At the appointed hour, however, he entered the modest house Speranski owned in the Taurida Gardens.

In the parqueted dining room this small house, remarkable for its extreme cleanliness (suggesting that of a monastery), Prince Andrew, who was rather late, found the friendly gathering of Speranski's intimate acquaintances already assembled at five o'clock.

There were no ladies present except Speranski's little daughter (long-faced like her father) and her governess.

The other guests were Gervais, Magnitski, and Stolypin.

While still in the anteroom Prince Andrew heard loud voices and a ringing staccato laugh--a laugh such as one hears on the stage.