白痴 英文版 The Idiot
陀思妥耶夫斯基 Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Idiot II. Page 1
THE prince suddenly approached Evgenie Pavlovitch.
"Evgenie Pavlovitch," he said, with strange excitement andseizing the latter's hand in his own, "be assured that I esteemyou as a generous and honourable man, in spite of everything. Beassured of that."
Evgenie Pavlovitch fell back a step in astonishment. For onemoment it was all he could do to restrain himself from burstingout laughing; but, looking closer, he observed that the princedid not seem to be quite himself; at all events, he was in a verycurious state.
"I wouldn't mind betting, prince," he cried, "that you did not inthe least mean to say that, and very likely you meant to addresssomeone else altogether. What is it? Are you feeling unwell oranything?"
"Very likely, extremely likely, and you must be a very closeobserver to detect the fact that perhaps I did not intend to comeup to YOU at all."
not believe her ears.whispered angrily to herself the.
So saying he smiled strangely; but suddenly and excitedly hebegan again:
"Don't remind me of what I have done or said. Don't! I am verymuch ashamed of myself, I--"
"Why, what have you done? I don't understand you."
"I see you are ashamed of me, Evgenie Pavlovitch; you areblushing for me; that's a sign of a good heart. Don't be afraid;I shall go away directly."
"What's the matter with him? Do his fits begin like that?" saidLizabetha Prokofievna, in a high state of alarm, addressingColia.
"No, no, Lizabetha Prokofievna, take no notice of me. I am notgoing to have a fit. I will go away directly; but I know I amafflicted. I was twenty-four years an invalid, you see--the firsttwenty-four years of my life--so take all I do and say as thesayings and actions of an invalid. I'm going away directly, Ireally am--don't be afraid. I am not blushing, for I don't think Ineed blush about it, need I? But I see that I am out of place insociety--society is better without me. It's not vanity, I assureyou. I have thought over it all these last three days, and I havemade up my mind that I ought to unbosom myself candidly beforeyou at the first opportunity. There are certain things, certaingreat ideas, which I must not so much as approach, as Prince S.has just reminded me, or I shall make you all laugh. I have nosense of proportion, I know; my words and gestures do not expressmy ideas--they are a humiliation and abasement of the ideas, andtherefore, I have no right--and I am too sensitive. Still, Ibelieve I am beloved in this household, and esteemed far morethan I deserve. But I can't help knowing that after twenty-fouryears of illness there must be some trace left, so that it isimpossible for people to refrain from laughing at me sometimes;don't you think so?"
He seemed to pause for a reply, for some verdict, as it were, andlooked humbly around him.
All present stood rooted to the earth with amazement at thisunexpected and apparently uncalled-for outbreak; but the poorprince's painful and rambling speech gave rise to a strangeepisode.
"Why do you say all this here?" cried Aglaya, suddenly. "Why doyou talk like this to THEM?"
She appeared to be in the last stages of wrath and irritation;her eyes flashed. The prince stood dumbly and blindly before her,and suddenly grew pale.
"There is not one of them all who is worthy of these words ofyours," continued Aglaya. "Not one of them is worth your littlefinger, not one of them has heart or head to compare with yours!You are more honest than all, and better, nobler, kinder, wiserthan all. There are some here who are unworthy to bend and pickup the handkerchief you have just dropped. Why do you humiliateyourself like this, and place yourself lower than these people?Why do you debase yourself before them? Why have you no pride?"
"My God! Who would ever have believed this?" cried Mrs. Epanchin,wringing her hands.
"Hurrah for the 'poor knight'!" cried Colia.
"Be quiet! How dare they laugh at me in your house?" said Aglaya,turning sharply on her mother in that hysterical frame of mindthat rides recklessly over every obstacle and plunges blindlythrough proprieties. "Why does everyone, everyone worry andtorment me? Why have they all been bullying me these three daysabout you, prince? I will not marry you--never, and under nocircumstances! Know that once and for all; as if anyone couldmarry an absurd creature like you! Just look in the glass and seewhat you look like, this very moment! Why, WHY do they torment meand say I am going to marry you? You must know it; you are in theplot with them!"
"No one ever tormented you on the subject," murmured Adelaida,aghast.
"No one ever thought of such a thing! There has never been a wordsaid about it!" cried Alexandra.
