ing the entire journey, Lemm and Lavretzky had very little to say to
each other: each of them was engrossed with his own thoughts, and each was
delighted that the other did not disturb him. And they parted rather
coldly,--which, by the way, frequently happens between friends in Russia.
Lavretzky drove the old man to his tiny house: the latter alighted, got
out his trunk, and without offering his hand to his friend (he held his
trunk in front of his chest with both hands), without even looking at
him,--he said in Russian: "Good-bye, sir!"--"Good-bye,"--repeated
Lavretzky, and ordered his coachman to drive him to his own lodgings. (He
had hired a lodging in the town of O * * * in case he might require
it.) After writing several letters and dining in haste, Lavretzky took
his way to the Kalitins. In their drawing-room he found no one but
Panshin, who informed him that Marya Dmitrievna would be down directly,
and immediately entered into conversation with him, with the most cordial
amiability. Up to that day, Panshin had treated Lavretzky, not exactly
in a patronizing way, yet condescendingly; but Liza, in telling Panshin
about her jaunt of the day before, had expressed herself to the effect
that Lavretzky was a very fine and clever man; that was enough: the "very
fine" man must be captivated. Panshin began with compliments to
Lavretzky, with descriptions of the raptures with which, according to his
statement, Marya Dmitrievna's whole family had expressed themselves
about Vasilievskoe, and then, according to his wont, passing adroitly to
himself, he began to talk about his own occupations, his views of life, of
the world, of the government service;--he said a couple of words about the
future of Russia, about the proper way of keeping the governors in hand;
thereupon, merrily jeered at himself, and added, that, among other things,
he had been commissioned in Petersburg--"_de populariser l'idee du
cadastre_." He talked for quite a long time, with careless self-confidence
solving all difficulties, and juggling with the most weighty
administrative and political questions, as a sleight-of-hand performer
juggles with his balls. The expressions: "This is what I would do, if I
were the government"; "You, as a clever man, will immediately agree with
me"--were never absent from his tongue. Lavretzky listened coldly to
Panshin's idle chatter: he did not like this handsome, clever, and
unconstrainedly elegant man, with his brilliant smile