# Book Eight Chapter Eight, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, Librivox Audiobook

An episode of [Brothers Karamazov, The by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1795736404), 11 Sep 2026, 42 min.

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## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: CHAPTER VIII. DELYRIUM. What followed was almost an orgy. a
[0:28] Speaker 1: feast to which all were welcome. Grushenka was the first
[0:33] Speaker 1: to call for wine. I want to drink, I want
[0:37] Speaker 1: to be quite drunk, as we were before. Do you remember, Mitya,
[0:41] Speaker 1: do you remember how we made friends here last time?
[0:46] Speaker 1: Mitya himself was almost delirious, feeling that his happiness was
[0:51] Speaker 1: at hand, but Grushenka was continually sending him away from her,
[0:57] Speaker 1: go and enjoy yourself tell them to dance to make
[1:01] Speaker 1: merry let the stove and cottage dance as we had
[1:05] Speaker 1: it last time she kept exclaiming she was tremendously excited
[1:10] Speaker 1: and mitya hastened to obey her the chorus were in
[1:15] Speaker 1: the next room the room in which they had been
[1:18] Speaker 1: sitting till that moment was too small and was divided
[1:21] Speaker 1: in two by cotton curtains behind which was a huge
[1:25] Speaker 1: bed with a puffy feather mattress and a pyramid of
[1:29] Speaker 1: cotton pillows. In the four rooms for visitors there were beds.
[1:35] Speaker 1: Grushenka settled herself just at the door. Mitya set an
[1:40] Speaker 1: easy chair for her. She had sat in the same
[1:43] Speaker 1: place to watch the dancing and singing the time before,
[1:48] Speaker 1: when they had made merry there. All the girls who
[1:53] Speaker 1: had come had been there then, THE JEWISH BAND WITH
[1:56] Speaker 1: FIDDLES AND ZITHERS HAD COME TOO, AND AT LAST THE
[2:00] Speaker 1: LONG-EXPECTED CART HAD ARRIVED WITH THE WINES AND PROVISIONS. METRE
[2:06] Speaker 1: BUSTLED ABOUT. ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE BEGAN COMING INTO THE
[2:11] Speaker 1: ROOM TO LOOK ON, PEASANTS AND THEIR WOMEN, WHO HAD
[2:14] Speaker 1: BEEN ROUSED FROM SLEEP AND ATTRACTED BY THE HOPES OF
[2:19] Speaker 1: ANOTHER MARVELOUS ENTERTAINMENT SUCH AS THEY HAD ENJOYED A MONTH BEFORE.
[2:25] Speaker 1: Mitya remembered their faces, greeting and embracing everyone he knew.
[2:31] Speaker 1: He uncorked bottles and poured out wine for everyone who
[2:36] Speaker 1: presented himself. Only the girls were very eager for the champagne.
[2:42] Speaker 1: The men prepared rum, brandy, and, above all, hot punch.
[2:47] Speaker 1: Mitya had chocolate made for all the girls and ordered
[2:52] Speaker 1: the three samovars, should be kept boiling all night to
[2:56] Speaker 1: provide tea and punch for everyone to help himself. An absurd,
[3:03] Speaker 1: chaotic confusion followed, but Meecher was in his natural element,
[3:09] Speaker 1: and the more foolish it became, the more his spirits rose.
[3:14] Speaker 1: If the peasants had asked him for money at that moment,
[3:18] Speaker 1: he would have pulled out his notes and given them
[3:21] Speaker 1: away right and left. This was probably why the landlord,
[3:27] Speaker 1: Trayvon Borisovich, kept hovering about Mitya to protect him. He
[3:33] Speaker 1: seemed to have given up all idea of going to
[3:36] Speaker 1: bed that night, but he drank little, only one glass
[3:40] Speaker 1: of punch, and kept a sharp lookout on Mitya's interests
[3:45] Speaker 1: after his own fashion. He intervened in the nick of time, civilly,
[3:51] Speaker 1: and obsequiously persuading Mitya not to give away cigars and
[3:56] Speaker 1: Rhine wine, and above all money to the peasants, as
[4:01] Speaker 1: he had done before. He was very indignant, too, at
[4:06] Speaker 1: the peasant girls drinking liqueur and eating sweets. They're a
[4:10] Speaker 1: lousy lot, Dmitri Fyodorovich, he said. I'd give them a kick,
[4:15] Speaker 1: every one of them, and they'd take it as an honour,
[4:17] Speaker 1: that's all they're worth. Mitya remembered Andrei again, and ordered
[4:23] Speaker 1: Punch to be sent out to him.' I was rude
[4:25] Speaker 1: to him just now,' he repeated, with a sinking, softened voice.'
[4:30] Speaker 1: Karganov did not want to drink, and at first did
[4:34] Speaker 1: not care for the girl's singing. But after he had
[4:38] Speaker 1: drunk a couple of glasses of champagne, he became extraordinarily lively,
[4:43] Speaker 1: strolling about the room, laughing and praising the music and
[4:48] Speaker 1: the songs.'' admiring every one and everything.' Maksimov, blissfully drunk,
[4:56] Speaker 1: never left his side.' Gruschenko, too, was beginning to get drunk.'
