Page 435 - the-idiot

much better than he was. But his recent illness, the pain-
ful memories attached to it, the fatigue of this evening, the
incident with ‘Pavlicheff’s son,’ and now this scene with
Hippolyte, had all so worked on his oversensitive nature
that he was now almost in a fever. Moreover, anew trouble,
almost a fear, showed itself in his eyes; he watched Hip-
polyte anxiously as if expecting something further.
Suddenly Hippolyte arose. His face, shockingly pale,
was that of a man overwhelmed with shame and despair.
This was shown chiefly in the look of fear and hatred which
he cast upon the assembled company, and in the wild smile
upon his trembling lips. Then he cast down his eyes, and
with the same smile, staggered towards Burdovsky and
Doktorenko, who stood at the entrance to the verandah. He
had decided to go with them.
‘There! that is what I feared!’ cried the prince. ‘It was in-
evitable!’
Hippolyte turned upon him, a prey to maniacal rage,
which set all the muscles of his face quivering.
‘Ah! that is what you feared! It was inevitable, you say!
Well, let me tell you that if I hate anyone here—I hate you
all,’ he cried, in a hoarse, strained voice-’ but you, you, with
your jesuitical soul, your soul of sickly sweetness, idiot, be-
neficent millionaire—I hate you worse than anything or
anyone on earth! I saw through you and hated you long
ago; from the day I first heard of you. I hated you with my
whole heart. You have contrived all this! You have driven
me into this state! You have made a dying man disgrace
himself. You, you, you are the cause of my abject coward-

The Idiot