Viy — Страница 3

All these learned folk, both seminary and boarders, while living in
some sort of hereditary hostility among themselves, had extremely poor means
of obtaining food and were at the same time extraordinarily voracious; so
that to count how many dumplings each of them gobbled up at supper would
have been a quite impossible task; and therefore the voluntary donations of
wealthy citizens were never enough. Then a senate comprised of philosophers
and theologians would send out the grammarians and rhetoricians, under the
leadership of one philosopher--and would sometimes join them itself--sacks
over their shoulders, to lay waste people's kitchen gardens. And pumpkin
gruel would appear in the school. The senators ate so much melon and
watermelon that the monitors would hear two lessons instead of one from them
the next day: one proceeding from the mouth, the other growling in the
senatorial stomach. Boarders and seminary wore what looked like some sort of
long frock coats which reached heretofore, a technical term meaning below
the heels.
The most solemn event for the seminary was vacation, beginning with the
month of June, when the boarders used to be sent home. Then the whole high
road would be covered with grammarians, philosophers, and theologians.
Whoever did not have his own refuge would go to one of his friends.
Philosophers and theologians would go on conditions--that is, they would
undertake to teach or prepare the children of wealthy people for school, and
would earn a new pair of boots by it and occasionally enough for a frock
coat. This whole crowd would string along together like a Gypsy camp, cook
kasha-¹ for themselves, and sleep in the fields. Each dragged a
sack on his back with a shirt and a pair of foot-rags. The theologians were
especially thrifty and neat: to avoid wearing out their boots, they would
take them off, hang them on a stick, and carry them over their shoulder,
especially when there-was mud. Then, rolling their trousers to the knee,
they would go splashing fearlessly through the puddles. As soon as they
caught sight of a farmstead, they would turn off the high road and,
approaching a cottage that looked better kept than the others, would line up
in front of the windows and begin a full-throated hymn. The cottager, some
old Cossack peasant, would listen to them for a long time, leaning on both
arms, then weep very bitterly and say, turning to his wife: "Wife! what
these students are singing must be something very intelligent; bring out
some lard for them and whatever else we've got!" And a whole bowi of
dumplings would be poured into a sack. A decent hunk of lard, a few white
loaves, and sometimes even a trussed-up chicken would go in as well.