The Daughter of the Commandant | Page 3

is Petróusha's superior officer. You know very
well he is on the roll of the Séménofsky regiment."
"On the roll! What is it to me whether he be on the roll or no?
Petróusha shall not go to Petersburg! What would he learn there? To
spend money and commit follies. No, he shall serve with the army, he
shall smell powder, he shall become a soldier and not an idler of the
Guard, he shall wear out the straps of his knapsack. Where is his
commission? Give it to me."

My mother went to find my commission, which she kept in a box with
my christening clothes, and gave it to my father with, a trembling hand.
My father read it with attention, laid it before him on the table, and
began his letter.
Curiosity pricked me.
"Where shall I be sent," thought I, "if not to Petersburg?"
I never took my eyes off my father's pen as it travelled slowly over the
paper. At last he finished his letter, put it with my commission into the
same cover, took off his spectacles, called me, and said--
"This letter is addressed to Andréj Karlovitch R., my old friend and
comrade. You are to go to Orenburg[9] to serve under him."
All my brilliant expectations and high hopes vanished. Instead of the
gay and lively life of Petersburg, I was doomed to a dull life in a far
and wild country. Military service, which a moment before I thought
would be delightful, now seemed horrible to me. But there was nothing
for it but resignation. On the morning of the following day a travelling
kibitka stood before the hall door. There were packed in it a trunk and a
box containing a tea service, and some napkins tied up full of rolls and
little cakes, the last I should get of home pampering.
My parents gave me their blessing, and my father said to me--
"Good-bye, Petr'; serve faithfully he to whom you have sworn fidelity;
obey your superiors; do not seek for favours; do not struggle after
active service, but do not refuse it either, and remember the proverb,
'Take care of your coat while it is new, and of your honour while it is
young.'"
My mother tearfully begged me not to neglect my health, and bade
Savéliitch take great care of the darling. I was dressed in a short
"touloup"[10] of hareskin, and over it a thick pelisse of foxskin. I
seated myself in the kibitka with Savéliitch, and started for my
destination, crying bitterly.

I arrived at Simbirsk during the night, where I was to stay twenty-four
hours, that Savéliitch might do sundry commissions entrusted to him. I
remained at an inn, while Savéliitch went out to get what he wanted.
Tired of looking out at the windows upon a dirty lane, I began
wandering about the rooms of the inn. I went into the billiard room. I
found there a tall gentleman, about forty years of age, with long, black
moustachios, in a dressing-gown, a cue in his hand, and a pipe in his
mouth. He was playing with the marker, who was to have a glass of
brandy if he won, and, if he lost, was to crawl under the table on all
fours. I stayed to watch them; the longer their games lasted, the more
frequent became the all-fours performance, till at last the marker
remained entirely under the table. The gentleman addressed to him
some strong remarks, as a funeral sermon, and proposed that I should
play a game with him. I replied that I did not know how to play
billiards. Probably it seemed to him very odd. He looked at me with a
sort of pity. Nevertheless, he continued talking to me. I learnt that his
name was Iván Ivánovitch[11] Zourine, that he commanded a troop in
the ----th Hussars, that he was recruiting just now at Simbirsk, and that
he had established himself at the same inn as myself. Zourine asked me
to lunch with him, soldier fashion, and, as we say, on what Heaven
provides. I accepted with pleasure; we sat down to table; Zourine drank
a great deal, and pressed me to drink, telling me I must get accustomed
to the service. He told good stories, which made me roar with laughter,
and we got up from table the best of friends. Then he proposed to teach
me billiards.
"It is," said he, "a necessity for soldiers like us. Suppose, for instance,
you come to a little town; what are you to do? One cannot always find
a Jew to afford one sport. In short, you must go to the inn and play
billiards, and to play you must know how to play."
These reasons completely convinced me, and with