"Is she in this town?"

"Dear prince, _do_ tell us."

"_Darling_ prince, do, _do_ tell us; you positively _must_," was heard on all sides.

"_Mesdames, mes-dames_; if you must know, I will go so far as to say that it is the most charming, and be-witching, and vir-tuous lady I know," said the prince, unctuously.

"The most bewitching? and belonging to this place? Who _can_ it be?" cried the ladies, interchanging looks and signs.

"Why, of course, the young lady who is considered the reigning beauty here," remarked Natalia Dimitrievna, rubbing her hands and looking hard at Zina with those cat's-eyes of hers. All joined her in staring at Zina.

"But, prince, if you dream those sort of things, why should not you marry somebody _bona fide_?" asked Felisata, looking around her with a significant expression.

"We would marry you off beautifully, prince!" said somebody else.

"Oh, dear prince, _do_ marry!" chirped another.

"Marry, marry, _do_ marry!" was now the cry on all sides.

"Ye-yes. Why should I not ma-arry!" said the old man, confused and bewildered with all the cries and exclamations around him.

"Uncle!" cried Mosgliakoff.

"Ye-yes, my boy, quite so; I un-derstand what you mean. I may as well tell you, ladies, that I am not in a position to marry again; and having pa.s.sed one most delightful evening with our fascinating hostess, I must start away to-morrow to the Hermitage, and then I shall go straight off abroad, and study the question of the enlightenment of Europe."

Zina shuddered, and looked over at her mother with an expression of unspeakable anguish.

But Maria Alexandrovna had now made up her mind how to act; all this while she had played a mere waiting game, observing closely and carefully all that was said or done, although she could see only too clearly that her plans were undermined, and that her foes had come about her in numbers which were too great to be altogether pleasant.

At last, however, she comprehended the situation, she thought, completely.

She had gauged how the matter stood in all its branches, and she determined to slay the hundred-headed hydra at one fell blow!

With great majesty, then, she rose from her seat, and approached the tea-table, stalking across the room with firm and dignified tread, as she looked around upon her pigmy foes. The fire of inspiration blazed in her eyes. She resolved to smite once, and annihilate this vile nest of poisonous scandal-adders: to destroy the miserable Mosgliakoff, as though he were a blackbeetle, and with one triumphant blow to rea.s.sert all her influence over this miserable old idiot-prince!

Some audacity was requisite for such a performance, of course; but Maria Alexandrovna had not even to put her hand in her pocket for a supply of that particular commodity.

"_Mesdames_," she began, solemnly, and with much dignity (Maria Alexandrovna was always a great admirer of solemnity); "_mesdames_, I have been a listener to your conversation-to your witty remarks and merry jokes-long enough, and I consider that my turn has come, at last, to put in a word in contribution.

"You are aware we have all met here accidentally (to my great joy, I must add-to my very great joy); but, though I should be the first to refuse to divulge a family secret before the strictest rules of ordinary propriety rendered such a revelation necessary, yet, as my dear guest here appears to me to have given us to understand, by covert hints and insinuations, that he is not averse to the matter becoming common property (he will forgive me if I have mistaken his intentions!)-I cannot help feeling that the prince is not only not averse, but actually desires me to make known our great family secret. Am I right, Prince?"

"Ye-yes, quite so, quite so! Very glad, ve-ry glad, I'm sure!" said the prince, who had not the remotest idea what the good lady was talking about!

Maria Alexandrovna, for greater effect, now paused to take breath, and looked solemnly and proudly around upon the a.s.sembled guests, all of whom were now listening with greedy but slightly disturbed curiosity to what their hostess was about to reveal to them.

Mosgliakoff shuddered; Zina flushed up, and arose from her seat; Afana.s.sy, seeing that something important was about to happen, blew his nose violently, in order to be ready for any emergency.

"Yes, ladies; I am ready-nay, gratified-to entrust my family secret to your keeping!--This evening, the prince, overcome by the beauty and virtues of my daughter, has done her the honour of proposing to me for her hand. Prince," she concluded, in trembling tearful accents, "dear Prince; you must not, you cannot blame me for my candour! It is only my overwhelming joy that could have torn this dear secret prematurely from my heart: and what mother is there who will blame me in such a case as this?"

Words fail me to describe the effect produced by this most unexpected sally on the part of Maria Alexandrovna. All present appeared to be struck dumb with amazement. These perfidious guests, who had thought to frighten Maria Alexandrovna by showing her that they knew her secret; who thought to annihilate her by the premature revelation of that secret; who thought to overwhelm her, for the present, with their hints and insinuations; these guests were themselves struck down and pulverized by this fearless candour on her part! Such audacious frankness argued the consciousness of strength.

"So that the prince actually, and of his own free-will is really going to marry Zina? So they did not drink and bully and swindle him into it? So he is not to be married burglariously and forcibly? So Maria Alexandrovna is not afraid of anybody? Then we can't knock this marriage on the head-since the prince is not being married compulsorily!"

