The Duel and Other Stories

ide, till he was helpless. It seemed as though he only liked to be in people's company becau

y and Nadyezhda Fyodorovna as "Japanese monkeys." He watched people's faces greedily, listened without blinking, and it could be seen tha

hing funny. "It is not often one can meet with such a nonentity. In body he is inert, feeble, prematurely old, while in intellect he differs i

began guffa

is more, he is a failure, a superfluous man, a neurasthenic, a victim of the age, and that means he can do anything. He is a charming fellow, a regular good sort, he is so genuinely indulgent to human weaknesses; he is compliant, accommodating, easy and not proud; one can drink with him and gossip and talk evil of people. . . . The masses, always inclined to anthropomorphism in religion and morals, like best of all the little gods who have the same weaknesses as themselves. Only think what a wide field he has for contamination! Besides, he is not a bad actor and is a clever hypocrite, and knows very well how to twist things round. Only take his little shifts and dodges, his attitude to civilisation, for instance. He has scarcely sniffed at civilisation, yet: 'Ah, how we have been crippled by civilisation! Ah, how I envy those savages, those children of nature, who know nothing of civilisation!' We are to understand, you see, that at one time, in

e is a man the same as every one else. Of course, he has his weaknesses, but he is abreast of modern ideas, is in the service, is of use to

ness by his prestige as an intellectual university man. He is only punctual on the 20th of the month, when he gets his salary; on the other days he lounges about at home in slippers and tries to look as if he were doing the Government a great service by living in the Caucasus. No, Alexa

at

passed his finger round his throat. "Or he might be drowned . . .", he added. "In the interests

looking with amazement at the zoologist's calm, cold face

that it is pernicious, devise something else. If we can't destroy Laev

of despair, seeing that the deacon was eating stuffed aubergines without pepper. "You with your gr

and tries to resist,

ddled his fingers; the deacon looked at his fla

e for existence and by natural selection; now our civilisation has considerably weakened the struggle and the selection, and we ought to look after the destruction o

ion take your humanity! Damnation take it! I tell you what: you are a very learned and intelligent

not read a single German book, but, in his opinion, every harmful idea in politics or science was d

repeated once more. "

ight green maples, the pear-trees, and a chestnut-tree. The zoologist and the deacon sat on a bench by the table, whil

ir was stagnant and motionless, and a long spider-web, stretching

antly lying on the ground near the table, tune

the tavern were t

t, the stillness and the delicious after-dinner languor, which quickly pervaded all his limbs, made him feel heavy and sleepy; his arms dropped a

. I shouldn't wonder if the long-skirted alleluia will be shooting up into a bish

n and the deacon finished their

our again to catch sea-gud

t's to

ng for me. By the way, we must have a talk about what you a

at an uncertain position has a great tendency to make people apathetic. God only knows whether I have been sent here for a time or permanently. I

to the heat, and you can get used to being without the deac