Yettheirfearofhimwasinnowayreciprocated，nor，forthatmatter，didtheyeverassaulthim，despitethefactthatoccasionallytheywouldthrowanoldbootorachipofwoodinhisdirection-throwitaimlessly，andwithoutreallydesiringtohitthemarkaimedat。
Also，anythingcircular——forexample，aplateorthewheelofatoy，engagedNilushka’sattentionandledhimtocaressitaseagerlyashedidglobesandballs。Evidentlytherotundityoftheobjectwasthepointthatexcitedhisinterest。Andasheturnedtheobjectoverandover，andfelttheflatpartofit，hewouldmutter:
“Butwhatabouttheotherone？“
What“theotherone“meantIcouldneverdivine。NorcouldAntipa。Once，drawingtheidiottohim，hesaid:
“Whydoyoualwayssay’Whatabouttheotherone’？“
Troubledandnervous，Nilushkamerelymutteredsomeunintelligiblereplyashisfingersturnedandturnedaboutthecircularobjectwhichhewasholding。
“Nothing，“atlengthhereplied。
“Nothingofwhat？
“Nothinghere。“
“Ah，heistoofoolishtounderstand，“saidVologonovwithasighashiseyesdarkenedinmeditativefashion。
“Yes，thoughitmayseemfoolishtosayso，“headded，“somepeoplewouldenvyhim。“
“Whyshouldthey？“
“Formorethanonereason。Tobeginwith，helivesalifefreefromcare——heiskeptcomfortably，andevenheldinrespect。
Sincenoonecanproperlyunderstandhim，andeveryonefearshim，throughabeliefthatfolkwithoutwit，the’blessedonesofGod，’aremoreespeciallytheAlmighty’sfavouritesthanpersonspossessedofunderstanding。Onlyaverywisemancoulddealwithsuchamatter，andthelesssointhatitmustberememberedthatmorethanone’blessedone’hasbecomeaSaint，whilesomeofthosepossessedofunderstandinghavegone——well，havegonewhither？Yes，indeed！“
And，thoughtfullycontractingthebushyeyebrowswhichlookedasthoughtheyhadbeentakenfromthefaceofanotherman，Vologonovthrusthishandsuphissleeves，andstoodeyeingNilushkashrewdlywithhisintangiblegaze。
NeverdidFelitzatasayforcertainwhotheboy’sfatherhadbeen，butatleastitwasknowntomethatinvaguetermsshehaddesignatedtwomenassuch——theoneayoung“surveystudent，“andtheotheramerchantbynameViporotkov，amannotorioustothewholetownasamostturbulentrakeandbully。
ButoncewhensheandAntipaandIwereseatedgossipingattheentrance-gates，andIinquiredofherwhetherNilushka’sfatherwerestillsurviving，sherepliedinacarelessway:
“Heisso，damnhim！“
“Thenwhoishe？“
Felitzata，asusual，lickedherfaded，butstillcomely，lipswiththetipofhertonguebeforeshereplied:
“Amonk。“
“Ah！“Vologonovexclaimedwithunexpectedanimation。“That，then，explainsthings。Atallevents，wehaveinitanintelligibleTHEORYofthings。“
Whereafter，heexpoundedtousatlength，andwithnosparingofdetails，thereasonwhyamonkshouldhavebeenNilushka’sfatherratherthaneitherthemerchantortheyoung“surveystudent。“AndasVologonovproceededhegrewunwontedlyenthusiastic，andwentsofarastoclenchhisfistsuntilpresentlyheheavedasigh，asthoughmentallyhurt，andsaidfrowninglyandreproachfullytothewoman:
“Whydidyounevertellusthisbefore？Itwasexceedinglynegligentofyou。“
Felitzatalookedattheoldmanwithsarcasmandsaucinessgleaminginherbrowneyes。Suddenly，however，shecontractedherbrows，counterfeitedasigh，andwhined:
“Ah，Iwasgood-lookingthen，anddesiredofall。InthosedaysIhadbothagoodheartandahappynature。“
“Butthemonkmayprovetohavebeenanimportantfactorinthequestion，“wasAntipa’sthoughtfulremark。
“Yes，andmanyanothermanthanhehasrunaftermeforhispleasure，“continuedFelitzatainatoneofreminiscence。ThisledVologonovtocough，risetohisfeet，layhishanduponthewoman’sclaret-colouredsleeveofsatin，andsaysternly:
“Doyoucomeintomyroom，forIhavebusinesstotransactwithyou。“
