is your opinion," — asked Lavret- zky: — " is he a good musician? " " It seems to me that he has great talent for music; but up to the present time he has not cul- tivated it as he should." " Exactly. And is he a nice man? " Liza laughed, and cast a quick glance at Feo- dor Ivanitch. "What a strange question!" — she exclaimed, drawing up her hook, and flinging it far out again. " Why is it strange? — I am asking you about him as a man who has recently come hither, as your relative." "As a relative?" " Yes. I believe I am a sort of uncle to you." " Vladimir Nikolaitch has a kind heart," — said 156 « A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Liza: — "he is clever; mamma is very fond of him." And do you like him? " He is a nice man: why should not I like him?" " Ah! " — said Lavretzky, and relapsed into si- lence. A half -mournful, half -sneering expres- sion flitted across his face. His tenacious gaze discomfited Liza, but she continued to smile. "Well, God grant them happiness!" — he mut- tered, at last, as though to himself, and turned away his head. Liza blushed. " You are mistaken, Feodor Ivanitch," — she said: — " there is no cause for your thinking .... But do not you like Vladimir Nikolaitch ? " " I do not." "Why?" " It seems to me, that he has no heart." The smile vanished from Liza's face. " You have become accustomed to judge peo- ple harshly," — she said, after a long silence. ' I think not. What right have I to judge others harshly, when I myself stand in need of indulgence? Or have you forgotten that a lazy man is the only one who does not laugh at me? ... . Well," — he added: — "and have you kept your promise? " " What promise? " " Have you prayed for me?" 157 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Yes, I have prayed, and I do pray for you every day. But please do not speak lightly of that." Lavretzky began to assure Liza, that such a thing had never entered his head, that he enter- tained a profound respect for all convictions; then he entered upon a discussion of religion, its significance in the history of mankind, the significance of Christianity. . . . " One must be a Christian," — said Liza, not without a certain effort: — " not in order to un- derstand heavenly things yonder . . . earthly things, but because every man must die." Lavretzky, with involuntary surprise, raised his eyes to Liza's, and encountered her glance. "What a word you have uttered!" — said he. " The word is not mine," — she replied. " It is not yours. . . But why do you speak of death? " " I do not know. I often think about it." " Often? " " Yes." " One would not say so, to look at you now: you have such a merry, bright face, you are smiling " " Yes, I am very merry now," — returned Liza, ingenuously. 158 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Lavretzky felt like seizing both her hands, and clasping them tightly. 'Liza, Liza!" — called Marya Dmitrievna, — "come hither, look! What a carp I have caught!" " Immediately, maman" — replied Liza, and went to her, but Lavretzky remained on his wil- low-tree. " I talk with her as though I were not a man whose life is finished," he said to himself. As she departed, Liza had hung her hat on a bough; with a strange, almost tender sentiment, Lavret- zky gazed at the hat, at its long, rather crumpled ribbons. Liza speedily returned to him, and again took up her stand on the raft. " Why do you think that Vladimir Nikolaitch has no heart? " — she inquired, a few moments later. " I have already told you, that I may be mis- taken; however, time will show." Liza became thoughtful. Lavretzky began to talk about his manner of life at Vasilievskoe, about Mikhalevitch, about Anton; he felt im- pelled to talk to Liza, to communicate to her everything that occurred to his soul: she was so charming, she listened to him so attentively; her infrequent comments and replies seemed to him so simple and wise. He even told her so. Liza was amazed. 1 Really? " — she said; — " why, I have always 159 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST thought that I, like my maid Nastya, had no words of my own. One day she said to her be- trothed : ' Thou must find it tiresome with me ; thou always sayest such fine things to me, but I have no words of my own.' " "And thank God for that!" thought La- vretzky. 