I knew that of the hucksters in the Gostinni Dvor one could sometimes buy a book⁠—even one that had been little used and was almost entirely new⁠—for a half of its price, provided that one haggled sufficiently over it; wherefore I determined to repair thither. It so happened that, next day, both Anna Thedorovna and ourselves were in want of sundry articles; and since my mother was unwell and Anna lazy, the execution of the commissions devolved upon me, and I set forth with Matrena.