Two days after the strange conclusion to Nastasia Philipovna's birthday party, with the record of which we concluded the first part of this story, Prince Muishkin hurriedly left St. Petersburg for Moscow, in order to see after some business connected with the receipt of his unexpected fortune.
It was said that there were other reasons for his hurried departure; but as to this, and as to his movements in Moscow, and as to his prolonged absence from St. Petersburg, we are able to give very little information.
The prince was away for six months, and even those who were most interested in his destiny were able to pick up very little news about him all that while. True, certain rumours did reach his friends, but these were both strange and rare, and each one contradicted the last.
Of course the Epanchin family was much interested in his movements, though he had not had time to bid them farewell before his departure. The general, however, had had an opportunity of seeing him once or twice since the eventful evening, and had spoken very seriously with him; but though he had seen the prince, as I say, he told his family nothing about the circumstance. In fact, for a month or so after his departure it was considered not the thing to mention the prince's name in the Epanchin household. Only Mrs. Epanchin, at the commencement of this period, had announced that she had been "cruelly mistaken in the prince!" and a day or two after, she had added, evidently alluding to him, but not mentioning his name, that it was an unalterable characteristic of hers to be mistaken in people. Then once more, ten days later, after some passage of arms with one of her daughters, she had remarked sententiously. "We have had enough of mistakes. I shall be more careful in future!" However, it was impossible to avoid remarking that there was some sense of oppression in the household--something unspoken, but felt; something strained. All the members of the family wore frowning looks. The general was unusually busy; his family hardly ever saw him.
As to the girls, nothing was said openly, at all events; and probably very little in private. They were proud damsels, and were not always perfectly confidential even among themselves. But they understood each other thoroughly at the first word on all occasions; very often at the first glance, so that there was no need of much talking as a rule.
One fact, at least, would have been perfectly plain to an outsider, had any such person been on the spot; and that was, that the prince had made a very considerable impression upon the family, in spite of the fact that he had but once been inside the house, and then only for a short time. Of course, if analyzed, this impression might have proved to be nothing more than a feeling of curiosity; but be it what it might, there it undoubtedly was.
Little by little, the rumours spread about town became lost in a maze of uncertainty. It was said that some foolish young prince, name unknown, had suddenly come into possession of a gigantic fortune, and had married a French ballet dancer. This was contradicted, and the rumour circulated that it was a young merchant who had come into the enormous fortune and married the great ballet dancer, and that at the wedding the drunken young fool had burned seventy thousand roubles at a candle out of pure bravado.
However, all these rumours soon died down, to which circumstance certain facts largely contributed. For instance, the whole of the Rogojin troop had departed, with him at their head, for Moscow. This was exactly a week after a dreadful orgy at the Ekaterinhof gardens, where Nastasia Philipovna had been present. It became known that after this orgy Nastasia Philipovna had entirely disappeared, and that she had since been traced to Moscow; so that the exodus of the Rogojin band was found consistent with this report.
There were rumours current as to Gania, too; but circumstances soon contradicted these. He had fallen seriously ill, and his illness precluded his appearance in society, and even at business, for over a month. As soon as he had recovered, however, he threw up his situation in the public company under General Epanchin's direction, for some unknown reason, and the post was given to another. He never went near the Epanchins' house at all, and was exceedingly irritable and depressed.
Varvara Ardalionovna married Ptitsin this winter, and it was said that the fact of Gania's retirement from business was the ultimate cause of the marriage, since Gania was now not only unable to support his family, but even required help himself.
We may mention that Gania was no longer mentioned in the Epanchin household any more than the prince was; but that a certain circumstance in connection with the fatal evening at Nastasia's house became known to the general, and, in fact, to all the family the very next day. This fact was that Gania had come home that night, but had refused to go to bed. He had awaited the prince's return from Ekaterinhof with feverish impatience.
On the latter's arrival, at six in the morning, Gania had gone to him in his room, bringing with him the singed packet of money, which he had insisted that the prince should return to Nastasia Philipovna without delay. It was said that when Gania entered the prince's room, he came with anything but friendly feelings, and in a condition of despair and misery; but that after a short conversation, he had stayed on for a couple of hours with him, sobbing continuously and bitterly the whole time. They had parted upon terms of cordial friendship.
The Epanchins heard about this, as well as about the episode at Nastasia Philipovna's. It was strange, perhaps, that the facts should become so quickly, and fairly accurately, known. As far as Gania was concerned, it might have been supposed that the news had come through Varvara Ardalionovna, who had suddenly become a frequent visitor of the Epanchin girls, greatly to their mother's surprise. But though Varvara had seen fit, for some reason, to make friends with them, it was not likely that she would have talked to them about her brother. She had plenty of pride, in spite of the fact that in thus acting she was seeking intimacy with people who had practically shown her brother the door. She and the Epanchin girls had been acquainted in childhood, although of late they had met but rarely. Even now Varvara hardly ever appeared in the drawing-room, but would slip in by a back way. Lizabetha Prokofievna, who disliked Varvara, although she had a great respect for her mother, was much annoyed by this sudden intimacy, and put it down to the general "contrariness" of her daughters, who were "always on the lookout for some new way of opposing her." Nevertheless, Varvara continued her visits.
