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holy man. As his lawsuit with the monastery still dragged
on, he made it the pretext for seeing the Superior, in order
to attempt to settle it amicably. A visitor coming with such
laudable intentions might be received with more attention
and consideration than if he came from simple curiosity.
Influences from within the monastery were brought to bear
on the elder, who of late had scarcely left his cell, and had
been forced by illness to deny even his ordinary visitors. In
the end he consented to see them, and the day was fixed.
‘Who has made me a judge over them?’ was all he said,
smilingly, to Alyosha.
Alyosha was much perturbed when he heard of the pro-
posed visit. Of all the wrangling, quarrelsome party, Dmitri
was the only one who could regard the interview seriously.
All the others would come from frivolous motives, per-
haps insulting to the elder. Alyosha was well aware of that.
Ivan and Miusov would come from curiosity, perhaps of
the coarsest kind, while his father might be contemplating
some piece of buffoonery. Though he said nothing, Alyosha
thoroughly understood his father. The boy, I repeat, was far
from being so simple as everyone thought him. He awaited
the day with a heavy heart. No doubt he was always ponder-
ing in his mind how the family discord could be ended. But
his chief anxiety concerned the elder. He trembled for him,
for his glory, and dreaded any affront to him, especially
the refined, courteous irony of Miusov and the supercil-
ious half-utterances of the highly educated Ivan. He even
wanted to venture on warning the elder, telling him some-
thing about them, but, on second thoughts, said nothing.