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VIZETELLY'S ONE-VOLUME NOVELS.

XXII.

The

Friend of the Family ;

AND

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CELEBRATED RUSSIAN NOVELS.

Count Tolstoi's Masterpiece.

Second Edition. In One Volume, 8vo,780 pages, 7s.6d.

ANNA KARENINA : A Russian Realistic Novel. By CountLyof Tolstoi.

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CHILDHOOD, BOYHOOD, AND YOUTH. By Count LyofTolstoi.

VIZETELL TS ONE- VOL UME NO VELS.

XXII.

The

Friend of the Family;AND

The Gambler.

By FEDOR DOSTOIEFFSKY,AUTHOR OF "CRIME AND PUNISHMENT," "INJURY AND INSULT," ETC.

TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN BY FREDERICK WH1SHAW.

LONDON :

VIZETELLY" CO., 42, CATHERINE ST, STRAND,

1887.

S. Coivan atui Co., Strathmore Printing Works, Perth.

THE

FRIEND OF THE FAMILY.

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

MY uncle, Colonel Egor Hitch Rostdneff, on his retire-mentfrom the army, went to live at Stepdnchikoff,the estate which he inherited from his grandmother ; and there

he settled down into quiet country existence so naturallythat

one would have supposed he had never been out of the placeall his life. There are some natures which are content with

anything that falls to their lot,and such was my uncle's. Youcould not imagine a more easilysatisfied,a more gentle naturethan his. He was the sort of man, that,if any one asked him

seriouslyto carry them a couple of miles or so on his back, hewould do it at once. His was so generous a dispositionthat

he was ready at any time to give up all he had about him tothe first person that asked him for it,and would gladlytake offhis own shirt for the benefit of anyone else who happened towant one.

In personal appearance he was a soldierly-lookingman ; talland well built,with ruddy cheeks and teeth which were as white

as ivory,long brown moustache, and a loud, frank, heartyvoice, and a jollylaugh. He spoke rather abruptly and fast.

He was fortyyears old when he inherited StepdnchikofF,andhad been in the hussars ever since he was sixteen. He had

married early,and loved his wife to distraction ; but she had

died, leavingin his heart an irradicable impression of love and

gratitude. On inheritingthis estate he had left the service and

come down to live here with his children " littleeightyear-oJ4

6 THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY.

Iliusha(whosebirth had been the cause of his mother's death),and S"sha " a girlof fifteen" who, since the loss of her mother,had been broughtup at a certain school in Moscow. Butbefore very longmy poor uncle's house became a sort of Noah'sark,and this is how it fellout:

Just about the time that my uncle inherited Stepn"chikoffand retired from the service,his mother,who had married aGeneral Krahotkin about sixteen years before (whileuncle wasstilla cornet, but was thinkingof marryingfor allthat),becamea widow. She had objectedto my uncle's marriage,pointingout that his littleestate of two hundred souls* (whichhepossessedat that time and which was not this Step"nchikoff),was barelysufficientto support his familywithout a wife ;" by" his family" meaningherself and her tribe of companions andhangers-onand numerous cats,dogs,and so on. She accusedhim of selfishness,of ingratitude,of discourtesy" and suddenly,in the midst of her reproachesand revilings,she got marriedherself,before her son's wedding,beingthen forty-twoyears of

age. However, she stillfound plentyof scope for reproaches,and declared that she was obligedto marry in order to providea refugefor her old age. She refused to have anythingmore todo with her selfishson, who had shown her so littlerespectand

who had had the audacityto wish to make a home for himself.I never could find out the real reason why so long-headeda

man, as the defunct General Krahotkin appears to have been,could ever have married this widow of forty-two! I believe hemust have thoughtshe had money. Many peoplesaid that hesimplyrequireda nurse, feelingthe approachof the swarms ofmaladies which attacked him in his old age. One thingisverycertain,that the old man was far from feelingthe smallestparticleof affection for his wife duringthe whole periodoftheir companionship,and laughedat her and showed his con-tempt

for her at every possibleopportunity.He was a strange man; well educated and by no means

stupid,he had no faithin anybody or anything,recognisednolaws,despisedeveryone, and in his old age, thanks to illnessand the irregularityof the life he had led,became cross andirritableto a most pitiabledegree.

He had been obligedto retire from the service with morehaste than dignityin consequence of a certain " rather dis-agreeable

occurrence ;" in fact he had barelyescaped worse

* Serfs,

THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY. 7

things,and had sacrificedhis pension. This quiteruined him,morallyand physically.With no means of his own, or but awretched hundred souls,he now folded his hands and for theremainder of his life" twelve years " never inquiredhow helived or who supportedhim, yet he did not retrench his ex-penses,

but lived in good styleand kept his carriage.Soonafter this he lost the use of his legs,and for the remainingtenyears of his life he was wheeled about in a comfortable chair

by a coupleof footmen,whom he abused in the most dreadful

languageon all occasions.This carriage,these footmen and the other luxuries,were

paidfor by Mrs. General's selfishson, who deprivedhimself ofthe necessaries of life,contracted debts,and mortgaged his

property,in order to send the money regularlyto his mother,who never ceased to call him selfishand egotisticalfor all that.But my uncle was that sort of man that he soon came to believe

that he reallywas selfish and egotistical; and therefore,in self-

punishment,and in order to do his best to reform his selfishnature, he sent more and more money.

Mrs. General respectedher husband, chieflybecause he wasa generaland that she was therefore Mrs. General.

She lived in her own privateapartments" and he in his"but both under one roof. My grandmotherwas the greatladyof her town " allscandals beganwithin her walls ; everybodytriedto make her godmother to theirchildren ; she had the firstplaceeverywhere; in fact she got out of her general'srank alltherewas to be got out of it. This amply compensatedher for thedomestic trialsto which she was subjected.Her husband de-spised

her. He was a free-thinker and an atheist of the old

school and a materialist; but the company he had at N

to listento his doctrines were not of his way of thinking,ancone by one theyleft him.

The generalattempteddomestic whist parties; but these in-variablyended in griefand hard swearing,and Mrs. General

and,her crew fled from the table in terror,attendingto their

religiousduties and to charitable works very devoutlyfor sometime after,and awaitingthe next game in terriblefear ; for the

generalwas not at all particularin his languagewhen ladieswere present, and theywell knew that the game would end bythe general'scursinghis partner and drivingher from the table" if not strikingher ! All this would happen for no betterreason than that some wretched individual had playeda knavewhen a nin"would l}avetak^nthe{rick,


At last,owinglo the failure of his eyesight,the generalwasobligedto engage a reader,and Thomas Tomich Opuiskinappearedon the scene.

I confess I approachthe introduction of this new characterwith all the solemnityI can command. This personage isdestined to playa prominentpart in the present story ; readersshalljudgefor themselves how far worthyof their attention thecharacter of thisgreat man may be.

Thomas Tomich entered the general'shousehold in thehumble capacityof a hanger-on; he received his board andlodgingsfor services rendered. The secret as to whence hecame is hidden in the mist of obscurity.However, I madeinquirieslong afterand did learn a few detailsof the career ofthis most remarkable man.

It was said that he had served in some office,and had beena victim to the cause of Right" of course ! It was said,more-over,

that he had had somethingto do with literature inMoscow " and why not ? his crass ignorancecertainlyneed nothave stood in the way of that line of employment ! However,all that is known for certain is,that nothingcame of hisliteraryefforts,and that he was obligedto enter the general'sservice inthe capacityof reader and martyr. There was no humiliationwhich he would not put up with for a bit of the general'sbread.

It is true, though, that after the general'sdeath, whenThomas suddenlybecame a great man, he often reminded usthat he had condescended to act as the general'sbutt,in former

days,only by a high minded sacrificeof self on the altar offriendship; that the generalwas his benefactor,and that thegeneralwas a great man, althoughonlyto him,Thomas, had itbeen permittedto peep intothe inmost recesses of hisgreatsoul ;and further that ifhe " Thomas " had consented to act the fool

for the general'sdelectation,or to imitate various animals,hedid so merelyfor the sake of amusinga poor old sufferingfriend,and at great cost to himself. However, Thomas Tomich's ex-planations

must be acceptedwith caution and some doubt ;and meanwhile,though actingin the capacityof reader andfool at the general'sside of the establishment,Thomas playeda

verydifferentpart among the ladies in the other wing.How he had obtained the positionhe enjoyed there it is

impossiblefor anyone but an expert in such matters todetermine.

Mrs. Generalheld him in a sortof mysticalveneration" why?

vn^vpnMW

THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY^ 9

I cannot tellyou. Littleby littlehe had establishedhis in-fluenceover allthe ladiesin the house in a most completeand

astonishingmanner. He used to read devotional books tothem and discourseeloquentlyupon the Christianvirtues; toldthem storiesof his own life; went to the morningserviceeveryday; expounded their dreams for them and did a littleprophesyingon his own account

The generalwas aware of the veneration in which Thomaswas held by the ladiesand tyrannizedover him allthe more ;but the fact that Thomas was bulliedonly raised him in theestimationof hisfemale friends.

At lengtheverythingwas changed The generaldied.His death was originaland instructive.This free-thinker,

thisatheist,became terriblyfrightenedwhen death approached.He wept,confessed,kissed the ikon,*sent for the priestandwent through the appointedreligiousobservances. Thewretched man shrieked that he did not want to die,and askedpardonof Thomas with tears in his eyes.

This lastfact was of immense advantageto Thomas in hisfuture life. However,justbefore the general'sbody and soulpartedcompany, a characteristicepisodeoccurred.

