“Prince, Prince! you are offering her your hand. You want to take her from me, my Zina! my darling, my _ange_, my own dear child, Zina! No, Zina, no, I can’t let you go! They must tear you from me, Zina. They must tear you first from your mother’s arms!” Maria Alexandrovna sprang to her daughter, and caught her up in a close embrace, conscious, withal, of serious physical resistance on Zina’s part. The fond mother was a little overdoing it. Zina felt this with all her soul, and she looked on at the whole comedy with inexpressible loathing. However, she held her tongue, and that was all the fond mother required of her. “She has refused nine men because she will not leave me!” said Maria. “But this time, I fear—my heart tells me that we are doomed to part! I noticed just now how she looked at you, Prince. You have impressed her with your aristocratic manner, with your refinement. Oh! Prince, you are going to separate us—I feel it, I feel it!” “I ad—ore her!” murmured the poor old man, still trembling like an autumnal leaf. “And you’ll consent to leave your mother!” cried Maria Alexandrovna, throwing herself upon her daughter once more. Zina made haste to bring this, to her, painful scene to an end. She stretched her pretty hand silently to the prince, and even forced herself to smile. The prince reverently took the little hand into his own, and covered it with kisses. “I am only this mo—ment beginning to live,” he mutterred, in a voice that seemed choking with rapture and ecstasy. “Zina,” began Maria Alexandrovna, solemnly, “look well at this man! This is the most honest and upright and noble man of all the men I know. He is a knight of the middle ages! But she knows it, Prince, she knows it too well; to my grief I say it. Oh! why did you come here? I am surrendering my treasure to you—my angel! Oh! take care of her, Prince. Her mother entreats you to watch over her. And what mother could blame my grief!” “Enough, mamma! that’s enough,” said Zina, quietly. “Protect her from all hurt and insult, Prince! Can I rely upon your sword to flash in the face of the vile scandal-monger who dares to offend my Zina?” “Enough, mother, I tell you! am I——?” “Ye—yes, ye—yes, it shall flash all right,” said the prince. “But I want to be married now, at once. I—I’m only just learning what it is to live. I want to send off to Donchanovo at once. I want to send for some di—iamonds I have there. I want to lay them at her feet.——I——” “What noble ardour! what ecstasy of love! what noble, generous feelings you have, Prince!” cried Maria Alexandrovna. “And you could bury yourself—_bury_ yourself, far from the world and society! I shall remind you of this a thousand times! I go mad when I think of that _hellish_ woman.” “What could I do? I was fri—ghtened!” stammered the prince in a whining voice: “they wanted to put me in a lu—unatic asylum! I was dreadfully alarmed!”