The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (best e book reader for android txt) 📖

Chapter 2

The Injured Foot

 

THE first of these things was at the house of Madame Hohlakov, and

he hurried there to get it over as quickly as possible and not be

too late for Mitya. Madame Hohlakov had been slightly ailing for the

last three weeks: her foot had for some reason swollen up, and

though she was not in bed, she lay all day half-reclining on the couch

in her boudoir, in a fascinating but decorous deshabille. Alyosha

had once noted with innocent amusement that, in spite of her

illness, Madame Hohlakov had begun to be rather dressy-topknots,

ribbons, loose wrappers had made their appearance, and he had an

inkling of the reason, though he dismissed such ideas from his mind as

frivolous. During the last two months the young official, Perhotin,

had become a regular visitor at the house.

 

Alyosha had not called for four days and he was in haste to go

straight to Lise, as it was with her he had to speak, for Lise had

sent a maid to him the previous day specially asking him to come to

her “about something very important,” a request which, for certain

reasons, had interest for Alyosha. But while the maid went to take his

name in to Lise, Madame Hohlakov heard of his arrival from someone,

and immediately sent to beg him to come to her “just for one

minute.” Alyosha reflected that it was better to accede to the mamma’s

request, or else she would be sending down to Lise’s room every minute

that he was there. Madame Hohlakov was lying on a couch. She was

particularly smartly dressed and was evidently in a state of extreme

nervous excitement. She greeted Alyosha with cries of rapture.

 

“It’s ages, ages, perfect ages since I’ve seen you! It’s a whole

week-only think of it! Ah, but you were here only four days ago, on

Wednesday. You have come to see Lise. I’m sure you meant to slip

into her room on tiptoe, without my hearing you. My dear, dear

Alexey Fyodorovitch, if you only knew how worried I am about her!

But of that later, though that’s the most important thing, of that

later. Dear Alexey Fyodorovitch, I trust you implicitly with my

Lise. Since the death of Father Zossima-God rest his soul!” (she

crossed herself)- “I look upon you as a monk, though you look charming

in your new suit. Where did you find such a tailor in these parts? No,

no, that’s not the chief thing-of that later. Forgive me for

sometimes calling you Alyosha; an old woman like me may take

liberties,” she smiled coquettishly; “but that will do later, too. The

important thing is that I shouldn’t forget what is important. Please

remind me of it yourself. As soon as my tongue runs away with me,

you just say ‘the important thing?’ Ach! how do I know now what is

of most importance? Ever since Lise took back her promise-her

childish promise, Alexey Fyodorovitch-to marry you, you’ve

realised, of course, that it was only the playful fancy of a sick

child who had been so long confined to her chair-thank God, she can

walk now!… that-new doctor Katya sent for from Moscow for your

unhappy brother, who will to-morrow- but why speak of to-morrow? I

am ready to die at the very thought of to-morrow. Ready to die of

curiosity…. That doctor was with us yesterday and saw Lise…. I

paid him fifty roubles for the visit. But that’s not the point, that’s

not the point again. You see, I’m mixing everything up. I am in such a

hurry. Why am I in a hurry? I don’t understand. It’s awful how I

seem growing unable to understand anything. Everything seems mixed

up in a sort of tangle. I am afraid you are so bored you will jump

up and run away, and that will be all I shall see of you. Goodness!

Why are we sitting here and no coffee? Yulia, Glafira, coffee!”

 

Alyosha made haste to thank her, and said that he had only just

had coffee.

 

“Where?”

 

“At Agrfena Alexandrovna’s.”

 

“At… at that woman’s? Ah, it’s she has brought ruin on everyone.

I know nothing about it though. They say she has become a saint,

though it’s rather late in the day. She had better have done it

before. What use is it now? Hush, hush, Alexey Fyodorovitch, for I

have so much to say to you that I am afraid I shall tell you

nothing. This awful trial… I shall certainly go, I am making

arrangements. I shall be carried there in my chair; besides I can

sit up. I shall have people with me. And, you know, I am a witness.

How shall I speak, how shall I speak? I don’t know what I shall say.

One has to take an oath, hasn’t one?”

 

“Yes; but I don’t think you will be able to go.”

 

“I can sit up. Ah, you put me out! Ah! this trial, this savage

act, and then they are all going to Siberia, some are getting married,

and all this so quickly, so quickly, everything’s changing, and at

last-nothing. All grow old and have death to look forward to. Well,

so be it! I am weary. This Katya, cette charmante personne, has

disappointed all my hopes. Now she is going to follow one of your

brothers to Siberia, and your other brother is going to follow her,

and will live in the nearest town, and they will all torment one

another. It drives me out of my mind. Worst of all-the publicity. The

story has been told a million times over in all the papers in Moscow

and Petersburg. Ah! yes, would you believe it, there’s a paragraph

that I was ‘a dear friend’ of your brother’s- , I can’t repeat the

horrid word. just fancy, just fancy!”

 

“Impossible! Where was the paragraph? What did it say?”

 

“I’ll show you directly. I got the paper and read it yesterday.

Here, in the Petersburg paper Gossip. The paper began coming out

this year. I am awfully fond of gossip, and I take it in, and now it

pays me out-this is what gossip comes to! Here it is, here, this

passage. Read it.”

 

And she handed Alyosha a sheet of newspaper which had been under

her pillow.

 

It was not exactly that she was upset, she seemed overwhelmed

and perhaps everything really was mixed up in a tangle in her head.

The paragraph was very typical, and must have been a great shock to

her, but, fortunately perhaps, she was unable to keep her mind fixed

on any one subject at that moment, and so might race off in a minute

to something else and quite forget the newspaper.

 

Alyosha was well aware that the story of the terrible case had

spread all over Russia. And, good heavens! what wild rumours about his

brother, about the Karamazovs, and about himself he had read in the

course of those two months, among other equally credible items! One

paper had even stated that he had gone into a monastery and become a

monk, in horror