Why, didn't you boast you
were a philosopher?
were a philosopher?
Warner - World's Best Literature - v25 - Tas to Tur
"
After listening to such a reply one day, Bazarov shrugged his
shoulders contemptuously and turned away, while the peasant
sauntered slowly homewards.
"What was he talking about? " inquired another peasant of
middle age and surly aspect, who at a distance from the door
## p. 15065 (#653) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15065
of his hut had been following his conversation with Bazarov.
"Arrears, eh? "
"Arrears? no indeed, mate! " answered the first peasant, and
now there was no trace of patriarchal sing-song in his voice; on
the contrary, there was a certain scornful gruffness to be heard
in it: "oh, he clacked away about something or other: wanted
to stretch his tongue a bit. Of course, he's a gentleman: what
does he understand? "
«< What should he understand! " answered the other peasant,
and jerking back their caps and pushing down their belts, they
proceeded to deliberate upon their work and their wants. Alas!
Bazarov, shrugging his shoulders contemptuously,- Bazarov, who
knew how to talk to peasants (as he had boasted in his dispute
with Pavel Petrovitch),—did not in his self-confidence even sus-
pect that in their eyes he was all the while something of the
nature of a buffooning clown.
He found employment for himself at last, however. One day
Vassily Ivanovitch bound up a peasant's wounded leg before him,
but the old man's hands trembled, and he could not manage the
bandages; his son helped him, and from time to time began to
take a share in his practice,- though at the same time he was
constantly sneering both at the remedies he himself advised, and
at his father who hastened to make use of them. But Bazarov's
jeers did not in the least perturb Vassily Ivanovitch; they were
positively a comfort to him. Holding his greasy dressing-gown
across his stomach with two fingers, and smoking his pipe, he
used to listen with enjoyment to Bazarov; and the more malicious
his sallies, the more good-humoredly did his delighted father
chuckle, showing every one of his black teeth. He used even to
repeat these sometimes flat or pointless retorts; and would, for
instance, for several days constantly, without rhyme or reason,
reiterate, "Not a matter of the first importance! " simply because
his son, on hearing he was going to matins, had made use of that
expression. "Thank God! he has got over his melancholy! " he
whispered to his wife: "how he gave it to me to-day! It was
splendid! " Moreover, the idea of having such an assistant excited
him to ecstasy, filled him with pride. "Yes, yes," he would
say to some peasant woman, in a man's cloak and a cap shaped
like a horn, as he handed her a bottle of Goulard's extract or a
box of white ointment, "you ought to be thanking God, my
good woman, every minute that my son is staying with me: you
## p. 15066 (#654) ##########################################
15066
IVAN TURGENEFF
will be treated now by the most scientific, most modern method.
Do you know what that means? The Emperor of the French,
Napoleon, even, has no better doctor. " And the peasant woman,
who had come to complain that she felt so sort of queer all over
(the exact meaning of these words she was not able, however,
herself to explain), merely bowed low and rummaged in her
bosom, where four eggs lay tied up in the corner of a towel.
Bazarov once even pulled out a tooth for a passing peddler of
cloth; and though this tooth was an average specimen, Vassily
Ivanovitch preserved it as a curiosity, and incessantly repeated,
as he showed it to Father Alexey, "Just look, what a fang! The
force Yevgeny has! The peddler seemed to leap into the air. If
it had been an oak, he'd have rooted it up! "
"Most promising! " Father Alexey would comment at last;
not knowing what answer to make, and how to get rid of the
ecstatic old man.
One day a peasant from a neighboring village brought his
brother to Vassily Ivanovitch, ill with typhus. The unhappy
man, lying flat on a truss of straw, was dying: his body was
covered with dark patches; he had long ago lost consciousness.
Vassily Ivanovitch expressed his regret that no one had taken
steps to procure medical aid sooner, and declared there was no
hope. And in fact the peasant did not get his brother home
again: he died in the cart.
Three days later Bazarov came into his father's room and
asked him if he had any caustic.
"Yes: what do you want it for ? "
"I must have some-to burn a cut. "
"For whom? »
"For myself. "
«< What, yourself? Why is that? What sort of a cut? Where
is it? "
"Look here, on my finger. I went to-day to the village, you
know, where they brought that peasant with typhus fever. They
were just going to open the body, for some reason or other, and
I've had no practice of that sort for a long while. "
"Well ? »
"Well, so I asked the district doctor about it; and so I dis-
sected it. "
Vassily Ivanovitch all at once turned quite white; and, without
uttering a word, rushed to his study, from which he returned at
## p. 15067 (#655) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15067
once with a bit of caustic in his hand. Bazarov was about to
take it and go away.
"For mercy's sake," said Vassily Ivanovitch, "let me do it
myself. "
Bazarov smiled. "What a devoted practitioner! "
"Don't laugh, please. Show me your finger. The cut is not
a large one. Do I hurt? "
"Press harder; don't be afraid. "
Vassily Ivanovitch stopped. "What do you think, Yevgeny; -
wouldn't it be better to burn it with hot iron? "
"That ought to have been done sooner: the caustic even is
useless, really, now. If I've taken the infection, it's too late
now. "
"How! too late-" Vassily Ivanovitch could scarcely articu-
late the words.
"I should think so! It's more than four hours ago. >>
Vassily Ivanovitch burnt the cut a little more.
district doctor no caustic ? »
"But had the
"No. "
"How was that? Good heavens! A doctor not have such an
indispensable thing as that! "
"You should have seen his lancets," observed Bazarov as he
walked away.
Up till late that evening, and all the following day, Vassily
Ivanovitch kept catching at every possible excuse to go into his
son's room; and though far from referring to the cut,- he even
tried to talk about the most irrelevant subjects,-he looked so
persistently into his face, and watched him in such trepidation,
that Bazarov lost patience and threatened to go away. Vassily
Ivanovitch gave him a promise not to bother him; the more
readily as Arina Vlasyevna, from whom of course he kept it all
secret, was beginning to worry him as to why he did not sleep,
and what had come over him. For two whole days he held him-
self in, though he did not at all like the look of his son, whom
he kept watching stealthily; but on the third day, at dinner, he
could bear it no longer. Bazarov sat with downcast looks, and
had not touched a single dish.
"Why don't you eat, Yevgeny? " he inquired, putting on an
expression of the most perfect carelessness. "The food, I think,
is very nicely cooked. "
"I don't want anything, so I don't eat. "
## p. 15068 (#656) ##########################################
15068
IVAN TURGENEFF
"Have you no appetite? And your head-" he added tim-
idly does it ache? »
"Yes. Of course it aches. "
Arina Vlasyevna sat up and was all alert.
"Don't be angry, please, Yevgeny," continued Vassily Ivan-
ovitch: "won't you let me feel your pulse ? »
Bazarov got up.
