Page 2 (1/2)

The critic had undoubtedly put an interpretation upon the book

which could not possibly be put on it But he had selected

quotations so adroitly that for people who had not read the book

(and obviously scarcely anyone had read it) it see but a ested by ation--used

appropriately, and that the author of the book was a person

absolutely without knowledge of the subject And all this was

so wittily done that Sergey Ivanovitch would not have disowned

such wit himself But that was just as so awful

In spite of the scrupulous conscientiousness hich Sergey

Ivanovitch verified the correctness of the critic's arguments, he

did not for a minute stop to ponder over the faults and an i and conversation

with the author of the article

"Didn't I offend hi that when theyhe had said that betrayed ignorance, Sergey

Ivanovitch found the clue to explain the article

This article was followed by a deadly silence about the book both

in the press and in conversation, and Sergey Ivanovitch saw that

his six years' task, toiled at with such love and labor, had

gone, leaving no trace

Sergey Ivanovitch's position was still more difficult from the

fact that, since he had finished his book, he had had no more