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- Николай Гоголь
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Yet
throughout
he
bore
up
stoutly
and
patiently
--
and
ended
by
being
transferred
to
the
Customs
Department
.
It
may
be
said
that
the
department
had
long
constituted
the
secret
goal
of
his
ambition
,
for
he
had
noted
the
foreign
elegancies
with
which
its
officials
always
contrived
to
provide
themselves
,
and
had
also
observed
that
invariably
they
were
able
to
send
presents
of
china
and
cambric
to
their
sisters
and
aunts
--
well
,
to
their
lady
friends
generally
.
Yes
,
more
than
once
he
had
said
to
himself
with
a
sigh
:
"
THAT
is
the
department
to
which
I
ought
to
belong
,
for
,
given
a
town
near
the
frontier
,
and
a
sensible
set
of
colleagues
,
I
might
be
able
to
fit
myself
out
with
excellent
linen
shirts
.
"
Also
,
it
may
be
said
that
most
frequently
of
all
had
his
thoughts
turned
towards
a
certain
quality
of
French
soap
which
imparted
a
peculiar
whiteness
to
the
skin
and
a
peerless
freshness
to
the
cheeks
.
Its
name
is
known
to
God
alone
,
but
at
least
it
was
to
be
procured
only
in
the
immediate
neighbourhood
of
the
frontier
.
So
,
as
I
say
,
Chichikov
had
long
felt
a
leaning
towards
the
Customs
,
but
for
a
time
had
been
restrained
from
applying
for
the
same
by
the
various
current
advantages
of
the
Building
Commission
;
since
rightly
he
had
adjudged
the
latter
to
constitute
a
bird
in
the
hand
,
and
the
former
to
constitute
only
a
bird
in
the
bush
.
But
now
he
decided
that
,
come
what
might
,
into
the
Customs
he
must
make
his
way
.
And
that
way
he
made
,
and
then
applied
himself
to
his
new
duties
with
a
zeal
born
of
the
fact
that
he
realised
that
fortune
had
specially
marked
him
out
for
a
Customs
officer
.
Indeed
,
such
activity
,
perspicuity
,
and
ubiquity
as
his
had
never
been
seen
or
thought
of
.
Within
four
weeks
at
the
most
he
had
so
thoroughly
got
his
hand
in
that
he
was
conversant
with
Customs
procedure
in
every
detail
.
Not
only
could
he
weigh
and
measure
,
but
also
he
could
divine
from
an
invoice
how
many
arshins
of
cloth
or
other
material
a
given
piece
contained
,
and
then
,
taking
a
roll
of
the
latter
in
his
hand
,
could
specify
at
once
the
number
of
pounds
at
which
it
would
tip
the
scale
.
As
for
searchings
,
well
,
even
his
colleagues
had
to
admit
that
he
possessed
the
nose
of
a
veritable
bloodhound
,
and
that
it
was
impossible
not
to
marvel
at
the
patience
wherewith
he
would
try
every
button
of
the
suspected
person
,
yet
preserve
,
throughout
,
a
deadly
politeness
and
an
icy
sang-froid
which
surpass
belief
.
And
while
the
searched
were
raging
,
and
foaming
at
the
mouth
,
and
feeling
that
they
would
give
worlds
to
alter
his
smiling
exterior
with
a
good
,
resounding
slap
,
he
would
move
not
a
muscle
of
his
face
,
nor
abate
by
a
jot
the
urbanity
of
his
demeanour
,
as
he
murmured
,
"
Do
you
mind
so
far
incommoding
yourself
as
to
stand
up
?
"
or
"
Pray
step
into
the
next
room
,
madam
,
where
the
wife
of
one
of
our
staff
will
attend
you
,
"
or
"
Pray
allow
me
to
slip
this
penknife
of
mine
into
the
lining
of
your
coat
"
(
after
which
he
would
extract
thence
shawls
and
towels
with
as
much
nonchalance
as
he
would
have
done
from
his
own
travelling-trunk
)
.
