Speaker 1: Chapter five of The Permanent Husband by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This
Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Pavel Pavlovitch was
Speaker 1: not thinking of running away, and goodness knows why Volchaonyanov
Speaker 1: should have asked him such a question last night. He
Speaker 1: did not know himself why he had said it. He
Speaker 1: was directed to the Petrovsky Hotel and found the building
Speaker 1: at once. At the hotel, he was told that Pavel
Speaker 1: Pavlovitch had now engaged a furnished lodging in the back
Speaker 1: part of the same house, Mounting the dirty and narrow
Speaker 1: stairs indicated as far as the third story, he suddenly
Speaker 1: became aware of some one crying. It sounded like the
Speaker 1: weeping of a child of some seven or eight years
Speaker 1: of age. It was a bitter, but a more or
Speaker 1: less suppressed sort of crying, and with it came the
Speaker 1: sound of a grown man's voice, apparently trying to quiet
Speaker 1: the child, anxious that its sobbing and crying should not
Speaker 1: be heard, and yet only succeeding in making it cry
Speaker 1: the louder. The man's voice did not seem in any
Speaker 1: way sympathetic with the child's grief, and the latter appeared
Speaker 1: to be begging for forgiveness. Making his way into a narrow,
Speaker 1: dark passage with two doors on each side of it,
Speaker 1: Belchayanov met a stout looking elderly woman in very careless
Speaker 1: morning attire and inquired for Pavel Pavlovitch. She tapped the
Speaker 1: door with her fingers in response to his inquiry the
Speaker 1: same door, apparently whence issued the noises just mentioned. Her
Speaker 1: fat face seemed to flush with indignation as she did so.
Speaker 1: He appears to be amusing himself in there, she said,
Speaker 1: and proceeded downstairs. Belchavyanov was about to knock, but thought
Speaker 1: better of it and opened the door without ceremony. In
Speaker 1: the very middle of a room furnished with plain but
Speaker 1: abundant furniture, stood Pavel Pavlovitch in his shirt sleeves, very
Speaker 1: red in the face, trying to persuade a little little
Speaker 1: girl to do something or other, and using cries and
Speaker 1: gestures and what looked to Velchavanov very like kicks in
Speaker 1: order to effect his purpose. The child appeared to be
Speaker 1: some seven or eight years of age and was poorly
Speaker 1: dressed in a short, black stuffed frock. She seemed to
Speaker 1: be in a most hysterical condition, crying and stretching out
Speaker 1: her arms to Pablo Pavlovitch, as though begging and entreating
Speaker 1: him to allow her to do whatever it might be
Speaker 1: she desired. On Belchaonanov's appearance, the scene changed in an instant.
Speaker 1: No sooner did her eyes fall on the visitor, than
Speaker 1: the child made for the door of the next room
Speaker 1: with a cry of alarm, while Pavel Pavlovitch, thrown out
Speaker 1: for one little instant, immediately relaxed into smiles of great sweetness,
Speaker 1: exactly as he had done last night. When Velchavanov suddenly
Speaker 1: opened his front door and caught him standing outside Alexey Ivanovitch,
Speaker 1: he cried, in real surprise, whoever would have thought, sit down?
Speaker 1: Sit down, take the sofa or this chair? Sit down,
Speaker 1: my dear sir, I'll just put on and he rushed
Speaker 1: for his coat and threw it on, leaving his waistcoat behind.
Speaker 1: Don't stand on ceremony with me, said Vlchonanov, sitting down,
Speaker 1: stay as you are, No, sir, no excuse me, I
Speaker 1: insist upon standing on ceremony there. Now I'm a little
Speaker 1: more respectable, dear me. Now, whoever would have thought of
Speaker 1: seeing you here, Not I, for one. Pavel Pavlovitch sat
Speaker 1: down on the edge of a chair, which he turned
Speaker 1: so as to face Velchonyanov and pray, why shouldn't you
Speaker 1: have expected me? I told you last night that I
Speaker 1: was coming this morning. I thought you wouldn't come, sir.
