My Childhood - Maxim Gorky [78]
CHAPTER XI
AFTER this incident mother suddenly asserted herself, made a firm stand, and was soon mistress of the house, while grandfather, grown thoughtful and quiet, and quite unlike himself, became a person of no account.
He hardly ever went out of the house, but sat all day up in the attic reading, by stealth, a book called "The Writings of My Father." He kept this book in a trunk under lock and key, and one day I saw him wash his hands before he took it out . It was a dumpy, fat book bound in red leather; on the dark blue title page a figured inscription in different colored inks flaunted itself: "To worthy Vassili Kashmirin, in gratitude, and sincere remembrance"; and underneath were written some strange surnames, while the frontispiece depicted a bird on the wing.
Carefully opening the heavy binding, grandfather used to put on his silver-rimmed spectacles, and gazing at the book, move his nose up and down for a long time, in order to get his spectacles at the right angle.
I asked him more than once what book it was that he was reading, but he only answered in an impressive tone:
"Never mind. . . . Wait a bit, and when I die it will come to you. I will leave you my racoon pelisse too."
He began to speak to mother more gently, but less often; listening attentively to her speeches with his eyes glittering like Uncle Peter's, and waving her aside as he muttered:
"There! that's enough. Do what you like . . ."
In that trunk of his lay many wonderful articles of attire--skirts of silken material, padded satin jackets, sleeveless silk gowns, cloth of woven silver and headbands sewn with pearls, brightly colored lengths of material and handkerchiefs, with necklaces of colored stones. He took them all, panting as he went, to mother's room and laid them about on the chairs and tables--clothes were mother's delight--and he said to her:
"In our young days dress was more beautiful and much richer than it is now. Dress was richer, and people seemed to get on better together. But these times are past and cannot be called back . . . well, here you are; take them, and dress yourself up."
One day mother went to her room for a short time, and when she reappeared she was dressed in a dark blue sleeveless robe, embroidered with gold, with a pearl head-band; and making a low obeisance to grandfather, she asked:
"Well, how does this suit you, my lord Father?" Grandfather murmured something, and brightening wonderfully, walked round her, holding up his hands, and said indistinctly, just as if he were talking in his sleep:
"Ech! Varvara! ... if you had plenty of money you would have the best people round you ...!"
Mother lived now in two front rooms in the halfhouse, and had a great many visitors, the most frequent being the brothers Maximov: Peter, a well-set-up, handsome officer with a large, light beard and blue eyes --the very one before whom grandfather thrashed me for spitting on the old gentleman's head; and Eugen, also tall and thin, with a pale face and a small, pointed beard. His large eyes were like plums, and he was dressed in a green coat with gold buttons and gold letters on his narrow shoulders. He often tossed his head lightly, throwing his long, wavy hair back from his high, smooth forehead, and smiled indulgently; and whenever he told some story in his husky voice, he invariably began his speech with these insinuating words: "Shall I tell you how it appears to me?" Mother used to listen to him with twinkling eyes, and frequently interrupted him laughingly with: "You are a baby, Eugen Vassilovitch--forgive me for saying so!"
And the officer, slapping his broad palms on his knees, would cry:
"A queer sort of baby!"
The Christmas holidays were spent in noisy gaiety, and almost every evening people came to see mother in full dress; or she put on gala dress--better than any of them wore--and went out with her guests.
Every time she left the house, in company with her gaily attired guests, it seemed to sink into the earth, and a terrifying silence seemed to creep into every corner of it. Grandmother flapped about