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Burdovsky next jumped up and explained that he had come in by accident, having
escorted Hippolyte from town. He murmured that he was glad he had “written
nonsense” in his letter, and then pressed the prince’s hand warmly and sat down
again.

The company assembled at Nastasia Philipovna’s consisted of none but her most
intimate friends, and formed a very small party in comparison with her usual
gatherings on this anniversary.

As to the girls, nothing was said openly, at all events; and probably very
little in private. They were proud damsels, and were not always perfectly
confidential even among themselves. But they understood each other thoroughly at
the first word on all occasions; very often at the first glance, so that there
was no need of much talking as a rule.

“She understood nothing of what I said to her, and did not know what I wanted
her to do, and yet she blessed you; that shows she wished to do so herself.
Well, goodbye; it’s time you went, and I must go too.”

“It is difficult to explain, but certainly not the hopes you have in your mind.
Hopes--well, in a word, hopes for the future, and a feeling of joy that _there_,
at all events, I was not entirely a stranger and a foreigner. I felt an ecstasy
in being in my native land once more; and one sunny morning I took up a pen and
wrote her that letter, but why to _her_, I don’t quite know. Sometimes one longs
to have a friend near, and I evidently felt the need of one then,” added the
prince, and paused.

“I see for myself that it is so--and I shall tell _her_. But you are not quite
yourself, Lef Nicolaievitch.”

“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--”
“Kislorodoff told me all this with a sort of exaggerated devil-may-care
negligence, and as though he did me great honour by talking to me so, because it
showed that he considered me the same sort of exalted Nihilistic being as
himself, to whom death was a matter of no consequence whatever, either way.
“Excellency, how could I, how could I prevent it?”
“Who has been annoying her? Who has been tormenting the child? Who could have
said such a thing to her? Is she raving?” cried Lizabetha Prokofievna, trembling
with rage, to the company in general.
“Come, come, what does all this mean?” cried Colia beside himself at last. “What
is it? What has happened to you? Why don’t you wish to come back home? Why have
you gone out of your mind, like this?”

Aglaya wanted to be angry, of course, but suddenly some quite unexpected feeling
seized upon her heart, all in a moment.

“And how did you recognize me?”

Next day, she took it out, and put it into a large book, as she usually did with
papers which she wanted to be able to find easily. She laughed when, about a
week later, she happened to notice the name of the book, and saw that it was Don
Quixote, but it would be difficult to say exactly why.

“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 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 angry 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?”
“Then you think they won’t see it?”
“No--I don’t think I should run away,” replied the prince, laughing outright at
last at Aglaya’s questions.
“Oh, no, it is not the point, not a bit. It makes no difference, my marrying
her--it means nothing.”

“I assure you of it,” laughed Ivan Petrovitch, gazing amusedly at the prince.

Nastasia Philipovna was waiting for them in the first room they went into. She
was dressed very simply, in black.

“You have so many sources of trouble here, Colia,” said the prince.

“The answer--quick--the answer!” said Gania, the instant they were outside.
“What did she say? Did you give the letter?” The prince silently held out the
note. Gania was struck motionless with amazement.

“Who said that, Colia?”

“A lodger here,” continued the other, staring as before.

“No--in anger, perhaps. Oh yes! she reproached me dreadfully in anger; and
suffered herself, too! But afterwards--oh! don’t remind me--don’t remind me of
that!” “P.S.--I trust that you will not show this note to anyone. Though I am
ashamed of giving you such instructions, I feel that I must do so, considering
what you are. I therefore write the words, and blush for your simple character.
“What do you mean?” said the prince.
What was this universe? What was this grand, eternal pageant to which he had
yearned from his childhood up, and in which he could never take part? Every
morning the same magnificent sun; every morning the same rainbow in the
waterfall; every evening the same glow on the snow-mountains.
The prince watched the whole scene, silent and dejected.

“I don’t think so, Ferdishenko; please be quiet,” answered Nastasia Philipovna
dryly.

VII.

The fact that the prince confirmed her idea, about Hippolyte shooting himself
that she might read his confession, surprised her greatly.

XI.

Having placed this before her, he stood with drooped arms and head, as though
awaiting his sentence.

“My dear good Prince Lef Nicolaievitch,” began the general again, suddenly,
“both I and Lizabetha Prokofievna--(who has begun to respect you once more, and
me through you, goodness knows why!)--we both love you very sincerely, and
esteem you, in spite of any appearances to the contrary. But you’ll admit what a
riddle it must have been for us when that calm, cold, little spitfire,
Aglaya--(for she stood up to her mother and answered her questions with
inexpressible contempt, and mine still more so, because, like a fool, I thought
it my duty to assert myself as head of the family)--when Aglaya stood up of a
sudden and informed us that ‘that madwoman’ (strangely enough, she used exactly
the same expression as you did) ‘has taken it into her head to marry me to
Prince Lef Nicolaievitch, and therefore is doing her best to choke Evgenie
Pavlovitch off, and rid the house of him.’ That’s what she said. She would not
give the slightest explanation; she burst out laughing, banged the door, and
went away. We all stood there with our mouths open. Well, I was told afterwards
of your little passage with Aglaya this afternoon, and--and--dear prince--you
are a good, sensible fellow, don’t be angry if I speak out--she is laughing at
you, my boy! She is enjoying herself like a child, at your expense, and
therefore, since she is a child, don’t be angry with her, and don’t think
anything of it. I assure you, she is simply making a fool of you, just as she
does with one and all of us out of pure lack of something better to do.
Well--good-bye! You know our feelings, don’t you--our sincere feelings for
yourself? They are unalterable, you know, dear boy, under all circumstances,
but--Well, here we part; I must go down to the right. Rarely have I sat so
uncomfortably in my saddle, as they say, as I now sit. And people talk of the
charms of a country holiday!”

