to further details.

Books and newspapers are rarely seen in the sitting-room, but for those
who wish to read there is a book-case full of miscellaneous literature,
which gives some idea of the literary tastes of the family during
several generations. The oldest volumes were bought by Ivan Ivan'itch's
grandfather--a man who, according to the family traditions, enjoyed the
confidence of the great Catherine. Though wholly overlooked by recent
historians, he was evidently a man who had some pretensions to culture.
He had his portrait painted by a foreign artist of considerable
talent--it still hangs in the sitting-room--and he bought several pieces
of Sevres ware, the last of which stands on a commode in the corner
and contrasts strangely with the rude home-made furniture and squalid
appearance of the apartment. Among the books which bear his name are
the tragedies of Sumarokof, who imagined himself to be "the Russian
Voltaire"; the amusing comedies of Von-Wisin, some of which still keep
the stage; the loud-sounding odes of the courtly Derzhavin; two or three
books containing the mystic wisdom of Freemasonry as interpreted by
Schwarz and Novikoff; Russian translations of Richardson's "Pamela,"
"Sir Charles Grandison," and "Clarissa Harlowe"; Rousseau's "Nouvelle
Heloise," in Russian garb; and three or four volumes of Voltaire in
the original. Among the works collected at a somewhat later period are
translations of Ann Radcliffe, of Scott's early novels, and of Ducray
Dumenil, whose stories, "Lolotte et Fanfan" and "Victor," once enjoyed a
great reputation. At this point the literary tastes of the family
appear to have died out, for the succeeding literature is represented
exclusively by Kryloff's Fables, a farmer's manual, a handbook of family
medicine, and a series of calendars. There are, however, some signs of
a revival, for on the lowest shelf stand recent editions of Pushkin,
Lermontof, and Gogol, and a few works by living authors.

Sometimes the monotony of the winter is broken by visiting neighbours
and receiving visitors in return, or in a more decided way by a visit
of a few days to the capital of the province. In the latter case Maria
Petrovna spends nearly all her time in shopping, and brings home a large
collection of miscellaneous articles. The inspection of these by the
assembled family forms an important domestic event, which completely
throws into the shade the occasional visits of peddlers and colporteurs