AFTERWARDS.

The next day the gay, handsome, and brilliant Schonbock joined Nekhludoff at his aunts' house, and quite won their hearts by his refined and amiable manner, his high spirits, his generosity, and his affection for Dmitri.

But though the old ladies admired his generosity it rather perplexed them, for it seemed exaggerated. He gave a rouble to some blind beggars who came to the gate, gave 15 roubles in tips to the servants, and when Sophia Ivanovna's pet dog hurt his paw and it bled, he tore his hemstitched cambric handkerchief into strips (Sophia Ivanovna knew that such handkerchiefs cost at least 15 roubles a dozen) and bandaged the dog's foot. The old ladies had never met people of this kind, and did not know that Schonbock owed 200,000 roubles which he was never going to pay, and that therefore 25 roubles more or less did not matter a bit to him. Schonbock stayed only one day, and he and Nekhludoff both, left at night. They could not stay away from their regiment any longer, for their leave was fully up.

At the stage which Nekhludoff's selfish mania had now reached he could think of nothing but himself. He was wondering whether his conduct, if found out, would be blamed much or at all, but he did not consider what Katusha was now going through, and what was going to happen to her.

He saw that Schonbock guessed his relations to her and this flattered his vanity.

"Ah, I see how it is you have taken such a sudden fancy to your aunts that you have been living nearly a week with them," Schonbock remarked when he had seen Katusha. "Well, I don't wonder--should have done the same. She's charming." Nekhludoff was also thinking that though it was a pity to go away before having fully gratified the cravings of his love for her, yet the absolute necessity of parting had its advantages because it put a sudden stop to relations it would have been very difficult for him to continue. Then he thought that he ought to give her some money, not for her, not because she might need it, but because it was the thing to do.

So he gave her what seemed to him a liberal amount, considering his and her station. On the day of his departure, after dinner, he went out and waited for her at the side entrance. She flushed up when she saw him and wished to pass by, directing his attention to the open door of the maids' room by a look, but he stopped her.

"I have come to say good-bye," he said, crumbling in his hand an envelope with a 100-rouble note inside. "There, I" . . .

She guessed what he meant, knit her brows, and shaking her head pushed his hand away.

"Take it; oh, you must!" he stammered, and thrust the envelope into the bib of her apron and ran back to his room, groaning and frowning as if he had hurt himself. And for a long time he went up and down writhing as in pain, and even stamping and groaning aloud as he thought of this last scene. "But what else could I have done? Is it not what happens to every one? And if every one does the same . . . well I suppose it can't be helped." In this way he tried to get peace of mind, but in vain. The recollection of what had passed burned his conscience. In his soul--in the very depths of his soul--he knew that he had acted in a base, cruel, cowardly manner, and that the knowledge of this act of his must prevent him, not only from finding fault with any one else, but even from looking straight into other people's eyes; not to mention the impossibility of considering himself a splendid, noble, high-minded fellow, as he did and had to do to go on living his life boldly and merrily. There was only one solution of the problem--i.e., not to think about it. He succeeded in doing so. The life he was now entering upon, the new surroundings, new friends, the war, all helped him to forget. And the longer he lived, the less he thought about it, until at last he forgot it completely.

Once only, when, after the war, he went to see his aunts in hopes of meeting Katusha, and heard that soon after his last visit she had left, and that his aunts had heard she had been confined somewhere or other and had gone quite to the bad, his heart ached. According to the time of her confinement, the child might or might not have been his. His aunts said she had gone wrong, that she had inherited her mother's depraved nature, and he was pleased to hear this opinion of his aunts'. It seemed to acquit him. At first he thought of trying to find her and her child, but then, just because in the depths of his soul he felt so ashamed and pained when thinking about her, he did not make the necessary effort to find her, but tried to forget his sin again and ceased to think about it. And now this strange coincidence brought it all back to his memory, and demanded from him the acknowledgment of the heartless, cruel cowardice which had made it possible for him to live these nine years with such a sin on his conscience. But he was still far from such an acknowledgment, and his only fear was that everything might now be found out, and that she or her advocate might recount it all and put him to shame before every one present.

第二天,申包克衣冠楚楚,兴致勃勃,到聂赫留朵夫姑一妈一家来找他.申包克凭他的文雅,殷勤,乐观,慷慨和对聂赫留朵夫的友一爱一博得了两位姑一妈一的欢心.他的慷慨虽然很讨姑一妈一们喜欢,但有点过分,使她们感到疑惑.门口来了几个瞎眼乞丐,他一给就是一个卢布.他给仆人们发赏钱,一次就发了十五卢布.索菲雅姑一妈一的小狮子狗修才特卡当着他的面碰破了脚,他就亲自替它包扎,毫不犹豫地掏出自己的花边麻纱手绢(索菲雅姑一妈一知道,这种手绢至少要十五卢布一打),把它撕成一条条,给修才特卡做绷带.姑一妈一们从来没有见过这样的人,根本不会想到这个申包克其实欠了二十万卢布的债,而且他自己也知道是永世还不清的,因此多二十五卢布或少二十五卢布对他没有什么区别.

