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 The steward, who had been formerly a vakhmistr, or quartermaster in the army, and on account of his good looks and fine presence had been promoted by Stepan Arkadyevitch from his place as Swiss, showed no sympathy with Darya Aleksandrovna's tribulations, but simply said in his respectful way:—

"Nothing can be done, such a beastly peasantry!" and would not raise his hand to help.

The situation seemed hopeless; but in the Oblonsky household, as in all well-regulated homes, there was one humble but still important and useful member, Matriona Filimonovna. She calmed the baruinya, telling her that "all would come out right,"—that was her phrase, and Matveï had borrowed it from her,—and she went to work without fuss and without bother.

She had made the acquaintance of the overseer's wife, and on the very day of their arrival went to take tea with her and the overseer under the acacias, and discussed with them the state of affairs. A club was quickly organized by Matriona Filimonovna under the acacia; and then through this club, which was composed of the overseer's wife, the starosta, or village elder, and the bookkeeper, the difficulties, one by one, disappeared, and within a week everything, as Matriona said. "came out all right." The roof was patched up; a cook was found in a friend of the starosta's; chickens were bought; the cows began to give milk; the garden-fence was repaired; the carpenter made a mangle, and drove in hooks, and put latches on the closets, so that they would not keep flying open; the ironing-board, covered with a piece of soldiers' cloth, was stretched from the dresser across the back of a chair, and the smell of the ironing came up from below.

"There now," exclaimed Matriona Filimonovna, pointing to the ironing-board, "there is no need of worrying."

They even built a board bath-house. Lili began to bathe, and Darya Aleksandrovna's hope of a comfortable, if not a peaceful, country life became almost realized. Peaceful life was impossible to Darya Aleksandrovna with six children. If one had an ill turn, another was