I
The Idiot
3 of 1149
I
Towards the end of November, during a thaw, at nine
o?clock one morning, a train on the Warsaw and
Petersburg railway was approachi ng the latter city at full
speed. The morning was so damp and misty that it was
only with great difficulty that the day succeeded in
breaking; and it was impossible to distinguish anything
more than a few yards away from the carriage windows.
Some of the passengers by th is particular train were
returning from abroad; but th e third-class carriages were
the best filled, chiefly with insi gnificant persons of various
occupations and degrees, picked up at the different stations
nearer town. All of them seemed weary, and most of them
had sleepy eyes and a shivering expression, while their
complexions generally appe ared to have taken on the
colour of the fog outside.
When day dawned, two passengers in one of the third-
class carriages found themselves opposite each other. Both
were young fellows, both were rather poorly dressed, both
had remarkable faces, and both were evidently anxious to
start a conversation. If they had but known why, at this
particular moment, they were both remarkable persons,
they would undoubtedly have wondered at the strange
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chance which had set them down opposite to one another
in a third-class carriage of the Warsaw Railway Company.
One of them was a young fellow of about twenty-
seven, not tall, with black curling hair, and small, grey,
fiery eyes. His nose was broad and flat, and he had high
cheek bones; his thin lips w ere constantly compressed into
an impudent, ironical?it might almost be called a
malicious?smile; but his forehead was high and well
formed, and atoned for a good deal of the ugliness of the
lower part of his face. A special feature of this
physiognomy was its death-like pallor, which gave to the
whole man an indescribably em aciated appearance in spite
of his hard look, and at the sa me time a sort of passionate
and suffering expression which did not harmonize with his
impudent, sarcastic smile and keen, self-satisfied bearing.
He wore a large fur?or ra ther astrachan?overcoat,
which had kept him warm all night, while his neighbour
had been obliged to bear the full severity of a Russian
November night entirely unprepared. His wide sleeveless
mantle with a large cape to it ?the sort of cloak one sees
upon travellers during the winter months in Switzerland
or North Italy?was by no means adapted to the long cold
journey through Russia, from Eydkuhnen to St.
Petersburg.
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The wearer of this cloak was a young fellow, also of
about twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, slightly
above the middle height, very fair, with a thin, pointed
and very light coloured beard; his eyes were large and
blue, and had an intent look about them, yet that heavy
expression which some people affi rm to be a peculiarity. as
well as evidence, of an epileptic subject. His face was
decidedly a pleasant one for all that; refined, but quite
colourless, except for the circ umstance that at this moment
it was blue with cold. He held a bundle made up of an old
faded silk handkerchief that apparently contained all his
travelling wardrobe, and wore thick shoes and gaiters, his
whole appearance being very un-Russian.
His black-haired neighbour inspected these
peculiarities, having nothing better to do, and at length
remarked, with that rude enjoyment of the discomforts of
others which the common classes so often show:
?Cold??
?Very,? said his neighbour, readily. ?and this is a thaw,
too. Fancy if it had been a hard frost! I never thought it
would be so cold in the old c ountry. I?ve grown quite out
of the way of it.?
?What, been abroad, I suppose??
?Yes, straight from Switzerland.?
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?Wheugh! my goodness!? The black-haired young
fellow whistled, and then laughed.
The conversation proceeded. The readiness of the fair-
haired young man in the cloak to answer all his opposite
neighbour?s questions was surp rising. He seemed to have
no suspicion of any impertinence or inappropriateness in
the fact of such questions being put to him. Replying to
them, he made known to the inquirer that he certainly
had been long absent from Russia, more than four years;
that he had been sent abroad for his health; that he had
suffered from some strange nervous malady?a kind of
epilepsy, with convulsive sp asms. His interlocutor burst
out laughing several times at his answers; and more than
ever, when to the question, ? whether he had been cured??
the patient replied:
?No, they did not cure me.?
?Hey! that?s it! You stumped up your money for
nothing, and we believe in those fellows, here!? remarked
the black-haired individual, sarcastically.
?Gospel truth, sir, Gospel truth!? exclaimed another
passenger, a shabbily dressed man of about forty, who
looked like a clerk, and possessed a red nose and a very
blotchy face. ?Gospel truth! All they do is to get hold of
our good Russian money free, gratis, and for nothing. ?
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7 of 1149
?Oh, but you?re quite wrong in my particular instance,?
said the Swiss patient, quietly. ?Of course I can?t argue the
matter, because I know only my own case; but my doctor
gave me money?and he had very little?to pay my
journey back, besides having ke pt me at his own expense,
while there, for nearly two years.?
?Why? Was there no one else to pay for you?? asked the
black- haired one.
?No?Mr. Pavlicheff, who had been supporting me
there, died a couple of years ago. I wrote to Mrs. General
Epanchin at the time (she is a distant relative of mine), but
she did not answer my letter. And so eventually I came
back.?
?And where have you come to??
?That is?where am I going to stay? I?I really don?t
quite know yet, I??
Both the listeners laughed again.
?I suppose your whole set-up is in that bundle, then??
asked the first.
?I bet anything it is!? exclaimed the red-nosed
passenger, with extreme satisfaction, ?and that he has
precious little in the luggage van!?though of course
poverty is no crime?we must remember that!?
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8 of 1149
It appeared that it was indeed as they had surmised.
The young fellow hastened to admit the fact with
wonderful readiness.
?Your bundle has some importance, however,?
continued the clerk, when they had laughed their fill (it
was observable that the subject of their mirth joined in the
laughter when he saw them laughing); ?for though I dare
say it is not stuffed full of friedrichs d?or and louis d?or?
judge from your costume and gaiters?still?if you can
add to your possessions such a valuable property as a
relation like Mrs. General Epanchin, then your bundle
becomes a significant object at once. That is, of course, if
you really are a relative of Mr s. Epanchin?s, and have not
made a little error through?well, absence of mind, which
is very common to human beings; or, say?through a too
luxuriant fancy??
?Oh, you are right again,? said the fair-haired traveller,
?for I really am ALMOST wrong when I say she and I are
related. She is hardly a relation at all; so little, in fact, that I
was not in the least surprised to have no answer to my
letter. I expected as much.?
?H?m! you spent your postage for nothing, then. H?m!
you are candid, however?and t hat is commendable. H?m!
Mrs. Epanchin?oh yes! a most eminent person. I know
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her. As for Mr. Pavlicheff, who supported you in
Switzerland, I know him too?at least, if it was Nicolai
Andreevitch of that name? A fine fellow he was?and had
a property of four thousand souls in his day.?
?Yes, Nicolai Andreevitch?that was his name,? and the
young fellow looked earnestly and with curiosity at the
all-knowing gentleman with the red nose.
This sort of character is me t with pretty frequently in a
certain class. They are people who know everyone?that
is, they know where a man is em ployed, what his salary is,
whom he knows, whom he married, what money his wife
had, who are his cousins, and second cousins, etc., etc.
These men generally have about a hundred pounds a year
to live on, and they spend their whole time and talents in
the amassing of this style of knowledge, which they
reduce?or raise?to the standard of a science.
During the latter part of the conversation the black-
haired young man had become very impatient. He stared
out of the window, and fidgeted, and evidently longed for
the end of the journey. He was very absent; he would
appear to listen-and heard nothing; and he would laugh of
a sudden, evidently with no idea of what he was laughing
about.
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10 of 1149
?Excuse me,? said the red-nosed man to the young
fellow with the bundle, rather suddenly; ?whom have I the
honour to be talking to??
?Prince Lef Nicolaievitch Muis hkin,? replied the latter,
with perfect readiness.
?Prince Muishkin? Lef Nicolaievitch? H?m! I don?t
know, I?m sure! I may say I have never heard of such a
person,? said the clerk, thought fully. ?At least, the name, I
admit, is historical. Karamsin must mention the family
name, of course, in his histo rybut as an individual?one
never hears of any Prince Muishkin nowadays.?
?Of course not,? replied the prince; ?there are none,
except myself. I believe I am the last and only one. As to
my forefathers, they have always been a poor lot; my own
father was a sublieutenant in the army. I don?t know how
Mrs. Epanchin comes into the Muishkin family, but she is
descended from the Princess Muishkin, and she, too, is the
last of her line.?
?And did you learn science and all that, with your
professor over there?? asked the black-haired passenger.
?Oh yes?I did learn a little, but??
?I?ve never learned anything whatever,? said the other.
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11 of 1149
?Oh, but I learned very little, you know!? added the
prince, as though excusing himself. ?They could not teach
me very much on account of my illness. ?
?Do you know the Rogojins?? asked his questioner,
abruptly.
?No, I don?t?not at all! I hardly know anyone in
Russia. Why, is that your name??
?Yes, I am Rogojin, Parfen Rogojin.?
?Parfen Rogojin? dear me?t hen don?t you belong to
those very Rogojins, perhaps?? began the clerk, with a
very perceptible increase of civility in his tone.
?Yes?those very ones,? interrupted Rogojin,
impatiently, and with scant co urtesy. I may remark that he
had not once taken any notice of the blotchy-faced
passenger, and had hitherto addressed all his remarks direct
to the prince.
?Dear me?is it possible?? observed the clerk, while his
face assumed an expression of great deference and
servility?if not of absolute al arm: ?what, a son of that very
Semen Rogojin? hereditary honourable citizen?who
died a month or so ago and left two million and a half of
roubles??
?And how do YOU know that he left two million and
a half of roubles?? asked Rogojin, disdainfully, and no
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deigning so much as to look at the other. ?However, it?s
true enough that my father died a month ago, and that
here am I returning from Ps koff, a month after, with
hardly a boot to my foot. They?ve treated me like a dog!
I?ve been ill of fever at Pskoff the whole time, and not a
line, nor farthing of mone y, have I received from my
mother or my confounded brother!?
?And now you?ll have a million roubles, at least?
goodness gracious me!? exclaimed the clerk, rubbing his
hands.
?Five weeks since, I was just like yourself,? continued
Rogojin, addressing the pr ince, ?with nothing but a
bundle and the clothes I wore. I ran away from my father
and came to Pskoff to my aunt ?s house, where I caved in
at once with fever, and he went and died while I was
away. All honour to my respected father?s memory?but
he uncommonly nearly killed me, all the same. Give you
my word, prince, if I hadn?t cut and run then, when I did,
he?d have murdered me like a dog.?
?I suppose you angered him somehow?? asked the
prince, looking at the millionaire with considerable
curiosity But though there may have been something
remarkable in the fact that this man was heir to millions of
roubles there was something about him which surprised
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and interested the prince more than that. Rogojin, too,
seemed to have taken up the conversation with unusual
alacrity it appeared that he was still in a considerable state
of excitement, if not absolutely feverish, and was in real
need of someone to talk to for the mere sake of talking, as
safety-valve to his agitation.
As for his red-nosed neighbour, the latter?since the
information as to the identity of Rogojin?hung over
him, seemed to be living on the honey of his words and in
the breath of his nostrils, catching at every syllable as
though it were a pearl of great price.
?Oh, yes; I angered him?I certainly did anger him,?
replied Rogojin. ?But what puts me out so is my brother.
Of course my mother couldn?t do anything?she?s too
old?and whatever brother Senka says is law for her! But
why couldn?t he let me know ? He sent a telegram, they
say. What?s the good of a tele gram? It frightened my aunt
so that she sent it back to the office unopened, and there
it?s been ever since! It?s only thanks to Konief that I heard
at all; he wrote me all about it. He says my brother cut off
the gold tassels from my father?s coffin, at night because
they?re worth a lot of money!? says he. Why, I can get him
sent off to Siberia for that al one, if I like; it?s sacrilege.
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Here, you?scarecrow!? he added, addressing the clerk at
his side, ?is it sacrilege or not, by law??
?Sacrilege, certainly?certainly sacrilege,? said the latter.
?And it?s Siberia for sacrilege, isn?t it??
?Undoubtedly so; Siberia, of course!?
?They will think that I?m still ill,? continued Rogojin to
the prince, ?but I sloped off quietly, seedy as I was, took
the train and came away. Aha, brother Senka, you?ll have
to open your gates and let me in, my boy! I know he told
tales about me to my father? I know that well enough but
I certainly did rile my father about Nastasia Philipovna
that?s very sure, and that was my own doing.?
?Nastasia Philipovna?? said the clerk, as though trying to
think out something.
?Come, you know nothing about HER,? said Rogojin,
impatiently.
?And supposing I do know something?? observed the
other, triumphantly.
?Bosh! there are plenty of Nastasia Philipovnas. And
what an impertinent beast you are!? he added angrily. ?I
thought some creature like y ou would hang on to me as
soon as I got hold of my money. ?
?Oh, but I do know, as it happens,? said the clerk in an
aggravating manner. ?Lebedeff knows all about her. You
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are pleased to reproach me, your excellency, but what if I
prove that I am right after all? Nastasia Phillpovna?s family
name is Barashkoff?I know, you see-and she is a very
well known lady, indeed, and comes of a good family,
too. She is connected with one Totski, Afanasy
Ivanovitch, a man of considerable property, a director of
companies, and so on, and a great friend of General
Epanchin, who is interested in the same matters as he is.?
?My eyes!? said Rogojin, really surprised at last. ?The
devil take the fellow, how does he know that??
?Why, he knows everything?Lebedeff knows
everything! I was a month or two with Lihachof after his
father died, your excellency, and while he was knocking
about?he?s in the debtor?s prison now?I was with him,
and he couldn?t do a thing without Lebedeff; and I got to
know Nastasia Philipovna and several people at that time.?
?Nastasia Philipovna? Why, you don?t mean to say that
she and Lihachof?? cried Rogojin, turning quite pale.
?No, no, no, no, no! Nothing of the sort, I assure you!?
said Lebedeff, hastily. ?Oh de ar no, not for the world!
Totski?s the only man with any chance there. Oh, no! He
takes her to his box at the opera at the French theatre of
an evening, and the officers and people all look at her and
say, ?By Jove, there?s the famous Nastasia Philipovna!? but
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no one ever gets any further than that, for there is nothing
more to say.?
?Yes, it?s quite true,? said Rogojin, frowning gloomily;
?so Zaleshoff told me. I was walking about the Nefsky one
fine day, prince, in my father?s old coat, when she
suddenly came out of a shop and stepped into her carriage.
I swear I was all of a blaze at once. Then I met
Zaleshoff?looking like a hair-dresser?s assistant, got up as
fine as I don?t know who, while I looked like a tinker.
?Don?t flatter yourself, my boy ,? said he; ?she?s not for such
as you; she?s a princess, she is, and her name is Nastasia
Philipovna Barashkoff, and she lives with Totski, who
wishes to get rid of her because he?s growing rather old?
fifty- five or so?and wants to marry a certain beauty, the
loveliest woman in all Petersburg.? And then he told me
that I could see Nastasia Philipovna at the opera-house
that evening, if I liked, and described which was her box.
Well, I?d like to see my father a llowing any of us to go to
the theatre; he?d sooner have killed us, any day. However,
I went for an hour or so and saw Nastasia Philipovna, and
I never slept a wink all night after. Next morning my
father happened to give me two government loan bonds
to sell, worth nearly five thousand roubles each. ?Sell
them,? said he, ?and then take seven thousand five hundred
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17 of 1149
roubles to the office, give them to the cashier, and bring
me back the rest of the ten thousand, without looking in
anywhere on the way; look sharp, I shall be waiting for
you.’ Well, I sold the bonds, but I didn?t take
the seven thousand roubles to the office; I went straight to
the English shop and chose a pair of earrings, with a
diamond the size of a nut in each. They cost four hundred
roubles more than I had, so I gave my name, and they
trusted me. With the earri ngs I went at once to
Zaleshoff?s. ?Come on!? I sa id, ?come on to Nastasia
Philipovna?s,? and off we went without more ado. I tell
you I hadn?t a notion of what was about me or before me
or below my feet all the way; I saw nothing whatever. We
went straight into her drawing-room, and then she came
out to us.
?I didn?t say right out who I was, but Zaleshoff said:
?From Parfen Rogojin, in memory of his first meeting
with you yesterday; be so kind as to accept these!?
?She opened the parcel, looked at the earrings, and
laughed.
??Thank your friend Mr. Rogojin for his kind
attention,? says she, and bowed and went off. Why didn?t I
die there on the spot? The worst of it all was, though, that
the beast Zaleshoff got all the credit of it! I was short and
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abominably dressed, and stood and stared in her face and
never said a word, because I was shy, like an ass! And
there was he all in the fashion, pomaded and dressed out,
with a smart tie on, bowing and scraping; and I bet
anything she took him for me all the while!
??Look here now,? I said, when we came out, ?none of
your interference here after this-do you understand?? He
laughed: ?And how are you going to settle up with your
father?? says he. I thought I might as well jump into the
Neva at once without going home first; but it struck me
that I wouldn?t, after all, and I went home feeling like one
of the damned.?
?My goodness!? shivered the clerk. ?And his father,? he
added, for the prince?s instruction, ?and his father would
have given a man a ticket to the other world for ten
roubles any day?not to speak of ten thousand!?
The prince observed Rogojin with great curiosity; he
seemed paler than ever at this moment.
?What do you know about it?? cried the latter. ?Well,
my father learned the whole sto ry at once, and Zaleshoff
blabbed it all over the town besides. So he took me
upstairs and locked me up, and swore at me for an hour.
?This is only a foretaste,? sa ys he; ?wait a bit till night
comes, and I?ll come back and talk to you again.?
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?Well, what do you think? The old fellow went straight
off to Nastasia Philipovna, touched the floor with his
forehead, and began blubbering and beseeching her on his
knees to give him back the diamonds. So after awhile she
brought the box and flew out at him. ?There,? she says,
?take your earrings, you wretched old miser; although they
are ten times dearer than their value to me now that I
know what it must have cost Parfen to get them! Give
Parfen my compliments,? she says, ?and thank him very
much!? Well, I meanwhile had borrowed twenty-five
roubles from a friend, and off I went to Pskoff to my
aunt?s. The old woman there lectured me so that I left the
house and went on a drinkin g tour round the public-
houses of the place. I was in a high fever when I got to
Pskoff, and by nightfall I was lying delirious in the streets
somewhere or other!?
?Oho! we?ll make Nastasia Philipovna sing another song
now!? giggled Lebedeff, rubbing his hands with glee. ?Hey,
my boy, we?ll get her some proper earrings now! We?ll get
her such earrings that??
?Look here,? cried Rogojin, seizing him fiercely by the
arm, ?look here, if you so much as name Nastasia
Philipovna again, I?ll tan your h ide as sure as you sit there!?
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?Aha! do?by all means! if you tan my hide you won?t
turn me away from your society. You?ll bind me to you,
with your lash, for ever. Ha, ha! here we are at the station,
though.?
Sure enough, the train was just steaming in as he spoke.
Though Rogojin had declared that he left Pskoff
secretly, a large collection of friends had assembled to greet
him, and did so with profuse waving of hats and shouting.
?Why, there?s Zaleshoff here, too!? he muttered, gazing
at the scene with a sort of triumphant but unpleasant
smile. Then he suddenly turned to the prince: ?Prince, I
don?t know why I have taken a fancy to you; perhaps
because I met you just when I did. But no, it can?t be that,
for I met this fellow ? (nodding at Lebedeff) ?too, and I
have not taken a fancy to him by any means. Come to see
me, prince; we?ll take off thos e gaiters of yours and dress
you up in a smart fur coat, th e best we can buy. You shall
have a dress coat, best quality, white waistcoat, anything
you like, and your pocket s hall be full of money. Come,
and you shall go with me to Nastasia Philipovna?s. Now
then will you come or no??
?Accept, accept, Prince Lef Nicolaievitch? said Lebedef
solemnly; ?don?t let it slip! Accept, quick!?
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Prince Muishkin rose and stretched out his hand
courteously, while he replied with some cordiality:
?I will come with the greatest pleasure, and thank you
very much for taking a fancy to me. I dare say I may even
come today if I have time, for I tell you frankly that I like
you very much too. I liked you especially when you told
us about the diamond earrings; but I liked you before that
as well, though you have such a dark-clouded sort of face.
Thanks very much for the offer of clothes and a fur coat; I
certainly shall require both clothes and coat very soon. As
for money, I have hardly a copeck about me at this
moment.?
?You shall have lots of money; by the evening I shall
have plenty; so come along!?
?That?s true enough, he?ll have lots before evening!? put
in Lebedeff.
?But, look here, are you a great hand with the ladies?
Let?s know that first?? asked Rogojin.
?Oh no, oh no! said the prince; ?I couldn?t, you
know?my illness?I hardly ever saw a soul.?
?H?m! well?here, you fellow-you can come along
with me now if you like!? crie d Rogojin to Lebedeff, and
so they all left the carriage.
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Lebedeff had his desire. He went off with the noisy
group of Rogojin?s friends towards the Voznesensky,
while the prince?s route lay to wards the Litaynaya. It was
damp and wet. The prince asked his way of passers-by,
and finding that he was a couple of miles or so from his
destination, he determined to take a droshky.
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23 of 1149
II
General Epanchin lived in his own house near the
Litaynaya. Besides this large residence?five-sixths of
which was let in flats and lo dgings-the general was owner
of another enormous house in the Sadovaya bringing in
even more rent than the first. Besides these houses he had
a delightful little estate just out of town, and some sort of
factory in another part of the city. General Epanchin, as
everyone knew, had a good deal to do with certain
government monopolies; he was also a voice, and an
important one, in many rich public companies of various
descriptions; in fact, he enjo yed the reputation of being a
well- to-do man of busy habit s, many ties, and affluent
means. He had made himself indispensable in several
quarters, amongst others in his department of the
government; and yet it was a known fact that Fedor
Ivanovitch Epanchin was a man of no education whatever,
and had absolutely risen from the ranks.
This last fact cou ld, of course, reflect not hing but credit
upon the general; and yet, though unquestionably a
sagacious man, he had his own little weaknesses-very
excusable ones,?one of which was a dislike to any
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allusion to the above circumstance. He was undoubtedly
clever. For instance, he made a point of never asserting
himself when he would gain more by keeping in the
background; and in consequence many exalted personages
valued him principally for his humility and simplicity, and
because ?he knew his place.? And yet if these good people
could only have had a peep into the mind of this excellent
fellow who ?knew his place? so well! The fact is that, in
spite of his knowledge of the world and his really
remarkable abilities, he always liked to appear to be
carrying out other people?s ideas rather than his own. And
also, his luck seldom failed him, even at cards, for which
he had a passion that he did not attempt to conceal. He
played for high stakes, and moved, altogether, in very
varied society.
As to age, General Epanchin was in the very prime of
life; that is, about fifty-five years of age,?the flowering
time of existence, when real enjoyment of life begins. His
healthy appearance, good colour, sound, though
discoloured teeth, sturdy figure, preoccupied air during
business hours, and jolly good humour during his game at
cards in the evening, all bore witness to his success in life,
and combined to make existence a bed of roses to his
excellency. The general was lo rd of a flourishing family,
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consisting of his wife and three grown-up daughters. He
had married young, while still a lieutenant, his wife being
a girl of about his own age, who possessed neither beauty
nor education, and who brought him no more than fifty
souls of landed property, which little estate served,
however, as a nest-egg for far more important
accumulations. The general never regretted his early
marriage, or regarded it as a foolish youthful escapade; and
he so respected and feared his wife that he was very near
loving her. Mrs. Epanchin ca me of the princely stock of
Muishkin, which if not a brillia nt, was, at all events, a
decidedly ancient family; and she was extremely proud of
her descent.
With a few exceptions, the worthy couple had lived
through their long union very happily. While still young
the wife had been able to make important friends among
the aristocracy, partly by virtue of her family descent, and
partly by her own exertions; while, in after life, thanks to
their wealth and to the position of her husband in the
service, she took her place am ong the higher circles as by
right.
During these last few years all three of the general?s
daughters- Alexandra, Adelaida, and Aglaya?had grown
up and matured. Of course they were only Epanchins, but
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their mother?s family was noble; they might expect
considerable fortunes; their father had hopes of attaining to
very high rank indeed in hi s country?s service-all of which
was satisfactory. All three of the girls were decidedly
pretty, even the eldest, Alexandra, who was just twenty-
five years old. The middle daughter was now twenty-
three, while the youngest, Aglaya, was twenty. This
youngest girl was absolutely a beauty, and had begun of
late to attract considerable a ttention in society. But this
was not all, for every one of the three was clever, well
educated, and accomplished.
It was a matter of general k nowledge that the three girls
were very fond of one another, and supported each other
in every way; it was even said that the two elder ones had
made certain sacrifices for the sake of the idol of the
household, Aglaya. In society they not only disliked
asserting themselves, but were actually retiring. Certainly
no one could blame them for being too arrogant or
haughty, and yet everybody was well aware that they were
proud and quite understood their own value. The eldest
was musical, while the second was a clever artist, which
fact she had concealed until la tely. In a word, the world
spoke well of the girls; but they were not without their
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enemies, and occasionally people talked with horror of the
number of books they had read.
They were in no hurry to marry. They liked good
society, but were not too keen about it. All this was the
more remarkable, because everyone was well aware of the
hopes and aims of their parents.
It was about eleven o?clock in the forenoon when the
prince rang the bell at General Epanchin?s door. The
general lived on the first floor or flat of the house, as
modest a lodging as his position permitted. A liveried
servant opened the door, and the prince was obliged to
enter into long explanations with this gentleman, who,
from the first glance, looked at him and his bundle with
grave suspicion. At last, however, on the repeated positive
assurance that he really was Prince Muishkin, and must
absolutely see the general on business, the bewildered
domestic showed him into a little ante-chamber leading to
a waiting-room that adjoined the general?s study, there
handing him over to another servant, whose duty it was to
be in this ante-chamber a ll the morning, and announce
visitors to the general. This second individual wore a dress
coat, and was some for ty years of age; he was the general?s
special study servant, and well aware of his own
importance.
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?Wait in the next room, please; and leave your bundle
here,? said the door-keeper, as he sat down comfortably in
his own easy-chair in the ante-chamber. He looked at the
prince in severe surprise as the latter settled himself in
another chair alongside, with his bundle on his knees.
?If you don?t mind, I would rather sit here with you,?
said the prince; ?I should prefer it to sitting in there.?
?Oh, but you can? t stay here. You are a visitor?a
guest, so to speak. Is it the general himself you wish to
see??
The man evidently could not take in the idea of such a
shabby- looking visitor, and had decided to ask once
more.
?Yes?I have business?? began the prince.
?I do not ask you what your business may be, all I have
to do is to announce you; and unless the secretary comes
in here I cannot do that.?
The man?s suspicions seemed to increase more and
more. The prince was too unlike the usual run of daily
visitors; and although the gen eral certainly did receive, on
business, all sorts and conditions of men, yet in spite of this
fact the servant felt great doubts on the subject of this
particular visitor. The pres ence of the secretary as an
intermediary was, he judged, essential in this case.
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?Surely you?are from abroad?? he inquired at last, in a
confused sort of way. He had begun his sentence
intending to say, ?Surely you are not Prince Muishkin, are
you??
?Yes, straight from the train! Did not you intend to say,
?Surely you are not Prince Muishkin?? just now, but
refrained out of politeness ??
?H?m!? grunted the astonished servant.
?I assure you I am not dece iving you; you shall not
have to answer for me. As to my being dressed like this,
and carrying a bundle, there?s nothing surprising in that?
the fact is, my circumstances are not particularly rosy at
this moment.?
?H?m!?no, I?m not afraid of that, you see; I have to
announce you, that?s all. The secretary will be out
directly-that is, unless you? yes, that?s the rub?unless
you?come, you must allow me to ask you?you?ve not
come to beg, have you??
?Oh dear no, you can be perfectly easy on that score. I
have quite another matter on hand.?
?You must excuse my asking, you know. Your
appearance led me to think?but just wait for the
secretary; the general is busy now, but the secretary is sure
to come out.?
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?Oh?well, look here, if I have some time to wait,
would you mind telling me, is there any place about
where I could have a smoke? I have my pipe and tobacco
with me.?
?SMOKE?? said the man, in shocked but disdainful
surprise, blinking his eyes at th e prince as though he could
not believe his senses.? No, si r, you cannot smoke here,
and I wonder you are not ashamed of the very suggestion.
Ha, ha! a cool idea that, I declare!?
?Oh, I didn?t mean in this room! I know I can?t smoke
here, of course. I?d adjourn to some other room, wherever
you like to show me to. You see, I?m used to smoking a
good deal, and now I haven?t had a puff for three hours;
however, just as you like.?
?Now how on earth am I to announce a man like that??
muttered the servant. ?In the first place, you?ve no right in
here at all; you ought to be in the waiting-room, because
you?re a sort of visitor?a guest, in fact?and I shall catch
it for this. Look here, do you intend to take up you abode
with us?? he added, glancing once more at the prince?s
bundle, which evidently gave him no peace.
?No, I don?t think so. I don?t think I should stay even if
they were to invite me. I?ve simply come to make their
acquaintance, and nothing more.?
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?Make their acquaintance?? asked the man, in
amazement, and with redoubled suspicion. ?Then why did
you say you had business with the general??
?Oh well, very little busi ness. There is one little
matter?some advice I am going to ask him for; but my
principal object is simply to introduce myself, because I
am Prince Muishkin, and Madame Epanchin is the last of
her branch of the house, and be sides herself and me there
are no other Muishkins left.?
?What?you?re a relation then, are you?? asked the
servant, so bewildered that he began to feel quite alarmed.
?Well, hardly so. If you stretch a point, we are relations,
of course, but so distant that one cannot really take
cognizance of it. I once wrote to your mistress from
abroad, but she did not reply. However, I have thought it
right to make acquaintance with her on my arrival. I am
telling you all this in order to ease your mind, for I see
you are still far from comforta ble on my account. All you
have to do is to announce me as Prince Muishkin, and the
object of my visit will be plain enough. If I am received?
very good; if not, well, very good again. But they are sure
to receive me, I should think; Madame Epanchin will
naturally be curious to see the only remaining
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representative of her family. She values her Muishkin
descent very highly, if I am rightly informed.?
The prince?s conversation was artless and confiding to a
degree, and the servant could not help feeling that as from
visitor to common serving-man this state of things was
highly improper. His conclusion was that one of two
things must be the explanati on? either that this was a
begging impostor, or that the prince, if prince he were,
was simply a fool, without the slightest ambition; for a
sensible prince with any ambitio n would certainly not wait
about in ante-rooms with servants, and talk of his own
private affairs like this. In either case, how was he to
announce this singular visitor?
?I really think I must request you to step into the next
room!? he said, with all the insistence he could muster.
?Why? If I had been sitting there now, I should not
have had the opportunity of making these personal
explanations. I see you are still uneasy about me and keep
eyeing my cloak and bundle. Don?t you think you might
go in yourself now, without waiting for the secretary to
come out??
?No, no! I can?t announce a visitor like yourself
without the secretary. Besides the general said he was not
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to be disturbed? he is with the Colonel C?. Gavrila
Ardalionovitch goes in without announcing.?
?Who may that be? a clerk??
?What? Gavrila Ardalionovitch? Oh no; he belongs to
one of the companies. Look here, at all events put your
bundle down, here.?
?Yes, I will if I may; and?can I take off my cloak
?Of course; you can?t go in THERE with it on,
anyhow.?
The prince rose and took off his mantle, revealing a
neat enough morning costume?a little worn, but well
made. He wore a steel watch chain and from this chain
there hung a silver Geneva watch. Fool the prince might
be, still, the general?s servant fe lt that it was not correct for
him to continue to converse thus with a visitor, in spite of
the fact that the prince pleased him somehow.
?And what time of day does the lady receive?? the latter
asked, reseating himself in his old place.
?Oh, that?s not in my province! I believe she receives at
any time; it depends upon the visitors. The dressmaker
goes in at eleven. Gavrila Ardalionovitch is allowed much
earlier than other people, too; he is even admitted to early
lunch now and then.?
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?It is much warmer in the rooms here than it is abroad
at this season,? observed the prince; ? but it is much
warmer there out of doors. As for the houses?a Russian
can?t live in them in the winter until he gets accustomed
to them.?
?Don?t they heat them at all??
?Well, they do heat them a little; but the houses and
stoves are so different to ours.?
?H?m! were you long away??
?Four years! and I was in the same place nearly all the
time,?in one village.?
?You must have forgotten Russia, hadn?t you??
?Yes, indeed I had?a good deal; and, would you
believe it, I often wonder at myself for not having
forgotten how to speak Russian? Even now, as I talk to
you, I keep saying to myself ?how well I am speaking it.?
Perhaps that is partly why I am so talkative this morning. I
assure you, ever since yesterday evening I have had the
strongest desire to go on and on talking Russian.?
?H?m! yes; did you live in Pet ersburg in former years??
This good flunkey, in spite of his conscientious
scruples, really could not resist continuing such a very
genteel and agreeable conversation.
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?In Petersburg? Oh no! hardly at all, and now they say
so much is changed in the place that even those who did
know it well are obliged to relearn what they knew. They
talk a good deal about the new law courts, and changes
there, don?t they??
?H?m! yes, that?s true e nough. Well now, how is the
law over there, do they administer it more justly than
here??
?Oh, I don?t know about that! I?ve heard much that is
good about our legal administration, too. There is no
capital punishment here for one thing.?
?Is there over there??
?Yes?I saw an execution in France?at Lyons.
Schneider took me over with him to see it.?
?What, did they hang the fellow??
?No, they cut off people?s heads in France.?
?What did the fellow do??yell??
?Oh no?it?s the work of an instant. They put a man
inside a frame and a sort of broad knife falls by machinery
-they call the thing a guillotine -it falls with fearful force
and weight-the head springs off so quickly that you can?t
wink your eye in between. But all the preparations are so
dreadful. When they announce the sentence, you know,
and prepare the criminal and tie his hands, and cart him off
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36 of 1149
to the scaffold?that?s the fearful part of the business. The
people all crowd round?even women- though they don?t
at all approve of women looking on.?
?No, it?s not a thing for women.?
?Of course not?of course not!?bah! The criminal was
a fine intelligent fearless man; Le Gros was his name; and I
may tell you?believe it or not, as you like?that when
that man stepped upon the scaffold he CRIED, he did
indeed,?he was as white as a bit of paper. Isn?t it a
dreadful idea that he shou ld have cried ?cried! Whoever
heard of a grown man crying from fear?not a child, but a
man who never had cried before?a grown man of forty-
five years. Imagine what must have been going on in that
man?s mind at such a moment; what dreadful convulsions
his whole spirit must have endured; it is an outrage on the
soul that?s what it is. Because it is said ?thou shalt not kill,?
is he to be killed because he murdered some one else? No,
it is not right, it?s an impossible theory. I assure you, I saw
the sight a month ago and it?s dancing before my eyes to
this moment. I dream of it, often.?
The prince had grown animated as he spoke, and a
tinge of colour suffused his pale face, though his way of
talking was as quiet as ever. The servant followed his
words with sympathetic interest. Clearly he was not at all
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anxious to bring the conversation to an end. Who knows?
Perhaps he too was a man of imagination and with some
capacity for thought.
?Well, at all events it is a good thing that there?s no pain
when the poor fellow?s head flies off,? he remarked.
?Do you know, though,? cried the prince warmly, ?you
made that remark now, and everyone says the same thing,
and the machine is designed with the purpose of avoiding
pain, this guillotine I mean; but a thought came into my
head then: what if it be a bad plan after all? You may
laugh at my idea, perhaps?but I could not help its
occurring to me all the same. Now with the rack and
tortures and so on?you suffer terrible pain of course; but
then your torture is bodily pain only (although no doubt
you have plenty of that) until you die. But HERE I
should imagine the most terrible part of the whole
punishment is, not the bodily pain at all?but the certain
knowledge that in an hour,?the n in ten minutes, then in
half a minute, then now?this very INSTANT?your
soul must quit your body and that you will no longer be a
man? and that this is certain, CERTAIN! That?s the
point?the certainty of it. Just that instant when you place
your head on the block and hear the iron grate over your
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head?then?that quarter of a second is the most awful of
all.
?This is not my own fantastical opinion?many people
have thought the same; but I feel it so deeply that I?ll tell
you what I think. I believe that to execute a man for
murder is to punish him immeasurably more dreadfully
than is equivalent to his crime. A murder by sentence is far
more dreadful than a murder committed by a criminal.
The man who is attacked by robbers at night, in a dark
wood, or anywhere, undoubtedly hopes and hopes that he
may yet escape until the very moment of his death. There
are plenty of instances of a man running away, or
imploring for mercy?at all events hoping on in some
degree?even after his throat wa s cut. But in the case of
an execution, that last hope?having which it is so
immeasurably less dreadful to die,?is taken away from the
wretch and CERTAINTY substi tuted in its place! There
is his sentence, and with it t hat terrible certainty that he
cannot possibly escape death?which, I consider, must be
the most dreadful anguish in the world. You may place a
soldier before a cannon?s mouth in battle, and fire upon
him?and he will still hope. But read to that same soldier
his death-sentence, and he will either go mad or burst into
tears. Who dares to say that any man can suffer this
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without going mad? No, no! it is an abuse, a shame, it is
unnecessary?why should such a thing exist? Doubtless
there may be men who have been sentenced, who have
suffered this mental anguish for a while and then have
been reprieved; perhaps such men may have been able to
relate their feelings afterwards. Our Lord Christ spoke of
this anguish and dread. No! no! no! No man should be
treated so, no man, no man!?
The servant, though of course he could not have
expressed all this as the prince did, still clearly entered into
it and was greatly conciliated, as was evident from the
increased amiability of his expression. ?If you are really
very anxious for a smoke,? he remarked, ?I think it might
possibly be managed, if you are very quick about it. You
see they might come out and inquire for you, and you
wouldn?t be on the spot. You see that door there? Go in
there and you?ll find a little room on the right; you can
smoke there, only open the win dow, because I ought not
to allow it really, and?.? But there was no time, after all.
A young fellow entered the ante-room at this moment,
with a bundle of papers in his hand. The footman hastened
to help him take off his overcoat. The new arrival glanced
at the prince out of the corners of his eyes.
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?This gentleman declares, Gavrila Ardalionovitch,?
began the man, confidentially and almost familiarly, ?that
he is Prince Muishkin and a relative of Madame
Epanchin?s. He has just arrive d from abroad, with nothing
but a bundle by way of luggage?.?
The prince did not hear the rest, because at this point
the servant continued his communication in a whisper.
Gavrila Ardalionovitch listened attentively, and gazed at
the prince with great curiosity. At last he motioned the
man aside and stepped hurriedly towards the prince.
?Are you Prince Muishkin?? he asked, with the greatest
courtesy and amiability.
He was a remarkably handsome young fellow of some
twenty-eight summers, fair and of middle height; he wore
a small beard, and his face was most intelligent. Yet his
smile, in spite of its sweetness, was a little thin, if I may so
call it, and showed his teeth too evenly; his gaze though
decidedly good-humoured and in genuous, was a trifle too
inquisitive and intent to be altogether agreeable.
?Probably when he is alone he looks quite different, and
hardly smiles at all!? thought the prince.
He explained about himself in a few words, very much
the same as he had told the footman and Rogojin
beforehand.
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Gavrila Ardalionovitch meanwhile seemed to be trying
to recall something.
?Was it not you, then, who se nt a letter a year or less
ago?from Switzerland, I think it was?to Elizabetha
Prokofievna (Mrs. Epanchin)??
?It was.?
?Oh, then, of course they will remember who you are.
You wish to see the general? I?ll tell him at once?he will
be free in a minute; but you?you had better wait in the
ante-chamber,?hadn?t you? Why is he here?? he added,
severely, to the man.
?I tell you, sir, he wished it himself!?
At this moment the study door opened, and a military
man, with a portfolio under his arm, came out talking
loudly, and after bidding good-bye to someone inside,
took his departure.
?You there, Gania? cried a voice from the study, ?come
in here, will you??
Gavrila Ardalionovitch nodded to the prince and
entered the room hastily.
A couple of minutes later the door opened again and
the affable voice of Gania cried:
?Come in please, prince!?
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42 of 1149
III
General Ivan Fedorovitch Epanchin was standing In the
middle of the room, and gazed with great curiosity at the
prince as he entered. He even advanced a couple of steps
to meet him.
The prince came forward and introduced himself.
?Quite so,? replied the general, ?and what can I do for
you??
