In the morning, drill and the riding-school;
dinner with the Colonel or at a Jewish restaurant; in the evening, punch
and cards. In N--- there was not one open house, not a single
marriageable girl. We used to meet in each other's rooms, where, except
our uniforms, we never saw anything.
One civilian only was admitted into our society. He was about thirty-
five years of age, and therefore we looked upon him as an old fellow.
His experience gave him great advantage over us, and his habitual
taciturnity, stern disposition, and caustic tongue produced a deep
impression upon our young minds. Some mystery surrounded his existence;
he had the appearance of a Russian, although his name was a foreign one.
He had formerly served in the Hussars, and with distinction. Nobody knew
the cause that had induced him to retire from the service and settle in
a wretched little village, where he lived poorly and, at the same time,
extravagantly. He always went on foot, and constantly wore a shabby
black overcoat, but the officers of our regiment were ever welcome at
his table. His dinners, it is true, never consisted of more than two or
three dishes, prepared by a retired soldier, but the champagne flowed
like water.
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