At the same moment there appeared on the threshold of another doorway a tall, well-made, dark-haired girl of nineteen—­Maria Dmitrievna’s elder daughter, Liza.

IV.

The young man whom we have just introduced to our readers was called Vladimir Nikolaevich Panshine.  He occupied a post at St. Petersburg—­one devoted to business of a special character—­in the Ministry of the Interior.  He had come to O. about certain affairs of a temporary nature, and was placed there at the disposal of the governor, General Zonnenberg, to whom he was distantly related.

Panshine’s father, a retired cavalry officer,[A] who used to be well known among card-players, was a man of a worn face, with weak eyes, and a nervous contraction about the lips.  Throughout his life he always revolved in a distinguished circle, frequenting the English Clubs[B] of both capitals, and being generally considered a man of ability and a pleasant companion, though not a person to be confidently depended upon.  In spite of all his ability, he was almost always just on the verge of ruin, and he ultimately left but a small and embarrassed property to his only son.  About that son’s education, however, he had, after his own fashion, taken great pains.

[Footnote A:  A Shtabs-Rotmistr, the second captain in a cavalry regiment.]

[Footnote B:  Fashionable clubs having nothing English about them but their name.]

The young Vladimir Nikolaevich spoke excellent French, good English, and bad German.  That is just as it should be.  Properly brought-up people should of course be ashamed to speak German really well; but to throw out a German word now and then, and generally on facetious topics—­that is allowable; “c’est meme tres chic,” as the Petersburg Parisians say.  Moreover, by the time Vladimir Nikolaevich was fifteen, he already knew how to enter any drawing-room whatsoever without becoming nervous, how to move about it in an agreeable manner, and how to take his leave exactly at the right moment.

The elder Panshine made a number of useful connections for his son; while shuffling the cards between two rubbers, or after a lucky “Great Schlemm,"[A] he never lost the opportunity of saying a word about his young “Volodka” to some important personage, a lover of games of skill.  On his part, Vladimir Nikolaevich, during the period of his stay at the university, which he left with the rank of “effective student,"[B] made acquaintance with several young people of distinction, and gained access into the best houses.  He was cordially received everywhere, for he was very good looking, easy in manner, amusing, always in good health, and ready for every thing.  Where he was obliged, he was respectful; where he could, he was overbearing.  Altogether, an excellent companion, un charmant garcon.  The Promised Land lay before him.  Panshine soon fathomed the secret of worldly wisdom, and succeeded in inspiring himself with a genuine respect for its laws.  He knew how to invest trifles with a half-ironical importance, and to behave with the air of one who treats all serious matters as trifles.  He danced admirably; he dressed like an Englishman.  In a short time he had gained the reputation of being one of the pleasantest and most adroit young men in St. Petersburg.