?Oh, I have no special business; my principal object was
to make your acquaintance. I should not like to disturb
you. I do not know your times and arrangements here,
you see, but I have only just arrived. I came straight from
the station. I am come direct from Switzerland.?
The general very nearly smiled, but thought better of it
and kept his smile back. Th en he reflected, blinked his
eyes, stared at his guest once more from head to foot; then
abruptly motioned him to a chair, sat down himself, and
waited with some impatience for the prince to speak.
Gania stood at his table in the far corner of the room,
turning over papers.
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?I have not much time for making acquaintances, as a
rule,? said the general, ?but as , of course, you have your
object in coming, I??
?I felt sure you would think I had some object in view
when I resolved to pay you this visit,? the prince
interrupted; ?but I give you my word, beyond the pleasure
of making your acquaintance I had no personal object
whatever.?
?The pleasure is, of course, mutual; but life is not all
pleasure, as you are aware. There is such a thing as
business, and I really do not see what possible reason there
can be, or what we have in common to??
?Oh, there is no reason, of course, and I suppose there
is nothing in common between us, or very little; for if I
am Prince Muishkin, and y our wife happens to be a
member of my house, that can hardly be called a ?reason.?
I quite understand that. And yet that was my whole
motive for coming. You see I have not been in Russia for
four years, and knew very little about anything when I
left. I had been very ill for a long time, and I feel now the
need of a few good friends. In fact, I have a certain
question upon which I much need advice, and do not
know whom to go to for it . I thought of your family
when I was passing through Berlin. ?They are almost
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relations,? I said to myself,? so I?ll begin with them;
perhaps we may get on with each other, I with them and
they with me, if they are kind people;? and I have heard
that you are very kind people!?
?Oh, thank you, thank you, I?m sure,? replied the
general, considerably taken aback. ?May I ask where you
have taken up your quarters??
?Nowhere, as yet.?
?What, straight from the station to my house? And how
about your luggage??
?I only had a small bundle, c ontaining linen, with me,
nothing more. I can carry it in my hand, easily. There will
be plenty of time to take a room in some hotel by the
evening.?
?Oh, then you DO intend to take a room??
?Of course.?
?To judge from your words, you came straight to my
house with the intention of staying there.?
?That could only have been on your invitation. I
confess, however, that I s hould not have stayed here even
if you had invited me, not fo r any particular reason, but
because it is? well, contrary to my practice and nature,
somehow.?
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45 of 1149
?Oh, indeed! Then it is perhaps as well that I neither
DID invite you, nor DO invite you now. Excuse me,
prince, but we had better make this matter clear, once for
all. We have just agreed that with regard to our
relationship there is not much to be said, though, of
course, it would have been very delightful to us to feel
that such relationship did actually exist; therefore,
perhaps??
?Therefore, perhaps I had better get up and go away??
said the prince, laughing merrily as he rose from his place;
just as merrily as though the circumstances were by no
means strained or difficult. ?And I give you my word,
general, that though I know nothing whatever of manners
and customs of societ y, and how people live and all that,
yet I felt quite sure that this visit of mine would end
exactly as it has ended now. Oh, well, I suppose it?s all
right; especially as my letter was not answered. Well,
good-bye, and forgive me for having disturbed you!?
The prince?s expression wa s so good-natured at this
moment, and so entirely free from even a suspicion of
unpleasant feeling was the smile with which he looked at
the general as he spoke, that the latter suddenly paused,
and appeared to gaze at his guest from quite a new point
of view, all in an instant.
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46 of 1149
?Do you know, prince,? he said, in quite a different
tone, ?I do not know you at all, yet, and after all,
Elizabetha Prokofievna would very likely be pleased to
have a peep at a man of her own name. Wait a little, if
you don?t mind, and if you have time to spare??
?Oh, I assure you I?ve lots of time, my time is entirely
my own!? And the prince i mmediately replaced his soft,
round hat on the table. ?I confess, I thought Elizabetha
Prokofievna would very likely remember that I had
written her a letter. Just now your servant?outside
there?was dreadfully suspicious that I had come to beg of
you. I noticed that! Probably he has very strict instructions
on that score; but I assure you I did not come to beg. I
came to make some friends. But I am rather bothered at
having disturbed you; that?s all I care about.??
?Look here, prince,? said the general, with a cordial
smile, ?if you really are the sort of man you appear to be, it
may be a source of great pleas ure to us to make your
better acquaintance; but, you s ee, I am a very busy man,
and have to be perpetually sitting here and signing papers,
or off to see his excellency, or to my department, or
somewhere; so that though I s hould be glad to see more of
people, nice people?you s ee, I?however, I am sure you
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47 of 1149
are so well brought up that you will see at once, and?
but how old are you, prince??
?Twenty-six.?
?No? I thought you very much younger.?
?Yes, they say I have a ?young? face. As to disturbing
you I shall soon learn to avoid doing that, for I hate
disturbing people. Besides, you and I are so differently
constituted, I should think, that there must be very little in
common between us. Not that I will ever believe there is
NOTHING in common between any two people, as
some declare is the case. I am sure people make a great
mistake in sorting each other into groups, by appearances;
but I am boring you, I see, you??
?Just two words: have you any means at all? Or perhaps
you may be intending to undertake some sort of
employment? Excuse my questioning you, but??
?Oh, my dear sir, I esteem and understand your
kindness in putting the question. No; at present I have no
means whatever, and no employment either, but I hope to
find some. I was living on other people abroad. Schneider,
the professor who treated me and taught me, too, in
Switzerland, gave me just enoug h money for my journey,
so that now I have but a few copecks left. There certainly
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48 of 1149
is one question upon which I am anxious to have advice,
but??
?Tell me, how do you intend to live now, and what are
your plans?? interrupted the general.
?I wish to work, somehow or other.?
?Oh yes, but then, you see, you are a philosopher.
Have you any talents, or ability in any direction?that is,
any that would bring in money and bread? Excuse me
again??
?Oh, don?t apologize. No, I don?t think I have either
talents or special abilities of any kind; on the contrary. I
have always been an invalid and unable to learn much. As
for bread, I should think??
The general interrupted once more with questions;
while the prince again replied with the narrative we have
heard before. It appeared that the general had known
Pavlicheff; but why the latter had taken an interest in the
prince, that young gentleman could not explain; probably
by virtue of the old friendsh ip with his father, he thought.
The prince had been left an orphan when quite a little
child, and Pavlicheff had entrusted him to an old lady, a
relative of his own, living in the country, the child
needing the fresh air and exerc ise of country life. He was
educated, first by a governess, and afterwards by a tutor,
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49 of 1149
but could not remember much about this time of his life.
His fits were so frequent then, that they made almost an
idiot of him (the prince used the expression ?idiot?
himself). Pavlicheff had met Professor Schneider in Berlin,
and the latter had persuaded him to send the boy to
Switzerland, to Schneider?s establishment there, for the
cure of his epilepsy, and, five years before this time, the
prince was sent off. But Pavlicheff had died two or three
years since, and Schneider had himself supported the
young fellow, from that day to this, at his own expense.
Although he had not quite cured him, he had greatly
improved his condition; and now , at last, at the prince?s
own desire, and because of a c ertain matter which came to
the ears of the latter, Schneider had despatched the young
man to Russia.
The general was much astonished.
?Then you have no one, absolutely NO one in Russia??
he asked.
?No one, at present; but I hope to make friends; and
then I have a letter from??
?At all events,? put in the general, not listening to the
news about the letter, ?at all events, you must have learned
SOMETHING, and your malady would not prevent your
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undertaking some easy work, in one of the departments,
for instance?
?Oh dear no, oh no! As for a situation, I should much
like to find one for I am anxio us to discover what I really
am fit for. I have learned a good deal in the last four years,
and, besides, I read a great many Russian books.?
?Russian books, indeed ? Then, of course, you can read
and write quite correctly??
?Oh dear, yes!?
?Capital! And your handwriting??
?Ah, there I am REALLY ta lented! I may say l am a
real caligraphist. Let me write you something, just to show
you,? said the prince, with some excitement.
?With pleasure! In fact, it is very necessary. I like your
readiness, prince; in fact, I must say?I-I-like you very
well, altogether,? said the general.
?What delightful writing materials you have here, such
a lot of pencils and things, and what beautiful paper! It?s a
charming room altogether. I know that picture, it?s a Swiss
view. I?m sure the artist painted it from nature, and that I
have seen the very place??
?Quite likely, though I bought it here. Gania, give the
prince some paper. Here are pens and paper; now then,
take this table. What?s this ?? the general continued to
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Gania, who had that moment taken a large photograph
out of his portfolio, and shown it to his senior. ?Halloa!
Nastasia Philipovna! Did she send it you herself? Herself??
he inquired, with much curiosity and great animation.
?She gave it me just now, when I called in to
congratulate her. I asked her for it long ago. I don?t know
whether she meant it for a hint that I had come empty-
handed, without a present for her birthday, or what,?
added Gania, with an unpleasant smile.
?Oh, nonsense, nonsense,? said the general, with
decision. ? What extraordinary ideas you have, Gania! As if
she would hint; that?s not h er way at all. Besides, what
could you give her, without having thousands at your
disposal? You might have given her your portrait,
however. Has she ever asked you for it??
?No, not yet. Very likely she never will. I suppose you
haven?t forgotten about tonight, have you, Ivan
Fedorovitch? You were one of those specially invited, you
know.?
?Oh no, I remember all right, and I shall go, of course.
I should think so! She?s twenty-five years old today! And,
you know, Gania, you must be ready for great things; she
has promised both myself and Afanasy Ivanovitch that she
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will give a decided answer tonight, yes or no. So be
prepared!?
Gania suddenly became so ill at ease that his face grew
paler than ever.
?Are you sure she said that?? he asked, and his voice
seemed to quiver as he spoke.
?Yes, she promised. We both worried her so that she
gave in; but she wished us to tell you nothing about it
until the day. ?
The general watched Gania?s confusion intently, and
clearly did not like it.
?Remember, Ivan Fedorovitch,? said Gania, in great
agitation, ?that I was to be free too, until her decision; and
that even then I was to have my ?yes or no? free.?
?Why, don?t you, aren?t you?? began the general, in
alarm.
?Oh, don?t misunderstand??
?But, my dear fellow, what are you doing, what do you
mean??
?Oh, I?m not rejecting her. I may have expressed myself
badly, but I didn?t mean that.?
?Reject her! I should think not!? said the general with
annoyance, and apparently not in the least anxious to
conceal it. ?Why, my dear fellow, it?s not a question of
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your rejecting her, it is whether you are prepared to
receive her consent joyfully, and with proper satisfaction.
How are things going on at home??
?At home? Oh, I can do as I like there, of course; only
my father will make a fool of himself, as usual. He is
rapidly becoming a general nuisance. I don?t ever talk to
him now, but I hold him in cheek, safe enough. I swear if
it had not been for my mother, I should have shown him
the way out, long ago. My mother is always crying, of
course, and my sister sulks. I had to tell them at last that I
intended to be master of my own destiny, and that I
expect to be obeyed at home. At least, I gave my sister to
understand as much, and my mother was present.?
?Well, I must say, I cannot understand it!? said the
general, shrugging his shoulders and dropping his hands.
?You remember your mother, Nina Alexandrovna, that
day she came and sat here and groaned-and when I asked
her what was the matter, she says, ?Oh, it?s such a
DISHONOUR to us!? dishonour! Stuff and nonsense! I
should like to know who can reproach Nastasia
Philipovna, or who can say a wo rd of any kind against her.
Did she mean because Nastasia had been living with
Totski? What nonsense it is! You would not let her come
near your daughters, says Nina Alexandrovna. What next,
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I wonder? I don?t see how she can fail to?to
understand??
?Her own position?? prompted Gania. ?She does
understand. Don?t be annoyed with her. I have warned
her not to meddle in other people?s affairs. However,
although there?s comparative peace at home at present, the
storm will break if anything is finally settled tonight.?
The prince heard the whole of the foregoing
conversation, as he sat at the table, writing. He finished at
last, and brought the result of his labour to the general?s
desk.
?So this is Nastasia Philipovna,? he said, looking
attentively and curiously at th e portrait. ?How wonderfully
beautiful!? he immediately added, with warmth. The
picture was certainly that of an unusually lovely woman.
She was photographed in a black silk dress of simple
design, her hair was evidently dark and plainly arranged,
her eyes were deep and thoughtful, the expression of her
face passionate, but proud. She was rather thin, perhaps,
and a little pale. Both Gania and the general gazed at the
prince in amazement.
?How do you know it?s Nastasia Philipovna?? asked the
general; ?you surely don?t know her already, do you? ?
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?Yes, I do! I have only been one day in Russia, but I
have heard of the great beauty!? And the prince proceeded
to narrate his meeting with Rogojin in the train and the
whole of the latter?s story.
?There?s news!? said the general in some excitement,
after listening to the story with engrossed attention.
?Oh, of course it?s nothing but humbug!? cried Gania, a
little disturbed, however. ?It?s all humbug; the young
merchant was pleased to indulge in a little innocent
recreation! I have heard something of Rogojin!?
?Yes, so have I!? replied the general. ?Nastasia
Philipovna told us all about the earrings that very day. But
now it is quite a different matter. You see the fellow really
has a million of roubles, and he is passionately in love. The
whole story smells of passion, and we all know what this
class of gentry is capable of when infatuated. I am much
afraid of some disagreeable scandal, I am indeed!?
?You are afraid of the million, I suppose,? said Gania,
grinning and showing his teeth.
?And you are NOT, I presume, eh??
?How did he strike you, prince?? asked Gania,
suddenly. ?Did he seem to be a serious sort of a man, or
just a common rowdy fellow? What was your own
opinion about the matter??
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While Gania put this question, a new idea suddenly
flashed into his brain, and bl azed out, impatiently, in his
eyes. The general, who was really agitated and disturbed,
looked at the prince too, bu t did not seem to expect much
from his reply.
?I really don?t quite know how to tell you,? replied the
prince, ?but it certainly did seem to me that the man was
full of passion, and not, perhaps, quite healthy passion. He
seemed to be still far from well. Very likely he will be in
bed again in a day or two, especially if he lives fast.?
?No! do you think so?? said the general, catching at the
idea.
?Yes, I do think so!?
?Yes, but the sort of scandal I referred to may happen at
any moment. It may be this very evening,? remarked
Gania to the general, with a smile.
?Of course; quite so. In that case it all depends upon
what is going on in her brain at this moment.?
?You know the kind of person she is at times.?
?How? What kind of person is she?? cried the general,
arrived at the limits of his patience. Look here, Gania,
don?t you go annoying her tonight What you are to do is
to be as agreeable towards her as ever you can. Well, what
are you smiling at? You must understand, Gania, that I
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have no interest whatever in speaking like this. Whichever
way the question is settled, it will be to my advantage.
Nothing will move Totski from his resolution, so I run no
risk. If there is anything I desire, you must know that it is
your benefit only. Can?t you trust me? You are a sensible
fellow, and I have been counting on you; for, in this
matter, that, that??
?Yes, that?s the chief thing,? said Gania, helping the
general out of his difficulties again, and curling his lips in
an envenomed smile, which he did not attempt to
conceal. He gazed with his fev ered eyes straight into those
of the general, as though he were anxious that the latter
might read his thoughts.
The general grew purple with anger.
?Yes, of course it is the ch ief thing!? he cried, looking
sharply at Gania. ?What a very curious man you are,
Gania! You actually seem to be GLAD to hear of this
millionaire fellow?s arrival- just as though you wished for
an excuse to get out of the whole thing. This is an affair in
which you ought to act honestly with both sides, and give
due warning, to avoid compromising others. But, even
now, there is still time. Do you understand me? I wish to
know whether you desire this arrangement or whether
you do not? If not, say so,?and-and welcome! No one is
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trying to force you into the snare, Gavrila Ardalionovitch,
if you see a snare in the matter, at least.?
?I do desire it,? murmured Gania, softly but firmly,
lowering his eyes; and he relapsed into gloomy silence.
The general was satisfied. He had excited himself, and
was evidently now regretting t hat he had gone so far. He
turned to the prince, and suddenly the disagreeable
thought of the latter?s presence struck him, and the
certainty that he must have heard every word of the
conversation. But he felt at ease in another moment; it
only needed one glance at the pr ince to see that in that
quarter there was nothing to fear.
?Oh!? cried the general, catc hing sight of the prince?s
specimen of caligraphy, which the latter had now handed
him for inspection. ?Why, this is simply beautiful; look at
that, Gania, there?s real talent there!?
On a sheet of thick writing-paper the prince had
written in medieval characters the legend:
?The gentle Abbot Pafnute signed this.?
?There,? explained the prince, with great delight and
animation, ?there, that?s the abbot?s real signature?from a
manuscript of the fourteenth cent ury. All these old abbots
and bishops used to write most beautifully, with such taste
and so much care and diligence. Have you no copy of
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Pogodin, general? If you had one I could show you
another type. Stop a bit?here you have the large round
writing common in France during the eighteenth century.
Some of the letters are shaped quite differently from those
now in use. It was the writ ing current then, and employed
by public writers generally. I copied this from one of
them, and you can see how good it is. Look at the well-
rounded a and d. I have trie d to translate the French
character into the Russian lettersa difficult thing to do, but
I think I have succeeded fairly. Here is a fine sentence,
written in a good, original hand??Zeal triumphs over all.?
That is the script of the Russian War Office. That is how
official documents addressed to important personages
should be written. The letters are round, the type black,
and the style somewhat remarkable. A stylist would not
allow these ornaments, or atte mpts at flourishes?just look
at these unfinished tails!?but it has distinction and really
depicts the soul of the writer. He would like to give play
to his imagination, and follow the inspiration of his genius,
but a soldier is only at ease in the guard-room, and the
pen stops half-way, a slave to discipline. How delightful!
The first time I met an example of this handwriting, I was
positively astonished, and where do you think I chanced
to find it? In Switzerland, of all places! Now that is an
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ordinary English hand. It can hardly be improved, it is so
refined and exquisite?almost perfection. This is an
example of another kind, a mixture of styles. The copy
was given me by a French commercial traveller. It is
founded on the English, but the downstrokes are a little
blacker, and more marked. Notice that the oval has some
slight modification?it is more rounded. This writing
allows for flourishes; now a flourish is a dangerous thing!
Its use requires such taste, but, if successful, what a
distinction it gives to the whole! It results in an
incomparable type?one to fall in love with!?
?Dear me! How you have gone into all the refinements
and details of the question! Why, my dear fellow, you are
not a caligraphist, you are an artist! Eh, Gania ??
?Wonderful!? said Gania. ?And he knows it too,? he
added, with a sarcastic smile.
?You may smile,?but there?s a career in this,? said the
general. ?You don?t know what a great personage I shall
show this to, prince. Why, you can command a situation
at thirty-five roubles per m onth to start with. However,
it?s half-past twelve,? he concluded, looking at his watch;
?so to business, prince, for I must be setting to work and
shall not see you again today. Sit down a minute. I have
told you that I cannot receive you myself very often, but I
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should like to be of some assistance to you, some small
assistance, of a kind that would give you satisfaction. I shall
find you a place in one of the State departments, an easy
place?but you will require to be accurate. Now, as to
your plans?in the house, or rather in the family of Gania
here?my young friend, whom I hope you will know
better?his mother and sister have prepared two or three
rooms for lodgers, and let them to highly recommended
young fellows, with board and attendance. I am sure Nina
Alexandrovna will take you in on my recommendation.
There you will be comfortable and well taken care of; for
I do not think, prince, that you are the sort of man to be
left to the mercy of Fate in a town like Petersburg. Nina
Alexandrovna, Gania?s mother, and Varvara
Alexandrovna, are ladies for whom I have the highest
possible esteem and respect. Nina Alexandrovna is the
wife of General Ardalion Alexandrovitch, my old brother
in arms, with whom, I regret to say, on account of certain
circumstances, I am no longer acquainted. I give you all
this information, prince, in order to make it clear to you
that I am personally recommending you to this family, and
that in so doing, I am more or less taking upon myself to
answer for you. The terms are most reasonable, and I trust
that your salary will very shortly prove amply sufficient for
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your expenditure. Of course pocket-money is a necessity,
if only a little; do not be angry, prince, if I strongly
recommend you to avoid carrying money in your pocket.
But as your purse is quite empty at the present moment,
you must allow me to press these twenty-five roubles
upon your acceptance, as so mething to begin with. Of
course we will settle this little matter another time, and if
you are the upright, honest man you look, I anticipate
very little trouble between us on that score. Taking so
much interest in you as you may perceive I do, I am not
without my object, and you shall know it in good time.
You see, I am perfectly candid with you. I hope, Gania,
you have nothing to say again st the prince?s taking up his
abode in your house??
?Oh, on the contrary! my mother will be very glad,?
said Gania, courteously and kindly.
?I think only one of your rooms is engaged as yet, is it
not? That fellow Ferd-Ferd??
?Ferdishenko.?
?Yes?I don?t like that Ferdishenko. I can?t understand
why Nastasia Philipovna encourages him so. Is he really
her cousin, as he says??
?Oh dear no, it?s all a joke . No more cousin than I am.?
?Well, what do you think of the arrangement, prince??
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?Thank you, general; you have behaved very kindly to
me; all the more so since I did not ask you to help me. I
don?t say that out of pride. I certainly did not know where
to lay my head tonight. Rogojin asked me to come to his
house, of course, but??
?Rogojin? No, no, my good fellow. I should strongly
recommend you, paternally,?or, if you prefer it, as a
friend,?to forget all about Rogojin, and, in fact, to stick
to the family into which you are about to enter.?
?Thank you,? began the prince; ?and since you are so
very kind there is just one matter which I??
?You must really excuse me,? interrupted the general,
?but I positively haven?t another moment now. I shall just
tell Elizabetha Prokofievna about you, and if she wishes to
receive you at once?as I shall advise her?I strongly
recommend you to ingratiate y ourself with her at the first
opportunity, for my wife may be of the greatest service to
you in many ways. If she cannot receive you now, you
must be content to wait till another time. Meanwhile you,
Gania, just look over these accounts, will you? We
mustn?t forget to finish off that matter??
The general left the room , and the prince never
succeeded in broaching the business which he had on
hand, though he had endeavoured to do so four times.
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Gania lit a cigarette and offered one to the prince. The
latter accepted the offer, but did not talk, being unwilling
to disturb Gania?s work. He commenced to examine the
study and its contents. But Gania hardly so much as
glanced at the papers lying before him; he was absent and
thoughtful, and his smile and general appearance struck
the prince still more disagreeably now that the two were
left alone together.
Suddenly Gania approached our hero who was at the
moment standing over Nasta sia Philipovna?s portrait,
gazing at it.
?Do you admire that sort of woman, prince?? he asked,
looking intently at him. He seemed to have some special
object in the question.
?It?s a wonderful face,? said the prince, ?and I feel sure
that her destiny is not by any means an ordinary,
uneventful one. Her face is smiling enough, but she must
have suffered terribly? hasn?t she? Her eyes show it?
those two bones there, the littl e points under her eyes, just
where the cheek begins. It?s a proud face too, terribly
proud! And I?I can?t say whet her she is good and kind,
or not. Oh, if she be but good! That would make all well!?
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?And would you marry a woman like that, now??
continued Gania, never taking his excited eyes off the
prince?s face.
?I cannot marry at all,? said the latter. ?I am an invalid.?
?Would Rogojin marry her, do you think??
?Why not? Certainly he would, I should think. He
would marry her tomorrow!?marry her tomorrow and
murder her in a week!?
Hardly had the prince uttered the last word when
Gania gave such a fearful shu dder that the prince almost
cried out.
?What?s the matter?? said he, seizing Gania?s hand.
?Your highness! His excellency begs your presence in
her excellency?s apartments!? announced the footman,
appearing at the door.
The prince immediately followed the man out of the
room.
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IV
ALL three of the Miss Epanchins were fine, healthy
girls, well- grown, with good shoulders and busts, and
strong?almost masculine?hands; and, of course, with all
the above attributes, they enjoyed capital appetites, of
which they were not in the least ashamed.
Elizabetha Prokofievna sometimes informed the girls
that they were a little too candid in this matter, but in
spite of their outward deference to their mother these
three young women, in solemn conclave, had long agreed
to modify the unquestioning obedience which they had
been in the habit of according to her; and Mrs. General
Epanchin had judged it better to say nothing about it,
though, of course, she was well aware of the fact.
It is true that her nature sometimes rebelled against
these dictates of reason, and that she grew yearly more
capricious and impatient; but having a respectful and well-
disciplined husband under her thumb at all times, she
found it possible, as a rule, to empty any little
accumulations of spleen upon his head, and therefore the
harmony of the family was kept duly balanced, and things
went as smoothly as family matters can.
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Mrs. Epanchin had a fair appetite herself, and generally
took her share of the capital mid-day lunch which was
always served for the girls, and which was nearly as good
as a dinner. The young ladies used to have a cup of coffee
each before this meal, at te n o?clock, while still in bed.
This was a favourite and unalterable arrangement with
them. At half-past twelve, the table was laid in the small
dining-room, and occasionally the general himself
appeared at the family gathering, if he had time.
Besides tea and coffee, cheese, honey, butter, pan-cakes
of various kinds (the lady of the house loved these best),
cutlets, and so on, there was generally strong beef soup,
and other substantial delicacies.
On the particular morning on which our story has
opened, the family had assem bled in the dining-room, and
were waiting the general?s appearance, the latter having
promised to come this day. If he had been one moment
late, he would have been sent for at once; but he turned
up punctually.
As he came forward to wish his wife good-morning
and kiss her hands, as his custom was, he observed
something in her look which boded ill. He thought he
knew the reason, and had expected it, but still, he was not
altogether comfortable. His daughters advanced to kiss
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him, too, and though they did not look exactly angry,
there was something strange in their expression as well.
The general was, owing to certain circumstances, a
little inclined to be too suspicious at home, and needlessly
nervous; but, as an experienced father and husband, he
judged it better to take measu res at once to protect himself
from any dangers there might be in the air.
However, I hope I shall not interfere with the proper
sequence of my narrative too much, if I diverge for a
moment at this point, in order to explain the mutual
relations between General Epanchin?s family and others
acting a part in this history, at the time when we take up
the thread of their destiny. I have already stated that the
general, though he was a man of lowly origin, and of poor
education, was, for all that, an experienced and talented
husband and father. Among other things, he considered it
undesirable to hurry his daughters to the matrimonial altar
and to worry them too much with assurances of his
paternal wishes for their happiness, as is the custom among
parents of many grown-up daughters. He even succeeded
in ranging his wife on his side on this question, though he
found the feat very difficult to accomplish, because
unnatural; but the general?s arguments were conclusive,
and founded upon obvious facts. The general considered
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that the girls? taste and good sense should be allowed to
develop and mature deliberately, and that the parents? duty
should merely be to keep watc h, in order that no strange
or undesirable choice be made; but that the selection once
effected, both father and mother were bound from that
moment to enter heart and soul into the cause, and to see
that the matter progressed without hindrance until the
altar should be happily reached.
Besides this, it was clear that the Epanchins? position
gained each year, with geometrical accuracy, both as to
financial solidity and social weight; and, therefore, the
longer the girls waited, the better was their chance of
making a brilliant match.
But again, amidst the incontrovertible facts just
recorded, one more, equally significant, rose up to
confront the family; and this wa s, that the eldest daughter,
Alexandra, had imperceptibly arrived at her twenty-fifth
birthday. Almost at the same moment, Afanasy Ivanovitch
Totski, a man of immense wealth, high connections, and
good standing, announced his intention of marrying.
Afanasy Ivanovitch was a gentleman of fifty-five years of
age, artistically gifted, and of most refined tastes. He
wished to marry well, and, moreover, he was a keen
admirer and judge of beauty.
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Now, since Totski had, of late, been upon terms of
great cordiality with Epanchin, which excellent relations
were intensified by the fact that they were, so to speak,
partners in several financial enterprises, it so happened that
the former now put in a frien dly request to the general for
counsel with regard to the im portant step he meditated.
Might he suggest, for instance, such a thing as a marriage
between himself and one of the general?s daughters?
Evidently the quiet, pleasant current of the family life
of the Epanchins was about to undergo a change.
The undoubted beauty of the family, par excellence,
was the youngest, Aglaya, as aforesaid. But Totski himself,
though an egotist of the extremest type, realized that he
had no chance there; Aglaya was clearly not for such as he.
Perhaps the sisterly love and friendship of the three girls
had more or less exagg erated Aglaya?s chances of
happiness. In their opinion, the latter?s destiny was not
merely to be very happy; she was to live in a heaven on
earth. Aglaya?s husband was to be a compendium of all the
virtues, and of all success, not to speak of fabulous wealth.
The two elder sisters had agreed that all was to be
sacrificed by them, if need be, for Aglaya?s sake; her dowry
was to be colossal and unprecedented.
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The general and his wife were aware of this agreement,
and, therefore, when Totski suggested himself for one of
the sisters, the parents made no doubt that one of the two
elder girls would probably accept the offer, since Totski
would certainly make no difficulty as to dowry. The
general valued the proposal very highly. He knew life, and
realized what such an offer was worth.
The answer of the sisters to the communication was, if
not conclusive, at least cons oling and hopeful. It made
known that the eldest, Alexandra, would very likely be
disposed to listen to a proposal.
Alexandra was a good-natured girl, though she had a
will of her own. She was intelligent and kind-hearted,
and, if she were to marry Totski, she would make him a
good wife. She did not care for a brilliant marriage; she
was eminently a woman calculat ed to soothe and sweeten
the life of any man; decidedly pretty, if not absolutely
handsome. What better could Totski wish?
So the matter crept slowly forward. The general and
Totski had agreed to avoid any hasty and irrevocable step.
Alexandra?s parents had not even begun to talk to their
daughters freely upon the subject, when suddenly, as it
were, a dissonant chord was st ruck amid the harmony of
the proceedings. Mrs. Epanchin began to show signs of
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discontent, and that was a serious matter. A certain
circumstance had crept in, a disagreeable and troublesome
factor, which threatened to overturn the whole business.
This circumstance had come into existence eighteen
years before. Close to an estate of Totski?s, in one of the
central provinces of Russia, there lived, at that time, a
poor gentleman whose estate was of the wretchedest
description. This gentleman was noted in the district for
his persistent ill-fortune; his name was Barashkoff, and, as
regards family and descent, he was vastly superior to
Totski, but his estate was mort gaged to the last acre. One
day, when he had ridden over to the town to see a
creditor, the chief peasant of his village followed him
shortly after, with the news that his house had been burnt
down, and that his wife had perished with it, but his
children were safe.
Even Barashkoff, inured to the storms of evil fortune as
he was, could not stand this last stroke. He went mad and
died shortly after in the town hospital. His estate was sold
for the creditors; and the little girls?two of them, of
seven and eight years of ag e respectively,?were adopted
by Totski, who undertook their maintenance and
education in the kindness of his heart. They were brought
up together with the children of his German bailiff. Very
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soon, however, there was only one of them left- Nastasia
Philipovna?for the other little one died of whooping-
cough. Totski, who was living abroad at this time, very
soon forgot all about the child; but five years after,
returning to Russia, it struck him that he would like to
look over his estate and see how matters were going there,
and, arrived at his bailiff?s house, he was not long in
discovering that among the children of the latter there
now dwelt a most lovely little girl of twelve, sweet and
intelligent, and bright, and pr omising to develop beauty of
most unusual quality-as to which last Totski was an
undoubted authority.
He only stayed at his country scat a few days on this
occasion, but he had time to make his arrangements. Great
changes took place in the child?s education; a good
governess was engaged, a Swiss lady of experience and
culture. For four years this lady resided in the house with
little Nastia, and then the education was considered
complete. The governess took her departure, and another
lady came down to fetch Nastia, by Totski?s instructions.
The child was now transported to another of Totski?s
estates in a distant part of the country. Here she found a
delightful little house, just bu ilt, and prepared for her
reception with great care and taste; and here she took up
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her abode together with the lady who had accompanied
her from her old home. In the house there were two
experienced maids, musical instruments of all sorts, a
charming ?young lady?s library,? pictures, paint-boxes, a
lap- dog, and everything to make life agreeable. Within a
fortnight Totski himself arrived, and from that time he
appeared to have taken a great fancy to this part of the
world and came down each summer, staying two and
three months at a time. So passe d four years peacefully and
happily, in charming surroundings.
At the end of that time, and about four months after
Totski?s last visit (he had stayed but a fortnight on this
occasion), a report reached Na stasia Philipovna that he was
about to be married in St. Pet ersburg, to a rich, eminent,
and lovely woman. The report was only partially true, the
marriage project being only in an embryo condition; but a
great change now came over Nastasia Philipovna. She
suddenly displayed unusual decision of character; and
without wasting time in thought, she left her country
home and came up to St. Petersburg, straight to Totski?s
house, all alone.
The latter, amazed at her conduct, began to express his
displeasure; but he very soon became aware that he must
change his voice, style, and everything else, with this
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young lady; the good old times were gone. An entirely
new and different woman sat before him, between whom
and the girl he had left in the country last July there
seemed nothing in common.
In the first place, this new woman understood a good
deal more than was usual for young people of her age; so
much indeed, that Totski could not help wondering
where she had picked up her knowledge. Surely not from
her ?young lady?s library?? It even embraced legal matters,
and the ?world? in general, to a considerable extent.
Her character was absolutely changed. No more of the
girlish alternations of timidity and petulance, the adorable
naivete, the reveries, the tears, the playfulness... It was an
entirely new and hitherto unknown being who now sat
and laughed at him, and informed him to his face that she
had never had the faintest feeling for him of any kind,
except loathing and cont empt? contempt which had
followed closely upon her sensations of surprise and
bewilderment after her first acquaintance with him.
This new woman gave him further to understand that
though it was absolutely the same to her whom he
married, yet she had decided to prevent this marriage?for
no particular reason, but that she chose to do so, and
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because she wished to amuse herself at his expense for that
it was ?quite her turn to laugh a little now!?
Such were her words?very likely she did not give her
real reason for this eccentric conduct; but, at all events,
that was all the explanation she deigned to offer.
Meanwhile, Totski thought the matter over as well as
his scattered ideas would perm it. His meditations lasted a
fortnight, however, and at the end of that time his
resolution was taken. The fact was, Totski was at that time
a man of fifty years of age; his position was solid and
respectable; his place in society had long been firmly fixed
upon safe foundations; he loved himself, his personal
comforts, and his position better than all the world, as
every respectable gentleman should!
At the same time his grasp of things in general soon
showed Totski that he now had to deal with a being who
was outside the pale of the ordinary rules of traditional
behaviour, and who would not only threaten mischief but
would undoubtedly carry it out, and stop for no one.
There was evidently, he concluded, something at work
here; some storm of the mind, some paroxysm of romantic
anger, goodness knows against whom or what, some
insatiable contempt?in a word, something altogether
absurd and impossible, but at the same time most
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dangerous to be met with by any respectable person with a
position in society to keep up.
For a man of Totski?s wealth and standing, it would, of
course, have been the simplest possible matter to take steps
which would rid him at once from all annoyance; while it
was obviously impossible for Nastasia Philipovna to harm
him in any way, either legally or by stirring up a scandal,
for, in case of the latter danger, he could so easily remove
her to a sphere of safety. However, these arguments would
only hold good in case of Nasta sia acting as others might
in such an emergency. Sh e was much more likely to
overstep the bounds of reasonable conduct by some
extraordinary eccentricity.
Here the sound judgment of Totski stood him in good
stead. He realized that Nasta sia Philipovna must be well
aware that she could do nothing by legal means to injure
him, and that her flashing eyes betrayed some entirely
different intention.
Nastasia Philipovna was quite capable of ruining herself,
and even of perpetrating something which would send her
to Siberia, for the mere pleasure of injuring a man for
whom she had developed so inhuman a sense of loathing
and contempt. He had sufficient insight to understand that
she valued nothing in the wo rld?herself least of all?and
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he made no attempt to conceal the fact that he was a
coward in some respects. For instance, if he had been told
that he would be stabbed at the altar, or publicly insulted,
he would undoubtedly have been frightened; but not so
much at the idea of being murdered, or wounded, or
insulted, as at the thought that if such things were to
happen he would be made to look ridiculous in the eyes
of society.
He knew well that Nastasia thoroughly understood him
and where to wound him and how, and therefore, as the
marriage was still only in embryo, Totski decided to
conciliate her by giving it up. His decision was
strengthened by the fact that Nastasia Philipovna had
curiously altered of late. It would be difficult to conceive
how different she was physically, at the present time, to
the girl of a few years ago. She was pretty then ? but
now! ? Totski laughed angrily when he thought how
short-sighted he had been. In days gone by he
remembered how he had looked at her beautiful eyes,
how even then he had marvelled at their dark mysterious
depths, and at their wondering gaze which seemed to seek
an answer to some unknown riddle. Her complexion also
had altered. She was now exceedingly pale, but, curiously,
this change only made her mo re beautiful. Like most men
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of the world, Totski had rather despised such a cheaply-
bought conquest, but of late years he had begun to think
differently about it. It had struck him as long ago as last
spring that he ought to be finding a good match for
Nastasia; for instance, some respectable and reasonable
young fellow serving in a government office in another
part of the country. How malic iously Nastasia laughed at
the idea of such a thing, now!
However, it appeared to To tski that he might make use
of her in another way; and he determined to establish her
in St. Petersburg, surrounding her with all the comforts
and luxuries that his wealth could command. In this way
he might gain glory in certain circles.
Five years of this Petersburg life went by, and, of
course, during that time a great deal happened. Totski?s
position was very uncomfortable; having ?funked? once, he
could not totally regain his ea se. He was afraid, he did not
know why, but he was simply afraid of Nastasia
Philipovna. For the first two ye ars or so he had suspected
that she wished to marry him herself, and that only her
vanity prevented her telling him so. He thought that she
wanted him to approach her with a humble proposal from
his own side, But to his great, and not entirely pleasurable
amazement, he discovered that this was by no means the
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case, and that were he to offer himself he would be
refused. He could not underst and such a state of things,
and was obliged to conclude t hat it was pride, the pride of
an injured and imaginative woman, which had gone to
such lengths that it preferred to sit and nurse its contempt
and hatred in solitude rather than mount to heights of
hitherto unattainable splendour. To make matters worse,
she was quite impervious to mercenary considerations, and
could not be bribed in any way.
Finally, Totski took cunning means to try to break his
chains and be free. He tried to tempt her in various ways
to lose her heart; he invited princes, hussars, secretaries of
embassies, poets, novelists, even Socialists, to see her; but
not one of them all made the faintest impression upon
Nastasia. It was as though she had a pebble in place of a
heart, as though her feelings and affections were dried up
and withered for ever.
She lived almost entirely alone; she read, she studied,
she loved music. Her princ ipal acquaintances were poor
women of various grades, a couple of actresses, and the
family of a poor schoolteacher. Among these people she
was much beloved.
She received four or five friends sometimes, of an
evening. Totski often came. La tely, too, General Epanchin
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had been enabled with great difficulty to introduce himself
into her circle. Gania made her acquaintance also, and
others were Ferdishenko, an ill- bred, and would-be witty,
young clerk, and Ptitsin, a money- lender of modest and
polished manners, who had risen from poverty. In fact,
Nastasia Philipovna?s beauty became a thing known to all
the town; but not a single man could boast of anything
more than his own admiration for her; and this reputation
of hers, and her wit and cultu re and grace, all confirmed
Totski in the plan he had now prepared.
And it was at this moment that General Epanchin
began to play so large and important a part in the story.
When Totski had approached the general with his
request for friendly counsel as to a marriage with one of
his daughters, he had made a full and candid confession.
He had said that he intended to stop at no means to obtain
his freedom; even if Nastasia were to promise to leave him
entirely alone in future, he w ould not (he said) believe and
trust her; words were not enough for him; he must have
solid guarantees of some sort. So he and the general
determined to try what an attempt to appeal to her heart
would effect. Having arrived at Nastasia?s house one day,
with Epanchin, Totski immediately began to speak of the
intolerable torment of his position. He admitted that he
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was to blame for all, but candidly confessed that he could
not bring himself to feel any remorse for his original guilt
towards herself, because he was a man of sensual passions
which were inborn and ineradicable, and that he had no
power over himself in this respect; but that he wished,
seriously, to marry at last, and that the whole fate of the
most desirable social union which he contemplated, was in
her hands; in a word, he confided his all to her generosity
of heart.
