From the time of Nikolay’s marriage Sonya had lived in his house. Before their marriage, Nikolay had told his wife all that had passed between him and Sonya, blaming himself and praising her conduct. He begged Princess Marya to be kind and affectionate to his cousin. His wife was fully sensible of the wrong her husband had done his cousin; she felt herself too guilty toward Sonya; she fancied her wealth had influenced Nikolay in his choice, could find no fault in Sonya, and wished to love her. But she could not like her, and often found evil feelings in her soul in regard to her, which she could not overcome.
One day she was talking with her friend Natasha of Sonya and her own injustice towards her.
‘Do you know what,’ said Natasha; ‘you have read the Gospel a great deal; there is a passage there that applies exactly to Sonya.’
‘What is it?’ Countess Marya asked in surprise.
‘ “To him that hath shall be given, and to him that hath not shall be taken even that that he hath,” do you remember? She is the one that hath not; why, I don’t know; perhaps she has no egoism. I don’t know; but from her is taken away, and everything has been taken away. I am sometimes awfully sorry for her. I used in old days to want Nikolay to marry her but I always had a sort of presentiment that it would not happen. She is a barren flower, you know, like what one finds among the strawberry
flowers. Sometimes I am sorry for her, and sometimes I think she d(! not feel it as we should have felt it.’
And although Countess Marya argued with Natasha that those wod of the Gospel must not be taken in that sense, looking at Sonya, s agreed with the explanation given by Natasha. It did seem really though Sonya did not feel her position irksome, and was quite reconjcil to her fate as a barren floiver. She seemed to be fond not so much ; people as of the whole family. Like a cat, she had attached herself n to persons but to the house. She waited on the old countess, petted ai spoiled the children, was always ready to perform small services, whl she seemed particularly clever at; but all she did was unconscious taken for granted, without much gratitude. . . .
The Bleak Hills house had been built up again, but not on the san scale as under the old prince.
The buildings, begun in days of straitened means, were more the simple. The immense mansion on the old stone foundation was of woo plastered only on the inside. The great rambling house, with its unstaine plank floors, was furnished with the simplest rough sofas and chairs anl tables made of their own birch-trees by the labour of their serf carpenter The house was very roomy, with quarters for the house-serfs and accon modation for visitors.
The relations of the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys would sometime come on visits to Bleak Hills with their families, sixteen horses an dozens of servants, and stay for months. And four times a year—on th( namedays and birthdays of the master and mistress—as many as a hur dred visitors would be put up for a day or two. The rest of the year thj regular life of the household went on in unbroken routine, with its roun of duties, and of teas, breakfasts, dinners, and suppers, all provided ou of home-grown produce.
IX
It was on the eve of St. Nikolay’s day, the 5th of December, 1820. Tha year Natasha with her husband and children had been staying at Bleal Hills since the beginning of autumn. Pierre was in Petersburg, where hi had gone on private business of his own, as he said, for three weeks. Hi had already been away for six, and was expected home every minute On this 5th of December there was also staying with the Rostovs Nikolay’s old friend, the general on half-pay, Vassily Fedorovitcl Denisov.
Next day visitors were coming in celebration of his nameday, ancj Nikolay knew that he would have to take off his loose Tatar coat, to pul on a frock coat, and narrow boots with pointed toes, and to go to the nevr church he had built, and there to receive congratulations, and to offei refreshments to his guests, and to talk about the provincial elections anc the year’s crops. But the day before he considered he had a right to spenc as usual. Before dinner-time Nikolay had gone over the bailiff’s account:
■in the Ryazan estate, the property of his wife’s nephew; written two oness letters, and walked through the corn barns, the cattleyard, and 1 stables. After taking measures against the general drunkenness he sected next day among his peasants in honour of the fete, he came in dinner, without having had a moment’s conversation alone with his i> all day. He sat down to a long table laid with twenty covers, at. rich all the household were assembled, consisting of his mother, old Idame Byelov, who lived with her as a companion, his wife and three bdren, their governess and tutor, his wife’s nephew with his tutor, cya, Denisov, Natasha, her three children, their governess, and Mihail mitch, the old prince’s architect, who was living out his old age in ice at Bleak Hills.