[5:01] Speaker 1: Pointing to Kalganov, she said to Mitya,' What a dear,
[5:06] Speaker 1: charming boy he is!'' And Mitya, delighted, ran to kiss
[5:12] Speaker 1: Kalganov and Maksimov.' Oh, great were his hopes!' she had
[5:17] Speaker 1: said nothing yet, and seemed indeed purposely to refrain from speaking,
[5:23] Speaker 1: but she looked at him from time to time with
[5:26] Speaker 1: caressing and passionate eyes. At last she suddenly gripped his
[5:30] Speaker 1: hand and drew him vigorously to her. She was sitting
[5:35] Speaker 1: at the moment in the low chair by the door.
[5:39] Speaker 1: How was it you came just now, eh? Have you
[5:42] Speaker 1: walked in? I was frightened. So you wanted to give
[5:45] Speaker 1: me up to him, did you? Did you really want to?
[5:49] Speaker 1: i didn't want to spoil your happiness mitya faltered blissfully
[5:55] Speaker 1: but she did not need his answer well go and
[5:58] Speaker 1: enjoy yourself she sent him away once more don't cry
[6:03] Speaker 1: i'll call you back again he would run away and
[6:07] Speaker 1: she listened to the singing and looked at the dancing
[6:11] Speaker 1: though her eyes followed him wherever he went but in
[6:16] Speaker 1: another quarter of an hour She would call him once more,
[6:20] Speaker 1: and again he would run back to her. Come, sit
[6:24] Speaker 1: beside me. Tell me, how did you hear about me
[6:27] Speaker 1: and my coming here yesterday? From whom did you first
[6:31] Speaker 1: hear it? And Mitya began telling her all about it, disconnectedly, incoherently, feverishly.
[6:41] Speaker 1: He spoke strangely, often frowning, and stopping abruptly. what are
[6:47] Speaker 1: you frowning at she asked nothing i left a man
[6:52] Speaker 1: ill there i'd give ten years of my life for
[6:55] Speaker 1: him to get well to know he was all right
[6:58] Speaker 1: well never mind him if he's ill so you meant
[7:02] Speaker 1: to shoot yourself to-morrow what a silly boy what for
[7:06] Speaker 1: i like such reckless fellows as you she lisped with
[7:11] Speaker 1: a rather halting tongue so you would go any length
[7:16] Speaker 1: for me did you really mean to shoot yourself to-morrow
[7:22] Speaker 1: you stupid no wait a little to-morrow i may have
[7:30] Speaker 1: something to say to you i won't say it to-day
[7:32] Speaker 1: but to-morrow you'd like it to be to-day no i
[7:37] Speaker 1: don't want to to-day come go along now go and
[7:40] Speaker 1: amuse yourself once however she called him as it were
[7:46] Speaker 1: puzzled and uneasy. Why are you sad? I see you're sad. Yes,
[7:53] Speaker 1: I see it, she added, looking intently into his eyes.
[7:58] Speaker 1: Though you keep kissing the peasants and shouting, I see something. No,
[8:03] Speaker 1: be merry. I'm merry. You be merry, too. I love
[8:09] Speaker 1: somebody here. Guess who it is? Ah, look, my boy
[8:12] Speaker 1: has fallen asleep. Poor dear, he's drunk. She meant Kalganov.
[8:18] Speaker 1: He was, in fact, drunk, and had dropped asleep for
[8:22] Speaker 1: a moment, sitting on the sofa. But he was not
[8:26] Speaker 1: merely drowsy from drink. He felt suddenly dejected, or, as
[8:31] Speaker 1: he said, bored. He was intensely depressed by the girl's songs, which,
[8:39] Speaker 1: as the drinking went on, gradually became coarse and more reckless.
[8:45] Speaker 1: and the dances were as bad. Two girls dressed up
[8:49] Speaker 1: as bears, and a lively girl, called Stepanida, with a
[8:54] Speaker 1: stick in her hand, acted the part of keeper, and
[8:57] Speaker 1: began to show them.' Look alive, Mariette, or you'll get
[9:03] Speaker 1: the stick!' The bears rolled on the ground at last,
[9:08] Speaker 1: in the most unseemly fashion, amid roars of laughter. from
[9:13] Speaker 1: the closely packed crowd of men and women.' Well, let them,
[9:18] Speaker 1: let them,' said Grushenka, sententiously, with an ecstatic expression on
[9:24] Speaker 1: her face.' When they do get a day to enjoy themselves,
[9:29] Speaker 1: why shouldn't folks be happy?' Kalganov looked as though he
[9:34] Speaker 1: had been besmirched with dirt.' It' s swinish, all this peasant foolery,'
[9:40] Speaker 1: he murmured, moving away. it's the game they play when
[9:44] Speaker 1: it's light all night in summer he particularly disliked one
[9:50] Speaker 1: new song to a jaunty dance tune it described how
[9:56] Speaker 1: a gentleman came and tried his luck with the girls
[10:00] Speaker 1: to see whether they would love him. The master came
[10:04] Speaker 1: to try the girls. Would they love him? Would they not?
[10:08] Speaker 1: But the girls could not love the master. He would
[10:12] Speaker 1: beat me cruelly and such love won't do for me.
[10:16] Speaker 1: Then a gypsy comes along and he too tries. The
[10:21] Speaker 1: gypsy came to try the girls, would they love him,
[10:24] Speaker 1: would they not? But they couldn't love the gypsy either,
[10:28] Speaker 1: he would be a thief I fear, and would cause
[10:31] Speaker 1: me many a tear. And many more men came to
[10:36] Speaker 1: try their luck, among them a soldier. The soldier came
[10:41] Speaker 1: to try the girls, would they love him, would they not?
