becomes of common

sense?»

None of us found anything to say in reply and we remained in

perplexity as before.

1866.

THE WATCH

AN OLD MAN’S STORY

I

I will tell you my adventures with a watch. It is a curious story.

It happened at the very beginning of this century, in 1801. I had just

reached my sixteenth year. I was living at Ryazan in a little wooden

house not far from the bank of the river Oka with my father, my aunt

and my cousin; my mother I do not remember; she died three years after

her marriage; my father had no other children. His name was Porfiry

Petrovitch. He was a quiet man, sickly and unattractive in appearance;

he was employed in some sort of legal and—other—business. In old

days such were called attorneys, sharpers, nettle-seeds; he called

himself a lawyer. Our domestic life was presided over by his sister,

my aunt, an old maiden lady of fifty; my father, too, had passed his

fourth decade. My aunt was very pious, or, to speak bluntly, she was a

canting hypocrite and a chattering magpie, who poked her nose into

everything; and, indeed, she had not a kind heart like my father. We

were not badly off, but had nothing to spare. My father had a brother

called Yegor; but he had been sent to Siberia in the year 1797 for

some «seditious acts and Jacobin tendencies» (those were the words of

the accusation).

Yegor’s son David, my cousin, was left on my father’s hands and lived

with us. He was only one year older than I; but I respected him and

obeyed him as though he were quite grown up. He was a sensible fellow

with character; in appearance, thick-set and broad-shouldered with a

square face covered with freckles, with red hair, small grey eyes,

thick lips, a short nose, and short fingers—a sturdy lad, in

fact—and strong for his age! My aunt could not endure him; my father

was positively afraid of him … or perhaps he felt himself to blame

towards him. There was a rumour that, if my father had not given his

brother away, David’s father would not have been sent to Siberia. We

were both at the high school and in the same class and both fairly

high up in it; I was, indeed, a little better at my lessons than

David. I had a good memory but boys—as we all know!—do not think

much of such superiority, and David remained my leader.

II

My name—you know—is Alexey. I was born on the seventh of March and

my name-day is the seventeenth. In accordance with the old-fashioned

custom, I was given the name of the saint whose festival fell on the

tenth day after my birth. My godfather was a certain Anastasy

Anastasyevitch Putchkov, or more exactly Nastasey Nastasyeitch, for

that was what everyone called him. He was a terribly shifty,

pettifogging knave and bribe-taker—a thoroughly bad man; he had been

turned out of the provincial treasury and had had to stand his trial

on more than one occasion; he was often of use to my father…. They

used to «do business» together. In appearance he was a round, podgy

figure; and his face was like a fox’s with a nose like an owl’s. His

eyes were brown, bright, also like a fox’s, and he was always moving

them, those eyes, to right and to left, and he twitched his nose, too,

as though he were sniffing the air. He wore shoes without heels, and

wore powder every day, which was looked upon as very exceptional in

the provinces. He used to declare that he could not go without powder

as he had to associate with generals and their ladies. Well, my

name-day had come. Nastasey Nastasyeitch came to the house and said:

«I have never made you a present up to now, godson, but to make up for

that, look what a fine thing I have brought you to-day.»

And he took out of his pocket a silver watch, a regular turnip, with a

rose tree engraved on the face and a brass chain. I was overwhelmed

with delight, while my aunt, Pelageya Petrovna, shouted at the top of

her voice:

«Kiss his hand, kiss his hand, dirty brat!»

I proceeded to kiss my godfather’s hand, while my aunt went piping on:

«Oh, Nastasey Nastasyeitch! Why do you spoil him like this? How can he

take care of a watch? He will be sure to drop it, break it, or spoil

it.»

My father walked in, looked at the watch, thanked Nastasey

Nastasyeitch—somewhat carelessly, and invited him to his study. And I

heard my father say, as though to himself:

«If you think to get off with that, my man….» But I could not

stay still. I put on the watch and rushed headlong to show my present

to David.

III

David took the watch, opened it and examined it attentively. He had

great mechanical ability; he liked having to do with iron, copper, and

metals of all sorts; he had provided himself with various instruments,

and it was nothing for him to mend or even to make a screw, a key or

anything of that kind.

