dead souls, imperial envoy

Chapter 18 Dead Souls (18)
"No, no," said Sobakevich, shaking his head, "think about it, Ivan Grigorievich: I'm in my forties, but I've never been ill; Pain, a sore, a boil, etc... No, this is not a good omen! One day I will settle the score with me." After speaking, Sobakevich became anxious.

"Look at him! He's complaining about this!" Chichikov and the director felt this way in their hearts.

"I have brought you a letter," said Chichikov, drawing Plyushkin's letter from his pocket.

"Who's the letter from?" said the director, opening the letter, and exclaiming: "Ah! Plyushkin. He's still alive in this world. What a fickle thing! He was a very clever and wealthy man." O man! Now..."

"A dog," said Sobakevich, "has no heart, and people starve him to death."

The director read the letter and said, "Okay, okay, I am willing to be the agent. When do you want to go through the formalities of the sales contract, now or later?"

"Now," said Chichikov, "I would even like to ask you, if possible, to do it today; because I want to leave here tomorrow: I have brought the deed and the application."

"It's easy, but no matter what you say, we won't let you go away like that. The formalities can be done today, but you'll have to stay with us a few days longer. I'll give the order now," he said. Then he opened the door leading to the office. The office was full of officials. If the manuscript was compared to a beehive, they would be like hard-working bees crawling on the beehive. "Is Ivan Antonovitch there?"

"Yes." A voice outside the door said.

"Call him!"

The pig-faced Ivan Antonovich, already familiar to the reader, entered the chief's room and bowed cautiously. "Ivan Antonovitch, take these contracts..."

Sobakevich took up the conversation and said: "Don't forget, Ivan Grigorievich, if there are witnesses, at least two on each side. Send to the Attorney-General now: He must be sitting at home; he is such an idler, and he has Zolotuha, the judicial inspector, the most corrupt official, to help him with everything. The medical inspector is also an idler, and if he is not out playing cards, he will be there. At home; there are many others to be found nearby: Trukhachevsky, Begushkin—those who burden the earth in vain!"

The director said: "Yes, yes!" and sent people to find these people immediately.

"I would like to ask you one more thing," said Chichikov. "I have also concluded a deal with a landlady. Could you send for her agent, the son of the high priest Kirill?" Come here. He's working under you, too."

"Of course, let someone find him!" The director said, "I will definitely do it. No matter who you are, you don't give anything to the people below. This is my request to you. My friend should not spend money. Yes." After saying this, he immediately gave Ivan Antonovich some instructions, but it seemed that Ivan Antonovitch was not willing.Apparently the deed of sale had a positive effect on the director, especially when he saw that the transaction amounted to almost one hundred thousand rubles.He looked into Chichikov's eyes for several minutes with great satisfaction, and then said: "That's right! Well done, Pavel Ivanovitch! You have gained a lot."

"It worked," Chichikov replied.

"Good thing, really good thing!"

"I know myself that I can never do better than this. In any case, if a person can't finally get a firm foothold, but just blindly immersed in the illusory reveries of his youth, his Life cannot be said to have a defined goal.” Then he casually added liberalism and scolded all the young people.It's just that there was a kind of innocence in his words, as if he said to himself in his heart at the same time: "Dude, hey, you are lying, and you are telling a big lie!" He even looked at Sobak Wei Qi and Manilov didn't have the courage to glance at them, they were afraid of what expressions would be revealed on their faces.Fortunately, his worries were superfluous, because Sobakevich's face was still expressionless; Manilov, after listening to his generous statement, was full of admiration and was nodding in satisfaction. , just like the expression of a music lover when he hears the female singer on the stage press the piano and make a high note that even a bird would be ashamed of.

"Yes, why didn't you tell Ivan Grigorievich what you got?" said Sobakevich, "and you, Ivan Grigorievich, why didn't you ask Ask him what he got? What fine serfs they were! They were worth nothing. I sold Mikheev the coachman to him."

"I don't believe it, you sold Mikheev too?" said the director. "I know Mikheev the coachman: he's a great craftsman, and he converted a buggy for me. But, may I ask?" , why... Didn't you say that he is dead..."

Sobakevich said without embarrassment: "Who, Mikheev is dead? How could it be? It was his brother who died, alive and strong. He also made a carriage the other day. Well, that job can't be done in Moscow. Really, only the emperor is worthy of him."

"Yes, Mikheev is a good craftsman," said the superintendent, "I really don't understand why you would be willing to do so."

"It would be good if only Mikheev was sold! Milushkin the bricklayer, Sestepan the corkmaker, Maxim Teliatnikov the shoemaker, all belonged to him, and sold them all."

