he Ragojhinskys arrived without their children, and engaged the best
suite in the best hotel. Natalie Ivanovna immediately went to the old
home of her mother, and learning there that her brother had moved to
furnished rooms, she went to his new home. The dirty servant, meeting
her in the dark, ill-smelling corridor, which was lit up by a lamp
during the day, announced that the Prince was away.

Desiring to leave a note, Natalie Ivanovna was shown into his
apartments. She closely examined the two small rooms. She noticed in
every corner the familiar cleanliness and order, and she was struck by
the modesty of the appointments. On the writing table she saw a
familiar paper-press, with the bronze figure of a dog, neatly arranged
portfolios, papers, volumes of the Criminal Code and an English book
of Henry George, and a French one by Tard, between the leaves of which
was an ivory paper knife.

She left a note asking him to call on her the same evening, and,
shaking her head in wonder at what she had seen, returned to her
hotel.

There were two questions relating to her brother that interested
Natalie Ivanovna--his marriage to Katiousha, of which she had heard in
her city, where it was a matter of common gossip, and the distribution
by him of his land to the peasants, upon which some people looked as
something political and dangerous. From one point of view, she rather
liked the idea of his marrying Katiousha. She admired his resolution,
seeing in it herself and him as they had been before her marriage. At
the same time, she was horror-stricken at the thought that her brother
was to marry such an awful woman. The latter feeling was the stronger,
and she decided to dissuade him from marrying her, although she knew
how hard that would be.

The other affair, that of his parting with his land, she did not take
so close to heart, but her husband was indignant at such folly, and
demanded that she influence her brother to abandon the attempt.
Ignatius Nikiforovitch said that it was the height of inconsistency,
foolhardiness and pride; that such an act could only be explained, if
at all, by a desire to be odd, to have something to brag about, and to
make people talk about one's self.

"What sense is there in giving the land to the peasants and making
them pay rent to themselves?" he said. "If his mind was set on doing
it, he could sell them the land through the bank. There would be some
sense in that. Taking all in all, his act