uld not believe that her fate was sealed, especially as he had
not seen her with Prince Andrew. It always seemed to him that there was
something not quite right about this intended marriage.

"Why this delay? Why no betrothal?" he thought. Once, when he had
touched on this topic with his mother, he discovered, to his surprise
and somewhat to his satisfaction, that in the depth of her soul she too
had doubts about this marriage.

"You see he writes," said she, showing her son a letter of Prince
Andrew's, with that latent grudge a mother always has in regard to
a daughter's future married happiness, "he writes that he won't come
before December. What can be keeping him? Illness, probably! His health
is very delicate. Don't tell Natasha. And don't attach importance to her
being so bright: that's because she's living through the last days of
her girlhood, but I know what she is like every time we receive a letter
from him! However, God grant that everything turns out well!" (She
always ended with these words.) "He is an excellent man!"

CHAPTER II

After reaching home Nicholas was at first serious and even dull. He was
worried by the impending necessity of interfering in the stupid business
matters for which his mother had called him home. To throw off this
burden as quickly as possible, on the third day after his arrival he
went, angry and scowling and without answering questions as to where he
was going, to Mitenka's lodge and demanded an account of everything. But
what an account of everything might be Nicholas knew even less than the
frightened and bewildered Mitenka. The conversation and the examination
of the accounts with Mitenka did not last long. The village elder,
a peasant delegate, and the village clerk, who were waiting in the
passage, heard with fear and delight first the young count's voice
roaring and snapping and rising louder and louder, and then words of
abuse, dreadful words, ejaculated one after the other.

"Robber!... Ungrateful wretch!... I'll hack the dog to pieces! I'm not
my father!... Robbing us!..." and so on.

Then with no less fear and delight they saw how the young count, red in
the face and with bloodshot eyes, dragged Mitenka out by the scruff of
the neck and applied his foot and knee to his behind with great agility
at convenient moments between the words, shouting, "Be off! Never let me
see your face here again, you villain!"

Mitenka flew headlong down the six steps and r