Even
his
superiors
acknowledged
him
to
be
a
devil
at
the
job
,
rather
than
a
human
being
,
so
perfect
was
his
instinct
for
looking
into
cart-wheels
,
carriage-poles
,
horses
'
ears
,
and
places
whither
an
author
ought
not
to
penetrate
even
in
thought
--
places
whither
only
a
Customs
official
is
permitted
to
go
.
The
result
was
that
the
wretched
traveller
who
had
just
crossed
the
frontier
would
,
within
a
few
minutes
,
become
wholly
at
sea
,
and
,
wiping
away
the
perspiration
,
and
breaking
out
into
body
flushes
,
would
be
reduced
to
crossing
himself
and
muttering
,
"
Well
,
well
,
well
!
"
In
fact
,
such
a
traveller
would
feel
in
the
position
of
a
schoolboy
who
,
having
been
summoned
to
the
presence
of
the
headmaster
for
the
ostensible
purpose
of
being
given
an
order
,
has
found
that
he
receives
,
instead
,
a
sound
flogging
.
In
short
,
for
some
time
Chichikov
made
it
impossible
for
smugglers
to
earn
a
living
.
In
particular
,
he
reduced
Polish
Jewry
almost
to
despair
,
so
invincible
,
so
almost
unnatural
,
was
the
rectitude
,
the
incorruptibility
which
led
him
to
refrain
from
converting
himself
into
a
small
capitalist
with
the
aid
of
confiscated
goods
and
articles
which
,
"
to
save
excessive
clerical
labour
,
"
had
failed
to
be
handed
over
to
the
Government
.
Also
,
without
saying
it
goes
that
such
phenomenally
zealous
and
disinterested
service
attracted
general
astonishment
,
and
,
eventually
,
the
notice
of
the
authorities
;
whereupon
he
received
promotion
,
and
followed
that
up
by
mooting
a
scheme
for
the
infallible
detection
of
contrabandists
,
provided
that
he
could
be
furnished
with
the
necessary
authority
for
carrying
out
the
same
.
At
once
such
authority
was
accorded
him
,
as
also
unlimited
power
to
conduct
every
species
of
search
and
investigation
.
And
that
was
all
he
wanted
.
It
happened
that
previously
there
had
been
formed
a
well-found
association
for
smuggling
on
regular
,
carefully
prepared
lines
,
and
that
this
daring
scheme
seemed
to
promise
profit
to
the
extent
of
some
millions
of
money
:
yet
,
though
he
had
long
had
knowledge
of
it
,
Chichikov
had
said
to
the
association
's
emissaries
,
when
sent
to
buy
him
over
,
"
The
time
is
not
yet
.
"
But
now
that
he
had
got
all
the
reins
into
his
hands
,
he
sent
word
of
the
fact
to
the
gang
,
and
with
it
the
remark
,
"
The
time
is
NOW
.
"
Nor
was
he
wrong
in
his
calculations
,
for
,
within
the
space
of
a
year
,
he
had
acquired
what
he
could
not
have
made
during
twenty
years
of
non-fraudulent
service
.
With
similar
sagacity
he
had
,
during
his
early
days
in
the
department
,
declined
altogether
to
enter
into
relations
with
the
association
,
for
the
reason
that
he
had
then
been
a
mere
cipher
,
and
would
have
come
in
for
nothing
large
in
the
way
of
takings
;
but
now
--
well
,
now
it
was
another
matter
altogether
,
and
he
could
dictate
what
terms
he
liked
.
Moreover
,
that
the
affair
might
progress
the
more
smoothly
,
he
suborned
a
fellow
tchinovnik
of
the
type
which
,
in
spite
of
grey
hairs
,
stands
powerless
against
temptation
;
and
,
the
contract
concluded
,
the
association
duly
proceeded
to
business
.
Certainly
business
began
brilliantly
.
But
probably
most
of
my
readers
are
familiar
with
the
oft-repeated
story
of
the
passage
of
Spanish
sheep
across
the
frontier
in
double
fleeces
which
carried
between
their
outer
layers
and
their
inner
enough
lace
of
Brabant
to
sell
to
the
tune
of
millions
of
roubles
;
wherefore
I
will
not
recount
the
story
again
beyond
saying
that
those
journeys
took
place
just
when
Chichikov
had
become
head
of
the
Customs
,
and
that
,
had
he
not
a
hand
in
the
enterprise
,
not
all
the
Jews
in
the
world
could
have
brought
it
to
success
.
