REFLECTIONS OF A LANDLORD.
Again striking his head against both doors, Nekhludoff went out into the street, where the pink and the white boys were waiting for him. A few newcomers were standing with them. Among the women, of whom several had babies in their arms, was the thin woman with the baby who had the patchwork cap on its head. She held lightly in her arms the bloodless infant, who kept strangely smiling all over its wizened little face, and continually moving its crooked thumbs.
Nekhludoff knew the smile to be one of suffering. He asked who the woman was.
"It is that very Anisia I told you about," said the elder boy.
Nekhludoff turned to Anisia.
"How do you live?" he asked. "By what means do you gain your livelihood?"
"How do I live? I go begging," said Anisia, and began to cry.
Nekhludoff took out his pocket-book, and gave the woman a 10-rouble note. He had not had time to take two steps before another woman with a baby caught him up, then an old woman, then another young one. All of them spoke of their poverty, and asked for help. Nekhludoff gave them the 60 roubles--all in small notes--which he had with him, and, terribly sad at heart, turned home, i.e., to the foreman's house.
The foreman met Nekhludoff with a smile, and informed him that the peasants would come to the meeting in the evening. Nekhludoff thanked him, and went straight into the garden to stroll along the paths strewn over with the petals of apple-blossom and overgrown with weeds, and to think over all he had seen.
At first all was quiet, but soon Nekhludoff heard from behind the foreman's house two angry women's voices interrupting each other, and now and then the voice of the ever-smiling foreman. Nekhludoff listened.
"My strength's at an end. What are you about, dragging the very cross [those baptized in the Russo-Greek Church always wear a cross round their necks] off my neck," said an angry woman's voice.
"But she only got in for a moment," said another voice. "Give it her back, I tell you. Why do you torment the beast, and the children, too, who want their milk?"
"Pay, then, or work it off," said the foreman's voice.
Nekhludoff left the garden and entered the porch, near which stood two dishevelled women--one of them pregnant and evidently near her time. On one of the steps of the porch, with his hands in the pockets of his holland coat, stood the foreman. When they saw the master, the women were silent, and began arranging the kerchiefs on their heads, and the foreman took his hands out of his pockets and began to smile.
This is what had happened. From the foreman's words, it seemed that the peasants were in the habit of letting their calves and even their cows into the meadow belonging to the estate. Two cows belonging to the families of these two women were found in the meadow, and driven into the yard. The foreman demanded from the women 30 copecks for each cow or two days' work. The women, however, maintained that the cows had got into the meadow of their own accord; that they had no money, and asked that the cows, which had stood in the blazing sun since morning without food, piteously lowing, should he returned to them, even if it had to be on the understanding that the price should be worked off later on.
"How often have I not begged of you," said the smiling foreman, looking back at Nekhludoff as if calling upon him to be a witness, "if you drive your cattle home at noon, that you should have an eye on them?"
"I only ran to my little one for a bit, and they got away."
"Don't run away when you have undertaken to watch the cows."
"And who's to feed the little one? You'd not give him the breast, I suppose?" said the other woman. "Now, if they had really damaged the meadow, one would not take it so much to heart; but they only strayed in a moment."
"All the meadows are damaged," the foreman said, turning to Nekhludoff. "If I exact no penalty there will be no hay."
"There, now, don't go sinning like that; my cows have never been caught there before," shouted the pregnant woman.
"Now that one has been caught, pay up or work it off."
"All right, I'll work it off; only let me have the cow now, don't torture her with hunger," she cried, angrily. "As it is, I have no rest day or night. Mother-in-law is ill, husband taken to drink; I'm all alone to do all the work, and my strength's at an end. I wish you'd choke, you and your working it off."
Nekhludoff asked the foreman to let the women take the cows, and went back into the garden to go on thinking out his problem, but there was nothing more to think about.
