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。“