I decline to describe the scene that followed. To begin with there was a furious volley of applause. The applause did not come from all⁠—probably from some fifth part of the audience⁠—but they applauded furiously. The rest of the public made for the exit, but as the applauding part of the audience kept pressing forward towards the platform, there was a regular block. The ladies screamed, some of the girls began to cry and asked to go home. Lembke, standing up by his chair, kept gazing wildly about him. Yulia Mihailovna completely lost her head⁠—for the first time during her career amongst us. As for Stepan Trofimovitch, for the first moment he seemed literally crushed by the divinity student’s words, but he suddenly raised his arms as though holding them out above the public and yelled:

“I shake the dust from off my feet and I curse you.⁠ ⁠… It’s the end, the end.⁠ ⁠…”

And turning, he ran behind the scenes, waving his hands menacingly.