[10:45] Speaker 1: but the soldier is rejected with contempt into indecent lines
[10:52] Speaker 1: sung with absolute frankness and producing a furore in the
[10:57] Speaker 1: audience the song ends with a merchant the merchant came
[11:03] Speaker 1: to try their girls would they love him would they
[11:06] Speaker 1: not and it appears that he wins their love because
[11:12] Speaker 1: The merchant will make gold for me, and his queen
[11:15] Speaker 1: I'll gladly be. Kalganov was positively indignant. That's just a
[11:23] Speaker 1: song of yesterday, he said aloud. Who writes such things
[11:27] Speaker 1: for them? They might just as well have had a
[11:30] Speaker 1: railwayman or a Jew come to try his luck with
[11:33] Speaker 1: the girls. They'd have carried all before them. And, almost
[11:38] Speaker 1: as though it were a personal affront, He declared on
[11:41] Speaker 1: the spot that he was bored, sat down on the sofa,
[11:46] Speaker 1: and immediately fell asleep. His pretty little face looked rather
[11:51] Speaker 1: pale as it fell back on the sofa cushion. Look
[11:55] Speaker 1: how pretty he is, said Grushenka, taking Mitya up to him.
[12:01] Speaker 1: I was combing his hair just now, his hair's like
[12:04] Speaker 1: flax and so thick, and bending over him tenderly, She
[12:10] Speaker 1: kissed his forehead. Kalganov instantly opened his eyes, looked at her,
[12:16] Speaker 1: stood up, and with the most anxious air inquired, Where
[12:22] Speaker 1: was Maximoff? So that's who it is you want, Grushenka laughed.
[12:27] Speaker 1: Stay with me a minute. Mitya, run and find his Maximoff. Maximoff,
[12:35] Speaker 1: it appeared, could not tear himself away from the girls.
[12:40] Speaker 1: only running away from time to time to pour himself
[12:44] Speaker 1: out a glass of liqueur. He had drunk two cups
[12:49] Speaker 1: of chocolate. His face was red and his nose was crimson.
[12:54] Speaker 1: His eyes were moist and mawkishly sweet. He ran up
[13:00] Speaker 1: and announced that he was going to dance the saboteur.
[13:07] Speaker 1: They taught me all those well-bred aristocratic dances when I
[13:12] Speaker 1: was little. Go, go with him, Mitya, and I'll watch
[13:18] Speaker 1: from here how he dances, said Grushenka. No, no, I'm
[13:25] Speaker 1: coming to look on too, exclaimed Kalganov, brushing aside in
[13:31] Speaker 1: the most naive way Grushenka's offer to sit with him.
[13:36] Speaker 1: They all went to look on, Maksimov danced his dance,
[13:42] Speaker 1: but it roused no great admiration in anyone but Mitya.
[13:47] Speaker 1: It consisted of nothing but skipping and hopping, kicking up
[13:52] Speaker 1: the feet, and at every skip Maksimov slapped the upturned
[13:58] Speaker 1: sole of his foot. Kalganov did not like it at all,
[14:03] Speaker 1: but Mitya kissed the dancer.' Thanks!' You're tired, perhaps? What
[14:11] Speaker 1: are you looking for here? Would you like some sweets?
[14:14] Speaker 1: A cigar, perhaps? A cigarette? Don't you want a drink?
[14:20] Speaker 1: I'll just have a liqueur. Have you any chocolates? Yes,
[14:24] Speaker 1: there's a heap of them on the table there. Choose one,
[14:27] Speaker 1: my dear soul. I like one with vanilla, for old people. No, brother,
[14:36] Speaker 1: we've none of that special sort.' I say!' the old
[14:42] Speaker 1: man bent down to whisper in Meech's ear.' That girl there,
[14:46] Speaker 1: little Maria, hee-hee!' How would it be if you were
[14:50] Speaker 1: to help me make friends with her?'' So that's what
[14:54] Speaker 1: you're after, no, brother, that won't do.'' I do no
[14:58] Speaker 1: harm to anyone,' Maximoff muttered disconsolately.' Oh, all right, all right.'
[15:05] Speaker 1: They only come here to dance and sing, you know, brother.'
[15:09] Speaker 1: But damn it all, wait a bit. Eat and drink
[15:12] Speaker 1: and be merry. Meanwhile, don't you want money? Later on, perhaps,
[15:19] Speaker 1: smiled Maximoff. All right, all right. Meech's head was burning.
[15:26] Speaker 1: He went outside to the wooden balcony, which ran round
[15:30] Speaker 1: the whole building on the inner side, overlooking the courtyard.
[15:34] Speaker 1: The fresh air revived him. He stood alone in a
[15:38] Speaker 1: dark corner, and suddenly clutched his head in both hands.
[15:43] Speaker 1: His scattered thoughts came together, his sensations blended into a hole,
[15:49] Speaker 1: and threw a sudden light into his mind. A fearful
[15:53] Speaker 1: and terrible light.' If I'm to shoot myself, why not now?'