Everything seemed so clear to him now that he could not stop wondering how it was that everybody did not see it, and that he himself had for such a long while not seen what was so clearly evident. The people were dying out, and had got used to the dying-out process, and had formed habits of life adapted to this process: there was the great mortality among the children, the over-working of the women, the under-feeding, especially of the aged. And so gradually had the people come to this condition that they did not realise the full horrors of it, and did not complain. Therefore, we consider their condition natural and as it should be. Now it seemed as clear as daylight that the chief cause of the people's great want was one that they themselves knew and always pointed out, i.e., that the land which alone could feed them had been taken from them by the landlords.
And how evident it was that the children and the aged died because they had no milk, and they had no milk because there was no pasture land, and no land to grow corn or make hay on. It was quite evident that all the misery of the people or, at least by far the greater part of it, was caused by the fact that the land which should feed them was not in their hands, but in the hands of those who, profiting by their rights to the land, live by the work of these people. The land so much needed by men was tilled by these people, who were on the verge of starvation, so that the corn might be sold abroad and the owners of the land might buy themselves hats and canes, and carriages and bronzes, etc. He understood this as clearly as he understood that horses when they have eaten all the grass in the inclosure where they are kept will have to grow thin and starve unless they are put where they can get food off other land.
This was terrible, and must not go on. Means must be found to alter it, or at least not to take part in it. "And I will find them," he thought, as he walked up and down the path under the birch trees.
In scientific circles, Government institutions, and in the papers we talk about the causes of the poverty among the people and the means of ameliorating their condition; but we do not talk of the only sure means which would certainly lighten their condition, i.e., giving back to them the land they need so much.
Henry George's fundamental position recurred vividly to his mind and how he had once been carried away by it, and he was surprised that he could have forgotten it. The earth cannot be any one's property; it cannot be bought or sold any more than water, air, or sunshine. All have an equal right to the advantages it gives to men. And now he knew why he had felt ashamed to remember the transaction at Kousminski. He had been deceiving himself. He knew that no man could have a right to own land, yet he had accepted this right as his, and had given the peasants something which, in the depth of his heart, he knew he had no right to. Now he would not act in this way, and would alter the arrangement in Kousminski also. And he formed a project in his mind to let the land to the peasants, and to acknowledge the rent they paid for it to be their property, to be kept to pay the taxes and for communal uses. This was, of course, not the single-tax system, still it was as near an approach to it as could be had under existing circumstances. His chief consideration, however, was that in this way he would no longer profit by the possession of landed property.
When he returned to the house the foreman, with a specially pleasant smile, asked him if he would not have his dinner now, expressing the fear that the feast his wife was preparing, with the help of the girl with the earrings, might be overdone.
The table was covered with a coarse, unbleached cloth and an embroidered towel was laid on it in lieu of a napkin. A vieux-saxe soup tureen with a broken handle stood on the table, full of potato soup, the stock made of the fowl that had put out and drawn in his black leg, and was now cut, or rather chopped, in pieces, which were here and there covered with hairs. After the soup more of the same fowl with the hairs was served roasted, and then curd pasties, very greasy, and with a great deal of sugar. Little appetising as all this was, Nekhludoff hardly noticed what he was eating; he was occupied with the thought which had in a moment dispersed the sadness with which he had returned from the village.
The foreman's wife kept looking in at the door, whilst the frightened maid with the earrings brought in the dishes; and the foreman smiled more and more joyfully, priding himself on his wife's culinary skill. After dinner, Nekhludoff succeeded, with some trouble, in making the foreman sit down. In order to revise his own thoughts, and to express them to some one, he explained his project of letting the land to the peasants, and asked the foreman for his opinion. The foreman, smiling as if he had thought all this himself long ago, and was very pleased to hear it, did not really understand it at all. This was not because Nekhludoff did not express himself clearly, but because according to this project it turned out that Nekhludoff was giving up his own profit for the profit of others, and the thought that every one is only concerned about his own profit, to the harm of others, was so deeply rooted in the foreman's conceptions that he imagined he did not understand something when Nekhludoff said that all the income from the land must be placed to form the communal capital of the peasants.
