hunter notes

Chapter 46 Hamlet in Higre County (1)
On one of my trips I was entertained at a banquet by the rich landowner and hunter Alexander Mikhelich G.His village was about 5 kilometers away from the small village where I lived at the time.I'm wearing a tailcoat—I advise you to go to Alexander Mikhelitch's in this attire even if you go hunting.The banquet was agreed at six o'clock.When I arrived at five o'clock, there was already a very large number of nobles in uniform, civilian clothes, and other clothes that are difficult to name.The host greeted me warmly, but immediately ran into the steward's room.He was expecting a great personage, and he was feeling a little excited-an excitement completely out of proportion to his independent social status and wealth.Aleksandr Mikhelitch was never married and did not like women.The people who came to his house were all single.His life was extensive, he built and renovated ancestral mansions on a large scale, ordered wine from Moscow for about 15000 rubles a year, and was greatly respected by ordinary people.Aleksandr Mikhelich retired a long time ago and did not receive any honorable titles... So what happened to him to force the presence of this dignitary and to be excited from early morning on the day of the feast?This is just like what a judicial inspector I know said, when asked whether he would take the bribe he was willing to give him, he replied: I don't know.

After I parted from my master, I walked up and down the various rooms.Almost all the guests were strangers to me, and about twenty people were already seated at the card tables.Among these lovers of Park Lie Ferrance there were two soldiers, noble and a little frail, and several civil servants, with tight and high ties, and the hair that only resolute and dutiful people have. Drooping, dyed mustaches (these self-sufficient men fix cards with pomp, not turning their heads but squinting at approachers); five or six county magistrates with fat bellies, bloated and sweaty hands, One foot kept its place and did not move. (These gentlemen speak in soft voices, smile mildly on all sides, hold the cards close to their corsets, and instead of knocking the table when the ace is played, fly the cards with wave motions onto the green table, There is a slight and extremely polite sound when winning cards are collected.) Other nobles sat on the sofa, and some crowded in groups by the door or window; one was not young and looked like a woman The landowner, standing in a corner, trembling, blushing, twirling his watch ornaments coyly at his waist, although no one was paying attention to him; and several gentlemen, dressed in Moscow tailors Technician) in round tuxedos and plaid trousers by Fels Kryuching, talking there with impunity and glee, while casually turning their fat, bald backs of their heads; , short-sighted, fair-haired young man, dressed in black from head to toe, looking very shy, but smiling meanly... I gradually felt a little lonely, and suddenly there was a man named Voy The people from Nichun came to entertain me.This is a young student who has not graduated, lives in the house of Aleksandr Mikhelitch, and is a kind of... What exactly is it, it is difficult to say.He is a good dogfighter and is good at training dogs.I knew him when I was in Moscow.He belongs to this kind of youth: this kind of youth Shen Shen "pretends to be a wooden man" every time he takes an exam, that is to say, he never answers a word to the professor's questions.For the sake of beautiful syllables, people also called these gentlemen "Bachen Baldist". (As you can imagine, this was a long time ago.) Here's how it happened: Voynich's name was called for example—Voynich stood upright and sat still in his seat In the middle of the night, sweating from head to toe, his eyes slowly but unconsciously looking around - he stood up, hurriedly buttoned the uniform, and walked sideways to the examination table. "Please take a test ticket." The professor said kindly to him.Voyinichun stretched out his hand, and touched the pile of examination papers tremblingly with his fingers. "Please don't choose randomly." A little old man who came to take part in the invigilation and was very excitable—a professor from another department—suddenly hated this unfortunate Bachenbaldist, and said in a trembling voice.Voynichun had no choice but to resign himself to his fate, took an examination ticket, showed the number to the professor, walked over and sat by the window, and waited for a student in front of him to answer his question.Voynichon was sitting by the window, staring at the examination paper, at most slowly looking around as before, but his body did not move.But the student in front of him finished his answer, and the professors said to him "OK, let's go" or "Very good, very good" according to his ability.So it was called Voynichon.Voynich stood up and approached the table with firm steps. "Read your test slip," the professor told him.Voyinichun held the examination ticket to his nose with both hands, read it slowly, and slowly hung up his hands. "Please answer now," said the professor lazily, leaning back and crossing his hands on his chest.Deathly silence dominated the examination room. "What's the matter with you?" Voyinichun didn't open his mouth.The little old man who came to participate became anxious. "Speak a little more!" My Voynichon said nothing, as if she had been paralyzed.The back of his shaved head stood motionless, there to meet the curious eyes of the class.The eyes of the little old man who came to participate almost jumped out. He hated Voynich very much. "That's strange," another invigilator said, "Why are you standing there like you're dumb? Are you unable to answer? Tell the truth if you can't answer." "Please let me get another test slip." said the unlucky man in a low voice.The professors look at each other. "Okay, take it." The examiner waved his hand and answered him.Voyinichun took another examination ticket, went to the window again, returned to the table, and remained silent again, as if dead.The little old man who came to participate wished he could swallow him alive.They turned him off and gave him a zero.You think he'll at least get out now, don't you?No such thing!He went to his seat, sat still until the end of the exam, and went out crying: "Oh, suffer! What a pity!" He wandered all day in the streets of Moscow, sometimes catching hair, and sadly cursed his own ignorance and misfortune.Of course he didn't touch the book, and the same thing happened again the next morning.

