cringe and did not importune; but, on the contrary, he behaved himself
in decorous fashion, and even wore a cheery and pleasant aspect,
although an ingrained odour of liquor accompanied him everywhere--and
his Oriental costume was gradually reduced to rags.

"Give--God will reward you--although I do not deserve it," he was
accustomed to say, smiling brightly and blushing openly. "If you do not
give, you will be entirely in the right, and I shall not be angry in the
least. I shall support myself. God will provide! For there are many,
very many people who are poorer and more worthy than I!"

Mísha enjoyed particular success with women; he understood how to arouse
their compassion. And do not think that he was or imagined himself to be
a Lovelace.... Oh, no! In that respect he was very modest. Whether he
had inherited from his parents such cold blood, or whether herein was
expressed his disinclination to do evil to any one,--since, according to
his ideas, to consort with a woman means inevitably to insult the
woman,--I will not take it upon myself to decide; only, in his relations
with the fair sex he was extremely delicate. The women felt this, and
all the more willingly did they pity and aid him until he, at last,
repelled them by his sprees and hard drinking, by the recklessness of
which I have already spoken.... I cannot hit upon any other word.

On the other hand, in other respects he had already lost all delicacy
and had gradually descended to the extreme depths of degradation. He
once went so far that in the Assembly of Nobility of T---- he placed on
the table a jug with the inscription:

"Any one who finds it agreeable to tweak the nose of hereditary
nobleman[14] Pólteff (whose authentic documents are herewith appended)