and it had left the impression that it was a refuge from all the trials of the city, and if it was not very elegant,—and Dolly was willing to put up with that,—at least, it would be comfortable and inexpensive, and the children would be happy. But now, when she came there as mistress of the house, she found that things were not at all as she had expected.
"On the morning after their arrival, it began to rain in torrents, and by night the water was leaking in the corridor and the nursery, so that the little beds had to be brought down into the parlor. It was impossible to find a cook. Among the nine cows in the barn, according to the dairywoman's report, some were going to calve, some had their first calf, still others were too old, and the rest had trouble with their udders, consequently they could not have butter, or even milk for the children. Not an egg was to be had. It was impossible to find a hen. They had for roasting or broiling only tough old purple roosters. No women were to be found to do the washing—all were at work on the potatoes.
They could not go driving, because one of the horses was restive and pulled at the pole. There was no chance for bathing, because the bank of the river had been trodden into a quagmire by the cattle, and was visible from the road. They could not even go out walking, because the cattle had got into the garden, through the tumble-down fences, and there was a terrible bull which bellowed, and therefore, of course, tossed people with his horns. In the house, there was no clothes-press. The closet doors either would not shut, or flew open when any one passed. In the kitchen, there were no pots or kettles. In the laundry, there were no tubs, or even any scrubbing-boards for the domestics.
At first, therefore, finding herself plunged into what seemed to her such terrible straits, instead of the rest and peace which she expected, Darya Aleksandrovna was in despair. Though she exerted all her energies, she felt the helplessness of her situation, and could not keep back her tears.
