dead souls, imperial envoy

Chapter 22 Dead Souls (22)
As for the other mortal, he would also happily listen closely to his ears, although he would add another sentence afterwards: "This is a completely boring rumor, and it is not worth taking seriously at all!" But then he would immediately Go to a third mortal so that it can be relayed, and then the two will come together and cry out indignantly: "What a silly rumor this is!" Finally, the rumor will spread to all the mortals in the city, and besides, everyone must Will talk about it enough, and maybe finally admit that this matter is not worth taking seriously, let alone talking about it.Evidently, this trifle completely spoiled our hero's interest.Even if a fool's words are stupid, sometimes they will spoil the mood of a smart person.Chichikov began to feel gloomy and ill at ease: it was like stepping into muddy, fetid mud with well-polished boots on;Trying not to think about it, trying to amuse himself and relax, he sat down to play whist, but everything began to go badly, like a bent wheel: twice it went wrong. He played his opponent's suit, and once he even forgot that the third partner's own card should not be knocked, but he made a serious move and confusedly knocked his own card.The Minister of Civil Affairs could not understand that Pavel Ivanovich, who was good at playing cards and could be said to have mastered the principles, made such a mistake, and even lost his King of Spades, and used his In his own words, he once counted on that card as he leaned on God.However, the postmaster and the head of the civil administration and even the chief of the police continued to tease our hero, saying that he was in love, that they knew that Pavel Ivanovich's heart had been pierced by Cupid's arrow, And said they knew who this Cupid was; but none of this made him happy, though he tried to smile, and return a few jokes.At dinner, too, he was never at ease talking and laughing, although the company was pleasant, and Nozdryov was taken away long ago, because even the ladies finally saw Nozdryov. The behavior is too presumptuous.When the Cogilion dance was in full swing, he sat down on the ground and stretched out his hands to grab the dancers' dresses. From the ladies' point of view, this is already too shameful.The supper was lively: happy faces shone against the three-pronged candlesticks, bouquets, sweets and bottles of wine.Officers, wives, gentlemen in tailcoats—all became warm and considerate, even to the point of sweetness.The men scrambled to stand up, ran to take the dishes from the servants, and delivered them to the ladies very steadily.A colonel pulled out his waist knife and gave it to a lady with a plate of spices on the tip of the knife.Chichikov was sitting with respectable people, and they were talking together, eating fish or beef with mustard, and arguing about issues that he was usually happy to participate in; Now he was like a man weary and travel-weary, unable to express his own opinions, and unable to accept the opinions of others.He went back to the hotel where he was staying without waiting for the final table, much earlier than before.Back at the hotel, back to the room that the reader already knows has a door blocked by a chest of drawers and cockroaches peeping from every corner from time to time, his mood has not calmed down, just like the armchair he was sitting on refused to be quiet down the same.There was a slight sense of unhappiness in his heart, his thoughts were confused, and there was an unbearable emptiness in his heart. "Who invented the ball, damn it!" He said angrily, "Why are you so happy? The province's grain harvest is bad and prices are soaring, but what kind of dance are they holding! Everyone is so fancy, it's outrageous! It’s not uncommon for a lady to spend thousands of rubles on a suit! It’s all people’s fat and people’s ointment, or it’s even worse if it’s money from friends with no conscience! Everyone knows why people betray their conscience and take bribes: it’s not for Wife buys a shawl or a few tutus or whatever, damn it, something weird. And what is it for? Just so that a pushy Sidorovna will not say that Mrs. Postmaster The dress was prettier, and for that it cost a thousand bucks. People shouted: 'Dance, dance, what a joy!' But the dance was simply muddy, not in the spirit of Russia, not in the nature of a Russian; Adult men suddenly jumped out. They were all in black, their clothes were so thin that they were tightly wrapped around their bodies, they looked like little ghosts, and their legs kicked up. Arguing about important matters, while bouncing on the right and left, like a little goat... These are all monkey tricks, all monkey tricks, imitating others! Even if the French are forty years old Like 40-year-olds, we've got to watch! Well, seriously...every prom is over like a big mistake; I don't even want to think about it. My head is empty, like following a It’s the same feeling I had when I talked to an upper-class person: the upper-class person has a wide range of horizons, talkatively, showing off a little knowledge picked up from a few small books, talking brilliantly and vividly, but there is nothing in his head. It is better for an ordinary businessman to talk than to listen to his flashy empty talk. Although a businessman knows his own business, he can understand it thoroughly. It is experience. What can you learn from the ball? If there is anyone The writer suddenly wants to describe the reality of the ball scene on a whim, so what? Even if it is written in the book, the scene will be the same as the actual situation. It is inexplicable. How to answer this scene: moral , or is it immoral? God only knows! You'll swallow your saliva, and close the book, and you're done." Thus Chichikov dismissed the ball; another reason.It wasn't the ball that annoyed him so much, but the fact that he had made a big fool of himself in public, and played a dubiously queer part.Of course, if you look at it intellectually, it doesn't matter what a few stupid words can do, and most importantly, when the main business is done.But people are so strange: he has no respect for some people, has a very bad opinion, and rages at them for dressing up and being mediocre, but if these people lose their favor for him, it makes him sad.What frustrates him is that after analyzing the matter clearly, he sees that some parts here are also his own fault.But he wasn't angry with himself, and that was certainly not without reason.We all have such a small shortcoming: we must always be more tolerant to ourselves, and it is best to find a way to find someone around us to vent our anger, such as servants, subordinates who come in when we are angry, wives, or chairs Well,—we can rush to the door and throw it off the arm and back, and give it a taste of our wrath.Thus Chichikov quickly found someone who could bear all his anger.This man was Nozdryov.Needless to say, Nozdryov was utterly abused, as an experienced captain who travels and experiences scolds a deceitful mayor or coachman (the general, by the way, is utterly insulting to a deceitful mayor or coachman). Occasionally, he would swear, and the general would add many of his first swear words in addition to many of the swear words that have become classics).