[15:59] Speaker 1: passed through his mind. Why not go for the pistols,
[16:03] Speaker 1: bring them here, and here, in this dark, dirty corner,
[16:06] Speaker 1: make an end? Almost a minute he stood undecided. A
[16:12] Speaker 1: few hours earlier, when he had been dashing here, he
[16:16] Speaker 1: was pursued by disgrace, by the theft he had committed,
[16:20] Speaker 1: and that blood, that blood! But yet it was easier
[16:25] Speaker 1: for him then. Then everything was over. He had lost her,
[16:29] Speaker 1: given her up. She was gone for him. oh then
[16:33] Speaker 1: his death sentence had been easier for him at least
[16:36] Speaker 1: it had seemed necessary inevitable for what had he to
[16:41] Speaker 1: stay on earth for but now was it the same
[16:44] Speaker 1: as then now one phantom one terror at least was
[16:48] Speaker 1: at an end that first rightful lover that fateful figure
[16:54] Speaker 1: had vanished leaving no trace the terrible phantom had turned
[16:59] Speaker 1: into something so small so comic. It had been carried
[17:05] Speaker 1: into the bedroom and locked in. It would never return.
[17:11] Speaker 1: She was ashamed, and from her eyes he could see
[17:16] Speaker 1: now whom she loved. Now he had everything to make
[17:22] Speaker 1: life happy, but he could not go on living. He
[17:25] Speaker 1: could not. Oh, damnation! Oh, God! Restore to life the
[17:30] Speaker 1: man I knocked down at the fence. let this fearful
[17:34] Speaker 1: cup pass from me lord thou hast wrought miracles for
[17:39] Speaker 1: such sinners as me but what what if the old
[17:43] Speaker 1: man's alive half then the shame of the other disgrace
[17:46] Speaker 1: i would wipe away i would restore the stolen money
[17:50] Speaker 1: i'd give it back i'd get it somehow no trace
[17:53] Speaker 1: of that shame will remain except in my heart for
[17:56] Speaker 1: ever but no no Oh, impossible, cowardly dreams! Oh, damnation!
[18:06] Speaker 1: Yet there was a ray of light and hope in
[18:09] Speaker 1: his darkness. He jumped up and ran back to the room.
[18:14] Speaker 1: To her, to her, his queen forever, was not one
[18:18] Speaker 1: moment of her love worth all the rest of life,
[18:22] Speaker 1: even in the agonies of disgrace. This wild question clutched
[18:27] Speaker 1: at his heart. to her, to her alone, to see her,
[18:32] Speaker 1: to hear her, to think of nothing, to forget everything,
[18:36] Speaker 1: if only for that night, for an hour, for a moment.
[18:40] Speaker 1: Just as he turned from the balcony into the passage,
[18:43] Speaker 1: he came upon the landlord, Trifon Borisovich. He thought he
[18:48] Speaker 1: looked gloomy and worried, and fancied he had come to
[18:52] Speaker 1: find him. What is it, Trifon Borisovich? Are you looking
[18:57] Speaker 1: for me? No, sir. The landlord seemed disconcerted. Why should
[19:03] Speaker 1: I be looking for you? Where have you been? Why
[19:07] Speaker 1: do you look so glum? You're not angry, are you?
[19:10] Speaker 1: Wait a bit. You shall soon get to bed. What's
[19:12] Speaker 1: the time? It'll be three o'clock. Past three, it must be.
[19:17] Speaker 1: We'll leave off soon. We'll leave off. Don't mention it.
[19:21] Speaker 1: It doesn't matter. Keep it up as long as you like.
[19:24] Speaker 1: What's the matter with him? Mitya wondered for an instant,
[19:29] Speaker 1: and he ran back to the room where the girls
[19:32] Speaker 1: were dancing. But she was not there. She was not
[19:36] Speaker 1: in the blue room either. There was no one but
[19:39] Speaker 1: Kalganov asleep on the sofa. Mitya peeped behind the curtain.
[19:45] Speaker 1: She was there. She was sitting in the corner on
[19:48] Speaker 1: a trunk. There forward with her head and arms on
[19:53] Speaker 1: the bed close by. She was crying bitterly, doing her
[19:58] Speaker 1: utmost to stifle her sobs that she might not be heard.
[20:03] Speaker 1: Seeing Mitya, she beckoned him to her, and when he
[20:07] Speaker 1: ran to her, She grasped his hand tightly. Mietje, Mietje,
[20:15] Speaker 1: I loved him, you know. How I have loved him
[20:19] Speaker 1: these five years, all that time. Did I love him?
[20:24] Speaker 1: Or only my own anger? No, him, him. It's a
[20:30] Speaker 1: lie that it was my anger I loved and not him. Mietje,
[20:36] Speaker 1: I was only seventeen then. He was so kind to me,
[20:41] Speaker 1: so merry. He used to sing to me, or so
[20:44] Speaker 1: it seemed to a silly girl like me. And now,
[20:48] Speaker 1: O Lord, it's not the same man. Even his face
[20:51] Speaker 1: is not the same. He's different altogether. I shouldn't have
[20:55] Speaker 1: known him. I drove here with Timofey, and all the
[20:59] Speaker 1: way I was thinking how I should meet him, what
[21:02] Speaker 1: I should say to him, how we should look at
[21:05] Speaker 1: one another. My soul was faint, and all of a
[21:08] Speaker 1: sudden it was just as though he had emptied a
[21:12] Speaker 1: pail of dirty water over me. He talked to me
[21:15] Speaker 1: like a schoolmaster, all so grave and learned. He met
[21:20] Speaker 1: me so solemnly that I was struck dumb. I couldn't
[21:24] Speaker 1: get a word in. At first I thought he was
[21:28] Speaker 1: ashamed to talk before his great big pole. I sat
[21:33] Speaker 1: staring at him.' and wondering why I couldn't say a
[21:36] Speaker 1: word to him now.' It must have been his wife
[21:39] Speaker 1: that ruined him.' You know he threw me up to
[21:42] Speaker 1: get married.' She must have changed him like that.' Mietje,
[21:46] Speaker 1: how shameful it is!' Oh, Mietje, I'm ashamed!' I' m ashamed
[21:51] Speaker 1: for all my life!' Curse it! Curse it!' Curse those
[21:55] Speaker 1: five years!'' And again she burst into tears,' but clung
[22:01] Speaker 1: tight to Mietje's hand. and did not let it go. Mitya, darling, stay,
[22:07] Speaker 1: don't go away, I want to say one word to you,
[22:10] Speaker 1: she whispered, and suddenly raised her face to him. Listen,
[22:14] Speaker 1: tell me, who it is I love? I love one
[22:16] Speaker 1: man here. Who is that man? That's what you must
[22:19] Speaker 1: tell me. A smile lighted up her face, that was
[22:23] Speaker 1: swollen with weeping, and her eyes shone in the half-darkness.
