Page 850 - the-idiot

the inhabitants of the place and those who came down of an
evening for the music—had got hold of one and the same
story, in a thousand varieties of detail—as to how a cer-
tain young prince had raised a terrible scandal in a most
respectable household, had thrown over a daughter of the
family, to whom he was engaged, and had been captured by
a woman of shady reputation whom he was determined to
marry at once— breaking off all old ties for the satisfaction
of his insane idea; and, in spite of the public indignation
roused by his action, the marriage was to take place in Pav-
lofsk openly and publicly, and the prince had announced
his intention of going through with it with head erect and
looking the whole world in the face. The story was so artful-
ly adorned with scandalous details, and persons of so great
eminence and importance were apparently mixed up in it,
while, at the same time, the evidence was so circumstantial,
that it was no wonder the matter gave food for plenty of cu-
riosity and gossip.
According to the reports of the most talented gossip-
mongers— those who, in every class of society, are always in
haste to explain every event to their neighbours—the young
gentleman concerned was of good family—a prince—fairly
rich—weak of intellect, but a democrat and a dabbler in the
Nihilism of the period, as exposed by Mr. Turgenieff. He
could hardly talk Russian, but had fallen in love with one
of the Miss Epanchins, and his suit met with so much en-
couragement that he had been received in the house as the
recognized bridegroom-to-be of the young lady. But like
the Frenchman of whom the story is told that he studied