Three ladies--an old lady, a young lady, and a merchant's wife--and three gentlemen-- one a German banker with a ring on his finger, the second a merchant with a beard, and the third a wrathful-looking government clerk in official uniform, with a cross on his neck-- had obviously been waiting a long while already.

Two clerks were writing at tables with scratching pens.

The appurtenances of the writing-tables, about which Alexey Alexandrovitch was himself very fastidious, were exceptionally good.

He could not help observing this.