Page 646 - the-idiot

IX

RRIVED at her house, Lizabetha Prokofievna paused
Ain the first room. She could go no farther, and subsided
on to a couch quite exhausted; too feeble to remember so
much as to ask the prince to take a seat. This was a large re-
ception-room, full of flowers, and with a glass door leading
into the garden.
Alexandra and Adelaida came in almost immediately,
and looked inquiringly at the prince and their mother.
The girls generally rose at about nine in the morning in
the country; Aglaya, of late, had been in the habit of getting
up rather earlier and having a walk in the garden, but not
at seven o’clock; about eight or a little later was her usual
time.
Lizabetha Prokofievna, who really had not slept all night,
rose at about eight on purpose to meet Aglaya in the garden
and walk with her; but she could not find her either in the
garden or in her own room.
This agitated the old lady considerably; and she awoke
her other daughters. Next, she learned from the maid that
Aglaya had gone into the park before seven o’clock. The sis-
ters made a joke of Aglaya’s last freak, and told their mother
that if she went into the park to look for her, Aglaya would
probably be very angry with her, and that she was pretty
sure to be sitting reading on the green bench that she had