Plays

ing into the garden. Doors at the

EN

ice; they place both on the table and go out. GAVRíLOVNA and POTáPYCH enter afte

. My dear, you always

good for you to dri

. It's not your busin

p the chest, and you'r

life! I am not dried up from tea-drinking,

lt everybody yourself, as if

ho you are. I once owned serfs myself; at my place, such people as you didn

s gone by. God gives a

n; my soul feels its fast approaching end! Raising her eyes heavenward Shelter me from men,

it to us?.... Tend

e God is patient

s I have already been tortured he

h other people's sins. Now you're getting ready to die,

A. Afraid of what? W

lack man with the hook. He's

I? Where am I? My God! Just as i

AM ULANBéKOV, NáDYA, L

EN

ULANBéKOV, GRíSHA

d our benefactress deign

ent to vespers in town; t

you distribute generous alm

d man NEGLIGéNTOV's. He asked me to set up his nephew; you

nefactress to all. To all alike, to all! You do fav

] Never mind, my dear. One

good? Can they understand, heartless creatu

od for his own sake, for his own soul. Then I stopped in to see t

NA. But, my benefac

ere's no job!" I say to him: "You evidently don't understand who's asking you?" "Well!" says he,

l-breeding shows up at once. Maybe NEGLIGéNTOV, because of his life, isn't worth saying much about; nevertheless, the

on't you forget th

And, besides, what things they do say! They say that he's utterly worthless, that his uncle got him a court job, but he won't stay with it. He was gone a whole week, they say, somewhere o

him drunk; but I spoke to the chief of police on his b

my benefactress, can make a man out of mud; but if you don't take a notion to do so, he'll fall int

'm sure I never di

course all we mortals are not without sins; you have done many things; you can't please everybody

Who complains abo

n your gentility, to trouble yourself about every low-lived person. And though they do complain, what's the use of paying

he same, I want to kno

Well, there are some

V. [Forcibly]

ress! I spoke as I did because you yourself kno

as you did in order to ca

NOVNA. May my ey

bout to say something mean. You will please be more careful; otherwise you'll drive me o

Right away

CH hands them to MADAM ULANBéK

a cup, too; he went with me

NA. Yes,

a cup and han

u put more milk in it

] As it is, you're fatte

nd goes out through th

that he leads a bad life; consequently we must hasten the wedding. She is a girl of good principles, she'll

o you hear, Líza?

e to listen, and y

ied, benefactress; why should she be hanging aroun

l! What are you thinking up

ever feast our eyes enough on him. It's just as if the sunshine had come into our house. So good-natured, so merry, so gentle with every one! Bu

the girls anywhere, I think; all day long they are in their

, there are no locks to keep a girl in,

w I mean it. [To VASILíSA PEREGRíNOVNA] But no, there can't be anything like that. You're merely disturbing me with your silly notions

the use of listenin

re to think any harm about him, that little angel? Of course he's still a child, he w

m and gives them back. GRíSHA comes in from the garden, gives GAVRíLOVNA a push, and makes a sign with his h

for daring to speak to you now; but, because of your attitude towards me, I expected quite a different fa

that he is my godson. Rather, you ought to be thankful for the honor. And now I tell you once and for all: I do not like it when my girls argue, I simply do not like it, and that's all there is to it. That's a thing I cannot permit anybody. I'v

g for his fellow creature, one must have feeling. But wha

o more tears! [NáDYA weeps] I'm talking to you. [Rising slightly] Your tears mean absolutely nothing to me! When I make up my mind to do a thing, I take

n orphan, mistress! Yo

course it must; because I brought you up

íD e

NE

me and

ow are yo

w are you, my dear?

g with Potápych. I ki

our state of health! You'll fall sick again, God forbid! and then you'll s

A. Some t

. No,

ecome a soldier! For half a year I was ill. Just imagine to yourself, my dear, when he finishes his course, they will give him some rank or other, such as they give to any priest's son clerking in a government office! Isn't it awful? In the military service, especially in the cavalry, all ranks are aristocratic; one knows at once that even a junker is from the nobility. But what is a provincial secretary, or a titular councillor! Any one can be a titular councillor-even a merchant, a church-school

Nádya's eyes r

. She hasn't been flo

your business, my dear. Nádya,

A goe

now why: you want

er I do or not, my dea

ike to have any one med

ver young man you are; you know e

ar, I don't mean to medd

's a dr

, is none of your business. Leav

only sorry f

uld like to know from whom you heard that I'm goin

No, ma

ut otherwise? How did that get out? [

amma; the man she's g

KOV. What so

.. a peculiar surname: NEGLIGéNTOV. What a funny fellow he is! He says he's you

KOV. Drunk,

at you promised to give him Nádya. Already he's reckoning, in anticipation, how much income he will get in the court, or

PYCH and N

EN

EGLIGéNTOV

oh, how disgusting!

t from uncle to than

aught him a good deal, only it was

the sciences. I received from fifty to a hundred birch rods

s about the way he learned! Here, just l

TOV. Tur

ging her shoulders] Wha

OV. Most

it; and what did the

ruel torture, he commanded two students to fasten me by the neck with

took you into the civil servic

h the mediation of

d they expel y

xpel me; but they excluded

Grew t

of my class, of course I was excluded because I was too big. I suffered all the more from the venality of those at the head. Our rector liked gifts; and a

t was your

OV. Repre

he world! Good heavens! Go

comical; wait a bit befo

IGéN

V. [Dances

go, shall

e meado

rsts out

[NEGLIGéNTOV ceases. To GRí

ember dances

V. What do you

t he is a member in the court, not a cop

lsely, but expressly for the respect of the court

, and don't you ever dar

iving because of my bachelor life, and that I ma

BéKOV. No,

rs, because I am a lost man, subject to many vices, and, with

ll always be your benefactress; but don't y

[To GRíSHA] Ask the mistress to let you go to

EN

except N

ish that boy in life, but he crawls into the house drunk. Now, if he's a prey to that weakness, he ought, at least, to try to hide it from me. Let him drink where he

out that you wanted to marry NáDYA to him, I felt sorry for her. And you're so

my dear! [To VASILíSA PEREGRíNOVNA] Indeed, I have always thought that God himself sometimes spea

ma'am. [S

waggering, and stops i

tre

V. What's the

down-town; to-day'

o you want to go for? T

his hands behind h

OV. No, most

lease do,

ust spoiled at these fairs. Your greedy ears will take in all k

but please l

y right here! Put that n

I slave, and slave, and

oh my! Oh me, oh my! How spoil

at are you cackling

still, benefactress? Such lack of feelin

and you to keep still,

lease let

didn't love you, as if she didn't fondle

mping her foot] Shhh!

y to go to the fair;

ll, go along then!

. Yes,

. Kiss the dear lady'

me for? I know my own business. [He k

ever hear anything like this again, I'll ha

A PEREGRíNOVNA remain

EN

pt MADAM ULANB

ht it, didn't you? And

íNOVNA. I'll ha

ent

Nádya sent me to say tha

ve her a k

t. Any wretch can insult us; but there's no one to take our

o help you. [He goes out t

dear! [She goes out w

NE

REGRíNOVNA

, why don't you? You heard how she herself wanted to flog me; "I'l

y! But as to the gentlefolk there ...

e? Do you understand it, or don't you? Just now when I began to talk about

r employ....I shall carry out all her orders.... What business is

es looked? Ha! I must look after them, I must! [POTáPYCH, with a wave of his hand, goes out] Bah! you! you ol