expected
in the evening; military music was to play, and in the garden and upon
the terrace parti-coloured lanterns were to burn, and Yura need not go
to bed at 9 o'clock but could stay up as late as he liked.

Yura got up when all were still sleeping. He dressed himself and jumped
out quickly with the expectation of miracles. But he was unpleasantly
surprised--the rooms were in the same disorder as usual in the morning;
the cook and the chambermaid were still sleeping and the door was closed
with a hook--it was hard to believe that the people would stir and
commence to run about, and that the rooms would assume a holiday
appearance, and he feared for the fate of the festival. It was still
worse in the garden. The paths were not swept and there was not a single
lantern there. He grew very uneasy. Fortunately, Yevmen, the coachman,
was washing the carriage behind the barn in the back yard and though he
had done this frequently before, and though there was nothing unusual
about his appearance, Yura clearly felt something of the holiday in the
decisive way in which the coachman splashed the water from the bucket
with his sinewy arms, on which the sleeves of his red blouse were rolled
up to his elbows. Yevmen only glanced askance at Yura, and suddenly Yura
seemed to have noticed for the first time his broad, black, wavy beard
and thought respectfully that Yevmen was a very worthy man. He said:

"Good morning, Yevmen."

Then all moved very rapidly. Suddenly the janitor appeared and started
to sweep the paths, suddenly the window in the kitchen was thrown open
and women's voices were heard chattering; suddenly the chambermaid
rushed out with a little rug and started to beat it with a stick, as
though it were a dog. All commenced to stir; and the events, starting
simultaneously in different places, rushed with such mad swiftness that
it was impossible to catch up with them. While the nurse was giving Yura
his tea, people were beginning to hang up the wires for the lanterns in
the garden, and while the wires were being stretched in the garden, the
furniture was rearranged completely in the drawing room, and while the
furniture was rearranged in the drawing room, Yevmen, the coachman,
harnessed the horse and drove out of the yard with a certain special,
mysterious mission.

Yura succeeded in concentrating himself for some time with the greatest
difficulty. Together with father he was hanging up the lanterns. And
father was c