General Epanchin took up his part and spoke in the
character of father of a family; he spoke sensibly, and
without wasting words over any attempt at sentimentality,
he merely recorded his full admission of her right to be the
arbiter of Totski?s destiny at this moment. He then
pointed out that the fate of his daughter, and very likely of
both his other daughters, now hung upon her reply.
To Nastasia?s question as to what they wished her to
do, Totski confessed that he had been so frightened by
her, five years ago, that he could never now be entirely
comfortable until she hersel f married. He immediately
added that such a suggestion from him would, of course,
be absurd, unless accompanied by remarks of a more
pointed nature. He very well knew, he said, that a certain
young gentleman of good family, namely, Gavrila
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Ardalionovitch Ivolgin, with whom she was acquainted,
and whom she received at her house, had long loved her
passionately, and would give his life for some response
from her. The young fellow had confessed this love of his
to him (Totski) and had also admitted it in the hearing of
his benefactor, General Epanchin. Lastly, he could not
help being of opinion that Nastasia must be aware of
Gania?s love for her, and if he (Totski) mistook not, she
had looked with some favour upon it, being often lonely,
and rather tired of her present life. Having remarked how
difficult it was for him, of al l people, to speak to her of
these matters, Totski concluded by saying that he trusted
Nastasia Philipovna would not look with contempt upon
him if he now expressed his sincere desire to guarantee her
future by a gift of seventy-fi ve thousand roubles. He added
that the sum would have been le ft her all the same in his
will, and that therefore she must not consider the gift as in
any way an indemnification to her for anything, but that
there was no reason, after all, why a man should not be
allowed to entertain a natural desire to lighten his
conscience, etc., etc.; in fact, all that would naturally be
said under the circumstances. Totski was very eloquent all
through, and, in conclusion, just touched on the fact that
not a soul in the world, not even General Epanchin, had
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ever heard a word about the above seventy-five thousand
roubles, and that this was th e first time he had ever given
expression to his intentions in respect to them.
Nastasia Philipovna?s reply to this long rigmarole
astonished both the friends considerably.
Not only was there no trace of her former irony, of her
old hatred and enmity, and of that dreadful laughter, the
very recollection of which sent a cold chill down Totski?s
back to this very day; but she seemed charmed and really
glad to have the opportunity of talking seriously with him
for once in a way. She confessed that she had long wished
to have a frank and free conversation and to ask for
friendly advice, but that pride had hitherto prevented her;
now, however, that the ice was broken, nothing could be
more welcome to her than this opportunity.
First, with a sad smile, and then with a twinkle of
merriment in her eyes, she ad mitted that such a storm as
that of five years ago was now quite out of the question.
She said that she had long since changed her views of
things, and recognized that facts must be taken into
consideration in spite of the feelings of the heart. What
was done was done and ended, and she could not
understand why Totski should still feel alarmed.
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She next turned to General Epanchin and observed,
most courteously, that she had long since known of his
daughters, and that she had heard none but good report;
that she had learned to th ink of them with deep and
sincere respect. The idea alone that she could in any way
serve them, would be to her both a pride and a source of
real happiness.
It was true that she was l onely in her present life;
Totski had judged her thoughts aright. She longed to rise,
if not to love, at least to family life and new hopes and
objects, but as to Gavrila Ar dalionovitch, she could not as
yet say much. She thought it must be the case that he
loved her; she felt that she too might learn to love him, if
she could be sure of the firmness of his attachment to
herself; but he was very young, and it was a difficult
question to decide. What sh e specially liked about him
was that he worked, and supported his family by his toil.
She had heard that he was proud and ambitious; she
had heard much that was interesting of his mother and
sister, she had heard of them from Mr. Ptitsin, and would
much like to make their acquaintance, but?another
question!?would they like to receive her into their
house? At all events, though she did not reject the idea of
this marriage, she desired not to be hurried. As for the
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seventy-five thousand roubles, Mr. Totski need not have
found any difficulty or awkwardness about the matter; she
quite understood the value of money, and would, of
course, accept the gift. She thanked him for his delicacy,
however, but saw no reason why Gavrila Ardalionovitch
should not know about it.
She would not marry the latter, she said, until she felt
persuaded that neither on his part nor on the part of his
family did there exist any sort of concealed suspicions as to
herself. She did not intend to ask forgiveness for anything
in the past, which fact she desired to be known. She did
not consider herself to blame for anything that had
happened in former years, and she thought that Gavrila
Ardalionovitch should be infor med as to the relations
which had existed between herself and Totski during the
last five years. If she accepted this money it was not to be
considered as indemnificatio n for her misfortune as a
young girl, which had not been in any degree her own
fault, but merely as compensation for her ruined life.
She became so excited and agitated during all these
explanations and confessions that General Epanchin was
highly gratified, and considered the matter satisfactorily
arranged once for all. But the once bitten Totski was twice
shy, and looked for hidden snakes among the flowers.
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However, the special point to which the two friends
particularly trusted to bring about their object (namely,
Gania?s attractiveness for Nastasia Philipovna), stood out
more and more prominently; the pourparlers had
commenced, and gradually even Totski began to believe
in the possibility of success.
Before long Nastasia and Gania had talked the matter
over. Very little was said?her modesty seemed to suffer
under the infliction of discussing such a question. But she
recognized his love, on the understanding that she bound
herself to nothing whatever, and that she reserved the
right to say ?no? up to the very hour of the marriage
ceremony. Gania was to have the same right of refusal at
the last moment.
It soon became clear to G ania, after scenes of wrath and
quarrellings at the domestic hearth, that his family were
seriously opposed to the match, and that Nastasia was
aware of this fact was equally evident. She said nothing
about it, though he daily expected her to do so.
There were several rumours afloat, before long, which
upset Totski?s equanimity a good deal, but we will not
now stop to describe them; m erely mentioning an instance
or two. One was that Nastasia had entered into close and
secret relations with the Epanchin girls?a most unlikely
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rumour; another was that Nastasia had long satisfied herself
of the fact that Gania was merely marrying her for money,
and that his nature was gloomy and greedy, impatient and
selfish, to an extraordinary degree; and that although he
had been keen enough in his desire to achieve a conquest
before, yet since the two friends had agreed to exploit his
passion for their own purposes, it was clear enough that he
had begun to consider the whole thing a nuisance and a
nightmare.
In his heart passion and hate seemed to hold divided
sway, and although he had at last given his consent to
marry the woman (as he said), under the stress of
circumstances, yet he promis ed himself that he would
?take it out of her,? after marriage.
Nastasia seemed to Totski to have divined all this, and
to be preparing something on her own account, which
frightened him to such an extent that he did not dare
communicate his views even to the general. But at times
he would pluck up his courage and be full of hope and
good spirits again, acting, in fact, as weak men do act in
such circumstances.
However, both the friends felt that the thing looked
rosy indeed when one day Nastasia informed them that
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she would give her final answer on the evening of her
birthday, which anniversary was due in a very short time.
A strange rumour began to circulate, meanwhile; no
less than that the respectable and highly respected General
Epanchin was himself so fascinated by Nastasia Philipovna
that his feeling for her amount ed almost to passion. What
he thought to gain by Gania?s marriage to the girl it was
difficult to imagine. Possibly he counted on Gania?s
complaisance; for Totski had long suspected that there
existed some secret understanding between the general and
his secretary. At all events the fact was known that he had
prepared a magnificent present of pearls for Nastasia?s
birthday, and that he was looking forward to the occasion
when he should present his gift with the greatest
excitement and impatience. The day before her birthday
he was in a fever of agitation.
Mrs. Epanchin, long accustomed to her husband?s
infidelities, had heard of th e pearls, and the rumour
excited her liveliest curiosity and interest. The general
remarked her suspicions, and felt that a grand explanation
must shortly take place?whic h fact alarmed him much.
This is the reason why he was so unwilling to take
lunch (on the morning upon which we took up this
narrative) with the rest of his family. Before the prince?s
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arrival he had made up his mind to plead business, and
?cut? the meal; which simply meant running away.
He was particularly anxious that this one day should be
passed? especially the evening?without unpleasantness
between himself and his family; and just at the right
moment the prince turned up??as though Heaven had
sent him on purpose,? said the ge neral to himself, as he left
the study to seek out the wife of his bosom.
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V
Mrs. General Epanchin was a proud woman by nature.
What must her feelings have been when she heard that
Prince Muishkin, the last of his and her line, had arrived in
beggar?s guise, a wretched idiot, a recipient of charity?all
of which details the general gave out for greater effect! He
was anxious to steal her interest at the first swoop, so as to
distract her thoughts from other matters nearer home.
Mrs. Epanchin was in the ha bit of holding herself very
straight, and staring before her, without speaking, in
moments of excitement.
She was a fine woman of the same age as her husband,
with a slightly hooked nose, a high, narrow forehead,
thick hair turning a little grey, and a sallow complexion.
Her eyes were grey and wore a very curious expression at
times. She believed them to be most effective?a belief
that nothing could alter.
?What, receive him! Now, at once?? asked Mrs.
Epanchin, gazing vaguely at her husband as he stood
fidgeting before her.
?Oh, dear me, I assure you there is no need to stand on
ceremony with him,? the genera l explained hastily. ?He is
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quite a child, not to say a pathetic-looking creature. He
has fits of some sort, and has just arrived from Switzerland,
straight from the station, dressed like a German and
without a farthing in his pocket. I gave him twenty-five
roubles to go on with, and am going to find him some
easy place in one of the gov ernment offices. I should like
you to ply him well with the victuals, my dears, for I
should think he must be very hungry.?
?You astonish me,? said the lady, gazing as before. ?Fits,
and hungry too! What sort of fits??
?Oh, they don?t come on f requently, besides, he?s a
regular child, though he seems to be fairly educated. I
should like you, if possible, my dears,? the general added,
making slowly for the door, ?t o put him through his paces
a bit, and see what he is g ood for. I think you should be
kind to him; it is a good deed, you know?however, just
as you like, of course?but he is a sort of relation,
remember, and I thought it mi ght interest you to see the
young fellow, seeing that this is so.?
?Oh, of course, mamma, if we needn?t stand on
ceremony with him, we must give the poor fellow
something to eat after his journey; especially as he has not
the least idea where to go to,? said Alexandra, the eldest of
the girls.
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?Besides, he?s quite a child; we can entertain him with a
little hide-and-seek, in case of need,? said Adelaida.
?Hide-and-seek? What do you mean?? inquired Mrs.
Epanchin.
?Oh, do stop pretending, mamma,? cried Aglaya, in
vexation. ?Send him up, father; mother allows.?
The general rang the bell and gave orders that the
prince should be shown in.
?Only on condition that he has a napkin under his chin
at lunch, then,? said Mrs. Epanchin, ?and let Fedor, or
Mavra, stand behind him while he eats. Is he quiet when
he has these fits? He doesn?t show violence, does he??
?On the contrary, he seems to be very well brought up.
His manners are excellent?but here he is himself. Here
you are, prince?let me introduce you, the last of the
Muishkins, a relative of your ow n, my dear, or at least of
the same name. Receive him kindly, please. They?ll bring
in lunch directly, prince; you must stop and have some,
but you must excuse me. I?m in a hurry, I must be off??
?We all know where YOU must be off to!? said Mrs.
Epanchin, in a meaning voice.
?Yes, yes?I must hurry away, I?m late! Look here,
dears, let him write you something in your albums; you?ve
no idea what a wonderful caligraphist he is, wonderful
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talent! He has just written out ?Abbot Pafnute signed this?
for me. Well, au revoir!?
?Stop a minute; where are you off to? Who is this
abbot?? cried Mrs. Epanchin to her retreating husband in a
tone of excited annoyance.
?Yes, my dear, it was an old abbot of that name-I must
be off to see the count, he?s waiting for me, I?m late?
Good-bye! Au revoir, prince!??and the general bolted at
full speed.
?Oh, yes?I know what count you?re going to see!?
remarked his wife in a cutting manner, as she turned her
angry eyes on the prince. ?N ow then, what?s all this
about??What abbot?Who?s Pafnute?? she added,
brusquely.
?Mamma!? said Alexandra, shocked at her rudeness.
Aglaya stamped her foot.
?Nonsense! Let me alone!? said the angry mother. ?Now
then, prince, sit down here, no, nearer, come nearer the
light! I want to have a good look at you. So, now then,
who is this abbot??
?Abbot Pafnute,? said our friend, seriously and with
deference.
?Pafnute, yes. And who was he??
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Mrs. Epanchin put these questions hastily and
brusquely, and when the prince answered she nodded her
head sagely at each word he said.
?The Abbot Pafnute lived in the fourteenth century,?
began the prince; ?he was in charge of one of the
monasteries on the Volga, about where our present
Kostroma government lies. He went to Oreol and helped
in the great matters then goin g on in the religious world;
he signed an edict there, and I have seen a print of his
signature; it struck me, so I copied it. When the general
asked me, in his study, to write something for him, to
show my handwriting, I wrot e ?The Abbot Pafnute signed
this,? in the exact handwriting of the abbot. The general
liked it very much, and that?s why he recalled it just now.
?
?Aglaya, make a note of ?P afnute,? or we shall forget
him. H?m! and where is this signature??
?I think it was left on the general?s table.?
?Let it be sent for at once!?
?Oh, I?ll write you a new one in half a minute,? said the
prince, ?if you like!?
?Of course, mamma!? said Alexandra. ?But let?s have
lunch now, we are all hungry!?
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?Yes; come along, prince,? said the mother, ?are you
very hungry??
?Yes; I must say that I am pretty hungry, thanks very
much.?
?H?m! I like to see that you know your manners; and
you are by no means such a person as the general thought
fit to describe you. Come al ong; you sit here, opposite to
me,? she continued, ?I wish to be able to see your face.
Alexandra, Adelaida, look after the prince! He doesn?t
seem so very ill, does he? I don?t think he requires a
napkin under his chin, after all; are you accustomed to
having one on, prince??
?Formerly, when I was seven years old or so. I believe I
wore one; but now I usually hold my napkin on my knee
when I eat.?
?Of course, of course! And about your fits??
?Fits?? asked the prince, slightly surprised. ?I very
seldom have fits nowadays. I don?t know how it may be
here, though; they say the climate may be bad for me. ?
?He talks very well, you know!? said Mrs. Epanchin,
who still continued to nod at each word the prince spoke.
?I really did not expect it at all; in fact, I suppose it was all
stuff and nonsense on the genera l?s part, as usual. Eat away,
prince, and tell me where you were born, and where you
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were brought up. I wish to know all about you, you
interest me very much!?
The prince expressed his thanks once more, and eating
heartily the while, recommenced the narrative of his life in
Switzerland, all of which we have heard before. Mrs.
Epanchin became more and mo re pleased with her guest;
the girls, too, listened with considerable attention. In
talking over the question of relat ionship it turned out that
the prince was very well up in the matter and knew his
pedigree off by heart. It wa s found that scarcely any
connection existed between himself and Mrs. Epanchin,
but the talk, and the opportuni ty of conversing about her
family tree, gratified the latt er exceedingly, and she rose
from the table in great good humour.
?Let?s all go to my boudoir,? she said, ?and they shall
bring some coffee in there. That?s the room where we all
assemble and busy ourselves as we like best,? she explained.
?Alexandra, my eldest, here, plays the piano, or reads or
sews; Adelaida paints landscapes and portraits (but never
finishes any); and Aglaya sits and does nothing. I don?t
work too much, either. H ere we are, now; sit down,
prince, near the fire and talk to us. I want to hear you
relate something. I wish to make sure of you first and then
tell my old friend, Princess Bielokonski, about you. I wish
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you to know all the good people and to interest them.
Now then, begin!?
?Mamma, it?s rather a strange order, that!? said Adelaida,
who was fussing among her paints and paint-brushes at the
easel. Aglaya and Alexandra had settled themselves with
folded hands on a sofa, evidently meaning to be listeners.
The prince felt that the general attention was concentrated
upon himself.
?I should refuse to say a word if I were ordered to tell a
story like that!? observed Aglaya.
?Why? what?s there strange about it? He has a tongue.
Why shouldn?t he tell us something? I want to judge
whether he is a good story-teller; anything you like,
prince-how you liked Switzerland, what was your first
impression, anything. You?ll see, he?ll begin directly and
tell us all about it beautifully.?
?The impression was forcible?? the prince began.
?There, you see, girls,? said the impatient lady, ?he has
begun, you see.?
?Well, then, LET him talk, mamma,? said Alexandra.
?This prince is a great humb ug and by no means an idiot,?
she whispered to Aglaya.
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?Oh, I saw that at once,? replied the latter. ?I don?t
think it at all nice of him to play a part. What does he
wish to gain by it, I wonder??
?My first impression was a very strong one,? repeated
the prince. ?When they took me away from Russia, I
remember I passed through many German towns and
looked out of the windows, bu t did not trouble so much
as to ask questions about them. This was after a long series
of fits. I always used to fall into a sort of torpid condition
after such a series, and lost my memory almost entirely;
and though I was not altogether without reason at such
times, yet I had no logical power of thought. This would
continue for three or four days, and then I would recover
myself again. I remember my melancholy was intolerable;
I felt inclined to cry; I sat and wondered and wondered
uncomfortably; the consciousness that everything was
strange weighed terribly upon me ; I could understand that
it was all foreign and strange. I recollect I awoke from this
state for the first time at Basl e, one evening; the bray of a
donkey aroused me, a donkey in the town market. I saw
the donkey and was extremely pleased with it, and from
that moment my head seemed to clear.?
?A donkey? How strange! Yet it is not strange. Anyone
of us might fall in love with a donkey! It happened in
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mythological times,? said Madame Epanchin, looking
wrathfully at her daughters, who had begun to laugh. ?Go
on, prince.?
?Since that evening I have been specially fond of
donkeys. I began to ask questions about them, for I had
never seen one before; and I at once came to the
conclusion that this must be one of the most useful of
animals?strong, willing, patient, cheap; and, thanks to
this donkey, I began to like the whole country I was
travelling through; and my melancholy passed away.?
?All this is very strange and interesting,? said Mrs.
Epanchin. ?Now let?s leave the donkey and go on to other
matters. What are you laughing at, Aglaya? and you too,
Adelaida? The prince told us his experiences very cleverly;
he saw the donkey himself, and what have you ever seen?
YOU have never been abroad.?
?I have seen a donkey though, mamma!? said Aglaya.
?And I?ve heard one!? said Adelaida. All three of the
girls laughed out loud, and the prince laughed with them.
?Well, it?s too bad of you ,? said mamma. ?You must
forgive them, prince; they are good girls. I am very fond
of them, though I often have to be scolding them; they are
all as silly and mad as march hares.?
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?Oh, why shouldn?t they laugh?? said the prince. ? I
shouldn?t have let the chance go by in their place, I know.
But I stick up for the donkey, all the same; he?s a patient,
good-natured fellow.?
?Are you a patient man, prince ? I ask out of curiosity,?
said Mrs. Epanchin.
All laughed again.
?Oh, that wretched donkey again, I see!? cried the lady.
?I assure you, prince, I was not guilty of the least??
?Insinuation? Oh! I assure you, I take your word for it.?
And the prince continued laughing merrily.
?I must say it?s very nice of you to laugh. I see you
really are a kind-hearted fellow,? said Mrs. Epanchin.
?I?m not always kind, though.?
?I am kind myself, and ALWAYS kind too, if you
please!? she retorted, unexpectedly ; ?and that is my chief
fault, for one ought not to be always kind. I am often
angry with these girls and their father; but the worst of it
is, I am always kindest when I am cross. I was very angry
just before you came, and Aglaya there read me a lesson?
thanks, Aglaya, dear?come and kiss me?there?that?s
enough? she added, as Aglaya came forward and kissed her
lips and then her hand. ?Now then, go on, prince. Perhaps
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you can think of something more exciting than about the
donkey, eh??
?I must say, again, I can?t understand how you can
expect anyone to tell you stories straight away, so,? said
Adelaida. ?I know I never could!?
?Yes, but the prince can, because he is clever?cleverer
than you are by ten or twenty times, if you like. There,
that?s so, prince; and seriously, let?s drop the donkey
now?what else did you see abr oad, besides the donkey??
?Yes, but the prince told us about the donkey very
cleverly, all the same,? said Alexandra. ?I have always been
most interested to hear how people go mad and get well
again, and that sort of thing. Especially when it happens
suddenly.?
?Quite so, quite so!? cried Mr s. Epanchin, delighted. ?I
see you CAN be sensible now and then, Alexandra. You
were speaking of Switzerland, prince??
?Yes. We came to Lucerne, and I was taken out in a
boat. I felt how lovely it wa s, but the loveliness weighed
upon me somehow or other, and made me feel
melancholy.?
?Why?? asked Alexandra.
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?I don?t know; I always feel like that when I look at the
beauties of nature for the first time; but then, I was ill at
that time, of course!?
?Oh, but I should like to see it!? said Adelaida; ?and I
don?t know WHEN we shall ever go abroad. I?ve been
two years looking out for a good subject for a picture. I?ve
done all I know. ?The North and South I know by heart,?
as our poet observes. Do help me to a subject, prince.?
?Oh, but I know nothing ab out painting. It seems to
me one only has to look, and paint what one sees.?
?But I don?t know HOW to see!?
?Nonsense, what rubbish y ou talk!? the mother struck
in. ?Not know how to see! Op en your eyes and look! If
you can?t see here, you won?t see abroad either. Tell us
what you saw yourself, prince!?
?Yes, that?s better,? said Adela ida; ?the prince learned to
see abroad.?
?Oh, I hardly know! You see, I only went to restore
my health. I don?t know whether I learned to see, exactly.
I was very happy, however, nearly all the time.?
?Happy! you can be happy?? cried Aglaya. ?Then how
can you say you did not learn to see? I should think you
could teach us to see!?
?Oh! DO teach us,? laughed Adelaida.
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?Oh! I can?t do that,? said the prince, laughing too. ?I
lived almost all the while in one little Swiss village; what
can I teach you? At first I was only just not absolutely dull;
then my health began to improve?then every day
became dearer and more precious to me, and the longer I
stayed, the dearer became the time to me; so much so that
I could not help observing it; but why this was so, it
would be difficult to say.?
?So that you didn?t care to go away anywhere else??
?Well, at first I did; I was restless; I didn?t know
however I should manage to support life?you know
there are such moments, especi ally in solitude. There was
a waterfall near us, such a lovely thin streak of water, like a
thread but white and moving. It fell from a great height,
but it looked quite low, and it was half a mile away,
though it did not seem fifty paces. I loved to listen to it at
night, but it was then that I became so restless. Sometimes
I went and climbed the moun tain and stood there in the
midst of the tall pines, all alone in the terrible silence, with
our little village in the distance, and the sky so blue, and
the sun so bright, and an old ruined castle on the
mountain-side, far away. I used to watch the line where
earth and sky met, and longed to go and seek there the
key of all mysteries, thinking that I might find there a new
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life, perhaps some great city where life should be grander
and richer?and then it struck me that life may be grand
enough even in a prison.?
?I read that last most praiseworthy thought in my
manual, when I was twelve years old,? said Aglaya.
?All this is pure philosophy ,? said Adelaida. ?You are a
philosopher, prince, and have come here to instruct us in
your views.?
?Perhaps you are right,? said the prince, smiling. ?I think
I am a philosopher, perhaps, and who knows, perhaps I do
wish to teach my views of thin gs to those I meet with??
?Your philosophy is rather like that of an old woman
we know, who is rich and yet does nothing but try how
little she can spend. She talks of nothing but money all
day. Your great philosophic al idea of a grand life in a
prison and your four happy year s in that Swiss village are
like this, rather,? said Aglaya.
?As to life in a prison, of course there may be two
opinions,? said the prince. ?I once heard the story of a man
who lived twelve years in a prison?I heard it from the
man himself. He was one of the persons under treatment
with my professor; he had fits, and attacks of melancholy,
then he would weep, and once he tried to commit suicide.
HIS life in prison was sad enough; his only acquaintances
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were spiders and a tree that grew outside his grating-but I
think I had better tell you of another man I met last year.
There was a very strange feature in this case, strange
because of its extremely ra re occurrence. This man had
once been brought to the scaffold in company with several
others, and had had the sentence of death by shooting
passed upon him for some political crime. Twenty minutes
later he had been reprieved and some other punishment
substituted; but the interval between the two sentences,
twenty minutes, or at least a quarter of an hour, had been
passed in the certainty that within a few minutes he must
die. I was very anxious to hear him speak of his
impressions during that dreadful time, and I several times
inquired of him as to what he thought and felt. He
remembered everything wit h the most accurate and
extraordinary distinctness, and declared that he would
never forget a single io ta of the experience.
?About twenty paces from the scaffold, where he had
stood to hear the sentence, were three posts, fixed in the
ground, to which to fasten the criminals (of whom there
were several). The first three criminals were taken to the
posts, dressed in long white tunics, with white caps drawn
over their faces, so that they could not see the rifles
pointed at them. Then a group of soldiers took their stand
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opposite to each post. My friend was the eighth on the
list, and therefore he would have been among the third lot
to go up. A priest went about among them with a cross:
and there was about five minutes of time left for him to
live.
?He said that those five minutes seemed to him to be a
most interminable period, an enormous wealth of time; he
seemed to be living, in these minutes, so many lives that
there was no need as yet to think of that last moment, so
that he made several arrangements, dividing up the time
into portions?one for saying farewell to his companions,
two minutes for that; then a couple more for thinking
over his own life and career and all about himself; and
another minute for a last look around. He remembered
having divided his time like this quite well. While saying
good- bye to his friends he recollected asking one of them
some very usual everyday question, and being much
interested in the answer. Then having bade farewell, he
embarked upon those two minutes which he had allotted
to looking into himself; he knew beforehand what he was
going to think about. He wished to put it to himself as
quickly and clearly as possible, that here was he, a living,
thinking man, and that in three minutes he would be
nobody; or if somebody or something, then what and
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where? He thought he would decide this question once
for all in these last three mi nutes. A little way off there
stood a church, and its gilded spire glittered in the sun. He
remembered staring stubbornly at this spire, and at the rays
of light sparkling from it. He co uld not tear his eyes from
these rays of light; he got the idea that these rays were his
new nature, and that in three minutes he would become
one of them, amalgamated somehow with them.
?The repugnance to what must ensue almost
immediately, and the uncertaint y, were dreadful, he said;
but worst of all was the idea, ?What should I do if I were
not to die now? What if I were to return to life again?
What an eternity of days, and all mine! How I should
grudge and count up every minut e of it, so as to waste not
a single instant!? He said t hat this thought weighed so
upon him and became such a terrible burden upon his
brain that he could not bear it, and wished they would
shoot him quickly and have done with it.?
The prince paused and all waited, expecting him to go
on again and finish the story.
?Is that all?? asked Aglaya.
?All? Yes,? said the prince, emerging from a momentary
reverie.
?And why did you tell us this??
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?Oh, I happened to recall it, that?s all! It fitted into the
conversation??
?You probably wish to deduce, prince,? said Alexandra,
?that moments of time c annot be reckoned by money
value, and that sometimes five minutes are worth priceless
treasures. All this is very pr aiseworthy; but may I ask about
this friend of yours, who to ld you the terrible experience
of his life? He was reprieved, you say; in other words, they
did restore to him that ?eternit y of days.? What did he do
with these riches of time? Did he keep careful account of
his minutes??
?Oh no, he didn?t! I asked him myself. He said that he
had not lived a bit as he had intended, and had wasted
many, and many a minute.?
?Very well, then there?s an experiment, and the thing is
proved; one cannot live and count each moment; say what
you like, but one CANNOT.?
?That is true,? said the prince , ?I have thought so myself.
And yet, why shouldn?t one do it??
?You think, then, that you could live more wisely than
other people?? said Aglaya.
?I have had that idea.?
?And you have it still??
?Yes?I have it still,? the prince replied.
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He had contemplated Aglaya until now, with a pleasant
though rather timid smile, but as the last words fell from
his lips he began to laugh, and looked at her merrily.
?You are not very modest!? said she.
?But how brave you are!? said he. ?You are laughing,
and I? that man?s tale impressed me so much, that I
dreamt of it afterwards; yes, I dreamt of those five minutes
??
He looked at his listeners again with that same serious,
searching expression.
?You are not angry with me?? he asked suddenly, and
with a kind of nervous hurry, although he looked them
straight in the face.
?Why should we be angry?? they cried.
?Only because I seem to be giving you a lecture, all the
time!?
At this they laughed heartily.
?Please don?t be angry with me,? continued the prince.
?I know very well that I have seen less of life than other
people, and have less knowledge of it. I must appear to
speak strangely sometimes ??
He said the last words nervously.
?You say you have been happy, and that proves you
have lived, not less, but more than other people. Why
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make all these excuses?? interrupted Aglaya in a mocking
tone of voice. ?Besides, you n eed not mind about lecturing
us; you have nothing to boast of. With your quietism, one
could live happily for a hundred years at least. One might
show you the execution of a felon, or show you one?s
little finger. You could draw a moral from either, and be
quite satisfied. That sort of existence is easy enough.?
?I can?t understand why you always fly into a temper,?
said Mrs. Epanchin, who had been listening to the
conversation and examining th e faces of the speakers in
turn. ?I do not understand what you mean. What has your
little finger to do with it? The prince talks well, though he
is not amusing. He began all right, but now he seems sad.?
?Never mind, mamma! Prince, I wish you had seen an
execution,? said Aglaya. ?I should like to ask you a
question about that, if you had.?
?I have seen an execution,? said the prince.
?You have!? cried Aglaya. ?I might have guessed it.
That?s a fitting crown to the rest of the story. If you have
seen an execution, how can you say you lived happily all
the while??
?But is there capital punishment where you were??
asked Adelaida.
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?I saw it at Lyons. Schneider took us there, and as soon
as we arrived we came in for that.?
?Well, and did you like it very much? Was it very
edifying and instructive?? asked Aglaya.
?No, I didn?t like it at all, and was ill after seeing it; but
I confess I stared as though my eyes were fixed to the
sight. I could not tear them away.?
?I, too, should have been unable to tear my eyes away,?
said Aglaya.
?They do not at all approve of women going to see an
execution there. The women who do go are condemned
for it afterwards in the newspapers.?
?That is, by contending that it is not a sight for women
they admit that it is a sight for men. I congratulate them
on the deduction. I suppose you quite agree with them,
prince??
?Tell us about the execution,? put in Adelaida.
?I would much rather not, just now,? said the prince, a
little disturbed and frowning slightly;
? You don?t seem to want to tell us,? said Aglaya, with a
mocking air.
? No,?the thing is, I was telling all about the
execution a little while ago, and??
?Whom did you tell about it??
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?The man-servant, while I was waiting to see the
general.?
?Our man-servant?? exclaimed several voices at once.
?Yes, the one who waits in the entrance hall, a greyish,
red- faced man??
?The prince is clearly a democrat,? remarked Aglaya.
?Well, if you could tell Aleksey about it, surely you can
tell us too.?
?I do so want to hear about it,? repeated Adelaida.
?Just now, I confess,? beg an the prince, with more
animation, ?when you asked me for a subject for a picture,
I confess I had serious thoughts of giving you one. I
thought of asking you to draw the face of a criminal, one
minute before the fall of the guillotine, while the
wretched man is still standin g on the scaffold, preparatory
to placing his neck on the block.?
?What, his face? only his face?? asked Adelaida. ?That
would be a strange subject in deed. And what sort of a
picture would that make??
?Oh, why not?? the prince insisted, with some warmth.
?When I was in Basle I saw a picture very much in that
style?I should like to tell you about it; I will some time
or other; it struck me very forcibly.?
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?Oh, you shall tell us about the Basle picture another
time; now we must have all about the execution,? said
Adelaida. ?Tell us about that fa ce as; it appeared to your
imagination-how should it be drawn??just the face alone,
do you mean??
?It was just a minute before the execution,? began the
prince, readily, carried aw ay by the recollection and
evidently forgetting everything else in a moment; ?just at
the instant when he stepped off the ladder on to the
scaffold. He happened to look in my direction: I saw his
eyes and understood all, at once?but how am I to
describe it? I do so wish you or somebody else could draw
it, you, if possible. I thought at the time what a picture it
would make. You must imagine all that went before, of
course, all?all. He had lived in the prison for some time
and had not expected that the execution would take place
for at least a week yet?he had counted on all the
formalities and so on taking time ; but it so happened that
his papers had been got ready quickly. At five o?clock in
the morning he was asleep?it was October, and at five in
the morning it was cold and dark. The governor of the
prison comes in on tip-toe and touches the sleeping man?s
shoulder gently. He starts up. ?What is it?? he says. ?The
execution is fixed for ten o?clock.? He was only just
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awake, and would not believe at first, but began to argue
that his papers would not be out for a week, and so on.
When he was wide awake and realized the truth, he
became very silent and argued no more?so they say; but
after a bit he said: ?It comes very hard on one so suddenly?
and then he was silent again and said nothing.
?The three or four hours went by, of course, in
necessary preparations?the priest, breakfast, (coffee, meat,
and some wine they gave him; doesn?t it seem ridiculous?)
And yet I believe these people give them a good breakfast
out of pure kindness of heart, and believe that they are
doing a good action. Then he is dressed, and then begins
the procession through the town to the scaffold. I think
he, too, must feel that he has an age to live still while they
cart him along. Probably he thought, on the way, ?Oh, I
have a long, long time yet. Three streets of life yet! When
we?ve passed this street there?ll be that other one; and then
that one where the baker?s shop is on the right; and when
shall we get there? It?s ages , ages!? Around him are crowds
shouting, yelling?ten thousand faces, twenty thousand
eyes. All this has to be endured, and especially the
thought: ?Here are ten thousand men, and not one of
them is going to be execute d, and yet I am to die.? Well,
all that is preparatory.
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?At the scaffold there is a ladder, and just there he burst
into tears?and this was a strong man, and a terribly
wicked one, they say! There was a priest with him the
whole time, talking; even in the cart as they drove along,
he talked and talked. Probably the other heard nothing; he
would begin to listen now and then, and at the third word
or so he had forgotten all about it.
?At last he began to mount th e steps; his legs were tied,
so that he had to take very small steps. The priest, who
seemed to be a wise man, had stopped talking now, and
only held the cross for the wretched fellow to kiss. At the
foot of the ladder he had been pale enough; but when he
set foot on the scaffold at the top, his face suddenly
became the colour of paper, positively like white
notepaper. His legs must have become suddenly feeble and
helpless, and he felt a cho king in his throat?you know
the sudden feeling one has in moments of terrible fear,
when one does not lose one?s wits, but is absolutely
powerless to move? If some dreadful thing were suddenly
to happen; if a house were just about to fall on one;?
don?t you know how one would long to sit down and
shut one?s eyes and wait, and wait? Well, when this
terrible feeling came over him, the priest quickly pressed
the cross to his lips, without a word?a little silver cross it
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was- and he kept on pressing it to the man?s lips every
second. And whenever the cross touched his lips, the eyes
would open for a moment, and the legs moved once, and
he kissed the cross greedily, hurriedly?just as though he
were anxious to catch hold of something in case of its
being useful to him afterwards, though he could hardly
have had any connected religious thoughts at the time.
And so up to the very block.
?How strange that criminals seldom swoon at such a
moment! On the contrary, the brain is especially active,
and works incessantly? probably hard, hard, hard?like
an engine at full pressure. I imagine that various thoughts
must beat loud and fast through his head?all unfinished
ones, and strange, funny thoughts, very likely!?like this,
for instance: ?That man is looking at me, and he has a wart
on his forehead! and the executioner has burst one of his
buttons, and the lowest one is all rusty!? And meanwhile
he notices and remembers everything. There is one point
that cannot be forgotten, round which everything else
dances and turns about; and because of this point he
cannot faint, and this lasts until the very final quarter of a
second, when the wretched neck is on the block and the
victim listens and waits and KNOWS? that?s the point,
he KNOWS that he is just NOW about to die, and listens
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for the rasp of the iron over his head. If I lay there, I
should certainly listen for that grating sound, and hear it,
too! There would probably be but the tenth part of an
instant left to hear it in, but one would certainly hear it.
And imagine, some people declare that when the head flies
off it is CONSCIOUS of having flown off! Just imagine
what a thing to realize! Fancy if consciousness were to last
for even five seconds!
?Draw the scaffold so that only the top step of the
ladder comes in clearly. The criminal must be just stepping
on to it, his face as white as note-paper. The priest is
holding the cross to his blue lips , and the criminal kisses it,
and knows and sees and under stands everything. The cross
and the head?there?s your picture; the priest and the
executioner, with his two assistants, and a few heads and
eyes below. Those might come in as subordinate
accessories?a sort of mist. There?s a picture for you.? The
prince paused, and looked around.
?Certainly that isn?t much like quietism,? murmured
Alexandra, half to herself.
?Now tell us about your love affairs,? said Adelaida,
after a moment?s pause.
The prince gazed at her in amazement.
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?You know,? Adelaida continued, ?you owe us a
description of the Basle picture; but first I wish to hear
how you fell in love. Don?t de ny the fact, for you did, of
course. Besides, you stop philosophizing when you are
telling about anything.?
?Why are you ashamed of your stories the moment after
you have told them?? asked Aglaya, suddenly.
?How silly you are!? said Mrs. Epanchin, looking
indignantly towards the last speaker.
?Yes, that wasn?t a clever remark,? said Alexandra.
?Don?t listen to her, prince,? said Mrs. Epanchin; ?she
says that sort of thing out of mischief. Don?t think
anything of their nonsense, it me ans nothing. They love to
chaff, but they like you. I can see it in their faces?I know
their faces.?
?I know their faces, too,? said the prince, with a
peculiar stress on the words.
?How so?? asked Adelaida, with curiosity.
?What do YOU know about our faces?? exclaimed the
other two, in chorus.
But the prince was silent and serious. All awaited his
reply.
?I?ll tell you afterwards,? he said quietly.
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?Ah, you want to arouse our curiosity!? said Aglaya.
?And how terribly solemn you are about it!?
?Very well,? interrupted Adelaida, ?then if you can read
faces so well, you must have been in love. Come now;
I?ve guessed?let?s have the secret!?
?I have not been in love,? said the prince, as quietly and
seriously as before. ?I have been happy in another way.?
?How, how??
?Well, I?ll tell you,? said the prince, apparently in a deep
reverie.
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VI
?Here you all are,? began the prince, ?settling yourselves
down to listen to me with so much curiosity, that if I do
not satisfy you you will probably be angry with me. No,
no! I?m only joking!? he added, hastily, with a smile.
?Well, then?they were all children there, and I was
always among children and only with children. They were
the children of the village in which I lived, and they went
to the school there?all of them. I did not teach them, oh
no; there was a master for that, one Jules Thibaut. I may
have taught them some things , but I was among them just
as an outsider, and I passed a ll four years of my life there
among them. I wished for nothing better; I used to tell
them everything and hid nothing from them. Their fathers
and relations were very angry with me, because the
children could do nothing without me at last, and used to
throng after me at all times. The schoolmaster was my
greatest enemy in the end! I had many enemies, and all
because of the children. Even Schneider reproached me.
What were they afraid of? One can tell a child everything,
anything. I have often been struck by the fact that parents
know their children so little. They should not conceal so
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much from them. How well even little children
understand that their parents conceal things from them,
because they consider them too young to understand!
Children are capable of giving advice in the most
important matters. How can one deceive these dear little
birds, when they look at one so sweetly and confidingly? I
call them birds because there is nothing in the world better
than birds!
?However, most of the people were angry with me
about one and the same thin g; but Thibaut simply was
jealous of me. At first he had wagged his head and
wondered how it was that the children understood what I
told them so well, and could not learn from him; and he
laughed like anything when I replied that neither he nor I
could teach them very much, but that THEY might teach
us a good deal.
?How he could hate me and tell scandalous stories
about me, living among children as he did, is what I
cannot understand. Children soothe and heal the wounded
heart. I remember there was one poor fellow at our
professor?s who was being trea ted for madness, and you
have no idea what those children did for him, eventually. I
don?t think he was mad, but only terribly unhappy. But
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I?ll tell you all about him another day. Now I must get on
with this story.
