form an avenue, which lost itself in a wood in the friendly
neighbourhood of pines and birches. Suddenly the whole ended in a
precipice, thickly overgrown with bushes, which overhung a plain about
one and a-half versts in breadth along the banks of the Volga.

Nearer the wooden house lay the vegetable garden, and just in front of
its windows lay the flower garden. Tatiana Markovna liked to have a
space clear of trees in front of the house, so that the place was
flooded with sunshine and the scent of flowers. From the other side of
the house one could watch all that was going on in the courtyard and
could see the servants' quarters, the kitchens, the hayricks, and the
stable. In the depths of the courtyard stood the old house, gloomy,
always in shadow, stained with age, with here and there a cracked window
pane, with heavy doors fastened by heavy bolts, and the path leading up
to it overgrown with grass. But on the new house the sun streamed from
morning to night; the flower garden, full of roses and dahlias,
surrounded it like a garland, and the gay flowers seemed to be trying to
force their way in through the windows. Swallows nesting under the eaves
flew hither and thither; in the garden and the trees there were
hedge-sparrows, siskins and goldfinches, and when darkness fell the
nightingale began to sing. Around the flowers there were swarms of bees,
humble-bees, dragon-flies, and glittering butterflies; and in the
corners cats and kittens stretched themselves comfortably in the
sunshine.

In the house itself peace and joy reigned. The rooms were small, but
cosy. Antique pieces of furniture had been brought over from the great
house, as had the portraits of Raisky's parents and grandparents. The
floors were painted, waxed and polished; the stoves were adorned with
old-fashioned tiles, also brought over from the other house; the