is seat in the tarantas, to which his flat, yellow,
strangely light trunk was carried forth, he continued to talk; wrapped up
in some sort of a Spanish cloak with a rusty collar, and lion's paws in
place of clasps, he still went on setting forth his views as to the fate
of Russia, and waving his swarthy hand through the air, as though he were
sowing the seeds of its future welfare. At last the horses started....
"Bear in mind my last three words,"--he shouted, thrusting his whole body
out of the tarantas, and balancing himself:--"religion, progress,
humanity!... Farewell!" His head, with its cap pulled down to the very
eyes, vanished. Lavretzky remained standing alone on the porch and
staring down the road until the tarantas disappeared from his sight.
"But I think he probably is right,"--he said to himself, as he reentered
the house:--"probably I am a trifler." Many of Mikhalevitch's words had
sunk indelibly into his soul, although he had disputed and had not agreed
with him. If only a man be kindly, no one can repulse him.

-----

[10] Polish for "gentlewoman."--Translator.

XXVI

Two days later, Marya Dmitrievna arrived with all her young people at
Vasilievskoe, in accordance with her promise. The little girls
immediately ran out into the garden, while Marya Dmitrievna languidly
traversed the rooms, and languidly praised everything. Her visit to
Lavretzky she regarded as a token of great condescension, almost in the
light of a good deed. She smiled affably when Anton and Apraxyeya, after
the ancient custom of house-serfs, came to kiss her hand,--and in an
enervated voice, through her nose, she asked them to give her some tea. To
the great vexation of Anton, who had donned white knitted gloves, the
newly-arrived lady was served with tea not by him, but by Lavretzky's
hired valet, who, according to the assertion of the old man, knew nothing
whatever about proper forms. On the other hand, Anton reasserted his
rights at dinner: firm as a post he stood behind Marya Dmitrievna's
chair--and yielded his place to no one. The long-unprecedented arrival of
visitors at Vasilievskoe both agitated and rejoiced the old man: it
pleased him to see, that his master knew nice people. However, he was not
the only one who was excited on that day: Lemm, also, was excited. He put
on a short, snuff-coloured frock-coat, with a sharp-pointed collar, bound
his neckerchief tightly, and incessantly