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"They say that that's a difficult task, that nothing's aan with a smile "But I'll try Get

iven

round it I often think that the

celebrated talkers of the last century would have found it

difficult to talk cleverly now Everything clever is so

stale"

"That has been said long ago," the a

The conversation began amiably, but just because it was too

aain They had to have recourse to

the sure, never-failing topic--gossip

"Don't you think there's so towards a handso at the table

"Oh, yes! He's in the sa room and that's

why it is he's so often here"

This conversation was maintained, since it rested on allusions to

what could not be talked of in that room--that is to say, of the

relations of Tushkevitch with their hostess

Round the samovar and the hostess the conversation had been

in just the same way between three

inevitable topics: the latest piece of public news, the