Dostoevsky A Novel In Nine Letters

[Raelene Heersink]

In what window! As though you didn't know! The one in the passage, to besure. He would sit there, sewing or doing anything else. Maybe he would siton a chair, too. He's got a chair; and he has a table, too; he's goteverything."

After prolonged efforts I succeeded at last in learning from Agrafena thatan elderly man had somehow managed to persuade her to admit him into thekitchen as a lodger and boarder. Any notion Agrafena took into her head hadto be carried out; if not, I knew she would give me no peace. When anythingwas not to her liking, she at once began to brood, and sank into a deepdejection that would last for a fortnight or three weeks. During thatperiod my dinners were spoiled, my linen was mislaid, my floors wentunscrubbed; in short, I had a great deal to put up with. I had observedlong ago that this inarticulate woman was incapable of conceiving aproject, of originating an idea of her own. But if anything like a notionor a project was by some means put into her feeble brain, to prevent itsbeing carried out meant, for a time, her moral assassination. And so, as Icared more for my peace of mind than for anything else, I consentedforthwith.

The very next day the new lodger made his appearance in my modest bachelorquarters; but I was not put out by this, indeed I was inwardly pleased. Ilead as a rule a very lonely hermit's existence. I have scarcely anyfriends; I hardly ever go anywhere. As I had spent ten years never comingout of my shell, I had, of course, grown used to solitude. But another tenor fifteen years or more of the same solitary existence, with the sameAgrafena, in the same bachelor quarters, was in truth a somewhat cheerlessprospect. And therefore a new inmate, if well-behaved, was a heaven-sentblessing.[3]

Agrafena had spoken truly: my lodger was certainly a man of experience.From his passport it appeared that he was an old soldier, a fact which Ishould have known indeed from his face. An old soldier is easilyrecognised. Astafy Ivanovitch was a favourable specimen of his class. Wegot on very well together. What was best of all, Astafy Ivanovitch wouldsometimes tell a story, describing some incident in his own life. In theperpetual boredom of my existence such a story-teller was a veritabletreasure. One day he told me one of these stories. It made an impression onme. The following event was what led to it.

Before my very eyes my yesterday's visitor, with perfect composure, took mywadded greatcoat from the peg and, stuffing it under his arm, darted out ofthe flat. Agrafena stood all the time staring at him, agape withastonishment and doing nothing for the protection of my property. AstafyIvanovitch flew in pursuit of the thief and ten minutes later came back outof breath and empty-handed. He had vanished completely.[4]

But the whole incident had so impressed Astafy Ivanovitch that I forgot thetheft as I looked at him. He could not get over it. Every minute or two hewould drop the work upon which he was engaged, and would describe overagain how it had all happened, how he had been standing, how the greatcoathad been taken down before his very eyes, not a yard away, and how it hadcome to pass that he could not catch the thief. Then he would sit down tohis work again, then leave it once more, and at last I saw him go down tothe dvornik to tell him all about it, and to upbraid him for letting such athing happen in his domain. Then he came back and began scolding Agrafena.Then he sat down to his work again, and long afterwards he was stillmuttering to himself how it had all happened, how he stood there and I washere, how before our eyes, not a yard away, the thief took the coat off thepeg, and so on. In short, though Astafy Ivanovitch understood his business,he was a terrible slow-coach and busy-body.

"He's made fools of us, Astafy Ivanovitch," I said to him in the evening,as I gave him a glass of tea. I wanted to while away the time by recallingthe story of the lost greatcoat, the frequent repetition of which, togetherwith the great earnestness of the speaker, was beginning to become veryamusing.

"Fools, indeed, sir! Even though it is no business of mine, I am put out.It makes me angry though it is not my coat that was lost. To my thinkingthere is no vermin in the world worse than a thief. Another takes what youcan spare, but a thief steals the work of your hands, the sweat of yourbrow, your time ... Ugh, it's nasty! One can't speak of it! it's toovexing. How is it you don't feel the loss of your property, sir?"

"It was about two years ago, sir. I had been nearly a year out of a place,and just before I lost my place I made the acquaintance of a poor lostcreature. We got acquainted in a public-house. He was a drunkard, avagrant, a beggar, he had been in a situation of some sort, but from hisdrinking habits he had lost his work. Such a ne'er-do-weel! God only knowswhat he had on! Often you wouldn't be sure if he'd a shirt under his coat;everything he could lay his hands upon he would drink away. But he was notone to quarrel; he was a quiet fellow. A soft, good-natured chap. And he'dnever ask, he was ashamed; but you could see for yourself the poor fellowwanted a drink, and you would stand it him. And so we got friendly, that'sto say, he stuck to me.... It was all one to me. And what a man he was, tobe sure! Like a little dog he would follow me; wherever I went there hewould be; and all that after our first meeting, and he as thin as athread-paper! At first it was 'let me stay the night'; well, I let himstay.

