Chapter 82 Part Two - Twenty

The next day the trial of Maslova's case was to be held, and Nekhludoff drove to the Privy Council.At the majestic gate of the Privy Council Building, several carriages had already parked.He saw Lawyer Fanarin also coming in a car.They ascended the stately staircase to the second floor.The lawyer is familiar with all the passages here. Turning to the left, he walked into a wooden door engraved with the year when the litigation regulations were enacted.He took off his overcoat in the first rectangular room, revealing his tuxedo, white corset and white tie. After inquiring from the porter that all the privy officers had arrived, he walked into the next room in a serious manner.In this room, there is a large cupboard on the right, a table next to it, and a spiral staircase on the left.At this time, a handsome official in a civil uniform, with a leather bag under his arm, came down the stairs.In the room was a little old man with long silver hair, wearing a short jacket and gray trousers, who looked like a patriarch.Next to him stood two followers respectfully.

The little gray-haired old man got into the big wardrobe that served as a dressing room and closed the door.At this time, Fanarin saw a fellow lawyer—a lawyer in a tuxedo and white tie like himself, and immediately chatted with him enthusiastically.Nekhludoff took the opportunity to look at the people in the room.There were about fifteen people in attendance, two of whom were women: a young man with a pince-nez, the other with gray hair.A newspaper defamation case is going to be heard today, so there are a lot of people in attendance, mainly members of the press. A ruddy and handsome civil marshal, in a smart uniform, with a sheet of paper in his hand, approached Fanarin and asked him which case he was handling.Hearing that it was the Maslova case, he wrote it down on a piece of paper and walked away.At this time, the door of the big cupboard opened, and the little old man who looked like a patriarch came out. He no longer put on his coat, but changed into an official uniform trimmed with silk ribbons, with shiny medals and medals hanging on his chest.He looked like a big bird.

The ridiculous costume evidently embarrassed the little old man himself.He hurried hurriedly to a door opposite the entrance. "This is Bei, who is highly respected," Fanarin said to Nekhludoff, introduced his colleagues to him, and then talked about the upcoming case that he thought was very interesting. Not long after, the case went to trial.Nekhludoff entered the courtroom with the audience to the left.They, including Fanarin, went to the gallery behind the fence.Only the Petersburg lawyer came to the sloping desk in front of the fence. The courtroom of the Privy Council is smaller and simpler than the courtroom of the District Court. The only difference is that the table in front of the Privy Councilor is not covered with green cloth, but crimson velvet trimmed with gold.However, all the symbols of the organs that exercise judicial functions: law-abiding mirrors, holy images, and imperial images of the emperor are all available here.In the same way the magistrate announced: "The court is in session." In the same way all the people stood up, and the privy councilors in uniform entered the courtroom, sat down in the high-backed armchairs in the same way, and used the same gesture. Resting his elbows on the table, he tried to look calm.

There are four Privy Officers in total.Nikitin, Chief Privy Councilor, has a narrow, beardless face and silver-gray eyes.Wolfe pursed his lips seriously, flipping through the file with his little white hands.Below was Skovorodnikov, a heavyset, pockmarked, learned jurist.The fourth is Bei, the little old man who looks like a parent, and he walks last.With the Privy Councilor came the Secretary and the Deputy Prosecutor.The Deputy Prosecutor was a young man of medium height, gaunt, very dark, clean-shaven, with dark, melancholy eyes.Despite his strange uniform, Nekhludoff had not seen him for six years, but he immediately recognized him as a good friend from his college days.

"Is the deputy prosecutor Selenin?" Nekhludoff asked the lawyer. "Yes, how is it?" "I know him very well, he has a very good personality..." "A very good deputy, too. Very capable. By the way, you should have talked him up," Fanarin said. "He always acted in good conscience," said Nekhludoff, thinking of his closeness and friendship with Selenin, of all the good qualities of Selenin, such as purity, sincerity, and great decency. "But it's too late now," Fanarin said in a low voice, listening intently to the case report.

It turned out that the ruling of the High Court did not change the judgment of the District Court, and now the court session is to hear the appeal against the ruling of the High Court. Nekhludoff listened attentively, trying to understand what the trial was about.But, as in the magistrates' court, the chief reason for his incomprehension was that what they said was not the point of the matter, but trifles.This case involved a newspaper article exposing the fraud of the chairman of a joint-stock company.The crux of the problem is whether the chairman of the joint-stock company has really misappropriated the interests of shareholders, and how to stop his misappropriation.But this is not mentioned at all.They only talk about whether the newspaper publisher has the right to publish a piece of fiction in the newspaper according to the law, what crime he has committed when he publishes the piece, whether it is slander or slander, and whether slander contains slander or slander contains slander.In addition, it also involves various decrees and resolutions promulgated by a general administration, which are even more difficult for ordinary people to understand.

Nekhludoff only understood that Wolff, who reported the case, although he had said sharply to him yesterday that it was impossible for the Privy Council to examine the merits of the case, was now reporting in favor of the defendant in order to facilitate the annulment of the High Court's decision. ruling.As for Xie Lenin, in contrast to the usual steady style, he expressed the opposite opinion with unexpectedly strong words.Nekhludoff was surprised by the outrage of the always prudent Selenin, but there was a reason for it.It turned out that Xie Lenin knew that the chairman had dirty hands and feet in terms of money, and accidentally learned that Wolf attended the businessman's luxurious banquet almost before the trial.At this moment, Wolfe was reporting the case. Although his words were very cautious, he was clearly favoring the businessman.Xie Lenin was furious when he heard this, and refuted it in an extremely angry tone.What he said obviously offended Wolfe: blushing, trembling, silently feigning surprise, he walked towards the council room with the other privy officers in a dignified and deeply offended manner.

"Excuse me, which case are you here to handle?" After the privy officials left, the civil executive asked Fanarin again. "Didn't I tell you, it's Maslova's case," said Fanarin. "Yes, yes, the case will be heard today. But..." "But what?" asked the lawyer. "To tell you the truth, this case will not be debated publicly, so Mr. Privy Councilor may not come out again after announcing the verdict of the case. But I can go to report..." "How to report?..." "I will report it, I will report it." The civil executive wrote something down on the paper.

It was indeed the intention of the Privy Councilors, after the announcement of the verdict in the libel case, not to leave the chamber, where they drank tea and smoked while finishing other cases, including Maslova's.