Page:Anna Karenina.djvu/1020

338 was preoccupied with entirely different matters, showed utter unconcern. In literary circles, also, during the lapse of a month, there was not a word about his book. Sergyeï Ivanovitch carefully calculated the time necessary for preparing critical reviews, but months passed by and there also was absolute silence.

Only in the Northern Beetle, in a facetious feuilleton regarding the singer Drabanti, who had lost his voice, a few scornful words were said in regard to Koznuishef's book, showing that it had already been criticized by all, and was given over to universal ridicule. At length, after three months, a critical article appeared in a journal of importance. Sergyeï Ivanovitch knew who the author was. He had met him once at Golubtsof's.

He was a very young and feeble critic, very clever as a writer, but perfectly uneducated, and cowardly in his private relations.

Notwithstanding Sergyeï Ivanovitch's contempt of the author, he began to read the article with extraordinary interest. It proved to be abominable.

Evidently, the critic understood the whole book just exactly as he should not have understood it. But he had so cleverly put together a selection of extracts, that for those who had not read the book—and apparently almost no one had read it—it was perfectly clear that the entire book, in spite of its high pretensions, was nothing but a tissue of pompous phrases, and these not always intelligible, as the critic's frequent interrogation points testified, and that the author of the work was a perfect ignoramus; and it was done in such a witty way that Sergyeï Ivanovitch himself could not deny the wit of it; but, after all, it was abominable.

Sergyeï Ivanovitch, in spite of the unusual conscientiousness with which he examined into the justice of these remarks, did not for a moment think of answering the ridiculous errors and blunders; but he could not help instantly remembering all the least details of his meeting and conversation with the author of the article. "Did I say anything to affront him?" said Sergyeï Ivanovitch.