How did ivan tcherviakoff lose his happienes enjoying the opera

The story opens with a governement clerk called Ivan Dmitrich Tchervyakov sitting in a stall listening to opera. He is enjoying himself, but suddenly he sneezes. He wipes his face with a handkerchief and looks around the stall to see whether he had disturbed anyone. To his misfortune, Thchervyakov sees an old gentleman in front of him wiping his head and neck with a glove. The old gentleman is Brizzhalov, a civilian serving in the Department of Transport. He is not from Tchervyakov's department, but nonetheless an important man, so Tchervyakov decides he must apologize at once.

Tchervyakov leans forward and whispers an apology to the general's ear. Brizzhalov responds with "never mind," but Tchervyakov feels the need for further explanation. The general finds this annoying and tells Tchervyakov to forget about it and let him listen. Tchervyakov feels embarrassed and he is no longer able to enjoy the performance.