PART IV
9. CHAPTER IX.
(continued)
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 encouragement 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 for holy orders, took all the oaths, was ordained
priest, and next morning wrote to his bishop informing him that,
as he did not believe in God and considered it wrong to deceive
the people and live upon their pockets, he begged to surrender
the orders conferred upon him the day before, and to inform his
lordship that he was sending this letter to the public press,--
like this Frenchman, the prince played a false game. It was
rumoured that he had purposely waited for the solemn occasion of
a large evening party at the house of his future bride, at which
he was introduced to several eminent persons, in order publicly
to make known his ideas and opinions, and thereby insult the
"big-wigs," and to throw over his bride as offensively as
possible; and that, resisting the servants who were told off to
turn him out of the house, he had seized and thrown down a
magnificent china vase. As a characteristic addition to the
above, it was currently reported that the young prince really
loved the lady to whom he was engaged, and had thrown her over
out of purely Nihilistic motives, with the intention of giving
himself the satisfaction of marrying a fallen woman in the face
of all the world, thereby publishing his opinion that there is no
distinction between virtuous and disreputable women, but that all
women are alike, free; and a "fallen" woman, indeed, somewhat
superior to a virtuous one.
It was declared that he believed in no classes or anything else,
excepting "the woman question."
All this looked likely enough, and was accepted as fact by most
of the inhabitants of the place, especially as it was borne out,
more or less, by daily occurrences.
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