"I would say a word, but there is a wolf near," said Gavril Afanassievitch, with a frown. "I confess these assemblies are not to my taste; at any moment you may jostle against a drunken man, or perhaps be made drunk yourself to amuse others. Then there is the danger that some blackguard may be up to mischief with your daughter; the modern young men are so spoilt, it is disgraceful. Take for instance the son of the late Evgraff Sergueievitch Korsakoff; who at the last assembly made such a fuss about Natasha, that he brought the blood into my cheeks. Next day he coolly drives up to my gate. I was wondering whether it could be Prince Alexander Danilovitch. No such luck. Ivan Evgrafovitch! He would not stop at the gate and take the trouble to walk up to the door, it is not likely! Korsakoff rushed in, bowing and scraping, and chattered at such a rate, the Lord preserve us! The fool Ekimovna mimics him most comically; by-the-bye, fool, give us the foreign monkey."
Foolish Ekimovna seized the cover off a dish, tucked it under her arm like a hat, and began wriggling, scraping with her feet, and bowing in all directions, saying monsieur, mademoiselle, assemblée, pardon. General and prolonged laughter again showed the delight of the guests.
"Exactly like Korsakoff," said old Prince Lykoff, wiping away his tears of laughter when the noise had gradually subsided. "It must be owned, however, he is not the first nor the last who has come from foreign parts to holy Russia a buffoon. What do our children learn abroad? To scrape their feet, to chatter the Lord knows what lingo, not to respect their elders, and to dangle after other men's wives. Of all the young people who have been educated abroad (the Lord forgive me) the Tzar's negro most resembles a man."
"Oh, prince!" said Tatiana Afanassievna. I have—I have seen him close. What a frightful muzzle he has. I was quite frightened of him."
"Certainly," added Gavril Afanassievitch. "He is a steady, decent man, not a brother of the whirlwind. Who is it that has just driven through the gate into the courtyard? Surely it is never that foreign monkey again? What are you animals doing?" he exclaimed, turning towards the servants. "Run and keep him out, and never let him in again."
"Old beard, are you dreaming?" foolish Ekimovna interrupted. "Are you blind? It is the royal sledge. The Tsar has come."
Gavril Afanassievitch rose hurriedly from the table. Everybody rushed to the windows; and positively saw the emperor ascending the steps leaning on the arm of his orderly. There was a great commotion. The host rushed to meet Peter; the servants flew hither and thither as if mad; the guests were alarmed, and some wondered how they might escape. Suddenly the thunder voice of Peter resounded in the hall. All was silence as the Tsar entered, accompanied by his host, in a flutter of joy.
"How do you do, ladies and gentlemen?" said Peter gaily.
All made obeisance. The Tsar's sharp eyes sought in this crowd the host's young daughter. He beckoned to her. Natalia Gavrilovna approached rather boldly, but blushed not only to her ears but to her shoulders.