160 XXVII In the meantime, evening drew on, and Marya Dmitrievna expressed a desire to return home. The little girls were, with difficulty, torn away from the pond, and made ready. Lavretzky an- nounced his intention to escort his guests half way, and ordered his horse to be saddled. As he seated Marya Dmitrievna in the carriage, he remembered Lemm ; but the old man was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared as soon as the angling was over. Anton slammed to the carriage door, with a strength remarkable for his years, and grimly shouted: "Drive on, coachman!" The carriage rolled off. On the back seat sat Marya Dmitrievna and Liza; on the front seat, the little girls and the maid. The evening was warm and still, and the windows were lowered on both sides. Lavretzky rode at a trot by Liza's side of the carriage, with his hand resting on the door, — he had dropped the reins on the neck of his steed, which was trotting smoothly, — and from time to time exchanged a few words with the young girl. The sunset glow vanished ; night descended, and the air grew even warmer. Marya Dmitrievna soon fell into a doze; the little girls and the maid also dropped off to sleep. The 161 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST carriage rolled swiftly and smoothly onward; Liza leaned forward; the moon, which had just risen, shone on her face, the fragrant night breeze blew on her cheeks and neck. She felt at ease. Her hand lay on the door of the carriage, alongside of Lavretzky's hand. And he, also, felt at ease: he was being borne along through the tranquil nocturnal warmth, never taking his eyes from the kind young face, listening to the youthful voice, which was ringing even in a whis- per, saying simple, kindly things ; he did not even notice that he had passed the half-way point. He did not wish to awaken Marya Dmitrievna, pressed Liza's hand lightly, and said: — " We are friends, now, are we not? " She nodded, he drew up his horse. The carriage rolled on, gently swaying and lurching: Lavretzky proceeded homeward at a footpace. The witchery of the summer night took possession of him ; everything around him seemed so unexpectedly strange, and, at the same time, so long, so sweetly familiar ; far and near, — and things were visible at a long dis- tance, although the eye did not comprehend much of what it beheld, — everything was at rest; young, blossoming life made itself felt in that very repose. Lavretzky's horse walked briskly, swaying regularly to right and left; its huge black shadow kept pace alongside; there was something mysteriously pleasant in the tramp of its hoofs, something cheerful and wondrous in the 162 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST resounding call of the quail. The stars were hid- den in a sort of brilliant smoke ; the moon, not yet at the full, shone with a steady gleam; its light flooded the blue sky in streams, and fell like a stain of smoky gold upon the thin cloudlets which floated past ; the crispness of the air called forth a slight moisture in the eyes, caressingly enveloped all the limbs, poured in an abundant flood into the breast. Lavretzky enjoyed himself, and rejoiced at his enjoyment. " Come, life is still before us," he thought: — "it has not been completely ruined yet by " He did not finish his sentence, and say who or what had ruined it. . . Then he began to think of Liza, that it was hardly likely that she loved Panshin; that had he met her under different circumstances, — God knows what might have come of it; that he understood Lemm, although she had no " words of her own." Yes, but that was not true: she had words of her own. ..." Do not speak lightly of that," recurred to Lavretzky 's memory. He rode for a long time, with drooping head, then he straightened himself up, and slowly recited : " And I have burned all that I worshipped, I have worshipped all that I burned . . . ." but immediately gave his horse a cut with the whip, and rode at a gallop all the rest of the way home. 163 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST As he alighted from his horse, he cast a last glance around him, with an involuntary, grate- ful smile. Night, the speechless, caressing night, lay upon the hills and in the valleys; from afar, from its fragrant depths, God knows whence, — whether from heaven or earth, — emanated a soft, quiet warmth. Lavretzky wafted a last salutation to Liza, and ran up the steps. The following day passed rather languidly. Rain fell from early morning ; Lemm cast furtive glances from beneath his eyebrows, and pursed up his lips more and more tightly, as though he had vowed to himself never to open them again. On lying down to sleep, Lavretzky had taken to bed with him a whole pile of French newspapers, which had already been lying on his table for two weeks, with their wrappers unbroken. He set to work idly to strip off the wrappers, and glance through the columns of the papers, which, however, contained nothing new. He was on the point of throwing them aside, — when, all of a sudden, he sprang out of bed as though he had been stung. In the feuilleton of one of the pa- pers, M'sieu Jules, already known to us, imparted to his readers " a sad bit of news ": " The charm- 'ing, bewitching native of Moscow," he wrote, " one of the queens of fashion, the ornament of Parisian salons, Madame de Lavretzki, had died almost instantaneously, — and this news, unhap- pily only too true, had only just reached him, 164 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST M. Jules. He was," — he continued, — " he might say, a friend of the deceased " Lavretzky dressed himself, went out into the garden, and until morning dawned, he paced hack and forth in one and the same alley. 