Historical fiction; Russia -- Social conditions -- 1801-1917 -- Fiction
“Oh, now you are going to praise him! He will be set up! He puts his
hand on his heart, and he is delighted! I never said he was a man
without heart, but he is a rascal—that’s the pity of it. And then, he
is addicted to drink, and his mind is unhinged, like that of most
people who have taken more than is good for them for years. He loves
his children—oh, I know that well enough! He respected my aunt, his
late wife... and he even has a sort of affection for me. He has
remembered me in his will.”
“I shall leave you nothing!” exclaimed his uncle angrily.
“Listen to me, Lebedeff,” said the prince in a decided voice, turning
his back on the young man. “I know by experience that when you choose,
you can be business-like... I have very little time to spare, and if
you... By the way—excuse me—what is your Christian name? I have
forgotten it.”
“Ti-Ti-Timofey.”
“And?”
“Lukianovitch.”
Everyone in the room began to laugh.
“He is telling lies!” cried the nephew. “Even now he cannot speak the
truth. He is not called Timofey Lukianovitch, prince, but Lukian
Timofeyovitch. Now do tell us why you must needs lie about it? Lukian
or Timofey, it is all the same to you, and what difference can it make
to the prince? He tells lies without the least necessity, simply by
force of habit, I assure you.”
“Is that true?” said the prince impatiently.
“My name really is Lukian Timofeyovitch,” acknowledged Lebedeff,
lowering his eyes, and putting his hand on his heart.
“Well, for God’s sake, what made you say the other?”
“To humble myself,” murmured Lebedeff.
“What on earth do you mean? Oh I if only I knew where Colia was at this
moment!” cried the prince, standing up, as if to go.
“I can tell you all about Colia,” said the young man
“Oh! no, no!” said Lebedeff, hurriedly.
“Colia spent the night here, and this morning went after his father,
whom you let out of prison by paying his debts—Heaven only knows why!
Yesterday the general promised to come and lodge here, but he did not
appear. Most probably he slept at the hotel close by. No doubt Colia is
there, unless he has gone to Pavlofsk to see the Epanchins. He had a
little money, and was intending to go there yesterday. He must be
either at the hotel or at Pavlofsk.”
“At Pavlofsk! He is at Pavlofsk, undoubtedly!” interrupted Lebedeff....
“But come—let us go into the garden—we will have coffee there....” And
Lebedeff seized the prince’s arm, and led him from the room. They went
across the yard, and found themselves in a delightful little garden
with the trees already in their summer dress of green, thanks to the
unusually fine weather. Lebedeff invited his guest to sit down on a
green seat before a table of the same colour fixed in the earth, and
took a seat facing him. In a few minutes the coffee appeared, and the
prince did not refuse it. The host kept his eyes fixed on Muishkin,
with an expression of passionate servility.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account