“Very well, thank you!”
He could think of nothing else to say, and they were
all silent. But at last, being ashamed of his
bashfulness, and with an awkward laugh, he said:
“Do not people have any amusement in this country?
I will pay for a bottle of wine.”
He had not finished his sentence when the door opened,
and in walked
Padoie dressed in a black suit.
Varajou gave a shout of joy, and rising from his seat,
he rushed at his brother-in-law, put his arms round
him and waltzed him round the room, shouting:
“Here is Padoie! Here is Padoie! Here
is Padoie!”
Then letting go of the tax collector he exclaimed
as he looked him in the face:
“Oh, oh, oh, you scamp, you scamp! You
are out for a good time, too. Oh, you scamp!
And my sister! Are you tired of her, say?”
As he thought of all that he might gain through this
unexpected situation, the forced loan, the inevitable
blackmail, he flung himself on the lounge and laughed
so heartily that the piece of furniture creaked all
over.
The three young ladies, rising simultaneously, made
their escape, while the older woman retreated to the
door looking as though she were about to faint.
And then two gentlemen appeared in evening dress,
and wearing the ribbon of an order. Padoie rushed
up to them.
“Oh, judge—he is crazy, he is crazy.
He was sent to us as a convalescent. You can
see that he is crazy.”
Varajou was sitting up now, and not being able to
understand it all, he guessed that he had committed
some monstrous folly. Then he rose, and turning
to his brother-in-law, said:
“What house is this?”
But Padoie, becoming suddenly furious, stammered out:
“What house—what—what
house is this? Wretch—scoundrel—villain—what
house, indeed? The house of the judge—of
the judge of the Supreme Court—of the Supreme
Court—of the Supreme Court—Oh,
oh—rascal! —rascal!—rascal!”
The girl was one of those pretty and charming young
creatures who sometimes are born, as if by a slip
of fate, into a family of clerks. She had no
dowry, no expectations, no way of being known, understood,
loved, married by any rich and distinguished man;
so she let herself be married to a little clerk of
the Ministry of Public Instruction.
She dressed plainly because she could not dress well,
but she was unhappy as if she had really fallen from
a higher station; since with women there is neither
caste nor rank, for beauty, grace and charm take the
place of family and birth. Natural ingenuity,
instinct for what is elegant, a supple mind are their
sole hierarchy, and often make of women of the people
the equals of the very greatest ladies.
