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
âI suppose you angered him somehow?â 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 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 latterâsince the information as to the identity of Rogojinâhung 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.
âOh, yes; I angered himâI certainly did anger him,â replied Rogojin. âBut what puts me out so is my brother. Of course my mother couldnât do anythingâsheâs too oldâand whatever brother Senka says is law for her! But why couldnât he let me know? He sent a telegram, they say. Whatâs the good of a telegram? It frightened my aunt so that she sent it back to the office unopened, and there itâs been ever since! Itâs 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 fatherâs coffin, at night because theyâre worth a lot of money!â says he. Why, I can get him sent off to Siberia for that alone, if I like; itâs sacrilege. Here, youâscarecrow!â he added, addressing the clerk at his side, âis it sacrilege or not, by law?â
âSacrilege, certainlyâcertainly sacrilege,â said the latter.
âAnd itâs Siberia for sacrilege, isnât it?â
âUndoubtedly so; Siberia, of course!â
âThey will think that Iâm still ill,â continued Rogojin to the prince, âbut I sloped off quietly, seedy as I was, took the train and came away. Aha, brother Senka, youâll have to open your gates and let me in, my boy! I know he told tales about me to my fatherâI know that well enough but I certainly did rile my father about Nastasia Philipovna thatâs very sure, and that was my own doing.â
âNastasia Philipovna?â said the clerk, as though trying to think out something.
âCome, you know nothing about HER,â said Rogojin, impatiently.
âAnd supposing I do know something?â observed the other, triumphantly.
âBosh! there are plenty of Nastasia Philipovnas. And what an impertinent beast you are!â he added angrily. âI thought some creature like you would hang on to me as soon as I got hold of my money. â
âOh, but I do know, as it happens,â said the clerk in an aggravating manner. âLebedeff knows all about her. You are pleased to reproach me, your excellency, but what if I prove that I am right after all? Nastasia Phillpovnaâs family name is BarashkoffâI 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.â
âMy eyes!â said Rogojin, really surprised at last. âThe devil take the fellow, how does he know that?â
âWhy, he knows everythingâLebedeff knows everything! I was a month or two with Lihachof after his father died, your excellency, and while he was knocking aboutâheâs in the debtorâs prison nowâI was with him, and he couldnât do a thing without Lebedeff; and I got to know Nastasia Philipovna and several people at that time.â
âNastasia Philipovna? Why, you donât mean to say that she and Lihachofââ cried Rogojin, turning quite pale.
âNo, no, no, no, no! Nothing of the sort, I assure you!â said Lebedeff, hastily. âOh dear no, not for the world! Totskiâs 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, âBy Jove, thereâs the famous Nastasia Philipovna!â but no one ever gets any further than that, for there is nothing more to say.â
âYes, itâs quite true,â said Rogojin, frowning gloomily; âso Zaleshoff told me. I was walking about the Nefsky one fine day, prince, in my fatherâs 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 Zaleshoffâlooking like a hair-dresserâs assistant, got up as fine as I donât know who, while I looked like a tinker. âDonât flatter yourself, my boy,â said he; âsheâs not for such as you; sheâs a princess, she is, and her name is Nastasia Philipovna Barashkoff, and she lives with Totski, who wishes to get rid of her because heâs growing rather oldâfifty-five or soâand wants to marry a certain beauty, the loveliest woman in all Petersburg.â 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, Iâd like to see my father allowing any of us to go to the theatre; heâd 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. âSell them,â said he, âand then take seven thousand five hundred 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.â Well, I sold the bonds, but I didnât 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 earrings I went at once to Zaleshoffâs. âCome on!â I said, âcome on to Nastasia Philipovnaâs,â and off we went without more ado. I tell you I hadnât 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.
âI didnât say right out who I was, but Zaleshoff said: âFrom Parfen Rogojin, in memory of his first meeting with you yesterday; be so kind as to accept these!â
âShe opened the parcel, looked at the earrings, and laughed.
ââThank your friend Mr. Rogojin for his kind attention,â says she, and bowed and went off. Why didnât 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 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!
ââLook here now,â I said, when we came out, ânone of your interference here after this-do you understand?â He laughed: âAnd how are you going to settle up with your father?â says he. I thought I might as well jump into the Neva at once without going home first; but it struck me that I wouldnât, after all, and I went home feeling like one of the damned.â
âMy goodness!â shivered the clerk. âAnd his father,â he added, for the princeâs instruction, âand his father would have given a man a ticket to the other world for ten roubles any dayânot to speak of ten thousand!â
The prince observed Rogojin with great curiosity; he seemed paler than ever at this moment.
âWhat do you know about it?â cried the latter. âWell, my father learned the whole story 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. âThis is only a foretaste,â says he; âwait a bit till night comes, and Iâll come back and talk to you again.â
âWell, 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. âThere,â she says, âtake 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,â she says, âand thank him very much!â Well, I meanwhile had borrowed twenty-five roubles from a friend, and off I went to Pskoff to my auntâs. The old woman there lectured me so that I left the house and went on a drinking 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!â
âOho! weâll make Nastasia Philipovna sing another song now!â giggled Lebedeff, rubbing his hands with glee. âHey, my boy, weâll get her some proper earrings now! Weâll get her such earrings thatââ
âLook here,â cried Rogojin, seizing him fiercely by the arm, âlook here, if you so much as name Nastasia Philipovna again, Iâll tan your hide as sure as you sit there!â
âAha! doâby all means! if you tan my hide you wonât turn me away from your society. Youâll bind me to you, with your lash, for ever. Ha, ha! here we are at the station, though.â
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.
âWhy, thereâs Zaleshoff here, too!â he muttered, gazing at the scene with a sort of triumphant but unpleasant smile. Then he suddenly turned to the prince: âPrince, I donât know why I have taken a fancy to you; perhaps because I met you just when I did. But no, it canât be that, for I met this fellow â (nodding at Lebedeff) âtoo, and I have not taken a fancy to him by any means. Come to see me, prince; weâll take off those gaiters of yours and dress you up in a smart fur coat, the best we can buy. You shall have a dress coat, best quality, white waistcoat, anything you like, and your pocket shall be full of money. Come, and you shall go with me to Nastasia Philipovnaâs. Now then will you come or no?â
âAccept, accept, Prince Lef Nicolaievitchâ said Lebedef solemnly; âdonât let it slip! Accept, quick!â
Prince Muishkin rose and stretched out his hand courteously, while he replied with some cordiality:
âI will come with the greatest pleasure, and thank you very much for taking
Comments (0)