crowds.

'Yes, very!' Olenin assented, trying to appear indifferent.

'Holidays of this kind,' he added, 'always make me wonder why all these
people should suddenly be contented and jolly. To-day for instance,
just because it happens to be the fifteenth of the month, everything is
festive. Eyes and faces and voices and movements and garments, and the
air and the sun, are all in a holiday mood. And we no longer have any
holidays!'

'Yes,' said Beletski, who did not like such reflections.

'And why are you not drinking, old fellow?' he said, turning to Eroshka.

Eroshka winked at Olenin, pointing to Beletski. 'Eh, he's a proud one
that kunak of yours,' he said.

Beletski raised his glass. ALLAH BIRDY' he said, emptying it. (ALLAH
BIRDY, 'God has given!'--the usual greeting of Caucasians when drinking
together.)

'Sau bul' ('Your health'), answered Eroshka smiling, and emptied his
glass.

'Speaking of holidays!' he said, turning to Olenin as he rose and
looked out of the window, 'What sort of holiday is that! You should
have seen them make merry in the old days! The women used to come out
in their gold--trimmed sarafans. Two rows of gold coins hanging round
their necks and gold-cloth diadems on their heads, and when they passed
they made a noise, "flu, flu," with their dresses. Every woman looked
like a princess. Sometimes they'd come out, a whole herd of them, and
begin singing songs so that the air seemed to rumble, and they went on
making merry all night. And the Cossacks would roll out a barrel into
the yards and sit down and drink till break of day, or they would go
hand-in-hand sweeping the village. Whoever they met they seized and
took along with them, and went from house to house. Sometimes they used
to make merry for three days on end. Father used to come home--I still
remember it--quite red and swollen, without a cap, having lost
everything: he'd come and lie down. Mother knew what to do: she would
bring him some fresh caviar and a little chikhir to sober him up, and
would herself run about in the village looking for his cap. Then he'd
sleep for two days! That's the sort of fellows they were then! But now
what are they?'

'Well, and the girls in the sarafans, did they make merry all by
themselves?' asked Beletski.

'Yes, they did! Sometimes Cossacks would come on foot or on horse and
say, "Let's break up the khorovods," and they'd go, but the girls would
take up cudgels. Carnival week, some young fel