youthful escapade; and he so respected and
feared his wife that he was very near loving her. Mrs. Epanchin came of
the princely stock of Muishkin, which if not a brilliant, was, at all
events, a decidedly ancient family; and she was extremely proud of her
descent.

With a few exceptions, the worthy couple had lived through their long
union very happily. While still young the wife had been able to make
important friends among the aristocracy, partly by virtue of her family
descent, and partly by her own exertions; while, in after life, thanks
to their wealth and to the position of her husband in the service, she
took her place among the higher circles as by right.

During these last few years all three of the general's
daughters-Alexandra, Adelaida, and Aglaya--had grown up and matured. Of
course they were only Epanchins, but their mother's family was noble;
they might expect considerable fortunes; their father had hopes of
attaining to very high rank indeed in his country's service-all of which
was satisfactory. All three of the girls were decidedly pretty, even
the eldest, Alexandra, who was just twenty-five years old. The middle
daughter was now twenty-three, while the youngest, Aglaya, was twenty.
This youngest girl was absolutely a beauty, and had begun of late to
attract considerable attention in society. But this was not all, for
every one of the three was clever, well educated, and accomplished.

It was a matter of general knowledge that the three girls were very fond
of one another, and supported each other in every way; it was even said
that the two elder ones had made certain sacrifices for the sake of
the idol of the household, Aglaya. In society they not only disliked
asserting themselves, but were actually retiring. Certainly no one could
blame them for being too arrogant or haughty, and yet everybody was well
aware that they were proud and quite understood their own value. The
eldest was musical, while the second was a clever artist, which fact
she had concealed until lately. In a word, the world spoke well of the
girls; but they were not without their enemies, and occasionally people
talked with horror of the number of books they had read.

They were in no hurry to marry. They liked good society, but were not
too keen about it. All this was the more remarkable, because everyone
was well aware of the hopes and aims of their parents.

It was about eleven o'clock in the forenoon when the prince rang the