then--but of course, you do understand.
He wished--he wished to bless you all round and to have your
blessing--before he died--that's all."

"My dear prince," began Prince S., hurriedly, exchanging glances with
some of those present, "you will not easily find heaven on earth, and
yet you seem to expect to. Heaven is a difficult thing to find anywhere,
prince; far more difficult than appears to that good heart of yours.
Better stop this conversation, or we shall all be growing quite
disturbed in our minds, and--"

"Let's go and hear the band, then," said Lizabetha Prokofievna, angrily
rising from her place.

The rest of the company followed her example.

II.

THE prince suddenly approached Evgenie Pavlovitch.

"Evgenie Pavlovitch," he said, with strange excitement and seizing the
latter's hand in his own, "be assured that I esteem you as a generous
and honourable man, in spite of everything. Be assured of that."

Evgenie Pavlovitch fell back a step in astonishment. For one moment it
was all he could do to restrain himself from bursting out laughing; but,
looking closer, he observed that the prince did not seem to be quite
himself; at all events, he was in a very curious state.

"I wouldn't mind betting, prince," he cried, "that you did not in the
least mean to say that, and very likely you meant to address someone
else altogether. What is it? Are you feeling unwell or anything?"

"Very likely, extremely likely, and you must be a very close observer to
detect the fact that perhaps I did not intend to come up to YOU at all."

So saying he smiled strangely; but suddenly and excitedly he began
again:

"Don't remind me of what I have done or said. Don't! I am very much
ashamed of myself, I--"

"Why, what have you done? I don't understand you."

"I see you are ashamed of me, Evgenie Pavlovitch; you are blushing for
me; that's a sign of a good heart. Don't be afraid; I shall go away
directly."

"What's the matter with him? Do his fits begin like that?" said
Lizabetha Prokofievna, in a high state of alarm, addressing Colia.

"No, no, Lizabetha Prokofievna, take no notice of me. I am not going to
have a fit. I will go away directly; but I know I am afflicted. I was
twenty-four years an invalid, you see--the first twenty-four years of my
life--so take all I do and say as the sayings and actions of an
invalid. I'm going away directly, I really am--don't be afraid. I am
not blushing, for I don't think I need blus