Maksim Gorky

“ You are not like other women."
"Thank God!" sighed Malva.
To their left, behind a chain of sandy hills, the moon rose, flooding them with its silvery light. Large and soft it rose slowly in the blue sky, and the sparkling light of the stars paled, and was lost in its mellow, dreamy light.
"You think too much.... That's what's the matter!" said Sereja in a convinced tone of voice, tossing away his cigarette. "And when one thinks, one becomes disgusted with life.... One must be always moving, always in the midst of people ... who must be made to feel that one is really alive. ”

“ The matting of the hut swayed in the wind, the bark of which it was built creaked, the red rag at the top of the mast was murmuring something. All these sounds were like a timid, endless, and uncertain lisping of a prayer. But the waves murmured—free and unmoved.
"And Sereja, does he still get drunk?" asked Vassili in a harsh voice.
"He is drunk every evening," replied Jakoff, pouring out some more vodka for his father.
"He'll come to no good! This is what a free and easy life leads to.... And you also, you will become like him." ”

“ The little Tschischik was an ardent lover of every sort of adventure and story. As soon as there appeared to be trouble at the Orloffs he would run quickly to the window of their dwelling, lie down on his stomach, poke his mischievous shock head of hair and his thin face, smeared with ochre and vermilion, as far as he could into the gloom of the cellar, and watch with curiosity all that went on in the dark, damp hole, from which arose a smell of musty cobbler's wax and of sour batter. ”

“ How dull and flat life is! It has always seemed to me narrow and cramped! Once I had got the weight of Matrona off my shoulders I thought to myself, 'Now, Grischka, the anchor is up, you can sail away freely wherever you like!' But it all turned out different from what I thought it would; my boat got caught in the shallows, and here I am aground!... But, never fear, I shall get off some day, and shall yet make a name for myself ... My wife?... Oh, she is nothing to me now!... Let her goto the devil!... What does a man like me want with a wife?... ”

“ The joyful and caressing music of the waves was accompanied by the ferocious and victorious cries of the seagulls. The heat seemed to be growing less, and from time to time a breath of fresh air impregnated with the pure smell of the sea, seemed to reach the hut.
After having eaten the excellent fish-soup, and drunk several glasses of vodka, Jakoff became sleepy. He began by smiling stupidly, and yawning, looking at Malva all the time in such a way that Vassili thought it better to say to him—
"Lie down here, Jakoff, till tea-time ... then we will call you." ”

“ The gulls flew round them. The breeze from the sea threw up at their feet the foam from the waves, and the ceaseless ripple seemed to speak of peace.
"Ah! life! life!..." (Vassili dreamily caressed the girl, as she lay in his arms.) "This is ever the way of the world: what is forbidden is always pleasant ... Perhaps you don't know; but I sometimes think about life, and then I am frightened. Especially at night, when I can't sleep.... In front of me stretches the sea, above me is the sky, and all around me is terrifying darkness! ”

“ But half-an-hour afterwards they had forgotten all his instructions in the noisy rush of work in the Infirmary.
People in white clothes ran up against them; commands which were carried out with lightning speed by the attendants, sounded in their ears; the patients groaned, sobbed and sighed; water flowed splashing and hissing from the taps; and this blending of sounds seemed to fill the air, which was already saturated with sharp unpleasant smells that irritated the nose; and it seemed to Orloff that every word of the doctors, every sigh of the patients, was impregnated with the same smell. ”

“ Sereja glanced obliquely at him, and replied with an accent of contempt—
"Vile? Oh! you earth-grubbers!... you!... you understand nothing of life. All you want in a woman is great fat bosoms; her temperament does not matter to you in the least But it's in the temperament that one finds all the colour of a human being. A woman without temperament is like bread without salt Can you get any pleasure out of a balalaika without strings? You dog!"
"It's yesterday's wine that makes you talk so well!" Interjected Vassili. ”

“ Breathing heavily, his shirt torn, his hair tumbled, with fresh scratches on his still excited and perspiring face, Grischka Orloff, with bloodshot eyes would glance suspiciously round the court. With his hands behind his back, he would walk slowly towards an old sledge which was leaning against the wall of a dilapidated wool-shed. Sometimes he would whistle and throw threatening glances around, as if he were challenging all the dwellers in Petounukoff's house to battle. Then he would sit down on the sledge, and with the sleeve of his shirt wipe the blood away from his face. ”

“ And with a serious expression on his face, he began to tell the Orloffs about the cholera, and the means to be taken to counteract it; trying to express himself as clearly and as simply as possible. Whilst talking, he was busily examining the room, feeling the walls with his hands, looking behind the door, stooping down to peep into the stove, and sniffing about everywhere with his nose. His voice, which had not yet completely changed, alternated between bass and treble, and the simple forms of words which he used impressed themselves unconsciously on the minds of his audience. ”

“ Sometimes, when not too depressed, she would interject a remark full of common-sense—"You shouldn't drink vodka, then you would live more happily, and not frighten yourself with such thoughts. Others live and don't complain; they save money, open a shop, and in time become their own masters."
"Stop talking nonsense, you stupid woman!" Grischka would exclaim angrily. "Just consider a moment how can I possibly live without drink, when that is my only pleasure? You talk about others ... how many do you know pray, who have been fortunate enough to make themselves independent? ”

