'No principles! By the way, I'm told your favourite Mr. Kurnatovsky,
the man of principle, cleaned you out of a hundred roubles last night.
That was hardly delicate, you must own now.'

'What of it? We were playing high. Of course, I might expect--but
they understand so little how to appreciate him in this house----'

'That he thought: get what I can!' put in Shubin: 'whether he's
to be my father-in-law or not, is still on the knees of the gods, but
a hundred roubles is worth something to a man who doesn't take
bribes.'

'Father-in-law! How the devil am I his father-in-law? _Vous revez, mon
cher_. Of course, any other girl would be delighted with such a suitor.
Only consider: a man of spirit and intellect, who has gained a
position in the world, served in two provinces----'

'Led the governor in one of them by the nose,' remarked Shubin.

'Very likely. To be sure, that's how it should be. Practical, a
business man----'

'And a capital hand at cards,' Shubin remarked again.

'To be sure, and a capital hand at cards. But Elena Nikolaevna. ... Is
there any understanding her? I should be glad to know if there is any
one who would undertake to make out what it is she wants. One day
she's cheerful, another she's dull; all of a sudden she's so thin
there's no looking at her, and then suddenly she's well again, and all
without any apparent reason----'