and so on. All history consists of similar examples, and in life
they are met with at every turn; and so it is bound to be, or the
intelligent and talented man would have no superiority over the
stupid and incompetent.

"I stuck to my point, and went on maintaining that convictions are
stronger than any talent, though, frankly speaking, I could not
have defined exactly what I meant by conviction or what I meant by
talent. Most likely I simply talked for the sake of talking.

"'Take you, for example,' said the lawyer. 'You are convinced at
this moment that your fiancee is an angel and that there is not a
man in the whole town happier than you. But I tell you: ten or
twenty minutes would be enough for me to make you sit down to this
table and write to your fiancee, breaking off your engagement.

"I laughed.

"'Don't laugh, I am speaking seriously,' said my friend. 'If I
choose, in twenty minutes you will be happy at the thought that you
need not get married. Goodness knows what talent I have, but you
are not one of the strong sort.'

"'Well, try it on!' said I.

"'No, what for? I am only telling you this. You are a good boy and
it would be cruel to subject you to such an experiment. And besides
I am not in good form to-day.'

"We sat down to supper. The wine and the thought of Natasha, my
beloved, flooded my whole being with youth and happiness. My happiness
was so boundless that the lawyer sitting opposite to me with his
green eyes seemed to me an unhappy man, so small, so grey. . . .

"'Do try!' I persisted. 'Come, I entreat you!

"The lawyer shook his head and frowned. Evidently I was beginning
to bore him.

"'I know,' he said, 'after my experiment you will say, thank you,
and will call me your saviour; but you see I must think of your
fiancee too. She loves you; your jilting her would make her suffer.
And what a charming creature she is! I envy you.'

"The lawyer sighed, sipped his wine, and began talking of how
charming my Natasha was. He had an extraordinary gift of description.
He could knock you off a regular string of words about a woman's
eyelashes or her little finger. I listened to him with relish.

"'I have seen a great many women in my day,' he said, 'but I give
you my word of honour, I speak as a friend, your Natasha Andreyevna
is a pearl, a rare girl. Of course she has her defects--many of
them, in fact, if you like--but still she is fascinating.'

"And the lawyer began talking of my fianc