pursuet by fate. I livet in my own town only sree mons. One Suntay I sit
in a coffee-house, ant trinket one pint of Pier, ant fumigated my
pipe, ant speaket wis some frients of Politik, of ze Emperor Franz, of
Napoleon, of ze war--ant anypoty might say his opinion. But next to us
sits a strange chentleman in a grey Uberrock, who trink coffee, fumigate
the pipe, ant says nosing. Ven the night watchman shoutet ten o'clock I
taket my hat, paid ze money, and go home. At ze middle of ze night
some one knock at ze door. I rise ant says, 'Who is zere?' 'Open!' says
someone. I shout again, 'First say who is zere, ant I will open.' 'Open
in the name of the law!' say the someone behint the door. I now do so.
Two Soldaten wis gons stant at ze door, ant into ze room steps ze man in
ze grey Uberrock, who had sat with us in ze coffeehouse. He were Spion!
'Come wis me,' says ze Spion, 'Very goot!' say I. I dresset myself in
boots, trousers, ant coat, ant go srough ze room. Ven I come to ze wall
where my gon hangs I take it, ant says, 'You are a Spion, so defent
you!' I give one stroke left, one right, ant one on ze head. Ze Spion
lay precipitated on ze floor! Zen I taket my cloak-bag ant money, ant
jompet out of ze vintow. I vent to Ems, where I was acquainted wis one
General Sasin, who loaft me, givet me a passport from ze Embassy, ant
taket me to Russland to learn his chiltren. Ven General Sasin tiet, your
Mamma callet for me, ant says, 'Karl Ivanitch, I gif you my children.
Loaf them, ant I will never leave you, ant will take care for your olt
age.' Now is she teat, ant all is forgotten! For my twenty year full of
service I most now go into ze street ant seek for a try crust of preat
for my olt age! Got sees all sis, ant knows all sis. His holy will be
done! Only-only, I yearn for you, my children!"--and Karl drew me to
him, and kissed me on the forehead.
XI. ONE MARK ONLY
The year of mourning over, Grandmamma recovered a little from her grief,
and once more took to receiving occasional guests, especially children
of the same age as ourselves.
On the 13th of December--Lubotshka's birthday--the Princess Kornakoff
and her daughters, with Madame Valakhin, Sonetchka, Ilinka Grap, and the
two younger Iwins, arrived at our house before luncheon.
Though we could hear the sounds of talking, laughter, and movements
going on in the drawing-room, we could not join the party until our
morning lessons were finished. The table of studies in the schoolroom
said, "Lundi, de 2 a 3, maitre d'Histoire et de Geographie," and this
infernal maitre d'Histoire we must await, listen to, and see the back
of before we could gain our liberty. Already it was twenty minutes past
two, and nothing was to be heard of the tutor, nor yet anything to be
seen of him in the street, although I kept looking up and down it with
the greatest impatience and with an emphatic longing never to see the
maitre again.
"I believe he is not coming to-day," said Woloda, looking up for a
moment from his lesson-book.
"I hope he is not, please the Lord!" I answered, but in a despondent
tone. "Yet there he DOES come, I believe, all the same!"
"Not he! Why, that is a GENTLEMAN," said Woloda, likewise looking out of
the window, "Let us wait till half-past two, and then ask St. Jerome if
we may put away our books."
"Yes, and wish them au revoir," I added, stretching my arms, with the
book clasped in my hands, over my head. Having hitherto idled away my
time, I now opened the book at the place where the lesson was to begin,
and started to learn it. It was long and difficult, and, moreover, I
was in the mood when one's thoughts refuse to be arrested by anything at
all. Consequently I made no progress. After our last lesson in history
(which always seemed to me a peculiarly arduous and wearisome subject)
the history master had complained to St. Jerome of me because only two
good marks stood to my credit in the register--a very small total. St.
Jerome had then told me that if I failed to gain less than THREE marks
at the next lesson I should be severely punished. The next lesson was
now imminent, and I confess that I felt a little nervous.
So absorbed, however, did I become in my reading that the sound of
goloshes being taken off in the ante-room came upon me almost as a
shock. I had just time to look up when there appeared in the doorway the
servile and (to me) very disgusting face and form of the master, clad in
a blue frockcoat with brass buttons.
Slowly he set down his hat and books and adjusted the folds of his coat
(as though such a thing were necessary!), and seated himself in his
place.
"Well, gentlemen," he said, rubbing his hands, "let us first of all
repeat the general contents of the last lesson: after which I will
proceed to narrate the succeeding events of the middle ages."
This meant "Say over the last lesson." While Woloda was answering the
master with the entire ease and confidence which come of knowing a
subject well, I went aimlessly out on to the landing, and, since I
was not allowed to go downstairs, what more natural than that I should
involuntarily turn towards the alcove on the landing? Yet before I had
time to establish myself in my usual coign of vantage behind the door I
found myself pounced upon by Mimi--always the cause of my misfortunes!
"YOU here?" she said, looking severely, first at myself, and then at the
maidservants' door, and then at myself again.
I felt thoroughly guilty, firstly, because I was not in the schoolroom,
and secondly, because I was in a forbidden place. So I remained silent,
and, dropping my head, assumed a touching expression of contrition.
"Indeed, this is TOO bad!" Mimi went on, "What are you doing here?"
Still I said nothing.
"Well, it shall not rest where it is," she added, tapping the banister
with her yellow fingers. "I shall inform the Countess."
It was five minutes to three when I re-entered the schoolroom. The
master, as though oblivious of my presence or absence, was explaining
the new lesson to Woloda. When he had finished doing this, and had put
his books together (while Woloda went into the other room to fetch his
ticket), the comforting idea occurred to me that perhaps the whole thing
was over now, and that the master had forgotten me.
But suddenly he turned in my direction with a malicious smile, and said
as he rubbed his hands anew, "I hope you have learnt your lesson?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Would you be so kind, then, as to tell me something about St. Louis'
Crusade?" he went on, balancing himself on his chair and looking gravely
at his feet. "Firstly, tell me something about the reasons which induced
the French king to assume the cross" (here he raised his eyebrows and
pointed to the inkstand); "then explain to me the general characteristics
of the Crusade" (here he made a sweeping gesture with his hand, as though
to seize hold of something with it); "and lastly, expound to me the
influence of this Crusade upon the European states in general" (drawing
the copy books to the left side of the table) "and upon the French state
in particular" (drawing one of them to the right, and inclining his head
in the same direction).
I swallowed a few times, coughed, bent forward, and was silent. Then,