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21
That
the
foregoing
represents
pretty
much
the
gist
of
Chichikov
's
reflections
as
he
stood
watching
the
company
I
will
not
attempt
to
deny
.
22
And
of
those
reflections
the
upshot
was
that
he
decided
to
join
himself
to
the
stouter
section
of
the
guests
,
among
whom
he
had
already
recognised
several
familiar
faces
--
namely
,
those
of
the
Public
Prosecutor
(
a
man
with
beetling
brows
over
eyes
which
seemed
to
be
saying
with
a
wink
,
"
Come
into
the
next
room
,
my
friend
,
for
I
have
something
to
say
to
you
"
--
though
,
in
the
main
,
their
owner
was
a
man
of
grave
and
taciturn
habit
)
,
of
the
Postmaster
(
an
insignificant-looking
individual
,
yet
a
would-be
wit
and
a
philosopher
)
,
and
of
the
President
of
the
Local
Council
(
a
man
of
much
amiability
and
good
sense
)
.
These
three
personages
greeted
Chichikov
as
an
old
acquaintance
,
and
to
their
salutations
he
responded
with
a
sidelong
,
yet
a
sufficiently
civil
,
bow
.
Also
,
he
became
acquainted
with
an
extremely
unctuous
and
approachable
landowner
named
Manilov
,
and
with
a
landowner
of
more
uncouth
exterior
named
Sobakevitch
--
the
latter
of
whom
began
the
acquaintance
by
treading
heavily
upon
Chichikov
's
toes
,
and
then
begging
his
pardon
.
Next
,
Chichikov
received
an
offer
of
a
"
cut
in
"
at
whist
,
and
accepted
the
same
with
his
usual
courteous
inclination
of
the
head
.
Seating
themselves
at
a
green
table
,
the
party
did
not
rise
therefrom
till
supper
time
;
and
during
that
period
all
conversation
between
the
players
became
hushed
,
as
is
the
custom
when
men
have
given
themselves
up
to
a
really
serious
pursuit
.
Even
the
Postmaster
--
a
talkative
man
by
nature
--
had
no
sooner
taken
the
cards
into
his
hands
than
he
assumed
an
expression
of
profound
thought
,
pursed
his
lips
,
and
retained
this
attitude
unchanged
throughout
the
game
.
23
Only
when
playing
a
court
card
was
it
his
custom
to
strike
the
table
with
his
fist
,
and
to
exclaim
(
if
the
card
happened
to
be
a
queen
)
,
"
Now
,
old
popadia
7
!
"
and
(
if
the
card
happened
to
be
a
king
)
,
"
Now
,
peasant
of
Tambov
!
"
To
which
ejaculations
invariably
the
President
of
the
Local
Council
retorted
,
"
Ah
,
I
have
him
by
the
ears
,
I
have
him
by
the
ears
!
"
And
from
the
neighbourhood
of
the
table
other
strong
ejaculations
relative
to
the
play
would
arise
,
interposed
with
one
or
another
of
those
nicknames
which
participants
in
a
game
are
apt
to
apply
to
members
of
the
various
suits
.
I
need
hardly
add
that
,
the
game
over
,
the
players
fell
to
quarrelling
,
and
that
in
the
dispute
our
friend
joined
,
though
so
artfully
as
to
let
every
one
see
that
,
in
spite
of
the
fact
that
he
was
wrangling
,
he
was
doing
so
only
in
the
most
amicable
fashion
possible
.
Never
did
he
say
outright
,
"
You
played
the
wrong
card
at
such
and
such
a
point
.
"
No
,
he
always
employed
some
such
phrase
as
,
"
You
permitted
yourself
to
make
a
slip
,
and
thus
afforded
me
the
honour
of
covering
your
deuce
.
"
Indeed
,
the
better
to
keep
in
accord
with
his
antagonists
,
he
kept
offering
them
his
silver-enamelled
snuff-box
(
at
the
bottom
of
which
lay
a
couple
of
violets
,
placed
there
for
the
sake
of
their
scent
)
.
In
particular
did
the
newcomer
pay
attention
to
landowners
Manilov
and
Sobakevitch
;
so
much
so
that
his
haste
to
arrive
on
good
terms
with
them
led
to
his
leaving
the
President
and
the
Postmaster
rather
in
the
shade
.