A month after Muishkin's departure, Mrs. Epanchin received a letter from her old friend Princess Bielokonski (who had lately left for Moscow), which letter put her into the greatest good humour. She did not divulge its contents either to her daughters or the general, but her conduct towards the former became affectionate in the extreme. She even made some sort of confession to them, but they were unable to understand what it was about. She actually relaxed towards the general a little--he had been long disgraced--and though she managed to quarrel with them all the next day, yet she soon came round, and from her general behaviour it was to be concluded that she had bad good news of some sort, which she would like, but could not make up her mind, to disclose.
However, a week later she received another letter from the same source, and at last resolved to speak.
She solemnly announced that she had heard from old Princess Bielokonski, who had given her most comforting news about "that queer young prince." Her friend had hunted him up, and found that all was going well with him. He had since called in person upon her, making an extremely favourable impression, for the princess had received him each day since, and had introduced him into several good houses.
The girls could see that their mother concealed a great deal from them, and left out large pieces of the letter in reading it to them.
However, the ice was broken, and it suddenly became possible to mention the prince's name again. And again it became evident how very strong was the impression the young man had made in the household by his one visit there. Mrs. Epanchin was surprised at the effect which the news from Moscow had upon the girls, and they were no less surprised that after solemnly remarking that her most striking characteristic was "being mistaken in people" she should have troubled to obtain for the prince the favour and protection of so powerful an old lady as the Princess Bielokonski. As soon as the ice was thus broken, the general lost no time in showing that he, too, took the greatest interest in the subject. He admitted that he was interested, but said that it was merely in the business side of the question. It appeared that, in the interests of the prince, he had made arrangements in Moscow for a careful watch to be kept upon the prince's business affairs, and especially upon Salaskin. All that had been said as to the prince being an undoubted heir to a fortune turned out to be perfectly true; but the fortune proved to be much smaller than was at first reported. The estate was considerably encumbered with debts; creditors turned up on all sides, and the prince, in spite of all advice and entreaty, insisted upon managing all matters of claim himself--which, of course, meant satisfying everybody all round, although half the claims were absolutely fraudulent.
Mrs. Epanchin confirmed all this. She said the princess had written to much the same effect, and added that there was no curing a fool. But it was plain, from her expression of face, how strongly she approved of this particular young fool's doings. In conclusion, the general observed that his wife took as great an interest in the prince as though he were her own son; and that she had commenced to be especially affectionate towards Aglaya was a self-evident fact.
All this caused the general to look grave and important. But, alas! this agreeable state of affairs very soon changed once more.
A couple of weeks went by, and suddenly the general and his wife were once more gloomy and silent, and the ice was as firm as ever. The fact was, the general, who had heard first, how Nastasia Philipovna had fled to Moscow and had been discovered there by Rogojin; that she had then disappeared once more, and been found again by Rogojin, and how after that she had almost promised to marry him, now received news that she had once more disappeared, almost on the very day fixed for her wedding, flying somewhere into the interior of Russia this time, and that Prince Muishkin had left all his affairs in the hands of Salaskin and disappeared also--but whether he was with Nastasia, or had only set off in search of her, was unknown.
Lizabetha Prokofievna received confirmatory news from the princess--and alas, two months after the prince's first departure from St. Petersburg, darkness and mystery once more enveloped his whereabouts and actions, and in the Epanchin family the ice of silence once more formed over the subject. Varia, however, informed the girls of what had happened, she having received the news from Ptitsin, who generally knew more than most people.
To make an end, we may say that there were many changes in the Epanchin household in the spring, so that it was not difficult to forget the prince, who sent no news of himself.
The Epanchin family had at last made up their minds to spend the summer abroad, all except the general, who could not waste time in "travelling for enjoyment," of course. This arrangement was brought about by the persistence of the girls, who insisted that they were never allowed to go abroad because their parents were too anxious to marry them off. Perhaps their parents had at last come to the conclusion that husbands might be found abroad, and that a summer's travel might bear fruit. The marriage between Alexandra and Totski had been broken off. Since the prince's departure from St. Petersburg no more had been said about it; the subject had been dropped without ceremony, much to the joy of Mrs. General, who, announced that she was "ready to cross herself with both hands" in gratitude for the escape. The general, however, regretted Totski for a long while. "Such a fortune!" he sighed, "and such a good, easy-going fellow!"
After a time it became known that Totski had married a French marquise, and was to be carried off by her to Paris, and then to Brittany.
"Oh, well," thought the general, "he's lost to us for good, now."
So the Epanchins prepared to depart for the summer.
But now another circumstance occurred, which changed all the plans once more, and again the intended journey was put off, much to the delight of the general and his spouse.
A certain Prince S-- arrived in St. Petersburg from Moscow, an eminent and honourable young man. He was one of those active persons who always find some good work with which to employ themselves. Without forcing himself upon the public notice, modest and unobtrusive, this young prince was concerned with much that happened in the world in general.
He had served, at first, in one of the civil departments, had then attended to matters connected with the local government of provincial towns, and had of late been a corresponding member of several important scientific societies. He was a man of excellent family and solid means, about thirty-five years of age.
Prince S-- made the acquaintance of the general's family, and Adelaida, the second girl, made a great impression upon him. Towards the spring he proposed to her, and she accepted him. The general and his wife were delighted. The journey abroad was put off, and the wedding was fixed for a day not very distant.
The trip abroad might have been enjoyed later on by Mrs. Epanchin and her two remaining daughters, but for another circumstance.