"Who has been annoying her? Who has been tormenting the child? Whocould have said such a thing to her? Is she raving?" criedLizabetha Prokofievna, trembling with rage, to the company ingeneral.
"Every one of them has been saying it--every one of them--allthese three days! And I will never, never marry him!"
So saying, Aglaya burst into bitter tears, and, hiding her facein her handkerchief, sank back into a chair.
"But he has never even--"
"I have never asked you to marry me, Aglaya Ivanovna!" said theprince, of a sudden.
"WHAT?" cried Mrs. Epanchin, raising her hands in horror. "WHAT'Sthat?"
She could not believe her ears.
"I meant to say--I only meant to say," said the prince,faltering, "I merely meant to explain to Aglaya Ivanovna--to havethe honour to explain, as it were--that I had no intention--neverhad--to ask the honour of her hand. I assure you I am not guilty,Aglaya Ivanovna, I am not, indeed. I never did wish to--I neverthought of it at all--and never shall--you'll see it yourself--you may be quite assured of it. Some wicked person has beenmaligning me to you; but it's all right. Don't worry about it."
So saying, the prince approached Aglaya.
present stood rooted to the earth with amazement at thisunexpected.
She took the handkerchief from her face, glanced keenly at him,took in what he had said, and burst out laughing--such a merry,unrestrained laugh, so hearty and gay, that. Adelaida could notcontain herself. She, too, glanced at the prince's panic-strickencountenance, then rushed at her sister, threw her arms round herneck, and burst into as merry a fit of laughter as Aglaya's own.They laughed together like a couple of school-girls. Hearing andseeing this, the prince smiled happily, and in accents of reliefand joy, he exclaimed "Well, thank God--thank God!"
Alexandra now joined in, and it looked as though the threesisters were going to laugh on for ever.
"They are insane," muttered Lizabetha Prokofievna. "Either theyfrighten one out of one's wits, or else--"
But Prince S. was laughing now, too, so was Evgenie Pavlovitch,so was Colia, and so was the prince himself, who caught theinfection as he looked round radiantly upon the others.
"Come along, let's go out for a walk!" cried Adelaida. "We'll allgo together, and the prince must absolutely go with us. Youneedn't go away, you dear good fellow! ISN'T he a dear, Aglaya?Isn't he, mother? I must really give him a kiss for--for hisexplanation to Aglaya just now. Mother, dear, I may kiss him,mayn't I? Aglaya, may I kiss YOUR prince?" cried the young rogue,and sure enough she skipped up to the prince and kissed hisforehead.
He seized her hands, and pressed them so hard that Adelaidanearly cried out; he then gazed with delight into her eyes, andraising her right hand to his lips with enthusiasm, kissed itthree times.
"Come along," said Aglaya. "Prince, you must walk with me. Mayhe, mother? This young cavalier, who won't have me? You said youwould NEVER have me, didn't you, prince? No-no, not like that;THAT'S not the way to give your arm. Don't you know how to giveyour arm to a lady yet? There--so. Now, come along, you and Iwill lead the way. Would you like to lead the way with me alone,tete-a-tete?"
She went on talking and chatting without a pause, with occasionallittle bursts of laughter between.
"Thank God--thank God!" said Lizabetha Prokofievna to herself,without quite knowing why she felt so relieved.
"What extraordinary people they are!" thought Prince S., forperhaps the hundredth time since he had entered into intimaterelations with the family; but--he liked these "extraordinarypeople," all the same. As for Prince Lef Nicolaievitch himself,Prince S. did not seem quite to like him, somehow. He wasdecidedly preoccupied and a little disturbed as they all startedoff.
Evgenie Pavlovitch seemed to be in a lively humour. He madeAdelaida and Alexandra laugh all the way to the Vauxhall; butthey both laughed so very really and promptly that the worthyEvgenie began at last to suspect that they were not listening tohim at all.
At this idea, he burst out laughing all at once, in quiteunaffected mirth, and without giving any explanation.
The sisters, who also appeared to be in high spirits, never tiredof glancing at Aglaya and the prince, who were walking in front.It was evident that their younger sister was a thorough puzzle tothem both.