By
the
time
that
three
or
four
of
these
ovine
invasions
had
taken
place
,
Chichikov
and
his
accomplice
had
come
to
be
the
possessors
of
four
hundred
thousand
roubles
apiece
;
while
some
even
aver
that
the
former
's
gains
totalled
half
a
million
,
owing
to
the
greater
industry
which
he
had
displayed
in
the
matter
.
Nor
can
any
one
but
God
say
to
what
a
figure
the
fortunes
of
the
pair
might
not
eventually
have
attained
,
had
not
an
awkward
contretemps
cut
right
across
their
arrangements
.
That
is
to
say
,
for
some
reason
or
another
the
devil
so
far
deprived
these
tchinovnik-conspirators
of
sense
as
to
make
them
come
to
words
with
one
another
,
and
then
to
engage
in
a
quarrel
.
Beginning
with
a
heated
argument
,
this
quarrel
reached
the
point
of
Chichikov
--
who
was
,
possibly
,
a
trifle
tipsy
--
calling
his
colleague
a
priest
's
son
;
and
though
that
description
of
the
person
so
addressed
was
perfectly
accurate
,
he
chose
to
take
offence
,
and
to
answer
Chichikov
with
the
words
(
loudly
and
incisively
uttered
)
,
"
It
is
YOU
who
have
a
priest
for
your
father
,
"
and
to
add
to
that
(
the
more
to
incense
his
companion
)
,
"
Yes
,
mark
you
!
THAT
is
how
it
is
.
"
Yet
,
though
he
had
thus
turned
the
tables
upon
Chichikov
with
a
tu
quoque
,
and
then
capped
that
exploit
with
the
words
last
quoted
,
the
offended
tchinovnik
could
not
remain
satisfied
,
but
went
on
to
send
in
an
anonymous
document
to
the
authorities
.
On
the
other
hand
,
some
aver
that
it
was
over
a
woman
that
the
pair
fell
out
--
over
a
woman
who
,
to
quote
the
phrase
then
current
among
the
staff
of
the
Customs
Department
,
was
"
as
fresh
and
as
strong
as
the
pulp
of
a
turnip
,
"
and
that
night-birds
were
hired
to
assault
our
hero
in
a
dark
alley
,
and
that
the
scheme
miscarried
,
and
that
in
any
case
both
Chichikov
and
his
friend
had
been
deceived
,
seeing
that
the
person
to
whom
the
lady
had
really
accorded
her
favours
was
a
certain
staff-captain
named
Shamsharev
.
However
,
only
God
knows
the
truth
of
the
matter
.
Let
the
inquisitive
reader
ferret
it
out
for
himself
.
The
fact
remains
that
a
complete
exposure
of
the
dealings
with
the
contrabandists
followed
,
and
that
the
two
tchinovniks
were
put
to
the
question
,
deprived
of
their
property
,
and
made
to
formulate
in
writing
all
that
they
had
done
.
Against
this
thunderbolt
of
fortune
the
State
Councillor
could
make
no
headway
,
and
in
some
retired
spot
or
another
sank
into
oblivion
;
but
Chichikov
put
a
brave
face
upon
the
matter
,
for
,
in
spite
of
the
authorities
'
best
efforts
to
smell
out
his
gains
,
he
had
contrived
to
conceal
a
portion
of
them
,
and
also
resorted
to
every
subtle
trick
of
intellect
which
could
possibly
be
employed
by
an
experienced
man
of
the
world
who
has
a
wide
knowledge
of
his
fellows
.
Nothing
which
could
be
effected
by
pleasantness
of
demeanour
,
by
moving
oratory
,
by
clouds
of
flattery
,
and
by
the
occasional
insertion
of
a
coin
into
a
palm
did
he
leave
undone
;
with
the
result
that
he
was
retired
with
less
ignominy
than
was
his
companion
,
and
escaped
actual
trial
on
a
criminal
charge
.
