My view of its complete harmlessness evidently displeased him, and I even ascribe to it a certain coldness on his part, which lasted two whole months.
And what do you think?
Suddenly, almost at the time I proposed printing it here, our poem was published abroad in a collection of revolutionary verse, without the knowledge of Stepan Trofimovitch.

He was at first alarmed, rushed to the governor, and wrote a noble letter in self-defence to Petersburg.

He read it to me twice, but did not send it, not knowing to whom to address it.

In fact he was in a state of agitation for a whole month, but I am convinced that in the secret recesses of his heart he was enormously flattered.

He almost took the copy of the collection to bed with him, and kept it hidden under his mattress in the daytime; he positively would not allow the women to turn his bed, and although he expected every day a telegram, he held his head high.