The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (grave mercy TXT) đ
- Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Performer: 014044792X
Book online «The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (grave mercy TXT) đ». Author Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The prince hastened to apologize, very properly, for yesterdayâs mishap with the vase, and for the scene generally.
âOh, thatâs nothing,â replied Lizabetha; âIâm not sorry for the vase, Iâm sorry for you. Hâm! so you can see that there was a âscene,â can you? Well, it doesnât matter much, for everyone must realize now that it is impossible to be hard on you. Well, au revoir. I advise you to have a walk, and then go to sleep again if you can. Come in as usual, if you feel inclined; and be assured, once for all, whatever happens, and whatever may have happened, you shall always remain the friend of the familyâmine, at all events. I can answer for myself.â
In response to this challenge all the others chimed in and re-echoed mammaâs sentiments.
And so they took their departure; but in this hasty and kindly designed visit there was hidden a fund of cruelty which Lizabetha Prokofievna never dreamed of. In the words âas usual,â and again in her added, âmine, at all events,â there seemed an ominous knell of some evil to come.
The prince began to think of Aglaya. She had certainly given him a wonderful smile, both at coming and again at leave-taking, but had not said a word, not even when the others all professed their friendship for him. She had looked very intently at him, but that was all. Her face had been paler than usual; she looked as though she had slept badly.
The prince made up his mind that he would make a point of going there âas usual,â tonight, and looked feverishly at his watch.
Vera came in three minutes after the Epanchins had left. âLef Nicolaievitch,â she said, âAglaya Ivanovna has just given me a message for you.â
The prince trembled.
âIs it a note?â
âNo, a verbal message; she had hardly time even for that. She begs you earnestly not to go out of the house for a single moment all to-day, until seven oâclock in the evening. It may have been nine; I didnât quite hear.â
âButâbut, why is this? What does it mean?â
âI donât know at all; but she said I was to tell you particularly.â
âDid she say that?â
âNot those very words. She only just had time to whisper as she went by; but by the way she looked at me I knew it was important. She looked at me in a way that made my heart stop beating.â
The prince asked a few more questions, and though he learned nothing else, he became more and more agitated.
Left alone, he lay down on the sofa, and began to think.
âPerhaps,â he thought, âsomeone is to be with them until nine tonight and she is afraid that I may come and make a fool of myself again, in public.â So he spent his time longing for the evening and looking at his watch. But the clearing-up of the mystery came long before the evening, and came in the form of a new and agonizing riddle.
Half an hour after the Epanchins had gone, Hippolyte arrived, so tired that, almost unconscious, he sank into a chair, and broke into such a fit of coughing that he could not stop. He coughed till the blood came. His eyes glittered, and two red spots on his cheeks grew brighter and brighter. The prince murmured something to him, but Hippolyte only signed that he must be left alone for a while, and sat silent. At last he came to himself.
âI am off,â he said, hoarsely, and with difficulty.
âShall I see you home?â asked the prince, rising from his seat, but suddenly stopping short as he remembered Aglayaâs prohibition against leaving the house. Hippolyte laughed.
âI donât mean that I am going to leave your house,â he continued, still gasping and coughing. âOn the contrary, I thought it absolutely necessary to come and see you; otherwise I should not have troubled you. I am off there, you know, and this time I believe, seriously, that I am off! Itâs all over. I did not come here for sympathy, believe me. I lay down this morning at ten oâclock with the intention of not rising again before that time; but I thought it over and rose just once more in order to come here; from which you may deduce that I had some reason for wishing to come.â
âIt grieves me to see you so, Hippolyte. Why didnât you send me a message? I would have come up and saved you this trouble.â
âWell, well! Enough! Youâve pitied me, and thatâs all that good manners exact. I forgot, how are you?â
âIâm all right; yesterday I was a littleââ
âI know, I heard; the china vase caught it! Iâm sorry I wasnât there. Iâve come about something important. In the first place I had, the pleasure of seeing Gavrila Ardalionovitch and Aglaya Ivanovna enjoying a rendezvous on the green bench in the park. I was astonished to see what a fool a man can look. I remarked upon the fact to Aglaya Ivanovna when he had gone. I donât think anything ever surprises you, prince!â added Hippolyte, gazing incredulously at the princeâs calm demeanour. âTo be astonished by nothing is a sign, they say, of a great intellect. In my opinion it would serve equally well as a sign of great foolishness. I am not hinting about you; pardon me! I am very unfortunate today in my expressions.
âI knew yesterday that Gavrila Ardalionovitchââ began the prince, and paused in evident confusion, though Hippolyte had shown annoyance at his betraying no surprise.