Mrs. General's daughterby her firstmarriage,my AuntProskovia" an old maid,who alwayslivedwith Mrs. (Jeneral,and who was one of the general'sfavouritevictims,she aloneof all peoplebeingable to treat his violence and abuse withgentleand unfailingtoleration,and to repay itwith a thousandkind attentionsto himself" my aunt was sittingat the general'sbedside weepingbitterly,and had justrisen to arrange hispillows,when the sick man, in a paroxysm of rage which almostmade him foam at the mouth,caughthold of her hair andpulleditthree times with allhis strength; a few minutes afterthisfeat he was dead.

My uncle,the colonel,was informed of General Krahotkin'sdeath,but Mrs. General declared she would sooner die than seemy uncle at such a moment.

The funeral was very magnificent," needless to say at theexpense of that disrespectfulselfishson whom Mrs. Generalwould not bringherselfto look at

A tomb-stone,upon which the inventivegeniusof Thomashad lavished eloquenttributesto the general'sgoodnessandvirtueand wisdom,was set up in memory of the noble departed;

* Holyimage.


and for many a day Mrs. General lenta deaf ear to the entreatiesof her son for forgiveness.She would sit,surrounded by hercompanionsand hangers-on,and declare with sobs and tearsthat she would sooner eat dry bread (watered,of course, withher tears !)and limpbeggingfrom house to house, than agreeto her disrespectfulson's request that she would come and livewith him at StepdnchikofF,and that never, never should a footof hers enter his dwelling! It may be mentioned howeverthat,all thiswhile,preparationswere graduallybeingmade fora transfer of Mrs. General and her possessionsto new quarters.

My uncle lamed all his horses in doingthe journeyof thirtymiles and back from Step"nchikoffto the town, every day : andit was not tilla fortnightafter the funeral that he obtained per-mission

to see his offended mother for the firsttime.

Thomas Tomich was employed in the negotiation,and dur-ingthe whole fortnighthe so worked upon the "selfish egotist's

"

feelingsby describingthe " inhumanity" of his conduct, thatthe colonel was broughtto tears of shame and despair.Fromthistime dates the inconceivable despotismof Thomas Tomich'sinfluence over my poor uncle. Thomas guessedthe characterof the man he had to deal with,and felt that 'hisrole of buttand buffoon was over for ever " he was destined for greatthings" and so he beganat once.

" What should you do now," said Thomas, " if your mother" the author of your days,so to speak" were reallyto take astick,and with tremblinghands attenuated with hungergo aboutfrom house to house beggingalms ? would not this be slightlyinconsistent firstwith her rank,and secondlywith her virtuouscharacter % How would you feel ifshe were to come, some

fine day,to your own window (accidentally,of course, but itmighteasilyhappen !)and stretch her poor thin hand to you as youlaywithin on some luxurious couch " oh ! dreadful,dreadful !But itis stillmore horrible,colonel " and you must allow meto say itcandidly" itis stillmore horrible to see you standinghere before me like an inanimate log,blinkingyour eyes and

openingyour mouth in thisunseemlymanner, when you shouldbe tearingyour hair while listeningto what I say, and beatingyour breast,and weepingstreams and riversand lakes " seas "oceans of tears 1

"

Thomas rambled a good deal,but that was always the wayof his eloquence. Of course the end of it all was that Mrs.

General,with allher ca^s an4 dogs,with Thomas Tomich, and


with Miss Pereplitsin,her companion-in-chief,gratifiedStepan-chikoff at last with her presence.

She gave out that she was come on trial; to see how her son

was goingto treat her ! One can imaginethe positionof mywretched uncle while thistrialwas goingon ! For the firstmonthor two Mrs. General,in her character of newly bereaved widow,thought it incumbent upon her to fallcontinuallyinto hystericaldespairin memory of her deceased general.On these occasionsthe colonel suffered," I don't know why, but he did.Very often,generallywhen any visitors were present,Mrs.

General would call up her grandchildren,Iliusha and Sasha,and

press them to her bosom ; after which she would gaze long and

sadlyat them " as upon children who must be looked on aslostwith such a father to depend upon, and then burst into tears,which tears would continue to flow for an hour. Woe betide the

wretched colonel ifhe did not understand those tears " and he

never did seem to understand them either ! Occasionally,too,Mrs. General,without any apparent reason, would fall on to thesofa in a faintingcondition,and a pretty to-do there was then "such a runningabout ! and the wretched colonel in an agonyof remorse and fear and everythingelse,and tremblinglike aleaf ! " Cruel son !

" Mrs. General would cry, on regainingconsciousness " " cruel son ! you rend my very heart-strings!

"

" Why ? how do I rend them, mamma ? " the colonel would

inquiretimidly." There ! he rends me, and then he triesto justifyhimself "

oh ! cruel son " you are killingme, I am dyingof your cruelty!"

Of course the wretched colonel was hopelesslybowled over onsuch occasions,and itis needless to observe that Mrs. Generaldid not die ! My uncle would button-hole somebody as soon ashe could after one of these eruptions,and say somethingof thissort :

" You see, my dear fellow,she's a general'swidow, a grandedame " and accustomed to all sorts of thingsthat" Ah well ! Iknow I'm to blame; I don't know exactlywhat I did to offend her,but she's a kind hearted woman, and I know I must be wrong "

"

Miss Pereplitsinoccasionallyfelt it her dutyto read my unclea lecture.

" You are not respectfulto your mother " yes 1 that's what itis ! You are selfish" yes ! and you offend her ; she is not

accustomed to such treatment " she is a general'swidow, and

you are onlya colonel }"

12 THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY,

" She's a fine woman, that Miss Pereplitsin!" my uncle woulddeclare. " How she sticksup for mamma " a capitalgirlsheis ! and you mustn't suppose that she's a mere hanger-on,ohdear no ! She is a major'sdaughterherself" she is indeed."And yet Mrs. General,who could treat her son in this way, waslike a mouse before her former dependent. Thomas Tomichhad bewitched her entirely.She saw with his eyes and heardwith his ears. Some people insisted that Thomas's influenceover Mrs. General could onlybe the result of m6re than friendlyrelations between them ; but I am sure it was not so " and I

cannot explainthe mystery otherwise than by givingthe readera sketch of Thomas's character as I learned itat a later date.

Fancy a man, narrow-minded,of no consequence to anyonein the world,rejectedbysociety,of no ability,ugly,but intenselyvain though dowered with not one singlegiftwhich could justifyhis vanity! A failure in his earlier attempts in literature,hehad joinedthat great army of mortified authors " the non-successful ! Nevertheless I believe his love of bragdates fromthis time ;" at all events his one great need and passionnowwas to posture,and pose, and show off before somebody,some-where

! I remember hearinghim say, when he had gainedhisascendencyin my uncle's house :

" Don't consider me a fixture here,please! I am onlystay-inga while to observe you all,and set you right,and then I'm

off to Moscow to edit a magazine! Thirtythousand peopleshall feel delightedevery month to read my thoughts! Myname shall be known, and then woe to my enemies !

"

I remember that Thomas quitepersuadedmy uncle that he(Thomas)had been sent into the world for a definitepurpose ;and that somebody with wingsappeared to him at nightandspecifiedwhat he had to do, or some cock-and-bull storyof thatkind. He said that he was predestinedto write some devotionalor religiouswork of prodigiousimportance,at whose appearancethe earth was to tremble,and Russia would be convulsed from

end to end ; after which he was to enter a monastery and prayday and nightfor the rest of his life,for the well-beingof thecountry; and,of course, my uncle was quitetaken in by allthis.Imagine what the outcome of such a character and such a

career as his would be ! Thomas, the once persecuted,if notthe actuallybeaten " Thomas, the secretlyvoluptuousand vain" Thomas, the despot heart in spiteof his past insignificance" Thomas, the miserable fool and martyr suddenlyraisedtp

THE FfclEND OF THE FAMILY. I3

honour and glorythanks to an idiotic protectress" Thomas,who could deceive,as he liked,the too easy proprietorof thehouse into which fate had propelledhim !

As to my uncle's character,I shall have to treat of that more

fullyafterwards " for without some explanation,Thomas's ascen-dencywould be incomprehensible;but I will onlynow say that

I applieda proverbto illustrateThomas's character," put himat a table and he'llput his feet on it."

A low nature escapingout of persecutionwill persecuteothers in itsturn. Thomas had been bullied and he now felt

the need to be a bullyhimself. He had been a butt,and henow feltthat he must have others to vent his own spleenupon.He braggedinconceivably,bullied everybody,was exactingandtyrannicalto a degree.Outsiders,when theyheard of his doingsand of his influence in the household, crossed themselves and

spat on the ground ; theythoughtitcould be nothingshort ofa devil in him.

I have spoken of my uncle ; and I now repeat that withoutsome explanationof his remarkable character,it would be im-possible

to comprehendthe impudent ascendency of Thomasin a strange house,and the metamorphosisof the pitifulbuttof the general'stime into the great man of to-day.

Besides beingkind-hearted to the extreme limits of benevo-lence,

my uncle was possessedof a most sensitiveand delicate

instinct,in spiteof his rather roughexterior. His spiritwas aspure as any child's. He simplywas a forty-year-oldchild ;"expansiveand merry to a degree,alwayspre-supposingeveryperson he met to be an angelof goodness,alwaysblaminghim-self

for the faultsof others and exaggeratingtheir virtues,evenfindingbeauties of character where none existed. His was oneof those noblysensitive natures which are ashamed to attribute

any evil to others,but attributemuch good,and who rejoiceatthe successes of others. Their mission isto sacrificethemselves

to theinterestsoftheirfellows. Some would have calledhim a weak,characterless,small-minded man : of course he was weak, andsometimes much too long-suffering; but this was not from lackof firmness,but from the dread of woundingothers,or of actingunkindly. He certainlydid want character,too, in matterswhere his own advantagewas concerned " which profithe neg-lected

so utterlyand systematically,that he was a laughingstock to many peopleallhis life,and very often to those forwhose sake he had sacrificedhis personalinterest.


