er, and she was as respectful and kind as
though she were her own daughter. Mother has been almost demented ever
since father died--she's an old woman. She sits and bows from her chair
to everyone she sees. If you left her alone and didn't feed her for
three days, I don't believe she would notice it. Well, I took her hand,
and I said, 'Give your blessing to this lady, mother, she's going to be
my wife.' So Nastasia kissed mother's hand with great feeling. 'She must
have suffered terribly, hasn't she?' she said. She saw this book here
lying before me. 'What! have you begun to read Russian history?' she
asked. She told me once in Moscow, you know, that I had better get
Solovieff's Russian History and read it, because I knew nothing. 'That's
good,' she said, 'you go on like that, reading books. I'll make you
a list myself of the books you ought to read first--shall I?' She had
never once spoken to me like this before; it was the first time I felt I
could breathe before her like a living creature."

"I'm very, very glad to hear of this, Parfen," said the prince, with
real feeling. "Who knows? Maybe God will yet bring you near to one
another."

"Never, never!" cried Rogojin, excitedly.

"Look here, Parfen; if you love her so much, surely you must be anxious
to earn her respect? And if you do so wish, surely you may hope to? I
said just now that I considered it extraordinary that she could still be
ready to marry you. Well, though I cannot yet understand it, I feel sure
she must have some good reason, or she wouldn't do it. She is sure
of your love; but besides that, she must attribute SOMETHING else to
you--some good qualities, otherwise the thing would not be. What you
have just said confirms my words. You say yourself that she found it
possible to speak to you quite differently from her usual manner. You
are suspicious, you know, and jealous, therefore when anything annoying
happens to you, you exaggerate its significance. Of course, of course,
she does not think so ill of you as you say. Why, if she did, she would
simply be walking to death by drowning or by the knife, with her eyes
wide open, when she married you. It is impossible! As if anybody would
go to their death deliberately!"

Rogojin listened to the prince's excited words with a bitter smile. His
conviction was, apparently, unalterable.

"How dreadfully you look at me, Parfen!" said the prince, with a feeling
of dread.

"Water or the knife?" said the latt