excited
face gave Yozhov still more inspiration, and he cried and roared ever
louder and louder, now falling on the lounge from exhaustion, now
jumping up again and rushing toward Foma.

"Come, now, read about me!" exclaimed Foma, longing to hear it. Yozhov
rummaged among a pile of papers, tore out one sheet, and holding it
in both hands, stopped in front of Foma, with his legs straddled wide
apart, while Foma leaned back in the broken-seated armchair and listened
with a smile.

The notice about Foma started with a description of the spree on the
rafts, and during the reading of the notice Foma felt that certain
particular words stung him like mosquitoes. His face became more
serious, and he bent his head in gloomy silence. And the mosquitoes went
on multiplying.

"Now that's too much!" said he, at length, confused and dissatisfied.
"Surely you cannot gain the favour of God merely because you know how to
disgrace a man."

"Keep quiet! Wait awhile!" said Yozhov, curtly, and went on reading.

Having established in his article that the merchant rises beyond doubt
above the representatives of other classes of society in the matter
of nuisance and scandal-making, Yozhov asked: "Why is this so?" and
replied:

"It seems to me that this predilection for wild pranks comes from the
lack of culture in so far as it is dependent upon the excess of energy
and upon idleness. There cannot be any doubt that our merchant class,
with but few exceptions, is the healthiest and, at the same time, most
inactive class."

"That's true!" exclaimed Foma, striking the table with his fist. "That's
true! I have the strength of a bull and do the work of a sparrow."

"Where is the merchant to spend his energy? He cannot spend much of it
on the Exchange, so he squanders the excess of his muscular capital in
drinking-bouts in kabaky; for he has no conception of other applications
of his strength, which are more productive, more valuable to life. He is
still a beast, and life has already become to him a cage, and it is
too narrow for him with his splendid health and predilection for
licentiousness. Hampered by culture he at once starts to lead a
dissolute life. The debauch of a merchant is always the revolt of a
captive beast. Of course this is bad. But, ah! it will be worse yet,
when this beast, in addition to his strength, shall have gathered some
sense and shall have disciplined it. Believe me, even then he will not
cease to create scandal