One so knows the man: a good-natured, capital fellow, but an official through and through, who does not know what it is he's doing.
But I fancy..." All Mihailov's mobile face beamed at once; his eyes sparkled.
He tried to say something, but he could not speak for excitement, and pretended to be coughing.
Low as was his opinion of Golenishtchev's capacity for understanding art, trifling as was the true remark upon the fidelity of the expression of Pilate as an official, and offensive as might have seemed the utterance of so unimportant an observation while nothing was said of more serious points, Mihailov was in an ecstasy of delight at this observation.
He had himself thought about Pilate's figure just what Golenishtchev said.