Chapter 43 Chapter 05

Ever since that unforgettable evening with the prince at Restaurant B, I have been dreading for Natasha for several days. "This damn duke doesn't know what method he will use to threaten her, and he doesn't know what method he will use To get revenge on her? ’ I asked myself now and then, and made all sorts of speculations. At last I came to the conclusion that his threat was no nonsense, no threat, and that as long as she lived with Alyosha, the prince would do what he said. make her all kinds trouble.I think this person is narrow-minded, vengeful, snake-like, and scheming.It was hard for him to forget the insult he had suffered without taking advantage of the opportunity available to him for vengeance.Anyway, in the whole thing, he

One point was pointed out to me anyway, and he made it quite clear: he insisted that Alyosha and Natasha should break off completely, and that I should do Natasha's work to make her think better about the impending parting. Be prepared, don't "cry and cry" , quarreling, and the set of idyllic sentimentality and Schillerian fantasies." Needless to say, his greatest concern was to make Alyosha continue to think that he was good to him and that he was a loving father; Because he thought it necessary to be able to do this, this In this way, he can easily take Katya's money for himself in the future.So what I'm going to do now is prepare Natasha for the impending breakup.But I found a big change in Nataz: she used to

My frankness was gone; more than that, she seemed to have grown distrustful of me.All my consolations could only make her miserable; my questions became more and more irritating to her, and even made her angry.I used to sit by her and watch Follow her!She walked up and down the room, arms folded, from corner to corner, looking sullen and pale, and seemed to be in such a state of ecstasy that she even forgot that I was sitting here, beside her.Sometimes she also looks at me once in a while (she She even tried to avoid my eyes), when suddenly a kind of impatient anger appeared on her face, and she turned away quickly.I understand that at this moment she may be thinking, thinking about her own feelings about the not-so-distant and imminent rupture.

Plan, how could she not be in pain and sad when thinking about this issue?I can tell that she has made up her mind to break up with Alyosha from now on.But her melancholy despair, after all, pained and frightened me.Besides, I have I couldn't talk to her all the time, didn't dare to comfort her, so I could only wait in horror for how it would all end. As for her always stern face towards me, with a look of hope and unattainability, although I also feel uneasy and painful, but I believe in my Natasha's heart: I see her so sad, so sad , too disheartened.any foreign stem The forecast would only stir up chagrin and resentment in her heart.In such cases, it is the meddling of our friends and relatives who know our secrets that most vex us most.But I also know very well that in the end Natasha will come back to me

, and seek comfort in my heart for herself. I naturally kept silent about my conversation with the prince: if I did, it would only make her more angry and sad.I only mentioned to her in passing that I had visited the countess with the duke, which convinced me that he was a terrible scoundrel.But I was relieved that she did not ask me for details about him; but she listened greedily to all that I told her about my meeting with Katya.She didn't agree with Katya after listening to it, but her pale face But a red cloud flew up.That day, she was very excited almost all day.I have nothing to hide about Katya, but frankly admit that Katya has made a good impression on me.Why hide it?You know, if I hide

To tell the truth, Natasha would guess, it would only annoy her.Therefore, I deliberately explained in as much detail as possible, and tried my best to grab her head. She explained everything without asking me. With a poopy look, he inquired about the strengths of his rival in love, honestly, how easy is it? I thought she didn't know that Alyosha was obliged to accompany the countess and Katya to the country by the prince's unalterable arrangement, and I was wondering how to reveal this secret to her without hurting her as much as possible.unexpectedly i just As soon as I opened my mouth, Natasha asked me to stop talking, and said that there was no need to comfort her, because she knew about it five days ago, and I was very surprised when I heard this.

"My God!" I cried, "Who told you?" "Alyosha." "What? He already told you?" "Yes, I've made up my mind about everything, Vanya," she added, and she said it with a manner that seemed to tell me with certainty and a little impatientness that I should not go on. . Alyosha often went to see Natasha, but always only for a short while; only once did he sit with her for several hours; but I was not there at the time.As usual, he always looked sullen every time he came, looking at her timidly and tenderly; But Natasha always welcomed him so warmly that he immediately forgot everything and became happy.He also visits me often, almost every day.It is true that he is distressed too, but leaving him to suffer alone is a point for him.

