I wished to be conveyed to Ivanofka, the village where my future teacher
lived. At that time I still spoke Russian in a very fragmentary and
confused way--pretty much as Spanish cows are popularly supposed to
speak French. My first remark therefore being literally interpreted,
was--"Ivanofka. Horses. You can?" The point of interrogation was
expressed by a simultaneous raising of the voice and the eyebrows.

"Ivanofka?" cried the peasant, in an interrogatory tone of voice.
In Russia, as in other countries, the peasantry when speaking with
strangers like to repeat questions, apparently for the purpose of
gaining time.

"Ivanofka," I replied.

"Now?"

"Now!"

After some reflection the peasant nodded and said something which I did
not understand, but which I assumed to mean that he was open to consider
proposals for transporting me to my destination.

"Roubles. How many?"

To judge by the knitting of the brows and the scratching of the head,
I should say that that question gave occasion to a very abstruse
mathematical calculation. Gradually the look of concentrated attention
gave place to an expression such as children assume when they endeavour
to get a parental decision reversed by means of coaxing. Then came a
stream of soft words which were to me utterly unintelligible.