Yet
he
issued
stripped
of
all
his
capital
,
stripped
of
his
imported
effects
,
stripped
of
everything
.
That
is
to
say
,
all
that
remained
to
him
consisted
of
ten
thousand
roubles
which
he
had
stored
against
a
rainy
day
,
two
dozen
linen
shirts
,
a
small
britchka
of
the
type
used
by
bachelors
,
and
two
serving-men
named
Selifan
and
Petrushka
.
Yes
,
and
an
impulse
of
kindness
moved
the
tchinovniks
of
the
Customs
also
to
set
aside
for
him
a
few
cakes
of
the
soap
which
he
had
found
so
excellent
for
the
freshness
of
the
cheeks
.
Thus
once
more
our
hero
found
himself
stranded
.
And
what
an
accumulation
of
misfortunes
had
descended
upon
his
head
!
--
though
,
true
,
he
termed
them
"
suffering
in
the
Service
in
the
cause
of
Truth
.
"
Certainly
one
would
have
thought
that
,
after
these
buffetings
and
trials
and
changes
of
fortune
--
after
this
taste
of
the
sorrows
of
life
--
he
and
his
precious
ten
thousand
roubles
would
have
withdrawn
to
some
peaceful
corner
in
a
provincial
town
,
where
,
clad
in
a
stuff
dressing-gown
,
he
could
have
sat
and
listened
to
the
peasants
quarrelling
on
festival
days
,
or
(
for
the
sake
of
a
breath
of
fresh
air
)
have
gone
in
person
to
the
poulterer
's
to
finger
chickens
for
soup
,
and
so
have
spent
a
quiet
,
but
not
wholly
useless
,
existence
;
but
nothing
of
the
kind
took
place
,
and
therein
we
must
do
justice
to
the
strength
of
his
character
.
In
other
words
,
although
he
had
undergone
what
,
to
the
majority
of
men
,
would
have
meant
ruin
and
discouragement
and
a
shattering
of
ideals
,
he
still
preserved
his
energy
.
True
,
downcast
and
angry
,
and
full
of
resentment
against
the
world
in
general
,
he
felt
furious
with
the
injustice
of
fate
,
and
dissatisfied
with
the
dealings
of
men
;
yet
he
could
not
forbear
courting
additional
experiences
.
In
short
,
the
patience
which
he
displayed
was
such
as
to
make
the
wooden
persistency
of
the
German
--
a
persistency
merely
due
to
the
slow
,
lethargic
circulation
of
the
Teuton
's
blood
--
seem
nothing
at
all
,
seeing
that
by
nature
Chichikov
's
blood
flowed
strongly
,
and
that
he
had
to
employ
much
force
of
will
to
curb
within
himself
those
elements
which
longed
to
burst
forth
and
revel
in
freedom
.
He
thought
things
over
,
and
,
as
he
did
so
,
a
certain
spice
of
reason
appeared
in
his
reflections
.
"
How
have
I
come
to
be
what
I
am
?
"
he
said
to
himself
.
"
Why
has
misfortune
overtaken
me
in
this
way
?
Never
have
I
wronged
a
poor
person
,
or
robbed
a
widow
,
or
turned
any
one
out
of
doors
:
I
have
always
been
careful
only
to
take
advantage
of
those
who
possess
more
than
their
share
.
Moreover
,
I
have
never
gleaned
anywhere
but
where
every
one
else
was
gleaning
;
and
,
had
I
not
done
so
,
others
would
have
gleaned
in
my
place
.
Why
,
then
,
should
those
others
be
prospering
,
and
I
be
sunk
as
low
as
a
worm
?
What
am
I
?
What
am
I
good
for
?
How
can
I
,
in
future
,
hope
to
look
any
honest
father
of
a
family
in
the
face
?
How
shall
I
escape
being
tortured
with
the
thought
that
I
am
cumbering
the
ground
?
What
,
in
the
years
to
come
,
will
my
children
say
,
save
that
'
our
father
was
a
brute
,
for
he
left
us
nothing
to
live
upon
?
"'
