Page 731 - the-idiot

‘Undoubtedly, at ten years old you would not have felt
the sense of fear, as you say,’ blurted out the prince, hor-
ribly uncomfortable in the sensation that he was just about
to blush.
‘Of course; and it all happened so easily and naturally.
And yet, were a novelist to describe the episode, he would
put in all kinds of impossible and incredible details.’
‘Oh,’ cried the prince, ‘I have often thought that! Why, I
know of a murder, for the sake of a watch. It’s in all the pa-
pers now. But if some writer had invented it, all the critics
would have jumped down his throat and said the thing was
too improbable for anything. And yet you read it in the pa-
per, and you can’t help thinking that out of these strange
disclosures is to be gained the full knowledge of Russian life
and character. You said that well, general; it is so true,’ con-
cluded the prince, warmly, delighted to have found a refuge
from the fiery blushes which had covered his face.
‘Yes, it’s quite true, isn’t it?’ cried the general, his eyes
sparkling with gratification. ‘A small boy, a child, would
naturally realize no danger; he would shove his way through
the crowds to see the shine and glitter of the uniforms, and
especially the great man of whom everyone was speaking,
for at that time all the world had been talking of no one
but this man for some years past. The world was full of his
name; I—so to speak—drew it in with my mother’s milk.
Napoleon, passing a couple of paces from me, caught sight
of me accidentally. I was very well dressed, and being all
alone, in that crowd, as you will easily imagine...
‘Oh, of course! Naturally the sight impressed him, and

0 The Idiot