Chapter: YESTERDAY I arrived at Pyatigorsk. I have engaged lodgings at the
extreme end of the town, the highest part, at the foot of Mount Mashuk:
during a storm the clouds will descend on to the roof of my dwelling.

This morning at five o'clock, when I opened my window, the room was
filled with the fragrance of the flowers growing in the modest little
front-garden. Branches of bloom-laden bird-cherry trees peep in at my
window, and now and again the breeze bestrews my writing-table with
their white petals. The view which meets my gaze on three sides is
wonderful: westward towers five-peaked Beshtau, blue as "the last cloud
of a dispersed storm," [25] and northward rises Mashuk, like a shaggy
Persian cap, shutting in the whole of that quarter of the horizon.
Eastward the outlook is more cheery: down below are displayed the
varied hues of the brand-new, spotlessly clean, little town, with its
murmuring, health-giving springs and its babbling, many-tongued throng.
Yonder, further away, the mountains tower up in an amphitheatre, ever
bluer and mistier; and, at the edge of the horizon, stretches the
silver chain of snow-clad summits, beginning with Kazbek and ending with
two-peaked Elbruz... Blithe is life in such a land! A feeling akin to
rapture is diffused through all my veins. The air is pure and fresh,
like the kiss of a child; the sun is bright, the sky is blue--what more
could one possibly wish for? What need, in such a place as this, of
passions, desires, regrets?

However, it is time to be stirring. I will go to the Elizaveta spring--I
am told that the whole society of the watering-place assembles there in
the morning.

*****

Descending into the middle of the town, I walked along the boulevard,
on which I met a few melancholy groups slowly ascending the mountain.
These, for the most part, were the families of landed-gentry from the
steppes--as could be guessed at once from the threadbare, old-fashioned
frock-coats of the husbands and the exquisite attire of the wives
and daughters. Evidently they already had all the young men of the
watering-place at their fingers' ends, because they looked at me with
a tender curiosity. The Petersburg cut of my coat misled them; but
they soon recognised the military epaulettes, and turned away with
indignation.

The wives of the local authorities--the hostesses, so to speak, of the
waters--were more graciously inclined. They carry lorgnettes, and they
pay less attention to a uniform--they have grown accustomed in the
Caucasus to meeting a fervid heart beneath a numbered button and a
cultured intellect beneath a white forage-cap. These ladies are very
charming, and long continue to be charming. Each year their adorers
are exchanged for new ones, and in that very fact, it may be, lies the
secret of their unwearying amiability.

Ascending by the narrow path to the Elizaveta spring, I overtook a crowd
of officials and military men, who, as I subsequently learned, compose a
class apart amongst those who place their hopes in the medicinal waters.
They drink--but not water--take but few walks, indulge in only mild
flirtations, gamble, and complain of boredom.

They are dandies. In letting their wicker-sheathed tumblers down into
the well of sulphurous water they assume academical poses. The officials
wear bright blue cravats; the military men have ruffs sticking out above
their collars. They affect a profound contempt for provincial ladies,
and sigh for the aristocratic drawing-rooms of the capitals--to which
they are not admitted.

Here is the well at last!... Upon the small square adjoining it a little
house with a red roof over the bath is erected, and somewhat further on
there is a gallery in which the people walk when it rains. Some wounded
officers were sitting--pale and melancholy--on a bench, with their
crutches drawn up. A few ladies, their tumbler of water finished, were
walking with rapid steps to and fro about the square. There were two or
three pretty faces amongst them. Beneath the avenues of the vines with
which the slope of Mashuk is covered, occasional glimpses could be
caught of the gay-coloured hat of a lover of solitude for two--for
beside that hat I always noticed either a military forage-cap or the
ugly round hat of a civilian. Upon the steep cliff, where the pavilion
called "The Aeolian Harp" is erected, figured the lovers of scenery,
directing their telescopes upon Elbruz. Amongst them were a couple of
tutors, with their pupils who had come to be cured of scrofula.

Out of breath, I came to a standstill at the edge of the mountain, and,
leaning against the corner of a little house, I began to examine the
picturesque surroundings, when suddenly I heard behind me a familiar
voice.

"Pechorin! Have you been here long?"

I turned round. Grushnitski! We embraced. I had made his acquaintance
in the active service detachment. He had been wounded in the foot by a
bullet and had come to the waters a week or so before me.

Grushnitski is a cadet; he has only been a year in the service. From
a kind of foppery peculiar to himself, he wears the thick cloak of a
common soldier. He has also the soldier's cross of St. George. He is
well built, swarthy and black-haired. To look at him, you might say he
was a man of twenty-five, although he is scarcely twenty-one. He tosses
his head when he speaks, and keeps continually twirling his moustache
with his left hand, his right hand being occupied with the crutch on
which he leans. He speaks rapidly and affectedly; he is one of those
people who have a high-sounding phrase ready for every occasion in
life, who remain untouched by simple beauty, and who drape themselves
majestically in extraordinary sentiments, exalted passions and
exceptional sufferings. To produce an effect is their delight; they have
an almost insensate fondness for romantic provincial ladies. When
old age approaches they become either peaceful landed-gentry or
drunkards--sometimes both. Frequently they have many good qualities,
but they have not a grain of poetry in their composition. Grushnitski's
passion was declamation. He would deluge you with words so soon as the
conversation went beyond the sphere of ordinary ideas. I have never been
able to dispute with him. He neither answers your questions nor listens
to you. So soon as you stop, he begins a lengthy tirade, which has
the appearance of being in some sort connected with what you have been
saying, but which is, in fact, only a continuation of his own harangue.

He is witty enough; his epigrams are frequently amusing, but never
malicious, nor to the point. He slays nobody with a single word; he has
no knowledge of men and of their foibles, because all his life he has
been interested in nobody but himself. His aim is to make himself the
hero of a novel. He has so often endeavoured to convince others that he
is a being created not for this world and doomed to certain mysterious
sufferings, that he has almost convinced himself that such he is in
reality. Hence the pride with which he wears his thick soldier's cloak.
I have seen through him, and he dislikes me for that reason, although
to outward appearance we are on the friendliest of terms. Grushnitski
is looked upon as a man of distinguished courage. I have seen him in
action. He waves his sabre, shouts, and hurls himself forward with his
eyes shut. That is not what I should call Russian courage!...

I reciprocate Grushnitski's dislike. I feel that some time or other we
shall come into collision upon a narrow road, and that one of us will
fare badly.

His arrival in the Caucasus is also the result of his romantic
fanaticism. I am convinced that on the eve of his departure from his
paternal village he said with an air of gloom to some pretty neighbour
that he was going away, not so much for the simple purpose of serving
in the army as of seeking death, because... and hereupon, I am sure,
he covered his eyes with his hand and continued thus, "No, you--or
thou--must not know! Your pure soul would shudder! And what would be the
good? What am I to you? Could you understand me?"... and so on.

He has himself told me that the motive which induced him to enter the
K----regiment must remain an everlasting secret between him and Heaven.

However, in moments when he casts aside the tragic mantle, Grushnitski
is charming and entertaining enough. I am always interested to see him
with women--it is then that he puts forth his finest efforts, I think!

We met like a couple of old friends. I began to question him about
the personages of note and as to the sort of life which was led at the
waters.

"It is a rather prosaic life," he said, with a sigh. "Those who drink
the waters in the morning are inert--like all invalids, and those who
drink the wines in the evening are unendurable--like all healthy people!
There are ladies who entertain, but there is no great amusement to be
obtained from them. They play whist, they dress badly and speak French
dreadfully! The only Moscow people here this year are Princess Ligovski
and her daughter--but I am not acquainted with them. My soldier's cloak
is like a seal of renunciation. The sympathy which it arouses is as
painful as charity."

At that moment two ladies walked past us in the direction of the well;
one elderly, the other youthful and slender. I could not obtain a good
view of their faces on account of their hats, but they were dressed in
accordance with the strict rules of the best taste--nothing superfluous.
The second lady was wearing a high-necked dress of pearl-grey, and a
light silk kerchief was wound round her supple neck. Puce-coloured boots
clasped her slim little ankle so charmingly, that even those uninitiated
into the mysteries of beauty would infallibly have sighed, if only from
wonder. There was something maidenly in her easy, but aristocratic gait,
something eluding definition yet intelligible to the glance. As she
walked past us an indefinable perfume, like that which sometimes
breathes from the note of a charming woman, was wafted from her.

"Look!" said Grushnitski, "there is Princess Ligovski with her daughter
Mary, as she calls her after the English manner. They have been here
only three days."

"You already know her name, though?"

"Yes, I heard it by chance," he answered, with a blush. "I confess I do
not desire to make their acquaintance. These haughty aristocrats look
upon us army men just as they would upon savages. What care they if
there is an intellect beneath a numbered forage-cap, and a heart beneath
a thick cloak?"

"Poor cloak!" I said, with a laugh. "But who is the gentleman who is
just going up to them and handing them a tumbler so officiously?"

"Oh, that is Raevich, the Moscow dandy. He is a gambler; you can see
as much at once from that immense gold chain coiling across his
skyblue waistcoat. And what a thick cane he has! Just like Robinson
Crusoe's--and so is his beard too, and his hair is done like a
peasant's."

"You are embittered against the whole human race?"

"And I have cause to be"...

"Oh, really?"

At that moment the ladies left the well and came up to where we were.
Grushnitski succeeded in assuming a dramatic pose with the aid of his
crutch, and in a loud tone of voice answered me in French:

"Mon cher, je hais les hommes pour ne pas les mepriser, car autrement la
vie serait une farce trop degoutante."

The pretty Princess Mary turned round and favoured the orator with a
long and curious glance. Her expression was quite indefinite, but it was
not contemptuous, a fact on which I inwardly congratulated Grushnitski
from my heart.

"She is an extremely pretty girl," I said. "She has such velvet
eyes--yes, velvet is the word. I should advise you to appropriate the
expression when speaking of her eyes. The lower and upper lashes are
so long that the sunbeams are not reflected in her pupils. I love those
eyes without a glitter, they are so soft that they appear to caress you.
However, her eyes seem to be her only good feature... Tell me, are her
teeth white? That is most important! It is a pity that she did not smile
at that high-sounding phrase of yours."

"You are speaking of a pretty woman just as you might of an English
horse," said Grushnitski indignantly.

"Mon cher," I answered, trying to mimic his tone, "je meprise les
femmes, pour ne pas les aimer, car autrement la vie serait un melodrame
trop ridicule."

I turned and left him. For half an hour or so I walked about the avenues
of the vines, the limestone cliffs and the bushes hanging between them.
The day grew hot, and I hurried homewards. Passing the sulphur spring,
I stopped at the covered gallery in order to regain my breath under its
shade, and by so doing I was afforded the opportunity of witnessing a
rather interesting scene. This is the position in which the dramatis
personae were disposed: Princess Ligovski and the Moscow dandy were
sitting on a bench in the covered gallery--apparently engaged in serious
conversation. Princess Mary, who had doubtless by this time finished her
last tumbler, was walking pensively to and fro by the well. Grushnitski
was standing by the well itself; there was nobody else on the square.

I went up closer and concealed myself behind a corner of the gallery.
At that moment Grushnitski let his tumbler fall on the sand and made
strenuous efforts to stoop in order to pick it up; but his injured foot
prevented him. Poor fellow! How he tried all kinds of artifices, as he
leaned on his crutch, and all in vain! His expressive countenance was,
in fact, a picture of suffering.

Princess Mary saw the whole scene better than I.

Lighter than a bird she sprang towards him, stooped, picked up the
tumbler, and handed it to him with a gesture full of ineffable charm.
Then she blushed furiously, glanced round at the gallery, and, having
assured herself that her mother apparently had not seen anything,
immediately regained her composure. By the time Grushnitski had opened
his mouth to thank her she was a long way off. A moment after, she came
out of the gallery with her mother and the dandy, but, in passing by
Grushnitski, she assumed a most decorous and serious air. She did not
even turn round, she did not even observe the passionate gaze which he
kept fixed upon her for a long time until she had descended the mountain
and was hidden behind the lime trees of the boulevard... Presently I
caught glimpses of her hat as she walked along the street. She hurried
through the gate of one of the best houses in Pyatigorsk; her mother
walked behind her and bowed adieu to Raevich at the gate.

It was only then that the poor, passionate cadet noticed my presence.

"Did you see?" he said, pressing my hand vigorously. "She is an angel,
simply an angel!"

"Why?" I inquired, with an air of the purest simplicity.

"Did you not see, then?"

"No. I saw her picking up your tumbler. If there had been an attendant
there he would have done the same thing--and quicker too, in the hope
of receiving a tip. It is quite easy, however, to understand that she
pitied you; you made such a terrible grimace when you walked on the
wounded foot."

"And can it be that seeing her, as you did, at that moment when her soul
was shining in her eyes, you were not in the least affected?"

"No."

I was lying, but I wanted to exasperate him. I have an innate passion
for contradiction--my whole life has been nothing but a series of
melancholy and vain contradictions of heart or reason. The presence of
an enthusiast chills me with a twelfth-night cold, and I believe
that constant association with a person of a flaccid and phlegmatic
temperament would have turned me into an impassioned visionary. I
confess, too, that an unpleasant but familiar sensation was coursing
lightly through my heart at that moment. It was--envy. I say "envy"
boldly, because I am accustomed to acknowledge everything to myself.
It would be hard to find a young man who, if his idle fancy had been
attracted by a pretty woman and he had suddenly found her openly
singling out before his eyes another man equally unknown to her--it
would be hard, I say, to find such a young man (living, of course, in
the great world and accustomed to indulge his self-love) who would not
have been unpleasantly taken aback in such a case.

In silence Grushnitski and I descended the mountain and walked along
the boulevard, past the windows of the house where our beauty had hidden
herself. She was sitting by the window. Grushnitski, plucking me by the
arm, cast upon her one of those gloomily tender glances which have so
little effect upon women. I directed my lorgnette at her, and observed
that she smiled at his glance and that my insolent lorgnette made
her downright angry. And how, indeed, should a Caucasian military man
presume to direct his eyeglass at a princess from Moscow?...




THIS morning the doctor came to see me. His name is Werner, but he is
a Russian. What is there surprising in that? I have known a man named
Ivanov, who was a German.

Werner is a remarkable man, and that for many reasons. Like almost all
medical men he is a sceptic and a materialist, but, at the same time, he
is a genuine poet--a poet always in deeds and often in words, although
he has never written two verses in his life. He has mastered all the
living chords of the human heart, just as one learns the veins of a
corpse, but he has never known how to avail himself of his knowledge. In
like manner, it sometimes happens that an excellent anatomist does not
know how to cure a fever. Werner usually made fun of his patients in
private; but once I saw him weeping over a dying soldier... He was poor,
and dreamed of millions, but he would not take a single step out of his
way for the sake of money. He once told me that he would rather do a
favour to an enemy than to a friend, because, in the latter case,
it would mean selling his beneficence, whilst hatred only increases
proportionately to the magnanimity of the adversary. He had a malicious
tongue; and more than one good, simple soul has acquired the reputation
of a vulgar fool through being labelled with one of his epigrams. His
rivals, envious medical men of the watering-place, spread the report
that he was in the habit of drawing caricatures of his patients. The
patients were incensed, and almost all of them discarded him. His
friends, that is to say all the genuinely well-bred people who were
serving in the Caucasus, vainly endeavoured to restore his fallen
credit.

His outward appearance was of the type which, at the first glance,
creates an unpleasant impression, but which you get to like in course of
time, when the eye learns to read in the irregular features the stamp of
a tried and lofty soul. Instances have been known of women falling madly
in love with men of that sort, and having no desire to exchange their
ugliness for the beauty of the freshest and rosiest of Endymions.
We must give women their due: they possess an instinct for spiritual
beauty, for which reason, possibly, men such as Werner love women so
passionately.

Werner was small and lean and as weak as a baby. One of his legs was
shorter than the other, as was the case with Byron. In comparison with
his body, his head seemed enormous. His hair was cropped close, and
the unevennesses of his cranium, thus laid bare, would have struck a
phrenologist by reason of the strange intertexture of contradictory
propensities. His little, ever restless, black eyes seemed as if they
were endeavouring to fathom your thoughts. Taste and neatness were to be
observed in his dress. His small, lean, sinewy hands flaunted themselves
in bright-yellow gloves. His frock-coat, cravat and waistcoat were
invariably of black. The young men dubbed him Mephistopheles; he
pretended to be angry at the nickname, but in reality it flattered his
vanity. Werner and I soon understood each other and became friends,
because I, for my part, am illadapted for friendship. Of two friends,
one is always the slave of the other, although frequently neither
acknowledges the fact to himself. Now, the slave I could not be; and to
be the master would be a wearisome trouble, because, at the same time,
deception would be required. Besides, I have servants and money!

Our friendship originated in the following circumstances. I met Werner
at S----, in the midst of a numerous and noisy circle of young
people. Towards the end of the evening the conversation took a
philosophico-metaphysical turn. We discussed the subject of convictions,
and each of us had some different conviction to declare.

"So far as I am concerned," said the doctor, "I am convinced of one
thing only"...

"And that is--?" I asked, desirous of learning the opinion of a man who
had been silent till then.

"Of the fact," he answered, "that sooner or later, one fine morning, I
shall die."

"I am better off than you," I said. "In addition to that, I have a
further conviction, namely, that, one very nasty evening, I had the
misfortune to be born."

All the others considered that we were talking nonsense, but indeed not
one of them said anything more sensible. From that moment we singled
each other out amongst the crowd. We used frequently to meet and discuss
abstract subjects in a very serious manner, until each observed that the
other was throwing dust in his eyes. Then, looking significantly at each
other--as, according to Cicero, the Roman augurs used to do--we
would burst out laughing heartily and, having had our laugh, we would
separate, well content with our evening.

I was lying on a couch, my eyes fixed upon the ceiling and my hands
clasped behind my head, when Werner entered my room. He sat down in an
easy chair, placed his cane in a corner, yawned, and announced that it
was getting hot out of doors. I replied that the flies were bothering
me--and we both fell silent.

