‘Nonsense!’ said the prince, angrily, turning round
upon him. The Idiot
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‘Quite so, nonsense! Ha, ha, ha! dear me! He did amuse
me, did the general! We went off on the hot scent to
Wilkin’s together, you know; but I must first observe that
the general was even more thunderstruck than I myself
this morning, when I awoke him after discovering the
theft; so much so that his very face changed—he grew red
and then pale, and at length flew into a paroxysm of such
noble wrath that I assure you I was quite surprised! He is a
most generous-hearted man! He tells lies by the thousands,
I know, but it is merely a weakness; he is a man of the
highest feelings; a simple-minded man too, and a man
who carries the conviction of innocence in his very
appearance. I love that man, sir; I may have told you so
before; it is a weakness of mine. Well—he suddenly
stopped in the middle of the road, opened out his coat and
bared his breast. ‘Search me,’ he says, ‘you searched Keller;
why don’t you search me too? It is only fair!’ says he. And
all the while his legs and hands were trembling with anger,
and he as white as a sheet all over! So I said to him,
‘Nonsense, general; if anybody but yourself had said that
to me, I’d have taken my head, my own head, and put it
on a large dish and carried it round to anyone who
suspected you; and I should have said: ‘There, you see that
head? It’s my head, and I’ll go bail with that head for him! The Idiot
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Yes, and walk through the fire for him, too. There,’ says I,
‘that’s how I’d answer for you, general!’ Then he
embraced me, in the middle of the street, and hugged me
so tight (crying over me all the while) that I coughed fit to
choke! ‘You are the one friend left to me amid all my
misfortunes,’ says he. Oh, he’s a man of sentiment, that!
He went on to tell me a story of how he had been
accused, or suspected, of stealing five hundred thousand
roubles once, as a young man; and how, the very next
day, he had rushed into a burning, blazing house and saved
the very count who suspected him, and Nina
Alexandrovna (who was then a young girl), from a fiery
death. The count embraced him, and that was how he
came to marry Nina Alexandrovna, he said. As for the
money, it was found among the ruins next day in an
English iron box with a secret lock; it had got under the
floor somehow, and if it had not been for the fire it would
never have been found! The whole thing is, of course, an
absolute fabrication, though when he spoke of Nina
Alexandrovna he wept! She’s a grand woman, is Nina
Alexandrovna, though she is very angry with me!’
‘Are you acquainted with her?’
‘Well, hardly at all. I wish I were, if only for the sake of
justifying myself in her eyes. Nina Alexandrovna has a The Idiot
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grudge against me for, as she thinks, encouraging her
husband in drinking; whereas in reality I not only do not
encourage him, but I actually keep him out of harm’s way,
and out of bad company. Besides, he’s my friend, prince,
so that I shall not lose sight of him, again. Where he goes,
I go. He’s quite given up visiting the captain’s widow,
though sometimes he thinks sadly of her, especially in the
morning, when he’s putting on his boots. I don’t know
why it’s at that time. But he has no money, and it’s no use
his going to see her without. Has he borrowed any money
from you, prince?’
‘No, he has not.’
‘Ah, he’s ashamed to! He MEANT to ask you, I know,
for he said so. I suppose he thinks that as you gave him
some once (you remember), you would probably refuse if
he asked you again.’
‘Do you ever give him money?’
‘Prince! Money! Why I would give that man not only
my money, but my very life, if he wanted it. Well,
perhaps that’s exaggeration; not life, we’ll say, but some
illness, a boil or a bad cough, or anything of that sort, I
would stand with pleasure, for his sake; for I consider him
a great man fallen—money, indeed!’
‘H’m, then you DO give him money?’ The Idiot
830 of 1149
‘N-no, I have never given him money, and he knows
well that I will never give him any; because I am anxious
to keep him out of intemperate ways. He is going to town
with me now; for you must know I am off to Petersburg
after Ferdishenko, while the scent is hot; I’m certain he is
there. I shall let the general go one way, while I go the
other; we have so arranged matters in order to pop out
upon Ferdishenko, you see, from different sides. But I am
going to follow that naughty old general and catch him, I
know where, at a certain widow’s house; for I think it will
be a good lesson, to put him to shame by catching him
with the widow.’
