ing. Sipiagin and Kollomietzev followed
him.

Sipiagin was so upset that he did not let any one accompany him. He
stamped and ground his teeth with rage.

"I can see by your face," he said turning to Solomin, "that you are
not pleased with the place. Of course, I know that it's not in a very
excellent condition and doesn't pay as yet. But please ... give me your
candid opinion as to what you consider to be the principal failings and
as to what one could do to improve matters."

"Paper-manufacturing is not in my line," Solomin began, "but I can tell
you one thing. I doubt if the aristocracy is cut out for industrial
enterprises."

"Do you consider it degrading for the aristocracy?" Kollomietzev asked.

Solomin smiled his habitual broad smile.

"Oh dear no! What is there degrading about it? And even if there were, I
don't think the aristocracy would be overly particular."

"What do you mean?"

"I only meant," Solomin continued, calmly, "that the gentry are not used
to that kind of business. A knowledge of commerce is needed for that;
everything has to be put on a different footing, you want technical
training for it. The gentry don't understand this. We see them starting
woollen, cotton, and other factories all over the place, but they nearly
always fall into the hands of the merchants in the end. It's a pity,
because the merchants are even worse sweaters. But it can't be helped, I
suppose."

"To listen to you one would think that all questions of finance were
above our nobility!" Kollomietzev exclaimed.

"Oh no! On the other hand the nobility are masters at it. For getting
concessions for railways, founding banks, exempting themselves from some
tax, or anything like that, there is no one to beat them! They make huge
fortunes. I hinted at that just now, but it seemed to offend you. I had
regular industrial enterprises in my mind when I spoke; I say regular,
because founding private public houses, petty little grocers' shops, or
lending the peasants corn or money at a hundred or a hundred and fifty
percent, as many of our landed gentry are now doing, I cannot consider
as genuine financial enterprises."

Kollomietzev did not say anything. He belonged to that new species of
money-lending landlord whom Markelov had mentioned in his last talk
with Nejdanov, and was the more inhuman in his demands that he had no
personal dealings with the peasants themselves. He never allowed them
into his perfumed European study,