shall be found, for I have not yet squandered everything . I tell you this in order that he may have no doubts about—Ah, but here he is! Clearly he is a good fellow.”
True enough, Astley had come hotfoot on receiving the Grandmother’s appeal. Scarcely stopping even to reflect, and with scarcely a word, he counted out the three thousand francs under a note of hand which she duly signed. Then, his business done, he bowed, and lost no time in taking his departure.
“You too leave me, Alexis Ivanovitch,” said the Grandmother. “All my bones are aching, and I still have an hour in which to rest. Do not be hard upon me, old fool that I am. Never again shall I blame young people for being frivolous. I should think it wrong even to blame that unhappy General of yours. Nevertheless, I do not mean to let him have any of my money (which is all that he desires), for the reason that I look upon him as a perfect blockhead, and consider myself, simpleton though I be, at least wiser than he is. How surely does God visit old age, and punish it for its presumption! Well, goodbye. Martha, come and lift me up.”