[22:28] Speaker 1: A falcon flew in, and my heart sank. Fool, that's
[22:32] Speaker 1: the man you love, That was what my heart whispered
[22:35] Speaker 1: to me at once. You came in and all grew bright.
[22:39] Speaker 1: What's he afraid of, I wondered, for you were frightened.
[22:42] Speaker 1: You couldn't speak. It's not them he's afraid of. Could
[22:47] Speaker 1: you be frightened of anyone? It's me he's afraid of,
[22:52] Speaker 1: I thought, only me. So Fenya told you, you little stupid,
[22:58] Speaker 1: how I called to Alyosha out of the window, that
[23:02] Speaker 1: I'd love Mityanka for one hour, and that I was
[23:05] Speaker 1: going now to love another. Mitya, Mitya, how could I
[23:11] Speaker 1: be such a fool as to think I could love
[23:14] Speaker 1: anyone after you? Do you forgive me, Mitya? Do you
[23:18] Speaker 1: forgive me or not? Do you love me? Do you
[23:21] Speaker 1: love me? She jumped up and held him with both
[23:26] Speaker 1: hands on his shoulders. Mitya, dumb with rapture,' gazed into
[23:33] Speaker 1: her eyes, at her face, at her smile,' and suddenly
[23:37] Speaker 1: clasped her tightly in his arms' and kissed her passionately.'
[23:41] Speaker 1: You will forgive me for having tormented you.' It was
[23:45] Speaker 1: through spite I tormented you all.' It was for spite
[23:50] Speaker 1: I drove the old man out of his mind.' Do
[23:53] Speaker 1: you remember how you drank at my house one day'
[23:55] Speaker 1: and broke the wine-glass?' I remember that, and I broke
[24:00] Speaker 1: a glass to-day and drank to my vile heart, meet
[24:05] Speaker 1: you my falcon, why don't you kiss me, he kissed
[24:09] Speaker 1: me once, and now he draws back, and looks, and listens,
[24:14] Speaker 1: why listen to me, kiss me, kiss me hard, that's right,
[24:18] Speaker 1: if you love, well then love, I'll be your slave now,
[24:22] Speaker 1: your slave for the rest of my life, it's sweet
[24:24] Speaker 1: to be a slave, kiss me, beat me, ill-treat me,
[24:27] Speaker 1: do what you will with me, and I do deserve
[24:30] Speaker 1: to suffer, stay, wait, Afterwards, I won't have that. She
[24:35] Speaker 1: suddenly thrust him away. Go along, Mietje. I'll come and
[24:39] Speaker 1: have some wine. I want to be drunk. I'm going
[24:42] Speaker 1: to get drunk and dance. I must, I must. She
[24:45] Speaker 1: tore herself away from him and disappeared behind the curtain.
[24:49] Speaker 1: Mietje followed like a drunken man. Yes, come what may,
[24:54] Speaker 1: whatever may happen now, for one minute I'd give the
[24:58] Speaker 1: whole world, he thought. Grushenka did, in fact, toss off
[25:04] Speaker 1: a whole glass of champagne at one gulp, and became
[25:08] Speaker 1: at once very tipsy. She sat down in the same
[25:12] Speaker 1: chair as before, with a blissful smile on her face.
[25:16] Speaker 1: Her cheeks were glowing, her lips were burning, her flashing
[25:21] Speaker 1: eyes were moist. There was passionate appeal in her eyes.
[25:25] Speaker 1: Even Kalganov felt a stir at the heart, and went
[25:29] Speaker 1: up to her. Did you feel how I kissed you
[25:33] Speaker 1: when you were asleep just now? She said thickly, I'm
[25:36] Speaker 1: drunk now. That's what it is. And aren't you drunk?
[25:41] Speaker 1: And why isn't Meechie drinking? Why don't you drink, Meechie?
[25:46] Speaker 1: I'm drunk and you don't drink. I am drunk. I'm
[25:51] Speaker 1: drunk as it is drunk with you. And now I'll
[25:54] Speaker 1: be drunk with wine too. He drank off another glass
[25:58] Speaker 1: and he thought it strange himself. That glass made him
[26:03] Speaker 1: completely drunk. He was suddenly drunk, although till that moment
[26:08] Speaker 1: he had been quite sober, he remembered that. From that
[26:12] Speaker 1: moment everything whirled about him as though he were delirious.