‘Oh, Lebedeff, don’t, don’t make any scandal about it!’
said the prince, much agitated, and speaking in a low
voice.
‘Not for the world, not for the world! I merely wish to
make him ashamed of himself. Oh, prince, great though
this misfortune be to myself, I cannot help thinking of his
morals! I have a great favour to ask of you, esteemed
prince; I confess that it is the chief object of my visit. You
know the Ivolgins, you have even lived in their house; so
if you would lend me your help, honoured prince, in the
general’s own interest and for his good.’
Lebedeff clasped his hands in supplication. The Idiot
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‘What help do you want from me? You may be certain
that I am most anxious to understand you, Lebedeff.’
‘I felt sure of that, or I should not have come to you.
We might manage it with the help of Nina Alexandrovna,
so that he might be closely watched in his own house.
Unfortunately I am not on terms ... otherwise ... but
Nicolai Ardalionovitch, who adores you with all his
youthful soul, might help, too.’
‘No, no! Heaven forbid that we should bring Nina
Alexandrovna into this business! Or Colia, either. But
perhaps I have not yet quite understood you, Lebedeff?’
Lebedeff made an impatient movement.
‘But there is nothing to understand! Sympathy and
tenderness, that is all—that is all our poor invalid requires!
You will permit me to consider him an invalid?’
‘Yes, it shows delicacy and intelligence on your part.’
‘I will explain my idea by a practical example, to make
it clearer. You know the sort of man he is. At present his
only failing is that he is crazy about that captain’s widow,
and he cannot go to her without money, and I mean to
catch him at her house today—for his own good; but
supposing it was not only the widow, but that he had
committed a real crime, or at least some very
dishonourable action (of which he is, of course, incapable), The Idiot
832 of 1149
I repeat that even in that case, if he were treated with
what I may call generous tenderness, one could get at the
whole truth, for he is very soft-hearted! Believe me, he
would betray himself before five days were out; he would
burst into tears, and make a clean breast of the matter;
especially if managed with tact, and if you and his family
watched his every step, so to speak. Oh, my dear prince,’
Lebedeff added most emphatically, ‘I do not positively
assert that he has ... I am ready, as the saying is, to shed my
last drop of blood for him this instant; but you will admit
that debauchery, drunkenness, and the captain’s widow, all
these together may lead him very far.’
‘I am, of course, quite ready to add my efforts to yours
in such a case,’ said the prince, rising; ‘but I confess,
Lebedeff, that I am terribly perplexed. Tell me, do you
still think ... plainly, you say yourself that you suspect Mr.
Ferdishenko?’
Lebedeff clasped his hands once more.
‘Why, who else could I possibly suspect? Who else,
most outspoken prince?’ he replied, with an unctuous
smile.
Muishkin frowned, and rose from his seat.
‘You see, Lebedeff, a mistake here would be a dreadful
thing. This Ferdishenko, I would not say a word against The Idiot
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him, of course; but, who knows? Perhaps it really was he?
I mean he really does seem to be a more likely man than...
than any other.’
Lebedeff strained his eyes and ears to take in what the
prince was saying. The latter was frowning more and
more, and walking excitedly up and down, trying not to
look at Lebedeff.
‘You see,’ he said, ‘I was given to understand that
Ferdishenko was that sort of man,—that one can’t say
everything before him. One has to take care not to say too
much, you understand? I say this to prove that he really is,
so to speak, more likely to have done this than anyone
else, eh? You understand? The important thing is, not to
make a mistake.’
‘And who told you this about Ferdishenko?’
‘Oh, I was told. Of course I don’t altogether believe it.
I am very sorry that I should have had to say this, because
I assure you I don’t believe it myself; it is all nonsense, of
course. It was stupid of me to say anything about it.’