It so happened that Prince S-- introduced a distant relation of his own into the Epanchin family--one Evgenie Pavlovitch, a young officer of about twenty-eight years of age, whose conquests among the ladies in Moscow had been proverbial. This young gentleman no sooner set eyes on Aglaya than he became a frequent visitor at the house. He was witty, well-educated, and extremely wealthy, as the general very soon discovered. His past reputation was the only thing against him.
Nothing was said; there were not even any hints dropped; but still, it seemed better to the parents to say nothing more about going abroad this season, at all events. Aglaya herself perhaps was of a different opinion.
All this happened just before the second appearance of our hero upon the scene.
By this time, to judge from appearances, poor Prince Muishkin had been quite forgotten in St. Petersburg. If he had appeared suddenly among his acquaintances, he would have been received as one from the skies; but we must just glance at one more fact before we conclude this preface.
Colia Ivolgin, for some time after the prince's departure, continued his old life. That is, he went to school, looked after his father, helped Varia in the house, and ran her errands, and went frequently to see his friend, Hippolyte.
The lodgers had disappeared very quickly--Ferdishenko soon after the events at Nastasia Philipovna's, while the prince went to Moscow, as we know. Gania and his mother went to live with Varia and Ptitsin immediately after the latter's wedding, while the general was housed in a debtor's prison by reason of certain IOU's given to the captain's widow under the impression that they would never be formally used against him. This unkind action much surprised poor Ardalion Alexandrovitch, the victim, as he called himself, of an "unbounded trust in the nobility of the human heart."
When he signed those notes of hand,he never dreamt that they would be a source of future trouble. The event showed that he was mistaken. "Trust in anyone after this! Have the least confidence in man or woman!" he cried in bitter tones, as he sat with his new friends in prison, and recounted to them his favourite stories of the siege of Kars, and the resuscitated soldier. On the whole, he accommodated himself very well to his new position. Ptitsin and Varia declared that he was in the right place, and Gania was of the same opinion. The only person who deplored his fate was poor Nina Alexandrovna, who wept bitter tears over him, to the great surprise of her household, and, though always in feeble health, made a point of going to see him as often as possible.
Since the general's "mishap," as Colia called it, and the marriage of his sister, the boy had quietly possessed himself of far more freedom. His relations saw little of him, for he rarely slept at home. He made many new friends; and was moreover, a frequent visitor at the debtor's prison, to which he invariably accompanied his mother. Varia, who used to be always correcting him, never spoke to him now on the subject of his frequent absences, and the whole household was surprised to see Gania, in spite of his depression, on quite friendly terms with his brother. This was something new, for Gania had been wont to look upon Colia as a kind of errand-boy, treating him with contempt, threatening to "pull his ears," and in general driving him almost wild with irritation. It seemed now that Gania really needed his brother, and the latter, for his part, felt as if he could forgive Gania much since he had returned the hundred thousand roubles offered to him by Nastasia Philipovna. Three months after the departure of the prince, the Ivolgin family discovered that Colia had made acquaintance with the Epanchins, and was on very friendly terms with the daughters. Varia heard of it first, though Colia had not asked her to introduce him. Little by little the family grew quite fond of him. Madame Epanchin at first looked on him with disdain, and received him coldly, but in a short time he grew to please her, because, as she said, he "was candid and no flatterer" -- a very true description. From the first he put himself on an equality with his new friends, and though he sometimes read newspapers and books to the mistress of the house, it was simply because he liked to be useful.
One day, however, he and Lizabetha Prokofievna quarrelled seriously about the "woman question," in the course of a lively discussion on that burning subject. He told her that she was a tyrant, and that he would never set foot in her house again. It may seem incredible, but a day or two after, Madame Epanchin sent a servant with a note begging him to return, and Colia, without standing on his dignity, did so at once.
Aglaya was the only one of the family whose good graces he could not gain, and who always spoke to him haughtily, but it so happened that the boy one day succeeded in giving the proud maiden a surprise.
It was about Easter, when, taking advantage of a momentary tete- a-tete Colia handed Aglaya a letter, remarking that he "had orders to deliver it to her privately." She stared at him in amazement, but he did not wait to hear what she had to say, and went out. Aglaya broke the seal, and read as follows:
"Once you did me the honour of giving me your confidence. Perhaps you have quite forgotten me now! How is it that I am writing to you? I do not know; but I am conscious of an irresistible desire to remind you of my existence, especially you. How many times I have needed all three of you; but only you have dwelt always in my mind's eye. I need you--I need you very much. I will not write about myself. I have nothing to tell you. But I long for you to be happy. ARE you happy? That is all I wished to say to you--Your brother,
"PR. L. MUISHKIN."
On reading this short and disconnected note, Aglaya suddenly blushed all over, and became very thoughtful.
It would be difficult to describe her thoughts at that moment. One of them was, "Shall I show it to anyone?" But she was ashamed to show it. So she ended by hiding it in her table drawer, with a very strange, ironical smile upon her lips.
Next day, she took it out, and put it into a large book, as she usually did with papers which she wanted to be able to find easily. She laughed when, about a week later, she happened to notice the name of the book, and saw that it was Don Quixote, but it would be difficult to say exactly why.
I cannot say, either, whether she showed the letter to her sisters.
But when she had read it herself once more, it suddenly struck her that surely that conceited boy, Colia, had not been the one chosen correspondent of the prince all this while. She determined to ask him, and did so with an exaggerated show of carelessness. He informed her haughtily that though he had given the prince his permanent address when the latter left town, and had offered his services, the prince had never before given him any commission to perform, nor had he written until the following lines arrived, with Aglaya's letter. Aglaya took the note, and read it.
