EFFORTS AT LAND RESTORATION.

The next day Nekhludoff awoke at nine o'clock. The young office clerk who attended on "the master" brought him his boots, shining as they had never shone before, and some cold, beautifully clear spring water, and informed him that the peasants were already assembling.

Nekhludoff jumped out of bed, and collected his thoughts. Not a trace of yesterday's regret at giving up and thus destroying his property remained now. He remembered this feeling of regret with surprise; he was now looking forward with joy to the task before him, and could not help being proud of it. He could see from the window the old tennis ground, overgrown with dandelions, on which the peasants were beginning to assemble. The frogs had not croaked in vain the night before; the day was dull. There was no wind; a soft warm rain had begun falling in the morning, and hung in drops on leaves, twigs, and grass. Besides the smell of the fresh vegetation, the smell of damp earth, asking for more rain, entered in at the window. While dressing, Nekhludoff several times looked out at the peasants gathered on the tennis ground. One by one they came, took off their hats or caps to one another, and took their places in a circle, leaning on their sticks. The steward, a stout, muscular, strong young man, dressed in a short pea-jacket, with a green stand-up collar, and enormous buttons, came to say that all had assembled, but that they might wait until Nekhludoff had finished his breakfast--tea and coffee, whichever he pleased; both were ready.

"No, I think I had better go and see them at once," said Nekhludoff, with an unexpected feeling of shyness and shame at the thought of the conversation he was going to have with the peasants. He was going to fulfil a wish of the peasants, the fulfilment of which they did not even dare to hope for--to let the land to them at a low price, i.e., to confer a great boon; and yet he felt ashamed of something. When Nekhludoff came up to the peasants, and the fair, the curly, the bald, the grey heads were bared before him, he felt so confused that he could say nothing. The rain continued to come down in small drops, that remained on the hair, the beards, and the fluff of the men's rough coats. The peasants looked at "the master," waiting for him to speak, and he was so abashed that he could not speak. This confused silence was broken by the sedate, self-assured German steward, who considered himself a good judge of the Russian peasant, and who spoke Russian remarkably well. This strong, over-fed man, and Nekhludoff himself, presented a striking contrast to the peasants, with their thin, wrinkled faces and the shoulder blades protruding beneath their coarse coats.

"Here's the Prince wanting to do you a favor, and to let the land to you; only you are not worthy of it," said the steward.

"How are we not worthy of it, Vasili Karlovitch? Don't we work for you? We were well satisfied with the deceased lady--God have mercy on her soul--and the young Prince will not desert us now. Our thanks to him," said a redhaired, talkative peasant.

"Yes, that's why I have called you together. I should like to let you have all the land, if you wish it."

The peasants said nothing, as if they did not understand or did not believe it.

"Let's see. Let us have the land? What do you mean?" asked a middle-aged man.

"To let it to you, that you might have the use of it, at a low rent."

"A very agreeable thing," said an old man.

"If only the pay is such as we can afford," said another.

"There's no reason why we should not rent the land."

"We are accustomed to live by tilling the ground."

"And it's quieter for you, too, that way. You'll have to do nothing but receive the rent. Only think of all the sin and worry now!" several voices were heard saying.

"The sin is all on your side," the German remarked. "If only you did your work, and were orderly."

"That's impossible for the likes of us," said a sharp-nosed old man. "You say, 'Why do you let the horse get into the corn?' just as if I let it in. Why, I was swinging my scythe, or something of the kind, the livelong day, till the day seemed as long as a year, and so I fell asleep while watching the herd of horses at night, and it got into your oats, and now you're skinning me."

"And you should keep order."

"It's easy for you to talk about order, but it's more than our strength will bear," answered a tall, dark, hairy middleaged man.

"Didn't I tell you to put up a fence?"

"You give us the wood to make it of," said a short, plain- looking peasant. "I was going to put up a fence last year, and you put me to feed vermin in prison for three months. That was the end of that fence."

"What is it he is saying?" asked Nekhludoff, turning to the steward.

"Der ersto Dieb im Dorfe," [The greatest thief in the village] answered the steward in German. "He is caught stealing wood from the forest every year." Then turning to the peasant, he added, "You must learn to respect other people's property."

"Why, don't we respect you?" said an old man. "We are obliged to respect you. Why, you could twist us into a rope; we are in your hands."

"Eh, my friend, it's impossible to do you. It's you who are ever ready to do us," said the steward.

"Do you, indeed. Didn't you smash my jaw for me, and I got nothing for it? No good going to law with the rich, it seems."

"You should keep to the law."