"I can tell you without feeling my pulse:
I'm feverish. "
"Has there been any shivering? "
"Yes, there has been shivering too. I'll go and lie down,
and you can send me some lime-flower tea. I must have caught
cold. "
"To be sure, I heard you coughing last night," observed
Arina Vlasyevna.
"I've caught cold," repeated Bazarov; and he went away.
Arina Vlasyevna busied herself about the preparation of the
decoction of lime-flowers, while Vassily Ivanovitch went into the
next room and clutched at his hair in silent desperation.
Bazarov did not get up again that day, and passed the whole
night in heavy, half-unconscious torpor. At one o'clock in the
morning, opening his eyes with an effort, he saw by the light of
a lamp his father's pale face bending over him, and told him to
go away. The old man begged his pardon, but he quickly came
back on tiptoe; and half hidden by the cupboard door, he gazed
persistently at his son. Arina Vlasyevna did not go to bed either;
and leaving the study door just open a very little, she kept com-
ing up to it to listen "how Enyusha was breathing," and to look
at Vassily Ivanovitch. She could see nothing but his motionless
bent back, but even that afforded her some faint consolation. In
the morning Bazarov tried to get up: he was seized with giddi-
ness, his nose began to bleed; he lay down again. Vassily Ivan-
ovitch waited on him in silence; Arina Vlasyevna went in to him
and asked him how he was feeling. He answered, "Better," and
turned to the wall. Vassily Ivanovitch gesticulated at his wife
with both hands; she bit her lips so as not to cry, and went
away. The whole house seemed suddenly darkened; every one
looked gloomy; there was a strange hush; a shrill cock was
carried away from the yard to the village, unable to comprehend
why he should be treated so. Bazarov still lay turned to the
wall. Vassily Ivanovitch tried to address him with various ques-
tions; but they fatigued Bazarov, and the old man sank into his
## p. 15069 (#657) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15069
arm-chair, motionless, only cracking his finger-joints now and
then. He went for a few minutes into the garden; stood there
like a statue, as though overwhelmed with unutterable bewil-
derment (the expression of amazement never left his face all
through); and went back again to his son, trying to avoid his
wife's questions. She caught him by the arm at last, and pas-
sionately, almost menacingly,- said, "What is wrong with him? ”
Then he came to himself, and forced himself to smile at her in
reply; but to his own horror, instead of a smile, he found him-
self taken somehow by a fit of laughter. He had sent at day-
break for a doctor. He thought it necessary to inform his son
of this, for fear he should be angry. Bazarov suddenly turned
over on the sofa, bent a fixed dull look on his father, and asked
for drink.
Vassily Ivanovitch gave him some water, and as he did so
felt his forehead. It seemed on fire.
"Governor," began Bazarov, in a slow, drowsy voice, "I'm in
a bad way: I've got the infection, and in a few days you'll have
to bury me. "
Vassily Ivanovitch staggered back, as though some one had
aimed a blow at his legs.
"Yevgeny! " he faltered, "what do you mean? God have
mercy on you! You've caught cold! "
"Hush! " Bazarov interposed deliberately. "A doctor can't be
allowed to talk like that. There's every symptom of infection:
you know yourself. "
"Where are the symptoms-of infection, Yevgeny? Good
heavens! >>
"What's this? " said Bazarov; and pulling up his shirt-sleeve,
he showed his father the ominous red patches coming out on his
arm.
Vassily Ivanovitch was shaking and chill with terror.
«< Supposing," he said at last, "even supposing- if even there's
something like infection->
"Pyæmia," put in his son.
"Well, well — something of the epidemic — »
-
"Pyæmia," Bazarov repeated sharply and distinctly; "have
you forgotten your text-books? "
—
"Well, well-as you like. Anyway, we will cure you! "
"Come, that's humbug. But that's not the point. I didn't
expect to die so soon; it's a most unpleasant incident, to tell the
truth. You and mother ought to make the most of your strong
## p. 15070 (#658) ##########################################
15070
IVAN TURGENEFF
religious belief; now's the time to put it to the test. " He drank
off a little water. "I want to ask you about one thing-while
my head is still under my control. To-morrow or next day
my brain, you know, will send in its resignation. I'm not quite
certain even now whether I'm expressing myself clearly. While
I've been lying here, I've kept fancying red dogs were running
round me, while you were making them point at me, as if I
were a woodcock. Just as if I were drunk. Do you understand
me all right? "
"I assure you, Yevgeny, you are talking perfectly correctly. "
"All the better. You told me you'd sent for the doctor. You
did that to comfort yourself; - comfort me too: send a messen-
ger
— »
"To Arkady Nikolaitch? " put in the old man.
"Who's Arkady Nikolaitch? " said Bazarov, as though in
doubt. "Oh, yes! that chicken! No, let him alone: he's turned
jackdaw now. Don't be surprised: that's not delirium yet. You
send a messenger to Madame Odintsov, Anna Sergyevna; she's
a lady with an estate. Do you know? " (Vassily Ivanovitch
nodded. ) "Yevgeny Bazarov, say, sends his greetings, and sends
word he is dying. Will you do that? "
"Yes, I will do it. But is it a possible thing for you to die,
Yevgeny? Think only! Where would divine justice be after
that? "
"I know nothing about that; only you send the messenger. "
"I'll send this minute, and I'll write a letter myself. "
"No, why? Say I sent greetings; nothing more is necessary.
And now I'll go back to my dogs. Strange! I want to fix my
thoughts on death, and nothing comes of it. I see a kind of blur
and nothing more. "
-
He turned painfully back to the wall again; while Vassily
Ivanovitch went out of the study, and struggling as far as his
wife's bedroom, simply dropped down on to his knees before the
holy pictures.
«Pray, Arina, pray for us! " he moaned: "our son is dying. "
The doctor-the same district doctor who had had no caus-
tic-arrived; and after looking at the patient, advised them to
persevere with a cooling treatment, and at that point said a few
words of the chance of recovery.
"Have you ever chanced to see people in my state not set
off for Elysium? " asked Bazarov; and suddenly snatching the leg
of a heavy table that stood near his sofa, he swung it round,
## p. 15071 (#659) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15071
and pushed it away. "There's strength, there's strength," he
murmured; - "everything's here still, and I must die! An old
man at least has time to be weaned from life, but I- Well, go
and try to disprove death. Death will disprove you, and that's
all! Who's crying there? " he added, after a short pause.
"Mother? Poor thing! Whom will she feed now with her
exquisite beet-root soup? You, Vassily Ivanovitch, whimpering
too, I do believe! Why, if Christianity's no help to you, be a
philosopher, a Stoic, or what not!
Why, didn't you boast you
were a philosopher? »
"Me a philosopher! " wailed Vassily Ivanovitch, while the
tears fairly streamed down his cheeks.
