第17章

“Whyshouldyousaythat？Youarestillaman。“ “Yes，aman，butamanusefulforwhat？“ “Useful，eventhoughtheusemaynotyetbefullyapparent。“ Tothis，afterapause，thespeakeradded: “Now，departinpeace，andmakenofurtherattemptagainstthiswoman。Nay，donotevenspeakillofherifyoucanhelpit，butconsidereverythingthatyousawtohavebeenseeninadream。“ “Ah！“wasGubin’scontritecry。“Itshallbeasyousay。Yet，thoughIshouldhate，Icouldnotbear，togrieveyou，Imustconfessthattheheightwhereonyoustandis——“ “Iswhat，0hfriendofmine？“ “Nothing；savethatofallsoulsinthisworldyouare，withoutexception，thebest。“ “YakovPetrovitch，inthisworldyouandImighthaveendedourlivestogetherinhonourablepartnership。Andevennow，ifGodbewilling，wemightdoso。“ “No。Rathermustfarewellbesaid。“ Allbecamequietwithinthewindow，exceptthatafteraprolongedsilencetherecamefromthewomanadeepsigh，andthenawhisperof，“0hLord！“ Treadingsoftly，likeacat，Nadezhdadartedawaytowardsthesteps；whereasI，lessfortunate，wascaughtbythedepartingGubinintheveryactofleavingtheneighbourhoodofthewindow。Uponthatheinflatedhischeeks，ruffleduphissandyhair，turnedredinthefacelikeamanwhohasbeenthroughafight，andcriedinstrange，querulous，high-pitchedaccents: “Hi！Whatwereyoudoingjustnow？Long-leggeddevilthatyouare，Ihavenofurtheruseforyou——Idonotintendtoworkwithyouanymore。Soyoucango。“ Atthesamemomentthedimface，withitsgreatblueeyes，showeditselfatthewindow，andthestemvoiceinquired: “Whatdoesthenoisemean？“ “Whatdoesitmean？ItmeansthatIdonotintend——“ “Youmustnot，ifyouwishtocreateadisturbance，doitanywherebutinthestreet。Itmustnotbecreatedhere。“ “Whatisallthis？“Nadezhdaputinwithastampofherfoot。 “What——“ Atthispoint，thecookrushedoutwithatoasting-forkandmilitantlyrangedherselfbyNadezhda’sside，exclaiming: “Seewhatcomesofnothavingasinglemuzhikinthehouse！“ Inowpreparedtowithdraw，but，indoingso，glancedoncemoreatthefeaturesoftheelderlylady，andsawthatthebluepupilsweredilatedsoasalmosttofilltheeyesintheirentirety，andtoleaveonlyabluishmargin。Andstrangeandpainfulwerethoseeyes——eyesfixedblindly，eyeswhichseemedtohavestrayedfromtheirorbitsthroughyieldingtoemotionandaconsequentoverstrain——whiletheappleofthethroathadswelledlikethecropofabird，andthesheenofthesilkenhead-dressbecomeasthesheenofmetal。Involuntarily，Ithoughttomyself: “Itisaheadthatmustbemadeofiron。“ BythistimeGubinhadpenitentlysubsided，andwasexchangingharmlessremarkswiththecook，whilecarefullyavoidingmyglance。 “Gooddaytoyou，madame，“atlengthIsaidasIpassedthewindow。 Notatoncedidshereply，butwhenshedidsoshesaidkindly: “AndgooddaytoYOU，myfriend。Yes，Iwishyougoodday。“ Towhichsheaddedaninclinationoftheheadwhichresemblednothingsomuchasahammerwhichmuchpercussionuponananvilhaswroughttoafinepolish。 NILUSHKA Thetimber-builttownofBuev，atownwhichhasseveraltimesbeenburnttotheground，lieshuddleduponahillockabovetheriverObericha。Itshouses，withtheirmany-colouredshutters，standsocrowdedtogetherastoformaroundthechurchesandgloomylawcourtsaperfectmaze——thestreetswhichintersectthedarkmassesofhousesmeanderingaimlesslyhitherandthither，andthrowingoffalleywaysasnarrowassleeves，andfeelingtheirwayalongplot-fencesandwarehousewalls，until，viewedfromthehillockabove，thetownlooksasthoughsomeonehasstirreditupwithastickanddispersedandconfusedeverythingthatitcontains。OnlyfromthepointwhereGreatZhitnaiaStreettakesitsrisefromtheriverdothestonemansionsofthelocalmerchants(forthemostpartGermancolonists)cutagrim，directlinethroughthepackedclustersofbuildingsconstructedofwood，andskirtthegreenislandsofgardens，andthrustasidethechurches；whereafter，continuingitswaythroughCouncilSquare(stillrunninginexorablystraight)，thethoroughfarestretchesto，andtraverses，abarrenplainofscrub，andsoreachesthepineplantationbelongingtotheMonasteryofSt。MichaeltheArchangelwherethelatterislurkingbehindascreenofoldredsprucesofwhichthedensenessseemstoproptheveryheavens，andwhichonclear，sunnydayscanbeseenrisingtomarkthespotwhencethemonastery’scrosses，likethegildedbirdsoftheforestofeternalsilence，scintillateaconstantwelcome。 AtadistanceofsometenhousesbeforeZhitnaiaStreetdebouchesupontheplainwhichIhavementionedtherebegintodivergefromthestreetandtotrendtowardsaravine，andeventuallytolosethemselvesinthelatter’srecesses，thesmall，squatshantieswithoneortwowindowsapiecewhichconstitutethesuburbofTolmachikha。