Such were the questions and exclamations the visitors now put to themselves and each other.

But very soon the whispers which the hostess's words had awakened all over the room, suddenly changed to chirps and exclamations of joy.

Natalia Dimitrievna was the first to come forward and embrace Maria Alexandrovna; then came Mrs. Antipova; next Felisata Michaelovna. All present were shortly on their feet and moving about, changing places. Many of the ladies were pale with rage. Some began to congratulate Zina, who was confused enough without; some attached themselves to the wretched Afana.s.sy Matveyevitch. Maria Alexandrovna stretched her arms theatrically, and embraced her daughter-almost by force.

The prince alone gazed upon the company with a sort of confused wonder; but he smiled on as before. He seemed to be pleased with the scene. At sight of the mother and daughter embracing, he took out his handkerchief, and wiped his eye, in the corner of which there really was a tear.

Of course the company fell upon him with their congratulations before very long.

"I congratulate you, Prince! I congratulate you!" came from all sides at once.

"So you _are_ going to be married, Prince?"

"So you _really are_ going to marry?"

"Dear Prince! You really are to be married, then?"

"Ye-yes, ye-yes; quite so, quite so!" replied the old fellow, delighted beyond measure with all the rapture and atmosphere of congratulation around him; "and I confess what I like best of all, is the ve-ery kind in-terest you all take in me! I shall never forget it, never for-get it!

Charming! charming! You have brought the tears to my eyes!"

"Kiss me, prince!" cried Felisata Michaelovna, in stentorian tones.

"And I con-fess further," continued the Prince, as well as the constant physical interruptions from all sides allowed him; "I confess I am beyond measure as-tonished that Maria Alexandrovna, our revered hostess, should have had the extraordinary penet-ration to guess my dream! She might have dreamed it herself, instead of me. Ex-traordinary perspicacity!

Won-derful, wonderful!"

"Oh, prince; your dream again!"

"Oh, come, prince! admit-confess!" cried one and all.

"Yes, prince, it is no use concealing it now; it is time we divulged this secret of ours!" said Maria Alexandrovna, severely and decidedly. "I quite entered into your refined, allegorical manner; the delightful delicacy with which you gave me to understand, by means of subtle insinuations, that you wished the fact of your engagement to be made known. Yes, ladies, it is all true! This very evening the prince knelt at my daughter's feet, and actually, and by no means in a dream, made a solemn proposal of marriage to her!"

"Yes-yes, quite so! just exactly like that; and under the very cir-c.u.mstances she describes: just like re-ality," said the old man. "My dear young lady," he continued, bowing with his greatest courtesy to Zina, who had by no means recovered from her amazement as yet; "my dear young lady, I swear to you, I should never have dared thus to bring your name into pro-minence, if others had not done so before me! It was a most be-witching dream! a be-witching dream! and I am doubly happy that I have been per-mitted to describe it. Charming-charming!"

"Dear me! how very curious it is: he insists on sticking to his idea about a dream!" whispered Mrs. Antipova to the now slightly paling Maria Alexandrovna. Alas! that great woman had felt her heart beating more quickly than she liked without this last little reminder!

"What does it mean?" whispered the ladies among themselves.

"Excuse me, prince," began Maria Alexandrovna, with a miserable attempt at a smile, "but I confess you astonish me a great deal! What is this strange idea of yours about a dream? I confess I had thought you were joking up to this moment; but-if it be a joke on your part, it is exceedingly out of place! I should like-I am _anxious_ to ascribe your conduct to absence of mind, but--"

"Yes; it may really be a case of absence of mind!" put in Natalia Dimitrievna in a whisper.

"Yes-yes-of course, quite so; it may easily be absence of mind!" confirmed the prince, who clearly did not in the least comprehend what they were trying to get out of him; "and with regard to this subject, let me tell you a little an-ecdote. I was asked to a funeral at Petersburg, and I went and made a little mis-take about it and thought it was a birthday par-ty!

So I brought a lovely bouquet of cam-ellias! When I came in and saw the master of the house lying in state on a table, I didn't know where to lo-ok, or what to do with my ca-mellias, I a.s.sure you!"

"Yes; but, Prince, this is not the moment for stories!" observed Maria Alexandrovna, with great annoyance. "Of course, my daughter has no need to beat up a husband; but at the same time, I must repeat that you yourself here, just by the piano, made her an offer of marriage. _I_ did not ask you to do it! I may say I was amazed to hear it! However, since the episode of your proposal, I may say that I have thought of nothing else; and I have only waited for your appearance to talk the matter over with you. But now-well, I am a mother, and this is my daughter. You speak of a dream. I supposed, naturally, that you were anxious to make your engagement known by the medium of an allegory. Well, I am perfectly well aware that someone may have thought fit to confuse your mind on this matter; in fact, I may say that I have my suspicions as to the individual responsible for such a--however, kindly explain yourself, Prince; explain yourself quickly and satisfactorily. You cannot be permitted to jest in this fashion in a respectable house."