The man smoking silently leaning against the wall never looked at him directly, displaying an arrogant demeanor, seemingly lazy to acknowledge him — a progressive student from Moscow University.
This behavior further solidified Herzen's belief: this guy was making fun of him, deliberately mocking him.
Because he had recently offended this British gentleman by comparing his alma mater, the University of London, with Kazan University and Kharkov University. Hence, his pride was hurt, prompting such a malicious trick to tease him.
Herzen had not interacted much with the British, but his father had lived in Paris for several years as a diplomat. In Paris, his father had met many gentlemen from British high society.
According to his father's description, the British indeed seemed like this.
