The Karamazov Brothers

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

  ‘You think so? Is that your honest opinion?’ Kolya was gazing fixedly at him. ‘You know, that’s quite an interesting idea you’ve just expressed; I shall go home now and mull it over. I admit that’s just what I expected, that I could learn something from you. I came to learn from you, Karamazov,’ he said with goodhumoured candour.

  ‘And I from you,’ smiled Alyosha, and shook hands.

  Kolya was delighted with Alyosha. He was struck by the fact that the latter had communicated with him on a totally equal footing and had talked to him as to a ‘real grown-up’.

  ‘I’ll show you a trick now, Karamazov, and also a theatrical performance,’ he laughed nervously. ‘That’s precisely what I came for.’

  ‘Let’s go to the lodgers’ rooms on the left first, that’s where all your lot leave their coats because it’s hot in the room.’

  ‘The fact is, I shan’t be staying long, I’ll come in and keep my coat on. Perezvon will stay here in the hall and play possum. Perezvon, here boy, lie down and die! You see, he’s dead. I’ll go in first to size up the situation, and then at the right moment, I’ll whistle “Perezvon, here boy!”, and you just watch him fly in at once, like crazy. Only, Smurov mustn’t forget to open the door at that moment. I’ll fix it, and you’ll see the trick…’

  5

  AT ILYUSHA’S BEDSIDE

  THE room already familiar to us as that occupied by the family of retired Staff Captain Snegiryov was stuffy and cramped because of the number of people who were gathered there. Several boys were sitting with Ilyusha at the time, and although they, like Smurov, were ready to deny that it was Alyosha who had brought about their reconciliation with Ilyusha, this was the case nevertheless. He had accomplished this simply by bringing them to see Ilyusha one by one, as if fortuitously and without any ‘soppy sentimentality’. This had greatly alleviated Ilyusha’s suffering. Seeing the almost tender friendship and sympathy that these boys, his former enemies, showed him, he was very moved. Only one, Krasotkin, was missing, and that weighed heavily upon his heart. If there was one memory that was more bitter than any other for Ilyusha, it was the incident when he had attacked his one and only erstwhile friend and protector with a knife. Smurov, the bright little boy who had been the first to make peace with Ilyusha, knew this. But Krasotkin, when Smurov informed him vaguely that Alyosha wanted to come and see him ‘about something’, had cut him short, rebuffing Alyosha’s approach and instructing Smurov to inform ‘Karamazov’ straight away that he knew perfectly well what to do, that he did not need advice from anyone, and that if he was going to go to see the sick boy he would decide for himself when to go, because he had his own ideas on the matter. That had been about two weeks before this present Sunday. That was why Alyosha had not gone to Kolya himself, as he had intended. In the meantime, however, he had sent Smurov twice more to see Krasotkin. But Krasotkin had delivered a sharp and impatient response on both occasions, warning that if Alyosha came to see him, he would not go to Ilyusha at all, and that they should stop pestering him. Even up to the last minute, Smurov did not know that Kolya had decided to visit Ilyusha that morning, and it was only the night before that Kolya, on saying goodbye to Smurov, had abruptly informed him that he would expect him at his house in the morning, as they would be going together to the Snegiryovs’, but that he should not dare to breathe a word of the impending visit since he wanted his arrival to be unexpected. Smurov had obeyed. The idea of trying to find the lost Zhuchka had come to him from a chance remark of Krasotkin’s, that they were ‘all asses if they couldn’t find the dog, if it was alive’. But when Smurov, choosing an opportune moment, had timidly broached the subject of the dog to Krasotkin, the latter had flown into a rage. ‘Why would I be such a fool as to go looking all over the town for someone else’s dog, when I’ve got Perezvon? And do you really imagine that the dog can still be alive after swallowing a pin? That’s nothing but wishful thinking!’

  Meanwhile, for two weeks already, Ilyusha had hardly left his bed in the corner under the icons. He had not been to school since the day he met Alyosha and bit his finger. His illness had begun from that day, although for a month, on the rare occasions that he got up from his bed, he had still been able to hobble around the room and the hallway somehow. In the end he grew so weak that he could not move except with his father’s help. His father could not do enough for him—he even stopped drinking completely—he nearly went out of his mind from fear that his little boy was going to die, and often, especially after supporting him by his arm so that he could walk a few steps and then helping him back to bed, he would suddenly rush out into the hallway and, leaning his head against the wall in a dark corner, break down, convulsed by sobs, which he stifled so that Ilyushechka should not hear.

