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RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD
69
All of a sudden, on the eve of the day when uncle
was expected, we looked out, and behold, driving up
to the porch, came a simple peasant cart, harnessed
to three post-horses, regular old nags, and out of it
leaped a young man in a light city overcoat, with a
leather traveling-bag slung over his shoulder.
" Good heavens! Why, it’s brother Fedya!" cried
mama, as she looked out of the window.
" Uncle, uncle has come!" resounded through the
whole house, and we all ran out into the
ante-cham-ber to welcome the guest.
" Fedya, my poor dear! how ccfuld you come with
relay horses 1 Did n’t you meet the carriage we sent
for you ? You must be jolted to pieces," said mama,
in a voice of compassion, as she embraced her brother.
It appeared that uncle had set out from Petersburg
twenty-four hours earlier than he had intended.
" Christ be with thee, Liza!" he said, laughing and
wiping the drops of ice from his mustache before he
kissed his sister. "I had no idea that you would
make such a turmoil over my coming! Why should
you send for me 1 Am I an old woman that I cannot
travel one hundred and fifty versts in a post-cart ?"
Uncle spoke in a deep, agreeable, tenor voice, with
a rather peculiar lisp. Apparently he was still quite
a young man. His closely cut chestnut hair framed
his head in a thick, velvety mass, like beaver fur; his
red cheeks were shining with cold, his brown eyes
were warm and merry in their gaze, and a set of
large, white teeth peeped out every moment from
between his full, brilliantly red lips, surrounded by
handsome whiskers.
"What a fine, dashing fellow uncle is! He’s a
dear!" I said to myself, as I gazed rapturously at
him.
5*
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