Bazarov got worse every hour; the progress of the disease
was rapid, as is usually the way in cases of surgical poisoning.
He still had not lost consciousness, and understood what was said
to him; he was still struggling. "I don't want to lose my wits,"
he muttered, clenching his fists: "what rot it all is! " And at
once he would say, "Come, take ten from eight, what remains ? »
Vassily Ivanovitch wandered about like one possessed; proposed
first one remedy, then another; and ended by doing nothing but
cover up his son's feet. "Try cold pack-emetic-mustard plas-
ters on the stomach - bleeding," he would murmur with an effort.
The doctor, whom he had entreated to remain, agreed with him;
ordered the patient lemonade to drink; and for himself asked for
a pipe, and something "warming and strengthening," — that is to
say, brandy. Arina Vlasyevna sat on a low stool near the door,
and only went out from time to time to pray. A few days
before, a looking-glass had slipped out of her hands and been
broken, and this she had always considered an omen of evil; even
Anfisushka could say nothing to her. Timofeitch had gone off
-
to Madame Odintsov's.
That night passed badly for Bazarov. He was in the agonies
of high fever. Towards morning he was a little easier. He
asked for Arina Vlasyevna to comb his hair, kissed her hand,
and swallowed two gulps of tea. Vassily Ivanovitch revived a
little.
"Thank God! " he kept declaring; "the crisis is coming, the
crisis is at hand! "
"There, to think now," murmured Bazarov, "what a word
can do! He's found it; he's said 'crisis,' and is comforted. It's
an astounding thing how man believes in words. If he's told
he's a fool, for instance, though he's not thrashed, he'll be
## p. 15072 (#660) ##########################################
15072
IVAN TURGENEFF
wretched; call him a clever fellow, and he'll be delighted if you
go off without paying him. ”
This little speech, of Bazarov's, recalling his old retorts, moved
Vassily Ivanovitch greatly.
"Bravo! well said, very good! " he cried, making as though
he were clapping his hands.
Bazarov smiled mournfully.
"So what do you think," he said: "is the crisis over, or com-
ing? "
You are better, that's what I see; that's what rejoices me,”
answered Vassily Ivanovitch.
"Well, that's good: rejoicings never come amiss.
do you remember? did you send? "
"To be sure I did. "
-
The change for the better did not last long. The disease
resumed its onslaughts. Vassily Ivanovitch was sitting by Baza-
rov. It seemed as though the old man were tormented by some
special anguish. He was several times on the point of speaking
and could not.
"Yevgeny! " he brought out at last; "my son, my one dear
And to her,
-
son! "
This unfamiliar mode of address produced an effect on Baza-
rov. He turned his head a little, and obviously trying to fight
against the load of oblivion weighing upon him, he articulated,
"What is it, father? "
"Yevgeny," Vassily Ivanovitch went on, and he fell on his
knees before Bazarov, though the latter had closed his eyes
and could not see him. "Yevgeny, you are better now: please
God, you will get well; but make use of this time,-comfort
your mother and me, perform the duty of a Christian! What
it means for me to say this to you-it's awful; but still more
awful for ever and ever, Yevgeny-think a little, what - "
The old man's voice broke; and a strange look passed over
his son's face, though he still lay with closed eyes.
"I won't refuse, if that can be any comfort to you," he
brought out at last; "but it seems to me there's no need to be
in a hurry. You say yourself I am better. "
"Oh, yes, Yevgeny, better certainly; but who knows? it is all
in God's hands, and in doing the duty-"
"No, I will wait a bit," broke in Bazarov. "I agree with you
that the crisis has come. And if we're mistaken, well! they give
the sacrament to men who're unconscious, you know. "
## p. 15073 (#661) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15073
"Yevgeny, I beg-»
"I'll wait a little. And now I want to go to sleep. Don't
disturb me. " And he laid his head back on the pillow.
The old man rose from his knees, sat down in the arm-chair,
and clutching his beard, began biting his own fingers.
The sound of a light carriage on springs-that sound which
is peculiarly impressive in the wilds of the country-suddenly
struck upon his hearing. Nearer and nearer rolled the light
wheels; now even the neighing of the horses could be heard.
Vassily Ivanovitch jumped up and ran to the little window. There
drove into the court-yard of his little house a carriage with seats
for two, with four horses harnessed abreast. Without stopping
to consider what it could mean, with a rush of a sort of sense-
less joy, he ran out on to the steps. A groom in livery was
opening the carriage doors; a lady in a black veil and a black
mantle was getting out of it.
"I am Madame Odintsov," she said. "Yevgeny Vassilyitch is
still living? You are his father? I have a doctor with me. "
"Benefactress! " cried Vassily Ivanovitch; and snatching her
hand, he pressed it convulsively to his lips; while the doctor
brought by Anna Sergyevna, a little man in spectacles, of Ger-
man physiognomy, stepped very deliberately out of the carriage.
"Still living, my Yevgeny is living, and now he will be saved!
Wife! wife! An angel from heaven has come to us. "
"What does it mean, good Lord! " faltered the old woman,
running out of the drawing-room; and comprehending nothing,
she fell on the spot at Anna Sergyevna's feet, in the passage, and
began kissing her garments like a mad woman.
"What are you doing! " protested Anna Sergyevna; but Arina
Vlasyevna did not heed her, while Vassily Ivanovitch could only
repeat, "An angel! an angel! "
"Wo ist der Kranke? [where is the patient? ]" said the doc-
tor at last, with some impatience.
Vassily Ivanovitch recovered himself.
"Here, here; - follow
me, würdigster Herr Collega," he added through old associations.
"Ah! " articulated the German, grinning sourly.
Vassily Ivanovitch led him into the study. "The doctor from
Anna Sergyevna Odintsov," he said, bending down quite to his
son's ear, "and she herself is here. "
Bazarov suddenly opened his eyes. "What did you say? "
"I say that Anna Sergyevna is here; and has brought this
gentleman, a doctor, to you. "
XXV-945
## p. 15074 (#662) ##########################################
15074
IVAN TURGENEFF
Bazarov moved his eyes about him.
see her. "
man.
"You shall see her, Yevgeny; but first we must have a little
talk with the doctor. I will tell him the whole history of your
illness, since Sidor Sidoritch" (this was the name of the district
doctor) "has gone; and we will have a little consultation. ”
Bazarov glanced at the German. "Well, talk away quickly,
only not in Latin: you see, I know the meaning of jam moritur. »
"Der Herr scheint des Deutschen mächtig zu sein," began the
new follower of Esculapius, turning to Vassily Ivanovitch.
"Ich-gabe- We had better speak Russian," said the old
"She is here? I want to
"Ah, ah! so that's how it is. To be sure
sultation began.
Half an hour later, Anna Sergyevna, conducted by Vassily
Ivanovitch, came into the study. The doctor had had time to
whisper to her that it was hopeless even to think of the patient's
-
Vassily Ivanovitch went out.
