Page 620 - the-idiot

fore me, upon Hippolyte’s good faith, or hints that the cap
was forgotten intentionally, or suggests that this unhappy
boy was acting a part before us, I beg to announce that the
person so speaking shall account to me for his words.’
No one replied.
The company departed very quickly, in a mass. Ptitsin,
Gania, and Rogojin went away together.
The prince was much astonished that Evgenie Pavlovitch
changed his mind, and took his departure without the con-
versation he had requested.
‘Why, you wished to have a talk with me when the oth-
ers left?’ he said.
‘Quite so,’ said Evgenie, sitting down suddenly beside
him, ‘but I have changed my mind for the time being. I con-
fess, I am too disturbed, and so, I think, are you; and the
matter as to which I wished to consult you is too serious to
tackle with one’s mind even a little disturbed; too serious
both for myself and for you. You see, prince, for once in my
life I wish to perform an absolutely honest action, that is, an
action with no ulterior motive; and I think I am hardly in a
condition to talk of it just at this moment, and—and—well,
we’ll discuss it another time. Perhaps the matter may gain
in clearness if we wait for two or three days—just the two or
three days which I must spend in Petersburg.’
Here he rose again from his chair, so that it seemed
strange that he should have thought it worth while to sit
down at all.
The prince thought, too, that he looked vexed and an-
noyed, and not nearly so friendly towards himself as he had

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