‘You see, it is very important, it is most important to
know where you got this report from,’ said Lebedeff,
excitedly. He had risen from his seat, and was trying to
keep step with the prince, running after him, up and
down. ‘Because look here, prince, I don’t mind telling The Idiot
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you now that as we were going along to Wilkin’s this
morning, after telling me what you know about the fire,
and saving the count and all that, the general was pleased
to drop certain hints to the same effect about Ferdishenko,
but so vaguely and clumsily that I thought better to put a
few questions to him on the matter, with the result that I
found the whole thing was an invention of his excellency’s
own mind. Of course, he only lies with the best
intentions; still, he lies. But, such being the case, where
could you have heard the same report? It was the
inspiration of the moment with him, you understand, so
who could have told YOU? It is an important question,
you see!’
‘It was Colia told me, and his father told HIM at about
six this morning. They met at the threshold, when Colia
was leaving the room for something or other.’ The prince
told Lebedeff all that Colia had made known to himself, in
detail.
‘There now, that’s what we may call SCENT!’ said
Lebedeff, rubbing his hands and laughing silently. ‘I
thought it must be so, you see. The general interrupted his
innocent slumbers, at six o’clock, in order to go and wake
his beloved son, and warn him of the dreadful danger of
companionship with Ferdishenko. Dear me! what a The Idiot
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dreadfully dangerous man Ferdishenko must be, and what
touching paternal solicitude, on the part of his excellency,
ha! ha! ha!’
‘Listen, Lebedeff,’ began the prince, quite
overwhelmed; ‘DO act quietly—don’t make a scandal,
Lebedeff, I ask you—I entreat you! No one must know—
NO ONE, mind! In that case only, I will help you.’
‘Be assured, most honourable, most worthy of
princes—be assured that the whole matter shall be buried
within my heart!’ cried Lebedeff, in a paroxysm of
exaltation. ‘I’d give every drop of my blood... Illustrious
prince, I am a poor wretch in soul and spirit, but ask the
veriest scoundrel whether he would prefer to deal with
one like himself, or with a noble-hearted man like you,
and there is no doubt as to his choice! He’ll answer that he
prefers the noble-hearted man—and there you have the
triumph of virtue! Au revoir, honoured prince! You and I
together—softly! softly!’ The Idiot
836 of 1149
X
THE prince understood at last why he shivered with
dread every time he thought of the three letters in his
pocket, and why he had put off reading them until the
evening.
When he fell into a heavy sleep on the sofa on the
verandah, without having had the courage to open a single
one of the three envelopes, he again dreamed a painful
dream, and once more that poor, ‘sinful’ woman appeared
to him. Again she gazed at him with tears sparkling on her
long lashes, and beckoned him after her; and again he
awoke, as before, with the picture of her face haunting
him.
He longed to get up and go to her at once—but he
COULD NOT. At length, almost in despair, he unfolded
the letters, and began to read them.
These letters, too, were like a dream. We sometimes
have strange, impossible dreams, contrary to all the laws of
nature. When we awake we remember them and wonder
at their strangeness. You remember, perhaps, that you
were in full possession of your reason during this
succession of fantastic images; even that you acted with The Idiot
837 of 1149
extraordinary logic and cunning while surrounded by
murderers who hid their intentions and made great
demonstrations of friendship, while waiting for an
opportunity to cut your throat. You remember how you
escaped them by some ingenious stratagem; then you
doubted if they were really deceived, or whether they
were only pretending not to know your hiding-place;
then you thought of another plan and hoodwinked them
once again. You remember all this quite clearly, but how
is it that your reason calmly accepted all the manifest
absurdities and impossibilities that crowded into your
dream? One of the murderers suddenly changed into a
woman before your very eyes; then the woman was
transformed into a hideous, cunning little dwarf; and you
believed it, and accepted it all almost as a matter of
course—while at the same time your intelligence seemed
unusually keen, and accomplished miracles of cunning,
sagacity, and logic! Why is it that when you awake to the
world of realities you nearly always feel, sometimes very
vividly, that the vanished dream has carried with it some
enigma which you have failed to solve? You smile at the
extravagance of your dream, and yet you feel that this
tissue of absurdity contained some real idea, something