165 XXVIII On the following morning, at tea, Lemm re- quested Lavretzky to furnish him with horses, that he might return to town. "It is time that I should set about my work, — that is to say, my lessons," remarked the old man: — "but here I am only wasting time in vain." Lavretzky did not immediately reply to him: he seemed pre- occupied. 'Very well," — he said at last; — "I will accompany you myself." — Without any aid from the servants, grunting and fuming, Lemm packed his small trunk, and tore up and burned several sheets of music-paper. The horses were brought round. As he emerged from his study, Lavretzky thrust into his pocket the newspaper of the day before. During the entire journey, Lemm and Lavretzky had very little to say to each other: each of them was engrossed with his own thoughts, and each was delighted that the other did not disturb him. And they parted rather coldly, — which, by the way, frequently happens between friends in Russia. Lavretzky drove the old man to his tiny house : the latter alighted, got out his trunk, and without offering his hand to his friend (he held his trunk in front of his chest 166 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST with both hands ) , without even looking at him, — he said in Russian: " Good-bye, sir! " — " Good- bye," — repeated Lavretzky, and ordered his coachman to drive him to his own lodgings. ( He had hired a lodging in the town of O * * * in case he might require it.) After writing several letters and dining in haste, Lavretzky took his way to the Kalitins. In their drawing-room he found no one but Panshin, who informed him that Marya Dmitrievna would be down directly, and immediately entered into conversation with him, with the most cordial amiability. Up to that day, Panshin had treated Lavretzky, not ex- actly in a patronizing way, yet condescendingly; but Liza, in telling Panshin about her jaunt of the day before, had expressed herself to the effect that Lavretzky was a very fine and clever man; that was enough: the " very fine " man must be captivated. Panshin began with compliments to Lavretzky, with descriptions of the raptures with which, according to his statement, Marya Dmi- trievna's whole family had expressed themselves about Vasilievskoe, and then, according to his wont, passing adroitly to himself, he began to talk about his own occupations, his views of life, of the world, of the government service ; — he said a couple of words about the future of Russia, about the proper way of keeping the governors in hand; thereupon, merrily jeered at himself, and added, that, among other things, he had been 167 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST commissioned in Petersburg — -, you yourself did not favour Mr. Pan- shin." Marfa Timofeevna set down the glass. 1 1 cannot drink : I shall knock out my last re- maining teeth. What dost thou mean by Pan- shin? What has Panshin to do with it? Do thou tell me, rather, who taught thee to appoint rendez- vous by night — hey? my mother? " Liza turned pale. 235 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Please do not think of excusing thyself," — continued Marfa Timofeevna. — " Schurotchka herself saw all, and told me. I have forbidden her to chatter, but she does not lie." " I have made no excuses, aunty," — said Liza, in a barely audible voice. "Ah, ah! Now, see here, my mother; didst thou appoint a meeting with him, with that old sinner, that quiet man? " " No." " Then how did it come about? " " I went down-stairs, to the drawing-room, for a book; he was in the garden, and called me." " And thou wentest? Very fine. And thou lovest him, dost thou not? " " I do," — replied Liza, in a tranquil voice. "Gracious heavens! she loves him!" — Marfa Timofeevna tore off her cap. — " She loves a mar- ried man! Hey? she loves! " " He told me," — began Liza .... " What did he tell thee, the darling, wha-at was it? " " He told me that his wife was dead." Marfa Timofeevna crossed herself. — " The kingdom of heaven be hers," — she whispered: — " she was a frivolous woman — God forgive her. So that 's how it is : then he 's a widower. Yes, I see that he is equal to anything. He killed off his first wife, and now he 's after another. Thou art a sly one, art thou not? Only, this is what I have to say to thee, niece: in my time, when I was 236 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST young, girls were severely punished for such capers. Thou must not be angry with me, my mother ; only fools get angry at the truth. I have given orders that he is not to be admitted to-day. I am fond of him, but I shall never forgive him for this. A widower, forsooth! Give me some water. . . But thou art my brave girl, for send- ing Panshin off with a long face ; only, do not sit out nights with that goat's breed, — with men, — do not grieve me, an old woman! For I am not always amiable — I know how to bite, also ! . . . . A widower! " Marfa Timofeevna departed, but Liza sat down in the