MASLOVA'S APPEAL.
The next day Maslova's case was to be examined at the Senate, and Nekhludoff and the advocate met at the majestic portal of the building, where several carriages were waiting. Ascending the magnificent and imposing staircase to the first floor, the advocate, who knew all the ins and outs of the place, turned to the left and entered through a door which had the date of the introduction of the Code of Laws above it.
After taking off his overcoat in the first narrow room, he found out from the attendant that the Senators had all arrived, and that the last had just come in. Fanarin, in his swallow-tail coat, a white tie above the white shirt-front, and a self-confident smile on his lips, passed into the next room. In this room there were to the right a large cupboard and a table, and to the left a winding staircase, which an elegant official in uniform was descending with a portfolio under his arm. In this room an old man with long, white hair and a patriarchal appearance attracted every one's attention. He wore a short coat and grey trousers. Two attendants stood respectfully beside him. The old man with white hair entered the cupboard and shut himself in.
Fanarin noticed a fellow-advocate dressed in the same way as himself, with a white tie and dress coat, and at once entered into an animated conversation with him.
Nekhludoff was meanwhile examining the people in the room. The public consisted of about 15 persons, of whom two were ladies--a young one with a pince-nez, and an old, grey-haired one.
A case of libel was to be heard that day, and therefore the public were more numerous than usual--chiefly persons belonging to the journalistic world.
The usher, a red-cheeked, handsome man in a fine uniform, came up to Fanarin and asked him what his business was. When he heard that it was the case of Maslova, he noted something down and walked away. Then the cupboard door opened and the old man with the patriarchal appearance stepped out, no longer in a short coat but in a gold-trimmed attire, which made him look like a bird, and with metal plates on his breast. This funny costume seemed to make the old man himself feel uncomfortable, and, walking faster than his wont, he hurried out of the door opposite the entrance.
"That is Bay, a most estimable man," Fanarin said to Nekhludoff, and then having introduced him to his colleague, he explained the case that was about to be heard, which he considered very interesting.
The hearing of the case soon commenced, and Nekhludoff, with the public, entered the left side of the Senate Chamber. They all, including Fanarin, took their places behind a grating. Only the Petersburg advocate went up to a desk in front of the grating.
The Senate Chamber was not so big as the Criminal Court; and was more simply furnished, only the table in front of the senators was covered with crimson, gold-trimmed velvet, instead of green cloth; but the attributes of all places of judgment, i.e., the mirror of justice, the icon, the emblem of hypocrisy, and the Emperor's portrait, the emblem of servility, were there.
The usher announced, in the same solemn manner: "The Court is coming." Every one rose in the same way, and the senators entered in their uniforms and sat down on highbacked chairs and leant on the table, trying to appear natural, just in the same way as the judges in the Court of Law. There were four senators present--Nikitin, who took the chair, a clean-shaved man with a narrow face and steely eyes; Wolf, with significantly compressed lips, and little white hands, with which he kept turning over the pages of the business papers; Skovorodnikoff, a heavy, fat, pockmarked man--the learned lawyer; and Bay, the patriarchal-looking man who had arrived last.
With the advocates entered the chief secretary and public prosecutor, a lean, clean-shaven young man of medium height, a very dark complexion, and sad, black eyes. Nekhludoff knew him at once, in spite of his curious uniform and the fact that he had not seen him for six years. He had been one of his best friends in Nekhludoff's student days.
"The public prosecutor Selenin?" Nekhludoff asked, turning to the advocate.
"Yes. Why?"
"I know him well. He is a fine fellow."
"And a good public prosecutor; business-like. Now he is the man you should have interested."
"He will act according to his conscience in any case," said Nekhludoff, recalling the intimate relations and friendship between himself and Selenin, and the attractive qualities of the latter--purity, honesty, and good breeding in its best sense.
"Yes, there is no time now," whispered Fanarin, who was listening to the report of the case that had commenced.
The Court of Justice was accused of having left a decision of the Court of Law unaltered.
Nekhludoff listened and tried to make out the meaning of what was going on; but, just as in the Criminal Court, his chief difficulty was that not the evidently chief point, but some side issues, were being discussed. The case was that of a newspaper which had published the account of a swindle arranged by a director of a limited liability company. It seemed that the only important question was whether the director of the company really abused his trust, and how to stop him from doing it. But the questions under consideration were whether the editor had a right to publish this article of his contributor, and what he had been guilty of in publishing it: slander or libel, and in what way slander included libel, or libel included slander, and something rather incomprehensible to ordinary people about all sorts of statutes and resolutions passed by some General Department.