"Observe, my dear doctor," I said, "that, but for fools, the world would
be a very dull place. Look! Here are you and I, both sensible men!
We know beforehand that it is possible to dispute ad infinitum about
everything--and so we do not dispute. Each of us knows almost all the
other's secret thoughts: to us a single word is a whole history; we see
the grain of every one of our feelings through a threefold husk. What
is sad, we laugh at; what is laughable, we grieve at; but, to tell the
truth, we are fairly indifferent, generally speaking, to everything
except ourselves. Consequently, there can be no interchange of feelings
and thoughts between us; each of us knows all he cares to know about
the other, and that knowledge is all he wants. One expedient remains--to
tell the news. So tell me some news."

Fatigued by this lengthy speech, I closed my eyes and yawned. The doctor
answered after thinking awhile:

"There is an idea, all the same, in that nonsense of yours."

"Two," I replied.

"Tell me one, and I will tell you the other."

"Very well, begin!" I said, continuing to examine the ceiling and
smiling inwardly.

"You are anxious for information about some of the new-comers here, and
I can guess who it is, because they, for their part, have already been
inquiring about you."

"Doctor! Decidedly it is impossible for us to hold a conversation! We
read into each other's soul."

"Now the other idea?"...

"Here it is: I wanted to make you relate something, for the following
reasons: firstly, listening is less fatiguing than talking; secondly,
the listener cannot commit himself; thirdly, he can learn another's
secret; fourthly, sensible people, such as you, prefer listeners to
speakers. Now to business; what did Princess Ligovski tell you about
me?"

"You are quite sure that it was Princess Ligovski... and not Princess
Mary?"...

"Quite sure."

"Why?"

"Because Princess Mary inquired about Grushnitski."

"You are gifted with a fine imagination! Princess Mary said that she was
convinced that the young man in the soldier's cloak had been reduced to
the ranks on account of a duel"...

"I hope you left her cherishing that pleasant delusion"...

"Of course"...

"A plot!" I exclaimed in rapture. "We will make it our business to see
to the denouement of this little comedy. It is obvious that fate is
taking care that I shall not be bored!"

"I have a presentiment," said the doctor, "that poor Grushnitski will be
your victim."

"Proceed, doctor."

"Princess Ligovski said that your face was familiar to her. I observed
that she had probably met you in Petersburg--somewhere in society...
I told her your name. She knew it well. It appears that your history
created a great stir there... She began to tell us of your adventures,
most likely supplementing the gossip of society with observations of her
own... Her daughter listened with curiosity. In her imagination you
have become the hero of a novel in a new style... I did not contradict
Princess Ligovski, although I knew that she was talking nonsense."

"Worthy friend!" I said, extending my hand to him.

The doctor pressed it feelingly and continued:

"If you like I will present you"...

"Good heavens!" I said, clapping my hands. "Are heroes ever presented?
In no other way do they make the acquaintance of their beloved than by
saving her from certain death!"...

"And you really wish to court Princess Mary?"

"Not at all, far from it!... Doctor, I triumph at last! You do not
understand me!... It vexes me, however," I continued after a moment's
silence. "I never reveal my secrets myself, but I am exceedingly fond of
their being guessed, because in that way I can always disavow them upon
occasion. However, you must describe both mother and daughter to me.
What sort of people are they?"

"In the first place, Princess Ligovski is a woman of forty-five,"
answered Werner. "She has a splendid digestion, but her blood is out of
order--there are red spots on her cheeks. She has spent the latter half
of her life in Moscow, and has grown stout from leading an inactive
life there. She loves spicy stories, and sometimes says improper things
herself when her daughter is out of the room. She has declared to me
that her daughter is as innocent as a dove. What does that matter to
me?... I was going to answer that she might be at her ease, because I
would never tell anyone. Princess Ligovski is taking the cure for her
rheumatism, and the daughter, for goodness knows what. I have ordered
each of them to drink two tumblers a day of sulphurous water, and to
bathe twice a week in the diluted bath. Princess Ligovski is
apparently unaccustomed to giving orders. She cherishes respect for
the intelligence and attainments of her daughter, who has read Byron in
English and knows algebra: in Moscow, evidently, the ladies have entered
upon the paths of erudition--and a good thing, too! The men here are
generally so unamiable, that, for a clever woman, it must be intolerable
to flirt with them. Princess Ligovski is very fond of young people;
Princess Mary looks on them with a certain contempt--a Moscow habit! In
Moscow they cherish only wits of not less than forty."

"You have been in Moscow, doctor?"

"Yes, I had a practice there."

"Continue."

"But I think I have told everything... No, there is something else:
Princess Mary, it seems, loves to discuss emotions, passions, etcetera.
She was in Petersburg for one winter, and disliked it--especially the
society: no doubt she was coldly received."

"You have not seen anyone with them today?"

"On the contrary, there was an aide-de-camp, a stiff guardsman, and a
lady--one of the latest arrivals, a relation of Princess Ligovski on the
husband's side--very pretty, but apparently very ill... Have you not met
her at the well? She is of medium height, fair, with regular features;
she has the complexion of a consumptive, and there is a little black
mole on her right cheek. I was struck by the expressiveness of her
face."

"A mole!" I muttered through my teeth. "Is it possible?"

The doctor looked at me, and, laying his hand on my heart, said
triumphantly:

"You know her!"

My heart was, in fact, beating more violently than usual.

"It is your turn, now, to triumph," I said. "But I rely on you: you
will not betray me. I have not seen her yet, but I am convinced that I
recognise from your portrait a woman whom I loved in the old days... Do
not speak a word to her about me; if she asks any questions, give a bad
report of me."

"Be it so!" said Werner, shrugging his shoulders.

When he had departed, my heart was compressed with terrible grief.
Has destiny brought us together again in the Caucasus, or has she come
hither on purpose, knowing that she would meet me?... And how shall we
meet?... And then, is it she?... My presentiments have never deceived
me. There is not a man in the world over whom the past has acquired such
a power as over me. Every recollection of bygone grief or joy strikes
my soul with morbid effect, and draws forth ever the same sounds... I am
stupidly constituted: I forget nothing--nothing!

After dinner, about six o'clock, I went on to the boulevard. It was
crowded. The two princesses were sitting on a bench, surrounded by young
men, who were vying with each other in paying them attention. I took
up my position on another bench at a little distance off, stopped two
Dragoon officers whom I knew, and proceeded to tell them something.
Evidently it was amusing, because they began to laugh loudly like a
couple of madmen. Some of those who were surrounding Princess Mary were
attracted to my side by curiosity, and gradually all of them left her
and joined my circle. I did not stop talking; my anecdotes were clever
to the point of absurdity, my jests at the expense of the queer people
passing by, malicious to the point of frenzy. I continued to entertain
the public till sunset. Princess Mary passed by me a few times,
arm-in-arm with her mother, and accompanied by a certain lame old man.
A few times her glance as it fell upon me expressed vexation, while
endeavouring to express indifference...

"What has he been telling you?" she inquired of one of the young men,
who had gone back to her out of politeness. "No doubt a most interesting
story--his own exploits in battle?"...

This was said rather loudly, and probably with the intention of stinging
me.

"Aha!" I thought to myself. "You are downright angry, my dear Princess.
Wait awhile, there is more to follow."

Grushnitski kept following her like a beast of prey, and would not let
her out of his sight. I wager that to-morrow he will ask somebody to
present him to Princess Ligovski. She will be glad, because she is
bored.




IN the course of two days my affairs have gained ground tremendously.
Princess Mary positively hates me. Already I have had repeated to me two
or three epigrams on the subject of myself--rather caustic, but at the
same time very flattering. She finds it exceedingly strange that I, who
am accustomed to good society, and am so intimate with her Petersburg
cousins and aunts, do not try to make her acquaintance. Every day we
meet at the well and on the boulevard. I exert all my powers to entice
away her adorers, glittering aides-de-camp, pale-faced visitors from
Moscow, and others--and I almost always succeed. I have always hated
entertaining guests: now my house is full every day; they dine, sup,
gamble, and alas! my champagne triumphs over the might of Princess
Mary's magnetic eyes!

I met her yesterday in Chelakhov's shop. She was bargaining for a
marvellous Persian rug, and implored her mother not to be niggardly: the
rug would be such an ornament to her boudoir... I outbid her by forty
rubles, and bought it over her head. I was rewarded with a glance in
which the most delightful fury sparkled. About dinnertime, I ordered my
Circassian horse, covered with that very rug, purposely to be led past
her windows. Werner was with the princesses at the time, and told me
that the effect of the scene was most dramatic. Princess Mary wishes to
preach a crusade against me, and I have even noticed that, already,
two of the aides-de-camp salute me very coldly, when they are in her
presence--they dine with me every day, however.

Grushnitski has assumed an air of mystery; he walks with his arms folded
behind his back and does not recognise anyone. His foot has got well
all at once, and there is hardly a sign of a limp. He has found an
opportunity of entering into conversation with Princess Ligovski and of
paying Princess Mary some kind of a compliment. The latter is evidently
not very fastidious, for, ever since, she answers his bow with a most
charming smile.

"Are you sure you do not wish to make the Ligovskis' acquaintance?" he
said to me yesterday.

"Positive."

"Good gracious! The pleasantest house at the waters! All the best
society of Pyatigorsk is to be found there"...

"My friend, I am terribly tired of even other society than that of
Pyatigorsk. So you visit the Ligovskis?"

"Not yet. I have spoken to Princess Mary once or twice, but that is
all. You know it is rather awkward to go and visit them without being
invited, although that is the custom here... It would be a different
matter if I was wearing epaulettes"...

"Good heavens! Why, you are much more interesting as it is! You simply
do not know how to avail yourself of your advantageous position... Why,
that soldier's cloak makes a hero and a martyr of you in the eyes of any
lady of sentiment!"

Grushnitski smiled complacently.

"What nonsense!" he said.

"I am convinced," I continued, "that Princess Mary is in love with you
already."

He blushed up to the ears and looked big.

Oh, vanity! Thou art the lever with which Archimedes was to lift the
earthly sphere!...

"You are always jesting!" he said, pretending to be angry. "In the first
place, she knows so little of me as yet"...

"Women love only those whom they do not know!"

"But I have no pretensions whatsoever to pleasing her. I simply wish
to make the acquaintance of an agreeable household; and it would be
extremely ridiculous if I were to cherish the slightest hope... With
you, now, for instance, it is a different matter! You Petersburg
conquerors! You have but to look--and women melt... But do you know,
Pechorin, what Princess Mary said of you?"...

"What? She has spoken to you already about me?"...

"Do not rejoice too soon, though. The other day, by chance, I entered
into conversation with her at the well; her third word was, 'Who is
that gentleman with such an unpleasant, heavy glance? He was with you
when'... she blushed, and did not like to mention the day, remembering
her own delightful little exploit. 'You need not tell me what day it
was,' I answered; 'it will ever be present to my memory!'... Pechorin,
my friend, I cannot congratulate you, you are in her black books... And,
indeed, it is a pity, because Mary is a charming girl!"...

It must be observed that Grushnitski is one of those men who, in
speaking of a woman with whom they are barely acquainted, call her my
Mary, my Sophie, if she has had the good fortune to please them.

I assumed a serious air and answered:

"Yes, she is good-looking... Only be careful, Grushnitski! Russian
ladies, for the most part, cherish only Platonic love, without mingling
any thought of matrimony with it; and Platonic love is exceedingly
embarrassing. Princess Mary seems to be one of those women who want to
be amused. If she is bored in your company for two minutes on end--you
are lost irrevocably. Your silence ought to excite her curiosity, your
conversation ought never to satisfy it completely; you should alarm her
every minute; ten times, in public, she will slight people's opinion for
you and will call that a sacrifice, and, in order to requite herself for
it, she will torment you. Afterwards she will simply say that she cannot
endure you. If you do not acquire authority over her, even her first
kiss will not give you the right to a second. She will flirt with you to
her heart's content, and, in two years' time, she will marry a monster,
in obedience to her mother, and will assure herself that she is unhappy,
that she has loved only one man--that is to say, you--but that Heaven
was not willing to unite her to him because he wore a soldier's cloak,
although beneath that thick, grey cloak beat a heart, passionate and
noble"...

Grushnitski smote the table with his fist and fell to walking to and fro
across the room.

I laughed inwardly and even smiled once or twice, but fortunately he did
not notice. It is evident that he is in love, because he has grown even
more confiding than heretofore. Moreover, a ring has made its appearance
on his finger, a silver ring with black enamel of local workmanship. It
struck me as suspicious... I began to examine it, and what do you think
I saw? The name Mary was engraved on the inside in small letters, and in
a line with the name was the date on which she had picked up the
famous tumbler. I kept my discovery a secret. I do not want to force
confessions from him, I want him, of his own accord, to choose me as his
confidant--and then I will enjoy myself!...

*****

To-day I rose late. I went to the well. I found nobody there. The
day grew hot. White, shaggy cloudlets were flitting rapidly from the
snow-clad mountains, giving promise of a thunderstorm; the summit of
Mount Mashuk was smoking like a just extinguished torch; grey wisps of
cloud were coiling and creeping like snakes around it, arrested in
their rapid sweep and, as it were, hooked to its prickly brushwood. The
atmosphere was charged with electricity. I plunged into the avenue of
the vines leading to the grotto.

I felt low-spirited. I was thinking of the lady with the little mole on
her cheek, of whom the doctor had spoken to me... "Why is she here?" I
thought. "And is it she? And what reason have I for thinking it is? And
why am I so certain of it? Is there not many a woman with a mole on her
cheek?" Reflecting in such wise I came right up to the grotto. I looked
in and I saw that a woman, wearing a straw hat and wrapped in a black
shawl, was sitting on a stone seat in the cold shade of the arch. Her
head was sunk upon her breast, and the hat covered her face. I was just
about to turn back, in order not to disturb her meditations, when she
glanced at me.

"Vera!" I exclaimed involuntarily.

She started and turned pale.

"I knew that you were here," she said.

I sat down beside her and took her hand. A long-forgotten tremor ran
through my veins at the sound of that dear voice. She gazed into my
face with her deep, calm eyes. Mistrust and something in the nature of
reproach were expressed in her glance.

"We have not seen each other for a long time," I said.

"A long time, and we have both changed in many ways."

"Consequently you love me no longer?"...

"I am married!"... she said.

"Again? A few years ago, however, that reason also existed, but,
nevertheless"...

She plucked her hand away from mine and her cheeks flamed.

"Perhaps you love your second husband?"...

She made no answer and turned her head away.

"Or is he very jealous?"

She remained silent.

"What then? He is young, handsome and, I suppose, rich--which is the
chief thing--and you are afraid?"...

I glanced at her and was alarmed. Profound despair was depicted upon her
countenance; tears were glistening in her eyes.

"Tell me," she whispered at length, "do you find it very amusing to
torture me? I ought to hate you. Since we have known each other, you
have given me naught but suffering"...

Her voice shook; she leaned over to me, and let her head sink upon my
breast.

"Perhaps," I reflected, "it is for that very reason that you have loved
me; joys are forgotten, but sorrows never"...

I clasped her closely to my breast, and so we remained for a long
time. At length our lips drew closer and became blent in a fervent,
intoxicating kiss. Her hands were cold as ice; her head was burning.

And hereupon we embarked upon one of those conversations which, on
paper, have no sense, which it is impossible to repeat, and impossible
even to retain in memory. The meaning of the sounds replaces and
completes the meaning of the words, as in Italian opera.

She is decidedly averse to my making the acquaintance of her husband,
the lame old man of whom I had caught a glimpse on the boulevard.
She married him for the sake of her son. He is rich, and suffers from
attacks of rheumatism. I did not allow myself even a single scoff at
his expense. She respects him as a father, and will deceive him as a
husband... A strange thing, the human heart in general, and woman's
heart in particular.

Vera's husband, Semyon Vasilevich G----v, is a distant relation of
Princess Ligovski. He lives next door to her. Vera frequently visits
the Princess. I have given her my promise to make the Ligovskis'
acquaintance, and to pay court to Princess Mary in order to distract
attention from Vera. In such way, my plans have been not a little
deranged, but it will be amusing for me...

Amusing!... Yes, I have already passed that period of spiritual
life when happiness alone is sought, when the heart feels the urgent
necessity of violently and passionately loving somebody. Now my only
wish is to be loved, and that by very few. I even think that I would be
content with one constant attachment. A wretched habit of the heart!...

One thing has always struck me as strange. I have never made myself the
slave of the woman I have loved. On the contrary, I have always acquired
an invincible power over her will and heart, without in the least
endeavouring to do so. Why is this? Is it because I never esteem
anything highly, and she has been continually afraid to let me out of
her hands? Or is it the magnetic influence of a powerful organism? Or is
it, simply, that I have never succeeded in meeting a woman of stubborn
character?

I must confess that, in fact, I do not love women who possess strength
of character. What business have they with such a thing?

Indeed, I remember now. Once and once only did I love a woman who had
a firm will which I was never able to vanquish... We parted as
enemies--and then, perhaps, if I had met her five years later we would
have parted otherwise...

Vera is ill, very ill, although she does not admit it. I fear she has
consumption, or that disease which is called "fievre lente"--a quite
unRussian disease, and one for which there is no name in our language.

The storm overtook us while in the grotto and detained us half an hour
longer. Vera did not make me swear fidelity, or ask whether I had loved
others since we had parted... She trusted in me anew with all her former
unconcern, and I will not deceive her: she is the only woman in the
world whom it would never be within my power to deceive. I know that we
shall soon have to part again, and perchance for ever. We will both go
by different ways to the grave, but her memory will remain inviolable
within my soul. I have always repeated this to her, and she believes me,
although she says she does not.

At length we separated. For a long time I followed her with my eyes,
until her hat was hidden behind the shrubs and rocks. My heart was
painfully contracted, just as after our first parting. Oh, how I
rejoiced in that emotion! Can it be that youth is about to come back to
me, with its salutary tempests, or is this only the farewell glance, the
last gift--in memory of itself?... And to think that, in appearance,
I am still a boy! My face, though pale, is still fresh; my limbs are
supple and slender; my hair is thick and curly, my eyes sparkle, my
blood boils...

