dead souls, imperial envoy

Chapter 37 Dead Souls (37)
They said goodnight, and went to bed, where they naturally had to think about the other's strange behaviour.do not know why!The next day Chichikov put on a new tuxedo, a white tie, and a white waistcoat, and with almost soldierly agility boarded the carriage lent to him by his master to pay homage to the general, but Tentetnikov Feeling in a bad mood, which has only happened a long time ago.His rusty, drowsy mind frantically set into motion.The emotions that had hitherto been immersed in a life of idleness stirred up again.He sat on the sofa for a while, walked to the window for a while, picked up the book again for a while, and wanted to think about some big problems for a while-but none of this helped! --no thought entered his head; to think of nothing for a moment--in vain! ——All kinds of thoughts will come into his mind intermittently, with beginnings and ends, and ends without ends. "Strange thing!" He finished speaking and walked to the window - looking at the road passing through the oak forest, the car dust was still blowing lightly at the end of the road.But let's put Tentetnikov aside and follow Chichikov to find out.

the success of two jokes
It only took about half an hour for the horse and light cart to pull Chichikov across a distance of about ten versts: first through the oak forest, then through the newly sprouting crop fields, and then up to the mountain outside the village. Mountains and hills, one after another, the vistas are oncoming.Finally, it was introduced to Zhuangzi, where the general lived, by a wide tree-lined road composed of densely branched linden trees.Then this linden-lined avenue turned into a poplar-lined avenue, with a small fenced yard surrounded by each poplar tree, and at the end of the street was a yard with a hollow iron gate through which the , you can see the exquisitely carved and luxurious triangular door decoration on the front of the General's Mansion. The door decoration is supported by eight columns with Corinthian capitals.The smell of freshly painted paint permeates the entire space, and all the furniture is constantly being painted to give it a new look, and no signs of aging are allowed to appear anywhere.The yard was as clean as a parquet floor.When the carriage came to the gate, Chichikov jumped out of the carriage respectfully, at the same time ordered people to go in and report to the general, and then went into the general's study.Chichikov was terrified by the general's majestic appearance and unflappable prestige.The general was wearing a fuchsia satin civilian suit.With piercing eyes, a heroic face, gray beard, slightly short hair, the hair on the back of the head is cut very short, the exposed neck is fat and stacked in three layers, with a horizontal line in the middle, and the voice is low and slightly Hoarse, his speech and demeanor revealed majesty.General Bedryshev, like all of us, has many strengths and also many weaknesses.Pros and cons, as in any Russian, are intricately intertwined.At the critical moment, he can self-sacrifice, open-minded, magnanimous, courageous and intelligent.But among these advantages, there is also a mixture of selfishness, vanity, saving face, pickiness and many other defects that a normal person cannot do without.He doesn't like anyone who is more prosperous than him, ridicules them, and writes poems to satirize them bitterly.The most important thing is one of his former colleagues. He thinks that this colleague is not as good as him in terms of intelligence or ability, but this colleague has risen faster than him, and now he is the governor of two provinces. And his own manor happened to be within the governor's jurisdiction, so he also became a citizen under the governor's rule.In order to vent his dissatisfaction, he took every possible opportunity to ridicule the governor, and criticized all his decrees, thinking that all the measures and behaviors taken by the governor were very stupid.Although the general is kind-hearted, he loves to laugh at others.Generally speaking, he likes to be in the limelight, he likes others to worship him, he likes to show off and show off his intelligence, and he also likes to know things that others don't know. Naturally, he doesn't like others to know more than he does.He received a semi-foreign education, but he liked to play the role of a Russian gentleman.His character is so immature and prudent, and his own advantages and disadvantages are so noticeable, so it is no wonder that he will inevitably encounter more or less unpleasant things in the officialdom, so he has been unemployed at home early; he thinks All of this was done by the enemy party, and they didn't have the guts to accuse themselves of doing something wrong.So after retiring, he still did not change his old style.In frock coat, tuxedo, or street clothes—his style never waned.From the sound of his voice to the smallest gesture, he was always commanding, if not admiring his subordinates, then at least giving them pause.At this moment Chichikov felt both respect and fear.He tilted his head gently and bowed, and said: "It is a great honor to be received by you, my lord. I have always admired the heroes who saved the motherland on the battlefield, so I think I must come to pay my respects to you, my lord."

It seems that the general likes this opening very much.He made a very benevolent gesture with his head, and said: "Welcome, sir. Please take a seat. Where are you now employed?"

"My place of employment," said Chichikov, sitting not in the middle of the chair, but on the edge of it, leaning his hand on the arm of the chair, "was at the tax office at first, My lord. After that it was erratic: in the provincial court, in the building commission, even in customs. My life is like a boat in a rough sea, my lord. I can say that I endured Big ones, cultivated with endurance, it can be said that I am the embodiment of patience... The despicableness and insidiousness of the enemy can never be described in words, so in my later years, I want to find a corner to spend quietly For the rest of my life, I am temporarily staying at the house of a neighbor of my lord..."

