on the left cheek are regarded as of evil omen in Russia--a token of
unhappy life. . . Tatiana could not boast of her good luck. From her
earliest youth she had been badly treated; she had done the work of two,
and had never known affection; she had been poorly clothed and had
received the smallest wages. Relations she had practically none; an
uncle she had once had, a butler, left behind in the country as useless,
and other uncles of hers were peasants--that was all. At one time she
had passed for a beauty, but her good looks were very soon over. In
disposition, she was very meek, or, rather, scared; towards herself, she
felt perfect indifference; of others, she stood in mortal dread; she
thought of nothing but how to get her work done in good time, never
talked to any one, and trembled at the very name of her mistress, though
the latter scarcely knew her by sight. When Gerasim was brought from the
country, she was ready to die with fear on seeing his huge figure, tried
all she could to avoid meeting him, even dropped her eyelids when
sometimes she chanced to run past him, hurrying from the house to the
laundry. Gerasim at first paid no special attention to her, then he used
to smile when she came his way, then he began even to stare admiringly
at her, and at last he never took his eyes off her. She took his fancy,
whether by the mild expression of her face or the timidity of her
movements, who can tell? So one day she was stealing across the yard,
with a starched dressing-jacket of her mistress's carefully poised on her
outspread fingers . . . some one suddenly grasped her vigorously by the
elbow; she turned round and fairly screamed; behind her stood Gerasim.
With a foolish smile, making inarticulate caressing grunts, he held out
to her a gingerbread cock with gold tinsel on his tail and wings. She
was about to refuse it, but he thrust it forcibly into her hand, shook
his head, walked away, and turning round, once more grunted something
very affectionately to her.