PART IV
9. CHAPTER IX.
(continued)
Of course much was said that could not be determined absolutely.
For instance, it was reported that the poor girl had so loved her
future husband that she had followed him to the house of the
other woman, the day after she had been thrown over; others said
that he had insisted on her coming, himself, in order to shame
and insult her by his taunts and Nihilistic confessions when she
reached the house. However all these things might be, the public
interest in the matter grew daily, especially as it became clear
that the scandalous wedding was undoubtedly to take place.
So that if our readers were to ask an explanation, not of the
wild reports about the prince's Nihilistic opinions, but simply
as to how such a marriage could possibly satisfy his real
aspirations, or as to the spiritual condition of our hero at this
time, we confess that we should have great difficulty in giving
the required information.
All we know is, that the marriage really was arranged, and that
the prince had commissioned Lebedeff and Keller to look after all
the necessary business connected with it; that he had requested
them to spare no expense; that Nastasia herself was hurrying on
the wedding; that Keller was to be the prince's best man, at his
own earnest request; and that Burdovsky was to give Nastasia
away, to his great delight. The wedding was to take place before
the middle of July.
But, besides the above, we are cognizant of certain other
undoubted facts, which puzzle us a good deal because they seem
flatly to contradict the foregoing.
We suspect, for instance, that having commissioned Lebedeff and
the others, as above, the prince immediately forgot all about
masters of ceremonies and even the ceremony itself; and we feel
quite certain that in making these arrangements he did so in
order that he might absolutely escape all thought of the wedding,
and even forget its approach if he could, by detailing all
business concerning it to others.
What did he think of all this time, then? What did he wish for?
There is no doubt that he was a perfectly free agent all through,
and that as far as Nastasia was concerned, there was no force of
any kind brought to bear on him. Nastasia wished for a speedy
marriage, true!--but the prince agreed at once to her proposals;
he agreed, in fact, so casually that anyone might suppose he was
but acceding to the most simple and ordinary suggestion.
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