Guests arrived at the young landowners, the Vinogràdovs, who had only married last winter and had been living in the village all winter: two brothers, the Borìsovs, and the writer Gvózdev. The elder Borìsov was very slender, nearsighted, and a very kind person in his thirties. The hair on his head and in his beard was very light and thin. He was called Nikolài Andréevich. He was an associate professor at the university.
His brother, a student, was simply called Sergéi, and everyone loved him for his healthy, handsome appearance, cheerful and steady character, wit, and appealing beliefs.
Alexéi Petróvich Gvózdev was a fiction writer whose works were highly regarded by the segment of the audience that primarily demands from a writer a pleasant, sincere, and kind-hearted idea. He dressed in a Russian style and had his hair cut in a circle.