Page 766 - the-idiot

the woman was going to marry Rogojin. He insisted that
the prince had nothing whatever to do with Nastasia Phili-
povna, so far as any liaison was concerned; and, if the truth
were to be told about it, he added, never had had.
Meanwhile nothing put the prince out, and he contin-
ued to be in the seventh heaven of bliss. Of course he could
not fail to observe some impatience and ill-temper in Agla-
ya now and then; but he believed in something else, and
nothing could now shake his conviction. Besides, Aglaya’s
frowns never lasted long; they disappeared of themselves.
Perhaps he was too easy in his mind. So thought Hip-
polyte, at all events, who met him in the park one day.
‘Didn’t I tell you the truth now, when I said you were in
love?’ he said, coming up to Muishkin of his own accord,
and stopping him.
The prince gave him his hand and congratulated him
upon ‘looking so well.’
Hippolyte himself seemed to be hopeful about his state
of health, as is often the case with consumptives.
He had approached the prince with the intention of talk-
ing sarcastically about his happy expression of face, but very
soon forgot his intention and began to talk about himself.
He began complaining about everything, disconnectedly
and endlessly, as was his wont.
‘You wouldn’t believe,’ he concluded, ‘how irritating they
all are there. They are such wretchedly small, vain, egotisti-
cal, COMMONPLACE people! Would you believe it, they
invited me there under the express condition that I should
die quickly, and they are all as wild as possible with me for