Returning home, I mounted on horseback and galloped to the steppe. I
love to gallop on a fiery horse through the tall grass, in the face of
the desert wind; greedily I gulp down the fragrant air and fix my gaze
upon the blue distance, endeavouring to seize the misty outlines of
objects which every minute grow clearer and clearer. Whatever griefs
oppress my heart, whatever disquietudes torture my thoughts--all are
dispersed in a moment; my soul becomes at ease; the fatigue of the body
vanquishes the disturbance of the mind. There is not a woman's glance
which I would not forget at the sight of the tufted mountains, illumined
by the southern sun; at the sight of the dark-blue sky, or in hearkening
to the roar of the torrent as it falls from cliff to cliff.

I believe that the Cossacks, yawning on their watch-towers, when they
saw me galloping thus needlessly and aimlessly, were long tormented
by that enigma, because from my dress, I am sure, they took me to be a
Circassian. I have, in fact, been told that when riding on horseback, in
my Circassian costume, I resemble a Kabardian more than many a Kabardian
himself. And, indeed, so far as regards that noble, warlike garb, I am
a perfect dandy. I have not a single piece of gold lace too much; my
weapon is costly, but simply wrought; the fur on my cap is neither too
long nor too short; my leggings and shoes are matched with all possible
accuracy; my tunic is white; my Circassian jacket, dark-brown. I have
long studied the mountaineer seat on horseback, and in no way is it
possible to flatter my vanity so much as by acknowledging my skill in
horsemanship in the Cossack mode. I keep four horses--one for myself and
three for my friends, so that I may not be bored by having to roam about
the fields all alone; they take my horses with pleasure, and never ride
with me.

It was already six o'clock in the evening, when I remembered that it was
time to dine. My horse was jaded. I rode out on to the road leading
from Pyatigorsk to the German colony, to which the society of the
watering-place frequently rides en piquenique. The road meanders between
bushes and descends into little ravines, through which flow noisy brooks
beneath the shade of tall grasses. All around, in an amphitheatre,
rise the blue masses of Mount Beshtau and the Zmeiny, Zhelezny and Lysy
Mountains. [26] Descending into one of those ravines, I halted to water
my horse. At that moment a noisy and glittering cavalcade made its
appearance upon the road--the ladies in black and dark-blue riding
habits, the cavaliers in costumes which formed a medley of the
Circassian and Nizhegorodian. [27] In front rode Grushnitski with
Princess Mary.

The ladies at the watering-place still believe in attacks by Circassians
in broad daylight; for that reason, doubtless, Grushnitski had slung
a sabre and a pair of pistols over his soldier's cloak. He looked
ridiculous enough in that heroic attire.

I was concealed from their sight by a tall bush, but I was able to see
everything through the leaves, and to guess from the expression of their
faces that the conversation was of a sentimental turn. At length
they approached the slope; Grushnitski took hold of the bridle of the
Princess's horse, and then I heard the conclusion of their conversation:

"And you wish to remain all your life in the Caucasus?" said Princess
Mary.

"What is Russia to me?" answered her cavalier. "A country in which
thousands of people, because they are richer than I, will look upon me
with contempt, whilst here--here this thick cloak has not prevented my
acquaintance with you"...

"On the contrary"... said Princess Mary, blushing.

Grushnitski's face was a picture of delight. He continued:

"Here, my life will flow along noisily, unobserved, and rapidly, under
the bullets of the savages, and if Heaven were every year to send me a
single bright glance from a woman's eyes--like that which--"

At that moment they came up to where I was. I struck my horse with the
whip and rode out from behind the bush...

"Mon Dieu, un circassien!"... exclaimed Princess Mary in terror.

In order completely to undeceive her, I replied in French, with a slight
bow:

"Ne craignez rien, madame, je ne suis pas plus dangereux que votre
cavalier"...

She grew embarrassed--but at what? At her own mistake, or because my
answer struck her as insolent? I should like the latter hypothesis to be
correct. Grushnitski cast a discontented glance at me.

Late in the evening, that is to say, about eleven o'clock, I went for a
walk in the lilac avenue of the boulevard. The town was sleeping; lights
were gleaming in only a few windows. On three sides loomed the black
ridges of the cliffs, the spurs of Mount Mashuk, upon the summit of
which an ominous cloud was lying. The moon was rising in the east; in
the distance, the snow-clad mountains glistened like a fringe of silver.
The calls of the sentries mingled at intervals with the roar of the hot
springs let flow for the night. At times the loud clattering of a horse
rang out along the street, accompanied by the creaking of a Nagai wagon
and the plaintive burden of a Tartar song.

I sat down upon a bench and fell into a reverie... I felt the necessity
of pouring forth my thoughts in friendly conversation... But with
whom?...

"What is Vera doing now?" I wondered.

I would have given much to press her hand at that moment.

All at once I heard rapid and irregular steps... Grushnitski, no
doubt!... So it was!

"Where have you come from?"

"From Princess Ligovski's," he said very importantly. "How well Mary
does sing!"...

"Do you know?" I said to him. "I wager that she does not know that you
are a cadet. She thinks you are an officer reduced to the ranks"...

"Maybe so. What is that to me!"... he said absently.

"No, I am only saying so"...

"But, do you know that you have made her terribly angry to-day? She
considered it an unheard-of piece of insolence. It was only with
difficulty that I was able to convince her that you are so well bred
and know society so well that you could not have had any intention of
insulting her. She says that you have an impudent glance, and that you
have certainly a very high opinion of yourself."

"She is not mistaken... But do you not want to defend her?"

"I am sorry I have not yet the right to do so"...

"Oho!" I said to myself, "evidently he has hopes already."

"However, it is the worse for you," continued Grushnitski; "it will be
difficult for you to make their acquaintance now, and what a pity! It is
one of the most agreeable houses I know"...

I smiled inwardly.

"The most agreeable house to me now is my own," I said, with a yawn, and
I got up to go.

"Confess, though, you repent?"...

"What nonsense! If I like I will be at Princess Ligovski's to-morrow
evening!"...

"We shall see"...

"I will even begin to pay my addresses to Princess Mary, if you would
like me to"...

"Yes, if she is willing to speak to you"...

"I am only awaiting the moment when she will be bored by your
conversation... Goodbye"...

"Well, I am going for a stroll; I could not go to sleep now for
anything... Look here, let us go to the restaurant instead, there is
cardplaying going on there... What I need now is violent sensations"...

"I hope you will lose"...

I went home.




NEARLY a week has passed, and I have not yet made the Ligovskis'
acquaintance. I am awaiting a convenient opportunity. Grushnitski
follows Princess Mary everywhere like a shadow. Their conversations are
interminable; but, when will she be tired of him?... Her mother pays no
attention, because he is not a man who is in a position to marry. Behold
the logic of mothers! I have caught two or three tender glances--this
must be put a stop to.

Yesterday, for the first time, Vera made her appearance at the well...
She has never gone out of doors since we met in the grotto. We let down
our tumblers at the same time, and as she bent forward she whispered to
me:

"You are not going to make the Ligovskis' acquaintance?... It is only
there that we can meet"...

A reproach!... How tiresome! But I have deserved it...

By the way, there is a subscription ball tomorrow in the saloon of the
restaurant, and I will dance the mazurka with Princess Mary.




THE saloon of the restaurant was converted into the assembly room of a
Nobles' Club. The company met at nine o'clock. Princess Ligovski and her
daughter were amongst the latest to make their appearance. Several of
the ladies looked at Princess Mary with envy and malevolence,
because she dresses with taste. Those who look upon themselves as the
aristocracy of the place concealed their envy and attached themselves to
her train. What else could be expected? Wherever there is a gathering
of women, the company is immediately divided into a higher and a lower
circle.

Beneath the window, amongst a crowd of people, stood Grushnitski,
pressing his face to the pane and never taking his eyes off his
divinity. As she passed by, she gave him a hardly perceptible nod. He
beamed like the sun... The first dance was a polonaise, after which the
musicians struck up a waltz. Spurs began to jingle, and skirts to rise
and whirl.

I was standing behind a certain stout lady who was overshadowed by
rose-coloured feathers. The magnificence of her dress reminded me of the
times of the farthingale, and the motley hue of her by no means smooth
skin, of the happy epoch of the black taffeta patch. An immense wart
on her neck was covered by a clasp. She was saying to her cavalier, a
captain of dragoons:

"That young Princess Ligovski is a most intolerable creature! Just
fancy, she jostled against me and did not apologise, but even turned
round and stared at me through her lorgnette!... C'est impayable!... And
what has she to be proud of? It is time somebody gave her a lesson"...

"That will be easy enough," replied the obliging captain, and he
directed his steps to the other room.

I went up to Princess Mary immediately, and, availing myself of the
local customs which allowed one to dance with a stranger, I invited her
to waltz with me.

She was scarcely able to keep from smiling and letting her triumph be
seen; but quickly enough she succeeded in assuming an air of perfect
indifference and even severity. Carelessly she let her hand fall upon my
shoulder, inclined her head slightly to one side, and we began to dance.
I have never known a waist more voluptuous and supple! Her fresh breath
touched my face; at times a lock of hair, becoming separated from its
companions in the eddy of the waltz, glided over my burning cheek...

I made three turns of the ballroom (she waltzes surprisingly well).
She was out of breath, her eyes were dulled, her half-open lips were
scarcely able to whisper the indispensable: "merci, monsieur."

After a few moments' silence I said to her, assuming a very humble air:

"I have heard, Princess, that although quite unacquainted with you, I
have already had the misfortune to incur your displeasure... that you
have considered me insolent. Can that possibly true?"

"Would you like to confirm me in that opinion now?" she answered,
with an ironical little grimace--very becoming, however, to her mobile
countenance.

"If I had the audacity to insult you in any way, then allow me to have
the still greater audacity to beg your pardon... And, indeed, I should
very much like to prove to you that you are mistaken in regard to me"...

"You will find that a rather difficult task"...

"But why?"...

"Because you never visit us and, most likely, there will not be many
more of these balls."

"That means," I thought, "that their doors are closed to me for ever."

"You know, Princess," I said to her, with a certain amount of vexation,
"one should never spurn a penitent criminal: in his despair he may
become twice as much a criminal as before... and then"...

Sudden laughter and whispering from the people around us caused me to
turn my head and to interrupt my phrase. A few paces away from me stood
a group of men, amongst them the captain of dragoons, who had manifested
intentions hostile to the charming Princess. He was particularly well
pleased with something or other, and was rubbing his hands, laughing and
exchanging meaning glances with his companions. All at once a gentleman
in an evening-dress coat and with long moustaches and a red face
separated himself from the crowd and directed his uncertain steps
straight towards Princess Mary. He was drunk. Coming to a halt opposite
the embarrassed Princess and placing his hands behind his back, he fixed
his dull grey eyes upon her, and said in a hoarse treble:

"Permettez... but what is the good of that sort of thing here... All I
need say is: I engage you for the mazurka"...

"Very well!" she replied in a trembling voice, throwing a beseeching
glance around. Alas! Her mother was a long way off, and not one of
the cavaliers of her acquaintance was near. A certain aide-de-camp
apparently saw the whole scene, but he concealed himself behind the
crowd in order not to be mixed up in the affair.

"What?" said the drunken gentleman, winking to the captain of dragoons,
who was encouraging him by signs. "Do you not wish to dance then?... All
the same I again have the honour to engage you for the mazurka... You
think, perhaps, that I am drunk! That is all right!... I can dance all
the easier, I assure you"...

I saw that she was on the point of fainting with fright and indignation.

I went up to the drunken gentleman, caught him none too gently by the
arm, and, looking him fixedly in the face, requested him to retire.
"Because," I added, "the Princess promised long ago to dance the mazurka
with me."

"Well, then, there's nothing to be done! Another time!" he said,
bursting out laughing, and he retired to his abashed companions, who
immediately conducted him into another room.

I was rewarded by a deep, wondrous glance.

The Princess went up to her mother and told her the whole story. The
latter sought me out among the crowd and thanked me. She informed me
that she knew my mother and was on terms of friendship with half a dozen
of my aunts.

"I do not know how it has happened that we have not made your
acquaintance up to now," she added; "but confess, you alone are to blame
for that. You fight shy of everyone in a positively unseemly way. I hope
the air of my drawingroom will dispel your spleen... Do you not think
so?"

I uttered one of the phrases which everybody must have ready for such an
occasion.

The quadrilles dragged on a dreadfully long time.

At last the music struck up from the gallery, Princess Mary and I took
up our places.

I did not once allude to the drunken gentleman, or to my previous
behaviour, or to Grushnitski. The impression produced upon her by the
unpleasant scene was gradually dispelled; her face brightened up; she
jested very charmingly; her conversation was witty, without pretensions
to wit, vivacious and spontaneous; her observations were sometimes
profound... In a very involved sentence I gave her to understand that I
had liked her for a long time. She bent her head and blushed slightly.

"You are a strange man!" she said, with a forced laugh, lifting her
velvet eyes upon me.

"I did not wish to make your acquaintance," I continued, "because you
are surrounded by too dense a throng of adorers, in which I was afraid
of being lost to sight altogether."

"You need not have been afraid; they are all very tiresome"...

"All? Not all, surely?"

She looked fixedly at me as if endeavouring to recollect something, then
blushed slightly again and finally pronounced with decision:

"All!"

"Even my friend, Grushnitski?"

"But is he your friend?" she said, manifesting some doubt.

"Yes."

"He, of course, does not come into the category of the tiresome"...

"But into that of the unfortunate!" I said, laughing.

"Of course! But do you consider that funny? I should like you to be in
his place"...

"Well? I was once a cadet myself, and, in truth, it was the best time of
my life!"

"Is he a cadet, then?"... she said rapidly, and then added: "But I
thought"...

"What did you think?"...

"Nothing! Who is that lady?"

Thereupon the conversation took a different direction, and it did not
return to the former subject.

And now the mazurka came to an end and we separated--until we should
meet again. The ladies drove off in different directions. I went to get
some supper, and met Werner.

"Aha!" he said: "so it is you! And yet you did not wish to make the
acquaintance of Princess Mary otherwise than by saving her from certain
death."

"I have done better," I replied. "I have saved her from fainting at the
ball"...

"How was that? Tell me."

"No, guess!--O, you who guess everything in the world!"




ABOUT seven o'clock in the evening, I was walking on the boulevard.
Grushnitski perceived me a long way off, and came up to me. A sort of
ridiculous rapture was shining in his eyes. He pressed my hand warmly,
and said in a tragic voice:

"I thank you, Pechorin... You understand me?"

"No; but in any case it is not worth gratitude," I answered, not having,
in fact, any good deed upon my conscience.

"What? But yesterday! Have you forgotten?... Mary has told me
everything"...

"Why! Have you everything in common so soon as this? Even gratitude?"...

"Listen," said Grushnitski very earnestly; "pray do not make fun of
my love, if you wish to remain my friend... You see, I love her to the
point of madness... and I think--I hope--she loves me too... I have a
request to make of you. You will be at their house this evening; promise
me to observe everything. I know you are experienced in these matters,
you know women better than I... Women! Women! Who can understand them?
Their smiles contradict their glances, their words promise and allure,
but the tone of their voice repels... At one time they grasp and divine
in a moment our most secret thoughts, at another they cannot understand
the clearest hints... Take Princess Mary, now: yesterday her eyes, as
they rested upon me, were blazing with passion; to-day they are dull and
cold"...

"That is possibly the result of the waters," I replied.

"You see the bad side of everything... materialist," he added
contemptuously. "However, let us talk of other matters."

And, satisfied with his bad pun, he cheered up.

At nine o'clock we went to Princess Ligovski's together.

Passing by Vera's windows, I saw her looking out. We threw a fleeting
glance at each other. She entered the Ligovskis' drawing-room soon after
us. Princess Ligovski presented me to her, as a relation of her own. Tea
was served. The guests were numerous, and the conversation was general.
I endeavoured to please the Princess, jested, and made her laugh
heartily a few times. Princess Mary, also, was more than once on the
point of bursting out laughing, but she restrained herself in order not
to depart from the role she had assumed. She finds languor becoming to
her, and perhaps she is not mistaken. Grushnitski appears to be very
glad that she is not infected by my gaiety.

After tea we all went into the drawingroom.

"Are you satisfied with my obedience, Vera?" I said as I was passing
her.

She threw me a glance full of love and gratitude. I have grown
accustomed to such glances; but at one time they constituted my
felicity. The Princess seated her daughter at the pianoforte, and all
the company begged her to sing. I kept silence, and, taking advantage
of the hubbub, I went aside to the window with Vera, who wished to
say something of great importance to both of us... It turned out to
be--nonsense...

Meanwhile my indifference was vexing Princess Mary, as I was able to
make out from a single angry, gleaming glance which she cast at me...
Oh! I understand the method of conversation wonderfully well: mute but
expressive, brief but forceful!...

She began to sing. She has a good voice, but she sings badly... However,
I was not listening.

Grushnitski, on the contrary, leaning his elbows on the grand piano,
facing her, was devouring her with his eyes and saying in an undertone
every minute: "Charmant! Delicieux!"

"Listen," said Vera to me, "I do not wish you to make my husband's
acquaintance, but you must, without fail, make yourself agreeable to
the Princess; that will be an easy task for you: you can do anything you
wish. It is only here that we shall see each other"...

"Only here?"...

She blushed and continued:

"You know that I am your slave: I have never been able to resist you...
and I shall be punished for it, you will cease to love me! At least,
I want to preserve my reputation... not for myself--that you know very
well!... Oh! I beseech you: do not torture me, as before, with idle
doubts and feigned coldness! It may be that I shall die soon; I feel
that I am growing weaker from day to day... And, yet, I cannot think of
the future life, I think only of you... You men do not understand the
delights of a glance, of a pressure of the hand... but as for me, I
swear to you that, when I listen to your voice, I feel such a deep,
strange bliss that the most passionate kisses could not take its place."

Meanwhile, Princess Mary had finished her song. Murmurs of praise were
to be heard all around. I went up to her after all the other guests, and
said something rather carelessly to her on the subject of her voice.

