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"I can't say that; but another circumstance interests me in the

case--the whole question, so to say. Not to speak of the fact

that crime has been greatly on the increase among the lower

classes during the last five years, not to speak of the cases of

robbery and arson everywhere, what strikes me as the strangest

thing is that in the higher classes, too, crime is increasing

proportionately. In one place one hears of a student's robbing

the mail on the high road; in another place people of good social

position forge false banknotes; in Moscow of late a whole gang

has been captured who used to forge lottery tickets, and one of

the ringleaders was a lecturer in universal history; then our

secretary abroad was murdered from some obscure motive of

gain.... And if this old woman, the pawnbroker, has been murdered

by someone of a higher class in society--for peasants don't pawn

gold trinkets--how are we to explain this demoralisation of the

civilised part of our society?"