He never would believe that he had enemies " and thoughhehad some he never remarked their existence. He could not

bear any quarrelin the household ; he would submit to anythingat the firstappearance of an impendingrow. He used to yieldout of a sort of timid delicacyand kindness of heart," so that

everyone may feelcontented and happy,"as he would express it.There was no doubt about it,my uncle was easilyled by any

generous influence exerted upon him ; indeed,any ingeniousscoundrel could persuadehim to an eyilaction,so longas hemasked that action under the guiseof good.

My uncle readilytrusted anybody,and was often taken infor his pains; but when, to his grief,he was forced to the con-clusion

that any one had reallycheated him, he would invari-ablyend by discoveringthat it was somehow or other through

his own fault.

Now imaginethe sudden descent into my uncle'squiethouse-holdof a capricious,idioticold woman, togetherwith another

idioticperson " her idol ; an old woman who, until now, had atleast been held in check to some extent by her general,butwho now feltthat the time was come to take itout of others for

what she had herselfsuffered ; an old idiotwhom my uncle was

bound to hold in veneration because she was his mother !

The invaders began by provingto my uncle that his was arude, overbearing,ignorantand extremelyegotisticalnature.It was a remarkable thingthat the idioticold woman believedthis herself" and I think Thomas Tomich must have believed it

more or less,too ! They managed to persuadethe colonel thatThomas was speciallysent by heaven to save his (thecoloneFs)soul,and to teach him to obtain the mastery over his evilpas-sion.

They provedhim to be proud,arrogant, and stingy"even to the extent of grudgingThomas his dailycrust !" and

my wretched uncle very soon believed that he had fallento this

hopelessdepth of ignominy,and was readyto tear his hair withremorse and to ask pardonall round.

" I am very much to blame,I know it,"he would say to

any one whom he could get hold of to listen." One ought to be

much more careful when one has to do with a man who happensto be indebted more or less. Indebted to me ! what a fool I

am " itis / who am indebted to him for coming to live here !and yet I grudgehim his bread ! . . At least I don't grudgeit a bit,you know ; but my stupidtongue must have blurtedsomethingout that made itappear so. I often do that sort of

THE FRIEND OP THE FAMILY. IS

thing. Well ! and this isa man who has suffered," a man whosacrificedhimself to an invalidfor ten years% my dear sir" a man

like that should be treated with deference and respect,not

offended ! A clever man, too !" literaryand scientific" a mostnoble-minded man !"

The pictureof Thomas, the learned but unfortunate,actingthe part of a common fool to a capriciousold master, filledmyuncle's generous heart with noble rage and sympathy. And allthat was ever strange or pettyin Thomas's conduct was invari-ably

attributed by him to the sufferingsand humiliations which

Thomas had endured in former days; and he would reason thatfrom a man who had gone throughso much it was impos-sible

to expect what one would hope to get from other men,and that one must not onlyforgive,but soothe and heal thewounds with tenderness and humanity! Havingonce made uphismind on this point,my uncle was incapableof detectingthathis new friend was a mere sensual capriciouslittlewretch,anegotist,lazyand indolent,and nothingmore.

As to Thomas's learningand genius,my uncle believed in these

absolutely; and I may add that the colonel revered the words" science " and " literature" to an absurd degree" though he

scarcelyknew anythingwhatever about either. This was oneof my uncle's chiefeccentricities,of which he had many, and allmost innocent.

" He iscomposingsomething,"he would say, walkingon tip-toessome two rooms offthe placewhere Thomas was supposed

to be writing." I don't know exactlywhat? he would add witha mysteriousair and with great pride," but somethingprettystrong,you may depend upon it! I mean strong in a noblesense of the word, of course ! You and I wouldn't understanditprobably;it'ssomethingabout 'motive powers'" he told meso himself;somethingpolitical,I suppose ! . . Oh yes, mydear sir! his name will make itself known yet" and then youand I shall have some of his reflected glory" he told me weshould,himself !"

I know for a fact that Thomas made my uncle shave off his

handsome dark moustache. Thomas said the moustache made

him look like a Frenchman, and that that was not patriotic.Littleby littleThomas took up the management of the estate.He would go out and talk to the serfs : beginningabout agri-cultural

matters,thoughhe did not know oats from wheat,hewould go on to treat of the duties of the moujikto his master;

l6 THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY.

touch lightlyupon electricityand so on, of which he knewabsolutelynothingat all; would explainhow the earth revolvedround the sun, and end bytellingthem, in the most condescend-ing

manner, all about the ministers of the crown; beingby thistime in rare good humour in consequence of his own eloquence.The serfs invariablylistened to him with servility" Thomasloved that I overheard this conversation one day : " Tell us,littlefather,"said an old inoujik,one of the crowd amongwhom he was standing," tellus how much salarythe Emperorused to pay you?"

But Thomas considered this questionmuch too familiar.%

" What's that to you, you old idiot?" he cried. " What are

you openingyour mouth for" do you wish me to spitinto it?"

Thomas alwaysaddressed the enlightenedRussian moujik inthispolitephraseology.

"But, father,"said another peasant, "we are onlyignorantmoujiks," what we want to know is by what titleto address

you ; are you major,or colonel,or your excellency?"

" Why, you fool ! what do I care about salary,do yousuppose ? Many men of general'srank get no salary! I had

twenty thousand roubles a year from the minister,but I nevertook it" I preferredto leave itfor the enlightenmentof Russiaand for the benefit of the burnt-out inhabitants of Kasan !"

The moujiks were much impressedwith this,and withThomas Tomich generally.

His conversations with my uncle were of a differentkind.

"What were you like before?" he would ask,for instance,

lyingfull lengthin a comfortable arm-chair,after a capitaldinner,with a servant standingbehind to brush away the flies," what were you like before I came ? / lightedthe spark ofheavenlyfire which is now ablaze in your soul ! Did I ignitethis sparkof heavenlyfire? answer me " was it I who lightedit? " Thomas Tomich did not know himself why he askedsuch a questionas this,but my uncle's bewilderment andsilence annoyed him all the same. Once patient,perforce,and long suffering,Thomas was now as explosiveas gun-powder,

at the smallest spark of opposition.My uncle'ssilence offended him, and he now insisted upon an answer.

" Answer me !"he said,"is that fireburningwithin you or not?"My poor uncle thoughthard,but did not know what to say." Mais repondezdone,Egor !

" cried Mrs. General,shruggingher shoulders.

http://www.forgottenbooks.com/in.php?btn=6&pibn=1000602133&from=pdf

1 8 THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY.

the placeof my lost father,educated me at his own expense,and in fact did all that a father could have done for me. I

became attached to him with all the love my heart could feel,from the first. I was ten years old,then,and we soon became

great friends and thoroughlyunderstood each other. Some

years after,my uncle came up to St. Petersburgon the com-pletionof my universitycourse, and againI took to him with

all the warmth of my heart.After leavingthe university,I lived on some time without em-ployment,

but with the usual presentimentof youththat I was todo great thingsbefore long. I did not wish to leave town, andI wrote very seldom to my uncle " onlywhen I wanted moneyin fact,and he never failedto satisfymy demands.

Then I heard from some servant of uncle's,who had come totown on business,that strange thingswere happeningat Ste-

pdnchikoff.This interested me much, and I took to writingtomy uncle more regularly; he would replystrangelyand mysteri-ously,

avoidingmy questionsand tryingto write of nothingbutscience,and of his hopes, on my account, of great thingstocome.

Suddenly,after a longsilence,I received a most surprisingletter,not at all likehis usual ones. It was fullof the strangesthints and contradictions,and at firstI could not make head ortailof it. It was clear that the writer was in a most unusual

state of mind ; and one thingwas very plain,namely,my uncleentreated and prayed me to consent to marry without delayacertain girlwho had been his ward,the daughterof a poorgovernment clerk called Edgevikin," a young ladywho had hadan excellenteducation in Moscow at uncle'sexpense, and who was

at the present moment governess to his children. He wrotethat she was unhappyand that I could make her happy; thatin doingso I should be performinga noble action ; and that heintended to giveher a good marriageportion.All this wasworded in mysteriousphraseology,and I was enjoinedto main-tain

the strictestsecrecy. This letter so bewildered me that myhead whirled ; indeed,does the young fellow exist upon whom

such a propositionwould not have a strikingeffect,ifonlyfromitsromantic side ? Besides,I had heard that this young gover-ness

was an uncommonly pretty girl. However, I did notknow what to do,and made up my mind to write to uncle and

say I would come down to StepdnchikofTat once ; he had sentme money for the journeyin the letter,by the way.

THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY. 1 9

In spiteof my resolution,I stoppedin town in a state of

great nervousness and trepidationfor another fortnight; andduringthat periodI met an old servant of my uncle's who hadjustbeen to Stepdnchikoff,and who informed me of somethingwhich was quitenew to me, namely,that Thomas Tomich andMrs. General had made up their minds to marry my pooruncle to a crazy ladywith a strange story of her own, and withhalf a million or so of roubles at her back ; that Mrs. General

had persuadedthisladythat she was related to herselfand had

got her to come and stay in the house at Stepdnchikoflf; that

my uncle was in despair,of course, but that the thingwas prettysure to end by his beingobligedto marry the lady with themoney ; and, further,that Thomas and Mrs. General had com-menced

a systematicpersecutionof the poor governess, andwere doingall within their power to force her out of the house,because theywere afraid of the colonel fallingin love with her,ifindeed he had not done so already.