[26:18] Speaker 1: He walked, laughed, talked to everybody without knowing what he
[26:22] Speaker 1: was doing. Only one persistent burning sensation made itself felt continually,
[26:29] Speaker 1: like a red-hot coal in his heart. HE SAID AFTERWARDS
[26:34] Speaker 1: HE WENT UP TO HER SAT BESIDE HER GAZED AT
[26:38] Speaker 1: HER LISTENED TO HER SHE BECAME VERY TALKATIVE KEPT CALLING
[26:42] Speaker 1: EVERYONE TO HER AND BECKONED TO DIFFERENT GIRLS OUT OF
[26:46] Speaker 1: THE CHORUS WHEN THE GIRL CAME UP SHE EITHER KISSED
[26:50] Speaker 1: HER OR MADE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS OVER IN
[26:54] Speaker 1: ANOTHER MINUTE SHE MIGHT HAVE CRIED SHE WAS GREATLY AMUSED
[27:00] Speaker 1: BY THE LITTLE OLD MAN as she called maximoff he
[27:04] Speaker 1: ran up every minute to kiss her hands each little
[27:08] Speaker 1: finger and finally he danced another dance to an old
[27:13] Speaker 1: song of which he sang himself he danced with special
[27:19] Speaker 1: vigour to the refrain.
[27:20] Speaker 2: The little pig says ump ump ump the little calf
[27:25] Speaker 2: says moo moo moo the little duck says quack quack
[27:28] Speaker 2: quack the little goose says The hen goes strutting.
[27:32] Speaker 1: Through the porch. True, true, true, she'll say. True, true, true,
[27:36] Speaker 1: she'll say. Give him something, Mitya, said Grushenka. Give him
[27:43] Speaker 1: a present. He's poor, Yuna. Ah, the poor, the insulted.
[27:49] Speaker 1: Do you know, Mitya, I shall go into a nunnery. No,
[27:53] Speaker 1: I really shall one day. Alyosha said something to me
[27:56] Speaker 1: today that I shall remember all my life, yes. But
[27:59] Speaker 1: today let us dance. tomorrow to the nunnery but to-day
[28:03] Speaker 1: we'll dance i want to play to-day good people and
[28:07] Speaker 1: what of it god will forgive us if i were
[28:10] Speaker 1: god i'd forgive every one my dear sinners from this
[28:16] Speaker 1: day forth i forgive you i'm going to beg forgiveness
[28:20] Speaker 1: forgive me good people a silly wench i'm a beast
[28:25] Speaker 1: that's what i am but i want to pray i
[28:27] Speaker 1: gave a little onion Wicked as I've been, I want
[28:31] Speaker 1: to pray. Meet you, let them dance, don't stop them.
[28:35] Speaker 1: Everyone in the world is good. Everyone, even the worst
[28:39] Speaker 1: of them. The world's a nice place. Though we're bad,
[28:43] Speaker 1: the world's all right. We're good and bad, good and bad. Come,
[28:48] Speaker 1: tell me. I've something to ask you. Come here, everyone,
[28:51] Speaker 1: and I'll ask you. Why am I so good? You
[28:56] Speaker 1: know I am good, I'm very good. Come, why am
[29:00] Speaker 1: I so good? So Grushenka babbled on, getting more and
[29:06] Speaker 1: more drunk. At last she announced that she was going
[29:10] Speaker 1: to dance too. She got up from her chair, staggering. Mitya,
[29:17] Speaker 1: don't give me any more wine. If I ask you,
[29:20] Speaker 1: don't give it to me. Wine doesn't give peace. Everything's
[29:26] Speaker 1: going round, the stove and everything. i want to dance
[29:30] Speaker 1: let everyone see how i dance let them see how
[29:34] Speaker 1: beautifully i dance she really meant it she pulled a
[29:40] Speaker 1: white cambric handkerchief out of her pocket and took it
[29:43] Speaker 1: by one corner in her right hand to wave it
[29:47] Speaker 1: in the dance. Mitya ran to and fro. The girls
[29:51] Speaker 1: were quiet and got ready to break into a dancing
[29:55] Speaker 1: song at the first signal. Maximoff hearing that Grushenka wanted
[30:01] Speaker 1: to dance, squealed with delight and ran skipping about in
[30:06] Speaker 1: front of her, humming, with legs so slim and sides
[30:12] Speaker 1: so trim and its little tail so tight. But Grushenka
[30:19] Speaker 1: waved her handkerchief at him and drove him away. Shhh! Mitya,
[30:25] Speaker 1: why don't they come? Let everyone come to look armed.
[30:29] Speaker 1: Call them in, too, that were locked up. Why did
[30:32] Speaker 1: you lock them in? Tell them I'm going to dance.
[30:34] Speaker 1: Let them look on, too. Mitya walked with a drunken
[30:39] Speaker 1: swagger to the locked door and began knocking to the
[30:42] Speaker 1: poles with his fist. Hi, you podbysotskis. Come, she's going
[30:49] Speaker 1: to dance. She calls you. Lashdak! One of the poles
[30:54] Speaker 1: shouted in reply. You're a lashdak yourself. You're a little scoundrel,
[30:59] Speaker 1: that's what you are. Leave off laughing at Poland, said
[31:05] Speaker 1: Kalganov sententiously. He too was drunk. Be quiet, boy. If
[31:11] Speaker 1: I call him a scoundrel, it doesn't mean that I
[31:14] Speaker 1: called all Polans so. One Lajdak doesn't make a Poland.
