Part Four: Chapter 5

by Leo Tolstoy

　　The waiting-room of the celebrated Petersburg lawyer was fullwhen Alexey Alexandrovitch entered it. Three ladies--an oldlady, a young lady, and a merchant's wife--and three gentlemen--one a German banker with a ring on his finger, the second amerchant with a beard, and the third a wrathful-lookinggovernment clerk in official uniform, with a cross on his neck--had obviously been waiting a long while already. Two clerks werewriting at tables with scratching pens. The appurtenances of thewriting-tables, about which Alexey Alexandrovitch was himselfvery fastidious, were exceptionally good. He could not helpobserving this. One of the clerks, without getting up, turnedwrathfully to Alexey Alexandrovitch, half closing his eyes."What are you wanting?"

　　He replied that he had to see the lawyer on some business.

　　"He is engaged," the clerk responded severely, and he pointedwith his pen at the persons waiting, and went on writing.

　　"Can't he spare time to see me?" said Alexey Alexandrovitch.

　　"He has not time free; he is always busy. Kindly wait yourturn."

　　"Then I must trouble you to give him my card," AlexeyAlexandrovitch said with dignity, seeing the impossibility ofpreserving his incognito.

　　The clerk took the card and, obviously not approving of what heread on it, went to the door.

　　Alexey Alexandrovitch was in principle in favor of the publicityof legal proceedings, though for some higher officialconsiderations he disliked the application of the principle inRussia, and disapproved of it, as far as he could disapprove ofanything instituted by authority of the Emperor. His whole lifehad been spent in administrative work, and consequently, when hedid not approve of anything, his disapproval was softened by therecognition of the inevitability of mistakes and the possibilityof reform in every department. In the new public law courts hedisliked the restrictions laid on the lawyers conducting cases.But till then he had had nothing to do with the law courts, andso had disapproved of their publicity simply in theory; now hisdisapprobation was strengthened by the unpleasant impression madeon him in the lawyer's waiting room.

　　"Coming immediately," said the clerk; and two minutes later theredid actually appear in the doorway the large figure of an oldsolicitor who had been consulting with the lawyer himself.

　　The lawyer was a little, squat, bald man, with a dark, reddishbeard, light-colored long eyebrows, and an overhanging brow. Hewas attired as though for a wedding, from his cravat to hisdouble watch-chain and varnished boots. His face was clever andmanly, but his dress was dandified and in bad taste.

　　"Pray walk in," said the lawyer, addressing AlexeyAlexandrovitch; and, gloomily ushering Karenin in before him, heclosed the door.

　　"Won't you sit down?" He indicated an armchair at a writing tablecovered with papers. He sat down himself, and, rubbing hislittle hands with short fingers covered with white hairs, he benthis head on one side. But as soon as he was settled in thisposition a moth flew over the table. The lawyer, with aswiftness that could never have been expected of him, opened hishands, caught the moth, and resumed his former attitude.

　　"Before beginning to speak of my business," said AlexeyAlexandrovitch, following the lawyer's movements with wonderingeyes, "I ought to observe that the business about which I have tospeak to you is to be strictly private."

　　The lawyer's overhanging reddish mustaches were parted in ascarcely perceptible smile.

　　"I should not be a lawyer if I could not keep the secretsconfided to me. But if you would like proof..."

　　Alexey Alexandrovitch glanced at his face, and saw that theshrewd, gray eyes were laughing, and seemed to know all about italready.

　　"You know my name?" Alexey Alexandrovitch resumed.

　　"I know you and the good"--again he caught a moth--"work you aredoing, like every Russian," said the lawyer, bowing.

　　Alexey Alexandrovitch sighed, plucking up his courage. Buthaving once made up his mind he went on in his shrill voice,without timidity--or hesitation, accentuating here and there aword.

　　"I have the misfortune," Alexey Alexandrovitch began, "to havebeen deceived in my married life, and I desire to break off allrelations with my wife by legal means--that is, to be divorced,but to do this so that my son may not remain with his mother."

　　The lawyer's gray eyes tried not to laugh, but they were dancingwith irrepressible glee, and Alexey Alexandrovitch saw that itwas not simply the delight of a man who has just got a profitablejob: there was triumph and joy, there was a gleam like themalignant gleam he saw in his wife's eyes.

　　"You desire my assistance in securing a divorce?"

　　"Yes, precisely so; but I ought to warn you that I may bewasting your time and attention. I have come simply to consultyou as a preliminary step. I want a divorce, but the form inwhich it is possible is of great consequence to me. It is verypossible that if that form does not correspond with myrequirements I may give up a legal divorce."

　　"Oh, that's always the case," said the lawyer, "and that's alwaysfor you to decide."

　　He let his eyes rest on Alexey Alexandrovitch's feet, feelingthat he might offend his client by the sight of his irrepressibleamusement. He looked at a moth that flew before his nose, andmoved his hands, but did not catch it from regard for AlexeyAlexandrovitch's position.

