with my friendship all my life? And all,
all! _Savez-vous..._ perhaps I am telling lies now; no doubt I am telling
lies now. The worst of it is that I believe myself when I am lying. The
hardest thing in life is to live without telling lies... and without
believing in one's lies. Yes, yes, that's just it.... But wait a bit,
that can all come afterwards.... We'll be together, together," he added
enthusiastically.

"Stepan Trofimovitch," Sofya Matveyevna asked timidly, "hadn't I better
send to the town for the doctor?"

He was tremendously taken aback.

"What for? _Est-ce que je suis si malade? Mais rien de serieux._ What need
have we of outsiders? They may find, besides--and what will happen then?
No, no, no outsiders and we'll be together."

"Do you know," he said after a pause, "read me something more, just the
first thing you come across."

Sofya Matveyevna opened the Testament and began reading.

"Wherever it opens, wherever it happens to open," he repeated.

"'And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans...'"

"What's that? What is it? Where is that from?"

"It's from the Revelation."

"_Oh, je m'en souviens, oui, l'Apocalypse. Lisez, lisez,_ I am trying our
future fortunes by the book. I want to know what has turned up. Read on
from there...."

"'And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things
saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God;

"'I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot;
I would thou wert cold or hot.

"'So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth.

"'Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods,
and have need of nothing: and thou knowest not that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.'"

"That too... and that's in your book too!" he exclaimed, with flashing
eyes and raising his head from the pillow. "I never knew that grand
passage! You hear, better be cold, better be cold than lukewarm, than
only lukewarm. Oh, I'll prove it! Only don't leave me, don't leave me
alone! We'll prove it, we'll prove it!"

"I won't leave you, Stepan Trofimovitch. I'll never leave you!" She took
his hand, pressed it in both of hers, and laid it against her heart,
looking at him with tears in her eyes. ("I felt very sorry for him at
that moment," she said, describing it afterwards.)

His lips twitched convulsively.

"