白痴 英文版 The Idiot
陀思妥耶夫斯基 Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Idiot XVI. Page 2
"Hey! look at it, it'll burn in another minute or two!" criedNastasia Philipovna. "You'll hang yourself afterwards, you know,if it does! I'm not joking."
The fire, choked between a couple of smouldering pieces of wood,had died down for the first few moments after the packet wasthrown upon it. But a little tongue of fire now began to lick thepaper from below, and soon, gathering courage, mounted the sidesof the parcel, and crept around it. In another moment, the wholeof it burst into flames, and the exclamations of woe and horrorwere redoubled.
"Nastasia Philipovna!" lamented Lebedeff again, straining towardsthe fireplace; but Rogojin dragged him away, and pushed him tothe rear once more.
The whole of Regojin's being was concentrated in one rapturousgaze of ecstasy. He could not take his eyes off Nastasia. Hestood drinking her in, as it were. He was in the seventh heavenof delight.
"Oh, what a queen she is!" he ejaculated, every other minute,throwing out the remark for anyone who liked to catch it. "That'sthe sort of woman for me! Which of you would think of doing athing like that, you blackguards, eh?" he yelled. He washopelessly and wildly beside himself with ecstasy.
The prince watched the whole scene, silent and dejected.
"I'll pull it out with my teeth for one thousand," saidFerdishenko.
"So would I," said another, from behind, "with pleasure. Deviltake the thing!" he added, in a tempest of despair, "it will allbe burnt up in a minute--It's burning, it's burning!"
"It's burning, it's burning!" cried all, thronging nearer andnearer to the fire in their excitement.
"Gania, don't be a fool! I tell you for the last time."
"Get on, quick!" shrieked Ferdishenko, rushing wildly up toGania, and trying to drag him to the fire by the sleeve of hiscoat. "Get it, you dummy, it's burning away fast! Oh--DAMN thething!"
Gania hurled Ferdishenko from him; then he turned sharp round andmade for the door. But he had not gone a couple of steps when hetottered and fell to the ground.
"He's fainted!" the cry went round.
"And the money's burning still," Lebedeff lamented.
"Burning for nothing," shouted others.
"Katia-Pasha! Bring him some water!" cried Nastasia Philipovna.Then she took the tongs and fished out the packet.
Nearly the whole of the outer covering was burned away, but itwas soon evident that the contents were hardly touched. Thepacket had been wrapped in a threefold covering of newspaper, andthe, notes were safe. All breathed more freely.
"Some dirty little thousand or so may be touched," said Lebedeff,immensely relieved, "but there's very little harm done, afterall."
"It's all his--the whole packet is for him, do you hear--all ofyou?" cried Nastasia Philipovna, placing the packet by the sideof Gania. "He restrained himself, and didn't go after it; so hisself-respect is greater than his thirst for money. All right--he'll come to directly--he must have the packet or he'll cut histhroat afterwards. There! He's coming to himself. General,Totski, all of you, did you hear me? The money is all Gania's. Igive it to him, fully conscious of my action, as recompense for--well, for anything he thinks best. Tell him so. Let it lie herebeside him. Off we go, Rogojin! Goodbye, prince. I have seen aman for the first time in my life. Goodbye, Afanasy Ivanovitch--and thanks!"
The Rogojin gang followed their leader and Nastasia Philipovna tothe entrance-hall, laughing and shouting and whistling.
In the hall the servants were waiting, and handed her her furcloak. Martha, the cook, ran in from the kitchen. Nastasia kissedthem all round.
"Are you really throwing us all over, little mother? Where, whereare you going to? And on your birthday, too!" cried the fourgirls, crying over her and kissing her hands.
"I am going out into the world, Katia; perhaps I shall be alaundress. I don't know. No more of Afanasy Ivanovitch, anyhow.Give him my respects. Don't think badly of me, girls."
The prince hurried down to the front gate where the party weresettling into the troikas, all the bells tinkling a merryaccompaniment the while. The general caught him up on the stairs:
"Prince, prince!" he cried, seizing hold of his arm, "recollectyourself! Drop her, prince! You see what sort of a woman she is.I am speaking to you like a father."
The prince glanced at him, but said nothing. He shook himselffree, and rushed on downstairs.
The general was just in time to see the prince take the firstsledge he could get, and, giving the order to Ekaterinhof, startoff in pursuit of the troikas. Then the general's fine grey horsedragged that worthy home, with some new thoughts, and some newhopes and calculations developing in his brain, and with thepearls in his pocket, for he had not forgotten to bring themalong with him, being a man of business. Amid his new thoughtsand ideas there came, once or twice, the image of NastasiaPhilipovna. The general sighed.
"I'm sorry, really sorry," he muttered. "She's a ruined woman.Mad! mad! However, the prince is not for Nastasia Philipovnanow,--perhaps it's as well."
Two more of Nastasia's guests, who walked a short distancetogether, indulged in high moral sentiments of a similar nature.
"H'm! and you think there was something of this sort here, doyou? Dear me--a very remarkable comparison, you know! But youmust have observed, my dear Ptitsin, that I did all I possiblycould. I could do no more than I did. And you must admit thatthere are some rare qualities in this woman. I felt I could notspeak in that Bedlam, or I should have been tempted to cry out,when she reproached me, that she herself was my bestjustification. Such a woman could make anyone forget all reason--everything! Even that moujik, Rogojin, you saw, brought her ahundred thousand roubles! Of course, all that happened tonightwas ephemeral, fantastic, unseemly--yet it lacked neither colournor originality. My God! What might not have been made of such acharacter combined with such beauty! Yet in spite of all efforts--in spite of all education, even--all those gifts are wasted! Sheis an uncut diamond.... I have often said so."
And Afanasy Ivanovitch heaved a deep sigh.