ter. _Se non e vero..._"

"Well, thanks. I am truly obliged."

"And another thing. Do you know, Karmazinov says that the essence of
our creed is the negation of honour, and that by the open advocacy of a
right to be dishonourable a Russian can be won over more easily than by
anything."

"An excellent saying! Golden words!" cried Stavrogin. "He's hit the mark
there! The right to dishonour--why, they'd all flock to us for that, not
one would stay behind! And listen, Verhovensky, you are not one of the
higher police, are you?"

"Anyone who has a question like that in his mind doesn't utter it."

"I understand, but we are by ourselves."

"No, so far I am not one of the higher police. Enough, here we are.
Compose your features, Stavrogin; I always do mine when I go in. A
gloomy expression, that's all, nothing more is wanted; it's a very
simple business."

CHAPTER VII. A MEETING

VIRGINSKY LIVED IN HIS OWN house, or rather his wife's, in Muravyin
Street. It was a wooden house of one story, and there were no lodgers in
it. On the pretext of Virginsky's-name-day party, about fifteen guests
were assembled; but the entertainment was not in the least like an
ordinary provincial name-day party. From the very beginning of their
married life the husband and wife had agreed once for all that it was
utterly stupid to invite friends to celebrate name-days, and that "there
is nothing to rejoice about in fact." In a few years they had succeeded
in completely cutting themselves off from all society. Though he was
a man of some ability, and by no means very poor, he somehow seemed
to every one an eccentric fellow who was fond of solitude, and, what's
more, "stuck up in conversation." Madame Virginsky was a midwife by
profession--and by that very fact was on the lowest rung of the social
ladder, lower even than the priest's wife in spite of her husband's
rank as an officer. But she was conspicuously lacking in the humility
befitting her position. And after her very stupid and unpardonably open
liaison on principle with Captain Lebyadkin, a notorious rogue, even the
most indulgent of our ladies turned away from her with marked contempt.
But Madame Virginsky accepted all this as though it were what she
wanted. It is remarkable that those very ladies applied to Arina
Prohorovna (that is, Madame Virginsky) when they were in an interesting
condition, rather than to any one of the other three _accoucheuses_ of
the town. She was sen