“Oh, trust _him_ for that!” said Adelaida. “Evgenie Pavlovitch turns everything
and everybody he can lay hold of to ridicule. You should hear the things he says
sometimes, apparently in perfect seriousness.”

“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 word 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, I wonder? I don’t see how she can
fail to--to understand--”

He had attained his end. The prince left the house beside himself with terror.

“Aglaya Ivanovna, aren’t you ashamed of saying such a thing? How could such a
horrible idea enter your sweet, innocent heart? I am certain you don’t believe a
word of what you say, and probably you don’t even know what you are talking
about.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I haven’t slept, that’s all, and I’m rather tired. I--we
certainly did talk about you, Aglaya.”

But Vera, simple-minded little girl that she was (just like a boy, in fact),
here became dreadfully confused, of a sudden, and ran hastily out of the room,
laughing and blushing.
“And would you marry a woman like that, now?” continued Gania, never taking his
excited eyes off the prince’s face.
The prince made up his mind that he would make a point of going there “as
usual,” tonight, and looked feverishly at his watch.
“Ah! I thought perhaps Ferdishenko had taken it.”
“There is not one of them all who is worthy of these words of yours,” continued
Aglaya. “Not one of them is worth your little finger, not one of them has heart
or head to compare with yours! You are more honest than all, and better, nobler,
kinder, wiser than all. There are some here who are unworthy to bend and pick up
the handkerchief you have just dropped. Why do you humiliate yourself like this,
and place yourself lower than these people? Why do you debase yourself before
them? Why have you no pride?” “Didn’t you put it away in some drawer, perhaps?”
“So I will,” he whispered hoarsely. “As soon as I get home I will go to bed at
once; and I know I shall be dead in a fortnight; Botkine told me so himself last
week. That is why I should like to say a few farewell words, if you will let
me.”

“At all events, I shall not interfere with you!” he murmured, as though making
answer to some secret thought of his own.

“The son is not responsible for the misdeeds of his father; and the mother is
not to blame,” added Hippolyte, with warmth.

“Ah! Lef Nicolaievitch, it’s you, is it? Where are you off to now?” he asked,
oblivious of the fact that the prince had not showed the least sign of moving.
“Come along with me; I want to say a word or two to you.”

“I have waited for you on purpose, and am very glad to see you arrive so happy,”
said Hippolyte, when the prince came forward to press his hand, immediately
after greeting Vera.

“How strange that it should have browned so,” he said, reflectively. “These
twenty-five rouble notes brown in a most extraordinary way, while other notes
often grow paler. Take it.”

The question as to what she might have to say of special interest to himself
occurred to him once or twice. He did not doubt, for a moment, that she really
had some such subject of conversation in store, but so very little interested in
the matter was he that it did not strike him to wonder what it could be. The
crunch of gravel on the path suddenly caused him to raise his head.

The prince gazed affectionately at Colia, who, of course, had come in solely for
the purpose of talking about this “gigantic thought.”

“Abbot Pafnute,” said our friend, seriously and with deference.

“She is there at this moment?”

The following report of the proceedings on the wedding day may be depended upon,
as coming from eye-witnesses.

“It was--about--you saw her--”

“General, remember the siege of Kars! And you, gentlemen, I assure you my
anecdote is the naked truth. I may remark that reality, although it is governed
by invariable law, has at times a resemblance to falsehood. In fact, the truer a
thing is the less true it sounds.” Aglaya blushed with pleasure. All these
changes in her expression came about so naturally and so rapidly--they delighted
the prince; he watched her, and laughed.

She took the handkerchief from her face, glanced keenly at him, took in what he
had said, and burst out laughing--such a merry, unrestrained laugh, so hearty
and gay, that Adelaida could not contain herself. She, too, glanced at the
prince’s panic-stricken countenance, then rushed at her sister, threw her arms
round her neck, and burst into as merry a fit of laughter as Aglaya’s own. They
laughed together like a couple of school-girls. Hearing and seeing this, the
prince smiled happily, and in accents of relief and joy, he exclaimed “Well,
thank God--thank God!”

“What an idea! Of course not. And what are you blushing for again? And there
comes that frown once more! You’ve taken to looking too gloomy sometimes,
Aglaya, much more than you used to. I know why it is.”

“You hear him! You count upon it, too,” she continued, turning upon Doktorenko.
“You are as sure of him now as if you had the money in your pocket. And there
you are playing the swaggerer to throw dust in our eyes! No, my dear sir, you
may take other people in! I can see through all your airs and graces, I see your
game!”

“He has gone to get his coat,” said the boy.