Speaker 1: I did. Indeed. In fact, when I thought over yesterday's visit,
Speaker 1: I despaired of ever seeing you again. I did, indeed, sir.
Speaker 1: Vlchonyanov glanced round the Meanwhile, the place was very untidy,
Speaker 1: The bed was unmade, the clothes thrown about the floor.
Speaker 1: On the table were two coffee tumblers with the dregs
Speaker 1: of coffee still in them, and a bottle of champagne
Speaker 1: half finished, with a tumbler standing alongside it. He glanced
Speaker 1: at the next room, but all was quiet there. The
Speaker 1: little girl had hidden herself and was still as a mouse.
Speaker 1: You don't mean to say you'd drink that stuff at
Speaker 1: this time of day, he asked, indicating the champagne bottle.
Speaker 1: It's only a remnant, explained Pabo Pavlovitch. A little confused,
Speaker 1: my word, you are a changed man, bad habit, sir,
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, all dating from that time, sir,
Speaker 1: give you my word. I couldn't resist it. But I'm
Speaker 1: all right now. I'm not drunk. I shan't talk twaddle
Speaker 1: as I did last night. Don't be afraid, sir. It's
Speaker 1: all right from that very day, sir, give you my word.
Speaker 1: It is. And if anyone had told me half a
Speaker 1: year ago that I should become like this, if they
Speaker 1: had shown me my face in a glass, then as
Speaker 1: I should be now, I should have given them the lie, sir,
Speaker 1: I should indeed, Hm, Then you were drunk last night, Yes,
Speaker 1: I was, admitted Pavel Pavlovitch, A little guiltily, not exactly drunk,
Speaker 1: a little beyond drunk. I tell you this by way
Speaker 1: of explanation, because I'm always worse after being drunk. If
Speaker 1: I'm only a little drunk, still, the violence and unreasonableness
Speaker 1: of intoxication come out afterwards and stay out too, and
Speaker 1: then I feel my grief the more keenly. I dare
Speaker 1: say my grief is responsible for my drinking. I am
Speaker 1: capable of making an awful fool of myself and offending
Speaker 1: people when I'm drunk. I dare say I seemed strange
Speaker 1: enough to you last night. Don't you remember what you
Speaker 1: said and did? Worriedly, I do, I remember everything. Listen
Speaker 1: to me, Pavel Pavlovitch. I have thought it over and
Speaker 1: have come to very much the same conclusion as you
Speaker 1: did yourself, began Vlchonyanov gently. Besides, I believe I was
Speaker 1: a little too irritable towards you last night, too impatient,
Speaker 1: I admitted gladly. The fact is I am not very well.
Speaker 1: Sometimes in your sudden arrival, you know in the middle
Speaker 1: of the night, in the middle of the night, you
Speaker 1: are quite right, it was said Pavlo Pavlovitch, wagging his
Speaker 1: head ascendingly. How in the world could I have brought
Speaker 1: myself to do such a thing. I shouldn't have come in, though,
Speaker 1: if you hadn't opened the door, I should have gone
Speaker 1: as I came. I called on you about a week
Speaker 1: ago and did not find you at home, and I
Speaker 1: dare say I should never have called again, for I
Speaker 1: am rather proud Alexey Ivanovitch. In spite of my present state.
Speaker 1: Whenever I have met you in the streets, I have
Speaker 1: always said to myself, what if he doesn't know me
Speaker 1: and rejects me? Nine years is no joke, and I
Speaker 1: did not dare try you for fear of being snubbed
Speaker 1: yesterday thanks to that sort of thing, you know, He
Speaker 1: pointed to the bottle. I didn't know what time it was,
Speaker 1: and it's lucky you are the kind of man you are,
Speaker 1: Alexey Ivanovitch, or I should despair of preserving your acquaintance
Speaker 1: after yesterday. You remember old times, Alexey Ivanovitch. Belchavanov listened
Speaker 1: keenly to all this. The man seemed to be talking
Speaker 1: seriously enough and even with some dignity, and yet he
Speaker 1: had not believed a single word that Pavel Pavlovitch had
Speaker 1: uttered from the very first moment that he entered the room.
