‘And now it is you who have brought them together again?’
‘Excellency, how could I, how could I prevent it?’
‘That will do. I can find out for myself. Only tell me, where is she now? At his house? With him?’
‘Oh no! Certainly not! ‘I am free,’ she says; you know how she insists on that point. ‘I am entirely free.’ She repeats it over and over again. She is living in Petersburgskaia, with my sisterin-law, as I told you in my letter.’
‘She is there at this moment?’
‘Yes, unless she has gone to Pavlofsk: the fine weather may have tempted her, perhaps, into the country, with Dar-ia Alexeyevna. ‘I am quite free,’ she says. Only yesterday she boasted of her freedom to Nicolai Ardalionovitch—a bad sign,’ added Lebedeff, smiling.
‘Colia goes to see her often, does he not?’
‘He is a strange boy, thoughtless, and inclined to be in-discreet.’
‘Is it long since you saw her?’
‘I go to see her every day, every day.’ ‘Then you were there yesterday?’
‘N-no: I have not been these three last days.’
‘It is a pity you have taken too much wine, Lebedeff I want to ask you something … but…’
‘All right! all right! I am not drunk,’ replied the clerk, preparing to listen.
‘Tell me, how was she when you left her?’ ‘She is a woman who is seeking. .. ‘ ‘Seeking?’
‘She seems always to be searching about, as if she had lost something. The mere idea of her coming marriage disgusts her; she looks on it as an insult. She cares as much for HIM as for a piece of orange-peel—not more. Yet I am much mis-taken if she does not look on him with fear and trembling.
She forbids his name to be mentioned before her, and they only meet when unavoidable. He understands, well enough! But it must be gone through She is restless, mocking, deceit-ful, violent….’
‘Deceitful and violent?’
‘Yes, violent. I can give you a proof of it. A few days ago she tried to pull my hair because I said something that an-noyed her. I tried to soothe her by reading the Apocalypse aloud.’
‘What?’ exclaimed the prince, thinking he had not heard aright.
‘By reading the Apocalypse. The lady has a restless imag-ination, he-he! She has a liking for conversation on serious subjects, of any kind; in fact they please her so much, that it flatters her to discuss them. Now for fifteen years at least I have studied the Apocalypse, and she agrees with me in thinking that the present is the epoch represented by the third horse, the black one whose rider holds a measure in his hand. It seems to me that everything is ruled by mea-sure in our century; all men are clamouring for their rights;
‘a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of bar-ley for a penny.’ But, added to this, men desire freedom of mind and body, a pure heart, a healthy life, and all God’s good gifts. Now by pleading their rights alone, they will never attain all this, so the white horse, with his rider Death, comes next, and is followed by Hell. We talked about this matter when we met, and it impressed her very much.’
‘Do you believe all this?’ asked Muishkin, looking curi-ously at his companion.
‘I both believe it and explain it. I am but a poor creature, a beggar, an atom in the scale of humanity. Who has the least respect for Lebedeff? He is a target for all the world, the butt of any fool who chooses to kick him. But in in-terpreting revelation I am the equal of anyone, great as he may be! Such is the power of the mind and the spirit. I have made a lordly personage tremble, as he sat in his armchair … only by talking to him of things concerning the spirit. Two years ago, on Easter Eve, His Excellency Nil Alexeyovitch, whose subordinate I was then, wished to hear what I had to say, and sent a message by Peter Zakkaritch to ask me to go to his private room. ‘They tell me you expound the prophecies relating to Antichrist,’ said he, when we were alone. ‘Is that so?’ ‘ Yes,’ I answered unhesitatingly, and I began to give some comments on the Apostle’s allegorical vision. At first he smiled, but when we reached the numeri-cal computations and correspondences, he trembled, and turned pale. Then he begged me to close the book, and sent me away, promising to put my name on the reward list. That took place as I said on the eve of Easter, and eight days later his soul returned to God.’
‘What?’