These last words struck me forcibly.However, when Iasked my informant whether he reallythoughtthat my unclewas in love with the girl,I could get no directreply; in fact thewhole story was told me very unwillinglyand with a remarkableabsence of details.

I reflected that thisversion and my uncle'sletterwere plainlyinconsistent ; but there was no time to waste now ; I must be

off to StepdnchikofFat once, and not only console and supportmy poor uncle in histroubles,but save him ifpossible.I mustkick Thomas out ; then I must prevent the absurd marriagebetween my uncle and his crazy bride ; and lastly" pre-suppos-ing that my uncle's love for the governess was but the creationof Thomas's imagination" I must make an unfortunate girlhappy (ahighlyinterestingyoung woman, too, by allaccounts)by the offer of my hand and heart,and so on.

I remember my feelingsduringthe journeydown. I wasexceedinglypleasedwith myself; I feltthat I was doinga noblething,that I was making a generous sacrificeof myselffor thesake of a young and innocent and charmingcreature, whom itwas in my power to render happy for ever. I feltambitious,andlonged to do somethinggreat" in fact I was extremelywell

pleasedwith myself. It was July,and the sun was shiningbrightlyover the ripeningcorn in the fields as I passedby them;and 1 felt that " cooped up in town for so long" I was nowonly,for the firsttime,seeingGod's earth at itsbest.

20 THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY

CHAPTER II.

I WAS approachingthe end of my journey,when " passingthelittletown of B ",which isseven or eightmiles from Stepan-

chikoff,I was obligedto stop at the blacksmith's because one ofthe wheels of my "tarantass" had come to grief" I determined towait at the smithywhile the men there set the mischief right;and as I climbed out of the tarantass I caughtsightof a stoutman who was in the same predicamentas myself" havinghisvehicle put to rights.He had been standinghere an hour,boilingover with impatience,and swearinghard all the whileat the men who were workingaway at his handsome carriage;he seemed to be a remarkablygood grumblerand swearer.

He appearedto be a man of about forty-fivesummers " veryfat,middle height,and pock-marked. He looked like a well-to-do landed proprietor,and was dressed in clothes which weredesignedwith a view to comfort rather than elegance.

I don't know why he should have been angry with me, sincehe had never seen me in his life before ; however, he certainlywas " I could see itat a glance. I judgedfrom the conversa-tion

goingon among his servants that he had justcome from

StepanchikofT,from my uncle's place\ which made me anxiousto scrape acquaintancewith him.

I was about to raise my hat and remark that" these delays

upon the road were most disagreeable,"but he glaredat mefrom head to foot so savagelythat I was a littledaunted ; hethen turned hisback on me with a snort,and I feltthatthoughhis

person front thispointof view mightbe ever so interestingto thephysiologicallycurious,yet he was not in the positionbest cal-culated

for the receivingand answeringthe questionsI desiredto put to him !

So my attempts to make acquaintancefailed for the pre-sent.However, an unexpected episodeassisted me. It so

happened that there stood near the blacksmith's forgean old

carriage,which had been awaitingitsturn to be mended for somedays,and from the window of thiscarriagethere suddenlylookedout a drowsy,unwashed, unshaven face,blinkingits eyes andlookingas though ithad but this moment awakened from heavysleep. At the apparitionthe smith and his assistants all burstout laughing; and itappearedthat the owner of the dirtyface

^


at the window had been locked up in thecarriageby them,andcould not get out He was drunk when theylocked him inbut he had now slepthimself sober and was clamouringto belet out, and beggingsomebodyto get him his tools. All thisamused the assembled company greatly.My fat friendenjoyedthe scene exceedingly;" there are

peoplewho findthe greatestenjoymentin watchinga drunkenman, or a scoldingmatch between two women, or anythingofthissort,and he was evidentlyone of these. Littlebylittlehisangry frowns and glaringeyes softened down intoan expressionof amusement, and at lasthe laughedoutright"Why, that'sVassilieff!" he said; " how on earth did he get

there ? "

"Yes,yes, it'sVassilieff,sir,sure enough!" resounded on allsides.

" He was drunk,sir!" added an old moujik,apparentlythe" starost

"or elder," he was drunk,he lefthis master three days

ago and came here,so we are takingcare of him. He's askingfor a chisel. What do you want your chiselfor,you fool?

suppose you wish to pawn your lasttool,do you ?"

" Oh, Arheep! do let me out for goodness'sake !" beggedthe prisoner.

" There's not a bettercarpenterin Moscow than thatfellow,"said my fat friend,turningquiteunexpectedlyto me, "andthat'show he alwaysadvertiseshis skill" by gettingdrunk !Let him out,Arheep!

" he added,altogetherdelightedwith thescene.

The captivewas letout,and emerged dirtyand raggedandblinkinginto the strongsunlight.He shaded his eyes andlooked around.

" What a lotof people!" he said," and allsober too ! Goodmorning,friends1" Everybodylaughedagain.

" Why, you ass, it'snearlyevening!" aren't you ashamed ofyourself,Vassilieff?"asked the stout party.

" It'sgrief,sir,it'sallgrief!" answered Vassilieffseriously; butevidentlypleasedto have a chance of airinghisgrievances.

" What sort of grief,you drunken fool?"

"Why, griefsuch as I've never known before. ThomasTomich is to be our new master !"

" What " how " when ? " shouted the stout gentleman,start-ingviolently.I too also took a stepforward ; for,most unex-pectedly,

theirconversationwas becomingof interestto me too,

22 THE FRIEND Of THE FAMILY.

" Why, all of us at Capuitonova; our master, the colonel(God send him good health !)wants to giveup the whole of

Capuitonovato Thomas Tomich " seventy souls ! ' There,Thomas ! ' says he, ' your father was a noble of extremelyold

family'" thoughnobodyknew who he was or where he came from"

' take Capuitonovaand these seventy souls,and you shall be alanded proprietorand a noble too ! ' "

But my fat friend was listeningno longer; the main fact ofthe man's tale had so struck him that the effect was very extra-ordinary

: he trembled all over, he grew livid,the whites of his

eyes became bloodshot" I thoughthe was going to have afit

" It needed but this,"he gasped; " to make that scoundrelThomas a landowner ! Bah ! well,you'llallgo to the devil underhim " hi ! look sharpthere and let me be off home !

"

" Excuse me," I said,approachinghim shyly," but youmentioned Thomas Tomich justnow " is itThomas Opuiskinyou mean ? I should so much like" in fact I have reasons for

beingmuch interestedin this person ;and I am anxious to knowhow far this man isto be believed when he states that his master

Egor Hitch Rost"neff,intends to make a presentof one of his

villagesto the said Thomas Tomich."" And allow me, in my turn, to inquirewhy and how you are

interested in * this person'

as you describe him,' this damned

rascal ' as I call him ?" and that'show he should be described,not as a person! A nice sort of " person his is" he's a walkingswindle " not a man !"

I explainedthat I did not know Thomas personally,but thatthe colonel was my uncle,and that my own name was SergeyAlexandrovitch.

" What ? the scholar ? why they'rewaitingfor you, my dearsir" you'rewanted there ! " shouted my friend. " Why, I'vejustcome from there myself.I got up from dinner before I hadhad my pudding" I couldn't stand Thomas any longer. Iquarrelledwith everybodyabout the placethroughthat damnableThomas. Here's a meeting! my name's Bachch"ef,and I knew

you when you were no tallerthan that. Who'd have thoughtofmeetingyou likethis?

" and he commenced kissingme, Russianfashion.

After a minute or two I began to questionmy friend" itwas a grandopportunity.

"Who on earth is thisThomas," I asked," who has set the

tHE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY. 2$

whole household by the ears ? Why don't theydrivehim out ofthe placewith whips? I must say "

'

" What " kick him out ? you must be mad ! Why, the colonelwalks on tiptoesbefore Thomas. The fellow decreed one fineThursdaythat the dayshould be calledWednesday,and everyoneof them made a Wednesday out of the Thursday ! ' I don'twant itto be Thursday!' said Thomas " and so there were twoWednesdaysthat week ! and that's as true as truth can be, andI haven't added that much to it! "

" I have heard this,but I confess " "

u Oh. my dear sir,don't trouble yourselfto confess "it's allThomas " law there now, there'snothingto be done. Why, thatold woman " the colonel's mother,Mrs. General " she's a greatladyof course, and all that " but she's as mad as a March hare ;she adores that cursed Thomas. As for your aunt Prosk6via "

well,she's a woman, and therefore one respectsher; but I've no

patiencewith her ' achs !' and her ' ochs !' The onlysensiblecreature of the lot isSdsha,the colonel's daughter,who isonlyfifteen,but wiser than the lotof them put together! She doesn'tflatterThomas ! It does one good to see her ! A dear little

woman, she isI" flatterThomas, indeed ! Why he used to playthefool and imitate all sorts of animals to amuse the old general;and now Thomas is commander-in-chief himself,and your uncletakes this down of a fellow,and frames and glazesthe black-guard,

and worshipshim on his knees " this recipientof his owncharity! pfu! "

" Well,after all,poverty is no vice" you know ; but tellme,is Thomas handsome ? is he very clever ? is he "

"

" What, Thomas ? oh " he's a real beauty! " said Bachch"fwith a look of exquisitecontempt on his fat face. My questionevidentlyirritatedhim and he was beginningto look at me withsome disdain. "A real beauty!ha,ha ! listen,good people,we'vefound a beauty!" why, my good sir,he'suglierthan the ugliestanimal,ifyou wish to know ! I'd allow him his wit" if he had

any " but he hasn't the wit of a chicken ! no, he'ssimplygiventhem alla dose of some magicphysicor other " pfu! my tongue's.tired" I'd rather spitthan talk of that fellow,any day !" hangyou and your questions,you'veirritatedme allover again!" hi,there ! aren't you ready?