“ Grischka philosophized. "My fate and my disposition. Am I worse than others?... Worse, for instance, than Lewtschenko, the 'Little Russian'? Certainly he takes life more easily than I do, and does not know what this ache is. He is alone in the world, and has no wife, no relations.... But without you I should certainly die.... Yes, that 'Little Russian' is happy enough; he smokes his pipe, and laughs, is lively and contented, the devil he is!... But I can't live like that.... I certainly was born with unrest in my soul, and have got that sort of disposition. ”

“ Vassili, as he drank his tea from a white china cup, questioned his son about the country, and exchanged recollections. Malva, without taking part in the conversation, listened to their slowly-uttered questions and answers.
"The peasants are still able then to make a living?"
"Yes, they get along somehow," answered Jakoff.
"We don't want much, we peasants. A house, enough bread, and on feast-days a glass of vodka.... Yes, but we don't even get that ... Should I have gone away if I could have lived at home? In the village I am my own master, the equal of any one, but here I am a servant." ”

“ As things are, I work and work, and what is the end of it all? Just to provide daily bread for you and me!... And why do we need daily bread? So that we may be able to work.... And so life goes round in a circle without sense or meaning. . If we only had children they would change our life entirely ... yes, entirely..."
All this was said in a fretful, dissatisfied tone of voice, his head sunk on his breast Matrona stood listening to all he had to say; but growing gradually paler and paler.
"I am strong and healthy; so are you," continued Grigori; "and yet we have no children. ”

“ Grischka was such a handsome, hearty, strong fellow, and Matrona was a plump little woman with a clear, fair complexion, and warm sympathy in her grey eyes; "a fine little woman" as all the neighbours used to call her. They loved each other, but their life was so monotonous and tedious, so entirely bereft of all deep interests and outside influences, which might have given them the possibility of diverting occasionally their thoughts from each other, of getting change, which is the natural desire of every human heart, of, in a word—living. ”

“ He realized by the frank laughter of Sereja that the lad was sincere, and that he was not himself running after Malva. But he said—
"If she were a virtuous girl one might pity her. But as it is ... it seems rather queer, doesn't it?" The other man did not answer; he watched the boat making a circle, and turning its bows towards land. Sereja's ruddy face wore an open, good, and simple expression.
As he watched him, Vassili's feelings grew softer.
"You are right, she is a good woman ... she is only light-hearted; I shall have something to say to Jakoff, the young dog!" ”

“ You see now, you have no one nearer to you in the world than your husband! And you look at me always with such a frightened glance out of the corner of your eye. If I have hurt you now and then, it was because I was suffering from this ache, Motrja! We lived in our hole ... we saw no sunlight, we knew no one. Now I have got out of the hole, and am among human beings. How blind I was to the world and to life!... Now I understand that a wife should be a man's best friend, the friend of his heart, so to speak. For men are vicious and cruel.... ”

“ A woman laughs and cries; some one plays on a broken accordion; everywhere there is the sparkle of fish-scales.
At noon Jakoff found a sheltered place between the piles of empty barrels, lay down there and slept till the evening. When he woke up he wandered about without any fixed plan, though he seemed vaguely attracted by something unknown.
After two hours' walking about, he found Malva some way from the fishery, under the shade of some young willow trees. She was lying on her side, and held in her hand a well-thumbed book; with a smile she watched Jakoff approach. ”

“ Jakoff, astonished, glanced at him, and then took up his former attitude.
Half-drowned in the noise of the waves, the provoking words of the song were wafted in scattered fragments.
"Ah! how can I sleep alone,
All alone ... this night?..."
"How hot it is," said Vassili mournfully, rolling over on the sand. "The night has come, but it's still hot! Ah! cursed country."
"It's the sand ... which stores up the heat of the day," said Jakoff, walking slowly away. ”

“ They were both young, strong and industrious, and many in a similar position would have been contented to go on from day to day, leading the grey, cheerless life of the ordinary worker—the life of poverty, alternating with starvation—their energies completely absorbed in the task of providing their daily bread. But this ordinary existence was rendered impossible by the unrest which Grigori carried in his heart, and which prevented him from reconciling his inmost soul with the monotony of a daily task. ”

“ They made resolutions to commence cleaning up their cellar the next day, and then began once more to talk of the student, whose entry into their home had acted on them like a refreshing breath of fresh air.
"By heavens, but he's a regular jolly lad!" said Grigori delighted. "He comes in as simply as if he had known us for years, gives the necessary directions, and there's an end of it.... All without noise or fuss, though he had a right to use authority.... That's the sort of fellow that takes my fancy! One sees at once that he has a heart for people like us.... What say you, Motrja? ”

“ He swelled his chest out with a feeling of pride, and looked at Matrona with sparkling eyes. She smiled back at him, but did not reply. He looked so handsome whilst he was speaking, and reminded her so of the Grischka whom she used to know in their early married life.
"On the women's side also every one is so zealous and so good!" she said, after a pause. "There's that lady doctor with the spectacles, and all the nurses, they are all first-rate people; they talk to one so simply, so that one understands at once what they want done." ”

“ Malva smiled as she examined the tatterdemalion.
"Damn it all I give them to me! I will marry you for twenty kopecks, if you like?"
"You scarecrow! Are you a pope?"
"Fool! At Ouglitch I was servant to a pope.... Give me twenty kopecks."
"I don't want to get married," said Jakoff. "Never mind; give all the same. I won't tell your father that you are running after his girl," continued Sereja, licking his dry, cracked lips.
"Do you think, that he'd believe you?"
"When I take the trouble to talk, I am generally believed," asserted Sereja. ”