ne on the beak," "filth," "produce the
samovar," etc., his habit of clinking glasses and making sentimental
speeches, seemed to her trivial. But as she got to know him better,
she began to feel very much at home with him. He was open with her;
he liked talking to her in a low voice in the evening, and even
gave her novels of his own composition to read, though these had
been kept a secret even from such friends as Laptev and Yartsev.
She read these novels and praised them, so that she might not
disappoint him, and he was delighted because he hoped sooner or
later to become a distinguished author.

In his novels he described nothing but country-house life, though
he had only seen the country on rare occasions when visiting friends
at a summer villa, and had only been in a real country-house once
in his life, when he had been to Volokolamsk on law business. He
avoided any love interest as though he were ashamed of it; he put
in frequent descriptions of nature, and in them was fond of using
such expressions as, "the capricious lines of the mountains, the
miraculous forms of the clouds, the harmony of mysterious rhythms
. . . ." His novels had never been published, and this he attributed
to the censorship.

He liked the duties of a lawyer, but yet he considered that his
most important pursuit was not the law but these novels. He believed
that he had a subtle, aesthetic temperament, and he always had
leanings towards art. He neither sang nor played on any musical
instrument, and was absolutely without an ear for music, but he
attended all the symphony and philharmonic concerts, got up concerts
for charitable objects, and made the acquaintance of singers. . . .

They used to talk at dinner.

"It's a strange thing," said Laptev, "my Fyodor took my breath away
again! He said we must find out the date of the centenary of our
firm, so as to try and get raised to noble rank; and he said it
quite seriously. What can be the matter with him? I confess I begin
to feel worried about him."

They talked of Fyodor, and of its being the fashion nowadays to
adopt some pose or other. Fyodor, for instance, tried to appear
like a plain merchant, though he had ceased to be one; and when the
teacher came from the school, of which old Laptev was the patron,
to ask Fyodor for his salary, the latter changed his voice and
deportment, and behaved with the teacher as though he were some one
in authority.

There was nothing to be done; after d