son she
had received in Petersburg, she settled down in our town for good. In
winter she lived in her town house and spent the summer on her estate
in the neighbourhood. She had never enjoyed so much consequence and
prestige in our provincial society as during the last seven years of
this period, that is up to the time of the appointment of our present
governor. Our former governor, the mild Ivan Ossipovitch, who will never
be forgotten among us, was a near relation of Varvara Petrovna's, and
had at one time been under obligations to her. His wife trembled at the
very thought of displeasing her, while the homage paid her by provincial
society was carried almost to a pitch that suggested idolatry. So Stepan
Trofimovitch, too, had a good time. He was a member of the club, lost at
cards majestically, and was everywhere treated with respect, though
many people regarded him only as a "learned man." Later on, when Varvara
Petrovna allowed him to live in a separate house, we enjoyed greater
freedom than before. Twice a week we used to meet at his house. We were
a merry party, especially when he was not sparing of the champagne. The
wine came from the shop of the same Andreev. The bill was paid twice
a year by Varvara Petrovna, and on the day it was paid Stepan
Trofimovitch almost invariably suffered from an attack of his "summer
cholera."

One of the first members of our circle was Liputin, an elderly
provincial official, and a great liberal, who was reputed in the town
to be an atheist. He had married for the second time a young and pretty
wife with a dowry, and had, besides, three grown-up daughters. He
brought up his family in the fear of God, and kept a tight hand over
them. He was extremely stingy, and out of his salary had bought himself
a house and amassed a fortune. He was an uncomfortable sort of man, and
had not been in the service. He was not much respected in the town, and
was not received in the best circles. Moreover, he was a scandal-monger,
and had more than once had to smart for his back-biting, for which he
had been badly punished by an officer, and again by a country gentleman,
the respectable head of a family. But we liked his wit, his inquiring
mind, his peculiar, malicious liveliness. Varvara Petrovna disliked him,
but he always knew how to make up to her.

Nor did she care for Shatov, who became one of our circle during the
last years of this period. Shatov had been a student and had been
expelled from