But no: it was Ivan Evgrafovitch! He could not stop at the gate and make his way on foot to the steps, not he! He flew in, bowing and chattering, the Lord preserve us! The fool Ekemovna mimics him very amusingly: by the way, fool, give us an imitation of the foreign monkey."
The fool Ekemovna seized hold of a dish-cover, placed it under her arm like a hat, and began twisting, scraping, and bowing in every direction, repeating: "monsieur . . . mamselle . . . assemblée . . . pardon." General and prolonged laughter again testified to the delight of the guests.
"Just like Korsakoff," said old Prince Likoff, wiping away the tears of laughter, when calmness was again restored." But why conceal the fact? He is not the first, nor will he be the last, who has returned from abroad to holy Russia a buffoon. What do our children learn there? To scrape with their feet, to chatter God knows in what gibberish, to treat their elders with disrespect, and to dangle after other men's wives. Of all the young people who have been educated abroad (the Lord forgive me!) the Czar's negro most resembles a man."
"Oh, Prince," said Tatiana Afanassievna: "I have seen him, I have seen him quite close: what a frightful muzzle he has! He quite terrified me!"
"Of course," observed Gavril Afanassievitch: "he is a sober, decent man, and not a mere weathercock. . . . But who is it that has just driven through the gate into the courtyard? Surely it cannot be that foreign monkey again? Why do you stand gaping there, beasts?" he continued, turning to the servants: "run and stop him from coming in, and for the future . . ."
"Old beard, are you dreaming?" interrupted Ekemovna the fool, "or are you blind? It is the imperial sledge — the Czar has come."