corner and began to cry. She felt bitter in soul ; she had not deserved such humilia- tion. Her love had not announced its presence by cheerfulness ; this was the second time she had wept since the night before. That new, unex- pected feeling had barely come to life in her heart when she had had to pay so heavily for it, when strange hands had roughly touched her private secret! She felt ashamed, and pained, and bitter : but there was neither doubt nor terror in her, — and Lavretzky became all the dearer to her. She had hesitated as long as she did not understand herself; but after that meeting — she could hesitate no longer ; she knew that she loved, — and had fallen in love honourably, not jest- ingly, she had become strongly attached, for her whole life; she felt that force could not break that bond. 237 XXXIX Marya Dmitrievna was greatly perturbed when the arrival of Varvara Pavlovna was an- nounced to her; she did not even know whether to receive her; she was afraid of offending Feo- dor Ivanitch. At last, curiosity carried the day. " What of it? " — she said to herself, — " why, she is a relative also," — and seating herself in her arm-chair, she said to the lackey: "Ask her in! ' Several minutes elapsed; the door opened, Var- vara Pavlovna approached Marya Dmitrievna swiftly, with barely audible footsteps, and, with- out giving her a chance to rise from her chair, almost went down on her knees before her. " Thank you, aunty," — she began in a touched and gentle voice, in Russian: "thank you! I had not hoped for such condescension on your part; you are as kind as an angel." As she uttered these words, Varvara Pavlovna unexpectedly took possession of one of Marya Dmftrievna's hands, and pressing it lightly in her pale-lilac gloves, obsequiously raised it to her full, rosy lips. Marya Dmitrievna completely lost her head, on beholding such a beautiful, charm- ingly-dressed woman, almost on her knees at her 238 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST feet; she did not know what to do: she did not wish to withdraw her hand, she wished to give her a seat, and to say something amiable to her; she ended by rising, and kissing Varvara Pav- lovna on her smooth, fragrant brow. Varvara Pavlovna was perfectly dumfounded by this kiss. " Good morning, — bon jour" — said Marya Dmitrievna: — " of course, I had no idea, .... however, of course, I am delighted to see you. You understand, my dear, — it is not for me to sit in judgment between wife and husband." " My husband is wholly in the right," — Var- vara Pavlovna interrupted her: — " I alone am to blame." " That is a very praiseworthy sentiment," — returned Marya Dmitrievna : — " very. Have you been here long? Have you seen him? But sit down, pray." " I arrived yesterday," — replied Varvara Pav- lovna, meekly seating herself on a chair; " I have seen Feodor Ivanitch, I have talked with him." " Ah! Well, and how does he take it? " " I was afraid that my sudden arrival would arouse his wrath," — went on Varvara Pavlovna: — " but he did not deprive me of his presence." " That is to say, he did not .... Yes, yes, I understand," — ejaculated Marya Dmitrievna. — " He is only rather rough in appearance, but his heart is soft." " Feodor Ivanitch has not forgiven me ; he 239 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST would not listen to me. . . . But he was so kind as to appoint Lavrfki for my place of residence." " Ah ! A very fine estate ! " "I set out thither to-morrow, in compliance with his will ; but I considered it my duty to call on you first." " I am very, very grateful to you, my dear. One must never forget one's relatives. And, do you know, I am astonished that you speak Rus- sian so well. C'est etonnant! " Varvara Pavlovna sighed. " I have spent too much time abroad, Marya Dmitrievna, I know that; but my heart has al- ways been Russian, and I have not forgotten my native land." ' Exactly so, exactly so ; that is the best of all. Feodor Ivanitch, however, did not in the least ex- pect you. . . . Yes; believe my experience; la patrie avant tout. Akh, please show me, — what a charming mantle that is you have on ! ' "Do you like it?" — Varvara Pavlovna promptly dropped it from her shoulders. — " It is a very simple thing, from Madame Baudran." " That is instantly perceptible. From Madame Baudran. . . . How charming, and what taste! I am convinced that you have brought with you a mass of the most entrancing things. I should like to look them over." " My entire toilette is at your service, my dear- est aunt. If you will permit, I can give your 240 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST maid some points. I have a maid-servant from Paris, — a wonderful seamstress." ; You are very kind, my dear. But, really, I am ashamed." "Ashamed! . . ." repeated Varvara Pavlovna, reproachfully. — " If you wish to make me happy, — command me, as though I belonged to you." Marya Dmitrievna thawed. "Vous etes charmante" she said. — " But why do not you take off your bonnet, your