And Kister would proceed to discourse upon Louis the
Fourteenth, while Lutchkov listened, totally failing
to understand a great deal, misunderstanding a part...
and at last venturing to make a remark.... This
threw him into a cold sweat; ‘now, if I’m
making a fool of myself,’ he thought. And
as a fact he often did make a fool of himself.
But Kister was never off-hand in his replies; the
good-hearted youth was inwardly rejoicing that, as
he thought, the desire for enlightenment was awakened
in a fellow-creature. Alas! it was from no desire
for enlightenment that Avdey Ivanovitch questioned
Kister; God knows why he did! Possibly he wished
to ascertain for himself what sort of head he, Lutchkov,
had, whether it was really dull, or simply untrained.
’So I really am stupid,’ he said to himself
more than once with a bitter smile; and he would draw
himself up instantly and look rudely and insolently
about him, and smile malignantly to himself if he caught
some comrade dropping his eyes before his glance.
’All right, my man, you’re so learned
and well educated,...’ he would mutter between
his teeth. ‘I’ll show you... that’s
all....’
The officers did not long discuss the sudden friendship
of Kister and Lutchkov; they were used to the duellist’s
queer ways. ’The devil’s made friends
with the baby,’ they said.... Kister was
warm in his praises of his friend on all hands; no
one disputed his opinion, because they were afraid
of Lutchkov; Lutchkov himself never mentioned Kister’s
name before the others, but he dropped his intimacy
with the perfumed adjutant.
II
The landowners of the South of Russia are very keen
on giving balls, inviting officers to their houses,
and marrying off their daughters.
About seven miles from the village of Kirilovo lived
just such a country gentleman, a Mr. Perekatov, the
owner of four hundred souls, and a fairly spacious
house. He had a daughter of eighteen, Mashenka,
and a wife, Nenila Makarievna. Mr. Perekatov
had once been an officer in the cavalry, but from
love of a country life and from indolence he had retired
and had begun to live peaceably and quietly, as landowners
of the middling sort do live. Nenila Makarievna
owed her existence in a not perfectly legitimate manner
to a distinguished gentleman of Moscow.
Her protector had educated his little Nenila very
carefully, as it is called, in his own house, but
got her off his hands rather hurriedly, at the first
offer, as a not very marketable article. Nenila
Makarievna was ugly; the distinguished gentleman was
giving her no more than ten thousand as dowry; she
snatched eagerly at Mr. Perekatov. To Mr. Perekatov
it seemed extremely gratifying to marry a highly educated,
intellectual young lady... who was, after all, so closely
related to so illustrious a personage. This illustrious
personage extended his patronage to the young people
even after the marriage, that is to say, he accepted
Copyrights
The Jew and Other Stories from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
