Мертвые души

           Naturally,amongsuchanofficialstaffamanlikeChichikovcouldnotfailtoattractattentionandremark,sinceineverything—incheerfulnessofdemeanour,insuavityofvoice,andincompleteneglectoftheuseofstrongpotions—hewastheabsoluteantithesisofhiscompanions.Yethispathwasnotaneasyonetotread,foroverhimhehadthemisfortunetohaveplacedinauthorityaChiefClerkwhowasagravenimageofelderlyinsensibilityandinertia.Alwaysthesame,alwaysunapproachable,thisfunctionarycouldneverinhislifehavesmiledoraskedcivillyafteranacquaintance’shealth.Norhadanyoneeverseenhimawhitdifferentinthestreetorathisownhomefromwhathewasintheoffice,orshowingtheleastinterestinanythingwhatever,orgettingdrunkandrelapsingintojollityinhiscups,orindulginginthatspeciesofwildgaietywhich,whenintoxicated,evenaburglaraffects.No,notaparticleofthiswasthereinhim.Nor,forthatmatter,wasthereinhimaparticleofanythingatall,whethergoodorbad:whichcompletenegativenessofcharacterproducedratherastrangeeffect.Inthesameway,hiswizened,marble-likefeaturesremindedoneofnothinginparticular,soprimlyproportionedwerethey.Onlythenumerouspockmarksanddimpleswithwhichtheywerepittedplacedhimamongthenumberofthoseoverwhosefaces,toquotethepopularsaying,“TheDevilhaswalkedbynighttogrindpeas.”Inshort,itwouldseemthatnohumanagencycouldhaveapproachedsuchamanandgainedhisgoodwill.YetChichikovmadetheeffort.