She made a little grimace, pouting her lower lip, and dropped a very
sarcastic curtsey.

"That is all the more flattering," she said, "because you have not been
listening to me at all; but perhaps you do not like music?"...

"On the contrary, I do... After dinner, especially."

"Grushnitski is right in saying that you have very prosaic tastes... and
I see that you like music in a gastronomic respect."

"You are mistaken again: I am by no means an epicure. I have a most
wretched digestion. But music after dinner puts one to sleep, and
to sleep after dinner is healthful; consequently I like music in a
medicinal respect. In the evening, on the contrary, it excites my nerves
too much: I become either too melancholy or too gay. Both are fatiguing,
where there is no positive reason for being either sorrowful or glad.
And, moreover, melancholy in society is ridiculous, and too great gaiety
is unbecoming"...

She did not hear me to the end, but went away and sat beside
Grushnitski, and they entered into a sort of sentimental conversation.
Apparently the Princess answered his sage phrases rather absent-mindedly
and inconsequently, although endeavouring to show that she was
listening to him with attention, because sometimes he looked at her in
astonishment, trying to divine the cause of the inward agitation which
was expressed at times in her restless glance...

But I have found you out, my dear Princess! Have a care! You want to pay
me back in the same coin, to wound my vanity--you will not succeed! And
if you declare war on me, I will be merciless!

In the course of the evening, I purposely tried a few times to join in
their conversation, but she met my remarks rather coldly, and, at
last, I retired in pretended vexation. Princess Mary was triumphant,
Grushnitski likewise. Triumph, my friends, and be quick about it!...
You will not have long to triumph!... It cannot be otherwise. I have
a presentiment... On making a woman's acquaintance I have always
unerringly guessed whether she would fall in love with me or not.

The remaining part of the evening I spent at Vera's side, and talked to
the full about the old days... Why does she love me so much? In truth, I
am unable to say, all the more so because she is the only woman who
has understood me perfectly, with all my petty weaknesses and evil
passions... Can it be that wickedness is so attractive?...

Grushnitski and I left the house together. In the street he took my arm,
and, after a long silence, said:

"Well?"

"You are a fool," I should have liked to answer. But I restrained myself
and only shrugged my shoulders.




ALL these days I have not once departed from my system. Princess Mary
has come to like talking to me; I have told her a few of the
strange events of my life, and she is beginning to look on me as
an extraordinary man. I mock at everything in the world, especially
feelings; and she is taking alarm. When I am present, she does not dare
to embark upon sentimental discussions with Grushnitski, and already, on
a few occasions, she has answered his sallies with a mocking smile. But
every time that Grushnitski comes up to her I assume an air of meekness
and leave the two of them together. On the first occasion, she was glad,
or tried to make it appear so; on the second, she was angry with me; on
the third--with Grushnitski.

"You have very little vanity!" she said to me yesterday. "What makes you
think that I find Grushnitski the more entertaining?"

I answered that I was sacrificing my own pleasure for the sake of the
happiness of a friend.

"And my pleasure, too," she added.

I looked at her intently and assumed a serious air. After that for the
whole day I did not speak a single word to her... In the evening, she
was pensive; this morning, at the well, more pensive still. When I went
up to her, she was listening absent-mindedly to Grushnitski, who was
apparently falling into raptures about Nature, but, so soon as
she perceived me, she began to laugh--at a most inopportune
moment--pretending not to notice me. I went on a little further and
began stealthily to observe her. She turned away from her companion and
yawned twice. Decidedly she had grown tired of Grushnitski--I will not
talk to her for another two days.




I OFTEN ask myself why I am so obstinately endeavouring to win the love
of a young girl whom I do not wish to deceive, and whom I will never
marry. Why this woman-like coquetry? Vera loves me more than Princess
Mary ever will. Had I regarded the latter as an invincible beauty, I
should perhaps have been allured by the difficulty of the undertaking...

However, there is no such difficulty in this case! Consequently, my
present feeling is not that restless craving for love which torments us
in the early days of our youth, flinging us from one woman to
another until we find one who cannot endure us. And then begins our
constancy--that sincere, unending passion which may be expressed
mathematically by a line falling from a point into space--the secret of
that endlessness lying only in the impossibility of attaining the aim,
that is to say, the end.

From what motive, then, am I taking all this trouble?--Envy of
Grushnitski? Poor fellow!

He is quite undeserving of it. Or, is it the result of that ugly, but
invincible, feeling which causes us to destroy the sweet illusions of
our neighbour in order to have the petty satisfaction of saying to him,
when, in despair, he asks what he is to believe:

"My friend, the same thing happened to me, and you see, nevertheless,
that I dine, sup, and sleep very peacefully, and I shall, I hope, know
how to die without tears and lamentations."

There is, in sooth, a boundless enjoyment in the possession of a young,
scarce-budded soul! It is like a floweret which exhales its best perfume
at the kiss of the first ray of the sun. You should pluck the flower at
that moment, and, breathing its fragrance to the full, cast it upon the
road: perchance someone will pick it up! I feel within me that insatiate
hunger which devours everything it meets upon the way; I look upon
the sufferings and joys of others only from the point of view of their
relation to myself, regarding them as the nutriment which sustains my
spiritual forces. I myself am no longer capable of committing follies
under the influence of passion; with me, ambition has been repressed by
circumstances, but it has emerged in another form, because ambition is
nothing more nor less than a thirst for power, and my chief pleasure is
to make everything that surrounds me subject to my will. To arouse the
feeling of love, devotion and awe towards oneself--is not that the first
sign, and the greatest triumph, of power? To be the cause of suffering
and joy to another--without in the least possessing any definite right
to be so--is not that the sweetest food for our pride? And what is
happiness?--Satisfied pride. Were I to consider myself the best, the
most powerful man in the world, I should be happy; were all to love me,
I should find within me inexhaustible springs of love. Evil begets
evil; the first suffering gives us the conception of the satisfaction
of torturing another. The idea of evil cannot enter the mind without
arousing a desire to put it actually into practice. "Ideas are organic
entities," someone has said. The very fact of their birth endows them
with form, and that form is action. He in whose brain the most ideas
are born accomplishes the most. From that cause a genius, chained to an
official desk, must die or go mad, just as it often happens that a man
of powerful constitution, and at the same time of sedentary life and
simple habits, dies of an apoplectic stroke.

Passions are naught but ideas in their first development; they are an
attribute of the youth of the heart, and foolish is he who thinks that
he will be agitated by them all his life. Many quiet rivers begin their
course as noisy waterfalls, and there is not a single stream which will
leap or foam throughout its way to the sea. That quietness, however, is
frequently the sign of great, though latent, strength. The fulness and
depth of feelings and thoughts do not admit of frenzied outbursts. In
suffering and in enjoyment the soul renders itself a strict account of
all it experiences and convinces itself that such things must be. It
knows that, but for storms, the constant heat of the sun would dry it
up! It imbues itself with its own life--pets and punishes itself like a
favourite child. It is only in that highest state of self-knowledge that
a man can appreciate the divine justice.

On reading over this page, I observe that I have made a wide digression
from my subject... But what matter?... You see, it is for myself that I
am writing this diary, and, consequently anything that I jot down in it
will in time be a valuable reminiscence for me.

               .    .    .    .    .

Grushnitski has called to see me to-day. He flung himself upon my neck;
he has been promoted to be an officer. We drank champagne. Doctor Werner
came in after him.

"I do not congratulate you," he said to Grushnitski.

"Why not?"

"Because the soldier's cloak suits you very well, and you must confess
that an infantry uniform, made by one of the local tailors, will not add
anything of interest to you... Do you not see? Hitherto, you have been
an exception, but now you will come under the general rule."

"Talk away, doctor, talk away! You will not prevent me from rejoicing.
He does not know," added Grushnitski in a whisper to me, "how many hopes
these epaulettes have lent me... Oh!... Epaulettes, epaulettes! Your
little stars are guiding stars! No! I am perfectly happy now!"

"Are you coming with us on our walk to the hollow?" I asked him.

"I? Not on any account will I show myself to Princess Mary until my
uniform is finished."

"Would you like me to inform her of your happiness?"

"No, please, not a word... I want to give her a surprise"...

"Tell me, though, how are you getting on with her?"

He became embarrassed, and fell into thought; he would gladly have
bragged and told lies, but his conscience would not let him; and, at the
same time, he was ashamed to confess the truth.

"What do you think? Does she love you?"...

"Love me? Good gracious, Pechorin, what ideas you do have!... How could
she possibly love me so soon?... And a well-bred woman, even if she is
in love, will never say so"...

"Very well! And, I suppose, in your opinion, a well-bred man should also
keep silence in regard to his passion?"...

"Ah, my dear fellow! There are ways of doing everything; often things
may remain unspoken, but yet may be guessed"...

"That is true... But the love which we read in the eyes does not pledge
a woman to anything, whilst words... Have a care, Grushnitski, she is
befooling you!"

"She?" he answered, raising his eyes heavenward and smiling
complacently. "I am sorry for you, Pechorin!"...

He took his departure.

In the evening, a numerous company set off to walk to the hollow.

In the opinion of the learned of Pyatigorsk, the hollow in question is
nothing more nor less than an extinct crater. It is situated on a
slope of Mount Mashuk, at the distance of a verst from the town, and is
approached by a narrow path between brushwood and rocks. In climbing up
the hill, I gave Princess Mary my arm, and she did not leave it during
the whole excursion.

Our conversation commenced with slander; I proceeded to pass in
review our present and absent acquaintances; at first I exposed their
ridiculous, and then their bad, sides. My choler rose. I began in jest,
and ended in genuine malice. At first she was amused, but afterwards
frightened.

"You are a dangerous man!" she said. "I would rather perish in the
woods under the knife of an assassin than under your tongue... In all
earnestness I beg of you: when it comes into your mind to speak evil of
me, take a knife instead and cut my throat. I think you would not find
that a very difficult matter."

"Am I like an assassin, then?"...

"You are worse"...

I fell into thought for a moment; then, assuming a deeply moved air, I
said:

"Yes, such has been my lot from very childhood! All have read upon my
countenance the marks of bad qualities, which were not existent; but
they were assumed to exist--and they were born. I was modest--I was
accused of slyness: I grew secretive. I profoundly felt both good and
evil--no one caressed me, all insulted me: I grew vindictive. I was
gloomy--other children merry and talkative; I felt myself higher than
they--I was rated lower: I grew envious. I was prepared to love the
whole world--no one understood me: I learned to hate. My colourless
youth flowed by in conflict with myself and the world; fearing ridicule,
I buried my best feelings in the depths of my heart, and there they
died. I spoke the truth--I was not believed: I began to deceive. Having
acquired a thorough knowledge of the world and the springs of society, I
grew skilled in the science of life; and I saw how others without skill
were happy, enjoying gratuitously the advantages which I so unweariedly
sought. Then despair was born within my breast--not that despair which
is cured at the muzzle of a pistol, but the cold, powerless despair
concealed beneath the mask of amiability and a good-natured smile. I
became a moral cripple. One half of my soul ceased to exist; it dried
up, evaporated, died, and I cut it off and cast it from me. The other
half moved and lived--at the service of all; but it remained unobserved,
because no one knew that the half which had perished had ever existed.
But, now, the memory of it has been awakened within me by you, and I
have read you its epitaph. To many, epitaphs in general seem ridiculous,
but to me they do not; especially when I remember what reposes beneath
them. I will not, however, ask you to share my opinion. If this outburst
seems absurd to you, I pray you, laugh! I forewarn you that your
laughter will not cause me the least chagrin."

At that moment I met her eyes: tears were welling in them. Her arm, as
it leaned upon mine, was trembling; her cheeks were aflame; she pitied
me! Sympathy--a feeling to which all women yield so easily, had dug its
talons into her inexperienced heart. During the whole excursion she was
preoccupied, and did not flirt with anyone--and that is a great sign!

We arrived at the hollow; the ladies left their cavaliers, but she did
not let go my arm. The witticisms of the local dandies failed to make
her laugh; the steepness of the declivity beside which she was standing
caused her no alarm, although the other ladies uttered shrill cries and
shut their eyes.

On the way back, I did not renew our melancholy conversation, but to my
idle questions and jests she gave short and absent-minded answers.

"Have you ever been in love?" I asked her at length.

She looked at me intently, shook her head and again fell into a reverie.
It was evident that she was wishing to say something, but did not know
how to begin. Her breast heaved... And, indeed, that was but natural!
A muslin sleeve is a weak protection, and an electric spark was running
from my arm to hers. Almost all passions have their beginning in that
way, and frequently we are very much deceived in thinking that a woman
loves us for our moral and physical merits; of course, these prepare and
predispose the heart for the reception of the holy flame, but for all
that it is the first touch that decides the matter.

"I have been very amiable to-day, have I not?" Princess Mary said to me,
with a forced smile, when we had returned from the walk.

We separated.

She is dissatisfied with herself. She accuses herself of coldness... Oh,
that is the first, the chief triumph!

To-morrow, she will be feeling a desire to recompense me. I know the
whole proceeding by heart already--that is what is so tiresome!




I HAVE seen Vera to-day. She has begun to plague me with her jealousy.
Princess Mary has taken it into her head, it seems, to confide the
secrets of her heart to Vera: a happy choice, it must be confessed!

"I can guess what all this is leading to," said Vera to me. "You had
better simply tell me at once that you are in love with her."

"But supposing I am not in love with her?"

"Then why run after her, disturb her, agitate her imagination!... Oh, I
know you well! Listen--if you wish me to believe you, come to Kislovodsk
in a week's time; we shall be moving thither the day after to-morrow.
Princess Mary will remain here longer. Engage lodgings next door to us.
We shall be living in the large house near the spring, on the mezzanine
floor. Princess Ligovski will be below us, and next door there is a
house belonging to the same landlord, which has not yet been taken...
Will you come?"...

I gave my promise, and this very same day I have sent to engage the
lodgings.

Grushnitski came to me at six o'clock and announced that his uniform
would be ready to-morrow, just in time for him to go to the ball in it.

"At last I shall dance with her the whole evening through... And then I
shall talk to my heart's content," he added.

"When is the ball?"

"Why, to-morrow! Do you not know, then? A great festival--and the local
authorities have undertaken to organize it"...

"Let us go to the boulevard"...

"Not on any account, in this nasty cloak"...

"What! Have you ceased to love it?"...

I went out alone, and, meeting Princess Mary I asked her to keep the
mazurka for me. She seemed surprised and delighted.

"I thought that you would only dance from necessity as on the last
occasion," she said, with a very charming smile...

She does not seem to notice Grushnitski's absence at all.

"You will be agreeably surprised to-morrow," I said to her.

"At what?"

"That is a secret... You will find it out yourself, at the ball."

I finished up the evening at Princess Ligovski's; there were no other
guests present except Vera and a certain very amusing, little old
gentleman. I was in good spirits, and improvised various extraordinary
stories. Princess Mary sat opposite me and listened to my nonsense with
such deep, strained, and even tender attention that I grew ashamed of
myself. What had become of her vivacity, her coquetry, her caprices, her
haughty mien, her contemptuous smile, her absentminded glance?...

Vera noticed everything, and her sickly countenance was a picture of
profound grief. She was sitting in the shadow by the window, buried in a
wide arm-chair... I pitied her.

Then I related the whole dramatic story of our acquaintanceship, our
love--concealing it all, of course, under fictitious names.

So vividly did I portray my tenderness, my anxieties, my raptures; in
so favourable a light did I exhibit her actions and her character, that
involuntarily she had to forgive me for my flirtation with Princess
Mary.

She rose, sat down beside us, and brightened up... and it was only
at two o'clock in the morning that we remembered that the doctors had
ordered her to go to bed at eleven.




HALF an hour before the ball, Grushnitski presented himself to me in
the full splendour of the uniform of the Line infantry. Attached to
his third button was a little bronze chain, on which hung a double
lorgnette. Epaulettes of incredible size were bent backwards and upwards
in the shape of a cupid's wings; his boots creaked; in his left hand he
held cinnamon-coloured kid gloves and a forage-cap, and with his right he
kept every moment twisting his frizzled tuft of hair up into tiny curls.
Complacency and at the same time a certain diffidence were depicted upon
his face. His festal appearance and proud gait would have made me
burst out laughing, if such a proceeding had been in accordance with my
intentions.

He threw his cap and gloves on the table and began to pull down
the skirts of his coat and to put himself to rights before the
looking-glass. An enormous black handkerchief, which was twisted into a
very high stiffener for his cravat, and the bristles of which supported
his chin, stuck out an inch over his collar. It seemed to him to be
rather small, and he drew it up as far as his ears. As a result of
that hard work--the collar of his uniform being very tight and
uncomfortable--he grew red in the face.

"They say you have been courting my princess terribly these last few
days?" he said, rather carelessly and without looking at me.

"'Where are we fools to drink tea!'" [271] I answered, repeating a pet
phrase of one of the cleverest rogues of past times, once celebrated in
song by Pushkin.

"Tell me, does my uniform fit me well?... Oh, the cursed Jew!... How it
cuts me under the armpits!... Have you got any scent?"

"Good gracious, what more do you want? You are reeking of rose pomade as
it is."

"Never mind. Give me some"...

He poured half a phial over his cravat, his pocket-handkerchief, his
sleeves.

"You are going to dance?" he asked.

"I think not."

"I am afraid I shall have to lead off the mazurka with Princess Mary,
and I scarcely know a single figure"...

"Have you asked her to dance the mazurka with you?"

"Not yet"...

"Mind you are not forestalled"...

"Just so, indeed!" he said, striking his forehead. "Good-bye... I will
go and wait for her at the entrance."

He seized his forage-cap and ran.

Half an hour later I also set off. The street was dark and deserted.
Around the assembly rooms, or inn--whichever you prefer--people were
thronging. The windows were lighted up, the strains of the regimental
band were borne to me on the evening breeze. I walked slowly; I felt
melancholy.

