Page 59 - the-idiot

threatened to overturn the whole business.
This circumstance had come into existence eighteen
years before. Close to an estate of Totski’s, in one of the
central provinces of Russia, there lived, at that time, a poor
gentleman whose estate was of the wretchedest description.
This gentleman was noted in the district for his persistent
ill-fortune; his name was Barashkoff, and, as regards family
and descent, he was vastly superior to Totski, but his estate
was mortgaged to the last acre. One day, when he had rid-
den over to the town to see a creditor, the chief peasant of
his village followed him shortly after, with the news that his
house had been burnt down, and that his wife had perished
with it, but his children were safe.
Even Barashkoff, inured to the storms of evil fortune
as he was, could not stand this last stroke. He went mad
and died shortly after in the town hospital. His estate was
sold for the creditors; and the little girls—two of them, of
seven and eight years of age respectively,—were adopted by
Totski, who undertook their maintenance and education in
the kindness of his heart. They were brought up together
with the children of his German bailiff. Very soon, howev-
er, there was only one of them leftNastasia Philipovna—for
the other little one died of whoopingcough. Totski, who
was living abroad at this time, very soon forgot all about
the child; but five years after, returning to Russia, it struck
him that he would like to look over his estate and see how
matters were going there, and, arrived at his bailiff’s house,
he was not long in discovering that among the children of
the latter there now dwelt a most lovely little girl of twelve,

The Idiot