"Oh, which one is it?"

"At Tentetnikov's, my excellency."

The general frowned. "My lord, now he regrets not being able to show the respect he should have..."

"For what?"

"My lord, you have made great contributions on the battlefield. He really couldn't find the right words to express his feelings. He said: 'If I can use anything to... because I know that I must respect the heroes who saved the motherland. '."

"Why is this necessary? What's wrong with him? I'm not angry!" The general softened his heart and said, "I still like him more from the bottom of my heart, and I believe that he will definitely become a very useful person to society in the future. "

"You are quite right, my lord: he is indeed a man of great service to society, not only with eloquence, but with the power of writing."

"Probably writing some crooked poems or moaning about nothing?"

"Oh no, my lord, it's not about writing things that moan for nothing..."

"What was that writing?"

"He's writing...a history, my lord."

"Write history! Write what history?"

"Write..." Chichikov paused here, perhaps because he was sitting in front of a general, perhaps just to add weight to what they were talking about, and then went on: "Yes. Writing a history of the general, my lord."

"Why about the history of the general? About what kind of general?"

"About all the generals, my lord, all the generals. Specifically, about the generals of our country."

As Chichikov said this, he thought to himself: "What nonsense am I talking about?"

"Excuse me, I don't think I quite understand... what kind of book is this? Is it a history of generals of a certain period, or is it a compilation of the biographies of each general? Besides, is it a collection of all Do you include all the generals you have, or only the generals who took part in the Patriotic War in [-]?"

"That's right, my lord. I'm just writing about the generals who participated in the Great Patriotic War in [-]." After speaking, he thought to himself, "I don't know what nonsense I'm talking about even if I kill him now."

"Then why doesn't he come to me? At least I can collect a lot of interesting and true information for him."

"Because he dared not come, my lord."

"Why! Although there was a verbal conflict between us... But I am by no means a person who cares about everything. Forget it, I'll go to him first."

"Oh, my lord, he won't want you to do this, I think he will come by himself." After finishing Chichikov, he thought to himself: "The general must not go! This is all nonsense. "

At this moment, there was a sound in the general's study, and the walnut door of the carved cabinet in the study opened automatically.A nimble figure was holding on to the copper handle on the door with one slender hand, standing beside the pushed open wooden door.Even if a transparent picture suddenly appeared in a dim room with a blinding light from behind, it would not be so shocking as the sudden appearance of this handsome figure.The figure seemed to have appeared specifically to illuminate the room.It was as if a ray of bright sunlight came in with her, suddenly illuminating the ceiling, window eaves and dark corners of the room.Her whole body also seemed to radiate a kind of dazzling brilliance.However, this is an illusion.Because her figure is particularly well-proportioned, all parts of her body, from head to toe, appear very harmonious.A piece of elegantly-colored clothes fit her so well, as if the tailors in the capital gathered together to discuss how to dress her up so beautifully.However, this is also an illusion.In fact she was dressed very casually: a piece of uncut solid color cloth, pinned up in two or three places, draped over her so nicely that a sculptor would have immediately wanted to She and the fitted dress, with all its folds, were removed to the marble, making the fashionable ladies and ladies look ugly by comparison.Although Chichikov was already very familiar with her face based on Tentetnikov's drawings, he still looked like a clay sculpture when he saw her in person. It was only after he recovered that he discovered that she had a very important flaw. , that is, it is not strong enough. "Let me introduce you, this is my spoiled little girl!" The general turned to Chichikov and said, "However, until now I don't know your surname or surname."

"The name of a mediocre person is not worth mentioning?" said Chichikov, "but the grown-ups still need to know..."

"My name and paternal name are Pavel Ivanovich, Your Excellency," Chichikov said, tilting his head slightly to one side.

"Ulinka!" the general said, turning to his daughter. "Pavel Ivanovich has just reported a very interesting piece of news. Our neighbor Tentetnikov is not at all as stupid as we think. In fact he is working on something that seems quite important. Work: I am writing a history of the general in [-]."

Urinka suddenly lost her temper. "But who thought he was stupid at the time?" she kept saying, "Only Vishne Pokromov thought so. You would believe him, a boring, vile and sinister man!"

"Why do you say that he is despicable and sinister? It is true to say that he is a bit boring." The general said.

"He's despicable and hateful, not just because he's a bit boring," Ulinka immediately took over the general's obedient remarks, "Anyone who bullies his brothers like that and drives his own sisters out of the house is hateful..."

"But these are just rumors."

"No wind, no waves, there is no reason why people don't pass it on like this. Dad, you have such a noble character and such a kind heart, but you do things without consideration. Maybe some people will think you are a completely different kind of person. You know in your heart that he is not good, but just because he can speak well and show courteousness to you, are you willing to receive him?"

