The Diary of a Superfluous Man and Other Stories Part 18

that 's so!"....

The appearance of Kapiton broke the thread of Gavrila's meditations. The giddy-pated shoemaker entered, threw his hands behind him, and, leaning up against a projecting corner of the wall near the door, in a free-and-easy way he stuck his right leg crosswise in front of the left and shook his head, as much as to say: "Here I am. What 's your will?"

Gavrila looked at Kapiton and began to drum on the jamb of the window with his fingers. Kapiton merely narrowed his leaden eyes a bit, but did not lower them, even smiled slightly and pa.s.sed his hand over his whitish hair, which stood out in disarray in all directions, as much as to say: "Well, yes, 't is I. What are you staring for?"

"Good,"--said Gavrila, and paused for a s.p.a.ce.

"Thou 'rt a nice one,"--remarked Gavrila, and paused awhile.--"A nice person, there 's no denying that!"

Kapiton merely shrugged his shoulders. "And art thou any better, pray?"

he said to himself.

"Come, now, just look at thyself; come, look,"--went on Gavrila reprovingly;--"Well, art not thou ashamed of thyself?"

Kapiton surveyed with a calm glance his threadbare and tattered coat and his patched trousers, scanned with particular attention his shoes perforated with holes, especially the one on whose toe his right foot rested in so dandified a manner, and again fixed his eyes on the major-domo.

"What of it, sir?"

"What of it, sir?"--repeated Gavrila.--"What of it, sir? And thou sayest: 'What of it, sir?' to boot! Thou lookest like the devil,--Lord forgive me, sinful man that I am,--that 's what thou lookest like."

Kapiton winked his little eyes briskly.

"Curse away, curse away, Gavrila Andreitch," he thought to himself.

"Thou hast been drunk again, apparently,"--began Gavrila;--"drunk again, surely? Hey? Come, answer."

"Owing to the feebleness of my health, I have succ.u.mbed to spirituous beverages, in fact,"--returned Kapiton.

"Owing to feebleness of health?.... Thou art not whipped enough, that 's what; and thou hast served thine apprenticeship in Peter[28] to boot....

Much thou didst learn in thine apprenticeship! Thou dost nothing but eat the bread of idleness."

"In that case, Gavrila Andreitch, I have but one judge,--the Lord G.o.d Himself, and no one else. He alone knows what sort of a man I am in this world, and whether I really do eat the bread of idleness. And as for thy reflections concerning drunkenness,--in that case also I am not to blame, but rather one of my comrades; for he led me astray, and after he had accomplished his crafty purpose, he went away; that is to say, I ...."

"And thou didst remain behind, thou goose, in the street. Akh, thou dissolute man! Well, but that 's not the point,"--went on the major-domo,--"but this. The mistress ...." here he paused for a moment,--"it is the mistress's pleasure that thou shouldst marry.

Hearest thou? She thinks that thou wilt grow steady when thou art married. Dost understand?"

"How can I help understanding, sir?"

"Well, yes. In my opinion, 't would be better to take thee firmly in hand. Well, but that 's her affair. How now? Dost thou consent?"

Kapiton displayed his teeth in a grin.

"Marriage is a good thing for a man, Gavrila Andreitch; and I, on my part, agree with very great pleasure."

"Well, yes,"--returned Gavrila, and thought to himself:--"there 's no denying it, the man talks with exactness."--"Only, see here,"--he went on, aloud:--"an inconvenient bride has been picked out for thee."

"Who is she, permit me to inquire?"...

"Tatyana."

"Tatyana?"

And Kapiton's eyes fairly popped out of his head, and he started away from the wall.

"Well, what art thou scared at?... Is n't she to thy taste?"

"To my taste, forsooth, Gavrila Andreitch! The girl herself is all right; she 's a good worker, a meek la.s.s.... But you know yourself, Gavrila Andreitch, that that forest fiend, that spectre of the steppes, is courting her, you know ...."

"I know, brother, I know all,"--the major-domo interrupted him, with vexation:--"but, seest thou ...."

"But, good gracious, Gavrila Andreitch! why, he 'll murder me; by Heaven, he 'll murder me, he 'll mash me like a fly! Why, he has a hand--just look for yourself what a hand he has; why, he simply has the hand of Minin and Pozharsky.[29] For he 's deaf, he 'll kill me, and not hear that he is killing! He flourishes his huge fists exactly as though he were asleep. And there 's no possibility of stopping him. Why?

Because, you know yourself, Gavrila Andreitch, he 's deaf, and stupid as an owl into the bargain. Why, he 's a sort of wild beast, a heathen idol, Gavrila Andreitch,--worse than an idol ... he 's a sort of aspen-block; why should I now suffer from him? Of course nothing matters to me now; I have endured, I have practised patience, I have smeared myself with oil like a glazed Kolomna jug,--all the same, I 'm a man, and not some sort of insignificant jug, as a matter of fact."

"I know, I know; don't give a description...."

"O Lord, my G.o.d!"--went on the shoemaker, hotly:--"when will the end come? When, O Lord! I 'm a miserable wretch, a hopeless wretch. 'T is fate, my fate, when you come to think of it! In my younger years I was thrashed by a German master; in the best period of my life I was beaten by my own brother; and at last, in my riper years, to what have I come?..."

"Ekh, limp linden-bast soul!"--said Gavrila.--"Why dost thou dilate on the matter, really, now?"

"What do you mean by 'why,' Gavrila Andreitch? I 'm not afraid of blows, Gavrila Andreitch. Let the master thrash me within doors, but give me a greeting before folks, and still I 'm numbered among men; but in this case, from whom must I ...."

"Come, now, begone!"--Gavrila interrupted him, impatiently.

Kapiton turned and took himself off.

"And supposing there were no question of him,"--shouted the major-domo after him;--"dost thou consent?"

"I announce my a.s.sent,"--replied Kapiton, and lurched out of the room.

His eloquence did not abandon him even in extremities.

The major-domo paced the length of the room several times.

"Well, now summon Tatyana,"--he said at last.

In a few moments Tatyana entered almost inaudibly, and halted on the threshold.

"What is your command, Gavrila Andreitch?"--she said in a quiet voice.

The major-domo gazed fixedly at her.

"Come,"--said he,--"Taniusha, wouldst thou like to marry? The mistress has hunted up a bridegroom for thee."

"I obey, Gavrila Andreitch. But who has been appointed as my bridegroom?"--she added with hesitation.

"Kapiton, the shoemaker."

"I obey, sir."