caught behind her ears, which were red with modesty and shyness. She
did not please me very much at the first glance; I was prejudiced
against her by Alexis, who had described the Captain's daughter to me
as a fool. Marie seated herself in a corner and began to sew. The
soup was brought on the table. Basilia, not seeing her husband coming,
sent the maid a second time to call him.

"Tell the master that his inspection can wait; the soup is cooling.
Thank God! the drills need not be lost; there will be time enough yet
to use his voice at his leisure."

The captain soon appeared with his one-eyed officer.

"What's this, my dear," said Basilia; "the table has been served some
time, and no one could make you come."

"You see, Basilia, I was busy with the service, instructing my good
soldiers."

"Come, come, Ivan Mironoff, that's boasting. The service does not suit
them, and as for you, you know nothing about it. You should have
stayed at home and prayed God, that suits you much better. My dear
guests, to table."

We took our places for dinner. Basilia was not silent a moment; she
overwhelmed me with questions: Who were my parents? Were they living?
Where did they reside? What was their fortune? When she learned that
my father owned three hundred serfs, she exclaimed:

"You see there are some rich people in the world--and we, my dear sir,