"Well, thanks," repeated Bazarov.
>>>
And the con-
recovery.
She looked at Bazarov-and stood still in the doorway; so
greatly was she impressed by the inflamed and at the same time
deathly face, with its dim eyes fastened upon her. She felt sim-
ply dismayed, with a sort of cold and suffocating dismay: the
thought that she would not have felt like that if she had really
loved him flashed instantaneously through her brain.
"Thanks," he said painfully: "I did not expect this.
It's a
deed of mercy. So we have seen each other again, as you prom-
ised. "
"Anna Sergyevna has been so kind," began Vassily Ivanovitch.
"Father, leave us alone. Anna Sergyevna, you will allow it,
I fancy, now? "
With a motion of his head, he indicated his prostrate helpless
frame.
"This is royally done.
Monarchs, they say, visit the dying too. "
"Yevgeny Vassilyitch, I hope-»
"Ah, Anna Sergyevna, let us speak the truth. It's all over
with me. I'm under the wheel. So it turns out that it was use-
less to think of the future. Death's an old joke, but it comes
fresh to every one. So far I'm not afraid- but there, senseless-
ness is coming, and then it's all up! " he waved his hand feebly.
"Well, what had to say to you? I loved you! There was no
## p. 15075 (#663) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15075
sense in that even before, and less than ever now. Love is a
form, and my own form is already breaking up. Better say how
lovely you are! And now here you stand, so beautiful-» Anna
Sergyevna gave an involuntary shudder. "Never mind, don't be
uneasy. Sit down there. Don't come close to me: you know my
illness is catching. "
Anna Sergyevna swiftly crossed the room, and sat down in
the arm-chair near the sofa on which Bazarov was lying.
"Noble-hearted! " he whispered. "Oh, how near, and how
young, and fresh, and pure—in this loathsome room! Well, good-
by! live long,-that's the best of all,-and make the most of it
while there is time. You see what a hideous spectacle: the worm
half crushed, but writhing still. And you see, I thought too, I'd
break down so many things: I wouldn't die- why should I! -
there were problems to solve, and I was a giant! And now all
the problem for the giant is, how to die decently-though that
makes no difference to any one either. Never mind: I'm not
going to turn tail. ”
Bazarov was silent, and began feeling with his hand for the
glass. Anna Sergyevna gave him some drink: not taking off her
glove, and drawing her breath timorously.
"You will forget me," he began again: "the dead's no com-
panion for the living. My father will tell you what a man Rus-
sia is losing. That's nonsense, but don't contradict the old man.
Whatever toy will comfort the child-you know. And be kind
to mother. People like them aren't to be found in your great
world if you look by daylight with a candle. I was needed by
Russia. No, it's clear, I wasn't needed. And who is needed?
The shoemaker's needed, the tailor's needed, the butcher - gives
us meat - the butcher wait a little, I'm getting mixed. There's
a forest here — "
Bazarov put his hand to his brow.
Anna Sergyevna bent down to him.
am here- »
―
―――――
"Yevgeny Vassilyitch, I
He at once took his hand away, and raised himself.
"Good-bye," he said with sudden force, and his eyes gleamed.
with their last light. "Good-bye. Listen-you know I didn't
kiss you then. Breathe on the dying lamp, and let it go out. "
Anna Sergyevna put her lips to his forehead.
"Enough! " he murmured, and dropped back on to the pillow.
"Now-darkness — "
## p. 15076 (#664) ##########################################
15076
IVAN TURGENEFF
Anna Sergyevna went softly out. "Well? " Vassily Ivano-
vitch asked her in a whisper.
"He has fallen asleep," she answered, scarce audibly. Baza-
rov was not fated to awaken.
Towards evening he sank into
complete unconsciousness, and the following day he died. Father
Alexey performed the last rites of religion over him. When they
anointed him with the last unction, when the holy oil touched his
breast, one eye opened; and it seemed as though at the sight of
the priest in his vestments, the smoking censers, the light before
the image, something like a shudder of horror passed over the
death-stricken face. When at last he had breathed his last, and
there arose a universal lamentation in the house, Vassily Ivan-
ovitch was seized by a sudden frenzy. "I said I should rebel,"
he shrieked hoarsely, with his face inflamed and distorted, shak-
ing his fist in the air, as though threatening some one; "and I
rebel, I rebel! " But Arina Vlasyevna, all in tears, hung upon
his neck, and both fell on their faces together.
"Side by
side,” Anfisushka related afterwards in the servants' room, "they
drooped their poor heads like lambs at noonday. "
But the heat of noonday passes, and evening comes and night;
and then too the return to the kindly refuge, where sleep is
sweet for the weary and heavy-laden.
LAVRETSKY
From A House of Gentlefolk
Α
ND SO-eight years have passed by. Once more the breezes
of spring breathed brightness and rejoicing from the heav-
ens; once more spring was smiling upon the earth and
upon men; once more under her caresses everything was turning
to blossom, to love, to song. The town of O- had undergone
little change in the course of these eight years: but Marfa
Dmitrievna's house seemed to have grown younger; its freshly
painted walls gave a bright welcome, and the panes of its open
windows were crimson, shining in the setting sun; from these
windows the light merry sound of ringing young voices and con-
tinual laughter floated into the street; the whole house seemed
astir with life and brimming over with gayety. The lady of the
house herself had long been in her tomb; Marya Dmitrievna had
## p. 15077 (#665) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15077
died two years after Lisa took the veil, and Marfa Timofyevna
had not long survived her niece; they lay side by side in the
cemetery of the town. Nastasya Karpovna too was no more. For
several years the faithful old woman had gone every week to say
a prayer over her friend's ashes: her time had come, and now
her bones too lay in the damp earth. But Marya Dmitrievna's
house had not passed into strangers' hands; it had not gone out
of her family; the home had not been broken up. Lenotchka,
transformed into a slim, beautiful young girl; and her betrothed
lover, a fair-haired officer of hussars; Marya Dmitrievna's son,
who had just been married in Petersburg and had come with his
young wife for the spring to O—; his wife's sister, a school-
girl of sixteen, with glowing cheeks and bright eyes; Shurotchka,
grown up and also pretty,-made up the youthful household,
whose laughter and talk set the walls of the Kalitins's house
resounding. Everything in the house was changed; everything
was in keeping with its new inhabitants. Beardless servant lads,
grinning and full of fun, had replaced the sober old servants of
former days. Two setter dogs dashed wildly about and gamboled
over the sofas, where the fat Roska had at one time waddled
in solemn dignity. The stables were filled with slender racers,
spirited carriage horses, fiery outriders with plaited manes, and
riding-horses from the Don. The breakfast, dinner, and supper
hours were all in confusion and disorder; in the words of the
neighbors, "unheard-of arrangements" were made.
