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sneer and a smile. He looked about forty. His face would
have been pleasant, if it had not been for his eyes, which,
in themselves small and inexpressive, were set remarkably
close together, with only the thin, long nose as a dividing
line between them. In fact, there was something strikingly
birdlike about his face. He was in evening dress and white
tie.
I remember the President’s first questions to Mitya, about
his name, his calling, and so on. Mitya answered sharply,
and his voice was so unexpectedly loud that it made the
President start and look at the prisoner with surprise. Then
followed a list of persons who were to take part in the pro-
ceedings — that is, of the witnesses and experts. It was a
long list. Four of the witnesses were not present- Miusov,
who had given evidence at the preliminary inquiry, but was
now in Paris; Madame Hohlakov and Maximov, who were
absent through illness; and Smerdyakov, through his sud-
den death, of which an official statement from the police
was presented. The news of Smerdyakov’s death produced
a sudden stir and whisper in the court. Many of the audi-
ence, of course, had not heard of the sudden suicide. What
struck people most was Mitya’s sudden outburst. As soon as
the statement of Smerdyakov’s death was made, he cried out
aloud from his place:
‘He was a dog and died like a dog!’
I remember how his counsel rushed to him, and how the
President addressed him, threatening to take stern mea-
sures, if such an irregularity were repeated. Mitya nodded
and in a subdued voice repeated several times abruptly to

111 The Brothers Karamazov