Nozdryov's genealogy was implicated, and his ancestors really suffered a lot.Sitting on the hard armchair, Chichikov was restless and unable to sleep, cursing Nozdryov and his three generations of ancestors vigorously. flower.The candle flickered and threatened to go out every moment.The thick, dark night outside the window has gradually turned blue as dawn approaches.The rooster in the distance is already crowing first.Perhaps a poor fellow in a duffel coat of unknown rank and rank (who knew only one road trampled by adventurous Russians) wandered about in this quiet provincial town.At this time, an event is happening on the other side of the city, which will put our protagonist in an even more unpleasant situation.In short, along the lonely streets of the city came a strange carriage, and the naming of this carriage was quite painstaking: it was neither a four-wheeled carriage for long distances, nor a spring carriage, nor a folded one. The light carriage with a canopy looks like a big round watermelon on wheels.The cheeks of this big watermelon, that is, the doors on both sides, were painted mottled yellow. The door couldn't be closed because of the poor condition of the handle and the door lock, so it had to be tied carelessly with a rope.The watermelons were stuffed with calico cushions in the shape of cigarette pouches, oblong pillows, and ordinary pillows, bags of all kinds of black bread, white bread, stuffed bread, fried meat buns, and braided bread made of hot noodles.A chicken scone and a gherkin scone even poked the head out of the bag.Sitting on the pedals at the back of the cart was a servant, wearing a variegated home-spun jacket and with an unshaved gray beard. This was what was commonly called a servant.The creaking of iron tires and rusty axles woke up a sentry on the other side of the city.The policeman picked up his long-handled axe, rubbed his sleepy eyes and yelled, "Who?" A small animal walked under the street lamp and cut it off with his nails on the spot.Afterwards, he put down his axe, and fell asleep in accordance with the rules of his knight class.The horses kept stumbling because they had no paws, and they seemed unfamiliar with the city's velvety paved roads.The big, heavy carriage turned several corners through the streets, and at last turned into the Nikolai chapel in the parish of Niedotichki, entered a dark alley, and stopped at the gate of the high priest's house.A girl wrapped in a headscarf and a waistcoat got out of the car, and she raised her fist and slammed the door hard. Even a man might not be able to keep up with that force (the servant wearing a variegated home-woven jacket later He was dragged out of the car by two legs, and he was already sleeping like a dead pig).The dog barked, and the gate finally opened its mouth, finally swallowing the clumsy vehicle inside.The carriage entered a yard crowded with firewood, chicken coops, and various small barnyards; out of the carriage came a lady who was Korobochka, the widow of a landowner and ten-odd officer.The old lady felt impetuous after our master left, and was afraid of being fooled. She couldn't close her eyes for three nights, and finally made up her mind to go to the city even though the horse hadn't hung its palms yet. Find out what the current market price of dead serfs is, God forbid, don't be careless, it's too cheap.The consequences of her arrival can be known from a conversation between the two wives.This conversation...but it's best to save it for the next chapter.

