“Vous etes une habitante de Moscou?” I began, and, on receiving an affirmative answer, continued.  “Et moi, je n’ai encore jamais frequente la capitale” (with a particular emphasis on the word “frequente").  Yet I felt that, brilliant though this introduction might be as evidence of my profound knowledge of the French language, I could not long keep up the conversation in that manner.  Our turn for dancing had not yet arrived, and silence again ensued between us.  I kept looking anxiously at her in the hope both of discerning what impression I had produced and of her coming to my aid.

“Where did you get that ridiculous glove of yours?” she asked me all of a sudden, and the question afforded me immense satisfaction and relief.  I replied that the glove belonged to Karl Ivanitch, and then went on to speak ironically of his appearance, and to describe how comical he looked in his red cap, and how he and his green coat had once fallen plump off a horse into a pond.

The quadrille was soon over.  Yet why had I spoken ironically of poor Karl Ivanitch?  Should I, forsooth, have sunk in Sonetchka’s esteem if, on the contrary, I had spoken of him with the love and respect which I undoubtedly bore him?

The quadrille ended, Sonetchka said, “Thank you,” with as lovely an expression on her face as though I had really conferred, upon her a favour.  I was delighted.  In fact I hardly knew myself for joy and could not think whence I derived such case and confidence and even daring.

“Nothing in the world can abash me now,” I thought as I wandered carelessly about the salon.  “I am ready for anything.”

Just then Seriosha came and requested me to be his vis-a-vis.

“Very well,” I said.  “I have no partner as yet, but I can soon find one.”

Glancing round the salon with a confident eye, I saw that every lady was engaged save one—­a tall girl standing near the drawing-room door.  Yet a grown-up young man was approaching her-probably for the same purpose as myself!  He was but two steps from her, while I was at the further end of the salon.  Doing a glissade over the polished floor, I covered the intervening space, and in a brave, firm voice asked the favour of her hand in the quadrille.  Smiling with a protecting air, the young lady accorded me her hand, and the tall young man was left without a partner.  I felt so conscious of my strength that I paid no attention to his irritation, though I learnt later that he had asked somebody who the awkward, untidy boy was who, had taken away his lady from him.

XXII —­ THE MAZURKA

Afterwards the same young man formed one of the first couple in a mazurka.  He sprang to his feet, took his partner’s hand, and then, instead of executing the pas de Basques which Mimi had taught us, glided forward till he arrived at a corner of the room, stopped, divided his feet, turned on his heels, and, with a spring, glided back again.  I, who had found no partner for this particular dance and was sitting on the arm of Grandmamma’s chair, thought to myself: