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"I saw you by chance.... I kept fancying there is something about

you like me.... But don't be uneasy. I am not intrusive; I used

to get on all right with card-sharpers, and I never bored Prince

Svirbey, a great personage who is a distant relation of mine, and

I could write about Raphael's Madonna in Madam Prilukov's album,

and I never left Marfa Petrovna's side for seven years, and I

used to stay the night at Viazemsky's house in the Hay Market in

the old days, and I may go up in a balloon with Berg, perhaps."

"Oh, all right. Are you starting soon on your travels, may I

ask?"

"What travels?"

"Why, on that 'journey'; you spoke of it yourself."

"A journey? Oh, yes. I did speak of a journey. Well, that's a

wide subject.... if only you knew what you are asking," he added,

and gave a sudden, loud, short laugh. "Perhaps I'll get married

instead of the journey. They're making a match for me."

"Here?"

"Yes."

"How have you had time for that?"