[31:19] Speaker 1: Be quiet, my pretty boy. Eat a sweetmeat. Ah, what fellows!
[31:25] Speaker 1: As though they were not men. Why won't they make friends,
[31:30] Speaker 1: said Grushenka, and went forward to dance. The chorus broke into, Ah,
[31:36] Speaker 1: my porch, my new porch. Grushenka flung back her head,
[31:42] Speaker 1: half opened her lips, smiled, waved her handkerchief, and suddenly,
[31:48] Speaker 1: with a violent lurch, stood still in the middle of
[31:52] Speaker 1: the room, looking bewildered. I'm weak. She said, in an
[31:58] Speaker 1: exhausted voice, Forgive me, I'm weak, I can't, I'm sorry.
[32:04] Speaker 1: She bowed to the chorus, and then began bowing in
[32:07] Speaker 1: all directions, I'm sorry, forgive me. The lady's been drinking,
[32:12] Speaker 1: the pretty lady has been drinking, voices were heard saying.
[32:17] Speaker 1: The lady's drunk too much, Maximoff explained to the girls, giggling.
[32:23] Speaker 1: Meet you. Lead me away, take me. said Grushenka helplessly.
[32:29] Speaker 1: Mitya pounced on her, snatched her up in his arms,
[32:33] Speaker 1: and carried the precious burden through the curtains. Well, now
[32:38] Speaker 1: I'll go, thought Kalganov, and walking out of the blue room,
[32:43] Speaker 1: he closed the two halves of the door after him.
[32:46] Speaker 1: But the orgy in the larger room went on and
[32:50] Speaker 1: grew louder and louder. Mitya laid Grushenka on the bed
[32:54] Speaker 1: and kissed her on the lip. Don't touch me, she
[32:58] Speaker 1: faltered in an imploring voice. Don't touch me till I'm yours.
[33:02] Speaker 1: I've told you I'm yours, but don't touch me. Spare me.
[33:05] Speaker 1: With them here, with them close, you mustn't. He's here.
[33:09] Speaker 1: It's nasty here. I'll obey you. I won't think of it.
[33:13] Speaker 1: I worship you, muttered Michi. Yes, it's nasty here. It's abominable.
[33:21] Speaker 1: And still holding her in his arms, he sank on
[33:24] Speaker 1: his knees by the bedside I know, though you're a brute,
[33:30] Speaker 1: you're generous, Grushenka articulated with difficulty. It must be honourable.
[33:39] Speaker 1: It shall be honourable for the future. Let us be honest.
[33:47] Speaker 1: Let us be good. Not brutes, but good. Take me away.
[33:52] Speaker 1: Take me far away. Do you hear? I don't want
[33:55] Speaker 1: it to be here, but far, far away. oh yes
[33:59] Speaker 1: yes it must be said mitya pressing her in his
[34:03] Speaker 1: arms i'll take you and we'll fly away oh i'd
[34:06] Speaker 1: give my whole life for one year only to know
[34:09] Speaker 1: about that blood what blood asked grushenka bewildered nothing muttered
[34:16] Speaker 1: mitya through his teeth grusha you wanted to be honest
[34:20] Speaker 1: but i'm a thief but i've stolen money from katya
[34:22] Speaker 1: disgrace a disgrace from katya from that young lady no'
[34:28] Speaker 1: You didn't steal it. Give it her back. Take it
[34:30] Speaker 1: from me. Why make a fuss? Now ever a thing
[34:33] Speaker 1: of mine is yours. What does money matter? We shall
[34:36] Speaker 1: waste it anyway. Folks like us are bound to waste money.
[34:40] Speaker 1: But we'd better go and work the land. I want
[34:43] Speaker 1: to dig the earth with my own hands. We must
[34:45] Speaker 1: work to you here. Our Joysha said so. I won't
[34:48] Speaker 1: be your mistress. I'll be faithful to you. I'll be
[34:51] Speaker 1: your slave. I'll work for you. We'll go to the
[34:54] Speaker 1: young lady and bow down to her together.' So that
[34:57] Speaker 1: she may forgive us and then we'll go away. And
[35:00] Speaker 1: if she won't forgive us, we'll go anywhere. Take her
[35:03] Speaker 1: her money and love me. Don't love her. Don't love
[35:05] Speaker 1: her anymore. If you love her, I shall strangle her.
[35:09] Speaker 1: I'll put out both her eyes with a needle. I
[35:12] Speaker 1: love you. I love only you. I'll love you in Siberia.
[35:16] Speaker 1: Why Siberia? Never mind Siberia. If you like, I don't care.
