with spades and brooms. The gardener was busy measuring, and a boy was bringing something in a cart. Passing these Volgin went into the park of at least a hundred and twenty-five acres, filled with fine old trees, and intersected by a network of well-kept walks. Smoking as he strolled Volgin took his favourite path past the summerhouse into the fields beyond. It was pleasant in the park, but it was still nicer in the fields. On the right some women who were digging potatoes formed a mass of bright red and white colour; on the left were wheat fields, meadows, and grazing cattle; and in the foreground, slightly to the right, were the dark, dark oaks of Littleports. Volgin took a deep breath, and felt glad that he was alive, especially here in his cousin’s home, where he was so thoroughly enjoying the rest from his work at the bank.
—Qué afortunados los que viven en el campo —pensó—. Es verdad que, entre la granja y el Zemstvo, el dueño de la hacienda tiene muy poca paz ni siquiera en el campo, pero eso es asunto suyo. Volgín sacudió la cabeza, encendió otro cigarrillo y, caminando con paso firme sobre sus fuertes pies calzados con gruesas botas inglesas, empezó a pensar en el arduo trabajo invernal del banco que le esperaba. «Estaré allí todos los días de diez a dos, a veces incluso hasta las cinco. Y las juntas directivas… Y las entrevistas privadas con los clientes… Luego la Duma. En cambio, aquí… Es una delicia. Quizá sea un poco aburrido, pero no durará mucho». Sonrió. Tras dar un paseo por Littleports, dio media vuelta y atravesó directamente un campo en barbecho que estaban arando. Una manada de vacas, terneros, ovejas y cerdos, perteneciente a la comunidad del