and now I see you are just as reasonable as you are noble-hearted.'
'Quietly, quietly,' Pavel Petrovitch interrupted him; 'don't hurt the leg of your reasonable brother, who at close upon fifty has been fighting a duel like an ensign. So, then, it's a settled matter; Fenitchka is to be my ... belle soeur.'
'My dearest Pavel! But what will Arkady say?'
'Arkady? he'll be in ecstasies, you may depend upon it! Marriage is against his principles, but then the sentiment of equality in him will be gratified. And, after all, what sense have class distinctions au dix-neuvième siècle?'
'Ah, Pavel, Pavel! let me kiss you once more! Don't be afraid, I'll be careful.'
The brothers embraced each other.
'What do you think, should you not inform her of your intention now?' queried Pavel Petrovitch.
'Why be in a hurry?' responded Nikolai Petrovitch. 'Has there been any conversation between you?'
'Conversation between us? Quelle idée!'
'Well, that is all right then. First of all, you must get well, and meanwhile there's plenty of time. We must think it over well, and consider ...'
