dead souls, imperial envoy

Chapter 11 Dead Souls (11)
The horses were also unhappy with Nozdryov: not only the bay horse and the tax collector, but even the piebald horse.Although the piebald always had only one serving of second-rate oats, and when Shelifan sprinkled oats in his trough, he would always say, "It's yours, scoundrel!" But oats are oats, not hay, chew It is always happy to eat inferior oats, and sneaks its long beak into the trough of its companions from time to time to taste the taste of others, especially when Selifan leaves the stable; Tasteless hay...not good; the three horses were listless.All these silent atmospheres were soon interrupted by a sudden intrusion.Everyone, including the coachman, saw the situation clearly when they collided with a six-horse carriage.The shouts of the female relatives in the opposite carriage and the shouts of the coachman were like thunderbolts falling on their heads.The coachman on the opposite side scolded: "You bastard; I keep yelling at you: 'Turn right, turn right!' Are you drunk or what?" Selifan knew that he was distracted, but how could Russians like to bow their heads? Acknowledging his mistake, he opened his voice and replied: "How did you drive the car? Are your eyes still in the tavern?" While talking, he reversed the car and wanted to get back from the car cover of others, but it was useless. The car covers on both sides Already entangled.The piebald curiously greeted its new friends on both sides - it ran between the other two horses.The female relatives in the opposite car looked at the scene of the car accident in panic.Among the female relatives was an old woman and a beautiful twenty-eight-year-old girl with long golden hair.The duck egg face is pink and white, bright and delicate - just like the color of a fresh egg held by the housekeeper's black hand facing the sun, the color when the sun shines through.Her two cute little ears are also pink and translucent under the bright sunlight.At this time, there seemed to be crystal tears in her eyes, and her lips were opened in surprise—everything about her seemed so cute, so cute that only her was left in the eyes of our protagonist, but he was very concerned about the horses and the horses of the two families. Disputes between coachmen fell on deaf ears. "Get out of the way, you confused fellow!" shouted the other coachman.Xie Lifan pulled back the reins, and the other side also pulled back the noose. The horses on both sides stepped back a few steps, and quickly got together again. It turned out that the harnesses on both sides were twisted together.At this time, the piebald horse had already developed a strong interest in its new friend, and refused to retreat from the rut it accidentally got stuck in.Its long mouth was placed on the new friend's neck, as if it was talking to the ear. Judging from the shaking ears of the new friend, the piebald probably didn't speak too much language.

All the farmers in the village came to watch the excitement—fortunately, it was not too far from the village.This kind of excitement is a once-in-a-lifetime event for farmers, and their enthusiasm is probably like that of Germans seeing newspapers or clubs.The side of the carriage was soon crowded.Probably only old women and children remained in the village.The harness that had been twisted together was undone.The piebald took a few lashes across the long face and backed away a few steps.But the horses on the opposite side, probably because they were reluctant to part with their new friends, or because they were stubborn, no matter how much the coachman whipped them, they seemed to be nailed there, motionless.The enthusiasm of the farmers for the accident has boiled over.Everyone scrambled to point at the side: "Andryushka, go and pull the gangster on the right, Uncle Mityayi rides on the shaft horse! Ride on, Uncle Miayi!"

Uncle Mijay had a fiery red beard and was as thin as a long bamboo pole. He rode on a shaft horse, like a slender bell tower in a village, or more like a boom for drawing water from a well.The coachman whipped him several times, but to no avail, and it seemed that Uncle Miyayi had no effect at all. "Stop, stop!" shouted the countryman, "Uncle Mijay ride on the harness, let Uncle Minay ride on the shaft!" Uncle Minay had broad arms, a black beard, and a belly It was as big as a samovar big enough for the hungry and cold in the market to drink hot honey water.He happily rode on the horse, and pressed the workhorse almost to the ground. "This time it's done!" shouted the countryman. "Fuck it, flog it! Give that yellow pussy a whip, and see if he's too lazy to rest his legs there like a lazy mosquito!"

Seeing this, Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minay did not mind, and they both mounted the shaft horses, and put Andryushka himself in the harness.At last the coachman lost his patience, and he drove both Uncle Mijay and Uncle Minay from the shaft.He did this too soon, for the horse was already dripping with sweat as if he had run a mile.He let the horse rest for a while, and when the horse had enough rest, he pulled up the cart and left.During this lively process, Chichikov had been gazing at the strange girl without distraction.Several times he opened his mouth to speak to her, but failed to find the opportunity.Now the carriage has gone far away, and the beautiful and delicate girl has disappeared like a fairy, leaving only a road, and the buggy and three horses that readers are familiar with, the coachman Selifan and our Chichiko The husband was also left in this open field.On the road of life, whether in the barbaric, poor and dirty bottom of the society or in the colorful and pristine high society, everyone will encounter scenes that he has never seen before, which will arouse his emotions. A passion that is destined to experience a lifetime of feelings that are different, perhaps only once in a lifetime.However much our lives may be filled with sorrows and troubles, there is always a flash of radiant joy, just as a poor and lonely village sometimes suddenly drives by a beautiful carriage, with rich and rich harnesses, tall and mighty horses and The shining window panes made those country folks who had only seen farm carts open their mouths, put their hands on their hats, and stood there for a long time, even though the dreamlike carriage had already flown away and disappeared without a trace. traced.The same goes for the blonde, who suddenly appears before our hero and then disappears again.If Chichikov had been a young man of about twenty at that time, whether he was a hussar, a student, or a young man who had just entered the service,—God!What affection would be awakened in him, what waves would be aroused by the agitated heart!He would stand there stupidly, staring nervously at that direction, even forgetting to drive, forgetting the blame and accusation he would receive if he made a mistake, forgetting his own mission, forgetting everything around him, even forgetting the existence of the universe.

