PROFESSOR. How do you do, Anna Pavlovna? How do you do, Miss Betsy? Leonid Fyodoritch, I have brought you a report of the Thirteenth Congress of Spiritualists at Chicago. An amazing speech by Schmidt! LEONID FYODORITCH. Oh, that is interesting! ANNA PAVLOVNA. I will tell you something much more interesting! It turns out that both you and my husband were fooled by this girl! Betsy takes it on herself, but that is only to annoy me. It was an illiterate peasant girl who fooled you, and you believed it all. There were no mediumistic phenomena last night; it was she (pointing to TANYA) who did it! PROFESSOR (taking off his overcoat). What do you mean? ANNA PAVLOVNA. I mean that it was she who, in the dark, played on the guitar and beat my husband on the head and performed all your idiotic tricks--and she has just confessed! PROFESSOR (smiling). What does that prove? ANNA PAVLOVNA. It proves that your mediumism is--tomfoolery; that's what it proves! PROFESSOR. Because this young girl wished to deceive, we are to conclude that mediumism is "tomfoolery," as you are pleased to express it? (Smiles.) A curious conclusion! Very possibly this young girl may have wished to deceive: that often occurs. She may even have done something; but then, what she did--she did. But the manifestations of mediumistic energy still remain manifestations of mediumistic energy! It is even very probable that what this young girl did evoked (and so to say solicited) the manifestation of mediumistic energy,--giving it a definite form. ANNA PAVLOVNA. Another lecture! PROFESSOR (sternly). You say, Anna Pavlovna, that this girl, and perhaps this dear young lady also, did something; but the light we all saw, and, in the first case the fall, and in the second the rise of temperature, and Grossman's excitement and vibration--were those things also done by this girl? And these are facts, Anna Pavlovna, facts! No! Anna Pavlovna, there are things which must be investigated and fully understood before they can be talked about, things too serious, too serious.... LEONID FYODORITCH. And the child that Marya Vasilevna distinctly saw? Why, I saw it too.... That could not have been done by this girl. ANNA PAVLOVNA. You think yourself wise, but you are--a fool. LEONID FYODORITCH. Well, I'm going.... Alexey Vladimiritch, will you come? [Exit into his study. PROFESSOR (shrugging his shoulders, follows). Oh, how far, how far, we still lag behind Western Europe! [Enter JACOB. ANNA PAVLOVNA (following LEONID FYODORITCH with her eyes). He has been tricked like a fool, and he sees nothing! (To JACOB.) What do you want? JACOB. How many persons am I to lay the table for?