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"That was five weeks ago, sir. Yes.... As soon as Katerina

Ivanovna and Sonia heard of it, mercy on us, it was as though I

stepped into the kingdom of Heaven. It used to be: you can lie

like a beast, nothing but abuse. Now they were walking on tiptoe,

hushing the children. 'Semyon Zaharovitch is tired with his work

at the office, he is resting, shh!' They made me coffee before I

went to work and boiled cream for me! They began to get real

cream for me, do you hear that? And how they managed to get

together the money for a decent outfit--eleven roubles, fifty

copecks, I can't guess. Boots, cotton shirt-fronts--most

magnificent, a uniform, they got up all in splendid style, for

eleven roubles and a half. The first morning I came back from the

office I found Katerina Ivanovna had cooked two courses for

dinner--soup and salt meat with horse radish--which we had never

dreamed of till then. She had not any dresses...