Thissuburb，itmaybesaid，hadasitsoriginalfoundersthemenialsofalandownernamedTolmachev——alandownerwho，afteremancipatinghisserfssomethirteenyearsbeforeallserfswerelegallyemancipated，[Intheyear1861]was，forhisaction，visitedwithsuchbitterrevilementthat，indireoffenceatthesame，heendedbybecominganinmateofthemonastery，andtherespendingtenyearsunderthevowofsilence，untildeathovertookhimamidapeacefulobscuritybornofthefactthattheauthoritieshadforbiddenhisexhibitiontopilgrimsorstrangers。 ItisintheverycotsoriginallyapportionedtoTolmachev’smenials，atthetime，fiftyyearsago，whenthosemenialswereconvertedintocitizens，thatthepresentinhabitantsofthesuburbdwell。Andneverhavetheybeenburntoutofthosehomes，althoughthesameperiodhasseenallBuevsaveZhitnaiaStreetconsumed，andeverywherethatonemaydelvewithinthetownshiponewillbesuretocomeacrossundestroyedhearthstones。 Thesuburb，asIhavesaid，standsatthehitherendandontheslopingsideofoneofthearmsofadeep，woodedravine，withitswindowsfacingtowardstheravine’syawningmouth，andaffordingaviewdirecttotheMokrie(certainmarshesbeyondtheObericha)andtheswampyforestoffirsintowhichthedimredsundeclines。Furtheron，theravinetrendsacrosstheplain，thenbendsroundtowardsthewesternsideofthetown，catsawaytheclayeysoilwithanappetitewhicheachspringincreases，andwhich，carryingthesoildowntotheriver，isgraduallycloggingtheriver’sflow，divertingthemuddywatertowardsthemarshes，andconvertingthosemarshesintoalagoonoutright。Thefissureinquestionisnamed“TheGreatRavine，“andhasitssteepflankssoovergrownwithchestnutsandlaburnumsthateveninsummertimeitsrecessesarecoolandmoist，andsoserveasaconvenienttrystingplaceforthepoorerloversofthesuburbandthetown，andwitnesstheirteadrinkingsandfrequentlyfatalquarrels，aswellasbeingusedbythemorewell-to-doforadumpinggroundforrubbishofthenatureofdeceaseddogs，cats，andhorses。 Pleasantlysinging，therescoursthebottomoftheravinethebrookknownastheZhandarmskiSpring，abrookcelebratedthroughoutBuevforitscrystal-coldwater，whichissoicyoftemperaturethatevenonaburningdayitwillmaketheteethache。ThiswaterthedenizensofTolmachikhaaccounttobetheirpeculiarproperty；whereforetheyareproudofit，anddrinkittotheexclusionofanyother，andsolivetoagreenoldagewhichinsomecasescannotevenreckonitsyears。Andbywayofalivelihood，themenofthesuburbindulgeinhunting，fishing，fowling，andthieving(notasingleartisanproperdoesthesuburbcontain，savethecobblerGorkov——athin，consumptiveskeletonofsurnameTchulan)；while，asregardsthewomen，they，inwinter，sewandmakesacksforZimmel’smill，andpulltow，andinsummertheyscourtheplantationofthemonasteryfortrufflesandotherproduce，andtheforestontheothersideoftheriverforhuckleberries。Also，twoofthesuburb’swomenpractiseasfortunetellers，whiletwoothersconductaneasyandhighlylucrativetradeinprostitution。 Theresultisthatthetown，asdistinguishedfromthesuburb，believesthemenofthelattertobeoneandallthieves，andthewomenandgirlsofthesuburbtobeoneandalldisreputablecharacters。Hencethetownstrivesalwaystorestrictandextirpatethesuburb，whilethesuburbansretaliateuponthetownsfolkwithrobberyandarsonandmurder，whiledespisingthosetownsfolkfortheirparsimony，decorum，andavarice，anddetestingthesettled，comfortablemodeoflifewhichtheylead。 Sopoor，forthatmatter，isthesuburbthatneverdoevenbeggarsresortthither，savewhendrunk。No，theonlycreatureswhichresortthitheraredogswhichsubsistnooneknowshowaspredatorilytheyroamfromcourttocourtwithtailstuckedbetweentheirflanks，andbloodlesstongueshangingdown，andlegseverprepared，onsightingahumanbeing，toboltintotheravine，ortoletdowntheirownersuponsubservientbelliesinexpectationofaprobablekickorcurse。 Inshort，everycrannyofeverycotintheplace，withthegrimypanesoftheirwindows，andtheirlathedroofsovergrownwithvelvetymoss，breathesforththeuniversal，deadlyhopelessnessinducedbyRussia’scrushingpoverty。 IntheTolmachikhans’backyardsgrowonlyalders，elders，andweeds。Everywheredocksthrustupheadsthroughcracksinthefencestocatchatthelegsortheskirtsofpassers-by，whilemassesofnettlessqueezetheirwayunderfencestostinglittlechildren。Apropos，thelatterareallthinandhungry，inthehighestdegreequarrelsome，andaddictedtoprolongedlamentation。Also，eachspringseesacertainproportionoftheirnumbercarriedoffbydiphtheria，whilescarlatinaandmeaslesareasepidemicamongthemasistyphoidamongtheirelders。 Thusthesoundsoflifemosttobeheardthroughoutthesuburbarethesoundseitherofweepingorofmadcursing。Ingeneral，however，lifeinTolmachikhaislivedquietlyandlethargically。