The Precipice

ve him an idea of her methods of condu

he cornflowers, looked curiously at the peasants, and gazed up at the sky over-arching the wide horizon. Then his aunt began to talk to one of the peas

rstand serious matters," thought his aunt, as she f

he distance lay the sandhills and the darkening forest. Here and there shimmered a sail; gulls, with an even balancing of their win

s spot with his mother, looking thoughtfully out at this same landscape. Then he went slowly bac

. Among the common people, as always happens in cases of this sort, there were rumours that the murderer, all dressed in white, wandered about the wood, climbed the precipice, and looked down on town and village before he vanished into air. And for superstitious reasons this part of the grounds had been left neglected. None of the servants went down

elf at his feet and begged his forgiveness. But he, with the foam of madness on his lips, struck her again and again, and then, in the presence of the two corpses, cut his own throat. Boris shud

ture; his thoughts swept over him like the waves of the Volga; the lov

finka provided h

then she would dart on again like a bird, pick a handful of currants and stuff them into her mouth. If Boris patted her hair, she smoothed it rapidly; if he gave her a kiss, she wiped it away. She was self-willed too. When she was sent on

efore the tears were dry she was laughing and shouting again. Veroshka rarely wept,

e wondered what he did all day long. In answer Boris showed his sketching folio; then he w

d was gay again. See, Vassilissa, he has sketched you and me, like life! When Tiet Nikonich comes, hide yourself and make a sketch of him, and next day we will send it him, and it can hang o

ts for Veroshka and Marfinka are separate, you see," she said. "Yo

, her smile, and then burst out laughing, and, throwing himself into her arms, kissed her, and begged to go and look at the old house. She could refuse him nothin

h Cousin Boris,

is uncanny over there,"

eached the old house, she was already standing at the door, with

ast an anxious glance into the neighbouring hall,

you off to,

ecorations and inlaid work; there were huge Chinese vases, a clock representing Bacchus with a barrel, and great oval mirrors in elaborate gilded frames. In the bedroom stood an enormous bed, like a magnificent bier, with a brocade cover. Boris could not imagine how any human being could sleep in such a catafalque. Under the baldachin

y was right!" he laughe

eautiful!" cried Vera, "the

e? I don't remember. B

im the books. He found some two thousand volumes, and was soon a

read them aloud, and intoxicated himself with the sound of them; then gave all his time to drawing. He expected something, he knew not what, from the future. He

aid Tatiana Markovna, "why you have

hool, the U

w, play the piano. What more do you want to learn? The students will only teach you to sm

means are not

t his resources in hundreds and thousands of roubles. She had had no experience of arm

ovision alone for a whole regiment. No means

o be an art

An ar

iversity, I intend t

ushka? Make the sign of the cros

there are great geniuses, who are famous an

s for money, or to play the piano for m

mother, an

ndmother; let her have the joy of s

ght to go into t

n ink, run in and out of the courts! Who would marry you then?

es a vision of his own figure in a hussar's or a court uniform. He saw how well he sat his horse, how well he