  Usually, on coming back into the room, he would try to comfort and distract his beloved son, telling him fairy stories and amusing anecdotes and taking off various funny people he happened to meet and even imitating the strange howls and cries of animals. But Ilyusha hated to see his father prancing about and making a fool of himself. Although the boy tried to hide the fact that he found this distasteful, he nevertheless realized with an aching heart that his father had been publicly humiliated, and he was obsessed by the memory of ‘Loofah’ and of that terrible day. Ninochka, Ilyushechka’s quiet, meek, crippled sister, also did not like to see her father playing the fool (Varvara Nikolayevna had long since gone back to St Petersburg to continue her studies); on the other hand, their halfwitted mother was highly amused and laughed wholeheartedly whenever her husband began one of his imitations or started to make some kind of funny gestures. This was the only way to comfort her; the rest of the time she wept and grumbled that no one remembered her now, that no one respected her, that people offended her, and so on and so forth. But in the last few days she too seemed to have changed completely. She began looking frequently towards Ilyusha in his corner, and became thoughtful. She grew much quieter, and if she cried, it was quietly, so that no one would hear. The Staff Captain noticed this change in her with bitter astonishment. At first she was put out by the boys’ visits, which merely irritated her, but later the children’s happy shouts and stories began to amuse her, and in the end she grew so fond of the boys that had they stopped coming she would have missed them sorely. Whenever the children recounted anything or started playing, she would laugh and clap her hands. She would beckon certain boys over to her and kiss them. She was particularly fond of Smurov. As for the Staff Captain, the children’s visits to the house to cheer Ilyusha up had from the very first filled his heart with ecstatic joy and even with hope that Ilyusha would stop pining now and thereby might even get better more quickly. In spite of his fears for Ilyusha, he had never for a moment, until just very recently, doubted that his little boy would spontaneously recover. He welcomed the young visitors warmly, fussed over them, got them anything they needed, would have carried them on his back—and, indeed, even started to do so—but Ilyusha did not like these games, and they were abandoned. He began to buy them presents, gingerbread, nuts, and made tea and sandwiches for them. It should be noted that, during all this time, he was not short of money. He had accepted Katerina Ivanovna’s two hundred roubles, exactly as Alyosha had predicted. And then, when she found out more about their circum-. stances and about Ilyusha’s illness, Katerina Ivanovna herself visited them, met all the family, and even managed to charm the Staff Captain’s halfwitted wife. After that her generosity never flagged, and the Staff Captain, stricken with horror at the thought of his child dying, had forgotten his former pride and meekly accepted her charity. All this time Dr Herzenstube had been visiting the sick boy regularly, every other day, at Katerina Ivanovna’s request; his visits, however, had little effect, although he dosed him unmercifully with medicines. But on this day, that is to say this Sunday morning, the Staff Captain was awaiting the visit of a new doctor from Moscow, where he was something of a celebrity. Katerina Ivanovna had especially sent for him from Moscow, at great expense—not for Ilyu
shechka but for another reason, of which more later at the appropriate time—and since he was there she had asked him to visit Ilyushechka and had informed the Staff Captain of this in advance. He had had absolutely no forewarning of Kolya Krasotkin’s arrival, however, although he had long wished that this boy, about whom his Ilyushechka tormented himself so, would come. Just as Krasotkin opened the door and appeared in the room, the Staff Captain and the boys were crowding round the sick boy’s bed and gazing at a tiny mastiff puppy, born only the previous day, but already ordered a week before by the Staff Captain to distract and comfort Ilyushechka, who was still lamenting the disappearance and presumed death of Zhuchka. Ilyusha had known for three days that he was going to be given a puppy—and no ordinary puppy, but a real mastiff (this was, of course, terribly important)—but although he indicated, not wishing to appear ungrateful, that he was pleased with the present, both his father and the boys were clearly aware that the new dog only revived more intensely the memory of the unfortunate Zhuchka that he had tormented to death. The puppy lay on the bed and nuzzled up to him, and he, with a forced smile, stroked it with his thin, white, emaciated hand; it was obvious that he liked the dog, but… all the same, Zhuchka was not there, all the same, this was not Zhuchka, and if only Zhuchka and the puppy could be there together, that would have been absolute bliss!