"DEAR COLIA,--Please be so kind as to give the enclosed sealed letter to Aglaya Ivanovna. Keep well--Ever your loving, "PR. L. MUISHKIN."
"It seems absurd to trust a little pepper-box like you," said Aglaya, as she returned the note, and walked past the "pepper- box" with an expression of great contempt.
This was more than Colia could bear. He had actually borrowed Gania's new green tie for the occasion, without saying why he wanted it, in order to impress her. He was very deeply mortified.
我们用以结束故事第一部的是纳斯塔西娅·费利帕夫娜晚会上的奇遇。此后两天，梅什金公爵便急匆匆赶往莫斯科，去办理接受那意想不到的遗产事宜。那时人家说，他这么仓促离开可能还有其他原因，但是关于这一点，就像关于公爵在莫斯科以及他离开彼得堡期间的经历一样，我们能奉告的消息相当少。公爵离开彼得堡整整六个月，连那些有某种原因而对他的命运感兴趣的人，在这段时间里所能获悉的他的情况也太少了；确实，虽然很难得，可还是会有些传闻传到有些人那里，但大部分也是很怪诞的，而且几乎总是互相矛盾的。比所有的人都更关心公爵的，当然是叶潘钦家，他走的时候甚至都来不及与他们告别一声。不过，将军那时曾经见过他，甚至还见了两三次，他们认真地谈论过什么事情。但是，如果叶潘钦自己见过他，那么他是不告诉自己家里这种事的。再说，最初，也就是公爵离开后差不多整整一个月内，叶潘钦家根本就没有谈到他，只有将军夫人叶莉扎维塔·普罗科菲耶夫娜一个人在一开始说过，“她对公爵是大大看错了。”后来，过了两三天她又做了补充，这次已经不指名是公爵了，而是笼统地说，“她一生中最主要的特点便是不断地看错人。”最后，已经过了十天。”她不知为什么事情对女儿生气，便以富有教训意味的话总结说：“错够了！今后再也不犯了。”与此同时不能不指出，在他们家中相当长时间笼罩着一种不愉快的情绪。有某种沉重的，不自然的，有话憋在心里的，不和睦的气氛，大家都皱眉蹩额的。将军白天黑夜地忙着，为事务奔波，很少有人看见他比现在更忙碌更多活动，尤其是公务方面的事情。家里人也好不容易才能见到他。至于说到叶潘钦的三位小姐，她们当然什么也没说出口。也许，光就她们姐妹问也很少说话，这儿位小姐自尊心很强，也很高傲，即使她们之间有时也不好意思，不过，她们只要听上一句，甚至看上一眼，就能互相了解，因此有时候也就不必再说上许多话了。
旁观者－－如果有这样的人的话--只可以得出一个结论：从上述虽然不多的所有情况来看，公爵到底还是在叶潘钦家留下了特别的印象，尽管他在那里只出现了一次，而且还是昙花一现。也许，这是公爵那有点奇特的际遇所引起的纯粹的好奇心所造成的印象。不论怎么说，反正是留下了印象。
渐渐地，本来已在城里传开的流言蒙上了一层真相不明的色彩，确实，一种说法是，某个公爵和傻瓜（谁也讲不出他的确切姓名）突然得到了一笔巨大的遗产，跟一个外来的法国女人、巴黎《沙托一杰一弗列尔》＊跳康康舞＊＊的著名舞星结了婚。另一些人说，得到遗产的是某个将军，而跟外来的法国女人、著名的康康舞星结婚的是一个俄国商人、有数不清财产的巨富，在自己婚礼上他喝醉了，仅仅为了夸口，便在蜡烛上把整整７０万最近一期有奖公债券烧掉了，但是所有这些传闻很快就平息了，这是因为某些情况在很大程度上促成了这一点。比如，罗戈任一伙人中有许多人是能讲点什么的，当初他们在叶卡捷琳戈夫车站纵酒狂饮大闹一通，纳斯塔西娅·费利帕夫娜那时也在场，但过了整整一星期后，他们这一大群人在罗戈任亲自率领下全部出动去了莫斯科。极少数有兴趣的人根据某些传闻知道，在叶卡捷琳戈夫闹了一通之后第二天，纳斯塔西娅·费利帕夫娜便跑了，消失得无影无踪，后来又似乎探出了去向，她去了莫斯科；因此罗戈任去莫斯科与这一传闻有些吻合。
