e Russia in place of wood.

The chairs of the room were of wood, and massive, in the style which
generally marked those of the olden times: all had high, turned backs of
natural wood, without any paint or varnish; they were not even
upholstered, and somewhat resembled those which are still used by
bishops. Triangular tables stood in the corners, a square table stood in
front of the sofa; and there was a large mirror in a slender gilt frame,
carved in foliage, which the flies had covered with black spots; in
front of the sofa was a mat with flowers which resembled birds, and
birds which resembled flowers: and these things constituted almost the
entire furniture of the far from elegant little house where my old
people lived. The maids' room was filled with young and elderly
serving-women in striped chemises, to whom Pulkheria Ivanovna sometimes
gave trifles to sew, and whom she set to picking over berries, but who
ran about the kitchen or slept the greater part of the time. Pulkheria
Ivanovna regarded it as a necessity that she should keep them in the
house, and she kept a strict watch of their morals; but to no purpose.

Afanasy Ivan'itch very rarely occupied himself with the farming;
although he sometimes went out to see the mowers and reapers, and gazed
with great intensity at their work. All the burden of management
devolved upon Pulkheria Ivan'na. Pulkheria Ivanovna's housekeeping
consisted of a constant locking and unlocking of the storehouse, of
salting, drying, and preserving incalculable quantities of fruits and
vegetables. Her house was exactly like a chemical laboratory. A fire was
constantly laid under an apple-tree; and the kettle or the brass pan
with preserves, jelly, marmalade,--made with honey, with sugar, and with
I know not what else,--was hardly ever taken from the tripod. Under
another tree the coachman was forever distilling vodka with
peach-leaves, with wild cherry, cherry flowers, wild gentian, or
cherry-stones, in a copper still; and at the end of the process he was
never able to control his tongue, but chattered all sorts of nonsense
which Pulkheria Ivanovna did not understand, and took himself off to the
kitchen to sleep. Such a quantity of all this stuff was preserved,
salted, and dried that it would probably have overwhelmed the whole yard
at least (for Pulkheria Ivanovna liked to lay in a store far beyond what
was calculated for consumption), if the greater part of it had not been
devoured b