Page 873 - the-idiot

that, after all, marriages like that were not so rare; that he
had heard that the lady was very fascinating and of extraor-
dinary beauty, which was enough to explain the infatuation
of a wealthy man; that, further, thanks to the liberality of
Totski and of Rogojin, she possessed—so he had heard—not
only money, but pearls, diamonds, shawls, and furniture,
and consequently she could not be considered a bad match.
In brief, it seemed to the doctor that the prince’s choice, far
from being a sign of foolishness, denoted, on the contrary, a
shrewd, calculating, and practical mind. Lebedeff had been
much struck by this point of view, and he terminated his
confession by assuring the prince that he was ready, if need
be, to shed his very life’s blood for him.
Hippolyte, too, was a source of some distraction to the
prince at this time; he would send for him at any and ev-
ery hour of the day. They lived,—Hippolyte and his mother
and the children,—in a small house not far off, and the little
ones were happy, if only because they were able to escape
from the invalid into the garden. The prince had enough to
do in keeping the peace between the irritable Hippolyte and
his mother, and eventually the former became so malicious
and sarcastic on the subject of the approaching wedding,
that Muishkin took offence at last, and refused to continue
his visits.
A couple of days later, however, Hippolyte’s mother came
with tears in her eyes, and begged the prince to come back,
‘or HE would eat her up bodily.’ She added that Hippolyte
had a great secret to disclose. Of course the prince went.
There was no secret, however, unless we reckon certain

The Idiot