rupt the conversation; when Sonia had gone he
walked up to Pyotr Petrovitch and solemnly held out his hand.

"I heard and _saw_ everything," he said, laying stress on the last verb.
"That is honourable, I mean to say, it's humane! You wanted to avoid
gratitude, I saw! And although I cannot, I confess, in principle
sympathise with private charity, for it not only fails to eradicate the
evil but even promotes it, yet I must admit that I saw your action with
pleasure--yes, yes, I like it."

"That's all nonsense," muttered Pyotr Petrovitch, somewhat disconcerted,
looking carefully at Lebeziatnikov.

"No, it's not nonsense! A man who has suffered distress and annoyance as
you did yesterday and who yet can sympathise with the misery of others,
such a man... even though he is making a social mistake--is still
deserving of respect! I did not expect it indeed of you, Pyotr
Petrovitch, especially as according to your ideas... oh, what a drawback
your ideas are to you! How distressed you are for instance by your
ill-luck yesterday," cried the simple-hearted Lebeziatnikov, who felt
a return of affection for Pyotr Petrovitch. "And, what do you want with
marriage, with _legal_ marriage, my dear, noble Pyotr Petrovitch? Why do
you cling to this _legality_ of marriage? Well, you may beat me if you
like, but I am glad, positively glad it hasn't come off, that you are
free, that you are not quite lost for humanity.... you see, I've spoken
my mind!"

"Because I don't want in your free marriage to be made a fool of and
to bring up another man's children, that's why I want legal marriage,"
Luzhin replied in order to make some answer.

He seemed preoccupied by something.

"Children? You referred to children," Lebeziatnikov started off like
a warhorse at the trumpet call. "Children are a social question and a
question of first importance, I agree; but the question of children has
another solution. Some refuse to have children altogether, because they
suggest the institution of the family. We'll speak of children later,
but now as to the question of honour, I confess that's my weak point.
That horrid, military, Pushkin expression is unthinkable in the
dictionary of the future. What does it mean indeed? It's nonsense,
there will be no deception in a free marriage! That is only the natural
consequence of a legal marriage, so to say, its corrective, a protest.
So that indeed it's not humiliating... and if I ever, to suppose an
absurdity, w