Zhong couldn't stay any longer, so he came to me from time to time, looking for comfort. What can I say to him?He reproached me for being too cold, for being indifferent to him, and even for harboring a grudge; he was distressed, he cried, and went to Katya again, and was comforted there. On the very day Natasha told me that she knew that Alyosha was going to leave (this was about a week after I spoke to the prince), he came to me in despair and fell on my breast, crying like a child Lost voice.I waited silently to see if he What to say. "I'm a little man, I'm a mean man, Vanya," he began to me, "help me, because I can't help myself. I cry not because I'm mean, but because of Natasha. will be unhappy because of me. You know, I will

Take her down, make her miserable... Vanya, my friend, tell me, make up my mind: which of the two I love more: Katya or Natasha? " "I can't take that idea, Alyosha," I answered, "you know better than I do..." "No, Vanya, that's not the case: I'm not stupid enough to ask you such a question; but the problem is that I don't understand it myself. I ask myself, but I can't answer it myself. The outsider knows, maybe you are better than me. see More clearly... Well, even if you don't know, tell me, what do you think? " "I think you love Katya more."

"You think so! No, no, it is not so at all! You have not guessed right. I love Natasha infinitely. I cannot abandon her under any circumstances; I said that to Katya, and Katya too. Agree with me. Why don't you talk? Look, I see, you just laughed.Alas, you have never comforted me whenever I am particularly sad like I am now... Goodbye! " He ran out of my house and made a remarkable impression on the astonished Nellie, who silently overheard our conversation.At that time, she was still sick, lying in bed and still taking medicine.Alyosha never spoke to her, and whenever he visited, he almost