âYou knew it? Come, thatâs news! But noâperhaps better not tell me. And were you a witness of the meeting?â
âIf you were there yourself you must have known that I was NOT there!â
âOh! but you may have been sitting behind the bushes somewhere. However, I am very glad, on your account, of course. I was beginning to be afraid that Mr. Ganiaâmight have the preference!â
âMay I ask you, Hippolyte, not to talk of this subject? And not to use such expressions?â
âEspecially as you know all, eh?â
âYou are wrong. I know scarcely anything, and Aglaya Ivanovna is aware that I know nothing. I knew nothing whatever about this meeting. You say there was a meeting. Very well; letâs leave it soââ
âWhy, what do you mean? You said you knew, and now suddenly you know nothing! You say âvery well; letâs leave it so.â But I say, donât be so confiding, especially as you know nothing. You are confiding simply BECAUSE you know nothing. But do you know what these good people have in their mindsâ eyeâGania and his sister? Perhaps you are suspicious? Well, well, Iâll drop the subject!â he added, hastily, observing the princeâs impatient gesture. âBut Iâve come to you on my own business; I wish to make you a clear explanation. What a nuisance it is that one cannot die without explanations! I have made such a quantity of them already. Do you wish to hear what I have to say?â
âSpeak away, I am listening.â
âVery well, but Iâll change my mind, and begin about Gania. Just fancy to begin with, if you can, that I, too, was given an appointment at the green bench today! However, I wonât deceive you; I asked for the appointment. I said I had a secret to disclose. I donât know whether I came there too early, I think I must have; but scarcely had I sat down beside Aglaya Ivanovna than I saw Gavrila Ardalionovitch and his sister Varia coming along, arm in arm, just as though they were enjoying a morning walk together. Both of them seemed very much astonished, not to say disturbed, at seeing me; they evidently had not expected the pleasure. Aglaya Ivanovna blushed up, and was actually a little confused. I donât know whether it was merely because I was there, or whether Ganiaâs beauty was too much for her! But anyway, she turned crimson, and then finished up the business in a very funny manner. She jumped up from her seat, bowed back to Gania, smiled to Varia, and suddenly observed: âI only came here to express my gratitude for all your kind wishes on my behalf, and to say that if I find I need your services, believe meââ Here she bowed them away, as it were, and they both marched off again, looking very foolish. Gania evidently could not make head nor tail of the matter, and turned as red as a lobster; but Varia understood at once that they must get away as quickly as they could, so she dragged Gania away; she is a great deal cleverer than he is. As for myself, I went there to arrange a meeting to be held between Aglaya Ivanovna and Nastasia Philipovna.â
âNastasia Philipovna!â cried the prince.
âAha! I think you are growing less cool, my friend, and are beginning to be a trifle surprised, arenât you? Iâm glad that you are not above ordinary human feelings, for once. Iâll console you a little now, after your consternation. See what I get for serving a young and high-souled maiden! This morning I received a slap in the face from the lady!â
âAâa moral one?â asked the prince, involuntarily.
âYesânot a physical one! I donât suppose anyoneâeven a womanâ would raise a hand against me now. Even Gania would hesitate! I did think at one time yesterday, that he would fly at me, though. I bet anything that I know what you are thinking of now! You are thinking: âOf course one canât strike the little wretch, but one could suffocate him with a pillow, or a wet towel, when he is asleep! One OUGHT to get rid of him somehow.â I can see in your face that you are thinking that at this very second.â
âI never thought of such a thing for a moment,â said the prince, with disgust.
âI donât knowâI dreamed last night that I was being suffocated with a wet cloth byâsomebody. Iâll tell you who it wasâRogojin! What do you think, can a man be suffocated with a wet cloth?â
âI donât know.â
âIâve heard so. Well, weâll leave that question just now. Why am I a scandalmonger? Why did she call me a scandalmonger? And mind, AFTER she had heard every word I had to tell her, and had asked all sorts of questions besidesâbut such is the way of women. For HER sake I entered into relations with Rogojinâan interesting man! At HER request I arranged a personal interview between herself and Nastasia Philipovna. Could she have been angry because I hinted that she was enjoying Nastasia Philipovnaâs âleavingsâ? Why, I have been impressing it upon her all this while for her own good. Two letters have I written her in that strain, and I began straight off today about its being humiliating for her. Besides, the word âleavingsâ is not my invention. At all events, they all used it at Ganiaâs, and she used it herself. So why am I a scandalmonger? I seeâI see you are tremendously amused, at this moment! Probably you are laughing at me and fitting those silly lines to my caseâ
ââMaybe sad Love upon his setting smiles, And with vain hopes his farewell hour beguiles.
âHa, ha, ha!â
Hippolyte suddenly burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, which turned into a choking cough.
âObserve,â he gasped, through his coughing, âwhat a fellow Gania is! He talks about Nastasiaâs âleavings,â but what does he want to take himself?â
The prince sat silent for a long while. His mind was filled with dread and horror.
âYou spoke of a meeting with Nastasia Philipovna,â he said at last, in a low voice.
âOhâcome! Surely you must know that there is to be a meeting today between Nastasia and Aglaya Ivanovna,
Comments (0)