After listening to such a reply one day, Bazarov shrugged his
shoulders contemptuously and turned away, while the peasant
sauntered slowly homewards.
"What was he talking about? " inquired another peasant of
middle age and surly aspect, who at a distance from the door
## p. 15065 (#653) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15065
of his hut had been following his conversation with Bazarov.
"Arrears, eh? "
"Arrears? no indeed, mate! " answered the first peasant, and
now there was no trace of patriarchal sing-song in his voice; on
the contrary, there was a certain scornful gruffness to be heard
in it: "oh, he clacked away about something or other: wanted
to stretch his tongue a bit. Of course, he's a gentleman: what
does he understand? "
«< What should he understand! " answered the other peasant,
and jerking back their caps and pushing down their belts, they
proceeded to deliberate upon their work and their wants. Alas!
Bazarov, shrugging his shoulders contemptuously,- Bazarov, who
knew how to talk to peasants (as he had boasted in his dispute
with Pavel Petrovitch),—did not in his self-confidence even sus-
pect that in their eyes he was all the while something of the
nature of a buffooning clown.
He found employment for himself at last, however. One day
Vassily Ivanovitch bound up a peasant's wounded leg before him,
but the old man's hands trembled, and he could not manage the
bandages; his son helped him, and from time to time began to
take a share in his practice,- though at the same time he was
constantly sneering both at the remedies he himself advised, and
at his father who hastened to make use of them. But Bazarov's
jeers did not in the least perturb Vassily Ivanovitch; they were
positively a comfort to him. Holding his greasy dressing-gown
across his stomach with two fingers, and smoking his pipe, he
used to listen with enjoyment to Bazarov; and the more malicious
his sallies, the more good-humoredly did his delighted father
chuckle, showing every one of his black teeth. He used even to
repeat these sometimes flat or pointless retorts; and would, for
instance, for several days constantly, without rhyme or reason,
reiterate, "Not a matter of the first importance! " simply because
his son, on hearing he was going to matins, had made use of that
expression. "Thank God! he has got over his melancholy! " he
whispered to his wife: "how he gave it to me to-day! It was
splendid! " Moreover, the idea of having such an assistant excited
him to ecstasy, filled him with pride. "Yes, yes," he would
say to some peasant woman, in a man's cloak and a cap shaped
like a horn, as he handed her a bottle of Goulard's extract or a
box of white ointment, "you ought to be thanking God, my
good woman, every minute that my son is staying with me: you
## p. 15066 (#654) ##########################################
15066
IVAN TURGENEFF
will be treated now by the most scientific, most modern method.
Do you know what that means? The Emperor of the French,
Napoleon, even, has no better doctor. " And the peasant woman,
who had come to complain that she felt so sort of queer all over
(the exact meaning of these words she was not able, however,
herself to explain), merely bowed low and rummaged in her
bosom, where four eggs lay tied up in the corner of a towel.
Bazarov once even pulled out a tooth for a passing peddler of
cloth; and though this tooth was an average specimen, Vassily
Ivanovitch preserved it as a curiosity, and incessantly repeated,
as he showed it to Father Alexey, "Just look, what a fang! The
force Yevgeny has! The peddler seemed to leap into the air. If
it had been an oak, he'd have rooted it up! "
"Most promising! " Father Alexey would comment at last;
not knowing what answer to make, and how to get rid of the
ecstatic old man.
One day a peasant from a neighboring village brought his
brother to Vassily Ivanovitch, ill with typhus. The unhappy
man, lying flat on a truss of straw, was dying: his body was
covered with dark patches; he had long ago lost consciousness.
Vassily Ivanovitch expressed his regret that no one had taken
steps to procure medical aid sooner, and declared there was no
hope. And in fact the peasant did not get his brother home
again: he died in the cart.
Three days later Bazarov came into his father's room and
asked him if he had any caustic.
"Yes: what do you want it for ? "
"I must have some-to burn a cut. "
"For whom? »
"For myself. "
«< What, yourself? Why is that? What sort of a cut? Where
is it? "
"Look here, on my finger. I went to-day to the village, you
know, where they brought that peasant with typhus fever. They
were just going to open the body, for some reason or other, and
I've had no practice of that sort for a long while. "
"Well ? »
"Well, so I asked the district doctor about it; and so I dis-
sected it. "
Vassily Ivanovitch all at once turned quite white; and, without
uttering a word, rushed to his study, from which he returned at
## p. 15067 (#655) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15067
once with a bit of caustic in his hand. Bazarov was about to
take it and go away.
"For mercy's sake," said Vassily Ivanovitch, "let me do it
myself. "
Bazarov smiled. "What a devoted practitioner! "
"Don't laugh, please. Show me your finger. The cut is not
a large one. Do I hurt? "
"Press harder; don't be afraid. "
Vassily Ivanovitch stopped. "What do you think, Yevgeny; -
wouldn't it be better to burn it with hot iron? "
"That ought to have been done sooner: the caustic even is
useless, really, now. If I've taken the infection, it's too late
now. "
"How! too late-" Vassily Ivanovitch could scarcely articu-
late the words.
"I should think so! It's more than four hours ago. >>
Vassily Ivanovitch burnt the cut a little more.
district doctor no caustic ? »
"But had the
"No. "
"How was that? Good heavens! A doctor not have such an
indispensable thing as that! "
"You should have seen his lancets," observed Bazarov as he
walked away.
Up till late that evening, and all the following day, Vassily
Ivanovitch kept catching at every possible excuse to go into his
son's room; and though far from referring to the cut,- he even
tried to talk about the most irrelevant subjects,-he looked so
persistently into his face, and watched him in such trepidation,
that Bazarov lost patience and threatened to go away. Vassily
Ivanovitch gave him a promise not to bother him; the more
readily as Arina Vlasyevna, from whom of course he kept it all
secret, was beginning to worry him as to why he did not sleep,
and what had come over him. For two whole days he held him-
self in, though he did not at all like the look of his son, whom
he kept watching stealthily; but on the third day, at dinner, he
could bear it no longer. Bazarov sat with downcast looks, and
had not touched a single dish.
"Why don't you eat, Yevgeny? " he inquired, putting on an
expression of the most perfect carelessness. "The food, I think,
is very nicely cooked. "
"I don't want anything, so I don't eat. "
## p. 15068 (#656) ##########################################
15068
IVAN TURGENEFF
"Have you no appetite? And your head-" he added tim-
idly does it ache? »
"Yes. Of course it aches. "
Arina Vlasyevna sat up and was all alert.
"Don't be angry, please, Yevgeny," continued Vassily Ivan-
ovitch: "won't you let me feel your pulse ? »
Bazarov got up.