almost inadvertently. He came back two hours later, and I was amazed to see his happy face.He came running and put his arms around my neck again and hugged me. "It's over!" he cried. "All misunderstandings have been cleared up. When I left your house, I went straight to Natasha: I was miserable, I couldn't live without her. I went in and knelt before her." , kissing her feet: I need this, I I like it; if I don't, I'm going to die.She hugged me silently and she cried.I told her straight away that I loved Katya more than her..." "What did she say?" "She didn't say anything, but caressed me and comforted me--comfort me who told her that! She's so good at comforting, Ivan Petrovich! Oh, I cried out all my sorrows in her presence now, tell her everything said.I told her frankly that I loved Katya very much, but then I said that however much I loved her and whoever I loved, I could not live without her Natasha, or I would die.Really, Vanya, I can't live a day without her Go down, I feel it, really!We therefore resolved to marry at once; but as we could not do this before our departure, and as it was Lent, and we were engaged in the wedding, we had to wait until after my return, which would not be until the first of June.Father Will agree, no doubt about it.As for Katya, that's nothing!You know, I couldn't live without Natasha... When we were married, I went with her to Katya's..." Poor Natasha!How it must have felt for her to comfort the older child, to sit beside him, to hear his confessions, to force him, a naive egoist, into the myth of his soon-to-be-marriage in order to calm him down!Alyosha fruit However, I felt at ease for a few days.He also often went to Natasha, but in fact he went to her only because his frail heart could not bear the sorrow alone.However, when the time to break up was getting closer and closer, he was in a state of panic. On that day, with tears in his eyes, he ran to my house again, crying to me about his inner pain.In the last few days, he was even more infatuated with Natasha, and couldn't leave her for a day, let alone for a month and a half.Then again, he until the last She completely believed for a minute that he only left her for a month and a half, and when he came back, they would hold a wedding.As for Natasha, she was well aware that her whole fate was changing, that now Alyosha would never come back to her again, and And it is inevitable, and it can no longer be undone. The day of separation finally arrived.Natasha was sick—pale, bloodshot eyes, parched lips, murmured to herself, gave me quick and heartrending glances, didn't cry, didn't answer my questions When she heard the loud sound of Alyosha coming in, she trembled like a leaf on a tree.Suddenly her face flushed like a ray of sunset, and she ran towards him in a hurry; she hugged him like a convulsion, kissed him, laughed... Alyosha looked at her intently, and sometimes asked her anxiously if she was not well, and reassured her that he would not be away for long, and that the wedding would take place when he returned.Natasha was obviously trying to restrain herself, and suppressed the tears welling up.she in front of him Never cried before. Once he said that during his absence, she should leave some money so that she would not worry, because his father had promised him a lot of money to spend on the road.Natasha frowned.When we were left alone together, I Tell her that I have prepared one hundred and fifty rubles for her, just in case.She didn't ask me where the money came from.This happened two days before Alyosha left and the day before Natasha and Katya met for the first and last time. Lyozha brought a note asking Natasha to allow her to visit her in person tomorrow; at the same time she wrote me a few words: Please be present when they meet. ① That is Lent before Easter, which stipulates that Christians must fast within forty days (because Jesus had fasted and prayed in the wilderness for forty days and nights before he began to preach), and then celebrate Easter. I made up my mind to be with Natasha at twelve o'clock (the time Katya had agreed) no matter what the delay, but there were so many troubles and delays.Not to mention Nellie, the two Ikhmenevs have recently The old man really gave me a lot of trouble. These troubles started a week ago.One morning Anna Andreevna sent for me, saying that there was a very important matter that could not be delayed, and asked me to drop everything at once and go to her as quickly as possible.I went to her house, She was alone again: she was walking up and down the room like an ant on a hot pan in agitation and terror, waiting in terror for Nikolai Sergeyitch's return.As usual, it took me a long time to figure out what it was from her What was going on, what was she worried about, and at the same time, obviously, every minute was precious.She has been muttering and irrelevantly blaming me: *Why don't you go and see them, and leave them alone and grieved by yourself", and As for "Only God knows what happened while I was away," she told me after the long series that Nikolai Sergeyitch had been so excited for the last three days that he "couldn't say it". "It's like a different person," she said, "like ants on a hot pot, secretly hiding it from me every midnight, kneeling in front of the holy image to pray, talking nonsense when I fall asleep, and going crazy when I wake up. Crazy; yesterday we drank vegetable soup with the spoon beside him, He couldn't find it, and asked him what was the matter, but he didn't answer the question.He often went out, saying that he had something to do when he was going out, so he had to find a lawyer'; finally, this morning, he locked himself in the study again, saying, 'I want to file for the lawsuit. Documents necessary for price writing'.Hmph, I thought to myself, if you can't even find the spoon next to the dining table, what else can you write?But I looked through the keyhole: he was sitting in the room writing, crying as he wrote, tears streaming down his face.i think he What are you writing?It must be that we miss our Ihmenevka; so our Ihmenevka is all over!While I was thinking this way, he suddenly stood up from the table, threw the pen on the table vigorously, and his face was covered with tears. Flushed, with glowing eyes, he grabbed his hat and ran out, saying to me: 'Anna Andreyevna, I'll be back as soon as I speak. ’ He went away, and I went at once to his desk; Usually, he doesn't allow me to touch these things.I have begged him many times: "Just let me pick up this big pile of documents for a while, I have to wipe the dirt on this table." ’ How could he give up, shouting and waving: he has been here for a few days. Petersburg became impatient and yelled at every turn.At this time, I walked to the table and started to search: which document was he writing just now?Because I'm pretty sure he didn't take it away, and when he got up from