The Idiot

General Epanchin lived in his own house near the Litaynaya. Besides this largeresidence-five-sixths of which was let in flats and lodgings-the general was owner ofanother enormous house in the Sadovaya bringing in even more rent than the first. Besidesthese houses he had a delightful little estate just out of town, and some sort of factory inanother part of the city. General Epanchin, as everyone knew, had a good deal to do withcertain government monopolies; he was also a voice, and an important one, in many richpublic companies of various descriptions; in fact, he enjoyed the reputation of being a wellto-do man of busy habits, many ties, and affluent means. He had made himselfindispensable in several quarters, amongst others in his department of the government;and yet it was a known fact that Fedor Ivanovitch Epanchin was a man of no educationwhatever, and had absolutely risen from the ranks.This last fact could, of course, reflect nothing but credit upon the general; and yet, thoughunquestionably a sagacious man, he had his own little weaknesses-very excusable ones, -one of which was a dislike to any allusion to the above circumstance. He was undoubtedlyclever. For instance, he made a point of never asserting himself when he would gain moreby keeping in the background; and in consequence many exalted personages valued himprincipally for his humility and simplicity, and because "he knew his place." And yet if thesegood people could only have had a peep into the mind of this excellent fellow who "knewhis place" so well The fact is that, in spite of his knowledge of the world and his reallyremarkable abilities, he always liked to appear to be carrying out other people's ideasrather than his own. And also, his luck seldom failed him, even at cards, for which he had apassion that he did not attempt to conceal. He played for high stakes, and moved, altogether, in very varied societ