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"POLIKUSHKA;"
OR, The Lot of a Wicked Court Servant.
CHAPTER I.
Polikey was a court man--one of the staff of servants belonging to the
court household of a boyarinia (lady of the nobility).
He held a very insignificant position on the estate, and lived in a
rather poor, small house with his wife and children.
The house was built by the deceased nobleman whose widow he still
continued to serve, and may be described as follows: The four walls
surrounding the one izba (room) were built of stone, and the interior
was ten yards square. A Russian stove stood in the centre, around which
was a free passage. Each corner was fenced off as a separate inclosure
to the extent of several feet, and the one nearest to the door (the
smallest of all) was known as "Polikey's corner." Elsewhere in the room
stood the bed (with quilt, sheet, and cotton pillows), the cradle (with
a baby lying therein), and the three-legged table, on which the meals
were prepared and the family washing was done. At the latter also
Polikey was at work on the preparation of some materials for use in his
profession--that of an amateur veterinary surgeon. A calf, some hens,
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