VI.
LEBEDEFF'S country-house was not large, but it was pretty and
convenient, especially the part which was let to the prince.
A row of orange and lemon trees and jasmines, planted in green
tubs, stood on the fairly wide terrace. According to Lebedeff,
these trees gave the house a most delightful aspect. Some were
there when he bought it, and he was so charmed with the effect
that he promptly added to their number. When the tubs containing
these plants arrived at the villa and were set in their places,
Lebedeff kept running into the street to enjoy the view of the
house, and every time he did so the rent to be demanded from the
future tenant went up with a bound.
This country villa pleased the prince very much in his state of
physical and mental exhaustion. On the day that they left for
Pavlofsk, that is the day after his attack, he appeared almost
well, though in reality he felt very far from it. The faces of
those around him for the last three days had made a pleasant
impression. He was pleased to see, not only Colia, who had become
his inseparable companion, but Lebedeff himself and all the
family, except the nephew, who had left the house. He was also
glad to receive a visit from General Ivolgin, before leaving St.
Petersburg.
It was getting late when the party arrived at Pavlofsk, but
several people called to see the prince, and assembled in the
verandah. Gania was the first to arrive. He had grown so pale and
thin that the prince could hardly recognize him. Then came Varia
and Ptitsin, who were rusticating in the neighbourhood. As to
General Ivolgin, he scarcely budged from Lebedeff's house, and
seemed to have moved to Pavlofsk with him. Lebedeff did his best
to keep Ardalion Alexandrovitch by him, and to prevent him from
invading the prince's quarters. He chatted with him
confidentially, so that they might have been taken for old
friends. During those three days the prince had noticed that they
frequently held long conversations; he often heard their voices
raised in argument on deep and learned subjects, which evidently
pleased Lebedeff. He seemed as if he could not do without the
general. But it was not only Ardalion Alexandrovitch whom
Lebedeff kept out of the prince's way. Since they had come to the
villa, he treated his own family the same. Upon the pretext that
his tenant needed quiet, he kept him almost in isolation, and
Muishkin protested in vain against this excess of zeal. Lebedeff
stamped his feet at his daughters and drove them away if they
attempted to join the prince on the terrace; not even Vera was
excepted.
"They will lose all respect if they are allowed to be so free and
easy; besides it is not proper for them," he declared at last, in
answer to a direct question from the prince.
"Why on earth not?" asked the latter. "Really, you know, you are
making yourself a nuisance, by keeping guard over me like this. I
get bored all by myself; I have told you so over and over again,
and you get on my nerves more than ever by waving your hands and
creeping in and out in the mysterious way you do."
It was a fact that Lebedeff, though he was so anxious to keep
everyone else from disturbing the patient, was continually in and
out of the prince's room himself. He invariably began by opening
the door a crack and peering in to see if the prince was there,
or if he had escaped; then he would creep softly up to the arm-
chair, sometimes making Muishkin jump by his sudden appearance.
He always asked if the patient wanted anything, and when the
latter replied that he only wanted to be left in peace, he would
turn away obediently and make for the door on tip-toe, with
deprecatory gestures to imply that he had only just looked in,
that he would not speak a word, and would go away and not intrude
again; which did not prevent him from reappearing in ten minutes
or a quarter of an hour. Colia had free access to the prince, at
which Lebedeff was quite disgusted and indignant. He would listen
at the door for half an hour at a time while the two were
talking. Colia found this out, and naturally told the prince of
his discovery.
"Do you think yourself my master, that you try to keep me under
lock and key like this?" said the prince to Lebedeff. "In the
country, at least, I intend to be free, and you may make up your
mind that I mean to see whom I like, and go where I please."
"Why, of course," replied the clerk, gesticulating with his
hands.
The prince looked him sternly up and down.
"Well, Lukian Timofeyovitch, have you brought the little cupboard
that you had at the head of your bed with you here?"
"No, I left it where it was."
"Impossible!"
"It cannot be moved; you would have to pull the wall down, it is
so firmly fixed."
"Perhaps you have one like it here?"
"I have one that is even better, much better; that is really why
I bought this house."
"Ah! What visitor did you turn away from my door, about an hour
ago?"
"The-the general. I would not let him in; there is no need for
him to visit you, prince... I have the deepest esteem for him,
he is a--a great man. You don't believe it? Well, you will see,
and yet, most excellent prince, you had much better not receive
him."