?The children did not love me at first; I was such a
sickly, awkward kind of a fellow then?and I know I am
ugly. Besides, I was a foreigner. The children used to
laugh at me, at first; and they even went so far as to throw
stones at me, when they saw me kiss Marie. I only kissed
her once in my life?no, no, don?t laugh!? The prince
hastened to suppress the smiles of his audience at this
point. ?It was not a matter of LOVE at all! If only you
knew what a miserable creature she was, you would have
pitied her, just as I did. She belonged to our village. Her
mother was an old, old woman, and they used to sell
string and thread, and soap and tobacco, out of the
window of their little house, and lived on the pittance
they gained by this trade. The old woman was ill and very
old, and could hardly move. Marie was her daughter, a girl
of twenty, weak and thin and consumptive; but still she
did heavy work at the houses around, day by day. Well,
one fine day a commercial traveller betrayed her and
carried her off; and a week later he deserted her. She came
home dirty, draggled, and shoeless; she had walked for a
whole week without shoes; she had slept in the fields, and
caught a terrible cold; her feet were swollen and sore, and
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her hands torn and scratched all over. She never had been
pretty even before; but her eyes were quiet, innocent,
kind eyes.
?She was very quiet always?and I remember once,
when she had suddenly begun singing at her work,
everyone said, ?Marie tried to sing today!? and she got so
chaffed that she was silent for ever after. She had been
treated kindly in the place before; but when she came
back now?ill and shunned and miserable?not one of
them all had the slightest symp athy for her. Cruel people!
Oh, what hazy understandings they have on such matters!
Her mother was the first to show the way. She received
her wrathfully, unkindly, and with contempt. ?You have
disgraced me,? she said. She was the first to cast her into
ignominy; but when they all heard that Marie had
returned to the village, they ran out to see her and
crowded into the little cottage?old men, children,
women, girls?such a hurrying, stamping, greedy crowd.
Marie was lying on the floor at the old woman?s feet,
hungry, torn, draggled, crying, miserable.
?When everyone crowded into the room she hid her
face in her dishevelled hair and lay cowering on the floor.
Everyone looked at her as though she were a piece of dirt
off the road. The old men scolded and condemned, and
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the young ones laughed at her. The women condemned
her too, and looked at her contemptuously, just as though
she were some loathsome insect.
?Her mother allowed all this to go on, and nodded her
head and encouraged them. The old woman was very ill at
that time, and knew she was dying (she really did die a
couple of months later), and though she felt the end
approaching she never thought of forgiving her daughter,
to the very day of her death. She would not even speak to
her. She made her sleep on straw in a shed, and hardly
gave her food enough to support life.
?Marie was very gentle to her mother, and nursed her,
and did everything for her; but the old woman accepted
all her services without a word and never showed her the
slightest kindness. Marie bore all this; and I could see
when I got to know her that she thought it quite right and
fitting, considering hersel f the lowest and meanest of
creatures.
?When the old woman took to her bed finally, the
other old women in the village sat with her by turns, as
the custom is there; and then Marie was quite driven out
of the house. They gave her no food at all, and she could
not get any work in the village; none would employ her.
The men seemed to consider her no longer a woman, they
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said such dreadful things to her. Sometimes on Sundays, if
they were drunk enough, they used to throw her a penny
or two, into the mud, and Marie would silently pick up
the money. She had began to spit blood at that time.
?At last her rags became so tattered and torn that she
was ashamed of appearing in the village any longer. The
children used to pelt her with mud; so she begged to be
taken on as assistant cowherd, but the cowherd would not
have her. Then she took to helping him without leave;
and he saw how valuable her assistance was to him, and
did not drive her away again; on the contrary, he
occasionally gave her the remnants of his dinner, bread
and cheese. He considered that he was being very kind.
When the mother died, the village parson was not
ashamed to hold Marie up to public derision and shame.
Marie was standing at the coffi n?s head, in all her rags,
crying.
?A crowd of people had co llected to see how she would
cry. The parson, a young fellow ambitious of becoming a
great preacher, began his sermon and pointed to Marie.
?There,? he said, ?there is th e cause of the death of this
venerable woman??(which was a lie, because she had
been ill for at least two years)??there she stands before
you, and dares not lift her eyes from the ground, because
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she knows that the finger of God is upon her. Look at her
tatters and rags?the badge of those who lose their virtue.
Who is she? her daughter!? and so on to the end.
?And just fancy, this infamy pleased them, all of them,
nearly. Only the children had altered?for then they were
all on my side and had learned to love Marie.
?This is how it was: I had wished to do something for
Marie; I longed to give her some money, but I never had
a farthing while I was there. But I had a little diamond
pin, and this I sold to a trave lling pedlar; he gave me eight
francs for it?it was worth at least forty.
?I long sought to meet Marie alone; and at last I did
meet her, on the hillside beyond the village. I gave her the
eight francs and asked her to take care of the money
because I could get no more; and then I kissed her and
said that she was not to suppo se I kissed her with any evil
motives or because I was in love with her, for that I did so
solely out of pity for her, and because from the first I had
not accounted her as guilty so much as unfortunate. I
longed to console and encourage her somehow, and to
assure her that she was not the low, base thing which she
and others strove to make out; but I don?t think she
understood me. She stood befo re me, dreadfully ashamed
of herself, and with downcast eyes; and when I had
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finished she kissed my hand. I would have kissed hers, but
she drew it away. Just at this moment the whole troop of
children saw us. (I found out afterwards that they had long
kept a watch upon me.) They all began whistling and
clapping their hands, and laughing at us. Marie ran away at
once; and when I tried to talk to them, they threw stones
at me. All the village heard of it the same day, and Marie?s
position became worse than ever. The children would not
let her pass now in the streets, but annoyed her and threw
dirt at her more than before. They used to run after her?
she racing away with her poor feeble lungs panting and
gasping, and they pelting her and shouting abuse at her.
?Once I had to interfere by force; and after that I took
to speaking to them every day and whenever I could.
Occasionally they stopped and listened; but they teased
Marie all the same.
?I told them how unhappy Ma rie was, and after a while
they stopped their abuse of her, and let her go by silently.
Little by little we got into the way of conversing together,
the children and I. I concealed nothing from them, I told
them all. They listened very attentively and soon began to
be sorry for Marie. At last some of them took to saying
?Good-morning? to her, kindly, when they met her. It is
the custom there to salute anyone you meet with ?Good-
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morning? whether acquainted or not. I can imagine how
astonished Marie was at these first greetings from the
children.
?Once two little girls got hold of some food and took it
to her, and came back and told me. They said she had
burst into tears, and that they loved her very much now.
Very soon after that they all became fond of Marie, and at
the same time they began to develop the greatest affection
for myself. They often came to me and begged me to tell
them stories. I think I must have told stories well, for they
did so love to hear them. At last I took to reading up
interesting things on purpose to pass them on to the little
ones, and this went on for a ll the rest of my time there,
three years. Later, when everyone?even Schneider?was
angry with me for hiding nothing from the children, I
pointed out how foolish it was, for they always knew
things, only they learnt them in a way that soiled their
minds but not so from me . One has only to remember
one?s own childhood to admit the truth of this. But
nobody was convinced? It was two weeks before her
mother died that I had kissed Marie; and when the
clergyman preached that sermon the children were all on
my side.
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?When I told them what a shame it was of the parson
to talk as he had done, and explained my reason, they
were so angry that some of them went and broke his
windows with stones. Of cour se I stopped them, for that
was not right, but all the village heard of it, and how I
caught it for spoiling the children! Everyone discovered
now that the little ones had ta ken to being fond of Marie,
and their parents were terribly alarmed; but Marie was so
happy. The children were forbidde n to meet her; but they
used to run out of the village to the herd and take her
food and things; and some times just ran off there and
kissed her, and said, ?Je vous aime, Marie!? and then
trotted back again. They imag ined that I was in love with
Marie, and this was the only point on which I did not
undeceive them, for they got such enjoyment out of it.
And what delicacy and tenderness they showed!
?In the evening I used to walk to the waterfall. There
was a spot there which was quite closed in and hidden
from view by large trees; and to this spot the children used
to come to me. They could not bear that their dear Leon
should love a poor girl without shoes to her feet and
dressed all in rags and tatt ers. So, would you believe it,
they actually clubbed together, somehow, and bought her
shoes and stockings, and some linen, and even a dress! I
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can?t understand how they managed it, but they did it, all
together. When I asked them about it they only laughed
and shouted, and the little girls clapped their hands and
kissed me. I sometimes went to see Marie secretly, too.
She had become very ill, and could hardly walk. She still
went with the herd, but could not help the herdsman any
longer. She used to sit on a stone near, and wait there
almost motionless all day, t ill the herd went home. Her
consumption was so advanced, and she was so weak, that
she used to sit with closed eyes, breathing heavily. Her
face was as thin as a skeleton?s, and sweat used to stand on
her white brow in large drops. I always found her sitting
just like that. I used to come up quietly to look at her; but
Marie would hear me, open her eyes, and tremble
violently as she kissed my hands. I did not take my hand
away because it made her happy to have it, and so she
would sit and cry quietly. Sometimes she tried to speak;
but it was very difficult to understand her. She was almost
like a madwoman, with excitement and ecstasy, whenever
I came. Occasionally the children came with me; when
they did so, they would stand some way off and keep
guard over us, so as to tell me if anybody came near. This
was a great pleasure to them.
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?When we left her, Marie used to relapse at once into
her old condition, and sit with closed eyes and motionless
limbs. One day she could not go out at all, and remained
at home all alone in the empty hut; but the children very
soon became aware of the fact, and nearly all of them
visited her that day as she lay alone and helpless in her
miserable bed.
?For two days the children l ooked after her, and then,
when the village people got to know that Marie was really
dying, some of the old women came and took it in turns
to sit by her and look after her a bit. I think they began to
be a little sorry for her in the village at last; at all events
they did not interfere with the children any more, on her
account.
?Marie lay in a state of uncomfortable delirium the
whole while; she coughed dreadfully. The old women
would not let the children stay in the room; but they all
collected outside the window ea ch morning, if only for a
moment, and shouted ?Bon jour, notre bonne Marie!? and
Marie no sooner caught sight of, or heard them, and she
became quite animated at once, and, in spite of the old
women, would try to sit up and nod her head and smile at
them, and thank them. The littl e ones used to bring her
nice things and sweets to eat, but she could hardly touch
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anything. Thanks to them, I assure you, the girl died
almost perfectly happy. She al most forgot her misery, and
seemed to accept their love as a sort of symbol of pardon
for her offence, though she never ceased to consider
herself a dreadful sinner. They used to flutter at her
window just like little birds, calling out: ?Nous t?aimons,
Marie!?
?She died very soon; I had thought she would live
much longer. The day before h er death I went to see her
for the last time, just before sunset. I think she recognized
me, for she pressed my hand.
?Next morning they came and told me that Marie was
dead. The children could not be restrained now; they
went and covered her coffin with flowers, and put a
wreath of lovely blossoms on her head. The pastor did not
throw any more shameful words at the poor dead woman;
but there were very few people at the funeral. However,
when it came to carrying the coffin, all the children rushed
up, to carry it themselves. Of course they could not do it
alone, but they insisted on helping, and walked alongside
and behind, crying.
?They have planted roses all round her grave, and every
year they look alter the flowers and make Marie?s resting-
place as beautiful as they can. I was in ill odour after all
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this with the parents of the children, and especially with
the parson and schoolmaster. Schneider was obliged to
promise that I should not meet them and talk to them; but
we conversed from a distance by signs, and they used to
write me sweet little notes. Afterwards I came closer than
ever to those little souls, but even then it was very dear to
me, to have them so fond of me.
?Schneider said that I did the children great harm by
my pernicious ?system?; what nonsense that was! And what
did he mean by my system? He said afterwards that he
believed I was a child myself?just before I came away.
?You have the form and face of an adult? he said, ?but as
regards soul, and character, and perhaps even intelligence,
you are a child in the completest sense of the word, and
always will be, if you live to be sixty.? I laughed very
much, for of course that is nonsense. But it is a fact that I
do not care to be among grown-up people and much
prefer the society of children. However kind people may
be to me, I never feel quit e at home with them, and am
always glad to get back to my little companions. Now my
companions have always been children, not because I was
a child myself once, but because young things attract me.
On one of the first days of my stay in Switzerland, I was
strolling about alone and miserable, when I came upon the
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children rushing noisily out of school, with their slates and
bags, and books, their games, their laughter and shouts?
and my soul went out to them. I stopped and laughed
happily as I watched their little feet moving so quickly.
Girls and boys, laughing and crying; for as they went
home many of them found time to fight and make peace,
to weep and play. I forgot my troubles in looking at them.
And then, all those three years, I tried to understand why
men should be for ever tormenting themselves. I lived the
life of a child there, and thought I should never leave the
little village; indeed, I was far from thinking that I should
ever return to Russia. But at last I recognized the fact that
Schneider could not keep me any longer. And then
something so important happened, that Schneider himself
urged me to depart. I am going to see now if can get good
advice about it. Perhaps my lot in life will be changed; but
that is not the principal thin g. The principal thing is the
entire change that has already come over me. I left many
things behind me?too many. They have gone. On the
journey I said to myself, ?I am going into the world of
men. I don?t know much, perhaps, but a new life has
begun for me.? I made up my mind to be honest, and
steadfast in accomplis hing my task. Perhaps I shall meet
with troubles and many disappointments, but I have made
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up my mind to be polite and sincere to everyone; more
cannot be asked of me. People may consider me a child if
they like. I am often called an idiot, and at one time I
certainly was so ill that I was nearly as bad as an idiot; but I
am not an idiot now. How can I possibly be so when I
know myself that I am considered one?
?When I received a letter from those dear little souls,
while passing through Berlin, I only then realized how
much I loved them. It was very, very painful, getting that
first little letter. How melancholy they had been when
they saw me off! For a month before, they had been
talking of my departure and so rrowing over it; and at the
waterfall, of an evening, when we parted for the night,
they would hug me so tight and kiss me so warmly, far
more so than before. And every now and then they would
turn up one by one when I wa s alone, just to give me a
kiss and a hug, to show their love for me. The whole flock
went with me to the station, which was about a mile from
the village, and every now and then one of them would
stop to throw his arms round me , and all the little girls had
tears in their voices, though they tried hard not to cry. As
the train steamed out of the station, I saw them all
standing on the platform waving to me and crying
?Hurrah!? till they were lost in the distance.
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?I assure you, when I came in here just now and saw
your kind faces (I can read faces well) my heart felt light
for the first time since that moment of parting. I think I
must be one of those who are born to be in luck, for one
does not often meet with people whom one feels he can
love from the first sight of their faces; and yet, no sooner
do I step out of the railway carriage than I happen upon
you!
?I know it is more or less a shamefaced thing to speak
of one?s feelings before others; and yet here am I talking
like this to you, and am not a bit ashamed or shy. I am an
unsociable sort of fellow and shall very likely not come to
see you again for some time; but don?t think the worse of
me for that. It is not that I do not value your society; and
you must never suppose that I have taken offence at
anything.
?You asked me about your faces, and what I could read
in them; I will tell you with th e greatest pleasure. You,
Adelaida Ivanovna, have a very happy face; it is the most
sympathetic of the three. Not to speak of your natural
beauty, one can look at your face and say to one?s self,
?She has the face of a kind sister.? You are simple and
merry, but you can see into another?s heart very quickly.
That?s what I read in your face.
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?You too, Alexandra Ivanovna, have a very lovely face;
but I think you may have some secret sorrow. Your heart
is undoubtedly a kind, good one, but you are not merry.
There is a certain suspicion of ?shadow? in your face, like
in that of Holbein?s Madonna in Dresden. So much for
your face. Have I guessed right?
?As for your face, Lizabetha Prokofievna, I not only
think, but am perfectly SURE , that you are an absolute
child?in all, in all, mind, both good and bad-and in spite
of your years. Don?t be angry with me for saying so; you
know what my feelings for children are. And do not
suppose that I am so candid out of pure simplicity of soul.
Oh dear no, it is by no means the case! Perhaps I have my
own very profound object in view.?
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VII
When the prince ceased speaking all were gazing
merrily at him? even Aglaya; but Lizabetha Prokofievna
looked the jolliest of all.
?Well!? she cried, ?we HAVE ?put him through his
paces,? with a vengeance! My dears, you imagined, I
believe, that you were about to patronize this young
gentleman, like some poor protege picked up somewhere,
and taken under your magnific ent protection. What fools
we were, and what a specially big fool is your father! Well
done, prince! I assure you the general actually asked me to
put you through your paces, and examine you. As to what
you said about my face, you are absolutely correct in your
judgment. I am a child, and know it. I knew it long before
you said so; you have expresse d my own thoughts. I think
your nature and mine must be extremely alike, and I am
very glad of it. We are like two drops of water, only you
are a man and I a woman, and I?ve not been to
Switzerland, and that is all the difference between us.?
?Don?t be in a hurry, mother; the prince says that he
has some motive behind his simplicity,? cried Aglaya.
?Yes, yes, so he does,? laughed the others.
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?Oh, don?t you begin bantering him,? said mamma. ?He
is probably a good deal cleverer than all three of you girls
put together. We shall see. Only you haven?t told us
anything about Aglaya yet, prince; and Aglaya and I are
both waiting to hear.?
?I cannot say anything at present. I?ll tell you
afterwards.?
?Why? Her face is clear enough, isn?t it??
?Oh yes, of course. You are very beautiful, Aglaya
Ivanovna, so beautiful that one is afraid to look at you.?
?Is that all? What about h er character?? persisted Mrs.
Epanchin.
?It is difficult to judge when such beauty is concerned. I
have not prepared my judgment. Beauty is a riddle.?
?That means that you have se t Aglaya a riddle!? said
Adelaida. ?Guess it, Aglaya! But she?s pretty, prince, isn?t
she??
?Most wonderfully so,? said the latter, warmly, gazing at
Aglaya with admiration. ?Alm ost as lovely as Nastasia
Philipovna, but quite a different type.?
All present exchanged looks of surprise.
?As lovely as WHO?? said Mrs. Epanchin. ?As
NASTASIA PHILIPOVNA? Where have you seen
Nastasia Philipovna? What Nastasia Philipovna??
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?Gavrila Ardalionovitch showed the general her portrait
just now.?
?How so? Did he bring the portrait for my husband??
?Only to show it. Nastasia Philipovna gave it to Gavrila
Ardalionovitch today, and the latter brought it here to
show to the general.?
?I must see it!? cried Mr s. Epanchin. ?Where is the
portrait? If she gave it to hi m, he must have it; and he is
still in the study. He never leaves before four o?clock on
Wednesdays. Send for Gavrila Ardalionovitch at once. No,
I don?t long to see HIM so mu ch. Look here, dear prince,
BE so kind, will you? Just step to the study and fetch this
portrait! Say we want to look at it. Please do this for me,
will you??
?He is a nice fellow, but a little too simple,? said
Adelaida, as the prince left the room.
?He is, indeed,? said Alexandra; ?almost laughably so at
times.?
Neither one nor the other seemed to give expression to
her full thoughts.
?He got out of it very neat ly about our faces, though,?
said Aglaya. He flattered us all round, even mamma.?
?Nonsense? cried the latter. ?He did not flatter me. It
was I who found his appreciation flattering. I think you
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are a great deal more foolish than he is. He is simple, of
course, but also very knowing. Just like myself.?
?How stupid of me to speak of the portrait,? thought
the prince as he entered the study, with a feeling of guilt at
his heart, ?and yet, perhaps I was right after all.? He had an
idea, unformed as yet, but a strange idea.
Gavrila Ardalionovitch was still sitting in the study,
buried in a mass of papers. He looked as though he did
not take his salary from the public company, whose
servant he was, for a sinecure.
He grew very wroth and confused when the prince
asked for the portrait, and explained how it came about
that he had spoken of it.
?Oh, curse it all,? he said; ?what on earth must you go
blabbing for? You know nothing about the thing, and
yet?idiot!? he added, muttering the last word to himself
in irrepressible rage.
?I am very sorry; I was not thinking at the time. I
merely said that Aglaya was al most as beautiful as Nastasia
Philipovna.?
Gania asked for further details; and the prince once
more repeated the conversation. Gania looked at him with
ironical contempt the while.
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?Nastasia Philipovna,? he began, and there paused; he
was clearly much agitated and annoyed. The prince
reminded him of the portrait.
?Listen, prince,? said Gania, as though an idea had just
struck him, ?I wish to ask you a great favour, and yet I
really don?t know??
He paused again, he was tryi ng to make up his mind to
something, and was turning the matter over. The prince
waited quietly. Once more Gania fixed him with intent
and questioning eyes.
?Prince,? he began again, ?they are rather angry with
me, in there, owing to a ci rcumstance which I need not
explain, so that I do not care to go in at present without
an invitation. I particularly wish to speak to Aglaya, but I
have written a few words in case I shall not have the
chance of seeing her? (here the prince observed a small
note in his hand), ?and I do not know how to get my
communication to her. Don?t you think you could
undertake to give it to her at once, but only to her, mind,
and so that no one else should see you give it? It isn?t
much of a secret, but still?Well, will you do it??
?I don?t quite like it,? replied the prince.
?Oh, but it is absolutely necessary for me,? Gania
entreated. ?Believe me, if it were not so, I would not ask
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you; how else am I to get it to her? It is most important,
dreadfully important!?
Gania was evidently much alarmed at the idea that the
prince would not consent to take his note, and he looked
at him now with an expression of absolute entreaty.
?Well, I will take it then.?
?But mind, nobody is to see!? cried the delighted Gania
?And of course I may rely on your word of honour, eh??
?I won?t show it to anyone,? said the prince.
?The letter is not sealed?? continued Gania, and
paused in confusion.
?Oh, I won?t read it,? said the prince, quite simply.
He took up the portrait, and went out of the room.
Gania, left alone, clutched his head with his hands.
?One word from her,? he said, ?one word from her, and
I may yet be free.?
He could not settle himself to his papers again, for
agitation and excitement, but began walking up and down
the room from corner to corner.
The prince walked along, musing. He did not like his
commission, and disliked the idea of Gania sending a note
to Aglaya at all; but when he was two rooms distant from
the drawing-room, where they all were, he stopped a
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though recalling something; went to the window, nearer
the light, and began to examine the portrait in his hand.
He longed to solve the mystery of something in the
face Nastasia Philipovna, someth ing which had struck him
as he looked at the portrait for the first time; the
impression had not left him. It was partly the fact of her
marvellous beauty that struck him, and partly something
else. There was a suggestion of immense pride and disdain
in the face almost of hatred, and at the same time
something confiding and very full of simplicity. The
contrast aroused a deep sympathy in his heart as he looked
at the lovely face. The blinding loveliness of it was almost
intolerable, this pale thin face with its flaming eyes; it was
a strange beauty.
The prince gazed at it for a minute or two, then
glanced around him, and hurrie dly raised the portrait to
his lips. When, a minute after, he reached the drawing-
room door, his face was quite composed. But just as he
reached the door he met Aglaya coming out alone.
?Gavrila Ardalionovitch begged me to give you this,? he
said, handing her the note.
Aglaya stopped, took the letter, and gazed strangely
into the prince?s eyes. There was no confusion in her face;
a little surprise, perhaps, but that was all. By her look she
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seemed merely to challenge the prince to an explanation as
to how he and Gania happene d to be connected in this
matter. But her expression was perfectly cool and quiet,
and even condescending.
So they stood for a moment or two, confronting one
another. At length a faint smile passed over her face, and
she passed by him without a word.
Mrs. Epanchin examined the portrait of Nastasia
Philipovna for some little while, holding it critically at
arm?s length.
?Yes, she is pretty,? she said at last, ?even very pretty. I
have seen her twice, but only at a distance. So you admire
this kind of beauty, do you?? she asked the prince,
suddenly.
?Yes, I do?this kind.?
?Do you mean especially this kind??
?Yes, especially this kind.?
?Why??
?There is much suffering in this face,? murmured the
prince, more as though talkin g to himself than answering
the question.
?I think you are wandering a little, prince,? Mrs.
Epanchin decided, after a lengthened survey of his face;
and she tossed the portrait on to the table, haughtily.
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Alexandra took it, and Adelaida came up, and both the
girls examined the photograph. Just then Aglaya entered
the room.
?What a power!? cried Adelaida suddenly, as she
earnestly examined the portra it over her sister?s shoulder.
?Whom? What power?? asked her mother, crossly.
?Such beauty is real power,? said Adelaida. ?With such
beauty as that one might overthrow the world.? She
returned to her easel thoughtfully.
Aglaya merely glanced at the portrait?frowned, and
put out her underlip; then went and sat down on the sofa
with folded hands. Mrs. Epanchin rang the bell.
?Ask Gavrila Ardalionovitch to step this way,? said she
to the man who answered.
?Mamma!? cried Alexandra, significantly.
?I shall just say two words to him, that?s all,? said her
mother, silencing all objection by her manner; she was
evidently seriously put out. ?You see, prince, it is all
secrets with us, just now?all secrets. It seems to be the
etiquette of the house, for some reason or, other. Stupid
nonsense, and in a matter which ought to be approached
with all candour and open- heartedness. There is a
marriage being talked of, and I don?t like this marriage??
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?Mamma, what are you saying?? said Alexandra again,
hurriedly.
?Well, what, my dear girl? As if you can possibly like it
yourself? The heart is the great thing, and the rest is all
rubbish?though one must hav e sense as well. Perhaps
sense is really the great th ing. Don?t smile like that,
Aglaya. I don?t contradict myself. A fool with a heart and
no brains is just as unhappy as a fool with brains and no
heart. I am one and you are th e other, and therefore both
of us suffer, both of us are unhappy.?
?Why are you so unhappy, mother?? asked Adelaida,
who alone of all the company seemed to have preserved
her good temper and spirits up to now.
?In the first place, because of my carefully brought-up
daughters,? said Mrs. Epanchin, cuttingly; ?and as that is
the best reason I can give you we need not bother about
any other at present. Enough of words, now! We shall see
how both of you (I don?t c ount Aglaya) will manage your
business, and whether you, most revered Alexandra
Ivanovna, will be happy with your fine mate.?
?Ah!? she added, as Gania suddenly entered the room,
?here?s another marrying subject. How do you do?? she
continued, in response to Gania?s bow; but she did not
invite him to sit down. ?You are going to be married??
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?Married? how?what marriage?? murmured Gania,
overwhelmed with confusion.
?Are you about to take a wife? I ask,?if you prefer that
expression.?
?No, no I-I?no!? said Gania, bringing out his lie with
a tell- tale blush of shame. He glanced keenly at Aglaya,
who was sitting some way off, and dropped his eyes
immediately.
Aglaya gazed coldly, intently , and composedly at him,
without taking her eyes off his face, and watched his
confusion.
?No? You say no, do you?? continued the pitiless Mrs.
General. ?Very well, I shall remember that you told me
this Wednesday morning, in answer to my question, that
you are not going to be married. What day is it,
Wednesday, isn?t it??
?Yes, I think so!? said Adelaida.
?You never know the day of the week; what?s the day
of the month??
?Twenty-seventh!? said Gania.
?Twenty-seventh; very well. Good-bye now; you have
a good deal to do, I?m sure, and I must dress and go out.
Take your portrait. Give my respects to your unfortunate
mother, Nina Alexandrovna. Au revoir, dear prince, come
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in and see us often, do; and I shall tell old Princess
Bielokonski about you. I shall go and see her on purpose.
And listen, my dear boy, I feel sure that God has sent you
to Petersburg from Switzerland on purpose for me. Maybe
you will have other things to do, besides, but you are sent
chiefly for my sake, I feel su re of it. God sent you to me!
Au revoir! Alexandra, come with me, my dear.?
Mrs. Epanchin left the room.
Gania?confused, annoyed, furious?took up his
portrait, and turned to the prince with a nasty smile on his
face.
?Prince,? he said, ?I am just going home. If you have
not changed your mind as to living with us, perhaps you
would like to come with me. You don?t know the
address, I believe??
?Wait a minute, prince,? sa id Aglaya, suddenly rising
from her seat, ?do write something in my album first, will
you? Father says you are a most talented caligraphist; I?ll
bring you my book in a minute.? She left the room.
?Well, au revoir, prince,? sa id Adelaida, ?I must be
going too.? She pressed the prince?s hand warmly, and
gave him a friendly smile as she left the room. She did not
so much as look at Gania.
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?This is your doing, prince,? said Gania, turning on the
latter so soon as the others were all out of the room. ?This
is your doing, sir! YOU have been telling them that I am
going to be married!? He said this in a hurried whisper, his
eyes flashing with rage and his face ablaze. ?You shameless
tattler!?
?I assure you, you are under a delusion,? said the prince,
calmly and politely. ?I did not even know that you were to
be married.?
?You heard me talking about it, the general and me.
You heard me say that everythi ng was to be settled today
at Nastasia Philipovna?s, and you went and blurted it out
here. You lie if you deny it. Who else could have told
them Devil take it, sir, w ho could have told them except
yourself? Didn?t the old woman as good as hint as much to
me??
?If she hinted to you who told her you must know best,
of course; but I never said a word about it.?
?Did you give my note? Is there an answer?? interrupted
Gania, impatiently.
But at this moment Aglaya came back, and the prince
had no time to reply.
?There, prince,? said she, ?there?s my album. Now
choose a page and write me something, will you? There?s
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a pen, a new one; do you mind a steel one? I have heard
that you caligraphists don?t like steel pens.?
Conversing with the prince, Aglaya did not even seem
to notice that Gania was in the room. But while the
prince was getting his pen ready, finding a page, and
making his preparations to write, Gania came up to the
fireplace where Aglaya was standing, to the right of the
prince, and in trembling, broken accents said, almost in
her ear:
?One word, just one word from you, and I?m saved.?
The prince turned sharply round and looked at both of
them. Gania?s face was full of real despair; he seemed to
have said the words almost unconsciously and on the
impulse of the moment.
Aglaya gazed at him for some seconds with precisely
the same composure and calm astonishment as she had
shown a little while before, when the prince handed her
the note, and it appeared t hat this calm surprise and
seemingly absolute incomprehension of what was said to
her, were more terribly overwhelming to Gania than even
the most plainly expressed disdain would have been.
?What shall I write?? asked the prince.
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?I?ll dictate to you,? said Aglaya, coming up to the table.
?Now then, are you ready? Write, ?I never condescend to
bargain!? Now put your name and the date. Let me see it.?
The prince handed her the album.
?Capital! How beautifully you have written it! Thanks
so much. Au revoir, prince. Wait a minute,?; she added, ?I
want to give you something for a keepsake. Come with
me this way, will you??
The prince followed her. Arrived at the dining-room,
she stopped.
?Read this,? she said, handing him Gania?s note.
The prince took it from h er hand, but gazed at her in
bewilderment.
?Oh! I KNOW you haven?t read it, and that you could
never be that man?s accomplic e. Read it, I wish you to
read it.?
The letter had evidently been written in a hurry:
?My fate is to be decided today? (it ran), ?you know
how. This day I must give my word irrevocably. I have no
right to ask your help, and I dare not allow myself to
indulge in any hopes; but once you said just one word,
and that word lighted up the night of my life, and became
the beacon of my days. Say one more such word, and save
me from utter ruin. Only tell me, ?break off the whole
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thing!? and I will do so this very day. Oh! what can it cost
you to say just this one word? In doing so you will but be
giving me a sign of your sympathy for me, and of your
pity; only this, only this; nothing more, NOTHING. I
dare not indulge in any hope, because I am unworthy of
it. But if you say but this word, I will take up my cross
again with joy, and return once more to my battle with
poverty. I shall meet the storm and be glad of it; I shall rise
up with renewed strength.
?Send me back then this one word of sympathy, only
sympathy, I swear to you; and oh! do not be angry with
the audacity of despair, with the drowning man who has
dared to make this last effort to save himself from perishing
beneath the waters.
?G.L.?
?This man assures me,? said Aglaya, scornfully, when
the prince had finished reading the letter, ?that the words
?break off everything? do not commit me to anything
whatever; and himself gives me a written guarantee to that
effect, in this letter. Ob serve how ingenuously he
underlines certain words, and how crudely he glosses over
his hidden thoughts. He must know that if he ?broke off
everything,? FIRST, by himse lf, and without telling me a
word about it or having the slightest hope on my account,
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that in that case I should perhaps be able to change my
opinion of him, and even accept his?friendship. He must
know that, but his soul is such a wretched thing. He
knows it and cannot make up his mind; he knows it and
yet asks for guarantees. He cannot bring himself to
TRUST, he wants me to give him hopes of myself before
he lets go of his hundred t housand roubles. As to the
?former word? which he declares ?lighted up the night of
his life,? he is simply an impudent liar; I merely pitied him
once. But he is audacious and shameless. He immediately
began to hope, at that very moment. I saw it. He has tried
to catch me ever since; he is still fishing for me. Well,
enough of this. Take the letter and give it back to him, as
soon as you have left our hous e; not before, of course.?
?And what shall I tell him by way of answer??
?Nothing?of course! That?s th e best answer. Is it the
case that you are going to live in his house??
?Yes, your father kindly recommended me to him.?
?Then look out for him, I warn you! He won?t forgive
you easily, for taking back the letter.?
Aglaya pressed the prince?s hand and left the room. Her
face was serious and frowning; she did not even smile as
she nodded good- bye to him at the door.
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?I?ll just get my parcel and we?ll go,? said the prince to
Gania, as he re-entered the drawing-room. Gania stamped
his foot with impatience. His face looked dark and gloomy
with rage.
At last they left the house behind them, the prince
carrying his bundle.
?The answer?quick?the answer!? said Gania, the
instant they were outside. ?What did she say? Did you give
the letter?? The prince silent ly held out the note. Gania
was struck motionless with amazement.
?How, what? my letter?? he cried. ?He never delivered
it! I might have guessed it, oh! curse him! Of course she
did not understand what I meant, naturally! Why-why-
WHY didn?t you give her the note, you??
?Excuse me; I was able to deliver it almost immediately
after receiving your commission, and I gave it, too, just as
you asked me to. It has come into my hands now because
Aglaya Ivanovna has just returned it to me.?
?How? When??
?As soon as I finished writing in her album for her, and
when she asked me to come out of the room with her
(you heard?), we went into the dining-room, and she gave
me your letter to read, and then told me to return it.?
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?To READ?? cried Gania, almost at the top of his
voice; ?to READ, and you read it??
And again he stood like a log in the middle of the
pavement; so amazed that his mouth remained open after
the last word had left it.
?Yes, I have just read it.?
?And she gave it you to read herself?HERSELF??
?Yes, herself; and you may believe me when I tell you
that I would not have read it for anything without her
permission.?
Gania was silent for a minute or two, as though
thinking out some problem. Suddenly he cried:
?It?s impossible, she cannot have given it to you to read!
You are lying. You read it yourself!?
?I am telling you the truth ,? said the prince in his
former composed tone of voice; ?and believe me, I am
extremely sorry that the ci rcumstance should have made
such an unpleasant impression upon you!?
?But, you wretched man, at least she must have said
something? There must be SOME answer from her!?
?Yes, of course, she did say something!?
?Out with it then, damn it ! Out with it at once!? and
Gania stamped his foot twice on the pavement.
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?As soon as I had finished reading it, she told me that
you were fishing for her; that you wished to compromise
her so far as to receive some hopes from her, trusting to
which hopes you might b reak with the prospect of
receiving a hundred thousand roubles. She said that if you
had done this without bargaining with her, if you had
broken with the money prospe cts without trying to force
a guarantee out of her first, she might have been your
friend. That?s all, I think. Oh no, when I asked her what I
was to say, as I took the le tter, she replied that ?no answer
is the best answer.? I think that was it. Forgive me if I do
not use her exact expressions. I tell you the sense as I
understood it myself.?
Ungovernable rage and madness took entire possession
of Gania, and his fury burst out without the least attempt
at restraint.
?Oh! that?s it, is it!? he yelled. ?She throws my letters
out of the window, does sh e! Oh! and she does not
condescend to bargain, while I DO, eh? We shall see, we
shall see! I shall pay her out for this.?
He twisted himself about wit h rage, and grew paler and
paler; he shook his fist. So the pair walked along a few
steps. Gania did not stand on ceremony with the prince;
he behaved just as though he were alone in his room. He
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clearly counted the latter as a nonentity. But suddenly he
seemed to have an idea, and recollected himself.
?But how was it?? he asked, ?how was it that you (idiot
that you are),? he added to himself, ?were so very
confidential a couple of hours after your first meeting with
these people? How was that, eh??
Up to this moment jealous y had not been one of his
torments; now it suddenly gnawed at his heart.
?That is a thing I cannot undertake to explain,? replied
the prince. Gania looked at him with angry contempt.
?Oh! I suppose the present she wished to make to you,
when she took you into the dining-room, was her
confidence, eh??
?I suppose that was it; I cannot explain it otherwise??
?But why, WHY? Devil take it, what did you do in
there? Why did they fancy you? Look here, can?t you
remember exactly what you said to them, from the very
beginning? Can?t you remember??
?Oh, we talked of a great many things. When first I
went in we began to speak of Switzerland.?
?Oh, the devil take Switzerland!?
?Then about executions.?
?Executions??
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?Yes?at least about one. Then I told the whole three
years? story of my life, and the history of a poor peasant
girl??
?Oh, damn the peasant girl! go on, go on!? said Gania,
impatiently.
?Then how Schneider told me about my childish
nature, and??
?Oh, CURSE Schneider and his dirty opinions! Go
on.?
?Then I began to talk about faces, at least about the
EXPRESSIONS of faces, and said that Aglaya Ivanovna
was nearly as lovely as Nastasia Philipovna. It was then I
blurted out about the portrait??
?But you didn?t repeat what you heard in the study?
You didn?t repeat that?eh??
?No, I tell you I did NOT.?
?Then how did they?look h ere! Did Aglaya show my
letter to the old lady??
?Oh, there I can give you my fullest assurance that she
did NOT. I was there all the while?she had no time to
do it!?
?But perhaps you may not have observed it, oh, you
damned idiot, you!? he shouted, quite beside himself with
fury. ?You can?t even describe what went on.?
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Gania having once descended to abuse, and receiving
no check, very soon knew no bounds or limit to his
licence, as is often the way in such cases. His rage so
blinded him that he had not even been able to detect that
this ?idiot,? whom he was abusing to such an extent, was
very far from being slow of comprehension, and had a way
of taking in an impression, and afterwards giving it out
again, which was very un-idiotic indeed. But something a
little unforeseen now occurred.
?I think I ought to tell y ou, Gavrila Ardalionovitch,?
said the prince, suddenly, ?that though I once was so ill
that I really was little better than an idiot, yet now I am
almost recovered, and that, there fore, it is not altogether
pleasant to be called an idiot to my face. Of course your
anger is excusable, considering the treatment you have just
experienced; but I must remind you that you have twice
abused me rather rudely. I do not like this sort of thing,
and especially so at the first time of meeting a man, and,
therefore, as we happen to be at this moment standing at a
crossroad, don?t you think we had better part, you to the
left, homewards, and I to the right, here? I have twenty-
five roubles, and I shall easily find a lodging.?
Gania was much confused, and blushed for shame ?Do
forgive me, prince!? he cried, suddenly changing his
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abusive tone for one of great courtesy. ?For Heaven?s sake,
forgive me! You see what a miserable plight I am in, but
you hardly know anything of the fac ts of the case as yet. If
you did, I am sure you would forgi ve me, at least partially.
Of course it was inexcusable of me, I know, but??
?Oh, dear me, I really do not require such profuse
apologies,? replied the prince, hastily. ?I quite understand
how unpleasant your position is, and that is what made
you abuse me. So come along to your house, after all. I
shall be delighted??
?I am not going to let him go like this,? thought Gania,
glancing angrily at the prince as they walked along. ? The
fellow has sucked everything out of me, and now he takes
off his mask? there?s somethin g more than appears, here
we shall see. It shall all be as clear as water by tonight,
everything!?
But by this time they had reached Gania?s house.
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VIII
The flat occupied by Gania and his family was on the
third floor of the house. It was reached by a clean light
staircase, and consisted of se ven rooms, a nice enough
lodging, and one would have thought a little too good for
a clerk on two thousand roubles a year. But it was
designed to accommodate a few lodgers on board terms,
and had beer) taken a few months since, much to the
disgust of Gania, at the urge nt request of his mother and
his sister, Varvara Ardalionovna, who longed to do
something to increase the family income a little, and fixed
their hopes upon letting lodgings. Gania frowned upon
the idea. He thought it i nfra dig, and did not quite like
appearing in society afterwar ds?that society in which he
had been accustomed to pose up to now as a young man
of rather brilliant prospects. All these concessions and
rebuffs of fortune, of late, had wounded his spirit severely,
and his temper had become extremely irritable, his wrath
being generally quite out of proportion to the cause. But if
he had made up his mind to put up with this sort of life
for a while, it was only on the plain understanding with
his inner self that he would very soon change it all, and
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have things as he chose again. Yet the very means by
which he hoped to make this change threatened to
involve him in even greater difficulties than he had had
before.