也有些传闻是关于加夫里拉·阿尔达利翁诺维奇·伊沃尔京，他在自己那个圈子里也是相当有名的人物。但是他也遇到了一个情况，后来很快地就使所有关于他的不好的说法冷了下来，最后完全绝迹。原来他病得不轻，不仅在社交界哪儿也不露面，甚至也未到职。病了一个月左右他痊愈了，但是不知为什么全然拒绝了在股份公司的职务，于是他的位置就由另一人取代了。叶潘钦将军家他一次也不去，因此另一个官员开始常去将军家。加夫里拉·阿尔达利翁诺维奇的敌人可能会认为，由于所发生的一切他已经无脸见人，以致不好意思上街，但实际上他是害了什么病：抑郁寡欢，沉思冥想，好生气动怒。瓦尔瓦拉·阿尔达利翁诺夫娜在那年冬天嫁给了普季岑；所有了解他们的人都认为这一婚姻是由这种情况造成的：加尼亚不想回到原来的职务上去，不仅不再能维持家庭，甚至连自己也需要帮助，并且也几乎是处于人家的照顾之中。
＊法语俄译音，意为《花之宫》，巴黎一家游乐场。
＊＊法国游艺场中一种大腿踢得很高的舞。
附带要指出，关于加夫里拉：阿尔达利翁诺维奇·叶潘钦家里甚至从来也没有提到他，仿佛不仅仅他们家，而且在世上也没有这个人似的。同时，那里大家又都知道有关他的（甚至相当快就知道了）一个非常值得注意的情况，在纳斯塔西娅、费利帕夫娜那儿的不愉快遭遇以后，就是那个对他来说是决定命运的夜里，加尼亚回到家，没有躺下睡觉，而是以迫不及待的焦躁憎绪等待公爵归来；去叶卡捷琳戈夫的公爵从那里回来已是早晨５点多。于是加尼亚走进他的房间，把他昏厥时纳斯塔西娅·费利帕夫娜给她的烧过的那一包线放在公爵面前的桌子上，他坚决请求公爵一有可能便把这件礼物归还给纳斯塔西娅·费里帕夫娜。在加尼亚走近公爵的时候，他怀着一种敌视和几乎是不顾一切的情绪；但是，在他和公爵之间似乎说了一些什么话，这以后在公爵那里坐了两个小时，一直十分伤心地痛哭着。两人在很友好的关系中分了手。
传到叶潘钦全家的这个消息，后来证实，完全是确实的。当然，这样的消息能这么快就传到这儿被他们知道，这是令人奇怪的；比方说，在纳斯洛西娅·费利帕夫娜那里发生的一切几乎在第二天叶潘钦家里便已知悉，而且相当确切详尽。就有关加夫里拉·阿尔达利翁诺维奇的消息来说可以料想，它们是由瓦尔瓦拉·阿尔达利翁诺夫娜带到叶潘钦家的，不知怎么的她突然出现在叶潘钦小姐们那里，甚至很快就与她们槁得十分亲热，这使叶莉扎维塔·普罗科菲耶夫娜大力惊讶。但是，即使瓦尔瓦拉·阿尔达利翁诺夫娜不知为什么认为有必要与叶潘钦家的小姐亲近相处，她也一定不会跟他们谈论自己的兄长。这也是个自尊心相当强的女人，只不过在某一点上是这样；因为她就不管现在结交的正是差点没把她兄长赶出来的人家。在此以前虽然她也认识叶潘钦家的小姐，但她们很少见面。不过，就是现在她也几乎不到客厅去，而是从后面台阶出进，简直就是来去匆匆。叶莉扎维塔·普罗科菲耶夫娜无论过去还是现在一直不大赏识她，尽管她很尊重尼娜·亚历山德罗夫娜，即瓦尔瓦拉·阿尔达利翁诺夫娜的母亲。他惊讶，生气，把跟瓦里娅的结交看作是女儿们的任性和好自作主张，说她“已经不知道想出什么来与她作对”，而瓦尔瓦拉·阿尔达利翁诺夫娜在结婚前和后始终继续上她们那儿去。但是公爵离开后过了一个月光景，叶潘钦将军夫人收到了别洛扎斯卡娅老公爵夫人的来信，两星期前她去莫斯科已出嫁的大女儿那里了。这封信显然对将军夫人产生了影响。尽管她既没有对女儿，也没有对伊万·费奥多罗维奇说什么，但是从许多迹象来看家里人都发觉，她似乎特别兴奋，甚至异常激动。她回女儿们的谈话不知怎么的特别奇怪，而且老是讲那些异乎寻常的话题；她显然很惧说出来，可又不知为什么克制着自己。在收到信的那一天，她对大家都很温顺，甚至还吻了一下阿格拉娅和阿杰莱达，说她自己有件事情要向她们认错，但究竟是什么事情，她们却不明白。甚至对伊万·费奥多罗维奇也忽然宽容起来，而原来已有整整一个月对他颇为冷淡。当然，第二天她又对自己昨天的好动感情而大力恼火，午餐前就跟所有的人都吵过来了，但到傍晚又雨过天晴了。总之整个星期她保持着相当开朗的心境、这已是很久未曾有过的了。
但是又过了一星期又得到一封别洛孔斯卡娅的信，这一次将军夫人已经决定讲出来了：她郑重其事地宣布：“‘别洛孔斯卡妩老太婆’。（背地里讲刁她时从不称她公爵夫人）告诉她相当令人宽慰的消息，是关于这个……怪人，喏，就是那个公爵！”老太婆在莫斯科到处寻觅，打听他，终于获悉了很好的情况；公爵后来亲自去她那儿，给她留下了几乎是异常好的印象，“这从这一点看得出来：她邀请公爵每天上午一点到两点去她那里，于是公爵每天都到她那儿去，至今没有让她感到讨厌。”她补充说）“通过‘老太婆’已有两户体面人家开始接待公爵。”将军夫人接着作了结论，“他没像呆瓜那样老呆在家里和感到害羞，这很好。”被告知了这一切的小姐们马上就觉察到，母亲对她们还隐瞒了信件的许多内容。也许，她们是通过瓦尔瓦拉·阿尔达利诺夫娜了解到这一点的，因为她能知道，当然，也是知道普季岑所知道的有关公爵及他在莫斯科的一切情况的。而普季岑能够获悉的情况甚至比其他所有的人更多。但他在事务方面是个过分保持缄默的人，不过他自然会告诉瓦里娅的。为此将军夫人立即更加不喜欢瓦尔瓦拉·阿尔达利翁诺夫娅。
