* * * * *

But isn’t it strange?  In the whole town there is not a single musician, not a single orator, not a prominent man.

* * * * *

Honorable Justice of the Peace, Honorable Member of the Children’s Shelter—­all honorable.

* * * * *

L. studied and studied—­but people who had finished developing could not understand her, nor could the young. Ut consecutivum.

* * * * *

He is dark, with little side-whiskers, dressed like a dandy, dark eyes, a warm brunet.  He exterminates bugs, talks about earthquakes and China.  His fiancee has a dowry of 8,000 roubles; she is very handsome, as her aunt says.  He is an agent for a fire-insurance company, etc.  “You’re awfully pretty, my darling, awfully.  And 8,000 into the bargain!  You are a beauty; when I looked at you to-day, a shiver ran down my back.”

* * * * *

He:  Earthquakes are caused by the evaporation of water.

* * * * *

Names:  Goose, Pan, Oyster.

“Were I abroad, they would give me a medal for such a surname.”

* * * * *

I can’t be said to be handsome, but I am rather pretty.