But all these amiable qualities were hidden under the most exquisite taste and fashion. Each of her movements was impregnated and executed with much gracefulness and taste, she was even very fond of poetry, and knew also how to incline her head into a musing attitude in a word, all were of opinion that she was really and in every respect, the most amiable lady in Smolensk.
The other lady, namely, the one that had arrived in her carriage, was not of such a polyhedrical character, and for that reason we shall call her; the simply amiable lady. The arrival of the latter lady awakened at once the little lap-dogs that were lying in the sun; the longhaired Adèle that was always entangled in her own wool, and the proud Popuri upon his fine high legs. Both dogs barking, rushed with their tails in the air towards the ante-room, where the visiting lady was at once disembarrassed of her silk cloak of a chess-board pattern, and she appeared now in the reception-room, dressed in the latest fashion for a morning visit. She wore a light-coloured muslin dress, also of a fashionable colour and pattern.
Scarcely had the in every respect amiable lady heard of the arrival of her intimate friend, the simply amiable lady, when she hurried out of her bed-room to receive her. The ladies seized each other's hands, kissed one another most affectionately, and exclaimed both at the same time, like two young girls will do on meeting again after having left the imperial institution, and when their dear mamma has not yet had an opportunity to whisper to them, that the father of the one is poorer and lower in rank than the other.
The friendly kiss was a loud one, because of the renewed barking of the two dogs, who were frightened away with a shawl, and both ladies proceeded at once into the boudoir, which was of course decorated with sky-blue coloured paper-hangings, curtains and furniture, with numerous rocking chairs and easy sofas, with an oval table inlaid with mother-of-pearl, a rich mantel-piece, decorated with malachite nick-nacks, relieved in bronze, while here and there stood a few sky-blue screens; the ladies were followed by the woolly Adèle and the proudly stepping legs.
"Here, here, my dear, in this snug little corner!" said the mistress of the house, whilst seating her guest into the very corner of her elegant sofa. "That is right! take this cushion to lean upon, and now I am sure you will feel comfortable!"
Saying this, she placed a cushion, embroidered in wool behind her friend's back; it represented a troubadour with a guitar slung around his neck, such as are usually embroidered upon canvass: his nose resembled a ladder, and as for his lips, they were regular squares.
"How very glad I am indeed to see that it is you. I heard a carriage stopping before the door, but could not for a moment imagine whoever could come so very early; my chambermaid thought it was the wife of our Vice-Governor, and I said immediately: how provoking, she is such an insipid woman; and I was on the point of giving orders to say that I was not at home."
Her guest was just on the point of plunging at once in medias res, and communicating to her friend the important news she had brought; but the sudden exclamation of the in every respect amiable lady, gave at once another direction to their conversation.
"What a gay-coloured muslin!" exclaimed the in every respect amiable lady, as she cast a glance upon the dress of the simply amiable lady.
"Yes, a very lively-coloured one indeed. My cousin, Praskovia Fedorovna, however, thinks, that it would have been prettier, if the checks in it were smaller, and the little dots in them blue instead of brown. By the bye, I sent the other day, a dress for my sister, which was really so very charming, that it is quite impossible to describe it in words; imagine only, my dear, small stripes, as small as human imagination can possibly fancy them, on a blue ground, and across these stripes, little eyes and paws—eyes and paws—eyes and paws. In a word, charming! incomparable! I may really say that anything similar has not yet been seen before."