The Brothers Karamazov

0 The Brothers Karamazov

She began looking constantly at Ilusha’s bed in the corner
and seemed lost in thought. She was more silent, quieter,
and, if she cried, she cried quietly so as not to be heard. The
captain noticed the change in her with mournful perplex-
ity. The boys’ visits at first only angered her, but later on
their merry shouts and stories began to divert her, and at
last she liked them so much that, if the boys had given up
coming, she would have felt dreary without them. When
the children told some story or played a game, she laughed
and clapped her hands. She called some of them to her and
kissed them. She was particularly fond of Smurov.
As for the captain, the presence in his room of the chil-
dren, who came to cheer up Ilusha, filled his heart from the
first with ecstatic joy. He even hoped that Ilusha would now
get over his depression and that that would hasten his re-
covery. In spite of his alarm about Ilusha, he had not, till
lately, felt one minute’s doubt of his boy’s ultimate recovery.
He met his little visitors with homage, waited upon them
hand and foot; he was ready to be their horse and even be-
gan letting them ride on his back, but Ilusha did not like the
game and it was given up. He began buying little things for
them, gingerbread and nuts, gave them tea and cut them
sandwiches. It must be noted that all this time he had plen-
ty of money. He had taken the two hundred roubles from
Katerina Ivanovna just as Alyosha had predicted he would.
And afterwards Katerina Ivanovna, learning more about
their circumstances and Ilusha’s illness, visited them her-
self, made the acquaintance of the family, and succeeded
in fascinating the half-imbecile mother. Since then she had