"Can it be possible," I thought, "that my sole mission on earth is to
destroy the hopes of others? Ever since I began to live and to act, it
seems always to have been my fate to play a part in the ending of other
people's dramas, as if, but for me, no one could either die or fall
into despair! I have been the indispensable person of the fifth act;
unwillingly I have played the pitiful part of an executioner or a
traitor. What object has fate had in this?... Surely, I have not been
appointed by destiny to be an author of middle-class tragedies and family
romances, or to be a collaborator with the purveyor of stories--for the
'Reader's Library,' [272] for example?... How can I tell?... Are there
not many people who, in beginning life, think to end it like Lord Byron
or Alexander the Great, and, nevertheless, remain Titular Councillors
[273] all their days?"

Entering the saloon, I concealed myself in a crowd of men, and began to
make my observations.

Grushnitski was standing beside Princess Mary and saying something with
great warmth. She was listening to him absent-mindedly and looking about
her, her fan laid to her lips. Impatience was depicted upon her face,
her eyes were searching all around for somebody. I went softly behind
them in order to listen to their conversation.

"You torture me, Princess!" Grushnitski was saying. "You have changed
dreadfully since I saw you last"...

"You, too, have changed," she answered, casting a rapid glance at him,
in which he was unable to detect the latent sneer.

"I! Changed?... Oh, never! You know that such a thing is impossible!
Whoever has seen you once will bear your divine image with him for
ever."

"Stop"...

"But why will you not let me say to-night what you have so often
listened to with condescension--and just recently, too?"...

"Because I do not like repetitions," she answered, laughing.

"Oh! I have been bitterly mistaken!... I thought, fool that I was, that
these epaulettes, at least, would give me the right to hope... No,
it would have been better for me to have remained for ever in that
contemptible soldier's cloak, to which, probably, I was indebted for
your attention"...

"As a matter of fact, the cloak is much more becoming to you"...

At that moment I went up and bowed to Princess Mary. She blushed a
little, and went on rapidly:

"Is it not true, Monsieur Pechorin, that the grey cloak suits Monsieur
Grushnitski much better?"...

"I do not agree with you," I answered: "he is more youthful-looking
still in his uniform."

That was a blow which Grushnitski could not bear: like all boys, he
has pretensions to being an old man; he thinks that the deep traces
of passions upon his countenance take the place of the lines scored by
Time. He cast a furious glance at me, stamped his foot, and took himself
off.

"Confess now," I said to Princess Mary: "that although he has always
been most ridiculous, yet not so long ago he seemed to you to be
interesting... in the grey cloak?"...

She cast her eyes down and made no reply.

Grushnitski followed the Princess about during the whole evening and
danced either with her or vis-a-vis. He devoured her with his eyes,
sighed, and wearied her with prayers and reproaches. After the third
quadrille she had begun to hate him.

"I did not expect this from you," he said, coming up to me and taking my
arm.

"What?"

"You are going to dance the mazurka with her?" he asked in a solemn
tone. "She admitted it"...

"Well, what then? It is not a secret, is it"?

"Of course not... I ought to have expected such a thing from that
chit--that flirt... I will have my revenge, though!"

"You should lay the blame on your cloak, or your epaulettes, but why
accuse her? What fault is it of hers that she does not like you any
longer?"...

"But why give me hopes?"

"Why did you hope? To desire and to strive after something--that I can
understand! But who ever hopes?"

"You have won the wager, but not quite," he said, with a malignant
smile.

The mazurka began. Grushnitski chose no one but the Princess, other
cavaliers chose her every minute: obviously a conspiracy against me--all
the better! She wants to talk to me, they are preventing her--she will
want to twice as much.

I squeezed her hand once or twice; the second time she drew it away
without saying a word.

"I shall sleep badly to-night," she said to me when the mazurka was
over.

"Grushnitski is to blame for that."

"Oh, no!"

And her face became so pensive, so sad, that I promised myself that I
would not fail to kiss her hand that evening.

The guests began to disperse. As I was handing Princess Mary into her
carriage, I rapidly pressed her little hand to my lips. The night was
dark and nobody could see.

I returned to the saloon very well satisfied with myself.

The young men, Grushnitski amongst them, were having supper at the
large table. As I came in, they all fell silent: evidently they had been
talking about me. Since the last ball many of them have been sulky with
me, especially the captain of dragoons; and now, it seems, a hostile
gang is actually being formed against me, under the command of
Grushnitski. He wears such a proud and courageous air...

I am very glad; I love enemies, though not in the Christian sense. They
amuse me, stir my blood. To be always on one's guard, to catch every
glance, the meaning of every word, to guess intentions, to crush
conspiracies, to pretend to be deceived and suddenly with one blow
to overthrow the whole immense and laboriously constructed edifice of
cunning and design--that is what I call life.

During supper Grushnitski kept whispering and exchanging winks with the
captain of dragoons.




VERA and her husband left this morning for Kislovodsk. I met their
carriage as I was walking to Princess Ligovski's. Vera nodded to me:
reproach was in her glance.

Who is to blame, then? Why will she not give me an opportunity of
seeing her alone? Love is like fire--if not fed it dies out. Perchance,
jealousy will accomplish what my entreaties have failed to do.

I stayed a whole hour at Princess Ligovski's. Mary has not been out, she
is ill. In the evening she was not on the boulevard. The newly formed
gang, armed with lorgnettes, has in very fact assumed a menacing aspect.
I am glad that Princess Mary is ill; they might be guilty of some
impertinence towards her. Grushnitski goes about with dishevelled locks,
and wears an appearance of despair: he is evidently afflicted, as a
matter of fact; his vanity especially has been injured. But, you see,
there are some people in whom even despair is diverting!...

On my way home I noticed that something was lacking. I have not seen
her! She is ill! Surely I have not fallen in love with her in real
earnest?... What nonsense!




AT eleven o'clock in the morning--the hour at which Princess Ligovski
is usually perspiring in the Ermolov baths--I walked past her house.
Princess Mary was sitting pensively at the window; on seeing me she
sprang up.

I entered the ante-room, there was nobody there, and, availing myself of
the freedom afforded by the local customs, I made my way, unannounced,
into the drawing-room.

Princess Mary's charming countenance was shrouded with a dull pallor.
She was standing by the pianoforte, leaning one hand on the back of an
arm-chair; her hand was very faintly trembling. I went up to her softly
and said:

"You are angry with me?"...

She lifted a deep, languid glance upon me and shook her head. Her lips
were about to utter something, but failed; her eyes filled with tears;
she sank into the arm-chair and buried her face in her hands.

"What is the matter with you?" I said, taking her hand.

"You do not respect me!... Oh, leave me!"...

I took a few steps... She drew herself up in the chair, her eyes
sparkled.

I stopped still, took hold of the handle of the door, and said:

"Forgive me, Princess. I have acted like a madman... It will not happen
another time; I shall see to that... But how can you know what has been
taking place hitherto within my soul? That you will never learn, and so
much the better for you. Farewell."

As I was going out, I seemed to hear her weeping.

I wandered on foot about the environs of Mount Mashuk till evening,
fatigued myself terribly and, on arriving home, flung myself on my bed,
utterly exhausted.

Werner came to see me.

"Is it true," he asked, "that you are going to marry Princess Mary?"

"What?"

"The whole town is saying so. All my patients are occupied with that
important piece of news; but you know what these patients are: they know
everything."

"This is one of Grushnitski's tricks," I said to myself.

"To prove the falsity of these rumours, doctor, I may mention, as a
secret, that I am moving to Kislovodsk to-morrow"...

"And Princess Mary, too?"

"No, she remains here another week"...

"So you are not going to get married?"...

"Doctor, doctor! Look at me! Am I in the least like a bridegroom, or any
such thing?"

"I am not saying so... But you know there are occasions..." he added,
with a crafty smile--"in which an honourable man is obliged to marry,
and there are mothers who, to say the least, do not prevent such
occasions... And so, as a friend, I should advise you to be more
cautious. The air of these parts is very dangerous. How many handsome
young men, worthy of a better fate, have I not seen departing from here
straight to the altar!... Would you believe me, they were even going to
find a wife for me! That is to say, one person was--a lady belonging
to this district, who had a very pale daughter. I had the misfortune to
tell her that the latter's colour would be restored after wedlock, and
then with tears of gratitude she offered me her daughter's hand and the
whole of her own fortune--fifty souls, [28] I think. But I replied that
I was unfit for such an honour."

Werner left, fully convinced that he had put me on my guard.

I gathered from his words that various ugly rumours were already being
spread about the town on the subject of Princess Mary and myself:
Grushnitski shall smart for this!




I HAVE been in Kislovodsk three days now. Every day I see Vera at the
well and out walking. In the morning, when I awake, I sit by my window
and direct my lorgnette at her balcony. She has already been dressed
long ago, and is waiting for the signal agreed upon. We meet, as though
unexpectedly, in the garden which slopes down from our houses to the
well. The life-giving mountain air has brought back her colour and her
strength. Not for nothing is Narzan called the "Spring of Heroes." The
inhabitants aver that the air of Kislovodsk predisposes the heart to
love and that all the romances which have had their beginning at the
foot of Mount Mashuk find their consummation here. And, in very
fact, everything here breathes of solitude; everything has an air of
secrecy--the thick shadows of the linden avenues, bending over the
torrent which falls, noisy and foaming, from flag to flag and cleaves
itself a way between the mountains now becoming clad with verdure--the
mist-filled, silent ravines, with their ramifications straggling away
in all directions--the freshness of the aromatic air, laden with
the fragrance of the tall southern grasses and the white acacia--the
never-ceasing, sweetly-slumberous babble of the cool brooks, which,
meeting at the end of the valley, flow along in friendly emulation, and
finally fling themselves into the Podkumok. On this side, the ravine is
wider and becomes converted into a verdant dell, through which winds
the dusty road. Every time I look at it, I seem to see a carriage coming
along and a rosy little face looking out of the carriage-window. Many
carriages have already driven by--but still there is no sign of that
particular one. The village which lies behind the fortress has become
populous. In the restaurant, built upon a hill a few paces distant from
my lodgings, lights are beginning to flash in the evening through the
double row of poplars; noise and the jingling of glasses resound till
late at night.

In no place are such quantities of Kakhetian wine and mineral waters
drunk as here.


     "And many are willing to mix the two,

         But that is a thing I never do."


Every day Grushnitski and his gang are to be found brawling in the inn,
and he has almost ceased to greet me.

He only arrived yesterday, and has already succeeded in quarrelling with
three old men who were going to take their places in the baths before
him.

Decidedly, his misfortunes are developing a warlike spirit within him.




AT last they have arrived. I was sitting by the window when I heard the
clattering of their carriage. My heart throbbed... What does it mean?
Can it be that I am in love?... I am so stupidly constituted that such a
thing might be expected of me.

I dined at their house. Princess Ligovski looked at me with much
tenderness, and did not leave her daughter's side... a bad sign! On the
other hand, Vera is jealous of me in regard to Princess Mary--however,
I have been striving for that good fortune. What will not a woman do in
order to chagrin her rival? I remember that once a woman loved me
simply because I was in love with another woman. There is nothing more
paradoxical than the female mind; it is difficult to convince a woman of
anything; they have to be led into convincing themselves. The order of
the proofs by which they demolish their prejudices is most original;
to learn their dialectic it is necessary to overthrow in your own mind
every scholastic rule of logic. For example, the usual way:

"This man loves me; but I am married: therefore I must not love him."

The woman's way:

"I must not love him, because I am married; but he loves
me--therefore"...

A few dots here, because reason has no more to say. But, generally,
there is something to be said by the tongue, and the eyes, and, after
these, the heart--if there is such a thing.

What if these notes should one day meet a woman's eye?

"Slander!" she will exclaim indignantly.

Ever since poets have written and women have read them (for which the
poets should be most deeply grateful) women have been called angels so
many times that, in very truth, in their simplicity of soul, they have
believed the compliment, forgetting that, for money, the same poets have
glorified Nero as a demigod...

It would be unreasonable were I to speak of women with such malignity--I
who have loved nothing else in the world--I who have always been ready
to sacrifice for their sake ease, ambition, life itself... But, you see,
I am not endeavouring, in a fit of vexation and injured vanity, to pluck
from them the magic veil through which only an accustomed glance can
penetrate. No, all that I say about them is but the result of


     "A mind which coldly hath observed,

      A heart which bears the stamp of woe." [29]

Women ought to wish that all men knew them as well as I because I have
loved them a hundred times better since I have ceased to be afraid of
them and have comprehended their little weaknesses.

By the way: the other day, Werner compared women to the enchanted forest
of which Tasso tells in his "Jerusalem Delivered." [30]

"So soon as you approach," he said, "from all directions terrors, such
as I pray Heaven may preserve us from, will take wing at you: duty,
pride, decorum, public opinion, ridicule, contempt... You must simply go
straight on without looking at them; gradually the monsters disappear,
and, before you, opens a bright and quiet glade, in the midst of which
blooms the green myrtle. On the other hand, woe to you if, at the first
steps, your heart trembles and you turn back!"




THIS evening has been fertile in events. About three versts from
Kislovodsk, in the gorge through which the Podkumok flows, there is
a cliff called the Ring. It is a naturally formed gate, rising upon
a lofty hill, and through it the setting sun throws its last flaming
glance upon the world. A numerous cavalcade set off thither to gaze at
the sunset through the rock-window. To tell the truth, not one of them
was thinking about the sun. I rode beside Princess Mary. On the way
home, we had to ford the Podkumok. Mountain streams, even the
smallest, are dangerous; especially so, because the bottom is a perfect
kaleidoscope: it changes every day owing to the pressure of the current;
where yesterday there was a rock, to-day there is a cavity. I took
Princess Mary's horse by the bridle and led it into the water, which
came no higher than its knees. We began to move slowly in a slanting
direction against the current. It is a well-known fact that, in crossing
rapid streamlets, you should never look at the water, because, if you
do, your head begins to whirl directly. I forgot to warn Princess Mary
of that.

We had reached the middle and were right in the vortex, when suddenly
she reeled in her saddle.

"I feel ill!" she said in a faint voice.

I bent over to her rapidly and threw my arm around her supple waist.

"Look up!" I whispered. "It is nothing; just be brave! I am with you."

She grew better; she was about to disengage herself from my arm, but
I clasped her tender, soft figure in a still closer embrace; my cheek
almost touched hers, from which was wafted flame.

"What are you doing to me?... Oh, Heaven!"...

I paid no attention to her alarm and confusion, and my lips touched her
tender cheek. She shuddered, but said nothing. We were riding behind the
others: nobody saw us.

When we made our way out on the bank, the horses were all put to the
trot. Princess Mary kept hers back; I remained beside her. It was
evident that my silence was making her uneasy, but I swore to myself
that I would not speak a single word--out of curiosity. I wanted to see
how she would extricate herself from that embarrassing position.

"Either you despise me, or you love me very much!" she said at length,
and there were tears in her voice. "Perhaps you want to laugh at me, to
excite my soul and then to abandon me... That would be so base, so vile,
that the mere supposition... Oh, no!" she added, in a voice of tender
trustfulness; "there is nothing in me which would preclude respect; is
it not so? Your presumptuous action... I must, I must forgive you
for it, because I permitted it... Answer, speak, I want to hear your
voice!"...

There was such womanly impatience in her last words that, involuntarily,
I smiled; happily it was beginning to grow dusk... I made no answer.

"You are silent!" she continued; "you wish, perhaps, that I should be
the first to tell you that I love you."...

I remained silent.

"Is that what you wish?" she continued, turning rapidly towards me....
There was something terrible in the determination of her glance and
voice.

"Why?" I answered, shrugging my shoulders.

She struck her horse with her riding-whip and set off at full gallop
along the narrow, dangerous road. It all happened so quickly that I was
scarcely able to overtake her, and then only by the time she had joined
the rest of the company.

All the way home she was continually talking and laughing. There
was something feverish in her movements; not once did she look in my
direction. Everybody observed her unusual gaiety. Princess Ligovski
rejoiced inwardly as she looked at her daughter. However, the latter
simply has a fit of nerves: she will spend a sleepless night, and will
weep.

This thought affords me measureless delight: there are moments when I
understand the Vampire... And yet I am reputed to be a good fellow, and
I strive to earn that designation!

On dismounting, the ladies went into Princess Ligovski's house. I was
excited, and I galloped to the mountains in order to dispel the
thoughts which had thronged into my head. The dewy evening breathed an
intoxicating coolness. The moon was rising from behind the dark summits.
Each step of my unshod horse resounded hollowly in the silence of the
gorges. I watered the horse at the waterfall, and then, after greedily
inhaling once or twice the fresh air of the southern night.

I set off on my way back.

I rode through the village. The lights in the windows were beginning to
go out; the sentries on the fortress-rampart and the Cossacks in the
surrounding pickets were calling out in drawling tones to one another.

In one of the village houses, built at the edge of a ravine, I noticed
an extraordinary illumination. At times, discordant murmurs and shouting
could be heard, proving that a military carouse was in full swing. I
dismounted and crept up to the window. The shutter had not been made
fast, and I could see the banqueters and catch what they were saying.
They were talking about me.

The captain of dragoons, flushed with wine, struck the table with his
fist, demanding attention.

"Gentlemen!" he said, "this won't do! Pechorin must be taught a lesson!
These Petersburg fledglings always carry their heads high until they get
a slap in the face! He thinks that because he always wears clean gloves
and polished boots he is the only one who has ever lived in society.
And what a haughty smile! All the same, I am convinced that he is a
coward--yes, a coward!"

"I think so too," said Grushnitski. "He is fond of getting himself out
of trouble by pretending to be only having a joke. I once gave him such
a talking to that anyone else in his place would have cut me to pieces
on the spot. But Pechorin turned it all to the ridiculous side. I, of
course, did not call him out because that was his business, but he did
not care to have anything more to do with it."

"Grushnitski is angry with him for having captured Princess Mary from
him," somebody said.

"That's a new idea! It is true I did run after Princess Mary a little,
but I left off at once because I do not want to get married; and it is
against my rules to compromise a girl."

"Yes, I assure you that he is a coward of the first water, I mean
Pechorin, not Grushnitski--but Grushnitski is a fine fellow, and,
besides, he is my true friend!" the captain of dragoons went on.

"Gentlemen! Nobody here stands up for him? Nobody? So much the better!
Would you like to put his courage to the test? It would be amusing"...