A tournament of words was apparently going on without those who took part in it knowing exactly what it was all about; but it was noticeable that there was bitterness on one side, restricted by fear, and on the other a consciousness of importance and power. It was very trying to Nekhludoff to listen to all this, so he returned to the question of arranging the amount and the terms of the rent.

"Well, then, how about the land? Do you wish to take it, and what price will you pay if I let you have the whole of it?"

"The property is yours: it is for you to fix the price." Nekhludoff named the price. Though it was far below that paid in the neighbourhood, the peasants declared it too high, and began bargaining, as is customary among them. Nekhludoff thought his offer would be accepted with pleasure, but no signs of pleasure were visible.

One thing only showed Nekhludoff that his offer was a profitable one to the peasants. The question as to who would rent the land, the whole commune or a special society, was put, and a violent dispute arose among those peasants who were in favour of excluding the weak and those not likely to pay the rent regularly, and the peasants who would have to be excluded on that score. At last, thanks to the steward, the amount and the terms of the rent were fixed, and the peasants went down the hill towards their villages, talking noisily, while Nekhludoff and the steward went into the office to make up the agreement. Everything was settled in the way Nekhludoff wished and expected it to be. The peasants had their land 30 per cent. cheaper than they could have got it anywhere in the district, the revenue from the land was diminished by half, but was more than sufficient for Nekhludoff, especially as there would be money coming in for a forest he sold, as well as for the agricultural implements, which would be sold, too. Everything seemed excellently arranged, yet he felt ashamed of something. He could see that the peasants, though they spoke words of thanks, were not satisfied, and had expected something greater. So it turned out that he had deprived himself of a great deal, and yet not done what the peasants had expected.

The next day the agreement was signed, and accompanied by several old peasants, who had been chosen as deputies, Nekhludoff went out, got into the steward's elegant equipage (as the driver from the station had called it), said "good-bye" to the peasants, who stood shaking their heads in a dissatisfied and disappointed manner, and drove off to the station. Nekhludoff was dissatisfied with himself without knowing why, but all the time he felt sad and ashamed of something.

第二天早晨,聂赫留朵夫九点钟醒来.帐房派来伺候老爷的年轻办事员,一听见他在一床一上翻身,就给他送来一双擦得锃亮的皮鞋和一杯清凉的矿泉水,并向他报告说,农民们正在集合一拢来.聂赫留朵夫一骨碌从一床一上爬起来,头脑清醒了.昨天舍不得一交一出土地,清理庄园的心情已完全消失.此刻想到那种心情,反而觉得奇怪.他想到当前要办的事感到高兴和自豪.他从房间窗口望出去,看见蒲公英丛生的草地网球场.农民们遵照总管的命令聚集在那里.昨天黄昏青蛙拚命聒噪,怪不得今天天气一�一晦.一早就下着一温一暖的��飨赣辏�没有风,树叶上,树枝上和青草上都滚一动着水珠.从窗子里飘进来草木的芳一香,还有久旱的泥土的气息.聂赫留朵夫一面穿衣服,一面几次三番往窗外张望,看农民纷纷集合到网球场上来.他们三三两两地走来,见面互相脱帽致意,拄着拐杖,站成一个圆圈.总管是个身强力壮,肌肉发达的年轻人,穿着一件安有绿色竖领和大钮扣的短上衣.他走来告诉聂赫留朵夫,人都到齐了,但可以让他们等一下,聂赫留朵夫不妨先喝点咖啡或红茶,这两样东西都已准备好了.

"不,我还是先去同他们见面,"聂赫留朵夫说,一想到马上就要同农民谈话,竟感到又胆怯又害臊.

他要满足农民们连想都不敢想的愿望--以低廉的地租分给他们土地,也就是说恩赐给他们,可他反而感到害臊.聂赫留朵夫走到农民面前,农民一个个脱一下帽子,露出淡褐色的,鬈曲的和花白的头发,以及秃顶的脑袋,他忽然觉得十分狼狈,半天说不出话来.空中仍下着��飨赣辏�农民的头发上,一胡一子上和长袍绒一毛一上都是水珠.农民们望着老爷,等他开口,可是他却窘得一句话也说不出来.这种难堪的沉默由镇定沉着和刚愎自用的德国总管打破了.他自认为摸透了俄国农民的脾气,并且讲得一口漂亮的俄国话.这个吃得肥头胖耳,体格强壮的人,也象聂赫留朵夫一样,同满脸皱纹,身一体枯瘦,肩胛骨从袍子里凸出来的农民形成了强烈的对比.

"听我说,现在公爵少爷要施恩给你们,要把土地一交一给你们自己种,可是说实在的,你们不配,"总管说.

