Chapter 48 Part One - Forty Five

Nekhludoff wanted to change his way of life: get rid of the big house, dismiss the servants, and move to a hotel himself.But Agrafena tried to persuade him that there was no reason to change his way of life before winter, because in summer no one wanted to rent a big house, and besides, he must have a place to live and store furniture.In this way, Nekhludoff's efforts to change his way of life and live a simple life like a student were all in vain.Not only was everything in the house as old as before, but they were also nervously busy with housework: taking out all the wool and leather clothes to dry, hanging them up to blow the air, and dusting off the dust.The sweeper, his men, the cook, and Kearney were all busy.They hang out uniforms, uniforms, and odd furs that no one has ever worn before hanging them on the line, and then they move out the rugs and furniture, too.The yard sweeper and his underhands rolled up their sleeves, exposing their muscular arms, and beat these things rhythmically.Every room smelled of camphor.Nekhludoff, passing through the yard, looked out of the window and was amazed to see so many things, all of which were useless. "The only use of keeping these things," thought Nekhludoff, "is to give Agrafena, Kearney, the sweeper, his servants, and the cook a chance to exercise."

"The matter with Maslova is still unsolved, and there is no need to change our way of life for the time being," thought Nekhludoff. "Besides, it is really difficult to change the way of life. When she is released or exiled, I will follow her, and then the way of life will naturally change." On the day agreed with Fanarin's lawyer, Nekhludoff The husband got into the carriage to see him.The lawyer's private residence is magnificent, filled with tall potted flowers, and the windows are hung with exquisite curtains.In short, the ostentation is very rich, which shows that the owner has made a fortune, because only the nouveau riche can have such a ostentation.Nekhludoff entered the house and saw many visitors in the reception room, like a doctor's waiting room, sitting listlessly at several tables, looking through illustrated magazines for their entertainment, waiting to be received.The lawyer's assistant also sat here at a tall, sloped desk.As soon as he recognized Nekhludoff, he came up to greet him and said he would report to the lawyer at once.But before the paralegal could reach the door of the office, the door opened, and loud and lively conversations could be heard.A stout, middle-aged man with a rosy face and a bushy mustache, in a new suit, was talking to Fanarin.The looks on their faces indicated that they had just completed a profitable and not very legitimate business.

"It's your fault, old man," said Fanarin, smiling. "I want to enter heaven, but the sin is so heavy that there is no way to go to heaven." "Okay, okay, we know that." Both of them laughed unnaturally. "Oh, come in, prince," said Fanarin, seeing Nekhludoff.With another nod to the outgoing merchant, he led Nekhludoff into his stately office. "Cigarettes, please," said the lawyer, sitting down opposite Nekhludoff, trying to suppress the smile that had arisen from the triumphant transaction just now. "Thank you, I'm here on Maslova's case."

"Okay, okay, let's study it now. Huh, those rich men are liars!" He said. "Did you see that guy just now? He's got twelve million dollars. And he's saying, 'There's no way to go.' Well, if he can get a twenty-five ruble note out of you, he'll use it." The teeth have to bite it into the hand." "He says 'Nowhere to go,' and you say 'twenty-five ruble notes,'" thought Nekhludoff, feeling an uncontrollable disgust at this unscrupulous man.The lawyer's tone of voice was intended to show that he belonged to the same circle as Nekhludoff himself, while those who entrusted him with the case and others belonged to another circle, quite different from them.

"Hey, he's fucked me hard enough, you bastard! I'd like to take a break," said the lawyer, as if to defend that he didn't get down to business right away. "Well, now about your case... I've gone through the file, but as Turgenev said, 'I don't approve of its content'①, that damned lawyer is terrible, no Leave no room for appeal." "Then what do you decide to do?" "Wait a minute. Tell him," the lawyer turned and said to the assistant who came in, "I can do whatever I say; if he thinks it's okay, it's good; if he doesn't think it's okay, he'll pull it down."

"But he doesn't agree." "Well, pull it down then," said the lawyer.His face suddenly changed from happy and kind to gloomy and angry. "Some people say that lawyers take other people's money for nothing," he said, regaining his original cheerful expression. "Not long ago, a bankrupt debtor was falsely accused, and I rescued him. Now everyone is coming to him. But I have a lot of trouble with each case. One writer said to leave a piece of your body in the inkwell, and that applies to us too. Well, now to your case, or , the case you are interested in," he went on, "is a bad case, and there is no sufficient grounds for appeal, but it is all right to try. You see, I wrote such a pleading."

He picked up a piece of paper full of words, skipped those boring routines, and read the text plausibly: "To the Department of Criminal Appeals, etc., etc. Grounds of appeal, etc., etc. The case was decided by so-and-so, etc., and Maslova was guilty of poisoning the merchant Smerikov, According to Article 1454 of the Penal Code, etc., the prisoner is sentenced to hard labor, etc.” -------- ① Quoted from Turgenev's novella "Diary of a Superfluous Man". ②This is actually what Tolstoy himself said. He stopped here.Obviously, although he has been used to handling cases for many years, he is still reading the petition he wrote with relish.

