Мертвые души
Chapter 11
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Inthisfashiontheregerminatedinourhero’sbrainthatstrangeschemeforwhichthereadermayormaynotbegrateful,butforwhichtheauthorcertainlyisso,seeingthat,haditneveroccurredtoChichikov,thisstorywouldneverhaveseenthelight.
Aftercrossinghimself,accordingtotheRussiancustom,Chichikovsetaboutcarryingouthisenterprise.Onpretenceofselectingaplacewhereintosettle,hestartedforthtoinspectvariouscornersoftheRussianEmpire,butmoreespeciallythosewhichhadsufferedfromsuchunfortunateaccidentsasfailuresoftheharvest,ahighrateofmortality,orwhatsoeverelsemightenablehimtopurchasesoulsatthelowestpossiblerate.Buthedidnottacklehislandownershaphazard:heratherselectedsuchofthemasseemedmoreparticularlysuitedtohistaste,orwithwhomhemightwiththeleastpossibletroubleconcludeidenticalagreements;though,inthefirstinstance,healwaystried,bygettingontermsofacquaintanceship—betterstill,offriendship—withthem,toacquirethesoulsfornothing,andsotoavoidpurchaseatall.Inpassing,myreadersmustnotblamemeifthecharacterswhomtheyhaveencounteredinthesepageshavenotbeenaltogethertotheirliking.ThefaultisChichikov’sratherthanmine,forheisthemaster,andwhereheleadswemustfollow.Also,shouldmyreadersgirdatmeforacertaindimnessandwantofclarityinmyprincipalcharactersandactors,thatwillbetantamounttosayingthatneverdothebroadtendencyandthegeneralscopeofaworkbecomeimmediatelyapparent.
