were stupefied with amazement; the crowd parted as she
rushed through it, and suddenly, at a distance of five or six
yards from the carriage, appeared Rogojin. It was his look
that had caught her eyes.
Nastasia rushed to him like a madwoman, and seized
both his hands.
‘Save me!’ she cried. ‘Take me away, anywhere you
like, quick!’
Rogojin seized her in his arms and almost carried her to
the carriage. Then, in a flash, he tore a hundred-rouble
note out of his pocket and held it to the coachman.
‘To the station, quick! If you catch the train you shall
have another. Quick!’ The Idiot
1110 of 1149
He leaped into the carriage after Nastasia and banged
the door. The coachman did not hesitate a moment; he
whipped up the horses, and they were oft.
‘One more second and I should have stopped him,’ said
Keller, afterwards. In fact, he and Burdovsky jumped into
another carriage and set off in pursuit; but it struck them as
they drove along that it was not much use trying to bring
Nastasia back by force.
‘Besides,’ said Burdovsky,’ the prince would not like it,
would he?’ So they gave up the pursuit.
Rogojin and Nastasia Philipovna reached the station
just in time for the train. As he jumped out of the carriage
and was almost on the point of entering the train, Rogojin
accosted a young girl standing on the platform and
wearing an old-fashioned, but respectable-looking, black
cloak and a silk handkerchief over her head.
‘Take fifty roubles for your cloak?’ he shouted, holding
the money out to the girl. Before the astonished young
woman could collect her scattered senses, he pushed the
money into her hand, seized the mantle, and threw it and
the handkerchief over Nastasia’s head and shoulders. The
latter’s wedding-array would have attracted too much
attention, and it was not until some time later that the girl The Idiot
1111 of 1149
understood why her old cloak and kerchief had been
bought at such a price.
The news of what had happened reached the church
with extraordinary rapidity. When Keller arrived, a host of
people whom he did not know thronged around to ask
him questions. There was much excited talking, and
shaking of heads, even some laughter; but no one left the
church, all being anxious to observe how the now
celebrated bridegroom would take the news. He grew
very pale upon hearing it, but took it quite quietly.
‘I was afraid,’ he muttered, scarcely audibly, ‘but I
hardly thought it would come to this.’ Then after a short
silence, he added: ‘However, in her state, it is quite
consistent with the natural order of things.’
Even Keller admitted afterwards that this was
‘extraordinarily philosophical’ on the prince’s part. He left
the church quite calm, to all appearances, as many
witnesses were found to declare afterwards. He seemed
anxious to reach home and be left alone as quickly as
possible; but this was not to be. He was accompanied by
nearly all the invited guests, and besides this, the house
was almost besieged by excited bands of people, who
insisted upon being allowed to enter the verandah. The
prince heard Keller and Lebedeff remonstrating and The Idiot
1112 of 1149
quarrelling with these unknown individuals, and soon
went out himself. He approached the disturbers of his
peace, requested courteously to be told what was desired;
then politely putting Lebedeff and Keller aside, he
addressed an old gentleman who was standing on the
verandah steps at the head of the band of would-be guests,
and courteously requested him to honour him with a visit.
The old fellow was quite taken aback by this, but entered,
followed by a few more, who tried to appear at their ease.
The rest remained outside, and presently the whole crowd
was censuring those who had accepted the invitation. The
prince offered seats to his strange visitors, tea was served,
and a general conversation sprang up. Everything was
done most decorously, to the considerable surprise of the
intruders. A few tentative attempts were made to turn the
conversation to the events of the day, and a few indiscreet
questions were asked; but Muishkin replied to everybody
with such simplicity and good-humour, and at the same
time with so much dignity, and showed such confidence
in the good breeding of his guests, that the indiscreet
talkers were quickly silenced. By degrees the conversation
became almost serious. One gentleman suddenly
exclaimed, with great vehemence: ‘Whatever happens, I
shall not sell my property; I shall wait. Enterprise is better The Idiot
1113 of 1149
than money, and there, sir, you have my whole system of
economy, if you wish!’ He addressed the prince, who
warmly commended his sentiments, though Lebedeff
whispered in his ear that this gentleman, who talked so
much of his ‘property,’ had never had either house or
home.
