the last will and testament of your aunt, a very large sum
of money indeed."

"Impossible!" cried the general, starting up as if he had been shot.

Ptitsin explained, for the benefit of the company, that the prince's
aunt had died five months since. He had never known her, but she was his
mother's own sister, the daughter of a Moscow merchant, one Paparchin,
who had died a bankrupt. But the elder brother of this same Paparchin,
had been an eminent and very rich merchant. A year since it had so
happened that his only two sons had both died within the same month.
This sad event had so affected the old man that he, too, had died very
shortly after. He was a widower, and had no relations left, excepting
the prince's aunt, a poor woman living on charity, who was herself at
the point of death from dropsy; but who had time, before she died,
to set Salaskin to work to find her nephew, and to make her will
bequeathing her newly-acquired fortune to him.

It appeared that neither the prince, nor the doctor with whom he lived
in Switzerland, had thought of waiting for further communications;
but the prince had started straight away with Salaskin's letter in his
pocket.

"One thing I may tell you, for certain," concluded Ptitsin, addressing
the prince, "that there is no question about the authenticity of this
matter. Anything that Salaskin writes you as regards your unquestionable
right to this inheritance, you may look upon as so much money in your
pocket. I congratulate you, prince; you may receive a million and a half
of roubles, perhaps more; I don't know. All I DO know is that Paparchin
was a very rich merchant indeed."

"Hurrah!" cried Lebedeff, in a drunken voice. "Hurrah for the last of
the Muishkins!"

"My goodness me! and I gave him twenty-five roubles this morning as
though he were a beggar," blurted out the general, half senseless with
amazement. "Well, I congratulate you, I congratulate you!" And the
general rose from his seat and solemnly embraced the prince. All came
forward with congratulations; even those of Rogojin's party who had
retreated into the next room, now crept softly back to look on. For the
moment even Nastasia Philipovna was forgotten.

But gradually the consciousness crept back into the minds of each one
present that the prince had just made her an offer of marriage. The
situation had, therefore, become three times as fantastic as before.

Totski sat and shrugged his shoulders, bewildered. He