er to her very face, and at her sisters, and at Prince S., and
everybody--and of course she always laughs at me! You know I love the
child--I love her even when she laughs at me, and I believe the wild
little creature has a special fondness for me for that very reason. She
is fonder of me than any of the others. I dare swear she has had a
good laugh at YOU before now! You were having a quiet talk just now, I
observed, after all the thunder and lightning upstairs. She was sitting
with you just as though there had been no row at all."

The prince blushed painfully in the darkness, and closed his right hand
tightly, but he said nothing.

"My dear good Prince Lef Nicolaievitch," began the general again,
suddenly, "both I and Lizabetha Prokofievna--(who has begun to respect
you once more, and me through you, goodness knows why!)--we both love
you very sincerely, and esteem you, in spite of any appearances to the
contrary. But you'll admit what a riddle it must have been for us when
that calm, cold, little spitfire, Aglaya--(for she stood up to her
mother and answered her questions with inexpressible contempt, and mine
still more so, because, like a fool, I thought it my duty to assert
myself as head of the family)--when Aglaya stood up of a sudden and
informed us that 'that madwoman' (strangely enough, she used exactly the
same expression as you did) 'has taken it into her head to marry me
to Prince Lef Nicolaievitch, and therefore is doing her best to choke
Evgenie Pavlovitch off, and rid the house of him.' That's what she said.
She would not give the slightest explanation; she burst out laughing,
banged the door, and went away. We all stood there with our mouths open.
Well, I was told afterwards of your little passage with Aglaya this
afternoon, and-and--dear prince--you are a good, sensible fellow, don't
be angry if I speak out--she is laughing at you, my boy! She is enjoying
herself like a child, at your expense, and therefore, since she is a
child, don't be angry with her, and don't think anything of it. I assure
you, she is simply making a fool of you, just as she does with one and
all of us out of pure lack of something better to do. Well--good-bye!
You know our feelings, don't you--our sincere feelings for yourself?
They are unalterable, you know, dear boy, under all circumstances,
but--Well, here we part; I must go down to the right. Rarely have I sat
so uncomfortably in my saddle, as they say, as I now sit. And peo