gloves? " ' What? You permit? " — asked Varvara Pav- lovna, clasping her hands, as though with emotion. " Of course ; for you will dine with us, I hope. I .... I will introduce you to my daughter." — Marya Dmitrievna became slightly confused. " Well! here goes! " — she said to herself. — " She is not quite well to-day." "Oh, ma tante, how kind you are!" — ex- claimed Varvara Pavlovna, and raised her hand- kerchief to her eyes. A page announced the arrival of Gedeonovsky. The old chatterbox entered, made his bows, and smiled. Marya Dmitrievna presented him to her visitor. He came near being discomfited at first ; but Varvara Pavlovna treated him with such coquettish respect, that his ears began to burn, and fibs, scandals, amiable remarks trickled out of his mouth like honey. Varvara Pavlovna lis- tened to him with a repressed smile, and became rather talkative herself. She modestly talked 241 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST about Paris, about her travels, about Baden; twice she made Marya Dmitrievna laugh, and on each occasion she heaved another little sigh, as though she were mentally reproaching herself for her ill-timed mirth ; she asked permission to bring Ada; removing her gloves, she showed, with her smooth hands washed with soap a la guimauve, how and where flounces, ruches, lace, and knots of ribbon were worn; she promised to bring a phial of the new English perfume, Victoria's Es- sence, and rejoiced like a child when Marya Dmi- trievna consented to accept it as a gift; she wept at the remembrance of the feeling she had ex- perienced when, for the first time, she had heard the Russian bells ; — " so profoundly did they stagger my very heart," — she said. At that moment, Liza entered. From the morning, from the very moment when, chilled with terror, she had perused La- vretzky's note, Liza had been preparing herself to meet his wife ; she had a presentiment that she should see her, by way of punishment to her own criminal hopes, as she called them. She had made up her mind not to shun her. The sudden cri- sis in her fate had shaken her to the very foun- dations; in the course of about two hours her face had grown haggard; but she did not shed a tear. " It serves me right! " — she said to her- self, with difficulty and agitation suppressing in her soul certain bitter, spiteful impulses, which 242 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST alarmed even herself: — " Come, I must go down!" — she thought, as soon as she heard of Mme. Lavretzky's arrival, and she went. . . . For a long time she stood outside the door of the drawing-room, before she could bring herself to open it ; with the thought : " I am to blame toward her," — she crossed the threshold, and forced her- self to look at her, forced herself to smile. Var- vara Pavlovna advanced to meet her as soon as she saw her, and made a slight but nevertheless respectful inclination before her. — " Allow me to introduce myself," — she began, in an insin- uating voice: — " your inaman is so indulgent to- ward me, that I hope you will also be kind." The expression on Varvara Pavlovna's face, as she uttered this last word, her sly smile, her cold and at the same time soft glance, the movement of her arms and shoulders, her very gown, her whole being, aroused in Liza such a feeling of repulsion, that she could make her no answer, and with an effort she offered her hand. " This young lady despises me," — thought Varvara Pavlovna, as she warmly pressed Liza's cold fin- gers, and, turning to Marya Dmitrievna, she said in an undertone : "Mais elle est delicieuse! * Liza flushed faintly, insult was audible to her in this exclamation; but she made up her mind not to trust her impressions, and seated herself by the window, at her embroidery-frame. Even there, Varvara Pavlovna did not leave her in peace : she 243 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST went up to her, began to praise her taste, her art. . . . Liza's heart beat violently and pain- fully, she could hardly control herself, she could hardly sit still on her chair. It seemed to her that Varvara Pavlovna knew everything, and, secretly triumphing, was jeering at her. For- tunately for her, Gedeonovsky entered into con- versation with Varvara Pavlovna, and distracted her attention. Liza bent over her embroidery- frame, and stealthily watched her. "He loved that woman," — she said to herself. But she im- mediately banished from her head the thought of Lavretzky: she was afraid of losing control over herself, she felt that her head was softly whirling. Marya Dmitrievna began to talk about music. " I have heard, my dear," — she began: — " that you are a wonderful performer." ' It is a long time since I have played," — re- plied Varvara Pavlovna, as she seated herself, in a leisurely manner, at the piano, and ran her fin- gers in a dashing way over the keys. — " Would you like to have me play? " " Pray do." Varvara Pavlovna played a brilliant and diffi- cult etude of Herz in a masterly