申包克只逗留了一天,第二天晚上就同聂赫留朵夫一起走了.他们不能再待下去,因为到了部队报到的最后期限.

在姑一妈一家度过的最后一天里,聂赫留朵夫脑子里还清清楚楚地记得前一一夜的事.他的内心有两种感情在搏斗着:一种是兽一性一爱一所引起的热一辣辣的充满情一欲的回忆,这种情一欲虽不及预期的那样醉人,但毕竟达到了目的,得到了一定的满足;另一种感情是觉得自己做了一件很坏的事,必须加以弥补,但弥补不是为了她,而是为了自己.

聂赫留朵夫身上利己主义恶一性一发作,他想到的只有他自己.他考虑的是,要是人家知道他对她干的事,会不会责备他,会责备到什么程度.他根本没有想到,她现在的心情怎样,将来会产生什么后果.

他以为申包克猜到了他同卡秋莎的关系,这使他的虚荣心得到了满足.

"难怪你忽然对两位姑一妈一恋恋不舍,在她们家里住了一个礼拜."申包克看到卡秋莎,对聂赫留朵夫说."我要是处在你的地位,也不肯走了.真迷人!"

聂赫留朵夫还想到,虽然没有尝够同她恋一爱一的欢乐,就此离开未免有点遗憾,但既然非走不可,那么索一性一让这种无法维持的关系一刀两断,未尝不是件好事.他还想到,应该送她一些钱,不是为了她,不是因为她可能需要钱,而是因为遇到这样的事,通常都是这么做的.既然他玩一弄了她,要是不给她一些钱,人家会说他不是个正派人.于是他就给了她一笔钱,那数目,就他的身份和她的地位而言,他认为是相当丰厚的.

临走那天,他吃过午饭,在门廊里等她.她一看见他,脸刷地红起来.她对他使了个眼色,示意他女仆屋里的门开着,想走过去,但他把她拦住了.

"我想跟你告别,"他手里一揉一着装有一百卢布钞票的信封,说."这是我......"

她猜到是什么,皱起眉头,摇摇头,把他的手推开.

"不,你拿去,"他喃喃地说,把信封塞在她的怀里.他象被火烫痛似的,皱起眉头,哼哼着,跑回自己房里去.

随后他在房间里来回踱了好一阵,一想起刚才那一幕,他浑身一抽一搐,甚至跳起来,大声呻一吟,仿佛肉一体上感到痛楚似的.

"可是有什么办法呢?大家都是这样.申包克同家庭女教师有过这样的事,这是他亲口讲的.格里沙叔叔也有过这类事.父亲也干过这样的事.当时父亲住在乡下,同那个农家女人生了私生子米金卡,那孩子至今还活着.既然大家都这样做,那就是合情合理的."他这样宽慰自己,可是怎么也宽不了心.他一想起这事,良心就受到谴责.

在他的内心,在他的内心深处,他知道他的行为很卑鄙,恶劣,残酷.一想到这事,他不仅无权责备别人,而且不敢正眼看人,更不要说象原来那样自认为是个高尚,纯洁,慷慨的青年了.但他必须保持原来那种对自己的看法,才能快快活活地满怀信心活下去.而要做到这一点,只有一个办法,就是不去想它.他就这样办了.

他开始过新的生活:来到新的环境,遇见新的同事,投入战争.这种生活过得越久,那件事的印象就越淡薄,最后他真的把它完全忘记了.

只有一次,那是在战争结束以后,他希望看到卡秋莎,就拐到姑一妈一家去,这才知道她已经不在了.他走后不久,她就离开姑一妈一家到外面去分娩,生了个孩子.两位姑一妈一听人家说,她完全堕一落了.他心里很难受.按分娩时间推算,她生的孩子可能是他的,但也可能不是他的.两位姑一妈一都说她堕一落了,因为她象她母亲一样生一性一�H一荡.姑一妈一们这种说法他听了高兴,因为仿佛替他开脱了罪责.起初他还想找寻她和孩子,但后来,由于想到这事内心感到太痛苦太羞耻了,就不再费力气去找寻,而且忘记了自己的罪孽,不再想到它.

但是现在,这种意料不到的巧遇使他想起了一切,一逼一着他承认自己没有心肝,承认自己残酷卑鄙,良心上背着这样的罪孽,居然还能心安理得地过了十年.不过,要他真正承认这一点,还为时过早,目前他所考虑的只是这事不能让人家知道,她本人或者她的辩护人不要把这事和盘托出,弄得他当众出丑.