without bowing to anyone. Ostrodumov followed
her, making an unnecessary noise with his boots, and snorting out once
or twice contemptuously, "There's a beaver collar for you!"

The visitor accompanied them with a polite though slightly inquisitive
look, and then directed his gaze to Paklin, hoping the latter would
follow their example, but Paklin withdrew into a corner and settled
down. A peculiarly suppressed smile played on his lips ever since the
appearance of the stranger. The visitor and Nejdanov also sat down.

"My name is Sipiagin. You may perhaps have heard of me," the visitor
began with modest pride.

We must first relate how Nejdanov had met him at the theatre.

There had been a performance of Ostrovsky's play "Never Sit in Another
Man's Sledge", on the occasion of the great actor Sadovsky's coming from
Moscow. Rusakov, one of the characters in the play, was known to be one
of his favourite parts. Just before dinner on that day, Nejdanov went
down to the theatre to book a ticket, but found a large crowd already
waiting there. He walked up to the desk with the intention of getting a
ticket for the pit, when an officer, who happened to be standing behind
him, thrust a three-rouble note over Nejdanov's head and called out to
the man inside: "He" (meaning Nejdanov) "will probably want change. I
don't. Give me a ticket for the stalls, please. Make haste, I'm in a
hurry!"

"Excuse me, sir, I want a ticket for the stalls myself!" Nejdanov
exclaimed, throwing down a three-rouble note, all the ready money
he possessed. He got his ticket, and in the evening appeared in the
aristocratic part of the Alexandrinsky Theatre.

He was badly dressed, without gloves and in dirty boots. He was
uncomfortable and angry with himself for feeling uncomfortable. A
general with numerous orders glittering on his breast sat on his right,
and on his left this same elegant Sipiagin, whose appearance two days
later at Nejdanov's so astonished Mashurina and Ostrodumov. The general
stared at Nejdanov every now and again, as though at something indecent,
out of place, and offensive. Sipiagin looked at him sideways, but did
not seem unfriendly. All the people surrounding him were evidently
personages of some importance, and as they all knew one another, they
kept exchanging remarks, exclamations, greetings, occasionally even over
Nejdanov's head. He sat there motionless and ill at ease in his spacious
armchair, feeling like an outcast. O