United States or Guam ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
WHILE he feasted his eyes upon Aglaya, as she talked merrily with Evgenie and Prince N., suddenly the old anglomaniac, who was talking to the dignitary in another corner of the room, apparently telling him a story about something or other suddenly this gentleman pronounced the name of "Nicolai Andreevitch Pavlicheff" aloud. The prince quickly turned towards him, and listened.
Every evening as he went to bed Ivan Andreevitch used to bid him open the coffer in his presence, used to tap in turn each of the tightly filled bags with a stick, and every Saturday he would untie the bags with Yuditch, and carefully count over the money. Vassily heard of all these doings, and burned with eagerness to overhaul the sacred coffer.
He lived sumptuously in the glare of publicity in Petersburg, and had made a mass of debts. He had no easy task to get round his father's miserliness, and though Ivan Andreevitch gave him on this one visit probably far more money than he gave all his other children together during twenty years spent under his roof, Vassily followed the well-known Russian rule, 'Get what you can!
The peasants, alarmed at such an unheard-of occurrence, ran up and saw their master and mistress and all their young ones, except the eldest, Vassily, who was left behind in Petersburg. From that memorable day down to the very day of his death, Ivan Andreevitch never left Lutchinovka. He built himself a house, the very house in which I have the pleasure of conversing with you at this moment.
These three documents, their dates, and the facts mentioned in them, prove in the most undeniable manner, that eighteen months before your birth, Nicolai Andreevitch went abroad, where he remained for three consecutive years. Your mother, as you are well aware, has never been out of Russia.... It is too late to read the letters now; I am content to state the fact.
Her face was simple, roundish, not without charm; she looked dejected and gloomy, and was shy and awkward in her movements. 'You are Madame Poltyev? I inquired, and I asked her to sit down. 'Yes, she answered in a subdued voice, and she did not sit down. 'I am the widow of your nephew, Mihail Andreevitch Poltyev. 'Is Mihail Andreevitch dead? Has he been dead long? But sit down, I beg.
In those days landowners used to have money, but did not put it into the keeping of banks, they kept it themselves in chests, under their floors, and so on. Ivan Andreevitch kept all his money in a great wrought-iron coffer, which stood under the head of his bed. The key of this coffer was intrusted to Yuditch.
'Hi, lads! shrieked Ivan Andreevitch in a voice of frenzy. 'A stick! 'What, beat... me? murmured Yuditch. 'Yes, indeed! Are you any better than the rest? You are a thief! O Yuditch! I never expected such dishonesty of you! 'I have grown grey in your service, Ivan Andreevitch, Yuditch articulated with effort. 'What have I to do with your grey hairs? Damn you and your service!
I have not so far, I think, told you anything about Olga Ivanovna. She had been brought as a tiny baby to Lutchinovka; she all but died on the road. Olga Ivanovna was brought up, as they say, in the fear of God and her betters. It must be admitted that Ivan Andreevitch and Anna Pavlovna both treated her as a daughter.
Anna Pavlovna got up, crossed the room, and sobbing flung herself on her knees at her husband's bedside, tried to say something stretched out her hands... Ivan Andreevitch looked at her, and in a faint voice, but resolutely, called, 'Boy! The servant went in; Anna Pavlovna hurriedly rose, and went back, tottering, to her place. Ivan Andreevitch's children were exceedingly afraid of him.
Word Of The Day