laugh
was not a sign of delight, though it made a very good counterfeit. That's
the great thing, to know how to take every one. Once Belyavsky--he was a
handsome fellow, and rich--used to like to come here and hang about
her--suddenly gave me a slap in the face in her presence. And she--such a
mild sheep--why, I thought she would have knocked me down for that blow.
How she set on me! 'You're beaten, beaten now,' she said. 'You've taken a
blow from him. You have been trying to sell me to him,' she said.... 'And
how dared he strike you in my presence! Don't dare come near me again,
never, never! Run at once, challenge him to a duel!'... I took her to the
monastery then to bring her to her senses. The holy Fathers prayed her
back to reason. But I swear, by God, Alyosha, I never insulted the poor
crazy girl! Only once, perhaps, in the first year; then she was very fond
of praying. She used to keep the feasts of Our Lady particularly and used
to turn me out of her room then. I'll knock that mysticism out of her,
thought I! 'Here,' said I, 'you see your holy image. Here it is. Here I
take it down. You believe it's miraculous, but here, I'll spit on it
directly and nothing will happen to me for it!'... When she saw it, good
Lord! I thought she would kill me. But she only jumped up, wrung her
hands, then suddenly hid her face in them, began trembling all over and
fell on the floor ... fell all of a heap. Alyosha, Alyosha, what's the
matter?"

The old man jumped up in alarm. From the time he had begun speaking about
his mother, a change had gradually come over Alyosha's face. He flushed
crimson, his eyes glowed, his lips quivered. The old sot had gone
spluttering on, noticing nothing, till the moment when something very
strange happened to Alyosha. Precisely what he was describing in the crazy
woman was suddenly repeated with Alyosha. He jumped up from his seat
exactly as his mother was said to have done, wrung his hands, hid his face
in them, and fell back in his chair, shaking all over in an hysterical
paroxysm of sudden violent, silent weeping. His extraordinary resemblance
to his mother particularly impressed the old man.

"Ivan, Ivan! Water, quickly! It's like her, exactly as she used to be
then, his mother. Spurt some water on him from your mouth, that's what I
used to do to her. He's upset about his mother, his mother," he muttered
to Ivan.

"But she was my mother, too, I believe, his mother. Was she not?" said
Ivan,