I made another attempt to get into conversation with the brigadier;
but he was evidently tired: he sank, sighing and groaning, on the
little couch, and moaning, ‘Oy, oy, my poor bones, my poor bones,’
untied his garters. I remember I wondered at the time how a man came
to be wearing garters. I did not realise that in former days every one
wore them. The brigadier began yawning with prolonged, unconcealed
yawns, not taking his drowsy eyes off me all the time; so very little
children yawn. The poor old man did not even seem quite to understand
my question.... And he had taken Prague! He, sword in hand, in the
smoke and the dust--at the head of Suvorov’s soldiers, the
bullet-pierced flag waving above him, the hideous corpses under his
feet.... He ... he! Wasn’t it wonderful! But yet I could not help
fancying that there had been events more extraordinary in the
brigadier’s life. Cucumber brought white kvas in an iron jug; the
brigadier drank greedily--his hands shook. Cucumber supported the
bottom of the jug. The old man carefully wiped his toothless mouth
with both hands--and again staring at me, fell to chewing and munching
his lips. I saw how it was, bowed, and went out of the room.
‘Now he’ll have a nap,’ observed Cucumber, coming out behind me. ‘He’s
terribly knocked up to-day--he went to the grave early this morning.’
‘To whose grave?’
‘To Agrafena Ivanovna’s, to pay his devotions.... She is buried in our
parish cemetery here; it’ll be four miles from here. Vassily Fomitch
visits it every week without fail. Indeed, it was he who buried her and
put the fence up at his own expense.’
‘Has she been dead long?’
‘Well, let’s think--twenty years about.’
‘Was she a friend of his, or what?’
‘Her whole life, you may say, she passed with him ... really. I
myself, I must own, never knew the lady, but they do say ... what
there was between them ... well, well, well! Sir,’ the deacon added
hurriedly, seeing I had turned away, ‘wouldn’t you like to give me
something for another drop, for it’s time I was home in my hut and
rolled up in my blanket?’
I thought it useless to question Cucumber further, so gave him a few
coppers, and set off homewards.