白痴 英文版 The Idiot
陀思妥耶夫斯基 Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Idiot I. Page 2
"What are you doing? Where are you going to? You can't let him gonow; if you do he'll go and do something worse."
"What did he do there? What did he say?" "They couldn't tell methemselves; they couldn't make head or tail of it; but hefrightened them all. He came to see the general, who was not athome; so he asked for Lizabetha Prokofievna. First of all, hebegged her for some place, or situation, for work of some kind,and then he began to complain about US, about me and my husband,and you, especially YOU; he said a lot of things."
"Oh! couldn't you find out?" muttered Gania, tremblinghysterically.
"No--nothing more than that. Why, they couldn't understand himthemselves; and very likely didn't tell me all."
Gania seized his head with both hands and tottered to the window;Varia sat down at the other window.
"Funny girl, Aglaya," she observed, after a pause. "When she leftme she said, 'Give my special and personal respects to yourparents; I shall certainly find an opportunity to see your fatherone day,' and so serious over it. She's a strange creature."
"Wasn't she joking? She was speaking sarcastically!" "Not a bit ofit; that's just the strange part of it."
"Does she know about father, do you think--or not?"
"That they do NOT know about it in the house is quite certain,the rest of them, I mean; but you have given me an idea. Aglayaperhaps knows. She alone, though, if anyone; for the sisters wereas astonished as I was to hear her speak so seriously. If sheknows, the prince must have told her."
"Oh! it's not a great matter to guess who told her. A thief! Athief in our family, and the head of the family, too!"
"Oh! nonsense!" cried Varia, angrily. "That was nothing but adrunkard's tale. Nonsense! Why, who invented the whole thing--Lebedeff and the prince--a pretty pair! Both were probablydrunk."
"Father is a drunkard and a thief; I am a beggar, and the husbandof my sister is a usurer," continued Gania, bitterly. "There wasa pretty list of advantages with which to enchant the heart ofAglaya."
"That same husband of your sister, the usurer--"
"Feeds me? Go on. Don't stand on ceremony, pray."
"Don't lose your temper. You are just like a schoolboy. You thinkthat all this sort of thing would harm you in Aglaya's eyes, doyou? You little know her character. She is capable of refusingthe most brilliant party, and running away and starving in agarret with some wretched student; that's the sort of girl sheis. You never could or did understand how interesting you wouldhave seen in her eyes if you had come firmly and proudly throughour misfortunes. The prince has simply caught her with hook andline; firstly, because he never thought of fishing for her, andsecondly, because he is an idiot in the eyes of most people. It'squite enough for her that by accepting him she puts her familyout and annoys them all round--that's what she likes. You don'tunderstand these things."
"We shall see whether I understand or no!" said Gania,enigmatically. "But I shouldn't like her to know all aboutfather, all the same. I thought the prince would manage to holdhis tongue about this, at least. He prevented Lebedeff spreadingthe news--he wouldn't even tell me all when I asked him--"
"Then you must see that he is not responsible. What does itmatter to you now, in any case? What are you hoping for still? Ifyou HAVE a hope left, it is that your suffering air may softenher heart towards you."
"Oh, she would funk a scandal like anyone else. You are alltarred with one brush!"
"What! AGLAYA would have funked? You are a chicken-heartedfellow, Gania!" said Varia, looking at her brother with contempt."Not one of us is worth much. Aglaya may be a wild sort of agirl, but she is far nobler than any of us, a thousand timesnobler!"
"All I'm afraid of is--mother. I'm afraid this scandal aboutfather may come to her ears; perhaps it has already. I amdreadfully afraid."
window;Varia sat down at the other window.Who could.
"It undoubtedly has already!" observed Gania.
Varia had risen from her place and had started to go upstairs toher mother; but at this observation of Gania's she turned andgazed at him attentively.
"Who could have told her?"
"Hippolyte, probably. He would think it the most delightfulamusement in the world to tell her of it the instant he movedover here; I haven't a doubt of it."
"But how could he know anything of it? Tell me that. Lebedeff andthe prince determined to tell no one--even Colia knows nothing."
"What, Hippolyte? He found it out himself, of course. Why, youhave no idea what a cunning little animal he is; dirty littlegossip! He has the most extraordinary nose for smelling out otherpeople's secrets, or anything approaching to scandal. Believe itor not, but I'm pretty sure he has got round Aglaya. If hehasn't, he soon will. Rogojin is intimate with him, too. How theprince doesn't notice it, I can't understand. The little wretchconsiders me his enemy now and does his best to catch metripping. What on earth does it matter to him, when he's dying?However, you'll see; I shall catch HIM tripping yet, and not heme."
"Why did you get him over here, if you hate him so? And is itreally worth your while to try to score off him?"
"Why, it was yourself who advised me to bring him over!"
"I thought he might be useful. You know he is in love with Aglayahimself, now, and has written to her; he has even written toLizabetha Prokofievna!"
"Oh! he's not dangerous there!" cried Gania, laughing angrily."However, I believe there is something of that sort in the air;he is very likely to be in love, for he is a mere boy. But hewon't write anonymous letters to the old lady; that would be tooaudacious a thing for him to attempt; but I dare swear the veryfirst thing he did was to show me up to Aglaya as a base deceiverand intriguer. I confess I was fool enough to attempt somethingthrough him at first. I thought he would throw himself into myservice out of revengeful feelings towards the prince, the slylittle beast! But I know him better now. As for the theft, he mayhave heard of it from the widow in Petersburg, for if the old mancommitted himself to such an act, he can have done it for noother object but to give the money to her. Hippolyte said to me,without any prelude, that the general had promised the widow fourhundred roubles. Of course I understood, and the little wretchlooked at me with a nasty sort of satisfaction. I know him; youmay depend upon it he went and told mother too, for the pleasureof wounding her. And why doesn't he die, I should like to know?He undertook to die within three weeks, and here he is gettingfatter. His cough is better, too. It was only yesterday that hesaid that was the second day he hadn't coughed blood."
"Well, turn him out!"
But the noise came rapidly nearer, the door burst open, and oldGeneral Ivolgin, raging, furious, purple-faced, and tremblingwith anger, rushed in. He was followed by Nina Alexandrovna,Colia, and behind the rest, Hippolyte.