On the Eve

ovitch Stahov, a distant cousin of Nikolai Artemyevitch, a retired cornet of sixty years old, a man corpulent to the point of immobility, with sleepy yellowish eyes, and colourl

'contro-bombardon,' and became very anxious to order this instrument for himself, and even made inquiries as to where to send the money and through what office. Uvar Ivanovitch wore a loose snuff-coloured coat and a white neckcloth, used to eat often and much, and in moments of great perplexity, that is to say when it ha

vily; Nikolai Artemyevitch was pacing with long strides up and down the r

themselves to be lacking in respect to their elders. And nowadays, I can only look on and wonder. Possibly, I am all wrong, and they a

d only look at him a

t her own father. Well, that's all very well; I know it, and I don't trouble myself about it. For that's nerves and education and lofty aspirations, and all that is not in my line. But Mr. Shubin... admitting he's a wonderful artist-quite exceptional-that

the bell in a tremor.

t come?' she said, 'what does it me

evitch shrugge

your wanting to send for him? I don't e

likely he has checked the progress of your cure. I want to have an

t ask that. And what can induce

ikolai Artemyevitch. I never... devant les domestiques... Fe

le page

vitch between his teeth, and he began again pacing up and dow

Paul must apo

ogies to me? And what do you mea

must be c

He will listen to you sooner than to

since you arrived. You have even to my eyes grown thinner

nsable,' observed Nikolai Artem

e looked tired. A slight almost i

e, Anna Vassilye

dreadful. I am very much displeased with you. How cou

ired Shubin, and with the same smile on his lips he look

t to apologise at once, because his health is very much deranged just now, and

m ready to apologise to you, Nikolai Artemyevitch,' he said wit

tch, still as before avoiding Shubin's eyes. 'However, I will re

t allow me to be inquisitive; is Anna Vassilyev

ed Anna Vassilyevna, craning

en one's been away an age, and comes home hoping for rest-talk of the family circle, interieur, being a family man-and here one finds scenes and unpleasantnesses.

ence Nikolai Artemyevitch went

s from my own stable-and the grey ones too! My favourite colour. Yes, yes, fickle-hearted man,' she went on raising her voice, 'you are not going to the club, As for you, Pau

he wise little fox always hides in her

t her. 'Haven't you seen my little glass of grated horse-radi

little hand to kiss. Your horse-radish I

e,' said Anna Vassilyevna, and she wal

t he stopped on hearing Uvar Ivano

... young puppy,' the retired

what have I done, then, most

ung, be respectf

tful to

know whom. A

ed his arms

' he exclaimed, 'you primeval force of the bl

egan to work. 'There, there

us-"Do not leave me." You should have heard us-that would have moved you. We sang and sang, my dear sir-and well, I got bored; I could see something was wrong, there was an alarming tenderness in the air. And I began to tease them both. I was very successful. First she was angry with me, then with him; and then he got angry with her,

e,' replied Uv

ice, 'these enigmatical words you have deigned to utter as the result of some exercise of your reflecting f

tell you,' groane

ed Uvar Ivanovitch a quarter of an hour

asked him, 'Wasn't his name Vaska?' Then he assumed an air of resignation, drank off the spirit, munched the herring and was slowly proceeding to get his handkerchief out of his pocket. But the page had long ago carried off and put away the tray and the decanter, eaten up the re