It's a pity that our protagonist has long since ceased to be young, and was naturally cold and cautious.But he also had a wonderful idea, and he thought about it for a long time, but his idea was rigorous and did not wander around, and it could even be said that his idea was a bit too practical.He opened the snuffbox and took a sniff of the snuff, muttering: "This little girl is nice! But what's the main thing about her? Well, she looks like she just came out of a boarding school or a noble girl. With a bit of what is commonly referred to as a mother-in-law, she doesn't have that annoying thing about women, she is still a pure child, and everything about her is still simple: that is to say, she can say what she wants, and laugh whenever she likes. She is immature now, she can become a perfect person, or she may become a waste, and she will become a waste for sure! As long as her mother and aunts intervene, within a year, she will be She became so full of womanhood that her own father could not recognize her. Where did these arrogance and vanity come from? She would act in accordance with the norms of her elders, and began to think hard about: what should be with her? What kind of person speaks, how to speak, how much to speak, whom to visit, how to visit; Lies. Only God knows how she became what kind of person!" He paused for a moment, and then said: "I should go and find out whose family she is, and who is her father? He is a noble and wealthy landowner. Or is she an honest gentleman whose family is rich because of being an official? If this girl can have a dowry of 20 rubles, it is really a piece of fat that makes people greedy. This is a good fortune for a decent person." In the fantasy, 20 Ten thousand rubles began to flash in his mind, and he couldn't help but blame himself, why didn't he ask the coachman or the lead horse Yushou who belonged to the female family members in the carriage just now when he was resolving the dispute over the carriage.It wasn't until Sobakevich's village was revealed before his eyes that his wonderful reverie was interrupted and he began to concentrate on the great event he was about to do.

The village in front of him was huge.The two forests in front of the village—a birch forest and a pine forest—are dark in color and light in color, surrounding the left and right sides of the village like two big wings.In the middle of the village, you can see a wooden house with a loft, red roof, dark gray or hearth gray walls, just like the houses built in Russian military settlements and German settlements.We can see that during the construction of this house, the architect must have fought relentlessly with the preferences of the homeowner.The architect is a well-behaved person and likes symmetry; but the homeowner likes comfort, so he blocked all the windows on one side, and only opened a small window where there should be a window, presumably for the purpose of illuminating the space. Dark storage room.The triangular door decoration on the front was obviously tried by the architect, but it was not able to be built in the middle of the house after all, because the owner asked someone to remove a column on the side, leaving only three of the originally designed four columns. .The yard was fenced in with heavy log fences and looked extremely solid.The landowner seemed to have a penchant for sturdiness.Stables, warehouses, and kitchens are also built of strong logs, as if they will not be damaged after thousands of generations.The houses where the serfs lived were also built with great care: the wood on the walls was not planed, and there were no carvings or other decorations on them, but one could tell at a glance that the houses were built solidly and beyond reproach.The wells here are also built of the kind of strong live oak that is usually used only for watermills or shipbuilding.In short, everything that caught Chichikov's eyes was solid and reliable.When the carriage drove to the gate, he saw two faces protruding from a window almost at the same time: one was a woman's face wearing a hair-wrapped cap, like a narrow and long cucumber!The other was a big, round man's face, like a gourd like the one used for balalaikas in Russia, a light two-stringed instrument that, by the way, is often used as a facade by smart boys in their twenties, yes The white-breasted and white-necked girls gathered around to listen to him play the piano, whistling and expressing affection.Closer to home, when the two faces looked around for a while, they shrank back at the same time.From the door came a servant in a gray jacket with a light blue collar.While he was leading Chichikov into the hall, his master also came out of the room.He glanced at the visitor, said simply "Please!" and led him into the house.