Asshecompliedshesmiledandwinkedatme。Andsothepairdeparted——heshufflingcarefullywithhisbandylegs，andshewatchingherstepsasthoughatanymomentshemightcollapseontoherleftside。
Thenceforth，FelitzatavisitedVologonovalmostdaily；andonceduringthetimeoftwohoursorsothatthepairwereoccupiedindrinkingteaIheard，throughthepartition-wall，theoldmansayinvigorous，level，didacticaltones:
“Thesetalesandrumoursoughtnottobedismissedsavewithcaution。Atleastoughttheytobegiventhebenefitofthedoubt。For，thoughallthathesaysmaySEEMtousunintelligible，theremayyetbeenshrinedthereinameaning，suchas——“
“Yousayameaning？“
“Yes，ameaningwhich，eventually，willbevouchsafedtoyouinavision。Forexample，youmayonedayseeissuefromadenseforestamanofGod，andhearhimcryaloud:Felitzata，OhservantofGod，Ohsinnermostdarkofsoul——“
“Whatacroaking，tobesure！“
“Besilent！Nononsense！Doyoublameyourselfratherthansingyourownpraises。AndinthatvisionyoumayhearthemanofGodcry:’Felitzata，goyouforthanddothatwhichonewhoshallmeetyoumayrequestyoutoperform！’And，havinggoneforth，youmayfindthemanofGodtobethemonkwhomwehavespokenof。“
“A-a-ah！“thewomandrawledwithanairofbeingabouttosaysomethingmore。
“Come，fool！“
“Yousee——“
“HaveI，thistime，abusedyou？“
“No，but——“
“IhaveanideathatthemanofGodwillbeholdingacrook。“
“Ofcourse，“assentedFelitzata。
Similarly，onanotheroccasion，didIhearAntipamutterconfidentiallytohiscompanion:
“Thefactthatallhissayingsaresosimpleisnotafavourablesign。For，yousee，theydonotharmonisewiththeaffairinitsentirety——insuchaconnectionwordsshouldbemysterious，andso，abletobeinterpretedinmorethanoneway，seeingthatthemoremeaningswordspossess，themorearethosewordsrespectedandheededbymankind。“
“Whyso？“queriedFelitzata。
“Whyso？“re-echoedVologonovirritably。“Arewenot，then，torespectANYONEorANYTHING？Onlyheisworthyofrespectwhodoesnotharmhisfellows；andofthosewhodonotharmtheirfellowstherearebutfew。Tothispointyoumustpayattention——youmustteachhimwordsofvariableimport，wordsmoreabstract，aswellasmoresonorous。“
“ButIknownosuchwords。“
“Iwillrepeattoyouafew，andeverynight，whenhegoestobed，youshallrepeatthemtoHIM。Forexample:’Adomispolneni，pokaites’[Doyepeoplewhoarefilledwithvenomrepent]。AndmarkthattheexactwordsoftheChurchbeadheredto。Forinstance，’Dushenbitzi，pozhaleiteBoga，okayannie，’[Murderersofthesoul，accursedones，repentyebeforeGod。]mustbesaidratherthan’Dushenbitzi，pozhaleiteBoga，okayanni，’sincethelatter，thoughtheshorterform，isalsonotthecorrectone。
ButperhapsIhadbetterinstructtheladmyself。“
“Certainlythatwouldbethebetterplan。“
SofromthattimeonwardsVologonovfelltostoppingNilushkainthestreet，andrepeatingtohimsomethingoranotherinhiskindlyfashion。Onceheeventookhimbythehand，and，leadinghimtohisroom，andgivinghimsomethingtocat，saidpersuasively:
“Saythisafterme。’Donothasten，Ohyepeople。’Tryifyoucansaythat。“
“’Alantern，’“beganNilushkacivilly。
“’Alantern？’Yes。Well，goon，andsay，’Iamalanternuntothee——“
“Iwanttosing，it。“
“Thereisnoneedforthat，thoughpresentlyyoushallsingit。
Forthemomentyourtaskistolearnthecorrectspeakingofthings。Sosayafterme——“
“0Lo-ord，havemercy！“cameinaquiet，thoughtfulchantfromtheidiot。Whereafterheaddedinthecoaxingtoneofachild:
“Weshallallofushavetodie。“
“Yes，butcome，come！“expostulatedVologonov。“WhatareyoublurtingoutNOW？ThatmuchIknowwithoutyourtellingme——alwayshaveIknown，littlefriend，thateachofusishasteningtowardshisdeath。Yetyourwantofunderstandingexceedswhatshouldbe。“