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RUDIN ‘Well, no, not altogether nonsense,’ replied Bassistoff with a smile; ‘Darya Mihailovna was very favourable to him; but Natalya Alexyevna would not even hear of him.’

‘I know him,’ put in Pigasov, ‘he’s a double dummy, a noisy dummy, if you like! If all people were like that, it would need a large sum of money to induce one to consent to live—upon my word!’

‘Very likely,’ answered Bassistoff; ‘but he plays a leading part in society.’

‘Well, never mind him!’ cried Alexandra Pavlovna. ‘Peace be with him! Ah! how glad I am for my brother! And Natalya, is she bright and happy?’

‘Yes. She is quiet, as she always is. You know her—but she seems contented.’

The evening was spent in friendly and lively talk. They sat down to supper.

‘Oh, by the way,’ inquired Lezhnyov of Bassistoff, as he poured him out some Lafitte, ‘do you know where Rudin is?’

‘I don’t know for certain now. He came last winter to Moscow for a short time, and then went with a family to Simbirsk. I 215