I have no one to go with." "The theatre!" exclaimed the old man.

"Tell me, pray, why has it become the fashion then to represent the merchant as a savage idiot?
It is very amusing, but it is incomprehensible, because it is false! Am I a fool, if I am master in the City Council, master in commerce, and also owner of that same theatre?
You look at the merchant on the stage and you see--he isn't life-life! Of course, when they present something historical, such as: 'Life for the Czar,' with song and dance, or 'Hamlet,' 'The Sorceress,' or 'Vasilisa,' truthful reproduction is not required, because they're matters of the past and don't concern us.
Whether true or not, it matters little so long as they're good, but when you represent modern times, then don't lie! And show the man as he really is." Smolin listened to the old man's words with a covetous smile on his lips, and cast at Lubov glances which seemed to invite her to refute her father.

Somewhat embarrassed, she said: "And yet, papa, the majority of the merchant class is uneducated and savage." "Yes," remarked Smolin with regret, nodding his head affirmatively, "that is the sad truth." "Take Foma, for instance," went on the girl.
"Oh!" exclaimed Mayakin.

"Well, you are young folks, you can have books in your hands." "And do you not take interest in any of the societies ?" Smolin asked Lubov.

"You have so many different societies here." "Yes," said Lubov with a sigh, "but I live rather apart from everything." "Housekeeping!" interposed the father.