death he left a snug
fortune to his only daughter Liza, a child of seven. Now that Lizaveta
Nikolaevna was twenty-two her private fortune might confidently be
reckoned at 200,000 roubles, to say nothing of the property--which was
bound to come to her at the death of her mother, who had no children by
her second marriage. Varvara Petrovna seemed to be very well satisfied
with her expedition. In her own opinion she had succeeded in coming to
a satisfactory understanding with Praskovya Ivanovna, and immediately
on her arrival she confided everything to Stepan Trofimovitch. She was
positively effusive with him as she had not been for a very long time.

"Hurrah!" cried Stepan Trofimovitch, and snapped his fingers.

He was in a perfect rapture, especially as he had spent the whole time
of his friend's absence in extreme dejection. On setting off she had not
even taken leave of him properly, and had said nothing of her plan to
"that old woman," dreading, perhaps, that he might chatter about it.
She was cross with him at the time on account of a considerable gambling
debt which she had suddenly discovered. But before she left Switzerland
she had felt that on her return she must make up for it to her forsaken
friend, especially as she had treated him very curtly for a long time
past. Her abrupt and mysterious departure had made a profound and
poignant impression on the timid heart of Stepan Trofimovitch, and to
make matters worse he was beset with other difficulties at the same
time. He was worried by a very considerable money obligation, which had
weighed upon him for a long time and which he could never hope to meet
without Varvara Petrovna's assistance. Moreover, in the May of this
year, the term of office of our mild and gentle Ivan Ossipovitch came to
an end. He was superseded under rather unpleasant circumstances. Then,
while Varvara Petrovna was still away, there followed the arrival of
our new governor, Andrey Antonovitch von Lembke, and with that a change
began at once to be perceptible in the attitude of almost the whole
of our provincial society towards Varvara Petrovna, and consequently
towards Stepan Trofimovitch. He had already had time anyway to make some
disagreeable though valuable observations, and seemed very apprehensive
alone without Varvara Petrovna. He had an agitating suspicion that he
had already been mentioned to the governor as a dangerous man. He knew
for a fact that some of our ladies meant to give