Silence seized Tamara; silence seized Manka the Scandaliste; and
suddenly Jennka, the most untamable of all the girls, ran up to
the artiste, fell down on her knees, and began to sob at her feet.
And Rovinskaya, touched herself, put her arms around her head and
said:
"My sister, let me kiss you!"
Jennka whispered something into her ear.
"Why, that's a silly trifle," said Rovinskaya. "A few months of
treatment and it will all go away."
"No, no, no ... I want to make all of them diseased. Let them all
rot and croak."
"Ah, my dear," said Rovinskaya, "I would not do that in your
place."
And now Jennka, the proud Jennka began kissing the knees and hands
of the artiste and was saying:
"Then why have people wronged me so? ... Why have they wronged me
so? Why? Why? Why?"
Such is the might of genius!
The only might which takes into its beautiful hands not the abject
reason, but the warm soul of man! The self-respecting Jennka was
hiding her face in Rovinskaya's dress; Little White Manka was
sitting meekly on a chair, her face covered with a handkerchief;
Tamara, with elbow propped on her knee and head bowed on the palm
of her hand, was intently looking down, while Simeon the porter,
who had been looking in against any emergency, only opened his
eyes wide in amazement.
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