n--after fifty years or so--but
there will come a writer of genius, and precisely a Russian one, who
will absorb within himself all the burdens and all the abominations of
this life and will cast them forth to us in the form of simple, fine,
and deathlessly-caustic images. And we shall all say: 'Why, now, we,
ourselves, have seen and known all this, but we could not even suppose
that this is so horrible!' In this coming artist I believe with all my
heart."

"Amen!" said Lichonin seriously. "Let us drink to him."

"But, honest to God," suddenly declared Little Manka, "If some one
would only write the truth about the way we live here, miserable
w--that we are..."

There was a knock at the door, and at once Jennie entered in her
resplendent orange dress.

CHAPTER X.

She greeted all the men without embarrassment, with the independent
bearing of the first personage in the house, and sat down near Sergei
Ivanich, behind his chair. She had just gotten free from that same
German in the uniform of the benevolent organization, who early in the
evening had made Little White Manka his choice, but had afterwards
changed her, at the recommendation of the housekeeper, for Pasha. But
the provoking and self-assured beauty of Jennie must have smitten
deeply his lecherous heart, for, having prowled some three hours
through certain beer emporiums and restaurants, and having there
gathered courage, he had again returned into the house of Anna
Markovna, had waited until her time-guest--Karl Karlovich, from the
optical store--had gone away from Jennie, and had taken her into a room.

To the silent question in Tamara's eyes Jennie made a wry face of
disgust, shivered with her back and nodded her head affirmatively.

"He's gone... Brrr! ..."

Platonov was looking at Jennie with extraordinary attentiveness. He
distinguished her from the rest of the girls and almost respected her
for her abrupt, refractory, and impudently mocking character. And now,
turning around occasionally, by her flaming, splendid eyes, by the
vividly and unevenly glowing unhealthy red of her cheeks, by the much
bitten parched lips, he felt that her great, long ripening rancour was
heavily surging within the girl and suffocating her. And it was then
that he thought (and subsequently often recalled this) that he had
never yet seen Jennie so radiantly beautiful as on this night. He also
noticed, that all the men present in the private cabinet, with the
exce