The flat was divided by a passage which led straight out
of the entrance-hall. Along one side of this corridor lay
the three rooms which were designed for the
accommodation of the ?highly recommended? lodgers.
Besides these three rooms there was another small one at
the end of the passage, clos e to the kitchen, which was
allotted to General Ivolgin, the nominal master of the
house, who slept on a wide sofa, and was obliged to pass
into and out of his room through the kitchen, and up or
down the back stairs. Colia, Gania?s young brother, a
school-boy of thirteen, shared this room with his father.
He, too, had to sleep on an old sofa, a narrow,
uncomfortable thing with a torn rug over it; his chief duty
being to look after his father, who needed to be watched
more and more every day.
The prince was given the middle room of the three,
the first being occupied by one Ferdishenko, while the
third was empty.
But Gania first conducted the prince to the family
apartments. These consisted of a ?salon,? which became the
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dining-room when required; a drawing-room, which was
only a drawing-room in the morning, and became Gania?s
study in the evening, and his bedroom at night; and lastly
Nina Alexandrovna?s and Varvara?s bedroom, a small,
close chamber which they shared together.
In a word, the whole place was confined, and a ?tight
fit? for the party. Gania used to grind his teeth with rage
over the state of affairs; though he was anxious to be
dutiful and polite to his mother. However, it was very
soon apparent to anyone coming into the house, that
Gania was the tyrant of the family.
Nina Alexandrovna and her daughter were both seated
in the drawing-room, engaged in knitting, and talking to a
visitor, Ivan Petrovitch Ptitsin.
The lady of the house appeared to be a woman of
about fifty years of age, thin-faced, and with black lines
under the eves. She looked ill and rather sad; but her face
was a pleasant one for all that; and from the first word that
fell from her lips, any stranger would at once conclude
that she was of a serious and pa rticularly sincere nature. In
spite of her sorrowful expre ssion, she gave the idea of
possessing considerable firmness and decision.
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Her dress was modest and simple to a degree, dark and
elderly in style; but both her face and appearance gave
evidence that she had seen better days.
Varvara was a girl of some twenty-three summers, of
middle height, thin, but possessing a face which, without
being actually beautiful, had the rare quality of charm, and
might fascinate even to the extent of passionate regard.
She was very like her mother: she even dressed like
her, which proved that she had no taste for smart clothes.
The expression of her grey eyes was merry and gentle,
when it was not, as lately, t oo full of thought and anxiety.
The same decision and firmness was to be observed in her
face as in her mother?s, but her strength seemed to be
more vigorous than that of Nina Alexandrovna. She was
subject to outbursts of temper, of which even her brother
was a little afraid.
The present visitor, Ptitsin, was also afraid of her. This
was a young fellow of something under thirty, dressed
plainly, but neatly. His manners were good, but rather
ponderously so. His dark beard bore evidence to the fact
that he was not in any government employ. He could
speak well, but preferred silence. On the whole he made a
decidedly agreeable impression. He was clearly attracted
by Varvara, and made no secret of his feelings. She trusted
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him in a friendly way, but had not shown him any decided
encouragement as yet, which fact did not quell his ardour
in the least.
Nina Alexandrovna was very fond of him, and had
grown quite confidential with him of late. Ptitsin, as was
well known, was engaged in the business of lending out
money on good security, and at a good rate of interest. He
was a great friend of Gania?s.
After a formal introduction by Gania (who greeted his
mother very shortly, took no notice of his sister, and
immediately marched Ptitsi n out of the room), Nina
Alexandrovna addressed a few kind words to the prince
and forthwith requested Colia, who had just appeared at
the door, to show him to the ? middle room.?
Colia was a nice-looking boy. His expression was
simple and confiding, and hi s manners were very polite
and engaging.
?Where?s your luggage?? he asked, as he led the prince
away to his room.
?I had a bundle; it?s in the entrance hall.?
?I?ll bring it you directly. We only have a cook and one
maid, so I have to help as much as I can. Varia looks after
things, generally, and loses her temper over it. Gania says
you have only just arrived from Switzerland? ?
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?Yes.?
?Is it jolly there??
?Very.?
?Mountains??
?Yes.?
?I?ll go and get your bundle.?
Here Varvara joined them.
?The maid shall bring your bed-linen directly. Have
you a portmanteau??
?No; a bundle?your brother has just gone to the hall
for it.?
?There?s nothing there exce pt this,? said Colia,
returning at this moment . ?Where did you put it??
?Oh! but that?s all I have,? said the prince, taking it.
?Ah! I thought perhaps Ferdishenko had taken it.?
?Don?t talk nonsense,? said Varia, severely. She seemed
put out, and was only just polite with the prince.
?Oho!? laughed the boy, ?you can be nicer than that to
ME, you know?I?m not Ptitsin!?
?You ought to be whipped, Colia, you silly boy. If you
want anything? (to the prince) ?please apply to the servant.
We dine at half-past four. Y ou can take your dinner with
us, or have it in your room, just as you please. Come
along, Colia, don?t disturb the prince.?
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At the door they met Gania coming in.
?Is father in?? he asked. Colia whispered something in
his ear and went out.
?Just a couple of words, pr ince, if you?ll excuse me.
Don?t blab over THERE about w hat you may see here, or
in this house as to all t hat about Aglaya and me, you
know. Things are not altogether pleasant in this
establishment?devil take it all! You?ll see. At all events
keep your tongue to yourself for TODAY.?
?I assure you I ?blabbed? a great deal less than you seem
to suppose,? said the prince, with some annoyance. Clearly
the relations between Gania and himself were by no means
improving.
?Oh I well; I caught it quite hot enough today, thanks
to you. However, I forgive you.?
?I think you might fairly remember that I was not in
any way bound, I had no reason to be silent about that
portrait. You never asked me not to mention it.?
?Pfu! what a wretched room this is?dark, and the
window looking into the yar d. Your coming to our house
is, in no respect, opportune. However, it?s not MY affair.
I don?t keep the lodgings.?
Ptitsin here looked in and beckoned to Gania, who
hastily left the room, in s pite of the fact that he had
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evidently wished to say something more and had only
made the remark about the room to gain time. The prince
had hardly had time to wash and tidy himself a little when
the door opened once more, and another figure appeared.
This was a gentleman of about thirty, tall,
broadshouldered, and red-haire d; his face was red, too,
and he possessed a pair of th ick lips, a wide nose, small
eyes, rather bloodshot, and with an ironical expression in
them; as though he were p erpetually winking at someone.
His whole appearance gave one the idea of impudence; his
dress was shabby.
He opened the door just enough to let his head in. His
head remained so placed for a few seconds while he
quietly scrutinized the room; the door then opened
enough to admit his body; bu t still he did not enter. He
stood on the threshold and examined the prince carefully.
At last he gave the door a final shove, entered, approached
the prince, took his hand and seated himself and the
owner of the room on two chairs side by side.
?Ferdishenko,? he said, gazing intently and inquiringly
into the prince?s eyes.
?Very well, what next?? said the latter, almost laughing
in his face.
?A lodger here,? continued the other, staring as before.
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?Do you wish to make acquaintance?? asked the prince.
?Ah!? said the visitor, passing his fingers through his hair
and sighing. He then looked over to the other side of the
room and around it. ?Got any money?? he asked, suddenly.
?Not much.?
?How much??
?Twenty-five roubles.?
?Let?s see it.?
The prince took his banknot e out and showed it to
Ferdishenko. The latter unfolded it and looked at it; then
he turned it round and examined the other side; then he
held it up to the light.
?How strange that it should have browned so,? he said,
reflectively. ?These twenty-five rouble notes brown in a
most extraordinary way, wh ile other notes often grow
paler. Take it.?
The prince took his note. Ferdishenko rose.
?I came here to warn you,? he said. ?In the first place,
don?t lend me any money, for I shall certainly ask you to.?
?Very well.?
?Shall you pay here??
?Yes, I intend to.?
?Oh! I DON?T intend to. Thanks. I live here, next
door to you; you noticed a room, did you? Don?t come to
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me very often; I shall see you here quite often enough.
Have you seen the general??
?No.?
?Nor heard him??
?No; of course not.?
?Well, you?ll both hear and see him soon; he even tries
to borrow money from me. Avis au lecteur. Good-bye; do
you think a man can possibly live with a name like
Ferdishenko??
?Why not??
?Good-bye.?
And so he departed. The prince found out afterwards
that this gentleman made it his business to amaze people
with his originality and wit, bu t that it did not as a rule
?come off.? He even produced a bad impression on some
people, which grieved him so rely; but he did not change
his ways for all that.
As he went out of the prin ce?s room, he collided with
yet another visitor coming in. Ferdishenko took the
opportunity of making several warning gestures to the
prince from behind the new arrival?s back, and left the
room in conscious pride.
This next arrival was a tall red-faced man of about fifty-
five, with greyish hair and whiskers, and large eyes which
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stood out of their sockets. His appearance would have
been distinguished had it not been that he gave the idea of
being rather dirty. He was dressed in an old coat, and he
smelled of vodka when he came near. His walk was
effective, and he clearly did hi s best to appear dignified,
and to impress people by his manner.
This gentleman now approached the prince slowly, and
with a most courteous smile; silently took his hand and
held it in his own, as he examined the prince?s features as
though searching for familiar traits therein.
??Tis he, ?tis he!? he said at last, quietly, but with much
solemnity. ?As though he were alive once more. I heard
the familiar name-the dear familiar name?and, oh. I how
it reminded me of the irrevoc able past?Prince Muishkin,
I believe ??
?Exactly so.?
?General Ivolgin?retired and unfortunate. May I ask
your Christian and generic names??
?Lef Nicolaievitch.?
?So, so?the son of my old, I may say my childhood?s
friend, Nicolai Petrovitch.?
?My father?s name was Nicolai Lvovitch.?
?Lvovitch,? repeated the ge neral without the slightest
haste, and with perfect confidenc e, just as though he had
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not committed himself the least in the world, but merely
made a little slip of the tongue. He sat down, and taking
the prince?s hand, drew him to a seat next to himself.
?I carried you in my arms as a baby,? he observed.
?Really?? asked the prince. ?Why, it?s twenty years since
my father died.?
?Yes, yes?twenty years and three months. We were
educated together; I went straight into the army, and he?
?
?My father went into the army, too. He was a sub-
lieutenant in the Vasiliefsky regiment.?
?No, sir?in the Bielomirsky; he changed into the latter
shortly before his death. I was at his bedside when he died,
and gave him my blessing for eternity. Your mother??
The general paused, as though overcome with emotion.
?She died a few months later, from a cold,? said the
prince.
?Oh, not cold?believe an o ld man?not from a cold,
but from grief for her prince. Oh?your mother, your
mother! heigh-ho! Youth?yout h! Your father and I?old
friends as we were?nearly murdered each other for her
sake.?
The prince began to be a little incredulous.
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?I was passionately in love with her when she was
engaged? engaged to my friend. The prince noticed the
fact and was furious. He came and woke me at seven
o?clock one morning. I rise and dress in amazement;
silence on both sides. I understand it all. He takes a couple
of pistols out of his pocket?across a handkerchief?
without witnesses. Why invite witnesses when both of us
would be walking in eternity in a couple of minutes? The
pistols are loaded; we stretch the handkerchief and stand
opposite one another. We aim the pistols at each other?s
hearts. Suddenly tears start to our eyes, our hands shake;
we weep, we embrace?the battle is one of self-sacrifice
now! The prince shouts, ?She is yours;? I cry, ?She is
yours?? in a word, in a word?You?ve come to live with
us, hey??
?Yes?yes?for a while, I think,? stammered the prince.
?Prince, mother begs you to come to her,? said Colia,
appearing at the door.
The prince rose to go, but the general once more laid
his hand in a friendly manner on his shoulder, and dragged
him down on to the sofa.
?As the true friend of your father, I wish to say a few
words to you,? he began. ?I have suffered?there was a
catastrophe. I suffered without a trial; I had no trial. Nina
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Alexandrovna my wife, is an excellent woman, so is my
daughter Varvara. We have to let lodgings because we are
poor?a dreadful, unheard-of come- down for us?for
me, who should have been a governor-general; but we are
very glad to have YOU, at all events. Meanwhile there is a
tragedy in the house.?
The prince looked inqu iringly at the other.
?Yes, a marriage is being arranged?a marriage between
a questionable woman and a young fellow who might be a
flunkey. They wish to bring this woman into the house
where my wife and daughter reside, but while I live and
breathe she shall never enter my doors. I shall lie at the
threshold, and she shall trample me underfoot if she does. I
hardly talk to Gania now, and av oid him as much as I can.
I warn you of this beforehand, but you cannot fail to
observe it. But you are the son of my old friend, and I
hope??
?Prince, be so kind as to co me to me for a moment in
the drawing- room,? said Nina Alexandrovna herself,
appearing at the door.
?Imagine, my dear,? cried the general, ?it turns out that
I have nursed the prince on my knee in the old days.? His
wife looked searchingly at him, and glanced at the prince,
but said nothing. The prince rose and followed her; but
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hardly had they reached the drawing-room, and Nina
Alexandrovna had begun to talk hurriedly, when in came
the general. She immediately relapsed into silence. The
master of the house may have observed this, but at all
events he did not take any notice of it; he was in high
good humour.
?A son of my old friend, dear,? he cried; ?surely you
must remember Prince Nicolai Lvovitch? You saw him
at?at Tver.?
?I don?t remember any Nicolai Lvovitch, Was that your
father?? she inquired of the prince.
?Yes, but he died at Elizabethgrad, not at Tver,? said the
prince, rather timidly. ?So Pavlicheff told me.?
?No, Tver,? insisted the general; ?he removed just
before his death. You were very small and cannot
remember; and Pavlicheff, though an excellent fellow,
may have made a mistake.?
?You knew Pavlicheff then??
?Oh, yes?a wonderful fellow; but I was present myself.
I gave him my blessing.?
?My father was just about to be tried when he died,?
said the prince, ?although I never knew of what he was
accused. He died in hospital.?
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?Oh! it was the Kolpakoff business, and of course he
would have been acquitted.?
?Yes? Do you know that for a fact?? asked the prince,
whose curiosity was aroused by the general?s words.
?I should think so indeed!? cried the latter. ?The court-
martial came to no decision. It was a mysterious, an
impossible business, one mi ght say! Captain Larionoff,
commander of the company, had died; his command was
handed over to the prince for the moment. Very well.
This soldier, Kolpakoff, stole some leather from one of his
comrades, intending to sell it, and spent the money on
drink. Well! The prince?you understand that what
follows took place in the p resence of the sergeant-major,
and a corporal?the prince rated Kolpakoff soundly, and
threatened to have him flogged. Well, Kolpakoff went
back to the barracks, lay down on a camp bedstead, and in
a quarter of an hour was dead: you quite understand? It
was, as I said, a strange, almost impossible, affair. In due
course Kolpakoff was buried; the prince wrote his report,
the deceased?s name was removed from the roll. All as it
should be, is it not? But exa ctly three months later at the
inspection of the brigade, the man Kolpakoff was found in
the third company of the se cond battalion of infantry,
Novozemlianski division, just as if nothing had happened!?
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?What?? said the prince, much astonished.
?It did not occur?it?s a mistake!? said Nina
Alexandrovna quickly, looking, at the prince rather
anxiously. ?Mon mari se trompe,? she added, speaking in
French.
?My dear, ?se trompe? is ea sily said. Do you remember
any case at all like it? Everybody was at their wits? end. I
should be the first to say ?qu?on se trompe,? but
unfortunately I was an eye- wit ness, and was also on the
commission of inquiry. Everyth ing proved that it was
really he, the very same soldier Kolpakoff who had been
given the usual military funeral to the sound of the drum.
It is of course a most curi ous case?nearly an impossible
one. I recognize that ... but??
?Father, your dinner is ready,? said Varvara at this point,
putting her head in at the door.
?Very glad, I?m particularly hungry. Yes, yes, a strange
coincidence?almost a psychological??
?Your soup?ll be cold; do come.?
?Coming, coming ? said the general. ?Son of my old
friend?? he was heard muttering as he went down the
passage.
?You will have to excuse very much in my husband, if
you stay with us,? said Nina Alexandrovna; ?but he will
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not disturb you often. He dines alone. Everyone has his
little peculiarities, you know, and some people perhaps
have more than those who are most pointed at and
laughed at. One thing I must beg of you-if my husband
applies to you for payment for board and lodging, tell him
that you have already paid me. Of course anything paid by
you to the general would be as fully settled as if paid to
me, so far as you are concerned; but I wish it to be so, if
you please, for convenience? sake. What is it, Varia??
Varia had quietly entered the room, and was holding
out the portrait of Nastasia Philipovna to her mother.
Nina Alexandrovna started, and examined the
photograph intently, gazing at it long and sadly. At last she
looked up inquiringly at Varia.
?It?s a present from herself to him,? said Varia; ?the
question is to be finally decided this evening.?
?This evening!? repeated her mother in a tone of
despair, but softly, as though to herself. ?Then it?s all
settled, of course, and there?s no hope left to us. She has
anticipated her answer by the p resent of her portrait. Did
he show it you himself?? she added, in some surprise.
?You know we have hardly spoken to each other for a
whole month. Ptitsin told me all about it; and the photo
was lying under the table, and I picked it up.?
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?Prince,? asked Nina Alexandrovna, ?I wanted to
inquire whether you have known my son long? I think he
said that you had only arrived today from somewhere.?
The prince gave a short narrative of what we have
heard before, leaving out the greater part. The two ladies
listened intently.
?I did not ask about Gania out of curiosity,? said the
elder, at last. ?I wish to know how much you know about
him, because he said just now that we need not stand on
ceremony with you. What, exactly, does that mean??
At this moment Gania and Ptitsin entered the room
together, and Nina Alexandrovna immediately became
silent again. The prince remained seated next to her, but
Varia moved to the other end of the room; the portrait of
Nastasia Philipovna remained lying as before on the work-
table. Gania observed it there, and with a frown of
annoyance snatched it up and threw it across to his
writing-table, which stood at the other end of the room.
?Is it today, Gania?? asked Nina Alexandrovna, at last.
?Is what today?? cried the former. Then suddenly
recollecting himself, he turned sharply on the prince. ?Oh,?
he growled, ?I see, you are h ere, that explains it! Is it a
disease, or what, that you can?t hold your tongue? Look
here, understand once for all, prince??
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?I am to blame in this, Gania?no one else,? said Ptitsin.
Gania glanced inquiringly at the speaker.
?It?s better so, you know, Gania?especially as, from
one point of view, the matter may be considered as
settled,? said Ptitsin; and sitting down a little way from the
table he began to study a paper covered with pencil
writing.
Gania stood and frowned, he expected a family scene.
He never thought of apologizing to the prince, however.
?If it?s all settled, Gania, then of course Mr. Ptitsin is
right,? said Nina Alexandrovna. ?Don?t frown. You need
not worry yourself, Gania; I shall ask you no questions.
You need not tell me anything you don?t like. I assure you
I have quite submitted to your will.? She said all this,
knitting away the while as though perfectly calm and
composed.
Gania was surprised, but cautiously kept silence and
looked at his mother, hoping that she would express
herself more clearly. Nina Alexandrovna observed his
cautiousness and added, with a bitter smile:
?You are still suspicious, I s ee, and do not believe me;
but you may be quite at your ease. There shall be no more
tears, nor questions?not from my side, at all events. All I
wish is that you may be happy, you know that. I have
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submitted to my fate; but my heart will always be with
you, whether we remain united, or whether we part. Of
course I only answer for myself?you can hardly expect
your sister??
?My sister again,? cried Gania, looking at her with
contempt and almost hate. ?Look here, mother, I have
already given you my word that I shall always respect you
fully and absolutely, and so shall everyone else in this
house, be it who it may, who shall cross this threshold.?
Gania was so much relieved t hat he gazed at his mother
almost affectionately.
?I was not at all afraid for myself, Gania, as you know
well. It was not for my own sake that I have been so
anxious and worried all this time! They say it is all to be
settled to-day. What is to be settled??
?She has promised to tell me tonight at her own house
whether she consents or not,? replied Gania.
?We have been silent on th is subject for three weeks,?
said his mother, ?and it was better so; and now I will only
ask you one question. How can she give her consent and
make you a present of her portrait when you do not love
her? How can such a?such a??
?Practised hand?eh??
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?I was not going to express myself so. But how could
you so blind her??
Nina Alexandrovna?s question betrayed intense
annoyance. Gania waited a moment and then said,
without taking the trouble to conceal the irony of his
tone:
?There you are, mother, you are always like that. You
begin by promising that there are to be no reproaches or
insinuations or questions, and here you are beginning
them at once. We had bett er drop the subject?we had,
really. I shall never leave y ou, mother; any other man
would cut and run from such a sister as this. See how she
is looking at me at this moment! Besides, how do you
know that I am blinding Nastasi a Philipovna? As for Varia,
I don?t care?she can do just as she pleases. There, that?s
quite enough!?
Gania?s irritation increased with every word he uttered,
as he walked up and down the room. These conversations
always touched the family sores before long.
?I have said already that the moment she comes in I go
out, and I shall keep my word,? remarked Varia.
?Out of obstinacy? shouted Gania. ?You haven?t
married, either, thanks to your obstinacy. Oh, you needn?t
frown at me, Varvara! You can go at once for all I care; I
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am sick enough of your company. What, you are going to
leave us are you, too?? he cried, turning to the prince,
who was rising from his chair.
Gania?s voice was full of the most uncontrolled and
uncontrollable irritation.
The prince turned at the door to say something, but
perceiving in Gania?s expression that there was but that
one drop wanting to make the cup overflow, he changed
his mind and left the room without a word. A few
minutes later he was aware from the noisy voices in the
drawing room, that the c onversation had become more
quarrelsome than ever after his departure.
He crossed the salon and the entrance-hall, so as to pass
down the corridor into his ow n room. As he came near
the front door he heard someone outside vainly
endeavouring to ring the bell, which was evidently
broken, and only shook a little, without emitting any
sound.
The prince took down the chain and opened the door.
He started back in amazement?for there stood Nastasia
Philipovna. He knew her at once from her photograph.
Her eyes blazed with anger as she looked at him. She
quickly pushed by him into the hall, shouldering him out
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of her way, and said, furiously, as she threw off her fur
cloak:
?If you are too lazy to mend your bell, you should at
least wait in the hall to let people in when they rattle the
bell handle. There, now, you?ve dropped my fur cloak?
dummy!?
Sure enough the cloak was lying on the ground.
Nastasia had thrown it off her towards the prince,
expecting him to catch it, but the prince had missed it.
?Now then?announce me, quick!?
The prince wanted to say something, but was so
confused and astonished that he could not. However, he
moved off towards the drawing-room with the cloak over
his arm.
?Now then, where are you taking my cloak to? Ha, ha,
ha! Are you mad??
The prince turned and came back, more confused than
ever. When she burst out laughing, he smiled, but his
tongue could not form a word as yet. At first, when he
had opened the door and saw her standing before him, he
had become as pale as death; but now the red blood had
rushed back to his cheeks in a torrent.
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?Why, what an idiot it is!? cried Nastasia, stamping her
foot with irritation. ?Go on, do! Whom are you going to
announce??
?Nastasia Philipovna,? murmured the prince.
?And how do you know that?? she asked him, sharply.
?I have never seen you before!?
?Go on, announce me?what?s that noise??
?They are quarrelling,? said the prince, and entered the
drawing- room, just as matters in there had almost reached
a crisis. Nina Alexandrovna had forgotten that she had
?submitted to everything!? She was defending Varia. Ptitsin
was taking her part, too. No t that Varia was afraid of
standing up for herself. She was by no means that sort of a
girl; but her brother was becoming ruder and more
intolerable every moment. Her us ual practice in such cases
as the present was to say not hing, but stare at him, without
taking her eyes off his face for an instant. This manoeuvre,
as she well knew, could drive Gania distracted.
Just at this moment the door opened and the prince
entered, announcing:
?Nastasia Philipovna!?
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IX
Silence immediately fell on the room; all looked at the
prince as though they neither understood, nor hoped to
understand. Gania was motionless with horror.
Nastasia?s arrival was a most unexpected and
overwhelming event to all part ies. In the first place, she
had never been before. Up to now she had been so
haughty that she had never even asked Gania to introduce
her to his parents. Of late she had not so much as
mentioned them. Gania was partly glad of this; but still he
had put it to her debit in the account to be settled after
marriage.
He would have borne anything from her rather than
this visit. But one thing seemed to him quite clear-her
visit now, and the present of her portrait on this particular
day, pointed out plainly enough which way she intended
to make her decision!
The incredulous amazement with which all regarded
the prince did not last long, for Nastasia herself appeared at
the door and passed in, pushing by the prince again.
?At last I?ve stormed the citadel! Why do you tie up
your bell?? she said, merrily, as she pressed Gania?s hand,
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the latter having rushed up to her as soon as she made her
appearance. ?What are you looking so upset about?
Introduce me, please!?
The bewildered Gania introduced her first to Varia, and
both women, before shaking hands, exchanged looks of
strange import. Nastasia, however, smiled amiably; but
Varia did not try to look amiable, and kept her gloomy
expression. She did not even vouchsafe the usual
courteous smile of etiquette. Gania darted a terrible glance
of wrath at her for this, but Nina Alexandrovna, mended
matters a little when Gania introduced her at last. Hardly,
however, had the old lady begun about her ? highly
gratified feelings,? and so on, when Nastasia left her, and
flounced into a chair by Gania?s side in the corner by the
window, and cried: ?Where?s y our study? and where are
the?the lodgers? You do take in lodgers, don?t you??
Gania looked dreadfully put out, and tried to say
something in reply, but Nastasia interrupted him:
?Why, where are you going to squeeze lodgers in here?
Don?t you use a study? Does this sort of thing pay?? she
added, turning to Nina Alexandrovna.
?Well, it is troublesome, rather,? said the latter; ?but I
suppose it will ?pay? pretty well. We have only just begun,
however??
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Again Nastasia Philipovna did not hear the sentence
out. She glanced at Gania, and cried, laughing, ?What a
face! My goodness, what a face you have on at this
moment!?
Indeed, Gania did not look in the least like himself. His
bewilderment and his alarmed perplexity passed off,
however, and his lips now twitched with rage as he
continued to stare evilly at his laughing guest, while his
countenance became absolutely livid.
There was another witness, who, though standing at
the door motionless and be wildered himself, still managed
to remark Gania?s death-like pallor, and the dreadful
change that had come over his face. This witness was the
prince, who now advanced in alarm and muttered to
Gania:
?Drink some water, and don?t look like that!?
It was clear that he came out with these words quite
spontaneously, on the spur of the moment. But his speech
was productive of much?for it appeared that all. Gania?s
rage now overflowed upon the prince. He seized him by
the shoulder and gazed with an intensity of loathing and
revenge at him, but said nothing?as though his feelings
were too strong to permit of words.
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General agitation prevailed. Nina Alexandrovna gave a
little cry of anxiety; Ptitsin took a step forward in alarm;
Colia and Ferdishenko stood stock still at the door in
amazement;?only Varia remained coolly watching the
scene from under her eyelashes. She did not sit down, but
stood by her mother with folded hands. However, Gania
recollected himself almost immediately. He let go of the
prince and burst out laughing.
?Why, are you a doctor, prince, or what?? he asked, as
naturally as possible. ?I decl are you quite frightened me!
Nastasia Philipovna, let me introduce this interesting
character to you? though I have only known him myself
since the morning.?
Nastasia gazed at the prince in bewilderment. ?Prince?
He a Prince? Why, I took him for the footman, just now,
and sent him in to announce me! Ha, ha, ha, isn?t that
good!?
?Not bad that, not bad at a ll!? put in Ferdishenko, ?se
non e vero??
?I rather think I pitched into you, too, didn?t I? Forgive
me?do! Who is he, did you say? What prince?
Muishkin?? she added, addressing Gania.
?He is a lodger of ours,? explained the latter.
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?An idiot!??the prince distinctly heard the word half
whispered from behind him. This was Ferdishenko?s
voluntary information for Nastasia?s benefit.
?Tell me, why didn?t you put me right when I made
such a dreadful mistake just now?? continued the latter,
examining the prince from head to foot without the
slightest ceremony. She awaited the answer as though
convinced that it would be so foolish that she must
inevitably fail to restrain her laughter over it.
?I was astonished, seeing you so suddenly?? murmured
the prince.
?How did you know who I was? Where had you seen
me before? And why were you so struck dumb at the sight
of me? What was there so overwhelming about me??
?Oho! ho, ho, ho!? cried Ferdishenko. ?NOW then,
prince! My word, what things I would say if I had such a
chance as that! My goodness, prince?go on!?
?So should I, in your place, I?ve no doubt!? laughed the
prince to Ferdishenko; then continued, addressing
Nastasia: ?Your portrait struck me very forcibly this
morning; then I was talking about you to the Epanchins;
and then, in the train, before I reached Petersburg, Parfen
Rogojin told me a good deal about you; and at the very
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moment that I opened the door to you I happened to be
thinking of you, when?there you stood before me!?
?And how did you recognize me??
?From the portrait!?
?What else??
?I seemed to imagine you exactly as you are?I seemed
to have seen you somewhere.?
?Where?where??
?I seem to have seen your eyes somewhere; but it
cannot be! I have not seen y ou?I never was here before.
I may have dreamed of you, I don?t know.?
The prince said all this with manifest effort?in broken
sentences, and with many drawings of breath. He was
evidently much agitated. Na stasia Philipovna looked at
him inquisitively, but did not laugh.
?Bravo, prince!? cried Ferdishenko, delighted.
At this moment a loud voic e from behind the group
which hedged in the prin ce and Nastasia Philipovna,
divided the crowd, as it were, and before them stood the
head of the family, General Ivolgin. He was dressed in
evening clothes; his moustache was dyed.
This apparition was too much for Gania. Vain and
ambitious almost to morbidness, he had had much to put
up with in the last two months , and was seeking feverishly
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for some means of enabling himself to lead a more
presentable kind of existence. At home, he now adopted
an attitude of absolute cynicism, but he could not keep
this up before Nastasia Philipovna, although he had sworn
to make her pay after marriage for all he suffered now. He
was experiencing a last humiliation, the bitterest of all, at
this moment?the humiliation of blushing for his own
kindred in his own house. A question flashed through his
mind as to whether the game was really worth the candle.
For that had happened at this moment, which for two
months had been his nightmare; which had filled his soul
with dread and shame?the meeting between his father
and Nastasia Philipovna. He had often tried to imagine
such an event, but had found the picture too mortifying
and exasperating, and had quietly dropped it. Very likely
he anticipated far worse things than was at all necessary; it
is often so with vain p ersons. He had long since
determined, therefore, to get his father out of the way,
anywhere, before his marriage, in order to avoid such a
meeting; but when Nastasia entered the room just now,
he had been so overwhelmed with astonishment, that he
had not thought of his father, and had made no
arrangements to keep him out of the way. And now it was
too late?there he was, and got up, too, in a dress coat and
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white tie, and Nastasia in the very humour to heap
ridicule on him and his family circle; of this last fact, he
felt quite persuaded. What else had she come for? There
were his mother and his sister sitting before her, and she
seemed to have forgotten their very existence already; and
if she behaved like that, he thought, she must have some
object in view.
Ferdishenko led the general up to Nastasia Philipovna.
?Ardalion Alexandrovitch Ivolgin,? said the smiling
general, with a low bow of great dignity, ?an old soldier,
unfortunate, and the father of this family; but happy in the
hope of including in that family so exquisite??
He did not finish his sentence, for at this moment
Ferdishenko pushed a chair up from behind, and the
general, not very firm on his legs, at this post-prandial
hour, flopped into it backwards. It was always a difficult
thing to put this warrior to confusion, and his sudden
descent left him as composed as before. He had sat down
just opposite to Nastasia, whose fingers he now took, and
raised to his lips with great elegance, and much courtesy.
The general had once belonged to a very select circle of
society, but he had been turned out of it two or three
years since on account of certai n weaknesses, in which he
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now indulged with all the less restraint; but his good
manners remained with him to this day, in spite of all.
Nastasia Philipovna seemed delighted at the appearance
of this latest arrival, of whom she had of course heard a
good deal by report.
?I have heard that my son?? began Ardalion
Alexandrovitch.
?Your son, indeed! A nice papa you are! YOU might
have come to see me any how, without compromising
anyone. Do you hide yourself , or does your son hide
you??
?The children of the nineteenth century, and their
parents?? began the general, again.
?Nastasia Philipovna, will you excuse the general for a
moment? Someone is inquiring for him,? said Nina
Alexandrovna in a loud voice, interrupting the
conversation.
?Excuse him? Oh no, I have wished to see him too
long for that. Why, what bu siness can he have? He has
retired, hasn?t he? You won?t leave me, general, will you??
?I give you my word that he shall come and see you?
but he?he needs rest just now.?
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?General, they say you require rest,? said Nastasia
Philipovna, with the melancholy face of a child whose toy
is taken away.
Ardalion Alexandrovitch immediately did his best to
make his foolish position a great deal worse.
?My dear, my dear!? he said, solemnly and
reproachfully, looking at his wife, with one hand on his
heart.
?Won?t you leave the room, mamma?? asked Varia,
aloud.
?No, Varia, I shall sit it out to the end.?
Nastasia must have overhear d both question and reply,
but her vivacity was not in the least damped. On the
contrary, it seemed to increase. She immediately
overwhelmed the general once more with questions, and
within five minutes that gentleman was as happy as a king,
and holding forth at the top of his voice, amid the laughter
of almost all who heard him.
Colia jogged the prince?s arm.
?Can?t YOU get him out of the room, somehow? DO,
please,? and tears of annoyance stood in the boy?s eyes.
?Curse that Gania!? he muttered, between his teeth.
?Oh yes, I knew General Epanchin well,? General
Ivolgin was saying at this moment; ?he and Prince Nicolai
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Ivanovitch Muishkin?whose son I have this day
embraced after an absence of twenty years?and I, were
three inseparables. Alas one is in the grave, torn to pieces
by calumnies and bullets; anot her is now before you, still
battling with calumnies and bullets??
?Bullets?? cried Nastasia.
?Yes, here in my chest. I received them at the siege of
Kars, and I feel them in bad weather now. And as to the
third of our trio, Epanchin, of course after that little affair
with the poodle in the railway carriage, it was all UP
between us.?
?Poodle? What was that? And in a railway carriage?
Dear me,? said Nastasia, thought fully, as though trying to
recall something to mind.
?Oh, just a silly, little occurrence, really not worth
telling, about Princess Bielokonski?s governess, Miss
Smith, and?oh, it is really not worth telling!?
?No, no, we must have it!? cried Nastasia merrily.
?Yes, of course,? said Ferdishenko. ?C?est du nouveau.?
?Ardalion,? said Nina Alexandrovitch, entreatingly.
?Papa, you are wanted!? cried Colia.
?Well, it is a silly little story, in a few words,? began the
delighted general. ?A couple of years ago, soon after the
new railway was opened, I had to go somewhere or other
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on business. Well, I took a first-class ticket, sat down, and
began to smoke, or rather CONTINUED to smoke, for I
had lighted up before. I was alone in the carriage.
Smoking is not allowed, but is not prohibited either; it is
half allowed?so to speak, winked at. I had the window
open.?
?Suddenly, just before the whistle, in came two ladies
with a little poodle, and sat down opposite to me; not
bad-looking women; one was in light blue, the other in
black silk. The poodle, a beauty with a silver collar, lay on
light blue?s knee. They looked haughtily about, and talked
English together. I took no notice, just went on smoking.
I observed that the ladies were getting angry?over my
cigar, doubtless. One looked at me through her tortoise-
shell eyeglass.
?I took no notice, because they never said a word. If
they didn?t like the cigar, wh y couldn?t they say so? Not a
word, not a hint! Suddenly, and without the very slightest
suspicion of warning, ?light blue? seizes my cigar from
between my fingers, and, wheugh! out of the window
with it! Well, on flew the tr ain, and I sat bewildered, and
the young woman, tall and fair, and rather red in the face,
too red, glared at me with flashing eyes.
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?I didn?t say a word, but with extreme courtesy, I may
say with most refined courtesy, I reached my finger and
thumb over towards the poodle, took it up delicately by
the nape of the neck, and chucked it out of the window,
after the cigar. The train went flying on, and the poodle?s
yells were lost in the distance.?
?Oh, you naughty man!? cried Nastasia, laughing and
clapping her hands like a child.
?Bravo!? said Ferdishenko. Pt itsin laughed too, though
he had been very sorry to see the general appear. Even
Colia laughed and said, ?Bravo!?
?And I was right, truly right,? cried the general, with
warmth and solemnity, ?for if cigars are forbidden in
railway carriages, poodles are much more so.?
?Well, and what did the lady do?? asked Nastasia,
impatiently.
? She?ah, that?s where all the mischief of it lies!?
replied Ivolgin, frowning. ?Without a word, as it were, of
warning, she slapped me on the cheek! An extraordinary
woman!?
?And you??
The general dropped his eyes , and elevated his brows;
shrugged his shoulders, tightened his lips, spread his hands,
and remained silent. At last he blurted out:
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?I lost my head!?
?Did you hit her??
?No, oh no!?there was a great flare-up, but I didn?t hit
her! I had to struggle a little, purely to defend myself; but
the very devil was in the busine ss. It turned out that ?light
blue? was an Englishwoman, governess or something, at
Princess Bielokonski?s, and the other woman was one of
the old-maid princesses Bielokonski. Well, everybody
knows what great friends the princess and Mrs. Epanchin
are, so there was a pretty kettle of fish. All the
Bielokonskis went into mourning for the poodle. Six
princesses in tears, and the Englishwoman shrieking!
?Of course I wrote an apology, and called, but they
would not receive either me or my apology, and the
Epanchins cut me, too!?
?But wait,? said Nastasia. ?How is it that, five or six days
since, I read exactly the same story in the paper, as
happening between a Frenchman and an English girl? The
cigar was snatched away exactly as you describe, and the
poodle was chucked out of the window after it. The
slapping came off, too, as in y our case; and the girl?s dress
was light blue!?
The general blushed dreadfu lly; Colia blushed too; and
Ptitsin turned hastily away. Ferdishenko was the only one
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who laughed as gaily as before. As to Gania, I need not say
that he was miserable; he stood dumb and wretched and
took no notice of anybody.
?I assure you,? said the gen eral, ?that exactly the same
thing happened to myself!?
?I remembered there was some quarrel between father
and Miss Smith, the Bielokonski?s governess,? said Colia.
?How very curious, point for point the same anecdote,
and happening at different ends of Europe! Even the light
blue dress the same,? continued the pitiless Nastasia. ?I
must really send you the paper.?
?You must observe,? insisted the general, ?that my
experience was two years earlier.?
?Ah! that?s it, no doubt!?
Nastasia Philipovna laughed hysterically.
?Father, will you hear a word from me outside!? said
Gania, his voice shaking with agitation, as he seized his
father by the shoulder. His eyes shone with a blaze of
hatred.
At this moment there was a t errific bang at the front
door, almost enough to break it down. Some most
unusual visitor must have arrived. Colia ran to open.
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X
THE entrance-hall suddenly became full of noise and
people. To judge from the sounds which penetrated to the
drawing-room, a number of peop le had already come in,
and the stampede continued. Several voices were talking
and shouting at once; others were talking and shouting on
the stairs outside; it was evidently a most extraordinary
visit that was about to take place.
Everyone exchanged startled glances. Gania rushed out
towards the dining-room, but a number of men had
already made their way in, and met him.
?Ah! here he is, the Judas!? cried a voice which the
prince recognized at once. ?How d?ye do, Gania, you old
blackguard??
?Yes, that?s the man!? said another voice.
There was no room for doubt in the prince?s mind: one
of the voices was Rogojin?s, and the other Lebedeff?s.
Gania stood at the door like a block and looked on in
silence, putting no obstacle in the way of their entrance,
and ten or a dozen men marched in behind Parfen
Rogojin. They were a decidedly mixed-looking
collection, and some of them came in in their furs and
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caps. None of them were quite drunk, but all appeared to
De considerably excited.
