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RUDIN me of my student days in Germany; our meetings, our serenades.’

‘You have been in Germany then?’ said Darya Mihailovna.

‘I spent a year at Heidelberg, and nearly a year at Berlin.’

‘And did you dress as a student? They say they wear a special dress there.’

‘At Heidelberg I wore high boots with spurs, and a hussar’s jacket with braid on it, and I let my hair grow to my shoulders. In Berlin the students dress like everybody else.’

‘Tell us something of your student life,’ said Alexandra Pavlovna.

Rudin complied. He was not altogether successful in narrative. There was a lack of colour in his descriptions. He did not know how to be humorous. However, from relating his own adventures abroad, Rudin soon passed to general themes, the special value of education and science, universities, and university life generally. He sketched in a large and comprehensive picture in broad and striking lines. All listened to him with profound attention. His eloquence was masterly and 62