"Yes, there is a regiment and there are neighbors; but, to tell the truth, it doesn't interest me. Yet, if you——"
Porfiry Vladimirych looked at her and did not end his sentence, but coughed. Perhaps he had stopped intentionally, wishing to excite her feminine curiosity. At any rate the same faint smile as before glided over her lips. She leaned her elbows on the table and looked at Yevpraksia fixedly. The, girl all flushed, was drying the glasses, casting sly glances at Anninka with her large, heavy eyes.
"My new housekeeper—very industrious," said Porfiry Vladimirych.
Anninka nodded slightly and began to purr softly:
"Ah, ah! que j'aime—que j'aime—que j'aime—les mili-mili-mili-taires!" and her hips quivered as she sang.
Silence set in, during which Yudushka, his eyes meekly lowered, sipped his tea from a glass.
"My, it's dull!" said Anninka, yawning again.
"It's dull, and it's dull! You never get tired of saying that. You wait a while, stay here a bit longer. We'll order the sleigh set to rights, and you'll ride to your heart's content."
"Uncle, why didn't you become a hussar?"
"Because, my friend, every man has his station ordained by the Lord. Some are to become hussars, others functionaries, others merchants; some are——"