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dead souls(死魂灵)-第51章

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e to arm himself with the weapons of patience and self…denial。 The better to effect this; he had; of course to remove to another town。 Yet somehow; for a while; things miscarried。 More than once he found himself forced to exchange one post for another; and at the briefest of notice; and all of them were posts of the meanest; the most wretched; order。 Yet; being a man of the utmost nicety of feeling; the fact that he found himself rubbing shoulders with anything but nice companions did not prevent him from preserving intact his innate love of what was decent and seemly; or from cherishing the instinct which led him to hanker after office fittings of lacquered wood; with neatness and orderliness everywhere。 Nor did he at any time permit a foul word to creep into his speech; and would feel hurt even if in the speech of others there occurred a scornful reference to anything which pertained to rank and dignity。 Also; the reader will be pleased to know that our hero changed his linen every other day; and in summer; when the weather was very hot; EVERY day; seeing that the very faintest suspicion of an unpleasant odour offended his fastidiousness。 For the same reason it was his custom; before being valeted by Petrushka; always to plug his nostrils with a couple of cloves。 In short; there were many occasions when his nerves suffered rackings as cruel as a young girl's; and so helped to increase his disgust at having once more to associate with men who set no store by the decencies of life。 Yet; though he braced himself to the task; this period of adversity told upon his health; and he even grew a trifle shabby。 More than once; on happening to catch sight of himself in the mirror; he could not forbear exclaiming: 〃Holy Mother of God; but what a nasty…looking brute I have become!〃 and for a long while afterwards could not with anything like sang…froid contemplate his reflection。 Yet throughout he bore up stoutly and patientlyand 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 auntswell; 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 thoughtplaces 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 give 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 nowwell; 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 Chichikovwho was; possibly; a trifle tipsycall
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