The Brothers Karamazovletter, and that she was to go home and expect him.’ And
‘Would you believe it?’ exclaimed Madame Hohlakov enthu-
siastically, ‘the prophecy has been fulfilled literally indeed,
and more than that.’ Scarcely had the old woman reached
home when they gave her a letter from Siberia which had
been awaiting her. But that was not all; in the letter writ-
ten on the road from Ekaterinenburg, Vassya informed his
mother that he was returning to Russia with an official, and
that three weeks after her receiving the letter he hoped ‘to
embrace his mother.’
Madame Hohlakov warmly entreated Alyosha to report
this new ‘miracle of prediction’ to the Superior and all the
brotherhood. ‘All, all, ought to know of it’ she concluded.
The letter had been written in haste, the excitement of the
writer was apparent in every line of it. But Alyosha had no
need to tell the monks, for all knew of it already. Rakitin
had commissioned the monk who brought his message ‘to
inform most respectfully his reverence Father Paissy, that
he, Rakitin, has a matter to speak of with him, of such grav-
ity that he dare not defer it for a moment, and humbly begs
forgiveness for his presumption.’ As the monk had given
the message to Father Paissy, before that to Alyosha, the lat-
ter found after reading the letter, there was nothing left for
him to do but to hand it to Father Paissy in confirmation of
the story.
And even that austere and cautious man, though he
frowned as he read the news of the ‘miracle,’ could not com-
pletely restrain some inner emotion. His eyes gleamed, and
a grave and solemn smile came into his lips.