\"Willyoupleaseclearawayallthisatonce？\"Iaddressedherinconvulsiveaccents，beingatthesametimeengagedingettingmypipetodraw。This，Iadmit，wasanunusualrequest。
Generally，ongettingupfrombreakfastIwouldsitdowninthewindowwithabookandletthemclearthetablewhentheyliked;
butifyouthinkthatonthatmorningIwasintheleastimpatient，youaremistaken。IrememberthatIwasperfectlycalm。AsamatteroffactIwasnotatallcertainthatIwantedtowrite，orthatImeanttowrite，orthatIhadanythingtowriteabout。No，Iwasnotimpatient。Iloungedbetweenthemantelpieceandthewindow，notevenconsciouslywaitingforthetabletobecleared。Itwastentoonethatbeforemylandlady’sdaughterwasdoneIwouldpickupabookandsitdownwithitallthemorninginaspiritofenjoyableindolence。Iaffirmitwithassurance，andIdon’tevenknownowwhatwerethebooksthenlyingabouttheroom。Whatevertheywere，theywerenottheworksofgreatmasters，wherethesecretofclearthoughtandexactexpressioncanbefound。SincetheageoffiveIhavebeenagreatreader，asisnotperhapswonderfulinachildwhowasneverawareoflearningtoread。AttenyearsofageIhadreadmuchofVictorHugoandotherromantics。IhadreadinPolishandinFrench，history，voyages，novels;Iknew\"GilBlas\"and\"DonQuixote\"inabridgededitions;IhadreadinearlyboyhoodPolishpoetsandsomeFrenchpoets，butIcannotsaywhatIreadontheeveningbeforeIbegantowritemyself。Ibelieveitwasanovel，anditisquitepossiblethatitwasoneofAnthonyTrollope’snovels。Itisverylikely。Myacquaintancewithhimwasthenveryrecent。HeisoneoftheEnglishnovelistswhoseworksIreadforthefirsttimeinEnglish。WithmenofEuropeanreputation，withDickensandWalterScottandThackeray，itwasotherwise。MyfirstintroductiontoEnglishimaginativeliteraturewas\"NicholasNickleby。\"ItisextraordinaryhowwellMrs。NicklebycouldchatterdisconnectedlyinPolishandthesinisterRalphrageinthatlanguage。AstotheCrummlesfamilyandthefamilyofthelearnedSqueersitseemedasnaturaltothemastheirnativespeech。Itwas，Ihavenodoubt，anexcellenttranslation。Thismusthavebeenintheyear’70。ButIreallybelievethatIamwrong。ThatbookwasnotmyfirstintroductiontoEnglishliterature。Myfirstacquaintancewas（orwere）the\"TwoGentlemenofVerona，\"andthatintheveryMS。
ofmyfather’stranslation。ItwasduringourexileinRussia，anditmusthavebeenlessthanayearaftermymother’sdeath，becauseIremembermyselfintheblackblousewithawhiteborderofmyheavymourning。Wewerelivingtogether，quitealone，inasmallhouseontheoutskirtsofthetownofT————。Thatafternoon，insteadofgoingouttoplayinthelargeyardwhichwesharedwithourlandlord，Ihadlingeredintheroominwhichmyfathergenerallywrote。WhatemboldenedmetoclamberintohischairIamsureIdon’tknow，butacoupleofhoursafterwardhediscoveredmekneelinginitwithmyelbowsonthetableandmyheadheldinbothhandsovertheMS。ofloosepages。Iwasgreatlyconfused，expectingtogetintotrouble。Hestoodinthedoorwaylookingatmewithsomesurprise，buttheonlythinghesaidafteramomentofsilencewas：
\"Readthepagealoud。\"