(A broken set, but he was thrifty);
And in exchange he also took
Two Petriads,* a grammar book,
Some fables he could sell tomorrow,
Plus Marmontel*just volume three.
Martyn Zadck soon came to be
Tatyana's favourite. Now when sorrow
Assails her heart, he brings her light,
And sleeps beside her through the night.
24
Her dream disturbs her, and not knowing
What secret message she'd been sent,
Tatyana seeks some passage showing
Just what the dreadful vision meant.
She finds in alphabetic order
What clues the index can afford her:
There's bear and blizzard, bridge, and crow,
Fir, forest, hedgehog, night, and snow,
And many more. But her confusion
Martyn Zadck cannot dispel;
The frightful vision must foretell
Sad times to come and disillusion.
For several days she couldn't find
A way to calm her troubled mind.
25
But lo! . . . with crimson hand
Aurora Leads forth from morning dales the sun*
And brings in merry mood before her
The name-day feast that's just begun.
Since dawn Dame Larin's near relations
Have filled the house; whole congregations
Of neighbour clans have come in drays,
Kibitkas, britzkas, coaches, sleighs.
The hall is full of crowds and bustle;
The drawing room explodes with noise,
With bark of pugs and maidens' joys,
With laughter, kisses, din and hustle;
The guests all bow and scrape their feet,
Wet nurses shout and babies bleat.
26
Fat Pustyakv, the local charmer,
Has come and brought his portly wife;
Gvozdin as well, that model farmer,
Whose peasants lead a wretched life;
The two Skotinins, grey as sages,
With children of all shapes and ages
From two to thirty at the top;
Here's Petushkv, the district fop;
And my first cousin, good Buynov,*