"I keep asking myself how am I to say to him: 'You must be moving,Emelyanoushka, there's nothing for you here, you've come to the wrongplace; I shall soon not have a bite for myself, how am I to keep you too?'

"Well, sir, our family made a move; and Alexandr Filimonovitch, my master(now deceased, God rest his soul), said, 'I am thoroughly satisfied withyou, Astafy Ivanovitch;[7] when we come back from the country we will takeyou on again.' I had been butler with them; a nice gentleman he was, but hedied that same year. Well, after seeing him off, I took my belongings, whatlittle money I had, and I thought I'd have a rest for a time, so I went toan old woman I knew, and I took a corner in her room. There was only onecorner free in it. She had been a nurse, so now she had a pension and aroom of her own. Well, now good-bye, Emelyanoushka, thinks I, you won'tfind me now, my boy.

"I sat down on the spot, sir, and began to ponder: will a vagabond likethat be very much trouble to me? And on thinking it over it seemed he wouldnot be much trouble. He must be fed, I thought. Well, a bit of bread in themorning, and to make it go down better I'll buy him an onion. At midday Ishould have to give him another bit of bread and an onion; and in theevening, onion again with kvass, with some more bread if he wanted it. Andif some cabbage soup were to come our way, then we should both have had ourfill. I am no great eater myself, and a drinking man, as we all know, nevereats; all he wants is herb-brandy or green vodka. He'll ruin me with hisdrinking, I thought, but then another idea came into my head, sir, and tookgreat hold on me. So much so that if Emelyanoushka had gone away I shouldhave felt that I had nothing to live for, I do believe.... I determined onthe spot to be a father and guardian[8] to him. I'll keep him from ruin, Ithought, I'll wean him from the glass! You wait a bit, thought I; verywell, Emelyanoushka, you may stay, only you must behave yourself; you mustobey orders.

"Well, thinks I to myself, I'll begin by training him to work of some sort,but not all at once; let him enjoy himself a little first, and I'll lookround and find something you are fit for, Emelyanoushka. For every sort ofwork a man needs a special ability, you know, sir. And I began to watch himon the quiet; I soon saw Emelyanoushka was a desperate character. I began,sir, with a word of advice: I said this and that to him. 'Emelyanoushka,'said I, 'you ought to take a thought and mend your ways. Have done withdrinking! Just look what rags you go about in: that old coat of yours, if Imay make bold to say so, is fit for nothing but a sieve. A pretty state ofthings! It's time to draw the line, sure enough.' Emelyanoushka sat andlistened to me with his head hanging down. Would you believe it, sir? Ithad come to such a pass with him, he'd lost his tongue through drink andcould not speak a word of sense. Talk to him of cucumbers and he'd answerback about beans! He would listen and listen to me and then heave such asigh. 'What are you sighing for, Emelyan Ilyitch?' I asked him.

"'And do you know, a gentleman dropped a money-note on the pavement inGorohovy Street, no, it was Sadovy Street. And a peasant saw it and said,"That's my luck"; and at the same time another man saw it and said, "No,it's my bit of luck. I saw it before you did."'

"But a cunning fellow he was, and no mistake. He'd listen and listen to me,but at last I suppose he got sick of it. As[10] soon as he sees I am beginningto get angry, he'd pick up his old coat and out he'd slip and leave notrace. He'd wander about all day and come back at night drunk. Where he gotthe money from, the Lord only knows; I had no hand in that.

"'No,' said I, 'Emelyan Ilyitch, you'll come to a bad end. Give overdrinking, mind what I say now, give it up! Next time you come home inliquor, you can spend the night on the stairs. I won't let you in!'

"After hearing that threat, Emelyanoushka sat at home that day and thenext; but on the third he slipped off again. I waited and waited; he didn'tcome back. Well, at least I don't mind owning, I was in a fright, and Ifelt for the man too. What have I done to him? I thought. I've scared himaway. Where's the poor fellow gone to now? He'll get lost maybe. Lord havemercy upon us!

"Night came on, he did not come. In the morning I went out into the porch;I looked, and if he hadn't gone to sleep in the porch! There he was withhis head on the step, and chilled to the marrow of his bones.

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