and wants to submit it to Darya Mihailovna's criticism.'

'An article on political economy?'

'From the literary point of view, Alexandra Pavlovna, from the
literary point of view. You are well aware, I suppose, that in that
line Darya Mihailovna is an authority. Zhukovsky used to ask her
advice, and my benefactor, who lives at Odessa, that benevolent old
man, Roxolan Mediarovitch Ksandrika----No doubt you know the name of
that eminent man?'

'No; I have never heard of him.'

'You never heard of such a man? surprising! I was going to say that
Roxolan Mediarovitch always had the very highest opinion of Darya
Mihailovna's knowledge of Russian!

'Is this baron a pedant then?' asked Alexandra Pavlovna.

'Not in the very least. Darya Mihailovna says, on the contrary, that
you see that he belongs to the best society at once. He spoke of
Beethoven with such eloquence that even the old prince was quite
delighted by it. That, I own, I should like to have heard; you know
that is in my line. Allow me to offer you this lovely wild-flower.'

Alexandra Pavlovna took the flower, and when she had walked a few
steps farther, let it drop on the path. They were not more than two
hundred paces from her house. It had been recently built and
whitewashed, and looked out hospitably with its wide light windows
from the thick foliage of the old limes and maples.