Nearly an hour passed thus, and when tea was over the
visitors seemed to think that it was time to go. As they
went out, the doctor and the old gentleman bade
Muishkin a warm farewell, and all the rest took their leave
with hearty protestations of good- will, dropping remarks
to the effect that ‘it was no use worrying,’ and that
‘perhaps all would turn out for the best,’ and so on. Some
of the younger intruders would have asked for champagne,
but they were checked by the older ones. When all had
departed, Keller leaned over to Lebedeff, and said:
‘With you and me there would have been a scene. We
should have shouted and fought, and called in the police.
But he has simply made some new friends—and such
friends, too! I know them!’
Lebedeff, who was slightly intoxicated, answered with a
sigh:
‘Things are hidden from the wise and prudent, and
revealed unto babes. I have applied those words to him The Idiot
1114 of 1149
before, but now I add that God has preserved the babe
himself from the abyss, He and all His saints.’
At last, about half-past ten, the prince was left alone.
His head ached. Colia was the last to go, after having
helped him to change his wedding clothes. They parted
on affectionate terms, and, without speaking of what had
happened, Colia promised to come very early the next
day. He said later that the prince had given no hint of his
intentions when they said good-bye, but had hidden them
even from him. Soon there was hardly anyone left in the
house. Burdovsky had gone to see Hippolyte; Keller and
Lebedeff had wandered off together somewhere.
Only Vera Lebedeff remained hurriedly rearranging the
furniture in the rooms. As she left the verandah, she
glanced at the prince. He was seated at the table, with
both elbows upon it, and his head resting on his hands.
She approached him, and touched his shoulder gently.
The prince started and looked at her in perplexity; he
seemed to be collecting his senses for a minute or so,
before he could remember where he was. As recollection
dawned upon him, he became violently agitated. All he
did, however, was to ask Vera very earnestly to knock at
his door and awake him in time for the first train to
Petersburg next morning. Vera promised, and the prince The Idiot
1115 of 1149
entreated her not to tell anyone of his intention. She
promised this, too; and at last, when she had half-closed
the door, be called her back a third time, took her hands
in his, kissed them, then kissed her forehead, and in a
rather peculiar manner said to her, ‘Until tomorrow!’
Such was Vera’s story afterwards.
She went away in great anxiety about him, but when
she saw him in the morning, he seemed to be quite
himself again, greeted her with a smile, and told her that
he would very likely be back by the evening. It appears
that he did not consider it necessary to inform anyone
excepting Vera of his departure for town. The Idiot
1116 of 1149
XI
AN hour later he was in St. Petersburg, and by ten
o’clock he had rung the bell at Rogojin’s.
He had gone to the front door, and was kept waiting a
long while before anyone came. At last the door of old
Mrs. Rogojin’s flat was opened, and an aged servant
appeared.
‘Parfen Semionovitch is not at home,’ she announced
from the doorway. ‘Whom do you want?’
‘Parfen Semionovitch.’
‘He is not in.’
The old woman examined the prince from head to foot
with great curiosity.
‘At all events tell me whether he slept at home last
night, and whether he came alone?’
The old woman continued to stare at him, but said
nothing.
‘Was not Nastasia Philipovna here with him, yesterday
evening?’
‘And, pray, who are you yourself?’
‘Prince Lef Nicolaievitch Muishkin; he knows me
well.’ The Idiot
1117 of 1149
‘He is not at home.’
The woman lowered her eyes.
‘And Nastasia Philipovna?’
‘I know nothing about it.’
‘Stop a minute! When will he come back?’
‘I don’t know that either.’
The door was shut with these words, and the old
woman disappeared. The prince decided to come back
within an hour. Passing out of the house, he met the
porter.