"We would; but how?"

"Listen here, then: Grushnitski in particular is angry with
him--therefore to Grushnitski falls the chief part. He will pick a
quarrel over some silly trifle or other, and will challenge Pechorin
to a duel... Wait a bit; here is where the joke comes in... He will
challenge him to a duel; very well! The whole proceeding--challenge,
preparations, conditions--will be as solemn and awe-inspiring as
possible--I will see to that. I will be your second, my poor friend!
Very well! Only here is the rub; we will put no bullets in the pistols.
I can answer for it that Pechorin will turn coward--I will place them
six paces apart, devil take it! Are you agreed, gentlemen?"

"Splendid idea!... Agreed!... And why not?"... came from all sides.

"And you, Grushnitski?"

Tremblingly I awaited Grushnitski's answer. I was filled with cold rage
at the thought that, but for an accident, I might have made myself the
laughing-stock of those fools. If Grushnitski had not agreed, I should
have thrown myself upon his neck; but, after an interval of silence,
he rose from his place, extended his hand to the captain, and said very
gravely:

"Very well, I agree!"

It would be difficult to describe the enthusiasm of that honourable
company.

I returned home, agitated by two different feelings. The first was
sorrow.

"Why do they all hate me?" I thought--"why? Have I affronted anyone? No.
Can it be that I am one of those men the mere sight of whom is enough to
create animosity?"

And I felt a venomous rage gradually filling my soul.

"Have a care, Mr. Grushnitski!" I said, walking up and down the room:
"I am not to be jested with like this! You may pay dearly for the
approbation of your foolish comrades. I am not your toy!"...

I got no sleep that night. By daybreak I was as yellow as an orange.

In the morning I met Princess Mary at the well.

"You are ill?" she said, looking intently at me.

"I did not sleep last night."

"Nor I either... I was accusing you... perhaps groundlessly. But explain
yourself, I can forgive you everything"...

"Everything?"...

"Everything... only speak the truth... and be quick... You see, I
have been thinking a good deal, trying to explain, to justify, your
behaviour. Perhaps you are afraid of opposition on the part of my
relations... that will not matter. When they learn"...

Her voice shook.

"I will win them over by entreaties. Or, is it your own position?...
But you know that I can sacrifice everything for the sake of the man I
love... Oh, answer quickly--have pity... You do not despise me--do you?"

She seized my hand.

Princess Ligovski was walking in front of us with Vera's husband, and
had not seen anything; but we might have been observed by some of the
invalids who were strolling about--the most inquisitive gossips of all
inquisitive folk--and I rapidly disengaged my hand from her passionate
pressure.

"I will tell you the whole truth," I answered. "I will not justify
myself, nor explain my actions: I do not love you."

Her lips grew slightly pale.

"Leave me," she said, in a scarcely audible voice.

I shrugged my shoulders, turned round, and walked away.




I SOMETIMES despise myself... Is not that the reason why I despise
others also?... I have grown incapable of noble impulses; I am afraid of
appearing ridiculous to myself. In my place, another would have offered
Princess Mary son coeur et sa fortune; but over me the word "marry" has
a kind of magical power. However passionately I love a woman, if she
only gives me to feel that I have to marry her--then farewell, love! My
heart is turned to stone, and nothing will warm it anew. I am prepared
for any other sacrifice but that; my life twenty times over, nay, my
honour I would stake on the fortune of a card... but my freedom I will
never sell. Why do I prize it so highly? What is there in it to me? For
what am I preparing myself? What do I hope for from the future?... In
truth, absolutely nothing. It is a kind of innate dread, an inexplicable
prejudice... There are people, you know, who have an unaccountable dread
of spiders, beetles, mice... Shall I confess it? When I was but a child,
a certain old woman told my fortune to my mother. She predicted for me
death from a wicked wife. I was profoundly struck by her words at the
time: an irresistible repugnance to marriage was born within my soul...
Meanwhile, something tells me that her prediction will be realized; I
will try, at all events, to arrange that it shall be realized as late in
life as possible.




YESTERDAY, the conjurer Apfelbaum arrived here. A long placard made its
appearance on the door of the restaurant, informing the most respected
public that the above-mentioned marvellous conjurer, acrobat, chemist,
and optician would have the honour to give a magnificent performance on
the present day at eight o'clock in the evening, in the saloon of the
Nobles' Club (in other words, the restaurant); tickets--two rubles and a
half each.

Everyone intends to go and see the marvellous conjurer; even Princess
Ligovski has taken a ticket for herself, in spite of her daughter being
ill.

After dinner to-day, I walked past Vera's windows; she was sitting by
herself on the balcony. A note fell at my feet:

"Come to me at ten o'clock this evening by the large staircase. My
husband has gone to Pyatigorsk and will not return before to-morrow
morning. My servants and maids will not be at home; I have distributed
tickets to all of them, and to the princess's servants as well. I await
you; come without fail."

"Aha!" I said to myself, "so then it has turned out at last as I thought
it would."

At eight o'clock I went to see the conjurer. The public assembled before
the stroke of nine. The performance began. On the back rows of chairs
I recognized Vera's and Princess Ligovski's menservants and maids. They
were all there, every single one. Grushnitski, with his lorgnette, was
sitting in the front row, and the conjurer had recourse to him every
time he needed a handkerchief, a watch, a ring and so forth.

For some time past, Grushnitski has ceased to bow to me, and to-day
he has looked at me rather insolently once or twice. It will all be
remembered to him when we come to settle our scores.

Before ten o'clock had struck, I stood up and went out.

It was dark outside, pitch dark. Cold, heavy clouds were lying on the
summit of the surrounding mountains, and only at rare intervals did
the dying breeze rustle the tops of the poplars which surrounded
the restaurant. People were crowding at the windows. I went down the
mountain and, turning in under the gate, I hastened my pace. Suddenly it
seemed to me that somebody was following my steps. I stopped and looked
round. It was impossible to make out anything in the darkness. However,
out of caution, I walked round the house, as if taking a stroll. Passing
Princess Mary's windows, I again heard steps behind me; a man wrapped in
a cloak ran by me. That rendered me uneasy, but I crept up to the flight
of steps, and hastily mounted the dark staircase. A door opened, and a
little hand seized mine...

"Nobody has seen you?" said Vera in a whisper, clinging to me.

"Nobody."

"Now do you believe that I love you? Oh! I have long hesitated, long
tortured myself... But you can do anything you like with me."

Her heart was beating violently, her hands were cold as ice. She broke
out into complaints and jealous reproaches. She demanded that I should
confess everything to her, saying that she would bear my faithlessness
with submission, because her sole desire was that I should be happy. I
did not quite believe that, but I calmed her with oaths, promises and so
on.

"So you will not marry Mary? You do not love her?... But she thinks...
Do you know, she is madly in love with you, poor girl!"...

*****

About two o'clock in the morning I opened the window and, tying two
shawls together, I let myself down from the upper balcony to the lower,
holding on by the pillar. A light was still burning in Princess Mary's
room. Something drew me towards that window. The curtain was not quite
drawn, and I was able to cast a curious glance into the interior of the
room. Mary was sitting on her bed, her hands crossed upon her knees;
her thick hair was gathered up under a lace-frilled nightcap; her white
shoulders were covered by a large crimson kerchief, and her little feet
were hidden in a pair of many-coloured Persian slippers. She was sitting
quite still, her head sunk upon her breast; on a little table in front
of her was an open book; but her eyes, fixed and full of inexpressible
grief, seemed for the hundredth time to be skimming the same page whilst
her thoughts were far away.

At that moment somebody stirred behind a shrub. I leaped from the
balcony on to the sward. An invisible hand seized me by the shoulder.

"Aha!" said a rough voice: "caught!... I'll teach you to be entering
princesses' rooms at night!"

"Hold him fast!" exclaimed another, springing out from a corner.

It was Grushnitski and the captain of dragoons.

I struck the latter on the head with my fist, knocked him off his feet,
and darted into the bushes. All the paths of the garden which covered
the slope opposite our houses were known to me.

"Thieves, guard!"... they cried.

A gunshot rang out; a smoking wad fell almost at my feet.

Within a minute I was in my own room, undressed and in bed. My
manservant had only just locked the door when Grushnitski and the
captain began knocking for admission.

"Pechorin! Are you asleep? Are you there?"... cried the captain.

"I am in bed," I answered angrily.

"Get up! Thieves!... Circassians!"...

"I have a cold," I answered. "I am afraid of catching a chill."

They went away. I had gained no useful purpose by answering them: they
would have been looking for me in the garden for another hour or so.

Meanwhile the alarm became terrific. A Cossack galloped up from the
fortress. The commotion was general; Circassians were looked for in
every shrub--and of course none were found. Probably, however, a good
many people were left with the firm conviction that, if only more
courage and despatch had been shown by the garrison, at least a score of
brigands would have failed to get away with their lives.




THIS morning, at the well, the sole topic of conversation was the
nocturnal attack by the Circassians. I drank the appointed number of
glasses of Narzan water, and, after sauntering a few times about the
long linden avenue, I met Vera's husband, who had just arrived from
Pyatigorsk. He took my arm and we went to the restaurant for breakfast.
He was dreadfully uneasy about his wife.

"What a terrible fright she had last night," he said. "Of course, it was
bound to happen just at the very time when I was absent."

We sat down to breakfast near the door leading into a corner-room in
which about a dozen young men were sitting. Grushnitski was amongst
them. For the second time destiny provided me with the opportunity of
overhearing a conversation which was to decide his fate. He did not
see me, and, consequently, it was impossible for me to suspect him of
design; but that only magnified his fault in my eyes.

"Is it possible, though, that they were really Circassians?" somebody
said. "Did anyone see them?"

"I will tell you the whole truth," answered Grushnitski: "only please do
not betray me. This is how it was: yesterday, a certain man, whose name
I will not tell you, came up to me and told me that, at ten o'clock in
the evening, he had seen somebody creeping into the Ligovskis' house. I
must observe that Princess Ligovski was here, and Princess Mary at home.
So he and I set off to wait beneath the windows and waylay the lucky
man."

I confess I was frightened, although my companion was very busily
engaged with his breakfast: he might have heard things which he would
have found rather displeasing, if Grushnitski had happened to guess the
truth; but, blinded by jealousy, the latter did not even suspect it.

"So, do you see?" Grushnitski continued. "We set off, taking with us a
gun, loaded with blank cartridge, so as just to give him a fright.
We waited in the garden till two o'clock. At length--goodness knows,
indeed, where he appeared from, but he must have come out by the glass
door which is behind the pillar; it was not out of the window that he
came, because the window had remained unopened--at length, I say, we saw
someone getting down from the balcony... What do you think of Princess
Mary--eh? Well, I admit, it is hardly what you might expect from Moscow
ladies! After that what can you believe? We were going to seize him, but
he broke away and darted like a hare into the shrubs. Thereupon I fired
at him."

There was a general murmur of incredulity.

"You do not believe it?" he continued. "I give you my word of honour as
a gentleman that it is all perfectly true, and, in proof, I will tell
you the man's name if you like."

"Tell us, tell us, who was he?" came from all sides.

"Pechorin," answered Grushnitski.

At that moment he raised his eyes--I was standing in the doorway
opposite to him. He grew terribly red. I went up to him and said, slowly
and distinctly:

"I am very sorry that I did not come in before you had given your word
of honour in confirmation of a most abominable calumny: my presence
would have saved you from that further act of baseness."

Grushnitski jumped up from his seat and seemed about to fly into a
passion.

"I beg you," I continued in the same tone: "I beg you at once to retract
what you have said; you know very well that it is all an invention. I
do not think that a woman's indifference to your brilliant merits should
deserve so terrible a revenge. Bethink you well: if you maintain your
present attitude, you will lose the right to the name of gentleman and
will risk your life."

Grushnitski stood before me in violent agitation, his eyes cast down.
But the struggle between his conscience and his vanity was of short
duration. The captain of dragoons, who was sitting beside him, nudged
him with his elbow. Grushnitski started, and answered rapidly, without
raising his eyes:

"My dear sir, what I say, I mean, and I am prepared to repeat... I am
not afraid of your menaces and am ready for anything."

"The latter you have already proved," I answered coldly; and, taking the
captain of dragoons by the arm, I left the room.

"What do you want?" asked the captain.

"You are Grushnitski's friend and will no doubt be his second?"

The captain bowed very gravely.

"You have guessed rightly," he answered.

"Moreover, I am bound to be his second, because the insult offered
to him touches myself also. I was with him last night," he added,
straightening up his stooping figure.

"Ah! So it was you whose head I struck so clumsily?"...

He turned yellow in the face, then blue; suppressed rage was portrayed
upon his countenance.

"I shall have the honour to send my second to you to-day," I added,
bowing adieu to him very politely, without appearing to have noticed his
fury.

On the restaurant-steps I met Vera's husband. Apparently he had been
waiting for me.

He seized my hand with a feeling akin to rapture.

"Noble young man!" he said, with tears in his eyes. "I have heard
everything. What a scoundrel! Ingrate!... Just fancy such people
being admitted into a decent household after this! Thank God I have no
daughters! But she for whom you are risking your life will reward you.
Be assured of my constant discretion," he continued. "I have been young
myself and have served in the army: I know that these affairs must take
their course. Good-bye."

Poor fellow! He is glad that he has no daughters!...

I went straight to Werner, found him at home, and told him the whole
story--my relations with Vera and Princess Mary, and the conversation
which I had overheard and from which I had learned the intention of
these gentlemen to make a fool of me by causing me to fight a duel with
blank cartridges. But, now, the affair had gone beyond the bounds of
jest; they probably had not expected that it would turn out like this.

The doctor consented to be my second; I gave him a few directions with
regard to the conditions of the duel. He was to insist upon the
affair being managed with all possible secrecy, because, although I am
prepared, at any moment, to face death, I am not in the least disposed
to spoil for all time my future in this world.

After that I went home. In an hour's time the doctor returned from his
expedition.

"There is indeed a conspiracy against you," he said. "I found the
captain of dragoons at Grushnitski's, together with another gentleman
whose surname I do not remember. I stopped a moment in the ante-room,
in order to take off my goloshes. They were squabbling and making a
terrible uproar. 'On no account will I agree,' Grushnitski was saying:
'he has insulted me publicly; it was quite a different thing before'...

"'What does it matter to you?' answered the captain. 'I will take it all
upon myself. I have been second in five duels, and I should think I know
how to arrange the affair. I have thought it all out. Just let me alone,
please. It is not a bad thing to give people a bit of a fright. And why
expose yourself to danger if it is possible to avoid it?'...

"At that moment I entered the room. They suddenly fell silent. Our
negotiations were somewhat protracted. At length we decided the matter
as follows: about five versts from here there is a hollow gorge; they
will ride thither tomorrow at four o'clock in the morning, and we
shall leave half an hour later. You will fire at six paces--Grushnitski
himself demanded that condition. Whichever of you is killed--his death
will be put down to the account of the Circassians. And now I must tell
you what I suspect: they, that is to say the seconds, may have made
some change in their former plan and may want to load only Grushnitski's
pistol. That is something like murder, but in time of war, and
especially in Asiatic warfare, such tricks are allowed. Grushnitski,
however, seems to be a little more magnanimous than his companions. What
do you think? Ought we not to let them see that we have guessed their
plan?"

"Not on any account, doctor! Make your mind easy; I will not give in to
them."

"But what are you going to do, then?"

"That is my secret."

"Mind you are not caught... six paces, you know!"

"Doctor, I shall expect you to-morrow at four o'clock. The horses will
be ready... Goodbye."

I remained in the house until the evening, with my door locked. A
manservant came to invite me to Princess Ligovski's--I bade him say that
I was ill.

*****

Two o'clock in the morning... I cannot sleep... Yet sleep is what I
need, if I am to have a steady hand to-morrow. However, at six paces
it is difficult to miss. Aha! Mr. Grushnitski, your wiles will not
succeed!... We shall exchange roles: now it is I who shall have to seek
the signs of latent terror upon your pallid countenance. Why have you
yourself appointed these fatal six paces? Think you that I will tamely
expose my forehead to your aim?...

No, we shall cast lots... And then--then--what if his luck should
prevail? If my star at length should betray me?... And little wonder if
it did: it has so long and faithfully served my caprices.

Well? If I must die, I must! The loss to the world will not be great;
and I myself am already downright weary of everything. I am like a guest
at a ball, who yawns but does not go home to bed, simply because
his carriage has not come for him. But now the carriage is here...
Good-bye!...

My whole past life I live again in memory, and, involuntarily, I ask
myself: 'why have I lived--for what purpose was I born?'... A purpose
there must have been, and, surely, mine was an exalted destiny, because
I feel that within my soul are powers immeasurable... But I was not able
to discover that destiny, I allowed myself to be carried away by the
allurements of passions, inane and ignoble. From their crucible I
issued hard and cold as iron, but gone for ever was the glow of noble
aspirations--the fairest flower of life. And, from that time forth, how
often have I not played the part of an axe in the hands of fate! Like an
implement of punishment, I have fallen upon the head of doomed victims,
often without malice, always without pity... To none has my love brought
happiness, because I have never sacrificed anything for the sake of
those I have loved: for myself alone I have loved--for my own pleasure.
I have only satisfied the strange craving of my heart, greedily draining
their feelings, their tenderness, their joys, their sufferings--and
I have never been able to sate myself. I am like one who, spent with
hunger, falls asleep in exhaustion and sees before him sumptuous viands
and sparkling wines; he devours with rapture the aerial gifts of the
imagination, and his pains seem somewhat assuaged. Let him but awake:
the vision vanishes--twofold hunger and despair remain!

And to-morrow, it may be, I shall die!... And there will not be left on
earth one being who has understood me completely. Some will consider me
worse, others, better, than I have been in reality... Some will say:
'he was a good fellow'; others: 'a villain.' And both epithets will be
false. After all this, is life worth the trouble? And yet we live--out
of curiosity! We expect something new... How absurd, and yet how
vexatious!




IT is now a month and a half since I have been in the N----Fortress.