Nine rumors move the city

Early in the morning, just before the regular visiting time in N City, Shi Shi ran out of the gate of an orange-yellow wooden mansion with a loft and blue pillars, a gorgeously dressed lady in a checkered cloak, Behind him came a servant in a frock coat with a cloud collar, and a shining bowler hat trimmed with gold braids.The wife eagerly stepped on the lowered running board and lightly boarded the carriage at the door.The servant neatly grabbed the belt and put away the running board, stood on the rear running board, and shouted to the coachman, "Go!" The wife brought a piece of news that had just arrived, and was anxious to tell others.She eagerly looked out of the car, always feeling that there was still more than half of the journey, and she felt a little indescribably annoyed.Every time she passed a house, she felt that it was much longer than usual; the white stone house with narrow windows in the orphanage was unbearably long, and she finally couldn't help saying: "Damn house, it's endlessly long I'm here!" Twice the coachman had been told: "Quickly, Andryushka! You're unbearably slow today!" At last he arrived at his destination.The carriage stopped in front of a one-story house, which was also made of wood, painted dark blue, with some small white reliefs above the window frames, and a row of tall wooden fences next to the windows, followed by a small courtyard, the small courtyard Behind the fence were five or six slender trees, small and white with dust.Through the window, you can see several potted flowers, a parrot swinging in the cage with a hoop in its beak, and two puppies napping in the sun.Here lives a relative of the visiting lady.The author feels very embarrassed and does not know how to address these two ladies so that people will not be filled with righteous indignation against him as before.It would be dangerous to invent a name for them.Because no matter what name you come up with, in such a vast country as ours, there will happen to be someone with this name in some corner. I secretly spy on him, what kind of clothes he wears, which women he often goes to, and what he likes to eat.It's even more dangerous, God forbid, by title.Now our officials at all levels and people of various status are in love with the fire. No matter what is written in the book, they will think it is a personal attack on them. This is the atmosphere.As long as you say that there is a fool in a certain city, it will constitute a personal attack: a good-looking gentleman will suddenly jump out and shout: "I am also a human being, so I am also stupid."-In a word In other words, he can see the bottom line of the matter at a glance.In order to avoid this kind of trouble, we simply follow the almost unanimous habit of N City, and call the lady who is now being visited by the female guests. To be more specific, we call her the lovely lady in every aspect.Of course she deserves such a title, because she will try her best to show her kindness and loveliness.In her kindness and cuteness, there are also a lot of women's cleverness and scheming occasionally neatly sandwiched in her!And in every word of her attentiveness and melodiousness, there will be hidden sharp needles!God bless any lady who made her angry by showing off in any way or by any means.Of course, all this will be covered up by the ingenious social tactics peculiar to a provincial capital.Her manners were quite graceful and refined, and she even loved poetry, and she sometimes tilted her head in a thoughtful way, so that everyone decided that she was indeed a lovely lady in every way.The other lady, our visiting lady, is of course not so versatile, so let's call her: ordinary lovely lady.The arrival of the female guest disturbed the two puppies who were taking a nap-the fluffy bitch Adele and the thin-legged male dog Poppy.They curled up their tails and ran to the hallway.There the lady guest was unfastening her cloak to reveal a fashionable floral dress with a fur boa round her neck; the room was immediately filled with the scent of jasmine.Lovely wives in every way would immediately come to the hall to greet a lovely wife in general.The two ladies shook hands, kissed, and called, just like the two fresh graduates of a noble boarding school shouted so passionately when they met again, because at that time the good mothers of the two girls' school graduates were still there. I didn't have time to tell them that one's father was poorer and had a lower official title than the other.The kiss was so loud that the two puppies barked in fright, and each received a handkerchief for this, and the two ladies entered the drawing-room, whose walls were of course light blue Inside, there are two couches, an oval table, and a few small screens covered with ivy, and the furry Adele and the tall, thin-legged Poppy followed behind aggrievedly. "Here, here, just sit in this corner!" The hostess let the guest into a corner of the sofa. "That's it! Here's a pillow for you!" As she said, she put a pillow behind the guest, on which a knight was embroidered with wool, just like the usual cross-stitch embroidery: a staircase-shaped nose, four Square mouth. "I'm so glad it's you... I heard the sound of carriages outside and thought: Who is so early. Palasha said: 'It must be the deputy governor's wife'. I said: 'This fool is trying to please people again I don't think so'. I was going to be told I wasn't home..."

The female guest was about to report the news directly, but at this moment, the lovely wife in every way exclaimed, and the topic developed in another direction.The lovely wife in every respect looked at the clothes worn by the ordinary lovely wife and exclaimed: "What a beautiful calico!"

"Yes, it is very attractive. But Praskovia Fyodorovna said that it would be better if the checks were smaller and the flowers were not brown but light blue." Someone sent a piece of fabric to her sister. It was so beautiful that no words can describe it. Just imagine: narrow stripes, stripes so narrow that only the imagination can see them, sky blue background, every day There are small circles and small claws every other narrow stripe, small circles and small claws, small circles and small claws... In a word, there is nothing comparable, and it can be said with certainty that there is no such beautiful pattern in the world."

"Honey, this is too fancy!"

"No, no, not fancy!"

"No, fancy!"

(End of this chapter)