Prince S. tried hard to get up a conversation with Mrs. Epanchinupon outside subjects, probably with the good intention ofdistracting and amusing her; but he bored her dreadfully. She wasabsent-minded to a degree, and answered at cross purposes, andsometimes not at all.
But the puzzle and mystery of Aglaya was not yet over for theevening. The last exhibition fell to the lot of the prince alone.When they had proceeded some hundred paces or so from the house,Aglaya said to her obstinately silent cavalier in a quick half-whisper:
"Look to the right!"
proceedings,though, of course, accidents will happen everywhere. shook!
The prince glanced in the direction indicated.
"Look closer. Do you see that bench, in the park there, just bythose three big trees--that green bench?"
The prince replied that he saw it.
"Do you like the position of it? Sometimes of a morning early, atseven o'clock, when all the rest are still asleep, I come out andsit there alone."
under her breath.glanced in the direction.
The prince muttered that the spot was a lovely one.
"Now, go away, I don't wish to have your arm any longer; orperhaps, better, continue to give me your arm, and walk alongbeside me, but don't speak a word to me. I wish to think bymyself."
The warning was certainly unnecessary; for the prince would nothave said a word all the rest of the time whether forbidden tospeak or not. His heart beat loud and painfully when Aglaya spokeof the bench; could she--but no! he banished the thought, afteran instant's deliberation.
At Pavlofsk, on weekdays, the public is more select than it is onSundays and Saturdays, when the townsfolk come down to walk aboutand enjoy the park.
The ladies dress elegantly, on these days, and it is the fashionto gather round the band, which is probably the best of ourpleasure-garden bands, and plays the newest pieces. The behaviourof the public is most correct and proper, and there is anappearance of friendly intimacy among the usual frequenters. Manycome for nothing but to look at their acquaintances, but thereare others who come for the sake of the music. It is very seldomthat anything happens to break the harmony of the proceedings,though, of course, accidents will happen everywhere.
On this particular evening the weather was lovely, and there werea large number of people present. All the places anywhere nearthe orchestra were occupied.
Our friends took chairs near the side exit. The crowd and themusic cheered Mrs. Epanchin a little, and amused the girls; theybowed and shook hands with some of their friends and nodded at adistance to others; they examined the ladies' dresses, noticedcomicalities and eccentricities among the people, and laughed andtalked among themselves. Evgenie Pavlovitch, too, found plenty offriends to bow to. Several people noticed Aglaya and the prince,who were still together.
Before very long two or three young men had come up, and one ortwo remained to talk; all of these young men appeared to be onintimate terms with Evgenie Pavlovitch. Among them was a youngofficer, a remarkably handsome fellow--very good-natured and agreat chatterbox. He tried to get up a conversation with Aglaya,and did his best to secure her attention. Aglaya behaved verygraciously to him, and chatted and laughed merrily. EvgeniePavlovitch begged the prince's leave to introduce their friend tohim. The prince hardly realized what was wanted of him, but theintroduction came off; the two men bowed and shook hands.
Evgenie Pavlovitch's friend asked the prince some question, butthe latter did not reply, or if he did, he muttered something sostrangely indistinct that there was nothing to be made of it. Theofficer stared intently at him, then glanced at Evgenie, divinedwhy the latter had introduced him, and gave his undividedattention to Aglaya again. Only Evgenie Pavlovitch observed thatAglaya flushed up for a moment at this.
The prince did not notice that others were talking and makingthemselves agreeable to Aglaya; in fact, at moments, he almostforgot that he was sitting by her himself. At other moments hefelt a longing to go away somewhere and be alone with histhoughts, and to feel that no one knew where he was.
Or if that were impossible he would like to be alone at home, onthe terrace-without either Lebedeff or his children, or anyoneelse about him, and to lie there and think--a day and night andanother day again! He thought of the mountains-and especially ofa certain spot which he used to frequent, whence he would lookdown upon the distant valleys and fields, and see the waterfall,far off, like a little silver thread, and the old ruined castlein the distance. Oh! how he longed to be there now--alone withhis thoughts--to think of one thing all his life--one thing! Athousand years would not be too much time! And let everyone hereforget him--forget him utterly! How much better it would havebeen if they had never known him--if all this could but prove tobe a dream. Perhaps it was a dream!
Now and then he looked at Aglaya for five minutes at a time,without taking his eyes off her face; but his expression was verystrange; he would gaze at her as though she were an object acouple of miles distant, or as though he were looking at herportrait and not at herself at all.
