| 148 | 149 | 150 | 151 | 152 |
| 1 | 73 | 145 | 218 | 290 |
|
"'Fire, I do not fear . . . but strike them all . . . He has gone. . . .
He has gone.' . . .
"
The delirium continued. She no longer recognized the children, not even
little Lise, who had approached. Toward noon she died. As for me, I was
arrested before her death, at eight o'clock in the morning. They took
me to the police station, and then to prison, and there, during eleven
months, awaiting the verdict, I reflected upon myself, and upon my past,
and I understood it. Yes, I began to understand from the third day. The
third day they took me to the house." . . .
Posdnicheff seemed to wish to add something, but, no longer having the
strength to repress his sobs, he stopped. After a few minutes, having
recovered his calmness, he resumed:
"I began to understand only when I saw her in the coffin." . . .
He uttered a sob, and then immediately continued, with haste:
"Then only, when I saw her dead face, did I understand all that I had
done. I understood that it was I, I, who had killed her. I understood
that I was the cause of the fact that she, who had been a moving,
living, palpitating being, had now become motionless and cold, and that
there was no way of repairing this thing. He who has not lived through
that cannot understand it."
150
Page
Quick Jump
|