"It really is stupid. We have met here, a company of friends, for a farewell dinner to a comrade and you carry on an altercation," said Trudolyubov, rudely addressing himself to me alone. "You invited yourself to join us, so don"t disturb the general harmony."
"Enough, enough!" cried Zverkov. "Give over, gentlemen, it"s out of place. Better let me tell you how I nearly got married the day before yesterday...."
And then followed a burlesque narrative of how this gentleman had almost been married two days before. There was not a word about the marriage, however, but the story was adorned with generals, colonels and kammer-junkers, while Zverkov almost took the lead among them. It was greeted with approving laughter; Ferfitchkin positively squealed.
No one paid any attention to me, and I sat crushed and humiliated.
"Good Heavens, these are not the people for me!" I thought. "And what a fool I have made of myself before them! I let Ferfitchkin go too far, though. The brutes imagine they are doing me an honour in letting me sit down with them. They don"t understand that it"s an honour to them and not to me! I"ve grown thinner! My clothes! Oh, d.a.m.n my trousers! Zverkov noticed the yellow stain on the knee as soon as he came in.... But what"s the use! I must get up at once, this very minute, take my hat and simply go without a word ... with contempt!
And tomorrow I can send a challenge. The scoundrels! As though I cared about the seven roubles. They may think.... d.a.m.n it! I don"t care about the seven roubles. I"ll go this minute!"
Of course I remained. I drank sherry and Lafitte by the gla.s.sful in my discomfiture. Being unaccustomed to it, I was quickly affected. My annoyance increased as the wine went to my head. I longed all at once to insult them all in a most flagrant manner and then go away. To seize the moment and show what I could do, so that they would say, "He"s clever, though he is absurd," and ... and ... in fact, d.a.m.n them all!
I scanned them all insolently with my drowsy eyes. But they seemed to have forgotten me altogether. They were noisy, vociferous, cheerful.
Zverkov was talking all the time. I began listening. Zverkov was talking of some exuberant lady whom he had at last led on to declaring her love (of course, he was lying like a horse), and how he had been helped in this affair by an intimate friend of his, a Prince Kolya, an officer in the hussars, who had three thousand serfs.
"And yet this Kolya, who has three thousand serfs, has not put in an appearance here tonight to see you off," I cut in suddenly.
For one minute every one was silent. "You are drunk already."
Trudolyubov deigned to notice me at last, glancing contemptuously in my direction. Zverkov, without a word, examined me as though I were an insect. I dropped my eyes. Simonov made haste to fill up the gla.s.ses with champagne.
Trudolyubov raised his gla.s.s, as did everyone else but me.
"Your health and good luck on the journey!" he cried to Zverkov. "To old times, to our future, hurrah!"
They all tossed off their gla.s.ses, and crowded round Zverkov to kiss him. I did not move; my full gla.s.s stood untouched before me.
"Why, aren"t you going to drink it?" roared Trudolyubov, losing patience and turning menacingly to me.
"I want to make a speech separately, on my own account ... and then I"ll drink it, Mr. Trudolyubov."
"Spiteful brute!" muttered Simonov. I drew myself up in my chair and feverishly seized my gla.s.s, prepared for something extraordinary, though I did not know myself precisely what I was going to say.
"SILENCE!" cried Ferfitchkin. "Now for a display of wit!"
Zverkov waited very gravely, knowing what was coming.
"Mr. Lieutenant Zverkov," I began, "let me tell you that I hate phrases, phrasemongers and men in corsets ... that"s the first point, and there is a second one to follow it."
There was a general stir.
"The second point is: I hate ribaldry and ribald talkers. Especially ribald talkers! The third point: I love justice, truth and honesty."
I went on almost mechanically, for I was beginning to shiver with horror myself and had no idea how I came to be talking like this. "I love thought, Monsieur Zverkov; I love true comradeship, on an equal footing and not ... H"m ... I love ... But, however, why not? I will drink your health, too, Mr. Zverkov. Seduce the Circa.s.sian girls, shoot the enemies of the fatherland and ... and ... to your health, Monsieur Zverkov!"
Zverkov got up from his seat, bowed to me and said:
"I am very much obliged to you." He was frightfully offended and turned pale.
"d.a.m.n the fellow!" roared Trudolyubov, bringing his fist down on the table.
"Well, he wants a punch in the face for that," squealed Ferfitchkin.
"We ought to turn him out," muttered Simonov.
"Not a word, gentlemen, not a movement!" cried Zverkov solemnly, checking the general indignation. "I thank you all, but I can show him for myself how much value I attach to his words."
"Mr. Ferfitchkin, you will give me satisfaction tomorrow for your words just now!" I said aloud, turning with dignity to Ferfitchkin.
"A duel, you mean? Certainly," he answered. But probably I was so ridiculous as I challenged him and it was so out of keeping with my appearance that everyone including Ferfitchkin was prostrate with laughter.
