.. Such a respectable
ancient, with the appearance of an apostle, I even know where he
serves. Why, all of you know him. But the funniest of all was when
he, at last, felt himself out of danger in the drawing room. You
understand--he is sitting on a chair, putting on his pantaloons,
can't put his foot where it ought to go, by any means, and bawls
all over the house: 'It's an outrage! This is an abominable dive!
I'll show you up! ... To-morrow I'll give you twenty-four hours to
clear out! ... Do you know, this combination of pitiful
helplessness with the threatening cries was so killing that even
the gloomy Simeon started laughing ... Well, now, apropos of
Simeon ... I say, that life dumfounds, with its wondrous muddle
and farrago, makes one stand aghast. You can utter a thousand
sonorous words against souteneurs, but just such a Simeon you will
never think up. So diverse and motley is life! Or else take Anna
Markovna, the proprietress of this place. This blood-sucker,
hyena, vixen and so on ... is the tenderest mother imaginable. She
has one daughter--Bertha, she is now in the fifth grade of high
school.
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