considering himself a citizen of a new world Full
of such dreams, he returned home.
In the evening at eleven o'clock, his uncle sent up to summon him to tea.
"I am only just home from the theatre," said his uncle, lying down on the sofa.
" What a pity you did not tell me sooner, uncle, I would have gone with you."
'' I was in the stalls. Where would you have been, sitting on my knee ? " said Piotr I vanitch. " Go by yourself to-morrow,"
" It's so depressing to be alone in a crowd, uncle, to have no one to share your impressions with."
" And why should you? You will have to learn to think, and to feel, in fact to live alone ; it is necessary now. But you pjLijj&kJx^be suit ably p ressed before you go tO .the tneatre."
Alexandr looked at his clothes and wondered at his uncle's words. " In what way am I unsuitably dressed ? " he thought, " I have a blue coat and blue trousers.
" I have a lot of clothes, uncle,'* he said, " made by
Kcenigstein; he makes for our governor."
j " Never mind; still it will not do; in a day or two I will
I .send you to my own tailorj ) but that's a detail. We have
something more importantio talk about. Tell me, why did
you come here ? "
" I came .... to live here."
" To live ? Well if you understand by that term, to eat, to drink, and to sleep, then it was not worth the trouble of coming so far : you will not be able either to sleep or to eat here as you can there at home; but if you meant something else please explain yourself."
" To enjoy life, I meant to say," said Alexandr, blushing all over; " I was tired of the country—it is always the same and . . . ."
" Ah ! that's another thing ! What, you want to take aflat in the Nevsky Prospect, set up a carrage, make a large circle of acquaintances and have reception-days ? "
"But would not that cost a great deal?" remarked Alexandr naively.
" Your mother writes that she has given you a thousand roubles; that is not much," said Piotr Ivanitch. "An acquaintance of mine came here not long ago, he, too, was tired of the country ; he wanted to enjoy life, so he brought fifty thousand and will receive as much every year. He will certainly enjoy life in Petersburg, but you—no ! you did not come up for that."
" From your words, uncle, it seems to follow that I don't know myself why I came."
" Exactly so; that's well said; that's the truth; only I don't quite approve of it Did you not, when you prepared to come here, put to yourself the question: why am I going ? That would not have been inappropriate."
" Before putting to myself the question, I had the answer ready," replied Alexandr with pride.
" Then why did you not tell it ? Well, why ? "
" I was carried along by an irresistible yearning, by a thirst for noble activity; a longing burned within me to illustrate and to realise . . . ."
Piotr Ivanitch rose a little from the sofa, took his cigar out of his mouth and pricked up his ears.
"To give effect to the aspirations, which surged "
" Don't you write verses ?" asked Piotr Ivanitch suddenly.
" Yes, and prose, too, uncle \ shall I fetch some ? "
"No, no !—some future time; I only asked."
"And why?"
" Because you talk so. . . ."
" Badly ? "
" No—perhaps very well, only strangely."
"Our professor of aesthetics talked like that, and he was considered the most eloquent of the professors," said Alex-andr in confusion. . " What did he talk about in that way ? "
"About his subject."
"Ah!"
" How am I to talk then, uncle?"
" Rather more simply, like everyone else, and not like a lecturer on aesthetics. However, it is impossible for you to change all of a sudden; later on you will see for yourself. You mean to say, it appears, so far as I can recall your University jargon and translate your words, that youj:ame here to make a career and a fortune. . . . Isn't it so ? "
" Yes, uncle, a career."
" And fortune ? " added Piotr Ivanitch; " what is a career without a fortune ? The idea is very fine; only—it was a mistake for you to come."
"Why so? I hardly think you say that from your own experience?" said Alexandr looking around him.
"That's neatly said. Certainly I am well off and my
business is pretty fair. But I only consider—you and I— there's a great difference."
" I never ventured to compare myself with you.'*
" That's not the point, you are perhaps ten times as wise and good as I ... . but your nature, I fancy, is not capable of adapting itself to a new standard, and your standard at home—oh, oh ! You have been petted and spoiled by your mother; how are you to put up with what I put up with ? r You are bound to be a dreamer, and a dreamer is nowhere I at all here; people like us come here to work."
" Perhaps I am fit for work of some sort, if you will give me the benefit of your advice and experience."
" Advise you—I am afraid to do it. I could not answer for your countryman's nature; things would go wrong, and you would reproach me; but as for telling you my opinions —well—I will not refuse, you may listen or not as you please. But no! I don't expect success. You have your own way of looking at life in the country; how are you to work it in ? You country-people are mad over love and friendship and the delights of life and happiness; you imagine that life consists only of this: oh and oh! you weep and sob and make love and do no work .... how am I to break you of all that ? . . . . If s a difficult task."
" I will try, uncle, to adapt myself to the ideas of the time. Already to-day while gazing at the immense edifices, and the ships that bring us gifts from far away lands, I thought of the achievements of humanity in this age, I grasped the significance of this multitude moving in brain-directed activity, and was ready to flow with it."
Piotr Ivanitch during this monologue contracted his brows expressively and looked steadily at his nephew. The latter stopped.
"The fact is simple enough, I fancy," said his uncle; "but these country-people—goodness knows what ideas they take into their heads .... brain-directed activity indeed! Certainly you had done better to remain in the country. You would have had a splendid life there: you would have been the cleverest of all of them, and have been looked on i as a poet and an eloquent talker, you would have believed in eternal and unchanging love and friendship, in the family , and in happiness, you would have married and have reached old age without noticing it, and you would have been in
A COMMON STORY 43
reality happy after your own fashion; but you will not be happy after our fashion; here all these ideas must be turned upside down."
" How, uncle, are love and friendship—these sacred and lofty emotions, not the same here as at home ? "
" We have love and friendship here of course—they are cheap enough to be plentiful everywhere; only it is not the same as those in your home; in time you will see for yourself. . . . But before everything you must forget these sacred and heavenly emotions and look at facts more simply as they are, indeed it would be better, then you will talk more simply too. However, it is not my business. You have come here and will not go back. If you don't find what you looked for, you have only yourself to blame. I will advise you what is good in my opinion and what is bad, and then do as you please. /We will try—perhaps—something may be made of you. Ah! your mother asked me to provide