ed
her, any new design, any idea that struck her as noble, she made up her
mind at once to educate Dasha as though she were her own daughter. She
at once set aside a sum of money for her, and sent for a governess, Miss
Criggs, who lived with them until the girl was sixteen, but she was
for some reason suddenly dismissed. Teachers came for her from the High
School, among them a real Frenchman, who taught Dasha French. He, too,
was suddenly dismissed, almost turned out of the house. A poor lady, a
widow of good family, taught her to play the piano. Yet her chief tutor
was Stepan Trofimovitch.

In reality he first discovered Dasha. He began teaching the quiet child
even before Varvara Petrovna had begun to think about her. I repeat
again, it was wonderful how children took to him. Lizaveta Nikolaevna
Tushin had been taught by him from the age of eight till eleven (Stepan
Trofimovitch took no fees, of course, for his lessons, and would not on
any account have taken payment from the Drozdovs). But he fell in love
with the charming child and used to tell her poems of a sort about the
creation of the world, about the earth, and the history of humanity.
His lectures about the primitive peoples and primitive man were more
interesting than the Arabian Nights. Liza, who was ecstatic over these
stories, used to mimic Stepan Trofimovitch very funnily at home. He
heard of this and once peeped in on her unawares. Liza, overcome
with confusion, flung herself into his arms and shed tears; Stepan
Trofimovitch wept too with delight. But Liza soon after went away, and
only Dasha was left. When Dasha began to have other teachers, Stepan
Trofimovitch gave up his lessons with her, and by degrees left off
noticing her. Things went on like this for a long time. Once when she
was seventeen he was struck by her prettiness. It happened at Varvara
Petrovna's table. He began to talk to the young girl, was much pleased
with her answers, and ended by offering to give her a serious and
comprehensive course of lessons on the history of Russian literature.
Varvara Petrovna approved, and thanked him for his excellent idea,
and Dasha was delighted. Stepan Trofimovitch proceeded to make special
preparations for the lectures, and at last they began. They began
with the most ancient period. The first lecture went off enchantingly.
Varvara Petrovna was present. When Stepan Trofimovitch had finished, and
as he was going informed his pupil that the next time he