"May I ask why? and also why you walk about on tiptoe and always
seem as if you were going to whisper a secret in my ear whenever
you come near me?"
"I am vile, vile; I know it!" cried Lebedeff, beating his breast
with a contrite air. "But will not the general be too hospitable
for you?"
"Too hospitable?"
"Yes. First, he proposes to come and live in my house. Well and
good; but he sticks at nothing; he immediately makes himself one
of the family. We have talked over our respective relations
several times, and discovered that we are connected by marriage.
It seems also that you are a sort of nephew on his mother's side;
he was explaining it to me again only yesterday. If you are his
nephew, it follows that I must also be a relation of yours, most
excellent prince. Never mind about that, it is only a foible; but
just now he assured me that all his life, from the day he was
made an ensign to the 11th of last June, he has entertained at
least two hundred guests at his table every day. Finally, he went
so far as to say that they never rose from the table; they dined,
supped, and had tea, for fifteen hours at a stretch. This went on
for thirty years without a break; there was barely time to change
the table-cloth; directly one person left, another took his
place. On feast-days he entertained as many as three hundred
guests, and they numbered seven hundred on the thousandth
anniversary of the foundation of the Russian Empire. It amounts
to a passion with him; it makes one uneasy to hear of it. It is
terrible to have to entertain people who do things on such a
scale. That is why I wonder whether such a man is not too
hospitable for you and me."
"But you seem to be on the best of terms with him?"
"Quite fraternal--I look upon it as a joke. Let us be brothers-
in-law, it is all the same to me,--rather an honour than not. But
in spite of the two hundred guests and the thousandth anniversary
of the Russian Empire, I can see that he is a very remarkable
man. I am quite sincere. You said just now that I always looked
as if I was going to tell you a secret; you are right. I have a
secret to tell you: a certain person has just let me know that
she is very anxious for a secret interview with you."
"Why should it be secret? Not at all; I will call on her myself
tomorrow."
"No, oh no!" cried Lebedeff, waving his arms; "if she is afraid,
it is not for the reason you think. By the way, do you know that
the monster comes every day to inquire after your health?"
"You call him a monster so often that it makes me suspicious."
"You must have no suspicions, none whatever," said Lebedeff
quickly. "I only want you to know that the person in question is
not afraid of him, but of something quite, quite different."
"What on earth is she afraid of, then? Tell me plainly, without
any more beating about the bush," said the prince, exasperated by
the other's mysterious grimaces.
"Ah that is the secret," said Lebedeff, with a smile.
"Whose secret?"
"Yours. You forbade me yourself to mention it before you, most
excellent prince," murmured Lebedeff. Then, satisfied that he had
worked up Muishkin's curiosity to the highest pitch, he added
abruptly: "She is afraid of Aglaya Ivanovna."
The prince frowned for a moment in silence, and then said
suddenly:
"Really, Lebedeff, I must leave your house. Where are Gavrila
Ardalionovitch and the Ptitsins? Are they here? Have you chased
them away, too?"
"They are coming, they are coming; and the general as well. I
will open all the doors; I will call all my daughters, all of
them, this very minute," said Lebedeff in a low voice, thoroughly
frightened, and waving his hands as he ran from door to door.
At that moment Colia appeared on the terrace; he announced that
Lizabetha Prokofievna and her three daughters were close behind
him.
Moved by this news, Lebedeff hurried up to the prince.
"Shall I call the Ptitsins, and Gavrila Ardalionovitch? Shall I
let the general in?" he asked.
"Why not? Let in anyone who wants to see me. I assure you,
Lebedeff, you have misunderstood my position from the very first;
you have been wrong all along. I have not the slightest reason to
hide myself from anyone," replied the prince gaily.
Seeing him laugh, Lebedeff thought fit to laugh also, and though
much agitated his satisfaction was quite visible.
Colia was right; the Epanchin ladies were only a few steps behind
him. As they approached the terrace other visitors appeared from
Lebedeff's side of the house-the Ptitsins, Gania, and Ardalion
Alexandrovitch.
The Epanchins had only just heard of the prince's illness and of
his presence in Pavlofsk, from Colia; and up to this time had
been in a state of considerable bewilderment about him. The
general brought the prince's card down from town, and Mrs.
Epanchin had felt convinced that he himself would follow his card
at once; she was much excited.
In vain the girls assured her that a man who had not written for
six months would not be in such a dreadful hurry, and that
probably he had enough to do in town without needing to bustle
down to Pavlofsk to see them. Their mother was quite angry at the
very idea of such a thing, and announced her absolute conviction
that he would turn up the next day at latest.
