Page 558 - the-idiot

us limp.... Enough, gentlemen! I have done. That is not the
question. No, the question is now, excellency, I believe, to sit
down to the banquet you are about to provide for us!’
Lebedeff had roused great indignation in some of his
auditors (it should be remarked that the bottles were con-
stantly uncorked during his speech); but this unexpected
conclusion calmed even the most turbulent spirits. ‘That’s
how a clever barrister makes a good point!’ said he, when
speaking of his peroration later on. The visitors began to
laugh and chatter once again; the committee left their seats,
and stretched their legs on the terrace. Keller alone was still
disgusted with Lebedeff and his speech; he turned from one
to another, saying in a loud voice:
‘He attacks education, he boasts of the fanaticism of the
twelfth century, he makes absurd grimaces, and added to
that he is by no means the innocent he makes himself out
to be. How did he get the money to buy this house, allow
me to ask?’
In another corner was the general, holding forth to a
group of hearers, among them Ptitsin, whom he had but-
tonholed. ‘I have known,’ said he, ‘a real interpreter of the
Apocalypse, the late Gregory Semeonovitch Burmistroff,
and he—he pierced the heart like a fiery flash! He began by
putting on his spectacles, then he opened a large black book;
his white beard, and his two medals on his breast, recalling
acts of charity, all added to his impressiveness. He began
in a stern voice, and before him generals, hard men of the
world, bowed down, and ladies fell to the ground fainting.
But this one here—he ends by announcing a banquet! That