He was a merry and sprightly man; danced in a lively manner, in a
frenzy; and executed such figures during the dances that all those
present just melted from laughter.
Following the singers came the two-horsed catafalque, that Tamara
had hired; black, with white plumes, and seven torch-bearers along
with it. They also brought a white, glazed brocade coffin; and a
pedestal for it, stretched over with black calico. Without
hurrying, with habitually deft movements, they put away the
deceased into the coffin; covered her face with gauze; curtained
off the corpse with cloth of gold, and lit the candles--one at the
head and two at the feet.
Now, in the yellow, trembling light of the candles, the face of
Jennka became more clearly visible. The lividness had almost gone
off it, remaining only here and there on the temples, on the nose,
and between the eyes, in party-coloured, uneven, serpentine spots.
Between the parted dark lips slightly glimmered the whiteness of
the teeth, and the tip of the bitten tongue was still visible. Out
of the open collar of the neck, which had taken on the colour of
old parchment, showed two stripes: one dark--the mark of the rope;
another red--the sign of the scratch, inflicted by Simeon during
the encounter--just like two fearful necklaces.
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