Page 95 - the-idiot

his forehead! and the executioner has burst one of his but-
tons, and the lowest one is all rusty!’ And meanwhile he
notices and remembers everything. There is one point that
cannot be forgotten, round which everything else dances
and turns about; and because of this point he cannot faint,
and this lasts until the very final quarter of a second, when
the wretched neck is on the block and the victim listens and
waits and KNOWS— that’s the point, he KNOWS that he is
just NOW about to die, and listens for the rasp of the iron
over his head. If I lay there, I should certainly listen for that
grating sound, and hear it, too! There would probably be but
the tenth part of an instant left to hear it in, but one would
certainly hear it. And imagine, some people declare that
when the head flies off it is CONSCIOUS of having flown
off! Just imagine what a thing to realize! Fancy if conscious-
ness were to last for even five seconds!
‘Draw the scaffold so that only the top step of the ladder
comes in clearly. The criminal must be just stepping on to
it, his face as white as note-paper. The priest is holding the
cross to his blue lips, and the criminal kisses it, and knows
and sees and understands everything. The cross and the
head—there’s your picture; the priest and the execution-
er, with his two assistants, and a few heads and eyes below.
Those might come in as subordinate accessories—a sort
of mist. There’s a picture for you.’ The prince paused, and
looked around.
‘Certainly that isn’t much like quietism,’ murmured Al-
exandra, half to herself.
‘Now tell us about your love affairs,’ said Adelaida, after

The Idiot