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In reply to the prosecutors question what grounds he had for asserting that Fyodor Pavlovitch had wronged his son in their money relations, Grigory, to the surprise of every one, had no proof at all to bring forward, but he still persisted that the arrangement with the son was unfair, and that he ought to have paid him several thousand roubles more. I must note, by the way, that the prosecutor asked this question whether Fyodor Pavlovitch had really kept back part of Mityas inheritance with marked persistence of all the witnesses who could be asked it, not excepting Alyosha and Ivan, but he obtained no exact information from any one; all alleged that it was so, but were unable to bring forward any distinct proof. Grigorys description of the scene at the dinner-table, when Dmitri had burst in and beaten his father, threatening to come back to kill him, made a sinister impression on the court, especially as the old servants composure in telling it, his parsimony of words and peculiar phraseology were as effective as eloquence. He observed that he was not angry with Mitya for having knocked him down and struck him on the face; he had forgiven him long ago, he said. Of the deceased Smerdyakov he observed, crossing himself, that he was a lad of ability, but stupid and afflicted, and, worse still, an infidel, and that it was Fyodor Pavlovitch and his elder son who had taught him to be so. But he defended Smerdyakovs honesty almost with warmth, and related how Smerdyakov had once found the masters money in the yard, and, instead of concealing it, had taken it to his master, who had rewarded him with a gold piece for it, and trusted him implicitly from that time forward. He maintained obstinately that the door into the garden had been open. But he was asked so many questions that I cant recall them all. At last the counsel for the defence began to cross-examine him, and the first question he asked was about the envelope in which Fyodor Pavlovitch was supposed to have put three thousand roubles for a certain person. Have you ever seen it, you, who were for so many years in close attendance on your master? Grigory answered that he had not seen it and had never heard of the money from any one till everybody was talking about it. This question about the envelope Fetyukovitch put to every one who could conceivably have known of it, as persistently as the prosecutor asked his question about Dmitris inheritance, and got the same answer from all, that no one had seen the envelope, though many had heard of it. From the beginning every one noticed Fetyukovitchs persistence on this subject. Now, with your permission Ill ask you a question, Fetyukovitch said, suddenly and unexpectedly. Of what was that balsam, or, rather, decoction, made, which, as we learn from the preliminary inquiry, you used on that evening to rub your lumbago, in the hope of curing it? Grigory looked blankly at the questioner, and after a brief silence muttered, there was saffron in it. Nothing but saffron? Dont you remember any other ingredient? There was milfoil in it, too. And pepper perhaps? Fetyukovitch queried. Yes, there was pepper, too. Etcetera. And all dissolved in vodka? In spirit. There was a faint sound of laughter in the court. You see, in spirit. After rubbing your back, I believe, you drank what was left in the bottle with a certain pious prayer, only known to your wife? I did. Did you drink much? Roughly speaking, a wine-glass or two? It might have been a tumbler-full. |
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