1 The Brothers Karamazovthough he had already behaved badly to her. Yet, although
Alyosha recognised and did justice to all these fine and gen-
erous sentiments, a shiver began to run down his back as
soon as he drew near her house.
He reflected that he would not find Ivan, who was so inti-
mate a friend, with her, for Ivan was certainly now with his
father. Dmitri he was even more certain not to find there,
and he had a foreboding of the reason. And so his conver-
sation would be with her alone. He had a great longing to
run and see his brother Dmitri before that fateful interview.
Without showing him the letter, he could talk to him about
it. But Dmitri lived a long way off, and he was sure to be
away from home too. Standing still for a minute, he reached
a final decision. Crossing himself with a rapid and accus-
tomed gesture, and at once smiling, he turned resolutely in
the direction of his terrible lady.
He knew her house. If he went by the High Street and
then across the market-place, it was a long way round.
Though our town is small, it is scattered, and the houses
are far apart. And meanwhile his father was expecting him,
and perhaps had not yet forgotten his command. He might
be unreasonable, and so he had to make haste to get there
and back. So he decided to take a short cut by the backway,
for he knew every inch of the ground. This meant skirting
fences, climbing over hurdles, and crossing other people’s
back-yards, where everyone he met knew him and greeted
him. In this way he could reach the High Street in half the
time.
He had to pass the garden adjoining his father’s, and be-