Chapter 16 fourteen

A few days later there was a ball at the Governor's Palace.Matvey Ilyich is the real "central character".The provincial nobleman declared to all and to each guest that he had attended only to pay homage to this distinguished guest.The Prefect himself kept "commanding" this or that even while standing at the ball.Matvey Ilyich's easy-going manner was most befitting of his noble station, he was fond of everyone, and, of course, spoke with a hint of disgust to some and a tinge of respect to others. , but in front of ladies and gentlemen he looks like "envraichevalier fran Tcais" ①, and he also has a hearty, loud and lonely smile, only the dignitaries can have all three.She patted Arkady on the back and called Arkady "dear nephew".He also honored Bazarov in his old coat, and greeted Bazarov with a careless and tolerant look, but he spoke very vaguely, only "I" and "very much." "Two words.He shook Sitnikov's hand with a finger and smiled, but he turned away while smiling.He even had a word for Kukshenna, who wore a bird-of-paradise headdress instead of the bell-shaped petticoat that was the norm at the ball, and a pair of dirty gloves.

Enchante”②. There were a lot of guests, including male guests. The civil servants were mostly crowded around the wall, and the military officers danced very vigorously. One of them, who lived in Paris for six weeks or so, learned all kinds of exclamations expressing passion. Words, such as "Zut"③, "AhfichtrTrre④", "Pst, pst, monbibi⑤" and so on, he pronounced purely, in a Parisian accent, but said "SijMavais"④ as "SijMaurais", and "absolument"⑤ as "Must"—in a word, he spoke that great-Russian French language, which the Frenchman laughed and complimented us, saying it sounded like an angel: "Commedesanges. "

-------- ①French: An authentic French knight. ②French: I am honored. ③④⑤French: "hate", "hell", "shh, hush, my baby". ④French hypothetical sentence "if I have". ⑤ French: Undoubtedly. Arkady, as we know, did not dance very well, and Bazarov did not take part in it at all, and they sat in the corner, with Sitnikov.Sitnikov, with a contemptuous sneer on his face, spat out harsh criticism after sentence after sentence, his eyes kept looking here and there, and when he was proud of himself, he suddenly changed his face, and turned to Arkady and said embarrassedly: : "Odintsova is here."

Arkady turned around and saw a slender woman in a black dress standing at the door of the hall.He couldn't help being surprised by her graceful and dignified posture: two beautiful bare arms hanging by her sides, a few fuchsias fell from her hair straight down to her shoulders, and her bright eyes protruded from the slightly protruding, white eyes. Gaze under the forehead, peaceful and intelligent, yes, peacefully rather than contemplatively, with a subtle smile on the corner of her mouth, and a gentle breath from her face. "You know her?" Arkady asked Sitnikov. "Very familiar. Would you like me to introduce you?"

"Okay... wait until the quadrille is over." Bazarov also noticed Odintsova. "Who is this?" he asked. "She's very different from other girls." As soon as the quadrille was over, Sitnikov took Arkady to Odintsova.He said he was "very familiar", but he was speechless when we met.She looked at Sitnikov with a little surprise, but immediately beamed with joy when she heard Arkady's name, and asked if his father's name was Nikolai Petrovich. "yes." "I have seen your father, and heard about him many times," she said, "and it is a pleasure to meet you."

At this moment an adjutant came and asked her to dance the quadrille, to which she agreed. "Do you dance too?" asked Arkady politely. "Yes. Why do you think I don't dance? Or do you think I'm old?" "Oh, how can it be... In that case, allow me to ask you to dance the mazurka next time." Odintsova smiled benevolently. "Yes," she said, and she glanced at Arkady, not haughtily, but like a married sister looking at her little brother. Odintsova was not much older than Arkady, only over twenty-eight, but Arkady felt herself a young student before her, much younger.At this moment Matvey Ilyich came, very impressive, but with a few courteous words.Arkady turned away, but still looked at her intently, and did not take his eyes off her even while she was dancing the quadrille.She talked with her dance partner as calmly as she talked with an official. She raised her head slightly, raised her eyes, and smiled occasionally.Her nose, like all Russians, was a little too fat, and her complexion was not like suet, but Arkady decided that he had never seen such a graceful woman; her voice lingered in his ears; Every wrinkle of her clothes fit her body better than anyone else, and it could better bring out the beauty of women; every move was so calm and easy.

Mazurkas sounded.Arkady sat down close to her, ready to speak, but felt terrified, kept running his hands through her hair, and could not utter a word.But Odintsova's composure struck him, and within a quarter of an hour he was talking freely of his father and uncle, of life in Petersburg and in the country.Odintsova listened to his narration politely and with concern, opening or closing the folding fan in her hand from time to time.His chatter was interrupted for a moment when the gentlemen came to ask her to dance.Sitnikov alone asked her to dance twice.After each dance, she returned to her original position and picked up the fan again, and her breasts did not rise and fall violently due to dancing.Arkady talked to her again, full of happiness in body and mind, at being able to sit beside her, talking to her, and looking at her beautiful forehead, her charming, dignified, wise face.She doesn't talk much, but her words reflect her extensive life insights.From what she said, Arkady concluded that this lady had experienced the world and had her own way of thinking.

"Who was standing with you before Mr. Sitnikov brought you here to introduce me?" she asked. "Have you noticed him?" asked Arkady. "Look at his handsome face! His name is Bazarov, and he's a friend of mine." Arkady then began to talk about his friends. He spoke in such detail and with such joy that Odintsova turned her head and looked carefully at Bazarov.The mazurka was almost over, and Arkady was a little reluctant to leave her, for such a wonderful hour had been spent with her!Of course, he felt that she was accommodating him from the beginning to the end, and he should be grateful for her tolerance... But young people will not feel uncomfortable because of it.

The dance is over. "Merci," said Odintsova, standing up. "You have promised to come to my house, so bring your friend with you. I would like to meet a man who believes in nothing." -------- ①French: Thank you. The governor went up to Odintsova, announced that the dinner was ready, and offered her his arm in a serious way.She took a few steps, looked back at Arkady, smiled and nodded goodbye.He bowed deeply in return, looked at her back (how slender her figure wrapped in glittering brocade is!) and thought to himself: "At this moment, she has forgotten my existence." feel.

"How?" Bazarov asked Arkady, no sooner had he returned to the corner where he had been. "Satisfactory, isn't it? A gentleman just mentioned to me that this lady is yo-yo-yo! Probably the gentleman is a fool. Does she really yo-yo-yo, in your opinion?" "I don't understand that. Odintsova is beautiful, but she's so cold, so reserved..." "She looks like a virgin on the outside, but on the inside...you know that!" Bazarov interjected, "If you say she's cold, it's more delicious. Don't you like ice cream?" "Perhaps," said Arkady, "I'm not sure. She wants to make your acquaintance and take you to her."

"I can imagine how you describe me! But you are right, take me to her, whoever she is, a provincial lady, or a 'liberated woman' like Kukshenna, But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a beautiful cut shoulder.” Arkady was offended by Bazarov's inelegant words, but as is often the case in the world, he blamed his friends for things he didn't like... "Why are you upset that women have free minds?" he asked in a low voice. "Because, my little brother, ugly women are the only women who have a whimsy." The conversation ends here.As soon as the dinner was over, the two young men left.Kukshenna looked at their backs and let out two dry laughs.She was annoyed and helpless, and among the two of them, neither of them paid her any attention.She stayed out later than anyone else at the ball, dancing a French-style Polish mazurka with Sitnikov at four o'clock in the evening.With this spectacle ended the festivities at the Governor's Palace.