2–8 January 1854

Rose late and worked at the third chapter of His Past all morning. It seems good ; at any rate I wrote with ardour. I was stupid enough to ask Zhuk^vich in after dinner, and he wasted two hours of my time. Then I wrote till nearly ten o’clock. The work is going on very well. Set down in my Diary only thoughts, information, or notes relating to work I am undertaking. On beginning each fresh piece of work look through this Diary and copy out in a separate notebook all that relates to the work. Copy out the rules each month. Remember every day, and note down in pencil, all infringements of the rules, and enter them in the Diary.

My intention was to write The Story of a Russian Landowner and I did so, but not for long. In the evening, An Artilleryman' s Notes , which I did, though I set to work on it late because after dinner I lay down and re-read Tatiana Alexandrovna’s letter.* Must ask for money, which I did not do in the morning being undecided, nor in the evening because the conversation was too serious. False shame. As the weather was bad, I did not go shooting. In- fringed the first rule — to avoid drunkards ; the second — to rise early ; the third — not to think about the future ; the fourth — not to tell my fortune by cards ; the fifth — orderliness ; the sixth — not to begin several things at a time ; the seventh — to act with decision. After the battle of Borodino, the priests, prompted solely by a sense of duty, undertook the task of burying the corpses that had remained unburied till Napoleon retreated and were spreading infection. Such actions, as well as military exploits, not merely remained unre- warded, but those who performed them avoided mentioning them, fearing to be punished for the illegal actions in which they were involved. For instance, a priest who fought the French did not think of reward, but was only afraid of being punished. Set myself no rule without having tested it ! A kindly loving woman of the old time, not understanding the rather ironical view young folk take of sentiment, is afraid of losing their affection and is hurt by their coldness. Give orders without anger, distinctly, and have them repeated.

Had decided to write The Story of a Russian Landowner in the morning, and in the evening An Artilleryman' s Notes , to go shooting if the weather was fine, and to ask for money. Wrote The Story of a Russian Landowner all morning, but so little and poorly that I worked on from sundown till supper and only made erasures. After dinner I read the Invalide. My attempts at conversation with Volkov do not succeed. The weather is bad, so I stayed in. Have not asked for money. In the evening Chekatdvski was rather in the way. After dinner an old woman came to ask for two rubles, and it was a pleasure to promise to help her. Kronstadt is situated on an island in the Gulf of Finland. Ships pass to Petersburg only through the strait between it and Oranienbaum. That one channel is protected by batteries, on which there are 36 guns firing three-pud shot. Avoid contradicting in general, especially people you love. All the rules can be classified as permanently moral and accidentally moral, and all as positive and negative. Infringements : (1) Got up late (2) Was lazy after reading the Invalide. (3) Indulged in fancies. (4) Told untruths about a dissertation I pretended I had written on Catherine’s Nakaz } (5) Boasted. (6) Was not firm, and hesitated to ask for money. Cancel Andr^y’s power of attorney when I receive the money.

In the morning wrote The Story of a Russian Landlord . Both in the morning and after dinner worked hard at the fourth chapter but only finished it by artificial light, though I feel quite satisfied. Borrowed money from Alexeev. Went in the morning, The pud is about 36 lb. but did not find him in ; after dinner he almost offered it himself. Go shooting if the sun comes out ! As there was no sun I did not go. In the evening A n Artilleryman's Notes. I wrote and had many thoughts, but wrote too carelessly. After dinner I went to the old woman and paid Larka two rubles, then sat till nearly twilight with Zhukevich. During- tea I read the Army Orders for 1845. The first action in 1845 was the capture of the Anchi- meer mountain, the second in the Andiysk range. In writing one is often delayed by a wish to insert some good, or well-expressed, thought ; therefore when- ever you find it difficult to place a particular thought, jot it down in the Diary without allowing the desire to intro- duce it in the work delay you. The thought will find itself a place. Infringements : (1) Got up late. (2) Told untruths, saying I had been to the Hermitage. (3) Wrote illegibly. Until I abandon my system of rules the most convenient division of them is into permanent and casual. Enter each in separate notebooks. Look over the permanent ones every day, read them through once a week, and be guided by them in difficult cases. From among the permanent ones select the most essential, give them numbers in the Diary, and note infringements of them only. Borrowed 25 rubles from Alexeev.

