unded. Nikolay
Vsyevolodovitch kept turning round, looking about him, answering nobody,
and glancing curiously at the persons exclaiming around him. At last he
seemed suddenly, as it were, to sink into thought again--so at least it
was reported--frowned, went firmly up to the affronted Pyotr Pavlovitch,
and with evident vexation said in a rapid mutter:

"You must forgive me, of course... I really don't know what suddenly
came over me... it's silly."

The carelessness of his apology was almost equivalent to a fresh insult.
The outcry was greater than ever. Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch shrugged his
shoulders and went away. All this was very stupid, to say nothing of its
gross indecency--

A calculated and premeditated indecency as it seemed at first sight--and
therefore a premeditated and utterly brutal insult to our whole society.
So it was taken to be by every one. We began by promptly and unanimously
striking young Stavrogin's name off the list of club members. Then it
was decided to send an appeal in the name of the whole club to the
governor, begging him at once (without waiting for the case to be
formally tried in court) to use "the administrative power entrusted to
him" to restrain this dangerous ruffian, "this duelling bully from the
capital, and so protect the tranquillity of all the gentry of our town
from injurious encroachments." It was added with angry resentment that
"a law might be found to control even Mr. Stavrogin." This phrase was
prepared by way of a thrust at the governor on account of Varvara
Petrovna. They elaborated it with relish. As ill luck would have it,
the governor was not in the town at the time. He had gone to a little
distance to stand godfather to the child of a very charming lady,
recently left a widow in an interesting condition. But it was known that
he would soon be back. In the meanwhile they got up a regular ovation
for the respected and insulted gentleman; people embraced and kissed
him; the whole town called upon him. It was even proposed to give a
subscription dinner in his honour, and they only gave up the idea at
his earnest request--reflecting possibly at last that the man had,
after all, been pulled by the nose and that that was really nothing
to congratulate him upon. Yet, how had it happened? How could it have
happened? It is remarkable that no one in the whole town put down this
savage act to madness. They must have been predisposed to expect such
actions from Nikolay Vsyevo