[35:22] Speaker 1: We'll work. There's snow in Siberia. I love driving in
[35:27] Speaker 1: the snow and must have bells. Do you hear? There's
[35:30] Speaker 1: a bell ringing. Where is that bell ringing? There are
[35:33] Speaker 1: people coming. Now it's stopped. She closed her eyes, exhausted,
[35:39] Speaker 1: and suddenly fell asleep for an instant. There had certainly
[35:44] Speaker 1: been the sound of a bell in the distance, but
[35:47] Speaker 1: the ringing had ceased. Meecher let his head sink on
[35:52] Speaker 1: her breast. He did not notice that the bell had
[35:55] Speaker 1: ceased ringing, nor did he notice that the songs had ceased,
[36:00] Speaker 1: and that instead of singing and drunken clamour there was
[36:04] Speaker 1: absolute stillness in the house. Grushenka opened her eyes. What's
[36:12] Speaker 1: the matter? Was I asleep? Yes, a bell. I'd been
[36:15] Speaker 1: asleep and dreamt I was driving over the snow with
[36:19] Speaker 1: bells and I dozed. I was with someone I loved
[36:22] Speaker 1: with you. and far far away i was holding you
[36:26] Speaker 1: and kissing you nestling close to you i was cold
[36:29] Speaker 1: and the snow glistened you know how the snow glistens
[36:32] Speaker 1: at night when the moons shine it was as though
[36:36] Speaker 1: i was not on earth i woke up my dear
[36:39] Speaker 1: one is close to me how sweet that is close
[36:43] Speaker 1: to you murmured mitya kissing her dress her bosom her
[36:48] Speaker 1: hands and suddenly he had a strange fancy it seemed
[36:52] Speaker 1: to him that she was looking straight before her, not
[36:56] Speaker 1: at him, not into his face, but over his head,
[37:00] Speaker 1: with an intent, almost uncanny fixity. An expression of wonder,
[37:06] Speaker 1: almost of alarm, came suddenly into her face.' Mietje, who
[37:12] Speaker 1: is that looking at us?' she whispered. Mietje turned, and
[37:19] Speaker 1: saw that someone had, in fact, parted the curtains, and
[37:24] Speaker 1: seemed to be watching them, and not one person alone,
[37:29] Speaker 1: it seemed. He jumped up, and walked quickly to the intruder. Here,
[37:37] Speaker 1: come to us, come here, said a voice speaking not loudly,
[37:43] Speaker 1: but firmly and peremptorily. Meecha passed to the other side
[37:49] Speaker 1: of the curtain, and stood stuck still. The room was
[37:54] Speaker 1: filled with people, but not those who had been there before.
[37:59] Speaker 1: An instantaneous shiver ran down his back, and he shuddered.
[38:04] Speaker 1: He recognised all those people instantly. That tall, stout old
[38:10] Speaker 1: man in the overcoat and forage cap with a cockade
[38:14] Speaker 1: was the police captain, Mikhail Makarovitch, and that consumptive-looking trim
[38:22] Speaker 1: dandy who always has such polished boots. That was the
[38:28] Speaker 1: deputy prosecutor. He has a chronometer worth four hundred roubles.
[38:35] Speaker 1: He showed it to me. And that small young man
[38:40] Speaker 1: in spectacles. Meecher forgot his surname, though he knew him,
[38:46] Speaker 1: had seen him. He was the investigating lawyer. from the
[38:51] Speaker 1: school of jurisprudence, who had only lately come to the town,
[38:58] Speaker 1: and this man, the inspector of police, Mavriky Mavrikevich, a
[39:07] Speaker 1: man he knew well, and those fellows with the brass
[39:12] Speaker 1: plates on, why are they here, and those other two peasants,
[39:16] Speaker 1: and there at the door, Kalganov, with Trifon Borisovich, gentlemen
[39:22] Speaker 1: what's this for gentlemen began mitchell but suddenly as though
[39:30] Speaker 1: beside himself not knowing what he was doing he cried
[39:34] Speaker 1: aloud at the top of his voice i understand the
[39:44] Speaker 1: young man in spectacles moved forward suddenly and stepping up
[39:50] Speaker 1: to Mitya began with dignity, though hurriedly.' We have to make,
[39:56] Speaker 1: in brief, I beg you to come this way, this
[39:58] Speaker 1: way to the sofa. It is absolutely imperative that you
[40:02] Speaker 1: should give an explanation.'' The old man!' cried Mitya frantically.'
[40:07] Speaker 1: The old man and his blood! I understand!' And he sank,
[40:15] Speaker 1: almost fell on a chair close by. as though he
[40:18] Speaker 1: had been mown down by a scythe you understand he
[40:22] Speaker 1: understands it monster and parasite your father's blood cries out
[40:28] Speaker 1: against you the old captain of police roared suddenly stepping
[40:33] Speaker 1: up to meet you he was beside himself crimson in
[40:37] Speaker 1: the face and quivering all over this is impossible cried
[40:42] Speaker 1: the small young man mihail mihail makarovitch this won't do
[40:51] Speaker 1: i beg you allow me to speak i should never
[40:54] Speaker 1: have expected such behaviour from you this is delirium gentlemen
[41:00] Speaker 1: raving delirium cried the captain of police look at him
[41:05] Speaker 1: drunk at this time of night in the company of
[41:08] Speaker 1: a disreputable woman with the blood of his father on
[41:11] Speaker 1: his hands it's delirium I beg you most earnestly, dear
[41:17] Speaker 1: Mikhail Makarevich, to restrain your feelings, the prosecutor said in
[41:23] Speaker 1: a rapid whisper to the old peace captain, or I
[41:25] Speaker 1: shall be forced to resort to, but the little lawyer
[41:28] Speaker 1: did not allow him to finish. He turned to Mitya
[41:32] Speaker 1: and delivered himself in a loud, firm, dignified voice. Ex-Lieutenant Karamazov,
[41:40] Speaker 1: it is my duty to inform you that you are
[41:43] Speaker 1: charged with the murder of your father, Feodo Pavlovich Karamazov,
[41:49] Speaker 1: perpetrated this night. He said something more, and the prosecutor
[41:54] Speaker 1: too put in something, but though Mitya heard them, he
[41:58] Speaker 1: did not understand them. He stared at them all with
[42:03] Speaker 1: wild eyes. End of chapter fifty-four

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