Maksim Maksimych is out hunting... I am alone. I am sitting by the
window. Grey clouds have covered the mountains to the foot; the sun
appears through the mist as a yellow spot. It is cold; the wind is
whistling and rocking the shutters... I am bored!... I will continue my
diary which has been interrupted by so many strange events.

I read the last page over: how ridiculous it seems!... I thought to die;
it was not to be. I have not yet drained the cup of suffering, and now I
feel that I still have long to live.

How clearly and how sharply have all these bygone events been stamped
upon my memory! Time has not effaced a single line, a single shade.

I remember that during the night preceding the duel I did not sleep a
single moment. I was not able to write for long: a secret uneasiness
took possession of me. For about an hour I paced the room, then I sat
down and opened a novel by Walter Scott which was lying on my table. It
was "The Scottish Puritans." [301] At first I read with an effort; then,
carried away by the magical fiction, I became oblivious of everything
else.

At last day broke. My nerves became composed. I looked in the glass:
a dull pallor covered my face, which preserved the traces of harassing
sleeplessness; but my eyes, although encircled by a brownish shadow,
glittered proudly and inexorably. I was satisfied with myself.

I ordered the horses to be saddled, dressed myself, and ran down to the
baths. Plunging into the cold, sparkling water of the Narzan Spring, I
felt my bodily and mental powers returning. I left the baths as fresh
and hearty as if I was off to a ball. After that, who shall say that the
soul is not dependent upon the body!...

On my return, I found the doctor at my rooms. He was wearing grey
riding-breeches, a jacket and a Circassian cap. I burst out laughing
when I saw that little figure under the enormous shaggy cap. Werner
has a by no means warlike countenance, and on that occasion it was even
longer than usual.

"Why so sad, doctor?" I said to him. "Have you not a hundred times, with
the greatest indifference, escorted people to the other world? Imagine
that I have a bilious fever: I may get well; also, I may die; both are
in the usual course of things. Try to look on me as a patient, afflicted
with an illness with which you are still unfamiliar--and then your
curiosity will be aroused in the highest degree. You can now make a few
important physiological observations upon me... Is not the expectation
of a violent death itself a real illness?"

The doctor was struck by that idea, and he brightened up.

We mounted our horses. Werner clung on to his bridle with both hands,
and we set off. In a trice we had galloped past the fortress, through
the village, and had ridden into the gorge. Our winding road was
half-overgrown with tall grass and was intersected every moment by a
noisy brook, which we had to ford, to the great despair of the doctor,
because each time his horse would stop in the water.

A morning more fresh and blue I cannot remember! The sun had scarce
shown his face from behind the green summits, and the blending of the
first warmth of his rays with the dying coolness of the night produced
on all my feelings a sort of sweet languor. The joyous beam of the young
day had not yet penetrated the gorge; it gilded only the tops of the
cliffs which overhung us on both sides. The tufted shrubs, growing in
the deep crevices of the cliffs, besprinkled us with a silver shower
at the least breath of wind. I remember that on that occasion I loved
Nature more than ever before. With what curiosity did I examine every
dewdrop trembling upon the broad vine leaf and reflecting millions of
rainbowhued rays! How eagerly did my glance endeavour to penetrate the
smoky distance! There the road grew narrower and narrower, the cliffs
bluer and more dreadful, and at last they met, it seemed, in an
impenetrable wall.

We rode in silence.

"Have you made your will?" Werner suddenly inquired.

"No."

"And if you are killed?"

"My heirs will be found of themselves."

"Is it possible that you have no friends, to whom you would like to send
a last farewell?"...

I shook my head.

"Is there, really, not one woman in the world to whom you would like to
leave some token in remembrance?"...

"Do you want me to reveal my soul to you, doctor?" I answered... "You
see, I have outlived the years when people die with the name of the
beloved on their lips and bequeathing to a friend a lock of pomaded--or
unpomaded--hair. When I think that death may be near, I think of myself
alone; others do not even do as much. The friends who to-morrow will
forget me or, worse, will utter goodness knows what falsehoods about me;
the women who, while embracing another, will laugh at me in order not
to arouse his jealousy of the deceased--let them go! Out of the storm of
life I have borne away only a few ideas--and not one feeling. For a
long time now I have been living, not with my heart, but with my head.
I weigh, analyse my own passions and actions with severe curiosity, but
without sympathy. There are two personalities within me: one lives--in
the complete sense of the word--the other reflects and judges him; the
first, it may be, in an hour's time, will take farewell of you and the
world for ever, and the second--the second?... Look, doctor, do you
see those three black figures on the cliff, to the right? They are our
antagonists, I suppose?"...

We pushed on.

In the bushes at the foot of the cliff three horses were tethered; we
tethered ours there too, and then we clambered up the narrow path to the
ledge on which Grushnitski was awaiting us in company with the captain
of dragoons and his other second, whom they called Ivan Ignatevich. His
surname I never heard.

"We have been expecting you for quite a long time," said the captain of
dragoons, with an ironical smile.

I drew out my watch and showed him the time.

He apologized, saying that his watch was fast.

There was an embarrassing silence for a few moments. At length the
doctor interrupted it.

"It seems to me," he said, turning to Grushnitski, "that as you have
both shown your readiness to fight, and thereby paid the debt due to the
conditions of honour, you might be able to come to an explanation and
finish the affair amicably."

"I am ready," I said.

The captain winked to Grushnitski, and the latter, thinking that I was
losing courage, assumed a haughty air, although, until that moment, his
cheeks had been covered with a dull pallor. For the first time since our
arrival he lifted his eyes on me; but in his glance there was a certain
disquietude which evinced an inward struggle.

"Declare your conditions," he said, "and anything I can do for you, be
assured"...

"These are my conditions: you will this very day publicly recant your
slander and beg my pardon"...

"My dear sir, I wonder how you dare make such a proposal to me?"

"What else could I propose?"...

"We will fight."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Be it so; only, bethink you that one of us will infallibly be killed."

"I hope it will be you"...

"And I am so convinced of the contrary"...

He became confused, turned red, and then burst out into a forced laugh.

The captain took his arm and led him aside; they whispered together for
a long time. I had arrived in a fairly pacific frame of mind, but all
this was beginning to drive me furious.

The doctor came up to me.

"Listen," he said, with manifest uneasiness, "you have surely forgotten
their conspiracy!... I do not know how to load a pistol, but in
this case... You are a strange man! Tell them that you know their
intention--and they will not dare... What sport! To shoot you like a
bird"...

"Please do not be uneasy, doctor, and wait awhile... I shall arrange
everything in such a way that there will be no advantage on their side.
Let them whisper"...

"Gentlemen, this is becoming tedious," I said to them loudly: "if we are
to fight, let us fight; you had time yesterday to talk as much as you
wanted to."

"We are ready," answered the captain. "Take your places, gentlemen!
Doctor, be good enough to measure six paces"...

"Take your places!" repeated Ivan Ignatevich, in a squeaky voice.

"Excuse me!" I said. "One further condition. As we are going to fight
to the death, we are bound to do everything possible in order that
the affair may remain a secret, and that our seconds may incur no
responsibility. Do you agree?"...

"Quite."

"Well, then, this is my idea. Do you see that narrow ledge on the top of
the perpendicular cliff on the right? It must be thirty fathoms, if not
more, from there to the bottom; and, down below, there are sharp rocks.
Each of us will stand right at the extremity of the ledge--in such
manner even a slight wound will be mortal: that ought to be in
accordance with your desire, as you yourselves have fixed upon six
paces. Whichever of us is wounded will be certain to fall down and be
dashed to pieces; the doctor will extract the bullet, and, then, it will
be possible very easily to account for that sudden death by saying it
was the result of a fall. Let us cast lots to decide who shall fire
first. In conclusion, I declare that I will not fight on any other
terms."

"Be it so!" said the captain after an expressive glance at Grushnitski,
who nodded his head in token of assent. Every moment he was changing
countenance. I had placed him in an embarrassing position. Had the duel
been fought upon the usual conditions, he could have aimed at my leg,
wounded me slightly, and in such wise gratified his vengeance without
overburdening his conscience. But now he was obliged to fire in the air,
or to make himself an assassin, or, finally, to abandon his base plan
and to expose himself to equal danger with me. I should not have liked
to be in his place at that moment. He took the captain aside and said
something to him with great warmth. His lips were blue, and I saw them
trembling; but the captain turned away from him with a contemptuous
smile.

"You are a fool," he said to Grushnitski rather loudly. "You can't
understand a thing!... Let us be off, then, gentlemen!"

The precipice was approached by a narrow path between bushes, and
fragments of rock formed the precarious steps of that natural staircase.
Clinging to the bushes we proceeded to clamber up. Grushnitski went in
front, his seconds behind him, and then the doctor and I.

"I am surprised at you," said the doctor, pressing my hand vigorously.
"Let me feel your pulse!... Oho! Feverish!... But nothing noticeable
on your countenance... only your eyes are gleaming more brightly than
usual."

Suddenly small stones rolled noisily right under our feet. What was it?
Grushnitski had stumbled; the branch to which he was clinging had broken
off, and he would have rolled down on his back if his seconds had not
held him up.

"Take care!" I cried. "Do not fall prematurely: that is a bad sign.
Remember Julius Caesar!"




AND now we had climbed to the summit of the projecting cliff. The ledge
was covered with fine sand, as if on purpose for a duel. All around,
like an innumerable herd, crowded the mountains, their summits lost to
view in the golden mist of the morning; and towards the south rose
the white mass of Elbruz, closing the chain of icy peaks, among which
fibrous clouds, which had rushed in from the east, were already roaming.
I walked to the extremity of the ledge and gazed down. My head nearly
swam. At the foot of the precipice all seemed dark and cold as in a
tomb; the moss-grown jags of the rocks, hurled down by storm and time,
were awaiting their prey.

The ledge on which we were to fight formed an almost regular triangle.
Six paces were measured from the projecting corner, and it was decided
that whichever had first to meet the fire of his opponent should stand
in the very corner with his back to the precipice; if he was not killed
the adversaries would change places.

I determined to relinquish every advantage to Grushnitski; I wanted to
test him. A spark of magnanimity might awake in his soul--and then all
would have been settled for the best. But his vanity and weakness of
character had perforce to triumph!... I wished to give myself the full
right to refrain from sparing him if destiny were to favour me. Who
would not have concluded such an agreement with his conscience?

"Cast the lot, doctor!" said the captain.

The doctor drew a silver coin from his pocket and held it up.

"Tail!" cried Grushnitski hurriedly, like a man suddenly aroused by a
friendly nudge.

"Head," I said.

The coin spun in the air and fell, jingling. We all rushed towards it.

"You are lucky," I said to Grushnitski. "You are to fire first! But
remember that if you do not kill me I shall not miss--I give you my word
of honour."

He flushed up; he was ashamed to kill an unarmed man. I looked at him
fixedly; for a moment it seemed to me that he would throw himself at my
feet, imploring forgiveness; but how to confess so base a plot?... One
expedient only was left to him--to fire in the air! I was convinced
that he would fire in the air! One consideration alone might prevent him
doing so--the thought that I would demand a second duel.

"Now is the time!" the doctor whispered to me, plucking me by the
sleeve. "If you do not tell them now that we know their intentions, all
is lost. Look, he is loading already... If you will not say anything, I
will"...

"On no account, doctor!" I answered, holding him back by the arm. "You
will spoil everything. You have given me your word not to interfere...
What does it matter to you? Perhaps I wish to be killed"...

He looked at me in astonishment.

"Oh, that is another thing!... Only do not complain of me in the other
world"...

Meanwhile the captain had loaded his pistols and given one to
Grushnitski, after whispering something to him with a smile; the other
he gave to me.

I placed myself in the corner of the ledge, planting my left foot firmly
against the rock and bending slightly forward, so that, in case of a
slight wound, I might not fall over backwards.

Grushnitski placed himself opposite me and, at a given signal, began
to raise his pistol. His knees shook. He aimed right at my forehead...
Unutterable fury began to seethe within my breast.

Suddenly he dropped the muzzle of the pistol and, pale as a sheet,
turned to his second.

"I cannot," he said in a hollow voice.

"Coward!" answered the captain.

A shot rang out. The bullet grazed my knee. Involuntarily I took a few
paces forward in order to get away from the edge as quickly as possible.

"Well, my dear Grushnitski, it is a pity that you have missed!" said
the captain. "Now it is your turn, take your stand! Embrace me first: we
shall not see each other again!"

They embraced; the captain could scarcely refrain from laughing.

"Do not be afraid," he added, glancing cunningly at Grushnitski;
"everything in this world is nonsense... Nature is a fool, fate a
turkeyhen, and life a copeck!" [31]

After that tragic phrase, uttered with becoming gravity, he went back to
his place. Ivan Ignatevich, with tears, also embraced Grushnitski, and
there the latter remained alone, facing me. Ever since then, I have been
trying to explain to myself what sort of feeling it was that was boiling
within my breast at that moment: it was the vexation of injured vanity,
and contempt, and wrath engendered at the thought that the man now
looking at me with such confidence, such quiet insolence, had, two
minutes before, been about to kill me like a dog, without exposing
himself to the least danger, because had I been wounded a little more
severely in the leg I should inevitably have fallen over the cliff.

For a few moments I looked him fixedly in the face, trying to discern
thereon even a slight trace of repentance. But it seemed to me that he
was restraining a smile.

"I should advise you to say a prayer before you die," I said.

"Do not worry about my soul any more than your own. One thing I beg of
you: be quick about firing."

"And you do not recant your slander? You do not beg my forgiveness?...
Bethink you well: has your conscience nothing to say to you?"

"Mr. Pechorin!" exclaimed the captain of dragoons. "Allow me to point
out that you are not here to preach... Let us lose no time, in case
anyone should ride through the gorge and we should be seen."

"Very well. Doctor, come here!"

The doctor came up to me. Poor doctor! He was paler than Grushnitski had
been ten minutes before.

The words which followed I purposely pronounced with a pause between
each--loudly and distinctly, as the sentence of death is pronounced:

"Doctor, these gentlemen have forgotten, in their hurry, no doubt, to
put a bullet in my pistol. I beg you to load it afresh--and properly!"

"Impossible!" cried the captain, "impossible! I loaded both pistols.
Perhaps the bullet has rolled out of yours... That is not my fault! And
you have no right to load again... No right at all. It is altogether
against the rules, I shall not allow it"...

"Very well!" I said to the captain. "If so, then you and I shall fight
on the same terms"...

He came to a dead stop.

Grushnitski stood with his head sunk on his breast, embarrassed and
gloomy.

"Let them be!" he said at length to the captain, who was going to pull
my pistol out of the doctor's hands. "You know yourself that they are
right."

In vain the captain made various signs to him. Grushnitski would not
even look.

Meanwhile the doctor had loaded the pistol and handed it to me. On
seeing that, the captain spat and stamped his foot.

"You are a fool, then, my friend," he said: "a common fool!... You
trusted to me before, so you should obey me in everything now... But
serve you right! Die like a fly!"...

He turned away, muttering as he went:

"But all the same it is absolutely against the rules."

"Grushnitski!" I said. "There is still time: recant your slander, and I
will forgive you everything. You have not succeeded in making a fool of
me; my self-esteem is satisfied. Remember--we were once friends"...

His face flamed, his eyes flashed.

"Fire!" he answered. "I despise myself and I hate you. If you do not
kill me I will lie in wait for you some night and cut your throat. There
is not room on the earth for both of us"...

I fired.

When the smoke had cleared away, Grushnitski was not to be seen on the
ledge. Only a slender column of dust was still eddying at the edge of
the precipice.

There was a simultaneous cry from the rest.

"Finita la commedia!" I said to the doctor.

He made no answer, and turned away with horror.

I shrugged my shoulders and bowed to Grushnitski's seconds.




AS I descended by the path, I observed Grushnitski's bloodstained corpse
between the clefts of the rocks. Involuntarily, I closed my eyes.

Untying my horse, I set off home at a walking pace. A stone lay upon my
heart. To my eyes the sun seemed dim, its beams were powerless to warm
me.

I did not ride up to the village, but turned to the right, along the
gorge. The sight of a man would have been painful to me: I wanted to be
alone. Throwing down the bridle and letting my head fall on my breast, I
rode for a long time, and at length found myself in a spot with which
I was wholly unfamiliar. I turned my horse back and began to search
for the road. The sun had already set by the time I had ridden up to
Kislovodsk--myself and my horse both utterly spent!

My servant told me that Werner had called, and he handed me two notes:
one from Werner, the other... from Vera.

I opened the first; its contents were as follows:

"Everything has been arranged as well as could be; the mutilated body
has been brought in; and the bullet extracted from the breast. Everybody
is convinced that the cause of death was an unfortunate accident; only
the Commandant, who was doubtless aware of your quarrel, shook his head,
but he said nothing. There are no proofs at all against you, and you may
sleep in peace... if you can.... Farewell!"...

For a long time I could not make up my mind to open the second note...
What could it be that she was writing to me?... My soul was agitated by
a painful foreboding.

Here it is, that letter, each word of which is indelibly engraved upon
my memory:

"I am writing to you in the full assurance that we shall never see each
other again. A few years ago on parting with you I thought the same.
However, it has been Heaven's will to try me a second time: I have not
been able to endure the trial, my frail heart has again submitted to
the well-known voice... You will not despise me for that--will you? This
letter will be at once a farewell and a confession: I am obliged to tell
you everything that has been treasured up in my heart since it began to
love you. I will not accuse you--you have acted towards me as any other
man would have acted; you have loved me as a chattel, as a source of
joys, disquietudes and griefs, interchanging one with the other, without
which life would be dull and monotonous. I have understood all that from
the first... But you were unhappy, and I have sacrificed myself, hoping
that, some time, you would appreciate my sacrifice, that some time you
would understand my deep tenderness, unfettered by any conditions. A
long time has elapsed since then: I have fathomed all the secrets of
your soul... and I have convinced myself that my hope was vain. It has
been a bitter blow to me! But my love has been grafted with my soul; it
has grown dark, but has not been extinguished.