"我们怎么不配,华西里·卡尔雷奇?难道我们没有替你干过活吗?我们一向很感激先夫人,愿她在天上平安.我们也很感激公爵少爷,他没有扔下我们,"一个喜欢饶舌的红头发农民说.

"我约你们来就是为了这件事.要是你们乐意,我打算把全部土地都一交一给你们,"聂赫留朵夫说.

农民都不作声,仿佛没有听懂他的话,或者不相信.

"把土地一交一给我们,您这是什么意思?"一个身穿腰部打褶长袍的中年农民说.

"就是租给你们,你们只要稍微付些租金就可以耕种."

"这事太美了,"一个老头儿说.

"但租金要我们出得起才行,"另一个老头儿说.

"给土地还会不要吗!"

"种地是我们的本行,我们就是靠土地吃饭的!"

"这样您也省事些,只要收收钱就行,免得许多麻烦!"几个人同时说.

"麻烦都是你们弄出来的,"德国人说,"要是你们好好干活,能守规矩......"

"这我们可办不到,华西里·卡尔雷奇,"一个尖鼻子的瘦老头说."你问我为什么把马放到田里,可谁存心把它放过?我从早到晚整天抡镰刀,干一天活好比干一年,夜里放马,免不了打个盹儿,马溜到你的燕麦田里,你就要剥我的皮!"

"你们应该守规矩."

"守规矩,你说说倒轻巧,可我们做不到,"一个高个儿的中年农民说,他头发乌黑,满脸都是一胡一子.

"我早就对你们说过,要造一道围墙."

"那你给我们木材,"一个外貌不扬的小个儿农民插嘴说.

"我原来就想用木头围起来,可你却把我关进牢里,喂了三个月虱子.嘿,这就叫造围墙!"

"究竟是怎么一回事?"聂赫留朵夫问总管.

"村子里的头号小偷,"总管用德语说."他年年在树林里偷树,都被人逮住.你要先学会尊重别人的财产,"总管说.

"难道我们还不尊敬你吗?"老头儿说."我们不能不尊敬你,因为我们都捏在你的手心里,你要我们长就长,要我们短就短."

"嗨,老兄,人家是不会欺负你们的,只要你们不欺负人家就是了."

"哼,'人家是不会欺负你们的'!去年夏天你打了我一记耳光,打了就打了,还有什么话说呢!跟有钱人没法讲道理,这是明摆着的事."

"你做事只要守法就是了."

就这样展开了一场舌战.一交一战双方都不太明白他们在争些什么,说些什么.只见一方满腔怒火,但因恐惧而有所克制;另一方明白自己地位优越,大权在握.聂赫留朵夫听着他们的争吵,心里很难受.他竭力想使大家回过来谈正经事,商定地租和付款期限.

"那么土地的事怎么办?你们愿意不愿意?要是把全部土地一交一给你们,你们出什么价钱?"

"东西是您的,价钱得由您定."

聂赫留朵夫定了一个价钱.尽管他定的价钱比附近一带的租金要低得多,农民们还是嫌高,就开始还价.聂赫留朵夫原以为他定的价钱人家会高高兴兴接受,不料谁也没有表现出丝毫满意的样子.聂赫留朵夫断定他定的价钱对他们有利,因为在谈到由谁来承租的时候--是由全村农民来承租,还是成立一个合作社来承租,--农民分成两派,争论得很激烈.一派是想把劳动力弱,付款困难的农民排挤在外,另一派就是那些被排挤的农民.最后亏得总管出力,才讲定了价钱和付款期限.于是农民们就吵吵闹闹地走下山坡,回村子里去,聂赫留朵夫则同总管一起到帐房去拟订租约.

聂赫留朵夫的愿望和计划都实现了:农民得到了土地,付的租金比附近一带要低三成;他自己从土地上所得的收入几乎减少了一半,但对他还是绰绰有余,何况他卖掉树林,出售农具都有进款.看来一切都顺顺当当,但聂赫留朵夫总觉得有点羞愧.他看到,农民中间尽管有人对他说了一些感激的话,他们并不满足,而是指望更多的好处.结果是他自己吃了大亏,却还没有使农民满足.

第二天,在家里订了租契,签了字.聂赫留朵夫在几个推选出来的老农护送下,怀着事情没有办完的惆怅心情,坐上总管那辆被出租马车夫称为阔气的三驾马车,同那些脸上现出困惑神色,不满意地摇头的农民告了别,直奔火车站.聂赫留朵夫对自己很不满意.至于什么事不满意,他自己也说不上来,但一直觉得闷闷不乐,感到羞愧.