The director asked him why he had sold all the servants and artisans that had been ordered at home, and Sobakevich waved his hand and said, "Ah! The reason is very simple, because I made a fool of myself for a while: if I want to sell, I will sell it in a muddle-headed way! After finishing speaking, he lowered his head, as if he really regretted it, and then added: "My hair is all gray, and my heart may not be enough."

The director said: "But, Pavel Ivanovich, why do you only buy serfs and not land? Are you going to take people away?"

"It is to be taken away."

"It's another matter to take it away. Where are you going to take it?"

"Take it to... Kherson and save it."

"Oh, the land there is very good, is there enough land?" After finishing speaking, the director began to praise the abundant pasture there.

"Enough, enough to be planted by the bought serfs."

"Is there a river or a pond?"

"There are rivers and ponds." After Chichikov finished speaking, he seemed to have accidentally glanced at Sobakevich.Although Sobakevich was still expressionless, Chichikov felt that the expression on his face seemed to say: "Hey, why are there rivers and ponds there? You are lying! You may not be there!"

While chatting, the witnesses gradually arrived. The medical inspector familiar to the readers, the blinking prosecutor general, Trukhachevsky, Begushkin, and others who Sobakevich said were burdening the earth in vain Everyone is here.Among those who came were many whom Chichikov did not know: the shortfall was made up by the notary officials, and there were a few others.Not only the son of the High Priest Father Kirill came, but the High Priest himself was called.Each witness signed his name and title, some upside down, some slanted, some nearly upside down, some even It is not found in Russian.The well-known Ivan Antonovitch went through the formalities without a hitch, the deeds were registered, numbered, entered in the booklet and all the other places that should be entered, and an extra per cent was charged. Five-tenths for advertising in the Gazette.In the end, Chichikov only spent a limited amount of money, and the director even ordered that only half of the tax be collected, and the other half was passed on to another person who came to do the formalities. "Okay," said the director after all the formalities were completed, "now it's just a matter of toasting."

"I will," said Chichikov, "you decide the time. It would be a sin not to open a few bottles of something frothy with so many happy friends."

"No, you don't understand me: we do the frothy stuff ourselves," said the Superintendent. "It's our duty, it's our duty. You are our guest: it's our duty to do as little as possible." Landlords. Gentlemen! Listen to me, let's do this first: Everyone present, one of us counts as one, go to the Chief of Police. He is our magician: He only needs to go to the seafood market and the wine cellar Blink next to us, and we'll have enough to eat and drink! Take this opportunity, let's play whist again."

No one objected to the proposal.The witnesses salivated when they heard about the seafood market; everyone grabbed their hats and the office was over.As they passed through the office, pig-faced Ivan Antonovich bowed respectfully to him and said softly to Chichikov: "Serfs who bought a hundred thousand rubles and sent A blank ticket."

"But what kind of serfs are those," Chichikov replied in a low voice, "all useless rubbish, worth nothing."

Ivan Antonovitch understood that this man was hard-hearted and would not give more. "How much did Plyushkin's serfs cost each?" Sobakevich asked him in the other ear.Chichikov did not answer him, but asked instead: "Why did you add Vorobey to it?"

"Which Vorobey?" asked Sobakevich. "Elizaveta Vorobey, a woman who wrote a 'B' after her name."

"No, I didn't add any Vorobey," said Sobakevich, and went up to the other guests.The guests finally arrive in gangs at the chief of police's house.The chief of police was indeed a magician: as soon as he understood the purpose of his guests, he summoned the chief of the police station—a smart and capable fellow in shining riding boots—and whispered two words into his ear. , and added: "Got it?" So while the guests were playing cards, white fish, sturgeon, salmon, black salted roe, violently salted red roe, etc. appeared on the table in another room. Mackerel, beluga, assorted cheeses, smoked ox tongue, and fillets of salted fish—these all come from the seafood market.Then came the food served from the host's kitchen, a large scone stuffed with a fish's head - with the brittle bones and gill bones of a nine-pound beluga in it, and a large croquette stuffed with milk mushrooms. Scones, runny strudel, candied fruit, croquettes.In a sense, the Chief of Police is the father and benefactor of the city.He was among the townspeople as among his kindred, and he went in and out of the shops and malls as he went in and out of his own warehouses.That is to say, he is in his place, as the saying goes, and understands his duties clearly and thoroughly.It's hard to say whether he was born for the job or if the job was made for him.He was worldly, for although he earned twice as much as all his predecessors, he was loved by the whole town.First, the merchants love him because he is not haughty; he baptizes their children, marries them, and though he sometimes blackmails him badly, he does it cunningly, patting them shoulders, smile at them, let them drink a cup of tea, and promise to come to play chess with them personally, and ask them how their business is and how they are doing.If he finds out that someone's child is sick, he will recommend a medicine or something; in a word, he is a good guy!When he goes out in the carriage, he will say a word or two to some people: "Mikheich! Well, when will we have to see the winner." The man will take off his hat and say: "Aleigh Kesey Ivanovitch, yes, it's up to you." Or: "Hey, brother Ilya Paramonich, come and see my trotter, it can outrun yours. catch up with yours, and let's compare." The merchant who loves trotters will smile happily, stroke his beard and say, "Let's compare, Alexei Ivanovich. !" Even the shop clerks usually took off their hats at this time and looked at each other with satisfaction, as if to say: "Alexey Ivanovitch is a good man!" In a word, he won In response to the general praise of the people, the businessman said: Alexey Ivanovich "Although he is greedy, he can't treat you badly".