但不论怎么样，坚冰已经被打破，忽然已经可以出声谈论公爵了。此外又一次明显地表现出公爵在叶潘钦家留下的不同寻常的印象和他所激起的已经超过分寸的巨大兴趣。将军夫人对莫斯科来的消息给她的女儿们造成的印象甚至感到惊奇。而女儿们也对自己母亲感到奇怪，因为她一方面郑重地向她们宣称，“她一生中最主要的特征是不断地看错人，”而与此同时却又委托在莫斯科的 “神通广大的”别洛孔斯卡娅老太婆对公爵多加关照，而且，得她关照，当然得再三苦苦恳求。”因为在有些情况下“老太婆”是不太爽快答应办事的。
但是坚冰刚被打破，新风刚一拂起，将军也急于说出自己的想法。原来他也有异常的兴趣。不过，他告知的只是“对方的事务方面“。情况是这样的：为了公爵的利益，他委托在莫斯科的两位非常可靠、又在某方面颇具影响的先生注意公爵，特别是注意他的谋划者萨拉兹金。所有说到遗产的事，“所谓是否有遗产的事实”是确实的，但是，弄到最后，遗产本身根本不像开始传说的那么可观。财产的一半是笔糊涂账；突然冒出了债务，冒出了一些声称有权得到一份遗产的人，加上公爵不管人家替他谋划的主意，自己的做法又极不精明。“当然，愿上帝保佑他；”现在，“沉默的坚冰”已经打破，将军很高兴“真心诚意地”声明这一点，因为“小伙子虽然有点那个”，但毕竟是值得多加关注的。事实上他在这件事上还是干了不少蠢事：比方说，冒出了一些已故商人的债主，他们就凭一些颇有争议的不足为凭的文件来索债，而另有些人则摸透了公爵的底细，根本就没有文件，也跑来了，怎么办呢？尽管‘朋友们提醒说这些人和债主根本没有权利，公爵还是几乎满足了所有人的要求；他满尽他们，仅仅因为确实是他们中间有些人真的曾经吃过亏。
将军夫人对此回答说，别洛孔斯卡给她写的信上也这么说，她还尖刻地补了一句说，“这是愚蠢的，很愚蠢；不可救药的傻瓜，”但从她的脸上可以看出，她对这个 “傻瓜”的行为感到高兴。最后将军发觉，他的夫人关心公爵宛如关心自己的亲生儿子，而且不知怎么的开始对阿格拉娅钟爱异常；看到这种情景，伊万·费奥多罗维奇一度做出相当认真的姿态。
但是所有这种愉快的情绪又没能存在很久。总共就过了两个星期，不知怎么的忽然又起了变化，将军夫人皱眉层额，而将军则耸了好几次肩膀，又服从于“沉默的坚冰”了。事情是这样的：两星期前他佃然得到一个消息；虽然简短，因此也不完全清楚，但是是可靠的。消息说，纳斯塔西娅·费利帕夫娜最初在莫斯科销声匿迹，后来被罗戈任在莫斯科找到，后来她又不知去向，又被罗戈任找到，最后她几乎信誓旦旦答应嫁给他，才不过两个星期，突然将军阁下又得到消息说，纳斯塔西娅·费利帕夫娜第三次逃跑，几乎就要在教堂举行婚礼之际跑掉的，这一次不知躲到外省的什么地方去了，而与此同时梅什金公爵也在莫斯科消失了，把自己的全部事务撂给萨拉兹金去处理，“是跟她一起走了，还是不过是去追她了，这不得而知，但是这里总有点名堂，”将军结束说。叶莉扎维塔·普罗科菲耶夫娜从自己方面也得到了一些不尽愉快的消息。最终，在公爵离开二个月后几乎关于他的所有传闻在彼得堡完全沉寂了，而叶潘钦家中“沉默的坚冰”已经不再打破了。不过，瓦尔瓦拉·阿尔达利翁诺夫娜依然常来探访小姐们。
为了结束所有这些传闻和消息，还要补充一点：春天即将来临时，叶潘钦家发生了许多大变化。因而很难让他们不忘记公爵，而公爵自己也不留音讯、地址，他也不想让人家知道他的下落。在冬天期间叶潘钦家渐渐地终于决定去国外度夏，也就是叶莉扎维塔·普罗科菲耶夫娜与女儿们去；将军嘛，自然不能把时间花费在“无聊的消遣上”。决定是在小姐们异常执拗的坚持下才通过的，她们完全确信，父母不想带她们到国外去是因为她们老是操心着为她们找夫婿和把她们嫁出去；也许，父母后来深信，在国外也能遇上夫婿；去做一个夏天的旅行不仅不会碍什么事，也许反而“能促成此事”。这里顺便得提一下，原来拟议中的阿法纳西·伊万诺维奇·托茨基和叶潘钦家大小姐的婚事完全告吹了，托茨基也没正式求婚。这事似乎是自然而然发生的，没有多费口舌，双方之间一切突然停了下来。这一情况也正是许潘钦家当时情绪低沉的原因之一，虽然将军夫人那时也说，她现在乐于划十字“。将军虽然遭冷落并感到自己有过错，但还是生了很长时间闷气，因为他很舍不得阿法纳西．伊万诺维奇。“这么大的财产和这么精明的一个人！”过了不久将军获悉，阿法纳西·伊万诺维奇被一个来自法国上流社会的保皇派女侯爵迷往了，即将举行婚礼，而且阿法纳西·伊万诺维奇也将被带到巴黎去，然后再去布列塔尼的什么地方。“嘿，跟一个法国女人搞在一起，必将完蛋！”将军这么认定着。