It was this Voynichon who came to greet me.I talked to him for a while about Moscow and about hunting.

Suddenly he whispered to me, "Would you like me to introduce you to one of the favorite jokers in this place?"

"Okay, don't worry about it." Voynichun led me to a man of short stature who wore a brown tuxedo, a floral tie, a tall forehead and a mustache.In his irascible and active features, there is indeed a hint of agility and bitterness.An erratic, ironic smile kept twisting his lips, and a pair of small, black, squinted eyes showed a bold look under unkempt lashes.Next to him stood a landlord, a man with a broad body and a soft and sweet attitude, a real sugar Buddha, and one-eyed.He laughed before the little man made a wisecrack, as if melting with joy.Voynichon recommended me to this wisecracker, whose name was Pyotr Petrovich Rubikhin.We got acquainted and exchanged first sight respects.

"Permit me to introduce you to a good friend of mine," Lubikhin said suddenly in a shrill voice, taking the sweet landowner by the hand. "Don't be persistent, Kirila Serifanitch," he added, "I won't bite you. Come." Meanwhile Kirila Serifanitch, embarrassed, bowed awkwardly, as if his belly had dropped It's like it's coming. "Come on, let me introduce you. This is an outstanding nobleman. He was always in good health until he was 50 years old. Suddenly he remembered to heal his eyes, so he became one-eyed. From then on, he healed his own farmers and got The same success...and they, of course, expressed the same sincerity..."

"You are a real fellow," Kirila Serifanitch said indistinctly, and laughed.

"Go on, my friend, oh, go on," Rubikhin went on, "it seems inevitable that you will be chosen as a judge, and you will be, just wait and see. Of course, at that time There will be a jury to ask you for advice. But anyway, you must be able to speak, even if you talk about other people's opinions. When the governor comes unexpectedly, he will ask: "Why is this judge not able to speak?" How about fluent?’ He would be answered: ‘Because he has paralysis.’ The Governor would say: ‘Then let him be bled.’ This is not a good position for you, and you must agree to it.”

Sweet Landlord laughs like hell.

"Look, he's smiling," went on Rubikhin, looking gravely at Kirila Sherifanitch's rising belly. "Why doesn't he laugh?" He turned to me again. "He's starving, he's in good health, he has no children, and his serfs aren't mortgaged—he's treating them—his wife's a bit stupid. Yes. (Kirila Sherifanitch turns his face slightly away, pretends not to hear clearly, but keeps laughing.) I will laugh too, my wife and the landman are gone. (He always shows his teeth. Put on a smile.) Don’t you know about this? No! She ran away regardless of 21 and sent me a message saying: ‘Dear Pyotr Petrovich, don’t blame me. I’m for love Attracted, I went away with the one I love...' She loves the surveyor who never fixes his nails and wears tight pants. Maybe you're curious? You'll say, 'He's so straight.' Oh my God! We country people never tell lies. But let's move away... why should we stand near future judges..."