"'This sentence was the result of serious breaches of the proceedings and errors,'" he continued plausibly, "'and should be set aside. First, at the hearing, when Smelkoff's internal examination report had just begun to be read, was stopped by the President.' this is one. " "But, as you know, the prosecutor ordered it to be read," said Nekhludoff in surprise. "That doesn't matter, the defender also has reasons to ask for it to be read." "But, to tell you the truth, the reading is unnecessary." "But this is a ground of appeal after all. And again: 'Secondly, Maslova's defender,'" the lawyer continued, "'was trying to explain Maslova's character in his speech, so it involved her depravity. However, according to the instructions of the Privy Council many times, in criminal cases, the defendant's morality and mental outlook are of great importance, at least it is conducive to the determination of guilt. 'This is two,' he said, glancing at Nekhludoff.

"That fellow spoke very badly, and you couldn't make sense of it," said Nekhludoff, still more astonished. "That kid is stupid, of course he can't say anything reasonable," Fanarin said with a smile, "but it is still a reason. Well, there are more below." Third, the president completely violated the " Article 801, paragraph 1, of the Code of Criminal Procedure did not explain to the jurors on what legal basis the concept of a crime was constituted, nor did it explain to them that even if they ruled that Maslova poisoned Smelkov The facts are clear, and there is no right to consider her guilty on the grounds that she did not intend to murder, so she cannot be found guilty of criminal offenses, but only because of an error, an oversight, which caused the merchant to die unexpectedly, which Maslova did not expect.' This is the main point.”

"We ought to know that ourselves. It's our fault." "'Finally, fourthly,'" the lawyer went on to read, "'the jurors' answers to the question of Maslova's guilt put before the court were apparently contradictory in form. Maslova was charged with poisoning Smerikov, the purpose was to make money, so her only motive for killing was to make money. However, the jurors denied in their reply that Maslova had the purpose of plundering money and participating in the theft of valuable property, so it can be seen that they were going to Denying that the defendant had the intention of murdering his life caused misunderstandings due to the incomplete summary of the judge, and the jurors did not express it in an appropriate way in their answers. Articles 16 and 808, that the President shall explain to the jurors the error they have made, return the reply, and order them to renegotiate and come up with a new answer to the question of the defendant's guilt,'" Fanarin paused at this point.

"Then why on earth did the President not do that?" "I'd love to know why, too," Fanarin said with a smile. "Then, will the Privy Council correct this error?" "It depends on which old wastes are trying this case." "Why is it an old trash?" "It's an old piece of shit in a nursing home. Well, that's what it is. It goes like this: 'Such a ruling deprives the court of the right to penalize Maslova. Citation to her of the Code of Criminal Procedure Article 77 Paragraph 3 of Article 1 obviously seriously undermines the basic principles of criminal procedure in our country. Based on the above reasons, I hereby appeal to XX, XX, in accordance with Articles 909, 910, and 912 of the Criminal Procedure Law. Article 2, Article 928, etc., etc., annul the original judgment, and transfer the case to another court of this court for a new trial.' That's it. Everything that can be done has been done. But forgive me To put it bluntly, the chances of success are slim. But then again, it's a matter of who is in the Privy Council to hear the case. If you have any acquaintances, you can go around." "I know some people." "Then you have to hurry up, or they will all go out to treat hemorrhoids, and they will have to wait for three months... Well, if they don't succeed, they can still sue the emperor. This also depends on behind-the-scenes activities. I also I am willing to serve you, not referring to behind-the-scenes activities, but writing complaints." "Thank you, then your reward..." "My assistant will give you a clear transcript, and he will tell you." "I have one more thing to ask you. The prosecutor gave me a permit to visit this man in prison, but the prison officials told me that any visits outside the stipulated dates and places must be approved by the prefect. Is this procedure really necessary?" "I think so. But now the governor is away, and the vice-prefect is in charge. But he's a complete fool, and you can't get anything done with him." "You mean Maslennikov?" "yes." "I know him," said Nekhludoff, rising to take his leave. At this moment, a yellow, thin, snub-nosed, ugly little woman rushed into the room.She is the lawyer's wife.She was apparently indifferent to her own ugliness, and not only was she dressed in a strange and peculiar way—velvet and satin, light yellow and green—and her thinning hair was curled. .She burst into the reception room triumphantly.She was accompanied by a tall, dusty-faced, smiling man in a satin gown with lapels and a white tie.This was a writer, and Nekhludoff knew him. "Anatole," she said, opening the door, "come here. You see, Semyon Ivanitch promised to read us his poems, and you must read Garshin." Nekhludoff was about to leave, but the lawyer's wife and her husband bit each other's ears, and immediately turned to him. -------- ① Karson (1855-1888) - Russian writer. "Excuse me, Prince, I know you, I don't think I need to introduce you. We have a morning literary meeting, please come and advise. It will be very interesting. Anatole reads very well." "You see how many errands I have!" said Anatole.He spread his hands and pointed to his wife with a smile, expressing that he could not resist the order of such a beauty. Nekhludoff, with a sad and serious face, politely thanked the lawyer's wife for her kind invitation, but was unable to attend due to lack of time, and then went into the reception room. "What a poser!" the lawyer's wife said of him after he left. In the anteroom the lawyer's assistant handed Nekhludoff a copy of the certificate.Turning to the question of remuneration, he said that Anatoly Petrovich had fixed a thousand rubles, and explained that he did not accept such a case, but this time it was done for Nekhludoff's sake. "How should this pleading be signed, and by whom?" asked Nekhludoff. "The defendant can act himself, but if there are difficulties, Anatoly Petrovitch can also accept her commission and let him act." "No, I'll go and ask her to sign it herself," said Nekhludoff, delighted at the opportunity of meeting Maslova before the scheduled date.