‘It is the truth. One evening after dinner he stumbled as he stepped out of his carriage. He fell, and struck his head on the curb, and died immediately. He was seventy-three years of age, and had a red face, and white hair; he deluged himself with scent, and was always smiling like a child. Pe-ter Zakkaritch recalled my interview with him, and said,
‘YOU FORETOLD HIS DEATH.’’
The prince rose from his seat, and Lebedeff, surprised to see his guest preparing to go so soon, remarked: ‘You are not interested?’ in a respectful tone.
‘I am not very well, and my head aches. Doubtless the ef-fect of the journey,’ replied the prince, frowning.
‘You should go into the country,’ said Lebedeff timidly. The prince seemed to be considering the suggestion. ‘You see, I am going into the country myself in three days,
with my children and belongings. The little one is delicate; she needs change of air; and during our absence this house will be done up. I am going to Pavlofsk.’
‘You are going to Pavlofsk too?’ asked the prince sharply. ‘Everybody seems to be going there. Have you a house in
that neighbourhood?’
‘I don’t know of many people going to Pavlofsk, and as for the house, Ivan Ptitsin has let me one of his villas rather cheaply. It is a pleasant place, lying on a hill surrounded by trees, and one can live there for a mere song. There is good music to be heard, so no wonder it is popular. I shall stay in the lodge. As to the villa itself. . ‘
‘Have you let it?’
‘N-no—not exactly.’
‘Let it to me,’ said the prince.
Now this was precisely what Lebedeff had made up his mind to do in the last three minutes. Not that he bad any dificulty in finding a tenant; in fact the house was occupied at present by a chance visitor, who had told Lebedeff that he would perhaps take it for the summer months. The clerk knew very well that this ‘PERHAPS’ meant ‘CERTAINLY,’
but as he thought he could make more out of a tenant like the prince, he felt justified in speaking vaguely about the present inhabitant’s intentions. ‘This is quite a coincidence,’ thought he, and when the subject of price was mentioned, he made a gesture with his hand, as if to waive away a ques-tion of so little importance.
‘Oh well, as you like!’ said Muishkin. ‘I will think it over. You shall lose nothing!’
They were walking slowly across the garden.
‘But if you … I could …’ stammered Lebedeff, ‘if…if you please, prince, tell you something on the subject which would interest you, I am sure.’ He spoke in wheedling tones, and wriggled as he walked along.
Muishkin stopped short.
‘Daria Alexeyevna also has a villa at Pavlofsk.’ ‘Well?’
‘A certain person is very friendly with her, and intends to visit her pretty often.’
Well?’
‘Aglaya Ivanovna…’
‘Oh stop, Lebedeff!’ interposed Muishkin, feeling as if he had been touched on an open wound. ‘That … that has noth-ing to do with me. I should like to know when you are going to start. The sooner the better as far as I am concerned, for I am at an hotel.’
They had left the garden now, and were crossing the yard on their way to the gate.
‘Well, leave your hotel at once and come here; then we can all go together to Pavlofsk the day after tomorrow.’
‘I will think about it,’ said the prince dreamily, and went off.
The clerk stood looking after his guest, struck by his sud-den absent-mindedness. He had not even remembered to say goodbye, and Lebedeff was the more surprised at the omission, as he knew by experience how courteous the prince usually was.
III
It was now close on twelve o’clock.
The prince knew that if he called at the Epanchins’ now he would only find the general, and that the latter might probably carry him straight off to Pavlofsk with him; whereas there was one visit he was most anxious to make without delay.
So at the risk of missing General Epanchin altogether, and thus postponing his visit to Pavlofsk for a day, at least, the prince decided to go and look for the house he desired to find.
The visit he was about to pay was, in some respects, a risky one. He was in two minds about it, but knowing that the house was in the Gorohovaya, not far from the Sadova-ya, he determined to go in that direction, and to try to make up his mind on the way.
Arrived at the point where the Gorohovaya crosses the Sadovaya, he was surprised to find
