"_Mais que faire, et je suis enchante!_ I shall take you with the greatest
pleasure; you see they want to take me, I've engaged them already.
Which of you did I engage?" Stepan Trofimovitch suddenly felt an intense
desire to go to Spasov.

Within a quarter of an hour they were getting into a covered trap, he
very lively and quite satisfied, she with her pack beside him, with a
grateful smile on her face. Anisim helped them in.

"A good journey to you, sir," said he, bustling officiously round the
trap, "it has been a treat to see you."

"Good-bye, good-bye, my friend, good-bye."

"You'll see Fyodor Matveyevitch, sir..."

"Yes, my friend, yes... Fyodor Petrovitch... only good-bye."

II

"You see, my friend... you'll allow me to call myself your friend,
n'est-ce pas?" Stepan Trofimovitch began hurriedly as soon as the trap
started. "You see I... _J'aime le peuple, c'est indispensable, mais il me
semble que je ne m'avais jamais vu de pres. Stasie... cela va sans dire
qu'elle est aussi du peuple, mais le vrai peuple,_ that is, the real
ones, who are on the high road, it seems to me they care for nothing,
but where exactly I am going... But let bygones be bygones. I fancy I am
talking at, random, but I believe it's from being flustered."

"You don't seem quite well." Sofya Matveyevna watched him keenly though
respectfully.

"No, no, I must only wrap myself up, besides there's a fresh wind, very
fresh in fact, but... let us forget that. That's not what I really meant
to say. _Chere et incomparable amie,_ I feel that I am almost happy, and
it's your doing. Happiness is not good for me for it makes me rush to
forgive all my enemies at once...."

"Why, that's a very good thing, sir."

"Not always, _chere innocente. L'Evangile... voyez-vous, desormais nous
precherons ensemble_ and I will gladly sell your beautiful little books.
Yes, I feel that that perhaps is an idea, _quelque chose de tres nouveau
dans ce genre._ The peasants are religious, _c'est admis,_ but they don't
yet know the gospel. I will expound it to them.... By verbal explanation
one might correct the mistakes in that remarkable book, which I am of
course prepared to treat with the utmost respect. I will be of service
even on the high road. I've always been of use, I always told _them_ so _et
a cette chere ingrate...._ Oh, we will forgive, we will forgive, first
of all we will forgive all and always.... We will hope that we too shall
be forgiven. Yes,