‘Is Parfen Semionovitch at home?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Why did they tell me he was not at home, then?’
‘Where did they tell you so,—at his door?’ ‘No, at his
mother’s flat; I rang at Parfen Semionovitch’s door and
nobody came.’
‘Well, he may have gone out. I can’t tell. Sometimes he
takes the keys with him, and leaves the rooms empty for
two or three days.’
‘Do you know for certain that he was at home last
night?’
‘Yes, he was.’
‘Was Nastasia Philipovna with him?’ The Idiot
1118 of 1149
‘I don’t know; she doesn’t come often. I think I should
have known if she had come.’
The prince went out deep in thought, and walked up
and down the pavement for some time. The windows of
all the rooms occupied by Rogojin were closed, those of
his mother’s apartments were open. It was a hot, bright
day. The prince crossed the road in order to have a good
look at the windows again; not only were Rogojin’s
closed, but the white blinds were all down as well.
He stood there for a minute and then, suddenly and
strangely enough, it seemed to him that a little corner of
one of the blinds was lifted, and Rogojin’s face appeared
for an instant and then vanished. He waited another
minute, and decided to go and ring the bell once more;
however, he thought better of it again and put it off for an
hour.
The chief object in his mind at this moment was to get
as quickly as he could to Nastasia Philipovna’s lodging. He
remembered that, not long since, when she had left
Pavlofsk at his request, he had begged her to put up in
town at the house of a respectable widow, who had well-
furnished rooms to let, near the Ismailofsky barracks.
Probably Nastasia had kept the rooms when she came
down to Pavlofsk this last time; and most likely she would The Idiot
1119 of 1149
have spent the night in them, Rogojin having taken her
straight there from the station.
The prince took a droshky. It struck him as he drove
on that he ought to have begun by coming here, since it
was most improbable that Rogojin should have taken
Nastasia to his own house last night. He remembered that
the porter said she very rarely came at all, so that it was
still less likely that she would have gone there so late at
night.
Vainly trying to comfort himself with these reflections,
the prince reached the Ismailofsky barracks more dead
than alive.
To his consternation the good people at the lodgings
had not only heard nothing of Nastasia, but all came out
to look at him as if he were a marvel of some sort. The
whole family, of all ages, surrounded him, and he was
begged to enter. He guessed at once that they knew
perfectly well who he was, and that yesterday ought to
have been his wedding-day; and further that they were
dying to ask about the wedding, and especially about why
he should be here now, inquiring for the woman who in
all reasonable human probability might have been
expected to be with him in Pavlofsk. The Idiot
1120 of 1149
He satisfied their curiosity, in as few words as possible,
with regard to the wedding, but their exclamations and
sighs were so numerous and sincere that he was obliged to
tell the whole story— in a short form, of course. The
advice of all these agitated ladies was that the prince should
go at once and knock at Rogojin’s until he was let in: and
when let in insist upon a substantial explanation of
everything. If Rogojin was really not at home, the prince
was advised to go to a certain house, the address of which
was given, where lived a German lady, a friend of Nastasia
Philipovna’s. It was possible that she might have spent the
night there in her anxiety to conceal herself.
The prince rose from his seat in a condition of mental
collapse. The good ladies reported afterwards that ‘his
pallor was terrible to see, and his legs seemed to give way
underneath him.’ With difficulty he was made to
understand that his new friends would be glad of his
address, in order to act with him if possible. After a
moment’s thought he gave the address of the small hotel,
on the stairs of which he had had a fit some five weeks
since. He then set off once more for Rogojin’s.
This time they neither opened the door at Rogojin’s
flat nor at the one opposite. The prince found the porter
with difficulty, but when found, the man would hardly The Idiot
1121 of 1149
look at him or answer his questions, pretending to be
busy. Eventually, however, he was persuaded to reply so
far as to state that Rogojin had left the house early in the
morning and gone to Pavlofsk, and that he would not
return today at all.
‘I shall wait; he may come back this evening.’
‘He may not be home for a week.’
