zinov, and
came forward with as much dignity as five _Kammerherrs_ rolled into one?
How could he expect to keep an audience like ours listening for a whole
hour to a single paper? I have observed, in fact, that however big a
genius a man may be, he can't monopolise the attention of an audience at
a frivolous literary matinee for more than twenty minutes with impunity.
The entrance of the great writer was received, indeed, with the utmost
respect: even the severest elderly men showed signs of approval and
interest, and the ladies even displayed some enthusiasm. The applause
was brief, however, and somehow uncertain and not unanimous. Yet there
was no unseemly behaviour in the back rows, till Karmazinov began to
speak, not that anything very bad followed then, but only a sort of
misunderstanding. I have mentioned already that he had rather a shrill
voice, almost feminine in fact, and at the same time a genuinely
aristocratic lisp. He had hardly articulated a few words when some one
had the effrontery to laugh aloud--probably some ignorant simpleton who
knew nothing of the world, and was congenitally disposed to laughter.
But there was nothing like a hostile demonstration; on the contrary
people said "sh-h!" and the offender was crushed. But Mr. Karmazinov,
with an affected air and intonation, announced that "at first he had
declined absolutely to read." (Much need there was to mention it!)
"There are some lines which come so deeply from the heart that it is
impossible to utter them aloud, so that these holy things cannot be laid
before, the public"--(Why lay them then?)--"but as he had been begged
to do so, he was doing so, and as he was, moreover, laying down his
pen for ever, and had sworn to write no more, he had written this last
farewell; and as he had sworn never, on any inducement, to read anything
in public," and so on, and so on, all in that style.

But all that would not have mattered; every one knows what authors'
prefaces are like, though, I may observe, that considering the lack of
culture of our audience and the irritability of the back rows, all this
may have had an influence. Surely it would have been better to have
read a little story, a short tale such as he had written in the
past--over-elaborate, that is, and affected, but sometimes witty. It
would have saved the situation. No, this was quite another story! It was
a regular oration! Good heavens, what wasn't there in it! I am positive
that it would hav