the level of the man, but, on the
contrary, will bow him down and sink him to the mental and moral
outlook of the woman."

And after two weeks she ceased to excite his imagination entirely. He
gave in, as to violence, to the long-continued caresses, entreaties,
and often even to pity.

Yet at the same time Liubka, who had rested and felt living, real soil
under her, began to improve in looks with unusual rapidity, just as a
flower bud, that but yesterday was almost dying, suddenly unfolds after
a plentiful and warm rain. The freckles ran off her soft face, and the
uncomprehending, troubled expression, like that of a young jackdaw, had
disappeared from the dark eyes, and they had grown brighter and had
begun to sparkle. The body grew stronger and filled out; the lips grew
red. But Lichonin, seeing Liubka every day, did not notice this and did
not believe those compliments which were showered upon her by his
friends. "Fool jokes," he reflected, frowning. "The boys are spoofing."

As the lady of the house, Liubka proved to be less than mediocre. True,
she could cook fat stews, so thick that the spoon stood upright in
them; prepare enormous, unwieldy, formless cutlets; and under the
guidance of Lichonin familiarized herself pretty rapidly with the great
art of brewing tea (at seventy-five kopecks a pound); but further than
that she did not go, probably because for each art and for each being
there are extreme limitations of their own, which cannot in any way be
surmounted. But then, she loved to wash floors very much; and carried
out this occupation so often and with such zeal, that dampness soon set
in in the flat and multipedes appeared.

Tempted once by a newspaper advertisement, Lichonin procured a stocking
knitting machine for her, on terms. The art, the mastery of this
instrument--promising, to judge by the advertisement, three roubles of
clear profit a day--proved to be so uncomplicated that Lichonin,
Soloviev, and Nijeradze easily mastered it in a few hours; while
Lichonin even contrived to knit a whole stocking of uncommon
durability, and of such dimensions that it would have proven big even
for the feet of Minin and Pozharsky, whose statues are in Moscow, on
Krasnaya Square. Only Liubka alone could not master this trade. At
every mistake or tangle she was forced to turn to the co-operation of
the men. But then, she learned pretty rapidly to make artificial
flowers and, despite the opinion of Simanovsky, made t