They seemed to need each other?s support, morally,
before they dared come in; not one of them would have
entered alone but with th e rest each one was brave
enough. Even Rogojin entered rather cautiously at the
head of his troop; but he was evidently preoccupied. He
appeared to be gloomy and morose, and had clearly come
with some end in view. All the rest were merely chorus,
brought in to support the chie f character. Besides Lebedeff
there was the dandy Zalesheff, who came in without his
coat and hat, two or three others followed his example;
the rest were more uncouth. They included a couple of
young merchants, a man in a great-coat, a medical student,
a little Pole, a small fat man who laughed continuously,
and an enormously tall stout one who apparently put great
faith in the strength of his fi sts. A couple of ?ladies? of
some sort put their heads in at the front door, but did not
dare come any farther. Colia promptly banged the door in
their faces and locked it.
?Hallo, Gania, you blackguard! You didn?t expect
Rogojin, eh?? said the latter, entering the drawing-room,
and stopping before Gania.
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But at this moment he saw, seated before him, Nastasia
Philipovna. He had not dreamed of meeting her here,
evidently, for her appearance produced a marvellous effect
upon him. He grew pale, and his lips became actually
blue.
?I suppose it is true, then!? he muttered to himself, and
his face took on an expression of despair. ?So that?s the end
of it! Now you, sir, will you answer me or not?? he went
on suddenly, gazing at Gania with ineffable malice. ?Now
then, you??
He panted, and could hardly speak for agitation. He
advanced into the room me chanically; but perceiving
Nina Alexandrovna and Varia he became more or less
embarrassed, in spite of his excitement. His followers
entered after him, and all paus ed a moment at sight of the
ladies. Of course their modesty was not fated to be long-
lived, but for a moment they were abashed. Once let them
begin to shout, however, and nothing on earth should
disconcert them.
?What, you here too, prince?? said Rogojin, absently,
but a little surprised all the same ? Still in your gaiters, eh??
He sighed, and forgot the prince next moment, and his
wild eyes wandered over to Nastasia again, as though
attracted in that direction by some magnetic force.
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Nastasia looked at the new arrivals with great curiosity.
Gania recollected himself at last.
?Excuse me, sirs,? he said, loudly, ?but what does all this
mean?? He glared at the advancing crowd generally, but
addressed his remarks especially to their captain, Rogojin.
?You are not in a stable, gentlemen, though you may
think it?my mother and sister are present.?
?Yes, I see your mother and sister,? muttered Rogojin,
through his teeth; and Lebedeff seemed to feel himself
called upon to second the statement.
?At all events, I must request you to step into the salon,?
said Gania, his rage rising quite out of proportion to his
words, ?and then I shall inquire??
?What, he doesn?t know me!? said Rogojin, showing
his teeth disagreeably. ?He doesn?t recognize Rogojin!? He
did not move an inch, however.
?I have met you somewhere, I believe, but??
?Met me somewhere, pfu! Why, it?s only three months
since I lost two hundred rouble s of my father?s money to
you, at cards. The old fellow died before he found out.
Ptitsin knows all about it. Wh y, I?ve only to pull out a
three-rouble note and show it to you, and you?d crawl on
your hands and knees to the other end of the town for it;
that?s the sort of man you are. Why, I?ve come now, at
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this moment, to buy you up! Oh, you needn?t think that
because I wear these boots I have no money. I have lots of
money, my beauty,?enough to buy up you and all yours
together. So I shall, if I like to! I?ll buy you up! I will!? he
yelled, apparently growing more and more intoxicated and
excited.? Oh, Nastasia Philipovna! don?t turn me out! Say
one word, do! Are you going to marry this man, or not??
Rogojin asked his question like a lost soul appealing to
some divinity, with the reckless daring of one appointed to
die, who has nothing to lose.
He awaited the reply in deadly anxiety.
Nastasia Philipovna gazed at him with a haughty,
ironical. expression of face; but when she glanced at Nina
Alexandrovna and Varia, and from them to Gania, she
changed her tone, all of a sudden.
?Certainly not; what are you thinking of? What could
have induced you to ask such a question?? she replied,
quietly and seriously, and even, apparently, with some
astonishment.
?No? No?? shouted Rogojin, almost out of his mind
with joy. ?You are not going to, after all? And they told
me?oh, Nastasia Philipovna?th ey said you had promised
to marry him, HIM! As if you COULD do it!?him?
pooh! I don?t mind saying it to everyone? I?d buy him
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off for a hundred roubles, any day pfu! Give him a
thousand, or three if he likes, poor devil? and he?d cut and
run the day before his wedding, and leave his bride to me!
Wouldn?t you, Gania, you blackguard? You?d take three
thousand, wouldn?t you? Here?s the money! Look, I?ve
come on purpose to pay you off and get your receipt,
formally. I said I?d buy you up, and so I will.?
?Get out of this, you drunken beast!? cried Gania, who
was red and white by turns.
Rogojin?s troop, who were only waiting for an excuse,
set up a howl at this. Lebedeff stepped forward and
whispered something in Parfen?s ear.
?You?re right, clerk,? said the latter, ?you?re right, tipsy
spirit?you?re right!?Nastasia Philipovna,? he added,
looking at her like some l unatic, harmless generally, but
suddenly wound up to a pitch of audacity, ?here are
eighteen thousand roubles, and?and you shall have
more?.? Here he threw a packet of bank- notes tied up in
white paper, on the table before her, not daring to say all
he wished to say.
?No-no-no!? muttered Lebedeff, clutching at his arm.
He was clearly aghast at the largeness of the sum, and
thought a far smaller amount should have been tried first.
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?No, you fool?you don?t know whom you are dealing
with?and it appears I am a fool, too!? said Parfen,
trembling beneath the flashing glance of Nastasia. ?Oh,
curse it all! What a fool I was to listen to you!? he added,
with profound melancholy.
Nastasia Philipovna, observing his woe-begone
expression, suddenly burst out laughing.
?Eighteen thousand roubles, for me? Why, you declare
yourself a fool at once,? she said, with impudent
familiarity, as she rose from the sofa and prepared to go.
Gania watched the whole scene with a sinking of the
heart.
?Forty thousand, then?forty thousand roubles instead
of eighteen! Ptitsin and another have promised to find me
forty thousand roubles by se ven o?clock tonight. Forty
thousand roubles?paid down on the nail!?
The scene was growing more and more disgraceful; but
Nastasia Philipovna continued to laugh and did not go
away. Nina Alexandrovna and Varia had both risen from
their places and were waiting, in silent horror, to see what
would happen. Varia?s eyes were all ablaze with anger; but
the scene had a different effect on Nina Alexandrovna.
She paled and trembled, and looked more and more like
fainting every moment.
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?Very well then, a HUNDRED thousand! a hundred
thousand! paid this very day. Ptitsin! find it for me. A
good share shall stick to your fingers?come!?
?You are mad!? said Ptitsin, coming up quickly and
seizing him by the hand. ?You?re drunk?the police will
be sent for if you don?t look out. Think where you are.?
?Yes, he?s boasting like a drunkard,? added Nastasia, as
though with the sole intention of goading him.
?I do NOT boast! You shall have a hundred thousand,
this very day. Ptitsin, get th e money, you gay usurer! Take
what you like for it, but get it by the evening! I?ll show
that I?m in earnest!? cried Rogojin, working himself up
into a frenzy of excitement.
?Come, come; what?s all this?? cried General Ivolgin,
suddenly and angrily, coming close up to Rogojin. The
unexpectedness of this sally on the part of the hitherto
silent old man caused some laughter among the intruders.
?Halloa! what?s this now?? laughed Rogojin. ?You
come along with me, old fellow! You shall have as much
to drink as you like.?
?Oh, it?s too horrible!? cried poor Colia, sobbing with
shame and annoyance.
?Surely there must be someone among all of you here
who will turn this shameless creature out of the room??
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cried Varia, suddenly. She was shaking and trembling with
rage.
?That?s me, I suppose. I?m the shameless creature!? cried
Nastasia Philipovna, with amused indifference. ?Dear me,
and I came?like a fool, as I am ?to invite them over to
my house for the evening! Look how your sister treats me,
Gavrila Ardalionovitch.?
For some moments Gania stood as if stunned or struck
by lightning, after his sister?s speech. But seeing that
Nastasia Philipovna was really about to leave the room this
time, he sprang at Varia and seized her by the arm like a
madman.
?What have you done?? he hissed, glaring at her as
though he would like to annihilate her on the spot. He
was quite beside himself, and could hardly articulate his
words for rage.
?What have I done? Where are you dragging me to??
?Do you wish me to beg pardon of this creature
because she has come here to insult our mother and
disgrace the whole household, you low, base wretch??
cried Varia, looking back at her brother with proud
defiance.
A few moments passed as they stood there face to face,
Gania still holding her wrist tightly. Varia struggled
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once?twice?to get free; then could restrain herself no
longer, and spat in his face.
?There?s a girl for you!? cried Nastasia Philipovna. ?Mr.
Ptitsin, I congratulate you on your choice.?
Gania lost his head. Forgetful of everything he aimed a
blow at Varia, which would in evitably have laid her low,
but suddenly another hand caught his. Between him and
Varia stood the prince.
?Enough?enough!? said the latter, with insistence, but
all of a tremble with excitement.
?Are you going to cross my path for ever, damn you!?
cried Gania; and, loosening his hold on Varia, he slapped
the prince?s face with all his force.
Exclamations of horror arose on all sides. The prince
grew pale as death; he gazed into Gania?s eyes with a
strange, wild, reproachful look; his lips trembled and
vainly endeavoured to form some words; then his mouth
twisted into an incongruous smile.
?Very well?never mind about me; but I shall not allow
you to strike her!? he said, at last, quietly. Then, suddenly,
he could bear it no longer, and covering his face with his
hands, turned to the wall, and murmured in broken
accents:
?Oh! how ashamed you will be of this afterwards!?
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Gania certainly did look dreadfully abashed. Colia
rushed up to comfort the prince, and after him crowded
Varia, Rogojin and all, even the general.
?It?s nothing, it?s nothing!? said the prince, and again he
wore the smile which was so inconsistent with the
circumstances.
?Yes, he will be ashamed!? cried Rogojin. ?You will be
properly ashamed of yourself for having injured such a?
such a sheep? (he could not find a better word). ?Prince,
my dear fellow, leave this and come away with me. I?ll
show you how Rogojin shows his affection for his
friends.?
Nastasia Philipovna was also much impressed, both
with Gania?s action and with the prince?s reply.
Her usually thoughtful, pale face, which all this while
had been so little in harmony with the jests and laughter
which she had seemed to put on for the occasion, was
now evidently agitated by new feelings, though she tried
to conceal the fact and to look as though she were as ready
as ever for jesting and irony.
?I really think I must have seen him somewhere!? she
murmured seriously enough.
?Oh, aren?t you ashamed of yourself?aren?t you
ashamed? Are you really the so rt of woman you are trying
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to represent yourself to be? Is it possible?? The prince was
now addressing Nastasia, in a tone of reproach, which
evidently came from his very heart.
Nastasia Philipovna looked surprised, and smiled, but
evidently concealed somethin g beneath her smile and with
some confusion and a glance at Gania she left the room.
However, she had not reached the outer hall when she
turned round, walked quickly up to Nina Alexandrovna,
seized her hand and lifted it to her lips.
?He guessed quite right. I am not that sort of woman,?
she whispered hurriedly, flushing red all over. Then she
turned again and left the room so quickly that no one
could imagine what she had come back for. All they saw
was that she said something to Nina Alexandrovna in a
hurried whisper, and seemed to kiss her hand. Varia,
however, both saw and heard all, and watched Nastasia
out of the room with an expression of wonder.
Gania recollected himself in time to rush after her in
order to show her out, but she had gone. He followed her
to the stairs.
?Don?t come with me,? she cried, ?Au revoir, till the
evening?do you hear? Au revoir!?
He returned thoughtful and confused; the riddle lay
heavier than ever on his soul. He was troubled about the
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prince, too, and so bewildered that he did not even
observe Rogojin?s rowdy band crowd past him and step
on his toes, at the door as they went out. They were all
talking at once. Rogojin went ahead of the others, talking
to Ptitsin, and apparently insisting vehemently upon
something very important
?You?ve lost the game, Gania? he cried, as he passed the
latter.
Gania gazed after him uneasily, but said nothing.
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XI
THE prince now left the room and shut himself up in
his own chamber. Colia followed him almost at once,
anxious to do what he cou ld to console him. The poor
boy seemed to be already so attached to him that he could
hardly leave him.
?You were quite right to go away!? he said. ?The row
will rage there worse than ever now; and it?s like this
every day with us? and all through that Nastasia
Philipovna.?
?You have so many sources of trouble here, Colia,? said
the prince.
?Yes, indeed, and it is all our own fault. But I have a
great friend who is much worse off even than we are.
Would you like to know him??
?Yes, very much. Is he one of your school-fellows??
?Well, not exactly. I will tell you all about him some
day?. What do you think of Nastasia Philipovna? She is
beautiful, isn?t she? I had ne ver seen her before, though I
had a great wish to do so. She fascinated me. I could
forgive Gania if he were to marry her for love, but for
money! Oh dear! that is horrible!?
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?Yes, your brother does not attract me much.?
?I am not surprised at that. After what you ... But I do
hate that way of looking at things! Because some fool, or a
rogue pretending to be a fool, st rikes a man, that man is to
be dishonoured for his whole life, unless he wipes out the
disgrace with blood, or makes his assailant beg forgiveness
on his knees! I think that so very absurd and tyrannical.
Lermontoff?s Bal Masque is based on that idea?a stupid
and unnatural one, in my opinion; but he was hardly more
than a child when he wrote it.?
?I like your sister very much.?
?Did you see how she spat in Gania?s face! Varia is
afraid of no one. But you did no t follow her example, and
yet I am sure it was not through cowardice. Here she
comes! Speak of a wolf and you see his tail! I felt sure that
she would come. She is very generous, though of course
she has her faults.?
Varia pounced upon her brother.
?This is not the place for you,? said she. ?Go to father. Is
he plaguing you, prince??
?Not in the least; on the contrary, he interests me.?
?Scolding as usual, Varia! It is the worst thing about
her. After all, I believe fat her may have started off with
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Rogojin. No doubt he is sorry now. Perhaps I had better
go and see what he is doing,? added Colia, running off.
?Thank God, I have got mother away, and put her to
bed without another scene ! Gania is worried?and
ashamed?not without reason! What a spectacle! I have
come to thank you once more, prince, and to ask you if
you knew Nastasia Philipovna before
?No, I have never known her.?
?Then what did you mean, when you said straight out
to her that she was not really ?like that?? You guessed
right, I fancy. It is quite possible she was not herself at the
moment, though I cannot fathom her meaning. Evidently
she meant to hurt and insult us. I have heard curious tales
about her before now, but if she came to invite us to her
house, why did she behave so to my mother? Ptitsin
knows her very well; he says he could not understand her
today. With Rogojin, too! No one with a spark of self-
respect could have talked like that in the house of her...
Mother is extremely vexed on your account, too...
?That is nothing!? said the prince, waving his hand.
?But how meek she was when you spoke to her!?
?Meek! What do you mean??
?You told her it was a shame for her to behave so, and
her manner changed at once; she was like another person.
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You have some influence over her, prince,? added Varia,
smiling a little.
The door opened at this point, and in came Gania most
unexpectedly.
He was not in the least disco ncerted to see Varia there,
but he stood a moment at the door, and then approached
the prince quietly.
?Prince,? he said, with feeling, ?I was a blackguard.
Forgive me!? His face gave evidence of suffering. The
prince was considerably amaze d, and did not reply at once.
?Oh, come, forgive me, forgive me!? Gania insisted, rather
impatiently. ?If you like, I?ll kiss your hand. There!?
The prince was touched; he took Gania?s hands, and
embraced him heartily, while each kissed the other.
?I never, never thought you were like that,? said
Muishkin, drawing a deep breath. ?I thought you?you
weren?t capable of??
?Of what? Apologizing, eh? And where on earth did I
get the idea that you were an idiot? You always observe
what other people pass by unnoticed; one could talk sense
to you, but??
?Here is another to whom you should apologize,? said
the prince, pointing to Varia.
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?No, no! they are all enemies! I?ve tried them often
enough, believe me,? and Gania turned his back on Varia
with these words.
?But if I beg you to make it up?? said Varia.
?And you?ll go to Nastasia Philipovna?s this evening??
?If you insist: but, judge for yourself, can I go, ought I
to go??
?But she is not that sort of woman, I tell you!? said
Gania, angrily. ?She was only acting.?
?I know that?I know that; but what a part to play!
And think what she must take YOU for, Gania! I know
she kissed mother?s hand, and all that, but she laughed at
you, all the same. All this is not good enough for seventy-
five thousand roubles, my de ar boy. You are capable of
honourable feelings still, and that?s why I am talking to
you so. Oh! DO take care what you are doing! Don?t you
know yourself that it will end badly, Gania??
So saying, and in a state of violent agitation, Varia left
the room.
?There, they are all like that,? said Gania, laughing, ?just
as if I do not know all about it much better than they do.?
He sat down with these words, evidently intending to
prolong his visit.
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?If you know it so well,? said the prince a little timidly,
?why do you choose all this worry for the sake of the
seventy-five thousand, which, you confess, does not cover
it??
?I didn?t mean that,? said Gania; ?but while we are upon
the subject, let me hear your opinion. Is all this worry
worth seventy-five thousand or not?
?Certainly not.?
?Of course! And it would be a disgrace to marry so,
eh??
?A great disgrace.?
?Oh, well, then you may know that I shall certainly do
it, now. I shall certainly marry her. I was not quite sure of
myself before, but now I am. Don?t say a word: I know
what you want to tell me??
?No. I was only going to say that what surprises me
most of all is your extraordinary confidence.?
?How so? What in??
?That Nastasia Philipovna will a ccept you, and that the
question is as good as settled; and secondly, that even if
she did, you would be able to pocket the money. Of
course, I know very little about it, but that?s my view.
When a man marries for money it often happens that the
wife keeps the money in her own hands.?
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?Of course, you don?t know all; but, I assure you, you
needn?t be afraid, it won?t be like that in our case. There
are circumstances,? said Gania, rather excitedly. ?And as to
her answer to me, there?s no doubt about that. Why
should you suppose she will refuse me??
?Oh, I only judge by what I see. Varvara Ardalionovna
said just now??
?Oh she?they don?t know anything about it! Nastasia
was only chaffing Rogojin. I wa s alarmed at first, but I
have thought better of it now; she was simply laughing at
him. She looks on me as a fool because I show that I
meant her money, and doesn? t realize that there are other
men who would deceive her in far worse fashion. I?m not
going to pretend anything, and you?ll see she?ll marry me,
all right. If she likes to live quietly, so she shall; but if she
gives me any of her nonsense, I shall leave her at once, but
I shall keep the money. I?m not going to look a fool; that?s
the first thing, not to look a fool.?
?But Nastasia Philipovna seems to me to be such a
SENSIBLE woman, and, as such, why should she run
blindly into this business? That?s what puzzles me so,? said
the prince.
?You don?t know all, you see; I tell you there are
things?and besides, I?m sure that she is persuaded that I
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love her to distraction, and I give you my word I have a
strong suspicion that she loves me, too?in her own way,
of course. She thinks she will be able to make a sort of
slave of me all my life; but I shall prepare a little surprise
for her. I don?t know whether I ought to be confidential
with you, prince; but, I assure you, you are the only
decent fellow I have come across. I have not spoken so
sincerely as I am doing at this moment for years. There are
uncommonly few honest people about, prince; there isn?t
one honester than Ptitsin, he?s the best of the lot. Are you
laughing? You don?t know, perhaps, that blackguards like
honest people, and being one myself I like you. WHY am
I a blackguard? Tell me honestly, now. They all call me a
blackguard because of her, and I have got into the way of
thinking myself one. That?s what is so bad about the
business.?
?I for one shall never think you a blackguard again,? said
the prince. ?I confess I had a p oor opinion of you at first,
but I have been so joyfully surprised about you just now;
it?s a good lesson for me. I shall never judge again without
a thorough trial. I see now that you are riot only not a
blackguard, but are not even qu ite spoiled. I see that you
are quite an ordinary man, not original in the least degree,
but rather weak.?
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Gania laughed sarcastically, but said nothing. The
prince, seeing that he did not quite like the last remark,
blushed, and was silent too.
?Has my father asked you for money?? asked Gania,
suddenly.
?No.?
?Don?t give it to him if he does. Fancy, he was a
decent, respectable man once! He was received in the best
society; he was not always the liar he is now. Of course,
wine is at the bottom of it all; but he is a good deal worse
than an innocent liar now. Do you know that he keeps a
mistress? I can?t understand how mother is so long-
sufferring. Did he tell you the story of the siege of Kars?
Or perhaps the one about his g rey horse that talked? He
loves, to enlarge on these absurd histories.? And Gania
burst into a fit of laughter. Suddenly he turned to the
prince and asked: ?Why are you looking at me like that??
?I am surprised to see you laugh in that way, like a
child. You came to make friends with me again just now,
and you said, ?I will kiss your hand, if you like,? just as a
child would have said it. And then, all at once you are
talking of this mad project?of these seventy-five thousand
roubles! It all seems so absurd and impossible.?
?Well, what conclusion have you reached??
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?That you are rushing madly into the undertaking, and
that you would do well to thin k it over again. It is more
than possible that Varvara Ardalionovna is right.?
?Ah! now you begin to moralize! I know that I am only
a child, very well,? replied Gani a impatiently. ?That is
proved by my having this conversation with you. It is not
for money only, prince, that I am rushing into this affair,?
he continued, hardly master of his words, so closely had
his vanity been touched. ?If I reckoned on that I should
certainly be deceived, for I am still too weak in mind and
character. I am obeying a passion, an impulse perhaps,
because I have but one aim, one that overmasters all else.
You imagine that once I am in possession of these
seventy-five thousand rouble s, I shall rush to buy a
carriage... No, I shall go on wearing the old overcoat I
have worn for three years, and I shall give up my club. I
shall follow the example of men who have made their
fortunes. When Ptitsin was seve nteen he slept in the street,
he sold pen-knives, and began with a copeck; now he has
sixty thousand roubles, but to get them, what has he not
done? Well, I shall be spared such a hard beginning, and
shall start with a little capita l. In fifteen years people will
say, ?Look, that?s Ivolgin, the king of the Jews!? You say
that I have no originality. Now mark this, prince? there
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is nothing so offensive to a man of our time and race than
to be told that he is wanting in originality, that he is weak
in character, has no particular talent, and is, in short, an
ordinary person. You have not even done me the honour
of looking upon me as a rogue. Do you know, I could
have knocked you down for that just now! You wounded
me more cruelly than Epanchin, who thinks me capable of
selling him my wife! Observe, it was a perfectly gratuitous
idea on his part, seeing there has never been any discussion
of it between us! This has exasperated me, and I am
determined to make a fortune! I will do it! Once I am
rich, I shall be a genius, an extremely original man. One of
the vilest and most hateful th ings connected with money is
that it can buy even talent; and will do so as long as the
world lasts. You will say that this is childish?or romantic.
Well, that will be all the better for me, but the thing shall
be done. I will carry it through. He laughs most, who
laughs last. Why does Ep anchin insult me? Simply
because, socially, I am a nobody. However, enough for
the present. Colia has put his nose in to tell us dinner is
ready, twice. I?m dining out. I shall come and talk to you
now and then; you shall be comfortable enough with us.
They are sure to make you one of the family. I think you
and I will either be great friends or enemies. Look here
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now, supposing I had kissed your hand just now, as I
offered to do in all sincerity, should I have hated you for it
afterwards??
?Certainly, but not always. You would not have been
able to keep it up, and would have ended by forgiving
me,? said the prince, after a pause for reflection, and with a
pleasant smile.
?Oho, how careful one has to be with you, prince!
Haven?t you put a drop of poison in that remark now, eh?
By the way?ha, ha, ha!? I forgot to ask, was I right in
believing that you were a good deal struck yourself with
Nastasia Philipovna
?Ye-yes.?
?Are you in love with her??
?N-no.?
?And yet you flush up as red as a rosebud! Come?it?s
all right. I?m not going to laugh at you. Do you know she
is a very virtuous woman? Be lieve it or not, as you like.
You think she and Totski? not a bit of it, not a bit of it!
Not for ever so long! Au revoir!?
Gania left the room in great good humour. The prince
stayed behind, and meditated alone for a few minutes. At
length, Colia popped his head in once more.
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?I don?t want any dinner, thanks, Colia. I had too good
a lunch at General Epanchin?s.?
Colia came into the room and gave the prince a note; it
was from the general and was carefully sealed up. It was
clear from Colia?s face how painful it was to him to
deliver the missive. The prince read it, rose, and took his
hat.
?It?s only a couple of yards,? said Colia, blushing.
?He?s sitting there over his bottle?and how they can
give him credit, I cannot understand. Don?t tell mother I
brought you the note, prince; I have sworn not to do it a
thousand times, but I?m always so sorry for him. Don?t
stand on ceremony, give him some trifle, and let that end
it.?
?Come along, Colia, I want to see your father. I have
an idea,? said the prince.
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XII
Colia took the prince to a public-house in the
Litaynaya, not far off. In one of the side rooms there sat at
a table?looking like one of the regular guests of the
establishment?Ardalion Alexandrovitch, with a bottle
before him, and a newspaper on his knee. He was waiting
for the prince, and no sooner did the latter appear than he
began a long harangue about so mething or other; but so
far gone was he that the prince could hardly understand a
word.
?I have not got a ten-rouble note,? said the prince; ?but
here is a twenty-five. Change it and give me back the
fifteen, or I shall be left without a farthing myself.?
?Oh, of course, of course; and you quite understand
that I??
?Yes; and I have another request to make, general.
Have you ever been at Nastasia Philipovna?s??
?I? I? Do you mean me? Often, my friend, often! I only
pretended I had not in order to avoid a painful subject.
You saw today, you were a witne ss, that I did all that a
kind, an indulgent father could do. Now a father of
altogether another type shall step into the scene. You shall
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see; the old soldier shall lay bare this intrigue, or a
shameless woman will force her way into a respectable and
noble family.?
?Yes, quite so. I wished to ask you whether you could
show me the way to Nastasia Philipovna?s tonight. I must
go; I have business with her; I was not invited but I was
introduced. Anyhow I am rea dy to trespass the laws of
propriety if only I can get in somehow or other.?
?My dear young friend, you have hit on my very idea.
It was not for this rubbish I asked you to come over here?
(he pocketed the money, however, at this point), ?it was
to invite your alliance in the campaign against Nastasia
Philipovna tonight. How well it sounds, ?General Ivolgin
and Prince Muishkin.? That?ll fetch her, I think, eh?
Capital! We?ll go at nine; there?s time yet.?
?Where does she live??
?Oh, a long way off, near the Great Theatre, just in the
square there?It won?t be a large party.?
The general sat on and on. He had ordered a fresh
bottle when the prince arrive d; this took him an hour to
drink, and then he had another, and another, during the
consumption of which he told pretty nearly the whole
story of his life. The prince wa s in despair. He felt that
though he had but applied to this miserable old drunkard
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because he saw no other way of getting to Nastasia
Philipovna?s, yet he had been very wrong to put the
slightest confidence in such a man.
At last he rose and declared that he would wait no
longer. The general rose too, drank the last drops that he
could squeeze out of the bo ttle, and staggered into the
street.
Muishkin began to despair. He could not imagine how
he had been so foolish as to trust this man. He only
wanted one thing, and that was to get to Nastasia
Philipovna?s, even at the cost of a certain amount of
impropriety. But now the scandal threatened to be more
than he had bargained for. By this time Ardalion
Alexandrovitch was quite intoxicated, and he kept his
companion listening while he discoursed eloquently and
pathetically on subjects of all kinds, interspersed with
torrents of recrimination against the members of his
family. He insisted that all his troubles were caused by
their bad conduct, and time alone would put an end to
them.
At last they reached the Litaynaya. The thaw increased
steadily, a warm, unhealthy wind blew through the streets,
vehicles splashed through the mud, and the iron shoes of
horses and mules rang on the paving stones. Crowds of
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melancholy people plodded wearily along the footpaths,
with here and there a drunken man among them.
?Do you see those brightly-lighted windows?? said the
general. ?Many of my old comrades-in-arms live about
here, and I, who served longer, and suffered more than
any of them, am walking on foot to the house of a woman
of rather questionable reputation! A man, look you, who
has thirteen bullets on his breast! ... You don?t believe it?
Well, I can assure you it was entirely on my account that
Pirogoff telegraphed to Paris, and left Sebastopol at the
greatest risk during the siege. Nelaton, the Tuileries
surgeon, demanded a safe conduct, in the name of science,
into the besieged city in order to attend my wounds. The
government knows all about it. ?That?s the Ivolgin with
thirteen bullets in him!? That ?s how they speak of me....
Do you see that house, prince ? One of my old friends lives
on the first floor, with his large family. In this and five
other houses, three overlooking Nevsky, two in the
Morskaya, are all that remain of my personal friends. Nina
Alexandrovna gave them up long ago, but I keep in touch
with them still... I may say I find refreshment in this little
coterie, in thus meeting my old acquaintances and
subordinates, who worship me still, in spite of all. General
Sokolovitch (by the way, I have not called on him lately,
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or seen Anna Fedorovna)... You know, my dear prince,
when a person does not receive company himself, he gives
up going to other people?s houses involuntarily. And yet
... well ... you look as if you didn?t believe me.... Well
now, why should I not present the son of my old friend
and companion to this delightful family?General Ivolgin
and Prince Muishkin? You will s ee a lovely girl?what am
I saying?a lovely girl? No, indeed, two, three!
Ornaments of this city and of society: beauty, education,
culture?the woman question?poetry?everything!
Added to which is the fact t hat each one will have a dot of
at least eighty thousand roubles. No bad thing, eh? ... In a
word I absolutely must introduce you to them: it is a duty,
an obligation. General Ivolgin and Prince Muishkin.
Tableau!?
?At once? Now? You must have forgotten ... ? began
the prince.
?No, I have forgotten nothing. Come! This is the
house?up this magnificent staircase. I am surprised not to
see the porter, but .... it is a holiday ... and the man has
gone off ... Drunken fool! Why have they not got rid of
him? Sokolovitch owes all th e happiness he has had in the
service and in his private life to me, and me alone, but ...
here we are.?
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The prince followed quietly, making no further
objection for fear of irritating the old man. At the same
time he fervently hoped that General Sokolovitch and his
family would fade away like a mirage in the desert, so that
the visitors could escape, by merely returning downstairs.
But to his horror he saw that General Ivolgin was quite
familiar with the house, and really seemed to have friends
there. At every step he named some topographical or
biographical detail that left nothing to be desired on the
score of accuracy. When they arrived at last, on the first
floor, and the general turned to ring the bell to the right,
the prince decided to run away, but a curious incident
stopped him momentarily.
?You have made a mistake, general,? said he. ? The
name on the door is Koulakoff, and you were going to see
General Sokolovitch.?
?Koulakoff ... Koulakoff means nothing. This is
Sokolovitch?s flat, and I am ri nging at his door.... What do
I care for Koulakoff? ... Here comes someone to open.?
In fact, the door opened directly, and the footman in
formed the visitors that the family were all away.
?What a pity! What a pity! It?s just my luck!? repeated
Ardalion Alexandrovitch over and over again, in regretful
tones. ? When your master and mistress return, my man,
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tell them that General Ivolgin and Prince Muishkin
desired to present themselves, and that they were
extremely sorry, excessively grieved ...?
Just then another person belonging to the household
was seen at the back of the hall. It was a woman of some
forty years, dressed in sombre colours, probably a
housekeeper or a governess. Hearing the names she came
forward with a look of suspicion on her face.
?Marie Alexandrovna is not at home,? said she, staring
hard at the general. ?She has gone to her mother?s, with
Alexandra Michailovna.?
?Alexandra Michailovna out , too! How disappointing!
Would you believe it, I am always so unfortunate! May I
most respectfully ask you to present my compliments to
Alexandra Michailovna, and remind her ... tell her, that
with my whole heart I wish for her what she wished for
herself on Thursday evening, while she was listening to
Chopin?s Ballade. She will rem ember. I wish it with all
sincerity. General Ivolgin and Prince Muishkin!?
The woman?s face changed; she lost her suspicious
expression.
?I will not fail to deliver y our message,? she replied, and
bowed them out.
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As they went downstairs the general regretted
repeatedly that he had failed to introduce the prince to his
friends.
?You know I am a bit of a poet,? said he. ?Have you
noticed it? The poetic soul, you know.? Then he added
suddenly??But after all ... after all I believe we made a
mistake this time! I remember that the Sokolovitch?s live
in another house, and what is more, they are just now in
Moscow. Yes, I certainly was at fault. However, it is of no
consequence.?
?Just tell me,? said the prince in reply, ?may I count still
on your assistance? Or shall I go on alone to see Nastasia
Philipovna??
?Count on my assistance? Go alone? How can you ask
me that question, when it is a matter on which the fate of
my family so largely depends? You don?t know Ivolgin,
my friend. To trust Ivolgin is to trust a rock; that?s how
the first squadron I commanded spoke of me. ?Depend
upon Ivolgin,? said they all, ?he is as steady as a rock.? But,
excuse me, I must just call at a house on our way, a house
where I have found consolation and help in all my trials
for years.?
?You are going home??
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?No ... I wish ... to visit Madame Terentieff, the widow
of Captain Terentieff, my old subordinate and friend. She
helps me to keep up my courage, and to bear the trials of
my domestic life, and as I have an extra burden on my
mind today ...?
?It seems to me,? interrupted the prince, ?that I was
foolish to trouble you just no w. However, at present you
... Good-bye!?
?Indeed, you must not go aw ay like that, young man,
you must not!? cried the general. ?My friend here is a
widow, the mother of a family; her words come straight
from her heart, and find an ec ho in mine. A visit to her is
merely an affair of a few minutes; I am quite at home in
her house. I will have a wash, and dress, and then we can
drive to the Grand Theatre. Make up your mind to spend
the evening with me.... We are just there?that?s the
house... Why, Colia! you here! Well, is Marfa Borisovna
at home or have you only just come??
?Oh no! I have been here a long while,? replied Colia,
who was at the front door when the general met him. ?I
am keeping Hippolyte company . He is worse, and has
been in bed all day. I came down to buy some cards.
Marfa Borisovna expects you. But what a state you are in,
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father!? added the boy, noticing his father?s unsteady gait.
?Well, let us go in.?
On meeting Colia the prince determined to accompany
the general, though he made up his mind to stay as short a
time as possible. He wanted Colia, but firmly resolved to
leave the general behind. He could not forgive himself for
being so simple as to imagine that Ivolgin would be of any
use. The three climbed up the long staircase until they
reached the fourth floor where Madame Terentieff lived.
?You intend to introduce th e prince?? asked Colia, as
they went up.
?Yes, my boy. I wish to present him: General Ivolgin
and Prince Muishkin! But what?s the matter? ... what? ...
How is Marfa Borisovna??
?You know, father, you would have done much better
not to come at all! She is ready to eat you up! You have
not shown yourself since the day before yesterday and she
is expecting the money. Why did you promise her any?
You are always the same! Well, now you will have to get
out of it as best you can.?
They stopped before a somewhat low doorway on the
fourth floor. Ardalion Alexandro vitch, evidently much out
of countenance, pushed Muishkin in front.
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?I will wait here,? he stammered. ?I should like to
surprise her. ....?
Colia entered first, and as the door stood open, the
mistress of the house peeped out. The surprise of the
general?s imagination fell very flat, for she at once began to
address him in terms of reproach.
Marfa Borisovna was about forty years of age. She wore
a dressing-jacket, her feet were in slippers, her face
painted, and her hair was in dozens of small plaits. No
sooner did she catch sight of Ardalion Alexandrovitch than
she screamed:
?There he is, that wicked, mean wretch! I knew it was
he! My heart misgave me!?
The old man tried to put a good face on the affair.
?Come, let us go in?it?s all right,? he whispered in the
prince?s ear.
But it was more serious than he wished to think. As
soon as the visitors had crossed the low dark hall, and
entered the narrow reception-r oom, furnished with half a
dozen cane chairs, and two small card-tables, Madame
Terentieff, in the shrill tones habitual to her, continued
her stream of invectives.
?Are you not ashamed? Are you not ashamed? You
barbarian! You tyrant! You have robbed me of all I
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possessed?you have sucked my bones to the marrow.
How long shall I be your victim? Shameless,
dishonourable man!?
?Marfa Borisovna! Marfa Borisovna! Here is ... the
Prince Muishkin! General Ivolgin and Prince Muishkin,?
stammered the disconcerted old man.
?Would you believe,? said the mistress of the house,
suddenly addressing the prince, ?would you believe that
that man has not even spared my orphan children? He has
stolen everything I possessed, sold everything, pawned
everything; he has left me nothing?nothing! What am I
to do with your IOU?s, you cunning, unscrupulous rogue?
Answer, devourer I answer, heart of stone! How shall I
feed my orphans? with what shall I nourish them? And
now he has come, he is drunk! He can scarcely stand.
How, oh how, have I offended the Almighty, that He
should bring this curse upon me! Answer, you worthless
villain, answer!?
But this was too much for the general.
?Here are twenty-five roubles, Marfa Borisovna ... it is
all that I can give ... and I owe even these to the prince?s
generosity?my noble friend. I have been cruelly
deceived. Such is ... life ... Now ... Excuse me, I am very
weak,? he continued, standing in the centre of the room,
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and bowing to all sides. ?I am faint; excuse me! Lenotchka
... a cushion ... my dear!?
Lenotchka, a little girl of eight, ran to fetch the cushion
at once, and placed it on the rickety old sofa. The general
meant to have said much mo re, but as soon as he had
stretched himself out, he turn ed his face to the wall, and
slept the sleep of the just.
With a grave and ceremonious air, Marfa Borisovna
motioned the prince to a chair at one of the card-tables.
She seated herself opposite, leaned her right cheek on her
hand, and sat in silence, her eyes fixed on Muishkin, now
and again sighing deeply. The three children, two little
girls and a boy, Lenotchka being the eldest, came and leant
on the table and also stared steadily at him. Presently Colia
appeared from the adjoining room.
?I am very glad indeed to have met you here, Colia,?
said the prince. ?Can you do so mething for me? I must see
Nastasia Philipovna, and I asked Ardalion Alexandrovitch
just now to take me to her house, but he has gone to
sleep, as you see. Will you show me the way, for I do not
know the street? I have the addre ss, though; it is close to
the Grand Theatre.?
?Nastasia Philipovna? She does not live there, and to
tell you the truth my father has never been to her house! It
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is strange that you should have depended on him! She
lives near Wladimir Street, at the Five Corners, and it is
quite close by. Will you go directly? It is just half-past
nine. I will show you the way with pleasure.?
Colia and the prince went off together. Alas! the latter
had no money to pay for a cab, so they were obliged to
walk.
?I should have liked to have taken you to see
Hippolyte,? said Colia. ?He is the eldest son of the lady
you met just now, and was in the next room. He is ill, and
has been in bed all day. But he is rather strange, and
extremely sensitive, and I thought he might be upset
considering the circumstanc es in which you came ...
Somehow it touches me less, as it concerns my father,
while it is HIS mother. That , of course, makes a great
difference. What is a terrible disgrace to a woman, does
not disgrace a man, at least not in the same way. Perhaps
public opinion is wrong in condemning one sex, and
excusing the other. Hippolyte is an extremely clever boy,
but so prejudiced. He is really a slave to his opinions.?
?Do you say he is consumptive??
?Yes. It really would be ha ppier for him to die young.
If I were in his place I should certainly long for death. He
is unhappy about his brother and sisters, the children you
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saw. If it were possible, if we only had a little money, we
should leave our respective families, and live together in a
little apartment of our own. It is our dream. But, do you
know, when I was talking over your affair with him, he
was angry, and said that anyone who did not call out a
man who had given him a blow was a coward. He is very
irritable to-day, and I left off arguing the matter with him.
So Nastasia Philipovna has invited you to go and see her??
?To tell the truth, she has not.?
?Then how do you come to be going there?? cried
Colia, so much astonished that he stopped short in the
middle of the pavement. ?And ... and are you going to her
At Home in that costume??
?I don?t know, really, whether I shall be allowed in at
all. If she will receive me, so much the better. If not, the
matter is ended. As to my clothes?what can I do??
