144 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 



for it caused me a great deal of anxiety and sorrow ; 

 but I will not think of that now. 



There was a friendly prince residing about six 

 versts from the fort, whose son, a lad about fifteen, 

 was in the habit of visiting us every day, for one thing 

 or another. Petchorin and I took a great liking to 

 him. What a smart, nimble chap he was ! There 

 was nothing he could not do. He could pick up his 

 cap from the ground, or load and fire off his gun at 

 full gallop. But there was one bad thing in him ; he 

 had a desperate hankering after money. Gregorii 

 Alexandrovitch once promised in joke, that he would 

 give him a ducat, if he would steal him the best ram 

 out of his father's flock and what do you think ? the 

 young scamp dragged him in to us the very next night 

 by the horns. But if ever, as happened now and then, 

 we took it into our heads to make fun of him, his eyes 

 would flash fire, and his hand was on his dagger in an 

 instant. O Asamat, I used to say to him, you will 

 never wear a grey head on your shoulders, your unruly 

 temper will be the ruin of you. 



Once the old prince came in person to invite us to 

 the wedding of his eldest daughter, and of course we 

 could not civilly refuse. When we entered the hamlet, 

 a pack of dogs ran at us barking furiously. The wo- 

 men hid themselves as soon as they saw us, and those 

 whose faces we did get a glimpse of, were anything 

 but beauties. " I had a much higher idea of the Cir- 



