“H’m! and you think there was something of this sort here, do you? Dear me⁠—a very remarkable comparison, you know! But you must have observed, my dear Ptitsin, that I did all I possibly could. I could do no more than I did. And you must admit that there are some rare qualities in this woman. I felt I could not speak in that Bedlam, or I should have been tempted to cry out, when she reproached me, that she herself was my best justification. Such a woman could make anyone forget all reason⁠—everything! Even that muzhik, Rogojin, you saw, brought her a hundred thousand roubles! Of course, all that happened tonight was ephemeral, fantastic, unseemly⁠—yet it lacked neither colour nor originality. My God! What might not have been made of such a character combined with such beauty! Yet in spite of all efforts⁠—in spite of all education, even⁠—all those gifts are wasted! She is an uncut diamond.⁠ ⁠… I have often said so.”

And Afanasy Ivanovitch heaved a deep sigh.