Отключить рекламу
24
At
the
same
time
,
certain
questions
which
he
put
to
those
two
landowners
evinced
not
only
curiosity
,
but
also
a
certain
amount
of
sound
intelligence
;
for
he
began
by
asking
how
many
peasant
souls
each
of
them
possessed
,
and
how
their
affairs
happened
at
present
to
be
situated
,
and
then
proceeded
to
enlighten
himself
also
as
their
standing
and
their
families
.
Indeed
,
it
was
not
long
before
he
had
succeeded
in
fairly
enchanting
his
new
friends
.
In
particular
did
Manilov
--
a
man
still
in
his
prime
,
and
possessed
of
a
pair
of
eyes
which
,
sweet
as
sugar
,
blinked
whenever
he
laughed
--
find
himself
unable
to
make
enough
of
his
enchanter
.
Clasping
Chichikov
long
and
fervently
by
the
hand
,
he
besought
him
to
do
him
,
Manilov
,
the
honour
of
visiting
his
country
house
(
which
he
declared
to
lie
at
a
distance
of
not
more
than
fifteen
versts
from
the
boundaries
of
the
town
)
;
and
in
return
Chichikov
averred
(
with
an
exceedingly
affable
bow
and
a
most
sincere
handshake
)
that
he
was
prepared
not
only
to
fulfil
his
friend
's
behest
,
but
also
to
look
upon
the
fulfilling
of
it
as
a
sacred
duty
.
In
the
same
way
Sobakevitch
said
to
him
laconically
:
"
And
do
you
pay
ME
a
visit
,
"
and
then
proceeded
to
shuffle
a
pair
of
boots
of
such
dimensions
that
to
find
a
pair
to
correspond
with
them
would
have
been
indeed
difficult
--
more
especially
at
the
present
day
,
when
the
race
of
epic
heroes
is
beginning
to
die
out
in
Russia
.
25
Next
day
Chichikov
dined
and
spent
the
evening
at
the
house
of
the
Chief
of
Police
--
a
residence
where
,
three
hours
after
dinner
,
every
one
sat
down
to
whist
,
and
remained
so
seated
until
two
o'clock
in
the
morning
.
26
On
this
occasion
Chichikov
made
the
acquaintance
of
,
among
others
,
a
landowner
named
Nozdrev
--
a
dissipated
little
fellow
of
thirty
who
had
no
sooner
exchanged
three
or
four
words
with
his
new
acquaintance
than
he
began
to
address
him
in
the
second
person
singular
.
Yet
although
he
did
the
same
to
the
Chief
of
Police
and
the
Public
Prosecutor
,
the
company
had
no
sooner
seated
themselves
at
the
card-table
than
both
the
one
and
the
other
of
these
functionaries
started
to
keep
a
careful
eye
upon
Nozdrev
's
tricks
,
and
to
watch
practically
every
card
which
he
played
.
The
following
evening
Chichikov
spent
with
the
President
of
the
Local
Council
,
who
received
his
guests
--
even
though
the
latter
included
two
ladies
--
in
a
greasy
dressing-gown
.
Upon
that
followed
an
evening
at
the
Vice-Governor
's
,
a
large
dinner
party
at
the
house
of
the
Commissioner
of
Taxes
,
a
smaller
dinner-party
at
the
house
of
the
Public
Prosecutor
(
a
very
wealthy
man
)
,
and
a
subsequent
reception
given
by
the
Mayor
.
In
short
,
not
an
hour
of
the
day
did
Chichikov
find
himself
forced
to
spend
at
home
,
and
his
return
to
the
inn
became
necessary
only
for
the
purposes
of
sleeping
.
Somehow
or
other
he
had
landed
on
his
feet
,
and
everywhere
he
figured
as
an
experienced
man
of
the
world
.
No
matter
what
the
conversation
chanced
to
be
about
,
he
always
contrived
to
maintain
his
part
in
the
same
.
Did
the
discourse
turn
upon
horse-breeding
,
upon
horse-breeding
he
happened
to
be
peculiarly
well-qualified
to
speak
.
