At the beginnig of 1947, Bunin and his wife, Vera Nikolaevna, began their life in the "Russian Home" in Juan-les-Pins in a strange manner, much to the dismay of other inhabitants. His arrival was a great event for them. Just think-to live under one roof with Bunin, to lunch and dine with him in the same dining-room, maybe even at the same table. To meet him constantly and even to-and why not?become friends with the Nobel Laureate. However, they were in for a disappointment. Bunin remained closeted in two rooms and left them only to go for walks or for one of his extremely rare trips to Nice. He did not come down even for lunch or dinner. In her goodness Vera Nikolaevna herself carried trays with plates and dishes so as not to make extra work for the servant. Bunin received no visitors except for Rogovsky and infrequent visitors from Nice-Mark Aldanov, Kliagin and his son, S. K. Makovsky, Georgy Ivanov, and me. He would spend the whole day in the overheated room, clad in his dressing gown and slippers. He would dress and shave only just before going for his walks. On his return from them, he would immediately put on his dressing gown again and would don either an embroidered skull cap or a linen hat. We had rooms on the same floor, opposite each other, and Bunin would drop in on us in his deshabille'. He would normally come after lunch and would make himself comfortable in our only armchair, placed so as to face the window. "It is because of this window," he would explain to us, "that I come to see you so often. The view from my window is the same as the view from the window of Vera Nikolaevna: olive trees, twisted like sinners in hell writhing in agony, a tethered goat cropping grass, a fence, and