?Are you going there for some particular reason, or
only as a way of getting into her society, and that of her
friends??
?No, I have really an object in going ... That is, I am
going on business it is difficult to explain, but...?
?Well, whether you go on business or not is your affair,
I do not want to know. The only important thing, in my
eyes, is that you should not be going there simply for the
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pleasure of spending your evening in such company?
cocottes, generals, usurers! If that were the case I should
despise and laugh at you. There are terribly few honest
people here, and hardly any whom one can respect,
although people put on airs?Varia especially! Have you
noticed, prince, how many adventurers there are
nowadays? Especially here, in our dear Russia. How it has
happened I never can understand. There used to be a
certain amount of solidity in all things, but now what
happens? Everything is expose d to the public gaze, veils
are thrown back, every wound is probed by careless
fingers. We are for ever present at an orgy of scandalous
revelations. Parents blush when they remember their old-
fashioned morality. At Moscow lately a father was heard
urging his son to stop at nothing?at nothing, mind
you!?to get money! The pre ss seized upon the story, of
course, and now it is public property. Look at my father,
the general! See what he is, and yet, I assure you, he is an
honest man! Only ... he drinks too much, and his morals
are not all we could desire. Yes , that?s true! I pity him, to
tell the truth, but I dare not say so, because everybody
would laugh at me?but I do pity him! And who are the
really clever men, after all? M oney- grubbers, every one of
them, from the first to the la st. Hippolyte finds excuses for
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money-lending, and says it is a necessity. He talks about
the economic movement, and the ebb and flow of capital;
the devil knows what he means. It makes me angry to hear
him talk so, but he is soured by his troubles. Just imagine-
the general keeps his mother-but she lends him money!
She lends it for a week or ten days at very high interest!
Isn?t it disgusting? And then, you would hardly believe it,
but my mother? Nina Alexandrovna?helps Hippolyte
in all sorts of ways, sends him money and clothes. She
even goes as far as helping the children, through
Hippolyte, because their mother cares nothing about
them, and Varia does the same.?
?Well, just now you said there were no honest nor
good people about, that there were only money-
grubbers?and here they are quite close at hand, these
honest and good people, your mother and Varia! I think
there is a good deal of moral strength in helping people in
suchcircum stances.?
?Varia does it from pride , and likes showing off, and
giving herself airs. As to my mother, I really do admire
her?yes, and honour her. Hippo lyte, hardened as he is,
feels it. He laughed at first, and thought it vulgar of her?
but now, he is sometimes quite touched and overcome by
her kindness. H?m! You call that being strong and good? I
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will remember that! Gania knows nothing about it. He
would say that it was encouraging vice.?
?Ah, Gania knows nothing about it? It seems there are
many things that Gania does not know,? exclaimed the
prince, as he considered Colia?s last words.
?Do you know, I like you very much indeed, prince? I
shall never forget about this afternoon.?
?I like you too, Colia.?
?Listen to me! You are going to live here, are you not??
said Colia. ?I mean to get something to do directly, and
earn money. Then shall we three live together? You, and
I, and Hippolyte? We will hire a flat, and let the general
come and visit us. What do you say??
?It would be very pleasant,? returned the prince. ?But
we must see. I am really ra ther worried just now. What!
are we there already? Is that the house? What a long flight
of steps! And there?s a porter! Well, Colia I don?t know
what will come of it all.?
The prince seemed quite distracted for the moment.
?You must tell me all about it tomorrow! Don?t be
afraid. I wish you success; we agree so entirely I that can
do so, although I do not understand why you are here.
Good-bye!? cried Colia excitedly. ?Now I will rush back
and tell Hippolyte all about our plans and proposals! But as
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to your getting in?don?t be in the least afraid. You will
see her. She is so original about everything. It?s the first
floor. The porter will show you.?
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XIII
THE prince was very nervous as he reached the outer
door; but he did his best to encourage himself with the
reflection that the worst thing that could happen to him
would be that he would not be received, or, perhaps,
received, then laughed at for coming.
But there was another question, which terrified him
considerably, and that was: what was he going to do when
he DID get in? And to this question he could fashion no
satisfactory reply.
If only he could find an opportunity of coming close
up to Nastasia Philipovna and saying to her: ?Don?t ruin
yourself by marrying this man. He does not love you, he
only loves your money. He told me so himself, and so did
Aglaya Ivanovna, and I have come on purpose to warn
you??but even that did not seem quite a legitimate or
practicable thing to do. Then, again, there was another
delicate question, to which he could not find an answer;
dared not, in fact, think of it; but at the very idea of which
he trembled and blushed. Howev er, in spite of all his fears
and heart-quakings he went in, and asked for Nastasia
Philipovna.
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Nastasia occupied a medium-sized, but distinctly
tasteful, flat, beautifully furnished and arranged. At one
period of these five years of Petersburg life, Totski had
certainly not spared his expenditure upon her. He had
calculated upon her eventual love, and tried to tempt her
with a lavish outlay upon comforts and luxuries, knowing
too well how easily the heart a ccustoms itself to comforts,
and how difficult it is to tear one?s self away from luxuries
which have become habitual and, little by little,
indispensable.
Nastasia did not reject all this, she even loved her
comforts and luxuries, but, strangely enough, never
became, in the least degree, dependent upon them, and
always gave the impression that she could do just as well
without them. In fact, she went so far as to inform Totski
on several occasions that such was the case, which the
latter gentleman considered a very unpleasant
communication indeed.
But, of late, Totski had observed many strange and
original features and characteristics in Nastasia, which he
had neither known nor reckoned upon in former times,
and some of these fascinated him, even now, in spite of
the fact that all his old calcul ations with regard to her were
long ago cast to the winds.
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A maid opened the door for the prince (Nastasia?s
servants were all females) and, to his surprise, received his
request to announce him to her mistress without any
astonishment. Neither his dirty boots, nor his wide-
brimmed hat, nor his sleeveless cloak, nor his evident
confusion of manner, produced the least impression upon
her. She helped him off with his cloak, and begged him to
wait a moment in the ante-room while she announced
him.
The company assembled at Nastasia Philipovna?s
consisted of none but her mo st intimate friends, and
formed a very small party in comparison with her usual
gatherings on this anniversary.
In the first place there were present Totski, and General
Epanchin. They were both highly amiable, but both
appeared to be labouring under a half-hidden feeling of
anxiety as to the result of Nastasia?s deliberations with
regard to Gania, which result was to be made public this
evening.
Then, of course, there was Gania who was by no
means so amiable as his elders, but stood apart, gloomy,
and miserable, and silent. He had determined not to bring
Varia with him; but Nastasia had not even asked after her,
though no sooner had he arri ved than she had reminded
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him of the episode between himself and the prince. The
general, who had heard nothing of it before, began to
listen with some interest, while Gania, drily, but with
perfect candour, went through the whole history,
including the fact of his apology to the prince. He finished
by declaring that the prince was a most extraordinary man,
and goodness knows why he had been considered an idiot
hitherto, for he was very far from being one.
Nastasia listened to all this with great interest; but the
conversation soon turned to Rogojin and his visit, and this
theme proved of the greatest attraction to both Totski and
the general.
Ptitsin was able to afford some particulars as to
Rogojin?s conduct since the afternoon. He declared that
he had been busy finding m oney for the latter ever since,
and up to nine o?clock, Rogojin having declared that he
must absolutely have a hundred thousand roubles by the
evening. He added that Rogo jin was drunk, of course; but
that he thought the money would be forthcoming, for the
excited and intoxicated rapture of the fellow impelled him
to give any interest or premium that was asked of him, and
there were several others en gaged in beating up the
money, also.
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All this news was received by the company with
somewhat gloomy interest. Nastasia was silent, and would
not say what she thought about it. Gania was equally
uncommunicative. The general seemed the most anxious
of all, and decidedly uneasy. The present of pearls which
he had prepared with so much joy in the morning had
been accepted but coldly, and Nastasia had smiled rather
disagreeably as she took it from him. Ferdishenko was the
only person present in good spirits.
Totski himself, who had the reputation of being a
capital talker, and was usually the life and soul of these
entertainments, was as silent as any on this occasion, and
sat in a state of, for him, most uncommon perturbation.
The rest of the guests (an old tutor or schoolmaster,
goodness knows why invited; a young man, very timid,
and shy and silent; a rather loud woman of about forty,
apparently an actress; and a very pretty, well-dressed
German lady who hardly said a word all the evening) not
only had no gift for enlivening the proceedings, but hardly
knew what to say for themse lves when addressed. Under
these circumstances the arrival of the prince came almost
as a godsend.
The announcement of his name gave rise to some
surprise and to some smiles, especially when it became
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evident, from Nastasia?s astonished look, that she had not
thought of inviting him. But her astonishment once over,
Nastasia showed such satisfaction that all prepared to greet
the prince with cordial smiles of welcome.
?Of course,? remarked General Epanchin, ?he does this
out of pure innocence. It?s a little dangerous, perhaps, to
encourage this sort of freedom ; but it is rather a good
thing that he has arrived just at this moment. He may
enliven us a little with his originalities.?
?Especially as he asked himself,? said Ferdishenko.
?What?s that got to do with it?? asked the general, who
loathed Ferdishenko.
?Why, he must pay toll for his entrance,? explained the
latter.
?H?m! Prince Muishkin is not Ferdishenko,? said the
general, impatiently. This worthy gentleman could never
quite reconcile himself to the idea of meeting Ferdishenko
in society, and on an equal footing.
?Oh general, spare Ferdishenko!? replied the other,
smiling. ?I have special privileges.?
?What do you mean by special privileges??
?Once before I had the honour of stating them to the
company. I will repeat the explanation to-day for your
excellency?s benefit. You see, excellency, all the world is
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witty and clever except myself. I am neither. As a kind of
compensation I am allowed to tell the truth, for it is a
well-known fact that only stu pid people tell ?the truth.
Added to this, I am a spiteful man, just because I am not
clever. If I am offended or inju red I bear it quite patiently
until the man injuring me meets with some misfortune.
Then I remember, and take my revenge. I return the
injury sevenfold, as Ivan Petrovitch Ptitsin says. (Of course
he never does so himself.) Excellency, no doubt you
recollect Kryloff?s fable, ?The Lion and the Ass?? Well
now, that?s you and I. That fable was written precisely for
us.?
?You seem to be talking nonsense again, Ferdishenko,?
growled the general.
?What is the matter, excellency? I know how to keep
my place. When I said just now that we, you and I, were
the lion and the ass of Kryloff?s fable, of course it is
understood that I take the role of the ass. Your excellency
is the lion of which the fable remarks:
?A mighty lion, terror of the woods, Was shorn of his
great prowess by old age.?
And I, your excellency, am the ass.?
?I am of your opinion on that last point,? said Ivan
Fedorovitch, with ill-concealed irritation.
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All this was no doubt extremely coarse, and moreover
it was premeditated, but after all Ferdishenko had
persuaded everyone to accept him as a buffoon.
?If I am admitted and tolerated here,? he had said one
day, ?it is simply because I talk in this way. How can
anyone possibly receive such a man as I am? I quite
understand. Now, could I, a Ferdishenko, be allowed to
sit shoulder to shoulder with a clever man like Afanasy
Ivanovitch? There is one explanation, only one. I am
given the position because it is so entirely inconceivable!?
But these vulgarities seemed to please Nastasia
Philipovna, although too often they were both rude and
offensive. Those who wished to go to her house were
forced to put up with Ferdis henko. Possibly the latter was
not mistaken in imagining that he was received simply in
order to annoy Totski, who disliked him extremely. Gania
also was often made the butt of the jester?s sarcasms, who
used this method of keeping in Nastasia Philipovna?s good
graces.
?The prince will begin by singing us a fashionable
ditty,? remarked Ferdishenko, and looked at the mistress of
the house, to see what she would say.
?I don?t think so, Ferdishenko; please be quiet,?
answered Nastasia Philipovna dryly.
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?A-ah! if he is to be under special patronage, I
withdraw my claws.?
But Nastasia Philipovna had now risen and advanced to
meet the prince.
?I was so sorry to have forgotten to ask you to come,
when I saw you,? she said, ?and I am delighted to be able
to thank you personally now, and to express my pleasure
at your resolution.?
So saying she gazed into his eyes, longing to see
whether she could make any guess as to the explanation of
his motive in coming to her house. The prince would
very likely have made some reply to her kind words, but
he was so dazzled by her appearance that he could not
speak.
Nastasia noticed this with sa tisfaction. She was in full
dress this evening; and her appearance was certainly
calculated to impress all beholders. She took his hand and
led him towards her other guests. But just before they
reached the drawing-room door, the prince stopped her,
and hurriedly and in great agitation whispered to her:
?You are altogether perfection; even your pallor and
thinness are perfect; one could not wish you otherwise. I
did so wish to come and see you. I?forgive me, please??
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?Don?t apologize,? said Nastasia, laughing; ?you spoil
the whole originality of the thing. I think what they say
about you must be true, that you are so original.?So you
think me perfection, do you??
?Yes.?
?H?m! Well, you may be a good reader of riddles but
you are wrong THERE, at all events. I?ll remind you of
this, tonight.?
Nastasia introduced the prince to her guests, to most of
whom he was already known.
Totski immediately made some amiable remark. Al
seemed to brighten up at once, and the conversation
became general. Nastasia made the prince sit down next to
herself.
?Dear me, there?s nothing so very curious about the
prince dropping in, after all,? remarked Ferdishenko.
?It?s quite a clear case,? said the hitherto silent Gania. I
have watched the prince almost all day, ever since the
moment when he first saw Nastasia Philipovna?s portrait,
at General Epanchin?s. I remember thinking at the time
what I am now pretty sure of; and what, I may say in
passing, the prince confessed to myself.?
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Gania said all this perfectly seriously, and without the
slightest appearance of joking; indeed, he seemed strangely
gloomy.
?I did not confess anything to you,? said the prince,
blushing. ?I only answered your question.?
?Bravo! That?s frank, at any rate!? shouted Ferdishenko,
and there was general laughter.
?Oh prince, prince! I never should have thought it of
you;? said General Epanchin. ?And I imagined you a
philosopher! Oh, you silent fellows!?
?Judging from the fact that the prince blushed at this
innocent joke, like a young girl, I should think that he
must, as an honourable man, harbour the noblest
intentions,? said the old to othless schoolmaster, most
unexpectedly; he had not so much as opened his mouth
before. This remark provoked general mirth, and the old
fellow himself laughed loudest of the lot, but ended with a
stupendous fit of coughing.
Nastasia Philipovna, who loved originality and drollery
of all kinds, was apparently very fond of this old man, and
rang the bell for more tea to stop his coughing. It was now
half-past ten o?clock.
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?Gentlemen, wouldn?t you like a little champagne
now?? she asked. ?I have it all ready; it will cheer us up?
do now?no ceremony!?
This invitation to drink, couched, as it was, in such
informal terms, came very strangely from Nastasia
Philipovna. Her usual entertai nments were not quite like
this; there was more style about them. However, the wine
was not refused; each guest took a glass excepting Gania,
who drank nothing.
It was extremely difficult to account for Nastasia?s
strange condition of mind, wh ich became more evident
each moment, and which none could avoid noticing.
She took her glass, and vowed she would empty it
three times that evening. She was hysterical, and laughed
aloud every other minute with no apparent reason?the
next moment relapsing into gloom and thoughtfulness.
Some of her guests suspected that she must be ill; but
concluded at last that she was expecting something, for she
continued to look at her watch impatiently and
unceasingly; she was most absent and strange.
?You seem to be a little feverish tonight,? said the
actress.
?Yes; I feel quite ill. I have b een obliged to put on this
shawl ?I feel so cold,? replied Nastasia. She certainly had
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grown very pale, and every now and then she tried to
suppress a trembling in her limbs.
?Had we not better allow our hostess to retire?? asked
Totski of the general.
?Not at all, gentlemen, not at all! Your presence is
absolutely necessary to me tonight,? said Nastasia,
significantly.
As most of those present were aware that this evening a
certain very important decision was to be taken, these
words of Nastasia Philipovna?s a ppeared to be fraught with
much hidden interest. The general and Totski exchanged
looks; Gania fidgeted convulsively in his chair.
?Let?s play at some game!? suggested the actress.
?I know a new and most delightful game, added
Ferdishenko.
?What is it?? asked the actress.
?Well, when we tried it we were a party of people, like
this, for instance; and somebody proposed that each of us,
without leaving his place at the table, should relate
something about himself. It had to be something that he
really and honestly considered the very worst action he
had ever committed in his life. But he was to be honest?
that was the chief point! He wasn?t to be allowed to lie.?
?What an extraordinary idea!? said the general.
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?That?s the beauty of it, general!?
?It?s a funny notion,? said Totski, ?and yet quite
natural?it?s only a new way of boasting.?
?Perhaps that is just what was so fascinating about it.?
?Why, it would be a game to cry over?not to laugh
at!? said the actress.
?Did it succeed?? asked Nastasia Philipovna. ?Come,
let?s try it, let?s try it; we really are not quite so jolly as we
might be? let?s try it! We may like it; it?s original, at all
events!?
?Yes,? said Ferdishenko; ?it?s a good idea?come
along?the men begin. Of cour se no one need tell a story
if he prefers to be disobliging. We must draw lots! Throw
your slips of paper, gentlemen, into this hat, and the
prince shall draw for turns. It ?s a very simple game; all you
have to do is to tell the story of the worst action of your
life. It?s as simple as anything. I?ll prompt anyone who
forgets the rules!?
No one liked the idea much. Some smiled, some
frowned some objected, but faintly, not wishing to oppose
Nastasia?s wishes; for this new idea seemed to be rather
well received by her. She was still in an excited, hysterical
state, laughing convulsively at nothing and everything.
Her eyes were blazing, and her cheeks showed two bright
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red spots against the white. The melancholy appearance of
some of her guests seemed to add to her sarcastic humour,
and perhaps the very cynicism and cruelty of the game
proposed by Ferdishenko pleased her. At all events she was
attracted by the idea, and gradually her guests came round
to her side; the thing was origi nal, at least, and might turn
out to be amusing. ?And su pposing it?s something that
one?one can?t speak about before ladies?? asked the timid
and silent young man.
?Why, then of course, you won?t say anything about it.
As if there are not plenty of sins to your score without the
need of those!? said Ferdishenko.
?But I really don?t know which of my actions is the
worst,? said the lively actress.
?Ladies are exempted if they like.?
?And how are you to know that one isn?t lying? And if
one lies the whole point of the game is lost,? said Gania.
?Oh, but think how delightful to hear how one?s
friends lie! Besides you n eedn?t be afraid, Gania;
everybody knows what your worst action is without the
need of any lying on your part. Only think, gentlemen,??
and Ferdishenko here grew quite enthusiastic, ?only think
with what eyes we shall observe one another tomorrow,
after our tales have been told!?
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?But surely this is a joke, Nastasia Philipovna?? asked
Totski. ?You don?t really mean us to play this game.?
?Whoever is afraid of wolves had better not go into the
wood,? said Nastasia, smiling.
?But, pardon me, Mr. Ferdishenko, is it possible to
make a game out of this kind of thing?? persisted Totski,
growing more and more uneasy. ?I assure you it can?t be a
success.?
?And why not? Why, the last time I simply told straight
off about how I stole three roubles.?
?Perhaps so; but it is hardly po ssible that you told it so
that it seemed like truth, or so that you were believed.
And, as Gavrila Ardalionovit ch has said, the least
suggestion of a falsehood takes al l point out of the game. It
seems to me that sincerity, on the other hand, is only
possible if combined with a kind of bad taste that would
be utterly out of place here.?
?How subtle you are, Afanasy Ivanovitch! You astonish
me,? cried Ferdishenko. ?You will remark, gentleman, that
in saying that I could not rec ount the story of my theft so
as to be believed, Afanasy Ivanovitch has very ingeniously
implied that I am not capable of thieving?(it would have
been bad taste to say so openly); and all the time he is
probably firmly convinced, in his own mind, that I am
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very well capable of it! But now, gentlemen, to business!
Put in your slips, ladies and gentlemen?is yours in, Mr.
Totski? So?then we are all ready; now prince, draw,
please.? The prince silently put his hand into the hat, and
drew the names. Ferdishenko was first, then Ptitsin, then
the general, Totski next, his own fifth, then Gania, and so
on; the ladies did not draw.
?Oh, dear! oh, dear!? cried Ferdishenko. ?I did so hope
the prince would come out first, and then the general.
Well, gentlemen, I suppose I must set a good example!
What vexes me much is that I am such an insignificant
creature that it ma tters nothing to an ybody whether I have
done bad actions or not! Besides, which am I to choose?
It?s an embarras de richesse. Shall I tell how I became a
thief on one occasion only, to convince Afanasy
Ivanovitch that it is possible to steal without being a thief??
?Do go on, Ferdishenko, and don?t make unnecessary
preface, or you?ll never fini sh,? said Nastasia Philipovna.
All observed how irritable and cross she had become since
her last burst of laughter; but none the less obstinately did
she stick to her absurd whim about this new game. Totski
sat looking miserable enough. The general lingered over
his champagne, and seemed to be thinking of some story
for the time when his turn should come.
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XIV
?I have no wit, Nastasia Philipovna,? began
Ferdishenko, ?and therefore I talk too much, perhaps.
Were I as witty, now, as Mr. Totski or the general, I
should probably have sat silent all the evening, as they
have. Now, prince, what do you think??are there not far
more thieves than honest men in this world? Don?t you
think we may say there does not exist a single person so
honest that he has never stole n anything whatever in his
life??
?What a silly idea,? said the actress. ?Of course it is not
the case. I have never stolen anything, for one.?
?H?m! very well, Daria Alexeyevna; you have not
stolen anything? agreed. But how about the prince,
now?look how he is blushing!?
?I think you are partially right, but you exaggerate,? said
the prince, who had certainly blushed up, of a sudden, for
some reason or other.
?Ferdishenko?either tell us your story, or be quiet, and
mind your own business. You exhaust all patience,?
cuttingly and irritably remarked Nastasia Philipovna.
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?Immediately, immediately! As for my story,
gentlemen, it is too stupid and absurd to tell you.
?I assure you I am not a thie f, and yet I have stolen; I
cannot explain why. It was at Semeon Ivanovitch
Ishenka?s country house, one Sunday. He had a dinner
party. After dinner the men stayed at the table over their
wine. It struck me to ask the daughter of the house to play
something on the piano; so I passed through the corner
room to join the ladies. In that room, on Maria Ivanovna?s
writing-table, I observed a three-rouble note. She must
have taken it out for some purpose, and left it lying there.
There was no one about. I took up the note and put it in
my pocket; why, I can?t say. I don?t know what possessed
me to do it, but it was done , and I went quickly back to
the dining-room and reseated myself at the dinner-table. I
sat and waited there in a great state of excitement. I talked
hard, and told lots of stories, and laughed like mad; then I
joined the ladies.
?In half an hour or so the loss was discovered, and the
servants were being put under examination. Daria, the
housemaid was suspected. I exhibited the greatest interest
and sympathy, and I remember that poor Daria quite lost
her head, and that I began a ssuring her, before everyone,
that I would guarantee her forgiveness on the part of her
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mistress, if she would confess her guilt. They all stared at
the girl, and I remember a wonderful attraction in the
reflection that here was I sermonizing away, with the
money in my own pocket all the while. I went and spent
the three roubles that very evening at a restaurant. I went
in and asked for a bottle of Lafite, and drank it up; I
wanted to be rid of the money.
?I did not feel much remorse either then or afterwards;
but I would not repeat the performance?believe it or not
as you please. There?that?s all.?
?Only, of course that?s not nearly your worst action,?
said the actress, with evident dislike in her face.
?That was a psychological ph enomenon, not an action,?
remarked Totski.
?And what about the maid?? asked Nastasia Philipovna,
with undisguised contempt.
?Oh, she was turned out next day, of course. It?s a very
strict household, there!?
?And you allowed it??
?I should think so, rather! I was not going to return and
confess next day,? laughed Ferdishenko, who seemed a
little surprised at the disagreeable impression which his
story had made on all parties.
?How mean you were!? said Nastasia.
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?Bah! you wish to hear a man tell of his worst actions,
and you expect the story to come out goody-goody!
One?s worst actions always are mean. We shall see what
the general has to say for himse lf now. All is not gold that
glitters, you know; and because a man keeps his carriage
he need not be specially virt uous, I assure you, all sorts of
people keep carriages. And by what means??
In a word, Ferdishenko was very angry and rapidly
forgetting himself; his whole face was drawn with passion.
Strange as it may appear, he had expected much better
success for his story. These little errors of taste on
Ferdishenko?s part occurred very frequently. Nastasia
trembled with rage, and looked fixedly at him, whereupon
he relapsed into alarmed silence. He realized that he had
gone a little too far.
?Had we not better end th is game?? asked Totski.
?It?s my turn, but I plead exemption,? said Ptitsin.
?You don?t care to oblige us?? asked Nastasia.
?I cannot, I assure you. I confess I do not understand
how anyone can play this game.?
?Then, general, it?s your turn,? continued Nastasia
Philipovna, ?and if you refuse, the whole game will fall
through, which will disappoint me very much, for I was
looking forward to relating a certain ?page of my own life.?
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I am only waiting for you and Afanasy Ivanovitch to have
your turns, for I require the support of your example,? she
added, smiling.
?Oh, if you put it in that way ? cried the general,
excitedly, ?I?m ready to tell th e whole story of my life, but
I must confess that I prepared a little story in anticipation
of my turn.?
Nastasia smiled amiably at him; but evidently her
depression and irritability were increasing with every
moment. Totski was dreadfu lly alarmed to hear her
promise a revelation out of her own life.
?I, like everyone else,? began the general, ?have
committed certain not altogether graceful actions, so to
speak, during the course of my life. But the strangest thing
of all in my case is, that I should consider the little
anecdote which I am now about to give you as a
confession of the worst of my ?bad actions.? It is thirty-five
years since it all happened, and yet I cannot to this very
day recall the circumstances without, as it were, a sudden
pang at the heart.
?It was a silly affair?I was an ensign at the time. You
know ensigns?their blood is boiling water, their
circumstances generally penur ious. Well, I had a servant
Nikifor who used to do everyt hing for me in my quarters,
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economized and managed for me, and even laid hands on
anything he could find (belonging to other people), in
order to augment our household goods; but a faithful,
honest fellow all the same.
?I was strict, but just by nature. At that time we were
stationed in a small town. I was quartered at an old
widow?s house, a lieutenant?s widow of eighty years of
age. She lived in a wretched little wooden house, and had
not even a servant, so poor was she.
?Her relations had all died off?her husband was dead
and buried forty years since; and a niece, who had lived
with her and bullied her up to three years ago, was dead
too; so that she was quite alone.
?Well, I was precious dull with her, especially as she
was so childish that there was nothing to be got out of
her. Eventually, she stole a fowl of mine; the business is a
mystery to this day; but it could have been no one but
herself. I requested to be quartered somewhere else, and
was shifted to the other end of the town, to the house of a
merchant with a large family, and a long beard, as I
remember him. Nikifor and I were delighted to go; but
the old lady was not pleased at our departure.
?Well, a day or two afterwards, when I returned from
drill, Nikifor says to me: ?We oughtn?t to have left our
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tureen with the old lady, I?ve nothing to serve the soup
in.?
?I asked how it came about that the tureen had been
left. Nikifor explained that the old lady refused to give it
up, because, she said, we had broken her bowl, and she
must have our tureen in place of it; she had declared that I
had so arranged the matter with herself.
?This baseness on her part of course aroused my young
blood to fever heat; I jump ed up, and away I flew.
?I arrived at the old woman?s house beside myself. She
was sitting in a corner all alone, leaning her face on her
hand. I fell on her like a clap of thunder. ?You old
wretch!? I yelled and all that so rt of thing, in real Russian
style. Well, when I began cursin g at her, a strange thing
happened. I looked at her, and she stared back with her
eyes starting out of her head, but she did not say a word.
She seemed to sway about as she sat, and looked and
looked at me in the strangest way. Well, I soon stopped
swearing and looked closer at her, asked her questions, but
not a word could I get out of her. The flies were buzzing
about the room and only this sound broke the silence; the
sun was setting outside; I didn?t know what to make of it,
so I went away.
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?Before I reached home I was met and summoned to
the major?s, so that it was some while before I actually got
there. When I came in, Niki for met me. ?Have you heard,
sir, that our old lady is dead?? ?DEAD, when?? ?Oh, an
hour and a half ago.? That meant nothing more nor less
than that she was dying at the moment when I pounced
on her and began abusing her.
?This produced a great effect upon me. I used to dream
of the poor old woman at nights. I really am not
superstitious, but two days after, I went to her funeral, and
as time went on I thought more and more about her. I
said to myself, ?This woman, this human being, lived to a
great age. She had children, a husband and family, friends
and relations; her household was busy and cheerful; she
was surrounded by smiling faces; and then suddenly they
are gone, and she is left alone like a solitary fly ... like a fly,
cursed with the burden of her ag e. At last, God calls her to
Himself. At sunset, on a lovely summer?s evening, my
little old woman passes away?a thought, you will notice,
which offers much food for reflection?and behold!
instead of tears and prayers to start her on her last journey,
she has insults and jeers from a young ensign, who stands
before her with his hands in his pockets, making a terrible
row about a soup tureen!? Of course I was to blame, and
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even now that I have time to look back at it calmly, I pity
the poor old thing no less. I repeat that I wonder at
myself, for after all I was not really responsible. Why did
she take it into her head to die at that moment? But the
more I thought of it, the more I felt the weight of it upon
my mind; and I never got quite rid of the impression until
I put a couple of old women into an almshouse and kept
them there at my own expense. There, that?s all. I repeat I
dare say I have committed many a grievous sin in my day;
but I cannot help always looking back upon this as the
worst action I have ever perpetrated.?
?H?m! and instead of a bad action, your excellency has
detailed one of your noblest deeds,? said Ferdishenko.
?Ferdishenko is ?done.??
?Dear me, general,? said Nastasi a Philipovna, absently, ?I
really never imagined you had such a good heart.?
The general laughed with grea t satisfaction, and applied
himself once more to the champagne.
It was now Totski?s turn, and his story was awaited
with great curiosity?while all eyes turned on Nastasia
Philipovna, as though anticipating that his revelation must
be connected somehow with h er. Nastasia, during the
whole of his story, pulled at the lace trimming of her
sleeve, and never once glanced at the speaker. Totski was a
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handsome man, rather stout, with a very polite and
dignified manner. He was always well dressed, and his
linen was exquisite. He had plump white hands, and wore
a magnificent diamond ring on one finger.
?What simplifies the duty before me considerably, in
my opinion,? he began, ?is th at I am bound to recall and
relate the very worst action of my life. In such
circumstances there can, of course, be no doubt. One?s
conscience very soon informs one what is the proper
narrative to tell. I admit, that among the many silly and
thoughtless actions of my life, the memory of one comes
prominently forward and reminds me that it lay long like a
stone on my heart. Some twenty years since, I paid a visit
to Platon Ordintzeff at his country-house. He had just
been elected marshal of th e nobility, and had come there
with his young wife for the winter holidays. Anfisa
Alexeyevna?s birthday came off just then, too, and there
were two balls arranged. At that time Dumas-fils? beautiful
work, La Dame aux Camelias?a novel which I consider
imperishable?had just come into fashion. In the
provinces all the ladies were in raptures over it, those who
had read it, at least. Camellias were all the fashion.
Everyone inquired for them, everybody wanted them; and
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a grand lot of camellias are to be got in a country town?
as you all know?and two balls to provide for!
?Poor Peter Volhofskoi was desperately in love with
Anfisa Alexeyevna. I don?t know whether there was
anything?I mean I don?t know whether he could
possibly have indulged in any hope. The poor fellow was
beside himself to get her a bouquet of camellias. Countess
Sotski and Sophia Bespalova, as everyone knew, were
coming with white camellia bouquets. Anfisa wished for
red ones, for effect. Well, her husband Platon was driven
desperate to find some. And the day before the ball,
Anfisa?s rival snapped up the only red camellias to be had
in the place, from under Platon?s nose, and Platon?
wretched man?was done for. Now if Peter had only
been able to step in at this moment with a red bouquet,
his little hopes might have made gigantic strides. A
woman?s gratitude under such circumstances would have
been boundless?but it was practically an impossibility.
?The night before the ball I met Peter, looking radiant.
?What is it?? I ask. ?I?ve f ound them, Eureka!? ?No! where,
where?? ?At Ekshaisk (a little town fifteen miles off) there?
s
a rich old merchant, who keeps a lot of canaries, has no
children, and he and his wife a re devoted to flowers. He?s
got some camellias.’ ?And what if he won?t let
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you have them?? ?I?ll go on my knees and implore till I get
them. I won?t go away.? ?When shall you start??
?Tomorrow morning at five o?clock.? ?Go on,? I said, ?
and
good luck to you.?
?I was glad for the poor fellow, and went home. But an
idea got hold of me somehow. I don?t know how. It was
nearly two in the morning. I rang the bell and ordered the
coachman to be waked up and sent to me. He came. I
gave him a tip of fifteen roubles, and told him to get the
carriage ready at once. In half an hour it was at the door. I
got in and off we went.
?By five I drew up at the Ek shaisky inn. I waited there
till dawn, and soon after six I was off, and at the old
merchant Trepalaf?s.
??Camellias!? I said, ?father, save me, save me, let me
have some camellias!? He was a tall, grey old man?a
terrible-looking old gentleman. ?Not a bit of it,? he says. ?I
won?t.? Down I went on my knees. ?Don?t say so, don?t?
think what you?re doing!? I cr ied; ?it?s a matter of life and
death!? ?If that?s the case, take them,? says he. So up I get,
and cut such a bouquet of red camellias! He had a whole
greenhouse full of them?lovely ones. The old fellow
sighs. I pull out a hundred roubles. ?No, no!? says he,
?don?t insult me that way.? ?Oh, if that?s the case, give it to
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the village hospital,? I say. ?Ah,? he says, ?that?s quite a
different matter; that?s good of you and generous. I?ll pay
it in there for you with pleasure.? I liked that old fellow,
Russian to the core, de la vr aie souche. I went home in
raptures, but took another road in order to avoid Peter.
Immediately on arriving I sent up the bouquet for Anfisa
to see when she awoke.
?You may imagine her ecstasy, her gratitude. The
wretched Platon, who had almost died since yesterday of
the reproaches showered upon him, wept on my shoulder.
Of course poor Peter had no chance after this.
?I thought he would cut my throat at first, and went
about armed ready to meet him. But he took it differently;
he fainted, and had brain feve r and convulsions. A month
after, when he had hardly recov ered, he went off to the
Crimea, and there he was shot.
?I assure you this business le ft me no peace for many a
long year. Why did I do it? I was not in love with her
myself; I?m afraid it was simply mischief?pure
?cussedness? on my part.
?If I hadn?t seized that bouquet from under his nose he
might have been alive now, and a happy man. He might
have been successful in life, and never have gone to fight
the Turks.?
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Totski ended his tale with the same dignity that had
characterized its commencement.
Nastasia Philipovna?s eyes were flashing in a most
unmistakable way, now; and her lips were all a-quiver by
the time Totski finished his story.
All present watched both of them with curiosity.
?You were right, Totski,? said Na stasia, ?it is a dull game
and a stupid one. I?ll just tell my story, as I promised, and
then we?ll play cards.?
?Yes, but let?s have the story first!? cried the general.
?Prince,? said Nastasia Philipovna, unexpectedly turning
to Muishkin, ?here are my old friends, Totski and General
Epanchin, who wish to marry me off. Tell me what you
think. Shall I marry or not? As you decide, so shall it be.?
Totski grew white as a sheet. The general was struck
dumb. All present started and listened intently. Gania sat
rooted to his chair.
?Marry whom?? asked the prince, faintly.
?Gavrila Ardalionovitch Ivolgin,? said Nastasia, firmly
and evenly.
There were a few seconds of dead silence.
The prince tried to spea k, but could not form his
words; a great weight seemed to lie upon his breast and
suffocate him.
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?N-no! don?t marry him!? he whispered at last, drawing
his breath with an effort.
?So be it, then. Gavrila Ardalionovitch,? she spoke
solemnly and forcibly, ?you he ar the prince?s decision?
Take it as my decision; and let that be the end of the
matter for good and all.?
?Nastasia Philipovna!? cried Totski, in a quaking voice.
?Nastasia Philipovna!? said the general, in persuasive but
agitated tones.
Everyone in the room fidgeted in their places, and
waited to see what was coming next.
?Well, gentlemen!? she continued, gazing around in
apparent astonishment; ?what do you all look so alarmed
about? Why are you so upset??
?But?recollect, Nastasia Philipovna.? stammered
Totski, ?you gave a promise, quite a free one, and?and
you might have spared us this. I am confused and
bewildered, I know; but, in a word, at such a moment,
and before company, and all so-so-irregular, finishing off a
game with a serious matter like this, a matter of honour,
and of heart, and??
?I don?t follow you, Afanasy Ivanovitch; you are losing
your head. In the first place, what do you mean by ?before
company?? Isn?t the company good enough for you? And
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what?s all that about ?a game?? I wished to tell my little
story, and I told it! Don?t you like it? You heard what I
said to the prince? ?As you decide, so it shall be!? If he had
said ?yes,? I should have given my consent! But he said
?no,? so I refused. Here was my whole life hanging on his
one word! Surely I was serious enough??
?The prince! What on earth has the prince got to do
with it? Who the deuce is the prince?? cried the general,
who could conceal his wrath no longer.
?The prince has this to do with it?that I see in him.
for the first time in all my life, a man endowed with real
truthfulness of spirit, and I trust him. He trusted me at first
sight, and I trust him!?
?It only remains for me, then, to thank Nastasia
Philipovna for the great delicacy with which she has
treated me,? said Gania, as pale as death, and with
quivering lips. ?That is my pla in duty, of course; but the
prince?what has he to do in the matter??
?I see what you are driving at,? said Nastasia Philipovna.
?You imply that the prince is after the seventy-five
thousand roubles ?I quite understand you. Mr. Totski, I
forgot to say, ?Take your seventy-five thousand roubles??
I don?t want them. I let you go free for nothing take your
freedom! You must need it. Ni ne years and three months?
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captivity is enough for anybody. Tomorrow I shall start
afresh?today I am a free agent for the first time in my
life.
?General, you must take your pearls back, too?give
them to your wife?here they are! Tomorrow I shall leave
this flat altogether, and then there?ll be no more of these
pleasant little social gatherings, ladies and gentlemen.?
So saying, she scornfully rose from her seat as though to
depart.
?Nastasia Philipovna! Nastasia Philipovna!?
The words burst involuntarily from every mouth. All
present started up in bewildered excitement; all
surrounded her; all had listened uneasily to her wild,
disconnected sentences. All felt that something had
happened, something had gone very far wrong indeed, but
no one could make head or tail of the matter.
At this moment there was a furious ring at the bell, and
a great knock at the door?exactly similar to the one
which had startled the company at Gania?s house in the
afternoon.
?Ah, ah! here?s the climax at last, at half-past twelve!?
cried Nastasia Philipovna. ?Sit down, gentlemen, I beg
you. Something is about to happen.?
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So saying, she reseated herself; a strange smile played on
her lips. She sat quite still, but watched the door in a fever
of impatience.
?Rogojin and his hundred thousand roubles, no doubt
of it,? muttered Ptitsin to himself.
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XV
Katia, the maid-servant, made her appearance, terribly
frightened.
?Goodness knows what it means, ma?am,? she said.
?There is a whole collection of men come?all tipsy?and
want to see you. They say that ?it?s Rogojin, and she
knows all about it.??
?It?s all right, Katia, let them all in at once.?
?Surely not ALL, ma?am? They seem so disorderly?it?s
dreadful to see them.?
?Yes ALL, Katia, all?every one of them. Let them in,
or they?ll come in whether you like or no. Listen! what a
noise they are making! Perhaps you are offended,
gentlemen, that I should recei ve such guests in your
presence? I am very sorry, and ask your forgiveness, but it
cannot be helped?and I should be very grateful if you
could all stay and witness this climax. However, just as
you please, of course.?
The guests exchanged glances; they were annoyed and
bewildered by the episode; but it was clear enough that all
this had been pre- arranged and expected by Nastasia
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Philipovna, and that there was no use in trying to stop her
now?for she was little short of insane.
