Мертві душі

           Likewise,althoughtheywerethesortofmentowhom,intheirmoreintimatemovements,theirwiveswouldverynaturallyaddresssuchnicknamesas“TobyJug,”“Marmot,”“Fatty,”“PotBelly,”“Smutty,”“Kiki,”and“Buzz-Buzz,”theyweremenalsoofgoodheart,andveryreadytoextendtheirhospitalityandtheirfriendshipwhenonceaguesthadeatenoftheirbreadandsalt,orspentaneveningintheircompany.Particularly,therefore,didChichikovearnthesegoodfolk’sapprovalwithhistakingmethodsandqualities—somuchsothattheexpressionofthatapprovalbidfairtomakeitdifficultforhimtoquitthetown,seeingthat,whereverhewent,theonephrasedinnedintohisearswas“Stayanotherweekwithus,PaulIvanovitch.”Inshort,heceasedtobeafreeagent.Butincomparablymorestrikingwastheimpression(amatterforunboundedsurprise!)whichheproducedupontheladies.ProperlytoexplainthisphenomenonIshouldneedtosayagreatdealabouttheladiesthemselves,andtodescribeinthemostvividofcolourstheirsocialintercourseandspiritualqualities.Yetthiswouldbeadifficultthingformetodo,since,ontheonehand,IshouldbehamperedbymyboundlessrespectforthewomenfolkofallCivilServiceofficials,and,ontheotherhand—well,simplybytheinnatearduousnessofthetask.TheladiesofN.were—Butno,Icannotdoit;myhearthasalreadyfailedme.Come,come!TheladiesofN.weredistinguishedfor—Butitisofnouse;somehowmypenseemstorefusetomoveoverthepaper—itseemstobeweightedaswithaplummetoflead.