that required some qualification.  Wholly untarnished his reputation certainly could not be, for he had been a judge in the District Court before the time of the judicial reforms; and, not being a Cato, he had succumbed to the usual temptations.  He had never studied law, and made no pretensions to the possession of great legal knowledge.  To all who would listen to him he declared openly that he knew much more about pointers and setters than about legal formalities.  But his estate was very small, and he could not afford to give up his appointment.

     * The female form of the word General.

Of these unreformed Courts, which are happily among the things of the past, I shall have occasion to speak in the sequel.  For the present I wish merely to say that they were thoroughly corrupt, and I hasten to add that Pavel Trophim’itch was by no means a judge of the worst kind.  He had been known to protect widows and orphans against those who wished to despoil them, and no amount of money would induce him to give an unjust decision against a friend who had privately explained the case to him; but when he knew nothing of the case or of the parties he readily signed the decision prepared by the secretary, and quietly pocketed the proceeds, without feeling any very disagreeable twinges of conscience.  All judges, he knew, did likewise, and he had no pretension to being better than his fellows.

When Pavel Trophim’itch played cards at the General’s house or elsewhere, a small, awkward, clean-shaven man, with dark eyes and a Tartar cast of countenance, might generally be seen sitting at the same table.  His name was Alexei Petrovitch T——.  Whether he really had any Tartar blood in him it is impossible to say, but certainly his ancestors for one or two generations were all good orthodox Christians.  His father had been a poor military surgeon in a marching regiment, and he himself had become at an early age a scribe in one of the bureaux of the district town.  He was then very poor, and had great difficulty in supporting life on the miserable pittance which he received as a salary; but he was a sharp, clever youth, and soon discovered that even a scribe had a great many opportunities of extorting money from the ignorant public.

These opportunities Alexei Petrovitch used with great ability, and became known as one of the most accomplished bribe-takers (vzyatotchniki) in the district.  His position, however, was so very subordinate that he would never have become rich had he not fallen upon a very ingenious expedient which completely succeeded.  Hearing that a small proprietor, who had an only daughter, had come to live in the town for a few weeks, he took a room in the inn where the newcomers lived, and when he had made their acquaintance he fell dangerously ill.  Feeling his last hours approaching, he sent for a priest, confided to him that he had amassed a large fortune, and requested that a will should be drawn up.  In the will he bequeathed large sums