  ‘Krasotkin!’ cried one of the boys, who was the first to notice that Kolya had entered. Considerable upheaval ensued, the boys moved aside and stood on either side of the bed, revealing Ilyushechka as the focus of attention. The Staff Captain rushed up enthusiastically to greet Kolya.

  ‘Come in, come in… I’m so pleased to see you!’ he prattled. ‘Ilyushechka, Master Krasotkin has come to see you…’

  But Krasotkin quickly shook his hand and promptly demonstrated his perfect command of social niceties. He turned immediately to the Staff Captain’s wife, who was sitting in her armchair (and who was feeling terribly put out just then, and grumbling that the boys were obstructing her view of Ilyushechka’s bed and preventing her from seeing the new puppy), bowed to her with the utmost courtesy, clicking his heels at the same time, and then turned to Ninochka and bowed in the same way to her. This polite gesture made an unusually good impression on the sick woman.

  ‘What a well-brought-up young man,’ she proclaimed loudly, with an expansive gesture, ‘not like our other guests, who pile in one after the other.’

  ‘Come now, mummikins, “one after the other”, that’s no way to talk, is it?’ the Staff Captain murmured gently, though somewhat nervous about what ‘mummikins’ might say next.

  ‘That’s just what they do. They climb on each other’s shoulders in the hallway and come galloping into respectable people’s homes on horseback. What sort of guest does that?’

  ‘But who did, mummikins, who came galloping in like that?’

  ‘That boy there galloped in on that one today, and that one there on that one…’

  But Kolya was already standing by Ilyusha’s bed. The sick boy paled visibly. He half raised himself in the bed and stared intently at Kolya. The latter had not seen his little friend for about two months, and he stood there visibly shocked; he could not have imagined that his face would be so thin and sallow, his eyes so dilated and burning with such fever, his arms so wasted. He stared with astonished sorrow at the sight of Ilyusha’s shallow and rapid breathing and his parched lips. He went up to him, gave him his hand, and, almost at a loss, said:

  ‘Well, old boy… how’s life?’

  But his voice cracked, he lost his composure, his face suddenly crumpled, and his lips quivered. Ilyusha, still too weak to utter a word, gave him a frail smile. Kolya raised his hand and, for some reason, ran it over Ilyusha’s hair.

  ‘Ne-e-ver mind!’ he murmured, either to comfort him or without even knowing himself why he said it. They were both silent for a minute.

  ‘What’s that you’ve got, a new puppy?’ asked Kolya suddenly, in his most impassive voice.

  ‘Ye-e-s,’ replied Ilyusha in a wheezing, long-drawn-out whisper.

  ‘His nose is black, that means his parents are fierce guard dogs,’ announced Kolya firmly and importantly, as if all that mattered were the puppy and his black nose. But in fact he was struggling with all his might to subdue his feelings and not start crying like a ‘kid’, and he had not yet managed this. ‘He’ll get bigger and you’ll have to chain him up, I know about these things, you know.’

  ‘He’ll be enormous!’ exclaimed a boy from the group.

  ‘It’s well known that mastiffs are as big as this, as big as a calf,’ several voices rang out.

  ‘As big as a calf, a real calf,’ the Staff Captain joined in. ‘I specially looked for one like that, the fiercest kind, and its parents are enormous and very fierce too, as tall as this from the floor… Do sit down, young man, here on the bed next to Ilyusha, or on the bench if you wish. You’re a welcome guest, a long-awaited guest… Did you come with Aleksei Fyodorovich?’

  Krasotkin sat down on the bed at Ilyusha’s feet. Although, on the way there, he had intended to start the conversation on a casual footing, he had quite lost the thread now.

  ‘No… with Perezvon… Perezvon’s this dog I’ve got now. It’s a Slavonic name. He’s waiting out there… if I whistle, he’ll come flying in. So I’ve got a dog, too, you see,’ he turned suddenly to Ilyusha. ‘Do you remember Zhuchka, old chap?’ he sprang the question on him suddenly.

  Ilyusha’s little face twisted. He gave Kolya an agonized look. Alyosha, standing by the door, made a conspiratorial sign to Kolya not to go on about Zhuchka, but he either did not notice or chose not to notice.

  ‘Where… where is Zhuchka?’ asked Ilyusha, his voice breaking.

  ‘Well, my friend, your Zhuchka’s—puff! He’s snuffed it, your Zhuchka has!’