"Oh, I see; then you, of course, will receive the percentages from that capital," said the foreman, brightening up.
"Dear me! no. Don't you see, I am giving up the land altogether."
"But then you will not get any income," said the foreman, smiling no longer.
"Yes, I am going to give it up."
The foreman sighed heavily, and then began smiling again. Now he understood. He understood that Nekhludoff was not quite normal, and at once began to consider how he himself could profit by Nekhludoff's project of giving up the land, and tried to see this project in such a way that he might reap some advantage from it. But when he saw that this was impossible he grew sorrowful, and the project ceased to interest him, and he continued to smile only in order to please the master.
Seeing that the foreman did not understand him, Nekhludoff let him go and sat down by the window-sill, that was all cut about and inked over, and began to put his project down on paper.
The sun went down behind the limes, that were covered with fresh green, and the mosquitoes swarmed in, stinging Nekhludoff. Just as he finished his notes, he heard the lowing of cattle and the creaking of opening gates from the village, and the voices of the peasants gathering together for the meeting. He told the foreman not to call the peasants up to the office, as he meant to go into the village himself and meet the men where they would assemble. Having hurriedly drank a cup of tea offered him by the foreman, Nekhludoff went to the village.
聂赫留朵夫在小屋的门楣上和门廊的门楣上又接连碰了两次头,才来到街上.穿白衬衫的,穿灰衬衫的,穿粉一红衬衫的几个孩子都在门外等他.另外有几个孩子也凑到他身边来.还有几个抱婴儿的女人也在等他,包括那个不费劲地抱着头戴碎布小圆帽,脸色苍白的娃娃的瘦女人.这娃娃的脸象个小老头,但一直现出古怪的微笑,摆一动着痉一挛的大拇指.聂赫留朵夫知道这是一种痛苦的笑容.他打听这个女人是谁.
"她就是我对你说的那个阿尼霞,"岁数大些的男孩说.
聂赫留朵夫转身招呼阿尼霞.
"你的日子过得怎么样?"他问."你靠什么过活?"
"怎么过活吗?要饭,"阿尼霞说着哭起来.
模样象小老头的娃娃整个脸上浮起微笑,同时扭一动两条象蚯蚓一般的细腿.
聂赫留朵夫掏出皮夹子,给了那女人十个卢布.他还没有走上两步,另一个抱娃娃的女人就追上了他,然后是一个老太婆,接着又是一个女人.她们都说自己穷,要求周济.聂赫留朵夫把皮夹子里的六十卢布零钱都散发掉,十分忧郁地走回家,也就是回到管家的厢房.管家笑眯眯地迎接他,告诉他农民将在傍晚集合.聂赫留朵夫向他道了谢,不去房间,而走到花园里,在撒满白色苹果花一瓣,杂草丛生的小径上徘徊,思索着刚才见到的种种情景.
厢房周围先是静悄悄的,但过了一会儿,聂赫留朵夫听见管家房里有两个女人愤怒的争吵声,偶尔还夹杂着管家含笑的平静声音.聂赫留朵夫留神倾听.
"我已经一精一疲力竭了,你为什么还要撕下我脖子上的十字架①?"一个女人的愤怒声音说.
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①基督徒常戴十字架,到死才脱一下.这里的意思就是:"你为什么要一逼一我死?"
"你要知道,它刚闯进去,"另一个女人的声音说."我说,你还给我吧.你何必折磨牲口,还害得我孩子没有牛一奶一吃!"
"你得赔钱,或者做工来抵偿,"管家若无其事地回答.
聂赫留朵夫走出花园,来到住房的台阶前.那里站着两个披头散发的女人,其中一个怀了孕,看样子快分娩了.管家身穿帆布大衣,双手插在口袋里,站在门口台阶上.两个女人一看见东家,就不作声,动手理理头上的头巾;管家从口袋里一抽一出手,脸上浮起了微笑.