So next day the prince was expected all the morning, and at
dinner, tea, and supper; and when he did not appear in the
evening, Mrs. Epanchin quarrelled with everyone in the house,
finding plenty of pretexts without so much as mentioning the
prince's name.
On the third day there was no talk of him at all, until Aglaya
remarked at dinner: "Mamma is cross because the prince hasn't
turned up," to which the general replied that it was not his
fault.
Mrs. Epanchin misunderstood the observation, and rising from her
place she left the room in majestic wrath. In the evening,
however, Colia came with the story of the prince's adventures, so
far as he knew them. Mrs. Epanchin was triumphant; although Colia
had to listen to a long lecture. "He idles about here the whole
day long, one can't get rid of him; and then when he is wanted he
does not come. He might have sent a line if he did not wish to
inconvenience himself."
At the words "one can't get rid of him," Colia was very angry,
and nearly flew into a rage; but he resolved to be quiet for the
time and show his resentment later. If the words had been less
offensive he might have forgiven them, so pleased was he to see
Lizabetha Prokofievna worried and anxious about the prince's
illness.
She would have insisted on sending to Petersburg at once, for a
certain great medical celebrity; but her daughters dissuaded her,
though they were not willing to stay behind when she at once
prepared to go and visit the invalid. Aglaya, however, suggested
that it was a little unceremonious to go en masse to see him.
"Very well then, stay at home," said Mrs. Epanchin, and a good
thing too, for Evgenie Pavlovitch is coming down and there will
be no one at home to receive him."
Of course, after this, Aglaya went with the rest. In fact, she
had never had the slightest intention of doing otherwise.
Prince S., who was in the house, was requested to escort the
ladies. He had been much interested when he first heard of the
prince from the Epanchins. It appeared that they had known one
another before, and had spent some time together in a little
provincial town three months ago. Prince S. had greatly taken to
him, and was delighted with the opportunity of meeting him again,
The general had not come down from town as yet, nor had Evgenie
Pavlovitch arrived.
It was not more than two or three hundred yards from the
Epanchins' house to Lebedeff's. The first disagreeable impression
experienced by Mrs. Epanchin was to find the prince surrounded by
a whole assembly of other guests--not to mention the fact that
some of those present were particularly detestable in her eyes.
The next annoying circumstance was when an apparently strong and
healthy young fellow, well dressed, and smiling, came forward to
meet her on the terrace, instead of the half-dying unfortunate
whom she had expected to see.
She was astonished and vexed, and her disappointment pleased
Colia immensely. Of course he could have undeceived her before
she started, but the mischievous boy had been careful not to do
that, foreseeing the probably laughable disgust that she would
experience when she found her dear friend, the prince, in good
health. Colia was indelicate enough to voice the delight he felt
at his success in managing to annoy Lizabetha Prokofievna, with
whom, in spite of their really amicable relations, he was
constantly sparring.
"Just wait a while, my boy!" said she; "don't be too certain of
your triumph." And she sat down heavily, in the arm-chair pushed
forward by the prince.
Lebedeff, Ptitsin, and General Ivolgin hastened to find chairs
for the young ladies. Varia greeted them joyfully, and they
exchanged confidences in ecstatic whispers.
"I must admit, prince, I was a little put out to see you up and
about like this--I expected to find you in bed; but I give you my
word, I was only annoyed for an instant, before I collected my
thoughts properly. I am always wiser on second thoughts, and I
dare say you are the same. I assure you I am as glad to see you
well as though you were my own son,--yes, and more; and if you
don't believe me the more shame to you, and it's not my fault.
But that spiteful boy delights in playing all sorts of tricks.
You are his patron, it seems. Well, I warn you that one fine
morning I shall deprive myself of the pleasure of his further
acquaintance."
"What have I done wrong now?" cried Colia. "What was the good of
telling you that the prince was nearly well again? You would not
have believed me; it was so much more interesting to picture him
on his death-bed."
"How long do you remain here, prince?" asked Madame Epanchin.
"All the summer, and perhaps longer."
"You are alone, aren't you,--not married?"
"No, I'm not married!" replied the prince, smiling at the
ingenuousness of this little feeler.
"Oh, you needn't laugh! These things do happen, you know! Now
then--why didn't you come to us? We have a wing quite empty. But
just as you like, of course. Do you lease it from HIM?--this
fellow, I mean," she added, nodding towards Lebedeff. "And why
does he always wriggle so?"
