Surely it is not because she is so very anxious
to find a husband? She could find many a one besides yourself. Anyone
would be better than you, because you will murder her, and I feel sure
she must know that but too well by now. Is it because you love her so
passionately? Indeed, that may be it. I have heard that there are women
who want just that kind of love... but still..." The prince paused,
reflectively.

"What are you grinning at my father's portrait again for?" asked
Rogojin, suddenly. He was carefully observing every change in the
expression of the prince's face.

"I smiled because the idea came into my head that if it were not for
this unhappy passion of yours you might have, and would have, become
just such a man as your father, and that very quickly, too. You'd have
settled down in this house of yours with some silent and obedient wife.
You would have spoken rarely, trusted no one, heeded no one, and thought
of nothing but making money."

"Laugh away! She said exactly the same, almost word for word, when she
saw my father's portrait. It's remarkable how entirely you and she are
at one now-a-days."

"What, has she been here?" asked the prince with curiosity.

"Yes! She looked long at the portrait and asked all about my father.
'You'd be just such another,' she said at last, and laughed. 'You have
such strong passions, Parfen,' she said, 'that they'd have taken you to
Siberia in no time if you had not, luckily, intelligence as well. For
you have a good deal of intelligence.' (She said this--believe it or
not. The first time I ever heard anything of that sort from her.) 'You'd
soon have thrown up all this rowdyism that you indulge in now, and you'd
have settled down to quiet, steady money-making, because you have little
education; and here you'd have stayed just like your father before you.
And you'd have loved your money so that you'd amass not two million,
like him, but ten million; and you'd have died of hunger on your money
bags to finish up with, for you carry everything to extremes.' There,
that's exactly word for word as she said it to me. She never talked to
me like that before. She always talks nonsense and laughs when she's
with me. We went all over this old house together. 'I shall change all
this,' I said, 'or else I'll buy a new house for the wedding.' 'No, no!'
she said, 'don't touch anything; leave it all as it is; I shall live
with your mother when I marry you.'

"I took her to see my moth