"I can tell you without feeling my pulse:
I'm feverish. "
"Has there been any shivering? "
"Yes, there has been shivering too. I'll go and lie down,
and you can send me some lime-flower tea. I must have caught
cold. "
"To be sure, I heard you coughing last night," observed
Arina Vlasyevna.
"I've caught cold," repeated Bazarov; and he went away.
Arina Vlasyevna busied herself about the preparation of the
decoction of lime-flowers, while Vassily Ivanovitch went into the
next room and clutched at his hair in silent desperation.
Bazarov did not get up again that day, and passed the whole
night in heavy, half-unconscious torpor. At one o'clock in the
morning, opening his eyes with an effort, he saw by the light of
a lamp his father's pale face bending over him, and told him to
go away. The old man begged his pardon, but he quickly came
back on tiptoe; and half hidden by the cupboard door, he gazed
persistently at his son. Arina Vlasyevna did not go to bed either;
and leaving the study door just open a very little, she kept com-
ing up to it to listen "how Enyusha was breathing," and to look
at Vassily Ivanovitch. She could see nothing but his motionless
bent back, but even that afforded her some faint consolation. In
the morning Bazarov tried to get up: he was seized with giddi-
ness, his nose began to bleed; he lay down again. Vassily Ivan-
ovitch waited on him in silence; Arina Vlasyevna went in to him
and asked him how he was feeling. He answered, "Better," and
turned to the wall. Vassily Ivanovitch gesticulated at his wife
with both hands; she bit her lips so as not to cry, and went
away. The whole house seemed suddenly darkened; every one
looked gloomy; there was a strange hush; a shrill cock was
carried away from the yard to the village, unable to comprehend
why he should be treated so. Bazarov still lay turned to the
wall. Vassily Ivanovitch tried to address him with various ques-
tions; but they fatigued Bazarov, and the old man sank into his
## p. 15069 (#657) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15069
arm-chair, motionless, only cracking his finger-joints now and
then. He went for a few minutes into the garden; stood there
like a statue, as though overwhelmed with unutterable bewil-
derment (the expression of amazement never left his face all
through); and went back again to his son, trying to avoid his
wife's questions. She caught him by the arm at last, and pas-
sionately, almost menacingly,- said, "What is wrong with him? ”
Then he came to himself, and forced himself to smile at her in
reply; but to his own horror, instead of a smile, he found him-
self taken somehow by a fit of laughter. He had sent at day-
break for a doctor. He thought it necessary to inform his son
of this, for fear he should be angry. Bazarov suddenly turned
over on the sofa, bent a fixed dull look on his father, and asked
for drink.
Vassily Ivanovitch gave him some water, and as he did so
felt his forehead. It seemed on fire.
"Governor," began Bazarov, in a slow, drowsy voice, "I'm in
a bad way: I've got the infection, and in a few days you'll have
to bury me. "
Vassily Ivanovitch staggered back, as though some one had
aimed a blow at his legs.
"Yevgeny! " he faltered, "what do you mean? God have
mercy on you! You've caught cold! "
"Hush! " Bazarov interposed deliberately. "A doctor can't be
allowed to talk like that. There's every symptom of infection:
you know yourself. "
"Where are the symptoms-of infection, Yevgeny? Good
heavens! >>
"What's this? " said Bazarov; and pulling up his shirt-sleeve,
he showed his father the ominous red patches coming out on his
arm.
Vassily Ivanovitch was shaking and chill with terror.
«< Supposing," he said at last, "even supposing- if even there's
something like infection->
"Pyæmia," put in his son.
"Well, well — something of the epidemic — »
-
"Pyæmia," Bazarov repeated sharply and distinctly; "have
you forgotten your text-books? "
—
"Well, well-as you like. Anyway, we will cure you! "
"Come, that's humbug. But that's not the point. I didn't
expect to die so soon; it's a most unpleasant incident, to tell the
truth. You and mother ought to make the most of your strong
## p. 15070 (#658) ##########################################
15070
IVAN TURGENEFF
religious belief; now's the time to put it to the test. " He drank
off a little water. "I want to ask you about one thing-while
my head is still under my control. To-morrow or next day
my brain, you know, will send in its resignation. I'm not quite
certain even now whether I'm expressing myself clearly. While
I've been lying here, I've kept fancying red dogs were running
round me, while you were making them point at me, as if I
were a woodcock. Just as if I were drunk. Do you understand
me all right? "
"I assure you, Yevgeny, you are talking perfectly correctly. "
"All the better. You told me you'd sent for the doctor. You
did that to comfort yourself; - comfort me too: send a messen-
ger
— »
"To Arkady Nikolaitch? " put in the old man.
"Who's Arkady Nikolaitch? " said Bazarov, as though in
doubt. "Oh, yes! that chicken! No, let him alone: he's turned
jackdaw now. Don't be surprised: that's not delirium yet. You
send a messenger to Madame Odintsov, Anna Sergyevna; she's
a lady with an estate. Do you know? " (Vassily Ivanovitch
nodded. ) "Yevgeny Bazarov, say, sends his greetings, and sends
word he is dying. Will you do that? "
"Yes, I will do it. But is it a possible thing for you to die,
Yevgeny? Think only! Where would divine justice be after
that? "
"I know nothing about that; only you send the messenger. "
"I'll send this minute, and I'll write a letter myself. "
"No, why? Say I sent greetings; nothing more is necessary.
And now I'll go back to my dogs. Strange! I want to fix my
thoughts on death, and nothing comes of it. I see a kind of blur
and nothing more. "
-
He turned painfully back to the wall again; while Vassily
Ivanovitch went out of the study, and struggling as far as his
wife's bedroom, simply dropped down on to his knees before the
holy pictures.
«Pray, Arina, pray for us! " he moaned: "our son is dying. "
The doctor-the same district doctor who had had no caus-
tic-arrived; and after looking at the patient, advised them to
persevere with a cooling treatment, and at that point said a few
words of the chance of recovery.
"Have you ever chanced to see people in my state not set
off for Elysium? " asked Bazarov; and suddenly snatching the leg
of a heavy table that stood near his sofa, he swung it round,
## p. 15071 (#659) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15071
and pushed it away. "There's strength, there's strength," he
murmured; - "everything's here still, and I must die! An old
man at least has time to be weaned from life, but I- Well, go
and try to disprove death. Death will disprove you, and that's
all! Who's crying there? " he added, after a short pause.
"Mother? Poor thing! Whom will she feed now with her
exquisite beet-root soup? You, Vassily Ivanovitch, whimpering
too, I do believe! Why, if Christianity's no help to you, be a
philosopher, a Stoic, or what not!
Why, didn't you boast you
were a philosopher? »
"Me a philosopher! " wailed Vassily Ivanovitch, while the
tears fairly streamed down his cheeks.
Bazarov got worse every hour; the progress of the disease
was rapid, as is usually the way in cases of surgical poisoning.