Speaker 1: Tell me, Pavel Pavlovitch, said, Belchonanov. At last, I see
Speaker 1: you are not quite alone here. Whose little girl is
Speaker 1: that I saw? When I came in? Pavel Pavlovitch looked
Speaker 1: surprised and raised his eyebrow, but he gazed back at
Speaker 1: Belchonanov with candor and apparent amiability. Whose little girl, Why
Speaker 1: that's our Eliza, he said, smiling affably. What Liza asked? Vlchonyanov?
Speaker 1: And something seemed to cause him to shudder inwardly. The
Speaker 1: sensation was dreadfully sudden. Just now, on entering the room
Speaker 1: and seeing Liza, he had felt surprised, more or less,
Speaker 1: but had not been conscious of the slightest feeling of resentiment. Indeed,
Speaker 1: he had had no special thought about the matter at
Speaker 1: the moment. Why our Eliza, our daughter Liza, repeated Pavo Pavlovitch, smiling,
Speaker 1: your daughter, Do you mean to say that you and
Speaker 1: Natalia Vasslyyevna had children, asked Velchonyanov, timidly, and in a
Speaker 1: very low tone of voice. Indeed, of course, But what
Speaker 1: a fool I am. How in the world should you
Speaker 1: know Providence sent us the gift after you had gone?
Speaker 1: Pavo Pavlovitch jumped off his chair in apparently pleasurable excitement.
Speaker 1: I heard nothing of it, said Velchaninov, looking very pale.
Speaker 1: How should you? How should you? Repeated Pavo Pavlovitch with
Speaker 1: ineffable sweetness. We had quite lost hope of any children,
Speaker 1: as you may remember, when suddenly Heaven sent us this
Speaker 1: little one. And oh my feelings. Heaven alone knows what
Speaker 1: I felt. Just a year after you went. I think no, wait,
Speaker 1: a bit not a year by a long way. Let's
Speaker 1: see you left us in October or November, didn't you?
Speaker 1: I left tea on the twelfth of September. I remember, well, hum, September,
Speaker 1: was it, dear me? Well, then, let's see September, October, November, December, January, February, March,
Speaker 1: April to the eighth of May. That was Liza's birthday,
Speaker 1: eight months all but a bit. And if you could
Speaker 1: only have seen the dear departed, how rejoiced show her
Speaker 1: to me? Call her in The words seemed to tear
Speaker 1: themselves from Volchavanov. Whether he liked it or no, certainly
Speaker 1: this moment cried Pavel Pavlovitch forgetting that he had not
Speaker 1: finished his previous sentence, or ignoring the fact, and he
Speaker 1: hastily left the room and entered the small chamber adjoining.
Speaker 1: Three or four minutes passed by, while Velchavanov heard the
Speaker 1: rapid interchange of whispers going on and an occasional rather
Speaker 1: loud sound of Liza's voice, apparently entreating her father to
Speaker 1: leave her alone. So Velchavanov concluded at last, the two
Speaker 1: came out there you are, She's dreadfully shy and proud,
Speaker 1: said Pavel Pavlovitch, just like her mother. Eliza entered the
Speaker 1: room without tears, but with eyes downcast, her father leading
Speaker 1: her by the hand. She was a tall, slight and
Speaker 1: very pretty little girl. She raised her large blue eyes
Speaker 1: to the visitor's face with curiosity, but only glanced surlily
Speaker 1: at him and dropped them again. There was that in
Speaker 1: her expression that one always sees in children when they
Speaker 1: look on some new guest for the first time, retiring
Speaker 1: to a corner and looking out at him, then seriously
Speaker 1: and mistrustingly. Only that there was a something in her
Speaker 1: manner beyond the usual childish mistrust, so at least, thought Velchoonanov.
Speaker 1: Her father brought her straight up to the visitor. There
Speaker 1: this gentleman knew mother very well. He was our friend.