He took my arm and we went near the window together. "Everybody feels that I'm lying," he told me in the middle of the conversation, "to listen to him. I'm just a bad-tempered person who wants to swear loudly, so I have nothing to say. Restrained. Actually, why should I be restrained? Whoever proposes to me is worthless to me, and I don't pursue anything. I'm very bad--what does it matter? At least the wicked need no wit It's a very refreshing thing to be a villain, don't you agree...Here, for example, look at the man in charge! God knows why he is running around like this, constantly checking the time, smiling, and sweating , and put on a show, and leave us hungry? A great man, what's so rare! Look, look, he's running again—and limping, you see."

So Lu Bixing opened his mouth slightly. "It's a bit of a disadvantage that there are no ladies," he went on, with a deep sigh. "It's a bachelor party—otherwise, we'd be a lot better off. See, see," yelled loudly. Come, "Prince Kozelsky is here - look at that man with his head thrown up, bearded, and wearing yellow gloves. You must know that he has been abroad... always late. I tell you, he is stupid , like a trader's pair of horses. If you're outside, you can see that he's kind when he speaks to us, and that he's narrow when our horny mothers and daughters compliment him. Joyful! . . . He also makes a few wisecracks sometimes, though he only lives here once in a while. Talking is very pleasant! It's like cutting a cord with a dull knife. It's disgusting to me . Go and say hello to him."

So Rubixing ran to meet the Duke. "Ah, here comes my personal enemy," came up to me abruptly, and said. "Did you see that fat, pale man with the bristly hair on his head, that's actually the guy who walks against the wall with what he can carry in his hands, and pokes his head like a wolf. I'll pay for it He sold a horse for only 400 rubles, the price of this horse is very high, and this quiet fellow has every right to despise me now. In fact, he rarely thinks, always at the beginning of the day, drinking tea Before, or just after dinner, if you said 'Hello' to him, he would answer: 'What?' Ah, here comes the civil servant," Lubixing went on, "a retired civil servant, a bankrupt civil servant. He has a Daughter of beet sugar, and a dead factory... Excuse me, I said it differently... But you understand. Ah! The architect is also in the room! A German, but with a mustache, who doesn't know what he is doing What he did is really weird!... It’s fine if he doesn’t really understand his job, as long as he takes bribes and gives us masters and nobles some more poles!”

Lu Bixing laughed again... Suddenly a kind of commotion made the room very lively.Here comes the big shot.The master immediately ran into the antechamber.A few of his relatives and friends who liked to say hello ran after him... The noisy conversation turned into a soft and pleasant whisper, a bit like the buzzing of spring bees in his house.Only a non-stop wasp—Rubixin—and a strong bee—Kozelsky—still at a high volume... Finally the queen bee came in—here the chief.He was greeted with joy, and no one who sat was sitting, even the landowner who had bought horses from Ruby at a low price, and even this landowner had his chin pressed to his chest.The chief's air was so dignified that nothing could be added: he often threw his head back, as if nodding, and at the same time said a few words of approval, all of which began in a prolonged, breathing voice.He looked at Prince Kozelski's beard with extreme indignation.A bankrupt civil servant with a studio and a daughter holds out the index finger of his left hand.After some time—during these few minutes the chief had already said twice with great pleasure that he was not late—all the people came into the dining-room, the powerful leading the way.

Needless to say with too much detail: how the great man was seated at the head, between the civil servants and the magistrate (the magistrate had an expression of unrestrained administration on his face, the same as his stiff bodice, The vest fits perfectly with the round gold that holds the French tobacco powder); how the master flaunts, runs, bustles, respects the guests, smiles on the back of the chief as he crosses his back, stands in a corner of the room like a schoolboy, hurriedly How the steward took a plate of soup or chewed a small piece of beef; Give malaga or dry Madeira to all the nobles; almost all the nobles, the old ones in fact, how to make people do their duty to drink dry cups; at the end, how bang bang Popping champagne, celebrating peace first—all of these are pretty much familiar to readers.But what I found particularly outstanding was an anecdote told in the chief's total joyful silence.A few people, like the bankrupt civil servant, who was good at learning, mentioned the general influence of women, but it was actually the influence on young people. "Yes, yes," the leader kept saying, "This is true, but young people should work hard to restrain them, otherwise, I'm afraid they will lose their minds when they see women's skirts."

(End of this chapter)