of the copse; the side of the copse facing the fields
like a wall, was all shaking and lighted up by tiny
gleams, distinct, but not glowing; on the reddish plants,
the blades of grass, the straws on all sides, were
sparkling and stirring innumerable threads of autumn
spider-webs. I stopped... I felt sad at heart:
under the bright but chill smile of fading nature,
the dismal dread of coming winter seemed to steal
upon me. High overhead flew a cautious crow,
heavily and sharply cleaving the air with his wings;
he turned his head, looked sideways at me, flapped
his wings and, cawing abruptly, vanished behind the
wood; a great flock of pigeons flew up playfully from
a threshing floor, and suddenly eddying round in a
column, scattered busily about the country. Sure
sign of autumn! Some one came driving over the
bare hillside, his empty cart rattling loudly....
I turned homewards; but it was long before the figure
of poor Akulina faded out of my mind, and her cornflowers,
long since withered, are still in my keeping.
THE HAMLET OF THE SHTCHIGRI DISTRICT
On one of my excursions I received an invitation to
dine at the house of a rich landowner and sportsman,
Alexandr Mihalitch G——. His property
was four miles from the small village where I was staying
at the time. I put on a frock-coat, an article
without which I advise no one to travel, even on a
hunting expedition, and betook myself to Alexandr Mihalitch’s.
The dinner was fixed for six o’clock; I arrived
at five, and found already a great number of gentlemen
in uniforms, in civilian dress, and other nondescript
garments. My host met me cordially, but soon hurried
away to the butler’s pantry. He was expecting
a great dignitary, and was in a state of agitation
not quite in keeping with his independent position
in society and his wealth. Alexandr Mihalitch
had never married, and did not care for women; his
house was the centre of a bachelor society. He
lived in grand style; he had enlarged and sumptuously
redecorated his ancestral mansion, spent fifteen thousand
roubles on wine from Moscow every year, and enjoyed
the highest public consideration. Alexandr Mihalitch
had retired from the service ages ago, and had no
ambition to gain official honours of any kind.
What could have induced him to go out of his way to
procure a guest of high official position, and to
be in a state of excitement from early morning on
the day of the grand dinner? That remains buried
in the obscurity of the unknown, as a friend of mine,
an attorney, is in the habit of saying when he is
asked whether he takes bribes when kindly-disposed
persons offer them.
