11 0 The Brothers Karamazovfather in order to take the envelope with the notes from un-
der his pillow, as soon as Ivan had left. ‘As soon as Ivan had
gone away’ — you hear that; so he had thought everything
out, weighing every circumstance, and he carried it all out
just as he had written it. The proof of premeditation is con-
clusive; the crime must have been committed for the sake of
the money, that is stated clearly, that is written and signed.
The prisoner does not deny his signature.
‘I shall be told he was drunk when he wrote it. But that
does not diminish the value of the letter, quite the contrary;
he wrote when drunk what he had planned when sober. Had
he not planned it when sober, he would not have written it
when drunk. I shall be asked: Then why did he talk about it
in taverns? A man who premeditates such a crime is silent
and keeps it to himself. Yes, but he talked about it before he
had formed a plan, when he had only the desire, only the
impulse to it. Afterwards he talked less about it. On the eve-
ning he wrote that letter at the Metropolis tavern, contrary
to his custom he was silent, though he had been drinking.
He did not play billiards, he sat in a corner, talked to no one.
He did indeed turn a shopman out of his seat, but that was
done almost unconsciously, because he could never enter a
tavern without making a disturbance. It is true that after he
had taken the final decision, he must have felt apprehensive
that he had talked too much about his design beforehand,
and that this might lead to his arrest and prosecution af-
terwards. But there was nothing for it; he could not take his
words back, but his luck had served him before, it would
serve him again. He believed in his star, you know! I must