The servants, astonished and terrified, stood as if bereft of their senses, gazing with startled eyes on that sport which resembled a Tartar invasion. The dogs began to howl and bark. All in the house were on their feet; in the yard groups of people assembled. The girls of the house ran to the windows, and putting their faces to the panes, flattening their noses, gazed at what was passing within.
Zend saw them at last; he whistled so piercingly that it rang in the ears of all, and then shouted, «Mighty lords! titmice are under the window,--titmice!»
«Titmice! titmice!»
«Now for a dance!» roared dissonant voices.
The drunken crowd sprang through the anteroom to the porch. The frost did not sober their steaming heads. The girls, screaming in voices that rose to the sky, ran in every dire