"

" The black has to be shod yet,sir,"cried some one." Til letyou have it" you and the black ! Well all I can tell

you is" you'llopen your mouth when you get there,and so you'll

wr^m^mmmmBm

24 THE FfclEKD OF THE FAMILY.

remain with your mouth open ! Why I was taken in bythe fellowmyself,at first. I respectedhim " I thoughthim a tremendousscholar" he doctored me (Iam an invalidthoughI may notlook it); he gave me some dropsand nearlyturned me up withmy toes to the daisies!" you go and see for yourself" you'llfall in love with him for a certainty.He'll make the poorcolonel weep tears of blood yet! Why, allthe friendsaroundcut the familynow, for that damnable Thomas's sake ! Nota person can come into the house but is insulted at once.He preachessermons to everybodyhe sees " histonguewags so,that ifyou were to cut itoff and throw itinto the dust-hole itwould go on talkingthere tillsome crow happenedto comealongand eat it up! The sillyfool is teachingthe servantsFrench justnow " think of that" damned idiot! What dotheywant to know French for? French isallhumbug,I say"what's the goodof it? Take a bottleof wine and drink it"and that'llpass you in any language" theyallunderstand that !pfu! what humbug itis" you know French,I suppose ?

' Ta, ta,ta,ta,ta,ta.The kitten'slookingfor it'smal'

That's the sort of thingitis! You're a scholar,aren'tyou ?"

Bachch"ef added,lookingdisdainfullyat me." Well,yes,"I said,' " I have gone in forscience; but I have

been merelylookingabout me of lateuntilI came down here."" And what did you come for,pray ? You'd much betterhave

stayedat home " ifyou have one ; your learningwon't helpyoumuch here " nor willyour uncle. I became thin among those

peoplein one day" it'sallThomas ! Thomas willkillme someday,he willindeed !" (my friend alwaysharked back to thissubjectas thoughhe could not leave it)." He says he hassuffered for the cause of Rightand so everybodymust honourhim. If the slightestthinggoes wrong he jumpsup and sayshe's offended. ' Nobody respectsme " I am despisedfor mypoverty,'he whines and goes away to sulk ; and you can'tsitdown to dinnerwithout him. If you do,he comes and rampagesup and down.

' Why did you sitdown without me ?' he says

"

'you see no one respectsme at all!

' You wouldn't believe

what happenedto-day! You must know that to-morrow is"Ilia'sDay' (Elijah'sDay)" and therefore littleIliusha'sname-day.I had intended to spendthe day there and hadbroughta presentforIliusha,a lovelyGerman toy. The colonel


' the thingis that you are too well off;you'vegot fivehundredsouls and you do nothing; you do no good to your country ; oneought to work, and you do nothingbut sitat home and tootleat the harmonium !

' I certainlydo like playingthe harmoniumwhen I am in the dumps,that's true enough! Well,I answered

very reasonablyagain,'And how am I to serve, Thomas Tomich?what uniform could I squeeze my fat body into ? why, I shouldburst all the buttons " perhapsin politesocietytoo !'

" Now what was there funny in that ? and yet he must needstoss himself about with laughter" and gurgle in French,' Cochon t * Well, I bore itfor some time,and then I got upand said,'I'm afraid I made a great mistake about you,Thomas " my virtuous friend !" for I always thought you a

properlyeducated man, and you turn out to be justas much ahog as the rest of us ! ' so sayingI marched out of the room,and got no pudding" theywere justhelpingitround !

"

" Excuse me," I said,after hearingthis long-windedstorythrough," but I cannot see my way throughthis mysteriousbusiness ; however, I have an idea about it."

"What sort of idea,my good fellow?" asked BachcWef

dubiously." Well,"I said,a littleconfused," itmay be allwrong, but this

is what I think: perhapswe are allmistaken in Thomas Tomich;perhapsall this strangenessdoes but cover an originaland evengiftednature " who knows ? perhapsthis nature is warped bysuffering,and has turned misanthropicalin consequence !Verylikelythe fact that he was obligedto act the clown for a livinghas embittered and humiliated him ;" justimaginefor yourself" a generous, conscientious nature, and forced to playthe clown !" and so all thismay have made him " well, what he is! After

all there must be somethingin the man, " there must be somereason why everybodyknuckles under to him !"

I know my speechwas wanderingand very littleto the point,and I think this might have been excused on the plea of myyouth;but Bachch"ef did not excuse it;he glaredat me savagelyfor several minutes,growingas lividas he could become.

" What " you mean Thomas is the sort of man youdescribe ? "

" Yes " but " well,I hardlybelieve my own theorymyself,you know ; I am only,as itwere, throwingout a suggestion."

" Oh " I see " you'rea philosopher! " cried Bachche'ef,givingthe reins to his indignation." Very well,go and make friends

THE FRIENf) OF THE FAMILY. 1?

with Thomas Tomich; go and chum with your new-found

worthy! Pfu ! I thoughtyou were a sensible man " but I seeyou are " hi ! is the carriageready? home then,quick! "

It was with the greatestdifficultythat I managed to pacifyBachch"ef before theygot him packed into his carriage; but atlast I succeeded,at all events partially.

" Then I suppose we shallnot see you againat my uncled ?"

I asked." Of course you will ; why,you don't suppose I've got any

strengthof willabout me, do you ? that's my greatestweakness" there's no starch in me ; I can't keep it up. I am sure toturn up againbefore the week's out, and have another row withThomas. I believe Thomas was sent by Providence as a punish-ment

for my own particularsins. My nature isthat of a woman,my dear boy," there's no firmness in me " to my griefI say it!

"

We partedgood friends,and he invited me to come over anddine with him.

"Come, by all means," he said ; " my ' Vodki* is quitetiptop, and my cook has been in Paris" I'llgiveyou a good dinner" you'lllick your fingersafter it,my good sir,and kiss thecook's feet," I'd take you with me to-daybut I'm not in themood, I'm all soured and low ;" I'm a wretched invalid,youknow, though I may not look it! Well,good-bye" there'syourtarantass ready,too ! Tell Thomas he'd better not meet meanywherejustnow, or I'llgivehim such a warm welcome thathe""

I didn't hear his last words as the carriageswept along en-velopedin dust ; I sat down in my own trap and drove on.

" Of course that old fellow exaggerates!" I thoughtto my-self;

but what he said about my uncle struck me very forcibly;" here were two peopleagreeingthat my uncle loved thisgirl.

" Am I to marry her or not ?" I wondered ; and I drove on

deep in thought.

CHAPTER III.

I CONFESS I beganto feel a littleless bold. My romanticnotions were beginningto look a littlestrange" not to saysilly" as I drove into Stepanchikoff,at about five o'clock in

2" THE FRIEND OP THE FAMILY.

the afternoon. My road led past the huge garden which Iremembered so well from my boyhood,and which I had so oftendreamed of while at school ; and I jumped out of my tarantassand walked through the well remembered placetowards thewooden dwellinghouse.

I was anxious to arrive unobserved,so as to be enabled tomake inquiries,feel my way a bit,and above all have a chatwith uncle before plunginginto the familycircle; and in this Iwas successful Passingup the avenue of agedlimes,I cameto the terrace,upon which opened the largeglassdoors leadinginto the house " a terrace laid out with beautiful flower-beds

and with largepots of exotic shrubs placedhere and there allover it.

Here I came across one of the old servants " old Gavril who

had served my grandfatherand was now in some nominalpositionunder my uncle. The old fellow had spectaclesonand was readingout of a copy-bookwith engrossedattention ;I had seen him a coupleof years ago in St. Petersburgwhitherhe came up with my uncle,so that he recognisedme at once,and fellto kissingmy hands with tears of joyrollingdown hischeeks,while his spectaclesslippedoff his nose and fellon the

ground ; his affectiontouched me deeply.Remembering my conversation with Bachch"ef,I began my

course of inquiryby askingwhat the copy-bookwhich Gavrilheld was for" it looked suspiciouslylike a confirmation ofBachcheef's words.

" What " you don't mean to say they'vebegun to teach youFrench,Gavril ? " I asked.

" Yes, sir,"he said sorrowfully," theyare tryingto make apoll-parrotjackassof me in my old age."

" Does Thomas teach you himself ?"

" Yes " oh ! he's a very clever gentleman,he is!"

" How does he teach you ? let'ssee the book. Ah 1 French

words in Russian letters" so I supposed! Gavril,how can yougiveyourselfinto the hands of such a fool,such an ass as thisman? aren'tyou ashamed of yourself?"I cried" forgettinginone moment all the high-mindedallowances and arguments Ihad been usingto Bachche*ef in Thomas s favour,and which hadmade the former so angry.

"Why, sir,how can he be a fool when he has all the gentle-folksin there by the nose ? "

" Hm ! perhapsyou'reright,Gavril ! " I said,thoughtfully;


there was a smack of truth in his remark " " however,take meto my uncle,

" I added.

"But I daren't" I daren't show my face!" the old fellow

cried piteously."I am even afraid of the colonel nowadays !I walk about here among the flower-beds and hide ifhe comes

by."" Why, what on earth are you afraid of ?