style. She had a great deal of strength and execution. "A sylph!" — exclaimed Gedeonovsky. "Remarkable!" — assented Marya Dmitri- evna. — " Well, Varvara Pavlovna, I must con- fess," — she said, calling her, for the first time, 244 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST by her name : — " you have amazed me ; you might even give concerts. We have an old musician here, a German, an eccentric fellow, very learned ; he gives Liza lessons; he will simply go out of his mind over you." " Lizaveta Mikhailovna is also a musician? " — inquired Varvara Pavlovna, turning her head slightly in her direction. : Yes, she plays quite well, and loves music ; but what does that signify, in comparison with you? But there is a young man here; you ought to make his acquaintance. He is — an artist in soul, and composes very prettily. He is the only one who can fully appreciate you." " A young man? " — said Varvara Pavlovna. — " Who is he? Some poor fellow? " " Good gracious, — he 's our chief cavalier, and not among us only — et a Petersbourg. A Junior Gentleman of the Bedchamber, received in the best society. You certainly must have heard of him, — Panshin, Vladimir Nikolaitch. He is here on a government commission .... a future Min- ister, upon my word ! " "And an artist?" " An artist in soul, and such a charming fel- low. You shall see him. He has been at my house very frequently of late ; I have invited him for this evening; I hope that he will come," — added Marya Dmitrievna, with a gentle sigh and a sidelong bitter smile. 245 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Liza understood the significance of that smile; but she cared nothing for it. " And is he young? " — repeated Varvara Pav- lovna, lightly modulating from one key to an- other. " He is eight and twenty — and of the most happy personal appearance. Un jeune homme accompli , upon my word." " A model young man, one may say," — re- marked Gedeonovsky. Varvara Pavlovna suddenly began to play a noisy Strauss waltz, which started with such a mighty and rapid trill as made even Gedeonov- sky start; in the very middle of the waltz, she abruptly changed into a mournful motif, and wound up with the aria from " Lucia " : ' Fra poco." . . . She had reflected that merry music was not compatible with her situation. The aria from " Lucia," with emphasis on the sentimental notes, greatly affected Marya Dmitrievna. "What soul!" — she said, in a low tone, to Gedeonovsky. "A sylph!" — repeated Gedeonovsky, and rolled his eyes heavenward. Dinner-time arrived. Marfa Timofeevna came down-stairs when the soup was already standing on the table. She treated Varvara Pav- lovna very coolly, replying with half-words to her amiabilities, and not looking at her. Varvara Pav- lovna herself speedily comprehended that she 246 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST could do nothing with the old woman, and ceased to address her; on the other hand, Mary a Dmi- trievna became more affectionate than ever with her guest: her aunt's discourtesy enraged her. However, Varvara Pavlovna was not the only person at whom Marfa Timofeevna refused to look: she never cast a glance at Liza, either, al- though her eyes fairly flashed. She sat like a stone image, all sallow, pale, with tightly com- pressed lips — and ate nothing. Liza seemed to be composed; and, as a matter of fact, all had become more tranquil in her soul; a strange in- sensibility, the insensibility of the man condemned to death, had come upon her. At dinner Varvara Pavlovna talked little: she seemed to have be- come timid once more, and spread over her face an expression of modest melancholy. Gedeo- novsky alone enlivened the conversation with his tales, although he kept casting cowardly glances at Marfa Timofeevna, and a cough and tickling in the throat seized upon him every time that he undertook to lie in her presence, — but she did not hinder him, she did not interrupt him. After dinner it appeared that Varvara Pavlovna was extremely fond of preference; this pleased Ma- rya Dmitrievna to such a degree, that she even became greatly affected, and thought to herself: — " But what a fool Feodor Ivanitch must be : he was not able to appreciate such a woman! ' She sat down to play cards with her and 247 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Gedeonovskv, while Marfa Timofeevna led Liza off to her own rooms up-stairs, saying that she looked ill, that her head must be aching. " Yes, she has a frightful headache," — said Marya Dmftrievna, turning to Varvara Pav- lovna, and rolling up her eyes. — " I myself have such sick-headaches " Liza entered her aunt's room and dropped on a chair, exhausted. Marfa Timofeevna gazed at her for a long time, in silence, knelt down softly in front of her — and began, in the same speechless manner, to kiss her hands, in turn. Liza leaned forward, blushed, and fell to weeping, but did not raise Marfa Timofeevna, did not withdraw her hands: she felt that she had not the right to withdraw them, had