reaching the age of eighteen.”
He withdrew from his pocket an enormous bulbous enamelled silver watch and, becoming official, declared:
“It is seven o’clock. We are going to make known our report. I shall speak; then, for the second guardian, Mr. Kalatecha–Kazlowsky, who lives in town and due to illness could not come, an arrangement has been made that Sava Stakhowsky and Mr. Ales Varona will speak in his stead. And an independent witness is necessary.” His eyes rested on me searchingly. “You’re just the man. You are a young man yet, and will live long yet. You will be able then to bear witness to the fact that everything was carried out here according to the old customs and to the dictates of conscience. Miss Yanovsky, please come together with us.”
Our conference did not last long. At first an inventory of the property was read – the real estate and the personal property – that was left, according to the last will and testament of her father. It turned out that it consisted mainly of the castle and the park, the entailed estate, from which not a single thing might vanish and which had to be kept up in such a way as to maintain the greatness of the family and its honour.
“A fine honour!” I thought. “The honour of dying of hunger in a wealthy house.”
Dubatowk proved that the real estate property had been well looked after and retained intact.
Next was the question of profits. Dubatowk announced that the money invested by Roman Yanovsky – 24,000 roubles – in two banking offices, at 8 % without the right to touch the basic capitat returned from 150 to 170 roubles monthly. This profit, due to the efforts of the guardian, even increased. Moreover, the basic capital had increased by a sum which, if it were so wished, could be added to the dowry of the heiress. All the people there shook their heads. The profits were scanty, especially if the necessity of running the house and keeping it in order were taken into consideration.
“And how are the servants paid?” I asked.
“A part of the inheritance is allotted for that in the will, as they are an inseparable part of the entailed estate.”
“I would ask Mr. Dubatowk to explain to me how things stand with the leased land belonging to the Marsh Firs estate,” said Sava Stakhowsky, a small thin man with such sharp knees it seemed they were on the point of cutting through his little trousers. He evidently always exchanged caustic remarks with Dubatowk and now asked him this venomous question. Dubatowk, however, wasn’t taken aback, he pulled out large silver spectacles, a kerchief which he spread out on his knees, then a key and only after that a scrap of paper. His spectacles, however, he did not put on, and began to read:
“Miss Yanovsky’s great-grandfather had 10,000 hectares of good arable land, not including the forest. Miss Yanovsky, as you probably know, most respected Mr. Stakhowsky, has fifty hectares of arable land, considerably impoverished. She has also the park which doesn’t give any returns, and the virgin forest, which is also effectively an entailed estate, as it is a Forest Reservation. Frankly speaking, this rule could be waived. However, firstly, access for the woodcutter to the virgin forest is impossible because of the quagmire. And secondly, would it be wise? Nadzeya may have children. What could they do with fifty hectares of poor land? Then the family will come to a complete downfall. Of course, the young lady is now grown up, she can decide for herself...”
“I quite agree with you, Uncle,” Lady Yanovsky said, blushing and almost in tears. “Let the virgin forest stand. I’m glad that one can get to it only by small paths, and at that only in dry weather. A pity to destroy such a dense forest. Virgin forests are God’s gardens.”
“That’s right,” continued her guardian, “Besides, almost the entire Yanovsky region is but a quagmire, a peat-bog and waste land on which nothing besides heather can
He withdrew from his pocket an enormous bulbous enamelled silver watch and, becoming official, declared:
“It is seven o’clock. We are going to make known our report. I shall speak; then, for the second guardian, Mr. Kalatecha–Kazlowsky, who lives in town and due to illness could not come, an arrangement has been made that Sava Stakhowsky and Mr. Ales Varona will speak in his stead. And an independent witness is necessary.” His eyes rested on me searchingly. “You’re just the man. You are a young man yet, and will live long yet. You will be able then to bear witness to the fact that everything was carried out here according to the old customs and to the dictates of conscience. Miss Yanovsky, please come together with us.”
Our conference did not last long. At first an inventory of the property was read – the real estate and the personal property – that was left, according to the last will and testament of her father. It turned out that it consisted mainly of the castle and the park, the entailed estate, from which not a single thing might vanish and which had to be kept up in such a way as to maintain the greatness of the family and its honour.
“A fine honour!” I thought. “The honour of dying of hunger in a wealthy house.”
Dubatowk proved that the real estate property had been well looked after and retained intact.
Next was the question of profits. Dubatowk announced that the money invested by Roman Yanovsky – 24,000 roubles – in two banking offices, at 8 % without the right to touch the basic capitat returned from 150 to 170 roubles monthly. This profit, due to the efforts of the guardian, even increased. Moreover, the basic capital had increased by a sum which, if it were so wished, could be added to the dowry of the heiress. All the people there shook their heads. The profits were scanty, especially if the necessity of running the house and keeping it in order were taken into consideration.
“And how are the servants paid?” I asked.
“A part of the inheritance is allotted for that in the will, as they are an inseparable part of the entailed estate.”
“I would ask Mr. Dubatowk to explain to me how things stand with the leased land belonging to the Marsh Firs estate,” said Sava Stakhowsky, a small thin man with such sharp knees it seemed they were on the point of cutting through his little trousers. He evidently always exchanged caustic remarks with Dubatowk and now asked him this venomous question. Dubatowk, however, wasn’t taken aback, he pulled out large silver spectacles, a kerchief which he spread out on his knees, then a key and only after that a scrap of paper. His spectacles, however, he did not put on, and began to read:
“Miss Yanovsky’s great-grandfather had 10,000 hectares of good arable land, not including the forest. Miss Yanovsky, as you probably know, most respected Mr. Stakhowsky, has fifty hectares of arable land, considerably impoverished. She has also the park which doesn’t give any returns, and the virgin forest, which is also effectively an entailed estate, as it is a Forest Reservation. Frankly speaking, this rule could be waived. However, firstly, access for the woodcutter to the virgin forest is impossible because of the quagmire. And secondly, would it be wise? Nadzeya may have children. What could they do with fifty hectares of poor land? Then the family will come to a complete downfall. Of course, the young lady is now grown up, she can decide for herself...”
“I quite agree with you, Uncle,” Lady Yanovsky said, blushing and almost in tears. “Let the virgin forest stand. I’m glad that one can get to it only by small paths, and at that only in dry weather. A pity to destroy such a dense forest. Virgin forests are God’s gardens.”
“That’s right,” continued her guardian, “Besides, almost the entire Yanovsky region is but a quagmire, a peat-bog and waste land on which nothing besides heather can
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