as for any one who does
not wish, or cannot do so,--his censure does not pain me. I was mistaken
in you. In my eyes you remain as before a noble and honourable man, but
I imagined you were able to be superior to the surroundings in which you
were brought up. I was mistaken. What of that? It is not the first, nor
will it be the last time. I repeat to you, I am going away. I wish you
all happiness. Confess that this wish is completely disinterested, and
I hope that now you will be happy. Perhaps in time you will change your
opinion of me. Whether we shall ever meet again, I don't know, but in
any case I remain your sincere well-wisher,

'D. R.

'P.S. The two hundred roubles I owe you I will send directly I reach
my estate in T---- province. Also I beg you not to speak to Darya
Mihailovna of this letter.

'P.P.S. One last, but important request more; since I am going away, I
hope you will not allude before Natalya Alexyevna to my visit to you.'

'Well, what do you say to that?' asked Volintsev, directly Lezhnyov had
finished the letter.

'What is one to say?' replied Lezhnyov, 'Cry "Allah! Allah!" like a
Mussulman and sit gaping with astonishment--that's all one can do....
Well, a good riddance! But it's curious: you see he thought it his
_duty_ to write you this letter, and he came to see you from a sense
of _duty_... these gentlemen find a duty at every step, some duty they
owe... or some debt,' added Lezhnyov, pointing with a smile to the
postscript.

'And what phrases he rounds off!' cried Volintsev. 'He was mistaken
in me. He expected I would be superior to my surroundings. What a
rigmarole! Good God! it's worse than poetry!'

Lezhnyov made no reply, but his eyes were smiling. Volintsev got up.

'I want to go to Darya Mihailovna's,' he announced. 'I want to find out
what it all means.'

'Wait a little, my dear boy; give him time to get off. What's the good
of running up against him again? He is to vanish, it seems. What more do
you want? Better go and lie down and get a little sleep; you have been
tossing about all night, I expect. But everything will be smooth for
you.'

'What leads you to that conclusion?'

'Oh, I think so. There, go and have a nap; I will go and see your
sister. I will keep her company.'

'I don't want to sleep in the least. What's the object of my going to
bed? I had rather go out to the fields,' said Volintsev, putting on his
out-of-door coat.

'Well, that's a good thing too. G