the table, he stuffed it under the other paperwork went.Look, here it is, my boy, Ivan Petrovich, this is what I found, you see. " After she said that, she handed me a piece of letter paper, which was already half full, but it was scribbled and changed, and it was almost impossible to make out what he wrote in some places. Poor old man!From the first few lines one can guess what he wrote and to whom.This is a letter to Natasha, to his beloved daughter Natasha.He begins warmly and tenderly: he forgives her and calls her back to him Come.The whole letter is difficult to read, because it is written upside down, intermittent, and badly edited.It is evident that the wild emotion which impelled him to take up the pen to write the first passionate lines quickly changed to It became another feeling: the old man began to support his daughter, described her crimes to her vividly, mentioned to her angrily that she was determined to go her own way, blamed her for being heartless, blamed her for not once thinking about what she did to her parents. something happened.if When she persisted in her obsession, he threatened to punish and curse her, and finally, in his letter, he demanded that she return to her hometown obediently at once, and then, and only then, the "family atmosphere" began. obediently, exemplaryly After a new life, maybe we can forgive you.After writing these lines, he evidently took his initial magnanimity for weakness, which he took ashamed of, and finally, with great pain at the injury to his pride, thus The letter ended in anger and threats.The old lady stood in front of me with her fingers crossed and her arms folded, waiting in fear for what I would say after reading the letter. I told her exactly what I thought.Here's how I see it: he can't live without Natasha as an old man, and it's safe to say they'll have to make up soon; but then again, it all depends on circumstances. .Having said that, I explained my speculations as follows: First, losing the lawsuit probably made the old man very sad and shocked him a lot, not to mention that the Duke's victory in the lawsuit seriously hurt his self-esteem, At the same time the case came to such an end It also filled him with righteous indignation.At such times, his heart would not fail to seek sympathy, and therefore he thought more and more of his daughter, whom he had always loved as the jewel in his palm.In the end, it's not impossible: he probably heard (because he'd been keeping an eye on Natasha situation, he knew all about Natasha) Alyosha would soon abandon her.He could not fail to understand how much she was suffering now, and how much he felt from his own experience that she needed other people's comfort.But he thinks he's being insulted by his daughter Those who have hurt and harmed are unwilling to accommodate their daughter in turn.It must have occurred to him that, after all, it was not she who begged him first; perhaps she hadn't even thought of them, or felt the need to make things right.He must think so, I to me Perhaps he did not finish the letter because he concluded from his opinion that it might have given him a new insult, which in his feelings was even greater than the one he had received before, who knows? , it's a good deal, it's going to take a long time to report Maybe it's time... The old lady cried while listening to me.At last I told her that I must go to Natasha at once, and that it was already late, and she woke up as if from a dream, and said that she had forgotten the most important thing.When she took the letter out from under the paperwork, she inadvertently Pour the ink over the letter.Sure enough, the corner of the letter was wet and full of ink, and the old lady was terrified. The child's father would know from this stain that someone had turned over his paperwork while he was away. Anna Andreevna seen him write Letter to Natasha.Her fear was quite justified: perhaps only because we knew his secret, he would prolong his grievance out of shame and chagrin, and insist on not forgiving out of self-esteem. But after thinking about the matter carefully, I advised the old lady not to worry.He was very excited when he stood up after writing the letter. He may not remember these little things. Now, he may think that the letter was soiled by himself, soiled and forgotten. up.After reassuring Anna Andreyevna in this way, we put the letter back in its place, and as we were leaving it suddenly occurred to me that I must have a good talk with her about Nellie.I think that this poor abandoned orphan, her mother was also The curse of her own father, she can explain it personally, tell about her own life experience, tell about her own mother's death, the tragic story she told may touch his old man's heart, prompt him to change his mind, and be lenient to his daughter maybe .Everything was ready in his mind, everything was ripening; the thought of his daughter had begun to overwhelm his pride and his wounded pride.All that is lacking now is impetus, a last chance, and Nellie can take its place and play a role. This effect.The old lady had been listening very attentively as I spoke: her whole face glowed with hope and ecstasy.She immediately scolded me: Why didn't I tell her about this earlier?Then started asking me eagerly about Nellie In the end, she solemnly agreed, and now she will go to the old man herself to ask him to adopt the orphan girl.She loves Nellie with all her heart now, pity her for her illness, asks her all she can, and insists on me taking a I went to Nellie with a jar of jam, and she herself went to the pantry to get it; she thought I had no money for a doctor, and brought me five rubles, which I refused to take from her, which made her very sad. Disappointed, she later heard that Nellie needed underwear and coats, so She could still do something useful for Nellie, so she managed to calm down and feel relieved, so she immediately rummaged through the cabinets, took out all her clothes, and picked out ones that could be given to the "orphan". thing. Then I went to find Natasha.I have said before that the stairs in her place are spiral. When I stepped on the last flight of stairs, I found someone at the door of her room. He was about to knock on the door, but when he heard my footsteps, he withdrew his hand again. go back.At last, after probably hesitating for a moment, he suddenly gave up his plan and started to go downstairs.I met him on the first step of the last flight of stairs, and what a surprise I was when I recognized Ikhmenev.the stairs even in broad daylight Also very dark.He stood against the wall and let me go, and I saw his eyes glowing strangely, looking at me carefully.I think his face flushed; at least he looked embarrassed, even bewildered. "Oh, Vanya, it's you!" he said in a trembling voice, "I've come here to find someone . Where are you going here...it seems like you don't live here .I was wrong.goodbye. " Then