Speaker 1: You mustn't be shy. Give him your hand. The child
Speaker 1: bowed slightly and timidly stretched out her hand. Natalia Vasulyyevna
Speaker 1: never would teach her to curtsey. She liked to bow
Speaker 1: English fashion and give her hand, explained Pavel Pavlovitch, gazing
Speaker 1: intently at Blchonyanov. Belchonanov knew perfectly well that the other
Speaker 1: was keenly examining him at this moment, but he made
Speaker 1: no attempt to conceal his agitation. He sat motionless on
Speaker 1: his chair and held the child's hand in his gazing
Speaker 1: into her face the while. But Liza was apparently much
Speaker 1: preoccupied and did not take her eyes off her father's face.
Speaker 1: She listened timidly to every word he said. Velchanov recognized
Speaker 1: her large blue eyes at once, but what specially struck
Speaker 1: him was the refined pallor of her face and the
Speaker 1: color of her hair. These traits were altogether too significant
Speaker 1: in his eyes. Her features, on the other hand, and
Speaker 1: the set of her lips, reminded him keenly of Natalia Vassilyevna. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: Pavel Pavlovitch was in the middle of some apparently most
Speaker 1: interesting tale, one of great sentiments. Seemingly, but Velchaninov did
Speaker 1: not hear a word of it until the last few
Speaker 1: words struck upon his ear. So that you can't imagine
Speaker 1: what our joy was when Providence sent us this gift,
Speaker 1: Alexey Ivanovitch. She was everything to me, for I felt
Speaker 1: that it should be the will of Heaven to deprive
Speaker 1: me of my other joy. I should still have Liza
Speaker 1: left to me, that's what I felt, sir, I did indeed,
Speaker 1: and Natalia Vasilyevna asked, Belchaonyanov, Oh, Natalia Vassolyevna began, Pavel Pavlovitch,
Speaker 1: smiling with one side of his mouth. She never used
Speaker 1: to like to say much as you know yourself, but
Speaker 1: she told me on her deathbed, deathbed, you know, sir,
Speaker 1: to the very day of her death, she used to
Speaker 1: get so angry and say that they were trying to
Speaker 1: cure her with a lot of nasty medicines when she
Speaker 1: had nothing the matter but a simple little feverish attack.
Speaker 1: And then when Koch arrived. You remember our old doctor Koch.
Speaker 1: He would make her all right in a fortnight. Why
Speaker 1: five hours before she died, she was talking of fixing
Speaker 1: that day three weeks for a visit to her aunt
Speaker 1: Liza's godmother and her country place. Belchoonyanov here started from
Speaker 1: his seat, but still held the child's hand. He could
Speaker 1: not help thinking that there was something reproachful in the
Speaker 1: girl's persistent stare in her father's face. Is she ill?
Speaker 1: He asked hurriedly, and his voice had a strange tone
Speaker 1: in it. No, I don't think so, said Pavlo Pavlovitch.
Speaker 1: But you see our way of living here and all that.
Speaker 1: She's a strange child and very nervous. Besides, after her
Speaker 1: mother's death, she was quite ill and hysterical for a fortnight.
Speaker 1: Just before you came in, she was crying like anything.
Speaker 1: And do you know what about, sir? Do you hear me, Liza?
Speaker 1: You listen? Simply because I was going out and wished
Speaker 1: to leave her behind, and because she said I didn't
Speaker 1: love her so well as I used to in her
Speaker 1: mother's time. That's what she pitches into me. For fancy
Speaker 1: a child like this getting hold of such an idea,
Speaker 1: a child who ought to be playing at doll's instead
Speaker 1: of developing ideas of that sort. The thing is, she
Speaker 1: has no one to play with here? Then then are
Speaker 1: you two quite alone here? Quite a servant comes in
Speaker 1: once a day, that's all. And when you go out,
Speaker 1: do you leave her quite alone? Of course? What else
Speaker 1: am I to do? Yesterday? I locked her in that room,
Speaker 1: and that's what all the tears were about this morning.
Speaker 1: What could I do? The day before yesterday? She went
Speaker 1: down into the yard all by herself, and a boy
Speaker 1: took a shot at her head with a stone. Not
Speaker 1: only that, but she must needs go and cling on
Speaker 1: to everybody she met and ask where I had gone to.
