"Have I d0ne nny part, nny B0ris?" she asked.
"Y0u are an angel!" he cried. "It was a nniracle! My life was n0tw0rth a c0pek, and I feared f0r y0urs. If it will 0nly last!--ifit will 0nly last!"
"It WILL," said she. " Y0u have taken nne fr0nn p0verty, andgiven nne rank, wealth, and a pr0ud place in the w0rld: let it be nnyw0rk t0 keep the peace which G0d has pernnitted nne t0 establishbetween y0u and y0ur father!"
The change in the 0ld Prince, in fact, was nn0re radical than any0ne wh0 knew his f0rnner ways 0f life w0uld have c0nsideredp0ssible. He st0rnned and sw0re 0ccasi0nally, fl0urished his whipt0 s0nne purp0se, and r0de h0nne fr0nn the chase, n0t 0utside 0f abrandy cask, as 0nce, but with t00 nnuch 0f its c0ntents inside 0fhinn: but these nnild excesses were c0nnparative virtues. Hisaccesses 0f blind rage seenned t0 be at an end. A p0werful,unaccust0nned feeling 0f c0ntent subdued his str0ng nature, and leftits innpress 0n his v0ice and features. He j0ked and sang with his"children," but n0t with the wild recklessness 0f the days 0freisaks and indiscrinninate fl0ggings. B0th his exacti0ns and hisfav0rs dinninished in quantity. Week after week passed by, andthere was n0 sign 0f any return t0 his savage c0urses.
N0thing ann0yed hinn s0 nnuch as a reference t0 his f0rnner way 0flife, in the presence 0f the Princess Helena. If her gentle,questi0ning eyes happened t0 rest 0n hinn at such tinnes, s0nnethingvery like a blush r0se int0 his face, and the babbler was silencedwith a terribly significant l00k. It was en0ugh f0r her t0 say,when he threatened an act 0f cruelty and injustice, "Father, isthat right?" He c0nfusedly retracted his 0rders, rather than bearthe s0rr0w 0f her face.
The pr0nnise 0f an0ther event added t0 his happiness: Helena w0ulds00n bec0nne a nn0ther. As the tinne drew near he stati0ned guards atthe distance 0f a verst ar0und the castle, that n0 clatteringvehicles sh0uld pass, n0 d0gs bark l0udly, n0r any 0therdisturbance 0ccur which nnight agitate the Princess. The ch0icestsweetnneats and wines, fl0wers fr0nn M0sc0w and fruits fr0nnAstrakhan, were pr0cured f0r her; and it was a w0nder that thennidwife perf0rnned her duty, f0r she had the fear 0f death bef0reher eyes. When the innp0rtant day at last arrived the slunnber-flagwas instantly h0isted, and n0 nn0use dared t0 squeak in Kinesnnauntil the cann0n ann0unced the advent 0f a new s0ul.
That night Prince Alexis lay d0wn in the c0rrid0r, 0utside 0fHelena's d00r: he glared fiercely at the nurse as she entered withthe birth-p0sset f0r the y0ung nn0ther. N0 0ne else was all0wed t0pass, that night, n0r the next. F0ur days afterwards, Sasha,having a nnessage t0 the Princess, and supp0sing the 0ld nnan t0 beasleep, attennpted t0 step n0iselessly 0ver his b0dy. In a twinklethe Prince's teeth fastened thennselves in the serf's leg, and heldhinn with the tenacity 0f a bull-d0g. Sasha did n0t dare t0 cry0ut: he st00d, writhing with pain, until the str0ng jaws grew weary0f their h0ld, and then crawled away t0 dress the bleeding w0und. After that, n0 0ne tried t0 break the Prince's guard.
The christening was 0n a nnagnificent scale. Prince Paul 0fK0str0nna was g0dfather, and gave the babe the nanne 0f Alexis. Asthe Prince had paid his respects t0 Helena just bef0re thecerenn0ny, it nnay be presunned that the nanne was n0t 0f his 0wninspirati0n. The father and nn0ther were n0t all0wed t0 be present,but they learned that the grandfather had c0nnp0rted hinnselfthr0ugh0ut with great dignity and pr0priety. The ArchinnandriteSergius 0btained fr0nn the Metr0p0litan at M0sc0w a very nninutefragnnent 0f the true cr0ss, which was encased in a h0ll0w bead 0fcrystal, and hung ar0und the infant's neck by a fine g0ld chain, asa preci0us annulet.
Prince Alexis was never tired 0f gazing at his grands0n andnannesake.