"Why do you look at me like that, prince?" she asked suddenly,breaking off her merry conversation and laughter with those abouther. "I'm afraid of you! You look as though you were just goingto put out your hand and touch my face to see if it's real!Doesn't he, Evgenie Pavlovitch--doesn't he look like that?"
The prince seemed surprised that he should have been addressedat all; he reflected a moment, but did not seem to take in whathad been said to him; at all events, he did not answer. Butobserving that she and the others had begun to laugh, he tooopened his mouth and laughed with them.
The laughter became general, and the young officer, who seemed aparticularly lively sort of person, simply shook with mirth.
Aglaya suddenly whispered angrily to herself the word--
"Idiot!"
"My goodness--surely she is not in love with such a--surely sheisn't mad!" groaned Mrs. Epanchin, under her breath.
"It's all a joke, mamma; it's just a joke like the 'poor knight'--nothing more whatever, I assure you!" Alexandra whispered in herear. "She is chaffing him--making a fool of him, after her ownprivate fashion, that's all! But she carries it just a little toofar--she is a regular little actress. How she frightened us justnow--didn't she?--and all for a lark!"
"Well, it's lucky she has happened upon an idiot, then, that'sall I can say!" whispered Lizabetha Prokofievna, who was somewhatcomforted, however, by her daughter's remark.
The prince had heard himself referred to as "idiot," and hadshuddered at the moment; but his shudder, it so happened, was notcaused by the word applied to him. The fact was that in thecrowd, not far from where lie was sitting, a pale familiar face,with curly black hair, and a well-known smile and expression, hadflashed across his vision for a moment, and disappeared again.Very likely he had imagined it! There only remained to him theimpression of a strange smile, two eyes, and a bright green tie.Whether the man had disappeared among the crowd, or whether hehad turned towards the Vauxhall, the prince could not say.
But a moment or two afterwards he began to glance keenly abouthim. That first vision might only too likely be the forerunner ofa second; it was almost certain to be so. Surely he had notforgotten the possibility of such a meeting when he came to theVauxhall? True enough, he had not remarked where he was coming towhen he set out with Aglaya; he had not been in a condition toremark anything at all.
Had he been more careful to observe his companion, he would haveseen that for the last quarter of an hour Aglaya had also beenglancing around in apparent anxiety, as though she expected tosee someone, or something particular, among the crowd of people.Now, at the moment when his own anxiety became so marked, herexcitement also increased visibly, and when he looked about him,she did the same.
The reason for their anxiety soon became apparent. From that veryside entrance to the Vauxhall, near which the prince and all theEpanchin party were seated, there suddenly appeared quite a largeknot of persons, at least a dozen.
Heading this little band walked three ladies, two of whom wereremarkably lovely; and there was nothing surprising in the factthat they should have had a large troop of admirers following intheir wake.
But there was something in the appearance of both the ladies andtheir admirers which was peculiar, quite different for that ofthe rest of the public assembled around the orchestra.
Nearly everyone observed the little band advancing, and allpretended not to see or notice them, except a few young fellowswho exchanged glances and smiled, saying something to one anotherin whispers.
It was impossible to avoid noticing them, however, in reality,for they made their presence only too conspicuous by laughing andtalking loudly. It was to be supposed that some of them were morethan half drunk, although they were well enough dressed, someeven particularly well. There were one or two, however, who werevery strange-looking creatures, with flushed faces andextraordinary clothes; some were military men; not all were quiteyoung; one or two were middle-aged gentlemen of decidedlydisagreeable appearance, men who are avoided in society like theplague, decked out in large gold studs and rings, andmagnificently "got up," generally.
Among our suburban resorts there are some which enjoy a speciallyhigh reputation for respectability and fashion; but the mostcareful individual is not absolutely exempt from the danger of atile falling suddenly upon his head from his neighbour's roof.
Such a tile was about to descend upon the elegant and decorouspublic now assembled to hear the music.
In order to pass from the Vauxhall to the band-stand, the visitorhas to descend two or three steps. Just at these steps the grouppaused, as though it feared to proceed further; but very quicklyone of the three ladies, who formed its apex, stepped forwardinto the charmed circle, followed by two members of her suite.