Did
the
company
fall
to
discussing
well-bred
dogs
,
at
once
he
had
remarks
of
the
most
pertinent
kind
possible
to
offer
.
27
Did
the
company
touch
upon
a
prosecution
which
had
recently
been
carried
out
by
the
Excise
Department
,
instantly
he
showed
that
he
too
was
not
wholly
unacquainted
with
legal
affairs
.
Did
an
opinion
chance
to
be
expressed
concerning
billiards
,
on
that
subject
too
he
was
at
least
able
to
avoid
committing
a
blunder
.
Did
a
reference
occur
to
virtue
,
concerning
virtue
he
hastened
to
deliver
himself
in
a
way
which
brought
tears
to
every
eye
.
Did
the
subject
in
hand
happen
to
be
the
distilling
of
brandy
--
well
,
that
was
a
matter
concerning
which
he
had
the
soundest
of
knowledge
.
Did
any
one
happen
to
mention
Customs
officials
and
inspectors
,
from
that
moment
he
expatiated
as
though
he
too
had
been
both
a
minor
functionary
and
a
major
.
Yet
a
remarkable
fact
was
the
circumstance
that
he
always
contrived
to
temper
his
omniscience
with
a
certain
readiness
to
give
way
,
a
certain
ability
so
to
keep
a
rein
upon
himself
that
never
did
his
utterances
become
too
loud
or
too
soft
,
or
transcend
what
was
perfectly
befitting
.
In
a
word
,
he
was
always
a
gentleman
of
excellent
manners
,
and
every
official
in
the
place
felt
pleased
when
he
saw
him
enter
the
door
.
Thus
the
Governor
gave
it
as
his
opinion
that
Chichikov
was
a
man
of
excellent
intentions
;
the
Public
Prosecutor
,
that
he
was
a
good
man
of
business
;
the
Chief
of
Gendarmery
,
that
he
was
a
man
of
education
;
the
President
of
the
Local
Council
,
that
he
was
a
man
of
breeding
and
refinement
;
and
the
wife
of
the
Chief
of
Gendarmery
,
that
his
politeness
of
behaviour
was
equalled
only
by
his
affability
of
bearing
Отключить рекламу
28
Nay
,
even
Sobakevitch
--
who
as
a
rule
never
spoke
well
of
ANY
ONE
--
said
to
his
lanky
wife
when
,
on
returning
late
from
the
town
,
he
undressed
and
betook
himself
to
bed
by
her
side
:
"
My
dear
,
this
evening
,
after
dining
with
the
Chief
of
Police
,
I
went
on
to
the
Governor
's
,
and
met
there
,
among
others
,
a
certain
Paul
Ivanovitch
Chichikov
,
who
is
a
Collegiate
Councillor
and
a
very
pleasant
fellow
.
"
To
this
his
spouse
replied
"
Hm
!
"
and
then
dealt
him
a
hearty
kick
in
the
ribs
.
29
Such
were
the
flattering
opinions
earned
by
the
newcomer
to
the
town
;
and
these
opinions
he
retained
until
the
time
when
a
certain
speciality
of
his
,
a
certain
scheme
of
his
(
the
reader
will
learn
presently
what
it
was
)
,
plunged
the
majority
of
the
townsfolk
into
a
sea
of
perplexity
.
30
For
more
than
two
weeks
the
visitor
lived
amid
a
round
of
evening
parties
and
dinners
;
wherefore
he
spent
(
as
the
saying
goes
)
a
very
pleasant
time
.
Finally
he
decided
to
extend
his
visits
beyond
the
urban
boundaries
by
going
and
calling
upon
landowners
Manilov
and
Sobakevitch
,
seeing
that
he
had
promised
on
his
honour
to
do
so
.
Yet
what
really
incited
him
to
this
may
have
been
a
more
essential
cause
,
a
matter
of
greater
gravity
,
a
purpose
which
stood
nearer
to
his
heart
,
than
the
motive
which
I
have
just
given
;
and
of
that
purpose
the
reader
will
learn
if
only
he
will
have
the
patience
to
read
this
prefatory
narrative
(
which
,
lengthy
though
it
be
,
may
yet
develop
and
expand
in
proportion
as
we
approach
the
denouement
with
which
the
present
work
is
destined
to
be
crowned
)
.