"But my dear! I can't drive him away, can I?" said the general.

"And why drive him away? Why not like him?"

"You can't say that, madam," Chichikov said to Ulinka with a slight bow of his head and a smile on his face. "According to the teaching of Christ, it is precisely such people that we should love."

After finishing speaking, he immediately added a bit of sly look to his smile, turned around and said to the general: "My lord, there is a joke that goes like this, 'If you like our black or not, we are both black and white. When you are white and clean, everyone loves it', sir, have you heard it?"

"No, I haven't heard of it."

"That's a very funny joke," said Chichikov with a sly smile. "In Prince Gukzovsky's estate—your Excellency must know about this estate..."

"Oh, I do not know."

"My lord, the steward of this estate is a very young German. In order to send young men to the army and deal with other matters, he often has to go into the city to cheer up the judges."

Having said this, Chichikov narrowed one eye, and his face showed the triumphant expression of the judges when they were poured on. "However, the judges also liked him very much and were close to him. Once, at a banquet where the judges invited him, he said: 'Gentlemen, if you have the opportunity, please come and find me in the duke's manor.' Everyone said: "Okay, I will definitely go if I have the opportunity." Not long after, the judges will need to go to Count Trekhmetev's territory to investigate a case——Count Trekhmetev, my lord must know .”

"do not know."

"The judges didn't investigate the case when they went there. As soon as they went there, they sat down and played cards with the earl's old butler. They didn't close their eyes for three days and three nights. They made tea and drank punch, and the food on the table naturally didn't stop. I'm so tired of it. In order to send them away, the old steward said: 'Gentlemen, you should go and see the Duke's steward—the young German: he lives not far from here, and he is waiting for you Miles.' 'We ought to go and see,' they said, and rode pompously into the carriage to find the German, drunk, unshaven, and sleepless, . . . the German My lord, let me explain here that I have just married at this time. She is married to a graduate of a noble boarding school, young and delicate (Chichikov has a delicate look on his face) At this time, the young couple was sitting tenderly drinking tea, when suddenly the door was kicked open, and a large group of people broke in."

"I can imagine that their expressions must be very funny!" After the general finished speaking, he laughed alone.

"The young butler was stunned for a moment, and asked: 'What are you doing?' 'Ah! You are such a villain!' After that, they all changed their faces...'I have something to ask you to investigate , How much wine has been brewed in your manor? Bring the account book!' The young butler rummaged around for the account book. 'Hey, find someone to testify!' As a result, the butler was tied up and taken to the city. The German spent a year and a half in the city jail."

"Look!" said the general.Urinka clapped her hands. "Of course his wife is going to run around!" Chichikov went on, "but what can a young woman with no social experience do? Later, thanks to good-hearted people, she persuaded them to make peace. That The young steward took out two thousand rubles, and gave them a banquet, and at last the matter was settled. At the banquet, everyone was happy, and he was also happy, when the judges told him Say, 'Aren't you ashamed of the way you treated us? You always wanted to see us fully dressed, shaved, and in tuxedos. No, you love us when we're dark and we're white. At that time, everyone who saw it loved it.'”

The general laughed, and Urinka sighed bitterly. "Father, I don't understand, how can you laugh!" the girl said irritably.The anger on her face covered her beautiful forehead... "This is a shameful act; I don't know where to coax them for this kind of behavior..."

"But my friends, I don't think they're right in the slightest," said the general, "but it's so ridiculous, how can I not laugh? It's like: 'Love us in vain look like...'"

"It means to love us when we are dark and not dark, my lord," Chichikov continued, "to love us when we are dark and not dark. Everyone loves us when we are white. Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

The general's body trembled with laughter.The shoulders that once wore the large epaulettes also trembled, and they still seemed to be wearing the large epaulettes now.Chichikov also allowed himself to use interjections expressing laughter, but out of respect for the general, he used interjections ending in the vowel ei, that is, heh, heh, heh, heh!His body also shook with laughter, but his shoulders did not shake at all, because after all he had never worn epaulettes. "I can imagine that unshaven judges must look very good!" said the general, continuing to laugh.

"Yes, my lord, anyway... After all, without sleep... After three days and nights of fighting, it's the same as fasting: I'm a little pale and thin!" Chichikov also said, continuing to laugh.Urinka sat down on the chair at this time, covered her big beautiful eyes with one hand, as if she was extremely annoyed that no one shared her righteous indignation, and said: "I don't know, I just I feel exasperated."

It is indeed very rare to see such a big emotional gap in the hearts of the three people who are talking.One person thought that the young German was too pedantic and ignorant to be ridiculous.The second person thinks the tricks of the judges are ridiculous.The third person is unhappy because this abnormal behavior has not been punished as it should be.It's a pity there wasn't a fourth person to share a joke that would amuse some and distaste others.What does it mean for a person who has been reduced to a hopeless filth, but still asks others to love him?

(End of this chapter)