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。