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give her my love. Come, tell me about her.”
“Yes, her position is very difficult; she...” began Stepan
Arkadyevitch, in the simplicity of his heart accepting as sterling coin
Princess Myakaya’s words “tell me about her.” Princess Myakaya in-
terrupted him immediately, as she always did, and began talking her-
self.
“She’s done what they all do, except me—only they hide it. But
she wouldn’t be deceitful, and she did a fine thing. And she did better
still in throwing up that crazy brother-in-law of yours. You must ex-
cuse me. Everybody used to say he was so clever, so very clever; I was
the only one that said he was a fool. Now that he’s so thick with Lidia
Ivanovna and Landau, they all say he’s crazy, and I should prefer not
to agree with everybody, but this time I can’t help it.”
“Oh, do please explain,” said Stepan Arkadyevitch; “what does it
mean? Yesterday I was seeing him on my sister’s behalf, and I asked
him to give me a final answer. He gave me no answer, and said he
would think it over. But this morning, instead of an answer, I received
an invitation from Countess Lidia Ivanovna for this evening.”
“Ah, so that’s it, that’s it!” said Princess Myakaya gleefully, “they’re
going to ask Landau what he’s to say.”
“Ask Landau? What for? Who or what’s Landau?”
“What! you don’t know Jules Landau, le fameux Jules Landau, le
clairvoyant? He’s crazy too, but on him your sister’s fate depends. See
what comes of living in the provinces—you know nothing about any-
thing. Landau, do you see, was a commis in a shop in Paris, and he
went to a doctor’s; and in the doctor’s waiting room he fell asleep, and in
his sleep he began giving advice to all the patients. And wonderful
advice it was! Then the wife of Yury Meledinsky—you know, the
invalid?—heard of this Landau, and had him to see her husband. And
he cured her husband, though I can’t say that I see he did him much
good, for he’s just as feeble a creature as ever he was, but they believed
in him, and took him along with them and brought him to Russia. Here
there’s been a general rush to him, and he’s begun doctoring everyone.
He cured Countess Bezzubova, and she took such a fancy to him that
she adopted him.”
“Adopted him?”
“Yes, as her son. He’s not Landau any more now, but Count
Bezzubov. That’s neither here nor there, though; but Lidia—I’m very
fond of her, but she has a screw loose somewhere—has lost her heart to
this Landau now, and nothing is settled now in her house or Alexey
Alexandrovitch’s without him, and so your sister’s fate is now in the
hands of Landau, alias Count Bezzubov.”