the public interest in the matter grew
daily, especially as it became clear that the scandalous wedding was
undoubtedly to take place.

So that if our readers were to ask an explanation, not of the wild
reports about the prince's Nihilistic opinions, but simply as to how
such a marriage could possibly satisfy his real aspirations, or as to
the spiritual condition of our hero at this time, we confess that we
should have great difficulty in giving the required information.

All we know is, that the marriage really was arranged, and that the
prince had commissioned Lebedeff and Keller to look after all the
necessary business connected with it; that he had requested them to
spare no expense; that Nastasia herself was hurrying on the wedding;
that Keller was to be the prince's best man, at his own earnest request;
and that Burdovsky was to give Nastasia away, to his great delight. The
wedding was to take place before the middle of July.

But, besides the above, we are cognizant of certain other undoubted
facts, which puzzle us a good deal because they seem flatly to
contradict the foregoing.

We suspect, for instance, that having commissioned Lebedeff and the
others, as above, the prince immediately forgot all about masters of
ceremonies and even the ceremony itself; and we feel quite certain that
in making these arrangements he did so in order that he might absolutely
escape all thought of the wedding, and even forget its approach if he
could, by detailing all business concerning it to others.

What did he think of all this time, then? What did he wish for? There is
no doubt that he was a perfectly free agent all through, and that as
far as Nastasia was concerned, there was no force of any kind brought
to bear on him. Nastasia wished for a speedy marriage, true!--but the
prince agreed at once to her proposals; he agreed, in fact, so casually
that anyone might suppose he was but acceding to the most simple and
ordinary suggestion.

There are many strange circumstances such as this before us; but in
our opinion they do but deepen the mystery, and do not in the smallest
degree help us to understand the case.

However, let us take one more example. Thus, we know for a fact that
during the whole of this fortnight the prince spent all his days and
evenings with Nastasia; he walked with her, drove with her; he began to
be restless whenever he passed an hour without seeing her--in fact,
to all appearances, he sincerely love