The only thing clear to Nekhludoff was that, in spite of what Wolf had so strenuously insisted on, the day before, i.e., that the Senate could not try a case on its merits, in this case he was evidently strongly in favour of repealing the decision of the Court of Justice, and that Selenin, in spite of his characteristic reticence, stated the opposite opinion with quite unexpected warmth. The warmth, which surprised Nekhludoff, evinced by the usually self-controlled Selenin, was due to his knowledge of the director's shabbiness in money matters, and the fact, which had accidentally come to his cars, that Wolf had been to a swell dinner party at the swindler's house only a few days before.
Now that Wolf spoke on the case, guardedly enough, but with evident bias, Selenin became excited, and expressed his opinion with too much nervous irritation for an ordinary business transaction.
It was clear that Selenin's speech had offended Wolf. He grew red, moved in his chair, made silent gestures of surprise, and at last rose, with a very dignified and injured look, together with the other senators, and went out into the debating-room.
"What particular case have you come about?" the usher asked again, addressing Fanarin.
"I have already told you: Maslova's case."
"Yes, quite so. It is to be heard to-day, but--"
"But what?" the advocate asked.
"Well, you see, this case was to be examined without taking sides, so that the senators will hardly come out again after passing the resolution. But I will inform them."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll inform them; I'll inform them." And the usher again put something down on his paper.
The Senators really meant to pronounce their decision concerning the libel case, and then to finish the other business, Maslova's case among it, over their tea and cigarettes, without leaving the debating-room.
第二天要开庭审理玛丝洛娃的案子,聂赫留朵夫就坐车去枢密院.在枢密院大厦雄伟的大门口,已停了好几辆马车.他看见法纳林律师也乘车赶来.他们沿着富丽堂皇的楼梯登上二楼.律师熟悉这里的一切通路,往左一拐,就走进一扇上面刻着诉讼条例制定年份的木门.他在第一个长方形房间里脱一去大衣,露出燕尾服,白胸衬和白领带,从门房那里打听到枢密官都已到齐,就煞有介事地走进下一个房间.在这个房间里,右边放着一个大橱,旁边有一张桌子,左边是一道旋梯.这时候,一个身穿文官制一服风度翩翩的官员,腋下夹一着皮包,从楼梯上下来.房间里有一个留着银白长发,穿着短上衣和灰长裤的小老头,样子象个家长.他的旁边毕恭毕敬地站着两个跟班.
这位白发苍苍的小老头钻进充作更衣室的大橱,关上橱门.这时候,法纳林看见一个同行--跟他一样穿燕尾服,系白领带的律师,立刻兴致勃勃地同他攀谈起来.聂赫留朵夫乘机打量一下房间里的人.大约有十五个人来旁听,其中两个是女的:一个年轻的戴一副夹鼻眼镜,另一个头发花白.今天要审理一个报纸诽谤案,因此旁听的人特别多,主要是新闻界人士.
一个脸色红一润,相貌英俊的民事执行吏,穿着漂亮的制一服,手里拿着一张纸,走到法纳林跟前,问他办哪一个案子.听说是办玛丝洛娃案,就在纸上记下来,走开了.这时候大橱的门开了,家长模样的小老头从里面出来,已经不穿上衣,而换上一身镶满丝绦的官服,胸前挂满闪闪发亮的勋章和奖牌.他的模样活象一只大一鸟.
这身可笑的服装显然使小老头自己也有点不好意思.他慌忙快步走到入口处对面的一扇门里.
"这位就是贝,德高望重啊,"法纳林对聂赫留朵夫说,又介绍同行跟他认识,然后讲了当前即将审理的他认为很有趣的案子.
不多一会儿,这个案子开审了.聂赫留朵夫同旁听群众一起往左走进法庭.他们,包括法纳林在内,走到栅栏后面的旁听席上.只有那个彼得堡律师来到栅栏前面的斜面写字台旁.
