Andrei Bely - Petersburg

In which is told of a certain worthy person, his cerebral play and ephemerality of being.

Once there was a dreadful time.

The memory of it is not stale.

It is of this, my friends, that I

Will now commence for you my tale

A sad one will my story be.

A Pushkin

A POLLON APOLLONOVICH ABLEUKHOV was of exceedingly venerable stock: he had Adam for his ancestor. And that is not the main thing: incomparably more important here is the fact that a high-born ancestor of his was Shem, that is to say, the very progenitor of the Semitic, Hessitic and red-skinned peoples.

Here we shall make a transition to ancestors of less distant times.

These ancestors (so it appears) had their dwelling in the Kirgiz-Kaisak Horde, from where, in the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Mirza Ab-Lai, the senators great-great-grandfather, valiantly entered the service of Russia, receiving at his baptism the Christian name Andrei and the sobriquet Ukhov. Thus the Armorial of the Russian Empire discourses upon this descendant scion of the Mongol race. For the sake of brevity Ablai-Ukhov was later turned into simply Ableukhov.

This great-great-grandfather, it is said, proved to be the source of the line.

A grey, gold-braided servant was dusting the writing desk with a feather duster; a cooks cap peeped in at the open door.

The masters up, you know

Hes rubbing himself with eau de cologne, soon be down for coffee

The postman this morning said there was a letter for the masterfrom Spain: with a Spanish stamp on.

Let me tell you something: you shouldnt be sticking your nose into letters so much

I suppose Anna Petrovna

You suppose, do you

I was just saying Whats it to do with me

The cooks head suddenly vanished. Apollon Apollonovich Ableukhov strode through into the study.

A pencil lying on the desk seized Apollon Apollonovichs attention. Apollon Apollonovich conceived the intention of giving the pencils point acuteness of form. Swiftly he walked up to the desk and grasped a paperweight, which he twisted around in deep thought for a long time, before realizing that in his hands was a paperweight, and not a pencil.

His absent-mindedness arose from the fact that at that moment he had been struck by a profound idea; and at once, at this inopportune time, it extended into a far-reaching train of thought (Apollon Apollonovich was hurrying to the Establishment). His Diary, which was to appear in the periodical press in the year of his death, became longer by a page.

Apollon Apollonovich quickly wrote down his extended train of thought: once it was written down, he thought: Its time to go to the office. And he passed through into the dining room to take his coffee.

Before doing so he set about interrogating his old valet with a certain unpleasant persistence:

Is Nikolai Apollonovich up yet?

No, indeed, sir: he hasnt got up yet

Apollon Apollonovich rubbed the bridge of his nose in displeasure :

Hmm tell me: when doestell meNikolai Apollonovich, as it were

He gets up quite late, sir

Well, how late?

And at once, without waiting for a reply, he strode through for his coffee, with a glance at his watch.

It was precisely half-past-nine.

At ten oclock he, an old man, would leave for the Establishment. Nikolai Apollonovich, a young man, would rise from his beda couple of hours later. Every morning the senator inquired about the hour of his waking. And every morning he frowned.

Nikolai Apollonovich was the senators son.

Apollon Apollonovich Ableukhov had distinguished himself by acts of valour; more than one star had fallen on to his gold-embroidered breast; the stars of Stanislav and Anna: even the White Eagle.

The ribbon he wore was a blue ribbon.