He still had not lost consciousness, and understood what was said
to him; he was still struggling. "I don't want to lose my wits,"
he muttered, clenching his fists: "what rot it all is! " And at
once he would say, "Come, take ten from eight, what remains ? »
Vassily Ivanovitch wandered about like one possessed; proposed
first one remedy, then another; and ended by doing nothing but
cover up his son's feet. "Try cold pack-emetic-mustard plas-
ters on the stomach - bleeding," he would murmur with an effort.
The doctor, whom he had entreated to remain, agreed with him;
ordered the patient lemonade to drink; and for himself asked for
a pipe, and something "warming and strengthening," — that is to
say, brandy. Arina Vlasyevna sat on a low stool near the door,
and only went out from time to time to pray. A few days
before, a looking-glass had slipped out of her hands and been
broken, and this she had always considered an omen of evil; even
Anfisushka could say nothing to her. Timofeitch had gone off
-
to Madame Odintsov's.
That night passed badly for Bazarov. He was in the agonies
of high fever. Towards morning he was a little easier. He
asked for Arina Vlasyevna to comb his hair, kissed her hand,
and swallowed two gulps of tea. Vassily Ivanovitch revived a
little.
"Thank God! " he kept declaring; "the crisis is coming, the
crisis is at hand! "
"There, to think now," murmured Bazarov, "what a word
can do! He's found it; he's said 'crisis,' and is comforted. It's
an astounding thing how man believes in words. If he's told
he's a fool, for instance, though he's not thrashed, he'll be
## p. 15072 (#660) ##########################################
15072
IVAN TURGENEFF
wretched; call him a clever fellow, and he'll be delighted if you
go off without paying him. ”
This little speech, of Bazarov's, recalling his old retorts, moved
Vassily Ivanovitch greatly.
"Bravo! well said, very good! " he cried, making as though
he were clapping his hands.
Bazarov smiled mournfully.
"So what do you think," he said: "is the crisis over, or com-
ing? "
You are better, that's what I see; that's what rejoices me,”
answered Vassily Ivanovitch.
"Well, that's good: rejoicings never come amiss.
do you remember? did you send? "
"To be sure I did. "
-
The change for the better did not last long. The disease
resumed its onslaughts. Vassily Ivanovitch was sitting by Baza-
rov. It seemed as though the old man were tormented by some
special anguish. He was several times on the point of speaking
and could not.
"Yevgeny! " he brought out at last; "my son, my one dear
And to her,
-
son! "
This unfamiliar mode of address produced an effect on Baza-
rov. He turned his head a little, and obviously trying to fight
against the load of oblivion weighing upon him, he articulated,
"What is it, father? "
"Yevgeny," Vassily Ivanovitch went on, and he fell on his
knees before Bazarov, though the latter had closed his eyes
and could not see him. "Yevgeny, you are better now: please
God, you will get well; but make use of this time,-comfort
your mother and me, perform the duty of a Christian! What
it means for me to say this to you-it's awful; but still more
awful for ever and ever, Yevgeny-think a little, what - "
The old man's voice broke; and a strange look passed over
his son's face, though he still lay with closed eyes.
"I won't refuse, if that can be any comfort to you," he
brought out at last; "but it seems to me there's no need to be
in a hurry. You say yourself I am better. "
"Oh, yes, Yevgeny, better certainly; but who knows? it is all
in God's hands, and in doing the duty-"
"No, I will wait a bit," broke in Bazarov. "I agree with you
that the crisis has come. And if we're mistaken, well! they give
the sacrament to men who're unconscious, you know. "
## p. 15073 (#661) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15073
"Yevgeny, I beg-»
"I'll wait a little. And now I want to go to sleep. Don't
disturb me. " And he laid his head back on the pillow.
The old man rose from his knees, sat down in the arm-chair,
and clutching his beard, began biting his own fingers.
The sound of a light carriage on springs-that sound which
is peculiarly impressive in the wilds of the country-suddenly
struck upon his hearing. Nearer and nearer rolled the light
wheels; now even the neighing of the horses could be heard.
Vassily Ivanovitch jumped up and ran to the little window. There
drove into the court-yard of his little house a carriage with seats
for two, with four horses harnessed abreast. Without stopping
to consider what it could mean, with a rush of a sort of sense-
less joy, he ran out on to the steps. A groom in livery was
opening the carriage doors; a lady in a black veil and a black
mantle was getting out of it.
"I am Madame Odintsov," she said. "Yevgeny Vassilyitch is
still living? You are his father? I have a doctor with me. "
"Benefactress! " cried Vassily Ivanovitch; and snatching her
hand, he pressed it convulsively to his lips; while the doctor
brought by Anna Sergyevna, a little man in spectacles, of Ger-
man physiognomy, stepped very deliberately out of the carriage.
"Still living, my Yevgeny is living, and now he will be saved!
Wife! wife! An angel from heaven has come to us. "
"What does it mean, good Lord! " faltered the old woman,
running out of the drawing-room; and comprehending nothing,
she fell on the spot at Anna Sergyevna's feet, in the passage, and
began kissing her garments like a mad woman.
"What are you doing! " protested Anna Sergyevna; but Arina
Vlasyevna did not heed her, while Vassily Ivanovitch could only
repeat, "An angel! an angel! "
"Wo ist der Kranke? [where is the patient? ]" said the doc-
tor at last, with some impatience.
Vassily Ivanovitch recovered himself.
"Here, here; - follow
me, würdigster Herr Collega," he added through old associations.
"Ah! " articulated the German, grinning sourly.
Vassily Ivanovitch led him into the study. "The doctor from
Anna Sergyevna Odintsov," he said, bending down quite to his
son's ear, "and she herself is here. "
Bazarov suddenly opened his eyes. "What did you say? "
"I say that Anna Sergyevna is here; and has brought this
gentleman, a doctor, to you. "
XXV-945
## p. 15074 (#662) ##########################################
15074
IVAN TURGENEFF
Bazarov moved his eyes about him.
see her. "
man.
"You shall see her, Yevgeny; but first we must have a little
talk with the doctor. I will tell him the whole history of your
illness, since Sidor Sidoritch" (this was the name of the district
doctor) "has gone; and we will have a little consultation. ”
Bazarov glanced at the German. "Well, talk away quickly,
only not in Latin: you see, I know the meaning of jam moritur. »
"Der Herr scheint des Deutschen mächtig zu sein," began the
new follower of Esculapius, turning to Vassily Ivanovitch.
"Ich-gabe- We had better speak Russian," said the old
"She is here? I want to
"Ah, ah! so that's how it is. To be sure
sultation began.
Half an hour later, Anna Sergyevna, conducted by Vassily
Ivanovitch, came into the study. The doctor had had time to
whisper to her that it was hopeless even to think of the patient's
-
Vassily Ivanovitch went out.