In the morning Story of a Russian Land- lord. Copied the fifth chapter, Ivan Churis, out of the old notebook, but was lazy, making the cold an excuse. Decided to stroll about till dinner, but was called to dinner as soon as I had gone out. After dinner strolled about, drank coffee, and played with the boys. Write An Artilleryman' s Notes. Opened my notebook but wrote nothing, and till supper chatted with Chekatovski about the men. At supper a metaphysical conversation was started. After supper I chatted merrily with Epfshka. Passionlessness — that is to say an always constant, indifferent, outlook on life is the wisdom of old men. The soldier Zdanov gives money and shirts to poor recruits. The artilleryman Rubin when he was a recruit had accepted his help and instruction, and said to him, *' But when shall I be able to repay you, Uncle ? M “ Why, if I don’t die you will repay it, and if I die, it will remain behind anyway,” replied Zdanov. I met a gloomy ranker who had lost a leg, and I asked him how it was he had not received a cross. “ The cross is given to those who clean the horses well,” said he, turning away. “And to him who cooks tastily,” added some little boys, laughing, who were following him. Corporal Spevak received 9 rubles from Rdbin to take care of. He went out for a walk and took them out with some money of his own. That night they were stolen from him. Although Rubin did not reproach him he cried unceasingly, so distressed was he by the misfortune. The recruit Zakharov asked Rubin to comfort him, and offered him the only ruble he had. The platoon made a collection and paid the debt. Keep clothes neat : this promotes self-confidence and a quiet demeanour. Infringements : (r) Bought a cap unthinkingly. (2) Got up late. (3) Was lazy in the morning. (4) Neglected order. (5) Was undecided about playing with the boys when Alexeev approached us. (6) Loafed about without purpose — did not work. Buy a belt and write for handkerchiefs.

Intended to go shooting in the morning. Got up fairly early but wrote a letter before I started. The snow was bad, and so I did not kill anything and returned by dinner-time. Groman has arrived and is going on to Tiflfs. He is a good-natured and honest fellow. After dinner write An Artilleryman' s Notes. After the officers had left I fell asleep and slept till tea-time. Chekatovski came and again interrupted me. After supper sat at Zhuk^vich’s, and now I am going to bed having done nothing all day. A Russian — or in general any ordinary man — at a moment of danger likes to show, or actually feels, more fear of losing things that have been entrusted to him, or things of his own, than of losing his life. Witches set hedgehogs at children, drag them to solitary places, and suck out their blood. There is a kind of grass : “ explosive grass ” which opens doors, fetters, and locks, — which a tortoise brought to open the wattle fence that had been used to enclose his nest. Epfshka and Gfchik used to set off in the evening twilight during a storm and ride till cock-crow. To find where the aouls (Tartar villages) and herds of horses were, Epfshka would howl like a wolf. When the dogs answered back he rode to the aoul , caught the horses, and took them away. But often they lost their way and did not reach home before daybreak : hard luck, as they might be seen and caught. In such cases Epfshka dismounted and let his horse go on in front, telling it that he would kill it if it misled him. The horse used to bring him back to the Cossack villages. Then, tying the horses to the ferry-raft, Gfchik would ferry Epfshka over and the latter .would drive the horses up into the hills, sell them for a tenth of their value, hide the money in his pocket, and return home. Infringements : (i) Lost control of myself and abused Epfshka. (2) Irregularity — slept after dinner. (3) Was undecided— did not send Epfshka and Chekatovski off when they were in my way.

In the morning The Story of a Russian Landlord . Did not get on well with my writing. Must follow the rule of omitting without adding. Dined early. Strolled about. Strolled after dinner. In the evening wrote An Artilleryman' s Notes. Wrote a good deal, but set to work late because of the cold. Lay in the twilight for a couple of hours on the stove. To be alone ! No one called. The terrible cold hindered me much these two days. Must write a rough draft without dwelling on the arrangement or correctness of the expression of thoughts. Copy it out a second time, omitting all that is superfluous and giving each thought its right place. Copy it out a third time, attending to the correctness of expression. Avoid condemning people, and avoid tale-bearing. The soldiers wear cloth chest-protectors. Avoid every movement or expression that may offend anyone. Infringements : (i) Got up late. (2) Wrote The Story of a Russian Landlord in a disorderly way. (3) Lack of order in my ways — sprawled on the bed. (4) Offended Epfshka. (5) Told untruths about Lyubasha. (6) Contra- dicted Groman. Received twenty rubles from Alexeev.