At that moment Vera, carrying the baby in her arms as usual, came
out of the house, on to the terrace. Lebedeff kept fidgeting
among the chairs, and did not seem to know what to do with
himself, though he had no intention of going away. He no sooner
caught sight of his daughter, than he rushed in her direction,
waving his arms to keep her away; he even forgot himself so far
as to stamp his foot.
"Is he mad?" asked Madame Epanchin suddenly.
"No, he ..."
"Perhaps he is drunk? Your company is rather peculiar," she
added, with a glance at the other guests....
"But what a pretty girl! Who is she?"
"That is Lebedeff's daughter--Vera Lukianovna."
"Indeed? She looks very sweet. I should like to make her
acquaintance."
The words were hardly out of her mouth, when Lebedeff dragged
Vera forward, in order to present her.
"Orphans, poor orphans!" he began in a pathetic voice.
"The child she carries is an orphan, too. She is Vera's sister,
my daughter Luboff. The day this babe was born, six weeks ago, my
wife died, by the will of God Almighty. ... Yes... Vera takes
her mother's place, though she is but her sister... nothing
more ... nothing more..."
"And you! You are nothing more than a fool, if you'll excuse me!
Well! well! you know that yourself, I expect," said the lady
indignantly.
Lebedeff bowed low. "It is the truth," he replied, with extreme
respect.
"Oh, Mr. Lebedeff, I am told you lecture on the Apocalypse. Is it
true?" asked Aglaya.
"Yes, that is so ... for the last fifteen years."
"I have heard of you, and I think read of you in the newspapers."
"No, that was another commentator, whom the papers named. He is
dead, however, and I have taken his place," said the other, much
delighted.
"We are neighbours, so will you be so kind as to come over one
day and explain the Apocalypse to me?" said Aglaya. "I do not
understand it in the least."
"Allow me to warn you," interposed General Ivolgin, that he is
the greatest charlatan on earth." He had taken the chair next to
the girl, and was impatient to begin talking. "No doubt there are
pleasures and amusements peculiar to the country," he continued,
"and to listen to a pretended student holding forth on the book
of the Revelations may be as good as any other. It may even be
original. But ... you seem to be looking at me with some
surprise--may I introduce myself--General Ivolgin--I carried you
in my arms as a baby--"
"Delighted, I'm sure," said Aglaya; "I am acquainted with Varvara
Ardalionovna and Nina Alexandrovna." She was trying hard to
restrain herself from laughing.
Mrs. Epanchin flushed up; some accumulation of spleen in her
suddenly needed an outlet. She could not bear this General
Ivolgin whom she had once known, long ago--in society.
"You are deviating from the truth, sir, as usual!" she remarked,
boiling over with indignation; "you never carried her in your
life!"
"You have forgotten, mother," said Aglaya, suddenly. "He really
did carry me about,--in Tver, you know. I was six years old, I
remember. He made me a bow and arrow, and I shot a pigeon. Don't
you remember shooting a pigeon, you and I, one day?"
"Yes, and he made me a cardboard helmet, and a little wooden
sword--I remember!" said Adelaida.
"Yes, I remember too!" said Alexandra. "You quarrelled about the
wounded pigeon, and Adelaida was put in the corner, and stood
there with her helmet and sword and all."
The poor general had merely made the remark about having carried
Aglaya in his arms because he always did so begin a conversation
with young people. But it happened that this time he had really
hit upon the truth, though he had himself entirely forgotten the
fact. But when Adelaida and Aglaya recalled the episode of the
pigeon, his mind became filled with memories, and it is
impossible to describe how this poor old man, usually half drunk,
was moved by the recollection.
"I remember--I remember it all!" he cried. "I was captain then.
You were such a lovely little thing--Nina Alexandrovna!--Gania,
listen! I was received then by General Epanchin."
"Yes, and look what you have come to now!" interrupted Mrs.
Epanchin. "However, I see you have not quite drunk your better
feelings away. But you've broken your wife's heart, sir--and
instead of looking after your children, you have spent your time
in public-houses and debtors' prisons! Go away, my friend, stand
in some corner and weep, and bemoan your fallen dignity, and
perhaps God will forgive you yet! Go, go! I'm serious! There's
nothing so favourable for repentance as to think of the past with
feelings of remorse!"
