The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-04
THE WEEKS BOOKS
SEEN THROUGH THE
REVIEWERS EYES

felt n deadly terror. lie nau soTt
Of f't." Nikolay was arrested and re-
moved to the guard room He was
confined In a special cell, with special
sentinel at the door" At o'clock In
the morning the prisoner, who had been
calm, became noisy. He beat furiously
on the cell door with his fists. II was
learned that he was suffering from acute
brain fever. He did strange things after
that. lie wandered by night and had
dark interviews with dangerous aId
peculiar people. The freebooter and
murderer he met on the bridge might
have frightened another but Nikolay
was as calm in this evil presence as he
was when he was biting his uncle's ear
or pulling Pyotr Pavlovltch Gaganov's
nose. In his duel with young Gagarov
too he was utterly calm. He refused to
aim at his antagonist. Gaganov was so
angry. shook SO with passion. that he
could not hit Nlkolay, although he fred
at him three times.
1t was after this that Fcdka. the con-
Wet. murdered Marya Timofeyevna, Nj
kolay's crippled and demcnted wife, and
her brother. the drunken Capt. Lebyad-
kin. The murder was horrible. as the
description more than hints. The as
sassin set fire 10 the house in which II
was committed. hoping to consume the
bodies OF His victims. but in this case
he was folcd. People believed. though
unjustly. that the husband had hand
IN the murder. and the beautiful Liza
vcta Nikolacvna. who loved Nlkolay was
shookingly killed by the mob. It's not
enough to murder them: she wants to
ut ha, rrtaA xx.1,a
this distracted young woman appeared
nnocently upon the scene, and L!zaveta
was beaten down.
Nlkolay went away to Switzerland
and became n citizen Of the canton Of
Cri. but he came back to his ancestral
house of Skvoreshnikl In Russia and
hanged himself in the garnet. The story
says here: The citizen Of the canton
OF Uri was hanging there behind the
door on the table lay a piece of paper
with the words In pencil NO one Is to
blame; I did II myself Beside 1t on
the table lay hammer a piece Of soap
and a large nail-obviousiy an extra
one In case of need. The strong silk
cord upon which Nikolay Vsyevolodo-
witch had hanged himself had evidently
been chosen and prepared beforehand
and was thickly smearcd with soap"
There are great many characters in
this story. and M the novelist dsposes
of them the impression OF Hateful and Of
fatal action comes to he very strong.
II will be noticed that the Incorporate
Captain. the fluent and ingratiating
Lebyadkin. as we'll as the far faring
and unfortunate Shatov. cherished re-
specially the teachings Of America.
This is made plain in the passage where
Lebyadkin informs Nikolay that he has
made will leaving his whole material
property to his fathcrland, to humanity
and TO the students. Says the captain
to his brother-in-law: "Nikolay Vsy
volodovitch. read in the paper the
biography OF an American. He left
all his vast fortune to factories and to
the exact sciences, and his skeleton to
the students OF the academy there, and
his skin to be made Into a drum. so that
the American national hymn might be
beaten upon 1t day and night. Alas!
We are pygmies in mind compared with
the soaring thought OF the States OF
North America. Russia IL the play OF
nature. but not of mind. II were to
try leaving my skin for drum.
for instance. to the Akmoinsky In
fantry regiment. in which had the
honor of beginning my service. on con-
dition Of beating the Russian national
hymn upon 1t every day In face OF the
regiment, they'd take it for liberalism
and prohibit my skln--and so I confine
myself to the students. | want to leave
my skeleton to the academy hut on the
condition that n label should he stuck
on the forehead for ever and ever, with
the words; a repentant free thinker
There now" The Captain was remark
able. but no more SO than the others in
this richly furnished and Justly cele-
brated story