David turned the watch about in his hands and muttering through his

teeth (he was not talkative as a rule):

«Oh … poor …» added, «where did you get it?»

I told him that my godfather had given it me.

David turned his little grey eyes upon me:

«Nastasey?»

«Yes, Nastasey Nastasyeitch.»

David laid the watch on the table and walked away without a word.

«Do you like it?» I asked.

«Well, it isn’t that…. But if I were you, I would not take any sort

of present from Nastasey.»

«Why?»

«Because he is a contemptible person; and you ought not to be under an

obligation to a contemptible person. And to say thank you to him, too.

I suppose you kissed his hand?»

«Yes, Aunt made me.»

David grinned—a peculiar grin—to himself. That was his way. He never

laughed aloud; he considered laughter a sign of feebleness.

David’s words, his silent grin, wounded me deeply. «So he inwardly

despises me,» I thought. «So I, too, am contemptible in his eyes. He

would never have stooped to this himself! He would not have accepted

presents from Nastasey. But what am I to do now?»

Give back the watch? Impossible!

I did try to talk to David, to ask his advice. He told me that he

never gave advice to anyone and that I had better do as I thought

best. As I thought best!! I remember I did not sleep all night

afterwards: I was in agonies of indecision. I was sorry to lose the

watch—I had laid it on the little table beside my bed; its ticking

was so pleasant and amusing … but to feel that David despised me

(yes, it was useless to deceive myself, he did despise me) … that

seemed to me unbearable. Towards morning a determination had taken

shape in me … I wept, it is true—but I fell asleep upon it, and as

soon as I woke up, I dressed in haste and ran out into the street. I

had made up my mind to give my watch to the first poor person I met.

IV

I had not run far from home when I hit upon what I was looking for. I

came across a barelegged boy of ten, a ragged urchin, who was often

hanging about near our house. I dashed up to him at once and, without

giving him or myself time to recover, offered him my watch.

The boy stared at me round-eyed, put one hand before his mouth, as

though he were afraid of being scalded—and held out the other.

«Take it, take it,» I muttered, «it’s mine, I give it you, you can

sell it, and buy yourself … something you want…. Good-bye.»

I thrust the watch into his hand—and went home at a gallop. Stopping

for a moment at the door of our common bedroom to recover my breath, I

went up to David who had just finished dressing and was combing his

hair.

«Do you know what, David?» I said in as unconcerned a tone as I could,

«I have given away Nastasey’s watch.»

David looked at me and passed the brush over his temples.

«Yes,» I added in the same businesslike voice, «I have given it away.

There is a very poor boy, a beggar, you know, so I have given it to

him.»

David put down the brush on the washing-stand.

«He can buy something useful,» I went on, «with the money he can get

for it. Anyway, he will get something for it.»

I paused.

«Well,» David said at last, «that’s a good thing,» and he went off to

the schoolroom. I followed him.

«And if they ask you what you have done with it?» he said, turning to

me.

«I shall tell them I’ve lost it,» I answered carelessly.

No more was said about the watch between us that day; but I had the

feeling that David not only approved of what I had done but … was to

some extent surprised by it. He really was!

V

Two days more passed. It happened that no one in the house thought of

the watch. My father was taken up with a very serious unpleasantness

with one of his clients; he had no attention to spare for me or my

watch. I, on the other hand, thought of it without ceasing! Even the

approval … the presumed approval of David did not quite comfort me.

He did not show it in any special way: the only thing he said, and

that casually, was that he hadn’t expected such recklessness of me.

Certainly I was a loser by my sacrifice: it was not counter-balanced

by the gratification afforded me by my vanity.

And what is more, as ill-luck would have it, another schoolfellow of

ours, the son of the town doctor, must needs turn up and begin

boasting of a new watch, a present from his grandmother, and not even

a silver, but a pinch-back one….

I could not bear it, at last, and, without a word to anyone, slipped

out of the house and proceeded to hunt for the beggar boy to whom I

had given my watch.

I soon found him; he was playing knucklebones in the churchyard with

some other boys.

I called him aside—and, breathless and stammering, told him