nchin upon
outside subjects, probably with the good intention of distracting and
amusing her; but he bored her dreadfully. She was absent-minded to a
degree, and answered at cross purposes, and sometimes not at all.

But the puzzle and mystery of Aglaya was not yet over for the evening.
The last exhibition fell to the lot of the prince alone. When they had
proceeded some hundred paces or so from the house, Aglaya said to her
obstinately silent cavalier in a quick half-whisper:

"Look to the right!"

The prince glanced in the direction indicated.

"Look closer. Do you see that bench, in the park there, just by those
three big trees--that green bench?"

The prince replied that he saw it.

"Do you like the position of it? Sometimes of a morning early, at seven
o'clock, when all the rest are still asleep, I come out and sit there
alone."

The prince muttered that the spot was a lovely one.

"Now, go away, I don't wish to have your arm any longer; or perhaps,
better, continue to give me your arm, and walk along beside me, but
don't speak a word to me. I wish to think by myself."

The warning was certainly unnecessary; for the prince would not have
said a word all the rest of the time whether forbidden to speak or not.
His heart beat loud and painfully when Aglaya spoke of the bench; could
she--but no! he banished the thought, after an instant's deliberation.

At Pavlofsk, on weekdays, the public is more select than it is on
Sundays and Saturdays, when the townsfolk come down to walk about and
enjoy the park.

The ladies dress elegantly, on these days, and it is the fashion to
gather round the band, which is probably the best of our pleasure-garden
bands, and plays the newest pieces. The behaviour of the public is most
correct and proper, and there is an appearance of friendly intimacy
among the usual frequenters. Many come for nothing but to look at their
acquaintances, but there are others who come for the sake of the music.
It is very seldom that anything happens to break the harmony of the
proceedings, though, of course, accidents will happen everywhere.

On this particular evening the weather was lovely, and there were
a large number of people present. All the places anywhere near the
orchestra were occupied.

Our friends took chairs near the side exit. The crowd and the music
cheered Mrs. Epanchin a little, and amused the girls; they bowed and
shook hands with some of their friends and nodded at a distan