Page 466 - the-idiot

posed. Good Lord, was there ever such a man as you? Tfu!
and are you aware, sir, that this Gania, or his sister Varia,
have brought her into correspondence with Nastasia Phili-
povna?’
‘Brought whom?’ cried Muishkin.
‘Aglaya.’
‘I don’t believe it! It’s impossible! What object could they
have?’ He jumped up from his chair in his excitement.
‘Nor do I believe it, in spite of the proofs. The girl is self-
willed and fantastic, and insane! She’s wicked, wicked! I’ll
repeat it for a thousand years that she’s wicked; they ALL
are, just now, all my daughters, even that ‘wet hen’ Alex-
andra. And yet I don’t believe it. Because I don’t choose to
believe it, perhaps; but I don’t. Why haven’t you been?’ she
turned on the prince suddenly. ‘Why didn’t you come near
us all these three days, eh?’
The prince began to give his reasons, but she interrupted
him again.
‘Everybody takes you in and deceives you; you went to
town yesterday. I dare swear you went down on your knees
to that rogue, and begged him to accept your ten thousand
roubles!’
‘I never thought of doing any such thing. I have not seen
him, and he is not a rogue, in my opinion. I have had a let-
ter from him.’
‘Show it me!’
The prince took a paper from his pocket-book, and hand-
ed it to Lizabetha Prokofievna. It ran as follows:
‘SIR,