事情是这样的:据管家说,农民常常故意把小牛甚至一奶一牛放到东家草场上.现在,这两个农妇的两头一奶一牛就在草场上被捉住,赶到这里来了.管家要罚每头一奶一牛三十戈比,或者做两天工抵偿.两个农妇再三说,第一,她们的一奶一牛是偶然闯进来的,第二,她们没有钱,第三,她们即使答应做工抵偿,也要求先立刻放还这两头牛,因为它们一早就在太一�一底下烤,没有吃过一点饲料,正在那里可怜地哞哞叫.
"我向你们提过多少次了,"管家一面笑嘻嘻地说,一面回头瞧瞧聂赫留朵夫,仿佛要请他做见证似的,"要是你们回家吃午饭,一定得把牲口看好."
"我刚跑开去看看我的娃娃,那些畜生就走掉了."
"你既然在放牛,就不能随便走掉."
"那么叫谁去喂娃娃呢?总不能要你去喂一奶一吧."
"要是牲口真的踩坏了草场,那我们也没有话说,可是它刚跑进去,"另一个女人说.
"整个草场都被踩坏了,"管家对聂赫留朵夫说."要是不处分她们,将来一点干草都收不到."
"哎,别造孽了,"怀孕的女人叫道."我的牲口从来没有被人捉住过."
"喏,这会儿可捉住了,你要么罚款,要么做工抵偿."
"得了,做工就做工,你快把牛放了,别把它饿死了!"她恶狠狠地嚷道."人家没日没夜地干.我婆婆害病.我丈夫只知道灌酒.我一个人里里外外忙个没完,力气都使光了.你还要一逼一人家做工,也不怕罪过!"
聂赫留朵夫叫管家把牛放了,自己走到花园里继续想心事,但现在已没有什么可想的了.他觉得事情一清二楚,因此弄不懂象这样清楚的问题人家怎么看不出,他自己又怎么这样长久一直没有看出来.
"老百姓纷纷死亡.他们对死已不当一回事,因为经常有人死亡.儿童夭折,妇女从事力不胜任的繁重劳动,食品普遍不足,尤其老年人缺乏吃的东西.老百姓一步一步落入这种悲惨的境地,他们自己却没有发觉,也不怨天尤人.而我们就认为这种状况历来如此,理所当然."现在他十分清楚,老百姓知道并经常指出,他们贫困的主要原因是他们唯一能用来养家活口的土地被地主霸占了.他十分清楚,儿童和老人纷纷死亡,因为他们没有牛一奶一吃,而所以没有牛一奶一吃,是因为他们没有土地放牧牲口,又收不到粮食和干草.他十分清楚,老百姓的全部灾殃,或者说老百姓遭殃的主要原因,就是他们赖以生存的土地不在他们手里,而在那些享有土地所有权,因此靠老百姓劳动过活的人手里.老百姓极其需要土地,由于缺地而死去,但土地又靠他们耕种,从土地上收获的粮食又被卖到国外去,这样地主就可以给自己买礼帽,手杖,马车,青铜摆件等东西.这一点聂赫留朵夫十分明白,就象不放马到牧场上去吃草而把它们关在围墙里,它们吃光围墙里的草就会消瘦,就会饿死一样......这种现象真是太可怕了,再也不能这样继续存在下去.必须设法消灭,至少自己不能参与其事."我一定要想出个办法来,"他在最近一条桦树夹峙的小径上徘徊,同时想."各种学术一团一体,政一府机关和报纸都在讨论老百姓贫穷的原因和改善他们生活的办法,唯独忽略那种切实可靠的办法,那就是不再从他们手里夺走他们必需的土地."他清楚地想起亨利·乔治①的基本原理,想起当年他对它的信奉,弄不懂自己怎么会把它忘记得一干二净."土地不能成为私有财产,不能成为商品,就象水,空气和一�一光一样.人人都有权享用土地,享用土地提供的一切利益."现在他才恍然大悟,为什么他想到处理库兹明斯科耶土地的办法,就感到害臊.他在欺骗自己.他明明知道谁也无权占有土地,却还要肯定自己享有这种权利.他把一部分土地收益送给农民,但在灵魂深处知道他是没有这个权利的.今后他不打算再这样做,并且要改变库兹明斯科耶的那套办法.他心里拟定了一个方案,把土地一交一给农民,收取租金,并规定地租是农民的财产,由他们自己支配,缴纳税款和用作公益事业.这不是单一税②,但在现行制度下是最接近单一税的办法.不过主要是他放弃了土地所有权.