"

" I didn't know my lessons,a littlewhile ago " so ThomasTomich told me to go down on my knees and I wouldn't " I'm

too old for that sort of thingnow, SergeyAlexandrovitch ;and the colonel was angry with me for not obeyingThomasTomich. ' He's tryingto do you a service" he's takingtroublein order to teach you French pronunciation,'says the colonel.So I'm workingaway at the vocabulary now. Thomas Tomichwants to examine me againthis evening."

" Onji question,Gavril " what sort of a man is Thomas tolook at f ishe good-lookingand talland " "

" What, Thomas Tomich ? no, sir,he's a nasty scurvy-lookinglittlebeast as ever was !"

" Well,keep your peckerup, Gavril,"I said. " I daresayallthis sort of thingwill be changed before very long; in factI

giveyou my word there shall be a change for the better. Nowthen,where's uncle ?"

" He's receivinga deputationof moujiks,behind the stables.They'vecome from Capuitonovawith the head men ; they'veheard that Thomas Tomich is to have Capuitonovamade overto him and theyare come to beg off."

"But why behind the stables? "" The colonel's afraid

. ..!"

Sure enough I found my uncle behind the stables ; he wasstandingbefore a group of moujikswho were bowing and

cringingto him and were evidentlymuch in earnest over somepetition;my uncle was apparentlyreassuringthem with warmth.I called him " he turned sharpround and fellon my neck.

He was delightedto see me " his joy almost amounted to

ecstacy; he embraced me and pressedmy hands againand again;it was as though I were his son justsaved from some deadlyperil; it was as if I had saved him, too, from some mortaldanger,and had brought him a solution of all his difficultiesand anxieties,and peace and happinessboth to himself and allhe loved. After the firsttransport of joy the dear old fellowburst out laughingand could not stophimself;be overwhelmed


me with questionsand was for takingme straightaway to the

family," but stopped to introduce me to his Capuitonovapeasants ; then,without rhyme or reason he commenced to tell

me all about some scientificfriend,Korofkin,whom he had metout walkingand who was coming to see us ; then he droppedKorofkin and began about somethingelse. I looked at himwith satisfaction.

In replyto some of his questions,I told him that I wouldrather not enter the civil service,but go on with my scientific

pursuits; and no sooner did 1 mention science than my dearold uncle began to look very learned and important. I toldhim that of late I had been going in for mineralogy,whichcommunication so delightedhim that he raised his chin andlooked proudlyaround as though he felt the whole world was

gazingin admiration of our scientificknowledge. My uncle,asI have said,had the most mightyrespect for science,of whichhe knew absolutelynothinghimself.

" Eh ! my boy !" he cried,ecstatically," there are men who

know every littlesecret of nature's treasury. One sits amongthem and listensand feelsthat one knows nothingoneself and

yetone likes to listen. Now here am I" I am content to steam

along the railway" but my littlefellow lliusha,he'llprobablyflyup in the air,in his day" depend upon ithe will" all this isscience " you know ! Wait a bit,my boy" I'llintroduce you toa man of science " such a man. . ."

" What ! Thomas Tomich do you mean ?" I asked.

"No, no " not Thomas " he is a highlyscientificman, too,ofcourse ; but I meant Korofkin !

" and my uncle blushed and

appearedto be confused at the mention of Thomas's name.Meanwhile the moujiks were staringat us, blinkingtheir eyes

and openingtheir mouths as we spoke." Look here,uncle,"I said," I am interruptingthe deputa-tion.

What do theywant ? I confess I suspect somethingoftheirobjectand I should much liketo hear what theyhave to say.,'

"Yes, yes" I forgotthem!" and my uncle began to fussabout. " Look here" what am I to do with them? they'vegot the idea " I should like to know where they got it from "that I am going to givethem all up " all Capuitonova (youremember Capuitonova" we used to drive over there of an even-ing

with my dear Katia when she was alive !)" well,theythinkI'm goingto givethem over to Thomas Tomich ! and theysaytheydon't want to leave me, and that'sallabout it!

"

THE. FRIEND OF THE FAMILY. 31

" Then it'snot true;"uncle ?" I cried joyfully," it'snot true

that you are goingto presentThomas with Capuitonova?"

" I never thoughtof such a thing. I must have said some-thingof the sort " for a jofe^e,I suppose, and this is the result.

I don't know why theydon't seem to likeThomas " I'llintroduce

you to him directly" such a man, he is,my boy !" Uncle looked

timidlyat me as he said thfe ; I believe he felt that Thomasand I should be enemies from the first.

"We don't wish to be "cut adrift from you,"shouted the

peasants in a chorus." "pu are our father and we are your

children." J" Listen,uncle," I said^"I do not know Thomas yet ; but

I have heard a good deal about him ; I confess,I met Mr. Bach-

cheef,to-day" and I have mj own ideas ; let these men go andwe'll have a chat privately" ko tellyou the truth,that's what Iam here for."

t

" Of course, of course,"said my uncle hurriedlyand con-fusedly," I'lllet the moujiksgo and then we'll have a friendly

talk. Now my friends,"he achgjedto the men, "go home atonce, and when you want anythingcome straightto me, straightto me, mind " at alltimes V\

" Yes, littlefather,we wi|""we are your children; don't youlet Thomas Tomich come bullyingus !" cried the moujiks.

" Oh, you fools ! I tellyob I won't giveyou over."

"Because, if you do " he'lKbe educatingus all; they sayhe's taughtall the peopleabout aere."

" You don't mean to say he teaches you French, too ?" I

cried." Not so far,sir" God has saved us up to now," answered a

peasant with a huge bald head and a great long beard which

wagged up and down as he spoke." God has been merciful to

us up to now."" What does he teach you ?

" I asked.

"Well, his teachingamounts to what I call buyinga goldenbox to put a copper farthingin it; his teachingisn'tany goodto us."

"Don't go on, Sergey,"said my uncle, "it's not fair onThomas " these fools don't understand wha the tellsthem."

" It's all your own fault !" I cried,addressingthe moujiks

again. "Why can't you tellhim outrightthat what he tells

you is all impracticaland of no use to you ? where are yourtongues ?

"

^ {ipipi^fw^pm^^n


" The other dayhe came into a barr**where we were,"saidanother man, "and asked us whetherjwe knew how many milesoffthe sun was. ' How are we to kjibw? scienceisn'tfor thelikeof us, it'sfor gentlemen/I said. ' No, you fool,itisn't,'says he, 'because you are a fool and don't know your own

good; but I'm an Astrolom and know all about God's firma-ment.'"\

"Well,and how many miles was (Itto the sun?" asked myuncle,cheeringup and givingme a Iwink.

"Oh " he said some long distanceor other,"repliedthemoujik,who evidentlydid not expectthe question.

" Yes,but how far," what did hefcellyou ? go on."" Oh, some hundred miles,I th^nk; itwas a longway, any-how

; I know I reckoned that I shouldn'tdo it in three dayswith a cart and pair." f

" Well,there you are, you see-4that'sknowledge; now thisvery earth that we are on islikea ballfloatingabout in the air;

"

my uncle illustratedthisnaturalphenomenonwith histwo handsmade into a sphere; the moujikSlaughed.

m

" It isthough,"he continued*^" itfloatsby itselfin the airand goes round the sun. The snn stands in one placeanddoesn't move ; you onlythinkitmfetyes,but it doesn't. There,what do you think of that? and #11 this was discovered byCaptainCook the navigator" dev#-vknows who discovered it,"he added to me in a whisper,F think I'vetold them wrong "I know nothingwhatever aboufcit,really.How many miles isitto the sun " do you know }*

" Yes,uncle,"I said," I know ; but thisiswhat I think" ofcourse ignoranceismost undesirable,and slovenly" but don'tyou think that to teach peasantsastronomy is"

"

"Of course, of course !" cried my uncle,"ignoranceis

slovenliness; so it is" I have alwayssaid so " at least I'vethoughtit if I haven't said it;" uncle evidentlyliked theexpression." Listen,you fellows" ignoranceisslovenliness,alldirtand misery,and that'swhy Thomas Tomich wants to teach

you ; he isanxious for your good" education isjustas good asany other work,itgivesa man rank and position" well,be offnow, my good fellows! I'm glad to have seen you, and youneedn't be afraid,1 shall not giveyou over."

" Be our protector,father,and the lightof oui eyes,"andthe moujiksabased themselves and touched the groundwiththeirforeheads.

34 I'fcE FfclENb Or THE FAMILY.

"Well, I'lljust tell you my idea,uncle,"I said" I wasanxious to have my say "

" in the firstplacewe must rememberthat he has been a kind of professionalfool ; this may haveembittered the man, humiliated him and dashed his ideal of

manhood to the ground ; consequentlyhis nature has become

warped and stunted and revengefultowards mankind in general.Now if this man could only be made to signa truce withhumanity,and" so to speak" be broughtto his senses again,hemight"

"

*k Justso, justso,"cried my uncle in ecstacy," exactlythat ;

it'sa noble thought. Why it would be a shame " itwould bemost ungenerous to condemn a man like him ; of course, dear

boy,you understand me " you'vebroughtme happiness; ifonlythingscould be made a littlemore comfortable over in thehouse ; you know I'm afraid of showingmy face there justnow" I shall catch itfor your coming down."

" Oh, ifthat'sthe case, uncle " "" I began,embarrassed." Not a bit of it" no, no," he cried," you'remy guest and

I'm goingto have my way this time."All this was very surprisingto me." Now look here,uncle,"I said firmly," I want to know

first,what have you had me down here for? next, what youwant me to do ? and lastly,why are you in any way to blamein my eyes ? what did you mean by that speech?

