re not to misbehave in my place. I thought you, like a
smart and educated man, would do everything nice and genteel, but you
busy yourself with silly things. They can even put one in jail for
that."

Subsequently, much, much later, she told how she had a student friend,
who made dynamite before her.

It must have been, after all, that Simanovsky, this enigmatic man, so
influential in his youthful society, where he had to deal with theory
for the most part, and so incoherent when a practical experiment with a
living soul had come into his hands--was just simply stupid, but could
skillfully conceal this sole sincere quality of his.

Having suffered failure in applied sciences, he at once passed on to
metaphysics. Once he very self-assuredly, and in a tone such that after
it no refutation was possible, announced to Liubka that there is no
God, and that he would undertake to prove this during five minutes.
Whereupon Liubka jumped up from her place, and told him firmly that
she, even though a quondam prostitute, still believed in God and would
not allow Him to be offended in her presence; and if he would continue
such nonsense, then she would complain to Vassil Vassilich.

"I will also tell him," she added in a weeping voice, "that you,
instead of teaching me, only rattle off all kinds of stuff and all that
sort of nastiness, while you yourself hold your hand on my knees. And
that's even not at all genteel." And for the first time during all
their acquaintanceship she, who had formerly been so timorous and
constrained, sharply moved away from her teacher.

However, having suffered a few failures, Simanovsky still obstinately
continued to act upon the mind and imagination of Liubka. He tried to
explain to her the theory of the origin of species, beginning with an
amoeba and ending with Napoleon. Liubka listened to him attentively,
and during this there was an imploring expression in her eyes: "When
will you stop at last?" She yawned into a handkerchief and then
guiltily explained: "Excuse me, that's from my nerves." Marx also had
no success goods, supplementary value, the manufacturer and the worker,
which had become algebraic formulas, were for Liubka merely empty
sounds, vibrating the air; and she, very sincere at soul, always jumped
up with joy from her place, when hearing that, apparently, the
vegetable soup had boiled up, or the samovar was getting ready to boil
over.

It cannot be said that Simanovsky did not hav