第14章

“Butpeoplehavegrownbetter，“observedthebailiff。

“Inwhatwaybetter？“

“Cleverer。“

“Cleverer，maybe，that’strue，youngman；butwhat’stheuseofthat？Whatearthlygoodisclevernesstopeopleonthebrinkofruin？Onecanperishwithoutcleverness。What’sthegoodofclevernesstoahuntsmanifthereisnogame？WhatIthinkisthatGodhasgivenmenbrainsandtakenawaytheirstrength。

Peoplehavegrownweak，exceedinglyweak。Takeme，forinstance。Iamnotworthahalfpenny，Iamthehumblestpeasantinthewholevillage，andyet，youngman，Ihavestrength。Mindyou，I

aminmyseventies，andItendmyherddayinanddayout，andkeepthenightwatch，too，fortwentykopecks，andIdon’tsleep，andIdon’tfeelthecold；mysonisclevererthanIam，butputhiminmyplaceandhewouldaskforaraisenextday，orwouldbegoingtothedoctors。Thereitis。Ieatnothingbutbread，for’Giveusthisdayourdailybread，’andmyfatheratenothingbutbread，andmygrandfather；butthepeasantnowadaysmusthaveteaandvodkaandwhiteloaves，andmustsleepfromsunsettodawn，andhegoestothedoctorandpampershimselfinallsortsofways。Andwhyisit？Hehasgrownweak；hehasnotthestrengthtoendure。Ifhewantstostayawake，hiseyesclose——

thereisnodoinganything。“

“That’strue，“Melitonagreed；“thepeasantisgoodfornothingnowadays。“

“It’snogoodhidingwhatiswrong；wegetworsefromyeartoyear。Andifyoutakethegentryintoconsideration，they’vegrownfeeblerevenmorethanthepeasantshave。Thegentlemannowadayshasmasteredeverything；heknowswhatheoughtnottoknow，andwhatisthesenseofit？Itmakesyoufeelpitifultolookathim。Heisathin，punylittlefellow，likesomeHungarianorFrenchman；thereisnodignitynorairabouthim；

it’sonlyinnameheisagentleman。Thereisnoplaceforhim，poordear，andnothingforhimtodo，andthereisnomakingoutwhathewants。Eitherhesitswithahookcatchingfish，orhelollsonhisbackreading，ortrotsaboutamongthepeasantssayingallsortsofthingstothem，andthosethatarehungrygoinforbeingclerks。Sohespendshislifeinvain。Andhehasnonotionofdoingsomethingrealanduseful。Thegentryinolddayswerehalfofthemgenerals，butnowadaystheyare——apoorlot。“

“Theyarebadlyoffnowadays，“saidMeliton。

“TheyarepoorerbecauseGodhastakenawaytheirstrength。Youcan’tgoagainstGod。“

Melitonstaredatafixedpointagain。Afterthinkingalittleheheavedasighasstaid，reasonablepeopledosigh，shookhishead，andsaid:

“Andallbecauseofwhat？Wehavesinnedgreatly，wehaveforgottenGodanditseemsthatthetimehascomeforalltoend。And，afterall，theworldcan’tlastforever——it’stimetoknowwhentotakeleave。“

Theshepherdsighedand，asthoughwishingtocutshortanunpleasantconversation，hewalkedawayfromthebirch-treeandbegansilentlyreckoningoverthecows。

“Hey-hey-hey！“heshouted。“Hey-hey-hey！Botheryou，theplaguetakeyou！Thedevilhastakenyouintothethicket。Tu-lu-lu！“

Withanangryfacehewentintothebushestocollecthisherd。

Melitongotupandsaunteredslowlyalongtheedgeofthewood。

Helookedatthegroundathisfeetandpondered；hestillwantedtothinkofsomethingwhichhadnotyetbeentouchedbydeath。

Patchesoflightcreptupontheslantingstreaksofrainagain；

theydancedonthetopsofthetreesanddiedawayamongthewetleaves。Damkafoundahedgehogunderabush，andwantingtoattracthermaster’sattentiontoit，barkedandhowled。

“Didyouhaveaneclipseornot？“theshepherdcalledfromthebushes。

“Yes，wehad，“answeredMeliton。

“Ah！Folksarecomplainingallaboutthattherewasone。Itshowsthereisdisorderevenintheheavens！It’snotfornothing……Hey-hey-hey！Hey！“