"

"Dear fellow,don't ask me," he said ; "you shall know all

by-and-bye.I daresayI am very much to blame; " but Iwished to do what I thoughtthe rightthingand " and " you'llmarry her " you'llmarry her if there's a spark of generosityabout you," he added, flushingup as though with somesudden feeling,and pressingmy hand with a sort of ecstacyinhis face. "But enough" you shall know all in good time;above all,make a good impressionin there " everythingdepends on yourself" don't go and be shy" make a good start."

" But, look here, uncle ! " I said," whom have you gothere ? for,I confess,I have been so littlein society,that 1 " "

"What, you'rea littlefrightened" eh?" said my uncle,smiling;"oh, no! it'sall right"no one but our own party!don't funk,that's the chief thing. I'm rather nervous aboutyou " I want you to make an impression; well " there's justmamma " you remember mamma ? the best and most generoushearted of old ladies ! not a scrap of pretensionajpouther "old fashioned a little; but all the better for that She has


fancies sometimes " for instance,she's very angry with mejustnow " my fault,of course " all my fault,I admit that.Then there's Miss Pereplitsin;well,she's" I don't know, oflate she's been rather " it'sher nature, I suppose, we mustn't

condemn people!" and you mustn't suppose she's a merehanger-on,oh,dear,no ! She's a major'sdaughter,and a greatfriend arid companionof mamma's. Then there's your auntProskovia " we needn't say much about her " she's a fussyold

lady,rather,but a dear good soul" she's an old maid at

present ; but that old rascal Bachche'ef,you know," he's gothis eye on her ; I think somethingwill come of it. Don't say aword about it,though" it'sa secret ! Let's see, who else isthere? " there are the chicks " you'llsee them for yourself;"it's Iliusha's name-day to-morrow. Then " I nearly forgothim !" there's your cousin MisinchikofT " he has been stayinghere about a month ; he was a lieutenant in the hussars,buthe's left them ; quitea young man, and a good sort of fellow,but " ruined !" goodnessknows how he has managed to cometo such grief" he has debts ; and at present he is stayingwithme. He invited himself " a nice,quietyoung fellow as everwas " nobody ever hears him say a word. Thomas callshim thesilent unknown," he doesn't mind. Thomas is quitepleasedwith him, for he never contradicts him, or says anythingun-pleasant.

Then there are some town friends,Paul Obnoskinand his mother," he's a fine,determined young fellow,of veryhighmoral character;and, last of all,we have another visitor" one Tatiana lvanovna, a distant cousin,1 believe," not

quiteyoung " but very charming" and rich,my dear fellow !"she could buy up Stepdnchikofftwice over. She has onlylatelycome into her property,and had had a miserable time of itupto then. You must take care what you'reabout with her,by-the-by; for she's justa little" don't you know " not quiteailthere ! but you won't mind what she says " you'rea sensiblefellow,I know. You see, she sometimes puts the wrong word" not exactlyfibs,you know, but simplyjust so, in thegoodnessof her heart,don't you know " well,she says whatisn'tquitethe truth" you understand ?

"

It appearedto me that my worthy uncle was considerablyconfused. " Listen to me, uncle,"I said," I am so fond of

you, dear uncle,that you must excuse my askingyou onequestion-^tellme candidly" do you intend to marry a certainladydown here,or not ?

"


"Who has been tellingyou anythingabout it?" said myuncle,blushinglike a child. " I'lltellyou all there is to tell"firstly,I am not goingto marry. Mamma, and Proskovla,andchieflyThomas Tomich " whom mother respects and loves,and very properly,for he has done a great deal for her " theyail wish me to marry this same Tatiana Ivanovna,for thebenefit of the family,in general. Of course they wish mewell,too, there's no'Jdoubtabout it; but I will not marry her,I have promisedmyselfthat. In spiteof my promiseto my-self,

though,1 did not give them a decided answer, and theythink I mean to agree to their suggestion,and expect me to

propose to her to-morrow, on Iliusha's name-day ; so that,to-morrow, there'llbe the deuce to pay, and I don't know

which way to turn. I confess,I was waitingfor you andKorofkin,impatiently"I hope to play you both off againstthem."

" Why, what good can Korofkin do ?" I asked.

" oh " he'llhelp" he'llhelp" he's the sort of man who can,and will; you should hear him talk ! and,I confess,I expected

greatthingsof you too" I want you to argue it out with them.

I know I have been selfishand all that " but surelyI may be

forgivensome day ? Oh dear " we were so happy before " youshould see my Sdsha" she's grown so" such a prettygirl,and

very nearlyold enough to be married " and Iliusha too !""

" Come, uncle,"I said," where's my bag? I'll dress and

come down at once."" Up at the top, my boy,in the front wing" you'llfind it

all ready; yes,go and change your coat " that's right,and then

come down, and I'llprepare them all as well as I can while

you'reaway. They'reat tea now " we alwayshave tea early"Thomas likes it as soon as he wakes up after his nap ;" so be

quick,old fellow,don't leave me unsupportedlongerthan youcan help; and, look here,one more thing" don't turn roundand shout at me there,as you did justnow. If you want to

say anythingto me, sayit afterwards " don't pitchinto me

there," I get quiteenough of it,you know ; theyare all socross."

" Oh, uncle !" I said," from all I see and hear,I'm afraid

you are ""

" What ? a duffer? don't mind sayingitout,my boy. I know

itmyself"but what's to be done? So you'llcome as soon asever you can, mind you do, now !

"


I went upstairs,and unpacked my bag as quicklyas I could.While dressing,I thoughtto myselfhow very littleI had foundout about thingsin generalin spiteof my whole hour's con-versation

with my uncle. However, one thingappeared to be

quiteclear" my uncle stillinsisted on my marrying; thereforeall the inconsistent reports as to his beingin love with the samegirlmust be unfounded. I remember that this reflectionthrewme into greatagitation; itseemed to me, that by my arrival,and

by my silence in response to his remark about it,I had givenmy consent to the union he proposed.

" How easy it is,wI

thought," to say the word which binds one hand and foot foreternity! and I haven't set eyes on the young woman yet !

"

And then again,why this enmity of the whole familytowardsme? And why did uncle play such a very strange part inhis own house ? What is the objectof all this secrecy of his ?

Why all this timidityand worry ? it all seemed so downrightabsurd to me ! On contact with the reality,all my fond ro-mantic

notions vanished into the air. I felt" after havingachat with my uncle " that no one in the world but himself could

possiblybe placedin such a ridiculous positionas he was, orcould have made me such a propositionas he had made. Itstruck me, too, that in coming down post haste in response tosuch a proposalI had been a dreadful fool.

I dressed as fast as I could ; and so agitatedwas I by mythoughts,that at first I did not notice the valet who stood byassistingme to put my clothes on.

"Will you put on the Adelaide-coloured tie,sir,or this

spottedone ? " asked the man, suddenly.I looked at him, and it immediatelystruck me that here

was another curious individual ; he was well dressed in abrown frock coat, white trousers, and pale yellow waistcoat,patent leather shoes,and a pinknecktie ; he was evidentlyanexquisitein his own line ; he smelt stronglyof scent, and wasapparentlyoverwhelmed with a sense of his own dignity.

"Oh! so that tie is Adelaide-coloured,is it?" I asked

severely."Certainly,sir,"he replied,with undisturbed composure." And is there an Agrafena-colour? "" Oh, no, sir; there could not be."" And why not, pray ?

"

" It would not be correct"taste, sir ; you see Adelaide

Js,at }east,a foreignname, a dignifiedname; " but as for


Agrafena,why, any dirtyRussian peasant child may be calledthat."

" Are you absolutelyan idiot,may I ask ?"

" Oh dear no ! not at all,sir!" of course you are at libertyto form what conclusions you pleaseas to my wits ; but I mayinform you that several generals,and even one or two counts,have been much pleasedwith my styleof conversation."

" And what do theycall you ?"

"VidoplassofF."" Oh ! you'reVidoplassofF,are you ? I've heard of you "

Well, my man, I shallknow more of you by-and-by."" Good heavens !" I thought,as I went down, " what a

Bedlam I've got into !"

CHAPTER IV.

THE tea room was the same which opened out on to theterrace " where I had met Gavril a littlewhile before.My uncle's mysteriouspredictionsas to the receptionawaitingme disconcerted me not a little. I am, beinga youth,more orless self-conceited,and for thisreason itwas particularlyunplea-sant

to my feelingsthat no sooner did I enter the room and catch

sightof the whole party sittinground the table,havingtea,than

my foot happened to tripin the carpet and I flew headlonginto the middle of the room. Confused and wretched to such

a degreethat I might" to look at me " have ruined my wholefuture career, my honour, and my good name by thisaccident,I stood stilland blushed as red as a lobster,lookingfeeblyaround the while.

I remembered this incident " unimportantin itself,becauseof itsinfluence upon my own state of mind duringthe whole ofthe day,and also upon my future relationstowards some of the

persons to be treated of in this story. I tried to make acourteous bow to the assembled company, but failedmiserably;after which I rushed up to my uncle and seized his hand

vigorously." How d'yedo uncle ? " I cried.Now I had meant to say somethingquitedifferent" some-

iiMHwmi


thingwitty" and the above words slippedout entirelyunex-pectedly.

" How are you " how are you ?" repliedmy uncle,who was

sufferingon account of my discomfiturejustas much as I was." But we've said that before,my dear boy; don't look so con-fused,"

he added in a wh:sperto me, " anybodymighttriplikethat. I'veseen peopletake a header into a room much lessgracefullythan you did it. Now then,mamma," he went on in alouder voice," letme introduce thisyoung man to you " he isa littleconfused at thismoment, but I'm sure you willlove him

dearly.This ismy nephew,SergeyAlexandrovitch,"he addedto the company in general.