not the right to prevent the old woman show- ing her contrition, her sympathy, asking her par- don for what had taken place on the day before ; and Marfa Timofeevna could not have done with kissing those poor, pale, helpless hands — and si- lent tears streamed from her eyes and from Liza's eyes ; and the cat Matros purred in the wide arm- chair beside the ball of yarn and the stocking, the elongated flame of the shrine-lamp quivered gently and flickered in front of the holy picture, — in the adjoining room, behind the door, stood Nastasya Karpovna, and also stealthily wiped her eyes, with a checked handkerchief rolled up into a ball. 248 XL And, in the meantime, down-stairs in the draw- ing-room preference was in progress; Marya Dmitrievna won, and was in high spirits. A footman entered, and announced the arrival of Panshin. Marya Dmitrievna dropped her cards, and fidgeted about in her chair; Varvara Pavlovna looked at her with a half -smile, then directed her gaze to the door. Panshin made his appearance, in a black frock-coat, with a tall English collar, buttoned up to the throat. ' It was painful for me to obey, but you see I have come." That was what his freshly-shaved, unsmiling face ex- pressed. " Goodness, Wol&emar" — exclaimed Marya Dmitrievna: — " you always used to enter without being announced ! " Panshin replied to Marya Dmitrievna merely with a look, bowed courteously to her, but did not kiss her hand. She introduced him to Var- vara Pavlovna; he retreated a pace, bowed to her with equal courtesy, but with a shade of ele- gance and deference, and seated himself at the card-table. The game of preference soon came to an end. Panshin inquired after Lizaveta Mi- 249 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST khailovna, learned that she did not feel quite well, and expressed his regrets; then he entered into conversation with Varvara Pavlovna, weighing and chiselling clearly every word, in diplomatic fashion, respectfully listening to her replies to the very end. But the importance of his diplomatic tone had no effect on Varvara Pavlovna, did not communicate itself to her. Quite the contrary: she gazed into his face with merry attention, talked in a free-and-easy way, and her delicate nostrils quivered slightly, as though with sup- pressed laughter. Mary a Dmitrievna began to extol her talent; Panshin inclined his head as politely as his collar permitted, declared that " he was convinced of it in advance," — and turned the conversation almost on Metternich himself. Varvara Pavlovna narrowed her velvety eyes, and saying, in a low tone: " Why, you also are an artist yourself, un confrere" — added in a still lower tone: " Venezl" — and nodded her head in the direction of the piano. That one carelessly dropped word : " Venezl " — instantaneously, as though by magic, altered Panshin's entire aspect. His careworn mien vanished; he smiled, became animated, unbuttoned his coat, and repeating: " What sort of an artist am I, alas ! But you, I hear, are a genuine artist " — wended his way, in company with Varvara Pavlovna, to the piano. "Make him sing his romance: — 'When the moon floats,' " — exclaimed Marya Dmitrievna. 250 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST " Do you sing? " — said Varvara Pavlovna, il- luminating him with a bright, swift glance. — " Sit down." Panshin began to decline. " Sit down," — she repeated, insistently tap- ping the back of the chair. He sat down, coughed, pulled open his collar, and sang his romance. "Charmant! "■ — said Varvara Pavlovna : — " you sing beautifully, vous avez du style, — sing it again." She walked round the piano, and took up her stand directly opposite Panshin. He sang his romance again, imparting a melodramatic quiver to his voice. Varvara Pavlovna gazed intently at him, with her elbows propped on the piano, and her white hands on a level with her lips. Panshin finished. "Charmant, charmante idee" — said she, with the calm confidence of an expert. — " Tell me, have you written anything for the female voice, for a mezzo-soprano? ' " I hardly write anything," — replied Panshin; — " you see, I only do this sort of thing in the in- tervals between business affairs .... but do you sing? " " Yes." " Oh! do sing something for us," — said Marya Dmitrievna Varvara Pavlovna pushed back her hair from 251 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST her flushed cheeks with her hand, and shook her head. " Our voices ought to go well together," — she said, turning to Panshin: — " let us sing a duet. Do you know ' Son geloso,' or ' La ci darem,' or ' Mira la bianca luna ' ? " " I used to sing ' Mira la bianca luna,' " — re- plied Panshin : — " but I have forgotten it long ago." " Never mind, we will try it over in an under- tone. Let me come." Varvara Pavlovna sat down at the piano. Pan- shin stood beside her. They sang the duet in an undertone, Varvara Pavlovna correcting him sev- eral times ; then they sang it aloud, then they re- peated it twice : " Mira la