fit. Within half an hour Nikolay was arrested and removed for the time
to the guard-room, where he was confined in a special cell, with a
special sentinel at the door. This decision was a harsh one, but
our mild governor was so angry that he was prepared to take the
responsibility even if he had to face Varvara Petrovna. To the general
amazement, when this lady arrived at the governor's in haste and in
nervous irritation to discuss the matter with him at once, she was
refused admittance, whereupon, without getting out of the carriage, she
returned home, unable to believe her senses.

And at last everything was explained! At two o'clock in the morning
the prisoner, who had till then been calm and had even slept, suddenly
became noisy, began furiously beating on the door with his fists,--with
unnatural strength wrenched the iron grating off the door, broke the
window, and cut his hands all over. When the officer on duty ran with
a detachment of men and the keys and ordered the cell to be opened
that they might rush in and bind the maniac, it appeared that he was
suffering from acute brain fever. He was taken home to his mother.

Everything was explained at once. All our three doctors gave it as their
opinion that the patient might well have been in a delirious state for
three days before, and that though he might have apparently been in
possession of full consciousness and cunning, yet he might have been
deprived of common sense and will, which was indeed borne out by the
facts. So it turned out that Liputin had guessed the truth sooner than
any one. Ivan Ossipovitch, who was a man of delicacy and feeling,
was completely abashed. But what was striking was that he, too, had
considered Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch capable of any mad action even when
in the full possession of his faculties. At the club, too, people were
ashamed and wondered how it was they had failed to "see the elephant"
and had missed the only explanation of all these marvels: there were,
of course, sceptics among them, but they could not long maintain their
position.

Nikolay was in bed for more than two months. A famous doctor was
summoned from Moscow for a consultation; the whole town called on
Varvara Petrovna. She forgave them. When in the spring Nikolay had
completely recovered and assented without discussion to his mother's
proposal that he should go for a tour to Italy, she begged him further
to pay visits of farewell to all the neighbours, and so far