Chichikov glanced at Sobakevich, feeling that Sobakevich looked like a medium-sized bear at this moment.It just so happened that the tuxedo he was wearing was also an authentic bearskin color, with wide sleeves and trouser legs, which made him walk crookedly, and would often step on other people's feet.His face was as red as a fire.As we all know, the Creator did not put much effort into finely carving many faces in the world; for such faces, the Creator did not use small tools such as files and chisels, but chopped them with an axe: a The ax went down and cut out a nose, another ax cut out two pieces of lips, and then used a big drill to drill out two eyes at random, without further inspection, just said "live"!Just let him into this world.Sobakevich is one of the most representative and beautiful images created in this way: his upper body is more distinctive than his lower body: because his neck does not move at all, he rarely looks at each other when talking, but Look in the corner of the fireplace or the door of the room.As they passed the dining-room, Chichikov took another look at Sobakevich: what a bear!A real bear!What a coincidence: his name, Mikhail Semyonovich, was also reminiscent of a bear.Knowing that he was used to stepping on people's feet without knowing it, Chichikov set his footing very carefully and stayed behind him.The master probably also knew that he had such a shortcoming, so he immediately asked him: "I didn't harass you, did I?" Chichikov thanked him and said that he hadn't been harassed yet.

When the host and guest entered the living room, Sobakevich pointed to the armchair and said succinctly, "Please!" When Chichikov sat down, he glanced at the paintings on the wall.There are a lot of heroes hanging on the wall, all of them are full-length portraits of Greek generals: Mavrocordato in red trousers and green dress, with glasses on his nose, Colokotroni, Michelle Auli and Kanari.The heroes here are guys with big thick legs and big beards, which makes people frightened.Among these burly Greek men, for unknown reasons or intentions, hung a portrait of a thin Russian general, Bagration, with some small military flags and cannons underneath it, and this painting Still set in a narrowest frame.Finally, there is the Greek heroine Pobelina, whose legs in paintings appear to be thicker than the waists of the loafers who now fill society.It seems that the master himself is a strong man and wants to decorate his room with some strong men.Beside the statue of Pobelina, by the window, hung a cage containing a gray thrush with white spots, which looked very much like Sobakevich.The host and guest had just been silent for 2 minutes when the door of the living room opened and the hostess walked in.This was a tall lady wearing a cap with a bonnet dyed with earthen paint.She came in with her head held high like a palm.

"This is my Feodulya Ivanovna!" said Sobakevich.

When Chichikov went to kiss her hand, Fyodulya Ivanovna almost thrust it straight into his mouth.For an instant Chichikov noticed that she washed her hands with pickle water. "My dear, let me introduce you," added Sobakevich, "this is Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov! I had the honor of making the acquaintance at the governor's and postmaster's. "

Feodulya Ivanovna, equally terse, said "Please," and motioned Chichikov with a shake of her head like an actress playing a queen.She too sat down on the divan, put on the fine woolen scarf, and remained there motionless, not even her eyes and eyebrows.Chichikov looked up again, and for a moment looked at the thick-legged, bearded Kanari and Pobelina, and the thrush in the cage.For about 5 minutes, everyone was silent. In the living room, only the thrushes were pecking at the grains on the bottom of the wooden cage, and their beaks made a thumping sound when they touched the wooden boards.Chichikov also looked around at the furnishings in the room. All the furnishings in the room were solid and heavy, very similar to the owner of the house; in the corner of the living room was a walnut desk with a big belly and four strange desks. The legs are short and thick, almost like a bear.The tables, the armchairs, the armchairs, everything in the room had an astonishingly clumsy character—in a word, everything here seemed to say: "I am Sobakevich!" Or: "I'm a lot like Sobakevich too!"

"We were talking about you at the house of the Minister of Civil Affairs, Ivan Grigorievich," Chichikov began, seeing that no one had broken the silence. "It was last Thursday. Everyone was playing there." It was a lot of fun."

"Yes, I was not at the house of the Minister of Civil Affairs that time," Sobakevich said.

"What a nice guy!"

"Who?" asked Sobakevich, looking into the corner of the fireplace.

"Minister of Civil Affairs."

"Maybe it's just your illusion: there's never been such a bastard in this world."

Chichikov was a little unhappy to hear this kind of extreme evaluation suddenly, but he quickly recovered, and then said: "Of course, people have flaws, but speaking of it, the governor is a What a rare good man!"

"Is the governor a rare good man?"

"Yeah, isn't it?"

"The number one thief in the world!"

"Why, the governor is a thief?" Chichikov said, not understanding how the governor could turn into a robber by vomiting it out of his mouth. "To be honest, it never occurred to me," he added, "forgive me: he doesn't behave like one at all; on the contrary, there is a little more tenderness in his character." He added He also showed him the fact that the governor showed him the wallet embroidered with his own hands, and praised the compassionate look on his face.

"The face of a robber!" said Sobakevich. "Give him a knife and let him out in the street—he'll kill people in the street for a penny! He and the deputy governor are both All the way - a tyrant who abuses the lord."

Chichikov thought: "Oh, so he doesn't get along with them. Now let's talk about the police chief, they seem to be on good terms." So he said: "But, I see, let's be honest, the police chief is my favorite." Yes. His character is so upright, you can see his sincerity from his face."

(End of this chapter)