sang beautifully and reminded him of... he admonishes himself to silence. November 9th. He went to the office at 8 o'clock. He and the chief clerk pretended not to notice each other's existence. He left at 4 and passed by the director's house but saw no-one. After dinner he lay on the bed for a long time. November 11th. Today he mended 23 pens for His Excellency and 4 more for his daughter. He expresses great admiration for the director's intelligence and quiet dignity, and laments his own inability to communicate his curiosity about the director's social circles. He wishes he could look into the other rooms and observe the elegance and splendour, in particular the daughter's boudoir, with its flowers and scent bottles and "ethereal" clothes. But again he commands himself to be silent. He remembered the conversation between the two dogs and decided that he must get hold of the correspondence between them. He had already once accosted Meggie and demanded information about her mistress, but the cunning animal had quietly left the room without saying anything. He expresses his long-held opinion that dogs are cleverer than men and are extraordinarily observant animals. He resolves to go to Fidel's house to retrieve the letters. November 12th. He had returned to Fidel's place of lodging and asked the girl that he be allowed to speak to her dog. The dog had come running and barking, and when he tried to pick it up it attempted to bite his nose. Seeing the animal's sleeping basket, he rushed in, rummaged through it, and succeeded in snatching a bunch of papers before hastily departing, to the dog's chagrin and the girl's extreme alarm. He is convinced that the letters between the dogs will tell him everything he wishes to know about the character of the director, and also give him information about she who... he silences himself. November 13th. Poprishchin records verbatim the contents of Meggie's letters to Fidel. The letters frustrate him because, despite being perfectly legible and grammatically correct, they dwell too much on trivial canine matters, and on those occasions when they do begin to discuss the director or his daughter, they always sidetrack into something peculiarly doggy in nature. However, he does learn from Meggie's anecdotes that the director is ambitious, and that Sophie (the director's daughter) attended a ball and returned at 6 in the morning, excited