Page 285 - the-idiot

correct! If you had listened to what I was saying, you would
have heard that I did not only pray for the Comtesse du Bar-
ry. I said, ‘Oh Lord! give rest to the soul of that great sinner,
the Comtesse du Barry, and to all unhappy ones like her.’
You see that is quite a different thing, for how many sinners
there are, how many women, who have passed through the
trials of this life, are now suffering and groaning in purga-
tory! I prayed for you, too, in spite of your insolence and
impudence, also for your fellows, as it seems that you claim
to know how I pray…’
‘Oh! that’s enough in all conscience! Pray for whom you
choose, and the devil take them and you! We have a scholar
here; you did not know that, prince?’ he continued, with a
sneer. ‘He reads all sorts of books and memoirs now.’
‘At any rate, your uncle has a kind heart,’ remarked the
prince, who really had to force himself to speak to the neph-
ew, so much did he dislike him.
‘Oh, now you are going to praise him! He will be set up!
He puts his hand on his heart, and he is delighted! I never
said he was a man without heart, but he is a rascal—that’s
the pity of it. And then, he is addicted to drink, and his
mind is unhinged, like that of most people who have taken
more than is good for them for years. He loves his chil-
dren—oh, I know that well enough! He respected my aunt,
his late wife ... and he even has a sort of affection for me. He
has remembered me in his will.’
‘I shall leave you nothing!’ exclaimed his uncle angrily.
‘Listen to me, Lebedeff,’ said the prince in a decided voice,
turning his back on the young man. ‘I know by experience

The Idiot