A playmate of his childhood, and his fellow-pupil at the Cadet Corps; Serpukhovskoy, who belonged to the same social circle, and who had finished the same year as himself and had been his rival in the classroom, at gymnastics, in mischief, and in ambitious dreams, had just returned from Central Asia, where he had gained two steps in official rank and had won a distinction rarely awarded to so young a General.
Его товарищ с детства, одного круга, одного общества и товарищ по корпусу, Серпуховской, одного с ним выпуска, с которым он соперничал и в классе, и в гимнастике, и в шалостях, и в мечтах честолюбия, на днях вернулся из Средней Азии, получив там два чина и отличие, редко даваемое столь молодым генералам.