　　"Though in their general features our laws on this subject areknown to me," pursued Alexey Alexandrovitch, "I should be gladto have an idea of the forms in which such things are done inpractice."

　　"You would be glad," the lawyer, without lifting his eyes,responded, adopting, with a certain satisfaction, the tone of hisclient's remarks, "for me to lay before you all the methods bywhich you could secure what you desire?"

　　And on receiving an assuring nod from Alexey Alexandrovitch, hewent on, stealing a glance now and then at AlexeyAlexandrovitch's face, which was growing red in patches.

　　"Divorce by our laws," he said, with a slight shade ofdisapprobation of our laws, "is possible, as you are aware, inthe following cases.... Wait a little!" he called to a clerkwho put his head in at the door, but he got up all the same, saida few words to him, and sat down again. "...In the followingcases: physical defect in the married parties, desertion withoutcommunication for five years," he said, crooking a short fingercovered with hair, "adultery" (this word he pronounced withobvious satisfaction), "subdivided as follows" (he continued tocrook his fat fingers, though the three cases and theirsubdivisions could obviously not be classified together):"physical defect of the husband or of the wife, adultery of thehusband or of the wife." As by now all his fingers were used up,he uncrooked all his fingers and went on: "This is thetheoretical view; but I imagine you have done me the honor toapply to me in order to learn its application in practice. Andtherefore, guided by precedents, I must inform you that inpractice cases of divorce may all be reduced to the following--there's no physical defect, I may assume, nor desertion?..."

　　Alexey Alexandrovitch bowed his head in assent.

　　"--May be reduced to the following: adultery of one of themarried parties, and the detection in the fact of the guiltyparty by mutual agreement, and failing such agreement, accidentaldetection. It must be admitted that the latter case is rarelymet with in practice," said the lawyer, and stealing a glance atAlexey Alexandrovitch he paused, as a man selling pistols, afterenlarging on the advantages of each weapon, might await hiscustomer's choice. But Alexey Alexandrovitch said nothing, andtherefore the lawyer went on: "The most usual and simple, thesensible course, I consider, is adultery by mutual consent. Ishould not permit myself to express it so, speaking with a man ofno education," he said, "but I imagine that to you this iscomprehensible."

　　Alexey Alexandrovitch was, however, so perturbed that he did notimmediately comprehend all the good sense of adultery by mutualconsent, and his eyes expressed this uncertainty; but the lawyerpromptly came to his assistance.

　　"People cannot go on living together--here you have a fact. Andif both are agreed about it, the details and formalities become amatter of no importance. And at the same time this is thesimplest and most certain method."

　　Alexey Alexandrovitch fully understood now. But he had religiousscruples, which hindered the execution of such a plan.

　　"That is out of the question in the present case," he said."Only one alternative is possible: undesigned detection,supported by letters which I have."

　　At the mention of letters the lawyer pursed up his lips, and gaveutterance to a thin little compassionate and contemptuous sound.

　　"Kindly consider," he began, "cases of that kind are, as you areaware, under ecclesiastical jurisdiction; the reverend fathersare fond of going into the minutest details in cases of thatkind," he said with a smile, which betrayed his sympathy with thereverend fathers' taste. "Letters may, of course, be a partialconfirmation; but detection in the fact there must be of the mostdirect kind, that is, by eyewitnesses. In fact, if you do me thehonor to intrust your confidence to me, you will do well to leaveme the choice of the measures to be employed. If one wants theresult, one must admit the means."

　　"If it is so..." Alexey Alexandrovitch began, suddenly turningwhite; but at that moment the lawyer rose and again went to thedoor to speak to the intruding clerk.

　　"Tell her we don't haggle over fees!" he said, and returned toAlexey Alexandrovitch.

　　On his way back he caught unobserved another moth. "Nice statemy rep curtains will be in by the summer!" he thought, frowning.

　　"And so you were saying?..." he said.

　　"I will communicate my decision to you by letter," said AlexeyAlexandrovitch, getting up, and he clutched at the table. Afterstanding a moment in silence, he said: "From your words I mayconsequently conclude that a divorce may be obtained? I wouldask you to let me know what are your terms."

　　"It may be obtained if you give me complete liberty of action,"said the lawyer, not answering his question. "When can I reckonon receiving information from you?" he asked, moving towards thedoor, his eyes and his varnished boots shining.

　　"In a week's time. Your answer as to whether you will undertaketo conduct the case, and on what terms, you will be so good as tocommunicate to me."

　　"Very good."

　　The lawyer bowed respectfully, let his client out of the door,and, left alone, gave himself up to his sense of amusement. Hefelt so mirthful that, contrary to his rules, he made a reductionin his terms to the haggling lady, and gave up catching moths,finally deciding that next winter he must have the furniturecovered with velvet, like Sigonin's.