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①亨利·乔治(1839-1897)--美国资产阶级经济学家.
②亨利·乔治主张土地单一税,宣扬由资产阶级国家把土地收归国有,把地租变成一交一给国家的赋税.这里原文是英语.
他回到房子里,看见管家笑得特别高兴,请他吃午饭,还说什么他担心妻子在那个耳朵上戴绒球的侍女帮助下做的菜会煮得太烂,烤得太熟.
桌上铺着一块粗桌布,上面放着一块绣花手巾代替餐巾.桌上摆着一个撒克逊古瓷汤盆,盆耳已断,盆里盛着土豆鸡汤--那只时而伸出这条黑腿,时而伸出那条黑腿的公鸡已被切成块,上面还留着些鸡一毛一.吃完汤以后,下道菜还是那只连一毛一都烤焦的公鸡.然后是加了大量一奶一油和砂糖的煎一奶一渣饼.这些菜虽然并不可口,聂赫留朵夫还是吃了下去,根本没留意他在吃些什么.他正在专心致志地思索,把他从村子里带回来的烦恼都忘记了.
神色慌张,耳朵上戴绒球的姑一娘一每次上菜,管家的妻子总要从门缝往里张望,而管家则一直以他妻子的烹饪手艺而扬扬得意,笑得更欢了.
饭后,聂赫留朵夫好容易使管家坐定下来.为了看看自己的想法是否对头,同时也想对人家说说自己感兴趣的问题,他就对管家讲了把土地一交一给农民的方案,并且征求他的意见.管家笑笑,装出一副样子,似乎早就想到过这问题,并且乐于听取聂赫留朵夫的意见.其实地对这个方案可说是一窍不通.这倒不是因为聂赫留朵夫没有讲清楚,而是因为根据这个方案聂赫留朵夫必须为别人的利益而放弃自己的利益.管家头脑里有一个根深蒂固的信条,那就是人人都在损人利己.
现在聂赫留朵夫竟主张土地的全部收益应成为农民的公积金,管家就以为可能是有些话他没有听懂.
"我懂了.就是说这笔公积金的利息归您收取,是不是?"
管家满面堆笑说.
"绝对不是.您要明白,土地不能成为私有财产."
"这话很对!"
"因此土地上的收益应归大家共享."
"这样一来,您岂不是没有收入了?"管家收起笑容说.
"我就是不要."
管家深深地叹了一口气,又笑了.现在他明白了,聂赫留朵夫这人头脑有一毛一病.于是他就研究聂赫留朵夫放弃土地的方案,看能不能从中找到对他有利的东西,并且断定聂赫留朵夫放弃土地,他做管家的一定能捞到好处.
不过,当他明白没有这样的可能时,他对方案就不再感兴趣,并且只是为了讨好东家,脸上才保持笑容.聂赫留朵夫看到管家不理解他,就放他走了,自己则在刀痕累累,墨迹斑斑的桌旁坐下来,动手起草他的方案.
太一�一已落到新叶翠绿的菩提树后面,蚊群飞进屋里,不住叮着聂赫留朵夫.他刚写完方案草稿,就听见村子里传来牲口的叫一声,吱嘎的开门声,以及来开会的农民的谈话声.聂赫留朵夫对管家说,不必叫农民到帐房来,他决定亲自到农民集合的院子里去.聂赫留朵夫匆匆喝完管家端给他的一杯茶,就往村子里走去.