"We are parting for ever; yet you may be sure that I shall never love
another. Upon you my soul has exhausted all its treasures, its tears,
its hopes. She who has once loved you cannot look without a certain
disdain upon other men, not because you have been better than they, oh,
no! but in your nature there is something peculiar--belonging to you
alone, something proud and mysterious; in your voice, whatever the words
spoken, there is an invincible power. No one can so constantly wish to
be loved, in no one is wickedness ever so attractive, no one's glance
promises so much bliss, no one can better make use of his advantages,
and no one can be so truly unhappy as you, because no one endeavours so
earnestly to convince himself of the contrary.

"Now I must explain the cause of my hurried departure; it will seem of
little importance to you, because it concerns me alone.

"This morning my husband came in and told me about your quarrel with
Grushnitski. Evidently I changed countenance greatly, because he looked
me in the face long and intently. I almost fainted at the thought that
you had to fight a duel to-day, and that I was the cause of it; it
seemed to me that I should go mad... But now, when I am able to reason,
I am sure that you remain alive: it is impossible that you should die,
and I not with you--impossible! My husband walked about the room for a
long time. I do not know what he said to me, I do not remember what I
answered... Most likely I told him that I loved you... I only remember
that, at the end of our conversation, he insulted me with a dreadful
word and left the room. I heard him ordering the carriage... I have been
sitting at the window three hours now, awaiting your return... But you
are alive, you cannot have died!... The carriage is almost ready...
Good-bye, good-bye!... I have perished--but what matter? If I could be
sure that you will always remember me--I no longer say love--no, only
remember... Good-bye, they are coming!... I must hide this letter.

"You do not love Mary, do you? You will not marry her? Listen, you must
offer me that sacrifice. I have lost everything in the world for you"...

Like a madman I sprang on the steps, jumped on my Circassian horse which
was being led about the courtyard, and set off at full gallop along
the road to Pyatigorsk. Unsparingly I urged on the jaded horse, which,
snorting and all in a foam, carried me swiftly along the rocky road.

The sun had already disappeared behind a black cloud, which had been
resting on the ridge of the western mountains; the gorge grew dark and
damp. The Podkumok, forcing its way over the rocks, roared with a hollow
and monotonous sound. I galloped on, choking with impatience. The idea
of not finding Vera in Pyatigorsk struck my heart like a hammer. For one
minute, again to see her for one minute, to say farewell, to press her
hand... I prayed, cursed, wept, laughed... No, nothing could express
my anxiety, my despair!... Now that it seemed possible that I might be
about to lose her for ever, Vera became dearer to me than aught in the
world--dearer than life, honour, happiness! God knows what strange, what
mad plans swarmed in my head... Meanwhile I still galloped, urging on
my horse without pity. And, now, I began to notice that he was breathing
more heavily; he had already stumbled once or twice on level ground...
I was five versts from Essentuki--a Cossack village where I could change
horses.

All would have been saved had my horse been able to hold out for another
ten minutes. But suddenly, in lifting himself out of a little gulley
where the road emerges from the mountains at a sharp turn, he fell to
the ground. I jumped down promptly, I tried to lift him up, I tugged at
his bridle--in vain. A scarcely audible moan burst through his clenched
teeth; in a few moments he expired. I was left on the steppe, alone;
I had lost my last hope. I endeavoured to walk--my legs sank under me;
exhausted by the anxieties of the day and by sleeplessness, I fell upon
the wet grass and burst out crying like a child.

For a long time I lay motionless and wept bitterly, without attempting
to restrain my tears and sobs. I thought my breast would burst. All
my firmness, all my coolness, disappeared like smoke; my soul grew
powerless, my reason silent, and, if anyone had seen me at that moment,
he would have turned aside with contempt.

When the night-dew and the mountain breeze had cooled my burning brow,
and my thoughts had resumed their usual course, I realized that to
pursue my perished happiness would be unavailing and unreasonable.
What more did I want?--To see her?--Why? Was not all over between us? A
single, bitter, farewell kiss would not have enriched my recollections,
and, after it, parting would only have been more difficult for us.

Still, I am pleased that I can weep. Perhaps, however, the cause of
that was my shattered nerves, a night passed without sleep, two minutes
opposite the muzzle of a pistol, and an empty stomach.

It is all for the best. That new suffering created within me a fortunate
diversion--to speak in military style. To weep is healthy, and then,
no doubt, if I had not ridden as I did and had not been obliged to walk
fifteen versts on my way back, sleep would not have closed my eyes on
that night either.

I returned to Kislovodsk at five o'clock in the morning, threw myself on
my bed, and slept the sleep of Napoleon after Waterloo.

By the time I awoke it was dark outside. I sat by the open window, with
my jacket unbuttoned--and the mountain breeze cooled my breast, still
troubled by the heavy sleep of weariness. In the distance beyond the
river, through the tops of the thick lime trees which overshadowed it,
lights were glancing in the fortress and the village. Close at hand all
was calm. It was dark in Princess Ligovski's house.

The doctor entered; his brows were knit; contrary to custom, he did not
offer me his hand.

"Where have you come from, doctor?"

"From Princess Ligovski's; her daughter is ill--nervous exhaustion...
That is not the point, though. This is what I have come to tell you:
the authorities are suspicious, and, although it is impossible to prove
anything positively, I should, all the same, advise you to be cautious.
Princess Ligovski told me to-day that she knew that you fought a duel on
her daughter's account. That little old man--what's his name?--has told
her everything. He was a witness of your quarrel with Grushnitski in the
restaurant. I have come to warn you. Good-bye. Maybe we shall not meet
again: you will be banished somewhere."

He stopped on the threshold; he would gladly have pressed my hand...
and, had I shown the slightest desire to embrace him, he would have
thrown himself upon my neck; but I remained cold as a rock--and he left
the room.

That is just like men! They are all the same: they know beforehand all
the bad points of an act, they help, they advise, they even encourage
it, seeing the impossibility of any other expedient--and then they wash
their hands of the whole affair and turn away with indignation from him
who has had the courage to take the whole burden of responsibility upon
himself. They are all like that, even the best-natured, the wisest...



NEXT morning, having received orders from the supreme authority to
betake myself to the N----Fortress, I called upon Princess Ligovski to
say good-bye.

She was surprised when, in answer to her question, whether I had not
anything of special importance to tell her, I said I had come to wish
her good-bye, and so on.

"But I must have a very serious talk with you."

I sat down in silence.

It was clear that she did not know how to begin; her face grew livid,
she tapped the table with her plump fingers; at length, in a broken
voice, she said:

"Listen, Monsieur Pechorin, I think that you are a gentleman."

I bowed.

"Nay, I am sure of it," she continued, "although your behaviour is
somewhat equivocal, but you may have reasons which I do not know; and
you must now confide them to me. You have protected my daughter from
slander, you have fought a duel on her behalf--consequently you have
risked your life... Do not answer. I know that you will not acknowledge
it because Grushnitski has been killed"--she crossed herself. "God
forgive him--and you too, I hope... That does not concern me... I dare
not condemn you because my daughter, although innocently, has been
the cause. She has told me everything... everything, I think. You have
declared your love for her... She has admitted hers to you."--Here
Princess Ligovski sighed heavily.--"But she is ill, and I am certain
that it is no simple illness! Secret grief is killing her; she will not
confess, but I am convinced that you are the cause of it... Listen:
you think, perhaps, that I am looking for rank or immense wealth--be
undeceived, my daughter's happiness is my sole desire. Your present
position is unenviable, but it may be bettered: you have means; my
daughter loves you; she has been brought up in such a way that she will
make her husband a happy man. I am wealthy, she is my only child... Tell
me, what is keeping you back?... You see, I ought not to be saying all
this to you, but I rely upon your heart, upon your honour--remember she
is my only daughter... my only one"...

She burst into tears.

"Princess," I said, "it is impossible for me to answer you; allow me to
speak to your daughter, alone"...

"Never!" she exclaimed, rising from her chair in violent agitation.

"As you wish," I answered, preparing to go away.

She fell into thought, made a sign to me with her hand that I should
wait a little, and left the room.

Five minutes passed. My heart was beating violently, but my thoughts
were tranquil, my head cool. However assiduously I sought in my breast
for even a spark of love for the charming Mary, my efforts were of no
avail!

Then the door opened, and she entered. Heavens! How she had changed
since I had last seen her--and that but a short time ago!

When she reached the middle of the room, she staggered. I jumped up,
gave her my arm, and led her to a chair.

I stood facing her. We remained silent for a long time; her large eyes,
full of unutterable grief, seemed to be searching in mine for something
resembling hope; her wan lips vainly endeavoured to smile; her tender
hands, which were folded upon her knees, were so thin and transparent
that I pitied her.

"Princess," I said, "you know that I have been making fun of you?... You
must despise me."

A sickly flush suffused her cheeks.

"Consequently," I continued, "you cannot love me"...

She turned her head away, leaned her elbows on the table, covered her
eyes with her hand, and it seemed to me that she was on the point of
tears.

"Oh, God!" she said, almost inaudibly.

The situation was growing intolerable. Another minute--and I should have
fallen at her feet.

"So you see, yourself," I said in as firm a voice as I could command,
and with a forced smile, "you see, yourself, that I cannot marry you.
Even if you wished it now, you would soon repent. My conversation with
your mother has compelled me to explain myself to you so frankly and so
brutally. I hope that she is under a delusion: it will be easy for you
to undeceive her. You see, I am playing a most pitiful and ugly role
in your eyes, and I even admit it--that is the utmost I can do for your
sake. However bad an opinion you may entertain of me, I submit to it...
You see that I am base in your sight, am I not?... Is it not true that,
even if you have loved me, you would despise me from this moment?"...

She turned round to me. She was pale as marble, but her eyes were
sparkling wondrously.

"I hate you"... she said.

I thanked her, bowed respectfully, and left the room.

An hour afterwards a postal express was bearing me rapidly from
Kislovodsk. A few versts from Essentuki I recognized near the roadway
the body of my spirited horse. The saddle had been taken off, no doubt
by a passing Cossack, and, in its place, two ravens were sitting on the
horse's back. I sighed and turned away...

And now, here in this wearisome fortress, I often ask myself, as my
thoughts wander back to the past: why did I not wish to tread that way,
thrown open by destiny, where soft joys and ease of soul were awaiting
me?... No, I could never have become habituated to such a fate! I am
like a sailor born and bred on the deck of a pirate brig: his soul has
grown accustomed to storms and battles; but, once let him be cast upon
the shore, and he chafes, he pines away, however invitingly the shady
groves allure, however brightly shines the peaceful sun. The livelong
day he paces the sandy shore, hearkens to the monotonous murmur of the
onrushing waves, and gazes into the misty distance: lo! yonder, upon
the pale line dividing the blue deep from the grey clouds, is there not
glancing the longed-for sail, at first like the wing of a seagull, but
little by little severing itself from the foam of the billows and, with
even course, drawing nigh to the desert harbour?

 This short story is told through multiple diary entries. Pechorin is in Pyatigorsk, and he is enamored with the landscape. After praising the landscape, Pechorin ventures to the Elizabeth spring, where he meets Grushnitsky, a cadet he has fought alongside. Pechorin reveals that he and Grushnitsky are civil towards each other, but that they do not like each other. Pechorin finds Grushnitsky to be too pretentious and self-absorbed. Grushnitsky "flaunts thick private's greatcoat," and he tells Pechorin "that his reason for joining the K-- regiment would forever remain a secret between himself and the Almighty" . Pechorin believes that Grushnitsky enlisted into the army to fulfill a penchant for romantic situations. At the Elizabeth spring, Grushnitsky sees Princess Mary, a young aristocrat visiting Pyatigorsk with her mother. Pechorin observes that Grushnitsky knows a little too much about Princess Mary, and he deduces immediately that Grushnitsky has feelings for her. Pechorin later witnesses Princess Mary pick up a glass for Grushnitsky, who has a hard time picking it up due to his injured leg. Pechorin walks towards Grushnitsky after the scene takes place and pretends to have not seen anything. Grushnitsky, believing that Pechorin has seen nothing, talks to Pechorin about the incident and tells Pechorin that Princess Mary is an "absolute angel" for picking up the glass . When Grushnitsky and Pechorin depart the Elizabeth spring, they walk past Princess Mary's house. Seated at a window, she sees them and acknowledges only Grushnitsky. This act seals both her and Pechorin's downfalls. In the next diary entry, Pechorin notes that he and Werner, a doctor in Pyatigorsk, have similar mindsets. Werner knows about Pechorin's schemes to seduce Princess Mary and crush Grushnitsky, and he helps Pechorin by not correcting Princess Mary when she falsely assumes that Grushnitsky's private greatcoat means that Grushnitsky was reduced in rank as a result of a duel. Werner knows that Princess Mary will be crushed later on when she finds out that Grushnitsky is just a simple cadet, and this disappointment will cement Grushnitsky's doom. Werner, unintentionally, does another deed for Pechorin. He describes to Pechorin a woman who is in the company of Princess Mary and Princess Ligovskoy. Pechorin believes the woman to be Vera, a woman he loved in his past. In the next few diary entries, Pechorin plays games with Princess Mary. He refuses to introduce himself to Princess Mary and her mother, Princess Ligovskoy. When they are in the same space, he ignores them. He even purchases a rug that Princess Mary wants and puts it on his horse. Pechorin's actions begin to make sense when Pechorin tells Grushnitsky that women like Princess Mary grow bored with men who they find too easily attainable. Pechorin focuses most of his schemes on Princess Mary. He feels that Grushnitsky is already walking straight into a trap. Grushnitsky shows too much affection towards Princess Mary, and Pechorin knows that she will grow bored of Grushnitsky quickly. Pechorin tries to contain a mocking smile when he sees a ring in Grushnitsky's possession. The ring is engraved with Princess Mary's name and the date she picked up the glass. While Pechorin plays his games, he encounters Vera in a grotto. She reveals to him that she is now on her second marriage and that she married again for her son's sake. Vera urges Pechorin to introduce himself to Princess Mary and Princess Ligovskoy so that he will be able to be in her company without arousing suspicion. Pechorin decides that it is finally time to get into Princess Mary's good graces, not only for what Vera said, but also because he wants to continue his games with Princess Mary. An opportunity to get into Princess Mary's good graces comes at a subscription ball. At the ball, Pechorin bestows many compliments on Princess Mary, but what really changes her opinion of him involves the incident below. The dragoon captain's date, one of the ladies who are jealous of Princess Mary's attire, tells the dragoon captain that Princess Mary bumped into her earlier and never apologized. The dragoon captain takes matters into his hands. He enlists the help of a drunken man to embarrass Princess Mary. Pechorin earns himself the invitation to Princess Ligovskoy's drawing room by rescuing Princess Mary from the situation. Princess Mary begins to fall for Pechorin and grows irritated and bored with Grushnitsky. Grushnitsky starts noticing Princess Mary's changed feelings towards him, but he does not yet suspect that Princess Mary has fallen for Pechorin until a second ball. At the ball, Grushnitsky shows Princess Mary the new line officer's uniform that he has purchased with his commission. She is unimpressed because the uniform cements that Grushnitsky is just a lowly cadet. The situation gets worse for Grushnitsky when he finds out that Princess Mary plans on dancing the mazurka with Pechorin. Grushnitsky stops the dance from happening, but he does not squelch Princess Mary's feelings for Pechorin. Grushnitsky starts the rumor that Pechorin and Princess Mary plan on getting married in order to hurt them. Pechorin is irritated with the rumor, but he does nothing. He follows Vera to Kislovodsk instead. Princess Mary, Princess Ligovskoy, Grushnitsky, and the dragoon captain eventually come to Kislovodsk. Pechorin continues his games. He kisses Princess Mary on the cheek and finds out about Grushnitsky and the dragoon captain's plan against him. They plan on enticing him into a duel. Despite knowing their plan, Pechorin agrees to a duel after overhearing Grushnitsky tell someone that Pechorin snuck into Princess Mary's residence to see her when she was at home alone. Pechorin had actually snuck into the residence to see Vera, but Grushnitsky never realizes this truth. Vera's husband overhears Grushnitsky's statements and Pechorin's agreement to the duel. He compliments Pechorin for defending Princess Mary's honor. Before the duel, a time lapse happens. Pechorin is at the fort, the setting of the novel's first short story, "Bela." He reminisces about how he felt before the duel. Time quickly reverts back, and Pechorin eventually duels with Grushnitsky. He reveals last minute into the duel that he knows that the dragoon captain and Grushnitsky gave him an empty gun. Werner loads Pechorin's gun with bullets. Pechorin gives Grushnitsky a chance to recant his statement. Grushnitsky stands by what he has said and threatens to kill Pechorin if Pechorin lets him live. Pechorin shoots Grushnitsky off a cliff. They had decided to duel near a cliff so that they could hide the fact that they had dueled, and that the survivor would have no legal repercussions. Once the deceased hit the water, Werner would remove the bullet from the body. Pechorin shows no remorse for killing Grushnitsky. He says "Finita la commedia" immediately after Grushnitsky dies . When Pechorin arrives home after the duel, His servant brings him two letters, one from Werner and the other from Vera. Vera's letter reveals that her husband has found out about her affair. Her face betrayed her when Pechorin's name was brought up in a conversation between her and her husband. The letter reveals that her husband is taking her far away. Vera tells Pechorin in her letter that she will never love anyone else again and begs him to not marry Princess Mary. Pechorin gets his horse and gallops as fast as he can, hoping to catch Vera at Pyatigorsk, but his horse dies. Pechorin cries like a child, then walks back to Kislovodsk, where he sleeps for many hours. When he wakes up, Werner tells him that Princess Mary is not feeling well and that the authorities know about the duel, despite the letter he had given Pechorin earlier stating that Pechorin had gotten away with the crime. Werner wants to hug Pechorin since it is possibly the last time they will see each other again, but Pechorin's cold body language discourages him. The two men say goodbye without any signs of affection. Pechorin knows that he will be exiled somewhere as part of his punishment so he goes to Princess Mary's residence right after speaking with Werner. Pechorin has a private conversation with Princess Mary. He tells her that he was only playing games with her and states that he does not love her. This is the second time he has told her this truth. It cements everything between them. She tells him that she hates him, and they part.

