Brothers -- Fiction; Didactic fiction; Fathers and sons -- Fiction; Russia -- Social life and customs -- 1533-1917 -- Fiction
About two o’clock when everything was quiet, and even Fyodor Pavlovitch
had gone to bed, Ivan had got into bed, firmly resolved to fall asleep
at once, as he felt fearfully exhausted. And he did fall asleep at
once, and slept soundly without dreams, but waked early, at seven
o’clock, when it was broad daylight. Opening his eyes, he was surprised
to feel himself extraordinarily vigorous. He jumped up at once and
dressed quickly; then dragged out his trunk and began packing
immediately. His linen had come back from the laundress the previous
morning. Ivan positively smiled at the thought that everything was
helping his sudden departure. And his departure certainly was sudden.
Though Ivan had said the day before (to Katerina Ivanovna, Alyosha, and
Smerdyakov) that he was leaving next day, yet he remembered that he had
no thought of departure when he went to bed, or, at least, had not
dreamed that his first act in the morning would be to pack his trunk.
At last his trunk and bag were ready. It was about nine o’clock when
Marfa Ignatyevna came in with her usual inquiry, “Where will your honor
take your tea, in your own room or downstairs?” He looked almost
cheerful, but there was about him, about his words and gestures,
something hurried and scattered. Greeting his father affably, and even
inquiring specially after his health, though he did not wait to hear
his answer to the end, he announced that he was starting off in an hour
to return to Moscow for good, and begged him to send for the horses.
His father heard this announcement with no sign of surprise, and forgot
in an unmannerly way to show regret at losing him. Instead of doing so,
he flew into a great flutter at the recollection of some important
business of his own.
“What a fellow you are! Not to tell me yesterday! Never mind; we’ll
manage it all the same. Do me a great service, my dear boy. Go to
Tchermashnya on the way. It’s only to turn to the left from the station
at Volovya, only another twelve versts and you come to Tchermashnya.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t. It’s eighty versts to the railway and the train
starts for Moscow at seven o’clock to-night. I can only just catch it.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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