Drivinghisherdtogethertotheedgeofthewood，theshepherdleanedagainstthebirch-tree，lookedupatthesky，withouthastetookhispipefromhisbosomandbeganplaying。Asbefore，heplayedmechanicallyandtooknomorethanfiveorsixnotes；

asthoughthepipehadcomeintohishandsforthefirsttime，thesoundsfloatedfromituncertainly，withnoregularity，notblendingintoatune，buttoMeliton，broodingonthedestructionoftheworld，therewasasoundinitofsomethingverydepressingandrevoltingwhichhewouldmuchrathernothaveheard。Thehighest，shrillestnotes，whichquiveredandbroke，seemedtobeweepingdisconsolately，asthoughthepipeweresickandfrightened，whilethelowestnotesforsomereasonremindedhimofthemist，thedejectedtrees，thegreysky。Suchmusicseemedinkeepingwiththeweather，theoldmanandhissayings。

Melitonwantedtocomplain。Hewentuptotheoldmanand，lookingathismournful，mockingfaceandatthepipe，muttered:

“Andlifehasgrownworse，grandfather。Itisutterlyimpossibletolive。Badcrops，want。Cattleplaguecontinually，diseasesofallsorts。Wearecrushedbypoverty。“

Thebailiff’spuffyfaceturnedcrimsonandtookadejected，womanishexpression。Hetwirledhisfingersasthoughseekingwordstoconveyhisvaguefeelingandwenton:

“Eightchildren，awifeandmymotherstillliving，andmywholesalarytenroublesamonthandtoboardmyself。MywifehasbecomeaSatanfrompoverty。Igooffdrinkingmyself。Iamasensible，steadyman；Ihaveeducation。Ioughttositathomeinpeace，butIstrayaboutalldaywithmygunlikeadogbecauseitismorethanIcanstand；myhomeishatefultome！“

Feelingthathistonguewasutteringsomethingquitedifferentfromwhathewantedtosay，thebailiffwavedhishandandsaidbitterly:

“Iftheworld’sgoingtoendIwishitwouldmakehasteaboutit。

There’snoneedtodragitoutandmakefolksmiserablefornothing。“

Theoldmantookthepipefromhislipsand，screwinguponeeye，lookedintoitslittleopening。Hisfacewassadandcoveredwiththickdropsliketears。Hesmiledandsaid:

“It’sapity，myfriend！Mygoodness，whatapity！Theearth，theforest，thesky，thebeastsofallsorts——allthishasbeencreated，youknow，adapted；theyallhavetheirintelligence。Itisallgoingtoruin。AndmostofallIamsorryforpeople。“

Therewasthesoundinthewoodofheavyraincomingnearer。

Melitonlookedinthedirectionofthesound，didupallhisbuttons，andsaid:

“Iamgoingtothevillage。Good-bye，grandfather。Whatisyourname？“

“LukathePoor。“

“Well，good-bye，Luka！Thankyouforyourgoodwords。Damka，ici！“

AfterpartingfromtheshepherdMelitonmadehiswayalongtheedgeofthewood，andthendownhilltoameadowwhichbydegreesturnedintoamarsh。Therewasasquelchofwaterunderhisfeet，andtherustymarshsedge，stillgreenandjuicy，droopeddowntotheearthasthoughafraidofbeingtrampledunderfoot。Beyondthemarsh，onthebankofthePestchanka，ofwhichtheoldmanhadspoken，stoodarowofwillows，andbeyondthewillowsabarnlookeddarkblueinthemist。Onecouldfeeltheapproachofthatmiserable，utterlyinevitableseason，whenthefieldsgrowdarkandtheearthismuddyandcold，whentheweepingwillowseemsstillmoremournfulandtearstrickledownitsstem，andonlythecranesflyawayfromthegeneralmisery，andeventhey，asthoughafraidofinsultingdispiritednaturebytheexpressionoftheirhappiness，filltheairwiththeirmournful，drearynotes。

Melitonploddedalongtotheriver，andheardthesoundsofthepipegraduallydyingawaybehindhim。Hestillwantedtocomplain。Helookeddejectedlyabouthim，andhefeltinsufferablysorryfortheskyandtheearthandthesunandthewoodsandhisDamka，andwhenthehighestdrawn-outnoteofthepipefloatedquiveringintheair，likeavoiceweeping，hefeltextremelybitterandresentfuloftheimproprietyintheconductofnature。

Thehighnotequivered，brokeoff，andthepipewassilent。

AGAFYA

DURINGmystayinthedistrictofS。IoftenusedtogotoseethewatchmanSavvaStukatch，orsimplySavka，inthekitchengardensofDubovo。Thesekitchengardensweremyfavoriteresortforso-called“mixed“fishing，whenonegoesoutwithoutknowingwhatdayorhouronemayreturn，takingwithoneeverysortoffishingtackleaswellasastoreofprovisions。Totellthetruth，itwasnotsomuchthefishingthatattractedmeasthepeacefulstroll，themealsatnosettime，thetalkwithSavka，andbeingforsolongfacetofacewiththecalmsummernights。