The Brothers Karamazov

Chapter 4

The Second Ordeal

‘Y

OU don’t know how you encourage us, Dmitri Fy-

odorovitch, by your readiness to answer,’ said Nikolay

Parfenovitch, with an animated air, and obvious satisfac-

tion beaming in his very prominent, short-sighted, light

grey eyes, from which he had removed his spectacles a mo-

ment before. ‘And you have made a very just remark about

the mutual confidence, without which it is sometimes posi-

tively impossible to get on in cases of such importance, if

the suspected party really hopes and desires to defend him-

self and is in a position to do so. We on our side, will do

everything in our power, and you can see for yourself how

we are conducting the case. You approve, Ippolit Kirillo-

vitch?’ He turned to the prosecutor.

‘Oh, undoubtedly,’ replied the prosecutor. His tone was

somewhat cold, compared with Nikolay Parfenovitch’s im-

pulsiveness.

I will note once for all that Nikolay Parfenovitch, who

had but lately arrived among us, had from the first felt

marked respect for Ippolit Kirillovitch, our prosecutor, and

had become almost his bosom friend. He was almost the