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RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD 59
beauty and richest match of the whole government,
Nadézhda Andreevna N., turned her attention to him.
She was carried away by his handsome person, or
simply made up her mind that he was the sort of
husband she wanted, that it would be pleasant always to
have at her feet this big, submissive creature, entirely
devoted to her—God knows what she thought. At
any rate she gave it plainly to be understood that she
would be glad to marry him if he would ask her.
Piötr Vasilievitch himself would never have dared
to dream of anything of the sort, but his numerous
aunts and sisters made haste to set forth what a piece
of luck had fallen to his lot; and before he had
succeeded in recovering himself, he found himself the
affianced husband of the beautiful, imperious, spoiled
darling, Nadézhda Andreevna.
But no happiness resulted from this match.
Although all we children were thoroughly
permeated with the conviction that Uncle Piötr Vasilievitch
existed in the world especially for our pleasure, and
chattered all sorts of nonsense with him that came
into our heads, without the slightest restraint, still we
all felt, as if by instinct, that one subject must never
be broached: we must never ask uncle about his
deceased wife.
The most sinister legends about Aunt Nadézhda
Andreevna were current among us. The elders—that
is to say, father, mother, and the governess—never
mentioned her name in our presence.
But Aunt Anna Vasilievna, my father’s youngest
unmarried sister, was occasionally seized with a
talkative mood, and she would then begin to
communicate to us divers horrors about " her låte dear sister,
Nadézhda Andreevna."
" There was a serpent for you! God preserve us !
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