this writer "with the intellect of a statesman," was simply trying
to curry favour with him, even with avidity. I believe the young man
guessed at last that Karmazinov considered him, if not the leader of
the whole secret revolutionary movement in Russia, at least one of those
most deeply initiated into the secrets of the Russian revolution who had
an incontestable influence on the younger generation. The state of mind
of "the cleverest man in Russia" interested Pyotr Stepanovitch, but
hitherto he had, for certain reasons, avoided explaining himself.

The great writer was staying in the house belonging to his sister, who
was the wife of a _kammerherr_ and had an estate in the neighbourhood.
Both she and her husband had the deepest reverence for their illustrious
relation, but to their profound regret both of them happened to be in
Moscow at the time of his visit, so that the honour of receiving him
fell to the lot of an old lady, a poor relation of the _kammerherr's,_ who
had for years lived in the family and looked after the housekeeping. All
the household had moved about on tiptoe since Karmazinov's arrival. The
old lady sent news to Moscow almost every day, how he had slept, what he
had deigned to eat, and had once sent a telegram to announce that after
a dinner-party at the mayor's he was obliged to take a spoonful of a
well-known medicine. She rarely plucked up courage to enter his room,
though he behaved courteously to her, but dryly, and only talked to her
of what was necessary.

When Pyotr Stepanovitch came in, he was eating his morning cutlet with
half a glass of red wine. Pyotr Stepanovitch had been to see him before
and always found him eating this cutlet, which he finished in his
presence without ever offering him anything. After the cutlet a little
cup of coffee was served. The footman who brought in the dishes wore a
swallow-tail coat, noiseless boots, and gloves.

"Ha ha!" Karmazinov got up from the sofa, wiping his mouth with a
table-napkin, and came forward to kiss him with an air of unmixed
delight--after the characteristic fashion of Russians if they are very
illustrious. But Pyotr Stepanovitch knew by experience that, though
Karmazinov made a show of kissing him, he really only proffered his
cheek, and so this time he did the same: the cheeks met. Karmazinov did
not show that he noticed it, sat down on the sofa, and affably offered
Pyotr Stepanovitch an easy chair facing him, in which the latter
st