The Brothers Karamazovbuying timber there too. At Mitya’s urgent request that he
would take him to Lyagavy at once, and by so doing ‘save
him, so to speak,’ the priest agreed, after some demur, to
conduct him to Suhoy Possyolok; his curiosity was obvious-
ly aroused. But, unluckily, he advised their going on foot, as
it would not be ‘much over’ a verst. Mitya, of course, agreed,
and marched off with his yard-long strides, so that the poor
priest almost ran after him. He was a very cautious man,
though not old.
Mitya at once began talking to him, too, of his plans,
nervously and excitedly asking advice in regard to Lyaga-
vy, and talking all the way. The priest listened attentively,
but gave little advice. He turned off Mitya’s questions with:
‘I don’t know. Ah, I can’t say. How can I tell?’ and so on.
When Mitya began to speak of his quarrel with his father
over his inheritance, the priest was positively alarmed, as
he was in some way dependent on Fyodor Pavlovitch. He
inquired, however, with surprise, why he called the peas-
ant-trader Gorstkin, Lyagavy, and obligingly explained to
Mitya that, though the man’s name really was Lyagavy, he
was never called so, as he would be grievously offended at
the name, and that he must be sure to call him Gorstkin, ‘or
you’ll do nothing with him; he won’t even listen to you,’ said
the priest in conclusion.
Mitya was somewhat surprised for a moment, and ex-
plained that that was what Samsonov had called him. On
hearing this fact, the priest dropped the subject, though he
would have done well to put into words his doubt wheth-
er, if Samsonov had sent him to that peasant, calling him