Zina�da ceased. (‘Oh! she is in love!’ I thought again.)

‘And is that all?’ asked Meidanov.

‘That’s all.’

‘That can’t be the subject of a whole poem,’ he observed pompously, ‘but I will make use of your idea for a lyrical fragment.’

‘In the romantic style?’ queried Malevsky.

‘Of course, in the romantic style – Byronic.’

‘Well, to my mind, Hugo beats Byron,’ the young count observed negligently; ‘he’s more interesting.’

‘Hugo is a writer of the first class,’ replied Meidanov;