  Ilyusha did not answer, but he shot Kolya another very penetrating glance. Alyosha, meeting Kolya’s eyes, signalled again desperately, but Kolya averted his eyes and pretended once again not to notice.

  ‘He’s run off somewhere and snuffed it. How could he not snuff it, after such a snack,’ he went on pitilessly, although he also, for some reason, caught his breath. ‘That’s why I’ve brought Perezvon… a Slavonic name… I’ve brought him to see you…’

  ‘You didn’t have to!’ said Ilyushechka suddenly.

  ‘Yes, I did. You really must have a look at him… It’ll make you feel better. I brought him specially… he’s shaggy, just like Zhuchka was… Will you allow me to call my dog in, madam?’ he turned suddenly to Mrs Snegiryova, in a quite inexplicable state of turmoil.

  ‘Don’t, don’t!’ cried Ilyusha, his voice breaking in misery. Reproach burned in his eyes.

  ‘It would…’, the Staff Captain broke in suddenly from the trunk by the wall, where he had been sitting, ‘it would be better another time…’, he muttered, but Kolya, obstinately determined and without further ado, suddenly called to Smurov, ‘Smurov, open the door!’ and as soon as the door opened he blew his whistle. Perezvon flew eagerly into the room.

  ‘Jump, Perezvon, beg! Beg!’ called out Kolya, getting up, and the dog stood up on its back legs, right in front of Ilyusha’s bed. Then something occurred that no one anticipated: Ilyusha shuddered and suddenly threw himself forward, leaned towards Perezvon and, scarcely breathing, gazed at him.

  ‘It’s… it’s Zhuchka!’ he shouted suddenly, his little voice convulsed by suffering and happiness.

  ‘And who did you think it was?’ Krasotkin’s voice rang out loudly and happily and, bending down, he picked up the dog and lifted it up to Ilyusha.

  ‘Look, old chap, you see, a squint in one eye and a torn left ear, just exactly as you described it to me. I found him by your description. Found him almost at once. He didn’t belong to anyone, you know, no one owned him,’ he explained, turning quickly to the Staff Captain, to his wife, to Alyosha and then to Ilyusha again. ‘He was a stray from the village, he’d settled in the Fedotovs’ backyard, but they didn�
�t feed him… And I found him… You see, old chap, that means he didn’t swallow your titbit. If he’d swallowed it, then of course he’d have died, that’s for sure! So he must have managed to spit it out, since he’s alive. You didn’t see him spit it out, but he did; it had pierced his tongue, and that’s why he was squealing. He ran out and squealed, and you thought he had really swallowed it. He must have squealed a lot, because the lining of dogs’ mouths is very tender… more tender than humans’, much more tender!’ Kolya babbled on frantically, his face flushed and shining with enthusiasm.

  Ilyusha was speechless. He was as white as a sheet and looked at Kolya with his great eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, his mouth wide open. Krasotkin had no idea what a painful and serious effect such an incident would have on the mind of the sick boy, and had he known, he would never have dreamt of playing such a trick. But Alyosha was maybe the only one in the room who understood this. As for the Staff Captain, he seemed to have become the most juvenile of small boys.

  ‘Zhuchka! So that’s Zhuchka?’ he cried out blissfully. ‘Ilyushechka, look, it’s Zhuchka, your Zhuchka! Mummikins, look, it’s Zhuchka!’ He was almost crying.

  ‘And I never even guessed it!’ exclaimed Smurov sorrowfully. ‘Ah, trust Krasotkin, I said he’d find Zhuchka, and he’s found him.’

  ‘He’s found him!’ someone called out happily.

  ‘Good old Krasotkin!’ a third voice rang out.

  ‘Well done, well done!’ all the boys shouted and began to applaud.

  ‘Wait, wait,’ Krasotkin struggled to make himself heard above all their voices, ‘I’ll tell you how it happened, that’s all that matters, how it happened, and nothing else! Well, I found him, took him home, and hid him; I locked and bolted the house and didn’t show him to anyone until today. Only Smurov saw him, he found out two weeks ago, but I assured him it was Perezvon, and he didn’t guess. And in the meantime I taught Zhuchka all sorts of tricks, you watch, just watch what tricks he knows! I taught him so that I could bring him to you, old chap, well trained and sleek: look what he’s like now, your Zhuchka! Have you got a scrap of meat, I’ll show you another trick that’ll have you rolling with laughter—surely you’ve got a scrap of meat, haven’t you?’