而叶潘钦小姐们准备着夏季外出旅行。忽然发生了一个情况，又使一切重新变个样，旅行又被搁置起来，这使将军和将军夫人大为高兴。一位公爵－－ω公爵，从莫斯科光临波得堡，这是一位名人，从相当相当好的观点来看的名人。他属于那样一种人，或者，甚至可以说，是属于当代的活动家这一类人，他们正直、谦虚、真诚和自觉地愿意做好事，始终在工作并具有一种难能可贵的品质，即总是拢得到工作做。山公爵不炫耀自己、避开党派之争的冷酷无情和夸夸其谈，也不认为自己是第一流的角儿，但是他明白，近来所做的许多事是相当坚实可靠的。他先前曾任公职，后来参加了地方自治活动，此外，他还与好几个俄罗斯学会保持有益的通讯关系。他与一个熟识的技术员一起，通过调查考察和搜集到的资料，促成了一条设计中的重要铁路选取更为正确的走向，他３５岁，是个“最最上流社会”的人，除此以外，还有着“很好的，不可小看的，无可争议的”家财，这是将军做出的反应。有一次因为一件相当重要的事情他去自己的上司怕爵那里，便结识了公爵，而公爵出于某种特别的好奇，从来也不放过结交俄国的“实业界人士”。结果，公爵就结识了将军一家。三个女儿中的中间一个。阿杰莱达·伊万诺夫娜使他产生相当深刻的印象。临近春天时公爵表白了爱情。阿杰菜达很喜欢他，叶莉扎维塔·普罗科菲耶夫娜也喜欢他。将军非常高兴。自然，旅行就推迟了。婚礼定于春天举行。
其实，本来也可以在仲夏或夏未去旅行，哪怕只是叶莉扎维塔·普罗科菲耶夫娜带着留在她身边的两个女儿去做一个月或两个月的散心也好，以驱散阿杰莱达留下她们而产生的忧伤，但是又发生了某个新的情况：已经是在春末了（阿杰莱达的婚礼稍稍延缓，推迟到仲夏）ω公爵带了他很熟悉的一个远亲来到叶潘钦家里。这是叶夫盖尼·帕夫洛维奇，还是个年轻人，２８岁左右，侍从武官，如画一般的美男子，“出身名门”，为人机智，出类拔萃，“非常新派”，受过异常好的教育”，还有闻所未闻的巨大财富。关于这最后一点将军总是非常谨慎的，他做了打听：“确实，是有这么一回事。”不过还得再核实一下。”这个“前程远大”的年轻侍从武官因为别洛孔斯卡娅老太婆从莫斯科反映来的情况而被大大抬高了身价。只是他有一种名声倒是需要稍加慎重对待：据人家担保，他有若干暧昧关系，曾征服过”好几颗可怜的心。在见到阿格拉娅后，他便在叶潘钦家不同寻常地久坐不走。确实，什么都还没有说，甚至也没有作任何暗示，父母亲还是认为，今夏没有必要去考虑出国旅行的事了。而阿格拉娅本人也许是另一种意见。
这事几乎就发生在这个故事的主人公再次登场之前。从表面上看，到这个时候彼得堡的人，已经完全忘记了可怜的梅什金公爵。如果他现在忽然出现在他的熟人之间，那就仿佛是从天上掉下来一般。但是，我们还是得告知一件事实，以此结束本书第二部的引言。
科利亚·伊沃尔京在公爵离去之后，继续过着原先那样的生活，也就是上学，去看自己的好朋友伊波利特，照料将军和帮助瓦里娅做家务，也就是在她那儿跑跑腿。但是房客很快都消失了：费尔迪先科在纳斯塔西娅·费利帕夫娜家的奇遇后三天不知搬到哪儿了去，很快就沓无音讯，因此有关他的各种传闻也就停息了；据说在什么地方喝酒，但不能肯定，公爵去了莫斯科；房客的事也就此了结。后来，瓦里娅已经出嫁，尼娜·亚历山德罗夫娜和加尼亚限她一起报到普季岑家去了，在伊兹马伊洛夫斯基团＊那里；至于说到伊沃尔京将军，那么几乎就在那个时候发生了完全意料不到的一个情况，他蹲了债务监狱。他是被自己的相好、大尉夫人凭各种时候他开始她的总值二千卢布的借条打发到那里去的。这一切对他来说发生得完全出乎意外，可怜将军“总的来说全然成了过分相信人心高尚的牺牲品”！他已习惯于心安理得地在借钱的信件和字据上签字，从来也不曾料想过有朝一日会起作用，始终认为仅签字而已。结果却并非仅此而已。“这以后再去相信人吧，再去表示高尚的信任吧！”他跟新结交的朋友坐在塔拉索夫大楼＊＊里喝酒时痛苦地发出感慨、同时还对他们讲着围困卡尔斯和一个士兵死而复生的故事。其实，他在那里过得还挺好。普季岑和瓦里娅说，这才是他真正该呆的地方，加尼亚也完全肯定了这一点。只有尼娜·亚历山德罗夫娜一人痛苦地偷偷哭泣（这件事使家里人感到惊奇），而且不断害着病，还尽可能经常地去伊兹马伊洛夫斯基团探视丈夫。
