my two young grown-ups.
I have been telling Woldemar that you are just starting on your careers,
whereas my day is ended. You are old enough now to walk by yourselves,
but, whenever you wish to confide in me, pray do so, for I am no longer
your nurse, but your friend. At least, I will be your friend and comrade
and adviser as much as I can and more than that I cannot do. How does
that fall in with your philosophy, eh, Koko? Well or ill, eh?"

Of course I said that it fell in with it entirely, and, indeed, I really
thought so. That morning Papa had a particularly winning, bright, and
happy expression on his face, and these new relations between us, as of
equals and comrades, made me love him all the more.

"Now, tell me," he went on, "did you call upon all our kinsfolk and the
Iwins? Did you see the old man, and what did he say to you? And did you
go to Prince Ivan's?"

We continued talking so long that, before we were fully dressed, the sun
had left the window of the divannaia, and Jakoff (the same old man who
of yore had twirled his fingers behind his back and always repeated his
words) had entered the room and reported to Papa that the carriage was
ready.

"Where are you going to?" I asked Papa.

"Oh, I had forgotten all about it!" he replied, with a cough and
the usual hoisting of his shoulder. "I promised to go and call upon
Epifanova to-day. You remember Epifanova--'la belle Flamande'--don't
you, who used to come and see your Mamma? They are nice people." And
with a self-conscious shrug of his shoulders (so it appeared to me) Papa
left the room.

During our conversation, Lubotshka had more than once come to the door
and asked "Can I come in?" but Papa had always shouted to her that she
could not do so, since we were not dressed yet.

"What rubbish!" she replied. "Why, I have seen you in your
dressing-gown."

"Never mind; you cannot see your brothers without their inexpressibles,"
rejoined Papa. "If they each of them just go to the door, let that be
enough for you. Now go. Even for them to SPEAK to you in such a neglige
costume is unbecoming."

"How unbearable you are!" was Lubotshka's parting retort. "Well, at
least hurry up and come down to the drawing-room, for Mimi wants to see
them."

As soon as Papa had left the room, I hastened to array myself in my
student's uniform, and to repair to the drawing-room.

Woloda, on the other hand, was in no hurry, but remained sitting on
his bed and talking to