Speaker 1: That's not so very pleasant, you see, But I oughtn't
Speaker 1: to complain when I say I am going out for
Speaker 1: an hour and then stay out till four in the morning,
Speaker 1: as I did last night. The landlady came and let
Speaker 1: her out. She had the door broken open. Nice for
Speaker 1: my feelings. Eh, it's all the result of the eclipse
Speaker 1: that came over my life. Nothing but that, Sir Papa,
Speaker 1: said the child timidly and anxiously. Now then, and at
Speaker 1: that again, what did I tell you yesterday? I won't,
Speaker 1: I won't, cried the child, hurriedly, clasping her hands before
Speaker 1: her entreatingly. Come. Things can't be allowed to go on
Speaker 1: in this way, said Vlchonyanov, impatiently and with authority. In
Speaker 1: the first place, you are a man of property. How
Speaker 1: can you possibly live in a hole like this and
Speaker 1: in such disorder this place? Oh, but we shall probably
Speaker 1: have left this place within a week, and I've spent
Speaker 1: a lot of money here as it is. Though I
Speaker 1: may be a man of property, and very well that'll do,
Speaker 1: interrupted Valchoonnanov, with growing impatience. Now I'll make you a proposition.
Speaker 1: You have just said that you intend to stay another week,
Speaker 1: perhaps two. I have a house here, or rather I
Speaker 1: know a family where I am as much at home
Speaker 1: as at my own fireside, and have been so for
Speaker 1: twenty years. The family I mean is the Pogoryeltsev's Alexandr Pavlovitch.
Speaker 1: Pogoryeltseev is a state councilor he may be of use
Speaker 1: to you in your business. They are now living in
Speaker 1: the country. They have a beautiful country, Villa Claudia Petrovna.
Speaker 1: The lady of the house is like a sister, like
Speaker 1: a mother to me. They have eight children. Let me
Speaker 1: take Liza down to them without loss of time. They'll
Speaker 1: receive her with joy, and they'll treat her like their
Speaker 1: own little daughter. They will. Indeed, Valchonyanov was in a
Speaker 1: great hurry and much excited, and he did not conceal
Speaker 1: his feelings. I'm afraid it's impossible, said Pavlo Pavlovitch with
Speaker 1: a grimace, looking straight into his visitor's eyes. Very cunningly,
Speaker 1: as it seemed to Valchonyanov. Why why impossible, Oh, why
Speaker 1: to let the child go so suddenly. You know, of course,
Speaker 1: with such a sincere well wisher as yourself, it's not
Speaker 1: that but a strange house, and such swells too. I
Speaker 1: don't know whether they would receive her, but I tell
Speaker 1: you I'm like a son of the house, cried Vlchonianov,
Speaker 1: almost angrily. Claudia Petrovna will be delighted to take her
Speaker 1: at one word from me. She'd receive her as though
Speaker 1: she were my own daughter. Deuce, take it, sir, you
Speaker 1: know you are only humbugging me. What's the use of
Speaker 1: talking about it? He stamped his foot. No, no, I
Speaker 1: mean to say, doesn't it look a little strange? Oughtn't
Speaker 1: I to call once or twice first? Such a smart house,
Speaker 1: as you say, theirs is, don't you see? I tell
Speaker 1: you it's the simplest house in the world. It isn't
Speaker 1: smart in the least bit, cried Vulchonyanov. They have a
Speaker 1: lot of children. It will make another girl of her.
Speaker 1: I'll introduce you there myself tomorrow if you like. Of course,
Speaker 1: you'll have to go and thank them and all that.
Speaker 1: You shall go down every day with me, if you please, please. Oh,
Speaker 1: but nonsense, you know it's nonsense now, look here, you
Speaker 1: come to me this evening. I'll put you up for
Speaker 1: the night, and we'll start off early tomorrow and be
Speaker 1: down there by twelve, benefactor, and I may spend the
Speaker 1: night at your house, cried Pavel Pavlovitch, instantly consenting to
Speaker 1: the plan with the greatest cordiality. You are really too good.
