4–10 February 1856

Wrote a little in the morning, Bulgakov disturbed me. Fell asleep, and then Kutler came. Dined at the Chess Club. Fet is very pleasant. The story of the assistant : the scene with a drunken man ! Went to the Tolstdys in the evening. ..Received money from Nelp&sov and sat up till two witj|: Krttler. Thank God I am behaving properly for the second day. B. and K.'s love-story. Must never sulk. Respect women. To-piorrow m<h*ning will put down these thoughts and facts in stich a way that I may be able to recall them, and with that object will fix the hours for writing my Diary. The ftory of the assistant. A peasant steward sold his landowrifer’s corn for seven thousand rubles, and having to go aw^ay oh business told his assistant to take care of the money. The assistant took the money and absconded to Odessa'where he grew rich. To be able to get away he paid two thousand to the landed-proprietor for a false certificate of liberation from serfdom. Ten years later the assistant grew homesick, took about ten thousand of the two hundred thousand he had amassed, and returned to his village. On meeting his uncle he asked to be taken to his brothers, but could not resist disclosing who he was. He gave his uncle two thousand rubles and promised to give as much to each of his brothers. His uncle took him to the village, but on entering it seized him by the collar and shouted, “ Help ! Thief! ” The assistant was arreted and imprisoned. His uncle would not accept any regard from the landowner but handed the two thousand rubles over to him. Scene with a drunken man. Coming out into the Yo^es^nski Prospect I noticed a crowd. Two gentlemen wearing workmen's coats were leading along a tipsy little bare-headed old man in a nankeen coat and trying to put shim into a cab ; the cabman chiefly insisted on having the fare fixed, and kept the apron of the cab fastened. The gentlemen in the workmen’s coats were in a passion. At the*end df the Prospect appeared a police-constable }tt wvash4eather gloves which he smoothed with the palm# of hi$ hands as he went along. The old man'jqui^e shrivelled up. The gentlemen in the workmen’s coats *TOt the calainan and led the old man to the pavement. The constable shouted, “ What ? ” and then a long story ensued to which the constable did not listen. ** Take him ! ” They led him away ; the constable, still smoothing his gloves, followed on the pavement as if going for a walk, but on coming up to the old man dealt him a heavy blow on the back with his enormous fist anchagain arranged his gloves. This a second and a third time,, then the gloves again. The crowd began to disperse. “ Collecting crowds indeed ! ” B. and K.’s love-story. An old rogue and a young lady from the depths of the provinces met on the railway. Sitting side by side within an hour they were familiarly saying “ thou ” to one another. B. afterwards decided that he did not wish to part with anything for nothing. She wrote him that she expected the highest proofs of love : namely ten rubles to bribe the maid to enable her to come to him at A.M. Too beautiful and too touching to be described ! Never sulk, and when anything happens that leads that way, say at once, “ This will make me sulky ”. Respect for women. Relations towards women can be of three kinds. Some you respect for something, perhaps for a stupid reason : because they have connections higher than your own — that is a misfortune. Sometimes you love and value a woman but treat her like a child — a misfortune. Sometimes you respect her so that disagreement in opinions hurts and you want to argue — that is good.

Quarrelled with Turgenev. . . .

The Volkonskis had a party. To-morrow go to service. Was at l' Iztoile du Nord in the bomb- factory all day. Timm, Bulgakov, and Eremdev, spent the evening with me.

Wrote little yesterday. Gymnastics take a lot of time. Was silly enough to agree about the theatre. Went to Kra^vski.