There was no need to repeat that she was serious. The general,
like all drunkards, was extremely emotional and easily touched by
recollections of his better days. He rose and walked quietly to
the door, so meekly that Mrs. Epanchin was instantly sorry for him.
"Ardalion Alexandrovitch," she cried after him, "wait a moment,
we are all sinners! When you feel that your conscience reproaches
you a little less, come over to me and we'll have a talk about
the past! I dare say I am fifty times more of a sinner than you
are! And now go, go, good-bye, you had better not stay here!" she
added, in alarm, as he turned as though to come back.
"Don't go after him just now, Colia, or he'll be vexed, and the
benefit of this moment will be lost!" said the prince, as the boy
was hurrying out of the room.
"Quite true! Much better to go in half an hour or so said Mrs.
Epanchin.
"That's what comes of telling the truth for once in one's life!"
said Lebedeff. "It reduced him to tears."
"Come, come! the less YOU say about it the better--to judge from
all I have heard about you!" replied Mrs. Epanchin.
The prince took the first opportunity of informing the Epanchin
ladies that he had intended to pay them a visit that day, if they
had not themselves come this afternoon, and Lizabetha Prokofievna
replied that she hoped he would still do so.
By this time some of the visitors had disappeared.
Ptitsin had tactfully retreated to Lebedeff's wing; and Gania
soon followed him.
The latter had behaved modestly, but with dignity, on this
occasion of his first meeting with the Epanchins since the
rupture. Twice Mrs. Epanchin had deliberately examined him from
head to foot; but he had stood fire without flinching. He was
certainly much changed, as anyone could see who had not met him
for some time; and this fact seemed to afford Aglaya a good deal
of satisfaction.
"That was Gavrila Ardalionovitch, who just went out, wasn't it?"
she asked suddenly, interrupting somebody else's conversation to
make the remark.
"Yes, it was," said the prince.
"I hardly knew him; he is much changed, and for the better!"
"I am very glad," said the prince.
"He has been very ill," added Varia.
"How has he changed for the better?" asked Mrs. Epanchin. "I
don't see any change for the better! What's better in him? Where
did you get THAT idea from? WHAT'S better?"
"There's nothing better than the 'poor knight'!" said Colia, who
was standing near the last speaker's chair.
"I quite agree with you there!" said Prince S., laughing.
"So do I," said Adelaida, solemnly.
"WHAT poor knight?" asked Mrs. Epanchin, looking round at the
face of each of the speakers in turn. Seeing, however, that
Aglaya was blushing, she added, angrily:
"What nonsense you are all talking! What do you mean by poor
knight?"
"It's not the first time this urchin, your favourite, has shown
his impudence by twisting other people's words," said Aglaya,
haughtily.
Every time that Aglaya showed temper (and this was very often),
there was so much childish pouting, such "school-girlishness," as
it were, in her apparent wrath, that it was impossible to avoid
smiling at her, to her own unutterable indignation. On these
occasions she would say, "How can they, how DARE they laugh at
me?"
This time everyone laughed at her, her sisters, Prince S., Prince
Muishkin (though he himself had flushed for some reason), and
Colia. Aglaya was dreadfully indignant, and looked twice as
pretty in her wrath.
"He's always twisting round what one says," she cried.
"I am only repeating your own exclamation!" said Colia. "A month
ago you were turning over the pages of your Don Quixote, and
suddenly called out 'there is nothing better than the poor
knight.' I don't know whom you were referring to, of course,
whether to Don Quixote, or Evgenie Pavlovitch, or someone else,
but you certainly said these words, and afterwards there was a
long conversation . . . "
"You are inclined to go a little too far, my good boy, with your
guesses," said Mrs. Epanchin, with some show of annoyance.
"But it's not I alone," cried Colia. "They all talked about it,
and they do still. Why, just now Prince S. and Adelaida Ivanovna
declared that they upheld 'the poor knight'; so evidently there
does exist a 'poor knight'; and if it were not for Adelaida
Ivanovna, we should have known long ago who the 'poor knight'
was."
"Why, how am I to blame?" asked Adelaida, smiling.
"You wouldn't draw his portrait for us, that's why you are to
blame! Aglaya Ivanovna asked you to draw his portrait, and gave
you the whole subject of the picture. She invented it herself;
and you wouldn't."
"What was I to draw? According to the lines she quoted:
"'From his face he never lifted
That eternal mask of steel.'"
"What sort of a face was I to draw? I couldn't draw a mask."
