Besides, she could not endure the idea that her friend was forgotten and useless.
To distract him and at the same time to renew his fame she carried him off to Moscow, where she had fashionable acquaintances in the literary and scientific world; but it appeared that Moscow too was unsatisfactory.
It was a peculiar time; something new was beginning, quite unlike the stagnation of the past, something very strange too, though it was felt everywhere, even at Skvoreshniki.

Rumours of all sorts reached us.

The facts were generally more or less well known, but it was evident that in addition to the facts there were certain ideas accompanying them, and what's more, a great number of them.

And this was perplexing.

It was impossible to estimate and find out exactly what was the drift of these ideas.