ing him out. At moments he would be apparently quite bright
and happy; but as a rule he would sit moody and thoughtful. He would
abruptly commence to hold forth about the Epanchins, about Lebedeff, or
the prince, and equally abruptly would stop short and refuse to speak
another word, answering all further questions with a stupid smile,
unconscious that he was smiling, or that he had been asked a question.
The whole of the previous night he had spent tossing about and groaning,
and poor Nina Alexandrovna had been busy making cold compresses and warm
fomentations and so on, without being very clear how to apply them. He
had fallen asleep after a while, but not for long, and had awaked in
a state of violent hypochondria which had ended in his quarrel with
Hippolyte, and the solemn cursing of Ptitsin's establishment generally.
It was also observed during those two or three days that he was in a
state of morbid self-esteem, and was specially touchy on all points of
honour. Colia insisted, in discussing the matter with his mother, that
all this was but the outcome of abstinence from drink, or perhaps of
pining after Lebedeff, with whom up to this time the general had been
upon terms of the greatest friendship; but with whom, for some reason
or other, he had quarrelled a few days since, parting from him in great
wrath. There had also been a scene with the prince. Colia had asked an
explanation of the latter, but had been forced to conclude that he was
not told the whole truth.

If Hippolyte and Nina Alexandrovna had, as Gania suspected, had some
special conversation about the general's actions, it was strange that
the malicious youth, whom Gania had called a scandal-monger to his face,
had not allowed himself a similar satisfaction with Colia.

The fact is that probably Hippolyte was not quite so black as Gania
painted him; and it was hardly likely that he had informed Nina
Alexandrovna of certain events, of which we know, for the mere pleasure
of giving her pain. We must never forget that human motives are
generally far more complicated than we are apt to suppose, and that we
can very rarely accurately describe the motives of another. It is much
better for the writer, as a rule, to content himself with the bare
statement of events; and we shall take this line with regard to the
catastrophe recorded above, and shall state the remaining events
connected with the general's trouble shortly, because we feel that
we have already g