Chapter 23

The next morning the master of the house and his guest drank tea in the garden under an old time-tree.

“Master!” said Lavretsky among other things, “you will soon have to compose a triumphal cantata¹.”

“On what occasion?”

“For the nuptials² of Mr. Panshin and Lisa. Did you notice what attention he paid her yesterday? It seems as though things were in a fair way with them already.”

“That will never be!” cried Lemm.

“Why?”

“Because it is impossible. Though, indeed,” he added after a short pause, “everything is possible in this world. Especially here among you in Russia.”

“We will leave Russia out of the question for a time; but what do you find amiss in this match?”

“Everything is amiss, everything. Lisaveta Mihalovna is a girl of high principles, serious, of lofty feelings, and he . . . he is a dilettante³, in a word.”

“But suppose she loves him”

Lemm got up from the bench.

“No, she does not love him, that is to say, she is very pure in heart, and does not know herself what it means . . . love. Madame von Kalitin tells her that he is a fine young man, and she obeys Madame von Kalitin because she is still quite a child, though she is nineteen; she says her prayers in the morning and in the evening — and that is very well; but she does not love him. She can only love what is beautiful, and he is not, that is, his soul is not beautiful.”

Lemm uttered this whole speech coherently, and with fire, walking with little steps to and fro before the tea-table, and running his eyes over the ground.

“Dearest maestro!” cried Lavretsky suddenly, “it strikes me you are in love with cousin yourself.”

Lemm stopped short all at once.

“I beg you,” he began in an uncertain voice, “do not make fun of me like that. I am not crazy; I look towards the dark grave, not towards a rosy⁴ future.”

Lavretsky felt sorry for the old man; he begged his pardon. After morning tea, Lemm played him his cantata, and after dinner, at Lavretsky’s initiative, there was again talk of Lisa. Lavretsky listened to him with attention and curiosity.

“What do you say, Christopher Fedoritch,” he said at last, “you see everything here seems in good order now, and the garden is in full bloom, couldn’t we invite her over here for a day with her mother and my old aunt . . . eh? Would you like it?”

Lemm bent⁵ his head over his plate.

“Invite her,” he murmured, scarcely audibly.

“But Panshin isn’t wanted?”

“No, he isn’t wanted,” rejoined the old man with an almost child-like smile.

Two days later Fedor Ivanitch set off to the town to see the Kalitins.

1 cantata   

n.清唱剧，大合唱

参考例句：

• The music of the song has been rearranged for the cantata.这支歌改编已成大合唱。
• The choral society sang the new cantata composed by its leader.该合唱队演唱了他们领队编写的大合唱。

2 nuptials   

n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their nuptials were performed by the local priest. 他们的婚礼由当地牧师主持。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• If he married, when the nuptials would take place, and under what circumstances? 如果他结婚，那么什么时候举行婚礼？在什么情况下举行婚礼？ 来自辞典例句

3 dilettante   

n.半瓶醋，业余爱好者

参考例句：

• He is a master of that area even if he is a dilettante.虽然他只是个业余爱好者，但却是一流的高手。
• I'm too serious to be a dilettante and too much a dabbler to be a professional.作为一个业余艺术爱好者我过于严肃认真了，而为一个专业人员我又太业余了。

4 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

5 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。