in those
of the daily papers, but hardly more frequently. In him we can study the
life of Russia as he knew it, crude and coarse and at times cruel, yet full
of homely virtue and aspiration. Of his complex panorama the present volume
gives a brief glimpse.

[Footnote 1: Ostrovsky, it may be remarked, has been singularly neglected
by translators from the Russian. The only previous versions of complete
plays in English known to the present writer are "The Storm." by
Constance Garnett (London and Chicago, 1899, and since reprinted), and
"Incompatibility of Temper" and "A Domestic Picture" (in "The Humour of
Russia," by E.L. Voynich, London and New York, 1895).]

A PROTEGEE OF THE MISTRESS

SCENES FROM VILLAGE LIFE IN FOUR PICTURES

CHARACTERS

MADAM ULANBEKOV,[1] _an old woman of nearly sixty, tall, thin, with a large
nose, and thick, black eyebrows; of an Eastern type of face, with a small
mustache. She is powdered and rouged, and dressed richly in black. She is
owner of two thousand serfs._

[Footnote 1: The name hints at a Circassian origin and a tyrannical
disposition. Ostrovsky frequently gives to the persons in his plays names
that suggest their characteristics.]

LEONID, _her son, eighteen years old, very handsome, resembling his mother
slightly. Wears summer dress. Is studying in Petersburg._

VASILISA PEREGRINOVNA, _a toady of_ MADAM ULANBEKOV'S, _an old maid of
forty. Scanty hair, parted slantingly, combed high, and held by a large
comb. She is continually smiling with a wily expression, and she suffers
from toothache; about her throat is a yellow shawl fastened by a brooch._

POTAPYCH, _the old steward. Tie and vest, white; coat black. Has an air of
importance._

NADEZHDA[2] (_called_ NADYA), _seventeen years old, favorite protegee of_
MADAM ULANBEKOV; _dressed like a young lady._

[Footnote 2: Hope.]

GAVRILOVNA, _the housekeeper; an elderly woman, plump, with an open
countenance._

GRISHA, _a boy of nineteen, a favorite of the mistress, dandified in dress,
wearing a watch with a gold chain. He is handsome, curly-headed, with a
foolish expression._

NEGLIGENTOV, _a clerk in a government office; a very disreputable young
man._

LIZA, _a housemaid, not bad-looking, but very stout and snub-nosed; in a
white dress, of which the bodice is short and ill-fitting. About her neck
is a little red kerchief; her hair is very much pomaded._

_A peasant girl, a footman, and a housemaid: mute per