he started hastily down the stairs. After much deliberation, I decided not to tell Natasha about this unexpected encounter for the time being, but to tell her as soon as Alyosha was gone and she was left alone.She was in a state of uncertainty at the moment, though she knew all too well, and understood all this How important it is, but after all, she will not understand it and feel it as she did when she was heartbroken and desperate.Not yet. I could have gone to the Ikhmenevs' again that day, and I would have liked to, but I didn't.I think the old man will feel ashamed when he sees me, and he will even think that I just ran away because I didn't expect him.until the first I didn't see them until three days ago; the old man looked melancholy, but put on a rather easy air with me, and always said that the case was long and short. "Why, who did you go to that day, and you climbed so high, remember, we met, it's nothing to do with us? --- It's the day before yesterday," he suddenly asked casually, but always A little unnatural, he didn't dare to look at me, and looked aside. "A friend lives there," I replied, also avoiding him. "Ah! I'm looking for a clerk, his name is Astafyev; I've been told that he lives in that building... It turned out to be a mistake... Well, I just told you about the case: the Supreme Court has decided ……"Etc., etc. He blushed when he started talking about the case. In order to please the old lady, I told Anna Andreyevna everything that day, but I begged her quietly not to look at his face strangely, neither to sigh nor to insinuate. words, no matter Why can't it be revealed that she knows about his recent abnormal behavior.The old lady was so surprised and delighted that she didn't even believe my words at first, thinking that I was lying to her.In turn, she told me that she had already mentioned the orphan to Nikolai Sergeyitch. But he didn't say a word, and he had been trying to persuade her to adopt a little girl before.Tomorrow, we decided, she would simply ask him to do the job, without going round and round, and without making excuses.But the next day, we both In a state of panic and anxiety. Here's what happened: In the morning, Ikhmenev met the officials who had been mediating in his case.The official told him that he had seen the prince, who, although he kept the village of Ihmenevka to himself, "due to some family situation "I decided to give the old man some compensation. I gave him 10,000 rubles. After leaving the official, the old man came to me directly. He was very excited; his eyes were shining fiercely. I don't know why he called me from the house. Stairs, insisting that I go to the public office immediately Sir, let me tell him that he challenged him to a duel.I was taken aback, and for a long time could not figure out what was going on.I started to discourage him.But the old man was so angry that he lost his breath all at once.I hurried back to the room to get water; but when I came back , Ikhmenev was no longer on the stairs. The next day, I went to his house to look for him again, but he was not at home; and he disappeared somewhere for three consecutive days. I didn't find out everything until the third day.After he left me, he went straight to the duke, and he left him a note when the duke was not at home; insult In view of all this, he challenged him to a duel, and warned him that you wanted to escape his challenge, otherwise he would be ruined. Anna Andreyevna told me that when he got home he was very excited and absent-minded, and even fell ill.He was very gentle to her, but ignored her nagging questions. It could be seen that he was anxiously waiting for something. The next morning a letter came through the city post office; he read it and cried out, clutching his head.Anna Andreevna was petrified.But he immediately grabbed his top hat and walking stick and ran out of the house. This letter is from the duke.Coldly, briefly, but politely, he told Ikhmenev that what he had said to the official required no explanation to anyone.Although he felt sorry for Ikhmenev who lost the case, But although he pitied him very much, he could not justify that a man who had lost his case had a right to challenge his opponent to a duel out of vengeance.As for the threat of "destruction of his reputation," the prince asked Ikhmenev to rest easy, because Because he would never be ruined because of this, and he could never be ruined; he also told him that his letter would be handed over to the relevant parties immediately, and that the police station would definitely take necessary measures to maintain order and order after receiving the report. Ikhmenev took the letter and ran to the prince at once, but the prince was not at home; but his old man had heard from his servants that the prince was probably at Count N's.So he went to the earl's house without thinking.He was already going upstairs, but the count The concierge of the house came and blocked his way.The old man was so furious that he picked up his crutches and gave him a slap in the face.He was seized at once, dragged out on the steps, and handed over to the police, who took him to the police station.The servants report this matter reported to the earl.The prince, who was there at the time, explained to the old pervert that this was that Ikhmenev, the father of that Natalya Nikolaevna (the prince had helped more than once in these matters. Earl's favor), so the The old man who lived in the important place smiled knowingly, and turned his anger into joy. He was very kind, and ordered his servants to release Ikhhenev and let him fall in love with him; released him, and (probably at the duke's Tell the old man that it was the Duke himself who interceded for him, and asked the Earl to be extra merciful to him. When the old man got home, he threw himself on the bed like a madman, and lay there for a whole hour; at last he raised himself up, and solemnly declared that he would curse his daughter forever and ever, that she would never be blessed by her parents. Anna Ander Leevna turned pale with fright. Anna Andreyevna was terrified, but first the old man had to be treated, and she attended him all night with seemingly insane care, applying vinegar to his temples and covering them with ice.He has a high fever and talks nonsense.when i leave them It was already two in the middle of the night.But Ikhmenev got out of bed the next morning, and came to me that very day to make sure that Nellie would be adopted by them, but I have already told you about Nellie's quarrel with him; accusations made him Often shocked.After returning home, he was ill in bed again.All this happened on Good Friday, the day Katya and Natasha had agreed to meet, the day before Alyosha and Katya left Petersburg.In this meeting, I am also in Yang: Born early in the morning, before the old man came to see me, and before Nellie ran away for the first time.