But before I go on with my story,allow me, dear readers,to introduce by name all those members of the familypartyamong whom I found myselfat thismoment. I must do this forthe purpose of my tale.

The company consistedof several ladiesand onlytwo men,not countingmy uncle and myself.

Thomas Tomich " whom I so much wished to see, and who

I feltalreadymust be the all powerfulcentre of the family" was not in the room ; he shone by hisabsence and had, as it

were, taken away all lightfrom the room in his own person.All presentwere lookingmorose and preoccupied" one couldsee that much at a glance.Confused and wretched as I was atthat moment, I could stillobserve that my uncle,for instance,was almost as disturbed as I was myself,thoughhe was doinghis very utmost to conceal the feet. There was evidentlyaweightof some kind on his heart.

One of the two men present was quitea young fellow ofabout twenty-fiveyears old " that same Obnoskin of whom myuncle had made mention as a sage and virtuousyouth.

This young gentlemanmade a very bad impressionupon me ;he seemed to have devoted his whole energy to the imitationof a fashionable man about town, i)utwith poor results. His

dress,in spiteof itspretensionto fashion,looked worn andseedy; his face,too, seemed, like his clothes,the worse forwear. He was forever blinkingand tryingto look sarcastic,and continuallyput his eyeglasson to stare at me ; butwhen I turned round and stared back at him,he droppedhisglass.

The other man present" a young fellow of about twenty-eight" was my cousin Misinchikoff. He seemed a very quiet

jvn "%"*!*j43-; 'JK-ir.* JU"

* m "*. i-4*,4*" E-


personage indeed. At tea he did not say a word,nor did hesmile or show any signsof life. But I certainlydid not observethat subdued appearance which my uncle had toldme of; on the

contrary,I thoughthis face expressedthe greatestresolutionand character. MisinchikofFwas a darlt-haired,handsome, sun-burnt-looking

fellow and was very well dressed " at my uncle's

expense as 1 afterwards found. As for the ladies,the firstInoticed was Miss Pereplitsin" thanks to her unusuallywicked,slyface which was of a ghastlypallor.She was seated along-side

of Mrs. General " but a littlebehind her out of courtesy;

every other minute she would bend forward and whispersome-thingintothat lady'sear.

Two or three old hangers-on,poor relationsand so on, satin a row, perfectlysilentand waitingdeferentiallyfor theirtea,with eyes fixedon Mrs. General.

A fat littleladyof about fiftyyears old,dressed very taste-lesslyand " loud,"interestedme very much.

She seemed to be highlypaintedand to have a very wretchedset of teeth,a collectionof sad-lookingstumps doingduty fora better supply. For allthat,she smiled and blinked and

coquetted,and even made eyes in a manner worthycf moretranscendent charms. She was covered with largegoldchains,and was continuallytakingstock of me throughher pince-nezeye-glasses,justas Obnoskin did " whose mother she was. Myaunt,the humble Prosk"5viaIlinishna,poured out tea. Shewas evidentlyanxious to embrace and cry over me afterour longseparation,but she did not dare,for everyone and everythinginthisplaceseemed to be under the influence of some dampinginfluence.

Next to the last named, sat a dear littleblack-eyed,prettygirlof fifteensummers, who stared at me with greatcuriosity"thiswas my cousin Sasha.

Lastly," but perhapsmore conspicuousthan anyone else inthe room, " there sat a strange lookingladydressed mostsumptuously,but in far too juvenilea manner ; she was by nomeans in the firstflushof youth" beingsome thirty-fiveyears ofage, at least. Her face was very thin and paleand had a dried-

up look about it,but was decidedlyanimated for allthat. Sheblushed at every word,almost,and every motion broughtthecolour to her cheeks. She seemed alwayson the move, jump-ing

up or twistingabout on her chair; so that itappearedim-possiblefor her to be stillfor a moment, She examined me


has forgottenher poor mamma" (Mrs.General)," for mamma

asked for a cup of tea, and you don't pour it out for her,and she's waiting!" and my poor aunt had to drop me andrush off to her duties again.

This Mrs. General was the head and chief of the familycircle" and before her everyone walked in terror. She was

a lean,disagreeable,old woman, dressed in mourning,whosewits were warped with age ; she was mischievous and arro-gant

and silly.When she was in her disagreeablevein,thewhole household lived in purgatory. This amiable old ladyhad two ways of making herself unpleasantat such times ; thefirstwas her silentsystem; she would be silentfor daystogether,never openingher lipsand pushingaway or throwing down

everythingthat was put before her. The other manner peculiarto the old lady,in times of wrath, was a system of eloquence;duringwhich the household was treated firstto an exhibition ofextreme dejectionfollowed by the enumeration of various terribleevents to happen in and out of the family,includingthe endof the world,poverty,and so on ; all of which mighthave beenaverted,accordingto Mrs. General,had she been allowed tospeak" or had she been listened to in time. Needless to say,her littleflock of hangers-onagreedentirelywith Mrs. Generalon these and all other points,and that her views were invariablysupportedand confirmed by the great Tom Tomich. On thisoccasion " at the time of my arrival,I mean " Mrs. General

(who was my grandmotherof course)was evidentlyin the midstof one of her moods of irritability;she was employingthe silentmethod; and all the familywere on tenter hooks, all except oldTatiana Ivanovna, who did not count for an ordinarybeing"she was in excellent spirits.

My uncle now solemnlyadvanced to present me to my grand-mother; the latter made a face and pushed her cup of tea away.

" Is thisthat gymnast-man?" she asked " drawlingthe wordsand addressingthe Pereplitsin.

This stupidquestionquitefinished me off. I don't know

why she called me a gymnast-man, " but I learned afterwardsthat she was in the habit of making this kind of senselessobservation.

Fereplitsinleaned towards Mrs. General and whisperedsomethingin her ear, but my grandmotheronlymade a gestureof disgustand said nothing. I stood with open mouth and

looked inquiringlyat my uncle " everyone w^is staringat me.


and Obnoskin grinnedand showed his teeth in a manner whichdid not pleaseme at all.

" My dear boy,you mustn't mind,"my uncle whispered," shetalks a littlewildlyoccasionally,but it'sall from pure goodnessof heart" the heart is what we must look at !

"

Tatiana Ivanovna,who had never taken her eyes off me,caught the last word.

" Yes, the heart" the heart,"she began,but did not finishwhat she wished to say; she blushed and said somethingin alow tone to the governess " after which she put her handker-chief

to her mouth and roared with laughter,in a hystericalway, leaningback in her chair. I looked round the room inthe greatest astonishment,but no one seemed to be in theleast degree surprised" and I came to the conclusion that

poor Tatiana was crazy.Soon after this theygave me a cup of tea, which put me a

littlemore at my ease ; and I suddenlydetermined " I don'tknow why " to make a desperateattempt to be agreeableto theladies,and began :

*iYou were quiteright,uncle,when you warned me that Imightbe bashful. I admit " why should I conceal the fact ?" that up to this moment I have been quiteunused to ladies'society"(thislast remark was addressed to Mrs. Obnoskinwith one of my sweetest smiles); " and just now especially,I think I was justifiedin feelingsome shyness,coming bounc-ing

in as I did. It reminded me of that book 'ClumsyPeople'" have you read 'Clumsy People?'" I asked,becom-ing

more and more confused as I went on and blushingunderthe superciliousstare of Obnoskin,who continued to examineme from head to foot,while making a considerable displayofhis white teeth.

"Oh, my dear fellow,"said my uncle, delightedthat theice was broken and that I had found my tongue at last,some-how

"

" oh,yes, that's nothingat all,bashfulness isnothing"you'reshy and there's an end of the matter. Why I"dear boy" when I made my debut into ladies' society" I wasso deadlyshy that I told a most awful liebefore I knew whereI was ; it was like this" and gospeltruth I assure you " well,I had justgot my commission and went to Moscow. I had aletter of introduction to some great ladythere " that is,shewas as kind a woman as you could find,but a littlearrogant.I went to call on her " she received me. The drawing-rooifl


was full" mostlyof big-wigs; I made my bow and sat down.Well,almost her firstquestionwas, had I any landed property ?What was I to say? I hadn't so much as a chicken of my own.Everybody was lookingat me " wretched little c Sub ' that Iwas" how I blushed ! Well now, why didn't I say that I hadnothing?" all would have been well and I should have told thetruth; however, I couldn't do it. ' Oh, yes,'I told them, cI'vegota hundred and seventeen souls.' Why did I stick in the oddseventeen ? why didn't I lie properlywhile I was about it?However, the next minute my note of introduction had provedme a liarand showed that I hadn't a stick or a stone of myown. What was to be done ? I got up and bolted,and neverwent near the house again. At that time I had not got this

placewith its three hundred and Capuitonovawith over twohundred " more than fivehundred souls altogether; however,Ihave never lied since then,and never shallagain."

" Oh, in your placeI should not have any insuperableobjec-tionsto lying" who knows what may not happen ?

" remaiked

Obnoskin,with a nasty smile." Of course, God onlyknows what willhappen,"repliedmy

uncle simply.Obnoskin lay back and roared with laughter;his mother

smiled too ; Miss Pereplitsinjoinedin with a most disagreeablegiggle; Tatiana burst out laughingalso,without knowingwhy,and clappedher hands. (Icould see very plainlythat my pooruncle went for nothingin his own house.) Sasha's eyessparkledangrilyas she darted a look at Obnoskin ; the gover-ness

blushed and hung her head " and my uncle looked abouthim surprisedat the laughterwhich had greetedhis last words.

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