Besides, they were naturally inquisitive to see what was
to happen. There was nobody who would be likely to feel
much alarm. There were but two ladies present; one of
whom was the lively actress, who was not easily
frightened, and the other the silent German beauty who, it
turned out, did not understand a word of Russian, and
seemed to be as stupid as she was lovely.
Her acquaintances invited her to their ?At Homes?
because she was so decorative. She was exhibited to their
guests like a valuable picture, or vase, or statue, or
firescreen. As for the men, Ptitsin was one of Rogojin?s
friends; Ferdishenko was as mu ch at home as a fish in the
sea, Gania, not yet recov ered from his amazement,
appeared to be chained to a pillory. The old professor did
not in the least understand what was happening; but when
he noticed how extremely agitated the mistress of the
house, and her friends, seem ed, he nearly wept, and
trembled with fright: but he would rather have died than
leave Nastasia Philipovna at such a crisis, for he loved her
as if she were his own granddaughter. Afanasy Ivanovitch
greatly disliked having anything to do with the affair, but
he was too much interested to leave, in spite of the mad
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turn things had taken; and a few words that had dropped
from the lips of Nastasia puzzled him so much, that he felt
he could not go without an explanation. He resolved
therefore, to see it out, and to adopt the attitude of silent
spectator, as most suited to his dignity. Genera Epanchin
alone determined to depart. He was annoyed at the
manner in which his gift had been returned, an though he
had condescended, under the influence of passion, to place
himself on a level with Ptitsin and Ferdishenko, his self-
respect and sense of duty now returned together with a
consciousness of what was due to his social rank and
official importance. In short, he plainly showed his
conviction that a man in his position could have nothing
to do with Rogojin and his companions. But Nastasia
interrupted him at his first words.
?Ah, general!? she cried, ?I was forgetting! If I had only
foreseen this unpleasantness! I won?t insist on keeping you
against your will, although I should have liked you to be
beside me now. In any case, I am most grateful to you for
your visit, and flattering attention ? but if you are afraid
??
?Excuse me, Nastasia Philipovna,? interrupted the
general, with chivalric generosity. ?To whom are you
speaking? I have remained until now simply because of my
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devotion to you, and as for danger, I am only afraid that
the carpets may be ruined, and the furniture smashed! ?
You should shut the door on the lot, in my opinion. But I
confess that I am extremely cu rious to see how it ends.?
?Rogojin!? announced Ferdishenko.
?What do you think about it?? said the general in a low
voice to Totski. ?Is she mad? I mean mad in the medical
sense of the word .? eh??
?I?ve always said she was p redisposed to it,? whispered
Afanasy Ivanovitch slyly. ?Perhaps it is a fever!?
Since their visit to Gania?s home, Rogojin?s followers
had been increased by two new recruits?a dissolute old
man, the hero of some ancient scandal, and a retired sub-
lieutenant. A laughable story was told of the former. He
possessed, it was said, a set of false teeth, and one day
when he wanted money for a drinking orgy, he pawned
them, and was never able to reclaim them! The officer
appeared to be a rival of th e gentleman who was so proud
of his fists. He was known to none of Rogojin?s followers,
but as they passed by the Nevsky, where he stood begging,
he had joined their ranks. His claim for the charity he
desired seemed based on the fact that in the days of his
prosperity he had given away as much as fifteen roubles at
a time. The rivals seemed more than a little jealous of one
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another. The athlete appeared injured at the admission of
the ?beggar? into the company. By nature taciturn, he now
merely growled occasionally like a bear, and glared
contemptuously upon the ?beggar,? who, being somewhat
of a man of the world, and a diplomatist, tried to insinuate
himself into the bear?s good graces. He was a much smaller
man than the athlete, and doubtless was conscious that he
must tread warily. Gently and without argument he
alluded to the advantages of the English style in boxing,
and showed himself a firm belie ver in Western institutions.
The athlete?s lips curled disdainfully, and without
honouring his adversary with a formal denial, he
exhibited, as if by accident, that peculiarly Russian
object?an enormous fist, clenched, muscular, and
covered with red hairs! The sight of this pre-eminently
national attribute was enough to convince anybody,
without words, that it was a serious matter for those who
should happen to come into contact with it.
None of the band were very drunk, for the leader had
kept his intended visit to Nastasia in view all day, and had
done his best to prevent his followers from drinking too
much. He was sober himself, but the excitement of this
chaotic day?the strangest day of his life?had affected
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him so that he was in a dazed, wild condition, which
almost resembled drunkenness.
He had kept but one idea before him all day, and for
that he had worked in an ag ony of anxiety and a fever of
suspense. His lieutenants had worked so hard from five
o?clock until eleven, that they actually had collected a
hundred thousand roubles for hi m, but at such terrific
expense, that the rate of interest was only mentioned
among them in whispers and with bated breath.
As before, Rogojin walked in advance of his troop,
who followed him with ming led self-assertion and
timidity. They were specially frightened of Nastasia
Philipovna herself, for some reason.
Many of them expected to be thrown downstairs at
once, without further ceremony, the elegant arid
irresistible Zaleshoff among them . But the party led by the
athlete, without openly showing their hostile intentions,
silently nursed contempt and even hatred for Nastasia
Philipovna, and marched into her house as they would
have marched into an enemy?s fortress. Arrived there, the
luxury of the rooms seemed to inspire them with a kind of
respect, not unmixed with alarm. So many things were
entirely new to their experience?the choice furniture,
the pictures, the great statu e of Venus. They followed
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their chief into the salon, however, with a kind of
impudent curiosity. There, the sight of General Epanchin
among the guests, caused many of them to beat a hasty
retreat into the adjoining r oom, the ?boxer? and ?beggar?
being among the first to go. A few only, of whom
Lebedeff made one, stood their ground; he had contrived
to walk side by side with Rogo jin, for he quite understood
the importance of a man who had a fortune of a million
odd roubles, and who at this moment carried a hundred
thousand in his hand. It may be added that the whole
company, not excepting Lebede ff, had the vaguest idea of
the extent of their powers, and of how far they could
safely go. At some moments Lebedeff was sure that right
was on their side; at others he tried uneasily to remember
various cheering and reassuring articles of the Civil Code.
Rogojin, when he stepped into the room, and his eyes
fell upon Nastasia, stopped short, grew white as a sheet,
and stood staring; it was clea r that his heart was beating
painfully. So he stood, gazing intently, but timidly, for a
few seconds. Suddenly, as t hough bereft of his senses, he
moved forward, staggering helplessly, towards the table.
On his way he collided against Ptitsin?s chair, and put his
dirty foot on the lace skirt of the silent lady?s dress; but he
neither apologized for th is, nor even noticed it.
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On reaching the table, he placed upon it a strange-
looking object, which he had carried with him into the
drawing-room. This was a paper packet, some six or seven
inches thick, and eight or nine in length, wrapped in an
old newspaper, and tied round three or four times with
string.
Having placed this before her, he stood with drooped
arms and head, as though awaiting his sentence.
His costume was the same as it had been in the
morning, except for a new silk handkerchief round his
neck, bright green and red, fastened with a huge diamond
pin, and an enormous diamond ring on his dirty
forefinger.
Lebedeff stood two or three pa ces behind his chief; and
the rest of the band waited about near the door.
The two maid-servants were both peeping in,
frightened and amazed at this unusual and disorderly scene.
?What is that?? asked Nastasia Philipovna, gazing
intently at Rogojin, and indicating the paper packet.
?A hundred thousand,? replied the latter, almost in a
whisper.
?Oh! so he kept his word?there?s a man for you! Well,
sit down, please?take that chai r. I shall have something to
say to you presently. Who are all these with you? The
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same party? Let them come in and sit down. There?s room
on that sofa, there are some chairs and there?s another sofa!
Well, why don?t they sit down??
Sure enough, some of the brave fellows entirely lost
their heads at this point, and retreated into the next room.
Others, however, took the hint and sat down, as far as
they could from the table, however; feeling braver in
proportion to their distance from Nastasia.
Rogojin took the chair offered him, but he did not sit
long; he soon stood up again, and did not reseat himself.
Little by little he began to look around him and discern
the other guests. Seeing Gania, he smiled venomously and
muttered to himself, ?Look at that!?
He gazed at Totski and the general with no apparent
confusion, and with very little curiosity. But when he
observed that the prince was seated beside Nastasia
Philipovna, he could not take his eyes off him for a long
while, and was clearly amazed. He could not account for
the prince?s presence there. It was not in the least
surprising that Rogojin should be, at this time, in a more
or less delirious condition; for not to speak of the
excitements of the day, he had spent the night before in
the train, and had not slept more than a wink for forty-
eight hours.
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?This, gentlemen, is a hundred thousand roubles,? said
Nastasia Philipovna, addressing the company in general,
?here, in this dirty parcel. This afternoon Rogojin yelled,
like a madman, that he would bring me a hundred
thousand in the evening, and I have been waiting for him
all the while. He was bargaining for me, you know; first
he offered me eighteen thousan d; then he rose to forty,
and then to a hundred thousand. And he has kept his
word, see! My goodness, how white he is! All this
happened this afternoon, at Gania?s. I had gone to pay his
mother a visit?my future family, you know! And his
sister said to my very face, surely somebody will turn this
shameless creature out. After wh ich she spat in her brother
Gania?s face?a girl of character, that!?
?Nastasia Philipovna!? began the general, reproachfully.
He was beginning to put his own interpretation on the
affair.
?Well, what, general? Not quite good form, eh? Oh,
nonsense! Here have I been sitting in my box at the
French theatre for the last five years like a statue of
inaccessible virtue, and kept out of the way of all admirers,
like a silly little idiot! Now, there?s this man, who comes
and pays down his hundred thousand on the table, before
you all, in spite of my five years of innocence and proud
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virtue, and I dare be sworn he has his sledge outside
waiting to carry me off. He values me at a hundred
thousand! I see you are still ang ry with me, Gania! Why,
surely you never really wished to take ME into your
family? ME, Rogojin?s mistress! What did the prince say
just now??
?I never said you were Rogojin?s mistress?you are
NOT!? said the prince, in trembling accents.
?Nastasia Philipovna, dear soul!? cried the actress,
impatiently, ?do be calm, dear! If it annoys you so?all
this?do go away and rest! Of course you would never go
with this wretched fellow, in spite of his hundred
thousand roubles! Take his m oney and kick him out of the
house; that?s the way to treat him and the likes of him!
Upon my word, if it were my business, I?d soon clear
them all out!?
The actress was a kind-hearted woman, and highly
impressionable. She was very angry now.
?Don?t be cross, Daria Alexeyevna!? laughed Nastasia. ?I
was not angry when I spoke; I wasn?t reproaching Gania. I
don?t know how it was that I ever could have indulged
the whim of entering an honest family like his. I saw his
mother?and kissed her hand, too. I came and stirred up
all that fuss, Gania, this af ternoon, on purpose to see how
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much you could swallow?you surprised me, my friend?
you did, indeed. Surely you could not marry a woman
who accepts pearls like those you knew the general was
going to give me, on the very eve of her marriage? And
Rogojin! Why, in your own house and before your own
brother and sister, he bargained with me! Yet you could
come here and expect to be betrothed to me before you
left the house! You almost brought your sister, too. Surely
what Rogojin said about you is not really true: that you
would crawl all the way to the other end of the town, on
hands and knees, for three roubles??
?Yes, he would!? said Rogojin, quietly, but with an air
of absolute conviction.
?H?m! and he receives a g ood salary, I?m told. Well,
what should you get but disgrac e and misery if you took a
wife you hated into your family (for I know very well that
you do hate me)? No, no! I believe now that a man like
you would murder anyone for money? sharpen a razor
and come up behind his best fr iend and cut his throat like
a sheep?I?ve read of such people. Everyone seems
money-mad nowadays. No, no! I may be shameless, but
you are far worse. I don?t sa y a word about that other??
?Nastasia Philipovna, is this really you? You, once so
refined and delicate of speech. Oh, what a tongue! What
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dreadful things you are saying,? cried the general, wringing
his hands in real grief.
?I am intoxicated, general. I am having a day out, you
know?it?s my birthday! I have long looked forward to
this happy occasion. Daria Alexeyevna, you see that
nosegay-man, that Monsieur aux Camelias, sitting there
laughing at us??
?I am not laughing, Nastasia Philipovna; I am only
listening with all my attention,? said Totski, with dignity.
?Well, why have I worried him, for five years, and
never let him go free? Is he wo rth it? He is only just what
he ought to be? nothing particular. He thinks I am to
blame, too. He gave me my education, kept me like a
countess. Money?my word! What a lot of money he
spent over me! And he tried to find me an honest husband
first, and then this Gania, here. And what do you think?
All these five years I did not live with him, and yet I took
his money, and considered I was quite justified.
?You say, take the hundred thousand and kick that man
out. It is true, it is an abomi nable business, as you say. I
might have married long ago, not Gania?Oh, no!?but
that would have been abominable too.
?Would you believe it, I had some thoughts of
marrying Totski, four years ago! I meant mischief, I
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confess?but I could have had him, I give you my word;
he asked me himself. But I thought, no! it?s not
worthwhile to take such advantage of him. No! I had
better go on to the streets, or accept Rogojin, or become
a washerwoman or something?for I have nothing of my
own, you know. I shall go away and leave everything
behind, to the last rag?he shall have it all back. And who
would take me without anything? Ask Gania, there,
whether he would. Why, even Ferdishenko wouldn?t have
me!?
?No, Ferdishenko would not; he is a candid fellow,
Nastasia Philipovna,? said that worthy. ?But the prince
would. You sit here making complaints, but just look at
the prince. I?ve been observing him for a long while.?
Nastasia Philipovna looked keenly round at the prince.
?Is that true?? she asked.
?Quite true,? whispered the prince.
?You?ll take me as I am, with nothing??
?I will, Nastasia Philipovna.?
?Here?s a pretty business!? cried the general. ?However,
it might have been expected of him.?
The prince continued to regard Nastasia with a
sorrowful, but intent and piercing, gaze.
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?Here?s another alternative for me,? said Nastasia,
turning once more to the actress; ?and he does it out of
pure kindness of heart. I know him. I?ve found a
benefactor. Perhaps, though, what they say about him may
be true?that he?s an?we know what. And what shall
you live on, if you are really so madly in love with
Rogojin?s mistress, that you are ready to marry her ?eh??
?I take you as a good, honest woman, Nastasia
Philipovna?not as Rogojin?s mistress.?
?Who? I??good and honest??
?Yes, you.?
?Oh, you get those ideas out of novels, you know.
Times are changed now, dear prince; the world sees things
as they really are. That?s all nonsense. Besides, how can
you marry? You need a nurse, not a wife.?
The prince rose and began to speak in a trembling,
timid tone, but with the air of a man absolutely sure of the
truth of his words.
?I know nothing, Nastasia Philipovna. I have seen
nothing. You are right so far; but I consider that you
would be honouring me, and not I you. I am a nobody.
You have suffered, you have passed through hell and
emerged pure, and that is very much. Why do you shame
yourself by desiring to go with Rogojin? You are
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delirious. You have returned to Mr. Totski his seventy-
five thousand roubles, and declared that you will leave this
house and all that is in it, wh ich is a line of conduct that
not one person here would imitate. Nastasia Philipovna, I
love you! I would die for you. I shall never let any man
say one word against you, Nastasia Philipovna! and if we
are poor, I can work for both.?
As the prince spoke these last words a titter was heard
from Ferdishenko; Lebedeff laughed too. The general
grunted with irritation; Ptitsin and Totski barely restrained
their smiles. The rest all sa t listening, open-mouthed with
wonder.
?But perhaps we shall not be poor; we may be very
rich, Nastasia Philipovna.? continued the prince, in the
same timid, quivering tones. ?I don?t know for certain, and
I?m sorry to say I haven?t had an opportunity of finding
out all day; but I received a letter from Moscow, while I
was in Switzerland, from a Mr. Salaskin, and he acquaints
me with the fact that I am entitled to a very large
inheritance. This letter??
The prince pulled a letter out of his pocket.
?Is he raving?? said the general. ?Are we really in a mad-
house??
There was silence for a moment. Then Ptitsin spoke.
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?I think you said, prince, that your letter was from
Salaskin? Salaskin is a very eminent man, indeed, in his
own world; he is a wonderfully clever solicitor, and if he
really tells you this, I think you may be pretty sure that he
is right. It so happens, luckily, that I know his
handwriting, for I have lately had business with him. If
you would allow me to see it, I should perhaps be able to
tell you.?
The prince held out the letter silently, but with a
shaking hand.
?What, what?? said the general, much agitated.
?What?s all this? Is he really heir to anything??
All present concentrated their attention upon Ptitsin,
reading the prince?s letter. The general curiosity had
received a new fillip. Ferdishe nko could not sit still.
Rogojin fixed his eyes first on the prince, and then on
Ptitsin, and then back again; he was extremely agitated.
Lebedeff could not stand it. He crept up and read over
Ptitsin?s shoulder, with the air of a naughty boy who
expects a box on the ear every moment for his
indiscretion.
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XVI
?It?s good business,? said Ptitsin, at last, folding the letter
and handing it back to the prince. ?You will receive,
without the slightest trouble, by the last will and testament
of your aunt, a very large sum of money indeed.?
?Impossible!? cried the genera l, starting up as if he had
been shot.
Ptitsin explained, for the benefit of the company, that
the prince?s aunt had died five months since. He had never
known her, but she was his mother?s own sister, the
daughter of a Moscow merchant, one Paparchin, who had
died a bankrupt. But the elder brother of this same
Paparchin, had been an emin ent and very rich merchant.
A year since it had so happened that his only two sons had
both died within the same month. This sad event had so
affected the old man that he, too, had died very shortly
after. He was a widower, and had no relations left,
excepting the prince?s aunt, a poor woman living on
charity, who was herself at th e point of death from dropsy;
but who had time, before she died, to set Salaskin to work
to find her nephew, and to make her will bequeathing her
newly-acquired fortune to him.
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It appeared that neither the prince, nor the doctor with
whom he lived in Switzerland, had thought of waiting for
further communications; but the prince had started straight
away with Salaskin?s letter in his pocket.
?One thing I may tell you, for certain,? concluded
Ptitsin, addressing the prin ce, ?that there is no question
about the authenticity of this matter. Anything that
Salaskin writes you as regards your unquestionable right to
this inheritance, you may look upon as so much money in
your pocket. I congratulate you, prince; you may receive a
million and a half of roubles, perhaps more; I don?t know.
All I DO know is that Paparchin was a very rich merchant
indeed.?
?Hurrah!? cried Lebedeff, in a drunken voice. ?Hurrah
for the last of the Muishkins!?
?My goodness me! and I gave him twenty-five roubles
this morning as though he were a beggar,? blurted out the
general, half senseless with amazement. ?Well, I
congratulate you, I congratulate you!? And the general
rose from his seat and solemnly embraced the prince. All
came forward with congratulations; even those of
Rogojin?s party who had retreated into the next room,
now crept softly back to look on. For the moment even
Nastasia Philipovna was forgotten.
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But gradually the consciousness crept back into the
minds of each one present that the prince had just made
her an offer of marriage. The situation had, therefore,
become three times as fantastic as before.
Totski sat and shrugged his shoulders, bewildered. He
was the only guest left sitting at this time; the others had
thronged round the table in disorder, and were all talking
at once.
It was generally agreed, afterwards, in recalling that
evening, that from this moment Nastasia Philipovna
seemed entirely to lose her se nses. She continued to sit still
in her place, looking around at her guests with a strange,
bewildered expression, as though she were trying to
collect her thoughts, and c ould not. Then she suddenly
turned to the prince, and glared at him with frowning
brows; but this only lasted one moment. Perhaps it
suddenly struck her that all this was a jest, but his face
seemed to reassure her. She reflected, and smiled again,
vaguely.
?So I am really a princess,? she whispered to herself,
ironically, and glancing accidentally at Daria Alexeyevna?s
face, she burst out laughing.
?Ha, ha, ha!? she cried, ?thi s is an unexpected climax,
after all. I didn?t expect this. What are you all standing up
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for, gentlemen? Sit down; congratulate me and the prince!
Ferdishenko, just step out and order some more
champagne, will you? Katia, Pasha,? she added suddenly,
seeing the servants at the d oor, ?come here! I?m going to
be married, did you hear? To the prince. He has a million
and a half of roubles; he is Prince Muishkin, and has asked
me to marry him. Here, prince, come and sit by me; and
here comes the wine. Now then, ladies and gentlemen,
where are your congratulations??
?Hurrah!? cried a number of voices. A rush was made
for the wine by Rogojin?s followers, though, even among
them, there seemed some so rt of realization that the
situation had changed. Rogojin stood and looked on, with
an incredulous smile, screwing up one side of his mouth.
?Prince, my dear fellow, do remember what you are
about,? said the general, approaching Muishkin, and
pulling him by the coat sleeve.
Nastasia Philipovna overheard the remark, and burst
out laughing.
?No, no, general!? she cried. ?You had better look out! I
am the princess now, you know. The prince won?t let you
insult me. Afanasy Ivanovitch, why don?t you congratulate
me? I shall be able to sit at table with your new wife, now.
Aha! you see what I gain by marrying a prince! A million
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and a half, and a prince, and an idiot into the bargain, they
say. What better could I wish for? Life is only just about to
commence for me in earnest. Rogojin, you are a little too
late. Away with your paper parcel! I?m going to marry the
prince; I?m richer than you are now.?
But Rogojin understood how things were tending, at
last. An inexpressibly painful expression came over his
face. He wrung his hands; a groan made its way up from
the depths of his soul.
?Surrender her, for God?s sake!? he said to the prince.
All around burst out laughing.
?What? Surrender her to YOU?? cried Daria
Alexeyevna. ?To a fellow who comes and bargains for a
wife like a moujik! The prince wishes to marry her, and
you??
?So do I, so do I! This moment, if I could! I?d give
every farthing I have to do it.?
?You drunken moujik,? said Daria Alexeyevna, once
more. ?You ought to be kicked out of the place.?
The laughter became louder than ever.
?Do you hear, prince?? sa id Nastasia Philipovna. ?Do
you hear how this moujik of a fellow goes on bargaining
for your bride??
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?He is drunk,? said the prince, quietly, ?and he loves
you very much.?
?Won?t you be ashamed, afterwards, to reflect that your
wife very nearly ran away with Rogojin??
?Oh, you were raving, you were in a fever; you are still
half delirious.?
?And won?t you be ashamed when they tell you,
afterwards, that your wife liv ed at Totski?s expense so
many years??
?No; I shall not be ashame d of that. You did not so live
by your own will.?
?And you?ll never reproach me with it??
?Never.?
?Take care, don?t commit yourself for a whole lifetime.?
?Nastasia Philipovna.? said the prince, quietly, and with
deep emotion, ?I said before that I shall esteem your
consent to be my wife as a great honour to myself, and
shall consider that it is you who will honour me, not I
you, by our marriage. You laughed at these words, and
others around us laughed as well; I heard them. Very
likely I expressed myself funn ily, and I may have looked
funny, but, for all that, I believe I understand where
honour lies, and what I said was but the literal truth. You
were about to ruin yourself just now, irrevocably; you
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would never have forgiven yourself for so doing
afterwards; and yet, you are absolutely blameless. It is
impossible that your life should be altogether ruined at
your age. What matter that Ro gojin came bargaining here,
and that Gavrila Ardalionovitch would have deceived you
if he could? Why do you continually remind us of these
facts? I assure you once more that very few could find it in
them to act as you have acted this day. As for your wish to
go with Rogojin, that was simply the idea of a delirious
and suffering brain. You are still quite feverish; you ought
to be in bed, not here. You know quite well that if you
had gone with Rogojin, you would have become a
washer-woman next day, rather than stay with him. You
are proud, Nastasia Philipovna, and perhaps you have
really suffered so much that you imagine yourself to be a
desperately guilty woman. You require a great deal of
petting and looking after, Nastasia Philipovna, and I will
do this. I saw your portrait this morning, and it seemed
quite a familiar face to me; it seemed to me that the
portrait- face was calling to me for help. I-I shall respect
you all my life, Nastasia Philipovna,? concluded the prince,
as though suddenly recollecting himself, and blushing to
think of the sort of company before whom he had said all
this.
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Ptitsin bowed his head and looked at the ground,
overcome by a mixture of f eelings. Totski muttered to
himself: ?He may be an idiot, but he knows that flattery is
the best road to success here.?
The prince observed Gania?s eyes flashing at him, as
though they would gladly annihilate him then and there.
?That?s a kind-hearted man, if you like,? said Daria
Alexeyevna, whose wrath was quickly evaporating.
?A refined man, but?lost ,? murmured the general.
Totski took his hat and rose to go. He and the general
exchanged glances, making a private arrangement, thereby,
to leave the house together.
?Thank you, prince; no one has ever spoken to me like
that before,? began Nastasia Philipovna. ?Men have always
bargained for me, before this; and not a single respectable
man has ever proposed to marry me. Do you hear,
Afanasy Ivanovitch? What do YOU think of what the
prince has just been saying? It was almost immodest,
wasn?t it? You, Rogojin, wait a moment, don?t go yet! I
see you don?t intend to move however. Perhaps I may go
with you yet. Where did you mean to take me to??
?To Ekaterinhof,? replied Lebedeff. Rogojin simply
stood staring, with trembling lips, not daring to believe his
ears. He was stunned, as though from a blow on the head.
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?What are you thinking of, my dear Nastasia?? said
Daria Alexeyevna in alarm. ?What are you saying?? ?You
are not going mad, are you??
Nastasia Philipovna burst out laughing and jumped up
from the sofa.
?You thought I should accept this good child?s
invitation to ruin him, did you?? she cried. ?That?s Totski?s
way, not mine. He?s fond of children. Come along,
Rogojin, get your money re ady! We won?t talk about
marrying just at this moment, bu t let?s see the money at all
events. Come! I may not marry you, either. I don?t know.
I suppose you thought you?d keep the money, if I did! Ha,
ha, ha! nonsense! I have no sens e of shame left. I tell you I
have been Totski?s concubine. Prince, you must marry
Aglaya Ivanovna, not Nastasia Philipovna, or this fellow
Ferdishenko will always be pointing the finger of scorn at
you. You aren?t afraid, I know; but I should always be
afraid that I had ruined you, and that you would reproach
me for it. As for what you say about my doing you
honour by marrying you-well, Totski can tell you all
about that. You had your eye on Aglaya, Gania, you
know you had; and you might have married her if you
had not come bargaining. You are all like this. You should
choose, once for all, between disreputable women, and
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respectable ones, or you are sure to get mixed. Look at the
general, how he?s staring at me!?
?This is too horrible,? said the general, starting to his
feet. All were standing up now. Nastasia was absolutely
beside herself.
?I am very proud, in spite of what I am,? she continued.
?You called me ?perfection? just now, prince. A nice sort
of perfection to throw up a prince and a million and a half
of roubles in order to be able to boast of the fact
afterwards! What sort of a wife should I make for you,
after all I have said? Afanasy Ivanovitch, do you observe I
have really and truly thrown away a million of roubles?
And you thought that I should consider your wretched
seventy-five thousand, with Gania thrown in for a
husband, a paradise of bliss! Take your seventy-five
thousand back, sir; you did not reach the hundred
thousand. Rogojin cut a better dash than you did. I?ll
console Gania myself; I have an idea about that. But now I
must be off! I?ve been in pris on for ten years. I?m free at
last! Well, Rogojin, what are you waiting for? Let?s get
ready and go.?
?Come along!? shouted Rogojin, beside himself with
joy. ?Hey! all of you fellows! Wine! Round with it! Fill
the glasses!?
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?Get away!? he shouted frantically, observing that Daria
Alexeyevna was approaching to protest against Nastasia?s
conduct. ?Get away, she?s mine, everything?s mine! She?s a
queen, get away!?
He was panting with ecstasy. He walked round and
round Nastasia Philipovna and told everybody to ?keep
their distance.?
All the Rogojin company were now collected in the
drawing-room; some were dr inking, some laughed and
talked: all were in the high est and wildest spirits.
Ferdishenko was doing his best to unite himself to them;
the general and Totski agai n made an attempt to go.
Gania, too stood hat in hand ready to go; but seemed to
be unable to tear his eyes away from the scene before him
?Get out, keep your distance!? shouted Rogojin.
?What are you shouting about there!? cried Nastasia
?I?m not yours yet. I may kick you out for all you know I
haven?t taken your money yet; there it all is on the table
Here, give me over that packet! Is there a hundred
thousand roubles in that one packet? Pfu! what
abominable stuff it looks! Oh! nonsense, Daria
Alexeyevna; you surely did not expect me to ruin HIM??
(indicating the prince). ?Fancy him nursing me! Why, he
needs a nurse himself! The general, there, will be his nurse
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now, you?ll see. Here, prince, look here! Your bride is
accepting money. What a disreputable woman she must
be! And you wished to marry her! What are you crying
about? Is it a bitter dose? Never mind, you shall laugh yet.
Trust to time.? (In spite of these words there were two
large tears rolling down Nasta sia?s own cheeks.) ?It?s far
better to think twice of it now than afterwards. Oh! you
mustn?t cry like that! There?s Kati a crying, too. What is it,
Katia, dear? I shall leave you and Pasha a lot of things, I?ve
laid them out for you already; but good-bye, now. I made
an honest girl like you serve a low woman like myself. It?s
better so, prince, it is indeed. You?d begin to despise me
afterwards? we should never be happy. Oh! you needn?t
swear, prince, I shan?t believe you, you know. How
foolish it would be, too! No, no; we?d better say good-bye
and part friends. I am a bit of a dreamer myself, and I used
to dream of you once. Very often during those five years
down at his estate I used to dream and think, and I always
imagined just such a good, honest, foolish fellow as you,
one who should come and say to me: ?You are an
innocent woman, Nastasia Philipovna, and I adore you.? I
dreamt of you often. I used to think so much down there
that I nearly went mad; and then this fellow here would
come down. He would stay a couple of months out of the
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twelve, and disgrace and insult and deprave me, and then
go; so that I longed to drown myself in the pond a
thousand times over; but I did not dare do it. I hadn?t the
heart, and now?well, are you ready, Rogojin??
?Ready?keep your distance, all of you!?
?We?re all ready,? said several of his friends. ?The troikas
[Sledges drawn by three horses abreast.] are at the door,
bells and all.?
Nastasia Philipovna seized the packet of bank-notes.
?Gania, I have an idea. I wish to recompense you?why
should you lose all? Rogojin , would he crawl for three
roubles as far as the Vassiliostrof?
?Oh, wouldn?t he just!?
?Well, look here, Gania. I wish to look into your heart
once more, for the last time. You?ve worried me for the
last three months?now it?s my turn. Do you see this
packet? It contains a hundred thousand roubles. Now, I?m
going to throw it into the fire, here?before all these
witnesses. As soon as the fire catches hold of it, you put
your hands into the fire and pick it out?without gloves,
you know. You must have bare hands, and you must turn
your sleeves up. Pull it out, I say, and it?s all yours. You
may burn your fingers a little, of course; but then it?s a
hundred thousand roubles, remember?it won?t take you
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long to lay hold of it and snatch it out. I shall so much
admire you if you put your hands into the fire for my
money. All here present may be witnesses that the whole
packet of money is yours if you get it out. If you don?t get
it out, it shall burn. I will le t no one else come; away?get
away, all of you?it?s my money! Rogojin has bought me
with it. Is it my money, Rogojin??
?Yes, my queen; it?s your own money, my joy.?
?Get away then, all of you. I shall do as I like with my
own? don?t meddle! Ferdishenko, make up the fire,
quick!?
?Nastasia Philipovna, I can?t; my hands won?t obey me,?
said Ferdishenko, astounded and helpless with
bewilderment.
?Nonsense,? cried Nastasia Philipovna, seizing the poker
and raking a couple of logs together. No sooner did a
tongue of flame burst out t han she threw the packet of
notes upon it.
Everyone gasped; some even crossed themselves.
?She?s mad?she?s mad!? was the cry.
?Oughtn?t-oughtn?t we to secure her?? asked the
general of Ptitsin, in a whisp er; ?or shall we send for the
authorities? Why, she?s mad, isn?t she?isn?t she, eh??
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?N-no, I hardly think she is actually mad,? whispered
Ptitsin, who was as white as his handkerchief, and
trembling like a leaf. He could not take his eyes off the
smouldering packet.
?She?s mad surely, isn?t she?? the general appealed to
Totski.
?I told you she wasn?t an ordinary woman,? replied the
latter, who was as pale as anyone.
?Oh, but, positively, you know?a hundred thousand
roubles!?
?Goodness gracious! good he avens!? came from all
quarters of the room.
All now crowded round the fire and thronged to see
what was going on; everyone lamented and gave vent to
exclamations of horror and woe. Some jumped up on
chairs in order to get a better view. Daria Alexeyevna ran
into the next room and whispered excitedly to Katia and
Pasha. The beautiful German disappeared altogether.
?My lady! my sovereign!? lamented Lebedeff, falling on
his knees before Nastasia Philipo vna, and stretching out his
hands towards the fire; ?it?s a hundred thousand roubles, it
is indeed, I packed it up myself, I saw the money! My
queen, let me get into the fire after it?say the word-I?ll
put my whole grey head into the fire for it! I have a poor
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lame wife and thirteen children. My father died of
starvation last week. Nastasia Philipovna, Nastasia
Philipovna!? The wretched little man wept, and groaned,
and crawled towards the fire.
?Away, out of the way!? cried Nastasia. ?Make room, all
of you! Gania, what are you standing there for? Don?t
stand on ceremony. Put in y our hand! There?s your whole
happiness smouldering away, look! Quick!?
But Gania had borne too much that day, and especially
this evening, and he was not prepared for this last, quite
unexpected trial.
The crowd parted on each side of him and he was left
face to face with Nastasia Philipovna, three paces from
her. She stood by the fire and waited, with her intent gaze
fixed upon him.
Gania stood before her, in his evening clothes, holding
his white gloves and hat in his hand, speechless and
motionless, with arms folded and eyes fixed on the fire.
A silly, meaningless smile played on his white, death-
like lips. He could not take his eyes off the smouldering
packet; but it appeared that something new had come to
birth in his soul?as though he were vowing to himself
that he would bear this tria l. He did not move from his
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place. In a few seconds it became evident to all that he did
not intend to rescue the money.
?Hey! look at it, it?ll burn in another minute or two!?
cried Nastasia Philipovna. ?You ?ll hang yourself afterwards,
you know, if it does! I?m not joking.?
The fire, choked between a couple of smouldering
pieces of wood, had died down for the first few moments
after the packet was thrown upon it. But a little tongue of
fire now began to lick the paper from below, and soon,
gathering courage, mounted the sides of the parcel, and
crept around it. In another moment, the whole of it burst
into flames, and the exclamat ions of woe and horror were
redoubled.
?Nastasia Philipovna!? lame nted Lebedeff again,
straining towards the firepla ce; but Rogojin dragged him
away, and pushed him to the rear once more.
The whole of Regojin?s being was concentrated in one
rapturous gaze of ecstasy. He could not take his eyes off
Nastasia. He stood drinking her in, as it were. He was in
the seventh heaven of delight.
?Oh, what a queen she is!? he ejaculated, every other
minute, throwing out the rem ark for anyone who liked to
catch it. ?That?s the sort of woman for me! Which of you
would think of doing a thing like that, you blackguards,
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eh?? he yelled. He was hopelessly and wildly beside himself
with ecstasy.
The prince watched the whole scene, silent and
dejected.
?I?ll pull it out with my t eeth for one thousand,? said
Ferdishenko.
?So would I,? said another, from behind, ?with pleasure.
Devil take the thing!? he added, in a tempest of despair, ?it
will all be burnt up in a minute?It?s burning, it?s
burning!?
?It?s burning, it?s burning!? cried all, thronging nearer
and nearer to the fire in their excitement.
?Gania, don?t be a fool! I tell you for the last time.?
?Get on, quick!? shrieked Ferdishenko, rushing wildly
up to Gania, and trying to drag him to the fire by the
sleeve of his coat. ?Get it, you dummy, it?s burning away
fast! Oh?DAMN the thing!?
Gania hurled Ferdishenko from him; then he turned
sharp round and made for the door. But he had not gone a
couple of steps when he tottered and fell to the ground.
?He?s fainted!? the cry went round.
?And the money?s burning still,? Lebedeff lamented.
?Burning for nothing,? shouted others.
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?Katia-Pasha! Bring him some water!? cried Nastasia
Philipovna. Then she took th e tongs and fished out the
packet.
Nearly the whole of the outer covering was burned
away, but it was soon evident that the contents were
hardly touched. The packet had been wrapped in a
threefold covering of newspaper, and the, notes were safe.
All breathed more freely.
?Some dirty little thousand or so may be touched,? said
Lebedeff, immensely relieved, ?but there?s very little harm
done, after all.?
?It?s all his?the whole packet is for him, do you hear?
all of you?? cried Nastasia Philipovna, placing the packet
by the side of Gania. ?He re strained himself, and didn?t go
after it; so his self-respect is greater than his thirst for
money. All right? he?ll come to directly?he must have
the packet or he?ll cut his th roat afterwards. There! He?s
coming to himself. General, Totski, all of you, did you
hear me? The money is all Gania?s. I give it to him, fully
conscious of my action, as recompense for? well, for
anything he thinks best. Tell hi m so. Let it lie here beside
him. Off we go, Rogojin! Goodbye, prince. I have seen a
man for the first time in my life. Goodbye, Afanasy
Ivanovitch? and thanks!?
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The Rogojin gang followed their leader and Nastasia
Philipovna to the entrance-hall, laughing and shouting and
whistling.
In the hall the servants were waiting, and handed her
her fur cloak. Martha, the cook, ran in from the kitchen.
Nastasia kissed them all round.
?Are you really throwing us all over, little mother?
Where, where are you going to? And on your birthday,
too!? cried the four girls, crying over her and kissing her
hands.
?I am going out into the wor ld, Katia; perhaps I shall be
a laundress. I don?t know. No more of Afanasy
Ivanovitch, anyhow. Give him my respects. Don?t think
badly of me, girls.?
The prince hurried down to the front gate where the
party were settling into the tr oikas, all the bells tinkling a
merry accompaniment the while. The general caught him
up on the stairs:
?Prince, prince!? he crie d, seizing hold of his arm,
?recollect yourself! Drop her, prince! You see what sort of
a woman she is. I am speaking to you like a father.?
The prince glanced at him, but said nothing. He shook
himself free, and rushed on downstairs.
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The general was just in time to see the prince take the
first sledge he could get, and, giving the order to
Ekaterinhof, start off in pursuit of the troikas. Then the
general?s fine grey horse dr agged that worthy home, with
some new thoughts, and some new hopes and calculations
developing in his brain, and wit h the pearls in his pocket,
for he had not forgotten to bring them along with him,
being a man of business. Amid his new thoughts and ideas
there came, once or twice, the image of Nastasia
Philipovna. The general sighed.
?I?m sorry, really sorry,? he muttered. ?She?s a ruined
woman. Mad! mad! However, the prince is not for
Nastasia Philipovna now,?perhaps it?s as well.?
Two more of Nastasia?s guests, who walked a short
distance together, indulged in high moral sentiments of a
similar nature.
?Do you know, Totski, this is all very like what they
say goes on among the Japanese?? said Ptitsin. ?The
offended party there, they say, marches off to his insulter
and says to him, ?You insulted me, so I have come to rip
myself open before your eyes;? and with these words he
does actually rip his stomach open before his enemy, and
considers, doubtless, that he is having all possible and
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necessary satisfaction and revenge. There are strange
characters in the world, sir!?
?H?m! and you think there was something of this sort
here, do you? Dear me?a very remarkable comparison,
you know! But you must have ob served, my dear Ptitsin,
that I did all I possibly could. I could do no more than I
did. And you must admi t that there are some rare qualities
in this woman. I felt I could not speak in that Bedlam, or I
should have been tempted to cry out, when she
reproached me, that she herself was my best justification.
Such a woman could make anyone forget all reason?
everything! Even that moujik, Rogojin, you saw, brought
her a hundred thousand rouble s! Of course, all that
happened tonight was ephemeral, fantastic, unseemly?yet
it lacked neither colour nor originality. My God! What
might not have been made of such a character combined
with such beauty! Yet in spite of all efforts ?in spite of all
education, even?all those gift s are wasted! She is an uncut
diamond.... I have often said so.?
And Afanasy Ivanovitch heaved a deep sigh.
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