"Yes, let him alone, of course! He is quite drunk," Trudolyubov said with disgust.
"I shall never forgive myself for letting him join us," Simonov muttered again.
"Now is the time to throw a bottle at their heads," I thought to myself. I picked up the bottle ... and filled my gla.s.s.... "No, I"d better sit on to the end," I went on thinking; "you would be pleased, my friends, if I went away. Nothing will induce me to go. I"ll go on sitting here and drinking to the end, on purpose, as a sign that I don"t think you of the slightest consequence. I will go on sitting and drinking, because this is a public-house and I paid my entrance money.
I"ll sit here and drink, for I look upon you as so many p.a.w.ns, as inanimate p.a.w.ns. I"ll sit here and drink ... and sing if I want to, yes, sing, for I have the right to ... to sing ... H"m!"
But I did not sing. I simply tried not to look at any of them. I a.s.sumed most unconcerned att.i.tudes and waited with impatience for them to speak FIRST. But alas, they did not address me! And oh, how I wished, how I wished at that moment to be reconciled to them! It struck eight, at last nine. They moved from the table to the sofa.
Zverkov stretched himself on a lounge and put one foot on a round table. Wine was brought there. He did, as a fact, order three bottles on his own account. I, of course, was not invited to join them. They all sat round him on the sofa. They listened to him, almost with reverence. It was evident that they were fond of him. "What for?
What for?" I wondered. From time to time they were moved to drunken enthusiasm and kissed each other. They talked of the Caucasus, of the nature of true pa.s.sion, of snug berths in the service, of the income of an hussar called Podharzhevsky, whom none of them knew personally, and rejoiced in the largeness of it, of the extraordinary grace and beauty of a Princess D., whom none of them had ever seen; then it came to Shakespeare"s being immortal.
I smiled contemptuously and walked up and down the other side of the room, opposite the sofa, from the table to the stove and back again. I tried my very utmost to show them that I could do without them, and yet I purposely made a noise with my boots, thumping with my heels. But it was all in vain. They paid no attention. I had the patience to walk up and down in front of them from eight o"clock till eleven, in the same place, from the table to the stove and back again. "I walk up and down to please myself and no one can prevent me." The waiter who came into the room stopped, from time to time, to look at me. I was somewhat giddy from turning round so often; at moments it seemed to me that I was in delirium. During those three hours I was three times soaked with sweat and dry again. At times, with an intense, acute pang I was stabbed to the heart by the thought that ten years, twenty years, forty years would pa.s.s, and that even in forty years I would remember with loathing and humiliation those filthiest, most ludicrous, and most awful moments of my life. No one could have gone out of his way to degrade himself more shamelessly, and I fully realised it, fully, and yet I went on pacing up and down from the table to the stove. "Oh, if you only knew what thoughts and feelings I am capable of, how cultured I am!" I thought at moments, mentally addressing the sofa on which my enemies were sitting. But my enemies behaved as though I were not in the room. Once--only once--they turned towards me, just when Zverkov was talking about Shakespeare, and I suddenly gave a contemptuous laugh. I laughed in such an affected and disgusting way that they all at once broke off their conversation, and silently and gravely for two minutes watched me walking up and down from the table to the stove, TAKING NO NOTICE OF THEM. But nothing came of it: they said nothing, and two minutes later they ceased to notice me again. It struck eleven.
"Friends," cried Zverkov getting up from the sofa, "let us all be off now, THERE!"
"Of course, of course," the others a.s.sented. I turned sharply to Zverkov. I was so hara.s.sed, so exhausted, that I would have cut my throat to put an end to it. I was in a fever; my hair, soaked with perspiration, stuck to my forehead and temples.
"Zverkov, I beg your pardon," I said abruptly and resolutely.
"Ferfitchkin, yours too, and everyone"s, everyone"s: I have insulted you all!"
"Aha! A duel is not in your line, old man," Ferfitchkin hissed venomously.
It sent a sharp pang to my heart.
"No, it"s not the duel I am afraid of, Ferfitchkin! I am ready to fight you tomorrow, after we are reconciled. I insist upon it, in fact, and you cannot refuse. I want to show you that I am not afraid of a duel. You shall fire first and I shall fire into the air."
"He is comforting himself," said Simonov.
"He"s simply raving," said Trudolyubov.
"But let us pa.s.s. Why are you barring our way? What do you want?"
Zverkov answered disdainfully.
They were all flushed, their eyes were bright: they had been drinking heavily.
"I ask for your friendship, Zverkov; I insulted you, but ..."
"Insulted? YOU insulted ME? Understand, sir, that you never, under any circ.u.mstances, could possibly insult ME."
"And that"s enough for you. Out of the way!" concluded Trudolyubov.