但是，照科利亚的说法，从“将军出事”起，或者一般来说是从姐姐出嫁起，科利亚就几乎完全不再听他们的话，而且发展到很少在家过夜。据传，他结交了许多新朋友，此外，在债务监狱也非常出名。尼娜、亚历山德罗夫娜去那里少了他不成：家里现在甚至也不再用好奇的问题去干预他。过去曾经非常严厉地对待他的瓦里娅，现在也丝毫不问他在哪儿游荡；而令家人大为惊讶的是，加尼亚尽管自己抑郁寡欢，可是有时与科利亚在一起和说起话来十分友好，这是从来也没有过的事，因为过去２７岁的加尼亚自然对自己１５岁的兄弟丝毫没有友善的关切，对待他是很粗暴，还要求全体家人光用严厉的态度对待他，经常威吓要“揪他的耳朵”，使科利亚失去“人的最后一点忍耐心”。可以想得到，现在对加尼亚来说，科利亚有时甚至是必不可少的人。加尼亚当时把钱归还给纳斯塔西娅·费利帕夫娜。此举使科利亚非常惊诧，为此他在许多事情上可以原谅兄长。
公爵离开后过了三个月，伊沃尔京家里听说，科利亚忽然结识了叶潘钦家的小姐，并受到了他们很好的接待。瓦里娅很快就获悉了这一情况；不过，科利亚并不是通过瓦里娅结识她们的，而是“自己代表自己”，慢慢地，叶潘钦家的人喜欢上了他。将军夫人起先对他很不满，但很快就“因为他的坦诚和不巴结奉承”而钟爱起他来。说到科利亚不巴结奉承，这是十分公正的；虽然他有时为将军夫人念念书报，但他在她们那里善于保持一种平等和独立的姿态，不过他经常总是热心帮忙的。但是他曾有两次与叶莉扎维塔·普罗琴菲耶夫娜吵得很厉害，向她声称，她是个专制女王，他再也不跨进她家的门。第一次争吵是由“妇女问题”引起的，第二次则是由哪个季节逮金翅雀最大这个问题引起的。无论多么不可思议，将军夫人述是在争吵后的第三天派人给他捎去了字条，请他一定光临；科利亚没有使性子摆架子，立即就去了。唯独阿格拉娅一个人不知为什么经常对他举止傲慢，没有好感。可是偏偏是他多多少少让她吃惊。有一次，那是在复活节后一周内，科利亚找到只有他和阿格拉娅单独在场的那一刻，递给她一封信，只说了一句，吩咐只交给她一个人。阿格拉娅威严地打量了一下“自命不凡的小子”，但科利亚不等她说什么就走了出去。她展开便笺读了：
＊彼得堡一地名。
＊＊债务监狱就在那里。
我曾经荣幸地得到您的信任。也许，您现在已经完全把我忘了。我怎么会给您写信的呢？我不知道，但我有一种遏制不住的愿望，想使您，而且正是使您想起我。有多少次我是多么需要你们三姐妹，但是想象中我见到的三姐妹中唯有您一人。我需要您，非常需要您。关于我自己，我没什么可以写的，也没什么可以奉告。我也不想那样做；我万分祝愿您幸福。您幸福吗？只有这点是我想对您说的。
您的兄弟
列·梅什金公爵
读完这封简短而摸不着头脑的便笺，阿格拉娅忽然满脸徘红，陷于深思。我们很难表达她的思维流程。顺便说一句，她曾问自己：“要不要给谁看？”她似乎感到不好意思。不过，最后她还是脸带嘲弄和奇怪的微笑把信扔进自己的小桌了事。第二天她又拿出来，将它夹到一本书脊装订得很坚固的厚书里（她总是这样处理她的文书，以便需要的时候尽快就能找到）。只是过了一星期她才看清楚，这是一本什么书，原来是《拉曼恰的堂·吉诃德》，阿格拉娅发狂地大笑一阵，不知道为什么。
同样不知道，她有没有把自己收到的便笺给哪个姐姐看过。
但是，当她再次看信时，她忽然想到：难道这个“自命不凡的小子”和牛皮被公爵选作通讯员，而且，也许，恐怕还是他在这里的唯一通讯员？尽管她摆出一副异常轻蔑的样子，但她还是叫来了科利亚进行盘问。而一向很易见怪别人的“小子”这次却对她的轻蔑丝毫不作计较，还相当简短、相当冷淡地对她解释，虽然在公爵临离开彼得堡时他把自己的永久性地址给了公爵并表示愿为他效劳，但这还是他接受的第一次委托、第一封便笺。为了证明自己的话，他出示了他本人收到的信。阿格拉娅并没感到不好意思就拿过来看了，给科利亚的信中写道：
亲爱的科利亚，劳驾，请把附在这里、封了口的便笺转交给阿格拉娅·伊万诺夫娜。祝您健康。
爱您的
列·梅什金公爵
“信赖这样的娃娃终究是可笑的，”阿格拉娅把便笺给科利亚时抱怨说，一边轻蔑地从他身边走了过去。
这一下科利亚可再也不能忍受了，为了这次机会他也没向加尼亚说明原因，特地从他那儿央求来一条绿色的新围巾围在脖子上。现在他可是大大见怪了。