"I don't know what you are driving at; what mask do you mean?"
said Mrs. Epanchin, irritably. She began to see pretty clearly
though what it meant, and whom they referred to by the generally
accepted title of "poor knight." But what specially annoyed her
was that the prince was looking so uncomfortable, and blushing
like a ten-year-old child.
"Well, have you finished your silly joke?" she added, and am I to
be told what this 'poor knight' means, or is it a solemn secret
which cannot be approached lightly?"
But they all laughed on.
"It's simply that there is a Russian poem," began Prince S.,
evidently anxious to change the conversation, "a strange thing,
without beginning or end, and all about a 'poor knight.' A month
or so ago, we were all talking and laughing, and looking up a
subject for one of Adelaida's pictures--you know it is the
principal business of this family to find subjects for Adelaida's
pictures. Well, we happened upon this 'poor knight.' I don't
remember who thought of it first--"
"Oh! Aglaya Ivanovna did," said Colia.
"Very likely--I don't recollect," continued Prince S.
"Some of us laughed at the subject; some liked it; but she
declared that, in order to make a picture of the gentleman, she
must first see his face. We then began to think over all our
friends' faces to see if any of them would do, and none suited
us, and so the matter stood; that's all. I don't know why Nicolai
Ardalionovitch has brought up the joke now. What was appropriate
and funny then, has quite lost all interest by this time."
"Probably there's some new silliness about it," said Mrs.
Epanchin, sarcastically.
"There is no silliness about it at all--only the profoundest
respect," said Aglaya, very seriously. She had quite recovered
her temper; in fact, from certain signs, it was fair to conclude
that she was delighted to see this joke going so far; and a
careful observer might have remarked that her satisfaction dated
from the moment when the fact of the prince's confusion became
apparent to all.
"'Profoundest respect!' What nonsense! First, insane giggling,
and then, all of a sudden, a display of 'profoundest respect.'
Why respect? Tell me at once, why have you suddenly developed
this 'profound respect,' eh?"
"Because," replied Aglaya gravely, "in the poem the knight is
described as a man capable of living up to an ideal all his life.
That sort of thing is not to be found every day among the men of
our times. In the poem it is not stated exactly what the ideal
was, but it was evidently some vision, some revelation of pure
Beauty, and the knight wore round his neck, instead of a scarf, a
rosary. A device--A. N. B.--the meaning of which is not
explained, was inscribed on his shield--"
"No, A. N. D.," corrected Colia.
"I say A. N. B., and so it shall be!" cried Aglaya, irritably.
"Anyway, the 'poor knight' did not care what his lady was, or
what she did. He had chosen his ideal, and he was bound to serve
her, and break lances for her, and acknowledge her as the ideal
of pure Beauty, whatever she might say or do afterwards. If she
had taken to stealing, he would have championed her just the
same. I think the poet desired to embody in this one picture the
whole spirit of medieval chivalry and the platonic love of a pure
and high-souled knight. Of course it's all an ideal, and in the
'poor knight' that spirit reached the utmost limit of asceticism.
He is a Don Quixote, only serious and not comical. I used not to
understand him, and laughed at him, but now I love the 'poor
knight,' and respect his actions."
So ended Aglaya; and, to look at her, it was difficult, indeed,
to judge whether she was joking or in earnest.
"Pooh! he was a fool, and his actions were the actions of a
fool," said Mrs. Epanchin; "and as for you, young woman, you
ought to know better. At all events, you are not to talk like
that again. What poem is it? Recite it! I want to hear this poem!
I have hated poetry all my life. Prince, you must excuse this
nonsense. We neither of us like this sort of thing! Be patient!"
They certainly were put out, both of them.
The prince tried to say something, but he was too confused, and
could not get his words out. Aglaya, who had taken such liberties
in her little speech, was the only person present, perhaps, who
was not in the least embarrassed. She seemed, in fact, quite
pleased.
She now rose solemnly from her seat, walked to the centre of the
terrace, and stood in front of the prince's chair. All looked on
with some surprise, and Prince S. and her sisters with feelings
of decided alarm, to see what new frolic she was up to; it had
gone quite far enough already, they thought. But Aglaya evidently
thoroughly enjoyed the affectation and ceremony with which she
was introducing her recitation of the poem.
Mrs. Epanchin was just wondering whether she would not forbid the
performance after all, when, at the very moment that Aglaya
commenced her declamation, two new guests, both talking loudly,
entered from the street. The new arrivals were General Epanchin
and a young man.
Their entrance caused some slight commotion.