"Well, thanks," repeated Bazarov.
>>>
And the con-
recovery.
She looked at Bazarov-and stood still in the doorway; so
greatly was she impressed by the inflamed and at the same time
deathly face, with its dim eyes fastened upon her. She felt sim-
ply dismayed, with a sort of cold and suffocating dismay: the
thought that she would not have felt like that if she had really
loved him flashed instantaneously through her brain.
"Thanks," he said painfully: "I did not expect this.
It's a
deed of mercy. So we have seen each other again, as you prom-
ised. "
"Anna Sergyevna has been so kind," began Vassily Ivanovitch.
"Father, leave us alone. Anna Sergyevna, you will allow it,
I fancy, now? "
With a motion of his head, he indicated his prostrate helpless
frame.
"This is royally done.
Monarchs, they say, visit the dying too. "
"Yevgeny Vassilyitch, I hope-»
"Ah, Anna Sergyevna, let us speak the truth. It's all over
with me. I'm under the wheel. So it turns out that it was use-
less to think of the future. Death's an old joke, but it comes
fresh to every one. So far I'm not afraid- but there, senseless-
ness is coming, and then it's all up! " he waved his hand feebly.
"Well, what had to say to you? I loved you! There was no
## p. 15075 (#663) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15075
sense in that even before, and less than ever now. Love is a
form, and my own form is already breaking up. Better say how
lovely you are! And now here you stand, so beautiful-» Anna
Sergyevna gave an involuntary shudder. "Never mind, don't be
uneasy. Sit down there. Don't come close to me: you know my
illness is catching. "
Anna Sergyevna swiftly crossed the room, and sat down in
the arm-chair near the sofa on which Bazarov was lying.
"Noble-hearted! " he whispered. "Oh, how near, and how
young, and fresh, and pure—in this loathsome room! Well, good-
by! live long,-that's the best of all,-and make the most of it
while there is time. You see what a hideous spectacle: the worm
half crushed, but writhing still. And you see, I thought too, I'd
break down so many things: I wouldn't die- why should I! -
there were problems to solve, and I was a giant! And now all
the problem for the giant is, how to die decently-though that
makes no difference to any one either. Never mind: I'm not
going to turn tail. ”
Bazarov was silent, and began feeling with his hand for the
glass. Anna Sergyevna gave him some drink: not taking off her
glove, and drawing her breath timorously.
"You will forget me," he began again: "the dead's no com-
panion for the living. My father will tell you what a man Rus-
sia is losing. That's nonsense, but don't contradict the old man.
Whatever toy will comfort the child-you know. And be kind
to mother. People like them aren't to be found in your great
world if you look by daylight with a candle. I was needed by
Russia. No, it's clear, I wasn't needed. And who is needed?
The shoemaker's needed, the tailor's needed, the butcher - gives
us meat - the butcher wait a little, I'm getting mixed. There's
a forest here — "
Bazarov put his hand to his brow.
Anna Sergyevna bent down to him.
am here- »
―
―――――
"Yevgeny Vassilyitch, I
He at once took his hand away, and raised himself.
"Good-bye," he said with sudden force, and his eyes gleamed.
with their last light. "Good-bye. Listen-you know I didn't
kiss you then. Breathe on the dying lamp, and let it go out. "
Anna Sergyevna put her lips to his forehead.
"Enough! " he murmured, and dropped back on to the pillow.
"Now-darkness — "
## p. 15076 (#664) ##########################################
15076
IVAN TURGENEFF
Anna Sergyevna went softly out. "Well? " Vassily Ivano-
vitch asked her in a whisper.
"He has fallen asleep," she answered, scarce audibly. Baza-
rov was not fated to awaken.
Towards evening he sank into
complete unconsciousness, and the following day he died. Father
Alexey performed the last rites of religion over him. When they
anointed him with the last unction, when the holy oil touched his
breast, one eye opened; and it seemed as though at the sight of
the priest in his vestments, the smoking censers, the light before
the image, something like a shudder of horror passed over the
death-stricken face. When at last he had breathed his last, and
there arose a universal lamentation in the house, Vassily Ivan-
ovitch was seized by a sudden frenzy. "I said I should rebel,"
he shrieked hoarsely, with his face inflamed and distorted, shak-
ing his fist in the air, as though threatening some one; "and I
rebel, I rebel! " But Arina Vlasyevna, all in tears, hung upon
his neck, and both fell on their faces together.
"Side by
side,” Anfisushka related afterwards in the servants' room, "they
drooped their poor heads like lambs at noonday. "
But the heat of noonday passes, and evening comes and night;
and then too the return to the kindly refuge, where sleep is
sweet for the weary and heavy-laden.
LAVRETSKY
From A House of Gentlefolk
Α
ND SO-eight years have passed by. Once more the breezes
of spring breathed brightness and rejoicing from the heav-
ens; once more spring was smiling upon the earth and
upon men; once more under her caresses everything was turning
to blossom, to love, to song. The town of O- had undergone
little change in the course of these eight years: but Marfa
Dmitrievna's house seemed to have grown younger; its freshly
painted walls gave a bright welcome, and the panes of its open
windows were crimson, shining in the setting sun; from these
windows the light merry sound of ringing young voices and con-
tinual laughter floated into the street; the whole house seemed
astir with life and brimming over with gayety. The lady of the
house herself had long been in her tomb; Marya Dmitrievna had
## p. 15077 (#665) ##########################################
IVAN TURGENEFF
15077
died two years after Lisa took the veil, and Marfa Timofyevna
had not long survived her niece; they lay side by side in the
cemetery of the town. Nastasya Karpovna too was no more. For
several years the faithful old woman had gone every week to say
a prayer over her friend's ashes: her time had come, and now
her bones too lay in the damp earth. But Marya Dmitrievna's
house had not passed into strangers' hands; it had not gone out
of her family; the home had not been broken up. Lenotchka,
transformed into a slim, beautiful young girl; and her betrothed
lover, a fair-haired officer of hussars; Marya Dmitrievna's son,
who had just been married in Petersburg and had come with his
young wife for the spring to O—; his wife's sister, a school-
girl of sixteen, with glowing cheeks and bright eyes; Shurotchka,
grown up and also pretty,-made up the youthful household,
whose laughter and talk set the walls of the Kalitins's house
resounding. Everything in the house was changed; everything
was in keeping with its new inhabitants. Beardless servant lads,
grinning and full of fun, had replaced the sober old servants of
former days. Two setter dogs dashed wildly about and gamboled
over the sofas, where the fat Roska had at one time waddled
in solemn dignity. The stables were filled with slender racers,
spirited carriage horses, fiery outriders with plaited manes, and
riding-horses from the Don. The breakfast, dinner, and supper
hours were all in confusion and disorder; in the words of the
neighbors, "unheard-of arrangements" were made.
