"How did you come to marry? What a queer set out! How was it? You brought your wife home!--and then? Ha! ha! ha!" "What are you cackling about? Look out there!" came threateningly across the river. "Damned beast!" ejaculates with delight Sergei; and returns to the theme that interests him. "Come, Mitia; tell me; tell me at once--why not?" "Leave me alone, Sergei," Mitia murmurs entreatingly; "I told you once." But knowing by experience that Sergei will not leave him in peace, he begins hurriedly: "Well, I brought her home--and I told her: 'I can't be your husband, Marka; you are a strong girl, and I am a feeble, sick man. I didn't wish at all to marry you, but my father would force me to marry.' He was always saying to me, 'Get married! Get married!' I don't like women, I said: and you especially, you are too bold. Yes--and I can't have anything to do--with it. Do you understand? For me, it disgusts me, and it is a sin. And children--one is answerable to God for one's children." "Disgusts," yells Sergei and laughs. "Well! and what did Marka reply? What?" "She said, 'What shall I do now?' and then she began to cry. 'What have you got against me? Am I so dreadfully ugly?' She is shameless, Sergei, and wicked! 'With all this health and strength of mine, must I go to my father-in-law?' And I answered: 'If you like--go where you wish, but I can't act against my soul. If I had love for you, well and good; but being as it is, how is it possible? Father Ivan says it's the deadliest sin. We are not beasts, are we?' She went on crying: 'You have ruined my chances in life!' And I pitied her very much. 'It's nothing,' I said; 'things will come all right. Or,' I continued, 'you can go into a convent.' And she began to insult me. 'You are a stupid fool, Mitia! a coward!'" "Well, I'm blest!" exclaims Sergei, in a delighted whisper. "So you told her straight to go into a convent?" "Yes, I told her to go," answers Mitia simply. "And she told you you were a fool?" queried Sergei, raising his voice. "Yes, she insulted me." "And she was right, my friend; yes, indeed, she was right! You deserve a proper hammering." And Sergei, changing suddenly his tone, continued with severity and authority: "Have you any right to go against the law? But you did go against it! Things are arranged in a certain way, and it's no use going against them! You mustn't even discuss them. But what did you do? You got some maggot into your head. A convent, indeed! Silly fool! What did the girl want? Did she want your convent? What a set of muddle-headed fools there seems to be now! Just think what's happened! You, you're neither fish nor fowl, nor good red-herring. And the girl's done for! She's living with an old man! And you drove the old man into sin! How many laws have you broken? You clever head!"