bianca lu . . . u . . . una." Varvara Pavlovna's voice had lost its freshness, but she managed it very adroitly. Panshin was timid at first, and sang rather out of tune, but later on he warmed up, and if he did not sing faultlessly, at least he wriggled his shoulders, swayed his whole body, and elevated his hand now and then, like a genuine singer. Varvara Pavlovna played two or three little things of Thalberg's, and coquettishly " recited " a French ariette. Marya Dmftrievna no longer knew how to express her delight; several times she was on the point of sending for Liza; Gedeonovsky, also, found no words and merely rocked his head, — but all of a sudden he yawned, and barely succeeded 252 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST in concealing his mouth with his hand. This yawn did not escape Varvara Pavlovna; she sud- denly turned her back to the piano, said: "Assez de musique, comme ca; let us chat," — and folded her hands. " Oui, assez de musique" — merrily repeated Panshin — and struck up a conversation with her, — daring, light, in the French language. " Exactly as in the best Parisian salon," — thought Marya Dmitrievna, as she listened to their evasive and nimble speeches. Panshin felt perfectly contented ; his eyes sparkled, he smiled ; at first, he passed his hand over his face, con- tracted his brows, and sighed spasmodically when he chanced to meet the glances of Marya Dmi- trievna; but later on, he entirely forgot her, and surrendered himself completely to the enjoyment of the half -fashionable, half -artistic chatter. Varvara Pavlovna showed herself to be a great philosopher: she had an answer ready for every- thing, she did not hesitate over anything, she doubted nothing; it could be seen that she had talked much and often with clever persons of various sorts. All her thoughts, all her feelings, circled about Paris. Panshin turned the conver- sation on literature : it appeared that she, as well as he, read only French books: Georges Sand excited her indignation; Balzac she admired, al- though he fatigued her; in Sue and Scribe she discerned great experts of the heart; she adored Dumas and Feval; in her soul she preferred 253 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST Paul de Kock to the whole of them, but, of course, she did not even mention his name. To tell the truth, literature did not interest her greatly. Varvara Pavlovna very artfully avoided everything which could even distantly recall her position; there was not a hint about love in her remarks: on the contrary, they were rather dis- tinguished by severity toward the impulses of passion, by disenchantment, by meekness. Pan- shin retorted; she disagreed with him .... but, strange to say ! — at the very time when words of condemnation, often harsh, were issuing from her lips, the sound of those words caressed and ener- vated, and her eyes said precisely what those lovely eyes said, it would be difficult to state; but their speech was not severe, not clear, yet sweet. Panshin endeavoured to understand their mysterious significance, endeavoured to talk with his own eyes, but he was conscious that he was not at all successful; he recognised the fact that Varvara Pavlovna, in her quality of a genu- ine foreign lioness, stood above him, and there- fore he was not in full control of himself. Var- vara Pavlovna had a habit, while talking, of lightly touching the sleeve of her interlocutor; these momentary touches greatly agitated Vla- dimir Nikolaitch. Varvara Pavlovna possessed the art of getting on easily with every one; two hours had not elapsed before it seemed to Pan- shin that he had known her always, and Liza, 254 A NOBLEMAN'S NEST that same Liza, whom he loved, nevertheless, to whom he had offered his hand on the preceding day, — vanished as in a mist. Tea was served ; the conversation became still more unconstrained. Marya Dmitrievna rang for her page, and or- dered him to tell Liza to come down-stairs if her head felt better. Panshin, on hearing Liza's name, set to talking about self-sacrifice, about who was the more capable of sacrifice — man or woman? Marya Dmitrievna immediately be- came agitated, began to assert that woman is the more capable, declared that she would prove it in two words, got entangled, and wound up by a decidedly infelicitous comparison. Varvara Pavlovna picked up a music-book, half -concealed herself with it, and leaning over in the direction of Panshin, nibbling at a biscuit, with a calm smile on her lips and in her glance, she remarked, in an undertone : "Elle n'a pas invente la poudre, la bonne dame." Panshin was somewhat alarmed and amazed at Varvara Pavlovna's audacity ; but he did not understand how much scorn for him, himself, was concealed in that unexpected sally, and, forgetting the affection and the devotion of Marya Dmitrievna, forgetting the dinners where- with she had fed him, the money which she had lent him, — he, with the same little smile, the same tone, replied (unlucky wight!) : " Je crois bien',' —