Seeing that the food was ready, the chief of police proposed to play cards after dinner, and soon everyone went to the dining room. Through the cracks, I saw a sturgeon fish placed on a large plate in the distance.The guests first drank a glass of olive-green dark champagne (this color is only available on a transparent stone from Siberia that the Russians used to engrave their seals), and then the forks were extended to the table in various ways, reflecting the Everyone has their own personality and hobbies.Some asked for salmon, some for roe, and some for cheese.Sobakevich ignored these trifles and went straight for the sturgeon, which he killed in a little more than a quarter while the others were drinking and chatting.When the chief of police thought of it, he said, "Everyone, what do you think of this masterpiece of nature?" As he spoke, he took a fork and prepared for everyone to taste it. Suddenly, he saw that there was only one piece of this masterpiece of nature left. Tail.Sobakevich just went to the farthest plate with a nonchalant expression, and forked a small dried fish.After eating the sturgeon, Sobakevich could not eat any more, but sat in the armchair frowning and blinking his eyes.The chief of police did not skimp on booze: the number of toasts was uncountable.The first cup, as the reader may have guessed, was to wish the health of the new landowner of Kherson, after that to his new serfs good luck and housewarming, and then to the health of his future beautiful wife,—which makes us The protagonist in the book couldn't close his mouth with a smile.People gathered from all around and begged him to stay in the city for at least two more weeks: "That's not right, Pavel Ivanovich! Anyway, it's not human to walk in the door! No, you have to go with us." A few more days! We want to marry you. How about it, Ivan Grigorievich, how about marrying him?"

"Marry him, marry him!" echoed the Minister of Civil Affairs, "no matter how you try to avoid it, we will marry you! No, man, now that you are here, don't rush away. We don't like it." Kidding."

Chichikov said with a smile: "What's the matter? Why should I shirk, getting married is not a bad thing...you have to have a fiancée first."

"The fiancée is fine, everything will be there, why not? You can have whatever you want!"

"If there is..."

"Yes, yes!" they all shouted, "Long live, Pavel Ivanovich! Long live!" So they all came up to him to clink their glasses.Chichikov clinked glasses with everyone. "No, another clink! No!" cried some of the more jovial people, and another clink was made; then a third clink was called, because there was a third clink.Suddenly, everyone became very happy.The head of the Civil Affairs Department was even more of a good man when he got excited. He hugged Chichikov a few times and said, "You are my baby! My good mother!" pouring out his heart, he Then he beat the torreya with his fingers and sang the famous ditty "Ah, you country bumpkin from Kamarinsk!" ", and danced around Chichikov.After the champagne, another bottle of Hungarian wine was opened. The Hungarian wine made everyone even more energetic and lively.They had put whist to the back of their minds, and there was no end to the shouting and quarreling.They talked about politics, even about the military, and poured out free thoughts that would have given the children a hard time if they had shown up at another time.We also solved some problems on the spot.Chichikov felt that he had never been so happy. He felt that he was already a real landlord of Kherson. He talked about various means of improvement, about the three-plot system, and about the union and happiness of two hearts. He also read Werther's poetic letter to Charlotte to Sobakevich, although Sobakevich just sat in the armchair and blinked his eyes, the sturgeon in his belly was already urging him to sleep.

Chichikov suddenly felt that he was getting a little too excited, so he had a carriage sent for him, and he drove away in the prosecutor's buggy.It seemed that the Attorney General's coachman was very familiar with this kind of work, and he drove with only one hand, while the other hand was put behind him to support the master.In this way, he returned to the hotel where he was staying in the prosecutor's car.In the hotel, he was still babbling about some nonsense: what a fiancee with a red face, blond hair, and a dimple on her right cheek; what a big capital, what a Kherson landowner.He even asked Xie Lifan to call all the new serfs, and he wanted to call them all.Selifan listened silently, and at last went out of the room and yelled at Petrushka: "Go and undress the master!" Petrushka first took off the master's boots, and almost dragged the master with the boots to the floor.The leather boots were taken off, and the master's clothes were also taken off.Chichikov tossed and tossed on the bed for a long time, making the bed creaking, and after a while, he fell into the sweet dream of being the landlord of Kherson.

(End of this chapter)