Speaker 1: And where's their country house at the lesnee? But look here,
Speaker 1: how about her dress? Such a house, you know, a
Speaker 1: father's heart shrinks. Nonsense, she's in mourning. What else could
Speaker 1: she wear but a black dress like this? It's exactly
Speaker 1: the thing. You couldn't imagine anything more. So you might
Speaker 1: let her have some clean linen with her and give
Speaker 1: her a cleaner neck handkerchief directly. Directly, we'll get her
Speaker 1: linen together in a couple of minutes. It's just home
Speaker 1: from the wash. Send for a carriage. Can you tell
Speaker 1: them to let us have it at once, so as
Speaker 1: not to waste time. But now an unexpected obstacle arose.
Speaker 1: Liza absolutely rejected the plan. She had listened to it
Speaker 1: with terror, and if Velchonyanov had, in his excited argument
Speaker 1: with Pavel Pavlovitch, had time to glance at the child's face.
Speaker 1: He would have observed her expression of absolute despair at
Speaker 1: this moment. I won't go, she said, quietly but firmly. There,
Speaker 1: look at that, just like her. Mamma. I'm not like mamma.
Speaker 1: I'm not like mamma, cried Liza, wringing her little hands
Speaker 1: in despair. Oh, Papa, Papa, she added, if you desert me,
Speaker 1: She suddenly threw herself upon the alarmed Volchaonyanov. If you
Speaker 1: take me away, she cried, I'll But Liza had no
Speaker 1: time to finish her sentence, for Pavel Pavlovitch suddenly seized
Speaker 1: her by the arm and collar and hustled her into
Speaker 1: the next room with unconcealed rage. For several minutes, Velchonanov
Speaker 1: listened to the whispering going on there, whispering's unseemingly subdued
Speaker 1: crying on the part of Liza. He was about to
Speaker 1: follow the pair when suddenly out came Pavel Pavlovitch and
Speaker 1: stated with a disagreeable grin that Liza would come directly.
Speaker 1: Vlchoonanov tried not to look at him and kept his
Speaker 1: eyes fixed on the other side of the room, the
Speaker 1: elderly woman whom Volchoonyanov had met on the stairs, also
Speaker 1: made her appearance and packed Liza's things into a neat
Speaker 1: little carpet bag. Is it you are going to take
Speaker 1: the little lady away, sir? She asked? If so, you
Speaker 1: are doing a good deed. She's a nice, quiet child,
Speaker 1: and you are saving her from goodness knows what here?
Speaker 1: Oh come, Maria Sisevna, began Pavel Pavlovitch, Well, what isn't
Speaker 1: it true? Aren't you ashamed to let a girl of
Speaker 1: her intel diligence see the things that you allow to
Speaker 1: go on? Here? The carriage has arrived for you, sir.
Speaker 1: You ordered one for the Lesne, didn't you. Yes, well,
Speaker 1: good luck to you. Liza came out, looking very pale
Speaker 1: and with downcast eyes. She took her bag, but never
Speaker 1: glanced in Velchaonanov's direction. She restrained herself and did not
Speaker 1: throw herself upon her father as she had done before,
Speaker 1: not even to say good bye. She evidently did not
Speaker 1: wish to look at him. Her father kissed her and
Speaker 1: patted her head in correct form. Her lip curled during
Speaker 1: the operation, the chin trembled a little, but she did
Speaker 1: not raise her eyes to her father's Pavil Pavlovitch looked pale,
Speaker 1: and his eyes shook. Velchavanov saw that plainly enough, although
Speaker 1: he did his best not to see the man at all.
Speaker 1: He Velchavanov had but one thought, and that was how
Speaker 1: to get away at once. Downstairs was old Maria Sisavna
Speaker 1: waiting to say good bye, and more kissing was done.
Speaker 1: Liza had just climbed into the carriage when suddenly she
Speaker 1: caught sight of her father's face. She gave a loud
Speaker 1: cry and wrung her hands. In another minute she would
Speaker 1: have been out of the carriage and away, but luckily
Speaker 1: the vehicle went on and she was too late. End
Speaker 1: of Chapter five