枢密院的法庭比地方法院的法庭要小一点,布置也简单些,唯一的区别是枢密官面前桌上铺的不是绿呢,而是镶有金边的深红色丝绒.不过,凡是行使审判职能机关的标志:守法镜,圣像,皇帝御像等,这里也无不具备.民事执行吏也那样庄严地宣布:"开庭了."所有的人也都那样站起来,身穿制一服的枢密官也那样纷纷走进法庭,也那样在高背扶手椅上坐下,也那样用臂肘支在桌上,竭力装出泰然自若的样子.
枢密官总共四名.首席枢密官尼基丁脸型狭长,不留一胡一子,生有一双银灰色眼睛.沃尔夫煞有介事地噘一起嘴唇,他那双白净的小手翻阅着案卷.下面是斯科沃罗德尼科夫,体格魁梧,麻脸,是个有学问的法学家.第四个是贝,就是那个样子象家长的小老头,他走在最后.跟枢密官一起进来的还有书记长和副检察官.副检察官是个中等身材的年轻人,身一体干瘦,脸色很黑,一胡一子刮得一精一光,生有一双忧郁的黑眼睛.尽管他穿着一身古怪的制一服,聂赫留朵夫也有六年没有同他见面,但立刻认出是他大学时代的要好朋友.
"副检察官是谢列宁吧?"聂赫留朵夫问律师.
"是的,怎么样?"
"我跟他很熟,人品极好......"
"也是个很好的副检察官,很能干.对了,您本来应该托托他,"法纳林说.
"他不论办什么事总是凭良心的,"聂赫留朵夫说,想起他同谢列宁的亲密关系同友谊,想起谢列宁的种种优秀品质,例如纯洁,诚恳和非常正派.
"但现在已经来不及了,"法纳林聚一精一会神倾听着案情报告,低声说.
原来高等法院的裁定并没有改变地方法院的判决,现在开庭就是审理对高等法院裁定的上诉.
聂赫留朵夫留神倾听,竭力想弄明白目前开审的案子究竟是怎么一回事.但也象在地方法庭上一样,使他无法理解的主要原因在于,他们所讲的都不是问题的关键,而是些枝节琐事.这个案子涉及报上一篇揭发某股份公司董事长舞弊的文章.问题的关键在于股份公司董事长有没有真的侵占股东利益,怎样才能制止他的侵占行为.可是这一点根本没有谈到.他们谈论的只是按照法律报纸发行人有没有在报上刊登小品文的权利,他发表了小品文,又是犯了什么罪,是诽谤还是诬蔑,是诽谤中含有诬蔑,还是诬蔑中含有诽谤.此外还涉及某个总署所颁布的各种法令和决议,那是普通人更难理解的了.
聂赫留朵夫只理解一点,那就是报告案情的沃尔夫虽然昨天对他声色俱厉地说,枢密院不可能审查案件的是非曲直,此刻在报告时却显然有意偏袒被告,以利于撤销高等法院的裁定.谢列宁呢,一反向来的稳重作风,用意料不到的激烈言词发表了相反意见.一向老成持重的谢列宁所以如此愤激,使聂赫留朵夫感到吃惊,却是有原因的.原来谢列宁知道这个董事长在金钱方面手脚不干净,又无意中得知,沃尔夫几乎就在临开庭之前参加了这个商人的豪华宴会.此刻沃尔夫在报告案情,虽然措辞十分慎重,但分明在偏袒这个商人.谢列宁听了火冒三丈,就用异常愤激的口气痛加驳斥.他的话显然触犯了沃尔夫:他脸红耳赤,身一子哆嗦,默默地装出惊讶的神气,带着威风凛凛而又深受冒犯的样子跟其他几个枢密官一起向议事室走去.
"请问,您来办哪一个案子?"等枢密官们一走,民事执行吏又问法纳林.
"我不是对您说过了,是办玛丝洛娃的案子,"法纳林说.
"对,对,今天要审理这个案子.不过......"
"不过怎么样?"律师问.
"不瞒您说,这个案子不公开辩论了,因此枢密官先生在宣布案子的裁定以后,未必会再出来.但我可以去通报......"
"怎么去通报?......"
"我会去通报的,会去通报的."民事执行吏又在纸上记了些什么.
枢密官们果然打算在宣布诽谤案的裁定后,不再离开议事室,在那里一边喝茶吸烟,一边办完其他案子,包括玛丝洛娃一案在内.