Page 505 - the-idiot

the forerunner of a second; it was almost certain to be so.
Surely he had not forgotten the possibility of such a meet-
ing when he came to the Vauxhall? True enough, he had
not remarked where he was coming to when he set out with
Aglaya; he had not been in a condition to remark anything
at all.
Had he been more careful to observe his companion, he
would have seen that for the last quarter of an hour Agla-
ya had also been glancing around in apparent anxiety, as
though she expected to see someone, or something particu-
lar, among the crowd of people. Now, at the moment when
his own anxiety became so marked, her excitement also in-
creased visibly, and when he looked about him, she did the
same.
The reason for their anxiety soon became apparent.
From that very side entrance to the Vauxhall, near which
the prince and all the Epanchin party were seated, there
suddenly appeared quite a large knot of persons, at least a
dozen.
Heading this little band walked three ladies, two of
whom were remarkably lovely; and there was nothing sur-
prising in the fact that they should have had a large troop of
admirers following in their wake.
But there was something in the appearance of both the
ladies and their admirers which was peculiar, quite differ-
ent for that of the rest of the public assembled around the
orchestra.
Nearly everyone observed the little band advancing, and
all pretended not to see or notice them, except a few young

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