to do any thing?"

"Sit down and calm yourself," said Yulia Mihailovna, checking him.
"I will answer your first question. He came to me with the highest
recommendations. He's talented, and sometimes says extremely clever
things. Karmazinov tells me that he has connections almost everywhere,
and extraordinary influence over the younger generation in Petersburg
and Moscow. And if through him I can attract them all and group them
round myself, I shall be saving them from perdition by guiding them
into a new outlet for their ambitions. He's devoted to me with his whole
heart and is guided by me in everything."

"But while they're being petted... the devil knows what they may not do.
Of course, it's an idea..." said Von Lembke, vaguely defending himself,
"but... but here I've heard that manifestoes of some sort have been
found in X district."

"But there was a rumour of that in the summer--manifestoes, false
bank-notes, and all the rest of it, but they haven't found one of them
so far. Who told you?"

"I heard it from Von Blum."

"Ah, don't talk to me of your Blum. Don't ever dare mention him again!"

Yulia Mihailovna flew into a rage, and for a moment could not speak. Von
Blum was a clerk in the governor's office whom she particularly hated.
Of that later.

"Please don't worry yourself about Verhovensky," she said in conclusion.
"If he had taken part in any mischief he wouldn't talk as he does to
you, and every one else here. Talkers are not dangerous, and I will
even go so far as to say that if anything were to happen I should be the
first to hear of it through him. He's quite fanatically devoted to me."

I will observe, anticipating events that, had it not been for Yulia
Mihailovna's obstinacy and self-conceit, probably nothing of all the
mischief these wretched people succeeded in bringing about amongst us
would have happened. She was responsible for a great deal.

CHAPTER V. ON THE EVE OF THE FETE

The date of the fete which Yulia Mihailovna was getting up for the
benefit of the governesses of our province had been several times fixed
and put off. She had invariably bustling round her Pyotr Stepanovitch
and a little clerk, Lyamshin, who used at one time to visit Stepan
Trofimovitch, and had suddenly found favour in the governor's house for
the way he played the piano and now was of use running errands. Liputin
was there a good deal too, and Yulia Mihailovna destined him to be the
editor of a new indep